Names for NPCs, Which Ones do you Use and How do you Use Them?

[Yaleric]

So what are the various names for NPCs, for those people who are hired by the PCs or those that follow the PCs? Here are a few.

adherent, aide, apprentice, assistant, attendant, bodyguard, bootlicker, crony, fawner, flatterer, flunky, follower, goon, hanger-on, henchman, hired man, hireling, lackey, mercenary, minion, parasite, partisan, puppet, retainer, right-hand man, roustabout, servant, sidekick, slave, stooge, sycophant, thug, toady, brown-noser, vassal, yes-man

Which ones do you use in your game? Of those that you use, how do you use them? Are there any here that you have never used, that you might use in the future?

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Oct 14, 2022 23:03:26 GMT -5 Yaleric said:

So what are the various names for NPCs, for those people who are hired by the PCs or those that follow the PCs? Here are a few.

adherent, aide, apprentice, assistant, attendant, bodyguard, bootlicker, crony, fawner, flatterer, flunky, follower, goon, hanger-on, henchman, hired man, hireling, lackey, mercenary, minion, parasite, partisan, puppet, retainer, right-hand man, roustabout, servant, sidekick, slave, stooge, sycophant, thug, toady, brown-noser, vassal, yes-man

Which ones do you use in your game? Of those that you use, how do you use them? Are there any here that you have never used, that you might use in the future?

I placed the ones in bold that I have used, but really all of them could be used over time a in a long campaign. This is a great list and it opens up ideas I had not thought of before. A lot of them are great for NPCs and for the villains. 

[Yaleric]

Thanks, I think it is a great list too. I am fond of partisan, to me that is like henchman on steroids.

[hengest]

Oct 14, 2022 23:03:26 GMT -5 Yaleric said:

So what are the various names for NPCs, for those people who are hired by the PCs or those that follow the PCs? Here are a few.

adherent, aide, apprentice, assistant, attendant, bodyguard, bootlicker, crony, fawner, flatterer, flunky, follower, goon, hanger-on, henchman, hired man, hireling, lackey, mercenary, minion, parasite, partisan, puppet, retainer, right-hand man, roustabout, servant, sidekick, slave, stooge, sycophant, thug, toady, brown-noser, vassal, yes-man

Which ones do you use in your game? Of those that you use, how do you use them? Are there any here that you have never used, that you might use in the future?

I don't think I've really used any, although I have to say I've never done much with henchmen in general. I like the list, though.