Rival Adventurers WIP (Patreon)

One of the things I loved the most about Call of the Netherdeep while playing the first third or so of the module was the rival party. It can be hard to manage a full group of NPCs, but in doing it you can present different personalities for players and PCs to bounce off of in interesting ways.

I've been working on a rival adventuring party writeup. A larger/full version would likely have several writeups across different tiers plus a few examples/options for taking the class-esque archetypes and filling them out as specific individuals (ala - here are three different people the Rival Archer could be, with heritage and personality, etc.)

Here are the WIP Tier 1 writeups for the rival adventurers, with five characters. If you're testing these in your game but you have a smaller group, I'd probably suggest omitting the Archer. If you have a larger party, then hat's off to you, that's a lot to manage already. :)

For ease of reference, the rivals archetypes are: Archer, Fighter, Mage, Priest, Thief.

RIVAL ARCHER
Tier 1 Ranged

A nimble archer and scout with light armor and traveling clothes.
Motives & Tactics: Boast & banter, fire on the move, seek thrills, spot danger from afar.

Difficulty: 12 | Thresholds: 4/8 | HP: 3 | Stress: 3
ATK: +0 | Shortbow: Far | 1d8+3 phy

Experience: Cooking +2, Sharpshooter +2, Tracking +2

FEATURES

Hit and Run – Passive: Archer may move up to a Close distance after making an attack even if they moved before attacking.

Called Shot – Action: Spend a Fear to make an attack against a target within Close, targeting a vital spot. If the attack succeeds, the target marks a Stress and becomes Vulnerable until they clear a HP (or until their next rest).

Fall Back - Reaction: When a creature moves into Melee range to make an attack, you can mark a Stress before the attack roll to move anywhere within Close range and make an attack against that creature. On a success, deal 1d10+2 physical damage.

RIVAL FIGHTER
Tier 1 Bruiser

A brawny fighter with heavy armor and a two-handed axe.
Motives & Tactics: Seek glory, protect friends, target the strongest foe.

Difficulty: 11 | Thresholds 8/16 | HP: 7 | Stress: 3
ATK: +0 | Greataxe: Melee | 1d10+3 phy

Experience: Blacksmith +2, Carousing +2, Intimidating +2

FEATURES
Tough as Nails – Passive: Once per scene, gain resistance to physical damage for an attack.

Knock ‘em Down – Action: Make an attack against a Restrained target within Melee range. On a success, mark a Stress to deal an additional 1d8 physical damage. The target becomes prone and Vulnerable until they next take the spotlight.

Whirling Strike – Action: Spend a Fear to make a Greataxe attack against all targets within Very Close.

I Got Your Back – Reaction: When an ally within Very Close would take damage, Mark a Stress to move to their side and take the damage instead.

Momentum - Reaction: When this adversary makes a successful attack against a PC, you gain a Fear.

RIVAL MAGE
Tier 1 Support

An eccentric but alluring mage with crowd-control magic and light defenses.
Motives & Tactics: Entangle foes, seek knowledge, work together

Difficulty: 12 | Thresholds 5/9 | HP: 4 | Stress: 4
ATK: +2 | Staff: Far |1d6+3 mag
Experience: Esoteric Knowledge +2, Sea Shanties +2, Spellcasting +2

FEATURES
Magical Senses – Passive: Rival Mage can always identify magical items and effects within a Close distance.

Set Them Up – Action: Mark a Stress to force a target within Far to make a Finesse Reaction Roll or become Restrained. The target can clear Restrained on a successful Finesse or Strength Roll or when the Mage suffers Severe damage.

Believable Illusion – Action: Once per scene, create a static illusion of up to three people or an object the size of a cart. This illusion is convincing from beyond Close distance, but can be identified by an Instinct Roll.

Deflecting Shield – Reaction: Spend a Fear when an ally within Close suffers Major or worse damage to reduce the severity by one degree.

RIVAL PRIEST
Tier 1 Leader

A street urchin-turned-priest-turned adventurer leading a party of scrappy heroes to glory.
Motives & Tactics: Protect party, gain rightful glory, smash evil.

Difficulty: 13 | Thresholds: 7/14 | HP: 6 | Stress: 3
ATK: +3 | Warhammer: Melee | 1d10+2 phy

Experiences: Oratory +2, Religion +2, Rough Upbringing +2

FEATURES
Hallowed Vestments - Passive: Any attacks against the Priest by undead or demons suffer disadvantage.

Blessing of Celerity – Action: When you spotlight the priest, mark a Stress to also spotlight two allies within Close range.

We’re Not Done Yet! - Action: Once per scene, Spend a Fear to clear up to 1d4 HP or Stress across the priest and any ally within Far.

Really, We Did all the Hard Work – Reaction: When a PC relates a story of their accomplishments to the people of a settlement and the rival party was also there for the challenge, spend a Fear to have the Priest assert that their party were the real heroes. The party must complete a Progress Countdown (4) to disprove the claim.

RIVAL THIEF
Tier 1 Skulk

A charming and sly pickpocket and burglar running with a more respectable lot…for now.
Motives & Tactics: Eavesdrop, get so rich they never have to worry about going hungry again, take every advantage

Difficulty: 13 | Thresholds: 4/7 | HP: 3 | Stress: 3
ATK: +1 | Daggers Galore: Close | 1d8+1 phy

Experience: Disarming Smile +2, Friends in Low Places +2, Pickpocket +2

FEATURES

Dirty Fighter – Passive: When the Thief succeeds on an attack against a target within Melee of at least one ally, they deal an extra 2d4 phy damage.

Call in a Favor – Action: Spend 2 Fear to have the Thief reach out to some old friends and arrange for a group of bandits to ambush the party at an opportune time while the rivals are somewhere else.

Sticky Fingers – Action: Spend a Fear to have the Thief lift an important-seeming item from a target within Melee (not something held in hand or actively being attended to). This action goes unnoticed unless the target succeeds on an Instinct Reaction Roll.

Lucky Dodge – Reaction: When an attack against the Thief would succeed, mark a Stress to force the attacker to re-roll and take the new result.

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This text is not official content of Darrington Press or Critical Role and does not represent the opinions or stances of anyone other than Mike themself. This product includes materials from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0, © Critical Role, LLC. under the terms of the Darrington Press Community Gaming (DPCGL) License. More information can be found at https://www.daggerheart.com. There are no previous modifications by others.