D&D’s many worlds are full of some truly unhinged NPCs. And not just the ones your DM comes up with – some are canonical!
The many, many worlds of D&D are full of a variety of NPCs. From weird little guys to abominable horrors from beyond the stars, whose true form would excoriate the senses, with the flesh soon to follow, D&D is full of memorable characters. Some tend to stand out a little more, for better or worse.
Like these – here are some of D&D’s weirdest canonical characters. Feel free to throw in your own nominations for weirdest official NPCs in the comments.
Xanathar
Xanathar is an infamous crime lord who is also an aberrant monster that secretly runs the thieves’ guild with ten iron eyestalks. A beholder is megalomaniacal even in the best of circumstances. But the Xanathar is even more so – because the truth of the matter is that, like the Dread Pirate Roberts, there is no singular Xanathar. It is a title, a name passed down from beholder to beholder (often not willingly). The current Xanathar is an ambitious beholder determined to transform the legacy of the name into something truly legendary, all for the love of a goldfish named Syl’gar.
Volothamp Geddarm
Volothamp Geddarm is an infamous NPC throughout the Forgotten Realms. He is known for getting into trouble almost as much as he is for getting out of it. Which would be fine, except he’s often skilled only at getting himself out of trouble, and not the hapless adventurers who frequently end up at his side.
Volo has penned guides to the Realms that are known as much for their licentious details as they are for their inaccuracy. In other words, Volo is a case study about what a horny wizard can achieve.
Oalian
Let’s pop over to Eberron for a moment. In Eberron, one of the most powerful beings in the entire world is the great Archdruid known as Oalian. Oalian is ancient, having survived for more than four milennia. He taught the first Gatekeepers the ways of their magic. And when Eberron first came out, he was the most powerful being with class levels in it (monsters need not apply) – as the only Level 20 character in all of Eberron.
He is also an Awakened Greatpine. Not a treant. But an actual tree. Given sentience in the ancient past, who has seen the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires. He spends most of the time swaying in the breeze at the heart of the Eldeen reaches, and you can go talk to him if you want. Oalian is known for being chatty to those who visit.
Belashyrra
If Oalian is one end of the memorable weirdo scale, surely Belashyrra is the other. Belashyrra is one of the ancient Lords of Xoriat. The monstrous beings from the realm of madness that invaded Eberron in the Age of Monsters. Belashyrra is one of the six daelkyr that remain.
It is known as the foulest and most powerful of those who remain. It can bend reality around it, molding flesh into whatever form it desires. Belashyrra can see through all lies, and is known to enact dark and twisted schemes from the Citadel of the Lidless Eye. Those who try to oppose Belashyrra are in for a rough time – it can see through the eyes of any creature who approach within a mile, willing or no. And its agents are spread far; though thankfully, to date they are few in number. Few but powerful. If you want an eldritch horror, Belashyrra is an incredible options.
Zagyg
And hey, who doesn’t love an author-insert character. Zagyg, fullname Zagyg Yragerne is an anagram of E. Gary Gygax (with a Z standing in for the x). Zagyg is also Greyhawk’s god of humor, eccentricity, occult lore, and unpredictability. Zagyg’s life as a fledgling wizard who became the Despot of Hardby, served as the best Lord Mayor of Greyhawk before disappearing from the face of Oerth only to turn up later as an ascended deity after capturing nine demigods of opposing alignments and imprisoning them beneath Castle Greyhawk. So, you know, the guy lives up to the eccentricity domain!
Who are your picks for most unhinged NPCs?
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