d100 Secrets Your NPC Knows
Header Art: Dungeon Master’s Guide (2008) by Wizards of the Coast / William O’Connor
Your Non-Player Characters (NPCs) know a lot of things. They know the adventurers talking to them can help solve a lot of problems, they know information others would pay (or kill) for, and they know that people are always looking for quests. Regardless of who your NPC is, they are going to have secrets that they may be willing to pass on to an enterprising adventurer looking to make some coin.
Below is a list of secrets to help create quests, intrigue, and more in your campaigns! Just roll a d100 and see what plots unfold…
The NPC is attuned to a cursed object, but the object is definitely benign.
There have been a lot of local disappearances, and the NPC knows more about it than they should.
A high-ranking general is stealing army supplies and selling them to a rival nation.
The upcoming royal marriage is a sham, the princess is trying to cancel the marriage to marry a common folk. Rumors are that it could even be a half-orc!
The NPC has an old flame in high-rank society. The NPC could ask for a favor, but it’s a bit humiliating due to the NPC’s low station in life.
The queen once hired assassins to kill the king, but the king is still alive and married to the queen.
The royal court seems to have a strong hatred of silver and they only use gold for their silverware.
The local baron is raising funds to bring a printing press to the local village. While the baron claims it’s for knowledge, the NPC heard that the baron had made a deal with a devil for it.
A business leader recently tracked down a fallen meteor. Ever since they brought it back into town, they’ve been acting strangely and buying up large amounts of black obsidian.
Five years ago the mayor disappeared for a week. No one knows where the mayor went and the mayor claims that they were here the entire time.
While there are very good baked pies at the local tavern, if you are seeking the best, go to the old woman who lives a mile outside of town in the forest. Some say she is a hag, but the NPC knows that they are actually a different type of fey spirit.
The kingdom is completely bankrupt and won’t be able to pay its soldiers in a month. It’s best to get out now… or maybe this is a good opportunity for a new king to take over.
The border skirmishers between the two neighboring kingdoms isn’t what it seems. They aren’t fighting each other, but rather a growing rebel state.
There is an assassin, the Black Lotus, currently in town who once killed a high priest. The NPC is unsure what job they are on or who they are going to kill, but it must be someone powerful for the assassin to come.
There are old mines just a few miles outside of town, orcs have recently taken up a stronghold there and have found a rare metal that only orcs can hear. It’s supposed to be metal created by their prime god.
The mayor was seen with a widow just a few days ago sneaking out of the widow’s back porch early in the morning.
The trade caravan leaving the city in a few days is carrying more than just food, but also a powerful magic item that is headed for the ruler of the kingdom. Don’t tell anyone!
There is a secret entrance into the castle that will take you directly to the throne room. It’s located in the crypts, so no one goes down there since there are so many draugr that have risen. The king hasn’t dealt with the draugr on purpose to act as extra protection, though they claim it’s because it would be disrespectful to their ancestors to ‘kill’ them again.
The local church leader recently got a suit of plate armor enchanted by a wizard to ward off demons. The leader kept saying ominous things about what was to come during their last congregation.
Located beneath the temple dedicated to a deity of love is their child encased in a massive emerald. It’s an empyrean that has been there since the church was founded.
The king’s great-grandson is a doppelganger. The NPC found it out because the great-grandson frequents a tavern the NPC goes to regularly and they saw the doppelganger kill and steal the great-grandson’s body!
While it may appear that the city is run by the lord, there is someone behind the lord who actually runs things. The NPC had met the shadow-ruler only once before in a small wharf and given very specific orders, failure to follow them would’ve resulted in the NPC’s death.
There is a cave far to the North of town that has veins of silver throughout it. The NPC has been making treks to it every week under the cover of night and bringing back large chunks of silver to sell. Many of the villagers are starting to get suspicious of the NPC’s newfound wealth.
There are several abandoned buildings in the town, though only the NPC seems to have noticed them. No one else in town can see them. The NPC is pretty sure that it is because they are the only ones who are ‘real’ - everyone else are part of a clever programmed illusion spell.
There is a dragon nearby that the village pays an annual tithe too. The NPC is aware that the dragon has a weak spot in its hide, they had seen it the last time the dragon had come to collect its tithe.
The king has a strange mental affliction that makes him only lucid once a minute for only a few seconds. No one has been able to remove the affliction, and so the council has decided to hide the king’s affliction and act like nothing is wrong, ruling in the king’s stead. In fact, the NPC knows that the council has no intention of ever removing the affliction.
While the village is currently in a frenzy searching for a missing child in the local woods, an NPC knows the real truth. The mayor ate the child.
There is an invisible floating island thousands of feet above the village! It’s true! The NPC saw a bird land on the island and just sit on it with nothing below it! It’s definitely there!
The village has a large number of stray dogs, but no one knows why… Well, except for one barkeep who was once a druid before they lost their close connection to the land and gave up on nature. Now they just seem to attract dogs, but they don’t know why.
A wizard may have learned a new type of magic, one that drains the physical nature of one creature and transfer it to another. It leaves the initial creature forever weakened, its strength permanently given to another. These weak individuals have just been left discarded in the streets, far too terrified to talk of their experience.
This NPC is definitely not three goblins in a large cloak. That would be ridiculous. Also, it would be totally ridiculous if you thought they might be planning an attack on the village. They are completely human doing normal human things like a real human. Very human indeed.
The local monastery is actually the training facility for a group of psionic assassins, at least according to a rather nervous traveling merchant who is unsure if they were seen the previous night when they stumbled upon a meeting between the assassins.
Supposedly, within the catacombs beneath the city streets, there is an artifact hidden within the crypt of a great cleric who had founded the city. The artifact was said to have been able to destroy all undead within a thousand feet of whoever wielded the item.
The tunnels of the subterranean lands below the surface were carved out, not by dwarves, but by a god cursed to never see the sun ever again, but rather to wander forever lost within the planet.
The nearby rocky hill that towers over the village isn’t what it appears to be. In fact, the NPC swears that it saw the hill BLINK! It’s just a matter of time before it awakens.
The local thieves guild is in a huge uproar! Someone killed their leader and now they are infighting to see who will be the next leader. A rather popular thief has garnered a lot of support, but the NPC is pretty sure that an assassin has been hired to kill them by the ruler of the city to keep the thieves fighting amongst themselves.
It’s been unseasonably cold this summer, with huge snowfalls every night. While no one around the town seems to know why, a lone hermit has been seen dancing in the snow every morning.
There is an old, abandoned castle nearby. The NPC got the king to agree to give them the castle if they could clear it out of monsters.
The NPC knows an alchemist who has successfully transformed copper into gold. They are now buying up all copper they can find, including copper coins.
The NPC recently saw a warband of orcs while they were walking through the forest. They are unsure if they should warn the mayor, especially since the town had exiled the NPC for ‘no reason’.
The NPC can’t stay dead. While they can be killed, they always come back to life in a few hours, healed of any wounds. While they haven’t tried to destroy themselves completely, they have restored to life after losing body parts, fire, and more.
The king’s prized hunting dog is more than a mere pup, but a shapeshifter!
The NPC saw a curious exchange happen in the woods a week ago. A group of goblins was selling ‘dragon egg’ to a pack of kobolds for lots of weapons. Though, the NPC is confident that the ‘dragon egg’ was actually the egg of a wyvern, which they are sure the kobolds won’t be happy about once it hatches.
The NPC has the best business idea that will make everyone rich! They are going to start selling potions and will get six people to also start selling potions. And then those six people will get six other people to sell potions. And then they’ll get six other people to sell potions! They’ll all be bosses of their own business and everyone will make so much money selling potions!
There has been a string of high-profile robberies among the noble class, and no one is sure how they’ve done it. No locks have been tampered with, magic was ruled out, and no one has been hurt. What others don’t know is that the NPC is responsible and that they have been doing these robberies on homes that they have repaired in the past. As a carpenter, they know how to build the perfect secret door that no one can spot from the outside or inside of the home.
While most nobles are aghast at the upcoming wedding, only the NPC knows that the groom is being forced to marry the bride due to political black mail by the bride’s head of house.
The NPC hasn’t realized it yet, but the NPC knows one of the parents of an adventurer in the party. That parent owes the NPC. The NPC will piece it together in two separate interactions with the adventurer.
The NPC knows of a hidden site not too far into the forest where an ancient battle must’ve been fought. The weapons and armor do not age while in the field but begin to age as normal once removed. The NPC occasionally ‘liberates’ armor and weapons from the battlefield to sell in town though no one else knows where the NPC keeps finding the ancient items.
The NPC once tricked a dwarf into a drinking contest and won, learning the secrets of forging a unique dwarven metal that is the alloy of gold and copper. While it is a malleable substance after being forged, it is incredibly deadly when used against orcs but tends to dull or break quickly.
There is a family of rat-humanoids living in the forest that the NPC has befriended. They trade with the rat-humanoids, offering worked metal and tools, in return, the rat-humanoids offer secrets and information on the NPC’s friends and enemies.
News hasn’t been released yet, but the NPC has heard that the parliament is looking to overthrow the king. They are holding a vote in just a few days and it isn’t looking good for the ruler.
A city sunk long ago below the waves, but the NPC is pretty confident that it is still there, encased in a powerful field of magic. While they don’t have a map, they do have a fragment of an old legend that acts as the first stepping stone in their journey. They just need help getting beneath the surface of the world and into the Dark Below.
There is a horrific plague in the city that is only affecting gnomes and halflings. While no one knows where it began or how to stop it, since most magical cures can’t stop the disease, the NPC has heard that the first cases started in the slums located along the waterfront.
The NPC found a piece of ancient magic that only functions for a rare number of people, regardless of race. The NPC is unsure of who made it the item, what the item does, or even why only certain people can use the magic. What they do know, is that an adventurer in the party seems to cause the ancient magic item to vibrate with unseen energy.
There once was a flying city, or at least, a floating city made of cloud itself. It long ago crashed into the dense jungle only about a week’s hike away where dire lizards roam. Someone brought back a very rare jewel and the NPC wants to hire an expedition to bring back more.
The lord of pirates has been acting strangely. The NPC believes that the pirate lord may have been replaced by an imposter, but isn’t sure where the real pirate lord might be, or even if they are still alive.
A family or friend of the NPC is being held hostage. Unless the NPC does what the kidnapper wants, the NPC’s family or friend will be killed. The NPC will have to betray one of the adventurers in the party.
The NPC once saw several men jump off a dock, and then swim under the dock and disappear. They are pretty sure it’s the secret entrance to a thief's hideout.
The king’s advisor plans to betray them. The NPC isn’t sure how they know, but they are confident that the advisor is working for the enemy.
The NPC saw an exact duplicate of one of the adventurers in the party behaving in a very cruel and foul way. The NPC is not aware it is a duplicate but rather thinks it is the real adventurer acting in such a way.
The nearby dwarven city has closed off its mountain to all outsiders, though no one knows why except for the NPC. They know that the dwarves have learned of a dragon that will be raiding the surrounding area and are getting their defenses together. The dwarves have not told anyone because they don’t want others to be prepared so that the dragon will go after the easier treasure instead of attacking them.
The king’s longevity isn’t due to any natural or magical abilities they possess, but rather from a strange potion that their court alchemist creates. The NPC knows what ingredients the alchemist needs, including an incredibly rare heartstone found miles below the surface. It’s a red gem that flexes in and out like a beating heart.
The ancient tomb that houses an ancient hero is actually empty, at least as far as the NPC knows. The hero had actually betrayed the land, though any knowledge of the true events is lost… but perhaps might be found inside the tomb.
There is an orc siege heading for the city, and the NPC is doing everything it can to ensure no one is prepared for it.
One of the major advisors to the king is the head of the thieves’ guild, and the NPC is willing to share that information… for a price.
There is an ancient site, deep in the desert, where magic is said to be dead. The NPC has journeyed there once before but refuses to tell anyone where they found it. No one else has located the temple, but there are many legends of it.
The head of a large and powerful noble family isn’t who they appear to be. In fact, they are a vampire, a secret that few even in the family know.
An artifact linked to the plane of fire is said to exist within an erupting volcano, though it produces such heat that even fire giants shy away from its flames.
Under the local tavern is a series of rat-tunnels that leads to the abandoned labs of an archmage, at least that’s what the bartender believes.
A group of kobolds have entered the town, promising great wealth to any who join their cause. They are seeking to destroy a band of bugbears, goblins, and hobgoblins that are encroaching on their tunnels. Of course, what they don’t mention is that there are no goblinoids. Just a very hungry dragon.
The NPC is seeking new members for its cult dedicated to a creature made of elemental energy. The NPC first obfuscates their cult, but has several missions that will bring new power to the cult in the surrounding caverns.
There is a spider in the dream realm that captures the dreams of others and feeds off their psychic energy, typically in the form of devouring memories and secrets. Those who can kill the spider are said to be able to pull out pearls of half-devoured memories. The NPC has very good reason to believe that one particular dream spider is feeding on its dreams and that it wants its memories back that it has devoured.
A troll is living on a bridge just a few hours walk out of town, and an NPC knows about it. It has made a deal with the troll, the NPC will send adventurers on some meaningless quest that will take them along the bridge, the troll gets to eat them, and the NPC gets any magic items on them.
The huge guard dog that patrols the king’s gardens every night has a special weakness that it’s trainer uses to control it. The NPC needs the players to get the secret out of the trainer for… reasons.
At the king’s ball, there was quite a scene between two nobles who dueled over a lady’s honor. The NPC knows that that was staged, during the chaos, a thief stole some treasure from the vaults but left almost everything else untouched.
A merchant recently arrived in the city with quite a peculiar collection of merchandise to sell, hand-crafted statues of animals and a single humanoid in a suggestive pose. While most of the statues are quite benign, the humanoid is actually a thief that has been transformed into a statue by a cockatrice. The merchant and the thief work together, the merchant selling the statue and then after a day, the thief is no longer petrified and steals from whoever bought the statue.
A thief is said to have learned how to phase through solid walls like stone or wood, and has robbed several powerful noble family homes. What the noble families won’t say is that they actually hired the thief to rob them, so that they could defraud insurance.
Within the cemetery is an old mausoleum covered in runes. This is the site of a wizard’s tower, though it is hidden within the mausoleum in an extradimensional space. A lonely widower saw the wizard enter the mausoleum and when they investigated, the wizard has shrunk down to the size of a mouse and vanished into a wall!
Hidden below the king’s prison is a prison of horror and nightmares. Strange monsters from the Dark Below are said to be housed there, responsible for ensuring that the most dangerous of mages and criminals are securely held in confinement. An NPC thinks they know of a way to sneak down there and rescue one of the prisoners who was once a rebellion leader.
One of the temples has permanently closed its doors for over a week. No one is quite sure what is happening within, but the abbot and all of the priests have barricaded themselves inside. They will only allow others of their order to enter as they embark on a special endeavor to bring about a powerful magical ritual that will further their deity’s cause.
An alchemist has developed a concoction that they hope will make all creatures immune to the curse of lycanthrope. They just need to hire a few adventurers and see what happens.
There is a nearby abandoned castle that is said to be taken over by orcs. In truth, a wizard has taken up residence to create all manner of foul magical creatures with a blog of flesh being the latest creation. To test out the new experiment, the wizard is hiring adventurers to ‘clean out’ the castle of orcs, once the party arrives, they’ll have to fight off this flesh blob instead.
Everyone knows that the king is unwell, but the NPC knows that the king is being slowly poisoned by the members of their family. In actuality, multiple people are working on poisoning the king without the knowledge of anyone else doing it as well.
The shopkeep down the street has just brought in a shipment of illegal drugs. The NPC is seeking someone skilled enough to liberate this shipment and bring it to them.
Beneath the city is a fighting pit where adventurers fight against monsters. Many times, these adventurers aren’t always willing participants.
A strange group of people have entered the city, all wearing golden masks. They seem to be seeking something, but no one has figured out what the group is up to. The NPC believes they are after an artifact hidden within the crypts.
The NPC offers a deal to one of the adventurers in the party. They can unlock great power in the adventurer, in exchange they must go on a small adventure. In truth, the NPC is possessed by a demonic force, and the ‘power’ it offers is to possess the adventurer’s body and control them.
A dockworker has recently disappeared. They had fallen off the docks and when people went to investigate, they were missing in the water and the surrounding area. The NPC swears that, while they had been drunk, they had seen several tentacles pull the dockworker deeper into the water.
A large wave crashed through the port city recently, a strange event that has never happened before. While most believe it was just a freak of nature event, the NPC is confident that it was a gargantuan dragon turtle that caused the wave to destroy much of the city.
An NPC is said to have portent visions, capable of seeing prophecy and future paths. In truth, they are actually a powerful hag who uses the information they collect during their seances to further their own plots.
A sudden sickness is spreading through the city and is highly contagious. The clerics are unable to keep up with how many people are becoming sick, and even if they do heal someone of a disease, they are likely to come down with the sickness in just a few hours. An NPC is responsible for this sickness, they found an old treasure buried within a cairn and brought it back to the city with them. Only they seem to be immune to the disease.
The newest judge in the city seems to hold the law in very high esteem, though everyone who appears before them is deemed ‘guilty’. The NPC is pretty sure that the judge is a devil, but doesn’t have evidence yet.
Serpent-folk are kidnapping people in the village and taking their places, the NPC can totally prove it! The people may look the same, but the NPC swears that they saw one of these imposters flick their tongue out like a real snake!
Far beneath the mountain at its very roots is a trapped primordial of earth and fire. The giants have been called to its prison and ordered to unleash it, if they are able to do so then the mountain will erupt into a massive volcano.
A dragon slayer is looking for adventuring companions to help them defeat a massive, ancient dragon. The dragon slayer will let the adventurers get themselves killed fighting the dragon, and then the slayer will face off once the dragon is weakened.
The town drunk is more than they appear. They were once the general of the armies, but they found their ruler to be too distasteful.
A high-ranking member of the court is actually the leader of the most vile and powerful gang in the city.
The town’s local executioner has been abducting people from town and experimenting on them. They are hoping to uncover the secrets of life and death and find a way to non-magically revive their lost love.
A local ‘sorcerer’ in town doesn’t actually have raw magical talent but is a wizard who acts as if they can innately cast magic.
There is a tarrasque sleeping under the city. The NPC believes that the royal family knows and that they know how to awaken it in case the kingdom is ever attacked.
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