Low-Prep Toolkit: NPC Descriptions (Random Table)

By Giovanni V. Crisan Phase II x Deimos Infinitum

Published: March 10, 2026

PCs can encounter any number of interesting characters at a tavern or inn; if playing in a futuristic or modern setting, these encounters can happen anywhere: a city center, busy market, in a store, restaurant, bar, social club, even in a yoga class! Also, check out "In Their Veins", a downloadable dark 5e adventure below:

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Roll 1d8:

1-4. Man

5-7. Woman

8. Child

Roll 1d6:

1-4. Nothing extra

5. Carries a pet

6. Has a child or companion with them

Man, Roll 1d20:

1. An heavyset older man with white dust in his beard, quietly sketching impossible fortresses on scrap parchment

2. A slender, bald man in stained robes whose shadow sometimes moves just a second before he does

3. A broad‑shouldered man with a soldier’s posture, missing a limb

4. A masked man whose gloved hands are soft and clean, but whose sleeves are stained with dried blood

5. A squirelly man with jingling pockets and a silver coin that he fiddles with between his fingers, and always flips it in the air before speaking

6. A skinny man who smells faintly of wine and keeps shooting glances at the door as if expecting something

7. A man with soot all over his face and hands, but whose clothes are clean and brightly colored

8. A hooded young man whose lute has only three strings, but he plays harmonies no one can quite hum afterward

9. A young man with ink‑stained fingers who smiles constantly with eyes wide open

10. A long-haired young man who is missing most of his teeth and whose tongue is black

11. A cloaked man with mud‑spattered boots, and his pant legs rolled all the way up to his thighs

12. An old man carrying a steaming bowl of something that smells sweet, yet pungent

13. An old man with chains around one wrist and wooden shoes

14. A man with singed eyebrows, proudly cradling a humming, fist‑sized contraption under one arm

15. A stern-looking city guard with a bent spear and a stash of children’s drawings tucked into his pocket

16. A monocled man with long, white hair; his yellowed nails are long and brittle

17. A slender man who claims to be a pirate, and he never tells the same story the same way twice, always making it more grand and unbelievable

18. A young man with a bag full of bones labeled as “specimens” in three different languages

19. A young man whose clothes are too big but he claims to be a very old priest that went missing several years before

20. A pale, hairy stranger nursing a single drink all night, who leaves no footprints in the tavern’s muddy floors

Woman, Roll 1d20

1. A woman with very hairy arms who wears long sleeves and very quickly tries to cover her arms if they are accidentally exposed.

2. An older woman who is missing both eyes and talks constantly about the

“murder”

3. A slender woman missing 6 fingers but claims to play the flute at a tavern in a nearby town

4. A veiled woman who speaks softly but snaps and yells whenever anyone steps in front of her

5. A very talkative young woman who spreads rumors about anyone that passes in front of her; She has spread rumors about the PCs

6. A heavyset woman who is abnormally jubilant and just wants to dance with

everyone

7. A middle-aged woman who professes the power of beans and legumes, and

ties every conversation back to beans

8. A woman who is covered in cat hair and blood but denies owning any cats; if

pressed, she becomes loud and angry at all the questions

9. A hooded young woman who says that her mother is trying to sacrifice her to

gain eternal life

10. A young woman who contradicts anything the players say; she chews on a reed constantly

11. A woman who aggressively flashes her teeth at anyone who asks about her very expensive looking clothes

12. A heavyset woman who has no eyebrows

13. A woman who speaks in a foreign accent and is very expressive: frowning and

smiling, opening her mouth wide when astonished

14. An old woman wearing white clothes that are stained with grass, mud, and

blood

15. A very young woman who clings to old men’s arms, passing from one to

another, asking if they’ve heard of “Calipor”

16. A very friendly woman who talks to the PCs about mundane topics, like the

weather, or the color blue; after talking to the PCs, she turns to someone else and says, “You won’t believe what these people just told me!”

17. A woman wearing a papier machè mask with very intricate patterns painted on it

18. A very slender woman who insists that the PCs try “the roast”, even if they are

already eating some

19. A very old woman who can barely walk and uses two canes to hold herself up, is barefoot, and stops regularly to comb her thinning hair

20. young woman wearing men’s clothing that is blood-stained and filthy

Child, Roll 1d10:

1. A male toddler dragging a doll that looks like the town’s leader (king, mayor, etc) and has several small, sharp daggers sticking out of its body and head

2. A boy about 10 years old, bald, and whose clothes are not from this region

3. A girl about 8 years old who smiles constantly and asks the PCs if they want to buy her “7 Deals”

4. A boy about 12 years old who asks the PCs many questions about becoming a hero, and insists on them giving him one of their weapons

5. A very heavyset girl about 6 years old who is crawling/scuttling about the floor as if her legs don’t work, and everyone in the place ignores her

6. A slender girl about 11 years old who accuses the PCs of being sinners; she smells very strongly like roast pork

7. A young girl about 7 years old with a very long forehead, making her head look oval-shaped; she does not talk, and is constantly looking around

8. A boy about 8 years old who claims to be there with another patron, but the patron denies knowing the child; when others ask who he is with, he says he’s with the PCs

9. A girl about 10 years old sleeping at a table in the corner; she is snoring and doesn’t seem bothered by all the noise around her, but nobody seems to be accompanying her

10. A boy about 7 years old who is selling some kind of elixir; he is asking for an

unreasonable amount of currency, but claims it will solve all of their problems - but he won’t say more than that. He also takes out a cigar and starts smoking it while talking to the PCs

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