Instantly failed at posting daily. Oops. Last night I played Magical Kitties with my mother and sister. My mother was the GM. We were planning a bank heist because we met some really nice mice who lived in an antique store that was failing and learned that they’ve been stealing stuff to keep the shop going, including some of our family’s stuff. The heist went absolutely horribly. I could talk about it for hours. Instead I will talk about two of the NPCs. Important context is my character was convinced Spider-Man would be at the bank. I’ll happily explain if you want but right now I’m busy. The first person we meet is named Erik. I think to myself, “huh…….. interesting……………” and then move on. Then at the front desk, there is a man my mom describes as short and blond. Me and my sister both are like “…Steve Rogers?” Because like in character you must remember I thought Spiderman would be here. So Steve Rogers being here easily fits into my worldview. My mom then confirms that his name tag says his name is Steven. I react like a completely normal person (use my telepathic powers to try to recruit him into the back heist as an excuse to hang out with this NPC more and instantly fail and accidentally cause him to have a panic attack in the middle of the store about the ghost/cat/bride/robber) After the session ends it is revealed that their full names were Erik Xavier and Steven Barnes. I react like a completely normal person (scream and sob also my character canonically owes them 100 grand) Okay, fun information, right? We had fun here? You’ve heard enough? Too bad. We’re now going years into the past to discuss one of the first D&D* campaigns I ever DMed. The storyline was basically an adaptation of Cinderella taking place in the universe all our previous campaigns had been in, so it was full of callbacks and inside jokes (someday that cult will travel the multiverse and make it all the way into our magical kitties universe and everyone will be filled with regret) Now, Cinderella starts with a ball. So, I drew several random NPCs, assuming it wouldn’t be a big deal. Unable to think of any characters, I eventually sneak Steve and Bucky in there. What’s the worst that could happen? This was a bad choice as a DM. Make plans for your NPCs. The first character my sister wants to talk to is Steve Rogers. And I decide to simply go with it and have this character be actually literally Steve Rogers. My sister’s character was an orphan because back then she always made all of her characters orphan much to the dismay of her parents, and eventually somehow convinced Steve and Bucky to adopt her. Basically what I’m trying to say here is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes keep casually showing up in my family’s TTRPG campaigns when the GM thinks they can sneak them in there and it always woes much worse than they expected. *it’s complicated okay it was /TECHNICALLY/ D&D
