Magonium Mine Murders: Dramatis personae

When you're writing a mystery scenario, you have a lot of characters, and you need to convey information about them tersely. Some of these guys are more important and will need extra information, but here's what the preliminary NPC list will look like.

The Dead

• Alba, mining camp administrator. Got too close to a counterfeiting scheme. 
• Natan Pentic, miner and inventor. He lost the Duplication Engine.
• Olij, Ekim and Maldish, miners. Like Pentic, killed in cave-ins caused by the Mole Men.

The Living

In the mining camp

• Rogin Hyland, an alchemist and conspirator. Killed Alba. 
• Bellows, Alba's overworked former assistant. 
• Lumicent Pulver, disillusioned veteran and guard captain. 
• Ildico, Arinbjorn and Horvat, slaves. 
• Simvesh Threen, Chert, and Uldaria Lattiger, miners. 

In the boomtown

• Schenck, a crooked fight promoter. 
• Calvey, a bookie, his crony. 
• Gola, Pakrish, Karud, Luz and Crazy Legs, prizefighters. 
• Lurik, Iggsy and Big Billiken, mobsters. 
• Livia Cherm, disgraced and bitter former mine engineer. 

In the surrounding area

• Orvant the Blind, outraged hermit and mystic. 
• Sirine, a bandit chief. 
• Arn, Roby, Two-shivs and Jul, bandits. 
• Gerrick, the law north of the river. 
• Lovint Kroth, the law south of the river. 
• Iron Scorpion Nine, an efficient and unforgiving military officer. 

That's a lot of characters, but in most cases you don't really need to know much more about them. In the expanded version, they might get a sentence of description. 

Because you have been patient, have this photo of a Reaper Bones model I painted for an upcoming game ambushing some hapless barbarians.

The ridged texture of the thing's exoskeleton made it an ideal candidate for my usual speed-painting practice of priming grey, drybrushing up from there and applying colour using washes.