What's your favorite kind of high level "friendly" NPC?

[Neo Phonelobster Prime]

we use that term to refer to NPC's of this kind as "self-insertion" or "DM-Penis"

We yourself buddy I've never been fond of the term and it isn't all that widely used. But no, I wasn't challenging the term, I was challenging your use of exactly the thing you are referring to with that term.

What does the penis aspect of your NPC bring to the table?

Your answer of "Uuuum, a spell I needed? I guess?" does not convince me that it is bringing anything to the table other than your penis.

And the point of the rarity of use, it's more of a dismissal as an edge case than an opening for a defense for advising to doing these things at some acceptable rate per table hour.

Edge cases are by definition incapable of operating as a general rule.

[Krusk]

If I'm going to do a DM-Penis character, I usually have them doing background stuff, or if they are doing something in the adventure, it still includes the PC's in some way. Maybe they're holding off a powerful threat that showed up, while the PC's handle the rabble, or the NPC needs the PC's to guard him while he completes a complex ritual. Another, is they show up, do something awesome that lets the PC's progress, while they then handle the rabble for the PC's to get to the Boss Fight (Or maybe they have to go back before the Dick Wizards show up, return to Power Battery, or to guard a thing).

For what its worth, these sound like exactly the sort of scenarios that get me to roll my eyes and check out while the DM narrates to themselves. The only one that might get a pass is the protect me while I do a ritual scenario, but that could go one of two ways. 1 - The NPC needs to complete a ritual to solve a plot for you (fuck off). or 2 - The entire quest is that the NPC hired some bodyguards, could be fine, even if it sounds like a short arc.

[The Adventurer's Almanac]

I remember one time I started a campaign with a high-level friendly NPC in the party, helping everyone guard the empress. He was a real knowledgeable, driven, yet charismatic dude. Then an even higher level enemy showed up and wasted that guy in two rounds.
That sure got everyone's attention.

[Sigil]

I've been observing this thread with some amount of amusement because I've been playing in a recurring game where a majority of the important and friendly NPCs are in fact much higher level than the party and we've been enjoying it, a game of Fiends and Fortresses that Kaelik is running (and both I and Fox are playing in.) At this point all of the party has various leadership positions in our fortress under the same up and coming faction. The interests of all the factions are broadly aligned in that we want the continued defense and security of the fort, but there's friction in how we want to go about that and exactly how much of the forts resources we're squirreling away for personal gain. Sometimes we have problems that we solve on our own so we can take all the glory and loot, sometimes we have events that suddenly work out in our favor because a guy that could instantly flatten us with a giant summoned rock shows up (Shout out to my boy Felix) and just fixes it while we bumble around, sometimes we do things that we dont want anyone to know about and we have to consider if it's worth it to annoy the conservative hide-in-a-hole faction if they find out, and sometimes we try to take over a flying fortress on our own and need to call in backup later and admit that we just have to share the loot.

Overall its been great fun, gives us some leeway to make risky decisions because we feel like we might be able to convince someone to help us if things go wrong (like revealing your location to your fiendish creator by using ritual magic).

[Neo Phonelobster Prime]

a game of Fiends and Fortresses that Kaelik is running

Pretty much none of that post is relevant to topic. Except maybe the bit that reads kinda like a parody/strawman of a GM using an NPC as cover for Deus Ex Machina when the Players paint themselves into a corner and at least one player not noticing that.

I feel like Kaelik would want to insert some probably reasonable provisos, but as you describe it...

I mean really "We all love the Rocks Fall You All Die man, he just suddenly turns up in a nick of time when we need him!". No, come on, really? Nothing twigging for you there?

[Foxwarrior]

Pretty much none of that post is relevant to topic.

Darn.

he just suddenly turns up in a nick of time when we need him!".

Hey, it made sense at the time.

[Sigil]

Pretty much none of that post is relevant to topic.

You can think it's stupid, but if you read the title it's literally on topic.

[Neo Phonelobster Prime]

You can think it's stupid, but if you read the title it's literally on topic.

You spoke about interactions with Factions. You said there were (non-specific) over powered friendly NPCs that were in the setting. You described some events that happened this one time at band camp on a flying fortress that probably involved some NPCs but not specifically overpowered ones (a fair sign those events either didn't involve over powered NPCs, or didn't have to). You for no reason placed your PCs as being in faction leadership positions, placing you exactly on par with the only thing you have told us about the vague "over powered NPCs" that are there doing... something (which calls into question why, or even if, faction leaders of other factions are that much over powered in comparison)

You only spoke at all clearly and specifically about one high level NPC that you interacted with or described the actions or properties there of.

The description amounted to only a literal character ability to cause Rocks Fall you all die.

And the interaction described was that when your party succeeds he doesn't turn up and you get rewards. And when you party fails he (more than once) suddenly appears and "fixes" your cock ups (bumbling around) so you don't have to face the consequences of failure.

I'm sure you thought you were talking about a BUNCH of high level NPCs. But you didn't. You failed to actually give the relevant connections and descriptions. You gave us one guy and described it in a way that was unflattering, probably so much so that it's unfairly unflattering.

Factions existing, even powerful ones are not over powered NPCs. Being concerned about a Faction being a potential threat if you act certain ways does not require over powered NPCs and says nothing about over powered NPCs, much less friendly ones. Which is fine, because while you claimed they were somewhere in there... you didn't describe anything else about what there were like or what they were doing.

Sharing a tough job and it's rewards... does not require over powered NPCs. Which is fine, because again, you didn't include any in your description of that event.

Even a deus ex machina intervening suddenly multiple times to save you from consequences when you "bumble" doesn't require over powered NPCs, but at least this time you actually remembered to include an NPC that seems to have an over powered ability, or at least an ability that sounds like precisely THE archetypal joke "fuck you I'm GM" rocks fall you all die ability.

And that's why that was the only bit actually on topic.

I don't care if this one time there was a flying fortress, include a specific NPC, describe how it is over powered, why it had to be, and describe your interactions with the NPC that were so good and pleasing. No one cares about being afraid of the police or splitting the bill with mercenaries at a restaurant, those things aren't over powered NPCs.

[MGuy]

The title of the thread isn't why you 'require' a high level npc. Probably wanna check that thread title again.