Odd NPC Vendors for Your Magical World: The Clockwork Menagerie
Meet the Proprietor: Cogsworth Brindlepin, Gnome Clockwright Extraordinaire
Cogsworth Brindlepin is a brass-smudged, wild-haired gnome whose spectacles constantly slide down his nose as he peers at the faintest whir of movement. His workshop-coat is stitched with dozens of small holsters — each holding a wind-up key of a different size or material. When he talks, his words click in rhythm with his gestures, and the faint sound of gears turning can be heard from inside his mechanical arm.
He claims to be “the world’s leading expert in animatronic affection,” though his creations often disagree — loudly, chirpingly, or by launching small fireworks.
Cogsworth’s shop, The Clockwork Menagerie, is a cluttered maze of brass cages, ticking perches, and spinning mobiles. Small mechanical birds perch on chandeliers, a bronze cat stalks the rafters, and something vaguely resembling a dragon naps atop the counter — puffing out polite bursts of steam. Get more whimzzical shop owner here.
“Living pets are messy, unpredictable, and hungry! My creations? Only hungry for maintenance! Buy now, before they learn the concept of freedom!”
— Cogsworth Brindlepin
What’s Really Going On?
Cogsworth isn’t entirely sure whether he’s creating machines or nurturing life. His workshop hums with minor enchantments that occasionally “wake up” his inventions — some develop personalities, others vanish entirely for days on end, returning with trinkets they claim they “found.”
He swears he once built a mechanical unicorn, but it galloped into the Astral Plane mid-demonstration and hasn’t written since.
He means well, but the boundary between tinkering and creation is growing thinner every day.
Cogsworth’s Clockwork Curiosities
| Item Name | Cost (gp) | Effect / Quirk | Odd Requirement to Purchase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind-Up Owl | 75 | Records and repeats up to 1 minute of speech; may add unsolicited commentary | Must solve a riddle posed by Cogsworth |
| Pocket Golem | 150 | Small brass construct (AC 15, 10 HP) that can lift up to 100 lbs for 10 minutes | Trade a personal trinket for its “heart gear” |
| Clockwork Cricket | 20 | Chirps every hour on the hour; sometimes tells the time wrong on purpose | Bring him something that makes noise |
| Steam Rat | 50 | Crawls along surfaces and detects nearby heat sources | Feed it a drop of oil from your pack |
| Tinkertop Fox | 200 | Miniature mechanical fox familiar (uses cat stats, immune to poison) | Must play fetch until it “likes” you |
| Self-Winding Key | 35 | Rewinds any non-magical clockwork instantly; has a 10% chance to explode in confetti | Tell Cogsworth your birthday |
| Gearbird Swarm Jar | 120 | Releases a dozen tiny bird automatons that create harmless distraction for 1 minute | Sing them a song as you open the jar |
| Chrono-Mouse | 90 | Once per day, can “pause” for 6 seconds (freezes in midair, ignoring gravity) | Promise not to use it for “time crimes” |
| Bronze Hound Collar | 60 | Allows control of any friendly mechanical beast within 30 ft | Must pet the bronze hound without flinching |
| Echo Engine | 250 | Records 10 seconds of a sound and replays it at triple volume | Say something inspirational into it |
Using The Clockwork Menagerie in Your Campaign
For Players:
- Buy a companion for flavor — or a spy!
- Customize your clockwork pet with tinkering tools or enchantments.
- Roleplay the growing personality of your construct — does it call you “master” or “friend”?
For DMs:
- Use Cogsworth as a quest hook for artificer-related adventures.
- Have some of his creations go missing and start a small “mechanical uprising.”
- Turn the Menagerie into a hub for crafting and eccentric side quests.
Adventure Hooks
The Missing Gear. One of Cogsworth’s most important constructs — a mechanical unicorn with a planar compass — has gone missing. It was last seen heading toward a leyline.
Clockwork Conspiracy. Several of his creations are behaving strangely, whispering about “The Great Mechanism.” Could something sentient be building itself through them?
The Bronze Bazaar. A rival artificer opened a “biological improvement shop” across town. The rivalry has escalated to petty sabotage — and the players are caught in the middle when the sabotage goes explosively wrong.
Thanks for reading! Until Next Time — Stay Whizical, Stay Nerdy! 
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