Troll Lord Games

I like to run a sort of grim and dark campaign, where magic is rare, heroes are impossible to find, and adventurers aren't much more than regular joes who are willing to take extreme risks for a bit of coin or a cause, at least until they've survived a few levels; then they start to garner some respect.

This amuses me as a CK, but my players don't necessarily enjoy the low-level weakness. Note, I am playing the A-series pretty much by the book; A0 would have been a TPK for this small band if I hadn't pulled some punches and had them go back for help.

In A0, help took the form of Kiint the Leper who served as a scout and a guide, but wouldn't enter Baleon Nakt. Griffry the Hat is the only healer for miles who might accompany a party, but he has reasons to stay behind, but eventually I relented and let him accompany them (after the requisite roleplaying and catering to his story took place; he wasn't going to go for mere coin).

So, right now, if the party decides they need help, I am mining the adventures for the many citizens who seem to have been placed for that purpose, but more generally, how do you all handle hirelings, henchmen, etc? What do they cost, do you have a level difference limit, or do you just wing it and do what seems to make sense in the story? Any rules on xp or treasure sharing, whether they even have a class or levels, etc...

As I often do I've looked to the AD&D DMG for guidance but I don't find I've ever really played the way they describe. The Umbrage Saga modules seem to suggest an approach of having the characters sweet talk people into coming along but offers no guidance.
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Sir Aergraith Aethelmar of Cyrswud, CaCS,OotF

I use the 1E DMG, UA, and Rules Cyclopedia for my "guidance", but when it comes down to it I go with what makes the most sense at the time. Which is what the 1E DMG tells you should be your final "arbiter" as well.

Fortunately the new CKG will be offering some guidance on this as well, hopefully something I will finally use as written!
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society

Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/

My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames

Since the longer-term games I've run recently have been for kids (starting at 10, now up to 13-14), I've tried to let them play the kinds of characters they want and to fill in the gaps with NPCs that share a common cause with the PCs. In the previous campaign set in my homebrew world, the original party cleric was part of the crew of the ship the PCs were journeying on; when they were shipwrecked, he was the only survivor of the crew. Initial encounters showed the party needed some additional muscle, so a few days later they discovered another survivor, a barbarian mercenary who had been guarding another passenger. Eventually, when some additional players joined, I was able to retire first the barbarian and then the cleric, as these roles were filled by players.
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"I don't wanna be remembered as the guy who died because he underestimated the threat posed by a monkey."

I'm also wondering about, if you do allow some sort of hireling/retainer arrangement, are they in the employ of just one of the characters, so as to exercise their charisma bonus/penalty, and potentially make their treasure a portion of one character's share, or are they hired by the group?

I ask because it seems in RC and 1e it seems to be an individual doing the hiring, but in actual play I haven't really seen this, at least not in recent years.
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Sir Aergraith Aethelmar of Cyrswud, CaCS,OotF

Aergraith wrote:
I'm also wondering about, if you do allow some sort of hireling/retainer arrangement, are they in the employ of just one of the characters, so as to exercise their charisma bonus/penalty, and potentially make their treasure a portion of one character's share, or are they hired by the group?

I ask because it seems in RC and 1e it seems to be an individual doing the hiring, but in actual play I haven't really seen this, at least not in recent years.

That is a situational thing. Again, make your best call and go with it. Modify as needed. You can often use real life reasons, like, "Hey! These terms are a screw job! Give me better terms or I quit!"
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society

Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/

My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames

Aergraith wrote:
As I often do I've looked to the AD&D DMG for guidance but I don't find I've ever really played the way they describe. The Umbrage Saga modules seem to suggest an approach of having the characters sweet talk people into coming along but offers no guidance.

I don't think there is a system out there that could possibly cover every instance, and thus the "eyeball it" nature of most rules like this.

I mean, the 1e DMG goes into a lot of depth concerning pricing, how to find them (the whole section on how much legwork the PCs have to do to get people interested and how long they have to wait for responses), and how they remain loyal, so I'm really not sure what more you'd need. If you're looking for sample contracts, that's pretty easy:

Think about what areas the hireling/cohort is interested in, and have the players draft terms based on that. Consider having a boilerplate for whatever possible areas of negotiation there might be so the PCs have some guidance, but really the end result is a matter of what the players decide to offer, and then you're adjudication of whether or not to negotiate and/or accept.

Terms might include:

- Shares of monetary treasure

- "Picks" (number and order) of special items (magical or otherwise uncommon equipment that might help the character perform their job better)

- Transportation (horses, tack & bridle, that sort of thing)

- Meals & drink

- Lodging if on long journeys

- Expectations of covering a watch at night

- Penalties for insubordination

- Expectations the hireling/henchman might have for the characters ("I'll do whatever you guys want, but you have to help me catch the Wererat that killed my sister if we're already going to be in Winterhaven anyway")

In fact, it might be cool to have each henchman or sub-groups of them that have differing motivations, thus necessitating some different terms to the contract. It personalizes the character-hireling relationship, and might give the PCs oodles of sidequests and other connections to be made throughout the campaign, which of course means one thing to players: more phat lootz!