Henchmen and Hirelings

This is the third, and possibly the last (for now) post on adventuring parties and their impacts on the local environment. This time I am going to discuss henchmen and hirelings. You will have to forgive me if I mis-remember the rules on henchmen etc. as I no longer have my 1st Edition AD&D manuals and it all comes from memory of playing as a kid.

In the previous posts, I mentioned that I used to hire men-at-arms and so on prior to mega-dungeon expeditions; mostly as treasure/supply bearers but also as additional cannon fodder. However, thinking back on what I wrote yesterday I seem to recall that there were four types of NPC character aides available to an AD&D character, namely Henchmen, Hirelings, Followers and Retainers. So, who and what are these types of underling?

Henchmen, followers and retainers, to my mind, are loyal to the character due to their force of character or esteem (usually based on the Charisma stat), but hirelings are only there for the money, and so may butt out when the going gets tough or the money runs out.

Henchmen - If I recall correctly, a character can hire a henchman X amount of levels lower than themselves at any time after the characters themselves attain a certain level depending upon the Charisma stat. They will be loyal and fight for the character even when the going gets tough. That said, they will not tolerate being abused too often, so a decent share of the treasure will always be welcomed. So, it is generally down to the player as to when the charcater should take one on, bearing in mind that there is also a limit to the numbers that can be hired. Where would these NPCs be found though? I cannot recall the exact rules, but I guess they would be encountered in cities etc. and will have tracked down the characters owing to their fame and good fortunes and ask to join the band in their service. Alternatively, this is my modern mind kicking in as I cannot remember if I did this or not, if an NPC is rescued or encountered on an adventure then there was a possibility she may join the list of those retained by that character.

Retainers and Followers - Upon reaching a certain level, fighters got castles, wizards got towers and other classes got whatever they aspired to according to their class; and it was filled with attendant NPCs. Again, these would be loyal followers at mostly '0' level but I recall that some could be higher level and act as sub-leaders (retainers?). Back in the day I always made sure my characters built their stronghold from their accrued treasure and, as a result, would spend hours poring over the DMG costing out all the relevant parts that made up the abode. I would then fill it with the correctly rolled amount of followers and organise them into patrols, units and so on. I saw these edifices as the place into which the retired character would return after their final adventure and begin to get involved in local politics. They would become future NPCs that hired new bands of heroes to do their bidding. But, where do their retainers come from? A dozen or so may be easy to pick up from the surrounding villages and towns but if a fighter needs 100+ men-at-arms then that would put a strain on any locale. In the past I just rolled the number and they were there. Nowadays, I would have to say that they arive in dribs and drabs until the final number is achieved in order to reduce the impact on the local populace.

Hirelings - These are the NPCs that are hired to carry out certain tasks on a short term basis: men-at-arms to fight alongside the PCs in dungeons, guard caravans or baggage trains whilst the PCs tackle the dungeon itself, or an apothecary to brew a potion, or a diviner to tell ones future and so on. When to hire these NPCs was determined by the skill sets that the party did not have, how much coin they had available and whether any were actually available for hire in that particular locale. Like with all people that can be hired, they are more fickle than the more loyal followers and henchmen; when the payments stop, so do they.

To hire a, ahem, hireling the cost is usually just a fee for their work or time; usually calculated by consulting the tables in the DMG and working it from there. The more loyal followers and henchmen will need to be looked after by the characters they are associated with otherwise dissention will breed (albeit no-where as quickly as with hirelings). This will be a more long-term cost as their upkeep will need to be met on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. Henchmen, as they take a share of the treasure, are easier to accommodate; no treasure equals no pay, but if there is a large hoard, then they will get their fair share. These, to me, are your typical hearthguard-type warriors as opposed to those called up for military service by a lord due to land ties - local fyrd-type warriors and thanes would come into this class as followers and retainers.

Adventurer retirement, as mentioned above, would be a time for the characters to rest on their laurels (unless the threat is huge) and become patrons for the new generation of heroes. If a new threat is exposed, they will no longer ride out to meet it themselves but will provide aid in the form of supplies and manpower (at a cost). This brings me to the final point of this post - what effect does this have on the local population and economy?

If a party breeze into a village, hire on all the local manpower and then proceed to lose them all in their latest dungeon escapade, the widows, orphans and old folk left behind will not be able to keep the village functioning when it comes to harvest or sowing time. The villagers would either starve, abandon their homes to go live with relatives, or start new lives anywhere their local lord would, or could, accommodate them. The lord would be furious as he would then be seriously out of pocket. Likewise, when a character gets to that certain level and acquires her retainers and followers, where do they come from? As mentioned above, the local city would be better as there are more numbers and a more diverse bunch of trades available. However, kitting out a castle with 100+ men-at-arms, or filling a cloister with dozens of clerics might draw suspicious looks from other local land holders or religious orders. Rivalries could build and spill over into violence and raiding.

 

So, where does this leave me with today's gaming? In the Frostgrave campaign I am currently prepping for, what are the people who follow Balthazar classed as? Dave, the apprentice, must be classed as a henchman; he is loyal and will be rewarded richly by the transfer of knowledge and some major treasure items. The initial band of soldiers that follow Balthazar will be classed as followers or retainers; they are paid out of the imaginary extraneous loot, but follow out of friendship (or coersion, but that is another story) and will die for their leader. However, if any of the said adventurers do die and have to be replaced, then their replacements must be hirelings, as they are brought into the fold with a one-off stipend. That said, and this is not covered in the rules from what I could see on my initial trawl through, what happens if they are not treated well? Could this be the place to write that loyalty table that is rolled upon after every adventure?