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How do you handle hirelings in #bx #ose #osr?
I don't think the rules do a good job explaining what do you can use them for. I like a clearer distinction between something like a porter or torchbearer and a full blown retainer. My players really struggle to justify sharing treasure and therefore xp for a retainer no matter what advantages they could bring to the table.
I can also see the use of mercs and specialists but the whole domain play thing isn't really something we are utilizing
@elmcat you're right, this is left so loose in most systems. In my heartbreaker, I ended up splitting henchmen into two groups: hirelings and allies.
Hirelings will never fight in combat or risk their lives stupidly but only receive a daily wage rather than shares of treasure. These are usually torch bearers, scholars, lookouts, etc. Allies will fight, have a level and class, and demand a share of the treasure.
@imnotsupposedtogetjigsinit do you give your players a list of different hireling types? I think most of the time my players just don't know how to utilize them and I'm thinking of offering certain types to make it clear.
I do something similar with retainers/allies but couldn't convince the group to give up more shares. So my current solution is the npc gets a share from the person who is hiring them. In this way it doesn't need a group consensus to hire people
@elmcat I also do retainers on an individual, rather than group basis for exactly the same reason. The individual PC gives up treasure, not the group, and the ally is loyal only to that PC specifically.
As for types of hirelings, I do advertise it during rumor-gathering. The PCs might get hints as to what kinds of hirelings and gear would be useful.
@imnotsupposedtogetjigsinit okay cool! Don't know yet if I want to obscure too much what a hireling can do. So I'm thinking the hireling will introduce themselves as and say what they want to do/are good at.
But I like coupling it with some rumors and use it to find more specialized people!
@elmcat in my BX games they're used as a few things: backup characters, extra muscle, and errand runners.
When a primary character dies a lot of people will just switch to playing their retainer. They're often used at my table to round out parties that are too small or for venturing into dungeons that seem too dangerous. My players generally don't mind missing out on some extra gold or XP to know that they have the safety of numbers.
@bluelander interesting. The idea of backup characters is certainly compelling!
How much fleshed out is a retainer then in your game? Like do you determine all the stats or does this happen once a hireling becomes a primary character?
@elmcat It depends on the group, some people like having them fleshed out and others flesh them out whenever it becomes necessary for whatever reason.
@elmcat In my groups things are less mechanically defined. PC 1 says that he needs a torchbearer, PC 2 feels that they need fighting support. They enter the proverbial tavern and keep their eyes open. The GM has to come up with suitable choices. Maybe a lower level fighter would like to support them demanding outrages amounts in return. Maybe that guy turns out to be a coward. Maybe he has a hidden agenda leading the PCs to a trap and so on… Preparing a list of npc traits/ quirks 1/2
@elmcat 2/2 … can be helpful, but imho don’t exaggerate. It should be helpful for the GM. It shouldn’t constrain the game.
@guennarr I realized the problem is just that my players don't really know what they can be used for outside of combat and I did not really a good job of showing this to them. And for combat itself it seemed silly to waste treasure on them for what they can handle themselves according to their heroic fantasy background in RPGs.
So I made really small tweaks. But really it's now just about educating everyone and offer better examples.
Definitely gonna use your tip about a list of traits!