D&D Followers; Henchmen and Hirelings

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One of the areas I am asked most often about is D&D Followers such as Henchmen and Hirelings. In this video I will discuss how I use Henchmen, what types of followers are common in D&D and why hirelings can be a fun part of old school D&D to involve in your campaigns.
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D&D Followers; Henchmen and Hirelings

[@robchristensen9678]

In a Barrowmaze game, a few of the party’s retainers failed their morale check between adventures so they declined the offer to join the PCs for another delve. One of them was the butt of many jokes and the other was a Chaotic cleric. So I had these ex-henchmen form their own rival NPC party and they bushwhacked the PCs a few sessions later. I love henchmen in games. Great video Daniel!

[@BanditsKeep]

Nice! This seems a great way to make the world more “real” and to show players they need to treat their henchmen well or there can be consequences

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Perfection.

[@abethecop1]

Genius!!

[@SusCalvin]

Henchmen with class levels are almost junior adventurers anyways. They're the ones who get picked as spare PCs first when original PCs die or retire. After a longer campaign it's not strange that a third of the party are "elevated henchmen" PCs by the end. The player is usually familiar with their own henchmen. They can slip them right into the game with background, gear, mannerisms, name and everything. Even in the middle of a fight.

[@krystal2423]

One piece of advice Daniel doesn't give is if a giant four-armed ape asks you nicely to free him from his shackles, don't do it! You'll save the lives of a bunch of retainers that way. ;-)

[@BanditsKeep]

I’ve heard legends of such things.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Oddly-specific

[@TheLordUrban]

I usually run my players’ hirelings and retainers for them. To me this helps with the illusion that they are are distinct individuals rather than members of a player controlled hive mind.

[@BanditsKeep]

Makes sense

[@lairdbarron5297]

Prior to lord level (and the arrival of followers) we always maintained a camp of scores of professionals--blacksmiths, cooks, coopers, animal handlers, merchants, mercs, etc, etc. Sometimes retainers joined dungeon delves, but generally they guarded the camp, participated in overland patrols, fort sieges, and so forth. Between this and maintaining a stronghold, the myth of "there's too much gold in the OSR!) wasn't a thing. You could never ever have enough treasure.

[@BanditsKeep]

Indeed

[@hendrikvanleeuwen9110]

Henchmen are also good for 'side quests' or escapades that might not be a good fit for the actual characters because of class or alignment or whatever. Say the party is in a major city for a month so the wizard can research new spells. In that time the thief wants to steal an artifact from a temple. There is no way the wizard will break his study and it all has to be done behind the back of the Paladin. Rather than run a solo minigame or rely on heavy abstraction, have the wizard and paladin players choose suitable characters from among the parties henchmen that would be up for the adventure.

[@SusCalvin]

This happened in our megadungeon adventure where everyone played with secondary characters. It took a week back and forth between our base camp and the frontier town. Sometimes we visited the place to cash in loot and resupply. We didn't like it, it was a hive of scum and villainy! There was always a patrol from the expedition on these trips, with idle secondary PCs and henchmen. There was usually something going on in town, there was an ice cult in the area and corrupt slavers in town. It was a nice hub where you could get a feel for the region at large. The expedition mostly stayed in its own fortified camp and tried to keep townie drama out but you gotta sell weird marble statues somewhere. One of the PCs was stalked by cultists, there was an Illusioned hag on the road one week, we're still not sure what ate the mountain lions but we were frickin' scared of it.

[@BlackJar72]

This is basically how I handle retainers, though my players met their first by rescuing them (and they died next session). I basically told them their followers were technically NPC but they could control them as long as they didn't have them be suicidal or do something totally out of character and that they had moral.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a great way to get new players used to the idea of henchmen.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Same. Sometimes players develop their personality and end up playing multiple characters in the same game. That’s when a story arc for a once non player character leads him to sacrifice himself for the party. To give his friends a chance to flee, he’d distract the great beast. He looks once at the woman he’s fallen in love with over the previous month of danger and trials and dashes across the monsters path calling fir its attention. He saw them all swiftly move past behind it and out of the cave. He’d hoped he could get away but it was enough that they had- that she had escaped. Try as he would, he couldn’t shake the beast and was far from being able to outrun it. How unexpected of the selfish, gruff, toxic man’s-man of the group. Even more unexpected was how hard the entire game table would take his death. It was sad for two sessions, remembering and memorializing him. The players had really felt his change as he grew. You can make the coolest most awesome npc you ever wanted but you can’t choose who your players will feel for. They saved a bunch of nobody’s, made them stand up for each other and work together instead of waiting to be protected. They forced them to change and kept them alive long enough to grow. when they had become the player’s characters I let them be exactly that.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Hiring an extra dwarf or elf means dealing with their racial and cultural nemesis. That dwarf may drop his tool kit and rush into a battle instead of coming with the party when he sees his hated foe dash down a side tunnel.

[@BanditsKeep]

Indeed!

[@GreedyDrunk92]

Which hated foe? Elf, orc, goblin, hobgoblin, or another dwarf? I need specifics 😢

[@WilliamFurby]

How I deal with retainers: Treasure shares is left up to the players. Retainers do not take any XP from the party, they automatically receive half the XP of the hiring character. This makes it still a benefit, but they also go up in level so that they can handle the greater dangers of later adventures.

[@BanditsKeep]

Cool

[@anadice9489]

One of the things I love about hirelings is that it gives me an excuse to play a charismatic character, especially in a game where either social encounters are more roleplay-based or the adventures the group goes on are simply very light on social interaction. The strong guy hits hard, the dexterous guy shoots precisely, so on, but then here I am with my little squad of retainers. Even if you're not using hirelings/retainers to pad out party size (say, for smaller groups of players), it gives the character with really high charisma something really broadly useful to use it on. Especially in older/old-school games where you don't really have things like charisma casters, who needs a bunch of bonuses to spellcasting when I've got my posse of guys to help me out? Also, super personal bias here, it lets me sort of play myself in D&D (or whatever other game), since realistically, my biggest advantage if I were to be dropped into a fantasy world would be my ability to get others to join up and aid me in my endeavors. Of course, the party by itself is kind of that, but still, that bit extra where I've got my own little circle of buddies who join me on adventures, I'll always like that.

[@BanditsKeep]

Makes sense

[@TKFKU]

Ah red shirts. Pay them a week up front and let them guard the wagon you'll need to take all that loot back with. Easy gigs the first few times, get them drunk, buy them women (or whatever floats their goat). Really build that trust and loyalty. THEN take them to the Tomb of Horrors and let them hold the ten foot pole.

[@BanditsKeep]

As long as they get a share of the Lich’/ treasure!

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Stack those morale bonuses!

[@someguy403]

Lmfao

[@stevekillgore9272]

Well played !

[@danielrowan4716]

In our campaign the party has two “henchmen”, a 4th level Ranger and 5th level Barbarian. The party is 8-10th on average. I award the henchmen a half share of experience and the PCs decide what to pay them. Usually a half share as well.

[@BanditsKeep]

Nice!

[@SusCalvin]

We do the same. The henchmen demand a half-share of cash, that is non-negotiable. They use their own cash for their own expenses of lodging, food and mundane equipment. Fighters will buy themselves a mail suit etc. They do not demand magical treasure, but in practice they will take hand-me-down magic weapons the PCs can't use. My PC wizard has equipped her goons with magical weapons. A magical spear sitting dead in inventory is better used by even a level 3 fighter henchman.

[@Akinohotarubi]

I started playing around the time 3.5 was released (meaning I had to buy the PHB and the DMG twice but that's beside the point) and when I look back at how we played the first couple game I think we would have been better off with those older edition rules, some players tried to describe how they would strike the foes and tried to be creative about fighting, only to be disapointed to find out that's not how you were supposed to play this game. We were also 3 players and nobody rolled a cleric so the DM made a character who, now that I'm starting to learn about the retainers rules, was effectively an hireling who would just heal us, cast protection spells on us and turn undead (well she did throw a rock at a skeleton once), despite the rule not existing and none of us knowing it existed. We liked her so much she became fast friend with everyone in the party, my rogue maxing out the affinity/morale chart the DM had made-up for the occasion in the first couple of games. After that, whoever was the DM was in charge of her, but she was not quite a DMPC either, she always had a her share of the loot and XP and leveled the same as the rest of us. Nowadays I think most of the table would shrug those idea off, but it just goes to show how your first edition shapes the way you think the game is played. Coincidentally, that might gave me an angle to try to persuade them to switch to something like that in the future, as I've begun to devellop a taste for OSR stuff over the years (not to mention I'm severely burnt out on Pathfinder).

[@livecatgrenades]

Actually they did exist in the arms and equipment book of all things. Still good deal

[@MaxUgg]

yes i would be interested in you taking about mass combat. both army vs army and say 50 v 50 so two different scales but both well above 'normal' d&d combat numbers

[@BanditsKeep]

Cool, it’s something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately

[@SusCalvin]

Birthright for AD&D 2e, by the very end of TSR, was the setting built on domain play. They had a mass combat system where you rolled out a little grid map and pushed around cards (cheaper than miniatures) to fight eachother. Each card representing a company of archers, knights, dwarf guards etc.

[@Vasious8128]

I always think that PC parties should function like an actual mercenary company, or pirate ship I suppose and write up a charter with how expenses, medical costs, death benefits, shares and bonuses. And Actually have a physical (or digital I guess these days) copy of it.. Formalizes the game mechanic in a roleplay way, and is a cool record if you have the names of the characters on the document over time After all the Party or Adventuring company succeeds or fails as a whole and everyone benefits from the Companies skills pooled

[@BanditsKeep]

This could be a cool relic of a campaign. With new PCs listed and those who perished noted etc.I like it.

[@SusCalvin]

Being part of something larger than just a loose band of come-and-go dungeoneering goons gives the campaign some structure. The PCs stand out as a force in the region from the start. When you show up waving the danish flag people go "Oh, it's those guys". The entire roster of active PCs could get whacked, and their replacements would be dudes from inside this organisation who just continue their mission. The organisation as a whole has developed relations, goals and character and new PCs latch onto that continuation. We haven't used something fancy like a charter yet. We've summed every hireling and dog and space fighter into a monthly expenditure. We've run terran space exploration missions, pirate crews, a band of street thugs expanding and extorting a turf, an embassy of the danish crown to the Moon, a large-scale expedition looting a megadungeon etc.

[@Smegead]

Recall the dwarf company at the beginning of the Hobbit had such a charter they read out to bilbo.

[@SusCalvin]

@@Smegead That's a good entrepreneur-hobo charter. I think the dwarfs are part financiers as well. They've invested shares in the company.

[@DarkHorseCom]

A blast from the past for sure, clearing out some of the cobwebs in my brain. It was my experience that sometimes it was necessary to outfit Merc's, to make sure they had what they needed to do their job. Some though may think since they are looking to be hired they should already be properly equipped. Thank you for doing this video.... explaining distribution of XP's and treasure. These are the things that truly round out an adventure. Thanks Daniel!

[@BanditsKeep]

That is an interesting point, henchmen who get more treasure must be equipped by the PCs but mercenaries come with gear

[@LightBulbPlayz]

So my untested way of encouraging hirelings is to tie them into when a PC dies. I plan to follow that a hireling gets 1/2 share of party loot, and they get 1/2 that gold as XP. Essentially 1/4 of what a PC gets. Here comes the tie in. When a PC dies, they can roll up a new character and we will collectively work them back into the party asap OR they can gain permanent control of a hireling. In which case they add the half XP of their former PC to whatever the hireling had. Effectively giving them about 3/4 of their old XP value. I'm only just beginning my journey into the OSR, but I figure this gives them freedom go however they want, but still can encourage smart play by use of retainers and helps keep some level of immersion so we don't have to find a new fighter in every other room.

[@BanditsKeep]

That sounds like a good solution, let me know how it works out!

[@SusCalvin]

We've found that a half-share of gold, in a system where gold=xp, keeps henchmen just a couple levels below The players don't feel like xp is "wasted" when it ticks into a hench, who just might be their future PC. I'm always cautious of systems where xp is thrown out into the air, just the same as systems where xp is generated from nothing.

[@lordbalthosadinferni4384]

Paying out portion of your own share seems a very fair way to divy up treasure with henchemen; that way, your allies aren't losing out and your henchemen has increased motivation to help (morale!). In my games, players are always free to hire on extra hands at a set rate if any are available (dealing with mercenary organizations or independents), and I create specialist NPCs of various quality (and price). I leave the acquisition of followers to roleplay. Player characters can convince NPCs to join them under whatever terms they negotiate. Though, I do limit the number of followers (not hirelings though; if you can afford an army you can have one).

[@BanditsKeep]

Cool

[@Grimlore82]

Sweet! Such an essential part of this era of D&D.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure!

[@CaptCook999]

We didn't typically hire many hirelings or henchman. Most of the time that we did the characters were higher level and hiring guards to protect a "stronghold" of some sort. One time it was a house, another was a small fort and then there was a cave that we took from the Drow. That one had to be heavily guarded and it cost us dearly.

[@BanditsKeep]

Nice

[@Frolmaster]

In all my years of playing, my group never used Hirelings and Henchmen. I really like the idea but in my opinion, players are reluctant to use them because they don't want their share of XP / Gold to be diluted.

[@BanditsKeep]

I tend to agree - perhaps start them with 0 level humans as load bearers etc that gain no XP.

[@Frolmaster]

I had my players start right away as members of a company of mercenary. That way, it'll be easy to give them access to henchmen if they ever decide to use them.

[@matthewkirkhart2401]

I think the OSR element is important in this. We always use retainers when we playB/X or White Box, or OSE. We never use them when we play 3.5/Pathfinder or 5E. Why? Because we die in the OSR games if we don’t use them, while we never need them in a 5E or Pathfinder game. Unless the party is at least 8 characters in an OSR game, we end up losing half the party if. We don’t have at least a few retainers.

[@BanditsKeep]

@@matthewkirkhart2401 for sure!

[@DAEDRICDUKE1]

My current party is too scared to not have flunkies help, gold is good but useless if were dead

[@dvaesdindzi]

Thank you for this topic. As I'm new to OSR, I was trying to figure out how to best implement henchmen in my game. Your video was very helpful.

[@BanditsKeep]

Awesome, glad to help!

[@armorclasshero2103]

Its supposed to be that henchmen and retainers get a full share, but they only get the benefit of half a share for level up purposes. IE they require 2x as much xp to level up. This prevents them from surpassing the PCs.

[@BanditsKeep]

I prefer the way I do it 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SusCalvin]

In AD&D 2e, henchmen simply retire from service if they out-level their PC master. They think they've finished their adventuring apprenticeship, sort of. They are still around in the world. They can be on good terms with their former mentors and show up as temporary allies.

[@rossm7346]

The almighty algorithm provides. I was just wondering how best to handle this in B/X / OSR type games.

[@BanditsKeep]

Excellent!

[@SusCalvin]

Rogue Trader the RPG for Warhammer 40k is the game that's given me the most underlings. The PCs start out in command of an imperial spacecraft. A 2,5 km long space-cathedral thing, possibly thousands of years old, with a crew of 200.000 dudes. At any given moment you probably have a goon squad with you. Absolutely no system for doing mass combat with your security detachment of armsmen though. They assume you're going to Kirk it out while your entire regiment of dudes presumably do something in the background. You get to drive the ship around, but I think I would have prefered playing Battlefleet Gothic.

[@BanditsKeep]

Some sort of mass combat would be cool for that (occasionally) I’d think

[@EricScheid]

Having henchmen gain only 50% XP isn't so bad .. once you remember that generally the XP per level tables generally double per level, and thus the henchmen will generally just stay one level behind (instead of at half the levels as one might intuit incorrectly).

[@BanditsKeep]

Exactly

[@rolanejo8512]

Oh yes. I was waiting for this. Thank you.

[@BanditsKeep]

😊😊😊

[@charlesfieltesjunior4381]

I will watch it later but liking and commenting now to support the channel!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks! I appreciated it. Let me know how you like the video when you have a chance to watch

[@charlesfieltesjunior4381]

@@BanditsKeep watched it now during lunch :) I liked it a lot, I thought that in my table it can function as a difficulty adjuster for the game: if the player wants an easier, safer game, just hire retainers. Also the division of XP: I think if you're Level 4 and hire a Level 1 retainer, you get 80% and the retainer gets 20% and so on. I will try this.

[@BanditsKeep]

@@charlesfieltesjunior4381 that sounds like a good idea with the level /split

[@zedexdm]

Fantastic video and just what I needed. THANK YOU Daniel :-)

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@larsbangjensen5332]

Great video and tips regarding henchmen.

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@Emanemoston]

Thanks for the video.

[@BanditsKeep]

You are welcome!

[@cbertstien]

This was so helpful for running labyrinth lord. Thank you souch

[@BanditsKeep]

Excellent

[@zelbarnap]

I enjoy your videos! This is great insight on retainers!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@gebatron604]

interesting video as always

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks 🙏🏻

[@SusCalvin]

Available retainers is an interesting question. I usually allow the PCs to recruit a practically unlimited amount of level 1 human thieves and fighters. Demihuman PCs who can reach a community of fellow demihumans can recruit their mates. A weirdo like a cleric, a magic-user, a druid or such might require some searching. Sometimes a retainer of an odd class or a robot or mutant retainer is "earned" through exploration. The PCs befriend a community of mutants and might end up recruiting a couple. Retainers and animas are run by the players just to make it easy on me. I don't feel like tracking their inventory and hp, or handle them during combat. I got a veto I can use if the players make them take risks and humiliation above and beyond their duty. They routinely roll morale, unlike PCs. As a rule, they never do things a PC wouldn't do themselves.

[@BanditsKeep]

Makes sense

[@SusCalvin]

@@BanditsKeep One rule the players suggested was to alter who "pays" the xp/loot share for a hench. Instead of taking a cut of the entire finding, they take a cut of their PC master. They really don't like how henchmen sponge xp. If there are five PCs and pastor Benjamin the cleric has two henches, they start with dividing xp by five. Then pastor Benjamin divides his share in a full sub-share for himself and a half-share for each hench. It means the players can define a lot more of their henches' personalities and background within reason. We give all henches a roll for a simple personality trait. People have brought their useless slacker cousins, recently freed serfs, drinking buddies etc.

[@OvaltinePatrol]

Good video, gave it a thumbs up.

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks!

[@NegativeHeadspace]

I enjoyed.

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@yourseatatthetable]

I think most player's take awhile to see the wide value of Henchmen and Hirelings. Some misunderstand their purpose. In my experience, the most common uses were to leave them to guard the horses and pack animals, or as a ready supply of back up characters. My first experience with them as a player was back in the early 80's when my Fighter reached a high enough level to have a keep.

[@BanditsKeep]

I guess it just takes one time where the party finds too much treasure to carry, or their horses are stolen to see the value

[@yourseatatthetable]

@@BanditsKeep I cannot count how many discussions break out when the party is actually facing a Dragons hoard. Just getting it to the nearest town can become a campaign of its own.

[@LordSos91]

idk why this came on my feed. ive never even searched the word D&D let alone played it. very irrelevant in my case ;) sounds like some decent information on it tho. keep it up :)

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks! KZbin must think you’d enjoy playing. 😊

[@MemphiStig]

I never had any real experience with these rules, tho I always wanted to get into them. I did try to hire a village of hobbits to help me build a road thru a forest to an old temple. It was rough going, I threw a lot of money at it, and in the end it didn't exactly match my vision, but we got to the temple anyway. Sadly, the game ended shortly after that. But that's another story...

[@ilejovcevski79]

Maybe under impression of the 2E, but i always preferred to treat non PC ( or maybe better labeled NPC) characters different then PCs. As in, say a 2HD city guard, hired or assigned to escort our party of level 2 adventurers is on the surface a fighting man. And being a 2HD character, he's stronger then the basic 1HD variant. But, he is not a level 2 fighter or warrior in the sense that he follows the same rules a player character does when building and leveling up their own character by the PHB. In essence, the guard is a non-PC, ergo non-adventurer. And i like to consider adventurers as a breed apart of the non-adventurers. Non-adventurers don't advance in levels from adventuring like the PCs do. They only advance through specific training or story requirements. And when they do, they don't advance levels in a class like the PC's do. They advance in HD (that is difficulty level) of the monster-profession type they belong to. As to how those levels are built, it would depend on the material. I tend to consult monster manuals for ready-baked examples and possibly tweak them if the exact example needed isn't found. So no need for XP redistribution. And them being HD (CR) based, makes it fairly easy to adjust encounter and campaign difficulty accordingly. So.....i guess i treat them as mercenaries essentially?

[@BanditsKeep]

Sounds like you treat them as mercenaries- which totally works. That’s basically how I handle “non combatants” as well. Only true “henchmen” get the XP/Levels

[@ilejovcevski79]

@@BanditsKeep Roger!

[@nooctip]

Here open this door for me. Hold on while I gaurd our rear. Uhm you do seem to be leaving the room mlord. Relax I'm right here behind you. I need a new job.

[@BanditsKeep]

Indeed

[@CrazedSheep]

First again!

[@BanditsKeep]

Yay!

[@misterschifano]

As a neutral magic user I had a group expect me to pay for my own hirelings, even though their presence would benefit the whole group. So I did. And then, after we had finished the dungeon, I offered to use *detect magic* on the haul. But instead I cast *sleep* and methodically butchered them all. The players were FURIOUS! But sleep is 2d8 HD no save-- old school magic is not to be trifled with-- and while they whined piteously and pored over the description of *sleep,* I happily gained my treacherous experience level, put on the thief's elven cloak, and disbursed all their worldly belongings to my new friends. 🥰

[@RoninCatholic]

Allowing the players to control NOCs directly at all is quite generous.

[@BanditsKeep]

It’s pretty common in the groups I play in. Takes a load off the DM who of course can veto via morale etc

[@RoninCatholic]

@@BanditsKeep Makes sense to me and I see why you do it. I hear a lot of DMs also allow their players direct control over their rangers' and druids' Animal Companions, likewise.

[@sgtbigballs666]

All "combatant" npcs get a full share in our games, cooks and wagon drivers, for example, only get their monthly amounts

[@BanditsKeep]

Cool

[@SusCalvin]

Does this include combatant NPC hirelings who guard the camp and provide security during overland travel?

[@SusCalvin]

A funky rule we noticed in AD&D 2e is that your Charisma sets your max amount of henchmen. For life. A hench that dies under your care is subtracted from this number and new ones take up unused slots. The same if a henchman gets upset with their treatment and leaves because of your actions. I would probably at least rule that henchmen who retire in good humour from simply out-leveling their master or because their own quests take them elsewhere don't cost you a slot.

[@BanditsKeep]

I’ve heard of this rule, but never used it in any games, curious how it works out long term

[@SusCalvin]

@@BanditsKeep TSR explains that this simulates how these dudes are not come-and-go hirelings, they are effectively adventurer apprentices. It really punishes the players if they start tossing henchmen away. Henchmen expect to be Resurrected just like a PC would, or rescued from gnolls. When you have a hench and treat them right, you have them for life in turn. We never played with those rules either, our henches roll morale to see if they stick around for a second job. They're not removed from the world if they quit, they might even still work for the PCs in a rear capacity. A hench can stay in charge of a base camp or a garrison the PCs have set up while they are off doing adventurous stuff.

[@sandman6088]

I quite like this rule. I might just start using it.

[@ZYR47]

At 16:15 way two just doesn't work in my brain, but I don't know why. To me it feels like 1000 gold has just gone missing to the aether. I can see the math works out, but it looks wrong to me anyway.

[@BanditsKeep]

Yeah, depending on how you do it some XP is “lost”

[@starwars90001]

Could you cover being a god in old-school DND?

[@BanditsKeep]

Do you mean with the Immortals box set, or just how I’d do something like that?

[@starwars90001]

@@BanditsKeep yeah the immortal box set.

[@johnwhite2412]

1st level PCs want to hire 1st level fighter henchmen. What is a good offer for pay? 1gp per day? 5gp? 10gp?

[@BanditsKeep]

In BX I typically have them ask for a share of the treasure plus a small amount per day (upfront) 10-60gp - but players tend to offer 100 or more so they get a reaction bonus

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

For trained character-class with levels hirelings, I start the bidding at (level+1)×100 gp per day, and players can haggle down from there - offering % of loot found, etc. For 1st-level NPC classes, like warrior or adept (3rd ed.) rates might start as low as 5 sp to 2 gp per day.

[@SusCalvin]

@@BanditsKeep We found that a standard wage was easier when a large amount of people are involved. That way we don't have to track how well each individual spear-carrier in a group of ten negotiated.

[@florentdemeyere4779]

I am genuinely surprised with this one. I do not understand why you would not make your players give away part of their experience/gold for hirelings. Compare this video where bandit basically allows drastic changes to the rules with most other videos where he tells us how its OK to apply the rules even if it seems harsh/silly/or unfun (ex: 1 spell magic-users). - characters choose to hire people. It is not something that is forced upon them, therefore they have the choice to bargain with the NPCs and try to get a better deal, but I do not see why we should ease the PC's burden with hirelings as they are so optional and really make PC's life safer and easier. If they don't want to share, fine, but then you're on your own, buddy! - if there is no kind of cost (other than paying 15 GP a month or something), then everybody is gonna run the max numbers of retainers they can. Why wouldn't they? they get less chances of being killed, have more chances to get more treasure/XP, all that for (almost) nothing? Make them pay the big price for this massive help. And honestly half a share seems like a right price to pay for basically almost an extra PC. Obviously Bandit is entitled to his opinion, but again, very surprised he is so inclined to mess with retainers rules when he usually does such a great job at sharing how to deal with the B/X rules without changing them.

[@BanditsKeep]

Personally I run the retainers by the book (more or less) I was making suggestions for those who have players that don’t feel comfortable with RAW. Nothing is set in stone, we all should run the games that work for our tables - also I would say it varies from campaign to campaign how these things would play out.

[@florentdemeyere4779]

@@BanditsKeep thanks for many awesome videos regularly tho. Please go on! I feel every of your themes will help

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks!

[@SusCalvin]

@@florentdemeyere4779 We've sometimes separated them into overland and non-combat hirelings who guard camp and perform mundane crafts and labour, these folks are paid a wage and does their relatively mundane duties and no more. People who follow the PCs down into the weird elf-pits to haul up gold and risk spear traps are their inner circle of henchmen, practically junior apprentice adventurers who receive a half-share for taking adventurin' risks down there.