Hirelings	-	-	-	-
Dragon 119	-	-	-	Dragon

As we move through the personal and
professional segments of our mundane
lives, we often find it necessary to purchase
the services of other people. We hire
mechanics, carpenters, accountants,
plumbers, consultants, programmers,
electricians, writers -- the list goes on
and on.

The introduction in the AD&D® game
PH (page 7) states, "This
game lets all of your fantasies come true.
This is a world where monsters, dragons,
good and evil high priests, fierce demons,
and even the gods themselves may enter
your character's life."

With all this going on in the AD&D game
world, it?s not surprising that characters
occasionally need to hire outside help. It?s
obvious that accountants and programmers
would be of little use, but there are
other types of servants who could be very
h e l p f u l .

The AD&D game rules provide for two
general types of servants: henchmen and
hirelings. Player characters, who often
need all the help they can get, should take
a look at these servitors and be prepared
to make use of their services when
appropriate.

What, then, is a henchman, and what is
a hireling? How are they different, and
how should they be treated, both by a
player (through his character) and by the
DM?

To begin with, let?s define these terms.
According to the AD&D PH,
"A henchman is a more or less devoted
follower of a character. In return
for the use of his or her abilities and talents,
the henchman receives support,
lodging, and a share of his or her master's
or mistress' earnings -- in the form of
stipends or as a share of treasure taken.
Henchmen are always of a character race
and character class, but are never player
characters.?

On the same page (page 39), the PH discusses hirelings thus: ?At any
time, a character may attempt to hire
various different sorts of workers, servants,
or guards. The success of such
hiring is entirely dependent upon availability
of the type desired, wage and bonus
offers, and to some extent the character?s
charisma.?

It then lists typical hirelings: alchemist,
armorer, bearer, blacksmith, crossbowman,
engineer, linkboy, man-at-arms, steward,
teamster, and valet. Other hirelings
listed in the DMG are
the sage, scribe, ship master, spy, and
weapon maker.

As far as PCs are concerned, hirelings
are generally the AD&D game equivalent
of contract labor. Adventuring characters
often have no permanent home (or if they
do, they don?t spend much time there), so
they usually have little concern for hirelings
such as cooks, lackeys, stableboys,
and sweepers ? indeed, the DMG dismisses
these, saying that they ?are assumed
to come with the cost of
maintaining a stronghold,? and are of ?no
concern to the player character? (Although
the PC who believes this may be in
for some nasty surprises; this will be
discussed later.)

But adventuring characters need armor
and weapons, alchemical concoctions,
information, and many other services.
These hirelings can be employed for the
length of the job, then the PC can move on
to the next adventure. If necessary, the
hireling can be employed on a long-term
basis, and might even travel with the PCs.
(A ship master and ship crew are good
examples of this.) The DMG includes the
monthly costs of standard and expert
hirelings.

The henchman is more difficult to define.
The information presented in the
PH, OA, and DMG is contradictory.
In "Notes Regarding Charisma Table," the
PH says "Maximum Number
of Henchmen states the number of
non-player characters who will serve as
permanent retainers of the player character.
It does not affect the number of mercenary
soldiers, men-at-arms, servitors,
and similar persons in the pay of the character.
-- This implies that henchmen are not
paid.

Also, in OA's discussion
of charisma, it says "Maximum Number of
Henchmen states the number of NPCs who
will serve the character as permanent,
unpaid companions."

Yet in the PH, in the
section discussing henchmen, it states, ?In
return for the use of his or her abilities
and talents, the henchman receives support,
lodging, and a share of his or her
master?s or mistress? earnings. . . "
And the DMG section concerning henchmen
is very explicit on the expenses of
locating a henchman and the cost of successful
employment, including initial payment,
equipment, quarters and support,
and activity and shares.
Thus, there are two practical differences
between henchmen and hirelings. One:
henchmen are of a character class that is
available to PCs (fighter, magic-user, bushi,
kensai, etc.), while hirelings are not. Two:
hirelings are paid a specific amount for a
specific job (e.g., an armorer might be paid
400 gp to make a suit of plate armor). The
amount of a henchmen?s pay is not specific,
as it is usually a percentage of the
treasure that his or her master receives.

Hirelings
Doing business with hirelings ought to
be easy for PCs. Such dealings should be
dictated by common sense, and this is one
of the few times in AD&D games that PCs
can draw on their experiences in the real
world to help them make decisions.
As stated earlier, hirelings are essentially
the AD&D games equivalent of contract
labor. Consider, for example, a plumber in
the real world. He offers a service for
which a one-time fee is assessed.
The plumber names a price, which
might seem outrageous. A decision must
then be made: is the price too high, or do
you want the toilet to flush? Sometimes, it
doesn?t matter if the price is exorbitant ?
you must have the service, whatever the
cost. Of course, there are other plumbers;
another might have a lower price. Compe-

tition helps keep the price down.
The same principle applies in AD&D
games. For example, a 7th-level magic-user
might want to manufacture some potions
in preparation for a big adventure. A mage
of that level must work with an alchemist
to prepare potions; in this situation, the
alchemist has the freedom to name his
price. The mage may feel the price is
ridiculous, and at this point he has three
options: pay the price, find another alchemist,
or forget the whole affair.
Hirelings are a little difficult for the DM,
but not much so. The DMG devotes several
pages of text to the subject of hirelings,
including their prices and a
description of their occupations and professions.
The personality of a hireling can
be determined by using the tables under
?Personae of Non-Player Characters? (page
100).

DMs must exercise common sense when
using these tables to create an NPC, so as
not to inadvertently create a contradictory
character. For example, when you get to
the dice roll for intellect, a roll indicating
?dull? would be most inappropriate for a
sage or alchemist.

The same reasoning applies to the tables
within the descriptions of hirelings. If
you?re determining the fields of study for
a sage who lives on a mountaintop, rolls
indicating amphibians, crustaceans and
mollusks, or ichthyoids should be rolled
again.

As mentioned earlier, page 29 of the
DMG states, "Various hirelings of menial
nature are assumed to come with the cost
of maintaining a stronghold; thus, cooks,
lackeys, stableboys, and various servants
are no concern of the player character."

Any player who takes this seriously, who
isn?t concerned about these NPCs wandering
through his stronghold, deserves whatever
fate befalls him. Player characters
should be especially careful about their
cooks, to be sure that no poison is forthcoming
from the kitchen. Even if the PC
spends very little time in the stronghold, it
only takes one meal to do the job.
If a PC sets up a stronghold without
screening the kitchen personnel ? or, at
least, arranging to have the kitchen crew
screened by someone he or she trusts ?
the DM can have some fun with this. Does
the character have any enemies? Is there
anyone who wishes to see him killed?

The kitchen is a natural setting for an
assassination attempt; there are many
ways to attempt. A cook could be bribed
to ?look the other way? while poison is
introduced into the food, or the cook
could be coerced to introduce the poison
himself. Likewise, a cook could be kidnapped
(and, most likely, killed). The assassin
could then apply for a position as cook.
Unless the PC has a careful screening
process, he could easily end up hiring one
or more assassins among the ?menial?
hirelings.

As a final note on hirelings, the PH states ?that the number of
hirelings is in no way limited by charisma,
and hirelings differ considerably from
henchmen. . . . The loyalty of hirelings is
quite similar to that of henchmen, though,
and the discussion of the loyalty of henchmen
can be applied to hirelings of all
sorts."

Player characters should carefully consider
their needs and, more importantly,
their financial status before seeking a
henchman. The presence of a henchman
cuts into a PC?s earnings ? that is, assuming
he can afford to hire the henchman in
the first place.

The first step, naturally, is to locate a
prospect. The DMG lists four methods of
varying costs and degrees of effectiveness
for locating a henchman. Players can use
one or more of these methods in combination.
Each method can be employed only
once a month.
 

Method	cost	Effect.
Posting notices in public	50 gp	10-40%
Hiring a crier	10 gp	1-10%
Hiring agents to seek prospects	300 gp	20-50%
Frequenting inns and taverns	special	special

These percentages are cumulative ?
that is, if a PC posts notices that are 30%
effective and hires agents that are 45%
effective, the base percentage is 75%. But
the DMG suggests the DM ?reduce the
percentage chance of effectiveness of each
method by 5% when used in combination?;
this means that hiring a crier in addition
to some other form of advertising is more
likely to reduce the effectiveness of the
search.

For example, suppose a player posts
notices in public that are 40% effective. He
then hires a crier, which we?ll suppose is
10% effective. The base percentage is
50%, but because of the duplication of
effort, each methods effectiveness is reduced
5%, for a 10% loss of effectiveness.
The base percentage is still 40%, and the
PC has thrown away the 10 gp that he
paid the crier.

That was a best-case scenario; usually, a
crier is less than 10% effective, so by
hiring a crier, the player loses more than
he gains. If this rule is followed, it seems
that hiring a crier is not worthwhile, unless
that is the only method employed.

At the bottom of page 35, the DMG gives
an example in which the PC uses all four
methods to try to find a henchman. The
total percentage in the example comes to
78%, then 15% is subtracted: ?use of 3
methods beyond the first at -5% per
method.?

The example doesn?t quite follow the
rule set in the preceding paragraph. This
contradiction is probably best resolved by
following the example, rather than the
stated rule. That way, there?s a chance that
hiring a crier will be effective. If the crier
?s effectiveness is 5%, there is no gain or
loss (apart from the player throwing away
10 gp). If it?s greater than 5%, the player is
actually getting something for his money;
if it?s less, then he?s reduced the total effectiveness
by hiring the crier.

Among humans and half-orcs, only one
character in 100 is suitable to serve as a
henchmen. Among other races, the ratio is
1 in 50. But most of these characters are
adventurers who are satisfied with their
current situation, and will not consider
serving as a henchman. On the average,
only one character out of every 1,000
considers employment as a henchman.
(Naturally, the DM must adjust this ratio if
the area is not ?average.? If the locale is an
active adventuring area, the ratio of prospective
henchmen might be as high as 1
in 200. But if the area is settled and quiet,
the ratio might be as low as 1 in 5,000.)

When a prospective henchman responds
to the summons, the DM can determine
his characteristics according to the tables
in ?Personae of Non-Player Characters,? in
the DMG. Experienced DMs might prefer
to generate some or all of the henchman?s
characteristics ?on-the-fly? without resorting
to the dice.

Naturally, most of these characteristics
will not be immediately available to PCs,
apart from the obvious; race, age, and
?general? (dirty, clean, unkempt, immaculate,
rough, ragged, etc.). Even the obvious
cannot always be trusted, for the applicant
might be wearing a disguise. (For that
matter, if the adventurers are particularly
well-known or wealthy, they might even
merit the notice of an illusionist or someone
who might hire an illusionist.)

The DM also rolls percentile dice to
determine the NPC?s character class. A
table is provided in the DMG (page 35)
under "Classes of Prospective Henchmen,"
but this table doesn?t include new character
classes defined in UA
and OA.

Below is a table of recommended percentages
for determining a prospective
henchman?s character class in European-style
AD&D game, including the new
classes in UA. This table is
presented in the same form as the table in
the DMG.

Classes of prospective henchmen
 

Cavalier	10% (d6, 1 = paladin)
Cleric	20% (d6, 1 = druid)
Fighter	35% (d20, 1 = barbarian, 2 or 3 = ranger)
Magic-user	20% (d6, 1 = illusionist)
Thief	15% (d10, 1 = acrobat, 2 = assassin)

(The monk character is not listed on this
table, because OA states
that the monk does not belong in the
European setting.)

This table is merely a raw set of percentages,
and the format is not consistent with
most other tables of percentages that
appear in the AD&D game books. Below is
another table that presents the same information,
but in a format that is easier for
the DM to use.
 

Die roll	Character class
01-10	Cavalier (d6, 1 = paladin)
11-30	Cleric (d6, 1 = druid)
31-65	Fighter (d20, 1 = barbarian, 2 or 3 = ranger)
66-85	Magic-user (d6, 1 = illusionist)
86-00	Thief (d6, 1 = acrobat, 2 = assassin)

For campaigns set in an OA
scenario, DMs should use the following
table. If the dice roll indicates that the
prospective henchman is a bushi, wu jen,
or yakuza, percentile dice are rolled again
to determine if the NPC is also a ninja.
 

Die roll	Character class
01-20	Barbarian
21-70	Bushi (d%, 01-03 = ninja)
71-90	Kensai
91-94	Monk
95	Wu Jen (d%, 01-03 = ninja)
96-00	Yakuza (d%, 01-03 = ninja)

Prospective henchmen must be offered
at least 100 gp per experience level; this
gives a base 25% interest in accepting the
position. A higher initial payment increases
this base interest ? each additional
100 gp increases interest by 10%, to
a maximum of 55%.

For example, suppose a 2nd-level fighter
named Aric responds to the summons,
indicating an interest in being a henchmen.
He must be offered a minimum of
200 gp, and this will generate a mere 25%
interest. His interest can be increased to
55% by offering another 300 gp, for a total
of 500 gp.

For each magic item offered, Aric?s interest
increases by 15%. Cautious PCs probably
won?t offer any magic items at this
point. (Incidentally, DMs could use this as
a mechanism to do away with magic items
when the players have accumulated too
much ? an NPC pretending to be interested
in becoming a henchman could
abscond with magic items.)

?The PC must offer reasonable housing
and promise free food and clothing as
needed to the prospective henchman,? as
stated in the DMG. This merely increases
Aric?s interest by 5%, but if he isn?t offered this, it reduces his interest by 25%.
If the adventurers are on the go (and
what adventurers aren?t?), it might be
difficult to offer Aric ?reasonable housing.?
He must at least be offered free food and
clothing, and the DM might choose to
lower Aric?s base interest somewhat, if the
housing isn?t reasonable enough.
Next, the PC must tell Aric what is expected
of him, and it?s time to determine
what share of treasure and magic items he
receives. However, both the PH
and the DMG pass the buck at this
point, each book referring the reader to
the other.

According to the PH,
"Once a henchman is brought into your
character?s service, it will be necessary to
pay a wage plus support and upkeep. Your
referee will inform you as to such costs.
When a henchman accompanies your
character on adventures, he or she must
be given a portion of treasure, both money
and magic, just as a player character
would. However, the share can be lesser,
for all of the henchman?s expenses are
paid for by his or her master or mistress.
Naturally, it is a good idea to give a henchman
as much treasure as possible, for in
that way the henchman gains experience
points" (page 39).

On the other hand, the DMG states, "the
prospective henchman must be told what
share of treasure he or she can expect
from adventuring, and what division of
magic items can be expected" (page 35). <corrected>

The two books also differ in stating
when the share is decided: according to
the PH, it?s after the henchman
has been employed. It seems more
sensible, however, to follow the method in
the DMG, where the share is decided
before the henchman accepts the position.
This share might then affect Aric?s interest
score.

The DMG doesn?t provide any numbers
here for adjusting the percentages on the
prospective henchman?s interest, so it?s up
to the DM to decide how to handle it. A
suggestion on this note: If the DM considers
the offer marginally reasonable, the
interest is not changed. If the offer is less
than reasonable, Aric?s interest goes down,
while a particularly good offer increases
Aric?s interest.

What is a reasonable offer? A henchman
might consider himself a member of the
party, and thus expect a full share, equal
to what the PCs are getting.

Of course, the prospective employer can
point out that Aric is getting free food,
clothing, and equipment, and doesn?t
deserve a full share. In fact, since all of
Aric?s expenses are being paid, his share
could be small ? one half, perhaps even
one quarter. Whatever the final decision,
this haggling could lead to some interesting
role-playing between the DM (as the
henchman) and the PC.

Paying the henchman?s expenses and
salary are the responsibility of the employer.
The employer can ask that
the other members of the party help with
these expenses, pointing out that the
henchman?s presence is helping them all,
but the other members of the party are
under no obligation to help.

Finally, the PC?s charisma reaction adjustment
is added to the interest level.
Once the basic level of interest has been
determined and the player offers Aric the
position, the DM rolls percentile dice. If
the dice score does not exceed the interest
and charisma reaction adjustment, the
NPC accepts employment.

All henchmen own normal clothing and
possibly a few copper or silver coins, but
otherwise they have nothing of value. In
fact, that is why the NPC is applying for
the position.

The exception to this rule involves exceptional
henchmen, which are henchmen
who are higher than 2nd-level. The DMG
is not explicit as to what equipment they
might have, saying only ?they might well
have considerable goods? Beyond this, it?s
up to the judgment of the DM. However,
since exceptional henchmen are rare, this
needn?t be a problem.

If Aric accepts employment, the PC must
then provide him with the proper equipment,
which we?ll assume he is going to
buy at this time. For the purposes of this
example, we?ll furnish Aric with ring mail,
a large shield, long sword and scabbard,
dagger and scabbard, leather backpack,
hooded lantern, skin for water or wine,
and one weeks iron rations. The total cost
of this equipment and supplies, using the
prices given in the PH, is
71 gp and 15 sp.

Is the henchman worth this amount? If
we use the example given in the DMG for
locating a henchman, the PC in this illustration
spent 500 gp to find the henchman,
500 gp to entice him to accept employ
ment, and another 71 gp for his equip
ment, for a total of roughly 1,071 gp.
Remember, this is only the cost before the
adventure begins -- as the group finds
treasure, the PC who employs Aric must
give part of his share to the henchman.
A henchman?s initial loyalty is determined
by the employer?s charisma, which
can be read from the ?Charisma Table? in
the PH. This base loyalty is
modified by continuing relations between
master and henchman. The DM should
make notes regarding the player?s treatment
of the henchman and modify the
henchman?s loyalty appropriately.
There are several situations when a
henchman or hireling?s loyalty should be
checked. These situations are listed below,
along with the result when the loyalty roll
fails:

Typical loyalty, obedience, and morale check situations
 

Situation	Failure result
Offered bribe	accepts
Ordered to testify against liege	agrees
Has a chance to steal goods	steals
Left alone in possible danger	deserts
Abandoned	deserts
Ordered into possible danger	refuses
Ordered to perform heroic act	refuses
Ordered to perform heroic and dangerous act	refuses
Ordered to rescue party member(s)	refuses
Ordered to rescue liege	refuses
In combat with possibly dangerous foe	runs away
Liege incapacitated or slain	runs away
Offered surrender terms	surrenders
Surrounded by superior foe	surrenders
Ordered to use up or diminish own magic item	refuses

The loyalty base is immediately affected
by the manner in which the employed
NPC was brought into service, the NPC?s
training or status level, and his racial
preferences, according to the tables
below:

Loyalty base modifiers
 

Enlistment or association	Modifier
Slave	-30%
Captured and enlisted	-15%
Associated NPC	-10%
Hired mercenary, short term	- 5 %
Hired mercenary	0%
Henchman	+ 5 %

 

Training or status level	Modifier
Untrained or peasant	-25%
Little training, levied troops	-15%
Newly recruited regulars	- 5 %
Trained regulars	+10%
Elite, sub-officer, minor officials/expert hireling	+20%
Guards, officers, or major officials/henchmen	+30%

 

Racial preference for:	Liege	Associated group
Antipathy	- 5%	-10%
Good will	+10%	+ 5 %
Hatred	-20%	-15%
Neutrality	0%	0%
Preference	+20%	+15%
Tolerance	0%	- 5 %

Note: Preference adjustments are cumulative,
but only with regard to the liege and
his associates; with respect to the latter
group, only the most disliked or most liked
are counted.

Loyalty is subsequently modified by the
amount of pay or treasure shared, discipline
and activity, the general treatment

by the liege, the alignment of the liege, the
relative alignments of the liege and
henchman/hireling, special considerations,
and situation modifiers, as shown below:
 
 

Pay or treasure shared	Modifier
None	-20%
Partial, late, or unfair	-10%
Average	0%
Above average, choice shares	+ 5 %
Exceptional, bonuses, gift items *	+10%

* Typically magic items, if referring to a henchman
 
 

Discipline/Activity	Modifier
None/one	-10%
Lax/little	- 5 %
Firm and harsh/occasional	0%
Firm and fair/often	+10%

 

General treatment by liege	Modifier
Inhumane and heartless	-25%*
Cruel and domineering	-10%*
Indifferent and uncaring/or variable	- 5 % *
Just and invariable	+10%
Just, kind, and invariable	+15%

* Applies only when the liege is not present, incapacitated, or dead; if the liege is near and in power, minuses are treated as plusses.
 

Alignment of acquaintances is not instantly
apparent, unless a know alignment
spell is used, so the alignment factors do
not affect loyalty immediately. Once the
henchman/hireling has been with the
group long enough to get an idea of their
alignment, the following tables regarding
alignment provide further modifiers:

Alignment factors

Alignment variance	Liege	Associated group
1 place removed	0%	0%
2 places removed	-15%	- 5 %
3 places removed	-35%	-20%

Examples: LE to LN = 1 place removed;
LE to LG = 2 places removed; and,
LE to CG = 3 places removed.
 
 

Alignment of liege	Modifier
LG	+15%
LN	+10%
LE	+ 5 %
NG	0%
N	0%
CG	- 5 %
CN	-10%
NE	-15%
CE	-20%

Finally, as time passes, there are two
more matters that must be taken into
consideration regarding loyalty: special
considerations and situation modifiers.
 

Special considerations	Modifier
Killed faithful henchman or mhireling in front of a witness	-40%
Tortured faithful henchman or hireling in front of a witness	-30%
Reputed to have slain faithful henchmen or hirelings or actually left them to die	- 2 0 %
Foresworn, oath breaker, or deserter	-15%
Rumored to have tortured faithful henchmen or hirelings	-10%
Discharged faithful henchmen or hirelings without cause	- 5 %
Given a choice gift or bonus within last two months (hireling) or three months (henchman)	+ 5 %
Risked life for within last six months (hireling) or one year (henchman)	+10%
Ransomed or rescued within one year	+15%
Saved life directly or personally	+25%
Uses and diminishes his or her own magic to benefit the NPC (including use of spells, especially cures)	+25%
Returned henchman or hireling to normal state from deathlike state (e.g., had raised or resurrected)	+50%

Note: Apply only one penalty and one
bonus maximum, whichever of either
category is the higher.
 

Situation modifiers	Modifier
Liege dead or surrounded and outnumbered	-25%
Liege hors de combat (disabled)	-15%
Each henchman dead or hors de combat	-5%
Each hit die or level dead, friendly	-3%
Each hit die or level alive, enemy	-1%
Each hit die or level dead, enemy	+1%
Each hit die or level alive, friendly	+2%
Each henchman present, in sight, alive	+5%
Liege present, in sight, alive	+15%

When all modifying factors have been
added to or subtracted from the base
loyalty, roll percentile dice to determine
the outcome. If the dice roll is greater
than the loyalty score, the NPC?s loyalty is
considered to have failed. (The DMG indicates
that if a DM is confident of his abilities,
he should be able to determine these
factors without actually checking them by
merely empathizing with the character or
group in question and having them act
accordingly. But if the DM is not completely
confident of his ability in this respect,
he should rely on the tables and
dice.)

While it isn?t stated explicitly, the DMG
implies that players might be allowed to
play their henchman character as well as
their own character. Page 34 states
"henchmen serve as a means of adventuring
when the player character is unable
to," and page 103 says "Some few players
will actually play their henchmen as individual
characters, not merely as convenient
extensions of their main player
character. In these rare cases, your involvement
with these henchmen will be
minimal."

This should be self-explanatory. At the
DM?s discretion, players might be allowed
to play the roles of their henchmen ? but
it is important that the player remember
that the henchman is a separate person
and is not in constant telepathic contact
with his employer. (Some players might try
to have the henchman do exactly what the
employer wants in situations where it is
impossible for them to communicate.)

So, as your PCs prepare to face monsters,
dragons, good and evil high priests,
fierce demons, and even the gods themselves,
they should remember that NPC
help is available in the form of henchmen
and hirelings ? if the players are willing
to pay the price.