Action Shot, session 5

Sir Roderick, backed up by Yul Gibbons and Gorgon Zola has Divinely and Thunderously Smote the Manticore, who waits, broken and bleeding for Preacher Lightning to deliver the final arrow.

Henchmen

Here's a first rundown for henchmen.  Short version: easy to get some guys for outdoor stuff, expensive to bring into dungeons.

HIRELINGS AND HENCHMEN

 

Type	Regular Pay per day	Dungeon Expedition	Notes
Unskilled Hirelings	2sp	Won’t Go	Double pay to leave town
Skilled Hireling	2gp	Won’t Go	Double pay to leave town
Guards	2gp	Won’t Go	Will adventure in wilderness,  battles
Bandits	2gp	Won’t go	Will adventure in wilderness, rob and raid
Henchmen	1gp per HD	100gp per HD	Temporary
Vassal	1gp per HD	100gp per HD	Permanent

 

• Skilled and unskilled hirelings are people hired in town for non-dangerous tasks.  If they are asked to leave town, they require double pay (except ship and caravan crews). 
• Guards are armed men who are hired to fight and/or protect things.  They will take part in wilderness adventures, fight in battles and guard camps and homes, but will not enter dungeons or go up against magical or supernatural threats.  Taking part in illegal operations depends on their alignment, which is random.  If the guards fight and capture loot, they will want a share (1 squad= 1PC).
• Bandits are armed men who are recruited to steal, raid and terrorize.  They will not go into dungeons or face supernatural enemies, but will gladly steal and raid.   They are random alignment, but never Lawful  of any sort.  Good bandits will not hurt or steal from innocent people.  Bandits want a share of loot taken (squad of bandits=1 PC)
• Henchmen are budding adventurers willing to serve a character or party.  They will guard the camp and fight and adventure in the wilderness, but if asked to enter a dungeon or face a supernatural foe they require a bonus of 100gp per HD (which is good for a 2 week period  of such adventure).  At the end of each game session, make a Persuasion DC 15 or the henchman moves on to another job.  Decrease the DC by 1 for each session the henchman has served previously.
• Vassals are underlings who have sworn personal fealty to a player character “lord.”  This oath establishes a permanent (and indeed hereditary) relationship.  A household vassal serves his lord directly and personally and attends upon him, in exchange he must be supported by his lord, regardless of his health or usefulness.  A landed vassal gets an appropriate plot of land in exchange for 40 days per year of personal service.  In any case, according to law and custom a lord and vassal may not take up arms against one another, testify against each other, or in any way betray one another.  Of course, Lawful characters are likely to follow the code, and Chaotic characters are likely not to.  Convincing someone to become a vassal is difficult, a Persuasion DC of 25; however decrease DC by 10 if the potential lord has just saved the potential vassal’s life, and by 5 if there is an appropriate land grant involved.
   
  RECRUITMENT: 
  Unskilled Hirelings:  10-60 available in Newport at a time; 1d6 in a village.
  Skilled Hirelings:  in Newport, take 1 day and an Investigation check DC 12 to find one who will do a task that’s needed.  Negotiating with named shop-keeps can also be done, either in Newport or a village.
  Guards:  1d3 squads of guards can be found by looking at the Town Blacksmith’s shop, where their agents hang out. You must hire the whole squad, they won’t break up.
  Bandits:  1d3 squads of bandits and pirates can be found at Fishy Joe’s.  You must hire the whole squad.   
  Henchmen:  1d6 henchmen will be found at the Bottomless Mug, looking for work.
   
  ADVANCEMENT:
  Henchmen and Vassals can get a limited amount of advancement.  Each time a Henchman or Vassal is paid the dungeon fee, and goes on a dungeon expedition, he gets 1 “check mark.” When he has gotten 3 check marks, he gains 1 additional hit die.

Action Shots: Session 4

Le Gourd Sans Pitie approaches the hapless heroes.

The crumbled and cowering remains of the Rusty Bottom Tribe halfing holy questers.

Now Available at Salty Dan's

DAN'S BEST CORN DODGERS AND SAILOR SAUSAGE
1gp   1 pound

Acts as 1 day's rations, heals 1d4 hit points when consumed during a short rest

Now Available at Mort's Mining Supplies

Crackers & Bacon

1gp

1 pound

Acts as 1 day's rations. Tieflings and humans suffer 1 point of acid damage. Elves and half-elves suffer 1 point of piercing damage (crackers are sharp!) Dwarves and gnomes inflict 1 point of poison damage to all those within 5' for one hour after this food is consumed, and all other characters suffer 1 point of bludgeoning damage from the weight of this awful meal.

Now Availible at Sticky Vicky's

Grape Nuts

2gp         1 pound

Acts as 1 days rations.  Elves, Half-elves cured 1d6+1 hit points, Dwarves, half-orcs and tieflings suffer 1 point of poison damage, other characters cured 1d4 hit points.

 

 

Character Trees/Downtime/Game Structure Thoughts

I've been thinking a little more about the character tree, time-management and downtime procedures.
Here's how I'd like to modify them and why

• One Session=One Month:  our first three sessions all took place within 5th month of 1173, in that time we had  Find that Crab, Baldpate Beacon, Smirkenburg Mines 1-2, and Caer Smirken level 1, adventures, and they ran in pretty much a random order.  Downtime activities got short shift, wear and tear wasn't appropriate because half of the characters didn't have any money and so forth.   So, I think that going forward every game session we hold will represent all of the dangerous exciting action that takes place in one calendar month (unless an adventure ends unfinished).   So, all characters will have to pay maintenance and face wear and tear at the beginning of the session, even if they are not active.   All characters can go shopping, even if they aren't active.  And the non-active characters can count on 28 days of downtime.
• Free Money:  I propose that any character who begins session 4 with less than 100gp, will have his total raised to 100 gp, in order to represent downtime and to make it possible to pay some maintenance and do some shopping, correct for wear and tear.  This will be a one-time thing, except if a new character enters play in the future, he will start his first month with 100gp.
• Downtime:  I'm going to try to get the downtime rules worked into a 1-page summary, along with maintenance costs and wear and tear, so it will be easy to reference.  Doing Downtime at Dinner will then be easier to handle with quick reference and 28 days guaranteed.
• Real Estate:  I want to get a catalogue for buying houses, forts, stockades etc., put together.   I think that the PHB/DMG versions are a bit off, and there needs to be some accounting for location and so forth.
• Sailing Home:  need to codify more clearly sailing to the other continents, since this is how serious shopping trips will happen.  Good availability in Newport is limited and haphazard, being a small, frontier town.   With 1-month sessions, sailing home becomes a real option.