Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 uriel42 Oct 25, 2009 18:29:09	So, I'm running what I described to my players as a Mercenary themed Campaign, in part because this is the mindset I usually get from my players characters when I ask for characters for a Good themed campaign (and the first character handed in this time was a paladin, I think they just like being obstinate).  As part of the Mercenary theme it would be helpful if they could lead troops into battle, or even have a couple of hirelings they can boss around, at 2am last night I came up with the following idea* :   Henchmen** Henchmen are NPCs that aid the PCs in battle without the requirement of full stated character NPCs and, more importantly for my players at least, no need to share the XP out to level up characters other than the players own.   Primarily Henchmen are divided into two types, those that support ranged abilities and those that support melee abilities: Ranged Henchmen provide a level appropriate bonus to the attack and damage of adjacent allies using ranged attacks of the appropriate type. Melee Henchmen provide a level appropriate bonus to the attack and damage of allies attacking adjacent foes using melee attacks of the appropriate type.   Secondarily Henchmen are divided into types based on the power source type they support***: Martial Ranged Martial Melee Divine Ranged Divine Melee etc.   Henchmen should also be assigned a controlling player, usually the one that hired, befriended of enslaved him, represent Henchmen with an appropriate model on the battle grid and let the controlling player move the model on his characters turn as a minor action.   Defensively Henchmen are similar to minions in that they have slightly elevated defences, but any successful attack incapacitates them, as long as the PCs win the battle the Henchmen can be revived, should they lose of flee the Henchmen would be captured or perish****.   Mechanically Henchmen would be treated very similarly to an magic item in terms of tracking game balance and can even be assigned a GP value in line with a magic weapon of similar utility. Level 1-6     Bonus +1     Price 680gp Level 7-10     Bonus +2     Price 4,200gp Level 11-15     Bonus +3     Price 17,000gp Level 16-20     Bonus +4     Price 85,000gp Level 21-25     Bonus +5     Price 525,000gp Level 26-30     Bonus +6     Price 2,125,000gp In the case of a befriended Henchmen the cost here could be considered to rate as a found item, in the case of a hired Henchmen the cost can be spread out as dictated be a standard contract (say payable in five parts over the next five combat encounters, with terms to pay half the remainder to family or dependents of the Henchmen should they perish during this time).   So tell me what you think folks, I hope we can make this into a workable concept.   Daz.   *Excuse my presumption if this idea, or similar, has been presented elsewhere, and feel free to point me in that direction, for me it is a solution to a problem, and I am more than happy if someone has solved it for me already. **Of course I have not had any time to play test or otherwise balance these rules, feel free to pitch in if something is glaringly wrong here. ***Obviously some Henchmen are likely to see more use than others, Martial Melee of course has immediate worth, Arcane Melee less so. ****Providing the opportunity for lose and suitable role-playing.
#2 AbdulAlhazred Oct 25, 2009 18:56:19	Hmmm. No, I don't think anyone has proposed quite this before. I don't really see why it wouldn't work. As far as balance goes its a bit of a tricky thing to figure. On the one hand its worth quite a lot to get a stackable attack bonus, pretty much like having an extra item slot that provides a stackable enhancement. On the other hand it seems like much beyond heroic tier it may be pretty hard for these henchmen to survive. Even fairly routine encounters could kill them off and it would make sense for the DM to target them when the monsters probably aren't strong enough to knock out a PC (most easier encounters). So it might turn out that they offer a great advantage that usually evaporates when you need it the most and the party will go through henchmen like crazy. If they have high enough defenses to stand up to the monsters then it may make the party inordinately tough to beat. I'd also think that ranged henchmen, being able to stay away from the front lines, could turn out to be a lot handier than the melee ones. You also have to consider what it might mean for party survivability in terms of if the party hits a spot where they can't win it will be very tempting to jettison the henchmen as a rear guard. The DM can always decide what a henchman will do in dire straights of course, but its still likely to happen to some extent. I wonder in the long run if its really much simpler than being able to hire some Companion Characters as mercenaries. These can be fairly limited CCs with maybe only one or two at-wills and a decent encounter power or a utility, and maybe some ritual casting or other area of expertise. Costs can depend on exactly how good the quality you want. I know its a bit more involved to have the henchman running around with a full set of actions, but if they can only do 1 of at most 3 simple things every round I don't find its a big deal. The understanding in our group is these henchmen won't do anything too extraordinary, pretty much just attack, move with the group, and use their main skills. Encounters can be adjusted by 1/2 their level extra XP, though its simple enough to toss in an extra basic skirmisher or a couple minions to balance them depending on the situation. Just don't count the added XP in the reward and if the henchman is dedicated enough to stick around and becomes more like a sidekick then level them up and maybe even give them a wider array of improved powers when they've been around a while. That way the party has an incentive to not just sacrifice them at the drop of a hat. Still, it should be interesting to hear about any experiments you make with this. I always like to keep an eye out for ideas that work.
#3 uriel42 Oct 27, 2009 3:22:33	So very good points to consider, and definitely a possibility of abuse if not carefully monitored. The untyped bonus doesn't worry me too much, I thought of this in terms of an aid other check (which as near as I can make out is untyped as well) with the damage bonus as a, well, bonus.  Seemed fair given that the employer would be using his Minor action to move the Henchmen around. I do see your point regarding their use, or lack thereof past the heroic tier, this really suggests that, for my game at least, I confine their use to this tier and flatten them down to a one-size-doesn't-quite-fit-all +2, this does make it fairly easy to base them all off level 6-8 minions too. Unlike a minion I don't see them dying from a single successful hit so much as diving to the dirt in an "I'm not getting paid enough for this @#$%" kind of way, so they would be knocked out of the fight (unless healed I suppose, something to think really hard about right there) but, as long as the PCs won they would have the chance to get back up and they wouldn't be permanently lost unless the PCs ran away, much like they would lose a magic banner in similar circumstances. I would also have to fall back on DMs prerogative should suicidal last stands start being ordered, unless some one had done something really special to earn a Henchmens loyalty they wouldn't stick around for such foolishness, and may even head off into the sunset after they escape (jilted hirelings make the best bad guys).   In part this campaign I am running springs from reading the Black Company books by Glen Cook (read them, take my word for it), and having lackeys running around is worth a few adjustments, but my players would be less than pleased if said lackeys get a portion of "their" XP, I've already tried to add one companion NPC to the group and had him dismissed out of hand for pretty much this reason. Curiously how long do your combat encounters run for?  Mine seem to take up quite a bit of time, even with very experienced players. Daz.