Hirelings are a such a great investment!

[ArchonShiva]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

hunted by parties of 250 point adventurers (the aforementioned Holy Warriors of Order, Justiciars, and Mage-Hunters for example) and platoons of King's Men

Do they have good gear?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by ArchonShiva

Do they have good gear?

If the GM wants to kill your character, they will.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

If the GM wants to kill your character, they will.

Yes, but that may not be the way they're running things. Reality is, PCs who decide to engage in criminal behavior will have to be prioritized against other threats, such as monsters. Given that the towns are unable to wipe out the monsters, they aren't in any way guaranteed to be able to take out the PCs either, and killing a few hirelings doesn't justify extreme resources to use against the PCs. A band of PCs gone rogue is just another entry on the quest board, and if it's just a couple of hirelings, an entry on the quest board where most of your rival dungeon crawlers don't consider the reward worth the risk.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Anthony

A band of PCs gone rogue is just another entry on the quest board, and if it's just a couple of hirelings, an entry on the quest board where most of your rival dungeon crawlers don't consider the reward worth the risk.

Hence my suggestion of justice rather than profit oriented NPC heroes as antagonists.

Although just losing Holy Might and Clerical spells, having a - 3 to all attempts to heal you and not earning character points for violating things like Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) should be enough to make life miserable.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Although just losing Holy Might and Clerical spells, having a - 3 to all attempts to heal you and not earning character points for violating things like Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) should be enough to make life miserable.

I suspect that any group that would engage in outright literal MurderHoboery would lack that SoD... and would probably have a Cleric whose God doesn't frown on such behavior.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Hence my suggestion of justice rather than profit oriented NPC heroes as antagonists.

You don't really get 'adventurers' unless the forces of law and order have their hands full, and the size of the bounty indicates the priority law and order places on the PCs. Being an outlaw in DF is probably about the same as it is in CRPGs -- the guards attack you if they see you, and are pretty dangerous, but avoiding them isn't all that hard.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Anthony

You don't really get 'adventurers' unless the forces of law and order have their hands full.

That's also the situation where you get vigilantes...

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That's also the situation where you get vigilantes...

Sure, but they still have priorities.