GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 15: Henchmen

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Langy

I don't think b-dog meant 'tribe' in the 'stereotypical low-TL savage' sense, exactly. More 'here is a racial group, and here are a number of specific templates that go with this group, and here is a very short discussion on the stereotypical culture of the group and how you can adapt it to other cultures'. So an Orc 'tribe' might include Soldier, Chieftan, Shaman, and Seargent write-ups and a short discussion on how Orcs in fantasy eat other sapient creatures, typically stick together rather than mixing with human bandits, tend to have a militaristic bent, etc. It might also include suggestions on using these templates for a different culture, such as one based on the Mongols (give all the Orcs Riding, and give archers Mounted Archery), etc.

That sort of thing is heavily setting-dependent, which is why I'd prefer a set of more generic templates (Soldier, Chieftan, Shaman) that can be applied (with appropriate modifications) to whatever Orc or other racial template you're using in your game. In a book about a specific game world, the Orc entry could include notes about appropriate skills and traits for their versions of those archetypes. I just don't see the need to reinvent the wheel for every fantasy race.

I agree that a book of "Henchman / Opposition Loadouts" would be great though.