Hireling growth?

[zuljita]

The 62 point hireling was voted MVP in a game last night (saved the half-ogre swashbuckler from a bear grapple *and* managed to revive him from unconsciousness in time to kill a watcher at the end of time before he started cutting off important bits from the wizard). Should I give such a hireling character point growth? Would it change his going rate?

[JMason]

Originally Posted by zuljita

The 62 point hireling was voted MVP in a game last night (saved the half-ogre swashbuckler from a bear grapple *and* managed to revive him from unconsciousness in time to kill a watcher at the end of time before he started cutting off important bits from the wizard). Should I give such a hireling character point growth? Would it change his going rate?

By RAW, when the players look for and find a hireling, they will be 1/4 or 1/2 of the characters' points. I use the group average. If they are looking for the same character that they had hired in the past, then he'll have grown by a percent of the characters' growth.

So as the group average character points increase the hireling will also become more skilled... but so will all the other hirelings that the players have yet to use. So for every 2 points over 256, a 1/2 CP hireling gains 1 CP, and a 1/4 CP hireling will gain one at 252 and one for every 4 after that.

Nothing is stopping you from doing things your own way, but by my reading of rues on Exploits p. 90, this is how things would work.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by zuljita

Should I give such a hireling character point growth?

If you like! The care and feeding of hirelings goes beyond the scope of the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, which tacitly assumes that no greedy delver is going to pay $200 to $400 per week, plus expenses, for longer than absolutely necessary.

Hirelings are built on 1/4 or 1/2 as many points as PCs; scale earned points accordingly. If you award each delver 4 points, a 62-point hireling gets 1 point and a 125-pointer receives 2 points. They might go through the same hell as the adventurers, but they make none of the big decisions and they avoid risk (failed Loyalty roll = no, missed pay = no, etc.). They don't have what it takes to grow into a great hero at breakneck speed.

Originally Posted by zuljita

Would it change his going rate?

Not for this mission – the rate for which was contracted at hiring time – but certainly on the next one! Weekly rate is ($3.20 × point total), rounded to the nearest $5 to avoid annoying numbers.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Kromm

...rounded to the nearest $5 to avoid annoying numbers.

Always wise to avoid annoying the numbers.

[JMason]

I threw this together for a quick reference. It shows CP and cost for 1/2 and 1/4 Hirelings based on party CP.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[Kromm]

Also, be aware that a hireling or mercenary who serves for pay isn't the same as an ally or sidekick who serves out of devotion. The latter kinds of NPCs can have any point value, aren't subject to Loyalty rolls (make appearance rolls instead: "Sorry, chief. Death in the family."), and don't demand pay (though they still need to upgrade and replace gear, find a place to stay, etc., so the PCs should ensure these NPCs receive shares of the loot if they want to keep them around). They're more like GM-controlled junior delvers, and they ought to earn points at the same rate as the PCs.

In GURPS, such NPCs would cost somebody points as Allies. In practice, this is hard to assess when devotion is to the whole party rather than to a single PC. There's nothing wrong with just having somebody like this accompany the party as a de facto full group member controlled by the GM, but such dedication ought to be earned by saving the follower's life, accepting a mission to save that person's entire village, or completing a quest that has someone's faithful service as a reward (possibly in lieu of cash or goods).

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Kromm

In GURPS, such NPCs would cost somebody points as Allies. In practice, this is hard to assess when devotion is to the whole party rather than to a single PC. There's nothing wrong with just having somebody like this accompany the party as a de facto full group member controlled by the GM, but such dedication ought to be earned by saving the follower's life, accepting a mission to save that person's entire village, or completing a quest that has someone's faithful service as a reward (possibly in lieu of cash or goods).

Be aware though of the the difference between "useful NPC ally of the party" and "super competent GM PC", the latter is rarely fun for anyone else.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Be aware though of the the difference between "useful NPC ally of the party" and "super competent GM PC", the latter is rarely fun for anyone else.

Agreed. I like long-term GM-controlled party members to be – how shall I put it? – less spectacular than the PCs. They aren't incompetent and they aren't necessarily worth fewer points, but they don't have abilities the PCs cannot have, they're never worth more points than the most junior PC, and I don't optimize them for effectiveness. I might not even give them the special abilities of their profession, sticking instead to traits that are more-or-less universal.

[Kromm]

Here's an example of a possible companion (even hireling, though he'd be expensive) who's absolutely capable enough to be a PC but who wouldn't, if tacked on as an NPC, upstage the "real heroes." He isn't great at anything and is happy to serve . . . in a film, he'd be played by a retired MMA fighter-turned-bit actor who's name you can't recall, and killed off before the final act. Yet he's a meat shield who's useful in a multitude of roles and happy to do stuff a lot of players find boring – hardly a liability. (The party cleric will also appreciate how, with 20 HP, he gets a lot of value out of healing; see High HP and Healing, Exploits, p. 62.)

Alejandro Guerrero

245-point Human Knight

Alejandro is a veteran mercenary with the strength and vitality of a teenager, the wrinkles and gray hair of an old man, and enough scars and war stories to put most people's guesses nearer to the latter than the former. A soldier's soldier, he prefers leading a few troops to commanding many, and values carrying out orders above winning personal glory. He doesn't want for confidence and bravado – he just shows it by being the first to volunteer and the last to retreat.

Unlike flashy heroes who specialize in one weapon to show off and travel light, Alejandro is a generalist. Need another shield to hold the front line? How about someone with a polearm to strike from the second rank? An archer? Heck, muscle in a back-alley knife fight? Alejandro's your man. Since taking up delving to see the world, he has made his living using weapons other than oh-so-desirable swords (axes, glaives, halberds, maces, morningstars . . .), and fixing up armor, so that nothing goes to waste.

Alejandro's other notable feature is his resilience. He can take a lot of punishment before he goes down, doesn't seem to feel the pain, and then gets back up again in almost no time at all. He's mentally strong, too (Fright Check starts at 14 thanks to Combat Reflexes and Fearlessness). While he'll never be the stuff of legends, those bent on fame and fortune could do worse than to have him protecting their flank.

ST 15 [50]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 14 [40].
Damage 1d+1/2d+1; BL 45 lbs.; HP 20 [10]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 14 [0].
Basic Speed 7.00 [0]; Basic Move 7 [0]; Move 5.
Dodge 10*; Parry 12* (Axe or Halberd), 11* (Kukri); Block 12* (Shield).

Advantages
Born War-Leader 2 [10]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Fearlessness 2 [4]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Recovery [10]
Sacrificial Block [1]

Disadvantages and Quirks
Chummy [-5]
Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]
Overconfidence (12) [-5]
Selfless (12) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) [-5]
Wounded [-5]

Has endless, boring tales about this war, that war, and the other war. [-1]
Prefers payment in arms and armor, "the universal coin." [-1]
Prefers to serve as "sergeant to somebody else's captain." [-1]
Takes pride in being a versatile warrior. [-1]
Wants to see the world, and loves to travel. [-1]

Skills
Armory (Body Armor)-11 [4]
Axe/Mace-16 [8]
Bow-15 [4]
Brawling-15 [2]
Climbing-13 [1]
Connoisseur (Weapons)-12† [2]
Fast-Draw (Arrow)-15* [1]
First Aid-10 [1]
Flail-15 [8]
Hiking-13 [1]
Knife-14 [1]
Leadership-12† [2]
Polearm-16 [8]
Riding (Horse)-13 [1]
Shield-16 [4]
Stealth-13 [1]
Strategy-11† [2]
Tactics-11† [2]
Wrestling-14 [2]

* Includes +1 for Combat Reflexes.
† Includes +2 for Born War-Leader.

Equipment

$3,500, 85.78 or 82.78 lbs. (Light encumbrance)†

Arrows ×12. $24, 1.2 lbs.
Axe, Dwarven. 2d+3 cut (reach 1); Parry 0, not 0U. $250, 4 lbs.
Canteen, Full. 1 quart water. $10, 3 lbs.
Clothing. $0, 2 lbs.
Coins. 9 copper. $9, 0.18 lb.
Composite Bow (ST 15). 1d+4 imp, Acc 3, Range 300/375, Shots 1(2), Bulk -7. $900, 4 lbs.
First Aid Kit. +1 to First Aid. $50, 2 lbs.
Halberd. 2d+6 cut (reach 2, 3*), 2d+5 imp (reach 2, 3*), or 1d+4 imp (reach 1-3*). $150, 12 lbs.†
Kukri, Fine. 2d+1 cut (reach C, 1) or 1d+1 imp (reach C). $200, 1.5 lbs.
Light Segmented Plate Armor, Suit. DR 3. $1,800, 48 lbs.
Medium Shield. DB 2; 1d+1 cr (bash). $60, 15 lbs.†
Personal Basics. $5, 1 lb.
Pouch. Holds first aid kit, personal basics. $10, 0.2 lb.
Pouch. Holds rations. $10, 0.2 lb.
Rations, 6 meals. $12, 3 lbs.
Shoulder Quiver. Holds arrows. $10, 0.5 lb.

† Enters battle with either the shield or the halberd, but never both.

[JoelSammallahti]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Alejandro Guerrero

He's cool, but for a guy who takes versatility seriously, maybe drop a level of Flail and put one point each in Broadsword, Crossbow, Shortsword, and Spear? Alejandro strikes me as the kind of gentleman who prides himself on not letting his crew down, even when all he has to work with is some dead bugbear's whacker-chopper.