On being Feared

[whswhs]

Well, let's look at the effect of assuming that a Feared character's hirelings are analogous to slaves, draftees, or spouses in forced marriages. Note that this particular PC has Feared 3, which gives +3 to reaction rolls.

Roll 2d:

2-7: No modifier; net effect +3 Loyalty (they really don't want to get in trouble)
8: Resents being driven by fear; -1; net effect +2 Loyalty
9: The same, but -2; net effect +1 Loyalty
10: The job is an improvement over previous hardship or cruelty: if treated kindly, +3, net effect +5 Loyalty; if not treated kindly, no effect, net effect +3 Loyalty
11: Resents being coerced; will quit as soon as possible; if treated badly, Loyalty drops to 6
12: Has a disadvantage that results in nearly total loyalty (Slave Mentality, Cowardice, Sense of Duty, or various other things); Loyalty is automatically 20

On one hand, that isn't much of a source of problems for Nergul; in fact, the average Loyalty score is going to be about 13, an effective +2.5. On the other hand, it's a trivial enough effect so that it's probably not worth rolling for even if it's justified by the fear (which admittedly is at best debatable).