I think a lot of people are in your boat. Especially people who play 2e and later. These are the rules I use. The naming conventions are different from D&D naming conventions which will be confusing to people who play BTB. I also ditched Loyalty, which is too fiddly for me. I think Loyalty was one of the few things Dave and Gary got wrong.
Non-Player Characters and RetainersNon-Player Characters (or NPCs) are the Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits, as well as the monsters, played by the Referee. Sometimes they are friends and sometimes they are foes. Oftentimes, it’s unclear which they will be; other times, they won’t care about you one way or another.
One of the great advantages when delving a dungeon is the relative safety that numbers can provide. Therefore, it makes sense to
hire some Men-At- Arms, porters, linkboys (who carry lanterns), and so forth to attend to you and your party for when you go on your way.
Only the lowest-Level characters will be available for hire. Most Men-At- Arms will be Normal Men- not even first Level Fighters! An
exception is Elves, who will always be at least first Level. When you are looking for swords for hire, you can have your character post
notices, buy rounds of drinks, or hire a town crier. Checks for available hirelings in a town or stronghold may be made at least once each day at a cost of 5 GP per check.
Normal non-combatants will work for 5GP per day but will not fight. Men-At- Arms will ask for at least 10 GP per day or 20 GP per day if there is danger (such as a dungeon trip.) You can play out the negotiation with Table 17, the Reaction Table.
Henchmen, Retainers and Specialists:“Henchmen” is a term for the people who work for a flat rate of money: people such as torch bearers and porters, but also normal
Men-At- Arms without any real attachment to the PCs.
“Retainers” Come in two flavors. Most are loyal NPCs who always follow their leader and never check morale. They work for a half share of XP and a half share of treasure rather than straight pay. They are usually played by the same player as their PC, and are limited in number by the PC’s Charisma. The second kind of Retainer is a subdued monster or loyal animal who does not gain treasure orexperience, but still fills a Retainer slot.
“Specialists” are people with particular rare skills, such as sages or animal trainers. They work for the agreed-upon pay, usually on a job- by-job basis.
Men-At- Arms: For Men-At- Arms, roll on Table 18 to determine what gear they come with. It’s up to you to buy their rations as well as any other gear you think they should have, including better weapons and armor.
Specialists get 10-2000 GP per month or per job (whichever comes first) plus 1d3 x 50 GP up front in many cases. See Table 19
below.
Table 19: SpecialistsTYPE COST PER MONTH (GP)
Animal Trainer 300
Armorer 100
Engineer 500
Herbalist 200
Hit Man 1500+ per mission
Sage 300
Sailor 10
Sea Captain 250
Smith (black or red), Carpenter 50
Smith (gold or silver), Jeweeler 75
Spy 500 or more
Morale:Morale is a measure of bravery and loyalty to one’s boss among Henchmen. Once a Henchman is hired, the PC’s CHA will determine
that NPC’s Morale. This number is determined by the hiring PC’s Charisma as shown on Table 20.
Whenever a particularly dangerous request is made of that NPC, or when certain events of an unpleasant nature occur, the Referee will make a single Morale check for all hirelings, to see if each one flees or stands firm.
Henchmen of Chaotic characters receive a -1 to their Morale unless they are also Chaotic. Morale can be raised through time in service, gifts, and training as the Referee sees fit, but never more than one point per adventure session.
The Normal Man:Most Henchmen are Normal Men. They have 1 Hit Die and worse To Hit Rolls than a Fighter, but otherwise function as Fighting-Men.
Despite their name, Normal Men may be men or women and of any of the common races (with the exception of Elves who are all at least First Level.)
Special: Dwarfs will not consider employment by Elves, and vice- versa, since the common ones of each race have a healthy disdain for the culture of the other.
Normal Man XP Advancement: Normal Men have few chances to advance in Level, because they do not generally earn XP. There are three ways for a Normal Man to gain XP:
Adventure on his own, not as a Henchman;
Participate in a military campaign as a soldier; or
Become a Retainer.
Otherwise, the Normal Man will always remain normal and never gain experience.
A Normal Man who gains 100 XP is eligible to become a Level 1 character in a class he qualifies for.
Non-Combatants in Combat: Commanding non-combat Henchmen to fight forces a morale check at -1 prior to engagement and lowers their permanent Morale score by 1.
Each type of hireling expects his family to be justly compensated upon the occasion of his accidental death. 25 GP plus their mortal
remains is customary.
