Characters may acquire followers and henchmen over the course of their adventuring. This page provides guidance for players interested in hiring additional followers in service to their main characters. The following rules are intended to serve as a baseline, and are not applicable in all circumstances.
Commonfolk and laborers are the easiest to find and hire to perform basic tasks. They will generally work for 1 coin per day. They have 1-2 MANA each. They are not combatants and will typically flee dangerous situations.
Run-of-the-mill mercenaries can be hired in most densely-populated civilized areas. Their availability is determined by the Referee, but will typically require the player character to spend between 10-60 coins in getting the word out that they are seeking to assemble and hire a group of soldiers.
It is generally expected that each mercenary will expect to be paid 2-3 coins per day. Mercenaries will typically have 2-3 MANA each, and armaments proportional to what they are being paid. They are not exceptionally loyal, will not sacrifice themselves for their master, and will not subject themselves to intensely dangerous supernatural or "dungeon" situations.
Henchmen are a more powerful asset than your typical mercenary or mundane servant. They provide avenues for enterprising PCs to exert greater influence and execute more complex machinations through loyal, competent servants.
The procedure for acquiring a henchman is as follows:
The player notifies the Referee that they wish to take on a Henchman.
The player creates a new character with the following attributes:
4 MANA
6 BLOOD
1 POWER
The player submits this character to the Referee for approval. The Referee will judge whether the prospective henchman's power is acceptable, and whether it makes sense that such a character would be available near the PC's current location.
Upon Referee approval, the hiring PC will pay 100 coin directly to the henchman as a 'hiring fee'.
After that, the new henchman now serves the PC. They may run errands for them or accompany them on quests. In some sessions, a PC may elect to PLAY AS a henchman in lieu of their normal character. This would most often be in situations where the main PC is predisposed, captured, or otherwise unavailable to play with the party that assembled on that particular day.
It is generally assumed that henchman are 'adventurers' much like the PCs that hired them. They have their own self-interests and expectations. As a baseline, all henchmen:
Expect to go on quests relatively frequently. They are not interested in sitting idle at an inn.
Will ask AT LEAST a half share of any treasure gained
Will not share or pool their wealth with other characters
Great care will be taken by the Referee to ensure that henchman act in their own best interests. Each henchman has their own loyalties; they will not tolerate repeated abuse or neglect by their master. The Referee will control the henchman in most situations where their master (the PC) is present, but may also take control of the henchman at any other point should they judge that the henchman is being compelled to do things against their own interest or goals. A particularly disillusioned henchman may even betray their master or spend "off-screen" time acting against the interests of the party. All possibilities are on the table.
Specialists are NPCs that have especially niche skills that a PC might wish to hire on a one-time (or on-going) basis. Example specialists might include assassins, armorers, scouts, ship captains, sages, alchemists, spies, or animal trainers.
Specialists tend to perform their work between sessions or "off-screen" when characters are otherwise occupied. Their cost is dependent on the services they offer and will be provided to the PCs as requested. The Referee will provide reference materials where appropriate.