How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
One of my players has a hireling (a teamster to drive his wagon and take care of his pony) and a dog.
Two other players have dogs.
That's it though.
In the Savage Worlds game I'm a player in, everyone has multiple minions. Savage Worlds really does having minions/henchmen/etc very well as far as I'm concerned.
Honestly, despite being friendly to that in general, I find that too many henchlings; etc often become a pain in the ass.
I support the players in that area, but it can go from good to too much of a good thing fairly easily.
Forgot to add:
I am not a fan of multiple characters in the same game controlled by the same player.
It's quite common in the games I play in where it's something of a offshoot from the multi-generational threads. Most of the time it's a second younger related character or two.
But it also includes hirelings, friends, NPC romantic interests, or just plain a secondary character.
It offers a major advantage in that the player has another character to control should one of his be incapacitated during a battle or other activity.
The downsize is of course the increased overhead. How important this is depends upon how many players there are.
Yeah, I would think you'd want to limit it with a large group. With four or fewer it sounds doable.
In my OD&D/S&W game, you can have 1 loyal henchman per level +/- your CHA bonus...and you can hire as many questionably loyal hirelings as you want.
In my Avaron campaign, its common for PCs to hire orcs because unlike human dregs, they are more likely to follow you into haunted dungeons. Of course, their loyalty is quite questionable.
But these are not additional characters for the player, they are still NPCs and occassionally I will remind them with the NPC saying or doing something in their own interest.
In my ongoing "Castle Delve" game, the party has as of late hired 15 or so men at arms and a gaggle of carpenters to take into the dungeon with the intent of building new walls and barriers to channel enemies and create choke-points. The men-at-arms are there as bodyguards for the carpenters while they work and the party explores up ahead.
It's noisy work though and the party is frequently surprised.
They also have a pair of War Dogs that has won them more battles than they ought to have won. The dogs actually came from a Robe of Useful Items.
I need to do something about those dogs.
Quote from: everloss;602837One of my players has a hireling (a teamster to drive his wagon and take care of his pony) and a dog.
Two other players have dogs.
That's it though.
In the Savage Worlds game I'm a player in, everyone has multiple minions. Savage Worlds really does having minions/henchmen/etc very well as far as I'm concerned.
Savage Worlds really does do allies well, and it's the only game we've used them in.
In most games, they're just too much of a pain to deal with, though
Quote from: thedungeondelver;602871I need to do something about those dogs.
Cat scent, bitch in heat, pepper spray, all have worked wonders. Then there's hotdogs. :)
One of my DMs had all players play a party of four PCs. There was a good bit of infighting and scheming in my party, and one of them was seriously considering turning in one of the others for the bounty on his head before the game got cut short, while another was skimming off the party's funds.
Quote from: mythusmage;602812How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
Depends on the game.
In my D&D games, the PCs almost *ALWAYS* have NPC hirelings or henchmen or something along with them.
In other games, like
Call of Cthulhu, such NPCs are less common, but not unheard of.
Quote from: mythusmage;602812How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
In my OD&D open table campaign, the players all aspire to run vast menageries of hirelings. The resulting adventuring parties were sufficiently large that I actually had to house rule the combat system because they had become unmanageable under the system of simultaneous initiative I had previously been employing.
A few notable examples include Bust (who spent his first major haul on hiring the five Flower and Jewel Sisters -- Tansy, Opal, Ruby, Violet, and Garnet), the one-eyed elf Herbert (who is companioned by the almost-PCs Chloe and Wheezy), Alane (who is kept in a state of near-perpetual bankruptcy through a combination of bad luck and excessive over-hiring), and Aeng (who found a magic harp that allows him to charm animals and, therefore, has a literal menagerie following him at all times).
In my 3.5 game, one of the players has two PCs (having adopted one from a player who dropped out of the campaign), a familiar, and a dog. Another player recently picked up a second PC while their primary PC was in a coma and there's been some talk of keeping both PCs active when the coma comes to an end (although that's looking less likely now). And another PC has a small earth elemental as an animal companion.
By contrast, I haven't gotten any of the players in my
Eclipse Phase games to roleplay their muses (i.e., AI assistants), although I think it would really help them to get into the setting.
This has all be an interesting development over the last 4-5 years for me. Prior to that, I virtually never had players with multiple PCs or hirelings or the like.
Quote from: mythusmage;602812How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
Don't usually allow it given I and my group is pressed for time and kids etc. Though I allow for familiars and Animal companions if appropriate (Wizards/Rangers/Druids). Big reason why I like Fantasy Craft and Pathfinder etc., bonded items hence removal of the issue from the start. :)
Quote from: mythusmage;602812How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
Multiple characters, no.
Everything else is not only allowed but encouraged.
If there's two players present they can play two characters each for D&D.
They do hire NPCs and end up with companions (I think players have a sleazy alchemist, a ghoul that acts like a dog, and a cave tarsier for followers?), but the players (and I!) often forget that they're there. Which has played out hilariously some times.
And a fair amount of NPC characters, much like player characters, do die horribly.
A lot of the time mercenaries will cash out and pursue temporary retirement after the party comes out of an adventure with a big haul and/or a big body count.
On one hand I prefer offloading responsibility for NPC followers to the players, but on the other hand I have to keep the door opening/potion tasting somewhat in check...
Quote from: mythusmage;602812How many of you here let your players use multiple characters; henchmen, hirelings, laborers, servants, assistants, and the like?
All of the above, and monsters too.
I've done that sometimes, but infrequently.
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