The City teems and surges with untold bravos, sell swords and unscrupulous lunatics, willing to accept gold in exchange for blood and mortal danger. Guild Dogs may seek the service of these unaligned thugs, to assuage the threat of doom and death their career bears upon them.
Mechanically hirelings in Guild Dogs sit some where between HD creatures and a fully fledged PC. They roll a d8 for their Hit Points. They attack and defend using their own STR/DEX statistics that are rolled up using 3d6. Other statistics should only be rolled up when they are needed (using 3d6). Hirelings all have a "Morale" statistic, determined by 3d6, the player employing the hireling must roll a d20 under this score if asked to do something particularly dangerous or confronting. Each hireling will have something unique about them which is rolled up on the "Hireling Aspect Table". If it is a high statistics other than STR/DEX it is probably worth while rolling up straight away. Hirelings level up but do so much slower than PCs and can only do so 5 times.
Hirelings use my HD creatures AC rules for The Black Hack. The amount of hirelings a Guild Dog can employ is dependent on their CHA.
Where to find Hirelings: A healthy roster of hirelings can always be found lurking around the perimeter of the Bone Fortress, drinking, dusting or perusing the Transient Bazaar . In a perfect world, a GM would have about 6 rolled up ready to go and roleplay out the hiring procedure. I'll probably just roll them up as players need them though...
Cost: The cost of employing an individual hireling is as follows:
(Equipment Score x Hit Dice) + Morale Score = Cost per day, in Gold Pieces.
Equipment Score: Roll a d4:
1) Empty handed (no weapons), clothed in rags
2) Makeshift weapons and sling (d4 damage), light armour (+1 to STR/DEX when defending)
3) Well made weapons and crossbow (d6 damage), medium armour and shield (+3 to STR/DEX when defending)
4) Excellent weapons and crossbow (d8 damage), heavy armour and shield (+5 to STR/DEX when defending)
(Upgrading equipment: Hireling's equipment can be upgraded for the following costs. Once a hireling's equipment is upgraded , their daily rate increases to reflect their new equipment score (maintenance is expensive!).
Upgrading to Equipment Score 2) 100 Gold
Upgrading to Equipment Score 3) 500 Gold
Upgrading to Equipment Score 4) 1000 Gold.
Hirelings can be gifted clothing, costume, magical items, specialty items and the like without cost - the equipment score purely reflects how well equipped they are for battle.)
Hit Dice: Roll a d6, the result is the hireling's Hit Dice (Roll a d8 for each Hit Dice to determine Hit Points).
Morale Score: Roll a 3d6, this is the hireling's morale (morale must be checked when the hireling is asked to do something particularly dangerous or confronting. A d20 roll under the moral score is required or the hireling will flee, refuse the order, ask for additional danger money, etc).
While equipment score costs can change over time, Hit Dice cost and Morale Score cost remain the same even if they improve.
Hireling Aspect: Each hireling will have a special ability or strength roll on the table below to determine this:
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1
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2
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3
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4
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1
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Good Natured, roll CHA on 4d6 but test morale when asked to do something "evil".
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Cleric, has access to Divine Spellcasting
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Wise, roll WIS on 4d6, WIS tests relating to knowledge rolled at advantage.
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Calming Bard, soothing songs gives each party member back an additional 1d6 hit points when resting.
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2
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Golem, costs an additional 20 gold a day but morale never tested/fails.
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Thief, test DEX with advantage when engaging in thief-like activities.
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Tireless, roll CON on 4d6, CON tests relating to athletics rolled at advantage.
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Fleet footed, always passes initiative tests and goes first.
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3
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Lurker, tests DEX with advantage when hiding.
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Honest, always tells the truth. INT tests relating to remembering rolled at advantage.
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Ascetic, doesn't eat, doesn't talk, doesn't drink, dust or indulge in any other vices . Only drinks water.
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Reptilian, + 1 to Armour from scales, can regrow lost limbs.
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4
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Rich, incredibly wealthy but enjoys the life of a hireling - will sometimes pay for feasts and provide opulent accommodation.
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Wizard, has access to Arcane Spellcasting.
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Blood thirsty, attacks with + 2 to STR/DEX but WIS test required after any kill to sate blood lust (other wise will attack next closest entity).
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Twins, two identical hireling for the price of one. Expect traumatic breakdowns if one dies.
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5
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Vengeful, must kill anything/one that causes them harm.
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Brave, all morale checks rolled at advantage.
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Acid chemist, creates 1d6 vials of acid or similar chemical a week.
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Ex soldier, hirelings equipment is upgraded one level for free and does not affect daily cost.
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6
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Vine person, man shaped woven mass of vines. Can climb sheer surfaces without any test. Communicates telepathically.
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Beast person, Roll STR and CON on 4d6, + 2 to damage, roll morale at disadvantage.
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Moss Druid, has access to the Mossen Craft
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Mutant, roll on mutation table of choice.
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7
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Anarchist, creates 1d6 grenades a week.
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Magitecht, has access to City Spellcasting.
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Goro, has an extra set of arms, attacks twice in a round.
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Visionary, has dreams of the future can and can re-roll a failed roll once a day.
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8
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Monster, a terrifying sight, roll with double advantage when attempting to intimidate.
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Giant, + 10 Hp, roll STR at advantage.
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Voluptuary, roll at double advantage when attempting any form of seduction/pleasure giving.
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Lock cracker, roll at advantage when picking locks.
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9
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Dark vision, can see perfectly well nearby in the dark.
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Skilled, has a randomly determined skill statics (see specialist below).
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Ebonstone man, natural + 2 to AC.
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Royal blood, from a once great lineage, has Status statistic (see specialist below)
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10
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Cruel, does not require a morale check when asked to do something despicable.
| Cultist, has access to Elde Spellcasting . |
Haunted, something great and terrible happened in the hirelings past.
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Cursed One, all statistics rolled with 2d6 but hireling can't die.
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What does the Hireling look like? Use "The City Visual Generator".
Leveling up Hirelings: Hirelings receive level up points (explanation of level up points is found here) as would any other Guild Dog but require twice as many level up points to gain a new level. Hirelings may level up 5 times, gaining an additional d8 hit points each time. They may also test each of their statistics once to see if they increase (roll a d20 for each, if the result is more than the hirelings current score that statistic increases by 1.).
Maximum Hirelings: While there is no test to see whether a hireling will accept the offer of employment or not, the amount of hirelings a Guild Dog is dependent on their CHA. Uncharismatic Guild Dogs will find they are unable to procure the services of hirelings.
Charisma Score:
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Maximum Number of Hirelings:
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10 - 12
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2
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13 - 15
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4
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16 - 18
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6
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Other things: Hirelings need to eat and rest just as any other entity would.
Specialists : Specialists are available for a single, specific job. They are hired through agents who source the specialist for the Guild Dog. The more skilled, connected and popular the specialist is, they more expensive they are to find and hire. The cost of hiring a specialist for a single task is as follows:
Specialist Sourcing Agent's Fee (paid up front)
+ ((Equipment Score x Hit Dice) + Morale Score) x Status Statistic x Clout Statistic x Skill Statistic = Cost for job, in Gold Pieces.
Specialists are assumed to always have an Equipment Score of 4 but Hit Dice and Morale Score are still determined randomly. Status, Clout and Skill are statistics determined by 4d6 that simulate how good a specialist is at a certain type of job. Not all specialists will have all three statistics. When wanting to hire a specialist, a Guild Dog indicates which of the three statistics they need in the specialist they wish to hire. An order is then given to an agent who will source the specialist. Requesting a specialist with any of the Status, Clout or Skill statistic costs 250 gold for each separate statistic (ie; requesting a specialist with all 3 costs 750 gold). The specialist sourcing agent's fee is paid upfront and non refundable, but the specialists services can be cancelled once sourced.
Determining the specialists success in the job set for them is a matter of testing their Skill by rolling d20 under their Skill statistic. When appropriate the Status and Clout statistics can be tested instead of, or in place of the Skill statistic. The Status, Clout and Skill statistics are intended to cover a wide range of possible specialist jobs and it is up to the GM to determine the most appropriate statistic to test and the result of the job attempt.
Status: Reflects the social standing of the specialist and their position in their guild, class, family, church, etc. It is their legitimate and official position, rank or title, backed up by tradition and history. A specialist with a high status has the weight, power and gravitas of ancient social hierarchy behind their demands and actions.
Clout: Reflects the network of influence the specialist has. Through charisma, threats, blackmail and the like the specialist is able to bend others to their will. A specialist with a high clout will know exactly who to bribe, who to threaten and who to kill to get things done.
Skill: Reflects the specialist's ability in a specific activity.