HIRELINGS ARE SKILLS

Hirelings have two stats: ROLE and Morale.

ROLE

Test ROLE whenever a hireling attempts a task that could reasonably be covered by their ROLE. For example, a cook could deduce that these wild herbs go well with teroboar stew but not that they can be used to treat green eye. If their ROLE is brought down to 0, they become unable to perform their services until it is Replenished.

Replenish (camp action)

The hireling recovers 1d6 ROLE. If they have access to the necessary materials, they recover 2d6 ROLE.

This actions represents, for example, cooks gatherings herbs, entertainers rereading their books of ballads or mercenaries sharpening their blades and patching up their gambesons. A hireling will automatically take the Replenish action when given the chance if their ROLE is 0.

MORALE (starts at 10)

Test Morale whenever a hireling is in danger, they question their attachment to the party or are forced to perform a task outside their ROLE. If they succeed, they stand by your side but may resent you for forcing them into a difficult situation (-1 Morale). If they fail (-1 Morale), they may refuse to perform their ROLE in the future or may retreat to safety depending on the situation.

COMBAT & CONFLICT

Most hirelings will refuse to aid you in any task outside of their specialization and only those who have been hired to expose themselves to danger will follow you into combat willingly. IF they are forced to fight, they will always try to defend themselves and run for safety as soon as they have the chance. Hirelings take damage to their ROLE. Once ROLE reaches 0, they become vulnerable. If a hireling takes combat damage while vulnerable, they die.

QUALITY

The quality of a hireling’s service is determined by the amount of coin you are willing to spend on them. As a rule of thumb, make it 1 silver standard per point of ROLE monthly and adjust according to the following:

Availability        Abundant x1      Limited x3      Scarce x5

Expertise           Poor x1              Average x3      Exceptional x5

Their ROLE attribute is determined by their Expertise:

Poor: 3+1d6     Average: 6+1d6     Exceptional: 12+1d6

Donato Giancola

Hirelings Come Forth!

Bring a hireling to life by rolling on or choosing from the following tables: ROLE, TRAITS, PERSONALITY and CURIO.

ROLES

If a ROLE is marked as combatant, the hireling will engage in battle willingly. Use starting ROLE to determine Attack and Defence. Combatants are competent with their own weapons.

1. Steward

Produce 1/2/3 slots of adventuring items a day no more expensive than starting ROLE. Subtract slots from ROLE. Can only Replenish if materials are available, such as in cities or settlements.

2. Bodyguard (combatant)

Assign to a character. Can intercept attacks for that character once per round. They will only fight to protect their assigned character and themselves.

3. Spy

Assign to an area. It will come back in 3/2/1 hour(s) with a rough outline of the area +1/2/3 significant features marked on it. Test ROLE to avoid making their presence known.

4. Hunter (combatant)

+1/2/3 Hunt die per Hunt

While On the Hunt, generate up to 1/2/3 Hunt dice by spending the same amount of ROLE as a Hunt action. They will only fight beasts.

5. Scholar

When you hire a scholar, roll 1/2/3 disciplines. Ask up to 1/2/3 questions per day about any of their disciplines and subtract that number from ROLE.

6. Entertainer

Alleviate up to 1/2/3 stress during rests in TOTAL from party. Subtract stress removed from ROLE.

7. Cook

Up to -1/2/3 Exhaustion when eating prepared food. If supplies are not provided, subtract the bonus from ROLE.

8. Lex

When you get in trouble with the law, there is a 1/2/3 in 6 chance that they find a way out four you. You may add up to +1/2/3 chance to the roll. Subtract bonus from ROLE.

9. Tutor

When you hire a tutor, roll 1/2/3 disciplines. The tutor has a score of ROLE in those disciplines. If a PC is tutored for 1 watch a day, they gain 1 Learning Mark after 1 week.

10. Doctor

Up to +1/2/3 to up to 1/2/3 Recovery rolls as a camp action. Whenever this feature is used, subtract the bonus from the Doctor role.

11. Porter

+4/8/12 Inventory

Can carry torches and banners for the party.

12. Mercenary (combatant)

Carries 1/2/3 different weapons. Once per round can be given an order by any party member.

TRAIT

1.  Learned. Knows one additional random skill. Score equals ROLE.

2.  Coward. Rolls Morale with disadvantage.
3.  Talented. When determining ROLE, roll 2d6 and take the best result.
4.  Prepared. When Replenishing, roll +1d6 and keep the best results.
5.  Reckless. While vulnerable, they can still test ROLE as normal.
6.  Loyal. Rolls Morale with advantage.
7.  Mediocre. When determining ROLE, roll 2d6 and take the worst result.
8.  Trained. Competence with one weapon OR +2 Attack to existing weapon.
9.  Survivor. While above 1 ROLE, no attack can bring them down below 1 ROLE.
10.Hardened. +2 Morale.
11.Brawler. Will join the party in combat regardless of ROLE.
12.Connected. Knows up to 1/2/3 peers who can grant food and shelter in these parts.

PERSONALITY
1.   Joyful. An honest smile, hearty laughter, a merry tune whistled.
2.   Arrogant. A judgemental smirk, a scornful glare, a dismissive gesture.
3.   Blunt. This is how things are and this is the only way to put it.
4.   Industrious. Hands busy with tools, heart filled with purpose.
5.   Flirty. Furtive glances, secret smiles, enticing whispers.
6.   Devout. Wilful prostrations, inward prayers, smoke wisps over burning incense.
7.   Inquisitive. Questions on their lips, hands, eyes: “Why? How?”
8.   Caring. Sweet words, uplifting words, gloom banished, what was it now?
9.   Paranoid. Eyes darting, hands twitching, “Was that a threat?!”
10. Sensible. Knowing silence, a collected semblance, a nod of the head.
11. Quiet. Sitting by the fire, standing still, muffled whispers, absent yet there.
12. Ambitious. It is never enough.

CURIO

1. A tarnished ring/twisting necklace/bent wristband that they always kiss/tap/caress before sleep/a meal/ROLE.

2. A sinuous scar/cryptic tattoo/conspicuous birthmark that shimmers/bleeds/throbs when dark/excited/hurt.

3. A merry/somber/ethereal tune they whistle joyfully/hum ominously/sing carelessly when they rest/march/ROLE.

4. A(n) unmarked flask/dried gourd/delicate decanter that they take sips from/sniff/rattle while eating/resting/talking.

5. A crown of dried leaves/assorted trash/golden wreath that they put on/only remove/add to as blood is shed/a life is saved/danger is faced.

6. A little book of prayers/opera libretto/poetry booklet that they read to themselves/recite passages from/leaf mindlessly when they relax/need reassurance/ROLE.

7. A besutu cigar/wooden pipe/pocket hookah that they take drags from/light but never smoke/offer to share when they rest/wake up/ROLE.

8. A petrified idol/copper locket/broken stopwatch that they unerringly check/thoroughly clean/unconsciously hold as they eat/march/ROLE.

9. A silver-inlaid dagger/a ferrite fingerpick/a petralemn fork to snatch their food/pick their teeth/scratch their back as they set camp/speak absentmindedly/march carelessly.

10. A(n) arcana puzzlebox/set of koyaanis dice/deck of magna cards that they play with/shuffle compulsively/go through instinctively while they relax/have a meal/ponder a problem.

11. A white-feathered lithocorax/naked cinderrat/bald augur that hides under their clothes/chews on their hair/hops around when they feel threatened/stressed/excited.

12. A scribbled strip of crude leather/list of fine parchment/bronze-bound tome that they erase a name from/add an item to/always consult after blood is shed/danger is faced/ROLE.

Donato Giancola

Coin shall be Spent: Contracts

The nature of the party's relationship with their hirelings is mediated by the contracts they sign and the promises they make. Choose a FORM and a PAYMENT and always keep your word. 

FORM

1. Formal Agreement. A simple contract stating the terms and conditions put forward by every party involved. This accord requires the approval of a Lex.

• Breach: the consequences shall be those stipulated in the agreement. No more, no less.

2. Bloodletter. Written and signed with the blood of the partakers on a piece of janus parchment empathically attuned by an andanti. Taking turns, each partaker gets to state at least 1 condition that the other party must fulfil or agree to. Each signer suffers a Vitality wound (Severity [Conditions]) after signing. Contracts of this nature tend to be short and straightforward.

• Breach: the price of blood betrayed is more blood. Suffer a Severity [Conditions] Vitality wound         as         you bleed out. The breach must be intentional and/or the consequence of negligence.

3. Word of Honor. A verbal agreement typically sworn before a witness. Although not legally binding, this type of contract carries a heavy symbolic weight. Takes up 1 Memory slot.

• Breach: shame is a terrible burden and it is now yours to bear. The contract turns into Shame (1    Memory, test Presence as a camp action, remove on a nat. 1). If you try to enter a contract while  harbouring Shame, roll 1d6. On 3-6, they know.

4. Castra Licentia. Written and signed on fine, official parchment and sanctioned by a member of La Castra, this contract is legally binding anywhere within Gaúl and the Annexed Territories.

• Breach: La Castra takes its authority very seriously and you have spat right on its face. You may not enter into a contract of this nature again and you will be denied by every bureaucratic institution until you pay your fine (usually the full price of the service).

5. Oath of Binding. A formal contract detailing the conditions through which each partaker may become binder or bound.

• Breach: the bound rests at the absolute mercy of the binder, who is free to do with them as they please without fear of retribution. Until such time comes, the binder is obliged to provide food, shelter and protection for the bound.

6. Accord of Repossession. Each partaker stipulates a possession of their own property of approximately equal value. If any of the partaker’s is not satisfied with the other’s proposition, the other party must make a new proposition. Once both partakers agree, the deal is closed.

• Breach: the other party can claim the proposed possession or its value in coin. The breach can’t have been caused by external intervening factors such as an overtly greedy partaker.

PAYMENT

1. Daily Stipend. To be paid daily at dawn or dusk.

2. Contract of Totality. To be paid upon completion of the task.

3. Agreement of Halves. To be paid one upfront and one upon completion.

4. Deed of Failure. To be paid in full, regardless of performance.

5. Act of Favor. To be paid with a favor of approximately equal monetary value.

6. Beggar’s Deal. To be paid partially in spices, the exact item(s) and value chosen by the employer/employee (Test Knowledge, Success: you choose).

Donato Giancola

Notes & Comments

My players are fast approaching a point in which they are going to need the help of other NPCs if they want to have a chance of fulfilling their mission. Although the system of Amongst the Ruins is quite light on the GM side, managing stated NPCs can get pretty cumbersome pretty quickly, particularly if those NPCs are fully fleshed out (generate attributes, choose Natures, decide on abilities, consider improvements, etc…). This, I feel, often distracts me from playing the NPCs properly, as it is hard for me to find the right balance between optimal mechanical applications and narrative interpretation. At the same time, every die roll I make is a roll the players aren’t making, which I find decreases engagement somewhat.

    For those reasons, I came up with this simple system that solves both problems at the same time. By distilling hirelings into a ROLE and an ability, I can give the players another button to push while freeing some headspace that I can use to keep running the world. This way, the players get to make the rolls and use the abilities as I focus on the narrative aspects of hirelings. As it stands, this system is wholly untested, but I think it will do, at least for the moment. In the future I might consider getting rid of Morale altogether and just use ROLE damage to navigate tense situations. The more you press your hirelings, the more reluctant they'll be to offer a decent service. Makes sense, I think. We'll have to wait.

As usual, thank you for your time, gentle reader.