I don’t quite get hirelings. I understand that the GM gets a certain number if points to distribute among a main skill, any number of secondary skills, loyalty, and cost. It says you can distribute between 1 and 10 points. Why do they get such a high potential modifier? How does cost work?
I don’t quite get hirelings.
I don’t quite get hirelings.
“Why do they get such a high potential modifier?”
I’m not sure I follow. They can have up to 10 points spread between loyalty and various skills, but that’s like The Best Hireling Ever. Probably has quite a cost attached.
Cost works like an agreement with a real person: they want X (money, fame, etc.). You need to pay them with it regularly (once a session is a good rule of thumb). What exactly counts as paying it depends a lot on the hireling, the characters, and the setting. A minor priest who heals the party and craves fame within his order won’t care two bits if the ale hall toasts him, we wants fame within his order. The poor village warrior will probably take a few coin as happy payment, but the skilled mercenary will ask for more (there some suggested costs for various jobs in the equipment chapter).
It says in the book that each hireling skill has a value from 1 to 10 (page 34). I’m just wondering why the range is so great.
Because otherwise an Adept could never help with a 9th level spell, a Priest could barely heal, and a Tracker wouldn’t be able to take you all that far.
Keep in mind that a hireling with a skill at 10 has (by default) no loyalty and no secondary skills. They’re likely to turn on you unless you really do what they want, and they’re only good at one thing. You had to recruit them from a major city, and they’re basically the best help you can get. Sure, for somethings that’s very powerful (+10 damage from a man-at-arms) but you’ve essentially found the best hired sword there is, I’d expect him to be potent.
Okay. I can grok that. Thank you. Those questions have been burning a hole in my head for months.