When I offer hirelings to the PCs, they're generally individuals. They have unique stats (even if they're fairly cookie-cutter template based), they have unique quirks, "carefully" chosen minis*, and odd names. I take my naming cues from Monty Python, Glen Cook, and Japanese video games.
I do this for all sorts of good reasons.
I wonder, though, if that has consequences for how much risk people will put NPCs into. It's harder to risk the death of Ken Shabby, Lucky Pete, Basher the Thug, and the Meeposian Brothers than it is to risk the death of Spearman #1 - #12 and we'll name them later if they survive and do well.
Psychologically it's just easier to accept losses if those losses are impersonal and remote. Although I've done a lot of the above because I want to make it harder to accept losses and to treat NPCs like human mind detectors and meat shields ("Send in a hireling to pull the lever" is trickier when it's Gort, your humorous buddy.) But I may have gone a bit too far on that.
If I generally didn't give names out for NPCs, maybe even just used numbered counters instead, would they be treated differently? Would it affect how the players interact with them?
I may need to do this - offer up general, generic, nameless troops of recruited men and women, and see if the PCs handle that differently than risking certain death for Larry the Crossbowman.
* Often from the non-small Dell'Orto Painted Pirate Collection. Foundry and Eureka Pirates makes especially oddball hirelings. Not Oddball-oddball, but certainly "those guys Jack Sparrow brought along as his crew" oddball. Mr. Cotton's Parrot, same question.
Your fun hirelings add to reading about it, Spearman 4 isn't near as fun
ReplyDeleteNot being used as abject disposable cannon fodder is probably good for their morale also . . . I mean, if you want 30 moneys to visit the dungeon you might want to live to spend it
You don't want rent a minions to be nothing more than self propelled consumables
Also, I'd think any 125pt or less weight class person willing to go into the dungeon that periodically kills 250pt plus PCs must be an interesting person. Boring people don't do that sort of thing
"Desperate" is a better description than "not boring". ;)
DeleteDesperate, foolish, unrealistically hopeful, etc. It's never a good sign. It's not even a good idea for the powerful folks, but hey, ambition.
DeleteI suspect it would change things if you didn't name the NPCs. I'm always surprised how readily we become attached to NPCs. In +Ken H's Montporte, "Little Larry" (a kobold henchman) was practically a regular "PC-like" member of the party. We would never have sent him in to take risks we wouldn't take with our own PCs. And in the game I'm running for my wife, she has definite attachments for certain NPCs too, and I think she'd have her PC do just about anything to protect them. I think the simple act of naming them makes them feel much more real.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I personally would have no qualms at all about sending "spearman number 3" out to do things that I would never send "Little Larry" out to do.
That's what I'm thinking - maybe it's hard for the players even if it wouldn't be hard for their PCs. I'll have to see how they feel about it.
DeleteI had a big change in treatment when "naginata weilder"became "Numbah Three Son" and there has been definite affection toward hungover Carence Montague the lanter bearer and Charlen LePore the spearwoman. If they were generic redshirts, they probably would be dead.
ReplyDeleteConsidering I was the one who hired them (unless they predate Jareth), they'd have had names /even if you didn't give them names/.
DeleteAs for Number 3 Son, Chye was all about helping him when he was unnamed. Giving him a name though did give him personality.
I don't even see how the PCs could really interact with them if they didn't have names. What would they call them? "Hey, spearman number 3, watch this tunnel"?
ReplyDeleteNo, I bet that even if you don't give them names, they'd be given names in short order. Unless the only one they interact with is Hasdrubel. He might just refer them by the numbers.
I doubt it would really change anything. I know for instance that when the enemies have names (and are scrubs) it doesn't stop them from getting steamrolled or cause them to be selected out for 'extra special' steamrolling. It's only when they do something out of the ordinary that garner them special attention (either extra beat-down or an easing).
Yes, with Sense of Duty: Party Members on most of the PCs it tells you that those players WANT to care about those hirelings they bring along. Or at least have chosen that they have to care about them.
DeleteAlso, by now the group has established enough of a reputation to not use their helpers as living mine detectors; so changing anything now is too late. The payout of keeping this reputation - being able to hire NPCs more easily or even having them tag along for tips - when they already enjoy having those guys with their oddities and quirks around is just too high.
Unless they are really trying to build a small army against the orcs (When it become "Squadleader #1 with Sworddude 1, Archer 1 and Spearguy #1a and #1b) it will probably stay this way.
Referring to them would be easy, that's a non-obstacle. Most of my players roleplay either like "I tell Slinky Sam to stand over here" or "Mo tells Ike he needs healing." So "I tell Spearman #1 to stand over here" or "Mo tells Archer #3 to shoot down the hallway" isn't any different.
DeleteThe point about Sense of Duty is good, but again, not everyone has it. And I posted about people over-reading it from a sense of duty into a PC-dependent relationship.
Ah, you don't do "character voice". That's explains that.
DeletePeople do drop into character voice, but it's not the default. For generic NPCs, it would still work as long as they're generally uniform. "Spearman, stand by that door!" works about as well as "Soldier, stand by that door" or "Marine, stand by that door" or an actual name like "Fearless Ferdt, stand by that door!"
DeleteI say keep the names...they're great. Hjalmarr's going to tone down his sense of duty a bit. We'll be fine. Frankly, Ken Shabby's death was pretty glorious.
ReplyDeletePlayer votes are the ones I count. They'll stay unless you guys hire by the bunch.
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