Has anyone got this concern? My pcs often hire mercenary soldiers, if only to guard their stuff while they're in a dungeon or something. They tend to put a fair bit into this--my one player spent quite a while working out how to make sure they were well provided for and what shares of treasure they would get and all kinds of things like that. So it's not like I feel I can just take them away or have them casually slaughtered if the game situation doesn't merit it.
What I'm wondering specifically about is for instance the Sea Wyvern's Wake, Here Be Monsters and the defense of Farshore--it seems like I should not punish my players for forethought. I don't mind the complication of running more npcs but I'm wondering if it will upset the way the game is supposed to go.
|
I wouldn't put too much stock in the mercs. If the PCs decided to hire and bring a bunch of mercs they need to find space on the Sea Wyvern. According to the Arms and Equipment Guide you can convert 1 ton of cargo space into quarters to house 2 medium or smaller creatures. They have 40 tons of cargo space free to do with as they please but you should stress the prospective length of the journey and the need for trade goods to go to Farshore. Even if they decided to convert 10 tons of space and hire 20 mercs, there should be a decent amount of attrition on the voyage. The pirate blockade, the Hydra, the Ooze, the Sargasso Sea, they should all claim a few of the mercs, maybe whittling the mercs down to 1/2 or so.
Also the more passengers on the Sea Wyvern, the more storage needed for food and water for the passengers, so even if the PCs forgo ANY extra supplies I would rule that at most 30 more mercs could be aboard due to the increased amounts of food and water needed.
Don't pull any punches with the Mercs either. These are secondary characters (red shirts! Yeah!) and what better way to portray danger than to have a few trained, veteran warriors bite it?! The PCs will feel like they planned good and 10-20 mercs isn't gonna be much of a tide turner in the battle of Farshore. It could make the trip through the jungle easier but if you have a few mercs snatched at night by island denizens it could add some creepiness to the journey.
hope it helps.
FH
A decent portion of STAP is played in places where Merc soldiers aren't easily found:
Far Shore - Not a whole lot of people to draw from.
Olman villages & IoD in general - You might get a henchman or two, but a big group of important hunters/protectors and so forth would be a lot harder.
Scuttlecove - Don't hire here unless you're looking for unreliable help.
The Abyss - Not a good idea to hire here, either.
A couple of my characters were members of Zelkarune's Horns. They hired some mercs to go with them to the Isle of Dread. I let them hire about 6 or so. The characters are now in the Shrine of demogorgon. The mercs are all dead now. Most of the mercs were 3rd level warriors. I didn't find it unbalanced or really disrupted the game in any way. It was fun to have some extra NPCs to slaughter. I didn't go out of my way to kill them either, but even the basic encounters in the adventures will take their toll. Most of them survived until we reached the isle of Dread, at that point they really started die a lot.
Mercenary=redshirt.
Watch Jurassic Park and Predator for inspiration.
Mutinous mercenaries try to steal the Sea Wyvern to get the hell off the island.
|
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
|
Mercenary=redshirt.
Watch Jurassic Park and Predator for inspiration.
Mutinous mercenaries try to steal the Sea Wyvern to get the hell off the island.
Dude, that would be AWESOME as a side event! Led by some of those pirates who survived, who had agreed to be "reformed" until they realized just how much stuff was going down...
Or something like that.
Thanks, that's reassuring. My pcs are more likely to get them when they have some gold in their belts in Sasserine or possibly even make a side trip to someplace to get some. They aren't so much likely to hire a whole army, maybe 20 tops.
I am now thinking that I could run the tunnel trip through to Fogmire like a scenario from "Predator" with the barlgura grabbing a sentry or two, only bloodstains found only to discover a skinned naked body later on...
I did a bit of that, although I think Olangru only ended up killing one or two. The centipedes got one, and the gargoyles tore about 3 or 4 apart- that damage reduction makes life hard for those poor little mercs.
Thanks, that's reassuring. My pcs are more likely to get them when they have some gold in their belts in Sasserine or possibly even make a side trip to someplace to get some. They aren't so much likely to hire a whole army, maybe 20 tops.
I am now thinking that I could run the tunnel trip through to Fogmire like a scenario from "Predator" with the barlgura grabbing a sentry or two, only bloodstains found only to discover a skinned naked body later on...
|
When the Sea Wyvern is crashed on the reef, I would presume the mercs are left to guard the ship while the PCs go get help.
An interesting and perhaps "fun" session could be the players playing AS THE MERCs defending their beachside camp from various beasts. You could even split the mercs into two factions: Those who say "ditch the pcs" and those who say "we need them". Obviously the players will play those who are on the PCs side. Role-playing such tension, and and letting the success of the Mercs (via the players) determine whether or not they have a mutiny or not.
I can see a real creepy, Lord of the Flies roleplaying session here...
Went down this road with the leadership-feat ( a few characters were 6th level already before leaving Sasserine ). The followers worked wonders for tying the players down in HtbM and making them return for the Sea Wyvern at the earliest moment to pick up everyone else.
Major roleplaying element, since the "grogs" have become treasured associates (if only for the sights seen and dangers faced together ) for the group by now.
I don't think mercs are going to unbalance anything - just don't run with the stupid "noone on the ship survives but the group and the "named" NPCs" comment from HtbM. That one sentence discarded so much roleplaying fun.... should have been debugged =)
Just hand the mercs some red shirts and be done with it.
Hm...I'm glad I have some time to think about this before I actually run it in a month or so. I think that my main concern has been that the adventure thread seems to constantly stress the importance of things such as that only those 4 npcs survive or that as with many pre-written adventures there is an assumption that the party is small. Along with that there is as stated above the concern that my players have got the right to plan and spend resources.
And the more they save the more they have to feed, protect, keep away from Avner...
Avner never made it to the Isle of Dread (oh well, his mortal remains did.... pickled in brandy.... after that unfortunate duel... *grin*) - which really added to the PCs enjoyment of the SWW.
The crew worked very well - doing a lot of chores, adding eyes and ears to the camp watches. And the group looked out for them, because these guys were an investment (from the Leadership-Feat) not some cannonfodder or NPCs forced on them by the GM to keep safe.
|
Avner never made it to the Isle of Dread
thats too bad... (I havn't read past ToD since my groups are in the 1st and 3rd installments respectively) but I hoped that the dual ended up being between avners uncle and a PC... that way at the end of TOD when the pirates leave Avner goes with them.. only to meet the PCs later.