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So last session we wrapped up the encounter at the foxglove townhouse in Magnimar. Afterward the party returned to the Underbridge because the party's gnome sorcerer had an idea. He found a random homeless man and asked him to come along on the adventure. He is paying the man 25 gold per week (this is probably a lot for a bum) to allow him to ride along on the man's shoulders. He also named the homeless man Hodor. After about 10 minutes of crylaughing at the table I hesitantly approved of the offer, reasoning that 25 gold a week for a bum is a glorious windfall. He also armed Hodor with a crossbow and bought him armor.
I guess for now I am going to use one of the stat blocks in the back of the Gamemastery guide. At the same time, there is no way this guy is going to survive some of the encounters coming up. A channel negative energy by Ironbriar for example would likely one-shot Hodor and then some. I think the player knows this, and is just going to take the armor, weapon, and money off of dead bum's corpse, and give the job to the next mook willing to take it.
How would other DMs deal with this situation?
Require him to take the Leadership Feat. This is obviously a Follower (rather than a Cohort).
Also, this is a bum. Once he gets the 25 gold? Have him hare off and get totally smashed and unable to function because he's sloshed out of his mind. ;)
He's a hireling, not a "follower"--no leadership needed. As long as the character explains the risks, then it's up to the bum whether or not he takes the job. However, if the character is callous towards the bum, expects him to die, and then continues on with his day as if nothing's happened--alignment shift towards evil.
This seems evil because of the lack of respect for life, but it is not like the bum is being forced to go. The bum would probably negoiate a time of service so he does not die for 25 gold peices if he can help it.
IIRC back on the WotC boards someone figured out the average commoner makes about 40gp a month so that 25 is nice to have, but I dont know if it is enough for him to risk his life, at least not more than once especially once he sees real combat.
Once Hodor is dead , if your player do it again , tell him this is an evil act
Agreed.
There's nothing that says Hodar would stick around after combat starts. As soon as the knives come out I would have Hodar make a bee line for the door, either with the gnome, or making escape artist checks to get this crazy gnome off his back.
Hahaha, yes! "Man I'm not dyin' for this screw youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
There's nothing that says Hodar would stick around after combat starts. As soon as the knives come out I would have Hodar make a bee line for the door, either with the gnome, or making escape artist checks to get this crazy gnome off his back.
Exactly. A bum is going to freak out at the first sign of combat and start running, probably in the wrong direction.
He's also likely to blow all his gold on drink very fast. If he can even stand up he's going to be very wobbly.
There's nothing that says Hodar would stick around after combat starts. As soon as the knives come out I would have Hodar make a bee line for the door, either with the gnome, or making escape artist checks to get this crazy gnome off his back.Exactly. A bum is going to freak out at the first sign of combat and start running, probably in the wrong direction.
He's also likely to blow all his gold on drink very fast. If he can even stand up he's going to be very wobbly.
"Riding your mount causes seasickness. Roll Fortitude to retain your last meal."
As soon as it became clear that it was a dumb OOC joke (and besides the needless pop culture reference, jokes about the homeless are pretty distasteful in general to me) I'd probably have put a stop to it right then, but I'm kind of cranky about that sort of thing.
Were I to lose my mind and let it happen in the first place, at the very least I'd say there are likely to be alignment consequences depending on how the NPC is treated, and as the hireling is an NPC and not created by a class feature, etc., I'd certainly not let the player directly control the character's movements or actions in any way. Diplomacy checks are going to be required from time to time, and don't forget the +10 DC modifier for 'give dangerous aid' if combat is involved.
I think imposing a concentration check for spellcasting in any round where the NPC moves is also appropriate (DC 10 + spell level, just as on a moving mount.)
As carrying a gnome on your shoulders is very inconvenient, I would probably rule that the bulk and inconvenience would increase encumbrance for the NPC by one level, regardless of the gnome's weight.
Also remember that commoners are only proficient in one weapon, which is probably not likely to be a crossbow; they are also not proficient in armor so the NPC will also be taking armor check penalties on attack rolls and strength- and dex- based skill checks unless the armor has an armor check penalty of zero.
In addition I'd probably impose some of the Ride skill rules, such as:
- any time he or the NPC take damage, he'll have to make a Ride check to stay mounted (DC 5, with a total of a -10 penalty on the check, -5 for no saddle and -5 for a creature ill-suited to be a mount.)
At this point the other players at the table would probably peer pressure the guy into not being such a pain. ;)
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We have a dwarf barbarian with 17 strength in our party and a very lightweight female gnome sorcerer. It turns out the dwarf can very easily carry the gnome at 30 ft, whilst the gnome can only move 20ft. So they have an 'arrangement' and it works well. Although as soon as combat starts she hops off... its mostly used for rapid transit situations.
Now all you need is for your dwarf to puff on a pipe while carrying her around! =^-^=
A gnome (35 lbs) weighs only a little more than my daughter, whom I carry on my shoulders now and again. It's not hard - I can run OK in s straight line if I hold both her legs - but I wouldn't want to try using a crossbow at the same time. And if I were to fall over, it's a long way down. Certainly farther down than dismounting from a horse.
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Hodor got hit by a channel negative energy, barely survived, and went running off to spend his first and only paycheck on a week-long bender at the Dreaming Dryad in Lowcleft.
Case closed, thanks for the input guys.
Was the gnome on his shoulders when he ran?
Hodor got hit by a channel negative energy, barely survived, and went running off to spend his first and only paycheck on a week-long bender at the Dreaming Dryad in Lowcleft.
Hmm... a place like Lowcleft would be a good place to build a brothel, I'm thinking.
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Hmm... a place like Lowcleft would be a good place to build a brothel, I'm thinking.Hodor got hit by a channel negative energy, barely survived, and went running off to spend his first and only paycheck on a week-long bender at the Dreaming Dryad in Lowcleft.
Given recent campaign events, it should probably have a "Must be this tall to ride" sign outside.
I have a character who wants to build a Brewthal. Combination Brothel and Brewery. Because he has a Dream! A dream of a place where people can buy cheap booze from scantily-clad women and then pay extra to have sex with them! (And then he got the idea of killing monsters and cooking up their parts to have as meals. Stole that from some webcomic...)
I have a character who wants to build a Brewthal. Combination Brothel and Brewery. Because he has a Dream! A dream of a place where people can buy cheap booze from scantily-clad women and then pay extra to have sex with them! (And then he got the idea of killing monsters and cooking up their parts to have as meals. Stole that from some webcomic...)
Perhaps I should suggest that to my roommate for his barbarian, because that sounds like it would be an awesome retirement goal for him.