D&D 5E Assassins, Spies, and Support Personel

[doctorbadwolf]

Dude. Not cool. Don't be a jerk to people just because they didn't give the kind of answer you wanted.

You’re kidding.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If your retainer isn't combat ready, what are they for?

The rest of the game? Is your game entirely combat?

 

[SkidAce]

* Factions/Reputation/Infamy. Drawing from the DMG but heavily modified with an "organization dice" mechanic from an ENWorld article

How's this?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The rest of the game? Is your game entirely combat?

If you don't make your NPC allies sidekicks then the don't scale. So, when the villain finally gets round to attacking the player's stronghold at level 15, all the PC's friends that they have known since level 5 die like punks because they are 9hp commoners.

Most of the time non-combat NPCs don't need stat blocks, but, if they do get involved in a fight, those sidekick rules are the best way to make sure they aren't all incinerated by the first fireball.

 

[Umbran]

You’re kidding.

Not in the slightest. It wasn't red-text level, but it was still uncool treatment of people who were just voicing an opinion.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Not in the slightest. It wasn't red-text level, but it was still uncool treatment of people who were just voicing an opinion.

I’m a bit at a loss, then. I responded with a reasonable level of rebuke to an unnecessary post dismissive of the thread topic.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If you don't make your NPC allies sidekicks then the don't scale. So, when the villain finally gets round to attacking the player's stronghold at level 15, all the PC's friends that they have known since level 5 die like punks because they are 9hp commoners.

Most of the time non-combat NPCs don't need stat blocks, but, if they do get involved in a fight, those sidekick rules are the best way to make sure they aren't all incinerated by the first fireball.

If a player takes the Noble or Knight background, and gets retainers, do you write them up as sidekicks?

If so that’s fine, but a mechanical feature wouldn’t do so.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

How's this?

It’s not a bad path.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I’m a bit at a loss, then. I responded with a reasonable level of rebuke to an unnecessary post dismissive of the thread topic.

Mildly critical is not the same as "dismissive". If you share an idea, you have to accept not everyone will think it is wonderful.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If a player takes the Noble or Knight background, and gets retainers, do you write them up as sidekicks?

If so that’s fine, but a mechanical feature wouldn’t do so.

I would if the player became attached to them.

More likely, they would be waved good-bye to in the first session, and never seen again.

Anything "mechanical" about friends and allies is a fundamentally bad idea. They come from backgrounds and plot events, they don't materialise out of thin air when a character hits a certain level.