Dungeons & Dragons' roots stretch all the way back to wargaming and it has a subtle influence on play that's sometimes forgotten today. Early D&D relied heavily on henchmen and hirelings, who often rounded out a group that could number as high as 20 members. This sort of play affected the kinds of D&D, from expectations on mortality rate to distribution of treasure.
Morale was an important part of managing hirelings. Rather than make these NPCs suicidal drones who did whatever the PC wanted, morale was introduced to provide a mechanic to manage them without requiring the DM to control all of their movements. A PC who abused his hirelings risked them quitting.
The distinction is significant. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons often presented classes in Dragon Magazine that were considered too powerful for players to use but could make interesting henchmen. This practice gave rise to the "NPC class" which was often used by players anyway, from anti-paladins to death masters.
Henchmen were a part of regular play -- they gained experience points at a slower rate than PCs, but they still advanced -- and were thus these additional characters were usually run by the player herself. In this regard henchman served a variety of roles, including as backup PCs should the PC die. As an extension of the PC, the number of henchmen were dictated by the PC's Charisma stat. Henchmen filled important support: healers, torchbearers, and baggage carriers who took loot out of the dungeon while the PCs continued on.
Hirelings
Hirelings were hired soldiers of a variety of types, the true cannonfodder who were risking their lives for coin. Hirelings were governed primarily by how much the PC could spend, but Charisma played a role in attracting them. Additionally, PCs could attract more by establishing a stronghold.Morale was an important part of managing hirelings. Rather than make these NPCs suicidal drones who did whatever the PC wanted, morale was introduced to provide a mechanic to manage them without requiring the DM to control all of their movements. A PC who abused his hirelings risked them quitting.
Henchmen
Henchmen were non-player characters who had a wide range of abilities, like player characters. They could be just about anything, but their loyalties varied by their relationship with the PCs.The distinction is significant. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons often presented classes in Dragon Magazine that were considered too powerful for players to use but could make interesting henchmen. This practice gave rise to the "NPC class" which was often used by players anyway, from anti-paladins to death masters.
Henchmen were a part of regular play -- they gained experience points at a slower rate than PCs, but they still advanced -- and were thus these additional characters were usually run by the player herself. In this regard henchman served a variety of roles, including as backup PCs should the PC die. As an extension of the PC, the number of henchmen were dictated by the PC's Charisma stat. Henchmen filled important support: healers, torchbearers, and baggage carriers who took loot out of the dungeon while the PCs continued on.
How it Affected the Game
A mass of people moving through a dungeon changes a lot of dynamics in adventure design. Loot that could be pried up, that was heavy, that was not easy to carry, could be relegated to hirelings. Traps could be numerous because few PCs would put themselves at the front of the party. Non-combat characters like wizards could use their henchmen and hirelings to fill in their own combat weakness. Henchmen and hirelings were part of the army-building that was D&D's roots, as we discussed back when "name level" was a goal for PCs to aspire to. Peter V. Dell'Orto, who co-wrote the GURPS supplement, Henchmen, said:Henchmen and hirelings complicated the game considerably from an inventory and character management perspective, something that would likely not be nearly as feasible for later (and more complicated) editions of D&D. Encounters were freer with cash as well, because it was assumed to be spread out among the (very large) party. James Maliszewski explains:
Although we don't use them nearly as much today, henchmen and hirelings were an important transitional step between PCs as leaders of armies and PCs as heroes. As D&D became more focused on the party and less about the army, they fell out of favor.
