Adding an NPC mercenary to the party

[Weisshaupt]

I GM for a small group of three players. A rogue, a paladin and a fighter.
They're all second level, but as I'm running the first Scales of War adventure - Rivenroar - I'm noticing they're really struggling with the encounters.
We've concluded that the issue lies with the encounter scaling. I'm pulling back on monsters in the encounters so they lie in the proper XP allotment ranges but they're still pulling by the skin of their teeth.
So we've decided to create a fourth character, an NPC mercenary that'll join the party for a fee. I've created him and will characterize him out of combat, but they'll control him in encounters.

The question I wanted to pose the larger community is how to deal with this character's pay.
I'm thinking that all experience from encounters are divided evenly over all four characters. This tithe will however be offset by the fact that the group can take on more difficult encounters.

When it comes to treasure I'm not really sure. My first idea was to look at the treasure parcels for a three-character group and let the characters have the two magical items due them, and then give a quarter of the remaining monetary treasure to the mercenary. This will make the player characters considerably less wealthy as time goes by, but I don't think the mercenary will be able to keep up with purchasing magical items with his quarter-of-the-money pay.
The other alternative which struck me was to simply look at the list of four-player treasure parcels. That would probably allow the mercenary to stay as well equipped as the PCs. But then I'm afraid the player's might consider the NPC as one of their own. I want this character presence to be a detriment to the character's progress in a way, and not let him count as just another PC.

On the other hand, there's a reason the treasure allotment exists, and I'm hesitant to reduce the actual money each character receives per level.

 

[Flipguarder]

there are three options based on two intents that I see.

If you want to make hiring the merc a choice (something they choose to do and they do it to make things easier not because they must) then Id give them just your standard amount of gold and items as deemed by the dmg and have them pay out of their own pocket.

If you want the merc to join the party but still be "paid" by the party I would give the party the normal dmg parcels/level for the party of 4 and have the mercs rate be exactly 1/4 of that (this i believe will end up with all 3 of the pcs getting less in the long run

Another option is if you need the merc to be in the campaign and dont want it to be a choice for them would be to give them the regular parcels for a party of 3 and add in extra gold = to the mercs fees.

thats what id do at least.

 

[Ryujin]

If there is a fourth character present then I would scale treasure and items appropriately, meaning that having the extra body will cost them. He's also not going to walk away from the odd magic item, just because the party says so. Remember that he, just like any other member of the party, needs to get the stuff that will let him kill and stay alive no less than the others do.

... unless you use the monster/NPC rules for him, that is. Then he would have his attacks scale beyond what the party can do for themselves and may well be an unbalancing factor later on.

 

[Jhaelen]

I GM for a small group of three players. A rogue, a paladin and a fighter.
They're all second level, but as I'm running the first Scales of War adventure - Rivenroar - I'm noticing they're really struggling with the encounters.
We've concluded that the issue lies with the encounter scaling.

Scaling is probably not the only reason for their problems.

The party consists of two defenders and one striker. Thus they're lacking a controller and a leader. If you add an npc, there'll still be one role that isn't covered by anyone. This means that your party will have a more difficult time against certain monster roles.

The DMG contains a few sections giving advice for small groups and groups lacking certain roles. I'd give you the page numbers but I'm away from my books right now...

 

[Trebor62]

I would track the experience for the encounters as written for a party of five and level up your party of three at the same time a standard party of five would do so.

Or you could just dispense with tracking Exp. and tell them they level up at some point in the adventure.

Also since your party is two defenders and a striker I would scale back the encounters as you are doing but I would lose those monsters the party was least able to deal with, and keep the ones they can cope with better.

As for the pay I would give the party the proper treasure for a party of three and just assume there is extra gold for the mercenary off scene.

If your group likes role playing you can give them the treasure for three plus gold for the mercenary and them role play the pay negotiations.

Finally if the mercenary is going to be a long term member of the group you could award treasure for four and count the mercenary as a equal member of the party. This will keep him leveling an equiped to the parties level so he can continue to be effective.

Good luck

 

[Nebulous]

Is your NPC going to be a heroic-leveled NPC? Meaning, one of the core classes, or is he truly created as an NPC to be less powerful than the main characters? It sounds to me like you need a full-fledged class, and probably a leader given your current lineup. As an NPC, i would use this opportunity to give him very unique personality wise out of combat, and let the players deal with all the combat options. That will be the easiest and most fun route for the DM as well.

 

[Hereticus]

Adding an NPC mercenary to the party

As a player, I'd allow the NPC to have a full share of the treasure.

But after the adventure is over, kill him and take the treasure back. And take the magic items he started with and sell them for more gold.

What the heck... adventurers die all the time. It was sooo unfortunate.

Then for your next adventure, hire another NPC and repeat...

The problem is solved.

 

[Hejdun]

We run a game with just 3 players, and we decided to just run a floating 4th character to fill in the missing holes. We rotate who controls him in combat, and the DM mostly role plays him outside of combat. For loot and experience, he's basically just another member of the party. It works very well for our group.