Yokiboy said:
Dangit! I wish I could've been at that gaming table Iron Chef...
How many player characters were in the party, and how did you handle all the "extras"?
TTFN,
Yokiboy
I had only two players; everyone else was NPCs (only four of which had any personality or did any "real" talking). I gave each PC a related buddy, either a cousin or brother, and the rest of the Shemites were just extra's. I knew I wanted to run several mass battles to test the combat rules, and couldn't do that with two players, plus I wanted some cool possible NPCs to choose from if I ever got a chance to play. I figured a bunch were going to die (I fudged not one die roll), so I'd wait to develop most of them until the carnage was over. A couple of the background NPC Shemite mercs developed personalities on their own (through their actions) in addition to Talouf, the cousin whose return from Koth to Shem sparked the adventure. He wanted to gather some Shemite mercs and head to Zamboula to "get rich" serving the Satrap, as he'd heard of the need from a Turanian merchant while in Koth seeking employment. Finding King Strabonus' quota of Shemite archers full, he returned to his native city-state of Eruk (the Eagle) to gather a group of Erukhim soldiers (made up of his PC cousin and some old friends) and ride for glory in Zamboula.
The Hyrkanian PC, on the other hand, got his start in Akhlat with his brother, where they were down to their last few silvers and starting to think they should be moving on due to a slow-down in their business. They had been hiring themselves out as expert guides and trackers across the Eastern Desert (preferring to avoid more dangerous mercenary work). They had escaped the destruction of their tribe and had blood relatives of the war chief they had killed on their trail, so by necessity, had to keep a low profile and stay a fair distance from Hyrkania. The Shemites arrived in Akhlat, and employed the Hyrkanians to guide them across the desert... The Hyrkanians didn't bother to tell them they should trade in their camels for horses, thus extending the journey by five days (they were paid by the day, one silver apiece, LOL). They also talked up the danger of Zuagir nomads and bandits, as well as not wanting to get lost... only they could guide the Shemite soldiers in peace and safety across those sand-swept lands. So there was some fun haggling and profiteering between the two factions, with the Shemites not fully trusting their guides, LOL.
The desert night battle with the Zuagir (Desert Hawks) was the result of one of the NPC Shemites cheating a Zuagir nomad at dice in Akhlat (unbeknownst to his fellows). They all booted him out and insulted him, and he swore revenge. At that point, the Hyrkanians, who had been watching the whole thing from across the tavern, knew their luck had changed. Here were stupid foreigners with coin to lose! But well-armed enough that they should be able to take care of themselves in a scrape (meaning less fighting for the Hyrkanians to trouble themselves with).
Anyway, that's the basics of how I started the adventure and led up to the first fight. I merely alluded to the remaining NPCs (the ones not directly related to the PCs), always reminding them that they were there, and their general mood, with an occasional smart-ass remark or bit of advice if I felt like it. What I stressed was the sense of brotherhood between the men, the oneness of purpose, and the competence of them in battle. Also stressed were the culture and religion, and the prejudiced view of other cultures and religions common to most peoples of the Hyborian Age. "These filthy Hyrkanian goat-nappers might just be clever enough to lead us into a trap, cousin, and Bel take me for a liar if they don't look like they'd rather slit a throat than do an honest day's work! It is not wise to trust strangers, especially outlanders." or "By Tarim's beard, these pointy-headed fools will try to cheat us, brother! Remember, the sons of Shem are said to be the greatest liars in the world. We must press our advantage, and keep the price for our services high... especially since we can expect trouble from the Zuagir---remember, that man they cheated was cousin to their chief!"
During two of three battles, Elohar (a previously unexceptional Shemite NPC no one had paid much attention to, including me RPing him), was the ONLY one not to be hit at all, despite wading into battle like a madman. So, he became Elohar the Lucky, and everyone started paying attention to him. Even during the third almost hopeless battle, he was still almost last to go down fighting, and he never gave up (he took on the biggest and strongest Yoggite bravely, if unsuccessfully---fortunately that enemy was cut down by arrow fire immediately thereafter).
Running that many NPCs allowed me to dare the epic battles I wanted (which also served to bind the characters together). I had the 10 Shemite NPCs all have the same stats, so running them was easy. I made the Shemite PC keep track of their hit points and split rolling duty between myself and the players.
