Henchman - do they work?

[wlmartin]

I am in the middle of asking my DM if I can have a Henchman for my PC.

Unlike Hirelings, which are very easy to use - Henchman take more effort and if you spring it on your DM without notice or an agreement I feel it is unfair so I am keen for his approval but also wanted to find out what others thought about them.

Have you used them in 4e?
Do you have any good or bad experiences with using Henchman?
Do you have any advise?

My character is a ranged controller, extremely frail and it makes sense he would want a bodyguard that would stay close to him, attack anything that came close whilst if nothing is close he will wail on the enemies from a distance with this ranged weapon.

I was thinking about paying the Henchman the standard Hireling rate + a 10% cut of all of my loot (that way he is more than just a permanent hireling, he is invested in keeping me alive and doing well) where also I can see my character giving him bonuses for jobs well done if needed.


How would this sound to you if it was used/proposed in your D&D game? Would this unbalance things for your group or would this just be a different way to approach the weak controller dynamic that appears interesting?



I dont want people / my group to think this is just my way of cheating the game by having a permanent meat shield at my side, whilst this is a big plus, to me it is the equivalent of investing in a consumable item (such as a potion) that I am constantly quaffing to give myself an advantage but instead of downing a potion of clarity or such, I am utilizing a bodyguard and not only is the end result the same (it costs me more than the other players to keep myself alive and safe be it drinking lots of potions or using a Bodyguard) but it also offers some interesting interactions within the group dynamic that I like the idea of!


Also, considering my character is a Telepathic Psion, quite Charismatic, it is quite foreseeable that he would have an entourage... And if I decide to go down the route of the fluffy version of Thralherd (where instead of dominating a mind-slave you instead attract groupies that follow your every command) then this sets him up as a Celebrity, and that just sounds like an Epic Destiny I can get onboard with!



So any thoughts?

 

[S'mon]

This seems more a matter for your DM. The DMG2 Companion rules certainly work fine, I've used a few.

As GM I'd expect the henchman to want a loot share comparable to his level. If he's 5 levels below you then a 1/5 standard share would be reasonable, but he might not be very effective then. If he's the same level as you I'd expect a full share; as GM I might be generous and allow half share + a fixed salary. AIR the henchman salaries in 4e are high, anyway.

Edit: He'll also soak up his share of party XP.

 

[was]

I find that using henchmen is okay as long as they remain in secondary roles and don't dimish the player characters. Henchmen shouldn't be so powerful that the players are just sitting back and letting them win fights and solve problems for them.

 

[Ryujin]

The biggest issue that I've found, is that effective henchmen make encounters easier. They have to be figured into the encounter budget and experience must be split reasonably, to account for their presence. They don't make it easier to obtain the same results, unless your DM ignores these factors.

My players are mainly melee types. They managed to recruit a couple of enemy archers, in an early adventure, and that helped to round out their party. After that point it became a running gag that they would always say, "We don't have a [insert creature's name] in our group. Would you like to join?" whenever the end of a combat was nearing.

 

[aco175]

I would agree that they get a full, almost full, share of xp and gold. I don't think that should get magic, but if the dm or player wants to give them something that should work. I have played a few semi-companion characters. They get full share of xp even though they are around 1/2 to 3/4 the power of a character. I did give one of them a magic item to protect from fire of such, or a magic weapon lower than the party to do a bit more when critical or he throws a weapon.

I would recomend a companion character. They are simple to make and upkeep with limited powers and abilities. They do not or rather should not show up any in the party with cool powers since they only have one or two. They do make encounters a bit more easy since they do have some power, so I do add them as a character in counting the number of pcs. My player's group can generally handle tougher fights even with one character being a bit weaker than the rest.

 

[Zanjan]

I've introduced henchmen into our campaign of late, and they seem to be working out well. I've used standard monster types, about half the PC's level, with maybe a few power tweeks or neat items. They are easy for the players to handle during combat, don't take part in role-playing, and provide important, if mundane, roles outside of combat. They contribute to combat mostly through tactics, not huge damage, and get compensation through room and board, and most of their needs being fulfilled by the PC's. The PCs are almost like lords or nobles to these henchmen, who work for them because of their prestige and reputation. They generally serve the group, although it would be easy to turn one of these into a personal henchmen, perhaps gaining some status of his/her own through association with the PC. When the PC's level up, so will the henchmen so they maintain parity with the PCs.

I really don't worry too much about the xp or treasure. I bump up the encounters a bit, but, in the end the PCs level up after about the same amount of games anyway. Treasure is also not much of an issue. The PCs will usually throw them a sweet little bauble, gem or a few coins when booty is found, which is enough to keep them happy. I think a formal percentage of treasure going to them is unnecessary. No need to complicate things

I'd say keep the henchmen simple (but effective), make them standard type monsters--not watered down PCs, and don't really worry about the xp. If your campaign counts every single xp and divvies them strictly, maybe reduce the total for an encounter by 10% or, split that among the PC and level the henchmen when the time is right.

 

[S'mon]

I'd say keep the henchmen simple (but effective), make them standard type monsters--not watered down PCs

I found that the Companion NPC rules worked much better than using a standard monster, but I was using creatures at or close to PC level. If you have 5th level henchmen with 10th level 4e PCs, I can see that using standard monster stats might work best.

 

[Unwise]

If I allowed a henchman, it would be two simple requirements:
1) It cannot slow down combat much at all
2) It will never in the course of ordinary play steal a scene by doing something awesome that a PC should have done

So what I would do is make them minions with a decent amount of HP. A basic soldier would have simple javlin and sword attacks that always hit for the same amount of damage and cannot crit, much like a minion. I would give him a knights defender aura.

That would be really quick and easy to play. No choice of abilities, just the two basic attacks. No confusion about who is or is not marked, just the aura.

Deciding on the amount of HP and healing surges to give him would be the hard bit.

 

[Rampant]

Well if the PC is a telepath consider just going thrallherd, that way your hench runs off your int score, is factored into a few abilities, and doesn't have that messy free will.

Companions and Henchmens are the same thing and neither benefits from armor or +x aspects of items only the special properties and powers apply. There is a special class of items specifically for companions you may wanna look into.