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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 8140062" data-attributes="member: 87792">Games back in the day were deadlier than they are now - but OSR games are frequently much deadlier than most games they are based on because if it's one of the things people miss they are going to turn it up to 11 as that was a part they enjoyed.Hirelings were some of the most important rules in the game - and yes they were used as meat shields, but they also took a share of the risk and got a share of the loot. And it's a lot easier for four PCs with a dozen hirelings with 1d6 weapons to take down an ogre or three lizardmen in 1-2 rounds than it is for four PCs without the hirelings - and because you have so much total damage you kill the monsters faster and thus take far less damage between you. This is why the wizard having only one spell was fine - in the game of Fantasy naughty word Vietnam they were the guy carrying around a large radio that could call down an airstrike 1/day, but only had a sidearm. And what they did the rest of the time was played lance corporal for the NPC privates. The game, of course, shifted round 4th or 5th level because although hirelings might get a half-share of the loot they didn't level up (unless a PC died in which case your replacement PC was frequently the second hireling from the left, so in universe some of the hirelings went on to great things). By that point the monsters got just that bit too deadly for your standard hireling and although quantity has a quality all of its own they weren't going, and 4th or 5th to 9th level used the nuclear adventuring party we are all familiar with. From memory the brown box has more pages of rules to do with hirelings than combat.As for [USER=42040]@Retreater[/USER] asking for rules light, fun, and fast paced, come to the dark side, we have cookies. Depending on what you are looking for Blades in the Dark, Apocalypse World, or Fate could be what you are after.</blockquote>

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