What to call adventurers?

[loseth]

If the PC's walk into a town that was just harrased/robbed by a few NPC's with class levels, a villager might say "We was just looted by a few ________"

'Adventurer' is a genuine historical term that makes perfect sense to me in the context you gave above. However, I do appreciate that in modern English the term has lost much of its flavour. As a substitute, I'm rather partial to 'free companies' to describe bands of adventurers. The free companies were (often small) bands of mercenaries in the Hundred Years' War. When they were out of work (i.e. whenever peace broke out), they would often roam the country acting like brigands or as hired muscle for dodgy patrons.

 

[hexgrid]

I have always had a problem with the term "adventurers". Anyone who calls themselves an adventurer seems like they belong in a peter pan story. My campaigns are not bleak wastelands, but they are gritty enough that no person who hires out their martial skill would be caught dead being called an adventurer.

Even Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are sometimes referred to as adventurers in the Fritz Leiber stories, which have no lack of grit. It doesn't have a Peter Pan vibe for me at all.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

He shovels well. Very well.

Probably even veller then a grave digger!

 

[Dausuul]

I should have stated that I also dislike heroes. It works fine for out of character stuff, but if anyone who walks into a village with a sword or spell book qualifies as a "hero" in the world then... well that sucks.

I was thinking more along the lines of lingo, like in Sigil in 2e anyone one perceived as powerful (ie 10th level plus) was referred to as a "blood" or "hardcase". I am searching for something like that I suppose.

I'm not sure it's possible to come up with a "generic" term that provides the flavor you're looking for. It's all very setting-dependent. In a Wild West-like setting, you might actually use "hardcase." A more romantic, knights-and-dragons setting could use "knights-errant." An ice age, Frostburn-style setting might have "sons (or daughters) of winter." And so on.

 

[Mercule]

Troubleshooters?

Hunting down mutant commie traitors and protecting Alpha Complex one orc at a time.

Personally, I've always called them "mercs" or "mercenary company" in character unless there is something more specific that works. I've also seen noble, merchant, dilettante, thief, explorer, knight, King's man, treasure hunter, bounty hunter, scholar, wizard, diplomat, emissary, priest, and traveler. Many of those carry an implied "and retainers", "and company", "and guards", or some such umbrella for the rest of the party.

My current group consists of an elven knight, a noble turned wizard guild-mistress, a mercenary soldier turned crusader with the backing of the king and church (he'd probably identify himself as a lay-servant of the church), and three companions who are officially labeled as the crusader's retainers (mostly for purposes of weapons permits and political access).