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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 9682283" data-attributes="member: 5435">Regarding henchmen and hirelings - when I played D&D as a teenager we didn't use them as players, but we usually had large parties and didn't think much about logistics or "realism" when playing. Henchmen would be a drain on treasure and XP and I didn't have the DM chops to cultivate those kinds of player-NPC relationships.The idea of henching and hiring grew on me while reading Knights of the Dinner Table in the 00's. Today, I recently started an AD&D game with a relatively small party (4-5) and they are running through Hommelet which has some pretty deadly encounters. So in the village, as word spread that they were planning an expedition, I had some mercenaries and villagers ask the party if they were hiring. The module also has several named NPCs who are explicitly for hire with different payment conditions (e.g. the M-U wants to keep any scrolls found). So the expeditions to the moathouse had about 8-10 people. Some of those NPCs could become henchmen or henchwomen if they have chemistry with one of the PCs.The group is having fun with this aspect of the game but it probably wouldn't have occurred to them to hire people if I hadn't shoved a bunch of NPCs under their noses at the inn. It's definitely an old-school gaming trope.</blockquote>