Hale companions, ready and true, prepared to brave the dungeons deep in the name of hard-won gold and glory ...
Behold the doughty and stalwart men- and women-at-arms who hail from the Free City of Grimrook, the infamous and ever-ready "Redshirts" from the mercenary company known as the Order of the Scarlet Tabard!
The old school rules always encourage us to include men-at-arms ready for hire by any low-level Player Characters, so that the adventuring party's strength is bolstered in the dungeon. After all, if there are not enough bodies in the ranks to soak up those pit traps, fatal spider bites, and energy drains, all of those nasty attacks go straight to the imperiled and beloved heroes who are played by the players. But while the rules provide a few guidelines, the scant existing information lends itself to a system in which these heroic NPCs are nameless, faceless, generic, and completely lackluster, until they meet their grisly end.
This book is designed to give you 100 unique individuals, each with their own name, epithet ("the Eremite", "the Merciless", etc.), race, sex, alignment, personality, homeland, ability scores, morale level, hit points, troop type, armor worn, weapons carried, and suggested rate of pay. Now when the PCs hire 10 men-at-arms, you can roll the dice 10 times and have an instant set of 10 adventure hooks and frontline victims ... ah, warriors ... ready to go.
Here is a sample:
Harika the Enforcer, a Human Female, Alignment Lawful Neutral. Personality: Flamboyant, Homeland: Galatia (mythic Asia Minor). Low Ability Score: INT 5, High Ability Score: CON 16. Morale Level 8, Hit Points 3. Troop Type: Light Spearwoman, Armor Type: Leather Armor and Shield (Base AC 7), Weaponry: Broad Sword, 2 Throwing Spears. Pay Rate: 5 1/2 Gold Pieces per Month (or Expedition).
Another useful mini-supplement from Wonderland Imprints, Only the Finest Works of Fantasy.
