RETAINERS:
- parahprase: “4th level or higher are generally not available in cities.” I like 3rd+ personally as in chainmail this was the first “hero” level as hero-1. I always considered “normal men” to be 0-2nd level (bandit through neanderthal).
- I’m sure you are aware that in 0d&d retainers (leveled npc’s) could not be “hired” but had to be found in dungeons/adventures. These were subdued dragons, friendly elfs, or sprites or a 3rd level fighter. Furthermore these “heroic retainers” are a nice way of deciding what kind of FFC/Arnesonian “special units” any army has. If you want a dragon for your army, go get one and it should count against your retainer maximum. This hiring of heroes in cities seems a bit banal. The short story that gygax wrote, “THE GAINT’S BAG” as a great example of the retainer rules from the LLB’s. It seems you’ve fallen into the bland ad&d hiringling section and have abandoned the 0d&d wimsical one where a subdued manticore could then become a henchmen that guards your castle. Just look at the henchmen available to lords/wizards/patriarchs in the wilderness and dungeon exploration section of the LLB’s. Here’s the relevant section (I’m sure you all have read the story as well as the short story of the wizard and the magic ring where gygax states in the epilogue that that it was a textbook example of henchmen morale rules).
“Are you come with peaceful intentions?” the mage shouted. “Duhhh…” the giant replied. Somewhat relaxed by this friendly greeting, the men invited him into their camp. As soon as the great oaf was sprawled at ease by the fire, Nestre inquired if the giant was on any important business. The big fellow said that he was simply out for a month’s stroll in the greenwood, so the mage immediately sought to enlist the services of their guest: “We are, good Giant, here with a purpose. We have with us a map leading to a fabulous store of wealth! Things in this forsaken land, however, seldom turn out as planned, o we are willing to share the treasure with you in return for your aid in gaining it! Do you consent?” “Duh, sure, duh,” the giant replied indecisively. And so the bargain was sealed."
- MONSTER REACTIONS: here again, a friendly result and no mention that such dungeon denizens may(?) become a retainer if properly propositioned.
- does a charmed person/monster count against your retainer limit? (it should imo).
PROFICIENCIES: - I like the NPC proficiency rules (5, 10 etc years).
- I don’t like the PC version. Why not make it a GP cost instead of a certain amount granted at certain levels? After all, this game is about finding gold, not leveling up. The same reason behind letting lower level PC’s build castles and strongholds and not setting an arbitrary level where a castle can be built is that if the PC’s are getting all of this loot, the game must provide means for them to spend the gold! You guys are doing such and awesome job integrating the gold the PC’s acquire and the domains around them, why not open it up a bit for non-canonical things like proficiences? Simply make new proficiences gained after 1st level cost a PC X amount of gold and time? This way if a PC wishes to emphatically not become a baron or lord, but instead wants to be an engineer/sage he can sink his fortune into training.
This way, taking proficiencies becomes like researching spells. i.e. money and time sinks for players to effect their character and the world around it. Much more logical to spend 3000gp and 2 months learning to ride with the nomadic horse riders in the east, rather than just grant the player horsemanship at 3rd level. YAWN! If you get the cost right, it might even end up exactly the same as what you have now. Furthermore, the starting proficiencies act as a “character background” upon which–through in game actions, the character can further learn new things. Gold is Player Empowerment (to paraphrase a very smart person…) the more choices players can make with their gold the better–especially things not tied to the character archetype.
MONEY: do we really need electrum and platinum?