Lackeys

Lackeys are hired help who join the Adventurers for a share of the party’s loot or daily pay. Lackey rules, as well as various types of Lackeys, their capabilities, and their costs, are listed below.

Types of Lackeys

Lantern Luggers

Luggers will work for 2s and a ration per day.

Luggers will not participate in combat and refuse to take any Big Risks, but they can carry items in their 10 inventory slots, and they are always willing to stand behind you with a torch. Luggers with Loyalty above 10 will take Small Risks, but their Loyalty decreases by 1 each time they are asked to do so. You can attempt to force a Lugger to take a risk they don't want to with a Loyalty Check.

Mercenaries

Mercenaries will work for an equal share of the loot from an adventure, with an advance of 10s per anticipated day of traveling.

A Mercenary can be assigned to guard an Adventurer, granting them +1 damage to each Attack they make in combat. If an Adventurer with a mercenary would take damage that would reduce their Grit to 0, there is a 3 in 6 chance that the mercenary is killed instead. An Adventurer can only benefit from 1 Mercenary at a time.

Mercenaries are willing to take Big Risks as long as they aren't obviously bad ideas. If a Mercenary notices they are taking all the risks and the Adventurers are taking very few, they will need to be coaxed to take further risks with a Loyalty Check or additional pay.

Particularly strong Mercenaries may offer better bonuses or special features. These Mercenaries charge more and are harder to come by.

Loyalty

Even for pay, there are commands that will shake a Lackey’s faith in their employer. Provided they are being compensated fairly, a Lackey starts with a maximum Loyalty of 12.

Anytime you pressure a Lackey into doing something they don’t want to do, fail to provide them with food for a day, or when they witness something terrifying, their Loyalty is tested. If they roll under their Loyalty score, they continue the adventure, but their Loyalty is reduced by 1.

When treatment of the Lackey is particularly bad, Loyalty can decrease by more than 1. This is done at the GM’s discretion but should be reserved for only serious mistreatment.

A failed Loyalty Check will result in your Lackey abandoning you at the first safe opportunity. If they can’t leave right away, they will refuse to take risks for you but may still aid you in combat if they feel it's in their best interest.

Lackeys restore 1d4 lost Loyalty after Hitting the Hay if they didn’t lose any Loyalty that day.

Extra pay or particularly good treatment can increase a Lackey’s maximum Loyalty.

Risky Tasks

Some Lackeys are more willing to accept high levels of risk. Here are some examples of Actions a Lackey might consider risky:

Big Risks: Interacting with a trap, walking in front of the rest of the party, checking a room alone.

Small Risks: Standing watch alone in a room that's been cleared of enemies, keeping an eye on a hostage.

Other tasks not explicitly defined here are likely to come up. The GM will determine whether a task is a Big Risk, Small Risk, or No Risk based on the examples above.