Sorry this is taking me a while...
Here's my thoughts at the moment.
Adventurer: 4th lvl Dwarven Craftpriest (armorer 3, healing 3, and divine health)
Henchman: 3rd lvl Dwaven Vaultguard/lieutenant (charming guy, I think... he's a better military leader)
Specialist: Engineer?
Mercenary: ?
Henchmen
Starting Character Wealth
Roll 1: Barbarian PC Wealth
Roll 2: Primary Hench Wealth
Roll 3: Upgraded Specialist--->Witch Wealth
Okay, I'm toying with a couple of ideas:
Assassin (5th Level), Gnomish Trickster Henchman (4th Level), Alchemist, and Heavy Infantry Mercenary (or 1st Level Fighter)
...or...
Bard (5th Level), Elven Spellsword (3rd Level), Healer, and Cataphract Cavalry Mercenary (or 1st Level Fighter)
...or...
Fighter (5th Level), Bladedancer (4th Level), Engineer, Heavy Infantry Mercenary (or 1st Level Fighter)
So:
Main Character: Fighter 5 (Explorer 5?): Riding, FS:Wpn,Shld, some other proficiency
Henchman: Cleric 4 (Witch 4? Priestess 4? Venturer 4? Paladin 4?)
Specialist: Cleric 1 (or an actual specialist...a Marshal perhaps?)
Mercenary: Medium Cavalry
Hit points
Roll 1 Barbarian PC (Lvl 4 Con +1)
Roll 2 Gnomish Hench (Lvl 4 Con +1)
Sorry, this is probably a dumb question… do we have 36000 “points” to spend, which can be xp or gp, or 36000 of each? It seems we may not want to max out our xp expenditures, so we can afford more “stuff”.
Also, are we using the “high quality” items rules? As my adventurer is an armorer, I was thinking about “buying” some flashy armor with starting funds.
You have 36,000 “points” in your budget. 1 gp = 1 XP, so you can freely exchange gp/XP up to a combined total of 36,000.
I’m not opposed to high quality items. I’ll update the first post with a link to those rules on the forum.
Money-money-mo-ney...MO-NEY!
...or no money, as the case may be.
Am I correct in the understanding the Henchmen can't alter their Ability Scores in any fashion (e.g., swap 2-for-1, or switch 2)? What about "randomly determined equipment, like a 1st level player character?" Is that supposed to mean a Template? Does it mean we have to use the Template's Proficiency selections as well?
That was my intent. However, it may speed the process if any non-Adventurer troupe members have the option to swap the positions of two of their ability scores. I will update the first post to say this.
It means randomly determined starting wealth. You may use the wealth roll for gp or a Template, with or without Proficiency selections, as you choose. (The Template equipment should be equal or nearly equal gp value.)
So in the case of our Adventurer or Henchmen, that extra roll is essentially "bonus money" above and beyond the 36K budget.
Wealth rolls for Adventurer, Henchmen, sequentially.
<ul>
<li>
<div>Grapple (25gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Crowbar (1gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Lantern (10gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Rope 50’ (1gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Tinder Box (8sp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Waterskin x5 (3gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Small Hammer (2gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Iron Spikes x12 (1gp)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Large Sack x5 (4gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Spare set of Armiger’s Tunic, Pants & Hat, Winter Cloak, High Leather Boots, Gloves, Belt, (36 gp 8 sp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>8 Weeks Iron Rations (8gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Blanket (2sp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Dice [4] (1gp)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<div>Lance (1gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Arrows x 160 (8gp)</div>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Large Sack x5 (4gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>8 Weeks Iron Rations (8gp)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<div>Lance (1gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Spear (3gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Bolts x180 (18 gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Dice [4] (1gp)</div>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Birthwort x1 (10gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Comfrey x1 (10gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Wax Candle x5 (3gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Holy Water 1pnt (25gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>2 weeks iron rations (2gp)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Large Sack x5 (4gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>8 Weeks Iron Rations (8gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Blanket (2gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>(Tent 20gp)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Dice [4] (1gp)</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
Servant:
Sindri Snorrison (Language Proficiency, Bargaining, Animal Training (Horse), Navigation)
Languages: Jutlandic, Auren, Rornish, Old Rornish, Argollëan
Gear:
I’m not experienced at domains level play but starting 5th Level (800 xp) I’ll be able to train cataphracts. This may be more or less of a reason to grab a marshal depending on our longoing term troop needs.
Ah, gonna take Manual of Arms again? Cool.
That actually raises an interesting question, company-wide - is it better for the "main characters" to be taking proficiencies that benefit more:
..or some mix?
In theory we may not use you to train cataphracts, as it takes 12 months, and any of us are more effective as treasure gatherers over that same time period. Now, if there was some way for you to train up a Marshal, that would probably be interesting - as you could create all the types of Marshals out of normal men with that loadout.
That being brought up though, what would our immediate specialist needs be for establishing ourselves in the Keep?
Engineer? Crafters? How far away is the nearest settlement that we could easily hire in specialists of that caliber after we take possession?
For your planning purposes, I’ll update the post with your possible starting locations to include their Market Classes.
I am in no rush, but just to outline how we proceed, when you are finished with your troupe, let me know in this thread or via Private Message. I will review your troupe, then transfer it to a new Character Sheets thread.
Also, no one has asked, but I just want to clarify, you are not limited to spending gp/XP on your troupe members. For example, you can start with as many henchmen as the rules and your budget allow. One of those henchmen will receive the loyalty bonuses of being in your troupe. (She could be a family member, a friend since childhood, someone whose life you saved – why they are loyal is for you to expound upon, or not.)
Oh, that's interesting. That's henchmen only, or does that include specialists and mercenaries?
It looks like we’ll have to travel 168 miles for a 33% chance at high level specialist. I had been thinking that personally training groups would go a long way towards fostering internal loyalty but that might be better represented by grabbing leadership and command. Since we’re a long way off from being able to afford high level mercs do you think we should just look for a marshal then? Maybe invest in a light infantry marshal only for now?