(hooray, new account does not suffer from persistent 504s!)
Nerdnumber1 said: Remember that ACKS rules are meant to apply more or less the same for PCs and NPCs, both lawful and chaotic (hence all the rules about blood sacrifice and chaotic domains).
Oh, absolutely! But, even amongst chaotics, certain monsters strike me as being particularly difficult to recruit. Moreover, if you use the Henchman rules, there isn’t actually any real mechanical difficulty (correct me if I’m wrong) inherent in a Lawful PC recruiting a Chaotic henchman. Using the same system for monsters, particularly the more inhuman ones, just seems off in some cases.
Nerdnumber1 said: I too think some sort of “controlability” score or some such is warranted, if only as a relative measure of creature’s amicability and intelligence.
Agreed, although I think that any such system should be relatively simple, perhaps even just several categories along the lines of Alex’s original post. I think that much more complexity beyond that probably isn’t worth the overhead.
Not every character the players meet is automatically available for recruitment. If you look at the “Hireling Availability by Market Class” table on pg50 of the ACKS rulebook and compare henchman availability with the demographic sections in the GM chapter or the “Demographics of Heroism” blog post, you will find that most NPCs aren’t interested in being henchmen. Similarly, I wouldn’t think that the evil cultists, cannibal berzerkers, traveling merchants, or other incidental/hostile NPCs you meet on your journeys are necessarily available for your recruitment attempts. However, if you do find yourself in the unique situation where they would consider working with you, then the only question is whether they have the intelligence to discuss terms.
There should be an explicit reminder that it is rare for such creatures to have such respect for demi-humans/humans, and maybe a line or two of common nonnegotiable conditions in their monster entries (i.e. ghouls insist on being able to eat their kills and must be able to fulfill their dietary requirements, etc.) Of course some conditions will likely make them incompatible with most parties. Judge-ruled situational modifiers could also apply, or replace my more labor-intensive idea.
This sounds like the best solution. Goblins typically ride Dire Wolves not because Dire Wolves are especially easy to train, but because goblin society has domesticated and bred them to be usable as mounts in a way that no other society has discovered. This also gives the DM leeway to decide in their own world what unusual mounts are the purview of which humanoid beastmen.