Hirelings

Changes and extensions to OSE Hirelings
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Hirelings are any NPC that the party pays to perform a task or service on their behalf. This ranges from the mundane (porters, message-bearers) to the highly skilled (sages) and includes those rare individuals willing to accompany the party on their adventures.

The rates for Laborers, Guards and Torchbearers are for areas away from secured settlements. Rates for these services in a safe location like a town are much less. As a general rule, unskilled laborers make only a few copper pieces per day in places of safety.

Summary of Hirelings

Manual Labor: carrying, digging, message-carrier, simple construction, complex construction under the direction of a Specialist
Enter Dungeon: willing to enter a dungeon or ruins that are unsafe
Fight / Take Risks: willing to defend themselves and others, guard the camp, fight on behalf of the party or place themselves in life or death situations
Gain XP: Will gain XP from the expedition

Laborer
Laborers are useful if the characters need the services of porters, animal handlers, simple construction and the like. They do not fight (beyond immediate self-preservation) and will not take risks with their lives.

Guards and Torchbearers
Guards are brave folk that serve as hired muscle for expeditions. They will actively fight for themselves or the characters and will risk their lives in their duties but they have no interest in delving for treasure. They are useful to guard base camps and provide security during expeditions in the wild. Torchbearers share the bravery of guards and are paid a similar wage, but lack the fighting skills of Guards. Since they are untrained in the ways of battle, they avoid fighting whenever possible, refrain from taking watches or performing other combat duties and expect others to fight on their behalf. However, they are willing to delve into ancient ruins and dungeons as porters, light bearers and the like.

Retainers
Retainers may have character classes and can gain experience. They are similar to PC's but lack the desire to take on all the risks and costs of planning and executing an expedition, leaving these burdens to their hiring patron. However, they are usually of stout heart and share a kindred spirit with adventurers and if they judge the risk is worth it, they will actively participate alongside full party members in their expeditions and explorations. While it may seem strange that a person would take only a fractional share of treasure and be an employee when they could demand an even share and become a partner to the PCs, retainers see their role differently. To them, they are allying themselves with richer, more-competent allies that take all of the financial and most of the physical risks of any venture while they benefit greatly for (compartively) little risk and a meaningful share of any treasures obtained.

• The minimum that they will work for is a half-share of all party treasure (excluding magic items) acquired during an expedition. If an expedition is especially unlucky and gains no treasure, a Retainer must be paid the same rate as a Guard
• When calculating treasure and XP earned for an expedition that contains Retainers, each PC party member counts as 1 share and each Retainer counts as (at least) a half share. Treasure (excluding magic) is summed and divided by the total number of shares on the expedition. Each PC receives this amount and Retainers receive half this amount. Since retainers earn XP for gold recovered, they also earn this much XP. A similar process is used for determining the amount of XP earned from defeating monsters.
• Retainers can be of any class (including normal humans — effectively of level 0), but must be of equal or lower level to the hiring PC
• A Retainer that begins as a level 0 and gains any XP will be assigned a character class once safely returned to town.
• A Retainer will obey the party member that hired them but is savvy enough to act independently or respond to other party members based on their understanding of the situation. The hiring character is the final arbiter of conflicts regarding control of the Retainer among party members, but the Referee may take control of the Retainer or otherwise dictate some aspect of the Retainer's behavior given the current circumstances.
• Retainers treated well (bonus pay, improved gear, light or risk-free duty, magic items) will increase Loyalty over time. Poor treatment will reduce Loyalty or may force a Loyalty Check.

Retainers are expensive but are critically important to a party's survival. They are risk-taking, capable individuals that can mean the difference between life or death for a PC. Hiring retainers and treating them well allows them to grow in XP and Loyalty over time and creates a valuable asset for the hiring PC. They allow the party to cover gaps in their skill set, provide more battle-ready combatants on watches and more manpower to take out tough foes. There is also safety in numbers; the more members in a expedition, the less chance of any one member being the target of a hungry beast that desires a quick meal.

Specialists
Specialists are generally unwilling to place their lives at risk by leaving a secure home. If the party requires the skills of a Specialist in a potentially dangerous place, they will need to negotiate wages with the specialist. Rates will depend on the security of the location, reputation of the hiring person and other factors. See OSE Specialists for more information.

Mercenaries
Mercenaries are a special form of guard that work together in organized groups. See OSE Mercenaries for more information.