John on said: Actually I just got done rewriting CSIO to give it a slightly more low-magic, swords-and-sorcery feel… a table of possible henchmen for hire…
Here’s a table of untested, untrustworthy and somewhat incompetent henchmen.
Roll 1d20 for each column | Former Occupation | Incompetence | Motivation | Attribute |
1 | Barkeep | Bad at fighting | Sick relative | Nervous |
2 | Gravedigger | Equipment upkeep | On the Lam | Tells bad jokes |
3 | Town Guard/Jailor | Falls asleep on watch | Just greedy | Overconfident |
4 | Headsman | Coward | Pride (wants to jump class/caste) | Obsessed with bathing |
5 | Prostitute or madam | Easily confused | Owes money to a wizard | Glutton |
6 | Knight | Clumsy | Under a spell | Drunkard |
7 | Farmer | Sociopath | The thrill | Angry |
8 | Shepherd/cattleman | Easily discouraged | Spoils of war | Young |
9 | Bard | Hero worship | Tales of old | Religious |
10 | Sailor | Oblivious | Misplaced sense of chivalry | A witch |
11 | Craftsman | Wooden leg | Redemption | Sings off key |
12 | Librarian/scholar | Loud | Prove self/earn money to marry | Good medic |
13 | Clergy (non adventuring) | Very stupid | Daddy/mommy issues | Insomniac |
14 | Sewer cleaner | Physically weak | Just crazy | Afraid of or dislike of non-humans |
15 | Printer | Wanders off | No other options in old profession | Hedonist |
16 | Cook or household servant | Can’t count | Wants to travel far away | A boor |
17 | Actor | No sense of direction | Voices in head giving orders | Lecherous |
18 | Town bureaucrat | Absent minded | Mean | Think of self as equal or superior to employers |
19 | Street vendor | Kleptomaniac | Death wish | A fan of gladiators/adventurers |
20 | Town crier | Generally mildly incompetent -1 to all attempts to do anything | Prove worthy to god | Knows many local legends, all untrue or the details are wrong in some crucial way |
Incompetence 21 – forgets to blog for six or eight months at a stretch
This list is too funny! I can just imagine some of the antics I could come up with. Thanks, I will definitely be using this!
Excessively excellent. Acquiring.
Your blog is massively wicked. Glad I surfed here!
Very nice, and with a little tweaking, could work for any setting.
I’m a big fan of the prostitute with a wooden leg motivated by the desire to prove her worthiness to her god all the while serving her gluttony.