Unusual Hirelings in OD&D/FMC
Let’s get one thing out of the way: unusual hirelings are not regular hirelings. On its face, this seems like a truism—but this is a distinction that OD&D makes which its successors do not. Your character can hire as many mercenaries and helpers as they please, but there is a ceiling on how many so-called unusual hirelings they can employ or otherwise retain. So, what is an unusual hireling, and what does this tell us about how OD&D plays unlike its later editions? Classed Characters Fortunately, the text gives us a hint. After introducing the concepts of charisma and loyalty with regards to non-player characters, it says how a player might build up an entourage of various character types, monsters, and an army. There it is: character types, monsters, and army troops all constitute different categories of non-player characters and different methods of how to enlist them into your service. When it comes to classed characters, you can hire a first level human NPC for 100 gol...