“On behalf of all Association members, I thank Steve Ruskin for his dedicated service to this publication over the last three years. During his tenure, Steve collected our articles into a record 25 high-quality issues with a friendly and professional attitude that encouraged many of our readers to become contributors, including yours truly” (“Letter from the Editor,” L’avant garde #58).
In November 1983, a new editor took the post at the East Middleton Wargamers Association’s newsletter. He keeps his first Letter from the Editor brief, thanking his predecessor, referring readers to the table of contents, and signing “Dave” with a flourish over the typed initials “C. D. R.”
That would be the last generically titled “Letter from the Editor” in L’avant garde. In the next issue, January 1984, the heading is “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk.” The subheading is “The Year of L’avant garde.” Therein, Dave writes:
“For as long as I can remember, we have talked about putting out an issue every month as if it were a chimera or the Holy Grail. The two usual problems are (1) the editor’s lack of time and (2) having enough articles to put into an issue while keeping to the 20-page minimum (that makes it worth the overhead). For the first problem, I am determined to put in the time required. For the second one, over the last month I have talked to almost all the more-or-less regular contributors and asked a few more of you for articles in 1984. The response has been very enthusiastic. With a little work, I believe we will have enough articles to make this a 12-issue year” (L’avant garde #59).
With a penchant for parenthetical asides, Dave goes on to preview articles in the January issue and alludes to upcoming contributions. Among them is our favorite contributor:
“We all (except the most grognard among us) enjoy hearing what the young D&Ders in the Pandemonium Society are up to, and Phenster promises more this year. He starts this month with a good argument for reconsidering ability score adjustments (for those of you who remember when we used to do that). Later, we’ll see an article about languages (which I already have), an enigmatic piece Phenster calls ‘Dweomercraeft’ (which I am anxious to get), and more fun things the Neighborhood D&D Players are up to.”
Dave battled the chimera and won the Grail: one issue per month, all above the 20-page minimum. The September issue, at 56 pages, is the largest issue of L’avant garde in the Postlethwaite Collection.
By the end of the year, Phenster contributes articles to nine issues. Two of these we’ve seen already. Those I link in the following list of articles by number and month. I also add links to subsequent articles as they are published here. Where the title is ambiguous, I include a descriptive phrase in brackets.
This series covers topics in the order as they appear in the Holmes Basic D&D rulebook (TSR 1977). In addition to these, I foresee only a few more topics to complete Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules.
Grail obtained, a 12-issue year was not again attempted. Dave would go on to edit six issues the next year and only two the year after. In the March 1986 “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk” (#77) Dave informs readers that he has been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania and calls for a successor, as he will step down in the coming summer. In his last “Dispatch,” Dave repeats the call. Issue #78 is the final number of L’avant garde in the Postlethwaite Collection. Steve Ruskin’s 25-issue record remains.
This is the 26th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
“Bluebook” D&D. The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
This is the 25th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
The following rules are taken from Phenster’s article “Regular Entourage” (L’avant garde #65, July 1984) and my addendum “Available Hires, Number and Level.” I present the rules as examples of how DMs might handle hirelings and henchmen in their own games. As they are more a model than an extension to Holmes, I put the ensemble in the [C] Campaign category.
The Pandemonium Society differentiates hirelings and henchmen in a way that, while not unusual, may require definition for the uninitiated:
A hireling is an NPC of any adventuring class or a 0-level human employed to accompany an adventurer on an expedition. The employer pays an upfront fee, provides all weapons, armor, and equipment, and pays room and board. A hireling receives a half share of treasure and earns half XP.
A henchman is a loyal follower, often a former hireling. A henchman pays his or her own expenses and receives a full share of treasure. Like hirelings, henchmen earn half XP.
Hirelings
In this section, we determine the number of NPCs seeking employment, their class and level, and a standard fee structure. We also outline the negotiation process. For more explanation on number and level of hirelings, see “Available Hires, Number and Level.”
Hireling Frequency by Class [C]
The DM determines the frequency (common, uncommon, or rare) of each class of hireling. In a basic example, fighters are common; clerics, magic-users, thieves, and all halflings are uncommon; dwarves and elves rare; men-at-arms are twice as common as fighters. Frequency may be adjusted according to current conditions in the campaign that impact local demographics, such as a war, monstrous incursion, or recent large hauls of treasure coming out of the dungeon.
Number of Hirelings Available [C]
Divide the result of a d12 by 2 for common types, 4 for uncommon, and 11 for rare, dropping the fraction. Roll twice for men-at-arms as common. You may use other divisors as desired, consulting the d12 table of results in “Available Hires, Number and Level.”
A Basic Example of Numbers of Hirelings Available by Class Frequency. The DM chooses the frequency of each class and the divisor of each frequency.
Hireling Level [C]
Adventurers may employ hirelings of their own level or lower. We assume 2nd- and higher-level NPCs seeking employment are less frequent. Roll a dice in size equal to or greater than the employer’s level and divide by the results of a d3. Round up. If the final result is above the PC’s level, re-roll the first dice only.
Example: Hirelings by Class, Number, and Level
On a typical evening at the Nine of Pentacles, one or more 7th-level PCs desire to employ NPCs for an upcoming adventure. If the PCs are looking for a particular class, the DM need only roll for that class. Otherwise, roll a d12 for each class and divide by the number corresponding to the class’s frequency, dropping fractions. Tonight, the following numbers of hirelings by class are present:
Class
d12 Result
Frequency Divisor
Number Present
Fighters
7
2
3
Clerics
2
4
0
Magic-Users
11
4
2
Thieves
4
4
1
Halflings
6
4
1
Dwarves
3
11
0
Elves
9
11
0
To determine the experience levels of classed NPCs, the DM rolls a d8 (7th-level PCs) for each NPC and divides the result by a d3, rounding up.
Number
Class
d8 Results
d3 Resuts
NPC Level
3
Fighters
2, 8* 4, 6
3, 1, 3
1, 8* 4, 2
2
Magic-Users
5, 2
3, 2
2, 1
1
Theif
6
2
3
1
Halfling
8
2
4
* The 8th-level result is invalid; the d8 re-rolled is 4. The d3 result is retained.
Whether an observer is able to discern the experience level of adventurer types is up to the DM to decide for the campaign setting. A couple instances in the Postlethwaite Collection indicate that player characters in the Great Halls campaign had this capability. Hazard was not secretive about a monster’s hit dice, either.
Standard Hireling Fees [C]
The standard fee for a 0-level man-at-arms is 50 g.p. For 1st-level humans and halflings of all classes, the standard fee is 100 g.p., dwarves and elves 200 g.p.
The standard fee to retain human and halfling classes of 2nd and higher levels is equal to 10% of the experience points necessary for the hireling’s level in g.p. Double the fee for dwarves and elves. (For XP requirements, see “Level Advancement.”)
The hireling fee is paid upon employment. In addition, the employer pays for all weapons, armor, and adventuring equipment, plus food and lodging. In addition, hirelings receive a half-share of treasure.
Nomenclature of Fees by Armor Type [C]
Phenster describes the following terms to identify hireling fees by armor types (“Regular Entourage”). These are, in Pandemonium Society games, used by players as well as characters in-game, an example of the game group’s culture seeping into the setting culture.
Chain: standard fee (for example, as given in Standard Hireling Fees [C]). Plate: double standard fee, +1 bonus to negotiation rolls. Double plate: four times standard fee, +2 bonus to negotiation rolls. Leather: half standard fee, −1 penalty to negotiation rolls. Jack: less than half standard fee, −2 penalty to negotiation rolls. Shield: a 20% (or more) bonus in addition to the offered fee, garners an additional bonus on the first negotiation roll or prompts further negotiation rolls. Wooden shield: any bonus less than 20% of offered fee. Straw shield: any future remuneration offered, −1 penalty to negotiation rolls.
Negotiation [C]
Once an offer is made, the DM rolls 2d6 on the following table, adding bonuses or penalties for exceptional offers and the employer’s Charisma and reputation.
Negotiation Table
2
Offended (−1 further checks)
3-5
Refuses
6-8
Haggles
9-11
Accepts
12
Pleased (+1 loyalty)
On a haggle result (6-8), the recruiting PC can end the negotiation, excusing the candidate, or increase the offer, thereby earning another roll on the table. The negotiation continues until the candidate accepts or refuses the offer or the employer abandons the negotiation. If the candidate is offended (a 2 result), the PC suffers a −1 penalty on negotiation rolls in the town for one month. If the candidate is pleased (12), add a +1 bonus to the hireling’s initial loyalty score.
Morale
“Hazard mostly just decides for the monsters and NPCs when their going gets tough. But when he isn’t sure, he uses the Hostile/Friendly table from the rulebook to see if the monsters will cut their losses and run.”—Phenster, “Advanced Combat,” L’avant garde #51 (December 1982)
Morale is an NPCs confidence in leadership and team mates and his or her enthusiasm for the endeavor. Morale is measured on a 2 (stalwart) to 12 (coward) scale and checked by a 2d6 roll: equal to or greater than the morale score succeeds.
In “Advanced Combat,” Phenster specifies hireling morale as 7. (See Morale [E].) The Pandemonium Society seems not to have made any adjustments to a hireling’s morale score. When to check morale is left to the DM’s discretion. The only guidance Phenster gives on the topic is, concerning monsters, “whenever the monsters could have a second thought about going on with the fight,” (“Advanced Combat”) and for hirelings, “when things are looking grim” (“Regular Entourage”). I see no need, in the Holmes context, for a more specific rule.
Loyalty
While morale concerns the hireling’s relation to the party and its goals, loyalty measures one’s devotion to the employer. A loyalty check succeeds on a d20 roll equal to or less than the loyalty score.
Initial Loyalty Score [C]
Initial hireling loyalty is determined by a 3d6 roll, adding any bonuses from the employer’s Charisma score and the results of the negotiation. Hireling loyalty scores are not shared with players.
Loyalty Check [C]
Check hireling loyalty after each adventure and whenever the hireling faces extraordinary danger or a moral dilemma concerning the employer. To succeed, roll the hireling’s loyalty score or less on a d20, applying the following bonuses and penalties.
Condition
Adjustment
No treasure gained
+1
Good treatment
−1
Bad treatment
+1
Same alignment
−1
Opposite alignment
+1
Phenster neglects the case in which a henchman faces an extraordinary situation (see below). I add that a roll of 20 on the loyalty check always fails; a 1 always succeeds.
Also note, Phenster seems to apply modifiers to the hireling’s loyalty score. I turn the modifiers around (pluses become minuses and vice-versa) and apply them to the dice roll.
On a failed check, the hireling’s loyalty score decreases by 1 point. A successful check means the loyalty score increases by 1.
Broken Loyalty [C]
When the score drops below 11, the hireling’s loyalty is “broken” and the hireling quits the PC.
As Phenster notes, it is possible, in the case of a low initial loyalty, for a hireling to quit service after a single adventure.
Henchmen
“A henchman is a trusted lieutenant to the PC. His loyalty is no longer in question, and he doesn’t have to check morale anymore.”—Phenster, “Regular Entourage”
Henchmen [C]
When loyalty reaches 20, the hireling becomes a henchman. Henchmen do not check loyalty, unless the PC makes an extreme demand, nor do henchmen have to check morale. The player controls a henchman like a second PC. Henchmen get a full share of treasure, and they pay their own expenses. Henchmen, however, receive only half XP.
Experience Point Distribution
Lossless Half Experience [C]
Hirelings and henchmen earn half experience points. Divide the total XP by two times the number of PCs plus one for each hireling and henchman. PCs each receive two parts; hirelings and henchmen one.
