SPECIAL ROLES OF THE DUNGEON MASTER

As the DM you are game moderator, judge, jury, and supreme deity. You are also actively engaged in actual role playing throughout the course of the campaign, from game to game, as you must take the persona of each and every henchman and/or hireling involved. (See also Notes regarding monsters, here-after.) To play such roles to the hilt, it is certainly helpful to the DM if he or she has player characters of his or her own in some other campaign.

NOTES REGARDING HENCHMEN

Regardless of their loyalty, henchmen are individuals. 

Play them for their liege just as if they were your player characters, modified by whatever circumstances and special characteristics are applicable. 

Begin creating the persona of such a non-player character as soon as he or she appears on the scene, without recourse to the book characteristics. It will thereafter become easier and more natural for you to re-assume the  persona as needed. 

The most important rule to remember is that the henchman is an individual, with likes, dislikes, feelings, and so on. The henchman is likely to aspire to greater things too, and he or she will tend to look out for personal interests. Bullying, duping, cheating, and similar maltreatment will certainly be resented. The henchman will talk about it with others of his class and fellow henchmen and hirelings. Henchmen will never loan out money or valuables without security—particularly if one instance of failure to repay or loss has occurred previously. 

Loyalty will certainly drop in this case, and if such action is repeated, loyalty will be lost in most cases. 

If their liege is so bold as to suggest that the henchmen should make loans to other characters, there will be flat refusal in all likelihood. The key here is playing the henchman as if he or she were an actual person—better still if the character is somewhat greedy and avaricious. Interest should be paid on loans. Use of a henchman’s valuables, such as a magic item, should be based on the holding of some equal or better object of similar nature, certainly one usable by the henchman, and the promise of some payment in addition—such as a minor item of magic!

Some few players will actually play their henchmen as individual characters, not merely as convenient extensions of their main player character. In these rare cases, your involvement with these henchmen will be minimal. 

It is far more probable that the players will attempt to manipulate their henchmen, and you will counter all such attempts by active assumption of the role or roles. You will keep low-Intelligence characters behaving accordingly, clever ones possibly tricking their master, and so on.

NOTES REGARDING HIRELINGS 

As these characters serve strictly as employees, they should be played as such—mercenaries interested in doing their job and collecting their pay. 

Unusual indeed will be circumstances which see a hireling volunteering for extra work/service. Rather, a hireling seeks to do only as much as is absolutely minimal to fulfill terms of employment. If more is desired, more must be offered. Playing such roles is relatively easy, and if groups are involved, concentrate on the personae of the leaders. Otherwise, hirelings can be treated as henchmen as far as involvement is concerned. 

NOTES REGARDING MONSTERS

Taking the role of some of the monsters—those who happen to be human or humanoid—is not a difficult task for the DM, but sometimes it is hard to get into the personae of particularly nauseating creatures or minions of purity or whatever. Such creatures might well be beyond the realm of experience of the referee, and understandably so. Nonetheless, such monsters must be carefully played by the DM.

Each and every monster must be played as closely to its stated characteristics as is possible. Clever ones should be played with cleverness, stupid ones with stupidity, ferocious ones with ferocity, cowardly ones with cowardice, and so on. 

In all cases, the DM is absolutely obligated to play the monster in question to the best of his or her ability according to the characteristics of the monster and the circumstances of the encounter. A magic-using creature will intelligently select the best (or what the creature believes will be the best) spell or magic device for attack/defense. Intelligent monsters will make use of magic items in their treasure hoard! Thinking monsters will tend to flee from encounters which are going badly in order to live and fight another day. There is no reason why monsters can not learn from encounters, employ flaming oil, set up ambushes, and so forth according to their capabilities and resources.

OTHER NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

The host of merchants, shopkeepers, guardsmen, soldiers, clerics, magic-users, fighters, thieves, assassins, etc. are likewise all yours to play. 

Again, this is simply a matter of assuming the station and vocation of the NPC and creating characteristics- formally or informally according to the importance of the non-player character. 

These NPCs will have some alignment, but even that won’t be likely to prevent a bit of greed or avariciousness. Dealing with all such NPCs should be expensive and irritating. Consider the two following examples:

The fighter, Celowin Silvershield, enters a strange town seeking aid from a high level magic-user in order to turn an associate back to flesh (after a most unfortunate encounter with a cockatrice). His inquiries at a tavern meet with vague answers until several rounds of drinks have been purchased, and the proprietor generously tipped. 

Wending his way from tavern to wizard’s tower, Celowin is accosted by a beggar, and he is pestered unendingly until he either pays off or calls for the watch. Paying off will attract a swarm of other beggars. Calling for the watch can be nearly as dangerous, as they could resent a foreigner’s refusal to deem a native beggar worthy of a copper or two. 

Despite such possible misadventures, the fighter finally comes to the tower of Llewellyn ap-Owen, a wizard of high repute. However, Celowin‘s knocking is answered by a lesser person, the warlock Tregillish Mul, the wizard’s henchman. Mul informs the eager fighter that: ”Lofty Llewellyn is far too busy to see anyone at this time. Good day!” Unless Celowin is quick in offering some inducement, the warlock will slam the tower door and forget about the intrusion.

Now let us assume that Celowin’s bribe was sufficient to convince Tregillish Mul to arrange an appointment with his master, and furthermore that such appointment is actually timely. Now, old ap-Owen is rather testy, for he was in the middle of an experiment which is now absolutely ruined, and must be begun all over again, just because this stupid sword-swinger managed to convince Mul-the-lackwit that something was more important than a wizard’s spell research! Well, this fellow Celowin had better have a good reason for interruption, and further, the pay had better be good . . . . Celowin will have to pay through the nose, in cash and in magic items, to get the magic-user to turn stone to flesh once again. But suppose Celowin has no item which Llewellyn could use? 

The wizard will take something he cannot use personally, for he undoubtedly has all sorts of henchmen and hirelings who can employ these things, not to mention the possibility of trading or selling. In no event will money ever serve to replace magic items! Furthermore, if no magic is available, then a geas can be laid to get some!

These examples show how varying roles are played without great difficulty simply by calling upon observation of basic human nature and combining it with the particular game circumstances applicable. Once established, it is quite easy to recall the personae of frequently consulted or encountered NPCs. If such intercourse becomes very frequent, considerable additional development of the character or characters concerned, and their surroundings, will certainly be in order. Thus, in many ways, the campaign builds and grows of its own volition and within its own parameters. 

HIRING NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS TO CAST SPELLS OR USE DEVICES

It is a certainty that your players will seek outside aid many times during the course of your campaign. At times a particular spell - or device able to deliver a magical power—will be necessary or very helpful to a party, and so they will seek out a cleric or magic-user to hire for the service. 

The most common spells sought are various cures and informational spells. The players should know from the outset that there is no free lunch anywhere, and that the performance of any service is going to cost a ”reasonable” sum. 

A few sample prices for spells are listed below. Note that these charges are based on characters of similar alignment and religion as the cleric requesting the service at the headquarters of the cleric in question.

Prices can be adjusted for faithful, lower level characters. Likewise, they can be upped a bit for those who are not regular attendees of services. 

If the caster is expected to travel any distance, but not at risk, factors will be as much as doubled. If at any risk, the cleric is likely to refuse or charge five or more times the rates shown.

Attack spells are not shown in order to discourage hiring of spell casters for such purposes. As a general rule, no specially hired spell caster will ever accompany a party on an adventure of any sort, except in circumstances planned and directed by the Dungeon Master.

When non-cleric spell casters are hired, they will likewise consider alignment and personal risk in setting fees. 

Whether casting spells or using a magical device supplied to them by the party, there will always be a substantial charge. Should any of good, particularly lawful good, alignment complain, note that ”the worker is worthy of his hire” and similar Scriptural quotes might be called for in order to silence complaints. 

If death results due to payment failure, point out that the player has “gone to his (or her) reward” - how can that be bad? In the event that the cleric would actually further the cause of the deity and alignment by doing the service, payment can be deferred until the party has the wherewithal to do so; however, this deferral will certainly adjust the fee upwards, or possibly require a normal fee and special service from the party in addition.

To forestall the charming of spell casters in order to get them to perform services of this nature, note that such characters will always be 25% likely to cast a spell as close as possible to the opposite of that he or she is instructed to cast. This is due to the befuddled state of mind and the psychic duress of the charm spell operating on the individual’s mind.

It is also worth mentioning that NPC spell casters are NOT going to take continual interruptions too kindly, even if the party so doing is of the same faith and alignment and pays well. At some point the spell caster will get fed up with it and begin raising rates. (The players should not rely upon those outside their group to keep their members viable. They must learn self-reliance or else pay the price one way or another.)

TYPICAL INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD

The bulk of the people met on an adventure in an inhabited area - whether city, town, village, or along the roads through the countryside, will be average folk, with no profession as adventurers know it, and no special abilities for clericism, fighting, magic, or thievery. 

They are simply typical, normal people (as you define typical and normal for the milieu, of course). When dealing with these types, it is suggested that the following factors be used:

Sedentary occupations are those where the individual does nothing, or is a clerk, scribe, etc. 

Active occupations are those involving considerable movement and activity such as a serving maid, carpenter, etc.

Laboring occupations are strenuous and include farming, mining, and most menial labor tasks.