Fighter's Follower Challenge: Personalize your troops
In the AD&D 2nd edition tabletop, upon reaching 9th level, the fighter class is eligible for a stronghold. (This rule is not replicated in Baldur's Gate, although in the 2nd game you can get yourself a castle anyway.) You can build yourself one and hire followers and mooks even earlier if you like, but it is only at the point of level 9 where it actually means something, where you are regarded as a proper lord with real political power, and where you get yourself a bunch of loyal followers that will go through thick and thin for you (provided you pay them well, lead them well, and don't mistreat them).
Typically in games (well, at least as far as my own experience and common sense says), these folks are treated as faceless, expendable redshirts, with no personality or anything of note. At most their leader may gain a name and some more personality, what with him being unique and the rest of the bunch being just one among dozens of precisely identical clone-warriors. Hence this challenge: Imagine yourself as a 9th-level fighter, who has just built his very own castle, complete with a sizable land and perhaps a few villages around it, and has begun attracting these warrior-types who pledge their loyalty to him. Your task is to flesh out, if not each and every single one individual, then at least the regiments they are in, giving them some unique traits and thus making it more likely for them to survive their engagement (what with the audience caring about them now).
Roll 1d100 three times to see what you get: if you have a couple of real d10s lying around, you may use those, but otherwise you can also go random.org to get the dice you need. Once you have made the rolls, consult the following table to see what you get:
1) Leader: This is the commander of your troops, the most experienced and well-equipped warrior of them all, the one they look upon besides yourself, and the only one of the entire lot who has any chance to get even the slightest bit of focus or fleshing-out, at least outside exercises such as these. He should get a full name and some family history, detailed physical description, a reasonably extensive background (remember that he was a veteran of many battles even before meeting you), and a three-dimensional personality and characteristics. Finally, any magical items he has should have a history of their own (they're not always as common as Baldur's Gate makes them look), as well as an explanation on how he acquired them. The die roll and what you get with it follows:
Roll of 01-40: 5th level fighter, plate mail, shield, battle axe +2
Roll of 41-75: 6th level fighter, plate mail, shield +1, spear +1, dagger +1
76-95: 6th level fighter, plate mail +1, shield, spear +1, dagger +1, comes along with 3rd level fighter, splint mail, shield, Crossbow of Distance
96-99: 7th level fighter, plate mail +1, shield +1, broad sword +2, heavy war horse with Horseshoes of Speed
100: DM's option. Since we don't have a DM here, the person directly below you will decide what you get.
2) Basic troops, all 0th-level. Each group (most rolls give you two) should have some basic physical description, simple background of how they got to the job and why they are here, and a unique regimental theme going on, complete with a group name. But you could still certainly write more if the sudden fancy strikes you.
01-50: 20 cavalry with ring mail, shield, 3 javelins, long sword, hand axe; 100 infantry with scale mail, polearm (you can choose which type), club
51-75: 20 infantry with splint mail, morning star, hand axe; 60 infantry with leather armor, pike, short sword
76-90: 40 infantry with chain mail, heavy crossbow, short sword; 20 infantry with chain mail, light crossbow, military fork
91-99: 10 cavalry with banded mail, shield, lance, bastard sword, mace; 20 cavalry with scale mail, shield, lance, long sword, mace; 30 cavalry with studded leather armor, shield, lance, long sword
100: DM's option.
3) Elite units. These are your personal guard, the toughest bunch among your men. They'll protect you and deal with all the special missions and duties. Being your elite commandos that should be very relatable by the audience, the focus and detail given to them would of course reflect this: they should have a more extensive background than the basic troops (what with having gone through more), more unique physical and personal traits from each other, and if you feel like it, a simple first name or badass nick for each.
01-10: 10 mounted knights: 1st-level fighters with field plate, large shield, lance, broad sword, morning star, and heavy war horse with full barding
11-20: 10 1st-level elven fighter/mages with chain mail, long sword, long bow, dagger
21-30: 15 wardens: 1st-level rangers with scale mail, shield, long sword, spear, long bow
31-40: 20 berserkers: 2nd-level fighters with leather armor, shield, battle axe, broad sword, dagger (berserkers get +1 to attack and damage)
41-65: 20 expert archers: 1st-level fighters with studded leather armor, long bows or crossbows (count as specialized, +2 to hit)
66-99: 30 infantry: 1st-level fighters with plate mail, body shield, spear, short sword
100: DM's option.
Hard mode: Draw some flags for them all.
Typically in games (well, at least as far as my own experience and common sense says), these folks are treated as faceless, expendable redshirts, with no personality or anything of note. At most their leader may gain a name and some more personality, what with him being unique and the rest of the bunch being just one among dozens of precisely identical clone-warriors. Hence this challenge: Imagine yourself as a 9th-level fighter, who has just built his very own castle, complete with a sizable land and perhaps a few villages around it, and has begun attracting these warrior-types who pledge their loyalty to him. Your task is to flesh out, if not each and every single one individual, then at least the regiments they are in, giving them some unique traits and thus making it more likely for them to survive their engagement (what with the audience caring about them now).
Roll 1d100 three times to see what you get: if you have a couple of real d10s lying around, you may use those, but otherwise you can also go random.org to get the dice you need. Once you have made the rolls, consult the following table to see what you get:
1) Leader: This is the commander of your troops, the most experienced and well-equipped warrior of them all, the one they look upon besides yourself, and the only one of the entire lot who has any chance to get even the slightest bit of focus or fleshing-out, at least outside exercises such as these. He should get a full name and some family history, detailed physical description, a reasonably extensive background (remember that he was a veteran of many battles even before meeting you), and a three-dimensional personality and characteristics. Finally, any magical items he has should have a history of their own (they're not always as common as Baldur's Gate makes them look), as well as an explanation on how he acquired them. The die roll and what you get with it follows:
Roll of 01-40: 5th level fighter, plate mail, shield, battle axe +2
Roll of 41-75: 6th level fighter, plate mail, shield +1, spear +1, dagger +1
76-95: 6th level fighter, plate mail +1, shield, spear +1, dagger +1, comes along with 3rd level fighter, splint mail, shield, Crossbow of Distance
96-99: 7th level fighter, plate mail +1, shield +1, broad sword +2, heavy war horse with Horseshoes of Speed
100: DM's option. Since we don't have a DM here, the person directly below you will decide what you get.
2) Basic troops, all 0th-level. Each group (most rolls give you two) should have some basic physical description, simple background of how they got to the job and why they are here, and a unique regimental theme going on, complete with a group name. But you could still certainly write more if the sudden fancy strikes you.
01-50: 20 cavalry with ring mail, shield, 3 javelins, long sword, hand axe; 100 infantry with scale mail, polearm (you can choose which type), club
51-75: 20 infantry with splint mail, morning star, hand axe; 60 infantry with leather armor, pike, short sword
76-90: 40 infantry with chain mail, heavy crossbow, short sword; 20 infantry with chain mail, light crossbow, military fork
91-99: 10 cavalry with banded mail, shield, lance, bastard sword, mace; 20 cavalry with scale mail, shield, lance, long sword, mace; 30 cavalry with studded leather armor, shield, lance, long sword
100: DM's option.
3) Elite units. These are your personal guard, the toughest bunch among your men. They'll protect you and deal with all the special missions and duties. Being your elite commandos that should be very relatable by the audience, the focus and detail given to them would of course reflect this: they should have a more extensive background than the basic troops (what with having gone through more), more unique physical and personal traits from each other, and if you feel like it, a simple first name or badass nick for each.
01-10: 10 mounted knights: 1st-level fighters with field plate, large shield, lance, broad sword, morning star, and heavy war horse with full barding
11-20: 10 1st-level elven fighter/mages with chain mail, long sword, long bow, dagger
21-30: 15 wardens: 1st-level rangers with scale mail, shield, long sword, spear, long bow
31-40: 20 berserkers: 2nd-level fighters with leather armor, shield, battle axe, broad sword, dagger (berserkers get +1 to attack and damage)
41-65: 20 expert archers: 1st-level fighters with studded leather armor, long bows or crossbows (count as specialized, +2 to hit)
66-99: 30 infantry: 1st-level fighters with plate mail, body shield, spear, short sword
100: DM's option.
Hard mode: Draw some flags for them all.
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