Downtime Activity Preview: Recruiting Macara to be a Retainer

 Recently, a party of adventurers brought freed some tribal mutants from bondage to the Eye of Terror. The group brought a pair of the mutants with them out of 'The Complex' and to Orm. One of the mutants, Sir Mo, is impatiently marking the days until he can return to his people with some poison smuggled in a storage stomach he possesses. The other mutant, Macara, refused to return to her tribe's cavern home and possesses a fierce appetite for some action. Macara circumstance seems like the perfect time for me to introduce some rules for retainers I have been sitting on for some time.

Under the Recruit a Retainer rules, the retainers of the Twilight Age are steadfast companions, not colorless hired hands. As a result, it takes more than tavern gossip or job postings to secure the services of a retainer. There are three methods of obtaining their services:

1. An Acquantice From the Adventurer's Past Life- A player character may bring into service one person from their previous life to join them in adventure. This character always starts as a 0-Level NPC but upon gaining experience, they will start leveling in a class. The PC's player must explain to the DM how these two character know one another. Like one of my favorite B/X rules of inheritance, this may only be done once per campaign.
2. An Associate- A player character may attempt to recruit the services of someone they have obtained at least the relationship of associate with through the downtime activity Cultivate Relationship. When attempting to hire the NPC, the system of Applicant Reaction and Retainer Hiring Reactions standard to B/X (and OSE) will be used to determine whether the the offer is accepted. For every stage cultivated in the relationship past associate gains a +1 to the reaction roll. Characters whose services are acquired in this way can be of equal level or lower to the player character.
3. Meet on an Adventure- A player character may attempt to recruit an NPC that PC has shared an adventure with into their service (excluding those hired short term to assist them) at the end of the shared experience. The above mentioned Applicant Reaction and Retainer Hiring Reactions rules will be used. In addition, a DM can grant a +/-1 to 2 bonus based on how kind the PC was to the NPC/goals met/shared outlook, etc. Similarly to those hired through Cultivate Relationship, the retainer must be of equal level or lower to that of the PC.

This post presents a customized Recruit a Retainer downtime centered around the third circumstances of recruitment: Meet on an Adventure. The first will be open either Abraxis, Hirsch, and Phasmo (the party from the session). One of them may choose to use the rules below to spend a downtime activity to gain Macara's services as a retainer.

 How to Hire Macara as a Retainer

The vermillion skinned mutant named Macara arrived to the surface settlement of Orm after being liberated from the Eye of Terror by the adventurers Abraxis, Hirsch, and Phasmo. While Macara refused to return to her tribe as a decoy like her fellow Pites or to be involved in a poisoning plot like Sir Mo, she possesses a restlessness that does not lend herself to an idle life in Orm. Any of the trio that rescued her can take her on as a retainer by making a hireling rolling for Retainer Hiring Reactions (Applicant Reaction). Abraxis, as a fellow Child of Peroma, receives a +1 bonus to this roll. If the roll is successful, the hiring plater character must pay Macara 50gp upfront for her first month of service.

To determine particulars on who Macara is, follow the below steps:

1. Roll out the ability scores for Macara, 3d6 in order, to determine each score.
2. If Macara has any bonus languages, roll 1d8: 1. Elven, 2. Old Imperialish (only written), 3. Gnomic, 4. Lizardfolk, 5. Gorilla Folk, 6. Myconid, 7. kobold, 8. 
3. As a Level 0 Retainer, Macara has the following saves:  Save vs Death/Poison 14, vs Wands 15, vs Paralysis 16, vs Breath Weapon 17, and vs Spells 18
4. Roll 1d4 to determine their starting hit point total.
5. Roll 1d6 to determine Macara's alignment: 1 Lawful, 2-3 Neutral, and 4-6 Chaotic. Employers with alignment opposed to Macara's give a -1 penalty to her Loyalty score.
6. Roll On the following table to learn what boon and bane Macara has:

Bane
d4	Result
1.	Addiction- hooked on the black fruits from below. If black fruit is not eaten between adventures, withdrawal sets in.
2.	Trauma- experienced multiple punitive beatings from Tormando. Suffers -2 Loyalty (and a Loyalty check must be made when facing) a minotaur.
3.	Malnourished- -2 penalty to Con Score.
4.	Rage- Must make a Loyalty check to not charge into combat against agents of the Eye of Terror upon first contact.

Boon
d6	Result
1.	Earns +5% xp for agents of the Eye of Terror defeated
2.	+2 Reaction rolls among the women of the Children of Peroma
3.	+2 Reaction rolls to dealing with the Brothers
4.	Can always find North in the Complex
5.	2-in-6 chance of foraging inside the Complex
6.	+2 to Saves against yeasts, slimes, and molds.

After Macara's first adventure where she earns experience points, roll on the following table to determine the class she will advance in:

Class Advancement Selection Chart
% Chance of Taking Class	Class
5%	Same Class as PC that employs Macara
15%	Druid
30%	Fighting Mutant
50%	Cleric of Transmorgifah

After obtaining a Level beyond 0, Macara must be paid at least 100gp per Level to renew her services every new month.

If not directed by her employer towards a specific downtime activity, Macara has a 50/50 chance of spending her downtime carousing or on a spiritual exercise.

Sample Retainer Record