An oft under-appreciated aspect of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventures are the many Henchmen and Hirelings that a player character can employ to perform a variety of tasks. The two are at times conflated or misunderstood. To make matters worse, there are both Standard and Expert subsets of Hirelings. The following quote from the AD&D Dungeon Master’s guide always seemed to clarify things for me.

DMG p29: “If henchmen are defined as the associates, companions, and loyal (to some degree) followers of a player character, hirelings are the servitors, mercenaries, and employees of such player characters…”

As in many things in AD&D, each DM handles the process of hiring and playing these servitors differently. There are likewise differences noted between First and Second editions of AD&D. I will present an option on how to play them below. Not the way to play. I play 1e and so will be approaching the subject from that vantage point.

Henchmen are those NPCs that will go on risky adventures with PCs. That right there, the word adventures seems to be the delineating factor between Henchmen and Hirelings according to most DMs in my experience. The former will go on adventures with their PC where Hirelings generally do not. There are some exceptions. (Of course there are. This is AD&D, after all.) Some hirelings will perform tasks such as carrying gear for the PC, bearing torches to free up PC hands, or even guarding basecamp while the PCs delve into dangerous, dungeon depths. Yes, I shamelessly alliterated.

Henchmen

It is only Henchmen that will comprehensively perform like a PC on these adventures. They will fight baddies, take risks, cast spells, all like a PC. They may have fully, or at least mostly, developed character sheets and backstories. They earn a share of loot, gain XP and level, develop skills, all like a PC. In short, they are your party compatriots. Treat them well and they can become extremely loyal to your cause. As such, deviations in alignment or race can be problematic.

How and Where to Hire Them

There are some technical differences between the two as well. Henchmen are more greatly limited by availability, PC Class, and even more so by the PC’s Charisma score. Small villages will often not have a single, viable Henchmen opportunity. Unless it happens to be a popular waypoint for adventurers. The 1e DMG notes the base frequency to be 1 in 1,000 population to be available for hire.

They don’t just come seeking you out either. The PC must make concerted effort, and spend considerable funds, to locate potential hires. The DMG notes four common means of doing so. Posting notices in public, hiring a Crier, hiring an agent, and spreading the word in taverns and inns. Each have their own variable rates of efficacy and cost.

Managing Your Henchmen

Good pay, fair treatment, and an admirable Charisma on the part of the PC will go a long way in maintaining the loyalty of a Henchman. They will expect a fair, though not usually equal, share of all loot, including magic items. They will expect room and board, as well as equipment to be supplied by the PC.

Hirelings

Standard Hirelings are much more common to find in even small villages. If you pay a decent enough rate, they are often available for the day, month, or longer. Porters/bearers to carry your gear, linkboys to carry light sources, and teamsters to manage your mounts and carts are all examples of Standard Hirelings.

Expert Hirelings can be a bit tougher to procure. Usually found in larger towns or cities, they require monthly retainers at a fair rate. You can think of these latter folk as highly skilled tradesmen such as alchemists, blacksmiths, and mercenaries.

How and Where to Hire Them

A player can hire as many Hirelings as they can afford and are available (according to the DM) for hire. Taverns, markets, and Inns are great places to locate Hirelings.

Who Plays These NPCs?

DMs differ on who controls these NPCs. By-the-book, I would venture to say that it was intended for the DM to control Henchmen and Hirelings. Inherently, NPCs are just that. Non-Player characters. But many DMs, myself included, treat them more like alternate characters for the player. At least to a degree. I will temporarily step in if I feel the player is not representing their interests well or blurring the lines between their PC and NPC. Or if the henchmen has been given some knowledge or part to play in my narrative by me, I may step in from time-to-time to advance said narrative. I’d rather allow my players more opportunity to play than myself. Particularly in the case of Henchmen.