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The newest iteration of Dungeons & Dragons now includes
rules for sidekicks.
These are three simplified archetypes, the warrior (fighter),
the expert (rogue), and the spell caster. These simplified character classes
are easy to play, easy to follow, and do the workman’s job of propping up a
narrative conceit. It’s good. Well, it’s fine. Okay.
I do it a little differently, and have for years. You still
get to the same place, but there’s more variety and also some player agency.
When the adventurers embark on their epic mission, they get a zero-level
character. He’s got regular stats, four hit points, and one proficiency—usually
the thing he can do.
That zero-level character joins the party, and works and behaves
as normal. Typically that means he's the guide into the mountains or the cook or the stable boy, or whatever. He gets 1 X.P. each week that he stays alive. If he mixes it up or
swings a sword or almost drowns but is saved by a party member, he gets 2 X.P.
At 25, the zero-level character becomes a first level…well,
it depends on how the traveling is going. Are the players actively keeping the
NPC alive? Who’s doing most of the protecting? Who does the NPC not like, and
why. Using the existing character classes in the party, and looking at the
adventures the NPC has participated in, I make a small list and randomly roll
for it to see what the NPC will become.
And what’s interesting about that in a meta-game sort of way
is this: you can create the new NPC’s background whole cloth out of the adventures
your party has already been having. This really makes the character feel real
and also ensures that he’s not left behind by the other players.
In the last game I ran, the cartographer’s guild hired the
gang to clear out the cursed forest, and map the area and look for trade routes
as you go. They were to be paid by the miles covered.
None of my miscreants had anything resembling mapmaking or
wilderness survival skills so the cartographer’s guild sent a gifted apprentice
along to help with the mapmaking. It was made abundantly clear that no harm was
to befall the mapmaker, or they would not get paid.
With the motive and incentive clearly established, I sent
them into the woods. Every week that Paidric the mapmakers stayed alive, he got
one experience point. If he was in danger but escaped harm, he got two experience
points. Their battle plans soon included a “where’s Paidraic” component. Would they
squirrel him away from the fight, or just keep him in the back of the group?
When he finally racked up his 25 points, I did some calculating
as to what he’d likely decide to be and it was pretty obvious that he needed to
be a cleric of knowledge. So Paidraic the mapper became Paidraic the learned. Mind you, by this time he was two levels below
the player characters, and that was okay. He still mapped, and also healed, and
helped them with puzzles when they got stuck.