1st Edition
The issue of followers/henchmen/hirelings is especially confusing in 1E because in some places followers and henchmen are referred to as being identical, whereas in other entries they are distinctly different. Looking at 1E, here's what each class gets:
Fighters gain "a body of men-at-arms". No details given that I've found as yet. It appears that "men-at-arms" in 1E is the equivalent of "followers" in 2E, based on the description of both fighters and paladins.
Rangers gain followers at 10th level. The ranger gets 2d12 followers in 1E (as opposed to 2d6 in 2E). I noticed that they are called both followers and henchmen, interchangeably: "...each ranger attracts a body of 2-24 followers. Note that these henchmen, once lost, can never be replaced...". No mention of animal followers at all, also different from 2E. No details on levels either.
Paladins don't attract followers at all (which I find unusual). His henchmen can only be LG alignment.
Wizards and illusionists apparently do not attract followers.The 1E PHB is silent on the matter.
Clerics gain tons of followers. At 8th level, they gain 20-200 followers, but with no mention of level. Unlike 2E, the 1E PHB mentions that: "in addition [to the 20-200 followers] there will be followers who are men-at-arms (q.v.) and your referee will relay the types and numbers at the appropriate time." I cannot find any reference to "men-at-arms", nor any other 1E source showing what these may be. Of course, given the beloved mess of 1E, it may just have escaped my notice at the moment.
Druids gain 3 followers (druids only) at 12th level, the level of the followers being dependent on the xp of the druid (there are only 9 12th-level druids in a given area, and the one with the most xp gets 3 9th-level druid followers while the one with the lowest xp gets 3 1st-level druids). The Great Druids gets 9 11th-level follower druids.
Thieves attract 4d6 followers - all thieves, though nothing is written pertaining to levels.
Assassins do not gain followers until they hit 14th level. As Guildmaster (14th level), they attain 7d4 (7-28) 1st level assassins.
Monks are treated strangely. At 6th level they attain 2 "henchmen". These can be fighters (but not rangers or paladins), thieves, or assassins. I suspect Gygax had one of his infamous bouts with insanity while writing this up (the other major one being demihuman level limits
), because it makes no sense. Why not only monk followers? I can even see fighters, but thieves and assassins? Hardly lawful types. Monks gain an additional henchman each level above 6th, up to the limit defined by their Charisma scores. Now here is where it gets crazy...with monks, henchmen and followers are apparently different types of NPCs (as opposed to being the same as noted in the ranger entry). With monks, they gain (at 8th level) 2-5 1st-level monk followers (as long as they have a monastery). The monk gains an additional 1-2 monks each time he gains a level. However, follower monks leave their monk master when the followers attain 7th level.Bards are allowed only druids, fighters or thieves who are human, elven, or half-elven only as followers. Bards have a total of 1 follower at 5th level, 2 at 8th level, 3 at 11th, 4 at 14th, 5 at 17th, 6 at 20th, and "any number" at 23rd level, subject to his Charisma limit.
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2nd Edition
In 2E, the terms "follower" and "henchman" are better defined as separate entities, but there's still some confusion to it. More detail is given pertaining to types and levels of followers. There are also some interesting changes made.
Fighters gain followers at 9th level. They gain a single 5th,6th, or 7th level leader, a group of anywhere from 10-40 troops, and an elite bodyguard unit of 10-30 1st or 2nd level followers. So anywhere from 21 - 71 followers. The fighter gains an average of 42 followers. This is far more precisely spelled out than it is in 1E.
Rangers gain followers at 10th level. The ranger gets 2d6 followers, as opposed to 2d12 in 1E. However, in 2E has about a 60% chance on the chart to gain animal followers as opposed to humans or demihumans. For the human or demihuman followers listed (rangers, fighters, druids, etc.) there is no level given for any of them. The ranger gains an average of 7 followers.
Paladins don't attract followers at all (which I still find unusual). His henchmen can only be LG alignment.
Wizards apparently do not attract followers. The 2E PHB is silent on the matter, as it is in 1E.
Priests/Clerics gain tons of followers! At 8th level, they gain 20-200 followers, all 0th level fighters. The cleric gains an average of 110 followers. Again, this is spelled out more precisely than it is in 1E, but there is no mention of the "additional men-at-arms" given in 1E.
Druids gain 3 followers (druids only) at 12th level, and the level of the followers depends on how experienced the druid is compared to the other 12th level druids in the area. Arch-druids (13th level) likewise gain 3 druids of 10th level. Great druids (14th level) gain 3 druids of 11th level. The Grand Druid (15th level) gains 3 arch-druids (13th level) and 6 more of 7th - 11th level. It's not clear whether the gains are cumulative, i.e. when a 12th level druid attains 13th level, does he keep his original 3 druids he gained when reaching 12th level in addition to the 3 10th-level druids he gains for hitting 13th level? And so on and so forth up the chain? Druids gain an average of 3 followers.
Thieves attract 4d6 followers at 10th level - all thieves, thief/fighters, thief/fighter/mages, etc. The followers range from 1st to 8th level (average of 3rd level, considering the chart stats). The thief gains an average of 14 followers.
Bards
gain 10d6 0th level fighters at 9th level. They get an average of 35 followers. _______________________________________________________
In 2E, henchmen are different than followers.
Followers serve their master out of respect and due to the master's reputation. They still need care, upkeep, payment, etc. Followers are determined in the class descriptions and cannot be replaced. Follower numbers have no relation to the PC's Charisma score.
Henchmen are higher level followers who were either hired to serve the PCs or who gained xp and rose in levels from follower status. Henchmen are more like NPC/PCs for lack of a better description. I've never liked the confusion between followers and henchmen - and it is somewhat confusing. The number of henchmen a single PC can have in an entire lifetime is dictated by his Charisma score and averages from 9 to 15 henchmen (based on CHA 9 to CHA 18).
However, in 1E, it says (DMG, pg. 34) that all hirelings begin at 1st level, unless the PC is at 7th level. At that point, there's a 10% chance hirelings of 2nd level can be found. If the PC is above 11th level, there is a 25% chance of finding a hireling of 3rd level. So in 1E at least, it's unlikely that henchmen or followers will ever attain the status of fellow PCs (i.e. replacing a dead PC) as we discussed in the other thread.
Hirelings can be any sort and any level, from sages to blacksmiths to clerics. Usually they're just 0th level NPCs like blacksmiths, etc. No hireling will ever "step in" for a lost PC. They are not adventurers.
Hirelings do not go on adventures with PCs. Followers (according to the 2E PHB) do not go on adventures with PCs (which I find odd because to me followers would be the closest relationship to the PCs). Henchmen go on adventures with PCs and gain xp and treasure.
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I've always felt that followers should be the closest and most loyal acquaintances to the PCs. These are people (and animals) who were attracted to the PC entirely due to the PC's reputation, not merely because they need a job. They want to be part of the PC's life, part of the PC's agenda and goals. They're fanatically loyal and should be the closest thing to the individual PC - closer than even other PCs. As far as henchmen, I don't see how these become a higher type of acquaintance to the PCs than followers because henchmen are hired hands initially (although it does say they can come from the ranks of followers, though usually they're simply hired).
I also think that there should be a bit more fairness to how many followers each class gets. I mean, really...the wizard and paladin get none, while the fighter gets (in 2E) up to 71 followers and the priest up to 200!
Some gain a fixed number (such as druids) while others get a variable number (such as thieves). Rangers gain mainly animal followers, while druids gain no animal followers. It's all pretty chaotic. I don't think it should be perfectly equal, but I think the issue of followers/henchmen/hirelings could use a bit of re-working and that it's an interesting topic. Also, touching on what TigerStripedDog and Garhkal were debating on the other thread - in 1E at least, it appears that henchmen do tend to be of the same class as their PC master. In the 1E DMG, pg. 35, it has a chart that, if I understand it correctly, implies that henchmen are of the same class as the PC. There is a small chance of a sub-class (i.e. a cleric has a 20% chance of finding a henchman, and on a roll of 1d6 gains a druid. Likewise, a fighter has a 44% chance and on a roll of 1 he gets a ranger, on a roll of 2 a paladin).
