Generating and Advancing a Church

Churches are primarily a method for players to acquire healing and restorative services that may otherwise be beyond their ability. They may also be a place for players to hire low-level clerics as henchmen. However, churches may also be a place for players to spend treasure in return for perks, and strengthen players' relationship to their town. This is not only an immediate benefit for players, but also serves as a "gold sink" and a place for players to spend their treasure.

What follows is mere suggestion. The core mechanic is to attract more powerful clerics to lead churches by donating gold. Cleric scrolls, holy orders, and artefacts are options to "flesh out" advancement of religious institutions.

Consider the following table:

Click to enlarge.

Level is merely an abstraction for the Referee. A typical town will have a church in the range of level 3-5. Level 6 churches will probably be reserved for the capitals of major cities, and a level 7 church may well be the seat of religious power in an entire county.

Title is a suggestion and may be ignored, as any title is an acceptable way to refer to such religious institutions (e.g. in this article I will use "Church" as a generic term.)

Donations is the value in GP which players must give freely to the church (i.e. NOT in exchange for goods and services) before a leader is attracted (qv.) - these values, unlike XP, are NOT cumulative! E.g. if players donate 12,000gp to turn a Temple into a Church, they will need another 25,000gp in donations to turn that Church into a Basilica, NOT 13,000gp!

A leader is an NPC cleric who will be attracted within 2d4 months of reaching the minimum donations value to attain the next level. He will bring with him any cleric scrolls, holy orders, and artefacts as commensurate with level (qv.)

Any given institution will have cleric scrolls with cleric spells on them. These scrolls are not for sale and are prized relics, not for use.

Holy orders are troops (0-level militiamen) that can be raised in defense of the church. One in ten troops will be a cleric two levels lower than the current leader.

Artefact attracted is a yearly chance for a magic item (weapon, armor, or otherwise holy relic) to be recovered or sent to the church. This item is stored in a church's reliquary, which is usually heavily guarded. Use this same percentage chance to check and see if a leader has an artefact with him when he is first attracted to the church. Like scrolls, these artefacts will rarely be given willingly, even for exorbitant sums of money.

Churches will have half of their donations in wealth as cash (or expensive plates, gems, gold-trimmed robes and mitres, baculi, & c.); the other half will be put into improving the facilities, e.g. stained-glass windows, organs, bell towers, statues, & c.

A church of significant standing may also house a mausoleum for the noble families of the town or city.

The leader of the church will perform clerical spells for a price. The following chart is a suggestion as to the spells available, frequency, and price. Note that spells are cumulative, i.e. a Vicar will also offer level-1 spells such as Cure Light Wounds.

Click to enlarge.

EXAMPLE:

The town of Fresh Water has a small cobblestone temple to St. Katharine, overseen by the Vicar, Edmond. A party of adventurers donates 12,000gp to the church. The referee rolls 2d4 and finds that it will take 4 months for a new leader to be attracted. In the meantime, the temple to St. Katharine installs stained glass windows and purchases an organ, worth a total of 6,000gp. After 4 months, the Curate Theodore arrives in Fresh Water to preach at the newly renovated Church of St. Katharine. He has with him a retinue of 12 men, one of whom is an acolyte, and three Holy Pages (cleric scrolls). The referee checks to see if Theodore has brought a holy artefact with him, but finds that he does not. The referee checks to see if the Church of St. Katharine attracts a holy artefact this year, and also finds that it does not.

After a few more months of adventuring, the players have donated an additional 25,000gp to the Church of St. Katharine, and the referee again rolls 2d4 and finds that an Elder will come to the Church in a mere 2 months! When the Elder Dominicus arrives, masons are hard at work adding an entire new wing to what has now come to be known as the Basilica of Holy Katharine. Dominicus brings with him an additional six scrolls and a retinue of 50 men, 5 of whom are acolytes. Dominicus is a powerful cleric and can not only Bless and Cure Light Wounds as can Edmond and Theodore, but also Cure Diseases and Remove Curses, although he will only perform these services monthly, and for a hefty fee of 10,000gp per cast. Again, the referee determines that Dominicus has not brought an artefact with him; however, the referee does determine that the Basilica of St. Katharine does attract an artefact this year. He rolls a d12 and finds that it will come in 5 months and notes as such on his calendar. Five months later, an epopt arrives bearing a +1 mace (+3 against undead) in a jeweled case - the legendary mace of Roche, thought to be lost in a crusade 200 years ago.

RETAINER RULES: AN EXPLANATORY TALE

Confused by retainer rules, I wrote something to help myself keep the categories straight. I hope you find it helpful.

• RETAINER: A general term for any NPC who a PC has hired. Retainers usually fall into three broad categories: HIRELINGS, SPECIALISTS, and MERCENARIES
• HIRELING: A hireling will follow PCs on dungeon and wilderness adventures. Hirelings will demand a base pay rate, and if expected to go into a dungeon, will also demand a share of treasure.
• SPECIALIST: A specialist will not follow PCs on adventures, and depending on the type of specialist, will demand payment per job or monthly. Rarely, a specialist may agree to enter a dungeon only if safe passage is guaranteed.
• MERCENARY: A mercenary will follow PCs on wilderness adventures, but will not enter dungeons. Mercenaries will demand monthly pay rates, and those rates are doubled in times of war or if being sent into battle.

NB: By AD&D terms, "Hireling" is a more general term that refers to any NPC a PC has hired, while "Henchman" refers to those employed who will enter dungeons and fight.   

EXAMPLES:
Ulf the Fighter is exploring a flooded catacombs a half-day's ride to the east. He needs someone to watch his mount, as it refuses to descend the steep stairs to enter the dungeon with him. He hires Bob at a base pay rate of 1gp per day to ride out with him and watch his mount while he is exploring the catacombs. Because Bob is not expected to follow Ulf into the dungeon, he is not guaranteed a share of treasure.

While exploring the catacombs, Ulf is surprised by a pack of skeletons. He barely escapes with his life, and resolves to hire an acolyte to help him deal with the undead. He hires Alice the Acolyte at a base pay rate of 5gp per day to ride out with him and Bob and explore the catacombs with him. Because Alice is expected to fight, he offers Alice a 25-75 split of any treasure found. Alice counter-offers an even split, to which Ulf agrees. Ulf also must outfit Alice for the journey, and pays for rations, a mount, chainmail, a shield, some holy water, some torches, a sling, and a mace. At the last second, Ulf decides to outfit Alice with a suit of plate armor instead of chain mail, for which Alice is grateful. Alice, Bob, and Ulf ride out to the catacombs and Bob watches the horses while Alice and Ulf explore the catacombs. They dispatch the skeletons and recover an amulet worth 1600gp. Upon returning to town, Ulf gains 800xp (1600xp split between two people) and Alice gains 400xp (50% of 1600/2, as Alice is a hireling she only gains half a share of XP). Ulf is able to sell the amulet at the local moneychanger for 1,050gp. He gives Alice 550gp, even though he only owes her 525gp per their agreement. This tip pleases Alice, and considering he also paid for a suit of full plate, she is eager to adventure with Ulf again.

Months later, Ulf has conquered the catacombs, with the exception of an unexplored room sealed behind a large metal door with a complicated lock. Ulf has also recovered a locked iron chest from the catacombs which he has been unable to open. He resolves to hire the town locksmith to open the chest for him, and to ask if the locksmith will also help him with the door in the dungeon. The locksmith agrees to open the chest for Ulf, asking for 50gp and half of whatever is found in the chest. Ulf refuses, offering 75gp. The locksmith says that his usual rate is 100gp per job, and Ulf agrees. After opening the chest (some potions and scrolls are within), Ulf asks the locksmith if he would agree to opening the door deep within the dungeon. Although Ulf has conquered most of the dungeon, the locksmith refuses, as the door is far too deep in the dungeon for him to agree. Ulf proposes that he dig a tunnel directly to the door, bypassing most of the dungeon, and the locksmith says that if Ulf accomplishes this, the locksmith will pick the lock for ten times his normal rate - 1,000gp.

Ulf then sets out to dig a tunnel from the first floor of the dungeon to the fourth, where the door is. He shows up to the dwarven miners' guild and explains his situation, asking to hire a team of dwarven engineers. Ulf's accurate dungeon map allows the guild to estimate that the job will take two months for a team of five to complete. As the miners are journeymen of the guild, they charge quite a hefty fee: 1,000gp per dwarf per month! They also demand that their base camp be protected by a team of mercenaries, so they don't have to fear the roving bands of wolves and barbarians that patrol the wilderness outside the catacombs. Ulf reluctantly agrees, and sets out to hire mercenaries, mourning the 10,000gp he is going to have to spend to dig such a tunnel.

Ulf hires thirty men: Fifteen pikemen in leather, ten crossbowmen in leather, and five medium horse, mounted and clad in chain.

• Pikemen: 3gp/month x 15 = 45gp/month
• Crossbowmen: 2gp/month x 10 = 20gp/month
• Medium horse: 4gp/month x 5 = 20gp/month

The mercenaries cost him a total of 85gp per month, so he expects to pay 170gp for the two-month job. He also hires a team of porters to set up the camp for the dwarven miners: ten porters, hired for a week, comes out to two and a half gp while the camp is set up.

After a month, war breaks out in the east! The mercenaries re-negotiate their contract (as they are now in high demand), and Ulf winces as he must pay them double their rate for the second month. In total, he will have spent 255gp on his mercenaries over two months. The dwarves, who have been kept happy and productive with a steady supply of barrels of ale that Ulf has been hiring carters to bring to the camp, finish their job a week early, and Ulf need only pay them three quarters of their monthly rate for the second month (he keeps the mercenaries on-hand for the extra week as he enjoys the addded protection). At long last, Ulf can attempt to open the metal door!

The locksmith, paid 500gp in advance and escorted by Ulf and a team of hirelings, enters the tunnel and sets to work opening the lock. Rejoice - behind the door is the treasure rooms of the catacombs! Gold and jewels are stacked in piles to the ceiling - a veritable kings' ransom. The hirelings Ulf has brought with them are struck by greed, and begin stuffing their bags with as much treasure as they can carry, even though they were not promised a share of treasure, as escorting the locksmith through empty tunnels was judged to be a particularly safe venture. Enraged, Ulf cuts them down. He stuffs their bodies into some empty coffins in the catacombs, and thrusts a sackful of jewels (worth far, far more than the remaining 500gp he owes him) into the hands of the locksmith. "Terrible business," Ulf says, "that treasure being magically trapped, eh?" The locksmith gets Ulf's drift, and mutely nods.

For the next seven days, Ulf carefully tabulates the treasure in the room and hires a team of porters to help him carry it back to town. One of the porters was caught nicking silver he thought wouldn't be missed, and Ulf takes his left hand in front of the other porters. No problems with thievery after that.

With his riches, Ulf purchases a large estate. He permanently employs a team of mercenaries to patrol his lands and keep them safe, paying them their base rate. Occasionally, he must put down a rebellion by his more recalcitrant vassals, and doubles the rate at which he pays his mercenaries as he sends them to battle. He dies in his sleep at the ripe old age of 78, having sired many sons.

Generating an Inn

In the previous article, I wrote about generating a town roughly analogous to the town found in T1: The Village of Hommlet. This is a guide to creating an inn and tavern.

An inn will have another d4 employees in addition to whatever employees are rolled as a "wealthy house." (see previous article)

In addition to the treasure rolled as a "wealthy house," which is stored in the innkeeper's private room, there will be 1d100 each of copper, silver, gold, and electrum as well as d20 pieces of platinum "on hand." This number represents cash on hand during a busy night, so there will be less in the mornings, as cash is usually taken and deposited in the innkeeper's private room at the end of each night. The innkeeper's quarters is not counted among the private bedrooms for rent.

An Inn generally has about eight private bedrooms, in addition to a suite, dormitory, and spare room where employees may sleep. Larger inns will have more, while smaller inns will have fewer.

Dormitories will have 2d6 occupants in them and can hold up to about 12 people. They are generally first-come, first-serve, so grab a bed before you're forced to sleep in the stables!

About half of the rooms in an inn will be taken up by guests: 3-in-4 chance of one guest, 1-in-4 chance of two. One in four occupied rooms will have wealthy occupants. If a suite is occupied (special 1-in-6 chance), the occupant(s) is always wealthy. Change out these occupants every week or two. Wealthy occupants may stay longer, or anyone interested in faction politics.

Regular occupants typically will have about 100GP per HD and a chance for gems, jewelry, and magic items commensurate with Treasure Type U (5% 1d4 gems, 5% 1d4 jewelry, 2% 1 magic item).

Wealthy occupants, who generally have more than 1 HD (add 1d6 HD), will typically have about 1,000GP per HD and a chance for gems, jewelry, and magic items commensurate with Treasure Type B (25% 1d6 gems, 25% 1d6 jewelry, and 10% 1 magic sword, suit of armor, or weapon). Wealthy occupants should nearly always take an interest in faction politics. Extremely wealthy and powerful occupants may travel with a personal bodyguard.

Neither wealthy nor regular occupants typically carry great amounts of cash on them, and treasure indicated by their roll will usually be found in the form of gems, rings, and other pieces of treasure that are easy to conceal and carry. These items will be well-hidden, and wealthy occupants may even trap their cache.

All guests are armed as indicated in the previous post. Some guests may be wizards, clerics, or demihumans as the referee desires, and will be equipped thusly. Wealthy fighting-man occupants typically have chain armor or better.

Below is a generic cost sheet for inns and taverns; it may be adjusted to your liking.

Click to enlarge.