🧱 Retainers

Retainers are non-player characters (NPCs) hired by adventurers to accompany them into danger. They fight, scout, carry, or heal—depending on their skills—and expect fair treatment and compensation.

🎭 Maximum Number of Retainers

A character may employ a number of retainers equal to their Charisma score (see Ability Scores). This includes both combat-ready companions and noncombat hirelings.

🛡️ Duties and Loyalty

Retainers are expected to share in the risks of adventuring, including dungeon delving, guarding the party, and engaging in combat if hired for such tasks.

However, they are not slaves. A retainer who is mistreated, underpaid, or needlessly endangered may refuse further service, and may even spread tales of their abuse—making it harder for that PC to hire others.

🧬 Class & Level Limits

• Retainers may be of any class, including level 0 commoners (e.g. torchbearers, porters).

• They may not be higher level than the PC who employs them.

💰 Wages & Compensation

Retainers require:

• A daily wage (usually 1–12 gp/day depending on role and experience)

• A share of treasure, most commonly ½ share for combatants

Example:

A retainer with a wage of 3 gp/day also receives ½ share of any treasure recovered.

🍖 Upkeep & Equipment

The hiring PC must pay for:

• The retainer’s daily upkeep (food, drink, and shelter)

• Any necessary gear, weapons, or mounts the retainer requires for the mission

💎 Treasure Shares

Treasure is divided into shares. Retainers may receive a full share (rare), a half share (common), or a fixed amount as agreed.

Fractional Share Example:

A party of 5 PCs (each receiving 1 share) and 1 retainer (½ share) finds 2,750 gp.

Total shares = 5.5
Treasure per full share = 2,750 ÷ 5.5 = 500 gp

Each PC receives 500 gp; the retainer receives 250 gp

📜 Full Pale Lodge Mercenary Roster

Clerics

Fighters

Barbarians

Rangers

Dwarves (Dwarf Class)

Elves (Elf Class)

Halflings (Halfling Class)

Human Fighters

Magic-Users

Bards

Magic-Users

Thieves

Acrobats

Thieves

New Recruits

Level 5 NPCs

Level 6 NPCs

🔦 Non-Combat Retainers – Level 0 & 1

Kerem – Torchbearer

Human, Lawful
AC 9 | HD 0 | HP 5 | MV 120' | ATK: Club (1d4)
STR 10 | DEX 11 | CON 10 | INT 9 | WIS 10 | CHA 11

Bright-eyed and perpetually smudged with soot, Kerem takes pride in lighting the way. He talks to torches like they’re old friends and treats each unlit corridor like a personal challenge.

Equipment: Club, 10 torches, tinderbox, oil flasks (2), fire striker
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty improves if included in post-quest feasts or thanked personally.

Zeynep – Tunnel Lantern-Bearer

Human, Neutral
AC 8 | HD 0 | HP 4 | MV 120' | ATK: Dagger (1d4)
STR 9 | DEX 12 | CON 10 | INT 10 | WIS 10 | CHA 9

Once a ratcatcher in Ashkarin’s sewers, Zeynep now walks the halls of Stonehell holding the light. She has a knack for avoiding drips and falling dust, and claims to dream of the dungeon before it’s explored.

Equipment: Lantern, 3 oil flasks, dagger, sack, chalk
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty rises if she’s kept near the center of the group.

Yılmaz – Pickman (also appears on combat list, but often supports)

Human, Lawful
AC 6 | HD 1 | HP 10 | MV 90' | ATK: Pickaxe (1d6)
STR 16 | DEX 11 | CON 13 | INT 10 | WIS 10 | CHA 9

Superstitious and stone-wise, Yılmaz mutters blessings to the rocks as he works. When not swinging his pick, he’s chewing iron filings and sketching tunnel patterns in the dirt.

Equipment: Pickaxe, rope (50 ft), spade, climbing kit, chalk
Loyalty Rule: Becomes nervous if left above ground too long.

Feray – Beast Handler

Human, Neutral
AC 8 | HD 1 | HP 7 | MV 120' | ATK: Staff (1d6)
STR 12 | DEX 11 | CON 11 | INT 9 | WIS 13 | CHA 13

Quiet, firm, and calm. Feray was raised in the stables of Ashkarin and claims to understand a mule’s moods better than a man’s. Handles pack dogs, mules, and even trained ravens.

Equipment: Staff, rope harness, 2 animal salves, whistle, dried meat
Loyalty Rule: Will not tolerate cruelty to animals.

Orhan – Acolyte Healer

Human, Lawful
AC 7 | HD 1 | HP 6 | MV 120' | ATK: None
STR 8 | DEX 11 | CON 10 | INT 11 | WIS 14 | CHA 11

Orhan speaks in whispers and prays with a calm certainty. Though unordained, he administers poultices and speaks litanies over the dying. He dreams of one day joining the clergy of Vaughn or St. Ras.

Equipment: Healing kit, holy token, clean rags, poultices, vial of sacramental water
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty improves if he witnesses sincere prayer or a just act.

Meryem – Herbalist

Human, Neutral
AC 9 | HD 1 | HP 5 | MV 120' | ATK: Dagger (1d4)
STR 9 | DEX 10 | CON 10 | INT 12 | WIS 13 | CHA 12

Smelling of sage and damp moss, Meryem knows the name of every weed that grows in the cracks of Ember. She's happiest elbows-deep in roots or steeping potions by firelight.

Equipment: Herb satchel, dagger, mortar & pestle, salves (2), fungus sample
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty improves if you listen to her herbal lectures.

Hande – Glyph Mage (Camp Witch)

Human, Neutral
AC 10 | HD 1 | HP 5 | MV 120' | ATK: None (Noncombatant)
STR 8 | DEX 10 | CON 9 | INT 15 | WIS 11 | CHA 11

Hande studies minor glyphs and warding runes, often leaving protection sigils at camp edges. She doesn’t fight—but she’ll shout a warning if magical traces are found.

Equipment: Sigil chalk, rune map, bone dice, vial of powdered silver
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty improves if magic is treated with respect and mystery.

Dilara – Camp Witch (Charms and Warnings)

Human, Chaotic
AC 10 | HD 1 | HP 5 | MV 120' | ATK: Dagger (1d4)
STR 9 | DEX 10 | CON 10 | INT 13 | WIS 11 | CHA 11

Dilara claims to see omens in cracked bones and candle soot. Her magic is folkish, protective, and sometimes unsettling. She wards dreams and reads wax signs before expeditions.

Equipment: Wax seal kit, incense, dream pouch, dagger, “curse rope”
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty drops if mocked or forced into daylight duels.

Bahar – Lantern Watcher (Removed previously, but if kept)

Human, Neutral
AC 9 | HD 0 | HP 3 | MV 120' | ATK: None
STR 8 | DEX 10 | CON 8 | INT 11 | WIS 13 | CHA 10

Bahar watches the weather, tides, and moon. She hums lullabies to herself and warns of "wind in the wrong place" before storms. A bit odd, but often right.

Equipment: Sky journal, hand lens, wind-sock charm
Loyalty Rule: Loyalty increases if she’s listened to before a journey.

New Hires (Torchbearers/Porters)

These are Level 0 torchbearers and porters available in Ember, ready to join for coin and coin alone. Their stats are simplified and interchangeable unless distinguished:

Typical Stat Block:
Human, Neutral | AC 9 | HD 0 | HP 4 | MV 120' | ATK: Club (1d4)
Traits: Fearful in combat, loyal if protected, eager for bonus pay.

Names:

• Kerim, torchbearer (talks in third person)

• Selvi, porter (sings while walking)

• Davut, torchbearer (believes fire spirits live in flames)

• Huri, lantern-bearer (carries a locket of her dead twin)

• Emre, porter (terrified of rats)

• Pelin, torchbearer (quotes weird poetry)

• Osman, porter (wants to see the stars underground)

• Aylin, torchbearer (collects dungeon pebbles)

• Sefa, porter (gambling addict)

• Nalan, torchbearer (doodles trap designs in chalk)

🐺 Animal Assets (Require Handler)

"Take wing, strike swift, bring proof. The Trail remembers."

(Posted in the Bounty Hall, carved onto thick parchment sheets, pinned under a stylized white bird sigil.)

🛡️ Current Open Contracts:

📖 Notes for Members:

• Proof Must Be Genuine: Fraudulent proofs are punished by erasure from the Lodge.

• Single Claim Only: First team or individual to provide the proper token earns the boon.

• Some Bounties Hunt Back: Attempting planar or high-risk bounties without preparation is a death wish.

• If Contract Expiration Reached: The bounty is withdrawn—and the Lodge washes its hands of the matter, save for vengeance in cases involving traitors.

🛡️ Bounty Difficulty Guide:

🐦 Pale Lodge Oath:

"Honor the trail, aid your kin, and never betray the Wing."

🕊️ The Pale Lodge of Ashkarin

"Honor the trail, aid your kin, and never betray the Wing."

🛡️ Lodge Recognition & Requirements

To be recognized by those of the Winged Path—a loosely affiliated network of surviving lodges across the realm—each Pale Lodge must adhere to five traditional tenets, carved into every founding beam and recorded in a Whiteleaf Codex (a pale birchwood journal written in moon-ink):

1. The Trailwright's Oath

“Only those who have bled on the trail may lay the stone.”
Only an established adventurer, mercenary, or survivor may found a Lodge. In Ashkarin, this tradition was upheld when Ulbar of Dustmere—a torchbearer-turned-guide—used the proceeds from a ruined expedition to convert his failing bait shop into a lodge.

• Note: Ulbar is rumored to be missing three fingers and part of his shadow.

2. The Chronicle Shelf

“Let no trail be lost. Let no tale be silenced.”
The Lodge must contain a copy of the Pale Chronicles—an expanding series of stitched, hand-penned journals written by Lodge members, detailing travels, dungeon maps, deaths, beasts, settlements, edible mosses, and warnings scratched in haste.

• One original volume is chained inside the Trailroom, others are kept in copper scroll tubes in the Vault.

3. The Lore Trough

“To survive the unknown, we must know the known.”
Every Pale Lodge must maintain a collection of local knowledge and regional expertise:

• The Lore Shelf at Ashkarin’s Lodge includes:

  • Flora of the Ashmar Bogs

  • River-Reptile Behavior Patterns, Annotated by Survivors

  • Ghost-Tide Activity: Measured by Moon Phases

  • Ten Signs You’re About to Eat a Mimic

4. The Winged Welcome

“If they wear the bird, they are kin.”
No matter creed, coin, species, or sin—any marked Pale adventurer seeking shelter, healing, knowledge, or news must be welcomed. This is not law, but a vow, and betrayal of it invites being “wing-clipped”—a symbolic severing of one’s trail rights.

• Violators are marked by burning the bird sigil off their skin—a punishment carried out only once in Lodge memory, by Ulbar himself.

5. The Hearth of Tolerance

“No trail knows just one kind of traveler.”
The Lodge must remain a safe, respectful refuge for all members, regardless of race, faith, flag, or love. Within the Lodge, arguments may flare—but no hate may fester.

• Horta, the giant bone-setter who brews Guttersoup, is the Lodge’s silent moral core. When she taps her ladle against the Tithe Hearth, all disputes end. No one crosses her.

🪶 The Whiteleaf Codex (Lodge Charter Book)

This book sits beneath the fish-greased counter of Ulbar’s shop, resting between jars of pickled eel and river-lemongrass tincture. Its spine is birch bark, its ink silvered ash. It contains:

• The Lodge’s founding

• Trailwright’s signatures (every member who’s died in good standing)

• Major contracts and their outcomes

• Obituaries, failures, poems, warnings

• Feathers and blood-prints of fallen members

To tear a page is to break the Lodge’s soul. Ulbar has drawn blood over it before.

Contract Details

Job: Extraction of all 9 Plated Mage lenses
Work Time: 1 Turn (10 min) per lens = 90 minutes extraction
Additional Work: 1 day prep and stabilization, 1 day rest and cataloging
Travel: 2 days each way from Ashkarin = 4 travel days total
Total Commitment: 6 paid days per specialist

Base Rate: 500 gp per lens (×9 = 4,500 gp)
Hazard Pay: 250 gp (unstable, potentially lethal site)
Travel Pay: 100 gp/day × 4 days = 400 gp
Total Base Fee: ≈ 5,150 gp per specialist

Note: Some charge more depending on seniority, rank, or Azure Veil affiliation.

Tower Arcana Extraction Specialists