Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11
  1. #1

    What's the difference between henchmen and lieutenants?

    Just what the title says. It seems either or both could rule a domain while the regent is away, they both are supposed to be acquired through adventuring, they both serve from loyalty, they both have jobs assigned by the regent, count against the same charisma allowance, etc. So why does the Book of Regency differentiate between the two?

  2. #2
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario
    Posts
    5
    Downloads
    2
    Uploads
    0
    The core book says that taking the Lieutenant Domain Action allows you to add a Lieutenant to your list of Henchmen. I believe that this tidbit, along with what we learn in the Book of Regency, one can assume that Lieutenants and Henchmen are interchangeable 95% of the time. Henchmen are loyal followers who the player they follow has a degree of control over, whereas Lieutenants are loyal underlings who you trust to make decisions related to their field of expertise with some degree of autonomy.

    If someone is your Henchman but not your Lieutenant, it may be because they are unfit or unwilling to take Domain Actions, or perhaps they are not technically below you on the pecking order. There is less to extrapolate about someone being your Lieutenant but not your Henchman, but I would reserve this situation mostly for Vassals, who should be too busy taking care of their own Domains to hang around or go adventuring (but who would still be able to take their Lieutenant action this Domain Turn if called on).

  3. #3
    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    London, England
    Posts
    2,476
    Downloads
    30
    Uploads
    2
    From recollection lieutenants could spend RP on your behalf when doing domain actions as they were formally part of the domain, whereas henchmen were "personal" so couldn't run the domain for you in the same way.

    But I admit its been a looong time since I looked at the various rulesets on the henchmen rules.

  4. #4
    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    4,244
    Downloads
    88
    Uploads
    8
    I think the BRWiki has a good explanation of the conceptual distinction, even if it is talking 3ed cohorts rather than 2ed henchmen and not talking rules and numbers: http://www.birthright.net/forums/sho...p?title=Cohort

    Cohorts are loyal servants who follow a particular character hoping to rise along with their patron to better things. Lieutenants and cohorts are very similar and a character can be both. The difference is that lieutenant is loyal to the realm while a cohort is loyal to the person. When a cohort is also a lieutenant, they are loyal to both. A cohort can be loyal to the ruler but not the realm, but given the personal nature of rule there will only be a few cases where a cohort harms the realm while being loyal to the ruler. The most notable case is where the ruler himself orders part of his realm occupied or declares an inquisition. Personal loyalty can be very useful in these circumstances.
    Sorontar

  5. #5
    Senior Member arpig2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario
    Posts
    220
    Downloads
    74
    Uploads
    7
    Too me it is simple, a Lieutenant is a henchman who has been empowered to act in your name.
    Call me Bob.
    My website: NRGGames.org
    My game design blog: Bob's Worlds

  6. #6
    Senior Member arpig2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario
    Posts
    220
    Downloads
    74
    Uploads
    7
    To put it in real world terms, think of a mob family. your henchmen are your close buddies, the guys who run your various rackets and do the hits for you, while your lieutenant is the guy you send out to Vegas to take care of your "interests" there.
    Call me Bob.
    My website: NRGGames.org
    My game design blog: Bob's Worlds

  7. #7
    So it sounds like henchmen can't spend RPs and such? That's the only difference?

  8. #8
    Ehrshegh of Spelling Thelandrin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,086
    Downloads
    68
    Uploads
    0
    Lieutenants can take realm actions on your behalf, but cannot spend your regency. Henchmen, not being linked to you or to the land, can do neither.

    Ius Hibernicum, in nomine juris. Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

  9. #9
    Does that mean they can't do domain/realm actions that require regency, such as Agitate or Trade Route? It seems like the only actions that only require GB are free or character actions except Espionage and Create Holding. That would appear to make lieutenants pretty worthless.

    Actually, I just noticed that Create Holding is a domain action. I had previously thought that the reason it cost only gold and no RP was to allow PCs to start from scratch in building their domain. But since it's a domain action, this means that non-regents/lieutenants may not take that action, correct? Does that mean that PCs are only able to start a domain through adventuring, or is it an error?

    Thanks for all the replies, BTW.

  10. #10
    Ehrshegh of Spelling Thelandrin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,086
    Downloads
    68
    Uploads
    0
    Any blooded character may attempt to create a holding, at which point he becomes a regent (however insignificant his demesne). A character who has no bloodline and is not an invested regent cannot take any actions affecting a domain.

    You can spend regency to power an action that a lieutenant is overseeing, but you cannot spend extra RP to increase its success. A lieutenant cannot cast a realm spell using your holdings, though in theory he could use his own holdings to affect your realm (but then he would be an allied regent and not a lieutenant).

    Ius Hibernicum, in nomine juris. Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Henchmen
    By Sorontar in forum Main
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-01-2009, 10:39 PM
  2. Lieutenants
    By JD Lail in forum MPGN Mailinglist archive 1996-1999
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 01-27-1999, 02:25 PM
  3. Lieutenants
    By carla@maxisp.com.a in forum MPGN Mailinglist archive 1996-1999
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 06-19-1998, 10:00 PM
  4. Lieutenants (hopefully the last
    By Petras Astrauskas in forum MPGN Mailinglist archive 1996-1999
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-22-1998, 04:02 PM
  5. Lieutenants
    By Vestrii@aol.co in forum MPGN Mailinglist archive 1996-1999
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-12-1997, 02:07 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
BIRTHRIGHT, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, the BIRTHRIGHT logo, and the D&D logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used by permission. ©2002-2010 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.