D20 Things That Might Go Wrong If You Have Too Many Hirelings

1. Hirelings form a hero-cult around you. There will be sectarian strife as the cult splinters between charismatic leaders and iconoclastic heretics, and the whole lot will turn on you if you fall short of their heroic ideal.

2. One hireling stabs another over a disputed gamble.

3. A hireling falls madly in love with you, will covertly work to drive off or kill other members of the party so that they can be with you alone.

4. A hireling trips and breaks their leg, the whole party moves at half speed unless they’re provided with a mount, healed, or abandoned.

5. Two hirelings elope, leaving the party.

6. A hireling sneaks off ahead on your route, thinking they can get to any treasure before you.

7. A hireling sells out your location and weaknesses to some nearby bandits.

8. Your hirelings start a fight club. Each day one is randomly injured until it’s broken up... however this may be bad for their morale unless alternative entertainment is provided.

9. Intestinal parasites run amok through the camp. Rations are consumed at twice normal rate until the infected are cured or excised.

10. A hireling is turned to a rival faction, becomes double agent.

11. A hireling’s mind breaks from stress and they run off screaming.

12. A hireling becomes obsessed with monsters and their power, will defect from the party to serve the next one encountered with more HD than you.

13. Your hirelings are possessed by a bloody fervour. They automatically pass any morale checks, but will no longer retreat from combat for 1d6 days.

14. A hireling offends a local spirit. Suffer terrible weather until the hireling is sacrificed, the spirit is appeased, or you leave the region.

15. Dysentery strikes your hirelings. Until they’re cured or leave the party you can never surprise enemies due to the preceding stench.

16. A hireling blunders into a nearby trap.

17. Hirelings unionize to demand higher wages and safer working conditions.

18. A hireling becomes inspired by natural beauty, and works furiously to complete a work of art. They’ll remain where they are, and in 1d6 days will have a finished work worth 1d6x100 silver. If left to fend for themself there is a 20% chance per day they’ll die.

19. A hireling begins collecting trophies from everything you kill, and starts smelling very gross. They will no longer be tolerated in civilized locales.

20. Your hirelings spook each other with ghost stories. For 1d6 days they suffer -2 morale.