Dungeon Non Combatants in and out of Combat

 

Here are options for all those old dungeons where the lady monsters and children and elderly are defenceless and don't fight or just make you wonder if you are the baddies. There is also a table for high level oath locations and antics for the prisoners your keep.

Morale can be effected for warriors by family reaction.
You can also test morale of your own hirelings to make sure they treat prisoners how you want rather than they just wing it.

d12 What do most non-combatants do in battle?
1 Scream abuse at enemies and cheer on their own warriors +1 Morale

2 Abuse their warriors for every mistake -1 morale

3 Hurl rotting food, body parts, bones, dung at enemies -1 morale for enemy

4 Form a defensive wall with furnishings and any possible weapons around children +1 morale

5 Form a defensive wall using their children as shields -1 enemy morale

6 Form a defence around the treasure hoard +1 morale

7 Use slings, even old and kids +2 morale

8 Elderly charge into battle then parents then children +1 morale

9 Threaten themselves with knives unless left alone -1 morale

10 Try to sacrifice a person or pet for divine aid or summoning

11 Prepare to all drink poison if battle goes badly for their side -2 morale

12 All drink berserker potions if battle goes badly for their side +2 morale

d12 What do the non-combatants do after they lose?

1 Line up expecting to be murdered or tortured

2 Present all their possible wealth and point to treasure they know of

3 Offer to be your thralls if you spare them

4 Wave a white flag and call for end to hostilities

5 Beg to be allowed to flee if prevented from doing so

6 Denounce their fallen dead and claim to be on your side all along

7 Prey to their god 1% chance per HD any slaughtering them is cursed +1 morale

8 Ask for permission to save dying and bury their dead

9 Offer themselves to your every desire but will try and murder you later

10 Highest ranking surviving boss declares they are in change now and desire peace

11 Sob and beg for mercy, wailing and weeping loudly and writhing on the floor like worms

12 Cheer their new leaders and explain you can choose survivors to marry and unite our clans, 

d12 What do the elderly do in combat

1 Sheild children with bodies sobbing and begging for mercy

2 Slowly hobble to attack as best they can with improvised weapons

3 Prey to their gods for help begging for mercy and victory

4 Busy having naps, complaining about noise, snore

5 Rally the family pets for defence

6 Try and lead children to exit and sacrifice self if needed while children flee

7 Complain about failing young warriors not as tough as their day

8 Eat all the best food, drink all the grog and eat all the magic fungus

9 Hug each other shaking, if approached some feint, die or shit themselves

10 Take medicine and have a nap and feel no pain and fear no death

11 Pretend to be harmless idiots while moving in for ambush with poison 

12 Take berserk potions but die when they expire (or worse lycanthropes)

d12 What do the kids do in combat

1 Use slings and throw rocks

2 Charge with improvised weapons or toys

3 Try to flee in blind panic -1 morale

4 SIt and cry loudly, wet themselves if touched -1 morale

5 Try and hide anywhere even under a blanket and don't watch -1 morale

6 Sing beautiful choral inspiring folk song +d3 morale

7 Throw faeces, garbage and old bottles of fermented piss +1 morale

8 Work together to throw or sling burning oil or boiling water +1 morale

9 Charge forward with an iron grenade with a lit fuse tied on

10 Older children hurl babies at anyone who looks good -1 morale

11 Blow a whistle they use to tease local angry monster that hates them +1 morale

12 Watch excitedly and munch on toasted acorns and dried toadstools +1 morale

d12 Prisoner Conduct

1 Gloomily march to fate singing gloomy songs about being oppressed

2 One prisoner knows a guy who will buy all the survivors for cash for own freedom

3 Complain lots, don't like to march and will refuse to move if not promised food

4 Plot to escape using teamwork possibly dogpiling masters and taking their weapons

5 Prey for divine aid constantly and moan about unfairness and injustice

6 Insist they perform lots of sacred rites when they need a break or gods will kill them

7 Now they are your slaves you must teach them your magic and arts

8 Drop beads, hair or markers during transport for kin to rescue them

9 One has a poisoned knife they have hidden and will come up with an escape plot

10 Copy everything humans do for the approval of the strong who defeated them

11 Caught eating rats and giant bugs, gambling and petty vice rackets

12 Keep having babies constantly as cursed with fertility

d12 What survivors do if released
1 Flee to relatives and tell them of humiliation and murderous killers
2 Flee to allies and warn them of dangerous murder hobos razing everything
3 Flee to traditional enemies because they are better thralls with them than too weak to live
4 Flee to an evil temple that takes them in and teaches them new spells and secrets
5 Flee to slavers and sell children then pay mercenaries to kill adventurers
6 Flee to the garden of an evil hag who teaches them new oaths and provides new allies
7 Flee to a wizard who summons monsters to aid revenge in return for survivors thralldom

8 Visit a terrible monster and tell a lie about adventurers so it attacks them
9 Flee to another country and never seen again or went to ancestral burial grounds to die of sadness

10 Flee and all are killed tragically by another enemy (perhaps now angry undead)
11 Hire some monsters by offering children and elderly as food to kill adventurers

12 Join a demonic cult offering means of vengeance against their enemies

d12 What lazy and brutish hirelings would like to do to prisoners
1 Let them go and claim they couldn't catch them but really tried hard
2 Want to get to civilisation fast for sweet gold reward and booze, kill any stragglers to keep up the pace. just take their heads or ears or hands if easier and employers let them
3 Use as hostages and demand money from their ruler or kin
4 Torment prisoners while drinking as "its only fair they would do it to us"
5 Sell them to a dungeon boss needing minions and servants used to the lifestyle
6 Sell them to slavers needing extendible slaves for mines and muckraking
7 Sell them to a press gang needing ship crews and rowers
9 Kill them all as quickly as possible and dump corpses and get out of the area
10 Kill them and sell corpses and parts to the necromancer
11 Kill them and give them a decent pit burial nobody can find and wolves cannot dig up

12 Kill them and sell hair, leather, cloths, teeth and bones and scraps as dog meat

Your own followers won't suggest these unless they are crooked lazy murder hobos but the common hireling or mercenary or non-good adventurer might. Good people will object to many of these treatments and they are less likely to kill for money with adventurers than chaotic evil people. Good hirelings might have their own inappropriate behaviour but at least don't deliberately do dungeon crimes.

d12 What well-meaning hirelings would like to do to prisoners
1 Make them promise to abandon the area and not return
2 Give them some coins, rations and blankets so they can survive
3 Release them as soon as they get the chance if they promise to not seek vengeance
4 Take them to civilisation to get jobs and training in a poor workhouse for monster widows and children
5 Make them swear to join a good church and release them on conversion
6 Take them to a village or estate where they can live in peace in a diverse community
7 Have them sent to the colonies for a new life away from bad influences
8 Some volunteer to marry willing prisoners and retire to work on land or a trade
9 Give them a stern talking to about their wicked ways, perhaps a long sermon and free them
10 Take prisoners to civilisation to the court system to deal with them
11 Hand them over to a temple mission to help care for and convert prisoners
12 Take them to city and help them get jobs and accommodation

Anytime prisoners change hands with new npc's they might be treated differently so beware. You cant not expect people you hand prisoners to will do the right thing. Thats why the best thing to do is to go through the whole process of making sure your captive goblins are not just killed and sold to the rag-and-bone dealer for 1c. Good people worry about unreasonable cruelty for prisoners after all you might end up someone's prisoner one day.