The use of loyalty and morale in adventure games is well-trod ground. I like to introduce slight variations. An example rule for standard loyalty might be something like
"Each creature has a Morale score between 2 and 12. The average is 5 for peasants and animals, and 7 for veteran fighters. When put in peril, or when a fight turns against them, or when something freaky happens, roll 2d6. If it exceeds their Morale they flee or otherwise desist from their course."
(I like to keep Morale scores a bit lower than the average retroclone.) This kind of rule is a mainstay for a reason, but introducing little twists is a good way to suggest behavior that makes sense for more kinds of creature, and if such creatures ever become available to PCs as potential retainers, the player will have a better sense of the kind of choice they're making when choosing between different kinds of followers.
d10 Alternate Loyalties
1. Regret: the ethos of those who live too long, both forgetting what it is to be part of the world and cherishing the last good things of the dying age. When they're likely to die, or when annihilation seems possible, or when they must destroy something irreplaceable, elves and angels test Regret or flee, taking any beautiful objects or innocent creatures they can and forsaking tainted items or ugly creatures.
2. Pride: the resort of those who believe their life station confers metaphysical significance. When they consider doing something ignominious or subtle, or when something freaky happens, marquises and samurai test Pride or double-down, taking on the problem in the most head-on, gallant, and daredevil way.
3. Restraint: the necessity of the those who understand the thick veins of blood and of gold that determine how society really works. When they're offended, or mercy is called for, or when a fight turns against them, mercenaries and demons test Restraint or attempt to use rank violence to get out of the situation. This may involve massacring impudent villeins or shooting their patron in the leg so they can outrun whatever's chasing them.
4. Fugue: the quality of illucidity, acting in harmony with dream-logic and narrative convenience. When cognitive dissonance hits them, or when things get real, or when long periods of mundanity happen, charmed creatures and fairies test Fugue or reconsider their actions, turning on those who've exploited them or fucking off home.
5. Grudge: the observance of justice by those who don't really know what it is, whose sense of history is exclusively personal and whose sense of impartiality is partial. When put in peril, or considering bygones, or greatly embarrassed, dwarves and orc test Grudge or deviate from their mission, blaming others and acting out of short-sighted hurt.
6. Rage: the comfort of those who forswear deviation, soporific in its simplifying ease. When surprised with peril, or when a fight turns against them, or when something freaky happens, berserkers and angry mobs test Rage or see red and run headlong into danger.
7. Brotherhood: the affinity of those who know their natural inclination is to be covered in chagrin, and binds themselves in love as a wolfman binds himself in chains. When shirking peril their companions undertake, or about to dominate a fight, or when something freaky happens, knights and elementals test their Brotherhood or flee, or otherwise desist in their course.
8. Function: the rubric of those who cannot understand what cannot be measured. When hurt or damaged, or when leaders and masters stop making sense, or when something freaky happens, machinos and gnomes test Function or become confused, introducing eccentricity into their actions such as the inability to tell friend from foe, numbness to their own harm, or acting as though the task at hand is something else they're more familiar with.
9. Portent: the commission of those who have lost such things as fear, warmth, growth, and personal desire. When hurt or damaged, or when proven to be ill-led, or when something freaky happens, undead and zealots test their Portent or begin prognosticating, malingering, giving account, or enacting familiar mundane behaviors.
10. Bravado: the honor of those who consider personal virtues to only exist in the form of reputation and winner-takes-all myth-making. When put in peril, or when something freaky happens, or when there's a good opportunity for a double-cross, pirates and thieves test their Bravado or sell out their loyalties for the more certain payday, taking any valuable items or easy hostages they can and forsaking all responsibility to previous commitments.
