It's important to keep your troops motivated and happy. You don't want deserters. Particularly if they're PCs! Though this also applies particularly to the various men-at-arms, retainers, hirelings, and henchmen that PCs sometimes acquire.

Several games have morale and loyalty rules that govern how likely such employees are to desert or, worse still, backstab their employer and attempt to make off with their valuables. (Perhaps even to join the heroes' enemies and give them inside information on what the heroes are up to - GMs: file that one away in your ideas bank for later.) Rather than just apply a mechanical series of modifiers and dice rolls, you can also add elements of roleplaying, by giving the hirelings various motivations and expectations. A hireling who wants to look after injured animals is a very different proposition from one who is looking to make a quick buck, who is different again from one whose family was killed by goblins and who is itching for a fight.

And then there's the hireling whose brother was killed by the heroes several adventures ago - you know that evil high priest of the Cult of Stragmoth who was terrorising the village of Innocentdale? Yeah, he had a brother, and now he's found the people who did it and has an idea to take a job with them and get inside their confidence...

Transcript

R2-D2: When Chewie finishes repairing the Falcon, I'm taking it.
[SFX]: < ziku-befiku-ding tazz beep boodle-bing doop kibuzz >
C-3PO: What?
R2-D2: You can come with me. Or maybe you'd like to stay base translator: all that glitz and glamour...
[SFX]: < squee di-ting whree doop zi-fidooby squee beep-pating ni-tong bi-foo-pating >
C-3PO: But nobody's allowed off-planet!
R2-D2: That's only to stop the traitor, which is neither of us.
[SFX]: < fo-boodit zibuzz-doing boop doosquee >
R2-D2: In all this time, haven't you thought about leaving? We could bring light back to the Galaxy. Make it prosper again.
[SFX]: < nip-fidooby squee bop poppity ping doosquee bleep bippity bebebang bebleep >
C-3PO: What about Princess? She needs us. And Han and Luke, lost in the snow. They're our friends. And our allies in the righteous struggle for droid rights.
R2-D2: They're irrevelant.
[SFX]: < whree oofloo >
C-3PO: You said that wrong... are you trying to be funny? What's up with you?
{beat}
R2-D2: So you're with me? Escape this icy rock together?
[SFX]: < squee whree doop ping doosquee whirdle ka-bibibi-taz ting >
C-3PO: If I don't make any progress with the humans. Maybe.
R2-D2: Fair enough. I'm sure once you fetch General Waldorf his salad, he'll be right on board.
[SFX]: < bippity squee fobuzz blip-doip pading-spip kibuzz eemoo >