>>96846075
In early editions, each player had a main character and a number (based on their charisma) of henchmen. They accompanied the main character in their adventures, leveling with them (usually a level or two lower) and could be used as replacements if the main character died, without having to do ass pulls about a complete stranger leaping from a nearby bush and claiming the deceased's gear, or having to halt the time sensitive plot/dungeon crawl to go back to a town to recruit another character for the player to play. The Henchmen where already a trusted member of the party so could take over in an instant.

This seems to be pretty unknown to many modern gamers, as most RPGs nowadays are less wargamey, less about being the commander or leader of a small unit and more about being a lone superhero who can deal with anything (until they can't).