Why are they so Rowdy?
Don't get me wrong: the serfs aren't always a rabble in a constant state of aggravation, just looking for an excuse to burn the lord's castle to a cinder. But they can be a pretty dangerous bunch all the same; push them too far and they'll really make you wish you never tried. Here are some of the reasons they might have for uprising or at least committing gross acts of disorder.
We Have To Make A Living Too
The best way to get a peasant into an unruly mood is to subject him to undue deprivation. Unfair taxes, drastic increases in the price of food, tools or other supplies; or just mistreatment and persecution. The revolt of 1381 led by Wat Tyler was driven by the decision to apply a poll tax of one shilling[1] to every person over the age of fifteen.
The adventurers could be involved in this sort of unrest in a number of different ways. They might be seen as champions of the commoners, and as such may be asked to plead the peasants' case before the local lord. Or, if the plebs have got a bit more militant, they might even see the adventurers as leaders, able to fight off the lord and his soldiers, while they take back what's rightfully theirs!
Mind you, adventurers might also want a bit more political influence. After all, they don't tend to pay taxes on their earnings, and might want the nobles to lend them a hand now and again. Any shrewd political operator isn't about to give that sort of help without a little quid pro quo: putting a rebellion down could easily be the sort of favour the nobs might want from the heroes. Better yet, because they don't wear uniform of any army, their unofficial status gives the aristocracy a nice amount of plausible deniability. "I'm shocked to think we'd want to massacre our serfs! It was obviously a gang of itinerant bandits!"
The Demon Drink
Work is the scourge of the drinking classes, as Oscar Wilde famously said. In England, especially, all it takes is for a few people to get a little tired and emotional, and before you know it the latest bender has erupted into a blood-soaked frenzy. Most water in those days was undrinkable, so the drink of choice for the majority of folks was beer. Much of that might well have been 'small beer', containing little alcohol, but just enough to kill off any waterborne diseases, but stronger stuff was always available. Naturally, drunkenness is a great motivator of violent behaviour.
Now, adventurers, being for the most part a hard-drinking sort, are natural bait for this. No adventuring career is complete without at least one really good barroom brawl. It takes no effort at all for a drunken peasant to try to lamp the warrior on the jaw in an attempt to appear hard.
The Beautiful Game
Most peasants love a game of football, but don't be mistaken: the medieval game is not played by association rules. Few people know if they're offside, and even fewer people care. There is no referee. Teams are not limited to eleven people aside, not counting those on the sub's bench.
No, the sole rule on team sizes is 'come one, come all'. You might get the entire able-bodied population of one village playing against the entire able-bodied population of another village, attempting to drive an inflated pig's bladder into the opposing team's churchyard or towards some other geographical feature. There might not even be just the one ball! Naturally, with dozens of people involved, the game invariably descends into a free-for-all, and more than a few bruises and broken bones are likely to be doled out. Imagine what would happen if the adventurers got caught up in that lot!
- And in those days, that was a lot of money. (return)