I reached Kraken’s Eye Inn in hopes of gaining the ability to hire henchmen and respec my character. The idea is to set up a lab ASAP where I can experiment with builds and game mechanics via console cheats without spoiling too much of the story. To my surprise, the “Recruit Adventurers” option states “No adventurers available,” while “Retrain Character” shows an empty screen and appears to do nothing.

 

Do I have to reach a certain point in the story or level up in order to unlock the options I’m after?

either it's bugged or you haven't progressed enough in-game. try to reach neketaka first becasue the inns there should surely work.

Looks like leveling up is necessary, and possibly the initial conversation with the governor.