Hired Help
Henchmen hired by the day at the Tidewarden Hall, the free help a new guild member is sent, and what a merchant's contract adds.
Henchmen are paid companions. They fight beside you, follow you, and come back when called, but they keep the kit they came with: you cannot give them gear, they never gain levels of their own, and they are slower than a hero to heal, use a skill or pick a new foe.
The Tidewarden Hall#
Help is hired at the Tidewarden Hall in Aurin, west off Sunward Avenue through
the Tidewarden Passage. compass set henchman points you there. hire at the
counter shows who is free and the day's price, and hire <name or role> signs
the contract, for example hire hilde or hire tank.
| Henchman | Role | What they are |
|---|---|---|
| Hilde | tank | A warrior with a heavy shield |
| Mirabel | healer | A cleric |
| Ignatius | nuker | A mage |
| Linnea | ranger | An elf archer |
| Bertram | support | A warrior who fights to help others |
A contract runs for one day of real time, logged in or not, and the henchman is waiting for you at every login until it ends. You are told when less than an hour is left. The price is set by the guild's price book; at its default it is 5 gold. It comes from your purse first, and your bank account makes up the rest. Nobody signs a contract in the middle of a fight.
Terms#
- You may have one henchman in your hire at a time.
- A henchman comes in at three quarters of your level and keeps pace with you as you gain levels.
- Hall help takes a fifth of the experience you earn from each kill.
- Henchmen are a quarter weaker than their level suggests: they deal a quarter less damage and take a third more.
- A group takes only one of each henchman. Join a group that already has yours out and yours goes home, its contract still standing.
- A henchman who falls in a fight gets back up at half health a few seconds after
the fight is over and comes to you.
call <name>gets them up sooner. - Your help does not follow you into death. They wait among the living where you
fell, and no call reaches them from the Underworld. Once you are back,
call <name>brings them to you. - Sending a henchman away and calling them back mends nothing. They return with the health and spell points they left with, though one sent away while down comes back on their feet.
Each henchman has a life beyond the contract. With them beside you, try
ask <name> about background, work or beliefs.
Commands#
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
henchman |
Your hired help, where they are, and how long each contract has to run |
call <name> |
Bring a henchman to you, wherever you are |
henchman dismiss <name> |
Send a henchman off for a while; the contract stands |
henchman release <name> confirm |
End a contract early, with no refund |
hire |
At the hall: who is free, and the price |
hire <name or role> |
At the hall: sign a day's contract |
Help for New Players#
An explorer between levels 1 and 10 can take Fenwick, a fumbling sellsword,
for nothing with henchman hire sellsword. He stays for the session and takes a
tenth of your kill experience.
The first time you join a guild, the guild sends help at no cost. A new healer is sent Fenwick; everyone else is sent Hester, an anxious young healer who takes no share of your experience. They stay with you, through every logout, until you pass level 20, and then take their leave. Neither can be hired at the hall.
Merchants' Contracts#
A merchant can sell you a day's contract for the same five henchmen at a higher
rank with sellhenchman. Hall help is Green. A merchant sells Seasoned,
Veteran, Elite or Master help, depending on how far they have risen in their
guild, and each rank fights better than the last: quicker to act, readier to
interrupt a foe's casting or turn on whatever is attacking the party, and surer
to heal the worst hurt first. The merchant must be standing with you, and you
see the price and accept it before anything is paid. The usual terms and the
limit of one henchman still apply, and the rank holds at every login and call.