Mercs Hiring

Mercs can be hired during the Buy Advancements and Recruit Hired Guns step of the Pre-battle Sequence, and also during the Hire a Fighter step of the Post-battle Sequence (for the sake of convenience) by paying credits equal to the cost of any gear the Merc is equipped with, plus the cost of any Advancements they have. A gang allowed by their Gang Composition rules to hire Mercs may hire as many as they can afford, but count as Heroes. As most gang types have Gang Composition restrictions there is generally a natural limit on how many Mercs a gang can have on their roster at any given time.

Mercs may be equipped with Common items and up to one Rare Item from the Trading Post when first introduced to a Campaign, and this starting gear cannot later be changed. Mercs cannot have Limited items or one-use items such as Filter Plugs. Mercs may not be equipped from a gang's own House Equipment list, they may not be equipped with gear from a gang's Stash, and their gear cannot be removed from them and put into a gang's Stash unless they die (in which case the normal rules for recovering a dead fighter's equipment are observed).

Mercs Fighter Profile

Provided below is the base fighter profile for a Merc.

Mercs Origins

When a Merc fighter is written up for the first time, it is permitted for the creator of the Merc to declare that the Merc is a former member of one of the six Houses, one of the Noble Houses, a Ratskin, a Squat, a Beastman, an Ash Waste Nomad, a Cog, or a Deathworlder. Such Mercs can be equipped with gear from their respective origin instead of or in addition to the Trading Post and such gear is considered to be Common for them; for instance a Delaque Merc can take gear from the Delaque gear list.

Mercs Skills

When a Merc is first introduced to a campaign two Primary and two Secondary Skill Categories are chosen for them; additionally one Skill is chosen at this time from any Skill Category (including Elite Skills). These selections cannot be changed later.

A Merc who has the Fixer skill is able to take any Post-Battle Actions as if they were a Hero in the gang. A Merc who has the Savvy Trader skill is able to take the Seek Rare Item and Sell Equipment Post-Battle Actions. A Merc who has the Commanding Presence skill gains Group Activation (1) with a radius of 4''.

Mercs Experience

Mercs gain and spend Experience in the same ways as a Champion.

Mercs Post-Battle Sequence

Mercs are subject to Lasting Injuries, and they can be Captured. If a Captured Merc is not rescued the capturing gang has the option to add the Merc to their own roster by paying half the Merc's normal hiring cost, if that type of gang is allowed to hire Mercs; if this option is taken the Merc is removed from the original gang's roster (reducing their Gang Rating) and added to the new gang's roster (increasing their Gang Rating).

Mercs Upkeep

At the end of a battle a Merc participated in, during the Merc Upkeep step of the Post-Battle Sequence each Merc who participated in the battle demands an upkeep payment of 10 credits plus 1D3 x 5 additional credits (roll for each Merc separately). If a Merc's upkeep is paid the Merc remains on the gang's roster.

If a Merc's upkeep is not paid the Merc is retired from the gang; the Merc will be deleted from the gang's roster during the Delete Retiring Fighters step of the Post-Battle Sequence (and they take their gear with them). If the gang wants the departing Merc to fight for them in a later battle, the Merc's hiring cost will have to be paid once again.

Mercs are comparable to Champions in most regards and offer a good value for their credits initially, but start to become a credit drain if retained for more than a few battles. However if a gang wants to retain a Mercs' services permanently and has a Champion slot open, it is allowed to promote the Merc to become a Champion.

Mercs Pool

In campaign mode an Arbitrator can decide to set up a pool of named Mercs available during a given Turf War. If this option is taken the Arbitrator prepares fighter cards for available Mercs and makes them and the models representing the Mercs available to the players. Any player who wants to introduce a custom Merc of their own should coordinate with the Arbitrator. It is recommended to have at least a few Mercs available in the pool at all times; to facilitate this the Arbitrator may need to re-stock the pool with new Mercs if their ranks get thinned out too much.

Using this option when a Merc is hired by a gang they are removed from the Merc pool; when a Merc is retired from a gang they return to the Merc pool and become available to be hired again. Mercs keep their current Characteristic Profile, XP, and Advancements when they return to the Merc Pool.

The Arbitrator has the prerogative to make some individualized Mercs with variant profiles, advancements, and / or interesting gear picks, but other players should have the opportunity to hire such individuals before the Arbitrator themselves are allowed to do so with their own gang.