How Many Men At Arms should I get?

[QorDaq]

Do you allow them for The Frozen Horror only or for any quest?

So the way we did it "Back in the day" was that once the party started FH, then they could hire mercs from that point on. Pretty much all the additions were handled that way in fact... Including Armory add ons, potions etc, once players had encountered it for the first time it would become available from then on.

maj!

[knightkrawler]

Yeah, I'll probably do the same.
As i'll plan to rewrite the Wizards of Morcar quests to be split among other quest packs and successions, I need to pick a point
OR
better yet, I'll just make it a quest note individually for those quests where it's possible to hire mercs.
Hmmm...

[QorDaq]

Yeah, I'll probably do the same.
As i'll plan to rewrite the Wizards of Morcar quests to be split among other quest packs and successions, I need to pick a point
OR
better yet, I'll just make it a quest note individually for those quests where it's possible to hire mercs.
Hmmm...

Either of those could certainly work.

I suppose if someone were really motivated, they might come up with a formula for beefing up some of the encounters based on how many Hierlings the party decided to conscript?

Kind of starts to defeat the purpose of simple though...

maj!

[MontanaUSA]

So are there also certain treasure cards kept out of the treasure deck until heros have reached a certain point, or certain expansion?

[knightkrawler]

So are there also certain treasure cards kept out of the treasure deck until heros have reached a certain point, or certain expansion?

There's really no need to sort cards out for that reason.
WoM came with 8 treasure cards, 1 of which worked only when you allow the players to hire, but that's not a problem. Just let the player keep it until he can hire.

[Jafazo]

- Deleted, old topic. -

[Daedalus]

...I suppose if someone were really motivated, they might come up with a formula for beefing up some of the encounters based on how many Hierlings the party decided to conscript?

Kind of starts to defeat the purpose of simple though...

I have something that might work from this topic, although the monsters don't need to be beefed up. Blue text was added to make the house rule work for Mercenaries:

Order of Play

Play begins with the Hero seated to Morcar/Zargon's left and continues clockwise. After the Hero(es)* have completed four turns (skipping M/Z's turn should it come up), it is M/Z's turn. On his turn, M/Z may move all monsters currently on the gameboard. Then the order begins anew, continuing clockwise from the last Hero* to have a turn. This sequence continues until the Quest is achieved or until the Heroes leave the underworld.

*If any Mercenaries are used, count each as having its own turn,
though they are still played after the controlling Hero.

...For groups of 5 or more Heroes, remove 1 Potion of Healing from the Treasure Cards for each extra Hero. Remove pairs of other potions after that. Extra Mercenaries remove half as many potions.

It should be kept in mind that the expansions after KK and RotWL already account for Mercenaries, so they are probably fine as is. Extra Mercenaries needn't be counted until perhaps after 8. As I haven't played the Mercenary expansions yet, that's only an educated guess.

[Anderas]

Yeah, I'll probably do the same.
As i'll plan to rewrite the Wizards of Morcar quests to be split among other quest packs and successions, I need to pick a point
OR
better yet, I'll just make it a quest note individually for those quests where it's possible to hire mercs.
Hmmm...

Either of those could certainly work.

I suppose if someone were really motivated, they might come up with a formula for beefing up some of the encounters based on how many Hierlings the party decided to conscript?

Kind of starts to defeat the purpose of simple though...

maj!

Like, my four colored Questbook?
Currently I am working on Kellar's Keep.

In the end, you can use either my Questbook with a rough four step approach or you use Mohawks Questimator yourself and make it exactly fitting.

Don't restrict mercenaries. They die easily and are a good gold sink. Especially the wizard has something he can spend his gold on, plus he is more active in play if he brings some hirelings.

[Daedalus]

Yeah, I thought about your and Count Mohawk's systems as well. Your color-coded system depends on the Heroes' combat dice values. How would you suggest adjusting a Hero's dice sum with his Mercenaries?

[Daedalus]

So are there also certain treasure cards kept out of the treasure deck until heros have reached a certain point, or certain expansion?

I'd say the safest, across-the-board bet would be to hold off on expansion-specific Treasure Cards until the expansion is played. Cards that present problems outside of their expansions (though rules could be imported):
WoM: Magical Trap (needs Fireburst token and rules), Potion of Charm (needs Mercenary rules and figures), Potion of Alchemy (depending on equipment, EQP and BQP later allow equivalent selling anyway), Potion of Magic Resistance (without Fireburst traps, it needs foreknowledge or lucky guess of a fire attack)
EQP: Treasure Hoard! (300 gold coins could upset early progression), Wolfsbane Potion (use is specific for the EQP)