by Kurgan » Wednesday March 22nd, 2023 9:52pm
Good reminder about the EU version!
Zargon could certain allow the Mercenaries to be treated like empty vessels.. like weaker heroes.. that you could put armor on them, give them weapons, etc. and make them into whatever you wanted. Of course when you hire them, they come with their predefined skills. The default rules and how Avalon Hill reads them is that Mercs are supposed to be pretty much as is. Take it or leave it, what you see is what you get, etc. Yes, when it comes to the NA mercs, they have 2 BP, so in theory you could give them a potion that they could use for a death save. You can heal them up with a healing spell, or give them a spell bonus with Swift Wind (double movement), strengthen their attacks with Courage or their defense with Rock Skin, etc.
The general idea though is that unless something was created specifically for Mercs, they can't use it. They don't collect treasure (but they could retrieve gear from a dead hero and carry it rather than have it be lost forever). They are not heroes, but when a spell or other incident calls for a "hero" they can fill that role for purposes of the spell or whatever.
What's more interesting is how someone like Sir Ragnar works with these things. Some take the "empty vessel" approach, others want to limit him very much (of course you meet him so early in the game that you aren't likely to have much to use on him). But Zargon makes the call, if the heroes want to get creative and you think it's cool...
Looking again, the Animal Allies ("Into the Northlands") are given many limitations but the Frozen Horror (remake) mercs are not.