Hired Swords are professional mercenaries who can be recruited to supplement a warband during a campaign. Taverns in the settlements and shanty towns around Mordheim serve as recruitment centres for warriors who hire out their services to the highest bidder. A player can recruit Hired Swords when creating a warband, or during the post-battle phase after any game.
Rules
Roster count: Hired Swords do not count towards the maximum number of warriors or Heroes a warband may have on its roster, and do not affect wyrdstone income. They do count as part of the warband for Rout tests and other in-battle purposes.
Equipment: A player cannot buy extra weapons or equipment for a Hired Sword, nor sell the Hired Sword’s weapons or equipment.
One per type: To reflect their rarity, a warband may only have one of each type of Hired Sword at a time.
Leadership: A Hired Sword’s Leadership value may not be used for Rout tests.
Hire Fee & Upkeep
When a warband recruits a Hired Sword, pay the listed hire fee. After each battle the Hired Sword fights — including the first — pay the upkeep fee to retain his services. If the Hired Sword is killed, or his services are no longer required, no further upkeep is due.
Payment comes from the warband’s treasury. If the warband cannot or chooses not to pay upkeep, the Hired Sword leaves. Any experience he has accumulated is lost, even if a Hired Sword of the same type is later recruited.
Injuries
If a Hired Sword goes out of action during a game, roll for injuries as you would for a Henchman: on a D6 roll of 1–2 he is lost permanently; on a 3–6 he recovers and can fight in the next battle.
Experience
Hired Swords gain experience in the same way as Henchmen. Once a Hired Sword has accumulated enough experience for an advance, roll on the Heroes Advancement table (not the Henchmen table). Available skill categories are listed in each Hired Sword’s individual entry.
Record the Hired Sword’s name and profile in one of the Henchman group slots on the warband’s roster sheet.
Grades
Hired Swords are organised by grade, reflecting the breadth of community-sourced content available for Mordheim Australis. Each grade page lists which warbands may hire each mercenary, their cost and upkeep, and their full rules.
- Core / Grade 1A — Hired Swords from the Mordheim Rulebook and core Town Cryer issues. Available to most warbands. See Grade 1A Hired Swords.
- Grade 1B — Hired Swords from later Town Cryer issues and supplements. Warband restrictions vary. See Grade 1B Hired Swords.
Grade 1C and 2A hired swords appear on mordheimer.net but are not part of the Mordheim Australis 2027 campaign roster.
Source: mordheimer.net/docs/campaigns/hired-swords — Mordheim Rulebook, Town Cryer issues, Mordheim Annual 2002.