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Old 08-27-2012, 12:10 AM   #1
UncleBob
 
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Default Hirelings 101

So... I'm still confused by Hirelings. This may be a little detailed for the 101 forum, but I hope you'll bear with me. I'm going to post my understanding of how they work and correct me if I'm wrong - and please answer my questions along the way. :D Some of these I *think* I know the answer to, but I want to make sure...


You can have one (unless you have a card that says otherwise or a Cheat! card).

Each Hireling can hold and USE a single item.

Now, if I'm a thief and I have a plain Hireling, can it use an item that is "Not usable by Thief"?

If I'm a Wizard and I have a Warrior Hireling, can the use something that is "Usable by Wizard Only"?

If I'm not a Wizard and I have a Wizard Hireling, can I play a "Usable by Wizard Only" item on myself?

Can I put a two-handed item on a Hireling?

If it's an item that gives a +3 Bonus for one hand or +6 bonus for two hands and I put it on a Hireling, what is the bonus for this item?

Regarding the above questions, how does the Thief Hireling factor into this:

If I'm not a Thief and I have a Thief Hireling who gives me an extra hand - can THAT HAND hold an item that's "Usable by Thief Only"?

If I can't put a two-handed item on a Hireling, can I put this item on the Thief Hireling?

If I put the +3/+6 item on the Thief with the extra hand, what's it worth then?

Let's say I play Santa's Hat (or some other hand-giving item) onto a Hireling, does that still give me an extra hand to use - or does it go to the Hireling - and how does this effect the Hireling using a two-handed item?

Is there a limit to the number of Hireling Enhancers you can play onto a single Hireling - I.e. Can you have a "Smart, Mean Hireling"?

Is a Hireling that does not have a specific Race or Class considered "Human" and can it use an item that's only usable by humans?

If you can only have one Hireling in play at a time, can you discard Hirelings like you can race and class cards? Or must you give them for Charity or Discard them to use a power of some kind? I assume they cannot be played sideways, as they're not items.

Last edited by UncleBob; 08-27-2012 at 12:14 AM.
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Old 08-27-2012, 12:26 AM   #2
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Quote:
Originally Posted by UncleBob View Post
So... I'm still confused by Hirelings. This may be a little detailed for the 101 forum, but I hope you'll bear with me. I'm going to post my understanding of how they work and correct me if I'm wrong - and please answer my questions along the way. :D Some of these I *think* I know the answer to, but I want to make sure...
OK, here we go...


Quote:
You can have one (unless you have a card that says otherwise or a Cheat! card).
Yes.

Quote:
Each Hireling can hold and USE a single item.
No. Only Hirelings that say they can hold and use an Item can do that. Many do say that, but not all of them.

Quote:
Now, if I'm a thief and I have a plain Hireling, can it use an item that is "Not usable by Thief"?
Yes. Hirelings without a specified Race or Class have no Race (not even Human) or Class. In addition, the plain Hireling from Munchkin 1 and Munchkin 3 can actually use any Item at all, pretty much like Cheat!.

Quote:
If I'm a Wizard and I have a Warrior Hireling, can the use something that is "Usable by Wizard Only"?
No.

Quote:
If I'm not a Wizard and I have a Wizard Hireling, can I play a "Usable by Wizard Only" item on myself?
No.

Quote:
Can I put a two-handed item on a Hireling?
If he can carry an Item, yes.

Quote:
If it's an item that gives a +3 Bonus for one hand or +6 bonus for two hands and I put it on a Hireling, what is the bonus for this item?
The two-handed bonus, I believe, as the Hireling has 2 Hands.

Quote:
Regarding the above questions, how does the Thief Hireling factor into this:

If I'm not a Thief and I have a Thief Hireling who gives me an extra hand - can THAT HAND hold an item that's "Usable by Thief Only"?
No, the extra Hand is your Hand, not the Thief Hireling's.

Quote:
If I can't put a two-handed item on a Hireling, can I put this item on the Thief Hireling?

If I put the +3/+6 item on the Thief with the extra hand, what's it worth then?
Answers to earlier questions makes these redundant.

Quote:
Let's say I play Santa's Hat (or some other hand-giving item) onto a Hireling, does that still give me an extra hand to use - or does it go to the Hireling - and how does this effect the Hireling using a two-handed item?
When a Hireling uses an Item, you should treat its affects as if you were the one using it. So you get the extra Hand.

Quote:
Is there a limit to the number of Hireling Enhancers you can play onto a single Hireling - I.e. Can you have a "Smart, Mean Hireling"?
There is no limit.

Quote:
Is a Hireling that does not have a specific Race or Class considered "Human" and can it use an item that's only usable by humans?
No. It has no Class and no Race, not even human. I'm not sure where I read that (probably on forums), but I saw it recently.

Quote:
If you can only have one Hireling in play at a time, can you discard Hirelings like you can race and class cards? Or must you give them for Charity or Discard them to use a power of some kind?
The rules state you can discard them at any time. You can also play them at any time, even when it's not your turn, unlike Races and Classes.

Quote:
I assume they cannot be played sideways, as they're not items.
There is one Hireling in the Fantasy sets that is an Item, the Budget Steed (not a typo). You could technically turn him sideways, but there's no reason to, as the restriction on Hirelings is how many you can have, not how many you can use.
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Last edited by Clipper; 08-27-2012 at 12:32 AM.
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Old 08-27-2012, 12:36 AM   #3
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

I think you are reading too much into this. It's simple: just follow the rules on each card. Not every Hireling let you carry extra Itens, the ones who do tell what kind of Itens they carry.
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Old 08-27-2012, 12:54 AM   #4
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

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Originally Posted by Clipper View Post
No. Only Hirelings that say they can hold and use an Item can do that. Many do say that, but not all of them.
*lightbulb*.

This actually makes makes everything make more sense. :D
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Old 08-27-2012, 12:56 AM   #5
Andrew Hackard
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Hirelings who can carry Items do not trigger additional rules on Items unless those rules are satisfied by the type of Hireling in question. For instance, an Item that gives an extra bonus when used 2-Handed does not get that bonus when the Hireling is carrying it. However, the Elf Hireling WOULD give the higher bonus on the Horny Helmet.
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Old 08-27-2012, 01:04 AM   #6
Clipper
 
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Well, that puts a downer on everything. The one thing I wasn't 100% sure about, I got wrong...

So Hirelings have 2 Hands and can hold 2-Handed weapons in 2 Hands, but when you give them a weapon where the holder can choose whether to hold it 1- or 2-Handed (the cards always say 1 or 2 Hands in the Hands part of the card), they always choose to hold it in just 1 hand and you can't force them to use the other as well? Seems a little weird, but if that's the intent, it's fine.
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Last edited by Clipper; 08-27-2012 at 01:10 AM.
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Old 08-27-2012, 01:04 AM   #7
UncleBob
 
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard View Post
Hirelings who can carry Items do not trigger additional rules on Items unless those rules are satisfied by the type of Hireling in question. For instance, an Item that gives an extra bonus when used 2-Handed does not get that bonus when the Hireling is carrying it. However, the Elf Hireling WOULD give the higher bonus on the Horny Helmet.
Okay - so if you put an Item that gives an extra bonus when used two-handed on a Thief Hireling, does the extra hand he provide count towards qualifying for the extra bonus?
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Old 08-27-2012, 01:15 AM   #8
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clipper View Post
So Hirelings have 2 Hands and can hold 2-Handed weapons in 2 Hands, but when you give them a weapon where the holder can choose whether to hold it 1- or 2-Handed (the cards always say 1 or 2 Hands in the Hands part of the card), they always choose to hold it in just 1 hand and you can't force them to use the other as well? Seems a little weird, but if that's the intent, it's fine.
I actually figured this one would go this way, as it's like how you explained the Cheat! card to me... but I was hung up on the fact that a Hireling would have two hands... ;)
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Old 08-27-2012, 01:18 AM   #9
Clipper
 
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

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Originally Posted by UncleBob View Post
Okay - so if you put an Item that gives an extra bonus when used two-handed on a Thief Hireling, does the extra hand he provide count towards qualifying for the extra bonus?
No. That extra Hand is still your Hand, not the Hireling's.

Andrew's saying that the only way you'd get the higher bonus with that Item is if you had a Hireling that can specifically carry and use a 2-Handed Item, even though every other Hireling that can carry an Item can actually do that already...
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Old 08-27-2012, 03:49 AM   #10
Andrew Hackard
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Default Re: Hirelings 101

Andrew's saying that Hirelings don't give you extra bonuses for using extra Hands, ever, just like you don't get the extra bonus when you Cheat! such a card. Andrew is further saying that because some Hirelings explicitly have Classes or Races or gender, if there are extra bonuses that match that attribute of the Hireling, you may claim those extra bonuses. If you think Andrew is saying anything else, you're misreading him.
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