Original Hireling
 

Am I correct in saying the the Hireling in the Original game allows you to carry or equip one extra Big item only, not to use it for you (e.g. give you extra hands)?

A friend of mine recently tried to use 3 hands, 2 from hireling for the Chainsaw of Bloody (Big) dismemberment and 1 more for the Buckler of Swashing (his own hand). I told him that the Hireling can't fight for you and can't give you extra hands.

Re: Original Hireling
 

Funny you should ask. Steve and I talked about this very issue not two hours ago, and he told me that the intent of the card was that you could use the item the Hireling carried. "Will not fight for you" was meant to be flavor text explaining the Hireling's lack of a combat bonus.

"But what about the Siege Engine?" I asked.

"Hmm. Guess we'll have to fix that in errata," he replied.

So as of, oh, call it 90 minutes ago, the official rule is that you can use the item the Hireling carries, and the flavor text on the Siege Engine is superfluous.

This will definitely be part of the right-after-GenCon updated FAQ and errata, and we'll clarify the wording on the Hireling card in the next printing that isn't a straight "holy crap, we're selling like crazy, print more NOW NOW NOW" reprint. So probably next year.

Re: Original Hireling
 

So he can hold any one item and fight with it?
or does it have to be big?

Re: Original Hireling
 

So you are saying the basic Hireling can carry and grant you a bonus from a single item, which does not count against your slots, hands, or Bigness? Because if the Siege Engine's text is unnecessary, that is what you are saying. This certainly is a drastic change.

If the meaning of is that you gain the bonus but need to wear it yourself, then nothing is different, and the Siege Engine's text is needed.

Re: Original Hireling
 

It is a drastic change in the interpretation of the card, but apparently we have been misinterpreting the intent for a long time. The next non-emergency printing will say something akin to "The Hireling will carry an extra Big item that you can use." (Note: off-the-cuff text, not final, do not take except under a doctor's supervision, discontinue use if rash spreads, void if opened, offer not valid in the U.S. Virgin Islands.)

As to whether it must be a Big item . . . I'll have to look at the text closely (and I'm at home, relaxing, so I'm not pulling out my set right now). It's on my list, believe me.

Re: Original Hireling
 

This is such a reversal of all policy held until now that I have to wonder: how did this go unnoticed for so many years?

Re: Original Hireling
 

Glad you guys are doing this.

Re: Original Hireling
 

I have no idea.

Re: Original Hireling
 

So are we! I wish it hadn't taken this long.

Re: Original Hireling
 

Wait. I thought this was always the intention.

For example, if you were wearing some sort of Big armor, and you had the hireling in play, you could also play some sort of Big weapon. However, you had to have the hand slots available to you for the weapon. Meaning that while you were allowed to have the extra big item in play and in use, the hireling wouldn't allow you to have extra slots of whatever the Big item was.

I'm not sure this makes sense when I'm typing it. It's kind of hard to explain, isn't it?

I thought that the Siege Engine was an exception because it was a big item you could play with the hireling, and it wouldn't take up the hand requirement for the weapon, unlike other big weapons.

I'm not really sure how what you're saying is actually different than the way it has been played in the past.