Mercenaries for Solo Play

[Anderas]

Depends.
If you take care about the carefully balanced quests (yes they are there) then you provide the Mercs as free by and don't allow to take their equipment.

[Anderas]

So, for some it's annoying, for some it is good news:
I did the number crunching.
Pancho you were right, do you read this?


I sent around 780 Hero groups through The Frozen Horror quest 08: The Search for the Scepter. That's so much traffic, they should set up a tourist shop behind the room with the scepter.
I could determine the average fight force compared to some standard hero groups.


A group with 4 dice equipment can be emulated with:
A Dwarf with 4 dice in attack and defense (a 4-Dwarf) plus 3 Swordsmen, 3 Helbardiers, 2 Crossbowmen and 1 Scout.


A group with 3 dice equipment is roughly like:
A 3-Dwarf plus 2 Halberdiers 3 Swordsmen 3 Crossbowmen 1 Scout

There are several combinations, but all of them lack just one henchman compared to the 4 dice group. The Dwarf adds most of the weight.

However, between 3 dice and 2 dice there is a LAAAAARRRRRGGGGEEEE gap.


A full 2-Dice-Group can be replaced with:

A 4-Dwarf plus 1 Scout.
A 4-Dwarf plus 1 Helbardier.
A 4-Dwarf plus 1 Crossbowman.
A 3-Dwarf plus 3 Halberdiers, 2 Swordsmen, 1 Scout

or

A 2-Dwarf and 2 Halberdiers, 3 Swordsmen, 3 Crossbowmen, 2 Scouts
you can also exchange the numbers of Halberdiers with Crossbowman, that doesn't change much.


Most interesting for me: A complete hero group of beginner heroes (2-dice-Heroes) can be replaced with one 4-Dice-Hero plus 1 Henchman. Wow!

Also my previous assessment was wrong, to replace a beginners group, a 2-dice-hero needs more mercs than just 4.

So for everyone who wants to take a look and play with the data, here's a link you could click.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
I am sure one can do more with the data.
For example, someone could once and for all clarify which cost should be appropriate for which mercenary;

or find out if two swordsmen should cost more than a single swordsman times two...
or less than that..

[wallydubbs]

Mercenaries won't last long in an environment like The Trial. This was the final quest to be added to the original quest pack because of poor reviews they had on The Maze. This quest was thrown together, showcasing every monster and every piece of furniture. It's much too difficult for starting heroes and I can foresee many mercenaries dying in this one. Save it for much later, around quest 10.
Now I've never played through the first quest pack with only 1 hero and a bunch of mercenaries, and it's not a bad idea. Some of the quests seem rather doable this way (Especially if you're using the European map).

For a decent solo Adventure, try the Japanese Quest pack using US rules and monster stats. A few adjustments would need to be made, but ab experienced Zargon/Morcar player could pull it off.