Henchmen
Overview
If your leadership is high enough, you can hire a henchman (or henchwoman) who will fight for and heal you... and all the pay they require is that you keep them alive! To recruit them to your following, go to an available henchmen and say join. If your leadership skill is too low, they will not think much of you as a leader and ignore you. If you have additional henchman around, they may not want to join you.
Finding henchmen is relatively easy - they tend to wander around some towns and are easily identifiable as wearing all leather and are often called <name> the warrior on the paperdoll or warrior for hire on the mouseover. If there is another name on the paperdoll, this henchman belongs to someone else. If you are having problems finding a henchmen, they tend to wander around the Zarkesh Desert and Saranth.
You can have up to a maximum of 8 henchmen per account, divided among your characters. However, you can only have 2 follow you at any time. If you try to have more than 2 follow you, they will stop following and stay in one place until only 2 remain. Note: if you somehow get more than 8 henchmen, you will be warned to reduce the number to 8 within a week - after that, they will be killed until the number returns to 8.
When you log out, all your henchmen go into 'hidden sleep mode' where they disappear from the map unless they are in guard mode which they will stay visible in the same spot. Simply put, they are hiding so they are not visible to attack. However, they can still be made visible by area of effect attacks such as exploding potions. It is recommended you keep them in a safe spot or check them into a hotel (see commands below). If you log out near the Asgard Gardens, all pets and henchmen are placed behind the gardens near the water to avoid cluttering up the area and gardens raids.
Stats & Skills
When a henchman joins you, they will start of with basic level stats. The stats can be raised by sparring with them, having them practice on a training dummy or taking them hunting with you. The more they fight/spar, the more their stats will rise. Stats will raise to the lesser of your stat or your leadership. For example, your stats are 99/54/23 and you have 80 leadership. The maximum stats your henchman will have will be 80/54/23. The closer the henchman is to their maximum, the harder it will be to raise.
The easiest way to increase your henchman's stats is training dummies. Find a training dummy and say <henchman name> train and target the dummy. Only one henchman per dummy. They will continue to train, even when you are offline, until they have reached their stat cap. Note: do not use the training dummies in Asgard unsupervised. If you are offline and you have henchmen finished at the training grounds, they will be moved to a secret henchmen jail and you will have to retrieve them yourself.
Henchmen skills are based on your base skills (with no buffs or other enhancements) and your leadership skill. As with stats, their skills are determined by your skills and leadership skill when they join you. Below are their skill maximums:
- The weapon skills of fencing, macefighting, swordsmanship and wrestling cap at the master's skills.
- Armslore, magic resistance, parry, tactics and magery cap at the master's leadership skill. If the master has 100 leadership, all the skills above will cap at 100.
- Anatomy, archery, healing, invocation and poisoning cap at the master's skill.
- Harvesting skills cap at 80.
If you gain skills and there is room for your henchmen to increase their skills, take them to a training dummy where they will practice until their skills are raised to their maximum. See the skill command for more information.
Henchman also gain a strength bonus depending on their virtue title. After they have reached their first title with 201 virtue, they will get large strength boost. To increase their bonus strength, you must take them fighting and they will once again start to 'get stronger'. Having them train or sit in guard mode will not increase their bonus stats. See virtue below for more information.
Henchmen have their elemental damage/resist bonuses updated to yours automatically when the server restarts. If you have recently updated yours and want to force your henchmen to update, have them go into guard mode and follow you again. This will reset their system and force an update. You may check their status by saying <name> elemental status.
When you are training a henchman they will tell you when their stats raise. Use the table below to understand what they say and what it means:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Woo Hoo! I am getting stronger | Increase in strength |
| Ha! I liked that move | Increase in dexterity |
| I am learning so much from you | Increase in intelligence |
To view their skills and stats, use <henchman's name> status.
| Skill Level | Minimum Skill Amount |
|---|---|
| Legendary | 125 |
| Grand Master | 110 |
| Master | 95 |
| Adept | 85 |
| Expert | 75 |
| Journeyman | 65 |
| Novice | 55 |
| Neophyte | 0 |
Equipment
Henchmen are limited to the armor and shields their strength allows starting at 60 strength to wear leather armor. If you attempt to have them wear a piece of armor they cannot use, they will inform you they are not strong enough to wear that. Henchmen can wield any weapons including two-handed, a one-handed and shield combo or a bow (make sure there is sufficient arrows in their backpack).
If you place heals potions, cure potions and bandages in their backpack, a henchmen will use them as needed (about 1/3 hit points left). Other items, such as scrolls and poisons can be used when given the command to use it.
To give an item to your henchman, simply drop it on them and they will place it in their backpack. They will open their backpack for you if you stand next to them and double-click them. If their paperdoll comes up but their backpack does not open, you are not standing close enough (sometimes, you have to stand right on them). Henchmen can only use items in the top level of their backpack.
Your henchie can use any item that you have marked as owned including an Order/Chaos Shield. It is common practice to place your owner's mark on any item your henchie will be using. This will help you get their equipment back if they are killed in combat.
Virtue
Your henchman will gain virtue and virtue titles (rude, honorable and so on). The title they earn is their own and does not reflect your title. You can flip your henchman's title in their status menu (positive or negative titles).
| Virtue | Total Str Boost |
|---|---|
| 201 and up | 200 |
| 401 and up | 300 |
| 801 and up | 400 |
| 1601 and up | 500 |
| 3201 and up | 550 |
| 6401 and up | 600 |
| 12801 and up | 650 |
| 25601 and up | 750 |
Regeneration
Henchmen get bigger campfire and bandage boosts from their owners. This is an automatic bonus. For campfire regeneration, they get twice the regeneration based on your camping skill to make the campfire. For bandages, they get three times the amount healed based on your healing skill.
Death
If a henchman dies, they can be resurrected through the usual means (spell, wand or bandage). The number of times your henchman can be resurrected is your leadership skill divided by 10 (rounded down). For example, 96 leadership means your henchman has 9 lives. The number of deaths for your henchmen can be found in their status. There is no death penalty if they are killed but they will lose 10% of any virtue they have gained.
- Tip: Place an .owned bag in your henchman's backpack. This will help others return your stuff to you, especially stuff not owned, if they are killed in guard mode and can not be resurrected.
- Tip: To keep a henchman safe, check them into a hotel (see below under commands).
- Tip: Purchase Henchman Insurance from the Insurance Agent. When your henchmen dies, all their belongings will be transported to your bank.
Finding Lost Henchies
If you are unable to find your warriors, find any town guard and say status. For a small sum of gold, they will search for your missing henchmen or pets and list them. For a larger sum will retrieve them for you. You must be on the same realm/facet as the lost henchie.
If you are having problems hiring new henchies and you are under the account limit, you can reset your master registry list by visiting a town guard and asking them to check my henchmen. They will go through the list and remove any that are no longer alive or under your command.
Casting Spells
Henchmen can cast a limited number of spells (mostly defensive and offensive) on command by their master. They are limited up to and including circle 4 spells (in addition, they can cast Bless and Magic Reflection). To cast the spell, they require a spellbook or scrolls plus the required reagents in their backpack. They also need the required magery to successfully pass the skill check.
- Tip: By using the quick [henchman name] buff command, they will go through all the buff spells to buff themselves but their mana tends to run out quick. Start a campfire before ordering them to buff.
Commands
To issue a command to your henchman, unless you are using the all command, you must speak their name first followed by the command: <henchman's name> command.
General Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Attack [target/me] All Attack [target/me] Kill [target/me] All Kill [target/me] |
The attack/kill command orders your henchman to attack a specific creature provided you are within several tiles of the creature otherwise the henchman will return to you. The henchman will continue to attack until the creature is dead, you are out of distance or they are about to die at which time, they will run away screaming. If you use the [me] option, the henchman will spar with you until told to stop.
If the henchman is holding a bow in combat and attacked by a melee creature, the henchman will attempt to find a melee weapon in his pack to fight back. |
| <name> Backpack | Opens their backpack. |
| <name> Battle Phrase | Give them a personal battle phrase they will occasionally shout when they run in to attack. |
| Buff | Causes the henchman to automatically cast all buffing spells (see Casting Spells). |
| Cast [name of spell] | Attempts to cast spells up to and including circle 4. The only higher spells henchmen can cast are bless and magic reflection. |
| Come | This tells your hireling to come to you. This will not stop him from attacking, following, chasing or any other commands. |
| Drop | The drop command will cause your hireling to drop all items in their back pack to the ground. |
| <name> Elemental Status | Gives the numerical values of your henchman's elemental resists and damage bonuses. |
| Follow [target/me] All Follow [target/me] |
The follow command puts your henchman into follow mode. He will follow you (or who you target) until told to stop or is attacked. Some points about follow:
|
| Guard [target/me] All Guard [target/me] |
Puts your henchman into guard mode. He will stay within 5 spaces of your original location and attack any creature that attacks you. He will not chase any MOB that runs off past the 5 spaces. He will automatically target the next MOB once the first one has run or is dead. If you want him to follow you while guarding, use in conjunction with the follow command. |
| <name> Guard Here | Guards a location and stay there, unhidden even when you're logged off, killing any monsters that wander by them. They will ignore most other commands except the special guard commands until issued to follow again. |
| Heal [target/me] | Makes the henchman heal you or another if they are close enough to the target. They will not move to the target. Also, the henchman begins applying a bandage to himself as soon as he takes damage. He can not heal you (or any other) if he is healing himself. |
| Help | Lists all the commands they currently recognize. |
| <name> Hotel | Don't want to leave your henchman outside? Safely checks your henchmen into a hotel for only 1,000gp. Use the key to check them out. |
| Mount [target] Dismount |
Tell your henchman to mount a tamed horse, llama or ostard. Mounted henchman are much faster in keeping up with you and thus harder to stop.
The dismount command will allow you to tell your henchman to get off the creature he is mounted on. |
| Options | Sets their healing options. |
| <name> poison | Will poison their weapon if they have poison in their backpacks. Their poisoning skill is the same as yours and they will inform you if they success or fail poisoning their weapon. |
| Rearm | Makes the henchman cycle through all holdable items (weapons, bows, candles, fishing poles, etc) in their backpack with the first weapon/shield he finds. |
| Skills | Displays the skills that require more training. |
| Status | Display a gump showing your henchman's skills, stats, virtue and number of deaths. Skills are not exact - they are given as an approximation of their skill level by describing them as journeyman, master, etc. Stats are shown as xx [nn] where xx is their current stat value and nn is their base value (no buffs, jewelry, etc). Also allows you to flip your henchie's title (positive to negative). |
| Stop All Stop |
The stop command tells your henchman to stand in place. The stop command cancels out the follow, guard, attack and kill commands. This is one of two ways to stop a hireling from chasing after a monster. Note: henchman are a bit hard of hearing and may not always hear you right away. |
| Undress | Removes all items that your henchman is wearing and places them in his pack. |
| Redress | Redresses the henchman with the first items found including weapons. Items can also be placed in a bag. |
| Wear [target] | Allows you to target an item of clothing or other wearable item (like jewelry or weapons). The item will be immediately equipped by the henchman. Henchman can also wear your .owned items. |
| Openpack | Opens your henchman's backpack. Can also be done by double-clicking them - you must be very close to them or standing on the same tile. |
Guard Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Attention | Turns towards you. |
| About Face | Turns around. |
| Right Face | Turns right. |
| Left Face | Turns left. |
| Forward March | March forward. |
| Halt | Stop marching. |
| Present Arms | Salute. |
Hired Workers
Not only can henchmen be hired to protect you but they can also be put to work harvesting an assortment of goods for you. They are not as efficient as you but they will happily trudge along picking or chopping until they run out of pay.
To get started, you will need the appropriate tool for harvesting in their backpack along with gold and optional food. The tool break rates are the same as players.
Gold: Their pay is 85gp per 5 real time minutes, except for farming which is 40gp, and will be deducted automatically at the beginning of their work cycle.
Food: If they find a food they like, they will happily munch on it and for the next 15 minutes, reduce their break time by 5-10 seconds. If not, they will break for 45 seconds between picks. They prefer something nice and will not eat any rations, ingredients or simple-type foods such as fish steaks, beef jerky or cooked ribs.
Random Events: While picking, they have the same chance as you do to trigger a random event, such as disturbing a bee hive or group of elementals.
Steps
Place the needed item(s) into your henchman's backpack. Stand beside them and double-click on them or use [name] backpack to open their backpack.
| Skill | Tool |
|---|---|
| Farming | None |
| Fishing | Fishing Pole |
| Lumberjacking | Any Axe |
| Mining | Shovel or Pickaxe |
You may also place bags in their backpacks. They will automatically find a bag and place whatever they harvest into it. If they have a reagent bag for spells, take out all the bags, put the empty bags in first then the reagent bag. They will find the other bags first.
Place any food to encourage them to work faster into their backpack.
Place their gold into the backpack.
Place your henchman into guard mode by using [name] guard here.
Use the appropriate command to get them started: [name] farm, fish, chop or mine.
They will deduct their pay, munch on the food if they like it and continue to harvest until they run out of gold.
Every 5 minutes, they will deduct more pay.
Every 15 minutes, they will munch on more food.
To stop them, use [name] stop.
Farming
Henchmen will only pick what they are standing over. They cannot harvest honey or any fruit trees. They will randomly wander around the place within 5 tiles of their guard position picking whatever they find there. Also note that unlike the other skills, they can only pick if the plant can be harvested. Most plants take about 30 minutes to fully grow back again.
Fishing
They must be near water and they cannot use bait.
Lumberjacking
They must be standing right next to a tree. Lumberjacks do not move and will happily harvest the same tree until they are stopped.
Mining
They cannot use magic shovels. Using the pickaxe will only find granite or marble but not ore. Using the shovel will only find ore. Where they are mining determines the type of ore they get - whether it is considered to be in the world or in a dungeon, swamp or desert.
Tips
Your henchies can be killed if they disturb something nasty and they have the same chances of disturbing something as you do. Purchase Henchman Insurance from the Insurance Agent to ensure their belongings will go to your bank if something nasty does happen.
Even though henchmen will quickly attack if a threat appears, they will have to finish a harvesting cycle before they can attack. Keep an extra henchman around that is simply in guard mode for a quicker response. Spread your henchmen out. Henchmen are not perfect and may not always see if there are multiple threats after they've finished the current threat and are walking back to their home point. Keep a good supply of bandages on them.
