Warband Limit and Hired Swords in Mordheim

[thebinmann]

Hi

I jave just finished the rules and it appears that hired swords could make the warbands very large, I was thinking about potential figure needs as I slim the collection and wonderd in reality what size warbands people went up to?

Thanks

[Viper]

Can't say I've ever used hired swords.

For me the main focus was the character created by customising the heroes and henchmen and seeing how they progressed, hired swords usually suck up a lot of gold leaving less to keep the rest of the band running.

As such I never really ever went past the warband max, except for maybe the +1 for a halfling cookbook if I got hold of one.

That said mordheim was never a perfect fit for my style as other people would pump their gold into better gear or kicking people out the band to bring in better guys while I wanted to stick with the starting posse and simple gear except for special characterful additions.

[tomogui]

Hi

I jave just finished the rules and it appears that hired swords could make the warbands very large, I was thinking about potential figure needs as I slim the collection and wonderd in reality what size warbands people went up to?

Thanks

Slim the collection?! Never!

But really, warband size is never a problem because the upkeep cost gets high quickly if you have multiple Hired Swords.

Imagine you have a 10-12 person warband, and you find 2 or 3 shards of wyrdstone per fight (which is pretty average). This means your income is 45 or 60 gold pieces. After each fight, if you're paying an Elf Ranger 20GP and a Pit Fighter 15GP (let alone an Ogre Bodyguard 30GP), you're not going to have much left to buy new gear or hire new recruits to replace casualties.

1 or 2 Hired Swords is the practical maximum. 

[thebinmann]

Thanks

[Mason]

When it comes to warband maximum sizes, I always make mine slightly bigger tahn the upper limit so that you have options.
For example; My Marienburgers number some twenty models.
Although the maximum size of a warband is fifteen, it is good to have the option to field different combinations. You may think that you have everything covered but there may come a time when you would like to field something different. For example, at the begining of the warbands life you may feel that having one group armed with swords and shields is the way to go, but as casualties take their toll you may prefer to have a few warriors armed with spears so that they can strike first, even when charged.
It is good to have all of these things done before you start to paint the band, as it is easier to paint all the models at the same time, going back to add them later may not be so appealing when you have already moved on to painting something else.

In regards to Hired Swords, as previously mentioned, they eat away at your available cash pretty quickly.
I find that it is usually best to get the warband up to maximum size first and then add them, as this way their cost does not prevent you buying more warriors for your band.
Of course this does not always work. In an earlier campaign I had already built a warband up to maximum size, so I added a Dwarf Trollslayer and a Bard. Some games later I suffered four Deaths to the warband in the same game. (Terrible luck, but it can happen!)
As I had two Hired swords and four gaps in the roster, I found that the Upkeep costs to keep the Hired Swords was prohibitive to hiring new members and had to get rid of the Hired Swords, if I was ever going to get the numbers up again!
Hired Swords are helpful, but can prevent the growth of your warband. Also, as your warband gains experience, the difference between a HS and an experienced warrior becomes much less, and the HS does not look so appealing.
By all means Hire if you think it will be beneficial, but do not let them stall the development of your own band's warriors.
Having said all that, I have several painted models of HS, just so that I have the option to Hire should I wish to.

And to echo tomogui; Slim the collection? Never!
You will probably regret it later.