Hired Blade

For the Bannerlord version, see Hired Blade (Bannerlord).

Hired Blade
Troop Information
Culture	Mercenaries
Wages	43-23 denars/week
Acquired from...	Mercenary Swordsman - or - Taverns
Upgrades to...	None
Upgrade Cost	None
XP for Kill	? experience
Ransom Value	204 denars

Hired Blades are tier-five mercenary infantry in Mount&Blade and Mount&Blade: Warband.

Tactics

Their fighting ability is comparable to dismounted Swadian Knights and will easily win against equal numbers of Sea Raiders. They wear either a Guard Helmet, a Great Helmet, or a Bascinet, a Haubergeon, Leather Gloves, and either Plate Boots, Iron Greaves, or Mail Chausses. They wield either a Heavy Bastard Sword - which they never use two-handed - or an Arming Sword, both together with a Horseman's Heater Shield in their other hand.

Hired Blades are easily picked out on the battlefield due to their unusual appearance - heavily armored and dismounted - but are powerful fighters and not to be trifled with. However, since their relatively small shield makes them vulnerable to ranged attacks, they should be backed up with ranged troops to make them most effective. Hired Blades can carve up almost any opposition in close quarters because of the well-balanced nature of their equipment - not making use of unwieldy two-handers or large cumbersome shields - but they should be protected from cavalry running rings around them, especially Khergit Horse Archers, who can make short work of them.

Hired Blades will be the shock troops of a mercenary army, out in front to tie up the enemy while the (usually) larger numbers of Mercenary Swordsmen behind close in to finish the job. They do their job well even for their high recruitment cost and wages - as an added bonus, since they rode horses in early versions of Mount&Blade, they are considered mounted when calculating party speed on the overland map.

Stats and Equipment

Note: Troops have a set of default stats; at the beginning of a new game, these stats are randomly adjusted for each type of troop. The following is the default set for this troop as seen within the game code and may not reflect the specific stats you will see during actual gameplay. For more information, see troop stats.

Hired Blade - Default Stats and Equipment

Attributes Stat Points Level 25 Strength 7 Agility 5 Intelligence 4 Charisma 4 Health 52 Armor Head Great Helmet Guard Helmet Bascinet Body Haubergeon Hand Leather Gloves Foot Plate Boots Iron Greaves Mail Chausses Skills Skill Points Ironflesh 5 Power Strike 5 Power Throw ? Power Draw ? Weapon Master ? Shield 5 Athletics 5 Riding 3 Horse Archery ? Looting ? Trainer ? Tracking ? Tactics ? Path-finding ? Spotting ? Inventory Management 2 Wound Treatment ? Surgery ? First Aid ? Engineer ? Persuasion ? Prisoner Management 1 Leadership 1 Trade 2 Proficiencies Weapon Type Points One Handed Weapons 130 Two Handed Weapons 130 Polearms 130 Archery 130 Crossbows 130 Throwing 130 Weapons Melee Heavy Bastard Sword Arming Sword Ranged None Shield Horseman's Heater Shield Mount None

Mercenary Troops
Sellswords						Sword Sisters
	Farmer	Townsman	Caravan Master			Peasant Woman	Refugee
	Watchman					Camp Follower
	Mercenary Crossbowman	Caravan Guard		Bandit		Camp Defender
		Mercenary Horseman	Mercenary Swordsman		Brigand	Huntress
		Mercenary Cavalry	Hired Blade			Sword Sister