Root: Riverfolk Hirelings Pack
Root: Riverfolk Hirelings Pack Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Hirelings
The hirelings lend their services to the faction in the lead, attracted to promises of fame and glory, but grow dissatisfied as the conflict drags on and eventually change allegiance to a new patron.
In any game of Root, you may add exactly three hirelings. However, most hirelings are associated with a faction, and you cannot play a faction in the same game as its associated faction.
Hireling Setup
After choosing your map and deck, you may set up hirelings as follows.
Step 1: Collect and Place Pieces. Collect the 12 control markers and the control die near the map. Place the 3 hireling markers, marked "4," "8," and "12," on the "4," "8," and "12" spaces of the score track on the map.
Step 2: Deal Out Hirelings. Shuffle all the hireling cards, deal out three hireling cards, and collect their pieces. Return the rest to the box.
Step 3: Demote Hirelings. Flip hireling cards to their Promoted or Demoted side (marked with "D" in its corner) randomly based on the number of players:
- Two players: 3 Promoted
- Three players: 2 Promoted, 1 Demoted
- Four players: 1 Promoted, 2 Demoted
- Five or more players: 3 Demoted
Promoted hirelings have pieces you can use with the hireling's actions. Demoted hirelings usually don't have pieces, but give you abilities.
Step 4: Set Up Hirelings. Starting with the last player in turn order and going counterclockwise, the players each set up one hireling as described on its card. (Some hirelings have no setup, and sometimes a player won't get to set up a hireling.)
Gaining Hirelings
The three hirelings start uncontrolled. They all start in a supply near the map.
Hirelings go to the leader first. If you're the first player to score 4, 8, or 12 points, immediately take the hireling marker from the score track and put it under your Evening. This will remind you to gain a hireling at the end of your turn.
At the end of your turn, do these steps:
- Take any hireling card from the supply
- Roll for control (described on page 6)
- Flip over your hireling marker
Example: It is your turn. You just scored a point, and you are the first to reach 4 points on the score track. You take the hireling marker from the "4" point space and put it under your faction board. Now that you've taken this hireling marker, no one else can gain a hireling by reaching 4 points.
Roll for control. Whenever you take any hireling card, roll for control. Roll the control die. Take control markers from the supply equal in number to the die roll, and put them on the hireling card you took. Count only the gold die pips if you have the most victory points or are tied for it. Otherwise, count all the die pips, including with a dominance card.
Example: You just finished Evening. As reminded by your hireling marker, you get to take one hireling card from the supply, so you take the Forest Patrol. You roll the control die and get one red pip and one gold pip. You only count the one gold pip since you have the most victory points, so you place one control marker on the Forest Patrol card.
Finally, you flip your hireling marker to remind you what to do on your following turns.
Hirelings lose motivation over time...
At the end of your turn, you must remove one control marker from each hireling that you control, except those you just took from the supply.
Example: It is your next turn, and you just finished Evening. You remove the one and only control marker from the Forest Patrol.
...and they eventually switch players.
When you remove the last control marker from a hireling, you must immediately give its hireling card and marker to any other player. That player puts the hireling marker below their Evening, as a reminder, and immediately rolls for control, as described before.
Example: The Forest Patrol has no control markers now, so you must give it to another player. You're tied with the Eyrie for the most points, but you decide they should get the Forest Patrol. You give them the Forest Patrol card and the hireling marker, and they roll the control die. They roll two gold pips, so they put two control markers on the Forest Patrol card.
Transcriber's note: the booklet's page 8 also carries a faction-board illustration (Eyrie Dynasties board and Decree card art) beside this example. Its printed text is artwork, not hireling rules, and is not transcribed.
Using Hirelings
You do not score points when hirelings that you control remove enemy pieces. Mostly, this means you won't score when your hirelings battle and remove enemy buildings and tokens.
Hirelings you control add to rule. While you control a hireling, you treat all its pieces as your own for rule.
Example: You are the Eyrie Dynasties and control the Forest Patrol. You have one Eyrie warrior and one Patrol warrior in a clearing, and the Lizard Cult has two warriors there. You have a total presence of two, and they do as well. But you are the Lords of the Forest, so you rule on ties for presence.
Hirelings have various abilities and actions they can take:
- When-Hired Action (icon). The controlling player must take this action when they gain control of the hireling (when they take the card).
- Ability (icon). Abilities are always active, though some say when they happen.
- Start-of-Birdsong Action (icon). At the start of their Birdsong, the controlling player must or may take this action, as the action describes.
- Once-Per-Daylight Action (icon). The controlling player may take this action once in their Daylight.
Some hirelings give actions or abilities to their controlling player. These say "Controller:" at the start.
Common Questions
Can I add hireling warriors to my own when moving or battling? Nope! They're completely separate.
Do hirelings count as my faction pieces? Nope! For example, the Vagabond could not aid you by using hireling pieces.
Can I play an ambush if someone is battling my hireling? Nope!
Are hirelings considered enemy pieces? If you control them, no! But hirelings you do not control, even if they're still in the supply, are enemies. For example, if you used Favor of the Foxes, you would not remove hireling pieces you control from fox clearings, but you would remove hireling pieces you did not control.
Can I take actions with my hirelings in ways outside the hireling's card? Nope. For example, you couldn't move hirelings by using the Move action of the Eyrie's Decree, or by using the Cobbler card. Even if you're the Vagabond and you're Allied with a faction, you cannot move their hirelings.
Can my hirelings use my faction abilities? Almost never. For example, you could not use the Marquise's Field Hospitals to save hireling warriors. The only exception is abilities that affect rule, such as Lords of the Forest, since you treat hireling pieces as your own for rule.
Any weird things I should know about? Yes! Some abilities say they happen "when a player moves" or "when a player removes," such as the Alliance's Outrage and the Ferry from the Underworld Expansion. In these cases, the ability triggers even if a player moves hireling warriors or uses hirelings to remove something. For example, you could move hireling warriors you control using the Ferry, and you would draw a card, but you could not move any warriors on the Ferry later on the same turn.