Hirelings

Hirelings are optional party members who can be customised to a greater degree than other companions, do not use the approval system, and do not have any personal quests or unique interactions with the world. They also use the same set of voices as the Custom origin character.

Hirelings are recruited from  Withers, who makes available to the party a select collection of individuals slain by the Cult of the Absolute.

“

This vessel is at thy disposal. Do what thou wilt.

„

— Kerz and other hirelings, addressing the player character when spoken with

Recruitment

After reaching level 3, a new dialogue option appears with Withers, which reads "You were sorting something before. What were you doing?". Withers explains the concepts of hirelings and unlocks the ability to recruit them for 100 gold each. If the party is full, someone must be removed in order to recruit them, although once recruited they can immediately be removed from the active party. Hirelings can be permanently dismissed and returned to the fugue plane at any time. If dismissed this way they can still be conscripted again from Withers later on; they will be at level 1 with their default name, class, stats and appearance, and will retain any items (equipped or not) upon return.

No more than 3 hirelings can be recruited at a time. At camp, while not in use, they always stand at a fixed location without a tent of their own. This varies by camp setting, but is usually near Withers.

Customisation

An example of appearance customisation after recruitment , with Kree Derryck's changed to resemble that of a Gold Dwarf.

During recruitment, a hireling's name and appearance can be customised just as that of The Dark Urge and Custom origins can. They can also use the Magic Mirror to do the same.

As with other playable characters, hirelings can respec with Withers to change their class and / or ability scores.

The following aspects of a hireling cannot be customised: race, subrace, background, body type, and voice.

List of Hirelings

Name	Race	Class	Background	Backstory
Brinna Brightsong	Lightfoot Halfling	Bard	Entertainer	Brinna Brightsong's bawdy crooning was silenced by an Absolute bloodbutcher after a controversial performance in a Triel tavern.
Danton	Mephistopheles Tiefling	Druid	Folk Hero	Danton was a refined druid and rearer of peacocks - until he thought transforming into one would help him escape Absolutist marauders. He was wrong.
Eldra Luthrinn	Gold Dwarf	Barbarian	Outlander	Eldra Luthrinn, slayer of people, monsters, and cups of sweet pear tea, was shown a watery grave when hunting Absolutists in the valleys of Chionthar.
Sir Fuzzalump	Rock Gnome	Wizard	Sage	Sir Fuzzalump was much mocked among his playful kind for his dour demeanor and single-minded devotion to the magical investigation of cave moss. He claims not to have giggled in over a decade, and has never frolicked.
Jacelyn	High Half-Elf	Sorcerer	Guild Artisan	Jacelyn was born a sorcerer, the seventh son of a seventh son. The agent of the Absolute that killed him knew this, and is rumored to have remarked, 'Probably should've left it at six.'
Kerz	Half-Orc	Paladin	Noble	Kerz lived many years as a paladin and mercenary, years which took a hard toll on them. Befriending a group of pleasant ogres, they laid down their weapon and taught a rudimentary etiquette class, before the ogres were attacked one night, and Kerz once more took up their steel.
Kree Derryck	Duergar	Warlock	Charlatan	Kree's penchant for killing folk with a mere whisper was prized in the Absolute's ranks, but the utter devotion to her patron was met with lethal disapproval.
Maddala Deadeye	Human	Rogue	Urchin	Madalla's blindness was cured by another True Soul passing through her village - so they could watch it being burnt to the ground around them. Such was the price of refusing the Absolute.
Sina'zith	Githyanki	Monk	Outlander	Sina'zith's monastic preferences marked her a misfit among her kin - as did the illithid tadpole an Absolutist forced into her mind. For this, the githyanki slew her as an aberration.
Varanna Sunblossom	Wood Half-Elf	Fighter	Soldier	Once a battle-worn veteran fighting for the Absolute, Varanna learnt that loyalty to the would-be god did not protect her from the murderous whims of jealous generals.
Ver'yll Wenkiir	Seldarine Drow	Ranger	Criminal	Ver'yll spent his twilights scribbling odes to leafy canopies, bushels, and the merits of the noble hedgehog. When he refused to join the Absolute, its forces tore his forest and body apart.
Zenith Feur'sel	High Elf	Cleric	Acolyte	Zenith, once an optimistic Evereskan Graycloak, journeyed to Faerun in search of a new sunrise. An Absolute warband proved his dour father right: Zenith was doomed!

Races

Not all races and subraces are covered by hirelings, and therefore some races are only available with a custom character. Dragonborn is the only race not covered by hirelings out of the 11 playable races, and out of the 18 subraces those races have only 8 of them are covered. The races and subraces covered by hirelings are:

•  Duergar
•  Githyanki
•  Gold Dwarf
•  Half-Orc
•  High Elf
•  High Half-Elf
•  Human
•  Lightfoot Halfling
•  Mephistopheles Tiefling
•  Rock Gnome
•  Seldarine Drow
•  Wood Half-Elf

The races and subraces not covered by hirelings are:

•  Asmodeus Tiefling
•  Deep Gnome
•  Drow Half-Elf
•  Forest Gnome
•  Lolth-Sworn Drow (Covered by Minthara companion)
•  Shield Dwarf
•  Strongheart Halfling
•  Wood Elf (Covered by Halsin companion)
•  Zariel Tiefling (Covered by Karlach companion)
• All  Dragonborn subraces.

Achievements

List of Achievements related to hirelings.

Outsourcing

Recruit a hireling. You can befriend them or use them as cannon-fodder - we won't judge.

Bugs

• When a hireling is  Disguised, they cannot be spoken with, and therefore cannot be dismissed to camp until this condition is removed.
• In what may be an oversight, if a hireling’s appearance is customised during recruitment, their default portrait still appears in the party's dialogue history.