Mercenary
A mercenary is any monster designated by the M2_MERC flag:
- @ soldier
- @ sergeant
- @ lieutenant
- @ captain
- @ guard
- @ watchman
- @ watch captain
Contents
Common traits
Mercenaries are human and considered part of the Yendorian Army. The M2_MERC flag is involved in both the starting weapons and armor of mercenaries (which is actually directly handled by the macro is_mercenary) and their ability to be bribed.
All Yendorian Army members are chaotic and cannot be polymorphed into; as humans they do not respect Elbereth, and they can follow the player to other levels. They have low monster magic resistance, and possess at least one weapon attack per turn; lieutenants and captains are capable of two per turn.
Starting inventory
Mercenaries start with weaponry varying from short swords to silver sabers, and armor varying from leather armor to crystal plate mail; most can also be generated with gloves, boots, helmets, shields, and wands. In addition, Yendorian army foot soldiers (i.e. those that are randomly generated) may also receive C- or K-rations. The exact contents of each trooper's inventory is dependent on their experience and rank.
All mercenaries are eligible to be given a random offensive item.
Weapons
As lower-ranking mercenaries, soldiers and watchmen have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a random weapon from the set of all polearms, plus lances and mattocks; if this is the case, they will always get either a knife or a dagger as a secondary weapon, with equal probability.[1] Otherwise, their primary weapon will have be either an ordinary spear or an ordinary short sword with equal probability; these mercenaries have a 3⁄4 chance of taking a knife as a secondary weapon.
Higher-ranked mercenaries randomly take one of two primary weapons with equal probability, and also have a 3⁄4 chance of taking a knife as a secondary weapon. Sergeants choose either a flail or a mace; lieutenants choose either an ordinary broadsword or a long sword; and captains (including watch captains) choose either a long sword or a silver saber.
Armor
Each rank of soldier has a particular target AC as follows:
| Rank | Target AC |
|---|---|
| soldier or watchman | 3 |
| sergeant | 0 |
| guard | −1 |
| lieutenant | −2 |
| watch captain | −2 |
| captain | −3 |
The game uses a complicated procedure to outfit each soldier with a selection of armor giving roughly the target AC. If the soldier is unlucky, they might be given less armor; if they are lucky, they might be given enchanted armor that takes them beyond the target.
Each soldier is generated with one suit of body armor, and will always receive leather armor at bare minimum. All ranks are eligible for ring mail or studded leather armor; sergeants and above, including guards, are eligible for splint mail or banded mail; and lieutenants and captains, including watch captains, are eligible for plate mail or crystal plate mail. In addition, mercenaries of all ranks may be randomly generated with any of the items from the following list:
There is no guarantee that any particular non-body armor slot will be filled; soldiers can be given multiple items for any slot.
Other equipment
Mercenaries of all ranks have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a K-ration, and an independent 1⁄2 chance of being generated with a C-ration. Sergeants and above also have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a bugle.[2] Unlike all other monster types, low-ranking mercenaries have a 12⁄13 chance of missing all of the rolls for being generated with random defensive items, miscellaneous items, and gold;[3] other ranks are unaffected.
Bribery
All mercenaries can be bribed by throwing gold at them, which will turn them peaceful if successful. The amount of gold necessary for this is as follows:
is the total gold in your open inventory and 
varies depending on the exact type of monster: 150 for soldiers, 250 for sergeants, 500 for lieutenants, and 750 for captains. They only have a two in three chance of accepting the offer.[4]
