Hired Help – Meet the Hirelings That Are Coming to Root Digital!

Hirelings & Landmarks is now available on Steam and mobile platforms, with Nintendo Switch to follow later! The forest roars to life in this new expansion for Root Digital, bringing mischievous mercenaries and new wonders to the Woodland!

Welcome back, Woodland warriors! In our last preview for the Hirelings & Landmarks expansion for Root Digital, we introduced the concept of Hirelings, along with how to bring them into your games and make use of their services. With all 13 Hirelings from the tabletop game included in the new expansion, some introductions are in order! Let’s take a look at some of the Hirelings making their way to the forest, and how their unique skills and abilities will transform your games of woodland warfare!

Faction-Aligned Hirelings

One of the first things you’ll notice is that each of Root Digital’s 10 factions has a corresponding Hireling. Hirelings and their associated factions can’t share a game together, which brings a fun new thematic texture to Root Digital: factions that you don’t choose can end up becoming a part of the conflict in their own way, lighting the Woodland abuzz with new life!

Faction-based Hirelings essentially operate like miniaturized versions of the factions they’re associated with, bringing their signature abilities to the table in a way that will feel both familiar and fresh at the same time. In our previous article, you got a look at the Marquise de Cat Hireling — Forest Patrol — and how they spread cats across the board who frequently move, battle, and respawn, just like their parent faction. Let’s take a look at a few more:

Woodland Alliance

Much like the Alliance itself, Woodland Alliance Hirelings are all about stirring up sympathy and launching surprise revolts to topple their oppressors. These rabble-rousers bring a bite-sized dose of guerrilla warfare to your games — better hope you’re on their good side if you find yourself in the middle of one of their Uprisings!

• Spring Uprising (Promoted): The full-powered rebel yell! These guys have Uprising warriors who spawn throughout the map, ready to wipe out clearings with a surprise Uprising at a moment’s notice. Which clearing will be the next one to explode into revolt? The controlling player gets to decide!
  
• Rabbit Scouts (Demoted): The Rabbit Scouts keep the Alliance’s underdog energy alive by granting the Guerilla Warfare ability, allowing you to claim the higher roll in battle as a defender by discarding a card. 

Riverfolk Company

Floating in with mercantile mischief, the Riverfolk Company’s Hirelings embody that wheelin’ and dealin’ ethos, bringing either watery commerce or opportunistic strikes to every clearing they encounter as they zip along the river.

• Riverfolk Flotilla (Promoted): You’ll find the Riverfolk Flotilla moving down the river throughout the game, generously doling out cards to anyone who stops by. But these vicious vendors also have a mean streak, and are ready to attack the enemies of whoever they’re in service to. If you see the Flotilla approaching, best not to approach before their dirty deeds have been carried out!
• Otter Divers (Demoted): Dive under the radar with this passive perk granted by those slippery otters: ignore rule when moving to or from a clearing on the river!

Corvid Conspiracy

Cawing from the shadows, the Corvid Conspiracy’s Hirelings are all about espionage and disruption, adding layers of paranoia to the board with avian agents who are ready to spy, steal, and strike across the Woodland at the whims of the highest bidder.

• Corvid Spies (Promoted): Unleash the flock by placing Spy warriors in clearings, allowing you to either battle there or straight-up steal cards from enemies’ hands. You never know where these feathered fiends will turn up next!
• Raven Sentries (Demoted): Keep watch with this defensive boost: deal an extra hit in clearings where you have buildings or tokens of your faction. Sly, satisfying, and full of feathery foul play.

Keepers in Iron

Charging in with armored grit, the Keepers in Iron’s Hirelings evoke that relic-hunting resilience, focusing on protecting their vault-secured strongholds. These badger buddies offer protective buffs, turning defense into an art form and channeling the Keepers’ unyielding spirit.

• Vault Keepers (Promoted): Lock it down! Place vaults in clearings that can be continually reinforced with Keeper warriors who won’t hesitate to battle outsiders intruding into their space. But be careful about which spaces you choose to fortify — these burly badgers are liable to turn on you once they enter into the service of another player!
• Badger Bodyguards (Demoted): Become tough as nails with the ability to ignore the first hit you take in battle, capturing the Keepers’ durable, ironclad endurance.

Challenge Alert: Put the Vault Keepers’ ironclad defense to the test in the Coalition Busting challenge, where you’ll control the Vault Keepers for the entire game and go to war with two opponents who are in a coalition against you!

Neutral Hirelings

Not every Hireling pledges to a faction banner — some are entirely on their own, ready to bring novel, faction-agnostic flair to the Woodland with their unique abilities. Unlike faction-based Hirelings, the Demoted versions of neutral Hirelings have a map presence of their own rather than granting passive abilities. You’ll find three of these independent operators in Hirelings & Landmarks; let’s meet a couple of them!

Furious Protector

The Furious Protector stomps in as a neutral powerhouse, with antlered aggression and territorial defense that will keep the Woodland on its toes. Forget about fighting this mighty guardian — the only winning move is to stay away!

• Furious Protector (Promoted): The Furious Protector cannot be battled or removed from the map. Ever the sentinel of the forest, he rampages from clearing to clearing, deleting player units along the way and preventing them from spawning in his location. He won’t even spare you even if he’s in your service — though you will get to determine the direction of his wrath!
• Stoic Protector (Demoted): This unflappable stag isn’t energized with the righteous wrath of his Promoted counterpart. Instead, he brings immutable protection to the player whom he serves. In the presence of the Stoic Protector, enemies cannot battle or remove your pieces.

Highway Bandits

The Highway Bandits Hireling is a real nuisance, ambushing travelers and exacting tolls throughout the Woodland, turning movement into a risky gamble whenever these prickly porcupines are on the scene.

• Highway Bandits (Promoted): Toll time! Place bandits on paths between clearings, and when players move along them, they lose one of their pieces! That is, unless you’re in control of these spiky scoundrels — in which case you’ll gain a warrior instead.
• Bandit Gangs (Demoted): Bulk up passively by adding your own warriors wherever these Bandits are on the map, much like gathering a rogue crew for forest dominance!

Hirelings & Landmarks is Now Available!

With six more Hirelings on their way beyond the ones we’ve already mentioned, there’s no shortage of new shenanigans that await in your games of Root Digital with the Hirelings & Landmarks expansion! 

In our next and final preview, we’ll be looking at Landmarks, also included in the expansion. Be sure to follow us on Bluesky or Facebook to stay updated on all things Root Digital, or join the Dire Wolf Discord, where you’ll also find a community of Woodland warriors to chat strategy with! Hirelings & Landmarks is now available on Steam and mobile platforms, with Nintendo Switch to follow later — dive into the Woodland today!