Henchmen are NPC adventurers that the Guild Wars players can recruit in outposts to fill in the blanks in their party. Some of them are prominent NPC allies in the campaigns' storylines.
Prophecies Henchmen
Race: Human
Profession: Monk
Born in Serenity Temple to a priest of Dwayna and priestess of Balthazar, Mhenlo is a monk who has been steeped in the teachings of healing and smiting magic. A devoted servant of both Dwayna and Balthazar, he has studied hard his entire life, and has been rewarded by both the gods of his provenance. But paying allegiance to two gods has not been without its consequences; having no clear path to follow, Mhenlo has a tendency to overanalyze situations and possible consequences, not sure whether to take the path of aggressive strength or that of defensive grace.
Mhenlo spent much of his life inside Serenity Temple, paying homage to the old gods and studying the Path, which will lead him to enlightenment. He also spent a long stretch of his youth studying under Master Togo of Shing Jea Monastery, where he was exposed to even more religious and philosophical teachings that made it no easier for the young monk to find a focus in life. But the teachings of Togo and the Ritualist’s wisdom made a deep impact on Mhenlo. When Master Togo sends a request for Mhenlo’s aid, the monk wastes no time gathering his friends and setting out for Cantha.
- Ascended Extra: For Factions, he's promoted to NPC Ally Status.
- Bald Mystic: Has a tattooed bald head and wields healing magic.
- Expansion Pack Past: Almost literally, in a sense. When Factions came out, his backstory was updated so that he had spent time at the Shing Jea Monastery under Master Togo.
- Healing Hands: He's a very capable healer.
- Magic Staff
- The Medic: As a Monk, his main role in the group is healing up his friends.
- Mr. Fanservice: It seems that every female he's ever come into contact with (except Devona and Eve, apparently) is incredibly attracted to him.
- Official Couple: With Cynn.
- Opposites Attract
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Played with. As a healer, he doesn't fit the character type, but he still keeps his arms bare, showing off his extensive tattoos.
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
Devona is quite serious and direct in her dealings with others. She aspires to be a great Warrior, just like her father. At times this aspiration turns into a tremendous internal pressure to succeed. Devona's father was one of the leaders of Ascalon's Chosen, a prestigious and well-respected guild. He died defending the city walls against a raid by an Orrian guild during the last Guild War. Devona was only a little girl at the time, but since that day, she has dedicated her life to mastering the martial arts of sword and hammer.
Devona is the level-headed leader of the party. She always assesses a situation before rushing in, which sometimes puts her at odds with the brash Cynn. Despite her restraint and control, Devona has a temper, and it can get the best of her. She would sacrifice her own life to save the life of a friend, and she frequently puts herself in harm's way to protect those who travel with her. Devona has a deep sense of loyalty and duty. To her, there would be no greater honor than to follow in the footsteps of her father and give her life defending that which is most dear to her.
- Action Girl
- Advertised Extra: She and the other Henchmen feature heavily in the promotion of the game, yet they don't play much of a role after the Searing until they can be hired late in the game.
- Badass Normal
- The Captain
- Character Development: She seems to loosen up in later campaigns.
- Cute Bruiser: She looks pretty lithe, but is a warrior with a massive blunt weapon.
- Deadpan Snarker: Post-character development
- Dual Wielding: Wields a pair of swords in the trailer, which she is not depicted with in the game itself.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic
- Honor Before Reason: At first. But her dialogue seems to indicate that she becomes a lot more flexible during combat situations as time goes on.
- Trailers Always Lie: Devona doesn't dual wield swords and doesn't actually feature too heavily in the plot. She's mostly a recurring character until she and her party are available as henchmen.
Race: Human
Profession: Elementalist
A former child prodigy, Cynn always had people catering to her every whim. Her family was among the nobility in the city of Surmia—until the Charr invasion and the Searing. When Ascalon was destroyed, Cynn got caught outside the Wall (Surmia was one of the first places to fall during the initial assault). A magical projectile fell directly upon her palatial home, killing her parents and trapping her under a broken table for several days. A Charr warband discovered her while looting the city. They dug her out, thinking to make a meal of her, but Cynn had other ideas. She single-handedly wiped out the entire warband, turning them and the remains of her home into little more than a smoldering pile of ash.
Cynn is a bit of a princess but with a decidedly dark streak. She's often cynical and flippant when dealing with authorities or situations that seem hopeless. She's highly intelligent, and magic comes easy to her. Because of her experiences during the Searing, Cynn has developed a rather cavalier attitude toward her own death. Consequently, she tends to bite off more than she can chew, and often gets herself and her friends into trouble.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She doesn't like seeing other women around Mhenlo.
- Combat Stilettos: Hardly a front-line fighter, but high heels are not exactly the best footwear for dangerous adventures.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the Raisu Palace mission. She gets better.
- Magic Staff
- Official Couple: With Mhenlo.
- Playing with Fire
- Squishy Wizard
- Spoiled Brat
Race: Human
Profession: Ranger
The son of a huntsman, Aidan grew up with a quiver of arrows on his back. His mother died giving birth to him while his family was on a wagon train from Kryta to Ascalon. As soon as the boy was old enough to hold a bow in one hand, Aidan’s father packed up just the good steel heads of their tools and the two men headed off into the wild. They found a spot in the middle of a forest clearing, refitted their tools with hand-carved handles, and built their own home from scratch.
Aidan is a survivor. Nothing is out of the question if it means he and his companions will live for another day. He thinks fast and acts even faster. His inner calm—a sort of simple confidence—has a way of infecting everyone around him. Being the oldest member of the party, he has the wisdom of years his younger counterparts lack, though he never feels the need to lord it over them. He does feel a certain amount of responsibility to keep the group informed and out of trouble if at all possible. From time to time, he takes on the role of group patriarch, but only if there is a meltdown and he sees the need for his cooler head to prevail.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He mentions that he went on one in his youth, to avenge his father's death. He's settled down considerably since then.
- Ship Tease: With Zho in Eye of the North. Unlike previous campaigns, where henchmen stood around outposts in a big line, the Eye of the North henchmen are arranged as though they were actually doing stuff around town. Several are often grouped together, for example, Mhenlo dancing for all of the female henchmen (with Cynn looking rather unhappy about the situation off to the side). Usually, Aidan and Zho are paired off together, leading some to speculate about their relationship.
- Team Dad
Race: Human
Profession: Necromancer
Eve hasn't a clue where she was born — she was found as a young child stealing food from a sleeping vagrant in the back alleys of Ascalon City. Fortunately for Eve, she was found by a kindly matron, who brought her to the Holy Dwayna Academy for Wayward & Incorrigible Girls (Ascalon City branch). Wherever Eve had come from, she had already learned to read at an advanced level before she ended up at the school students called the “Wayward Academy,” and voraciously devoured every text in the library. It wasn’t long before Eve’s curiosity (and her ability to both manipulate and avoid Matron Irma) led her to a secret library in the bowels of the Academy. There, forbidden texts opened up an entirely new world to young Eve. By the time she was 15, she had raised her first bone minion.
Eve had never gotten along with the other girls—she much preferred the company of her tomes and scrolls. When, one day, a few of her fellow students pulled an especially vicious and humiliating prank on her, Eve literally pounced upon the leader of her tormentors, bit the girl’s ear off, and swallowed it whole. That was the end of Eve’s studies at the Holy Dwayna Academy for Wayward & Incorrigible Girls, and not even Matron Irma mourned her departure.
Eve met Mhenlo, Cynn, Devona, and Aidan during the Charr invasion. She was in the graveyard, experimenting with new methods of undead resurrection, when the Charr flooded into the cemetery on the heels of Mhenlo and the others. More out of curiosity than any noble intentions, Eve ordered the Charr to stop. When the beastly creatures turned on her instead, thinking her easy prey, she simply raised her hands and called forth a small army of the dead to meet them. The Charr never stood a chance. Eve was amused when Devona asked the Necromancer to join them, but has since become a good friend of Devona, Aidan, and Mhenlo. She is often in conflict with Cynn, but the two respect each other’s power enough to get along when the going gets rough.
Of all Mhenlo’s friends, Eve is probably the most independent, and it would not take much for the Necromancer to leave them behind and strike out on her own. But she is smart enough to know that loyal allies—even the living—are valuable to one with her powers. She has joined the expedition to Cantha to learn new ways to manipulate the powers of necromancy, and, she freely admits, to see what kinds of horrors might be created from Cantha’s unique species. Eve’s one constant companion is a human skull she found in the hidden library. She insists that the skull—which she calls “Adam”—speaks to her and dispenses wise advice at critical junctures. No one else has ever heard the skull say a word.
- Black Magician Girl
- Combat Stilettos: Hardly a front-line fighter, but high heels are not exactly the best footwear for dangerous adventures.
- Companion Cube: The skull she carries with her, Adam.
- Consulting Mister Puppet
- Informed Ability: She's apparently supposed to be really talented at making undead minions, but none of her skillsets in the game involve summoning minions.
- Magic Staff
- Necromancer
- Nightmare Fetishist
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
A soldier in the service of Duke Barradin. Before the Searing he teaches warriors how to master the use of axe. After the Searing, he follows Duke Barradin north beyond the wall, where his company establishes a base in Piken Square. After this he deserts the army and heads west, much to the ire of his fellow soldiers. When Rurik leads the Ascalonian refugees over the Shiverpeaks into Kryta, he shows up in Yak's Bend as a hireable henchman, following the player from that point onwards.
- Badass Normal: As a henchman, he's just a regular warrior. It's only in the Norn Fighting Tournament he becomes a Magic Knight.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He has a jolly time cleaving his foes and boasts eagerly of his skill and strength.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Wears at least some armor on his upper body, but is never seen wearing a helmet.
- Ironic Nickname: As with Little John of the Robin Hood stories, there's nothing little about him.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Carries a shield along with his axe.
- Magic Knight: While he's normally just a Warrior, he uses a Hamstorm (Warrior/Elementalist) build in the Norn Fighting Tournament.
- Playing with Fire: In the Norn Fighting Tournament, he brings fire magic to the table.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Suddenly deserted Barradin's company, leaving them behind in Piken Square. Fellow soldier Farrah Cappo took it very personally.
- Shield Bash: One of his abilities is to use his shield to knock down melee attackers.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Seems to have this dynamic with Farrah Cappo, as seen when they're reunited at the end of Prophecies."That Cappo woman is a pain in my backside. I don't know if I should kill her or marry her."
- Stout Strength: He's got girth to match his strength.
Factions Henchmen
Race: Tengu
Profession: Warrior
Talon Silverwing is an Angchu Tengu from the Aerie. During the Tengu Wars he was defeated by General Zhan and has since sworn to protect and serve him. He is the initial trainer for warriors (either as a primary or secondary profession) at the Shing Jea Monastery.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the Raisu Palace mission. He gets better.
- I Owe You My Life: Why he serves General Zhan at the Shing Jea Monastery.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Justified in that he's from an region where Katanas are a common sword.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: The Angchu Tengu is one of only two tribes that doesn't attack humans on sight. The others, the Star Tribe, are enemies in-game, but mostly only as part of the trials to become Closer to the Stars.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy
Race: Human
Profession: Ranger
Zho is available as a henchman in the Factions campaign from Zen Daijun onwards, and in all outposts in the Eye of the North expansion. Zho's eye was pecked out by the Black Moa in the Echovald Forest, when she was trying to save Nehdukah.
- Eyepatch of Power
- Improbable Aiming Skills: She's a one-eyed archer. She's not the only one in the Guild Wars universe.
- Ship Tease: With Aidan, see the description under his entry.
Race: Human
Profession: Mesmer
Lo Sha is one of the most brilliant teachers at Shing Jea Monastery, but like many true geniuses, he is somewhat addled when it comes to small details. And like many Mesmers, he is justifiably vain and proud. Headmaster Kaa likes to say that if Lo Sha would focus on his skills as much as he focuses on his fellow Mesmer instructor, Mei Ling, he could be one of the greatest Mesmers in Canthan history. So far, Lo Sha’s obsession with Mei Ling has kept him just shy of true greatness, but even so, few can equal his talent with illusion, inspiration, and domination magic.
Lo Sha joins Mhenlo’s group at Master Togo’s insistence—Togo is one of the few beings Lo Sha truly respects, and the Mesmer would follow the master of Shing Jea Monastery into the underworld if asked. He prefers, however, to remain at the monastery whenever possible, studying new and spectacular ways to manipulate the perceptions of others—especially Mei Ling’s.
- Impractically Fancy Outfit
- It's All About Me
- Large Ham
- Mind Manipulation
- Prince Charming Wannabe: To Mei Ling. She does actually like him though.
Race: Human
Profession: Monk
Danika zu Heltzer dwells with the rest of her family in the fortress-like Cathedral zu Heltzer, a monument to Saint Viktor (one of the two champions who slew Shiro Tagachi on the day of the Jade Wind). Like her father Count Petrov zu Heltzer, leader of the great Kurzick House that bears their last name, Danika is proud to name the venerable Viktor as an ancestor. Unlike her father, Danika is much more open-minded toward non-Kurzicks and the other Kurzick Houses. This is probably attributable to her avid reading habits. To overcome the extreme boredom of what she considers her “imprisonment” in the cathedral, she has voraciously devoured the contents of countless tomes in the zu Heltzer family library, especially those that speak of other lands and other peoples.
Danika has never been more frustrated with the Kurzicks' isolationist policies, which she believes can only lead to the further decline of her people, and indeed her world. She is eager to venture into the world outside Echovald Forest, and find new allies for all the Kurzicks. Like Argo, her sense of justice is strong, and she would be among the first of the Kurzicks to set aside factional differences should a greater threat arise. She has even had some contact, against her father’s strict orders, with House Vasburg, the longtime rivals of House zu Heltzer.
- Blue Blood
- Escort Mission: Arborstone.
- Fluffy Tamer: She has two tamed Fungal Wallows, Brutus and Sheena.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the Raisu Palace mission. She gets better.
- Non-Idle Rich: After having to send her pets to kill a girl's parents who had become monsters by the plague, she tells the girl that she'll send people to take care of her.
- Perky Goth
- Plucky Girl
- Rebellious Princess: Technically a Countess, but it still applies.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She wants the Kurzicks to break their isolationist policy and set their differences with the Luxons aside so they can ally to fight against Shiro Tagachi.
Race: Human
Profession: Elementalist
The Turtle Champion is respected and honored throughout the Luxon territories for his courage, his profound sense of justice, and his awe-inspiring power on the battlefield. He was the first Luxon Champion to earn his title in mortal combat that ended without the death of either combatant. Argo’s opponent, Tullus, had fought bravely, and continued to keep his guard defiantly up even after the bloody loss of a foot and many other injuries. Rather than strike Tullus down as the crowd demanded, Argo simply declared himself the victor and handed Tullus his sword. The gesture allowed his foe to leave the arena alive and with honor intact, but was a clear indication of Argo’s victory—to hand over his weapon showed that the future champion had nothing to fear. Justice was served, the bloodlust of the crowd was relatively satisfied, and this noble act earned Argo the admiration of all the clans. Even the Kurzicks honor Argo’s bravery and skill, as a foe against whom they themselves can hope to prove worthy.
Even more than the Luxons’ traditional enemies, Argo carries generations of hatred in his heart for the Canthan Empire, which he, and many Luxons, believe has kept his people cornered in the most desolated section of the continent, the Jade Sea. Yet as much as he despises the Canthan Empire, the continent is still his home. And when threats arise that no one faction can face alone, Argo might be convinced to join forces with the Kurzicks—and perhaps even with the Canthan oppressors—to fight for the survival of all.
- Defeat Equals Friendship: You must best him in the Convocation during the Boreas Seabed mission.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the Raisu Palace mission. He gets better.
- Playing with Fire
- Proud Warrior Race Guy
Race: Human
Profession: Ritualist
One of your fellow students on the Shing Jea island, and is Luxon by birth. Despite being blind, he is a skilled Ritualist. Along with Lukas, he joins during your foray into the Kurzick or Luxon land, and follows you to the final battle.
- Disability Superpower: He's blind. That won't stop him from communing with spirits.
- Status Buff
- Shout-Out: Likely named for King Aeson.
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
Another one of your fellow students on the Shing Jea island, and is Kurzick by birth. He came to the island to study, and like Aeson, joins your party during your foray into the Kurzick or Luxon territories, and follows you to the final battle.
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Covered from the neck down in full plate armor, but leaves his head bare.
- Overrated and Underleveled: He claims to be legendary amongst the Kurzicks before he came to the Monastery. However, he joins at level two and is no stronger than you are. This might actually be justified; since he's a Boisterous Bruiser.
- Shout-Out: "I'm really left-handed!"
Race: Human
Profession: Warrior
A member of the Crab clan, who competes with others for the Spear of Archemorus. You first fight him as a boss, but after you succeed, becomes a hireable henchman.
- Defeat Means Friendship: You first fight him as a boss.
Race: Human
Profession: Ranger
Another member of the Crab clan, competing against you for the Spear of Archemorus. You first fight him as a boss, but after you succeed, becomes a hireable henchman. Despite that he is actuallythe younger brother, Seaguard Eli sees Daeman as the champion along with the rest of his clan.
- Artificial Brilliance: Back when people still ran Unwaking waters, it was common courtesy to bring Daeman into the Unwaking Waters mission simply because he's very good at interrupting things.
- Trick Arrow
