That’s exactly what it means, yeah. In my mind the more experienced hirelings only survive as long as they have because they know they shouldn’t stick around and end up dead. It’s part of the “violence is bad and scary” philosophy of the game.
You’re of course welcome to change it if it doesn’t work for your table.
Haha that's interesting!
But then, wouldn't the same logic apply to enemy morale?
"If the roll is higher than 10+HD, they flee or surrender at the first opportunity."
For me I would house rule hireling morale, because I feel that the whole thing about morale is having the grit to stand and fight when every instinct is to flee.
Instead I would roleplay those kind of "survivability smarts" externally to the rules, where a veteran hireling passes the morale check but elects to flee based on rational mind.
They'd do some fighting withdrawal and regroup, rather than panic fleeing
Enemies have different wants and needs to hirelings. You’re invading their home, killing their compatriots, and looting their stuff. Their drive to push you back and out of their territory - or to defend themselves - is what makes them Enemies. Conversely, hirelings are driven by the desire to a) earn silver and b) survive so that they can earn more silver. They’re not the same (and none of the dungeon denizens in the game is human, either), and so they work differently.
But, as I said, feel free to run it however you please. The rules text represents the way I run the game, and you’re welcome to change it as you see fit.
