Editing Gangs (section)

==== How it Works ====
Here's some more information about the mechanics of character recruitment, courtesy of Kime Dennory in forum thread: http://www.dark-wind.com/forums2/index.php?a=topic&t=7602

There are three possible results when you recruit. You can get a pre-existing character (with a skill higher than 20 or I believe he would not be retained in the database), you can get a newly-generated character with a skill higher than 20 and the rest below 10, or you can get a newly-generated character with a skill of 20 and the rest below 10. The last is the most likely. 

Choosing 'best available' makes it more likely that you will get a pre-existing character. That's all it does. Pre-existing characters are sometimes worse than what you'd have gotten otherwise... frequently there was a reason they were fired. (I got a gunner with a dex of 10 one week, and a large gunner with a speed of 8 the next.) However, if they left because someone's gang was unable to pay them, they could also be really nice. Incidentally, fame and the recruiter spec both increase the likelihood that this will happen, but as far as I know it isn't matched against anyone else's fame/recruiter rating. 

You can tell you got a pre-existing character if: he is not last in your characters list when he's created (i.e. doesn't have the highest character ID) and/or if he has more than one skill above 9, a nickname, etc. 

Other than that, if you get a newly generated character with a skill higher than 20, treasure him. He is also likely to have a higher (possibly much higher) skill cap than the average character. This outcome is much more likely to happen with a free character than one you paid to recruit, and is also more likely the higher fame you have and the higher level recruiter you have (I *think*). However, no newly created character will ever have TWO skills above 9. Typical starting skills are 21 to 25, but some people have seen higher, in some cases much higher. 

Finally, if you get a newly generated character with a single skill of 20, that's the default. If he's a free recruit, his skill cap on average is likely to be higher than that of a paid recruit, but I don't know the exact likelihood. 

As for stats, they are not affected in any way by fame, recruiting specific skills vs 'best available', the recruiter perk, or whether a character is free or paid for. Completely independent.