General

Generals are the most common type of agents in Hyrule: Total War.

Acquisition
A General can be recruited for 2000 Rupees in his/her home faction's Seat of Power. General recruitment takes 3 turns.

Generals are also periodically given to factions at specific intervals as long as they control at least one city.

Function
Generals can either be used to govern cities or to lead armies into battle. Unlike other agents, they have four main stats instead of one:
 * Command: Command increases the battle capabilities of soldiers under the general; the more Command stars a general has, the better the soldiers can fight. Command stars are most of the time earned by winning battles.
 * Chivalry / Dread: Chivalry and Dread are two opposing stats: increasing one reduces the other and vice versa.
 * Chivalry endows any city governed by the general with a boost to population growth and public order; and any army commanded by him/her with a morale bonus. Chivalry can be earned by occupying and governing cities or releasing captured prisoners.
 * Dread increases the public order (but not population growth) of cities governed by the general, as well as hurting the morale of enemies facing him/her in battle. Dread skulls can be earned by killing lots of enemies, executing captured prisoners or exterminating cities.
 * Loyalty: Needless to say this stat makes generals less susceptible to desertion or bribery from foreign diplomats.

The Stalfos also have specialised generals in the form of Necromancers, who, in addition to fulfilling these roles, also serve to create units.

Battle
In battle, if there are more than one general in an army, the one with the most Command stars will be in charge. If the army has no general, a soldier will become the army's captain, a temporary, statless commander.

If a generic (non-hero) general commands the army, (s)he'll gain the ability to rally troops, increasing their morale and (in certain cases) stopping fleeing units. When the commander dies, the army morale will plummet, possibly resulting in a mass rout.

Bodyguards
A general is always accompanied by a unit of sworn bodyguards. Bodyguards cannot be retrained unlike most soldiers, but instead their numbers replenish for free over time. When a general is assassinated, dies of old age or after a battle during which (s)he is killed, his/her bodyguard automatically disappears.

Each faction is supposed to have only one single unit who serves as bodyguards for their generic generals:
 * Kingdom of Hyrule: Ironclad Elites
 * Gerudo: Gerudadorf
 * Gorons: Fire Warriors
 * Zora Dominion: Shock Troopers
 * Kokiri: Korok Warriors
 * Gohma: Pack of Queens
 * Ordona Province: Goat Lords
 * Lanayru Province: Guardian Maidens
 * The Deku Tribes: Royal Scrubs
 * Stalfos: Scythe Lords
 * Moblins: Moblin Grunts
 * Sheikah Cadre: Truthbearers
 * Darknut Legion: Mighties
 * Lizalfos: Song-Sayers
 * Labrynna Regime: Palace Watch
 * Fairies of Tarm: Great Fairies
 * Kingdom of Ikana: Noblemen
 * Forces of Twilight: Shadow Messengers
 * Order of the Wizzrobe: Illusionists
 * River Zora: Geozards
 * Zuna: Zuna Merchantmen
 * Subrosians: Subrosian Excavators
 * Tokay: Tokay Hunters
 * Horonians: Horon Mystics

However, because of certain bugs, generals might often spawn with different units as bodyguards.