BTB Silent threat - poisoning hired swords?

Hi a player in our campaign was asking if the poison OOA/Death by poison ( and I guess target eliminated) apply to hired swords? I think it pretty clearly says Hero as a requirement, and they're not the same but I thought I'd ask for fairness sake?

Also I was wondering about black lotus, if you need a 6 to hit (because of a failed fear test, or from shooting modifiers) does it still auto wound? Same goes for nurgles rot?

Thanks guys

Yup! The rules do clearly state the word 'Hero'. Not much room for debate there. 

Yes, Black Lotus would still automatically wound when rolling a 6 to hit even though it is the only roll that will result in a successful hit in some scenarios (e.g. when a fear test is failed). I say this simply because the rules don't say otherwise.

The rules for Nurgle's Rot were changed in the Errata. I have included the relevant quote below. Unfortunately the Empire in Flames PDFs have not been updated with the Errata.

Quote :

Page 66, Nurgle’s Rot
Change the fifth sentence to read:
"If the Tainted One makes a successful to Wound roll of a 6 with any of his hand-to-hand attacks, the target model will contract the Rot (note: Nurgle’s Rot only affects the living, so Undead, Daemons and Possessed are immune)."

This means that your question no longer applies to Nurgle's Rot because it now comes into effect on the 'to wound' roll and not the 'to hit' roll.

Wow, I've read the errata a couple of times, missed that one, makes more sense that way, thanks Rational