I've been thinking of tweaking the contract for my campaign, and have come up with the following. Would like some feedback on it.
Contracts are broken into three categories: Attack, Defense, Raid.
Attack Missions:
Planetary Assault. Minimum is 4 months. Add 1d6-2 to length, then multiply that total by house modifier. Minimum 4 months. Higher modifiers to pay, salvage and transportation, no modifier to support. Command is always house unless Unit is rated A+.
Pirate Hunting: Minimum is 2 months, Add 1d3 to length of contract, then multiply that total by house modifier. Minimum 2 months. Employer Ally force is always Small.
Guerrilla Warfare: Minimum is 6 month, plus house modifier, minimum of 6 months. High pay, High Salvage, High Transport. Bonus to command rights.
RAIDS:
Objective Raid: Minimum is 2 months, Add 1d3 to length of contract, then multiply that total by house modifier. Minimum 2 months. Better than average pay, fair salvage, transport and command rights, accompanying force is medium size or less.
Recon Raid: Minimum is 1 month plus house modifier. On completion of mission, followup contract is enacted. Depending on outcome of raid mission, followup contract could be Planetary Assault or another Raid. Better than average Pay, Transport. average Salvage.
Diversionary Raid: 1 month plus house modifier. High pay, Liaison or better command, plus followup contract upon completion. Planetary Assault or another raid.
Extraction Raid. Kinda hard to pin this one down, but I think I have a good framework. Minimum is 3 month, plus 1 month for every rating above D of opposing force. So C would be +1 month, B would be +2, A +3. Pay is base plus percentage based on opponent, the better the opponent, the greater the risk, the greater the pay. Higher payout, fair salvage, transport, command rights.
DEFENSE:
Garrison: Minimum is 12 months, max is 24 months. What I have been toying with is 2 variations on the contract, front line and interior. A Frontline contract has a slightly higher pay, better salvage and support rights, but is shorter term. This type of contract is on a Frontline planet, where the chance for action is greater. Maybe a combat bonus based on number of actions fought on the contract. Interior is 18 months minimum, 36 months max. Average pay, lower salvage and support rights, represents a unit garrisoning an interior planet. Reduced chance for combat, but higher combat pay bonus.
While in Garrison the Unit can subcontract with the following:
Cadre Company size minimum required. 4 month minimum plus house modifier. Low Salvage, fair command and transport.
Security Duty Lance Size Minimum required. 4 month minimum plus house modifier. Low everything.
Unit cannot go below 51% strength when subcontracting. So a 3 lance Unit can have 1 lance do security duty, but not 2; likewise a 5 lance unit cannot send 3 lances on a Cadre contract.
Cadre and Security Duty can both be stand alone contracts, 6 month minimum on each plus house modifier.
Retainer Minimum is 12 month,maximum is 24 months, plus house modifier. Higher pay, salvage, transport rights. While on retainer unit may be called on to take on another contract. Two variations, Frontline and Interior. Frontline roll for additional missions, Raid, Pirate Hunt, Relief Duty. Full unit participation on all missions. Each rolled as an independent contract with the exception of transport, which remains the same as retainer contract.
Interior subcontracts include Cadre, Security Duty, Pirate Hunting, Raids. With the exception of Cadre, all missions require full unit participation.
While on retainer, upon completion of secondary contract, there must be a 6 week period of rest and refit.
Secondary Contracts "stacK" for the purposes of contract results. As an example while on Retainer a Unit fights three raid missions, successfully completes two and loses one, it's overall total at the end of the retainer contract is three and one.
I haven't implemented it yet on my game, but its still a work in progress.
Davout73