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BattleTech Game Systems => A Time of War => Topic started by: HaikenEdge on 20 August 2017, 18:58:05

Title: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: HaikenEdge on 20 August 2017, 18:58:05
Do characters with the Independent/Mercenary affiliation quality for for the Tour of Duty or Covert Operations Real Life modules?
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: guardiandashi on 20 August 2017, 19:24:52
Do characters with the Independent/Mercenary affiliation quality for for the Tour of Duty or Covert Operations Real Life modules?
I could see a reasonable argument for tour of duty, (although its more intended for actual government military service)
the covert ops is a little harder ....  as I look at it as being a spy, and on assignment for an agency, which to me means you still work for some spy agency, but were a covert operator while being a merc.

I mean its still flexable as most of that stuff is pretty generic, but that's my opinion.
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: HaikenEdge on 20 August 2017, 19:27:38
In that case, what's a mercenary who graduated from military academy supposed to do with their life?
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: Daryk on 20 August 2017, 19:33:30
There are private academies (Blackjack School of Combat springs to mind), so "Academy" doesn't necessarily have to be government sponsored.  And even if they went to a government academy, maybe they mustered out at some point (i.e., their "Tour of Duty" or even "Covert Ops" modules could have happened before they turned mercenary).  As for coming from that affiliation, your citizenship doesn't necessarily have to match your affiliation (unless your Capellan, or maybe Kuritan).
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: HaikenEdge on 20 August 2017, 19:36:22
I meant more along the lines of a character who was Born Mercenary Brat into Mercenary Brat into Military Academy; their lack of proper affiliation seems to prevent them from taking Tour of Duty or Covert Operations regardless of their training, so I'm trying to figure out what combat-focused real-life module such a character could take.
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: YingJanshi on 20 August 2017, 19:38:35
I meant more along the lines of a character who was Born Mercenary Brat into Mercenary Brat into Military Academy; their lack of proper affiliation seems to prevent them from taking Tour of Duty or Covert Operations regardless of their training, so I'm trying to figure out what combat-focused real-life module such a character could take.

If I was GMing I wouldn't have any problem with allowing the ToD path. If you grew up inside a Merc unit, it only makes sense that any combat you'd see would be within said unit.
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: HaikenEdge on 20 August 2017, 19:41:19
If I was GMing I wouldn't have any problem with allowing the ToD path. If you grew up inside a Merc unit, it only makes sense that any combat you'd see would be within said unit.
The question then becomes which XP cost are they supposed to take, given they don't belong to any of the affiliations listed in the module cost. Or was that just oversight?
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: Daryk on 20 August 2017, 19:42:08
Just use whichever faction they were working for at the time.
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: Decoy on 20 August 2017, 20:32:16
Mercenaries are an "Independent" faction. The TOD it indicates for Independent factions is Periphery
Title: Re: Mercenary Affiliation Clarification
Post by: Jackmc on 17 September 2017, 19:11:21
This used to be explicitly spelled out in the editions of the RPG prior to ATOW.  TOD: IS is an allowed path for merc characters.

Also, the Inner Sphere does in fact have merc units that specialize in Covert ops and other spec ops types of warfare, they just get less "screen time" in the books.  Thus, Covert Ops is also allowed, and is a proverbial tackle box of story hooks for the GM because a merc who has pulled a Covert Ops tour has juicy bits of knowledge about at least two different groups (their employer at the time, and the target of the contract).

-Jackmc