Author Topic: Mercenary Hall (Read 204574 times)

Demon55 · « **Reply #30 on:** 31 January 2011, 23:19:44 »

Quote from: Moonsword on 31 January 2011, 17:31:43

When your business is war, peace may be a problem.

Then you may need to be sneaky and start a war or make a potential employer think that war is eminent or both.

RAE · « **Reply #31 on:** 01 February 2011, 05:22:17 »

Quote from: Klat on 30 January 2011, 23:28:08

Well that's pretty neat, thanks RAE. I wonder if we'll actually see an increase in the use of private military assets among the houses in order to keep military strength up while paying lip service to the "swords to ploughshares" push.

From what I read in the current sources (namely, the Field Report series and Technical Readout: 3085), all that "swords to ploughshares" talk is a big pile of you-know-what from Stone's PR managers, who are trying to create an image of a messiah, leading the nations of the Inner Sphere to a new age of peace and prosperity.

The thing is, no one is converting their swords to plowshares, because no one got any swords left in the first place. Look at the actual numbers of 'Mech regiments in the Successor States miltaries of 3079: AFFS got 26.1, CCAF has 19.8 and DCMS has 18.2. I'm pretty sure that LAAF is not in a better shape, and I'm not even talking about the sundered FWLM and other minor factions. FRs also indicate that providing transport even for these astonishingly low numbers of troops appears to be a problem. So, even if the pace of the Great Houses' rebuilding efforts will somehow catch up with the '50s-60s arms race rates (which, I'm sure, won't happen due to the severe damage military infrastructure and industry took during the Jihad), it will be directly tied to a number of produced Jumpships ('cause why would you need another five regiments of 'Mech, when all you can transport is a single battalion?), which, as we know, was low even in better times.

So, I guess, mercs, especially those that can boast their own transportation divisions, are likely to be a valuable asset for the Inner Sphere states in the times to come.

Demon55 · « **Reply #32 on:** 01 February 2011, 12:50:18 »

Nice to know we are staying in business despite Stone's bull poop!

Rainbow 6 · « **Reply #33 on:** 01 February 2011, 16:34:44 »

Mind you all we've seen in the DA books is merc's serving in the Republic, i'm assuming there are more active in the 'hotter' areas of the sundered FWL Regulus v Oriente, Regulus v Marik-Stewart etc, the Capellan/FedSuns border area, the Taurian/FedSuns border and the two DMZ's from the DA Map between the FedSuns/Combine and LyrCom/Jade Falcons.

False Son · « **Reply #34 on:** 01 February 2011, 18:34:25 »

TRO 3085 makes mention that Stone's military material redemption act is primarily to get all the random Jihad war material out of private hands and standardize RAF equipment.

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #35 on:** 03 February 2011, 19:06:57 »

That's good to know, but as a working Merc, he'll get'em when he can pry them from my cold, dead hands. Sorry folks, but this Merc is going to go where the C-Bills are. I'm gonna play by the Ares Conventions mind you, but I still have to pay my boys and girls' salaries, support costs, etc...

Decoy · « **Reply #36 on:** 03 February 2011, 19:22:50 »

Yeah. I keep on imagining the a character's probable reaction to that.

RoTS Officer: "Hi! Would you like to trade that Wasp in? If you do it today, we'll give you a bag of seed, some land on New Kyoto or Proserpina, and a shot gun to keep the wildlife from getting too frisky."

Merc Mechwarrior: "And if I don't do it today?"

RoTS: Officer: Well, then we turn your 'mech into scrap the fun way and you get sent to Proserpina, New Kyoto, or some other hellhole, just without the land, sack of seeds, or shotgun.

Merc Mechwarror: ****

Klat · « **Reply #37 on:** 03 February 2011, 19:39:01 »

Quote from: Decoy on 03 February 2011, 19:22:50

Yeah. I keep on imagining the a character's probable reaction to that.

RoTS Officer: "Hi! Would you like to trade that Wasp in? If you do it today, we'll give you a bag of seed, some land on New Kyoto or Proserpina, and a shot gun to keep the wildlife from getting too frisky."

Merc Mechwarrior: "And if I don't do it today?"

RoTS: Officer: Well, then we turn your 'mech into scrap the fun way and you get sent to Proserpina, New Kyoto, or some other hellhole, just without the land, sack of seeds, or shotgun.

Merc Mechwarror: ****

[/macho voice]
1.) Never mess with another man's woman

2.) Never mess with another man's ego

3.) Never mess with another man's money

If you do, another man is gonna mess with you.
[macho voice]

The above is not mine, I don't remember where I heard it.

Seriously though, we know that mercs are being contracted by the RotS in the 3080s. I seem to remember that the MoC was hiring as well, though I can't remember where I read that. Also the Kell Hounds are farming out all kinds of work in the ARDC IIRC. I think the big boys (well maybe not the the Kell Hounds) are suffering. The small startups? I get the idea that's where it'll be at. Mercs are like punk rock, just because the scene sucks at any given moment doesn't mean it's dead.

Demon55 · « **Reply #38 on:** 03 February 2011, 20:12:23 »

Governments generally do not like people to be able to defend themselves against the government. [copper]

Top Sergeant · « **Reply #39 on:** 03 February 2011, 22:44:38 »

I've had a merc regiment I use for OPFOR in a lot of games. Geez this thread made me realize I created them 15 years ago! IIRC I was inspired by Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. Love that game!

They are definately not cuttng edge, but they have managed to survive, and they're fun.

Klat · « **Reply #40 on:** 04 February 2011, 00:34:12 »

Quote from: Top Sergeant on 03 February 2011, 22:44:38

I've had a merc regiment I use for OPFOR in a lot of games. Geez this thread made me realize I created them 15 years ago! IIRC I was inspired by Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. Love that game!

They are definately not cuttng edge, but they have managed to survive, and they're fun.

That's pretty cool, nothing like a unit with a history you made O0

And ~~cutting~~ (EDIT: cutting edge) mercs are no fun anyway :P

Demon55 · « **Reply #41 on:** 04 February 2011, 10:51:36 »

Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries was a game I did not want to end.

Top Sergeant · « **Reply #42 on:** 04 February 2011, 13:02:47 »

Quote from: Demon55 on 04 February 2011, 10:51:36

Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries was a game I did not want to end.

Agreed.

Upgrade the graphics and lets carry on the storyline! And use actual mech mod rules!

Demon55 · « **Reply #43 on:** 05 February 2011, 00:10:49 »

And the real universe would be such a better place (moderators I apologize for mentioning the real universe).

Reaver · « **Reply #44 on:** 05 February 2011, 11:09:08 »

War doesn't end in the international scene, since war is the threat of coercive force being used to secure that which is yours. So long as other nations pose a threat, the war continues, even if it doesn't entail actual fighting.

If they don't need me for actual fighting, they need me for garrison duty and raider hunting. I can't imagine that the Fed Suns can adequately defend their lines with 30 regiments, even given the shortening of their lines in the Crucis periphery border.

That being said, I've got to say that the best employers I've seen are private employers and Periphery nations. They aren't strong enough to company store me, they always need a good gunhand, and by extension, they're usually willing to pay a fair price for my services.

Demon55 · « **Reply #45 on:** 05 February 2011, 11:13:31 »

Quote from: Reaver on 05 February 2011, 11:09:08

War doesn't end in the international scene, since war is the threat of coercive force being used to secure that which is yours. So long as other nations pose a threat, the war continues, even if it doesn't entail actual fighting.

If they don't need me for actual fighting, they need me for garrison duty and raider hunting. I can't imagine that the Fed Suns can adequately defend their lines with 30 regiments, even given the shortening of their lines in the Crucis periphery border.

That being said, I've got to say that the best employers I've seen are private employers and Periphery nations. They aren't strong enough to company store me, they always need a good gunhand, and by extension, they're usually willing to pay a fair price for my services.

There are reasons I do not work for the DC. If I had to, I would stock up on as much supplies as I could and hope they do not accidentally get used for target practice by my employer.

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #46 on:** 05 February 2011, 19:04:39 »

Very good pt. there Demon55. Reaver's reply has merit also. That's why I started this thread: For us dedicated Merc's to share info, swap stories, etc...

Demon55 · « **Reply #47 on:** 05 February 2011, 23:33:50 »

My units second contract was to harass the militia and mercenary garrison on a DC world. It was a lot of fun.

Factions that get or try to get mercs with the company store thing are like venture capitalist jerks who try to take over the companies they invest in (feel free to correct me if I am wrong on this one).

Klat · « **Reply #48 on:** 05 February 2011, 23:41:30 »

Quote from: Demon55 on 05 February 2011, 23:33:50

My units second contract was to harass the militia and mercenary garrison on a DC world. It was a lot of fun.

Factions that get or try to get mercs with the company store thing are like venture capitalist jerks who try to take over the companies they invest in (feel free to correct me if I am wrong on this one).

I actually ran an RPG campaign with the players working as mercs in the DC. I made a few "custom" versions of extant mechs (low grade field refits and a couple of omni loadouts) that I allowed them to take at a (very minor) discount without having the "owns vehicle" trait as "lease to own" units. Every unit was an ammo dependent, over priced machine that used equipment that no one wanted and was designed expressly to company store the characters. That the players so willingly took to some of the mechs was just hilarious; most jumped at the chance to take my custom Avatar loadout as the nice contracting rep reminded them that they could always purchase new pods later to customize the design to their tastes. The aforementioned Avatar had 2xUAC 5s and 2xMRM10s... yeah, they actually bought the (in character) sales pitch ::)

We actually had a blast, the characters quickly realized that they were hired to act as the first wave in order to soften up the enemy so their "more honorable masters" could rack up kills. Needless to say the character's mechs took a beating every time, and in no time flat they were in debt up to their eyeballs. Once the characters realized there was no escape it quickly became a contest to show who was the most aggressive and insane pilot. A couple of them actually managed to customize their Avatars using stolen\captured pods :D

Reaver · « **Reply #49 on:** 06 February 2011, 00:24:45 »

Yeah, our RPG merc outfit did pretty well for itself in the Chaos March. We were essentially a reinforced company-sized unit (aerospace company, mech lance) that specialized in special ops. Typically, we were picked up either for raid/extraction duty or for planetary garrison, since not many planets in the Chaos March have dedicated aerospace assets. In one mission in particular, we destroyed a reinforced-company's worth of mechs and vehicles when the Capellans tried to annex the planet.

Unfortunately, we decided to accept a contract for what turned out to be a secondary objective in Operation: Bulldog. Ordinarily, the Federated Suns is pretty generous about its salvage, but they brought in a particularly good negotiator who managed to seize all of our salvage. Then our medium cavalry lance ran into a full light star commanded by a ristar. We got smashed but good, and ultimately had to disband the unit. I think technically we could have kept it afloat, but the loss, shall we say, exacerbated tensions between the PC's beyond the breaking point. The merc commander refused to provide any means of transport for the downed mech of the chief NCO on the grounds that he'd acted negligently in turning an exposed flank to the enemy. Effectively fired and dispossessed the NCO in one blow.

Klat · « **Reply #50 on:** 06 February 2011, 00:50:01 »

Quote from: Reaver on 06 February 2011, 00:24:45

<snip>
The merc commander refused to provide any means of transport for the downed mech of the chief NCO on the grounds that he'd acted negligently in turning an exposed flank to the enemy. Effectively fired and dispossessed the NCO in one blow.

OUCH! #P

It's bad enough when you get taken for a ride on your contract, when the commander comes down on you like that things are really bad. So much for learning from the experience eh?

As an amusing aside to the campaign I mentioned above; the only character who did well for himself was one who took a stock DCMS mech that also happens to be available to mercs, the WVR-8K. The player paid all the points necessary to own it outright. The contract rep kept trying to find a way to nail him but unless the ammo goes up (which in the entire campaign it did not, which shocked me) a WVR-8K is a pretty good ride for a merc. When the campaign was over that character was the only one who was able to leave the DC.

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #51 on:** 06 February 2011, 01:24:34 »

Sounds like fun times guys. Keep the stories coming.

Demon55 · « **Reply #52 on:** 06 February 2011, 03:27:24 »

There are a few things I would do as a merc commander. I would not allow my unit to by split up during combat (yes, I will detach a unit or two during training operations). If I had to deal with a company store I would do as the PC with the Wolvie did, do everything necessary to buy it. Also I would try to get as many ammunition independent machines as possible such as Crabs, Spiders, Awesomes, etc.

Also try to minimize the amount of control the employer has over you.

Keep a breakout clause in ever contract.

Klat · « **Reply #53 on:** 06 February 2011, 15:10:03 »

In our current campaign (where I actually get to play instead of GM, hooray!) my character is using a MAD-9W2. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the MAD-9W2 is the Marauder I thought I'd never love, but I've seen the light. Demon55 is absolutely right about using energy boats for mercs, being able to operate without regard to supply lines has saved my current character's butt a couple of times already as we're operating in the ~~Secession Wars done small~~ former FWL.

Another player in our group is using the GRF-4R, while it has an ammo based weapon that little mech has really shown itself to be one tough (to hit) customer as it bounces around backstabbing everybody.

In my experience thus far it would seem that working in the DC or former FWL really exacerbates the need to have energy weapons, though for very different reasons. In the current timeline the only other area where my group has played is in the ARDC, and we typically assume that ammo and resply is a non-issue when the Kell Hounds are running the show.

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #54 on:** 06 February 2011, 17:24:11 »

Yes, It seems that energy-based 'Mechs/Vee's/BA/Support Vee's are tailor made for Merc's.

Klat · « **Reply #55 on:** 07 February 2011, 00:49:08 »

Is it just me or are there just a few of us actively participating in this thread? Maybe there aren't as many mercs on these forums as I thought...

*and now for something completely different*

Anyone had a chance to try out that new WHD-10CT yet? I've got this bad habit of using mechs that mount C3 Slaves and never using C3 ::) Anyway, I thought it looked like a neat little merc mech as the only ammo based weapon on it is a SSRM6. Plus I can see where twin SNPPCs and a TC make for a wicked combo. I am however concerned about the lack of long range firepower combined with its lack of mobility.

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #56 on:** 07 February 2011, 01:01:26 »

Not me yet. As for C3's -> I love using the system. Check the design boards for a Mod Barghest I made for another new Jihad Tracks unit I'm gonna be runnin' here real soon. Gonna make some AToW Char's for the CO, XO, Head Tech and maybe the dropper CO. Gotta have a char. or two to interact w/ the GM type person when we get together.

As for the limited # of regular posting people in the thread, that's fine w/ me if only a few brave souls have the tenacity/balls to openly and honestly proclaim themselves to be a Mercenary }:) [rockon].

Klat · « **Reply #57 on:** 07 February 2011, 02:19:59 »

I've really gotta start using C3, picking a (canon) master is usually a real chore for me. I'll have to take a look at that Barghest soon. What's sad is that I have plenty of mechs I use regularly that have slaves, the slaves end up just being filler ::)

OmniMechs may also be a good choice for C3S\C3M carriers I suppose, though reading the IS Omni thread I'm beginning to wonder if there are many left.

As to the level of participation this thread is seeing; I guess I always thought there would be a lot more (or more vocal) merc players... Well, I've never been able to stick to a faction for any amount of time and I personally love the freedom and challenges of playing mercs, if others don't screw 'em (out of as much money as possable)

Deathknight69 · « **Reply #58 on:** 07 February 2011, 04:35:35 »

There is a Sunder Omni that mount 2 C3 Master's to command a company.

Moonsword · « **Reply #59 on:** 07 February 2011, 08:33:25 »

That looks like it ought to do the job. I would note that they're getting increasingly strict about designs outside of the design boards, though.