Party wants to run a Mercenary command

[kelgar04]

My party has gotten to the point where they have enough money to set up a merc unit the problem is I don't know how we should go about creating one.

Could someone give me som pointers?

[Kitsune413]

There are some books you could use. the mercenary field manuals have rules for it. Just kind of depends on how deep into accountant tech you want to get.

What kind of story are you wanting to tell?

[kelgar04]

Basically this is using the end of the last game where the party manged to get there hands on some signifigent funds from a combination of a lostech cashes and hygenomy gold that was found with it. One of my party members goals has been to found a merc unit. So when we meet up next we are going to create the unit. I already have an idea on how I want it to go since the campaine is set at the start of the fourth sucsession war on the side of the Lyran Commonwealth. So it's going to be mainly combat focused with some intrigue partake relating to a Lyran general.

[Wrangler]

Basically this is using the end of the last game where the party manged to get there hands on some signifigent funds from a combination of a lostech cashes and hygenomy gold that was found with it. One of my party members goals has been to found a merc unit. So when we meet up next we are going to create the unit. I already have an idea on how I want it to go since the campaine is set at the start of the fourth sucsession war on the side of the Lyran Commonwealth. So it's going to be mainly combat focused with some intrigue partake relating to a Lyran general.

It would keep it simple and go with Chaos Campaign/Warchest rules.  It keeps things basic if you don't get to crazy with size of the unit. It helps keep the players from getting too lost in accounting complexity of the older Mercenary Field Manuals and their suppliments.

[idea weenie]

I am assuming they were originally a House unit, and their starter Mechs were from a House unit.

If so, how much of their salvaged Mechs belong to them, and how much to the House?  This would be a way to make their merc force start a lot smaller, and with much less money than they were expecting.  Plus, assuming they were ordered to defend a world, leaving would be essentially going AWOL, with House Mechs.  They need to train up enough replacements to take their place, so the House doesn't lose any defenses.

If they found the gold and lostech, they will likely wind up trading most of that for Mechs that they can own.  The other option is to go to Solaris VII, and buy damaged Mechs, with their techs to bring them up to better capability.  Lots of politics here to make sure they get a good deal for the gold and lostech.

From there, since they are just starting out, their reputation will be rather low, so initial contracts will be bad options, low pay, or both.  They will also need to hire a Dropship and Jumpship whenever they want to go anywhere.

Their best bet in the meantime would be improving their position at the House Court, so instead of taking assignments, they get to pick and choose their assignments.  If they are in bad shape and need to repair, they take the Garrison/Cadre mission that a Baron needs help with.  If they see a problem and want to shoot stuff, they join the existing forces of a Count's planet, and are first in line to deal with attackers (and their salvage).

Let them start out thinking that getting a Dropship is the key to making money.  Let them have to deal with Dropship cargo fees, passenger tickets, etc whenever they have to rent a Dropship.  That will encourage them to go after a Dropship and capture it.  Once it is repaired, they use it to rapidly respond to attacks all over the planet.  But when they want to go offworld, introduce them to the fun of Jumpship fees, scheduling, etc.  The good part is they have FTL capability.  The bad part is they need to keep the Jumpship fueled up, protect it from pirates (a carrier Dropship that is using up a Jumpship Docking Collar instead of making money), and shmooze their way to the top of the repair/maintenance queue at a shipyard when their systems need to be overhauled.

[Maelwys]

There are really two ways to do it. The first is to use the rules from Field Manual Mercs Revised, converting the various MW3rd/CBT:RPG traits and skills to ATOW rules (assuming you're using ATOW).

The second is to use the Warchest/Chaos Campaign stuff. It really depends on how detailed/number crunchy you want to get.

[Deathknight69]

@Kelgar: Really have to go w/ what Maelwys said. I've been running/GM'ing Merc's for 20+ yrs (RL). Those are the 2 best ways to currently generate a Merc unit for multiple era's. You'll have to tailor it to your group's needs. That's not too difficult if you maintain control - so to speak - It's your campaign, you're in charge.

[McSlayer]

Ummm.... I really don't know why you would want to buy all those books and do tons of reading...

Just download mechHQ and give them a unit with a starting cash amount.... What more do you need to do?

.... They can buy what they need... And they will soon learn to buy spare parts in advance...

Nothing more needs to be done from a GM's perspective.

[StuartYee]

A simplified option is to use the Warchest Point system (convert C-Bills to WP or SP and vice versa).

Warchest Points are a pretty good streamlined method of keeping track of expenses, but it is VERY generalized. The advantage is you don't have to have tons of books, nor even a price sheet for individual components.

Personally, it's my guess that the average ATOW player doesn't find sitting around with calculators and spreadsheets very fun. On the other hand, an adventure revolving around trying to scrounge up some of the more rarer 'mech components in the seedy underbelly of Harlech City (on Outreach) could be an interesting adventure encounter.

The way I like to run these type of campaigns is by estimating the repair costs (using the WP/SP system as a point of reference) and telling the PCs, "Most of the parts you needed were easy to find and install except for..." The encounter to search for component x, can be as minor or elaborate as I feel is need to give depth to a "ScroungeTech" atmosphere. Or maybe instead of a part being rare, installation could be much trickier than average and beyond the skill level of the PCs- so the encounter is about finding and making contact with a mechanic for hire.

[ntin]

Word of advice keep the mercenary unit small. My player’s mercenary unit was approaching battalion size, figuring out repairs, salvage, replacement parts, staff recruitment, and so on, was becoming a lot of work on top of the normal GM tasks. 

[Lord greystroke]

I must say I use the Field Manual Mercs Revised rules and they work well but I wouldn't want to expand to mush as I an currently running a game with this and the unit is a combined arms regiment anything over that gets to complex to make it fast and fun the other consideration is how hands on the players want to be as they can a be a vital resource for work if they are hands on