Mercenary Hall

[Klat]

It's always kinda surprised me that C3i didn't take off with mercs; just seems more their style with each unit contributing rather than one making the sacrifice to mount a C3M. I suppose C3i would be a simple enough refit on some C3S mechs like the MAD-5R, but losing the ECM would hurt.

[Demon55]

I would guess in the jihad era C3 may be more common.  The longer it has been on the market the more likely I would expect a few to trickle down or be bought my mercs.

[Davout73]

I found myC3's in the warehouse behind the flour....

Davout73

[Top Sergeant]

I sold my C3 so I could get the cash to fix my bloody mechs!

[Klat]

The brats on my dropper keep stealing mine to play trid-games on  :P

Another easy fix for units with slaves and no masters is to swap to TAG I suppose.

[Reaver]

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

Any Sunder I get is going to be immediately sold.  It's a fine mech, but I can buy an entire lance of Penetrators or 7M Thunderbolts for the price of one of those beasties.  It's just not worth it to keep it around.

[Fear Factory]

The Damned Scallywags REPORTING IN!!!  :D

What's all this talk about repairing 'Mechs?

[Klat]

The Damned Scallywags REPORTING IN!!!  :D

What's all this talk about repairing 'Mechs?

Glad to have you sir!

Repairs? I dunno, I just break the stuff. The techs are the ones who fix it. If I break it real good then they send me a bill for overtime. We have an understanding, me and the techs.

[Demon55]

It is important to keep the support boys and girls happy. 

Also it is sad that most omnis need to be sold immediately, but money is life for us.  Besides there are so many nice standard IS mechs available.  My unit recently captured a Raijin, it will likely be sold to get some lights as one of my mech companies needs a dedicated scout lance.

[Top Sergeant]

The simple version of my merc regiment's organization.

(CS= Combat Support)

[Fear Factory]

Glad to have you sir!

Me too!

Repairs? I dunno, I just break the stuff. The techs are the ones who fix it. If I break it real good then they send me a bill for overtime. We have an understanding, me and the techs.

It is important to keep the support boys and girls happy.

Mine are pretty good.  If it's broke, they don't fix it, they just get by with slapping on a new rocket launcher or machine gun system laying around.  Then, I give them beer.  Lots and lots of beer.  AND women.

[Demon55]

I should have said that differently.  Keep them happy (they get paid and fed not beaten) if they keep stuff working even the things the fighting boys and girls break.  If they refuse to do their jobs they can be motivated by discipline  [whipit], which will make them unhappy enough to work or they will be replaced.

[Rainbow 6]

I should have said that differently.  Keep them happy (they get paid and fed not beaten) if they keep stuff working even the things the fighting boys and girls break.  If they refuse to do their jobs they can be motivated by discipline  [whipit], which will make them unhappy enough to work or they will be replaced.

It always pays to keep the boys and girls who handle the logistics happy.

[RedMarauder]

When i've enoyed being a merc it has always been at the head of my own unit.  Dealing with things like logistics, budget and so on are challenges sometimes in their own regard.  I've prefered the image of the mercenaries that have to keep getting contracts in order to keep going, over extremely prosperous units that can really pick and choose contracts.  But, then again, i've always liked having to deal with things like death letters and things like that.  There's no patriotic excuses for mercs, no one forces them to fight, so it sometimes brings up issues.

I agree wholeheartedly.  Funny, it helped me learn to manage my money when I HAD to keep track of that and learn to spend on needs instead of wants.  I saved quite a bit for that Volkswagon.

[Klat]

I agree wholeheartedly.  Funny, it helped me learn to manage my money when I HAD to keep track of that and learn to spend on needs instead of wants.  I saved quite a bit for that Volkswagon.

Me too. I took a couple of bookkeeping courses and I have to say that learning to manage a merc unit made the classes so much easier  :D

*Warning, I get a bit preachy below. Please consider this in character and don't take it too seriously. This is about merc finances not your finances, thanks.* 

[soapbox]

Managing the unit's consumables made me love energy weapons, and watching assorted leasing\financing schemes eat other units alive has been very educational. You know your unit is in trouble when you're just looking at the monthly payments. Note to mercs; your employer wants you to go into debt. The more debt you take on the more they own you. For mercs debt=slavery. For employers debt=money. That said, sometimes debt is an inevitable part of the profession. Be careful, and remember that mercs do it for money first and toys second.

[Top Sergeant]

I assume small arms power packs can be recharged from the fusion engines of the AFV's. Makes sense does it not?

[RedMarauder]

I think post-Jihad is a prefect time to command a small upstart mercenary unit:

* Most of the big names are gone from business forever or out for a while, so it's a chance to build a reputation for yourself, while not being intimidated or overshadowed by large, multi-regiment commands;

* Action is mostly small-scale, so chances are you won't get nuked by accident during a Capellan onslaught, or overrun, when a FedSuns RCT suddenly decide to strike your LZ with all its units simultaneously, or caught betweet two clashing armies, each deploying several regiments worth of 'Mechs. A BattleMech company is once again a formidable force to be reckoned with;

* Various state militaries are going through some serious rebuilding, so they probably will rely on mercs more (FedSuns already do, deploying small merc outfits in a new type of formation known as FedSuns Mercenary Commands, and even the Dragon seems to entrust mercs with the safety of their Dropship and Jumpship factories).

He's hit on a lot of reasons I chose the post-jihad period.  The market is wide open and ready to be filled.

[Klat]

He's hit on a lot of reasons I chose the post-jihad period.  The market is wide open and ready to be filled.

Absolutely agree 100% This is why the FMC concept is such a big deal to me; it's a much more logical way to hire mercs and provides for some serious RPG opportunities. I'm working on fleshing out my idea of "lease to own" mechs for another DC merc campaign and I think the FMC model may be a good way to introduce NPCs and rival units.

[Demon55]

With the reduction in the militaries of the Successor States their can now be enough of a vacuum to be filled with us mercenaries.  The trick is for us not to do our jobs too well as we will find ourselves out of work.

[Requiem_for_a_Moth]

So should a post-Jihad merc unit still be using the old method of determining tech rating (as found in the Chaos Campaign rules and other sources)?

It seems (to me, but I have poor knowledge of such matters) that by this time standard level tech would be pretty much the norm, making B or A tech ratings easy to achieve.

I think Dread Moores Warchest system on the old forums used era of introduction to determing rating. Are there enough introductory level mechs still running around to make determining tech rating the old way remain useful, or should it be updated to reflect the influx of new technology?

[Klat]

So should a post-Jihad merc unit still be using the old method of determining tech rating (as found in the Chaos Campaign rules and other sources)?

It seems (to me, but I have poor knowledge of such matters) that by this time standard level tech would be pretty much the norm, making B or A tech ratings easy to achieve.

I think Dread Moores Warchest system on the old forums used era of introduction to determing rating. Are there enough introductory level mechs still running around to make determining tech rating the old way remain useful, or should it be updated to reflect the influx of new technology?

The Jihad era saw some strange things happen technologically. Undoubtedly many of the (few) remaining SW designs were destroyed while a plethora of new tech was spread everywhere. Heck, the Diamond Sharks are selling Phoenix Hawk IIC 7s to mercs. At the same time much of the manufacturing capacity and infrastructure was razed, forcing many to look to retro-tech designs in a desperate bid to get units to the field. For now I would say leave it alone as I think that a fair number of budget units have been forced "down tech" and IIRC some old (though not primitive) mechs are in production that are considered introductory rules.

I'm no expert though, and a dedicated thread will get you a better answer.

[OverKill]

We are starting off with the pre-clan invasion period with our games but after reading "Wolves on the Border" (which I just finished and LOVE) I can honestly say that my chances of working for Takashi Kurita are about zero... Z.E.R.O...

Those fools can barely keep their own realm together with all the scheming and scamming and plotting that the individual "Generals" and "Warlords" do. I mean really?!?!? Then to have a good guy have to commit seppuku cause he "failed" in killing his friend and destroying the dragoons? What a waste of good personnel.

I think I'd work for anyone but Kurita. No amount of ComStar-bucks could get me to change my mind either.

[False Son]

We are starting off with the pre-clan invasion period with our games but after reading "Wolves on the Border" (which I just finished and LOVE) I can honestly say that my chances of working for Takashi Kurita are about zero... Z.E.R.O...

Those fools can barely keep their own realm together with all the scheming and scamming and plotting that the individual "Generals" and "Warlords" do. I mean really?!?!? Then to have a good guy have to commit seppuku cause he "failed" in killing his friend and destroying the dragoons? What a waste of good personnel.

I think I'd work for anyone but Kurita. No amount of ComStar-bucks could get me to change my mind either.

It's a little more complicated than that.  Bear in mind that the DC and WDs were largely good friends in terms of mercenary-employer relationships.  The problem really was Samsanov and Takashi.  The Coordinator already backed Samsanov when he embarrsed another Warold (the name escapes me) and from that point on, in order to not look like he made a mistake by backing Samsanov, Takashi stood behind many of the man's inhumane choices.  It was really a case of trying to save face.

Also keep in mind that just prior to the 4th SW the DCMS was the most feared military in the Inner Sphere.  With the Dragoons in their service and the building of the Ryuken the DC was poised to be a big deal.  However, the atrocites commited by Samsanov and the sometimes irrational and vague nature of Bushido meant that even though the entire DCMS is not a monolithic organization that cheered on the murder of Dragoon dependants, the entire DCMS would have to obediantly shoulder the responsibility.

By Wolf Pack there is some more insight to how Takashi actually fealt toward the whole mess.  He was repulsed by Samsanov's tactics, but was bound to hold a vendetta against Wolf for the insults suffered.  Sad really.  Even Teddy K, who really couldn't give a hoot about Takashi's code still told Wolf he would pursue it to the most terrible ends if Wolf didn't let go.  It says alot not only of the Dragon, but also of human nature, stubborness and the variations of the definitions of honor.

[RedMarauder]

I only worked for them once, but that's how I got my pair of Sai areofighters.  They were part of the payment for our contract, which was a particularly dangerous raiding contract.  Other than that, I don't think I'd work for them again, given that they've already once tried to murder off all the mercs in the Inner Sphere.  Whose to say some nutjob Kurita leader wouldn't try it again.

[OverKill]

It's a little more complicated than that.   

I can hardly wait. I have the first 16 books (in terms of order of events and timeline) already bring shipped and arriving bit by bit. That stretches from sword and dagger to wolfpack I believe.

[Dread Moores]

I think Dread Moores Warchest system on the old forums used era of introduction to determing rating.

It did, sorta. I used era, as the eras are now used on BT products. It easily correlates to most TROs, and I found it quite a bit easier (which was important to me, perhaps not everyone). And yeah, I'm pretty much in agreement about the Intro tech being common enough to see higher tech rating units as common post-Jihad. Simple refits for even things like double heat sinks or FF or what-have-you are going to be fairly easy with the salvage generated from the Clan Invasion moving forward.

Which reminds me: I really need to go back and finish that new version of the Campaign System at some point.

[Deathknight69]

Which reminds me: I really need to go back and finish that new version of the Campaign System at some point.

That's sounds like a great idea DM. I'm looking forward to it.

The D.C. can be a notoriously bad Merc employer until Teddy K's reforms. Then they marginally improve to something resembling decent (YMMV). Just depends on how "canon" you do things.  I've been on both sides of that coin w/ the D.C. The first time was a 3025 era unit that took a contract for garrison duty on the Rasalhague District/Steiner border. We got stomped by the 10th Lyran Guard. The next time was during Op Bulldog. We kicked Smoke Jag ass and made off w/ a haul salvage-wise.

[Requiem_for_a_Moth]

Which reminds me: I really need to go back and finish that new version of the Campaign System at some point.

Please do!

[Demon55]

There are programs other than excell and word that I can use to keep track of my unit's stuff...Cool, where can I find them?

[Davout73]

There are programs other than excell and word that I can use to keep track of my unit's stuff...Cool, where can I find them?

OpenOffice had word and excel compatible programs that work very well.  If your proficient with Office you can transition over to OpenOffice with little trouble IMO.

Davout73