Mercenaries and Marauders Throughout The Land

[Gizzard]

My campaign features a series of city states which supplement their income (and influence and military might) by selling letters of marque, in effect licencing mercenary (and adventuring) companies.

Well, a Letter of Marque allows someone to attack an enemy of the State, right?

What I was thinking about would be the rules that govern small local mercenary groups; the kind that might hire out 5 men to guard a rich merchants house. The State doesnt much care about this sort of thing, there are no national enemies involved. But they do want to see Law preserved.

I initially thought that the city wouldnt have any particular laws governing mercenary groups, but as soon as the killing started, I realized that standard english-system "murder" rules dont really apply.

Imagine this situation: two merchants get into a trade war and their mercenary groups end up facing off in the street. Who is responsible for the ensuing bloodbath from a legal point of view? The individual soldier who slew another? The captain of the mercenary group? The merchant who gave the order to attack?

 

[mmadsen]

With a little editing, that post would make great back cover copy.

OK, SHARK, when you're done with all your other projects, get to writing a Mercenaries & Marauders book!

More seriously, how do mercenaries fit into a game world with clear Good and Evil sides at war? I can't imagine Vallorean Knights Templar taking too kindly to mercenary regiments that fight for the highest bidder.

 

[talien]

Mercenaries: Born of Blood

I swear, it's coming soon. Soon. No really.

You can view the cover here: http://www.otherworlds.cx/images/mercs.jpg

You can chat on the forums about it here: http://www.otherworlds.cx/sforums/f...T_ID=6&Forum_Title=Mercenaries:+Born+of+Blood

Soon, my precious, soooooonnn.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Hope we staff reviewers get to take a crack at it... (Ducks when he sees other threads about staff reviewers having to give good reviews for products...)

 

[barsoomcore]

Mercenaries on Barsoom feature in three specific ways:

In The United Duchies of Saijadan, a land with a historic but powerless aristocracy, run by ruthless trading families whose power cuts across feudal borders, mercenary companies are one of the last refuges of the noble. Many titled lords no longer able to maintain their lands have formed mercenary companies who now serve Las Familias and are an important part of the stability of the nation. These companies mostly earned their stature in the wars of independence against the Empire of Kish 30 years ago, and are regarded with honour and respect throughout Saijadan.

In the Free City of Pavairelle, for the past half-century the Prince has been forbidden to maintain his own army by the aforementioned Empire. As a result, both loyal and disloyal city leaders have started their own mercenary companies, reputedly for profit but many are in fact the burgeoning seeds of a revolutionary army. Spies and assassins fly fast and furious over the rooftops and through the sewers of Pavairelle as these various forces jockey for position and survival.

In the Empire of Kish itself, mercenaries rarely organize into companies. All citizens, male and female, must serve for a time in the army there, but once they are finished their term, many move on, seeking better opportunities than in the company of recruits. These wandering soldiers form a crucial part of the Kie economy, and a pool of trained warriors for the Iron Throne to draw upon in times of war.

The desert lands of the Narid face a different problem: Marauders. With the invasion of the Empire of Kish, the whole social fabric of the Narid has been thrown into turmoil and the myriad feuds and insults long-forgotten are getting exercised and worked out. It is a bloody, savage time in the enlighted land of the Emirs, and many have remarked that the wandering bands of criminals and petty warlords are doing more harm to the land than the invading Imperials.

Lots of different possibilities.

EDIT: Wait, that was four ways. Never mind. Oh, and the adjectival form of Kish is Kish + ite. Eric's Grandmother doesn't like it so much.

 

[Emiricol]

So far in my homegrown campaign, mercs have only been mentioned once, and that was backstory.

In another project I am in, there's an order of quasi-religeous mercenaries with chapters in half the countries in the world, and the hobgoblin empire prostitutes its legions out to aid its best trading partners in exchange for juicy contracts (among other reasons). But then, so does that damn lizardman kingdom. Punks.

 

[mmadsen]

My campaign features a series of city states which supplement their income (and influence and military might) by selling letters of marque, in effect licencing mercenary (and adventuring) companies.

Excellent idea. Do letters of marque make as much sense on dry land as they do on the open seas though? Pirates can seize vast treasures (from enemy states) and make a quick getaway. Can mercenary brigands?

 

[arwink]

Maybe not a large band, but a couple of teleport spells and some bags of holding could make your average adventurer a pretty good land-based brigand strikeforce.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Maybe not a large band, but a couple of teleport spells and some bags of holding could make your average adventurer a pretty good land-based brigand strikeforce.

Assuming you can get where you need to go in 10 minutes or less...


Actually..hmm...with a teleport spell, that's entirely possible...

 

[Khorod]

IMC, Mercenaries:

are mostly private security forces, in sort of a modern sense but with swords and such.

in one nation, one heavily overshadowed by a hashishim like assassin order, every soldier is essentially a mercenary- you don't get into the game without bargaining for a good deal. But then, you don't break or betray a contract. Most contracts are for multi-year terms of service, giving opportunities for renegotiation, but maintaining long term service.

in one continent, mercenaries are as in Novindus, of the Serpentwar series by Raymond Feist. I suggest those books for mercenary inspiration, they have some of the *best* examples of fantasy mercenary bands with history, colorful reputation, and so on, that I've read.


AFAIK, letters of marque were given to 'pirate hunters' because the nation didn't have the naval forces or training to take care of the matter themselves. On land, the army, guard, etc, would have been able to take care of such matters.

Of course, if most of the army is on the southern border fighting a war their might easily be room for expanding into mercenary security for those not conscripted into the army. Or maybe the last generation was wasted, along with the national resources. Its all the nation can do to maintain the integrity of the borders and prevent civil unrest, so selling letters of marque in an effort to get semi-official security wouldn't be a bad idea.