"looking for more money, ey, mercenery?"

[Kassy]

I'm looking to make a plot on mercenery PC's and those just out  to make money, and i've came up with a few points for a great campaign but i could use a little help with a few starting ideas?

Anybody?

[manfred]

It's hard to advise when it's unclear what you exactly want, but we have a bunch of mercs already: http://www.strolen.com/view.php?node=free_search&free=Mercenary

Maybe you'll find there something of interest - or you can tell us something more precise.

[Kassy]

Okay, i'll take a look.

Thanks.

[Chaosmark]

Since you have a topic, and a common motive for all of the PCs, you should brainstorm the many, many ways a group of mercs can make money. I would go with a "missions" system. They accept jobs from people, whether it be guarding a transport, a person, raiding a caravan, whatever. If they run the mercenary group, make them haggle for every copper they get paid. Don't forget an overall story that you need to mesh the missions with, otherwise it's just a series of game sessions, not truly a campaign.

Plot twists can include:
*not getting paid for their work once a mission is over
*getting double-crossed/set-up
*being told very little about a mission, then discovering that the caravan with supplies they need to get is actually on it's way to a refugee camp to help victims of warfare

[Kassy]

Thanks Chaosmark i'll see what i can do, not a bad few ideas there like, think i'll take a few that tickle my fancy.

 

[Kassy]

Does anyone have anything else, just out of curiosity.

[manfred]

Didn't we have somewhere a scroll about how PCs can earn money on the side?

[Strolen]

http://www.strolen.com/guild/index.php/topic,992.0.html

[Kassy]

Well if there is one then i haven't seen it, i don't really look around that much, because i haven't been here long.

But i'll be sure to take a look.

[Kinslayer]

Historically, most mercenaries (and soldiers in general) made the bulk of their earnings off of the spoils of war.  This is great if you can sack a town, rob the temple of its statuary, ransack people's homes, and the like.  It's less profitable--but still certainly worthwhile--to take the arms and armour off of fallen soldiers.  Swords, breastplates, and the like are expensive, and its not too difficult to find a buyer wherever you go. 

The default fall-back occupation for mercenaries between wars was banditry.

Another thing to remember is that many mercenaries were once part of a regular military.  They were discharged after the war, often as whole units.  This made it very simple to stay together as a mercenary band.  Another source of mercenaries was people injured during combat--you get fired from your regular soldiering job, but sword-swinging is all you know.  Also, there are people who stayed in the field fighting as mercenaries after the war because they no longer had a home to return to.  This is especially true of those on the losing side of a conflict. 

[manfred]

"They were discharged after the war, often as whole units."

This made me think... let's say a warlord has the basic smarts telling him discharging his bloodthirsty army in his brand new kingdom is not a good idea. So after the war, as the situation is calming down, he would try to slowly convert his units into regular troops, such as they are needed, put them into local militias, and release the soldiers one by one, rather than whole groups. As the more useful mercenaries would be employed or wander off to other assignments, remaining would be the brutal hard core, light on listening to orders but heavy into looting, raping and pillaging.

These would be sent onto a 'small, but profitable' attack or raid against a random enemy, one which accidentally ends in their slaughter. Oops. We kinda forgot that's where the elite troops were stationed.

Now that would be a nice story for the history books.

[Kinslayer]

It is indeed foolish to let loose mercenaries or even regular soldiers into your populated areas.  Even those still in the service are usually kept occupied to help keep them out of trouble.  For the stragglers of a unit built just for the war, you march them out into the hinterlands for 'border patrol' before you fire them.  Presto:  instant player-character party without the "you meet in a bar" scenario. 

[Chaosmark]

Kinslayer, that was beautiful. I love that starting-group idea, and I'm whole-heartedly stealing it. Much obliged.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Me too. Thanks man.

[manfred]

A good idea indeed, it was put into the right place.

The original idea is still free, by the way.

[Kassy]

Whoop!, thanks Kinslayer and Manfred, i never thought of those, discharged militery unit, not a bad idea.