How to start a Traveller Mercenary campaign?

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Casey:
Looks good so far. Sounds like Seven Samurai and the Western The Magnificant Seven. Just make the pcs say abandoned* mercs (ex-Marines etc.) with no creds but cloth/combat armor and some ACRs and such. Better than the villagers and most of the bad guys but not invincible.

* the party may feel betrayed by their patron and/or company who may view the party as "unhonorable" for comitting some crime or are just trying to pin it on the party. A seed for the next adventure segment once they get off planet.

Casey

Ooh nasty! I like it, it lets them 'recover' the stuff they got during prior history, without letting them use it during the first few firefights.

I have seen both those movies BTW. Most recently I caught the Magnificent Seven on midday TV (one of the few advantages of being between jobs).

The best way to do this would be to have them equipped with someone else's equipment (to get around someone lugging their PGMP with them everywhere). That also reduces their specialisations etc to a more manageable level when fighting mere bandits/apes.

When the Kafoe arrive they can engage in a race to see whether they can get their real stuff before the raiders hit ... hmmm, I wonder how I should set that up?

 

[chrisr]

have you considered running the PC's as active troops rather than mercs? I introduced my players to T20 combat by running a spec. ops assault on a small installation on a vaccuum world.

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by ChrisR:
have you considered running the PC's as active troops rather than mercs? I introduced my players to T20 combat by running a spec. ops assault on a small installation on a vaccuum world.

Not a bad idea for most groups, but I've got one player who will take ont he leader role if he's give free rein, but if he thinks he needs to follow someone's orders (even an NPC) he quickly takes on the aspect of a mindless berserker. It's annoying, but once you realise what's happening easy to get around.

 

[BetterThanLife]

How do y0ou end up with enough money from mustering out to buy PGMP's and Battledress? With only 3 rolls on the cash table and not being able to take a weapon that costs more than Cr1500 as a mustering out benefit... Besides if they want to form a merc unit then they need to equip the new recruits. And it may be pointed out that it is extremely beneficial to have the majority of them armed and armored the same. (Though a support weapon or two is to be expected.)

Second you need licenses to buy such things and as the characters don't have an Established Mercenary Unit (yet) they can't get the license.
That is a simpler fix. But I have yet to be able to roll a character, that wasn't a nobel, have enough to equip himself with an FGMP and Battledress much less his buddies. (Combat Armor and Gauss Rifles, if you are lucky and can get the permits, yes but battledress and FGMPs, never seen it.) Though in CT there was no limit on which weapon you chose and could roll the Weapon benefit more than once and sell FGMPs. T20 specifically limits how much weapon you can receive on mustering out.

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
How do y0ou end up with enough money from mustering out to buy PGMP's and Battledress? With only 3 rolls on the cash table and not being able to take a weapon that costs more than Cr1500 as a mustering out benefit... Besides if they want to form a merc unit then they need to equip the new recruits. And it may be pointed out that it is extremely beneficial to have the majority of them armed and armored the same. (Though a support weapon or two is to be expected.)

Second you need licenses to buy such things and as the characters don't have an Established Mercenary Unit (yet) they can't get the license.
That is a simpler fix. But I have yet to be able to roll a character, that wasn't a nobel, have enough to equip himself with an FGMP and Battledress much less his buddies. (Combat Armor and Gauss Rifles, if you are lucky and can get the permits, yes but battledress and FGMPs, never seen it.) Though in CT there was no limit on which weapon you chose and could roll the Weapon benefit more than once and sell FGMPs. T20 specifically limits how much weapon you can receive on mustering out.

Well ... battledress IS only Cr71,655.20, which is affordable for most people if they save up their Cr. I must admit I forgot about the limit on the # rolls on the cash table, but taking Gambling does make that better (and some careers get cash bonuses). And don't forget the odd character winding up with a significant share of a free trader or seeker, who then sells it ... even MCr1 will go a long way.

Also, remember that these guys are outside the 3I, there are fewer rules to follow in independent areas (although Battledress should be more expensive).

T20 rules for mustering out equipment are strange. For example the limit of Cr5000 for a vehicle means that NO grav vehicles (e.g. air-raft) will ever be given to a character. To my mind that is a bit weird. It is even very limiting when it comes to wheeled vehicles (only a Jeep is under that amount, even a Ground Car is Cr5440). IMTU I have increased these limits, although the weapons available are still limited.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Actually selling a ship that is earned as a mustering out benefit isn't practical unless they rolled it 5 times. (And own it outright or they are a Corsair.) Otherwise they have to make payments. Remember the price of a ship when financed is actually 220% of the starting price of the ship. You are upside down in it until you are paid off. The biggest supply of used ships is from people that paid them off early, ships that companies declare surplus and repossed ships. YOu can't muster out with a Free Trader and sell it for the value of the free trader you still have to pay off the loan. (Unless you really want them to have all that money.) The best you can muster out with on the cash table is under Cr200,000 and as a practical matter most characters will have less than that.

The Cr71,000 for Battledress is Imperial price to a licensed entity in quantity.

Without licenses you can expect that price to at least double. And only some members of the unit will have it. It is difficult to maintain without proper support. (Combat Armor is a much better buy and is almost as much.) Besides Simply walking down a narrow corridor or alley is a problem in Battledress. (It is 3 times the size of a person after all.)
They can all be walking tanks if they want, but they won't have much in the way of firepower, they don't fit well in transports and will get easily outmaneuvered and some moron is going to use a LAW on them. Well the closest thing to a LAW is a HEAP Grenade, but it works. You also can take a Crit from a Cutlass and a Machinegun isn't going to be laughed at by the Cr71K Battledress. (Though the Marine Battledress IMTU is another matter.)

Originally posted by Falkayn:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Bhoins:
How do y0ou end up with enough money from mustering out to buy PGMP's and Battledress? With only 3 rolls on the cash table and not being able to take a weapon that costs more than Cr1500 as a mustering out benefit... Besides if they want to form a merc unit then they need to equip the new recruits. And it may be pointed out that it is extremely beneficial to have the majority of them armed and armored the same. (Though a support weapon or two is to be expected.)

Second you need licenses to buy such things and as the characters don't have an Established Mercenary Unit (yet) they can't get the license.
That is a simpler fix. But I have yet to be able to roll a character, that wasn't a nobel, have enough to equip himself with an FGMP and Battledress much less his buddies. (Combat Armor and Gauss Rifles, if you are lucky and can get the permits, yes but battledress and FGMPs, never seen it.) Though in CT there was no limit on which weapon you chose and could roll the Weapon benefit more than once and sell FGMPs. T20 specifically limits how much weapon you can receive on mustering out.

Well ... battledress IS only Cr71,655.20, which is affordable for most people if they save up their Cr. I must admit I forgot about the limit on the # rolls on the cash table, but taking Gambling does make that better (and some careers get cash bonuses). And don't forget the odd character winding up with a significant share of a free trader or seeker, who then sells it ... even MCr1 will go a long way.

Also, remember that these guys are outside the 3I, there are fewer rules to follow in independent areas (although Battledress should be more expensive).

T20 rules for mustering out equipment are strange. For example the limit of Cr5000 for a vehicle means that NO grav vehicles (e.g. air-raft) will ever be given to a character. To my mind that is a bit weird. It is even very limiting when it comes to wheeled vehicles (only a Jeep is under that amount, even a Ground Car is Cr5440). IMTU I have increased these limits, although the weapons available are still limited. </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
The best you can muster out with on the cash table is under Cr200,000 and as a practical matter most characters will have less than that.

The best you can muster out with from ONE career will be MCr1.5 once the T20 Player's Handbook arrives (go the Diplomat prior history!). But as T20 allows you to roll muystering out benefits per career you enter, you could conceivably roll 3 times per career and do a different career per term, leading to perhaps 3 * 7 = 21 rolls, ignoring possible extra rolls for cash bonuses, promotion to 01 etc.

My advice would be to not make money the deciding factor, as that sort of limit just begs to be gotten around. Instead I would tell them thay could buy battledress, but make it hard to find soemone willing to sell it to them, to the extent that they can't be bothered doing it. Even then,. there is a chance they will just go ahead and do it (which is fine, that's why YTU has mercs in battledress, because they CAN BE - just keep the Imp Marines handy).

My original point was that it is nice sometimes to remove their toys from them so that they can see how they fare without their custom designed range shooting pistol that is personalised to them, and instead see what a plain old SMG is like.

 

[Capt. Blacklight]

Originally posted by Bhoins:

Besides Simply walking down a narrow corridor or alley is a problem in Battledress. (It is 3 times the size of a person after all.)

Can I ask were you find that little tid bit of Information came from?

 

[slyen2002]

one thing i think may work is having one player a luteninet and is more or less incharge of the merc unit and then have the other players be Sargents, of course this is based off of a platoon sized but you can easily boost it up.

for the sake of easyness you can have the rest of the platoon be NPCs and basicly the equivalent of 1-2 lvl warriors out of the DMs guide but being Mercs instead, this making the 1,2, or 3 level Mercs, making them not to powerful but able to hold their own in a gun fight.

as for equipment, you should have them pick it out but don't let them go to far. If where they start is in a backwater, they wont be able to pick up Battledresses and Fusion guns. look at the tech level of the planet they are hired on and the tech level of where they are going to be.

I recomend for the normal grunts to have Cmbt Envior Suits or Cmbt Armor, ACRs or Assult rifles, An autopistol,2 clips of ammo per weapon, a few grenades, and other gear they may need like comlinks, scopes,ect. there should be also a Heavy Weapons and Support trooper per squad that carries the normal load out only the rifle has been replaced with some sort of larger weapon. examples may be grenade lanuchers, machine guns, rocket lunchers, or laser weapons.

vechicles they may have would be: 2 APCs, a command vechicle, and some support vechicles. These would probebly be grav but the grav vehicles cant go everywhere and could be wheeled or tracked. crews would be armed with pistols, nothing big or fancey to slow them down.

as for a ship I would have to say a custom built one because they can get one built for their needs. If they wanted to have it land and be a target have it be streamlined, whereas if the wanted it to have a shuttles have it be so they land on the planet in those shuttles. but the one key factor is to let them decide and then play around that. for instance you can have their ship be sabatoged while on the ground or have them come under fire while landing.

As for size I would have to say 400-600 tons with 3-4 landing shuttles or a way out for the vechicles. also this means that it is well defened in case of attack. personally i would probobly put it at 400 tons.

well hope i helped out and i know how you feel because my group is a bunch of D&Ders also.

-Slyen

 

[BetterThanLife]

Funny I seemed to have missed that on the Diplomat table. But how many diplomats are tempted to go Mercenary?

(I suppose quite a few after frustrating negotiations, but as a practical matter...

)

OK, lets say they have plenty of cash around. There are still better things (or more important things) than Battledress. And since each member of a good Mercenary unit is going to want to be equipped the same with the same armor and weapons and a support weapon or two, if they are only equipping themselves then I suppose Battledress isn't out of the question. But what if they have tickets for a Platoon. (While there are a couple of Squad sized commando tickets normally the minimum size someone is going to want to recruit is a Platoon.) A Squad is 8-12 guys. (You have a Traveller campaign with 8-12 players? Congrats!) That would be in the neighborhood or 30-50 sets of Battledress. Plus weapons. Plus salary for the Battledressed trained troops.

Combat armor is a better choice for several reasons. One of which is, equipped with Cameoline you are much harder to hit than the stock battledress. (And the best way to survive combat in Traveller is don't get hit.) The second is it is easier to recruit people with Armor Prof (Vacc Suit) than both VaccSuit and Battledress. Third you can put more soldiers in Combat Armor in a transport than Battledress. (VL a Trooper in Combat Armor about 100Vl, Battledress 300Vl.)

FYI in MTU Marine Battledress is 249Vl, AR15, agility 6, with both leg and grav power. Cameoline, Strength 20, Dex 20 and a host of sensors. (And fuelcell powered so you can't find them with neutrino sensors.) The support version is about 300Vl and has a built in MRL, in addition to standard Marine weapons.

A Mercenary unit, in MTU, that draws the wrath of the Imperium and has to face Marines is about the same results as a Corsair that gets the attention of an Atlantic class CA.

Obviously Marine Strikers in MTU are based on Heinleins Starship Troopers' Mobile Infantry. (The book not the movie.)

No matter how well equipped you think you are someone out there has deeper pockets and is better.

 

[BetterThanLife]

That is the T20 definition of Battledress. A human is about 100Vl Battledress, (The Standard Design) is 300Vl and is considered a Vehicle. New concept for Battledress but I like the way it makes sense.

Originally posted by Capt. Blacklight:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Bhoins:

Besides Simply walking down a narrow corridor or alley is a problem in Battledress. (It is 3 times the size of a person after all.)

Can I ask were you find that little tid bit of Information came from? </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
That is the T20 definition of Battledress. A human is about 100Vl Battledress, (The Standard Design) is 300Vl and is considered a Vehicle. New concept for Battledress but I like the way it makes sense.

OK, so it's 3 times the volume, my best estimate is that is approximately 1.44 times the width and height.

That's within tolerances for being able to walk down a corridor, albeit tightly - the main problem in most corridors would be height, but the designers may have made it slightly wider than 1.44x and slightly shorter than 1.44x.

Personally I'm not so sure that 100vl would be required ror the human pilot, given that they don't actually drive it so much as wear it.

 

[slyen2002]

I could get 8 people to play.

a little chaotic because we would all be in high school, but i could get 8 people to play.

as for battle dress it makes you into a large size target. That means 8-12 feet tall where as if you where human you where medium 4-7 feet tall. so it more or less adds 50% of your total size to your total size.

at least that is how i always interpreted it.

Bhoins is right about the euipment everyone is going to have pretty much the same with little varations. now the commander may have a battledress but that highly unlikley.

well hope you get it sorted out.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Well 110 is required for controls and that includes the space for the pilot (About 100vl of that is pilot the remaining 10vl would be things like how to intrepret movement and an HUD.)

You can get smaller, I think the smallest I managed to get and max defense was 249. (Though I was working on a 200vl model). If you restrict yourself to not use Fusion (Stealth purposes) then having a uesful endurance becomes a problem. It is all a trade off.

I didn't say you would have problems walking down a corridor, I said walking down a corridor would be a tight fit. The problem is Marines in Battledress are expected to have to deal with more than simply walking down a corridor. Taking fire from an unexpected direction requires you to get out of the corridor. Or react to it. If you barely fit in the corridor that is a problem. Lighter/unarmored people don't walk down the center of a corridor, the walk down the edges in a combat situation. Even at your numbers you are definitely filling a corridor. (And I think your numbers are probably about right.) That is about three times as wide as a typical person in decent shape. In a restricted space your agility counts for nothing. If you were as restricted without wearing a vehicle where your dexterity counts instead of vehicle agility, I, as the GM wouldn't give you your Dex bonus to your AC. there isn't enough space to dodge in.

Now I am just over 28" wide. And I am fairly thin for my height. I am certainly not built like any Marine I have evere met. (And I have met more than my fair share.) 1.44 times that is just over a meter. Now that is shoulder to shoulder. If my elbows are out, like holding a rifle, I will barely fit down a 1.5M corridor.

That is one of the key problems with Urban combat, being restricted to areas with hallways without sufficient cover and no place to dodge. Now if you fill the hall you can't even make yourself as small a target as possible and even a richocet is likely to hit you. (Granted in Battledress a ricochette isn't likely to hurt you but still.

Battledress in close space is like a Tiger Tank or an M1 in a City. The terrain is too restricted and you lose most of your advantages.

That is why I love the T20 definition of Battledress. It is also why Marines in MTU don't only have Battledress. I like the idea that any shipboard unit has enough suits, unless it is specifically desiginated as a Battledress Drop unit, would be about 1/3rd in Battledress. One Company in a Batalion, perhaps one Platoon in a Company. It is for the Striker units. (And in MTU aside from a few speciality vehicles,like the recon sled) My Marines are basically infantry. Not mechanized or supported by tanks, but they are supported by fighters and Naval gunfire. (And they are liberally equipped with Grav Belts for mobility.)

That is my view of the Imperial Marines. It isn't neccessarily correct but it draws from some of the best Science Fiction on the subject and is in MTU employed that way.

So in MTU Battledress and things like FGMPs are restricted, and some examples may be available, like the "Standard Design Battledress" But the Marines, like the Navy are forces to be feared and reckoned with. A Merc Unit isn't going to try to stand off MArines so they are unlikely to violate the laws of wars, or shoot up a starport. the Average Marine that you run into is in COmbat Armor, but when they bring the heat, what you are facing is a walking M1 Tank with the back up of the New Jersey's 16" guns.

It isn't important unless the Mercenary unit is going after Imperial interests, perhaps by accident, or get on the wrong side of a deep space intercept, or something similar, but knowing that the force is out there should make Mercs behave.

Now volume of Battledress is definitely going to be important when it comes to Troop carrying capacity of a vehicle. Instead of 12 troops in a typical G-Carrier you are limited to 4.

Originally posted by Falkayn:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Bhoins:
That is the T20 definition of Battledress. A human is about 100Vl Battledress, (The Standard Design) is 300Vl and is considered a Vehicle. New concept for Battledress but I like the way it makes sense.

OK, so it's 3 times the volume, my best estimate is that is approximately 1.44 times the width and height.

That's within tolerances for being able to walk down a corridor, albeit tightly - the main problem in most corridors would be height, but the designers may have made it slightly wider than 1.44x and slightly shorter than 1.44x.

Personally I'm not so sure that 100vl would be required ror the human pilot, given that they don't actually drive it so much as wear it. </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[Falkayn]

Well, I must admit to a fondness for the FF:SW Deep Eyes armor:

In my mind that gives a pretty good idea for what Battledress might be like. You might think it is just Combat Armor though because of its small size.

But in terms of this campaign, I expect to be saying NO to any requests for starting with Battledress, and probably zero chances to get their hands on it longer term too.

A small bunch of PCs would be much better off acquiring other skills than wearing Battledress. T/Computer + Hacker would be good as would any number of personal interaction skills.

 

[BetterThanLife]

In your case with 8 people you would have a PC Platoon Leader, A PC Platoon Sergeant, A PC Squadleader for 3 squads and a PC Team leader for the other half of the squads. Or basically an LT, an SFC, 3 SSG and 3 SGT. That would be about right for a Mercenary Cruiser or the Kinunir. (Nobody wants to be a private anyway.) Or it means 3 Platoon leaders three Platoon Sergeants, the Company Commander and 1SG. But the commander wouldn't be equipped with anything the rest of the unit doesn't have. A Mercenary unit will have to be equipped to one standard. You might have a Battledress striker Platoon in a COmpany or the COmpany might all be equipped in Battledress but I don't expect to see a Squad sized Battledressed element in a Platoon, though an entire platoon in Battledress is another story. (How the Kinunir is deployed in MTU.) THe logistics don't make sense.

An Infantry Company might have an attached Tank Platoon but individual platoons aren't going to get a tank. (And that is both US/Nato Doctrine and Soviet Doctrine.) Not something I expect to see change. Remember in the Military 2 is 1 but 1 is none. (You are never alone you always have a buddy, someone to watch your back and someone that you watch their back.) In MOUT (Movement Over Urban Terrain) Combat training the smallest unit that is discussed is the Sniper Team, (2 people) and the Fire Team (4 people). Two go into the room, two cover the hallway. If it is a 5 man team then three go in and two cover. In a fire team you will usually have a couple of light support weapons, generally a Squad Automatic Weapon (Light Machinegun) and a Grenade Launcher.

Now with 8 people you can field one small squad. No NPCs. But that means no players will have extensive experience or they wouldn't settle for a Private's job. ANd the person with the most extensive experience was never more than a Junior Officer or a mid level NCO.

Originally posted by slyen2:
I could get 8 people to play.

a little chaotic because we would all be in high school, but i could get 8 people to play.

as for battle dress it makes you into a large size target. That means 8-12 feet tall where as if you where human you where medium 4-7 feet tall. so it more or less adds 50% of your total size to your total size.

at least that is how i always interpreted it.

Bhoins is right about the euipment everyone is going to have pretty much the same with little varations. now the commander may have a battledress but that highly unlikley.

well hope you get it sorted out.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Awesome Pic. I tend to think of Battledress like Terminator Armor and Combat Armor like Power Armor from Warhammer40K. It will go down corridors but it isn't going to be subtle about it.

I tend to agree that starting merc units shouldn't have Battledress. But my way of restricting it would be a little more subtle, like pointing out that they are going to need to recruit and equip a unit. (And pay them while you look for work.

)

You will find that your unit will be smaller than they want and less equipped than they want, but as long as it is at least a Platoon it is a place to start.

You can, with slight modification, convert a Sub Liner to carry a Platoon of Mercenaries and keep them fairly quick reacting. It can even provide space to carry their equipment and provide fire support. It isn't as good as a Mercenary Cruiser but it is about half the cost. (And unlike a Mercenary Cruiser it can almost pay for itself between tickets.

Especially if you can get a cheap loan as a Merc Unit, instead of the standard loan for a starship.) The Subsidized Merchant has similar potential but is limited to J-1.

Originally posted by Falkayn:
Well, I must admit to a fondness for the FF:SW Deep Eyes armor:


In my mind that gives a pretty good idea for what Battledress might be like. You might think it is just Combat Armor though because of its small size.

But in terms of this campaign, I expect to be saying NO to any requests for starting with Battledress, and probably zero chances to get their hands on it longer term too.

A small bunch of PCs would be much better off acquiring other skills than wearing Battledress. T/Computer + Hacker would be good as would any number of personal interaction skills.

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by slyen2:
I could get 8 people to play.

Shame about the driving time to Sydney.

 

[slyen2002]

yea if only i had one of those nice Pressurized Air/Rafts!

but i can get 8 people to play the only problem is getting them to show up on a regular basis and them not annoying me to death with questions like "How do I pick my skills?" for the 438th time.

Can't you tell i just love playing games with a bunch of Sophmores and Freshmen when im a Junior!

Its fun to be 16. (insert random sarcasm here)

 

[BetterThanLife]

Easy solution, preroll teh characters and don't let them pick skills in the first place.

Then you only have to worry about new skills when they go up a level. Or they die.

Originally posted by slyen2:
yea if only i had one of those nice Pressurized Air/Rafts!

but i can get 8 people to play the only problem is getting them to show up on a regular basis and them not annoying me to death with questions like "How do I pick my skills?" for the 438th time.

Can't you tell i just love playing games with a bunch of Sophmores and Freshmen when im a Junior!

Its fun to be 16. (insert random sarcasm here)