Mercenary Campaign

[DrSkull]

I'm planning a new Traveller campaign in a few months and have sketched out basic idea: players form small mercenary band, do a few small jobs, then get a chance to get their hands on a Broadsword class crusier (re-capture it from hijackers, return cargo to Mega-corp--as long as they don't look at what's in the cargo containers, they can keep the ship). The ship will be in bad shape, so they'll need to finance repairs, but there won't be a mortgage.

I was wondering what size mercenary units people have played campaigns with. I know I've done units that are from squad to platoon level, and once a unit that was about company sized (with 2 starships) but I didn't get a chance to see the full company in action. Is it a problem dealing with a large unit?

How do people handle "mercenary licenses". WHat I did in the past was require a 1000cr/trooper bond-refundable if the unit disbands--as a "good-behavior pledge" from the unit. And either an imperial knight, noble or honorably discharged Army,Navy or Marine officer as the CEO. This allowed the unit legal recognition, and permission to buy certain weaponry from Imperial Surpluss (at my discretion).

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Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson

 

[Mår Ekkertsen]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DrSkull:
I'm planning a new Traveller campaign in a few months and have sketched out basic idea: players form small mercenary band, do a few small jobs, then get a chance to get their hands on a Broadsword class crusier <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Part 1
Seems like a lot for so little no mater the condition. Who gives up ownership so easily.

Part 2
We have mostly done squad level stuff because most of the players like having there hands dirty.

That said, if you can abstract enough you can role-play any size you like. We have done brigade and battalion size actions but it more like wargaming. We role played the ops planing. the politics. The employer actions. We'd break to squad and play the advanced party. Then back up to command the operation.

 

[GypsyComet]

Considering the Broadsword is, what, more than a MCr per month new, you really have to be busy making money to keep one away from the bank. By comparison, a used model could almost make money doing strictly merchant work. Switching to a different Type C could get you more useable cargo space simply by dropping one or both of the subcraft and using their bays as cargo. It's the basis for the Jupiter and Capronix designs I worked up last year, and the Hammerhead that I haven't finished (sigh). All are Type Cs or conversions based on the Type C characteristics, though I used the original Type C (which carried two Pinnaces) instead of the later Cutter-equipped model...

 

[Gatsby]

A good behavior pledge, like bail, is only as good as how much it hurts. If the Mercs have a Broadsword cruiser, then 1000 Cr per trooper is chicken feed- they can always scrape off a turret for .5 MCr re-sale. So, why bother with it as a Ref.
Mercenary companies do exist, however, upon the good graces of a trust with the local governances. They don't always have to be on the same side, but they do have to keep their loyalty when hired (or hiring!) or their will be no work and the mercs will be classified as thugs.
As for forming the unit, use the players and Book 4 hiring rules. Let the players run it (to success or ignoble defeat)...your job is to determine the loyalty of hired NPCs, the trust level of government, the competition with other merc units, and if the players are successful, the fears/needs/desires of local government with a new army on their shores.

Gats'

 

[jalberti]

Most of my Traveller gaming (at least 75%) has been in the Mercenary setting.

The games usually were at the company battalion level. The PC's were senior staff members in the unit. The strategic planning, interaction with the patron and enemy commanders was role played. The actual combat was done using Book 4 abstract system and later the mass combat rules in the MT Referee's Companion and TNE World Tamers (One of the very few TNE rules I have used).

The GURPS Traveller Starmerc rules are the best I have seen for abstracting mass combat

The starships were not an important factor. A transport would arrive, place the mercs in low berths, and then transport them to the next ticket.

I found the Broadsword worthless for ground mercenary operations.

The adventures were a combination of wargaming and roleplaying which my group enjoyed.

 

[DrSkull]

I used the bond idea when I was running squad to platoon level games where no one had a space craft, but I see your point that with a Broadsword, the bond would be meaningless.

I will defintely be using Book 4 recruiting methods.

My inclination was to run a strictly ground game, but my players seemed enchanted with the "Happy Fun Ball" and are interested in running space battles too, so I thought that's the direction I'd go. I agree that the Broadsword is terrible for ground mercs as written. I planned to re-adjust fuel space etc to allow a lot more troop carrying: about 45 awake troops and 40 in cold sleep.

The reason they can get their hands on the ship for free is that a mega-corp was using it to transport highly illegal cargo (psi-drug or killer robots or captive aliens for slave labor or something). The local represenstative finds that he has a brief window to re-capture the ship and the PC's are the only mercenaries in system. He figures it's an old ship, needing overhaul anyway, and battle-damaged to boot, it would be a great incentive to keep the mercs from investigating exactly what the cargo is or asking any damned-fool questions.

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Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson

 

[phydaux]

some of the best Trav campaigns i have run have been merc games. i usually try to keep to action down to squad level, platoon at most (each PC then gets a squad of NPCs as back-up).

i try to focus the role-playing at after hours "blowing off steam". for instance one time i had the PCs in startown at the same time another, all female, merc unit was in port (The Death’s Head Battalion a.k.a The Stygian Bitches). i had one PC start up a romance while another got into a back-ally for-cash bare-knuckles brawl (the female merc kicked his ass and they wee out 5,000 Cr.). the female merc unit then sprung for drinks for everyone at the local bar and helped fend off the local police when they showed up to investigate the disturbance. there was merc bonding and fine role-playing all around. later i had the PC get into a striker ticket that involved an assault on a position defended by, you guessed it, The Stygian Bitches. lots of conflict and PC angst all around("Geez, she'll never sleep with me again if I shoot her. Maybe if I just maim her?").

when i do send the PCs into combat, i always try to make it a sucess only ticket, then force some outragous "Rules of Engagement" on them. I feel that keeps it more like role-playing and less like WH40k.

 

[DrSkull]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by phydaux:
when i do send the PCs into combat, i always try to make it a sucess only ticket, then force some outragous "Rules of Engagement" on them. I feel that keeps it more like role-playing and less like WH40k.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Oooh, neat. Give us some examples of the horrible burdens you've inflicted on the mercs.


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Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson

 

[DrSkull]

I did want to add that one nice thing about using a merc-ship is that each player can have at least 2 characters (a ground guy and a space guy) and various people get to be in charge at various times.

So player A can be ship captain, squad leader in squad 1 and private in squad 2

Player B can be chief engineer, Ground Force Commander and private in squad 1

and so on.

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Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson

 

[phydaux]

i put a twist on the old "Aslan males looking for land" ticket.

the locals hired the PCs to drive off the Aslans (~200 males). thing was, there was a local Xenologist who was "an expert in Aslan psycology". he kept insisting that if any of the Aslan males were killed, then their clans might take offence and come back to retaliate.

so the rules were:

1 PC could only carry a video recorder. no weapons at all for him. it was his job to record all the actions of the other PCs, as well as the reactions of the Aslans after the mission (from a distance via telephoto lens).

all the other PCs had one weapon only and they had to have a gunsight camera installed. it would take a snapshot everytime they pulled the trigger and show if they shot a kitty.

i sent then into the Aslan compound several times, each with a specific mission as outlined by the local Xenology expert.

1) go in and only kill the large livestock (cattle, sheep, goats). seeing as these are the primarry food source for the Aslans, the loss of these will surly cause them to loose heart and leave the planet.

2) when it is clear the Aslans plan to stay, the PCs are sent in again. this time, they are assigned to plant explosives in the pens of the small livestock (chickens, pigs, etc.). the loss of these will surly cause them to loose heart and leave the planet.

3) when it is clear the Aslans STILL plan to stay, the PCs are sent in again. this time, they are to set fire bombs to burn the crops. the Aslans don't eat grain but they grow it to feed their livestock. the loss of the grain, plus all the livestock, will most certinly cause them to loose heart and leave the planet. so says the local Xenology expert. it is about here i throw in an Aslan ambush party. I LOVE reminding them, while they are caught in a cross-fire, that if they kill any Aslans they forfit the success-only ticket.

If the PCs survive, and burn the crops, the Aslans leave and the PCs collect the money. If they burn the crops but kill any Aslans, the Aslans leave but the PCs DON'T get the money. If any PC's are killed, the Aslans get a moral boost, dig in and send for reinforcemants. and the PCs don't get paid.

and yes, i do draw alot from Vietnam for my Merc tickets.


[This message has been edited by phydaux (edited 15 August 2001).]