1. Battletech Mercenary Units

For such, any mercenary group will do, even the dregs. If they can point and shoot, someone, somewhere, will hire them. A companion volume to Classic BattleTech Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised, the Mercenaries Supplemental provides an in-depth look at a few of the best and many of the worst known Inner Sphere mercenary commands, including.

File: 10 KB, 150x150, 150px-MRBC.jpg Mercenaries Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: As a GM, I'm busy trying to come up with a sci-fi setting(less-than-hard sci-fi, but not full-blown space opera) where mercenaries are a feasible option for warfare between corporations, nations, and private individuals alike. My idea for the campaign is semi-sandbox. I need some ideas and advice, /tg/.

I want to avoid the setting just being BattleTech without the mechs. As awesome as BattleTech is, my players aren't big on the mechs, or the neo-feudal aspect of the setting, but they ARE big on mercs and PMCs, and I'd like to kind of cater to that. Also, mercenaries general thread Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Just read up on modern 'military contractors'. The US employs hundreds of billions of dollars' worth. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Read David Drakes 'Hammer's Slammers' series.

It's about a mercenary tank regiment and goes into a lot of detail about why and how mercenary forces have come into being and operate. It's also a damn good read. A number of the books in the series are up for free on the Baen Library: Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Well, I'd like to get into the nitty-gritty details. My players are cool with contract negotiation roleplaying and such. What kind of stuff goes into a mercenary contract? I know from Battletech that salvage rights, payment, threat assessments, and support are often negotiated about, but is there anything I'm missing? What can I do to make the other criteria more interesting to talk about in-character?

1. Classic battletech - Free Download. Battletech Technical Readout 3. Technical Readout: 3057. Starterbook: Wolf And Blake. Battletech Technical Readout.pdf.
2. Battletech Field Manual 3145 - Ebook download as PDF File (.pdf), Text file (.txt) or mercenary commands employed by the realms and Clans of the Dark Age. Mercenaries Supplemental. Update continues the Field Manual series of Classic BattleTech Mercenaries Supplemental Update details the fallout.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: In the Hammer's Slammers, Mercenary work is done through the Bonding Commission which rules on disputes and ensures that both sides uphold their contract, the mercenaries to fufill the terms of their contract and the employer to pay the mercs (usually, the price is so high that the nation's assets have to be mortgaged, but if you have to employ mercenaries, it's usually a case of 'Pay or you're going to get killed). So including an outside body that regulates the mercs can help to add to the sense of a wider business, aiding immersion and creating a more realistic setting as well as keeping your players in line (atrocities, defections, etc could mean that their license is revoked and they can no longer operate legally). Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Awesome. Thanks, anon. I'm already reading the first link.

It'll probably be a huge help. stationed actiiiit Lolwut, captcha? Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: The usual situation is that mercs get hired when you don't have any guns on the payroll but you need to get some fightan done, or the guns that you don't have are not enough to handle the job you need done. Or you want to use a 3rd party to do your dirty work so it's harder to show that you were involved. There are a lot of legal issues that drive these kind of situations, and what ever legal codes you toss out are going to affect the shape of the resulting PMCs and the kind of operations that they undertake, and if location A and location B have different laws regarding this kind of thing it will lead to different business possibilities as well as possible inter-group tensions, mostly because any good merc group is always thinking 'when do all the laws no longer apply?' And 'ok so it's illegal but can we get away with it?'

Let's say that government A doesn't want to spend piles of cash on a fleet of interstellar patrol craft to guard it's trade lanes, so it relaxes the laws on armed merchantmen. This leads to a whole bunch of freighters with guns (which government B doesn't like as they cause all kinds of hell when they come into B's ports). This influx of easy starship weapons into the market also leads to much more well armed pirates (which pisses B off since B hates piracy as much as any government) as well as a bunch of PMC groups which hire out their very well armed squadrons to guard trade convoys against the pirates. B REALLY doesn't like mercs armed with letters of marque, as there's a very fire line between a pirate hunting privateer and an actual pirate, and the MPCs are certainly not above picking off a few of B's transports when no one is looking, and these pirates actually have some degree of legal representation with a major rival government.

All of this leads to a very tense and very well armed situation, filled to he gills with mercs and mercing job opportunities. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: I want to avoid the setting just being BattleTech without the mechs. As awesome as BattleTech is, my players aren't big on the mechs, or the neo-feudal aspect of the setting, but they ARE big on mercs and PMCs, and I'd like to kind of cater to that. Just remove the mechs. There's several hundred tank models to choose from. Not to mention helicopters, hovertanks, aerospace fighters.

I can probably upload the battletech mercenary handbooks, versions 1 2 and 3. They handle stuff like salvage, payroll, maintenance, and contract negotiation mechanics. Along with the mercenary handbook adenum which adds stuff like constructing your own mercenary base. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Real mercenaries have no permanent bases and rely solely on MFBs. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: File: 18 KB, 320x200, Pirateflag.jpg Pirates were here, mercs fucking suck Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Well, it's relatively easy to play MechWarrior (or CB RPG or whatever they're calling it these days) without 'Mechs. And the neo-feudal stuff is de-emphasized in most of the recent fluff. What I'd suggest is playing as like a spec-ops merc team.

Just be the A-Team in space. You can deal with anything you want in the setting that way. It would be pretty difficult to totally get rid of 'Mechs, but I guess that's not really your point.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: Then explain Wolf's Dragoons. They control a whole continent on Outreach, and pretty much control the other one Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: You could use Traveler, just avoid the neo-feudalism. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 15: OP here If you're willing to upload dem rulebooks, I'd download em in a heartbeat.

Not so much for the mechanics - Worked those out already for the purposes of the system we're using, so we're good on the mechanical front for the most part. I'm purely interested in fluff, right now. The plan was for them to be a commando-style team anyways. I want to provide background info, because my players are awesome and just eat that stuff up. Plus, it'll give me ideas for rival companies and such that'll allow me to make the setting a bit more 'realistic'(and I use that term lightly). Rival businesses exist everywhere, and I wanted to use some of the ideas I might get here on /tg/ for rival companies and teams they'll be going up against or working with.

This post may appear to be tl;dr at first, but hell if I didn't read it, and hell if it isn't useful. Thanks, bro Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 922 KB, 815x2058, battletech - black cats cross path.jpg Starting to upload them now. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 316 KB, 816x1056, battletech - mercenary1.jpg 1616 BattleTech - Mercenary's Handbook.pdf This one's ancient, but I like how maintenance costs are calculated.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: I am running a homebrew that might suit your idea. Let me spam it: 2120 AD The world is going down the drain. National governments and megacorporations dominate small spheres of influence in a heap of garbage and toxic swamps with brutal force.

Rare habitats are shrinking fast. But availability of cheap clean fusion energy begins to spread. A rogue planetoid is detected. An enormous dark ice-crusted mass heading straight for the solar system and due to arrive within a few decades. 2152 AD With a common threat on the horizon mankind has pulled together.

Most of the old enclaves are consolidated under company rule. Science divisions cooperate through intricate emergency contracts. Reinforced survival habitats are constructed all over the Earth, and even in orbit, on the moon, on Mars, and on Venus.

The dark planet is caught in the sun's gravity, pulled into orbit, and ground to pieces by Saturn's and Jupiter's tidal forces. Most of the rocks end up in a dense ring around the sun between Mars and Jupiter orbit. Earth and the colonies are shaken but mostly intact. 2180 AD First probes sent into the asteroid belt after the catastrophe report back rich deposits of metals and silicates, frozen gases and even organic residue.

Extensive corporate fleets are assembled in record time and within a few years most resource gathering takes place in the emerging asteroid claims. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: 2240 AD Life is expensive in the asteroid belt. Everything must be harvested, processed, bought. There is no free clean air and water like on Earth. Company employees have life support provisions in their contracts. But settlers have to make do with what they find. Few get rich, and many die on some cold rock, unnoticed.

Company fleets get into armed confrontations over rich deposits. There are rumors of smugglers and pirates. 2250 AD Active biological components are discovered within the field.

They are highly infectuous to earth's biology and evolve rapidly in incredible complexity. Humans who come into contact with special microorganisms from the planetoid enter a metamorphic state within a few days that leaves them intensely psychotic and violent.

Most perish within a few days from self inflicted injuries or exhaustion, but those kept alive begin displaying remarkable abilities. Some develop undeniable clairvoyance, incredible understanding and analytic ability, or even telekinetic powers. But even then fatalities are still high and the infested become infectuous themselves after a while. 2264 AD Civil war in the solar system. Fear and panic over infested reports and rumors of infested on Earth have led to isolationism and mistrust.

Company commanders ingoring orders and taking their ships rogue, colonies dependent on resources from the asteroid field but closed to outsiders, diverse settler communities held together by the gold rush showing cracks with suspicion going around, times are bad. A new power emerges. A league of pure humans, taking control of government with brutal suppression of any opposition. Soon the mightiest military power, The League occupies great territories and rules by fascist oppression. It has proclaimed to exterminate all alien life from the solar system and 'sanitized' several settlements even just based on accusations and rumors.

Opposition is forming in secret. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: Big Easy is a settler hub in the newly formed asteroid ring between Mars and Jupiter. Some 3-400,000 people of predominantly American, Caribbean, and Asian descent live in this multi leveled city carved out of a large asteroid.

They grow food, mine and process ore and chemicals, repair and build machinery, and provide the most vivid cultural center within an AU. There is extensive traffic and trading with nearby company fleets, independents, and anybody who finds himself out here at this frozen frontier.

An extensive black market provides what lawful channels lack, and pretty much anything can be bought for the right price. Tech lvl is really basic, with fusion power and gravity wells, today's firearms, first attempts at ship to ship combat, bulky EVA suits and some robotics. No talking AIs, forcefields, FTL, or X-Wings. There are the upper levels for traders and bankers, the docks and cargo bays, private communities, slums, the heart of the station with bars, restaurants, clubs, theaters, and a red light district, commercial districts, industrial levels, a large abandoned mine, hydroponics, animal habitats, waste processing, and unknown to the PC a secret smuggler dock. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 321 KB, 814x1054, battletech - mercenary3055.jpg 1670 BattleTech - Mercenary's Handbook 3055.pdf Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: The timeline is set up to accommodate several genres.

From Asteroid Armagheddon through Space Mercenaries and Alien Horror all the way to Psycher Conspiracy. Big Easy Station is my main 'town' and my players are garrisoned there for a company fleet.

But the setting is more Wild West than Star Trek and there are uncountable floating rocks offering a rich and dangerous frontier. The biggest problem for me was conveying all the technichal details and limitations.

Battletech Mercenary Units

For example my players were hard to convince that their high tech EVA suit armor is not powered. Or that directed energy weapons (ray guns) are artillery pieces, not handheld devices. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 287 KB, 756x1019, battletech - mercenary - field manual.jpg 1701 BattleTech - Field Manual - Mercenaries.pdf The Pole Thu Oct 14 16: File: 228 KB, 810x1050, 378.jpg Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: this thread is now about space pirates Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 290 KB, 817x1063, battletech - mercenary - supplemental.jpg FanPro35016 - Battletech - Mercenaries Supplemental.pdf Mostly background information about various mercenary groups.

Mercenary contract information. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 267 KB, 816x1056, battletech - mercenary - supplemental II.jpg Fanpro35025 Classic Battletech - Mercenaries Supplemental II.pdf More info about various mercenary units, maintenance rules, also rules for building bases / hangars / landingstrips Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: Watch Firefly.

Read The Black Company. Do those things.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 160 KB, 1123x789, traveller - mercenary.jpg Traveller - Classic - GDW - Book 4 - Mercenary.pdf Traveller books now. Classic Traveller, which puts this at around 30+ years ago. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: I always toy with a sci-fi mercenary game where mercenaries are powersuit-wearing badasses. Each guy customizes his armor and weapons and stuff, similar to the group of Spartans in Halo: Reach. This idea also sometimes manifests as a WWF style fighting arena where everyone wears over-the-top power armor and fights hand-to-hand. Take that as you will.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: 30+ years ago Sheee-it, boy. That thar's old-skool.

Takin' dis shit for myself, so i thank OP for posting this thread Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 280 KB, 1056x804, traveller - broadsword.jpg Traveller - Classic - GDW - A07 - Broadsword.pdf These two books go together. Broadsword and Mercenary. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 133 KB, 688x972, oldrpgsdontdie.jpg Copyright 1978, so yeah. Very old sci-fi RPG books. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: I've actually done this, only the 'wrestling' was more of a bloodsport where teams fought each-other in gladiator arenas. Post-season, they'd return to their usual dead-end merc jobs.

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 16: File: 23 KB, 300x320, lumb.jpg dead-end merc jobs Yeeeeeah, hi, I'm gonna need you to come in on Thursday, we're doing a pirate-hunting mission. And, yeeeeeah, I'm gonna need you to bring your own grenades, we're kind of running low. Dead-end office job? Am I funny yet? Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: File: 348 KB, 816x1056, battletech - mercenaries supplemental update.jpg Oops.

35028 - Mercenaries Supplemental Update.pdf Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: Not a complete failure, I got a chuckle out of it bro Needs work Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: OP here. Thanks, bro, you're a lifesaver. All this stuff's going to be good readin' Anyone got suggestions for mercenary company names, or histories and the like? Both stuff that sounds cool, and stuff that seems a bit more professional. Anything you've used in your own games? I've got a lot of ideas already, so it's not an imperative, but a few more wouldn't ever hurt.

I'd also like to run a few by you guys, if you're interested in listening. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: Sounds like you've put a lot of effort into this setting, OP.

Or is it one we'd recognize? Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: Well, it's a homebrewed one.

Like I said, I want to avoid it just being Battletech without the mechs. I've put a bit of effort into everything but the actual 'mercenary industry', which the campaign will focus on.

Since that's why I swung by /tg/, I figure anon has answered my questions with their awesome PDFs and the Hammer's Slammers books. Basically, the idea is, soft sci-fi, without going headlong into space opera territory.

Humans are expanding, and divided into a number of different nations. There aren't THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of colonized worlds.

At most, thirty to forty 'core-ward' ones, surrounding Earth and a bunch of barely-settled fringe colonies. Then the aliens show up(they don't come in peace). The ongoing war on the fringe with alien forces isn't going to be major in the campaign, but it's an option for the players to pursue. A lot of the stuff I'm also throwing out there for my players will involve proxy wars between nations fought by the mercs they hire, and corporate sabotage. Anonymous Thu Oct 14 17: soft sci-fi, without going headlong into space opera territory.

colonized worlds. At most, thirty to forty 'core-ward' ones, surrounding Earth and a bunch of barely-settled fringe colonies. How is that not space opera?

Anonymous Thu Oct 14 19: I don't see any green-skinned alien women, for one. The Pole Thu Oct 14 23: File: 35 KB, 293x475, 945.jpg bampf.