Mercenary Deployment and Conflict

[Dorn]

The Coalition, through their Mercenaries, probably has their troops in a lot of different situations.

The way it is right now, it seems almost as they can be hired by anyone and everyone. My question is, how do the Coalition handle this and how do they handle it if those groups are attacked?

Let us say for example, a non-Coalition Merchant hires some Coalition guards for his journey. The group is attacked and wiped out. Would the Coalition look to hunt down the people responsible, or would they consider it part of the territory.

Or if they were hired to guard a location, and they were wiped out? Would that cause them to seek out those who did so, or once again. Part of the job? For example, Ebon's Pass. If those Coalition troops got slaughtered, would Haiban and the Coalition actually care? Or is that a different example, because Haiban almost seems to consider it part of their "Coalition territory" so it would constitute an attack on Haiban itself?

Another example, a long-term conflict breaks out between shall we say Shadgard and Corvus. Coalition members are hired by one side to get involved. During said conflict, the Coalition members are wiped out. Would the Coalition itself become more involved and seek hostilities with the offending faction, or once again would it simply consider it part of the territory.

What would happen if both Corvus and Shadgard, hired Coalition Mercenaries and instead of putting their own troops into the field simply used the Mercenary forces to attack each other? Would the Coalition actually step in and pull one contract or would it let its Mercenaries hack apart each other?

[Kunren]

To me, it would be a simple question of that mercenaries get paid for a job, they do it or they can't. Might be some reparations to make if it fails but to me there probably wouldn't be any overt hostility over who killed them from the coalition at large (except maybe in the case of someone who purchased mercenaries for the sole purpose of having them killed). It would be different for the family of mercs (such as in the case of a son who vows revenge on his mercenary fathers killer) of course. There's nothing to stop a powerful merchant or official of Haiban from opening a contract against the people who killed those coalition mercenaries, as another example, had they been friends or acquaintances. As for mercs hired to face other coalition mercs, best man wins I'd say. However, though this is how I personally fee it would be, I've been very confused as to some of the GMs thoughts on mercs at times, so I may be completely wrong.

[Bryce]

I say if you hire out to someone, you're taking their faction on yourself and you're not a representative of the Western Coalition while working to fulfil that contract. I don't see why the Coalition would react if one of their mercenaries were harmed or killed in action. It's part of the business.

[Jirato]

I say if you hire out to someone, you're taking their faction on yourself and you're not a representative of the Western Coalition while working to fulfil that contract. I don't see why the Coalition would react if one of their mercenaries were harmed or killed in action. It's part of the business.

Pretty much this. ^

Some of their comrades may harbor ill feelings if their best bud gets killed on a job, but the Coalition as a whole woudn't get involved.

[sona]

I'm gonna need to get names and histories for all Haiban's town guards and the pass guards, including a list of immediate family and make sure the Coalition contacts next of kin to inform, and maybe send some payment the help, maybe offer to take in families and shelter them if they're struggling and offer them employment, babysitting services, and so on. Because I <3 Coalition.

[Jirato]

Keep in mind that the mercenareis are just that - mercenaries. It isn't the military. It's a hard, gritty, life. I'm sure they do take care of the families of fallen mercenaries in some form or another, but they don't go on the warpath against other entities due to conflcit arising during mercenary work.

I was hoping to reflect this with the expansion of Haiban, I wanted to add a much darker and seedier area to house the Mercenaries in, but I didn't really have time to work on it myself so kind of gave up that project.

[sona]

Hmm, towards seedy and mercenary, I'd have suggested a bar/barracks. Mercenaries tend to fit the "This is our inn/tavern. Don't mess with it, or Commander Locke will mess your face up- I mean more than it already has been." mold. Sona just seeks ways to keep herself engaged and interacting with the world, and she cares about her mercenaries. Hell, she'd fight alongside those grizzled, glorious bastards, if asked. So, I expect Sona to handle nicer stuff for them, and consider their families as well maybe. Not to mention it'd be totally profitable to give NPCs jobs working farmland near the city walls. Heck, if Sona could hire like 5 NPCs to haul handcarts and [crap] all day for her, she probably would. And she'd be happier with that riln going to mercenary families.

Not sure about the exact sort of mercenary flavor you're swinging for, but either way, I'd expect Sona efforts.