Just some ability ideas.

[Kunren]

I was thinking abit about the mercs in general, and I began to wonder about mercs being soldiers, so I thought about some more "soldier" like abilities.

March:constant drills and training allow a soldier to march huge distances carrying nearly their own weight on their back.(allows -1 second of round time when moving along roads? And/or allows movement along roads as if one encumberance level lighter. Must be on their own feet, not a horse, to take effect.)

Cavalry training:You have been specially trained in mounted combat.(would function as a weapon specialization for any weapon specialsed for mounted combat,like the lance or sabre. Only takes affect while mounted.)

Chain of command:Allows a higher ranked mercenary to order a lower ranked one to attack or defend a target. If the lower ranked merc complies, he gets a small bonus to his rolls for a time and some guild points. If the lower ranked merc refuses, the opposite happens.

Enhanced forage:Soldiers on the March often must forage for themselves or starve. This ability lets you forage for a much larger amount of food than normal, at the cost of no one being able to forage in that room for a time.

Thoughts everyone?

[Jirato]

While I appreciate the ideas and will consider them, the whole mercenaries as militaristic soldiers theme is exact what I'm trying to move away from.

Hopefully I'll have some time to sit down and add some more rough and gritty elements to mercenaries soon.

[Kunren]

Oh really? I like the idea of moving away from that as well but the way they are set up is honestly pretty military seeming. Might just be the whole taking orders from people thing. I think a bounty board you would need to go to for tasks or something of that like would really enhance the feel of freedom and choice(even if code wise we still can't really choose what task we get). The view of mercs I have right now is a pretty strictly soldiery type thing, I would love if it was more kinda "loyal as long as the riln still comes. Unless someone else pays more, of course." Maybe Irwin could only directly contact a merc if a big job requiring a squad of mercs cropped up?(yay rp and events!)

Speaking of military though, I think it would be neat to have a military themed guild.

[Jirato]

Yup! I talked a bit about the bounty board idea I plan to implement in our last voice chat session with the players, not sure if you were in on that one or not. Unfortunately I've been tied up with other projects, but it's still something near the top of my list.

As for a military-themed guilds, the Templar and Wyrvardn both fit those roles, I think.

[Kunren]

Wonderful! I wasn't there unfortunately, but that's nice to hear. Hmm. I really don't know much at all about the wyrvardn. Would be tempted to make an alt to try it out, if I didn't have too many to keep up with already...

[Bryce]

Can you give them a bathe ability? Mercenaries always stink somethin awful.

[Makkah]

Just thought of something...

Much how traders can hire mercs as bodyguards/companions, it'd be cool if mercs could RECRUIT other mercs to join them on particularly tough tasks. Maybe you gotta share the payment, etc.

[Jirato]

We got rid of hireswords over a year ago. I think the Artisans would be a bit sore if we brought them back but gave them to mercs instead.

[Kunren]

Hmm, instead of that then, maybe there could be a command to "recruit" a pc merc to help you on your current task? Would increase the difficulty of the task, but raise the reward and give the merc a share of the gp and riln aquired.

[Fayne]

I do like the idea of being able to recruit other mercs, as long as it earned them each half the normal amount of riln and GP. I don't think a customer who hired a merc to do something would pay more simply because the merc they hired decided to recruit a buddy on their own.

[Lavi]

I don't think it'd be really in the interest for people to pay more for more mercs, but if Jirato is going to make a bounty board, maybe it'd an idea for Multiple mercs to get access to Bigger jobs with higher difficulty depending on how many mercs are in the group and an averaging of their melee and something else. So if merc A had a melee of 300 and merc B a melee of 700 that's a 500 melee average, so you could get a task that's say in a tier of 400 to 700 range? maybe have a mark or something to go kill or something. hmm. give the tasks ranks from say 1 to 8 stars? I don't know but I'd love to play a merc if there was something like that.

[Kunren]

More ideas! yay!

Tricks of the trade:
After a long time working in the career of a mercenary, you learn a few tricks. The smart merc takes any advantage he can get, oiling his scabbard, padding armor, blackening shiny parts of metal.
OOC:Provides a minor reduction of the penalties armor gives stealth.

Enhanced grip:
For a mercenary, his weapon is his life and his livelihood. Prying it from his hands is a difficult endeavor.
OOC:Provides a bonus to resisting disarms.

Armor care:
Mercenaries must often make do with secondhand, or damaged armor. The clever mercenary makes this armor work, gaining every ounce of use out of any armor.
OOC:Allows armor to be used at near full potential even after severe beatings.

[Dorn]

Yup! I talked a bit about the bounty board idea I plan to implement in our last voice chat session with the players, not sure if you were in on that one or not. Unfortunately I've been tied up with other projects, but it's still something near the top of my list.

As for a military-themed guilds, the Templar and Wyrvardn both fit those roles, I think.

Out of curiosity Jirato, just how exactly do you see Mercenaries then? I mean... what for example sets a Mercenary of the Coalition apart from someone else who offers their skills for hire in the same sort of capacity.

[Kunren]

Yup! I talked a bit about the bounty board idea I plan to implement in our last voice chat session with the players, not sure if you were in on that one or not. Unfortunately I've been tied up with other projects, but it's still something near the top of my list.

As for a military-themed guilds, the Templar and Wyrvardn both fit those roles, I think.

Out of curiosity Jirato, just how exactly do you see Mercenaries then? I mean... what for example sets a Mercenary of the Coalition apart from someone else who offers their skills for hire in the same sort of capacity.

I think most of the confusion comes from that the mercs aren't really similar to most mercs in fiction. In fiction, you will often see traveling troupes of masterless mercenaries, numbering anywhere from 12ish to several hundred, who travel to whoever will pay them to work either beside their armies or for specialized task in which the standard forces of whoever is buying the mercenaries are unable or unwilling to do.

Otherwise, you will see lone sellswords who will shack up with anyone who will pay them, and don't often work with others very well. They too will likely be traveling nigh constantly.

The mercenaries that clok has, however, are closer to an adventurers guild similar to those seen in RPGs often. Also, they are basically as an organization owned by the coalition, and only lend out single mercenaries to groups or sole people willing to buy one. That in and of itself is not a huge problem, but there is very little a single man can usually do. Even for tactical operations require speed and great skill, an organization will usually hire a small squad from a mercenary organization to complete it. Very few jobs requiring mercenary skill would be doable by a single person, among those would be bodyguard(often two to three preferred however), assassination, (these often work alone, but occasionally require squads when ordered from an organization such as the coalition mercs), and caravan guard, in which more are always preferred when affordable.

The problem, you see, is that mercenaries are able to be loaned from the coalition, but only at a one at a time basis, and the kind of people that go to an organization devoted completely to mercenary work is almost certainly going to need at least a small squad to do what they need to do.

[Dorn]

Yup! I talked a bit about the bounty board idea I plan to implement in our last voice chat session with the players, not sure if you were in on that one or not. Unfortunately I've been tied up with other projects, but it's still something near the top of my list.

As for a military-themed guilds, the Templar and Wyrvardn both fit those roles, I think.

Out of curiosity Jirato, just how exactly do you see Mercenaries then? I mean... what for example sets a Mercenary of the Coalition apart from someone else who offers their skills for hire in the same sort of capacity.

I think most of the confusion comes from that the mercs aren't really similar to most mercs in fiction. In fiction, you will often see traveling troupes of masterless mercenaries, numbering anywhere from 12ish to several hundred, who travel to whoever will pay them to work either beside their armies or for specialized task in which the standard forces of whoever is buying the mercenaries are unable or unwilling to do.

Otherwise, you will see lone sellswords who will shack up with anyone who will pay them, and don't often work with others very well. They too will likely be traveling nigh constantly.

The mercenaries that clok has, however, are closer to an adventurers guild similar to those seen in RPGs often. Also, they are basically as an organization owned by the coalition, and only lend out single mercenaries to groups or sole people willing to buy one. That in and of itself is not a huge problem, but there is very little a single man can usually do. Even for tactical operations require speed and great skill, an organization will usually hire a small squad from a mercenary organization to complete it. Very few jobs requiring mercenary skill would be doable by a single person, among those would be bodyguard(often two to three preferred however), assassination, (these often work alone, but occasionally require squads when ordered from an organization such as the coalition mercs), and caravan guard, in which more are always preferred when affordable.

The problem, you see, is that mercenaries are able to be loaned from the coalition, but only at a one at a time basis, and the kind of people that go to an organization devoted completely to mercenary work is almost certainly going to need at least a small squad to do what they need to do.

My issue with any of that, is you can say it, but it isn't reinforced ingame. There is no indication of that ingame. Zilch.

[Zoiya]

I'm brainstorming ways to make you guys more unique and interesting, and I'm keeping an eye on things here so keep posting.

I want you to have a purpose.

[Kunren]

I'm sorry can you elaborate Dorn? I will do my best to explain my thought process if you can give specifics please.

[Dorn]

Rereading Kunred, I think I mostly missed what you were trying to say. I get what you say, but I also don't think there is anything in there that is enough to differentiate a Mercenary of the Coalition from someone who isn't.

Lets go with the idea that Mercenaries aren't supposed to be a professional military outfit and are instead something else as per one of the earlier GM posts about that.

What would make sense, as a RP-reason and able to enforced and evolved ingame, as to why a Mercenary would want to join the Coalition. You could go with the idea that they're more sure to find work as they're a known group so people approach them for this sort of work but that doesn't really fly ingame right now. Even if large group based Coalition content was added in the form of tasks, with good rewards for coin were added what would stop non-Coalition members from coming along and reaping the benefits as well if they were automated content.

I could see non-automated stuff done, quite easily. Perhaps any of the numerous other orders in Clok need extra muscle to deal with something related to their own tasks. Perhaps a Tse outpost has been overrun with infested, and they don't believe they've the needed manpower to handle the task themselves. Not only would Tse be involved, but the Coalition would be as well but only they would be getting paid.

Take the same vein, but have the Church needing extra muscle or perhaps an old abandoned mine has been located that are overrun with Nether. The Artisans have heard a rumor of it being particularly rich in a certain metal, that they want, so the Coalition has put together a group to head there.

Its all going to involve combat, and with the way the Coalition is right now the most important thing would be that the Mercenaries get paid, and paid well. They joined to get access to the Coalition's contracts and money, so the Mercenaries who survive and do well should be able to show it.

Beyond that, I think some little things that could be done that I can think of the top of my head, is Artisan only areas should be accessed by Mercenaries. Maybe the Mercenaries can't make use of the services there, or be able to take as much advantage of it as others... but they're all Coalition. They may be different branches, but it might help bring a little unity to the fact that they're both there for the simple fact of making money and complimenting each other. The other thing, I'm not sure how to implement, would be the fact that if the Mercenaries aren't up to scratch then how are the Artisans supposed to be protected? Maybe Mercenaries should have a discount on Coalition services. Pay them well, give them a little discount, keep them happy, and have the money come right back into the Coalition.

[Kunren]

I like your suggestions a lot Dorn, bigger tasks like that are the end goal of my personal suggestion as well.

My suggestion, is that rather than solo work constantly, mercenaries would be formed into a number of teams, ranging in number from 5ish to 10ish. Then, mercenaries would be hired on a team basis in most cases, only rarely going out for solo work. Tasks would change from going out to kill a dozen infested, to over 100, from a single nasty individual, to a group of them. Any man can be hired to go kill a measley sum of infested, or a bandit or two, but when there is a whole group of bandits causing trouble, or a horde of infested, you'd look to the mercenaries. These would be the people you hire to get things done. The squads, considering the severe lack of mercenary pcs about, would likely be limited to several npc squads and a single squad consisting of all current PC mercs. Perhaps two or three PC squads at most.

This would allow mercenaries to have the best of both worlds. Still very rough and gritty, yet with vague military function within their squads (ie team leader gives orders, team listens usually). The coalition mercs would be clearly different than just any man offering his sword for hire, as a squad of mercs will do far more things faster and better than any single man could.

[Dorn]

This would allow mercenaries to have the best of both worlds. Still very rough and gritty, yet with vague military function within their squads (ie team leader gives orders, team listens usually). The coalition mercs would be clearly different than just any man offering his sword for hire, as a squad of mercs will do far more things faster and better than any single man could.

Problem here is, you're comparing a group of Mercs to one non-Coalition Merc. How is this different from a group of Coalition vs a group of non-Coalition.

[Dorn]

This would allow mercenaries to have the best of both worlds. Still very rough and gritty, yet with vague military function within their squads (ie team leader gives orders, team listens usually). The coalition mercs would be clearly different than just any man offering his sword for hire, as a squad of mercs will do far more things faster and better than any single man could.

Problem here is, you're comparing a group of Mercs to one non-Coalition Merc. How is this different from a group of Coalition vs a group of non-Coalition.

[Kunren]

This would allow mercenaries to have the best of both worlds. Still very rough and gritty, yet with vague military function within their squads (ie team leader gives orders, team listens usually). The coalition mercs would be clearly different than just any man offering his sword for hire, as a squad of mercs will do far more things faster and better than any single man could.

Problem here is, you're comparing a group of Mercs to one non-Coalition Merc. How is this different from a group of Coalition vs a group of non-Coalition.

A group of coalition mercenaries would always be working together, and more importantly, they have the coalition itself as an intermediary to get the group work. Squads could efficiently be lent out then returned to repeat the process, with the coalition itself handling all of the logistics and such. Squads COULD take freelance work, but as you say, if they did so they'd be no different from non coalition mercs. OOCly this would mostly mean a coalition squad would have constant group based tasks, while a non-coalition one would not.

[Dorn]

This would allow mercenaries to have the best of both worlds. Still very rough and gritty, yet with vague military function within their squads (ie team leader gives orders, team listens usually). The coalition mercs would be clearly different than just any man offering his sword for hire, as a squad of mercs will do far more things faster and better than any single man could.

Problem here is, you're comparing a group of Mercs to one non-Coalition Merc. How is this different from a group of Coalition vs a group of non-Coalition.

A group of coalition mercenaries would always be working together, and more importantly, they have the coalition itself as an intermediary to get the group work. Squads could efficiently be lent out then returned to repeat the process, with the coalition itself handling all of the logistics and such. Squads COULD take freelance work, but as you say, if they did so they'd be no different from non coalition mercs. OOCly this would mostly mean a coalition squad would have constant group based tasks, while a non-coalition one would not.

Okay. Translate that into ingame.

[Kunren]

Umm.. I kind of thought I did? Constant tasks designed for groups to complete would mean more work for coalition based squads, which means more riln. A non-coalition based group would have no tasks at all, much less the constant group tasks of the Coalition mercs, which means they would be gaining far less riln and would have a much harder time making a name for themselves. You could compare it to something like the difference between some professional athletes and amateur atheletes, there might not be a giant gap of skill in some cases but the pros are certified and therefore make FAR more money.

[Dorn]

Umm.. I kind of thought I did? Constant tasks designed for groups to complete would mean more work for coalition based squads, which means more riln. A non-coalition based group would have no tasks at all, much less the constant group tasks of the Coalition mercs, which means they would be gaining far less riln and would have a much harder time making a name for themselves. You could compare it to something like the difference between some professional athletes and amateur atheletes, there might not be a giant gap of skill in some cases but the pros are certified and therefore make FAR more money.

The issue you'd run into with tasking like that, is the fact that there probably won't be enough on average players around for tasking unless it was a special type of task request made by having 2-3 mercs together in the same room. The added NPCs could work though, to give it more of a feel. Have the player almost as the squad sergeant or something but considering the removal of hireswords I'm not sure if that would fly?

In general, I think an increase in riln for Merc tasks in comparion to other Guilds would be a step towards making them more "money" focused.

And is one unusual task enough to make Mercenaries unique? I don't feel your comparison of professional/amateur really applies here. If anything, Mercenaries are amateurs. They're not certified, they don't undergo rigorous training or standards. They're the poor man soldiers compared to Templars or some of the other Guilds.

In general, I think an increase in riln for Merc tasks in comparion to other Guilds would be a step towards making them more "money" focused.