BTB Merc Groups

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May 2012

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May 28 - Memorial Day

[Wanita Slade]

Is anyone able to name a few Mercenary groups that have no female fighters in them?

[Liliana Aluveaux]

Wow off the top of my head like none.

[Wanita Slade]

Hmmm... guess I will have to go a travelling then 

[Sophiaa Farella]

Thaladar's doesnt..hell..he wont even let me visit! haha...but he is very happy where he is and knows he is not welcome here (glares at Dark)..so..doesnt really help ya love, sorry..hey! maybe he knows of one or two??

[Nettle Blackthorne]

omg do they exist? It saddens me to see what gor is reduced to --eh why be a panther when i can be a femlaw or a merc?? Hell today i seen a pterodactyl, and some fem laws shot it down and tied it up to make "bird stew"!

[Rob Hoyer]

You have to ask yourself, what is a mercenary group. Even, what is a mercenary. I think mercenary groups are an SL phenomenon. In the books there are groups of Warriors hired by merchants to guard their caravans on the road. The group of warriors would then be performing mercenary duties. A warrior can accompany a free woman on a visit to another city and get paid for it. He is then a mercenary. And these warriors would go back to regular duty when the job is done or go look for other mercenary work. Of course it is concievable a group of men would get together and make this their only means of income but it would be rare and surely not done in the way it's done in SL Gor.

Once, during the war of Telnus vs Port Kar, we hired a some men, warriors, dealt with them like hirelings, drafted a contract on which their pay was stated and other benefits like living in the city during wartime, food, drink and a part of the spoils of war. This provided some good roleplay and it seemed the right thing to do. Hired swords so to say, and they where not well liked in the city. After the war they spread out again and one of them eventually lead the red caste of the city.

So my view is, mercenaries, great, but mercenary groups living in large castles and just randomly going places and shooting them up, not really.

[Carter Ebbage]

great description Robert.. exactly how I always believed mercenaries should be

.. and I think Wanita posted this looking for like minded Goreans to form a band of warriors, who's only loyalty was commercial and possibly to each other to be based in the lawless village of minus which has a small barracks etc.. not a castle with walls and traps surrounding it

[Aphris Myoo]

in Nomads a good description is given of a mercenary group.

Saphrar hired 100 mercenary tarnsman

"May I introduce," inquired Saphrar, "Ha-Keel of Port Kar,
chief of the mercenary tarnsmen."

no fortresses, they stayed at Saphrars estates and they only fought for money

"They are mercenaries," growled Kamchak.
"I do not understand your meaning," I said.
"We have paid them not to burn the wagons nor slay the
bosk," said he.
"They are being paid by both sides?" I asked.
"Of course," said Kamchak, irritably.

and who payed more won their hearts as Lady Rena discovered 

"You were foolish to hire mercenaries to guard you," said Targo.
"Please!" she cried.
I recognized her then. She was the woman with the retinue.
I felt pleasure.
"Please!" wept the woman. I admitted to myself that she was beautiful.
"You have an admirer," Targo told her, "a Captain of Tyros, who glimpsed you
in Lydius last fall. He has contracted to buy you privately in Ar, to be taken
to his pleasure gardens on Tyros. He will pay one hundred pieces of gold."

[Sie Alcott]

Also keep in mind women CAN be mercenaries also. Point to remember is that they are not fighters and would take up no weapons in battle. The example is the woman whom so many women use to justify being a female merc while completely misinterpreting the quote. She was a mercenary but only in that she did a job for money. She was a construction foreman, a supervisor. Nothing more.

I wonder also these warriors who became hired men, were they red caste and if so how did this type of work affect their pledge to homestone? If not warriors I do remember farmers hiring out for a season and such but since we got no real farmers in SL Gor what castes or men would be hiring out.

I would like to see men sticking to a role and only hiring out part time as most mercenaries were described as doing. Would be an interesting thing to see with the two jobs and how it affected one another. Whats a mans reason for hiring out alos? Does he have time away from his business or job to do so? What arrangements must be made for his departure and absence. Could make for very fun RP.

[Carter Ebbage]

Well on the issue of mercs and loyalty to the their homestone.

Treve contracted its warriors/tarnsmen to other cities... but although never mentioned.. for them to turn against Treve and their homestone seems implausible.

Also Kamchuck.. was a mercenary for a city... but returned to his tribe after learning the ways of the red caste.

and I am sure there are other examples.. where warrriors sold their services, but never in conflict with the city of their original homestone...fundamental to the principle of the red caste seems to be loyalty to their homestone..not the council, Ubar or Regent.. hence the internal ovethrows and even contract killing of the Ubar.

unless someone can educate me differently.. I dont claim to be a book expert

[Rob Hoyer]

What i am thinking is, that, the large cities had very many warriors who could be hired for a period of time without hurting the pledge to the homestone or the safety of the city itself. Also, merchant caravans i think, would hire red castes from their own city to guard them on their travels and again on the way back. That would make sense to me as it would benefit the city when the merchants came back with goods for the city.

[Jara]

One to think off, a Red Caste 'NOT' defending his homestone because he is out earning a coin for his own purse would perhaps become out casted to the city for neglecting his homestone duties? Would off course depend hugely on the city it self; but if your own warriors are constantly out then who is defending the walls?

[Aphris Myoo]

Mercenaries can be individuals, special merc groups under a loved commander (like Dietrich or Hakeel, the Italian condotieri) or hired tribes or special groups.
of the later are examples in RL too
- Constantinopel had a guard of vikings, and not only them. Vikings often gathered around a strong jarl and lived in his longhall during winter. You could hire teh jarl and his group (or they raided on own account)
- Great empires hired tribes as cavalery, like the Carthagians hired Numidian or Celto-Iberians. In the latter case the group is commanded by the own tribal Ubar and never a group or home stone conflict can rise.

The Carthagian example is interesting because here the hired teh Numidians under Massinissa changed side and helped the Romans in the Battle of Zama, which ment the end of Hannibal and Carthage.
Also interesting are mercenary revolts or mutinies under which the Carthagians suffered but also the infamous Spanish Fury was an outcry of such http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Antwerp

[Rob Hoyer]

One to think off, a Red Caste 'NOT' defending his homestone because he is out earning a coin for his own purse would perhaps become out casted to the city for neglecting his homestone duties? Would off course depend hugely on the city it self; but if your own warriors are constantly out then who is defending the walls?

Yes i could see that happen to a warrior who's always making coin on te side. It will depend on the city. If it is a large city with some 50.000 red caste, a couple of hundred of them go off on mercenary work for another city/merchant caravan etc. it would not be so much of a problem, and i think, the warriors doing such would ask permission from their commanding officers or at least let them know. It also would depends on the times. Is there war or the possibility of war, are there threats or is it a time of peace which would be more likely.

In SL Gor of course where a city with 10 red caste is a large force it would be problematic if half of them would be running around in other places.

[Emuna Zamani]

Wouldn't this be kind of like a police officer or sheriff's deputy that works their regular shift, protecting the city but then takes other jobs doing security work for extra cash?  Granted, the Warrior may be gone longer than a few hours like today's law enforcement person with traveling to another city but same concept.  It does not men the men are any less loyal to their homestone as an officer is any less loyal to his precinct.

I know some don't like making comparisons to Earth life but I think it is ok.  Tarl did it all the time!