How to start a Traveller Mercenary campaign?

[Falkayn]

Scenario:
I want to get some face-to-face roleplaying time in Traveller, preferably T20 and preferably with my existing RPing buddies. Unfortunately they are all D&Ders, and only a few have tried T20 before - that campaign was a complicated naval intelligence game (inspired by the Spooks/MI6 TV series). This was run over a year ago.

I would like to run a nice, simple mercenary campaign. I think it would suit my friends' interests (blowing things up) and narrows the scope of their PCs actions to things that complete their mission (blowing things up). Little knowledge of the Traveller universe is required, so that is also a boon.

Has anyone done something like this before? What lessons did you learn? (e.g. don't allow battledress?) Any recommendations or ideas for jobs?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DElrick]

First, find yourslef an area with lots of competing governments to set your games in (District 268 in the Spinward Marches, for example). If you want to bring in larger givernment plots later (say, Sword Worlds vs Imperium), you can do so easily.

Second, consider having each player play two characters: one in the insertion team (with starship/boat skills, etc) and one in the merc team (for the actual fighting). It might make more work now and again, but you can have fun holding up the team's extraction, etc.

Thirdly, if you have back issues of Challenge, consider starting off with (or plundering for ideas) the Twilight 2000 and Merc 2000 scenarios (and some of the Shadowrun ones too maybe). Using the Paranoia ones might be a bad idea though...

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

David

 

[Michael Taylor]

what area do you want to set your merc campaign in? Epic 6, Mercenary cruiser is set in the Gateway domain.

 

[mike wightman]

Start by reading Future History by Jerry Pournelle

 

[Redleg58]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Start by reading Future History by Jerry Pournelle

Excellent advice! With brevity being the soul of wit, not much else can be added to that to get a great Traveller feel prior to play,particularly if your going to run a game.

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Michael Taylor:
what area do you want to set your merc campaign in? Epic 6, Mercenary cruiser is set in the Gateway domain.

I'd love to use that ... but it still isn't out yet! (I'm checking its status on a daily basis)

It might also be too large for these guys to handle. I think a Far Trader is more their size. With only 2-3 players I don't want them running too many PCs or havign too many NPCs to look after them.

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Start by reading Future History by Jerry Pournelle

OK, I'll go looking for it. But the real problem is creating something that these fanasty lovers can swallow ... perhaps help the famers fight off the local nasties? I've got Gateway Domain so I might use the Kafoe as the problem.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Read the book or watch the movie "The Dogs of War." It's about a group of (modern) mercenaries hired to overthrow a small country in Africa. They are hired by a corporation who wants to exploit natural resources in the country.

With a little tweaking, it will make an excellent Traveller Merc adventure.

 

[BetterThanLife]

OK Mercenary Campaign. Ran a couple played in a couple more.

Things to consider setting up this campaign. How big a unit are we talking about?

Are tehy going to start with their own transport or rely on transport that isn't organic?

What tech level can they afford to equip the unit to initially?

In all fairness I don't recommend a unit of much less than a Platoon. A Company is a better choice when it comes to Mercenary tickets.

Copies of LBB4, 76 Patrons, Adventure 7 and 76 Gunmen are all useful. Further, Against Gravity is definitely useful. If you can find it FASA's Aslan Mercenary Cruisers is also a great resource.

So much for background material from the OTU.

THe nature of the unit is about as important as the size. Are they equipped as a Cadre, a Commando Unit, A Striker Unit.

Mercenary Cruisers are a bit expensive especially since as written they only carry a small platoon each. Subsidized Liners, slightly modified are as useful, if not more so and are cheaper. They can also turn a profit while the unit is engaged on a world or between assignments.

Those are the lines you have to think along for a successful Mercenary campaign. As for tickets, the sources I listed will give you a handful of choices and you can always adapt others.

BTW size of the unit will be dictated by the character's relative experience. A Retired LTC or COL is unlikely to think in terms of a unit less than Company sized, and more than lilely would prefer a full Regiment/Brigade. (After all, as an LTC he already commanded a Batalion. As a COL he has probably commanded a Brigade.

)

Recruiting and training are an important part of any mercenary unit. After all combat losses have to be replaced. THey also make for good role playing opportunities. As does negotiating for a ticket and finding a ticket in the first place.

Shadowrun has some good material on Mercs, in the Fields of Fire Sourcebook, but not enough to go find and buy it if you don't alreayd have it. there is of course all the old Twlight 2000 material. Most of those adventures were sutable for a band of Mercs and could be transplanted anywhere.

Once you answer the questions as to how big, how transported, what focus, then come back and ask. I can give you more specifics. Instead of giving you the questions to ask and places to look for material.

 

[Turanil]

If they are D&Der, you might consider them having to crawl into some abandoned alien starship or alien ruins. Instead of magic, you have high technology traps, and so on.

Also, don't forget to use the exo-terrains to advantage:
- Inside an alien starship, it is zero-G, then upon re-activating it, it's not Earth-like G but noticeably heavier or lighter.
- Alien planets with life would not be Earth-like. They can have lethal atmosphere, and strange adapted lifeforms. Even on an Earth-like planet (water, oxygen, plants, etc.), they could be totally incompatible as living beings (they cannot get dideases not convey their own, but also cannot eat any of the food available because it isn't assimilated)
- etc.

 

[DElrick]

> Read the book or watch the movie "The Dogs of War."

Or anything by Terence Strong. His books are all set round small military/mercenary units operating in various hostile environments.

Cheers

David

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by David Elrick:
> Read the book or watch the movie "The Dogs of War."

Or anything by Terence Strong. His books are all set round small military/mercenary units operating in various hostile environments.

Thanks, I've heard that The Wild Geese is good too.

Prior to me hunting these archaic gems up, what in particular do you think would work from them?

 

[jwdh71]

If it is to be a small group of PC's, and you don't want to run loads of NPCs to make up the difference, hen your best bet is to run a small SpecOps group, they can do consulting do consulting, bodyguard work, extractions, infiltrations, a little cadre work, and the like. It would be a good idea if your team had interstellar transport of some sort, but it might dilute the skillset needed for a small group like this. Maybe if there was a small group of NPCs that provided transport it would be better, and that way you can provide some dramatic episodes, as their extraction is late or not coming at all for some reason.

 

[DElrick]

> Prior to me hunting these archaic gems up, what
> in particular do you think would work from them?

Well, you know your players better than I do, but you could always start with some variation on the 'break in and snatch' type raid (quiet infiltration, grab/whack the target, then shooty-shooty and run like flock...).

Good Traveller examples include; (from the Traveller Adventure) rescuing a PC from the religious police on one world or snatching a worker and brooch from Tukera's estates; or from one of the Alien Modules, rescuing a K'Kree hostage from some Vargr. Sorry - I'm at work, so I don't have the books to hand.

There was also a good Amber Zone in an old JTAS (#20 maybe?) that I ran on several occasions where the PCS had to find and rescue an Aslan who had been taken prisoner by a local landowner and was being hunted for his head...

Cheers

David

 

[DElrick]

Alternatively, take a look at the adventures here: http://www.spycraftrpg.com/livingspycraft/downloads.php

Some of these should give you ideas you can work with.

Cheers

David

 

[clementk]

Well since they're coming from a fantasy background you could adapt bits from Glen Cook's Black Company (link 1, link 2). Ramp the patrons power level down but keep their scheming and change the mages into either psis, engineers, or special weapons teams and update to the OTU setting. A seed could be vying nobles scheme against each other with the mercs being new hires to an old merc company with long traditions but low in number.

SJG has the Star Mercs book for Gurps Traveller. I don't have it but the fluff at least should be quite useable.

For a Classical view on mercenaries you can't beat the Anabasis* by Xenophon. The patron dies in the midst of victory, the Greek mercenaries’ leaders are killed by treachery after the battle, and the remaining mercs are stuck deep in Persia far from home.

The wars of the Diadochi*, the Successor generals and rulers left after Alexander the Great's death, were fought mostly with mercenaries. The period is full of colorful figures (my favorite is Antigonus the One-eyed) and stories you could adapt. Most battles ended with the losing mercs being hired by the winner. Though not always.

Here’s a rough idea for a seed based on just the immediate situation after Alexander’s death. The patron warlord dies before he can consolidate his conquests and the mercs are kept on as protectors of one of his two pregnant wives. Each wife is the focus of a faction and every other faction wants to either eliminate one wife and support the other or eliminate both wives while eliminating the other factions.

The Wikipedia entry for Mercenary may be useful for finding more ideas. Personally I don't view OTU mercs as merely updated mid-late 20th c. mercs in space as their use seems more codified due to the nature of the Imperium. Hence my references to other periods, aside from others having already provided good sources for current and sci-fi mercs.

* search for these words in Wikipedia; I'd provide links but CotI parses them as bad html

As always, YMMV. HTH,
Casey
[EDIT]added the seeds[EDIT]

 

[BetterThanLife]

015-424 might be a good place to employ Mercs. Though the locals can't afford much. Perhaps a success only ticket with basing rights, training ground, a safe haven in the future, and a percentage of future Starport revenues? A Platoon of TL-14 Mercs should prove really nasty in shoring up the rebellion.

Originally posted by Falkayn:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Start by reading Future History by Jerry Pournelle

OK, I'll go looking for it. But the real problem is creating something that these fanasty lovers can swallow ... perhaps help the famers fight off the local nasties? I've got Gateway Domain so I might use the Kafoe as the problem. </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[BetterThanLife]

Another Gateway Domain thought came to mind. I can see the Imperium hiring Mercenary A-Team equivalents to train resistance fighters on Worlds were the Solomani have aquired basing rights and Commando raids on those bases. They can be deniable assets. And it would make for a good series of missions for a Platoon sized Merc Unit. (Especially if the Commander is a Decorated Ex-Marine.)

 

[Falkayn]

Thanks for the input guys!

I can see that my main problem is going to be that of the people in this group, I'm the only one with any real interest in military history/fiction.

My favourite merc stories are the White Company historical novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (based loosely on Sir Hawkwood's famous English mercenaries). I have read enough military sci-fi to get by, but the problem is doing something these guys can understand, that is different from D&D.

From what I've read so far I want to avoid:

a) Giving them too large a ship, it can make things unfinancial.

b) Running a huge force. Frankly these guys think like talented platoon members, not Colonels (or even Lieutenants!).

I will be seting everything in Gateway - I have too much material now to ignore (GtD and Starfall campaign setting playtest).

I will probably start them off on one of those cadre missions that reads more like a western than anything else (these guys must have seen those - I hope). You know, defend the helpless farmers for small fry.

The real trick is going to be keeping them honest, whilst making it worth their while. Starting out fresh from Prior History tends to leave PCs with LOADS of cash - I might have to rule that at most 10% of that remains, or give them a ship that really badly needs expensive repairs. Has anyone else had a problem with Battledress being cheaper than most other military vehicles, and hence more attractive to PCs?

Perhaps a bunch of farmers need help with some rogue uplifted apes or local brigands. That can be an easy scenario that introduces the combat rules gently (i.e. where they have superior firepower).

The next step is to complicate matters, perhaps have a Kafoe raiding force appear, forcing the players to take on more than they can chew easily.

Thet may set up a couple of meetings with the Kafoe - setting them up as the campaign bad guys. Perhaps even having a friendly K'Kree lend our intrpid players a hand.

Eventually have the Lords of Thunder become the main bad guys, turning the tables as the Kafoe become the poor misunderstood carnivores. I actually have the LoT book, so I might just bring the dates forward and have them be more of a threat sooner ... of course this assumes that my players will stick around for more than one session!

 

[clementk]

Looks good so far. Sounds like Seven Samurai and the Western The Magnificant Seven. Just make the pcs say abandoned* mercs (ex-Marines etc.) with no creds but cloth/combat armor and some ACRs and such. Better than the villagers and most of the bad guys but not invincible.

* the party may feel betrayed by their patron and/or company who may view the party as "unhonorable" for comitting some crime or are just trying to pin it on the party. A seed for the next adventure segment once they get off planet.

Casey