Mercenary Companies

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Description

One of the things that helps Haven stay a Free City is the presence of several mercenary companies that have chosen to make Haven their headquarters. These companies range from the 50 men in the cataphract cavalry (very heavily armed and armored) force of Buren Tasidek through the 100 seasoned dwarves of Bonur arn Jasti and the 200 strong centaur contingent of Galidonos Goldenhoof to the small army of 500 commanded by Donelek of Petiz. The companies frequently leave the city on assignments, and may be gone for as long as two years, but always seem to return - a little battered, maybe, and with a few holes in the ranks - but none so far has failed to come back.

Even with a majority of the companies gone at one time or another, there are seldom less than a dozen assorted companies in the city. The soldiers use the city’s facilities for rest and recreation, and are free-spending enough to assuage the merchants’ bad feelings about the ruckuses and uproars caused by the men’s antics (Street Encounters Swaggering Mercs and Cavalry Troop).

Occasionally, in the past, various companies have been hired for “road-cleaning” (bandit disposal) duty along the Long Road. In the aftermath of these efforts, the Road often seems unusually peaceful for long durations, with a large number of well decorated oak trees - the mercenary companies tend to do a relatively thorough job of cleanup.

A number of reasonably large mercenary contingents (200 to 500 men each) regularly station themselves at the three towns of the Borgonnin Pass through the Mountains of Peace, the pass taken by the Long Road. They provide protection for groups of travelers and caravans using the pass, which is unfortunately infested with Lizarim (the townspeople appreciate the mercenaries’ presence too - fewer successful raids by the lizard-men). These companies are nearly always on the lookout for new recruits, since the casualty rates for duty in the Pass are not low. The pay is high, about five times the regular rates, but the risk factor is at the same level.

In the city, the sworn swords (the common appellation for mercenaries in general) will tend to congregate at the hall of the major guild, Free Companies House (located on Caravan Street near the corner of Galenkris), or at the Lydian House the home in Haven, of the Lydian Sisterhood (other mercenary guilds exist but are not represented in Haven). At other times, many mercenaries can be found at one of three different taverns in the area of the Free Companies guild house, The Brass Blade, Ludwig’s Brauhaus, and the Bull of Anathor. Few outsiders (obvious non-soldiers) are welcomed at these taverns when the mercenaries are in full attendance, but likely recruits might be tolerated (at least for a beer or two, and a question or three).

Signing Up

Joining a mercenary company is not overly difficult. Surviving in one may be. Most companies are in need of fighting personnel at any given time, and will accept anyone who is relatively strong, dexterous, and trained with the weapons favored by the men of the company - swords, pikes, etc. To determine whether a character would be acceptable to a company commander as a recruit:

• Total STR, DEX and CON
• Add 2 for each point of STR > 14, DEX > 13, and/or CON > 15.
• Add 5 if the potential recruit is Intermediate, 15 if Veteran, and 20 if Elite
• Add 5 for every weapon favored by the company in which the character is trained, 10 additional for each of these in which he has expertise/proficiency
• If the company uses shields, add 10 for shield training
• Add 2 for each combat plus with proper weapons
• If the recruit can provide their own mount, add 10

Using the total as a percentage, roll D100 to see if the commander accepts the recruit in his company. Experienced soldiers have a chance equal to

(100 - # higher level people in the company / 100) / 3 times (# in the troop / 100)

of being offered a command position of some sort (the greater the difference between roll and figure to beat, the better the position should be).

Mercenary Weekly Pay Scales

Type	Elite	Veteran	Intermediate	Green
Light Infantry	25gp	20gp	15gp	10gp
Medium Infantry	30gp	25gp	18gp	13gp
Heavy Infantry	40gp	33gp	23gp	18gp
Shock	50gp	43gp	30gp	25gp
Light Cavalry	40gp	35gp	25gp	20gp
Heavy Cavalry	50gp	43gp	33gp	28gp
Cataphract	65gp	55gp	40gp	35gp
Archers	30gp	23gp	15gp	10gp
Scouts	30gp	23gp	15gp	10gp
Engineers	40gp	30gp	17gp	10gp

Pay in a mercenary company is usually in arrears unless the group has just returned from a relatively successful campaign. Normally, the commander is responsible for maintenance of the men (room and board). Weaponry, armor and clothing are the responsibility of the men themselves, as are other than basic daily food requirements (beer, steak, etc.). Those commanders who have developed large companies usually have some in-city guard position or easy caravan duty to provide income for their men when they are not engaged on active duty.

Should anyone wish to hire a mercenary company or possibly found a troop, the above pay scales may be used. To find the cost for a company or troop, total the amounts for the various types of soldier in the troop by percentage of experience level. The resultant sum is the weekly cost of the mercenary company. Or attempt to hire one of the mercenary bands outlined below.

The normal contract is for a minimum of 4 weeks but this is negotiable, at a cost if the duration is shorter.

A note to the wise: few mercenary commanders take well to being cheated out of agreed upon sums for duty, whether combat or garrison. It is not unknown for the contractor hiring a company to be overrun and conquered himself when he tried to withhold the mercenaries’ hard-earned gold.

Mercenary Companies In Haven

The companies that may be found in Haven at any given time are listed below, including style of fighting (racial type denoted), general type of armor and favored weapon(s), percentages of various experience levels comprising the company, weekly pay requirements (for the entire company), and chance of being in Haven (and therefore available) at any given time. The better companies will usually be less available, since they may get hired as soon as they hit town.

Note that the amounts in the following tables are what the overall commander of the company receives for use of his men. The men actually receive about one-half to one-third of this money. If the troops are on garrison duty, rather than combat duty, the amounts may be reduced by one-half.

Companies of 50

Commander	Cmdr. Quality	Race	Makeup	Armour	Weapons	Experience	Weekly Pay (gp)	Chance to be in Haven
Buren Tasidek	4	Mixed	Cataphract cavalry	Plate (semi/full) Shield Horse barding	Lance Sword or axe	15% Elite 45% Veteran 30% Intermediate 10% Green	2,550	30%
[[person/kiroc	Kiroc]] Stargazer	6	Mixed	Archers and scouts	Light leather	Bow Light sword	30% Elite 55% Veteran 15% Intermediate	1,214
Tunon of Mandalai	3	Human	Mounted shock infantry	Plate (semi/full) Locking shield	Axe or sword Javelin	20% Elite 40% Veteran 40% Intermediate	2,460	50%
Halidar the Bold	2	Mixed	Mounted medium infantry	Full-chain	15’ pike Zweihander	5% Elite 25% Veteran 55% Intermediate 15% Green	1,543	45%
Xitarinos	4	Centaur	Light cavalry	Heavy leather Shield	Lance Bow Sword	15% Elite 45% Veteran 30% Intermediate 10% Green	1,675	35%
Brunnar the Bloody	2	Mixed	Medium berserkers	Heavy leather or chain Shield	Axe Sword	5% Elite 20% Veteran 70% Intermediate 5% Green	1,009	50%
Clydesworth Tinglefeather	3	Hobbit	Archers, slingers, and scouts	Light leather	Short bow or sling Shortsword Throwing knives	20% Elite 30% Veteran 30% Intermediate 20% Green	9,70	40%
Daliva bint al-Raschid	2	Mixed	Female archers	Light leather	Bow Rapier	10% Elite 25% Veteran 35% Intermediate 30% Green	8,69	40%
Boghran Tosik	1	Mixed	Light infantry	Heavy leather	Javelin Sword	5% Elite 20% Veteran 35% Intermediate 40% Green	7,45	65%
Eddeor ben Bova	3	Mixed	Mounted heavy infantry	Semi-plate Shield	15’ pike (shield slung) Sword Axe	15% Elite 30% Veteran 40% Intermediate 15% Green	1,929	40%
Inrisdil o’Lake	3	Elven	Archers	Light leather	Bow Rapier	10% Elite 45% Veteran 35% Intermediate 10% Green	999	15%
Bonorbenztreezantyzemintanods	2	Goliath	Heavy infantry (only 15 but count as 50 normal men)	Heavy leather Large shields Iron greaves	Heavy impact weapons (clubs, mauls, warhammers etc.)	5% Elite 25% Veteran 50% Intermediate 20% Green	2,535	10%

Companies of 100

Commander	Cmdr. Quality	Race	Makeup	Armour	Weapons	Experience	Weekly Pay (gp)	Chance to be in Haven
Bonuer arn Jasti	4	Dwarven	Medium infantry	Chain Shield	Hammeror axe Sword	20% Elite 30% Veteran 40% Intermediate 10% Green	2,200	30%
Carnos the Swift	3	Mixed	Charioteers-archers (3-man team per chariot)	Light or heavy leather	Javelin or bow Whip or lariat Sword	15% Elite 60% Veteran 20% Intermediate 5% Green	4,845	25%
Bolidur the Weaponsmaster	5	Mixed	Heavy infantry	Chain or semi-plate Shield	Axe Halberd (shield slung)	5% Elite 20% Veteran 40% Intermediate 35% Green	2,410	20%
Hansurin the Lucky	2	Human	Light cavalry	Light chain	Lance Bow Rapier	10% Elite 30% Veteran 40% Intermediate 20% Green	2,850	50%
Donegal FitzKenedi	4	Mixed	Medium infantry	Light chain or cuirass	Zweihander Mace	15% Elite 20% Veteran 45% Intermediate 20% Green	1,970	50%
Karlina ni-Hasdrubal	5	Mixed	Light cavalry	Light leather Shield	Lance Bow Sword	10% Elite 45% Veteran 20% Intermediate 25% Green	2,975	30%
Mogri arn Borlir	4	Dwarven	Medium infantry, sappers, siege engineers	Light chain Shield	Hammer Mattock Pickaxe	20% Elite 50% Veteran 30% Intermediate	1,890	20%
Leona nesa-Melorie	4	Mixed	Female light infantry	Leather or light chain Shield	Sword or axe Javelin	10% Elite 30% Veteran 50% Intermediate 10% Green	1,700	35%

Companies of 200

Commander	Cmdr. Quality	Race	Makeup	Armour	Weapons	Experience	Weekly Pay (gp)	Chance to be in Haven
Galidonos Goldenhoof	4	Centaur	Light cavalry	Light leather or chain	Lance Bow Sword or mace or axe	10% Elite 40% Veteran 40% Intermediate 10% Green	6,000	25%
Phedros of Khurian	3	Mixed	Mounted heavy infantry (100) Mounted archers (50) Light cavalry (50)	Equipped as usual for type	Equipped as usual for type	5% Elite 30% Veteran 50% Intermediate 15% Green	6,440	60%
Judilo the Amranian	4	Mixed	Light infantry (100) Heavy infantry (100)	Equipped as for type	Equipped as for type	10% Elite 30% Veteran 40% Intermediate 20% Green	4,320	50%
Freitag von dem Berg	5	Mixed	Light cavalry (80) Mounted archers (120)	Equipped as for type	Equipped as for type	20% Elite 40% Veteran 30% Intermediate 10% Green	6,104	40%
Richard the Black	5	Mixed	Mounted pike men as shock infantry (140) --- Crossbowmen as medium infantry (60)	Chain or semi-plate Shield --- Heavy leather Shield	18’ pikes sword or axe or mace --- Heavy crossbow Sword or axe	20% Elite 50% Veteran 30% Intermediate	9,144	35%
Henry Dalrymple	3	Mixed	Light cavalry (120) Heavy cavalry (80)	Equipped as for type	Equipped as for type	10% Elite 30% Veteran 40% Intermediate 20% Green	6,356	35%
Walter the Hunter	4	Mixed	Mounted archers (100) Heavy infantry (100)	Equipped as usual for type	Equipped as usual for type	10% Elite 35% Veteran 40% Intermediate 15% Green	6,600	40%
Keri Silkenbeard	4	Mixed	Mounted light infantry (80) Mounted archers (100) Scouts (20)	Equipped as usual for type	Equipped as usual for type	30% Elite 50% Veteran 10% Intermediate 10% Green	6,360	35%

Companies of 500

Commander	Cmdr. Quality	Race	Makeup	Armour	Weapons	Experience	Weekly Pay (gp)	Chance to be in Haven
Donelek of Peiz	5	Mixed	Light infantry (150) Heavy infantry (100) Light cavalry (120) Heavy cavalry (80) Sappers and siege engineers (50)	Equipped as usual for type	Equipped as usual for type	20% Elite 35% Veteran 25% Intermediate 20% Green	13,603	20%
Muri arn Balor “Ironarm”	5	Dwarven	Heavy infantry	Chain or semi-plate Shield	Battle axe (shield slung) Sword or hammer	15% Elite 30% Veteran 35% Intermediate 20% Green	13,775	25%
Yusuf ben Azreddin	4	Mixed	Light cavalry	Leather or light chain Small shield	Lance Bow Saber	15% Elite 30% Veteran 45% Intermediate 10% Green	14,875	25%

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Common Information

Basics

Type: Military, Mercenary Group

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![[DnDLine.png|Slogan**:

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World Anvil Metadata

Id: 1f566952-526a-46ee-924e-c5f90b98505b

Entity Type: Article / organization

Category: City Watch and Military

Tags: fcoh,type-military-mercenary-group

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