7 replies to this topic

[Iron Buccaneer]

I do not want to join a "House" or Clan for the Community Warfare and I doubt any other mercenaries or lone wolves want to either. In fact I know my own unit does not. So there is a simple fix to allow us to retain our identity while showing that we have a contract with one of the existing factions.

Use the faction Icon system and simply change the colors of the Merc and LW icons to match the house that we have a "Contract" with instead of forcing us to join that faction.

Another option would be to give us a House/Clan icon but render it in black and gray like our faction symbols.

I would also be nice if down the road you could let us accumulate "Fame" points instead of Loyalty points as the success of a mercenary is based on renown.

[Burktross]

I'm a loner too, but it's illogical for clans and IS to repeatedly accept you if you work for the other every other day.
I think its fine.

It's only temporary anyway.

[Puglife]

There are long standing merc corps in the rules with just as much background as any house. They have their own identity in the setting and should have here as well.

[Durant Carlyle]

Mercenaries sign contracts with Houses in the lore -- they just don't sign up for very long. Then they switch to working for someone else in a short-term contract. That's the way mercenaries work. You can do the same thing here, only the contracts are for 1, 2, or 4 months (or permanent) instead of "I hired you to take Planet X" which might only take a few battles in the lore.

In other words, working as intended as much as the game can be. Faction players sign contracts to "join" the Houses. Mercenaries sign contracts to "work for" the Houses. At the end of the contract, each kind can sign a contract with a different House or stay with their previous one. In the end, it's semantics.

Loyalty is VERY important to mercenaries in the lore. Houses won't hire you if you keep switching sides during your contracts. They don't mind as much if the contract is over and you switch, because that's what mercenaries are supposed to do.

And Lone Wolves are simply mercenaries without a unit as far as the game is concerned. So their game play is the same as the rest. You can role-play it however you want, but that's the way it is in game.

[Iron Buccaneer]

Reputation is important to a mercenary unit and they maintain contracts out of professionalism not loyalty. It's more than just a role playing issue. Battle Tech is a big setting and there is more to it than the Clans and the Houses. Everyone else has been lumped into two other factions as it is and now we are about to loose that if we want to participate in the full game. Why not remove the houses then and make everyone a merc because how tags can apparently be changed frequently?

[Durant Carlyle]

You aren't about to "loose" anything, Iron.

Professionalism equates to loyalty. You sign a contract, and you stay loyal to it. Not to the faction that holds the contract, but to the contract itself.

An example of CW:

Your Brethren sign up for a one-month contract with Davion. The next month, you sign up with Steiner. The next month, you decide you liked Davion better, so you sign up for a two-month contract this time. Then maybe Steiner offers more on their contracts, so you sign up for four months with them. Like any mercenary unit in the lore would -- that's how they work.

You don't join the faction, you simply work for them for a while. Just like mercenaries in the lore. You sign up with Kurita, then Kurita gets to tell you where to go and who to fight. That's the very definition of mercenary.

I don't know why you aren't getting this ... it's a very easy concept. You go shop the contracts, find one you like, work for them for a while, then the contract ends and you find another one. Simple.

[Iron Buccaneer]

I get it just fine but I don't like the way they have done it. Next time they have a faction challenge there will not be a merc corps because no one will be using that tag. Because you have to join a house to take a contract which is completely unnecessary. I don't wish to fly any house's colors because I don't want to join any of them. It is effectively removing a faction from the game.
What does it matter to you anyway? You're not a merc.

[Durant Carlyle]

What do you mean, I'm not a merc?

Clan Loyalists (dagger-star symbol) are effectively Clan mercenaries. The Clan I wish to join isn't represented, so I chose the Loyalist faction.

To be honest, I haven't yet committed fully to being anything in CW. I'm a light pilot, and the light Clan OmniMechs don't offer the best of choices. I'm going to give it more time before I make a final decision.

Plus, I have been affiliated with DHB and RRB in the past.