Mercenary: Questions & Clarifications

[JimG]

I've been reading through Mercenary, and trying to resolve some of the issues that I've found.

Zero-G

• Personal Combat: This specialty allows...

The core rule book doesn't list any specialties for the Zero-G skill. So with only one specialty available, is every character who receives the Zero-G skill supposed to take this one specialty?

Heavy Weapons
...
Specialties:

• Launchers: Rocket launchers and grenade launchers
  Man Portable Artillery: Man portable fusion and plasma weapons
  Field Artillery: Fixed guns, mortars, and other indirect-fire weapons

Heavy Weapons

• 
  Flame throwers: Using weaponry designed to project dangerous payloads in a fan or gout at short ranges

However on Mercenary pg 103, the Heavy Weapons table lists:

• 
  LMG
  LAG
  ARMP
  AutoCannon
  VRF Gouss Rifle
  MagRail Minigun

None of these weapons seem to fit with any of the Heavy Weapons specialties listed in either rule book.

For a house rule, I'll probably use Gun Combat (slug rifle) for both the LAG and ARMP, and add an AutoCannon or AutoWeapons specialty to cover the rest. But is this this intended solution?

Also, on pg 28, the Specialist: Sniper skill table lists a Magrails specialty for Heavy Weapons, which doesn't appear to be mentioned anywhere else. Is this intended to cover only the MagRail Minigun, or all MagRail weapons (pistol, carbine, or rifle)?

For my own house rule, I'll probably replace it with Navigation or Survival, unrelated skills but more appropriate to my view of a sniper's skill set.

 

[JimG]

The Specialist: Ship Security skill table (Mercenary, pg25), Astrogation is listed as one of the available skills. This doesn't make any sense to me at all, as it seems well outside of the duties that would be assigned to a mercenary hired for shipboard security.

I could see replacing it with Melee (blade) or Sensors, since the appear on the Star Marine specialist table from the core rule book. (The Star Marines have a fairly similar job description.)

 

[klingsor]

Mercenary page 92.
Poly Carapace. Data in description and table do not match. I assume the text is correct and the table in error.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I put Zero-G Personal Combat under the Melee skill:

Melee (Zero-G)

 

[JimG]

Does it bother anyone else that the various specialties have inconsistant survival/advancement rolls?

For the most part in the TMB, the specialties (within a career) were balanced so that higher risk specialties had higher promotion chances. These seemed a very nice technique that was apparently thrown out for mercenary. A number of the high risk specialties have low promotion opportunities. What is the point of that?

 

[Sir Brad]

IRL their are a bunch of Specialties that you don't let Senior Officers do, and their are only so many Master Sergeants you can carry on even a Spec Opps TO&E. These jobs are filled by Blokes that would jump out of Perfectly Good Aircraft for Free, the kind of guys who Hash marks and Unit Patches mean more than Formal Rank.

 

[JimG]

IRL their are a bunch of Specialties that you don't let Senior Officers do, and their are only so many Master Sergeants you can carry on even a Spec Opps TO&E. These jobs are filled by Blokes that would jump out of Perfectly Good Aircraft for Free, the kind of guys who Hash marks and Unit Patches mean more than Formal Rank.

That may be, but it punishes players who choose that path without offering anything in return...

And note that in the TMB you can still have Marine Colonels performing orbital assaults, and Navy Admirals piloting fighters... so denying Spec Ops commandos a decent promotion rate hardly seems fair.

 

[RandyT0001]

According to pages 104-105 the maximum range of MRL's, AT gun and the frag cannon is 1.5 kilometers, anything over that cannot be hit. The max range of the meson accelerator is 2.25 kilometers. You do know that current technology has weapons, MRL's and artillery that has a much higher effective range than that. Maybe the book's author should have read some wikipedia articles about artillery (at least) before writing this part or talk to some body associated with Battlefield Evolution.

 

[Sir Brad]

IRL their are a bunch of Specialties that you don't let Senior Officers do, and their are only so many Master Sergeants you can carry on even a Spec Opps TO&E. These jobs are filled by Blokes that would jump out of Perfectly Good Aircraft for Free, the kind of guys who Hash marks and Unit Patches mean more than Formal Rank.

That may be, but it punishes players who choose that path without offering anything in return...

And note that in the TMB you can still have Marine Colonels performing orbital assaults, and Navy Admirals piloting fighters... so denying Spec Ops commandos a decent promotion rate hardly seems fair.

do what they did with the original Mercs, give them a better chance of School Assignments and lower throws for Skills and Decorations.

 

[collins355]

According to pages 104-105 the maximum range of MRL's, AT gun and the frag cannon is 1.5 kilometers, anything over that cannot be hit. The max range of the meson accelerator is 2.25 kilometers. You do know that current technology has weapons, MRL's and artillery that has a much higher effective range than that. Maybe the book's author should have read some wikipedia articles about artillery (at least) before writing this part or talk to some body associated with Battlefield Evolution.

Crumbs! I haven't bought Merc yet, but it looks like the gearhead sections are best ignored. I'm crushed. Hope the mercenary ticket sections are good. Any comments on them?

 

[JimG]

do what they did with the original Mercs, give them a better chance of School Assignments and lower throws for Skills and Decorations.

Since "School Assignments" are not currently part of TMB or Mercenary char gen, it's just one more thing I would have to house rule. Far easier for me to simply adjust the advancement rolls, and say that the Colonel isn't the one jumping out of the airplane, but rather the one telling them when and where to jump.

 

[JimG]

According to pages 104-105 the maximum range of MRL's, AT gun and the frag cannon is 1.5 kilometers, anything over that cannot be hit. The max range of the meson accelerator is 2.25 kilometers. You do know that current technology has weapons, MRL's and artillery that has a much higher effective range than that. Maybe the book's author should have read some wikipedia articles about artillery (at least) before writing this part or talk to some body associated with Battlefield Evolution.

Crumbs! I haven't bought Merc yet, but it looks like the gearhead sections are best ignored. I'm crushed. Hope the mercenary ticket sections are good. Any comments on them?

While I haven't actually used the ticket system, it looks quite good to me after a quick read.

The gearhead sections aren't what I was hoping for, but the rest of the book is decent. It definitely could have used one more proofreading pass though...

 

[zozotroll]

I have written 2 tickets so far, and am happy with how they work. For me all the things I cant do well for myself are covered well. The things I can do sleep deprived and 3/4's drunk are the parts that need help. So for me it is a great fit.

And it gives me a great exc...reason to haul out all those tank and gun reference books I invested a small fortune in.

 

[simonh]

I read the warnings about the hardware section and was expecting to be a little disapointed, but it was much worse.

Frag Cannons?
Flechette guns? How exactly is that difefrent from a shotgun? Apparently
Magrail guns firing 'razor sharp metal disks' that can cut through armour?
Weapons appear to do damage proprotionaly to how kewl they sound.

AT guns that fire shells in wide arcs and are called Howitzers?
Meson guns where the designers added a blue light that lights up the target area before the attack to warn friendly troops to avoid the area - except, er, isnt that going to warn the enemy troops as well?
As for the heavy weapon ranges, don't get me started.

It's like the illegitimate offspring of Traveller Book 4 and Warhammer 40K. Maybe it should have been called Mercenary Book 40K.

No space or weights for any of the weapons, so no idea how you can transport them, how much space they take in the hold, etc.

No plasma or fusion guns, except apparently that's what high tech AT guns are supposed to be.

Fortunately the whole rest of the book appears to be fine, though I have to admit I haven't read it all yet.

Simon Hibbs

 

[JimG]

Some other odd things:

TL2 Bows have the same ranged characteristics has TL8 sniper rifles.

There are rules for "Parabolic Fire" - but this text and the weapon descriptions are vague as to which weapons can use it and which can't.

It also seems odd that there are no guided missile rules. Tactical guided missiles (such as the TOW, Javelin, or Stinger) seem like they are going to a major part of any TL7+ military as they are very effective anti-vehicle weapons.

 

[opensent]

I've been reading through Mercenary, and trying to resolve some of the issues that I've found.

Heavy Weapons
...
Specialties:

• Launchers: Rocket launchers and grenade launchers
  Man Portable Artillery: Man portable fusion and plasma weapons
  Field Artillery: Fixed guns, mortars, and other indirect-fire weapons

Heavy Weapons

• 
  Flame throwers: Using weaponry designed to project dangerous payloads in a fan or gout at short ranges

However on Mercenary pg 103, the Heavy Weapons table lists:

• 
  LMG
  LAG
  ARMP
  AutoCannon
  VRF Gouss Rifle
  MagRail Minigun

None of these weapons seem to fit with any of the Heavy Weapons specialties listed in either rule book.

For a house rule, I'll probably use Gun Combat (slug rifle) for both the LAG and ARMP, and add an AutoCannon or AutoWeapons specialty to cover the rest. But is this this intended solution?

It's stupid for Man-Portable Artillery to have the word Artillery in it. Should be High Energy Weapons if it only applies to DIRECT FIRE FGMP/PGMP. Altenatively, throw the VRF and the others in there can call it Man-Portable Heavy Weapons.

For my game, I lump all Direct Fire HEAVY Weapons under Man-Portable Artillery (Grr)... Put all indirect fire weapons under Field Artillery, and keep Grenades/Rockets under Launchers. Quick, easy, and keeps from creating to many categories, which throws off skill balance.

That one table has "Heavy Weapons" as the title, and another "Heavy Weapons (Support)" shows a lack of consitency in handling subskill codes.

 

[cheeplives]

Has anyone found it odd that the battle dress in the merc book has a cost listed of 400k while it's 2mil plus in the core book?

 

[opensent]

Has anyone found it odd that the battle dress in the merc book has a cost listed of 400k while it's 2mil plus in the core book?

Based on the other editing I've seen; not really.

Clearly the prices are supposed to be 200,000 (TL-13) and 350,000 (TL-14), just like Megatraveller. Of course this means all combat armor is off by one decimal place as well.

I'm trying to figure out what "Skill Rating" 1 through 5 means, in the context of Unit Skill. It doesn't equal ranks (which would have a 0), and it's not used for the attack throw for large scale combat. So it is superfluous?

 

[Myrm]

I'll add one request for clarification.

In the War events in Mercenary there is one (result 6 I think) that describes making a strong bond with the unit and so not needing to make a qualification roll next term if you stay in the same service and branch.

Now to me this seems superfluous since AIUI you do not need to make any such roll....am I doing 'next terms' wrong, should it be Advancement roll unecessary or perhaps Survival?