Mercenaries

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding guide for players & GMs
Review: This is a superb book which DMs or players can use to understand what mercenaries are, where they come from, how they operate, and why some of them do what they do -- fight for money.

The "fighter" class in most role-playing games is a character with no clearly defined role in society. A bard entertains, clerics and druids care for the spiritual and /or physical needs of those they care for, rangers are hunters and scouts, thieves are ... well ... thieves, and magic-users are either scholarly recluses or people who interact with the community for good or ill with their magical powers. Fighters just ... fight. When there is no battle brewing or adventure to go on, what do fighters DO? They either become trouble-making brawlers or else they get jobs. If they work at farming or some trade, they pick up experience as commoners or as experts (in 3rd edition D & D, anyway). If they become soldiers working for a noble or for a city or country, they are warriors who are burdened with the regular duties of a soldier: cleaning equipment, standing for inspection, pulling long night watches or boring garrison duty.

If a fighter wants to keep fighting even when not adventuring, then the mercenary career may beckon, and AEG's "Mercenaries" tells the whole story, from why someone would want to become a mercenary, to how to get a job (or how to hire mercenaries if you're on the other side of the coin), to what may await a mercenary in retirement.

"Mercenaries" is, as far as I know, the ONLY book in the whole history of fantasy role playing gaming to be devoted entirely to mercenaries and their careers, so it is, of necessity, the best book there is on the subject, but the AEG writing team (Noah Dudley, Andrew Getting, Travis Heerman, etc.) didn't settle for second-rate writing -- they wrote as if they intend this book to REMAIN the best even when other books on this subject are published.

I wasn't terribly impressed by the very first chapter on new races -- I think we have enough PC races already -- but it is well-written and well-illustrated. I personally thought this chapter was unnecessary; other GMs may love it and use some of the races. (The first race --the Aradan, rat-like vermin who can leap into battle with twin daggers! -- may especially appeal to some GMs; the drawing for it is certainly clever!)

Every other chapter in "Mercenaries" has something which almost any player or GM could put to good use. The book also helps to raise some serious questions which might arise when mercenaries are employed. What, for example, will a lawful good mercenary do if his company has been hired to fight for an evil cause? He has a contract; to break it would be unlawful and against his alignment; to stick to the contract may mean doing evil deeds for an evil cause, again going against his alignment. What does a lawful good ruler do when he needs an experienced army fast and the only troops available are a lawful evil mercenary company, who will follow their contract, but do who-knows-what in battle, and donate their pay to who-knows-what evil gods, but who WILL win whatever battle the lawful good ruler needs won? "Mercenaries" sums up the dilemma by returning often to the basic principle that a mercenary is someone who fights for money. If you take a job and are paid, you do the job, no matter what; if you need mercenaries, you hire the best fighters you can afford, regardless of their morals. AEG books excel at getting players and GMs into role-playing situations, and "Mercenaries" presents many examples of situations where role-play would be a lot better than just rolling dice.

The chapter on mercenary companies should provide inspiration for GMs who want to create a group of paid fighters into which to funnel those fighter PCs between dungeon crawls, and also inspiration for PCs who would like to form their own "official" mercenary companies (a requirement in order to bear arms in many lawful societies).

The chapters on "classes" and "prestige classes" are NOT a waste of space as so many added classes and "prestige classes" are in other gaming supplements. These classes are ACTUALLY USEFUL! I would suggest that a GM and a player mix and match information in order to find the perfect career plan for a PC, and "Mercenaries" provides all of the information needed for a PC to grow from raw recruit to trusted bodyguard, pillar of the community, royal (or racial) champion -- or dreaded assassin or warlord.

One of the ironies of military history is that during the heyday of the "great companies" of mercenaries in late Medieval and early Renaissance Italy, many of the great companies rarely FOUGHT at all! They would often be hired, go to a battlefield, check out the deployment of the enemy company, skirmish very briefly, and then decide on the basis of tactical probablities and the reputations of the two captains and their companies who the likely winner of the battle would be, shake hands and have a good meal, freely spending their pay, and then announce to their employers who "won" the "battle" which they didn't fight! AEG's "Mercenaries" can help you to create mercenary companies with such extraordinary reputations that they can win battles simply by showing up. The path to that level may be long and hard, though, and "Mercenaries" can help you to create "guerillas," "legionnaires," "scouts" and such who will fight their way to legendary status.

I strongly recommend "Mercenaries" to all players and GMs. Gamemasters ESPECIALLY should have a copy so that they can give some form and substance to the NPCs the characters face, making them into something other than just evil cannon fodder. What does a PC Paladin do when he captures a lawful good mercenary who is fighting for an evil cause? Slay him or hold him captive -- which might not be easy in the midst of a battle? What does a hungry PC do when there is no money left and the only options are stealing or joining a mercenary company which may fight for an evil cause? Decisions! Decisions! "Mercenaries" can help you to decide. Buy it!

I also very strongly recommend AEG's "War," ISBN 1887953450, as a companion to this volume. Together they can take a military-style campaign to whole new levels.

Rating:
Summary: Great d20 sourcebook
Review: This is the first non WOTC book I've purchased, and I was extremely impressed. Each of the classes, races, prestige classes etc. were well thought out. I had trouble putting the book down. It was packed with great campaign ideas. Perhaps it was a bit on the powergamer side, but it didn't look like they had just a few good ideas with a lot of filler material (like the WOTC builder's books i.e. Song and Silence, etc.). Bottom line: Great d20 source book!

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This product is amazing, offering everything from new core classes to outstanding campaign ideas. This book introduces several new races, classes, prestige classes, feats, equipment, story bits... it has everything. Weighing in at over 200 pages, it is a excellant deal.

I found, overall, the book to be well balanced, and a worthy addition to anyone's gaming library. kudos to AEG.