Mercenary

Drawing of humanoid rodent picking a fight with a flying rocket-laden gun toting cop in powered armour.

High tech merc vs lo tech merc.

They are the fighters, the tough gals, and the expedition’s paramilitary types. Mercenaries are hardy, ready-to-fight sorts. Mercs are valuable for the clutter of combat skills that they possess. They represent the dog-meat essential for the survival of any expedition in combat. Mercs do not personally regard themselves as dog-meat.

Mercenary Abilities

Mercenary abilities are mostly concerned with inflicting damage on organic and inorganic objects. Their abilities are divided in to actions (gifts), interests and skills. Mercenary actions are gifts that help define the persona as a mercenary. Interests are broad areas the mercenary is good at like combat or tactics. Mercenary skills are item or task specific abilities like pistols or grenades. Interests and skills assist the persona with her tasks.

Mercenary Actions

The mercenary actions (gifts) are abilities that only a mercenary persona has. New actions are added when the persona gains a certain level of experience. The player cannot choose her personas actions.

Mercenary Actions Table
Mercenary actions are acquired with experience levels

EXPS Level

Action

Description

1

Proficiency

The mercenary uses her bonus proficient for personal weapons.

4

Defense

Allows the mercenary to transfer her bonus proficient to her armour rating.

7

Multiple

Ambidextrous combat with penalty for personal weapons

EXPS Level

Action

Description

Mercenary Interests

These are broad areas of interest that the mercenary has. Combat interests will assist the persona in any combat related tasks she is undertaking. For example, shooting a lazer gun or throwing a grenade would benefit from combat interests. Tactical interests are the officer side of executing tasks related to the bigger picture of a battle. If the mercenary wanted to avoid an ambush, or organize a room entry she calls on her tactical interests.

At startup the player gets one roll per 3 points of INT. Each interest includes a skill roll as well. After startup the player can roll or choose one additional interest per new EXPS level.

*Mercenary Interest Table *
Broad areas of mercenary interest.

Die Roll

Interest

01-41

Combat

42-80

Tactics

81-89

Specials

90-95

Choose

96-99

Extra Roll

00

Ref’s Own Table

Die Roll

Interest

1 per 4 INT at startup. 1 per additional level

Combat Interest

This interest is about weapons. Combat interests lead to combat skills that are usually weapon specific. Combat interest can assist the persona when making task rolls related to combat tasks. For example, if the persona is making a task roll for ambidextrous combat the combat interest will help.

Tactical Interest

Tactical interests assist the mercenary regarding decisions that do not affect direct combat. For example, artillery use or planning an ambush is a tactical interest.

Special Interest

These are special interests that do not involve combat or tactical interests. For example, knocking open a door, or combat in zero gravity can benefit from special interests. These are not special ops interests per se, but many of the special skills fall into those categories.

Mercenary Skills

Skills are much more specific than interests and can refer to a specific weapon type or a specific task. The skills will assist the persona in completing task rolls related to the skill. A mercenary gets one skill per corresponding interest. So combat interest will earn the persona a combat skill as well.

Combat Skills

Combat skills assist the persona on any attack rolls she makes with the described weapon. The skill would also help the persona when working with a non-combat task with the weapon. The combat skill Pistols, Full Auto would give an attack roll bonus for flotto pistol. The Pistols, Full Auto would also give a task bonus when cleaning or unjamming a flotto pistol

The player makes one roll per interest at startup and gets an additional roll for each new EXPS level.

Mercenary Combat Skills

Weapon and combat skills

Die Roll (1d100)

Skill

01-05

Hand to Hand, Striking

06-10

Hand to Hand, Thrusting

11-15

Hand to Hand, Projectile

16-20

Hand to Hand, Unarmed

21-24

Pistols, Revolver

25-28

Pistols, Semi-Auto

29-32

Pistols, Full-Auto

33-36

Pistols, Energized

37-40

Pistols, Energized Full-Auto

41-44

Pistols, Energized Semi-Auto

45-48

Rifles, Pump; Bolt Action

49-52

Rifles, Semi-Auto

53-56

Rifles, Full-Auto

57-58

Rifles, Energized

59-62

Rifles, Energized; Semi-Auto

63-66

Rifles, Energized; Full-Auto

67-72

Aerosols

73-75

Ambidextrous

76-78

Bolster

79-81

Divide Attacks

82-87

General Mayhem

88-93

Grenades

94-96

Snap Reload

97-98

Extra Roll

99

Choose

00

Ref’s Own Table

Die Roll

Skill

1 per Interest at startup and then 1 per EXPS level

Combat weapon skills are cumulative and separable. So a persona with Rifles, Full Auto, and Rifles Bolt action would have Rifles +2 and Full auto +1 This would allow for +3 with flotto rifles, +3 with bolt action rifles and +2 with any other rifle.

When using the tactical combat system and kilodie attack rolls the player adds +20 per combat skill. The player adds +60 with flotto and bolt action rifles attack rolls and +40 with any other rifle attack roll. These bonuses can exceed the persona’s Maximum Roll.

Tactical Skills

Tactical skills give the persona a bonus when making task rolls for the specific skill. Some of the tactical skills also give weapon bonuses, like artillery or bombs. Such skills are not considered weapon attacks because they are not considered personal weapons. Other tactical skills are esoteric and represent "officer type" skills.

Mercenary Tactical Skills

Tactical skills

Die Roll (1d100)

Skill

01-05

Ambush

06-10

Artillery

11-15

Artillery, Naval

16-20

Biome

21-25

Bombs

26-30

Buildings

31-35

Buildings

36-40

Comms

41-45

Defence

46-50

Drones

51-55

Extrication

56-60

Logistics

61-65

Personnel

66-70

Prevarication

71-75

Quartermaster

76-80

Surveillance

81-83

Vehicles, aerial

84-85

Vehicles, exatmo

86-94

Vehicles, ground

95-96

Vehicles, submersed

97-98

Extra Roll

99

Choose

00

Ref’s Own Table

Die Roll

Skill

1 per Interest at startup and then 1 per EXPS level

Biome refers to a alien biome where the mercenary has tactical advantage

Special Skills

Special skills give the persona a bonus on tasks that are neither tactical nor combat. However, these skills can definitely be used in combat situations. For example, the submersive skill will assist the persona in underwater combat. There are not special ops skills per se, but represent specializations that would require specialization beyond a weapon skill.

Mercenary Special Skills

Special skills

Die Roll (1d100)

Skill

01-07

Ambush

07-14

Biome

14-21

Demolitions

21-25

Exatmo

26-38

Field mech

39-53

Field vet

54-61

Force entry

62-65

Hi Gravity (HIG)

66-69

Low Gravity (LOG)

70-72

Powered Armour

73-80

Sapper

81-88

Subermersive

89-96

Zero Gravity (ZOG)

97-98

Extra Roll

99

Choose

00

Ref’s Own Table

Die Roll

Skill

1 per Interest at startup and then 1 per EXPS level

Field vet = Quick Fix, field mech = Quick Repair combat only

Biome refers to a alien biome where the mercenary has special advantage

Explanations of Abilities

Due to the importance of combat abilities the following paragraphs shed some light on the more common abilities.

Bolstering Armour Rating

The mercenary can increase her armour rating, making her more difficult to damage in combat. The mercenary increases her defence by decreasing her attack. The player can transfer points from her bonus proficient to her armour rating. So her chance to hit decreases but her chance to be hit decreases as well. This trade-off can change every unit, and the player doe not need to win a task roll. Bolster AR is an automatic combat ability for mercenaries.

Let’s consider a 3rd level merc with a BP of 158 and an AR of 620. She could drop her BP to 98 and increase her AR to 680.

The bonus proficient use must match the attack type. The player can use her persona’s Type A BP against type A attack. A mercenary can transfer 20 BP points to AR per EXPS level. The amount transferred cannot exceed the mercenary’s Bonus Proficient. The player can use only the pure combat table Bonus Proficient. Other bonuses, like scope bonuses, do not apply. The mercenary can use her bolstered AR against one attack per EXPS level.

Divided Attacks

Mercenaries can make extra attack rolls with non-powered weapons. Non-powered weapons are thrusting and striking (type A) and non-powered missiles (type B). Powered weapons (Type C) have a mechanical rate of fire limitation, and the divided attack ability does not apply. Divided attacks are automatic, and the player does not make a task roll.

The player divides her bonus proficient between the attack rolls. Hence the name divided attacks. The persona gets one additional attack every two levels of experience to a maximum of 4 divided attacks per unit. A 4th level mercenary is attacking with an axe and has a BP of 210. She could chop once with a BP of 210 or 3 times with a BP of +70;

To maintain game efficiency, players should make their calculations in advance.

Ambidextrous Combat

Mercenaries can use weapons with both hands without penalty. The player must win a task roll or usual penalties for ambidextrous combat. Ambidextrous combat allows the mercenary to combine any weapon types they can carry.

Example Ambidextrous Combos
  • two rifles

  • pistol and sword

  • two swords

  • aerosol and dagger

  • two grenades

Under normal circumstances, a persona suffers a severe penalty for ambidextrous combat. The typical penalty is -200 for the dominant hand and -300 for the non-dominant hand. If the player wins a task roll, the mercenary does not suffer these penalties. If they miss their task roll, the merc will suffer -200 and -300 on the two attacks.

The DD of the task roll is 12. If the player wants to combine ambidextrous combat and divided attacks, DD is 24.

Poly-dextrous Combat

Aliens can come with multiple attacks pre-evolved. An alien mercenary gets the same abilities as any other mercenary. However, mercenary abilities only apply to weapons that the alien mercenary uses, not her native attacks. For example, an alien with two natural attacks per unit cannot use divided attacks or ambidexterity on her biological attacks. A mercenary alien could use her natural attacks and her weapon attacks simultaneously. Each alien is different, and whether her natural and weapon attacks work simultaneously must be negotiated between the referee and players.

Absolute Proficiency

Mercenaries are proficient in any weapon that they use. So a mercenary using a lazer pistol she just purchased up would use her Bonus Proficient. Absolute proficiency only works with fully identified personal weapons. This ability does not work on unidentified artifact weapons, but the mercenary is most likely to identify a gun. This ability does not work on weapon systems of mass destruction.

Snap Reload

The mercenary can reload her weapon and attack in the same unit. Most personas would have to miss at least a combat unit to reload a weapon. The snap reload can also be used as a snap weapon exchange. The player must win a 6 DD task roll to snap reload or snap change weapons. If the mercenary is trying to snap reload during ambidextrous combat, the DD increases to 12. A mercenary cannot combine snap reload, ambidextrous combat and divided attacks. If the player loses the task roll, the mercenary reloads like all other personas.

Example Three Rolls
  • Hand-to-hand, striking

  • Pistol, revolver, XLP (extra-low powered)

  • Pistol, revolver, MP (medium-powered)

  • Extra Roll!

  • Grenades, Buildings

Mercenary Tasks

Mercenary tasks are devoted to combat and harming organic and inorganic targets. These tasks are all about destroy, destroy, and destroy.

A mercenary must have a weapon to work with. This must be an actual weapon that is not improvised from the persona’s body (a fist is not a mace). The referee may make a target roll more difficult if the mercenary does not have a weapon.

Mercenary Maneuvers and example DDs
Degree of Difficulty of day to day maneuvers.

Maneuver

Degree of Difficulty (DD)

Act During Ambush

8-19 (1d12+7)

Aerosol, Safe Shot

10

Ambidextrous Combat

Pistol and Rifle

6

Pistol and Type A

4

Pistol and Pistol

4

Rifle and Rifle

8

Two Bolt Actions

24

Type A and Type A

2

Type B and Type B

28

Grenade Combat

Extra Toss

8

Safe Shot Self

4

Safe Shot Others

4 per persona

Movement Combat

Attack While Falling

1-8 (1d8)

Attack While Rolling

1-12 (1d12)

Avoid Shelling

9-16 (1d8+8)

Cover at Full Move

5-12 (1d8+4)

Flanking

7-14 (1d8+6)

Un-flanking

8-19 (1d12+7)

Snap Actions (no move cost)

Reload Batteries

8

Reload Type A

1

Reload Type B

6

Reload Type C Pistol

2

Reload Type C Rifle

4

Reload Type F

6

Snap Unjam

1-12 (1d12)

Stay Conscious

11-22 (1d12+10)

Maneuver

DD

Experience

The benefits of increasing experience levels are more weapon skills and improved success with task rolls. Mercenaries earn experience points for completing maneuvers and role-playing within their vocation. Mercenaries gain 110% of combat EXPS earned.

Mercenary Experience

Violence begets better violence.

Experience Points

Experience Level

1-2000

1

2001-4000

2

4001-8000

3

8001-18000

4

18001-35000

5

35001-70000

6

70001-125000

7

125001-250000

8

250001-500000

9

250000

Experience points per level above 9th.

Experience Points

Experience Level