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PLAYER S GUIDE TO FIGHTERS AND BARBARIANS
Don’t sneer at me, pikesman. I’m here to save your miserable hides. Yeah, I’m getting paid plenty of gold to do it, but why else would I be here? Understand this — the loss of some of your precious gold ensures that this damned place will still be around in the future when those orcs come boiling up out of the hills. Wars are always fought with mercenaries, and we’re as faithful as your gold is good. My blood will run just as surely as yours on this battlefield. Now, do you want to show me a good place for my men to set up camp, or shall I just choose a spot? — Lieutenant Alishia Brazenpinion, Mercenary of the Hawk
Mercenary groups are often disdained by other militaries, particularly national armies. This owes more to patriotic fervor than a genuine analysis of the facts. Armies are maintained depending on the demands of a given nation. The citizens themselves primarily defend small or sparsely populated countries, being roused in times of war to protect their own land. More organized governments structure paid service as a term of months per year, or a specific time period a citizen serves the military before retirement. The largest nations however embrace the professional soldier, paid from tax monies so that the citizens need not fight. The difference between a paid professional soldiery and mercenaries is, thus, largely an emotional distinction. In modern times mercenaries provide an especially vital function in Ghelspad. Since the Titanswar, few nations have been able to field sizeable armies. Further-
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more, the need to defend borders often leaves internal regions vulnerable to titanspawn attacks. Mercenary companies can recruit and train in more prosperous areas, then make themselves available to others. Weaker nations can thus focus on strengthening their economy, paying for military assistance rather then trying to set up their own defensive infrastructure. This saves the time and resources needed for instructors and training. In addition, the wide variety of companies in Ghelspad allows nations to shop around and find a group suited to their situation. Mercenary companies can even provide instruction for established armies or untrained citizenry. In several cases, retiring mercenaries have become the foundation of national militaries. Critics before the Titanswar often complained that mercenaries preyed on the weak. Mercenary bands were painted as more interested in looting and pillaging than
