Mercs...

[JakeSG]

Not as unrestricted as you seem to think. They can only attack things that have a bounty on them, can only use matching faction ships/guns, and cannot attack those whom the ships/guns come from.

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For the Core.

[swift]

Well for example, unless the IMG or CR grants some mercenary or Freelancer a Nyx, it's a sure fire way of getting blown to pieces.

And so far I think only one Nyx was given, and to a very trusted Merc.

And it does not stop any NPC faction, with all it's player factions agreeing on it, from disallowing mercs to fly their ships.

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<span style="font-familyalatino Linotype">

<span style="color:#000000">All morons hate it when you call them a moron.

</span></span>

<span style="color:#33FFFF">The CFF</span>

<span style="color:#33FF33">CFF Communication Channel and RP Collection</span>

[Klingon Council]

Well, some of us are Mercs because we have to be. When you don't quite fit in to a faction or you are ridiculed for being different then why not fly for yourself.
Perhaps some faction leaders after using a merc for some hired work over time may decide that the merc in question would be a good fit and invite them to join. Some of us have that goal in mind.

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"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

[carlabrams]

I don't have a problem with mercs, per se.

The only problem I have is when I see a merc in Omega 56. You don't have a bounty hunter ID or bounty hunter guild guard ID - I don't care if you happen to be in one of our bright and shiny ships. You get two choices then - learn to breathe in vacuum, or pay the fine for trespassing and get out.

That's one of the issues with mercs, actually, is getting ships. Go fly an Eagle or something that's civilian line. Bounty Hunter ships are now a bit more restricted. The Gunship and Orca are ONLY available in our guard system. Don't try to come get them... :nono::P

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Sentient Machine Alliance

[Dusty Lens]

The problem hasn't changed, it's been this way forever. 90% of mercs are and always have been the happy funtime grabbag of stuffz brought from all corners of the mod to hammer down on whomever it is that they feel like hammering down on ID group.

Throw Freelancers into the mix.

Just about the only thing you can't theoretically do with a merc is buy yourself a Falcatta, load it up with Krakens and then proceed to explode Outcasts in Malta Orbit. But, in theory, you also could if you dropped some bit about having "done some work for them" back in the day and you're still holding onto their toys.

The whole affair is best governed by personal responsibility but, on that same token, most of the persons who are attracted to it are those whom are most enamored by the potential of going buck wild with a Mjolnir loaded down with cids to pew pew Barghests before turning around two seconds later to pew pew Upholders to turn around two seconds later to pew pew whatever is in front of his ship etc.

*deep breath*

They suck, in other words.

I can count the number of freerange mercs that rock on one hand.

/rant

[tazuras]

I like having mercs somewhat unrestricted. I do wish they were required to write RP for non-generic (civvie) equipment. The thought that came to me is independent traders are restricted to a certain size ship to:

A)Get people to play in factions
B)In RP they couldnt afford bigger ships or these ships would not be sold to them

Yet mercs can use any ship.... Seems a little incongruous to me...

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[Lucend]

I don't know about other factions, but among Corsairs, Mercs are treated the same as Bounty Hunters. I think you can see where this is going.

Mercs, unless they have a history, are almost universally suspicious, which I think balances their somewhat unique position concerning weapons.

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&quot;The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river. The river was there.&quot;

Osaika Moto, the Fall and Rise of a Kusari Farmer

Juan Lucendez, √ Corsair

[kemira]

The Merc issues must be dealed in an rp way, if im flying a system owner faction char like liberty Navy on NY or a sair in Gamma and i see a Merc in an enemy or a suspisious ship or load out or using a Faction especific ship he must gave me a lot of explanation to avoid been expulsed/arrested/destroyed. I always try to deal whit OORP actiudes in rp way. Example if you are in are a Merc in a Falcata on California with a OC or LH Setting trying to be treated like an innocent/lawful ship you mus be: Nuts/an idiot/a pirate any of tree options make you dangerous for the civilian ships and the order of the system and the policies of unlawful ships must be applied.

[Ayem]

I think, in a time of war, Mercs would have the opportunity of getting their hands on more, and higher end military hardware. The disadvantage in the current real world for mercenaries is NATO, it sets the bar for "good" military intervention. All that is not NATO is "unsanctioned" and subject to breaches of international law, so mercenaries in the real world tend to work either for those who cannot be characterised as "good", or by those who are outside the remit of organisations like NATO.

This, historically, is not true of mercenaries. Warring nations would bolster their armies with short term, high cost troops (mercenaries) whether they were good or evil, because that is what it took to win. There is no NATO in Sirius, therefore mercenaries can be free of some of that stigma. Nations could freely hire mercenary groups (or individuals) to reinforce blockades, assist in fleet battles and run skirmish campaigns.

In Iraq at the moment, and over the past years, there has been a boom in acceptable mercenary activity under the name of Security. If mercenaries in Sirius seem like aimless, ragtag drunks with behaviour issues then it's because they're out of work! Try hiring a few, Rheinland! Keep those Mjolnirs in your space, rather than leaving them to hang out for drinks and a snort of Cardi at Malta.

Note: By hire I do not mean give them billions of credits, I mean organise an RP arrangement where payment is assumed (or in fact given, if that's the way you want to do it). It's not like you official factions have a weekly payday, or that your money comes from taxing civilians. Mercs aren't bounty hunters, they operate in a different way.

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[sovereign]

I do believe that flying a Mjolnir with tizzies would result in a successful sanction report with any ID other than "Special Operative" or "Terrorist". Keep to one side of the fence and all that, I think the example in the server rules is something like "regardless of ID, Corsair + OC tech on one ship = NO".

So...

If everyone read the rules, this wouldn't be a problem.

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