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Post by thenephew on Mar 16, 2007 4:22:11 GMT
These came up in the pirates thread, so I thought we could do with a little more investigation of this potentially very interesting collection of agencies, fleets and armadas that are employed to defend the Hivebergs from pirates, other Hives, kraken, really big, really pissed mangwhals... The model for a hive defence fleet that appears most obvious is a private army for each Hive, born, trained and living on the 'berg itself, like their own PDF (well, HDF). This gives them defence against pirates, makes each a formidable opponent in sea battles (especially since hive mounted heavy ordinance was prohibited by the Council/Senate, after the civil war and the sinking of the mystery Hive), and makes each 'berg very self-reliant, which is how I see them trying to be. The alternative is mercenary fleets, a far more interesting option. Thing is, I have much less of an idea as to how these would work.... Any ideas/
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Post by thenephew on Mar 16, 2007 19:16:49 GMT
Master-Admiral-Captain Artan Flenser is hired by St Petersberg as a defence against pirates. He brings with him his mercenary force of seafaring warriors, equipped with the highest quality weapons, clad in the strongest of armour. This thousand strong force of the elite of the elite are highly trained, highly motivated and higly paid - by their high leasing cost. The council pays this every year, to extend the contract for a further year, or else face the seas undefended while they search for a replacement company. This is an unnecessary choice, however, as the Wet Blades of Flenser have earned St Petersberg a reputation as unraidable, and as such their is no desire to forfeit this frighteningly efficient protection.
Johannesberg's defence force consists of indentured squadrons, taking a high risk job to repay the Hive council for their education and upbrining by the 'state' schools and creches. Armed with what the 'berg's council will buy for them, supplemented with what they are prepared to pay for with their own money, this rag-tag collection of overworked, underpaid, unmotivated men and women are all that stands between the Hive and the pirates intent on looting the edge docks and warehouses. With the alternative being a life of hard labour to pay off their incurred debts, this dangerous job is nonetheless a popular choice among the younger inhabitants of Johannesberg.
Hamberg, on the other hand, is a signed up patron of the MGTC, the Mercenary Guard Training Colleges. The guards of Hamberg are numerous but green, putting themselves through the colleges as a gateway to higher earning mercenary work off planet, or a relatively safe and steady guard job aboard one of the smaller 'bergs. The college maintains a continual rotation of guards, each squadron spending one year on three successive member-Hives, before graduating as a mercenary, with the option of signing on as a minder. These minders form the hard core of the numerous MGTC forces, training the recruits on site, leading missions and controlling the Hive garrisons. Many take this option, realising that, after several yeas of their life facing pirates on their own world, the rest of the galaxy can quite happily keep it's jobs to itself.
Just a few thoughts that need comments and criticism to expand into a workable piece of the planet.
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Post by Doug on Mar 19, 2007 18:19:50 GMT
Sounds pretty good - I take it the names are standins? Like I said, most of the suggestions sound good - I especially like the MGTC idea...I suspect that there might be several of these sorts of organisations on the world, all competing for jobs...or had you imagined this to be a confederation of groups like that?
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Post by thenephew on Mar 19, 2007 20:50:54 GMT
A market of private security corps seemd like the best idea, yeah. I thought it would be good to include the most influential, The MGTC, in the first writeup, so that a feel for how the industry standard worked could be constructed. Being the most successful, The MTGC directs most contracts, controlling certain parts of the seas, such as the [Name will be stolen from one of the maps soon] sector, where nearly 98% of the bergs and trader fleets are under the protection of the Colleges. Other sectors are effectively owned by the [Alternative Security Corporation], known for enforcing their own efficient but unpleasant 'guidelines' on the 'bergs they defend. While pirates rarely attack 'bergs 'casting the beacon of the ASC, those that do can look forward to a dark, cold life for ever after. Several other smaller, cheaper outfits look after those Hives that can't afford better protection, or are venturing into waters the larger corps don't see as worth their trouble.
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vendile
Enginseer
The doodler
Posts: 234
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Post by vendile on Mar 20, 2007 19:49:56 GMT
I like the MGTC idea very much - but if we go for this kind of thing then we will be dramatically reducing the size of the actual PDF, which would now be limited to service on the continent and penal islands - which i'm not so keen on.
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Post by thenephew on Mar 20, 2007 22:52:09 GMT
There could be a certain level of interchangeability between the two - the MGTC is 'used' to train the PDF in times of peace, as they tend to see more action as guards on hives than on penal rocks. This leads to a better trained PDF for the Imperial guard, and a small income for the MGTC using PDF recruits as pupils. If the PDF commissioner (probably the local IG commander) subsidises 25% of the training fee paid by the trainees, in return for 12 (the time it takes to pay back the 25% with quite a bit of interest, from the PDF wages) years service after graduation, then there would be a continuous rolling stock of fairly well trained men and women, with a large number of them tempted to stay on in the PDF to rise up the ranks. This is a very attractive path for many, as it offers military grade food, medical care, housing and a guaranteed job offer at the end of the tour. This means that, for it's land population (where most of the PDF recruits are drawn from), St. Martius' Bounty has quite a large PDF force. The majority of Hive dwellers don't get the chance to join such outfits as the MGTC or ASC. The smaller, more private corps are relatively expensive, due to the lack of Imperial financial support. They are, however, also better organised, as they don't have to stick to the PDF's inefficient quality control, supply order, fool allowance etc. regulations. This means their troops are more flexible ion deploment, able to move most places quickly, laying down many kind of weapons the PDF are not allowed to use, with greater unit independence due to less accountability. In some cases they are similar to MGTC's guard garrisons, in others like SWAT teams for hire on a per-job basis.
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mohauk
Artisan
Bringer of Fish
Posts: 75
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Post by mohauk on Mar 24, 2007 9:03:07 GMT
I can see this interchnageability being a good basis for more politics and backstabbing. I'd imagine the PDF would in general be resentful to these upstart privateer MGTC, who (by the very nature of being privateers) would probably be better at their specific job, but require payment. Then the MGTC would suffer from the lack of the sort of authority that the PDF wields - any pirates comprehended would have to be handed over with a great deal of bureaucracy, no doubt, to the proper authorities.
The whole situation screams resentment and grudges, which in my opinion is good. You hardly want to base campaigns on a planet which is perfect, crime-free, happy and flawless.
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