Morality,Raiding, Factions, and War

[Sir Duckpunch]

I read in a different thread that the development team does intent to add a sort of reputation system, to punish players for breaking contracts.

One of my favorite games of all time is Mount and Blade, my question is: Will we ever be able to raid “friendly” caravans or towns, and will there ever be multiple “friendly” factions which may go to war with each other, which you can align yourself with?

If the developers do in fact intend to add such a system:
That leads to another point. Let us say that kingdom A is at war with Kingdom B. Could there be a situation in which Kingdom A, Kingdom B, and a pack of goblins are all simultaneously battling each other on a single map.

Just thinking out loud, but I think the freedom to do such things would truly create many epic experiences, and memories.

The only reason I ask to begin with is because one of the things that makes mount and blade great (And I apologize for comparing the two games) is the feeling that you are put into a sandbox and can make yourself out to be whatever you please, and I think it would be a great addition to this already great game.

[tbeaz161]

I think a great thing would be to have contracts attacking another kingdom. As a mercenary company it may hurt your prestige and trust if you were to attack caravans or sack a village. While if you were contracted by a kingdom to harass an enemies caravans you would take a relationship hit with the victimized kingdom but your reputation as a mercenary company would not go down as you are simply doing what you were payed to do. You could even then be later hired by the previous kingdom to get revenge on your old employers.

[Sir Duckpunch]

Yes, id like something similar to that idea.

Perhaps a faction could offer you a long term contract to align yourself with them, and assist them in their endeavors and in return you receive a small weekly wage. Doing something which contradicts that factions interest would lead to consequences between your contracting faction.

[SpiritofTheWolfx]

What you have to remember. You are mercenaries. Soldiers see you as bandits, but you are soldiers for hire. It makes no sense why a mercenary company would start to randomly raid and pillage a town, unless another kingdom is paying you to.

[Atheist]

i think that this would make sense if you are being paid to support a faction, not joining them per say, but supporting, as long as the pay is there.

Ask me about your God

[Sir Duckpunch]

Yes, imagine the possibilities :b

Also, you don’t have to be the “Good” guy, because the way the game is right now you are slaying zombies, bandits, werewolves, goblins, orcs. All of which are “evil”.

It would be cool to align yourself with a faction that was totalitarian,firm lawful and unforgiving(Empire). Or a faction that was religious and believed in cleansing the land of scourge at any cost(Holy Order), or a faction made by the people, and for the people (wild west) with little law, but strong morale values, or code of honor.

Depending on which faction the player decides to align with, different events could come to pass. Or join no faction, and see how things play out.

Just ideas, but adding politics to a game always makes it more interesting and strategic.

[Atheist]

i mean, mercenaries don’t really get into politics, because they tend to take the contract from the highest payer.

Ask me about your God

[Sir Duckpunch]

I will have to disagree with you.
Even in the current day, private military contracting companies which are basically the modern day mercenaries, do not just accept contracts from the highest bidder, the notion is completely absurd – These companies have ethics and a reputation, what if the highest bidder is ISIS.

So yes, politics are always involved, ethics play a major role in many companies decisions. The individual humans beliefs also play a huge role, if a person believes he is fighting “Evil” then he is more likely to kill, but if he feels he is doing wrong/injustice or was raised a certain way, he may find it more difficult to do something or may even desert the group or abandon the cause.

[Meeky]

SpiritofTheWolfx wrote:

What you have to remember. You are mercenaries. Soldiers see you as bandits, but you are soldiers for hire. It makes no sense why a mercenary company would start to randomly raid and pillage a town, unless another kingdom is paying you to.

Not necessarily. While I agree that mercenaries in THIS GAME shouldn’t just go around raiding and pillaging, it did happen in history.

Here’s a piece about a couple real-world mercenary companies. First, concerning the Catalan Grand Company…

“First organized in 1302 by the adventurer Roger de Flor, the Catalan Grand Company was primarily composed of rugged Spanish veterans of the War of the Sicilian Vespers in Italy. Left unemployed at the conflict’s end, De Flor and his mercenaries contracted themselves to the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II, who brought them to the Eastern Mediterranean to fight off invading Ottoman Turks. The 6,500-strong Catalans succeeded in sweeping the Turks away from Constantinople, but their penchant for wanton sacking and looting also drew the ire of the Byzantines. In 1305, De Flor and some 1,300 of his men were ambushed and killed by another group of mercenaries in the Emperor’s employ.

Rather than disband, the surviving Catalans embarked on one of the bloodiest and most bewildering adventures in medieval military history. Following an abortive attempt to establish an outlaw state in Gallipoli, they marched to Greece and found work as muscle for the Duke of Athens. But when a dispute arose over back pay, the Catalans once again went to war with a former employer. After crushing the Greek armies and killing the Duke at 1311’s Battle of Kephissos, they found themselves the de facto lords of the Duchy of Athens. Amazingly, the mercenaries managed to consolidate their power and rule over large swaths of Greece for more than 75 years until an army from Florence finally defeated them in battle. The remnants of the Catalan Grand Company disbanded shortly thereafter.”

And then there’s the White Company:

“The White Company was one of the most infamous of the so-called “free companies”—bands of for-profit soldiers who conducted the lion’s share of warfare in 14th century Italy. The unit first rose to prominence in the 1360s before falling under the command of Sir John Hawkwood, an Englishman who had been knighted for his service in the Hundred Years’ War. With Hawkwood at the helm, the White Company became known as one of the most elite mercenary armies in Italy. Its troops—a cultural hodgepodge of English, German, Breton and Hungarian adventurers—were renowned for their skill with the longbow and the lance, and they terrified opponents with their lighting-quick surprise attacks and willingness to do battle during harsh weather or even at night.

In an era when Italy was splintered between warring city-states and medieval lords, the men of the White Company made a killing auctioning their services off to the highest bidder. Between 1363 and 1388, they fought both for and against the Pope, the city of Milan and the city of Florence, but they were rarely out of the field even during times of peace. In fact, when unemployed, the adventurers often kept their coffers full by launching raids on nearby villages and towns.”

All that said, I don’t think we should go around raiding and pillaging in this game. I think the Devs made it clear they don’t want that. But there IS some historical basis for mercenaries basically acting as bandits, raiders and pillagers in their free time.

Source: http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-legendary-mercenary-armies-from-history

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