Do mercenaries play a part in your games?
If so, who acts as a guarantor for mercenary contracts?

Historically the Catholic church did "banking" so, some church seems a likely option.
Faith works as a good "enforcement".

Quote from: Greentongue;1020744Do mercenaries play a part in your games?
If so, who acts as a guarantor for mercenary contracts?

Historically the Catholic church did "banking" so, some church seems a likely option.
Faith works as a good "enforcement".

In my D&D games. sometimes the guilds do. Other times, it is whoever is in charge locally. If the Players hire mercenaries, it is up to them to Vet or screen their mercenary hirelings.

Quote from: Greentongue;1020744Do mercenaries play a part in your games?
If so, who acts as a guarantor for mercenary contracts?

Historically the Catholic church did "banking" so, some church seems a likely option.
Faith works as a good "enforcement".

In the OTU of Traveller, it is the Third Imperium.

I usually say that it is the largest spanning government, that way they can decide if the mercenaries have weapons or intent which threaten their government and act as guarantor. Nobody wants the Big Government coming in and crushing a capitalist military endeavor because someone is not following the rules.

Quote from: Greentongue;1020744Do mercenaries play a part in your games?

In the Majestic Wilderlands it is the web of social contact and reputation. The essence of the relationship is that in exchange for money and a share of the loot, I will fight for you. With all else equal, the reason one company gets hired over another is because of the reputation of the captain and his men. There is no impersonal shopping mart where you can buy mercenary service. There is a Mercernaries Guild that functions as a social club and has a loose standard of conduct. Nobles and the government tend to be willing to pay a bit of a premium to hire companies that are members of the guild. However the captain and the lord doing the hiring have to have some level of trust. If they don't like each other the deal isn't happening.

There's no guarantor of mercenary contracts in my Wilderlands D&D games. Usually the mercs are contracted to a local lord or town that would be judge in their own case, anyway. Those local potentates don't want to encourage the hiring of mercs by anyone who might threaten them.

I guess mercs hired by a merchant, in theory either side could seek redress from a local lord/town if cheated, but in practice reputation is far more important. If the mercs turned on their employer they'd be declared brigands, while if the merchant cheated his mercenaries he can forget about hiring more (and would likely run into 'goblins' on his next trip...)

Reputation, money and threat of violence.

The person hiring the mercenaries guarantees their behavior by paying them, keeping to the contract with regards to allowed looting, etc. and when discharging them, either makes sure they give them time to find other work, or paying them extra to go away.
The mercenaries guarantee the hirer's behavior by taking their pay from his lands and people should he renege on the contract.
Also reputation plays into both, neither party wants to be in the position where they are unable to make another due to a bad rep.  Although the hirers definitely have an advantage here, having the coin.

You need to read about Sir John Hawkwood and the White Company.

Chirine can recommend a good book or three.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1020776You need to read about Sir John Hawkwood and the White Company.

Something else for the Amazon Wish List......

Was it the Catholic Church who did that or the Templars?

But along that lines, the Assassin's guild would be an interesting possibility.

Player characters pay to hire mercenaries in my games, mostly.

In my own RPG mercenaries were either hired on the spot on the trust/rep system. Or they worked through one of the mercenary guilds. Depended on the region. Some hired sight unseen. Others had extensive vetting systems. Same for PCs trying to hire.

In AD&D I set up a sort of "adventurers guild" that handled training and even some quest contracts. Screw up too much and you might find training costing more or the doors outright closed. There were also mercenary guilds and such.

In Star Frontiers theres at least two mercenary companies that hire out for jobs as guards, security, etc.

And same applies to non-com. Sometimes its hire on sight and trust, sometimes its interview time, and sometimes you have to go to a guild and sign a contract.

As a player I actually enjoy the interview style. I can pick hirelings and mercs to my needs rather than having people assigned. Possibly people who dont want to be there but are obligated to. But sometimes you just have to bite the sling bullet and hit up a company and go through them. But I think that the company style fits really well for Star Frontiers considering the scope and threat levels.

Plenty of room for all sorts of styles of hire.

Quote from: Greentongue;1020744who acts as a guarantor for mercenary contracts?

Who acts as a guarantor for any other contract?

Quote from: Bren;1020853Who acts as a guarantor for any other contract?

Often, it's "societal pressure". You have to keep your contract, because society will cast you out if you break it. If in a setting mercenaries already are outcasts, or really low on the social ladder, this pressure might not work so well. If they are, in general, regarded as reputable businessmen, it might be enough.

In TFT's "Cidri" setting, there tends to be a Mercenaries Guild, which you need to report to as part of the contract, so they don't suspect you of killing your own mercs when you're done with them to avoid payment. Since the Mercenaries Guild is widespread (or there are many guilds which have a common interest) and made up of skilled fighters very interested in their own safety and the honoring of contracts, you probably really don't want to get on their bad side.

Quote from: Pyromancer;1020861Often, it's "societal pressure". You have to keep your contract, because society will cast you out if you break it. If in a setting mercenaries already are outcasts, or really low on the social ladder, this pressure might not work so well. If they are, in general, regarded as reputable businessmen, it might be enough.

I should think that in most settings, being a mercenary who reneges on a deal is sure way to have every man's hand against you. Mercenaries are hated enough as it is, so biting the hand that feeds you is suicidal. As for the one doing the hiring, screwing over hired killers is foolhardy.