Ix and Armies and Mercs, oh my
Ix and I were having a conversation about mercs at Pennsic. Please comment. (Yes, I know the 'review' thing could be taken as a pain, but I'm not going to be crazy and insist on it; just have those who want to be reviewed participate.)
I know you don't like mercs, that they don't fit in with the 'chivalric' ideal. Did the Aztecs use mercs at all? Were merc troops even available? Did the late period Spaniards use mercs? Were they even available? (I'm betting that they were in the Spanish case.)
I think there are two ways to look at the merc thing:
1) we reward/pay mercs to do what home troops do without reward/pay (which you don't like)
2) we don't reward/pay home troops to do what mercs do for reward/pay
In history, troops were part of the fealty agreement (the benefits included protection, food, etc.). Mercs were extras to fill in during times of duress, and not used during times of peace.
Think of it like associates and temporary contractors in IT. Contractors usually come in for specific projects, and get paid extra because a) they don't get the benefits the associates do, b) they are hired for a specific task only, and c) they can be tossed at any time with little or no notice.
If the 'going rate' for mercs gets a lot higher than the 'going rate' for home troops, then the home troops get annoyed and may turn merc.
If the 'going rate' for mercs is not much higher than the 'going rate' for home troops, then the things the home troops get become more important than the merc perqs, the home troop population rises, and the merc population diminishes.
So, given that:
You will never remove mercs from the game. You can only influence your side's use (or non-use) of mercs.
Banning mercs (even only on our side) will never work (see War on Drugs).
It seems to me (from my not-being-a-current-fighter point of view), the situation is that people (being capitalists at heart) find merc bands that emphasize merc troop membership attractive (both from the reward/pay and the 'being part of a greater group' feeling), and thus want to play merc more than home troop. And baronies/regions/groups/etc. are not (actively or effectively) trying to counteract this. It's easier for them to personally pay for/network to get mercs than to put the work into building up the 'home troop' attractiveness.
I think that the Midrealm/regional units/baronial units/smaller units/etc. don't do enough of 'home troop' membership promotion/recruitment. Thats one thing that the East does very well, which probably has a lot to do with why they keep stomping us every year.
Therefore, what I would like to see (when we win Crown) is an emphasis on the value of being the Kingdom's Army over being mercs.
1) Emphasize the attractiveness and benefits to being with a landed group in the Kingdom's Army. Historical references, historical stories of heroism from the "king's men", etc.
2) Evaluate and reward the 'home troops' for a) recruitment/size, b) troop quality/skills and diversity, and c) unit cohesiveness. Limit the counts to non-mercs so no one can artificially inflate their numbers. Perhaps create an award or edict or public recognition for best army. Publish the metrics for these evaluations early so people can prepare.
3) If mercs are hired, they have to wear the livery of the home troop that hired them. No free advertising. That means that anyone hiring mercs has to get them tabards/etc. so they appear as part of the unit cohesiveness. Makes it a) more expensive to hire them (have to also pay to clothe them), and b) more work to hire them (have to make the tabards).
4) A formal Army review, where the Army assembles before the Crown to receive words of encouragement and is evaluated for the rewards.
5) A party/gathering/festival just for the 'home troops'. We would give each army troop (not mercs) a token that they would use for entrance into the gathering for them and their inspiration/family. We would pay for the tokens to get made (our personal expense as the Monarchs to reward our army). This we can probably use SCA funds for - anyone can self-select to be part of the army, so it's sufficiently open for our rules. Having it be for families would be a good thing too.
If we win a Pennsic crown, I would like to be the Queen of an Army, not Queen of a bunch of troops. Which is what I'm pretty sure you want as well.
I know you don't like mercs, that they don't fit in with the 'chivalric' ideal. Did the Aztecs use mercs at all? Were merc troops even available? Did the late period Spaniards use mercs? Were they even available? (I'm betting that they were in the Spanish case.)
I think there are two ways to look at the merc thing:
1) we reward/pay mercs to do what home troops do without reward/pay (which you don't like)
2) we don't reward/pay home troops to do what mercs do for reward/pay
In history, troops were part of the fealty agreement (the benefits included protection, food, etc.). Mercs were extras to fill in during times of duress, and not used during times of peace.
Think of it like associates and temporary contractors in IT. Contractors usually come in for specific projects, and get paid extra because a) they don't get the benefits the associates do, b) they are hired for a specific task only, and c) they can be tossed at any time with little or no notice.
If the 'going rate' for mercs gets a lot higher than the 'going rate' for home troops, then the home troops get annoyed and may turn merc.
If the 'going rate' for mercs is not much higher than the 'going rate' for home troops, then the things the home troops get become more important than the merc perqs, the home troop population rises, and the merc population diminishes.
So, given that:
You will never remove mercs from the game. You can only influence your side's use (or non-use) of mercs.
Banning mercs (even only on our side) will never work (see War on Drugs).
It seems to me (from my not-being-a-current-fighter point of view), the situation is that people (being capitalists at heart) find merc bands that emphasize merc troop membership attractive (both from the reward/pay and the 'being part of a greater group' feeling), and thus want to play merc more than home troop. And baronies/regions/groups/etc. are not (actively or effectively) trying to counteract this. It's easier for them to personally pay for/network to get mercs than to put the work into building up the 'home troop' attractiveness.
I think that the Midrealm/regional units/baronial units/smaller units/etc. don't do enough of 'home troop' membership promotion/recruitment. Thats one thing that the East does very well, which probably has a lot to do with why they keep stomping us every year.
Therefore, what I would like to see (when we win Crown) is an emphasis on the value of being the Kingdom's Army over being mercs.
1) Emphasize the attractiveness and benefits to being with a landed group in the Kingdom's Army. Historical references, historical stories of heroism from the "king's men", etc.
2) Evaluate and reward the 'home troops' for a) recruitment/size, b) troop quality/skills and diversity, and c) unit cohesiveness. Limit the counts to non-mercs so no one can artificially inflate their numbers. Perhaps create an award or edict or public recognition for best army. Publish the metrics for these evaluations early so people can prepare.
3) If mercs are hired, they have to wear the livery of the home troop that hired them. No free advertising. That means that anyone hiring mercs has to get them tabards/etc. so they appear as part of the unit cohesiveness. Makes it a) more expensive to hire them (have to also pay to clothe them), and b) more work to hire them (have to make the tabards).
4) A formal Army review, where the Army assembles before the Crown to receive words of encouragement and is evaluated for the rewards.
5) A party/gathering/festival just for the 'home troops'. We would give each army troop (not mercs) a token that they would use for entrance into the gathering for them and their inspiration/family. We would pay for the tokens to get made (our personal expense as the Monarchs to reward our army). This we can probably use SCA funds for - anyone can self-select to be part of the army, so it's sufficiently open for our rules. Having it be for families would be a good thing too.
If we win a Pennsic crown, I would like to be the Queen of an Army, not Queen of a bunch of troops. Which is what I'm pretty sure you want as well.