NPC Wednesdays #169

Sometimes the enemy is not a mortal enemy that wants to see the heroes roughed up. If that enemy has not the skills to do that himself, he might hire mercenaries to do it for him.

This could be local small time criminals or half drunk patrons from a bar trying to earn more drinks for this favour.

However real mercenaries are also available and while some units like the Tulamidian Riders are huge (-1600 mercenaries) most units are smaller, some down to individual mercenaries.

Individuals are more open to be contracted to a private person, often as a type of bodyguard. But it could also be former members of a larger group currently unemployed. And certainly some mercenaries are deserted soldiers and others are heroes.

Arameo Balur is a member of a very small unit of five, often called a hand. Usually they are employed to guard merchants on dangerous routes. He has been with his current officer (see next week) for a couple of years now, occasionally fighting robbers and mostly looking dangerous. But he started out in a larger unit involved in fighting between Horasian Empire and Almada, taking part in a siege and some raids.

For mercenaries their will to fight (and die) for their employers is related to the amount of gold they get, but after some years Arameo now prefers the relative safety of the roads where his mere presence avoids most fighting.

And roughing up some heroes sticking their noses too deep into the affairs of a merchant, he would flee or give up as soon as he gets some real (non brawling) damage.

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