The Unseen Servant forums

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:59 pmFrom a gaming perspective I think company is about as big as will be fun to play - beyond that the PCs are too far from the action.

Well, that does raise a question; what if SEMC sub-contracted out? I don't know the relationship with 4DC, but using them as an example. SEMC sub-contracts to them for things in our niche, and they maintain the support facilities, etc. Much like the Italians during the 1400's, each condotta signed on with the larger organization but was its own unit.

Another alternative is civilian support facilities. Less capitol expense, more operational expense based on usage.

Leitz wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:38 pm I think a Company will wind up being the right size. We'll need support for the vehicles and gear, and if we're going to run electronics then tech and support for that. Some of the teams may be NPC driven, perhaps each PC has an "action" team and also a "support" team to manage so Frank/shaidar doesn't have to do it all.

Addendum Using the German Boxer as a design prototype, crew of three plus up to eight troops. So, one combat squad carried and one fire-team with the vehicle. Two vehicles carries a platoon, and we need one vehicle for mobile command post (MCP). Adding platoons of two vehicles doesn't require another MCP, but a far vehicle (ship, ship's boat) with data analysts and medical facilities is required. All of those vehicles need support crews and machinery to support. Perhaps depot level maintenance back at Collace, but that's still staff in the unit.

An alternative would be more training and diverse skills, so that vehicles could be gotten "on site" and maintenance not be an issue. That would allow for a smaller head count unit and lean towards a more elite unit.

As an aside, having a "back area" where invalidated out staff can go is a plus. If SEMC is running a training section then that means a trooper who loses an arm or a leg isn't tossed aside.

I know in the US back in the 80's it was "believed" that for each solider on a battlefield there were 9 others supporting him or her. While I do not think that we need those numbers, I do like the idea of each PC having an action and support team.

Leitz wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:38 pm I think a Company will wind up being the right size.

A company is about 200 people with three or four platoons. That's a lot to keep up with.

joertexas wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:23 am

Leitz wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:38 pm I think a Company will wind up being the right size.

A company is about 200 people with three or four platoons. That's a lot to keep up with.

I was thinking more the lower mid range, in the 100-125, including all the support and rear echelon. Hence the other ideas about sub-contracting and civilian support personell.

Okay, so we have the following officers and subunits:

Frank - HQ
Prerna - Recon
Jess - Combat
Jakob - Combat
Kit - Combat
Freya - ELINT/Drones

Anyone else for a command slot?

Leitz wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:38 pm I think a Company will wind up being the right size. We'll need support for the vehicles and gear, and if we're going to run electronics then tech and support for that. Some of the teams may be NPC driven, perhaps each PC has an "action" team and also a "support" team to manage so Frank/shaidar doesn't have to do it all.

Addendum Using the German Boxer as a design prototype, crew of three plus up to eight troops. So, one combat squad carried and one fire-team with the vehicle. Two vehicles carries a platoon, and we need one vehicle for mobile command post (MCP). Adding platoons of two vehicles doesn't require another MCP, but a far vehicle (ship, ship's boat) with data analysts and medical facilities is required. All of those vehicles need support crews and machinery to support. Perhaps depot level maintenance back at Collace, but that's still staff in the unit.

An alternative would be more training and diverse skills, so that vehicles could be gotten "on site" and maintenance not be an issue. That would allow for a smaller head count unit and lean towards a more elite unit.

As an aside, having a "back area" where invalidated out staff can go is a plus. If SEMC is running a training section then that means a trooper who loses an arm or a leg isn't tossed aside.

Should we cultivate a small Collace Vehicle Maintenance Shop to maintain our vehicles? - a full time maintenance crew will be fine when we are home, but expensive fluff when in the field.

joertexas wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 5:32 am Okay, so we have the following officers and subunits:

Frank - HQ
Prerna - Recon
Jess - Combat
Jakob - Combat
Kit - Combat
Freya - ELINT/Drones

Anyone else for a command slot?

This looks good. Are you asking if we need to promote an NPC up?

We also need to work out where Gaughan and his guys go.

I think for now we have to focus on getting us up to Platoon. We can keep an eye on being a company further down the line but is there much point focussing too much on that as we don't know how things will pan out. We should revisit the idea after our next job.

Meta-gaming a bit here, while scouts certainly are a military service, they don't have the strong command structure that the other services do [no ranks!], where officers are trained from the beginning to manage large number of men in combat. My understanding is that scout's work independently or in small groups. The honest truth is (unless there is something in Freya's career I am unaware of, which is very possible because The Star didn't tell Frank much about her) initially Freya won't have the experience to run such squads, but she is obviously capable and intelligent and Jakob will be running the companies military school so we have possibilities for character progression in that area if that is what BT wants.

It's been mentioned before (multiple times) in this thread, most recently by joe above, but the more I think about it the more I agree we should build up our recon/strike drone/anti-drone abilities under Freya. Of course money will always be the limiting factor on how quickly we can build things up, but anti -drone/ECM seems the priority if funds are short. We have a decent comms system, battle computer and jammer, so we need some more whistles for those bells, and look at getting a point defense system for the new HQ.

BackworldTraveller wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:22 am Should we cultivate a small Collace Vehicle Maintenance Shop to maintain our vehicles? - a full time maintenance crew will be fine when we are home, but expensive fluff when in the field.

That is a good idea and falls along side Leitz's idea of a training school. These things run in parallel and allow us to make more money out of our facilities while we are away. This all builds on the existing down-port abilities of the Bartizan which already provide us with credits. Again, the limit is going to be money, the Bartizan already needs money to fix it up.

It's always about the budget size and the fact that that money is dragged in a dozen different directions. I guess we need to make a shopping list and prioritise it.

Hopefully it won't be too long before we now what our budget is.

EDIT: PS - None of this is dissing any suggestions made, it's all good stuff to go in the mix. Just suggesting we focus a bit more on the immediate and see what our budget is. That's what I do at work when I have a large, partly undefined system, focus on what we know and need immediately and then the rest tends to fall into place when needed.

A Collace Mech Shop should be able to function as an income stream for much of the time. 3 mechanics, 2 reception/admin here (Essex, England) makes about £80K-£100K/annum profit with one of the admin roles being that of the owner.

And that is about the smallest sensible multi-mechanic shop after sole-trader.

Set up expenses are premises (we have the Bartizan)? Lifts and Ramps (Probably needed anyway for our kit) and store of minimal spares (as mostly that is outsourced for Civilian Vehicles, Military need just in case not just in time logistics)

That would give room for up to 5 retirees, or family members of either retirees or serving crew.

Spin off as wholly owned subsidiary and borrow from bank for set up. The contract with SEMC is then proof of income for loan purposes.

Recruiting and Training are a separate Merc operation. They can look for separate tickets or service SEMC. All that is needed is land and people. You'd need admins, recruiters and access to a medic for the recruiting side (plus some PR/Marketing help - but that could also be a side-line later for other companies). You'd need admin and trainers for the training side. On the training side you'd be able to cross subsidise by taking basic training tickets from security companies or corporates wanting the "Team Building" experience with "Real Mercs"! (A good story-teller wouldn't hurt). Accommodation: The Bartizan. Land? Equipment: All those 9mm ACRs might help. People: Cross-assignments from Line or Retirees. Admin: Family or Retirees.

(Scout Admins know do some things about Admin!)

Even better, that recruiting/training establishment may be a good cover for an Intel post for someone.

I pretty much agree with everything BwT just said. To make the mental math easier, for those of us who need it:

Cr 1 = USD 1 (circa 1977)
USD 1 (1977) = USD 4.37 (2021)
USD 1 (2021) = GBP 0.72
USD 1 (2021) = EUR 0.83

Using the BwT small shop example (GBP 80K-100K), let's use GBP 90K for the math. That's USD (2021) 108.5K. If I can do math (always iffy), then that's USD (1977) 25.4K, or Cr 5,080 profit per year. If you want to round things off, Cr 1 is USD (2021) 25, or GBP (2021) 18.

SEMC needs a merchant. Jakob comes from a merchant family. Options are open.

Leitz wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:42 am SEMC needs a merchant.

I think he meant to say "SEMC needs a merchant we can trust"

Oooh, don't diss the Domici.

Which colour?

BackworldTraveller wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:58 am Which colour?

They didn't officially start splitting until the Third Imperium really started collapsing. In 1105, they are still maintaining the image of political neutrality. Interestingly, DIstrict 268 would be a line of division between the Red and the Gold. Of course, the Blue are always around, just not nearly so numerous.

Back in the day, playing "James Bond" type games was fun. I'm not great at it, but would like to do a small recon/surveillance type scene. Jakob wants to learn from Liv, and it would give us intel on the target. If we can talk Tiglath into it, would you be up for a beginning phase where a small team did a spy mission?

In some ways it could get odd, Liv would be the handler. I can see Jakob as a junior operative, who else? Of course, there's lots of work to get the unit ready, but those interested could do some on-site prepwork.

Sounds right up my street!

Depending how many PCs are "in" this can form a greater or lesser part of the team's advance/immediate recon on Avastan.

I think Jess has commitments on Collace. She is our recruiter and QM, and the window of opportunity for both is narrow. As a player I'd love to play at secret squirrel, but I think the character is too busy.

I was wondering if under the Unit Admin thread it might be worth each player posting their skills and any military experience (sort of a mini resume), it would be common knowledge inside the unit I would imagine (at officer level at least).

EDIT: we did have that skills spreadsheet, we could post a link to that and make sure it's up to date

The Bindoner wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:06 pm I think Jess has commitments on Collace. She is our recruiter and QM, and the window of opportunity for both is narrow. As a player I'd love to play at secret squirrel, but I think the character is too busy.

Erica would murder Prerna if she tried to skip out on their honeymoon...

joertexas wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:17 pmErica would murder Prerna if she tried to skip out on their honeymoon...

Mercenary companies have more than one way to open up promotion opportunities.