First, I’m not sure if the video is in English or Japanese. Second, I’m seeing how the Ask-A-Character stuff is failing more than ever this week. At the writing of this post, I have one comment on the thing for Delvin. I’m editing this week, so thinking up new posts to replace the ones for Wednesday and Friday doesn’t seem likely. Well, I knew it was a gamble and now I know not to try this ever again. Hopefully the Questions 3 work better since I’m doing one today and another Thursday. Teaser Tuesday shall return next!
Today the topic is mercenaries in fantasy setting, so let’s get into it:
- What kind of mercenary would you be in regards to skills and weapons?
- Would you go solo or be part of a group?
- What is your reason for being a mercenary?
Legends of Windemere 
1. I kind of like Sir Robin’s idea of confusing our enemies more by running away farther. Can I be an invisible one?
2. Group, a big group that I could stand behind.
3. Money. They can earn the money, and I’ll share it with them. Just like equal partners.
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1. Guess if the job can be completed that way. Though be warned that invisible people can be caught in spells since they’re magical allies won’t see them. A friend learned that the hard way in a game.
2. I’m sensing a theme.
3. Just imagining Selenia getting angry and hurling you at the enemies like an invisible bowling ball. 😀
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Erg, no bowling for me today. Maybe I’ll check out the scribe’s guild.
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Paper cuts are easier to heal than slash wounds.
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Probably no dedicated priests for that. Have to heal the old fashioned way. That’s manly as hell.
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It would be a waste of magic. Though there are various degrees of healing spells. Wonder what a world would be like if even the smallest injury was healed with magic. I get the sense that pain thresholds would be severely reduced as well as resistance toward diseases.
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Good point. Sounds like some the sci fi where everyone is hooked to the central computer
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Or a society addicted to a specific drug. There has to be some kind of ‘pleasure’ when hit by a healing spell. Possibly even a simple pain relief.
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Not necessarily. You can do whatever you want in your world, but think about all the side effects on those pharmaceutical ads. Major depression could set in, recklessness, diarrhea, post nasal drip, Cravings for really strange stuff like houseplants, almost anything as a side effect. Fantasy stuff like the ability to talk to camels for a few days could be included.
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Maybe, but healing magic is an odd one to put side-effects on. At least when they stem from a God’s blessing like in Windemere. In a world where it’s more arcane and non-holy magic, those kind of things could work a little smoother. Guess I’m just thinking that a God or Goddess granting the power to heal wouldn’t add negatives like real medicines. Though I can see the cravings being something that happen. More psychological than physical since immortal beings won’t always have a clear concept of mortal minds.
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You may have planted a seed in my imagination. I’m all hung up on this now. What if the god were one of the not nice ones, like Aries or Loki, or your chaos goddess?
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Dungeons & Dragons actually answered that. For Gods of Evil, a follower couldn’t cast healing spells because it’s against their patron deity’s purpose. So they get pain spells instead. As for one like Loki or Yola, I’d actually say their mischievousness means the spells either have comical side-effects or only work half the time. The other times they do something entirely random like a skin or hair color change.
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Reminds me of Elmer Fudd growing flowers on his head.
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Think there’s actually a spell for that. 🙂
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Here are my answers:
1. What kind of mercenary would you be in regards to skills and weapons?
I would be adept with a blade but with rudimentary magic skill—enough to get by. I find that combination very compelling.
2. Would you go solo or be part of a group?
I would have some allies (ala the show Firefly or Star Wars Rebels). There’s safety in numbers sometimes, especially if we’re after a big score.
3. What is your reason for being a mercenary?
As a freelance writer I consider myself a mercenary. Gotta eat and pay bills.
Seriously, as a mercenary, I would be out for a just cause. Though I need money, I still have a moral code. I wouldn’t fight for a nation at war with my country. I would not hire myself to protect a dictator. I would not steal from a temple or from some poor.
There’s also the thrill of testing my skills to their limits. I grow in skill as I take on challenges.
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1. It definitely makes a person more versatile, but takes a lot of training. At least in Windemere. Delvin considered it at some point until Nyx angrily told him that it takes years to learn even basic magic.
2. So you’d be part of a small mercenary pack. Kind of like Delvin’s group before he became a champion. Those tend to be the most popular.
3. Surprisingly, a lot of successful mercenaries have morals in Windemere. The ones that will take any job eventually make too many enemies to keep going in certain areas. Imagine working for one group in January and then their enemies in February. Doesn’t make you seem like a trustworthy person and reputation is a big part of the business.
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I was also thinking about Ichabod Brooks and how he takes on jobs to take care of his family.
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True. Though he’s not really a mercenary. Hard to categorize him in the Windemere system since he takes a wide variety of jobs. Some adventures he’s a monster hunter, others he’s an adventurer, and other times he’s a mercenary. Not even sure how you’d label his next adventure.
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What kind of mercenary would you be in regards to skills and weapons? I would like to be the biggest badass with a long sword and crossbow. Fast, tough, strong,and fearless.
Would you go solo or be part of a group? Definitely solo.
What is your reason for being a mercenary? I would like the pleasure of delivering on a contract with my own resources to the satisfaction of my client.
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1. Longsword and crossbow at the same time? That is badass.
2. Don’t have to worry about sharing the pay then.
3. A mercenary out for personal satisfaction instead of money? I like that style.
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The cross bow for distance the sword for up close and personal
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Good idea. Don’t forget a dagger hidden somewhere. Just to be safe.
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Boot.
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I’d be some kind of soldier, specially trained and perhaps with advancements rather than actual powers. I’d be a lone wolf, only joining a team when the need arose. I’d be in it to fight for justice, or to seek revenge, or both – pretty cliché!
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It’s interesting seeing how people decipher the term ‘mercenary’. Some people appear to define it almost as a medieval superhero while others look at it as a soldier. Curious how the revenge thing would work.
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Hmm, that’s a good point. Not sure why I said revenge. That’s more assassin than mercenary. I must have been having a ‘mad max’ moment, either that or thinking of avenging an injustice, rather than seeking revenge!
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I guess a person can get into the mercenary lifestyle as a way to get revenge. Maybe the target is another merc or you can get closer to them if you’re a sword-for-hire.
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I like the sound of that – a sword-for-hire. That would be cool!
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Classic term, so I can’t take credit.
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I would be the mercenary who keeps pulling weapons from every part of their body. A small group would be more my style. And I would only get into the profession if the money and fame were right.
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“Don’t ask him where the battle axe came from. The answer will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
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Lol.
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1. I think Id combine use of light weaponry and spells. Lightning ones!
2. Probably in a small group.
3. It’s a job where you are your own boss, you make up your own rules and only ones morality and inclination that matters is your own.
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Lightning is always fun. At least when you’re not on the receiving end. An interesting take on the mercenary life too. Actually that sounds like what it’s supposed to be. Guess I’m the one who went off the original premise. 🙂
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Different reasons for being a mercenary all challenge greatly our perceptions on life which we transcribe to characters we write/read about/ I am a vigilante type, so that is my vision of a mercenary It is always nice to see a character who is a mercenary and is precisely NOT what I could’ve swore mercenaries were all about :).
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I think for me it was that I created more of an organization for mercenaries in Windemere. It isn’t really random bands of warriors roaming around in search of money. There’s a small structure to what they do and a hierarchy. This might have stemmed from me never really getting into the ‘unaffiliated merc’ character. For me, those characters were typically used as henchman or main villains.
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I am the assassin. The one who is sent in to do the most dirty of work. My speciality is blending with the night and my twin blades. Light weight and deadly, they need to be for close work. Poison is a weapon with which I am familiar and have had good results. I dont advertise, if you wish to pay for my services, you will already know who to contact. The reason I do this, it`s the family business.
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Interesting. Though I’ve never been a fan of using poisons. Only because they can backfire if one isn’t carefully. There’s a nasty history of poison-users getting ironic deaths in fiction.
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I know and sometimes that is the most delicious ending for a character. Have you read the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I fell in love with the books and the assassins behind the throne always peaks my interest.
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Never read it. One series with poison-using assassins that I have read is the Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan. They’re later enemies and I liked how a point was made that they were cautious of their own weapons.
Slightly off topic, but I remember there being a poison-using assassin meme or video from a Japanese show or something. The guy is threatening the heroes and talking about how the poison on his dagger can kill with the slightest cut. Then he licks the blade to intimidate, says he shouldn’t have done that, and drops dead in the road. That keeps coming to my mind with this topic.
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lol one should never become a poison assassin if one is stupid. loved it.
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I don’t know. There’s an odd sense of Darwinism to the whole thing. 😀
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1) What kind of mercenary would you be in regards to skills and weapons? 2) Would you go solo or be part of a group? 3) What is your reason for being a mercenary?
Remember in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, when the teachers roamed in a wagon train, teaching classes for food? That would be me, except I’d be more of a roving librarian or book seller. With a mace on my belt, to bash anyone who got too close with evil intentions. I would definitely stick to my caravan. I’d probably keep moving because a certain kind of authority always views knowledge as threatening.
So that’s me, the itinerant mercenary librarian.
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Interesting. One thing I never understood is the ‘rulers destroying knowledge’ thing. Sometimes it works, but a lot of the time it feels like the author did it without a given reason. Guess it connects to the ‘all rulers are evil and want ignorant citizens’ belief.
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Well, if you look at how many reporters are imprisoned or killed around the world each year, there’s certainly a trend among authoritarian rulers that they don’t want people asking inconvenient questions.
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True. I mean, I get it for how it happens in our world. Guess what throws me is how 9 times out of 10, it’s the same case with fantasy stories. This kind of connects to how most fictional rulers these days are written as evil or inept. Like the real fiction would be having a kind ruler who supports the pursuit of knowledge. Though if you do have one there tends to be an evil adviser (proud graduate of Jafar University!) nearby. This is more about how everyone does the same thing with this archetype and world building device than reality though.
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