Mercenaries are just thugs for hire

[unmerged(281782)]

There is one thing that has always bothered me. Why are mercenaries so loyal? They served the highest bidder, and many wars were won or lost by troop of mercenaries abandoning their employer for better offer.
As it was always especially effective tactic for republics of Italy, I hope that PDS will add option to bribe opponents mercenaries in the new DLC. Perhaps unlock "hire" button for bands already in action, replacing it with "bribe", that will pay twice the cost just to make band neutral again?

 

[ShadowGamer42]

Really good idea; and maybe when you bribe them, there's a, let's say, 5% chance of them joining you.

 

[Lessing]

Really good idea; and maybe when you bribe them, there's a, let's say, 5% chance of them joining you.

Or you bribe them for three times their hire amount, and they join you. Random chances are an awful mechanic.

 

[Beagá]

Yeah random stuff is usually abandoned by players after frustrated attempts.

On the other hand I dunno if this feature would be useful in single player since the AI hardly abuses them as duke or counts, which are the tiers where mercenaries do make a difference.

 

[Bob_the_Insane]

Interesting, it would certainly make using them more "interesting" if you could never fully trust them even when you have the money to pay them. Just being able to pay more to bribe them seems a bit easy though. Means you would never be able use Mercenaries against large opponents who will probably have the money to bribe them. Some "random" element should be added to the "do they take the bribe" question.

I am sure (though I offer no evidence) that even medieval mercenary bands had to consider their reputations. And a reputation for betraying your current employer probably didn't look very good on the resume for future work...

Something along these lines would also help further differentiate them from personal retinues...

 

[Olaus Petrus]

There is one thing that has always bothered me. Why are mercenaries so loyal? They served the highest bidder, and many wars were won or lost by troop of mercenaries abandoning their employer for better offer.
As it was always especially effective tactic for republics of Italy, I hope that PDS will add option to bribe opponents mercenaries in the new DLC. Perhaps unlock "hire" button for bands already in action, replacing it with "bribe", that will pay twice the cost just to make band neutral again?

Real mercenaries weren't as bad turncoats as their reputation claims them to be, because no one would hire mercenary company which has tendency to betray their masters. Mercs bad reputation is for two reasons: they were more likely to desert if situation turned really dangerous and if they didn't get paid they might turn against their master. Some members of the traditional elite were also unhappy because sometimes mercenary leaders got too much power. Richest mercenary companies, like White Company, usually had reputation that they kept their deals and didn't desert. Although naturally even they had their own interest at heart and sometimes they took money from both sides, but that's mostly because really confused situation in Italy allowed it. In most cases there was little fear that mercs would join to enemy: Varangian guard wasn't going to betray Byzantines to Turks and there was practically zero chance that Flemish mercs of William the Conqueror would join to Harold Godwinson's troops etc.

 

[riadach]

Real mercenaries weren't as bad turncoats as their reputation claims them to be, because no one would hire mercenary company which has tendency to betray their masters. Mercs bad reputation is for two reasons: they were more likely to desert if situation turned really dangerous and if they didn't get paid they might turn against their master. Some members of the traditional elite were also unhappy because sometimes mercenary leaders got too much power. Richest mercenary companies, like White Company, usually had reputation that they kept their deals and didn't desert. Although naturally even they had their own interest at heart and sometimes they took money from both sides.

Indeed, it's also interesting how the Gallowglass managed to integrate themselves into Irish polity (which was extraordinarily conservative), to the point of being given fairly expensive lordships by their former paymasters, now vassal lords. Norman serjeants (Seirsennaig) never achieved such because they had frequently proven themselves untrustworthy and when push came to shove, likely to favour their own countrymen in conflict.

 

[unmerged(281782)]

True, in some cases mercenaries were fairy loyal, sometimes more loyal than ruler's own people (Henry of Navarre and his swiss mercs for example, even if outside timeframe).
That's why I've mentioned Italy. Condottieri here were pretty spoiled, and on a number of occasions wars were ended not by one side making a treaty with another, but by one side making a separate treaty with mercs of another. For example, Florence was saved a number of times that way by the virtue of purse, not sword.