The Melbin Mercenary Campaign

Background

The characters are a group of mercenaries, members of the Mercenary Guild of Melbin. As members of the guild, the characters receive many benefits. Benefits of guild membership include easy employment, resale of items recovered, ransom, references, high pay, stable base of operation, training, guild jobs in slow times, etc.

This will be a game in which the players will probably not become important in magical institutions, since the time requirement is incompatible with being a mercenary. Spirit magic is available through the guild, so I expect only one or two players to have any magical orientation.

The mercenary group of the characters will include a couple more principles/important members who are NPCs. These are for taking care of the character's situation when they are out of town and for use by those players who think the current mission is bad to go on or whose character needs to stay in town. I do not expect every mission is one all players will like. It will be important for players to not have their character go on a mission if it is a bad idea.

Most characters will be 20-30 years old and have as their highest skills a couple at 70-75 max.

Character Costs:
Subsistence for PC: 8 gold/Month, 100 gold/year (all skills < 60%)
Subsistence for PC: 12 gold/Month, 150 gold/year (all skills < 70%)
Subsistence for PC: 16 gold/Month, 200 gold/year (all skills < 80%)
Subsistence for PC: 25 gold/Month, 300 gold/year (all skills < 100%)
Subsistence for PC: 50 gold/Month, 600 gold/year (no more than four skills 100+)
Subsistence for PC: 75 gold/Month, 900 gold/year (no more than nine skills 100+)
Subsistence for PC: 100 gold/Month, 1200 gold/year (no more than three skills 150+)

Character's Personal Followers: (often get bonuses and extra stuff)
Pay/Upkeep for each Follower: 5 gold/Month, 60 gold/year (all skills < 80%)
Pay/Upkeep for each Companion: 8 gold/Month, 100 gold/year (all skills < 100%)
Pay/Upkeep for each Good Companion: 16 gold/Month, 200 gold/year (no more than four skills 100+)
Pay/Upkeep for each Apprentice: 8 gold/Month, 100 gold/year

Mercenary Company Costs: (without bonuses)
Cost of Barracks:
8 gold/Month, 100 gold/year 50 people max: 12 gold/Month, 150 gold/year
100 people max: 16 gold/Month, 200 gold/year
Pay/Upkeep for each Militia: 1 gold/Month, 12 gold/year (max skill 4 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Sailor or Soldier: 1.5 gold/Month, 18 gold/year (max skill 6 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Hardened troop: 3 gold/Month, 36 gold/year (max skill 7 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Corporal/Sergeant: 6 gold/Month, 75 gold/year (max skill 8 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Veteran troop: 8 gold/Month, 100 gold/year (max skill 9 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Elite troop: 16 gold/Month, 200 gold/year (max skill 10 or below)
Pay/Upkeep for each Super troop: 25 gold/Month, 300 gold/year (max skill 11 or above)
Upkeep for each horse: 2 gold/Month, 24 gold/year
Upkeep for each draft animal: 1 gold/Month, 12 gold/year

Pay the mid level cost if 90% of troops are +/- 1
Example: 90% of troops are 7, 8, or 9 = pay 75 (8 skill cost) for all

The above cost will include the costs for servants, stablehands, shipwrights, armorers, stone masons, smiths, cooks, and other non-combatant menials. Included maintenance of all non-living equipment.