Hello everyone, two of my players plan on playing two long time best friends. When they were young their village got raided by a sort of brigand/ mercenary company and when the raiding was finished they were taken in and trained to become soldiers of said company. They grew up in the company and fought together in every battle. They plan that their characters have already left the company when the adventure begins. My question is what mannerisms/ ideas would they share or how would they react to adventuring life away from the constant raiding and orders? Also any info for medieval mercenary companies is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Forgot to mention that one will be playing a Head on ‘Shock troop’ Half Orc or Goliath fighter that is serious and quiet and the other will be playing a more sneaky Half Elf or Wood Elf rogue that enjoys killing. They haven’t properly fleshed out their character so they are open to any race and subclass (They are starting at level 3). I removed any racial lore that is included in the forgotten realms as they are playing a custom setting. In this custom setting all the races get on well and every town/city is a mixing pot of many different races so feel free to choose anything!
"Fighting together in every battle" could mean a lot of things. From the choice of classes it seems they would not have been standing shoulder to shoulder often, at least if the mercenaries were organized along traditional military lines. While you in basic military units have some specialization today, this was not really a thing in earlier times. So, really, each would have had his or her rule and fulfilled that to the best of their ability, as they will in a party. Thus I wouldn't worry too much about it. The most you'd have to work out would be forms/extent of non verbal communication and such
They would be able to communicate with one another with little more than a glance or a nod to convey full meaning. They would have tons of inside jokes that make sense only to them, and most of those "jokes" would be quite obscene. They would constantly insult each other, and slap or tackle each other, and even get into full scale wrestling matches at the drop of a hat, even drawing real blood in the process. But if anyone so much as gave one of them a dirty look, the other would not hesitate to fight to the death to support and defend his buddy. Each morning, as they're donning their armor and prepping their gear for the day, they would be constantly berating each other's equipment ("You call this axe sharp?? What'd you polish those boots with, cow pies? Damn, have you bathed at all this month?") But while insulting each other, they would also be very diligently inspecting each other's armor and equipment for even the slightest defect that could jeopardize their safety in battle. Whenever another party member makes an important decision about what to do next, these two would gripe and complain and, "Who made you general? Yessiree, Cap'n!" but in the end they would follow the plan and get the job done.
Soldiers use humor, profanity, and bellyaching to make a tough job bearable.
Thanks for the advice! I’ve talked with my players and they agree, it’s helped them with how they with actually fight in regards to battles. The rogue plans on flanking and taking out key targets while the fighter plans on taking the brunt of the damage away from the rogue, thanks!
They would be able to communicate with one another with little more than a glance or a nod to convey full meaning. They would have tons of inside jokes that make sense only to them, and most of those "jokes" would be quite obscene. They would constantly insult each other, and slap or tackle each other, and even get into full scale wrestling matches at the drop of a hat, even drawing real blood in the process. But if anyone so much as gave one of them a dirty look, the other would not hesitate to fight to the death to support and defend his buddy. Each morning, as they're donning their armor and prepping their gear for the day, they would be constantly berating each other's equipment ("You call this axe sharp?? What'd you polish those boots with, cow pies? Damn, have you bathed at all this month?") But while insulting each other, they would also be very diligently inspecting each other's armor and equipment for even the slightest defect that could jeopardize their safety in battle. Whenever another party member makes an important decision about what to do next, these two would gripe and complain and, "Who made you general? Yessiree, Cap'n!" but in the end they would follow the plan and get the job done.
Soldiers use humor, profanity, and bellyaching to make a tough job bearable.
My players really like these ideas and think it fits well with what they are aiming for, once again many thanks. This has really helped my players who are new to DND!
You know that montage at the beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where it's Wolverine and his brother fighting through various wars throughout history to establish their relationship? (I.e. the only good part of that movie).
Maybe have them look back and watch/think about that for inspiration. Maybe they act like the brothers do, like the time and place may change but they always have each other's back, they work well as a unit, they have those "back to back" moments where they're backed into a corner together and they fight all the harder to protect each other, that kind of thing.
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Hello everyone, two of my players plan on playing two long time best friends. When they were young their village got raided by a sort of brigand/ mercenary company and when the raiding was finished they were taken in and trained to become soldiers of said company. They grew up in the company and fought together in every battle. They plan that their characters have already left the company when the adventure begins. My question is what mannerisms/ ideas would they share or how would they react to adventuring life away from the constant raiding and orders? Also any info for medieval mercenary companies is appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Forgot to mention that one will be playing a Head on ‘Shock troop’ Half Orc or Goliath fighter that is serious and quiet and the other will be playing a more sneaky Half Elf or Wood Elf rogue that enjoys killing. They haven’t properly fleshed out their character so they are open to any race and subclass (They are starting at level 3). I removed any racial lore that is included in the forgotten realms as they are playing a custom setting. In this custom setting all the races get on well and every town/city is a mixing pot of many different races so feel free to choose anything!
"Fighting together in every battle" could mean a lot of things. From the choice of classes it seems they would not have been standing shoulder to shoulder often, at least if the mercenaries were organized along traditional military lines. While you in basic military units have some specialization today, this was not really a thing in earlier times. So, really, each would have had his or her rule and fulfilled that to the best of their ability, as they will in a party. Thus I wouldn't worry too much about it. The most you'd have to work out would be forms/extent of non verbal communication and such
They would be able to communicate with one another with little more than a glance or a nod to convey full meaning. They would have tons of inside jokes that make sense only to them, and most of those "jokes" would be quite obscene. They would constantly insult each other, and slap or tackle each other, and even get into full scale wrestling matches at the drop of a hat, even drawing real blood in the process. But if anyone so much as gave one of them a dirty look, the other would not hesitate to fight to the death to support and defend his buddy. Each morning, as they're donning their armor and prepping their gear for the day, they would be constantly berating each other's equipment ("You call this axe sharp?? What'd you polish those boots with, cow pies? Damn, have you bathed at all this month?") But while insulting each other, they would also be very diligently inspecting each other's armor and equipment for even the slightest defect that could jeopardize their safety in battle. Whenever another party member makes an important decision about what to do next, these two would gripe and complain and, "Who made you general? Yessiree, Cap'n!" but in the end they would follow the plan and get the job done.
Soldiers use humor, profanity, and bellyaching to make a tough job bearable.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
Thanks for the advice! I’ve talked with my players and they agree, it’s helped them with how they with actually fight in regards to battles. The rogue plans on flanking and taking out key targets while the fighter plans on taking the brunt of the damage away from the rogue, thanks!
My players really like these ideas and think it fits well with what they are aiming for, once again many thanks. This has really helped my players who are new to DND!
You know that montage at the beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where it's Wolverine and his brother fighting through various wars throughout history to establish their relationship? (I.e. the only good part of that movie).
Maybe have them look back and watch/think about that for inspiration. Maybe they act like the brothers do, like the time and place may change but they always have each other's back, they work well as a unit, they have those "back to back" moments where they're backed into a corner together and they fight all the harder to protect each other, that kind of thing.