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Sorry if this thread already exists, but I noticed mentions of Mercenaries in the Last Chancers, and I was wondering, are they traitors/heretics by Imperial standards? Even if they're hired by them?

Mercenaries exist in 40k, though they are not typically hired by the IG, who usually simply induct them (willing or not) rather then pay. Usually mercs work for Rogue Traders or Inq or some other powerful organization. As far as IG's views on them, one would imagine the same sort of disdain they show for PDF....

But aren't most Mercs former IG? So they might garner limited respect, as they have combat experience...

IGdude354 wrote:But aren't most Mercs former IG? So they might garner limited respect, as they have combat experience...

Probably just rouse more ire. Rather than thinking "These guys are pretty tough, I respect them." They think "these bastards are competent soldiers and instead of serving the Imperium they serve whoever is willing to pay them."

Mercenaries exist, Imperial propaganda certainly has negatives things to say about them but looks the other way as they need them at times. Especially Inquisitors.

IGdude354 wrote:Sorry if this thread already exists, but I noticed mentions of Mercenaries in the Last Chancers, and I was wondering, are they traitors/heretics by Imperial standards? Even if they're hired by them?

Nope. The Imperium gives (or perhaps sells) mercenary licenses.

Most mercs are just thugs with guns, not former IG.

Kinda like real life I suppose.

Melissia wrote:

IGdude354 wrote:Sorry if this thread already exists, but I noticed mentions of Mercenaries in the Last Chancers, and I was wondering, are they traitors/heretics by Imperial standards? Even if they're hired by them?

Nope. The Imperium gives (or perhaps sells) mercenary licenses.

Wouldn't that be more like privateers, rather than mercenaries?

Hazardous Harry wrote:

Melissia wrote:

IGdude354 wrote:Sorry if this thread already exists, but I noticed mentions of Mercenaries in the Last Chancers, and I was wondering, are they traitors/heretics by Imperial standards? Even if they're hired by them?

Nope. The Imperium gives (or perhaps sells) mercenary licenses.

Wouldn't that be more like privateers, rather than mercenaries?

Privateer and mercenary are practically synonyms. A privateer was for all intents and purposes, a pirate, until hired out by a government, then he's a privateer. A mercenary is a thug, working for whoever pays them money.

Melissia wrote:
Most mercs are just thugs with guns, not former IG.

Kinda like real life I suppose.

Mercs, like all professions, come in many grades of skill and professionalism. Please do not confuse groups like Blackwater and DynCorp, who are largely gun happy (but very well supplied and financed) idiots, with groups like Aegis (other than that video stupidity), Sharp End, or Lupo Security.

Hazardous Harry wrote:

Melissia wrote:

IGdude354 wrote:Sorry if this thread already exists, but I noticed mentions of Mercenaries in the Last Chancers, and I was wondering, are they traitors/heretics by Imperial standards? Even if they're hired by them?

Nope. The Imperium gives (or perhaps sells) mercenary licenses.

Wouldn't that be more like privateers, rather than mercenaries?

You're thinking of Rogue Traders.

Mercenaries are an entirely different license.

Although it can be fair at times to confuse the two.

moom241 wrote:A mercenary is a thug, working for whoever pays them money.

A mercenary is a skilled professional working for pay. A thug is unskilled. Or a member of the thuggee.

BaronIveagh wrote:

moom241 wrote:A mercenary is a thug, working for whoever pays them money.

A mercenary is a skilled professional working for pay. A thug is unskilled. Or a member of the thuggee.

A mercenary is someone who offers military service for sale. Most of them, however, are mere thugs working for coin, not "skilled professional"s.

Melissia wrote:A mercenary is someone who offers military service for sale. Most of them, however, are mere thugs working for coin, not "skilled professional"s.

The thugs with guns don't work for coin very long. If they make it through the door at all. (Again, YMMV) A smart buyer knows to hire reputable mercs from a reputable source, not some random guys with AKs, some RPG7s, and maybe an old BMP1.

If hiring mercs, meet with them before hiring. If you see some idiot doing the old 'sharpening knife/cleaning gun' bit, DO NOT hire. If you meet with men who attentively listen with discipline to what you say, and are sharp enough to ask pertinent questions, consider their contract.

BaronIveagh wrote:The thugs with guns don't work for coin very long.

Neither do the guardsmen.

Melissia wrote:Neither do the guardsmen.

QFT. However, I must admit I've always wondered how the high command could ever think they could absorb all those casualties all the time. While the Imperium has a near infinite supply of men, the logistics of moving even a single regiment from planet to planet would make mass casualty events a serious issue, particularly given how poorly imperial logistics seems function.

I know it's supposed to be based on the Russian Solution, but they seem to forget what happened to Russia in WWI...

I'd imagine you'd find mercs in most of the chaos forces, was'nt their something abou the bloodpact highering alien mercs.

BaronIveagh wrote:particularly given how poorly imperial logistics seems function.

Actually, Imperial logistics is one of the most efficient parts of the Imperium.

I would imagine there are a lot of different types of merc, scum hiring them selves to chaos or xenos, pirating parties, smugglers, terrorists and so on. However there could also be elite soldiers hiring themselves as bodyguards, joining imperial forces in war against chaos and xenos, rogue trader elite squads, possibly fallowing their own agenda (hunting heretics, pirates xenos), ex arbiters continuing to go after criminals who escape justice, unofficial deamon hunters who destroy dark relics and chaos cults, groups that go on by themselves to spread the word of the Emperor.
It really depends on the person, place, time etc.
I could imagine survivors of DE attack traveling to join forces with regiments who fight them for revenge, as well as slavers attacking defenseless colonies and than trading the slaves to the DE.
After all we have the Imperium covering most of the galaxy everything can happen.

Melissia wrote:

BaronIveagh wrote:particularly given how poorly imperial logistics seems function.

Actually, Imperial logistics is one of the most efficient parts of the Imperium.

Very true. For all the bureaucratic BS that goes on, the Imperium's top priority is and always will be the deployment and reinforcement of troops across multiple battlefields across the galaxy simultaneously. Anyone who interferes with that, whether he/she is an Inquisitor, Aristocrat, or even a Cardinal is liable to getting summarilly executed on the spot. If they're lucky. Case in point: not even the Inquisition couldn't divert Battlefleets and Astartes Chapters being deployed to Cadian Sector during the 13th Black Crusade even though the backside of the Imperium was starting to flare with insurrection. I don't think they could do it even without a Black Crusade, especially if the troops are heading to a confirmed warzone.

Melissia wrote:Actually, Imperial logistics is one of the most efficient parts of the Imperium.

That's sort of like saying it's softer that a diamond or smoother than a cactus.

The only reason it works it all is that for some reason the Imperium's enemies are weirdly static for some reason, and almost never fight wars of maneuver (except the Eldar) and never ever ever exploit openings or rapidly advance (unless the plot calls for it). By the time any IG reinforcements got anywhere, the war would have rolled on by then. Some IG books point this out, that the briefings the officers receive are near worthless, because by the time they get there, nothing will be the same as it was when they got the intel. The Imperium keeps such poor track of wars and troops that entire wars can exist only on paper and still are receiving reinforcements, despite being long over.

BaronIveagh wrote:

Melissia wrote:Actually, Imperial logistics is one of the most efficient parts of the Imperium.

That's sort of like saying it's softer that a diamond or smoother than a cactus.

The only reason it works it all is that for some reason the Imperium's enemies are weirdly static for some reason, and almost never fight wars of maneuver (except the Eldar) and never ever ever exploit openings or rapidly advance (unless the plot calls for it). By the time any IG reinforcements got anywhere, the war would have rolled on by then. Some IG books point this out, that the briefings the officers receive are near worthless, because by the time they get there, nothing will be the same as it was when they got the intel. The Imperium keeps such poor track of wars and troops that entire wars can exist only on paper and still are receiving reinforcements, despite being long over.

Which is somewhat mitigated by the fact that, due to the mind boggling amount of manpower the Imperium can whip up, they actually can afford to discard reinforcements to imaginary warzones. Not an effecient use of resources perhaps, but hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things. And those sent, especially if not recalled, would be pretty damn lucky as far as guardsmen go.

Well a former warzone often needs the reinforcements as it's likely de-populated, or under attack once more by the time the reinforcements arrive as Orks and Nids tends to just scatter then re-converge. Chaos can have tainted the place. Necrons just play dead and need to be silenced, and Dark Eldar raiders are on the prowl popping up wherever they need to be.

Hasnt the IoM hired Orks as Mercs b4?

I know the heretic von Strab of Armageddon had Ork mercenaries, so I guess not all Orks are beyond cooperating, thought I don't like it one bit.

Buttons wrote:

IGdude354 wrote:But aren't most Mercs former IG? So they might garner limited respect, as they have combat experience...

Probably just rouse more ire. Rather than thinking "These guys are pretty tough, I respect them." They think "these bastards are competent soldiers and instead of serving the Imperium they serve whoever is willing to pay them."

Just as our real world mercenaries - just check out the pay grades bigger military contractors offer to people with specops experience etc. Why stay in the US Army when you can get five times the pay elsewhere? It's a far cry from the guy with an AKM who charges you 10 bucks a day to stand outside your African mansion.

I imagine mercs work the same in 40K, ranging from armed thugs to retired stormtroopers.

Spetulhu wrote:

Buttons wrote:

IGdude354 wrote:But aren't most Mercs former IG? So they might garner limited respect, as they have combat experience...

Probably just rouse more ire. Rather than thinking "These guys are pretty tough, I respect them." They think "these bastards are competent soldiers and instead of serving the Imperium they serve whoever is willing to pay them."

Just as our real world mercenaries - just check out the pay grades bigger military contractors offer to people with specops experience etc. Why stay in the US Army when you can get five times the pay elsewhere? It's a far cry from the guy with an AKM who charges you 10 bucks a day to stand outside your African mansion.

I imagine mercs work the same in 40K, ranging from armed thugs to retired stormtroopers.

Although in 40k, working for the wrong people could end worse, such as being burned for working with heretics or looting church property, getting shot for not following orders from the ranking Guard officer in the area, or getting thrown into a Penal Legion by the Inquisition simply because they consider you untrustworthy, or being used as cannon fodder by disdainful Astartes/Sisters/Guardsmen.


If by reading between the lines you notice something wrong, then you are correct, I HATE mercenaries. My grandfather was a commissioned officer (and a high-ranking one at that) so I grew up with a healthy respect for government troops and dislike for private militaries.

Come to think of it, you could probably even hire some out-of-luck Space Marines. Not that you'd call them mercs or pay, ofc. You'd give them gifts to show how much you value their aid - supplied, raw materials and so on. Probably takes a good deal of diplomatic skills.

Spetulhu wrote:Come to think of it, you could probably even hire some out-of-luck Space Marines. Not that you'd call them mercs or pay, ofc. You'd give them gifts to show how much you value their aid - supplied, raw materials and so on. Probably takes a good deal of diplomatic skills.

In fluff, there are Rogue Traders who have just this sort of relationship with the Astartes.

And I could not help but smile on that $10 a day thing. There was a guy I knew that paid even less then that. He was paying those guys a dollar US a day. The positive side: he used some of the savings to park a fully loaded AMX 13/105 behind a concrete barrier on the approach to his house. So much for the old days of a rigged shotgun behind the door.

There are alot of clandestine groups within the Imperium, rogue traders, smugglers, and the like, who will pay for some muscle.

Plenty of alien and break away human factions willing to pay too.


The Imperium is hardly homogenous in its make up.


As for their tolerence status. If you are human and at least don't hate the emperor you will be tolerated. The Imperium has better things to do then slap around some small time guns for hire.

The Kroot also hire themselves out as mercenaries. Often they don't even ask for coin: just that they're allowed to eat the bodies of the dead. In one story they demand the bodies of the wounded as well...
Slight issue with this is that Kroot won't eat Necron or Tyranid bodies, and its possible that Demons and Nurgle also fall into that category.