Props to @Stiopa , this was 100% his idea. Many off us have read Outrage, which basically details how the Hexahedron assembled a ragtag band of mercs to do their dirty work. Obviously things went belly-up, pear shaped, fubar, what have you, and it had a major impact on all the characters involved. But the fact remains that PanO's okay with having mercs do a lot of their dirty work. If you were building this out as a Sectorial, firmly mercenary but with strong ties to PanOceania and the Hexahedron, what units would you include? Which from PanO, and which from other faction that fit the theme? I can easily imagine: Acon Regulars to represent ex-PanO forces or contractors with PanO affiliations - The ARM0, sapper sniper, Spitfire, etc. are nice, unique profiles that represent the pragmatism of independent contractors. Brawlers - A classic and iconic unit, these guys can be anything. Hexas - Key for anything linked to the Hexahedron, and also helps to "tech up" this Sectorial compared to other merc forces. CSUs - They belong in any force with a link to PanO. ABH - Same as CSU, iconic merc unit. Emily - She didn't always work for... Nomads, I guess. I still wonder why she ended up in Starco. Knauf - Same as Emily... Nagas - The dirty, clandestine element of OSS has never felt fully depicted to me. This merc force is a good chance for ALEPH to get its hands dirty doing things it isn't supposed to. Atalanta - She's an assassin. She fights as a soldier for Steel Phalanx, but a lot of her work is done solo or remotely from ASS. Wardrivers - Mercs are mercs. I think it's also a chance for some Snake Eaters to show up. Much like their actual namesake, they can go abroad, and train/liaise with "local elements" to help move things along in an area of operations: Echo Bravos Zulu Cobra - For both of these units, getting skilled operators into an area that needs training/leadership is a very iconic staple of Special Forces in the West. I can see both of these units performing this role. Any other units that seem like they would belong? Any units above that don't seem like a good fit? Note that this would be NA2... PanO definitely doesn't need another Sectorial at the moment. How else would you link this force to PanO, while letting them stand alone as well?
Isn't the Hexahedron there to do the dirty work? Hexa still feels barebones TO LI to me instead of the clandestine do whatever necessary guys.
Hey, I see you've ran with the idea, nice! From the fluff point of view I see two forces behind such a sectorial; corporate interests trying to push their agendas using their influence over PanO government and money to hire some additional muscle, and Hexahedron operatives either doing the corporate bidding, or manipulating them to further PanO goals which might or might not be different from the corporate ones. Composition-wise this would be a pretty hi-tech force, but without units that scream "PanO". If I were to point at any current NA2 as a starting point it'd be Druze - but with additional toys. Acon Regulars standing in for some Light Infantry contractors are an interesting idea. They bring in completely different weapon set than Brawlers Brawlers are indeed a basis for many a merc outfit. Hexas are a given. Hexahedron operatives are here to ensure operational goals will be met CSUs - light corporate troops, perfectly at home here. ABHs - as Brawlers, they're the hired muscle. Caterans - it's mentioned they're doing merc work, and would fill the "chaff sniper" spot nicely. Bashi Bazouks - as above, they're present in NA2 already. Echo Bravos - I'd rather keep PanO troops (save for Hexahedron operatives) out of here, but I think this sectorial could use an elite AD2 trooper (Combat Jump) is too high profile), and they're the best fit. Corporate Operators - now here's where it gets interesting. I'd like to see a new unit, basically a merc MI different from Druze, representing corporate paramilitary forces. CSUs are more like bodyguards, operating in urban, basically civilian theatres. These guys are the death squads sent in when situation calls for a heavier firepower. Expensive, elite MI (flexible link options could make them easier to field). If I were to design them from scratch: War Dogs, Corporate Operators MI, Veteran Troops, Cube MOV 4-2 | CC 16 | BS 12 | PH 12 | WIP 13 | ARM 2 | BTS 3 | W 1 | S 2 V: Courage, Multiterrain, Automedikit, ODD Access to Combis, Multis, Boarding Shotguns, Nanopulsers. Heavy weapons: Red Fury, LGL, MMR, Feuerbach. HD, KHD, options with N2, FO, and Haris. ORCs - these would represent basic HI merc troopers, pretty much like Regs would represent LI ones. I guess ORC armor is the easiest to come by on the market. Al Fasid - this is another unit with merc background, providing some heavy lynchpin Anaconda - after all we can't really use PanO TAGs... or can we? Tikbalang - they're finding their way into more PanO forces, it's plausible that one or two might "fall off the truck" and end up in a merc outfit. Dasyus - I find them more suited to deniable black ops than Nagas. They're Aleph's assassins, and might be in it for the ride. Locusts - second Hexahedron unit. Kums - outriders and cannon fodder, another unit known to work for the highest bidder. Standard PanO remotes (Pathfinder/Sierra/Clipper/Fugazi/Mulebots). No combat remotes - and if, not PanO ones. Which could be plausible for a unit like this? Second-hand Sputniks? Characters: Emily, Knauf,
Depending if they get their own sectorial or not, I can imagine Kaplans. They have a real corporate theme going already and would differentiate the Sectorial from the ones we have already a bit more. Instead of Bashi pirates I could see the Cube Jäger fitting the theme better. Though it's more just a feeling that I don't associate pirates and bikers with a corporate PanO force, there are also good reasons to have them there. Also for the record, I like the Dasyu suggestion and the War Dogs are definitely a cool unit.
I would like to see old PanO tech wind up in the merc faction like "Nomad" TAGs and other surplus items. Possibly grab a JSA unit or two.
I can see the church meddling here with the excusee to "oversee" and "to prevent" potential threats (shasvastii) to slip under their nose especially when the hexaedron assets can be compromised, so Black Friars seem logical to me. If things go south, you can always blame the overzealous priest who pushed too hard on his inquisitorial duties beyond the warnings of his superiors. I'm in with the old TAG manned models. Also JSA still owes us for the uprising
My two cents on this issue are coloured by the mechanics behind the design. From what I am able to tell, PanO is built with poor willpower, good shooting, tech over skills and quality over quantity. To keep that essential PanO feel, you'd have to keep most of those but give the gameplay a twist to make the sectorial unique. As a deniable assembly of hardened mercs, the most realistic design point to change would be the tech vs. skills, taking a small band of top gunfighters who can easily win a shootout, but have to play smart to take objectives since they won't have the orders to do the NCA thing of clearing the enemy out of midfield and taking the objectives with no contest. My wishlist would be: Acontecimento Regulars: Cheap, versatile, "those could be anyone's jungle terrorists!" deniable charm. Reasons can be found in basically every post above. Hexas: Tech, not skills, but also would be a shame to leave out and could well be the only source of good visual modifiers or hacking. ABHs: Spice up your deployment with RNG! The Stealth also fits the black-ops theme. Zouaves: Pricy, Mech Deployed versatile gunfighters with specialist options. Gives Ariadna a presence and means that we don't have to drag along some flavour of Infiltrator to get work done-most of them are identifiable PanO or have unacceptably high WIP. Zuyong Invincible: It's the most common armour system in the Sphere, PanO are bound to have salvaged a few hundred and hiring the Mobile Brigada is expensive. Also allows for pointing the finger of blame at Yu Jing when it dies. Acontecimento Tikbalang: The closest thing PanO has to a skilled TAG. Helps keep their G:RP gimmick alive. Haqq Remotes: Haven't shown up in NAA except for the Kameels, but are still general market. Shotguns are good for DZ guarding in a sectorial which could lack model count. Palbots: Help Doctors and Engineers. Mulebots: Factions in Infinity seem very clingy about EVO tech fluffwise, even though they've all found identical solutions, so the Hexahedron will have to pony up a Mulebot or two for support. Brawlers: Pretty much mandatory for NAA, provide everything necessary for healing and visor Clasified duties. +a good selection of characters and a Nomad. Running out of time to write the post, but every NAA needs a Nomad. About ALEPH in NAA: It does work with other organisations, but every unit you'd actually want the Sphere doesn't know about in the background. How on Earth the Marut is a secret I have no idea, but it is.
I kind of agree that regular Aleph forces (even their denaiable assets) wouldn't belong in this sort of force, however, a recreation, one that has gone off the reservation would fit quite nicely. Ideally it'd be a civvie or non-military asset that has evolved in an unexpected manner or been "scrapped" for a new model but not properly erased (like the Holmes recreation from the RPG, or an Aristo personality in a damaged Lhost).
From a fluff point of view I think a Hexa Lieutenant would be very fitting. Their description suggests that they are the guys pulling the strings from behind, while the Locusts are the guys doing the actual hands-on work.
As I mentioned in the NCA thread, a "heavy" (S5+) unit from a black R&D lab would be much appreciated as an additional "corporate" unit.
Would the characters of outrage ever be associated with PanO again? I thought the current Infinity universe is set post-Outrage?
This would be interesting. I wonder what role such unit could fill, to make it different from SHI already in the game. Personally I'd still push for CQB "Hulkbuster": MOV 4-4 | CC 19 | BS 13 | PH 15 | WIP 13 | ARM 5 | BTS 6 | W 2 | S 2 Regeneration, Guard L4, V:NWI 2xSMG+Nanopulser, LRL, Electric Pulse, Shock/AP CCW
Delicous, but I'd look at a Pulzar backed with disposable ARO weapons (Panzer, DEP etc.) to give it a unique twist while retaining some exploitable weak spots.
Thought about Pulzar, but it might be a bit too strong. But switching to a disposable long range weapon (I'd use Blitzen or Flammenspeer) might make it work...
It represents the blah blah blah. If we can get them jammed into most Human Sphere Sectorials, it's fine here. And I'd say the church is useless, seeing as how NCA(which has Blackfriars and Swiss Guard) has been "infiltrated" by a Shasvastii. Less "secret Hexahedron forces" more "paramilitary branch of the Hexahedron". All that out of the way, I've been saying for awhile we could have had some interesting stuff coming out of Svalarheim that could very realistically be used for something like this. It'd be interesting to have "Einherjar"(a mean as hell unit of Light Infantry that are effectively 'homesteaders' that get brought up as necessary...and occasionally do work offworld *wink wink nudge nudge*), "Valkyries"(an all female AD unit of combat medics WHO ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO COMBAT MEDIC--looking at you Trauma Doc Butchers), and a unit of some kind based off the mythos of trolls. There's your S5 HI right there, a "Troll" with an Auxbot "Goat" :P
I realise you might not care about the Infinity lore, but some of us do. So please, keep your dirty mercenary hands off Aleph.
