The profit system is great and gives a lot of good examples when it comes to buying things. However, it's a little thin on the example side for hiring people. Anyone have any ideas for what the specific modifiers for possible sets of retainers would be? Quality is kind of obvious as is quantity. But if I say I want to acquire a single normal quality soldier and that soldiers are rare should this actually be as cheap as supplying one person with krak grendades? Should there be a standard modifier? What if I want to hire a mercenary company that comes with basic equipment (call it lasguns and flak vests)? This also hits on a general issue in that that size and value aren't ever called out (except with ship components). A land raider might be as rare as a normal suit of power armor, but it's still going to cost more. Thoughts?

Table 9-35 on page 272 is the acquisition modifiers table. I used it to generate what I wanted. I needed a merc unit, and was recruiting it on a war world, so it was Average (+10), it was 5,000 troops, so ii was Significant (-20), and they were the Best (-30) to be bought. Our Profit factor was 60, so we had a -40 to recruit. the target number was 20. I let the players roll until they succeeded, with a +5 for each failure, eac time being 1 week. It took 5 weeks to get the unit.

It's a bit fuzy but followers are just like items. Remember that profit is influence as much as money. A good RT can get whole companies of guardsmen assigned to him. (Or you could just bribe someone...) Hiring one guy is a +30 roll or more unless you are trying for an elite guy.

Quality = rank so poor ~= Starting DH character and so on. A lot of it is up to the GM. If they come with gear it's the quality of the best thing you are getting. So a bunch of mercs in power armor is just as difficult as getting that many suits of power armor.

Availblity is the same. On hive world hiring mercs would be common. Hiring a Space Marine would be in the highest rank for this.

Quanity is the just the same.

Remember in RT you don't get a krak grenade for your character. You get a case of them, and your people take care of resupplying with them when you reach port. Unless you start using 4 or 5 every combat you can always get more back on your ship. (Profit roll if a character is over using it.) Even if you use up the entire case your supply officer might be able to find some on board. (maybe a profit roll?)

Dalnor Surloc said:

Exactly. What I'm saying is that it feels like a steady supply of krak grenades for one person of common quality should cost less than the base pay for one person (assuming mercs are rare so that's the same) of common quality. Maybe I'm just completely off base?