CONTENTSFree Companies Introduction 3 TheBrief 3 TheBid 3 TheDeal 3 TheCash 3

Missions Mission:Disruption 4 Mission:SeekandDestroy 4 Mission:Raid 4 Mission:Hostage 4 DesigningMissions 4 MissionDuration 5 MissionOver-Run 5 MissionAbort 5 StartingForce 5 PointsandFinancialCost 5

Equipment ImageEnhancer 7 Stabiliser 7 Medi-Pack 7 SmokeDischarger 7 MineLauncher 7

Weapons WeaponTables 9

Armour CompositeArmour 9 CustomArmour 10 DensityEnhancedArmour 10

Down-Time LeaderTraining 11 Recruitment 11 GatheringIntelligence 11 Publicity 11 ForceDevelopment 11 SpecialistProcurement 11

Reputation RenownFactor 12

Casualties WoundedMercenaries 13 DamagedSuits 13

Twisted Metal CustomWeapons 14 CombinationWeapons 16 SpecialistAmmunition 16

Sample Missions MissionOne:Disruption 17 MissionTwo:SeekandDestroy 17 MissionThree:Raid 18

OtherRules Morale 19 UnopposedMovement 19

PrizeFight StartingForce 20 TheRules 20 ThePrize 22 Victory 22

CopyrightStephenDanesandStevenEserin2009

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationorabstractionfromitmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical includingphotocopyingortrasmissionbyemailor internet,withoutpriorpermission inwritingfromthecopyrightholder.

Sam

ple

file

FreeCompaniesisagamingsupplementtoOVERKILLthe sci-fi skirmish game. Players will not be able to playFreeCompanieswithoutthemainOVERKILLruleset.

CPEC,theauthoritarianoverlordsofEarthareclearlythe dominant military power in the Solar Systemwithhugereservesofmanpowerandextensiveandsophisticated equipment. However there are otherforcesatworkwhich,althoughtheydonothavethesame levels of manpower as CPEC, certainly haveaccess to very advanced weaponry. These are thevariousmercenarybands,knownasFreeCompanies,they ply their trade in the gaps between CPECcontrolledareas.

Ofcoursetherehavebeenmercenariesforaslongastherehasbeenwarfare,professionalwarriorswhoarepreparedtooffertheirservicestothehighestbidder,whateverthecause.Thissupplementdealswiththemosteffectiveandwellorganisedmercenarygroups–theFreeCompanies.

ReputedlyfoundedbyColonelManzfeldoversixtyyearsago, this distinguished CPEC officer mutinied (along withhisregiment)andmanagedtoavoidrecapturewhileearningalivingasasuccessfulmercenary.Itissaidthathemethisfatewhenhisforcebecametooinvolved in fighting for separatists on Mars. Following the death of the Colonel, his force was dissipatedbutnotdestroyed,asCPECclaimed.Severalsmallermercenarycompaniescoalescedaroundthegroup’sleadership, but without their Colonel in command,these groups would never again fight as one force.

Halfacenturyon, thesemercenarycompanies stillexist, but now there is fierce rivalry between them. One thing these groups do have in common is abeliefthattheywillneveragainbecomecommittedto another cause that will risk embroiling them inlengthy and un-winnable conflicts. These mercenaries onlybecomeinvolvedinveryshort,highlytargetedandwellremuneratedoperations.

FreeCompaniescanbeplayedbytwoormoreplayers,one takes the roll of the umpire, the other playeror players will take command of a Free Company

squad.Theumpireplayerpreparesthescenarioandtakes control of all of the forces that oppose themercenaries.Theprocessofemployingmercenariesgoesthroughthefollowingstages:

THE BRIEFEachmissionbeginswiththe‘brief’wheretheclientdescribesthegoalorobjectiveoftheoperation.Thenextstageisthe‘bid’.

THE BIDThe client proposes a level of payment that theyconsiderisappropriatetosecuretheservicesoftheFreeCompany,taking intoaccountthelevelofriskinvolved, the amount of equipment and personnelinvolvedandthedurationofthemission.Particularlysuccessful mercenary companies will be able tonegotiate the price upwards a by few percent.Payment will usually be paid in two stages, the first half when the contract is signed, the second halfwhen the mission has successfully been completed(see The Mission section for the appropriate level of payment).

THE DEALWhen the objectives of the mission and the pricehavebeenagreedupon,thedealhasbeendoneandthemissioncanproceed.Thecontractisthensignedand the first payment is made.

THE CASHThe first payment will go straight to the Free Company involvedinthemission.ThecashisthestandardCPECcurrency, the “unit” and can be used to purchaseitemsforthesquad,eithernewweapons,equipmentorarmourupgrades.

Oncethecashhasbeenspent,themercenaryplayeror players can now deploy their force on the newmission. The following section describes the basictypeofmissionsthatareavailabletoplayers.

�

Sam

ple

file

There are several different kinds of scenario ormissionsthatmercenariescanundertakeandfourofthesedifferenttypesaredescribedbelow.Differentmissions will present different levels of risk andthereforewillgeneratedifferentlevelsofreward.

The level of payment that the mercenaries willreceiveisapercentageofthepointscostoftheforcethatwillbefacingthemercenaries.Thepercentageis determined by the difficulty of the mission. For example, a “difficult” mission will warrant a payment equivalentto20%oftheopposingsidespointscost.Ifthemercenariesarefacingaforceof600pts,thismeans theywill receiveapaymentof120Uc,60Uc‘up-front’andafurther60Uconcompletion.

Mission Type Difficulty Payment RatioDisruption Moderate 5% 1/2SeekandDestroy Difficult 20% 1/1Raid Tough 60% 2/1Hostage Impossible 160% 4/1

The table above has a column titled Points Ratio.Thisdescribestheratioofpointscostbetweenthemercenary force and the opposition, the first number representingthemercenaries–thesecondnumbertheopposingforce.Forexample,ona“tough”mission,foreverytwopointsspentonthemercenaryforce,onecanbespentontheopposition,whichmeansthatonsuchamission,a500ptmercenarysquadwouldbefacedby250ptsofopposition.

MISSION: DISRUPTIONThe mercenary squad has been given the task ofattackinganenemygroup.Theattackisdesignedtocausemaximumconfusion,fearanddisruptionintheshortestpossibletime.

The opposing force will be clearly identified before the battle begins; the mercenaries must inflict as muchdamageaspossiblebeforetheyareevacuated.To achieve a successful mission, the mercenariesmustdestroyat least20%of thepointscostof theopposingsideintheallottedtime.

MISSION: SEEK & DESTROYWiththismission,themercenarieshavebeengivenaspecific target to destroy, such as a person, vehicle, pieceofequipmentorbuilding.Thepreciselocationof the target is not immediately apparent at thestart of the battle and must be identified by the mercenariesbeforeitisattacked.

MISSION: RAIDThe mercenaries mission is to recover (or steal) certainitemsfromanenemyinstallation.Thebriefwillcontaindetailsabouttheitemtoberecoveredanditsroughlocation.

MISSION: HOSTAGE RECOVERYOne of the most difficult of missions, the mercenaries havetorescueahostageandbringthemoutalive.The locationof thehostagewill be knownand thelikely locationofcaptorswillalsobeknownat thestartofthegame.

DESIGNING MISSIONSI have included a number of sample missions thatplayerscanusetotesttheirnewmercenarysquads.Hopefullythesemissionswillalsogiveplayersanideaofhowtodesigntheirownmissions.However,whendesigningmissionsplayersneedtobeawareof thefollowingpoints:

•Themissionshouldnotbedesignedto wipeoutthemercenarysquad. •Themissionshouldnotrewardthose whoturnupwiththebiggestgun. •Themissionshouldhavea“tight deadline”. •Themissionshouldtestthemercenaries andrewardskilfulplay. •Themissionshouldhaveaclear objective.

Themercenaryplayersmustrealisethatamissionisnotatestofstrength.Themercenariesaretheretodoajobandthengetout.Thisisnotatimeforheroics

�

Sam

ple

file

or battle-lust or anger - all of this can jeopardisethe mission, what is needed is calm, professionalexecution.

Each mission should have a specific objective that willdeterminewhetherthemercenariessucceedorfail.However,thereareotherelementsthatcanalsodeterminesuccessorfailure.

MISSION DURATIONTimeisacrucialelementineachmission,ifthemissiontakestoolongthereisariskthattheobjectivewillbecompromised,additionalenemytroopscouldbealerted and the mercenary’s evacuation proceduremight be endangered - they might lose their ridehome!Forthisreason,allmissionsarecarriedoutina specific number of phases or the mission is put at risk.

Asaguideline,allmissionsmustbecarriedoutwithintwenty five phases. That means that the mercenaries must complete their task and then exit the tablewithintheallottedtime.Andthemissiondurationisnot twenty five phases that the mercenaries win the initiative,itisthenumberofphasesthatbothsidesuse.

Whenplayersaredesigningtheirownmissionstheycan specify more or less phases depending on thecomplexityofthetask.

MISSION OVER-RUNTo complete the mission, the mercenaries mustcompletetheirtaskandthenexittheareabymovingthe mercenary figures to the point on the table edge where the figures entered. If this is done, the mission is successful. If the figures arrive at this point late (taking more than the number of phases specified as the Mission Duration), there is a risk that themercenarieswillnotbeevacuated.

If the mercenaries exceed the duration of themission,takethenumberofphasesthatthedeadlinehas beenmissed by and roll 1d10, if the die score

equals or exceeds the number; the mercenarieshave still beenevacuated. If the score is less thanthe number required, then some of the squad hasbeen left behind. The number of figures left behind istheamountthatthescorefailedby.Forexample,the mercenaries have completed their mission andarrivedattheexitpointin29phases,theyarefourphases late (the Mission Duration was 25 phases). 1d10isrolledandascoreoffourormoreisrequiredtopulltheentiresquadout.Disaster!Atwoisrolled,thescoreistwolessthanrequiredwhichmeanstwomercenarieshavebeen leftbehind.Ofcourse, thiscould always form the basis for the next mission –hostagerescue!

If troops are left behind, those figures furthest from theexitpointwillbetheonesnotcomingback.

MISSION ABORTPlayers can opt to abort a mission before it iscompleted if theyriskanover-run. If thisoption isused mercenary figures will be moved to the exit pointonthetableedgeandremovedfromplay.

STARTING FORCEEach player commands a mercenary force, a FreeCompany.Thesecanvaryinsize,butusuallycontainbetween twenty and forty mercenaries. To beginwith, each mercenary player has a thousand unitsto spend (1000Uc equals 1000 points). From this the playermusttakethecostofalltroopsandequipment– including the cost of each figures Initiative Number, Basic Defence value and all other costs that arenormally applied (see main OVERKILLrules).

Mercenaries can use any weapons or equipmentdescribed in the main rules and any of the itemsdescribedinthissection.

Most Free Companies will have less equipment,especiallypowerarmour,thantheyhavepersonnel.Thisisnotaproblemasthesemercenarybandsneverdeploytheirentireforceonasinglemission.

�

Sam

ple

file

POINTS & FINANCIAL COSTPlayerswillbeawarethattherearetwotypesofcostmentioned, points cost and financial cost. The points costisusedwhenplayersdesigntheirforceandgivesaguidelineastoitsrelativeeffectiveness–themorepointstheforcecosts,thebetteritwillbe.

However,wearedealingwithmercenarieshereandmercenariesaremotivatedbymoney,soeach itemalso has a financial cost. The financial cost, as already mentionedisusuallythesameasthepointscost,butnot in all cases. Certain rare and high value items

have far higher financial costs than their point’s costs. Thismeansthatalthoughtwosidesmayhaveequalpointscost,ifonesidespendsmoremoneytheywillgaintheadvantage.

OTHER MISSIONSThemissionsdescribedinthissectionaresimplythetypeofgamesthatwehavealreadyplayed.Hopefullyplayerswillbeinspiredtodesigntheirownusingtheguidelinesshownhere-orcomeupwithcompletelyknewmissiontypes.

�

Sam

ple

file

Mercenaries are quite used to tackling dangeroussituations,butiftheyaretorisktheirlivestheymustbewellprotected,and for this they relyonpowerarmour. The following section provides details fordesigningandequipping themercenary squad.Thisprocessbeginswiththepoweredsuit,thesecomeinfive different sizes ranging from the Ultra-Light to theExtraHeavy.Thetablebelowshowsthemaximumnumberofbuildpointseachsizecanaccommodate.

Chassis Size Build PointsUltra-Light 10.00Light 11.00Medium 12.00Heavy 13.00ExtraHeavy 14.00

EQUIPMENTOnceplayershaveselectedthechassissizetheycanequipthesuitwithallmannerofequipment,weaponsandvaryingstrengthsofarmour.Thedescriptionsformuch of this equipment can be found in the mainrules,forthosethatarenot–seebelow.

Equipment BPs CostCommunicator 0.10 8MotionSensor 0.10 8ThermalImaging 0.10 8ImageEnhancer 0.10 8LaserTargeter 0.10 12Stabiliser 1.00 10TacticalComputer 1.00 12JumpPack 3.00 30MissileDefence 1.00 10Mini-Drone 2.00 30Medi-Pack 0.10 20SmokeDischarger 0.10 10MineLauncher 0.20 20MagneticField 0.50 30Scrambler 0.50 60

IMAGE ENHANCERThisopticaldevicegreatlyimprovesvisibilityingoodlightconditionsandwillimprovetheobservationskillsoftheuser.Whentestingforobservation,doublethediescorewhenusingthisdeviceandwhenlookingforbooby-traps the figure can test to observe at double theusual range.Thisdevicecannotbeused in lowlightconditionsi.e.atnight,duringaduststormorwhensmokeisobscuringvision.

STABILISERThe powered armour suit can be fitted with a Stabiliser whichmakesminuteadjustmentsinposturethatwillincrease stability when crossing difficult and uneven ground. For each Stabiliser fitted, a single one inch movement penalty incurred when crossing terraincanbeignored.

MEDI-PACKThisusefulpieceofequipmentcanonlybeinstalledinPowerArmour.ItwillimmediatelyremovetheeffectofoneLightWoundresultorreduceaWoundresultto a Light Wound result. The Medi-Pack has only asingleuseandoncetriggeredhasnofurthereffect,althoughmorethanoneMedi-Packcanbecarried.

SMOKE DISCHARGERIf the mercenary wishes to create a bit of instantcover, a Smoke Discharger is a handy device. Itgenerates an intense area of smoke one inch (cubed) thatlastsfortheentirephaseanduptotheendoftheopponentsnextphase.Visibility isnon-existentthroughthesmoke.Eachdischargerhasonlyoneusebutmorethanonecanbecarried.

MINE LAUNCHERThis devise sprays the local area with mini-mines,either to the front, side or rear of the figure. The areacovered isone inch squareperMineLauncherand the distance the mines are launched is oneinch per Initiative Number of the firing figure. Any figure that moves through the mined area suffers a strength two hit for each inch of mined area theymovethrough. It takes twoactions to laymines. Ifmorethanonelauncherisusedtheminedareacan

�

Sam

ple

file