Tuesday, August 24, 2010

[Resources] Hessian Soldiers

Everyone needs good mercenaries, even the most powerful countries on Earth.

The British used the Hessians extensively during the American Revolution, fielding over 30,000. Most were conscripts sold to the King of England by German Princes and, while they were universally called Hessians, 12,000 were actually from Hesse-Kassel.

Only about 1200 were killed in action out of the over 7,000 dead (the rest died of illnesses and disease), while another 5,000 stayed in America at the end of the war. The other 17,000 went home to Germany, probably to fight in more wars for their German Princes.

The position of a mercenary in a foreign land is tenuous at best and downright hazardous at worst. Besides the regular fighting to deal with, there is the problems with the locals. And not speaking the lingua franca is a pretty major obstacle. Next time your characters are strangers in a strange land, think about that and try to include it in your games.

And after the conflict, your PCs may stay.

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