The Mercenaries Guild is a pan-Reach organization of licensed combat contractors, specializing in high-risk, high-pay deployments — particularly in active warzones like the Broken Belt Front on Credence.
Unlike the Freecrews, Cartels, or Marshals, the Guild has no ideological alignment. Their loyalty is strictly to:
the contract,
the paycheck,
and the Guild Code,
— not necessarily in that order.
Wherever mechs clash, artillery roars, and governments lose their grip on territory, the Guild is already there, setting up temporary staging grounds like vultures with clipboards.
To most people, the Mercenaries Guild is:
respected for professionalism,
feared for efficiency,
resented for neutrality,
and hated for how expensive they are.
Constellation hires them for “non-attributable operations.”
Freecrews hire them when they need overwhelming firepower.
Cartels hire them when subtlety fails.
Pilgrims avoid them entirely.
To the average frontier settler?
They’re war wrapped in a paycheck.
The Guild is not a loose collective — it is a regulated combat industry.
Iron Contracter – entry, small arms & light mechs
Steel Rider – battle-tested pilots, medium mechs
Titan-Grade Specialist – heavyframe operators
Executioner-Class – elite, permitted to operate siege-grade weapons
Guild Marshal – commanders of whole battlegroups
Arbiter – neutral auditors who enforce the Code
Always complete the contract.
Do not betray a client without cause.
Do not attack other Guild members unless contractually required.
Do not engage neutral civilians.
Do not reveal client intelligence until the contract expires.
They break every rule except the first two — and even those have creative interpretations.
The Guild maintains a fully operational forward bastion on the Broken Belt Front called Rediron Bastille, built from welded cargo frames and reinforced mech plating.
Guild involvement includes:
escorting convoys
destroying fortified positions
hunting rogue mechs
defending temporary settlements
extracting downed pilots
completing “deniable” missions for factions
They stay strictly “neutral,” which in practice means they accept contracts from both sides, sometimes simultaneously, as long as two contracts never explicitly conflict.
If a conflict would occur, they simply raise the price.
Guild mech pilots operate some of the most advanced and terrifying frames in the Reach, including:
modular heavyframes
stealth lightframes
bunker-buster artillery walkers
siege claws & plasma mauls
suppression drones
Guild mechs bear distinct serial-red livery: crimson markings on joints, visor frames, and reactor housings.
Their drop tactics are brutally efficient:
orbital micro-pods, fast insertion rigs, or mech-mounted locomotion skids that slam into combat zones at breakneck speeds.
The Mercenaries Guild carefully walks a tightrope:
Marshals tolerate them because they keep wars contained.
Constellation funds them because they need plausible deniability.
Cartels respect them because they don’t break deals.
Freecrews hire them because sometimes you need a Titanframe to level a bunker.
Pilgrims despise them for exploiting conflict near Rift zones.
Scraphaven allows their presence but keeps them on a short behavioral leash.
Nobody wants Guild mechs causing “accidental skirmishes” inside the outpost.
Their unofficial motto:
“Peace is bad for business.”
More formal motto:
“Work. War. Wages.”
They are a nomadic culture built on:
camaraderie between pilots
competition between ranks
pride in skill, not nation
a strange, almost religious devotion to the notion of a Contract
There is no shame in losing a battle.
There is absolute disgrace in breaking a contract.
The Guild creates:
rival mech NPCs
optional combat challenges
morally grey allies
high-risk/high-reward missions
campaign arcs centered on contract warfare
They add pressure to the Broken Belt Front without escalating the war globally.
And most importantly:
Players engage with them only if they choose to.
They will never force war content into a narrative.
The Guild interacts only with players who seek them out.
They won’t drag PCs into battle, conscript them, or entangle them in war politics unless the player explicitly wants to engage.
For players who want:
tactical mech missions,
rival pilot duels,
mercenary drama,
or contract-based campaigns—
the Guild becomes an incredible hook.
For everyone else?
They remain background world flavor and occasional loud neighbors.