An article by Gutier Lusquiños “Interruptor”
When facing the creation of a mercenary character with a military background, one of the first things you has to think about is defining the motive that compelled the character to abandon the army. This motivation can be the core of the character’s development, and of course, when placing them in a certain army it could define their later affiliations.
In the case of mercenaries, money is always the most evident motive, but not the only one; it is also our duty to go beyond cliché motivations. In this case Major Lunah is especially particular, because even though she has a military background, she is also a former Aristeia! champion. However, her record as Haqqislamite operative and later actions will keep her completely out of this army.
Major Lunah is a retired Husam operative who started her career in the Human Sphere’s ‘king of sports’ as a platform to expose her old special forces commanders and their atrocities of which she was witness. This bold act destroyed her sports career and turned her into a criminal in the eyes of Haqqislam, but got her recruited by the Imperial Service which, as a marketing maneuver, praised her elevated sense of justice.
Evidently, a background such as this defines the Major’s affiliation within the game, excluding her from Haqqislamite forces and placing her within the Imperial Service. However, this factor must not be the only one taken into account when placing her in the army lists. Her weaponry and skill combinations are also important.
With a mercenary character it is not in our interests to give her a kit that is redundant within her faction; she must add something that makes the faction grow, providing a different way of playing, but preferably something that makes her an option instead of a must.
And that is what happened with Major Lunah, even though it is true that Haqqislam already has Snipers with Viral Ammo, and camouflaged troops, it is not quite as true for the Imperial Service. And while you could argue that this is not vital for the Sectorial, it does provide certain variety and a different play style, which is always good for the game.
Of course, all of this just applies to ITS; in casual games the mercenaries section is an open buffet for the players.
However, the main feature of the Major Lunah, is not her profile but the new release of her model. She is a new character, profile, and a new miniature that is totally unexpected because she does not appear on the Human Sphere N3 lists. The release of a book dictates more or less what will be the new releases for approximately the following two years. It can become predictable for players, to a certain point.
To avoid monotony and to keep a bit of sense of novelty and surprise among the community, we have decided from time to time to release new profiles and rules that will come in future books. It is a way to keep the game alive and flexible without depending so much on the release of new books, and to spread a bit of the new book’s power in the meantime. This way, the Tech-Bee, el Scindron, Major Lunah… are the heralds of these new times. We hope that you enjoy them as much as we do!
Major Lunah’s troop profile will be released soon, so keep connected!
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