Mystical Throne Entertainment

Mercenary Breed introduced a new Savage Worlds mechanic: Renown. This mechanic represented a mercenary’s means of requisitioning equipment from their employer instead of having to purchase it. After all, they are part of multi-trillion credit corporations employing mercenaries to ‘do their dirty work.’ Thus, mercenaries shouldn’t ever have to pay for their equipment, they should simply be given that which they need to be successful.

In Mercenary Breed 2.0, the term Renown has been replaced by Reputation. Why? Because Renown sounded too much like ‘fame’ while Reputation sounds more like ‘earned respect.’ The original design was meant to be the latter, thus the term was improved this time around.

For those unfamiliar with Reputation (formerly Renown), here’s what it is:

Reputation is a measurement of how well your character performs during each mercenary mission. It is gained during official, corporate-funded missions, but not side missions. Reputation can also be earned for fantastic role-playing or extraordinary feats during game-play. However, do not throw around Reputation as a free gift or treasure: it is designed to measure a character’s strength, bravery, determination and overall success as a mercenary. Characters should earn Reputation, not simply be gifted it.

Reputation is an integral part of Mercenary Breed as it determines a character’s standard of living and level of equipment they can requisition. Due to the nature of working for a powerful corporation, the characters should be able to easily acquire the equipment necessary to complete a mission. Adding mechanics for Reputation justifies a character’s ability to acquire better weapons and armor along with sustaining a much higher standard of living.

Each character gains an amount of Reputation upon completion of a mission, depending on how difficult the mission was. Please note, Reputation is only earned at the end of a mission, not at the end of each gaming session.

• Standard: Standard missions are those which the characters are able to easily complete. They do not require much time, nor do they test a character’s limits. Upon completion of a standard mission, each character is awarded +1 Reputation.
• Difficult: Difficult missions are those that span two to three game sessions and consist of several character challenges. They require characters to properly use their skills and Edges to achieve success. Upon completion of a difficult mission, each character is awarded +3 Reputation.
• Brutal: Brutal missions are extremely difficult and should span four or more game sessions filled with multiple character challenges. Failure is extremely possible. Near-death experiences should be common. Upon completion of a brutal mission, each character is awarded +5 Reputation.

Stay tuned for Preview #3, which should drop on February 8.