The calling of the mercenary may not be as noble or romantic as the soldiers that fight for their nation, or the resistance fighters that rise to protect their homes, but it would be a mistake to reduce it to mere greed and bloodlust. Mercenaries were often veterans of more traditional armies, people that owned a skill and found it wiser to leverage it than to bury their weapons and start their life over, surrounded by civilians that had no idea what they went through. In a way, some mercenary characters may be trapped in a tragic life of violence, knowing nothing else, and still needing to put bread on the table like everyone else.

In other cases, mercenary life is a matter of tradition, a warrior society often looking kindly on individuals that prove their worth in battle, and grow wealth and prestige doing so. Those mercenaries are following a respectable career path, at least from their perspective, and may be confused to hear that fighting for payment is somehow considered dirty or lesser. After all, aren’t most soldiers paid or compensated in some way? What is so different with being paid by a foreign nation or a third party in a conflict? Similarly, mercenaries can also be idle professional soldiers, and lend their services with the sanction of their suzerain as a way to enrich the nation, and keep the troops battle ready. It was especially common within the population with disproportionately large militaries, for reasons of culture or necessity.

Mercenaries were also often simply exiled combatants, defeated in war and escaping into a foreign land to flee capture or execution. These characters may still be motivated by the lost cause they used to fight for, picking contracts that place them against their ancient foes, or playing the long game and growing stronger and stronger until they can return home and ignite the embers of war once again. From freedom fighters, to loyalists trying to restore a former dynasty to power, these characters can be very interesting to explore, navigating their ideals and the immediate needs of mercenary life. In LARP, you can take inspiration from these simple historical facts to make more realistic and believable characters or groups.