Being a critic!

[Cale_Knight]

Clearsighted's post is mostly true, but can be substituted for any PC military group in the game.

Everything goes in cycles. There have been militia units and Kuraci units and Borsail units that have been ridiculously good as well. It all comes down to who happens to have the current stock of PC warriors.

[LoD]

The T'zai Byn has an extremely solid reputation as far as sellswords go, but in the end of the day, it's just a well-organized brute squad.  They're useful, but they have very little political clout during times of non-warring.

While I agree that the T'zai-Byn doesn't have the political clout that a Great Merchant House would hold, I think it's somewhat short sighted to write them off as simple grunts that have absolutely no business or links to the political scene.

Consider, for instance, that many Houses and organizations will send potential recruits through the Byn as a "testing ground" for would-be super soldiers.  They want to make sure the person has what it takes.  As with any business transaction, the least amount of middlemen results in the best deal to be struck.  Thus, merchants, templars, and nobles would all prefer to work through a single contact.  That relationship can often blossom into a political connection due to favors that the Byn officer may have done for those people.

There are opportunities within the tenure of a Byn Sergeant, and especially amidst the officers, for one to lend a helping hand to powerful individuals that may in turn provide you with some political assistance.  They are in a position to serve a wide variety of people with something people have to respect, a trained martial force that answers to you.  The Byn travels more often than most city-based Houses, they have contacts in multiple villages and cities, hear rumors from many sources, and contract with several business, sometimes in direct competition with one another.

The T'zai-Byn isn't just a bute squad.  They're an expendable and independant resource whose commodity can be a hundred times as valuable as a steady supply of silk given the appropriate circumstance.  Granted, these situations are few and far between and it's rarely the Byn's place to become involved.  However, it might be premature to label them as an apolitical player on every level.

Consider that several of the Byn's capable leaders, having proved themselves in the field, are highly recruited for elevated positions within Merchant Houses, Noble Houses, and the Militia.  All of these people have likely served under the same Commander, and the longer they'd remained a part of the Byn organization prior to departing, the more of a connection they'd feel to this person.

So while I certainly agree that your average Bynner wouldn't have much political clout, nor a reason to play at politics, be careful in writing off every single member of an organization.  It's nearly imppossible to survive in an environment like Allanak without playing the political game at one level or another.  They might only have a handful of players, but they would likely surprise you in what was possible should they decide to call in some favors.

-LoD

[Clearsighted]

Um, Clearsighted...if no job was too big, how'd they die?

Heh, like I said. Barring meeting a truly monstrous magicker. Possibly while in an HRPT. I'd say aside from player's just getting bored and quitting, that's how most of the /great/ units end.

[jstorrie]

I confirm Agent_137's tale. That unit was totally rad.

[X-D]

Most the great units start with a good to great leader and fade away when they Die/retire.

Sad to see when you are the one that had the leader and you think you have set up the unit well enough that even if you die one of them will be able to take over. Unfortunatly, this is almost never the case.