Sorry, just thought of another point which is perhaps the most pertinent here
I think the problem partially stems from the difference between our modern perception of mercenaries and Medieval mercenaries
Today mercenaries are the lowest of the low. They are forbidden under the Geneva Convention. Being a mercenary today is an anathema. Hiring mercenaries is an anathema. A lot of people get around it through calling them private security companies, but that is beside the point
For the medieval period, especially the early and late, being a mercenary was a perfectly respectable career for a noble and many made a career out of it. If that weren't the case, it would not have been possible to have prolonged campaigns of the sort seen in the HYW, for example, as feudal obligation only lasted certain parts of the year. A non-noble mercenary was another matter entirely, but that would be the way we would treat all commoners
So I do not buy the 'higher nobility would not stoop that low' argument. If people want to RP that way, more power to them. People reacted like that to Franz and I applauded them, as it added to the enjoyment of the RP. But wholesale banning it in the rules is enforcing modern values onto SMA and attempting to whitewash the brutality that is a medieval world
