Army Vacc Suit Skill

[CosmicGamer]

Maybe it's just me, but I have a problem with the army not having a vacc suit skill. The army doesn't fight on airless worlds or worlds with hostile environments?!

 

[thesmiths4]

The only way for them to get it now is via an event.

Maybe there should be a chance to get sent to a specialty survival school for all Imperial Military Personnel and the Scouts. If you go to the school, you can choose from Vacc Suit, Survival, Recon, Medic, Melee Combat, Gun Combat, or Stealth.

 

[CosmicGamer]

I think it would be as simple as removing the drive skill from the service skills table and replacing it with Vacc Suit. Not every soldier needs to know how to drive and the drive skill is still available
- The support assignment has drive skill for the troop transport and other support vehicles.
- The cavalry has drive skill for tanks and such.

 

[-Daniel-]

I think it would be as simple as removing the drive skill from the service skills table and replacing it with Vacc Suit. Not every soldier needs to know how to drive and the drive skill is still available
- The support assignment has drive skill for the troop transport and other support vehicles.
- The cavalry has drive skill for tanks and such.

And I would suggest that Army is a great place to shift from Drive to "Drive or Flyer" like seen in another career. A high tech army would/could use Grav Tanks etc. Just a thought.

 

[Golan2072]

Also, doesn't the Army also use powered armor, which also requires Vacc Suit skills?

 

[CosmicGamer]

Also, doesn't the Army also use powered armor, which also requires Vacc Suit skills?

I had thought of this but with battle dress just starting to become available at TL13, it's cost, and it requires extensive training (3 levels of vacc suit skill at TL13) I figured that it would be very limited in availability. Something for specialty trained elite forces and thus a career in a supplemental book.

Perhaps the main question is how available is combat armor?
Currently, the implication is that every trooper gets it. Combat armor gives the protection of a vacc suit or hostile environment suit and no vacc suit skill is needed. Why no skill needed? Already brought up in the equipment thread. Keep a close eye on a change there as it will then absolutely require adding vacc suit skill.

But we also have the current case where if it is too cost prohibitive to have every single trooper outfitted with combat armor, then it seams they would need vacc suit skill for combat on worlds where such is needed.

 

[Golan2072]

Of course, the army could also be using walkers (bigger than a Battledress) which would be under Drive (Walker).

Maybe something like this (from the "Dust" wargame):

 

[-Daniel-]

And this is a great example of why a setting specific adjustment to the skills tables might be needed if the Referee is not playing the official setting. :wink:

 

[MongooseMatt]

Well, I have made this change, but... I am a bit uneasy with _every_ army getting Vacc Suit trained soldiers...

 

[-Daniel-]

Well, I have made this change, but... I am a bit uneasy with _every_ army getting Vacc Suit trained soldiers...

Then don't do it. Let them take Vacc Suit -0 as a background skill if they want it.

I say stay true to the vision you have as much as you can.

 

[CosmicGamer]

Well, I have made this change, but... I am a bit uneasy with _every_ army getting Vacc Suit trained soldiers...

As per the rules currently written, vacc suit skill is not skill in just using "vacc suits". Part of it can be trained to use a environmental suit. Radiation, biological, chemical and other hazards are real.

Not part of the rules currently, yet again I comment that Combat Armor should require vacc suit skill as it is described in the rules as

Combat armour can function as a vacc suit

.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

CG brings up a good point as the current militaries of the world are trying to figure out how to deal with NBC warfare (they still haven't gotten it figured out from what I can see). So in the future with all the radiation weapons around, I could see that they would get the basics at least.

 

[-Daniel-]

I find myself realizing my own personal vision of Traveller is tainting how I see many of these things. While Traveller offers a wide range of Tech levels, I have mostly played in the Tl10 to Tl13 range. Thus the idea of Battle Dressed Marines from the Imperium is normal. The Armies would be using mostly Combat Armour. Grav vehicles would be normal. All of this impacts the vision I have and thus the arguments I make.

With this in mind, I will say I do not have a strong need for an Army to have VaccSuit is we expect people to play Characters from lower tech levels. It makes sense they wouldn't need VaccSuit. But if the core rules expect a higher level average for the characters, then the careers should reflect those tech levels.

But of course this is all tainted by my vision. Yours may vary. :mrgreen: