Medals in MgT

[ottarrus]

So with the Third Imperium book briefly describing the Imperial Armed Services and the in-depth look at The Imperial Navy and with the 5FW coming out in a couple months, something occurs to me.

How does a character earn medals in the Mongoose system?

The per-term Events Table [a feature I really like btw] is vague in the extreme about instances of combat all the military careers, along the line of 'you fight in [x], roll [y] skill for [z] result'. But I haven't seen any sidebar or whatever regarding the process of being decorated.

 

[Jongar]

I think pretty much up to GM, but it is discussed in the Imperial Navy book. One of the Characters in my game got+2 SOC as a mustering out benefit so I gave him a medal as part of the backstory.

 

[Vormaerin]

Mercenary and High Guard in Classic Traveller, decoration was a separate die roll. You could take a penalty to your survival roll to get a bonus on your decoration roll. T5 does something similar. But there's no current mechanic in Mongoose Traveller for determining decorations.

 

[ColinD]

I think pretty much up to GM, but it is discussed in the Imperial Navy book. One of the Characters in my game got+2 SOC as a mustering out benefit so I gave him a medal as part of the backstory.

I like that idea. I will use it next time my players roll up a military, scout or agent character. I expect the Merchant Marine would have that too.

 

[Arkathan]

I go with effect on Survival and Promotion.
Get a crit, get a medal.

 

[ottarrus]

You know, IMTU I may institute a Decoration roll if a character has a combat action result on the Events table. That might be the most elegant way to handle it.

 

[Arkathan]

You know, IMTU I may institute a Decoration roll if a character has a combat action result on the Events table. That might be the most elegant way to handle it.

I did that with our Sword Worlder scientist. I translated the award names in google translate from a variety of Scandinavian/North Atlantic languages
He got a major Award: The Netsokkar og Háhæll Lampaverðlaun (IIRC, net stockinged leg lamp) (net-soccer ohg how-hides shlamp-a-vair-lan)
and minor one: the coveted Hnappur Trúðs Meðstóraskó (Button of the clown with big shoes) (Hynap-oor Truesh Mesh-stor-ash-koe)

 

[Midnightplat]

I like that idea. I will use it next time my players roll up a military, scout or agent character. I expect the Merchant Marine would have that too.

Something that might help with your world, in the CIA there are decorations/medal equivalent; but they're not public. Even their equivalent of the Medal of Valor for in duty deaths, is purportedly an anonymous gold star on a wall no one but people with access to that area of Agency HQ ever see. Might be a something to play with for an Agent character who is a "big deal" in the covert world, but most don't realize it.

 

[ottarrus]

Something that might help with your world, in the CIA there are decorations/medal equivalent; but they're not public. Even their equivalent of the Medal of Valor for in duty deaths, is purportedly an anonymous gold star on a wall no one but people with access to that area of Agency HQ ever see. Might be a something to play with for an Agent character who is a "big deal" in the covert world, but most don't realize it.

The decorations themselves are now public since the advent of the Dept. of Homeland Security. For example, the Intel Community's highest decoration is the [regrettably named] George Washington Spymaster Award, which superseded the better-known Intelligence Star. Yes, I think that award's name is stupid too I've linked the wiki below.
Of course many of the recipients of these decorations are not published, for obvious reasons.

List of intelligence and espionage–related awards and decorations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ottarrus]

Building on @Midnightplat's idea, as I understand it [and remember I was an Army enlisted man -- I just heard rumors], very VERY few recipients of Intel decorations were 'known', but a reputation travels among operatives who talk shop in private.
But it would be pretty freaking cool if 'the Navy guy' who was the ship's engineer shows up to some shindig wearing his full dress [as he's entitled to do] with an SEH that had a torch embossed in the middle indicating an SEH for Intelligence duties...

"You mean to tell me that the guy I yell at when the drives sputter is a super-spy???"

PS: I just made the SEH with a torch thing up, but the concept fits the OTU...

 

[Condottiere]

Starburst for Extreme Heroism - voluntary penalty to survival role.

If you fail, you might still get decorated, posthumously.

 

[Midnightplat]

Building on @Midnightplat's idea, as I understand it [and remember I was an Army enlisted man -- I just heard rumors], very VERY few recipients of Intel decorations were 'known', but a reputation travels among operatives who talk shop in private.
But it would be pretty freaking cool if 'the Navy guy' who was the ship's engineer shows up to some shindig wearing his full dress [as he's entitled to do] with an SEH that had a torch embossed in the middle indicating an SEH for Intelligence duties...

"You mean to tell me that the guy I yell at when the drives sputter is a super-spy???"

PS: I just made the SEH with a torch thing up, but the concept fits the OTU...

"He's just a cook."

 

[ottarrus]

"He's just a cook."

And she was just Erika Eleniak

 

[WHULorigan]

"He's just a cook."

Medal for Inconspicuous Gallantry (MIG).

 

[Condottiere]

Thirty years later, it turns out he was just a cook, who got lucky.

 

[ottarrus]

Yeah, I think that putting a decoration roll for a combat Event might just be the simplest way to handle it.
Either that or allowing a negative DM on the skill check for heroism.
For example, Marines Event 6 "You are assigned to an assault on an enemy fortress. Roll Gun Combat or Melee 8+ to gain Tactics [Military] or Leadership if you succeed." The player could take a negative DM to that roll and the Effect would determine the medal awarded.

 

[Seffix]

Thirty years later, it turns out he was just a cook, who got lucky.

Leslie Nielsen Under Siege

 

[E4MC]

There are rules for being awarded medals and commendations during character generation in both Mongoose Traveller (first edition) High Guard (Page 6) and Mercenary (Page 36).

 

[ottarrus]

There are rules for being awarded medals and commendations during character generation in both Mongoose Traveller (first edition) High Guard (Page 6) and Mercenary (Page 36).

I have both of those books, but I find the systems therein to kind of 'kludgey'. They're awkward and unnecessarily complicated, essentially the LBBs all over again.
In my OP, I was wondering how to put decorations into into the MgT2e system in the most reasonable, non-game-breaking way.

 

[Condottiere]