v2.0 Military Careers

[vargr1]

One possible solution would be to list ranks as being in command of a unit of specified size, named or otherwise.

Number of troops commanded/responsible for apx equal to 10^(rank-1)


For example:
Marine Enlisted Ranks
0- Recruit
1- Marine
2- Squad NCO(~10 Marines)
3- Platoon/Company NCO (~100 Marines)
4- Battalion NCO (~1 000 Marines)
5- Command NCO (~10 000 Marines)
6- Senior Command NCO (~100 000 Marines)

 

[Andrew Whincup]

Aye, something like that. If you have two skill tables: one for enlisted and one for Officer, then you can choose to roll the right skills and just say whether you were a Captain or an RSM.

I think it might have legs.

Andy

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

As mentioned previously, if your EDU is 8+ you can assume that you have a Bachelor's Degree (or whatever the Imperial equivalent is) and that you are an officer. No Commission roll. If somewhere during your career, you get an EDU boost to 8+, then you can say you went through OCS and are now an officer (a Mustang in US Military parlance).

Thus you keep the idea of the Advanced Education Table, but give it a military twist.

 

[ross]

I suggest the addition of decorations to the military careers. If you roll the exact Survival number in your Survival throw, you have been wounded in action (fully treated; the military pays the whole bill) and receive a Purple Heart; if you roll a natural 12 on your Survival throw you receive a Meritorious Conduct Under Fire (MCUF) badge; if you roll a natural 12 on your Event throw (Heroism in Battle?) you receive a Medal for Conspicuous Gallantry (MCG); if you roll on the same term natural 12's on both the Survival and the Event throws, you receive a Starburst for Extreme Heroism (SEH).

I think this is a brilliant and elegant idea. Great flavor with no added complexity. I do understand that the core game is getting more and more complex, but this would make a wonderful optional rule in the settings book.

 

[Allensh]

I think one idea is if there are going to be NCO ranks, eliminate the idea of Rank 0. Have an NCO table and an Officers Table, and if you get commissioned, you go to rank 1 on the Officers table. Both start at Rank 1; for the Army, as an example, rank 1 enlisted is Private, rank 1 Officer is Lieutentant. Your mustering out benefits are based on your rank with the caveat that enlisted ranks subtract 2 from their rank number before determining extra benefit rolls. You might then have to drop an enlisted rank (say, Lance Corporal) to keep the enlisted side at six ranks.

The other option is kick Lieutentant up to Rank 0 on the Officers side and add a new rank in there somewhere, but I think Rank 0 should just go.

Allen

 

[Andrew Whincup]

Ross,

I think that adding decorations in any way other than as events should be avoided. I think that the complexity outweighs the flavour they add. There might be a place for it as an optional rule in a sidebar, but other than that it's not worth it.

If it is to be included then steer away from naming the decorations. They tie the core rules far too strongly to one setting (be that the Third Imperium or 20th Century US).

Andy

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

It would probably be pretty easy to add decorations into the text of most of the Events and Injury tables without affecting the game too much.

 

[AKAramis]

It would probably be pretty easy to add decorations into the text of most of the Events and Injury tables without affecting the game too much.

Just remember, tho', decorations are highly setting specific.

 

[pasuuli]

Related to NCOs: does Starship Troopers use NCO ranks, in parallel with Officer ranks? How about other sci-fi genres which may someday be grafted on to the Mongoose Traveller base?

 

[weasel_fierce]

Its hard to imagine a setting that would have not have an NCO rank structure. You gotta have somebody leading the fireteams and squads

 

[zozotroll]

Related to NCOs: does Starship Troopers use NCO ranks, in parallel with Officer ranks? How about other sci-fi genres which may someday be grafted on to the Mongoose Traveller base?

The Book certainly did, but I dont know if the game follows the (great)book, or the (sucky) movie. Actualy the movie might not have been so bad if it wasnt called starshiptroopers. The cartoon was so much more like the book.

Not surpriseing that the book used an NCO rank system as it was written by a Naval Officer.

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

Related to NCOs: does Starship Troopers use NCO ranks, in parallel with Officer ranks? How about other sci-fi genres which may someday be grafted on to the Mongoose Traveller base?

The Book certainly did, but I dont know if the game follows the (great)book, or the (sucky) movie. Actualy the movie might not have been so bad if it wasnt called starshiptroopers. The cartoon was so much more like the book.

Not surpriseing that the book used an NCO rank system as it was written by a Naval Officer.

The Mongoose Starship Troopers games take influence primarily from the TV series and then after that more or less equally from the movie and book.