Military Archtypes

[JmOz]

Discuss

[Toadmaster]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

Well since nobody else has said anything I might as well start.

 

Personally I like the building block method used by a few games, instead of a single package deal. So what I was working on was a series of packages, basic training, advanced training, special training etc

 

All military characters would have the basic training package and an advanced training package. Basic is the stuff everyone learns in boot camp / military life which end the bullets come out, who to salute etc, advanced is what they do in the military armor, infantry, engineer etc. Special training would be things like airborne, SEALs, Rangers etc. Some like Special Forces or SAS could actually be dual packages again if you want to get extra detailed (language, weapons specialist etc) although I think that would probably be easily handled by the advanced training packages.

 

I was working on a fairly detailed set of skills packages for the military, I posted some earlier but unfortunately I think I lost alot of it when my laptops hard drive died.

[Starwolf]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

What Toadmaster said with more emphasis on the difference between the services... For example Navy bootcamp is very different than Army or Marine boot camp. Granted there are similarities, marching, saluting, etc. But for example the Army and Marines learn to shoot, clean weapons, go through obstacle courses, dig fox holes, live in the field, small unit tactics, etc. In the Navy we got none of those. Instead we learned ship board fire fighting, basic damage control, knot tying, basic rules of the road for moving around the ship, basic protocols for piloting a ship, etc. It should also be noted that while the Army has doctors and Medics... the Marines do not, all Marine and SEAL Corpsman are drawn from the regular Navy and those that are assign to Marine and SEAL units get extra battlefield training.

[wylodmayer]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

I was under the impression that you wanted "archetypes," not contruction packages. In case that IS what you wanted...

 

1) The serious soldier. Career military. Tends to know his service branch very well - lots of Contacts and high relevant Knowledge skills. Knows how to get things done, officially and unofficially. Not necessarily uptight - think Col. Potter from MASH.

 

2) The slacker soldier. Someone who barely avoids getting thrown out of the service. May accomplish this through talent or charm or both. Maybe a relative of an important officer in the same branch. May actually be good at his job but too busy - or eccentric - to worry about regulations. May be extremely good at his job and using that as leverage to get him out of all the "boring stuff."

 

3) The oddball senior officer. A battalion level officer (minimum) who is quirky in some way. Perhaps he has an unusual command style or seems incompetent - his junior officers tend to wonder how he got to where he is today. Usually turns out to be very competent, at least in certain specific areas. An interesting twist would be to make him not competent but "lucky" - his previous assignments have all somehow worked out in his favor without his having to really do anything, and he just kept getting promoted...

 

4) The psychopath. The guy who joined the military cos you get to shoot things. May not be "crazy" so much as a raging redneck or something similar.

 

5) The quiet one. Watch out for this guy. He's brooding and a loner and he's clearly Carrying A Secret. Rumors get spread about him by the other soldiers - about why he's a loner and the crazy/amazing stuff he's done. Works best as a junior officer or a high ranking non com. He should be good or very good at what he does, but should have some quirky, perhaps inexplicable or even unmilitary, behaviors. Naturally, his Secret should never really be revealed.

 

6) The professional. Good at his MOS, which should be something non combat related, and treats it like a "regular job." Finds actual combat annoying, especially if it gets in the way of his work.

 

7) The cheerful soldier. Works best as a junior officer or a low ranking enlisted. Always happy, makes the best out of the unpleasantries of military life. Annoying. In literature and film, tends to be introduced so that the reader can become attached only to have him (a) die or ( be scarred by the horrors of combat and robbed of his sunny disposition, both to Illustrate the Evils of War.

 

8) The idiot. Can't get a single damn thing right - an infantry officer who sucks at leading men in combat, a doctor who sucks as a doctor, an intelligence officer who is a general moron, etc. However, he knows his regulations and can go through the motions. Frustratingly, continues to prosper in the military because he has invested heavily in Professional Skill: Soldier.

 

9) The self destructive. Usually an alcoholic, unless you're playing a Vietnam game, in which case he's a heroin addict. May or may not be good at his job, but probably is, so that he can be kept in his unit well past the point where he should have been rotated to a hospital and/or discharged.

 

10) The talented. Generic soldier who has some talent completely unrelated to his MOS that makes him somehow valuable to the plot and/or interesting to the PCs. Maybe he's a file clerk who happens to be an expert poker player, or a junior officer of undistinguished record who happens to be an excellent basketball player... which is how he keeps winding up on Generals' staffs (and their intramural basketball teams). Works best if he is a generic low to mid level enlisted with a boring MOS or a junior officer with a boring MOS that he isn't particularly good at. An interesting twist is to make the character constantly striving to be noticed for his MOS rather than his "talent" - he's always trying to actually be good at what he does (which may be a lost cause).

[Manic Typist]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

The grizzled veteran.

 

The cigar chewing "sarge."

 

The meticulous sniper/sapper.

 

The racketeer/smuggler/ black marketeer.

 

The coward.

 

The naive new guy.

 

Etc.

[pinecone]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

Yeah..."standards" include....Sarge: Old, cranky, and supernaterally compatant...."Slick" the streetwise scrouger/blackmarkteer, the idealist/"Kid"...is that what your looking for?

[OddHat]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

Required Skills:

1) Sitting around making photocopies of D&D equipment lists and character sheets when you're supposed to be doing office work.

 

2) Hitting ineffectually on the cute ROTC girl who just wants you to tell her where she's supposed to be.

 

3) Sitting around playing D&D when you're supposed to be on guard duty.

 

4) Working on your own car in the shop when you're supposed to be doing real work.

 

5) Working on your buddies car in the shop in exchange for beer money and a chance to talk about last night's D&D game.

 

6) Stealing office supplies.

 

7) German and Japanese bondage porn, identification and use.

 

Do all of the above well enough, and they make you an officer.

 

[pendelfield]

Re: Military Archtypes

 

If you want to do some conversions, you might want to take a look at Blood & Guts, Modern Military, by RPG Objects.

 

It has plenty of stuff on basic and advanced training, along with equipment.

 

Just a thought.