Labrat Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Howling Commandos in Space! Hey everyone I'm looking for some cool 'legendary squadron' names that are half-WWII throwback names and half young-Space Era names. I'm planning to run an Alien Wars game (so far I call it 'DropZone') in the near future and just want a grunt-heavy familiar feel to spice up the newness of the space marine theme. Any ideas? So far I've come up with these: "The Swords of Mars" (kind of hate/love this one) "Solar Hawks" (sounds more like the Thundercats knock-off... SilverHawks) "Solar Furies" Right now I'm thinking that these all stink. Any help? I'd like to hear what you all think of a "Sgt. Fury vs. Aliens" game, too. If you have any ideas or advice then I'm all ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Take some of your own guidelines as advice and look up WWII unit nicknames, and come up with something similar. Martian Rangers Low Orbit Lightning Solar Hurricanes (a play on solar wind) Mare Vaporum Dragoons Immortals of Olympus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Take some of your own guidelines as advice and look up WWII unit nicknames, and come up with something similar. Martian Rangers Low Orbit Lightning Solar Hurricanes (a play on solar wind) Mare Vaporum Dragoons Immortals of Olympus I tried to do a search but my Google-Fu roll failed me. Have any good links? Thanks for the suggestions, BTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I tried to do a search but my Google-Fu roll failed me. Have any good links? Thanks for the suggestions, BTW! I didn't find anything that stood out as exceptional, but "WWII unit nickname" got a lot of half-decent hits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I didn't find anything that stood out as exceptional' date=' but "WWII unit nickname" got a lot of half-decent hits.[/quote'] Ah... makes sense. Couldn't get more Obvious than that, my Captain. I was looking for 'legendary divisions' and 'legendary squads'. I really like "Immortals of Olympus". It bases the unit firmly in Terran territory. "Martian Rangers" reminds me too much of Marvin and Martian Manhunter... don't know if I could get past that. Stupid Pop Culture immersion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I really like "Immortals of Olympus". It bases the unit firmly in Terran territory. I was actually thinking of Mars on that one...Olympus Mons. Unless you consider Mars firmly within Terran territory, in which case...carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Comet Jockeys The Meteor Swarm Hard Vacuum The Red Shift Bad Asteroids The Impact Zone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clsage Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Howling Commandos in Space! Hey everyone I'm looking for some cool 'legendary squadron' names that are half-WWII throwback names and half young-Space Era names. I'm planning to run an Alien Wars game (so far I call it 'DropZone') in the near future and just want a grunt-heavy familiar feel to spice up the newness of the space marine theme. Any ideas? So far I've come up with these: "The Swords of Mars" (kind of hate/love this one) "Solar Hawks" (sounds more like the Thundercats knock-off... SilverHawks) "Solar Furies" Right now I'm thinking that these all stink. Any help? I'd like to hear what you all think of a "Sgt. Fury vs. Aliens" game, too. If you have any ideas or advice then I'm all ears. A personal favorite from a mostly unplayed campaign of way too long ago: "The Wraith Rangers" (an LRRP / Delta force group emulation - small unit, deep insertions, etc - component of the Orion Starforces) -Carl- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I was actually thinking of Mars on that one...Olympus Mons. Unless you consider Mars firmly within Terran territory, in which case...carry on. I would consider Mars in the 'Terran' system during the period of this genre, especially since Earthlings have 'annexed' the entire Solar System where it resides. "Solar Flares" "First Beyond Pluto" "(Milky) Way Warriors" "Luna Skulls" *Writing all suggestions down! Thanks guys! I'll be using quite a few of these to name other rival units competing for the same battle glory!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Vacuum Rats (based on Desert Rats) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP The Hard Burns Sol Defense 1 (Big Red 1) The Apollos Pluto's Plunderers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Great stuff guys! At first I wasn't really too keen on Allen Thomas' vision for the WWII look to the standard issue gear given to the soldiers in Alien Wars, but now I'm really intrigued to follow that line of thinking and see how much I can work it up. That new perspective has me picking up AW again (having read through it once already just for completion's sake). Here is a 'short list' of what I've liked/done so far: Apocalypse Riders Comet Jockeys Cosmic Marauders First Beyond Pluto (even though it is no longer a 'planet') Galactic Hawks Immortals of Olympus Maelstrom Knights Mare Vaporum Sharks Meteor Swarm Saturn’s Ring Wraiths Sol Defense Prime Solar Flares Swords of Mars Terran Furies The Apollo Dragoons Vacuum Rats Xenohunters Some are better than others. Can anyone tell me how much 'choice' one has in getting placed in a favored unit? Are soldiers routinely assigned based on need or is there an application process? Both? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Great stuff guys! At first I wasn't really too keen on Allen Thomas' vision for the WWII look to the standard issue gear given to the soldiers in Alien Wars, but now I'm really intrigued to follow that line of thinking and see how much I can work it up. That new perspective has me picking up AW again (having read through it once already just for completion's sake). Here is a 'short list' of what I've liked/done so far: Apocalypse Riders Comet Jockeys Cosmic Marauders First Beyond Pluto (even though it is no longer a 'planet') Galactic Hawks Immortals of Olympus Maelstrom Knights Mare Vaporum Sharks Meteor Swarm Saturn’s Ring Wraiths Sol Defense Prime Solar Flares Swords of Mars Terran Furies The Apollo Dragoons Vacuum Rats Xenohunters Some are better than others. Can anyone tell me how much 'choice' one has in getting placed in a favored unit? Are soldiers routinely assigned based on need or is there an application process? Both? Thanks! It's varied from time to time. Some units need all the bodies they can get, so it's easy to pick one of those to get into, and also easy to just end up there. Some are a little more exclusive and you need to prove yourself first. There have been times when your hometown determined what unit you'd end up in. And there have been times when the unit had to do its own recruiting (ie no one was assigned to them by the powers-that-be). IIRC, the government through most of the Alien Wars timeline is pretty strongly centralized, so most likely you'd have people being assigned to units, with the cream of the crop being able to opt into elite units. The armies of the other stars may not be this centralized though, and go with the hometown or independent recruiting model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Major Tom Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Here's some that come from history, movies, and TV: Hat in the Ring Squadron Bug Stompers Black Sheep Angry Angels In addition, you could give some of the units in your campaign names that would be suggestive of their ability to bring death and destruction upon the enemy -- names like the Grim Reapers or the Revenants, for example. And don't forget that squadron or unit names can consist of little more than their squadron/unit number preceded by an aggressive name -- for example, the Fighting 69th. Major Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Kuiper's Kommandos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP The Deep Patrol Far Walkers Vacuum Breathers This is deliberately avoiding any "classic" SF references that might or might not still be around.... Star Wars, Stark Trek, etc. Occasionally units pickup funny names from "old" media, ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP The Deep Patrol Far Walkers Vacuum Breathers This is deliberately avoiding any "classic" SF references that might or might not still be around.... Star Wars, Stark Trek, etc. Occasionally units pickup funny names from "old" media, ya know? Yeah I was thinking the same thing, and in all reality you'd be 100% correct. I'm sure there'd be a few homage names like: Skywalker Seven New Jedi Order Clone Troopers The Ceti Alpha Six Kirk's Kamakazis Kirk's Red Shirts The Enterprise Landing Party Picard's Better Squad The Real Klingons etc... Thanks everyone! Keep 'em coming. I would especially like more advice on the do's and don'ts of a 'Space Marine' like campaign, specifically any Alien Wars experience would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Threadus Ressurecti! Hey y'all I'm doing more prep work for my Alien Wars campaign and looking for a more 'military survival horror' feel. I've been watching movies especially. So far I have the following film in my genre list: Aliens (the definitive genre film) Starship Troopers (I know... I know... don't hate me) Day of the Dead Dog Soldiers Reign of Fire (saving more for my Post-Apoc game once PAH comes out) The Hills Have Eyes 2 Here's one that I just can't remember the name of, I saw it On Demand about two months ago and it was an obscure movie but actually pretty good. It's got 'watch' or 'patrol' in it's name and it's about a platoon of WWII soldiers that happen upon an entrenched camp of German soldiers, when they demand that the Germans surrender the Germans warn them to stay out of the trench. Obviously the US soldiers don't and it turns out that there's a supernatural presence there that will not let them escape. No famous actors (by my limited knowledge) were in it. There was a force that was creating paranoia throughout the squad, a few scenes underground where the green rookie saw his 'ghost self' among the other soldiers that had already died, and a barbwire scene... any help you can provide would be appreciated. I've exhausted my Netflix search for this one. Anyway, if you can think of any others I'd appreciate it. Thanks! Any other suggestions for the 'military survival horror' genre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Threadus Ressurecti! Hey y'all I'm doing more prep work for my Alien Wars campaign and looking for a more 'military survival horror' feel. I've been watching movies especially. So far I have the following film in my genre list: Aliens (the definitive genre film) Starship Troopers (I know... I know... don't hate me) Day of the Dead Dog Soldiers Reign of Fire (saving more for my Post-Apoc game once PAH comes out) The Hills Have Eyes 2 Here's one that I just can't remember the name of, I saw it On Demand about two months ago and it was an obscure movie but actually pretty good. It's got 'watch' or 'patrol' in it's name and it's about a platoon of WWII soldiers that happen upon an entrenched camp of German soldiers, when they demand that the Germans surrender the Germans warn them to stay out of the trench. Obviously the US soldiers don't and it turns out that there's a supernatural presence there that will not let them escape. No famous actors (by my limited knowledge) were in it. There was a force that was creating paranoia throughout the squad, a few scenes underground where the green rookie saw his 'ghost self' among the other soldiers that had already died, and a barbwire scene... any help you can provide would be appreciated. I've exhausted my Netflix search for this one. Anyway, if you can think of any others I'd appreciate it. Thanks! Any other suggestions for the 'military survival horror' genre? I've seen that movie. It's set in WWI by the way. It's called Deathwatch (I had to look it up myself, and never would have got it if you hadn't mentioned the "watch" part). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I've seen that movie. It's set in WWI by the way. It's called Deathwatch (I had to look it up myself, and never would have got it if you hadn't mentioned the "watch" part). THANK YOU! If I ever have another child I'm naming it 'Captain Obvious' after you... The elusive name of that movie has been grinding me all day. WWI... yes, I recall it now. Rep for thee and thine own! [D'oh! That is once I'm free to give you Rep again. Stop being so good at answering my questions darn you!] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clsage Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Threadus Ressurecti! Anyway, if you can think of any others I'd appreciate it. Thanks! Any other suggestions for the 'military survival horror' genre? Hmmmm.....Have you taken a look at "The Keep" ? SS soldiers versus inexplicable occult phenomena in an old Eastern European citadel. -Carl- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labrat Posted July 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Hmmmm.....Have you taken a look at "The Keep" ? SS soldiers versus inexplicable occult phenomena in an old Eastern European citadel. -Carl- No I haven't but I'm going to add it to my Netflix queue asap! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP I was just thinking the second Starship Troopers movie, poor excuse for gratuitous topless shots that it is, would be more in the survival/horror vein than the first movie. Although the first movie does have a high cheese value. There's also Day of the Triffids/Night of the Triffids. Although only one is a movie and it's more "civilians attempting to be military". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCUBA Hero Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP From our Sci-Fi/Fireflyverse campaign: The Rifter Ratz (obvious rivalry with the Vacuum Rats, if you use them too) Other thoughts: Goddard's Gospel Rico's Roughnecks (yah, Starship Troopers name. So sue me.) Heinlein's Hellions Vandenburg's Valkyries Bastards Never Yield Light Horse von Braun's Demons Atomic Fury Planetbusters Silent Death (so sue me.) Sol's Defenders High Guard (so sue me.) Thin Red Line Gary's Guerillas Starborne Rangers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Alien Wars: DropZone PBP Most really cool names didn't get picked because they were cool. They were a nicknames associated with a unit, that the unit made cool you might say. Big Red One Devil Dogs Red Devils Black Watch Lucky Seventh are all examples of nicknames to have popped up. For me in an RPG a unit nickname sounds more believable if it sounds spontaneous rather than the GM picked a "cool" one. But that is just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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