Re: [HOE] Re: Military Background

[Theo McGuckin <tsm@jlab.org>]

> Banshee Sykers-  Based on the description of the
> Banshee war provided in Brainburners, I'd have to say
> that 70+ percent of the Sykers involved would qualify
> for Soldier.  Admittedly, the battle didn't last for
> 10 years, it was 8 years of intense, guerilla warfare.
>  The narrator specifically mentions that "The sykers
> who had survived...were battle-hardened warriors,
> capable of killing a lizard with fists, bullets or
> brainpower," and this was only 2 years into the
> conflict.  Further, given the growing NA/SA tension
> that was building on Earth during the Banshee
> conflicts, I suspect that most countries would be
> hesitant to commit any more of their limited Syker
> resources to the cause.  Odds are, the first Sykers
> off the jumpships did most of the fighting. YMMV, of
> course.

I still think that the details of the soldier edge don't fit a banshee
syker. They didn't have traditional units or structure (basically everyone
was under Overkill). They didn't get to bring back lots of cool gear. And
most sykers hate authority so the rank thing just doesn't fit (except
maybe with a crowbar and generous amounts of soft CHEESE for lubrication).
Bottom line - banshee sykers have their own chart Veteran of the Faraway
Wars. And I think there's plenty there to work with.
How about a syker taking both VotFW and Soldier? Talk about one F-ed up
nightmare of a character, but I digress.
 
> Earth Sykers-  Earth Sykers lack the combat experience
> of their Banshee brethren, but did see a lot of front
> line action in the three years of the last war. 
> However, Brainburners specifically mentions that
> Sykers that remained on Earth during the Banshee war
> were the strongest, most experienced ones, too
> valuable to send off.  This leads me to think that
> such Sykers would have been a part of one military
> organization or another for quite some time, again
> qualifying them for the Soldier edge. 

Again sykers weren't used in traditional military roles until the last
war. They were used assassins and saboteurs and what-not. It wasn't until
the last war when sykers were thrown out on the front lines to fight
because it was pretty much a waste to send a guy out against a
nuclear-powered hover-tank. So a lot of the parts of the soldier edge
don't fit. Even near constant fighting for three years isn't going to
equal ten years in the military.
Still think soldier edge is a bad fit. But better for them than banshee
sykers as they were in a more traditional military environment. Did I just
contrabict myself? Oh well it's late and no one listens anyway...

> Perhaps I am a little too eager to use Background:
> Soldier, but given the scale of the Last War, I'm of
> the opinion that most folks in the Wasted West should
> have some military training.  Certainly, making every
> Joe Waster a demolitions expert or sniper is a bit
> much, but most able-bodied folks would have fought,
> and should have at least basic training skills.  Maybe
> a 2 point edge that gives Shootin': Rifle 2, Survival:
> Any 1, and Throwin': Balanced 1, with a much less
> severe version of the Soldier Background Table.

These are what your starting skill points are for. Did you character have
a lot of experience shooting a gun, maybe was even in the reserves? Then
don't come up with a new edge for it, just give him appropriate skills.
Otherwise you fall into the danger of coming up with edges that are
nothing but "bonus-buys" for skills "attention customers sale on isle
three, waster survivor package, 8 pts. of skills for 2 pts. of edges"
You get the idea.

One thing that I think is missing is anything to allow players to have a
decent set of normal background skills.

Take me: I'm a sysadmin who graduated with a physics degree.
So I'd have...
Computer 3
Physics 3
Drivin: Car 2
Performin: Mandolin 1 (don't laugh)
Tinkerin 1 (I like to take things apart, can't put them back though...)
Language: French 1 (5 years in HS and I can just barely read it)
Swimmin 2
Persuasion 1 (I'm at least vaguely social...)

Now I'm fairly well educated (graduated from college), fairly smart, but I
tend to be a little clueless at times. So let's say d8 knowledge, d8
smarts and d6 cognition. Oh hell, let's give me the benefit of the doubt
and say d10 smarts.

That gives me 24 pts. to work with for skills. Of which I've already spent
13 on "pre-war life" skills. Now the bombs have dropped and I've managed
to survive for 13 years. Any idea how I did it with only 11 pts. to spend
on shooting, dodge, fightin, scrougin, survivial, guts, etc. etc.?
I don't.

So you wind up with characters that have a weak link (at best) to their
old lives as far as skills go:
"So what was he before the war?"
"An accountant."
"What's his accounting skill?"
"One."
"Not a very good one then."

I forget the page, but someone came up with a nice "pre-war life" edge for
2 pts. I think it helps in rounding out a character.

Theo McGuckin - SysAdmin, JLab


	"I'm scared daddy, too scared to even wet myself!"
	"Just relax boy, it'll come."