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Old 01-25-2018, 02:45 PM   #1
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Let's Design a Supersoldier

I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share the designs for their supersoldiers? I will go ahead and share a TL8^ drug treatment used to improve secret forces and other special government agents developed during the 1980s from the experiments of MKULTRA in the USA and its equivalents in China, France, the UK, and the USSR. It allowed the Cold War to extend into the present day in its world.

The treatment takes a year and gives the recipient the Supersoldier template on a successful HT roll. The recipient gains the Supersoldier template on a failed HT roll, but they gain an additional 25 points of disadvantages per point of failure (on a critical failure, they die during the process). The process costs $1,500,000.

Supersoldier (TL8^) [150]

Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; DX+2 [40]; IQ+2 [40]; HT+2 [20]

Advantages: High Pain Threshold [10]; Immunity (Metabolic Hazards) [30]; Recovery [10]; Regeneration (Slow) [10]

Disadvantages: Insomniac (Severe) [-15]; Lecherousness (12) [-15]

Feel free to share your supersoldier designs and processes and the consequences of their introduction on the world in your setting.
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Old 01-25-2018, 03:09 PM   #2
sir_pudding
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

I like the Chödpa (GURPS Horror: The Madness Dossier p. 30) a lot and had set one up to be a reoccurring antagonist in the last adventure of my campaign (which unfortunately is on permanent hiatus because two of the players have a really successful band).
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Old 01-25-2018, 04:39 PM   #3
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

There's also the explicitly four-color Man Plus template from Supers.
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Old 01-25-2018, 05:40 PM   #4
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Default Project Jade Serenity Supersoldiers

Supersoldiers, in the campaign I am playing, are the former test subjects of Project Jade Serenity, a military program testing the effects of various nootropic and performance-enhancing drugs on highly motivated, extremely intelligent, healthy and well-conditioned young soldiers in a training environment. Here is a link to a campaign recaps of Jade Serenity Season 1: Project Jade Serenity.

Project Jade Serenity was carried out in an outlying part of Camp Mackall, North Carolina between late 1998 and the first day of 2000, and involved training evolutions of ODA 746 (newer number ODA 7216), an Operational Detachment-Alpha or basic operational team of special operators, from Alpha Company / 2nd Battalion / 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG(A)), as well as a modified form of Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) for picked young applicants in excellent health. A number of young female test subjects from suitable MOSes, i.e. Airborne-qualified, suitable for security clearances and volunteered for deployments in support of SOF, were also part of the Project.

Initially, the experiments were viewed as a failure. Most of the subjects went on to have military careers, successful in the majority of cases. Dramatic effects were noticed among the former Project Jade Serenity test subjects only gradually, at some point in the period 2009-2012. At the start of play, it is some 17 years after the closing of the Project and the changes in the former test subjects are still a closely held secret. A highly secretive joint task force of the US government code named Onyx Rain has been tasked with the fallout and it is unclear how much, if anything, the authorities are aware of about the powers exhibited by former test subjects.

Technically, the abilities of the subjects might not have much to do with the specific nootropic or psychoactive drugs used at Project Jade Serenity. The effects may instead result from some of the steroids or other performance-enhancing substances or treatments tested there. Or the effects may not be scientifically explainable, with alchemy or magic being closer to the truth than science. At the point we are in the campaign, no PC really knows.

It would be impossible to say that there is a standard template for supersoldiers in the campaign. Every former test subject exhibits different reactions to the experience and it is possible some of them have not been altered at all. At any rate, some discovered changes in themselves only a few years after Project Jade Serenity was cancelled, while others remain fairly unchanged even 17 years later.

One thing that does appear to be nearly universal is that the former test subjects retain excellent health and vitality, even as some of them are entering middle age. One of the best visual indicators when encountering former subjects is that they are usually people who were born in 1980 or before (several senior NCOs were in their forties even during the Project), but still look like young adults at their absolute physical peak in 2017.

Many of the more successful former test subjects also demonstrate extremely good learning ability, adaptability and intellectual drive, which seems sustained for long periods. They also suffer remarkable little deterioration of previously learned skills, both mental and physical. As a result, they continue to acquire new fields of knowledge and to develop their skills, even in adulthood.

In game terms, the most successful former test subjects can use the standard GURPS rules for studying and spending character points earned for adventuring their entire careers, even when this would represent a wildly optimistic learning curve and frankly unbelievably motivation.

Many of the special operators who remained in the military are, therefore, very high point characters in GURPS terms, even if their individual abilities are not in themselves outside of human norms. Point values of 400-800 points might be representative, but it is entirely possible that individuals might exist considerably outside of that range.

The following might be said to be a fair representation of a 'standard' template:

Jade Serenity Supersoldier

Attribute Modifiers: ST +2 to +12 (Massless +0%; Super -10%) [18] to [108]; DX +1 to +4 (Super -10%) [18] to [72]; IQ +0 to +2 (Super -10%) [0] to [36]; HT +1 to +4 (Super -10%) [9] to [36]

Advantages: Fit or Very Fit (Super -10%) [5] to [14]; Longevity, Extended Lifespan or possibly Unaging (Super -10%) [2] to [14]; Rapid Healing or Very Rapid Healing (Super -10%) [5] to [14].

Disadvantages: No standard ones have been codified, at least not by the PCs, but many former test subjects exhibit ones somehow related to their specific powers. Examples are Addiction (to things that help them deal with side-effects) [-5 to -20]; Bad Temper [-5 to -20]; Compulsive Behaviour (Various) [various]; Chronic Pain (various) [various]; Impulsiveness [-5 to -20]; Post-Combat Shakes (Sensory Overload) [-5] and more. There is evidence that some test subjects may experience nasty mental side-effects, including Callous, Obsession, Sadism or Trickster, but it's somewhat difficult to ascertain whether these are results of the process, a one-of-a-kind overdose or even merely unfortunate life experiences.

Some test subjects who diverge dramatically from human capabilities have Increased Consumption [-10]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5] and a Quirk related to their base body temperature being higher than human.

Optional abilities include:

Absolute Direction or 3D Sense (Super -10%) [5] to [14]
Acute (Sense) +1 to +5 (Super -10%) [2] to [9]
Ambidexterity (Super -10%) [5]
Appearance level increase (Super -10%) [various]
Catfall (Super -10%) [9]
Combat Reflexes (Super -10%) [14]
Danger Sense (w/ or w/o Hypersensory -50%, Super -10%) [6] to [14]
Discriminitory (Sense) (Super -10%) [5] to [14]
Eidetic or Photographic Memory (Super -10%) [5] to [9]
Enhanced Dodge +1 to +2 (Super -10%) [14] to [27]
Enhanced Parry (All) +1 to +2 (Super -10%) [9] to [18]
Enhanced Time Sense (Super -10%) [41]
Enhanced Tracking (Multiple Lock-ons +20%; Super -10%) [6]
Extra Attack (w/ & w/o Multistrike +20%; Super -10%) [23 to 28]
Extra HP +1 to +12 (Massless +0%, Super -10%) [2] to [22]
Extra Basic Speed +0.25 to +2.00 (Super -10%) [5] to [36]
Extra Per +1 to +5 (Super -10%) [5] to [23]
Extra Will +1 to +2 (Super -10%) [5] to [9]
Extra FP +1 to +9 (Super -10%) [3] to [25]
Flexibility or Double-Jointed [5] to [14]
High Manual DX 1-4 (Super -10%) [5] to [18]
High Pain Threshold (Super -10%) [9]
Night Vision 1-9 (Super -10%) [1] to [9]
Parabolic Hearing 1-3 (Super -10%) [4] to [11]
Perfect Balance (Super -10%) [14]
Peripheral Vision (Super -10%) [14]
Sensitive Touch (Super -10%) [9]
Sensitivity or Empathy (w/ or w/o Hypersensory -50%, Super -10%) [2] to [14]
Super Jump 1-2 (Super -10%) [9] to [18]
Talents (various) 1-4 (Super -10%) [5] to [54]

No test subject has demonstrated all of these, but glowing health, rapid recovery and extended period at physical peak or even total cessation of degenerative effects of aging, are pretty common to most of the surviving individuals.

Some of the attribute modifiers or other powers include the Biological (Passive) modifier, as well, as well as other Limitations related to biological issues. This represents biological makeup that is detectable as unusual even with ordinary medical exams by doctors unaware of Project Jade Serenity.

Other sensory enhancements are possible, but rarer and may represent learning to use sensory organs in different ways through extraordinary conscious control of them.
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Last edited by Icelander; 01-25-2018 at 07:16 PM.
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Old 01-25-2018, 07:08 PM   #5
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Default Re: Project Jade Serenity Supersoldiers

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Supersoldiers, ... {snip awesome sauce}
This is pure awesome sauce!
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Old 01-25-2018, 08:13 PM   #6
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

From "Lawmen of Borlo", a game about space detectives I ran about a year ago. It featured heavy use of biotech, and thus included a super soldier.

A point value isn't calculated because in that game I charged 20 points for any racial template except this one, which cost 40 points. No one sprang for the shock trooper template, though most characters picked up one of the lesser ones. They did get the attention of the players anytime they showed up in the game though!

Shock Trooper:
Built to serve as combatants, particularly in close quarters, designing effective shock troopers was hard. High tech combat is about detection, reflexes, equipment, and surviving when you lose. Designers have struggled to optimize reflexes and have mostly given up on equipment, so survivability and senses are emphasized. Shock troopers have fairly exotic compounds in their skin and bones, most of their organs have redundancies, and their blood clots faster than a standard human. Thanks to increased oxygen storage all over their body they take 20 times as long to suffer brain death as baseline humans. To top it off, their hormones have been rewired to withstand pain and shock better. Shock Troopers require more maintenance than most other biomorphs: they are designed to survive traumatic injury, not prolonged exposure to the elements. The require a special (and larger) diet to keep their bones, skin, and various organs from degrading.

Shock troopers are generally quite easy to identify: They are given away by their grey skin, their hardened scutes, their natural athleticism, their hard wired 'don't flinch' reflex (or lack thereof), and their diet. They are both feared and respected, and have something of a stigma. No one is rude to one, but they never let their guard down around one either, and people remember when and where they see them.

+5 ST
+5 HP
+2 FP

Talent (Athletic) 2
DR 5(2) (tough skin)
DR 10(2) (skull only),
Injury Tolerance : Damage Resistance (Crushing Only) 2
Unbreakable Bones,
Hard to kill 5,
Perk: delayed brain death,
High pain threshold,
Indomitable(physical confrontation only),
Breathe holding 3,
blunt claws,
Night vision 5,
Discriminating smell,
acute hearing 4,
Infravision,
Ultravision

Unusual Biochemistry,
Dependency (exotic compounds, Monthly, common)
Social Stigma -2 (Walking Weapon),
unnatural features 3

increased DX and speed are very appropriate. Most NPC's will have DX+2 and Speed +1 (including the DX boost)
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Old 01-26-2018, 07:44 AM   #7
Alonsua
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share the designs for their supersoldiers? I will go ahead and share a TL8^ drug treatment used to improve secret forces and other special government agents developed during the 1980s from the experiments of MKULTRA in the USA and its equivalents in China, France, the UK, and the USSR. It allowed the Cold War to extend into the present day in its world.

The treatment takes a year and gives the recipient the Supersoldier template on a successful HT roll. The recipient gains the Supersoldier template on a failed HT roll, but they gain an additional 25 points of disadvantages per point of failure (on a critical failure, they die during the process). The process costs $1,500,000.

Supersoldier (TL8^) [150]

Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; DX+2 [40]; IQ+2 [40]; HT+2 [20]

Advantages: High Pain Threshold [10]; Immunity (Metabolic Hazards) [30]; Recovery [10]; Regeneration (Slow) [10]

Disadvantages: Insomniac (Severe) [-15]; Lecherousness (12) [-15]

Feel free to share your supersoldier designs and processes and the consequences of their introduction on the world in your setting.
I can design you a supersoldier according to Biotech if you tell me what´s the biotechnology technology level of the setting :)
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Old 01-26-2018, 08:16 AM   #8
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

It's difficult to design a "supersoldier" without any limits on TL or budget because more is more and there are many traits that are useful to such a being.

So we're going to start with some very useful but frequently overlooked traits. These are Absolute Direction, Absolute Timing and Eidetic/Photographic Memory. The number of military operations that have been fubared because somebody (and his troops) went off in the wrong direction, started his part of the operation too early or too late or misremembered what his maps said is beyond numbering.

You might think this to be unnecessary because you could issue soldier a compass(GPS), chronometer and a set of maps but using these requires the soldier's eyes and attention which may be fully engaged in other matters while he's worried about being shot. You'll have to invest a lot of training to develop the professionalism for a soldier to stop looking for bad guys and look at his compass, timepiece and/or maps instead. simply improving his natural senses of time, direction and memory to reliable levels would be an attractive option if available.

After that you look at some other qualitative rather than quantitative traits. Such as Combat Reflexes and the Deep Sleeper Perk.

Then it's back into "more is more" territory except where you're talking about the Less Sleep trait. Even given that focusing on "resistance" traits like disease, poison and so one could be overlooked.

Fearlessness/Unfazeable could be overlooked too but what PTSD most looks like in Gurps is badly failed Fright Checks. A soldier lost to PTSD rather than direct attack is still lost.

Otherwise, more ST (moslty for carrying gear), more FP, faster reflexes, higher Per and so on, all of these are useful and the most you can get is most useful.
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Old 01-26-2018, 09:06 AM   #9
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

Hm, let us place a few limitations on the supersoldier then. The process should be TL7^ or TL8^, so no need to abide by the limitations of Ultratech or Biotech, just go with what feels right. Any subtle and non-supernatural ability is acceptable that could be explained by a superscience regime of experimental drugs, experiments, implants, etc.

If you want your soldier to benefit from cheetah neural grafts and orangutan muscle grafts, go for it, though I think that you would need them to have Terminally Ill (1 month, Mitigator, -60%), to represent the horrible consequences of massive tissue rejection if they stop taking the experimental cocktail of drugs that keeps their immune system from rejecting the grafts. I would also suggest keeping the resulting template at 250- points after disadvantages to keep it from becoming a template for a Four-color superhero like Captain America. I would ask for a minimum of 1 point of negative traits for every 10 points of positive traits to represent the consequences of the process on the character though.
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Old 01-26-2018, 09:25 AM   #10
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Let's Design a Supersoldier

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
Hm, let us place a few limitations on the supersoldier then. The process should be TL7^ or TL8^, so no need to abide by the limitations of Ultratech or Biotech, just go with what feels right. .
That's no "limit" at all. It might be a GM's preference but that's a difficult thing to share due to its' subjective nature.

Even just working on preference its' hard to do anything without a context. Is this a Marvel Cinematic Universe sort of "supersoldier" (which is somewhat different than a "classic" comic book continuity sort) or are we talking James Bond or are we going anime?
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