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Old 01-28-2010, 09:38 PM   #31
Ulzgoroth
 
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
This I think is covered by Savior Faire(Military) rather then Soldier.
Recognizing other people's military hardware and labeling might be Soldier, though.
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Old 01-28-2010, 09:53 PM   #32
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by Ubiquitous View Post
That sounds so boring though...total waste of the word 'Soldier'.
I don't think so. War-fighting is primarily a test of organization, not weapon skill. A weapon master is almost completely useless on the battlefield, if not backed up with good, unexciting, soldierly skills.

If you are trying to duplicate action movie combat, I can see your point. When you're mowing down mooks with an M60 fired from the hip one handed, you probably don't have to worry about keeping your socks dry.
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Old 01-28-2010, 10:03 PM   #33
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk View Post
Most non-comm jarheads can enter a freq in a radio, set the dials to the right settings, change batteries, enter a cryptographic fill, and talk on air in an understandable manner.
I think you are overestimating us.
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Old 01-28-2010, 10:24 PM   #34
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
I think you are overestimating us.
I'm treating the MANY times I've had to go "fix" a radio/phone and discovered that the phone was no longer connected to the wires, the radio's battery was dead, or either had had their fills zeroed, along with the fill device we gave them in case they zeroed the fill on the phone or radio, as outliers that make good stories, as opposed to the expected level of competence. It's the only thing that keeps me sane.
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Old 01-28-2010, 10:27 PM   #35
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

Soldier effectively acts as your default for any routine task that would be rolled against a military skill at +4 or better. "Routine task" doesn't just mean "simple enough to merit +4," but also "completely rote." "Military skill" means "any of a short list of noncombat skills my armed service uses." Moreover, you take any penalties that the real skill would take but get none of its bonuses. And that's it.

In effect, Soldier is a way to do all the boring crap that a soldier has to do – pack gear, dry out boots, dig foxholes, fill sandbags, unroll barbed wire, etc. – without learning the full-fledged technical skills that let you do the less-boring crap. You would never learn it in an action-oriented, larger-than-life campaign. It's specifically for realistic soldiers in campaigns where the GM intends to be deadly serious about trench foot, loose gear, rattling ammo boxes, underfilled sandbags, and night vision being wrecked by a cigarette's glow.

It's nothing like a wildcard skill at all, as then it would stand in for more skills; substitute for every use of all the skills it stands in for, whether they're at -10 or +10; receive bonuses as well as penalties; and fill in for a number of combat skills, too.
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Old 01-29-2010, 12:23 AM   #36
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Really, Ubik (can I call you Ubik?)
Go nuts, I'm touched you've been spelling the whole thing as long as you have.


[QUOTE=sir_pudding;924049]"Soldier cannot replace weapon skills, either; you must buy all such skills separately." Besides even people who aren't combat arms, can have Soldier.
Like what? That soldier ought to help you make ice tea in a desert?
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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
I think you are confusing what Talents are. You can't have Fireman talent. See Basic page 89.
What I meant was that if it covered a broad range of (admittedly very specialized and not broadly useful) skills, why not treat it like Business Acumen, which covers all those business and finance skills? Bunching it all under ONE skill was what struck me as odd.


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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
It may be boring to you, I rather like the job myself. 90% of the Infantry profession is "boring" stuff, like basic patrolling and fieldcraft. The sort of things that Soldier covers, IMO.
Hey, I don't mean to rag on your job or anything, it's just that when you call something Soldier and have it represent being a broad-cover for soldier skills, an uninformed observer like myself pictures the more emphasized soldier skills like shooting and things; I did re-read the skill, my mistake was speed-reading assuming 'combat skills must be bought separately' said 'increasing combat skills must be bought separately' (which I didn't bother questioning, assuming it meant 'If you want a better Guns (Rifle) level, buy that, not this').

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
See Basic 215. You roll versus Soldier to build a terrain model, to "stack" for room clearing, to cross a danger area, or set up a vehicle check point. You roll versus Savoir-Faire to know how to mount ribbons on your dress uniform or to remember to salute the general's car. Totally different skills.
At the time I thought the distinction was weird, but I don't know what my argument was then, this makes sense now.

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Don't think of it as a whole bunch of skills. It's the skill of being a Soldier. The important stuff is all the things that aren't covered by other skills. What skill would you use to do 5 Paragraph Order?
...Writing? Typing?

Whew. These quote-posts are haaard.

As for Kromm's post, I didn't expect a Wild-Card skill; I just looked over the example roll-for-these notes under Soldier, noticed a pattern that they were all realistic soldier skills. I suppose I missed the part about 'no gun skills included' but when it says 'a TL8 Soldier may learn to strip his rifle without learning Armoury (Small Arms)' I had kinda made the logical leap that if it let you do THAT, than letting you fire your rifle without a Guns skill might fly too (in the express parameters that this applies only with a gun conceivably practiced and employed by armed forces and plentiful penalties are applied to not-so-related guns).

And you have to admit, for something that isn't a Wild Card skill it seems to cover a lot. I didn't even know there were Professional Skills in the game until it was mentioned some posts ago; the only other things in the book covering this many skills (although those skills are more universally useful) are those Wildcard ones; I thought Soldier before now was a more realistic Wild-Card skill, just without the '!' at the end.

EDIT: Also, I do apologize for misreading the rule, especially taking this long to go back and read it after 3 pages.
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Old 01-29-2010, 02:17 AM   #37
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk View Post
I'm treating the MANY times I've had to go "fix" a radio/phone and discovered that the phone was no longer connected to the wires, the radio's battery was dead, or either had had their fills zeroed, along with the fill device we gave them in case they zeroed the fill on the phone or radio, as outliers that make good stories, as opposed to the expected level of competence. It's the only thing that keeps me sane.
Come on give them a break, if they've gotten 2 points in the skill, at IQ 10, they're rolling vs Soldier at 10-, mistakes will happen, even with a +4 TDM.

It'll take a brighter than average guy, or an NCO who's put 8 points into the skill, to have it at 12-.
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Old 01-29-2010, 02:42 AM   #38
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by Ubiquitous View Post
Go nuts, I'm touched you've been spelling the whole thing as long as you have.
This is the first Joe Chip money I've ever seen...

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What I meant was that if it covered a broad range of (admittedly very specialized and not broadly useful) skills, why not treat it like Business Acumen, which covers all those business and finance skills? Bunching it all under ONE skill was what struck me as odd.
You are comparing apples and oranges here, Talents represent natural ability at a variety of related skills. Soldier represents the trained professional skill of Soldiering. That said, there is a Born Soldier Talent, in SEALS in Vietnam, IIRC and it does make sense for some people to be natural soldiers.

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...Writing? Typing?
Ok, without the aid of reference, write a Mission Brief.

Last edited by sir_pudding; 01-29-2010 at 04:15 AM.
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Old 01-29-2010, 04:00 AM   #39
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
It should be Soldier, IMO. Blackwater cleans their M16s and operates their radios the same as everybody else.
"Mercenary Talent" isn't a believable in-born trait, IMO. Something like Born Soldier, though or Born War Leader should work fine for Mercenaries.
I would go so far as to say that most mercs/PSCs will have picked up their points in Soldier as regulars somewhere - very few PSCs train their own people, they tend to head hunt disaffected talent from national forces.
In most eras, the difference between a soldier and a mercenary is the chain of command, not the skill set.
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Old 12-14-2012, 06:04 PM   #40
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Default Re: Some questions about the Soldier skill

I'm not that keen on the Soldier and other PS skills in general.

If it's covered by skills, buy 1 point in a skill or a default. At IQ 10 it's not like you're going to have more than skill 8-9 anyway.

To remember the basic procedures of something your character is familiar with, below the resolution of a skill, roll against IQ. Isn't that what an IQ roll is generally for, anyway?

Still, Soldier is kind of useful for the basic "disciplined troops vs. solo warriors" question, but I don't really like how it is handled, in the way to make it useful.

I think the problem is that it's a conflation of Savior Fair (Military), a bit of Engineer, Hiking, the lack of a "Combat Reflexes 0" and possibly a "Fight in Ranks" technique.

Heck, much of it could be removed by adding a Specialization to Hiking to cover marching in ranks and advancing in the field, e.g., Hiking (Marching) or Hiking (Military) and the rest with a redefinition of Tactics so at the lower level it covers you not doing dumb things when you're in a fight.
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Last edited by David L Pulver; 12-14-2012 at 06:19 PM.
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