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Old 08-03-2011, 12:00 PM   #81
combatmedic
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Default Re: Military roleplaying: line troops or special operations?

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Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha View Post
Some people like playing average and sub-average characters, I don't get it either, but there's 25 point GURPS campaigns, there's games like CoC where everyone goes insane, or WFRP where you have character classes like poverty stricken Ratcatchers.

I'll even go as far as saying that the type of people that like those low level games seem to take pride in mundanity, as if somehow suffering through a lame documentary was roleplaying gold.
But hey, whatever floats their boat, it takes all types.
RATS MUST BE CAUGHT!

Much love, WFRP!
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Old 08-03-2011, 12:04 PM   #82
combatmedic
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Default Re: Military roleplaying: line troops or special operations?

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Originally Posted by trooper6 View Post
Actually, I wrote a Pyramid article on this very topic back in May 3rd 2002 entitled, "Just Like Any Other Job: How To Run A Military Campaign That Is More Than Just A Tactical Simulation" -- if you have the archive, the file name was 0321.1.html. Perhaps, that might give you ideas as to what to do with non-Special Ops folks. Though, again that may not be to your taste.
I'll check it out, thanks.
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Old 08-04-2011, 12:19 PM   #83
borithan
 
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Default Re: Military roleplaying: line troops or special operations?

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Originally Posted by trooper6 View Post
Not true. I'm looking at the Rifleman template that I based my character on. It is right here in front of my face. G:WW2 pg72. That is a 50pt. 3e template (which translates roughly to 75 4e cps...which is what we got). G:WW2 pg 71 talks about character point values and gives a whole range of starting points to start with. They put the Average soldier (defined as a fresh troop with good training or a troop with average training and some combat experience)...at 50-64 late 3e cps.

You have this really dismissive attitude...accusing late 3e GURPS of normalizing 150cps (with the implication that this is a bad thing)...and using this attitude to reject the idea that a soldier should have more than three skills at really low levels with everything else be default...but this is a late 3e GURPS book that is full of 50-65cp templates recommending lower point totals...and the resulting PCs still have higher attributes and more skills that what you've presented.
The templates were aimed at full blown characters of about 25 points higher than the listed cost, as the templates include only military related things. The suggestion was that if you wanted more rounded characters for a game which was more than a pure military focus, then the players should first spend 25 points (the then average "civilian" cp total) on skills and advantages representing their pre-army life. Still, this meant "average" soldiers of 75 points (100 points now?). The special elite types (like commando) would end up at 100, which would be 150 now.

As for why is so much effort was used in the book to create a source for playing as a line trooper, rather than heroic special forces: Well, it could have been to be a bit different. Most military roleplaying games already aim at the "cinematic special forces" kind of angle. There are plenty of resources on what to do on that angle already (the most straight forward being to simply watch action war films). Players (and GMs) also probably require less guidance to play that kind of game. However, how to play and GM "realistic" war rpgs is done less often and so would require more guidance about what skills are likely, how to use the rules for that etc.

Personally I think I would rather do a "line-trooper" game for ww2 than a "special forces". Most of the books I have read and films and tv programmes I have watched about WW2 have been about that aspect of the war. It is what I am most interested in in WW2.
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