Critique my special forces sniper

clu2415 · 06-22-2016, 05:40 PM

I am joining a game with 5 players total. The setting is an alternate Earth where a land bridge changed ocean currents. Differing climates lead to the dominance and persistence of ancient Egyptian power. Hominids like Neaderthals and the "hobbits" of that Indonesian island have survived into the modern day. There are two loose alliances of nations in a cold war with several Vietnam War-style quagmire conflicts going on. I'm not clear on all of the world-building details since I was making my character while listening. The player characters are part of a multi-national special operations team going into these conflict zones to carry out missions.

The world is TL9 with some TL10 biotech available. The GM drew up some templates (based on Seal in Vietnam) with lenses for specialties and what branch the character started in, but he doesn't have any techniques listed. This is what I've got so far. The character is part of the smugly superior Temmu race, a true-breeding strain of genetically modified humans who are the majority in what we would call Australia. 3 players had already started their characters, so I decided to cover explosives and long-range firearms skills. We're looking at 300 point characters.

Spoiler:

I've gone back and forth on how much to invest in Soldier vs individual skills.
You don't get the +4 "routine" bonus on Soldier, but if I pull points out of enough skills, then Soldier will be pretty high.

Any skills I missed? Any "support skills" for sniping that I'm missing? I'm probably going to buy High Tech and Tactical Shooting this week. I've heard of a precision shooting technique in Tactical Shooting. Anything else to keep an eye out for?

Edit: I've rolled in some changes and additions from Tactical Shooting. I am wrapping my head around the improving from defaults rules. Guns(rifle) is at 19. My default for (pistol) is 17. That is the Dex+4 level. I could put one point in it to get the benefits of having training, but I could not improve (pistol) until I put 4 points to improve it from Dex+4 to Dex+5. Right?

Spoiler:

(E) · 06-22-2016, 05:46 PM

Swimming
Climbing
Hiking

jason taylor · 06-22-2016, 06:24 PM

You might have a relook at the points you invested in hand-to-hand combat skills they seem almost as much as with a rifle.

Fast draw is probably a bit much too.

You seem to be making a super-soldier rather then a specialist in sniping.

Boomerang · 06-22-2016, 06:54 PM

Great character, there are a few changes I would make, but really it is up to you and your GM to decide what is appropriate.

1) First Aid is taught to all soldiers in Western armies, I didn't see that on your sheet and it is a really useful skill.

2) I think Workaholic would be a better disadvantage than Overconfidence. Snipers are really careful and patient, but that may not suit the concept you want.

3) I would go with a rifle skill of 20+ for a 300 point sniper character.

clu2415 · 06-22-2016, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason taylor

You might have a relook at the points you invested in hand-to-hand combat skills they seem almost as much as with a rifle.

Fast draw is probably a bit much too.

You seem to be making a super-soldier rather then a specialist in sniping.

Reloading takes a looooong time. Fast draw shaves off 1/3 of that. I see you on the melee skills. The advice I read was to broaden your skillbase before going crazy deep, but I have points to go deeper into sniping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomerang

Great character, there are a few changes I would make, but really it is up to you and your GM to decide what is appropriate.

1) First Aid is taught to all soldiers in Western armies, I didn't see that on your sheet and it is a really useful skill.

2) I think Workaholic would be a better disadvantage than Overconfidence. Snipers are really careful and patient, but that may not suit the concept you want.

3) I would go with a rifle skill of 20+ for a 300 point sniper character.

I had figured First aid would fall under Soldier, but that is important. Same with hiking, swimming, and climbing. Workaholic doesn't seem physically possible on a mission. If you are doing stuff 18 hours a day, Workaholic means you would voluntarily get zero sleep. There is the self-control roll, so I can see that.

Warlockco · 06-23-2016, 12:39 AM

I would suggest Guns (Pistol) or (SMG), most snipers will not carry 2 rifles and a sniper rifle is a bit unwieldy to use for self-defense.

jason taylor · 06-23-2016, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clu2415

Reloading takes a looooong time. Fast draw shaves off 1/3 of that. I see you on the melee skills. The advice I read was to broaden your skillbase before going crazy deep, but I have points to go deeper into sniping.

Should someone who gets himself into positions where he needs to reload quickly be a sniper?

johndallman · 06-23-2016, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clu2415

Reloading takes a looooong time. Fast draw shaves off 1/3 of that.

Your group may want to invest in a copy of GURPS Tactical Shooting, which has more detail on many things to do with gun combat. Edit: Notably, perks and techniques for faster reloading, improved aiming, and generally being more effective. It post-dates SEALs in Vietnam.

Quote:

I had figured First Aid would fall under Soldier, but that is important. Same with hiking, swimming, and climbing.

Only for basic and simple tasks. Not for the kinds of challenges that happen on adventures.

Boomerang · 06-23-2016, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clu2415

Workaholic doesn't seem physically possible on a mission. If you are doing stuff 18 hours a day, Workaholic means you would voluntarily get zero sleep. There is the self-control roll, so I can see that.

You only have to work extra hours compared to a normal working day. In my opinion all special forces soldiers would qualify for workaholic in the same way they all qualify for extremely hazardous duty.

Also working through the night and the resulting sleep deprivation is a common problem in the military.

Varyon · 06-23-2016, 12:59 PM

Fast-Draw is probably fine. Granted, shaving a single second off of reloading time isn't that great (weapons with magazines have a base time of only 3 seconds to reload), but it's only an investment of [1]. You've got a lot of wasted points in Guns - just consolidate them into Guns (Rifle) at 17 [12], this will get you Pistol, SMG, Shotgun, and LMG at 15, Grenade Launcher and LAW at 13, which should be good enough. If you're making a sniper, you'll want to boost Guns (Rifle) up quite a bit. This may be of use to you for determining what sort of skill level you need, and note that, as all your other Guns skills are defaulting off Rifle, each boost to it boosts them as well. In fact, in general you should be mindful of defaults - consolidating Engineer (Combat) and your two Explosive skills into Explosives (Demolition) will result in Engineer (Combat)-11, Explosives (Demolition)-17 [20], and Explosives (EOD)-13 - you'll be marginally worse at the Combat Engineer supporting skill, markedly better at your primary Explosives skill, and the same for your secondary Explosives skill, for the same point investment, and it means that any further improvement improves all three skills at once. You may wish to do something similar with Survival and Camouflage as well - putting in 1 more point and consolidating them all into a single Survival specialty will give you that Survival at 17, related specialties and Camouflage at 15, and more distant specialties at 13, IIRC.

Thrown Weapon (Axe) probably isn't that great of an idea. When you find yourself without the ability to use your primary (the rifle) or secondary (pistol) weapons, you're likely either in a position where you can't throw your tomahawk, or one where you probably shouldn't be throwing away your best tertiary weapon. At the very least, you should probably be better at swinging your weapon than at throwing it.

Computer Operation isn't necessary for typical computer usage, and would be more appropriate for a character who's (current or former) MOS deals closely with computers. Similar is true of Electronics Operations (and basic operation of a military-style radio is indeed covered by Soldier).

As others have noted, you character is in serious need of Climbing, Hiking, and Swimming. Hiking will be the highest; I'd argue for Climbing next (useful for getting into sniping positions), and Swimming being the lowest, but it will depend on what sort of environments your character trained in. First Aid is also highly appropriate, at least at a low level. Medics may well have Physician instead.

06-22-2016, 05:40 PM	#1
clu2415 Join Date: Jun 2016	Critique my special forces sniper I am joining a game with 5 players total. The setting is an alternate Earth where a land bridge changed ocean currents. Differing climates lead to the dominance and persistence of ancient Egyptian power. Hominids like Neaderthals and the "hobbits" of that Indonesian island have survived into the modern day. There are two loose alliances of nations in a cold war with several Vietnam War-style quagmire conflicts going on. I'm not clear on all of the world-building details since I was making my character while listening. The player characters are part of a multi-national special operations team going into these conflict zones to carry out missions. The world is TL9 with some TL10 biotech available. The GM drew up some templates (based on Seal in Vietnam) with lenses for specialties and what branch the character started in, but he doesn't have any techniques listed. This is what I've got so far. The character is part of the smugly superior Temmu race, a true-breeding strain of genetically modified humans who are the majority in what we would call Australia. 3 players had already started their characters, so I decided to cover explosives and long-range firearms skills. We're looking at 300 point characters. Spoiler: Racial package: Temmu ST +5 [50] DX +2 [40] IQ +2 [40] Intolerance (non-temmu) [-10] Acute senses 2 (hearing) [4] Acute senses 2 (vision) [4] Fearless 2 [4] Fit (very fit) [15] Voice (opted out) Handsome (+4/+2) [12] Stats: ST 12 [20] DX 13 [60] IQ 12 [40] HT 12 [20] Buying up basic speed might be worth it. Ads/disads: Duty (Extremely hazardous, all the time) [-20] Code of Honor (Ranger Creed) [-10] Callous [-5] Overconfidence (12) [-5] Night Vision 2 [2] (Genemod) Fearless 2 [4] Reputation 2 (Decorated) [5] Rank 3 [15] Rapid Healing [5] (Genemod) Security Clearance (info for missions) [5] Combat Reflexes [15] In this campaign, if you get 80 points or more of genetic modifications, then you will no longer be able to reproduce. Skills: Axe/mace 13 [2] (Using a tactical tomahawk in melee) Brawling 13 [1] Fast-Draw (Ammo) 14 [1] (Combat reflexes) Forced Entry 14 [2] Gunner (Machine Gun) 13 [1] Guns (GL) 14 [2] Guns (LAW) 13 [1] Guns (Rifle) 16 [8] Knife 13 [1] Spear 12 [1] Stealth 14 [4] Throwing 13 [2] Thrown Weapon (Axe) 14 [2] Wrestling 12 [1] Camoflage 15 [8] Computer operation 12 [1] Electronics Operation (Comm) 11 [1] (May be able to use soldier in place of this one) Electronics Operation (Sensor) 11 [1] (Not sure what the specialty is for night vision gear, laser rangefinders, sniper-relevant gear) Engineer(combat) 12 [4] Explosives (Demolition) 15 [12] Explosives (EOD) 13 [4] Forward observer 12 [2] Gesture 12 [1] Holdout 11 [1] Leadership 12 [2] Navigation(land) 12 [2] Photography 11 [1] Savoir Faire (Military) 12 [1] Soldier 13 [4] Tactics 10 [1] Observation 15 [4] (Acute senses) Scrounge 14 [1] (Acute senses) Survival (Desert) 13 [1] (Acute senses) Survival (Jungle) 13 [1] (Acute senses) Survival (Woodlands) 13 [1] (Acute senses) Tracking 13 [1] (Acute senses) I've gone back and forth on how much to invest in Soldier vs individual skills. You don't get the +4 "routine" bonus on Soldier, but if I pull points out of enough skills, then Soldier will be pretty high. Any skills I missed? Any "support skills" for sniping that I'm missing? I'm probably going to buy High Tech and Tactical Shooting this week. I've heard of a precision shooting technique in Tactical Shooting. Anything else to keep an eye out for? Edit: I've rolled in some changes and additions from Tactical Shooting. I am wrapping my head around the improving from defaults rules. Guns(rifle) is at 19. My default for (pistol) is 17. That is the Dex+4 level. I could put one point in it to get the benefits of having training, but I could not improve (pistol) until I put 4 points to improve it from Dex+4 to Dex+5. Right? Spoiler: Stats: ST 12 [20] DX 13 [60] IQ 13 [60] HT 12 [20] Brawling 13 [1] Climbing 13 [2] Fast-Draw (Ammo) 14 [1] Forced Entry 13 [1] Guns (GL) 15 [0] Guns (LAW) 15 [0] Guns (Rifle) 19 [20] Guns(LMG) 17 [1] Guns(Pistol) 17 [0] Stealth 14 [3] Throwing 13 [2] Knife 13 [1] Wrestling 12 [1] Hiking 14 [8] Swimming 13 [2] Tech: Precision Aiming 13 [2] Tech: Imm Action 17 [2] Tech: Masked shooting 17 [2] Camoflage 13 [0] Engineer(combat) 11 [0] Explosives (Demolition) 17 [16] Explosives (EOD) 13 [0] First Aid 13 [1] Forward observer 12 [1] Gesture 13 [1] Holdout 12 [1] Leadership 12 [1] Navigation(land) 12 [1] Photography 12 [1] Savoir Faire (Military) 13 [1] Soldier 13 [2] Tactics 11 [1] Observation 15 [2] Survival (Jungle) 15 [8] Survival (Others) 12 [0] Tracking 14 [1] Last edited by clu2415; 06-23-2016 at 05:09 PM.

06-22-2016, 05:46 PM	#2
(E) Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: New Zealand.	Re: Critique my special forces sniper Swimming Climbing Hiking __________________ Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn

06-22-2016, 06:24 PM	#3
jason taylor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon	Re: Critique my special forces sniper You might have a relook at the points you invested in hand-to-hand combat skills they seem almost as much as with a rifle. Fast draw is probably a bit much too. You seem to be making a super-soldier rather then a specialist in sniping. __________________ "The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison

06-22-2016, 06:54 PM	#4
Boomerang Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)	Re: Critique my special forces sniper Great character, there are a few changes I would make, but really it is up to you and your GM to decide what is appropriate. 1) First Aid is taught to all soldiers in Western armies, I didn't see that on your sheet and it is a really useful skill. 2) I think Workaholic would be a better disadvantage than Overconfidence. Snipers are really careful and patient, but that may not suit the concept you want. 3) I would go with a rifle skill of 20+ for a 300 point sniper character.

06-23-2016, 12:39 AM	#6
Warlockco Join Date: May 2008 Location: Colorado	Re: Critique my special forces sniper I would suggest Guns (Pistol) or (SMG), most snipers will not carry 2 rifles and a sniper rifle is a bit unwieldy to use for self-defense.

06-23-2016, 12:59 PM	#10
Varyon Join Date: Jun 2013	Re: Critique my special forces sniper Fast-Draw is probably fine. Granted, shaving a single second off of reloading time isn't that great (weapons with magazines have a base time of only 3 seconds to reload), but it's only an investment of [1]. You've got a lot of wasted points in Guns - just consolidate them into Guns (Rifle) at 17 [12], this will get you Pistol, SMG, Shotgun, and LMG at 15, Grenade Launcher and LAW at 13, which should be good enough. If you're making a sniper, you'll want to boost Guns (Rifle) up quite a bit. This may be of use to you for determining what sort of skill level you need, and note that, as all your other Guns skills are defaulting off Rifle, each boost to it boosts them as well. In fact, in general you should be mindful of defaults - consolidating Engineer (Combat) and your two Explosive skills into Explosives (Demolition) will result in Engineer (Combat)-11, Explosives (Demolition)-17 [20], and Explosives (EOD)-13 - you'll be marginally worse at the Combat Engineer supporting skill, markedly better at your primary Explosives skill, and the same for your secondary Explosives skill, for the same point investment, and it means that any further improvement improves all three skills at once. You may wish to do something similar with Survival and Camouflage as well - putting in 1 more point and consolidating them all into a single Survival specialty will give you that Survival at 17, related specialties and Camouflage at 15, and more distant specialties at 13, IIRC. Thrown Weapon (Axe) probably isn't that great of an idea. When you find yourself without the ability to use your primary (the rifle) or secondary (pistol) weapons, you're likely either in a position where you can't throw your tomahawk, or one where you probably shouldn't be throwing away your best tertiary weapon. At the very least, you should probably be better at swinging your weapon than at throwing it. Computer Operation isn't necessary for typical computer usage, and would be more appropriate for a character who's (current or former) MOS deals closely with computers. Similar is true of Electronics Operations (and basic operation of a military-style radio is indeed covered by Soldier). As others have noted, you character is in serious need of Climbing, Hiking, and Swimming. Hiking will be the highest; I'd argue for Climbing next (useful for getting into sniping positions), and Swimming being the lowest, but it will depend on what sort of environments your character trained in. First Aid is also highly appropriate, at least at a low level. Medics may well have Physician instead.