Bang Skills

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by whswhs

So, for example, in a war campaign, you could have, not Soldier, but Soldier!.

Sure. You might have Airman!, Sailor!, and Soldier! for the three main domains of conflict, possibly treating Commando! and Spy! as separate things, and perhaps allowing for Industrialist!, Politician!, and suchlike if the GM thinks such characters will make sense as PCs on adventures.

You could even have "trees" of permitted template wildcards based on which training wildcard you chose. Of course, some might overlap. I doubt it would make the game easier or more fun if Medic! were different for people with each of these backgrounds; a medic is a medic, the differences are all in the other skill, and where, say, "being not just a medic but an army medic" comes up, the two could work together.

In that context, personal wildcards would probably be "What did you do before the war?" The GM might firm that up a little by requiring people to write a backstory that specifies place of origin, upbringing, civilian education, politics, religion, one to three jobs, and one to three hobbies.

So, a GI Joe! might cover: "A Chicago boy, brought up by a poor Irish-Catholic family on the South Side. Quit school, learned on the streets, eventually went to work as a teamster, and became a conservative union man. Likes to spend his spare time drinking beer and watching baseball. Not afraid of a scrap."

LT Easystreet! might cover: "Long Island scion of a rich WASP family. Went to Yale and did summer work for his father's law firm. When war broke out, went directly into the ASTP, where he was one of the few civilians admitted alongside active enlisted. Studied advanced engineering, and graduated to his first real job: military officer. Hobbies include punting and a cappella singing."

The latter might seem more useful in that it will often aid Easystreet's Soldier! and Engineer! skills, and probably be useful for gaining favors, but Joe's background could believable help with fisticuffs, scrounging, and a wide range of criminal activities, many of which matter to Soldier!