Different point starts for different members

[Cheomesh]

So I have originally planned for a soldier to be 175-200 points. Required stuff for them was 75 points (99 for the leader) leaving much customization.

Would it be wise to bump the group mage up to 250 points? We might have an issue getting all the required skills in for him on top of everything else.

M.

[Jaden]

Your mage would probably be trained in basic training + a mage MOS, while your other soldiers would have basic training + soldier MOS, so I wouldn't expect the mage to have all the same training as the soldier.

Is your current soldier package the basic training + the soldier MOS or just the "basic training"?

[Cheomesh]

Actually, is 250 unusually high for elite soldiers?

M.

[Langy]

A US Navy SEAL in GURPS SEALs in Vietnam starts around 250 points, though I would be surprised if realistic lower-TL 'elite soldiers' were as capable (or as elite) as SEALs. 250 points is probably a decent amount for cinematic elite soldiers, though - that's where Dungeon Fantasy characters start, after all.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Cheomesh

Actually, is 250 unusually high for elite soldiers?

M.

In game terms, I think 250 is actually on the low end for elite soldiers - maybe more than a modern Ranger, but less than a modern SEAL or Green Beret. Not just because of the skills, but because elite troops usually represent pretty substantial physical specimens, and that costs a lot of points.

Of course, there are going to be soldiers at any given point total, and the "top end" will depend on the size and quality of the military in question. A Kingdom of 2000 warriors might only have a couple of people at the 200 point level. An Empire with an army of half a million can probably field a legion of such guys and still keep a decent sized group of 500 pointers for special occasions. Even that is pretty loose - the classical Spartans were pretty bad-ass, despite the small size of the army, and I think 200 points would maybe only reflect a brand new warrior in that culture.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Cheomesh

So I have originally planned for a soldier to be 175-200 points. Required stuff for them was 75 points (99 for the leader) leaving much customization.

Would it be wise to bump the group mage up to 250 points? We might have an issue getting all the required skills in for him on top of everything else.

M.

I wouldn't - not really fair to the other players. I would give him a break on the 75 required points (as the wizard, does he need to be a bad-ass sword-and-shield man like the rest?) and just give him the requirements needed to keep up with everyone else. If he lacks a ton of spells, well, that is just life.

[Langy]

In game terms, I think 250 is actually on the low end for elite soldiers - maybe more than a modern Ranger, but less than a modern SEAL or Green Beret. Not just because of the skills, but because elite troops usually represent pretty substantial physical specimens, and that costs a lot of points.

The SEAL template is only 240 points. Lenses might add another thirty or forty points, but that's for higher-ranking SEALs (like officers or senior NCOs).