While running the Popsicles from the Past
campaign, we began fleshing out the CS military a bit, mixing what we knew
of foriegn militaries (Talk about watching a lot of DOD films from pubs,
sheesh, I got to know more than I really cared about) and the American
Army. One thing soon became apparent, most militaries armed soldiers
according to mission and job. You never actually see a F-16 pilot
climbing into the cockpit packing an M-16 assault rifle, an M-60 Machine
Gun, a M1911 .45 ACP, and a K-bar, or an infantryman going into combat
with a flaregun and a .38 revolver.
So, after sitting down for a bit, the
basic load system was born.
Let's start with the fun stuff.
PILOTS-Pilots
do not need all of the heavy weaponry that the grunts do, since the vehicles
themselves are heavily armored. The other restriction is the new
CS Anti-theft device, and the fact that the only thing that a power armor
pilot is recommended to wear inside of his armor is the C-229 jumpsuit
(AR-17, 25 MDC, 6 pounds, no penalties) since a missile impact can drive
buttons and jewelry into the flesh, possibly killing the pilot. This
also covers the pilot's emergency cache in the vehicle.
C-229 jumpsuit, IRMSS kit, CS-S8 Survival
Kit (A Norther Gun S-7 knock off), CP-30 Laser Pulse Pistol, 2 short E-clips,
a CE-42 Solar Recharger (Recharges a short E-clip after 8
hours exposure to sunlight, long E-clips take 15 hours), hiking
boots and first aid pack.
VEHICLE DRIVERS (Non-robot)-Vehicle
drivers often wear: CA-1 Dead Boy, and have the following in an easily
accessable rucksack or nearby: CS-S8, 2 extra uniforms, boots, NBC protective
clothing, 4 days rations. On them, they carry: 1-4 Vibroknives,
C-10 Light Assault Laser Rifle, 8 long E-clips, 4 plasma grenades, canteen,
C-18 Laser Pistol, 4 short E-clips.
Military Police-M.P.'s
count as any soldier in a security role. They carry the following:
CA-3 Dead Boy, C-20 Laser Pistol, CP-40 Pulse Laser Rifle, 4 short E-clips,
8 long E-clips, 2 smoke/tear gas grenades, 2 frag grenades, nueral mace.
CS-S8.
Vehicle TC-Vehicle
TC's are the guys in the passenger seat, shotgun if you will. These
guys protect the driver and the vehicle, and are actually armed to the
teeth! CA-4 Dead Boy, CP-50 Dragonfire, CP-30 Laser Pulse Pistol,
4 short E-clips, 8 long E-clips, bandoleer of 48 grenades for the weapons
intregal grenade launcher, 4 plasma grenades. CS-S8, with 2 extra
uniforms, 4 pair of socks, 2 pair of underwear, 1 pair of boots, NBC protective
clothing, 4 days rations, 1 2 quart canteen. These guys often man
the vehicle mounted weapon in addition. Vehicles TC's are often combat
vets with 5-12 years (level 5-7)
INFANTRY Enlisted:
CA-4 Dead Boy, CP-40 Pulse Laser Rifle (Every 10th troop will have a CP-50
Dragonfire with 48 grenades), CP-20 Laser Pistol, 8 Long E-clips, 4 Short
E-clips, 4 grenades. NCO's: replace the CP-40 with the CV-212.
Officers: carry either the CP-40 or the CV-212, and the CP-30 instead
of the C-20. All troops carry in a rucksack: CS-S8, extra uniform,
6 pair of extra socks, 1 pair of extra boots, NBC protective clothing,
2 days rations, 1 1quart canteen.
JUMP TROOPS
Jump troops pack double clips and rations, and often have inertia mappers
out and in use, with a destination marked. These guys are bad fucking
news, and will chew you up. They are all combat vets with 7-15 years
(levels 6-9), some are partial conversion cyborgs, and a few are FC borgs.
They usually dispose of their jetpacks and parachutes and move out to the
location.
LONG RANGE PATROL/SURVIELANCE
(LRPS-or LuRPS)
There is no real way to state what weaponry these guys will pack.
They get to pick it on thier own decisions, and are often armed to the
fucking teeth! They mix borgs, juicers and vetran troops, and no
LuRPS is less than 5th level! They will have at least 1 squad operated
weapon.
REAR ECHELON TROOPS
Pack CA-3 Dead boy, C-20 Laser Pistols, CP-40 Pulse Laser Assault Rifles,
4 grenades (often plasma or fragmentation), and the standard infantry rucksack.
Usually the REMF's will have pogey bait (snacks and booze) stashed, or
diaries hidden in their rucks.
INFANTRY COMPANY SQUAD WEAPONRY
OK, if your PC's have stumbled onto a Coalition States Infantry Company,
they are gonna get hammered on. The ground pounders can still hold
thier own against armored vehicles. In a test run, we used rifles
that did only 1 MDC per burst against a fresh glitter-boy. Of course,
the infantry had dug in, and had NO MDC armor. There was 120 vs 1,
and everyone bet that the grunts would get slaughtered. After 3 rounds,
45 SECONDS!!! the Glitterboy was junk, and only 15 of the troops were dead.
Victory-Ground Pounders. OK, real weaponry. 1 C-29 Hellfire,
1 CTT-P40, 1 CTT-M20 per 8 people, in rotation, with a minimum of 2 of
each weapon per platoon in addition! (Ei: 50 troops will be packing 2 C-29's,
2 CTT-P40, and 2 CTT-M20 even if they are not part of a platoon!), and
each weapon will be set up for a tripod, or at least a bipod. Some
will be in gyroharnesses. That's not counting Borgs, who get to draw
their own gear! But, the math is every other borg must pack the standard
CP-40.
REAR COMPANY SQUAD WEAPONRY
These guys are armed lighter, as far as squad weaponry runs. The
numbers run per 12 people, making it so that a 50 troops unit will have
only 2 C-29's, 1 CTT-P40, 1 CTT-M20. Each platoon will have only
2 of the weapons at best, and the unit itself will have the weapons in
emplacements.
TYPICAL SOLDIER IN A HOSTILE
ZONE Most troops follow
the standard issue of Rear Echelon Troops, but when out on patrol, they
will not be carrying personal items, just their ruck, ammo, armor and weaponry.
Don't underestimate these guys. I've seen fire control and concentrated
fire cut apart a party in minutes.
TYPICAL OFFICER IN A HOSTILE
ZONE Officer life is
fairly risky, officers being lightly armed for some reason in modern armies.
The CS, on the other hand, arms the officers the exact same way as the
rest , to aviod pinpointing the officer for snipers based on their equipment.
The big difference is the information the officer may have. Grid
co-ordinates, unit movement orders, TO&E breakdown, codebooks, radio
frequencies, passwords. All kinds of goodies for the adventurer turned
rebel.
I know this probably seems silly, but it can be
usefull. By standardizing it, we managed to keep down confusion,
and give the CS the appearance of a professional military. Standardization
made my job easier, and gave the PC's a reason to do recon. If the
Tolkeen Military Intellegence said that it was a supply unit, and they
saw guys in CA-4, packing heavy weapons, and since there was only 100 of
them, four platoon, and there was 8 of each weapon on the perimeter, the
PC's knew it was an infantry company, and more than likely, they knew that
they were blown.