Minions: Alliance Troopers

If the Empire and the Storm Trooper are the golden standard of soldiers from Star Wars, the brave troopers of the Rebellion are the silver standard. Of course, a typical Star Wars game doesn’t feature combat against the Rebellion, but there’s no reason for that to be true of Psi-Wars. Moreover, heroes of the Alliance may well be accompanied by Alliance Troopers. Thus, they’ll need as much detail as Imperial Troopers.

The Concept of Alliance Troopers

The soldiers of the Rebellion are defined by being in a state of rebellion. They’re the brave resistance to the great and powerful empire and stand as a contrast to it. The empire is the Leviathan, the great, tyrannical state, and the Rebellion fights against it: they’re the Minute Men, La Resistance, the Viet Kong, and the Taliban. George Lucas often described the Rebellion in these terms. If the Empire is Goliath, the Rebellion is David.

In a sense, both forces are foils to one another. Where the Empire’s soldiers are faceless, the Rebellion’s soldiers show their faces. Where the Empire is well-funded with sleek and advanced technology, the Rebellion is poorly equipped and makes use of old technology. Where the Empire has legions of soldiers at its disposal, the Rebellion has only a few desperate heroes to defeat the great military-industrial behemoth that marches on them.

While describing the Rebellion as “the Taliban” might seem harsh to modern ears, it fits tactically. Like the Rebellion, modern terrorists fight a technologically and numerically superior foe. They must make use of spoiler tactics, explosives, old and reliable weapons like jeeps and AK-47s, and cheap missile launchers to defeat their opponents. They must also make use of the land, network with the local natives, and scatter when their foe launches a serious attack.

The Rebellion differs from the terrorists on two key points, though. First, terrorists lack professionalism. They generally draw their ranks from disenfranchised and disposable youths. The Rebellion, though, shows signs of full military training and also have access to military hardware. If we look at the Rebellion as a splintering of the Empire, then that seems appropriate, and closer to the Revolutionary war, where a portion of the military broke with the Empire and joined forces with the Rebellion. Second, terrorists are villainous. They sow discord for the sake of discord and often have no real plan, other than nebulous idealism, for what will come if they achieve victory. The Rebellion, thanks to its superior professionalism and leadership, is heroic, and has a real plan in place, a restoration to the Golden Age that came before. To evoke this, the Rebellion should represent something from our past, from our own golden age of war.

Thus, I propose that the Rebellion be professional soldierswith a focus on spoiler tactics, explosives and agile hit-and-run tactics. Thematically, they should evoke Americans of WW2 or possibly the revolutionary war crossed with the French resistance movement.

Tactical Theory

Like the Imperial trooper, the backbone of the Alliance military is the rifleman. However, they need to be both visibly and mechanically distinct from Imperial Troopers. We have two meaningful ways to differentiate the Alliance rifleman from the Imperial Carbine trooper: the rifle, and their armor.
For the former, we want to replace the advanced, compact and over-priced imperial carbines with traditional, heavier and cheaper rifles. If the imperial carbine is M-4 carbine, the Rifle is the M1 Garand, which suits the speed of fire, and emphasizes a focus on fewer, but more accurate shots. We’re missing our AK-47, though. If we follow the “gun cult” of the AK-47, we expect a highly reliable and exceptionally cheap weapon. A ruggedized, cheap carbine might fit the bill.

For armor, we’ll discard the combat hardsuit for a helmet and battleweave vest with inserts, and thus we have something that resembles a typical WW2 soldier, but something that’s also justified by the logistical situation the empire finds themselves in: the armor protects the soldier enoughbut does so for about 1/5 the cost of a standard hardsuit. The net result is a rifleman who is nearly as good as an imperial soldier, but not nearly as expensive.

Recon troopers definitely suit the rebellion. A commando who can infiltrate past enemy lines, radio back troop movements and then snipe at enemy officers and so chaos and discord certainly fits the shoe-string warrior concept. We can expand that further by giving them demolitions, explosives and traps. The recon trooper becomes the ultimate guerrilla warrior, where a single squad can tie up an entire company of imperial soldiers with clever tactics.

The soldiers of the Alliance must go toe-to-toe with the mechanized fist of the Empire. If they cannot defeat tanks and gunships (or their equivalent), their rebellion is doomed. The cheapest way to do this is with missile launchers, but a standard IML is a mere $2000 and weighs a paltry 4 lbs. Given that a blaster can easily run $20,000, which not give every soldier a missile launcher? But if we give every soldier a missile launcher, what role does a heavy soldier play? He can serve a traditional role of machine-gunner and grenadier. Rather than use a gatling blaster though, we could use a weapon similar to a SAW with an underbarrel grenade launcher. They provide suppressive fire and remove hard targets with a plasma-lance grenade.

The Alliance doesn’t have room for assault troopers. Relentless, well-armored killers descending like a storm on the enemy tends to be more evocative of a tyrannical force than a heroic force (outside of something like knights… which is an idea worth exploring, but doesn’t fit the vision of the Alliance). If I were to choose a weapon, the easiest would be a vibro-blade bayonet, and like missile launcher, that’s something every soldier can have, turning every rifleman into an “everyman” soldier, able to shift from a supporting role to an assault role as necessary.

This leaves a slot open, and for that, I suggest the Partisan, a civilian who has taken up arms in favor of the Rebellion. They lack decent armor or decent weapons (using cast-offs of the Rebellion or black market surplus Imperial arms), but they represent the extreme low cost of the Rebellion, and represent its ability to inspire others. They also make a good stand in for any civilian uprising.
For our elites, the Rebellion doesn’t need kill-squads, but leaders, veteran sergeants who inspire their rifleman, or lethal commandos who lead their teams of guerillas to victory.

So, our final “combined arms” of the Rebel Alliance looks something like this: Omni-competent rifleman, equipped with grenades, missile launchers, blaster rifles and bayonets serve whatever role is necessary, supported by a heavy gunner and an inspiring sergeant. When they make their attack, they’ll find that rebel guerillas, lead by a commando, have laid traps and pinned the enemy in the ideal situation for an ambush, and then assist the fight by sniping at the enemy. If either force needs more support, they can turn to the every day person to gain it in the form of a Partisan.

Skill Level Theory

The soldiers of the Rebel Alliance should be as competent as the soldiers of the Imperial, meaning the average soldier should be skill 12. To emphasize their heroic nature, I suggest a basic Higher Purpose as a standard, “Against Impossible Odds”: In such situations where the mooks find themselves overwhelmed by the enemy (usually 3:1 odds), they gain +1.

Our elites, of course, have skill 15, but given their “leadership” role, they’re more likely to be full Henchmen.

Finally, Partisans are defined by their lack of skill, making them skill 10.

Technological Detail

The design considerations for the Rebellion are cheaper, more reliable, and traditional. We want to evoke a more heroic feeling, and make sci-fi callouts to wars of old.

The Blaster Rifle

The easiest way to make a cheaper rifle would be to create a new rifle from scratch and apply the “cheaper gear” modifier to make it larger and heavier. If we use the standard weapons as our target weight, then the net result is a weaker rifle.

If we want something like the Garand, we need a Cheap, Reliable, and a low-tech feel, perhaps low RoF. A cheap weapon is 1.5x as heavy and half the cost, while a reliable weapon is +25% cost (if we use the High Tech numbers, and why not?). If we want to make a weapon that weighs about 9 lbs (the weight of a standard blaster rifle), we get a weapon that deals 5d+2 damage (the GURPS UT blaster rifle should actually deal 6d+1 damage), weights 9.2 lbs and costs $9300.

If we want to do the same thing with a carbine, we get 4d+2 damage, a weight of 6.1 lbs and a cost of $6000.

Bayonets are found on HT 197. Treat them as a socket bayonet, but with the option of a cutting edge (treat them as a large knife for the purposes of swing damage): A bayonet deals thr+4(5) and sw+1d-1(5). It inferior to the actual damage of the weapon, but in very close combat, it doesn’t suffer from bulk penalties.

Sniper Rifles

As the role of a Rebel recon trooper is definitely that of sniper, the sniper X-ray is the perfect weapon. It’s also $40,000, which is mind-blowingly expensive for an army on a budget (You could fully equip 3-4 rifleman for the same cost).

A basic Alliance rifle with a proper scope (for +3 to aimed shots) should be sufficient for the purposes of the average guerilla, though I’d trade out the bayonet for a combat knife, to allow for silent kills. For a commando, can we do better?

If we use the beam weapon design system, a cheap 8d single-shot blaster rifle weighs just shy of 23 lbs and costs $15,000, which is a pretty reasonable pricetag for a rifle that hits with as much punch as a force sword. It’ll do nicely for our commandos.

Partisan Weaponry

If we’re going to have partisans, we need partisan combat gear, which means readily available weaponry. The most obvious weapon is a hunting rifle. A single shot, cheap blaster rifle should do the trick. A 6d blaster rifle, single shot, with a cheap option will cost $6,400.

The other classic “partisan resistance” weapon would be the sten gun. A small, cheap, unreliable submachine blaster. That would be a heavy pistol scale blaster with a rifle configuration, RoF 9 and Malf 16 gives us 4d-1 damage, a loaded weight of 4 lbs, for a cost of $3200.

Heavy Weaponry

Explosives are the weapon of choice for our plucky rebel heroes. They’ll defeat the tanks and gunships of the empire with RPGs and Bazookas. An IML is on UT 146, weights 4 lbs, and costs $2000, making it quite affordable. An IR missile (Skill 15) costs $400, a plasma lance warhead (6dx12(10)) costs a forgiving $150 while a TL 11 HEMP warhead (6dx8(10), plus explosive damage) costs a paltry $20. I would give this to everytrooper, but assume about half of all troopers carry one.
If we want a non-gatling “SAW” weapon, we can use the actual SAW as an example. It weighs about 22 lbs, though I’d prefer our final version to be lighter despite its cheap make, thanks to the fact that blasters arelighter than machine guns. If we make a cheap, RoF 12 weapon that deals 6d damage, it’ll weigh 19.2 lbs (unloaded), and a surprisingly light 50 shots, meaning the weapon can only fire for a full 4 seconds before it needs to be reloaded. It costs $25,600, which is steep, but not bad for what you’re getting. The UBGL is the same basic design as the Imperial design (a UBGL is a UBGL)

Bombs and Traps

For basic demolitions, we already have a few plasma charges worked out back in Iteration 2. They’ll serve our purposes well enough. The point of our commandoes and guerillas distributing satchel charges is to disrupt the enemy or destroy their installations. We don’t much more attention to this other than to note their skill with demolitions.

What’s left, then, is how to build traps. GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures has a few nice ones we can use, as does GURPS Seals in Vietnam. The obvious ideal trick is the mine, whether a claymore (or a varient), or the limpet mine. A smart grenade can be set to go off when a detonator is triggered, but no option exists for proximity detection. Still, we can do as the SEALs did and use grenades and trip wires to do much the same. For something akin to a claymore or a landmine, a 4 lb mine can be set to be triggered if there’s pressure on it, and is the equivalent to a 100 mm warhead.

Armor

A typical vest is 50% more DR than the standard flexible armor, so a Battleweave Vest would have a DR of 30 for $900 and 9 lbs. TL 11 inserts are +69 DR, but I say we increase it to DR 70 just to get a nice, round 100. This is another $600 and 9 lbs.

We should combine the vest with a decent pair of boots and a helmet. TL 11 Assault boots (UT 173) will work fine for another $150 and 3 lbs. A light infantry helmt (UT 176) is $250 and 3 lbs. Troopers will need a separate radio system, and commandos will need their own IR visor. The total cost is a cheap $1900 and 24 lbs, which means most troops will have light encumbrance.

Support Technology

All Alliance troopers come equipped with communication systems equivalent to wrist-comms, for a 100-mile communication range. The Alliance lacks faceplates, which means they don’t suffer the accuracy penalties from firing with a mask, but they also don’t have IR vision. I could give them IR visors, but I think I’ll limit this to IR goggles for commandos. They do carry light sources, as a result.

Hmmmm…

After looking at the completed version of the equipment I’ve offered the Alliance, it makes sensein the same way that things like the Starhawk Regal make sense. They represent an older era, the beginnings of the TL 11 era, while the “advanced” weaponry of the Empire represent the first steps into the end of the TL 11 era. But it doesn’t necessarily make sense for all troopers to be equipped so poorly. The Taliban (and thus guerillas) might be poorly armed with old AK-47s, but the actual soldiers should have something slightly better. The standard blaster carbine or rifle might represent a middle-of-the-road development that is neither too cheap nor too expensive for a typical Alliance soldier.

Alliance Troopers

All the following troopers have been created in such a way that they’ll fit on two sides of an A6, so you should be able to print 4 per page. I have greatly reduced their complexity even further, so that most characters are virtually identical. Note that the listed tactics aren’t the only moves possible, just a helper for some of the more complex actions these characters might undertake.

Partisan

The Partisan represents a standard civilian warrior. They are, of course, absolutely terrible, unable to effectively kill an opponent, poorly armed and poorly armored. They don’t represent a serious threat so much as a story consideration, or potential fodder for a more skilled commander to turn into a serious threat.

ST 10	HP 10	Speed 5.00
DX 10	Will 10	Move: 5
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 10	FP 10	SM +0
Dodge 8	Parry 8	DR: 0

Hunting Rifle (10): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 600/1800, RoF 1, Bulk -4)

Rifle Butt (6): 1d+1 cr (Reach 1)

Partisan Assault Blaster (10): 4d-1(5) burn sur (Acc 3, Range 250/750, RoF 8, bulk 3)

Skills: Observation-10, Professional Skill-10, Stealth-10, Urban Survival-12.

Traits: Pacifism (Reluctant Killer)

Notes: Human; Untrained and largely unready for combat. Apply a -4 to shoot any recognizable humans (or other galactic sapients generally considered non-monstrous) with visible faces, or -2 if no face is visible. If they killed someone with a visible face, roll against Will or break down. Consider randomly deciding which attack them make (50% chance of attacking (either disorganized fire or Panicked Strike) or defending ( Panicked Retreat)

Partisan Tactics

Disorganized Fire (6):Whether firing a partisan blaster, or a group of partisans firing hunting rifles, collect all of their shots into a single Suppression Fire roll (6+total rof). This counts as an all-out attack, so no partisan in the group may defend.
Panicked Strike (10):Make an All-Out Attack (Determined) with your Rifle Butt at the nearest target to pose a risk to you. Because this is close combat and a “non-lethal” attack, it does not suffer from Pacifism. You may not defend.
Panicked Retreat: Make an All-Out Defense (Increased Dodge) and move at least one yard away from your nearest foe.

Alliance Rifleman

The essential alliance soldier is a flexible element in the rebellion’s military. They can act as basic fodder, or as heavies laying down missile fire, or as assault troops charging the enemy.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 5.25
DX 10	Will 10/12	Move: 5 (4)
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (7)	Parry 9	DR: 100/30

Blaster Rifle (12): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 700/2100, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Vibro-Bayonet (12): 1d+3(5) imp
(Reach 1)

Grenade (12): 6dx5 cr exp inc

(Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

IML (12): 6dx8(10) cr inc + 8d cr ex [3d cut] (Acc 3, Range 750/30k, RoF 1, Shots 1, Bulk 4)

Skills: Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearless +2, Fit, Higher Purpose (Against Impossible Odds)

Notes: Human; Armor grants DR 100 to torso, and Helmet provides DR 30 to skull. Add +1 to all rolls when facing at least 3-to-1 odds. 100-mile communication range and 25 yard light source. Lightly encumbered.

Alliance Rifleman Tactics

Fire from Cover (11):Come out of cover and make a sighted, all-out (determined) pop-up attack against the enemy. Return to cover. You may not defend.
Focus Fire (24):While you have a weapon braced either on the ground or on cover, aim. If you have already aimed, make a sighted, all-out determined attack on your opponent’s torso. You may not defend, but because you are prone or behind cover, apply a -2 to any attempts to hit you.
Bayonet Charge (12): Make a Move (up to 4 yards) and Attack (Slam) with your bayonet. Deal 1d+3(5) imp damage. You may defend normally, but you may not retreat or parry with your weapon.

Alliance Heavy Support

The Alliance Heavy brings a genuine light support weapon to the fray, and both missiles and grenades as ordinance. His role is to be within the infantry squad, offering supporting suppression fire.

ST 12	HP 12	Speed 5.25
DX 10	Will 10/12	Move: 5 (4)
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (7)	Parry 9	DR: 100/30

Support Blaster (12): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 600/1800, RoF 12, Bulk -6)

Underbarrel EMGL (12): 8d cr ex or6dx3(10) cr in + linked 2d cr ex [1d-2 cut]. (Acc 4, Range 360/2200 yards, RoF 1)

IML (12): 6dx8(10) cr inc + 8d cr ex [3d cut] (Acc 3, Range 750/30k, RoF 1, Shots 1, Bulk 4)

Skills: Armoury-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearless +2, Fit, Higher Purpose (Against Impossible Odds)

Notes: Human; Armor grants DR 100 to torso, and Helmet provides DR 30 to skull. Add +1 to all rolls when facing at least 3-to-1 odds. 100-mile communication range and 25 yard light source. Lightly encumbered.

Alliance Heavy Tactics

Suppression Fire (9):While firing from the hip, move up to 3 yards and make an unsighted All-Out Attack (Suppression fire) using RoF 12. Anyone under the suppression zone can be hit (to a maximum of 8 targets) and must make a Will or Will-based Soldier roll (Add Fearlessness as a bonus, +2 from Combat Reflexes, and characters with Unfazeable automatically succeed) to expose themselves to the suppressive fire zone. Successful hits strike a random hit location. You may not defend. Gain +2 to Fast-Draw or to act first during a cascading wait. You may not defend.
Spread Fire (13):While you have a weapon braced either on the ground or on cover, make a sighted, all-out (Determined) attack, dividing your 12 ROF in up to 3 ROF 4 attacks against up to three targets. You may not defend, but because you are prone or behind cover, apply a -2 to any attempts to hit you.

Alliance Veteran Sergeant

The Veteran Sergeant leads his unit of riflemen, using both his superior combat skill to support them, as well as his leadership and tactics to make them a more effective fighting force. He can also remove the worst disadvantages of a partisan fighting force.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 6.00
DX 12	Will 11/13	Move: 6 (5)
IQ 11	Per 11
HT 12 (13)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 10 (9)	Parry 11	DR: 100/30

Blaster Rifle (15): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 700/2100, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Vibro-Bayonet (15): 1d+3(5) imp
(Reach 1)

Grenade (15): 6dx5 cr exp inc

(Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

IML (15): 6dx8(10) cr inc + 8d cr ex [3d cut] (Acc 3, Range 750/30k, RoF 1, Shots 1, Bulk 4)

Skills: Leadership-15, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-15, Soldier-15, Tactics-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Charisma +1, Combat Reflexes, Fit, Higher Purpose (Against Impossible Odds)

Alliance Veteran Sergeant Tactics

Fire from Cover (14):Come out of cover and make a sighted, all-out (determined) pop-up attack against the enemy. Return to cover. You may not defend.
Focus Fire (27):While you have a weapon braced either on the ground or on cover, aim. If you have already aimed, make a sighted, all-out determined attack on your opponent’s torso. You may not defend, but because you are prone or behind cover, apply a -2 to any attempts to hit you.
Bayonet Charge (15):Make a Move (up to 4 yards) and Attack (Slam) with your bayonet. Deal 1d+3(5) imp damage. You may defend normally, but you may not retreat or parry with your weapon.
Rally (15): Every (mook) member of the veteran sergeant’s squad (up to 10 men) gain +1 to fright checks and may ignore disadvantages harmful to combat for the duration of combat, so long as the veteran lives.
Strategem (12): If the sergeant wins a contest of tactics with his opponents, he may grant one free reroll to his squad.

Alliance Guerrilla

Guerillas can represent well-trained locals, or less elite recon troopers. While demolition stats aren’t noted below, they certainly have the skill necessary to blow something up. If they can succeed with their vanish rolls, they tend to want to either remove the enemy with their vibro-knives, or they’ll begin sniping the enemy. Their skills with traps represent a suggestion of how to treat them rather than a genuine tactic: they’ll pepper the battlefield with a mess of traps in advance, making them the Psi-Wars equivalent of “Tucker’s Kobolds.”

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 5.25
DX 10	Will 11/13	Move: 5
IQ 11	Per 11
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8	Parry 9	DR: 0

Blaster Rifle (12): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 700/2100, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Old Blaster Carbine (12): 4d+2(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 350/1000, RoF 3, Bulk -4, Reliable)

Vibro-Knife (12): 1d(5) imp or 2d (5) cut (Reach C)

Grenade (15): 6dx5 cr exp inc (Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

Skills: Camouflage-12, Explosives (Demolition)-12, Observation-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Stealth-12, Traps-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits:Fearless +2, Fit, Higher Purpose (Against Impossible Odds), Night Vision 2

Notes:Human; Has 100-mile communication device. Add +1 to all rolls when facing at least 3-to-1 odds. Unencumbered.

Alliance Guerilla Tactics

Vanish (7): At the beginning of a fight, a guerrilla will attempt to vanish and get the drop on his opponent. Roll Vanish (ignore modifiers for stealth at the beginning of a fight). Success means he may attack one opponent “from behind.” He may not do this at any other point in the fight.
Remove Sentry (16/11): If the target is unaware of your presence, make a telegraphic grapple for the head (16). You may defend normally. If your target is grappled, make an all-out (Determined) “slicing” attack (thrust cutting) attack with the blade on the target’s neck (11). Opponent dodges at -1 or parries at -2. If you hit, deal 2d(5) cut to the neck and double all damage that penetrates DR. You may not defend.
Snipe (23):(With Blaster Rifle) After a single aiming action, make an All-Out Attack (Determined). Successful hit strikes torso. You may not defend.
Fire from Cover (11):Come out of cover and make a sighted, all-out (determined) pop-up attack against the enemy. Return to cover. You may not defend.
Trap (12): Deployed guerrillas may have already prepared a variety of traps. Ideas:

Sensor Wire: Roll Per-based Traps to detect. Signals to Guerilla when tripped.

Trip-Wire Grenade: Roll Per-based Traps to detect. Triggers grenade

Jamming System: Not genuinely a trap, but use the “Trap” skill anyway. Jams communication in a 2-yard radius,

Alliance Commando

Alliance commandos are to partisans and guerillas what the Veteran Sergeant is to Alliance Rifleman: A way of turning a minor unit into a superior unit. Like the Guerilla, he excels at stealth, night combat, and laying traps. He can also offer leadership and excellent tactics. Elite squads of commandos can act as military assassins and saboteurs, or they can join with guerillas or other allies to act as a sort of advisor.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 6
DX 12	Will 11/13	Move: 6
IQ 12	Per 11
HT 12 (13)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 10	Parry 11	DR: 0

Blaster Rifle (15): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 700/2100, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Old Blaster Carbine (15): 4d+2(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 350/1000, RoF 3, Bulk -4, Reliable)

Vibro-Knife (15): 1d(5) imp or 2d (5) cut (Reach C)

Grenade (15): 6dx5 cr exp inc (Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

Skills: Camouflage-15, Explosives (Demolition)-15, Leadership-12, Observation-15, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Stealth-15, Tactics-15, Traps-15, Vacc Suit-12

Traits:Combat Reflexes, Fit, Higher Purpose (Against Impossible Odds), Night Vision 2

Notes:Human; Has 100-mile communication device, and IR Goggle (+2 to vision rolls). Add +1 to all rolls when facing at least 3-to-1 odds. Unencumbered.

Alliance Commando Tactics

Vanish (10): At the beginning of a fight, a psycho will attempt to vanish and get the drop on his opponent. Roll Vanish (ignore modifiers for stealth at the beginning of a fight). Success means he may attack one opponent “from behind.” He may not do this at any other point in the fight.
Snipe (26):(With Blaster Rifle) After a single aiming action, make an All-Out Attack (Determined). Successful hit strikes the skull. You may not defend.
Fire from Cover (14):Come out of cover and make a sighted, all-out (determined) pop-up attack against the enemy. Return to cover. You may not defend.
Remove Sentry (19/14): If the target is unaware of your presence, make a telegraphic grapple for the head (19). You may defend normally. If your target is grappled, make an all-out (Determined) “slicing” attack (thrust cutting) attack with the blade on the target’s neck (14). Opponent dodges at -1 or parries at -2. If you hit, deal 2d(5) cut to the neck and double all damage that penetrates DR. You may not defend.
Trap (12): Deployed commandos may use the same traps as guerrillas, but with skill 15.
Rally (12): Every (mook) member of the commando’s squad (up to 10 men) gain +1 to fright checks and may ignore disadvantages harmful to combat for the duration of combat, so long as the commando lives.

Strategem (15): If the commando wins a contest of tactics with his opponents, he may grant one free reroll to his squad

Minions: Imperial Troopers

We already discussed Imperial Troopers in some detail when we talked about building mooks, but let’s go from theory into concrete detail. I want to start with Imperial troopers because they represent the most obvious element from Star Wars that we’d want to port into Psi-Wars. We already know what Storm Troopers look like and how they fight: They’re terrifying, they’re highly inaccurate, and they’re impressively armed. In Psi-Wars, Imperial Troopers will have the same vibe, but I want to dig a little deeper into the reasoning behind the decisions and the impact they’ll make on how combat plays out for our heroes.

The Concept of Imperial Troopers

When we discuss empire, especially in the context of something like Star Wars, we really mean dictatorship, the rule of a single august emperor, directly, over all of his territory (one can make the case that the big shift in Rome with the victory of Augustus Caesar was not from republic to empire,but from republic to dictatorship, since the Roman Republic had been an empire for many years, in the same way that the British Empire was also a parliamentary democracy). Typically in these sorts of dictatorships, the military is personallyloyal to the dictator, and their loyalty and might keep him, directly, in power. This fact also forces him to conquer, since his conquests result in increased wealth and prestige for his military forces, which gives him more power, but also more military officers to please, which means he needs to conquer again.

The military in these cases needs to be deeply loyal and very impressive. They need to march in the square, to intimidate the populace, as much as they need to march on the enemy. Thus, as said before, they need to be about shock and awe. The empire also has vast resources that it constantly pours into its military (at the expense of its civilian populace), meaning the empire has all the coolest toys. Their deep loyalty, though, either needs some form of personal empowerment or a deep sense of belonging to the group and a willingness to sacrifice oneself for the “greater good” represented by the dictator. The former would result in heroes who could overthrow the emperor, though, so the latter is far superior. Imperial troopers need to be brainwashed and devoted to the imperial cause or, at least, made to fear those loyal to the cause enough that they’re willing to fight.

We also know what stormtroopers feel like in a film: Faceless mooks who look really frightening but prove to be rather ineffective. They might have the coolest toys, but they often prove overpriced and fragile, glass cannons easily destroyed by a focused and skilled opponent. They pour firepower into the enemy, but they’ll seldom actually hit. They are Goliath, vulnerable to a focused and skilled David.

Tactical Theory

Star Wars focuses on tactics inspired by WW1 and WW2, which are reasonable enough given the semi-automatic nature of blasters. The ideal tactic in such an environment is to “dig in” and wait for your opponent to come to you, using trench warfare, and the Trooper templates built thus far assume this sort of approach. To defeat it, the Empire will need to use their superior equipment and shock-and-awe tactics to defeat them.

We know that superior equipment means superior armor (we want our soldiers covered head-to-toe). We’ve already seen that even light battle suits make a trooper rather hard to kill. Heavy combat suits can endure quite a few hits, and if we argue that “superior armor” means “flawed TL 12 combat hardsuits,” or “up-armored TL 11” then we have even harder soldiers who can afford to wade directly into rifle-fire. The cost of such armor are combat masks, which make sighted shots (thus, aimed shots) difficult, but if we focus on hip shooting fast-fire or suppression fire, this isn’t such a problem. This suggests a heavy focus on assault troopers, which fits the original conception of storm troopers. They “storm the enemy”, overwhelming the enemy lines.

The idea of a recon trooper as a sniper doesn’t fit the machine-like nature of the military force. Snipers are elite soldiers, highly trained, rather than disposable minions that one can feed into the military machine. However, if we focus on the idea of expensive gear, then artillery makes sense. After all, we have space tanks and Empire-Class dreadnoughts backing up the military. Therefore, recon troopers as forward observersmake the most sense.

Artillery plus suppression fire drives the enemy into hiding deeper into their trenches. Once pinned down, the empire is free to advance on the enemy. Their shock and awe has worked, now they must commence with execution of their opponents. Grenades tossed into trenches will flush out the enemy, but flame throwers represent an even more terrifying threat, which fits the modus operandi of the empire perfectly. The only problem with flame throwers is that they’re weak, TL 9 weapons. We’d have to upgrade them. Other weapons could work well too: Melee weapons (vibro bayonets, nuerolash batons), but they don’t fit the “terror” of the empire as well as a flame thrower.

The only time we see heavy troopers in Star Wars is when we see storm troopers mounting a tripod machine-blaster and then laying waste to all around him. This seems suitable to the tactics we’ve described: we have a heavy Imperial team, carting around far more fire power than any other heavy, and then laying waste to the enemy once their impromptu machine-gun-nest has been put in place. This approach neglects the sort of heavy firepower necessary to take out an individual hard target, but Imperial troops tend to lack that: they’re more like American troops in modern warfare, where they never seriously expect to meet hard opposition, and when they do, well, that’s what tanks are for!
Thus, our combat roles are

Rifleman who focus on rapid fire and quick advancement
Elite, heavily armored assault troops equipped with grenades and superior rifles
Assault troops with superior flame throwers
Heavy troopers with tripod gatling blasters for extreme suppressive fire.
Recon troops with a focus on Forward Observer skills
A heavy vehicular presence.

Skill Level Theory

Highly trained professional soldiers should probablybe Skill 15, but this poses a problem. First of all, it suggests that Imperial Troopers are alwaysa dread threat, often more competent than all but the most combat-focused PCs. Moreover, if the Empire treats its troops as disposable, then it’s losing thousands of highly trained super-soldiers every battle. With the endless resources of the empire, equipment is easily replaced, but training is slow. Well trained soldiers take time. Worse, huge numbers of highly skilled, innovative and independent soldiers could easily turn on the Emperor and try to gain power in their own right. It makes more sense to have a few highly skilled units who are exceptionally loyal to the Emperor bolstering hordes of less well-trained, expendable recruits.

This means we have two levels of soldiers: the typical Skill-12 soldier, and the elite Skill-15 soldier who may or may not be a mook.

Technological Detail

If the hallmark of the Empire is bettertechnology (higher quality, higher tech level) and greater cost and with a risk of a certain fragility (making them, upfront, more terrifying, but in the long run more easily defeated), then we need to tinker with trouble-prone, advanced technology, and create the beginnings of a technological combat suite for the Empire.

The Blaster Carbine

The Blaster is the golden standard of the Psi-Wars military. How can we alter it to fit the technological paradigm of Psi-Wars? Simply taking a TL 1 blaster carbine, even a flawed one, isn’t an option, because there are no TL 12 blaster carbines. However, we can use the suggestions from the Cult of the Gun in GURPS Gun Fu page 39. The Imperial blaster carbine is probably reminiscent of “German Engineering,” over-priced, over-engineered, but with an exceptional reputation. The simplest way of depicting it would probably be slightly higher damage (+10%), higher rate of fire (a light automatic weapon with sufficient rate of fire to engage in the suppression fire so vital to the empire’s strategy), a higher malfunction rate (representing fragility), a lower HT (likewise), and higher price. For simplicity, we’ll say that if a mook rolls a critical failure, he’s out, too busy trying to fix his gun to worry about anymore.

Instead of fudging numbers, we can directly create one using the Blaster and Laser design system in Pyramid #3-37, and modify them based on the quality modifiers: we can have “cheap” or “advanced” blasters (from standard ultra-tech gadget design), and we can have fine (accurate) or fine (reliable) weapons. We don’t have the reverse options… but RPK has some suggestions on his site: “Cheap” guns are -1 to acc, HT and Malf for -60%. For greater granularity, let’s say that each is -20% to cost. The point here isn’t to allow players to modify their guns, mind you, but to give us additional detail that Ultra-Tech doesn’t grant us.

An increase in damage from 5d to 5d+2 increases the cost to about $12,400 and the weight to 7.2 lbs, or 5.1 lbs if we use the “advanced” option. If we also increase the rate of fire from 3 to 4-10, that doublesthe cost of the weapon. On the other hand, this removesthe need for the Fast-Firing technique. We could instead argue the weapon effectively has a free +2 to fast-firing (the equivalent to a perk) via “rapid charge-cycling technology” or some such nonsense. We’ll give this a +10% cost. If we reduce the Malf to 16 and the HT to 9 (it’s delicate from over-engineering) and lower the accuracy by 2, we have a total saving of -80%. So, we get a total CF of 0.3, and thus a final cost of (fudging upwards slightly) $16,200, which looks excellent for an “overpriced, over-engineered carbine.

If we want a superior weapon for assault troopers, we can build a “heavy carbine.” We’ll use the same basic stats above: 5d+2 damage, Malf 16 (-20%), HT 9 (-20%) and -2 Accuracy (-40%), advanced, but instead of fast-firing bonus, we’ll just go straight for a rapid fire weapon. Increasing to a full ROF 10 is effectively double the cost. If we reduce it to RoF 8, I think I can justify a -20% to the increased cost. Thus, between it being “advanced” and its various drawbacks, the total CF is 0, which means it costs about $25, 000. If we add an underbarrel EMGL which weighs +2 lbs and costs us another $1000.

More Blasters!

If we want to continue this theme, we might expect the equivalent to a blaster submachine gun. We’ll create a gun from scratch, a “pistol” with 4d+2 damage, RoF 8 (-20%), HT -1 (-20%) Malf 16 (-20%), -2 Acc (-20%) and “Advanced”, and we’ll charge $13,500 for it. I doubt that our military troops might use it, but the same factory/corporation that makes the other blasters might make these, and imperial police forces might use them.

For our Heavy, the Semi-Portable Blaster is the closest to what we’re looking for, but it’s both too heavy, and it doesn’t have the ROF we’re looking for. If we envision a two-man team, one carrying the E power cell and the tripod (~45 lbs), and the other carrying the heavy weapon, then we come to a weight of about 50 lbs. Assuming a blaster of 6.6 lbs (including a clip of 2 c cells) and a light hardsuit of 18 lbs, the typical heavy is carting around at least 68 lbs, putting him at Medium encumbrance. It might make more sense to give the assistant (the one with the tripod and e-cell) the blaster, and the guy carrying the heavy weapon a pistol, just in case. A heavy blaster takes 5 seconds to reload, and a tripod takes 3 seconds to put into place and attach to the blaster. Thus, it takes ~8 seconds to ready a machine gun nest “from nothing.”

Heavy Gatling Blaster is about 50 lbs, deals 9d+2 damage, and has an RoF of 16. As a gatling blaster, it has no malf. It’s not an overengineered weapon, specifically, but it’s a strategy unique to the Empire, which is good enough for me.

The Flamer

If we’re going to use a flamer, it needs to have a purpose. The standard flamer isn’t that great: An assault flamer deals 5d burning damage that isn’ttight beam. That means it’ll deal an average of 17 burning damage, which is enough to instantly ignite flame resistantmaterials, which includes everything short of green wood and flesh. If it can be lit on flame, assume it is. That’s pretty decent. Unfortunately, armor stops it far more effectively than it stops a blaster. However, High-Tech p 178 has its own rules on flame throwers: Unsealed armor defends at 1/5 value (which is consistent with blaster damage!) and damage dealt by a flamer counts as large area damage, you can “sweep” the attack with All Out Attack (Jet), (for simplicity, just divide the dice of damage up), and finally, the plasma “sticks” to the target and deals 1d damage per second for the next 2dx5 seconds (allow the target to get it off with a DX roll, at the normal penalty for “being on fire”, -2 and don’t bother with tracking how long it lasts). This last isn’t entirely realistic (We’re blasting our opponents with streams of plasma rather than burning fuel), but anything to boost the effectiveness of a flamer.

Artillery

If the primary focus of an imperial recon trooper is as Forward Observer, then we need appropriate artillery. We have no rules for orbital bombardment (other than a direct attack, though I expect the spinal battery of an Empire-Class Dreadnought is probably not a precision weapon that can shoot an apple off someone’s head without blowing away his city block). So, we’ll stick with actualartillery. Pyramid #3-31 has an article on heavy guns, including artillery. We don’t need the precise stats of artillery weapons so much as we need the damage they deal. If we assume that all artillery rounds are plasma rounds, then a 100 mm round (a “medium howitzer”) deals 6dx10 burn ex sur. The rules listed in the book for a 160mm plasma round are nonsensical (they deal less damage than the 100mm round), so we’ll just make it 6dx20 burn ex sur. Given how Cinematic Explosions work, the only pertinent facts are how far away someone can stand and be in danger of being reduced to 0 damage. For a 100mm round, that’s a 5 yard radius, while for a 160mm round, that’s a 10 yard radius.

But how long, after calling in artillery, will it take for the artillery shell to reach the point of attack? According to High-Tech, it takes 2d+5 seconds to finish calling in a precise airstrike. Furthermore, the round travels at 500 yards per second on a flat trajectory, or 250 on an arced trajectory. Noting that advanced artillery (to say nothing of orbital bombardment!) will travel faster (2-4 times as fast!), and noting 3000 yards as a good standard estimate, we can guess that the shot will arrive between 1.5 seconds and 6 seconds after the call has been made, or almost exactly 1d seconds! Once barrage has arrived, it can be any number of rounds of 100-160mm. The exact amounts are up to the GM and depend on the situation. A low-danger situation might have a single, low RoF 100mm medium artillery, while a highly dangerous situation could result in the deployment of a battery of railguns each firing 3 160mm rounds. A good rule of thumb might be 1 round per BAD, with 160mm rounds counting as two rounds.

Armor

The Combat Hardsuits, as written, are already as small and expensive as they can reasonably get without going to TL 12. A basic combat hardsuit is already DR 100, which means that more than half of all blaster carbine shots will already fail to penetrate a heavy combat hardsuit, and a blaster carbine shot will regularly penetrate a lighter combat hardsuit, just not enough to reduce the target to 0 hp (the fact that we remove a mook after he’s taken any damage at all is a cinematic artifact, one not everyone will use, and not relevant to the intentions of the empire in armoring their disposable troops). Thus, arguably, the hardsuit that we’re already using are “good enough.” Moreover, they have the masks we want for our “dehumanizing” effect. What is left?

We argued that we want each group to be distinct, that Imperial technology should be “over-engineered”, over-priced, cutting edge and prone to failure. The problem here is how do we define this “over-engineering” element without making things exceedingly complex for mook design? Thus, I’m not going to bother: While High-Tech fixates on highly specific make and model of firearms, it seldom bothers to go into great detail with armor and I suspect this is not from a lack of interest or research, but a lack of tools to meaningfully model differences in kevlar vests.

Support Technology

All imperial troopers come with communicators and IR visors in their helmets. This gives them a 100-mile communication range and the ability to see in darkness, plus +2 to vision rolls to pick out someone based on their heat signature. They do not carry light sources (their IR vision is good enough). Given their visors, let’s go ahead and include a HUD, including mapping software. That’s a little more advanced than we strictly need and makes them pretty accurate… but I’m alright with that.

Imperial Troopers

Imperial Carbine Trooper

This is our basic “storm trooper.” He has decent armor and the Imperial Carbine, giving him superior rapid-fire. The primary tactic of the Carbine trooper is to stand around spraying fire everywhere. The fact that he primarily uses Suppression Fire explains why he’s so easily hit: He cannot defend. On the other hand, his superior armor will keep him upright in most instances.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 5.00
DX 10	Will 10/12	Move: 5 (4)
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 11/12	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (7)	Parry 9	DR: 60/30

Imperial Blaster Carbine (12): 5d(5) burn sur

(Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Rifle Butt (12): 1d+1 cr (Reach 1)

Plasma Grenade (12): 6dx4 burn sur ex

(Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

Skills: Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearlessness +2, Fit

Notes: Human; Armor grants DR 60 to skull and torso, and DR 30 to all other locations, and is sealed; Helmet provides filtered air, IR vision (+2 to vision checks), a HUD and hearing protection (+5 to resist hearing damage) and -4 to sighted attacks. They also feature 100-mile communication devices. At light encumbrance (-1).

Imperial Trooper Tactics
Suppression Fire (8):While firing from the hip, move up to 2 yards and make an unsighted All-Out Attack (Suppression fire) using Fast-Firing for RoF 5. Your recoil is 2. Anyone under the suppression zone can be hit (to a maximum of 5 targets) and must make a Will or Will-based Soldier roll (Add Fearlessness as a bonus, +2 from Combat Reflexes, and characters with Unfazeable automatically succeed) to expose themselves to the suppressive fire zone. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deal 5d+2(5) burn You may not defend. Gain +2 to Fast-Draw or to act first during a cascading wait.
Combat Assault (10):While firing from the shoulder, make a Move and Attack. Move up to 5 yards and attack, using full RoF 3. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deals 5d+2(5) burn. You may dodge, but you may not retreat or drop.

Imperial Flame Trooper

The Imperial Flame Trooper is the imperial assault trooper. He lacks the superior armor and he’s slower, thanks to the heavy power pack of his weapon, but if we use the above flame rules, it’s a fairly devastating weapon.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 5.00
DX 10	Will 10/13	Move: 5 (4)
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (7)	Parry 9	DR: 60/30

Heavy Flamer (12): 8d burn

(Jet, Range 130/390, Bulk -5)

Plasma Grenade (12): 6dx4 burn sur ex

(Range 35 yards, +4 if you aim for the ground, 1 turn to ready, 2 seconds to blow)

Skills: Intimidation-12,Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearlessness +3, Fit

Imperial Flame Trooper Tactics

Sweeping Flame (9): While firing from the hip, move up to 2 yards and make an unsighted All-Out Attack (Jet). Attack up to 2 targets out to 130 yards. Deal 4d damage to anyone hit, plus 1d burning per second until they clean the plasma fuel from them, and another 1d burning per second if they catch on fire. You may not defend. Gain +2 to Fast-Draw or to act first during a cascading wait.

Burning Assault (10):While firing from the shoulder, make a Move and Attack. Move up to 5 yards and attack a single target. Deal 4d damage to anyone hit, plus 1d burning per second until they clean the plasma fuel from them, and another 1d burning per second if they catch on fire. You may not defend. You may dodge, but you may not retreat or drop.

Imperial Heavy Trooper

Aka the Gatling Gunners, the Imperial Heavy Trooper consists of a team of soldiers, one carrying a heavy gatling blaster, the other a carbine, a tripod and an E-Cell. Together, they rapidly set-up an entrenched gatling nest, with the heavy gunner focusing fire down range while his teammate supports him.

ST 12	HP 11	Speed 5.00
DX 10	Will 10/12	Move: 5 (3)
IQ 10	Per 10
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (6)	Parry 9	DR: 60/30

Heavy Gatling Blaster (12):9d+2 (5) burn sur (RoF 16, Range 1500/400, ST 20, Bulk -10)

Imperial Blaster Carbine (12):

5d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 3, Bulk -4)

Skills: Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearlessness +2, Fit

Imperial Heavy Trooper Tactics

Set-Up: It takes 3 seconds to set up the tripod and 5 seconds to load the cell into the Gatling blaster.
Suppression Fire (11):While firing from a tripod, make an All-Out Attack (Suppression fire) for RoF 16. Anyone under the suppression zone can be hit (to a maximum of 16 targets) and must make a Will or Will-based Soldier roll (Add Fearlessness as a bonus, +2 from Combat Reflexes, and characters with Unfazeable automatically succeed) to expose themselves to the suppressive fire zone. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deal 9d+2(5) burn. You may not defend.
Focused Fire (17):Make a sighted All-Out Attack against a single target, or a group of foes (Dividing shots among them) at full RoF 16. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deal 9d+2(5) burn. You may not defend.

Imperial Recon Trooper

The Recon Trooper wears camouflaged armor or a cloak/net over his armor, and wields a longer blaster rifle. His primary purpose is to act as a forward observer for artillery (characters with knowledge of Imperial Tactics, especially if they have Expert Skill (Miltiary Science), will recognize a recon trooper on sight and know what he’s up to). They can also snipe, but they’re less precise about it than other snipers. They’ll typically work in teams of two, one spotting while the other snipes.

ST 11	HP 11	Speed 5.25
DX 10	Will 11/13	Move: 5 (4)
IQ 11	Per 12
HT 11 (12)	FP 11	SM +0
Dodge 8 (7)	Parry 9	DR: 60/30

Blaster Rifle (12): 7(5) burn sur

(Acc 10+3, RoF 3, Range 800/2400, Bulk -5, Malf 16)

Blaster Pistol (12): 3d(5) burn sur

(Acc 5, Range 300/900, RoF 3, Bulk -2)

Skills: Camouflage-12,Forward Observer-12, Observation-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-12, Soldier-12, Stealth-12, Vacc Suit-12

Traits: Fearlessness +2, Fit

Imperial Recon Trooper Tactics

Vanish (7): At the beginning of a fight, a psycho will attempt to vanish and get the drop on his opponent. Roll Vanish (ignore modifiers for stealth at the beginning of a fight). Success means he may attack one opponent “from behind.” He may not do this at any other point in the fight.
Forward Observer (12): After 2d+5 seconds, of observation and calculation, make a roll. On a success, call in BAD 100mm plasma rounds or (BAD/2) 160mm plamsa rounds, which arrive 1d6 seconds later.
Situational Awareness (14):Make a Concentrate maneuver and make an Observationroll. You can attempt to spot hidden opponents, or sudden changes in the battlefield.
Spotting (12):Make a Concentrate maneuver and make an Observation roll as a complementary roll to an ally’s aimed attack.
Snipe (23): After a single aiming action, make an All-Out Attack (Aimed) with Masked penalty. Successful hit strikes a random hit location and deals 7d(5) burn sur. You may not defend.
Immediate Action (12): If the imperial trooper critically fails, make an Immediate Action attempt on his next turn. If successful, his gun returns to normal, otherwise it is inoperable.

Imperial Kill Squad Elite

Kill Squads are the Empire’s elite. They’re fanatically loyal and lethal. They wear heavier armor and carry heavier carbines with superior rate of fire and dangerous grenades. They perform effectively the same tactics and role as carbine troopers, but better. They can act on their own (they’re as stealthy as recon troops), but they’re most often used to bolster support for carbine troopers and flame troopers, acting as a front line, laying down heavier fire and soaking up most hits.

ST 12	HP 12	Speed 6.00
DX 12	Will 11/13	Move: 6 (5)
IQ 11	Per 11
HT 12 (13)	FP 12	SM +0
Dodge 10 (9)	Parry 11	DR: 100/60

Heavy Blaster Carbine (15): 5d+2(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 8, Bulk -4, Malf 16)

Carbine Butt (15): 1d+2 cr (Reach 1)

Underbarrel EMGL (15): 8d cr ex or6dx3(10) cr in + linked 2d cr ex [1d-2 cut]. (Acc 4, Range 360/2200 yards, RoF 1)

Skills: Observation-12, Intimidation-15, Pilot (Contragravity)-12, Savoir-Faire (Military)-15, Soldier-15, Stealth-12, Vacc Suit-15

Traits: Bloodlust (12), Combat Reflexes, Fanatical (Empire), Fit

Notes: Human; Armor grants DR 100 to skull and torso, and DR 60 to all other locations, and is sealed; Helmet provides filtered air, IR vision (+2 to vision checks), HUD, and hearing protection (+5 to resist hearing damage).They also feature 100-mile communication devices. Lightly Encumbered (-1)

Imperial Kill Squad Tactics

Suppression Fire (7):While firing from the hip, move up to 3 yards and make an unsighted All-Out Attack (Suppression fire) using RoF 8. Anyone under the suppression zone can be hit (to a maximum of 8 targets) and must make a Will or Will-based Soldier roll (Add Fearlessness as a bonus, +2 from Combat Reflexes, and characters with Unfazeable automatically succeed) to expose themselves to the suppressive fire zone. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deal 5d+2(5) burn You may not defend. Gain +2 to Fast-Draw or to act first during a cascading wait. You may not defend.
Combat Assault (13): While firing from the shoulder, make a Move and Attack. Move up to 6 yards and attack, using full RoF 8. Successful hits strike a random hit location and deals 5d+2(5) burn. You may dodge, but you may not retreat or drop.
Immediate Action (15):If the Imperial trooper critically fails, make an Immediate Action attempt on his next turn. If successful, his gun returns to normal, otherwise it is inoperable.

Troopers 3.0

I liked the approach I had before. This time, what I need to do is tackle the technological changes, and make a few small tweaks with how the mooks are handled, and correct some previous errors. The biggest change is to armor: Only the Assault Trooper gets heavier armor (including a heavier helmet), and he also benefits from a riot shield and the neurolash field-parry, if he wishes to carry that equipment.

I’ve also added tactical advice on how to use these characters.

Trooper Mooks

ST 11
DX 10
IQ 10
HT 11
Basic Speed 5.0, Basic Move 4 (Light Encumbrance)
Dodge 7 Parry (Unarmed) 8

DR: 60 (Torso) 30 (Limbs, Skull), 20 (Face)

Blaster Carbine (12): 5d(5) burn sr, Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 3 (17 shots), bulk 3, rcl 1
Carbine Butt (12): 1d+1 cr, C
Punch (12): 1d-1 cr, C
Plasma Grenade (12): 6dx4 burn sur exp, 30 yards

Traits: Fit. IR Vision, Hearing Protection, Small Radio, Biomedical sensors, micro-climate control, filter mask, sealed.
Skills: Soldier-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12

Class: Human

Notes: These should generally be treated as mooks: A single point of damage should remove them from play. They never hit with their first volley unless the players are clearly aware of them. They aim, but only in full view of the player-characters, and with the GM announcing at whom they are aiming to give their opponent plenty of time to react (thus raising tension). They generally use grenades to push people out of cover. They can and do make use of cover if necessary.

The above covers green or inexperienced troops. Note that they lack Combat Reflexes, thus do not gain a bonus to recover from mental stun. More experienced soldiers gain skill 14, combat reflexes, +2 parry, and +1 basic speed, basic move, and +2 dodge. They are Battle Drilled (Tactical Shooting 37) and might use Fire and Maneuver, Ambush, Peeling, and Urban Combat (see “Tactics in Action” starting on Tactical Shooting page 21). Such troopers will often have “Code of Honor (Soldier)” or “Fanatical”. The former can be relied upon to follow the laws of war, to never leave a man behind and to follow orders, while the latter can be relied upon to die to the last man and to follow even suicidal or stupid orders.

Elite Trooper Mooks

Assault Trooper

ST 12
DX 11
IQ 10
HT 12

Basic Speed 6.0 Basic Move 6 (Light Encumbrance)
Dodge 9 Parry (Unarmed or Neurolash Baton) 10, Block (Riot Shield) 14
DR: 100 (Torso) 60 (Limbs, Skull), 40 (Face),
Riot Troopers: 60 (Shield, with 60 HP)

CBQ Troopers:
Blaster Carbine (14): 5d(5) burn sr, Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 3, bulk 3, rcl 1
Blaster Pistol (14): 3d (5) burn sur, Acc 5, RoF 3, Bulk -2, Rcl 1
Stun Grenade (14): HT-8 or be stunned, 7 yard radius, 30 yards
Carbine Butt (14): 1d+1 cr, c
Punch (14): 1d-1 cr, C

Flame Troopers:
Assault Flamer (14): 5d burn, Jet, Range 50/150, RoF 1, Bulk -3, Rcl 1
Blaster Pistol (14): 3d (5) burn sur, Acc 5, RoF 3, Bulk -2, Rcl 1
Plasma Grenade (14): 6dx4 burn sur exp, 30 yards
Flamer Butt (14): 1d+1 cr, c
Punch (14): 1d-1 cr, C

Riot Troopers:
Blaster Pistol (14): 3d (5) burn sur, Acc 5, RoF 3, Bulk -2, Rcl 1
Stun Grenade (14): HT-8 or be stunned, 7 yard radius, 30 yards
Neurolash baton (14): 1d+1 cr or 1d-1 cr + HT-5(5) aff, Reach 1
Punch (14): 1d-1 cr, C

Traits: Fit, Impulsive. IR Vision, Hearing Protection, Neurolash Field Parry, Small Radio, Biomedical sensors, micro-climate control, filter mask, sealed.
Skills: Running-14, Soldier-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12

Note: Assault troopers can be either elite mooks or low-level “worthy” NPCs. They are generally the former if they are a block of troops, or the later if they are a single elite in a squad of standard troopers. As the later, they’re removed when they reach 0 HP. Like standard troopers, they always miss on the first volley unless the player characters are aware of them, and they only aim if a player character can see them. They can defend normally and can take cover (but rarely do).

I have listed three types of Troopers in detail. CBQ troopers represent SWAT-inspired assault mook: they breach doors (usually with charges placed with their Soldier skill, or a Grav Ram) and then rush in, laying down stun grenades and covering fire until they have suppressed all opposition. Flame Troopers represent a ferocious attachment to a larger unit that generally attacks terrain, destroying houses or setting fires, and using plasma grenades to add to the general destruction. Finally, Riot Troopers tend to be deployed when non-lethal options are preferred, or when you want to come really close to the enemy. They’ll move behind their shields and attack with their neurolash batons once they get close.

The typical assault trooper is impulsive. He’ll act as soon as he sees an opening, without necessarily thinking his way through it. That doesn’t mean he won’t follow orders, but once he has engaged in fighting, he’ll often react without thinking.

It occurs to me that I’ve never adjusted the DR of the riot shield. I’ve done so here, assuming that +2 TL doubles the DR.

Heavy Trooper

ST 14
DX 10
IQ 10
HT 10

Basic Speed 6.0, Basic Move 4.0 (Medium Encumbrance)
Dodge 8 Parry (Unarmed) 10
DR: 60 (Torso) 30 (Limbs, Skull), 20 (Face)

Blaster Carbine (12): 5d(5) burn sr, Acc 10, Range 500/1500, RoF 3 (17 shots), bulk 3, rcl 1
Heavy Plasma Gun (14): 3dx5(2) burn ex, Acc 8+3, RoF 3, Bulk -6, Rcl 2
Gatling Blaster (14): 7d(5), Acc 10, RoF 12, Bulk -6, Rcl 1
Infantry Missile Launcher (14), 6dx10 burn sur exp, Acc 3, IR Homing Skill 15
Plasma Grenade (14): 6dx4 burn sur exp, 30 yards
Punch (12): 1d cr, C
Carbine Butt (12): 1d+2 cr, c

Traits: Huge Weapons, Fit, Overconfidence (12 or less). IR Vision, Hearing Protection, Small Radio, Biomedical sensors, micro-climate control, filter mask, sealed.
Skills: Explosives-12, Soldier-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12

Note: Treat a heavy as either a mook or a worthy. In all cases, his first attack misses unless the characters are aware of his presence, and he only aims if the player characters are aware of him, and it is clear who he is aiming at.

A heavy trooper might carry a blaster carbine, but he’ll always carry a mess of plasma grenades and at least one of a Heavy Plasma Gun, a Gatling Blaster or an Infantry Missile Launcher. For the IML, the heavy will always aim (with the GM clearly announcing to the players what he is aiming at) and then fire. For the heavy plasma gun, he’ll generally target areas rather than individuals, granting him a +4 to hit. With the Gatling Blaster, he’ll often engage in Suppressive Fire (the RoF gives him a +2). He has sufficient ammunition in a gatling blaster that, for most fights, he never needs to stop firing and reload (and a gatling never overheats). He might stop firing once every three turns if he can’t see anything (a Perception check at -4), in which case he’ll stop and peer around before opening fire again.

The typical heavy is certain his fire power can take on any challenge. He’s easily fooled into thinking he can handle an overwhelming challenge and will readily by into any trickery that seems to prove his superiority.

A heavy trooper carries phenomonal amounts of ammunition, enough to supply the rest of his squad, which means he never runs out of ammo. This is the source of his additional encumbrance.

Recon Trooper

ST 10
DX 12
IQ 10
HT 10

Perception 12
Basic Speed 6.0 Basic Move 5.0 (Light Encumbranc)
Dodge 9 Parry (Unarmed) 10
DR: 60 (Torso) 30 (Limbs, Skull), 20 (Face)

X-ray Sniper Rifle (14): 8d(5) burn sur, Acc 12+4, Range 70mi, RoF 1, bulk 5, rcl 1
Blaster Pistol (14): 3d (5) burn sur, Acc 5, RoF 3, Bulk -2, Rcl 1
Plasma Grenade (14): 6dx4 burn sur exp, 30 yards
Punch (12): 1d-2 cr, C
Rifle Butt (12): 1d cr, c
Vibroknife (12): 2d(3) cut

Traits: Fit, Loner (12 or less). IR Vision, Hearing Protection, Small Radio, Biomedical sensors, micro-climate control, filter mask, sealed.
Skills: Camouflage-14, Stealth-12, Observation-12, Survival-12, Soldier-12, Pilot (Contragravity)-12

Note: Treat a heavy as either a mook or a worthy. In all cases, his first attack misses unless the characters are aware of his presence. The recon trooper always aims, as he uses a sniper rifle. He makes use of cover, though never pop-up attacks, and he always rests his rifle and makes All-Out Attacks if sniping, thus gaining a +2 to all sniped attacks. While his rifle has a range of miles, he’s rarely farther than 200 yards (-12), and often much closer. Determining the position of the sniper requires a Perception vs Camouflage contest (assuming the sniper is camouflaged). The target is at +2 if he has seen the beam, and the beam is bright enough to eliminate any darkness penalties for noticing it.

Recon troopers prefer ambushes, and either set themselves up in advance, or will use Stealth Combat tactics to move around until they’re in an ideal position to snipe at their opponents. If pressed into combat, they’ll draw either their knife or their pistol and leave their sniper rifle in its braced position.

Recon troopers prefer to work alone. They’ll rarely have support with them, other than (perhaps) a single “spotter” who is a second recon trooper.