Skillset for Military Archetypes, What would it be? Options

[WhiskeyMac]

I've noticed that most people have made a character with some type of military background and that sometimes the skills don't really make sense for the background. So, I was wondering what would be a normal skillset for a soldier in the UCAS/CAS/Sioux/Pueblo/Aztlan army? I'm talking standard infantry soldier and then from there what would be the specialized skills for say, a drone rigger, magic support, heavy weapons support, and several other MOSs. I'm also kind of interested because of a future campaign idea as well. Thanks.

[Slithery D]

Infantry rifleman with about two years in, finished basic training and up to speed with his current unit:

Running (Long Distance) 3 (+2)
Climbing 2
Gynastics 1
Swimming 1

Automatics (Assault Rifles) 3 (+2)
Unarmed Combat 2
Clubs (Assault Rifles) 1 (+2)
Throwing Weapons (Lobbed) 2 (+2)
Pistols 1
Heavy Weapons 1

First Aid (Combat Wounds) 1 (+2)
Perception 3
Dodge 3
Survival 2
Etiquette (Military) 1 (+2)

That's 120 BP right there, if my quick calculations are correct. If he's airborne, add Parachuting. If an officer or experienced sergeant, Leadership and Navigation. More experienced or specialized troops will have higher firearms and athletics skills. The 2070 equivalent of today's SAW gunner, for example, would probably swap his Automatics and Heavy Weapons skills and specialize in Machine Guns.

[Butterblume]

Looks fine to me.

I am not entirely sure if long distance running is appropriate. Something like running(burdened) would be more usefull than running a marathon, I think ;).

I'd add disguise(camouflage) 1(+2) and Infiltration(appropriate environment) 1(+2), but that might me by light infantry training ;).

[lorechaser]

For those of us outside the miliatry, what are reasonable skills to pick up with a few years service, not including magic skills?

My thoughts:

Disguise (Camoflague)
Infiltration
Parachuting (for Airborne)
Diving (For Navy/SEALs)
Leadership/Instruction/Intimidation (for officers/drills)
Blade (Knife) (For marines/SEALs)
Navigation (General)
Aeronautics/Automotive/Nautical Mechanic (For greasemonkeys)
Armorer (Artillery) (Same)
Computer/Cybercombat (For Intel)
Demolitions (For commandos)
Pilot Aircraft/Ground Vehicle/Exotic Craft (For, you know, Pilots and drivers)
Gunnery (For gunners/Pilots)

[blakkie]

I see the Knowledge skill selection being very important in differentiating a career military character. They are going to have knowledge about their field, such as squad tactis for grunts, air traffic control for pilots, etc. as well as military code of conduct and politics in the army they have served in.

[Slithery D]

I chose long distance running speciality because we only really have two uses for running skill specialties right now: sprinting to go faster, and long distance to keep away fatigue damage. I figure the ability to run longer rather than a little faster is preferred.

[WhiskeyMac]

Thanks, those are quite helpful. Now, what about standard cyberware packages? I was thinking smartlink and cybereyes, minimum, what else do you think?

And those are good for an infantry soldier, what about a Combat Engineer or Combat Rigger?

[Moon-Hawk]

What would be a reasonable cyberware budget? Hmmm, that could be a really good incentive to get people to enlist for longer terms. Basically, if you're in for 4 years, we'll give you this. If you agree to stay for 10 years, you get all this!

[blakkie]

I think they are likely to retain hard Datajacks with optical wires vs. going with wireless due to the conditions the operate in. Especially pilots and rigged drivers.

[Butterblume]

Since soldiers almost always wear some kind of helmet, there is no need for even a datajack.

The most useful piece of cyberware would imo be wired reflexes 1, since it nearly doubles your offensive potential. They'd probably install it after 2 years, if you serve at least 2 more years.

[Critias]

[Slithery D]

I think a case can be made for Wired 1 or Control Rigs for troops with special missions or longer term commitments, though. They're pretty damn cheap and a sizable force multiplier. Make your infantry fire, move to cover, etc. twice as fast, make your tank/helicopter/drone drivers noticeably sharper operators. Both cost less than many (re)enlistment bonuses today, and a peacetime army has plenty of time for their doctors to practice cybersurgery; hell, the main justification for DoD provided plastic surgery today is to give them some practice.

[Moon-Hawk]

Some quick internet research says that the US spends roughly $200,000 per soldier, per year. Let's go with the very rough approximation of $1-2006 = 1Y-2070. Let's say 10% of that goes to futuristic gear, either from reallocating existing funds or from additional funds, whatever, I think it's a pretty conservative estimate. That's 20,000Y. Let's do a basic 4-year term. 80,000Y for futuristic gear. That'll easily pay for wired reflexes 1, one VERY nice helmet with all the sensory bells and whistles, a very nice comlink with very nice security to handle the soldier's PAN, and what else? Sorry, I don't have my books on me, so I have no idea what I've "spent" so far.

[DireRadiant]

Need to feed them you know....

[Moon-Hawk]

Um, yeah, that comes out of the $200,000 per year. I'm assuming that several new fields of technology will justify a small increase in budget. Obviously I'm pulling numbers out of my ass, but I think it's a decent starting point for trying to figure out approximately how much would be spent outfitting a 2070 soldier. I know it's somewhere between five bucks and a billion dollars, and I'm just trying to narrow that range down a little bit.

[Slithery D]

Full body armor w/helmet, environmental adaptation (cold or hot weather long term wear), and chemical seal is 14,000. Full sense enhancements (w/o ultrasound) would take us to 15-16k, reusable by later soldiers with some reconditioning and maintenance for an armor value of 12/10.

Let's hope hardened armor is hideously expensive when it reappears in Arsenal. It would be really aggravating if you need APDS in your assault rifle to be able to scratch the enemy soldiers you shot at.

[Moon-Hawk]

Even unhardened, if the enemy is wearing armor half as nice as that I'd think about using APDS.

[blakkie]

Keep in mind too that those are retail prices.

Incidentally what's the current retail price on a set of armor, including ceramic plates, found on your average grunt? Those plates have been around and in military use for a number of years now, so they would have issued when the price was much higher.

EDIT: As for soldiers with hardened armor I'm assuming that the high-end militaries like Ares, Aztec, and such will standard issue that for their actual field troops.

[Slithery D]

I wonder about the legality of advanced ammo types under the 2070 versions of the Geneva Conventions. My sense is that APDS would be ok, but fragmenting explosive rounds would not. But maybe in practice or even as a legal matter it's all been thrown out, and it's not like we have painful healing rules for fragmenting rounds that would justify their ban in SR-land.

[lorechaser]

What's the recovery time on something like Wired Reflexes, though?

If you're looking at cash, plus a two month loss of resources, it might not be worth it except in certain extreme circumstances....

[Moon-Hawk]

[lorechaser]

Excellent counterpoint!

Although I think most grunts are mysteriously absent the day that "This is your commlink, don't use it for porn" is taught....

"No sir, I did not receive that training, sir!" "No sir, I do not think that all catgirls are lesbians, or that they prefer trollish women with extra breasts. I do not know how that appeared on my comm, sir. Perhaps we have a prankster in the unit, sir!"

[Moon-Hawk]

Hahahaha.
It occurs to me that a sleep regulator would be an excellent bit of 'ware for a soldier. (probably because it's great for anyone) But I'm not sure the payoff would justify the cost, in this particular case.
What about reflex recorders as either a substitute for some training, or in addition to training?

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Butterblume]

After you have trained your soldier to a reasonable level of competence, you can afford the two months until your soldier is fully mission capable again (this number is totally invented, and includes implanting and healing under excellent care, and training your new ability).


Also, you have to feed, house, pay, train, equip and heal your soldiers.


I think the basic rifleman would use a camouflage suit, not full body armor.


Ware like a sleep regulator or recorded reflexes I see as eminently suited for special units, not for the grunts.
[for an online campaign, which sadly never did go ahead, I had tried to create an officier for one of those special ops teams. I'll post him when this threads goes off topic :D]