EoP,

You might want to reconsider the handgun specialization. Given the nature of the game and Star....Fargate-ish aspects, you might want to take something with a bit more kick. It would not hurt to have two people with rifle specializations or perhaps SMG. The SCAR-L is fun!

Just a suggestion.

So's the SCAR-H, come to think of it.

Gatac

If I may ask, what prompted the choice for handgun specialization? Realistically, Rifle or SMG would be a better choice in keeping with what soldiers actually use on a day-to-day basis. However, this IS, at its core, a pulp action movie game (in the same way that 24 is modern pulp), and in the end it's your character. If you want to be a crazy gunslinger combat engineer, rock on.

I've also been thinking that I'll probably fill out the rest of the Delta squad with NPCs, and Max'll have a little action science geek squad of 2-3 other guys with him. It leaves more options open for Ivan too.

Oh, E: What I do to find soldierly names is go through IMDB and look at action and war movies. I mix and match character and actor names until I find something that sounds good. Aliens, Platoon, Starship Troopers, Stargate, Apocalypse Now, The Rock, Top Gun, they all have bunches of easily-forgotten soldiers in them. Take your pick.

To sum up the group so far (because I have to get to the office today and will be incomputercado tonight):

Team Leader: Capt. Hugh Verrill (Gatac)
Action Scientist: Max Kilgore (That's DOCTOR to you!) (Dieter)
Heavy Weapons/Combat Death Bastard: Sgt. Semo Putupu (Fanchergw)
Combat Engineer/2nd Combat Death Bastard: The Sergeant With No Name (e of pi)
????: CrazyIvan

Dieter wrote:

EoP,

You might want to reconsider the handgun specialization. Given the nature of the game and Star....Fargate-ish aspects, you might want to take something with a bit more kick. It would not hurt to have two people with rifle specializations or perhaps SMG. The SCAR-L is fun!

Just a suggestion.

And finally, what Dieter is trying to say is that handguns flat out do not deal the damage that rifles do. When you need to stop that alien tyrannosaurus, unless you're packing a Raging Bull or Desert Eagle or something, you'll want a rifle. That said, Dirty Harry-size handguns would be a fine compromise if you were stuck on pistols.

Sorry for the delay in getting back. I just kind of randomly selected handguns, so it's not a big deal if you think rifles or something would be better suited. I'm still looking for names, but he ought to have one by the end of the day. So a Sgt. rank is about right for the experience? And I didn't totally botch the millitary side of the background?

edit: I've found a name and planning on switching to whichever armarment you think is appropriate, since I'm not sure what "SMG" is. Here's how Luis stands:

Sgt. Luis Stanhill, US Army
(Picture to come)

Shtick: Combat Engineer, Medic


Traits and Specializations:
Might: d6
Move: d6
Fight: d8
Shoot: d10
Sp: Rifle -or whatever
Drive: d8
Think: d8
Talk: d4
Tech: d10
Sp: Systems Operation
Sp: Demolitions
Wits: d6
Will: d6

Aspects:
Delta Force Training- (d8): Delta Force accepts none but the best, and they don't let them get off easily once in. Delta force's training programs leave its members ready for just about anything.
Medic- (d8): Thanks to being good with his hands and putting things back how they ought to be, Luis serves as the team's medic, leading to a (stale) line about being fully able to blow you into pieces and put you back together.

Luis Stanhill enlisted in the Army at 22 after several years of uncertainty about his future in college, following a few years in technical fields and a (short-lived) switch to pre-med. Following basic training, he showed experience with technical aspects, he was assigned to demolitions training, as well as receiving enough boosting of his knowledge from his premed courses to serve as a medic if needed. When he was shipped out to the Middle East shortly after completing his various training courses, he was deployed to a unit under the command of one Hugh Verill, and had only been in that unit for a few weeks when a major insurgent strike was avoided thanks to a lot of quick thinking and smart actions on the part of the soon-to-be 2nd Lieutenant Verill. The unit all felt they owed their lives to Hugh, and were truly shocked when, in an IED detonation several days later, he was thrown from their vehicle. It was Luis who performed first aid and kept the Lieutenant stable, if not conscious, until more experienced medical personnel could be reached, and Luis never forgot the face of the officer to whom he owed his life. He continued his service, but was transferred back to the home front after two years, where he was assigned to Delta Force, receiving additional training in first aid and demolitions. Following this, he served for another year with Delta force before being reassigned to the Mesas Negras facility. Like the rest of the team, he suspects that something is up, but doesn't know what.

I think Sergeant is about right, yes. Dependant on age, I'd say a Specialist wouldn't be out of question, either, but given the tech background and Delta assignment, I'd say go for the SGT.

EDIT: An SMG is a submachine gun, also known as machine pistol in some corners. It's a class of light automatic weapons in pistol calibers. Think assault rifle, but lighter, smaller and with less range / power.

Archetypical SMGs include the H&K MP5, the IMI Uzi or the Tommygun.

Gatac

All right, then. With that data, I think this is going to be the final version of this, provided nobody has any glaring problems with it.

Sgt. Luis Stanhill, US Army
(Picture to come)

Shtick: Combat Engineer, Medic


Traits and Specializations:
Might: d6
Move: d6
Fight: d8
Shoot: d10
Sp: SMG
Drive: d8
Think: d8
Talk: d4
Tech: d10
Sp: Systems Operation
Sp: Demolitions
Wits: d6
Will: d6

Aspects:
Delta Force Training- (d8): Delta Force accepts none but the best, and they don't let them get off easily once in. Delta force's training programs leave its members ready for just about anything.
Medic- (d8): Thanks to being good with his hands and putting things back how they ought to be, Luis serves as the team's medic, leading to a (stale) line about being fully able to blow you into pieces and put you back together.

Luis Stanhill enlisted in the Army at 22 after several years of uncertainty about his future in college, following a few years in technical fields and a (short-lived) switch to pre-med. Following basic training, he showed experience with technical aspects, he was assigned to demolitions training, as well as receiving enough boosting of his knowledge from his premed courses to serve as a medic if needed. When he was shipped out to the Middle East shortly after completing his various training courses, he was deployed to a unit under the command of one Hugh Verill, and had only been in that unit for a few weeks when a major insurgent strike was avoided thanks to a lot of quick thinking and smart actions on the part of the soon-to-be 2nd Lieutenant Verill. The unit all felt they owed their lives to Hugh, and were truly shocked when, in an IED detonation several days later, he was thrown from their vehicle. It was Luis who performed first aid and kept the Lieutenant stable, if not conscious, until more experienced medical personnel could be reached, and Luis never forgot the face of the officer to whom he owed his life. He continued his service, but was transferred back to the home front after two years, where he was assigned to Delta Force, receiving additional training in first aid and demolitions. Following this, he served for another year with Delta force before being reassigned to the Mesas Negras facility. Like the rest of the team, he suspects that something is up, but doesn't know what.[/quote]

Luis looks good. Added to the Wiki. Still waiting on Ivan's character idea - CrazyIvan, if you're still interested, please let us know!

I am not quite as incomputercado as I previously thought, btw.

Question: Can we start thinking about our gear, or are there some in-game restrictions and tactical doctrines we should know about first?

Gatac

You get a piece of flint, a bag of rice, and a machete. For the entire team. Seriously, though, sure Gatac. You're the team leader, so you get to outfit the Delta NPCs. Feel free to suggest weapons for Sumo and Stanhill as well. We're looking at a squad makeup like so:

Squad Leader: CPT Verrill
Grenadier: SPC NPC
Automatic Rifleman: SSGT Putupu
Rifleman: SGT Stanhill
Fireteam 2 Leader: SFC NPC
Grenadier: SGT NPC
Automatic Rifleman: SPC NPC
Rifleman: SPC NPC

SPC = Specialist, SGT = Sergeant, SSGT = Staff Sergeant, SFC = Sergeant First Class, CPT = Captain, and the chain of command goes in the order just listed. I bumped Sumo up to SSGT because, hell, he's got that By the Book Aspect. Figure it might as well pay off right away.

Anyhoo, we're here for the toys. My suggested rifles would be either the H&K 416 or a SCAR variant (your choice). Heavier calibers equal less ammo for the same weight. Being that in movies, Delta Force are portrayed as a bunch of cowboys, and this is an action movie game, knock yourself out. This is what I'd recommend after reading too much about "Standard Combat Loads" and "A+B+C for March Loads" and stuff:

1. Rifle w/ 1 magazine
1a. Automatic Riflemen carry their support weapon with one belt/box

2. Handgun with 2 magazines in drop holster (.45s are historically preferred by Delta)

3. 6 magazines if primary weapon is 7.62mm, 8 mags if 5.56mm, 8 if .45 caliber or 5.7mm (if Stanhill wants a UMP45 or P90 forex), or 10 if 9mm or 4.7mm (MP5, MP7). I'm completely bullshitting these loads, balancing only in-game mechanical effectiveness vs. weapon capacity.
3a. Automatic Riflemen carry 700 rounds for their primary if 5.56mm, or 500 rounds if 7.62mm. They also carry a spare barrel on their person and a second spare in their pack.
3b. Grenadiers carry 25 40mm grenades for their launcher of varying types.

4. 2 Frags, 1 smoke grenade.

5. Two 64 oz. canteens and one 100 oz. Camelbak. A second 100 oz. bladder for the Camelbak is carried in the pack.

6. 2 MRE meals, notebooks and waterproof markers for mapmaking, body armor, IV bags with starters, bandages, night vision, flashlights, chem lights, compass, rope/rappelling gear, zip cuffs, blah blah blah are carried by everyone.

7. Extra stuff: Stanhill's got communication equipment, 2 claymores, a C-4 demolitions kit, and extra medical supplies. His kit is packed. The grenadiers' 40mm grenades count as their extra load. Everyone else may choose ONE item from the list:
a. 6 grenades of whatever kind you like (smoke, flashbang, frag, white phosphorus)
b. 1 AT-4 anti-tank rocket
c. 2 Claymore mines
d. 200 belted 5.56mm rounds for the support weapons
e. 100 belted 7.62mm rounds for the support weapons
f. 4 more magazines for your own primary weapon AND 2 more magazines for your sidearm

I suggest using:

A) FN SCAR-H 7.62x51mm NATO as standard assault rifle (I almost went with one of the funky new 6.x mm assault rifles, but eh.)
H&K HK45 Tactical as standard sidearm (Unless everyone's okay with the extra bulk of the Mark 23 SOCOM)
C) H&K UMP .45 for Stanhill (Less sexy, but a good SMG in .45)
D) Mk. 48 Mod 0 (SOCOM variant of the M249, chambered in 7.62x51mm)

Put an FN EGLM on the SCAR for the grenadiers.

Hugh will grab extra ammunition for his guns, NPC Squadleader should get the AT-4, NPC Rifleman should get an extra ammo belt for the automatic rifleman. Stanhill's extra grab is e's choice, but I recommend he gets some grenades - 2 smoke, 2 flashbang, 2 WP.

Gatac

Unfortunately, Stanhill's extra grab is taken up by the fact that he's radioman AND demo man AND medic. The machine gunners DO get extra picks, though.

I heard from Ivan, too - he should have an idea up here shortly and then we'll begin.

Fiddlesticks. In that case, give the gunners all the ammo they can carry and the NPC Rifleman the grenades.

Gatac

I think you said that there will be one or two scientists with us, in addition to the good Doctor? Would one of them have room for a light UAV or a shock-resistant laptob?

I'm guessing Max with have at least a Toughbook.

Weapon recommendations for Semo and the other "automatic rifleman"? (I'm not really a weapons guy, myself.)

Gordon

Science toys!

This is getting into "mission briefing" territory, but you will have sent Mars-lander-style probes through the Gate before people step through. You're also not going completely on foot, for reasons I will expound upon when we start.

You'll have two Humvees and two 2 1/2 ton trucks. Each deuce and a half is a generator truck, used to power the gate for a return trip. The Humvees are your transport, plus they carry camping supplies, extra food, and potable water as well as the Science Stuff:

1. Action Science-level biology, chemistry, and astronomy equipment.
2. Each member of the science team'll have a Toughbook with appropriate software.
3. Specimen containers ranging from "tissue sample" to "cougar".

Good point about the UAV. We'll say that the probe had a Cypher UAV as part of its payload, and it can be controlled from a Toughbook or a Humvee.

Shit, forgot to mention that you'll all likely be heading through in full NBC gear. You really wanna trust your first breath of alien atmosphere to some spectrometers that might not even register the alien toxins, or you wanna let Max do his thing on-site and THEN learn the air won't kill you?

Re: Sumo's man-cannon: Gatac recommends the Mk. 48 Mod 0, which is a SAW, but chambered for the heavier 7.62mm round. Gatty won't let you down.

Mk. 48

Basically, SOCOM looked at the good old M249 and went "Well, this is pretty good, but it needs to make a bigger boom - and slap some Picatinny rails on there while you're at it."

Let the UAV check for breathable atmo, move in the first fireteam under NBC MOPP 4, let our action scientist check for toxins, THEN we get out of MOPP and call in the second team.

Also, I reckon we'll have something like the Stargate GDO (Garage Door Opener), or?

Gatac

I saw the weapon listed, but didn't know what it was or what it was for as there was no information included. Now I know. (And knowing is half the battle. :wink: )

Can I get it outfitted like in the second picture on Gatty's link with the scope and forward handle?

For extra stuff, I'm inclined to either some grenades (mix of types) or the extra belt of ammo.

To Gordon: yes, yes, and I recommend the grenades, as you'll have a good throwing arm (Move->Athletics).

To Gatac: That's a good plan, but we're just about playing now in the character creation thread and Ivan still needs a character. I'm hoping he gets his character posted today or tonight and I'll be able to first-post the IC thread tomorrow morning-ish. I have to get back to work as it is.

You also won't need a Fargate GDO - you'll have radios and visual confirmation. As for why, let's wait till the IC thread.