Special Operations Commando
The Wolf Pack decided
that they needed some commandos that would be much cheaper to train and supply,
but would nevertheless be elite. The result is the SO. The Special Operations
Commando.
Recruits are heavily
screened to ensure that they are fit for training, all but eliminating the
possibility of training deaths. There are still many who drop out, but they are
always given the opportunity to tryout for Infantry. This certainly cheapens
recruiting costs. The training regimen is fast paced and intense with classes
in mental and physical hardening every day.
Reveille is at 4 in
the morning. Students are herded directly into classrooms where they begin
their studies. They receive training in piloting, first aid, intelligence, and
survival. Their morning meal is eaten during the classes. At 8, when their
morning classes end, they are ushered outside and put through torturous
dexterity and agility exercises and intense stretching. After a noontime meal
they concentrate for four hours on physical endurance, doing hours and hours of
impact aerobics until they feel like jello. At 4 the afternoon physical fitness
ends, and they take their evening meal with them to their evening classes.
Evening classes are marksmanship, mechanics, electronics, and physics. Their
final test is a real mission. Because of their green status they are given a
relatively easy mission, but the threat is very real. Those who return from a
successful mission are placed in the SO ranks.
To simplify their
logistical procedures and lessen the expense of equipping notoriously expensive
Special Forces, these men are trained to use their enemy's weapons. They
typically go very light, carrying only about ten pounds of equipment. They live
off the land and their enemies. When they reach their objective, they either
salvage assault vehicle parts for demolition, swipe heavier weapons from the
armory, steal an enemy hover tank for a direct assault, or something similar.
It is not unusual at all for them to return to Northridge territory flying
enemy aircraft, or piloting enemy robots, or simply hauling all sorts of
artifacts for the MERC tech-weenies to drool over.
Appearance: These commandos
are relatively short and thin. Any recruit who is over 6 feet tall, or weighs
over 200 lb. is dismissed and encouraged to join the Infantry, who adore large
people. The reason for this is that Wolf Pack can't afford to let anybody with
a tremendous amount of muscle in. While anyone with a PS of less than 10 would
be to weak, anyone with a PS of over 14 would simply be too big. There is a
certain amount of muscular bulk that comes with being that strong, and that
bulk would slow you down. (Note: I know the rules let someone built like Arnold
Schwarzenegger moves like Bruce Lee, but realistically I don't think so.) They
don't want huge hulking men who need 10,000 calories a day to keep up their
muscles; they need men who are relatively small and fast. Someone weighing 170
pounds will typically eat half as much as an avid weight lifter of PS 19 and
250 lb.
Enemies: Because of the
nature of their operations, they really have no enemies. This is mostly because
nobody knows who they are. These men are loyal only to themselves, other
Special Operations members, and Col. Masters. They answer directly to the
Colonel. The total lack of administration or paper work allows them to work in
secret even within the Wolf Pack. When they are sent on missions, they take
generic, commonly available weapons and equipment so that if one is caught
there will be nothing to implement the Wolf Pack.
Psionics: Under no circumstance will
the Wolf Pack allow any psionics in the SO. There are many reasons for this.
High ISP levels are much too easy to sense, Psionic powers are much too
unreliable, and the Wolf Pack doesn't want any of their SO troopers to become
reliant on anything other than their own target.
Alignment: Unprincipled and Aberrant only
Attribute Requirements: IQ 14, ME 16, PS 10-14, PP 16, PE 16, Spd 12
Bonuses: +2 to ME, +2 to PP, and +3 to PE. With their special training
and equipped with typical starting gear, an SO soldier can trek 50 miles a day
without suffering any fatigue.
OCC Skills:
Language: Native 98%
Language: American (+25%)
Literacy: American (+20%)
Math: Basic (+20%)
Radio: Basic (+15%)
Intelligence (+20%)
Detect Ambush (+10%)
Detect Concealment (+15%)
Mechanical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Prowl (+15%)
Wilderness Survival (+20%)
Desert Survival (+20%)
Land Navigation (+15%)
Streetwise (+15%)
WP: Energy Pistol
WP: Knife
Hand-to-Hand: Expert
*Hand-to-hand: Expert can be changed
to martial arts at the cost of one OCC related skill.
OCC Related Skills: Select 8 other skills. Plus select one additional skill at
levels 2, 4, 7, 9, and 12. All new skills begin at level 1 proficiency.
Communications: Any (+15%)
Domestic: Any (+10%)
Electrical: Any (+15%)
Espionage: Any (+20%)
Mechanical: Any (+15%)
Medical: Paramedic & Holistic
only (+15%)
Military: Any (+20%)
Physical: Any that does not raise
the PS over 15 (+10%)
Pilot: Any (+25%)
Pilot Related: Any (+20%)
Rogue: Any (+15%)
Science: Any (+5%)
Technical: Any (+15%)
WP: Any
Wilderness: Land Navigation &
Hunting only (+10%)
Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select 8 secondary skills from the
previous list. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get the
advantages of the bonuses listed in parenthesis (). All Secondary skills start
at the base level. Also, skills are limited (Any, Only, and None) as previously
indicated in the list.
Standard Equipment: 2 sets of civilian traveling clothes, backpack, canteen,
bedroll, and extremely basic personal supplies. (The lack of equipment allows
the operative to move much faster and become less noticeable, as well as, being
able to utilize enemy equipment more effectively).
Weapons: Common Energy pistol of choice /w 2 E-Clips, Souped up Frag.
Grenades (2), and a vibro-knife.
Vehicle: None. They steal or build what they can find.
Equipment available upon assignment: None. They are expected to steal or build what they need.
Money: Operatives receive a modest barracks bunk in the common rooms,
food, clothes, and other basics provided free as part of their pay. Plus a
monthly salary of 2100 credits in addition to Training & Mission bonuses.
Cybernetics/Bionics: None. They will never get any type of cybernetics due to the
fact that they can be detected easily and the Wolf Pack doesn’t want them
relying on anything but their own skills and the enemy equipment. Also, there
is the chance that it could be traced back to the Wolf pack and that is simply
not an option.
Experience Table:
1 0-5000
2 5001-10,000
3 10,001-20,000
4 20,001-40,000
5 40,001-70,000
6 70,001-110,000
7 110,001-160,000
8 160,001-220,000
9 220,001-290,000
10 290,001-370,000
11 370,001-460,000
12 460,001-560,000
13 560,001-670,000
14 670,001-790,000
15 790,001-902,000
Contributed by Christopher “Big C”
Ferguson