Bobitron
Explorer
Sorry to spam a bit, but I need to share this file with Mike. All others can ignore it.
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[/sblock]The following mechanic, taken from the game ‘Thirty’ by John Wick, represents the morale a unit builds and how it can bolster that unit’s effectiveness. Much of the text presented here is taken directly from Mr. Wick’s game. This mechanic will completely replace the Action Point rules in d20 Modern.
Brotherhood
If you trust the men around you, if you know they’d do anything for you, you know in your heart that you’d do anything for them. That is what gives men the strength to do the kinds of things we hear from the war stories of these old heroes. Brotherhood is based on the notion that morale builds over time. The longer men have served together, the stronger the bond between them becomes. When a new man enters the group, when a soldier is fresh and without experience, the men in the squad don’t trust him. They don’t know how he’ll react to violence. They don’t know if he’ll freeze when the moment of truth arrives. They don’t know if he’ll throw himself on another soldier if he’s wounded… they just don’t know. He’s got to earn their trust slowly and with his actions. Words mean nothing on a battlefield. It’s all what you do. Socrates wrote that men should demonstrate virtue in the sight of other men. That way, they encourage others to act the same, demonstrating that one is not alone in his desire to do right.
The Brotherhood Pool
To represent this environmental psychology, each soldier has a Brotherhood Trait. His Brotherhood begins at Rank 1. At the beginning of each game session, the GM puts a bowl in the center of the table. It should be big enough to hold more than a few dice. This is the Brotherhood Pool. The GM gives each player a number of dice equal to his Brotherhood Rank. The player can either can keep this die for himself or add it to the Pool. If he has more than one Brotherhood Rank (see below), he can add as many Dice as he likes to the Pool; he doesn’t have to add them all. If the soldier keeps the Brotherhood Die for himself, he may use it at any time to add to any roll he makes during the game. However, the dice from the Brotherhood Pool may be used by any soldier at any time during the game. Any member of the squad may pull any number of dice from the pool to use as he sees fit. He can use the dice to add to his “to hit roll,” to his damage roll, to his charisma roll, whatever. When a die is used, it’s gone. It isn’t replaced in the Pool or a
Soldier’s private Pool.
Gaining Brotherhood
During the game session, if a soldier takes an action that somehow serves the unit, the GM gives him one to three Brotherhood Dice, depending on the act. If he scavenges some food for the unit, pulls a wounded comrade out of the line of fire, runs across the enemy lines to deliver a vital message, or even finds the enemy’s plans on an empty field, wrapped up in cigar papers, he’s done something to aid the unit and deserves Brotherhood Dice. The GM gives the soldier the Brotherhood Dice and the soldier decides how many to add to the Pool. He may add as many or as few (including none) to the Pool. His choice. Also, for every month spent with your unit, the Brotherhood Rank of each soldier increases by 1. That is, the rookies all begin to get a sense of each other and feel more comfortable. Their morale increases and instead of adding just one die to the Pool, each can add up to 2 dice to the Pool. After another month, when their Brotherhood increases to 3, each soldier can add up to 3 dice to the Pool, then 4 and so on. As a general rule, the Brotherhood Rank of each group cannot exceed the number of soldiers in a group. For example, if you have a unit of 5 soldiers, the Brotherhood of each soldier cannot exceed 5. At the end of the game session, Dice in the Pool are divided equally among the soldiers. These dice can be used as bonus XP. The remainder is discarded.
Losing Brotherhood
Whenever a soldier dies, the Brotherhood Rank of each soldier who watched his death decreases by one. This may reduce the Brotherhood Rank of some soldiers to zero (it cannot go below zero). Whenever a soldier displays an act of cowardice or otherwise harms the good of the unit to protect himself, every soldier who witnesses the act loses a Brotherhood Rank. Yes, the soldier who caused the loss of Brotherhood “sees” his own act and loses Brotherhood himself. Your GM may find other reasons why your soldier would lose Brotherhood.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
The only time a soldier’s death adds to the Brotherhood of the group rather than subtracting from it is when his death saves lives. If a soldier runs out into the middle of the battlefield to pull a fallen buddy out of harm’s way and manages to get himself killed in the process – but saves his buddy’s life – his death isn’t for nothing. He gave his life for one of his own. When a soldier makes the ultimate sacrifice, he adds his own Brotherhood Rank to the Pool immediately. Also, everyone who witnessed the act adds one to their Brotherhood Rank. Other circumstances may invoke the “Ultimate Sacrifice Clause.” For example, if a soldier dies under torture, refusing to give up his Brothers or his faith, his fellow soldiers are bolstered by his courage. There are many other examples… just remember, it’s a heroic death that counts.
Spending Leftover Brotherhood
At the end of each game session, the party divides up the remaining Brotherhood in the pool. They divide it up equally regardless of their Brotherhood Ranks. Remainders can either be discarded or divided among the players as they see fit. Brotherhood can be used as bonus XP trading 1 Brotherhood for 100 XP. Remember, everybody gets the same amount of Brotherhood from the Pool regardless of their Brotherhood Rank. This has a big implication on the New Guy.
The New Guy
When a new soldier enters the unit, he enters it with a Brotherhood Rank of 1. He’s fresh fish and the other troops don’t know what to think of him yet. This means he adds one die to the Brotherhood Pool at the beginning of the game. During the course of the game, he’ll have to prove his worth to the other troops. Also, because he’s less experienced than the other soldiers, they’ll have to coddle him for the first few months while he figures out just how horrible this mess he’s gotten himself into really is. He needs the other soldiers to keep him alive while they’re bogged down with a new guy who doesn’t know one end of his rifle from the other. At the end of each game session, Brotherhood is divvied up as usual: equally among the soldiers. Because the fresh fish only contributed one die at the beginning, the amount of Brotherhood to go around is less. What’s more, he’s pulling out just as many dice as they are, so he’s adding little to the pot but pulling out just as much if not more.
New guys. You just gotta teach ‘em. Otherwise, they just get themselves killed.
The Effects of Brotherhood
This system encourages and discourages specific behaviors. It makes soldier characters act like soldiers. Nobody wants to let the unit down. Nobody wants the unit to lose a tangible benefit. When a soldier acts like a soldier, the unit is empowered by the act. When he acts stupidly or selfishly, he harms the Brotherhood of the group. Using Brotherhood gives players a reason to put their characters at risk. They rush into a battlefield, fight for each other, and even die for each other. That’s what being a soldier is all about. It isn’t wanton killing: it’s fighting to save lives.
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