Tip of The Spear [Redundancy Redundancy]

[Sutton]

The year is 4236.

Earth is a paradise: There is no work, no crime, no disease, no poverty, no hate. Life expectancy is as long as you want it to be. The only thing that advances in medical science haven't managed is ressurection of the dead, and even that may be just around the corner.

For almost two thousand years, the Council of Earth has lead mankind forward to new heights of development. More than a thousand of colonies, themselves containing trillions of people, dot the night sky, a thousand symbols of mankind's progress since the dark days of the 23rd century.

But paradise needs it's protectors. External forces are constantly at work, attempting to undermine mankind's achievements. The Council of Earth needs you, it's loyal citizens, to defend what you hold most dear! Join the Earth Expeditionary Force! See the galaxy! Take part in the greatest endeavour of human history! Do YOUR PART for MANKIND!

---

The speakers in the personnel shuttle continue to repeat recruitment propagada, perhaps to remind any who have had second thoughts why they are here. After two months of travel, you are mere minutes from linking up with the Sixteenth Brigade of the 3rd Army - one of the most renowned assault units in the entire expeditionary force. You've had some combat experience before, but that was bug hunts on derelict spacecraft, this is the real deal - planetary assault. Dozens of hostile worlds have fallen to the 3:16, and they have never been defeated in battle.

"Passengers, docking with the EES John Locke will commence in two minutes, please remain in your seats as we will be making numerous thruster burns."

As the ship maneuvers, you take another look at your transfer papers...

---



Welcome to 3:16!

Character creation is exceedingly simple - Indeed, it involves 2 mechanical choices, and one (unimportant) roll.

NAME: This isn't too hard. Nicknames are also acceptable.
REPUTATION: A short descriptor for your soldier.

FIGHTING ABILITY:] Your ability at Combat Tasks - Shooting things, lobbing hand grenades, throwing knifes, zero-gravity martial arts, swordplay, tank gunnery, you name it.
NON-FIGHTING ABILITY: Your ability at Non-Combat Tasks - Digging a trench, fixing the radio, piloting a shuttlepod, talking your way out of a court-martial, you name it.

Divide 10 points between Fighting Ability (hereafter FA) and Non-Fighting Ability (hereafter NFA), with no more than 8 in either and no less than 2 in either.

Your RANK is determined by your scores compared to the rest of the group. The HIGHEST NFA in the unit recieves a rank of Sergeant. The HIGHEST FA in the unit recieves a rank of Corporal. All other members of the unit recieve the rank of Trooper. If there is a conflict (IE: The highest FA is two characters with an FA of 7), each person involved rolls a d10 (passing and taking the lower rank is also acceptable), with the highest result recieving the rank.

Your RANK determines your starting WEAPONS. Each rank recieves a choice from two weapons, and a set of accompanying weapons. Each weapon is rated for how many alien scum it will eliminate each round with a succesful FA roll, in each of the three range bands (Close Range is face-to-face bloodbaths, Near Range is the optimum for most firearms, Far Range is the outer extent at which combat is possible).

SERGEANT
Slug Rifle
A simple rifle, that would likely be basically familiar in operation to someone from the modern world.
Kills: 1 / d6 / d6
OR
Heavy MG
A large, bulky machinegun. Capable of extremely rapid fire, but cumbersome at close range and inaccurate at long.
Kills: 1 / 2d6 / 0
In addition
Sidearm
A handgun. Powerful and accurate, though it lacks the ability to deliver automatic fire, and it's shots can't travel quite as far as those from heavier weapons.
Kills: d6 / d6 / 0
Hand Grenades
These are largely familiar items as well. Watch out - they can endanger friendly personnel near the target.
Kills: d10 / 1 / -
Grenades inflict a Kill on any friendly personnel at Close range who fail their roll this round, REGARDLESS of whether the roll succeeds or fails. This INCLUDES YOURSELF.
Hand to Hand Combat
The most desperate and basic of all means of combat, hand to hand fighting is any troopers last resort when faced with aliens at extreme close range... and some very scary trooper's FIRST resort.
Kills: 1 / - / -

CORPORAL
Energy Cannon
A massive two handed beam weapon. Delivers horrifying amounts of firepower on the field, but the beam defocuses at longer distances to the point of ineffectiveness, and the weapon is too heavy to be used with any degree of success when the alien is right up in your face.
Kills: 0 / 2d10 / 0
OR
Heavy MG, AS SERGEANT
In addition
Hand Grenades, AS SERGEANT
Hand-to-Hand Combat, AS SERGEANT

TROOPER
Energy Rifle
The basic weapon of most of the Earth Expenditionary Force, the Energy Rifle is a scaled down, more manageable version of the Energy Cannon. It doesn't deliver as much firepower, but is less of an impediment in close ranges, not to mention being far less of a hassle to carry on a long march.
Kills: 1 / d10 / 1
OR
Slug Rifle, AS SERGEANT
In addition
Hand Grenades, AS SERGEANT
Hand-toHand Combat, AS SERGEANT


So, what this looks like when completed is this:

Trooper Walken
Reputation: Shifty Scumbag
FA: 6
NFA: 4
Weapons
Energy Rifle: 1/d10/1
Grenades: d10/1/-
Hand-to-Hand: 1/-/-

As well, your starting KILLCOUNT is equal to the sum of a number of d10s equal to your FA. For example, Trooper Walken has a starting killcount of 34.

You recieve one STRENGTH and one WEAKNESS currently unspent. More on what these do when we get to an encounter.

[Sutton]

While it may look like things are running now, anyone who does not currently have a character please feel free to create your own character and join in!

----

The shuttle shakes slightly as the docking clamps engage. A few of the troopers sitting with you in the bay mutter complaints about the inertial compensators. The few who have taken part in drop missions before make comments to the effect of "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

As you disembark the shuttle, you're sorted off into groups depending on which platoon you'll be assigned to - your papers mentioned the first platoon of Able Company, in the 503rd Orbital-Assault Battalion.

---

"You are the new replacements, yes? I am Lieutenant Horchmann, your new commanding officer. I don't know what the officers were like in your previous units, but there are a few things I must make *exceedingly* clear.

Here in the 503rd, we expect two things above all from each and every soldier.
ITEM ONE: Discipline! The maintenance of proper discipline and order is utterly essential to the success of our mission, and any breach of discipline will NOT be tolerated. In particular, ANY insubordination will be dealt with HARSHLY. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?!
ITEM TWO: Courage! When an order is given in the field, you must be READY and ABLE to fufill that order, no matter the cost! If you must die, you will die with HONOR, knowing that YOUR SACRIFICE will make victory possible for us all! No hesitation, no questions, just action!

If you can supply these two traits, then the other skills you need will soon follow, and you will be able to count yourself as a contributing member of one of the finest units in the entire army! FAIL to supply these traits, and you will be punished to the harshest extent! Now - are there any questions?"

[sgtkill]

"Sir! I have a question, Sir!"

[Sutton]

"Very well. Ask your question, Corporal."

[sgtkill]

Corporal Kyle straightens up and yells"Sir, how long til we get to kill these ugly bastards? Sir!"

[Sutton]

"Your enthusiasm does you credit, Corporal, but you must have patience. We will be arriving at our next target in three days standard time, until that point all new transfers will take part in intensive drop and assault training to ensure your readiness for combat action. Are there any other questions?"

[Sutton]

"Very well. All of you will now be assigned placements within the platoon, and then training will begin. Dismissed!"

---

The next three days are filled with the most brutal training you've ever experienced - worse than even the hardest you recieved in your old units, worse even than your actual duty in your old units.

The only breaks are eating, sleeping, and a few medical procedures - you've now been given the necessary implants for use of combat stimulant intravenous system, designed to maximize strength and reflexes (though you've been assured that reports of it sending users into a bloodthirsty, suicidal killing frenzy are completely unfounded. The amount of unprompted assurances to that effect you have received is beginning to become worrying.)


Now, your training is almost over. You've been inserted into a virtual reality module, to fight simulated aliens in a simulated warzone. You and a few others from your squad will be tasked with sweeping a cavern and then holding it against a bug counterattack.

---

The cavern is dark, dank, and claustrophobic. Your combat suit's thermographic visor and air filtration system mitigate the first two, but there's nothing you can do about the close conditions. The computer appears to have put you alone in a small tunnel, cut off from whoever else is in this session. The tunnel behind you is blocked by a convenient pile of rubble, so the only path is forwards. As you proceed, you near an area where the tunnel widens into a large chamber. Your HUD's motion detector immediately begins tagging targets as a horde of insectoid creatures each about the size of a large dog swarms throughout the chamber...

---

If it hasn't become obvious, I'm using this VR deal as a quick and dirty combat tutorial, where getting your guy killed won't get your guy killed.

The dice mechanic in 3:16 is quite simple: You roll a single d10, and compare that to either your Fighting Ability or Non-Fighting Ability, depending on the nature of the roll. If your roll is at or below the level of the attribute, you made the test. If it isn't, you didn't. As I said, nice and simple.

The main exceptions to this are these:
--- In combat, when rolling to see how many aliens you killed, you instead roll the Kills die or dice of your weapon for your specific range band (more on those in a second).
--- The alien opposition doesn't have a Fighting Ability or Non-Fighting Ability, instead they have one catch-all Alien Ability score. Otherwise, it works exactly the same for them.

So, beyond basic dice mechanics, how does combat work? Let's go over it one element at a time.

Threat - The current level of alien opposition you are facing is measured in Threat Tokens, taken from a pool for the entire planet / mission. These are abstract, rather than each representing a specific quantity of aliens.

Range - Each trooper occupies one of three ranges, based on the distance between him and the Aliens. The range bands are:
--- Close: Hand-to-hand combat, or easy throwing range for a hand grenade. Most firearms are substantially less useful here.
--- Near: Optimum range for firearm combat
--- Far: Most firearms have a hard time hitting targets, but some specialist weapons can be very effective.

At the beginning of the combat, all participants (including the aliens) make an NFA (or AA, for the Aliens), roll.

If *everyone* fails, the encounter starts at Far range.
If all the troopers fail but the aliens succeed, all the troopers take a Kill of damage (more on those in a second) and the GM sets starting range
If the highest succeeding roll (that is, the highest die result that was also under the ability) belonged to the alien's, the GM sets the starting range.
If the highest succeeding roll belonged to a player, that player gets to set starting range. They are under absolutely no obligation to listen to the rest of the party when doing so.
If ALL PCs succeed and the alien's fail, the highest player roll sets range and then the players roll d10s again - in highest to lowest order, each player removes a threat token and inflicts killed based on their weapon's effectiveness at that range. If there aren't enough threat tokens for all players, then whoever rolled lowest is out of luck.

Kills - When killing aliens, just add the die result for to your kill count for the mission. Highest at the end of the mission gets are guaranteed level up, so you should shoot for having the most. When being wounded (by enemy action, grenade accidents or traitorous comrades...), ignore the result. Instead, each player has 3 health levels: "A Mess" "Crippled" and "Dead". After being wounded once, you are A Mess. Wounded twice, you are Crippled. Three strikes and you are out. Once per planet, you may cancel a wound using your Armor. At the end of each encounter, you recover one wound level (Crippled -> A Mess -> Fine).



Actions during combat:

With an FA roll, you may - Remove one threat token & inflict kills based on weapon

With an NFA roll, you may - Achieve a task (IE: Swap weapons and move a range band)

If you succeeded your roll last round, or are DRAWING (not switching from) certain special weapons (Nades, Handguns, Hand-to-Hand) you may swap weapons automatically as part of your action without a roll.

If you succeed "before" (higher roll than) the alien's sucesses, you may move one band AFTER your own action. IE: Shoot the aliens at Near, then move to Close.

If you move OUTWARDS from Far, you are out of the fight for the remainder of it's duration.

You may also opt to *cancel your success*, causing everyone who rolled lower than you and suceeded to instead fail. (IE: Bob has succeeded with a 5, the Aliens succeeded with a three, and Jill failed. If the aliens get to succeed, they will kill off Jill, and Bob doesn't want that to happen, so he opts to cancel his success, buying Jill more time but failing to kill any more aliens.)


When the aliens succeed, anyone who fails or rolls equal to or less than the aliens takes damage.


Okay, that is most of the important stuff covered. Additional rules (Alien Powers, etc) will be covered when they appear. For now, you've got virtual bugs on your hands. Range is Near at start, and there are 4 threat tokens out there.

[sgtkill]

Kyle begins to enter the vaern, and upon seeing the bugs, smirks. "I guess its time to play the game."

I got a 3 out of 3 on my NFA roll.

[Sutton]

The bugs roll a 10[/u] for the "dominance roll" (which sets the intial range and determines if either side gets an ambush), a failure[/u]. If Kerrov Mutik can pass his NFA check, you'll get an Ambush. If he does *not* pass his NFA check, or passes with less than a 3, Corporal Kyle will get to set initial range.

[Sutton]

In the interest of keeping things moving, I'll roll Kerrov Mutik's check for him.

Kerrov Mutik rolls a 10, which is a failure. No ambush for either side.

Corporal Kyle gets to set range, so post that along with your action declaration/description for turn one.

[sgtkill]

I am gonna set Range at Near.

Kyle aims his energy cannon and blasts a huge chunk of rock from above the bugs. Before the other guys can laugh at him for missing, the rock fall kills a swarm of bugs.

I rolled a 5, 7 FA, on my shot and 2d10 for a near shot with my energy cannon that equaled 19 kills.

[Sutton]

Due to Miles' internet issues, I am with his permission running his character for this encounter. I will attempt to live up to his "Batshit Crazy" reputation.

Kerrov Mutik

Attacking with the Slug Rifle - Rolled a 3, successful hit. Rolled a 6 on the d6 for kills.

Kerrov disables his rifle's safety and sets his weapon to burst-fire, then rushes into the chamber, whooping and hollering as he empties his magazine into a crowd of bugs. "DIE, BUGS!"

Aliens

d10 result - 8; Failure[/u]

The simulated bugs rush about the room, but they seem to be rather hesitant to actually move closer to the marines. Any that do start to get closer are quickly blasted down.

Each marine may change range before their next action.

Kerrov Mutik is moving to CLOSE range.

Range Map[/u]

[sgtkill]

Kyle will not be switching range. He will be doing another shot with his energy cannon. He got a result of 4, which is a success.

Kyle spies a group of bugs moving toward him and uses his energy cannon to blast them all to hell.

I got 11 kills, my total being 30 now.

[Sutton]

Kerrov Mutik

Kerrov grabs a handful of grenades off his belt, slinging his empty rifle over his shoulder, and runs towards the bugs, cackling with glee as he begins toggling detonators...

He rolls... a 6. Failure.[/u]

Unfortunately, the bugs seem to run away a bit faster than he can run towards them - There's a massive explosion, but it seems he was the only one caught in the blast. Luckily, he is still in fighting condition. You wonder just how much mercy has been programmed into this simulator.

Kerrov takes a Kill of damage (grenade attacks damage all friendlies at Close range who fail their rolls, including ones' self if applicable), he is now A (virtual) Mess.

Aliens

Aliens roll a 4. That means they Succeed[/u].

The bugs seem to have gotten their virtual act together now, as they swarm towards the marines - one of the other new guys goes down under a swarm of the things, and one tackles Kerrov Mutik, tearing at him with it's claws, shredding his armor.

The aliens deliver kills to anyone who fails or succeeds with a lower number than them if they succeed, so Kerrov takes another Kill - and elects to use his Armor for the "planet" here, rather than become Crippled.

Range Map[/u]

[sgtkill]

Kyle is not moving again, but is quite pissed. He rolled a 5, a successful attack.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! DIE YOU F****** BUGS! GO TO YOUR BUG HELL AND YOUR BUG QUEEN SO I CAN MAKE HER GO TO BUG HELL TOO YOU F****** SONS OF B*******!In a fit of rage, he incinerates the last swarm of bugs, but he continually pulls the trigger as the flee. The only response from the weapon is "Please wait for Recharge. Please Wait for Recharge." being said over and over again.

He got 13 kills, making his total 43.