So, throughout my games I like to give my players small rewards and tidbits for exemplary roleplaying, actions in combat, etc. etc.

After the first chapter in our current saga, the Sergeant put up some PCs for commendations for going above and beyond during the course of action.

I know the book has some awards and medals to hand out to the PCs and it also encourages making up your own. I want this thread to focus on the latter. Have any of you made up your own medals or battlefield commendations to give to your players? If so what were they for and what were their effects?

As it stands, I am thinking of having them directly reflect the actions the players took to earn them. For example, one PC's actions and piloting skills saved a bunch of his comrades lives. I was thinking for his commendation, he could get +2 to Ag... OR maybe allow him to get a bonus +10 to any pilot test once per game session/mission, something like that.

Has anyone done anything similar?

While I haven't made any medals myself, I could proffer suggestions based on the guardsmen's deeds. In the case of the aforementioned Pilot, perhaps a medal allowing him to spend a fate point to auto-succeed an operate test with DoS = to 1/2 AB, or a persistent +5 Operate (Aeronautica)?

I like the skill boost a lot.

Here are the commendations that were handed out:

Bravery - 3 PCs climbed a cliff face and charged a dug in, more numerous enemy, and proceded to use smart tactics to kick the crap out of them.

Precision marksmanship - our Ratling stayed put on top of a Chimera and systematically took out enemy command elements and heavy weapons teams while remaining unnoticed.

Bravery? Honorifica Imperialis is the Medal for you.

Sharpshooter medal? Alright. Hum. +5 to Awareness tests made to identify enemy Commanders? +5 to Called Shots?

I am hesitant to award the standard medals because they are a penal regiment. However a slight tweak to that isn't a bad idea. +5 to fear tests.

His called shots and ability to hit are already disgusting. However, +5 to notice targets of opportunity is not a bad idea at all.

A penal legion? Perhaps for the utter bravery they be given more privileges that others lack, as an example to others.

For the marksmanship, perhaps a +5 to awareness to spot command elements of the enemy.

Some I've created for my Only War party awhile ago

The Jolly Roger
This honorific is displayed proudly on the right breast of the hardened carapace chest-piece. It is awarded to members of individual squads who have survived their squads destruction in the face of great adversity. While the award carries with it some recognition for individual skill, it is also considered widely unlucky to have a 'jolly roger' re-signed to a squad.
Effects: Purchasing additional Wounds costs 25% less than the qualified cost.

Another Day Honorific

Psykers who have survived the length of a campaign without meeting with an unfortunate accident (or a Commissars bolt pistol) are awarded the 'Another Day" honorific. This award is a single star, but permutations exist with a single award containing multiple stars within (to better demonstrate on the coat) for particularly long-lived Psykers.
Effect: Each 'Another Day' honorific the Primaris-Psyker has allows a single +10 circumstantial bonus to his psychic power roll per session.

Being a psyker fan, it's cool to see one that is for the more specialized, even "maybe not really part of the Guard" player options. I remember when Only War was new, and I learned that Specialists don't get the cool starting gear regiment Guard do (so if you actually convince your GM to let you all be Kasrkin, for instance, your psyker doesn't get the carapace armor, and cool weapons, as I understand it, which sort of hurts for "pushing for cool regiment options"), so I wouldn't be sure Specialists "just along for the ride" with the Guard would get their medals, either. Part of me sees the brass not wanting to troop a psyker out in front of everyone who is afraid of them, and actually credit them with doing well (today; tomorrow their head might still explode), but the happier part likes the idea of the feeling the player, and even the character, will get from that sense of accomplishment and accolade. "I might never be truly accepted by all of these people, but here, right now, they all know what I did, and they saluted me for it. Today, I am a part of this." Some Specialists, I can see caring a bit less, as the AdMech WANT to be separate, and Ogryns are dumb. Storm Troopers are still people, still soldiers, and Priests, well they're crazy, but whatever, any one of them might actually appreciate a little pat on the back for the job well done.

Okay, that babble is done.

[...] Specialists don't get the cool starting gear regiment Guard do (so if you actually convince your GM to let you all be Kasrkin, for instance, your psyker doesn't get the carapace armor, and cool weapons, as I understand it, which sort of hurts for "pushing for cool regiment options"), [...]

Support specialists get all the standard gear the 'regular' guardsmen get, include the ''extra" 30 (or however much) points of gear was added to the standard kit.

Yeah Bob's right lol. Been missing a major trick there man.

Since I am running Final Testament, I awarded them with the following:

- Hervaran Campaign Commendation for Bravery, Red (+5 vs. Fear)

- Hervaran Campaign Commendation for Skilled Piolting, Blue (+5 Operate Aeronautica)

- Hervaran Campaign Commendaton for Surgical Assassination, Black (+5 Awareness to identify enemy command elements)

One thing I do in my Only War campaigns is do a rolling for recommended awards with a modifier based on the Regiments Commander's type. Typically I take the squad's Logistic Rating and roll against it, with any result below the target number granting the award. This is based on the assumption that the Logistic Rating is a pseudo mark of success.

My last regiment had a particularly suspicious Commander at the helm, which forced the rolls to take a -10 for personal awards, -20 penalty for all squad-level recommended rewards and a -30 against any awards that indicated skill at espionage or stealth.

Consider adding this in the future. It helps show that the awards are approved based on the commander's decision, granting a small mark of resemblance to reality.

Otherwise, nice little rewards Pearldrum

Having thought about it for a bit, I think that a medal giving +5 to a skill feels a bit bad. If the medal bonus is small, no one will remember to add it, but if the medal bonus is big, it makes your actual skills and stats matter less. I think OW gives enough bonuses from gear that your skills are nearly overwhelmed as it is.

So I'd recommend the following:

After the mission is concluded and XP is handed out for the mission success or failure. Afterwards comes the 'report / medal" phase, where the PCs try to use their social skills to get commendations, mentioned in dispatches, or whatever. These things grant more XP.

So, how well you kill people is a source of XP, and afterwards, how well you talk up your success or talk down your favor is also a source of XP.

I run a PbP game that has been going on since August of last year. Everyone is dedicated and down and we have had zero player attrition - and it is a game with 9 players.

Well, one player left, but we cycled out his first PC and when life evened out for him he came back and rolled up a new guy.

Anyways, the point is that no one "forgets" to add or subtract anything. The PC sheets are all on the forum we play on with everything laid out for everyone else to see. I hand out XP liberally, but not too liberally at in-game "milestones" since the starting and end times of a mission can take months and months. Thus, handing out small batches of XP for certain things, great role playing, going above and beyond, even birthdays or having kids (which has happened), etc. etc. keeps people happy. For Christmas I gave them the choice of a random item (which I would roll for) or 5 characteristic pts to spread out how they like with no more than 2 in one characteristic.

At milestones XP is rewarded and these are often long enough points in time for fate points to be restored - usually.

Anyways, the player who plays our Sergeant is a really good roleplayer and I have him put in his recommendations for commendations in character to a commanding officer. If you aren't familiar with the Final Testament mission, all of the commanding officers for the company die right out of the gate. This was a great way to get everyone vested in working as a squad without being able to rely on others.

So, +5 is a nice enough bonus for them to be recognized for something specific that they did, in my opinion, and it also highlights their particular PC learning from that event in such a way as to improve future, similar situations.

So I'd recommend the following:

After the mission is concluded and XP is handed out for the mission success or failure. Afterwards comes the 'report / medal" phase, where the PCs try to use their social skills to get commendations, mentioned in dispatches, or whatever. These things grant more XP..

I disagree a bit, on the having a report/medal phase. I think some regiments like the Cadians might go down like a modern military and awards being handed out between main phases of a campaign, or after paricularly dangerous missions. Others like the Krieg wouldn't have any at all that come from internal sources, being only granted High Command (The famous medals and medallions) of the Campaign theatre. Feral worlder's awards might be tattoos, skull-charms, or something altogether more esoteric whose meaning is lost on other regiments (ear-necklace maybe?)

I think taking into account the regiment itself should determine the nature of the awards, and when and how they are awarded. Mechanically, treat it in different ways. A feral worlder might get a +5 bonus to intimidate for every five ears he collects from his foes, for example, or a bunch of professional fortress worlders might get that nifty +5 to Operate.

My only thing is - I don't think awards should give persistent awards unless they are very important ones, and those persistent ones should be of a social nature when interacting with others who appreciate their value. Everything else should be a once per session thing.

Edit: of course, pbp is a different thing altogether! ^

I agree with Cog on this one.

These commendations were given after the first chapter of the adventure... which took five months to complete IRL via PbP.

If you look at RL armies, medals provide the recipient with a certain amount of awe and goodwill. The amount of awe/goodwill will of course be down to rarity of the medal or the number of medals.

So you could argue that medals mostly provide logistics bonuses (quartermasters are happy to indulge the hero), intimidate bonuses (fellow soldiers know the hero is a nasty piece of work when riled or perhaps charm in a social context "my, what pretty medals you have...") and some goodwill from officers/commissars etc. You could also argue that a soldier with medals is less likely to run away in fear as he has a reputation to uphold so perhaps a bonus to fear too.

One medal provides +5, two medals +10, three medals +15 etc....

Eh, that would add up rather exponentially.

Besides, I am not talking about medals. I am talking about commendations - hell, even combat action ribbons.

When you look at a soldier or a marine's class B uniforms, the stack of pins on their left breast aren't necessarilly medals as you are describing; they are often various training ribbons, theatre of war badges, marksmanship pins, etc.

Sure, you will find combat vets with purple hearts, bronze stars and the off silver star here and there, but those aren't the norm and not what I am suggesting for my PCs either.

Ok.

You might consider the German way of decorations (WWII). They had qualification badges, 'I was there' badges and sleeve ribbons, wound cross and then the valour medals (iron cross, knight's cross etc.) which were earned sequentially.

Qualification badges provide a one-time +3 bonus on a characteristic, for example, if you excell at the shooting match, your BS goes up.

I was there badges provide a Peer (insert front etc.) bonus.

Wound cross provides a bonus romancing the sister-hospitallers (multiple wounds provide exponentially higher bonuses ;-).

Valour medals should provide a logistics/intimidate/social bonus and should IMO indeed become increasingly higher as getting multiple medals is rare but not impossible.

[...] Specialists don't get the cool starting gear regiment Guard do (so if you actually convince your GM to let you all be Kasrkin, for instance, your psyker doesn't get the carapace armor, and cool weapons, as I understand it, which sort of hurts for "pushing for cool regiment options"), [...]

Support specialists get all the standard gear the 'regular' guardsmen get, include the ''extra" 30 (or however much) points of gear was added to the standard kit.

Are we certain? Because we had a nice, long chat on this forum at the time, some time ago, where the overall consensus was that Specialists get the Universal Kit, and their Specialist kit, but not the Regimental kit, sort of how the troops are supposed to get to have their own "cool points". So the Kasrkin Specialists, be they Priests, Psykers, or whatever, don't get the cool armor, the hot-shot silly guns, or such, as they are "added on" to the regiment. I recall being sad because it meant that a Psyker, my fallback example when it can be, would be hyper-squishy next to the carapace-wearing soldiers, though he could requisition such things, if he wanted. Honestly, it isn't going to hurt my feelings either way, as I'm not playing a game right now, but I'll be much happier if the Priests, AdMech, and whatnot get all the same bells and whistles their gun-toting mates would, too. Is there a page number that says this, because yeah, it was pretty clear from everyone here then that they don't.