Hi all,

So in the game I GM, my wifes PC, a Diplomat-Analyst, has recently picked up a squad of Rebel Soldiers as bodyguard/Ablative armour.

Normal squad rules dictate that they do not attack in combat per se, but can make a free attack when the controlling PC's attack role generates a triumph. (and they spend it on that)

Ok, thats fine for combat oriented PCs who probably have a better role than 4Y from the squad, or a better gun than the standard issue blaster rifle that they carry.

But what about the non combat PC. My wifes character has a pissy little plaster pistol, and only sports 1Y1G for shooting it.

In character, her PC is more likely to be hunkering down or observing the combat and shouting orders to the squad, than shooting herself.

So I thought of (and trialed last game) reversing the rule and her action could be the squad shooting under her advice , with any triumphs allowing her PC to also get a shot off (if she chose to, over, say, CRITING!) think Piggy from Wriath Squadron

It didn't slow down the combat at all, as it was still only one check. She seemed happy with the ruling as it made her PC relevant to the battle.

I also thought of her conducting some non-combat checks that utilse her Analyst talents/skills to observe/predict/deduce advantages to the battle, and if she generated enough success/advantage/triumph the squad can attack (with boosts/bonuses depending on her role).

Is reversing the rule OP? does it break the squad rules too much?

I'm fairly certain there's no requirement for the Triumph to be from an attack, so any check she makes during combat should be enough. Shouting orders, climbing over an obstacle...

9 hours ago, Ghostofman said:

I'm fairly certain there's no requirement for the Triumph to be from an attack, so any check she makes during combat should be enough. Shouting orders, climbing over an obstacle...

Leadership checks would be good options here. "Guards, Subdue those men"
If she has ranks in leadership as any good diplomat should, she should have a decent chance at a Triumph there

Its been a while since I looked, but isnt inspiring rhetoric a die roll?

If you had your wife’s PC directing her troops to attack, I would remove them as a squad and instead use the normal minion grouping rules.

On the flip side, make sure that her PC has something to do during encounters so she doesn’t feel like she has to always just be attacking. There should be a handful of options for her that don’t involve directly attacking with her weapon.

1 Proficiency (Yellow) die is suppose to represent some fairly decent ability for the character. Now for us here on Earth with Mathematical Game Stat Dilation Sickness it seems puny and limp, but in the character's experience and perception it should be pretty decent. The character has normal human Agility, and has had extensive instruction and/or practice in using that weapon, maybe even I tactical use of it depending on the Diplomatic Service she trained to be a part of and the coursework needed to be in that role. Or the character just knows a gun is handy in many situations and spent afternoons shooting bottles of Fizzyglug off of a fence rail while small animals ran for cover

2 hours ago, Archlyte said:

1 Proficiency (Yellow) die is suppose to represent some fairly decent ability for the character. Now for us here on Earth with Mathematical Game Stat Dilation Sickness it seems puny and limp, but in the character's experience and perception it should be pretty decent. The character has normal human Agility, and has had extensive instruction and/or practice in using that weapon, maybe even I tactical use of it depending on the Diplomatic Service she trained to be a part of and the coursework needed to be in that role. Or the character just knows a gun is handy in many situations and spent afternoons shooting bottles of Fizzyglug off of a fence rail while small animals ran for cover

Im not sure of the point your trying to make? yes she rolls 1Y. but the squad rolls 4Y with a blaster rifle.......

48 minutes ago, Funk Fu master said:

Im not sure of the point your trying to make? yes she rolls 1Y. but the squad rolls 4Y with a blaster rifle.......

I was just commenting on the fact that I thought her skill was adequate and only bad in comparison to inflated standards. The squad should have a higher dice pool as there are numerous and combat troops. I don't feel like her character should have to become Calamity Jane.

Also, did she end up making a diplomat in a game with tons of armed combat? Irony aside, is that what she wanted to do with her character was firefights? Just curious.

Leia and Padme were diplomats and they were pretty handy with a blaster. Just sayin.

On 9/6/2018 at 11:23 AM, Funk Fu master said:

I also thought of her conducting some non-combat checks that utilse her Analyst talents/skills to observe/predict/deduce advantages to the battle, and if she generated enough success/advantage/triumph the squad can attack (with boosts/bonuses depending on her role).

Is reversing the rule OP? does it break the squad rules too much?

I haven't had access to the squad rules. At the end of the day, if you enjoy this from a GM perspective, your wife enjoys it from a PC perspective, and the other players are also happy, I think you've got a win.

I do think the former is probably the expectation. During combat it is probably expected the character is doing other things, technical or face related, places where triumphs seem more likely for a non-combatant and therefore more potential triumphs.

Reversing the rule is probably OP for the wider community to simply adopt, but if it works for your game and characters, then it works. Your risk is making her character as or more effective in combat than the combat characters.

As the guy who wrote said squad and squadron rules for the AOR GM Kit, the basic mechanical trade off is trading offense for defense. The squad gives up that attack dice pool (in turns where the leader doesn't generate a triumph) in exchange for shielding a PC or key NPC. It also provides some minor bonuses with the formations.

So, if you reverse the rule, and have the squad always attack and the PC only attack on a Triumph, understand that you are negating the main balancing factor between squadded up minions and minions in their own minion group.

Narratively speaking, you might have a hypothetical Raptor Squad, with 10 minions and 4 PCs. The PC in question might squad up with only two minions, and the PCs might have the remaining 8 split into two fire-teams of four, mechanically speaking. This minimizes how much offense you give up for the added defense. Despite this, collectively, they are still all "Raptor Squad" in the narrative sense, despite not all being "squadded up" mechanically.

Use allied minions strategically. She can still order plenty of them around as an allied minion group, treated like any other allied NPC. Those taking advantage of the squad and squadron rules should specifically be ones added for defensive purposes, or to exploit some of the formation bonuses.