Stuff the Comrade would have to roll for is IMO exactly what the rules tried to avoid. Perhaps that's a solution to your fourth kind of order, Musclewizard: A comrade can be given any order that does not result in a roll - moving, carrying stuff/squadmates,…
Drawing fire, on the other hand side, is an ability the Psyker pays 300 XP for with his Overseer comrade.
Librarian said:
haveing just read that section last night I dont mind them not haveing wounds I do mind the fact that you dont even roll damage for them, a snotling doing 1d5 damage who would have no chance what so ever of hurting a guardsman in armor automaticlly wounds your comrade. not to mention you need to give them a special full round action to get into cover. I am seeing this horrible war movie moment where half the squad dives for cover whail the rest stand there like statues waiting for orders.
I don't care if they are not treated as full pc's but they should atleast act like moderatly intelligent trained soldiers.
+1
I think their will be more Comrade Talents in future supplements but I do agree those in the main book are a bit too limited.
Comrades could be able to function as spotters for indirect fire for example.
I don't see what's wrong with letting them attack. That and applying a skill sheet for them makes them more than just passive bonuses.
hm… as mentioned before - a more modular approach would be nice. Meaning, having the option to just drop the comrade into the lap of the GM completely (classic NPC handling), run the comrade as a passive pet (as it is now)- or in the end run the comrade as a "active" NPC (buddy, subordinate, part of a fire-team etc.). All scenarios have there appeal, merit and flaws.
The passive approach though, is - at least for me in terms of roleplay and fluff - the most boring one. I would like to give my NPC/PCs a more "involved cohesion"-feel.
@Frankie
I don't see what's wrong with letting them attack. That and applying a skill sheet for them makes them more than just passive bonuses.
There's a simple problem with that - time. Every roll they make, every damage they deal, every wound they lose and every critical you have to look up eats time. Time that could be spent better on giving the spotlight to the PCs or keeping combat moving. And that's necessary because to quote a GM guide: "Take a bio-break, guys, the next three minutes of ingame-time will last us two hours." Combat, the part of the game that should be action-packed and extremely quick, will usually bog down in most systems. Anything that can be done to streamline that (like including comrades' actions with their PCs' action) without taking away the spotlight from the PCs should be done.
Cifer said:
Stuff the Comrade would have to roll for is IMO exactly what the rules tried to avoid. Perhaps that's a solution to your fourth kind of order, Musclewizard: A comrade can be given any order that does not result in a roll - moving, carrying stuff/squadmates,…
Drawing fire, on the other hand side, is an ability the Psyker pays 300 XP for with his Overseer comrade.
I completly agree that rolling for Comrades should be avoided. However the way they are right now makes them feel not like real soldier but more like walking buffs.
I kinda missed the Overseer Order but when I wrote the list of Orders I tried to include all the basic tasks that a Soldier might perform on the Battlefield.
I think drawing Fire is one of them. (And so is Attacking on their own and hopefully all the other stuff I included)
I'm always imaging scenes where the player characters (or at least the Stormtrooper / Ogryn) heroically save the day by moving close to an enemy position and take it out (maybe an MG nest of sorts or some similar entrechment) while the Comrade(s) stay behind cover and give covering fire.
Cifer said:
@Frankie
I don't see what's wrong with letting them attack. That and applying a skill sheet for them makes them more than just passive bonuses.
There's a simple problem with that - time. Every roll they make, every damage they deal, every wound they lose and every critical you have to look up eats time. Time that could be spent better on giving the spotlight to the PCs or keeping combat moving. And that's necessary because to quote a GM guide: "Take a bio-break, guys, the next three minutes of ingame-time will last us two hours." Combat, the part of the game that should be action-packed and extremely quick, will usually bog down in most systems. Anything that can be done to streamline that (like including comrades' actions with their PCs' action) without taking away the spotlight from the PCs should be done.
Well yes, rolling for hitting, damage and more would be extremely tedious.
But both from a players and a GMs perspective I feel like them not having some sort of attack (on their own) make them feel unreal.
I'm quite sure that the fine ladies and gentlemen at FFG could come up with some sort of way of resolving comrade attacks without to much rolling involved.
Making the damage they deal static (before armor and thoughness) would be a start I guess. Them not genereting rightous fury would be another.
Simplifying all types of attack (single shot, semi-auto, full-auto) into a single type probably wouldn't hurt either.
Of course the further you reduce a Comrades attack the less of an impact will their gear have but I'd assume that they will always be carrying some sort of Lasgun instead of more exotic weaponry.