Military Experience

[Mahatatain]

Veterans bring valuable RW knowledge and experience to a game like T2K. This can really add to the level of realism upheld by a game and a veteran's knowledge can really benefit those of us who don't have that RW experience.

On the other hand, veterans can really kill the enjoyment factor of a game like T2K if they deliver that RW knowledge in a heavy-handed or patronizing way.

I'm really interested in what your experience has been, both playing and/or reffing T2K, in groups containing veterans. Has it been a blessing or a curse Can veterans and non-veterans play T2K together in harmony or is this like trying to mix oil and water (or nitroglycerin)

I think that what you have touched on here is a wider issue that effects more than just T2k. You are always going to get situations where a player or GM has background knowledge that is greater than the set up of the game and in the case of T2k that is the knowledge of people with previous or current military experience.

For example years ago at Uni I played in a Rolemaster "fantasy" campaign with one player who actively participated in Medieval re-enactments and therefore had a lot of experience of fighting with broadswords, longswords and battle axes and of wearing heavy armour. He found problems with how the Rolemaster combat rules handled certain things like fighting with two weapons and this annoyed him with the system.

This is therefore very similar to the problems that arise in T2k games where people who actually know what they are talking about (people with military experience) roleplay with people such as myself who are just keen enthusiasts and I can only assume that veterans find enthusiasts frustrating to play in a game with because of our lack of knowledge on certain things.

What everyone needs to remember however is that T2k is a roleplaying game and that it is not supposed to be an accurate reconstruction of how a squad level military unit operates. People play it to have fun and therefore by its very nature most T2k games are cinematic in character rather than realistic. People with military experience can certainly help to add a level of realism to a game but in the end we're roleplaying in an alternate history setting where WW3 has taken place!

The key therefore when people have a greater level of knowledge or experience is how players react in the game. In the Rolemaster example above the player who knew more than the rest of us reacted in a positive way and helped educate us about Medieval combat techniques. It made the game more realistic and more enjoyable to play in and I would hope that anyone with previous military experience would contribute in the same way in a T2k game. If they find it problematic to play with people who don't always do things in the correct military way then they are going to find the game extremely frustrating and will probably end up being counter productive in the game.

[TiggerCCW UK]

As I've said on here before, I'm a civvy. My only 'military' experience comes from the cadet force, as both cadet and instructor, and from a huge appetite for military history. That said I'm the one in our game who has the most 'experience' and knowledge of things military. This seems to work pretty well for our group, the only thing I've really added for their benefit is a 'tactics' roll that the players can make for knowledge that their characters have that they don't. Its usually just a case of using it to point out that there may be a better plan than full frontal assault. Having said that, possibly because of their lack of experience I do tend to find them being fairly cautious throughout the game.

[rcaf_777]

Just wonder what I would classed as

1994-2001 -Served as a Reserve Infantry NCO

2001-Present - Finance Speicalist

Tours to Afghanstan 02-03, 05-06

And yes I know I am a REMF however say what you well, just remember the coffee and sticky buns in the headquarters RULE, and Fridays is steak night, enjoy the rations and mud.......

[pmulcahy11b]

And yes I know I am a REMF however say what you well, just remember the coffee and sticky buns in the headquarters RULE, and Fridays is steak night, enjoy the rations and mud.......

Hey, I count as one of my favorite duty stations the time I spent at 2nd ID HQ's G3. Yeah, I was a REMF for that tour, but I learned a whole lot of valuable stuff I wouldn't have learned anywhere else, made a good impression on some pretty high-ranking officers, got a lot of nice stuff in my personnel jacket, and got promoted above the power curve while I was there.

[weswood]

4 years active duty in the USMC Air Wings, as a logistics/emarkation specialist, and 2 year reserves with HQ Co for an infantry battalion. I freely admit to being a remf. Funny thing is my civilian friends think I'm some kind of bad @$$ former Sgt of Marines. I've never ever claimed to be infantry.

Sometimes you have to explain to people it's a game, not trying to represent real life, but for pure entertainment. I was relating an experience my character in Rae's game had to a non RPGing friend who got annoyed- "He should have died from hypothermia, there's no way he could have survived that." I had to explain that some situations are resolved by die rolls regardless of how risky they are, and apparently Lady Luck was with the character that day.

[jester]

He is also useful as a victim of a gorey fate to hammer home a point or emphasize something to the party

That too! Although, I often include someone for that as well among the NPCs. It helps to bond a group together, since suffering and shared loss are often something that does draw people together, and of course facing obstacles and over comming them as a group or team also bring a group together as a team and that is somthing that when done right is fostered within a campaign.

[jturfitt]

Was a medic in the Air Force from 1974-1978. Spent 2 1/2 year in various places in Texas (Basic training at Lackland AFB, Tech school at Sheppard AFB, Air Evac Training at Kelly Air Force Base and 2 years working OB in the hospital at Laughlin AFB). Then spent 17 months @ Clark Air Force Base in the Phillipines working with the 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. 75% of the patients we flew to the states post Vietnam were Psych patients from Korea and Japan. One trip we had three in straight jackets for the whole trip (Jesus, Alexander the Great, and Ghengis Khan), most ususual trip.

[headquarters]

LOL!

Was a medic in the Air Force from 1974-1978. Spent 2 1/2 year in various places in Texas (Basic training at Lackland AFB, Tech school at Sheppard AFB, Air Evac Training at Kelly Air Force Base and 2 years working OB in the hospital at Laughlin AFB). Then spent 17 months @ Clark Air Force Base in the Phillipines working with the 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. 75% of the patients we flew to the states post Vietnam were Psych patients from Korea and Japan. One trip we had three in straight jackets for the whole trip (Jesus, Alexander the Great, and Ghengis Khan), most ususual trip.

Thats the funniest thing I have heard in a long time.

[Targan]

One trip we had three in straight jackets for the whole trip (Jesus, Alexander the Great, and Ghengis Khan), most ususual trip.

WWGD (What Would Ghengis Do)

[Frank Frey]

Greetings,

Here is what I did whilst in the Army.
Date of Enlistment: February 7th, 1967
After Basic and AIT, I was stationed at Fort Ord, California and then at McNair Barracks, West Berlin. I volunteered for service in Vietnam. My tour dates there were November 20th, 1968 - November, 19th 1969, the proverbial 364 days and a wakeup.
I was released from active duty (REFRAD) on Novemeber 22nd at Oakland Army Terminal.
While in Vietnam, my MOS was Armorer but basically I was assigned to a "mobs for jobs" outfit called a Special Security Detail. Most of the time, I'd say about 95% of the time, it was hot, boring, and hot. Did I say it was hot The other 5% were moments that had a rather high PST(Pants Sh*tting Terror) factor. The most memorable being blown out of my bunk at 0300 hrs one morning by a near miss from a 122mm artillery rocket. Helluva way to start your day.

Out Here,
Frank Frey

[Raellus]

I am still curious to hear from one of our combat veterans why roleplaying war appeals to them.

As an admitted armchair commando, I play to get just a tiny taste of what that life must have been like. It's escapism too- a break from my mudane and occasionally stressful real life. I've always been fascinated by war and military history and technology and this is my small way of acting on that lifelong interest.

But for someone who's actually seen the elephant, what is the attraction

[rcaf_777]

For me I started playing before army, and have always enjoyed it, and whole story I find quite appleaing, your on own behind the lines and living of the land as it where..I mean come on so aswsome

[pmulcahy11b]

Well, I don't actually play or GM anymore, because I can't hold my end of things due to my health condition and there are no players in town for an FTF session.

I pretty much like being the "stat guy;" its therapy of a sort, because it helps keep my brain engaged, and coming up with the stats gives me a little escape because I can, at least for a short time, think less about the daily ration of crap life feeds me.

One thing I can't do is play a first-person shooter computer game. I find them disturbing.

[Frank Frey]

I am still curious to hear from one of our combat veterans why roleplaying war appeals to them.

As an admitted armchair commando, I play to get just a tiny taste of what that life must have been like. It's escapism too- a break from my mudane and occasionally stressful real life. I've always been fascinated by war and military history and technology and this is my small way of acting on that lifelong interest.

But for someone who's actually seen the elephant, what is the attraction

It's pretty much the same as yours. I also do Historical Miniatures Gaming and even played in Vietnam scenarios there. AFAIC, it's all a game. It's just another background to use when telling a story. That's what it is to me. No simulation, no matter what claims to realism the game designers might make, will ever even begin to come close to the reality. Quite frankly, I don't want it to. For me, it is entertainment like watching a war movie.

Out Here,
Frank Frey

[weswood]

Well, I don't actually play or GM anymore, because I can't hold my end of things due to my health condition and there are no players in town for an FTF session.

I pretty much like being the "stat guy;" its therapy of a sort, because it helps keep my brain engaged, and coming up with the stats gives me a little escape because I can, at least for a short time, think less about the daily ration of crap life feeds me.

One thing I can't do is play a first-person shooter computer game. I find them disturbing.

I've thought about trying to get together the people here in Texas for a game. There's several of us on the board, but the logistics would be prohibitive. Right now I couldn't afford a trip to San Antonio for a couple days.