Not sure if this fits best under general or homebrew, or somewhere else, but has anyone tried a military style game, as laid out on the Galaxy Exploration Manual? If so, how have you dealt with equipment? The flavor text mentions characters receiving "only the equipment...deemed necessary to complete the mission" (presumably requisitioned from armory/equipment stores). I suspect some players balk at such restrictions. How do you respond?
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I think the implication is that they'd be receiving fancier equipment than they would ordinarily have (a vehicle to support their mission that they don't have to pay for out of their WBL but return when it's over and can't sell, some "free" grenades when and only when appropriate, etc.). Or that they're in the army, so they're getting full WBL (or a bit more) in weapons/armor, but not rando tech or magic gadgets that flesh out their personal inner concept.
If the players balk at the restrictions they're balking at the campaign itself.
I think the implication is that they'd be receiving fancier equipment than they would ordinarily have (a vehicle to support their mission that they don't have to pay for out of their WBL but return when it's over and can't sell, some "free" grenades when and only when appropriate, etc.).
Yeah, was definitely planning on giving them more, not less. The issue I'm concerned about is more your second point.
...but not rando tech or magic gadgets that flesh out their personal inner concept.
If the players balk at the restrictions they're balking at the campaign itself.
Yeah, I guess that's what it breaks down to.
I think the implication is that they'd be receiving fancier equipment than they would ordinarily have (a vehicle to support their mission that they don't have to pay for out of their WBL but return when it's over and can't sell, some "free" grenades when and only when appropriate, etc.).Yeah, was definitely planning on giving them more, not less. The issue I'm concerned about is more your second point.
...but not rando tech or magic gadgets that flesh out their personal inner concept.
If the players balk at the restrictions they're balking at the campaign itself.
Yeah, I guess that's what it breaks down to.
Are you running it as them being random grunts? Or is it more a group of up and coming hot shots who can requisition specialty gear before a mission (have a budget of credits before each mission).
Obviously, that sort of thing doesn't really exist in a real military, but a real military doesn't have access to spellcasters and 3D printers than can print their guns and tanks for them either.
Are you running it as them being random grunts? Or is it more a group of up and coming hot shots who can requisition specialty gear before a mission (have a budget of credits before each mission).
Obviously, that sort of thing doesn't really exist in a real military, but a real military doesn't have access to spellcasters and 3D printers than can print their guns and tanks for them either.
More Battlestar Galactica-y. They'll be officers, but onboard a larger vessel, with a Captain NPC assigning missions. The limitations will be more defacto limitations as well. The ship will only have one or two types of guns available, for example, and everyone will have a uniform (which I'm making Stationware/Business). I plan to give them some leeway with armor and melee weapons, but having many different types of ranged weapons, particularly someone of the weirder ones, seems weird for such a campaign.
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Maybe, given the weirdly simplified logistics of Starfinder, with every weapon type accepting common ammo and batteries, it's not that weird to allow quasi-elite/special forces types to have their own custom weapons. It might even be reasonable to allocate a small "do what thou wilt" budget of UPBs for a team to craft whatever they might think is most useful, free of the bureacracy. They, after all, might know better what will keep them alive and have the best incentive to research and choose the best equipment. As long as no straightforward fraud or theft is going on, an enlightened military might allow it.
Limiting player options for things they find cool rarely has enough payoff to make it worth it.
More Battlestar Galactica-y. They'll be officers, but onboard a larger vessel, with a Captain NPC assigning missions. The limitations will be more defacto limitations as well. The ship will only have one or two types of guns available, for example, and everyone will have a uniform (which I'm making Stationware/Business). I plan to give them some leeway with armor and melee weapons, but having many different types of ranged weapons, particularly someone of the weirder ones, seems weird for such a campaign.Are you running it as them being random grunts? Or is it more a group of up and coming hot shots who can requisition specialty gear before a mission (have a budget of credits before each mission).
Obviously, that sort of thing doesn't really exist in a real military, but a real military doesn't have access to spellcasters and 3D printers than can print their guns and tanks for them either.
That sounds like you are us8ng starfinder as the system, but making your own setting, as opposed to understanding that a cargo bay of UPBs is way more useful to a starfinder military than armories full of more guns than they need in an emergency. I would suggest instead a list of (several) standardized designs on the ship's 3-D printer that are 1-2 levels above the PCs, but they can craft whatever they have the ranks for (perhaps limiting AP items). Then maybe implementing a wealth reset per mission thing where they return their requisitions and grab new ones.
Thanks for the range of opinions. I do take to heart the idea that players don't care for limitations, I'll have to consider widening the range of available items. There are some I still think just don't fit my campaign setting. I'll make all that clear in my intro to the concept, so people know what they're getting in for and have the option to bail and/or try to convince me of specific requests outside those parameters.
A military in SF that only uses one or two types of firearms is just asking to get destroyed whenever they encounter creatures with immunities and resistances.
An army that only has laser guns isn't going to have a good time against a efreti invasion or a military force that binds elementals as soldiers.
A military in SF that only uses one or two types of firearms is just asking to get destroyed whenever they encounter creatures with immunities and resistances.
An army that only has laser guns isn't going to have a good time against a efreti invasion or a military force that binds elementals as soldiers.
And thus I either wouldn't use such creatures or would modify them. Honestly I'm going for more of a sci-fi thing anyway. Any species met will be "aliens" not treated like magical creatures. And if the lasers don't work, there's always grenades or melee weapons. Or, more creative solutions.
There's nothing immune to projectile weapons with a fusion on them. It's not odd that the Azlanti military standardizes around projectile wepaons more than anything else.
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The thing is that characters are often built like watches. Thing a interacts with thing b which interacts with thing c.
For a caster or a tail qwon do vesk martial artist gear doesn't matter much. For a soldier on the other hand gear is part of the character and as integral to their functioning as a gear in the watch. If they look at the shock and awe soldier and want to make a really loud showy and bright entrance but all their gear is dark tactical black projectile weapons the character they want just won't work.
I wonder if WBL can be handled in a way as a military issuance budget. Maybe reserve an amount for personal gear but otherwise you're requisitioning off-the-shelf gear. Less looting of enemy gear (which makes some sense, you don't want to wear your Azlanti armour while walking into a Vesk command centre) but a 'guaranteed' budget. How well would that work?
I wonder if WBL can be handled in a way as a military issuance budget. Maybe reserve an amount for personal gear but otherwise you're requisitioning off-the-shelf gear. Less looting of enemy gear (which makes some sense, you don't want to wear your Azlanti armour while walking into a Vesk command centre) but a 'guaranteed' budget. How well would that work?
It sounds a lot like wealth by level reset, which works as a loot system but it is different than normal. Its probably actually closer to designer play test if anything. It does mean your party can have a grenade chucking and six pack of serum of healing drinking contest without any long term repricussions, so it probably needs a hard cap or at least non abusable agreement as far as expendables go.
although dad DID get in trouble for walking around with a captured ak 47 till they managed to get the ammo problems fixed on the new m 16?s...
although dad DID get in trouble for walking around with a captured ak 47 till they managed to get the ammo problems fixed on the new m 16?s...
Heh, I've heard of that. I don't think I've heard of any Starfinder weapons at least being heavily race-linked. Conquerors and bolters are vesk and infinity rifles are skittermander, but they're not really seen as emblematic or even 'issue' as much as an M4 would be considered an 'American rifle'.
There may also be a limited 'You can use it if you capture it, but you have to turn it in' to looting. The quartermaster corps may actually have a better use for that case of laser rifles your squad liberated from the enemy, even if they are slightly used.