General Insurgents, Guerrillas and "Freedom Fighters" as a traveller career, Any publications

[Chris Barlow]

Insurgents, Guerrillas and "Freedom Fighters" as a traveller career, Any publications

I am creating an adventure of the Free Trader operating players are hired to deliver a cargo of weapons to a group of insurgents, type

Naturally I want to create stats for at least the leader of the Insurgents. However looking at various Traveller rule books, supplements, adventures and the Traveller Wikipedia, I can find no details on insurgents/guerrillas/freedom fighters/partisans as a player/NPC career.

Spica Career Book 2, lists Insurgent as a career. However on reading it says " "You work against your government. While you do not fight the government directly, you actively support the Resistance. "

Anyone any idea on where to find ideas on Insurgents who DO fight their governments, as a a previous career? Some might says being an Insurgent is not a "real" career. However that is true of Drifters too, and they are in several versions of the Traveller rules.

 

[Condottiere]

Insurgent tends to an accidental career.

Extended insurgencies can create instruction courses, and/or indoctrinate the next generation.

 

[mike wightman]

I think insurgent is more of a role description like those in the encounter table rather than a career as such.

An insurgent could be any career who then takes up the mantle of insurgent...

 

[coliver988]

the 1981 Adventure Gaming magazine had RIP: Rebels, Insurgents and Partisans. I have a physical copy, I doubt there is a PDF anywhere on that.

 

[whartung]

What skills would any of these have that would differ them from basic infantry or low level special forces?

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

What skills would any of these have that would differ them from basic infantry or low level special forces?

Insurgents aren't necessarily just fighting for a living; they are also promoters of their cause, as well as supporters and funders of it. This would require skills like Streetwise, Bribery, Forgery, Liaison, etc. -- all skills that can be found in the 'Rogue' career in CT's Citizens of the Imperium supplement.

The Hunter career might also work, if it were some kind of outback-style insurgency. A low tech outback insurgent might even be a Barbarian. A multi-world insurgent's life could be simulated with the Pirate career (remember, John Paul Jones was considered a pirate by the British Empire).

You could also have someone start out in a more standard career (Army, Navy, Marines, etc.) and then desert -- ahem, I mean transfer -- to a Rogue or Pirate career, as that certainly happens.

 

[Fovean]

Spica Career Book 2, lists Insurgent as a career. However on reading it says " "You work against your government. While you do not fight the government directly, you actively support the Resistance. "

While I agree with the others that an Insurgent could come from almost any career, if you have Spica Career Book 1, the Militant Religious career may be closer to what you’re looking for (substituting “against your oppressive government” for “for your faith” in the career description).

 

[coliver988]

Just a follow-up on the RIP article as I pulled it out. Written by R.D. Stuart, and follows the Book 4 character generation. Assignments included R&R, R&D, Training, Intelligence Gathering, internal security, military support, espionage, sabotage and assassination. It was described as an NPC variant for anti-establishment type: "somewhere out there, there exits secret bands and underground cliques of rebels, insurgents , anti-Imperialist partisans, and so forth, ready and willing to take up arms against the Imperium."

There was the addition of a detection roll as well as the survival roll. Pass that and you don't need to roll the survival roll.

Skill followed the usual skills for a military type of character mostly. There are a few new skills in there: wenching (okay, this WAS the 80s but still...), Data analysis, martial arts and poisons.

And a note that RIPs can't go home again.

And most of the skills could be learned from the Other/Rogue character or other military careers as mentioned.

Went for a spin. Turns out there are some pretty high minimum stats to get in, depending on which of the three branches you get into.

Deryx Tatm (age 26) 38B755, Commander
Pistol-2, Laser Weapons-1, Survival-4

Y1: Training, Gun Combat. R1 Recruit
Y2: Training, Survival. R2 Recruit First Class
Y3: Sabotage, Gun Combat. R3 Section Leader
Y4: Espionage, no skill. R4 Group Leader
Y5: Internal Security, Gun Combat. R5 Force Leader
Y6: Espionage, Survival. not promoted
Y7: Espionage, Survival. R6 Commander
Y8: Espionage, Survival. not promoted

Interestingly I made all the detection rolls, so never had to roll on the opposition table. And I kept rolling espionage and survival as a skill, so this dude is probably well-accustomed to waiting out on the fringes and surviving on his own as he does his espionaging stuff.

 

[Starglim]

Mongoose Book 1: Mercenary has a Guerrilla career.

 

[BlackBat242]

Terrorists in TRAVELLER by Kenneth Burke and William A. Barton
The Space Gamer #46, December 1981

Book-4 style character generation/career for exactly what you are looking for.

Tools for Terrorists by William A. Barton
The Space Gamer #49, March 1982

Equipment for said "heroes of the people"!

 

[Condottiere]

Asymmetrical warfare is not a one size fits all.

It's pretty much dependent on local conditions, whether the insurgents would stand out, like American Indians and Fremen, or blend in with the populace.

And this is basically dirtside, and doesn't take into account outer space, like in The Expanse.

 

[aramis]

the 1981 Adventure Gaming magazine had RIP: Rebels, Insurgents and Partisans. I have a physical copy, I doubt there is a PDF anywhere on that.

Archive.org has been "backing up" a lot of old periodicals whose copyright owners either don't care or have allowed them to do so. It's not as unlikely as one might expect.

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

Archive.org has been "backing up" a lot of old periodicals whose copyright owners either don't care or have allowed them to do so. It's not as unlikely as one might expect.

I had that thought too, and so I looked for it at the Internet Archive just the other day. It doesn’t appear to be there.

But this does provide a good opportunity to point out that every issue of Challenge Magazine is there now. Someone added it about three years ago.

 

[Chris Barlow]

Just a follow-up on the RIP article as I pulled it out. Written by R.D. Stuart, and follows the Book 4 character generation. Assignments included R&R, R&D, Training, Intelligence Gathering, internal security, military support, espionage, sabotage and assassination. It was described as an NPC variant for anti-establishment type: "somewhere out there, there exits secret bands and underground cliques of rebels, insurgents , anti-Imperialist partisans, and so forth, ready and willing to take up arms against the Imperium."

There was the addition of a detection roll as well as the survival roll. Pass that and you don't need to roll the survival roll.

Skill followed the usual skills for a military type of character mostly. There are a few new skills in there: wenching (okay, this WAS the 80s but still...), Data analysis, martial arts and poisons.

And a note that RIPs can't go home again.

And most of the skills could be learned from the Other/Rogue character or other military careers as mentioned.

Went for a spin. Turns out there are some pretty high minimum stats to get in, depending on which of the three branches you get into.

Deryx Tatm (age 26) 38B755, Commander
Pistol-2, Laser Weapons-1, Survival-4

Y1: Training, Gun Combat. R1 Recruit
Y2: Training, Survival. R2 Recruit First Class
Y3: Sabotage, Gun Combat. R3 Section Leader
Y4: Espionage, no skill. R4 Group Leader
Y5: Internal Security, Gun Combat. R5 Force Leader
Y6: Espionage, Survival. not promoted
Y7: Espionage, Survival. R6 Commander
Y8: Espionage, Survival. not promoted

Interestingly I made all the detection rolls, so never had to roll on the opposition table. And I kept rolling espionage and survival as a skill, so this dude is probably well-accustomed to waiting out on the fringes and surviving on his own as he does his espionaging stuff.

Baron Coliver988

Thanks for digging into your collection and re-reading the RIP article by R.D. Stuart. Also for re-running the character generation process.

A lot of useful information for creating my own NPC/player insurgents. The detection roll rather to avoid the need for a survival roll sounds interesting. Looking at the character you created, he seems a mix of light infantry, spy and rogue rolled into one.

Once again thanks for finding the article and creating Deryx Tatm (age 26) 38B755. If its okay with you, he may under a different name end up in my campaign.

 

[Chris Barlow]

What skills would any of these have that would differ them from basic infantry or low level special forces?

Your point about Insurgents being basic infantry or low level special forces I am sure has a lot of truth in it. However there are a few differences.

Insurgents are unlikely to have access to armoured fighting vehicles or heavy weapons. As such they are more like light infantry or special forces. As such insurgents would not normally have heavy weapons or drive (tracked vehicle) skills. (Unless of course they start their career as infantry then desert because their employing government asks them to commit war crimes. :CoW

Because insurgents are normally fighting in mountainous or remote rural areas. They could have skills such as survival, navigation, and animals (riding) that infantry in any mid tech to high tech level Army infantry would not need or have.

 

[Chris Barlow]

I think insurgent is more of a role description like those in the encounter table rather than a career as such.

An insurgent could be any career who then takes up the mantle of insurgent...

A good point. I am assuming though the insurgents in question, have successfully been insurgents for a few years (i.e. at least one traveller term). That being so that an Insurgent would be a second not a first career is a good point.

Based on the history books on various insurgencies I have read. I think common first careers would be, based on the Mongoose traveller first edition core rule book. Citizen (colonist or worker), drifter (any), army (infantry), or rogue (any). Rarer but possible previous careers are Noble/entertainer - Lord Byron in his days helping the Greek War of Independence. Or even Scholar (Physician), Che Guevara trained as a medical doctor before he became an Insurgent.

 

[coliver988]

Baron Coliver988

Thanks for digging into your collection and re-reading the RIP article by R.D. Stuart. Also for re-running the character generation process.

A lot of useful information for creating my own NPC/player insurgents. The detection roll rather to avoid the need for a survival roll sounds interesting. Looking at the character you created, he seems a mix of light infantry, spy and rogue rolled into one.

Once again thanks for finding the article and creating Deryx Tatm (age 26) 38B755. If its okay with you, he may under a different name end up in my campaign.

No problem - I love getting back to my old stuff! And anything I post is open for anyone to use however they want, no strings attached. I started keeping a bibliography/card catalog of the various Traveller careers (see my blog post here) and remembered this one when your initial query came up. Think I have more somewher,e so fun times ahead digging through a big box of Traveller stuff

 

[Chris Barlow]

Mongoose Book 1: Mercenary has a Guerrilla career.

Dear Starglim

Thanks for letting me know about the Mongoose Mercenary book having a Guerrilla career. I should be able to get a pdf of it either from Mongoose or DriveThru RPG.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Chris Barlow]

Asymmetrical warfare is not a one size fits all.

It's pretty much dependent on local conditions, whether the insurgents would stand out, like American Indians and Fremen, or blend in with the populace.

And this is basically dirtside, and doesn't take into account outer space, like in The Expanse.

Dear Condottiere

I agree it is very much dependent on local conditions. Most of the Insurgents I am thinking of would be either part of the local population or blend in easily with them. Much like the original Guerrillas of Spain in the early 1800s fighting the French occupation.

Wikipedia quote "The Spanish word guerrilla is the diminutive form of guerra ('war'). The term became popular during the early-19th century Peninsular War, when, after the defeat of their regular armies, the Spanish and Portuguese people successfully rose against the Napoleonic troops and defeated a highly superior army using the guerrilla strategy. In correct Spanish usage, a person who is a member of a guerrilla unit is a guerrillero ([geriˈʎeɾo]) if male, or a guerrillera ([geriˈʎeɾa]) if female.

I agree too it is basically dirtside. My players would basically be doing a smuggling mission to supply the Insurgents with weapons.

 

[Starglim]

Thanks for letting me know about the Mongoose Mercenary book having a Guerrilla career. I should be able to get a pdf of it either from Mongoose or DriveThru RPG.

No trouble! I looked at the e-book again for another reason.

Branches are Terrorist, Saboteur and Assassin. Of those, general asymmetric warfare as mentioned is probably closest to Terrorism.