Mission Types

[Spinward Scout]

A while ago I broke down Mission Types for a game I was going to run. I thought they could help Referees with creating Missions for adenturers. I didn't do much with it, but it could be applied to creating Scout or Merc Missions (or others). I think these 5 would cover just about anything. If anyone has anything to add, please do. Has anyone come up with anything similar?

Information Gathering
These missions include: Surveillance, Infiltration, Research, and Investigation.

Guardian
They can include: Escort, Courier, or Crisis Defense.

Recovery
Similar to guardian missions, they include: Emancipation, Retrieval, and Rescue.

Consultation
Arbitration, Strategic Planning, or other Diplomatic Services.

Liquidation
The Destruction of an item or entity. Pre-emptive assault.

 

[saundby]

I suppose salvage missions could be recovery missions...

Then there are those "self preservation" missions. Forced into a fight, or flight.

Scavenger hunt. Person A wants a from person B. B wants b and c from persons C and D. D won't give if it's going to B, C won't give if it benefits A. E is mucking up the works, and won't go away until B provides d and an apology. Etc.

Also, in my campaign at least, a mission usually starts out as one type and becomes another.

 

[aramis]

You missed the hardest Combat mission of all:
Intimidation - showing up to look intimidating without actually triggering a war. Includes showing the flag, Embassy Detail, and "Training Maneuvers"

Another one, which overlaps consultation and information gathering:
Generation of Causus Beli - this is the provacateur, be it staging an attack on one's own but making it look like the enemy, or inciting locals to attack your own assets, etc. Diplomacy, Streetwise, Writing, Propaganda.

 

[Chaos]

One important mission I can´t find on that list is Training.

That is, either training the local militia weekend warriors, or giving the regular garrison troops a little refresher course against someone who has actually seen battle. Or even, some local troops have just been re-equipped with modern off-world weapons and equipment, and need somebody who shows them how to use it (and of course the tactics that the weapons and equipment make possible or necessary).

 

[Spinward Scout]

One important mission I can´t find on that list is Training. That is, either training the local militia weekend warriors, or giving the regular garrison troops a little refresher course against someone who has actually seen battle. Or even, some local troops have just been re-equipped with modern off-world weapons and equipment, and need somebody who shows them how to use it (and of course the tactics that the weapons and equipment make possible or necessary).

That would be under Consultation.

You missed the hardest Combat mission of all:
Intimidation - showing up to look intimidating without actually triggering a war. Includes showing the flag, Embassy Detail, and "Training Maneuvers".

That could fall under Guardian - protecting one's reputation. Proactively showing force to protect something, too. Or prevent a problem.

I didn't think of Training - always seemed more of a prep for a Mission than a Mission itself.

I also wonder if I should call it Aquisition instead of Recovery. It would cover more.

This is all good, tho.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Another one, which overlaps consultation and information gathering:
Generation of Causus Beli - this is the provacateur, be it staging an attack on one's own but making it look like the enemy, or inciting locals to attack your own assets, etc. Diplomacy, Streetwise, Writing, Propaganda.

I could probably change Information Gathering to just Information - that would cover counterintelligence, disinformation, and such.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Another one I thought of is Patrol, but that would probably fall under Guardian.

 

[aramis]

I could probably change Information Gathering to just Information - that would cover counterintelligence, disinformation, and such.

That's still not the same as generation of a causus beli. A GoaCB mission is one of triggering an act of war without getting caught. It's not at all an information mission. It's a type of covert action mission, but one where the goal is to get the other guy to act in a manner that is both non-covert and actionable.

It's a very special and delicate kind of covert ops mission.

As for "Training Missions" in intimidate, they have little to do with training. They have everything to do with showing off force competencies for enemy observation.

Like holding opfors exercises in West Germany during a soviet review of the WG/EG border defenses... and doing so in places observable from EG soil.

 

[Spinward Scout]

A GoaCB mission is one of triggering an act of war without getting caught. It's not at all an information mission. It's a type of covert action mission, but one where the goal is to get the other guy to act in a manner that is both non-covert and actionable.

Yes, but it's how they go about triggering the war that would classify the Mission Type. Do they give false photographs to a general showing weapons of mass distruction? Do they subvert a high-level leader to do the dirty work for them? Do they jump in a tank and start firing across the border? Basically, it sounds like what you are talking about is instigating a situation then high-tailing it back home.

If you could clarify, that'd be great.

There's an old-fashioned trick that the Mob has used - getting a dupe or a patsy to do their dirty work for them. And to do that, they feed misinformation to the dupe.

Unless you're talking about something different, it ends up being a matter of scale. Manipulating a few people in a government, a Duke of a subsector capital, or manipulating a Galactic Empire.

The recent Star Wars films are a very good example. Palpatine had everyone fooled. And even Padme did exactly what he wanted in the Phantom Menace, which got him elected as the Republic Chancellor. Jar-Jar did what he wanted in the second movie - giving him more power. And of course Anakin took out his last obstacle in the third movie.

 

[aramis]

It's a mixture of bribery, agitpropt, covert action against own & allied troops, having scapegoat forces in place for agitateds to attack. It also includes launching and running a popular group opposed to your own nation... in hopes of getting them to attack you, so you can then go in and take over without repercussions.

Best example is from Cole & Bunch's Sten Series... Pacification of the Wolf Worlds.
Another good example is the Marilac situation in Bujold's Vorkosigan series.

It also was what certain US Naval vessels did in 1810... US flagged, and heading for france, to "Show the Flag"... and getting a UK vessel to try and claim it as a RN vessel.

It's not any of the other types because it's MOST of the other types. It's a goal based mission: Accomplish this, using any assets and methods you can.

 

[aramis]

That could fall under Guardian - protecting one's reputation. Proactively showing force to protect something, too. Or prevent a problem.

Don't agree. A guardian type mission is usually a very clear "Don't let X get Y"...

An intimidation mission is about making the enemy think you are tough. It's not about guarding ANYTHING... it's about GIVING one's self a reputation. It's about creating shock and awe.

Terrorism is an intimidation mission without boundaries on target engagement.

The Boston Tea Party was another Intimidation mission. It wasn't about the military aspects (it was militarily insignificant), but about intimidating the british governors by showing them they couldn't prosecute because they couldn't prove who did it.

Putting your assets on the borders of your ally's lands, with guns aimed across the border into their enemy's lands is an intimidation mission.

 

[Spinward Scout]

It's a mixture of bribery, agitpropt, covert action against own & allied troops, having scapegoat forces in place for agitateds to attack. It also includes launching and running a popular group opposed to your own nation... in hopes of getting them to attack you, so you can then go in and take over without repercussions.

I wonder if the OSS ran anything like that in WWII. Trying to pick a fight but to make it look like someone else picked the fight. Turn one group against the other and then stand back and watch the fireworks.

That's very interesting.

 

[aramis]

I wonder if the OSS ran anything like that in WWII. Trying to pick a fight but to make it look like someone else picked the fight. Turn one group against the other and then stand back and watch the fireworks.

That's very interesting.

Not going to go into details, but there are 20th C examples of this type of mission. Examples I'm not going into since they'd likely be misinterpreted as political.