1. I'm the emperor of 11,000 worlds and some ungodly number of trillion people. I can afford two IISS S3 teams.
2. I'm also not interested in giving away the fact I'm not going to be around (really). So having my telltale (very much so to all the palace hangers on and courtiers) security element missing is a dead giveaway.
I hate to say it, but I don't think that holds water. And even S3 doesn't enjoy the benefit of being free from politics, etc. if its members are recruited from within the demenses of the Imperium.
15 trillion people. More or less.
In our Hard Times campaign, a player's PC is from a noble family in Core (the world's name is Chant, I think); she receives access to a some funding and ships from the family "fleet", and also is delivered a dilapidated 'helper bot', which looks to be rather low class, but actually ends up being Varian's personal memobot, which managed to record Lucan assassinating Varian...
In our Hard Times campaign, a player's PC is from a noble family in Core (the world's name is Chant, I think); she receives access to a some funding and ships from the family "fleet", and also is delivered a dilapidated 'helper bot', which looks to be rather low class, but actually ends up being Varian's personal memobot, which managed to record Lucan assassinating Varian...
BrennanHawkwood
SOC-12
The Guard are ceremonial, the really protection is an SSS team (the 3rd Imperiums equivalent to the SAS). The fact that SSS weren't present points to Stephron being elsewhere.....
Bryn [/QB]</font>[/QUOTE]Even a ceremonial guard can be a dangerous guard...
GURPS:Traveller's Ground Forces book touches on it briefly when discussiong the Imperial High Command of the Unified Armies of the Imperium. According to it, the Imperial Guard is mostly a ceremonial unit with the duty of guarding the palace. It's regiments are supposed to be drawn from all sectors of the Imperium. Even though it is a ceremonial unit, it is remarked that deployed as a single unit it would make 'a formidable rapid interface division.' That does not imply to me that the individuals serving with it would be pushovers despite being dressed up in showy uniforms and spending their days standing around looking pretty.
As an aside, where is it mentioned that the IISS S3 teams serve as the emperor's real guards? I must have missed that somewhere. Given their areas of expertise and skill level, it makes a lot of sense and I'm curious where it was mentioned.
Well GF is GF, and it does a very good job of remodelling the Imperial Forces into the 20th century US Army.Even a ceremonial guard can be a dangerous guard...
GURPS:Traveller's Ground Forces book touches on it briefly when discussiong the Imperial High Command of the Unified Armies of the Imperium. According to it, the Imperial Guard is mostly a ceremonial unit with the duty of guarding the palace. It's regiments are supposed to be drawn from all sectors of the Imperium. Even though it is a ceremonial unit, it is remarked that deployed as a single unit it would make 'a formidable rapid interface division.' That does not imply to me that the individuals serving with it would be pushovers despite being dressed up in showy uniforms and spending their days standing around looking pretty.
As an aside, where is it mentioned that the IISS S3 teams serve as the emperor's real guards? I must have missed that somewhere. Given their areas of expertise and skill level, it makes a lot of sense and I'm curious where it was mentioned.
There were 11 regiments of the Guard
They are:
Sylean Guard (Assumidly the 1st Regiment)*
Marine Guard (noted as being the 2nd Regiment in Survival Margin ISTR)
Vland Guard
Gateway Guard
Ilelish Guard (This regiment was providing the Palace Guard during the assassination, and was suborned by Dulinor)
Antares Guard
Solamani Rim Guard (disbanded 990)
Household Cavalry (raised 250, TD 9) (Also present at the palace, and fought the Ilelish Guard)
Artillery Guard (raised 250, TD 9) (Unsure about the naming)
Alsan Guard (raised 380, TD 18)
Spinward Marches Guard (not Deneb, raised 550, TD 9)
They were organised were organised as a Jump Division by adding the Cav and Arty (Travellers' Digest 9), seeing their first combat in 250. The Aslan Guard were added in 380 (TD 18), and Spinward Marches Guard in 380.
In 606 the Aslan Guard fought Plankwell to the last "man", while the others surrendered. The Guard was reraised in 629.
In 989 General Diennes, the GOC Imperial Guard staged a Coup, the Aslan Guard killing the S3 bodyguard and forcing Stryrx to abdicate
By FFW Traveller Regiments were 5 Battalion "Brigades", and so the Guard would be an elite Lift Infanty Corps.
* I assume a single numbering system throughout the Army, Militia and Marines.
I have a few problems with GF, notably the militia table from CT being used for the regular army. It fit reality, all forces should be divided by 10. My own take on the Imperial Army is discussed here: http://www.geocities.com/littlegreenmen.geo/Extolay.htm
Bryn
If I was Strephon, I'd be:
1. Ensuring no single gaurd division was gaurding me at one time. Make sure elements of all these groups were present (or several widely geographically dispersed ones anyway).
2. Having S3 gaurds, not a bad final line of defence. But they won't be in combat armour and they won't be taking on the IG in BattleDress too successfully.... they'll be the low profile security det. They should have taken the bullet for Strephon, or at least for Iolanthe and Ciephegenia - even if he took *his* gaurds, the only set, with him, he'd have left THEM covert security.
3. Getting foreign gaurds too. Foreign gaurds have been used throughout history. Aslan aren't a bad choice. Zhos are obviously out and there might be political issues with some Solomani. But maybe the Emperor could hire some Gurkhas or the like - someone fairly loyal, fierce, not necessarily speaking the common language of the court, somewhat separate from palace intrigue, and put in such a position as to make corruption tough or unecessary. The problem with people from your own areas is they all have something to gain under some scenarios if you come to a bad end.
The trick here is balancing the possible threat agencies off against one another, insuring mutual scrutiny, having some active secret police, and not being trusting.
Frankly, I think having one IG regiment gaurd you solely at any time, having no S3 gaurds for your clone, wife and daughter, etc. all scream out 'blistering incompetence' and make a good argument for why Strephon needed his arse shot.
1. Ensuring no single gaurd division was gaurding me at one time. Make sure elements of all these groups were present (or several widely geographically dispersed ones anyway).
2. Having S3 gaurds, not a bad final line of defence. But they won't be in combat armour and they won't be taking on the IG in BattleDress too successfully.... they'll be the low profile security det. They should have taken the bullet for Strephon, or at least for Iolanthe and Ciephegenia - even if he took *his* gaurds, the only set, with him, he'd have left THEM covert security.
3. Getting foreign gaurds too. Foreign gaurds have been used throughout history. Aslan aren't a bad choice. Zhos are obviously out and there might be political issues with some Solomani. But maybe the Emperor could hire some Gurkhas or the like - someone fairly loyal, fierce, not necessarily speaking the common language of the court, somewhat separate from palace intrigue, and put in such a position as to make corruption tough or unecessary. The problem with people from your own areas is they all have something to gain under some scenarios if you come to a bad end.
The trick here is balancing the possible threat agencies off against one another, insuring mutual scrutiny, having some active secret police, and not being trusting.
Frankly, I think having one IG regiment gaurd you solely at any time, having no S3 gaurds for your clone, wife and daughter, etc. all scream out 'blistering incompetence' and make a good argument for why Strephon needed his arse shot.
BrennanHawkwood
SOC-12
Very useful info, thanks for writting it up. It looks like a bunch of it comes from the Travellers' Digest, which I unfortunately do not have access to.
I did re-examine the material in GT:Ground Forces after reading your message and have to admit that the way I read it, there were not that many significant differences between the way you organize things and they way it organized things. Of course, that could easily be my interpretation. Nice write up on the Extolay Division by the way.
The basic difference is the number of manuver elements per Regiment/ Brigade. GF uses 3, also noting that 4 (Vilani pattern) is too "solid".
In reality, 4 is considered to be the minimum number of maneuver elements (1 each for attack, support, exploitation and reserve, 3 element forces combine the last two), and five makes a lot of sense when a third dimension is introduced, flying brigade top cover or the like.
At the platoon level, the Imperium uses 4 squads per platoon, divided into 2 sections. (41 man platoon, with a 3 man HQ (Platoon Commander, Sergeant, and assumidly a RO), 2 sections of 2 squads and section commander. The sections are 2 squads of 9, the squads 2 fireteams of 4 plus their Corporal)). (Book 4)
Extolay used a "corrected" table for BE's, dividing by 10 to fit modern data, and then used the GF/ Striker table for upgrading forces. My theory is that while local forces may be at the local TL, those forces that would be committed to the Imperium should all be at a standard TL (14).
The 4518th Lift Infantry article, FFW and Invasion Earth seem pretty set on Lift Inf Rgts being 3 Inf and 2 Grav Tank Bns, although the 4518th Duke of Reginas own Huscarles have a 6th battalion, which is a Jump Battalion (and detached off).
Bryn
