Veterans Day 2024

 It's Veteran's Day on November 11th in the United States and Remembrance Day in other countries. I'm proud to have served with the men and women of the following combat units of the United States Army:

2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment (Raiders)

2nd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division (Bad to the Bone)

1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment (Ready Rifles)

7th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Regulars by God!)

4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (Warriors)

2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Regulars by God!)

Task Force Badger, Joint Special Operations Command

Starship Troopers: The Annual Read

"I always get the shakes before a jump . . ." thus starts one of the greatest military science fiction novels of all time, Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. Even today, the book has stood the test of time, and was a big influence on my decision to be an Infantry officer.

When I attended the Command and General Staff College, I was pleasantly surprised to see the novel on the required reading list. Today, the novel is still on the reading list for the US Army, Navy and United States Marine Corps.

The overall theme of the book is that social responsibility requires individual ownership. Social responsibility is an act of self acceptance of that responsibility along with the concomitant commitment to the debts that are incurred. 

Juan Rico begins the novel with no thought of his personal responsibility or of any particular group's responsibility to self or others. This theme is obliquely addressed in the novel's opening: "We had all inspected our combat equipment (look, it's your own neck -- see?), the acting platoon sergeant had gone over us carefully after he mustered us, and now Jelly went over us again, his eyes missing nothing." "Now I was going to have a hole in my section and no way to fill it. That's not good; it means a man can run into something sticky, call for help and have nobody to help him." "I've heard tell that there used to be military outfits whose chaplains did not fight alongside the others, but I've never been able to see how that could work. I mean, how can a chaplain bless anything he's not willing to do himself? In any case, in the Mobile Infantry, everybody drops and everybody fights -- chaplain and cook and the Old Man's writer."

 The theme is repeated through flashbacks to High School and Officer Candidate School in a required class called History and Moral Philosophy. In this view, everything from the right to vote to the punishments for various crimes are depicted as part of a larger effort to recognize society's needs and improve society, as distinct from self-interest. The service Heinlein envisioned was an all-volunteer service, long before the US military had changed to an all-volunteer model. Other than the rights to vote and hold public office, there is no other restriction between service veterans and civilians.

 

In the course of both the "current" plot and flashbacks Rico learns to take responsibility for ever increasing groups: himself, his comrades, and eventually all of mankind (a shared responsibility), and accept that as the reason for remaining in the service. Further, Rico is seen to develop from a relatively powerless citizen, to a very dangerous fighter: "There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. We're trying to teach you to be dangerous -- to the enemy. Dangerous even without a knife. Deadly as long as you still have one hand or one foot and are still alive."

I just finished my annual reading of the book . . . something I do annually!

Now for the Warning!!!

This is a poster for the movie directed by Paul Verhoeven who admitted he never finished reading the book.  Please don't watch it . . . you'll thank me later.  Not only does the movie miss most of the points of the book and, as a retired infantry officer (Regulars By God!), it's embarrassing to watch. 

Please don't get me started on how they portray Lieutenant Rasczak, the epitome of the servant leader in the novel that leads the Roughnecks.

One of the worst scenes in the book is when the platoon is defending an outpost and the bugs are coming. I can see the nuclear rockets strapped to the backs of the (so called) Mobile Infantry! So what do they do? Break out the SMALL ARMS (sigh). How about the scene when the platoon surround a bug in a circle, and then they all fire at the bug! In a circle? They would have hit each other. (Note: That's a safety violation) And please

Do not watch the movie!



The book sums it up nicely: "For the everlasting glory of the Infantry . . ."

Pulp!: Episode 3 of The Return of the Mad Guru (originally published 10/24/23)

And now, the stunning conclusion of the play test of the solo rules for Pulp!.

(Game Note: The Princess has the Life Experience Profile "You killed my father. You'll pay for it." For having this attribute she can only use the Special Benefits Adrenaline Surge and Mighty Shove; however, she receives a +1 in all Melee and Ranged combat against the Mad Guru only.

(Game Note: I couldn't have scripted it any better myself. The Mad Guru failed to activate, Colonel Douglas fires at him with a result that he is suppressed. The minions fail to activate (Yikes) and the Princess does, fires at the suppressed Mad Guru (who is now -1 on saves) and nails the evil villain that killed her father.)

(Game Note: The Bat declares he will use the Special Benefit "Mighty Shove" as he charges into combat. If your character inflicts at least one unsaved hit the enemy figure can be moved up to 3" in the direction opposite of the charge - and the figure would drop any objectives it might be carrying!)

(Game Note: The Big Guy is no dummy and as soon as The Bat moves into contact with him, he performs an Acrobatic Dodge before Melee is resolved and move away from the attacker in the opposite direction 1 to 3 inches.)

 

(Game Note: The Bat uses his last Special Benefit of the game (he could do four) which is "Second Chance" which forces The Big Guy to reroll any Combat Roll or Save Roll. The Big Guy had to reroll all of his Save dice and . . . well . . . you see the result above. No more The Big Guy.)

(Game Note: I figured the last 3 minions would have had enough and decide to scatter into the Jungle.)

So Colonel Douglas, any advice?

For up close pistol play, the Special Benefits "In The Zone", "Precision Shot", and "Second Chance" are very effective.

Yep, I forgot to use the Special Benefits until the beginning of Turn 3 - What's a Pulp Game without daring do, miraculous dodges and heroic leadership? In addition, I made The Mad Guru too weak: he should as a minimum had a total of 4 IP's (combat dice) and should not have given him a Consuming Obsession which limited the Special Benefits he could use - really limited them!

And what about the fight at the bridge? All that beautiful terrain to use to dodge and scoot and the majority of the figures end up fighting out in the open by the bridge. I guess someone learned a lesson. And in fairness to the Bad Guys, I have never rolled so many "1's" (and automatic fail) in my entire life.

Uh, thanks Bat.

I think Pulp! has gotten a bad rap by experienced gamers (myself included). In actuality, it's a great introduction to skirmish gaming for new or inexperienced players using the Basic Rules. Experienced players (myself included) will find that just using the Basic Rules will be boring. If you want to have fun with Pulp! you have to take the effort to add the chrome yourself based on the outlines and sections in the book. After all, if you have an unsaved hit from the Death Ray - your dead in this game! It fires DEATH. It covers a lot of territory and ideas in 64 pages; it's not Pulp Alley which has characters that come with the game, game aides, etc. Remember, we are living in a Golden Age of Gaming.

I enjoyed the Solo Rules (click on the link to get a PDF file) which have tables and an interesting AI system for the "other" guys in the game. I did not use the Solo Special Benefits table as I used common sense when the Bad Guys would need to use one. As recommended in the Solo Rules, I adjusted the priority of actions for the "Bad Guys" based on the scenario and common sense. I guess the Collaborative part is players are all on one side controlling specific figures and teams and the "main" hero or villain would determine which unit activates when. Bottom line - I had fun playing the game and honestly I thought the Bad Guys were going to win. Until next time: BWAH HAH HAH!

Pulp!: Episode 2 of The Return of the Mad Guru (originally published 10/20/23)

 The play test of the solo rules for "Pulp!" continue:

In our last episode (after a "ahem" shaky start in which I forgot about some of the Pulp genre rules!) somewhere in the forgotten jungles of India, next to the wastelands, is the lost city of REDACTED no longer rumored to have fabulous relics that can give power to the righteous - and to those that are evil. The Mad Guru (BWAH HAH HAH!), leader of the ancient Thugee Cult, has discovered the whereabouts of REDACTED and all of the relics have been found: The Marble of Mystery, The Jewel of Chance, and the Sword of Destiny. Fortunately there are heroes that will risk all to stop him and his murderous minions. The forces of good and evil are now locked in deadly combat that may decide the fate of the British Raj . . . 

(Game Note: The Bad Guys get to activate the Princess and if successful, she must do their nefarious bidding.)

(Game Note: Yep our hero failed(!) his activation due to the Terrifying Laughter of the Mad Guru (BWAH HAH HAH!))

(Game Note: "Uncanny Skills" sounds better than "he had enough movement by running to get past the bad guys. Actually he used the Special Benefit "Swing from the Chandelier". Maybe it's a chandelier, maybe it's a tree branch, or maybe you use some terrain to bounce over the other guys. Whatever the case, the Benefit allows you to move through other figures or over tall obstacles that are otherwise impassable - but you cannot end movement in the same space with another figure or an impassable terrain piece.)

(Game Note: We won't publish what the Mad Guru said but it had to do with never in his life seeing so many "1's" rolled in his entire life."

It seems the fate of the world hangs in the balance as the forces of the Mad Guru now have in their possession the "Jewel of Chance" and the "Sword of Destiny". Can the Bat stop the minions of the Mad Guru now that The Big Guy is in the area? Will Colonel Douglas catch the Mad Guru? Will the Princess ever do anything except be a stereotypical damsel in distress and avenge her father's death. And will Captain Hawkes continue his sprinting ways with the "Marble of Mystery? Stay tuned for the exciting Conclusion of "The Return of the Mad Guru"!