The combatants who make up resistance movements vary as much as the movements themselves. Thus, the following list offers suggestions to help guide a GM who wishes to create his own resistance movement, or as a grab-bag of “generic” rebels he can throw at his PCs.
The characters listed below have no specific weapons. I have chosen generic weapons for GURPS Ultra-Tech or from previous iterations of Psi-Wars. These can be replaced with any similar or appropriate weapons.
Between the Insurgent Type and the suggested traits associated with each Personnel, a group might have a wide variety of disadvantages associated with them. These represent suggestions. Feel free to ignore, mix, or swap as you see fit. In principle, each Insurgency should have a unique character, and some flaws that a clever Imperial can exploit.
Lens: Insurgent Type
Different cells have different philosophies and approaches. Choose one of the following lens to represent the approach of a particular movement. Sometimes, multiple philosophies live within a particular movement, so a GM can mix and match as he sees fit. Furthermore, the lenses below offer a basic guideline on how to handle a particular philosophy, but also options for giving each movement some unique flavor.Anarchist
Anarchists live for chaos. They rebel for the sake of rebellion and their fight with the Empire ultimately boils down to a disdain for authority. By default, their critical weaknesses are a lack of planning and an unwillingness to listen to others. Many anarchists fight for their own amusement and may have Trickster, while others do it for the sheer pleasure of watching things burn (Pyromania), or just to spite authority figures (Intolerance (Authority Figures)), or just because they’re so angry (Bad Temper). While most such characters do not last long, Anarchists, especially young ones, often have Overconfidence.Default Traits: Impulsiveness (12), Stubbornness (12)
Freedom Fighter
Freedom Fighters fight for principles. They resemble Ideologues in this way, but they’re less devoted to a specific cause than that they’re just righteously indignant at the crimes of others. By default, they will not harm anyone not directly associated with the conflict, but nor can they just stand aside and do nothing as injustice is inflicted on those they know and love. This devotion to principles might manifest instead as Code of Honor (Rebel), and the drive to help others might become Charitable. Freedom Fighters tend to be derided by other factions as Gullible for their idealism; this may or may not be true.Code of Honor (Rebel) [-15]: Only attack military targets or collaborators, never unassociated civilians. Never leave a a fellow rebel behind. Die before you betray your cell. If necessary, sacrifice yourself for the rebellion. When the conflict has finished, put aside your weapons and return to civilian life.
Default Traits: Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents), Sense of Duty (Community)
Ideologue
Ideologues fight for a purpose.
By default, they devote
themselves wholeheartedly to this ideal or, at their most generic, to
the rebellion itself. What
explicit purpose they fight for varies, and often determines the
exact nature of their Fanaticism. Patriots devote themselves to the
ideal of an independence movement or the safety of their people, and
often have Sense of Duty
(Nation).
Fundamentalists devote themselves to religious ideals, and have some
version of a Discipline
of Faith.
Ideologues who hold to more abstract ideals (like a deep devotion to
some particular philosophy or economic model) might have a strict
Code of Honor
or be Hidebound.
Those Ideologues who aren’t fanatics tend to be at least Selfless
or
have Intolerance
(Outsiders or
Nonbelievers).
Terrorist
Terrorists do whatever it takes to win; for them, atrocity is just part of the game! By default, Terrorists suffer (benefit?) from an overeagerness to shed blood and a complete disregard for the safety of others. Terrorists often enjoy the violence they inflict, and might have Bully or even Sadism. Most willingly engage in warcrimes for a reason, which might be Greed, Jealousy or Selfishness.Traits: Bloodlust (12), Callous.
Amateur Resistance Members
Not every member of a resistance organization is a hardened warrior. In fact, most members lack decent training and believe that enthusiasm can make up for a lack of combat experience. In the most idealistic resistance movements, these eager allies assist on the edges of the battle until they’re skilled enough (or old enough!) to join on the front-lines. In more scrupulous resistance movements, they become cannon fodder, used to tire out the enemy before the resistance brings in its veteran fighters.Child Soldier (Innocent)
Common Insurgent Types: Ideologues and Terrorists
Innocent child soldiers don’t generally participate in combat, though they can; instead, they usually act as spotters, guides or distractions for the primary combatants. The stats below assume a human child of about 10 years of age.
Few resistance movements go out of their way to use Child Soldiers, but they’ll show up most often with Ideologues, who respect their devotion, and terrorists, who don’t care about the fate of the children. Anarchists tend to be dismissive of children, and Freedom Fighters actively oppose their use (It violates their principles!).
ST 8 | HP 8 | Speed 5 |
DX 9 | Will 9/7 | Move: 4 |
IQ 9 | Per 10 | |
HT 10/8 | FP 11 | SM -1 |
Dodge
8
|
Parry
7
|
DR:
0
|
Hold-Out Blaster (9): 2d(5) burn sur (Acc 5, Range 100/300 RoF 3, Bulk -1)
Rock (Thrown) (9): 1d-3 cr (Acc 1, Range 6)
Skills: Area Knowledge (Local)-10, Fast-Talk-10, Observation-10, Running-10, Stealth-10, Urban Survival-10.
Traits: Pitiable; Combat Paralysis; Easy to Kill -2; Pacifism (Reluctant Killer); Social Stigma (Minor);
Notes: Human; Untrained and largely unready for combat. Apply a -4 to shoot any recognizable humans (or other galactic sapients generally considered non-monstrous) with visible faces, or -2 if no face is visible. If they killed someone with a visible face, roll against Will or break down. If faced with imminent bodily harm, roll HT; on a failure, you are mentally stunned. The lower Will value applies to all fright checks. Always count as “innocent” for the purposes of Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents).
Child Soldier Tactics
Distract (10): Wave your arms, hurl insults and shout at the target. Roll a quick contest of Fast-Talk (10) vs your target’s will (if you hit the target with an attack in the past few seconds, including a thrown rock, add +1 to your Fast-Talk roll). On a success, the target must either chase you, attack you or suffer a -2 to combat for as long as you continue shouting at him.Spot (10): If you see something, say something! Shout out advice to an ally and roll Observation (10). On a success, if your ally listens to your advice, he gains +1 to his next attack roll.
Partisan
Common Insurgent Types: Freedom Fighters and Ideologues
Partisans can show up in any resistance movement group, but they tend to be most common among Freedom Fighters, as they represent the every-day person pushed too far, or ideologues, as they represent the relatively common people who have given themselves over to some religious or philosophical cause.
ST 10 | HP 10 | Speed 5 |
DX 10 | Will 10/8 | Move: 5 |
IQ 10 | Per 10 | |
HT 10 | FP 10 | SM +0 |
Dodge
8
|
Parry
8
|
DR:
0
|
Blaster Pistol (10): 3d(5) burn sur (Acc 5, Range 300/1000 RoF 3, Bulk -2)
Cheap Assault Blaster (10): 4d(5) burn sur (Acc 8, Range 250/750 RoF 8, Bulk -3)
Cheap Blaster Rifle (10): 6d(5) burn sur (Acc 10, Range 500/1500 RoF 3, Bulk -1)
Blaster Butt (10): 1d+1 (Reach 1)
Skills: Area Knowledge (Local)-10, Observation-10, Professional Skill-12, Stealth-10, Urban Survival-10.
Traits: Combat Paralysis; Pacifism (Reluctant Killer);
Notes: Human; Untrained and largely unready for combat. Apply a -4 to shoot any recognizable humans (or other galactic sapients generally considered non-monstrous) with visible faces, or -2 if no face is visible. If they killed someone with a visible face, roll against Will or break down. If faced with imminent bodily harm, roll HT; on a failure, you are mentally stunned. The lower Will value applies to all fright checks.
Civilian Militia Tactics
Potshot (17, 20 or 22): After taking an Aim action, make a single, sighted, All-Out (Determined) attack against the target (+5 Acc with a pistol, +8 with an assault blaster and +10 with a rifle). If the target has a visible face, apply an additional -4 penalty. A successful hit strikes a random hit location. You may not defend.Spray Fire (7): With an assault blaster, make a hip-fired All-Out (Suppressive Fire) attack against a one-yard zone. A successful attack strikes a random hit location. You may not defend.
Panicked Strike (10): Make an All-Out Attack (Determined) with your Rifle Butt at the nearest target to pose a risk to you. Because this is close combat and a “non-lethal” attack, it does not suffer from Pacifism. You may not defend.
Punk
Common Insurgent Types: Anarchists and Terrorists
Punks are too undisciplined for Ideologues and too violent for Freedom Fighters; they tend to be most often found among Terrorists and Anarchists. Some particularly brutal Punks (especially working with Terrorists) exchange their clubs for vibro-blades or neurolash batons.
ST 11 | HP 11 | Speed 5.25 |
DX 10 | Will 10 | Move: 5 |
IQ 10 | Per 10 | |
HT 11 | FP 11 | SM +0 |
Dodge
8
|
Parry
8
|
DR:
0
|
Club (10): 1d+2 cr (Reach 1)
Neurolash Baton (10): 1d+2 cr + linked HT-5 (5) (Reach 1, parry 0)
Vibro Blade (10): 2d+3(5) cut (Reach 1, parry 0)
Weaponized C-Cell (10): 6dx4 burn ex sur (Acc 1, Range 40); Unstable!
Skills: Area Knowledge (Local)-10, Intimidation-10, Forced Entry-10, Running-11
Traits: Bad Temper (12); Overconfidence (12)
Notes: Human; Untrained; Highly likely to use tactics not properly trained for or to make unforced errors; Never resists distraction or “Draw Aggression” attempts. The weaponized C-Cell is a modified power-cell that explodes when thrown. A strike against the cell, or a critical failure could set it off!
Punk Tactics
Beat Down (10): Against a prone target, make an All-Out (Strong) attack with your club. Your opponent defends at -3 for being Prone. Inflict 1d+4 crushing damage to the torso (or random hit location). You may not defend.
Night Nurse
Common Insurgent Types: Ideologues and Freedom Fighters
Night Nurses tend to be most common among Freedom Fighters or Ideologues, as most medical personnel will only join their local insurgencies if their philosophies align, and both such organizations see a direct need for tending to the wounds of civilians. Terrorists and Anarchists tend to be too violent to attract civilian medical personnel, and generally don’t see the point in assisting wounded civilians or, worse, wounded Imperials.
ST 10 | HP 10 | Speed 5 |
DX 10 | Will 12/10 | Move: 5 |
IQ 12 | Per 10 | |
HT 10 | FP 10 | SM +0 |
Dodge
8
|
Parry
8
|
DR:
0
|
Blaster Pistol (10): 3d(5) burn sur (Acc 5, Range 300/1000 RoF 3, Bulk -2)
Pneumohypo (10): HT-3; penetrates up to 1 DR, Reach C, cannot parry.
Skills: Area Knowledge (Local)-10, Diagnosis-12, First-Aid-12, Physician-12, Pharmacy-12, Stealth-10
Traits: Combat Paralysis; Pacifism (Reluctant Killer);
Notes: Human; Untrained and largely unready for combat. Apply a -4 to shoot any recognizable humans (or other galactic sapients generally considered non-monstrous) with visible faces, or -2 if no face is visible. If they killed someone with a visible face, roll against Will or break down. If faced with imminent bodily harm, roll HT; on a failure, you are mentally stunned. The lower Will value applies to all fright checks.
Night Nurse Tactics
“I don’t want to shoot you” (17): After taking an Aim action, make a “Wait” maneuver; if your target moves to attack you, you may attack first. If your wait triggers, you may make an All-Out (Determined) sighted attack. Success hits the torso. You may not defend.Pnuemohypo KO (14): Against an unaware target, make a Telegraphic Attack with Knife or DX-4 (14). Unaware targets may not defend; other targets may defend at +2. A successful attack injects the drug, generally Morphazine or Soothe (both UT205), which can be resisted with an HT-3 roll. Failure generally puts the target out of commission for awhile.
Medic! (12): You attend to someone’s wounds. This takes 10 minutes; at the end, roll IQ-4, First-Aid or Physician (12). Success heals 1d+1 damage. You may use Medic at most once per victim for a given set of injuries.
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