The Soldier's Sourcebook
An Ephemeris RPG Supplement
By J Alan Erwine
Copyright 2010 by Nomadic Delirium Press
Learn more about the Ephemeris RPG at http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/ephemeris.htm
Published by Nomadic Delirium Press at Smashwords
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THE SOLDIER’S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
Although this supplement is called The Soldier’s Sourcebook, it is actually intended for the Soldier/Mercenary character, but calling it the Soldier’s and Mercenary’s Sourcebook probably would have been too much of a mouthful, and who would want to keep saying that over and over again?
Soldiers and Mercenaries play a large role in the Ephemeris universe. Most character classes will want to include them because they are so powerful in a fight, and many interstellar corporations will employ them to protect assets, raid competitors, or protect the higher-ups. They can also be used to protect the cargoes of the various Traders Guilds, and they can be used as guards for important government officials…and of course, when war breaks out, which it often does in the Ephemeris universe, you will need Soldiers and Mercenaries to fight those wars for you.
Some of the information in this sourcebook is specific for Soldiers and some is specific for Mercenaries, but the majority of the information can be used for both, and game masters should feel free to take this information and expand on it as they need to for their own game of Ephemeris.
SOLDIER SUB-CLASSES
This section features listings for eight possible sub-classes that are available to players that want to play the Soldier/Mercenary class, but find that the original character class doesn’t offer them quite what they were hoping for. The list of sub-classes is far from exhaustive, however, and game masters should feel free to use these sub-classes as a guide to create sub-classes that are appropriate for their own games, always making sure that game balance is maintained.
All of these sub-classes receive the same Endurance bonus that a standard Soldier/Mercenary receives. They also all roll four six-sided dice to determine both their initial health, and the amount of health that they gain at each subsequent level. The attack dice and defense dice for all of these sub-classes are the same as those of the standard Soldier/Mercenary character.
CORPORATE MERCENARY
Interstellar corporations need individuals to protect their goods. Sometimes this will require that a Corporate Merc travel with a Trader, or they might be needed to guard the goods where they’re created or wherever they’re being delivered to. Anywhere that corporations have something that they want protected, they are sure to send Corporate Mercs. And any corporation is going to have rival corporations, and when corporate wars break out, whether full scale wars, or hit and run wars, it will be the Corporate Mercs that carry out all of those missions for the all powerful corporation. Corporate Mercs are trained much like regular Mercenaries, but they also receive a lot of training in how to deal with individuals, but make no mistake, a Corporate Merc can be just as deadly as any other Mercenary.
Skills: The Corporate Merc starts out with a slightly different skill set from the standard Mercenary. At the beginning of the game, a Corporate Mercenary gets one skill point in each of the following: weapon skill (player’s choice), hand to hand combat, search, spot, diplomacy, and negotiation.
Starting Equipment: The Corporate Mercenary starts out the game with either a laser or plasma pistol and a flack jacket (see the Soldier’s Goods section of this supplement.) Unlike the traditional Soldier/Mercenary, the Corporate Mercenary rolls four six-sided dice to determine the number of credits that they have at the beginning of the game.
Limitations: The Corporate Mercenary doesn’t receive as much training in weapons as a standard Soldier/Mercenary, so they are usually only highly skilled with one weapon. They also don’t have as much freedom to strike out on their own, as most of their missions will be dictated to them by whatever corporation they work for.
Advantages: Since the Corporate Mercenary is working for a large corporation, they pay 10% less for all of the goods they purchase. This discount is given to the character upon creation, so the player buys their initial equipment at a discount. Corporate Mercenaries also get paid one credit for each level they have for every day they work, and they are usually supplied with quarters in one of the corporate offices, so they don’t need to worry about where they’re going to be living.
Level Advancement: A Corporate Mercenary advances levels in the same way that a standard Soldier/Mercenary does, meaning that they have to pass the same tests to advance to levels nine and eleven.
ABILITIES RECEIVED AS THE CORPORATE MERCENARY ADVANCES IN LEVELS:
2nd Level (Private): The Corporate Mercenary gains an additional skill point in bluff and sense motive. This is above and beyond the normal skill points gained for class advancement.
3rd Level (Corporal): The Corporate Mercenary can choose between receiving a +1 defense bonus, or they can add one skill point to each of the following: hand to hand combat, search, spot, diplomacy, and negotiation.
4th Level (Sergeant): The Corporate Mercenary receives a +1 attack bonus with one class of weapons.
5th Level (Staff Sergeant)
6th Level (Master Sergeant): The Corporate Mercenary receives a 1st Level Corporate Mercenary as an assistant.
7th Level (First Sergeant): The Corporate Mercenary gains an additional skill point in diplomacy and negotiation. This is above and beyond the normal skill points gained for class advancement.