[SG2] Rising to your level of incompetence

> At 01:30 PM 10/8/98 -0500, Thomas Barclay wrote:

This is what I wrote a while ago in my point costs for
StarGrunt/DirtSide II

Table 6: Buying leaders The following chart shows my cost estimate for buying
leaders. It assumes that a good platoon leader would be an excellent squad
leader but a weak Company leader. You can use this chart to buy the billet, in
which case replacements are obtained using the usual chart (and cannot be
promoted!). However, if leaders are purchased like characters then the
replacement must be drawn from the organization such as the next lower echelon
commander or a staff officer. These character leaders may be promoted using
chart 7.

Note: These costs are updated from my last. The others were too expensive.

Leadership Squad Platoon Company Battalion Brigade Corps Cost A 3 10 B 2 3 20
C 1 2 3 30 D 1 2 3 50 E 1 2 3 70
F					  1		2	3   90
G 1 2 110

Table 7: Promotion If you use the character option for a leader, those
characters have an opportunity to be promoted or demoted based on their
preformance during a battle. To roll on the chart, the character must have
made a morale check during the battle. For an addition modifier, the opposing
force must have been equal to or larger than the force under his command, or
the total number of units he affected must be equal to or greater than his
own. For an enemy of a larger force make the number of additive modifiers
equal to the appropriate number of equivelant units.

Die Roll Effect 1 or less Demote 2 thru 5 retain 6 or more Promote

Die modifiers
-3 If unit under characters command routed.
+1 If unit under characters command lifted suppression at least once
(max +1)
+1 per seperate enemy unit that unit under character's command routed.
+3 per seperate enemy unit that unit under character's command
destroyed.
        Routing and destroying an enemy unit is cumulative +4.

This same chart can be used to promote or demote the quality of a unit (i.e.
change from Average to Vetran, etc.). However, green and untrained
forces receive a +3 in addition to all other die rolls.  Forces that are
demoted below green are disbanded, take their points and add it to the
pool...

Gort, Klaatu barada nikto!

The military has one thing in common with industry... that people tend to rise
just beyond the level where they were good at their jobs.

Note that in SG2, it is possible for a Junior Lt. to end up in charge of a
Battalion (let's say the enemy SF attended the General's soiree and wiped out
all the senior Co and Battalion Officers). The problem is (not
really a problem, can be dealt with as a scenario guideline - I'm just
suggesting a mechanism if a series of linked events are being conducted) that
if that Lt. was a Ldr 1 Platoon Ldr, he is also automatically a Batallion
level Ldr 1 too. This doesn't tend to mirror real life. A Pltn commander tends
to be (for a while, until he acclimatizes, or in some cases forever) out of
his depth commanding a Company. Similarly, a squad leader, put in charge of
the whole platoon (can happen in an SG2 battle), may well not really be
equipped to fight the whole platoon. So I'll present an easy mechanic and see
if others find it reasonable.

For each time a command element (squad leader, platoon commander, company
commander, battalion commander, etc) is put into a position to lead the next
size up of formation (whether brevet and temporary due to casualties or an
actual promotion), roll a d4. If the d4 exceeds his leadership, then he
doesn't lose leadership level(s) (Lv 1 officers will tend to rise to any
challenge placed in front of them) at this new level of command. If he is then
promoted another level (after a reasonable period), make the same roll again
at the new level. If he ends up rising
two levels (Squad command to Company Command - it has happened during
some of our nastier wars), then make the target number to exceed double the
leadership score (Lv 1 leaders may still be able to cope, others will be out
of their depth). If the roll is failed, the leader performs his new job as one
level lower (Ldr 1 Platoon Ldr becomes a Ldr 2 Company Commander). After a
suitable period, the Ldr should be allowed to attempt this roll again (a
month? I'm not sure). If he makes it, his leadership rises to its original
level at the new formation level. If he
blows this roll too, he's reached his peak - he'll just never become
terribly good at his new job. In short, he's reached his level of
incompetence... and most of us have met officers, bureaucrats, or middle
managers who've reached just this point...

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