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World War II Weapons and Soldiers

Your house rules, and add-ons
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Michael
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World War II Weapons and Soldiers

Post by Michael »

Wrote up stats for common weapons of WW II and soldiers for different countries.


American

Replacement 6 pts
New guy to replace your buddy who was lost. Maybe you will get to know him if he lives long enough.
B2 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 Defend 7
Double Taps
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics, Drive, Military, Technology

Joe 8 pts
American G.I.
B2 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 (14 with Rifles) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 2, Drive, Military 2, Technology

Elite Army Ranger 15 pts
Commandos who take out key German emplacements at Normandy.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (28 with Rifles, 21 with other firearms) Defend 14
Attack Weak Point
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +2 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Drive, Stealth, Military, Technology

Gear:
Primary Weapon: M1 Garand with 10 clips of ammunition, or M1 Carbine with 5 magazines and 5 additional magazines for the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) squad LMG (not interchangeable).
Secondary Weapon: Colt M1911A1 pistol with 2 magazines, knife
Grenades: 4 fragmentation grenades
Other Equipment: Rations, shovel, canteen, helmet, first aid kid, flash light

A standard 12 man squad is commanded by a sergeant armed with a Thompson SMG with 3 magazines. One of the soldiers is instead armed with a M1918 BAR and his weapon technique is for machine guns instead of rifles. The sergeant's weapon technique power applies to all ranged weapons.


German

Volkssturm (1945) 4 pts
German militias formed at the end of the war with whatever weapons, gear, and uniforms were available. Many of them were Hitler Youth or old veterans from WW I.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 7 (14 with Rifles) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique +1 Hit (Rifles)
Skills: Athletics, Military

Jerry 9 pts
Well-trained and experienced German soldier.
B2 A2 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (21 with Rifles) Defend 14
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Military 3

Elite Waffen SS 18 pts
Some of Germany's most elite soldiers often used to infiltrate the allied ranks.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak Attack 28 Defend 14
Attack Weak Point
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +2 Hit (All Weapons)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 3, Drive, Stealth, Deception, Military 3, Technology

Gear:
Primary Weapon: Karabiner 98 Kurz with 10 clips of ammunition
Secondary Weapon: Walter P38 with 2 magazines, knife
Grenades: 4 Model Stieldhandgranate (Potato Masher)
Other Equipment: Rations, shovel, canteen, helmet, 1 belt of ammunition for a MG-34 or MG-42.
Officers will typically carry a Luger P08 instead of a rifle and have weapon technique be for handguns.

A standard 10 man squad is commanded by a sergeant armed with an MP 40 with 5 magazines. One of the soldiers is instead armed with a MG 34 General Purpose Machine Gun and his weapon technique is for machine guns instead of rifles. The sergeant's weapon technique power applies to all ranged weapons.

Later in the war, some soldiers will instead be armed with an MP 40 and have weapon technique for either sub machine guns or all ranged weapons. By 1943, the squad consists of 9 men, and 2 of the soldiers are armed with a General Purpose Machine Gun (either the MG 34 or MG 42) .


British Empire

Homeguard 3 pts
Local Defense Volunteers to protect Britain from invasion. Armed with rifles, shotguns, sub machine guns and pikes, they were poorly trained and followed even worse tactics.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 7 (14 with spears, including bayonets) Defend 7
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Spears)
Skills: Athletics, Military

Tommy 6 pts
British Soldier with typical training.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 (21 with Rifles, 14 with other firearms ) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +2 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 2, Military 2

Elite Commandos 19 pts
Special Assault Units raiding occupied Europe, Africa, and Asia.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak (20 Soak vs unarmed) Attack 28 Defend 14
Attack Weak Point
Double Taps
Martial Arts Mastery 2 (Tough, Grappling, Tricky)
Weapon Technique: +2 Hit (All Weapons)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Stealth, Military, Outdoor, Sailing

Gear:
Primary Weapon: Lee-Enfield rifle with 5 magazines of ammunition. Some will instead use a STEN sub machine gun with 5 magazines of ammunition.
Secondary Weapon: knife
Grenades: 4 fragmentation grenades
Other Equipment: Rations, shovel, canteen, helmet
Most officers typically carry an Enfield No. 2 Mk 1 Revolver instead of a rifle and have weapon technique for handguns.

A standard 8 man section is commanded by a corporal. One of the soldiers is instead armed with a Bren Light Machine Gun and his weapon technique is for machine guns instead of rifles.


Soviet Union

Conscript 2 pts
New conscript who has never held a real gun before.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 Defend 7
Skills: Athletics, Stealth

Ivan 6 pts
Soviet Soldier with effective training, often learned on the battlefield.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 (14 with one type of firearm) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles, Sub Machine Guns, or Machine Guns)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 2, Stealth 2, Military, Outdoors

Red Army Guards 12 pts
Elite unit which has distinguished itself in battle.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (21 with one type of firearm) Defend 14
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles, Sub Machine Guns, or Machine Guns)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics, Riding (or Drive), Stealth, Military, Outdoors, Technology

Gear:
Primary Weapon: Mosin-Nagant Rifle with 5 magazines of ammunition, a PPSH-41 sub machine gun with 2 drum magazines of ammunition, or a PPS-42 with 4 magazines of ammunition.
Grenades: 4 fragmentation grenades
Other Equipment: Minimal
Officers either carry a Nagant M1895 Revolver or a Tokarev TT-30.

A standard 9 man squad is commanded by a sergeant. One or two of the soldiers are instead armed with a Degtyarov Machine Gun.
Last edited by Michael on Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:39 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Weapons Table

Post by Michael »

Some of the most common WWII weapons as well as rules for using them such as semi-auto, burst fire, and the brawn needed to fire a weapon without penalty.

Image

Aiming:
Aiming a weapon for an action (instead of firing it) grants the user one of two bonuses on their next attack (they can choose to aim twice).
1.+2 Dice bonus to hit
2.+1 To Hit Multiplier if they have the Weapon Technique Power with this weapon

Weapon Type:
The Weapon Technique Power applies to all guns of the same type (example +2 DM with SMGs). The Weapon Technique Power also grants a smaller bonus to other types of guns (example a +2 DM with SMGs would also give a +1 DM with handguns, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and flamethrowers).
Grenades are thrown using athletics/throwing skill.

Year Issued:
The first year the weapon was given to soldiers in an army.

Ammo:
The number of rounds the weapon can fire without being reloaded. Completely reloading most weapons takes a single action to insert a new clip, magazine, or drum magazine into the weapon. Revolvers (Enfield No.2 Mk1) and shotguns (Browning Auto-5) take one action to reload only 2 rounds. Machine Guns typically have a loader assigned that spends their actions feeding more ammunition belts into the weapon, freeing the gunner to continue firing.

Brawn:
The Brawn needed to fire the weapon without a penalty. If the user's Brawn exceeds the weapons by at least 1, then they receive a +1 Dice bonus to hit. If the user's Brawn is 1 less than the weapon's Brawn then they incur a -1 Dice penalty to hit. Using a gun (including a handgun) in one hand reduces the wielder's effective Brawn by 1.

Range:
The maximum effective firing range of a weapon in squares. Range penalties for firing weapons are:
> 5 squares: -1 Dice penalty to hit
> DM X 5 squares: -2 Dice penalty to hit
> DM X 10 squares: -3 Dice penalty to hit
> DM X 20 squares: -4 Dice penalty to hit.

Fuse:
Grenades explode on the turn after they are thrown. Picking up and throwing a grenade in a single action requires making a 10 Athletics/Throwing check (if you can reach it in time).

Semi-Auto:
A weapon with the semi-auto ability can fire two rounds in a single action, granting a +1 Dice bonus to damage rolls.

Burst:
A weapon with the burst ability can fire that many rounds in a single action, gaining a Dice bonus to hit and damage rolls. If a weapon can fire bursts, but not semi-auto, then it cannot fire single shots either.
3 round burst: +2 Dice bonus to damage
5 round burst: +1 Dice bonus to hit; +3 Dice bonus to damage
10 round burst: +1 Dice bonus to hit, +4 Dice bonus to damage
15 round burst: +2 Dice bonus to hit, +5 Dice bonus to damage
20 round burst: +2 Dice bonus to hit, +6 Dice bonus to damage
25 round burst: +3 Dice bonus to hit, +7 Dice bonus to damage
30 round burst: +3 Dice bonus to hit, +8 Dice bonus to damage
35 round burst: +4 Dice bonus to hit, +9 Dice bonus to damage
A 5 round or larger burst can reduce its Dice bonus to damage by 2 in order to target a 4X1 line.
A 10 round or larger burst can reduce its Dice bonus to hit by 1 and Dice bonus to damage by 4 in order to target a 3X3 cone.
A 20 round or larger burst can reduce its Dice bonus to damage by 6 in order to target an 8X2 line.
A 30 round or larger burst can reduce its Dice bonus to hit by 3 and Dice bonus to damage by 8 in order to target a 5X5 cone.
The line or cone must project away from the firer, but can start at any point within range. Any target of the line or cone must be within the weapon's maximum range and line of sight.

Bipod Mount, Tripod Mount, Wheeled Mount:
When a weapon is mounted on a bipod, tripod, or wheeled mount or vehicle mount, its brawn is reduced to 1. This benefit only applies when the mount is braced against the ground or other solid surface.
Bipod mounts are attached to light machine guns and can be unfolded and set up in one action.
Tripod mounts are larger and heavier and require a second soldier to move in addition to the one carrying the machine gun. It takes two actions to set up a tripod and mount a gun on it. The improved stability gives the gunner a +1 dice bonus to hit.
Wheeled mounts have the gun already attached and the combination is pulled into position by a vehicle or horse. The Russians also often include a gun shield (armor 3, front only) to protect the gunner.
Also if a tripod or wheeled mount is still attached to a gun while it is being carried, increase the weapon's brawn by 1 for the additional weight.
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Post by Solarblast »

Good job. Planning on running a WW2 game.
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Post by Michael »

Thank you. It took alot of time to research and figure out. I rewrote the rules and then the stats until I was happy with them.
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Post by fairytalejedi »

Nice looking work. Kinda makes me want to run a golden age one shot. Thanks for sharing. :)
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Post by Michael »

And now for the Italians, Japanese, and Chinese.
First, extending the weapons table, and making a few minor corrections. One problem I think I just fixed is that some of the zeros in the weapon table get replaced with blanks when I turned it into a pdf.


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Last edited by Michael on Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:55 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by Michael »

Italian Soldiers:

Second Rate Soldier 5 pts
Recruited after Italy entered the war with poor training, officers, and equipment.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 7 (14 with Rifles) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 2, Craftsmanship, Military

Bersaglieri 10 pts
Highly mobile infantry with excellent training and better equipment.
B2 A2 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (21 with one type of firearms) Defend 14
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles, Sub Machine Guns, or Machine Guns)
Fleet of Foot (8 Squares)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Drive, Stealth, Military

Elite Frogman 16 pts
Commandos planting bombs on British ships.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak
Attack 14 (21 with one weapon) Defend 14
Attack Weak Point
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Unarmed, Knife, Handgun, or Rifle)
Super Swimming 1 (4 Squares)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 3, Sailing, Stealth 3, Military, Outdoor, Technology

Gear:
Primary Weapon: Carcano M91 (6.5 mm) with 9 clips (54 rounds) of ammunition or a Beretta M38 SMG with 6 magazines (240 rounds) of ammunition (the SMGs were only widely available to paratroopers, special assault units, sergeants, and officers before 1943).
Secondary Weapon: Knife, corporals and sergeants also carry a Beretta M34 handgun with 3 magazines.
Grenades: 4 fragmentation grenades
Other Equipment: Poor quality, with many supplies missing from too few supply trucks.
Officers carry a Beretta M34 handgun and occasionally a Beretta M38 SMG.

A standard 20 man section (2 squads) is commanded by a sergeant. Two corporals are instead armed with Breda 30 LMGs with 5 magazines (100 rounds), each corporal has an assistant gunner carrying 15 more magazines (300 rounds), and their weapon techniques are for machine guns instead of rifles. 4 of the soldiers each carry 5 additional magazines for the 2 LMGs. The sergeant's weapon technique power applies to all ranged weapons and he often fires one of the machine guns himself.


Japanese Soldiers:

Territorial Reserve (1945) 5 pts
Emergency unit with less training who might not meet conscription standards before the war.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 7 (14 with bayonet) Defend 7
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Bayonet)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 2, Stealth 2, Military, Humanities

Heitai 8 pts
Well-trained and disciplined Japanese soldier with emphasis on endurance, the bayonet, night fighting, and using the spirit to overcome a more technologically advanced enemy.
B1 A2 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 14 Defend 14
Double Taps
Swift of Foot (8 squares)
Skillful 2
Skills: Athletics 3, Stealth, Military 2, Humanities, Outdoors

Elite Rikusentai Paratroopers 15 pts
Paratroopers in the Special Naval Landing Force sent to capture airfields during amphibious landings.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (21 with bayonet or rifle) Defend 14
Double Taps
Martial Arts Mastery 1 (Grappling)
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Bayonet), +1 Hit (Rifles)
Swift of Foot (8 squares)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Stealth, Military, Humanities, Outdoors

Gear:
Primary Weapon: Arisaka 38 Rifle or Arisaka 99 Rifle with 12 clips (60 rounds) of ammunition.
Secondary Weapon: Katana for officers and sergeants .
Grenades: 4 fragmentation grenades
Other Equipment: Minimal in order to march faster.
All rifles and light machine guns come with a Type 30 sword bayonet.
Officers carry a handgun, most often a Nambu Pistol (they were expected to buy their own).

A standard 10 (widely varied from 8 to 15) man squad is commanded by a sergeant. One of the soldiers is instead armed with a Type 96 LMG or Type 99 LMG with 13 magazines (390 rounds). 2 of the soldiers in the squad each carry 5 additional magazines for the LMG. The sergeant's weapon technique power applies to all weapons (melee and ranged).


Chinese Nationalist Army Soldiers:

Disloyal Provincial Troops 3 pts
Poorly equipped and led, paid by pillaging and only a little better than bandits.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/5 Soak Attack 7 Defend 7
Double Taps
Skills: Athletics, Outdoors
Primary Weapon: Hanyang 88 Rifle with 13 clips (65 rounds) of ammunition

National Revolutionary Army 5 pts
Republic of China military forces.
B1 A1 M1
20 Hits/10 Soak Attack 7 (14 with Rifles) Defend 7
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +1 Hit (Rifles)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 2, Military, Outdoors
Primary Weapon: Type 24 (Chang Kai-Shek) Rifle with 13 clips (65 rounds) of ammunition

Elite German Trained Army 13 pts
The best units in the Chinese Army trained by German military advisers.
B2 A2 M2
30 Hits/10 Soak Attack 14 (28 with Rifles, 21 with other firearms) Defend 14
Double Taps
Weapon Technique: +2 Hit (Rifle)
Skillful 1
Skills: Athletics 3, Stealth, Military, Outdoor, Technology
Primary Weapon: Karabiner 98 Kurz with 13 clips (65 rounds) of ammunition

Gear:
Secondary Weapon: Knife and sometimes Swords or Spears
Grenades: 4 Model Stieldhandgranate (Potato Masher)
Other Equipment: Rations, shovel, canteen, helmet, gas mask
Sergeants and officers used German MP 18 SMGs when available. More often they made do with the Mauser C96 handgun or its fully automatic version the M712 Schnellfeur. Later in the war, allied assistance (and copies) included the STEN SMG, Thompson SMG, and Browning Hi-Power Handgun.

A standard 14 man squad is commanded by a sergeant. One of the soldiers is instead armed with a Czech ZB vz. 26 Light Machine Gun with 4 magazines (80 rounds) along with a loader carrying 10 more magazines (200 rounds) of ammunition, and their weapon techniques are for machine guns instead of rifles. Machine guns were in short supply, so only one of every 3 squads actually employed a light machine gun. Provincial units typically did not have any machine guns. The German trained units typically formed 11 man squads and came closer to deploying a machine gun in every squad.
Last edited by Michael on Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:21 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by MrJupiter »

Holy crap! This is a great amount of work here. You should find some art for it (possibly with some stock art on the cheap), expand the material a bit and put it together as a PDF to be sold on RPGNOW.

You could probably get more if you were to add some WWII campaign setting information to the package along with an adventure or two and get it all dressed up with a great cover image.
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Post by Michael »

I appreciate the feedback and it has helped give me a few ideas on what I need to do next.

Updated Hammer and Sickle (their backgrounds are Soviet super soldier program from WW II) page 1 of Super Builds > America's Finest.
Sickle now takes advantage of the firearms specs and rules posted earlier.
Hammer having an immunity of 5 needed a comprehensive list of damage types for immunities and resistances.

I originally posted some rules ideas for those here, but I have now made it its own topic: Damage Types.

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