Hey, some of you older ones may remember my ages-old RPG known as the Brotherhood of War: Lieutenants. It was set in World War II, based on the series of books, etc, and it did rather well. I always intended to create a sequel for the BoW, and at first I thought that it would be set in Korea, and would take the name of BoW: Captains, just like the novel that served as sequel to the Lieutenants. But I recently acquired a book- Fallen Angels- from the school library and took an interest in the Vietnam War after having finished the book. So, I checked out another book(the library is quite a handy place, is it not?) that documented the Vietnam War, and read it. Having learned quite a bit about the conflict in question, I decided to create an RPG on the Vietnam War. The first one I made, which I named after the book that originally sparked my interest(Fallen Angels) flopped due to lack of interest or what have you. I have decided to make another, but this time make it an addition in my Brotherhood of War collection, since that first one did so well. I thought for a while about making it Captains as I had originally intended, but decided against that, making the title Enlisted, and making the player an enlisted soldier instead of an officer like the prior installment. I have transplanted several ideas from the original Brotherhood of War RPG: the medal system being the most notable, but I have added and subsequently modified some other ideas as well, including the trait system, the skills and abilities, etc. I have decided against the inclusion of the Strength/Agility/Endurance/Intelligence/Charisma/Skills/Perks/Abilities system, replacing it with the much simpler Training/Medals system. Basically, you will be 100% average in everything but what you've been trained in, and the medals will provide an alternative to the training. Training can be acquired through practice, official training, etc. I explained medals below.
The Vietnam War, which took place primarily in the 1960s, was a war fought between France and Vietnam at first, then the United States and Vietnam. In the beginning, the Vietnamese drove out French colonials who were attempting to assimilate their country, then, the United States entered the war in an attempt to keep North and South Vietnam divided. Why? North Vietnam was a communist state, whereas South Vietnam was capitalist. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese hero of the rebellion against the French, and South Vietnam was ruled by the American-backed and [then-Vietnamese emperor] Bao Dai-appointed Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem, his brother, and his sister-in-law were told by the United States to rule fairly and to show the Vietnamese democracy. This was betrayed by Diem and his family, who ruled brutally, tyrannically, and with corruption, imprisoning anyone suspected of being a communist, any of Diem's enemies or rivals, and taking millions of dollars given from the United States for welfare, education, and other purposes, and spending it on God only knows. The Diems were overthrown and murdered in a coup de'tat that the Americans supported by proxy. They were replaced by a military junta, which was later itself overthrown and replaced by a Vietnamese general, Khanh. Khanh was later overthrown by a group of generals who ruled much like the junta. The Viet Minh, or Viet Cong, as well as the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, waged war to unite South and North Vietnam. The United States wanted the two Vietnams to remain divided, because South Vietnam was capitalist, and North Vietnam was communist. The United States leaders feared that if Vietnam should become entirely communist, it would cause a domino effect and all of Asia would become communist. The United States fought alongside the demoralized South Vietnam army, the ARVN, to keep Saigon from falling into the hands of the communist North Vietnamese. They failed, however, and the costs were too great. Nixon negotiated the Paris peace talks, but part of his agreement was that North Vietnam would not attack South Vietnam and unite the two countries, and if they tried, the United States would step in to stop it. This agreement was broken by North Vietnam, and they began to march towards Saigon. However, Nixon was not around to keep his promise, as he was forced to vacate the presidency after the Watergate incident. He was replaced by Gerald R. Ford, who chose not to reopen the wounds of the Vietnam War after almost every American soldier had already been transported out and the war was almost over. Ford allowed Vietnam to become united. The neighboring nations Cambodia and Laos followed, becoming communist themselves, but there was nowhere near the communist domino effect that the Johnson and Kennedy administrations had foreseen. The United States, which was suffering financially after pouring billions upon billions of dollars into the Vietnamese sponge, and was also suffering after multitudes of protests, demonstrations, riots, etc. ended the Vietnam War at last.
Name: First and last name must be included, initial or full middle name optional.
Age: 17-30.
Call Sign: Will be assigned to you initially, but can be changed later on.
Allegiance: United States/ Vietnam.
Location: You may choose between Saigon and Chu Lai for your starting location if you are American. If you are Vietnamese, you may choose between Hanoi and Hai Phong.
Class: See Below.
Rank: Private.
*Looks:
*Biography:
Class: See below.
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Primary Weapon: See Class.
Secondary Weapon: See Class.
Miscellaneous: See Class.
Vehicle: None.
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Training: See Class. See "Training", Below.
Status: Healthy.
Lives: 3. See "Lives", below.
Medals/Ribbons: None. See "Medals/Ribbons", below.
MEDALS/RIBBONS
Medals and ribbons can be awarded at any point in time, but they are going to be awarded most often after battle. They are given for good conduct, valor, etc. If a soldier receives a medal or a ribbon, depending on what it is, he or she will get a bonus such as improved accuracy or improved toughness. They can also be promoted as a reward.
LIVES
You start out with 3 lives: every time you are killed, you lose one life. If you run out of lives, you are booted out of the game. You regain one life when you are sent back home(but you cannot have more than 3 lives at any given time unless this is improved by a medal).
TRAINING
Training allows for the improvement of your skills, attributes, abilities, etc. You start out as average in everything, but you can gain "Training" through formal training, repeated success in something, etc. Here is everything you can be "trained" in.
Assault Rifle Accuracy.
Handgun Accuracy.
Sniper Rifle Accuracy.
Submachine Gun Accuracy.
Machine Gun Accuracy.
Shotgun Accuracy.
Light Machine Gun Accuracy.
Explosives Accuracy.
Ballistic Weapons Accuracy(Ballistic Weapons refers to rocket launchers, RPGs, etc, whereas explosives refer to grenades, claymores, etc.).
Long Range Accuracy.
Short Range Accuracy.
Weapons Handling*.
Stealth.
Close Quarters Combat.
Foreign Language Fluency*.
Toughness(affects how much damage you can take before passing out, how long you can do something without needing sleep, food, water, etc).
Swimming.
Climbing.
Running.
Demolitions.
Vehicle Handling(same as weapons handling, but with vehicles)*.
Vehicular Proficiency(your ability to drive, shoot, etc. the vehicles and their equipment).
Spotting.
Listening.
Theft/Lockpicking.
Geography(your knowledge of the area's geography).
Make your own. You can make your own training, but I must approve it.
*-This can only be acquired through formal training.
You start with 3 training points: two of them are spent on the abilities that your chosen class begins with(this is for the benefit of those making their own class) but you may allocate 1 remaining training point. You can choose to gain a new training ability, or you can also put the point into a skill you already have, improving your ability in that field even further.
Once you have "training", you can improve that skill further. Here is the scale for training, using juggling as an example.
0 - Average, or no knowledge. Cannot juggle.
1- Slight skill or knowledge. Can juggle three balls for about a minute.
2 - Slightly improved skill or knowledge. Can juggle four balls for a few minutes.
3 - Further improved skill or knowledge. Can juggle four objects for a few more minutes.
4 - Moderate skill or knowledge. Can juggle five objects for a same length of time as last.
5 - Improved moderate skill or knowledge. Can juggle five objects for about five minutes.
6 - Further improved moderate skill or knowledge. Can juggle six objects for about nine minutes.
7 - Adept skill or knowledge. Can juggle seven objects for about ten minutes.
8 - Improved adept skill or knowledge. Can juggle eight objects for about fifteen minutes.
9 - Further improved adept skill or knowledge. Can juggle nine objects for about twenty minutes.
10 - Complete mastery of a skill or knowledge. Can juggle fifteen objects for an indefinite amount of time; can juggle twenty objects for about half an hour.
ALLEGIANCE
United States: At first, the United States joined the war by proxy. They supported France when the Vietnamese revolted, and by Dien Bien Phu, the United States was paying approximately 80% of the costs from the war for France. After France had left Vietnam, the United States took its place. The United States leadership was paranoid that if Vietnam became entirely communist, it would cause a sort of "domino" effect and all of Asia would turn to communism. At first, the United States simply provided financial aid, equipment, and military advisers to the ARVN, but as the combat wore on, the United States escalated its involvement in Vietnam. They began sending combat troops, and as good as fought the war for the ARVN. Hundreds of thousands of American troops were sent to Vietnam. And while the United States was winning the war in a physical capacity-killing far more Viet Cong and NVA soldiers than vice versa- they were losing politically. Both Johnson and Nixon wanted no more than an honorable departure, but this was not to be. By the time of the Paris peace talks, the United States recognized that the war in Vietnam was not winnable. They withdrew.
Viet Cong/ Viet Minh: The Viet Minh, or Viet Cong as the organization later came to be known, was a militaristic group that fought for freedom at first, then unity of Vietnam. It was the Viet Minh, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, that drove out the French colonials, and it was also the Viet Minh, along with the NVA, that fought the United States and the ARVN for South Vietnam and North Vietnam to be unified.
Note: You cannot play as an ARVN soldier because they primarily refused to fight. They felt that they were being puppeted by the United States-which was true- and they did not fight against the Viet Cong or the NVA. The ARVN resented the United States involvement in the war, and often they would simply not fight. Therefore, you will not be playing as an ARVN, as that would be boring. In addition, I have decided to give you the choice between the NVA and the Viet Cong, as there was a sizeable difference between the two of them even though they served the same purpose, but the Viet Cong and the NVA equipment will be the same. I have also decided not to let you play as French colonials, as the game would be over too quickly if you were(they only fought in one big battle, pretty much).
AMERICAN CLASSES
Infantry
Description: Your basic soldier. Has standard equipment and training.
Primary Weapon: M16A1 Assault Rifle.
Secondary Weapon: M1911A1 Semiautomatic Pistol.
Miscellaneous: Spare Ammunition, Rations.
Armor: Tropical Jungle Uniform, M1 Helmet.
Training: Rifle Accuracy, Pistol Accuracy.
Probable Assignment: Any.
Sniper
Description: A soldier skilled in long range combat, equipped with the appropriate gear for that.
Primary Weapon: M21 Sniper Rifle.
Secondary Weapon: M1911A1 Semiautomatic Pistol.
Miscellaneous: Spare Ammunition, Binoculars.
Armor: Ghillie Suit.
Training: Rifle Accuracy, Long Range Accuracy.
Probable Assignment: Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol[LRRP],
Commando
Description: A tough, stealthy soldier trained and equipped for special operations work.
Primary Weapon: Colt Commando Assault Rifle.
Secondary Weapon: KABAR Knife, M1911A1 Pistol with Silencer.
Miscellaneous: Rations.
Armor: Jungle Camouflage Uniform, Boonie Hat.
Training: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Stealth.
Probable Assignment: Green Berets.
MG
Description: A soldier trained and equipped to provide heavy suppressive fire for his allies.
Primary Weapon: M60 Machine Gun.
Secondary Weapon: None.
Miscellaneous: Spare Ammunition, Mark 2 Fragmentation Grenade.
Armor: Tropical Jungle Uniform, M1 Helmet.
Training: Machine Gun Accuracy, Weapons Handling(keeping the weapons in good condition so they don't malfunction).
Probable Assignment: Any.
Assault
Description: Trained with heavy weapons, designed to bust bunkers and destroy tanks.
Primary Weapon: M72 LAW Anti Tank And Personnel Weapon.
Secondary Weapon: M79 Grenade Launcher.
Miscellaneous: Mark 2 Fragmentation Grenade.
Armor: M1952 Flak Jacket.
Training: Ballistic Weapons Accuracy, Explosives Accuracy.
Probable Assignment: Any.
You can also be a helicopter pilot. They were critical and used heavily, and will be included in the RPG, but if you are a pilot, your gameplay will be different. If you would like to be a pilot, you can say so and I will set you up.
Make your own. You can make your own class, but I must approve it first.
VIETNAMESE CLASSES
Infantry
Description: Your basic soldier. Has standard equipment and training.
Primary Weapon: AK-47 Assault Rifle.
Secondary Weapon: Tokarev TT33 Pistol.
Miscellaneous: Spare Ammunition, Rations.
Armor: Boonie Hat, Camouflage Uniform.
Training: Rifle Accuracy, Pistol Accuracy.
Commando
Description: A tough, stealthy soldier trained and equipped for special operations work.
Primary Weapon: MAT49 SMG.
Secondary Weapon: Makarov Pistol with Silencer.
Miscellaneous: Radio, Rations.
Armor: Camouflage Uniform, Boonie Hat.
Training: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Stealth.
MG
Description: A soldier trained and equipped to provide heavy suppressive fire for his allies.
Primary Weapon: RPD LMG.
Secondary Weapon: Tokarev TT33 Pistol.
Miscellaneous: Spare Ammunition, Binoculars.
Armor: Boonie Hat, Camouflage Uniform.
Training: Machine Gun Accuracy, Weapons Handling(keeping the weapons in good condition so they don't malfunction).
Assault
Description: Trained with heavy weapons, designed to bust bunkers and destroy tanks.
Primary Weapon: RPG-7 Rocket Launcher.
Secondary Weapon: Makarov Pistol.
Miscellaneous: Extra Ammunition.
Armor: M-1951 Body Armor.
Training: Ballistic Weapons Accuracy, Explosives Accuracy.
If there are any questions, please feel free to ask.
