Bodyguards/protective skills

[Naaman]

You reference spec ops and VIP protection.

Perhaps ironically, close protection is a specialty that such troops specifically train for.

In my job in the army, (military police) we had a special school dedicated to security detail operations. It was a complete and separae qualification above and beyond mere "MP" training.

CID also has specialized close protection training.

The position you are taking would suggest that a sniper is merely an infantryman who "can" shoot a target at 1000m simply because he "chooses" to.

Or that a security guard could just "choose" to be an FBI agent (or the equivalent) simply by adjusting his attitude.

In case I haven't made it clear, this goes beyond merely "taking a bullet" for someone. Its about giving the character abilities that do not rely on the player or GM to know anything about being a bodyguard, but that will make him good at what he does, as opposed to someone just jumping in front of a bullet. Remember: if the bodyguard dies, his client is a sitting duck... taking a bullet is not even close to the first thing a bodyguard should be thinking about, especially if he is the only one.

[Raven Redstar]

I don't have any qualms with a specialty of tactics to allow a bodyguard to plan a protective detail.

I just don't think that making new skills is a necessary step, since the pieces of protection are already covered by existing skills.

You're right that snipers and spec ops go through specialized training in their respective fields. However, looking at this from a game perspective, I just don't see the need to further muddy the water. This is in no way making light of the training that these professionals go through. However, I just don't think it's necessary when the parts of their training are already reflected by existing skills.

If I were going to run this sort of thing in my game, I wouldn't create a whole new skill set just for a body guard to protect. Maybe it comes across as cheapening it, but I see it as allowing heroic characters in a story to be able to apply their existing skill set to do even further things.

A character invests enough character points to raise their dodge skill to 13D, the best in the galaxy (1 in 100 billion by the skill breakdown). Should he not be allowed to roll well enough to knock down his friend who is about to be shot if he sees it coming using his search skill?

I absolutely agree with the usage of tactics to plan for inevitable attacks, but a new dex skill or perception skill to spot and react to danger? The existing skills are already a close enough fit for my tastes.


Using your examples from a gameplay perspective, I believe that either of those "mundane" versions of the characters can in fact be better at a job with a proper expenditure of character points to beef their skills up.

Now, will the security guard have the proper clearance for accessing top secret information or utilizing FBI resources? No, of course not. But, could he be better at shooting and investigating that an actual agent? Absolutely.

The same goes for the infantryman, if he raises his blaster skill higher than a sniper, then he is in fact a better shot than the sniper, because that's what the die codes tell us, more dice equals more skill.

Ultimately, it is a game, and each GM can choose to build and incorporate new skills and mechanics for use with (See page 69).

I was however responding with my own personal views on how I'd approach the situation if a player character in my game wanted to "take a bullet for someone" which is what you asked in your initial post. Perhaps you don't agree, but I've actually been moving more toward the approach of fewer skills that cover a greater area rather than the other way around. Part of this is because my gaming groups have essentially dwindled down to a single player, and I'd like that player to be able to cover as many bases as possible without having to have 1,000 skills listed on her character sheet. If something is close, or close enough, then I just roll with it and keep the story moving along, there are some things I do to add flavor and crunch without having extra skills stuck in. However, I have also added in some options for folks above and beyond the scope of standard training, such as some of your advanced combat skills listed in tactical combat. However, these are added more for flavor, and less for additional mechanical bog down.
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RR
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[garhkal]

[Naaman]

Sure.

At some point it eventually comes down to "do what you want."

Also, I'm not really saying that there should be a "take a bullet" skill. But that a character trained as a bodyguard should be better at protecting someone than a character who isn't trained, all other things (including their dodge skill) being equal.

Simply put, a "successful" bodyguard would get a bonus to dodge to offset whatever penalty is imposed when pusing someone out of the way.

[Raven Redstar]

Then that could easily be done by a specialty of Dodge: Human Shield.
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[garhkal]

Now bigger issue. If they DO 'act as said shield, and get say incap or worse, do YOU have it where any of the damage still makes it through TO the 'protected'??
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Raven Redstar]

I would say no, unless the human shield takes over killed damage. Partly, because I see that blaster weapons in general do not tend to have much in the way of a piercing effect on non-fatal wounds. They tend to do heavy surface burn damage.

Fatal wounds however will leave a large hole in the target and a scorch mark on the wall behind.

This is just my interpretation.
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[Naaman]

Okay, so here are the skills that I think are relevant to doing the job:

Brawling Parry
Melee Parry
Dodge

Cultures (maybe... not sure)
Intimidate (perhaps a passive ability to dissuade would--be atackers)
Law Enforcement
Streetwise
Tactics:Close Protection
Willpower (not sure about this one either, but since it opposes con and intimidate, I see it as relevant)

Communications
Repulsorlift Operations
Sensors

Con (icluding a specialization for disguise)
Hide (concealing weapons or other important items)
Investigation
Persuasion
Search

Brawling
Lifting (carry a wounded person to safety)
Stamina

First Aid

I left blaster and melee combat off the list because I don't see any kind of "special" need for those skills, though a proficient bodyguard would certainly have them.

Also, some of the skills listed here will also not have any special use, and the list will be pared down as I think things through more.

Ultimately, there will be a few skills that derive an unconventional benefit from close protection training.

[Naaman]

[garhkal]