Coalition Non-Citizen Volunteer O.C.C.

Created by Kirk Smith (put his name in the subject when sending mail).
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This here is a pretty good idea for an O.C.C. and I'm personally surprised that Palladium never put it in any books. It's like a military version of a Vagabond. It is also a good way to add some more depth to the relatively bland Coalition. I'm expecting that to change with the release of Rifts World Book 11: The Coalition War Campaigntm. Note: I did a little bit of tweaking and error correction, but virtually everything here should be credited to Kirk Smith. I'm sure that GMs who use this O.C.C. will want to include it with the War Campaign book if they get it. There won't be a listing for armor for these guys, so I'd suggest using all the equipment out of the Rifts® RPG book. It makes sense to me that the Coalition doesn't want to waste all the resources put into making Dead Boy armor and C-10 Laser Rifles, so they'll equip disposable soldiers with disposable weapons. Could be fun. Later.

-- Brett

"Come on, you apes wanna live forever?"
- Attributed to a corporal in the Coalition Non-citizen Volunteers 3rd Batt.

Motto of the 1st Volunteer Battalion: If you're gonna die, die with your boots on.

Enlistment into the Non-citizen Volunteer Units:

If a character enlists and already has the skills listed below (or better ones), then the character does not have to go through the training course like everyone else. Any headhunters, wilderness scouts, special forces, or anyone with a military O.C.C. would go through a short CS command class (indoctrination). They are then promoted to cpl. and assigned to a unit, and also keep their original O.C.C. (this saves time and money for the CS).

For other characters, there are three basic options/means of enlisting.
  1. This option offers citizenship for the recruit, and up to three family members. However citizenship is granted only upon completion of military service, and if the recruite for any reason recieves a dishonorable discharge, this contract will become null and void as it pertains to giving citizenship to family members. The usual term of enlistment for this contract is 5 years but occasionally 4 years, but NEVER under 4 years.
  2. This option applies only to those who live somewhere outside Coalition protected territory. Upon completion of military service the recruit is allowed to keep the armor and weapon issued to him (Joseph Prosek believes this could be a very powerfull propaganda tool, and might improve the Coalition's image outside areas they control). The usual term of enlistment for this contract is always 3 years of military service. A special condition of this option is the payment of the recruit after their service obligation for anyone they get to enlist in the Volunteer Units.
  3. This enlistment option is not much of an option. People arrested in the burbs for petty crimes are sometime given the option of joining the Volunteer Units instead of recieving a prison sentance. Upon completion of their military service they will be honorably discharged and their criminal record wiped clean. The term of enlistment varies (it usually depends on the judge and the type of crime commited) but is always a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 8 years. This is only avaliable for petty criminals (no murderers, rapists, smugglers, arms dealers etc.)
Re-enlistment Option:
Upon completion of the term of service in the military, all have the option to enlist in the regular CS military if they so wish, at the rank of corporal, and are allowed to choose any military O.C.C..

Official reasons for the creation of the Volunteer units:
  1. Reduce crime in the burbs, by getting young men and women with no jobs and no future a chance to make something of themselves so they don't turn to a life of crime.
  2. Let the people outside CS protected territory know that they have not been forgotten and that the CS is trying to help them by training their sons, daughters, fathers, uncles, and anyone else who comes to them, to fight the evil that lurks behind every tree and bush.
Unoffical (real) reasons:
  1. Reduce the population of the burbs.
  2. Build up the CS army with cheap and disposable soldiers.
  3. Extend their presence to areas currently outside of their control.
The Fine Print:
  1. Death in combat automatically guarantees citizenship for anyone the deceased sponsored, or in the case of enlistment option 2 a small one time payment of 10,000cr to a person of the deceased choice.
  2. Death by accident in training or on manuevers does not guarantee automatic citizenship for family members, but instead puts a favored status on their application for citizenship and then go through selection normally.
  3. Surrender, cowardice, desertion, and anything else the CS wants to include, will result in the benifits gained by enlist being revoked, but not the obligation to fulfill their term of service in the military.
  4. The CS maintians the right to punish all soldiers in the volunteer service units anyway they see fit for any crime, without a hearing or formal courtmartial.
  5. No soldier in the volunteer units, regardless of rank, has authority over any soldier of the regular CS military regardless of that soldiers rank.
  6. All potential recruits are required to go through a screening process, which is done to find out if the person in question has any mutations, or is a user of magic. Any person who is found to use magic is summarily executed. Persons who appear completely human but manifest paranatural abilities (super powers) may be considered for special experimentation or training on a volunteer basis. The screening process is also used to determine if the recruit is actually who he says he is, and that the people he is sponsoring for citizenship are actually members of his family, they are also required to go through a screening process. General information about the recruit is also obtianed during the screening such as approximate age, height, weight, etc.
A few things the recruiter never mentioned...
  1. Volunteers recieve less training than a CS grunt.
  2. Pay is about a third of a grunt's.
  3. Issued the worst equipment and weapons .
  4. Assigned to the worst and most dangerous outposts and missions.
  5. Only one M.O.S. is available (infantry).
  6. Have the highest casualty rates of any units in the CS military.
  7. Commanded by CS regulars.
  8. Units get no heavy support weapons or robots (a C-12 is considered a heavy support weapon in these units).
  9. Never promoted above the rank of Sgt.
  10. Any other nasty thing the GM can think of.
Life in the Volunteer Units:
After reading all of the above you might be wondering why the hell anyone would ever join this sorry excuse for a military outfit. Well, not everybody in Rifts® is a super hero with a dozen attacks a hundred weapons and godlike super powers. Some are just ordinary people who try to get by the best way they can, and for some this is their chance to change the world they live in, or get the skills they need to survive.

One of the strangest things about these units is their sense of family, since many volunteers actually are family. Large families sometimes have up to 3 members or more in these units not including other relatives such as cousins and uncles, and many more joined up with friends they have known from childhood. Some squads are made up entirely of family members or people from the same villages or wilderness areas. As a result these units are very close and fight with more ferocity and tenaciousness, and see more acts of heroism than any other unit in the CS military.

A lot of these soldiers also have their families back home to think about, and usually send all or most of their pay home, and would rather die fighting because they know at least then their families will be safe and better off as citizens of the Coalition (a somewhat false belief). They are issued the worst equipment and weapons, but they have been known to accquire heavier weapons in the field, these weapons however must be turned in when the unit (largest unit size is a battalion) returns to garrison. A final note about the casualty rates; another result of these units' composition is that many families lose a lot of family members and friends, sometimes in only one battle. This can be devestating to families and could eventually lead to trouble for the CS.

Power Armor:
The Rifts® Mercenaries book did briefly mention the CS doing a feasability study on non-citizen units using cheap equipment and weapons. It also mentioned using Chipwell series power armor, probably just CAI-50 combat armor with an extra battery or two and armed with a C-12 rifle. The other Chipwell suits would not be a very economical choice. The probable course of action of the CS will be to equip only heavy infantry units with the CAI-50. Soldiers at or above the third level will be able to take the skills Pilot: Robots and Power Armor and Power Armor Combat: Basic.

Attribute Requirements: None
Experience: Use the table for the CS Grunt.
O.C.C. Bonuses: None
O.C.C. Skills:
Pilot Automobile (+5%)
Radio: Basic (+5%)
Read Sensory Equipment(+5%)
Athletics
Body Building
Running
W.P. Energy Pistol
W.P. Energy Rifle
W.P. Knife
Hand to Hand: Basic

Hand to Hand: Basic can be upgraded to Expert at the cost of one "other" skill, or Martial Arts at the cost of two "other" skills.

O.C.C. Related Skills: Select 8 other skills. At levels four, seven, and ten select another two skills. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
Communications: Radio: Scramblers, Laser, and Cryptography only
Domestic: Any
Electrical: Basic Electronics only.
Espionage: None
Mechanical: Automotive only.
Medical: First aid only.
Military: Any (+10%)
Physical: Any (except Acrobatics and Gymnastics)
Pilot: Any (except aircraft)
Pilot Related: Any (+5%)
Rogue: Any
Science: Any
Technical: Math: Basic only.
W.P.: Any
Wilderness: Any
Secondary Skills: Select another eight, but the selection range is limited to the areas previously indicated and do not get any bonuses from training.
Standard Equipment: CA-2 body armor, two weeks rations, knife, backpack, two canteens, first aid kit, sleeping bag, extra uniform, gas mask, combat boots, and a combat harness.
Armor and Weapons: C-10 laser rifle with four e-clips, 2 grenades (player's choice), vibro-knife (1d6 M.D.tm), and a 9mm pistol. They are usually issued an older CS type armor called the CA-78 (began production in 78 P.A.), a non-enviromental body armor similiar to that of the Dog Boys, but with the same basic stats of the Huntsman body armor. Other equipment is rarely issued.
Money: 600cr is a month's pay for grunts, while corporals and sergeants get up to 800cr. The character starts with one month's pay and 1d6x100cr.
Cybernetics & Bionics: None to start, and the Coalition bureaucracy will avoid giving prosthetics and medical implants.