5150: Space Marines

5150: Space Marines

“Falcon’s Fist, this is 4-1 Actual. We’re loaded into the assault and ready to release clamps.”

“Go for release, 4-1 Actual. Clean ‘em out.”

“That’s the plan, Fist. Hitting pirate destroyers is my favourite thing to do on a lazy Saturday. 4-1 Actual out.”

They Invade Ships So You Don’t Have To

There is a definite difference between the kind of soldier you need for taking and holding planet-side (or even asteroid-side) facilities and areas, and the kind of soldier who’d willingly strap themselves into a wedge-shaped chunk of metal, get hurled onto a slightly larger one, then get to the careful business of killing other men who probably knew they were coming in tight quarters within a box that might suddenly lose all its air at any moment. There’s a certain level of challenge there that not everyone is ready to take up.

Those that do get called “marines.” Sometimes worse.

While 5150: Star Army is one of the best ground-pounder-focused wargames available, by default the forces listed aren’t really tuned to do their dirty business within the confines of a spacecraft. They’re trained to take and hold, to keep long sight-lines, to function in an environment where stand-off tactics are more than viable, they’re required. Within the body of a ship that they’ve probably just cut a new opening through to emerge unexpectedly, things are very different. Sight-lines are short, up to the next bulkhead at worst, across a broad cargo bay or hangar space at best. Clutter is omnipresent; cover is everywhere. Suppression can mean the difference between moving down a hallway toward the bridge for a quick assault and an easy haul, or getting pinned down behind a stanchion and shaking a fist impotently at the well-entrenched marines who are all that’s left between you and payday.

Capital ships are rather surprisingly big. 5150: Carrier Command, the “big ship” suppliment for 5150: Fighter Command gives the size of the marine detachment for the various sizes of cap ships:

  • Corvettes, Destroyers and Frigates carry between a squad and a platoon (8 to 27 fully-armed soldiers)
  • Cruisers, Heavy Cruisers, and Light Carriers can carry several platoons (35 to – potentially – 85 fully-armed soldiers, or between one platoon with an attached squad to a full company with an attached squad of marines)
  • Battleships, Dreadnoughts and Star Carriers pack in between 5 squads and 15 squads, or one platoon and two reinforcing squads (43 marines) to a full company with an auxiliary platoon (108 marines in the company plus an additional 52 in the aux).

This is a lot of marines. More marines than you even want to think about. And these are not troop transport ships, not dedicated craft designed to bring a serious pacification force for planetary drops. These are marines who specialize in things like shipwide damage control, repulsing boarders, and doing those boardings themselves. The crew of such craft are larger still, and considered valuable specialists; warship crews are expected to be able to defend the ship if pressed into service but the marines are the gold standard for doing so.

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