So here I am using Dogs Of W*A*R (the modern action relative of Barbarians Of Lemuria) to knock out a few grunts for that theoretical November Company thing I mention occasionally. I’m not actually anywhere near doing anything on that front, but I’m trying to rekindle the RPG fire by poking at something I find interesting. So, without further ado, here are some low ranking GIs who have found themselves assigned to November Company.
Sgt. Danny Womack
Daniel Womack hails from Santa Rosa, California. The son of a policeman and a seamstress, the 24 year old Womack had himself entered the force before enlisting in the army after Pearl Harbor. He has taken to the service and is respected by his superiors. He is a very serious man who almost seems to lack a sense of humor entirely.
Sgt. Danny Womack / Lifeblood 11 / Exploit Points 5
Attributes: Strength 1 Agility 1 Mind 0 Appeal 2
Combat Abilities: Brawl 1 Melee 0 Ranged 2 Defense 1
Background: Law Enforcement
Specializations: Sleuth 1 Soldier 2 Sneak 2 Snoop 1
Boons: Alert, Gun Specialist
Flaws: Anger Issues
Languages: English, German, French
Equipment: Heavy Pistol (d6+1), Light Machine Gun (2d6* +1)
Pvt. Dominic Di Martino
Nineteen year old Dominic Di Martino is as Brooklyn as it gets. Before entering the army he was well on his way to establishing himself as a petty criminal of some note. The army has set him straight and it’s unlikely that he’ll return to that lifestyle if he makes it home. Dom is garrulous and something of a practical joker. And his knowledge of baseball is unrivaled in all of November Company.
Cpl. Dominic Di Martino / Lifeblood 12 / Exploit Points 3
Attributes: Strength 2 Agility 0 Mind 1 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Brawl 2 Melee 0 Ranged 2 Defense 0
Background: Criminal
Specializations: Faceman 1 Soldier 2 Fixer 1 Tech 2
Boons: Stylish, Fast Talker, Grease Monkey
Flaws: Greed
Languages: English, Italian, German, French, Yidish
Equipment: Heavy Pistol (d6+1), Rifle (d6)
Pvt. John O’Shea
Boston-born John O’Shea is no soldier – at least not by the standards of most of November Company’s fighting men. But what O’Shea lacks in army training he makes up for with a broad range of knowledge and languages. Whether you need to get patched up or take out a bridge, O’Shea’s your man in just about any theater. Now if only he could keep from losing his glasses in a firefight.
Pvt. John O’Shea / Lifeblood 10 / Exploit Points 5
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 2 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Brawl 0 Melee 0 Ranged 3 Defense 1
Background: Other
Specializations: Academic 2 Soldier 1 Medic 2 Sapper 1
Boons: Mimic, Deadly Fists, Born Behind The Wheel
Flaws: Poor Eyesight, Clumsy
Languages: English, German, Burmese, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Finnish
Equipment: Heavy Pistol (d6+1), Rifle (d6)
Just a coupla grunts looking for a fight!
Dogs of WAR seems great for rolling up quick and dirty characters in the same way as orginal BoL.
Your next trick is of course to roll out an SS Hauptmann who will be their arch-enemy!
Exactly, amigo. I picked these guys pinned down in a foxhole somewhere alongside the “regular” troops they were sent to help, with a complete clash of cultures brewing even as the Germans are closing in.
DoW is, indeed, just as great for quick & dirty characters as BoL. If you haven’t snagged it yet, I definitely recommend getting the PDF at least. It, along with BoL and BotA make for a very sweet package.
Und ja, ze nemesis ist coming soon. Actually, make that nemeses, and throw in bad movie accents for a couple of other cultures as well 🙂
Good to see November Company again!
You mentioned Rat Patrol as an influence, but are there any others?
Hey there, old friend. Good to see you. I knew if I set the bait out you’d drop by 🙂
Among the other inspirations for my desire to do something WWII are Hell Is For Heroes, Play Dirty, Sahara, and of course The Dirty Dozen. These are definitely not all in the same sub-genre of WWII films, and it was actually Sahara that got my brain going initially. But since I was looking for stuff that would fit into the “small group of likely violent and unhinged PCs” that these guys usually represent I needed something less Hollywood. 🙂
In terms of BRP vs. Dogs of War, the characters seem tougher in the latter, w/o the need for long skill-lists, but do you think the system would be “gritty” enough to simulate WWII drama/action?
They do actually seem unnaturally strong – I mean a rifle round only does 1d6 damage. You could potentially be shot four or five times.
I assume Dogs has the same “rabble rules” where everyone bar the pcs are one hit point wonders?
That makes perfect, 60s WWII movie sense – every shot kills a Nazi and half the platoon buys it while getting up Omaha Beach – meanwhile your valiant three or four characters shrug off a couple gun shots and shrapnel wounds to make it to D-Day.
The Big Red One is a perfect example – the characters actually make jokes about the unkillable Sarge and his “four horsemen” who never get killed while the entire platoon gets killed in every encounter.
I feel overall that the gun damage is too low in DoW. The idea that a rifle is only 1d6 just seems off. And in that regard, I don’t think DoW is really right for gritty and/or realistic WWII gaming.
But, like Gobbo so correctly notes, it’s actually perfect for running cinematicWWII stuff. The PCs are heroes who don’t die (at least until the climatic battle), while everyone else around them gets slaughtered left and right (rabble, especially, won’t hold up to those seemingly low-powered rifles).
Still, I think when it comes to actually running November Company, it’ll be BRP that carries the day. As always, this is in no small part to my players preferring that extra level of crunch that BRP has over DoW/BoL/etc. And it’s entirely possible to make BRP behave in the same “Heroes live, rabble die” way when appropriate.