So thanks to /tg/'s advanced wisdom I've decided to run a game in which the players will be soldiers in some kind of war (still deciding which one).
system will come later, but first i need to figure out how to guide them? i can't say "do whatever you feel like" and i can't just shout "go here and do X, then come back to me and ill tell you to do Y" repeat.
how do i give them an idea that this is a linear story and they're not just being given objectives from a talking bounty board? i hope you guys get what I'm saying.
depends on what level the players are at and what kind of war is being fought,
that being said orders from the brass can be fairly vague when you get any kind of rank. the lower you are on the totem pole the more simple, easy, and rigidly interpreted your orders are.
play up what happens on their down time. maybe they have some rivalries with that card shark in company F, maybe the sergeant in the motor pool (or it's equivalent) hates the party because of some bullshit, or maybe the CO is crazy and puts his own twist on P.T. the possibilities go on.
when it comes to material rewards that's when it gets tricky. depending on the setting you can't exactly keep "spoils of war". In fact it's generally frowned on to raid and pillage civilians. Also if the enemy has awesome loot it's probable that someone will pull rank and take it for their own.
just a few things the think about
>>46304514
Watch the old "Tour of Duty" TV-series.
Take it from there.
And after that, let the campaign turn into A-Team.
>>46304681
you know what, you make a very good point. i have a lot more to worry about than my original issue.
i might just start with finding a system and rest what it tells me to do then
>>46304514
>system will come later
Well that's the game. That sets the challenges and the goal posts. Everything else is just flavor. This isn't a movie, it's a game. The system is pretty essential to what it is all about.
>how do i give them an idea that this is a linear story
= How do GM?
It seems like you're hopelessly lost. All you have is a vague idea of genre. But you don't understand the genre in question, you don't understand game structure, and you don't know how to make stories work in general.
This is too much to convey in a few posts. I suggest you read the GM sections of a few different game books, maybe pick up some secondary literature, play a lot of different games with a lot of different groups, and find a better place to lurk than this lowest common denominator circlejerk.
Realize that military stories tend to take crucial liberties. Agency and pacing are greatly inflated. Don't ever listen to anybody complaining about lack of realism, there can never be realism. Just avoid violating suspension of disbelief player to player. And ultimately tell a good story that follows an inner logic, only then apply military tropes that serve your plot. Never the other way around.
If you want to see a military (merc) campaign done right, check out
https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Mercenaries_and_planes
>>46304804
yes, this was an extremely vague idea. awhile back i made a post and people recommended switching to a soldier campaign.
so we finished up our fantasy campaign about a week ago everyones feeling pretty happy and we've got a little while to get a new long term game going, so decided to revisit what you guys recommended.
im so absolutely lost, I've only ever run fantasy games where we kill goblins and dragons, but everyone in our group seems interested in being soldiers so here we go.
And thanks, ill read that in the morning.
Have them be guerrilla fighters
They won't need "orders" because wherever their base is is basically just a quest hub, they'll be able to keep loot (anything the enemies have on them) and if they are high in the totem pole you can feed them shit that's happening at the moment and they'll make their own quests
>>46304514
Let them go through boot for a really short bit
That'll straighten them out...
Or teach them what you want...
>>46304718
Great show and i second this. Also Combat!, a similar show about ww2.
Watch Army Dog
