Ninjas & Superspies: Introduction to Occupational Character Classes

Palladium Megaverse?!  What's that, by golly?

Well, it's an oft-benighted game system published by Palladium Books, and the basic gist is that all their games are interchangeable, compatible and set in the same universe - the aforementioned Palladium Megaverse.  For a long time I've wanted to run some Palladium, but it was a hard sell at the miniatures club.  Rules are wonky and it doesn't have ... well, miniatures.  Today is a different story, and I find myself in a spot where Palladium isn't just suitable, but might be preferable.

It's all very old-school, you might say.  Lots of guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules.  Yadda yadda.  I will still try to be as close to RAW as possible, depending on which volume of rules we'll be using at the time.  With all the different versions and small differences between each ruleset, there will be some changes from session to session if we move to a ruleset that has a different take on certain things.  I'm being very oblique about all this, but I don't want to give too much away.

So, Palladium uses something called Occupational Character Classes, or O.C.C.'s.  They are basically character classes, but specifically their occupation rather than race.  In Palladium, if a class is a race, it's called an R.C.C., or Racial Character Class.  It's kinda loose with this, and sometimes you can actually gain both an R.C.C. and an O.C.C. ...but really you should only think of that as an accidental by-product of play rather than any kind of advancement scheme you can map out.  There are uncountable character classes in the multiverse, so we'll do like we usually do and bite chunks off the giant beast.

Today, we're going to be jamming some Ninjas & Superspies!

Welcome to the Meta-Concern Authority.

Below are listed the O.C.C.'s and their general bents.  It might seem a little abbreviated and non-specific, but most of these classes are mostly equal, otherwise.  Not a lot of that matters before we dig into the weeds, because you can't really min/max a Palladium game.  You can try for high numbers, but that's about it (and you won't get many anyway).

• Martial Artist
• Kung-Fu / Ninja, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat / Bruce Lee types.
• Dedicated Martial Artist: Has the most Kung-Fu's.
• Worldly Martial Artist: Has less Kung-Fu's than Dedicated Martial Artists (but still more than other classes) but has a few other skills to make up for it.
• Espionage Agent
• High-dollar spy types from all tropospheres.  James Bond / Jack Ryan / Lorraine Broughton types.
• Wired Agent - Lots of skills and cybernetics also.
• Gadgeteer Agent - Has Gidgets and gadgets for all your spy network needs.
• Operative Agent - Has the most skills.
• Free Agent
• For those with attachment issues.  Carmen San Diego / Mike Hammer / Hudson Hawk types.
• Wandering Free Agent - Has lots of freedom.
• Professional Free Agent - Has slightly less freedom, but more resources.
• Thief - Is free to be thief-y.
• Mercenary
• Gun-toting Chuck Rambo / Van Damage-types.
• Veteran Grunt - Has the most guns.
• Cyborg Soldier: Has lots of guns, but also robot-parts for pitying fools.
• Academy Officer: Has guns, but mostly skills.
• Gizmoteer
• For those who like to build stuff.  Q / MacGyver / MacGruber / A-Team in a Shed types.
• Tinker Gizmoteer - Is the most build-y of all.
• Dreamer Gizmoteer - Builder with more diverse skills.
• Gizoid Gizmoteer - Can build lots of stuff, but loves cybernetics very much.

It's really kind of hard to go into further specifics without just bringing out all the information in the book.  Honestly, the entire book is filled with the options these characters have.  Without players actually perusing the book in their own time, Palladium character creation sessions take ... well, entire sessions.  Just pick one that looks the coolest to you and we'll muddle through the creation process, exploring your options as we go.

What's Canon Got to Do With It?

Inspirobot always gives the best advice.

I've talked at length about CANON before on other blogs, but I feel I need to reiterate this concept for our Iron Seer era.  You know, CANON in all-caps, because it dictates the settings of our games.  It's something we all share, and can agree on...and that helps us share these worlds in ways that wouldn't be possible without a CANON.

For us, canon forms the basis upon which our stories are told, but doesn't necessarily form the basis of our stories.  That is, our campaigns and stories form a new canon for our club.  The most satisfying way this is accomplished is by diverging totally (where possible) from the main story and setting.

For instance, Star Wars games probably won't (but might!) involve folks named Skywalker.  Lord of the Rings games probably won't involve anyone doing anything they didn't do in the books.  We get a lot more leeway with other games but those are the big two.  Yet even D&D settings have their canon, and the trick is finding a spot within the setting where we can carve out our own stories.

Most of the stuff that comes up on RAW RPG will be derivatives of these illustrious works.  This isn't because we lack creativity to make our own settings, but because these are the games we share and play on the regular.  The games we play are the very pulse of Iron Seer, and I personally have seen that we enjoy ongoing, connective narratives for our games.  It makes it all just a little bit "bigger" when it has ramifications for the NEXT game, or another campaign entirely.

Even where names from the canon show up in our games, it will probably be in a 'downtime' area of the main story, and we work very hard to make sure it fits directly in with the main story.  This is easy in a lot of settings, especially where the setting is continental or galactic in scale.  Fleshing out those areas of the canon where we can slip our campaigns into is something we enjoy, and as a group project can be quite interesting as different concepts and ideas slip into the narrative.

In other words, just because there's a meta-narrative doesn't mean you'll be shin-deep in meta-slop in Iron Seer games.

A Century of Total Warfare

3145 - The Dark Age

The invasion of the Inner Sphere by the Clans began in the year 3049.  Nearly one hundred years have passed since then, during which time the galaxy has known no measure of peace.  The Age of War has passed, but there is no rejoicing among the stars.  We have passed into a Dark Age.

The Blackout continues, and shows no sign of abatement.  As time passes waiting for couriers on JumpShips, concerns have turned to the immediate.  For some worlds in the Lyran Alliance, that concern has turned toward and area of space known as The Falcon's Reach.

Clan Jade Falcon
2nd Falcon Dragoons
Vindemiatrix Army Badge

Clan Jade Falcon 
A most warlike clan, their new Khan has decided that the old practices of using batchall are no longer necessary when dealing with the Inner Sphere.  As a result, the most dangerous of the clans are even more dangerous in this new era.  The Khan has made it clear to her warriors that conquest is the order of the day.

Jade Falcon forces are poised to take advantage of the blackout at the edges of the Falcon's Reach.  The Khan is ready to order a new désant such as the one targeting Skye and the surrounding systems eleven years prior.  This time, a score of planets in Lyran territory are potential targets.  Under the cover of the Blackout, this could spell trouble for systems far from the Falcon's Reach.

The Khan finds this situation satisfactory, and begins to allow her commanders to begin their conquest of the Inner Sphere.  Star Colonel Ayaan Mandaka is more than ready when the call is given, and prepares to set out for the longest shot of the coming désant..

Stormhammers
Tharkan Strikers
Vindemiatrix Army Badge

The Stormhammers
The Lyran Alliance has seen better days.  With the advent of the Blackout, the already weakened Armed Forces have additional hurdles to cross to effectively defend the frontier.  As a result, the LAAF has resorted to hiring mercenaries to shore up gaps in their ability to garrison worlds - especially near the Falcon's Reach.

The Stormhammers are a unit of RAF defectors that have integrated with the Lyran Alliance.  One Stormhammer unit in particular is made up of planetary defense specialists, the Tharkan Strikers.  While other Stormhammer elements plot to retake Skye from Jade Falcon, the Tharkan Strikers are staging on Vindemiatrix to provide garrison and logistical support to the Stormhammer advance when the order is given.

Vindemiatrix's garrison, the 12th Lyran Guards, aid in collecting and processing resources for the assault.  Without the HPG's, much of this work has to be carried out in advance of the actual attack as each element awaits courier ships from LAAF command.  It promises to be grueling work...but the Lyrans are nothing if not industrious.

A New Désant

The Falcon's strike would come from Zebebelgenubi.  Taken by surprise by the arrival of Clan ships in Vindemiatrix's space, the defenders had little chance to fight off the fleet in orbit.  The ruthless Clan forces pushed ahead and began landing on the planet with little preamble or announcement.

For the defenders of Vindemiatrix, it is cold comfort that both the Tharkan Strikers and 12th Lyran Guards are present.  The Khan's mongol doctrine demands everything be destroyed, razed to the ground.  The Lyran defenders are quite aware of this fact, and quickly mobilize to defend the population centers.

The Falcon's forces that made planetfall are quite numerous, but have set up bases of operations in the sparsely populated Vindemiatrixian sulfur plains.  Unfortunately, that happens to be where a lot of heavy industrial facilities for extracting resources are positioned - resources the Lyrans need to secure.  The Falcons may well decide to destroy the facilities, if they learn how crucial they are to the Lyran plan to counter-attack and retake the Isle of Skye.

The Battle of Vindemiatrix has begun.