Soldier's Companion

Military affairs are not limited to the obliteration of large patches of land along the enemy force that was on it. There are operations where the assets are not sheer firepower but precision, adaptability, speed, stealth and quick response. For such missions, the military forces around the world still train and deploy the oldest and most versatile machine of war: the soldier.

While displaced from the spotlight by officers who command the might of war vehicles –from tanks and aircraft to the WarMeks themselves – soldiers are still an indispensable force in any army, national, private or mercenary. WarMek pilots consider infantry the bottom rung of the military ladder, used to squashing them like bugs under the tonnage of their machines and watching their maneuvers as those of insects. But soldiers know better. They know that they are no match for a mek in direct confrontation, but they also know that meks just cannot do some of the tasks they carry out with their eyes closed. A WarMek may deal with difficult terrain, but it will never beat the mobility of rangers; they can infiltrate enemy positions, but not with the proficiency and sheer inconspicuousness of an advance recon squad. A WarMek’s sensors may collect a lot of electronic information, but it will never beat the infiltration specialists in the depth of his discoveries. A team of WarMeks will flatten an enemy building, but it lacks the finesse of the special forces that will get inside to rescue the hostages, disable anti-mek and anti-aerial defenses and leave none-the-wiser.

As the end of the 21st century draws near, the power of the individual soldier remains as strong as ever, except that it is being applied where such strength works best. Small operations by all sides of the Armageddon War are conducted by soldiers, not meks. Whether they are open assaults, covert operations or the dirty tactics of unconventional warfare, it is people on foot who are sent to perform them armed with the latest of personal weaponry and equipment. Where the WarMeks are the sword, soldiers are the scalpel.

This rules supplement is a comprehensive collection of options for infantry-type characters in the Armageddon 2089 role-playing game. The characters may be soldiers or officers from any branch of the military, but they have one thing in common: they face combat face to face, unprotected by tons of armor and weaponry. Whether working for a nation, a corporation or as part of a mercenary company, soldiers are the very definition of versatility, choosing their careers in different fields of warfare, including covert operations and military intelligence as much as special forces and demolitions training.

The Soldier’s Companion opens the way to play campaigns focusing on the subtler aspects of war, far from the deafening roar of WarMek weapons. The first chapter offers a peek into the meaning of being a soldier in a world where wars are fought between metal titans; who the soldiers are and what they do to stay alive. The Advanced Operative presents prestige classes for soldier and officer characters, broadening their fields of expertise while specializing their talents along a certain area of personal combat and general warfare. New feats follow, with options for honing an operative’s skills. Covert Missions explores the shady world of espionage and infiltration, while Unconventional Warfare gives you a look at the dirty side of war: black ops and irregular warfare. Personal Equipment provides soldiers with new tools to improve their performance, while Power Armor describes the highly experimental miniature meks, the fighting chance of infantry against WarMeks.