RogerFL
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Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 13 Jan 2022, 06:51

Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Fri 14 Jan 2022, 22:44

This points out, I think, why death in character generation is a feature, not a bug.

If you get someone feeble, best to push them into a very dangerous life, and hope for the best.
 
sgt
Posts: 75
Joined: Sat 26 Dec 2020, 21:37

Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Sat 15 Jan 2022, 20:46

Some interesting numbers from the data:
Average age: 33,2
Highest age: 57
Lowest age: 20

Average skill points spent: 11,6
Most skill points spent: 21
Fewest skill points spent: 7

Average specializations: 4,8
Most specializations: 10
Fewest specializations: 2

If all the skills and specializations were acquired using XP...
Average XP required: 141
Most XP required: 310
Fewest XP required: 55

The difference between most and fewest: 255 xp (with an average of 3 xp per session that is 85 sessions)
 
SykesFive
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue 07 Sep 2021, 21:15

Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Wed 19 Jan 2022, 19:31

Regarding speed of promotion, during WWII U.S. Army officers often spent one year or less at each company-grade rank (up to captain). Past that promotion slowed, but there are quite a few instances of men who graduated from USMA during the war ending it as majors or even lieutenant colonels.

My grandfather was a newly-promoted reserve captain in 1940. By the middle of 1944 he was a lieutenant colonel commanding a battalion. His brother had no prior military service but was a captain when he was killed in action in 1944. You just have to throw all your ideas about time in grade out the window. My grandfather's executive officer was a major who'd graduated from USMA in 1942 so his promotion was quite rapid.

Granted, this was in the context of an army that was both rapidly expanding and taking significant casualties. Whether the armies in the T:2000 4E setting expanded much is not clear to me. (In 1E/2E, its clear they had.)

Even an army that is not expanding may have fairly rapid promotion in wartime. During Vietnam, USMA cadets were expected to achieve "tracks in two"--that is, they would be captains two years after commissioning. (The name derives from the two-bar insignia of the captain, which looks sort of like railroad tracks and ties.)

So it's not all that implausible and, on the specific issue of lieutenants being promoted rapidly, I would say that is precisely the pattern you see in wartime.
 
baldrick0712
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Joined: Fri 28 May 2021, 12:29

Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Sun 23 Jan 2022, 18:30

The rapid promotion of officers during WWII ties in a bit with this interesting video I watched a while ago. One of its main points was that American officers during WWII were frequently fired for failure. This suggests a very high turnover in officers, with promising young ones rapidly rising to the top as mediocre ones were unceremoniously given the boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxZWxxZ2JGE
 
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Ursus Maior
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Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Mon 24 Jan 2022, 10:59

Watched this as well and was surprised about that way of "personnel development" in the highest leadership. Though I think that the short tenures of lower ranks was also due to the fact that the US Army was still a force in building. There were so many divisions levied and planned for creation that junior officers and even staff officers were needed in immense numbers. By 1932 the US Army had 134,957 service members and the US Marine Corps 16,561 (https://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Stat ... s_FY97.pdf; p. 46). By the end of the war, these numbers had blown up to 8,266,373 and 469,925 for Army and Marines respectively.
liber & infractus
 
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Vader
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Location: The Frozen North

Re: One Thousand Lifepath Characters

Mon 24 Jan 2022, 11:28

One of its main points was that American officers during WWII were frequently fired for failure.

"Used to be a lieutenant. Pretty good one, too — 'til they gave him orders to attack the wrong hill. Wiped out half a company of GIs. Somebody had to get the blame and he got picked."
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion

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