Cyberpunk 2020: Bad Company

[Knight]

Two ideas:

Praying Mantis
A private military contractor with its headquarters based in East London. Although its organization is strict, it lacks the hardcore discipline and structure that the US Army has. That means that war crimes may be buried or ignored more since they don't have any silly thoughts of being world police. They're just being paid here to guard or kill someone. People are free to be more casual with each other (at least, as casual as a business setting can offer). Instead of ranks like Private, Specialist, Corporal, Sergeant, and so on it's a lot more simple, but vaguely the same. You have your Contractor and then you have a Team Lead. A Group Lead is usually in charge of 5 teams, to include having his own team that he personally oversees. Then, there is a Section Lead that is usually in-charge of as many Groups as the higher-ups feels is appropriate.

Praying Mantis lacks much air support. You might be able to get an AV to rain hell on a group or call in some mortar fire, but don't expect heavy artillery or orbital cannons to tear apart your enemies. They also don't have any tanks, so instead rely on APCs and IFVs.

A team can be any as little as 2 to as large as 8. Numbers are quite dependent on how upper management feels that can be as cost-effective as possible.

The standard load for a Contract looks like the following:
Militech Combat Armor +1 EV 18SP Covers All
Gonz-Taurus Pistol P +0 J E 2d6+1 (9mm) 15 2 ST 50m (2 reloads)
AKR-20 Medium Assault Rifle +0 N C 5d6 (5.45 B5) 30 1/30 ST 400m (5 reloads)
2 Smoke Grenade (10m)
1 High Explosive Grenade (7d6 to all targets within 5 meters, 3d6 to targets 6-10 meters)
First Aid Kit

Naturally, a field kit is provided if the group may be engaging in long operations, but the components of it are generally higher quality. You are also allowed to bring whatever else you want as long as it doesn't become an issue. Smartgoggles are commonly bought to have night vision, thermal vision, whatever. Team Leaders tend to recommend new contractors to buy one with their first paycheck.

Some contractors may be designated to also carry around a Militech RPG-A with 2 additional rockets. A Scorpion 16 SAM may also be given out if there's large chance of air targets.

Designated Marksman will have:
WA 2001 Sniper Rifle +3 N R 6d6+2 (7.62C) (B5) 6 1 VR

Heavy Gunners will have:
M-60D Machine Gun +1 N P 6d6+2 (7.62C) (B7) 100 20 VR

Medics will have:
Medscanner
Medkit
Airhypno
2 cans of Sprayskin

Bad Company
Some criminals are given a choice: join the military or be put in prison for a lifetime (or even get executed). When that criminal decides to get drafted, he'll be put in a Special Use Unit. Bad Company is one of the largest of these penal SUU. However, your average soldier, sailor, marine, or airman can easily find themselves in a penal SUU. Court martials, usually for desertion, improper actions against a higher up or their daughter, gross misuse of military equipment, or even wear crimes can thrust a soldier into these units. Less common (supposedly) reasons is your higher-up getting petty with you because you upstaged him or banged that girl he was chasing after. Don't you love politics? Regardless, expect to have a MP or two keeping a careful eye over you: to ensure you don't do anything naughty or run away.

There's talk of a special section in Bad Company called "Sinners". They're the penal soldiers who have managed to prove themselves. Meaning they get a bit more leeway in what they do and the equipment you get.

Standard equipment is the same as your branch's equipment.

Generally, each soldier gets: Field Armor (IFBA is the nomenclature, always with plates, face mask includes targeting option but not anti-dazzle flash protection or 20-power binoculars), Militech Mk IV Assault Weapon with scopesight with 6 additional 30-round magazines, 2 grenades, 1 smoke grenade, a bayonet, vision goggles fitted with night vision and thermograph, IFAK, and a field kit.

2 soldiers in a squad may find themselves with a MIlitech M-232 SAW with scopesight instead of a MK 4 AW, fed by 200-round drums and given 4 drums in total. Soldiers may opt for 100-round drums instead.

2 soldiers in a standard Army infantry weapon squad may find themselves with a M-60D Medium Machinegun with scopesight instead of a MK , fed by 100-round drums and carrying 5 of them in total.

1 soldier in a squad that is not carrying a SAW or M-60D will be equipped with a M-12 CAW. The soldier will have 60 rounds in total for it.

1 Soldier in a squad not carrying a SAW, M-60D, or M-12 CAW may find themselves with a M-205 Grenade Launcher and 8 rounds for it.

Depending on the situation, 1 non-machinegunner soldier in the squad may find themselves armed with a LAW, HLAW, or Hotshot LATGM.

The squad leader will find themselves with a NSIP radio.

Combat medics/corpsmen will have a first aid kit. Radio Operators will have a NSIP and an additional battery.

A field kit consists of:
Canteen, 3 MREs, mess kit, M19A3 gas mask, camelback with 3 liters of water, inertial compass, IR poncho, one summer sleeping bag and one winter sleeping bag (handles -5 F on its own, but -30 F combined with the sleeping bag), 2 additional uniforms, 3 pairs of socks, and cold weather gear (when appropriate).
It all sits inside of a AHS-Rucksack, made by MYSTERY RANCH. Combing light metal mesh with polyester has made a sturdy backpack that can, when closed up, become airtight to minimize the bulge of rucksacks of years ago and provide better support to a soldier's back and shoulders. A MOLLE system is still incorporated. The AHS-rucksack has an SP rating of 10 and could be used as cover in emergencies, but it's not recommended as destroying the container for all your stuff will make you quite uncomfortable later on.

Radios:
RT-091C (NSIP) - Built upon what was learned from the RT-1523G (or ASIP), this radio has been given a few quality of life changes like a touchpad screen, slimmer frame, and lighter weight (from 8 lbs. to 5!). Like the ASIP, it has a number of channels and security encryptions that can be loaded into it so you can quickly switch between frequencies. The batteries inside last for about 20 days before needing to be switched out. This process takes about 25 minutes for the inexperienced ones. Has a range of about 250 km or 150 miles. These radios are commonly used in military vehicles, but the better antennas extends its range to 500 km. 2500 eb

AN/PRC-048 MBITR - This is just a slightly sexier version of the AN/PRC-148 (MBITR), coming with a longer battery life and better range while shaving a quarter of an inch off of its profile. A MBITR is a handheld device that can easily fit inside of a pouch or squeezed into a pocket. It's way better over carrying something on your back like the NSIP, but its battery life is short at only a weak and its range is weaker at only being able to go out to about 120 km. 1200eb

Medical Equipment:
IFAK/Individual First Aid Kit - Every soldier is issued one of these. Where it is found on the individual soldier's kit is dependent on his unit's SOP, but it comes with bandages, gauze, sterile gloves, chest seals, scissors, a triage card, a marker, duct-tape, small can of Spray Skin, and typically 2 tourniquets. A soldier never uses his own IFAK to treat someone, instead using the injured soldier's IFAK instead. You count as having the right tools for stabilizing and treating others. You also gain a +2 bonus to stabilization.

Medkit - A combat medic or corpsman's medical tools for treating people in the field. These come with everything involved in an IFAK (although in a higher quantity), but also has some drugs that can used in airhypos (such as morphine) and slap patches to deal with pain, saline and blood bags with an IV utilizing cooling technology to ensure they don't go bad out on mission, sprayskin, and a medscanner. 1 dose of Speedheal is also in this bag. Each blood bag is about half a liter or 10 pints, there's 4 blood bags in a medkit. There's an equal amount of saline bags in the medkit, which can keep comatose victims hydrated and "fed" for 24 hours per bag. 5 pints of saline are consumed every 30 minutes when connected to a person, keeping them hydrated and offering a +2 to Endurance checks for the next 6 hours. This adds a +4 bonus to stabilization checks (+1 from using 3 pints of a blood bag already included) and a +1 to Medical Tech checks.

Surgical Kit - Typically, those that require surgery will first be patched up as much as a soldier or medic in the combat field can. However, he will probably require surgery if he wants to survive the night. The glossy, plasti-metal mat the tools come on are sterile, so in-battle surgery isn't impossible. Spray skin is typically used to control bleeding outside of a hospital. This kit has all appropriate tools to cut someone open and stitch them back up. This adds a +2 to Medical Tech checks (does not stack with a Medkit).

Spray Skin - A common first aid tool in the military. The military version is stronger, and forms an adhesive pressure barrier to stop bleeding, assisted by a coagulant in the formula. There are small cans that have 3 doses and large ones that have 10 doses. Adds a +1 to Stabilization and First Aid checks.

Morphine
Type: Pain Negation | Strength: 3
Difficulty: 20 | Cost: 500eb
Duration: 1d3 Hours
Morphine is designed to dull your senses to the point that you won't feel any pain. It raises your COOL by 1 and gives you a bonus to stun/shock tests (the strength of it). However, it comes with a nasty downside of being addictive. Roll a 1d10 and compare it to your COOL after the drug wears off. If you roll above your COOL stat, you have become addicted to morphine.

Addition of Ranks:
Home of the Brave introduces plenty about the US Military, but kind of throws away the idea of ranks before Sergeant and non-commissioned officers pass it! Keep in mind that enlisted make less pay than officers. These are modern day Army ranks.

Private/Private-2/Private First Class: 250 eb/month (E1-3)
Specialist (after 2 years in your branch): 300 eb/month (E4)
Corporal (after 2 years and failing a promotion by at most 2 points): 325 eb/month (E4)
Sergeant: 400 eb/month (E5)
Staff Sergeant: 650 eb/month (E6)
Sergeant First Class: 900 eb/month (E7)
First Sergeant/Master Sergeant: 1200 eb/month (E8)
Sergeant Major: 1600 eb/month (E9)

NCOs are always needed, so it's slightly easier to get promoted if you're truly motivated. The leadership test is 15 instead of 20. Furthermore, a NCO, after attaining Sergeant, gets a +1 to Leadership and another skill of their choosing relative to their job every time they pass their test. A NCO can still become a commissioned officer, but starts as one rank lower compared to the officer's chart. So, a staff sergeant would still become a Lieutenant. A Sergeant First Class would start off as Captain. A First Sergeant/Master Sergeant would start off as Major. A Sergeant Major would be a Colonel.

Special Training:
There's plenty of other things to further your career or gain additional knowledge in the military. A cycle of training at these courses usually lasts for a few weeks to a couple months, so it's relatively easy to go through a school and earn a promotion afterwards. Furthermore, thanks to the short training cycles it's possible to "recycle". What this means is that you get a total of 3 times to prove yourself to the instructors before being sent back. However, this comes with a drawback.

The second time you fail a Special Training School, make a BODY save. If you fail, you didn't fail the school because of a lack of determination or technical know-how, but from an injury! Roll a 1d6 to determine how many months you were injured. You can't attend another school, try for promotion (thanks to the injury, being on profile, and then physical therapy involved), or try for Special Forces. If you choose to give up after the first failure, you can attempt another school or Special Forces. You're limited to only going to 2 schools or 1 school and an attempt at Special Forces.

The branches offer additional pay for completing the school to incentive soldiers to train up and pass them. Not only that, but the schools offer training to boost certain skills. Keep in mind that schools train to a standard held by the entire military This means that if you attend two schools that offer the same skill, you'll only apply the higher bonus instead of combining them.

Some schools require 2 rolls to complete them. If you fail one of these rolls, you can recycle and attempt that roll again. If the GM allows, you may roll only 1 d10 to count for both tests and then add your stat to it to see if you pass. There is no need to roll both checks again unless you failed both of them. You can spend unspent skill points or luck on these rolls. The skills will also be added to your AIT pool if you haven't finished character generation yet.

The Schools are:

Airborne School (Open to all branches and even foreign soldiers)
Learn how to set up your gear to jump very far from the sky!
Difficulty: 9 Body, 8 Intelligence
Additional Pay: +75 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Awareness, +1 Athletics, +2 Parachute

Air Assault School (Open to all branches)
Figure out how to slide out of a helicopter from 40 feet in the air and how to rig supplies to the belly of helicopters.
Difficulty: 10 Body, 8 Intelligence
Additional Pay: +75 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Dodge & Escape, +2 Fast Rope

Ranger School (Army)
A tough school that will leave you sleepless and hating your life every moment of it, but will put you in a Rangers Battalion. Infantry officers are looked down upon if they don't get their Ranger tab!
Difficulty: 12 Body
Additional Pay: +100 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Endurance, +1 Rifle, +1 Expert: Tactics

Free Fall School (Open to all branches)
Learn how to fall from really high and really fast!
Difficulty: 10 Body, 11 Intelligence, Requires 4 points in Parachute
Additional Pay: +100 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Endurance, +2 Basic Tech, +2 Navigation, +1 Aerotech, +3 Expert: HALO

Pathfinder School (Army (E3-E7, O1-O3), Marines (E4-E7, O1-O3), Airforce (E5-E7), Specially approved foreign soldiers)
Identify and analyze areas for airborne and air assault operations!
Difficulty: 15 Intelligence
Additional Pay: +200 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Endurance, +1 Stealth, +2 Wilderness Survival, +3 Navigation, +1 Drive, +3 Parachute

Sniper School (Army (E3-E6, O1-O2))
Become an elite marksman!
Difficulty: 12 Body, 10 Intelligence
Additional Pay: +100 eb
Bonus Skills: +2 Rifle, +2 Stealth, +1 Brawling, +2 Wilderness Survival (May switch out Combat Sense for Combat Sneak at a 1-to-1 conversion.)

Mountain Warfare School (Army)
Climb a lot of mountains to figure out how to best fight in them!
Difficulty: 12 Body
Additional Pay: +50 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Awareness, +1 Athletics, +1 Endurance, +2 Wilderness Survival, +2 Expert: Mountain Warfare

Jungle Warfare School (Army, Marines)
Suffer in swamps and jungles to find out how to best fight in them!
Difficulty: 12 Body
Additional Pay: +50 eb
Bonus Skills: +1 Awareness, +1 Endurance, +1 Swimming, +2 Wilderness Survival, +2 Expert: Jungle Warfare

Drill School (Open to all branches)
You get to yell at new recruits instead of going out and killing. Ain't that fun?
Difficulty: 9 Body, 7 Intelligence
Additional Pay: +50 eb
Bonus Skills: +2 Perform (Drill and Ceremony), +3 Expert: Military Procedures, +3 Teaching

Soldier Support Institution (Open to all branches)
Be a military idol or lie to teenagers about how cool the military is!
Difficulty: 11 Attractiveness
Additional Pay: +50 eb
Bonus Skills: +3 Play Instrument or Human Perception, +2 Personal Grooming, +2 Social, +1 Persuasion & Fast Talk

SERES Training (Open to all branches)
Learn what it takes to SURVIVE!
Difficulty: 13 Body
Additional Pay: +0 eb
Bonus Skills: +2 Wilderness Survival, +2 Resist Torture/Drugs, +1 Endurance

Tier 1 Recruitment
Be the best of the best.
Difficulty: 25 Body or 25 Intelligence
Bonus Skills: Like Special Forces skill selection, but 15 skills with no more than 6 points in one skill. Going from Special Forces to Delta Force only offers an additional 5 points instead of 15.

Skill Explanations:

Special Ability: Artillery Sense (REF): After so much time utilizing artillery or mortar devices, you have grown a better understanding how to utilize these massive terrain-forming, building-destroying weapons. Add your Artillery Sense to the to-hit for indirect fire at full rank. So, a Firer's Heavy Weapons/2 + Artillery Sense is added instead of just Heavy Weapons/2. Your Artillery Sense acts like Combat Sense, but only at half of the rank effectiveness.

Parachute (REF): The ability jump out of a moving airplane and steer to your destination with a parachute. Failure may indicate a parachute has failed to open (if a fumble) or you have gone way off course. Daytime jumps with little to no wind are the easiest. Meanwhile, nighttime jumps with bad weather are incredibly risky. It can also be used to check to see if a parachute is properly put together.

Fast Rope (REF): The ability to quickly descend using thick ropes from a helicopter or other aerocraft. Visibility and weather conditions can make fast roping all the more dangerous as there's no safeties in place to catch you if you let go. A fumble may indicate falling straight to the ground or getting tangled up in the rope, stopping anyone else from using the rope until you're unstuck. This can also be used for rigging sling load operations such as rigging a large crate of items to a helicopter.

Expert: HALO (INT/REF): Requires a 4 in Parachute first. This skill is utilized for performing high altitude, low opening jumps for extreme precision. Generally, only special forces utilize HALO jumping. This can also be used for planning and preparing a HALO jump. This skill can also be used for regular parachuting, granting a +5 bonus to it.

Expert: X Warfare (INT): A skill detonating specific knowledge in certain type of warfare. This skill can be used on its own or can be added to Expert: Tactics when appropriate. The GM may also allow you to add half of this skill to other appropriate tests such as adding "Jungle Warfare" to Wilderness Survival tests when in a jungle.

Expert: Radios (INT): The knowledge required to operate and maintain a radio to include updating the special encryption for military radios. This skill may be used in-place of Heavy Weapons for the purpose of calling in indirect fire. This skill may be called upon when working with a radio you haven't before, working a radio in stressful conditions, and attempting to fix a radio.

Expert: CBRN (INT): This skill represents the basic knowledge of CBRN to include tactics, identifying, and proper protective and decontamination procedures.

Starting as an officer:
You may start off as an officer, being sent to the Officer Candidate School of your branch. It's a course that lasts anywhere from 9 to 13 weeks depending on your branch. While this may not seem too long, it can also be a bit brutal as it requires you to quickly learn how to lead soldiers while becoming a soldier yourself. Although, many new lieutenants are still considered to be clueless and may find NCOs and even privates snickering behind their back or growing frustrated with their lack of military-orientated common sense.

Your recruiter probably won't approve unless you have BODY 6 and INT 6. Age requirement is 18, but usually requires a college degree (so, unless you're a special case, an associate degree at 19 would be the earliest you can join). It's best to use your branch's Basic and AIT, but add "Leadership" to your AIT skills.

Special Forces Pay:
Naturally, being the best of the best offers you a bit more in terms of money especially since you might be sacrificing yourself. When you first join the Special Forces, you get 4,000 eurobucks to use for cybernetics and a bonus of 1,000 eurobuck to spend as you like. Furthermore, increase your monthly pay by 300 eb if enlisted, 500 if officer. Delta Force recruits have a 8,000 eurobucks to spend on cybernetics with an additional 2,000 eurobucks to spend as you like. Furthermore, your pay is increased by 600 eb if enlisted, 900 if officer.

Special Forces include:
Green Berets (Army)
24th Special Tactics Squadron (Air Force)
Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron (Coast Guard)
SEALs (Navy)
Raiders or RECON (Marines)

Tier 1 Forces include:
Delta Force (Army)
DEVGRU/SEAL Team Six (Marines, Navy)

Aside from more money and better gear, SF soldiers tend to enjoy a more laxed standard. Non-regulation facial hair and haircuts are allowed along with training done in plainclothes. SEALs and Delta Force do accept members from other branches, but if the servicemember passes they are forced to switch to that group's branch. So, a Green Beret could become a member of SEAL Team Six, but will be in the Navy instead of Army.

Deployment Pay:
When soldiers are deployed, they earn a bit more money for putting their lives on the line. First off, it's bye-bye to taxes! Secondly, they earn a special hazardous duty pay as long as they are in a combat zone. This means being deployed to Afghanistan will earn you that nice hazardous bonus, but if you're stuck doing training with foreign soldiers in their country... sucks to be you! This is simply a 40% increase in their paycheck rounded up.

MOS
Or "Military Occupation Specialty". This is, in essence, your job in the military. You either got a chance to select what MOS you want to join (although any naïve 16-18-year-old kid might see things like "Tanker", "Infantryman", "Mortarman", etc. and hop on to signing up for that. Or your recruiter gently nudges you into that direction) or got "forced" into one (sorry, the only job we got open is Infantry!). Keep in mind that there are a lot of MOS in the 5 branches: about 10,000! Although a number of these MOS can be thanked to being really specific (such as being a pilot for a specific helicopter) or being a different code if you're Officer, Warrant, or Enlisted. Here is a non-definitive list of jobs you can choose from that would be interesting.

If you see a skill next to a MOS, that's what you should add to your AIT skill or focus on. If you choose a MOS not on this list, you should ask your GM on what sort of additional skills you can have to really fit said MOS. Some MOS are listed under one branch, but not another despite existing. That is simply me being lazy.

Army (Hooah):
02A - Bandperson (Charismatic Leadership with Play Instrument)
04B - Interpreter/Translator (Combat Sense with 1 Additional Language (Streetslang, Native, 1 Additional))
05B - Radio Specialist (Combat Sense with Expert: Radios)
11B - Infantryman (Combat Sense)
11C - Indirect Fire Infantryman (Artillery Sense or Combat Sense)
11E - Armor Crewman (Vehicle Zen)
11H - Heavy Anti-Armor Weapons Crewman (Although in the Army this is just an Infantryman)
11M - Fighting Vehicle Infantryman (Vehicle Zen)
11F - Power Armored Infantryman (ACPA Combat Sense)
12B - Combat Engineer (Combat Sense or Jury Rig)
13B - Cannon Crewman (Artillery Sense)
19D - Cavalry Scout (Combat Sense or Reconnaissance (Does not include Kith))
21D - Diver (Aquatic Sense)
25V - Combat Documentation/Production Specialist (Credibility with Photo & Film, Interview, and Composition)
29E - Electronic Warfare Specialist (Interface)
31D - CID Special Agent (Chameleon or Research with Human Perception and Disguise)
35F - Intelligence Analyst (Spycraft, Chameleon, or Research)
45B - Small Arms Repiarer (Jury Rig with Weaponsmith)
91B - Medical Specialist (Medical Tech)
91I - Cyberware Medical Specialist (Medical Tech)
153A - Helicopter Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
155A - Plane Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
157A - Aerodyne Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
15W - Drone Pilot (Combat Sense or Jury-Rig)
31A - Military Police (Authority)
31K - Dog Handler (Combat Sense or Authority with Animal Handling)
74D - CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear) Specialist (Combat Sense with Expert: CBRN)
76A - Supplyman (Fixer)
88M - Motor Transport Operator (Vehicle Zen)

Navy:(Hooyah)
MA - Master-at-Arms (Combat Sense or Authority)

Air Force:
81130 - Security Specialist (Combat Sense or Authority)
13AZ - Zero-G Combat Specialist (Space Combat)
11A1 - Airlift Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
11B1 - Bomber Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
11F1 - Fighter Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
11G1 - Generalist Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
11H1 - Helicopter Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
11R1 - Reconnaissance Pilot (Aircraft Sense)
1A7X1 - Aerial Gunner (Combat Sense)
1B431 - Network Warfare Operator (Interface)
1T231 - Pararescue (Combat Sense or Medtech)

Marines: (Oorah)
0311 - Rifleman (Combat Sense)
0321 - Reconnaissance Man (Combat Sense or Reconnaissance)
0331 - Machinegunner (Combat Sense)
0341 - Mortarman (Artillery Sense or Combat Sense)
0352 - Anti-tank Missileman (Combat Sense)
0800 - Basic Field Artillerymen (Artillery Sense)
1371 - Combat Engineer (Combat Sense or Jury Rig)
1800 - Basic Tank and Assault Amphibious Vehicle Crewmember (Vehicle Zen)
2111 - Small Arms Repairer (Combat Sense or Jury Rig with Weaponsmith)
4300 - Basic Combat Correspondent (Credibility with Photo & Film, Interview, and Composition)
5524 - Musician (Charismatic Leadership with Play Instrument)
5700 - Basic Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Marine (Combat Sense with Expert: CBRN)
5800 - Basic Military Police & Corrections Marine (Combat Sense or Authority)
8541 - Scout-Sniper (Combat Sense, Combat Sneak, or Reconnaissance)

(Who cares about Coast Guard.)

Some MOS have choices you can make for your Special Ability. These choices represent what your character has a natural talent for, learned the best during training, or has been assigned to within his unit. For instance, a mortarman that has Combat Sense instead of Artillery Sense is better fit for protecting the cannon from ambushes and helping load the gun instead of aiming and firing it.

[Knight]

Choices for deployment:

Operation "Day of the Dead"
Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero, Mexico
Beautiful beaches, beautiful women, and fancy resorts. It used to be a tourist's dream. Yet, jobs started to shrivel up, people got poorer, then the cartel gave them a way out of being broke: selling drugs. This has caused a drug problem to break out all over the city which, in turn, brought on cartels fighting for power. Bribes and/or threats ensure that government officials turn a blind eye to the chaos that's killing the city. The Army doesn't have any trust in the police to stop the problem-- hell, they're probably helping the cartels.

Los Diablitos practically runs the city. Devorador, their leader, is known for his quick and harsh responses to any threats on his land. Police officer decides to play hero? Whole family is raped then skinned alive. Army tries to move in on them? They return with twice the numbers. It's gonna be hard to imagine peace in this city. After all, if they go down then some other cartel will take their place. Eberardo Cartel is always ready, waiting to pounce on any weakness the Los Diablitos shows despite being aligned with them. The Dia de las Muertas are crazy fucks. They love wearing colorful skull masks, drinking, dancing, and then butchering anyone around in a drug-fueled rampage.

If you manage to take all these cartels down, there's no guarantee some cartel outside of the city won't move in on the sudden lack of a parasite on the city. You could try sending a message so brutal that they have no other choice but to accept it. Maybe leave it to the Army, but who knows how long they can hold it. Or the Ibbara Mafia. Sure, they're still organized crime, but these guys actually have a code. That's at least somewhat better, right?

Regardless, here's some things to keep in mind when dealing with these cartels:
- Some of them love to use machetes.
- Drugs and their usage are a-plenty.
- Cops are probably on their payroll. Government officials no doubt are. No sense in trusting them.
- Myriad of bought or stolen weapons.
- Some stolen tactics from terrorists organizations. IEDs might be prevalent.
- Most common armor is Kevlar, but some "shocktroopers" have flak. Vans, pick-up trucks, and heavily armored "Narco Trucks" that have heavy machine guns mounted on them are common vics.
- Mostly flash cybernetics instead of combat-orientated ones. Very few netrunners.
- Locals hate them for the death and drugs they bring. Yet, they're also afraid of them. The economy in Mexico is also rough, so a number of them also work for the cartel in non-combative roles.
- Jungles, jungle animals, and urban combat. Hot and humid, too.

Operation "Black Flag"
Farah, Farah Province, Afghanistan
Afghanistan is still the same terrorist-filled barren wasteland that it's ever been. The Western and Southern regions of the country are filled with two notable groups: the Taliban and ISIS. If you don't know anything about them, then I guess you're too busy trying to survive in America to pay attention to world politics. The Taliban were once an anti-Soviet resistance group made up by a buncha farmers and supported by Uncle Sam. When the Soviets left, America became the big bad in their eyes. The corruption of the Afghanistan government didn't help, millions of dollars going into the pockets of greedy officials instead of helping their people. They're also really big about their religion and enforcing it upon the land. Then there's ISIS. These guys thought the Taliban were being a bunch of pussies, so they split off from them in order to enforce harsher Sharia Law.

Now, these regions find themselves lacking regular US military troops most of the time. They happen to be too numerous and too dug-in. It looks bad to lose their sons and daughters in large battles even if means ending them one and for all. Thankfully, no one cares about us. Meanwhile, the Special Forces guy get all the fancy toys and meatshields-- er, Afghani soldiers -- to worry about getting killed. No doubt, we'll be able to ensure peace reigns in this city.

The following should be taken into account when dealing with the terrorist forces:
- ISIS and Taliban hate each other. They'll fight each other as much as they'll fight you.
- Bombs are commonly used. Suicide bombers, IEDS, VBIEDs. Some of the bombs they build could destroy an APCA.
- Their weapon of choice? AK-47s, RPGs, and whatever else the Soviets left behind like the DShK.
- They didn't only leave guns and rockets behind, mind you. There's some APCs, maybe a tank or two they'll throw at you. They're old military vehicles at this point, but a tank is still a tank.
- Kevlar and some flak here and there are popular armors. Helmets aren't popular.
- Some decent shooters in their ranks. Then you have some who shoot sideways with the gun above their head.
- Guerilla Fighters. Ambushes, plainclothes soldiers, bombs to surprise you.
- Locals are wary of foreign armies. Gonna want to focus on Hearts & Minds if you don't want protests at your door or giving a reason for the locals to join the terrorists.
- Some deserts, mountains, and urban combat.

Operation "Shock & Awe"
Białystok, Podlaskie, Poland
The heavily religious nation of Poland has its own share of problems. The Soviet Union really wants to expand their territories-- they don't have enough, apparently. Or maybe they don't have enough resources for their people. Who knows. Regardless, it comes as no surprise that pro-Soviet Union organizations have popped up a few times. The "People for the Combined State" (Ludzie dla Połączonego Państwa) or the "LdPP" are one of these organizations. They believe that the current rule of Poland is not only heretical, but a severe oppression of its people. Under different rule, things would be way better. Common insurrectionist things. What are also common insurrectionist things is hostage situations, bombings, and ambushes of military personnel along with assassinations.

These guys are decently armed and trained, so they really know what they're doing. It's no wonder that the government has requested international support. Especially seeing as how the LdPP have aleady taken over a town or two. Blood is spilling in the streets as brothers kill brothers. Punks that have stuck to the shadow are now being forced to pick a side as this civil war slowly ignites. Białystok is on the verge of giving in to these terrorists thanks to the low morale of its soldiers despite the government's insistent that god is with them.

With these guys, it's important to keep in mind:
- It's a civil war. Some of your actions might instill faith into civilians and soldiers or make them want to jump ship.
- Well-armed, well-trained. If the Soviets aren't backing them, some other power is. Hell, Militech might be backing them to start up a war with the Soviets and take some land from them.
- When their troops aren't enough, mercenaries are stepping in. These guys fight for money, not ideas.
- Expect some decent military vehicles. APCs, IFVs, tanks, some helicopters.
- Some of the civilians are picking up arms. Never know who you can trust.
- The truly desperate may try to leverage the lives of innocents. Sometimes with guns, sometimes with bombs, and even sometimes with chemicals weapons.
- Plenty of urban combat. Might snow while we're there.

[Knight]

Operation "Athena's Curse"
[Location Pending]
You know when a man in a black suit just suddenly shows up out of nowhere, you might be fucked. This guy, though, tells us we're going to do a special operation. One that if we leak, we'll be handling about 100 years of personality reconfiguration or something like that. Or just being shot. So, let's get this one on the hush-hush. Apparently, creepy crawlies of all shapes and sizes doe exist. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, terrible monsters that defy our imagination. And guess what? You're in-charge of capturing or killing them. Now I'm glad I'm just military intelligence.

On the bright side, you'll have plenty of more support compared to the other operations. This is a special unit within the CIA we're talking about, so high-quality weapons, artillery, and air support will be necessary to even begin to kill these damned things.

Things to keep in note:
- You probably won't know what you're hunting until you get there.
- No guarantees for your safety or sanity.
- Some things might not care about bullets.
- At least the pay will be decent.
- Might have to commit a few atrocities.