Trivval

Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue

What do we know about the spooky stuff or just that people are missing at this point and we're investigating.

The Band of Fools

Il Sposoletto

Il Sposoletto - 38 - Squire

Squire of Sir Ottavio Meduccoli

Appearance:

Il Sposoletto ('Letto', 'Sposo'), as his name makes reference to, is a short but stocky man standing at only 166cm and around 90kg. He has keeps his head shaved, rather than let his hair grow white due to the scars that lace his skull. He will typically let his facial hair grow out for a few months before trimming it back into a new style. His arms and back are marred with old wounds due to two decades of conflict. Used to wearing full plate armor, Il Sposoletto now makes do with a cote of plate made from his old armor, damaged beyond repair in a battle less than a year before, with mail and hardened leather reinforcing. He speaks with a heavy Taratian accent for his master, who cannot speak at all.

Personality:

Il Sposoletto is a arrogant man who, when faced with people who he perceives to be his juniors, needs to be in control. Socially,
he's open, seemingly easy to make bonds and portrays himself as a man who can be friends to everyone. He's not overly intelligent, and outside certain matters he doesn't seem very smart - maybe a little slow to understand a joke, and doesn't make it obvious he can read and write. Despite his cultivated appearance of a loyal, if slightly dumb, footman, Il Sposoletto tries to stay two steps ahead while appearing one step behind.

History:

Ottavio Meduccoli and his squire, Il Sposoletto, brought a Lance to join with the Compagnia di Fortuna two years previous, as they were contracting in Taratio. The mute knight relied on the little groom quite heavily, the two showing signs that they are long-time allies. Il Sposoletto worked quite heavily with the blacksmith and quartermaster, sourcing supplies from the countryside and calling in favours, cementing himself in their good books and as a reliable operator. Rumours follow the pair out of Taratio: a disenfranchised prince abducted and made mute by his enemies; the bastard son of the Pope maimed to prevent him talking about his parentage; a holy man under a vow of silence; a criminal who had his tongue ripped out. Neither make any attempt to refute these claims, letting speculation run wild.

One thing that does show is that both are able horsemen, through experience and training, and Il Sposoletto is well versed in wearing armour. Old, for a squire, he shows a wealth of knowledge across most of the martial practices and an impressive ability to manage equipment and numbers (especially for someone illiterate). Despite his disability, Ottavio Meduccoli is a quite vocal proponent of the newer art of military science, his attitudes provoking conflict amongst the more chivalric members of the compagnia.

Both show the scars and can tell tales of long days and nights in the desert, though no one who fought in the east can recall a mute knight.

Skills and Abilities:

• Logistician – Despite his illiteracy (or appearance of), the little groom is seemingly able to get anything he wants whenever he needs. He can track down the smallest of needles in a haystack, and seemingly can find highest quality Taratio wine in a desert.
• Near-photographic memory - Il Sposoletto can recall what his master ate for breakfast on Midsummers Day twenty years ago.
• Squire-ly Conduct – Il Sposoletto is well at ease in war councils as he is cleaning armour and tending to horses. It almost seems as though the man never sleeps and he is an excellent cook.

Weakness(es):

• Avaricious
• Amoral
• Arrogant
• Impatient
• Sarcastic
• Theatrical

Equipment:

Il Sposoletto has a longsword (although shortened due to his stature), though it is hardly ever used and typically just left on his horse, and a number of shorter swords / long knives. His primary weapons are one handed maces and two handed warhammers, bringing a surprising amount of strength to crush his enemies. Il Sposoletto utilises a cote of plate as well as chainmail, though he’s looking to get a full brigandine or set of plate, and utilises a sallet helmet with a removeable visor. Il Sposoletto carries a shield, at the moment a round shield, but typically whatever is looted from the battlefield.

The Band of Fools - A Medieval Mercenary Company Roleplay

<Snipped quote by Trivval>

I've been thinking about that and it probably would make sense to have general kind of thrust in our troop composition/deployment, at the same time though I want to see what people want to play as well. I was thinking a small core of relatively disorganised mixed cavalry with infantry and ranged support? Something like a 50/100/100 split. Not massively historical I know considering the small size, but if we do well during the campaign the Company may grow and get more formalised.

The other option is that people who don't fit the companies troop composition could potentially play as members of other friendly units.

@Kassarock

Historically, 250 is a pretty good size for your small/average company. Only the truly massive would top 1500. There was an excess of soldiers due to the crusades / 100 Years War, and they all fought in their small squads and would band together in smaller companies. After all the majority of locales didn't need massive numbers of troops.

Not every man-at-arms was nobility, but the typical 'squad' of guys (lance) was based around the man-at-arms who would pay the dudes that fought with him. Pretty much all infantry was mounted but wouldn't be mounted in combat. So in recounts of battles you'd see things like "50 Good Lances" or whatever. The free companies used to be pretty democratic about what they did, John Hawkwood (leader of the famous White Company) was elected.

A suggestion therefore could be that people apply as a lance with the man 'Man-at-arms' being your primary character and you've got a small host of hanger-on NPCs that you can do whatever with. Your 50/100/100 split seems fine, typically you'd see a 1/1/1 ratio or a 1/1/2 with most archers being infantrymen in their own right because they primarily used crossbows.

An interesting thing to note about most mercenaries in this era would go out of their way not to fight. This era was the birth of military science, you fought to outmanoeuvre your opponent and fight their ability to wage war, rather than that fight for valor, physical courage or chivalry. Why risk uncertain fortune - defeat, capture, death all could mean you wont get paid. It's all very cool stuff... but now I'm lecturing.

The Band of Fools - A Medieval Mercenary Company Roleplay

With regards to the company, are they organised around Lances (man-at-arms, squire, page, couple of other lighter combatants) or are we just going to be disorganised occasionally-mounted infantry? Late Medieval -> Early Modern military history is a hobby of mine.

HALT! The not so glorius life of the City Guard.

This sounds cool. I'd be interested if it was to get rolling again.

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor (Mecha, Space Opera)

Oh damn, this looked really cool but I only saw it just before going to bed. Keen to read.

Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue

Pieter Gunn

Name: Pieter Gunn (aka Ian Denford, aka Pieter Cecil, aka Johanns van der Byl)

Age: 56

Gender: Male

Appearance: Pieter has dark leathery skin, heavily tanned by a long time under the punishing African sun. Standing 1.72m with a full-face beard and speed dealers, Pieter would be a relatively nondescript character from a distance if not for the maze that covers his left forearm and the lighter texture of a burn scar that covers his right arm. Up close, however, the left corner of his lip draws up from a scar that crosses his chin and up towards his eye, and burn scars are visible poking up above the collar of his shirt. Despite four decades of abuse and burns that cover most of his upper body, Pieter is in good shape (though his knees complain about the cold). Muscular through constant use rather than body building.

My Hider

Agency/Organization: Global Response Staff [CIA Contractor] (previously: South African Defence Force, Executive Outcomes, Sandline International, Aegis Defence Services)

Education: Grade 10 High School completion.

Background:
Pieter Gunn was born in Sailsbury, Rhodesia, in 1961. His parents were both killed during civil war conflicts in Rhodesia, and he was sent to South Africa as an orphan. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the South African Defence Force, and upon completing basic training Gunn went on to Parachute Selection Course school. He served various roles within the Parachute Brigade in South-West Africa, Nambia, and on domestic COIN operations. In certain parts of Africa things still weren’t… modern.

Shaman and Witch Doctors still held sway over some villages – and, for some at least, there was a reason to fear them. Patrols would be stalked by inhuman whispers as they set up their bivouac - surely the locals trying to freak them out. Armored vehicles would be flipped, armor tore as though rend by claws - landmines. Crazy men that could survive their legs being blown off and keep fighting - a cocktail of atropine and epinephrine could keep a man going forever. Entire villages found at the bottom of their well, all missing their eyes and lungs - fucken communist savages. If you kept your eyes on the horizon, if something strange was happening you'd likely see one of these elders watching. The deep bowels of Angola was not somewhere that anyone wanted to stay for long.

Eventually he was posted as a Sergeant within the Signals Platoon in the 44 Brigade HQ. After majority rule was established in South Africa in 1994, he became disenfranchised with the work he had spent his life doing and what now appeared to be the permanent loss of his homeland and left the SAA, finding work alongside many of his former comrades working with various PMCs that operated out of Central Africa.

Pieter avoided the Sandline affair in PNG but worked for the company in Sierra Leone and Liberia. When the company folded, he found work during the second golden era of PMCs, sucking on the teat of the US Dept of Defence with Aegis Defence. At various points between his retirement from the SAA and employment with Delta Green it is believed he was also operating as a smuggler of diamonds, arms (both weapons, and the body parts), and various items of interest in and out of African conflict zones for different warlords, corporations or governments.

During the latter period of his employment with Aegis he was working in a Signals specialty role, assisting coalition forces in tracking down insurgent leaders through SIGINT. From this role he transitioned into logistical support for a CIA operation hunting Al Shaabab members in south-western Somailia alongside the Somailian NISA. Late nights and long days led into an abundance of information spread a bit loosely in the small, overworked team - reports and images bringing up deeply buried memories from his days as a Private in the SAA. The same whispers, destroyed vehicles, men that took too long to die and mutilated villages. After six months the operation was packed up and a specialist CIA direct-action team took over, managing to wrap everything up in days. It was a short time after that operations conclusion that Delta Green snatched him up.

Personality:
For the most part, Pieter is a grounded, emotionally stable character, well adapted to life in the African bush. During his off times he's prone to abuse alcohol and light drugs, and has used morphine and heroin in the past. He is an open character and easily creates bonds with his comrades, eager to be in the company of others, although still can be very dismissive when dealing with black Africans. Pieter is a quick thinker, and will often consider several out-of-the-box ideas however once he has decided on a course of action he is very stubborn on following it through. He has a lot of patience when dealing with stressful events however will get very short with people.

Likes: Outdoors, Alcohol, Football (Soccer), old technology

Dislikes: Coffee, ‘this whole social justice bullshit’, Poachers

Fears: Abandonment, loss of home. Ever since he was young he was bouncing from one home to another. His country no longer exists. His adopted country is a far sight from what he remembered, and every group of contractors he ends up with folds in a couple of years. He considers Africa his home and is loathe to leave it because he fears that he will never return.

Skills:
Gifted(+5): Computer Science, Marksmanship (long guns)
Adept(+3): Stealth, Tactical Driving, Awareness
Average(+2): First Aid, Military Science, SERE
Novice(+1): Interrogation, Marksmanship (handguns), Hand-to-Hand, Demolitions
Languages: Afrikaans, French, Arabic (partially)

Weaknesses:
Racist: Despite decades working alongside blacks, Pieter still doesn’t fully trust them nor accept their opinion outright. Of course he has worked with some who eventually became his friend, however it took a lot of work for them to get that title.

Old: Pieter has been ‘on deployment’ since his eighteenth birthday. If he wasn’t in a warzone he was preparing to go to one. A body can only take so much abuse before it starts to crack and crumble.

Stubborn: Once set on a course of action it takes a lot to get him off it. In a subject he's knowledgeable about he often wont accept that there is a better way to do things that is not his way of doing things.

Off-Duty Clothing/Equipment:
Clothing: Casual everyday clothing, he doesn’t have an ‘outfit’ he just wears whatever is lying around.
Weapons: Skorpion vz 61 or Beretta 92F
Tools/Equipment: Phone, Rugged Tablet

Operational Clothing/Equipment:
Clothing: Again, whatever is lying around. May be all black, may be camoflague, depends on mission requirements.
Weapons: Whatever is issued to keep consistency with team ammunition. Prefers the AK series of rifles.
Tools/Equipment: RREP SS-3 / Radio Reconnaissance SIGINT Suite (R2S2) manpack case, and JTRS Manpack (AN/PRC-155); Rugged Tablet; Ballistic Helmet, with a dual-channel headphone, attachment points for lights and NVGs (also in equipment pile, but not always equipped); Grathik vest, fourteen STANAGs with six side-arm magazines. Various other necessary equipment attached including hydration equipment.

Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue

@Leidenschaft Alright, updated. Anything else or is it good to go?

Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue

@Leidenschaft Ah okay, I misunderstood how much experience was sort of required to be picked up by the organisation. If possible I would to keep the prior action with Delta Green on his CV but as background support as a private military contractor, ie had very little to do with the operation just logistics / technical support / local knowledge. From there was recruited by Delta Green directly, that gives me an easy reason to explain the transition from Africa to the US.

Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue

Hey, it's been a while since I've done anything so I was hoping I could fit in here. It all sounds rather interesting. I tried to join an RP a while back but a bunch of stuff came up and I had to drop it. Hope everything in the character sheet is acceptable, let me know if I need to change anything.

My Hider

Name: Pieter Gunn (aka Ian Denford, aka Pieter Cecil, aka Johanns van der Byl)

Age: 56

Gender: Male

Appearance: Pieter has dark leathery skin, heavily tanned by a long time under the punishing African sun. Standing 1.72m with a full-face beard and speed dealers, Pieter would be a relatively nondescript character from a distance if not for the maze that covers his left forearm and the lighter texture of a burn scar that covers his right arm. Up close, however, the left corner of his lip draws up from a scar that crosses his chin and up towards his eye, and burn scars are visible poking up above the collar of his shirt. Despite four decades of abuse and burns that cover most of his upper body, Pieter is in good shape (though his knees complain about the cold). Muscular through constant use rather than body building.

My Hider

Agency/Organization: Global Response Staff [CIA Contractor] (previously: South African Defence Force, Executive Outcomes, Sandline International, Aegis Defence Services)

Education: Grade 10 High School completion.

Background:
Pieter Gunn was born in Sailsbury, Rhodesia, in 1961. His parents were both killed during civil war conflicts in Rhodesia, and he was sent to South Africa as an orphan. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the South African Defence Force, and upon completing basic training Gunn went on to Parachute Selection Course school. He served various roles within the Parachute Brigade in South-West Africa, Nambia, and on domestic COIN operations. In certain parts of Africa things still weren’t… modern.

Shaman and Witch Doctors still held sway over some villages – and, for some at least, there was a reason to fear them. Patrols would be stalked by inhuman whispers as they set up their bivouac - surely the locals trying to freak them out. Armored vehicles would be flipped, armor tore as though rend by claws - landmines. Crazy men that could survive their legs being blown off and keep fighting - a cocktail of atropine and epinephrine could keep a man going forever. Entire villages found at the bottom of their well, all missing their eyes and lungs - fucken communist savages. If you kept your eyes on the horizon, if something strange was happening you'd likely see one of these elders watching. The deep bowels of Angola was not somewhere that anyone wanted to stay for long.

Eventually he was posted as a Sergeant within the Signals Platoon in the 44 Brigade HQ. After majority rule was established in South Africa in 1994, he became disenfranchised with the work he had spent his life doing and what now appeared to be the permanent loss of his homeland and left the SAA, finding work alongside many of his former comrades working with various PMCs that operated out of Central Africa.

Pieter avoided the Sandline affair in PNG but worked for the company in Sierra Leone and Liberia. When the company folded, he found work during the second golden era of PMCs, sucking on the teat of the US Dept of Defence with Aegis Defence. At various points between his retirement from the SAA and employment with Delta Green it is believed he was also operating as a smuggler of diamonds, arms (both weapons, and the body parts), and various items of interest in and out of African conflict zones for different warlords, corporations or governments.

During the latter period of his employment with Aegis he was working in a Signals specialty role, assisting coalition forces in tracking down insurgent leaders through SIGINT. From this role he transitioned into logistical support for a CIA operation hunting Al Shaabab members in south-western Somailia alongside the Somailian NISA. Late nights and long days led into an abundance of information spread a bit loosely in the small, overworked team - reports and images bringing up deeply buried memories from his days as a Private in the SAA. The same whispers, destroyed vehicles, men that took too long to die and mutilated villages. After six months the operation was packed up and a specialist CIA direct-action team took over, managing to wrap everything up in days. It was a short time after that operations conclusion that Delta Green snatched him up.

Personality:
For the most part, Pieter is a grounded, emotionally stable character, well adapted to life in the African bush. During his off times he's prone to abuse alcohol and light drugs, and has used morphine and heroin in the past. He is an open character and easily creates bonds with his comrades, eager to be in the company of others, although still can be very dismissive when dealing with black Africans. Pieter is a quick thinker, and will often consider several out-of-the-box ideas however once he has decided on a course of action he is very stubborn on following it through. He has a lot of patience when dealing with stressful events however will get very short with people.

Likes: Outdoors, Alcohol, Football (Soccer), old technology

Dislikes: Coffee, ‘this whole social justice bullshit’, Poachers

Fears: Abandonment, loss of home. Ever since he was young he was bouncing from one home to another. His country no longer exists. His adopted country is a far sight from what he remembered, and every group of contractors he ends up with folds in a couple of years. He considers Africa his home and is loathe to leave it because he fears that he will never return.

Skills:
Gifted(+5): Computer Science, Marksmanship (long guns)
Adept(+3): Stealth, Tactical Driving, Awareness
Average(+2): First Aid, Military Science, SERE
Novice(+1): Interrogation, Marksmanship (handguns), Hand-to-Hand, Demolitions
Languages: Afrikaans, French, Arabic (partially)

Weaknesses:
Racist: Despite decades working alongside blacks, Pieter still doesn’t fully trust them nor accept their opinion outright. Of course he has worked with some who eventually became his friend, however it took a lot of work for them to get that title.

Old: Pieter has been ‘on deployment’ since his eighteenth birthday. If he wasn’t in a warzone he was preparing to go to one. A body can only take so much abuse before it starts to crack and crumble.

Stubborn: Once set on a course of action it takes a lot to get him off it. In a subject he's knowledgeable about he often wont accept that there is a better way to do things that is not his way of doing things.

Off-Duty Clothing/Equipment:
Clothing: Casual everyday clothing, he doesn’t have an ‘outfit’ he just wears whatever is lying around.
Weapons: Skorpion vz 61 or Beretta 92F
Tools/Equipment: Phone, Rugged Tablet

Operational Clothing/Equipment:
Clothing: Again, whatever is lying around. May be all black, may be camoflague, depends on mission requirements.
Weapons: Whatever is issued to keep consistency with team ammunition. Prefers the AK series of rifles.
Tools/Equipment: RREP SS-3 / Radio Reconnaissance SIGINT Suite (R2S2) manpack case, and JTRS Manpack (AN/PRC-155); Rugged Tablet; Ballistic Helmet, with a dual-channel headphone, attachment points for lights and NVGs (also in equipment pile, but not always equipped); Grathik vest, fourteen STANAGs with six side-arm magazines. Various other necessary equipment attached including hydration equipment.