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It’s been since the early days of my Solo content that I’ve dug into some stormtrooper specialty corps. I was feeling in a bureaucratic mood, so I thought I would cover one of the weirdly named specialties. So today we have the demolition trooper, a soldier that does not dispose of ordnance or plant demolition charges, but actually fires a rocket launcher. Rocket trooper was taken already, so I guess they had limited options. Still, wouldn’t anti-armor trooper have made more sense? Well, I suppose I wasn’t there.
Enjoy today’s specialty corps entry, and suggest a better name for them in the comments below! The Gamer Nation Blog’s copy editor, Linda Whitson, has already offered “blast trooper” as an alternative. I think that’s going to be the name to beat.
Stormtrooper Specialty Corps: Demolition Trooper [Rival]
While every stormtrooper learns the basics of heavy weaponry, it takes a specialist to wield the Empire’s heavy arsenal at maximum efficiency. Drawn from the veterans of front-line legions, demolition troopers are made not by merely issuing a rocket launcher to regular stormtroopers, but by extensive training in weapons drills and anti-armor tactics.
Demolition troopers wield a smart rocket launcher as their primary weapon. More complex than rudimentary missile tubes, and lacking the miniaturized repulsorlift of some PLX launchers, these smart rockets are both heavy to carry and complex to operate. Through punishing physical training and constant drills against simulated targets, demolition troopers can launch highly accurate rocket fire at even the most nimble of targets.
Although designated demolition troopers, it should be noted that planting or defusing explosive charges are only a secondary role. That task falls to the stormtrooper ordnance specialty corps, known colloquially as “bombtroopers.” While the name rocket troopers may have been preferred, that title refers to jetpack-equipped Imperial jump troopers. Responding to this confusion, many demolition troopers have found it easier to cross train with explosives than to refuse an ignorant and demanding commander. Until a more suitable name can be identified and, most critically, pushed through the bloated bureaucracy of Imperial command, these rocket launcher experts are left with the name demolition trooper.
Characteristics
Br 3, Ag 3, Int 2, Cun 2, Will 3, Pres 1
Soak 5, W. Threshold 13, Def M/R 0/0
Skills: Athletics 1, Discipline 2, Gunnery 2, Mechanics 2, Melee 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Ranged (Heavy) 1, Resilience 1, Vigilance 1
Talents: Burly 1 (Reduce any wielded weapon’s Cumbersome quality and Encumbrance by 1 to a minimum of 1), True Aim (Once per round, may perform a True Aim maneuver to gain benefits of aiming and upgrade combat check once per rank of True Aim).
Abilities: Lock on Drills (Demolition Troopers remove 2 ranks of Prepare from weapons with the Guided quality, to a minimum of 1).
Equipment: SE-14c light repeating blaster (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Critical 3; Autofire, Stun setting), smart rocket launcher (Gunnery; Damage 30; Critical 2; Blast 15, Cumbersome 4, Guided 4, Breach 1, Prepare 2, Limited Ammo 4), two heavy fragmentation grenades (Ranged [Light]; Damage 9; Critical 4; Range [Short]; Blast 7, Cumbersome 2, Limited Ammo 1), stormtrooper armor (+2 soak), demolitions kit with baradium charges.
Christopher Hunt
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