Welcome to the HoloNet Uplink, citizen. This series focuses on Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars Roleplaying Game, with content aimed mostly at the Gamemaster. Threats, adventure seeds, rules supplements, and more are all to come for those who access The HoloNet Uplink.
Do you want Stormtroopers? Because this is how you get Stormtroopers. After writing up Novatroopers and Radtroopers, I quickly decided there was no sense stopping there. Today I have for you the a video game staple, the Imperial Jumptrooper. Whether harassing Jaden Korr in Jedi Academy, serving as yet another speed bump to Starkiller in The Force Unleashed, or showing up at exactly the wrong moment in Star Wars: Battlefront‘s survival mode, these Stormtroopers are always hammering the player with an aerial torrent of fire.
These troopers add excellent variety to the games in which they appear. While the Star Wars Roleplaying Game is much more about shared narrative than varied challenges, including these troopers can enhance the fantastical space adventure feel of a Star Wars session. These troopers can be mixed into normal Imperial garrisons, but are best used in conjunction with an exotic aerial locale such as the tops of towering buildings or on a repulsor facility such as Cloud City, Rebels: Season 3’s Reclam Station, or my own Stratis Base.
Stormtrooper Specialty Corps: Jumptrooper [Rival]
Equipped with personal jetpacks, Jumptroopers are the Empire’s high-mobility aerial assault troops. Bypassing fortifications, outflanking the enemy, and providing weathering fire support from high angles are standard duties for the Jumptroopers. These specialists belong to jump companies within larger Stormtrooper formations, generally belonging to legions or reinforced regiments. Given the expense in both equipping and training them, Jumptroopers are usually deployed in two trooper patrols. On the offense Jumptroopers are assigned where the terrain gives them an advantage, such as built up areas with significant verticality, or where they can negate the defensive barriers of the enemy. Rarely, Jumptroopers are assigned garrison duty to important aerial installations, such as repulsor facilities in the atmospheres of gas giants. Assaults on an aerial facility garrisoned by Jumptroopers face a significant challenge from ideally equipped and well trained defenders ready to exploit the “home air” advantage to the fullest extent.
Characteristics
Br 3, Ag 3, Int 2, Cun 2, WP 3, Pres 2
Soak 5, W. Threshold 15, Def M/R 0/0
Skills: Athletics 2, Discipline 2, Melee 1, Perception 2, Piloting (Planetary) 2, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Resilience 2, Vigilance 1
Talents: Burly 1 (reduce any wielded weapon’s Cumbersome quality and Encumbrance rating by a number equal to ranks in Burly, to a minimum of 1)
Abilities: Death From Above (Jumptroopers upgrade attacks against targets below them once)
Equipment: Light repeating blaster (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 11; Critical 3; Range [Long]; Auto-fire, Cumbersome 4, Pierce 1), vibroknife (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 2; Engaged; Pierce 2, Vicious 1); 2 frag grenades (Ranged [Light]; Damage 8, Critical 4; Range [Short]; Blast 6, Limited Ammo 1), jumptrooper armor (+2 soak, with integrated jetpack [may function as a Silhouette 1, Speed 2, Handling 0, System Strain Threshold 3 vehicle that can only operate in atmosphere and requires Piloting (Planetary) to operate]), utility belt, extra reloads
Stormtrooper Jump Company
A stormtrooper Jump Company is affiliated with a Stormtrooper legion, but could be affiliated to a reinforced Stormtrooper regiment with a particular requirement for jump support. Jump Companies are composed of three platoons of four squads plus a platoon command squad, with one company command squad and a maintenance squad. The company chain of command is used for routine administration, training, and for operations where the company complete takes on assault missions. In practice, elements of the company are usually detached to support other Imperial units with smaller Jumptrooper patrols. When patrols are detached, commanders at the company, platoon, and even squad level serve as advisers to supported Imperial officers in the employment of high-mobility troops.
- Company Command Squad: Providing command and control of dispersed elements requires special training and equipment. The Jump Company Commander, a Captain, is supported by a small staff of officers and NCOs to achieve this. This includes the Company Second in Command (senior lieutenant), the Company Sergeant Major, and experienced comms operators. Unlike the Imperial Army, there is no integral quartermaster function in stormtroper companies, instead support is drawn from the supported Imperial military formation. The Company Command Squad is fully equipped with jetpacks, but usually operates from one or two Imperial Command Transport variant repulsorcraft.
- Maintenance Squad: Composed of Jumptroopers with specialists training in technical maintenance, this squad provides a limited capability for the company to perform repairs and refit on jetpacks and other equipment. This squad is led by a Sergeant and is comprised of two teams of one Corporal and one Trooper (Private) each. The maintenance squad holds a limited amount of spare parts and usually operates from an Imperial Patrol Transport.
- Platoon Command Squad: A Lieutenant commands the platoon with the support of the Platoon Sergeant. Two comms operators are assigned and also act as security and staff to the platoon commander. The Platoon Command Squad generally operates without a vehicle, but may be mounted in a single Imperial Patrol Transport.
- Jump Squad: Led by a Sergeant, each Jump squad is made up of three patrols of two Troopers each. These patrols can be detached out to other Imperial units, or operate as a full squad for aerial assault operations. Jump squads generally do not have dedicated transport, instead deploying into battle from gunships as part of a larger operation.
Christopher Hunt
Latest posts by Christopher Hunt (see all)
- Command School – Deterrence and Compellence - July 11, 2019
Know what we call airborne targets on the battlefield?
SKEET.
That’s awesome – I never thought of it that way. Sure they have good line of sight to you, but that just means you have good line of sight to them!