Every great Civilization has learned through bitter experience to maintain a standing army of trained military professionals.  These dedicated soldiers are the men, women, animals, droids, and other creatures who risk their lives (and the lives of as many innocent bystanders as possible) in a constant effort to destroy as many enemies and as much enemy property as they can, all in the name of their home Civilization.

In a BrikWars game, each Civilization is represented by a single color (or group of colors, if a player doesn't have enough minifigs of a single color).  A Civilization's professional soldiers are required to wear suits of these colors, and their vehicles feature these colors prominently in their paint jobs. 'Camouflage' means nothing to these hardened minifig veterans (true warriors do not learn French words, due to the widespread suspicion that familiarity with the language inspires a soldier to surrender at the first sign of trouble).

There are many types of soldiers, from the generic Troopers to highly specialized troops like Medix and Mechanix, and most Civilizations have advanced training programs for their own unique types of military specialists.  Each type of soldier has his part to play during the course of a battle.

7.1.1 The Trooper

Classification: Trooper (general purpose disposable infantry) Move: 5" Armor: TL+1 AV (min 2) Skill: 1d6 Cost: TL+1 CP (min 2) Specialty: None Ratio: None (troop)

A Trooper is the standard 'grunt' soldier of his Civilization, and the cost and statistics of all other troop types are based on this basic model.  They are represented by the most generic warrior minifig of their Civilization's color, wearing some kind of protective helmet (unless their Civilization is not advanced enough to have developed Helmet Teknology, such as CaveMen or TribalMen).

For more information about Troopers and an explanation of how troop statistics work, take a look at 1.3: The Trooper.  The two statistics that weren't described in 1.3 are 'Specialty' and 'Ratio.'

Specialties
A regular Trooper never retreats, is incorruptibly loyal to his Civilization, has no need for sleep, food, or companionship, and is an expert in the use of all weapons of his Civilization's TekLevel.  If he has any special training or powers above and beyond these normal Trooper abilities, they are listed under the 'Specialty' heading.  Any special disadvantages will also be listed under this heading.  A soldier's Specialties will affect his CP cost.

In this example, the Trooper has no particular Special abilities beyond his normal everyday talent for kicking PBB butt.  These are a few of the specialties commonly assigned to generic Troopers, and their associated CP costs:

	Marksmanship (no additional cost) - This unit's training has focused on the use of ranged weapons, at some cost to his skill in hand-to-hand combat.  The unit has +1 to Skill when firing a ranged weapon, and -1 to Skill when making a hand-to-hand attack.  This Specialty is appropriate to an archer, musketeer, rifleman, or sniper.
	Shock Troop (no additional cost) - This unit's training has focused on hand-to-hand combat, with a decreased emphasis on the use of ranged weapons.  The unit has +1 to Skill when attacking hand-to-hand, and -1 to Skill when making a ranged attack.  This Specialty is rarely seen after TL3, except among professional athletes.
	Horsemanship (+1 CP) - Troopers of any age have a basic ability to ride the steeds appropriate to their culture.  However, the ability to control an animal and make attacks at the same time takes an advanced skill in horsemanship.  Without this Specialty, a unit making attacks from horseback (or from the back of any equivalent steed) may not direct the animal to turn, accelerate, or decelerate in the same turn.  (This is slightly different from the Piloting Specialty described in 7.2.5: Pilots.)

The 'Ratio' statistic is only used if you play by the optional Troop Ratios rules.

7.1.2 Trooper Performance Modification

In order to produce new and specialized types of soldiers, Civilizations have tried every kind of training program, brainwashing, synthetic hormones, magical talismans, eugenic breeding systems, offerings to obscure gods, exposure to alien radiation from alternate dimensions, bio-mechanical enhancements, and frequent calls to soldiers' mothers.  Little do they realize, the easiest way to produce better soldiers is just to spend a couple of extra CP's on them.

The most basic way to improve a soldier is to give him a Trooper Performance Modification.  These modifications do not give a soldier any surprising new abilities, they just make him a little better (or worse) at doing the things he is already able to do.  In general, these modifications should be used to design a couple of new troop types rather than to modify individual troops.  If you set up your army so that each of your fifty soldiers has slightly different abilities, you will only succeed in driving yourself crazy trying to remember all of them.

Performance Improvements

	1. Moves Fast - For each additional +2" of movement, the troop costs 1 additional CP.
	2. Thick Hide - For each additional +2 points of Armor, the troop costs 1 additional CP.
	3. Unusual Skill - For each additional +2 points of Skill, the troop costs 1 additional CP.
	4. Schwarzeneggarian Strength - For each additional +1 point of Power, the troop costs an additional 3 CP.
	5. Close Combat Bonus - For each additional +2 points of CC bonus, the troop costs an additional 1 CP.

If you are improving a troop and want to give it extra dice in a certain statistic, remember that 1d6 is worth 3½ points, 1d10 is worth 5½ points, and 1d20 is worth 10½ points; and remember to always round up.

If you want to get troops at a bargain price, you can go for the 'slightly damaged goods' by giving them a few Performance Disimprovements.

Performance Disimprovements

	1. Sluggish - For each loss of -1" of movement, the troop costs 1 less CP.
	2. Bruises Easily - For each loss of -1 point of Armor, the troop costs 1 less CP.
	3. Butterfingers - For each loss of -1 point of Skill, the troop costs 1 less CP.
	4. Wussy and Weak - If the unit has zero Power (it cannot walk or manipulate objects), its cost is reduced by 5 CP.
	5. Close Combat Penalty - For each loss of -1 points of CC ability, the troop costs 1 less CP.

You cannot give a unit both a Performance Improvement and the corresponding Performance Disimprovement.  No matter how many Performance Disimprovements a trooper has, he will always cost a minimum of 2 CP.

7.1.3 Stupendous Feats

For most kinds of new troop types, you'll want to make a specific description of the abilities that set them apart from the common grunts.  But some troops set themselves apart, not by having any specific special abilities, but just by being heroic and able to do amazing things in general.

These super-soldiers (called 'Heroes') have the unusual ability to perform Stupendous Feats.  There are all kinds of Stupendous Feats; these examples are only a few:

Shooting again (no automatic hits)
Moving again
Grabbing hold of a passing vehicle/flyer
Punching a hole in a wall
Climbing sheer surfaces
Moving something big
Leaping great distances
Troubleshooting medical help for a fallen trooper
Fixing a vehicle
Throwing objects great distances
Moving terrain features
Inspiring large groups of Civilians to band together for large-scale futile gestures
Etcetera

We do not describe all possible Stupendous Feats because there are any number of actions a Hero can attempt.  So many options exist that we leave it up to the players to think of something silly for their Heroes to do.  We like to have our Heroes pick up vehicles and throw them at other vehicles. Our Heroes do a lot of 400-Meter Leaps and Really Fast Commando Crawling as well.

In order for a Hero to perform a Stupendous Feat, the player declares exactly what kind of feat he is trying to accomplish, and then rolls 1d6.  If his opponent wants the attempt to fail (and he usually will), then he also rolls 1d6.  If the player attempting the feat rolls equal to or higher than his opponent, then the feat succeeds.  If the Feat fails, the Hero suffers whatever fate would normally befall someone who attempted such a thing.  (Often, in our games, we try to make sure that a Hero who fails an attempt at a Stupendous Feat suffers the kind of fate that would befall Homer Simpson if he attempted the same thing.)  For instance, if a Hero failed in his attempt to eat the World's Biggest Hoagie, he would eat a large portion of it and then have bad stomach pain and possibly hallucinations.  If a Hero failed in his attempt to make a standing long jump across the Chasm of Grisly and Horrifying Death, then he would jump partway across and then fall flailing into the Chasm, shrieking like a little girl.  If a Hero failed in his attempt to make Minor Plumbing Repairs, he'd end up flooding the house with the contents of the septic tank.

Stupendous Feats can be as silly or stupid as the players desire (often players think the whole Stupendous Feats idea is too stupid and outlaw it entirely).  A very serious game could be played with very strict rules on which types of feats can be performed, or players can choose to allow such things as eating obstructions or drinking rivers dry.  It usually works best to imagine some role model for your range of Stupendous Feats.  In a more serious game, your Heroes might have all the abilities of a Green Beret, a CIA Assassin, or an Airborne Ranger.  More commonly, we limit them to anything you might expect to see in a typical action movie, giving them the abilities of Rambo, James Bond, Jackie Chan, Conan the Barbarian, or Xena: Warrior Princess.  And every now and then we set our sights a little higher, with the abilities of Superman, or Zeus, or God.  We leave the restrictions on silliness to the players' taste, but suggest a high level of stupidity.

A Hero can only perform a certain number of Stupendous Feats per turn. For each Stupendous Feat a Hero can perform per turn, he costs an additional +3 CP. However, he has to be pretty amazing in general to be able to perform Stupendous Feats in the first place, so you'll have to give him a bunch of Performance Improvements. For each Stupendous Feat a Hero can perform, he must cost a minimum of 12 CP.

Anyone who's read this far probably already has a few ideas for specialized troopers he'd like to toss onto the field.  If you have an idea for a special ability you'd like to give one of your troop types, go right ahead and give it to them!  You and your opponents will have to agree on a fair CP cost for the ability, and whether or not the troop type will have some kind of Ratio requirement.

We've included a large number of statistics below for many types of military specialists.  These types are provided only as examples, and you are encouraged to ignore or modify these examples or create new types at will.  Make sure all of your opponents are aware of the types of units you're fielding, and their specific abilities and statistics (be honest - 'subterfuge' is another one of those Frenchy words unknown to the PBB warrior).

Many of our example troop types will have example special abilities listed under their Specialties statistic.  If this is the case, a full description of the Specialty and its CP cost will be included in the supporting text.

7.2.1 Amazons

 

Classification: Amazon (elite shock troop) Move: 7" Armor: 1d6+TL-3 AV (min 1d6-2) Skill: 1d6 CC+2 Cost: TL+2 CP (min 3) Specialty: None Ratio: None (troop)

Once confined to minor skirmishes and ladies' auxiliary clubs, women warriors in the BrikWars universe were eventually able to prove themselves the equal of their male counterparts and the two were allowed to serve side by side in every battle, indistinguishable except when they wore lipstick.  However, for some female minifigs, being merely equal wasn't good enough and so they went ahead and became better.

Not every Civilization has been enlightened enough to realize that the best place for a woman is on the front lines of the fiercest battles, as an elite shock troop.  Such women are nicknamed 'Amazons.' They are armored lightly for maximum mobility (they can be recognized because they wear cute PBB girl-hair pieces rather than helmets) and are trained to close distance with the enemy quickly in order to engage them in hand-to-hand combat before the enemy has a chance to dig in to defensive emplacements.

7.2.2 Scouts

Classification: Scout (advance target acquisition specialist) Move: 12" Armor: 1d6+TL-4 AV (min 1d6-3) Skill: 1d6-1 Cost: TL+4 CP (min 4) Specialty: Targeting Ratio: None (troop)

Fresh Scouts are usually picked from the ranks of newly recruited Trooper Cadets.  Since they have no true battle-experience, these trainees are given the opportunity to act as Scouts for a time.  They undergo a rigorous training regimen for a day or two, consisting of some jogging and swimming at the local YTCA, and upon completion, they are given their flimsy suit of ScoutArmor.

ScoutArmor is hardly armor at all, but is much lighter than normal armor and allows the Scout to move much more quickly.  It also reminds him to stay under cover and keep out of sight at all times, because he's not in the battle to fight anyone, but to scout out enemy targets and relay their location to his buddies manning the big siege weapons.

Scouts are a tremendously secretive bunch, and have many rituals in which they pray that they will not be blasted by a Mk5 Missile.  It is in these rituals that the Scouts shave their heads in a ceremony known as "The No-More-Hair Ritual."  Scouts are represented by a normal Trooper minifig, except that their heads have been shaved in this closely guarded ritual, known only to the Scouts themselves.  Thus, Scouts wear nothing on their heads (i.e. no helmets or hair or hats).

The only weapons Scouts are allowed to carry are pistols and close combat weapons that do not confer movement penalties.  Scouts are not allowed any other armor besides their ScoutArmor.  They must carry a CB Radio at all times to relay vital information (or some other communication device if CB radios are not available - signal flags and smoke signals work but tend to give away the Scout's position).

Specialty: Targeting (+2 CP)
Despite their restrictions, Scouts have their uses.  Scouts have the ability to "tag" enemy vehicles and units in order for his army to target them with siege weapons.  In order to tag an enemy vehicle or unit, the Scout must remain within 10" of the target, and be able to see it.  As long as the Scout keeps the target tagged, any of his allies may shoot at it, from anywhere on the board.  Even if the rest of the Scout's army is behind a large wall, blindfolded, and thinks the enemy is coming from the south when they're actually in the north, they may still fire at the tagged enemy, and they get a +1d6 Skill Bonus to do so.  Normal Ranged Attack Modifiers still apply.  If the Scout's allies are firing weapons that can be tossed over the tops of obstacles (thrown grenades, missiles, Ballistik weapons, Mass Drivers, arrows, etc.), then the target gets no bonuses from cover.

A Scout may only tag one target on any given turn.  Multiple Scouts tagging the same target confer only a single +1d6 bonus (Scout bonuses are not cumulative).

7.2.3 Synthetix

Classification: Synthetik (artificial general infantry unit) Move: TL+3" Armor: 1d6+2 AV Skill: 1d10+TL-4 Cost: TL+4 CP (min 4) Specialty: Strength (Power: 2) Robot Brain Ratio: 5

Synthetix (Droids, or Golems at earlier TLs), are human shaped and sized robots which can fight alongside regular Troopers.  The members of the squad to which the Droid belongs constantly repair and upgrade their comrade, and treat it as if it were a real man.

Due to the fact that the Droid is not human, and made from synthetic materials, it is faster, stronger, and more durable than a normal Trooper.  It has a built-in communication device (if it is a Golem, it can communicate telpathikally; if it is an Android, it has a built-in CB Radio), so its squad doesn't need to carry one.  Synthetix, however, are not autonomous creations, and must be attached to a squad of human Troopers.

Droids may be given additional specialties in order to act as Medix, Mechanix, Pilots, or almost any type of specialist.

Droids are basically human Trooper pieces, but with an odd mechanical feature or two.  If you don't have any of the special android minifigs in your Civilization's color, then you'll have to take a regular minifig and do something like replace his legs with wheels or replace his head with a maneuvering jet.  The head of a Synthetik cannot be the normal human face, and must be some other piece (regardless of TL, Droids aren't technologically advanced enough to support human features).

Specialty: Robot Brain (-2 CP)
Any unit with a Robot Brain (a Droid) must be in a squad, vehicle, or base with at least one human Trooper in it.  If all of the humans in the Droid's squad die, then the Droid will return to the nearest friendly squad or base to receive new orders, at which time he can join a new squad.  It is possible to have a squad of four Droids and one human, if you really want to.  There must be at least one friendly human within 5" of each Droid, or the Droid will go into a RoboPanik.  The paniking Droid will abandon whatever its current mission is and do whatever he can to get to the nearest friendly humans.

7.2.4 Slaves

Classification: Slaves (involuntary menial laborer) Move: 6" Armor: 1d6+TL-5 AV (min 1d6-2) Skill: 1d6-1 Cost: TL CP (min 1) Specialty: Strength (Power: 2) Pacifism Ratio: None (troop)

Many Civilizations make slaves of their prisoners of war or the civilian populations of conquered enemies, but these slaves were often disloyal and prone to rioting.  Among the more enlightened Civilizations, Slaves are culled from the populace's unfortunate mutants, the genetik accidents who are mind-numbingly pacifistic.  They cannot raise a weapon or fist in anger to hurt another, and thus can obviously never know true happiness.  As it becomes apparent to their teachers that they are Violence Challenged, they are taken aside into Special Education classes.  There they are taught the skills of the Slave, like pulling plows and carrying wrecked cars to the dump and other menial tasks.  All the while, they are dosed with whatever experimental steroids are in vogue.  This does not make them very intelligent, but they do become very strong.

Although snubbed by the other Troopers, Slaves have one great advantage: their immense strength, which allows them to carry some small vehicles without slowing down!  They are useful for quick assembly and disassembly of barricades and fortifications, and are often used to check for anti-personnel mines, as target dummies, to draw enemy fire, or as target practice when all the Civilians are dead.

Slaves have no Armor, they just run around in OverAlls and a BaseballCap or HardHat, in the color of their Civilization.  If you have any old minifig heads whose faces have rubbed off, and you had to draw new faces with a Sharpee pen, and you slipped a little and the new faces look retarded, then those make the best Slave heads.

Specialty: Pacifism (-2 CP)
A pacifistic unit is a rarity in the BrikWars universe, and normal Troopers react with horror and revulsion upon meeting a true Pacifist (some have been known to give in to convulsive vomiting at the sight of large groups of Pacifists).  A Pacifist cannot attack or make any attempt to harm any machine or living creature except in self-defense, and even then only if he is completely cornered.  Some will not fight even then.

Timmy (unit costs 1 CP total) - Timmy makes an excellent Slave, although stupider than most.  Any soldier who spots Timmy, even one of his allies, must drop everything and destroy him on sight.  Infestations of twenty or thirty Timmies have led the bitterest enemies to form Anti-Timmy Alliances.  No Medik will try to save a Timmy, although they might use him for experimentation.  Only demonically evil units can tolerate the existence of a Timmy.  (Certain breeds of Timmy have developed unusual and dangerous abilities, such as explosive asexual reproduction, making them very difficult to wipe out.)

Porter (+2 additional CP) - In many early civilizations, prior to the invention of the wheel or the bridle, heavy cargo had to be carried, or hauled by professional Porters.  Porters also sometimes acted as galley oarsmen.  Porters are just like Slaves except they are unhindered by any ridiculous Pacifism.

7.2.5 Pilots

Classification: Pilot (assault vehicle operator) Move: 5" Armor: 1d6+TL-3 AV (min 1d6-2) Skill: 1d6+2 Cost: TL+2 CP (min 3) Specialty: Piloting Ratio: None (troop)

Pilots are the elite and cocky group of warriors who pilot the vehicles of their army.  While any Trooper can pilot a vehicle, the Pilots have the talent and education that give them the edge in vehicular combat.

Before becoming a full-fledged Pilot, the Pilot Cadet must pass a special course called "Drivers' Ed," which is offered at the local high school.  In Drivers' Ed, the Cadet learns such vital things as how to drive in a straight line, how to operate the weapons and communications systems of his vehicle, and how to parallel park.

Once a Pilot is given his first vehicle, he takes tremendously good care of it.  On the weekends, with the week's fighting behind him, the Pilot tends to his vehicle.  Pilots follow a grueling ritual which involves meticulously waxing, polishing, and detailing their vehicle.  After the external ointments have been applied, the Driver carefully tunes and steam-cleans the engine, with the help of his unit's Mechanix.  Finally, he vacuums inside the vehicle, and cleans up the floormats.  If the vehicle has tires, he rotates them.

Every armed vehicle must start out with a Pilot.  The Pilot might get killed in the middle of the battle, and then any Trooper can come along and commandeer his vehicle, but the vehicle has to start the battle with a Pilot.  Unarmed vehicles can start out with whomever they like, since it's not as important that they have a skilled gunner in the pilot's seat.

A Pilot may be represented by a Trooper with a visored racing helmet or sunglasses or racing gloves or a special driving hat or whatever is appropriate to his culture.  Pilots are known to endlessly repeat such mind-numbingly trite soundbites as "I feel the need... for speed."

Specialty: Piloting (+1 CP)
Any Trooper can drive a car, fire a mounted Howitzer, or target a group of Sidewinder missiles, but it takes a special breed to do all three at the same time.  If a unit other than a Pilot is trying to drive an armed vehicle, he can either steer the vehicle or fire one type of vehicle weapon, but he can't do both on the same turn.  A trained Pilot can pull burly vehicle maneuvers and fire multiple weapon groups simultaneously, and eat his three-course gourmet MRE at the same time.

7.2.6 Mechanix

Classification: Mechanik (vehicle repair and maintenance specialist) Move: 5" Armor: TL+1 AV (min 2) Skill: 1d6 Cost: TL+3 CP (min 4) Specialty: Mechanikal Ability Ratio: one per vehicle

Mechanix are members of the elite order that repairs and maintains the vehicles, bases, and installments of the Troopers.  When a potential Mechanik is identified in the Trooper Training Center, he is immediately given an aptitude test to determine whether or not he would make a skilled Mechanik.  Troopers who are trained as Mechanix spend up to ten years receiving extra training at the Citadel of Mechanix.  In the Citadel, the Mechanik trainee is trained how to design, test, and finalize designs of machinery in his head.  The skilled Mechanik can design a new vehicle from the wreckage of another in about ten seconds; the fastest Mechanix can do it in five.  Mechanix require tools with which to work, and many of the sets of tools that the Mechanix use have been in circulation for thousands of years, handed down from generation to generation.

Mechanix are handy to have around. Not only can they repair damage done to vehicles, but they can salvage parts from wreckage and create new devices in the midst of battle. A Mechanik must be equipped with a least one wrench, hammer, robot arm, or some other kind of tool.  Tools cost 5 CP apiece.  Mechanix also get to wear little police hats and they don't have to shave.  They don't generally carry any weapons, although they are as well trained as any Trooper and can put up a hell of a fight if they get in a tight spot.

Specialty: Mechanikal Ability (+2 CP)
Mechanix have two roles to play on the battle field: they can repair damaged vehicles, or they can build new vehicles out of wreckage.

Repairing Damaged Vehicles
A Mechanik can help to fix vehicles which have suffered damage as a result of collisions or weapons fire.  When a Mechanik is trying to fix a vehicle, he specifies which damage he is attempting to correct (i.e. destroyed weapon, etc.).  Then, he rolls 1d6 for every tool that he carries (max. 2), and adds five.  If he rolls a six, he gets to roll another die and add it.  If he rolls two sixes, he automatically succeeds.  If he rolls above the number corresponding to the damaged system on the Vehicle Ker-Pow! Table, then the damage is repaired.  Note that exploded vehicles cannot be repaired, and flipped-over vehicles must be un-flipped-over by a group of burly Troopers before a Mechanik can get to work on it.  A Mechanik cannot create new pieces out of nowhere; hopefully the Pilot saved the weapon, tire, engine, or whatever when it fell off, or the Mechanik thought to bring a spare with him.

A Mechanik must stand next to the vehicle (within touching distance) for a full turn in order to be of service.  The vehicle must not move during the turn in which it is being repaired, otherwise the Mechanik will probably get a limb munched off in the moving gears.  A Mechanik may try as many times as he likes to fix the machine; each attempt takes one full turn.  After a system has been repaired, it operates normally.

Example: A Proximan HoverTank has had its main Mk3 Ballistik Cannon shot off by enemy fire (the enemy rolled an 11 on the Ker-Pow! Table).  A friendly Mechanik says, "Hey, let me fix that," and races up to the vehicle.  He then must roll higher than an 11 in order to repair the damaged weapon.

Building Stuff from Wreckage
Sometimes the best efforts of a Driver are not enough to save his vehicle (and himself) from destruction.  The vehicle is shredded and half the pieces are removed from play.  The rest are sprinkled over the area in which the vehicle was destroyed.  It is from these pieces that Mechanix can build new stuff, such as a smaller vehicle (perhaps missing a few essential systems) or a tiny weapons platform.

First, the Mechanik must roll a 1d6 to see if it is possible to create a new device from a given pile of wreckage on any given turn (if he has two tools, he rolls 2d6 and uses the higher of the two rolls).  If he rolls a four or over, he can do it.  If Mechanik rolled a 4, he has fifteen seconds to create a new device, a 5 means he has thirty seconds, and a 6 means that he gets forty-five seconds to build something new.

All potential silliness for these rules applies.  For example, say a small Ground Vehicle got blasted by a Mk 5 missile (yikes!), and the vehicle was ripped up, and half of the pieces were discarded. The pieces left are a 2x6 chassis plate, one set of wheels, and fenders.  The Mechanik could make a car with only two wheels and fenders; however, the new car doesn't have a steering wheel, so if the driver wants to turn, he has to stop the car, get out, lift it up and turn it, get back in, and go on his way at half speed, since his back bumper is dragging where there are no wheels.

Any recreated vehicles move 7", and all movement penalties from weapons, equipment, and missing parts are counted.

Recovery Vehicles
A Mechanik may have a separate vehicle all to himself.  Vehicles driven as recovery vehicles cost an extra 10 points and start out with up to 10 spare parts (parts like spare wheels, jets, consoles, and wings, not spare MkIII Lasers).  The pieces carried in the recovery vehicle are chosen by the player and may be used to help create new vehicles from wreckage.  Recovery vehicles also get one free tow harness, to tow wrecks to safer areas so the Mechanik can work on them.  You can't tow piles of debris, but if you move fast you can throw all the pieces into your spare part bin and drive away with them.  Recovery vehicles move at a -2" penalty.

Recovery Bays
Mechanix may also have base workshops (at a cost of ten points) which can hold up to fifteen spare parts in a parts bin.  If the Mechanic is working from a workshop, he'll get a +1d4 bonus (or 1d6-1 if you don't have any d4's) to all repair rolls (but not, for instance, to To-Hit rolls).  So, a Mechanic in a repair bay in a base with one tool would roll 1d4 + 1d6 + 5 to try and repair damage to vehicles, and 1d6 + 1d4 to see if he can build a new vehicle from wreckage (if he rolls above a six, he gains another fifteen seconds for every additional point).  Recovery Bays have a repair bin that starts out with ten spare parts, just like a Recovery Vehicle.

When building vehicles from wreckage, spare parts are taken out of the Repair Bay or Recovery Vehicle as they are needed, after the construction time limit has begun.

7.2.7 Medix

Classification: Medik (minifig repair and maintenance specialist) Move: 4" Armor: TL+2 AV (min 2) Skill: 1d6 Cost: TL+3 CP (min 4) Specialty: Medikal Training Ratio: one per 10 troops

Medix are like Mechanix for minifigs.  After the initial Trooper training in the Trooper Training Center, those desiring to become Medix move on to their Civilization's Hypocritic College of Medix, where they spend many years learning to mend battle wounds, such as No-Knee Syndrome, Skull Explosion, Hyper-Extended Spine, Shattered Torso, and the devastating All-Bones-Fused-Together Trauma.  Each Civilization has its own version of the Hypocritic Oath, but most sound something like "I swear to do everything in my power to keep our guys alive and to prevent the other guy's guys from remaining so."  This oath prevents Medix from engaging in counterproductive activities like having mercy on wounded enemy soldiers and civilians.

At graduation time, the Medix are awarded their MediKit, which contains such medical accessories as BakTeen, industrial-strength BandAdes, a rubber mallet, and a reusable rectal/oral thermometer.  They are then sent off to perform their duties with a specific battalion, to which they are attached for the rest of their professional lives.

A Medik is represented by a minifig in a doctor suit, wearing a backpack full of Surgikal equipment, and carrying a MediKit briefcase.  The MediKit should not be confused with other units' suitcases that are Brain Control Devices.  A Medik does not need a Brain Control Device, because Civilians like Medix and will generally do whatever they say.  A Medik needs both hands free to perform emergency surgeries, and so does not usually carry weapons; however he is fully trained in their use, should he happen to pick one up.

Specialty: Medikal Training (+2 CP)
Medix have the ability to heal troopers who have fallen in combat.  If a fallen comrade lies in the battlefield, the Medik can race to his or her side and administer medicines and perhaps a skull replacement.

To raise a fallen friend, a Medik must be next to the victim within three turns of his unfortunate demise.  The Medik then gets one roll on 1d10.  If the Medik rolls a five or above, the victim is saved.  The victim's condition is upgraded from Dead to Unconscious on the next turn, and he may then recover as normal.  If the player rolls a four or below, however, the soldier is lost forever, and cannot be saved.  A Medik gets only one try to save a fallen soldier.

A Medik may make a similar roll (5 or better on 1d10) to try to upgrade an Unconscious unit to Stunned, or a Stunned unit to Normal (or 'Frisky,' as this state is called in the Medikal books).  The Medik gets one attempt per turn, and the patient suffers no ill effects on a failed roll.

SickBays
For ten points, a player can build a SickBay in his base.  He can put as many SickBeds in as he likes, but you have to build a one-point ComputerConsole into each SickBed to perform Medikal scans, monitor vital functions, and let patients play video games to distract them from the agonizing pain. (If your army's TL is too low for ComputerConsoles, you must still spend one point on each SickBed for whatever medikal tools are appropriate to the TL.)  If you bring a patient to a SickBay, a Medik can work on him even if he's been dead for more than three turns, and he gets a second roll on 1d10 if the first one fails.  If the Medik rolls a one on either roll, the patient is dead and cannot be saved; throw him in the OrganRecycler. If the Medik rolls 2 to 4 on both rolls, the victim is in stable condition but unfit for duty.  You can either leave him to lie around on a SickBed and eat ice cream to recover in time for the next battle, or throw him into the OrganRecycler to free up room for more likely patients.  If a unit recovering on a SickBed is moved by anyone other than a Medikal technician, or enemies gain access to his SickBed's ComputerConsole, he dies.

Classification: Technik (building repair and maintenance specialist) Move: 5" Armor: TL+1 AV (min 2) Skill: 1d6 Cost: TL+2 CP (min 3) Specialty: Technikal Training Ratio: one per 3 Slaves

Technix, or Engineers, are like Mechanix for buildings.  They carry a SprayCan of hardening ABS SprayFoam, which they use to weld broken walls back together, and to create plastic brix to patch holes and build barricades.  Engineers usually command "squads" of Slaves.

An Engineer is represented by a normal Trooper with a SprayCan and a boy-hair piece.  (Sexist, we know, but give us a break.)  Sometimes, for Engineers, we put a helmet on the Professor minifig, but remember that soldiers often react as homicidally when they see the Professor as they do when they see Timmy, so keep him out of sight.  If an Engineer is commanding a SlaveSquad of Timmies, he can only maintain his professional tolerance for so long.  If any other soldiers start attacking his Timmies, he loses control and helps beat the Timmys down with his SprayCan.

Specialty: Technikal Training (+1 CP)
Engineers do not receive any special training at the Trooper Training Center, but become Engineers by voluntarily sending away for a study-by-mail course from one of their Civilization's second-rate vocational colleges.  When they receive their diploma (in as little as nine months), they then send $19.95 (plus shipping and handling, no check or C.O.D.) to receive their SprayFoam SprayCan.

Using this SprayCan, an Engineer can produce 1 Blok per turn, or any Brik or simple slope of equivalent or lesser size, if he does nothing else that turn.  His band of Slaves can then assemble the Brix into large constructions, such as barricades, bridges, or staircases.  A construction made out of piled Brix has AV 1d10.  If the Technik then spends a turn welding the construction together with his SprayFoam, it has an AV of 2d10.

Alternatively, an Engineer can direct Slaves to reassemble a broken base wall from its debris, or use prefabricated parts brought in by Supply Trucks to build weapon bunkers and defense towers.  (Prefabricated parts cost half as much as the structure they are designed to build, except for base weapons, which cost full price.  Normal 2x4 plastic Brix cost 1 point apiece.)  The Engineer uses his SprayCan to mortar the pieces together, and the structure is as good as new.

Classification: Kamikaze (suicidal maniak specialist) Move: 8" Armor: 1d6+TL-5 AV (min 1d6-2) Skill: 1d6 Cost: TL+1 CP (min 2) Specialty: Kamikaze Bomb Ratio: one per 4 troops

Every now and then a Trooper gets tired of the normal humdrum violence, facing certain death day in, day out; it takes a little more to get his adrenaline flowing.  Or maybe he's a few days from retirement, and can't stand the thought of not getting to kill anyone anymore.  Maybe he's just seen one Timmy too many.  For whatever reason, a Kamikaze is a Trooper who is even more mentally unstable than his peers.  He goes into battle wearing only light armor and pumped up on CroakaCola, looking for insane risks and suicide missions.

A Kamikaze appears to be a normal Trooper who hasn't shaved in awhile, and he usually wears some kind of funny hat.

Specialty: Kamikaze Bomb
What the Kamikaze's enemies don't know is that a deadman's switch in his brain is monitoring his vital signs.  If the Kamikaze is killed (or holds his breath for more than half a turn), the switch sets off a 3d10+1d6 bomb cleverly implanted in his cranial cavity, allowing him to instantly create large craters decorated with the particulate remains of his own entrails.  Naturally, his superiors are fully aware of his explosive potential, and he is positioned by himself, far away from normal squads.

Classification: Ninja or SpecOp (covert operative and assassin) Move: 10" Armor: 1d6+TL-2 AV (+2d6 CC) Skill: 3d6+2 Cost: 16+TL CP Specialty: No Ranged Weapons (except thrown weapons) Stealth Spider Gymnastics 1 Stupendous Feat per turn Ratio: one per 7 troops

In every Trooper training class, there is one mysterious kid.  He doesn't participate in class discussions, and no one can tell what he's thinking.  These kids mystify their teachers, and so the thoughtful educators pawn them off on some Ancient ZenMaster or another.  Invariably, it turns out these kids are just nearsighted, but by the time anyone finds this out it is too late and they are well on their way to becoming a Ninja.

Ninjas are mysterious men and women who spend their lives in secret gymnasiums, perfecting their skill in close combat and covert operations.  Sabotage and assassination are the Ninja's primary focuses.  When defending himself from Close Combat attacks and thrown weapons, a Ninja has an almost impenetrable defense, giving him an additional +2d6 AV.  A Ninja is also filled with Chambara Power, allowing him one Stupendous Feat per turn, such as might be seen in a no-budget kung-fu movie.

A Ninja wears normal Armor, but instead of a helmet, he either has a NinjaHood, a topknot (made out of a one-dot switch pieces), or a conical hat (made from the smallest radar dish piece).  They often carry a grenade or time bomb in addition to a melee weapon.  Ninjas prefer not to drive vehicles, but if they find themselves in control of one they'll often set it on a collision course with an enemy base and jump out at the last moment.  If a vehicle carrying Ninjas is destroyed, all the Ninjas automatically jump clear at the last moment, taking no damage.

Specialty: No Ranged Weapons (-1 CP)
A Ninja cannot use ranged weapons (except thrown weapons).  Some soldiers assume that it is because the Ninja is unwilling to sacrifice stealth to muzzle flashes and rifle reports.  Others think it is because ranged weapons offend the Ninja's professional sensibilities.  In fact, it is because Ninjas so heartily enjoy slicing and dicing their opponents (and civilians, and small yapping dogs, and so forth), that to shoot one from a distance would seem like a criminally wasted opportunity.

Specialty: Stealth (2 CP)
The compulsion to pass unnoticed is so overwhelming that a Ninja often finds himself unable to raise his voice, activate the ringer on his phone, or turn on any lights in his house.  This pattern of mental instability, combined with years of practice sneaking up on his parents and frightening the neighbors, has given the Ninja the ability to operate in almost perfect stealth.

If a unit is not looking directly at a Ninja (a minifig's cone of vision extends 45 degrees to all sides from the direction it is facing), or if a Ninja has any significant cover (at least 1/3 cover), then he goes completely undetected by the unit.  Even if the unit saw the Ninja on the previous turn, the unit experiences a strange kind of stealth-induced amnesia and forgets where the Ninja is.  Even if the unit is the Ninja's commanding officer, and the Ninja is maintaining constant radio contact with positional updates, the C.O. will still be unable to detect the Ninja under these conditions.  The Ninja's stealth does him no good if he gets 'tagged' by a Scout, but fortunately most Scouts have an extremely short life expectancy when within tagging proximity of a Ninja.

When a Ninja sneaks up on an enemy minifig (except another Ninja) from behind, his first attack always hits, and does +2 extra damage.  Ninjas cannot sneak up on other Ninjas.

Specialty: Spider Gymnastics (2 CP)
A typical Ninja stunt is to leap onto a low-flying Flyer, garrote the pilot, drop the pilot's decapitated head into the soup of the enemy general before sending the Flyer careening into an enemy BattleJeep and jumping free at the last possible instant.

Thanks to hidden wires and camera tricks, Ninjas are able to leap amazing heights (up to two stories high), run up vertical surfaces (at the same speed as horizontal ones), ignore Movement Penalties from harsh terrain, survive terrifying falls with no fear of damage, climb ropes with no free hands, or fight from a standing position on the ceiling.  For a less disciplined individual, jumping around like an insane spider monkey would be an end in itself, but for the Ninja the use of these manic gymnastics is strictly limited to furthering his goals of mass homicide.

Classification: Hero or Officer (elite heroic disposable infantry) Move: 5" Armor: 1d10+TL Skill: 1d10+2 Cost: 8+TL CP Specialty: 1 Stupendous Feat per turn Ratio: one per 7 troops

Heroes are Troopers who display feats of strength, speed, and agility beyond the abilities of other Troopers, on a regular basis.  After graduating from the Trooper Training Center, a Hero spends three or four extra years in the Hero Training Camp, where he hones his advantages, learns to speak from his gut, thrust out his chest, walk groin-first, and which types of capes, scarves, and sashes best accessorize a military uniform.  Trooper Heroes serve as rallying points and as symbols of their Civilization's power and glory.  Trooper Heroes are incredible morale boosters, who often whip regular Troopers into such frenzies that they attack trees, rocks, and sometimes even the ground.

Heroes are incredibly efficient killers, and serve as the tactical leaders of divisions of Forces, when no Champions are available.  They function just like normal Troopers, but more so.  They also have the handy ability to perform one Stupendous Feat per turn.  They are represented by minifigs with visored helmets and fancier Armor, and often wear some accessory such as a cape, feathers in their helmets, or braided epaulets.

Classification: Champion or High Commander (best of the best elite disposable infantry) Move: 10" Armor: 2d10+TL-3 Skill: 1d10+2 Cost: 21+TL CP Specialty: 3 Stupendous Feats per turn(!) Ratio: one per battle

When a Hero has been fighting steadily for few decades, his skills, posturing, and oratories increase even beyond their already-superhuman levels.  If by some combination of planning, skill, and dumb luck he manages to live through a hundred battles or so, he will have gained the power, skill, and prestige he needs to be called a Champion.  Tales of the great Champions circulate throughout the Civilizations, often making them legends within their own lifetimes.

Normal Troopers and Heroes are so bloodthirsty and vicious they've been known to shoot themselves out of sheer battle frenzy, and Champions follow this grand tradition of adrenaline-induced moronitude.  However, when they pull the trigger in such a situation, their natural combination of catlike reflexes and dumb luck allows them to miss themselves and hit the fuel line of the enemy's cloaked DeathSloop behind them, causing it to spin off and destroy the enemy base in a glorious crash landing, starting a forest fire that consumes the three divisions of the enemy expeditionary force waiting in ambush on the other side of the hill.

As a Hero is to normal Troopers, so is a Champion to normal Heroes.  The most important difference between Heroes and Champions, beyond their enhanced statistics, is the fact that Champions have three Stupendous Feats per turn.  Now that's something to write home about.

Champions are represented by minifigs with visored helmets, fancy Armor, epaulets, capes, sashes, cloaks, and anything else that will fit over their Herculean physiques.  Usually they will have the fanciest, most garish suits you can slap together, with all the flame decals and racing stripes.  Champions are very vain, and you want to be able to tell them apart.  Champions usually have a bad accent from one country or another when they talk, and action-movie-hero personalities.  You should know the name and personality of every Champion you field, if not every Hero.

Way back in the distant early days of warfare, there was only one kind of soldier - the Trooper.  At first, battlefield organization was very strong - Troopers grouped themselves in squads of four men, with one man given the responsibility of keeping them coordinated with the rest of the attack.  But the communications officers kept getting killed, and without guidance, the squads would wander around in confusion and get lost.

After a while, the most enlightened Civilizations made the advances in philosophy and education that led to the evolution of a more independent breed of Trooper.  This new breed had no need for organization or centralized control, relying on keen instinct, the collective subconscious, and studies of The Zen of Large-Scale Assault Maneuvers to keep coordinated.  This was the Golden Age of Combat, when the Troopers answered to no one but themselves on the battlefield.

And then, the variant Trooper designs started popping up.  Scouts.  Ninjas.  Amazons.  All Troopers were no longer created equal.  It was time to re-implement the organized battle maneuver, with a carefully layered chain of command.

7.3.1 Tactical Division

The tactical division rules are among the most optional of our optional rules.  It's the kind of thing that you're sometimes really in the mood for, and sometimes you can't stand.  And sometimes you change your mind in the middle of a battle.  So we've divided them up into three flavors, in order of increasing complexity: Marauders, which is the model used in the first edition of BrikWars; Squads, which was the pre-BrikWars model; and Battalions, which is a more complex version of Squads.

Marauders
This system is very simple and easy to learn.  Basically, all your soldiers on the field do whatever they like.  They have some kind of psychic power telling them where all the other units are on the battlefield, and where they are in relation to them.  They do not get confused or disorganized.  The Fog of War does not exist for these men.

Squads
All units on foot are arranged in squads of three to five troops.  These squads move together, attack together, eat together, think together.  If one member of a squad gets lost, the other members have to find him.  If one member gets shot, the other members drag him back to the Medix.  Each squad must have at least one guy with a Radio (or whatever form of communication is appropriate to the culture.  At TL4 or higher, Vehicles, Synthetix, ComputerBanx, and gun emplacements all have radios built into them).  As long as they have that radio, they know everything that their commanders know, and vice versa; they are able to coordinate perfectly with the rest of the army.

If they lose that radio, then they can no longer receive instructions, battlefield updates, or reassuring messages about their validity and self-worth.  They immediately become disoriented and confused.  If there is an obvious enemy target for them to attack, they attack it; if they have an obvious mission to complete, they try to complete it.  Otherwise, they try to find a good defensive position to hold while they think of some way to regain contact with their army by alternate means.  Each turn that the squad wanders around without radio contact, they move at half speed, trying to get their bearings.

Besides radios, there are plenty of other methods of communications that work perfectly well.  A Squad can communicate with another Squad up to 8" away by shouting, or up to 12" away by using a bugle, megaphone, or war drums.  Signal flares, banners, smoke signals, or semaphore work to communicate with anyone in line-of-sight.  Mental telepathy and magical communication work as well as radios.  More primitive large armies must be divided into autonomous divisions, which communicate by messages carried by runners or carrier pigeons.  Telegrams can be used if Troopers are willing to carry long coils of copper wire to stay connected to headquarters.

Battalions
Battalion mode is the most complex system.  Not only are troops organized into squads, but their radios are useless unless someone of higher rank is sending them commands over it.  A definite Chain of Command is established, usually with a Champion commanding a base and a group of some Heroes, who in turn command separate legions of Troops.  Units can only use their radios to speak to other units directly above or below themselves in the Chain of Command, so if a link in that chain is taken out, communication will be disrupted.  If a unit's commanding officer is killed or loses contact, the unit will continue following whatever his last order was (hopefully it was something useful like "conquer and hold the enemy base" rather than "head east until I tell you to stop."), and then wait for additional orders, doing normal things like defending himself if attacked and attacking enemies who come into range.  He has no idea what is going on on the battlefield outside of his own field of vision, and he cannot get the authorization to help other divisions complete their separate missions.

What can you do with these poor abandoned subordinates?  If somebody sees that the commanding officer has been killed, he can get on the radio and start notifying people, or tracking them down and notifying them face to face.  This might be because he was standing next to the officer and saw him get hit by the Death Beam, or because somebody sent him to check the officer's last known position when contact was lost, or because they just happened to wander across his bloody corpse.  Different soldiers will react in different ways to news of an officer's death.  Superior commanding officers will arrange for someone to take command of all those soldiers who no longer have a commander.  Officers with rank equivalent to or higher than the fallen officer may collect his radio, giving them instant command of all his former units, or may send units out to notify the fallen officer's subordinates face-to-face, so that they can change their radios to the new officer's frequency and start following his orders.  Subordinates to the fallen officer realize that they are now independent, and may now act in whatever way seems best to them. Their radios are cut off from their allies', so they cannot engage in coordinated attacks with other independent groups, even if they're on the same side.  You can see that if you lose your Commander-In-Chief, you're suddenly going to have a number of independent divisions that won't play together well; so do what you can to keep him alive!