The Royal Dragoon Guards

Basic Member’s Handbook

 

What is the Royal Dragoon Guards Battalion?

The Battalion is a gaming society based on the Battletech game and universe formerly published by FASA Corporation since 1985, and currently in print from Catalyst Game Labs.  It is a rich universe with a well-developed history and atmosphere spanning over one hundred books, sourcebooks, novels and computer games.  Our primary activities are focused around this universe, most notably the Battletech board game and the A Time of War role-playing game.

What is a “Gaming Society”?

The RDG is more than a fan club, or a simple gaming club.  It is founded with the ideal of organizations like the Society for Creative Anachronism, the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, or any of a number of Live Action Role-Playing Games.  In essence, the RDG does more than just play the games.  We encourage our members to study the source material with the kind of practiced eye a re-enactor does, to develop a Persona who might have been a part of the historical era of the Battletech Universe (BTU) in which we play.

Each member develops a Persona, and is eligible to earn awards and promotions within the society based on their activities in the games, and outside the games as a member helping support the organization – often referred to in shorthand as “The Unit” or “The Battalion”.  Where a re-enactor or SCA member creates an Impression or Persona who “might have lived” in the era they are portraying, and seeks correctness in their details and history – we are doing the same with our Personae treating the world of the Succession Wars as if it occurred.  Much like Peter Jackson’s production team for Lord of the Rings treated their details and designs as if they were re-creating historical events that actually happened, we are doing the same to create an authentic feeling and immersive story set in the Battletech Universe.

What is “required”?

The items below outline the requirements of being a member of the Royal Dragoon Guards.  We are not simply a run-of-the-mill game club.  Members will be expected to participate in the culture and traditions of the Unit, which includes a certain amount of customs and courtesies, close-order drill, and for moving up in organizational rank: garb and uniform.  If, after reading this document you feel you cannot adhere to these requirements of membership- this may not be the organization for you.

  • All members are required to stand to formation when instructed to do so, typically at the beginning and end of each meeting day.
  • All members are required to observe the unit’s customs and courtesies during Battalion events, to include proper forms of address and the saluting of officers when in garb or uniform or as appropriate to the occasion.
  • All members wishing to advance beyond the grade of E-3 are required to obtain individual genre-appropriate garb (E-4 MechWarrior) or an organizational uniform (All other grades/ranks E-4 or higher).

Activities of the Royal Dragoon Guards

The RDG maintains several Companies within the Battalion.  Members who are able to commute regularly to the Austin area for the twice-monthly meetings are assigned to Easy Company, and participate in person.  Members who cannot travel and do not live in the Austin area are assigned to Fox Company and participate using Internet technologies like MegaMek, Ventrilo/Skype and Google Wave.  Future companies may be added as needed.

The primary focus is to weave the story of the Royal Dragoon Guards is to provide an immersive social experience with one or more storylines in the Battletech Universe in which the members may participate.  These storylines will be placed throughout the history of the game and put an emphasis on the atmosphere and ‘feel’ of a particular time and place within the universe.  Members will be encouraged to read, learn and participate to enrich the experience of the entire Battalion.  The major activities that support this goal are:

  • The creation of a Persona the member will play, with a history and background appropriate to the genre.
  • Role-Playing using the A Time of War rules set.
  • Tabletop Gaming using the Total Warfare rules set.
  • Practice of customs and courtesies both military and feudal as based on the Battletech source material.

In order to achieve this lofty goal, the elected and appointed staff members of the Unit write the storyline in which the members portray their characters in role-playing situations, both around the tabletop with dice to adjudicate success or failure at tasks and in live-action improvisational theater scenes in which they interact with their fellows in-character to better define who their Persona is, how they speak, act, and get along (or not) with their fellow Dragoons.  The rules that govern how most play proceeds, and what the capabilities of each Persona are, are found in the Total Warfare and A Time of War rulebooks published by Catalyst Game Labs.

Players are encouraged to develop distinctive costume, or garb, for their Personae and wear them to events to assist in the establishment of atmosphere and role-play.  The unit holds briefings and formations in and out of character to further this same goal.  Players are encouraged to read not only about the Battletech Universe, but history from our own time that is reflected by and flavors the Battletech world.

In addition to playing the games and engaging in Persona play, the RDG enjoys visits to military museums, overnight stays aboard vessels like the USS Kidd or USS Texas, and other recreational activities like Lazer Tag and paintball.

Basic Responsibilites of the Member

The basic member of the RDG is responsible for attending and enjoying themselves.  A member must create a Persona with the assistance of the Staff that is appropriate to the tone and historical period of the Royal Dragoon Guards campaign.  It is then their responsibility to develop and play that persona as they see fit within the limits of the campaign world.  Staff review will determine if a Persona is appropriate to the campaign, or if their ongoing conduct fails to fit with the campaign’s goal of story and tone.  A Persona that would be at home in “Saving Private Ryan” would be quite at home in the RDG.  One more at home in “Hogan’s Heroes” would likely not fit in, and might disrupt the tone and feel for other players.  Note that the specific tone of a given RDG campaign may vary,

Persona Creation

Each member will create their Persona using the A Time of War rules.  Persona creation consists of learning about the Battletech Universe and deciding on a character to play within that world. Specific Persona creation rules for each campaign are available from the Game Master running that campaign, or on that campaign’s page on TexMechs.org

Lance Assignment

Once a Persona has been created, a new member will be assigned to a Lance, which is typically a four-member team consisting of a Lance Commander, a Lance NCO, and two rank-and-file members.  Your Lance NCO is there to teach you the ropes and the knowledge and skills necessary to play the Battletech and A Time of War games, and to portray a mercenary MechWarrior in the thirty-first century, including the D&C and garb requirements of the organization.  Your Lance Commander assists the Staff in the operations of the organization, and is in tactical control of your team on the battlefield during Battletech games.

Attendance

While no member can make 100% of all events, it is important to let your Lance NCO or Lance Commander know if you can or cannot be at a given event.  We plan many game and plot details around who can or cannot attend a given event.  If you must miss a meeting, please let us know.  Members who attend no meetings for a six-even period will be places on the Reserve list, and their slot in their Lance will be opened for another member to fill.  Events such as staff meetings, or special outings like the USS Texas trip do not count as normal ‘events’.  Regular gaming sessions (normally twice a month) are the events counted for this purpose.  Missing events for reasons of family, religious, educational, health or work-related reasons does not penalize a member, as long as they make their chain of command aware of the fact BEFORE the event in question.  Failing to do so, or missing an event for other reasons than those stated above starts the 6-event clock.

Rank, Promotion, Awards and Development

New members are assigned to their Lances at the grade of E-1.  Ranks in the Royal Dragoons represent several aspects of membership.  For non-leadership members, rank is a measure of the members’ longevity in the group, experience and contributions, and development through the RDG’s system of qualifications and exams to encourage members to learn more about the Battletech game and universe.  Recruits remain so until they pass the Basic Mercenary Training qualification, which allows them to advance to Private.  Further advancement is granted by time in the group, further qualifications, and distinguishing oneself as a member and as a Persona within the story.  This type of rank is an honorific only, and carries no authority over other members under normal circumstances.  Non-leadership ranks range from Recruit (E-1) through Master MechWarrior (E-6).

Members who decide to serve as leadership in the RDG are granted rank titles that reflect their responsibility within the organization.  These titles are for the duration of their service in that capacity, and after stepping out of those jobs, or ‘billets’, they revert back to their non-leadership rank.  Non-Commissioned Officers, like Corporals and Sergeants, are generally responsible for helping train, develop and keep order during events like the sergeant-at-arms of a formal meeting would.  Officers are there to help run the organization, and assist the staff in keeping the story going, and command their units on the battlefield.  In both cases, members are expected to respect these hard-working Dragoons by the proper use of their titles and traditional courtesies.  Remember that these members hold such titles by virtue of doing a job for the organization, and while they are not military ranks in the real-world sense, they are titles granted in recognition of their contributions to the Unit, and therefore very real and valid within that context.

The Royal Dragoon Guards also maintain an awards system, which consists of three parts.  Training awards are issued to members for completing qualifications and exams which further their knowledge of the Battletech game and universe.  Service awards are given to members who are working hard out-of-character to keep the organization running and assisting with administration, events, and other tasks.  Combat awards are issued to the Persona, not the member, and represent recognition of a Persona’s valor under fire and combat experience.  Once per six months, the RDG holds a Change of Command and Awards Ceremony, which is an opportunity to formally recognize our members for their hard work and Persona play exploits.

For more on this subject, see http://texmechs.org/?page_id=82

Customs, Courtesies, Drill and Ceremonies

The Royal Dragoon Guards maintains a tradition of customs and courtesies based on the play of military Personae in the Battletech universe.  In example, we begin each meeting or event with a formation in which the players fall in to receive the announcements and plan of the day.  When we have formal Awards Ceremonies, members are expected to know how to exchange salutes when granted awards or promotions.

Every member is expected to learn the proper forms of address and traditional customs and courtesies as outlined here.  The Lance NCO for each member is responsible for seeing that those members are knowledgeable in those traditions, and consistent in practicing them.  See the section on Basic Drill on the web site for more information.

Uniforms and Garb

  Wearing unit garb, ranging from t-shirts and polos to uniforms and what we call “Action Figure Garb” is part and parcel of being a Dragoon.  The former serve to identify us at events and promote the group, the latter to do the same and also help establish a feeling of immersion in the world our game is set in.

No member is ever required to wear garb at the basic membership level, although there are garb requirements to advance to E-4 or beyond.  Members who wear garb to regular meetings will receive an experience point bonus for doing so.  Those members who have reached the level at which garb is required for certain events are expected to wear it for those events – for example, uniforms are required of officers and NCOs for the semi-annual Change of Command.

The t-shirt or unit polo is the most basic and ubiquitous expression of unit garb.  Wearing these will result in the application of a few additional experience points to your persona per game day.

Each member is encouraged to develop their character’s distinctive in-universe garb, colloquially called ‘Action Figure Garb’ or AFG.  This is the clothing your character would typically wear on adventure when not strictly required to wear their uniform.  In essence, the outfit their action figure would be made wearing.  Starting points for creating your AFG could be professional – like fatigues or BDUs for mercenaries or scrubs for a Doctor – or personal, like tabi or a kimono for Draconis Combine characters or a kilt for a Persona from Northwind.  AFG is required to advance to MechWarrior (E-4).  An XP bonus is awarded for wearing the AFG to meetings and events.

The unit’s actual uniform is required for members in leadership or senior staff slots.  This garb is designed to add formality and dignity to the unit’s special occasions, such as award or promotion ceremonies and the like.  The uniform regulations will be published on the web site, and your Lance NCO can assist you in procuring one if you so wish.  Members who wear the duty uniform to regular events will receive an XP bonus for doing so.

Summary

To summarize the things that are required, so that there is no ambiguity as to what a prospective new member is getting into, here are the things required of all hands.  If you feel you cannot adhere to these requirements at your chosen level of participation, the Royal Dragoon Guards may not be the hobby for you.

ALL Royal Dragoon Members are required to:

  • Establish a Persona within the guidelines of the RDG Campaign, reading and researching as necessary to create a Persona acceptable to the Battalion Staff.
  • Maintain contact with their Chain of Command, and give notice of what events will or will not be attended as this information is used to plan out game and plot information.
  • Adhere to the customs and courtesies traditions of the Royal Dragoon Guards, to include proper address of leadership personnel and fellow Dragoons as well as other aspects outlined in the Customs and Courtesies section of texmechs.org
  • Learn the basics of Drill and Ceremonies required for the unit to fall in, fall out, receive awards etc.

Members wishing to advance to MechWarrior are required to:

  • Create and have accepted by the Battalion their AFG garb
  • Pass the Basic MechWarrior’s Exam (or other exam by specialty)
  • Receive the recommendation of their Lance Commander or NCO
  • Provide guidance to new members in the Battletech or AToW games as needed

 Members wishing to serve in an NCO billet are required to:

  • Be able to teach all the basics covered under the previous two lists to new members
  • Be tactically and technically proficient in the Battletech tabletop game
  • Take and pass Basic NCO School
  • Own or be willing to procure within 90 days the Duty Uniform, and wear such to events as required
  • Assist with keeping unit events on task and orderly

 Members wishing to serve as Officers are required to:

  • Adhere to all the requirements for NCOs below
  • Take and pass Officer Candidate School
  • Be proficient in the A Time of War role-playing game rules, paying special attention to combat and skill resolution rules