THE COMPANY - A Roleplaying Game about Modern Warfare

[Newt]

Ever wondered what it is like to jump out of an aircraft 50,000 feet above a stricken oil tanker? Or how you’d handle defusing an IED? Or what it is like standing between a visiting VIP and that sniper’s bullet? Well now you can because The Company will put you right at the centre of the action. In The Company you play an employee of The Company – an elite independent Private Military Service Provider, a global security concern capable of dealing with any situation from a high octane firefight to the tracking down of serial killers. If you can think of it, The Company can handle it.

The Company Operations Manual contains:

• The OpenQuest rules engine – tailored to a modern day setting, and including combat rules covering all aspects of modern warfare, making The Company a self-contained game.

• Simple Character generation – enabling you to go from concept to fully finished character as quickly as possible.

• Equipment – a comprehensive list of vehicles and equipment, providing your character with everything you will need to prosecute a successful mission; be that the latest in covert surveillance or the most accurate of rifles.

• The world – in which The Company operates within, the global flashpoint locations that Company Operatives may visit, competitors to The Company, Company customers and organizations that Company customers may come into conflict with.

• Story seeds – covering a wide range of possible genre, from the classic war-story,adventures with corporate espionage, helping with disaster relief and close protection work.

• Two example scenarios – ‘Operation Bluebeard’ and ‘F.I.S.H & C.H.I.P.S’ which will introduce you not only to The Company but to the workings of the OpenQuest rules engine.

By Rik Kershaw Moore. 216 pages. Published by D101 Games April 2012.

Edited June 30, 2012 by Trifletraxor
Edited the post format

[Dredj]

I just read your blog and you mentioned what a pain the big list of guns debate was and got a somewhat-related idea. How about classifying the guns by the die type you'd use for their damage (and any modifiers)? Such as: d10 damage [list of guns and ammo plus modifiers for each gun and ammo to the die roll]; d12 damage [list of guns and ammo plus modifiers for each gun and ammo to the die roll]; etc. Hopefully this is a worthwhile. At least it would serve as a rather easy to reference comparison chart (so I think). I realize there's a ridiculous amount of research to making any such list as realistic as possible.

Edited February 3, 2012 by Dredj

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I realize there's a ridiculous amount of fun to making any such list as realistic as possible.

I think that's what you meant to say, right?

[Dredj]

I think that's what you meant to say, right?

You got it;t)

[Newt]

I just read your blog and you mentioned what a pain the big list of guns debate was and got a somewhat-related idea. How about classifying the guns by the die type you'd use for their damage (and any modifiers)? Such as: d10 damage [list of guns and ammo plus modifiers for each gun and ammo to the die roll]; d12 damage [list of guns and ammo plus modifiers for each gun and ammo to the die roll]; etc. Hopefully this is a worthwhile. At least it would serve as a rather easy to reference comparison chart (so I think). I realize there's a ridiculous amount of research to making any such list as realistic as possible.

This is the blog post, by Rik the Author, in question

http://thecompany.d101games.co.uk/2011/03/22/the-great-big-list-of-guns-debate/

Very early on in the Company's development me and Rik had a big discussion about Guns and how to present them. Did we simply go for a very basic list of weapons - eg 9mm Pistol, .44 Revolver, 9mm SMG, Pump action shotgun, Double barreled shotgun etc. You know "a gun is a gun, I'm here for the action movie". We decided however to do the 'big list of guns'. We knew the games audience would want to say, "My character is using a Colt defender, what's the damage for that". So instead of guns grouped by damage dice, we've got tables grouped by weapon type that are reasonably complete (because I know the gun nuts amoungst you will find omissions). And Rik did do a lot of research....a damned lot of research

[Dredj]

This is the blog post, by Rik the Author, in question

http://thecompany.d101games.co.uk/2011/03/22/the-great-big-list-of-guns-debate/

Very early on in the Company's development me and Rik had a big discussion about Guns and how to present them. Did we simply go for a very basic list of weapons - eg 9mm Pistol, .44 Revolver, 9mm SMG, Pump action shotgun, Double barreled shotgun etc. You know "a gun is a gun, I'm here for the action movie". We decided however to do the 'big list of guns'. We knew the games audience would want to say, "My character is using a Colt defender, what's the damage for that". So instead of guns grouped by damage dice, we've got tables grouped by weapon type that are reasonably complete (because I know the gun nuts amoungst you will find omissions). And Rik did do a lot of research....a damned lot of research

Cool! Makes more sense than my suggestion. I was expecting something like the regular rpgs that group them merely as firearms, melee weapons, etc. While that's fine, it's just easier to pick out the badass weapons for the badass protagonists/antagonists if the weapons are grouped by specific categories

I can't wait for this product's release.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Dredj

[Guest Vile Traveller]

We decided however to do the 'big list of guns'.

Oh, well. That's another sale, then.

[Dredj]

Will the same treatment be given to melee weapons as it is to guns?

[tsiolkovsky]

Will the same treatment be given to melee weapons as it is to guns?

Actually no...

The reason for this was simply that it is very much a knife being a knife. There is very little diferentiation between the various different types of knife. Geneally the stabby bit goes in to the person and the red stuff leaks out. Whilst I will admit there are variations in knife design and length - I don't believe there is enough variation to make that truly worth adding lists and lists of knives.

It is also the reason why I've not gone for a huge list of martial arts styles... given the simplicity of the OQ ruleset, trying to add different styles would make things more complex.

Rik KM

[Jack Tar]

I ran my own game of this last weekend at Furnace in Sheffield, UK. It was great fun, even if I say so myself. Lots of shooting and blowing things up. Plus a hilarious double fumble while driving an overloaded jeep. One thing is clear; if you don't have some sort of armour on when you get shot, you're dead. This is as it should be in a realistic game.

I then played in a Company game (also at Furnace) and the same trend was reiterated. Very little fun for the NPCs, but lots of fun for the PCs. Despite this reality, there's still a lot of scope for things to go pear-shaped for the PCs, so it's not an unbalanced gaming experience. As you might predict from real life, it tends to be a lot of careful planning, positioning, and then the fire-fight is over fairly quickly.