Unboring soldiers: More than cannon fodder
I’d bet good money that your gaming world is full of foot soldiers.
These are the frontline combatants and enforcers in any organisation. Whether it’s a crime syndicate, the town guard, a dark cult or a holy crusade, most of the members are there to carry a weapon and follow orders.
In most games, they are there to soak damage and deliver XP.
What if you want them to be more, though?
Foot soldiers, to oversimplify things, come in four basic flavours. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each has ways of defeating them besides peppering them with arrows.
If you want to fill your ranks with people, not mooks, then keep this in the back of your mind.
Paycheque Soldiers
Some soldiers are just in it for the money.
Maybe this was the best-paying job around. Maybe it was the only job around.
These people might come from poverty, thrilled to have a regular flow of coin. Or they might come from this world’s middle class, where this was a career option like any other.
Soldiers like this aren’t necessary ambitious. They’ll probably do their job and do it well, but they might not go above the call of duty. Who knows - maybe the heat of battle will ignite something in them. But if they flipped a coin between carrying a spear and being a merchant, they’ll probably count the minutes during their long shifts.
The strengths of these soldiers is they’re effective. Tell them to do a task and they’ll do it well. Whether or not they love the job, they know their income depends on not being completely incompetent.
That’s not nothing. If your organisation is full of soldiers like this, you’ll win surprising victories against any real army.
The weakness of these soldiers is, when their supervisors aren’t around, they probably won’t take it seriously. They’re prone to boredom - goofing off while on guard duty instead of maintaining perfect vigilance. Since they’re just in it for the money, they might also be open to bribes. Extra coin in the pocket doesn’t hurt… unless they’re caught.
Careerist Soldiers
These fine folks have entered the family business. Their parents are (or were) soldiers too. So’s half their extended family. Some of them might be high up in the organisation, but they’ll have earned their place there, starting at the bottom.
A family with proud traditions in the town guard might appear different to one with a history of joining cults. Strip away the superficial details, though, and they have a lot in common.
These soldiers grew up, learning the arts of the trade from the time they could walk. They know the unspoken rules of service better than anyone.
Are they passionate about this line of work, doing it because they’re “supposed to”, or did they not know they had other options? Either way, the organisation they fight for really is like their family.
The strength of soldiers like this is their loyalty. From a young age, they’ve learned the importance of following orders. When the orders are open to interpretation, they’ll probably strive to do their best, eager to impress their superiors.
This is also their weakness. They are prone to “just following orders” syndrome, obeying unwise or illegal commands without question. If savvy PCs have or can fake authority over them, they’ll do just about anything short of disloyalty to the organisation.
Passionate Soldiers
The world is a dark, dangerous place, but you can take a stand and make it better.
Soldiers like this know that. They believe in the cause and what the organisation stands for. Whether it’s the town guard to protect civilians from crime, or evil cultists seeking to cleanse the world, they chose this line of work because they believe in it.
This isn’t just a job for them. If they didn’t need to worry about food, rent or savings, they’d do this work for free.
Every organisation needs it zealots, its champions. They’re not just loyal - they’re incorruptible. They will go above what’s expected of them, working with everything they have to advance the organisation’s goals.
These soldiers are driven, even obsessive. They’ll do what it takes to get the job done. That’s their biggest strength.
Their biggest weakness?
Not everyone can live up to their high standards. They risk alienating their fellow soldiers. Even if they are perfectly respectful to them, others might resent the achievements of these passionate soldiers.
These soldiers won’t compromise, won’t take bribes and won’t surrender. They’d fight to the death for what they believe in. Even savvy PCs would struggle to talk their way past them. The other soldiers, though, might secretly long to see them taken down a notch. Their strained relationships are their biggest weakness.
Criminal Soldiers
They might hold a rank or a badge but, underneath that, these soldiers are nothing but common thugs.
They’re cruel, corrupt and violent. That’s probably why they signed up - an excuse to crack some skulls “for a good cause”.
It’s almost respectable, the way the risk their lives to help other people. But even without the organisation, they’d still get into fights for no reason. This job gives them an excuse, a salary and the support of an organisation to express their violent urges.
The strength of these soldiers is they’re effective. They’re intimidating to both their fellow soldiers and people outside the organisation. In battle, they can tear their enemies apart.
Their weaknesses are obvious. Having them around is bad news. They’re bad for morale and reputations. If they’re not closely managed, they could kill innocent people, attracting the wrong sort of attention and undermine the organisation.
Savvy PCs can use their rage against them. They could goad the criminal soldier into making mistakes, including attacking them in front of witnesses, so the PCs can take them out “in self-defence”.
Of course, this is a short list - incomplete.
But it’s a few steps ahead of the typical “I joined the town guard so I can fight to the death against PCs” that show up in games.
So this adds a little depth and colour to your gaming world.
To add a lot of those, check out Footprints: