Grunt Roleplaying in the Vietnam War

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Bill Miller (order #7147006)

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GRUNT The roleplaying game of jungle warfare

GRUNT 2011 Zozer Games. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work by any means without the permission of the publisher is forbidden. Zozer Games can be reached via email: [email protected], or by post: 151 Sewerby Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, England, YO16 7DX.

CONTENTS 1: IN-COUNTRY 4 2: BOOT CAMP 13 3: THE MISSION 28 4: COMBAT 49 5: SOUTH VIETNAM 61 6: RESOURCES 74 INDEX 82

CREDITS AUTHOR Paul Elliott MAPS & ILLUSTRATIONS Paul Elliott SPECIAL THANKS Private First Class Conrad Dietrick, Staff Sergeant Jesse Mendez, Staff Sergeant Edward Quichocho, Chris Veysey, Deric Bernier, Al Livingstone, Erik McGrath.


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Terror. Sheer blind terror sublimated and spat back out of the barrel of an M16. The fear and isolation. The desperation to get out alive - just to get out and get home. A green hell populated by a people who despise you and want to kill you. Or maim you. Or send you mad. This is the Vietnam War. This is GRUNT. It is my attempt to use the medium of roleplaying to bring the despair and horror of Vietnam to you in a far more immediate way than any book could. I've really studied the war, written a book about it, and I've often tried to imagine what it must have been like to be there. I'll try to pass on a lot of what I've discovered. Straight up front I'd like to recommend two slim books that cut away all the olive drab trappings of war and lay bare the terrible experiences of soldiers in the Nam. They show you the reality, and make you wish you could look away. Dispatches, by Michael Herr and Nam by Mark Baker. Don't rent out Vietnam movies - read these! GRUNT attempts to be historically realistic, claustrophobic and packed with a great deal of nervous tension. There are no Rambos or John Waynes here, no daring commando raids and white-toothed grins. You're approaching the heart of darkness, a world of fear and anxiety, booby traps and ambushes, where your body rots in the rain and you're dead beat all day, every day. "You're in the Republic of Vietnam," said an infantry officer at Bien Hoa to his new recruits. "This is the programme for the day: You're going to get killed in Vietnam." There it is. Paul Elliott [email protected]


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1:IN-COUNTRY

"You wish it were all over. You begin the countdown. You take the inky, mildew smell of Vietnam into your lungs". If I Die In A Combat Zone, Tim O'Brien American troops really began arriving in Vietnam as advisors and clandestine commandos in substantial numbers during 1961. By 1965 more direct action was required to prevent North Vietnam invading South Vietnam and regular US Army and Marine units moved in to try and push back the North Vietnamese Army and the South Vietnam guerrillas called the Viet Cong who were supporting them. It proved to be a bitter and bloody struggle, one that the US would bow out of in 1972 when the last US units headed back for the States. Vietnam was left to its own fate. GRUNT focuses on the great military build-up from 1965 onwards and the player characters are members of a newly created 'airmobile' unit, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

VIETNAM OVERVIEW The nation of South Vietnam is a puppet US state, a supposed bastion of democracy standing against cruel communist infiltrators (the Viet Cong, or VC) and the armies of communist North Vietnam (the NVA). The country is essentially a rugged mountain chain running from north to south in a narrow strip with the South China Sea on its eastern side and the jungle-clad mountains of Laos and Cambodia on its western side. The northern border of South Vietnam butts up (naturally) against North Vietnam and is separated by the De-Militarised Zone (DMZ), actually a highly militarised region with the Marines poised to counter any and all NVA invasions. The Marines have fought numerous battles and skirmishes up in this northern border region (officially known as I, or 'eye' Corps). Unfortunately the NVA do not play by the rules and instead of crossing the DMZ and squaring up to the massive Marine presence, they sneak into Laos and Cambodia in the west and enter South Vietnam across the western border. They bring weapons and supplies for the Viet Cong as well as technical and political personnel and of course entire military units. One of the main routes into the country has been through the Central Highlands, a foreboding highland plateau in which the 1st Air Cavalry are located. Here too are a number of Green Beret fighting camps from which the special forces soldiers train local tribesmen to defend against the NVA raiders. The network of jungle trails that side-steps the DMZ and passes through Laos and Cambodia is known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, named after the North Vietnamese leader currently in power and spearheading the struggle. As the mountains peter out south of the Central Highlands one enters the flatter fertile region at the southern tip of the country dominated by the Mekong Delta. This is one of the great rice growing areas of the world, full of villages and small towns and a soggy land of swamps, channels and rivers. The Mekong River flows out of Cambodia. The South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, is situated just north of the Delta. Other important cities of the country include Kontum, Ban Me Thuot, and Pleiku (in the Central Highlands), My Tho (in the Delta), Quang Tri (up near the DMZ) and a number of settlements situated on fertile plains on the coast where the mountains don't reach the sea. Of these latter cities Hue, Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh are the most important.


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US FORCES IN VIETNAM The central headquarters for all US military activity in Vietnam is the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) based in Saigon and working closely with the American ambassador at the US embassy in Saigon. From 1964 up until replacement by General Creighton Adams in 1968, the commander of MACV was General William Westmoreland. Part of MACV's duty is to help train the army of South Vietnam and provide US equipment and weaponry to this army (known as the ARVN, pronounce this arvin). MACV has divided Vietnam into 4 military zones: I Corps, II Corps, III Corps and IV Corps. I ('eye') Corps - Headquarted in Da Nang, I Corps is responsible for the northern-most part of the country. It is at the sharp end. The Marines are stationed here (the Third and First Marine Divisions) and later in 1967 the US Army's Americal division also moved in here. The biggest battles of I Corps were the Siege of Khe Sanh (1968), the liberation of Hue (1968) and the A Shau Valley (Hamburger Hill) in 1968/69. II Corps - Headquarted at Pleiku in the Central Highlands, II Corps is responsible for the defence of the central portion of South Vietnam. By the end of 1965 the following Army divisions had units in-country in II Corps: the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), the 25th Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. The 4th Infantry Division joined the fray in late 1966. The biggest battle of II Corps included the Ia Drang Valley (1965) fought by the 1st Cav in the days before its re-deployment to III Corps in 1969. III Corps - Headquarted at Bien Hoa, several miles NE of Saigon, III Corps covers the approaches to and the defence of Saigon, the capital and prize of the NVA. A major VC base area called the Iron Triangle sits within III Corps, NW of Saigon. Plenty of US Air Force squadrons are stationed in the III Corps area at Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut. Major US ground forces include the 173rd Infantry Brigade and the 1st Infantry Division (by the end of 1965), and the 25th Infantry Division, the 11th Armoured Cavalry Regiment, the 9th Infantry Division and 199th Light Infantry Brigade (by the end of 1966). Numerous large scale operations were conducted in III Corps to try and root out the VC in the Iron Triangle, as well as two other base areas named War Zone C and War Zone D. The heaviest fighting occurred during the Tet Offensive in early 1968 which tore Saigon and the surrounding towns apart. IV Corps - Headquarted at Can Tho, the IV Corps was responsible for the defence of the Mekong Delta. The terrain is difficult for major military operations. Mobile riverine operations are conducted on the waterways from Dong Tam, near My Tho, and US Navy riverine craft (always heavily armed) assist in transporting grunts of the 9th Infantry Division into battle. There are also a number of Special Forces Green Berets camps in IV Corps to block infiltration from Cambodia. The greatest enemy strongholds of IV Corps are found in the U Minh Forest and the Seven Mountains area as well as the Plain of Reeds and the infamous Rung Sat Special Zone (known as the 'Forest of Assassins') that flanks the main waterway into Saigon.

HOW THE ARMY WORKS A grunt is at the bottom of a huge organisational table, from fire-team to squad to platoon, to company to battalion and so on. For most grunts the real identity of their parent unit lays with the division. Much like the British regiments, the US divisions have very distinct identities and their own distinctive shoulder patches. A division is essentially a complete army ready to go to war. All are given some orientation, there are airborne divisions and cavalry divisions as well as the more numerous infantry divisions. But each has an HQ, its own artillery, transport assets, choppers, engineers, medical units and so on (many will be assets from other branches especially assigned to the division). The squad of grunts in this game will be members of Echo Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment (known as the Headhunters) - a part of the renowned 1st Cavalry Division.


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General Custer is one of the 7th Cavalry's most illustrious soldiers and the unit fought in the Indian Wars on horseback. In 1965 the division began to go to war in helicopters - the very first military unit to totally embrace air mobility. The division has since proved a fantastic success. It transports its troops by chopper, supports them with aerial artillery (gunships), uses chopper-borne recon, and flies in howitzers via chopper. Contrary to popular belief not everything moved by chopper in the Nam, but in the 1st Cav it nearly always did! By those who favoured the 1st Cav, it was known fondly as the 'First Team'. By the end of the war the division's mobility and firepower had proved so successful that it had fought in every military region. As a fire-fighting bunch of kick-ass trouble-shooters the 1st Cav could not be bettered, much to the chagrin of the Marines who had to be 'rescued' from Khe Sanh by the 1st Cav (or so the 1st Cav portrayed it). Check out the 1st Cav in Coppola's tremendous movie Apocalypse Now and in Mel Gibsons more realistic portrayal, We Were Soldiers. The 1st Cavalry Division (1966 - 1967) is commanded by Major-General John Norton, and is composed of three brigades (as well as additional supporting units). Brigades are led by colonels and are composed of three battalions. Battalions are commanded by lieutenant-colonels and consist of an HQ (with its own troop unit) and (usually in Vietnam) five front-line cavalry troops. Each troop is commanded by a captain and consists of three aero-rifle platoons and a HQ with two officers and 10 men. Now we're getting down to the level of foxhole units. Aero-Rifle Platoons The focus of roleplay within GRUNT is a single platoon of Echo Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment within the 1st Cavalry Division. Like most airmobile units, the troops were choppered into action and supported in the field by helicopter gunships and observation helicopters. Used almost as troubleshooters, the airmobile division was frequently transferred to the hottest of combat zones. Their aero-rifle platoons could be dropped behind enemy formations, or into remote areas to conduct search and destroy operations. They proved to be a rapid reaction force with a high degree of aggression and tenacity - perfect material for roleplaying! An aero-rifle platoon is the 1st Cav's basic fighting unit and at full strength (rare in the Nam) will have 44 men and one officer commanding (usually a lieutenant). The 1st Cavalry's aero-rifle platoons typically have four rifle squads (each with 8-10 men) and a platoon HQ (a separate squad with the lieutenant and platoon sergeant and 3 other enlisted men). The squads are led by staff sergeants and each is transported into the field by a UH-1 Huey helicopter. The complete platoon, then, moving as one, travels in five UH-1 Hueys, typically with a pair of heavily armed UH-1B gunship choppers flying as escort. Ranks The rank system of the US army enlisted men hangs on a framework of pay grades running from E-1 to E-2 onwards. Most squad members will be PFCs, privates first class (grade E-3). Those men who have responsibility for a particular weapon or technical aspect will be specialists (E-4, known as Spec 4s), they do not have any command responsibilities. The team leader (assistant squad leader) will be a sergeant (E-5) and the squad leader will often be a staff sergeant (E-6). When there are casualties or incidents of sergeants leaving to train as officers or to work in newly formed units, the gaps might be filled by other squad members. The senior Spec 4 might command the team, the E-5 sergeant might step up as the team leader. In the field the unit has to adapt to manpower shortages however it can. Replacement squad-leaders are not always on tap. The three squads that make up the player characters platoon are commanded by Captain Borman (O-3), who is accompanied into the field by an RTO, a couple of riflemen and his platoon sergeant, Sergeant Gardiner (E-7).


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Long time gamer and US Army Private First Class (E-3) Conrad Deitrick has summed up the way in which rank actually works in the field for a small unit. Im an E-3, a PFC. My team leader is a Specialist E-4. My squad leader is an E-5, a sergeant. I consider both to be my buddies. Theyve got more experience than me; I trust their judgement often more than I trust mine, but theyre friends and were in everything together. Ive got buddies who are Staff Sergeants, E-6. Its not basic training; were not talking about Drill Sergeants. Squad leader sergeants dont yell all the time in the regular army. Theyre too busy looking out for the guys in their squad. You work together and live together, you are friends and battle buddies.


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BASE CAMPS Unlike other wars, the Vietnam War saw the use of in-country base camps. Instead of deploying from outside the combat zone, grunts in the US Army and Marines were stationed within the combat zone. This meant that bases were under constant attack from Viet Cong irregulars and were therefore heavily defended. Base camps ranged from huge seaports (such as Cam Ranh) to airbases (such as Da Nang) to up-country base camps providing billets for troops along with chopper landing pads, hospital facilities, officers and enlisted mens' messes, weapons and ammo stores, supply centres, workshops, command posts, and miles and miles of perimeter fence, and barbed wire supported by gun towers and bunkers. Usually the perimeter beyond the wire was cleared of jungle by Agent Orange defoliant. These base camps provide rest and relief from tough field conditions, but must be constantly garrisoned and ready to repel a VC or NVA attack. Sniper attacks and quick-fire mortar barrages are a constant threat, especially during the hours of dark. Sometimes a Landing Zone (LZ) used during an attack is fortified and resupplied so that it becomes a permanent feature, ie. a small base camp or a Fire Support Base (FSB). An FSB is a complete artillery fortification used to provide fire support for patrols in the vicinity. Often these FSBs are constructed on hilltops deep in the wilderness and require an infantry garrison for protection. The NVA and VC try hard to overrun these FSBs, often forcing the artillerymen to lower the cannon tubes and fire beehive munitions directly at the on-coming enemy. FSBs usually have minimal facilities and a chopper landing pad. The larger base camps are usually built near a local South Vietnamese village and often hire locals to work within the fortress carrying out menial tasks (cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc). Some of these may be VC informers, spies or saboteurs. The local village often gives the base camp its name (eg, Lang Vei) and also provides the bored and frustrated grunts with a place to spend any R&R with the Vietnamese setting up brothels, bars, bath houses and markets especially for them. The grunts might build up a relationship with the villagers, but are always on their guard. The VC have infiltrated every population centre and love to strike at GIs who are vulnerable. For the locals, the grunts are a source of revenue., and they will offer all kinds of money-making services, from haircuts to prostitution, jeep (or tank!) washing to boot-shine, laundry to tailoring, good drinks, local food and bathing. At night when the mortar shells come whistling in and VC sappers try to pick their way through the concertina wire grunts wonder who could do this night after night. Sometimes when bodies are pulled out of the wire it happens to be the barber who cut your hair, or the villager who sold you cigarettes last week. You can never tell. You must always be on your guard. Trust no-one.


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HOME OF THE 1ST CAV Camp Radcliff & the Golf Course The 1st Cav established its headquarters camp in South Vietnam at the village of An Khe, in II Corps. An Khe sits on the banks of the Song Be river, close to the southern foot of the jungle-clad Hon Kon Mountain. The base was named Camp Radcliff to honour the first casualty of the division, Major Radcliff, shot down over the Man Yang pass, further west. Camp Radcliff is a huge military base housing thousands of soldiers, pilots and support personnel as well as supplies and ammo. It exists to maintain the helicopter landing field, known by the grunts as the Golf Course. This is where hundreds of UH-1 Hueys sit, alongside half a dozen other types of chopper, waiting for mission orders that will send them all across the Central Highlands or out to Qui Nhon on the coast. In 1967 the Golf Course was the largest concentration of helicopter traffic in the world. The player characters will have barracks at Camp Radcliff, most likely they will share a green GP (general purpose tent) set out as a dorm. There will be basic shared latrines, a mess tent and a HQ tent. There is limited entertainment at the camp, but after long operations the grunts should be eligible for a pass out to An Khe town. Hon Kon Mountain Looking down on Camp Radcliff is the tree-clad Hon Kon Mountain, a flat topped hill that is used by the 1st Cav as a radio relay and radar station. The traffic controllers have their base up there, and the engineers have audaciously cleared jungle from just below the peak and painted on the bare rock a huge three-storey replica of the 1st Cav shield and horse badge. Any incoming flights to Camp Radcliff can't help but see this over-the-top testimony to the 1st Cav. An Khe and Sin City An Khe is a small town that has grown up to satisfy the needs of the men at Camp Radcliff. There are bars, little restaurants, 'massage parlours' and all manner of stores selling everything from custom-tailored jungle fatigues to transistor radios and tourist trinkets. Rock n roll, soul and country music spew out from the bars onto the streets. Streetwise food vendors and hawkers continually hassle off-duty GIs. At night the main street of An Khe turns into the infamous 'Sin City' where local bar girls entertain grunts with passes from the camp. Player characters will spend R&R in Sin City, and in the streets and bars of An Khe. Most of the bars are given stateside names (the 'Arizona', the 'Lone Star' etc.) and the feel of An Khe is close to an oriental Wild West, with tin shack stores and raised board walks to keep the customers out of the monsoon mud. An Khe Airstrip The French constructed a concrete runway at An Khe more than a decade ago. The 1st Cav use it to land their fixed-wing transport planes (C-7 Caribous), and the USAF use it to land Hercules and Provider transport planes packed with much needed supplies and ammunition for the division. The only concrete runways west of An Khe are found at Kontum and Pleiku.


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II Corps South Vietnam


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BOOT CAMP

"You little scumbag. I got your name. I got your ass. You will not laugh. You will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you." Gunnery Sergeant Gerheim from The Short Timers, by Gustav Hasford In GRUNT the player characters are infantry soldiers newly arrived in-country. They have 'enjoyed' two months of basic training at boot camp, had their heads shaved, been taught how to drill, how to salute an officer, how to use a rifle and bayonet to kill an enemy. Most are ignorant of the country they're now in and of the war that will shortly turn their world upside down. All are young. The average age of these new recruits is 19. Some have volunteered, many more (especially later in the war) have been forcibly recruited (drafted) for a one year tour of duty. Those studying at college or married are exempt from the draft. Dragged from the life of a 60's teenager to undergo harsh and brutal basic training, many of the recruits are totally unprepared for the horrors of war and the awfulness of what they will see and be forced to do. There are some who see service as a patriotic duty, who want to serve their country as their fathers did in World War Two. This time it's Communism that must be stopped. Fight it in Vietnam so that you don't have to fight it in Pasedena. Or so the rhetoric goes. The majority of draftees are unwilling. A few criminals are even forced into the army by a lenient court offering an alternative to jail! And they come from across the United States. From New York and LA, the Mid-West, the Deep South, the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains, the ghettos, the reservations, the suburbs, from Small-town America and the Big City. Each player character (grunt) will have had to report to a US Army Infantry Training Centre for basic training where the drill instructors (DIs) would have made their lives a living hell. After eight weeks the recruits graduated from basic and prepared to go on to Advanced Infantry Training in a specialist area, maybe artillery or auto mechanics. The player

characters in GRUNT, like most draftees, drew the short straw, however, and went on to one of the dreaded infantry training centres such as Tigerland at Fort Polk in Louisiana. Their Military Occupational Speciality (MOS) is IIB, combat infantryman. They were heading for the Nam and leaving 'the World' behind them for 12 months - and maybe forever.

IDENTITY Who is your grunt? Scratch that. Who was he? What was his name before he entered the Nam? Where did he come from? And how did he end up in this green hell fighting for his life? Everyone has their own war name, a personal nickname that gets scrawled in black marker on flak jackets and helmets. Anyone with any kind of personality has a war name. They can be full of pathos, be witty, funny or angry. Here are a few (actual and fictional) war names as examples: Mad Mark, Cowboy, Joker, Day Tripper, Avenger, Mickey's Monkey, Cream, Oklahoma Kid, Mr Clean, Texas Hippie, Cannon Ball, Rafter Man, Crazy Earl, Animal Mother, T.H.E. Rock, Stumbling Stewey, Iron Man, Chili Vendor, Daytona Dave, Mr Payback, Lone Ranger ... youve gotten the idea by now, right?


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To go with the war name you should come up with some identifying feature for your grunt. No hundred word descriptions ... just a single feature will do. Try big blue eyes, skinny, tattoo on the arm, southern drawl, walks with a swagger, well-built, good-looking, pug ugly ... just one thing to give your grunt a little personality. Select from or roll on the tables in this section. Age The Vietnam War is now notorious for the youth of its draftees, many feeling the war was fought by kids. Have a good look at the faces of grunts in contemporary photos. To create a random age for a squad-member, roll 1d6 + 17. Ethnic Origins Most of the infantrymen were poor white and black youths who werent able to defer the draft call up by entering college for several years. This table provides a basic random list of possible ethnic origins. Religion is a matter of taste, but keep in mind that catholics and protestants and jews were available for the draft. Famously, a number of muslims refused to go to Vietnam (including the boxer Muhammed Ali). 2d6 Ethnic Origins 2 Native American 3 Asian 4 Hispanic 5,6 Black 7,8 White-Working Class 9 Mediterranean 10 East European 11-12 White-Middle Class Hometown Where is home? It might be some bland Nowhereville, but its location might provide the grunt with some local flavour, regional flavour that his player can inject into the character. Name some place your grunt calls home, or roll for a region on the table below. You might have to re-roll if the ethnic origins seem to clash with the hometown result (such as a Native American from the Deep South, or a good Polish family from Hawaii). 2d6 Region 2 Alaska 3 Rocky Mountains 4 Pacific North-West 5 Florida & South-East 6 Central Plains 7 Great Lakes 8 North-East Coast 9 West Coast 10 New England 11 Texas & South-West 12 Hawaii


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ATTRIBUTES We define grunts by five main attributes which are: Body, Combat, Awareness, Technical. and Spirit. Their meanings follow. Body Physical strength, muscle and health Combat - Aggression, marksmanship and combat aptitude in general Awareness - Intuition, observation and awareness - essential for jungle survival Technical - Intelligence, ingenuity, education and thinking clearly under stress Spirit Willpower, tenacity and determination Roll 1d3 for each of these. Use a d6, with 1,2 becoming 1; 3, 4 becoming 2 and 5,6 becoming 3. This gives a range of between 1 and 3, with 1 indicating a poor performance during training and 3 indicating an outstanding performance. A character with three attributes at 1 should be tossed out of the army, the player can roll again. Using these attributes is simple, roll 2d6 and add the relevant attribute. If its straight-forward, then on a 10+ the grunt succeeds in his task. If the task is difficult, then success comes only on a roll of 12+.

Secondary Attributes There are also five secondary attributes; Panic, Max Load, Max Wounds, Stress and Hardening. Panic [10 - Spirit) Panic is a special attribute that begins at 10 - Spirit. Each time the squad comes under enemy fire all grunts must roll Panic or higher on 2d6. Those who succeed can act as they wish, those who fail hug the ground, freeze in place or hold their weapon outstretched to spray bullets wildly, pretending to fire at the enemy. At certain points the GM may ask for another roll, which may enable the panicked grunt to dash back to cover or pull a wounded comrade to safety. Most often the grunt will stay rooted to the spot until the gunfire stops. Once the grunts survive a mission in which they were fired upon, Panic drops by 2. The next time they survive a mission, it drops again by 2. At 0, Panic becomes irrelevant the grunt is not panicked by incoming and begins to act automatically, robotically, instinctively. He may still be scared, but does not freeze up and bury his head in the ground. New guys almost always freeze up. Dont give them important jobs. Note here that Panic may suddenly return to 10-Spirit due to witnessing the horrors of war. See Traumatic Stress, later.

Example. Crow is an RTO and rolls 1, 3, 1, 2, 2 giving him attributes of: Body 1, Combat 3, Awareness 1, Spirit 2 and Technical 2. If he wants to use a pistol to shoot at an enemy commando caught in the glare of a base searchlight, he must roll 2d6 and gain a result of 7 or more.


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Max Load [8 + Body] We assume that every grunt can hump his pack, rations, water canteens and ammo through the boonies all day long. But what else can he carry? It is this what else that Max Load measures. Assuming most items take up 1 space and that larger items (like radios, M16s, etc) take up 2 spaces, a grunt's Max Load is Body + 8. This measures how much additional weaponry and equipment a soldier can strap on, stuff into his pockets and carry. It is common for some grunts to carry other guys kit for them, particularly if they are hauling around a radio and batteries, or the M60. Sharing out the squads extra weapons and equipment equitably will form part of the game, pre-mission. A full list of equipment and weaponry is provided later in the book. Max Wounds [equal to Body+1] A grunt who suffers one serious wound is in trouble, semi-conscious and dying. He may also suffer a number of minor wounds which have less severe effects. When the soldier suffers a number of minor wounds equal to Max Wounds, then is subjected to an automatic serious wound. The attribute Max Wounds is equal to Body+1. Stress [starts at 0] Panic can be eliminated with self-discipline and with exposure to combat. But the enormous tensions that the contradictions of the Vietnam War create twist unseen in the grunts mind. He has to deal with these stresses himself. When he wants to run from some horrific scene, or turn away from an act he witnesses, military discipline and the chain of command prevent it. When a grunt witnesses a grisly scene or an abhorrent act, he makes a Horror Test on 2d6. He can add his Spirit to the roll. If he fails to make the roll the grunt gains a point of stress, equating to internalised panic. A later section of the rules, Traumatic Stress, explains how stress is used in the game.

JOINING THE SQUAD Choose a Role Now consider now your grunt's role in the squad. At Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) he will be given some special military training and a particular role within the infantry squad that he'll be joining. You'll need to talk to other players and your GM to find out what they're up to. In the table below, the seven roles are listed, along with the number of each type of role within a US infantry squad, the ranks associated with that role and the responsibility of that character role during a game. Each also has a skill . Later, when the player makes skill choices, he must select the skill listed with his role. OK. Your choice of role within the squad is going to depend on both your GM and on how many players there are. Each player has one character to represent him, no more. This focuses his interest and level of empathy with a single individual. Should he later be wounded then the player can instead use one of the Non-Player Character (NPC) squad members as a replacement. Each player selects one of the roles; one of the players must choose squad leader, and another should select the team leader. All of the other squad members will be controlled by the GM, and it wont be much fun if the players are bossed around by two Non-Player Characters!


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Table of Character Roles

Role No.in Squad

Rank Main Skill Player Responsibility

Squad-Leader 1 Staff Sergeant

any Spokesman and casting vote, leads the squad and communicates with higher ups

Team Leader 1 Sergeant any Can lead a 4-man team if the squad splits up

Scout 2 PFC Spot Ambush Checks for ambushes and booby-traps

Grenadier 2 Spec 4 Grenade Launcher

Carries the M79 one-shot grenade launcher

Machinegunner 2 Spec 4 Machinegun Carries the M60 belt-fed machinegun

Medic 1 PFC Medical Combat surgery and field medicine

RTO 1 Spec 4 RTO Calling in choppers and air-strikes, once squad leader or team leader give the go-ahead

Squad Leader (Rank: Staff Sergeant)- The

sarge commands the squad and is responsible for the welfare of its men. He reports to the platoon commander (a lieutenant). When the squad splits into two teams, the squad leader takes one team, his assistant, the team leader, takes the other. In GRUNT all the characters are assumed to be fairly new in-country and not yet inured to the horrors of war, this assumption also applies to the squad leader as well. A player selecting the role of squad leader doesn't actually have to command the other players about, he acts as a spokesman for the other players and communicates with higher ups. Armed with M16 rifle.

Team Leader (Rank: Sergeant) - The team leader will provide support for the sergeant, and deputise for him if necessary. When the squad splits into two teams, the squad leader takes one team, the team leader takes the other. They acts as the squad leader's deputy, taking over if he is wounded. Like the squad leader he is (around the gaming table) a spokesman for the other players. Armed with M16 rifle.

Grenadier (Rank: Specialist) - These two grunts are trained to use the 40mm M79 grenade launcher (known as a 'Thumper' or a 'Blooper'). This resembles a fat, stubby, break-open shotgun and fires its own specially designed 40mm grenades, usually high explosive (HE). Grenadiers are able to attack targets out of sight behind rocks or trees by firing HE rounds up into the air. As such they are almost acting as 'light artillery' and are appreciated by the grunts. Grenadiers carry pistols as a back-up weapon.

Machinegunner (Rank: Specialist) - Most infantry squads have an M60 machinegun and a grunt to use it. The M60 is called the Pig or 'Hog', a heavy belt-fed gun with a savage kick to it. It is devastating to any enemy caught up within its beaten zone and used to support the squad members during assaults or retreats or during ambushes. Beefy grunts are often selected to carry the M60, and they are able to use it prone with a bipod or slung from the shoulder. The rest of the squad will all carry extra belts of ammo for this gun. In addition, the gunner will carry a pistol as a back-up.

Sarge Typically, a squad leader was a professional soldier with two or three years experience. Some, however, were instant NCOs, graduates from the Non-Commissioned Officers School at For Benning who had less field experience. In GRUNT it seems unfair to allow one player to run an experienced soldier leading around a bunch of new guys, and as a game conceit, we assume that our squad and team leaders are either instant NCOs, or are simply new to to the field. Perhaps they have been pulled from cushy duties in Germany, Alaska, South Korea or the US, and despite their rank, have as much experience of the Nam as the draftees.


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Medic (Rank: Private First Class) - The medic has some training in the treatment of combat wounds and will be essential in keeping wounded grunts alive long enough for a medivac chopper to pick them up. He also looks after the well-being of the squad, distributing anti-malaria tablets and seeing to various ailments. Medics carry M16 rifles just like everyone else.

Radio Operator (Rank: Specialist) - The Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) is the squad radioman, responsible for carrying the radio and its batteries. In GRUNT he is able to call for a chopper pick-up, medivac and, best of all, a fire mission, an artillery bombardment from guns at a distant base, the latter once per patrol. Anyone can use the radio in an emergency, however radios have pretty poor range (cut drastically by mountains and hills) and are unreliable, even more so in the damp and rain-soaked atmosphere of the Nam. The RTO carries an M16.

Scout (Rank: Private First Class) - Scouts are combat riflemen whose main tasks are observation and patrol. They have no other officially designated task and either walk 'point' (up front checking for ambushes, booby traps or hostile forces) or walk 'drag' (the last man in the single file patrol, checking for any pursuing forces, and ensuring everyone keeps up and doesn't drop back). Scouts are sometimes sent out to check trails or routes ahead of the squad. Controlling the Squad There are a lot of NPCs in the game. Even if you have five players, you could still have five NPCs tagging along in the rest of the squad. If you only have a couple of players then the problem is even worse. To prevent the GM making most of the rolls in a game, and desperately trying to work out what all the squad-members are up to, GRUNT simplifies the squad system. Two players must take on the squad leader and team leader roles, and they are made attractive by the fact they can choose any skills their players fancy. Each is in command of half of the squad (what we call a team), and there is space on the character sheet for these two characters to list the members that are in their team. This team list does not change from game to game unless they players decide it should be changed. The team members are controlled by the GM, but to make his job easier, they will generally follow the team leader, do as they are ordered, and stick together. A team will never willingly split up, it is the smallest unit in the field and the GM will make combat rolls for the team as a whole (although the team leader will of course make his own dice rolls). Unless the plot or the GM dictates otherwise, the team members are docile and obedient soldiers following the team leader around much as retainers did in one or two of the Old School roleplaying games. Where there are enough players to take up other roles, these grunts can operate freely just as the squad and team leaders do. As player characters they make their own rolls and have an equal part in decision-making, these PC squad-members dont have a team following them around, however!

INFANTRY SKILLS There is the grunt straight out of basic training. He is fit, he is mean, he can kick ass with an M16 - or so he thinks. Now AIT gives him additional training. Here he develops a repertoire of talents and skills that might serve him well in Vietnam. Some are official and signified by the award of a 'badge', others are more nebulous and unofficial. All have their place. The player gains 4 skill points, keeping in mind the skill linked with his role, and in which he must put at least 1 point. Skills, unlike Attributes, are rated either +1 (Qualified) or +2 (Expert), and during character creation cost 1 and 2 skill points respectively. Note, also, that every skill is associated with an attribute. In play, the skill bonus is always added to the value of the attribute it is associated with, before it is rolled.


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The twenty-three skills available for selection by the players are: Aim [Combat]: This skill indicates sniper training. The grunt is able to delay his shot for one or two turns (1 if qualified, 2 if expert). Each turn of aim provides a +1 to hit. Aim can only be used on a target that is in sight, and the player must declare his intention to aim for the coming turn. If the target moves out of sight during that turn, then the player character has lost his bonus and his chance to shoot because he has delayed too long. Airborne [Body]: The skill of helicopter operations. The soldier has used helicopter winches, rope ladders and has rappelled from hovering choppers. The soldier is also jump qualified, i.e. he is a parachutist. He is very familiar with landing zones and helicopter re-supply operations and can get on and off a helicopter under fire very quickly. Climb/Jump [Body]: The grunt is physically fit, able to climb over obstacles, up slippery slopes and able to jump irrigation ditches or other gaps with some ease. Close Combat [Combat]: This shows that the grunt has had additional training in the bayonet, unarmed combat and knife-fighting. It gives him an edge, but does not prepare him psychologically for the trauma of his first few close combat encounters. Driver [Technical]: Driver training includes proficiency on most army wheeled and tracked vehicles. Grenade Launcher [Combat]: Skill in the M79 one-shot grenade launcher which can fire directly at a target or indirectly, in an overhead arc that turns the M79 into a portable artillery piece. Heavy Weapons [Combat]: The recruit is skilled in using support weapons such as mortars and light anti-tank weapons (LAWs). Although there are no rules in GRUNT for recoilless rifles and howitzers, the character with Heavy Weapons skill could operate those weapons also. Jungle Survival [Technical]: Indicates training and experience in wilderness survival techniques and also the techniques of escape and evasion from the enemy. The character knows where to find water, where to camp, how to make shelters, fish, find berries, avoid illness and the worst of the weather. He knows which snakes are poisonous (and how to treat snake-bites), how to deal with leeches and what terrain will most likely harbour malaria. Does not include the ability to track people or animals (see the skill called Ranger). Machinegun [Combat]: The grunt can effectively use the powerful M60 squad support machinegun in support of his team-mates. He's also qualified on other machinegun types such as the M2 50-calibre, the old M1919 Browning and the powerful vehicle mounted minigun. Map Reading [Technical]: This skill indicates an ability to cross country using a compass and map and keep in the right direction. When the squad traverses wilderness or jungle terrain, the player should make a secret roll to stay on course. Failure indicates an unnoticed wrong bearing. The GM either chooses or rolls 1d6 in secret: 1-3 veer to the left, 4-6 veer to the right. Map Reading also includes the ability to properly call in artillery or air strikes on a target using a map and a radio. Mechanic [Technical]: Skill in repairing car, boat and truck engines as well as generators. The grunt would have little or no chance to repair a helicopter engine. Medical [Technical]: This skill indicates basic first aid as well as emergency field surgery, and the dispensing of basic drugs. The skill also allows recognition and treatment of drug addiction. Night Vision [Awareness]: An ability to see well in darkness. The grunt with night vision suffers only a -1 to his Awareness stat in darkness, instead of -2. Noise Discipline [Awareness]: The grunt is well on the way to mastering the art of silent and stealthy movement, especially useful in the jungles of Vietnam where stealth and secrecy are the key to waging successful warfare. Pistol [Combat]: Handguns, revolvers and pistols, make good back-up weapons and can often be taken where bigger guns cannot (into town, into tunnels or cramped hooches).


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Rifle [Combat]: This grunt excels at the rifle range and is an accurate, fast and useful shot, able to shoot at fleeting or under-cover targets with a good chance of hitting. He can use the M16, M14, CAR-15 carbine, and various pump-action shotguns. Ranger [Awareness]: This indicates attendance at the Ranger course at Fort Benning. The grunt has a good eye for enemy tracks. He can estimate the forces that passed this way, whether running, patrolling or camping, and even how old the tracks were. A more difficult task (10+ for a team, 12+ for a squad) would be to cover over any tracks made by the squad, it would slow the squad down to 1km per hour. RTO [Technical]: This skill indicates expertise with military radio-telephone devices. The operator can use radios, extend their range by up to twice their normal distance, and try and avoid enemy jamming attempts. This skill also indicates basic electrical knowledge, and an ability to fix the radio when broken. Using one radio, someone with this skill can determine the direction of an enemy broadcast. Scrounge [Technical]: Whatever the squad needs a grunt with this skill always seems to be able to get hold of it, by trading this-for-that-for-this in a long train of underhand deals, bribes and kickbacks. One lucrative bartering chip is communist war gear that was captured with a story attached. Search [Awareness]: The grunt is adept at searching villages (villes), local huts (hooches) and bunkers for hidden equipment, caches of supplies and sometimes VC suspects cowering in some concealed location. The talent for sniffing out contraband isn't any use when trying to locate booby traps, but it does give the grunt some inclination that a ville he's patrolling might actually have VC connections. Spot Ambush [Awareness]: The grunt is trained to detect possible ambushes. He uses various clues, the sound of metal on metal or of movement through the undergrowth, the sudden quiet of bird song, the klack of AK-47 safety catches coming off, the disturbance of vegetation or use of dead vegetation to cover an ambush site further on and so on. Spot Trap [Awareness]: The grunt can attempt to detect booby traps of all kinds, from concealed pits filled with sharpened punji stakes to spiked deadfalls, trip-wires and anti-personnel mines. Strongback [Body]: The grunt is used to hard physical labour and whatever his actual size, can carry a huge amount of equipment without tiring! Qualified, add +2 to Max Load; Expert, add +4 to Max Load. Traps & Mines [Technical]: Skill in setting-up booby traps using C-5, grenades or claymore directional mines. It involves arranging an explosive with a trigger (often a trip-wire) and disguising it with vegetation. This does not let the grunt demolish buildings or bridges with explosives, and he must have Spot Trap before he can learn Traps & Mines. To detonate a claymore mine, roll this skill with Technical, +2; roll four times, attacking a different target each time in the 20m kill zone. Weapon Maintenance [Technical]: The grunt excels at stripping down weapons, at detecting the reasons for firearms misfires, and at preventative maintenance. When your M16 stops working while you are trying to defend a beleaguered LZ, you want the guy with Weapon Maintenance to be next to you; even better you want to be him! Without a weapon in the Nam, youre just chopped pork and beans.

RESOLVING TASKS Usually a task roll may be described as either 'open' (the grunt will know whether or not he succeeds immediately), or 'secret' (the grunt may never know whether or not he succeeded at all). An example of an open roll is a grunt climbing up a steep embankment, an example of a secret roll is a grunt checking for booby traps. If he makes a bad job of it, he may think he has cleared the area, yet he has not spotted the trap. The GM decides whether a task to be rolled for is secret or open. The many tasks that a grunt may attempt are resolved using six-sided dice.


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Open Tasks: To attempt an open task, the player rolls 2d6 and adds the grunt's relevant attribute. Searching a hooch for weapons requires the use of the Awareness attribute. Always add a +1 or +2 bonus if the character has a skill that may affect the roll, in this case a +1 would be added if the grunt possesses the Search skill at a Qualified level. Success always occurs if the total is 10+. Secret Tasks: Just because you think you have defused the bomb or checked for booby traps, doesn't mean that you have actually succeeded. In jungle-clad Vietnam, this uncertainty contributes to the mounting stress of a typical infantry patrol. Infantryman Crow says he's checked the trail ahead, but did he miss the booby traps, or are there actually none to be seen? Many Awareness rolls are secret, although the GM must decide for himself based on circumstance. Some Technical rolls may also be classed as secret, such as setting a successful booby trap for the VC. To attempt a secret task, the player rolls a number of d6 equal to the relevant attribute plus relevant skill. Double this total! The GM must have a 'magic number' in mind and he can come up with this number (ranging from 1 to 6) himself, he can roll a d6 to create the number, or he can decide on a number before the session and use it throughout the game. If any of the dice during a task roll turn up the magic number, then the player character grunt has succeeded (although he doesnt know it yet!). If they do not, then he has failed (and the grunt is still none the wiser!). With a secret task, the player still gets the responsibility and fun of rolling for his character, yet only the GM (privy to the magic number) knows whether or not he has succeeded. If the player thinks this is frustrating, well it is, this is the Nam. Frustration leads to tension, tension leads to violence and violence is the norm

GEARING UP The grunts are trained and ready to go. By now they have fulfilled a number of basic requirements, and nearly all will be Privates First Class (PFCs, pay grade E-3). The DoD wastes no time in packing them off to Vietnam. Flown over in chartered airliners, nearly all those bound for the 1st Cav will arrive in-country at the huge US base at Da Nang. The grunts may have had some basic indoctrination about the situation in Vietnam, about the VC and NVA and about the struggle for the 'hearts and minds' of the villagers. They might not. Not much will have sunk in. The training sergeants back in the World simplify the situation so much that what they tell recruits often seems like Boy Scout rhetoric in the face of unrelenting chaos and insanity. After arriving in the Nam the grunts are allocated common jungle kit, M16s and other role-related gear and then packed off to their units in-country.

Example. Crow has an Awareness of 1 and the skill of Spot Trap 1. If he tries to spot an approaching medevac chopper, which the GM classes as an open task, then he rolls 2d6 and adds his Awareness of 1. He rolls 8 and adds 1, for a total of 9. He needed 10, so he fails. Before Crow knows it the Huey is almost on top of him, and he hasn't had chance to inform his squad. Later he is sent to investigate a wooden bridge that the squad must cross, although Crow really isn't the grunt for this job! The GM classes this task as secret. Crow's attribute and skill together are 2, to be doubled for a total of 4d6. This time the roll is not added together to get 10+, instead the dice are rolled and the GM looks for the 'magic number'. Today it is '3'. The player rolls the four dice, and fails to roll a 3! He tells the squad leader that he's checked the bridge and found no traps, but the GM, referring to his notes, knows there's a booby trap there, and Crow failed to find it!


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They may go by truck or chopper. Within 24 hours (if they are truly unlucky) they might be humping the boonies on patrol with a squad of green recruits. When referring to the amount of kit a soldier carries with him, the US Army talks about fighting load (rifle and other weapons, canteen and ammo) and existence load (everything in the fighting load plus a field pack filled with rations and the equipment the soldier needs to survive for days in the jungle). Since most infantry patrols will last between 3 and 7 days, the grunts must struggle along with an existence load. Sometimes the existence load may amount to 20kg or more! Every grunt carries his kit in a different way, the webbing (belt and suspender straps) includes eyelets and the kit has hooks, so most kit can be hung wherever the soldier finds it most useful. And almost anything can be strapped to the small or medium field pack! In GRUNT we dont want to account for ammo and rations, the grunt soldier can take care of those himself. His Max Load is everything he carries except water, rations and ammo. Every item of weaponry and other kit is given a space rating, you can haul whatever you like into the field as long as you dont exceed Max Load.

Role-Related Kit The full equipment and weaponry available to a character depends on his role within the squad. Grenadier M79 Grenade Launcher and Colt M1911 Pistol, Knife

Machinegunner M60 and Colt M1911 Pistol, M60 ammo belt, Knife

Medic M16, Bayonet, Unit One Medical Bag

RTO M16, Bayonet, PRC-25 (Prick 25) Backpack Radio, 4 Smoke Grenades

Scout M16, Bayonet, Machete

Squad/Team Leader M16, Bayonet, Map in Waterproof Case, Compass


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Basic Kit List Ammo Cases. Spaces 0. $free. Two ammo cases are carried, each holds 3 M16 magazines. C-Rations. Spaces 0. $free. C-ration cans are divided up amongst the squad. Often eaten cold, but can be warmed up on a stove or fire. Don't forget your P38 can opener! Field Pack. Spaces 0. $free. Typically over-packed, the medium field pack sits on a metal frame while the small pack hangs from the belt. Flashlight. Spaces 1. $5. An angle-headed torch useful for searching bunkers, hooches or tunnels, and for general use at night. Comes with a red filter to preserve night-vision. Helmet. Spaces 0. $free. Steel pot with camo cover and an elastic strip used to carry odd bits of kit. Jungle Boots. Spaces 0. $free. Half leather, half canvas, these jungle boots dry out quickly and do not rot easily. Jungle Fatigues. Spaces 0. $free. These olive-drab fatigues include capacious pockets for ammo magazines. Mess Kit. Space 0. $free. A folding metal mess pan with lid, knife, fork and spoon. Poncho. Spaces 0. $free. Waterproof poncho with hood essential in the monsoons, also used as a shelter, groundsheet or tarp. Pressure Dressing. Spaces 0. $free. Each man carries one for his own use. Water Canteen. Spaces 0. $free. Plastic or aluminium canteen with screw cap. One or more canteens are carried, each sits in a fabric cover. Use purifier tabs if drinking stream water. Watch out for bad bugs! Webbing. Spaces 0. $free. Webbing includes the web belt which carries canteens, intrenching tool, ammo pouches, grenades and more, and it is supported by the padded suspender straps. Additional Kit List Binoculars. Spaces 1. $60. Small and compact military binoculars. Body Armour. Spaces 4. $80. The new M69 fragmentation vest has good protection from fragmentation, and may reduce the damage sustained from high-velocity rounds. Unfortunately it is hot and uncomfortable to wear, doubly so in the sweltering tropical heat of Vietnam. Most grunts eschew body armour, some wear it because their commanders tell them too, but dont fasten it up rendering it practically useless... Compass. Spaces 0. $5. Compass is invaluable when determining location using a map or other reference points. Day-Glo Signalling Panels. Spaces 1. $10. Signalling panels to mark out Landing Zones, often used by special forces.


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Gas Mask. Space 1. $100. Used when deploying CS gas grenades to flush VC out of hooches or tunnels. Officially designated the M17 Chemical-Biological Field Mask. Grenade-Carrier Vest. Space 0. $free. Looking like a modern tactical vest, this green over-garment has twenty-four individual pockets on its front face that are large enough to carry one 40mm-grenade each. Entrenching Tool. Space 1. $45. A small metal spade made to articulate and fold flat, open up as a he or a shovel. Use it to dig trenches, foxholes, cutting saplings, clearing undergrowth. One side of the blade is serrated. The M1967 entrenching tool comes in a plastic cover that can be hooked onto webbing or strapped to a field pack. Machete. Spaces 1. $20. Coming with its own sheath, the M1942 machete can be used to clear vegetation when trail walking, or when setting up firing positions. Multi-purpose Net. Spaces 1. $20. 3m x 2.5m in size, this olive drab netting can be used as a hammock, camouflage net, a carrier for bulky loads, a litter, a fishing net, a trap for catching game, a cache for food or ammo, a snipers roost and many other field expedients! Comes with two long cords. Pneumatic Mattress. Spaces 1. $40. An olive-drab airbed for the US Army soldier! Great for use in bunkers or long-stay camps. Some units used the mattress to float equipment across jungle streams! Colloquially known as your rubber bitch... People Sniffer Detector. Spaces 5. $300. An experimental backpack system, connected by a tube to a sensor mounted onto the M16. The scientists say it can detect the odour of humans up to 40m away. How reliable or useful this kit is will be up to the GM Poncho Liner. Spaces 1. $20. A quilted liner for the poncho, the liner was popular as a blanket, mattress or impromptu sleeping bag. Invaluable on chilly nights in the cool Central Highlands. Radio, PRC-25. Spaces 3. $300. The prick 25 is the common Vietnam-era portable radio, issued with its own carrying harness. It is a heavy and unwieldy back-pack-sized device. The dry-cell battery has a typical life of 20-hours and a recommended range of 5km. Rocket Flare. Spaces 1. $10. A cylindrical hand-held signal flare that launches a bright white star cluster flare 200m high, and illuminating twice that in open terrain. It slowly descends by parachute (duration 2 minutes). Sandbags. Spaces 1. $free. A roll of 12 nylon sandbags, ready to be filled by an eager grunt with an entrenching tool! Silencer, Experimental. Spaces 2. $350. A large experimental silencer that fits the barrel of the M16 and Colt Commando. Less of a silencer, more of a sounder "suppressor". Effective range will be halved, so use wisely. Smoke Grenade. Spaces 1. $2. These help pilots determine wind direction, and can be used for signalling. The M18 coloured smoke grenade comes in either red, purple, green or yellow. Red is often reserved for signalling under fire to an incoming chopper. The M8 is a white smoke grenade, often used to mark areas, or to provide cover. Spike-Resistant Jungle Boots. Spaces 0. $50. These are like normal issue jungle boots but feature a spike-resistant aluminium insole to counter punji stick booby traps. They are moderately effective.


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Starlight Scope. Spaces 2. $350. Bulky optical device on a small tripod that intensifies night-time light to provide the viewer on guard duty or sniper spotting duty with light to see by. The stubby tripod allows it to rest on the top of a trench or foxhole with the viewer remaining under cover. The AN/PVS-2 Starlight Scope is a delicate instrument. Trip Flare. Spaces 1. $10. The M49A1 trip flare burns for about 1 minute and illuminates a 200m radius in open terrain. It comes on a bracket for mounting on tree trunks or posts. Activated by tripwire. Unit One Medical Bag. Spaces 2. $250. This comprehensive medical bag can be used to perform combat surgery, or simply administer jungle medicines to grunts or local South Vietnamese villagers. Wire Cutters. Spaces 1. $10. Use these to cut through barbed wire. Weapons Bayonet. Spaces 1. $free. General purpose combat knife, which also attaches to the end of an M16 to create a wicked fighting weapon. K-Bar, Marine Combat Knife. Spaces 1. $5. Famous fighting knife with serrated edge. Survival Knife. Spaces 1. $10. A popular survival knife, with integral compass. Smith & Wesson Revolver. Spaces 1. $40. Handy revolver with good stopping power, popular with aircrew and some ground troops also. Colt .45 Automatic. Spaces 1. $40. Tough and reliable auto pistol. Mark 22 Hush Puppy. Spaces 1. $160. New type of silenced pistol, designed for special forces, but occasionally available to other troops as well. M16A1 Assault Rifle. Spaces 3. $free. The standard US assault rifle, a perfect killing machine, the ultimate firearm of the Vietnam War. It was revolutionary, featuring black plastic and metal, with a carrying handle, and metal magazine holding 30 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. The bullets tumble in the air, causing hydrostatic shock when they hit a person. Capable of single shot or full automatic fire. M60 Machinegun. Spaces 5. $free. The M60 is the standard US squad machinegun, a big, heavy belt-fed machinegun firing powerful 7.62mm bullets. These bullets pass through vegetation with ease and retain their killing potential throughout their range. 100 round belts are fed into the gun by an assistant gunner, and sustained fire can heat the barrel so that it needs changing, an asbestos glove is provided to assist in this. Each M60 has a bipod fitted to the end of the barrel. M79 Grenade Launcher. Spaces 3. $free. Resembling a break-open shotgun, this grenade launcher is loaded with a single streamlined 40mm grenade at a time. One pull of the trigger fires the grenade several hundred metres, either directly at a target or indirectly, firing high in the air like a mortar. Most grenades fired will be high explosive, other possible rounds include high explosive armour piercing, flechette grenades, smoke grenades and gas grenades.


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Colt Commando. Spaces 2. $100. A shortened version of the M16, also known as the CAR-15, which is used by squad leaders, special forces, and those who require something handier than an M16. Its range is far shorter than the M16, however, but it still uses the same 30 round magazines. Ithaca 37 Pump Action Shotgun. Spaces 2. $140. Although banned by the Geneva Convention the US introduced shotguns to the army, giving pointmen a powerful close combat weapon. Local Popular and Regional Vietnamese forces also used the shotgun, and so did the special forces. Pointmen seemed to like it. Firebases and military camps sometimes had stocks of pump action shotguns ready for the inevitable Viet Cong assault and close quarter combat. Light Anti-tank Weapon. Spaces 2. $30. Designed to kill tanks, this is a disposable rocket launcher, a stubby cylinder that telescopes out ready for firing. A flip-up sight is used for aiming, It has a dangerous back-blast. In Vietnam these LAWs are used to try to demolish bunkers that are proving difficult to assault. Once fired the launcher is thrown away. Claymore Mine. Spaces 1. $25. These mines are the size of a large paperback book, and slightly curved. They are erected upright in the ground and fire a shower of steel balls toward one direction only, proving valuable for ambushes and defence of bases, camps and bunkers. A command wire and trigger is included. Try to remember which way the claymore is pointed, it is deadly out to 50m and has a rear danger area of around 10m. To ensure the grunt sets it up pointing in the right direction, the words: FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY are embossed on the front of a claymore. Grenade, Frag. Spaces 1. $free. Fragmentation grenade. Very useful. Grenade, Willie Pete. Spaces 1. $10. Heavy phosphorous grenade which burns with a great heat and a shower of luminous white-hot sparks. Great for setting things on fire. Grenade, Gas. Spaces 1. $10. This is a CS tear gas grenade useful for driving VC from hooches, tunnels or bunkers. Take a gas mask with you as well, though, wont you? Firearm Chart Weapon Range Damage Close

Cbt ENC To Hit

Bonus Handgun 15m 2d6 +1 1 - Carbine 80m 3d6 -3 2 - Rifle 200m 3d6 -3 3 - Sniper Rifle 240m 3d6 -3 4 - Assault Rifle 150m 3d6 -3 3 x2 Squad Machinegun 250m 3d6 -3 5 x3 Submachinegun 60m 2d6 +1 2 x2 Shotgun 25m 4d6/1d6 +1 2 +1 Grenade 20m 4d6 - 1 +2 Grenade Launcher M79 200m 4d6 -3 3 +2 LAW 100m 4d6 No 2 +2 B-40/B-50 50m/100m 5d6 No 5 +2 Heavy Machinegun (.50)

300m 4d6 No - x3

Minigun 200m 3d6 no - x6 Light Mortar 60mm 1.5km 5d6 No 2+4+4 +3 Medium Mortar 81mm 3km 5d6 no 3+6+6 +3


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Murphys Laws of COMBAT These long standing military adages seem to fit the upside-down, back-to-front, insane Vietnam War where rules made no sense and the war made no sense, but everyone continued on... Every player should read these, and try to remember that the Game Master has read them too!

1. The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he is ordered to carry out. 2. No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill. 3. Things that must be together to work usually can't be shipped together. 4. The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it. 5. Radios will fail as soon as you desperately need fire support. 6. No plan survives the first contact intact. 7. If you are forward of your position the artillery will always fall short. 8. Never share a fox hole with anyone braver than you. 9. Anything you do can get you shot. Including doing nothing 10. The weight of all of your equipment is proportional to the length of the time you have been

carrying it. 11. The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with a map and a compass. 12. Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you

can sleep. 13. If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed at you. 14. If your attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush. 15. The enemy diversion you have been ignoring will be the main attack. 16. Don't draw fire, it irritates the people around you. 17. If the enemy is in range, so are you. 18. The easy way is always booby-trapped. 19. Try to look unimportant, the enemy may be low on ammo. 20. Professionals are predictable, it's the amateurs that are dangerous. 21. The enemy only attacks on one of two occasions: When you're ready for them, and when

you're not ready for them. 22. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at. 23. Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps. 24. The enemy never watches until you make a mistake. 25. If you ever want an officer, try to catch some sleep


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3: THE MISSION

"We'll move out at midnight or a little after. Make sure you bring enough Claymores. And for Christ's sake don't forget the firing devices. Also, tell every man to carry a couple of grenades. No freeloading. Let's get some kills." If I Die In A Combat Zone, Tim O'Brien Much of the squads time will be spent in patrolling, humping the boonies, beating the bush, checking trails, crossing paddy fields, looking for the VC; effectively acting as bait, drawing VC gunfire so that they might then neutralize it. It's search and destroy, only later in the war the higher ups began to insist everyone use the media-friendly term 'clear and sweep'.

CREATING A MISSION What is a mission? In GRUNT it is a structured scenario based around the combat activities of an air cavalry squad. Generally, most games will involve the player characters participating in a mission, although there will also be times when the game can focus on events out of the field, or on R&R. The GM creates the missions, and must pay particular attention to the effects that the scenario will have on the players. He is trying to illicit feelings of apprehension, of tension, or uncertainty and mistrust, as well as a degree of excitement and catharsis during the inevitable firefights. GRUNT is not a wargame, and a mission has to be more than just a series of combats linked together on a patrol route. There has to be story and meaning, but more than that, there has to be a dilemma. Implicit in that is choice. The Vietnam War was a war of staggering contradictions, a war where 'hearts and minds' aid programmes co-existed with body counts; where hundreds of men could die fighting to capture a hill, and the generals order it abandoned a week later. In GRUNT you always have choices - and they are always bad. This applies to moral choices just as much as tactical ones. There are four points that a GM might want to consider when creating a mission: dilemma, objective, non-player characters and the map. 1. Dilemma To create a mission, then, the GM is advised to start with a dilemma. Some sample dilemmas include:

The new platoon commander who wants a medal and leads the squad personally to provoke much larger VC units, but he denies them air or fire support or reinforcements from the rest of the platoon, so that he gains the glory for himself. How do the grunts satisfy their commander without getting killed?

The squad is sent to guard a bridge over a small river to prevent any VC reinforcements interfering with the platoon as it searches a village. Disguised VC will attack eventually, mixed in with locals who are crossing the bridge, working the fields and watching the squad. Their nerves are stretched to breaking point by false alerts. Suspicion is rife. Killing innocent civilians seriously ruins chances of character advancement, so how long will the grunts wait before opening fire?


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Orders from battalion are to radio in for permission before any squad fires on VC suspects, armed or not. Return fire is permitted. The patrol features some nasty booby traps, evidence of VC atrocities and then several sightings of VC suspects, with AK47s. They radio the lieutenant, he radios the battalion S2, he must contact the divisional G3 the VC keep getting away. No-one fires on the squad - the frustration builds. Will the squad obey their orders or seek revenge?

Essentially, the GM needs to put the grunts in physical danger, give them a goal and then put a serious non-physical obstacle in their path.

2. Objective A military mission requires a military objective. Most games will be introduced to the player characters through a mission briefing given to them by their platoon commander. This is the official raison d'etre of the game, the objectives must be met for the squad to receive its Success Points. The only way player characters can advance and grow is if the squad succeeds in its mission objectives; it is this drive to meet the objectives that gives the GM a way to increase tension through dilemmas that put obstacles in the way of mission success. The objective should be a type of mission that an infantry squad would normally be expected to perform, although occasionally something special or out of the ordinary might be asked of the grunts. Airborne infantry typically make foot patrols through friendly territory or conduct helicopter-borne assaults into enemy territory. A few suggestions are provided below.


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The objective needs to be something that has a success criterion, so that at the end of the mission the GM can decide whether the grunts fully achieved or partially achieved their mission. On a patrol, did the squad complete the entire patrol and check locations X, Y and Z as ordered? For an assault, did the grunts meet the enemy and drive them away/kill them? 3. Personalities The personality of player characters and non-player characters provide the human aspect that makes GRUNT a roleplaying game and not a wargame. Dice do not determine the outcome of everything, people determine the outcome. The GM plays the role of VC and NVA soldiers and commanders with aloofness and mystery; the personalities of US soldiers can be presented with more force. Mission orders and the dilemma create the games structure, but the personality of the NPCs involved give it added complexion and depth. The TV series Tour of Duty successfully used the personal problems and concerns of the squad members as the basis for more than one full episode. The GM may want to do likewise, playing out the personal dilemma of a character or NPC on the build-up to, and during, the mission. Problems may include racial tension, doubts about taking life, depression over events unfolding back home, cowardice, bullying or persecution by an officer, lying, stealing, drug-taking, competitiveness, worry over a father or brother in the service, feelings of loyalty, disgrace, camaraderie or jealousy.

Patrol 1 Follow a patrol route through fields and village in an attempt to spot VC activity or provoke it. Patrol 2 Patrol through a local friendly village that has complained of VC attacks. Patrol 3 Follow a patrol route that crosses several trails suspected of being used by VC infiltrators. Protect A chopper has made a forced landing, of an APC has broken down, and the squad is told to guard it until the recovery vehicle arrives. Bridge Guard a bridge while the rest of the platoon search a suspect village. Ville 1 Search a village for VC supplies or weapons. Ville 2 Search a village that is sheltering a group of escaped VC prisoners. Ville 3 Search a village for a suspected tunnel system. Ville 4 Occupy a suspected enemy village, burn a few hooches, rough up the headman, hope the VC attack in retaliation. Health Check Take your medic into the friendly village and provide local health care for the day. Pump Rendezvous with a supply truck in a friendly village, install the water pumps carried by the truck for the use of the local villagers. Block The other squads in the platoon will move into a hostile village to flush VC toward your squad waiting in ambush. Pursue A village has been raided by VC, pursue them into the jungle with your platoon. Perimeter Man your bunker during a period of high alert at your base. Outside the Wire Go on night patrol outside your base looking for VC sappers infiltrating. Bunker Another platoon has reported spotting a bunker. Go and investigate. Artillery Howitzers are being flown out to a jungle-clad hill to support a new offensive. The platoon provides security while the artillerymen hastily set-up a firebase. Sniper An extremely well concealed sniper is making life difficult at a base. Find him. Hill 311 VC mortars infrequently operate from Hill 311, harassing road traffic and patrols in the valley. While another platoon draws fire on the valley floor, take the hill. Hill 580 - Join the rest of the battalion as it makes a full-scale assault on the bunker-covered Hill 580. The platoon is assigned one route up. Assault Conduct heliborne assault on NVA jungle camp spotted from the air. Reinforce Conduct heliborne assault in support of another platoon pinned down by NVA troops. Drop in behind the NVA to block off their escape route.


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As the problem manifests, the grunts must find a way to deal with it, while retaining the squad's camaraderie and integrity. They look after their own. How it plays out during the mission is up to the GM, perhaps the patrol or assault is an interlude, before the problem comes to a head back at camp. Or, there may be some resonance or solution to the character's personal problem encountered during the mission. If he's had a letter telling him his wife has had a miscarriage, then prior to the patrol, the character might have to write a letter to his own father or mother passing on the bad news, or otherwise deal with the information. He feels bad and the player might roleplay the character getting rolling drunk and angry, or talking back to an officer. It might transpire that while on the mission the next day, the patrol discovers a baby, survivor of a VC extermination attack. One man is detailed to look after it, and it might be the grieving character who steps up, or just as equally shirks the job. Either way, it forms the core of the adventure, with the patrol and any resultant firefights adding drama to the situation. When problems like this get 'fixed' through roleplaying, the character may gain a bonus. His Stress may be reduced. See THE CAMPAIGN. Here are some key NPC personalities to consider when creating the mission: Troop Commander Whats the captain like? For his men? For his lieutenants? For the senior officers? Is he decorated or desperate? Is he green, or a veteran? Dispirited or determined? Platoon Commander -The lieutenant might want to impress his soldiers or remain aloof, letting his platoon sergeant do most of the work. He might be incompetent or a naturally gifted officer. He is young. What do the squad leaders think of him? What does the captain think of him? One sergeant in Vietnam threatened to bust his men back to second lieutenant, giving you some idea of where the lieutenant sits in the army food chain! Village There may be a few local villages in the area. Do they seem friendly, neutral or hostile? If close to a US base they are probably friendly. What is their true alignment, communist, neutral or friendly? If friendly, have the villages joined the Popular Forces program, where they are armed and try to defend themselves and their village from the communists? If unfriendly, is the village a secret supply base, rendezvous point, tunnel entrance, weapons cache or booby-trap making factory? The grunts may get to recognize individuals in some of the friendly villages or the local town; headmen, school-teachers, farmers, shop-keepers, kids etc. Rest of the Squad While the GM treats the NPC team members as entities for the purposes of firefights, there will be distinct personalities in there that may affect the outcome of a mission for good or ill. Pick out two of the grunts and play up their personalities at bit, it will add colour to the game and make the guy memorable. Give one a particular habit (running a rosary through his fingers on patrol; endlessly trading C-ration tins; moaning about the mud, the rain; the bush, writing lots of letters home, etc.). The Other Sergeants There are four squads in the platoon and the player characters squad is one of those. What are the two other squad leaders like? Is there any competition, friendly or otherwise? Do they know one another? Is one of the sergeants decorated or have a reputation? Perhaps one of the squad leaders is close to breaking point which will cause problems later on for your squad.


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4. The Map Maps are generally detrimental to a game of GRUNT when those maps are used in combat. This is not a war game, and the use of a combat map gives GRUNT a war game feel. However, a map of the local area is useful for both the GM and the players, since it gives them a series of options on where the squad will go and which route they will take to get there. These maps cover the missions area of operation, an area roughly 5km square. Terrain, vegetation, rivers, swamp and roads are marked on this map, as well as landing zones (LZs), rendezvous points (RPs), pick-up zones (PZs), remain overnight (RON) locations bases and friendly units. The GM needs a second map, identical to the first that includes VC locations, tunnel entrances, booby traps, ambush sites and VC caches. Examples of both types of map are included.

3d6 NPC Personality 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Religious Sentimental Cynical Competitive Superstitious Inexperienced Grizzled Veteran Coward Dispirited Glory Hound Patriotic Incompetent Gifted and admired Recently Demoted Recently Decorated Drunkard

2d6 Village

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Deserted, burned and overgrown Recently deserted, within the last hour or two Loyal to communists, villagers are hostile to US troops Loyal to SVN, villagers are friendly toward US troops Secretly communist, villagers appear friendly to US troops Grudgingly SVN, villagers ignore US troops Grudgingly communist, villagers appear neutral to US troops Village forced to aid communists, villagers are neutral to US troops Fortified village, pro-SVN, pro-US, with its own self-defence force Neutral; villagers are desperate not to offend SVN or communists Divided village with mixed loyalties


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US Dept of Defence FORM Series 110/1959 Updated MACV-Saigon 1966/C-in-Cs Office


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INSERTION BY CHOPPER Up ahead, from the trees around a village, I could actually see muzzle flashes. Then I

heard ships in the Yellow flight calling, taking hits. Then from small brush clusters ... came more bullets. Soon the radios were jammed with hit reports. Above the din I heard Do not fire into the villages; do not fire into the villages, from the Colonel.

Chickenhawk, Robert Mason As soon as the company or platoon commander finishes the short briefing, the characters can rearrange their load if needed, and as a squad they can decide whether or not to spend any of their money on extra kit. Once they are ready, give them each a chance for one last action, then begin the mission. This action might have a bearing on a personal problem, or dilemma in camp, and might include going to visit an NPC, writing a letter home, praying with the unit's chaplain, or some other personal activity. Boarding the Chopper This is the 1st Cav, and the squad will almost always be air-lifted into a Landing Zone within its Area of Operations, typically with the rest of the platoon. The briefing will include a time of departure, either later in the day or maybe at dawn the next day. At that time the entire squad will be assembled at the flight line ready to be transported by helicopter. The platoon sergeant will usually give everyone a once over to make sure they all have the kit they need and that the safeties are on their weapons. Then he will march them to the flight line. This is a location on the Golf Course where choppers take off. A series of marker posts sits in the ground parallel to the flight line, and one squad assembles in a line at each one. At the appointed time the choppers lift off from their dispersal areas and fly low and slow along the flight line, touching down opposite a marker. The men at that marker climb aboard. When all the squads are on their assigned choppers they lift off and gain altitude, falling into formation (often a tight 'V' formation) for the flight to the Landing Zone (LZ). The Landing Zone You may think that a Landing Zone (LZ) is anywhere the pilot finds to put down the chopper, but in reality each LZ is chosen before the mission begins, both from maps and from the intelligence gathered by over flights of recon choppers. If part of a large assaulting force, the mission might demand several LZs for all the helicopters involved, or there may be an alternate LZ if there are problems with the first. An LZ is open ground, close to the

objective, that is not too close to any observed enemy activity. There will probably be some cover nearby. A Pick-Up Zone (PZ) will also be designated if the platoon has not been ordered to return to the LZ for extraction at the end of the mission. Sometimes LZs end up being

fortified to sustain a lengthy mission that turns into an operation. Supplies are flown in, then tents and communications equipment, extra troops to defend the LZ, sandbags to be filled, barbed wire. Some are turned into firebases, receiving a battery of heavy mortars or 105mm howitzers (the latter hauled in beneath twin-rotor Chinook heavy lift choppers). In this way some LZs become permanent forward supply bases (FSBs), or fire bases, and can retain the prefix 'LZ'. They are no longer just jungle clearings however!


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A Hot LZ On a patrol, the platoon fly to the LZ in the company of two Huey gunships (the Red Team) and two recon choppers (the White Team). These overly the LZ trying to draw any enemy fire. If deemed safe the platoon is landed and sets off on foot. The choppers withdraw, either back to Camp Radcliff for the night, or, if an extraction is due later that day, to a pre-arranged laager, a secure LZ within an hour's flight of the Area of Operations. If the LZ is hot, or if the intel boys of the 1st Cav know it's hot and are mounting a full combat assault, the escorts pair up into Pink Teams (one scout and one gunship), the scout flying low to spot VC activity or draw their fire, the gunship high, ready to dive in with minigun, grenade launcher and rockets blazing. Once the enemy is softened up (or ducking), the choppers carrying the platoon (the Blue Team) are landed, and the troops disembark rapidly, firing weapons and looking for cover as they do so. A hot LZ is a terrifying place to suddenly find yourself dropped into! Gunships will stay on station, or be replaced by freshly-fuelled choppers, if the assault requires continued support. If there are casualties during the attack, they are brought to the LZ where medivac (also known as 'Dust-Off') helicopters fly in to take them away. The Dust-Offs aren't armed, and are marked with red crosses. For those grunts on patrol, dumped in the field with a job to do, they are on their own. The 1st Cavalry can often supply artillery support if requested, if there is a firebase within 10km. If not, and if there are any in the area, the 1st Cav can supply aerial artillery (helicopter gunships) which will fire rockets, grenades and miniguns into designated areas, continually flying figure-of-eight loops pounding the area with everything they've got for the brief time their fuel holds out. If neither are available, then an airforce jet may be available to conduct a tactical airstrike in support of the player's squad. Napalm or accurately dropped parachute-retarded bombs are extremely effective at demoralising or driving back, the VC. Sometimes, though, none of the above are available, and the grunts have to battle their way to safety without the luxury of heavy fire support. Radius of Operation How far away will the mission Area of Operations be? How long will it take to fly to the AO? Will the radios have enough range to reach Camp Radcliff? This section deals with the basic question: where can the GM set a mission? The UH-1D transport helicopter could ferry troops out to 200km, and still have fuel to return with a reserve (the Huey has roughly a two-hour endurance). This range could take the troops east to Qui Nhon on the coast, west to the Cambodian border, south to the Darlac Plateau and north to Quang Ngai. But most missions will be closer, since the job of the 1st Cavalry is to protect the Central Highlands, in particular the crucial passes leading from Pleiku along Route 19. Because of this few insertion flights will last longer than 30 mins. Artillery support can be called in if the squad or platoon is within 10km of a firebase. It can be considered unusual for a US patrol or assault to be dispatched away from a firebase. If new ground is captured, then typically a firebase will be hastily erected, and patrols sent out within the firebases protective artillery umbrella. Radios have poor range. There are no satellite phones. A range of 6 km was considered good for a PRC-25. This would keep a squad in contact with its platoon commander, or might allow a radio request for an artillery barrage. The Air Cav operate radio relays in some UH-1s and in a number of Caribou prop planes, these fly high above the area and relay communications from platoon commanders back to battalion HQ. These high-flying relay planes are not always available though, the GM might decide to be mean, and have the platoon fairly isolated from headquarters!


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Inside the UH-1 The UH-1 became a symbol of the war, and the 1st Cavalry operates hundreds of them. It is essentially a transport or utility helicopter, with a military crew of four: pilot and co-pilot, crew chief and door gunner. The crew chief is a maintenance expert, and responsible for all passengers and cargo. Both he and the door gunner have an M60 mounted on the side of the door, for firing into LZs in support of troops getting on or off. There are large sliding doors either side, and in Vietnam, even in the air, these are held open with metal pins to keep everyone cool. Passengers (up to 10) sit on a bench on the front wall (behind the cockpit) and on the back wall (in front of the rotor housing. Crew chief and door gunner sit on seats tucked into the side of the rotor housing, and they are secured with a safety line. Both men are enlisted. The pilots are either lieutenants, or more likely warrant officers, men who joined the army to fly, without command responsibility. The UH-1 (nicknamed the Huey by troops a name which stuck) is vulnerabl

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Grunt Roleplaying in the Vietnam War