On Veteran’s Day I sat down with my newest roleplaying game, War Stories: A World War 2 RPG by G.I. Garcia from Firelock Games (2022), and went through the character generation process. I chose to use the Life Path Method (p. 22) using random die rolls. The rule book actually includes the following warning/advice:
It should be noted that a randomly determined life path may result in unusual combinations of careers and backgrounds for your character. This is okay; heroes are not your usual plain folk. Often, it is the unique nature of their background that marks them as special.
War Stories, p. 28
The War Stories character that I ended up with was not what I originally envisioned…and that’s not a bad thing at all! I am very happy with the character generation process that not only gave me a character but inspired a campaign I had not thought about. Let’s step back through the character generation process together and see the somewhat unexpected story War Stories developed along the way.
Steps of Life
In War Stories, the Life Path Method of character creation is a 14-step process.
Step 1 – Group Concept. I chose “Infantry Squad” thinking I am going to build a basic dog-soldier of World War II.
Step 2 – Nationality. American!
Step 3 – Upbringing. “Intellectual.” A further die roll of 6 reveals parents were highly skilled artisans. Key Attribute is Agility and I distribute three (3) Skill Points amongst Operate, Ranged Combat, and Tech. I take my 15 Attribute Points and distribute them as Strength 3, Agility 5, Intelligence 4, and Empathy 3. I get “Precise” for my Talent. I also acquire a custom-built flashlight with a belt hook. When I roll for a language I end up with Basic Dutch. Hmm…
Step 4 – Pre-War Experience. Minor Criminal that suffered a terrible tragedy? Add Skill Points to Guts and Stamina.
Step 5 – More Pre-War Experience? Pass.
Step 6 – The War Years. Here things take a real twist when the roll reveals Partisan/Resistance Fighter. For the specific role the result is Saboteur. Add the Specialization of “Combat Engineer I.” Add Skill Points in Infiltrate and Nimble.
Step 7 – Endurance. By formula 5.
Step 8 – Character Flaw. “Bossy.”
Step 9 – Character Virtue. “Efficient.”
Step 10 – Your PC Buddy. Pass for the moment.
Step 11 – Appearance. Pass for the moment.
Step 12 – Rank. Partisans have no rank (except when unbathed for some time).
Step 13 – Name and Nickname. I use Wikipedia to get some common Dutch names and decide on Albert Miller.
Step 14 – Gear. As Albert spends his time behind enemy lines I decide that he is equipped with captured German gear. He carries a Karabiner 98K Mauser rifle, a Luger P08 pistol, and a Commando Knife along with a backpack with various tools and a compass.
Finishing Touches. I decide Albert is still young (22 years old). He also needs a third talent/Specialization so I give him “Blend In I.” Technically, the first Talent taken is a Bonus and Albert should get another Talent/Specialization. Looking at the Archetype entry for Partisan (p. 27) for some inspiration I select “Unremarkable.”
Obviously, the character generation process in War Stories delivered a much different character than I had initially expected. The character generation process was about 85% random rolls and 15% adjustments/player fiat to bring some sense to the results. The total time spent on this first creative run through was about one hour.
I toyed with the idea that it is 1944 and Albert Miller spent some time in occupied Europe as a resistance fighter and now has escaped to England and joined up with an American combat unit. Then I thought about it some more and decided on a different approach…
The Life of Albert Miller
Albert Miller was born in 1922 in a small town along the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border. His father was a disciplinarian but his mother was fascinated by electronics and always tinkering with small tools (Upbringing and Talent “Precise”). As a teen, however, Albert ran with the “wrong crowd” and got himself into a bit of some legal trouble which brought the wrath of his father down on him. In the summer of 1939, Albert’s mother convinced her husband that sending Albert to the Netherlands to see extended family would be helpful and keep him out of trouble (Pre-War Experience). In November 1939 when Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands issues an appeal for peace, Albert has a chance to leave but can’t because he has fallen in love with a young Dutch girl, Anna Vinke (this is Albert’s PC Buddy).
On May 10, 1940 Albert is still in Holland and sees the German invasion first-hand. Unfortunately, Anna’s parents are killed in the bombing of Rotterdam on May 14. Albert and Anna join the Dutch resistance though he speaks little of the language. Albert’s unremarkable looks allows him to “act dumb” and often avoid the close scrutiny of German security forces (Language and Talent “Unremarkable”).
It is now September, 1944 and Albert and Anna have been fighting behind enemy lines for four years (War Years Resistance Fighter). The resistance cell that Anna and Albert belong to avoids assassinations or other direct confrontations with the Nazis and instead focuses on simple sabotage (War Years Saboteur, Talent “Blend In,” and Specialization “Combat Engineer”). With the Allies now approaching, Albert and Anna are operating near the town of Arnhem and awaiting the Allies eventual arrival…
Albert and Anna go to the Market Garden
If you know your WWII history you know that Operation Market Garden launches on September 17. I figure that the two weeks before the invasion can be the setting for some Campaign Travel and Encounters (War Stories, p. 165) eventually turning to a Campaign Battle (p. 159) once Market Garden starts. For a first campaign that may be ambitious but I think it is a great chance to try out War Stories.
Buddy and AO
I will generate Albert’s PC Buddy, Anna, next using the Archetype Method of character generation found in War Stories on page 23 (Partisan Archetype listing on p. 27).
The Campaign will need an Area of Operations (AO). Per War Stories page 165, an AO, “is defined by a hex map, usually 25km x 25km in size, with each hex representing 1km distance.” I note that the game map for the wargame Holland ’44: Operation Market Garden, September 1944 by Mark Simonitch for GMT Games (2017) uses a scale of 2km per hex. Hmm…
Albert Miller – American Resistance Fighter in Holland
- American Intellectual, 22 years old, speaks English and Basic Dutch. Parents were artisans but was involved in petty crime as a teenager.
- Virtue – Efficient; Flaw – Bossy.
- Endurance – 5
- Abilities & Skills
- STRENGTH 3 (Stamina 1)
- AGILITY 5 (Infiltrate 2, Nimble 1, Operate 1, Ranged Combat 1)
- INTELLIGENCE 4 (Perception 1, Tech 2)
- EMPATHY 3 (Guts 1)
- Talents – Precise (aids in Ranged Combat), Unremarkable (aids in Infiltration)
- Specializations – Blend In I (hide in plain sight), Combat Engineer I (explosives!)
- Weapons – Karabiner 98K Mauser rifle, Luger P08 pistol, Commando Knife
- Gear – Backpack, Various tools, compass, custom-built flashlight with belt hook
Skill Test Example. Albert and Anna are entering the town of Bemmel (about 10km south of Arnhem) one morning to meet with a local resistance cell contact and look around at the German forces (he has left his larger weapons behind and only carries a hidden Commando Knife). They pass a patrol led by a German officer (see “Sample Axis and NPC Stats” on page 216) with Intelligence 3 / Perception 0 who is watching the way into town. To avoid further scrutiny Albert must use his Infiltrate skill of Agility 5 / Infiltrate 2. Albert will also add +1 die for his Talent “Unremarkable” and another +1 die for his Specialization “Blend In.” The opposed Skill Test sees Albert rolling nine (9) die and the German Officer rolling three (3). Albert gets three Successes against No Successes for the Germans. Albert can use the extra Successes to bank a Lucky Strike or to help Anna with her Infiltrate challenge which automatically succeeds (see second bullet of “Infiltrate – Extra Successes” on page 63).
The opinions and views expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and are presented in a personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Navy or any other U.S. government Department, Agency, Office, or employer.
RockyMountainNavy.com © 2007-2023 by Ian B is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
Part of the ease with which Albert is able to enter Bemmel would be because he has very well forged ID (a specialty of the Dutch Resistance) and a proper Ausweis, which gives him, and his traveling partner, permission to travel outside of his home town. During 1943 the Occupation forces were steadily increasing the use of travel permits, and other obstacles to normal traffic. So if you wanted, or needed, to travel anywhere, and especially near the front, or other military areas, you neede a permit/Ausweis.
One other way that Albert could have some basic Dutch is because he had dealings with Pennsylvanian Dutch (Amish). When I was watching “Witness” (the Harrison Ford movie), I could understand most of the lines that were said by the Amish (me, being Dutch and all that).
Miller is not a very common name in The Netherlands. It is related to the German Müller, and could be translated as Mulder (which is a rather more common Dutch name) or Molenaar. So I think that indeed his American name could/should be Miller, but his Dutch family probably is named Mulder.
The partizan group in the photo is one in Drenthe, where there was quite a lot of forest and marsh, in which they could hide out. Most of the resistance groups operated within an urban/build up environement. There were only about four small areas in The Netherlands in which you could do the Partizan thing that La Resistance, or the Partizani in other parts of Europe did. If you want some easily accesable idea about what they did, have a look at this game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/327266/dutch-resistance-orange-shall-overcome It was designed by a Dutch histrorian.
And another part of Albert’s and Anna’s background would have to be their Religion: Hervormd, Gereformeerd, Rooms-Katholiek, Socialist, Communist all had their own Resistance organisations which were only loosly aware of each other, and not very centrally coordinated until quite late into the war.
So for instance sending a Roman-Catholic (Rooms-Katholiek) resistance fighter (for example Albert and/or Anna) to a predominantly Hervormd (protestant) village like Bemmel would be a poor match, and would have ensured friction between him/her and the local people. Also: traveling with a girl who is not your wife would also be frowned upon, exept maybe in the Socialist/Communist circles. Although, by the time of Market-Garden that reaction might be more muted, because desperate times asks for desperate measures, so this could be reasoned away.
If you plan to get Albert and Anna to Nijmegen, without the Germans being aware of that, that might be a problem. Because the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat (sort of like the US Army Corps of Engineers) who build the Nijmegen Waal Bridge, wanted most of the cross Waal traffic to go via their new bridge (build in 1936) they bought out all the Ferry rights (some of those were from the Middle Ages) and stopped all ferries for 20 kilometers up and down the river. And now the bridge is a military object, so any person passing has to present a travel permit to the German guards. Although, now that I think about it, because the bridge was blown by the Dutch in May 1940, the Nijmegen ferry was reinstated, and was still operating in September 1944, eventhough the bridge had been raised again a year previously. Same for the Arnhem bridge, although there was still a ferry operating in Oosterbeek.