# Day 18: Feet First Into Hell 2e - The Hell Patrol tags: #articles/CharacterCreationChallenge/2026 #game/wargame/feet-first-into-hell > [!quote] [[Character Creation Challenge 2026]] > > ![[Character Creation Challenge Image.png]] ## Game of Choice Sure, we do a lot of pure narrative RPG design around here. It is obviously the focus, but it's not **all** we do. There are a lot of other things that you can bring out onto the table. Not all of them have the same assumptions about play. Not all of them have the same assumptions about who and what you are. One of the things that I really like is the slow evolution of wargames into adventure wargames over the last few years. This is the slow infiltration of RPG and RPG-adjacent mechanics into what were previously generally purely tactical, though sometimes strategic-level games. Sometimes it focuses on the agent of your agency within the context of the game being one guy, but often it opens up the idea of what "your character" is out to, "this squad of characters." It's like watching wargaming approach troupe-style play from *[[Ars Magica]]*, except from the other side. In today's game, we are leaning into that **"the squad is your character"** concept. The last time we did this, it was in [[07 - Five Parsecs From Home - Planetfall|the CCC 2026 for 5 Parsecs from Home: Planetfall]]. Today, we're going to launch from a little bit higher. ![[Feet First Into Hell (cover).jpg|400]] In fact, we're going to drop *[[Feet First Into Hell]]*. Second edition, because that's how we roll around here. Is there a lot of RPG-adjacent content in this game? No. Shockingly not. Though the standalone mission books are actually ripe with opportunities if someone was so inclined. The setting is lightweight, but there are certainly bits and pieces here and there you can really run and rip with. But we don't care about any of that. What we care about is characters, and in this case, our character is our **DROP team**. What is a DROP team? What does it sound like? They are literally the guys that go feet first into hell. Of course, there are some pre-created units which we may pull from or we may not. You know how this goes. We do what we do. But there is a fairly nice unit customization here in FFIH, which we will undoubtedly take advantage of. First, we need to have a quick chat about the stats. We aren't going to run down what they are specifically, but what we are going to talk about is the fact they go the opposite way than you think. Skill scores, which represent things that you can actually do and act with, like RTG/rating, MGHT/might, and AGL/agility, are ranked 1 to 6, where lower is better. That's right—a one is the best you can get in your shooting stat. However, physical scores like SPD/speed, SHLD/shield, and WND/wounds are ranked starting at zero and going upwards. Just so I've made sure to cover this clearly, skills can't go lower than one, which is the best value they can have, and physical scores can't go below zero. But the higher the better. Yes, that seems schizophrenic. The big difference between them is that skill scores are actually used for dice tests, and physical scores are really measurements—how far the unit can move, how strong the shield is in terms of temporary hit points, and how many hit points the core unit has. Should they have separated these things better and not referred to both of them as scores? You better believe it. But here we are. ## Acts of Creation Obviously, what we do at this point is assemble our DROP team. We've got 100 points, and the maximum we can have is 20 total units. Believe me, I don't think that we can get anywhere near 20 total units with these point values, so it's going to be fascinating. ### Constitution Out of the gate, we get to drop a d6 on a table and find out what kind of team we're running. Or we could, I suppose, pick one, but let's lean into the randomness today. - **GREENHORNS:** Your DROP team must consist of up to two officers or a SPEC-TR, and any mix of recruits or conscripts. Kind of the OG layout here. I kind of would have preferred to have one of the others, which adds a little more spicy flavor, but one can develop as they go along. In particular, the *See You in Hell* team, with the fact that their units explode when killed, doing three damage to any unit within two inches, is absolutely hilarious. But let's go with *Greenhorns*. Ironically, looking at the unit costs for basic conscripts, recruits, and officers, I can see why there is that prescription against having more than 20. I'm also thinking I want one SPEC-TR and the rest all conscripts. I love the idea of this being a penal unit and getting by on total swarm tactics being dropped from orbit. Are the stats on conscripts absolute garbage? Oh yes, they have absolutely no shield. The only thing they excel in is raw numbers. ### Designation We have another table here to roll on and get our drop team designation. Let's see what we crunch out. > 2d12 > [4, 2] Okay, going straight off the table, this would be the Thunder Angels. And I have to be honest, that's just not where I want to go. So I'm going to be creative, which I know is looked down on in modern gaming, but here we are. Also because I need to make a musical reference at this point. This bunch of losers, oddballs, and rejects are going to be the *Hell Patrol*.  Yeah, I've been sitting on this one for years, waiting for the right moment. And here it is! Witness me! All right, so we know we want our drop team to be largely convicts who have been conscripted, maybe a few recruits which represent senior convicts who have been through a few drops, and we're going to go with a SPEC-TR because that's where the character customization is. If we had a character that represented us on the table, that would be it. Now, each of these is going to be relatively cheap except for the Spectre.[^1] So, we're going to start by designing them and then work backwards. (And I'm going to drop the game-specific spelling because it's kind of a pain in the ass. You know what I mean.) ### SPEC-TR All right, we are going to have a few things to roll on and choose, not to mention select. The first one is what kind of Specter is going to be leading this bunch of ridiculous misfits? It's fairly obvious that I have to go with the Tactician who starts with Aegis Mk 1 armor, a plasma blade, enhanced onboard AI, and two pulse grenades. I actually don't think I like the field rifle for that. Luckily I can swap that out just by selling it back into the cost pool and buying the one I want. We start at a cost of 24 points. #### Origin They are kind enough to give us a table to roll on to find out what the origin of our Specter unit is. So let's find out. - **SECTOR HERO:** Your name is as famous as your exploits. The fame doesn’t help with the nightmares, though. Okay, we've got a sector hero leading a group of conscripts. You know, there's only one way we can get between here and there. This is a fallen hero. I see some war crimes in his past. He's done some horrible things in a public way, and it reflects bad on the government. So now he's leading a conscript squad, either to kill him off from having no support or as a punishment detail and form of indirect execution. Bad things, Mikey, bad things. I like it. #### Gear I'm going to swap out the field rifle for a railgun. It does three times the damage, but isn't quite as likely to hit, has twice the range, can overpenetrate targets to hit up to three, and ignores partial cover. If you ever wanted to stand in the back and fire through an entire wave of conscripts to pop targets, this is the right weapon. The field rifle costs one point, the railgun costs five, so we go from 24 points to 28. I'm also going to put a scope on the railgun, which increases the cost by two and adds six inches to the weapon's already ridiculous range, because why not? That brings us to 30 points. While I'm grabbing things, we're going to go ahead and grab a medpack for two more points, because I have a funny feeling it might be useful to keep a couple of these guys alive. Not many, they're disposable, but possibly some, or at least the Spectre himself. Two more points to 32. #### Tactical Upgrades We're going to go ahead and bump up our Spectre level to level two, which costs us an additional five points but gives us two tactical upgrades. Sure, that makes us cost 37 points, but we get two extra cool things, and everybody wants cool things. | Ability | Description | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | BATTLE ALGORITHMS | When you activate, you can use an action point to roll a d3. The result is the number of allied units within 6" that can immediately activate after you, ignoring the typical alternating order of activation. (1 point activation) | | CONVERGE | Whenever an allied unit takes a MOVE action that would end with them being within 6" of you, they gain +2" to SPD. (Passive). | It seems like it's a good idea to have the ability to keep these guys tight and make use of the fact that you want them to stay close to you, both as a meat shield and so that you can all activate together in a terrifying blob. #### Background There are a group of backgrounds available for Specters which differ from mainline troops, and we can just pick one. It does give us a minor mechanical advantage. - **Wired In:** At the beginning of each round, roll a d6. On a 6, an allied unit may activate before any enemy unit, regardless of initiative. Well, you know, while we're screwing around with initiative and making things activate at the same time as us, why not even give things that aren't close to us the ability to go before the enemy? You know, just for the spiciness. These are going to be the fastest convicts in the galaxy. #### Completed Specter I think that's it for the big boy. 37 points and some crunchy stats. Let's see if I can't put together a card for him. ![[18 - Feet First Into Hell - SPEC-TR Hammerkin.webp]] Needless to say, I'm not going to create a custom card for all of these guys, since most of them are just squishy conscripts and largely disposable, but that looks pretty good. I can't argue that. ### Hammer Squad That's 37 of our points spent right up front, and it leaves us with 63 points. Given that the standard conscript line trooper literally costs six points, I think we might have to consider how we want this to shake out. Even recruits are only eight points. Let's put together a support team for the Spectre, and then we'll fill out from there. - **Name:** Recruit Sgt "Kowalski" - **Cost:** 10 - **Scores:** RTG 4, MGHT 4, AGL 4, SPD 6", SHLD 2, WND 3 - **Background:** - **BATTLE-BROTHER:** A product of failed psychoconditioning, this unit fights best as part of a phalanx. When this unit is within 1” of an allied unit, it gains +1 to rolls when it FIGHTS. However, it takes a -1 penalty to all attack rolls if more than 3” away from the closest ally. - **Armor:** S6BP - **Hardpoints:** - **Ablative Plating:** Gain 2 temporary WNDs, but lose 2” from base SPD. Each time you lose a WND, subtract a temporary WND first. When a temporary WND is removed, gain +1” to your SPD. This armor does not regenerate. Not compatible with the Grav Harness or Thruster Grid. - **Weapons:** - **Field Rifle:** ATK 3d6, DMG 1, RNG 18", When you SHOOT, you may reduce ATK to 2d6 to gain RNG(24”) - **Bayonet:** Modifies the Field Rifle. You may use the Field Rifle as it if was a Combat Knife - **Gear:** Sergeant Kowalski is ridiculously loyal to Hammerkin. Part of that is the failed psychoconditioning, and part of it is simply that he's lived long enough in a high turnover squad to know what works. His basic armor is upgraded with heavy additional plates, as befits his build. He's a big son of a bitch. --- - **Name:** Recruit Cpl "Cho" - **Cost:** 18 - **Scores:** RTG 3, MGHT 3, AGL 5, SPD 5", SHLD 4, WND 3 - **Background:** - **VICIOUS:** This unit has seen much suffering across the Aries Sector. It will take the EXECUTE action whenever possible. - **Armor:** - **Aegis Mk 1 Warskin:** Improve RTG and MGHT by 1, and SHLD by 2. Degrade AGL and SPD by 1. May equip 3 hardpoint attachments. Incompatible with drones and conscripts. - **Hardpoints:** - **Ablative Plating:** Gain 2 temporary WNDs, but lose 2” from base SPD. Each time you lose a WND, subtract a temporary WND first. When a temporary WND is removed, gain +1” to your SPD. This armor does not regenerate. Not compatible with the Grav Harness or Thruster Grid. - **Dragon Launcher:** LARGE. This shoulder-mounted system carries 4 low-yield missiles. You can fire them with RNG(16”) by taking a SHOOT action, or when you RETALIATE. Dragon missiles have the frag grenade’s damage stat. - **Weapons:** - **Field Rifle:** ATK 3d6, DMG 1, RNG 18", When you SHOOT, you may reduce ATK to 2d6 to gain RNG(24”) - **Bayonet:** Modifies the Field Rifle. You may use the Field Rifle as it if was a Combat Knife - **Gear:** Corporal Cho has seen some shit. He's seen some shit that makes him want to blow things up a lot, and he really enjoys doing it. His heavily upgraded Warskin armor carries enough explosive ordnance to make people cry, and he likes doing that too. --- - **Name:** Recruit LCpl "Armstrong" - **Cost:** 10 - **Scores:** RTG 4, MGHT 4, AGL 4, SPD 6", SHLD 2, WND 3 - **Background:** - **CREEP:** Trained to stay low and move quickly, this unit prefers to move into spots where it will have cover - **Armor:** S6BP - **Hardpoints:** - **Estoc Cyberdeck:** Equip on any unit. Expand the unit's HACK range to 6" - **Weapons:** - **Field Rifle:** ATK 3d6, DMG 1, RNG 18", When you SHOOT, you may reduce ATK to 2d6 to gain RNG(24”) - **Bayonet:** Modifies the Field Rifle. You may use the Field Rifle as it if was a Combat Knife - **Gear:** Lieutenant Corporal Armstrong is the squad tech. Relatively new. He knows to keep his head down and stay in cover. ### Line Front - **Name:** 3x Conscript Front - **Cost:** 7 - **Scores:** RTG 4, MGHT 5, AGL 4, SPD 6", SHLD 0, WND 3 - **Armor:** S6BP - **Weapons:** - **Pistol (x2):** ATK 2d6, DMG 1, RNG 12", Can be fired within 1” of target. Equip two to dual wield. When doing so, a unit may take a second SHOOT action. - **Combat Knife:** ATK 2d6, DMG 1, RNG 1", Instead of MGHT, you may use your RTG when you FIGHT! Your run-of-the-line murderous conscripts who signed on the bottom line to commute their sentences by serving in a penal squad. They've got basic armor. But because we believe in a little style around here, they dual wield pistols and carry a combat knife. --- - **Name:** Conscript Newb - **Cost:** 4 - **Scores:** RTG 4, MGHT 5, AGL 4, SPD 6", SHLD 0, WND 3 - **Armor:** S6BP - **Weapons:** How do you know that you are the absolute bottom rung on the totem pole when someone drops you from orbit without a single weapon and expects that you'll pick one up along the way somewhere? Welcome to Meat Shield Central, population: you. ## Exunt Okay, I admit, that's a pretty brutal selection for a penal squad. I probably could have gone a little bit lighter on gearing up Corporal Cho, but, you know, somebody needs to carry a ridiculous amount of explosives and want to run screaming directly into the teeth of the enemy and also murder everyone. I actually think this might be hilariously fun to play as a DROP team. It certainly has a particular style about it, and the story of what happens during the missions pretty much writes itself. That's it for today, though. The Hell Patrol has set out for the stars and is going to drop feet first into hell. What does that mean for tomorrow? We're going to go follow them into space where it's really, really dark, but I don't think things are going to shake out the same way. Stay tuned. It's going to get trippy. [^1]: Man, I thought I knew what I was talking about, but clearly I had no idea. The HQ squad is kind of pricey in and of itself. That's okay. It'll all work out in the end.