NORGUARD INFANTRY

An examination of the characteristics and equipment of those who have, separately and jointly, by means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, maintained and developed their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.

Faction: Northern Guard

Stat Block

Primary Skills: Tactics (Northern Guard), Athletics (Pack Training) , Awareness (Battlefield), Institutions (Northern Guard), Melee (Close Assault), Gunnery (Small Arms), Survival (Emergency Survival), Athletics (Throwing)

Secondary Skills: Mechanics (Demolition), Medicine (First Aid), Influence (Intimidate), Tactics (Stealth), Gunnery (Heavy Weapons), Electronic Warfare (Forward Observation), Pilot (Ground Vehicle), Survival (Navigation) 

Squad Organization:

Norguard squads are made up of two 5-man Fire Teams, each of which has 4 soldiers armed with Main Weapons and 1 with a Support Weapon. Weapons Teams also exist, consisting of 2 soldiers armed with Support Weapons. Standard procedure is to attach a Weapons Team to an extant Squad, but during mechanized operations it has become common for commanders to create temporary “Weapons Squads” by attaching a pair of Weapons Teams to a single Fire Team in order to optimally utilize limited transport space.

Uniform:

The Norguard dress uniform is an olive drab jacket with red piping down the front and sleeves (though older brown jackets are still authorized for use), khaki pants, and long white gloves. An olive drab beret is worn outdoors.

Armor: Northco Mk-23 Flak Armor 

A basic set of ballistic body armor designed to be quickly reinforced with alloy plate carrier insets for combat. In practice the plate carriers tend to be worn at all times on deployments, but the system has proved useful for scouts. (Light Flak/Medium Flak/Heavy Flak, Modular)

Armor: Noveren Materials Hardshell Infantry Armor

The gold standard by which every other Turtleshell suit is compared to, and in fact the originator of the term. Easily the most effective mass-produced personal armor on Terra Nova. (Turtleshell)

Main Weapon: Riley Pattern XI Assault Carbine

A bullpup that has technically served as Norguard’s primary weapon since its founding, but has been reworked so many times that it is now essentially a different and much better designed gun. (Medium Carbine, Compact)

Main Weapon: Northco AR-12 Assault Rifle

Best described as a hybrid between an assault rifle and a squad support weapon, the AR-12 can put a truly impressive number of rounds downrange in a short time. The obvious drawback is how quickly it eats through its ammunition stores. (Medium Assault Rifle, Rapid Fire, Ammo Hog)

Main Weapon: Paxton S59 Submachine Gun

Paxton’s beloved and ubiquitous SMG arms infantry on both sides of the Badlands. Norguard adopted the S59 before the SRA did, and it has become tradition to mock Southern soldiers using the weapon as being “late on the draw.” (Medium Submachine Gun, Reliable)

Sidearm: Pierce & Thor Chapman Pistol

This unassuming pistol by a minor manufacturer came out of nowhere to beat Northco and Riley designs for Norguard’s standard pistol competition. It handles very well and is easy to produce, though some take issue with its “cheap-looking” shape. (Medium Pistol, Reliable)

Melee Weapon: Northco IF-VB2 Vibroblade

A no-frills vibroknife that performs at an acceptable standard for effective use and nothing more. Despite superior weapons being available, Norguard does not expect its soldiers to engage in melee combat except as a last resort, so cheap sufficiency in the area is prized over excellence. (Medium Vibroknife)

Support Weapon: Cunningham-16 Light Machine Gun

One of the oldest guns still in regular use by Terra Novan militaries, the Cunningham-16 was originally introduced shortly after St. Vincent’s War and was an extremely innovative design for its time. The receiver in particular was copied by a variety of future Northern firearms, making it one of the few machine guns that could be easily converted to a frame format when the technology became available. (Light Machine Gun, Frame)

Support Weapon: Püma CK Light Mortar

The CK is one of the best infantry mortars on Terra Nova, being both easy to transport and having uncommonly high accuracy when firing precision munitions. The only real issue is that its high cost limits the number of squads that can actually be equipped with one, meaning that lower-priority units tend to be stuck with older equipment or rely on Gears to provide close-range indirect fire. (Light Mortar, High Quality)

Support Weapon: Sergon Optics Deadshot Sniper Laser

One of the first man-portable lasers to see wide deployment on Terra Nova, the Deadshot also remains one of the best. Its accuracy and power come at the cost of an extremely high energy requirement, necessitating a fan-cooled power backpack even more cumbersome than the usual for weapons of the class. (Medium Sniper Laser, High Quality, Bulky)

Support Weapon: Ankerson R-40 Rocket Launcher

The R-40 was developed in response to data analysis showing that a single hit from an unguided rocket was usually insufficient to disable an armored vehicle. To alleviate this, the R-40 has a second barrel that automatically rotates into place after a rocket is fired, allowing the user to shoot two warheads before needing to reload. Despite this advantage, it remains unpopular with troops due to the weight added by the extra tube. (Medium RPG, Ammo Efficient, Heavy)

Support Weapon: Socorro Bullspringer Heavy Sniper Rifle

Closer to an anti-materiel rifle than a regular sniper rifle, the Bullspringer can punch  through walls and penetrate all but the heaviest of infantry armor without even needing to use armor-piercing rounds. Norguard soldiers are prohibited from using this weapon near civilians due to the unavoidable risk of over penetration, making them more cautious on the subject than most police departments. (Heavy Sniper Rifle, Prebuilt, Heavy Recoil)

Support Weapon: Riley M221 Support Cannon 

An adaptation of a Gear rifle to infantry use, the M221 is only man-portable in a technical sense, and unlike most Terra Novan infantry weapons is usually operated by multiple crewmembers. This is considered a worthwhile tradeoff for its incredible stopping power and the logistical advantages offered by the use of Gear ammunition. (Heavy Anti-Gear Rifle, Ammo Hog)

Support Weapon: Northco AAGM-48 Drake (Anti-Armor Guided Missile)

As the use of reconnaissance drones in combat became more common during the Sandstorm Strikes, traditional Northern missile team ambush techniques declined in effectiveness. The Drake solved this problem by creating a launcher that could be operated from a distance through a fiber-optic cable, allowing the operator to remain fully concealed during firing. (Medium Anti-Vehicle Missile, Remote)

Support Weapon: Northco GU-101 Heavy Machine Gun

An infantry-portable version of the GU-10 used on Gears, allowing Norguard squads to punch massively above their weight when on the defense. Field maintenance has proven to be a problem, though, as the GU-101’s action and feed mechanism are unfamiliar to soldiers who have only trained on more conventional infantry weapons. (Heavy Machine Gun, Special Design)

Support Weapon: Riley MG-37 Grenade Launcher

A bullpup grenade launcher instantly recognizable by its distinct cone-shaped covering for the revolver magazine. This feature ironically means it perceived as less common than it is, as many soldiers will remove the cover to make reloading easier. (Medium Grenade Launcher)

Support Sidearm: Püma JN Grenade Pistol

A small single-shot grenade launcher that is more or less a standard auxiliary model fixed to a pistol grip. Intended as a sidearm for soldiers with weapons that lack underbarrel mount capacity, the “Jonny One-Shot” tends to be discarded after use by troops, leading to no end of logistical hassle. (Light Grenade Launcher, Compact, Ammo Hog)

New Armor Trait: Modular 

This armor can be reassembled to any of the listed versions in the same way as a Frame weapon. Count as the Burden and PL of the highest-PL armor type additional equipment is being carried for.

New Weapon Trait: Remote

The user of this weapon can fire it without being in physical contact, from a distance of up to 5 meters away. The user may not benefit from the Aim action while operating the weapon in this manner. +1 PL.

Author’s Note: Ankerson is a Northco subsidiary, and Püma is a Riley subsidiary.