by J. David George
The United Church is, without a doubt, the most powerful organization in the Humanx Commonwealth. As such, it makes a very desirable Patron for GURPS Humanx PCs. Yet the Church is also a very demanding Patron – it requires rigorous training, a long list of advantages and skills, and strict attention to duty.
To be an operative of the United Church, a character must have all the advantages, disadvantages and skills required by his branch of the Church. The requirements for the Peacekeeping Force – the Church's military arm – and the Church Department of Intelligence – its investigatory agency – are listed below. These requirements are minimums expected of Peaceforcers and agents fresh out of the Church Academy at Denpasar, Bali, on Terra. More experienced operatives will have higher skills.
The disadvantages required by these organizational "packages" should not be counted against the 40-point, 3-disadvantage guideline normally applied to player characters. These disadvantages are not unique to an individual – they are shared by all his fellow operatives, and help to offset the cost of the Patron and the less "useful" skills required by the organization. Players should be given the same opportunities to personalize their Church operative PCs though disadvantages that is available to other PC types. The only exception to this is physical fitness. For reasons of efficiency and safety, the Church cannot allow severe physical disadvantages, such as obesity, missing limbs, blindness or deafness, among its operatives.
The soldiers of the Commonwealth, the officers and enlisted men of the United Church Peacekeeping Force are entrusted both with the defense of the Commonwealth from external threats and the maintenance of peace within humanx space. They are trained military men and women; their advantages, disadvantages and skills reflect this fact.
| Advantages | |
| Patron: United Church Peacekeeping Force | 30 points |
| (Giant, interstellar organization; appears on a 9 or less) | |
| Reputation: Peaceforcer | 2 points |
| (+1 reaction; all humanx citizens; recognized when in uniform –effectively 10 or less) | |
| Combat Reflexes | 10 points |
Disadvantages | |
| Duty to Church, Peaceforcers and Commonwealth -10 points | |
| (Demanded on 10 or less) | |
| Enemy: AAnn Empire | -20 points |
| (Utterly formidable group; appears on 6 or less) | |
Skills | |
| Beam Weapons-(DX+1, plus IQ bonus, if any) | 2 points |
| First Aid (own physiological type)-(IQ) | 1 point |
| Judo or Karate-(DX) | 4 points |
Languages | |
| Terranglo-(IQ), Symbospeech-(IQ), Thranx-(IQ) | 5 points* |
Total | 24 points |
* Cost for native Terranglo or Thranx speakers; costs for these languages will be higher for Peaceforcers from other backgrounds.
Officers will also have Status 1 or better, Leadership-(IQ), and Tactics-(IQ-1). Ships' pilots, gunners, and other key personnel will be officers, and will have skills appropriate to their post.
The Church also maintains a sophisticated intelligence agency, which provides information to both the Church and Commonwealth Councils as well as the Peacekeeping Force. Church intelligence agents usually operate covertly; when called upon to appear in a uniform, they wear a regular Peaceforcer uniform with special insignia. All intelligence agents are officers – the agency has no enlisted personnel.
| Advantages | |
| Patron: United Church | 15 points |
| (Giant, interstellar organization; appears on a 6 or less) | |
| Reputation: United Church personnel | 1 point |
| (+1 reaction; all humanx citizens; recognized only when displaying identification – effectively 7 or less) | |
| Legal Enforcement Powers | 10 points |
| (Interstellar jurisdiction) | |
| Status 1 | 5 points |
Disadvantages | |
| Duty to Church and Commonwealth | -10 points |
| (Demanded on 10 or less) | |
| Enemy: AAnn Empire | -20 points |
| (Utterly formidable group; appears on 6 or less) | |
Skills | |
| Acting-(IQ-1) | 1 point |
| Area Knowledge (Commonwealth)-(IQ) | 1 point |
| Beam Weapons-(DX+1, plus IQ bonus, if any) | 2 points |
| Disguise-(IQ) | 2 points |
| Fast-Talk-(IQ-1) | 1 point |
| Judo or Karate-(DX) | 4 points |
| Interrogation-(IQ-1) | 1 point |
| Savior-Faire (Humanx)-(IQ) | 1 point |
| Shadowing-(IQ-1) | 1 point |
| Stealth-(DX-1) | 1 point |
Languages | |
| Terranglo-(IQ), Symbospeech-(IQ), Thranx-(IQ) | 5 points* |
| AAnn-(IQ-1 for humans & ornithorpes, IQ-2 for other races) | 1 point |
Total | 22 points |
* Cost for native Terranglo or Thranx speakers; the cost for these languages will be higher for operatives from other backgrounds.
Some players may wish to create characters which have left the Church Peacekeeping Force or Intelligence Organization for some reason or another. Such characters will be similar to active operatives, having all the skills and most of the advantages of characters on active duty. As a Patron, the Church appears only on a 6 or less for retired operatives (15 points). Neither of the disadvantages remain, however. The Church calls upon its retired operatives so rarely that they owe the service no Duty, and the AAnn Empire has no special interest in most former Peaceforcers or agents.
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