[Brainstorm] Campaign Medals & Ribbons

[NKato]

So, I've been thinking. We're all going to get into some deep shit. Some people will excel, others will sacrifice their characters for the glory of TEST, and so forth.

Why not make a bunch of medals for various types of meritorious actions, along with campaign medals?

After talking with DirtyScoundrel for a bit, I've determined that there will be three or four primary elements to a medal:

The Ribbon: Will carry a pattern representing the campaign, or the award itself (undecided).
Top bar of the Ribbon: Will carry a number of Stars representing the value of the action.
Main body of the Ribbon: Will carry a pin representing the field of expertise of the recipient - Hornet or Gladius for Dogfighting, Medical Cross for Medic, Crossed Rifles for FPS, and so on.
The Medal itself: The medallion will carry different designs representing different types of awards.

I can think of a few to start with:

Personal Decorations

• The Purple Mug - Awarded to TEST members critically wounded in the line of duty.
• Distinguished Service Cross (One of the highest prestigious awards)
  
• Distinguished Defense Medal (Awarded for exceptional defense against OPFOR)
• Distinguished Assault Medal (Awarded for exceptional assault against OPFOR)
  
• Silver Meteor (Awarded for "Gallantry in Action", analogue to the Silver Star)

Commendation Medals

Achievement Medals

Campaign & Service Medals

• Operation Pitchfork

What do you guys think of this, and do you have any suggestions for medals? I'll be looking at getting some templates made up for them.

 

[Stigro]

Pitchfork? what about Operation Tarspoon?

 

[GrammarGestapo]

I don't like the idea. It sorta pings all the wrong notes in my mind. We aren't military. We aren't elitist. We aren't going to let people gang up into cliques about who has been here longer etc. This sort of reward promotes medal-hunting, which also promotes bad play and cutting off your fellows. It also gives people a completely mistaken idea that the medals on their chest somehow make them better.

Also, it just seems disrespectful to me. All those images of "honor theft"/people wearing medals they didn't earn pop into mind.

 

[NKato]

I don't like the idea. It sorta pings all the wrong notes in my mind. We aren't military. We aren't elitist. We aren't going to let people gang up into cliques about who has been here longer etc. This sort of reward promotes medal-hunting, which also promotes bad play and cutting off your fellows. It also gives people a completely mistaken idea that the medals on their chest somehow make them better.

You have a very, very good point. But some people want things to strive for, too. These medals are meant to be a sign of appreciation for everybody's participation in an operation.

 

[DocPanda]

I have an idea. For subsequent awards, we could have something like mugs or whatever to show each subsequent award. So, first award would get you a ribbon then each award afterwards would get you a mug device.

<---first award

<----placed on ribbon for each award after first.

 

[Huegpaynis]

This has the same vibe as the guy who proposed ranks. Make the medals an RP element and I'm sure everything will work out just fine.

 

[maynard]

I think we should have all the kinds of medals, and members should be able to award themselves as many as they want

 

[NKato]

This has the same vibe as the guy who proposed ranks. Make the medals an RP element and I'm sure everything will work out just fine.

The medals are going to have a strict threshold of standard. They're not going to be handed out willy-nilly.

We're not going to be like this:

But more like this:

Exceptional actions in TEST's favor will probably be what earns an individual a medal. Like, I don't know, being in a Gladius and managing to fight off a huge pirate raid and protecting an entire convoy. Or singlehandedly protecting a cruiser from successive torpedo attacks throughout an entire fight.

We're talking about actions that could be perceived as super-human. And there would need to be a certain level of proof, as well.

The alternative is to make the medals ridonkulously worthless. :p

Or we can just have only campaign ribbons. It's really all up in the air, to be honest.

 

[Yellowdog]

We only deal in booze here. It is difficult to drink a medal.

 

[WarrenPeace]

Eh, not so wild about this idea. It's a nice RP element, but I wouldn't bother trying to abstract it to the rest of the squadron.

 

[Macabre Poetry]

I want to be able to put commendation stickers on my helmet like I did during high school football.

So I can impress you guys.

 

[Nuke]

i can see the point of this being more of a RP thing, but i think having a few random medals and sutch would be fine

 

[GrammarGestapo]

I want to be able to put commendation stickers on my helmet like I did during high school football.

So I can impress you guys.

commendation stickers? heh, when my dad played, they used to put little skulls on for every guy they injured. Considering he was born in 1956 though, that may have been before your time.

 

[Nosnah]

The idea is interesting - I just feel its going to be the same players getting these medals - and after the first hour of playing I'm sure we'd all be awarded the purple mug. Hauling beer is in the line of duty...right?!

 

[Snowianth]

This has the same vibe as the guy who proposed ranks. Make the medals an RP element and I'm sure everything will work out just fine.

Ye i agree

 

[Decoys84]

I think the idea has merit. That said there seems to be a few people uninterested in full medals. The campaign ribbon should be good though as it will encourage more people to participate if events of importance to Test squadron.

 

[Black Sunder]

Medal: Only Idiot to Live

Awarded to the one who shows exceptional sobriety in battle by disregarding orders to crash into the enemy.

 

[Shar Treuse]

Seems a bit too serious for TEST, although a little ribbon bar with Auroras on it might work, each bronze Aurora would be 1 crash, each silver Aurora 5 crashes, each gold Aurora 20 crashes, maybe platinum for 100 crashes...

 

[Flashwit]

Not sure I'm too into this idea either unless it becomes heavily modified from what is proposed here.

For instance, if you got a 'medal' for doing something uniquely stupid (or cool, whatever) that might be interesting. So it would be more something like "I present to you this medal in honor of the occasion of June 13th, in which you crashed a Banu Merchantman into the TEST dry docks, destroying 14 other ships." And then each medal would be custom designed for the occasion.

The thing that I'm specifically opposed to is having tiers of medals available to be earned. That would add to the idea of there being some internal ranking of people within TEST. Basically what I want to avoid is ego. Medals should be awarded for unique fun things, not skill or 'rank' or whatever.

Keep that kind of thing in RP.

 

[Nosnah]

Not sure I'm too into this idea either unless it becomes heavily modified from what is proposed here.

For instance, if you got a 'medal' for doing something uniquely stupid (or cool, whatever) that might be interesting. So it would be more something like "I present to you this medal in honor of the occasion of June 13th, in which you crashed a Banu Merchantman into the TEST dry docks, destroying 14 other ships." And then each medal would be custom designed for the occasion.

The thing that I'm specifically opposed to is having tiers of medals available to be earned. That would add to the idea of there being some internal ranking of people within TEST. Basically what I want to avoid is ego. Medals should be awarded for unique fun things, not skill or 'rank' or whatever.

Keep that kind of thing in RP.

+1