ARC Trooper

Of the 8 Career Skills, choose 4 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Clone Soldier Career Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Cool, Discipline, Medicine, Ranged (Heavy), Ranged (Light) and Vigilance

Clone Specialization Skills: Coordination, Mechanics, Piloting (Planetary) and Stealth

While the bulk of the Grand Army of the Republic consists of the standard clone troopers, military leadership and the engineers of Kamino recognized the need for specialized soldiers. Squads of Advanced Recon Commando troopers fulfill the need for small and flexible tactical squads to take on unconventional objectives despite ever-changing and unknown situations and lack of access to command leadership. These elite soldiers act independently and creatively, showcasing the clones’ potential in a way that can only be called human.

ARC Troopers have to be in peak physical condition to survive the many different climates and planets of the galaxy. They are often selected for daring aerial insertions and other missions requiring jetpacks. The abilities not only to operate jetpacks and other specialized gear but also to keep them in working order on the field can be crucial. Often, ARC Troopers must get behind enemy lines and back out again without being detected.

Both command and the clones consider ARC Troopers to be the best of the best, and clones with ambition aim to get promoted into the program. They receive additional training, including a direct contradiction to their original directive: they are required to think creatively and independently. Unsurprisingly, many clones fail this training, but it is a badge of honor to be selected in the first place. While these troopers receive additional benefits such as increased rations, better equipment, and—supposedly—more recreation time, they generally only live for the admiration and praise of their peers and the satisfaction of a job well done.

ARC Troopers push themselves above and beyond, sacrificing their safety and lives to ensure successful missions. They tend to have less downtime, despite the promise of more recreation periods. The ever-changing nature ofthe Clone Wars means constant reassignment. This results in a heavy demand for more ARC Troopers, so both command and the engineers on Kamino seek to identify soldiers with potential.

Though ARC Troopers often hold higher ranks—all the way up to commander—they do not always command the rank and file troops. ARC Troopers are as likely to perform duties independently of the main contingent of soldiers, and an ARC Trooper’s position in the command structure may change based on the mission at hand. The rank and file don’t always interpret an ARC Trooper’s unconventional orders well, and ARC Troopers tend to chafe against making safe but conservative tactical decisions.

ARC Troopers receive a lot of leeway while on special assignment. Often operating independently and without direct oversight, they make decisions balancing the successful completion of their mission, the survival of their brothers, and the defense of innocent civilians. As a result, CAR leadership, and sometimes Kamino engineers, hold intense debriefing sessions in order to ascertain whether this independence poses a threat to the Republic. In each instance, the ARC Troopers prove to be loyal, self-sacrificing, and of the highest moral character.

Potential Stories

  • Individuality: Clone Soldiers continually see themselves in their comrades. As they are strong-willed individuals, this challenges them to forge distinct identities. Unique acts of heroism, unusual interests, or novel insights and discoveries all offer ways to set a particular clone apart from his peers. Finding and seizing such opportunities is a vital part of each Clone Soldier’s life.
  • Dedication: Conditioned loyalty to the Republic is integral to Clone Soldier training. At many times throughout their careers, Clone Soldiers may face the temptation to turn away from their duty. They might face overwhelming odds, encounter a generous bribe, or even have to turn their back on a friend in order to fulfill a responsibility.
  • Self-Sacrifice: Even though Clone Soldiers are each a distinct sentient being, they recognize that their sacrifice may be necessary to secure a victory for the Republic. These soldiers are willing to pay any cost in order to complete their assigned tasks—even though the cost may be grievous personal injury or even death.
  • Superiority: Programmed with a sense of pride, all clones strive to be their best, but some try to take it further: to be the first to the objective, destroy the most droids in a skirmish, or always be the one to rescue a fellow soldier from the field. Sometimes reckless, always dangerous, these actions may reveal a soldier’s pride in their work or a darker egoism.
  • Martyrdom: Clone Soldiers are ready to die for the Republic, but after several sorties, a few might begin to think their death is the reason for their existence. These soldiers volunteer for even the most dangerous missions, the ones offering no hope of survival. These soldiers believe their death must be meaningful, so they seek the assignments that allow them to go out in a blaze of glory.
  • Purity: The Republic has enemies everywhere, including within. Traitors and spies threaten it, but sometimes the Republic threatens itself. The Clone Wars may push certain soldiers toward an unbending sense of purity, making them self-appointed arbiters of right and wrong. These soldiers would never question the orders of a superior, but might also feel their peers never push themselves to go that extra kilometer. Perhaps they don’t love the Republic enough.