Ghosts of Vietnam – The Family RPG System 15 December 1966 — Camp Bearcat, III Corps, South Vietnam 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment arrived in Vietnam only three days ago, landing by transport ship at Vũng Tàu before moving inland to Camp Bearcat in III Corps Tactical Zone. The men had scarcely settled into their tents before the first patrol order arrived. On 13 December the platoon conducted its first reconnaissance in force along Route 319 between the hamlets of Ba Truong and Cầu Vũng Gấm. The mission revealed signs of Viet Cong movement, including a concealed medical cache and political propaganda hidden within a hut at Xóm Ba Bông. Though the patrol encountered villagers and light traffic along the road, the enemy declined direct engagement, choosing instead to observe the platoon’s movements and learn its routes. The second patrol, conducted on the morning of 15 December, followed the same general approach along Route 319. Civilian traffic moved steadily along the highway as farmers led ox carts between hamlets and villagers traveled on foot toward the markets farther east. Near the northern brush line, however, the platoon encountered the carcass of a dead ox lying beside the asphalt. The point man failed to recognize the danger. The platoon sergeant observed the carcass but gave no warning to the man ahead of him. When the combat engineer reached a position even with the animal, the Viet Cong command detonated ten pounds of C4 concealed within the carcass. The explosion struck the column at a spacing of five feet between men, producing catastrophic results. Three soldiers were killed immediately by the blast and fragmentation. Others were wounded, and the patrol was forced to call for emergency extraction and medical evacuation. In a single moment the platoon learned the nature of the war it had entered. The enemy had no intention of standing in open battle along the road. Instead, he would watch, wait, and strike when opportunity presented itself. The consequences of that moment now shape the campaign. 1st Squad began its tour with sixteen soldiers and now counts only eleven effectives. The platoon itself has been in country less than seventy-two hours, yet it has already buried its first dead and carried its first wounded to the helicopters. The men remaining must continue their patrols through the same villages and along the same roads where the enemy has already demonstrated his presence. This campaign follows the operations of an American infantry platoon in South Vietnam using historically grounded tactics, real geographic locations, and the rules system presented in Ghosts of Vietnam: The RPG . Patrols move through real terrain rather than abstract maps, and contact with civilians may provide valuable intelligence or conceal the presence of enemy observers. The Viet Cong seldom fight in open formation and rarely offer the kind of engagement portrayed in film. Ambushes, booby traps, hidden explosives, and careful reconnaissance of American patrol patterns form the foundation of their method. Players who join this campaign enter the platoon at the beginning of a twelve-month combat tour. The men of Delta Company arrived at Camp Bearcat on 12 December 1966 , and their Date Eligible for Return from Overseas, commonly known as DEROS , is 12 December 1967 . The objective is simple in theory and difficult in practice. Survive the year. If you reach your DEROS date, you go home. --- Open Positions The campaign presently has room for four to five additional players. New players will join 1st Platoon Headquarters Squad , serving alongside the platoon leadership and coordinating the activities of the rifle squads during patrol operations. The following positions are available within the headquarters element: - Riflemen (HQ security) - Automatic Rifleman (M60) - Grenadier (M79) - Radio Operator - Medic All characters are pregenerated in order to reflect the actual organization and equipment of a U.S. Army infantry platoon operating in Vietnam. Players assume the roles of soldiers already assigned to Delta Company and enter the campaign as replacements within the platoon headquarters element. --- Current Players The following positions are already filled within 1st Platoon: - Platoon Leader - Combat Engineer New players therefore enter the unit as members of the headquarters squad, operating in close proximity to the platoon leader and participating directly in the planning, communication, and execution of patrol operations. --- Play Style - Realistic Vietnam infantry operations - Patrol tactics and small-unit decision making - Civilian interaction and intelligence gathering - Combat that is sudden, lethal, and unpredictable This is not a heroic power fantasy. It is a platoon trying to survive a year in a war where the enemy rarely stands still long enough to fight. Beginning on 3/21/2026 and every other Saturday after that.
