Team Building Part 3

Tactical Build

For those who want to try something a little different, there's the tactical build. This team is built more in line with the characters' roles in the group, i.e., what they do rather than how they affect the drama. This is also more familiar to first-person shooter players and allows the writer to shift the dramatic roles around as needed rather than keeping them somewhat static (that is, anyone can be a leader, for example). In this case, the roles are:

Tank: This character wades into combat and usually relishes the role. They can take the most physical damage, can deal out the most physical damage, and feel out of place if there isn't combat going on. These are usually big and burly (brawlers) or small and agile (martial artists and fencers).

Sniper: The character likes looking at things from a distance, and that includes attacking them. Their weapon usually has the most range, keeping them from being attacked directly, and they tend to be the most philosophical.

Scout: The character is built for stealth, and is the best at getting into and out of situations. They also tend to have technical skills, such as computers, photography, and picking locks. They can be effective in hand-to-hand combat, but prefer using traps and bombs to do their damage. These can be split into those who prefer setting explosives (demolitionists), those who prefer gaining intelligence on the opponent (spy), and those who prefer getting in, grabbing the objective, and getting out (thieves).

Face: Every group has someone who can make people do what they want, and this is the face's area. These tend to be focused on cutting through red tape (the bureaucrat), the person who uses favors and contacts to get the job done (the schmoozer), and the guy who just has a lot of natural charisma and knows how to use it (the friend).

Specialist: This is a catch-all for those who have a specific skill or set of skills that can help in a combat situation, but really shine outside of combat. This can include but is not limited to the scholar (has several academic skills), the pilot (master of anything with a steering wheel), the medic (the person responsible for keeping everyone in one piece), and the investigator (the person sent into to ask questions). If the team has more than five members, then it's most likely that any additional people will come mostly from the tank and specialist areas.

The major advantage of the tactical build is that there are no assigned dramatic roles; as such they can be as static or dynamic as needed. Also, while the five-man band is great for five-person teams (obviously), the tactical build can be adjusted to fit any size team. This is also great if the team is more of a non-combat team than geared towards combat (an investigative team, for example, would have a tank to protect everyone else, a scout to sneak around, a face to deal with any authorities, and a couple of specialists (such as an investigator and a scholar).

When the five-man band doesn't quite fit, this may do the job.

Experienced vs. Rookies

Most teams consist of primarily either experienced or rookie team members. For our purposes, an "experienced" team has been together for some time and so has their own standard procedures, traditions, and even relationships; they tend to know what to expect from each other and so can better anticipate each others' moves. A "rookie" group is just one that hasn't been together for very long, and so has none of the advantages of the experienced. A rookie team can quickly become an experienced one with training and experience, so that status doesn't have to last long.

There are two other major possibilities: A team that's been together for a while but hasn't quite gelled together will have their own traditions and possible history of relationships between the characters, but don't have any standard operation procedures and tend to get into each others' way a lot. You can also have a hybrid team, where experienced members mentor the rookies in the ways of the team, even as the rookies still stumble a little and resent their mentors. If the one team decides to start working together and the rookie members on the other team get it together, the teams can function as an experienced team in relatively short order.

The Advantages of Uniforms

You should also debate using uniforms. The biggest plus/minus about uniforms is that they identify members as part of the same team. This means that branding the team is easier, making them easier to identify; this is great when the uniform carries with it certain authority or other advantages, but it also means that those that oppose the team can target them easier. Conversely, if you're trying to establish that everyone is a misfit or anarchist, then having uniforms can work against you in that regard, unless each has modified the basic uniform for their own needs and wants.

This includes any sort of similarity between team members, such as tattoos, war paint, jewelry (especially rings), and even hairstyles. In essence, if it makes them look the same or there are rules for them to encourage visual similarities, this is worth considering.

[From an artist's perspective, uniforms make things easier to draw. Even if the characters just have a common theme, it means a lot less design and drawing time. So debate uniforms if the rest of the comic is somewhat complex.]

Standard Issue Equipment

However, just because you have uniforms does not mean that each character has the same equipment. Even if they have the same types of equipment, it doesn't mean that two characters will have identical equipment; even if they have hand-held weapons, this could mean pistols, revolvers, slingshots, and hand crossbows, even wands. Another consideration is that, if everyone has the same equipment, someone with something different will stand out and make infiltrators easier to detect.

This means that you should decide if the team has standard issue equipment, be it every piece of equipment, just general parameters, or some mix of the two (for example, everyone has the same uniform, ID card, and detection gear but have different weapons, communication devices, and jewelry.

[It should be noted that most artists love standard-issue equipment. Again, it saves design and drawing time if everyone has visual similarities, and that becomes even more important if there is a lot of detail to draw.]

Advantages and Limitations Of The Team

Consider this is the catch-all category: Some teams have inherent advantages that make being on the team advantageous. For example, training not available to others, cybernetic implants, access to advanced technology, or even police powers can be some perks for being part of a team. By the same token, some groups have some sort of limitation that needs to be noted, such as not being allowed to kill, evidence acquisition limits, can't return to their home planet, or even being hunted by another organization.

In some cases, an advantage can also have a serious limitation: You get superpowers but after a year they will flare up and kill the user or you get a great robotic body but you can never return to your original body. Members could also get supernatural powers but that's because they are supernatural, and that includes the weaknesses as well as the strengths of those supernatural types.

In short, if there is some sort of advantage and/or limitation inherent to the team that hasn't been covered, make sure that you have it noted.

* * * * *

These steps are presented as guidelines. Everyone has their own way of creating a team; some people start with the five-man band or tactical build and go from there, or even just create characters and hope they fit. This is not to present a straight jacket; use whatever method works best for you and your story. The only thing to keep in mind is that if you are creating a team, no character should overshadow the others in terms of importance to the story (something you can toss out when it comes to solo characters in charge of a team). Otherwise, have fun building your team and have fun with it.

Definitely do not be afraid to change the nature of the team as the situation warrants it. A military team can become a team of rogues if the group decides to desert its military, such as being betrayed by it or because they feel they can do a better job alone. Your group should allow for character growth and plot development. This could result in new members coming aboard, old members leaving, and all sorts of relationship changes.

The story should always come first, so don't be afraid to make whatever changes to the group are required by the story. This is just a starting point, and that applies just as much to when the team starts out as the final chapter; things can change and the team needs to adapt to those changes. This can actually lead to more interesting situations developing.

Again: It's your team. Have whatever fun you want with it.