Russian Officer Backgrounds

To support our Livonia 1812 "campaign" - not sure how many games we'll get in - I had a go at producing a set of background tables for Napoleonic Russian officers. This first appeared on the Too Fat Lardies forum but I thought I'd save it here as well.

Roll initially 2D6 for your Leader's ethnic background and then follow the rabbit hole in most cases.

Russian Officer Background for Sharp Practice

2 Russian minor noble, poor, joined a Guards regiment as a gentleman sergeant

3 French emigré:

• 1-3 Minor noble
  4-5 Officer in the former pre-revolutionary army
  6 Disenchanted former Bonapartist (thoroughly bourgeois but trying to hide it)

4-5 Minor noble born in the Russian Empire of non-Russian stock:

• 1-2 Polish or Lithuanian
  3-4 Baltic German or Finnish
  5-6 Georgian, Tatar or Caucasian

Roll again as for Russian below for detailed background

6-9 Russian* noble: (Roll 1d6, adding one if rolling for your Force’s overall commander)

• 1 A poet and a dreamer; joined the army out of misplaced romanticism 
  2 Illegitimate son of a household serf - found a place in the army by his noble father
  3 Spent most of his life on his family’s small country estate
  4 Known at court for his dangerously modern ideas but still fiercely patriotic
  5 Son of a respected noble family (it’s rumoured that his true father is a prince of the blood)
  6 Family have been army officers for generations
  7 Younger son of a princely family

10-11 German emigré officer:

• 1-3: unemployed as a result of limits on the Prussian army after Jena
  4-6 refuses to serve under Napoleon

12 Other emigré professional soldier:

• 1 Italian
  2 Swiss
  3 Swedish
  4 Polish
  5 Scot
  6 Player’s choice

* Note that for the purposes this table “Russian” includes Russians, Ukrainians and, because I love a bit of historical obscurantism in my terminology, White Ruthenians.

I must acknowledge the contribution of Captain Fortier on the forum, without whom this wouldn't be half as good.