"Civilian Classes" Topic

No, not lessons for wargamers on how to participate as a meaningful member of society … how many different visually distinct types of civilian miniature do you have?

Civilians? None!
A handful of different types
A lot
A lot and I still need a lot more …

I have dozens of different types, mostly distinguishable by a visual indication of professional status. It's starts with peeps in jeans and t-shirts but adds medical professionals, the jacket and tie crowd, construction workers, farmers, custodians, professional wrestlers, greasers (jeans and black leather jackets), goths, punks, jocks, nerds, etc.

I have in the past used hair color or jacket color as a way to mark different groups of civilians for C2 purposes.

A lot, quite a few are scientists and quite a few of them are running.

A handful, mostly archaeologists and big game hunters.

What would frequently be seen at the site of conflict? I don't need a large variety of governors, but mostly farm workers, refugees, or whoever would logically be around.

When the zombie apocalypse hits, the classes of civilians are few, and not mutually exclusive. I suppose a Venn diagram would be helpful, but I'm too lazy and never liked them anyway.
The Fast.
The Slow.
The Smart.
The Dumb.

For me, it depends a bit on the genre of game. For larger battles, one organised army against another, the civilians are assumed to have exercised the better part of valour and removed themselves from the scene. However, I have quite a few civilians (generally unarmed) who end up around the edge (or occasionally drawn into the action) for smaller skirmishes. These tend to be in Old West, Pulp or ultramodern scenarios – and in each of these there can be an element of uncertainty about whether that old lady is really as harmless as she appears! For these types of games, I tend to have at least as many unarmed civilians as there are soldiers/bandits/heroes on the table.

(one of the comments on my old west games was a question as to why every one of the bartenders, and about half the preachers, were toting sawed off shotguns).

Quite a few.
Villagers being raided by Vikings
Camp followers
Women of ill repute
Press reporters
Film crew
Slaves
And so on

x42

Is Judge Dredd a civilian?

I divide them broadly into armed irregulars and objective markers. Either they're poorly-disciplined troops, or they're something you want to be in possession of at the end of the game. Mind you, "poorly disciplined" is not the same as "no good in a fight." I've got a figure in fedora with handgun and whip around here, and a blonde girl with a stake. Also someone who looks a lot like Sean Connery dressed for hunting big game.

A very few modern urban types – my favourite are a priest and his knife-carrying niece

A fair number of Victorians – mostly ladies/adventurers

A ton of Mexican villagers

A few Ancient villagers

I have some figures that are unarmed and not uniform or armor, but not many -- probably fewer than 10.

I would like to have more. In the Traveller universe, where my games are usually set, grav vehicles are ubiquitous and access to space is easy. So most ground combat will probably take place at valuable targets that the invading side wants to control -- starports, fuel supplies, factories, or even just population centers. Those places usually have lots of civilians.

I have a few … refugees mostly. They tend to clog roads, impeding maneuver. If they're your's, they need to be protected … escorted from the battlefield. In the advance they must be cleared before being allowed into your rear area. Less disciplined troops meeting them tend to lose turns doing things that I am not prepared to discuss. Sometimes they cause a diversion of logistic requirements in games that include such things.
I also have some stands of only young men. They tend to gather at places like bridges, air field control towers, telephone exchanges, radio towers, they do that just before the balloon goes up. Or, they mix into the refugee streams and disappear … for awhile.
No one seems to like my refugees.

I have lots of civilians. In my Battle of Berlin project I did figures for all the embassies, about 20, and many other civilian German organizations.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
bunkermeister.blogspot.com

Several dozen. They include North American and New Zealand settlers, pioneers, frontiersmen, filibusterers, trappers, European and Middle Eastern colonial adventurers.

Rick

If you include post apoc survivors & gang members , several dozen

My larges single group of civilians are in my Vietnam collection. There must be 40 figures. In Ambush Valley civilian group my actually be armed VC.

I also have a good sized collection of Zulu civilians.

I'm not so sure about calling some of my other figures civilians, more like unskilled combatants. As in Call of Cthulhu collection and fantasy figures from my old D&D days.

Very few.

If you include post apoc survivors & gang members , several dozen

Are they armed?

A few for skirmish FFL and that is it. I think about four total. Most of my gaming with the exception of FFL or French Colonial is battalion level and up.

WALKING SAILOR nailed it.

If you're doing any sort of 20th/21st century game set in urban areas, you need a plethora of civilians (if only for guerilla fighters to hide amongst, while you're burdened with RULES OF ENGAGEMENT).

link

Civilians on the Battlefield – Small Wars Journal
smallwarsjournal.com/printpdf/12089

and even further back
link

*Ultimately the curiosity-seekers got caught in a stampede of retreating Union troops. McCook desperately raced back to Centreville with his son Charles, who had been mortally wounded while visiting and separated from his unit, as Confederate cavalry attempted to intercept the Union retreat. Photographer Mathew Brady was caught in the congestion at the Cub Run bridge. Congressman Washburne tried in vain to rally the panic-stricken mob of soldiers near Centreville, but most of the civilians joined, if not led, the flight back to Washington and escaped unharmed.*