The Cadet Corps is the military branch responsible for training new soldiers. Its purpose is to prepare recruits for service in one of the three principal military regiments: the Scout Regiment, the Garrison Regiment, or the Military Police Brigade. Training lasts three years. Cadets receive instruction in physical conditioning, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, Titan behavior, military discipline, and the operation of omni-directional mobility gear. The Cadet Corps is therefore a military training institution rather than a combat regiment of its own.
A player with the Cadet Corps class is a trained human soldier. The class represents the physical and technical abilities acquired through military training rather than granting supernatural powers. A Cadet Corps character is capable of using standard military weapons and, most importantly, omni-directional mobility gear. Their effectiveness depends heavily on physical ability, spatial awareness, discipline, and practical experience.
The Cadet Corps class should be treated as the foundation for a human military character. It does not automatically determine which regiment the character eventually joins. After graduation, a character may enter the Scout Regiment, Garrison Regiment, or Military Police Brigade. Only the top ten graduates of a cadet class are permitted to apply for the Military Police Brigade and thereby gain the privilege of serving in the Interior District. Other graduates may choose the Scout Regiment or Garrison Regiment.
Omni-directional mobility gear, commonly called ODM gear, is the primary anti-Titan equipment used by the soldiers of Paradis. It allows a human being to move through three-dimensional space at high speed. The system is worn as a harness around the lower torso and hips and is controlled through two hand grips. It was developed because conventional movement on the ground leaves humans at an enormous disadvantage against Titans.
The gear contains two independent grappling mechanisms. Each mechanism fires a piston-launched hook attached to a length of steel wire. The soldier can fire the left or right hook independently and attach it to suitable surfaces such as buildings, trees, walls, structures, or Titan flesh. Once a hook has anchored itself, the soldier can use the gear's powered winch to reel the cable back in and pull their body toward the anchor point.
The two hooks allow a soldier to control their movement through space. A soldier can pull directly toward an anchored point, release the hook, fire the opposite hook, and change direction. Skilled users combine both cables with their own momentum, swinging around structures, changing direction while being reeled in, moving between multiple anchor points, and navigating around Titans. The result is movement that resembles controlled swinging and rapid aerial traversal rather than true flight.
ODM gear also contains compressed-gas cylinders. The gas powers the mechanisms that fire and retract the grappling cables and drives the turbine that retracts the cables. The soldier can release gas to accelerate their movement and maintain or alter momentum. The gas supply is therefore a finite resource. Running out of gas severely restricts mobility and can leave a soldier stranded or falling.
The gear is most effective in environments containing numerous surfaces onto which the hooks can attach. Dense cities, forests, and areas containing large Titans provide many possible anchor points. Open terrain is substantially more difficult because there are fewer surfaces from which the soldier can pull themselves. The grappling hooks can penetrate Titan flesh, however, allowing experienced soldiers to maneuver directly around and across Titans.
The standard anti-Titan configuration also carries replaceable blades made from ultra-hard steel. These blades are designed specifically to cut Titan flesh. The blades are intentionally replaceable because striking hard material or Titan bone can damage or break them. Soldiers carry additional blades in containers mounted near the hips.
ODM combat is fundamentally based on controlling position rather than simply increasing running speed. A soldier must constantly judge distance, anchor strength, momentum, gas consumption, obstacles, and the movement of the target. The equipment is dangerous even before combat begins. Poorly judged acceleration, collisions, failed anchors, or uncontrolled falls can kill the user.
A trained soldier can use ODM gear to circle a Titan while remaining outside the reach of its hands and feet. The normal method of killing a Pure Titan is to reach the nape of its neck and cut a sufficiently large section from it. The soldier therefore uses the gear to approach the Titan from above, behind, or from an unexpected angle before cutting the nape with an ultra-hard steel blade.
The ODM gear itself does not make a novice capable of performing these maneuvers. Training is essential. Cadets undergo specific ODM aptitude training intended to teach the body to operate in three dimensions. Strength, especially in the legs and core, spatial awareness, balance, coordination, endurance, and the ability to remain calm under pressure are important requirements. A cadet who cannot properly control the equipment may be removed from training before becoming a soldier.
For RPG purposes, ODM gear should therefore function as a major mobility system rather than merely granting a generic movement bonus. A proficient Cadet Corps character can use appropriate structures as anchor points, rapidly change position, swing around enemies, cross gaps, reach elevated positions, and attack Titan weak points. The DM should consider terrain when determining what movement is possible. A character should be dramatically more mobile in a city or forest than in a completely open field.
The class provides broad military training rather than one supernatural specialty. A Cadet Corps character is competent with military weapons, physical combat, and ODM gear. Their training allows them to fight Titans despite being physically much smaller and weaker than their enemies.
The class should reward preparation, positioning, and technical skill. A Cadet Corps character can become extremely dangerous with ODM gear without possessing any supernatural ability. Exceptional soldiers such as Levi and Mikasa demonstrate the extreme upper limit of what a sufficiently talented human can accomplish with training, physical ability, and experience.
The class does not grant immunity to Titan attacks. A human caught directly by a Titan remains extremely vulnerable. ODM gear is powerful because it allows a soldier to avoid standing where the Titan can easily reach them.
Graduation marks the end of formal Cadet Corps training. The character then enters one of the three military branches. The Scout Regiment specializes in expeditions and combat outside the Walls and is the branch most heavily associated with ODM combat against Titans. The Garrison Regiment maintains and defends the Walls and is responsible for duties such as manning defenses and responding to Titan attacks. The Military Police Brigade primarily operates within the Interior District and serves the central government, with its most desirable positions reserved for the highest-performing graduates.
The Cadet Corps class can therefore represent a character at several points in their military career. A player may begin as a recruit still learning ODM gear, as a newly graduated soldier, or as an experienced soldier whose original cadet training forms the foundation of their abilities.
The class should remain fundamentally human. It grants no Titan transformation, Titan regeneration, supernatural memory inheritance, or other Power of the Titans abilities. Those abilities belong to the Titan Shifter class.