A while back I was very interested in GDW's Twilight 2000, going to the extent of creating a handful of test characters and considering the default Polish "in media res" starter campaign. However, although it provided resources for a "sandbox" style of play, I didn't really like the introductory adventure "Escape from Kalisz" and found it very confusing to follow, so after some rereading the text I created a number of resources as Referee play aids and to get my head around things.
I quickly worked out that the Soviet forces to the northwest Kalisz-Sieradz road, together with the destroyed bridges of the Warta River, form an impassible boundary to the north forcing the players southwards – the scenario even suggests to the GM that this is pointed out to the players explicitly. So I'd actually recommend moving out of the area as quickly as possible, bypassing the whole starter adventure as much as possible...
Escape from Kalisz Starting Positions
The players are forced to flee *southwards*.
So, assuming a
HumVee with a full tank of ethanol can travel 60km overland in one time period but suffers half movement in woods, there are two potential starting positions on the below detail map (on gridline equivalent to 10km) that combine significant distance with a reasonable change of concealment form pursuit:
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Escape from Kalisz booklet excerpt
(in media res player starting positions) |
- 1st position, D6 is just 5km inside the northwestern edge of the woods between Kepno and Zloczew, near the point where the tree line bends sharply north (marked on the map with a blue star), about 1 period (4 hours) travel southeast of Kalisz.
- 2nd position, D3 is a potentially more concealed location (marked with a green star), deep in the woods between Ostrow and Ostrzeszow, within striking distance of the road convoys travelling along the road to and from the Soviet-occupied city of Opole.
For simplicity, the starting time is 0800 hours, 19th July 2000 and their vehicle’s fuel tanks are assumed to now be empty, their engines are set to ethanol and requiring conversion to use methanol (unless the vehicle is a multi-fuel variant).
Unless the party has thought to purchase and carry additional fuel, they must spend the next three days lying low and distilling more alcohol before moving again. Although exact locations of the Soviet forces will not be known, the fleeing US elements will be well aware that the victorious forces will begin searching for them quickly.
It is *strongly* recommended that the party possess additional fuel reserves.
*Spoilers below!*
