For When You're On Your Own (YOYO) - More pre-generated characters!

So despite my intentions to have a break from Twilight: 2000 material, a recent post on the little-visited Twilight: 2000 subreddit prompted me to post this in response.

A while back I lamented the lack of pregenerated character for Twilight: 2000 as a potential barrier to adoption of the setting and the game by new players and presented six pregen "archetypes" to help provide inspiration and fill out a small party with some core roles if needed:

The Wheelman

The Heavy

The Scout

The Doctor

The Engineer

The Major

I had developed v1.0 versions of "Monk" and "Bobby Lee" based on the example characters in the rulebooks, then updated them to v2.2 ("the Wheelman" and "the Scout") and added in the other four archetypes as I had only limited information on the rest of the named characters, but I didn't have the time or inclination to develop all the characters mentioned in the example fiction.

But it turns out a Reddit user known as "u/wbgamer" has now done exactly this according to his post.

He's created a great resource of pre-generated characters in my view for both new and old players and referees alike. Apparently, he saw my original v1.0 characters on my old blog "My Life as a Grog" and felt inspired enough to complete the set!

The twelve v2.2 characters are linked to a Google Docs zip file of PDFs of the "advanced" Excel character sheet developed by Marc on the Juhulin forums that include character portraits and some background notes, with an accompanying "Notes" file with suggestions for the group's backstory and vehicles (LAV-25 and HMMW M1029), weapons and other equipment they share in common at the beginning of the default Escape from Kalisz campaign scenario.

I hereby salute you, good sir!

For those interested in the breakdown, the characters are:

• Alvarez (support - electronics, fluent Spanish, secondary combat medic)
• Anderson (sergeant, 49yo, speaks Russian and has contacts)
• Bobbi Lee (MP not ranger but scout and rifleman; see also my version) 
• Carson (truck-driver for LAV-25, crack shot)
• Gordon (former construction engineer and combat engineer support) 
• Griffith (supply sergeant, scrounger and wheeled driver)
• Jefferson (reservist, tank gunner and heavy weapons)
• Jones (Welsh SAS / sniper with Polish and German, stealth and combat)
• Major (prior enlisted combatant, now older officer; see also my version)
• Monk (drafted pre-war mechanic support character, see also my version)
• Toye (captain, typical infantry combat officer)
• Wood (not actually a medic just "the closest thing")

u/wbgamer's "Design Notes" for his iconic Escape from Kalisz Party

Note: the zip file and PDFs are private documents initially but accessible upon requesting permission and being approved by the author. I'd be happy to mirror host the files here and will contact the creator to check what he's comfortable in sharing soon or if he has any issues with the screenshots.

The Same, but Different?

So that's great, but what's the difference between u/wbgamer's characters and my pregens?

I mean you already have my pregens, what more do you need right... right?

Well, it really depends what you're looking for, as I think the two sets of pre-generated characters are not only both useful but also complementary. Sure, we both present versions of "Monk" and "Bobbi-Lee" (which intentionally vary only slightly in end result according to u/wbgamer although Bobbi Lee is a very different build as he explains in the "Design Notes") and both groups have a "Major" but the two sets follow different design philosophies there are enough differences to comment on.

"Monk" character sheet by u/wbgamer

Group #1

My half-dozen characters were designed to be *supplementary* to an existing small group, ie. for a game with 3-4 players with their own individual characters who need or want some more developed NPCs than the standard NEVE / 2 card mooks, villagers and adversaries of the basic game with their set Attributes, Assets and random motivations.

As a set they allow for most of the core roles of a Twilight: 2000 group stranded in post-WW3 Poland to survive, covering the major threats: food, breakdowns, disease, injury and social interaction. Probably I should have included a scrounger but I made a decision not to partly because Scrounging is a very rare skill limited to only a few career terms (as u/wbgamer notes) and because despite the setting's emphasis, there are no workable rules for scrounging presented (a significant omission - I'd suggest the rules from the Other Dust RPG could be readily adapted).

They are also designed to be readily modified to give some basic builds and variants for new players that don't want to spend too much time on learning character generation, as inspiration for more proficient players or to provide a quick replacement or fill-in character when a primary character meets a grisly end or the group realise that they need more than a single-digit Mechanic Asset for the grease-monkey that's been tagging along and driving their 5-ton truck as a cardboard cut-out.

Group #2

u/wbgamer's characters, however, are a whole pre-generated group, ready to run as a unit and designed to function as a unit with the group assets and history to match. In that sense, his approach is more traditional providing the elements of a party for the initial campaign, much like the "iconic party" of a certain draconian spear derivative campaign for a particular original fantasy role-playing game. Sure, 12 characters may sound like a lot to run, but at least you have the option of choosing from the whole gang ready to go, there's an available specialist for all the major non-combat threats (including a scrounger) and the Referee can handle a couple of the others that provide key roles if they're looking for a more cinematic approach.

Unlike my archetypes, a backstory is provided for the individuals and for the group as a whole, adding to the limited background presented in Escape from Kalisz and fleshing out the world just that little bit more. I think this helps give this set of characters an edge for a Referee kicking off a Twilight: 2000 game for a beginning group of younger players that may have never played the game before - they can just jump straight in and not only explore the mechanics readily but also have suggested interpersonal relationships from the get go. They don't need to get bogged down in character creation which some people find overly complicated.

The group's shared equipment seems quite reasonable without being overpowered and matches the canonical LAV-25 / HMMV combination from the original v1.0 boxed set. This is an aspect I hadn't considered previously but provides an example to use as inspiration for your own player group or similar remnant groups from the US 5th Infantry Division.

Final Comments

I think u/wbgamer's pre-generated characters are a great contribution to the non-canon resources of the game, helping lower a significant barrier I believe exists for new players adopting T2k - the relative complexity and time sink of character creation. I like the way the dozen have been designed to interact as a group, their shared resources and their common backstory - they could even be used as a rival group to your game's player group and a source of potential allies or replacements.












 

Train of Thought 2: Return to Kalisz Part 1 (Twilight: 2000 railroad notes)

This is the second post to cover likely rail routes from Central Poland to the relative safety of "the German Border" at Frankfurt, based on extrapolations from Wikimapia - like the first post, it contains potential *spoilers* for material in the T2k v1.0 module "Going Home". This section follows on from the "Lodz Hinterland" and details the area immediately to the west on either side of the main line that loops west-northwest to Poznan, mainly because that's a potential direction Wayne's group or any other train based group will be heading unless they decide to turn back north towards the main Warsaw-Poznan-Frankfurt line section which I'll likely deal with in a further post...

So the area near Kalisz is an interesting area by the time of October 2000 and quite different from that presented in the starting adventure Escape from Kalisz - most of the initial forces that encircled the US 5th Division have either withdrawn (the 89th Cavalry Division to the north, the 124th MRD south to Piotrkow), settled in rival cantonments maintaining an easy truce (21st MRD and Polish 10th Tank Division), deserted (the Lask and Zgierz Milicya's from the Polish BGBs, marauders from the 9th Tank Division) or been broken up and survivors dissolved into remaining units (12th Guard Tank Army, 4th Guard Tank Army). 

I've marked the default start for "Escape from Kalisz" (just southeast of Ostrow) and also my proposed "Amphibious / M113 Start" start option (near Dobra) in a teal blue to add some context and to help with later development. Wayne's group originally started from near Lask, now the base for the former 11th Polish BGB, now the Lask Miliciya.

Two of the Polish Border Guard Brigades have converted into Milicya or militia units (Zgierz and Lask), there are some marauders from previous Soviet divisions still in the area, and reading through the module notes, the 12th Guards Tank Division was completely shattered.

Hexmap detail of above Wikimpi excerpt area

I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of ruined tanks and other armoured vehicles (BMPs, BTRs and LAV-25s or similar) around Kalisz - the 21st MRD started the battle with 30 tanks and was reduced down to 8 rapidly. That's only the one unit. The 10th Polish Tanks Division lost about 20 tanks in the battle and the number of US tanks is difficult to estimate but is likely comparable, not to mention all the support vehicles destroyed or captured. Sure the tanks would be mostly stripped and salvaged, but they are heavy and difficult to move en bloc without the right equipment so I'd think that Kalisz and the area along the Kalisz-Sieradz Road, in particular, is likely littered with abandoned metal corpses. Maybe not all of them are beyond salvage, but that's several *dozen* tanks at least concentrated in a comparatively small area.

So my first thoughts on looking at the two maps in terms of a group travelling by train:

• The Warta River presents a significant obstacle at its rail bridge at Sieradz
• There's actually a large body of water here, Lake Jezorsko, that was a bit of a surprise
• Two small road bridges near the small town of Warta are now apparent 
• Ruins of an old medieval castle just east of the river near Sieradz
• The Ruins of Kalisz sit directly on the likely western rail route 
• The Prosna River flows northwest through Kalisz past Pleszew joining the Warta north of Jarocin
• The Ner River loops northwest from Lodz to skirt Uniejow and join the Warta
• The Soviet 21st MRD cantonment at Ostrow can easily interdict the line
• The remains of the Polish 10th Tank Division at Pleszew could be bypassed

Really not much in the way of military installations in this area by comparison:

• Zdunska Wola has a large node station and nearby locomotive depot at Karsznice 
• There are extensive railway yards in Ostrow for salvaging rolling stock and even locomotives
• There was a radio operator specialist training school in the northern outskirts of Sieradz
• There's a Polish air base just to the south of Lask 

It's worth considering where the main units were previously ie. at the time of the Battle of Kalisz.

• The 20th Tank Division originally controlled the area east of the Warta as far north as Unejow and east to Lodz, but have drawn now back to Lodz for the coming Winter although they still send small patrols from a base at Szadel up the eastern bank as far north as Uniejow.

• The 21st MRD which was spread out south of the Kalisz-Sieradz road from Ostrow in the west to the Warta in the east and further south of the above map section is now consolidated at Ostrow and controls the southern area of the western third including Kalisz and can readily access the middle third of the map via the rail bridge, including the strategic town of Sieradz.

• The Polish 10th Tank Division based at Pleszew are relative newcomers to the area, driving into the area northwest of Kalisz only in the last days of the battle and are now occupying the northern part of the western third of the map in contest for Kalisz with the 21st MRD but hemmed in to the east by the Prosna.

• Finally, there are the forces involved in the battle but no longer present - the Soviet 89th Cavalry Division at its southernmost extent only occupied Turek and the shattered Soviet 124th MRD held the area off the map from Zloclew to its current winter camp at Piotrkow near the Belchatow coal mine (to be detailed in another post).

Rivers and Bridges

Effectively the two significant rivers running south to north, the Prosna (west, hexes 6515 and 6616-18) and the Warta (east, as marked), divide the map above into thirds, each third with its own dominant group of residual Polish or Soviet troops. There are only a few minor rivers in the area unlike the Bzura catchment to the east I've already discussed - the Bzura itself does loop just off the east of the above map and the Ner flows in the northeast corner (hexes 7115, 7015).

Although many of the Soviet APCs and IFVs (eg the BDRM, BTR and BMP series of vehicles) are amphibious, the majority of the troops, horses and common "soft-skinned" vehicles and trailers (except for the MAV jeep, PTS-M carrier and MT-LB tracked prime mover) are not so capable, making the two rivers a significant obstacle to any large troop movement and the small number of bridges critical strategic points.

In Escape from Kalisz, the road bridge at Uniejow is noted to be destroyed and originally guarded by troops from the 20th Tank Division now wintering in Lodz. It's unlikely to have been rebuilt and although there are a footbridge and a couple of minor road bridges in the nearby area these are unsuitable for troop movement let alone heavy vehicles. The small town of Warta has a bridge for the two-lane provincial road as it crosses to the south of Lake Jezorko, but this is only suitable for light traffic and I'd suggest it has been destroyed during the July fighting or by the 124th MRD's troops as they withdrew from the area around Sieradz. 

It's really Sieradz therefore that is the main crossing point (see below) - there is another set of secondary crossings near Wielun to the south, one of which to the northeast likely at Osjakow on the Wielun-Piotrkow road the engineers of the 21st MRD are noted to trying to repair. To me this suggests that all the other minor bridges in the area have been destroyed, although none of them look more than 2-lanes or capable of supporting more than light vehicles.

Sieradz Town Detail 
(Wikimapia excerpt) 

Sieradz, the Key to the Warta

As the town has not only the rail bridge over the Warta to the north but also the provincial road bridge from Zdunska Wola to the east, with another bridge for the broad S8 motorway from Lodz to Wroclaw that bypasses to the south, it's easily the most important point for controlling passage across the Warta and a key strategic location up for contest.

This town was the main rallying point of the 124th MRD following their crushing defeat by the 1st Brigade of the US 5th Division along the Kalisz-Sieradz Road in July. The 124th has since moved on to Piotrkow, leaving the two immobilised T-80 tanks and some very disgruntled townsfolk, including a militia of about 100 men who refused to join Major Bologov's exodus to their southern winter encampment at Piotrkow off the map to the southeast. As the 124th MRD moved out, it's likely that the 21st MRD will have moved a detachment in to control such an important strategic crossing even though their relationship with the locals will be tense as when the unit originally passed through they seized most of the town's food.

Although the two immobilised T-80s from the 124th will have had their ammo and machine-guns removed by the departing troops, for the 21st the western placement of the tanks makes little sense by this time of the year. The engineers have therefore removed the turrets using a "Beglianka" BREM-L (BMP-3 based recovery vehicle with a 5-ton capacity crane) and emplaced them to the east as TOTs in the loop of the Warta at Staromiejski Park near the footbridge, to cover the road to Lodz that runs along the Adam Mickiewicz park.  The northern emplacement can cover the rail bridge with some difficulty (less than 1km with their 450m base range 125mm guns ie medium range) but the sentries will not be expecting anything other than light civilian rail cars even though the 21st likely has access to various "hi-rail" road-rail vehicles such as converted BTR-80s and trucks to control access to the line and trade with or demand tribute from nearby communities (see below).

From a defense perspective, given the nearby encampments across the Warta of the remnant 20th Tank Division in Lodz and the 124th MRD in Piotrkow to the southeast, I'd expect the main road bridge to be guarded and rigged with explosives on the western end as it crosses the Warta, perhaps with lighter emplacements and mobile "Fahrpanzer-style" portable guns using either lighter "tank" turrets armed with autocannons and heavy machineguns salvaged from BMPs, BTRs or similar.

In accordance with standard military doctrine, the easy route across the raised 4-lane S8 motorway bridge will be lightly guarded at an advance post at the turnpike to the provincial road on the eastern side but heavily mined and rigged to explode to prevent passage of significant armor into the 21st zone of influence. 

Proposal: the Dominance of the 21st Motorized Rifle Division

Note: Wayne and I have had a discussion over on the MeWe "Twilight 2000" group about the likely dominant force in the Kalisz area and he prefers the Polish 10th Tank to be dominant for specific campaign reasons related to his group. I'd argue however that the setup around Sieradz still makes sense for a detachment of the 21st MRD to be in control as it's such a critical crossing point on the border of the major cantonments in the area. Even if a group decides to bypass the Kalisz area and turn north from near Zdunska Wola, an encounter at Sieradz seems inevitable. 

To me the lay of the land and recent positions and strengths makes Major General Rubachenko's 21st MRD likely to be the dominant force west of the Warta, being not only the largest troop collection (twice the size of the 20th Tank Division remnant based in Lodz, larger than the mostly tank less Polish 10th Tank Division) but also more familiar with the whole area, roads and the local communities despite being non-Polish. By utilising the existing rail network, they could create an efficient transport backbone to range far and wide for food, supplies and other trade goods from the communities across the local area while minimising fuel expenditure.

It's noted in the original Escape from Kalisz adventure that the 21st MRD had hospitals, supply dumps and even a battalion of engineers in the relatively calmer southern areas of the battlefield which to me suggests they have maintained a greater level of organisation and support structure than the other units.

In particular, the engineers (65 men) were noted to be attempting to restore the bridge between Wielun and Piotrkow and have access to heavy equipment suggesting that the unit has ready access to recovery vehicles such as BREM recovery vehicle variant BTR and BMP based vehicles with cranes. They may even have access to a heavier T-64, T-72 or T-80 based BREM-64, BREM-1 or BREM-80U vehicle to allow salvaging actual Soviet main battle tanks or have captured a still operational and invaluable M88A2 Hercules from the 5th Division rear echelon making them capable of recovering US M1 series tanks.

It's this specifically mentioned group of engineers and their equipment that to me would be the key for providing the 21st with the tools and weapons needed to dominate the area through salvaging not only their own vehicles and converting them to run on rails as "hi-rail" variants but also the ability to access all the US equipment ruined and/or abandoned in the defeat of the 5th Division.

Even without access to the depot southeast of Zdunska Wola, the 21st would have plenty of access to rolling stock, cranes and conversion equipment from it's base at Ostrow given the town's extensive rail depot (see Wikimapia detail). Combined with it's engineering capabilities, it should be able to use the railway from Ostrow through to Sieradz for efficient transport and capitalize on the abandoned military equipment in the ruins and along the Kalisz-Sieradz Road which runs close to the track for much of it's length.

If anyone other than the player's group is likely to have a functional "train" (even if it's just a convoy of rail cars with converted BTR-80 "hi-rail" vehicles at either end and flat car mounted older tanks such as T-64s) it's likely to be the 21st MRD given their support capabilities and relatively intact organisational structure - imagine the group's surprise at facing off against another armoured and armed train heading in the opposite direction to them...

This is the first post about the Kalisz area - looking into this has produced some really interesting ideas I'd like to explore properly in greater detail but I wanted to get something out there for enjoyment and feedback as it's been a while since my last significant post. 

I've Been Working on (Maps of) the Railroad (Initial Thoughts on Train travel in Twilight: 2000)

Aside from the river travel options in "Pirates of the Vistula", the possibility of overland rail travel by converted steam engine as presented in "Going Home" has always interested me and makes for a unique closing chapter to the default starting campaign for T2k v1.0. I have various thoughts on this option, but first I'd like to begin with looking at the initial Kalisz area and piece together some of the thoughts that strike me when I look at the disconnected maps presented in the various supplements.

Note: the maps contain some *SPOILERS* for the module...

Twilight: 2000 Poland Module Hexmaps

I've always found the original maps in the classic T2k v1.0 Polish Campaign modules a bit lacking in detail, but Google Map or Wikimapia versions can be too detailed (and somewhat anachronistic). The multicoloured maps in the fifth and final module, Going Home, are great, but it's Jed McClure's Hexmap versions that really caught my attention - by placing a 20km hex grid over the originals, the utility of the Germany and Poland maps is greatly increased.

However, dealing with the original Hexmap file is cumbersome, so I've cropped sections of Jed's hexmap to correlate with the black & white maps from the various modules and the Challenge #25 article, "The Baltic Coast: A Looter's Guide for Twilight: 2000" in order:

Escape from Kalisz Hexmap

The Black Madonna Hexmap

Free City of Krakow Hexmap

Pirates of the Vistula Hexmap

Ruins of Warsaw Hexmap

Going Home (East) Hexmap

Going Home (West) Hexmap

Note: there's no module that really covers the section of the lower Vistula from Warsaw to its mouth to the east of Gdansk in the same level of detail as Pirates of the Vistula, although some of the towns and locations are admittedly covered in Going Home.

The Baltic Coast: a Looter's Guide for Twilight: 2000
(Challenge #25 article)

Resources

Jed's original files (and the accompanying complied index, excellent work) can be found here:

• Eastern European Hexmap
• Eastern European Hexmap Index

In addition, Jed's page ("An Old School Polish Sandbox") includes some play aids for the introductory Escape from Kalisz adventure and some more detailed topographical maps covering the same area as the two large maps in Going Home.

Twilight: 2000 v2.2 PreGen "The Major"

Think a female version of Tom Hanks in "Saving Private Ryan".

"The Major" Lt. Col Johnette Miller, 45-year-old infantry tactician

Attributes

STR 7 CON 5 AGL 3 EDU 6 CHA 8 INT 8
Age 45; Weight: 81kg Load: 36 kg Rads: 40

Combat

Init: 5 Melee: 1 Throw: 28 m
Head: 10 Chest: 36 Abdo: 24
R Arm: 24 L Arm: 24 R Leg: 24 L Leg: 24

Skills

STR Armed Martial Arts 0 / 7
STR Autogun 0 / 7
STR Grenade Launcher 2 / 9
STR Small Arms: Rifle 5 / 12 (Experienced)
STR Thrown Weapon 1 / 8
STR Unarmed Martial Arts 1 / 8

CON Swimming 1 / 6

AGL Ground Vehicle: Wheeled 3 / 6
AGL Tac Missile 0 / 3

CHA English 10 / 18 (Elite+)
CHA Instruction 2 / 10
CHA Language: Russian 4 / 12 (Experienced)
CHA Leadership 7 / 15 (Elite)
CHA Persuasion 7 / 15 (Elite)

INT Forward Observer 4 / 12 (Experienced)
INT Observation 2 / 10
INT Navigation 4 / 12 (Experienced)
INT Survival 2 / 10


Equipment

Allowance: $50,000 unspent
Gold Pieces: $5000 max in cache

Basic Load (US): US army fatigues, pack, shelter half, gas mask, combat webbing (ALICE); sleeping bag, flashlight, personal medical kit, thermal US army fatigues.

Armor: Kevlar helmet & Kevlar vest

Weapon: M16A2 assault rifle

• 6 x 5.56N 30-round magazines, 180 loose 5.56N rounds

Bayonet

6 frag grenades
2 smoke grenades

Cache

Extra equipment that cannot be reasonably carried or stowed in a vehicle.

Design Notes

Concept: dedicated commander, tactician and group "face", studied philosophy before enlisting.

Role: this build focuses on INT and CHR based "soft skills", providing "Elite" level Assets for Leadership and Persuasion with some facility with speaking Russian, while having secondary capabilities as a forward observer and navigator that are part of the officer role. There's some capacity to act as an instructor, secondary point observer and hunter mixed in with reasonable combat skills, including "Experienced" level Asset using mounted grenade launchers.

Variants:

• TOW Gunner: rather than Grenade Launcher 2, swap to Tac Missile 2. This may be useful in an early game if the group has a supply of missiles, but scarcity becomes an issue and grenade launchers and their ammunition are in more plentiful supply.

“B-Troop” Variant: technically this character would outrank Captain Molly Warren if part of a US force, so shift to French, UK or another allied nationality with minimal change except for changing the default languages and personal weapon. Lose the basic US skills (Armed Martial Arts 0 and Tac Missile 0) and consider shifting Russian to Polish if German or Austrian origin.

Design Calculations

Method: 36 points rolled; Init roll 5, Rads roll 4; 1 x age loss of AGL

Background: Ground Vehicle: Wheeled, Language: Russian x2, Survival
6 Term(s):  Undergraduate, Military Academy, Infantry (Officer) x4
Secondary Activities: Observation x2, Small Arms x2, STR+1, CON+1
War Term: 1x Infantry (Officer, x2 skills)
Promotions: 3 (Leadership x3)
Aging rolls: 1 failed Agility (4 to 3)

Contacts: 1x academic, 12 military (5 foreign)

Equipment: given the relatively huge amount of equipment allowance granted by officer status and 5 military terms, this character can essentially purchase their own "command" HumVee ($10,000 if Wear 2, $5000 if Wear 4 or even less if in worse condition) to complement the group's core starting vehicle. I'd suggest it be armed with not just a heavy MG but preferably a Mk19 grenade launcher accessed by a ring mount from the commander's seat as required.

Twilight: 2000 v2.2 PreGen "The Engineer"

The Twilight War’s version of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tropic Thunder character, perhaps lacking the controversial pigmentation alteration, but channelling Old Man Henderson, and never without an obligatory half-chewed cigar. 

Sgt. Jack "Jarkman" deVries, 37-year-old Male American explosives specialist

Attributes

STR 7 CON 10 AGL 6 EDU 4 CHA 2 INT 4
Age: 37, Weight: 84kg Load: 51kg Rads: 40

Combat

Init: 5 Melee: 4 Throw: 28 m
Head: 20 Chest: 51 Abdo: 34
R Arm: 34 L Arm: 34 R Leg: 34 L Leg: 34

Skills

STR Armed Martial Arts 0 / 7
STR Autogun 0 / 7
STR Grenade Launcher 5 / 12 (Experienced)
STR Small Arms: Rifle 6 / 13 (Veteran)

STR Small Arms: Pistol 1 / 8

STR Thrown Weapon 4 / 11
STR Unarmed Martial Arts 6 / 13 (Veteran)

CON Combat Engineer 2 / 12 (Experienced)
CON Riding 4 / 14 (Veteran)
CON Swimming 2 / 12

AGL Ground Vehicle: Wheeled 2 / 8
AGL Intrusion 4 / 10
AGL Tac Missile 0 / 6

CHA English 10 / 12 (Experienced)

INT Survival 2 / 6

EDU Construction 1 / 5
EDU Excavation 1 / 5


Equipment

Allowance: $15k spent
Gold Pieces: $2465

Basic Load (US): US army fatigues, pack, shelter half, gas mask, combat webbing (ALICE); sleeping bag, flashlight, personal medical kit, thermal US army fatigues –15kg

Armor: Kevlar helmet & Kevlar vest

Weapon: Semi-automatic shotgun with modified M203 fitted beneath

• 6 x 12 gauge magazines (7 brass rounds each) + 180 loose 12 gauge brass rounds
• 12 40mm HE grenades / 4 40mm ILLUM grenades / 4 40mm CHEM grenades

Hatchet

6 frag grenades
2 HC smoke grenades
4 irritant gas grenades

0.5km Hand radio
Lockpick tools
4x binoculars

Pack Mule, “Annie” with Cart

Hits: 40 Meat: 70 kg
Tr Mov: 20/20 (Cart 5) Com Mov: 10/20 (Cart 2)/40 (Cart na)
Feed: 10kg + graze Load: 80kg + 0.5 ton Weight: 300kg + 0.25 ton

Packsaddle, horse tack

10kg MRE food
70kg wild food

1 case 12 gauge (240 brass rounds)

1 case 40mm HE grenades (60 grenades left)
1 case 40mm CHEM grenades (40 grenades left)
1 case 40mm ILLUM grenades (40 grenades left)

1 case frag grenades (30 grenades)
1 case HC smoke grenades (16 grenades)
1 case irritant gas grenades (12 grenades left)

60mm Mortar disassembled into 3 sections

• 12 60mm HE mortar rounds
• 12 60mm ILLUM mortar rounds
• 12 60mm WP mortar rounds

Engineer’s Demolitions Kit

• 1 case of dynamite (100 sticks)
• 1 case of plastic explosive (20 blocks)
• 1 case of 2 anti-tank mines
• 1 case of 6 directional mines

Design Notes

Concept: a cranky bastard that blows things up a lot. Simple.

Background: I always create a variant of Jarkman for every game system, partly out of nostalgia but also to familiarise myself with the mechanics of character creation. I try to avoid the whole "Mary Sue" trap, but this build is perhaps less a template than an incarnation of one of my own characters, so apologies. One of his recurring characteristics is he has a stubborn mule companion or equivalent - the original Jarkman was actually created as a 3E Planescape harquebuser "muleteer" and was to have a pack diakka instead of a mule, but the concept has become tightly linked to the character.
Role: shotguns, grenades, demolitions and (indirect) fire support with mortars as required (but requires a separate forward observer). There’s nothing particularly subtle about his role but essentially his speciality is breaking up groups or tactically altering the battlefield with grenades or mortar fire. A secondary (close-combat) fighter, his support roles include lock-picking, animal care and even as a somewhat poor backup driver.

See also Challenge #34 article "Mobile Artillery - Mortars", p6-7 (available on the FFE T2k v1.0 CD-ROM).

Variants:

• “B-Troop” Variant: minimal changes required other than cosmetic or flavour, this build can be shifted to Dutch, German or another allied nationality with minimal change except for changing the default languages and personal weapon. Lose the basic US skills (Armed Martial Arts 0 and Tac Missile 0).

• Forger: adding Forgery 2 requires a drop to Intrusion 2 and adds some low-level criminal versatility but suffers due to low INT unless flipped with AGL which isn't recommended. Rebuilding as a criminal specialist would be a more preferable option.

• Sneakier: a sneakier version with better proficiency with his mandatory hatchet would require refocusing on Ranger terms to gain Armed Martial Arts and he is technically eligible. This would increase his stealth and close-combat ability but at the expense of demolitions and grenade skills - he’s cunning to be sure but a sneaky type is just not really the loudmouthed character I've always envisaged.

Method: 32 point allocation, Init rolled as 4 +1 for Criminal; Rads rolled a 4; -1 AGL due to age
Background:  Riding x2, Small Arms, Unarmed Martial Arts
4 Terms: 2 x Criminal (no prison); 1 Enlisted Infantry, Combat Engineer
War Term: Combat Engineer (2x skills)
Secondary Activities: STR+1, Swimming, Survival 2
Promotions: 5th (Sergeant, Combat Engineer)
Contacts: 2 criminal (1 foreign), 2 military, 1 specialist (Combat Engineer)

Equipment: Semiautomatic shotgun as a personal weapon with custom fitted M203 beneath and a hatchet instead of a bayonet.













–

Twilight: 2000 v2.2 PreGen "The Doctor"

Think “Bones” McCoy, but think it in Polish and without the Vulcan slander.

Kapitan "Sice" Brzeziński, 41 year-old Male Polish medical officer

Attributes

STR 4 CON 7 AGL 4 EDU 8 CHA 4 INT 6
Age 41; Weight: 80 kg Load: 33 kg Rads: 16

Combat

Init: 4 Melee: 0 Throw: 16 m
Head: 14 Chest: 33 Abdo: 22
R Arm: 22 L Arm: 22 R Leg: 22 L Leg: 22

Skills

STR Autogun 0 / 4
STR Grenade Launcher 0 / 4
STR Small Arms: Pistol 2 / 6
STR Thrown Weapon 1 / 5
STR Unarmed Martial Arts 1 / 5

CON Swimming 1 / 8

AGL Ground Vehicle: Wheeled 3 / 7

CHA English 6 / 10
CHA German 4 / 8
CHA Polish 10 / 14 (Veteran)
CHA Leadership 2 / 6
CHA Persuasion 1 / 5

INT Observation 4 / 10

EDU Biology 3 / 11 (Experienced)
EDU Chemistry 5 / 13 (Veteran)
EDU Computer 3 / 11
EDU Medical: Surgery 13 / 21 (Elite+)

Equipment

Allowance: $4,500 unspent
Gold Pieces: $2000 in cache

Basic Load (Polish): US army fatigues, doctor's medical kit, gas mask, surgical tools, old Polish army fatigues and surgical gowns.

Armor: Kevlar helmet.

Weapon: P-61 pistol

• 6 x 9mm M 8-round magazines

Cache

• 5 personal medical kits, $5000 worth of unspecified medicine and supplies
• concealed UAZ jeep with Polish markings (Wear Value 2).

Design Notes

Concept: the good doctor and dedicated Polish pacifist.

Role: a superb medic but poorly capable and unwilling combatant, his language and observation skills make him valuable beyond his surgical role. There is enough justification for his inclusion in an “away team“, although if he is injured or killed this risks his vital support role. Regardless of how he is persuaded - perhaps through the promise of obtaining rare medical supplies, it will be with definite reluctance on his part!

Variants: 

• “B-Troop” Variant: minimal changes required other than cosmetic or flavour, this build can be shifted to German or another nationality with minimal change except for changing the default languages and basic weapon. For a Polish US version, just flip to English 10 and Polish 8, dropping to German 2 and adding back in the extra base US skills (Armed Martial Arts 0 and Tac Missile 0) and change to the usual M9 American pistol.

• Soviet Defector: another mainly cosmetic change, just flip to Russian 10 and a PM Makarov. Note: given Captain "Molly" Warren's antipathy towards Russians this is better suited for a co-opted medic character or an "Opposing Force" campaign.

Note: there are not a lot of other options for this build as focussing on optimising Medical Assets requires a very specific Term progression sequence and is difficult to vary to another EDU based build. I may need to create another Civilian Term "Professor" build with Undergraduate, Graduate x2 and Professor to create a scientist specialist default.

Design Calculations

Method: 32 point allocation method; Init roll 4, Init roll 4, Rads roll 2; no age loss of STR or AGL

Background: English x2, German, Ground Vehicle: Wheeled
5 Term(s): Undergraduate, Medical School, 2x Medical Doctor, 1x Medical Officer (Doctor)
Secondary Activities: Activities: English x2, German, CON +1
War Term: 1x Medical Officer (Doctor; regular x2 skills)
Promotions: 3rd (na, Computer), 6th (Captain, Leadership)

Contacts: 1 academic (Polish), 5 medical (2 foreign ie US), 2 military (Polish)

Equipment: access to full trauma facilities and medical clinic in Dobrodzien.

The Trouble with Stills and Vehicles in Twilight: 2000

Summary of T2k Still Statistics

A key element of a Twilight 2000 campaign is the almost complete lack of gasoline, particularly in a default Polish start that kicks off with the "Escape from Kalisz" starting scenario.  This effectively forces the use of much less efficient alcohol-based fuels, limiting vehicle movement to either local trips or short bursts of overland travel interrupted by week-long bivouacking to gather materials and distil enough fuel for the next burst. 

While an integral part of the setting and beloved by some, for many the book-keeping required is time-consuming and in my opinion presents a potential barrier to new players.

In this post, I'm going to see if I can simplify the mechanics not only for use in a T2k game, but also to see if I can channel some of the flavour across into an OWB (Operation: Whitebox) conversion idea...

The above insert summarises the characteristics of stills - essentially only the medium still (2 tonnes, 80kg material to create 35 litres of fuel, $2500 cost) is of practical use for a travelling party as the small still produces only a negligible amount of fuel per day and the industrial production large still is too heavy for anything other than a settlement to take advantage of readily.

Unfortunately, as most towed trailers can't carry anything other than a small still. So despite the original in character description of the LAV-25 towing a 1-ton trailer implied to be carrying a still sufficient for the group's needs in the v1.0 boxed set this is an unlikely configuration (although perhaps the medium still components and tubing are spread across the internal cargo area, the external strapped on cargo capacity and the towed trailer).

From this point on when I refer to a "still", I am referring only to a medium still and all vehicle calculations are assumed to be based on methanol as that's the more easily producible alcohol.

Simplified Fuel Mechanics

So the logistics of simplifying travel just come down to:

• how many days of still operation are required to produce enough fuel for a 4-hr move 
• whether the vehicle can carry it's own still or needs a "still truck" support vehicle to supply it
• how many dedicated "still trucks" are accompanying the group 

Considerations such as a vehicle's choice of alcohol for fuel are quite minor - ethanol is only slightly more efficient and it's benefit over methanol works out to about a day difference over a week, becoming insignificant for more fuel hungry vehicles. Likewise, the actual Fuel Capacity is only a minor factor as most vehicles have a capacity about 3 times their gasoline Fuel Consumption, although some vehicles technically need additional "jerrycans" (20L units) of ethanol/methanol above their listed fuel capacity. This extra amount required can be assumed to be jury-rigged into the existing fuel system capacity by any decent mechanic to avoid the need to stop and "top up" (suggested Mechanic: AVG task taking 4 hours for a Jerrycan value of 3 or less, a Mechanic: DIFF task taking 8 hours for a Jerrycan value of 4 or more). As the capacity is assumed to be jury-rigged inside the vehicle into the main fuel tank and fuel lines, the vehicle's cargo Load is reduced by 20kg for each "jerrycan".

Of the common US vehicles below that are generally available to starting characters, only those marked with an "*" have the capacity to carry their own still easily (ie. 2.5 ton and heavier trucks), although the LAV-25 and M113 can squeeze one in the cargo capacity at a pinch. All other vehicles need a support vehicle, usually a 5-ton or larger truck that then needs to supply both itself and the primary vehicle or tow a trailer capable of transporting a 2-ton still (see Paul Mulcahy's website for US trailers or Russian trailers). I haven't done the calculations for common Polish and Soviet vehicles yet, as these are likely to be captured or co-opted during a Polish campaign but they're not that different in terms of broad categories.

Simplified T2k v2.2 Vehicle Travel 

(assumes using a single Medium Still)

The table above is derived from calculations from a Google Spreadsheet I developed to calculate each vehicle in terms of "Still Weeks", which correlate to a simplification of the number of 7-day periods a party must remain stationary / "still" while producing fuel from a single still.

A few simple rules of thumb to help with calculations:

• default fuel is methanol unless otherwise noted
• adding another still to the group's resources halves the Still Weeks time to fully refuel
• more than one vehicle requires weeks equal to the sum of each vehicle's Still Weeks value
• a still truck forms an essential component of most travelling parties

Motorcyles

Motorcycles are not listed above as regardless of whether they use ethanol or methanol, they require only one "Still Day" to completely refuel  ie. 35L, compare to their Fuel Consumption of 8 (24 for ethanol, 28 for methanol) and a Fuel Capacity of 16 so have a "jerrycan" value of 1. Although motorcycles have a base Load 300kg they can't tow trailers or carry even a small still, so they are always dependent on either a stationary still at a base or need to accompany a still carrying vehicle for longer travel.

This makes motorcycles very useful for scouting and interim transport of part of the group while the group is otherwise stationary and preparing enough fuel for their main vehicles - travelling up to 10/4 hexes. As 2 jerrycans (40L) readily provides an extra 4 hour period of travel, a simple field modification connecting the extra fuel capacity is common (a Mechanic: AVG task, 4 hours as above) and allows the motorcycle to travel for 8 hours if needed, a significant round trip.

As Ground Vehicle is a cascade skill, all characters with at least a score of 2 in either of Ground Vehicle: Tracked or Ground Vehicle: Wheeled have an equivalent Ground Vehicle: Motorcycle 1. At a base cost of $5000, even not accounting for Wear (which even if only Wear 2 drops the price to less than $2500), this makes for an almost essential option even for groups with larger vehicles.

Tanks

I haven't bothered presenting tanks here as although the calculations are there in the spreadsheet, they worked out to be prohibitive to run on alcohol - even the comparatively fuel-efficient T2k v2.2 version of the M1A2 requires 2 months of operating a medium still daily to generate and has a Jerrycan value of 10, whereas both the M1 and M1A1 need 4 months and ~100 jerrycans of methanol to operate. This is beyond simply jury-rigging some extra fuel tank capacity or strapping some extra fuel to the outside of your armoured vehicle - it equates to two 1000L tank trailers!

To me, this means these tanks in T2k Poland are completely impractical to travel overland with - they need the production of an immobile large still (2400L per day, 83 tons) to supply them or access to a large reserve of gasoline or diesel. Once their main gun ammunition runs out, they're basically just heavily armoured MG emplacements and are probably better off being used for static defence.

But a fully fueled tank running on gasoline, now that's a different story...

I wonder if it would actually make more sense stripping off the tracks and engine to decrease the weight significantly and then hauling one on a semi-trailer to create a sort of super-heavy "gun truck", parking them on a river barge (as suggested in this play report), or using them as an emplacement on a train (see Going Home, page 8-10 but the limit for a gun to be fired is 75mm without derailing).

Similar arguments to the above could be made for most self-propelled artillery.

Simplified Hex Based Travel

The "20mile Hex" column indicates the number of hexes travelled in a full 4-hour period using Jed McClure's "An Old School Polish Sandbox" post invaluable Eastern European Hexmap (the main maps overlain with a 20-mile width hex-grid with a carefully compiled index based on the Polish modules).

This abstracted system effectively converts vehicle travel into multiples of human on foot travel, emphasising the relative benefit of fast vehicle travel while demonstrating the limitations of the inherent "leapfrog" interrupted travel as opposed to relatively continuous travel on foot (or by horse), particularly for off-road travel where the benefit of a vehicles is lessened. 

• A human on foot (or on horseback) has a 1/1 travel value and moves 1 hex per 4 hour period either by road or off-road

• A motorcycle has a 10/4 travel value  ie. a rider can travel either 10x as far as a human on foot via road or 4 times as far if off-road.   

• An 8-ton truck has a 5/2 travel value ie. the occupants can travel 5x as far as a human on foot via road or 2 times as far if off-road. 

For groups making shorter travel bursts, simply divide the number of hexes travelled by four and multiply by the number of hours travelled for the journey, leaving enough fuel for the difference in hours ie. 4 - # of hours travelled.

The default 5-ton "Still Truck" 

M809 - the basis for the default US Army "Still Truck"

Let's start with an example to help illustrate the simplified system.

A party of 2 characters owns a default 5-ton truck (M809, Star 266, KAMAZ or similar) with a full tank of methanol carrying a medium still or a so-called default "still truck", has values of Still Weeks = 1 week and Hex Move 8/2 and a remaining Load 3 tons. Assuming no extra fuel is carried or towed in a tank trailer, this means that it can move one 4 hour period move and then requires 7 days stationary to distil enough fuel for the next move.

Note: a 2.5 ton truck (such as a M1078, Star 66 or GAZ-53) works similarly with only minor differences: Hex Move 9/2 and only 500kg Load remaining, assuming the extra fuel requirement is accommodated by jury-rigging in a 2 jerrycan modification as described above.

For this example, the party starts at Lodz and intends to travel by road to Warsaw, so they have several options in how they can choose to travel:

• The whole party can travel 8 hexes by road (eg. from Lodz to Warsaw) in one 4 hour period driving the truck, distil fuel for 7 days and then be able to move again. If the start with no fuel, the can distil fuel for a week to produce enough fuel to drive to Warsaw by the end of day 8.

• The same party leaving the truck and travelling on foot for 2 periods a day for 4 days can cover the same distance but camps 3 times, or if travelling 1 period a day covers the same distance in 8 days and camps 7 times, assuming they can carry enough food and don't need to forage extra food. If both party members travel, they can't distil any fuel but if one remains behind then a just over a Still Week of fuel (~285L) is produced, enough for a full tank of fuel.

• If one of the party is using a motorcycle they can travel 10 hexes in one period, and if extra fuel is carried perhaps by waiting a day to distil enough fuel for the return trip, they can move another 10 hexes in another period. This means they can readily travel from Lodz to Warsaw and back in one day. Assuming the other party member is distilling fuel over that day, the motorcycle can then be used the next day to travel 10 hexes by road. 

So in 8 days, the party can either:

• Drive the truck from Lodz to Warsaw by road, arriving with an empty tank and then distil methanol for a week and be ready to drive back to Lodz on day 9.

• Distil fuel for a week then drive to Warsaw and back in one day.

• Travel on foot by road to Warsaw and back to Lodz, either as a group or if one remains behind, having enough fuel to drive the truck to Warsaw and back on day 9.

• Travel by motorcycle to Warsaw and back to Lodz and still distil enough fuel to then drive the truck to Warsaw in the following week with an extra tank of fuel.

If say the party adds two extra characters and a HumVee towing a 1-ton trailer, the Still Week value for the party rises to 1.5 weeks and it takes 11 days for the whole party to move from Lodz to Warsaw. Adding an extra still to the 5-ton truck drops this to 5 days but then the majority of any additional equipment, motorcycles and surplus fuel must be stored in the trailer.

By comparison, adding 2 characters and a LAV-25 or an M113 increases the Still Week value to 2 and 3 weeks respectively, equivalent to 14 and 21 days. Adding an extra still (likely to the track but possibly inside the armored vehicle even at the expense of any internal cargo) drops this to 1 week and 10 days, but the majority of any additional equipment needs to be carried in the cargo area of the armoured vehicle, strapped to the outside or towed in an additional trailer.

For both additional examples, travel by foot or a motorcycle or two can be readily accommodated without greatly affecting the overall movement pattern and duration of the group as a whole - the detail of the math becomes relatively minor and can be factored out in my opinion.

Conclusions

So I think, with a few assumptions (eg. use of methanol as base, medium still, extra capacity jury-rigged "jerrycan" fuel tanks if needed) and the use of Jed's Hexmaps, we can greatly simplify the book-keeping in T2k v2.2 travel while still retaining the original "post-apocalyptic" feel intended by the scarcity of gasoline and the resulting reliance on distilled alcohol fuel and stills mounted on unarmored supply vehicles.

Using the above assumptions, vehicles need only 2 values for overland travel:

• Still Weeks value = Fuel Con / 70
• Hex Move value = Travel Move / 20

If the vehicle is capable of carrying it's own medium still, it's assumed to default function as a "still truck" and it's Still Week value can be marked with an asterisk "*". All other vehicles require either extra fuel or must accompany one of these "still trucks".

I'd suggest rounding any fractions to half a week (4 days), although if you want to use fractional movement (travelling less than the whole 4-hour period) it may be easier to convert to "Still Days" by multiplying by 7 or just assuming that each hour spent travelling adds an extra 2 days production time per Still Week. For vehicles with Still Week values of 2 weeks or more I would suggest this just becomes a narrative rather than mechanic effect and for vehicles with a Still Week value of 3 or more other than the M2 Bradley or similar Pact equivalent, their need to refuel should become a core story point to be played out.

As the Hex Move value converts a vehicle's travel into multiples of a human on foot, it should be a lot easier I think to judge the choice of travel options and keep track of time in a campaign.

I'd be interested in any examples from play or comments about this approach, either in the comments section below or otherwise over on the MeWe (or Google+ till April 2019) "Twilight: 2000" groups.

A River Runs Through It... Twilight: 2000 Amphibious Start

In the original "Escape from Kalisz" scenario, there is an explicit setup meant to drive the characters in a southwards direction (towards Krakow and/or Silesia) due to the initial placement of the Soviet forces and the natural geographic features eg the unfordable Warta River. This post explores an option of a more northerly route, extrapolating on the potential if the characters start with or readily acquire an amphibious vehicle or vehicles.

Northern Kalisz Escape Route map circa 20th July 2000 (spoilers)

So let's imagine the characters start with just a M113 tracked APC. Probably an M113A3 to be exact (T2k v2.2, page 74). In the woods to the northeast of Kalisz, south of the Turek-Uniejow road and east of the Warta as shown in the above map.

Compare to a group travelling with a mixture of a couple of HumVees, motorcycles, and/or a few trucks (eg "deuce-and-a-half" and/or a 5-ton truck/tanker) perhaps converted into "gun trucks" this opens up an interesting option of (albeit somewhat limited) amphibious capability, and it's the river crossing capability that allows for the potential of a different departure route for an Escape from Kalisz campaign...

1) Northeast, straight towards Warsaw in fact via Kutno then Lowice, bypassing Krakow and the Vistula completely for a segway directly into the Ruins of Warsaw supplement arriving in the west near the road through the suburbs Srodmiescle, Mirow and Mokotow. 

2) West or Northwest, either along the Warta westwards directly to the Oder or else northwards following the canal near Konin that leads to the Notec via the Bydoszcz (Bromberg) lock complex and then again onwards to the Oder and the more friendly territory of Germany... (see Going Home for useful details).

A campaign involving a fully amphibious movement capable party ie. *all* vehicles (or a solo vehicle without trucks or a trailer) capable of crossing or traveling along stretches of rivers would therefore be different to a group with a wheeled LAV-25 and a Hum Vee, like the iconic T2k v1.0 group used for play examples in the original boxed set.

Note: this post uses some variant from canon details drawn from Paul Mulcahy's "Tracked APCs - US" page. Unless otherwise noted however I refer to the "base" vehicles from the core book or the American Combat Vehicle Handbook (page 22 for the M113, page 26 for the LAV-25) .

Why an M113, not just a LAV-25?

Mainly because I like the idea of a variation to the example group and using the M113 - it's always been and will likely remain such an iconic vehicle from its inception and in widespread use in its many variants and upgrades. The image below shows a later modification circa ~1999 which enables "sea to shore" capability that may not have come into production in the Twilight World:

M113A3 "AmphGavin" fitted with "AAV-like" nose for sea to shore travel

Superficially, the LAV-25 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle occupies a similar starting vehicle "slot" (accessible only to a party of 4 or more on a roll of "10" on 2D6 as opposed to a "11" on 2D6) and has similar capabilities - it's amphibious, similar Weight (11 or 12 tonnes), has slightly better Fuel Consumption (base 90 vs 120), and has a faster Combat Move and a better road Travel Move than the tracked APC whereas their off-road Travel Move 85 is actually equivalent. The M113 has full radiological shielding and headlights instead of just the enclosed status and passive IR of the LAV-25.

Both vehicles have the same Load (2 tonnes, but an extra 10% strapped to the outside as both armoured), and reasonable armour protection although the LAV-25 is slightly less protected than the M113. Given a medium still weighs 2 tonnes, for independent travel ie. not needing a support vehicle mounted still / tanker such as perhaps the M-548 below, either vehicle sacrifices their whole internal carrying capacity.

Unfortunately there don't appear to be any real amphibious US or NATO trailers apart from the small 340kg capacity M-100 jeep trailer from Paul Mulcahy's website, but I'm unsure whether this could be adapted to be towed in water as both the APC and the wheeled IFV sit very low in the water anyway. Any trailer cargo would have to be shifted to the outside of the armoured vehicle for a river crossing and the trailer abandoned.

Designed for carrying a troop complement, each option has enough space to carry a small beginning party - the LAV-25 can carry a total of 9 characters, but needs a crew of 3 compared to an M113 ability to transport 11 characters beyond the base crew of driver and commander. That's 4 extra characters for an M113 equipped group, which I think is a significant positive - the M113 really is an APC and it shows in this capacity for a starting campaign, readily allowing for dependents and non-combatants.

Sure, if you're looking for firepower the LAV-25 carries a 25mm autocannon in a turret used on the Bradley (as does the Dutch/Belgium AIFV variant of the M113 or the improved M115A1 AACV) with Fire Control +1 and Basic stabilization (no penalty while moving at normal speed), but it has only a lighter co-axial MAG MG.  The basic M113 variants lacks this autocannon, but has the advantage of the heavier 2HB MG on the M113 that can be readily dismounted onto a NHT and is unlikely to run into ammunition issues (the LAV-25 has a base of only 630 rounds for it's 25mm, after which it's main gun is useless unless this uncommon NATO round can be bought or scrounged in useful quantities. Tanks in the starting scenario are rare and best avoided or dealt with by anti-tank missiles IMO, so I feel that while the autocannon may be an early advantage or deterrent, it's role reduces or expires as the campaign progresses.

The M113 does lack the (6) firing ports of the LAV-25, but it has not only rear access but also top deck access for all the passengers with 2 additional heavy weapons mounts (and capacity to jury-rig more with the right tools and character Assets). This allows the APC to work more like a tracked "gun truck" ("gun track"?) rather than just a "battle taxi" as while the gunners are less protected, for combats with lighter "soft-skinned" vehicles or troops, the whole passenger troop can contribute if the rear deck doors are opened. The ACAV style modifications from the Vietnam era and/or applique armour kit (see Paul's website for suggested details) add to the survivability, as does the AACV option (American Combat Vehicle Handbook, page 23). To me this is more in keeping with my concept of vehicle use and travel in a beginning Poland campaign - patched up and field modified older equipment desperately maintained.

In the late 1960s, a waterjet propulsion system was developed for amphibious operations. This allowed the M-113A1 on which it was tested to roughly double its swimming speed and greatly increase waterborne mobility. The waterjets were steered by vanes. Air was sucked in from the top of the waterjet modules and pushed out under the water level to form the jets. Ballast was added in the front to ensure stability. The waterjet system was, however, decided against by the Army. In game terms, adding a waterjet propulsion system adds 300 kg to the weight of the vehicle (which is subtracted from the M-113s cargo capacity) and adds $4000 to the cost of the vehicle. 

- Paul Mulcahy's Twilight 2000 website

M-548 as 5-ton "truck" variant amphibious support option

Similar in concept to the M113 (and cheaper at around $50,000 base cost depending on whether using an official source (American Combat Vehicle Handbook, page 10) or the "Heavy Unarmoured Vehicle" section of Paul's website) is the M-548 "heavy track" 5-ton amphibious cargo carrier:

Even if not rolled as an option (equivalent to a 5-ton truck, ie a roll of an "8" or "9" on 2D6) it's low price makes it readily accessible as a secondary starting amphibious cargo vehicle (particularly if reduced by accepting a Wear value of 2 or more ie. only $25,000 or even less, potentially affordable by a starting group of 4+ characters). 

It's main drawcard is it's considerable cargo capacity of 6 tons - easily enough to accomodate a medium still (2 tonnes) for itself and the M113, with perhaps a 1000L tank to accomodate spare fuel supplies and enough room left over for other equipment. Offset against this is that while it has comparable base Fuel Consumption (140 vs 120)  it is somewhat slower than the M113 (off-road travel only 70), "soft-skinned" (unarmoured), somewhat unreliably amphibious, and has no significant radiological shielding or passive IR capability. It does come with the same M2HB machinegun on a ring mount shared with it's M113 cousin however, allowing for consolidation of ammunition supplies with the APC.

Optionally, at the loss of the reliability of amphibious capability (reflected by the need for a Skill check to not founder when used at a river), it could be upgraded into a solo "gun track" similar to the base conversions of the "deuce-and-a-half" and 5-ton "gun trucks" from Challenge Magazine #55 (pages 6-8). This "gun track" field improvisation adds steel plate armor (equivalent to HF / HS / HR: 4 level) and at least 2 additional weapons mounts, but at the cost of dropping the speed and decreasing the available Load to only 4 tons. For a smaller group interested more in gear than personnel, this less glamorous option could be an interesting variant starting vehicle option.

A Marines Variant?

Rather than a M113A3 (or modified "gun track" M-548), a group somehow linked to the Marines or with a few Marine characters may choose to use a so-called "Amtrac" AAVP7A1 or variant instead - a roughly equivalent in price and capability APC exclusive to their armed forces branch with an increased personnel carrying capacity, load and some sea-going capability, shown here cruising down a river:

AAVP9 Tracked Amphibious Vehicle crossing a river

AAVP9: The AAVP9 is an advanced version of the AAVP7A1 amphibious armoured personnel carrier, entering service in the early 1990's. A 40mm AGL and M2HB MG combination is mounted in a small cupola on the right front hull deck, and there are two smaller hatches for the driver and vehicle commander on the left front hull deck. The rear deck contains two large doors for disembarking personnel, and the rear has a ramp/door which can be lowered as well. The vehicle is fully amphibious. The 40mm AGL is identical in performance and characteristics to the Mark 19.

Price: $80,000 (R/R) RF + 15 Armament: 40mm AGL, M2HB MG Ammo: 350 x 40mm Tr Move: 120/70 Com Move: 40/30 Fuel Cap: 360 Fuel Cons: 120 Fuel Type: D, A Load: 4 tons Veh Wt: 18 tons Crew: 2 + 22 Mnt: 6; page 30 US Army Vehicle Guide (v1.0) or page 25 American Combat Vehicle Guide (v2.2).

As you can see from the above, the "Amtrac" is all around better armed and armoured, reliably amphibious with some sea-going capacity, has more crew protection for it's crew operated weapons and has a bigger cargo capacity, overcoming most of the limitations of the M113A3 for a similar core rules cost. Although slightly slower it has not only greater personnel capacity (a commander and an extra 11 characters beyond the M113) but also the advantage of carrying not only a medium still but also a remaining 2 tonnes of internal cargo and 1800kg of external cargo strapped to the outside.

To me the "Amtrac" has a big personality - it's rare in Poland and distinctively American, can operate independently and I think has the potential to become almost a separate "vehicle character" in it's own right or legend in itself amongst the remaining Soviet forces in the area. Discreet? Not so much - it's very uniqueness makes it stand out and marks it as a potential trophy to enemies.

Explaining Marine character(s) presence and such a signature vehicle with the remnants of the US 5th Division forces in central Poland may require some back-story explanation but given the chaotic nature of the later stages of the Twilight War and the tendency for remnants of disrupted units to be incorporated into remaining units, it's a plausible beginning single vehicle option if somewhat higher powered.

Rules References

Addit: Wayne suggested the following relevant amphibious vehicle references from the v2.2 rules:

• Page 213: Movement
• Page 214: Swamping
• Page 220: Penetration

"A referee that wants to allow amphibs, but not be used immediately in Escape From Kalisz, can add a few hull penetrations along with the Wear roll. The PCs could patch their amphib up later, but are quite busy at the moment."