Twilight: 2000 Character Creation - Welcome to Hell? (Maximum Starting Terms)

In the first post of this series, I commented on the "Careers" section of the T2k v2.2 Character Generation process and posted an example of the spreadsheet tabs of "Skills by Term" I used to help develop the various pre-generated characters in line with the "archetype" concepts I wanted. To fully develop character concepts I determined the number of "Terms" in advance but realised that the random nature of the "War Breaks Out" mechanic Term by Term could be problematic, although for some this is a core part of the "randomness" and feel of the game. I have worked out a different way of determining Total Terms *before* Skill selection so that a player has more agency when developing their character as although in Twilight: 2000 the character won't die during character like in some GDW games, not knowing the total Terms at the start of skill selection has its drawback for some players nonetheless...

So When Does War Actually Break Out?

The War: At the end of each term, roll 1D10. If the roll is equal to or less than your current term number, war breaks out (i.e. war breaks out at the end of the first term on a roll of 1, at end of the second term on a roll of 1 or 2, etc.). - page 23, T2k v2.2 corebook

Looking at the cumulative probability from the table below, most starting characters generated using this default random method will have 2 or more career Terms (age 25+) and half will have at least 3 Terms. Only 15% of characters will be more than 5 Terms, the maximum number of Terms is 8 and the "average" character is around 3-4 Terms.

Cumulative Probabilities of War Breaking Out...

Apart from a couple of AGL ageing checks that have no major combat consequence even if failed, there's an inherent random difference in the power range (Skills) and resources (starting equipment) which can lead to an unbalanced player group. Of course, a Referee can always require players to create characters with a set number of terms or a range eg. 3-5 Terms to maintain a similar power level and age range across the group.

A Simplified Mechanic

Using the cumulative probabilities above, I calculated the below "single roll" table for either percentile roll or a single D10 roll - as constructed the latter provides a slightly higher chance of 6th and 7th Term starting characters but forgoes the possibility of an 8th term character:

Optional: Single Roll Starting Terms

This maintains the randomness of the original RAW but I think it adds value as a player knows at the start of the Career / skill selection section how many terms they have to realise their character.

Summary & Conclusion 

So taken together, we now have 3 potential character creation options:

1. Classic: default "roll after each term" method 
2. Modern: choose an arbitrary number of terms
3. Revised: single roll for maximum terms 

Twilight: 2000 Character Creation Spreadsheet - Starting Packages

While creating the various pre-generated characters for my proposed T2k v2.2 "starter kit", I came across the rather large stumbling block of the dense text in the "Careers" section of the corebook. The layout and length of this section make it difficult to work out which careers are useful to progress particular skills when aiming for a particular "archetype" build eg "the Heavy", "the Scout", or "the Wheelman" or targeting a particular Asset for a character. 

I then invested time creating a Google Sheet spreadsheet with what I think are useful tables and resources - the various tabs cover Archetypes, determining When War Breaks Out (maximum terms), Background / Education / Basic Training, US Army careers, US Marine careers and Civilian careers to date - I've so far not covered the other branches or non-US careers other than Basic Training for the most common forces in the default dstarting area (German, Polish, Soviet, UK) given the amount of work required and the non-US careers are mostly just minor variations of existing US careers.

Background, Education and Basic Training 

This first skills tab collates all the "core" parts of the Skill selection for character creation, listing which skills are Background, Education, Basic Training or allowed as Secondary Activity choices. 

Background, Education & Basic Training Summary Spreadsheet tab(derived from T2k v2.2 pages 19-20, 30-31, 35

A few notes on the notation and layout of the spreadsheet (used across all tabs):

• Prerequisites by Skill are listed where applicable
• Skills are grouped by Attribute
• Skills in bold are core "Basic Training Skills" for Military careers
• A numerical value denotes the skill levels granting by 1st career
• A "x" denotes that the Skill is available, a "-" indicates unavailable
• Comments are provided in the right hand most cell

The resolution of the above image won't be enough to see the detail (you'll have to go to the actual spreadsheet tab for that) but I think you'll be able to appreciate the following patterns if you kmnow that the columns in order left to right are Background, Secondary, various Education careers, Military Academy and then the starting Basic Training packages:

• STR based combat skills are mainly from military basic training or academy
• (Aircraft) Mechanic is only available from Technical education, not Background or Secondary
• AGL based skills are mainly Technical education or Background, other than Ground Vehicle: Wheeled
• CON and INT based skills are nearly exclusively found in Background and Secondary 
• Unsurprisingly EDU based skills all depend on specific Education careers except Medical: Trauma Aid
• CHR based skills are scattered across the various columns 

The patterns above become relevant, as for some builds it's the early choices that assist with prerequisites for later careers, Asset specialisation and knowing which Secondary Skills are and are not available at the start of character creation, thus guiding later choices from actual career packages. 

Likewise, organising the skills by Attribute (rather than alphabetically in the corebook on pages 48-49 or in the appendix pages 264-65) gives a better idea on how to choose skills that will work to realise a particular character concept. This isn't to encourage min-maxing per se (although I admit the tables do assist this as a by-product) but help reduce player disappointment and frustration at character creation given the time investment needed to generate a playable character.

Next Steps   

There's a lot more to the spreadsheet than just the "starting packages", but I hope by posting this veteran and new players alike will find character creation easier. In subsequent posts I'll talk about archetypes as a means of streamlining character creation and an optional method for simplifying determining starting age and maximum terms. 

Answers to 20 Quick Rules Questions: Twilight: 2000 v2.2

Similar to the previous answers to 20 Poland campaign answers post, this is based on a similar OSR blog post list that I stumbled across - Brendan S. of Necropraxis' 2012 post "20 Quick Rules Questions".

As this list was originally meant for a fantasy RPG (specifically an "OSR" style retroclone game based on the original D&D ruleset or similar) some of the questions aren't quite suitable but I think the answers also help for new players unfamiliar with the rule system, particularly those players who have a background in "d20" based games. 

The Twilight: 2000 v2.2 Rules Boxed Set 
(photo courtesy of Wayne's Books)

These are not meant to be a complete run-down or summary of the (complex) rules but rather give a sense of some of the mechanics that are likely to come up in play in advance.

Note: the answers below are based on the Twilight: 2000 v2.2 corebook, and although most of the mechanical aspects between editions are similar enough, the page references refer specifically to this supplement.

1. Ability scores generation method?

Referred to as Attributes, there are two methods to generate the six scores as per page 18:

Random Generation: In this method, each attribute is determined by rolling 2d6-2 (re- roll any roll that would result in a 0 attribute score). This gives a range of from 1 to 10 for each attribute.

Allocation: Players who choose the allocation method have a total of 32 points to be distributed among their attributes in any com- bination they wish. No attribute may have a value of 0 or more than 10.

When generating the various pregen characters I mostly used the "allocation" method but most averaged out at 32-34 (some build choices increase the scores and therefore the total - put simply, the "allocation" method allows every character can have an average score of 5 and two Attributes with a score of 6, two Attributes with a score of 8 and four with a score of 4, or else some other combination with a wider spread such as two scores of 8, two scores of 5 and two scores of 3 etc.

2. How are death and dying handled?

All editions of Twilight: 2000 are comparatively deadly, particularly fire combat.

• A critical head injury causes immediate death. A critical injury to any *other* body part causes immediate loss of consciousness and requires medical attention within 10 minutes, or the character will die from loss of blood (page 211). Strangling can lead to death once "total control" at grappling is achieved and head wounds occur each turn (page 201).

A character can die in the following additional ways:

• Ammo hits in vehicle combat that cause ammunition explosions kill all the crew (page 219).

• Starvation. Eventually, a character on less than half rations will starve. This takes about a month of no food or several months of half rations (page 148). Technically a character can't die from Fatigue alone despite the Attribute penalties.

• Disease. A character can potentially die if they fail their "recovery roll" against a disease and then roll less than the "Death Probability" number on 1d10 (page 245).

• Radiation can kill a character that has accumulated 300+ rads (page 243).

• Drowning after a water vessel explodes occurs unless a character makes a FOR Swimming check (IMP Swimming check if the character is below decks).

3. What about raising the dead?

This isn't a fantasy game, once a character dies that's it, they're permanently dead.

Sorry. Not sorry. The Twilight World really isn't that kind of place.

4. How are replacement PCs handled?

By the usual character creation process, there is no provision for multiple starting characters and even if this was suggested for many reasons isn't common practice in most RPGs. Twilight: 2000 can be relatively lethal so creating some extra "backup" characters or using pregens for the "secondary roles" (combat engineer, mechanic, medic etc) is probably worthwhile.

5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else?

Individual - it's initially a calculated characteristic from character generation modified by conditions such as fatigue and wounds then increases as if it were a skill, there's no random dice roll per round or turn. Wounds can decrease a character's initiative.

Animals have a set Initiative of 6.

Characters act in order starting at the highest Initiative "step":

The number and order of actions that a character may conduct in a turn are determined by the character's Initiative number. This number usually ranges from 1 to 5, but this limit can be exceeded by player charac- ters with large amounts of experience. The Initiative number can also be temporarily reduced in the course of combat as a result of panic or wounds... (see pages 194-195).

Characters (and animals) with an Initiative greater than 5 receive an extra action at the "step" equal to half their total initiative (rounding down) - animals have two actions and act at "step 6" and "step 3".

Initiative is also linked to a character's chance of Panic - a character knocked down by wound damage or surprised panics if they roll greater than their Initiative on 1d6 (see page 197).

6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?

Yes, they're a big part of the game.

The task resolution mechanics for combat are skill based (page 135).

An outstanding success occurs when a character rolls 10 lower than the required roll for any given task including combat eg. if they needed a 12 and roll a 2, they achieve an outstanding success. A catastrophic failure is similar in reverse, so if a character needs a 4 or less to succeed and rolls a 14, they check again and if they fail a second time it's a catastrophic failure - if they succeed it's just a normal failure. The rules state no specific rules for either of these except in fire combat when an outstanding success *doubles* damage (page 209).

In addition, successful shots on an NPC target's head or chest can trigger a "Quick Kill" automatic death if the firer rolls *under* the damage inflicted (except on a natural 20). Player characters are exempt from this rule and suffer damage instead although it is recognised as unrealistic (page 210).

7. Do I get any benefits of wearing a helmet?

Yes, the two types of helmets (steel or kevlar) provide an Armor Value (AV) of 1 when worn for Head hits and so reduce the chance an attack will penetrate and cause damage. The only mechanical difference between the two types of helmets is their weight and (relative) cost.

8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?

Yes, when using automatic fire you can definitely hit your friends or other targets in the "Danger Zone" (an area 5m to either side of the firer to the target and within the same range band, unless at short range - see page 203). If using area of effect weapons (grenades, RPGs, HE rounds etc), there's a good chance of hitting unintentional targets.

9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?

You will definitely need to run sometimes and preferably avoid some encounters altogether.

In Poland in particular, there are large cantonments and moving lines of troops of hundreds and even sometimes several thousand men. Although tanks and other armoured vehicles are rare or difficult to operate through lack of fuel, ammunition or other parts some of these groups have sufficient firepower to be relatively untouchable. Non-human threats such as disease and radiation can also be very difficult to "defeat" without the appropriate protective equipment or medicine.

10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no?

This isn't a fantasy game.

In any case, there are no "levels" as such, task success or failure is "Asset" based (Attribute or Attribute+Skill) modified by Difficulty multipliers. There is Attribute loss "damage" however whether it be from Fatigue, wounds or other hazards (disease, radiation, starvation), so in a sense, these are the equivalent "monsters".

Alt T2k Q: What threats can reduce my character's effectiveness?

11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?

There are no saving throws per se, task success or failure is based on Attributes or Attribute+Skill checks referred to collectively as "Assets", modified by Difficulty multipliers.

Disease and radiation each have their own mechanics / mini-games where death can result from a failed roll, this is probably the closest to a saving throw. You can drown from a failed Swimming check also, but that's a Skill check, not really a saving throw in the traditional sense.

12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?

Very strictly - all editions of the game are very resource management intense and detailed. Time is measured in 4 hour periods, encumbrance is tracked and heavy loads penalised, carrying capacity is a calculated score based on Attributes and resources such as ammunition, food and fuel are tracked by the round, kg and litre respectively.

13. What’s required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for downtime?

There are no levels but Experience is accumulated per session. Skills are increased on a point for point basis - raising a skill requires a number of Experience points equal to the next skill level eg. if a character has a Small Arms: Rifle level of 3, they need 4 Experience points in that skill to increase it to the next level of 4.

Instruction is the equivalent of training and dependent on the Instruction skill, with a teacher spending one period a day for a week with either a single or multiple students with Skill levels less than the teacher.

Improving skills by assimilating Experience occurs *between* sessions not automatically.

Initiative is improved similar to the above but specific Experience is tracked separately.

Alt T2k Q: How do I improve my character's capabilities? Training? Is downtime needed?

14. What do I get experience for?

Experience is gained at least 1 point per session plus additional points for particularly dangerous or skilled use of a Skill and/or stating well in character (see page 138-139). A character can also learn from close observation if the observer's skill level is less than half that of the character they are observing. Instruction (see 13. above) grants either 3 or 1 Experience points depending on the number of students being taught (see page 139).

For Initiative, a character gains one Experience point per session and then potentially an additional point for either a particularly difficult shot or feat of hand to hand combat (see page 139).

15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?

Probably some combination, but mainly using the Observation (INT) skill which is used to detect ambushes or spot enemies. A Geiger counter is probably needed for anything involving radiation although not technically a trap per se. There are no specific rules about setting/creating or disabling traps compared to most fantasy RPG games but the same principles hold and ideas from other sources could be readily adapted with some work.

16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?

NPCs are readily generated according to 4 ranks (Novice, Experienced, Veteran, and Elite) with a few relevant corresponding Assets (Skill + corresponding Attribute), Initiative, Unarmed Combat Damage, and primary Attribute scores. NPC "Motivations" determined by drawing from a deck of playing cards. There are also some "stock" NPCs, making it simple enough to create retainers and other "expert" hirelings (pages 139-143).

There's no morale system and retainer loyalty is left up to the Referee to adjudicate.

Every character has a chance of panic in combat (freezing for a number of rounds) depending on their initiative score - each rank of NPC therefore has a set Initiative score.

17. How do I identify magic items?

This is not a fantasy RPG so there are no "magic items" as such, but invoking Clarke's Third Law, their equivalents are advanced technology and equipment that are now in limited supply and/or damaged in need of repair. This question and the next two probably, are more of a "campaign" question - see my other post of Poland campaign answers based on Jeff Rient's list of questions.

So identifying such items isn't difficult and does not require a skill check but *using* the equipment may require levels in the relevant skill eg: Aircraft Mechanic, Computer, Electronics, Pilot (any), Scuba, Tac Missile, Warhead and others.

Alt T2k Q: How do I find advanced technology, weapons and vehicles? 

18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?

See 17 above - technically no, but advanced technology while rare and expensive is available for purchase or barter in the more civilised areas such as the larger towns and free cities. You can't just choose your pick from a showroom of tanks and pay cash drive away - there's no technological equivalent of the "local magic shop", most advanced items will require almost an adventure in themselves to track down and earn.

If by potions you mean medicines (antibiotics, antitoxins, vaccines) then these can potentially be bought from larger towns and cities who may even have limited manufacturing capability.

Alt T2k Q: Can I buy advanced technology, weapons and vehicles?

19. Can I create magic items? When and how?

See answers to 17 and 18 above. Technically no, never and not applicable...

Some characters can at least attempt to *repair* advanced machinery and technology using Computer, Electronics, Gunsmith, Mechanic, Warhead or similar skills. This includes electronics/computing equipment, heavy weapons and armoured vehicles.

Crafting from scratch will be difficult without the dedicated tools, a machine shop and the correct parts, which may well be in short supply and/or expensive. Manufacturing medicine is very difficult and likely beyond the reach of a travelling group given the general lack of facilities, although not impossible if a dedicated laboratory could be established perhaps in one of the major cities.

Alt T2k Q: Can I construct advanced technology such as computers/electronics, heavy weapons and armoured vehicles? 

20. What about splitting the party?

Never split the party. It's always a bad move.

OK, all jokes aside the main issue is the meta-game issue of player boredom while one group or player sits out while the Referee concentrates on the others but this is better discussed elsewhere (such as here, or perhaps here).

However, splitting up the group makes a lot of tactical sense in many situations - scouting, foraging/hunting, maintaining vehicles and other "down-time" activities are often better split up between members of the group given the emphasis on resource tracking including time. So using some of the suggestions in the links above will be useful as it's not an uncommon occurrence.

Twenty Quick Questions for any Twilight: 2000 Campaign

Copied from the appendix of my original post, these are the collated questions inspired by Jeff Rient's original 2011 "twenty quick questions for your campaign setting" post, with the anachronistic questions reworded in italics to be more specific to a modern setting to make it easier for Twilight: 2000 GMs to answer for their players.

I'd be interested in sets of answers from other Twilight: 2000 campaigns, particularly non-Polish campaigns (eg UK, US or elsewhere) - post links to your answers in the comments section below.

20 Quick Questions for Your Twilight: 2000 Campaign

1. What is the deal with religion? 
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
3. Where can we go to get armour repaired or added to salvaged vehicles?
4. Who around here is a nuclear physicist?
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
7. Where can I find a doctor around here?
8. Where are there "modern" medical facilities?
9. Is there a university my scholar character belongs to or that I can join?
10. Where can I find a <insert Skill> Expert NPC?
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
12. Is there any place on the map where weapons are illegal or confiscated?
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
14. What enemies are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
18. What is there to eat around here?
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
20. Where is the nearest powerful enemy with a hoard of "treasure"?

Note: Questions 8 & 9 are almost the same question in context so you could argue there's really only 19 separate questions but a "list of 20" has a nicer ring to it so let's stick to the format.

Answers to 20 Quick Questions for a Twilight: 2000 Polish Campaign

This is based on a now classic 2011 post by Jeff Rients about D&D campaigns, but I think with a bit of interpretation it can be adapted for a Twilight: 2000 Poland campaign. In a way, it forms the basis of an introduction to the default "Escape from Kalisz" beginning game and the "Vistula Trilogy" / "Going Home" campaign for those players that mainly have experience with fantasy games. 

Kalisz Area Topographic map
(thanks to Jed McClure for original link)

Note: I've left the original "high fantasy" questions even though the genres are very different to be consistent with other examples of this list but do provide T2k themed alternatives at the end of this post so the questions could be modified for your own campaign if not set in Poland.

1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

The predominant religion of Poland is Roman Catholicism with a small Jewish minority. The current pope at the time of the Twilight War John Paul II was the Archbishop of Krakow before his election by the conclave of 1978 and this may make for an interesting story element if he was visiting his native Poland as war broke out. The remnant American soldiers are of mostly Christian denominations although there are likely to be Jewish individuals also. Soviet forces are ostensibly atheist although many Russians and characters of the eastern European republics are Eastern Orthodox.

A "cleric" is a member of the religious hierarchy rather than a class, profession or career in T2k v2.2 - there's no divine channelling, turning undead or miracles here. Priests are more leaders than warriors of the faith, although there are army chaplains and ex-priests turned partisan/bandit or soldiers that have turned to religion and peace. 

The potential base or second careers for a non-military priest include Attorney, Idle Rich, Manager, Politician, and Professor with a focus on CHR based Skills such as Instruction, Language, Leadership, Persuasian and maybe even Interrogation. Local village priests or monks may be built adding a few "terms" as Farmer and adding some of the INT based skills. 

An army chaplain could optionally be created as an officer through attending the Military Academy and can choose to *not* take any weapon skills (although can take levels in Unarmed Martial Arts for self-defence) and use a variant of Basic Training that grants the normal skills except drop all combat skills to 0 except Unarmed Combat 1,  adding Leadership 2 and Persuasian 1 instead. An ex-soldier that becomes a priest or lay preacher after initial training is created as normal and can take combat skills then picks one of the suggested civilian terms above.

Silesia, the southern area of Poland near the Czech border, is known for its famous relic "the Black Madonna of Czestochowa", lost at the beginning of the campaign. Although the relic has no magical powers per se, it's religious importance to the people of the area is so significant that its owner may become legendary or infamous. The "side quest" module, The Black Madonna, details its possible discovery and the southern area of Poland to the west of Krakow.

Alt T2k Q: What is the deal with religion? 

2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

The villages and towns in the surrounding area will have basic non-military supplies and simple weaponry but will be very reluctant to part with food, fuel, small arms ammunition, explosives or medicine - for that you'll have to find a larger established town or "free city" like Krakow or perhaps even Raciborz, the seat of the recently formed Margravate of Silesia. Otherwise, try one of the occupied settlements used as a military cantonment by a large force such as Lodz, Lublin, Torun or similar as they may be willing to barter - note that the Soviet military will be wary of independent armed groups of Americans and restrict the amount of food and fuel available for purchase, keeping a close eye on those purchasing heavier weaponry and explosives. 

3. Where can we go to get plate mail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

If by the "monster" you mean that captured BTR-80 APC, OT-64, 5-ton UAZ or GAZ variant truck or any other common Warsaw Pact vehicle in need of repair and refit to replace your high-profile US equipment and be less of an obvious target, then you need a decent (preferably mobile) machine shop, a reliable source of steel armour plating and/or a swag of reactive armour blocks ready to go.

This is not your average medieval fantasy campaign after all and the "bears" are not easy to tame even if you wanted to try - we'll assume that you don't have the reserve fuel to keep a Soviet tank travelling across Poland, even if you wanted to and there are good reasons to avoid that option.

Sure you could mean horse barding if you're a cavalry unit but that's not going to be that effective against modern weaponry, although you could try for something using more modern materials.

Alt T2k Q: Where can we go to get armour repaired or added to salvaged vehicles?

4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

There's no "magic" in a default T2k v2.2 game other than the advanced technology of the late 20th century, so if we invoke Clarke's Third Law and by "wizard" you mean "scientist" then you're probably looking for one of the few remaining nuclear missile experts in Poland with a decent AGL Warhead asset. Of course, given all the destruction caused by the missile strikes, nuclear physicists are not everyone's favourite these days and he may well not want to be found. So it won't be easy. 

Sounds like a great adventure seed to me...

Alt T2k Q: Who around here is a nuclear physicist?

5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

Baron Czarny. Just ask him yourself and I'm sure he'll give you his reasons before executing you for your impertinence although the same could be said of any petty marauder warlord or Soviet officer with more than a handful of troops and an APC or functioning tank. As the main antagonist of Ruins of Warsaw (and the later Return to Warsaw module) with his army composed of various marauders including some US survivors notably, the Baron becomes the focus enemy of the so-called "Vistula Trilogy" arc and the "Big Bad Guy".

6. Who is the richest person in the land?

Define rich.

It's not like anyone accepts gold or cash these days, mostly trade is barter based whether it be goods (fuel, ammunition, medicine in particular) or "services otherwise rendered". No invoices.

The simple peasant with enough food and a sturdy hunting rifle safety from lone marauders may be far richer than you relatively speaking if he has a stockpile of food for the winter you don't know about. You have to be alive to enjoy riches they say.

A soldier with a machinegun can take what he wants from peasants like the man above easily enough - does that not make him the richest man in town for as long as he stays?

With the almost complete lack of medical facilities, the trained doctor with a supply of antibiotics and antitoxins has wealth indeed, beyond what is available to either of the above even if she gives them away to the needy.

Or is the richest man the one sitting on a cache of aviation gas and a functional helicopter, rich with the freedom to travel or escape far away from his current cares and troubles?

Wealth has a different meaning to different people in the Twilight World.

7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?

See 4. above, there's no "magical healing" as such, but given the breakdown in infrastructure and services, any decent medical care is going to see magical to the average soldier or civilian. Krakow has its own hospital in a wing of the Wawel salvaged from pre-war facilities and the University capable of manufacturing antibiotics, vaccines and anti-toxins (see Free City of Krakow, page 17) but otherwise you'll be relying on either limited medical clinics in the larger towns or a mobile military medical corps associated with one of the larger remaining units in cantonment. 

Regardless of who is supplying the healing, it's going to be really expensive, and that's provided they agree to help you in the first place. What is human life truly worth to you in 2000?

Alt T2k Q: Where can I find a doctor?

8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

See 7. above, almost the same question - poison and disease are potentially curable with advanced medicine and medical facilities but there's no equivalent of curses, level drain, lycanthropy or polymorph in the Twilight World.

If by "alignment change" you mean madness and insanity then there's plenty of risk of that (although few specific rules presented) but psychiatric and psychological services are virtually absent in post-war Poland circa 2000. 

Death is permanent.

Sorry, it's a gritty and realistic world and often lethal combat system.

Undeath? There's enough challenge without this becoming a The Walking Dead knock-off although you could run a Twilight Nightmares style scenario - there's even been a discussion about using the game system for a Zombie Apocalypse setting.

Alt T2k Q: Where are there "modern" medical facilities?

9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

See 4. above, Poland in the Twilight World isn't a medieval fantasy setting. 

The closest to a "magic guild" would be a university or academy but unfortunately, of the 40 odd pre-war universities there's none left functioning close to their usual capacity - the targeting of Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk and most of the other major cities with any industrial capacity or military assets has seen to that. Lodz, Lublin and Torun might have some residual academic capacity, but the faculty of Krakow has fled, been killed or otherwise disbanded into isolated local scholars.

France, comparatively untouched in the Twilight war due to its declared neutrality, remains civilised and protected by its regular army - although life is onerous, it is tolerable. The coastal areas and oil refining capacity were damaged to deny their use by NATO forces but many of the cities and higher educational institutions are relatively undamaged. (see T2k v2.2 corebook page 226). Many of these remain open, including the various Parisian faculties, and so despite the repressive military government these become the ultimate destination location for higher scholars. Of relevance to US characters, this set includes the English speaking American University of Paris founded in the 1960s, which is likely to have aligned itself with CivGov and can provide accessible EDU Skill instruction.

Founding and then protecting a revived community of Polish scholars along the lines of the "Abbey of St Leibowitz" order from A Canticle for Liebowitz and the longer sequel or Lombardi's Alcatraz Island librarian group from The Book of Eli makes for a different campaign goal to most T2k games and one that lends itself to staying in Europe rather than the default "Going Home" arc. ONe security is established, assembling remaining local pre-war professors, escorting visiting Parisian scholars and recruiting a new student base are all novel potential challenges for a Poland based group. 

Alt T2k Q: Is there a university my scholar character belongs to or that I can join?

10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?

If by "other expert NPC" you mean an expert in one of the EDU based skills or a master (Aircraft) Mechanic, Gunsmith, Machinist or Forger then you're more in luck. Individuals with Expert level assets are prized for their abilities and are either well protected, well supported, wealthy or a combination of all of the above depending on where they live and where their loyalties lie.

Most civilian experts will gravitate toward the safety of either Krakow or Lublin probably.

Otherwise, I'd suggest you seek out the few other loyal Polish government-controlled cities or the various division sized cantonments scattered on both sides of the now static German-Polish front. Experts with military backgrounds will be encouraged to remain with their units by their commanders, although the incentive may be only weak, often just the assurance of being provided regular meals and shelter.

Securing an expert's services otherwise depends on their motivation and loyalties - the Soviet commander isn't likely to be generous with the time of his valued gunsmith and will be suspicious of any Americans enquiring after an aircraft mechanic given the paucity of aviation fuel in the region and potential tactical advantage of even flimsy ultralights. You have been warned about being too indiscreet.

Alt T2k Q: Where can I find a <insert Skill> Expert NPC?

11. Where can I hire mercenaries?

The short answer is everywhere - if you believe everyone has a price and sadly most people do have a price these days and it's depressingly cheap. Whether they be 5th Division survivors, Soviet deserters, marauders, local militia or just civilians with a hunting rifle, mercenary work is viable although a somewhat dangerous option for the desperate.

Try Krakow or one of the communities in Warsaw if you just need one or two extra rifles, but if you need a squad or more of trained combatants you'll need to negotiate with one of the remnant Soviet units or worse, one of the larger marauder bands. Can you trust them? Probably not, but trusting a mercenary is as good or bad an idea as its always been if you've read any Machiavelli you'll know what the score is on that. 

Caveat emptor.

12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

If by "swords" you mean assault rifles and "magic" you mean still functioning technology such as computers and advanced radio then you're in luck really, there's such a breakdown in order that apart from the larger military encampments and towns such as Krakow or Lublin, no one is going to seriously try and confiscate your weapons and equipment unless they have clear superiority.

If they do have more firepower, you're already in big trouble.

No wonder everyone is on edge and mistrusting.

As to "Jasio Prawo" (OK maybe it's Jan Prawo, I don't know any Polish), that's just a poor Google translation and Google hasn't been founded in the Twilight World as they never reached our version of 1998. Not that there's any decent internet access anyway as broadband hasn't even been invented yet so no need to worry about Facebook or the government spying on you.

Alt T2k Q: Is there any place on the map where weapons are illegal or confiscated?

13. Which way to the nearest tavern?

Any of the larger intact towns will have a bar, if only for R&R of the occupying cantonment troops - Lodz, Piotrkow, Lublin, Torun, Pila, Glogow and similar former cities fit in this category but you'll likely have to deal with the local military one way or the other.

It may not be the closest at 250km to the southeast of Kalisz, but the Na Zdrowie, run by Henryck Hallecki in Krakow, is arguably one of the best bars in Poland. This is not so much for the food and alcohol but more so for the opportunity to meet the various players in the political and espionage game between the various agencies operating in the area. If you want to have intimate conversations with representatives of the ORMO, the DIA, the CIA, the KGB or any other group then the booths of the bar and just the place to meet. If you want to start an adventure, this may well be the place to start looking, but you have to make it to Krakow alive first...

Otherwise, you always have the still to fall back on. Sure it's meant for distilling fuel, not grog but if you set aside some of that grain you "confiscated" from the last village and added some "botanicals" to the pure ethanol you might approximate something close to gin. Or at least vodka. OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves and call it what it is and say moonshine then and don't tell the commander - for God's sake just don't try cutting it with methanol or you'll go blind or worse.

Still, coping with the reality of Poland in the Twilight World is enough to make anyone need a drink now and then, believe me, tavern or no tavern.

So as they say in Poland: Człowiek nie wielbłąd, pić musi!

14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

Marauders mostly, the larger bands such as Marczak's Legion (the former Czech 8th BGB) in Silesia being a good example although numeorus similar bands exist.

These are formed mainly from disbanded Soviet military unit deserters and militia units such as the various bands spawned from the dissolving of the Soviet 2nd Tank Division that now pillage a quadrangle bounded by the cities of Wroclaw-Gorlitz-Kostrzyn-Poznan.

Baron Czarny's forces are perhaps one of the larger and more cohesive bands.
 

Depending on your perspective the two Polish Free Legions (1st near Leszno, 2nd near Tuchola) and other partisans are just as troublesome, if not for their antics for the attention they bring from the remaining Soviet forces. In nearby Germany, the local equivalent is the Freibroderbund.

Alt T2k Q: What enemies are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

The whole region is a broken-backed war situation, in fact Twilight: 2000 is stated as an example. So there's plenty of war, but in terms of existing or brewing conflict there's the expansion of the Margravate of Silesia in the south, the stagnant German-Polish front and the upcoming "war" between the communities of Warsaw and the horde of Baron Czarny.

You're welcome to start your own local war between two or more of the larger military cantonments in the area, just be careful to pick the winning side if your involvement is discovered.

16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?

Not really in the classical Roman sense or like Daznak's Pit in Mereen, although it's likely that in Krakow, within the Baron's camps or as part of the lifestyle of the larger cantonment settlements that prize-fighting and betting on the match are common enough. James Langham's advanced Unarmed Combat Rules should prove useful if you want to make this a large part of the campaign.

17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

Yes actually. 

There's plenty of involvement from the KGB, the DIA and the CIA, most notably in Krakow as part of the main "Operation Reset" plotline for The Free City of Krakow but any of these agencies could be acting in their own interests anywhere in Poland. 

The Cold War may have ended with the nuclear exchange but loyalties and schemes remain. Ideology may all seem a bit irrelevant to you these days but there's plenty of people that take it seriously still.

18. What is there to eat around here?

Not a lot. 

Particularly when you first start travelling overland from the rout of the US 5th Division at Kalisz.

Your military issued MRE ("meal, ready to eat") rations ran out long ago and weren't much to write home about anyway from memory - you've been foraging off the land as you travel, hunting the local game when encountered and "borrowing" food from the fields of farmers without leaving IOUs. If that old pack horse you "liberated" from the Soviet cavalry convoy doesn't recover from going lame soon it'll be on the menu, but it will probably taste better than the wild dogs you shot while passing through the ruined town last week. Grenade fishing sure seems like an attractive option, if only you had grenades to spare.

After fuel, food is probably one of the most valuable resources in a Twilight: 2000 Polish campaign, at least until you can buy or trade for surplus food at a decent market like the ones in Krakow. Most of the larger military units are short on food just from sheer numbers of mouths to feed and the local villagers are going to be close-lipped about the location of their stockpiles for the coming winter.

Forget gold and jewels, a decent meal is a treasure beyond worth.

19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?

Sure, a good campaign needs more than just food to drive character motivations. There's plenty of "treasures" you and your buddies could go looking for, here's 10 of them off the top of my head:

• The Black Madonna of Czestochowa relic 
• The Modular Computer Chip Prototype
• Krakow's "flying carpet" (or another helicopter)
• A 1000L tank of avgas / gasoline / diesel
• A surviving nuclear missile specialist
• A portable tactical nuke / "nuclear suitcase"
• A functioning M1A2 Abrams (or T-90) tank with a full tank of fuel
• A working steam locomotive (or armoured train)
• A(nother) way home to America
• Peace on Earth for All Mankind

Of course, there's that rumour about the divisional supply of hundreds of US MRE packs lost after the battle of Kalisz and never found, so food can still be a motivator. Imagine all that food piled up alongside your Hummer, that'd be a sight to see, wouldn't it? 

Did I mention how hungry you were already... you're probably even hungrier now. 

A 53.5kg SADM Man-Portable Nuclear Device

20. Where is the nearest dragon or another monster with Type H treasure?

Remember this isn't a medieval fantasy campaign.

Well OK, legends they say there's really a dragon underneath Krakow's Wawel Castle guarding treasure and in a way maybe they're right if you consider the "treasure" to be Krakow's "Flying Carpet" (a functional helicopter and enough fuel to fly to the ruins of Gdansk on the Baltic Coast) and the "dragon" is Prefect General Bohusz-Syszko, commander of Krakow's ORMO built from the 8th Polish Motorized Rifle Division. If you're looking for a local "Big Bad" with a hoard worth plundering then the Prefect may be the "monster" you're looking for.

Alternatively, Baron Czarny is the "dragon" of the east with his "Big Gun" a treasure worthy of consideration for the power it brings over the fledgeling communities of Warsaw.

So there are no dragons as such but plenty of "monsters" that are men or made by men and "treasure" as noted in the previous question may mean different things depending on your immediate needs.

Looking at things another way as a non-human threat, the ruins of the larger cities of Poland may be filled with "treasure" for there taking but the insidious invisible "dragon" that is high-level radiation.

Add to this starvation, running out of fuel, disease and the Poland of the Twilight World is overrun with "dragons" and the greatest treasure may be simply a means to finding the way home to America (or Russia) for many...

Alt T2k Q: Where is the nearest powerful enemy with a hoard of "treasure"?

Appendix: 20 Specific T2k Campaign Questions

These are the collated questions, reworded in italics to be more specific to a modern setting to make it easier. Questions 8 & 9 are almost the same question in context so you could argue there's really only 19 separate questions but a "list of 20" has a nicer ring to it so let's stick to the format.

1. What is the deal with religion? 
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
3. Where can we go to get armour repaired or added to salvaged vehicles?
4. Who around here is a nuclear physicist?
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
7. Where can I find a doctor around here?
8. Where are there "modern" medical facilities?
9. Is there a university my scholar character belongs to or that I can join?
10. Where can I find a <insert Skill> Expert NPC?
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
12. Is there any place on the map where weapons are illegal or confiscated?
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
14. What enemies are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
18. What is there to eat around here?
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
20. Where is the nearest powerful enemy with a hoard of "treasure"?

The Lower Vistula: Plock to Torun (Twilight: 2000 Further Riverine Adventures)

This is one of a possible series of posts detailing a gazetteer of a section of the "Lower Vistula", the stretch of the river *beyond* Warsaw to its mouth at the gulf near Gdansk. I've detailed the second section stretching from beyond Plock to before Torun because it's simpler than the first 100km or so from Praga in Warsaw and I found it interesting as a test of concept.

It's also the section directly north of the "Escape from Kalisz" map - reachable by a group using my "Amphibious Start" suggestion or for the remnants of the US 5th Division's 3-11 Battalion aka "the Ghosts of Kutno" (See below). Initial Soviet presence is low, making it a viable area to explore for a starting party although an inevitable showdown with the 96th Cavalry Division based in Torun is foreshadowed...

A typical stretch of the Lower Vistula

Section 2: Plock to Torun

Distance: 100 km
Channel depth: 4m or deeper
River width: up to 2 km between Plock and Włocławek, otherwise 1 km
Towns and landmarks: Gostynin, Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park, Włocławek Reservoir, Dobrzyn nad Wisla, Włocławek, Kowal, Lipno, Bobrowniki, Chiechocenek, Radziejow, Sluzewo, Chelmza.

Hexmap Detail of 2nd Lower Vistula Section - Plock to Torun
(derived from Jed McClure's Polish Sandbox Hexmaps)

Description: the upper part of this section of the river consists of the large 2km wide and 58km long Wloclawek Reservoir (Polish: Jezioro Wloclawskie) in the east behind the dam and serviceable lock at Wloclawec bordered on the south by the relative refuge of the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park (see below). Ice build up and ice floes in the reservoir section can be a significant problem in the Winter months, although the last few years since the outbreak of war have not presented major difficulties yet.

The further stretch of river below the barrage until Torun conforms to the usual meandering and sandbank prone nature of the majority of the Vistula, but is mostly navigable by larger river ships than the upper reaches beyond Warsaw. Both the reservoir and the landscape park provide the villagers on the southern bank with relative safety from the troops moving through the area, as their large areas make it difficult for troops to harass the civilians who use their river-borne craft or the forested terrain to retreat to.

The wide reservoir between Plock and Wloclawek is relatively peaceful and picturesque, with a notable absence of regular troops or marauders other than the occasional lost river pirate boat from the remnants of the Korsarz of Warsaw (see PotV, pages 33-34). By contrast, the active forces further downstream are the patrols and convoys of the Soviet 96th Cavalry Division stretched along the road south of the river between the ruins of Wloclawec and their base in Torun (shared with the Soviet 22nd Cavalry Army HQ) and to the east along the railroad as far as Lipno. Forces south of the river will initially be on the lookout for remnants of the US 5th Infantry Division, but their interest will have fallen off as Winter approaches.

As Winter approaches, the small troop of 300 men from the Soviet 89th Cavalry Division based in Sompolno and the south stop following orders from Torun and begin to move eastwards to ultimately winter in the small town of Kowal. The nearby Soviet 43rd Cavalry Division remains with their attention to the north, based in and around their cantonment near the city of Grudziadz, controlling the two bridges over the Vistula in a face-off with the 2nd Polish Free Legion.

Encounter Tables

See later post for revised Encounter Tables...

Gostynin

This small town of about 200 inhabitants lies at the south of the landscape park on the road from Plock to Kutno and was bypassed by the recent fighting between elements of the US 5th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade and the Soviet 89th Cavalry Division. The wary villagers hunt through the woods nearby and have secreted several small caches of ammunition, supplies and food in preparation for the Winter and a retreat into the landscape park if harassed. If treated with civility they may assist American troops by showing them the paths and camping areas of the park.

Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park

Like other landscape parks, this area has relatively abundant wildlife including deer, wolves and particularly beavers around the multiple small lakes scattered through the area, allowing for reasonable fishing (and grenade fishing). Like the Kampinos Landscape Park to the east, the woods have overgrown and are now starting to reach up to the nearby towns and ruins. A small network of canals runs through the park, flowing into the narrow Zuzanka Canal that runs parallel to the Vistula for several kilometres, passing through Włocławek and opening into the main river at Port Letni. Encounter checks here result in animals more often (replace one of the Group results with Animal instead), making the park an excellent location for supplementary hunting for food.

Wloclawek Reservoir

The largest man-made body of water in Poland, stretching over 40km and almost 2km wide, this artificial lake hosts a small northern branch of the Czolno Lud, the waterborne civilian community of the Vistula. The majority of the two dozen boats are sail powered, although small alcohol powered motor launches form a part of many family flotillas. Moored about 10km downstream of Plock in the centre of the stream is an artificial island consisting of six tow barges with wooden houses and moorings that the river folk use as both a trade hub and neutral zone for discussions. The central barge mounts a modified 82mm Vasilek mortar that has sufficient range to enable shore bombardment as a deterrent against shorebound enemies.

Dobryzn nad Wisla

This small village of several families (less than 20 people) has retreated from the main town to makeshift dwellings and small fields within the ruins of the medieval Dobryzn Order castle on a cliff overlooking the reservoir just west of the old boating club. The families operate two small sailboats for fishing and trade their excess grain and distilled fuel with their relatives in the northern ranging boats of the Czolno Lud (see above and PotV, p 34-35) and the riverside settlement of Nowy Wloclawec on the outskirts of the ruins of Włocławek further downstream.

Kutno

See Escape from Kalisz, p94 - the scene of the fighting that annihilated the US 3-11 Battalion, the town is mostly ruined, with a handful of embittered and insular survivors returning from the woods to the south where they had fled. It marks the central point of Poland and is not only a major road junction near the was to be future Autostrada A1, but also the junction for the main railway lines (Poznan-Warsaw, Lodz-Torun, and another line leading northeast to Plock) and major passenger and freight rail stations. The agroindustrial park to the east surrounding the military garrison even has it's own rail sidings in reasonable repair.

Krosniewice

See Escape from Kalisz, p93 - a half-dozen US 5th Division survivors (of the 1st Brigade's 3-11 Battalion) are being sheltered in the town by the villagers, who are sympathetic to the Americans and share no love for the Soviet 6th Cavalry Division's 2nd Battalion that passed through mopping up the US remnants.

Alternate Start: The Ghosts of Kutno 

Following the fighting in Kutno, the Soviet 96th CD wiped out most of the US 5th Infantry Division's 3-11 Battalion, leaving a few scattered survivors in the area ie. Hexes 6913, 7013 & 7014 (Krosniewice and woods to the south respectively) and Hex 7113 (woods south of Kutno itself). Although likely starting without horses or heavy vehicles (either destroyed in the fighting or potentially captured and cached without fuel by the Soviets), this scenario provides a potential "alternate start" to the default EfK start (Hexes 6818 or 6618). Finding and then recovering the 3-11 battalion's last surviving vehicles (usual starting options or even a worn M2A2 Bradley needing significant repairs) may make an interesting kick-off, allowing the group to strike north off-road to an initial refuge in the landscape park by nightfall or else drive directly east about 130km along the secondary roads and reach Warsaw in a day - if they can scrounge enough parts and fuel from the less than friendly villagers... 

The Ruins of Włocławek

The Bridge over the Vistula at Wloclawec

This old Pomeranian city has lain abandoned and in ruins since the early days of the war, little more than a mass of rubble stretching along the southern bank of the Vistula. The truss road bridge across to the northern suburb of Suszyce, the 620m long Edward Smigly-Rydz Bridge, remains intact and provides reasonable clearance for most river-going vessels.

For encounters in the Wloclawec ruins, use the "Moving Through the Ruins" rules from Ruins of Warsaw, pages 9-10, with any Troops representing cavalrymen of the Soviet 96th, and any Marauders being deserters from the same unit. Civilians will be scroungers from the riverside settlement of Nowy Włocławek (see below).

The impressive upstream dam and barrage across the Vistula with its still serviceable lock were completed in 1970. During the initial exchanges when the city was devastated, the hydroelectric plant was targeted specifically and lies with the road broken and the river cascading through the resulting rubble. There is a troop of 15 cavalrymen from the Soviet 96th Cavalry Division guarding the southern end of the bridge, assessing it for whether it can be readily repaired by the division's engineers currently stationed in Torun.

Unlocking the Lock 

Currently the lock is set to the lower level, making passage downstream from Plock impossible without restoring it to working order. The northernmost 26.7 mW hydroelectric turbine may be salvageable with the correct parts (Rare, likely only available in Krakow or similar) and several days of repair requiring multiple skills (FOR Construction, Electronics and Mechanics checks, 2 days spent on each). The lock itself just needs minor mechanical repairs (Mechanic: DIFF, 2 periods) and to be hooked up to at least a 100 kW generator or the turbine to restore it to operational status, allowing large vessels to pass through. 

The Włocławek Dam, Barrage & Hydroelectric Plant
(original image adjusted to sepia tone)

Nowy Włocławek is the riverine settlement of survivors near the former suburb of Rybnica that has been established by the survivors of the main city and some of the local militia. Nestled in the ruins of the industrial park to the east of the main city, the survivors have reclaimed fields amidst the rubble in relative safety, surrounded by a dense belt of twisted metal and concrete that acts as a barricade. Scrounging parties from the settlement venture into the western ruins frequently, even as far as the ANWIL industrial park.

The formerly exclusive southern suburb of Michelin & Mielcin nestled in the woods is now one of the main staging areas of the rear echelon of Soviet 96th Cavalry Division (1400 men) including a small corps of engineers, stretched out in various convoys along the Torun to Wloclawek road to the west of the ruins. A small detachment of former airmen drafted as infantry when their planes were downed due to fuel shortage is refurbishing the nearby Krusyn-Wloclawek airfield and its Aeroclub facilities with a view to adding the recon capabilities of the half-dozen pre-War microlights cached in the hangars there (see Airlords of the Ozarks, pages 24-27 for details on these aircraft).

The pre-War ANWIL industrial park to the northwest has been similarly bombed and shelled into uninhabited ruins, although the rail lines leading from Torun that pass through to the south remain serviceable for the most part and are beginning to see usage by the mostly horse-drawn rail convoys of the 96th.

Kowal

Initially unoccupied in Autumn, by Winter this becomes the camp for the remnant Soviet 89th Cavalry Division that has withdrawn from the area they occupied around Konin, Kolo, Turek and their HQ at Sompolno after the defeat of the US 5th Infantry Division on 20th July. The Americans passed through this town briefly on their offensive but caused little hardship compared to Colonel Mikhaylov's 300 Soviet cavalry and their mounts demanding daily food - the villagers are resigned to waiting out the winter and hope to see the cavalry troop continue their journey eastwards in the spring.

Lipno

Straddling the railway line from Torun to Warsaw, this town of several hundred inhabitants helps provide food for the 96th Cavalry Division based in Torun. The locals have successfully converted the local Miejski Park to fertile fields and have managed to produce excess food to trade. A small detachment of a dozen cavalry troopers from the 96th with a rail-mounted BRDM-4 guard the railway station from which they ship grain to the divisional HQ a day's journey to the northwest, the rail carts pulled by an old BRDM-1 scout car also converted with rail wheels.

Bobrowniki

This small village on the northern bank with ruins of a Teutonic castle near the shore now lies abandoned. Two disused power lines cross from 100m tall pylons on either side of the river, the first set several hundred metres to the south of the village.  Although not electrified, some of the lines from the northeastern pylon have broken at the southern end and drape across the foreshore and into the river creating a potential obstacle for propellor craft.

Who Watches the Watchers? 

The Soviet 96th Cavalry Division has established an observation post near the top of the Bobrowniki tower, allowing the three observers with telescopic equipment stationed here to see almost 30km away to the horizon on a clear day with appropriate equipment - this effectively covers Hexes 6810, 6811 and 6910 ie the whole stretch of river from Wloclawec to Torun and it's suburbs and as far as the town of Lipno and the connecting railroad to the northeast and north. Specific details may be difficulty to make out but troop movements are easy enough to discern. The team have an advanced radio patched into an array at the top of the pylon that reaches to the HQ at Torun and the staging area in the wooded suburb of Michelin to the south of Wloclawec. The observation platform is unarmoured and reached by a single ladder, but does have a PK machinegun mounted on the corner furthest from the river to cover approaches to the post.

Radziejow

Now a small town of fewer than 100 civilians on the crossroads of the road from Sompolno to Torun and Wloclawec to Inowroclaw, the town's old hospital acts as the town centre and is still partly functioning through the use of a small generator, although the village is very low on necessary medical supplies due to "donations" to the passing military forces. The nearby Głuszyńskie Lake normally provides excellent fishing, although grenade fishing by the Soviet 89th Cavalry Division on their way south from Torun to the Kalisz area has depleted the local stocks much to the annoyance of the locals.

Ciechocenek

Mostly known through the ages for its curative salt springs, this town of about a hundred villagers now assists with food supply for the nearby Soviet cavalry forces in Torun, its parks converted into fields to supply the troops via horse-drawn rail convoys. In the easternmost Sosnowy Park, a field hospital for the cavalry division has been set up, flanked by the town's old hospitals with only a few MPs stationed as security.

Sluzewo

This hamlet of only 3 families about a day's return travel on foot from Torun lies just a short distance southwest of the Aleksandrów Kujawski Railway station and the rail cart convoys of the 96th Cavalry Division. Outside the town limits, stretching for about 20km towards Torun is the old artillery training ground, seeded with many unexploded shells (see page 10 of Ruins of Warsaw for suggested rules for unexploded ordnance) and old wrecked hulls once used for targeting practice.

The locals know the dangerous area very well and have several caches hidden amidst the dangerous area. One of the men can lead those willing to pay a price along the hidden path through the fields to the cellars beneath the old Torun Fortress.

Chelmza

The Soviet 43rd Cavalry Division has it's rear echelon in this small town on the shore of Lake Chełmżyńskie. With less than two hundred villagers, the town produces enough food to be self-sufficient, although the quartering of the rear echelon troops has put a strain on their stores. Rail carts drawn by horses connect the supply dumps with the force at Grudziadz to the north.


Note: details of the Soviet-occupied city of Torun will be presented in a separate section.

The Little Engine that Could (Steam Locomotive Vehicle for Twilight: 2000)

"I think I can, I think I can..."

Similar to the previous "A Typical Adult Human" Vehicle Card, I created this summary to assist with running a steam locomotive in a T2k v2.2 campaign using the Poland Hexmaps. You'll need the additional rules from the Going Home supplement, but I think this is still a useful resource.

While researching this, I found a couple of useful resources, the first being the website of the Warsaw Railway Museum (the main site is in Polish so may need Google Translate) which is probably the corresponding real-life location of the PKP yard presented in the module. Wayne from the Twilight 2000 MeWe group over at his Polish campaign website is considering using this as the source of the steam train for his players.

The museum is sited at the old main railway station terminus in the western suburbs of Warsaw and not only does it have a number of steam locomotives, but it also has some diesel and electric trains, including a WW2 era German PzTrWg16 armoured train:

PzTrWg16 Armored Train at Warsaw Railway Museum

Armed with old Soviet T-34 tank turrets (See p40, Soviet Vehicle Guide) that could be retrofitted to more modern cannons with available ammunition, it would be interesting to hook this up to the steam locomotive, probably with the redundant diesel engine removed to save on weight, to run the gauntlet of the Warsaw-Poznan-Frankfurt line that looks to be the default route the player group would take through to the relative safety of Germany... 

Another interesting resource is the Chabowka Rolling Stock Heritage Park at Skansen about 40km south of Krakow (Hex 7627). This similarly has a whole lot of old locomotives and rolling stock and could make an alternative starting point for a group interested in a rail adventure rather than cruising down the Vistula - the smaller railroad tracks northwest through secondary lines to Opole and then onwards to Wroclaw, connecting up with south of the "Major Railways - Poland" map from Going Home.

The third train resource is the Socachew Narrow Gauge Museum - this is to the west of Warsaw (Hex 7413) and similarly has a collection of almost 200 locomotives and rolling-stock but these are all *narrow gauge* and not usable on the main rail networks without conversion, which is difficult without cranes and other engineering equipment. There's a remnant narrow gauge line that covers about 18km that heads north from Socachew through the Kampinos Forest to the village of Wilcze Tułowskie. One of the locomotives might have been salvaged for local civilian use but it's more an oddity for a player group given the limited range of track available.

Oh the Humanity! (A summary Vehicle Card for a Human in Twilight: 2000)

I created this "Vehicle Card" as a shorthand resource for some of the posts / articles about the "mini-games" in T2k v2.2 so I could compare vehicles and horses/mules to a "human on foot".

Although somewhat whimsical initially, it actually proved quite useful to have as a reference - it doesn't replace a character sheet to be sure but for abstracted overland travel and discussions about how the mechanics of the game fits and/or creates the atmosphere and setting it works well.