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 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.