What Happened in Your T2kU?

[Raellus]

How did your game world diverge from canon? What did the Ref change? Did anything your PCs do in-character have a significant impact on the game world?

Thanks to Paul M. for suggesting this thread.

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[unipus]

Originally, I kept the Warsaw Pact intact, with the main flashpoint to war being the assassination of Lech Walesa.

I still think this is a better setup than the official one, but as time has gone by I've revised the history to not directly contradict the official history on big matters.

[Claidheamh]

I've always liked the v1 Timeline most of the TW2K histories. For my next game I plan to use the v1 Timeline, with some adjustments stolen from this campaign: https://polandcampaign.com/ - specifically Chernenko lasts in office slightly longer, and his protege Grigoriy Romanov succeeds him rather than Gorbachev. As Romanov is a hardline party member who didn't want to compromise, I use his ascension as a means to justify rigid crackdowns on pro-democracy / independence movements and suppression of Solidarity in Poland.

I also like the details in "The Storm in Germany" and "Accidents and Misunderstandings" to setup the Sino-Soviet war and the coup in the DDR. The details about the Persian Gulf war and it's influence on Soviet military reforms is also good, I feel like it makes the WP armies into better adversaries.

Once the game gets rolling, I'll be changing a lot of the details about Operation Reset and other canon, in part because some of my players have seen the old canon versions too many times.

[Olefin]

I actually have a thread on here with my T2KU showing how we played

One way we diverged is that Last Med ended with the sub launching Tomahawk missiles armed with nuclear warheads to finally take out the Ploesti Oil Refineries thus taking out the Soviet fuel supply in Eastern Europe

As my GM said - if the mission is to say they won they war then its going to take a lot more than just a few crates of ammo and weapons

https://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=3642&highlight=olefin

[ChalkLine]

Mine diverges in 1975, so as you can imagine it's a lot to go into.

I find it interesting that nearly every GM writes up a new backstory but nearly no GM write up a history of the war in the theatre. Players constantly ask me about where their division was, what campaigns it took part in and if brigades or regiments (or equivalent) were swapped around.

[Matt Wiser]

V 1 timeline for the most part, but...

1) Webstral's work was used for 1990 onward (Gulf War, Sino-Soviet War, Storm in Germany), but a "Green Revolution" in Iran brought about the Iran Nowin Government.

2) No Soviet invasion of Alaska and Pacific NW.

3) Mexican invasion halted by SAC bombers with B-61 weapons on supply hubs supporting the invasion (Hermosillo, Chichuahua City, Monterrey). Mexican units either stay in place and go to warlordism, disintegrate, or go home. Division Cuba is in San Antonio, wondering how to get home.

4) More surviving Naval units for not just the USN, but others.

[swaghauler]

1) The Soviet Union falls, Germany reunited.

2) First Gulf War occurs.

3) Clinton becomes President and begins to disband the US Military to provide a "peace dividend" to the American people.

4) The US becomes embroiled in a number of "peacekeeping missions" designed to promote democracy. Kosovo, Restore Hope, the interventions in Africa, East Timor, and Kurdish Iraq all happen... spreading out US military personnel all over the globe.

5) The Mexican elections in 96 go south and Mexico becomes a "Narco-Puppet" State. The US stages a series of "interventions" in Mexico which create chaos and a deep resentment of the US. US Mexican relations deteriorate further when a series of incidents at the border leaves both US residents and immigrants dead.

6) Russia, looking for "friends," brokers a tenuous peace between Iran and Iraq using the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" strategy.

7) The Serbian conflict begins to escalate in late 96, led by "Russian sympathizers," forcing NATO to step up operations there.

8) The First Chechen War sees Russia suffer a number of defeats. Boris Yeltsin is assassinated and after a bit of upheaval in the government, a new President takes Office. Vladimir Putin takes control of the Russian government in early '97.

9) Russia begins selling major military hardware to Mexico. The Mexicans want tanks, aircraft, and heavy weapons... the Russians NEED hard currency. This becomes a "match made in hell" for American interests in the region when Mexican drug gangs begin using AKs and RPGs to settle scores on American streets.

10) In early 97, Russia and the CCP begin to have a conflict over natural resources in the far East. As Fracking hasn't been used on a large scale yet, and the Middle East is in shambles from the 1st Gulf War, energy is in high demand everywhere, and Russia aims to supply it to get back on sound economic footing.

11) Russia rearms Iraq and enhances Iran's defenses with surplus weapons and armor in exchange for oil, which it sells illegally to both Europe and Asia, stabilizing its own economy in the process.

12) Russia sells nuclear secrets to NK as well as providing more modern aircraft to the regime. In addition, the Russians sell several Naval assets and aircraft to the Indian Army which is fighting Pakistan in the Kashmir. These sales help the Russians build up the more advanced weapon systems in their arsenal.

13) Russia begins a secret plan to "destabilize" Eastern Europe after the Visegrad agreement between The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland threatens Russia's newly rising economic power in Europe. It places "revolutionary agents" in the various former Soviet States to "stir the pot." There is little movement outside of the Balkans which erupt into open conflict with NATO, mostly in Serbia. The Russians secretly arm these rebels and NATO finds itself fighting against well-armed insurgents in the region.

14) in late '97, Russian-backed communists in Poland (and supported by Belarus) begin clandestine attacks on government officials over what they view as a poor economic investment in the country. The Polish government begins a campaign to destroy this movement which is supposedly made up of disgruntled Poles but in reality, is a highly trained group of Russian Spetnaz, and the would-be revolutionaries take shelter in Belarus. The Polish government raids the revolutionary base in Belarus. Belarus protests and Russia moves troops to the Belarus and Polish borders.

15) In the spring of '98, Russia and CCP go to all-out war! The Russians make good initial gains until the People's Army surrounds the invaders. The Russians use Thermobaric munitions and gas attacks to slaughter the Chinese. The UN condemns Russia's actions. The US begins to send China aid.

16) The Polish government requests assistance from Germany and the NATO powers to stop the attacks on its soil, which have ramped up in the wake of the Polish incursion into Belarus. US, British, and German troops cross into Poland to help the Poles "keep the peace." The Poles decide to secure a region of Belarus that formerly belonged to Poland as a "buffer zone." Belarus counter-attacks and Russian troops follow behind. The war in Europe is now beginning in the summer of '98.

17) NATO is split with some members deciding to help and others abstaining.
The Czechs decide to help the Poles and Russia moves forces to the Czech border in retaliation.

18) Russia convinces NK that IF they attack South Korea, the Russians will not only assist the North Koreans but will tie up America in Europe and the Middle East. North Korea advances south using barrage techniques and Russian Thermobarics to scorch South Korea. The US and South Korean forces stop them COLD.

19) Russia convinces Iran and Iraq to launch joint operations against the US and Saudis. Syria decides to sit this out but does provide clandestine aid to both Russia and Shite Militias fighting with the Iranians.

20) The Russians offer to help the Mexicans retake the US West Coast and send a large force deceptively called the Cuba Division to help with an invasion of the US. The US is forced to use Reserves and National Guard units to repel Mexican T55Ms and Russian T72Ms rolling into the Southwest. The Russian offensive bogs down.

21) In late '99 (November) a desperate Russia, being thrown back on all fronts, begins using NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Mostly tactical weapons (150kt or less), which are used to hit specific Strategic targets but a few larger sub-launched weapons are used. In China, the Russians OBLITERATE the Chinese Army with nuclear weapons, leaving the country in total chaos. The large Strategic Missiles sit in their bunkers awaiting commands which never come. They are STILL sitting there when the game begins. The US then retaliates and for a little while, it looks like there could be peace... IF only there were someone who could broker it. Sadly, that doesn't happen. The war begins to pick up again in the spring of 2000. The military has now begun to "live off the land," planting crops, moving livestock in supply trains, and making biodiesel to fuel their machines of war.

22) Fall of 2000. "You're on your own!"

I basically spread the US "paper-thin" across the globe to give Russia a chance of winning. My idea for Poland has been laughed at a lot, right up until Russia took the Crimea and the fighting started in the Donetsk region. People told me, "there are NO WAY commandos could invade a country without that country wiping them out." Today I'd say: "go watch the fall of the Crimea."

The reason for shortening the timeline was to make sure no country was able to mobilize its economy to a war-time footing. This war escalated so quickly that it became a "come as you are war" with the combatants taking equipment out of mothballs to fill a dire need.

My nuclear war (referred to as The Exchange) occurs in '99 so the PCs have less than a year to develop the survival skills that they will need. The PCs will be learning how to survive JUST AS THE PLAYERS WILL BE, during play.

This is an abbreviated history, and I do keep a lot of the tactical actions in the initial RAW history. Do what you will with it.

[pmulcahy11b]

The Star Wars program yielded near-mature technology by 1988, and only improved from there. It intercepted about 30% of incoming warheads. Due to Soviet technology being subpar in many ways, many of their warheads missed their targets, were lost to fratricide, or simply never detonated. Some warheads only generated subyield explosions. Subpar Soviet tech led to another 8% of warheads being ineffective or only partially effective.

San Antonio, for example, was totally spared nuclear attack, despite having one primary target, two secondary targets, and one tertiary target. The warheads destined for Cape Canaveral were mostly intercepted, with one detonating in the Atlantic Ocean, generating a small tsunami which caused a wave of one meter to roll over the Cape. The warheads destined for the bases in Colorado Springs were largely intercepted, except for one sub-yield blast which detonated on top of Cheyenne Mountain and only generated 5 kt. Another dropped into downtown Colorado Springs, but only the conventional trigger explosives detonated, yielding the effects of a dirty bomb.

[Raellus]

In a long running PbP (almost 14 years old, IRL!) that a couple of us here play in, Gdansk survived a couple of low-yield nuclear strikes earlier in the war and is currently endeavoring to maintain it's recently-declared, and hard-pressed, free city status. The PCs are doing what they can to help, taking on threats external (Soviet besiegers, marauders of various stripes) and internal (rogue militia, saboteurs, etc.). It's been great fun.

The game roughly follows the v1 timeline, and uses the v2.2 rules. That one change from canon (minor, significant?) of Gdansk's survival has opened up a lot of interesting world-building from the Ref, and engaging gameplay opportunities for the PCs.

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[Drgonzo2011]

I use the V1 as a base, but modify a few things, due to the tone I want for my game (a bit more hopeful and focused on rebuilding).

1. The strategic nuclear exchange happens but is less extensive (for example, no strikes around LA). Its still enough to cripple the US, USSR and Europe (and cause China to collapse), but there is more a foundation left to rebuild on.
2. The Soviet incursion in Alaska happens, but is carried out by much smaller units, mostly Spetsnaz and small airborne units sent in to (successfully) disrupt oil production and tie up some Allied forces.
3. The Mexican invasion is more "Red Dawn" in that it is a coalition of Latin American Soviet clients, backed up by some Soviet units. The end result - parts of the southwest occupied and still an active warzone - is similar, but this seems more reasonable than Mexico deciding to take on a nuclear armed country on its own.
4. The 2000 offensive in Europe is partially successful, in that it leads to a coup in the USSR and a ceasefire in-place. NATO forces are still burned out, but the Soviets are not an active threat. Of course, Europe is still heavily damaged and there are enough marauders, warlords and rouge military units to keep player busy.
5. No US government split. There is still NA - as well as other, smaller extremists and separatist movements - but the main tension is between a crippled Federal government and various regional groupings. It's a little more like the situation in the novel War Day.
6. Italy and Greece declare neutrality, but do not go to war with NATO. There are some border skirmishes. In this case, the "fast convoy" battle happens (starving allied forces in the Balkan for resources) but is carried out by Soviet subs in the Med. The practical changes are in Africa, where the Greece-Italian Alliance is active, moving into resources rich areas. In some ways, they are another France, countries that managed to avoid the worst of the war and are major players in the immediate post-war world.

Overall, the idea is to focus more on trying to rebuild a devastated world and not just the depressing survival mode that the base game can easily drift into.

[swaghauler]

I use the V1 as a base, but modify a few things, due to the tone I want for my game (a bit more hopeful and focused on rebuilding).

1. The strategic nuclear exchange happens but is less extensive (for example, no strikes around LA). Its still enough to cripple the US, USSR and Europe (and cause China to collapse), but there is more a foundation left to rebuild on.
2. The Soviet incursion in Alaska happens, but is carried out by much smaller units, mostly Spetsnaz and small airborne units sent in to (successfully) disrupt oil production and tie up some Allied forces.
3. The Mexican invasion is more "Red Dawn" in that it is a coalition of Latin American Soviet clients, backed up by some Soviet units. The end result - parts of the southwest occupied and still an active warzone - is similar, but this seems more reasonable than Mexico deciding to take on a nuclear armed country on its own.
4. The 2000 offensive in Europe is partially successful, in that it leads to a coup in the USSR and a ceasefire in-place. NATO forces are still burned out, but the Soviets are not an active threat. Of course, Europe is still heavily damaged and there are enough marauders, warlords and rouge military units to keep player busy.
5. No US government split. There is still NA - as well as other, smaller extremists and separatist movements - but the main tension is between a crippled Federal government and various regional groupings. It's a little more like the situation in the novel War Day.
6. Italy and Greece declare neutrality, but do not go to war with NATO. There are some border skirmishes. In this case, the "fast convoy" battle happens (starving allied forces in the Balkan for resources) but is carried out by Soviet subs in the Med. The practical changes are in Africa, where the Greece-Italian Alliance is active, moving into resources rich areas. In some ways, they are another France, countries that managed to avoid the worst of the war and are major players in the immediate post-war world.

Overall, the idea is to focus more on trying to rebuild a devastated world and not just the depressing survival mode that the base game can easily drift into.

You think along the same lines that I do.

[stilleto69]

Wow, so many of you guys think the same way as I do.

Well, here's some of my tangents.

1) Prewar history includes Desert Storm, Operation Restore Hope, which is what caused the US Army to re-evaluate "Light" forces.

2) The 5th ID (M) was not totally destroyed at Kalisz, "4th Bde" (basically what was left of the Avn Bde, Artillery Bde & Discom) were on the other side one of the "bridges" near Popowek, when the radio call is made. They quickly destroyed the bridge and their rear supply area and began withdrawing back toward the US 2nd MARDIV's lines.

3) The Soviet forces hitting the US 5th ID (M) were reduced by an airstrike on their force several days earlier. (One of the last major airstrikes of the war) as well as Poletsi being hit & hit hard during the nuclear exchanges, most from the Soviet's fear that they would lose Romania completely.

4) Going Home - the 7th US Army stayed in Germany, the 4th US Army units are split on obeying. Also, a covert deal is made between GEN Cummings & his German counterpart where the Americans leaving are allowed to withdraw with some heavy vehicles, due to the invasion of the US. The Germans are "given" several replacement Pershing I missiles to compensate for the loss.

5) More surviving naval forces, USN, Russian, UK, etc.

6) Nuclear strikes on the US are less severe, due to a combination of Soviet sub-par technology, a more robust Star Wars system, and sheer luck. I.e. the strike on Cape Canaveral was not precise, in fact, a couple of the warheads hit some of the old unused launch pads that were last used in the 60's.

7) The invasion of Alaska still takes place. Initial Soviet forces are successful, but alert US forces completely devastate reinforcements. Major Soviet command sets up HQ @ Elmendorf AFB - only to be destroyed during TDM in the ultimate act of "friendly fire".

8) VP Pemberton was not killed, but in a severe coma. Currently held by GEN Cummings in a secret location. Which is why he refuses to recognize Pres. Broward.

9) Invasion of the Southwest still occurs, but like Matt's was ended by opening cans of "instant sunshine" on Mexican support units and supply depots.

10) France is not "left alone". Once the nukes started flying, they get hit again mostly from Soviet weapons as the surviving Soviet High Command did not want a "fully functional" nuclear power left on Europe.

11) Several Italian, Greek and Belgium units "defecting" to NATO to protest their countries' "cowardice" and backstabbing of NATO.

12) More "fantasy" vehicles i.e. F-16Fs, F-19s, F-20s, etc. than in real life.

There's more, but those are most of the major ones I have.

[Rainbow Six]

Scotland beat England 3-0 in the final of Euro ’96 at Wembley.

Oh, wait, that’s not what you’re looking for is it?

I’ve never really gone in for major deviations. As I think I’ve mentioned before, when I first started playing many years ago we ignored New America because it seemed too…outlandish / cartoonish…for a group of late teenagers in Scotland in the 1980’s. That’s kind of stuck with me throughout my T2K ‘career’ so if / when I was to do anything set in the USA I wouldn’t use New America, I’d use some sort of home brew replacement.

Most of my alternate UK timeline follows the standard V1 one with some minor and non game critical changes - the Queen does NOT abdicate (whoever thought that was a good idea in the canon SGUK really didn’t do their homework) but is killed when a ‘lucky’ nuclear strike hits the UK command bunker. Same strike conveniently takes out Prince Charles and most of the Government making William King, although i do leave some wiggle room for Charles to have potentially survived but be incapacitated using the ‘if you don’t see the body’ trope…

I have the French covertly meddling in UK domestic affairs, primarily by arming the Scottish Separatists - the Welsh were offered the same deal but are more isolationist so declined (in my game world the French want to keep the UK destabilised to give France a greater chance of emerging as the undisputed European power after the War).

I did at one point disregard the Irish invasion of Northern Ireland but I eventually came round to the viewpoint that it was a key part of the timeline so instead of ignoring it I tried to find ways to make it work and retconned it back into my alternate UK timeline.

I gave the RAF a couple of squadrons of F16's - the ones that were originally meant to go to Pakistan but were embargoed and ended up (I think) sitting at Davis Monthan for a while.

There’s been a couple of times where I’ve done the same as the Gdansk game and decided that it didn’t suit the game for a certain location to be nuked so I ignored the nuke strike.

Nothing particularly major though. And no Gulf War 1.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

So if I can get a campaign going again, my mostly v1 with some changes works out like this:

Ukraine broke with the USSR, declared her neutrality, shut off power to the USSR. This caused the USSR to send troops in, which is why they were caught on their back foot in Europe for so long.

The USSR still steamrolls in Central Poland during the last offensive, but still pays the butcher's bill for it.

Ploesti gets nuked, hard, once the JCS figure out where the Soviets got all the fuel they had for the counteroffensive. This pisses CivGov off to no end, as they wanted to put together an offensive to "liberate" Ploesti (as if they'd have the legs to get all that oil back to the US...)

Things aren't quite the disaster back in the States as they are in Howling Wilderness: Florida, for example, is not 90% depopulated. Saratoga limped into Key West after suffering ASM damage in a shoot out in the Caribbean with the last big Soviet surface action group; her planes landed at Key West NAS. By dint of being able to brew a little JP8 and keep the Hawkeyes flying, some warning of the big 5 hurricanes from 1997-2000 got out.

Patrick AFB got hit, but other launch facilities in the vicinity did not. The ability to get even one comsat into the air is a prize beyond measure and so CivGov and MilGov contest the region hotly - with New America in Brevard Cty. being a giant pain in the ass to both sides.

Anniston, AL, got a near-miss-fizzle but the "dirty" effects still did major damage; by 2000 it's all but a ghost town although CivGov wants it for its AFV repair/refit capabilities.

The Chicago/Milwaukee region is gone: atomic rubble. There's a large enclave of survivors and refugees around Lake Geneva, WI, Delevan, and other locations west, although fallout from the Dakotas make staying in the area dicey.

New York is essentially as detailed in Armies of the Night.

With fewer mouths to feed, fewer non-essential goods to carry, fewer non-essential vehicles using it, POL in the US is actually "stable" (not great, not terrible). Some AvGas is still produced in the limited refineries and there have been successes with JP8 production, so the occasional military or government aircraft overflight does happen. Nobody's grabbing a Delta Dash to Philly for an Eagles game though!

Regardless of "sides", people, largely, want help rebuilding and to be left alone. CivGov showing up and trying to force people to "pick a side" or MilGov likewise just angers people. The survivors want to rebuild, not have a civil war.

The Texas Republic is handily beating back Division Cuba forces, and holding Red Mexico at bay, although Mexico does still have some intact POL facilities that make it a tempting target for incursion and annexation. The few usable aircraft at the USAF AMARC are in the hands of the Mexicans as is the base; this is a serious thorn in the side for US (whether civgov or milgov).

I stripped out much of the guts of the Satellite Down story: yes a US Naval ship limped into the Gulf of California. Yes there's a satellite data capsule to be found. But the whole "there's only two pistols" and "If the Reactor gets shot it results in a nuclear explosion" (plus the details of the shootout that led the ship to be there in the first place), yeah, no, that's out the window.

Back in Europe the French have more to worry about than annexing Belgium: Paris is in ruins, the new government in Nice has too much to worry about than power projection: they know if the Foch sets sail the ship is a huge, huge tempting target and given France's turning away from NATO, possibly a target for both sides' remaining submarines.

Australia rode the war out relatively unscathed, but her Gov't. is becoming more authoritarian as the post '97 years roll on: US and other nations' embassy staff are the only people exempted from Australia's Displaced Persons Emergency Order which basically puts expatriate citizens in "housing" within a dock-side perimeter in cities located near the sea, "Until such time as suitable transportation to expedite their repatriation to their nation of origin can be secured." Those fortunate enough to reach their respective countries' embassies or consulates are effectively prisoners there.

Related to that, after the 2000 MilGov withdraw from Europe, a second "Operation Omega" is planned for forces in the Far East. North Korea took a ferocious shellacking after using chemical and limited nuclear weapons in its seemingly endless war with the rest of the world; South Korea is now dealing with a humanitarian crisis as the remnants of Pyongyang's government are nowhere to be found, and the only thing North Koreans rushing south are doing is begging for food and medicine. All US forces can do is get out of the way, so in an accord similar to what has been worked out with the government of the FRG (United), the US will leave most of its heavy equipment and withdraw troops back stateside, traveling first in whatever ships it can muster to repatriate citizens from elsewhere in the Pacific...

[mpipes]

I used v2.2 as the base starting point.

1) In 1989, the F-20A is ordered by a number of Air Forces primarily as a low cost interceptor compared to the F16ADF. The US Air National Guard purchases a couple of hundred.
2) 1991, Desert Storm occurs, but the allies take the short comings revealed to heart. US moves to develop more fuel-efficient engines for the M1. Round out Brigade concept found unworkable, so almost all active duty units to be manned at full strength. UK makes improvements to logistics and readiness and begins development of a crew-in-hull Corsair tank. Modest increase in the size of the UK Army planned. Arab nations move toward recognizing Israel, including Saudi Arabia.
3) The Soviet Coup succeeds. Yeltsin killed. USSR partially breaks up with Ukraine and Belarus gaining independence. MVD divisions must maintain order in the Baltic States and Caucasus Republics. The Warsaw Pact totally dissolved.
4) 1992, Russia initiates strategic arms reductions with US to lessen strain on economy. SS-18s, conventional subs and carriers, and SLBMs on the table. President Bush wins re-election. Germany struggles with integrating East Germany. G-11 program curtailed. Plans to scrap most weapons inherited from East Germany. Everyone hails end of Cold War; global movement to marginally reduce military budgets this year. Mexico stung by lack of influence on world stage and feeling slighted, undertakes massive expansion of military believing increased military presence in peace keeping will improve its image. Buys weapons from Germany and France. USSR pushes forward with new tank designs as does the US and Germany.
5) 1993, US reduces military budget and starts force reductions. Russia friction increases as instability increases with Russia wrestling with many republics to reassert control. Considerable turmoil in Eastern Europe; Germany reassesses plans to totally demobilize eastern units and scrap weapons. China showing signs of internal instability. By end of year, US decides to reverse force reductions, but several divisions have already been disbanded and some older equipment scrapped.
6) 1994, NATO retires many older weapon systems but also initiates upgrade plans. Tornado GR.4 production expands. Spain and Portugal get upgraded M-60s and refurbished A-7F upgrades and new F/A-18Fs. Plans to retire all conventional carriers per agreement with Russia proceed. Decommissioning of Peacekeeper ICBMs at 1 per month begin. B-52Gs units disbanded and bombers go into storage. SAC disbanded. Most F-111 units have already been disbanded. Work on USS Reagan and USS Truman greatly accelerated.
All SS-18s scrapped.
7) Sino-Russian war starts in 1995. Most weapon producers in West move toward war-time production to fuel Chinese buying spree. Germany starts expanding military; Poland and other ex-WP members react poorly. US and UK start redeploying forces to Germany as withdrawal plans cancelled. Late in the year, Backfire bombers in Vietnam attack a convoy sinking UK flagged shipping. British army starts massive expansion. US scrambles to re-establish B-52G and F-111 units. Pacific and Asian counties initiate mobilization. Dedicated F-16F production line opens. F-15E production accelerates. RN moves retired Polaris SLBM subs into shipyards for refit and order more Trident SLBMs. Number of UK SAS and UK Ranger units increased. Germany and the UK buy F-16s (Germany buys F-16Fs).
8) 1996, New Warsaw Pact established. Belarus invaded by Polish and Soviet forces. NATO reacts by partially mobilizing. Poland goads Germany a step too far with a major incursion. War declared. Russia coerces New Pact countries to send small numbers of troops to China. Ukraine proceeds with bolstering military forces.
f-16Fs very active along with F-20As. F-20A prove to be effective air superiority fighters, with many flown by former East German pilots.
9) German forces buckle and Germany invokes NATO treaty. President Bush orders immediate air strikes and announces a draft. President Tanner makes peace overtures as soon as he takes office, but Russia strongly rebukes.
10) 1997, Sweden and Finland join NATO after repeated territory violations. US conventional carriers start reactivation. USS Reagan launched. North Korea attacks both South Korea and China. Soviets make limited invasion of Japan and commit considerable forces to S. Korea. Intense combat in Iran and Afghanistan as Soviets invade.
11) Spring, Soviet commandos go active in the US; several Senators killed and capitol damaged by KGB commandos and Spetsnaz. Tu-160s make daytime and nighttime attacks on the US, successfully bombing Fairchild and Minot AFBs as well as Seattle, New York city, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. By summer, Soviets initiate use of tactical nuclear weapons. Massive use on Chinese Front, but considerable numbers of Chinese nukes destroy or damage a number of Far East targets including Vladivostok and Fokino. China nukes ALL command bunkers in N. Korea totally decapitating military and government control. Korean Front collapses.
12) Soviets invade Alaska and penetrates deeply, getting all the way to Great Falls, MT before stopped and reach the outskirts of Vancouver. President Tanner approves and embraces expanding and arming State Guard and militia forces as commando attacks continue and Soviet echelons advanced into Canada. The US tries to stabilize the Front with additional Army and militia units. President also "mobilizes the militia" bringing State Police under military control and massively stepping up efforts to deal with the commandos and scattered Russian combat troops along the Canadian border. Schisms develop as many Democrat-controlled states redouble gun control efforts and retard efforts to organize and arm militia and State Guard units. President Tanner finally loses his patience and orders the arrests of several state AGs especially active in militia suppression efforts. Several Soviet commando units neutralized by militia guards (with heavy losses), and militia hunt down the crew of a pair of shot down Tu-160s.
13) TDM occurs. Russia attempts a counter force strike to neutralize US strategic forces, which fails miserably. The bomber force was dispersed and mostly survived. US ICBMs and Trident SLBMs take out the vast majority of unlaunched Russian ICBMs. Most refineries attacked, but numbers of smaller refinery complexes remain intact. Italy, which had allied with the New Pact along with Greece, revolts. A bloody, but short revolution kicks the Socialists out as an orgy of killing of Socialist politicians erupts. In one infamous incident, over 1500 are locked into a radiation contaminated prison and left to die. Many female family members are raped to death in particular gruesome ends as entire Socialist and Communist families are brutally murdered. Gruesome "snuff films" circulate for decades after the war. Anti-leftists death squads freely operate throughout the country. Italian units cease combat and return to Italy.
14) 1998, France goes crazy; invades and occupies Germany west of the Rhine, Belgium, and bordering portions of the Netherlands. Also attacks Italy, but are rebuffed. A considerably resistance movement ensues. Some military units mutiny. Foch and Jeanne d'Arc defect to NATO. Spain retaliates for the invasion of allied NATO countries by invading and occupying a sliver of southwestern France. Italy reenters the war as a NATO member. A Free Irish Army (FIA) develops along the Ireland/Northern Ireland determined to establish a "real" Irish Republic dominated by a "Socialist-Marxist-Catholic" ideology. USS Enterprise stranded in dry dock in Belfast. Several more carriers languish in dry dock or in port lacking resources to repair or crews to sail. Persistent rumors of cannibalism with Mexican-Americans as primary victims in southern California
15) Mexico invades. The Mexican military operates modern tanks including upgraded AMX-30s and AMX-40 tanks. Its Air Force includes numbers of Mirage F-1Es and 4000s and Jaguar fighters as well as upgraded MiG-21MFs and MiG-23s. Soviet forces transferred from Cuba include a number of MiG-29SMs, MiG-21MFs, MiG-23MLs, MiG-23BNs, SU-17D, SU-22s, and MiG-27Js. "Division Cuba" has large numbers of T-80Bs and T-72Bs as well as obsolete Su-100s and T-62Ms. Almost 10,000 Pact POWs freed, who receive captured American equipment such as M-48A5 and M-60A1s and joined with “Division Cuba.” US Army units remaining in the southwest mange to halt the invasion roughly along the I-20/I-10 corridor from the Pacific coast to the Sabine River. California occupied from about 50 miles south of San Francisco to about 25 miles south of Las Vegas. The invading forces take large casualties, but the US Army suffers as well. Militia and State Guard very active. Very active partisan forces. The front largely stagnates, as the US Army lacks the strength to force them out and Mexico lacks the logistic depth to support high tempo combat ops. Mexican forces engage in ethnic cleansing operation to remove Anglos. Aircraft are flying on both sides, but very limited sorties can be generated given the available fuel.
16) Overall, there are about twice as many operational tanks and APCs as listed in the source books. Larger numbers of Abrams and Leopards remain operational. Operational aircraft are down to about 10% authorized levels. Fuel is still available, but very much reduced with perhaps 3% to 5% prewar production level. Aircraft are flying with an alcohol-fuel blend though fuel is in very short supply. Troop strength is down to about 30% overall, with on average troop strength per the source books around 10% to 50% greater than listed. The war situation pretty much tracks canon overall. About 15% of the US Navy remains afloat with about 3% operational. There are quite a few subs intact and operational. The USS Reagan and USS Truman are both operational with small air groups. Air Groups include F/A-18E/Fs, F4U Corsairs, and A-7Fs. Alcohol fuel production is in full swing in the US. Texas has not declared independence. CIVGOV and MILGOV both exists. Mexican Front still in stalemate. Alaskan Front is more active, but Soviet Forces are on the ropes. After Operation Omega, MILGOV starts turning attention toward activating the Mexican Front and recovery and stabilizing efforts in chaotic locations (e.g., NYC and New American strongholds). CIVGOV gets less stable with a Byzantine-level of political shenanigans. Hillary Clinton is the AG and operates the FBI as her personal secret police; AG office also penetrated by a Mexican/KGB spy. Currently, little real friction between CIVGOV and MILGOV, but that could change in an instant.
Ignored quite a bit of “Howling Wilderness,” but the US has a shattered civilian transportation network. Very little petroleum fuel goes to the civilian sector.

Those are the high points.

[Heffe]

Scotland beat England 3-0 in the final of Euro ’96 at Wembley.

Oh, wait, that’s not what you’re looking for is it?

I’ve never really gone in for major deviations. As I think I’ve mentioned before, when I first started playing many years ago we ignored New America because it seemed too…outlandish / cartoonish…for a group of late teenagers in Scotland in the 1980’s. That’s kind of stuck with me throughout my T2K ‘career’ so if / when I was to do anything set in the USA I wouldn’t use New America, I’d use some sort of home brew replacement.

Most of my alternate UK timeline follows the standard V1 one with some minor and non game critical changes - the Queen does NOT abdicate (whoever thought that was a good idea in the canon SGUK really didn’t do their homework) but is killed when a ‘lucky’ nuclear strike hits the UK command bunker. Same strike conveniently takes out Prince Charles and most of the Government making William King, although i do leave some wiggle room for Charles to have potentially survived but be incapacitated using the ‘if you don’t see the body’ trope…

I have the French covertly meddling in UK domestic affairs, primarily by arming the Scottish Separatists - the Welsh were offered the same deal but are more isolationist so declined (in my game world the French want to keep the UK destabilised to give France a greater chance of emerging as the undisputed European power after the War).

I did at one point disregard the Irish invasion of Northern Ireland but I eventually came round to the viewpoint that it was a key part of the timeline so instead of ignoring it I tried to find ways to make it work and retconned it back into my alternate UK timeline.

I gave the RAF a couple of squadrons of F16's - the ones that were originally meant to go to Pakistan but were embargoed and ended up (I think) sitting at Davis Monthan for a while.

There’s been a couple of times where I’ve done the same as the Gdansk game and decided that it didn’t suit the game for a certain location to be nuked so I ignored the nuke strike.

Nothing particularly major though. And no Gulf War 1.

Out of curiosity, what seemed too cartoonish about New America, and what did you use for your homebrew instead?

[Rainbow Six]

Cartoonish was maybe the wrong word - stereotypical is probably a better one. At the time the notion that there would be an organised covert far right movement in the United States just waiting for the opportunity to ‘rise’ and take control of swathes of the country seemed to be somewhat absurd. I seem to recall that the rank / tier structure met with particular derision.

Where needed we replaced them with options that were probably equally stereotypical - biker gangs, cults, escaped cons, etc.

Bear in mind this was thirty plus years ago - I’d never been to the USA at that point or studied politics and my exposure to American culture came from things like Miami Vice and the A Team.

[Targan]

As I've described a number of times over the decades, the biggest timeline-changing event in my last campaign involved Major Anthony Po and his unit recovering a SADM "backpack nuke" from beneath the Jazna Gora cathedral in Poland, returning it to functionality and with the enthusiastic support of the DIA station in Krakow, infiltrating the lines of Warsaw Pact Reserve Front HQ in Lublin and detonating it. It caused serious disruption to WarPac command and control in Poland and made evacuating US forces back to Germany somewhat easier at the tail end of 2000.

There is a rumour in a random table in one of the Poland modules that mentions the failure to detonate of one of several US SADMs when NATO forces withdrew from Częstochowa earlier in the war.

[Raellus]

Targan, did you ever tease out, even just behind the scenes, what the nuking of the Lublin Poles' HQ had on the situation in Poland and/or beyond?

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[mpipes]

Cartoonish was maybe the wrong word - stereotypical is probably a better one. At the time the notion that there would be an organised covert far right movement in the United States just waiting for the opportunity to ‘rise’ and take control of swathes of the country seemed to be somewhat absurd. I seem to recall that the rank / tier structure met with particular derision.

Where needed we replaced them with options that were probably equally stereotypical - biker gangs, cults, escaped cons, etc.

Bear in mind this was thirty plus years ago - I’d never been to the USA at that point or studied politics and my exposure to American culture came from things like Miami Vice and the A Team.

I had a problem with New America for the same reasons. I have it, but it is not that large when all is said and done. However, they are organized, wide-spread, and able to communicate via CB radio. Biker gangs are DEFINITELY around and active including the Hell's Angels, the Mongols, the Cossacks, the Bandidos, the Iron Order, the Zulus, and the Grim Reapers. There is also a cannibal cult in southern California and western Arizona. I have a pagan cult worshipping the Norse gods (you really don't want to piss them off). Also, everyone should have a coven of good, old-fashioned Devil worshippers here and there. I also have that demon cult that was in my adventure short that I submitted.

As for Queen Elizabeth in my campaign, she had to abdicate due to getting Yellow Fever in May 1997 with long term liver damage (she made a state visit to Africa in May 1997). She is still alive, but pretty much confined to bed rest.

[Targan]

Targan, did you ever tease out, even just behind the scenes, what the nuking of the Lublin Poles' HQ had on the situation in Poland and/or beyond?

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Well initially in the first few days and within fast horse ride of line-of-site to the mushroom cloud, there was general panic among the surrounding combatants and the populace. No nukes had been detonated in Poland in years. The PCs had deployed the SADM underground (in a sewer) so unfortunately there was a horribly dirty ground burst with a nasty fallout plume.

In the following weeks there was a pretty much total collapse in command and control among those WarPac units in Poland that had still been following orders. That was the PCs' main objective, as by this stage they were a thorn in the side of WarPac forces and had been actively hunted. The breakdown of C&C helped them and other American units in their efforts to get back to Germany to join the fleet heading back to CONUS. The DIA had enthusiastically supported the mission for reasons of the "war effort", but by late 2000 the thought that any side was going to "win" the war was obviously ridiculous.

Po and his band of murder enthusiasts had a relatively easy time of things heading back to Germany. They stopped being so careful about the use of hard-to-replace ammunition and ordnance and went full-overkill on any significant threats as they drove west. They weren't openly telling most of the people they talked to about the nuking, but they told the higher-ups as soon as they reached Germany (the DIA had broadcast coded notifications ahead of them anyway) and they were feted as heroes by the generals, also with some awe and suspicion thrown in.

Longer term their use of the nuke coloured their relations with the top brass back home in the US, and basically forced them into one side of a schism between factions of MilGov command back in Norfolk. The general officers with a special forces bent treated Po like he was a demigod.

[Raellus]

Thanks for that rundown, Targan. So, no Soviet retaliation? That Po was one lucky bastard.

On a related note, I figure that a nuking of the OMEGA evac fleet at Bremerhaven* would have a pretty significant impact on the game universe, especially events in the chronologically later CONUS modules.

*I used that threat as the major plot hook of Rook's Gambit. Not sure anyone's played that scenario out but, if so, I'd love to hear from them.

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[Targan]

Thanks for that rundown, Targan. So, no Soviet retaliation? That Po was one lucky bastard.

As Po's group was withdrawing from Lublin with the clock ticking on the bomb, a Spetznaz team that had been tracking them for weeks gave chase. There was a running gunfight, but the Spetznaz unit didn't know that a nuke was about to go off. The PCs were of course extremely keen to put as much distance as they could between themselves and Lublin, and they knew exactly what time the detonation would occur. So they mostly ran for it (normally I reckon they would have stood their ground and duked out out).

When the timer hit zero, the PCs were all huddled in a ditch. They were somewhat protected from the blast wave, but they all soaked up some rads. The Spetznaz unit were out in the open and several hundred metres closer to the detonation. Any survivors gave up the chase after that.

[mpipes]

As Po's group was withdrawing from Lublin with the clock ticking on the bomb, a Spetznaz team that had been tracking them for weeks gave chase. There was a running gunfight, but the Spetznaz unit didn't know that a nuke was about to go off. The PCs were of course extremely keen to put as much distance as they could between themselves and Lublin, and they knew exactly what time the detonation would occur. So they mostly ran for it (normally I reckon they would have stood their ground and duked out out).

When the timer hit zero, the PCs were all huddled in a ditch. They were somewhat protected from the blast wave, but they all soaked up some rads. The Spetznaz unit were out in the open and several hundred metres closer to the detonation. Any survivors gave up the chase after that.

Maj Po?? Wasn't he that pacifist vegetarian type running around singing kumbaya all the time.

[Targan]

Maj Po?? Wasn't he that pacifist vegetarian type running around singing kumbaya all the time.

A practising Bhuddist, believe it or not :D

[Raellus]

That Po was one lucky bastard.

To clarify, I meant retaliation in kind. I imagine that one of the only things that stopped the exchange is fear that "just one more nuke" would continue the cycle to it's logical and tragic conclusion (i.e. extinction-level event). Nuking ComPol's military HQ seems like a guaranteed way to provoke a PACT nuclear strike against a major CnC target in NATO territory.

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