Is Krakow as precariously balanced as it seems?
 

I'm running Free City of Krakow on my occasional Thursday night game, and I've been thinking about one mention in the module, that the 150+ strong band of marauders outside the city might want to try and topple it. Is that just their pie in the sky wishes or do they really think they could pull that off? I thought the ORMO in FCOK could squash the raiders! 150 of them, a single BMP-2, a few RPG rounds, 1 or 2 ATGMs...vs. the ORMO that consists of like 5300 troops, a short company of tanks (6 or 7 working T72s or 80s, IIRC), as well as a number of armored vehicles.

I would suggest that anyone thinking a group of 150 men and a lone armored vehicle poses a threat to Krakow's defenses needs to clean out their headgear.

Operation Gideon/Bay of Piglets
 

Perhaps the marauder leader is delusional, or badly misinformed (with intel from either a very unreliable or delusional source). That situation kind of reminds me of the two American mercs who got caught not so long ago trying to launch a coup in Venezuela with a force of less than 100 Venezuelan exiles. Just read this piece the other day- it offers an interesting take on how they were captured.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gg...hey-were-duped

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In Free City of Krakow there is two large marauder bands mentioned.

Najezdzcie Warsawskie band that currently has secret base at Dworzec Glowny railway station. They are living of Krakow’s rich merchant convoys and waiting for other opportunities (breakdown of society in Krakow).

Rzezmiki Z Ropczyce is larger marauder band that is just arriving in Krakow area and their leader Boris Leonov has plans to attack Krakow.

When comparing military strength, it’s obvious that Boris is unable to make direct frontal attack to city. Most likely they also have to use infiltration to gain access in Krakow.

In worst case Leonov’s crew can smuggle aircraft bomb or even chemical weapons to market place. Mass casualty situation floods Wavel hospital with wounded. When constant stream of casualties is pouring to Wavel courtyard its more than likely that guards won’t be asking too many questions, when another truck full of “wounded” is trying gain entrance.

Interesting read, thank you.

Yes, it was the second group I was curious about. There's no way they could frontally assault the city, they'd have to perform a terror attack like you say.