Going Home - How did you?

[Tombot]

My group is just "Going Home" (travelling to Bremerhaven to reach the Omega-Ships there).
The module ist great, cause its a sourcebook for a big part of germany after the Twilight-War. There are some adventurehooks ("Last train to Clarksville", "Freibruder-Bund" in Paderborn, etc.), but its wide open to every GM what to do with it (which i appreciate).

What about encounters with british troops, german refugees, maybe even with french agents...?
I would like to know what you people made out of your journey to Bremerhaven, the passage over the ocean, and the welcome by Milgov-troops in Norfolk?

[pmulcahy11b]

Never did as a player. The one time I got out of Europe, I ended up in the Middle East.

[Tombot]

But did you present it as a GM? I am interested in ideas what course of dramatic plot you followed.
Would be a bit to easy to have "german-sourcebook" and telling the guys something like "well germany is f....d as poland was, but after a few days on the autobahn -Tahhadaahh - you made it!"

I am not sure what kind of encounters i will present for the journey to the port, how i will play out the atlantic-crossing, and what the soldiers can expect in Virginia.
I will come up with stuff (f.e. the PC´s will encounter a weird christian flaggelant-group, and their manipulative leader will bring them into trouble with a bunch of desperate refugees!), but i could use some inspiration.

[pmulcahy11b]

I've never done it as a GM either. I've GMed campaigns in Europe, the Middle East, various parts of the US, and Canada, but never one where the players were in the process of going home.

[Caradhras]

I did use the module but didnt use it to any depth as I had big plans for the US parts of the campaign so didnt do the module too much justice - although, as you say, it seems more of a Germany sourcebook than having much detailed adventure content (from what I remember, at work atm).

One thing I do remember is a bridge encounter where a group of bad guys (place what you will, deserters/marauders or just dodgy NATO troops) wont let the group pass unless they pay a toll. Maybe a vehicle, some fuel or ammo - but expensive enough give the group a serious pause for thought to give fighting a serious option but not automatic.

I think another thing was the deadline - the last ship was leaving on a certain date - so delays, eg vehicle breakdown, could put the group in a position to do something they may otherwise not do.....such as forcibly take another NATO units vehicle? Or just have to steal parts or fuel that a friendly unit refuses to part with.

I do like to give my group moral dilemmas - am afraid these are just off the cuff as I dash for lunch but hope its some help.

[Targan]

In my last campaign the players were aboard a ro-ro ferry for the voyage back to the CONUS. The ship's bow doors were damage when it struck submerged rocks north of Scotland during a storm. One of the PCs was a USN Lt Commander and he took command of the vessel after the accident. Unfortunately there was another storm some days later and the damage kept getting worse until the vessel was taking on more water than the pumps could handle.

They were a couple of very tense (and enjoyable) gaming sessions. Once it became clear the ship was in trouble panic broke out among the passengers. Some of the PC's group were commanding from the bridge, some were supervising damage control and others had to put down an attempted mutiny by panicking troops.

Eventually Lt Cdr Tadeusz Jones ordered that the ship be abandoned. Many passengers made it off the ship safely but some (including Gunny Lamont, one of the group's important long-time NPCs) were trapped below decks when the ship finally foundered and capsized. The Lt Cdr (who was a SEAL) then donned SCUBA gear and dived back into the ship to rescue the Gunny.

Once the PCs were back in Norfolk it was a powerfully emotive period of roleplaying. All through the European part of the campaign the PCs would regularly talk about how great it would be to get back home. Once the reality of the very poor situation back in the states became a stark reality there was a fair bit of depression among the characters. Then started a long period of political conflict as some senior brass pushed for the party's CO and XO to be court marshalled while others (particularly in the spec ops community) pushed for them to be hailed as heroes and decorated. But that is a tale for another time.