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#1
06-03-2022, 04:15 AM
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AAR 1 - Gear up time
Back in 1984, when I bought the first edition of T2K. The first thing I did was march a soldier on foot overland using the random tables and encounters and tried to see if he could survive NPC meetings, radiation, water, food etc for a week. Now in 2022, having just bought T2K V4.0, I intend to do a similar thing to test out the free league rules.
This first encounter was gamed out in February 2022. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place in the real world. But I used the looming conflict as a modern day background. I didn’t intend for this to be tasteless now that we know the invasion took place. I remember thinking at the time that despite all the now obvious signs, the invasion wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t happen. It did happen. My PC just needed a place to be, and maybe a reason for being there. And I saw Ukraine as a magical place on the other side of the world, in far away Europe (Poland being a first edition point of interest) where he could walk to Chernobyl, which is a second example of a 1980s point of interest. I didn’t realise that now I am getting around to proof reading the adventure, some re-checking of rule understandings and writing this AAR up for others to read in May June 2022 that so much has actually happened in real life Ukraine. Again, no offence intended. My PC is called Mason Geddes. My goal is to march him overland about 7 days to get from an unnamed city in Ukraine, to Chernobyl. And then see what happens from there if he survives his travels. Obviously, this is a work of fiction. First Meeting/kit up/lay of the land Mason Geddes. Typical retired soldier, with formal experience overseas with the Australian Forces and, informal experience in various recent conflicts. Sensing a growing threat in Ukraine, he has flown into northern Ukraine with the intent of moving up to the expected front line of any potential Soviet invasion. A point of interest is the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the north, so that becomes my travel end goal. Flying commercial into Ukraine, there was no opportunity to import his required survival gear and weapons needed for the conflict. Instead, using a trusted contact, Mason had arranged to meet a local “fence” or contact to provide equipment. Feeling very much vulnerable, and like he was in a dungeons and dragons scene, Mason approached the bar given as the meeting location. Located under a block of flats, a flight of stairs leading down into a basement was the entry point off the street. The greyness of the winter day meant his eyes didn’t take much adjustment to the low light on reaching the bottom of the stairs and walking into the bar. Was the contact really going to be here? And do an exchange of money for weapons and other survival gear in a public bar? Even by Ukraine standards, and a country on the edge of war, this felt too brazen. But there he was. The Fence. Sitting in a booth off to the side. As arranged. The “fence” stood up and met Mason as he approached the booth. Extending a hand shake greeting, the fence produced a knife – and attempted to strike Mason by surprise. Hoping to fleece him of his cash. [As my first encounter using the V4.0 rules by Free Legion, I’ve decided to have a non-weapon/non-lethal combat encounter. I’ve decided the fence has the skills of a refugee as per page 38 of the Referees Manual, and he produces a knife. I rule he achieves surprise as Mason wasn’t expecting such quick open conflict in the bar, meaning he gets a free opportunity to hit Mason without having to draw initiative. From a game perspective, I have put my PC in a difficult position, but against a lowly skilled NPC to see how the game system plays out.] Round 1 The Fence approaches Mason, extending his hand to shake in greeting, however he quickly produces a knife and tries to strike Mason, in an attempt to steal his money. Task: Fence attempts to stab Mason. Slow action. Ability Die: Strength C (D8) Skill Die: Close Combat Nil Modifiers: Nil Mod. Ability Die: Strength C (D8) Mod. Skill Die: Nil Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*2,na,-- Result: miss The Fence misses his strike attempt. In response, and still surprised at the quick turn of events, Mason tries to disarm the Fence. Hoping to defuse the situation and complete their intended transaction so he can gear up and head north. Task: Mason attempts to disarm the fence (page 64 Players Manual) Fast action. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Skill Die: Close Combat B (D10) Modifiers: Nil Mod. Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: B (D10) Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*7,3,-- Result: one success. Therefore Mason knocks the knife out of the fences hand. However, the disarm action can be blocked by the Fences remaining fast action this round. Task: Fence tries to block the disarm action (page 64 Players Manual) Fast action. Ability Die: Strength C (D8) Skill Die: Nil Modifiers: Nil Mod. Strength C (D8) Mod. Skill Die: Nil Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*5,na,-- Result: no success. Masons single success against a one handed weapon (knife), and the failed block attempt, the knife is parried and drops to the ground between the two combatants. Using his second and last remaining fast action, Mason strikes out at the Fence hoping to do a small amount of damage, essentially to wind him and bring the contact to his senses. The Fence has used his fast and slow actions, so is unable to attempt to block it. [I thought this non-lethal combat would be a good introduction to the rules, and get a feel for how the D12, D10, D8 and D6 system works having never used it before.] Task: Mason strikes Fence. Slow action. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Skill Die: Close Combat B (D10) Modifiers: Nil Mod. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Close Combat B (D10) Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*3,4,-- Result: miss 2nd Round The Fence has lost the advantage of surprise, and senses he is outclassed having been disarmed of his knife. Not expecting any mercy due to his ambush, the Fence tries to end the combat by drawing a pistol. I house ruled the initiative here. I don’t like the 50/50 nature of drawing from a deck of cards. Instead I constructed a kind of opposed roll. The Fences mobility (D6) verse Masons close combat (D12+D10). The Fence rolled a 3 = miss Mason rolled 7+5 = one success. Therefore gains initiative. Mason again tries to disarm the Fence, to keep him alive and locate the survival gear he was promised. Task: Mason attempts to disarm the fence of his pistol (page 64 Players Manual) Fast action. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Skill Die: Close Combat B (D10) Modifiers: Nil Mod. Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: B (D10) Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*7,5,-- Result: one success. Mason disarms the Fence of his pistol. To prevent this from happening the Fence can try and dodge the disarm action. Task: Fence tries to block disarm action (page 64 Players Manual) Fast action. Ability Die: Strength C (D8) Skill Die: Nil Modifiers: Nil Mod. Strength C (D8) Mod. Skill Die: Nil Ammo Die: N/A Roll:*2,na,-- Result: no success. The pistol now clatters to the floor, and comes to rest next to the knife. The small crowd inside the bar has gone silent in shock at the attempted knifing (a semi regular event) and then the drawn pistol (uncommon before midnight). Realising he is outclassed, the Fence runs towards the door, accelerates up the stairs and moves towards a car parked on the street. A civilian (page 64 of the Referees Manual. I chose a different kind of NPC just for the diversity) is waiting behind the wheel with the engine running. Mason himself gets to the top of the stairs and sees his Fence enter the car. Having taken the time to pick up the .45 pistol, Mason has had enough of being messed around and draws down on the occupants of the car. Looking to disable their get away and take possession of his promised equipment, which may be in the car. Initiative comes into play again. I still don’t want to draw cards from a deck. So I compare coolness under fire rolls (highest goes first). The civilian has a CUF of D so rolls a D6 and gets a 4. Mason has a CUF of B and so rolls a D10, securing a 6, and thus goes first. Mason aims his pistol at centre chest of the driver of the car, which classifies as a stationary target. Fast action: aim Slow action: fire called shot from the .45 pistol. I need to know the range to the vehicle, and decide given the short time it took the fence/refugee to get to the vehicle, that it was near the door of the bar. So I roll a D6x10m to randomly determine how many hexs away it is. I roll a 2. So 20m. Which is short range for the .45. Ability Die: Agility A (D12) Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Modifiers: -2 for called shots to chest Mod. Strength A to B (D10) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat A to B (D10) Ammo Die:2 Roll:*3,4,2,6 Result: no hits. 8 bullets expended empties the magazine. But a possible suppression for the 6 on the ammo die (page 67 of the players manual). The driver makes a coolness under fire roll (D6) and rolls a 6, a success! Therefore he is not suppressed (my later reading of the Suppression rules on page 67 uncovered in the last paragraph that targets fully in a vehicle cannot be suppressed. Good to know this unnecessary die roll didn’t impact on the result). The driver engages first and second gear, and drives off down the street. For round 3 Mason reloads his 45. I could have tried to reload as a fast action in hindsight, but made the call on the run to spend the entire round reloading. I arbitrarily rule the car has moved to long range for the pistol. Round 4 Mason fires his 45 at the vehicle which is now at long range. Ability Die: Agility A (D12) Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Modifiers: -2 for long range, -1 for moving target Mod. Strength A to C (D8) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat A to B (D10) Ammo Die:2 Roll:*4,8,2,5 Result: one hit to the driver. 7 bullets expended empties the magazine again. Hit location roll D6 is a 2 (torso) as the bullet passes through the seat from behind. Damage is 2. I rule that having taken a hit, the driver must pass a driving skill check to continue to drive with no incident. The drivers skill is D6 and the roll is a 2, so a fail. The driver slumps forwards onto the steering wheel, then flops back in his seat as the car takes a suddenly left turn and crashes into a parked car on the side of the road. As this was my first encounter, I called an end to the action there. I ruled the fence had seen enough, having been disarmed of his knife and then pistol, then seeing his mate shot. He runs off through the growing crowd. Mason approaches the vehicle hoping his promised equipment was inside. Having got this far into the first encounter, I decide that the car does contain most of his required items, but not all. Thinking the main weapon is the most important item I make up a quick random table for a D6 roll to determine what weapon is left behind. 1: FN FAL 2: FAMAS 3: SVD 4-5: AKM 6: AK-74. Die roll is a 1, so FN FAL. A backpack containing binoculars (+2 recon), a med kit and a telescopic sight for the rifle are also found. Mason has kept the original knife and 45 pistol. I determine at this point that Mason is going to exit the city, and head towards Chernobyl which is expected to be near the front line. City travel determines that 1km is travelled (page 149 Players Manual). And I decide that is far enough to reach the edge of the city limits. My thoughts:
I would like to share two links to games that I have found inspiring and useful in transitioning to V4.0. I took some of their writing structure to help give some format to this first post of my own. http://twilight2000solo.blogspot.com...nd-taggin.html https://mindlands.blog/2022/01/02/es...mini-campaign/
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"Beep me if the apocolypse comes" - Buffy Sommers Last edited by kcdusk; 06-15-2022 at 06:31 AM. 
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#2
06-15-2022, 03:13 AM
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AAR 2 - Evening Day 1, outside city limits
Evening Day 1 – Just past city limits
Mason parks the car at the last visible home in the city limits, letting the occupants know it has a quarter of a tank of gas and the keys are in it. Grabbing his backpack and weapon, he trudges off away from the setting sun and towards the Soviet border further to the East. I decide to roll for a random encounter to end Day 1. And draw 10 Diamonds, “Drop your weapons” and the Soviet Military road block. A BTR-70 sits facing the direction Mason is hiking from, there are 3 soldiers in total, with two soldiers milling about in the middle of the road. Page 143 of the players manual discusses Keeping Watch. My PC gets to make a passive RECON roll that cannot be pushed (due to it being passive task). It’s a straight recon roll, because the enemy is not actively ambushing me. Success means I spot them first, failure means they spot me first. Having the option to shoot first, or avoid an encounter, is one of the largest decision or dice points in the game IMO. Being a solo character, I am glad Masons RECON skill is high. Masons passive recon check is as follows; Ability Die: Intelligence A (D12) Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Modifiers: none, I didn’t think to spend more than 5 minutes looking for them Mod. Intellegence A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Ammo Die:NA Roll:*12,9,NA Result: 3 successes (rolls of 10 or higher count as two success). Mason spots the group of soldiers smoking in the middle of the road, and the vehicle silhouetted against the advancing night sky. At this point I made a wild refereeing decision. Due to rolling 3 successes, I changed the encounter from enemy Soviet forces to friendly Ukraine forces. This also allowed Mason to barter for some other items I realised I would need but hadn’t accounted for yet before moving on from the contact at the bar. When I was much younger, I always went to long lengths to note down every item my PC caried. This was part of the fun of making up unique playing characters, but also partly due to my cousin who was always the referee being a hard arse about if I missed anything, then I didn’t have it! This was both a point of torture for me and later an ongoing challenge to make sure I had it listed down. As I got older and started running my own solo games, I moved away from the pain staking details approach. Now, I assume my PC has almost every real world item that is reasonable, but if a particular item or tool is needed then I will roll percentage die to check if he has it, or doesn’t (maybe he lost it on his journey). Items you can expect him to have might be 80 to 90% likely. A harder to get item might have 10 to 20% chance of finding it in his backpack. This method introduces some honesty around the likelihood of having an item and setting the percentage chance, but the upside is that long detailed pedantic lists can be avoided for most of the time. For this game I know my PC is marching cross country on foot, during winter conditions in Europe. As part of rolling 3 successes I changed the encounter from an enemy encounter to a friendly one. Does this affect the game too much? I don’t think so. Having spotted the enemy road block I could have avoided it, so there is little harm done in my eyes. On the morning of the 2nd day, my character marches through the woods on his way to Chernobyl. Random encounter calls for The Orphans. A D10 is rolled and the encounter occurs at 100. My PC sees a farm up ahead. There is smoke coming from a chimney, some chooks are pecking around the back door and presents quit a pretty scene. A bit like myself, my PC is loath to engage with people on his journey, so takes a knee to observe before passing by. By doing so, my PC misses the opportunity to engage with some kids who are at home, and might have provided my character with some food. Edging around the home, my PC may bump into two armed Russian soldiers who are approaching the farm house as part of the random encounter. Again this calls for a my PC to roll for passive recon to see if my PC sees the soldiers first, or is surprised. This system places a lot of onus on the player, in that they get to perform the passive RECON roll and so the element of surprise or being surprised rests with the players die roll. If the player passes their passive recon roll then they have the element of surprise. I am OK with this, but decided in this case to perform opposed rolls to see how that changes the mechanics and if it felt more natural.
I use stats for two soviet soldiers from the typical NPC table on page 37 of the Referees Manual. Two soviet soldiers passive recon check is as follows; Ability Die: Intelligence C (D6) Skill Die: Recon C (D6) Modifiers: none, I didn’t think to spend more than a minute looking for them Mod. Intelligence C (D6) Mod. Skill Die: Recon C (D6) Ammo Die:NA Roll:*5,2,NA Result: no successes. Masons passive recon check is as follows; Ability Die: Intelligence A (D12) Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Modifiers: none, I didn’t think to spend more than a minute looking for them Mod. Intelligence A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Ammo Die:NA Roll:*4,7,NA Result: One success. Mason hears someone approaching, and drops to the grass. Two soviet soldiers are seen walking from the woods and bursting into the farm house. Within seconds Mason hears a commotion coming from inside the house. A friendly dog is seen bounding outside, scattering the chickens. The dog doesn’t leave the home though, merely barking frantically from outside. There are screams, yells and then silence returns to the woodland after the sound of gun fire dies down. Mason drops his head. This could have been avoided. Or maybe he is being too hard on himself, the soldiers are in the wrong here shooting children and their pet dog. The soldiers have stayed inside. Mason decides to set an ambush for their departure. Ambush is covered on page 63 of the players manual. Mason rolls to see if he can ambush the soldiers without closing the distance to the home. Page 59 of the players handbook discusses visibility and line of sight, and theres a table of modifiers on page 60 - I don’t see any modifiers that apply here. Page 139 of the players manual discusses Nordic light conditions and potential modifiers and also weather modifiers. I determine that no modifiers apply in this case. Ability Die: Intelligence A (D12) Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Modifiers: none Mod. Intelligence A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Ammo Die:NA Roll:*6,2,NA Result: One success. With the successful ambush, the soldiers leave the home and are unaware of Mason laying in the weeds. I decide to include the potential for the soldiers to walk towards mason or away from him (increasing the range for the encounter). I roll 2D6x10m and roll a 7 or 70m range. The soldiers have walked towards Mason. 70m is close range for the FAL when Mason open fires. Fire combat modifiers are on page 65 of the players manual. A full action is spent aiming using the scope as per rule on telescopic sights on page 63, where aiming is a slow action and so is firing. So if your using a telescopic sight you cannot aim and fire in the same round. So its Slow action to aim and slow action to fire in the following round. Ability Die: Agility A (D12) Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Modifiers: +1 rifle skill, +2 scope, -2 called shot at head, -1 moving target, -1 for low light = -1 overall Mod. Strength A to B (D10) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Ammo Die:none Roll:*5,7,NA Result: one hit to the head. Damage 3. Technically no critical hit, but I house rule a called shot to the head will result in a critical hit. A 7 is rolled on the critical hit table, resulting in a lethal hit. One bullet fired. Soldier B is still standing. I decide there is a 50/50 chance of remaining still or taking cover. The die roll indicates he remains standing. Page 54 of the players handbook discusses initiative. In the last round I had the surprise and shot first. Now we are in round 2, I decide to do opposed CUF rolls. The Russian soldier rolls a 3. My PC rolls a 5 and can fire first in round 2. In round 2 my PC goes full auto to test out how those rules work and their impact on hits and ammo expended. The FAL has ROF of 4. Slow action to aim, fast action to fire since I’m not using the scope Ability Die: Agility A (D12) Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Modifiers: +1 rifle skill, -1 for low light = 0 overall Mod. Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Ammo Die:4 Roll:*4,11,5,2,4,5 Result: 2 success and 16 bullets fired. Each bullet does 3 damage, which equates to 6 damage. IMO this is enough to put that soldier down. In hindsight this could be two separate hits or one critical hit. And 17 bullets have now been fired. Both soldiers have been killed. It doesn’t make up for the killing of the innocence kids. But its something. Looking back on this encounter my thoughts are;
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"Beep me if the apocolypse comes" - Buffy Sommers
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#3
07-07-2022, 03:10 AM
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Day 3 Morning Encounter
Waking up on day 3 of his journey, Geddes unzips his sleeping bag (+2 on survival roll sleeping on bare ground) and jumps into his thermals and fatigues (+1 modifier for RECON rolls) before the cold bites any deeper. Over a cold breakfast, Geddes studies the map and his journey ahead. The journey breaks down into the following over the coming 6 days;
Looking around to make sure nothing is left behind, Geddes hefts his backpack (-2 on mobility rolls while worn) onto his back, slings his FAL over his shoulder and starts off into the woods. Following a single track, perhaps made by sheep or goats, Geddes walks amongst the trees as the sun rises. Random encounter roll is 10 of spades which is That’s an Order. While playing the encounter out though, I mistakenly read the 10 Clubs encounter details, so I played through Murderous Basterds by mistake! With my single character travelling off road, unknown to him a single NPC is ahead. Geddes gets to make a passive RECON roll to see who sees whom first. Passive RECON roll as follows; Range 2D10 = 4 + 6 rolled = 100m as range for encounter. Intelligence Die: A (D12) Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Modifiers: nill Mod. Intelligence A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Recon A (D12) Ammo Die:none Roll:*4,3,NA therefore no success. Therefore Geddes is spotted first by the NPC. Random roll tells me the NPC has an Uzi which is a bit of good news, because its range is 30m. The NPC decides to hold off on firing at Geddes and instead tries to ambush him/me (page 60 of the players manual). The soldier attempting to ambush (called Waylaying in the player handbook) Geddes has Intelligence of C and Recon of C, so gets to roll D6+D6 hoping to get at least one 6 . Because that’s what he’ll need to roll to allow Geddes to get to within 20-50m and use his Uzi at short or medium range. There are no modifiers to the roll for allowing Geddes to get that close. The NPC Waylaying roll is made and is an opposed roll, so Geddes gets an opportunity to spot the NPC and react first. The NPC performing the “waylay” action needs more successes than Geddes to not be seen. NPC waylaying roll; Intelligence Die: C (D6) Skill Die: Recon C (D6) Modifiers: nill Mod. Intelligence C (D6) Mod. Skill Die: Recon C (D6) Ammo Die:none Roll:*2,2,NA therefore no success. Meaning the NPC was unable to find a place to hide, and would be spotted automatically. I decide there really isnt time to try and find a suitable location before Geddes arrives on the scene. To help the NPC I decide that the NPC will “push” the waylaying roll. They roll 2 x D6 again and score a single success. Geddes now has to make a passive and unmodified recon roll in opposition to the NPCs success. 2 x d12s are rolled and failed (4 and 1). So the NPC has successfully ambushed Geddes. Round 1 The NPC waits for Geddes to get to 30m range and then takes time for slow aim action, then fire. Ability Die: Strength B (D10) Skill Die: Ranged Combat D (D6) Modifiers: -1 moving target = -1 overall Mod. Strength B to C (D8) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat D (D6) Ammo Die:4 – spray and pray! Roll:*2,1,4,6,5,2. No hits. One suppression (for the 6) and 17 shots fired. Geddes CUF is A (D12). Rolls a 3 which is a fail. Therefore is suppressed and drops prone, taking +1 stress and looses his fast and slow action this round. Round 2 (looking back at this encounter I make a mistake here. Geddes should have lost his round 2 actions also due to suppression). Initiative I am resolving by rolling CUF v CUF (I’m taking the time to try some house rules) Geddes is D12 v NPV D8. (again looking back, Geddes had his backpack on so should have been a -2 due to being restricted. This is the stuff you find writing encounters up a few week after the actual game play and while still learning the game). Geddes rolls a 2! NPC rolls ….. a 1! Geddes gets to act first. Geddes fires at the NPC, range is 30m so is close range for his FAL. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D12) Modifiers: Nill Mod. Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Ranged Combat A (D121) Ammo Die:2 Roll:*12,4,6,3. So a hit due to rolling the 12 and additional point of damage for rolling 10 or higher. Then the 6 rolled on the ammo dice is either additional hit on same target or increase damage or hit second target in same hex. I choose to hit the same target a second time. 9 bullets fired. The FAL does 3 points of damage. First hit 3+1 = 4 points of damage to the torso. (again in hindsight this qualified as a critical hit that I missed in the moment!) Second hit 3 points of damage to an arm. As per page 74 of the players manual, the combination of above hits results in incapacitation for the NPC. Geddes does a quick search of the unconscious man wearing Russian markings. Oddly Geddes only finds an M72 LAW with one round stashed nearby. Geddes leaves the Uzi, and props the soldier up against a tree, letting natural justice decide his fate. Day 3 Daytime Encounter Geddes continues to march through the woods into the day. Adrenaline keeping him moving forward, aware that the area he is pushing into used to be peaceful forest, but is slowly becoming badlands between two soon to be warring nations. Nothing could be taken for granted anymore. Winding through the woods, Geddes notices a hard outline up ahead. Dropping to his knees, he can see the silhouette of a 4WD with some kind of HMG mounted on the back. The HMG is manned by a soldier, Geddes is sure there will be others nearby. The range is 100m and Geddes ditches his backpack and readies the M72 he acquired earlier in the day. He takes aim at the gun truck up ahead. Ability Die: Strength A (D12) Skill Die: Heavy Weapon C (D8) Modifiers: Nill Mod. Strength A (D12) Mod. Skill Die: Heavy Weapons C (D8) Ammo Die:NA Roll:*10,6,NA. The truck is hit with 3 successes. Direct damage of the M72 is base damage +1 for each additional success, modified by armour and cover. The M72 does 6 damage + 2 for the additional hits -1 armor penetration +1 for the 4WD armor for a total of 8 damage points. The hit location on page 84 penetration table shows random roll of 5 means a cargo hit which absorbs 1 point of damage. Moving down the table, the next item hit is ammunition which absorbs 2 points of damage and then the suspension takes the remaining 5 points of damage which renders the suspension destroyed and the vehicle inoperable. I calculate blast damage and all three NPCs are suppressed. Geddes takes advantage of the eruption from the vehicle and what looked to be a solid hit. Birds take flight, black smoke from burning tyres perhaps starts to bellow up from the position. The soldier standing on the gun truck is no where to be seen. In the vacuum that follows, Geddes backtracks the way he has come to scout around the location giving it a good wide berth. Evening encounter Evening is approaching and Geddes wants to stay on time or ahead of schedule if possible, in case there are delays later. He decides to do a forced march (page 140). Strength (D12) and Stamina (D12) are called on. 2xD12s are rolled and the result is 10+11 for 4 successes! I decide that due to the number of successes, Geddes marches on into the night reaching the hills early before crashing for the night with no random encounter. Failure would have meant stopping and forced sleep. When sleep actually comes, Geddes finds a spot out of the wind, in a slightly depressed ditch and settles in for the night. Survival roll to sleep on bare ground (page 149) with a +2 for the sleeping bag means D10+D12 becomes D12+D12. A 2 and 7 are rolled, so one success. Failure would mean no sleep for the night leading to potentially becoming sleep deprived. Navigation roll page 140 is D10+D12 with +2 for having a compass so D12+D12. A 1 and 12 are rolled for two success. So Geddes is on track! Failure would mean he deviates from course, and likely being further away from his intended destination rather than closer. Winter is coming to an end, but its still freezing at night. A survival roll verse the cold is called for per page 149 players manual. There is a +1 for having a blanket which sees D12+D12 rolled and a 6 and 8, so he survives the cold. [B]Thoughts[/B];
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"Beep me if the apocolypse comes" - Buffy Sommers
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#4
07-07-2022, 11:56 AM
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Apologies for not chiming in until now. I hope it's OK to offer some suggestions?
I've found that keeping track of food and water isn't too hard. IIRC, a PC needs one food ration and one water ration a day to avoid the effects of starvation/dehydration so as long as you find, barter, hunt/scrounge one of each per day, your PC will be fine. Eating and drinking is an important survival consideration which would (IMHO, should) influence PC decision-making. For example, because they were running low on food and water, I had my PCs make contact with a village they probably would have tried to avoid. Are you rolling for weather changes each shift? I forgot to do so for the first few days of game time. Once I remembered, I started doing it and it definitely added an interesting element to the story/game. -
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Author of Twilight 2000 adventure modules, Rook's Gambit and The Poisoned Chalice, the campaign sourcebook, Korean Peninsula, the gear-book, Baltic Boats, and the co-author of Tara Romaneasca, a campaign sourcebook for Romania, all available for purchase on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...--Rooks-Gambit https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...ula-Sourcebook https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...nia-Sourcebook https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...liate_id=61048 https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/...-waters-module
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#5
07-07-2022, 04:47 PM
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Suggestion are why we're here!
Food and water may be easy to track, i haven't taken the time to really look yet. Now that i've done a little bit of everything, i am looking to add the rest and round out the game. Good to know it may be quick and easy though. No! I haven't been rolling for weather, but i agree it can really affect a game, especially for a PC on foot and sleeping rough. I have already played out the next 3 or 4 days, I just need a bit more time to write them up. I'm out of range all next week, so might be a fortnight or so before the next instalment is written up.
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"Beep me if the apocolypse comes" - Buffy Sommers
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#6
07-25-2022, 05:08 PM
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Day 4 Morning
Geddes wakes in the morning, pushing the bivvy off his face. Despite still being dark outside, he rises, packs and starts munching on a power bar. Light is coming on fast, but the sun remains below the horizon. Once out of his warm bivvy and packed, he looks forward to getting walking, all the better to keep the cold at bay. I pulled a 6 of spades which indicates a ruin, which doesn’t apply when travelling off road, so I ruled no encounter. As the day moves on Geddes travel begins to take him into the mountains. Speed slows, heart rate rises and the amount of rest stops increase also. Cresting a saddle between two hills a small village is seen further down the path. Not wanting to draw attention. Geddes skirts around the village keeping the village just in his sights, while reducing the chances of anyone spotting him. With 45 minutes before sun set, Geddes finds a place to bed down and rest. At night he sleeps. I draw an encounter that does not apply during the night, so determine no encounter over night. Day 5 Morning Geddes again rises well rested. Travel is going well since the initial shooting exchanges. He feels he is covering good ground, and remaining undetected so far. Despite not knowing the local political situation or receiving any updates on the approach of war, it felt so inevitable when we began his journey. The bivvy again peels back, but this time with light crunching. The biv is rigid, is it cracking? No, it’s a thin crust of ice breaking as the bivvy material moves. It remains pitch black outside. Geddes checks the time, noting the sun should be visible. It takes a few moments to understand a thick fog has rolled in (Random encounter table). Geddes rolls a D12 and D10 verse navigation in the fog, and rolls 8+7 which is a success. Moving across the land despite the fog (-1 modification) is part of Geddes experience and presents no problems. The fog continues through the day and I determine another navigation roll is needed. A 5 and an 8 indicate success. However, a BMP-2 appears about 140m distant. This presents a significant foe, and Geddes slowly drops to his haunches. There is a commander in the hatch, binos at his face scanning ahead but no in Geddes direction. After a few minutes it appears as if the BMP-2 is alone. Perhaps this is a forward soviet spotting vehicle? Whatever, it is on friendly ground and therefore, despite any dotted lines on a map, clearly in the wrong location. Geddes determines this is his first chance to impact the impending war in any significant way. Geddes calculates that he can fire on the commander in the hatch. And hit or miss, he is likely to remain hidden for now. Therefore it is a risk worth taking. Lining up the commander through the scope on his FAL he fires a single shot. D12+D12 +2 for scope, -1 for medium range, -2 for a called shot to the head = D12+D10. The roll is 11 and 2; therefore 2 successes. The FAL does 3 damage +1 for the second success makes 4 damage dealt, which is a critical hit. This is the first time I have looked at the critical hit tables. I like that they not only provide more damage, they give good description which can add to role play and also introduce some other negative modifiers depending on the outcome. In this case, the critical hit to the head also shatters the commanders teeth as he involuntarily falls down inside the BMP. I determine that due to fog, range and being buttoned up, that the BMP was not able to locate which direction the shot came from. Geddes breaths out hard. That is about the best outcome he could have hoped for. Deciding anything else is pushing his luck, Geddes waits for the BMP-2 to move on before making tracks himself.
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"Beep me if the apocolypse comes" - Buffy Sommers
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