Central Poland Sourcebook

[unipus]

Hi all -- I'm sure I've posted here before on this topic, but I'm back with a lot more material.

The issue: I've found running a T2K game in Poland to be generally challenging. The book provides you very little to go on in terms of "what is this land actually like? What is its history? How do people survive there now, in the year 2000?" I'm currently running 4e, but this criticism applies to every edition of the game. Adventure modules have helped flesh that out significantly, but usually in a very specific way that only tangentially addressed the problem.

So anyway, I set out to solve it. Or, rather, I was forced to solve it, just to run my own game, and then realized "well hey other people could probably use this too." So I've created what will soon be a published sourcebook that is focused on basic existence, adventure hooks, and the current situation in Central Poland circa May 2000. It includes further detail on the city of Bełchatów and the situation there. It uses the 4e system, but frankly it's almost entirely system-agnostic.

Anyway, many of you have given me great ideas and information over time. If any of you would be interested in reading it and providing feedback, I'd certainly welcome it!

[Raellus]

I'd love to see it, Unipus.

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[Olefin]

Have you looked at the Polish Sourcebook that Anders Larsson wrote -lots of great info in there - its got lots of info about Poland's military

http://www.pmulcahy.com/PDFs/Polish_Army_Sourcebook.pdf

[unipus]

Originally Posted by Olefin

Have you looked at the Polish Sourcebook that Anders Larsson wrote -lots of great info in there - its got lots of info about Poland's military

http://www.pmulcahy.com/PDFs/Polish_Army_Sourcebook.pdf

I hadn't! Great resource. I'm not primarily concerned with the military (other than how it interacts with the area economically/politically) but I will definitely read through this and see if there's any places with strong crossover to what I'm doing!

[Olefin]

Originally Posted by unipus

I hadn't! Great resource. I'm not primarily concerned with the military (other than how it interacts with the area economically/politically) but I will definitely read through this and see if there's any places with strong crossover to what I'm doing!

glad to help out - not sure if there is other stuff that fans or other authors have written that might be good research material -

Raellus - any suggestions?

[Spleeter]

I eagerly await what you have to share, unipus!

[.45cultist]

I'm leaning towards a V2.2 T2030 timeline, but something like a "Fodor's" travel guide would be neat.

[TyCaine]

Looking forward to this!
Having something with some more in depth details of that area would be fantastic as far as I'm concerned.

[unipus]

Still working on it, just in fits and starts! I think the text is essentially ready. So now I have to motivate myself to do layout, which means tricking myself into recalling that it's something I actually kind of enjoy.

Soon!

[unipus]

Update: back from vacation, got about half the layout done. Maybe 10% of the content still to be done/finessed. Mostly at this point it's just art, which I may be overdoing a bit for an unofficial supplement but I can't bring myself to do otherwise! Either way though it's now coming together pretty quickly and I hope to have it up on drivethru within a couple of weeks. Of course then I have to learn how that all works, set a price, etc.

[Heffe]

@unipus - First, this sounds really fantastic. I'm very eager to see it up on Drivethru and will pick up a copy as soon as I'm able.

One of the challenges I had when I was a kid discovering T2k for the first time, was the Polish language itself. Being an American (where we're generally lucky if we manage to learn even a second language), seeing the Polish language in written form was quite an experience. Trying to relay the names of Polish towns and villages from the adventure maps to players was always a huge challenge early on. With that said, do you have plans to provide any basic information on how to interpret the Polish language in the sourcebook? Obviously it's not a translation guide, but understanding how to pronounce "Łódź" might be a really neat addition, and I'm curious if you had considered including any information along those lines.

[unipus]

Hmm. There's pronunciation provided for a few key place names as they appear, but nothing much beyond that. I suppose I could probably add a single page appendix with a few more -- I was kinda considering doing that anyway to give just one-sentence rumors about all the surrounding towns I don't actually explore in depth.

Of course if I keep adding all these things I'll continue to never finish it. So yes, I think I can do that. :P

[pmulcahy11b]

One of my first GMs (when I was in the National Guard but before I went on Active Duty) had a Polish wife who taught him a working knowledge of Polish and proper pronunciations. As a result, I can pronounce some Polish words. (My mother is Croatian; I can also pronounce many Serbo-Croat names, places, and words, though I can't speak the language.)

[Raellus]

Google Translate can play audio of translations. Type the word or phrase in English, let Google Translate do it's thing, then click the little microphone icon and a native speaker's voice will read it to you so that you can hear the Polish pronunciation.

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[unipus]

The module is DONE and AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE on DriveThruRPG!

Want to get a better feel for the strategic heartland of Poland in the year 2000? Need some quick adventure seeds or NPCs? Curious how ordinary local people are getting by in the year 2000? Crave a bit of context for an area your players might be stuck in for a while? The Central Poland Sourcebook is here to get you kicked off in the right direction.

Included:

• Life In Central Poland, 2000 AD: a high-level view of what actual life is like. Where do people get their food? How do they travel or communicate? What about power? Social responsibilities? This quick glance fills in a missing gap and invites you to take it even further in your own games!
• A breakdown of military units and significant factions in the immediate area, and their goals and opposition.
• Optional rules for dealing with factions as entities. Are they willing to help you? Are they committed to hunting you? These quick rules will give you immediate guidance.
• A timeline of near-future events ("if the players do nothing")
• A detailed case study of the small but important city of Bełchatów, including its history, current status, numerous specific locations in and around the city, some key NPCs, encounter charts, and a mission generator! Also includes an in-world, period correct, high-resolution map to the city that you can refer to or give to players if you choose!
• A pronunciation guide to the towns and cities in the region, so English speakers can at least get in the ballpark of correct (and often unexpected!) Polish pronunciation.

The few stats used within are specific to Twilight: 2000 4th Edition, but for the most part this guidebook is system-agnostic and could be used with any edition of Twilight: 2000, or any game system at all!

You can snag it here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...iate_id=242465

I hope you find this material as useful as I have, in my own game!
(hopefully self-promotion directly related to the game is permitted, but if not my apologies and let me know!)

Thanks to those here who helped with this book, either directly or indirectly! Could not have done it without your insights.

[pmulcahy11b]

Just got it!

[Heffe]

Congrats on the release! I'm picking it up right now.

[.45cultist]

Yes, I got it and plan to integrate it into my campaign set a few years from now. My main NPC from 2000 retired in peace, his nephew now fights in this alternative timeline. The nephew is part of an advisor cadre in lATE 202? Poland while the uncle is surviving at home.

[unipus]

Thanks! I'd love to hear what you found useful, not useful, etc. It's my first time actually publishing any of my homebrew stuff.