Module Linkages

[Tegyrius]

While flipping through some of the old modules over the weekend, I noticed a few introductory notes about suggested order of play (i.e. which prior modules the GM could use to introduce the current one). With some judicious abuse of a flowcharting tool, I managed to cobble together the following loose map of the order in which GDW suggested all the modules be played.

Green boxes indicate European modules and blue boxes indicate modules set (or at least triggered) in North America. Yeah, King's Ransom is off in the corner by its lonesome. Lines and arrows, obviously, indicate play order. The circles marked "A" and "B" are cross-connection points because direct links into Gateway to the Spanish Main and Urban Guerilla would have made the diagram significantly uglier. The Return to Europe modules are linked with dotted lines to indicate my uncertainty about their intended order of play.

Edit: updated version posted below, original version retained here for archival purposes.



Note that this does not include GDW's suggested dates of the events in each module. I'll add those in the next revision... but it may cause some space-time paradoxes.

- C.

[Webstral]

Nicely done!

[Raellus]

Flowchart magic! Thanks!

On a sidenote, IMHO, Black Madonna is sort of the odd man out of the original Polish modules. It was published after EfK, FCoK, PotV, and RoW, yet it would involve some geographical backtracking for the PCs to get to the module AO after liberating Warsaw. Just in terms of point A to point B travel, it works better to run BM either shortly after EfK and/or after FCoK, and then nudge the PCs north up the Vistula to Warsaw.

[Legbreaker]

The key is to look at it as a web of options. There's no way one single group of PCs can possibly run through every last module in geographic or temporal order without serious twisting the fabric of space/time.

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by Raellus

On a sidenote, IMHO, Black Madonna is sort of the odd man out of the original Polish modules. It was published after EfK, FCoK, PotV, and RoW, yet it would involve some geographical backtracking for the PCs to get to the module AO after liberating Warsaw. Just in terms of point A to point B travel, it works better to run BM either shortly after EfK and/or after FCoK, and then nudge the PCs north up the Vistula to Warsaw.

Hmm. Yeah, I went back into Madonna and couldn't actually find a direct link from Ruins. However, Madonna's introduction does indicate it takes place about a month after the demise of 5ID, which I had missed in favor of thinking of it as "Module 4." When I'm back at a machine with Visio, I'll adjust that section of the chart to put both Krakow and Madonna downstream of Kalisz.

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

The key is to look at it as a web of options. There's no way one single group of PCs can possibly run through every last module in geographic or temporal order without serious twisting the fabric of space/time.

Oh, totally. But it does help with plotting the campaign for which I'll never find players.

- C.

[leonpoi]

Great work. Thanks. I can see that it would be very difficult to have one set of PCs do all of those modules - or indeed find the time to even scratch the surface

[Legbreaker]

Although the timings for the early modules are a bit difficult to screw about with, those set in the US shouldn't be too hard to change to fit. As long as some lip service is given to events in other modules, there shouldn't be too much of an issue.
The capture/elimination of Carl Hughes for example in Kidnapped is going to have some serious impact on modules such as Urban Guerrilla. Probably not much on a number of other modules, not least being Satellite Down which really could be delayed by a year or so if needed (just have the satellite fall later). Red Star, Lone Star could be problematic given the Soviets precarious position and need for fuel and a way home sooner rather than later.
Note both Gateway and Going home can both feed into Kings Ransom, and almost anything can feed Last Sub (Going home, Armies of the night, Kidnapped, Gateway, even Satellite Down given the data is important enough to warrant an aircraft).
Red Star is the logical feed to Angels given that they are in the same general area, but Satellite may be a good option too. Angels could well be a good feed for Satellite.

And then you've got the various Challenge articles, not to mention scenarios presented in Nightmares, Encounters, etc all which have suggested locales.

[Tegyrius]

Revised with dates of each module's events. When specific months weren't available, I've attempted to infer approximate dates from mentions of seasons or other evidence; these are denoted with tildes (~). Yes, GDW's dates do result in a few temporal improbabilities.

Also updated the relationships of the first few Poland modules per Raellus' suggestions, and fixed the Return to Europe relationships after taking a closer look at those modules' chronologies.



(Yeah, Escape from Kalisz should be July, not June, and the rest of the approximate dates in the original Poland modules should be pushed back a month. I just caught that. Durrr.)

- C.

[kcdusk]

Fantastic work. The amount of times i've thought to do this myself but never had the initiative/work ethic/time/tools.

Too hard to comment on the accuracy, but great work none the less. Well done.

[Adm.Lee]

I agree, good work. I never bothered to look up the times involved, and considered just about all of the American modules to be separate campaigns.

[Raellus]

I really like how you reorganized the Poland modules, Tegyrius. I think that works quite nicely. I wish I had more experience with the other modules. Based on what you did with Poland, though, I'd be comfortable using your flowchart to plot out any of the modules. Nice work.

[Legbreaker]

Still think you should link Red Star, Satellite, and Angels.
Armies, Going home, Gateway, even Red Star can feed into Last Sub with little effort (there is still some coastal shipping PCs can hitch a ride on from Texas).

Now add in Twilight Nightmares, East Europe Source book, Bangkok and all the Challenge scenarios...
Go on, I dare you!

[Tegyrius]

I do not believe Visio supports five-dimensional flowcharting in a two-dimensional graphic format.

- C.

[Tegyrius]

I summon this thread to arise from the grave!

Ahem.

While going through some of my old files, I found my copy of DriveThruRPG's guide to Twilight: 2000 v1.0 products. Page 24 provides a suggested map for a geographic (and thus implicitly chronological) progression of CONUS adventures, including both modules and Challenge articles.

I'd attach it here (it's free promo material) but the upload function choked out. Still, it is free. Downloading it does require you to register as a DriveThru customer, but that's not really an onerous burden.

- C.

[Adm.Lee]

Hmmmm, now I'm wondering about a Gulf campaign, linking Gateway, Urban Guerrilla, and Red Star/Lone Star.

With or without the USS Constitution (II), pitting the PCs as shipborne troops against the various Mexican and New American cells around the American Gulf Coast.

For instance, in Lone Star, what if the overland chase were cut out, and substituted for a boat run down the Intracoastal Waterway-- wasn't there at least on Challenge article on that? Hmmm, I may have a research topic to fill my copious amounts of free time this week. [Housework? pFffft.]

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

For instance, in Lone Star, what if the overland chase were cut out, and substituted for a boat run down the Intracoastal Waterway-- wasn't there at least on Challenge article on that? Hmmm, I may have a research topic to fill my copious amounts of free time this week. [Housework? pFffft.]

That article is Inland Waterway: Supplementary Material for Red Star/Lone Star, contained in Challenge issue 27.

[Olefin]

Love the linkages - and in many ways it follows how my campaign went since my referee/GM didnt start a game till after Madonna was out there - so our Escape flowed right into Madonna (mainly because of the road we took) whereas if we had started the game when Krakow was the only module it wouldnt have been possible

[Tegyrius]

Was thinking about this today, and although there's no explicit link in the modules, the timing looks like the only way to do "Return to Europe" would be to never take your PCs out of Europe. Go from Warsaw to Ukraine for Bear's Den, then come back - traveling through late winter, ugh - into White Eagle and Return to Warsaw. So "return" was really an advertising line item for GDW rather than a literal return for characters who got stateside.

Has anyone actually played through those? I seem to recall some criticisms that they recycled too much of the original information without adding enough new plot development.

- C.

[Adm.Lee]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

Was thinking about this today, and although there's no explicit link in the modules, the timing looks like the only way to do "Return to Europe" would be to never take your PCs out of Europe. Go from Warsaw to Ukraine for Bear's Den, then come back - traveling through late winter, ugh - into White Eagle and Return to Warsaw. So "return" was really an advertising line item for GDW rather than a literal return for characters who got stateside.

I've been wondering recently about re-setting the time of Bear's Den to late 1999, rather than 2000. If the PCs are an SOF team sent to help the 27th TD behind the lines, and discover if the Red Bear really has gone independent, it fits better to the timeline, IMO. Use that as a start-up, rather than Death of a Division. Then the party makes its way back to Krakow, and start the "normal" cycle.

I agree that White Eagle or Return to Warsaw work better as sequels to their originals, and that a "return to Europe" seems unlikely. I'd prefer to run them someday for groups that never made the last train & ship out. Primary candidates would be the US XI Corps folks who stayed on the coast, now trying to assist a pro-NATO Polish government. Second would be people who stayed too long in Krakow, for whatever reason, or POWs.