In MY Twilight:2000...what are your variants or canon-breaks?

[Olefin]

I agree for sure with the Belgians - the ones who dont speak French have no love for them at all - so where is that half of Belguim seceding and a civil war breaks out in Belguim or fighting the incoming French forces?

[pmulcahy11b]

Definitely a deal-breaker: a unit composed entirely of Elmer Fudd clones!

[pmulcahy11b]

My primary variants are in what didn't actually get hit, and in what equipment, weapons, or vehicles made it to the party and what didn't.

My big one is the amount of megatonnage that hit San Antonio. I don't think there'd be enough left to have a Red Star, Lone Star. In campaigns I've run, the Soviet missiles bound for SA were taken out by US missiles who just happened to have hit the Soviet silos as the Soviet missiles were leaving theirs. A bit out there, but it could happen...

[dude_uk]

Britain
- Re-raising of units to justify the enlarged British army presence
- Territorial and reserve ORBATS
- Mechanised Territorial units.
- SOME units back home armed with L1A1's and Sterling's.
- British Army using Challenger 1's and 2's along with Cheiftains. No Centurions.
- Junking of most the gimmicky enemies in the UK (i.e The Red devils, the gang who wore suits etc) and replacing them with more feasible groups.
- Enlarged Nuke strike.


World
- Greece and Italy declare war on NATO? Nope.
- 'Pyrrhic' NATO victory in Atlantic. Soviet fleet destroyed. But NATO too weak to take advantage.

[Targan]

Wherever possible in my campaigns I don't contradict canon. But I'm happy to add information to the game where it isn't contradictory, or where canon has big gaps. I don't get upset when I read discussions on data that is contrary to canon, but my fundamental point has always been this: if you move away from canon so much that the US remains a major military force late in the Twilight War (2001-onwards) you remove most of what makes T2K the game that it is. At that point I mentally switch off, because my interest in T2K is as a post apocalyptic RPG, not an exercise in roleplaying US forces dominating the world in a post-nuke environment.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

That's a good point, Targan; the thrust of T2k is people surviving under beyond desperate situations. Personally I think fiddling a little with this or that stateside situation isn't changing that much but like you I tend to MEGO when people start talking about the US still having three or four operational carriers, no civgov/milgov split, or DC didn't get hit at all, there's still POL available for air ops, etc.

That is, to me, like saying "Oh I play AD&D all the time - I just use 3e's Feats system, and 4e's Powers, and there are no level caps or class restrictions for demi-humans..." There's just a point at which you tip the balance and it's not AD&D (or rather, Twilight:2000) any more.

[B.T.]

From my point of view, Targan and raketenjagdpanzer mentioned the main point: How much change works without tossing it to far?

I change a lot of smaller details. If I think, a unit is too weak for the purpose of my game sessions, I make them a little stronger or give a certain unit (from which canon says, they have no tanks) some tanks. Or I change the TOE for units (allthough this does not interfere with canon, as I understand it).

A lot of info on the history is rubbish. Especially the weired idea, Greek and Italy would unite against NATO; I mean WTF!? But if I try to change this, I have really difficulties in explainig the overall situation in Southern Germany, for example.

If I can add more detail, I take this. Changing the data for vehicles or weapons is something I try to optimize.