The Edges of the Map

[Mahatatain]

Great idea for a topic of discussion.

Originally Posted by Heffe

Great topic!
The Balkans - the break up of Yugoslavia had enormous repercussions for the entire region. The rise of Milosovic in Serbia, the fighting in Bosnia, etc, I think is an area that probably doesn’t get enough love in most campaigns. Most all of those former pact nations were grappling with their own identities all through the 90s, trying to determine who they were and who they wanted to be in the “ashes of an empire”. I suppose this area may hold less or more interest depending upon the timeline you’re playing in, though.

I agree. I think that the Balkans is potentially a very interesting place to set a campaign as you have some foreign forces present as well. From memory the US forces are CIVGOV aligned, making that a bit different to normal campaigns. You also have Greece and Italy nearby and, if your timeline has them joining the Warsaw Pact, that is some interaction that is rarely explored. Personally, I think that the whole region is primed to collapse into petty warlord kingdoms who keep fighting each other and that would make a great setting.

I think that another interesting region (I have no idea what canon says on this) is southwest of the Black Sea with loyalist Soviet (particularly Russian and Armenian) forces fighting against Georgian and Azerbaijani separatists who are alied with NATO forces in Turkey.

I've also set a couple of games in the Ukraine, and they have focussed around a Ukrainian civil war with pro NATO, pro Soviet and isolationist factions. That's probably not one to discuss much further in the current climate though.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by Mahatatain

I think that another interesting region (I have no idea what canon says on this) is southwest of the Black Sea with loyalist Soviet (particularly Russian and Armenian) forces fighting against Georgian and Azerbaijani separatists who are alied with NATO forces in Turkey.

There’s a brief reference to Armenia in the RDF sourcebook.

"[In 2000] General Suryakin had some big problems in his own backyard. The 77th Motorized Rifle Division, comprised mainly of Armenians, mutinied. They held the area around Yerevan and called themselves the Transcaucasian Republican Army."

There was an article on the USSR in one of the early Challenge magazines - can’t recall the exact issue number, but it was in the low thirties - that expanded slightly on that. From the article

"[In January 2000] in the Trancaucasus, two Soviet divisions deserted and joined with the rebels who held the city of Baku. They called themselves the Transcaucasus Republican Army and formed the Transcaucasus People's Republic. Based roughly on socialist principles, they had a mixture of nationalistic sentiments and religious feeling (Greek Orthodox).Terror swept the area as the army seized and executed people suspected of being politically or religious different. Although the Transcaucasus People's Republic seemed to be a potentially viable state, its fanaticism drove civilians in the area to other newly arisen states."

(The reference to Greek Orthodoxy would seem to maybe be a mistake. As best as I can tell the main religion in Armenia is Oriental Orthodoxy which is different to Greek Orthodoxy and Azerbaijan is predominantly Moslem)

The same article also refers to the creation of an Islamic State centred on what is now Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan that is in conflict with loyal Soviet forces.

it’s an interesting read. Some bits would definitely need some work to tidy them up I think but it has some useful ideas that can be mined. Whether it’s canon or not is up for debate (I think opinions vary on Challenge articles) but ultimately that isn’t really relevant - if a GM wants to use it they will, if they want to ignore it they well.

[Mahatatain]

Very interesting Rainbow Six. And I believe that you're correct on the error on religion.

lol, yeah, the Armenian church is not Greek.

Armenians take great pride in noting that Armenia was the first Christian nation in the world. The mother church is in Etchmiadzin:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etchmiadzin_Cathedral

The country is also home to a few interesting Roman ruins, like the temple at Gari:

http://harbinger.twilightwar.net/Garni.jpg

Throughout Armenia (Hayastan in Armenian), there are myriad stone churches, ancient fortresses, and monasteries, which would certainly find use in classic Twilight 2000 fashion.

http://harbinger.twilightwar.net/snowcap.jpg
http://harbinger.twilightwar.net/stone.jpg
http://harbinger.twilightwar.net/Amberd.jpg

Armenia suffered heavily from the dissolution of the USSR. They had some very tough winters after the collapse, which forced them to restart one of two VVER nuclear reactors; due in no small part to people were freezing to death in winter because of energy shortages.

https://www.world-nuclear.org/inform...f/armenia.aspx