Best Way to Travel (Overland)

[Raellus]

In your experience as a player or Ref, what is the best way to travel over land in Twilight 2000?

Is it because of roleplaying considerations, rules/mechanics, or both?

Please share your reasoning, if you have a minute.

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[pmulcahy11b]

I voted for tracked vehicle, specifically the M113 series. I have the most experience with the 577, and you can put a lot back, and you can stand up in back, and the electrical system can handle a lot of electronics.

However, the 577 is top=heavy. You have drive over rough ground gingerly. Not good for high speed turn and burn driving off-road.

So, I go to the next vehicle I have a lot of experience with, the M113A2. Tillers are rough, but soon you will know exactly what they'll do. And you'll quickly build upper body strength, especially in the arms.

So the 113A2 is my choice for cross-country travel. It's easy to drive once you get used to it, still carry a lot stuff and personnel, and it doesn't gobble fuel. I'd add a layer of hillbilly armor or the up-armoring kit they make for it, though,

[3catcircus]

I'd say by hoof. When you run out of fuel and parts, a horse or donkey will keep going as long as you feed and water it, and you're a lot quieter on a horse than in a vehicle.

[Tegyrius]

No options for hovercraft, rail, or road-rail vehicle? This poll is useless!

(I picked hoof for reasons articulated above, plus you can't eat the M113 when it becomes a casualty.)

- C.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

No options for hovercraft, rail, or road-rail vehicle? This poll is useless!

Partially rectified.

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[kcdusk]

I haven't voted yet, but;

In game i prefer my PC to move on foot, just suits my personal view of what i'd do in a T2K environment.

I think horse has some benefits.

But if required to nominate a vehicle, I'd say Grizzly or Couger. I like the combination of being wheel based (longer range, less maintenance than tracked vehicles), armour protection and 30mm odd direct fire weapon. Crew of 6 or 8 feels about right. Big enough for a T2K party, not too big to be a large target or suffer getting bogged or hung up negotiating a forest.

[Trooper]

By bike or by skis. During winter time skis give you an excellent off-road mobility and you can observe your surroundings and move easier and faster than on foot. Bikes are easy and much faster way to move than marching. Off course you need hard soil or some kind of trail to use bikes.

Basic rules give players way too much equipment and gold. There are also too much emphasizing vehicles in the game. Probably that stems from us military thinking where APC or IFV is “home” for squad.

In the 90s when I was conscript the was only one armor/mechanized brigade in army. 95 % of troops didn’t enter battle field with IFV. Even if your battalion was equipped with APC like Pasi XA-180 or Btr-60 they were vehicles to move troops and only in very rare opportunities they were used in infantry combat.

What you didn’t find Twilight 2000 Poland were large mine fields that could easily block traffic on roads. There were some tows and military camps that had extensive mine fields protecting them, but there were no mine or minefield encounters in rules.

[Fallenkezef]

Generaly I'd prefer horses for flexibility and as a last ditch food source.

A BTR or BMP is often useful for the amphibious qualities.

[Trooper]

Originally Posted by Fallenkezef

Generaly I'd prefer horses for flexibility and as a last ditch food source.

A BTR or BMP is often useful for the amphibious qualities.

Crossing rivers is very valid point!

In my games all major bridges are controlled by one faction or other. Europe is slowly descending to new feudal age, where are all choke points of traffic are used to control population or to collect taxes.

[Rainbow Six]

I could be mistaken but I don't think I've played in a game in the last ten years that has used anything other than wheeled vehicles as the primary mode of transport so I voted accordingly (from time to time pc's have had motorbikes and there was one experience that I can remember with a tracked vehicle - a BMP ambulance variant - but the motorbikes were only used for scouting and the Krankenwagen ended up getting traded for a Humvee). I can only recall ever using horses once, again as a temporary thing for a scouting excursion.

I do think wheeled vehicles - particularly something like a BTR or LAV 25 variant - give a good combination of range, protection (armour), carrying capacity, and firepower. Amphibious capacity as mentioned is also a bonus.

[Questerr]

I answered Other, because my answer is “Bicycles” and I don’t consider them “Wheeled Vehicles”.

Bikes, especially good rugged off-road bikes free you from needing to stick to prepared roads, which let you bypass a lot of bottlenecks that hostile forces might blockade.

They are also incredibly efficient in terms of “fuel use” compared with the weight they can transport and their speed of movement. Having a set of good off-road bikes with a couple of towed trailers would easily be worth more than an APC or Humvee if your goal is movement and avoiding fighting.

[swaghauler]

Would go with a mountain bike too. I would probably opt for a hardtail (no rear suspension) so I'd have less maintenance and then put panniers on it in the back (I dislike front panniers). BOB Trailers makes both a single-wheeled and a dual-wheeled trailer that connects to the seat post.

For vehicles, I'd look for a Toyota Tundra. It's reliable, fuel-efficient, and has good carrying capacity. Or a Russian Ural motorcycle with the sidecar.

[swaghauler]

Of course, in a modern or Merc campaign, you could have the E-bike.

https://youtu.be/pPZbYLN9dmo

Swag.

[Bestbrian]

I voted horses, because my best campaigns were cav campaigns. They're useful, become NPC's in their own right, and I always hated running vehicles as a GM.

[kcdusk]

in real life i'd have to pass a personal coolness under fire check before even approaching a horse.

I hate horses.

[Targan]

Wheeled vehicle, likely at some point transitioning to "on foot". But it depends on what level of realism the campaign is set to. Our long, long debates about fuel types in T2K here on this forum have me seriously doubting that very many large vehicles would be rolling around the middle of Poland after 3 years of WWIII.

[Adm.Lee]

I'd say wheeled, but I'd want to be doing a lot of foot scouting first, and not jeopardizing the transport as much as possible.

[Raellus]

Vehicles seem like such an integral part of T2k, it almost feels like heresy to suggest playing without one. As a kid, I spent hours pouring over the US and Soviet vehicle guides, imagining which vehicle my PCs would use to high-tail it out of Kalisz, and/or encounter in battle while doing so.

Motor Vehicle Pros:

• Increased speed and range of movement
• Increased firepower from mounted weaponry
• Increased cargo carrying capacity
• Armor (if present) provides good protection from small arms fire and shrapnel

Motor Vehicle Cons:

• More or less road-bound
• Not particularly stealthy
• Requires time, effort, and additional resources to maintain
• Requires time, effort, and additional resources to produce/acquire fuel

Bicycles are stealthier, and don't require fuel. On the other hand, they don't offer increased firepower or protection. The other cons listed above still apply.

Horses are very similar to bicycles, but offer better off-road performance. I would argue that another con of horses is the emotional bond between rider and mount. Considering how attached some players get to their IG motor vehicles, I'd feel like an absolute heel Ref if/when I had to kill their horses.

In imagining the Escape from Kalisz scenario now, it strikes me that movement On Foot might be the best option. It offers a couple of advantages of foot travel over vehicles and/or horses:

• Stealthiest mode of movement
• Least road-bound mode of movement
• Least additional maintenance
• No additional fuel requirements

It's not fast or particularly glamorous, but in some ways by foot is a better way to travel. Also, no vehicles means less bookkeeping and, as a Ref, that's something that I really appreciate.

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