DAY 10 – APRIL 27th 2000
EAST of DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – EVENING
ROUND 00 – PREPARATIONS
The brutal execution of the woman in front of the church has forced the hand of both the players and CSM ELK. LED knew it would have ended up with an assault, and had started formulating a plan since he’s entered the town and saw the church under siege. The discovery of the anti-tank weapons was the final missing part for everything to fall into place.
Despite being technically under the command of the 1/116th Cav leader he feels the responsibility of the assault weighting on his shoulder, and has a clear memory of the battle of Wanda Chotomska school in Prazka, just five days before.
He presents his plan with just the necessary details; his intent is to avoid being bogged down in a discussion over the minutiae and move to the execution asap, for the sake of the hostages and his nerves as well. It doesn’t take much more than a moment for both ELK and ALEX to agree and, once again, FATHER ŁUKASZ’s concerns are cast aside.
Here are preparations for the assault:
- LED, NASCAR, CRANE and DONNA will take position on the back of the church, next to the belltower.
- ALEX will be at the ruins facing the right side of the church with one of the RPG-76 KOMAR, ready to strike the building. Once the wall is breached, the players and crane will enter it in the order listed in the previous point, followed by ALEX.
- On the left side of the church, TEAM 3 will mirror the position of the players, and one more man of the 1/116th Cav will strike that side with the other RPG-76.
- On the front side of the church two soldiers from the 1/116th Cav will take position on either side of the main door carrying a couple of grenades each.
- Another soldier will take the lorry left by the Flock and position it in front of the church with its back to the building.
Because of the church’s windows disposition and the fact that team CALDWELL fires on anyone showing on top of the belltower, the Flock’s soldiers will be blind to all movements outside the church.
The players are likewise blind to the situation inside the church, and are therefore planning with the assumption that there won’t be any hostage in the main nave.
Further preparations for the players include:
- Once inside they’ll have to battle in CQB, meaning every engagement will be at short range (-1 for pistols, carbines and SMGs, -2 for all other ranged weapons). LED will use his M1911A1 pistol; NASCAR will employ ELK’s M4 carbine (which he will lend him along with 3 magazines), CRANE will use his own M4 carbine, DONNA and ALEX will use their P-83 pistols.
- Use of grenades is forbidden inside the church unless absolutely sure no hostage is present
- Once inside the order is to get as fast as possible to the inner room where the hostages are most likely kept.
- Ideally, the enemies in the main nave are to be bottled there. Upon confirmation there’s no hostages in the room, more grenades can be thrown in through the windows.
The assault will begin with the lorry being crashed against the main door in reverse. The goal won’t be to breach the doors, rather to create enough of an opening for the two soldiers standing outside to throw grenades inside the main nave. The rebels outside will then get closer and smash the windows with bullets or rocks, creating openings to throw in grenades later.
The sound of the exploding grenades will be the green light for ALEX and the soldier in TEAM 3 to fire their RPG-76 and breach the side walls. The players and TEAM 3 will enter right after.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
Gameplay-wise, I’m granting the players the first slots in the initiative order, on account of their preparations outside the building going unnoticed, save for the noise of the lorry’s engine, which should draw the defendants’ attention to the front of the church, rather than its sides.
I’m also house-ruling that the RPG-76 will hit their targets without the need for a roll: ALEX has served in the Polish army and knows the weapon, and TEAM 3 has a Polish soldier who knows how to use one.
ALEX takes position in the ruins right next to KEITH and JAN, explaining their role in the plan. The duo begs him to save their families. They equally intensely beg him to kill the KNIGHT.
End of Round 00 – Preparations
ENEMY FORCES ***SPOILERS*** [click to expand]
I have made some preparations for the Flock’s soldiers the players will face once inside the church. For a change, I will report here my decisions and what I have decided to roll for, but I won’t report the results of the rolls themselves.
FATHER ŁUKASZ has told the players there are roughly 15 Flock’s soldiers inside the church. I decided to have a total of 12 + D6 enemies.
The enemies will be mostly Polish as I have established the core component of the Flock’s army in the region to be Polish. I house-ruled that 8 soldiers will be Polish, while the others’ nationality will be determined with a D6 roll (1-2 Polish, 3-4 Russian, 5-6 American).
Soldiers from other nationalities will have a 50% chance of surrendering once they get down to a single hit point, or when cornered (I’ll play this by ear). If they are with comrades of a different nationality, they might not take it well…
Some of the Flock’s soldiers were wounded in the mortar strikes and the previous assault on the town from – so far – unknown forces (more on that later).
- 5 soldiers will have full hit points (including the KNIGHT)
- Every other soldier will have already lost a number of hit points equal to ½ D6
Flock’s soldiers will be armed with assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, knives and a few pipe bombs (improvised grenades). A couple of enemies (possibly former crewmen in the Polish army) will be armed with Polish PM-84 submachineguns. Each soldier will have 2-3 reloads for his/her weapon.
For each enemy soldier I will roll a D10:
- 1-5 the soldier has no armor
- 6-9 the soldier has a steel helmet or a flak jacket
- 10 the soldier has both a steel helmet and a flak jacket
I will position the enemies in the church partly where it makes more sense and partly in random positions.
As for the KNIGHT, I decided to flesh him out more than the usual final bad guy from previous fights. For the upcoming battle, he will be treated as a major NPC.
His stats: STR A, AGL B, INT C, EMP D – CUF B
His skills: Close Combat B, Ranged Combat C, Recon C, Mobility D, Command D
He will be armed with:
- KKW 1996 MINI-BERYL assault rifle with 4 reloads
- REVOLVER pistol with 3 reloads
- MACHETE
- 1 WHITE PHOSPHOROUS GRENADE
The KNIGHT has 6/6 hit points and wears a plate vest (armor level 2 for the torso) and no helmet.
Finally, the HOSTAGES. I have a few mechanics in mind to determine how they might react, but I will start the assault and play it by ear.
ROUND 01
ALEX can see the lorry slowly being pushed into position in front of the church (engine’s off: an extra effort to conserve surprise). He takes a knee in the rubble and tears the plastic involucre containing the RPG-76 KOMAR, tossing it aside and revealing the launch tube with the rocket-propelled grenade pre-inserted. He pulls the safety pin arming the launcher and unfolds the now free shoulder stock until it aligns with the tube, clicking into firing position while the front and rear sights spring in place.
“Give me some room” he says to KEITH and JAN without taking his eyes off the weapon.
He points the tube towards the church and with his finger feels the safety plate locking the trigger. One glance at the paved area in front of the church and he sees the lorry now in position, its back to the front door, ready to ram it. The rest of the players, along with PFC CRANE, are stacked up on the back of the main building. Only LED is visible, peeking around the corner.
ALEX raises his head, he and LED make eye contact and exchange a nod, then LED disappears behind the corner.
On the opposite end of the building, a soldier of the 1/116th Cav stands in front of the vehicle, he looks at ALEX and waves his arms. ALEX raises one arm and waves back. That is final confirmation, there’s no turning back now. A few seconds later, TEAM 3’s leader confirms they are ready from the other side of the building.
The soldier in front of the vehicle taps the hood twice and for a few seconds an eerie silence covers the whole town.
The lorry’s engine comes to life as the exhaust coughs black smoke, the entire vehicle starts trembling, then screeches away in reverse, gains speed, and exits ALEX’s field of view. He can hear it climbing the first step before the door and then the second, and hopes it has maintained enough momentum, but his eyes are already looking at where he plans to strike the side wall.
Then comes the crash, not unlike the sound of two cars colliding at moderate speed, quickly followed by further noises, possibly indicating that something collapsed; there’s unintelligible yelling in both English and Polish that terminates in a long burst from a machinegun.
ALEX thinks it probably was a Russian RPK, but the impact sounds were muffled and can’t be sure about what or whom was hit. His hands are ready on the launch tube, as his ears await for a different kind of sound.
The signal comes in the form of two small explosions from the inside of the building, resulting in more screaming, broken glasses and a small sea of minor noises.
ALEX flips the safety plate and locks it in position with his left hand, positioning it away from the ordinance on the far end of the tube, so to avoid any burns from the radially dispersed backblast. He aims the tube at the side of the church, and firmly presses the trigger.
It takes a fraction of a second for the rocket-propelled grenade to cover the small distance; the sound of the ordinance leaving the tube is akin to compress air released from a large canister, quickly surpassed by the loud explosion as it slams into the wall. Rubble and debris pile up covered by a grey cloud that briefly obscures the impact point.
ALEX squints trying to penetrate the smoke, and as the breach in the wall starts to appear, he sees LED move around the corner, his hands gripping the M1911A1 pistol in front of his chest, closely followed by the rest of the team.
LED steps onto the small pile of rubble and broken bricks, briefly holding his breath while traversing the still lingering cloud of dust. He crouches and goes through the opening (consuming a fast action). He quickly scans the room with his pistol: the furniture has been pushed against the opposite wall by the explosion, but the room is empty. The only door leads to an adjacent room, and LED enters it (consuming another fast action). There is another door in front of him leading to another small room, and a door on the right opening on the inner room.
He can see an enemy soldier moving his way in the next room, so he takes position right next to the door.
NASCAR, CRANE and DONNA (in this order) follow LED and stack up at the door leading to the hostage room, NASCR and CRANE immediately against the opening, while DONNA remains slightly back, in case she has to support LED (there’s not enough room for all three to fire through the door in their next round, so she sets herself where she thinks she’s most useful).
NASCAR and CRANE can peek inside the hostage room: the hostages are all seated on the floor, bunched in a corner fenced in by metal barriers. A couple of them are laying down, apparently dead. They count three enemies in the room: the nearest two turn when they see the players, they carry an AK-74 and an M16A1.
On the opposite side of the door, they can see the soldiers of TEAM 3: two are entering the room while two more remain behind the door.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
TEAM 3 has one less door to go through, so its soldiers can enter the room with their second fast action. They will now be exposed to enemy fire, but getting to the hostages is a priority for everybody. I’ll refer to the members of TEAM 3 as BLUE followed by their respective number.
From now on I’ll add the enemies to the initiative order starting with the ones already in contact with the players (or TEAM 3).
The first to act is ENEMY 2, I gave him a 50% chance of firing on BLUE 1 and a 50% of charging at him with the attached bayonet: roll[D10] = 9 -> he goes for a bayonet charge.
ENEMY 2 lifts his AKM with attached bayonet, closes the gap between himself and BLUE 1 with a couple of fast paces (fast action) and pushes forward the weapon trying to stab his opponent (slow action).
ENEMY 2’S ROLL [click to expand]
ENEMY 2 (STR B and CLOSE COMBAT D) rolls for CLOSE COMBAT with no modifiers:
- Roll CLOSE COMBAT [D10+D6] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 4 and 6)
- Hit Location Die = TORSO
BLUE 1 has spent all his actions for the round and cannot block the attack. The bayonet deals 2 base damage points, but BLUE 1 has a flak vest providing 1 armor +1 for the bayonet’s modifier. Total damage is therefore zero.
ENEMY 2 strikes center mass, but he’s unlucky and the blade is stopped by a magazine BLUE 1 carries on his chest.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
Next is ENEMY 9: I gave him a 50% chance of firing on NASCAR, and 50% of firing on PFC CRANE: roll[D10] = 9 -> PFC CRANE is the target
I’m assuming both NASCAR and CRANE to be in partial cover, as they’re peeking inside the room.
ENEMY 9 immediately raises his AK-74, aims (fast action) and fires on CRANE’s side of the door (slow action).
ENEMY 9’S ROLL [click to expand]
ENEMY 9 (AGL B, RANGED COMBAT C) is firing an AK-74 (assault rifle) in close quarters (-2); he rolls 3 ammo dice (ROF for the AK-74 is 5):
- Roll RANGED COMBAT [D8+D6] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 3 and 1)
- Ammo Dice [D6+D6+D6] = 4 + 4 + 1
- Hit Location Die = TORSO
He misses.
He fires a burst hitting only the wall and the door frame.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
ENEMY 12 has a 50% chance of firing on NASCAR, and 50% of targeting BLUE 2 instead: roll[D10] = 3 -> NASCAR is the chosen.
ENEMY 12 aims his M16A1 at NASCAR (fast action) and fires a burst (slow action).
ENEMY 12’S ROLL [click to expand]
ENEMY 12 (AGL B, RANGED COMBAT C) is firing an M16A1 (assault rifle) in close quarters (-2); he rolls 3 ammo dice (ROF for the M16A1 is 6):
- Roll RANGED COMBAT [D8+D6] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 1 and 3)
- Ammo Dice [D6+D6+D6] = 6 + 5 + 3
- Hit Location Die = HEAD
There’s no direct hit, but the 6 on the ammo dice might suppress NASCAR. NASCAR has CUF A and has line of sight on non-incapacitated friendlies, so he also rolls a die corresponding to the unit morale (C):
- NASCAR rolls CUF + Morale [D12+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 7 and 1)
NASCAR is just patiently waiting for his turn.
ENEMY 12 doesn’t hit, his bullets zipping right by NASCAR’s head, who flinches, but stays frosty.
ENEMY 10 is in the room right next to the players. LED can see he’s wearing warn out US army fatigues with some cuts and traces of blood on his belly. ENEMY 10 was caught by surprise when something blew up two rooms away and the players stormed in the building, so his instinct is to fire at the intruders.
ENEMY 10’S ROLL [click to expand]
ENEMY 10 (AGL B, RANGED COMBAT C) is firing an M16A1 (assault rifle) in close combat (-2); he rolls 4 ammo dice (ROF for the M16A1 is 6):
- Roll RANGED COMBAT [D8+D6] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 3 and 1)
- Ammo Dice [D6+D6+D6+D6] = 2 + 2 + 2 + 1
- Hit Location Die = TORSO
No hits.
He opens fire but only manages to damage the wall.
LED and DONNA can hear some shouting and multiple steps coming from the main nave. One enemy soldier coming from that direction enters the room where ENEMY 10 is, then a second one appears by the door, his hands clutching a pump action shotgun.
[There’s more happening in the church unseen by the players]
End of Round 01
The assault has begun; the players are in. The fight has just started though.
As per usual, I’ll save my comments for the final part of the battle.
If you want to know more about the dice mechanics of TW2K, check this page.