DAY 14 – MAY 1st 2000
DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – MORNING
NASCAR and DONNA reach the edge of the big olive-green military tent erected on one side of the main square. Under it is a makeshift market and about a dozen locals either carrying or looking for things to bargain for. Three stalls are positioned in a semicircle, behind and in-between them are stacked crates, boxes and loose objects of all types and sizes, from tools to teapots, books to bicycles, clothes to chemicals. On either side of the tent stands an armed man, likely part of the town’s militia.
NASCAR looks around, moving his head to look past the locals “what are my chances of finding some premium ribs here?”
“About the same as you not getting a sarcastic answer” is DONNA’s dry comment. “Those look like apples, how about those?” she adds pointing at a wooden crate on one of the stalls.
“Nah, nah, nah DOC” says NASCAR turning “I said premium ribs, you can’t come back at me with apples. I’m talking bbq under the sun, and you’re giving me fruit”
“Yeah, you’re right, plus there’s enough spicy isotopes in the ground around here, they probably glow yellow at night”
NASCAR looks at the apples “so, say they don’t have a flashlight here, do we get a couple of apples instead?”
“Man, if only we could trade your bulls**t…”
“We could get a lot of apples”
TRADING in DOBRODZIEN [click to expand]
While LED and ALEX are talking to WARREN, NASCAR and DONNA are looking for good bargains for the group. As per usual, the players need to decide what they’re looking for, and then the Referee rolls for the availability of it.
The players won’t be looking for weapons, ammo and armor here, it is far more likely that the 1/116th Cav has a better stock. Plus they are still waiting for a cut of the loot amassed at camp Flock, which will be mostly weaponry. Here’s what they’re looking for in town:
- DONNA wants to replenish her Doctor’s Medical Kit (a full one costs 250, but she’s still at 50% of bandages and antibiotics, so the price will be lower)
- The group could use a Flashlight, mostly for navigating dark interiors
- The Flashlight needs a small battery to be operated
- Given what they’ve found in the crate buried near the church at Camp Flock, they will look for Protective Masks, a Radiacmeter and a Chemical Agent Detector. Chances are Dobrodzień is close enough to Czestochowa to have some of them, but also that they won’t be willing to part with them.
The players have 12 MREs (3 days’ worth of food for the entire group) and 9 water rations. Water has – so far – proven easier to come by (SURVIVAL roll for foraging), so food & dinks are not a concern at the moment. Also, the Flock’s loot should grant the group at least another MRE each.
Side note: while MREs are easy to imagine as a single bag/box containing food with enough calories for one day, water rations are a bit trickier. One can imagine a bottle of water for each ration, or multiple canteens carried by the players. I’m thinking about having my players look for a water reservoir, like a small water tank that can be carried in one’s backpack and contains 10-15 liters or 7-8 water ration’s worth). I’ll investigate what the army of the 90s used and get back to this point.
I’m house-ruling that the town is keeping any radiacmeter and chemical agent detector it has for itself. Protective masks will be treated as scarce, their number capped at 1 and their price jacked up (Referee’s hat on: I’m thinking the town’s person conducting negotiations with the players is not supposed to sell them Protective Masks, but figures he can make a good trade out of one by pretending it’s the only one available. We’ll see what the dice say).
For the remaining objects I’ll use the Player’s Manual’s system (page 90) to determine the availability:
- COMMON (C) items are fairly ubiquitous even in the year 2000. Roll a D6. If the result is 3 or higher the item is available. A new roll can be made each week.
- SCARCE (S) items are not easily available, but individual can be offered for trade from time to time. Roll a D6. If the result is a 5 or a 6, the item is available. A new roll can be made each week.
- RARE (R) items are not generally available, and tightly guarded by anyone who possesses them.
Same table (Player’s Manual, page 90) for determining the available quantity.
The players are looking for a Doctor’s Medical Kit, which I’ll consider Scarce:
- DOCTOR’S MEDICAL KIT (S) – roll[D6] = 2 -> no kits available in town
A Flashlight is Common:
- FLASHLIGHT (C) – roll[D6] = 2 -> no flashlights for trade
A small battery can still be useful for a number of small electronic objects. I’ll treat it as scarce:
- SMALL BATTERY (S) – roll[D6] = 2 (what the hell…) -> no batteries
As stated, the Protective Mask is considered scarce:
- PROTECTIVE MASK (S) – roll[D6] = 6! -> one is available for a “special” price
Normally a protective mask is priced at 150 (Player’s Manual, page 129), this one can be exchanged for 300 bullets’ worth of items.
The sun is now high in the sky, brightening up the row of building on the northern side of the square, and offering a nice warmth to anyone outside in the open. NASCAR and DONNA are back from a fruitless bargaining session: the town was out of everything they were looking for, except for one clearly – and intentionally – overpriced item.
“Due respect ma’am” says NASCAR “but there’s squeezing money out of a stranger, and there’s just being an a**hole”
WARREN observes him for a moment, her expression slightly amused “talk to our quartermaster when you get back to HQ, he’ll have something for you. And next time don’t show up with a half a dozen rifles slinged on your back, or people who are just trying to survive may think that you are a good mark for an… uneven bargain. Or worse, they’ll start thinking about where and how you got all that hardware…”
“Thought this town was supposed to be friendly…” mutters NASCAR.
“We’re sitting outside in the sun, we got a reservation at the local diner, and nobody’s shooting at us” says LED “can’t get any friendlier than this”
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
It only now occurred to me that NASCAR and DONNA had 5 assault rifles they could potentially use for trading, and I pictured myself NASCAR carrying the entire arsenal on his back like it’s nothing…
DONNA nudges her comrade “c’mon, let’s enjoy the friendly atmosphere” and the two sit down.
“Anything from Praszka ma’am?” asks ALEX.
WARREN nods “we did send someone as you suggested, and he did enter town. That’s progress already if you ask me” she changes position on the wooden bench “we did offer what little cooperation we can, given the distance and the circumstances, along with some good-intentioned information about what’s going on around them. My men told me they looked genuinely surprised; they really put on blinders these past months”
“Yeah” comments LED “that’s where the reaching out effort originated”
“Anyway, for such a small town they have a ministerial-type bureaucracy, so there’s going to be a lot of talking before they settle on an answer. On a good day our radio could be able to reach their town, but I’ll send someone again in a few days”
“Regular comms can make good neighbors”
“Well, for now we’re just waiving at each other from afar. Sharing intel is supposed to be a two-way street; they have to abandon their isolationism and start patrolling their turf or we won’t get much out of this relationship”
“Yet you’re sending someone back in a few days” observes LED.
“If the Russians in Kalisz start moving South along the Prosna, I’d like to have a warning”
A young man carrying a messenger bag zips by on a bicycle while avoiding potholes on the road coasting the main square, briefly attracting the group’s attention.
“You got anything out of that Russian guy we brought here?” asks NASCAR. Everybody turns towards him. “Ma’am” he adds. “Nothing so far; but it’s too early for a proper chat. We need to let him stew for a while. Your report is however quite interesting on its own”
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
I’m assuming here the players have already reported to WARREN about where and how they captured the Soviet prisoner, including details about the group of soldiers he seemed in charge of.
“It’s not like he said much to us” says NASCAR.
“He’s Russian Army” replies WARREN “and he was leading a group of soldiers from Krzepice according to the armbands you described. Krzepice is controlled by WALEŃSKI, the Baron, who in turns answers to the Markgraf down in Racibόrz. The Markgraf would cooperate with the Soviets only if they were to leave the country en masse; any other circumstance would result in a clash” WARREN leans forward, her elbows on the wooden surface of the table “so has the Baron gone rogue? Has Krzepice fallen to the Soviets? And above all…” WARREN turns to LED tilting her head just slightly “… what was so interesting about that cave?”
“We told you what we found there” says ALEX.
WARREN turns quickly to him “you told me what you wanted to tell me” then to LED “I guess it comes with the profession, and you know what? Fine by me, as long as it doesn’t endanger my men or the town. But don’t take me for an idiot: you’ve been in that cave, and when our friend MARIA learned of it, she immediately started looking for it, and then this Russian guy showed up leading a pack of locals. Every single player in the region is suddenly interested, meaning I have to keep an eye on it as well, or we’ll be unprepared when it comes knocking on our door”
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
Back in day 9, LED succeeded in a PERSUASION roll opposite WARREN, and kept the fact the group possesses the chalice secret. At this point though, WARREN has gathered enough reasons to doubt it. I don’t want to have a repeat of the roll, nor I want to house-rule a reversal of it. My final choice was therefore to decide WARREN knows there’s more going on than what the players are disclosing; it’s up to them whether to bring her up to speed or not.
LED lowers his eyes to the table, then raises them “is that why you keep MARIA around?”
“When I decided not to be bossed around anymore, I also knew I couldn’t afford to be blind. She has her own agenda, and I’m sure she’ll find a way to use you for it, but as long as she’s here, she has to keep an eye on her surroundings, which is our surroundings, and that’s valuable”
“I thought we proved we can be valuable as well”
“Here? Sure, that you did. But when you leave? Less and less”
“Don’t you want to know what’s behind the sudden interest for that cave ma’am?” asks LED.
“Of course I do. Are you planning on investigating it?”
“We may; as you said, there’s lot of interest around it”
WARREN smiles just slightly “did MARIA already recruited you for her purposes?”
“We didn’t sign a contract; we’re just an informed party ma’am”
“You might as well have; she has her ways”
“That chalice we saw in the cave” says ALEX “you said you could point us towards someone who may know about its origin”
“I did have a name” nods WARREN “but know I have an even better one”
“Care to share ma’am?” asks LED.
“You already know him; you met him at the Flock’s camp. Goes by FATHER ŁUKASZ”
“Good, is he around here? Or outside the perimeter?” asks ALEX.
WARREN shakes her head “no, he got the sense that his people wouldn’t be welcome here and decided to look for a different accommodation somewhere else”
“You know where ma’am?”
“Sure, he left this morning for Lubliniec”
FINAL COMMENTS
The trading part was… disappointing. I was hoping to secure a few items useful for future development of the campaign, but the dice said no. Well, should the need for such items arise in the near future, securing them could be a task in itself for my players.
Aside from that, WARREN proved once more to be a smart, competent leader, as she informed the players she knows there’s more to their story, and pointed them towards Lubliniec right after. In the span of two brief interactions, she gave the players two good reasons to go there, and pursue an objective from which she could benefit herself.
The players have also been reminded – again – that the cave, and more specifically what was inside it, seems to have an importance beyond what they understood so far. It’s my way of keep tugging at the thread of The Black Madonna campaign.