DAY 14 – MAY 1st 2000
DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – MORNING
Having returned to the 1/116th Cav HQ, the group pays a visit to the quartermaster for – finally – claiming their share of the Flock’s arsenal.
TRADING at the 1/116th ARSENAL [click to expand]
A few considerations:
- As of now, everyone in my group is reasonably well equipped, and glancing at my characters’ sheets I’d say the average encumbrance is about 70% of total (on opposite sides of the spectrum: LED has an almost empty backpack, while DONNA’s is close to capacity). There is however room for improving their situation. See following points
- LED could trade his M16A1 for a carbine, ideally an M4 or M4A1. This offers some variety to the group’s weaponry, while keeping interchangeability of ammunition (it takes 5.56×45, same as DONNA’s M16A1 and NASCAR’s M249). The shorter effective range is compensated by a reduced penalty for close quarters
- NASCAR could use a better pistol, as we have established that the P-83 is not the ideal sidearm
- ALEX could trade his hunting rifle for something better that still allows for long range engagements. Forest Fight showed how the M21 can be very lethal in skilled hands. The M40A3 has similar stats and should also be considered. His P-83 pistol should also be replaced, while he will keep his AKM (I’m sticking with US weapons for the 1/116th armory, so better to have a Soviet/Polish weapon in the group’s arsenal)
- DONNA has taken the Combat Pistol looted from the enemies from Mental Ambush, and paired with her M16A1, I think it makes for a good combination
- LED is supposed to return his flak jacket and Kevlar helmet; if he could keep at least one, that would be better. ALEX is also supposed to return his flak jacket, and should look for a way to keep it
- All players could benefit from exchanging their improvised grenades with frags (+1 range and a quarter of the weight)
- The group has been operating without AT weapons since they used their AT4 back in Praskza. Time to get some anti-tank capability back
- DONNA is still looking for replenishing her Doctor’s Medical Kit
- The group is still looking for a flashlight and the battery to operate it
- The group is still looking for a Radiacmeter and Protective Masks, just to stay on the safe side
- I’d like to have all players with food and water rations for at least 4 days. I’m assuming water is not an issue (they’ll tap into whatever reserve or source the town has), but they’ll trade for MREs
- Players should replenish ammo as they see fit
I can’t really decide what the 1/116th has set aside for the players, so I’ll proceed this way:
- The group has a credit with the arsenal for items worth 1000 in total
- They can trade in their extra weapons, but the arsenal has just received an influx of guns from the Flock’s stock and all players’ offers will have a -30% modifier to their value
- I’ll assume the 1/116th has most of what the players are looking for and I’ll roll only for a few items
Carbine. There’s an M4 for trade, I’ll roll to see if there’s an M4A1 as well. According to the Player’s Manual, the M4A1, which is the fully automatic version of the M4, is intended for specialized combat troops, so I’ll treat it as hard to come by. I’ll roll a D6:
- 1-4 only the M4 is available for trade
- 5-6 an M4A1 is available as well
Roll [D6] = 2 -> no M4A1
Sniper Rifles. I’ll roll a D6:
- 1-2 no sniper rifles available
- 3-4 an M40A3 is available for trade
- 5-6 an M21 and an M40A3 are both available for trade
Roll [D6] = 4 -> there’s an M40A3 available (weight 2, price 500)
It could go well with a telescopic sight (+1 modifier if you aim as a slow action, or +2 if you do so from a stable platform), so I’ll roll for it considering it Common:
- TELESCOPIC SIGHT (C) – roll[D6] = 4 -> there’s one available for trade (weight 0, price 100)
Anti-tank weapons. I’ll roll a D6:
- 1-2 an M72A3 LAW is available for trading
- 3-4 an M72A3 LAW and an M136 AT4 are available
- 5-6 an M72A3 LAW, an M136 At4 and an RPG7 are available
Roll [D6] = 1 -> there are a few M72A3 LAWs (weight1, price 100)
I’m house-ruling the flashlight is available, but I’ll treat the battery as Scarce:
- SMALL BATTERY (S) – roll[D6] = 5 -> a small battery is available (weight ¼, price 100). I won’t roll for determining how many are available: the players are interested in 1
I’ll consider the Radiacmeter as Common:
- RADIACMETER (C) – roll[D6] = 1 -> no radiacmeters available
I’ll consider the Protective Mask as Scarce:
- PROTECTIVE MASK (S) – roll[D6] = 6 -> there are roll[D6] = 3 available (weight 1/2, price 150)
I’m assuming the 1/116th is taking good care of their weapons, and everything is at 5/5 REL.
Here’s the group’s wish list:
We are over budget here, so the players will have to come up with the difference. I’ll have LED roll for PERSUASION to get a 10% discount on the difference against the 1/116th quartermaster (EMP C, PERSUASION C):
- LED rolls[D10+D10] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 9 and 4)
- QUARTERMASTER rolls[D8+D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 4 and 2)
685 – 10% = 620 rounded
And here’s what the players will offer to get to this number:
The group has been keeping the jerrycan of fuel in case a gas-less vehicle was to be found. Chances are slim though, and the jerrycan takes valuable space in the inventory. Time to put that fuel to good use. Also, the group still has the pickup battery, which takes up even more space, but also a value of 1000.
Part of the remaining weapons in the players’ stockpile will be donated to the refugees from Camp Flock, the rest will be carried by the group for bargaining.
Final item on the trading agenda: armor.
LED and ALEX need a Flak Jacket (the ones they’re using now are borrowed from the 1/116th), and LED also lacks a helmet. I’m thinking one step further though.
The group will try to barter for the KNIGHT’s plate vest plus a flak jacket. If successful, the plate vest goes to NASCAR, whose flak jacket goes to LED or ALEX, with the other taking the flak jacket they bartered for.
I’m house-ruling that a flak jacket is available (the 1/116th has gathered a bunch at Camp Flock) – basically they’ll be able to keep one of the two they have borrowed – and same goes for a Kevlar helmet.
As for the plate vest: I’m going to throw a bone at the group and have it available for trade. But no discounts.
[A plate vest offers armor level 2 with the downside of weighting 3 encumbrance units]
Here’s the value of what the players are asking:
Here’s what they will trade for it:
And that’s it for trading at the 1/116th Arsenal.
As a final decision, ALEX will keep an AK-74 rather than the AKM.
After their trading session, they are granted the possibility of showering and washing their clothes, which they all take advantage of gladly.
This concludes the day shift for day 14.
EVENING SHIFT [click to expand]
Fair weather persists.
NASCAR uses the shift to catch some sleep.
DONNA performs gun maintenance on her Combat Pistol:
- Roll TECH [D8+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8 and 4) -> her Combat Pistol goes up to full REL
ALEX performs maintenance on the AK-74 he has decided to keep:
- Roll TECH [D10+D10] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 7 and 4) -> the AK goes back to 5/5 REL
LED has his mind set on the group’s next move, but still needs to fill some blanks. WARREN is busy, and ELK is out on patrol, so he visits MARIA hoping to obtain a few more nuggets of information.
He founds her in her room; a wooden desk has been positioned along the right wall, while the now empty bed has moved to the opposite end. She is sitting on a metal chair in between the desk and the wall, so that she can see both the door and the window and there’s no room for anyone behind her.
As LED enters, she looks up and quickly folds a sheet of paper she was writing on. As she recognizes her guest, her expression softens slightly. “Close the door, bitte” she says.
LED proceeds as instructed “shouldn’t you be in bed ma’am?”
“Alles zu seiner Zeit”
“Pardon me?”
“I will sleep when there is time to sleep” she folds the letter once more and inserts it in an envelope, then scratches her neck “have you decided on your next move?”
LED nods “we’re leaving tomorrow. I’ll try to make good use of what you told me”
“I wish I could tell you more about Lubliniec, but I don’t know much more than what WARREN told you”
“How do you know we’re going to Lubliniec?”
MARIA tilts her head “I know WARREN placed a big bait in front of your eyes yesterday”
“And given the state of things here, I guess you too would benefit from us visiting the neighbors”
“You mean the possibility of listening to Russian communications? Ja, I may be interested in it”
LED briefly contemplates the scene out of the window “I can’t really promise anything ma’am”
MARIA shrugs “find me someone who can”
“Same goes for the rest, the chalice and all the interest around it”
“I don’t think the chalice is the real prize, though I think it lays on the right path towards understanding what is going on in this region” says MARIA.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it”
“And?”
“The Baron in Krzepice was interested in Czestochowa, specifically US recent presence in town. The town was nuked, but that didn’t seem to discourage the search, and we found the remains of a man, in US army fatigues, in a cave with that chalice. Now, I’m assuming the important part was not the man, but rather the object he was carrying. And if one and two bring me to three, then it makes me think the chalice was taken from the ruins of Czestochowa, possibly from a part of town not completely leveled nor fully covered in radioactive dust. Now, this last bit of theory makes me think I’m on shaky ground, and I’m still missing what the chalice points to”
MARIA taps her fingers on the wooden table “if you are looking for solid ground, I’m afraid I can offer you only speculations” she briefly pauses “I’ll tell you this though: finding the chalice would be proof enough that something survived the destruction of Czestochowa. And if one object survived…”
“… there could be more” finishes LED.
A smile curves MARIA’s lips “you know, I am glad I met you four. Good to know there will be more eyes capable of looking and ears capable of listening out there”
“Again ma’am, no promises”
“That’s something else you don’t hear a lot. Makes me think I got the right people for this treasure hunt”
“There’s plenty of US soldiers here, and there’s bands of Americans scattered all around this country, why would you enlist us?”
“Aside from you being here now?” asks the woman “I’ve been informed that you guys managed to maintain a modicum of… clear-headedness. You’re not just roaming the countryside trying to survive, you still possess a moral compass, so to speak”
“It’s quite a judgement to make in these days; are you that confident in whoever it is that made it?”
“I trust my sources in Praszka, yes” says the woman “as do you, apparently, or you wouldn’t be here”
LED nods “I guess we were part of the game even before we knew it. Oh, by the way…” he produces a deck of cards from his pocket and puts it on the table “… I believe this is yours, full deck”
“Danke. I think the one remaining thing is to wish you good luck”
“Yeah” says LED “luck can’t hurt, but I have one last question if you don’t mind”
“About?”
“Krakow”
“What about it?”
“You said the ceremonial sword the Markgraf could be interested in is in a castle there. And we’ve heard rumors about the town”
“What kind of rumors?” asks MARIA.
“The kind that is difficult to believe”
“All rumors about Krakow have a core of truth, and the rest is exaggeration”
“Even if they had a… core of truth, it still sounds like fantasy”
MARIA takes a deep breath “what if I told you there is a place that still has the rule of law? What if I told you there is a square where they regularly hold concerts? What if I told you there is a church where they hold mass every day?”
“And that’s all in the same town?”
MARIA nods slowly “what if I told you there is still a machine capable of flying?”
ROUNDING UP the EVENING SHIFT [click to expand]
I assumed the conversation with MARIA wouldn’t take that long – I imagined it longer than what I dramatized, but still 20 minutes tops – and looked for something LED could do with the rest of his shift. I decided he would gather rumors and carry some equipment to the refugees just out of town (with the approval of both the Town and the 1/116th of course).
Here is what the players will donate to the refugees:
- One AK-74 plus 3 mags of 5.45×39 rounds
- One Hunting Rifle plus 5 mags of .30-06 rounds
- One M16A1 with no ammo
The players will keep the pistols (a P-83 and a PM) which have little encumbrance, plus one AK-74 and one AKM which are more cumbersome but valuable.
The refugees are of course grateful, but still have bigger problems ahead, so this is mostly good karma for the players.
As for the rumors, I rolled a D100 using the table on The Black Madonna book, page 25, and got 15 which says: “Russians shouldn’t go to Dobrodzień. Somebody there is executing them out of hand”
Being in town, LED knows how much truth there is in that rumor, so I house-ruled that what he hears is that a few towns on the southern Vistula, including Krakow, are looking for people with experience in navigating river boats.
I have no specific idea on how to use this rumor in the future, but if I ever get to use the Hostile Waters expansion module, this could act as foreshadowing.
A note about rumors: the table on page 25 of The Black Madonna book has a few rumors specifically mentioning the Black Madonna. At this point, my group still has to figure out the icon is what they (and everyone else) are looking for, so I was ready to tweak any such rumor.
NIGHT SHIFT [click to expand]
The sky turns to cloudy.
LED gets some sleep (he hasn’t slept yet for day 14) and recovers 1 damage point
NASCAR attempts once more maintenance on ALEX’s P-83 pistol:
- Roll TECH [D8+D6] = NO SUCCESSES (rolled 4 and 2)
ALEX takes care of the AKM in the players’ stockpile:
- Roll TECH [D10+D10] = NO SUCCESSES (rolled 1 and 2)
DONNA does the same with the AK-74:
- Roll TECH [D8+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 7 and 3) -> the AK goes up to full REL
FINAL COMMENTS
I finally manage to get body armor and helmets for all of my players, and overall their arsenal improved in this trading session. I know that merely looking at an object’s stats to decide whether to keep it or trade it can feel very videogame-y, but after two weeks of use the group has gathered enough reasons for the desired changes.
Carrying capacity (a.k.a. encumbrance) is the main limit to the arsenal they travel with, so I’m working to provide enough capability for offense, defense, recon, survival and the like, with an eye for useful variety. All within that load constraint. Also, you want to keep some free space for anything interesting your group comes by (like when you enter a cavern and find a chalice…).
LED’s chat with MARIA didn’t really add anything to the intel already received, it really served as a moment for reasoning out loud, and to put the town of Krakow on the players’ mental map.