DAY 15 – MAY 2nd 2000
DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – MORNING
WARREN raises her eyes from the stack of paper in front of her as LED approaches her desk. “As I understand, you decided for Lubliniec”
“Yes ma’am” answers LED, his new Kevlar helmet under his arm “it’s a short trip and it came highly recommended. And there we should find the means to get a clearer picture of… well, whatever is going on in the area”
WARREN smiles “I told you, MARIA has her ways”
LED nods “honestly ma’am, I think you two have learned how to take advantage of each other’s presence, without having to fully cooperate. This… symbiosis seems to benefit both your causes”
“There’s my men and there’s the town that welcomed us, and then there’s any mean necessary”
“Got it. Well, if we can get some more details about what’s moving under the surface, I think we’ll all benefit from it. Things are likely to be way more complicated than I think”
“Will you still try to get back in the chain of command?” asks WARREN.
“That’s the idea, yes ma’am. Divided we fall and the rest”
“Was that meant for me?”
“Just thinking aloud ma’am” answers LED.
“If you ever manage to get back in the loop, then things are really going to be complicated, trust me”
“I suppose that’s true” nods LED.
“I bet part of you is now regretting having received my briefing, or MARIA’s”
“Well, ma’am, in my line of work two things can kill you: the things you don’t know, and the things you know. Personally, I prefer to know why there’s a bullet flying towards my skull”
WARREN gets up and briefly looks out of the window “you got everything you need?”
“We’ll fill up our canteens and we’re ready to go” LED pauses for a bit “actually, there is one more thing I’d like to ask for”
“Go ahead”
“The Russian prisoner, he had his army uniform when we captured him”
“He did”
“Would it be possible to have it? I’ve been thinking about the situation in Lubliniec, and a modicum of theatrics might help”
“Interesting” comments WARREN “but if you open your mouth and there’s no Russian coming out, then a uniform will not bring you far”
“Eto ne problema” says LED.
“Ochen’ khoroshiy” replies WARREN “but I’m afraid the prisoner’s uniform wouldn’t fit you. Too large”
“Too bad” comments LED “we’ll think of something else. Thank you for everything” he adds while holding out his hand.
WARREN shakes it “thank you, and your men. And what I meant is that the prisoner’s uniform won’t fit. We have others that may”
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
The group receives two Russian uniforms complete with boots and side holsters, all in okay conditions, in sizes fitting LED and ALEX (who both speak Russian). One is a Kapitan (Captain) uniform and the other a Mladshiy Serzhant (Sergeant) uniform, both from the 20th Guards Tank Division. The Player’s Manual (page 131) lists Fatigues as weighting 0, which I’m assuming is when worn. I’ll house-rule that each uniform plus boots weights 2 encumbrance units.
Also, someone to look for when in Lubliniec: Podpulkownik (Lieutanant Colonel) LUCJAN BRANIECKI, commander of the 1st Special Operations Commando quartered in their barracks at the southern edge of town (I forgot to put this bit of information in the chat I dramatized)
Everybody gets up to three rations of water before leaving.
One of the 9×18 mags is emptied and the bullets divided among the players as spare currency.
The players will move off-road on their way to Lubliniec. The most direct way goes through an open terrain hex followed by a forest hex. Off-road in any terrain type except open, you can march one hex per shift (Player’s Manual, page 139). The group will need to march the morning shift to cover the open-terrain hex, plus the day shift to traverse the forest hex (you can march for up to two of the day’s shifts without needing a STAMINA roll).
MORNING SHIFT [click to expand]
The group is entering a new hex moving off-road, so a navigation (SURVIVAL) roll is required. LED rolls with a +2 granted by compass and map:
- LED rolls [D12+D10] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 9 and 4)
The group is moving in the right direction.
I drew an encounter for the morning shift and got:
4♠ THE BATTLEFIELD: An area where a big tank battle has taken place months ago. There is much unexploded ordnance in the area, and scrounging here requires a RECON roll – failure triggers a blast power C explosion. Most vehicles are damaged beyond repair, but with a successful TECH roll the PCs find a T-72 that is inoperable but can be repaired.
The players know the danger posed by such battlefields and are not really interested in scrounging; yet the area being this close to the 1/116th Cav HQ could yield some interesting, and easily accessible, surprise.
I had ALEX leave his backpack and detach from the group. First, he needs a RECON roll to navigate the battlefield avoiding any unexploded ordnance:
- ALEX rolls RECON [D10+D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled double 4)
He pushes the roll (of course…):
- ALEX push-rolls RECON [D10+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 5 and 7)
The tall grass proves difficult to move through safely, but by proceeding with caution he can navigate the battlefield.
Now a TECH roll to see if he can spot anything useful:
- ALEX rolls TECH [D10+D10] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8 and 2)
ALEX spends a good 15 minutes inspecting a T72 Russian tank, now inoperable, but apparently reparable.
The players do not have the parts nor the time, but they make a note of the position of the particular tank and plan on reporting it back to the 1/116th Cav, whose soldiers may have the means to get themselves a tank for their motor vehicle pool.
DAY SHIFT [click to expand]
Fair weather persists.
Another hex, another navigation (SURVIVAL) roll for LED (same modifiers as before):
- LED rolls [D12+D10] = 2 SUCCESSES (rolled 7 and 8)
The group is now in the forest hex of Lubliniec.
I drew another encounter card for the shift but it didn’t apply to off-road travel, so encounter avoided.
FINAL COMMENTS
Once more my players are leaving a friendly town, shelter, and relative safety.
Once more my players have a good reason for departing said town.
Aside from the more canonical TTRPG aspects of exploring and pushing on, I felt my characters had enough reasons to move. At this point, LED is the main engine behind the group’s decisions, both by rank and by his tacit role as leader. None of his companions would challenge that.
In my mind, he has a comprehensive picture of the situation, and a keener eye that makes him more apt at navigating the world of TW2K. Having him pointing the way means keeping the door open on both broad-scoped storylines and more confined encounters.
There’s a multiplicity of ways to go, and that’s great with or without other players around the table.