0932 25 AUG 2000, Krakow, Poland (Hex 17358)
===================================
"My eyes were watering, I have to admit. I took it right square in the face and it hurt a lot. Still, not as bad as when I was growing up, but it still hurt. I do not regret it so. Those slave-drivers had it coming and I just wish we could of put some holes in them instead, but you have to play nice in Krakow or a whole LOT of hurt comes down on you in a very short time."
Christmas holidays are behind us. Santa brought me the greater portion of two Polish motorized companies with BTRs and T-55AM2s for Christmas, along with some support weapons and some SA-8s for Team Yankee. I know the Poles preferred the OT-64 but I also wanted to have the BTRs for my Soviets, so there we are. I also took the time to kit bash some Artillery Reconnaissance Vehicles to act as observers for the artillery that the Soviets have and the Poles will soon be getting. It was an enjoyable time.
Team Yankee took a large part of my time and the rest was swallowed up by introducing my sons and the girlfriend of the oldest to Twilight:2000 using the v4 rules. I made a point of making this an in-person game with old-school pen and paper as well as a no mobile rule on the table. The preparation takes a while to get used to again, as most of my games have been virtual recently, but old habits die hard. We are two session in and they have managed to survive an encounter with a large enemy patrol, although they did take some knocks too. All in all, a good game.
We are here to talk about solo roleplaying T2K and that is what we will do. When we last left the group, the exploration team had stumbled upon a group of Robotniki being treated poorly by a group of Krakow ORMO. The team was disturbed by this and it came to an exchange of words and then blows. That is where we are.
It is unlikely that we will see any gun play, as the Krakow ORMO reacts quickly and probably a little heavy handed to firefights within the city, but this will not be the case in if the conflict is settled using bare knuckles.
I was thinking about a battle map but realize everything will be really close range, so I think we can just assume we have a flat stretch of round between fields in the Polwsie Zwierzynieckie district. The opposition will be Polish soldiers, one per PC, with Soldier #1 facing off with Marshall, Soldier #2 with Wally and Soldier #3 with Macron. We can assume, by gentleman's agreement, the firearms are stacked out of reach, body armor removed and both groups really want to help us take a look at the hand-to-hand combat rules.
I just heard the bell, so let the fisticuffs begin.
Initiative
Now time to draw initiative for this round.
|
Order |
Name |
|
2 |
Soldier #1 fighting Marshall |
|
4 |
Soldier #2 fighting Wally |
|
5 |
Marshall |
|
6 |
Macron |
|
7 |
Wally |
|
8 |
Soldier #3 |
Initiative Step 2 - Soldier #1 fighting Marshall
The soldier will perform a melee attack on Marshall (Slow Action) and prepare to block any counter attacks(Fast Action). Marshall will attempt to block the melee attack (out of order Fast Action)
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Marshall |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
10,4,-- |
|
|
Result: |
2 Successes |
|
Two hits and Marshall will attempt to ward off the blow.
|
Task: |
Block Melee attack from Soldier #1 |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
3,--,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
Marshall fails and she will then be forced to take the hit, which will potentially cause two points of damage. She will push the roll instead.
|
Task: |
Block Melee attack from Soldier #1 (pushed) |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
1,--,-- |
|
|
Result: |
1 Mishap |
|
Not only does she fail to stop the blow, but she has a mishap inflicting an additional point of damage on herself. The damage total is 1+1 (additional success) + 1 (mishap) = 3. Marshall lost a 60% of her total hits. Ouch.
Initiative Step 4 - Soldier #2 fighting Wally
The soldier will perform a melee attack on Marshall (Slow Action) and prepare to block any counter attacks(Fast Action). Wally will also attempt to block the melee attack (out of order Fast Action)
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Wally |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
5,3,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
This guy seems more clumsy than his friend and fails to inflict any damage on Wally.
Initiative Step 5 - Marshall
Her head still ringing from the last blow, Marshall jumps back into the fight and prepares to give the guy a drumming.
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Soldier #1 |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
3,--,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
She will not push this roll, as she has taken enough damage.
Initiative Step 6 - Macron
Macron squares off with his opponent and will try to deliver a melee attack (Slow Action) will preparing to block any attacks that may come his way (Fast Action).
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Soldier #3 |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
1,4,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
Macron also fails to impress with his attack.
Initiative Step 7 - Wally
Macron squares off with his opponent and will try to deliver a melee attack (Slow Action) will preparing to block any attacks that may come his way (Fast Action).
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Soldier #2 |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength C (D8) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
-- |
|
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
4,--,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
Wally swings and misses, like the others.
Initiative Step 8 - Soldier #3 fighting Macron
The soldier will perform a melee attack on Macron (Slow Action) and give him a shove (Fast Action). Macron already declared that he would attempt to block the melee attack (out of order Fast Action)
|
Task: |
Melee attack vs. Macron |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
5,4,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
The melee attack misses so we can just move on to the shove.
|
Task: |
Shove Macron |
|
|
Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
|
|
Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
|
|
Modifiers: |
-- |
|
|
Mod. Ability Die: |
Strength B (D10) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Mod. Skill Die: |
Close Combat D (D6) |
[Unmodified] |
|
Ammo Die: |
-- |
|
|
Roll: |
1,1,-- |
|
|
Result: |
Failure |
|
Not going to push that one, as it would leave to our protagonist hurting himself.
The end of the round sees Marshall with a bloody nose and a lot swinging, cursing and shoving but nothing of consequence for the others. Scenes of pushing around in the locker room are coming to my mind, I have to admit.
Hi! I recently found Twilight 2000 and I was directed to your blog by Wayne. I was wondering what your thoughts, given your extensive experience with both modern and old school versions of T2k, were between the two versions. I found a post from a year ago about the alpha that seemed to indicate you liked a lot of the changes and I was wondering if you still held to the pros and cons you mentioned from back then.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Hello Titus,
ReplyDeletethanks for your comment and the time you take to read my musings. I have played all versions of T2K and I have a soft place in my heart for v1. It had a great timeline and a lot of really great modules that provide stories without cramping the sandbox style.
I love v2 simply because of the house rules system GDW used. This makes the version compatible with Traveller: The New Era (which I simply love), Dark Conspiracy and Cadillacs and Dinosaur. One can use items from one game in the others with no effort. This is my favorite version.
Alas, GDW folded and we had to wait a while for another good version of T2K. Free League has done a great job of creating a rules-light version of T2K that does a good job of reflecting the world of T2k. The rules have become simpler for a lot games and allow us to concentrate on the stories and not worrying about the rules. Free League has gone with this trend and I believe it is right one. I like the version and it is the one I currently use on my blog.
My heart beats in a v2 rhythm but we have to move on and I am grateful for Free League for not letting a great game be forgotten. To answer you question, I do like the changes and the game.