0007 - Food for Sieradz - Adventure Setup

Now that we have the hook, we can begin to construct the adventure. We know that the major knows where the food is and that he will want it recovered for the town. The question remains about what he can offer the characters. Considering the situation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, he can most likely offer something to cover their physiological and safety needs. In the current situation, that would be shelter and relative safety. Assuming they are successful, he could offer some food, but that is dependent on the situation. The aspect of shelter and safety is probably only temporary, as the Warsaw Pact forces will reorganize and continue to search for stragglers.

The mission and rewards: recover the food and in return the characters may rest, refuel and trade in the town for a short time.

Now we need some kind of resistance is also needed, otherwise it is a walk in the park. The characters have had a lot of combat in the past few days, so it should not be a direct confrontation. That would leave two other options; some physical impediment (mired in mud, blown bridge, etc.) or something involving the war. I choose the second and I believe it would be interesting if the convoy was stuck in a previously unmarked minefield.

The opposition: the convoy was abandoned in an anti-vehicle minefield. Most of vehicles are believed intact.

A narrative as preparation for the following scene:

We were following a wide road, headed East. When we topped a rise and saw Sieradz for the first time, Mitchell slammed on the brakes. Lookin’ past Bud, I saw why. Hull down behind berms, I could identify no less than two T-80s. The pucker factor increased immensely.

I swung the TOW around and was determined to take at least one with us but then something interesting happened: absolutely nothing happened. We had been on the run for a few days and had more than our share of run-ins with the Whiskey Pete troops but these seemed reluctant to engage. We waited twenty minutes with them watching us and us doing the same.

After it became almost certain that no one was going to die that day, we decided to roll slowly toward the town. Just outside the town limits, a makeshift barricade blocked the road. In front of the barricade, a tired lookin’ Russian lieutenant leaned on the barricade as we approached.

Mitchell stopped a good 50m from the barricade, behind which I saw about ten troopers. They looked rather roughly handled and I kind of smirked when I thought about why. We definitely gave out better than we got. Still, that was ancient history now.

Now, apparently, the LT wanted to talk. He ambled over slowly, stepping carefully with his right leg, the white bandage showing through the hole in his uniform trousers. He gave Potato a really dirty look before addressing Griffin in English: “No one shoot today. We talk.”