Tuesday, December 22, 2020

0118 - The Great Escape - Part IX - Heading Home - Day 1

 0600 09 AUG 2000, Zdunska Wola, Poland
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  • "Be careful what you wish for. We had asked the Poles to provide us with transport for the POWs, which they did after a fashion. They delivered us two deuce and a halves with Russian markings. I had never seen one like that and Griff said they were trucks from the Second World War. Somethin' about Lend-Lease. I have to admit, they looked like something that had been laying around for a few decades. I swear part of the bed was rusted through and you could see the tires turning. Since we needed to be tactical, we gave them appropriate call signs: Bad and Worse."

Morning Shift

Weather: Fair

From the conversations with the Poles, we can assume that the characters have gathered some intel on the surrounding area. The only clear route would be south, as the towns in the immediate vicinity are occupied by Warsaw Pact troops.

The group has two 2.5 ton trucks, both with a reliability of D. We can also assume that the group has two rations of domestic food and water for each member. That is about all the group will be able to get from the Poles.

In the morning shift, the group heads off south, travelling cross-country. Since it is cross-country and running on alcohol, the full consumption is x4, or 12l per hex. The characters and POWS are packed in tight, with Wally driving Bad and Robinson driving Worse. Griff and Macron are standing guard.
Activities: Macron and Griff are on watch. Wally and Robinson are driving. The rest are resting in the back as best they can..

Navigation: The group must make a surival roll to avoid getting lost. Griff has an Intelligence of B and a Survival of C. His driver, Wally, has the same and will be assisting him. This gives Griff a +1 Modifier, raising both dice to B (D10). The result is 2,1 (failure). The group enters a hex farther east than intended.

Hazards: The group must make a hazard roll for the new hex. Since they are travelling together, we will make a group roll. Wally and Robinson both have an Agility of B and a Driving skill of C. Wally will make the roll with Robinson assisting (+1). The terrain (Open) gives an additional +1 modifier. Wally rolls 1D12 and 1D10 with the results of 10,9 (three successes). The group avoids any hazards this turn.

Encounters: We draw the 2 of Clubs for an encounter. This results in Forest Fire. The drivers need to avoid the fleeing wildlife and the group needs to make a Survival roll to avoid being stopped by the flames next shift. Once again, Griff and Wally need to make a group survival roll. Griff has an Intelligence of B and a Survival of C. His driver, Wally, has the same and will be assisting him. This gives Griff a +1 Modifier, raising both dice to B (D10). This time the roll is 6,6 and they succeed with an additional success. They found a way through and the fire will not impede their progress further.

Day Shift

Weather: The weather roll is a 6 (success) and the weather remains fair.

Activities: Macron and Griff are on watch. Wally and Robinson are driving. The rest are resting in the back as best they can.

Navigation: After getting lost last shift, Griff and Wally have a chance to make up for it. The group intends to go overland to the south, with the goal of reaching the bridge near Radomsko, Poland. Griff has an Intelligence of B and a Survival of C. His driver, Wally, has the same and will be assisting him. This gives Griff a +1 Modifier, raising both dice to B (D10). The result is 7,10 (total of three successes). This time the group stays on course.

Hazards: The group must make a hazard roll for the new hex. Since they are travelling together, we will make a group roll. Wally and Robinson both have an Agility of B and a Driving skill of C. Wally will make the roll with Robinson assisting (+1). The terrain (Open) gives an additional +1 modifier. Wally rolls 1D12 and 1D10 with the results of 9,5 (one success).

Encounters: We draw the Queen of Spades for an encounter. The encounter (Kill Zone) is a road encounter during the day. As the characters are travelling overland, it is treated as no encounter.

Evening Shift
As the day is moving on, the team will attempt to make camp and bed down for the evening.

Weather: The weather roll is a 4 and the weather remains fair.

Activities: Macron will stay on watch. Griff and Potato will go hunting. Logan will make camp, assisted by the POWs, Klasha will Sleep. Wally will scrounge, assisted by Robinson. Harris and Marshall are cooking, also assisted by the POWs that are able, if the campfire can be started.

Griff and Potato make a small hunting party. Griff has an Intelligence of B (D10) and a Survival skill of C (D8). The open terrain gives a +1 Bonus, stepping up his ability die to A (D12). Griff rolls 11,8, resulting in three successes. Griff tracks a board, dear and moose. We will hunt the dear today. We can use the terrain table to determine the initial range in hexes (2D10x4) = 44. This is a long shot. Griff will make a Recon roll to halve the distance (Note: in the alpha, it mentions making a Recon roll modified by how close one wants to get. I could not find a table for this, so I am winging it).

Griff has an Intelligence of B (D10) and a Recon of C (D8). I think the Infiltration modifier for the terrain should be applied, as Griff tries to sneak closer in open terrain. The modifier will be -1, reducing his C skill to D (D6). The roll is 6,6 (two successes). This will allow Griff to reduce the range again (Note: DM judgement call). The range is now Short. Griff needs to make a ranged combat roll. His Agility is A (D12) and his Ranged Combat skill is B (D10). He has the specialty  SNIPER, which gives a +1 modifier to RANGED COMBAT rolls for firing sniper rifles and hunting rifles. The open terrain has no modifiers and Griff has telescopic sights (+2), for a total of +3, raising both die to D12. One ammo die is added to the pool. The result is three successes and four rounds used. The deer will deliver 5 rations of food when cooked, assuming we have a fire.

Note: regarding the use of ammo die, I go with the rules as written. Would Griff need 4 rounds to kill a deer? Probably not but the game makes a point of saying that ammo is a precious commodity and should be tracked accordingly. We can assume that Griff tried a couple shots before and missed or maybe used another round to put the animal out of its misery, either way, we cross off four rounds.

While the hunters are killing innocent wildlife, Logan is be assisted by the POWs to make camp. Logan has an Intelligence of B (D10) and an Survival skill of C (D8). The roll is 8,3 (on success), meaning the group finds shelter for the night and gets the fire going.

Klasha lays down for a bit before getting ready for the night shift.

Once the camp is ready, Harris and Marshall and the POWs set about cooking the meal. The rations from the Poles are used and the deer from Griff is also welcome. We will make a group roll instead of a roll for every 12 meals. Marshall has an intelligence of C (D8) and a Survival Skill of C (D8). She is being assisted by multiple people, so we will give her the modifier of +3. This steps one die up to D12 and the other to D10. The result is 7,2 (one success). No one puking up the rest tonight. No siree! Good eatin' tonight! ;-)

While the deer is roasting on the spit, Wally is scrounging like it was an olympic event. Wally has an Intelligence of B (D10) and a Survival skill of C (D8). The open terrain has no modifier for scrounging. The roll is 2,7, resulting in one success, allowing Wally to roll once on the scrounging table. Wally finds a hunting bow (48). He also finds D6 arrows (Note: DM judgement call), or 1 arrow, as it were. Seems someone dropped something. I roll for reliability (1), resulting in the bow being reduced below D, meaning that need to be repaired first. That is why the probably dropped it. Wally adds it to his inventory anyway.

Navigation: As the group is not moving, no roll is required.

Hazards: As the group is not moving, no roll is required.

Encounters: We draw the 9 of Spades for an encounter. The encounter (Death from Below) is a road encounter and can be ignored.

Night Shift
Bedtime for Bonzo. Time for the team to take a break.

Weather: The weather roll is a 1. Clouds move in during the night.

Activities: Everyone but Klasha is sleeping. She has guard duty tonight.

Navigation: As the group is not moving, no roll is required.

Hazards: As the group is not moving, no roll is required.

Encounters: Queen of Hearts (DEATH FROM ABOVE). A road encounter during the day, neither w whcih apply to the group currently, so this is treated as no encounter.

The first day comes to an end. The characters did not make as much progress as I hoped.  Hopefully, this will change soon, as their rations will be running out soon.  




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