A Beautiful Disaster
On running Twilight 2000 as a single session Braunstein event
The estimable BDubs threw down the gauntlet to our crew to run a Battle Braunstein game. I was already in the middle of investigating the classic First Edition Box set of Twilight 2000 with an eye to future BrOSR play. And I was in the throws of a combination of depression, mania, alcohol, impostor syndrome, writer’s block, and elation at my first publication credit. Oh and on the night before the night in question, the doofuses at Crowd Strike took down half the internet.
No pressure.
I had Four players signed up for NATO factions.
Belloc of Poitiers for the White Polish allied forces “White Eagle Legion.”
Goal: Asist NATO troops to destroy as many Red Poles as possible while preserving as much force as possible.
Brigadine for F Troop, 1/256th Cav, LANG
Goal: Recon town of Kalisz, secure intersection of HWY 12 and HWY 25 for US 5th (Mech) Division, obtain intelligence or rumors of “sister” battalion, 1/256th Mechanized Infantry LANG.
Mr. Big for unspecified British Commonwealth troops
Goal: Survive this damn foolish Yank and Jerry War and return home to Blighty ASAP.
Parker for unspecified CIA operations team
Goal: Secure loyalty of US Army officers to the CIVGOV and or remove all disloyal elements.
I had Three players signed up for WarPact factions.
LutheranCrusade for forward scout elements of the 5th KGB Guards Division.
Goal: Locate the right flank and smash this last Capitalist offensive and return home to fight the Army for control.
Line Doggie for Red Polish allied forces “Red Army Faction.”
Goal: Asist WarPact troops to destroy as many White Poles as possible while preserving as much force as possible.
John Pliskin for an unspecified GRU Spetsnaz operations team
Goal: Ensure as few KGB loyalists return to Russia as possible.
Mr. Big, Parker, Line Doggie, and Pliskin could not make the session for various reasons, leaving us with a seeming 2 v 1 game. I tried to pull in additional last minute players but this also fell through. This should have been more of a disaster. I had less than half my players. I had no idea how this “Braunstine” was supposed to work, only vague notions of “fog of war,” and “pull people into private chat one at time” to work out their intentions.
Each player was to generate at least one Player Character and then put that character in command of a “platoon” of 4d6 NPCs, with random NPC statlines (roll 1d4, 1= Green, 2 = Regular, 3 = Veteran, 4 = Elite). Before play started, I was contacted by LutheranCrusade, who not only generated each of his platoon as full characters, but wanted to know if it was possible to send a detachment ahead to scout the city before start of play.
Since Kalisz was a free city, not under control of either NATO or the WarPact, and some of LutheranCrusade’s young partisan “Wolverines” spoke Polish, and my 2d6 roll was favorable, I allowed this. Elite players make elite plays. For those in the know, LutheranCrusade also played the Technomancer who nuked Hell in the #RiftsBros campaign. Yeah. I will tell you that the will to read the rules and bend them and MS Excel to your needs is a sure sign of Eliteness in players.
When play officially started, even though he was outnumbered two to one, LutheranCrusade had already shaped the battlefield to his advantage. This would prove to be decisive. While Brigadine and Belloc coordinated their forces linkup, Lutheran’s advanced party spread out in the main square, including a spotter in the bell tower of the Cathedral.
Following their linkup, Brigadine’s Cav troopers in two M2 Bradleys (should have been M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicles, instead of the infantry versions, but I dropped that ball) and a truck and Belloc’s White Eagle Legion with a Hilux Technical, bicycles, and more heavy trucks, spread out in the city. Meanwhile, Lutheran’s Soviets punched out a horse cavalry patrol from their field HQ in Zduny. Both the Horse Riders and Technical crew spotted each other. Neither could conclusively identify each other.
“You see horse riders in the distance, could be local militia.”
“You see a Hilux with a DShK on the back, could be local militia.”
However, this contact report soon fell to the wayside. On the way to the taking up an over watch position on the far side of the river, the Hilux dropped off a single Cav Scout at the main square. This trooper was carrying a precision rifle and was identified with the call sign “Indiana.” It is no exaggeration to say that the entire game result hinged on this one soldier.
Climbing to the top of the Cathedral’s belfry, “Indiana” found a Polish speaking man wearing civilian clothing. He clearly had field glasses. He slung his rifle, pulled his bayonet as a knife, and attempted to subdue the man and take him prisoner. “Mask” was not in the mood to be taken prisoner. A tussle ensued. We grappled with the grappling rules. Once we understood the highlighted in the entirety, it was a relatively clear procedure actually. I learned a lot doing this.
Indiana was taken prisoner, secured with his own flex-cuffs. No answer was made to frequent and increasingly urgent requests for SITREP over the F troops local net. Brig ordered the destruction of the Belfry in retaliation. Luckily, Mask and company had already lifted and shifted Indiana and were already moving him out of town on a donkey cart of full of trade goods out of town, when Tango-Steel opened up with his M242 25mm Bushmaster cannon from the HE feed.
Seemingly in retaliation, but in reality ordered simultaneously, the other Soviet spotter in the area, “Cossack,” called in artillery on the firing M2, a Grad strike using Improved Conventional Munitions rockets. We worked through the call for fire procedure and then the damage against vehicles procedure, determining that the every component was hit with enough damage to disable, total catastrophic brew up of ammo and fuel.
The NATO players, frustrated with the invisible enemy and with my slowness as a referee, decided to force a resolution of the scenario with a balls out charge, hey diddle up the middle. The Hilux reported the arty strike coming from Zduny and all the remaining vehicles swarmed up and at them. Lutheran got eyes on this attack and called in higher for support, choosing a flight of three MI-24 Hinds. Brigadine called for fire from the Fifth Mech Div Arty, and got a 155mm battery of guns, which he used to paste Zduny before making entry.
But in the end, ATGMs fired from the Mi-24 Hind finishes the fight. 1/256 Cav’s last track, Tango-Iron brews up, killing Brigadine’s Player Character. Remaining NATO and allied forces routed from the table, under pursuit by the freshly rolled up Red Polish forces who joined the game just as it was ending.
Lessons Learned.
Schedule more players than you think you will need for big blowout #BattleBraunstein events. Someone is going to flake and someone is going to get life-spiked.
Be more organized, have like 15 or 30 minute phases with orders and resolution instead of running from channel to channel checking up on people. In my defense, I had planned on there being twice as many players providing for a total nonstop diplomacy on both sides, but this fell through. Live and learn.
For the scale I was going for, something like Fistfull of TOWs or Coldwar Commander might have been a better fit. BUT I REGRET NOTHING.
Going forward, I would recommend no more than one “Main” PC leading a fireteam to squad level element of say 1d4+2 men.
I am interested in further exploring Twilight 2000, if the player interest survives this beautiful disaster.
That’s all for now. Yes I have tardy in updates. I promise to be better. As soon as I get this rewrite in. Love you all.
