Mon 15 Nov 2021, 21:29
One section I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on... I feel like this presents a sensible progression and provides plenty of adventure hooks, but if you see mistakes or things I could clarify/simplify, please let me know!
If The Players Do Nothing (WIP)
In the event that the party does not actively intervene or make any moves that seriously affect the balance of power, here is the likely way events will play out. Players may see these events up close, or they may hear about them only as rumors long after the fact.
May 2000
The NATO offensive has been over for weeks, and the Soviet counter-offensive has run out of steam. Operations now are limited to front solidification, resupply, and rear-area mop-ups. Critically, entire NATO divisions remain trapped behind the lines, cut off east of Piotrkow Tribunalski, and are attempting to push back home. By the middle of the month they will be in contact with the leadership of the irregular 9th Tank Division and making deals to trade heavy equipment (mostly damaged tanks and IFVs that are of limited use to them on the move, but represent a huge upside to the 9th’s defenses) for safe passage back west.
June 2000
As the weather heats up, so do anti-Soviet tensions throughout Poland, as it is clear the occupiers are again here to stay. An underground that has been forming over the past several months is gathering recruits and supplies, and in June a series of terrorist attacks against Russians (and Polish collaborators) begins, mostly carried out by disorganized cells without central authority. These attacks are hugely controversial even amongst the resistance, but provoke the expected reprisals, which in turn builds momentum for the resistance, which begins seeking more sources of weapons and men...
July-August 2000
The Polish resistance is torn between two goals: the practical expediency of provoking conflict between the 9th TD marauders and the Soviet-led powers-that- be in the area, and performing direct attacks against the 9th itself (which after all has been terrorizing many Poles in the area). Where the underground falls on this issue mostly depends on whether they have personally experienced the end of the 9th’s stick. Regardless, false-flag attacks escalate between all factions in the area. The DIA and any NATO interests in the region are eager to support this with whatever resources they can. For a brief time, the whole region is subject to low-intensity warfare.
Soviet crackdowns escalate to mass incarceration, and deportation of those even suspected of subversive activity. Entire towns are forcibly disarmed, leaving them defenseless against marauders or even neighboring communities that grow increasingly desperate. In some places, such as Bełchatów, there is a troubling reliance on Soviet-loyal Poles to do this work of cowing the populace, and that loyalty is tested as the summer goes on...
Fall 2000
By the end of summer it is clear the situation is deteriorating significantly through much of Poland. The mines are operating again under forced labor. Front-line troops have been recalled to anti-partisan duties and the crackdown is in full force. Insider attacks are common, and Soviet soldiers understand that they are constant targets. Defections are common; defectors are dealt with at least as harshly as the Polish resistance.
The fall harvest is carried out at the end of a rifle barrel, but every day the situation seems to be growing worse. The thin tethers holding what’s left of civilization together are growing ever more strained…
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG