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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

Tue 05 Oct 2021, 20:20

Long delay here on my end as I got drawn into other big projects. But I do plan on expanding this setting a little bit, getting it into the FLW format, and putting it up. No timeline because I honestly have no idea, but hopefully soon. In the interest of that, it will be a somewhat reduced scope from what I originally planned, focusing on just one city as an archetype for many rather than trying to cover the whole region.

Here's what I plan on including:
- a detailed breakdown of the town/city of Bełchatów: geography, history, economy (then and now), places of interest, current political situation
- a few key NPCs and adventure hooks relating to them, including a few ways to tie them into a campaign or other known T2K adventures/sites
- a detailed map of the city (not a hex map, but more like a found-item real world map... like the one I posted earlier in this thread but fleshed out substantially with more details)
- a handful of locations with battle maps in some form or another
- rules for abstractly handling faction politics, whether influenced by the PCs or happening "off-screen"

Anything else you'd really like to see in a supplement covering one Polish city and its immediate surroundings?
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG
 
Soul2345
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Re: Central Poland resources

Tue 09 Nov 2021, 17:42

How did this turn out? I'd be interested in this. :)
In the end, we all return back to dust
 
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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

Tue 09 Nov 2021, 23:05

Literally working on it right now! I should have a complete draft next week, which means a publishable thing... well, some time after that. Real life keeps getting in the way of making super steady progress but it is getting there. Soon, I need to replace pretty much all of the art.
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG
 
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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

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
 
sgt
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Re: Central Poland resources

Sat 20 Nov 2021, 15:57

I don't yet have comments about your future timeline, but another question. As you've mentioned in viewtopic.php?f=127&t=8624 about travel, players can travel very fast. Do you have any tips how to prevent player characters from leaving Poland (assuming they are not Polish)? Things are so bad there that the first thing the players decide could be to get out of the country as fast as possible. That would mean a lot of new areas, and a lot of random encounters without deeper background building.
 
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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

Sun 21 Nov 2021, 09:15

My main concept, which I will work into the document, is that anything west is very dangerous indeed. The countryside teeming with hostile troops, checkpoints, suddenly unsympathetic townspeople. This is why I started my campaign in Lodz, not Kalisz, and why it has migrated south rather than any other direction.

But this has always been an issue in all T2K versions... the rules allow for very very rapid travel if you have a vehicle and are lucky. It almost has to be dealt with by changing some interpretation of the rules.
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG
 
baldrick0712
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Re: Central Poland resources

Sun 21 Nov 2021, 19:17

For a solo campaign I'm working on now the group start with a Humvee converted to run on alcohol and they only have enough fuel on a full tank to travel about 8 hexes off-road in good terrain. They can cover that very quickly (1 shift) but then their tank will be dry. I guess their first task will be to obtain or jury-rig a fuel still but looking at the rules on p130 of the Players Guide it is going to take them a lot of time and effort to make one and a lot of time and effort to distil enough alcohol to fill the tank. I think I'm looking at many days of effort finding spare parts to make a basic still, gathering raw materials to put into it, and distilling the raw materials into alcohol.
 
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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

Sun 21 Nov 2021, 21:05

Yes, there will be delays in most cases. I think the challenge to a traveling campaign is to make those delays interesting and worthwhile. If the characters are constantly on the move, and not interested in slowing down, then it gets a lot harder to create plausible scenarios that will capture their attention and draw them in, relationships with NPCs, etc. So I think the goal should be to make sure the world around them is challenging and forces them to make choices, and does not simply let them pass without difficulty.
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG
 
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omnipus
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Re: Central Poland resources

Wed 08 Dec 2021, 05:22

I'd love to have a couple more proofreaders/pre-release reviewers on this thing, if anyone is interested. All I ask is that if you say yes, you actually read it and provide any feedback within a week.
Author, Central Poland Sourcebook -- now available on DriveThruRPG
 
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Wavesonics
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Re: Central Poland resources

Wed 19 Jan 2022, 05:32

I would certainly be interested!

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