Author Archives: Clayton Oliver

Cold Iron, Tire Iron

Back when my then-roommate and I were watching NASCAR, he casually dropped the factoid (which I’ve never verified because I prefer to believe it’s true) that every NASCAR track has a chapel in the infield.

This means that every NASCAR track has a small piece of holy ground on it.

Ever since then, one of my campaign concept slush file entries has been a monster-hunting NASCAR pit crew. Race on Sunday, slay on Monday, be gone on Tuesday and leave the evidence for the local cops to figure out.

The only other rational option is to hit up B.J. Zanzibar for the old WoD Highlander homebrew rules…

WIP VII

On the workbench: a CPLT-C1 Catapult from the current Battletech boxed set:

I’ve had mixed results with Speedpaints on figures with limited texturing, but they did okay on the panel lines on this one. Less success with the attempt to freehand a peacock pattern. That might have gone better if I’d used some of The Girl’s iridescent nail polish.

The Battle of Radom, Part One (10 September 2000)

With negotiation and reconnaissance concluded, the team preps their gear and moves to their staging areas. Red, Erick, and Ellis, along with NPCs Ross and Ortiz, move south in the UAZ-469. Their job is to link up with the White Eagles, await a suitable convoy, and support the ambush on the QRF. The main assault element for the hit on the QRF’s base is composed of Pettimore, Zenobia, Miko, Cowboy, Magda, Minka, Leks, and NPCs Bell, Novotny, and Turner with the BTR-70K and the OT-64.

The Battle of Radom begins fifteen kilometers west of the city. The White Eagle-friendly merchants in Opoczno report that a Soviet convoy is passing through on its way from Lodz to Lublin. It’s a BRDM-2 escorting two GAZ-66 trucks and a staff car. The ambush team moves into position and begins prepping the ground…

I resolved this as an off-screen mass battle scene, using a cobbled-together guidelines (too loose to be called “rules”) and a fair amount of improvisation. Here’s how it worked:

The White Eagles are committing their Platoon B: 25 experienced troops under Mariana Rabarchak. They’ll also provide one of their four vehicles, a pickup truck mounting an SPG-9 recoilless rifle. The convoy ambush will focus on disabling the vehicles and pinning down survivors so the QRF has an obvious reason to come to the rescue hastily.

Friendly force strength looks like:

  • command section (Rabarchak and 3 troops with a PK machine gun; veteran quality)
  • infantry section 1 (6 troops with an RPG-7; experienced quality)
  • infantry section 2 (6 troops with an RPG-7; experienced quality)
  • infantry section 3 (6 troops with small arms; experienced quality)
  • SPG-9 team (3 troops; experienced quality)
  • PC contingent (counts as veteran quality)

Expected enemy force strength is:

  • convoy survivors (hopefully low numbers, small arms only, and experienced quality)
  • QRF Scorpion light tank (veteran quality)
  • QRF gun truck (veteran quality)
  • QRF APC (veteran quality)
  • QRF infantry squad (6 troops with some type of light support weapon, veteran quality)

Once the ambush goes off, combat resolution will be abstract. Opposed Command checks between Rabarchak (d10+d8) and the Soviet commander will determine which side goes first each round.

Each group gets one “attack” with one base die for every 3 troops, or fraction, still active. Base dice are determined by troop quality: experienced d8, veteran d10. Heavy weapons provide additional d6s, similar to ammo dice: 1 for a machine gun or RPG launcher, 2 for a heavy machine gun, auto grenade launcher, or cannon.

A unit can always target an opposing unit that attacked it on the last enemy turn. Alternately, it can roll randomly for its target, representing the chaotic and uncertain (and map-free) nature of maneuvering in this fight.

Hits on vehicles are resolved normally, using the attacker’s most powerful weapon.

Hits on infantry are resolved with a random roll to determine who’s hit (one per success on the attack) Roll 1d6; if it’s equal to or less than the weapon’s base damage, the target is a casualty (dead or too injured to keep fighting; exact fate to be resolved later). If the die result exceeds the base damage, the victim is injured but still in the fight; a second injury makes them a casualty. White Eagle/PC forces get a +1 modifier to this roll because they’re fighting from prepared positions.

An example:

White Eagle infantry section 1 attacks the QRF infantry squad. They’re 6 troops of experienced quality, so they get 2d8 base dice and another 1d6 for their RPG-7.

An unlikely roll of 7/6/6 yields three hits on the QRF infantry.

Randomly selecting victims yields three different Soviet troops taking hits. The RPG-7 has a base blast damage of 2, so we roll 1d6 for each of the hits. Die results of 4/5/1 indicate that the attack injures two Soviets and kills a third.

The Soviet infantry team is down to 5 combatants, 2 of whom are injured and will be dropped by any successful subsequent hit. They’re of veteran quality, so they’ll still be rolling 2d10 base dice for their return fire, plus bonus d6s if they have a heavy weapon.

The initial hit on the eastbound convoy goes off exactly as planned. The BRDM-2, on point, rolls directly over one of the team’s carefully-hoarded antitank mines. Although the resulting destruction of the fuel tank somehow doesn’t ignite a fire, the crew bails out anyway.

PK and RPG-7 fire rips into the GAZ-66s and the staff car. One GAZ rolls over, its driver’s dead hand no longer on the wheel. The second GAZ and the staff car are damaged, their drivers and passengers bailing out and taking cover. The White Eagles begin sporadic harassing fire to herd and pin them in place to be rescued…

The QRF halts about 500m out to dismount the infantry, then advances in wedge formation with the Scorpion on point, the UAZ (mounting an AGS-17, let’s not forget) on the left flank, the OT-64 on the right flank, and the infantry squad using the Scorpion for cover while providing additional eyes. They fail to defeat Ellis’ crafty positioning of the other AT mines, though, and the OT-64 finds one the hard way. The blast rips through the vehicle, scattering the ammo stowage for its coaxial PK and heavily damaging the suspension. The crew bails out and the fight is on.

Round One

The White Eagles win initiative.

An RPG-7 round strikes the Scorpion’s glacis. The light tank shudders as the HEAT warhead rips a chunk out of its suspension, but it’s still drivable and the crew remains on board.

Small arms fire peppers the abandoned OT-64, killing the vehicle’s commander before he can re-mount.

The SPG-9 crew engages the UAZ-469, hoping to take the area saturation weapon out of play. Their first shot kills the commander and injures the gunner, but the gunner and driver remain steadfast.

Ortiz and Ross target the Scorpion and volley the RPG-22s they brought to the fight. Ortiz misses, but Ross scores a hit. A fuel fire erupts! The Scorpion crew hangs tough, though, and does not bail out.

Fire from the convoy survivors indicates they’re willing to take an active hand in their rescue. Two of the White Eagle infantrymen fall.

The Scorpion crew manages to extinguish the fire before it can reach anything explosive. Trailing smoke from its wounds, the light tank searches for its tormentors.

The UAZ-469’s gunner returns fire on the SPG-9 crew, injuring one of them.

The OT-64’s driver and gunner re-mount their vehicle amid a hail of fire.

The dismounted Soviet infantry zero in on the firing signature of the RPG-22s. A well-aimed GP-25 round tears into Red and Ortiz.

Round Two

The White Eagles maintain initiative.

An RPG-7 round, an SPG-9 shell, and a wall of fire from the command section’s PK all go wide of the frantically-maneuvering UAZ-469. That AGS-17 is still in the fight…

Another RPG-7 round strikes the Scorpion. The crew’s luck runs out as the commander is killed instantly. The blast injures the driver and gunner, but they still refuse to abandon the scrappy little vehicle.

Small arms fire drops another of the convoy survivors.

The PCs return fire on the QRF infantry, killing two with well-aimed shots.

The Scorpion entered this fight with an HE round loaded and has found a target. The blast sends one of the White Eagle infantry sections sprawling; two remain where they fell. A follow-up round from the QRF infantry’s GP-25 injures another.

The OT-64’s gunner locates the White Eagle command section and cuts loose with the PKV. Rabarchak’s RTO is torn apart.

Round Three

The White Eagles still have the momentum despite their losses.

An RPG-7 rocket ends the UAZ’s evasions. The vehicle comes apart in a yellow flash as its AGS-17 ammo detonates.

Another RPG strikes the OT-64’s bow, killing the driver. The gunner is alone on board his immobilized ride, but he refuses to bail out.

The SPG-9 crew loads HE and shifts fire to the QRF infantry, killing one more.

Hoping for a lucky hit, the PCs catch the Scorpion in the side with massed automatic fire. Sparks fly and a track link is severed.

The remaining Scorpion crew aren’t giving up yet. The gunner slams another HE round home, slews the turret, and engages the PCs. The blast knocks down Ross and Erick with moderate injuries.

The OT-64 gunner is still in the fight too. The KPV walks through one of the White Eagle infantry sections, claiming another victim.

The dismounts and the isolated convoy survivors have had enough, though. Both groups are below half their original strength. Their morale is flagging. Caught in a fire sack, they surrender [below 50% original strength and failed troop quality checks for morale]. The isolated OT-64 gunner realizes he’s in a stationary target that is about to attract at least three antitank attacks; he, too, pops a hatch and waves a towel. The Scorpion crew takes a bit more convincing, but with one dead, one injured, and a barely-functional vehicle [Reliability 1], they have to admit they can’t carry the fight on their own.

Red and Erick bind their own wounds, give Ortiz and Ross a quick assessment and patch job, and begin triaging the White Eagle casualties. Two were immediately fatal; three more are severe trauma cases.

Ellis, somehow uninjured, reloads his G3 and starts rounding up the prisoners. The haul is better than he expected: nine convoy survivors (three injured), the Scorpion driver and gunner (both injured), the OT-64 gunner, and three of the dismounts (including the platoon commander).

DRA III

Back in 2002, when the OGL was young and full of promise, Alderac Entertainment Group released Spycraft, a d20 action/espionage RPG. My local gaming group immediately fell in love with it. I started a campaign, which fell apart after three (excellent) sessions due to a lack of GM focus, planning, and follow-through. My campaign setup document, however, was the writing sample that got me onto the Spycraft design team for the rest of the first edition’s run and the Stargate SG-1 license. I started this blog as a repository for my various older and unpublished pieces (among other things), so this seems as good a place as any to post it. Because of length, this is the third of a four-part series.

SDRA Offices and Facilities

DRA personnel are assigned to one field office as “home,” but may be sent anywhere in the country or abroad as needed. With less than 2,000 Special Agents, specialists are usually sent wherever they’ll be able to do the most good rather than working close to home. The following exotic locales are the places most likely for a DRA agent to call “home.”

Kansas City, MO

SDRA headquarters is located outside Kansas City. The facility’s 300-acre grounds are heavily vegetated, save for access roads and a private airstrip. They are thickly sown with electronic sensors and are rumored to be patrolled by guard animals that have been enhanced through alien genetic manipulation techniques. The outer perimeter is a triple layer of 12-foot fences topped with barbed wire, with razor grass planted over minefields between the middle and innermost fences. Signs every fifty feet warn that the installation is secure and deadly force is authorized in its defense.

The aboveground offices are functional but nonessential – the four office park-like buildings are built over a converted NORAD command facility, one of a series of backup sites scattered around the nation as insurance against the destruction of Cheyenne Mountain. The Agency’s high-security core is buried deep underground in a self-contained armored bunker that is theoretically proof against a one-megaton nuclear ground-burst.

SDRA also maintains a satellite office at its Maximum Security Containment Facility at nearby Fort Leavenworth. Operated in conjunction with the Department of Defense, the MSCF (pronounced “Missiff”) is the final destination of criminals whose capabilities preclude their incarceration in conventional prisons. It is also rumored to hold captive extraterrestrials and supernatural creatures.

Domestic Field Offices

Seattle, WA

In addition to the Agency’s oldest field office, Seattle also hosts SDRA’s primary training facilities. The SDRA Academy (known as “Hell State University” within the Agency) provides specialized training to incoming agents whose previous careers have almost certainly not prepared them for their new assignments. The Agency, through the cutout company of Sea-Tac Aerospace, is currently negotiating with Boeing to purchase the aerospace corporation’s former headquarters and assembly plant and relocate the Academy to those grounds.

Las Vegas, NV

The Las Vegas field office is the most luxurious and sought-after posting in the Agency. It is also the most hazardous, having come under attack from extraterrestrials at least a half-dozen times since its establishment in 1953. After the first public attack, the old office building in downtown Vegas was demolished and the Agency moved to less built-up surroundings on the outskirts of the city.

This office is a prime target for assaults because it serves as the administrative center for the Agency’s Advanced Physics Research Facility. APRF is located at the secretive Area 51 and is one of the world’s foremost laboratories for the analysis of captured alien technology. It is also the location at which the Agency modifies standard terrestrial aerospace technology for internal use.

Flint, MI

The Flint field office is housed in a sprawling industrial park which also boasts the Advanced Materials Technology Research Laboratory. Officially a Department of Energy facility, AMTReL produces composite alloys, superconductors, advanced plastics and ceramics, and other substances which defy conventional engineering. It has connections to several of the automotive corporations which have facilities in the state, and is the Agency’s “speed shop.” Rumors from GM state that AMTReL is about to publicly release the formula for a rubber substitute with a coefficient of friction 300% greater than that of current tire materials.

Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta field office is housed next to the Lucent Technologies (formerly Bell Labs) research facility, giving it access to some of the world’s foremost telecommunications resources. Of more critical importance, however, is the Xenopathological Research Institute which the Agency operates in conjunction with the CDC. Xenopath is the nation’s only Level 5 biocontainment facility, theoretically equipped to handle pathogens with nonphysical components such as Stoker’s Disease and the Greys’ Mimetic Alteration Virus.

Colorado Springs, CO

The Colorado Springs field office is built on top of the bunker for the Agency’s Deep Space Tracking Center. DSTC has a direct communications link to USAF Space Command, NORAD, and various NASA space tracking facilities, and can eavesdrop on transmissions from virtually any US military satellite (and, unofficially, many foreign ones as well). It also controls the Agency’s own constellation of space surveillance satellites, which are designed to detect extraterrestrial craft entering terrestrial or lunar space.

Kona, HI

The Pacific Territories field office (with jurisdiction over the Mariana archipelago and US-allied Pacific islands as well as Hawaii) also supports the Thaumaturgical Research Center. TRC’s location varies – it is built in a converted deep-sea oil drilling platform, and is usually kept at least 100 miles from the nearest populated territory in case of catastrophic accidents. A pair of oceangoing salvage tugs (former Coast Guard vessels) move it once every two to three months to keep magical activity from forming a permanent power nexus or diverting local ley lines.

Tampa, FL

Located in an office park adjacent to MacDill Air Force Base, the Tampa field office contains the Agency’s Military Liaison Office. Working through Special Operations Command (based at MacDill), MLO is the primary conduit between the Agency and the formidable resources of the Department of Defense. Because of its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, personnel from Tampa often participate in drug interdiction operations.

New Orleans, LA

The “Big Easy” field office has no specialized facilities, but does tend to attract a large number of Agency parapsychologists interested in studying New Orleans’ hundreds of resident ghosts. The office keeps at least two magically adept security personnel on duty at all times to counter the occasional voodoo practitioners who object to government interest in the area.

Memphis, TN

The Memphis field office is a common posting for agents who have sustained psychological trauma. It has an unusually low incidence of high-stress or violent cases, and duty here is somewhat easier than in many other locations.

Phoenix, AZ

Surveillance operations into Mexico are commonly run out of the Phoenix field office. This is also the information center for Agency investigation of potentially dangerous cults.

Salem, MA

Salem’s field office houses the DRA’s secondary magical research facility, as well as its forensic archaeology unit. Activity here is strictly limited to extremely low-power work for safety reasons.

Anchorage, AK

Due to its isolation and barren surroundings, the Anchorage field office is an ideal site for the Agency’s psychic research program. Anchorage has yet to receive a formal facility designation or additional funding for such a program, but psychically active agents tend to gravitate here.

San Francisco, CA

Located close to UC-Berkeley, the San Francisco field office often conducts field observations of popular culture trends that could introduce dangerous elements into American society. It also monitors Hollywood for potential leaks or propaganda opportunities.

Foreign Offices

Ottawa, Canada

The US embassy has a permanent DRA liaison office for coordinating DRA activities with the Canadian Department of National Defense’s Territorial Security Division and the RCMP’s “Y” Division (often referred to as “Y Me?” Division). Foreign Office Ottawa is the least hazardous of DRA’s foreign postings and is often reserved for D-1 agents who have earned postings “close to home.”

London, England

DRA’s largest liaison office is located here. The assigned office space is in the US embassy, but it’s extremely uncomfortable. Most personnel assigned to Foreign Office London prefer to work out of loaned facilities in the sub-basement of MI-5 headquarters at Thames House (much to the chagrin of MI-6, another partner agency, which MI-5 one-upped by making the first offer of local assistance).

Sydney, Australia

There is no official DRA presence in Australia, but the US consulate in Sydney hosts a small DRA contingent which performs liaison duties with ANZAC forces. It also monitors the Great Barrier Reef for paranormal activity, which Australian authorities tolerate so long as the monitoring remains covert. Previous incursions into the Outback have been strongly discouraged and a gentlemen’s agreement with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service’s Parasecurity Division keeps further such misunderstandings from occurring.

Yokohama, Japan

DRA has no official reciprocity agreement with any Japanese agency, but the port facilities in Yokohama (conveniently close to Tokyo and often frequented by the US Navy) play host to Foreign Office Yokohama, a small contingent of personnel with highly unofficial local connections.

Manila, The Philippines

A single DRA agent and four support personnel are assigned to the US embassy in Manila. Shoehorned into the back of the naval attaché’s office, Foreign Office Manila provides intelligence and consulting to the Filipino military.

Pretoria, South Africa

One of DRA’s dirty little foreign relations secrets is its constant contact with the South African government’s National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) since 1976, even when international relations between Pretoria and Washington were at their worst. Foreign Office Pretoria is regarded as something of a punishment assignment for Foreign Service agents due to the living conditions, but the Unconventional Research personnel here have returned a wealth of data on magical practices and threats on the southern end of the continent.

Hong Kong

DRA officially pulled out of the American Consulate in Hong Kong when the island returned to Chinese rule. However, six DRA agents are still on the payroll as maintaining private apartments there, in a complex heavily inhabited by officers of the HKPD’s Special Branch.

The Cocaine King of Barren County

Back in the ’90s, the western end of Kentucky had a surprisingly lively World of Darkness LARP scene. No one ever could explain why Bowling Green (40,000 people and four last names) was a major strategic focus for the Camarilla and Sabbat, but hey… nerds gonna nerd. But interactions with non-players were always interesting because this was not generally, shall we say, a progressive or well-read region. No, friends, this was – and is – a place where Justified is a documentary.

At the time, there was a regional sci-fi/fantasy/horror convention, ConCave, so named because it always ran in an old, raggedy hotel adjacent to Mammoth Cave National Park. It was a small con, a peaceful con, a con at which the old SF/F fandom could relax, reminisce, and spouse-swap. At least… it was peaceful until Vampire: The Masquerade LARPs became a thing and the region’s LARP community was looking for a con, any con, at which to gather.

All names have been obfuscated to protect the damned.

My comrade FB was playing a Setite drug lord. FB was decked out in his finest business attire. FB also went all-in on props. Including a briefcase. A briefcase full of sealed bags of powdered sugar.

About 0200 on Saturday morning, the first night of play was winding down. Due to a con hookup – not his, more’s the pity – FB found himself locked out of the hotel room he’d arranged to share with another player. Disgusted and sleepy, he staggered down to the hotel’s pool room, dropped his briefcase on a ping-pong table, threw all of his other props into it, and crashed under the table.

Unfortunately, he left the briefcase open.

Because of con shenanigans in previous years, this hotel had hired a local sheriff’s deputy as night security. Around 0300, Deputy Toothless was making the rounds when what to his wondering eyes did appear but the largest drug bust in the history of Barren County. Doing his due diligence as an officer of the law, Roscoe P. Coleslaw roused FB and dragged him and the “evidence” down to the night manager’s office to await an on-duty deputy. And perhaps the DEA. With a news crew or three. And a promotion. Maybe even a future run for the sheriff’s election!

So there FB was, somehow not handcuffed, in the manager’s office. The night manager was horrified. Deputy Toothless was giddy and accusatory. The sheriff, when he arrived, was skeptical – and not amused at being called at home at 0300. FB was tired and cranky and his back hurt from trying to get comfortable on the floor.

I am informed that the conversation with the law amounted to this:

FB: Look, Sheriff, you can run a test kit on it if you want, but if I had this much cocaine, would I be staying in this f’ing fleabag?

S: You’re free to go, son. Deputy… we need to have us a talk.

WIP VI

On the workbench, still needing some detail work: Reaper Miniatures’ Cassiatta:

This was a free promotional figure from Main Street Magic, Miniatures & More, a reward for buying $40+ of Reaper product (more on that later). The sculpt and Reaper’s page make it clear that Cassiatta is supposed to be eeeeeeevil, but I wanted to be deliberately obtuse. The foliage visible out my window suggested a palette. Now she’s something like a spring-aligned eladrin fighter.

DRA II

Back in 2002, when the OGL was young and full of promise, Alderac Entertainment Group released Spycraft, a d20 action/espionage RPG. My local gaming group immediately fell in love with it. I started a campaign, which fell apart after three (excellent) sessions due to a lack of GM focus, planning, and follow-through. My campaign setup document, however, was the writing sample that got me onto the Spycraft design team for the rest of the first edition’s run and the Stargate SG-1 license. I started this blog as a repository for my various older and unpublished pieces (among other things), so this seems as good a place as any to post it. Because of length, this is the second of a four-part series.

SDRA Special Agent Entry Qualifications

  • US or Northern Mariana Islands citizenship
  • between the ages of 23 and 37
  • ability to attain Top Secret security clearance (DRA has been known to grant such clearance on a case-by-case basis for individuals whose criminal records would normally prohibit it)
  • uncorrected vision not worse than 20/200, correctable to 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other, and adequate color and night vision
  • adequate hearing at 1000 through 4000 Hertz
  • valid driver’s license
  • excellent physical condition with no defects which would interfere in firearm use or defensive tactics
  • four-year degree from a college or university accredited by one of the regional or national institutional associations recognized by the United States Secretary of Education, or equivalent professional experience (minimum rank E-6, WO-4, or O-4) in the United States armed forces, or equivalent professional experience in a non-accredited field of academic study recognized by the DRA (typically xenology, xenoethnography, parapsychology, cryptozoology, or thaumaturgy)
  • must pass a psychiatric evaluation administered by SDRA medical staff, with specific emphasis on sense of self and resilience in sudden oppositions of personal worldview and subjective reality

In game terms, character creation guidelines:

  • Only one of STR, DEX, and CON can start below 10.
  • Spot or Listen skill bonuses cannot start below +0.
  • Drive skill bonus cannot start below +1.
  • Total Will save bonus cannot start below +1, nor can Fear backgrounds be higher than 1.

Agents are subject to annual medical and psychiatric evaluations and performance testing. Interim examinations are strongly recommended after any assignment that results in violent contact with a hazardous entity, technology, or manifestation, and may be mandatory at the discretion of the agent’s supervisor.

SDRA Directorates

In the DRA campaign setting, the following Directorates replace the default Department selections from Spycraft.

D-0: Executive Directorate (“Central”)

The Executive Directorate is the central bureaucracy and field investigative arm of the DRA. It has over 60% of the Agency’s total staff, as the vast majority of clerical and administrative personnel are assigned to it. Its agents have no overriding agenda, instead being assigned as “utility infielders” to any operation that needs a generalist instead of a specialist. Agents from Central tend to be well-connected within the Agency’s bureaucracy. D-0 is also home to the Agency’s Internal Security Department, which investigates corruption of both mundane and supernatural varieties within the DRA.

  • 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point each level thereafter.
  • +2 department bonus to all favor checks. This bonus increases by an additional +1 at 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter.
  • Select any two skills. You receive a +1 department bonus to all checks with these skills. These skills are always considered class skills, even if you multi-class.
  • Bonus Feat: Any covert or basic skill feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-1: Foreign Service Directorate

Officially, the Foreign Service Directorate is responsible for coordinating activities with other nations’ governments and paranormal studies and enforcement agencies. Unofficially, it also engages in a great deal of espionage against nations that are less than fully receptive to the Agency’s diplomatic overtures. D-1 has extensive connections in the global black and gray markets, allowing its agents to procure deniable equipment with ease.

  • +2 Charisma, -2 Strength.
  • +5 budget points as part of the agent’s personal budget. +2 budget points to each mission budget, plus an additional +1 budget point bonus at 2nd level and every two levels thereafter.
  • +1 to department bonus to Cultures, Languages, and Diplomacy checks. Foreign Service agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Cultures, Language, and Diplomacy checks at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Bonus Feat: Any style or gear feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-2: Domestic Service Directorate

The Domestic Service Directorate works closely with the various branches of the US armed forces and their respective paranormal programs, as well as with other domestic law enforcement and intelligence agencies on federal, state, and local levels. Its official primary function is facilitating the smooth transfer of information between the Agency and other domestic agencies whose jurisdictions may overlap those of the DRA. However, D-2 is also responsible for coordinating joint operations, which means its agents see action in the field on a regular basis. A high percentage of D-2 agents are drawn from police departments and from the military’s commissioned ranks.

  • +2 to any one ability of your choice, -2 to any one ability of your choice. You may apply both the bonus and the penalty to the same ability if you so desire.
  • At 1st level, choose one federal agency, one branch of the US military, or the collective agencies of one state or city as an allied organization. The agent has worked closely with this organization in the past and is familiar with its culture and bureaucracy. The agent gains a +1 allied organization bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks that directly pertain to the allied organization or its personnel. At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, choose one additional organization, and the bonus associated with every previously selected organization goes up by +1. For example, a 12th-level D-2 operative will have four allied organizations, with bonuses of +4, +3, +2, and +1.
  • +1 department bonus to skill checks for one class skill of your choice. Domestic Service agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to skill checks for the chosen skill at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Bonus Feat: Any basic combat or covert feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-3: Technical Directorate (“Cyberpunks”)

The Technical Directorate is in charge of primary analysis of all advanced technology that enters the Agency’s hands. It is also responsible for electronic surveillance, intelligence, and counter-intelligence. D-3 runs the Agency’s spy satellites, information centers, secure communications networks, and cryptographic analysis offices. The Biomedical Office of D-3 handles both in-house medical treatment for agents and analysis of xenobiological and cryptozoological cases. Cyberpunks (the non-computer personnel of D-3 object to the moniker, but it still sticks) tend to be younger than other DRA agents, and many are recruited straight out of college (or jail).

  • +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom.
  • Choose one Office at character creation: Information Technology, Electronic Surveillance, Biomedical, or Physical Sciences.
  • Cyberpunks in the Information Technology or Electronic Surveillance Office receive a free laptop computer with a +1 power rating. The computer is upgraded in power automatically by +1 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter. D-3 agents in the Biomedical or Physical Sciences Office receive a bonus of +1 gadget point at the start of each mission, plus another gadget point per mission at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • +1 to department bonus to checks with two skills, determined by Office. Information Technology agents receive bonuses in Electronics and Computers. Electronic Surveillance agents learn advanced techniques in Cryptography and Surveillance. Biomedical operatives are highly trained in First Aid and Knowledge (biology). Physical Sciences personnel have exceptional aptitude with Mechanics and Knowledge (choose one: chemistry, engineering, or physics). D-3 agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to checks with the specified skills at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Bonus Feat: Any gear or basic skill feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-4: Covert Operations Directorate

The smallest directorate, D-4, is the Agency’s “stealth” arm. Its agents specialize in going places they shouldn’t be and doing things they shouldn’t do without ever being seen, be it breaking and entering or assassination. Covert Ops missions are usually things that the Agency would need to be able to deny ever having been involved in, should they come to light. Many D-4 missions involve action against American citizens or institutions, which are technically prohibited without a federal judge’s authorization. However, few federal judges have the security clearance necessary to be informed of Agency operations, which results in D-4 agents conducting a high number (even for the Agency) of technically illegal activities. This Directorate is insular even for the Agency, and D-4 personnel tend to be somewhat antisocial.

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma.
  • +1 to department bonus to Initiative checks. Covert Operations agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Initiative at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • -2 department penalty to all rolls made for the purposes of identifying, tracking, or researching the character through any means except direct interviews. This penalty decreases by an additional -1 at 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter. For example, all attempts to run the fingerprints of a 12th-level D-4 operative would have a -6 penalty. DRA personnel ignore this penalty unless the agent has the Altermate Identify feat.
  • +1 to department bonus to Hide checks. Covert Operations agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Hide checks at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Bonus Feat: Any covert or basic skill feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-5: Tactical Operations Directorate (“X-Com”)

D-5 is the Agency’s dedicated paramilitary aspect. Most D-5 personnel are recruited from the enlisted ranks of the military. While D-2 often works with the Department of Defense for information sharing and joint operations, D-5 is the Agency’s private army for use in situations where regular armed forces deployment would have prohibitive legal or diplomatic repercussions (for example, if use of military personnel would violate the Posse Comitatus Act). Other directorates have a tendency to see D-5 agents as thugs and cannon fodder, an impression which is not wholly without basis – D-5 has the highest rates of agent mortality and retirement on physical disability of any directorate. However, D-5 agents are also notoriously hard to kill, and tend to do a lot of damage before they go down.

  • +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence.
  • 4 extra vitality points at 1st level and 1 extra vitality point each level thereafter.
  • 1 extra wound point. Tactical Operations agents receive 1 additional wound point at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Whenever he calculates his personal budget, a Tactical Operations agent may choose as a personal weapon any one melee weapon or non-tactical firearm with which he is proficient. After adding the budget point costs of the weapon and all of its ammunition and accessories, he receives a 25% discount on the total budget point cost of the package. This does not apply to mission budget or gadget points.
    Example: Dirk chooses an H&K G3A3 (7.62x51mm assault rifle, 32 BP) as his personal weapon. His standard load-out for it includes 60 rounds of FMJ ammo (3 BP), 60 rounds of AP ammo (9 BP), a bipod (1 BP), and a telescopic sight (2 BP). The total cost of this package is 47 PB. A 25% discount reduces the cost of the package to (47 x 0.75 = 35.25, rounded up) 36 BPs.
  • Bonus Feat: Any ranged combat, melee combat, or unarmed combat feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-6: Survey Directorate

Roughly 95% of the US population lives in 5% of the nation’s square mileage. D-6 is responsible for patrolling the other 95% of the United States, from the Intracoastal Waterway to Death Valley, and reporting or personally handling any signs of paranormal hazards. This directorate also handles the Agency’s in-house paranormal mapping programs, working closely with the USGS, DMA, and NRO. D-6’s closest ties to other agencies are with the EPA and the Department of the Interior, and state conservation and environmental agencies. Survey Directorate personnel are accustomed to long periods of independent operation, and tend to be rugged individualists.

  • +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity.
  • +1 department bonus to Fortitude saving throws. Survey agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Fortitude saves at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • +1 to department bonus to Knowledge (Nature) and Survival checks. Survey agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Knowledge (Nature) and Survival checks at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Climb, Jump, Knowledge (Nature), Survival, and Swim are always in-class skills for Survey agents.
  • Bonus Feat: Any basic combat or chase feat, or Track. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

D-7: Unconventional Research Directorate (“The Basement”)

The DRA’s core reason for existence is most strongly seen in Basement offices. D-7’s research involves magic, psychic phenomena, and less quantifiable individual manifestations of the paranormal. 60-hour weeks are considered the norm in the Basement, and the stress, pace, and hazards of working in D-7 take their toll on its personnel. However, D-7 agents are more psychologically resilient than other Agency personnel due to their constant exposure to things that would drive lesser men mad. They also tend to be preternaturally lucky, even moreso than the average Agency operative.

  • +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution.
  • +1 department bonus to any action die rolls you make. If an ability lets you roll multiple action dice, this bonus applies individually to each one. Do not count this bonus when checking to see if an action die explodes. This bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • +1 department bonus to Will saving throws. Research agents receive an additional +1 department bonus to Will saves at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.
  • Bonus Feat: Any basic or advanced skill feat. You must still meet all prerequisites for the feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.

Diplomatic Overtures (01-02 September 2000)

I also ran this in a Discord chat channel. Lacking a really good social conflict system, I reduced it to a series of opposed Persuasion checks. The negotiating team’s objectives were:

  • Establish general military cooperation and intelligence sharing
  • Obtain assistance with the planned raid on the Soviet QRF base in Radom
  • Cut a deal for ammo, particularly 14.5mm for the team’s APCs
  • Obtain more information on the White Eagles’ capabilities and force strength
  • Obtain support for a general push on Radom

Red, Minka, and Erick take the UAZ and head down to Opoczno. The team’s White Eagle contact is Lena Lewandowski, the unnervingly-cheerful proprietress of a market stand that trades in soap, other personal hygiene products, and medicinal herbs. She’s married to unfailingly-polite and unblinking Antoni, the local barber. Between the two of them, there’s probably not a couple in Opoczno who’s better-positioned to hear all the local gossip.

Lena listens to the pitch, purses her lips in thought, and rings a small handbell that’s chained to the side of her stall. One of the kids who’s loitering on the fringe of the market square comes running up. She tosses the urchin an apple and says, “go fetch Dimi.”

A few minutes later, a teenager with a well-maintained mohawk and a thousand-yard stare ambles up. Lena introduces him as Dmitri Boykov. “He’ll be your guide,” she says. “Dimi, the lady and these two Amis need to talk to Major Kozlowski.”

Dmitri looks over the negotiating team. “Huh. Okay,” he says. “You got food? Petrol? This might take a day. Get what you want to take and meet me down by the highway.”

As promised, Dmitri is waiting for the team at the side of the road. He’s carrying a pack and a cloth-wrapped bundle that looks a lot like a folding-stocked AK of some sort. He piles into the back of the UAZ and directs Erick to drive east. About eight kilometers on, he indicates a turn-off into the forest to the south.

It’s late afternoon, several hours into a twisty, turny odyssey through old-growth forest that shows little sign of prewar habitation or use besides the unpaved road itself. Dmitri points out a badly-overgrown side trail. A few hundred meters down, completely hidden from the “main” road, is a large hunting lodge. “You wait here,” Dmitri orders/explains. He retrieves his pack and bundle from the back of the UAZ and heads off into the forest. As an afterthought, he calls over his shoulder, “it’s unlocked,” before vanishing.

The lodge is a two-story structure with a rough, unfinished basement. There are indications here and there that it’s been stripped of former luxury furnishings, but what remains (or what’s been brought in to replace them) is sturdy and well-kept. The pantry is stocked with nonperishables, there’s a good supply of firewood. Three bedrooms are furnished as such. The fourth is set up as a makeshift two-bed infirmary with bandages, disinfectant, some basic instruments, and a few doses of morphine. There’s no electricity or running water but a pump out back appears to be connected to a clean well and the outhouse isn’t all that sanity-blasting.

Around the time Red, Minka, and Erick are finishing dinner, the sound of an engine comes from outside. An older Land Rover Defender 110, faded blue with a white roof and what looks like Austrian registration plates, pulls up. Three men and a woman emerge along with Dmitri. All are carrying basic infantry kit and uniformed in the “frog” camouflage pattern of older Polish fatigues, with the same white eagle on red armbands that Magda sometimes flies. One remains with the vehicle; the others walk up to the porch. Dmitri knocks politely.

The man leading the group is in his forties. He’s unusually dark-complected for a Pole, short, broad-shouldered. He holds out a hand. “Major Felicjan Kozlowski, Home Army.” He indicates the grim, scraggly-bearded man to his left. “Captain Aleksander Grabowski, my adjutant. And you’ve met Lieutenant Rabarchak.” Red and Minka recognize Marietta Rabarchak, who was in command of the first White Eagle group they met. Dmitri slips back outside to join the driver/bodyguard at the Land Rover.

Kozlowski moves to the pantry and takes one of the better bottles of sliwowica. “We use this for meetings on, mmm, undisputed ground,” he explains as he rummages in the dining room’s sideboard for glasses. “Usually with the Bracia Wilkow.” He gestures for the team to sit. “I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

There’s a bit of social lubrication over light drinking – the usual polite nothings that avoid touching on prewar homes and families or wartime traumas. Rabarchak asks after Magda; Kozlowski inquires after Red’s injury. After twenty minutes or so, Kozlowski leans forward. “All right, Captain.” Red’s already introduced himself as a Navy lieutenant, so the mis-titling sounds like Kozlowski has made the association and has chosen to use the equivalent Army rank. “Much as it’s pleasant to meet the neighbors, you didn’t come down here for this.” He taps the half-empty bottle. “What do you think my company can do for you?”

General cooperation and intel sharing: Red is at +2 for assistance, +1 for regional coalition strategy, +1 for previously helping the White Eagles, -1 for the White Eagles being a larger faction.

Red 2 successes; Kozlowski 2 successes.

Kozlowski listens with interest. “I’m willing to engage in equal exchanges,” he says. “But you are – and I mean no offense, Captain – a foreign officer speaking on behalf of a Polish community.” He nods to Minka. “While I appreciate you bringing a Polish representative, the Home Army needs to be certain you’re not acting as an occupying force. I’d want to send an inspection team to assess your community’s status before agreeing to any meaningful exchange. Anything else we settle on tonight would need to be contingent on that.”

QRF base raid: Red is at +2 for assistance, -1 for the White Eagles being a larger faction, -1 for asking for something dangerous.

Red 1 success; Kozlowski 1 success.

Kozlowski looks over at Rabarchak. “Lieutenant? It’s your patrol sector.”

Rabarchak leans forward. “If we’re risking our troops for your diversion, we need more guarantees than whatever we can salvage from burning wrecks. I’m assuming you want us to neutralize the quick reaction force so they don’t turn around and hit your strike force in the back. That will cost us. You’re not your people’s only medic, no?”

Minka nods as Rabarchak looks at her.

Rabarchak points at Red. “Then you, personally, stay out of the fight and with our command element. You provide priority medical care for any of our people who are injured in this diversion. That’s the price for our blood and ammunition.”

Ammo trade: Red is at +2 for assistance, +1 for Trader, -1 for the White Eagles being a larger faction, -1 for asking for something valuable.

Red 2 successes; Kozlowski 1 success.

Kozlowski sits back and lets Grabowski handle the trade negotiations. There’s a fair amount of back-and-forth, with Minka taking the lead once the discussion veers into Ponikla’s production and salvage capabilities. The eventual offer is one shipment of ammunition for one shipment of mead and personal hygiene supplies, and future ammo supply drops to be negotiated in exchange for salvage rights from the railyard.

Intel on White Eagle capabilities: Red is at +2 for assistance, -1 for the White Eagles being a larger faction, -1 for asking for something dangerous.

Red 3 successes, Kozlowski 3 successes (!)

Maybe if Ellis were here, he could gently extract some intel from Kozlowski without the Polish commander knowing what he was up to, but the team’s more pointed requests for additional information about their erstwhile partners are not well-received. Kozlowski eventually agrees that if he’s going to send an assessment team to Ponikla, he should at least return the courtesy and host a delegation in Skarzysko-Kamienna.

Participation in a general push on Radom: +2 for assistance, -1 for not having a strategy or good intel at present, -1 for the White Eagles being a larger faction, -1 for asking for something dangerous.

Red 1 success; Kozlowski 0 successes

Kozlowski looks like he’s about to reject the whole concept but Rabarchak leans in. “Major? A word?”

They step outside, away from the lamplight coming from the windows, and are gone for nearly a quarter-hour. At last, they return. Rabarchak looks tense but confident; Kozlowski is tightly-controlled. He sits back down and sighs. “All right. We’re not strong enough to do it, but they’re Moscow’s puppets.” He looks to Rabarchak. “And slavers. So if you can manage your raid on the QRF, and if you can prepare the battlefield enough that we have a solid plan and aren’t just going to shatter against fixed defenses, we will start preparing to drive the ZOMO and the invaders out of Radom.” He raises a hand in caution. “If. You have a lot to deliver on, Captain Greyson.”

Despite being an NPC and thus incapable of pushing rolls, Kozlowski is a competent leader (Empathy B + Persuasion B) and was rolling pretty well throughout this. Also working against Red was the fact that every single one of his dice was either a success or a 1 – meaning it was impossible for him to push any of his own rolls.

ISR (01-05 September 2000)

I ran this operation similarly to the previous reconnaissance of Radom. However, as the PCs were focused on a specific location, I decided that each success on the observation rolls would provide intel on one of the following key areas:

  • vehicles
  • troop strength
  • defenses
  • deployment practices
  • patterns of life
  • equipment

The QRF base started at Alert 2.

Day 1 (September 1; light rain, -1 to observation and +1 to stealth)

The team rides to the vicinity of the QRF base on the outskirts of Radom. They establish a concealed campsite.

Pettimore and Zenobia remain at camp to further camouflage it and prep their ghillie suits (Pettimore 2 successes, Zenobia 3 successes).

Ellis and Magda move ahead to identify ingress/egress routes for their surveillance. They’re able to pick up a patrol returning to the base and trail it for a while, Ellis overhears enough conversation to determine that foot patrols around their base are a regular thing for the QRF – the recon team will need to be disciplined.

Moving in a bit closer, Magda and Ellis are able to get a good idea of the base’s general layout. It’s located on the west side of a four-lane highway. The Soviets are using a former restaurant as their main barracks. The scrapyard’s office appears to be their headquarters office and team room, while its workshop is in use as designed for vehicle maintenance (and, from the sound of power tools and a small generator, seems to be well-equipped).

Alert remains at 2.

Day 2 (September 2; cloudy, no modifiers)

Before dawn, Ellis and Pettimore move into an abandoned house a few blocks away and focus their optics on the base. Over the course of the day, they’re able to identify a total of seven vehicles in the QRF’s inventory. There are two APCs: an OT-64 identical to the team’s own and a BTR-80. There are also two more light combat vehicles: a UAZ-469 fitted with an AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher and a HMMWV mounting a DShK heavy machine gun. Two support vehicles are present, a Zil-131cargo truck and a UAZ-452 ambulance. Finally, there’s a rather odd duck for this area: what appears to be a British FV101 Scorpion light reconnaissance tank. One infantry squad is on security duty at all times, with three troops in one of the light vehicles, two walking the perimeter, and the sixth in a rickety observation tower atop the workshop.

After dusk, Magda and Zenobia relieve the day shift. They have a stressful close call on their way in (+1 Stress to both women) when a foot patrol leaves the front gate just as they’re approaching the house, but the Soviets turn the other direction. Once they’re settled in, they get a good look at the QRF’s setup. These guys feel secure enough to run their generator for electric light, including security lights on the north, east, and south approaches. They’re well-equipped – newer (relatively speaking) rifles, body armor, all of the vehicles except the HMMWV are in good condition. There’s a base station radio in the headquarters and at least one man-portable backpack radio in use by the patrols. There’s no evidence of farming, but these guys are using the restaurant’s kitchen to cook, indicating that they’re getting fresh ingredients from somewhere – they’re not subsisting on crap rations.

Alert remains at 2.

Day 3 (September 3; thunderstorms, -2 to observation and +2 to stealth)

Ellis and Magda try out a couple of new hide sites on the south side of the compound. With crap weather, the Soviets aren’t too excited about patrolling aggressively. Over the next few hours, they’re able to work their way around the east side again, watching through windows and open doors to get a fairly accurate count of total personnel on site. By the end of the day, the breakdown looks like this:

  • command element (3): commander (captain), senior sergeant, radio operator
  • infantry platoon (25): platoon leader (senior lieutenant) and four 6-person squads
  • recon vehicle platoon (10): platoon leader (lieutenant) and three 3-person crews
  • support element (8): leader (sergeant), 5 mechanics, 2 medics

The captain is keeping them busy. They’re maintaining the guard rotation; the rest of the troops get the assorted joys of PT in the rain. There’s about an hour of vehicle recovery drills, with an infantry squad covering the mechanics while they hook up the “disabled” BTR to the Zil for emergency towing – all while incoming fire is simulated by the rest of the unit pelting them with walnuts. There’s the expected amount of bullshitting and grumbling but the overall impression is that these are professionals. Ellis identifies their parent unit as the 126th Reconnaissance Battalion, an element of 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which is the Lublin garrison unit.

Zenobia and Pettimore swap in after dark. It should be easy but Zenobia crosses upwind of the compound and finds out that the garrison is keeping dogs (+1 Stress to Zenobia from a push, +1 Stress to both for near-detection). The combination of night and rain makes for lousy observation conditions, but Zenobia does get a good look inside the workshop and verifies that the QRF is operating a medium still in the shed out back.

Alert, thankfully, remains at 2.

Day 4 (September 4; sunny, +1 to observation and -1 to stealth)

With a bright, sunny day, Ellis opts for caution and doesn’t send anyone in until after dark. Zenobia and Pettimore refresh their ghillie suits, as the vegetation is wilting (Zenobia 2 successes, Pettimore 3 successes).

After sunset, the newly-camouflaged snipers creep in from the west, finding a good hide site in an overgrown vacant lot. They behold an odd tableau: the mechanics, with the enthusiastic but unskilled assistance of some of the other troops, appear to be refurbishing a trio of the junkyard’s Polski Fiat compact cars (a 125 and two 126ps). Surely they’re not so hard up for transport that this seems like a good idea? And yet, they spend a good two or three hours sweating under the work lights. There’s a cheer all around when, close to midnight, all three engines cough to life.

About half an hour after the infantry platoon leader calls a halt to this performance, he takes two squads out the gate. They head off to the east. Twenty minutes after they leave, there’s a sudden crackle of rifle fire. The sentries glance to the east but don’t react; this seems to have been anticipated. The gunfire continues sporadically for an hour. After it stops, that group comes back into camp. Pettimore and Zenobia sneak off to investigate. About a kilometer east, in the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse, they find a 50-meter training range that’s clearly seen heavy use – not just tonight. These guys have enough ammo for rifle practice (though they’re collecting their spent brass) and their leadership is making them do night training.

Alert is still at 2 somehow.

Day 5 (September 5; thunderstorms, -2 to observation and +2 to stealth)

The team has enough intel to prepare an assault, but one key element remains: they need to see what a response looks like when the QRF believes a partisan attack is in progress. Ellis and Pettimore head back to the abandoned house to observe. They nearly cross paths with an outbound foot patrol (+1 Stress each), but the Soviets are slogging through the rain and don’t notice them. They settle in, but the rain is keeping the troops indoors today and there’s nothing new to record.

Later that afternoon, Magda and Zenobia ride west to stage something that will prompt a response, but look like the aftermath of a drunken party when the QRF investigates. They spend some time setting the scene: empty beer bottles, discarded food scraps, a small and reluctant campfire, a muddy blanket, a torn t-shirt. At their prearranged time, just after dusk, they initiate the ruse. A flare streaks skyward, followed by a few bursts of celebratory gunfire. A few minutes later, they launch two more flares and burn off the rest of an AK magazine. Work complete, they slip away, leaving the campfire smoldering.

The sentry in the tower is huddled inside his poncho, clearly miserable, but he’s doing his job. As the first flare lifts over the horizon, he gives two sharp blasts on a whistle. What follows is a well-choreographed scramble. The three troops on duty at the HMMWV crank it up and pull out onto the road. Infantrymen boil out of the barracks. A three-man crew runs for the Scorpion and fires it up. Within a few minutes, the Scorpion is heading west at a speed that’s unnerving for a tracked vehicle, followed by the HMMWV and the BTR-80.

A second infantry squad clusters under the eaves of the building nearest the OT-64, while crews test its engine and that of the UAZ-469. A little slower, the two medics load the UAZ-452 ambulance and four of the mechanics prep the Zil-131 cargo truck. The remaining personnel crowd into the radio room, waiting for a report.

Out at the diversion site, Magda and Zenobia watch from a prepared hiding place as the vehicles approach cautiously. In the darkness and rain, vision must be nearly impossible. The Scorpion and HMMWV pull to either shoulder to allow the BTR-80 to advance. Its turret and infrared searchlight are swinging back and forth – there’s a good chance its night-vision systems are still working. The women have prepped their observation post with care, though, and they remain undetected. They watch as the vehicles take up an overwatch position and the infantry squad dismounts from the BTR. The troops advance cautiously. They spend about twenty minutes checking out the site. It’s obvious when their leader gives the all-clear – they don’t completely lose vigilance, but there’s a ripple of relaxation. They re-mount the BTR and the convoy heads back east.

Back at the compound, it’s also obvious when the “this was bullshit” radio call comes in. The second-stage QRF stands down, pulling their vehicles back into their parking spaces and unloading their sensitive gear. The radio room stays packed until the first-stage team is back on site, though. Once they’ve parked, the mechanics carry a couple of jerrycans out to top off fuel. The captain pulls his lieutenants and sergeants together for a conversation – almost certainly a debrief on what the first team found.

To Ellis and Pettimore’s eyes, it looks like the SOP is to launch the Scorpion, one of the gun trucks, and one of the APCs with an infantry squad as the initial QRF. The second group, consisting of the second gun truck, the second APC, and the ambulance and recovery truck, are prepped to head out and render aid once the scene is secure.

Magda and Zenobia also observed that while the infantry squad didn’t proceed much farther into the woods, they did have one member who appeared to be functioning as a tracker. He spent an awful lot of time examining the ground, and the squad leader deferred to him before calling the all-clear.

 Ellis scribbles notes, checking his watch on identification, scramble, departure, check-in and return. Shakes his head with concern, noting what he already suspected. These aren’t bandits, shattered remnants, or any of the other amateur or under-supplied units – they’re veterans, well-drilled and disciplined.

He leans over to Pettimore and shows him his notes and time calculations “Well… I’m not saying we can’t do this or that we shouldn’t do this… But I do think we may want to discuss our risk appetite because this is a different kind of risky than hitting some marauders.”

Watching the response procedures is the last piece the recon team needed. They creep back to camp and pack their gear for the return trip to Ponikla.

Review: The Poisoned Chalice

I purchased my copy of The Poisoned Chalice at full price and am receiving no compensation for this review. However, in the interest of full disclosure: author Alf Bergesen and I are long-time collaborators. We’ve been playing in each other’s play-by-post games for over a decade, and we coauthored Tara Romaneasca, the Romania sourcebook for Twilight: 2000.

I don’t often review stuff, mainly because of some undefined unease about the process. This is probably unfair of me because, as an author myself, I appreciate any attempt at a thoughtful review that shows someone actually read and paid attention to my work. This post, then, is an initial attempt at a module review. Reviews probably won’t be regular features here, but I do want to make some sort of occasional effort toward highlighting products that I find interesting, useful, or praiseworthy.

By the Numbers

The Poisoned Chalice is a module for Twilight: 2000 4th Edition. It’s PDF-only, available on DriveThruRPG through Free League Workshop, that publisher’s community content channel. At the time of this writing, the product link is https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/437864/Twilight-2000-The-Poisoned-Chalice and the module is priced at $1.99. For that princely sum, you get a 19-page module (3 pages of front and end material, 16 pages of content) and a 27-hex x 18-hex battlemap in 4th edition’s 10-meter scale.

Continue reading →