Twilight 2007 Campaign.

[Gadodel]

A campaign that shares the Twilight 2000 RPG theme: World War III.

 

What stays the same:

~It is Earth as it is known and understood.

~The history and politics are identical to Earth's until 4-24-2007.

~A Nuclear Exchange takes place.

 

What's different:

~Use of the HERO System's Dark Champions rules.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

4-25-2007: The United States confines all of its troops to their respective bases in Iraq. Communication 'blackout' follows. The United States government cites 'indisputable intelligence'.

4-26-2007: The Unites States withdraws all of its forces from the Persian Gulf.

4-27-2007: The Unites States withdraws all of its Ambassadors from every nation within 2,000 miles of Iraq. Additionally, all American civilians are ordered to leave those same areas.

4-28-2007: The United States summons the Ambassadors of China, France, Great Britain, India, Japan and Russia to the White House.

4-29-2007: The Day of Suicide Bombers. Baghdad, Beirut, Mumbai, Riyahd and Tel Aviv are struck by thousands of suicide bombers. London, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo are stuck by dozens of suicide bombers.

4-30-07: Chinese, Indian and Russian troops mass along their borders nearest to the Middle East. In all, some 3.5 million troops.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

5-1-07: Israel launches a 'First Strike' against Iran. Iran retaliates. Tel Aviv and Tehran are in ruins.

5-2-07: Fighting erupts between factions in Pakistan.

5-3-07: China and India begin 'mutually exclusive' military operations in Pakistan.

5-4-07: House of Saud in Saudia Arabia falls. Osama bin Laden releases a tape of himself atop a tank holding the former King's head.

5-5-07: The Day of Assassins. The leaders of Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and most of the Gulf States are slain by loyalists of Osama bin Laden.

5-6-07: Osama bin Laden announces the new Islamic Caliphate and claims the entire Middle East.

5-7-07: The Day of Devices: Nuclear Devices are set off in several major cities around the world. Baghdad, Instanbul, Rome, Berlin, Los Angeles, Toronto and Rio de Janeiro.

5-8-07: Martial Law declared in most countries around the world by this time.

5-9-07: Cuban and Venezuela forces begin landing in Florida. Mercenaries hired by Colombian and Mexican Drug Lords cross into Texas.

5-10-07: Disease begins spreading across Europe. Biological weapons appear to be the cause.

5-11-07: India and Pakistan exchange nuclear strikes.

5-12-07: The Reclamation. American troops, backed by the 'Citizen Militia' drive out invaders from Florida and Texas. Many American troops begin returning home from abroad.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

5-13-07: Osama bin Laden gives the world 7 days to surrender or face a series of suprising devastating attacks.

5-14-07: The United States government moved to an 'undisclosed location'. Washington D.C. nearly a 'ghost town'.

5-15-07: Europe suffers a plague that surpasses any other plague in history.

5-16-07: The plague starts on the African continent.

5-17-07: Many countries begin closing their borders.

5-18-07: Gas and Oil reserves no longer exist, infrastructures in nearly every country begin collapsing.

5-19-07: Osama bin Laden issues his threat a second time.

5-20-07: Ayman al-Zawahiri killed in his stronghold in Cairo.

5-21-07: Osama bin Laden goes 'live' with television broadcast of missile launch. 24 missiles in all.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

5-21-07: My group gets together to game. Their characters are in Hudson City. One of Osama bin Laden's missiles was aimed at the city, but misses by 10 miles...

 

My players will know the above timeline.

 

Whatd'ya think?

 

Any suggestions?

[Grimble]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

I've played a few Twighlight 2000 games at Cons, post 2k. I like the fact that it is more of an alternate history game now.

 

Great idea to bring it to the present. I love the timeline. It is a little scary that this COULD happen.

 

 

Grimble

[Shaft]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

4-25-2007: The United States confines all of its troops to their respective bases in Iraq. Communication 'blackout' follows. The United States government cites 'indisputable intelligence'.

4-26-2007: The Unites States withdraws all of its forces from the Persian Gulf.

4-27-2007: The Unites States withdraws all of its Ambassadors from every nation within 2,000 miles of Iraq. Additionally, all American civilians are ordered to leave those same areas.

 

Please take this as constructive criticism, not me shooting down your ideas.

 

With all due respect, this sounds extremely improbable to me. If the US had 'indisputable intelligence' on a threat, I find it hard to believe that it would not mobilise to do something about it.

 

I'm not even saying this out of some kind of fanatical "gung ho" belief in the infallibility of the US military (check my location/citizenship). There is simply no way that overnight the US military would collapse into uselessness without at least a few weeks of economic and political crisis to hamstring it. Of course, even the mightiest military in the world won't do much if its members get paid, so here's my suggestions:

 

Given the firepower and state of readiness that the air force and navy have, any attempted large scale invasion from Venuzeula and Cuba would be cut off before they hit the shore since their supply lines would be destroyed. At best, you could dump a large number of "fifth columnists" to stir up trouble with terrorist style guerilla tactics, but that would require weeks before being considered a prolonged problem.

 

A Mexican invasion would also suffer since the firepower of the Mexicans can't match the firepower of the US. If things ever do go that badly, the nuclear option would be used before any serious progress would be made.

 

A more probable cause of the US being invaded would be if it's army was stretched to thin. If North Korea and Iran flared up to the point where the draft was reinstated and morale took a hit as troops adopted a non-volunteer mentality, then the military might be stretched too thin. Even then, given the large number of armed civilians and citizen militias that are likely to form, an invasion force would have a heard time, and making headway would take years of prolonged combat.

 

Russian (less likely) or Chinese (more likely) support of an anti-American Alliance would be critical to any hope of success (most likely both). You'd need a good reason for NATO not coming to assist a crippled US. US-Europe relations are not at a high, but their not so low that Europe would abandon the US in the face of an enmey who would target them. Japan would also re-militarise to counter any Asian threats, though I suspect that China would eventually overwhelm it.

 

My suggestion would be to advance your timeline a few months (or retroactively make it that the problems began in 2004 after the elections of that year, and say that a Democratic Congress/Senate was elected). Make it begin with a Congress/Senate vs Executuve Branch deadlock resulting in a disorganized pullout. As the government's finaces are locked, the various agencies are unable to do their jobs, and this is the opportunity that your terrorists are looking for.

 

Of course, this may be more backstory than you are prepared to write up. If you just want to get to the post apocalyptic present and the backstory is just an excuse, your timeline is fine for that.

[Legendsmiths]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Sounds entertaining to me. I present my thread on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to help kick start your equipment file.

 

Be careful with playing yourselves however. Some players may enjoy it while others may not, especially if they don't have any particular survival skills or bring skills to the scenario that can be of use. I was in a "play yourself" zombie game once and while I had fun a couple of guys didn't (no functional survival skills) and when we went to save one guy's girlfriend he ended up very unhappy (she was okay, but it was just too real for him I guess).

 

Many people play to escape, so playing yourself is not the way to do it. If you want that element of realism, with a cinematic bent, have the characters be friends that work at a mall or some other venue where a variety of backgrounds could share a common workspace.

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1323141#post1323141

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Please take this as constructive criticism, not me shooting down your ideas.

 

 

 

Of course, this may be more backstory than you are prepared to write up. If you just want to get to the post apocalyptic present and the backstory is just an excuse, your timeline is fine for that.

 

Thank you. And yes, this is what I was trying to achieve.

 

As far as the US Military actions in Iraq after the 'indisputable threat', the Gov wanted to be in a position of strength to come back after the dust settled. The US Military is largely intact after the 'Suicide Bombers' and 'Day of Devices' in the Middle East.

 

However, I do leave it open to the imfamous line in 'Twilight 2000': 'You're on your own'. The US has yet to meet the real threat.

 

As far as the Cuban/Mexican/Venezuela threat, indeed; it is a weak scenario...but I wanted the US to once again be effected by an outside threat directly on its soil.

 

However, the missile that nearly hit Hudson City...that will be the thing mostly on the character's minds.

 

Also, Africa and Europe will be have a second 'Dark Ages' just to satisfy the need for sword play necessary in any RPG!

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

 

Great idea to bring it to the present. I love the timeline. It is a little scary that this COULD happen.

 

 

Grimble

 

In every campaign I run, I try to add a bit of the horror spice to the main course!

[Manic Typist]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Great idea to bring it to the present. I love the timeline. It is a little scary that this COULD happen.

 

...except not really.

 

The only thing I would suggest is a different instigator than Osama. To be brutally honest, he could never pull something like this off. Bring in someone new, someone entirely of your creation, someone mysterious. Make it fresh, rather than charged with the politics of of today's world. Even if you're going to blow it all to hell, you can blow it to hell YOUR way.

 

Then again, if this is what you prefer, go with that! It's your game after all.

 

I've always wanted to play a post-apoc game.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

...except not really.

 

The only thing I would suggest is a different instigator than Osama. To be brutally honest, he could never pull something like this off. Bring in someone new, someone entirely of your creation, someone mysterious. Make it fresh, rather than charged with the politics of of today's world. Even if you're going to blow it all to hell, you can blow it to hell YOUR way..

Indeed, I had thought about this option at length.

 

OBL is nothing more than a figurehead, a rallying point. There are terrorists out there far more menacing. Other Zarqawi-like figures. Ones that do not suffer from vanity and want to be famous. OBL doesn't control these folks absolutely....and worse, they'll emerge as technology begins to fail. They would rather be boogey-men and legends, their monstrous deeds spread by word of mouth...

 

But remember, OBL has eluded a bullet for quite some time. There are others whom have been at it longer that we know nothing about...yet.

 

OBL is a model. Not the Alpha and the Omega.

[Manic Typist]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

That's the spirit.

[Wolf]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Sounds goodish, I agree with some of the political opinions and disagree with others, that's the problem with being semi-educated in America today, everyone thinks it's going to go differently. However I love games like this, being what I love to use hero for... I'd love to see where you go, and I'll probably take some ideas from everyone here as far as the fall of civilization as we know it. On a similar thought, just one of these conversations above a gaming table (not RP, but gaming none the less) is what got us Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising", great book if you want to see a WWIII cold war style.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising"' date=' great book if you want to see a WWIII cold war style.[/quote']

 

Interesting that you should mention this.

 

In this campaign, there are not so subtle hints that the 'superpowers' (US and Russia) have weathered the storm quite well and new ones might have emerged (China, Islamic Caliphate). As if the 'Cold War' had continued and is being waged further by satellite states.

 

Europe won't be the battlefield of choice, nor will Africa.

 

It may be in Latin America or the Middle East.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

A couple of trends that may develop as a result of this timeline and war:

~The emergence of new nation states. Borders will virtually disappear in Africa and the Middle East as tribes reclaim ancient claims. Europe will see plenty of new areas based on ethnic and religious divisions. Plenty of 'Islamic' areas will emerge in France, Germany and the UK-for example.

~The Underworld will gain incredible amount of power as the 'black market' will parallel and rival any 'market economy' on Earth. Governments might have to do business is crime syndicates whether they like it or not. Crime Syndicates will certainly be tied to ethnic and religious divisions as well and their rivalries will be far more fierce than standard geopolitical rivalries. Mobsters might replace elected representatives or military leaders or even religious leaders in many areas....The Harbinger of Justice and his ilk will be busy...very, very busy!

~There will be areas untouched by the conflict. Generally, rural areas. 'Those who can grow food' will have a perculiar 'do not harm' status. One can find refuge, peace and security in these areas if they agree to go back to basic and help grow food. Farmers will have a status equal to doctors: a hands off policy that virtually everyone respects. Those who don't suffer dearly...

[Wolf]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

As a side note, if you wish a miniature line there is Mongoose's (Battlefield Evo.) prepainted line, and The Assualt group's nonpainted line. both are nice an cheep for a largeish force. The Battlefield Evo, is actually a WWIII fight in the desert with modern troops... heck how can you beat a group of desert dwellers, a group of Technicals, a squad of US military, and one Abrams for around $100.00 all pre-painted so you can focus on the game.

Wow, I honestly don't work for them... nor have I bough any YET, I just don't have enough cash to get what I want....

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Hey! I hadn't even thought of using miniatures until now. Thanks for the idea!

 

[lapsedgamer]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

I love your ideas, and the input given by previous posters was interesting as well. I have to admit that I would never want to play a game like this. It's too depressing to envision a world like this, especially since the world stands a good chance of turning out something like this anyway.

[Gadodel]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

I love your ideas' date=' and the input given by previous posters was interesting as well. I have to admit that I would never want to play a game like this. It's too depressing to envision a world like this, especially since the world stands a good chance of turning out something like this anyway.[/quote']

Yeah, it's one of the things that was in the back of my mind when I conceived the idea. However, next to D&D; no other game makes me reminisce more than Twilight 2000. We had so much fun.

 

Sure, the idea isn't for everyone. But, remember; there are wargames in the Pentagon that would make this seem quite amateur!

[CSgeekHero]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

I like Gadodel's creative in timeline.

The missile ranges and the invasion of Texas and Florida just feel plausible if you're trying to be Tom Clancy about things. However, with looser interpretations of the genre like 24, then you're on target.

[Wolf]

Re: Twilight 2007 Campaign.

 

Sure' date=' the idea isn't for everyone. But, remember; there are wargames in the Pentagon that would make this seem quite amateur![/quote']

 

I got to play one of the 82nd ABN's High Tech simulations, and it's like Command an Conquer with out the ability to click and drag multiple units... and a whole battle is crazy. We have one LT commanding, like, 3-5 Companies, and one Enlisted man on each Company. We had one screen each and a Projection screen displaying the whole shi-bang... it was fun to be a part of at least.

From the position of being in the military, it wasn't as High-tech as the movies make it...In basic, Rifle Practice was on an old super Nintendo playing a variation of duck hunt, with a Mock M-16.