Twilight 2000: Role Playing in Post-Apocalyptic Europe. Part Three
Here it is, the last installment of Brad Smith's beautifully crafted column. Thanks again, Brad. All y'all drop by his blog and give him a shout.
The
tactical radio crackled to life again. This time, however, Blackfriar’s voice clipped
but calm. This too was a technique he had learned long ago, the hard way. When
the action was heaviest, that was when it was most important for a fire team
leader to project confidence to his team. “River team”, there was a pause as
the Barrett roared to life, “target front security element.” Blackfriar snapped
a .50 caliber round toward the man in the left security element carrying the
SKS.
When LnLP released World at War and
Heroes of the Gap, I was powerless to resist the purchase. I had spent too many
enjoyable hours playing with my friends in the sandbox of World War III Europe.
Time spent calculating range and blast diameter, laughing over the results of a
botched roll, or watching meticulously crafted characters meet their fate.
Reading
“Step up your rates of fire. Boomer,” another
brief pause as Blackfriar fired a second round, this time at the man carrying
the Makarov, “get on the MK19, target right security element.” The Barrett
bucked hard a third time as Blackfriar continued engaging targets, shifting to
the right to fire on the man carrying the AK-47. The bolt on the Barrett
slammed open and a thick plume of smoke poured from the breech as the spent
casing from the last round in the magazine flew into the night. “Loading,”
Blackfriar calmly informed the team.
Events that are plotted out in the
various LnL scenarios keep that feeling of narrative alive, and it’s where
war gaming starts to cross into the territory of role playing, blurs the line,
and makes the counters seem much more than what they are. As I was reading
Revelation, it also occurred to me that the World at War universe might make a
great role playing setting and I could envision a core book filled with stats
on NATO weapons, vehicles, and character roles, and yes, even a section on
vampires and Lycans. In fact, I may throw one or two into my current Twilight:
2000 campaign just to see how the characters handle it – if they survive this
ambush, that is. I’ll let you know how it goes. Would such a game sell? I don’t
know but it would be a lot of fun to try and make it some day.
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