is there a web page i can go to to get information on what exactly this is? or if someone could give me a very long "Skinny" of the setting. i was under the impression that this was a setting similar to fallout [post apoclyptic] but more oriented towards a military squad or something like that...?
What "IS" TWILIGHT: 2000
- Thread starter loconius
- Start date
Picture TNE on one planet. Set in a future that never happened but nearly did.
Military/paramilitary groups trying to survive in a post nuclear exchange in the world of today. The world is trying to rebuild itself but anarchy is the dominant force, as each nation retreats to its own interest. Non military personnel do have a role to play but not as significant as military. A precursor to the Miltary RPGs that Hollistic is putting out would be a more better way of situating the genre.
Military/paramilitary groups trying to survive in a post nuclear exchange in the world of today. The world is trying to rebuild itself but anarchy is the dominant force, as each nation retreats to its own interest. Non military personnel do have a role to play but not as significant as military. A precursor to the Miltary RPGs that Hollistic is putting out would be a more better way of situating the genre.
Greetings and salutations,
WWIII broke out in 1995. There were two versions. V1 was written when Reagan was still in office so the President for '95 was fictional. In version 2, Bush is the President, the war is in Europe, and helped develope the history for Traveller:2300/2300AD.
DO NOT LET THEM HAVE WORKING WEAPONS! After LARPing for a week... And if they insist on working weapons, make sure you put blanks in the gun.
No player-characters were injured with firearms during the LARPing of this game, but the guy that thought he could carry A LOT of weight on his back and jump a ditch provided endless laughter after we were sure he was okay.
WWIII broke out in 1995. There were two versions. V1 was written when Reagan was still in office so the President for '95 was fictional. In version 2, Bush is the President, the war is in Europe, and helped develope the history for Traveller:2300/2300AD.
It is possible to run a non-military campaign which is very feasible. Basically, do a what-if of your neighborhood if things fell apart. I did this as an RPG and a LARP; it is amazing what you learn about people when you hop then up on caffeine, don't let them sleep normally, throw in some sexual tension, and let your imagination run wild.
DO NOT LET THEM HAVE WORKING WEAPONS! After LARPing for a week... And if they insist on working weapons, make sure you put blanks in the gun.
No player-characters were injured with firearms during the LARPing of this game, but the guy that thought he could carry A LOT of weight on his back and jump a ditch provided endless laughter after we were sure he was okay.
I think that it is very doable without a military group. Look at my thread entitled Utopias for that reason. The sheer horror of the Twilight world makes life interesting for non combantant, however, I would adopt something like a SAN rating to help characters cope with the horror of it all.
Like the idea of LARPing it, but, don't have the time to go out into the woods for a week let alone a weekend. But, I sure can think of some nifty locations...any sort of firearms would be a problem here in Canada. I could see, in my younger days, coming into town with a two week growth of beard, trying to haggle with some of the town merchants...great fun!
One also should not forget about Merc 2000, when world goes to hell in a wimper not a bang.
Like the idea of LARPing it, but, don't have the time to go out into the woods for a week let alone a weekend. But, I sure can think of some nifty locations...any sort of firearms would be a problem here in Canada. I could see, in my younger days, coming into town with a two week growth of beard, trying to haggle with some of the town merchants...great fun!
One also should not forget about Merc 2000, when world goes to hell in a wimper not a bang.
"and jump a ditch "
In the UK there's a legend of Balcony Pete, who was famous for his LARP leaping exploits. I'm not sure of the grisly details, but IIRC he was wearing full chain armour and wielding a broadsword at the time of his hospitalisation. He remained in character throughout, and later made a full recovery.
In the UK there's a legend of Balcony Pete, who was famous for his LARP leaping exploits. I'm not sure of the grisly details, but IIRC he was wearing full chain armour and wielding a broadsword at the time of his hospitalisation. He remained in character throughout, and later made a full recovery.
Wasn't it the coup in Moscow?
[rummage, rummage, rummage...]
Ah, here we go. In the Designer's Notes, page 276 of the version 2.2 Big Yellow Book:
"The chronology is now accurate up through the defeat of the Soviet coup in August of 1991. In the game's chronology, however, the coup is successful, and sets the world on a path toward Armageddon."
and later on:
"It is worth remembering that the KGB's Alpha Team was ordered to spearhead the assault on the Parliament building and kill Boris Yeltsin. When every officer in the unit, one after the other in descending order of seniority, categorically refused to carry out the order, the assault was aborted and the coup collapsed. By this slender a thread does our current world situation hang." [emphasis in the original]
[rummage, rummage, rummage...]
Ah, here we go. In the Designer's Notes, page 276 of the version 2.2 Big Yellow Book:
"The chronology is now accurate up through the defeat of the Soviet coup in August of 1991. In the game's chronology, however, the coup is successful, and sets the world on a path toward Armageddon."
and later on:
"It is worth remembering that the KGB's Alpha Team was ordered to spearhead the assault on the Parliament building and kill Boris Yeltsin. When every officer in the unit, one after the other in descending order of seniority, categorically refused to carry out the order, the assault was aborted and the coup collapsed. By this slender a thread does our current world situation hang." [emphasis in the original]
Also, while the T2K ruleset is, essentially, a modern day ruleset based in post WWIII, there's also alternative GDW settings with MERC: 2000 (basically todays world without WWIII, but private Spec Ops teams roaming the globe), as well as Twlight Nightmares (X-Files meets T2K). They published several books for MERC: 2000, but just the one off for Twlight Nightmares.
Finally, T2K 2.2 is essentially identical to TNE in terms of mechanics.
Finally, T2K 2.2 is essentially identical to TNE in terms of mechanics.
archhealer
SOC-12
Wow. I've never played T2000, but I've had multiple GMs in various game formats who've had us roll up characters that were 'Us', give or take, and had us run through various apocalyptic scenarios. Interesting to know there's an actual game along those precise lines. Imay have to toy around with this... And of course, it wouldn't be hard to shunt things forward to modern day. We still have a Bush in office, there's millitary tension worldwide (Isn' there always?).. WWIII could realistically break out any time. Though, I highly doubt the Russians would be a major player
In Twilight 2000 v.2, WWIII started with Eastern European balkanization and the ensuing ethnic warfare, which drew in the major European powers for various reasons. The U.S. joined in under NATO's mutual defense article (an attack against any member is an attack against all), while the Russians joined in for Slavic unity. It could also be said that they might also have entered the war in order to flex their muscles by smacking around some capitalists and proving that they were still relevant as a world power, at least on some level. Of course, this could still be the case if the world descended into "Twilight 2006/2007". Besides, any nation with a nuclear stockpile (especially one the size of Russia's) and the will or desperation to use them will always be a major player in a future World War. 
As a further example of how Russia could still be a major player, my friends and I started a T2K campaign about 5 years ago where WWIII started during the Kosovo war. If anyone recalls, the Russians were pretty ticked off about "capitalists" and/or "imperialists" imposing their will on Yugoslavia and the Slavic world in general, ranging from the Bosnian peacekeeping efforts to Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary poised to join NATO. The Russians occupied the Pristina airport, obstensibly to "maintian order". In reality, by putting boots on the ground, they made themselves very relevant to any NATO military action in Kosovo by: 1)Denying NATO a strategic staging area that would definitely have been desireable piece of real estate if ground operations were to commence, 2) Giving the Russians a perfect staging area to interdict any ground offensive by NATO if one occured and the Russians wished to join battle and 3) Blatantly poking a finger in NATO's eye in grand fashion. This single action had the effect of forcing NATO to pretty much abandon any thought of ground force intervention lest we purposely or accidently draw Russia into a ground conflict. While not stopping the war, Russia's act made it a major player and effectively dictated NATO's course of action in the Kosovo conflict.
In our campaign, however, the air campaign failed to force Yugoslavia'a surrender, they commenced ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, and NATO chose to initiate ground hostilities. The first step was a Special Operations task force being sent to Pristina to seize the airport from the Russian Airborne troops. The Russians screamed bloody murder and sent more troops to fight NATO while rallying the former Warsaw pact countries to their banner of anti-NATO/Slavic unity, including the three prospective NATO candidates. The Czech Republic and Russia send even more troops to protect Yugoslavia and Hungary forcibly ejects all NATO forces from its borders, resulting in NATO retaliation and the new "Belgrade Pact" responds in kind by preemptively attacking NATO assets in Germany, starting WWIII.
While this is dated compared to today's events, the setting was highly plausible five years ago, especially since there was a real possibility that things would have gotten ugly if events unfolded in any way similar to our campaign. A T2K campign based upon today's events would be even uglier because of the politics, alliances and rivalries of today are much more varied and fractured, resulting in many more regional wars, in addition to the classic East-vs-West conflict, that are unrelated to the main conflict yet affecting it none the less - in short, hell in a handbasket. Even more, such a campaign would actually be very believable considering the state of world affairs. Come to think of it, not a bad idea for a new T2K campaign....
In our campaign, however, the air campaign failed to force Yugoslavia'a surrender, they commenced ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, and NATO chose to initiate ground hostilities. The first step was a Special Operations task force being sent to Pristina to seize the airport from the Russian Airborne troops. The Russians screamed bloody murder and sent more troops to fight NATO while rallying the former Warsaw pact countries to their banner of anti-NATO/Slavic unity, including the three prospective NATO candidates. The Czech Republic and Russia send even more troops to protect Yugoslavia and Hungary forcibly ejects all NATO forces from its borders, resulting in NATO retaliation and the new "Belgrade Pact" responds in kind by preemptively attacking NATO assets in Germany, starting WWIII.
While this is dated compared to today's events, the setting was highly plausible five years ago, especially since there was a real possibility that things would have gotten ugly if events unfolded in any way similar to our campaign. A T2K campign based upon today's events would be even uglier because of the politics, alliances and rivalries of today are much more varied and fractured, resulting in many more regional wars, in addition to the classic East-vs-West conflict, that are unrelated to the main conflict yet affecting it none the less - in short, hell in a handbasket. Even more, such a campaign would actually be very believable considering the state of world affairs. Come to think of it, not a bad idea for a new T2K campaign....
I think Twilight 2000 would make an excellent setting for a time travel campaign. Basically time travellers from the 23rd Century get stuck in the wrong timeline due to a misjump of their timeship, either they weren't far enough from Earth when they made their jump, used unrefined fuel, or their Time Jump drive was poorly maintained. From their homeline's point of view such timeships simply disappear and are never seen again.
Well Twilight 2000 is where these missing timeships end up. In the home timeline each jump can jump the ship about 1 million or 10 million years at a time, in the Twilight 2000 timeline the ships can jump 100 years or 1,000 years at a time. The nearest accessible date is 1906 AD, no time jumping into the future past 2006 AD on the Twilight 2000 timeline can occur. Twilight's 1906 AD is identical to our own as this occurs before the splitoff in Twilight's timeline from out own.
The timeships stranded here can travel up and down the timeline 100 years at a time, but each century is not casually connected to each other, they are basically "historic echo" parallel timelines. Time travellers can alter what happens in 1906 AD, but when they return to the present, its still the same old Twilight 2000 with the same old unchanged history.
Also as their are no facilities to repair the time ships, each one can make a maximum of 100 jumps before they are likely to break down. Perhaps a clever engineer can use the spare parts from one time ship to fix another, but this leads to a declining number of usable timeships, that is until they are replaced by new incomeing timeships from the home timeline.
I think Twilight 2000 serves admirably as a time travel base, as the mission becomes how to get out of there, or how to cope with the changed circumstances and the lack of civilization.
Well Twilight 2000 is where these missing timeships end up. In the home timeline each jump can jump the ship about 1 million or 10 million years at a time, in the Twilight 2000 timeline the ships can jump 100 years or 1,000 years at a time. The nearest accessible date is 1906 AD, no time jumping into the future past 2006 AD on the Twilight 2000 timeline can occur. Twilight's 1906 AD is identical to our own as this occurs before the splitoff in Twilight's timeline from out own.
The timeships stranded here can travel up and down the timeline 100 years at a time, but each century is not casually connected to each other, they are basically "historic echo" parallel timelines. Time travellers can alter what happens in 1906 AD, but when they return to the present, its still the same old Twilight 2000 with the same old unchanged history.
Also as their are no facilities to repair the time ships, each one can make a maximum of 100 jumps before they are likely to break down. Perhaps a clever engineer can use the spare parts from one time ship to fix another, but this leads to a declining number of usable timeships, that is until they are replaced by new incomeing timeships from the home timeline.
I think Twilight 2000 serves admirably as a time travel base, as the mission becomes how to get out of there, or how to cope with the changed circumstances and the lack of civilization.
dyncorpsecurity
SOC-1
Habits you develop in Twilight 2000:
Picking up spent ammo casings so they can be reloaded.
Sleeping 4 hours a night.
Counting time in 5 second or 4 hour increments.
Foraging 8 hours for food. You and your friends are going to need that good meal before foraging another 16 hours for enough organic material to make some ethanol for your motor vehicles.
Rolling everyday for any or 6 or 7 diseases.
I think the movie The Postman is a perfect scenario of a Twilight movie (although its a bastardization of David Brin's book).
Picking up spent ammo casings so they can be reloaded.
Sleeping 4 hours a night.
Counting time in 5 second or 4 hour increments.
Foraging 8 hours for food. You and your friends are going to need that good meal before foraging another 16 hours for enough organic material to make some ethanol for your motor vehicles.
Rolling everyday for any or 6 or 7 diseases.
I think the movie The Postman is a perfect scenario of a Twilight movie (although its a bastardization of David Brin's book).
dyncorpsecurity
SOC-1
Speaking of time travel, I remember this comic books series where some computer programmers somehow got transported 100 years into the past. Well they decide to strike it rich by beating famous inventors to their ideas. The world of 1900 looks bright when suddenly battle-scarred hovering battleships appear. They are actually the last survivors from an alternate 2000: radiation-ravaged soldiers who must wear battlesuits that keep them alive with continuous chemical injections and life support. Their world was made so horrific by wars using the applied technology the programmers gave them that their "invasion" was humanity's last desperate attempt to change history.
We're already descending into WW3. We just don't know it yet!Originally posted by Archhealer:
(Snip) And of course, it wouldn't be hard to shunt things forward to modern day. We still have a Bush in office, there's millitary tension worldwide (Isn' there always?).. WWIII could realistically break out any time. Though, I highly doubt the Russians would be a major player
I asked this question myself, awhile ago.
Other World Wars have been started by dictators, Putin would be yet another one.
One possible way it could start is if Russia helped a country like Iran get nuclear weapons and Iran launched an attack on Israel or the United States and Israel or the United States blamed Russia for the attack and launched a retaliatory strike of Russia and Iran. Seems Russia and China are happy to proliferate weapons these days.
One possible way it could start is if Russia helped a country like Iran get nuclear weapons and Iran launched an attack on Israel or the United States and Israel or the United States blamed Russia for the attack and launched a retaliatory strike of Russia and Iran. Seems Russia and China are happy to proliferate weapons these days.
Greetings and salutations,
Another way WWIII could start is North Korean finally develops a rocket that could reach the United States. The US not liking that launches a few pre-emptive strikes by Special Operation Forces. North Korea decides that its next test would be a rocket with a nuclear explosive. It is low yield, but it is still a nuclear missile.
A twist to this scenario is North Korea initiate hostilities with South Korea (there is an armitice in place so the Korean War never really ended). A few countries are sucked into the conflict again and one of North Korea's allies supplies it with the material or an actual nuke.
"Oh my! Look a the pretty mushroom cloud and afterglow."
Another way WWIII could start is North Korean finally develops a rocket that could reach the United States. The US not liking that launches a few pre-emptive strikes by Special Operation Forces. North Korea decides that its next test would be a rocket with a nuclear explosive. It is low yield, but it is still a nuclear missile.
A twist to this scenario is North Korea initiate hostilities with South Korea (there is an armitice in place so the Korean War never really ended). A few countries are sucked into the conflict again and one of North Korea's allies supplies it with the material or an actual nuke.
"Oh my! Look a the pretty mushroom cloud and afterglow."
Its a lack of communication and comes about from Russia or China thinking it can get away with something but really does not.
Typical situation: North Korea overruns South Korea, and they think they've won, they have 30,000 American Prisoners of war and they think that the US will not attack them, and their wrong. The US invades the Korean Penensula and pushes back the North Koreans, thinking they will never use the few nukes they do have. North Korea nukes US troops, and then the US responds with a bombarderment of the Korean Penesula nuking North Korean Troops. China decides this is a good opportunity to invade Taiwan think that the US is tied down, but the US has plenty of missiles for everybody, and once they use some, the inhibition not to use others no longer exists.
Typical situation: North Korea overruns South Korea, and they think they've won, they have 30,000 American Prisoners of war and they think that the US will not attack them, and their wrong. The US invades the Korean Penensula and pushes back the North Koreans, thinking they will never use the few nukes they do have. North Korea nukes US troops, and then the US responds with a bombarderment of the Korean Penesula nuking North Korean Troops. China decides this is a good opportunity to invade Taiwan think that the US is tied down, but the US has plenty of missiles for everybody, and once they use some, the inhibition not to use others no longer exists.
