Unitarians, Isocracy, Twilight 2000

[tcpip]

Last Sunday attended the Unitarian poetry service and contributed a silly selection from "Bored of the Rings", given the release of a new movie. Next week Nigel Sinnot is given a presentation on clinical depression, where I'll be taking the service. There is already quite a collection on the subject. The week after that I'll be given an address on The Contribution of Unitarian-Universalists to Isocracy, where Nigel will be taking the service. Planning ahead I've already written the address, where I blame it all on Jürgen Habermas. As part of the research I feel into a few research holes including a fascinating study on Grant Allen who wanted the Independent Labour Party to be called The Isocratic Party. After that I'd better start attending St. Michael's again, they'll be wondering where I am!

Also last Sunday started an alternate history Twilight 2000 campaign on Sunday, based on extreme results of "successful" version of the 1991 Soviet coup. As someone who spent their adolescence in a period where devastating nuclear was was more of a case of when rather than if it has brought back some interesting research topics, such as the scale of total nuclear war, nuclear winter, electromagnetic pulse, and also give passing consideration (as if it's worthwhile) on what would have happened if not contingent actions were carried out against Y2K. The second edition game system has some serious bugs, indeed significantly worse than the first, however they are not insurmountable. In particular I find that the new initiative system is means that experienced characters are just overwhelming, compared to the old method where Coolness Under Fire allowed for more tactical considerations. As for the "automatic hit, choose location" rule for surprise, well. That's an example of broken game design, and quite terrible that it wasn't picked up in playtesting.

Comments

[kingtycoon.livejournal.com]

Dd you use tactical items? Mini's and maps? I'm coming to realize that fighting intensive games without board game style tactical movement tend to become well just confusing. And occasionally dull.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I tend to be able to run such things without confusion using just a whiteboard. As writ however, it doesn't really matter. One surprise phase and it's all over.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I just realised I haven't played Twilight 2000 in years! This sounds like an interesting set-up, though. I also agree about the initiative system -- making a sharp distinction between veterans and rookies is legit, but I find that in actuality Initiative is pretty random. Characters either are or are not the Terminator, and it doesn't seem to depend a whole lot on whether they've gone through their two-three weeks under fire, much less several years.

(I do have very fond memories of a rag-tag group of US 7th Engineer Battalion survivors walking up to the locals to barter for fuel, and my players then realising none of their characters spoke Polish.)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The rule we've ended up using is the old CuF system with +1 for each military career, +2 for a term 'under fire', and +1 for a civvie career under fire, all from a base of 1. It means that even local peasants can act around 2-3 phases per turn and experienced characters can actually take a serious wound, or even two and still act on every phase. That works a lot better.

then realising none of their characters spoke Polish.

Ha! I think my players are wise on me for paying attention immediately to things like that so yes, everyone has some knowledge of Polish (except the American, because everyone speaks English, right?)

One other thing about T2K which amuses me is the attachment to the gold standard as a unit of currency...

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I generally defaulted to many NPCs simply not accepting gold -- it's not the breakfast of champions and it won't keep a tractor running, after all -- but I also found there was a sort of atmospheric bonus to having some people, often in larger settlements, deal in it. Not any old generic gold, of course, but chains, bits of watches, tooth fillings, wedding rings... that sort of thing. The glittering leftovers of civilisation, preserving some of their former shine.

You know, I really need to play this game again.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Interesting; I like those atmospherics.

Of course historically had great value because it was the reserve backing for government issued money. Because of this it acted as a universal currency. Of course, ultimately whatever has marginal utility is really what is of value. So there was a tendency for the desperate to sell gold, as a stable currency, to an immediate need. The most obvious case being refugees of various sorts.

But so much of this depends on the universal currency component. Where gold does not have this role, it is evaluated on its own relatively modest marginal utility. Aluminum would actually be much more important, but of course is very common (although depending on the damage to industrial processes, it could be very rare).

Rhodium would be interesting because it is rare and sort-of useful. I'm not sure whether people would be too concerned about catalytic converters in a post-nuclear environment. Iridium also falls into this category. Palladium is rare and in widespread contemporary use (capacitors). Ruthenium would be an interesting rare metal for its use in solar-energy cells...

Hmmm... It's an interesting challenge to think of a rare material that would be useful in such an environment (apart from petrol!)