Twilight 2020

[ChalkLine]

(Yes, I know about Twight 2013. For the purposes of this thread I won't be using it.)

Not to worry about a 'how it could happen' scenario, we've done lots of those.

If a GM wanted to set a twilight game in today's world what changes would you need

Would you change the starting kit Night Vision Goggles and radios are pretty much standard in most major national armies now, would you make them standard Do the battery rules need a change now that so many more things use batteries

Basic vehicle lists. What needs changing Would the old lists based on actual vehicles change I think a list based on vehicle role would be better. Also rules on adapting vehicles for the needs of Twilight soldiers is needed. In Viet Nam you see things like a M551 Sheridan with a twin M2 .50 on the commander's cupola and an M60 on a pintle on the loader's hatch for example.

Currency and trading needs better rules. I have used the '1x 7.62mm cartridge = $1' as a basis for trading and also '1x cigarette = $1' but what other rules do we need. A lot of players practically become 'combat traders' moving slowly westwards!

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Yes I would definitely change the starting equipment list to reflect the wider use of electronic devices (not just night vision gear but also military notebook & tablet type computers, micro-drones/UAVs and so on).

I don't know if battery rules need to change so much as be updated & supplemented. For example, you can get all manner of portable & lightweight rechargers for mobile phones and tablets plus there's lightweight solar powered chargers you can get. Quite a few military electronics went away from the use of specialized batteries to batteries of the same standard as commonly used civilian batteries. For example, many night vision devices use AA cell batteries - they benefit greatly from using high capacity AA cells but even these are no longer the sole domain of government as such batteries are commonly used by photographers using digital cameras.

I absolutely agree that currency & trading needs to have a good ruleset behind it. A lot of players these days look beyond the straight forward "this is *whatever genre* game" approach and look to see what else they can do within it.
Some are not content with just going out and slaying the monster and rescuing the person in distress. Some of them want to get more deeply involved in other aspects of gameplay. Economics is just one of them but certainly deserves a more comprehensive coverage than it has at the moment.

Vehicles and weapons. There is so much that could be done with vehicles and weapons beyond the Wear Factor rules that are already in place.
We've already seen a lot of discussion about fuel (rather illuminating overall) and while we know many military vehicles use multi-fuel engines, a number of civilian vehicles in Europe run on diesel (and I don't just mean trucks but also private cars). Does this mean that there would be greater stocks of diesel available I don't know if that's correct but it's something that should be looked into.
As for weapons, there is still the overall concern about ammuntion. There should be more comprehensive rules dealing with manufacturing and reloading of ammo. I think there also needs to be more comprehensive rules regarding additions to weapons to make them more effective or easier to bring into use, e.g. sighting devices, laser target markers, foreward pistol grips, combat slings and so on.

[Raellus]

I agree that military personal electronic devices would be much more common, batteries too. That said, battery life, even rechargeable types, is finite. Even a new battery doesn't hold its charge forever. Three or four years after a TDM-style event, no new batteries will have been produced for some time. Those still left in their packages would be slowly losing juice. For an updated T2K, comprehensive battery life rules are a must- at least, if you want a realistic setting. It's simple and crude, but here's I've house-ruled battery life in my campaigns:

Device
Current Charge/Battery Capacity
7/9

The first number is the current charge. A battery loses one Current Charge point for every hour of use, under normal conditions (double this for cold conditions). The Current Charge number can be raised one point per hour by recharging the battery using a compatible recharger. The second number is the Battery Capacity. Every other time that the battery is recharged, it loses one Battery Capacity point. Eventually, the battery will no longer hold a charge, resulting in a totally dead battery. This will show as a Battery Capacity of 0. The device that relies upon said battery will no longer function until a fresher battery replaces the dead one.

[Legbreaker]

A couple of useful links re batteries.

http://www.batteryeducation.com/2006/04/battery_degrada.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_charger#Prolonging_battery_life

[Cdnwolf]

I would love to know the effects of and EMP on equipment now. Would the computers in things like tablets survive Would the circuits in night vision devices be fried Just curious.

[.45cultist]

More civil careers, including "prepper". The emergency personnel can be formed using existing ones. Civilian load outs, like 72 hour kits. Updated electronics.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Without trying to turn this into The Morrow Project or invoke the negative perception of preppers, I think it can be argued that Bug Out Bags would be part of the available starting equipment for various civilian careers.
Many people now are more aware of the usefulness of having some sort of gear bag to help them if they get caught in bad weather, run out of fuel, there's a major power outage or at worst some sort of attack against civilians.

[.45cultist]

Without trying to turn this into The Morrow Project or invoke the negative perception of preppers, I think it can be argued that Bug Out Bags would be part of the available starting equipment for various civilian careers.
Many people now are more aware of the usefulness of having some sort of gear bag to help them if they get caught in bad weather, run out of fuel, there's a major power outage or at worst some sort of attack against civilians.

Yeah, I mainly brought it up because I'm toying with a later date two part campaign. My original character's kid(s) active duty and a "Homefront" campaign with the retired character and civilian family.

[rcaf_777]

Would you change the starting kit Night Vision Goggles and radios are pretty much standard in most major national armies now, would you make them standard

While night vision goggles and radios are standard not every solider is going to have a set and not every military vehicle is going to radio or means to mount one. Some unit might Motorola Sabers or the AN/PRC-343 Integrated Intra-Squad Radio (IISR). Not everyone going to issue with one. As the war goes on both night vision goggles and radio are going to give out based on need and same with batteries.

[.45cultist]

While night vision goggles and radios are standard not every solider is going to have a set and not every military vehicle is going to radio or means to mount one. Some unit might Motorola Sabers or the AN/PRC-343 Integrated Intra-Squad Radio (IISR). Not everyone going to issue with one. As the war goes on both night vision goggles and radio are going to give out based on need and same with batteries.

This and the death of smartphones and internet should affect Western societies pretty quickly, especially among younger folk.

[WallShadow]

This and the death of smartphones and internet should affect Western societies pretty quickly, especially among younger folk.

You might find that much of the world would be affected by the collapse of the cellular systems.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

You might find that much of the world would be affected by the collapse of the cellular systems.

No doubt about that but I wonder if the culture shock will be bigger for Western societies than some others simply because so much of our social and work life is conducted through computers/smart phones.
Not simply Western societies but also the younger generations in tech savvy societies who have found digital tech a portal into the outside world where otherwise their traditions/culture would limit their exposure/interaction to the wider world.

[ChalkLine]

The Prepper community is like everyone, made up of unique individuals. Some are going to help, some are going to hinder and as long as we don't have blanket statements I think it's okay. I have Prepper friends both here and overseas and I think highly of them but you also hear of individuals who seem to think a disaster is an excuse for a free-fire zone.

As I said in The Morrow Project forum they're going to come up against the military, police and disaster control and federal organisations such as the USA's FEMA. What the situation is and how it works out is a game situation

[.45cultist]

You might find that much of the world would be affected by the collapse of the cellular systems.

I bet you're correct, but I only see the smart phone addicts here since I can't travel abroad.

[unkated]

Rules for...

Computer systems and computer networks.
Computer and Network security.
Jamming (wifi)

Civvy & military both, where they are different.

Rules for determining wide area networks. For example, some Polish (or Czech or American) electronics wiz may cobble up a set of three towers covering downtown Krakow with cell or wi-fi, or a hardwired cameras.

Or someone rewires Sussex & Kent (but nowhere else and not out of England). Or all of Australia is fine if no one nukes it. Or Japan has enough power to rebuild its internet by building new equipment.

My point (and this is the problem with any post-apolcalyptic RPG), that you need to include rules for still-working tech, partially working tech, repairing tech. (Computers and commo systems are not the only holes).

Uncle Ted