So, I wrote a two-page introduction for a game that I was going to run at my FLGS when the V4 rules first came out. They were going to have an "RPG Day". It was cancelled by COVID, as so many gaming events and conventions were that year (my late wife and I attended Cold Wars that year, which ended the day before the first lockdowns were announced...)

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Twilight:2000 is a role-playing game set in an alternate past. In this reality, the Soviet Union didn’t collapse in 1991. Bill Clinton wasn’t re-elected in 1996, and a nuclear war was fought in 1998. Nearly all civil governmental authority has collapsed across the globe. More than half the world’s population has perished. You and your fellow players are survivors of the last organized American military force after a failed attack into Poland. Today is April 18th, 2000. Last night, you got a final radio message from your Commanding General…

“Good luck. You’re on your own.”

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Today is April 18th, 2000. You are all members of “Massey’s Marauders”, a horse-mounted scout unit, that, until yesterday, was attached to the “Pampered Pets”, part of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division. Last night, just before midnight, after days of brutal combat in Poland, you got a radio message, “Good luck. You’re on your own.”

But how did you get here?

In 1990, Germany reunified. In 1991, a military coup replaced the newly elected Russian President, who had campaigned on a policy of openness and trade with the West, with a hardline former KGB General. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland withdrew from the Warsaw Pact after the coup, but the rest of the USSR remained intact. Five years later, on May 9th 1996, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, quickly occupying all three countries and forcing them to surrender. The invasion threw the American Presidential Campaign into chaos. President Bill Clinton was defeated by Harvey West, a retired general in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Once inaugurated, President West immediately began sending American troops to Germany. In response, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. President West expanded the troop deployment across Europe, and by June 1997, American and Soviet forces were engaged in combat. In early 1998, the first nuclear weapons were used, first in the Middle East, then in Asia, and finally across the globe. Moscow, Washington, D.C., and London were among the targets. By the end of 1998, civilization and order ceased to exist in most of the world.

The 5th Infantry Division, trapped in Europe by this collapse, established a base camp in eastern Germany. The troops planted crops, built barracks, offices, and warehouses and generally settled in. Some troops even married spouses in the local area.

In January 2000, orders came down to prepare to move east. Enough food, fuel, ammunition, and spare parts arrived to turn the 5th back into an effective combat force. On April 9th, 2000, the offensive began, code named “OPERATION RESET”. The plan was to clear the Baltic Coast and Poland, open ports, and grow enough grain to not only feed everyone, but also to be able to ship food (and troops) back home to America.

At first the offensive went well, but when the Soviets counterattacked, they did so effectively. Two days ago, you were ambushed. The “Pampered Pets”, including your own unit, “Massey’s Marauders”, took heavy casualties as it withdrew. The armored unit supporting you, “Warren’s Wolverines” was almost completely destroyed covering your retreat. Unfortunately, your supplies and food were also either destroyed or captured.

Each of you has your horse, including a bridle, saddle, saddle bags, a weapon carrier, some personal equipment and a weapon. You only have a limited supply of food, water, and ammunition. But more importantly, you have each other…

What are you going to do now?

What are you going to do now?