The Inside Scoop on Gaming

With the re-issue of "Twilight 2000", GDW's post WW3 RPG approaching in 2002, I decided to do a series of reviews covering the adventures published for this game.

The Game Setting.

For readers who are not familiar with "Twilight 2000", here is some background on the game setting.

"Twilight 2000" was published, along with several other post-holocaust RPG's in 1984, at the height of the Cold War.

"Twilight 2000" did not use the cliche of the United States under the Soviet yoke that was used in other games released at that time, most notably "Price of Freedom" (West End Games) & "Freedom Fighter" (Fantasy Games Unlimited), but rather featured a war that had ended through exhaustion on both sides.

The United States was divided between the Joint Chiefs of Staff (MilGov), a provisional Congress (CivGov) and the racist New America organisation, while the Soviet Union was wracked by a covert war between the KGB (Civil Intelligence) and the GRU (Military Intelligence).

The game sold well enough to be reissued as a second edition which updated the background to take into account the political events of the late 1980's and early 1990's, and for an alternative setting to be created, "Merc:2000", in which World War Three never happened.

"Castle by the Sea", the plot.

"Castle by the Sea" was one of three adventures issued for the second edition of "Twilight 2000", before GDW shut down in 1996.

The adventure is set in northern Poland, not far from the city of Gdansk, and involves the players in a conflict between the local warlord and a band of survivalists (Novo Direckto) who bought the castle from the Polish government before the war.

When the war ended in exhaustion, the survivialists attempted to conquer northern Poland, initially successful, they were defeated by the warlord and their leader killed. The survivialists new leader, successfully kidnapped five children including the warlords daughter and are using them as hostages, threatening to kill them if the warlord attacks.

With the aid of another warlord, most of the forces of Novo Driecko have been drawn away from the castle, leaving the way open for a rescue attempt.

Which is where the players come in, it is their job to penetrate the castle, find the hostages and get them out.

"Castle by the Sea", the components.

The game components, consist of a 16 page booklet, which contains the plot, two important NPCs, and a listing of the room contents for the castle and its dungeons. This is enclosed in a GM Screen style folder which has the castle maps printed on it. Overall, I'd give the components a four.

"Castle by the Sea", the verdict.

In my opinion this adventure is a good one, it emphasises stealth and interaction with NPC's rather than outright combat.

It is difficult, but if players think about their actions then they will have no problems, and because of the simplicity of the plot, a GM could transfer the castle to a fantasy environment with little or no trouble.

Because of this I'll give this adventure a 4. Unlike some adventures I have seen it does exactly what it sets out to do.

Castle by the Sea
Castle by the Sea Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 11/11/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) A simple straightforward plot that emphasises stealth, not combat. Product: Castle by the Sea Author: Nick Atlas Category: RPG Company/Publisher: GDW Line: Twilight:2000 Cost: Page count: 16 Year published: 1992 ISBN: 1-55878-126-9 SKU: 2014 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 11/11/01 Genre tags: Science Fiction Post-apocalyse	With the re-issue of "Twilight 2000", GDW's post WW3 RPG approaching in 2002, I decided to do a series of reviews covering the adventures published for this game. The Game Setting. For readers who are not familiar with "Twilight 2000", here is some background on the game setting. "Twilight 2000" was published, along with several other post-holocaust RPG's in 1984, at the height of the Cold War. "Twilight 2000" did not use the cliche of the United States under the Soviet yoke that was used in other games released at that time, most notably "Price of Freedom" (West End Games) & "Freedom Fighter" (Fantasy Games Unlimited), but rather featured a war that had ended through exhaustion on both sides. The United States was divided between the Joint Chiefs of Staff (MilGov), a provisional Congress (CivGov) and the racist New America organisation, while the Soviet Union was wracked by a covert war between the KGB (Civil Intelligence) and the GRU (Military Intelligence). The game sold well enough to be reissued as a second edition which updated the background to take into account the political events of the late 1980's and early 1990's, and for an alternative setting to be created, "Merc:2000", in which World War Three never happened. "Castle by the Sea", the plot. "Castle by the Sea" was one of three adventures issued for the second edition of "Twilight 2000", before GDW shut down in 1996. The adventure is set in northern Poland, not far from the city of Gdansk, and involves the players in a conflict between the local warlord and a band of survivalists (Novo Direckto) who bought the castle from the Polish government before the war. When the war ended in exhaustion, the survivialists attempted to conquer northern Poland, initially successful, they were defeated by the warlord and their leader killed. The survivialists new leader, successfully kidnapped five children including the warlords daughter and are using them as hostages, threatening to kill them if the warlord attacks. With the aid of another warlord, most of the forces of Novo Driecko have been drawn away from the castle, leaving the way open for a rescue attempt. Which is where the players come in, it is their job to penetrate the castle, find the hostages and get them out. "Castle by the Sea", the components. The game components, consist of a 16 page booklet, which contains the plot, two important NPCs, and a listing of the room contents for the castle and its dungeons. This is enclosed in a GM Screen style folder which has the castle maps printed on it. Overall, I'd give the components a four. "Castle by the Sea", the verdict. In my opinion this adventure is a good one, it emphasises stealth and interaction with NPC's rather than outright combat. It is difficult, but if players think about their actions then they will have no problems, and because of the simplicity of the plot, a GM could transfer the castle to a fantasy environment with little or no trouble. Because of this I'll give this adventure a 4. Unlike some adventures I have seen it does exactly what it sets out to do.