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"RDF SOURCEBOOK", OVERVIEW.

"RDF Sourcebook", by Frank Frey, is one of several regional sourcebooks published for the first edition of GDW's "Twilight 2000", a post-WW3 role playing game. Like, "Rough Guide to the UK", "Howling Wilderness", the Norwegian history section of "Boomer" and the Finnish produced, "Nordic Countries: Sourcebook", the "RDF Sourcebook" is designed to provide the GM and players with information on the history, conditions and organisations/characters that exist within a particular region of the "Twilight 2000" game world.

In this case the "RDF Sourcebook" covers the Persian Gulf, more specifically it covers the war for the Iraqi/Iranian Oilfields. The most important difference between the Middle East and Europe is that the military chain of command has remained intact on both sides.

The book begins with a timeline covering both prewar and wartime events beginning in 1990 with the signing of a Middle East Peace Accord and finishing in December 2000 when CENTCOM, the US Headquarters commanding Allied forces in the region receives the first of 6000 reinforcements from the US forces evacuating Europe.

This is followed by an overview of the Persian Gulf region, the political/military organisations that exist as of 12/2000, the relationships between those organisations and the most important personalities in the region. This information is accompanied with an order of battle for the forces involved in the region (US/Allied, Soviet/Allied, French) and two maps, one showing the Middle East from Iraq to Pakistan, the other showing Southern Iran.

This background material is followed by a campaign guide, this covers integrating the new material with an existing campaign, how to bring players from Europe to the Middle East, how to create/run missions and 'Primary Groups'. This last item provides the GM with a convenient way of explaining 'how' in an area with an intact chain of command how PC parties can still exist. In essence a 'Primary Group' is a team of soldiers who have survived combat together and work well as a team, something which the PC's are automatically assumed to have done.

The campaign guide is followed by information on how to generate 'local' characters and additional weapons/vehicles common in the Middle East.

"RDF SOURCEBOOK", VERDICT.

The "RDF Sourcebook" is a useful work covering one of the major theaters in the "Twilight 2000" gameworld. However it is not without flaws, for instance, some units are missing from the order of battle, including the Soviet backed Iranian forces (they appear in "King's Ransom") and the forces garrisoning Char Bahar. Another flaw is the fact that the description of the British "Middle East Field Force" given in the character generation section of the book does not match that given in the timeline and Middle East Order of Battle.

Overall rating, three out of five for style (Although I do like Tim Bradstreet's pencil art) and four out of five for content.

RDF Sourcebook
RDF Sourcebook Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 24/03/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) An interesting look at one of "Twilight 2000's" more interesting regions of conflict. Product: RDF Sourcebook Author: Frank Frey Category: RPG Company/Publisher: GDW Line: Twilight 2000 Cost: Page count: 48 Year published: 1986 ISBN: 0-943580-14-5 SKU: 508 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Graham Donald on 24/03/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Modern day Post-apocalyse	"RDF SOURCEBOOK", OVERVIEW. "RDF Sourcebook", by Frank Frey, is one of several regional sourcebooks published for the first edition of GDW's "Twilight 2000", a post-WW3 role playing game. Like, "Rough Guide to the UK", "Howling Wilderness", the Norwegian history section of "Boomer" and the Finnish produced, "Nordic Countries: Sourcebook", the "RDF Sourcebook" is designed to provide the GM and players with information on the history, conditions and organisations/characters that exist within a particular region of the "Twilight 2000" game world. In this case the "RDF Sourcebook" covers the Persian Gulf, more specifically it covers the war for the Iraqi/Iranian Oilfields. The most important difference between the Middle East and Europe is that the military chain of command has remained intact on both sides. The book begins with a timeline covering both prewar and wartime events beginning in 1990 with the signing of a Middle East Peace Accord and finishing in December 2000 when CENTCOM, the US Headquarters commanding Allied forces in the region receives the first of 6000 reinforcements from the US forces evacuating Europe. This is followed by an overview of the Persian Gulf region, the political/military organisations that exist as of 12/2000, the relationships between those organisations and the most important personalities in the region. This information is accompanied with an order of battle for the forces involved in the region (US/Allied, Soviet/Allied, French) and two maps, one showing the Middle East from Iraq to Pakistan, the other showing Southern Iran. This background material is followed by a campaign guide, this covers integrating the new material with an existing campaign, how to bring players from Europe to the Middle East, how to create/run missions and 'Primary Groups'. This last item provides the GM with a convenient way of explaining 'how' in an area with an intact chain of command how PC parties can still exist. In essence a 'Primary Group' is a team of soldiers who have survived combat together and work well as a team, something which the PC's are automatically assumed to have done. The campaign guide is followed by information on how to generate 'local' characters and additional weapons/vehicles common in the Middle East. "RDF SOURCEBOOK", VERDICT. The "RDF Sourcebook" is a useful work covering one of the major theaters in the "Twilight 2000" gameworld. However it is not without flaws, for instance, some units are missing from the order of battle, including the Soviet backed Iranian forces (they appear in "King's Ransom") and the forces garrisoning Char Bahar. Another flaw is the fact that the description of the British "Middle East Field Force" given in the character generation section of the book does not match that given in the timeline and Middle East Order of Battle. Overall rating, three out of five for style (Although I do like Tim Bradstreet's pencil art) and four out of five for content.