So we're essentially a quick reaction mobile reserve - that makes sense.



Ah - I'd read his description on the cast list and had gathered that he wasn't around but not what had happened to him.  How badly wounded is he?  Should we have to leave Gdansk in a hurry do we need to take him with us?

We'd obviously grab Stone from the hospital if necessary but would we need to get Boswell as well?

Also who is Matt Doyle?  He's on the cast list but isn't with the unit any more from the description.

Is it worth asking the IB whether they have any spare ammo for this?

If there is time and it seems worth doing then Mitch will check this machinegun and clean it.

He'll also clean the KPV they just bought as well (I forgot to list this one previously).

I'll be putting up a turn post tomorrow. Do you guys need more time to get organized (platoon layout and such)? We know the mission but not everyone knows their job and placement within the vehicles and squads.



No worries. Totally understandable. Thanks for letting us know though.



Clarification - one rocket. The others were traded off already for some of the things Kaminski is adding to the stores (or were traded off themselves at the market).



Boswell has actually been discharged. It's become apparent that he is now in the care/custody of Vincent Wright at an unknown location. Technically he is part of the original team, even if he is an NPC, so I would hope he isn't considered too expendable.

Doyle is a former member of the team. He left early after deciding to head out and try to make it on his own - well before the team was interested in Gdansk. He's since been a supplier of information and contacts (introducing the team to Kaminski). He's since been arrested by the IB for suspicion of spying (he was arrested during the round up of suspected pro-government sympathizers and assorted troublemakers).
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:16, Wed 25 Nov 2009.

Organising squads and who is in which vehicle definitely needs to be done.  I think that we need to resolve the situation with the BMP first though as this dictates whether we are trying to recruit more dismounts (from Anjo via Kaminski) and how many of us will need to be assigned as vehicle crews.



OK - this is obviously stuff that Mitch doesn't know about but who is Vincent Wright and is retrieving Boswell from his care/custody something that we need to do at some point?

I'm starting to think a cast of characters might be helpful, to either new players and the old ones. Kind of like how the source books do it.

Vincent Wright is an odd fellow who wields subtle but impressive power and resources. Some claim he is CIA, while others argue DIA, KGB, or GRU. Some even suggest he is not even an agent at all, but rather delusional and psychologically damaged. Regardless the neurotic Mr. Wright works in the shadows of Gdansk claiming he does what he does because he is a "patriot".

As Kaminski once learned, Wright uses whomever he wants in whatever fashion he desires as long as his goal is met. That said, those who survive the ordeal are usually well compensated for their sacrifice. He's since made his intention of "recruiting" the team for patriotic purposes in Gdansk. He's hinted your cooperation will likely involve a boat out of Poland. Your last errand for him netted you a very important intelligence asset and the 60mm mortar with ammo.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:00, Wed 25 Nov 2009.

I agree with Mitch. I'm now thinking we might need 2 turns before the jump-to-dawn post goes up. A turn for the BMP efforts and another based on the outcome of success or failure with it.

I suggest we post for our next phase of prep (BMP), but the GM doesn't jump the clock ahead. Not until we do another final post afterward which will include organizing squads.

Or - We make up two rosters. One for if we have the BMP and one if we don't. I don't know. Just throwing out ideas.

If the Bradley isn't fixable by dawn to we still deploy with it? Or do we let the mechanics continue while we fight without it. There's strong pros and cons to both options.

This sounds like a good idea to me and Wright sounds like an interesting guy to me!

If you're in the mood for explaining bits about various NPCs what is common knowledge about the girl?  Fox said that she does understand English but I have no idea why she's mute or where she came from?

Is the BMP something that can be resolved in this OOC thread or does it need to be done in character to some extent?

Yeah no problem. Just goes to show I should do up a personalities list.

"The Girl" is another character where there are far more questions than answers. But here is what you do know...

On the night before you met the group, she was discovered by some of the team on a patrol (wild goose chase) in the ruined dockyards. The group witnessed her get ambushed and assaulted by three thugs. The patrol intervened decisively, however it was noted that she wasn't going down without a struggle (she is armed).

She can't or doesn't talk - its not known which. Fox at least thinks there's enough evidence to suggest she at least can understand English and Polish. Her age is difficult to guess, as she usually keeps hidden beneath a scarf wrapped around her head and face. An estimation could be anywhere between 16-20. She's definitely street smart and has a real knack for survival and self preservation. She isn't feral, but likely alone and "nomadic" to some degree. Some of the team have noted that despite her lack of formal training, she probably has some combat ability.

She is armed with a Tantal and a small .22cal pistol. When she's on the move or not comfortable with her environment she'll carry her small brown leather pack around. She wears a knitted, navy blue sweater, with a crest of some sort embroider on, as well as US Army combat pants that have been cut off into long shorts. She also wears a faded and torn armband of the Polish Home Army. Her personal possessions are random and meager.

At the moment she is just being allowed to tag along.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:37, Wed 25 Nov 2009.

I guess I can do it OOC if it'll get things moving. However I want to know who is working on what vehicle (Bradley or BMP) - to sort out some rolling.

-The Bradley requires mechanics (although someone with a related skill like Gunsmith could be included for a roll modifier).

-The BMP needs at least 1 mechanic and anyone with experience with it.

As mentioned before, if you wanted you could always try to acquire assistance outside of the platoon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:44, Wed 25 Nov 2009.

Thanks for the info - all very interesting!

With the Bradley don't we need the help of the IB motor pool anyway as we lost the relevant tools in the encounter where Stone was shot?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Wed 25 Nov 2009.

Yeah. Borrowing them isn't a problem.

They are currently working on a Marine LAV but have enough to spare.

I've got a very rough draft of crew positions worked out but it's very dependant on the condition of the BMP, if the Bradley can be fixed on time, and how many extra bodies Anjo supplies (and any relevant skills they may bring to the party).

JJ and St Gill remain with the Bradley and Handley moves over as Driver.
Jordan and Mitch are M113 crew.
The BTR is giving me some troubles but it'll be either Varis or George as driver. Somebody with good (or better) Autogun as gunner and decent Observation as commander.
If we could get Boswell back he'd be perfect as BTR commander (great obs). In fact this is likely to be his permanent position as it keeps him out of direct trouble (the BTR is our still and stores vehicle rather than combat when travelling).

Meyer and Kaminski along with Otto will stay with the mortar and softskins plus the bulk of our gear (unless Kaminski is keen on something else in which case one of Anjos men becomes assistant mortarman).

Everyone else is infantry unless the BMP is used by un in which case it's crewed by, well, I haven't much of a clue as to driver, but they won't be particularly skilled...
How the infantry are organised and in which vehicles is also yet to be determined, but the BTR is unlikely to carry any.

Ben has some operational experience with a BMP (see his background/description) but next to no mechanical skills. He's also in desperate need of sleep along with Oskar, Meyer and Stone.

Yeah Kaminski is fine w/ being w/ the Mortar unless you want him someplace else or something comes up. Combat skill wise besides Pistol and UMA his Observation skill is one of the highest he has. And Russian. Maybe on a radio monitoring transmissions? Make disguise/ persuade rolls to see if he can throw any bogus commands their way?

At least two of those don't count any more.  :)

All - I'll be away for the Thanksgiving holidays from today hereon, until Monday 11/30.  Cheers!

Varis spent some time in old BMP-1s before his unit transitioned to horses (and he was sent to a penal battalion).

And yes, Mitch will finally see Varis' jovial, friendly side. ; )

Only Stone - Meyer will be needed for the mortar.

There will be a long range radio with the mortar team (probably just use the Humvee or UAZ's, saving the portables for the front line troops) so it's quite possible for Kaminski to play around with it. Of course as most transmissions will be coded, or at least using code words, it might be a bit hard to stuff the soviets around that way.

The more I think about it, the more I feel the BMP should be lent to the IB. We just don't have sufficent manpower to crew four vehicles, and although a complete BMP is hands down better than an M113 or BTR, this one is lacking all armament and top protection - the latter a significant handicap in urban combat.

Kaminski's 105mm should probably also go to the IB (by IB I mean any of the allied Gdansk factions) as a) no ammo and b) no crew available for it.

What else are we giving to the IB?

We've talked about mounting the KPV on the BMP so we could lend this to them and let them mount it - how much ammo do we want to give them though?

Some or all of the 3 RPG-7s with rockets?

The Browning .30 Machinegun (as it only has 1 belt and they might have more ammo for it)

Some of the more static radios/comms systems like the Soviet Field Telephone?

i just like the idea of putting that 105mm on the BMP-2 and making an Assault Gun :P

what would the roll be for that stuff w/ the radio? Intrusion? Disguise?

In reply to Krzysztof Kaminski (msg #932):

Or Persuasion?

And you don't just need to pose as a Russian - aren't there Polish militia in the city who we think will turn out to be loyal to the Soviets?  If that's the case then you could potentially pose as one of them as well.

I'm about to head home from work in a minute. So there will be a turn post up. I'll try to read over the posts and put together something productive for you. However some of it is OOC suggestions and lacking a clear agreement. I'll try to clarify some things (like with the BMP, but if we are still indecisive over some matters I'll have to push on ahead anyways the next turn to dawn.



It's not that simple I'm afraid. SIGINT/COMINT would require trained electronic warfare specialists with proper radio direction finding equipment. Neither of which are available. Even if the Soviets were broadcasting without their comms being encrypted, its still a big deal. For example the ARVN had lots of French communication equipment and still were very ineffective at electronic warfare until properly trained Americans were sent in.

Then there is the added factor of the standard defensive measures put into place to counter SIGINT/COMINT. Procedures for a compromised net, jamming, etc would all be in place just for this sort of thing.

Interfering with Bandits using civilian walkie-talkies would be easy. But these are veteran comms operators using methods that would have been improved and modified as the war went on.

That said, if you captured a radio things would be easy - at least until the moment the enemy caught on. Then you are back to square one.

In reply to Fusilier (msg #934):

Listen, if it makes a difference or if anyone has any ideas, Frank has three [3] sets of Russian BDU's

Post up...

If you posted it IC, I've given your PC a couple hours of some early sleep.

If I missed something you mentioned you wanted to have happen, PM me and I'll see if can be edited in or not.

Next turn goes up for dawn so please have everything organized by then.

I'll add a supplementary post tomorrow for some dialogue and a chance for you to donate some gear to the city (either IB or an allied faction/militia). At the moment that are borrowing the BMP w/KPV and the ammo. Mitch put up a suggestion or two as well.

Bradley work is still ongoing. There are no PC's at the motor pool so I didn't include it in the narrative. However at last word, repairs were continuing with an estimated 2200 hours completion time.

You have an 8 man detachment from Gang Anjo (6 rifles / 1 RPK / 1 RPD), plus 2 wounded that could be of some use. They've been resupplied on ammunition but not all on grenades (you have none left - there were only 2 frag in the list). I didn't give them AT weapons because I'd prefer you be specific.



Most of this is done or ongoing (Bradley).
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:03, Thu 26 Nov 2009.

One quick thing - I don't think that we should lend the IB all of the 14.5mm ammo for the KPV as our BTR-70 is short of ammo as well for its KPV.

There were 3 belts so my suggestion would be that we keep one belt for our vehicle and lend the IB the other two.

With AT capability we have the following in the stores:

M72 LAW x4
AT4 x2
RPG-22 x1
Armbrust x1
LAW 80 x1
RPG-16 x1 (7 rockets)
RPG-7 Launcher x3 (9 rockets)

I think that we can afford to give/loan at least two RPG-7 launchers with 2 or 3 rockets each to the IB.  That will leave us with a serious amount of AT capability surely?

Also who is competent at using AT weapons?  Is it Tactical Missile skill?  I'm 99% certain that Mitch is a total liability with an AT weapon!

Lastly I also think that we should give all the AT mines to the IB (this was mentioned but I don't think that it has been actioned).