The Night Witches - WWII pilotÂ’s story
Engels Aerodrome, Saratov Oblast, Russia
Sunday 23:00 Feb-8-1942
The Deputy Commissar of the Regiment, Junior Lieutenant of State Security Kseniya Gavrilova, addresses the motley lot of you, kitted out in new uniforms after your basic and pilot/navigator training. Your duffel bags behind each of you, you stand at attention in two thin lines in a concrete bunker lit by one harsh bulb. The winter wind twists it’s cold fingers under the door, and ruffles the winter skirt of the enlisted yefreytor there with a clipoard.
The heels of Gavrilova’s spit-shined boots click-click-click on the cement floor as she paces.
She pauses and turns to face you: speaking with revolutionary zeal, and too loudly for this small room; she's clearly a hard-ass.
“You are now Soviet Airwomen of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the 4th Air Army of the Southwestern Front.
Your mission is to harass the German army, which has invaded our country and murdered our people! We are now in a war that is brutal and horrific - a war that we can only win! Failure is unthinkable! We will fly the People's biplanes and drop the People's bombs on the Germans!"
"Things are critical. It will be incredibly dangerous. We will fly in darkness, in open cockpit, with no parachute, sometimes a dozen missions each night. The Soviet Army" she says with a smirk and a more conspiratorial tone "wishes perhaps that we didn’t exist and nobody expects us to succeed."
And then back to her too-loud voice, practically a cheer "We are going to succeed anyway!”
You will be playing Soviet women in the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment - the famous ‘Night Witches’ during World War Two.
You will be pilots and navigators.
You will be heroes.
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You don't need a rulebook. The system is quite simple.
The quickness of character creation is surprising. Tasks are a 2d6, and there aren't that many tasks.
If you're unsure about playing Soviets, here are a few concept examples: Bright eyed Academy Graduate, Transferee from another Regiment, Drafted Criminal, Duel Citizen returned from Abroad, Angry Soviet Pilot Gal.
It's a role playing game, and quite unlike the majority. It's you writing some bullet points, answering some questions, and moving on to the next element.
If you're ok with a hard timeline (you're not changing WWII, you're partcipating in it).
If you don't mind a loose end
If you want to post for multiple NPCs without waiting for the GM to take the reins
If you want combats resolved in 3-5 rolls total
If you want to play an actual situation, not a fantasy
Then Night Witches are worth a look.
This message was last edited by the user at 02:02, Sun 15 Dec 2019.