I find it pretty easy to think of them this way,
Range Band 1: Touch
Range Band 2: Toss (25 feet, give or take)
Range Band 3: Throw (25 yards, give or take)
Range Band 4: Touchdown (100 yards)
Range Bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 are 2x, 4x, 8x and 16x Touchdown range.

Ok this is something that from starting to make characters came up. With the book it would be less of a issue but with the pdf...

a Compiled list of equipment and vehicles in a easy to print, print friendly PDF. Just the charts not the text talking about each item. That would be handy to have and print out a couple to hand out so players could go over the list and choose personal gear.

Will likely end up doing one on my own or just printing each page with a equipment chart on it.

how about a tick cost for basic actions, that might be helpful?

Our group is getting together this Sat to create characters so I will see how the whole thing comes together...



Giddoen

Hi
I bought the .pdf on rpgnow a few days ago (great work btw, certainly not an easy system, but looks to me as being very capable of handling the gritty realism that T2K is about), and what I would really like to see in your download-section is the index.
As I understand it made it into the printed version but was left out of the pdf to speed up publication, so any chance to make it available to those of us who did not get the printed edition?

Some general OOB's would be nice, not too detailed but some indication as to how strong militaries are in different parts of the world and how operational they are. Those players and GM's that want detailed OOBs have probably enough understanding of militaries as organizations that they can extrapolate from generalizations. And those players that are not that well educated in military matters don't care about such detailed information ("there's 10 tanks 25 clicks south-west from here and some thousand soldiers 40 clicks that other way" is enough strategic info for my players. Whether it's 35th this or 126th that is irrelevant).

I'm not sure if this is the right thread for the next suggestion, but here goes:

What would be really interesting are small booklets or pdf publications each detailing a single military unit or what's left of it. What's it's current operational status? How strong they are, what are their plans for the future (marauding bandits, defending the ruins of the home country, attacking what's left of the enemy...) how much and what kind of supplies they still have, what they need, have they something in excess, are they controlling / slaving some village or trying to help rebuild their own or someone else's country. Enough information to make those units personalized instead of just being some general "Nth mechanized battalion doing what mechanized battalions usually do". If the unit descriptions are general enough to be included to almost any part of the world, the better.

Why I'd like these is because my understanding of military units as organizations is quite limited. I know about soldier's personal gear enough and I know that armies have battalions and brigades and there are lots of people and equipment there. But how do units work at wartime, especially when resupply lines have dried? What kind of supplies and equipment (except weapons and ammo) they have and how they can use those to survive? What are their daily challenges? What are they willing to trade? What kind of persons there are to keep things under control? ("That private McKenzie is no use to us in battle, but when it comes to farming, he's a Major at least.")

IMHO when considering the needs of a gaming session, a single well detailed military unit provides much fun than the whole world's OOB. Also I have a hunch that most _players_ are really not that interested what units there are and where they are. They are more interested in the nearest military presence and whether it's leader is addicted to cigarettes or chocolate...

I've got to admit--- alot of stuff mentioned over the last year would be great. At a con I was at this last weekend, someone did have a chart detailing: tick chart for initiative, tick costs and pertinent rules for actions, basic flow diagrams for combat.

Most of the game mechanics (i.e. dice rolls were already intuitively known within a couple hours of gameplay). I would also probably put other important game effects on such a quick play aid, like: hunger, thirst, rads, and fatigue. I have always felt that these are important staples in the game, and players should be aware of them.

To Whoever Designs these-things

LOVED the concept of the Gm assistant! Just make a pure Twilight 2013 database with character sheets, one step pre-gen characters, character generation, an equipment and quick equipment guide.

On the Ref's side; Instant incounters, NPC's, maps, and a mapping feature or random mapping feature. Dice matrix. To-Hit matrix (By level, I, II, III)
Hummmmm....

Now theres a start!

I'd like to have a "fillable" NPC stat as well as NPC squad sheets. That way, I can fill them in, and save them for reuse later. I think a GM screen would be handy as well. I like the idea of a database where the GM can track player stats, bad guy stats, roll init, as well as handle opposed test between various skills.

Gunbunny

I fourth it

I would really love to see either a supplement with all of the charts from the book placed in a logical order. Or on an up coming print, put all of the charts in a logical sequence in the back of the book.

I fully understand why an official OOB would be a bad idea as the intention is to allow individual GMs to decide what units are where in the world and the moment you start dictating this you end up with conflicts.

However I think that a listing of the divisions that comprise individual countries armed forces would be very useful as it would clarify what units need to be accounted for by the GM when he/she is constructing the military situation in the region they are developing for their campaign.

At lot of this information is available on Wikipedia but pulling it all together in a central resource with peacetime unit strengths, role and equipment would be very helpful.

As far as unit location, just watch the news, they do a pretty good job telling where the major units are. Or you can make one up. I would like to see some sort of GM screen, hopefully one that is well designed without wasting space, like the D&D 3.5 one. A quick play guide for beginners would be nice too. Maybe a short list of nuke targets and yields that hit them. A rough world map, showing penetrations of military forces.
Here's a list of active divisions... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... vision.htm

Having madly flicked backwards and forwards through the rulebook several times while trying to run a combat I think that a pdf that summarised the combat rules would be a good idea.

For example the Visual Range penalties are on page 74 rather than in the combat rules section and so when (on page 143 as part of the Complications section) you need to know the range penalty for a particular shot you are referred to the relevant page number.

Now I've seen several fan produced pdf summaries that cover most of the combat rules so if there is one that you know covers everything then making that "official" or "recommended" in some way is all that is needed.

I've posted some summary pdfs myself (that someone else gave me - http://www.93gamesstudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2399) but I've noticed a couple of things missing from them (like changes in tick cost for firing at a closer than optimal range) so I wondered if there was an official set of pdf combat rules summaries or whether it was something that you could add to the development plan?

I have a map of the world.....actual size... cant figure out how to fold it!!!!

I'd like to see a well organized GM screen, should save a lot of page and chart hunting.

I agree with the developers - the whole point behind having a detailed yet vague setting was so that a GM could decide XX happened here and XX were involved and so on. Drawing up something that has XX unit based at XX location limits the GM's ability to develop his or her game, because sure as hell there'll be a player who says - BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT! THE BOOK SAYS THAT UNIT WAS 2000 MILES AWAY...OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO THAT..." and so on.

And before you say, oh well just ignore then - what's the point of producing it, if it's going to be ignored? The reason you have canon material is that it can't be ignored.

Now here's a barmy idea - if you want to get some data, locations, unit names, etc then there's this thing called the internet which has all sorts of crazy stuff on it...like this:

http://grognews.blogspot.com/2010/02/russian-58th-army-order-of-battle.html

I was also going to say that Teg's idea of loot tables would be great - it could either be like the old AD&D 1st Edition thing, where each situation or person has a "treasure type", i.e. A, B, C, D, etc.

Then there's a description of what each type contains, such as:

A contains:

1d6 Magazines/Clips for primary weapon
1d3 Magazines/Clips for secondary weapon
1d2 Grenades
% chance of medical item (or it could be a random/set number)
% chance of electronic item (as above)
and so on

You could also have lists that are specific to certain environments, buildings and/or vehicles (I can't remember [and my rulebook isn't to hand] whether the rules for using supplies in supply dependent actions already covers this or not...i.e. you dismantle a police station and get XX amounts of reusable iron bars, copper wiring, wooden beams, etc).

Just food for thought.

I know something along these lines would make both my prep and in game processes alot smoother.

I created a quick and dirty Random Objects Table based on 2d6 to come up with odd personal stuff on the fly. The objects were intended as "flavor" and were low- or no-weight items but would be valuable to some people.
Roll Result
1,1 EMT Shears
1,2 Penlight w/ batteries
1,3 Pre-war candy bar
1,4 1/2 full salt & pepper shaker
1,5 1/3 full bottle of hot sauce
1,6 Worn pre-war porno magazine
2,1 1/2 full disposable lighter
2,2 1/4 full bottle of gun oil
2,3 1/3 roll of duct tape
2,4 2 ballpoint pens
2,5 5 uses of toilet paper
2,6 Small marijuana joint
3,1 2 new spark plugs
3,2 3d10 empty 5.56N cartriges
3,3 Cable saw/garrote
3,4 12" cannon fuse
3,5 3 MRE instant coffee packs
3,6 7 sticks pre-war chewing gum
4,1 Refilable lighter, empty
4,2 Chrome whistle
4,3 1/2 full bottle of eye drops
4,4 Foam football
4,5 3 intact condoms
4,6 2d10 empty 9mm cartriges
5,1 4 fishhooks
5,2 Windup music box
5,3 Jeweler's eye loop
5,4 Box of chocolate cake mix
5,5 Dirty joke book
5,6 3 zip ties
6,1 Can of Dinky-Di dog food
6,2 Used space blanket
6,3 7 tablets, minor pain killer
6,4 4 pre-war cigarettes
6,5 1 can of pre-war Mt. Dew
6,6 Roll 2 more times

I've been running with a peice of A1 paper on the table in front of me and a rule that if i have to look anything up more than twice in any one session it's being copied down

So far, after three sessions, it has:
-Rangeband descriptors, distances, visual modifiers
-Visual modifiers for size + atmospheric conditions +movement
-hit location chart (people and vehicles)
-task check difficulty level modifiers (trivial +5.... impossible -5)
-modifiers for assistance on task checks
-threat conditions
-wound effects (for some reason, although the reference card from the pre-order bundle had these it missed out the generic effects for each level)
-encumbrance level descriptors/criteria/base initiative
-dummy's guide to first aid/stabilisation/resuscitation (i'm assuming trauma surgery will be rare enough that we can look it up in the book when we need to)
-Learning experience conditions
-What SPs can be spent on

This would be a good start towards the sort of info i'd like to see on a GM screen. Possibly stuff like hit location charts and what SPs can do could go on the outside for the players and other stuff like the quick and dirty squad table and the rules for activating contacts could be squeezed onto the GM's side.

Oh, and i know A1 is a lot bigger than any produced screen would be, but if it'a any help, i write big and there is still a fair amount of whitespace.

edit, actually, if it were 4-panel A4 size, printed both sides, that is the same as 1 side of A1.....

The spambots not having done any necromancy for a few days now, I decided to do some of that voodoo that I do, and summon up this old and useful thread, if only to give a few tips on what I do as GM in my T2K13 games for convenience's sake, and because I'm a little bored that the suppliers missed Red Dead Redemption's launch date, so the local shops don't get it until tomorrow.

*I used to have my own quick reference charts, until some better ones were made by members of this community, so we'll skip that.
*Poker chips are used for threat levels. Each player has two stacks, one representing his current CUF, and one right next to it representing threat conditions. At a glance, I can see who is about to shit their pants/run crying home to mummy (well, the characters at least, not the players themselves )
*Fog of war means the PCs roll for tasks or actions he can observe the results of. E.g. PC shoots someone through a tent, but can't see the effects, PC doesn't get to know the effects of the damage until he checks closer; PC kicks somebody in the nuts, he gets information regarding the damage. So if further investigation would be required to observe the effects of a rolled task or action, it's a hidden roll; If the PC can directly or through communication with a "forward observer" get immediate feedback on the results of his task or action, PC gets to roll. Schrödinger's cat, sort of.
*Survival points are represented by candy. You use it, you eat it. (We did try with cans of beer representing SPs one time for shits and giggles, but as usual, alcohol and rpg's didn't really work out great together. Of course, results and mileage may vary according to type of drug and amount consumed )
*Weapon cards. T2K has always been about teh gun pr0n, so each weapon the PCs have has its own card, with a nice photo of the weapon printed on it.
*Initiative. Back when we used to play Legend of the Five Rings RPG twice a week, the guy with the lowest initiative declared his action first, going upwards, with the highest initiative character declaring his actions last; being quicker than the rest, higher initiative characters can observe when and what slower characters are going to do, and adjust their own actions accordingly. This worked back then, and still works great with this system. I recommend testing it to see if it works for you.
*The Team. The Team as a metacharacter is one of the best concepts of this game. I find it up there with the Covenant of Ars Magica or the family tree of Pendragon; a brilliant metagame aspect. Try to emphasize the importance of the Team part of this game, and even experienced grumpy old roleplayers will be enthused by it as I am.
*Don't be afraid to kill your PCs. This game is supposed to be deadly. Survival Points are there to be eaten Always have a plan ready to kill every PC you meet in your games

That's it for now, hope somebody found anything useful, now it's time for some mexican food and "Once Upon A Time In The West" (C'era una volta il West)

A more concise timeline for new players would be helpful. Quick 1 page (front-and-back) handout of the biggest issues for players.

Yes, I'm suggesting it because my own attempt has fallen fat (not flat).

Day 1: People got mad.

Day 2: Bad things happened.

Day 3: Big bombs blew up.

Day 4: Almost everyone got dead.

Day 5: Survivors started roaming.

Day 6: Good guys were rolled up by the players.

Day 7: Keith and Clayton went on vacation.

Something like that, you mean?

That's the idea!

Beyond my own experiences, I've been reading gaming blogs lately as I've been flattered into running a fantasy tabletop, and ran across an article on random chargen. Stay with me; in the comments section, one of the regulars posted: "It’s also the perfect mechanic for GMs to introduce gaming to new recruits – rather than dumping a massive tome in front of them, saying “So, what sort of character do you want to play” and seeing their heads explode Scanner-style from the infodump overload."

That's pretty much the reaction I've gotten when I gave anyone a T2k timeline (except when I was in High School), and when I bought an online friend a copy for fun.

Hi,

I've done a player aid chart. It's two sided with tactical and operational actions on one side and combat modifiers on the other. It's not particaularly fancy, but I'm not that well versed with fiddling around with documents to make them look nice. I have tried to lay eveything in a logical, though not necessarily alphabetical, order. I have tried to think of the actions players want to know how to do first such as shooting and reloading before activating equipment etc. On the combat mods side I have tried to tie in all the mods from the various sections so they are in one place.

This is a bit of a rough draft and I could annotate it the page numbers so players know where to find the infomation etc on a later version. Let me know what you think and if I've made any glaring errors.

The link is here for the file http://www.datafilehost.com/download-24acff5e.html

Cheers,

Paddy

Based on neal5X5's list, I made my own list of small random items ( that can be carried in one hand or a pocket. Some are more useful as luxuries or comfort items (such as toys) but would be worth picking up.

One Hundred Useful Things

01 package of alcohol-based wet wipes (20 wipes)
02 water bottle (half full)
03 bar of soap
04 roll of duct tape
05 ballpoint pen
06 jeweler’s screwdriver
07 empty mason jar
08 can of tuna
09 oatmeal (5 servings)
10 zip ties (5)
11 pre-war candy bar
12 disposable lighter
13 box of chocolate cake mix
14 prescription pain killer (5 tablets )
15 toilet paper (10 uses)
16 fishhook
17 roll of fishing line
18 travel bottle of shampoo (2 uses)
20 small funnel
21 tube of superglue
22 vinyl shower curtain
23 football inflating needle
24 pillow
25 set of colored pencils
26 wash cloth
27 permanent marker
28 travel bottle of shampoo (3 uses)
29 box of powdered milk (makes 8 liters)
30 can of instant energy drink mix (makes 8 liters)
31 protein breakfast drink mix (1 package)
32 large sponge
33 one-gallon ziplock storage bags (4 bags)
34 roll of 6 garbage bags
35 box of 12 ziplock sandwich bags
36 digital watch with chonometer, alarm, and 5-year battery
37 plush toy animal
38 roll of paper towels
39 pocket pack of kleenex
40 lens cleaning cloths
41 alcohol-based sanitary wipes
42 towel
43 roll of 1d6 garbage bags
44 box of 2d6 gallon ziplock storage backs
45 kitchen sponge
46 leather work gloves
47 pocketknife
48 cold medicine (3 tablets)
49 flu medicine (1 dose)
50 die-cast toy car
51 tubes of epoxy (10 uses)
52 safety goggles
53 spool of kite string (30m)
54 pocket sewing kit (needles, thread, replacement buttons)
55 pre-war chewing gum (7 sticks)
56 surgical gloves (3 pairs)
57 cough drops (8 drops)
58 dry socks (1 pair)
59 jeweler’s saw
60 paperback novel
61 bag of Oreo cookies
62 deck of playing cards
63 new spark plugs (2)
64 eyeglass repair kit
65 flashlight batteries (4)
66 penlight with batteries
67 Package of dust maks (5)
68 unopened box of lego bricks
69 salt shaker
70 band-aids (3)
71 bouncy rubber ball
72 insect repellant spray
73 fingernail clippers
74 needle-nose pliers with wire cutters
75 snap-off utility knife
76 small pair of scissors
77 deodorant
78 toothbrush
79 travel tube of toothpaste (7 days)
80 cotton balls
81 cotton swabs
82 bottle of rubbing alcohol
83 hot pad
84 spoon
85 eyedropper
86 disposable syringe and needle
87 mechanical pencil
88 pocket notebook
89 chemical glow stick
90 pair of dice
91 ziplock bag with 4 chalk pieces
92 scriptures (GM’s choice of religion)
93 denim cloth (1 square meter)
94 surgical tubing (3 meter length)
95 tube of camoflage face paint
96 tweezers
97 bottle of white correction fluid
98 package of 3 disposable razors
99 bottle of necessary prescription medicine
00 exact thing the character needs right now