Twilight: 2000

Twilight 2000

Roleplaying in the Devastation of World War III
Second edition rulebook from 1990
Designers	Frank Chadwick Dave Nilsen Loren K. Wiseman Lester W. Smith
Publishers	Game Designers' Workshop Free League Publishing
Publication	1984(1.0) 1990(2.0) 1993(2.2) 2008(Twilight: 2013) 2021 (4th edition)
Genres	Post apocalypticmilitary alternate history (4th edition)
Systems	percentile Year Zero Engine(4th edition)

Twilight: 2000is a 1984post-apocalypticmilitarytabletop role-playing gamepublished byGame Designers' Workshop(GDW).Set in the aftermath ofWorld War III(theTwilight War), the game operates on the premise that the United States/NATOand theSoviet Union/Warsaw Pacthave fought a lengthy conventional war followed by a limitednuclear warwith all its consequences. The player characters are survivors of said war.

Setting

Original setting and game history

Adventures inTwilight: 2000typically involve a military unit stranded in Central Europe several years intoWorld War IIIand emphasize realistic depictions of military and social systems after a nuclear war. The war, as it continues on from 1997, has aspects of thebroken-backed war theory,wherein a catastrophic nuclear exchange occurs between two belligerents and is then followed by a continuation of conventional war.

The game was first published in 1984 during theCold Warand was intended to be an accurate depiction of a possible future,but events in the world have rendered the premise of the game analternate history.

InTwilight: 2000's version of 1995, a series ofSino-Soviet border conflictsexpands into general war between the Soviet Union and China. The Sino-Soviet war rapidly escalates fromconventional warfareinto exchanges ofnuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.In 1996 a cabal of East German andWest Germanmilitary officers seek toreunifytheir country. Unified German forces stage a coup d'état against theGroup of Soviet Forces in Germany.The US and NATO allies initially attempt to stay out of the war, but are quickly drawn into the European conflict. France withdraws its troops from Germany and then withdraws entirely from NATO, declaring its neutrality in the conflict.

Between 1996 and 1997, a largelyconventional waris fought between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces throughout Europe. There are limited exchanges ofbattlefield nuclear weapons,and chemical and biological weapons. DuringThanksgivingof 1997, the Soviet Union launches a surprisefirst strikeagainst targets in the United States and Europe. The US and Great Britain launch retaliatory nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union. France, because of its neutrality, largely escapes direct damage.

In the aftermath of the nuclear exchanges, both blocs struggle to recover from the damage. The war continues, despite increasing shortages of men, equipment, and fuel. In the United States, there is a breach between the civilian government and theJoint Chiefs of Staff.An open rift develops between "Civgov" (the civilian government) and "Milgov" (the military government), which leads to alow-intensitycivil war.

By the summer of 2000, the Europeantheater of operationshas been fought to a near stalemate. In one final effort to break the deadlock and end the war, NATO forces plan a summer offensive across NorthernPolandand into theBaltics,but the offensive grounds to a halt in the face of a Warsaw Pact counterattack. Several divisions and corps on each side are virtually eliminated,supply linesare lost, high level command breaks down, and armies in the European theater losecohesionbeyond theplatoonunit. Some go "native" and integrate with the militias of independentfree cities,others turn into gangs of marauding bandits, and some small groups of surviving soldiers seek to find their way home.

Later history

To create 300 years of background history for their science-fiction RPG2300 AD,GDW staff members participated in an in-house simulation called "The Great Game", withFrank Chadwickas referee. Starting with the world situation in 2000 following the Twilight War, players controlled one or more countries and guided them through 300 years of development, including the discovery offaster-than-lightspace travel,colonizationof other Earthlike planets, and contact with a variety of sentient aliens. The staff member playing France,John Harshman,did exceptionally well, leading to France being the supreme superpower in 2300.

Revised setting

The Second Edition (published in 1990) and subsequent editions featured a reworked background intended to be an alternate history closer to 1990s real-world history. Version 2.2, GDW's final edition of the game, was published in 1993 and featured a background in which theKGB'sAlpha Groupobeys the coup leaders in theAugust 1991 Soviet coup attemptand storms theRussian White House,killingBoris Yeltsinand effectively preserving communist control. This also had the effect of future-proofing the game, as anything that happened in reality after 1991 could be ignored.

In 2017 and 2018, there were three new official modules forTwilight: 2000released online, including a source book for East Africa/Kenya, a new standalone adventure played during the same time as the "Going Home" module and a Korean source book. These three releases were all officially approved by Marc Miller, who is the current owner of theTwilight: 2000game, and were the first new releases for the 1st and 2nd edition since the mid-1990s.

Publication history

First and Second Editions

GDW extended the timeline ofTwilight: 2000to create the background history for the science fiction game2300 AD;by doing so, the depressing post-nuclear environment ofTwilight: 2000is mitigated by the outcome in which the Earth rebuilds itself and begins tocolonize space.

Far Future Enterprises has reprinted the first edition ofTwilight: 2000in hardcopy (paper) format, and both the first edition and version 2.2 are available in CD-ROM format. Versions 2.0 and 2.2, both using the system that became standard for GDW's games, are currently available in watermarked PDF format online (as are the first edition rules).

In 1990, realizing that the game's background was in danger of becoming obsolete, GDW publishedMerc 2000,an alternative campaign setting which revolves around mercenaries fighting brushfire wars in a time in which the Twilight War never occurred. AfterMerc 2000was released, many supplements and articles printed in GDW'sChallenge MagazinefeaturedTwilight: 2000with equipment and background conversions toMerc 2000or wereMerc 2000-only.

In 1991, GDW licenseesParagondeveloped theTwilight 2000computer game adaptation (complete with expansion, "the Colonel" ) depicting a squad of 20 soldiers stranded behind enemy lines in Poland, struggling against the despot Baron Czarny.

Supplements

GDW produced over 40 supplements forTwilight: 2000,including:

• The Black Madonna,1985
• The Free City of Krakow,1985
• Pirates of the Vistula,1985
• The Ruins of Warsaw,1985
• Armies of the Night,1986
• Going Home,1986
• RDF Sourcebook,1986
• Red Star, Lone Star,1986
• US Army Vehicle Guide,1986
• Airlords of the Ozarks,1987
• Allegheny Uprising,1987
• Gateway to the Spanish Main,1987
• King's Ransom,1987
• Soviet Army Vehicle Guide,1987
• Howling Wilderness,1988
• Kidnapped,1988
• The Last Submarine,1988
• Mediterranean Cruise,1988
• Satellite Down,1988
• Small Arms Guide,1988
• Urban Guerilla,1988
• The Bear's Den,1989
• Boomer,1989
• Heavy Weapons Guide,1989
• Return to Warsaw,1989
• NATO Vehicle Guide,1990
• Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom,1990
• Twilight Encounters,1990
• White Eagle,1990

Additionally,3Wproduced one supplement:

• City of Angels,1989

Third Edition (Twilight: 2013)

In 2006, 93 Games Studio announced that they had acquired the license to produce the officialTwilight 2000Version 3.0, and planned for a 2008 release with the titleTwilight: 2013.According to the developers, the timeline leading to the Twilight War was completely re-written, and no longer focused on a Cold War confrontation between NATO, the Soviet Union and China.

TheTwilight: 2013core rules were released on 8 November 2008 as a PDF.A print edition was also released. In December 2010, 93 Games Studio announced it was going out of business.

Fourth Edition

In 2020,Free League Publishingannounced they had received a licensed to publish a new edition of theTwilight: 2000setting.The game has a new ruleset based on theYear Zero Engine,and background where the Soviet Union survives the fall of theBerlin Walland battle in central Europe is joined in 1998. It was released in November 2021 under the nameTwilight: 2000 – Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was.It featured two settings: Poland and Sweden.

The first expansion to the game,Urban Operations,includes rules for play in urban environments and is loosely based on the classic moduleFree City of Krakowfrom the first edition ofTwilight: 2000.

Alternative settings

Merc 2000

WhereasTwilight: 2000was set in the immediate post-World War IIIera, with characters representing soldiers trying to survive, characters inMerc: 2000are mercenaries working for or against government forces in a world where the "Twilight War" involving nuclear weapons did not occur.

Merc: 2000must be used withTwilight 2000versions 2.0 through 2.2; the earlier first-editionTwilight: 2000rules differ too much to be easily usable without extensive adaptation.TheMerc: 2000rulebook details the game world, gives additional rules and equipment that will be more useful in mercenarycampaignsthan the original set of rules and equipment inTwilight: 2000.It also supplies some basicadventuresto play. GDW additionally published a number of separate adventures for use withMerc: 2000.Merc: 2000has a supplemental rulebook calledSpecial Forceswhich gives guidance for those wishing to play as members of a Special Forces unit. Additional equipment is described and there are more sample adventures.

In GDW's own gaming magazineChallenge,they close the gaps between the setting ofMerc: 2000and their future role-playing gameDark Conspiracy.Merc: 2000characters are confronted there with aliens as the world turns into the near-future setting of Dark Conspiracy.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

Cadillacs and Dinosaursused the second editionTwilight: 2000rules and was set inMark Schultz's underground comic book seriesXenozoic Tales.(ISBN1-55878-073-4)

Dark Conspiracy

Dark Conspiracyused the same set of rules to present a setting in which characters in a near future dystopia fought monsters which hunted human beings.

OPFOR Games

Characters inTwilight 2000games are typically representative of US and NATO military forces. Within the T2K gaming community, games that are centered on a group of Soviet/Warsaw Pact characters are referred to as "OPFOR games" foropposing force.There are no full OPFOR games as published adventures, but the concept is a popularPBEMscenario.

Awards

AtOrigins 1985,Twilight 2000was awarded the H.G. Wells Award for "Best Roleplaying Rules of 1984".

Reception

Rick SwanandGreg PorterreviewedTwilight: 2000inSpace GamerNo. 74.Swan commented that "Whether or notTwilight: 2000becomes a standard remains to be seen, but it certainly fills a niche and does so successfully; I hope it finds an audience with role-players and wargamers alike. As a design, it's nothing spectacular, but as a concept, it's an innovation. "Porter commented that "All told,Twilight: 2000is a tragic waste of [money]. The nice concept and character generation system are completely overrun by innumerable flaws and hopeless violations of the laws of physics. "

Swan gave another review of the game in his 1990 bookThe Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games,where he called it "a rare example of a game that's satisfying for both role-players and tactical wargamers." Swan thought the character generation system was "the game's weakest feature... the procedure takes forever, involving innumerable modifiers and convoluted formulas." But he found the combat system "exceptionally clean... a nice balance between realism and playability." Swan concluded by giving the game a solid rating of 3 out of 4, saying, "Twilight:2000is easily the best of the postapocalyptic RPGs. "

Chris Felton reviewedTwilight 2000for the UK games magazineImaginemagazine, and stated that "Overall, this is a good game, well worth clubbing together for if you belong to a group of experienced players who like free-running games and whose referee can run a scenario from minimal notes. If your referee has no experience of 'winging it' and needs all the details worked out in advance, this is not the game for you."

Marcus L. RowlandreviewedTwilight: 2000forWhite Dwarf#68, giving it an overall rating of 5 out of 10, and stated that "it's evident that this game has been written by and for Americans, with little or no understanding of European attitudes or desires."

The Games MachinereviewedTwilight: 2000and thought it was "Not a game to return to week after week maybe, but for a complete change of style it's well worth a play."

In a 1996 readers poll conducted by the UK games magazineArcaneto determine the top 50 role-playing games,Twilight 2000was ranked 35th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Pretty much all the previous 'post-apocalyptic' RPGs had been fairly fantastical, and had been set some time after the apocalypse.Twilight: 2000is realistic and set in the middle of the breakdown of European society. Involving, but not exactly cheerful. "

James Davis Nicoll in 2020 forBlack Gatesaid "T2000avoided Chadwickification — the tendency of any RPG Frank Chadwick had a hand in to slowly become a military RPG — by being one right from the get-to. It was pretty well supported by GDW. New editions appeared as various key elements of their future history were superseded. "

In a retrospective review ofTwilight: 2000inBlack Gate,Patrick Kanouse said "InTwilight: 2000,the characters can forge their own future, and to me, that is the magic of the game — its promise of hope in a gritty, dangerous, breaking and broken world. "

See also

• Twilight: 2000at BoardGameGeek
• List of stories set in a future now past

External links

• ReviewinGames