Module Suitability Review - RDF Sourcebook

Taken from Twilight: 2000 Wiki, IP is GDW/FFE

Ah, the RDF Sourcebook. To me, this ranks up there with the Black Madonna as one of the better written Twilight: 2000 modules out there. These 48 pages are just crammed with information on how to run a role-playing campaign in war-torn post-Twilight Iran.

And what a campaign it would be, because here, broken backed though it may be? There is still something resembling a war going on. Both sides may be depleted, down to almost nothing like in Europe, but they have something in Iran that they didn't have in Europe. Oil, and the means to refine it. And that alone has kept the war going, air strikes and all.

But how does it rank up as a basis for miniatures games?

Skirmish Games

For skirmish games, there is a lot of fodder, nothing specific, mind you, but there are some really good ideas in here, not to mention the mission generator alone is great for coming up with great ideas for pickup games. Some ideas I came up with just on a quick read through are:

• The Spetsnaz raids on American airfields in Saudi Arabia during the buildup in 1996.
• The confused fighting around Bandar-i-Khomeini and Khorrmanshahr in May 1997 between Soviet desantniki (104th Airborne Division) and American paratroopers and Rangers. (Disclaimer: Was actually working on this as a fan project called "Blood Upon the Risers".)
• The SEAL and Iranian Commando raids on the Soviet 105th Airborne Division in May 1997 around Bushehr and Ganaveh or the raids around Bandar Abbas against the Soviet 103rd Airborne Division.
• The Soviet Spetsnaz raid against US 3rd Army HQ on July 28th, 1997.
• The deep-penetration raids and patrols carried out across the Zagros mountains that occur from 1999 on.
• Anything generated from the mission generator on pages 31-32 is perfect, and with a little bit of thought and research, can be made into a really great skirmish scenario.

Larger Games

The beauty of the chronology in RDF Sourcebook is that is so detailed, it like, Escape From Kalisz, is a veritable gold mine for larger games. There is just so much to choose from, I am not 100% sure I can list it all here, but I am going to try, some of the ones that stand out to me are:

• The initial fighting between the Iranians and Soviets during the invasion of Iran in 1996, or the Soviet offensive in April, 1997.
• The American airborne landings at Bandar-i-Khomeini and Khorrmanshahr in May 1997.
• The American air assault landings by 101st Air Assault at Bushehr and Ganaveh in May 1997.
• The battle between 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry, and 217th Guards Airborne Regiment, supported by the Tudeh on May 16th, 1997. 
• The American Marine landing at Bandar Abbas in June 1997.
• The 1st Marine Division's defense of Yazd in August 1997 (this would make a great campaign).
• "Operation Pegasus II" in October 1997 (this would also make a great campaign).

All in all, with a little bit of research, RDF Sourcebook is extremely wargameable. It's up there with Escape from Kalisz and Ruins of Warsaw, in my opinion, and it takes very little work to get some great scenarios out of it.

One more little thought, a lot of figures got released to cover the recent unpleasantness, and some of the early war figures (2001-03) can be made to work for this area and period, so long as they don't have MOLLE, MICH helmets, or IBA, etc, but the figures are out there.

Next up, we'll be taking a look at Armies of the Night, or Twilight: 2000 does Manhattan!