CREDITSDesign: Loren K. WisemanArt Direction: Amy DoubetCover Art: Bob LarkenInterior Art: Tim Bradstreet and Grant GoleashGraphic Design and Production: Kirk WescomCover Design: Steve BryantText Manager: Michelle SturgeonText Processing: Julia Martin and Elizabeth Meier

Merc: 2000Copyright©1990 GDW, Inc.Made in USA. Printed in USA. All rights reserved.ISBN 1-55878-072-6.Merc: 2000 is GDW's trademark for its roleplaying game of modern soldiers of fortune.Twilight: 2000 is GDW's trademark for its roleplaying game of World War III.

S I N C E 1 9 7 3

P.O. Box 1646Bloomington, IL 61702-1646

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction 4Chronology 61989 61990 61991 71992 71993 81994 81995 91996 91997 101998 101999. 102000 11State of the World: 1 July 2000 11Character Generation 12Overview 12Contacts 12Welcome to the Life 12Rads 12Equipment 12New Military Occupation 13Mercenary Terms and Expressions 13Equipment List 14Explosives 14Body Armor 14Electronics 14Signal Gear 15Miscellaneous Equipment 16New Ammunition 1840mm Stun Grenade Chart 18Weapon Cards 19

S&W Model 0 (Mk-22) 19Stun Gun 19Tranquilizer Gun 19

Vehicle Cards 20Commando Scout 20Commando V-150 21Commando V-300 TUA 22Commando V-300 CS 23Commando V-300 APC 24EE-3 Jararaca 25EE-9 Cascavel 26EE-11 Urutu 27Ferret 28HWK II 29LWB Land Rover 30M20 31M24Chaffee 32M41 33OTO-Melara 6614 34OTO-Melara 6616 35Panhard AML 36Panhard M3 37

Panhard VCR 38RAM V-1 39RBY Mk1 40TAM/TH-301 41Truck, 1-Ton 42Type 62 43VBC-90 44Vickers Valiant 45

The Referee 46Scenarios 46

Teams 46Patrons 46Mission Generation 46Opposition 48Retrieval 48Rewards 48

Lifestyle 48Travel and Transportation 48

Air Travel 49Overland Travel 49Water Travel 49

Campaigns 49Stock NPCs 50

Local Recruit NPC 50Maniac NPC 50Company Man NPC 50Freedom Fighter/Terrorist NPC 50Ice Man NPC 51Quiet One NPC 51Enthusiastic Newbie NPC 51Loudmouth NPC 51

Patrons 52Meeting Patrons 52Organizations 52The World of 2000 54World Space Programs 54US Armed Forces 54Crime 55The Hiring Hall 56North America 56

North America Map 58The Pacific 56

The Pacific Map 57Central America 57

Central America and the Caribbean Map ....56South America 58

South America Map 59Europe 60

Western Europe Map 60Eastern Europe Map 61

Middle East/Near East 62Near East Map 62Middle East Map 63

Central Asia 64

Central Asia Map 64Indian Subcontinent and Indian Ocean 64

Indian Subcontinent Map 65East Asia 66

East Asia Map .66Southeast Asia 67

Southeast Asia Map 67Africa 68

Northern Africa Map 68Southern Africa Map 69

Time, Travel and Encounters 70Encounters 70Group Encounters 70Animals 71Item Encounters and Settlements 71Generic Locales 71

Perimeter Checkpoint Map 71Underground Bunker Map 72Weapon Pits Map 72Officers' Quarters Map 73Headquarters Building Map 74Barracks Map 75Mansion Map 76Sheds, Huts and Hovels Diagram 78Prison Camp Map 80Remote Estate Map 82

New Combat Rules 84Parachute Deviation Diagram 84Commands Diagram 84Parachute Landings 84Silence/Noise 84Sleeping Garrisons 84Guard Dogs 85Weather (Optional) 85Critical Hit/Quick Kill (New Rule) 85Noise Chart 85The Opposition 86USSR 86United States 86France 87United Kingdom 87China 87Industrial Security Forces 87Border Patrols/Paramilitary Police Forces ..87Criminal Cartels 87Elite Forces 87Sample Missions 88Sample Campaigns 100Price List 108Appendix 115Tactical Grid (Blank) 115Air Distances Chart 116Designer's Notes 118Index to Merc: 2000 119

MERC: 2000It's the jazz. We do it for

the jazz.B. A. Baracus

For as long as there have been wars,there have been mercenaries. At one time,a mercenary was a soldier who fought forpay (as opposed to his conscripted coun-terpart, who often received nothing otherthan food and whatever he could loot).Indeed, the word soldier itself comes fromthe word solidus, a type of Byzantine coin.

Later, as the notion of salaries for sol-diers became more common, the termmercenary came to be applied to a soldierwho had no fixed allegiance to a particularside. The Fabian maneuvering and pro-crastinations of the condottiere during theItalian renaissance gave mercenaries abadname, which was reinforced by the writingsof the Italian statesman and author, NiccoloMachiavelli.

Until that time, it was often mercenarieswho were the most valuable troops, asdemonstrated by the famed Balearic slingersand Cretan archers, the Varangian Guards-men of the Byzantine Empire, and the Swiss(probably the most famous mercenaries inthe world, since they still serve as thebodyguard to the Pope).

Mercenary acquired a connotation of in-cipient disloyalty, of the willingness to sell-out to the highest bidder in the midst of aconflict.

For whatever reason, with the rise of thenation-states in the 17th and 18th centu-ries, use of mercenaries dropped in favor ofnational standing armies, but did not vanishaltogether. The British hired Hessians forservice in the American Revolution, whilethe Americans had to make do with indi-viduals (like Major General F. A. von Steubenof Prussia).

Mercenaries from France, England, andGermany served in the Greek War of Inde-pendence in the 19th century (calling them-selves Philhellenes, or "lovers of Greece,"

this group included Lord Byron, the Englishpoet). Americans served in the AbrahamLincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.American pilots served with the French inWWI (the famed Lafayette Escadrille), andwith the RAF in WWII (in both cases beforeAmericanentry into those wars). After WWII,a large number of Germans entered servicein the French Foreign Legion, fighting inAlgeria and Indochina.

Whenever a war ends, some excesssoldiers, for whatever reason, choose tocontinue to follow a profession at arms.Some simply do not fit into civilian life. Somehave nothing to go back to. Some are a littlein love with death or addicted to danger, andstock car racing seems to pale by com-parison to war. Loyal only to their leaders,and with no stake in the final outcome(except their lives), men like Xenophon'shoplites, Hawkwood's White Company, andtheir modern emulators continue to fight(and to die) for someone else's cause.

Four things greater thanall things are,

Women and horses andpower and war.

Rudyard Kipling

Merc: 2000 is an alternate backgroundand world situation for use with Twilight:2000, GDW's roleplaying game of survivalin a devastated world. The world repre-sented by Merc: 2000 is a different one fromthat in Twilight, mainly in that a nuclearholocaust did not destroy civilization.

It is not a happy world, however.The world of Merc: 2000 is a world of

graphic contrasts. In some places, life ispeaceful, productive, and quiet. In others, itis nasty, brutish, and short.

The gap between the haves and thehave-nots has widened to a gulf, with therich nations of the world struggling to keeptheir standard of living and the poor ones

struggling to stay intact and alive.The major divisions of the world since

1945 have broken down. The division intothe Eastern Bloc, the Western Bloc, and thenonaligned or Third World countries is nolonger valid. The NATO alliance is gone, asis the Warsaw Pact, the OAS, and the EEC.Multinational corporations have taken overmuch of the economic coordination thatwas the venue of organizations such as theWorld Bank and OPEC. The one majoreconomic activity that has not yet beentaken over by the corporations is that ofmercenary.

In the absence of the global cops to keepthings calm, every simmering border dis-pute, every ethnic complaint, every histori-cal economic or political grudge (real orcreated) might boil over into war. As ithappened, the reductions in force takingplace in the world's armies due to the eco-nomic crisis have dumped large numbersof fighters onto the world job market atabout the same time.

The question of whether excess soldiersbring about war or war causes surplussoldiers is one historians will debate fordecades.

It is evident enough for most, however,that the world has avoided agreat war at thecost of having to fight a hundred little ones.

Merc: 2000 is a game of daring nightraids on enemy camps, audacious hostagerescues, and tense industrial sabotagemissions in exotic foreign locales—rangingfrom the mountains of Borneo to the sub-urbs of Chicago.

Using GDW's award-winning Twilight:2000 rules as a base, Merc: 2000 enablesplayers and referees to conduct adven-tures in this world of almost perpetual, low-key conflict.

Merc: 2000 includes a new chronology ofthe events of the decade between 1990 and2000, new rules, new equipment, new ve-hicles, new weapons, and a new career path(counterterrorist). Merc: 2000 contains ready-to-play scenarios and suggestions for scenariocreation and campaign organization.

Everything is fully compatible with theTwilight: 2000 rules system, and charac-ters can even be used interchangeably ifdesired.

All warfare is deception.Sun Tzu

CHRONOLOGYWhat follows is a rough outline of major

world events from 1989 to 2000, concentrat-ing on those felt to be of the greatest interest.

1989The year the Cold War ends. Across Eu-

rope, communist governments topple in re-sponse to pro-democracy demonstrations or,in the case of Romania, armed insurrection.Voting with their feet, East German citizensflood to the west. In Poland, German ethnicorganizations form in response to WestGermany's policy of accepting as a Germancitizen anyone who can prove himself ofGermanic descent (it is rumored that mem-bership in ethnic clubs is good enough).

The Soviet Union's new policy of encour-aging political pluralism in Europe makes theend of bureaucratic communism certain. MaoTse-tung's forgotten maxim, "Let 10,000 flow-ers bloom," becomes reality as dozens of newparties spring into being. The only Europeancommunist governments which survive therevolution of 1989 are those outside theWarsaw Pact—Yugoslavia and Albania. TheBerlin wall is torn down in spots, and Germanreunification is spoken of openly: The ques-tion is no longer "if," but rather, "when?"

Riots in the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan(over alleged repression of Armenians) re-quire intervention by Soviet troops. The re-public remains a powder keg for months.

Elsewhere, the Chinese political reformmovement is brutally crushed by governmentmilitary forces. An attempted coup againstPresident Aquino of the Philippines is foiled(with the help of American air cover), and therepublic of Panama is invaded by the US toremove the government of Manuel Noriega.

The American economy began to show signsof slowing several years ago, despite the bestefforts of the Reagan administration. Some por-tions remain strong, but excessive governmentspending is beginning to take atoll.

1990In a major upset for political pundits in the

US, a coalition of opposition parties headedby Violetta Chomoro defeats Daniel Ortega'sbid for reelection in Nicaragua. Despite someearly problems, Chomoro's government fi-nally settles into a period of relative stability.

In Europe, the long-awaited (and long-

feared, in some circles) unification of Ger-many is finally accomplished, although not assmoothly as some people thought.

The four-power conf rences (representingthe US, UK, USSR, and France) that recog-nize the inevitable unification of Germanyalso guarantee Poland's territorial integrity. Asa part of the agreement, NATO and WarsawPact troops will maintain a presence in thenewly unified republic (the only way someEuropean nations will agree to the deed). FewoutsideGermany note the distinction betweenthe word unification (which to Germans meansunity of the post-WWII BundesrepublikDeutschland'and the Deutsche DemokratischeRepublik) and reunification (which to Ger-mans means reacquisition of the prewar terri-tories—including parts of modern Poland). Itis a distinction of tremendous significance.

Unification of the currencies occurs in July,almost without incident, producing a curiousanomaly. Soviet forces in Germany receivedpart of their wages in Ostmarks (the EastGerman currency). When the Ostmark ceasedto exist, the Soviets continued to be paid bythe East German government, but in WestGerman Marks—a hard and easily spendablecurrency. Duty in Germany suddenly becamea highly valuable perk in the Soviet Army(amusingly enough, this was about the sametime that members of some groups refused toenlist unless it was specified that they wouldnot have to serve outside their own republic).

Once the principle of unification is agreedupon and all external hindrances are dealt with,internal problems surface. The East Germangovernment demands a constitutional reforma-tion of the east into its constituent states, whichwill then vote for entry into the new Bundes-republik—thus giving East German politicos aconstituency to run for. East German businessheavily resents theconcept of sudden, unhinderedcompetition with western businesses—as oneobserver put it, "Everyone figures they'll be drivenout of business, and end up either unemployed orworking for fat West Germans who will move inand take over everything at bargain basementprices."

West German economic officials resent allthe investment capital required to bring theeast up to western standards of living. West-ern workers resent the prospect of hordes oflaborers used to starvation wages entering

the job market. As for politics, the same ob-server notes 'The ruling party wants to doreunification now to claim it as a success inthe next elections. The opposition wants toput it off for awhile, since the east's economyis obviously going to collapse and cause asmall recession in the west as well. Then theycan run as the only ones capable of puttingeverything back together again."

Nonetheless, unification is a done deal inOctober, and the newly united Bundesrepublikopts for continued membership in NATO, butat a greatly reduced level of commitment. Itrenounces any territorial claims outside itspost-WWII boundaries, but asserts its interestin the welfare of ethnicGermans living outsideof Germany. Membership in German ethnicorganizations in western Poland grows, par-ticularly in Silesia, where the floundering ef-forts of the new (and noncommunist) Polishgovernment to convert from a controlled to afree economy result in only partial success.

Elsewhere in Europe, increasing demands forreform in Albania are met by measures that aredescribed as unbelievably brutal by the fewoutside observers present. An Australian maga-zine camera crew captures scenes of a massa-cre of rioting farmers outside Shkoder, which arelater denounced as "computer-enhanced fabri-cations" by the Albanian government.

Spring elections in the Soviet republics ofByelorussia, the Ukraine, and the RSFSR dis-solve some of Gorbachev's problems and createothers. The election of Boris Yeltsin to the positionof president of the RSFSR (the USSR's largestcomponent republic) brings Gorbachev's great-est critic into a major position of power.

Before, during, and after these elections,ethnic unrest simmers in Azerbaijan andspreads to the minority republics of Taijikstan,Georgia, and Kazakhstan, mostly in the formof ethnic demonstrations and occasional ri-ots. Gorbachev's demand that local armedforces disarm is largely ignored, and low-levelarmed violence spreads throughout theMoslem parts of the Caucasus and CentralAsia, although Armenia remains strangelyquiet. Most of this fails to come to the attentionof the rest of the world, which is distracted byevents in Germany and in the Middle East.

By the end of the year, Soviet troops beginto withdraw from Czechoslovakia, but thegovernments of Poland and Hungary (con-cerned over the specter of a unified Ger-many) request continued Soviet troop pres-ence. The Soviet military begins to reorganizealong defensive lines, with greater attentionto internal security.

In the US, exposes of massive financiallosses in the savings and loan industry as aresult of federal deregulation policies begin to

undermine popular confidence in the admin-istration, especially its lower level officials.

In the Middle East, tensions increase be-tween Iraq and Kuwait throughout June andJuly, culminating in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwaiton 2 August. American land and naval forces,in conjunction with those of several othernations, speed to the area, and the UN (in aremarkably swift debate) votes to censureIraq and declares a blockade of Iraqi products.This causes an immediate rise in oil prices,and the oil market is skittish for the next fewmonths. The blockade is not complete at first,but by mid-September is tightly in place. Inspite of these measures, Saddam Husseinrefuses to yield to diplomatic overtures, andthe stage is set for the Second Persian GulfWar (1990-1991).

In the Caribbean, the Soviets announcethat they can no longer subsidize the ineffi-cient Cuban economy and that all aid will behalted within a year.

In North Korea, increasing numbers ofKoreans take to the streets with demands forSoviet-style reform and German-style reunifi-cation with the south. The government reactswith token reform measures which promisemuch but achieve little. Finally, in November,the member nations of the Warsaw Pact for-mally dissolve that organization.

1991With the rise in oil prices that attends events in

the Middle East, many oil-rich, but heavily indebted,countries decide to invest in expensive drillingequipment with an eye towards increased pro-duction. Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, and oth-ers submerge themselves deeper in debt (manywere already on the brink of insolvency) in hopesof cashing in on the oil revenues inherent incontinuing oil market unrest. A brief (but signifi-cant) expansion in the American oil industrytemporarily rejuvenates the economies of the oilbelt states in the United States. A shaky stockmarket keeps most Americans from feeling thebenefits of this rejuvenation, however.

Ethnic and religious violence in the CentralAsian republics of the Soviet Union escalates,and the Soviet Union increases its troop with-drawal schedule in order to use the forcesinside its own borders.

Having reunified, Germany now turns its at-tentions to bringing the eastern portion of thecountry up to the standard of living of the West.The Bundeswehr is radically reduced in size, andby year's end, Germany places increasing pres-sure on NATO to reduce troops in proportion tothe Soviet withdrawal. Germany also pledges tostation troops only in the western part of itsterritory in return for a complete Soviet trooppullout from eastern Germany.

Hungary protests that the Romanian gov-ernment is withholding medical relief of theAIDS epidemic (a legacy of the Ceausescuregime's deranged medical policies) fromMagyar (ethnic Hungarian) sections of Tran-sylvania; Bucharest denies the charge. Frenchmedical investigators accuse the Romaniangovernment of concealing the severity of theAIDS infestation in rural areas, but find noevidence of ethnic prejudice. "It's not a matterof bigotry," remarks a young French medicalstudent returning from a six-month stay inRomania. "It is purely incompetence."

A wave of Slavic natbnalism in Bulgariaprompts anti-Turkish riots. Many ethnic Turks arekilled, resulting in increased friction with Turkey.German ethnicg roups demonstrate in Pomeraniaand Silesia, protesting their alleged mistreatmentby the Polish government.

Americans continue to be scandalized at theextent of Japanese and South Korean ownershipof property (even though it is still only a smallportion of total foreign ownership) and at theincreasing wave of urban violence caused by theexplosion of crank (smokable methamphetamine)into the heavily populated urban centers of theEast and Midwest. The increase in antisocial,extremely violent psychotic episodes in crankusers turn the inner cities of the American "RustBelt" into war zones. Accusations of a racialmotivation for the current inner city conditionsappear increasingly in minority publications andspeeches.

The Second Persian Gulf War ends with thedefeat of the Iraqi Army in a costly ground cam-paign. Saddam Hussein is removed, and a moremoderate leadertakesover. Kuwait is returned toits former rulers. The economy of both countriesis wrecked by the war, and both begin massivepumping to generate revenue. The effect on oilprices is an immediate and long-term drop. Mostof the allies withdraw their forces, but the XVIIIthUS Corps (consisting of the 24th MechanizedInfantry, 1 st Cavalry, and 7th Marine ExpeditionaryBrigade) remains in the region.

As the oil market bottoms out, oil-produc-ing countries begin to default on their loans tointernational banks. Because of this and in-creasing stress brought on by a recessionaryspiral in the US and European economies,these banks begin to fail, one by one.

With the cut-off of Soviet funding, Cubabegins to withdraw troops from their foreignstations in nations like Angola. Cutbacks inmilitary forces produce a pool of experiencedfighters who have little prospect for employ-ment at home—a potentially dangerous situ-ation in the best of economies.

North and South Koreaf inally achieve a reuni-fication, and the last of the fragmented nations ofthe Cold War become one government again.

1992In March, NATO and German foreign min-

isters agree to the Rhineland Compromise,providing for token NATO forces to remain inthe Rhineland for a period of five years. Thisforce will consist of one British division, oneFrench division, two US divisions, and a bri-gade each from Belgium and the Netherlands.NATO's presence in Europe is reduced to fivecorps (one each British, French, and Benelux,two American) in three armies (US 7th, BritishRhine, and French 1st). As a result of thisreduced commitment, both the US and GreatBritain begin slight reductions in force foreconomic reasons.

A civil war in Albania results in the fall of thecommunist government and its replacementwith a caretaker military regime (which somecall a junta). Albanian nationalists demon-strate throughout southern Yugoslavia, whileCroatian and Slovenian nationalists demon-strate in other parts of the country. The Yugo-slavian government response is careful andlow-key, but firm.

Because the German economy is the onlything holding the EEC's head above water, atthe request of the German government, theEuropean parliament puts the universal Euro-pean currency and other similar economicreform proposals on temporary hold. "Europe'92" is stillborn, to the relief of conservatives inBritain and the United States.

After early successes in holding down theCentral Asian unrest, the Soviets suffer sev-eral major setbacks and lose control of largeparts of Central Asia. Gorbachev accusesIran of supplying arms to rebels in CentralAsia and Caucasus. Bloody fighting contin-ues, with Islamic fundamentalist insurgentsgrowing in strength. Late in the year, someWestern observers begin to use the term "civilwar" in referring to the Central Asian unrest.

In the Philippines, President Aquino is re-elected by a narrow margin. In the United States,President Bush is reelected to a second term.

The danger of the imminent collapse of theinternational banking system is finally drivenhome when the IMF announces that withoutmajor financial assistance it will go bankrupt.A financial package put together by Japan,the United States, and Germany temporarilystaves off disaster, but the global economy isstill entering a recessionary spiral, forcingmany governments to take belt-tighteningmeasures. The first of these is a reduction ofBritish overseas military commitments, par-ticularly in Cyprus and Belize.

In Cuba, Fidel Castro dies and is replaced byPablo Quinonez Belloso. Socialism in Cuba (in aprocess of change since the cutoff of Sovietf undsthe year before) ceases to exist in its old form.

1993In his inaugural address, President Bush sets

the twin national priorities of rebuilding America'sdeteriorating infrastructure and 'breaking thedouble grip of crank and crime that have madethe nation's largest cities all but uninhabitable."Reductions in the defense budget made possibleby the reduced American military presence inEurope are to fund a national reconstructionprogram and support large increases in lawenforcement and antidrug education.

None of these measures have any real effect.(By year's end, the DEA will announce a 250%increase in drug seizures, both from smugglingand domestic crank factories. This will representonly 4% of the total estimated illegal drug con-sumption for the year.)

Bush is more successful on the internationalscene, using international events to distract at-tention from domestic problems in time-honoredfashion. By year's end, he negotiates a withdrawalof Turkish troops from Cyprus and a reunificationof the island republic, for which he will receive aNobel Prize nomination.

Fighting in Central Asia continues for most ofthe year, but the Soviet military gradually beginsto gain the upper hand and regains control ofmost of the cities of the region. A guerrilla warcontinues in the countryside, and many veteransof the fighting inAfghanistan a decade before findthemselves fighting a very similar campaign. Ascasualties mount, civilian pressure to end the wargrows, until finally, in November of 1993, MikhailGorbachev is forced out of office.

Theglue that heldthe fragile coalition togetherbegins to soften, then suddenly dissolves com-pletely. Boris Yeltsin (Gorbachev's chief critic andpresident of the RSFSR) proposes a loose eco-nomic association betweenthe various republics,with the Russian Republic included but not pre-dominant (although it does retain control of theICBMs). Local autonomy becomes the new mottoof the new coalition, and Yeltsin becomes themost powerful man in a much-weakened USSR.Troops are withdrawn from the Central Asianrepublics, and they are allowed to go their ownway. Within months, all but the republics ofTurkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kirghizia electedto remain loosely associated with the USSR. Therepublics of Azerbaijan and Armenia remain attoggerheadsovertheirmutualborderand continueto dream of union with ethnics outside their ownborders (in Turkey and Iran), but neither republicis in any condition to mount a full-fledged war.

In China, underground pro-democracy orga-nizations, with encouragement and financial aidfrom relatives in other countries, begin demon-strating in many of China's larger cities. Whilethese demonstrations remain relatively peacefulfor awhile, they soon erupt into violence, forcingmilitary intervention. Better prepared than the

students of 1989, the pro-democracy factions ofthe northeast hold out for months before themilitary manages to restore order.

Elsewhere, things settle down more quickly.Some regional military commanders, increas-ingly mistrustful of the ability of the local govern-ment to maintain order, begin taking matters intotheir own hands, seizing direct control of localgovernment and imprisoning government officials.

Within ayear, most of China is effectively ruledby military commanders, modern versions ofChina's traditional warlords. Central governmenteffectively ceases to exist, and the Soviet Union'sborder problems vanish as the border lordsconclude separate agreements with the newSoviet Union. Those in the strongest positionsare the ones who have possession of ICBMs.

The British declare that the treaty requiringthem to leave Hong Kong is now voided, buteconomic pressures force the withdrawal of thenon-Asian parts of the garrison. The Gurkha unitsin Hong Kong are turned over to local governmentcontrol. Training cadres of British troops beginforming a local defense force.

By the end of the year, low-key demonstra-tions by Albanians, Macedonians,and other ethnicgroups continue in Yugoslavia, some becomingmore violent. The Yugoslavian government ac-cuses the Albanian junta of supplying weapons todissident Albanians within the Yugoslavianprovinces of Kosovo and Macedonia. The Alba-nians deny the charges but admit that Albaniansmight beentering Yugoslavia without governmentsanction.

1994In Romania, antigovernment demonstra-

tions by Magyars (ethnic Hungarians) in sev-eral Transylvanian cities are suppressed byRomanian riot control police, with some lossof life. The Hungarian government again pro-tests the mistreatment of these people at thehands of what the Magyars claim is an in-creasingly genocidal government.

On 14 June, Romanian police shoot andkill a man crossing the border to the Roma-nian town of Satu Mare, and the Hungariangovernment suspends diplomatic relations.The Romanians claim he was a smuggler,bringing arms to antigovernment forces. Threedays later, Hungarian army spies or Roma-nian government provocateurs (dependingon which side you believe) blow up a Roma-nian railway station in Cluj.

The Romanians conduct mass arrests ofMagyars throughout Romania. Police sweepsare met with armed resistance. Romaniantroops move north, and Hungary declareswar.

Sweeping off the Hungarian Plain, theT-72s of the Hungarian Army drive towards

Cluj in the north and Arad/Timisoara in thesouth. The Hungarian 1st Combined ArmsCorps (with three tank brigades and two mo-tor rifle brigades, and supported by an assaulthelicopter regiment), overruns and destroysthe Romanian 11th Motorized Rifle Division atOradea and barrels up the Crisul RepedeRiver Valley towards Cluj, where it encountersthe Romanian 6th Tank Division. In the south,parachutists of the 37th Parachute Battalionisolate Timisoara, and the Romanian 18thMotor Rifle Division is surrounded and de-stroyed by the Hungarian 3rd Combined ArmsCo rps. The Magyars of TransylvaniagreettheHungarian forces as liberators.

By July, the Romanian 3rd Army has haltedthe Hungarian offensive in the Carpathians,and it launches a counteroffensive on 3 Au-gust. The attack is initially successful, butRomanian reinforcements moving throughthepasses in the Carpathians are delayed byMagyar partisans, and the counteroffensiveslows, then harts. Under diplomatic pressureto end the war, both governments agree to aceasefire.

Armistice talks begin in Geneva with Hun-garian forces occupying just over a quarter ofRomania, roughly the area west of a line fromResita to Hunedoara to Alba lulia to Cluj toSatu Mare.

After several years of intensive investmentin the eastern third of the country, Germany isfinally showing signs of emerging as a world-class economic superpower. Eastern Ger-many has been successfully integrated withthe West—with infrastructure, education, andservices comparable (if not yet equal) to thosestandards in the rest of thecountry.As Europeshows signs of increasing political and eco-nomic instability, Germany begins quietly in-creasing its force structure. In January of1994, the six understrength divisions whichhad been maintained as a token army arebrought up to full strength, and each is givena new "territorial" brigade stationed in easternGermany. Germany is still technically withinits agreement not to station active troop unitsin eastern Germany since territorials are notactive components.

Researchers in France and the UnitedStates begin testing a vaccine which showsevery sign of being effective against the Hu-man Immunodeficiency Virus (the causativeagent in AIDS). Pressured by several specialinterest groups, researchers soon yield todemands for an accelerated testing program,and the United States Food & Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) waives animal tests in favor ofimmediate large-scale human experimenta-tion.

The Bush administration refuses to fund

these tests completely, claiming that it cannotdo so without placing an onerous additionalburden on the American taxpayer.

Small-scale testing begins, with waitinglists that grow astronomically. The experi-ments prove successful, but it will be yearsbefore pharmaceutical firms can gear up toproduce the vaccine in sufficient quantities todeal with the domestic demand in the devel-oped countries, let alone the massive out-breaks of the disease in Third World countries(those hardest hit—and least able to affordhelp). The countries of central Africa, in par-ticular, are facing complete collapse of theirrespective health care systems under an ava-lanche of AIDS victims. Adding to the problem,many health care professionals decide toleave the region out of fear for their own lives.

Uganda is effectively in civil disorder, thecentral government having almost completelybroken down. Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania,Kenya, and Zambia are in danger of going thesame route, although in Kenyathe situation isless critical than elsewhere due to an influx ofBritish medical aid.

After five years of relative quiet, differ-ences between the Sinhalese majority andthe Tamil minority (about a fifth of the popula-tion) in Sri Lanka again boil over into civil warin December, shortly after it was announcedthat the scheduled elections were to be indefi-nitely suspended.

The United States establishes diplomaticrelations with the Cuban government ofPresidente Quinonez Belloso, overthe objec-tions of a number of expatriate Cubans in theUS, who want a completely new government.

1995The Hungarian/Romanian armistice talks

conclude in Geneva, with neither side com-pletely satisfied. Hungary is forced to give upthe occupied territories, but is able to forcereparations from the Romanian government(in the form of payments to Magyars in Roma-nia) and to provide legal guarantees for thecivil rights of ethnic Hungarians. Non-Magyarmilitary and police units may not enter anydistrict with a majority population of Magyars,and Hungarian-language schools must beestablished in all districts with a significantMagyar population.

In response to increasing regional instabil-ity (primarily the situation in Romania), Ger-many declares its agreement on size andlocation of armed forces "obsolete in relationto the current European situation." The sixeastern territorial brigades are immediatelyexpanded to weak divisions, while the originalsix divisions are expanded to nine (the addi-tional troops being provided by mobilization of

reserve units from the western part of thecountry). Poland protests and begins bringingseveral divisions in western Poland to higherstates of readiness.

In October, United Nations peacekeepingforces are sent to Sri Lanka to intervene in thecivil war there. Canadian, Danish, and Swed-ish contingents are among those sent, manyof them units that had just been rotated out ofCyprus with the settlement there.

Cuban soldiers begin appearing on theinternational mercenary market, with no politi-cal or social agenda evident. Because of theirskills, they are soon sought after for counter-revolutionary forces throughout South andCentral America.

1996Several days of anti-Turkish rioting in Bul-

garia are touched off when a Bulgarian na-tional, arrested for attempting to assassinatethe president of the Turkish republic, dies incustody. Despite Turkish protestations thathis death was from natural causes, the inci-dent soon assumes crisis proportions, andBulgarians move over the border. Turkishresponse is massive, and Bulgaria is quicklydefeated. Turkish forces occupy Bulgaria andbegin setting up a new (and pro-Turkish)government.

Flushed with a new and virulent national-ism, Turkish Cypriots begin anti-Greek riots.The Cypriot Army moves to restore order, andreports of atrocities are received in Ankara. Inresponse, the Turkish Army invades Cyprusand quickly occupies most of the island.Greece first sends military units to Cyprus toresist the Turks, then declares war on Turkeyand attacks the Turkish forces in Thrace. Bothsides carefully avoid the British sovereignareas at Akrotiri and Larnaca, but British dip-lomats threaten military intervention if hostili-ties do not cease. This—com bined with Greeksuccesses in Thrace, a growing Armenianinsurgency, and a Bulgarian revolt—forces anarmistice.

In Yugoslavia, anti-Albanian rioting by theSerbian minority in the province of Kosovoturns into a civil war when an Albanian crowdhangs a local Serbian criminal. When theprovincial government proves unable to takeaction, Serbian "defense militias" move intoKosovo from neighboring provinces, and Yu-goslavia explodes into civil war.

The Yugoslavian governmentdisinteg rates,and the country breaks into six sections:Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina(also called Dalmatia), Macedonia, andKosovo. The Albanian junta immediatelyrecognizes the independence of Kosovo andsends in troops (provoking a reaction by the

Serbian minority). Macedonia requests helpfrom the Greek government, which is grantedin the form of military advisers, weapons, andmateriel. Serbia is divided among those whoseek to reunify Yugoslavia (in a minority) andthose who feel that Serbia is best shed of itstroublesome neighbors. The army breaks upalong ethnic lines, and the Yugoslavian meltingpot breaks up into its component parts.

In the United States, widespread percep-tions of a lack of effective Republican leader-ship on the drug front, and an inability to dealwith the oil-driven recession, lead to the elec-tion of John Tanner (a Democrat from Cali-fornia) as president. Tanner's vice president,Deanna Pemberton (former representativefrom Ohio), is the first woman to hold such ahigh elected office.

In July the Sendero Luminoso (ShiningPath), Maoist guerrillas, make a bid for controlof Peru. They do not succeed in overthrowingthe government, but they do succeed inwresting about half of the country from centralcontrol.

Other South and Central American coun-tries experience varying degress of politicalinstability. Chile and Argentina fight a shortwar over a long-disputed border. The Argen-tines win, but at a cost of continued low-scaleguerrilla war with Chile.

In Bolivia, economic problems related tothe general worldwide recession cause wide-spread dissatisfaction with the elected gov-ernment, and a coalition of military officersattempts a coup in late September. The at-tempt fails, but Bolivian President GuillermoGonzalez Lora initiates a purge of the disloyalofficer corps, which does not put him in goodstanding with the rest of the army. By Decem-ber, a second military coup expels Lora andinstalls General Leonidas Escobar Moscosoas head of government. Moscoso is the first tomake extensive use of post-Castro Cubanmercenaries, but he will not be the last.

In Canada, the Meach Lake Accords to theconstitution were approved in 1990 by a con-troversial compromise. This proved to be onlya temporary solution to the problem of theQuebecois. A resurgence of French-Cana-dian nationalism begins late in the year and ismatched by demands from other Canadianminorities (primarily Indians), including agroupin Manitoba which demands Winnipeg streetsigns in Ukrainian as well as English andFrench (pointing out that there are more na-tive speakers of Ukrainian than of French inManitoba).

Troops in Germany under the Rhinelandcompromise begin their scheduled withdrawal,and this process is largely completed by Feb-ruary of 1997.

1997In his inaugural address, US President

Tanner promises a sweeping reform of thebudget and a shift in national priorities. "Wemust put our own house in order," he says,"and revitalize our own economy, before wecan consider extensive foreign assistanceprograms." Critics label this the "Ostrich Ad-dress,"accusing Tanner of burying his head inthe sand.

The US military is reduced, the deepestcuts coming from the navy (which is forced tomothball all of its Nimitz-c\ass carriers and theassociated task force component ships), butthe other services are severely reduced aswell. The XVIIIth US Corps is withdrawn fromKuwait, and large numbers of American ex-soldiers enter the job market. Unemploymentsoars in the United States.

In March, another round of pro-Germandemonstrations breaks out in Poland; theyare again violently suppressed. This time,however, small groups of demonstrators fightback with military small arms. Polish Armyunits move in, and soon Pomerania and Silesiaappear to be in the grips of a civil war.

Poland charges that many of the rebels areGerman right-wing nationalists who havecrossed the border with the collaboration ofthe German Army. Berlin denies any involve-ment with rioters but admits that Germannationals have crossed into Poland, andGerman military units move closer to theborder to step up security. The Polish gov-ernment protests and also begins movingmore units into the area.

War erupts in April—a Polish border guardpatrol intercepts German nationals (membersof a right-wing proreunification group) smug-gling arms across the Neisse River north ofGorlitz. Gunfire is exchanged, and the Polishborder guards call for help, which arrives inthe form of an airmobile reaction force. In theconfusion, a party of Polish airmobile infantryaccidently sets down in Germany and ex-changes fire with German troops arriving toinvestigate. The commanding general of thePolish 4th Motorized Rifle Division (stationedalong the river south of Frankfurt-an-Oder),hearing Polish radio transmissions, believesthe firef ight is taking place east of the river, inPolish territory (where the airmobile troopsthink they are). Believing a German invasionunderway, the general orders his divisionacross the river at Gubin, Swiecko, andFrankfurt.

By morning, both sides are denouncingeach other for starting the war, and Germantroops are pouring into Poland along a widefront. The first day is a Cakewalk for theGermans as Leopards and Marders bypass

the Polish border positions and sweep acrossPomerania and Silesia. Within two days, how-ever, Polish resistance stiffens, and the offen-sive stalls as it approaches Warsaw.

Seven days after the war starts, Czecho-slovakia enters on the Polish side and turnsthe tide against the Germans, capturingDresden and Meissen (after heavy fighting). Ajoint US-Soviet delegation manages to per-suade both sides to cease hostilities. Bothsides agree to a return to prewar borders, anda UN peacekeeping force takes up duties inJuly. This is to be the last effective interventionby the UN in an international conflict, largelydue to lack of funds as the United Statesreduces its annual contribution.

In Asia, India and Pakistan drift into warthrough an escalating spiral of border inci-dents, mobilization, and major armed clashesover possession of Kashmir. Outright warbegins in October, and by year's end theIndian Army is slowly advancing across thelength of the front, despite fierce resistance.

The collapse of world oil prices has sentIndonesia into a severe economic crisis. Acoup by a group of generals overthrows theelected government, but conditions continueto worsen. Piracy, once almost wiped out,begins again in the Sulu Sea.

1998A number of factors conspire to end the

Indo-Pakistani war of 1997. Dissident Sikhs inthe Indian military revolt, charging that theyare sent into combat more than other units inan attempt to destroy the flower of their maleyouth. This, coupled with a threatened inva-sion by the Tibetan warlord of Lhasa anddeteriorating economic conditions, forces theIndians to settle the war with Pakistan. Indiaannexes the region of Pakistan bordering onKashmir, a region bordered by a line runningfrom the historic Khyber Pass to the city ofLahore, and including Peshawar andRawalpindi. Indian troops will be entangledagainst Kashmiri guerrillas for years to come.

Pakistan is not without its own problems,however. Baluchi tribesmen in the south ofPakistan and in neighboring Iran take advan-tage of the chaos introduced by the war todeclare their independence. In Iran, the revoltis quickly put down, but Pakistani forces,weakened by the war, are unable to exerciseany control over the region. Although notrecognized by any major nation, Baluchistan(at least the portion inside Pakistan) is a defacto independent country.

In Europe, after years of increasing dis-quiet, ETA (Euskadi to Azkatasuna—BasqueNation and Liberty) the Basque separatistorganization, begins active civil war in north-

ern Spain. Spanish response is swift, but lessthan totally effective, and while active resis-tance lasts only 18 months, sporadic bursts offighting continue to flare up from time to time.

In Africa, the former French colony of BurkinaFaso, fortified with Libyan armaments, instruc-tors, and several cadres of the Muslim AfricanLegion, renews its decades-old border conflictwith its neighbor, Mali. The armed forces of Mali,mostly in the north dealing with the ever-presentPolisario insurgents (also supplied by Libya),were overwhelmed initially, but soon manage acounterattack. The situation soon settles into acontinuing low-level war, with occasionaloffensives that soon stall.

In the Pacific, the Indonesian military govern-ment invades Papua NewGuinea in what outsideobservers label a desperate attempt to distractthe populace's attention from the nation's eco-nomic problems by military adventurism.Australia(the defender of Papua New Guinea by treaty)sends troops in response. The forces are onlypart Australian since no nation maintains a largestanding army any more. Australians and NewZealanders form perhaps 20% of the force, andabout half is hired mercenary soldiers from India.The remainder are Chinese, Soviet, and a smallnumber of other nationalities. This army is the firstof many forces to be primarily mercenary.

The UN announces that the situation in SriLanka is stabilizing and orders peacekeepingforces withdrawn. The reality of the situation isthat the UN can no longer afford to supportmilitary intervention and its other programs. In-deed, the other programs of the UN are on shakyfinancial ground as well.

1999In Europe, the economic strain of the war

with Germany finally proves too much fortheCzechoslovakian economy, and the nation'sindustries begin to collapse in the ever-widen-ing global recession. The gulf between theCzechs of the industrialized west (Bohemiaand Moravia) and the Slovaks of the lessindustrialized (and less economically de-pressed) east strains the central governmentto the breaking point. Finally, Slovak national-ists, fed up with supporting a dying economy,secede and declare their independence, anda civil war is soon in full swing. The army splitsalong national lines, but more ends up in thehands of the Czechs than the Slovaks. Toeven the balance, Slovakia hires Polish vet-erans to fill out its forces, and the secondmajor use of mercenary armed force begins.

Baluchis continue to raid Iran from Paki-stan, prompting Iranian military forces to makeforays into Pakistan for the purpose of break-ing up Baluchi raider assembly areas. Sovietveterans will play an increasing role in this war

as it heats up from raiding to full-scale conflict.In the Amazonian rain forests, an unprec-

edented coalition of Indian groups begins anescalating antigovernment campaign.

In southern China, the forces of GeneralCh'en Mien-wu, warlord of Yunnan, advancedown the Gam River Valley into Vietnam, withthe intention of acquiring the city of Hanoi andthe port of Haiphong. The invading Chineseforces are stopped at Viet Tri and slowlypushed back up the valley to a point just northof the town of Tuyen Quang.

Troops under Australian command in Indo-nesia defeat the local forces on Java andSumatra, and secure a surrender of all Indo-nesian forces. The Australians install a sym-pathetic government, which invites them tostay and help administer the country.

Using arms and military expertise acquiredduring the Central Asian wars, the Armenianareas in Turkey begin an active anti-Turkishinsurgency. Fed arms and supplies from thequasiautonomous Armenian Republic in the oldSoviet Unbn, the mountain guerrillas tie downlarge numbers of Turkish forces and strain aTurkish economy still reeling from the Bulgarianand Cypriot affairs of three years before.

Oppressed ethnic groups in Iran and Iraqseem to take inspiration from the Armeniansand Baluchis. By the end of the year, theKurds in Iraq and Iran, and the Azerbaijanis inIran had risen in active rebellion, many ofthem hiring as mercenaries soldiers who hadfought against them only a few years before.

In Africa, oppression of the predominantlyCatholic Ibotribe by other ethnicgroups in Nigeria(mostly the Muslim Hausas) had exploded intocivil war three decades before, and the underly-ing conflict resurfaced in the 1990s. The Nigeriangovernment does well initially, but an influx ofmercenary forces (primarily German veterans)hired by unspecified sources stem the tide. TheBiafrans declare their independence on 14 Oc-tober and manage to seize the area east of theNiger and south of the Benue rivers, a regionwhich includes most of Nigeria's active oilfieldsand (even more important) Port Harcourt, throughwhich supplies can be landed. Nigerian forcesare unable to enforce a blockade of the port, andseveral offensives intended to take the city fail.Cubans begin showing up in increasing numberson the Nigerian side late in the year.

2000A coup in the Pacific island nation of Tonga

overthrows the monarchy of King Taufa'ahauTupou V. Foreign mercenaries led by a localnoble, Tu'ipelehake Pa'anga, help in the coup.Pa'anga is installed as president and commander-in-chief. Tonga is a member of the British Com-mon wealth, but the British have yet to take action

other than to denounce the takeover in parlia-ment and give the deposed king sanctuary.

In the Philippines, a military coalition op-posed to the government of President Aquinoattempts to seize power. It is unable to securethe help of the air force and is soon forced toretreat from Luzon to the lesser islands, al-though it manages to maintain a small en-clave on the large island of Mindanao.

After laying low for almost a year, a numberof anti-Australian secret societies (includingMoluccan rebels, Sulu Sea pirates, and anti-European minorities) manage to secure thehelp of a cadre of mercenaries and revoltagainst the Australian-backed government ofIndonesia. The rebels quickly secure most ofthe island of Sumatra and the bulk of theMoluccan group, as well as small enclaves onSumatra and Borneo.

In Africa, Zaire makes a grab for the oil-richCabinda enclave of Angola, starting a warbetween the two nations. Angola is unable toprevent the annexation of Cabinda, but be-gins a series of escalating border raids inlandhoping to keep the Zairan Army occupiedwhile it gathers its own forces.

STATE OF THE WORLD: 1 JULY 2000North America: Canada and the United

States face severe economicdifficulties. Someethnic and racial violence continues in bothCanada and the US, to a slightly greaterextent in the latter. In the US, some inner citiesare effectively war zones, created by feudingdrug/criminal cartels. Rural areas do not com-pletely escape either, and America is violent ata level not seen since the 1920s. The Americangovernment believes at least some Libyan-backed terrorist activity is beginning to occur.

Central America and the Caribbean:Mexico is relatively quiet as the world goes,but still has internal civil strife brought aboutby its loan defaults and the collapse of thePemex oil consortium. Guatemala and Belizeare still at war, and an active mercenarymarket exists, albeit at a low level. Anti-government insurgencies exist in practicallyevery country, but the most active are theFalangeDeno of the Dominican Republic, theEjercito Revolution Popular of El Salvador,and the Cinchoneros of Honduras.

South America: The Colombian andPanamanian governments face amajorthreatfrom an alliance of criminal organizations,largely engaged in the drug trade.

Peru is in the midst of retaking the territo-ries lost to the Sendero Luminoso guerrillas,using primarily Cuban and Russian merce-naries. Brazil has a growing problem in theAmazon river basin. Argentina occupies aportion of Chile, and faces hostile guerrilla

actions there. Bolivia is experiencing increas-ing resistance to the military dictatorshipcurrently in control. Venezuela has recentlysurvived a coup attempt and is ruled by anincreasingly autocratic military regime. Para-guay, Ecuador and Uruguay are relativelystable, but minor antigovernment movementsexist in practically every country.

Europe: Most of Europe is in a reasonablypeaceful condition, although economic distressis everywhere. The Romanians have defaultedon their reparation payments to Hungary, and atense situation is developing. The Polish/Ger-man border is relatively quiet. The Libyan gov-ernment is financing a low-key (but growing)terrorist campaign in numerous countries, primarilyFrance, Germany, and Great Britain.

Northern Ireland is still in the midst of "thetroubles" since it remains one of the fewplaces the British have not switched over tomercenaries. The Turkish/Bulgarian bordersituation is tense but stable. Cyprus is onceagain split between Greek- and Turkish-backed factions, and a low-level civil warcontinues. Spain faces an increasing insur-gency in the Basque portions of the country,although the Catalans have remained quiet.The Scandinavian countries are free of inter-nal minority strife, butoccasionaldisturbancesattributed to Libyan troublemaking occur.

Africa: The Mali/Burkina Faso War, theSecond Nigerian Civil War, and the CabindaWar continue. Morocco and Mali continue toface Polisario insurgencies. The countries ofCentral Africa are in severe civil disorder dueto the recession and the devastation of AIDS.The black/white coalition government of SouthAfrica continues to experience antigovernmentviolence. Libyan-backed insurgents continueto trouble Chad. Minor antigovernment coali-tions exist in Mozambique, Sudan, Somalia,Liberia, Gabon, and Cameroon.

Asia: Vietnam is still troubled by minor bodiesof Yunnanese troops that hold out in the northernportion of the country. Pakistan and Iran faceBaluchi independence forces. Minor Islamicfundamentalist violence continues in CentralAsia.Lebanon is divided along much the same lines asduring the last decade. Israel is an armed camp,facing the continued hostility of the Palestiniansfrom within and a continuing (but slightly dimin-ished) threat from most of its neighbors. Israeliforces still make occasional forays into Lebanon.

The Pacific: The civil wars in Indonesiaand the Philippines continue. The Tongancoup was successful, but the situation there isfar from stable. A Japanese border disputewith the Soviets over Sakhalin and the KurileIslands has yet to result in military action.Other Pacific countries are stable but sufferfrom the global recession.

CHARACTER GENERATIONMerc: 2000 uses the standard Twilight: 2000

character generatbn system presented on pages16 to 51 of the basic game rules book to createmercenary characters. A few minor differenceswill be explained in this section. Terms used inboth Twilight and Mercaredefined in the former,and players and referees will need to be familiarwith Twilight before attempting to play Merc.

OVERVIEWThe primary difference between Twilight and

Merc is that in the latter agtobal wardid not breakout in 1996. Instead, each character may haveexperienced one or more smaller wars (or not,depending on nationality) as a preliminary to acareer as a professional soldier or merc. Playersmay end the character generatbn sequence atthe end of any term and begin their merc career.Characters need not have been in the military tobecome mercenaries, although it will be helpful.

The rule sections in Twilight headed Die-Rolling Conventions, Military Careers, Rank, Armof Service, Secondary Activities, Reserves, Ob-taining Skills, Languages, Additional Notes onSkills, Initiative, and Age also apply to Merc.Other rules have changed somewhat, and thissection discusses those differences.

CONTACTSContacts are acquired in the same way as

in the basic game, but have a slightly differentmeaning. Instead of the contact representinga prewar occupation, it represents a currentone.Any contact can lead to jobs, but contactscan prove directly useful to a merc. Needdetails of the power system in Alma Ata? Getin touch with your old pal at GeorgetownUniversity. Need a short biography of a drugkingpin? Try your pal who's now with theWashington Post. Need a double who's adead ringer for the dictator of Parador? Doesn'tyour old buddy the actor—the guy who'sstarving doing dinner theater in Arizona—looka little like....

WELCOME TO THE LIFEMerc is about close combat. What hap-

pens in between missions should not be dweltupon in any great detail. Any backgroundembellishments that the players choose toadd (wife, kids, mortgage, etc.) are nice, butplayers and referees alike should keep inmind what the ultimate purpose is.

Groups who wish their characters to havebetween-mission lives may do so, and mayeven have those lives impinge on missions(after all, what better mission motivator canthere be but "They got my kid\"), but we willprovide no detailed rules for this.

Only one aspect of the between-missionlife of the characters will be dealt with: lifestyle.Lifestyle is important in determining the typeof job offers a character receives, and will bediscussed more fully beginning on page 48.

RADSNuclear weapons have not been used in any

ofthe warsin Merc, so players and referees shouldignore the provisions of these rules.

EQUIPMENTCharacters in Merc do not automatically start

the game with any items of equipment or withvehicles. Military characters are allowed theirbasic bad minus weapon(s). Everything elsemust be purchased.

Buying Equipment: Unlike in Twilight,characters in Merc can actually purchaseequipment, but some types (particularly weap-ons) will be hard to come by. High-priced orextremely rare items may be provided by a patron(in which case the contract will specify penaltiesfor bss or damage of such equipment).

Prices: Prices in Merc are radically differentfrom in Twilight. The prices in Twilight were seton the basis of the value the item had in the worldsituatbn of thegame, with considerations asto anitem's relative availability. In Merc, current marketprices apply in most cases. A new price list hasbeen provided (pages 108-114) including boththe new items of equipment discussed in thisbook and the old ones from the basic game, withproper adjustments made.

The availability code on the price entry nowmeans without/with proper contacts, since someitems are difficult to find without help (most gov-ernments take a dim view of private citizens—and mercs are just that—owning tanks, surface-to-air missiles, mortars, and the like). The sameEquipment Availability Table (from Twilight page224) may be used, but the referee should exer-cise reasonable judgment in applying its results:Obvbusly, T-72 tanks are not going to be avail-able in every major city.

Contacts: The type of contact needed forpurchase of a particular type of equipment varies.

The contact types and their relevant equipmenttypes are discussed below. Some types of con-tact are not particularly useful in obtainingequipment (entertainment, for example, or jour-nalist), and have been omitted. Contacts havecertain requirements that must be met in ordertoremain on good terms. Buying tanks using aBritish government contact and then using themcontrary to British interests will destroy any goodrelations between the contact and the character.Some referee discretion should be exercisedhere: Obvbusly, nobody will care about innocu-ous items like skis or radbs. Here's a shortrundown on what the varbus types of contact canprovide help with:

Business: Business contacts can help locatecivilian weapons and explosives, body armor,specialized electronic equipment, military vehiclesexcept IFVs andAFVs, and anyforged document.Equipment cannot be used contrary to thecontact's interests (defined by the referee), andequipment may be of any nationality.

Criminal: Criminal contacts can help locatecivilian weapons and explosives, body armor,military small arms, forged documents, bckpicktools, any civilian vehbleand any military unarmedcargo vehicle. There are no restrictions on use,and equipment may be of any nationality.

Govemment:Government contacts can helplocate military weapons and explosives, bodyarmor, military vehicles of all types, and special-ized electronic equipment, providing that theseitems will not be used against the contact'sgovernment. Equipment may be of any national-ly.

Intelligence Community: Intelligence com-munity contacts can help locate military weaponsand explosives, body armor, military vehicles ofall types, and specialized electronic equipment,providing that these items will not be used againstthe best interests of the contact's agency. Equip-ment may be of any natbnality.

Law Enforcement:Lawenforcement contactscan help locate civilian weapons, body armor,bckpick tools, gas masks and incapacitatingchemicals, and specialized electronic equipment,provided that the items are to be used outside thecontact's jurisdiction. Equipment may be of anynatbnality.

Medical: Medical contacts can help locatemedical supplies. There are no restrictbns onuse.

Military: Military contacts can help locate mili-

tary small arms, body armor, specialized elec-tronic equipment, and explosives, provided thatthey will be used outside of the contact's country.The equipment is limited to the nationality of thecontact.

Specialist: The precise equipment providedby specialist contacts will depend on their spe-cialty. Some will have none, engineers will helpwith explosives, and so on. Any restrictions are amatter for the referee's judgement.

Wealthy: Wealthy contacts can help locatecivilian weapons and explosives, body armor,military small arms, forged documents, lockpicktools, any civilian vehicle and any military unarmedcargo vehicle. There are no restrictions on use,and equipment may be of any nationality.

As a rule of thumb, the more valuable and/ordangerous an item, the tougher it should be toget.

Money: Characters begin the game withmoney in the usual way, representing what thecharacters have managed to save in their variousprewar careers. The amount of money receivedfor each career differs, however.

NEW MILITARY OCCUPATIONThe following additional career is avail-

able.

Counterterrorist, Enlisted and OfficerEntry: At least one term in special forces,

Marine force recon or Navy SEAL.First Term Skills:• Small Arms: 2• Parachute: 1• Melee Combat: 1Subsequent Term Skills: A total of four

levels from any one or a combination of the

following:• Small Arms• Melee Combat• Heavy Weapons• Thrown Weapon• Observation• Stealth• Lockpick• Disguise• Instruction• Parachute• Language• Medical• Interrogation• LeadershipContacts: Two per term, military or intelli-

gence community. Roll 1D10 for 7+ for thecontact to be foreign.

Special: None.

Mercenary Terms and ExpressionsThese are in addition to the list of military terms and expressions

provided in the basic game.Artichoke Suit: A nickname applied to the brown and green

"woodland" BDU.BDU: Battle dress utility. The current issue "fighting suit" of the

United States Army.Black Bag Job: A missbn requiring a stealthy arrival and departure,

leaving no trace of the team's presence. This term usually refers toindustrial espionage operations rather than combat missions.

Buy the Farm: To die in action, also abbreviated to "buy it."Camies: Camouflaged clothing.Chocolate Chip Suit: A nickname applied to the tan and dark

brown "desert" BDU.Crease: To wound, as in, "We only creased him, and it just made

him mad."Flash-Bang: A stun grenade, especially one designed to

temporarily blind as well as incapacitate. Also called "crash-bangs."

Grease: To kill or to die, as in, "Anything you do can get yougreased, including doing nothing."

Hush Puppy: A nickname applied to the US Navy Mk-22silenced pistol. This 9mm Parabellum weapon is specially built bythe firm of Smith & Wesson (which calls it the S&W Model 0). Thenickname comes from the original purpose of the weapon, whichwas to silence guard dogs.

Job: A mission.Le Baroud: A French phrase translating roughly as 'the last

stand" or "the good fight," used idiomatically to mean the merce-nary way of life. Its equivalent in English is 'the life."

LZ: Landing zone for a parachute drop or helicopter insertion. A "hotLZ" is one that is close to action, in which soldiers can expect little or notime to unpack gear (meaning they must drop with weapons at theready). A "cool LZ" is one where no enemy action is expected.

Meat: Hostage or other person to be rescued or picked up. Alsocalled 'the package," "the freight," 'the goods," and "the cargo."

Merc: A mercenary. By 2000, the term "soldier of fortune" isused only by news anchors and adventure novelists.

Mike Force: Originally used in Vietnam to denote specialforces-trained reserve mobile strike force units, the term is nowused to indicate any reserve or relief force.

New Shoe: Applied to mercs who have not been on at least onemission with their present team.

Newbie: An inexperienced soldier.No Comebacks: Without a trace. A job completed with no

comebacks is one completed without the patron's connection tothe job being revealed.

Tackline: A useless or incompetent person, used originally byUS Navy SEALs. A tackline, in naval parlance, is a piece of ropebetween two signal flags, or (more informally) "a tackline is six feetof nothing."

Tiger Stripes: A type of camouflage pattern, characterized bysharp irregular horizontal stripes across a light background. Verypopular in many Third World "elite" units,

SOF: Soldier of fortune. A poetic name for a mercenary. In2000, it is used only in novels, in newscasts and by wannabees.

Strikers: Local troops trained for penetration missions or asmobile reserve forces. They are usually better quality troops thanrun-of-the-mill garrison units. Originally used in conjunction withspecial forces-trained native mobile reserve (mike force) units inVietnam.

Ticket: Mission or specific assignment. Used only in novelsand in the press.

Tweep: Slang pronunciation of TWEP, an acronym for 'terminatewith extreme prejudice," meaning to assassinate. Originating with theCIA in the 1960s, by 2000 the term isused only in novels and movies.

Wannabee: An aspiring merc, usually (but not always) withoutthe talent.

Wet Job: An assassination. The name comes from an old KGBeuphemism, 'to wet the ground (with blood)."

Wet Jump: A parachute landing or helicopter insertion into water.Wet Landing: See wet jump.Willie Peter: White phosphorus, either in a grenade or in other

ordnance. The name comes from the letters WP used as anidentifying mark on such weapons.

EQUIPMENT LISTThe merc trade has its own special tools.

Here are representative examples of itemsnot dealt with in Twilight.

EXPLOSIVESThe following are additional explosives.

Frame Charge: A prepared explosivecharge used to blow in locked windows ordoors, even those equipped with bars ormetal plate up to two centimeters thick. Itrequires two phases (10 seconds) to em place(using prefitted double-sided tape or an inte-gral wooden brace), and can be command orremotely detonated, or rigged with a timer.The charge can also be used to blow holes inwalls, provided they are not too thick. Theframe charge has a penetration value of 2,but automatically counts as tamped and hasonly a concussion value of 1 due to the shapeand composition of the charge.

Wt: 2 kg.Price: $100 (—/R).Primercord: A rope-like plastic explosive

used in various demolition jobs. Primercordcan be wrapped around conduits or smallgirders to sever them or taped to a wall (in acircle) to blow an entry hole. It can also beused to link other explosive charges togetherfor almost instantaneous detonation (it willdetonate other explosives by itself, withoutneed for a blasting cap). Primercord itselfrequires a blasting cap. Primercord has a DPvalue of 3 per meter

Wt: 0.5 kg per meter.Price: $15 per meter (—/C).

BODY ARMORThe following is additional body armor.Close Assault Armor: Improved, but bulky,

body armor incorporating additional layers ofKevlarand metal/ceramicplate inserts. It protectschest and abdomen with an armor factor of 2.Because of this armor's bulk, wearers may notmovefasterthan a trot, and all tasks become onelevel more difficult.

Wt: 6kg.Price: $1200 (—/S).

ELECTRONICSThe following are additional electronic

devices.Portable Satellite Downlink Subsystem:

An antenna system permitting radio commu-nication via geosynchronous satellite withpractically any location in the world whenlinked into a proper radio in place of thenormal antenna. It requires five minutes toerect and align, and two minutestocompletelydismantle.

Wt:4kg.Price: $12,000 (R/S).Portable Facsimile Machine: Connected

to a radio, this enables recon photos, situa-tion maps and other reports to be sent andreceived by units in the field.

Wt :6kg.Price: $1800 (C/C).Scrambler/Descrambler: Used with a

telephone or voice radio unit, this scramblesconversation to seemingly random noise atthe transmitter and back to conversation atthe receiver. A sophisticated computer analy-sis can descramble a particular conversationwithin hours and, once the scramble patternis known, can be used to program a scram-bler with a similar pattern.

Wt: 1 kg.Price: $2000 (R/S).Frequency-Hopping Radio: This radio

resists jamming and interception by shiftingamong several preset frequencies at presetintervals. Unless a listener knows the fre-quencies and intervals, he cannot remainlocked onto the signal. All sets in a systemmust be synchronized in order to communi-cate.

Wt: 10 kg.Price: $800 (R/S).Individual Tactical Radio: A small radio

of limited range (one kilometer) designed tobe used by small groups who require precisecoordination and hands-free operation.

The radio consists of a voice activatedthroat mike (strapped in place overthe larynx),a headset with bone-conduction earphones,and a battery case (usually carried in a shirtpocket). This radio is hands-free and allowsthe wearer to hear more-or-less normallywhen in use. The set also incorporates amanual "beeper" button, enabling Morsesignals to be sent if the sender does not wantto speak. These are relatively sophisticatedradios and are more expensive than thenormal walkie-talkie.

Wt: 0.5 kg.Price: $550 (S/R).Transponder: Special radio transmitter

designed to broadcast a specific signal at aspecific frequency to provide a homing bea-con for pickup aircraft, radiation homing mis-siles, etc. The device has a one-kilometerrange without an antenna, which extends to10 kilometers with an antenna. Its internalbattery will power the broadcast for 18 hoursand can be started with an internal timingcircuit up to 72 hours after emplacement.

Wt: 1 kg.Price: $1800 (S/C).Radio Direction Finder: A specialized

radio receiverdesigned to determine the spe-cific direction a particular radio broadcast iscoming from. These are useful for a variety oftasks. Getting a directional fix using one ofthese is a task (Easy: Electronics) and re-quires one minute (provided that the signalstays on the air that long). The result is acompass bearing, not a distance. Two orthree such RDF units, spaced far apart, can

get two or more bearings for triangulation ofa broadcast source.

Wt:2kg.Price: $1500 (C/C).Directional Microphone: Also called a

"shotgun mike," this device permits the userto electronically "eavesdrop" on normal con-versations at ranges of up to 500 meters. Itfunctions off an internal battery, and requires30 seconds to set up and tune.

Wt:5kg.Price: $3000 (C/C).

SIGNAL GEARThe following is additional signal gear.Signal Flare: A hand-launched pyrotechnic

signal available in varbus colors (white, red,green, yelbw, or violet), designed primarily foruse at night (when colored smoke is harder tosee). Each flare is launched skyward (using aninternal propelling charge) and drifts to thegroundon a small parachute. The flare burns for one turn(30 seconds) and can be seen from 1500 metersat night (500 meters during the day). By disablingthe propelling charge before ignition, the flare canbe placed on the ground if desired. It is hotenough to serve as a source of ignition.

Wt: 0.2 kg.Price: $25 (C/V).Colored Smoke Grenade: This grenade

produces a dense cloud of colored smoke with-out the high heat characteristic of WP grenades(although it is still hot enough to ignite easilycombustible substances like dry grass, so care isneeded in its use). Thecobrofthecbud dependson the chemical contents (red, green, yelbw, orviolet are available) and is indicated by a coloredband around the outside of the grenade. Thesmoke is of the same size and duratbn as that ofan HC smoke cloud, described on page 201 ofthe Twilight: 2000 rules. Smoke cannot be seenat night unless illuminated.

Wt: 0.5 kg.Price: $30 (R/S).Illuminating Grenade: This grenade pro-

duces a bright light (equivalent to full daylightwithin the burst radius). It produces enough heatto be a source of ignition and should be used withcare. Illumination grenades have the samecharacteristics as chemical grenades (describedin the Twilight basic rules).

Wt: 0.5 kg.Pnce:$25(—/S).Shotgun Flare: These are designed for use

in 12-gauge shotguns and can only be launched(they cannot be ignited and laid on the ground).They are otherwise identical to signalflares. Theyare in civilian use as distress signals for sports-men.

Wt.0.1 kg.Price: $5 (R/S).

MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENTThe following is miscellaneous gear.1-liter Canteen: Self explanatory. Can-

teens are not intended to serve as a soldier'sonly water supply, but they are just that forsoldiers on special missions of the type de-scribed in Merc: 2000. Because of this,characters may wish to carry two or more.

Wt: 1 kg (loaded).Price: $10(V/V).2-liter Reserve Canteen: This is a large-

capacity reserve water supply, attached tothe outside of a field pack or slung on a strap.

Wt: 2 kg (loaded).Price: $25 (V/V).5-liter Reserve Canteen: This is a larger

reserve water supply, usually carried inside afield pack or slung on a strap.

Wt: 5 kg (loaded).Price: $30 (V/V).HALO Rig: HALOstandsforhigh-altitude,

low-opening, and refers to a particular style ofparachute drop. The parachutist leaves theplane at a great height (usually over 25,000feet—high enough to require oxygen gear)and free-falls to a level below radar and visualobservation height before opening.The HALOrig consists of a standard parachute, oxygentank, face mask, insulated overgarment (itgets cold up that high) and altimeter.

Wt:14kg.Price: $3500 (—/S).Assault Suit: Special assault equipment

intended for use on drug lab raids, hostagerescues, and other similar situations. The suitconsists of a set of black fatigues, gloves, aKevlar helmet (with integral individual tacticalradio, a throat mike and bone conductionearphones), a gas mask, tactical web gear,and boots. Body armor and personal weap-ons must be purchased separately. Lumi-nescent markings (such as "POLICE" or"DEA") are usually stenciled on the back forquick identification of friend or foe duringdimly-lit firefights.

Wt:8kg.Price: $1100 (—/S).Skyhook (Ground Unit): A specialized

ground/air pickup rig for extraction by aircraftwhen ground conditions do not permit a land-ing, which was originally designed for militaryand civilian air/sea rescue units. The groundunit consists of a personnel harness (verysimilar to a parachute harness), a coil ofcable, and an inflatable helium balloon largeenough to carry the cable several hundredfeet into the air. The unit can be used for eitherpersonnel or cargo. Skyhook requires aspecially modified multiengine aircraft, usu-ally provided by the patron (few merc groupscan afford to maintain them). Skyhook aircraft

will be detailed in a future handbook due tospace constraints.

Using Skyhook: The passenger dons theharness, inflates the balloon (upon arrival ofthe pickup aircraft), and prepares himself forthe shock of pickup. A specially modifiedcargo aircraft snares the balloon/cable with aspecially fitted V-shaped "blimp-catcher" onits nose, and reels in the passenger until thepassenger is close enough to a speciallyinstalled cargo door on the bottom of theaircraft. The aircrew snares the passenger/cargo, hauls him/it aboard the plane, andprepares for another pickup if necessary.

The shock involved is no more severe thanan opening parachute, provided that thepickup aircraft does not fly too fast. Theprocess is dangerous, but no more so than aparachute jump if done properly.

The pickup plane must fly straight andlevel a few hundred feet off the ground. Thewhole operation needs suitable terrain (nonearby obstructions) and reasonable privacy.The blimp can be equipped with IR/white lightstrobes (activated at the last moment) for anight pickup. The weather must be reasonablyclear, with no excessive wind conditions.Skyhook can also be used at sea. A skyhookground unit may not be reused.

Wt:18kg.Price: $800 (—/R).Silencer/Suppressor: Akit of parts which,

when fitted to a firearm, reduces the sound ofthe discharge. Nothing can completely elimi-nate the sound of a weapon firing. There isalways some sound, even from the best ofsilenced/suppressed weapons (if it's only theclack of the action and the click of the ham-mer falling). Weight and price below do notinclude the weapon. Price includes the costof a gunsmith's modification. For all practicalpurposes, revolvers cannot be silenced.

Wt: 0.5 kg pistol, 1 kg SMG/rifle.Price:$1000(S/C).Parachute: A device which allow." a char-

actertoleapfrom a perfectly good aircraft andprobably reach the ground intact. Includesmain canopy, reserve canopy, and all neces-sary harnesses. If recovered, the parachutecan be repacked and reused. Acharacter maycarry up to fourtimes his normal load during aparachute drop (note, however, that he maynot be able to carry it far on the ground).

Wt: 5kg.Price: $450 (C/C).Paraglider (Steerable Parachute): A

special form of parachute permitting the pas-senger to direct his descent more than ispossible with a normal parachute. If recov-ered, the paraglider can be repacked andreused.

Wt:16kg.Price: $650 (C/C).Vehicle Parachute Kit: This consists of

several parachutes (depending on the weightof the vehicle to be dropped), a retro rocketassembly, and a shock-absorbing palletstrapped to the bottom of the vehicle. Afterthe vehicle is dropped from the aircraft andthe chute deployed, a contact sensor on acord drops three meters below the vehicle,and the retrorocket package deploys abovethe vehicle. When the sensor touches theground, the retrorocket package fires andslows the vehicle's descent even further.Vehicles larger than 15 tons cannot bedropped in this fashion.

Crew may not ride in the vehicle while thisgoes on. It requires 10 minutes to make avehicle operational after landing: disconnect-ing the chute and the pallet, freeing every-thing that had to be tied down for airtransport,screwing down everything that was jarredloose during the landing, and—last but notleast—a quick inspection, which is notsomething to have to do in a hot LZ.

Wt: 1 ton.Price: $12,000 (—/R).Vehicle Low-Altitude Extraction Kit:This

consists of a drogue parachute and a shock-absorbing pallet strapped to the bottom of thevehicle. The aircraft must have a rear cargoramp to utilize this kit. The aircraft flies atextremely low altitude (three to five meters) atminimum speed anddeploysthedroguechuteout the back. The drogue chute opens; thevehicle is yanked out of the aircraft; and thepallet absorbs most of the shock of landing.Vehicles larger than 25 tons cannot bedropped in this fashion.

Crew may not ride in the vehicle while thisgoes on. It requires 10 minutes to make a

vehicle operational after landing.Wt: 1.5 tons.Price: $8000 (—/R).Snorkel Gear: A mask, snorkel, and swim

fins, permitting a character to swim completelyunderwater for periods of up to 30 seconds,with a minimum of surface interaction (pullingthe snorkel below the surface and holding hisbreath). The character need only gently breakthe surface and can then breathe normallywithout making great amounts of noise orsurface ripples. Spotting is done normally forcharacters on the surface, but charactersswimming underwater cannot be spotted.

Wt: 2 kg.Price: $120 (V/V).

Pistol with Silencer

Underwater Carrier: A sealed container totransport weapons, ammunition and equipmentunderwater. This cylindrical containers 1.5 metersbng and about 0.4 meter in diameter. It opens likea clamshell for ease of access, and containsseveral straps and lashing rings to secure gearinside. When sealed, the container will protect itscontents from water damage. By inflating ordeflating several internal flotation/ballast blad-ders, its buoyancy can be adjusted to enable it tofloat, sink, or be neutral (preferable for haulinggear bng distances underwater). Pulling a leverwill inflate several emergency bladders, makingthe baded container capable of supporting theweight of an average person as well.

Thecontainer can carry upto 50 kilogramsof equipment, and when neutrally buoyant,has the same effect on a swimmer as lightpersonal equipment. The weight given belowis empty. The carrier weighs this plus theweight of any contents when out of the water.

Wt: 6 kg.Price: $85 (R/S).Extreme Cold Weather Gear: This is a set of

heavy garments (parka, mittens, trouser liners,etc.) intended to supplement the normal thermalfatigues for use in extreme cold weather.

Wt: 10 kg.Price: $200 (V/V).

Tranq Autoinjectors: Similar to the atro-pine autoinjectors described in Twilight: 2000but loaded with afast-actingtranquilizer drug,these devices were originally made for use bymental hospitals and police, but the mere

trade soon adopted them. When applyingone to an unresisting target (one surprised orsubdued by unarmed combat), the user maychoose the body part the injector is used on.Resisting targets must be subdued usingunarmed combat before the injector can beapplied.

As with tranq darts, a hit in any part of the bodywill be effective eventually, but some areas givefaster results than others. Head hits result ininstant unconscbusness. Chest and abdomenhits result in unconscbusness after 1 D6+2 phases(five to 15seconds). An arm hit requires the targetroll his Constituion or less on 1D10 to stay awakeeach phase. The drug will take effect even if theinjector is removed immediately. Tranqautoinjectors also affect dogs in the same way astranq darts.

Wt: 0.1 kg per set of three.Price: $75 per set of three (—/S).Rope: This is milspec 11 mm climbing and

rappeiing line.Wt: 5 kg per coil.Price: $100 per 50m coil (V/V).

Tranq Automjector

Grapple: This is a multiple-pronged hook tobe used at the end of a length of rope to assist inclimbing walls, etc. It can be thrown as any otherobject, but counts as two kilograms instead ofonly one (because of the rope also attached).Some models are designed to fold, collapse, orotherwise dismantle for ease of transport.

Wr:1kg.Price: $60 (V/V).

Type

40mm Stun GrenadeROF Mag Rng IFR Rnd Damage Pen

M203, etc. 1 1i 10 — Stun'Contact damage only; the grenade has no burst radius.

C:5* Nil

NEW AMMUNITION40mm Stun Grenade: This grenade can be

fired from any single-shot launcher (it is too bngfor the Mk19). The grenade fires a nybn 'bean-bag" that fans out after firing to spread its impactover a wide area. The grenade is designed toincapacitate without doing permanent damageand has no expbsive filler (and no concussion orfragmentation damage). Because ofthegrenade'sdesign, all damage inflicted is blunt trauma, evenif the target is Unarmored. The grenade can onlybe used in direct fire. See chart bebw.

Wt: 0.3 kg, 20 kg per case of 44.Price:$20 each, $800 per case (—/S).40mm Grapple Grenade: This grenade can

be fired from any sing le-shot launcher (cannot beused in the Mk19) and propels a grappling hookand an attached rope upto50 meters straight up.The grapple must be inserted separately into thefront of the launcher.

Wt: 0.3 kg, 20 kg per case of 36.Price: $20 each, $800 per case (—/S).Flash-Bang or Crash-Bang Grenade: An

enhanced concuss iongrenadedesignedtomakea very bud noise and a bright flash in order totemporarily incapacitate its target. In addition tothe normal concussbn effects (described in thebasic game) all characters within eight metersmust make a D10 roll againsttheir Constitutbn toavoid theother effects of the grenade, subtracting1 from the die roll for each square (two meters)they are from the burst point. Failure means thatthe characters are incapacitated (flash-blinded,temporarily deafened, and disoriented) for 24phases (2 minutes). Success means that thecharacter is incapacitated foronly one phase (fiveseconds).

Wt: 0.5 kg, 7 kg per case of 10.Price: $15, $120 per case, (-/C).15mm Dart/Cartridge: This is a hypodermic

dart and compressed gas cartridge designed foruse with the tranquilizer gun mentbned on page19. The darts come prefilled with a tranquilizercompound. They must be fired from the gun inorder to take effect. These cartridges count asmedical equipment for contact assistance.

Wt: 0.1 kg (including dart, drug, and CO2

cartridge).Price: $45 (including dart, drug, and CO2

cartridge) (—/S).9mm Subsonic: Specially made, low-veloc-

ity, 9mm ammunitiondesignedfor use in silencedpistols.

Wt: 0.6 kg per box of 50.Price: $45 per box (—/S).Stun Dart Package:This includesaprebaded

15mm hypodermic dart and a CO2 cartridge forpropelling it from a tranquilizer gun. It counts aspolbe equipment for contact assistance.

Wt:1 kg per case of 10.Price: $50 (—/R).

S&W Model 0 (Mk-22)The "Hush Puppy" is a silenced, 9mm, semiautomatic pistol

specially manufactured for the US Navy (which calls it theMk-22) by Smith & Wesson (which calls it the Model 0). Madeof stainless steel (to resist saltwater-induced corrosion), it isfitted with an integral silencer and slide lock. When fired with theslide locked (to prevent the clank of the recoiling slide) usingsubsonic 9mm P ammunition, the only sound is the hammerdropping. The Mk-22 is thus a silenced weapon, rather than asuppressed one. With the slide locked, it can only be fired once,then the slide must be manually worked to eject the spent roundand recock. The pistol comes with a special holster designed tohold the weapon with silencer affixed (included in the cost).

Ammo: 9mm P subsonicWt: 1.5 kgMag: 8 boxPrice: $900 (—/R)

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag—Recoil—SS Brst Rng

Mk-22 SA

Stun GunA pistol-sized weapon used to stun rather than kill, the stun

gun fires two small darts and two lengths of light wire into thetarget, then administers a mild electric shock. It doesn't alwayssucceed in stunning the victim. With a successful hit anywhereon the target, that character immediately losses two Initiativelevels and must roll versus his Constitution to stay conscious.Failure means the target loses consciousness for six phases(30 seconds). Reloading the stun gun consists of removing theexpended dart package and loading a new one. The dartpackage contains a charged battery, darts, three meters of finewire and a compressed gas cylinder to propel the darts.

Ammo: Dart packageWt: 0.5 kgMag: 1 iPrice: $600 (R/S)

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag—Recoil—SS Brst Rng

Stun gun SS * Nil 1 1i 1'Damage is special and is described above.

Tranquilizer GunA specially made weapon designed to fire hypodermic darts

containing a tranquilizer or other drug by means of compressedCO2 cartridges. These were designed originally for administeringdrugs to dangerous animals, but the mere industry soon adoptedthem for its own purposes.

A hit in any part of the body will be effective eventually, but someareas give faster results than others. Head hits result in instantunconsciousness. Chest and abdomen hits result in unconscious-ness after 1D6+2 phases (five to 15 seconds). An arm hit requiresthe target to roll his Constitution or less on 1D10 to stay awakeeach phase. The drug will take effect even if the dart is removed

immediately. Animals such as guard dogs will be rendered in-stantly unconscious from any hit (since their smaller body weightallows the drug to take effect faster). Tranquilizer guns count asmedical equipment for contact assistance.

Ammo: 15mm hypodermic dartWt :3 kgMag:1iPr/ce; $1200 (—/R)

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk MagTranq gun SS * Nil 1 1i 3

'Damage is special and is described above.

—Recoil—SS Brst Rng

— 8

Commando Scout

Price: $40,000 (—/C)RF: +3Armament: MAG MG (coaxial), M2HB MG or 20mm

autocannonAmmo: 1260x.50 BMG or 200x20mmFuel Type: D, ALoad: 200 kgVeh Wt: 6.5 tonsCrew: 2Mnt: 7Night Vision: Headlights

Weapon20mm

Weapon

ROF60

ROF

WEAPON DATAMag Rng Ammo Damage Pen100B

Dam

450450

Pen

API 10HE C:

Blk Mag

1,B:3/-2/-5

2 -8C

—Recoil—SS Brst Rng

MAG MG 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1bipod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1tripod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1

M2HB MG 5 8 2-2-3* 8 105B 3tripod 5 8 2-2-3* 8 105B 2*.50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration

9 655 904 125

14 657 150

of 1-1-2.

Commando Scout (Light Combat Vehicle): TheAmerican firm of Cadillac Gage manufactures a number ofvehicles for export, some of which have been picked up forUS service. The 4x4 Commando Scout is not one of thelatter, but is in service with a number of military and con-stabulary units throughout the world. The vehicle has adriver's hatch on the front deck, a commander's hatch on theturret deck, and an exit hatch on the rear of the vehicle. Thevehicle's extremely low weight makes it easily air-transport-able, and the Commando Scout is very popular with meregroups requiring a light AFV. The vehicle can be armed witha machinegun or a 20mm autocannon. In some models, asingle remotely firedTOW IIATGM launcher is also mountedon the turret, or a 40mm autogrenade launcher such as theMk19 may be fitted in place of the main armament.

Tr Mov: 180/120Com Mov: 80/65Fuel Cap: 208Fuel Cons: 52

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF:4 HF: 4Susp: W(2) TS:3 HS:3

TR:3 HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

Commando V-150

Price:$250,000 (—/C)RF: +1Armament: Twin MAG MGs or MAG MG/M2HB MGAmmo: 2000x7.62mm N or 1000x7.62mm N, 1260x.50

BMGFuel Type: D, A (some early export versions are G, A)Load: 1.2 tonsVeh Wt: 10 tonsCrew: 3+9Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

Commando V-150 (Light Combat Vehicle): Producedby Cadillac Gage, the V-150 series of 4x4 wheeled APCs(adopted for service in the US Army) comes in severalversions, the most common being an APC version, eitherwith a machinegun turret as shown or with a pintle-mountedMAG MG. The 150 series is also available in mortar carrier(turret is removed and replaced with deck hatches), 20mmautocannon, and 90mm gun versions (using the low-pressure gun turret from the V-300). The vehicle is fullyamphibious at one-fourth its cross-country speed. Thevehicle has two side doors, and an exit hatch on the reardeck.

Tr Mov: 120/95Com Mov: 80/65Fuel Cap: 300Fuel Cons: 75

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF:3Susp: W(3) TS:3

TR:3

HF:4HS:3HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

*.5O SLAP ammunition has

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoii—SS11132

; a penetration

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150Of 1-1-2.

Commando V-300 TUA

Price: $350,000 {—/S)RF: +2Armament: Twin TOW ATGM launcher,4A77/77O: 10xTOW ATGMFuel Type: D, ALoad: 400 kgl/eft Wt: 12 tonsCrew; 4Mnt: 6Mg/7/ Ws/on: Passive IR, headlights

Commando V-300 TUA (Light Combat Vehicle): TheV-300 series is a 6x6 wheeled armored vehicle manufac-tured by Cadillac Gage, but was not adopted by the USArmy. The antitank TUA (TOW under armor) version is oneof two TOW versions; the other has a single TOW launcheron a nonturreted pintle mount. The V-300 isfully amphibiousat one-quarter its cross-country speed. The vehicle has twoside doors and a rear exit ramp, plus a commander's hatchin the middle of the top deck fitted.

Tr Mov: 120/95Com Mov: 80/65Fuel Cap: 284Fuel Cons: 71

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 6 HF: 6Susp: W(3) TS:4 HS: 4

TR: 4 HR:3

Type RidWEAPON DATARng Damage Pen

TOW II 2 3500 C:12, B:12 160CTOW IIC 2 3500 C:12, B:12 160C

Commando V-300 CS

Price;$350,000 (—/S)RF: +2Armament: 90mm gun, MAG MG coaxial, M2HB MG or

MAG MG (C)Ammo: 44x90mm gunFuel Type: D, ALoad: 400 kgVeh Wt: 12 tonsCrew: 4Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

*.50 SLAP ammunition has

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

a penetration

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150of 1-1-2.

Commando V-300 CS (Light Combat Vehicle): TheV-300 series is a 6x6 wheeled armored vehicle manufac-tured by Cadillac Gage, but it was not adopted by the USArmy. The CS (combat support) version with a 90mm gunis shown. The V-300 is fully amphibious at one-quarter itscross-country speed. The vehicle has two side doors anda rear exit ramp, plus a commander's hatch atop the turret.

Tr Mov: 120/95Com Mov: 80/65Fuel Cap: 284Fuel Cons: 71

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig:Trt TF:6 HF: 6Susp: W(3) TS:4 HS:4

TR:4 HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided in the basic game.

Type90mm

Rid: 1

WEAPONRound RngAPDS-T 350HEAT 350

DATADamage24C:5, B:10

Pen30/25/20/1560C

Commando V-300 APC

Price: $350,000 (—/S)RF:+2Armament: M2HB MG or MAG MGAmmo: 1260x.50 BMG or 1200x7.62mm NFuel Type: D, ALoad: 1.2 tonsVeh Wt: 12 tonsCrew: 2+10 (turreted versions 3+9)Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

Commando V-300 APC (Armored Personnel Car-rier): The APC version (illustrated) is normally fitted with apintle-mounted MAG or M2HB MG, a light power turretincorporating twin machineguns (either MAG or an M2HB/MAG combo) or a 25mm autocannon (same as on the M2Bradley series). Other armaments include a 40mm GLturret (same as that on the AAVP7A), an air defense versionwith a turret-mounted 20mm autocannon, and an open-topped 82mm mortar version. The V-300 APC is fullyamphibious at one-quarter its cross-country speed.

Tr Mov: 120/95Com Mov: 80/65Fuel Cap: 284Fuel Cons: 71

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig:Trt TF: 6 HF: 6Susp: W(3) TS:4 HS: 4

TR: 4 HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided in the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150*.50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

EE-3 Jararaca

Price: $200,000 (—/S)RF:+1Armament: M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 1260x.50 BMGFuel Type: D, ALoad: 300 kgVeh Wt: 5.5 tonsCrew: 3Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

EE-3 Jararaca (Light Armored Vehicle): The Jararacais a Brazilian 4x4 recon vehicle in service with a number ofarmies worldwide. The vehicle comes with a ring mount(NHT equivalent) to which an M2HB MG is usually fitted atthe front deck hatch (C). The vehicle has two side doors anda rear deck hatch for crew access. Variant armamentsinclude a 20mm autocannon, a 60mm gun/mortar, and aMilan ATGM launcher.

Tr Mov: 180/120Com Mov: 90/50Fuel Cap: 135Fuel Cons: 35

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 4 HF: 4Susp: W(3) TS:3 HS: 3

TR: 3 HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided in the basic game.

WeaponM2HB MG

tripod

WEAPON DATA

ROF Dam Pen5 8 2-2-3*5 8 2-2-3*

*.50 SLAP ammunition has

Blk Mag8 105B8 105B

—Recoil—SS32

a penetration

Brst147

Rng65

150of 1-1-2.

EE-9 Cascavel

Price:$200,000 (—/S)RF: +2Armament:90mm (f) gun, MAG MG coaxialAmmo: 45x90mm (f)Fuel Type: D, ALoad: 300 kgVeh Wt: 12 tonsCrew: 3Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

ROF101010

WEAPON DATA

Dam Pen4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil

Blk666

Mag50B50B50B

—Recoil—SS111

Brst954

Rng6590

125

EE-9 Cascavel (Light Armored Vehicle): The EE-9 isanother Brazilian AFV intended for both domestic serviceand the export market. The Cascavel is a 6x6 wheeled reconvehicle of conventional layout. It has a driver's hatch on thefront deck, commander's and gunner's hatches on theturret, and a firing port on each side. The 90mm gun turrethas a coaxial MAG MG, and a mount (NMT equivalent) atthe commander's hatch (C) for an optional second MAGMG.

Tr Mov; 160/120Com Mov: 80/60Fuel Cap: 360Fuel Cons: 90

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: TrtSusp: W(3)

TF:2TS:2TR: 2

HF: 3HS:2HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with basic game.

Type90mm

Rid:(f)

• 1

WEAPONRound RngAPFSDSHEATHE

300300300

DATADamage24C:5,B:10C:5, B:10

Pen30/25/20/1560C4C

-11 Uruti

Price: $180,000 (—/R)Armament: M2HB MG, or M2HB MG and 60mm mortarAmmo: 1260x .50 BMG or 1260x .50 BMG and 36x60mm

mortarFuel Type: D, ALoad: 1.4 tonVeh Wt: 13 tonsCrew: 3+11 (mortar versions 4)Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

EE-11 Urutu (Armored Personnel Carrier): Sharingmany basic automotive components with the EE-9, the EE-11 Urutu is a Brazilian 6x6 wheeled APC designed for bothdomestic service and the export market. The vehicle has adriver's hatch on the front deck, a ring mount (NHTequivalent) at the commander's hatch in the center deck,and a hatch in the rear deck forcrew access. Some versionsare armed with a 60mm mortar, and a few are fitted with thesame 90mm turret as the EE-9. The EE-11 is fully amphibiousat one-quarter its cross-country speed.

Tr Mov: 160/120Com Mov: 80/60Fuel Cap: 380Fuel Cons: 95

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: S\n6 HF: 6Susp: W(3) HS:4

HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

Type60mm

IFR:4km

WEAPON DATARound DamageHEWPILLUM

C: 5, B: 20C:2, B:12B:400

PenNilNilNil

WeaponM2HB MG

tripod

WEAPON

ROF Dam Pen5 8 2-2-3*5 8 2-2-3*

*.5O SLAP ammunition has

DATA

Blk Mag8 105B8 105B

—Recoil—SS32

a penetration

Brst147

Rng65

150Of 1-1-2.

Ferret

Pnce: $95,000 (—/S)Armament: MAG MGAmmo: 1200x7.62mm NFuel Type.G, ALoad: 200 kgVeh Wt: 5.5 tonsCrew: 2Mnt: 4Night Vision: Headlights

Ferret (Light Armored Vehicle): The Ferret is an obso-lete, British-built, 4x4 armored car, now in service with non-British armies and paramilitary police forces worldwide. Itwas produced in several variants, and most are now armedwith MAG MGs in a turret mount. The vehicle has a singlehatch on the turret top serving both driver and commander/gunner. A few models have been fitted with ATGM launchers.The vehicle is fully amphibious (once a flotation screen hasbeen erected) at one-quarter its cross-country speed.

Tr Mov: 160/120Com Mov: 80/60Fuel Cap: 96Fuel Cons: 24

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF:3 HF: 2Susp: W(2) TS:2 HS: 2

TR: 2 HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

ROF101010

WEAPON DATA

Dam Pen4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil

Blk666

Mag50B50B50B

—fleco/7—SS111

Brst954

Rng6590

125

HWKII

Price: $75,000 (—/R)Armament: MAG MG (C) or M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 1200x7.62mm N or 1260x.50 BMGFuel Type: G, ALoad: 1.2 tonsVeh Wt: 11 tonsCrew: 2+10Mnt: 5Night Vision: Headlights

HWK II (Armored Personnel Carrier): A German-built,tracked APC intended for service with the preunificationBundeswehr. The HWK II was never adopted for Germanservice, but has had extensive sales in foreign countries,primarily in Latin America. It has a hatch on the front deckfor the driver, a commander's hatch with a pintle mount(NHT equivalent), two large passenger hatches on the reardeck and a hinged ramp at the back. The vehicle is not NBCsealed.

Tr Mov: 130/100Com Mov: 65/45Fuel Cap: 300Fuel Cons: 75

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 6Susp: T: 4 HS: 3

HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dan44488

) Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150\50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

LWB Land Rover

Price: $18,000 (V/V)Fuel Type: G, ALoad: 0.75 tonVeh Wt: 2.5 tonsCrew: 1 +3Mnt: 4Night Vision: Headlights

LWB Land Rover (Unarmored Cargo Vehicle): TheBritish-built, 4x4 Long Wheelbase Land Rover is one of themost commonly seen vehicles in the Third World. Roversare in service with many armies, police forces, and para-military forces throughout the world, as well as in civilianuse. Civilian versions are sometimes converted to militaryuse by a field-expedient weapon mount, added armor(sheet metal or sandbags in improvised frames) and(sometimes) a coat of paint. The vehicle is not NBC sealed.

Tr Mov: 180/45Com Mov: 60/35Fuel Cap: 90Fuel Cons: 30

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 1Susp: W(1) HS:1

HR:1

M20

Price: $125,000 (—/R)Armament: M2HB ring-mounted MGAmmo: 1260x.50 BMGFuel Type:G, ALoad:300 kgVeh Wt: 8 tonsCrew: 3Mnt: 3Night Vision: Headlights

M20 (Light Combat Vehicle): The M20 is an unturretedversion of the WWII M8 Greyhound 6x6 reconnaissancevehicle, still used by a number of foreign countries. Itsarmor is inferior compared to other vehicles, but it is cheapand mechanically reliable. The vehicle is not NBC sealed.

Tr Mov: 180/120Com Mov: 90/60Fuel Cap: 212Fuel Cons: 75

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 2Susp: W(3) HS:1

HR:1

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WEAPON DATA—Recoil—

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngM2HBMG 5 8 2-2-3* 8 105B 3 14 65

tripod 5 8 2-2-3* 8 105B 2 7 150*.50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

M24 Chaffee

Price: $350,000 (—/R)RF: +1Armament:75mm gun, MAG MG (bow casemate), MAG

(coaxial), M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 48x75mmFuel Type: G, DLoad:400 kgVehWt: 18.5 tonsCrew; 4Mnt: 6A//g/7f Vision: Headlights

M24 Chaffee (Light Combat Vehicle): An American-built,WWII-era, light AFV, now out of service in the US Army butstill serving with many smaller armies. The M24 is ofconventional layout. The vehicle is not NBC sealed.

Tr Mov: 110/65Com Mov: 55/35Fuel Cap: 416Fuel Cons: 104

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: TrtSusp: T: 3

TF: 10TS:4TR: 4

HF:HS:HR:

1044

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

l Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

*.50 SLAP ammunition has

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil-—SS11132

; a penetration

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150of 1-1-2.

WEAPON DATAType Round Rng Damage Pen75mm AP 300 16 8/4/2

HE 300 C:6, B: 12 -3C

M41

Price: $500,000 {—/R)RF: +2/4rmamenf:76mmgun, MAG MG (coaxial), M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 65x76mmFuel Type: G, A (some models D, A)Load: 400 kgVeh Wt: 24 tonsCrew: 4Mnt: 6Night Vision: Headlights

DAMAGE RECORDCrew/TTembers.CommanderD DriverD GunnerD LoaderDSight/Vision: Gun sight • Range finder • Night vision

equipment •Radio: •76mm Gun: •M2HB(C):\JMAG MG (Coaxial): •Traverse: •Engine: •Fue/ C% Consumed or Destroyed): • • • • • • • • • •Suspension: Minor damage • Immobilized •

WEAPON DATA—Recoil—

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngWeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil-—SS11132

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150*.5O SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

M41 (Light Combat Vehicle): The M41 replaced theM24 Chaffee in US service in the 1950s but was itselfrendered obsolete by other vehicles. It is still found inservice with other countries, however. The M41 is of con-ventional layout for an AFV and is not NBC sealed. Somemodels have had their gasoline engines replaced with moreeconomical diesel ones.

Tr Mov: 140/110Com Mov: 70/45Fuel Cap: 530Fuel Cons: 135

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 12Susp: T: 4 TS: 8

TR: 6

HF:HS:HR:

1266

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WEAPON DATAType Round76mm AP

HVAPHE

Rng300300300

Damage1616C:6, B:12

Pen8/4/212/6/3-3C

OTO-Melara6614

Price: $75,000 (—/S)Armament: MAG MG (C) or M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 1200x7.62mm N or 1260x.50 BMGFuel Type: D, ALoad: 1.1 tonsVeh Wt: 8.5 tonsCrew: 1 +10Mnt: 4Night Vision: Headlights

OTO-Melara 6614 (Armored Personnel Carrier): TheOTO-Melara 6614 is an Italian-built, 4x4 APC used by theItalian Army and sold to foreign armies as well. It has adriver's hatch on the front deck, a cupola-mounted MG onthe center deck, a door on each side, and a ramp in the rearfor departure of passengers. One of the passengers servesas gunner.

Tr Mov: 180/120Com Mov: 90/60Fuel Cap: 142Fuel Cons: 45

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 3Susp: W(3) HS:2

HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam,44488

i Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150*.50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

OTO-Melara6616

Price: $85,000 (—/S)RF: +1Armament: 20mm autocannon, MAG MG coaxial, M2HB

MG(C)Ammo: 400x20mmFuel Type: D, ALoad:300 kgVeh Wt: 7.5 tonsCrew: 3Mnt: 5Night Vision: Headlights

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

*.50 SLAP ammunition has a penetration

Weapon20mm

ROF60

Mag100B

Rng450450

Brst Rng9 655 904 125

14 657 150

of 1-1-2.

Ammo Damage PenAPIHE

10C: 1,B:

3/-2/-52 -8C

OTO-Melara 6616 (Light Armored Vehicle): The OTO-Melara 6616 is a private-venture, Italian, 4x4 armored carused by the Italian Army and exported to other countries. Ithas a driver's hatch in the middle of the front deck, and acommander's hatch and a gunner's hatch on the turretdeck. A cupola-mounted M2HB MG (C) is located at thecommander's hatch.

Tr Mov: 180/110Com Mov: 90/55Fuel Cap: 150Fuel Cons: 50

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 3 HF: 3Susp: W(2) TS:2 HS: 2

TR: 2 HR: 1

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

Price: $85,000 (—/C)RF: +2Armament:

AML-60/20: 20mm autocannon, MAG MG (C), 60mmgun/mortar

AML-90:90mm (f) gun, MAG MG (coaxial), MAG MG (C)Ammo:

AML-60/20: 400x20mm, 36x60mmAML-90: 24x90mm

Fuel Type: G, ALoad: AML-60/20, 300 kg; AML-90, 400 kgVeh Wt: 5.5 tonsCrew:AML-60/20, 3; AML-90, 4Mnt: 6Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

Weapon ROFWEAPON DATA

Mag Rng Ammo Damage Pen20mm 60 100B 450

450APIHE

10C:1,B:2

3/-2/-5-8C

Panhard AMLPanhard AML(Light Combat Vehicle): Manufactured by the

French firm of Panhard, the 4x4 Panhard AML comes in twotypes: the AML-90 armed with a French 90mm gun (the versionillustrated), and the AML-60/20 with a 20mm autocannon and60mm gun/mortar. Both versions have a door on each side, anda hatch on top of the turret for the commander and gunner.

Tr Mov: 180/130Com Mov: 90/65Fuel Cap: 380Fuel Cons: 95

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: TrtSusp: W(2)

TF:TS:TR:

43

:2

HF: 3HS:3HR:2

Type RoundWEAPON DATA

Rng Damage Pen90mm (f)

Rid: 1

Type

APFSDSHEATHE

300300300

24C:5, B: 10C:5, B: 10

Round Damage

30/25/20/1560C4C

Pen60mm gun/mortar HE C: 5, B: 20 Nil

IFR: 4 km WP C: 2, B: 12 Nil

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

ROF101010

Dam444

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil

Blk666

Mag50B50B50B

—Recoil—SS111

Brst954

Rng6590

125

Panhard M3

Price: $50,000 (R/C)Armament: MAG MG (C)Ammo: 1200x7.62mm NFuel Type: G, ALoad:800 kgVeh Wt: 7 tonsCrew: 2+8Mnf: 5Night Vision: Headlights

Panhard M3 (Armored Personnel Carrier): Manufac-tured in large numbers for the export market, the PanhardM3 is a 4x4 APC also found in service with French militarypolice and internal security units. The M3 has no turret, justa cupola-mounted MAG MG (the gunshield is 360° and hasan AV of 2), a passenger door in each side, three firing portsper side, and a hinged ramp in back for troop access. Thevehicle is not NBC sealed.

Tr Mov: 180/110Com Mov: 95/55Fuel Cap: 165Fuel Cons: 45

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 3Susp: W(2) HS:3

HR:2

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WEAPON DATA—Recoil-

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngMAG MG 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 9 65

bipod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 5 90tripod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 4 125

Panhard VCR

Price:$75,000 (R/S)Armament: MAG MG (rearward firing), M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 1200x7.62mm N, 1260x.50 BMGFuel Type: G, ALoad: 1 tonVeh Wt: 7 tonsCrew: 2+10Mnf: 6Night Vision: Headlights

Panhard VCR (Armored Personnel Carrier): ThePanhard VCR (V6hicule de Combat a Roues or wheeledcombat vehicle) is a private venture, 4x4 APC developed bythe Panhard company for the export market. Other variantson the basic hull exist, including a mortar carrier, a MilanATGM carrier, and a light support vehicle mounting a 20mmautocannon in an open (unturreted) mount. Data below arefortheAPC version, which is most common. Export versionsare not NBC sealed. The vehicle is fully amphibious at one-fourth its cross-country speed.

Tr Mov: 200/110Com Mov: 100/55Fuel Cap: 240Fuel Cons: 60

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 4Susp: W(2) HS:3

HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HB MGtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

? Pen

2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil—SS11132

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150*.5O SLAP ammunition has a penetration of 1-1-2.

RAM V-1

WEAPON DATA—Recoil—

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngMAG MG

bipodtripod

101010

444

2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil

666

50B50B50B

111

954

6590

125

RAM V-1 (Armored Personnel Carrier): It is the customof the Israeli armaments industries to amortize their de-velopment costs by selling their low-tech products on theopen market to everyone but theirdirect enemies.The RAMV-1 is a 4x4 light recon vehicle. The vehicle is open-toppedand has no access hatches, but the driver and commanderhave small firing ports (one on each side). The RAM V-1 isarmed with three pintle-mounted MAG MGs, one firingforward and one to each side. All of these weapons arereadily dismountable. The passengers dismount to form arecon team.

Some vehicles mount a single TOW ATGM launcher ona central pintle mount at the cost of the side machineguns(four missiles are carried in place of two of the passengers;the other two form the weapon crew).

Tr Mov; 190/150Com Mov: 95/75Fuel Cap: 120Fuel Cons: 40

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 3Susp: W(2) HS:3

HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

Price: $45,000 (S/C)Armament: 3 MAG MGsAmmo: 3600x7.62mm NFuel Type: D, ALoad: 0.5 tonVeh M; 5 tonsCrew: 2+4Mnt: 4Night Vision: Headlights

RBY Mk1

Price: $45,000 (S/C)Armament: 4 MAG MGsAmmo: 4800x7.62mm NFuel Type: D, ALoad: 0.5 tonVeh Wt: 5.5 tonsCrew: 2+6Mnt: 4Night Vision: Headlights

RBY Mk1 (Armored Personnel Carrier): The RBY Mk1is a 4x4 light recon vehicle, a slightly larger version of theRAM V-1. The vehicle has two large doors on the top deckthrough which the crew enter and exit the vehicle. Thedriver and commander have small firing ports (one on eachside). The vehicle is armed with four pintle-mounted MAGMGs—one firing forward, one to each side, and one to therear. All of these weapons are readily dismountable; in-deed, they must be dismounted to close the top doors.

Tr Mov; 190/150Com Mov: 95/75Fuel Cap: 120Fuel Cons: 40

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 3Susp: W(2) HS:3

HR:3

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

WEAPON DATA—Recoil—

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngMAG MG

bipodtripod

101010

444

2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil

666

50B50B50B

111

954

6590

125

TAM/TH-301

Price: $750,000 (—/S)RF: +3Armament: 105mm gun, MAG MG coaxial, M2HB MG (C)Ammo: 50x105mmFuel Type: D, ALoad: 400 kgVeh Wt: 30.5 tonsCrew: 4Mnt: 8Night Vision: Passive IR, headlights

TAM/TH-301 (Light Combat Vehicle): A German-builtlight tank designed forthe Argentinean Army and sold in theexport market by the German firm of Thyssen-Henschel asthe TH-301. The TAM (Tanque Argentino Mediado or Ar-gentine medium tank) is armed with a 105mm gun and is ofconventional layout. It is NBC sealed.

Tr Mov: 130/110Com Mov: 60/40Fuel Cap: 650Fuel Cons: 150

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 35 HF: 35Susp: T: 3 TS: 20 HS: 25

TR: 20 HR:15

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo records provided with the basic game.

Type

105mmRid: 1

WEAPON DATARoundAPFSDS

Rng500

APFSDSDU 500HEATWP

400400

Damage2626C:6, B:12C: 3, B: 20

Pen80/70/60/40100/90/80/6080CNil

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

M2HBtripod

ROF10101055

WEAPON DATA

Dam44488

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-2-3*2-2-3*

*.5o SLAP ammunition has

Blk66688

Mag50B50B50B

105B105B

—Recoil-—SS11132

; a penetration

Brst954

147

Rng6590

12565

150Of 1-1-2.

Truck, 1-Ton

Price: $20,000 (C/C)Fuel Type: D, ALoad: 1 tonVeh Wt: 2 tonsCrew: 2+6Mnt: 4Mgftf Vision: Headlights

Truck, 1-Ton (Unarmored Cargo): This vehicle is rep-resentative of a number of vehicles commonly available inless settled portions of the globe, usually serving mining orindustrial interests. A weapon is not normally fitted, but afield-expedient pintle mount could be installed if necessary.Two-way radios are not always fitted either.

Tr Mov: 180/35Com Mov: 45/8Fuel Cap: 120Fuel Cons: 35

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Stnd HF: 2Susp: W(2) HS:2

HR:2

Price:$950,000 (—/R)RF: +1Armament: 85mm gun, PK MG (coaxial)Ammo: 36x85mm gunFuel Type: D, ALoad: 400 kgVeh IW: 18 tonsCrew: 4Mnf: 6Night Vision: Headlights

Type 62(Light Combat Vehicle):AChinese-builttrackedlight tank, a development of the Soviet PT-76 light recontank. The Type 62 is of conventtonal layout and is armed withan 85mm gun and coaxial PK MG. An additional MG can befitted to the commander's hatch in a cupola mount (C).

7r Mov; 100/80Com Mov: 50/40Fuel Cap: 545Fuel Cons: 135

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: in TF: 5 HF: 8Susp:T: 3 TS: 3 HS: 3

TR: 3 HR:1

AMMUNITIONUse MG ammo record provided in the basic game.

85mm Gun (36 rounds)DDDDD DDDDDnnnDnnnnnn••••• •••••••••• •

Type RoundWEAPON DATA

Rng Damage Pen85mm

Rid: 1HVAPAPHEHE

300250250

20C:4, B:10C:3, B:8

30/20/1070C20C

Type 62

WeaponPK MG

bipodtripod

ROF555

WEAPON

Dam Pen4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil

DATA

Blk666

Mag50B50B50B

—Recoil—SS211

Brst532

Rng6590

125

Price: $750,000 (R/S)RF: +4Armament:90mm gun (f), MAG MG (coaxial), MAG MG (C)Ammo: 45x90mm (f)Fuel Type: D, ALoad: 300 kgVeh Wf: 12 tonsCrew: 4Mnt: 8Night Vision: Active/passive IR

DAMAGE RECORDCrewmembers:Commar)derO DriverD GunnerD LoaderDSight/Vision: Gun sight • Range finder • Night vision

equipment •Radio: \390mm Gun (f):UMAG MG (Coaxial): nMAG MG (C):UTraverse: •Engine: •Fuel (% Consumed or Destroyed): • • • • • • • O D DSuspension: Minor damage • Immobilized •

WEAPON DATA—Recoil—

Weapon ROF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst RngMAG MG 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 9 65

bipod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 5 90tripod 10 4 2-3-Nil 6 50B 1 4 125

VBC-90 (Light Combat Vehicle): The VBC-90 is aFrench-built, 6x6, armored car, intended both for domesticuse and forthe export market. It features a driver's hatch onthe front deck, and commander and gunner's hatches onthe turret deck. It has an extremely high road speed, butsuffers in cross-country performance due to its size. Thevehicle is armed with a 90mm French-built gun which differsslightly from the 90mm low-pressure guns used by othervehicles in this book.

Tr Mov: 180/120Com Mov: 90/70Fuel Cap: 360Fuel Cons: 90

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF: 8Susp: W(3) TS:8

TR: 4

HF: 8HS:6HR:4

WEAPON DATAType Round Rng Damage Pen90mm (f)

Rid: 1APFSDSHEATHE

300300300

24C:5, B: 10C:5, B:10

30/25/20/1560C4C

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

ROF101010

WEAPON DATA

Dam Pen4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil4 2-3-Nil

Blk666

Mag50B50B50B

—Recott—SS111

Brst954

Rng6590

125

Vickers Valiant

Price: $1,700,000 (—/S)RF: +3Armament: 105mm gun, MAG MG coaxial, MAG MG (C)Ammo: 60x105mmFuel Type: D, ALoad: 400 kgVeh Wt: 43 tonsCrew: 4Mnt: 6Night Vision: Active/passive IR

WeaponMAG MG

bipodtripod

Type

105mmRid: 1

WEAPON

ROF Dam10 410 410 4

RoundAPFSDS

Pen2-3-Nil2-3-Nil2-3-Nil

Rng500

APFSDSDU 500HEATWP

400400

DATA

Blk Mag6 50B6 50B6 50B

—Recoil—SS111

Damage2626C:6, B:C:3, B:

1220

Brst954

Pen

Rng6590

125

80/70/60/40100/90/80/6080CNil

Vickers Valiant (Main Battle Tank): The Valiant is aBritish-built MBT designed primarily for the export market.The Valiant was first offered for sale in 1980, but it is still inservice with many armies around the world. The Valiant hasa driver's hatch on the middle front deck, and a gunner'shatch and commander's hatch on the tu rret deck. A weaponsmount (NHT equivalent) is provided by the hatch.

Tr Mov: 110/90Com Mov: 55/45Fuel Cap: 1000Fuel Cons: 250

COMBAT STATISTICSConfig: Trt TF:100Cp HF:300CpSusp: T: 6 TS:32 HS: 20

TR: 14 HR:16

THE REFEREEAlmost all of the material discussed in the

Referee chapter of Twilight: 2000 has someapplication in Merc: 2000. Naturally, thecharacters' overall goals will differ, and re-wards and experience are somewhat changed(as discussed below). First, however, a shortdiscussion of a real time saver.

Referee Common Sense: At certain pointsin a scenario, a referee can speed things uptremendously by applying common sense,either in situations where no rules exist orwhere the outcome is not really at issue. Asan example of the first situation, say a char-acter wishes to disable a truck so it cannot beused by the enemy. No one is there to inter-fere, and the character has several minutesto accomplish his task. No rules covers dis-abling vehicles, and no task has been defined,but the task to be accomplished is relativelyeasy, can be done by anyone and can beaccomplished in several ways (a frag grenadeunder the gas tank, a thermite grenade on theengine block, cutting the engine wiring,smashing the distributor, etc.). In situationssuch as this, the referee should simply askhow the character proposes to do it, make asnap judgment, and get on with the game.

As an example of the second situation,where the outcome is not really an issue, aplayer with high melee skills has surprised asentry and wishes to knock him cold. Run-ning the situation according to the meleerules would take more time than the situationis worth. In a case such as this, the refereeshould declare the sentry knocked uncon-scious (or overpowered, or whatever) and geton with more interesting parts of the game,saving valuable referee time and energy forthe more exciting stuff.

SCENARIOSThis section will discuss how to administer a

scenario and will touch briefly on campaigns.

There's eight of us. Two four-personfireteams, each with an SAW gunner, agrenadier with an M203 blooper underslungon an M16, a sniper and a team leader. Welike eight 'cause we fit into most aircraft andwe don't have to "liberate" more than one ortwo vehicles when things get hairy. We allknow each others' moves, and we all worktogether well. We're a team.

TeamsThe group of characters in a scenario is

called a team. Teams may consist of anyreasonable number of both PCs and NPCs.Ateam may be a permanent grouping of char-acters hired all at once or a temporary assem-blage hand-picked for a specific job. A teammay carry out a specific mission by itself, ormay be asked to act as a cadre or commandstaff for a larger force of NPCs (although thislast will be harder for the referee to adminis-ter).

Size: Mission requirements may set amaxim urn size for a team (perhaps the patroncan only get proper documents for a limitednumber), or the number may be reasonablyopen. For small information-gathering mis-sions, two to five characters are about right—any more and they will begin getting in eachother's way. Small raids or hostage rescueswill take six to eight characters. Large battlesare really beyond the scope of the game, soteams of 20 or more characters will soonprove unmanageable.

Composition: Each team needs a leader.Committees don't do well in firefights. Thecomposition of the rest of the team will bedictated partly by the characters availableand partly by the mission at hand. A teamneeds members with a proper skill balance toaccomplish a particular mission. Combat skillswill be required of almost every mission, butvehicle skills, mechanical skills, Mountain-eering, Swimming, Computer, and (last butnot least) Medical skill are often called for.How the team is organized is up to the play-ers, for good or ill. Previous military rank is notimportant unless the players make it so.

Equipment: The equipment taken alongwill depend on what the team must accom-plish. The requirements of a hostage rescueare considerably different from an industrialespionage mission, for example. Teamstravelling in vehicles will be able to take alonga greater quantity of equipment, but thoseforced to parachute in and helicopter out willhave certain limitations on their gear, espe-cially if they are to pick up passengers alongthe way and space on the bus home is limited.

Each member of a team will have to coor-dinate what equipment (and supplies—mustn't forget food) he takes along with theothers. No point in everyone bringing an M60

machinegun, and someone needs to bringammunition forthe 60mm mortar. Equipmentshould be chosen after considering the typeof mission, available transport space, anyemergencies that may arise, and other sig-nificant details. For short missions, charac-ters may want to dispense with food, butmedical supples are likely to be vital (first aidkits, at least).

Characters should be allowed to bringwhatever they want (and can afford), butreferees should not hesitate to implement therules about overloading and fatigue. Vehicleswill cause special problems, which will bediscussed later.

Selling Equipment: Characters who ac-quire surplus equipment may wish to sell it onthe international arms market to add to theirprofits. Used military equipment can be soldfor one-third the listed purchase price if it isfully functional (otherwise, you sell it as scrapmetal for two or three cents on the dollar).

PatronsFor lack of a better term, we have chosen

to use the term pafron to represent the personor group who hires the players. Patrons willbe discussed in more detail later, in their ownsection of this book.

Mission GenerationTo help referees in putting together mis-

sions, we have included a number of sampleones in this book (starting on page 88), aswell as a couple of small campaigns (page100). After looking these over, referees willhave a better idea of how to put their owntogether. Mission ideas can be drawn frommovies, books, games, and numerous othersources. A mission consists of three basicthings: what the team has to do, who opposesthem, and how much they will get paid. Amission should be interesting, challenging,and lucrative forthe team. It should be neithera deathtrap nor a cakewalk, and should nothand out giant rewards for minor actions.

Premission Preparations: Each sce-nario will require a greater or lesser amount ofplanning on the part of the players. Forsimplicity's sake, Merc: 2000 assumes thatthe patron will take care of the boring detailsof the mission: getting the team and itsequipment to the departure point, handlingthe various customs inspections and gov-ernment officials encountered along the way,arranging for retrieval, and so on. The playersshould get to do the exciting part of thepreparation: working out the assault plan,finding good places for an ambush, and soon.

The referee's job is much larger. He must

not only figure out an interesting mission, hemust put together the opposing forces (andrun them during the scenario), decide on thelay of the land (so he can either obtain a mapor make one up), throw in a few surprises tokeep it all interesting, and figure out howmuch it's all worth.

Briefing: Here's the part where the patronpulls down a blackboard and starts lecturing.The briefing must contain everything thepatron reveals to the characters that is ofimportance to their mission. This includeswhat the team members are to accomplish,where they need to go to do it, and how m uchthey can take along to do it with. It will includemaps, intelligence information on the expectedopposition, background details important tothe mission, and so on.

Insertion Phase: The active part of the sce-nario begins with the insertion phase. After that,the characters are on their own and call their ownshots, forgoodorill. Insertion can be accomplishedbyanyoneof a wide variety of methods, includingparachutedrops, paddling ashore in rubberboatsfrom a submarine or surface vessel, light planelandings, helicopter landings, ground transportoverland, and so on. The precise method chosenmay be stated as part of the contract with thepatron or may be left up to the team's discretion.The characteristics and potential problems ofeach major type are discussed below:

Parachute Drops: These include HALOdrops (high altitude, low opening), water drops(parachute landings in water), night drops,and normal daytime drops. Vehicles andsupplies can also be dropped, but they mustbe specially prepared.

Waterbome: In simple waterborne insertions,a small boat beaches and the team disembarks.In more complex insertions, a submarine maydrop the team off in rubber boats or as scuba-equipped swimmers. Team members can alsobe dropped into water more than three metersdeep from a slow, low-flying aircraft, or they mayleave from a specially equipped submarine. Ve-hicles and bulk supplies are more difficult to landfrom waterborne transport.

Airborne: In this form of insertion, the teammembers are carried to their landing zone bya light aircraft or helicopter. Fixed-wing air-craft must land to disembark the team andequipment and thus need a large, relativelyflat area suitable as a landingfield. Helicopterinsertions need only land if significantequipment is to be unloaded. Otherwise, theteam can rappel down from the helicopter onropes.

Vehicles and supplies can be droppedfrom slow, low-flying, fixed-wing cargo air-craft under certain conditions if they areproperly prepared.

Mission Resolution:Thescenarioshouldstate what the team is to accomplish and(sometimes) set restrictions on other actions.These should be readily summarized assimple statements (i.e., "Kill the leader of theinsurgents and destroy his headquarters.""Locate General Diaz and his family, and getthem out alive." "Take over the televisionstation intact, and hold it until the team fromthe propaganda section arrives." "Destroythe chemical weapons factory before it canbe completed, killing no civilians in the pro-cess.").

The scenario is over when the charactershave accomplished their mission and gottensafely home, when they decide to give up andleave, or when it has become impossible forthem to complete their mission.

OppositionEnemy forces will vary from a handful of

criminal thugs to highly trained elite militaryforces. We have included some sample tablesof organization and equipment, but the world'smilitary forces are too diverse to be easilysummed up by a few examples. In any case,most units that have been in action cease toresemble their official tables of organizationand equipment. Considerable latitude is al-lowed referees in this regard, and the opposingforce can be (indeed, must be) varied to suitthe abilities and equipment of the team. Ad-justing the opposition is one of the mosteffective means of play balance available tothe referee.

An interesting possibility is the use of de-tailed NPCs as opposition, either as part of acampaign or in an occasional scenario. Acontinuing nemesis to deal with can addspice to an otherwise dull scenario.

RetrievalArrangements to get the team out again

are usually concluded in advance. There arebasically two types of retrievals: prearrangedand standby. In prearranged retrievals (themost common) the team members have aschedule they must meet. They must be at acertain place at a certain time, or they "missthe bus." In standby retrievals, the characterssend a prearranged signal giving their loca-tion (a radio broadcast, a certain color of flare,a signal lamp flashed out to sea from aselected point along the shore), and settle into wait until their ride home arrives.

The scenario may dictate one or morelanding zones, or the players may be allowedto choose them.

Of course, situations may arise where theteam must arrange for its own transportation.This can be an adventure in itself.

RewardsThe characters are not running a chari-

table institution and expect to receive pay-ment for their efforts on the patron's behalf.Also, characters learn from experience, andthis must be reflected in game terms as well.

Skill Points: These are as discussed inthe Referee section of Twilight on page 133,and are awarded and used in the same way.

Money: Some players may be interestedin the details of payment. Referees can usetheir imagination: deposits to numbered bankaccounts, bearer bonds, gold bars, escrowaccounts under assumed names, stock cer-tificates—the list is endless. It is also prettymuch irrelevant to the action. The charactersget paid in something negotiable, and forconvenience sake we call it dollars.

The base payment rate is $1000 per teammember paid in advance, plus $300 per teammember per day (or fraction thereof) and$1000 per surviving team member paid uponcompletion. Completion money and perdiemsare not paid for failures, but the charactersretain their advance money—they did try,after all. Penalties are imposed for loss ofpatron-supplied equipment unless such losswas vital to the accomplishment of the mis-sion (referee's judgment). Likewise, a patronmay agree to supply weapons, ammunition,or other gear (forthe team to keep) but deductthe price from thefinal payment. Modificationsto this payment rate are possible: The char-acters may have sufficient renown to demandmore money, the inherent dangers of themission may dictate a higher rate, or thecharacters may decide to work pro bono (forfree). In some cases, individual scenarios willnot net the players money since they may beon a monthly or annual salary (in cases wherethe characters are serving as an on-call striketeam or whatever).

Renown: After a number of successfulmissions, meres will begin to accumulaterenown points. Renown points representfamein the mercenary community (more impor-tantly, they represent fame among patrons).Renown, along with lifestyle, helps determinethe nature of the job offers a mere receives.

At the conclusion of a mission where thesuccess requirements were met, the refereeshould award a renown point to each surviv-ing member of the team. Each member thenkeeps a running total of points earned. At theconclusion of missions that fail to meet theirrequirements, one or more renown pointsshould be subtracted from each teammember's total (the number subtracted is upto the referee—team leaders should lose morethan grunts). Failure can cost a charactermore than several successes will gain back.

In some cases, however, the referee maychoose to reward heroic or extremely moralactions with extra renown points, even insituations where the mission's requirementsweren't met (rescuing a corrupt generalis-simo's family from a kangaroo court, but leavinghim to face the music is a good example).

The use of renown in meeting patrons andraising the base pay rate is discussed in thePatrons section of Merc, starting on page 52.

LIFESTYLEEveryone has a lifestyle: the place they

live, the food they eat, the clothes they wear,the people they associate with during periodsof leisure. Lifestyle is determined by money.Characters may freely choose how much oftheir income to devote to maintaining theirlifestyle. The lifestyle of a merc will have agreat effect on the type of people he meets,and this will affect the type of job offers hegets. Millionaire industrialists don't trust thelife of their most valued employee to someguys they meet buying snow cones at aconvenience store.

To determine the lifestyle rating, divide thedollar amount spent per month by 1000,rounding down (but never dropping below 1).The resulting number (expressed as a Romannumeral) is the character's lifestyle rating.The use of the lifestyle rating is discussed inthe Patrons section.

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATIONUsually, the patron will handle this sort of

thing, but here are some guidelines for thereferee if the players want to take care ofthings themselves.

Because of the deteriorating economiccondition of much of the world, scheduled airtravel has become more expensive. Travel tononproblem areas presents no particulardifficulties except the usual ones associatedwith international travel (passports, visas,etc.). Getting to a trouble spot, however, ismore—ah—trouble.

Also, getting an M1 tank from PattersonNew Jersey to Java (or wherever) is an ex-pensive and time-consuming process, whichis why there are almost no mercenary armoredunits (those few which exist have long-termcontracts and usually use locally suppliedvehicles). The smaller the vehicle, the easierit is to ship. Vehicles small enough to ship byair are very popular

Customs: Each time a mere crosses aninternational border, consideration must begiven to how the local authorities will react. Agreat deal will depend on immediate circum-stances and what the character is trying to getacross the border.

Characters crossing at normal points ofentry with no contraband will encounter noparticular problems. Vehicles and bulkequipment will need bills of lading and similarpapers, but again, these will normally presentno problems. Military hardware, ammunition,and military vehicles need special docu-mentation, called an end user certificate,specifying where the item is going (thisdocument does not always reflect reality—you can't put "counterrevolutionary forces ina neighboring country" as a destination andhope not to attract attention). The cost ofvarious documents is listed on page 108. Therules for passing a forged document aredescribed in Twilight: 2000.

Illegal Entry: Smuggling and bribery areoptions for getting contraband into a country,especially into the area where they are to beput to their final use. It is best to game outthese sequences.

Air TravelAir travel has the advantage of speed, for

which users pay a price. Any good atlas willshow major air routes, and practically everymap shows airports. Air travel rates varytremendously depending on a great numberof factors. For simplicity, referto the Air RatesTable and see below.

Air Rates; Distance is the distance to betravelled, in air miles, from airport to airport.

Cost is the price for passengers per per-son, or the cost per ton for shipping bulkgoods or vehicles.

Time is the amount of time taken by theflight and includes loading, air time, minordelays, and unloading. Freight over 10 tonsadds another D6 hours to represent increasedloading/unloading time.

Charter flights double these rates (but notthe time taken)'.

Vehicles over 12 tons triple these rates(this represents the difficulty in finding aircraftlarge enough to carry the vehicles). Trans-porting large vehicles by air is prohibitivelyexpensive, and most private patrons refuseto do it. Governments and the extremelywealthy are another matter, of course.

A chart showing distance between majorworld cities has been provided on page 116,for use by referees in determining cost andtravel time.

Overland TravelOverland trucks and railroads offer consid-

erable price advantages for bulk cargo andcan handle vehicles of any size. Of course,there is a time penalty, and they cannot crossoceans. Any good atlas will show roads andrail lines, and the referee can take the dis-

tances from this source. Truck and rail ratesvary tremendously, and are even more com-plicated than airline rates. For simplicity, referto the Overland Rates section below.

Overland Rates: Cost: $125 per 1000 kmTime: 8 hrs per 1000 km.

Cost is the price for passengers per person(and assumed to be rail travel only) or the cost perton for shipping bulk goods or vehicles.

Timels the amount of time taken bythetripand includes loading, travel time, minor de-lays, and unloading. Freight over 30 tonsadds another D6 hours to represent increasedloading/unloading time .

Charters double these rates (but not thetime taken).

Water TravelThe cheapest way

to transport heavyvehicles or bulk cargolong distances is bywater, but it is alsothe slowest. Refer tothe Water Rates sec-tion below.

Water Rates: Peo-ple: $75 per 1000 kmFreight: $50 per 1000km Time: 1 day per1000 km.

People is the pricefor passengers, perperson.

Freight is the costpertonforshipping bulkgoods or vehicles.

Time is the amountof time taken bythetripand includes loading,travel time, minor de-lays, and unloading.

Charters doublethese rates (but not thetime taken).

the other in chronological sequence. Anothertype of campaign is less strict and simplyuses the background as a loose frameworkinto which a number of adventures are fitted.In the first type of campaign, the separatescenarios proceed like the interconnectedsubplots of a movie, whereas in the secondtype, the scenarios proceed like the episodesin a TV series (same characters, same gen-eral situation, but little connection betweenthis week's show and last week's).

The first type of campaign is more interest-ing for the players, but the second type iseasier on the referee and more suited togroups that meet on a regular basis or thatplay other games in-between Merc: 2000sessions.

DistanceUnder 800 km800-2400 km2400-10,000 km10,000-20,000 km

Air RatesCost$450$650

$1200$1500

Time2+1D6+3 hours8+1D6+2 hours12+1D6hours24+1D6 hours

CAMPAIGNSCampaigns con-

sist of a series ofscenarios. Two shortsample campaignsare included in thisbook, to serve as ex-amples to help refer-ees devise their own.One type of cam-paign sets up a back-ground and then pro-ceeds into a numberof linked scenarios,each one following

Local RecruitThe local recruit is some-

one the player characters'team has bumped into alongthe line and felt like takingalong.

He may be a local soldier,a local civilian guide hired tolead the team somewhere, anoncombatant the team hasencountered along the way,or even a soldier from theother side who has decided tojoin the group.

The local recruit is not abad soldier, and his knowl-edge of the countryside isexcellent, especially if he isserving in his old stompinggrounds. He can be expectedto knowthe lay of the land andprovide insight into goodambush and camp sites.

Level: ExperiencedSkills: Melee: 2, Small

Arms (Rifle): 4, Foraging: 4Initiative: 4

Company ManThe company man is sent

along by the patron to makesure you complete the mis-sion as contracted. He is ex-cited to be doing somethingother than sitting behind adeskandfancies himself quitea man of action. He's beenthrough an expensive com-bat pistol course, has a matchbarrel M21 rifle (with acustomstock, reconfigured set-trig-ger, and unbelievably expen-sive telescopic sight), a cus-tomized .45 long slide, and100 kilos of camping gear(about 20 kilos more than hecan carry), all in a matchingtiger-striped camo pattern.

Of course—you have to gethim back alive. He's thepatron's brother-in-law.

Level: NoviceSkills: Computer: 3, Small

Arms (Pistol): 4, Chemistry: 1Initiative: 1

ManiacMost of the time, the ma-

niac is a acutally quite a creditto the team—capable and in-telligent.

Most of the time.Sometimes, however, the

maniac just doesn't seem tocare whether he (or the rest ofthe team, forthat matter) livesor dies.

In the middle of afirefight,something inside him willsnap, and he'll go completelyberserk.

At the end of it all, if he isstill alive (and fortune seemsto favorthe deranged), he willseek solitude and sit forawhile, vibrating like a violinstring.

Then, after a few minutes,he will return to normal.

Level: VeteranSkills: Melee: 4, Small Arms

(Rifle): 6, Small Arms (Pistol): 2Initiative: 4

FreedomFighter/Terrorist

Depending on which sideyou are on, this nonplayercharacter is either a herofighting for a just cause or amurdering swine out to de-stroy civilization.

Driven by a fiery anger fu-eled by the memory of whatthe enemy did to someone heloved deeply, the freedomfighter (or terrorist, if you arehis enemy) is impossible todeal with on anything ap-proaching a rational level.

His emotions are too fierce,the memory of past atrocitiestoo strong.

In some ways, he is theworst possible ally.

In some ways, he is thebest.

Level: VeteranSk///s: Melee:4, Small Arms

(Rifle): 4, Foraging: 6Initiative: 4

Ice ManThe Ice man kills with the

calm precision of a machine.He shows no emotion, no re-grets, and absolutely no hesi-tation. Rifle, pistol, mortar,machinegun, knife, garrote,truncheon, or blasting ma-chine—it makes no differenceto him how he does it. Remotedemolition charges are fine byhim, but he is just as undis-turbed to do the job up closeand personal.

Nobody really knows muchabout his background or howhe got his nickname. He couldhave picked it up because hehas ice water in his veins—hecould have acquired it becausehe puts people "on ice" so well.Nobody has had the courageto ask him.

Level: EliteSk///s.Melee:6, SmallArms

(Rifle): 6, Heavy Weapons: 4Initiative: 5

EnthusiasticNewbie

We all start somewhere, andwe all looked like this once."Shavetail," "newbie," "new fish,""fresh meat," or "rookie," the en-thusiastic newbie talks a goodfight, but his greatest secret (onehe carries written all over him) isthat he has never seen actionand is afraid of how he will per-form.

Will he earn the respect of hisfellow mercs? Will he make acomplete fool of himself? Will heget killed? Or (worst of all) will heget someone else killed?

Although he has the potentialto become a good soldier, fornow he is short on experienceand long on zeal.Some think thismakes him more dangerous thansweaty dynamite.

Level: NoviceSfc/7/s:SmallArms(Rifle):4,

Melee: 2Initiative: 3

Quiet OneThe quiet one doesn't talk

much about her past. Shedoesn't talk much at all, justsits stropping a combat knifeon a thick leather wristbandshe wears, responding toquestions with monosyllables,if at all.

Tormented by some vague,shadowy monster from herpast (perhaps represented bythe faint purplish scar tissuesbarely visible on her leftcheek), she sleeps fitfully,spends a lot of time staringblankly into space, and ingeneral is not good company.She is average in almost ev-ery respect—height, weight,hair color. But she fights likenothing human.

Level: VeteranSkills: Small Arms (Rifle):

2, Melee Combat: 8, ThrownWeapon: 4

Initiative: 4

Loudmouth"Say, did I ever tell you

about the time that Dutch andme.... What? You've heard it?Oh. Well, then, how about thetime I...."

The loudmouth is a com-petent soldier, but during thelengthy periods of inactivitythat characterize any militaryor paramilitary operation, helike to talk.

And talk.And talk.This can sometimes drive

his compatriots to distraction.They may even long for ac-tion—anyaction—just so theycan escape this soldier's in-cessant chatter and off-colorjokes (all told with perfectlyawful timing).

Level: VeteranSk///s;Melee:3, SmallArms

(Rifle): 4, Foraging: 2, ThrownWeapon: 2

Initiative: 4

PATRONSMost of the people thathireyou don't know

squat about the life. They think it's some kindofcampout, only with gunfire. The best kindsof patrons are ex-mercs, because they knowexactly what you need to do a particular job(or at least they have a clue, which is betterthan nothing). We had a guy one time, backin '98, that I wanted to invite along with us—and if you knew how I feel about suits, you'dknow what a compliment that really is.

For lack of a better word, we have chosento use the term patronto represent the personor group that hires the players. The patron willusually supply intelligence data, specialweapons, special equipment, transportation,any special documents necessary, additionalpersonnel, and so on. The patron sets thegoals for the mission, decides when thesehave been met, and issues payment ac-cordingly. Patrons (or their representatives)may accompany the team, but normally donot.

Patrons may be thought of as a specialform of contact. Like contacts, the samepatron may be used over and over (perhapseventually almost becoming a detailed NPCas described on page 142 of Twilight: 2000),or discarded after one or two appearances.Their main use is to provide a framework formercenary job-hunting and to put some re-strictions on what the players can do. Theyalso make the game a little more sophisticatedand add a layer of verisimilitude.

Success will make patrons like the teamand give them other jobs or provide links withother patrons. Failure will have the oppositeeffect.

MEETING PATRONSSometimes mercs seek patrons; some-

times patrons seek mercs. Lifestyle, contacts,and renown determine what kind of patronthe players find, or what kind finds them.Patrons are classified in levels, like lifestyles.

These are defined as:Patron Level I: Local business types, local

police and government agencies, local se-curity companies and so on. Patrons at thislevel pay half the going rate (unless thescenario specifies a different arrangement).

Patron Level II: National business types,national police and government agencies,

small museums, and lower-level governmentofficials in foreign countries.

Patron Level ///.The medium to high rangeof government officials, large museums,representatives of international businesses,and the governments of small foreign coun-tries.

Patron Level IV: Wealthy private individu-als, high government officials (British foreignsecretary, US secretary of state, and so on).

PatronLevel I/; Eccentric multibillionaires,chief executives of large multinational corpo-rations, and heads of state.

The level of a character's lifestyle repre-sents the highest level of patron he canexpect to contact or be contacted by. Char-acters normally encounter patrons at thesamelevel (or lower) as their lifestyle. Lifestyle Iallows you to meet level I patrons, etc. Con-tacts and renown can increase this level.

Using Contacts: Contacts serve to allowmercs seeking work to find higher-level pa-tronsthan their lifestyle would ordinarily permit.When the contact is created, the referee mustwork out what level of patrons the contact willhave association with. Most contacts will havelinks to patrons of levels II, III, and (rarely) IV.Forthese, roll 1D6-2 (converting the result toa Roman numeral). For wealthy contacts,subtract only 1. A result of 0 or less meansthat the contact has no useful patron links(but may still be of value in other ways, ofcourse).

Not all types of contacts can provide a linkto a patron, but patrons met through contactscan be of any level, no matter how high.

Using Renown: Renown, like contacts,allows the characterto come into contact withhigher level patrons than allowed ordinarily. Italso allows characters to negotiate for largerfinancial rewards.

Pafrons;Dividetheteam's average renownrating by 2 (rounded to the nearest wholenumber). If the result is greater than the levelof patron the highest lifestyle of the groupmembers ordinarily allows them to contact,the team has managed to attract a patron onelevel higher than normal. Only one higherlevel of patron can be gain in this way.

Money/Only patrons of level III and higherwill agree to pay more based on renown(lower ones can't afford it). Use the averagerenown of the characters (rounded to the

nearest whole number) as a D10 roll forsuccess. If they make it, the characters candouble the base salary for that job. The groupmembers can roll as many times as they likebut may only roll again if they are successful.If they fail, all salary increases are cancelled,and the team cannot roll again.

Meeting Patrons ExampleSuppose the team consists of four mem-

bers, two with lifestyle I, one with lifestyle II,and one with lifestyle III. One of the group hasa foreign government contact, which a die rolldetermines has a link with a level IV patron.The average renown of the group is 3.25.

Purely on lifestyle, the group can be con-tacted by patrons of level III or less. Thegroup's renown is not yet enough to allow thisto increase. However.theforeigngovernmentcontact allows the team to meet a level IVpatron.

ORGANIZATIONSThis section contains a few brief sketches

of a number of worldwideorganizations whichmay serve as sources of patrons forthe team.The choice of which of these organizations touse is completely up to the referee.

CIA: This is the American Central intelli-gence Agency. In 2000, it is underfunded andunderstaffed, but still active. The CIA is theAmerican organization primarily responsiblefor antiterrorist actions outside of the bordersof the United States, as well as what littleforeign espionage the US still undertakes.

DIA: The United States Defense Intelli-gence Agency in 2000 is an information-gathering branch of the US Department ofDefense. The DIA is primarily responsible forthreat assessments of foreign militaryequipment and capabilities.

DEA: This group is the Drug EnforcementAuthority of the US Bureau of Narcotics. It isresponsible for antidrug raids in the US. TheDEA often hires mercenary groups forforeignoperations.

NSA: The US National Security Agencygathers electronic intelligence through inter-cepts of all sorts of electronic communica-tions media, including radio, television, tele-phone, telegraph, and many others. Theagency does not hire many mercenaries andusually works through several layers of inter-mediaries when it does.

NSC: The US National Security Council isa consulting body to the American president.Legally, this group is purely advisory.

DoS, DoD: The US Departments of Stateand of Defense occasionally hire mercenar-ies, but working forthem is not common. Anti-terrorist activities are handled by a multi-

service force known as Special OperationsGroup Delta (Delta Force for short).

KGB: The KGB (KomitetGosudarstvennoyBezopasnostior Committee for State Secu-rity) isthe Soviet covert operations/espionageorganization. By 2000, the KGB's worldwideoperations are considerably reduced fromprevious decades. Like the American CIA, itis smaller, leaner, and less active, but stillaround and very competent. The GRU(Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniyeor Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Gen-eral Staff), the Soviet military espionage/sabotage organization is much less activethan it once was, primarily due to lack offunding.

Special Branch: Special Branch is theoldest of the British security organizations,and as a part of Scotland Yard, is directlyresponsible to the British home secretary.Special Branch does not hire mercenaries,but mercs on missions to the United Kingdomwill run up against it if their missions arecontrary to the best interests of the British

government.MI-5: MI-5 (Military lntelligence-5) is a

British organization also responsible to thehome secretary. Its duties parallel those ofSpecial Branch, but MI-5 occasionally hiresmercs to assist in its activities.

MI-6: Military lntelligence-6 is responsiblefor active overseas operations conducted bythe British foreign secretary. It occasionallyhires mercenaries, usually working throughintermediaries. Antiterrorist activities arehandled by elite units of the British armedforces (SAS, SBS, Royal Marine Comman-does, etc.)

SDECE: The SDECE {Service de Docu-mentation Exterieure et de Contra-Espionnage or Foreign Intelligence andCounterespionage Service) is the Frenchforeign intelligenceorganization. The SDECEprefers to work with units of the French For-eign Legion whenever possible, but is notbeyond hiring mercenary groupson occasion,especially where the French government doesnot wish to become formally involved.

Counterespionage operations inside Franceare handled by the DST {Defense et Sur-veillance du Territoire).

Mossad: The Israeli Mossad (MossadLetafkiddim Meyouchadim or Secret Intelli-gence Service) prefers to use its own opera-tives, distrusting mercenaries. It may be en-countered when the team's mission is counterto Israeli interests. Counterespionage ishandled by Shin Beth (Sherut Bitachon Klattor Counterespionage and Internal Security).Counterterrorist operations are handled byMossad and special elite units of the IsraeliArmy.

BND:The BND (Bundesnachrichtendienstor Federal Intelligence Service) is the Ger-man intelligence service. Counterespionageand counterterrorist operations are handledby GSG-9 {Grenzeschutzegruppe-9).

UB: The Polish intelligence service.AVH: The Hungarian intelligence service.DIE: The Romanian intelligence service,

in low esteem from 1989 to 1993, but reformedwhen things started to fall apart in Europe.

THE WORLD OF 2000The present world situation is an unex-

pected one. Most people anticipated that thelast decade of the 20th century was to be "theend of history" (as one writer put it), a periodof peace and of little or no historical interestwhatsoever. By the second half of 1990, itwas obvious to some that the coming decadewas not going to be fun.

Another idea formulated in the late 1980sproved more accurate. This hypothesis statedthat the bipolar East/West, US/USSR conflictwas soon to fall apart and the two primarilymilitary superpowers (the United States andthe Soviet Union) would be replaced by fiveprimarily economic powers (the US, theUSSR, Japan, China, and a European com-munity dominated by Germany). Further, the

hypothesis stated that none of these neweconomic powers would be able to be "globalpolicemen" (enforcers of international order),positions filled by the US and USSR since1945.

As outlined in more detail on pages 6through 11 of this book, the world of 2000 isin the midst of a kind of international law-lessness, where each nation (including themajor econom ic powers) is unwilling or unableto project military power beyond its ownborders. All of this has radically changed thepolitical-economical landscape. In the ab-sence of the global cops to keep things calm,ethnicgroupsthat had once been independent(or dreamed of it, at least) sought to assumetheir "proper place."Old territorial claims were

dusted off; old grudges, old hatreds, and oldrivalries smouldered and burst into flame.Nuclear war was looking less and less likely,but a new kind of conflict came into being: thebrushfire war.

A brushfire war is a little holocaust of lim-ited duration and small global effect (althoughit is devastating to those involved). Duringprevious years, such wars were discouraged(although not totally prevented) when they didnot mesh with one of the bipolar powers'plans. (The conflict between Hungary andRomania, for example, is centuries old, butwas kept in check by the Soviets since it wouldhave wasted resources needed elsewhere.With the safety valve of the Soviets removed,events took their own course.)

World Space ProgramsUnited States: The US effort in space was largely abandoned

by President Tanner in 1998. All deep space research programsand the Bush administration Mars and moon colony programswere canceled. Shuttle launches of commercial and weathersatellites continued on a reduced schedule (the shuttle Atlantiswas mothballed). The partially finished Bush administration spacestation project was canceled by the Tanner administration but waspurchased by an international business consortium in -January2000 (using a number of California science-fiction writers as itspublic spokesmen). Nothing has been done as of July 2000.

Soviet Union: The Soviets abandoned all space programs in1995, but since the Soviets had done nothing in space since 1991,this merely served to formalize an existing condition.

China: China abandoned all space programs in 1994, with thebreakup of that nation's central government

Others: Japan and the European Space Agency continueoccasional launches, mostly telecommunications and meteoro-logical satellites. Their deep space scientific research programshave been severely cut back, but some are still taking place. Brazilabandoned satellite launches in 1996.

US Armed ForcesThe armed forces of the United States were downsized under

President Bush after the conclusion of the Iraq/Kuwait crisis of1990, and further cutbacks were made out of political and eco-nomic necessity under President Tanner. The programs of theStrategic Defense Initiative were largely canceled under PresidentTanner.

The current US armed forces stand as follows:Army: In 2000, the army consists of four heavy mechanized

divisions (all based in the US), two light divisions (one in Hawaii,one in Alaska), one airborne division, one air assault division, andone mountain division.

Six national guard divisions and three reconstitutable divisions(nicknamed "freeze-dried" divisions) are maintained at cadrestrength, with the plan of bringing them up to strength fromreserves in a crisis.

Air Force: The US Air Force now consists of 16 tactical fighterwings and a small number of transport and specialty units. Strate-

gic bomber and missile wings have been reduced to eight and sixrespectively. With the B-52 bomber approaching the end of itsuseful service life, a major debate in the US Congress now ragesover whether to replace the B-52 with a newer model or do awaywith strategic nuclear bombers altogether.

Navy: With the threat of the Soviet Union gone for more than adecade, the US Navy became almost a pure defensive force andsuffered the most severe cutbacks of the US armed forces. Manyof the huge carrier task forces and all battleship task forces weremothballed. The navy maintains an Atlanticf leet (based on the eastcoast of the US), a Pacific fleet (based in Hawaii), and a numberof smaller task forces. A strategic missile submarine fleet isretained but is much smaller than in previous years.

Marines: The US Marine Corps in 2000 consists of four activeand three reserve brigades, plus attached air assets. Small contin-gents are maintained with each fleet and at US embassiesthroughout the world.

The Iraq/Kuwait crisis of 1990 was one ofthe last where concerted international mili-tary action was undertaken. The recessionthat had begun to hit the United States andJapan was worsened by the erratic oil mar-ket, and the world economy proved unable totake the strain.

The major divisions of the world since1945 have completely broken down. Thedivision into the Eastern Bloc, the WesternBloc, and the nonaligned or Third Worldcountries is no longer valid. The NATO alli-

ance is gone, as is the Warsaw Pact, theOAS, and the EEC.

Multinational corporations have taken overmuch of the economic coordination that wasthe venue of organizations such as the WorldBank and OPEC. These corporations havebecome, in a way, landless nation-states.The one major economic activity that has notyet been taken over by the corporations isthat of the mercenary—the life is still largelypursued by independent contractors or smallgroups.

CRIMEIn the absence of effective government

controls, a number of areas of the world havebeen taken over by a new form of interna-tional corporation: the international criminalcartel. These new cartels make the criminalgroups of earlier in the century seem small,disorganized, and ineffective by comparison.Taking a leaf from the book of internationalcorporations, these new criminal cartels areorganized, financed, and operated almostidentically to the multinational corporations.

THE HIRING HALLA Job-Hunters' Guide to World Hot Spots

The four major hiring centers for merce-naries in 2000 are Singapore, Tunis, Istanbul,and Havana. Singapore isthe largest of these,and has been labeled the "mercenary capitalof the world" by some observers. Singaporecovers Asia, Tunis covers Africa, Istanbulcovers the Arab world and east Africa, andHavana covers the Western hemisphere, pri-marily Central and South America.

Other minor centers of mere hiring areLondon, Geneva, and Miami.

NORTH AMERICAWhile it is reported that a number of terrorist

organizations are operating in North America,no solid evidence of such activities has beenmade public. Both Canada and the UnitedStates have disgruntled socioethnic groupswhich could form insurgencies given sufficientprovocation, but again, no such activitieshave been reported.

Canada: In Canada, Quebec is the primesource of strife, but this is presently low-keycompared to previous years. There has been

occasional armed violence on Indian reser-vations, but this is also less than in recentyears. Some criminal violence has spreadacross the border from the US, but all in all,Canada is relatively quiet.

United States: Crime is the problem moston the minds of America's citizens, and mostplace the blame squarely at the feet of thefederal and state governments (although thereasons vary). Kidnapping, industrial sabo-tage, and drug/gang-related violence are onthe increase. In the US, some inner cities areeffectively war zones, created byfeuding drug/criminal cartels. Rural areas do not com-pletely escape either, and America is violent ata level not seen since the 1920s. Firearmssales are up, vigilantism is growing, and thereis an increasing tendency to hire private secu-rity firms (as mere groups are euphemisticallycalled in the US) to fill in where the police fail.

THE PACIFICThe Pacific islands are underpopulated

and (with some exceptions) economically

deprived. Occasional attempts have beenmade to exploit the isolation of these islandcountries by mercenary bands, most notablythe recent coup in Tonga.

A few underfunded and ill-supported localinsurgencies exist, and local governmentsoften make use of mercenaries as securityforces or training cadres fortheirconventionalarmed forces.

Tonga: The Tongan coup was successful,leaving an 800-man mercenary force in chargeof the country. But the situation is far fromstable, and anything could happen.

Indonesia: Indonesia is in the grip of acontinuing civil war pitting mercenary forcesof the Australian-backed government againstseveral groups of local insurgents. Both sidesare hiring.

Philippines: The civil war in the Philippinescontinues. Both sides are hiring.

Japan: A Japanese border dispute withSoviets over Sakhalin and the Kurile islandshas yetto result in military action, but could doso any time.

CENTRAL AMERICAWith the reduction of US and Soviet dip-

lomatic presence in the region, the situationin Central America has become "more fluid."Antigovernment insurgencies exist in practi-cally every country, but the most active aredealt with below.

As a side note, American mercenaries arenot always welcome in South and CentralAmerica.

Mexico: Mexico is relatively quiet as theworld goes, but still has internal civil strifebrought about by its loan defaults and theworld economic crisis.

Guatemala/Belize: Guatemala and Belizeare still at war, and an active mere marketexists in both countries.

El Salvador: The government is hiringmercenaries for action against a minor insur-gency conducted by a group called the EjercitoRevolution Popular, an old-style socialistrevolutionary coalition.

Cuba: With aid from the Soviet Union cutoff, Cuba found itself in an economicallyprecarious position, which it tried to solve inseveral ways, one of which was to become asupplier of mercenary troops. Cuban troopsare experienced, trustworthy, and relativelyapolitical (nowadays).

Honduras: The government is hiring mer-cenaries for action against a minor insur-gency conducted by a group called theCinchoneros.

Panama: When the canal was turned over

to the Panamanians, American military pres-ence in the region was severely reduced, andthe economic situation forced even morecutbacks. The Panamanian Army seeks mer-cenaries as cadre for its elite forces and aspart of the presidential guard.

Dominican Republic: The government ishiring mercenaries for action against a minorinsurgency conducted by a group called theFalange Deno, a conservative coalition withsome sympathy among lower-level Domini-can military officers.

Barbados: A recent coup ousted thedemocratically elected government of PrimeMinister Calvin Forsythe, dissolving the senateand house of assembly and declaring martiallaw.

SOUTH AMERICAParaguay, Ecuador and Uruguay are rela-

tively stable, but minor antigovernment move-ments exist in practically every country. Themajor problem areas are discussed below.

Peru: Peru is trying to recover the territo-ries lost to the Sendoro Luminoso guerrillas,using primarily Cuban and Russian merce-naries.

Colombia: The Colombian government

faces a major threat from an alliance of crimi-nal organizations, largely engaged in thedrug trade.

Panama: The Panamanian governmentfaces a major threat from an alliance of crimi-

nal organizations, largely engaged in thedrug trade.

Brazil: Brazil has agrowing problem in theAmazon River basin.

Argentina/Chile: Argentina occupies a

portion of Chile and faces hostile guerrillaactions there. The financial strain of conduct-ing the occupation is beginning to affect thenational economy.

Venezuela: Venezuela has recently sur-

vived a coup attempt and is ruled by anincreasingly autocratic military regime.

Bolivia: Bolivia is experiencing increasingresistance to the military dictatorship cur-rently in control.

EUROPEMost of Europe is reasonably peaceful, al-

though economic distress is everywhere. TheLibyan government is financing a low-key (butgrowing) terrorist campaign in numerous coun-tries, primarily France, Germany, and Great Britain.

Germany/Poland: Reductions in forcesin the early 1990s put many German mercson the market, but many of these returned toGerman service atthetimeofthe Polish crisisand remain there. German mercenaries arestill fairly common in South American coun-

tries, in Africa, and in China. At present, thePolish/German border is relatively quiet.

Hungary/Romania: The Romanians havedefaulted on their reparation payments toHungary, and atense situation is developing,but open warfare has not yet broken out.

Ireland: Northern Ireland is still in themidst of "the troubles," and it remains one ofthe few places the British have have notswitched over to mercenaries.

Greece: Greece retains some forces inCyprus in support for the Greek Cypriots and

some in Macedonia to protect the Greeksthere. Many of these troops are Soviet andAmerican mercenaries.

Turkey/Bulgaria: The Turkish/Bulgarianborder situation is tense but stable.

Spain: Spain faces an increasing insur-

gency in the Basque portions of the country,although the Catalans have remained quiet.

Scandinavia, et al.: The Scandinaviancountries are free of internal minority strife,but disturbances attributed to Libyantroublemaking occur from time to time.

MIDDLE EAST/NEAR EASTTurkey/Cyprus: Cyprus is once again split

between Greek-backed and Turkish-backedfactions, and a low-level civil war continues.

Lebanon: After a relatively quiet period

from 1992 to 1996, things have begun to heatup again. The main groups still remain: anumber of Christian militias (some of themIsraeli-supported and often fighting them-selves as much as everyone else), several

anti-Israeli factions (primarily Palestinian),and a number of Islamic militias (again, oftenfighting each other as often as they do theirnominal opposition). The area is ripe forcriminal groups and terrorists as well.

Iran: The major military threat faced by theIranians is the continued insurgency by theBaluchis, aided by their countrymen in theBaluchi portion of Pakistan. This low-levelguerrilla war has recently begun to heat up as

the Baluchis hire foreign soldiers to train theirfighters in modern combat.

Iraq: By the time Iraq had recovered fromthe Kuwait crisis of 1990, the Kurds (aided byunknown foreign powers) rose in active re-

bellion. Iraqi treatment of the Kurds duringthe Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s was barbaric(Kurdish civilians were the subject of chemi-cal attacks) which instilled in them a tremen-dous desire for revenge.

CENTRAL ASIAUSSR: For all practical purposes, the

Soviet Union has ceased to exist as thesuperstate it once was. Now more closelyresembling the 13 American colonies underthe Articles of Confederation, the Soviet Unionstill has some internal unrest, especially in

Armenia, Georgia, and the Islamic republics.

INDIAN SUBCONTINENTAND INDIAN OCEAN

Baluchistan: The Baluchi areas of Paki-stan are effectively independent, but those inIran are not. Baluchistan is a very poor country

and is unable to pay much, but is still seekingmercenaries to train its forces and help inliberating the other part of the country.

Sri Lanka: With the withdrawal of UN forces,the situation in Sri Lanka has begun to heat upagain and could explode suddenly into violenceany day.

India: India is plagued by internal eco-nomic problems caused by too many peopleand too few resources, as well as revolts inKashmir and other areas. Border conflictswith the Chinese and Tibetan warlords alsohelp to keep things tense.

Pakistan: Bad lydefeated by the Indians in the

recent war, the Baluchi insurgency keeps thePakistani military (or what's left of it) occupied.

Seychelles: Perhaps inspired by MikeHoare's attempt in 1981, a group of mercs(reputedly in the pay of a Latin American drugkingpin) attempted to take over the govern-ment of the Seychelles from France in 1997.

Swift action by the French Foreign Legionfoiled the coup, which had no local support tobegin with and (in hindsight, at least) wasdoomed tofailure. Nominally apart of France,the islands'defense is still technically a Frenchmatter, and a small garrison of the Ldgion£trang&re remains.

EAST ASIA to act as cadres and to perform special mis- of Chinese disorder to declare itself a freeChina: There is no longer a central gov- sions. The map shows the rough divisions of and independent city, like Singapore. The city

ernment in China, but the warlords (major the country and areas of conflict. is nominally a part of the British Common-and minor) are constantly searching for meres Hong Kong: Hong Kong took advantage wealth, but is pretty much on its own militarily.

Mercenaries are in quite heavy demand, bothfor local defense and because the city is aclearing house for mercs seeking work insideof China.

SOUTHEAST ASIAVietnam: Vietnam is still troubled by minor

bodies of Yunnanese troops that hold out inthe northern portion of the country.

Thailand/Burma: Both are subject to a con-tinuing insurgency by drug cartels in the interiorregions. Neither can do much about the situationwithout assistance, and little is forthcoming.

AFRICAThe countries of Central Africa are in se-

vere civil disorder. Libyan-backed insurgentscontinue to trouble Chad.

Minor antigovernment coalitions exist inMozambique, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia,Ethiopia, Gabon, and Cameroon. Morocco

and Mali continue to face Polisario insur-gencies.

Libya: Muamar Khadafy remains in chargeof Libya and is devoted to spreading hispolitical philosophythroughoutAfnca and theworld. Khadafy continues to recruit and fi-nance a military organization called the Mus-

lim Legion of Africa. The legion serves mostlyin Africa, but occasionally pops up elsewhere.

Nigeria/Biafra: Oppression of the pre-dominantly Catholic Ibo tribe by other ethnicgroups in Nigeria (mostly the largely MuslimHausas) had exploded into civil war threedecades before, and the underlying conflict

resurfaced in the 1990s. The action hasstalemated, and both sides seek mercs.

Mali/Burkina Faso: The long-standingborder dispute between these two westernAfrican nations has flared up and cooleddown since the two nations gained indepen-dence from France in the 1960s.

In 1998, it erupted into full-scale war andcontinues to the present. Burkina Faso hassupport from Libya.

Republic of South Africa: The Republicof South Africa is relatively stable under thecoalition (primarily Xhosa/white) governmentof Dr. Joseph Slovo, but insurgencies still

remain (primarily among the Zulus, but amongother black and conservative white groups aswell).

Angola/Zaire: The war over the annex-ation of the Cabinda Enclave continues withneither side able to gain a significant advan-tage.

TIME, TRAVELAND ENCOUNTERS

The Time and Travel rules from Twilight:2000 can be used without modification. For-aging, fishing, and hunting will become lessimportant, but may still prove necessary if aretrieval goes sour and the characters run outof supplies. Fatigue still places very impor-tant limits on character actions, and the rulesconcerning it should still be applied. En-counters, however, deserve discussion inmore detail.

Water: In most scenarios, the charactersare presumed to be able to get adequatewater from the surrounding terrain, and thuswater is not considered. Referees may wishto make use of scenarios where water isscarce, perhaps as a vital part of the action(the team might have to capture the only wellfor hundreds of kilometers). Implement thefollowing optional rules:

Characters need two liters of water per dayto continue optimal functioning in weather upto 20°C (double this requirement for each 15°increase in temperature). The effects of thirstare the same as starvation (subtract one levelof fatigue if at least half the daily requirementis consumed), but recovery is quicker (acharacter can recover from the effects ofthirst in one day by consuming 110% of thenormal requirement). Death occurs morerapidly also: Acharacter on half water rationswill die within a week, one on no water withina few days. Animal water requirements aremuch larger than those for humans, but arenot dealt with here for the sake of simplicity.

By definition, a liter of water weighs onekilogram. Water carriers come in a variety ofsizes and shapes. A character's basic loadincludes a one-liter canteen and a two-literreserve canteen (this is not intended to be asoldier's only water source).

Referees should consider carefully beforeimplementing these rules. Water is very heavyand is one of the primary logistical factors tobe considered in military actions. But it is notvery exciting, and characters have more in-teresting things to worry about.

ENCOUNTERSIn the scenarios of Merc: 2000 it is in-

tended that the lion's share of encounters bemandated (that is, that most encounters beimplemented by the referee's specific deci-sion). Since the territory covered in a Merc:

2000 adventure will be much less than that ina Twilight adventure, there is no real need fora fully developed random encounter system.The characters just won't be running aroundthe countryside at random all that often (un-less a retrieval goes awry).

Nevertheless, variety is the spice of agoodadventure, so for referees who wish to usethe Twilight: 2000 encounter system, hereare a few necessary modifications:

Any random encounter which seems un-realistic as mandated by the tables should bemodified until it makes sense in the context ofthe scenario, rerolled, or dropped. For ex-ample, referees should not force a refugeeencounterwhile the group is travelling throughterritory where refugees are unlikely to occurmerely because the die roll says so.

Encounters occur at the same frequencyas in Twilight: 2000. Type and range of en-counter are implemented in the same way,also. Territory types require more detaileddiscussion since their definitions and con-tents change. As far as physical conditiongoes, except for areas in a battle zone, thingswill be in pretty good condition.

Organized: Organized territory in Merc:2000 is still under government control andrepresents the predominant terrain typethroughout the world. Conditions will varydepending on the nation (the definition of a"major road in good repair" in central Indianawill be very different from those in CentralAlgeria, for example). There will be localgovernment services (the type depending onthe locality), and everything will be prettyquiet. Information-gathering missions are theprimary sort of scenario that take place inorganized territory.

Independent: Independent areas arethose that have fallen back on their ownresources rather then depending upon acentral government. Everything that gets donewill get done using local resources, and witha minimum of outside help or interference.Several towns or villages may be linked to-gether by a local cooperative council or somesuch, but by and large these regions are ontheir own.

Insular: Insular areas occur on the edge ofhotspots and are subject to occasional incur-sions by hostile forces. There is some coop-eration between communities, but for the

most part these communities are extremelysuspicious and defensive.

Terrorized, Anarchy, Devastated, Dis-puted: These represent areas inside worldhotspots and mean pretty much what they doin the Twilight: 2000 rules, except that thehostile groups labeled "troops"or "marauders"might be guerrillas operating on one side orthe other. Remember that unlike Twilight:2000, most fighting groups will have at leasta nominal allegiance to a side. In some cases,the hostile bands will be groups of criminalcartel thugs or the like.

Cantonment: Cantonments occur only inareas where the fighting has been going onfor awhile, where front lines have becomefluid, and where the transportation net is notthe best. Vietnam-style firebases might beconsidered to be cantonments for the pur-poses of Merc: 2000, although troops will tendto be moved in and out more often than inTwilight.

GROUP ENCOUNTERSSome scenarios may include modified

group or item encounter tables to representindividual conditions in more detail. In mostcases, the scenario will define the composi-tion and equipment of any groups encoun-tered. The group encounter descriptions willchange somewhat in Merc: 2000:

Marauders: Marauders are groups of ex-soldiers or civilians turned bandit. They infestsome hotspots in areas where military patrolsare not frequent, terrorizing refugees andwhat civilians may remain.

Patrol, Military Convoy, Large Unit,Stragglers: These are pretty much self-ex-planatory, although they will mostly be de-fined by the individual scenario. These mayrepresent other mere teams, local militias,government troops, guerrillas, or criminalcartel thugs.

Merchants, Slavers: Both of these groupswill be less common in Merc: 2000 than inTwilight, so when this result comes up itshould be modified (perhaps by turning it intoa military convoy), discarded or rerolled un-less the referee can think of a good reasonforthem to be where they are. They should notbe dismissed out-of-hand, however.

Refugees: This group is self-explanatory.Hunters, Primitives: Hunters and primi-

tives will be less common in hotspots, but ifthe characters are making a cross-countryimpromptu escape, they could be encoun-tered randomly. These groups now representindigenous inhabitants of a less-developedterritory rather than their Twilight definitions.

Smugglers: Smugglers are pretty much thesame as in Twilight, although they will tend tohave more vehicles than in Twilight.

ANIMALSReferees should allow for random animal

encounters in all scenarios. Animal encoun-ters can serve to throw a monkey wrench into

the best-laid attack plans. Suppose a herd ofwild pigs decides to move across the perim-eter just as your group is moving into attackposition? What if the team decides to choosea rice paddy full of water buffalo for an LZ?What if a tiger wanders into your carefullylaid-out ambush?

ITEM ENCOUNTERSAND SETTLEMENTS

As with group encounters, items (such ascamps, hospitals, supply dumps, and so on)should be marked on the map and defined inadvance. Very few of these will be encountered,

and the characters will know about some of them(or they should, anyway) from the mission brief-ing. The same holds true of villages, towns, andother communities. Settlement size, attitude,governmenttype, and soon are betterdictated bythe referee than determined at random.

GENERIC LOCALESThe diagrams on the pages to come can

beusedtosupplementthosegiveninTwilight:2000. The buildings and locales can be usedwith either game, as they are done to thestandard eight-meter and two-meter combatgrid specified in the game.

NEW COMBAT RULESA few aspects of combat specific to Merc:

2000 deserve discussion.

PARACHUTE LANDINGSParachute landings can deviate, especially

with supply drops. To simulate this deviationon the tactical grid, use the following rules.

Each player nominates a landing squarefor his character. The referee chooses forNPCs and for inanimate objects such asvehicles and supply crates. Then he rolls forscatter using the Scatter Diagram on page252 of the Twilight: 2000 rules (except that aresult of a 7 is long instead of short). Long isthe wind direction at the time of the drop, asdetermined by the referee.

Distance is determined by rolling a die(1D6+2 for steerable parachutes, 1D6 fornormal parachutes, and 1D10 for inanimateobjects) and subtracting the characters'Parachute skill (but never reducing the num-ber below 1). The result is the number of two-meter squares the actual landing square de-viates from the nominated landing square.

For example, a character with a normalparachute and Parachute skill of 3 nominatessquare A.

The character rolls 1D6, getting a result of5, and thus deviates 5-3=2 squares in thedirection of the prevailing wind to square B(see Parachute Deviation diagram).

Mishaps: Mishaps on landings do notoccur in clear terrain squares. Characterswho land in a square containing anything elsemust roll to avoid a mishap. Avoiding a mis-hap is a task, Average: Parachute. Failuremeansthecharacter receives a slight wound,catastrophicfailureaserious wound (locationup to the referee).

Alternatively, the referee may wish toimplement a mishap more suited totheterrain.If, for example, the character comes down intrees, the character could be entangled in thebranches several meters off the ground. Acharacter coming down in water could beweighed down by the parachute and have tocut himself loose or drown (roll Average:Agility to get loose; Swimming is as noted inthe basic rules). Other mishaps will surelyoccur to creative referees.

For the purposes of avoiding mishaps,consider inanimate objects to have Parachuteskill 1.

SILENCE/NOISEMost combat activities make at least a little

sound. In conditions of low visibility, this canoften be the only clue to the presence and/orlocation of the enemy. See the Noise Table.

Silent Movement: Running movement canbe heard at 24 meters. Walking movementcan be heard at 16 meters. Crawling can beheard at eight meters. Moving silently cannotbe heard at greater than two meters. Movingsilently is a task (Easy: Stealth), and is pos-sible only while walking or crawling at half thenormal rate—a character must reroll eachfive-second phase. Moving silently at thenormal rate for walking orcrawling isAverage:Stealth. Running cannot be done silently.

Hand Signals: Communication by hand sig-nal is possible if the gestures can be seen. Givinga hand signal is an action and requires thecharacter to have at least one hand free. Thecharacter must state which hand signal is beinggiven. A hand signal can be seen if the observeris alert to it, in a direct line of sight, and withinnormal visibility range for the light condition.

Only a limited number of orders can begiven in this way. It is normal practice for theobserver to repeat it to others he thinks maynot see it. Standard commands are listed inthe Commands Table.

Characters may wish to work out otherhand signals, but the referee must be in-formed, and the signal must be known to bothsender and receiver in advance.

SLEEPING GARRISONSMany operations in Merc: 2000 will take

place at night and will involve characterssneaking around in the midst of camps andthe like full of sleeping soldiers.

Once awakened, people take a certainamount of time to gather their wits, theirclothing, and their weapons. The followingdeals with waking them up and their reactiontime. Referees should apply their commonsense to such situations and should occa-sionally throw in some random factor so thatthe characters cannot be sure of what willhappen.

Elite: Elite NPCs are awakened by anysound out of the ordinary (normal backgroundnoise will not do it, but a creaking stair will).Elite NPCs take one combat phase (fiveseconds) to get up, become fully alert, and

arm themselves (in combat zones, they sleepwith their guns within arm's reach, and oftensleep with a knife or other melee weaponready for use).

Veteran: Veteran NPCs are awakened byany sound at level II or higher. They take twocombat phases (10 seconds) to get up, be-come fully alert, and arm themselves.

Experienced: Experienced NPCs areawakened by any sound at level II or higher.They take one combat turn (30 seconds) toget up, become fully alert, and arm them-selves.

Novice: Novice NPCs are awakened byany sound at level III or higher. They take1D6+2 combat turns (upto 1.5 minutes) to getup, become fully alert, and arm themselves.

More time may be necessary to form up intofireteams or squads, but this is upto the referee.

Vehicles: Many vehicles take time to startfrom dead cold and warm up properly. It canbe several minutes before even Elite tankcrews can get their tanks ready for service.

GUARD DOGSFrom time to time, the characters will en-

counter guard dogs, either patrol dogs withhandlers or roving dogs on their own. A han-dler is simply a person the dog has beentrained to recognize and obey. Guard dogshave the same combat statistics as regulardogs as noted in the Twilight: 2000 rules.

Patrol Dogs: These dogs have beentrained to work with a handler and are prima-rily used as living burglar alarms. Theirhearing, smell, and night vision are very acute(treat guard dogs as if they had Observation:10), and they can detect intruders better thanpeople can. When with a handler, they will notattack unless commanded to or unless thehandler is attacked. When a handler is killedor rendered unconscious, patrol dogs becomeroving dogs.

Roving Dogs: These dogs will approachany stranger (to them) and bark loudly. Theywill attack if the stranger makes a hostilemotion (they are trained to recognize gunsand other weapons as dangerous) or attemptsto flee. They will cease the attack when thetarget ceases to struggle and displays emptyhands, at which point they will move back acouple of meters and resume growling andbarking. This will continue until a handlerarrives.

WEATHER (OPTIONAL)The referee normally chooses the weather

condition of a particular situation, much in thesame way that he simple chooses the back-ground light level. Referees should consult agood atlas for seasonal temperature ranges

and possible weather conditions. Unexpectedinclement weather should be used sparinglybut can be quite effective.

Light Rain: Light rain has the effect onsound noted on the Noise Table, in addition tothe effects on visibility mentioned in Twilight.

Heavy Rain: Heavy rain has the effect onsound noted on the Noise Table, in addition tothe effects on visibility mentioned in Twilight.

Wind: This represents wind speed heavyenough to have a tactical effect. Light windsare considered within the range of normal.Wind has the effect on sound noted on theNoise Table.

Snow: This condition represents a normalsnowfall with little or no wind. Snowfall hasthe effect on sound noted on the Noise Table,in addition to the effects on visibility mentionedin Twilight. Snowfall cannot occur in condi-tions other than cold (it seldom snows inextremely cold weather, although snow willremain on the ground in such weather). Deepsnow (more than a few inches) halves allpersonnel movement.

Blizzard :Th is condition represents aheavysnow with high winds. A blizzard has theeffect on sound noted on the Noise Table, inaddition to the effects on visibility mentionedin Twilight. It cannot occur in conditions otherthan extremely cold.

Cold: These are conditions where the tem-perature is about 0°C or below. Characters in coldweather without protective clothing (thermal fa-tigues) accumulate fatigue points as if they weredoing heavy work, even if they are at rest.Characters losing consciousness in cold weathercontinue to accumulate fatigue until all attributesaffected by fatigue are reduced to 1, at whichpoint they are considered frozen to death. Char-acters can recover from cold-induced fatigue

only inside a heated, protected area such as atent, cabin, heated vehicle, etc.

Extreme Cold: These are conditions wherethe temperature drops below-20°C. Charac-ters are affected by extreme cold in the sameway as cold, but thermal fatigues alone do notprovide protection from the effects. Protec-tion is provided only by supplementing thethermal fatigues with the extreme cold weathergear described on page 18.

Hot: Hot weather conditions prevail where thetemperature exceeds 30°C. All fatigue pointsfrom hard work are doubled in hot weather.

Extreme Hot: Hot weather conditions prevailwhere the temperature exceeds 45°C. All fatiguepoints are doubled in extremely hot weather.

CRITICAL HIT/QUICK KILL(NEW RULE)

Any aimed shot which hits the chest or headmay constitute a killing shot. Roll a D10. If the dieroll is less than or equal to thedamage value oftheshot, the target is instantly killed except on a rollof 10 exactly. If the hit was scored on an areaprotected by armor, roll versus the remainingdamage value of the round. For automatic fire, rollonlyonce per phase(regardless of thenumber ofshots that hit). This rule should be applied only toNPCs.

It is recommended that PCs who suffer akilling wound instead suffer enough damage toincrease the wound level of the head or chest toat least serious if unwounded (and critical ifalready serbus), and in addition take the normaldamage inflicted by the round. For example, ifCharles had no damage to his chest and wasstruck by a killing wound, he would take enoughdamage to bring his chest to serious wound levelplus the normal damage of the round which hithim.

NoiseSound Level Clear MaximumIIIIIIIVVVI

WhispersNormal voice, silenced weaponShouts, suppressed weaponSmall arms fire, vehiclesHeavy weapons fire, light planesExplosions, jets

11040

50010001500

52080

100020003000

On the table above, clear represents the distance at which the sound can beheard clearly. At this range, the direction from which the sound originated canbe discerned.

Maximum is the maximum distance at which the sound can be heard—direction can be determined only within a 90° arc (left, right, forward or rearquadrants).

Modifiers: Higher levels quarter levels below them. Rain or snow on the groundreduces these distances by one-third. Woods, a built-up area, or brush reducesthese distances by one-fourth. Heavy rain or wind halves these distances.

THE OPPOSITIONTroop organizations for individual nation-

alities will vary, but they follow some generalpatterns. In general, the armed forces ofsmallercountries tend to followthose of largernations—the US, the USSR, the UK, andFrance. The US and USSR, in particular,were prone to supply and train a country'sarmed forces. Former colonies tend to followthe patterns set down by their mother countryif the parting was amicable (the French had anumber of these, to pick one example). Somenations seemed to specialize in training armiesin a certain region (the UK trained manyarmies in the Middle East and eastern Africa,for instance).

Military organizations are notoriously vari-able. Few units match their official table oforganization and equipment (TO&E) exactly.Illness, injury, accident and combat all taketheir toll, and most units are always short afew soldiers and sometimes one or two vitalpieces of equipment.

Larger organizations are dealt with in thevarious vehicle guides issued for Twilight:2000 (the American Combat Vehicle Hand-book, the Soviet Combat Vehicle Hand-book, etc.)

Vehicle Crew: Crewmembers of tanks,armored cars, and recon vehicles tend to bearmed with pistols or SMGs, although somewill be armed with rifles (either regular assaultrifles or folding-stock versions).

Communal Equipment: Every soldier inthe squad is usually called upon to carry oneor two belts of ammunition for the machine-gun (if present), which are given to themachinegunners as needed. If a mortar orATGM launcher is present and no transport isprovided, soldiers may have to carry one ortwo rounds for these as well.

When the squad takes up a position, thesoldiers drop the ammo off near theweapon(s), picking it up again if they have tomove out.

Heavy Weapons: Mortars, heavy ma-chineguns, autocannons, and ATGM launch-ers tend to be clustered into specializedgroupings, usually attached at the battalionor company level (meaning that a battalionwill have an integral weapons company, or acompany an integral weapons platoon). Incombat, these weapons may be split up andattached at a lower echelon. An infantry pla-

toon might have one ortwo ATGM launchers(and crews) assigned to them on a more orless permanent basis. This varies tremen-dously from nation to nation, and even withinarmies.

Referees can justify just about any ar-rangement that will make a good scenario,regardless of what the official organization is.Crewmembers for such weapons are usuallyarmed with the appropriate assault rifle fortheir nationality, but some have pistols orSMGs.

USSRFor much of the last half of the 20th cen-

tury, the Soviets exported weapons and advi-sors to many Third World nations and toothers as well. Nations using USSR-styleorganizations are Poland, Czech, Slovakia,Hungary, Romania, the various Soviet repub-lics, the various Yugoslav splinters, Albania,Cuba, and many nations in Africa and Centraland South America.

Soviet-Style Rifle Squad1 squad leader (assault rifle or SMG)2 machinegunners (light MG)2 asst. machinegunners (assault rifle)1 RPG gunner (RPG)1 asst. RPG gunner (assault rifle)1 rifleman (assault rifle)In Vehicle:1 APC driver (pistol or SMG)1 APC gunner (pistol or SMG)

The vehicle driver and gunner seldomdismount.

Additional riflemen may be added or sub-stituted for the RPG gunner and one of themachinegunners. One or two riflemen mayhave a rifle-mounted GL.

Some nations often substitute trucks forAPCs or do not have internal transport at all.In the latter case, the driver and gunner arereplaced with ordinary riflemen.

Soviet-Style Rifle Platoon1 platoon leader (assault rifle or SMG)1 sniper (sniper rifle)+ 3 rifle squads

Soviet-Style Tank PlatoonThis consists of three tanks (four in motor-

ized rifle units), one of which is commandedby the platoon leader. Recon platoons areorganized in a similar fashion.

UNITED STATESFrom 1945 until the late 1990s, the United

States armed and equipped a number ofallies, providing weapons and advisors. Na-tions using US-style organizations are thePhilippines, Panama, Korea, and many na-tions in Asia, Central America and SouthAmerica.

US-Style Rifle Squad1 squad leader (M16)Fire Team Alpha:1 team leader (M16)1 rifleman (M16)1 SAW gunner (SAW)1 grenadier (M16/M203 GL)Fire Team Bravo:1 team leader (M16)1 dragon gunner (Dragon, M16)1 SAW gunner (SAW)1 grenadier (M16/M203GL)In Vehicle:1 driver (M16)1 gunner (M16)

The vehicle driver and gunner seldomdismount, even though they are nominallymembers of one of the fireteams. Riflemenmay be added or deleted to adapt to thecapacity of the APCs available.

Nonmechanized squads may have a three-man M60 MG team attached as needed.Mechanized squads have an M60 MG but nodesignated gunners (these are chosen as theneed arises). Some nations substitute trucksfor APCs or do not have internal transport atall. In the latter case, the driver and gunner ,are replaced with ordinary riflemen. I

US-Style Rifle Platoon1 platoon leader (M16)1 assistant platoon leader (M16)+3 rifle squads

US-Style Tank PlatoonThis consists of three to five tanks (de-

pending on the nation), one of which is com- imanded by the platoon leader. Recon pla- \toons are organized in a similar fashion.

FRANCENations using French-style organizations

are the many ex-French colonies in Africaand elsewhere such as Chad, Djibouti, andMali.

French-Style Infantry Squad1 squad leader (FA-MAS)1 sharpshooter (FR-F1)2 riflemen (FA-MAS)1 LRAC gunner (LRAC, FA-MAS)1 assistant LRAC gunner (FA-MAS)1 AA-52 gunner (AA-52, FA-MAS)1 assistant AA-52 gunner (FA-MAS)In Vehicle:1 driver (FA-MAS)1 gunner (FA-MAS)

The vehicle driver and gunner seldomdismount. Riflemen may be added or deletedto adapt to thecapacity of the APCs available.In some units, the sharpshooter may be re-placed with a regular rifleman, and otherweapons may be substituted as available.Riflemen may be added or subtracted toadapt the squad to the available APCs.

Some nations substitute trucks for APCsor do not have internal transport at all. In thelatter case, the driver and gunner are re-placed with ordinary riflemen.

French-Style Infantry Platoon1 officer (PA-15)2 Milan gunners (Milan launcher, FA-MAS)2 assistant Milan gunners (FA-MAS)2 riflemen (FA-MAS)+3 infantry squads

French-Style Tank PlatoonThis consists of four light tanks or three

heavy tanks, one of which is commanded bythe platoon leader. Recon platoons are orga-nized in a similar fashion.

UNITED KINGDOMNations using British-style organizations

are primarily ex-British colonies throughoutthe world, such as Hong Kong, Kenya, SouthAfrica, and Belize.

British-Style Rifle Section1 section leader (IW)1 machinegunner (GPMG/MAG MG)1 MAW gunner (Carl Gustav)5 riflemen (IW)In Vehicle:1 driver (IW)

British-Style Rifle Platoon1 platoon leader6 LSW gunners (LSW)*

1 light mortarman2 assistant mortarmen+3 rifle sections*LSW gunners are usually split up among

the sections.

British-Style Tank Troop(Platoon Equivalent)

This consists of three heavy tanks, one ofwhich is commanded by the platoon leader.Recon platoons have four to eight vehicles.

CHINAAsiatic insurgent groups, a few Chinese-

sponsored governments (such as Kampu-chea), and the Chinese warlord armies usethese organizations.

Chinese-Style Rifle Squad1 squad leader (AK-74)1 RPG gunner (RPG)1 LMG gunner (PK MG)9 riflemen (AK-74)In Vehicle:1 driver (AK-74)1 gunner (AK-74)

The vehicle driver and gunner seldomdismount.

Riflemen may be added or deleted to adaptto the capacity of the APCs available. In someunits, the sharpshooter may be replaced witha regular rifleman, and other weapons maybe substituted as available. Riflemen may beadded or subtracted to adaptthe squad to theavailable APCs.

Some nations substitute trucks for APCsor do not have internal transport at all. In thelatter case, the driver and gunner are re-placed with ordinary riflemen.

Chinese-Style Rifle Platoon1 platoon leader1 assistant platoon leader+3 rifle squads

Chinese-Style Tank PlatoonThis consists of three light or two heavy

tanks, one of which is commanded by theplatoon leader.

Recon platoons consist of three APCs and10 motorcycles.

INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCESMost security guards are not trained in

small group tactics, and groups of them showlittle cohesion.

Armed security guards usually carry eitherpistols or shotguns (rarely SMGs or assaultrifles).

Some companies are beginning to train

special paramilitary units for defense of re-mote installations or facilities in high-risk ar-eas (the phrase "private security force" is acommonly used euphemism for "mercenary"in the United States).

These teams of industrial security forcestend to operate in four-man to eight-manteams armed with submachineguns or as-sault rifles plus pistols, and built around oneor two sharpshooters who are armed withsniper rifles.

BORDER PATROLS/PARAMILITARY POLICE FORCES

Border security forces may be lightly armed(and thus resemble police or park rangers) orheavily armed (and thus resemble soldiers).Lightly armed border patrols are armed withpistols and/or shotguns, and rarely evenSMGs. Heavily armed border patrols arearmed similarly to paramilitary forces. Upuntil 1995, American border patrols werelightly armed.

Paramilitary police forces tend to be orga-nized like their military counterparts, but arenot equipped as well as the full military. Theytend to have bolt-action or semiautomaticrifles, shotguns, and very few machineguns.Where they have grenade launchers or handgrenades, these are mostly stun or incapaci-tating gas types. The Spanish Guardia C/V/'/isa good example of one paramilitary policeforce.

CRIMINAL CARTELSCriminal cartels tend to employ armed

forces in groups of six to 12 fighters under asingle team leader. These will be armed witha polyglot collection of military and paramili-tary weapons.

Some cartels are beginning to make use ofmercenary units and mercenary training cad-res, and a few cartel units now make use ofthe US-type or Soviet-type squad organiza-tions (nonmechanized). But they do not havethe training or discipline of full-time soldiers—yet.

Rumors of cartel armored units have alsobeen circulating. None have been encoun-tered as of 1 July 2000.

ELITE FORCESElite forces are discussed on page 157 of

the Twilight: 2000 rules. Many of the world'sarmies still maintain elite forces for specialoperations. Both the organization and equip-ment of these groups usually varies frommission to mission and is largely a matter ofindividual choice.

The referee can justify just about anythingin the hands of an elite group.

Dragon's LairThis is afairly typical "snatch" scenario.

The patron (level IV) is a governmentofficial, fairly high up in the USDEA.

MISSION BRIEFINGA rare opportunity to cripple the leadership

of the Asiatic heroin-smuggling operationknown as the Golden Dragon Cartel hasarisen. Fortwo days, the six controlling mem-bers of the cartel will be conducting theirannual meeting at one of the cartel's remotemountain bases in northern Burma. In atremendous stroke of luck, the DEA's humanintelligence sources have identified whichsite is to be used and managed to determinethe exact date.

The team is to capture the six cartel offi-cialsand remove themfromthe country alive,neutralizing as much of the cartel's otherassets as possible in the process. The teamis offered twice the base rate.

The patron will supply air transportand HALO gear for up to 12 teammembers and will arrange for one RH-53helicopter at a pickup point. The patronwill provide weapons, ammunition, andany other equipment desired, but it willbe deducted from the team members'pay. They must leave within two days.

APPROACHTeam members are to be inserted by

HALO parachute drop into LZ Alpha ap-proximately one kilometer away from thetarget at 0225 hours. They will then maketheir way overland at the fastest possiblespeed to the enemy encampment, wherethey will secure all escape routes andpenetrate the facility. Meteorological dataindicates that the moon will set at at0258, giving the team lighting condition 3until that time, condition 1 thereafter. Theground is not suitable for vehiculartraffic,and the only road to the encampment isheavily patrolled.

RETRIEVALOne RH-53 Super Stallion helicopter will

arrive at LZ Omega at 1000, where it willhover until two green smoke grenades areset off (one at each end of the LZ). It will thenland, pick up the party, and move out. If thegreen smoke is not spotted by 1010, thehelicopter will leave.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map has been prepared from photos

taken during a recent recon overflight of thearea and is accurate as of 72 hours ago.Infrared imaging during the overflight re-vealed several concealed emplacements atthe edge of the clearing which had not shownup in previous (normal light) photographs. Inaddition, the photographs indicate a newlyemplaced linear system around the edge ofthe clearing which may be a fence of somekind. Major points of interest are as follows:

LZ Alpha: This is a clearing just over onekibmeterfromthecartersbase.AgentsoftheDEAwillcause an "acddentar'fireinthe treesthe day before, sufficient to clear the LZ ofmajor obstacles.

LZ Omega: This is the pickup point, asmall field about five kilometers from thebase camp.

Bunker: This is a newly dug installa-tion, housing a DShK MG and two sol-diers. The bunker also contains electronicequipment to monitor the newly installedperimeter motion detectors, but theseare not yet hooked up. When the systemis connected and fully operational, tele-phones will link each bunker with theheadquarters building, and an additionalsoldier will be assigned to monitor thedetection instruments.

Barracks: This building contains 40sleeping soldiers and the other membersof the base, except the six cartel officials.It has a couple of TV rooms, a gameroom, and other recreational facilities.

House: This is a former plantationmanager's house which now houses thecartel executives and their staff.

Headquarters Building: A central com-mand post forthe military aspect of the base.

Processing Lab: This building con-tains the heroin processing lab and itsassociated supplies and equipment.

Machinery Building: This houses thebase generator and water pumping ma-chinery. Underground fuel tanks nearbycontain diesel fuel forthe generator andgasoline for the base vehicles.

Warehouses: These buildings containthe processed heroin awaiting shipment.

Vehicle Repair Shed: This buildingcontains tools and a nonfunctional LandRover with its parts strewn about.

Helipad: Now empty. An undergroundtank contains a bit of aviation gasoline.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe unknown emplacements shown

in the infrared photographs are newlydug bunker positions, housing the con-trol centers for a series of electronicmotion detectors. These motion detectorshave been emplaced, but the wires whichwill connect them have not been hookedup yet, only strung out along the ground.These wires are patrolled by sentries atrandom intervals.

The characters obviously cannot stormthe camp and remove the executives byforce.

Opposing Forces: The base is nor-mally garrisoned by 84 cartel employees,all of them armed. Of these, 60 are soldiers,only 20 of which are on duty at any givenmoment: eight divided among the fourbunkers (two Veteran NPCs in each,armed with two AK-74s and a DShK MG),eight on sentry patrol (four Veteran andfourNovice, armed with AK-74s), andfourin the headquarters building (two Veter-ans and two Experienced, armed with twoAK-74s, one RPK-74, and an Uzi SMG).One AK-74 in four has an attached BG-1grenade launcher. Each soldier has a pairof fragmentation grenades. The camphas four 5/4-ton civilian trucks, twoLandrovers, and a civilian car. When thewhole garrison is called out, it will bearmed in a similarfashion. The remainderof the normal base garrison (mainly labworkers) are Novices and are armed withPM Makarov pistols.

NPCSThe six cartel executives (and their

assistants and body guards) have takenover the main house at the base and areliving in it. The six executives are Novicesand are unarmed. Each executive hastwo assistants, also Novices and un-armed. Each executive also has twobodyguards, both Experienced andarmed with Uzi SMGs and HP-35 pistols.Fourof the bodyguards are awake at anygiven time, patrolling the house and thegrounds outside.

The sentries along the perimeter wireare the only random encounter in thisscenario. Any player inside a squarecontaining the wire will encounter asentryon a 1D10 roll of 2 or less. Determinesurprise as usual.

Key ManIn this scenario, the patron (level III) is

an executive for Cupros S.A., a miningcompany doing business primarily inSouth and Central America.

MISSION BRIEFINGEdward Dante, an engineering trouble-

shooter from Cupros S.A., has been kid-napped by a group of Ecuadorian ban-dits with delusions of grandeur callingthemselves the Coalicion RevolucionarioPopular (CRP).

The group is demanding a ransom ofseveral million dollars, knowing that theengineer's family is too poor to pay, butcounting on his value to Cupros S.A. topersuade the company to pay for hisreturn. Angered at what they see as foot-dragging by the Ecuadorian governmentand unwilling to pay so much for Dante'sreturn, Cupros S.A. is taking action on itsown.

Cupros S.A. hasarrangedfortheteamand its equipment to be transported to acompany installation near the remotemountain village where the exchange isto take place. The head of the local policeis a confederate of the CRP and hopes toshare in the loot once the exchange ismade, which will complicate things. Forpolitical reasons, Ecuadorian officials areunable to take action while Dante iswithin the village, but once Dante is re-moved from the village's jurisdiction, hecan safely be turned over to Ecuadorianofficials.

The team must locate Dante, free him,and get him out of the local jurisdictionwith minimal violence.

The team may defend itself if firedupon by CRP members, but confronta-tion with the local police must be avoidedat all costs.

The plan as outlined by the CRP is thatthree Cupros representatives enter thevillage to meet in the town square withDante and three CRP members. Themoney will remain outside of town withCupros' security party. The Cupros peoplewill verify that the hostage is really Dante,and is alive and well. One CRP memberwill then leave the village to count themoney accompanied by one Cupros rep-resentative. When the CRP member re-

turns to the village withthe money, Danteand the other two will be allowed toleave.

APPROACHCupros wants three members of the

team to take the place of its representa-tives in the village, driving in on a jeep.Cupros proposes to helicopter the re-mainder of the team into the forest sev-eral kilometers north of the village theday before the exchange and have theteam work its way to the village withoutbeing seen.

At the point where the CRP memberleaves to count the money, the teammembers outside will attack the perim-eter of the village, while those inside(who can be armed only with conceal-able pistols) will get Dante to cover, deal-ing with any guards inthe process. Cuprossuggests CS gas be used on the policestation to neutralize the Rurales (the lo-cal police force) long enough for Dante tobe removed.

RETRIEVALTwo more jeeps and a 21/2-ton truck will

be waiting 18 kilometers south of thevillage along the road (this is just at theborder of the village police chief's juris-diction).

Several Cupros executives and anofficial of the Ecuadorian governmentwill be waiting there to take custody ofDante and get him home.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map shows the village where

Dante is being held.Most of the buildings are one- and

two-room shanties with cowering villag-ers in them (the ones that haven't lefttown already).

Police Station/Jail/Village Hall: Mostof the buildings in town are of wood,galvanized metal, or adobe, but this oneis made of concrete blocks. It containssix jail cells, an office, two storerooms,and a large room where legal events(trials, inquests, etc.) take place. Thesecond floor consists of a single largeroom, sleeping quarters for the Rurales.

Two jeeps are parked in back of thebuilding.

Village Square: This is where the town

pump is located. Village market days andlarge public meetings are held here. Thisis where the exchange will take place.

Stores: The square is faced on threesides by several mercantile establish-ments (a couple of small stores, severalpulquerias, and the telephone/telegraph/post office).

All of these are closed up (except oneof the pulquerias). All of these buildingsare large, one- or two-room adobe orwooden affairs.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOOnce the attack begins, the players

must play it by ear. Remember that theRurales are technically not part of theCRP, even though their chief is. Thus,they should not be fired on. In general,the CRP members will be in civilianclothes, whereas the Rurales will bewearing khaki fatigues.

NPCSDante is a Novice in a state of extreme

fatigue (he can run only if someone helpshim along). The three CRP leaders whomeet the team in the square (one of themis the police chief) are Experienced NPCs,armed with pistols concealed under theirclothing (one M1911A1, one .38 Specialrevolver, and a Vz-52).

Four Rurales are in their quarters inthe police station (they are ExperiencedNPCs armed with Mauser bolt-actionrifles).

The nine remaining CRP members intown are Novices, armed withfourdouble-barreled shotguns, two bolt-action rifles,two .38 Special revolvers and a Brown-ing HP-35. Each weapon has 10 roundsof its own ammunition, except for theweapons of the Rurales, who have 60rounds each.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSAn interesting situation arises if the

referee has a stray shot hit the gas tankon the jeep, resulting in the team's jeeprunning out of gas about eight kilometersdown the road.

Alternatively, the referee can have thefuel ignite (if no one is within range) andexplode with a spectacular fireball, leav-ing the team to get Dante out of town bysome other means.

Club DeadThe patron (level III) is with the US

State Department.The job is what you do best: blow

things up.

MISSION BRIEFINGLibyan-financed terrorists are building

a base on a remote island in the Turksand Caicos archipelago. Ostensibly atourist resort, the installation is actually astaging area for terrorist attacks in theCaribbean and Southeastern UnitedStates, and as such cannot be allowed toreach completion.

The local government is firmly convincedthat the installation is a hotel complex underconstruction and refuses to take action(whether this is due to Lbyan bribes has notyet been determined).

The team is to destroy or render inop-erative the munitions secreted at thesite, the pier/dock facilities, and the radiostation.

There must be no civilian casualties,and no comebacks (which means thatthe team members are to carry nodocuments or ID that will identify them asUS citizens).

The island has a garrison of 75 to 100people, but most of these are known tobe unarmed laborers recruited from thelocal islanders.

No more than 15 to 20 fighters (Libyanor Libyan-trained) can be expected to bepresent.

APPROACHTransportation to the island will be by

a medium-sized pleasure boat, whichwill attract no untoward attention whilecruising the region. The team membersmay land by rubber raft or may swimashore using scuba gear, at their option.They may land at any time of theirchoosing, but will probably find themoonless hours of the night optimal.

The captain of the boat will followwhatever plan the team wishes to workout that does not involve his boat comingwithin one kilometer of the island.

RETRIEVALThe captain of the pleasure boat will

follow whatever plan the team wishes,

but under no circumstances will he bringhis boat within two kilometers of theisland.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map showing the installation is

done on the eight-meter tactical grid.Radio Station: This small, cinder-

block building contains two rooms: anequipment room (containing the radioequipment) and a bedroom for the off-duty radio operators.

A generator sits in a shed to one sideof the building. The station is primarilydesigned to communicate with Libyanagents in the Caribbean and southeastUS using both key and voice transmis-sions.

This building has four members of theMuslim Legion present at all times,monitoring radio transmissions and oc-casionally sending messages.

Warehouses A-C: These containweapons, ammunition, explosives, andother supplies.

There is plenty here to mount a rip-snorting terror campaign. The questionshould occur to the team: "What are theywaiting for?"

The answer will be obvious if the teamtakes time to search the warehouse. Itwill find chem suits, but no chemicalweapons. The Libyans are obiouslywaiting to take delivery on these. Thesentries patrol the outside of these build-ings at all times.

Barracks: There are three of these,one forthe Muslim Legion and two forthelaborers.

Headquarters: This is where the wholenefarious scheme will be directed from. Itis always manned by four Libyans.

Pier: This is where the cargo shipsdock and discharge their cargo. It isdeserted at night.

A small, shallow draft cargo ship ispresently tied up at the pier.

Hotel Construction Site: Althoughconsiderable activity takes place here, itis all smoke and mirrors, intended to foolthe local government officials into think-ing that a the pier and warehouses arefor the construction of a large resortcomplex.

In actuality, all construction that willtake place has already been completed.

It is deserted at night and is not evenpatrolled by sentries.

Helipad: This is empty at the moment,but a shelter and fuel tank (containingaviation gasoline) are both present. It isdeserted at night.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe characters are free to work out

their own assault plan. It will take about30 minutes for one person to rig a ware-house for demolition, using the explo-sives contained in them (two people canrig one warehouse in 15 minutes—it can-not be done any faster).

If anyone thinks to search the radiostation, they will find a safe in theequipment room containing code books,a bonus for which an extra $20,000 willbe paid.

Sentries: Sentry routes are indicatedon the map. For each combat turn (30seconds) spent in a sentry route square,roll 1D10 for an encounter: 10 indicatesthe sentry is Libyan; 7+ means he is anunarmed native. No encounteroccurs on1-6. Determine surprise as normal.

Characters inside buildings will nothave random encounters. Charactersentering an inhabited building will have amandated encounter with the inhabit-ants (determine surprise normally).

NPCSThe base is staffed by 24 members of

the Muslim Legion, fanatic fighters armedwith AK-74s (Veterans). In addition, thebase contains 72 unarmed constructionpersonnel (Novices), largely local work-ers, who are forbidden to leave the islanduntil the job is done. Four sentries fromthe Muslim Legion and 12 more unarmedbut trusted locals will be on duty at anyone time, but during the day many morepeople are active.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSUpon investigating the recently docked

ship, the team discovers that the ship iscarrying a cargo of nerve gas. The teamcannot simply blow it up, or thousands ofinnocent civilians inthe islands downwind willdie.

The crew of the ship will be present andcan be persuaded to put out to sea if presentedwith the right caliber of argument.

BreakoutThis scenario is a prison break.The patron (level III) is with the DEA.

MISSION BRIEFINGThe Columbian federal police have ar-

rested five operatives of the DEA. The policeare holding the operatives in a work farmlocated in a remote part of the country.

The evidence against these operativeshas been fabricated; nonetheless, the agencyhas reason to believe that the five will bekilled before the judicial process can releasethem.

The team is to enter the work camp, locatethe five, and remove them from the camp.

The guards and administrative personnelat the camp are known to be in the pay of theCali Cartel and can be dealt with however isnecessary.

Since the cargo plane by which the team isto be inserted and retrieved can carry only 12passengers, the team can consist of no morethan seven personnel, unless two of the teamcan replace the pilot and co-pilot. Pilot (FixedWing): 5 or higher is required to do so.

Further, oneoftheteam must have Medical:4 or higher since the five captives are likely toneed medical attention (an NPC with this skillwill be provided if no team member fits thebill).

APPROACHThe team members will be flown in by a

small cargo plane, landing shortly beforesundown at a little-used airstrip 12 kilometersfrom the camp, where they will be met by alocal who knows which building the five DEAagents are held in.

The plane will be parked and the team(minus the crew for the aircraft, if they areNPCs) will proceed to the camp, guided bythe local.

RETRIEVALThe team will depart in the same plane

they arrive in, if all goes well.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map shows the region around the

prison camp, and the airfield (at the eight-metertactical scale). This adventure uses theprison camp plan and various building plansprovided on pages 71 -83.

REFEREEINGTHE SCENARIO

It is up to the team members to decide howmany of their number to leave to guard theairstrip. The march overland to the camp shouldbe uneventful (unless the referee wishes to com-plicate things).

The camp is not operating at its full capacity,and the five DEA agents are the only inhabitants

of their barracks block.The members of the team should arrive at the

camp during the last vestiges of twilight, justbefore the searchlights in the guard towers areturned on.

At this time, sentries are beginning to walk theperimeter wire, but they do so from inside thecamp, as they are looking for attempts to cutthrough the wire entanglements from the inside,not from the outside. Sentries pass a givensection of wire every 10 minutes.

To complicate the team's mission, shortlybefore the team returns from the camp, anotheraircraft will land on the airstrip, forced down byengine trouble.

This aircraftwillcontainapilotand two couriersfor a drug-smuggling gang which operates out ofthe region.

The crew members of this plane will not beexpecting the strip to be inhabited, and theiractions will depend on whether the team left adetachment there to guard the plane. If the cargoplane is left unguarded, the drug smugglers willsteal it, leaving their aircraft in its place. If the stripis guarded, the smugglers will see the cargoplane upon landing and will be alerted that some-thing is afoot (two of them will leave the planebefore it has completely stopped moving and runfor the nearest shelter).

The smugglers' plane has a minor engineproblem which prevents it from taking off againunless repaired (Average: Mechanic). Repaircannot be accomplished without aircraft tools,but a set of these can be found in the shed at theairport if the characters choose to search.

NPCSThere are 24 guards (Experienced NPCs),

half of them on duty at any onetime (basicallyday shift and night shift).

Eachtowercontainstwoguards—one withbinoculars and one to operate the searchlight(at night) or watch unaided (in daylight).

Two other guards are on duty in the head-quarters, and the remainder are on sentrypatrol. All guards in the towers are armed withAK-74s. The sentries are armed with PPSh-41 orUziSMGs.

The pilot and the couriers in the light planeare all Veteran NPCs armed with M177s.

The plane contains nothing of interest.

ALTERNATIVESAND VARIANTS

Further complications can be added bythrowing in an encounter with a jungle animalon the way to or from the camp.

One or more of the prisoners could haverecently been taken to the camp headquar-ters for interrogation, which would necessitatea short unplanned trip.

ExterminatorsThis mission is a little different. The

patron (level I) is a member of aneighborhood that is being taken overby asmall-time criminal gang, drivinghonest citizens out.

Payment will be at half the standardrate.

MISSION BRIEFINGA small-time gang with delusions

of grandeur has taken up residencein a formerly peaceful urban neigh-borhood, terrorizing itwithacampaignof drive-by shootings and seeminglyrandom vandalism calculated to drivehonest citizens away and permit thegang to take over.

The local authorities are evidentlypowerless, and the actions of aneighborhood watch group have re-sulted in several deaths.

Gang members have taken overseveral houses in the area, using oneas a lab for the manufacture of crank.Other buildings house the gang'sarmory and serve as "dorms"forgangmembers.

The team is to destroy the gang'sdrug lab and persuade the gang tomove elsewhere by whatever meansnecessary. Any building occupied bythe gang is a free-fire zone, but otherproperty is to remain undamaged.

APPROACHThe team members can enter the

neighborhood by any means theyfeel appropriate. A short reconmis-sion or two might be in order beforethe main assault.

RETRIEVALThe team members will be respon-

sible for their own extraction, but thiswill not present tremendous logisticalproblems.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe maps show the neighborhood

at the eight-metertactical scale. Floor

plans for some of the buildings indi-cated are contained in Twilight: 2000.

Communications between build-ings is by signal, runners, walkie-talkie or telephone (where these stillwork). Each building has two armedgang members stationed on the roofto keep watch.

Assorted Houses: The specifictype is indicated on the map, alongwith the number of gang membersresiding there.

Lab: This is the old city house(pages 180-181 of Twilight: 2000)converted for use as a drug lab. Thebasement is a storage room for thebasic chemicals involved; the groundfloor is where the final product ispackaged for sale; and the upperfloors are used for the actual drugmanufacturing in several differentrooms.

No provision is made for livingquarters since those who work herelive elsewhere.

Armory: This is an abandoned firestation (per the Twilight floor plan onpage 176) taken over by the gang asan armory and headquarters.

Twelve gang members now live inthe building in addition to the fourmembers of the gang's leadershipcouncil.

The office on the ground floor isused as a storeroom for the gang'sweapons and ammunition. The ga-rage contains three civilian cars anda quantity of stolen property, much ofit household appliances still in thefactory packing crates.

The gang members stationed hereare the gang's "warriors," the reservestrike force/goon squad.

Sentry Posts: Gang members arestationed at these street corners tokeep watch over comings and goingsin the neighborhood and report any-thing out of the ordinary to the gangleaders.

These locations are manned allday everyday by three or four un-armed Novice NPCs.

Storefronts: These are aban-doned commercial buildings, nowtaken over by the gang for variouspurposes. They usually consist ofone or two rooms on a ground floorand storerooms on any upper floors(there can be as many as three).Sometimes living quarters are alsopresent. One or two gang membersoversee operations in each building.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe gang believes its hold on the

neighborhood to be so strong that itsmembers have become inattentivewhen inside their perimeter. Therooftop guards often sleep at theirposts, and only the street corner sen-tries are alert.

Customers for the gang's variousenterprises are allowed in, but any-one who looks too "straight" will beharassed.

The referee should award extrareputation points for this scenario,since the media will be attracted bythe human-interest angle (and thegory firefight).

NPCSThe street-corner sentries are un-

armed Novice NPCs.The various workers (lab, etc.) and

ordinary gang members are Experi-enced and are armed with assortedpistols (revolvers and automatics ofevery variety and caliber).

The members of the strike forceare Veteran NPCs. Six are armedwith M16s, four with Uzis, one with anM16/M203, and one with a pumpshotgun.

In emergencies, the gang's twoM60 machineguns will be broughtout and its store of hand grenadesissued (enough frag grenades foreach member of the strike force tohave three).

Each member of the strike forcehas a gas mask, but these are usu-ally left in the armory unless there isobvious call for them to be issued.

Get the GoodsThis scenario takes place in the wilds

of suburban Chicago and is a fairlystraightforward industrial espionage ca-per. The patron (level II) is a partner in afair-sized law firm, representing an evenbigger fish.

MISSION BRIEFINGRamTech, Ltd. is an international cor-

poration engaging in a wide variety offields through numerous subsidiarycompanies. A rival firm (the patron re-fuses to name it) wishes to gain accessto RamTech's internal computer systemfor purposes of its own.

The team's job is to enter a suburbanbuilding containing a subsidiary office ofRamTech with a computer expert, locatethe computer room, and get the expertinto it. After the expert completes his job,the team is to exit again, leaving no traceof the real mission.

The patron suggests the team mem-bers might want to spray-paint a few eco-guerrilla slogans on the walls and splashred paint around to give the impressionthat a group of environmental activists isresponsible for the break-in and to con-ceal its true nature.

It is vital that no one be injured or killedduring this mission, although a reason-able amount of property damage can betolerated.

It is not known what measures havebeen taken to secure the computer room(the team can expect at least one lockeddoor), but the team will be required todeal with them in a manner not incon-sistent with their instructions (swiftly andwith the least possible loss of life).

APPROACHFor once, the characters can probably

take a subway to the job and a taxi home.The patron will provide as many civiliancars as are needed, all rented with fakeIDs and untraceable so they can beabandoned if necessary. The teammembers may make other arrangementsif they wish.

A couple of well placed bribes haveensured that a window-washing platformon the side of the building will be loweredto a position where the team can gain

access to it at 2100 hours the night of theraid.

This will enable the team to bypass thenormal entrances (with their securityguards) and travel directly to the 22ndfloor, where the offices of RamTech, Ltd.are located. The platform can carry up to1000 kilograms at once, and it will takethree minutes to rise to the 22nd floorand as long to go down again.

RETRIEVALThe window-washing platform will take

the team down again. As noted underapproach, the team will be provided witha number of untraceable rental cars but isfree to make other arrangements if desired.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe maps show the grounds around

the base of the building at the eight-meter scale, and the 22nd floor at thetwo-meter scale. The referee shouldmake a copy of this map for the playersand cover each room with a small slip ofpaper (to be removed as the charactersenter that room).

Offices: Each of these is pretty muchlike the others: desk, padded leatherchair, mass-produced landscape paint-ing on the wall) and so on. They differonly in minor details.

Storerooms: These contain officesupplies: reams of copier paper, rolls ofFAX paper, typewriter ribbons, cartons ofpens, pencils, plastic paper clips, legalpads, and so on ad infinitum. Their Dutchdoors are kept locked.

Conference Room: This large, pan-eled room contains a conference table,chairs, a water cooler and a sideboardwith a coffee maker.

Lavoratories: These are typicalwashrooms.

Employee Break Room: This roomcontains tables, chairs, vending ma-chines, and a small kitchenette.

Computer Room: This room containsseveral computer terminals, each onelocked. Access to this room is by anelectronic keypad lock rather than a nor-mal key lock. Opening this lock requirestwosuccessiveAverage: Electronics rolls.Only one roll may be attempted perminute.

Janitorial Closet: This contains

cleaning supplies and the floor's vacuumcleaner. It is kept locked.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOOn arriving at the 22nd floor, the PCs

will need to break a window in order toget into the building. No alarms will go off,but the computerized air conditioningsystem will soon notice the added loadforthat particularoff ice and alert securitythat a window may have been broken.

This means that 34 minutes after theplayer characters have broken in, a se-curity guard and a custodian will arriveon the 22nd floor to check things out.

The computer expert will take 20 min-utes to accomplish his job. Therefore,the team members have 14 minutes tolocate the computer room and open it.Whether they can accomplish this de-pends on how organized they are.

The team members must bear in mindthat they are posing as environmentalactivists and should take no actions (likeblowing in doors with explosive charges)that wtil contradict this.

NPCSThe computer expert is a Novice NPC

(for purposes of combat only—he hasElectronics: 6 and Computer: 9), a nerdylooking guy with a laptop computer and atendency to panic in tense situations.

The security guards in the building areExperienced NPCs, equipped withwalkie-talkies and .38 Special revolvers.

All other nonplayer characters en-countered in the building will be Novicesand unarmed.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSAs they explore offices looking for the

computer room, the team surprises ajunior executive and his secretary work-ing late. Does the team have the pres-ence of mind to pose as ecological ac-tivists, tie them up, and carry on themission, or will they panic?

It the team members are having tooeasy a time of it, move up the scheduledappearance of the security guard by afew minutes, or add a janitor or otherlate-night worker.

The referee might even want to add agroup of genuine environmental activists,conducting an actual break-in.

Biafran Civil WarIn this first sample campaign, the PCs

have been approached by an old contact (ora friend of one) to serve as a special strikeforce for the Biafran Army. The contract is forthree months, renewable as often as the PCscare to remain in service. Salary is $3000 perteam member per month, with the patronsupplying ammunition and special equipment,and the team supplying its own weapons.

Ferry TalesIn this first scenario, the team will be as-

signed to destroy a ferry.

MISSION BRIEFINGA Nigerian mechanized infantry brigade has

managed to cross the Benue River betweenMakurdi and Ibi, and has deployed a pontoonferry to supportthe crossing. The Nigerians havebeen able to achieve air superiority over thebridgehead, at least during the day, and troopsand vehicles are pouring across the river. Acounterattack is planned, but the high commandis doubtful of its success unless the ferry can bedestroyed. The team is to destroy theferry beforethe Biafran counterattack starts. The team will beprovided with a demolitions kit, 10 kilograms ofplastic explosive, a 5/25 km manpack/vehicularradio, signal flares as needed, three underwatercarriers, and snorkeling gear for up to 12 teammembers. Scuba gear will be provided on re-quest, but the cost will be deducted from thepayment. Other equipment is up to the referee.

The ferry is guarded by a Nigerian infantrycompany, reinforced with a platoon of tanks andtwo batteries of towed ZSU-23-4 antiaircraft g uns.The remainder of a Nigerian mech infantry battal-ion (one tank company and another infantrycompany, plus headquarters and heavy weapons)is picketed less than 10 kibmeters away. Theteam must get in quickly and quietly, mine theferries, and get out again.

APPROACHTransport can be provided in the form of one

Westland Puma helicopter (capacity up to 24passengers). The team will be dropped into theriver 12 kilometers upstream of the ferry at 2145hours (just after moonset) and will need to makeits way down it to the ferry. The river flows at twokph.andtheteam can be expected to arrive atthebridge no later than 0400. The bridge must bedestroyed by 0430, when the Biafran counterat-tack will begin.

RETRIEVALRetrieval will also be by helicopter. If the

team manages to destroy or neutralize the

guns, upon receipt of a radioed code word thePuma will approach and pick up the team onthe north bank of the river in a position con-cealed from hostile fire to the south. Other-wise, the Puma will proceed to a prearrangedposition four kilometers downstream of theferry site at 0630. The helicopter will departimmediately if fired upon, and at 0635 unlessone green and one yellow flare are launched(one at each end of the LZ).

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map shows the banks of the river, the

ferry locations and their cables, the AA gunpositions and the tents of the infantry com-pany. Sentry patrol paths are indicated aswell. The company headquarters and thecompany vehicle park are located south ofthe river, inside a barbed wire enclosure. Foursearchlight/MG posts are also indicated, alongwith the area illuminated by them. The beamwill sweep this radius at regular intervals,which will raise the background illuminationlevel to three in each of these areas.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe background light level isoneaftermoonset,

but the characters have been thrown a curve.Instead of being totally oblivious to the possibilityof a night attack by the river, the Nigerians havetaken the precaution of emplacing searchlightsabngthe riverbank upstream oftheferrysite.TheNigerians manning the searchlights are nervousand are prone to take potshots at f bating debrisin the river. For this reason, a short burst ortwo ofgunfire at random intervals will not provoke anyreaction from the camp, although a prolongedfirefight or a signal from the searchlight posts will(also, asearchlightthat goesoutfor any length oftime will attract attentton). The searchlight postsare not provided with communicatbnsorsignalinggear except for a few signal flares at each.

There are five ferries at the site. Each ferryconsists of three pontoons and two motor-boats to push it across. Cables secure eachferry and keep it on course. Explosives with aDP value of 2 will be required to destroy apontoon or motorboat, or to cut a cable in oneplace.

It will require five minutes after being alertedfor the camp to awaken and organize itself. Itwill require another five minutes for the tankcrews to start their vehicles.

NPCSAll Nigerian infantry are armed with AK-74s,

except for light machinegunners, with PK ma-chineguns, and RPG gunners, with RPG-7s.Officers are armed with PM Makarov pistols.Tank Crewmembers have Uzis. All infantry areExperienced; the tankers are Novices.

Tank Platoon: The tank platoon containstwo T-55 tanks, one officer, and 11 enlistedmen. This is understrength.

Infantry Company: The infantry companyconsists of a headquarters platoon, two rifleplatoons, and a detachment from the weaponsplatoon (the heavy machineguns are distributedamong the searchlight posts). The remainder ofthe company is depbyed in outlying positionsabng the river. Each rifle platoon consists of aplatoon leaderand three rifle squads. Each squadconsists of a squad leader, two light machinegunteams (gunner and assistant gunner), an RPGgunner, a truck driver, and two riflemen. Thisgives a total of nine in each squad and 28 in aplatoon. The headquarters platoon is about thesame size. This unit is understrength as well.

Engineer Platoon: Organized as an in-fantry platoon. These are the folks who runthe ferry during the day.

Searchlight Posts (4): Each of thesecontains one DShK machinegun and crew oftwo, one searchlight, generator trailer andcrew of three, two lookouts with binoculars,and one NCO (with four signal flares andbinoculars). These are detachments from theweapons platoon of the infantry company.

Sentry Paths: These are patrolled by pairs ofsentries. The only random encounter in thisscenario will be abng a sentry path: Any charac-ter withinfive meters of asentry path will encountera pair of sentries on a 1D10 die roll of 9+.

AA Posts (4): Each of these contains aZSU-23-4 antiaircraft gun, an ammunitiontrailer, a crew of six, and an NCO. Only twopeople per position are awake; the rest of thecrew sleeps next to the gun positions. Each ofthese is located on a slight rise—two north ofthe river, two south of it.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSIf the characters are too sure of them-

selves, add a team of four to eight opposingmeres: Experienced NPCs with night visionbinoculars and AK-74s, one of them with asniper rifle and starlight scope.

To add a touch of reality, the referee maywish to work out call signs and code words foruse in radio communications. For example,names should be assigned to the team (Fer-ret), the ferry site (Chicago), the Puma heli-copter (Weasel), the ferry site LZ (O'hare),and the downriver LZ (LeGuardia). In addi-tion, code words should be assigned for an-nouncing the destruction of the ferry (ApplePie), the destruction of both the ferry and theAA guns (Pumpkin Pie), and any other mes-sage the players want to work out in advance.The team leader would be "Ferret-1 "or "Ferretleader," and other members ofthe team wouldbe "Ferret-2," "Ferret-3," and so on.

DecapitationAs the characters board the helicopter at

the end of the previous mission, the pilothands them a radio message ordering themto a second mission.

MISSION BRIEFINGA rare opportunity has presented itself.

The team has a chance to kill or capture anenemy brigade commander and ensure thesuccess of the counteroffensive. Radio inter-cepts have revealed the location of thecommander of the attacking brigade. He hasrecently learned of the destruction of theferry, and is presently proceeding with mini-mal escort back to the ferry site to inspect thedamage and oversee its repair.

The team is ordered to set up a hastyambush along the road to the ferry site, attackthe commander's convoy, and neutralize himand his staff, taking them prisoner if possible.The players will have to accomplish this withthe equipment they have available, supple-mented by the two PK MGs serving as doorguns on the Puma (which the helicopter pilothas offered to dismount and give to the team).

APPROACHThere is no time to waste picking a perfect

ambush site. A hasty examination of the map

as the Puma lifts off will show agood position,and the pilot will make for it with all possiblespeed. Upon arrival at the position shown onthe map, the characters will have 15 minutesto set up their ambush while the helicoptercrew conceals the Puma from sight (it's aftersunrise, and Nigerian aircraft will soon beflying).

RETRIEVALThe team members will leave by the same

helicopter they arrive in.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map shows the ambush position se-

lected at the eight-metertactical scale. It alsoshows the road, several concealed positionsalong it, and the low spot where the Puma ishidden. The convoy will approach from thesouth, along the road.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe brigade commander will be riding in a

Land Rover with his driver. He will be accom-panied by a Panhard M3 APC with the head-quarters security detachment (driver, gunner,and eight soldiers) and a second Land Rovercontaining a radio and two soldiers (a driverand a rateb—a radio/telephone operator).

The characters should be allowed to pickthe positions they will take up. The referee

should have the convoy arrive a few minutesbefore the players are completely ready (theydid remember a lookout, didn't they?).

NPCSThe brigade commander and his driver are

both Veterans. The commander is armedwith an HP-35 pistol, his driver with anAMD-65; all other members of the convoy arearmed with AK-74s.

The security detachment are all Experi-enced NPCs, the soldiers in thecommo Roverare Novices.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSIf the team has somehow managed to

bring man-portable antitank weapons along(remember that this is an impromptu mis-sion), add an AML-90 orAML-60/20 armoredcar to the convoy (Experienced crews).

If the team outnumbers the convoy, addanother M3 APC. The referee may also wishto add one or two recon troopers on motor-cycles arriving a couple of minutes ahead ofthe convoy, and riding in the countrysidealong either side of the road, not directlydown the road.

If the team is badly outnumbered, thereferee can have the helicopter pilot offerthem his "crash kit" consisting of an Uzi SMGand a pair of RPG-18s.

BarbadosIn this second sample campaign, the

players have been retained by the re-cently deposed prime minister of Barba-dos to oust the perpetrators of the coupthat deposed him and restore him topower.

Rescue from on HighThis is a sample of a more sophis-

ticated hostage rescue mission.

MISSION BRIEFINGDuring the coup which deposed

Prime Minster Forsythe's govern-ment, his wife and family were takencaptive, while he managed to escape.These hostages must be rescuedbefore the countercoup invasion cantake place. The four hostages (Mrs.Forsythe; her daughter, Margaret;Margaret's husband, Geoffry Forbes-Hamilton; and granddaughter, MaryCatherine) are being held on theestate of billionaire industrialist andinternational fugitive Robert van Ruys.

The estate itself is lightly held, with onlyadozen or so bodyguards in residence inor near the mansion, but it is surroundedby a company-sized detachment ofheavily armed soldiers, mostly Cubanmercenaries. A small radar installationand several weapons stations make ap-proach by helicopter or small boat out ofthe question. The ground floor of themansion is patrolled by several attack-trained guard dogs, which are given freerun of the corridors at night

The team must make a HALO droponto the grounds of the estate itselfsince it is impossible to approach anyother way and guarantee the hos-tages' safety. HALO gear andsteerable parachutes will be providedby the patron. The team must provideany other equipment desired.

APPROACHThe patron has arranged to borrow

an American cargo plane forthe drop,

which will be from 7000 meters up, at0400 hours (shortly after moonset, toprovide the darkest possible condi-tions). The LZ is asmall putting greennear the main house, surrounded byhedges and ornamental trees, whichwill provide some cover while theteam sheds its HALO gear andparachutes. A sympathetic servantinside the household will place asmalllantern in the middle of the green toguide the team in, and will arrange forelectronic motion sensors that coverthe green to be malfunctioning.

RETRIEVALAt a prearranged signal from the

team (flare, searchlight, whateverthey wish), a small, high-speed mo-torboat will pull up onto the mansion'sprivate beach. The team and thehostages will board the boat and maketheir escape. The team must see to itthat the rescue goes fast enough thatthe Cubans do not have time to in-tervene.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThis map uses the building interiors

given on pages 71 -83, but is drawn usingthe eight-meter tactical grid. The man-sion.outtxjibings.andseveralotherpointsof interest are shown

Perimeter Fence: This is anunobtrusive but very stout cyclonefence surrounding the property,concealed by hedges and other or-namental landscaping. It covers onlythe landward sides of the mansion.This fence is patrolled by sentries,who will respond to any alarm fromthe main house.

Beach: Asmall private beach, witha changing hut and a small shed forstorage of beach-type playthings.

Putting Green: This is about ahectare of level ground for puttingpractice. It and all of the mansiongrounds are covered by a network ofelectronic motion sensors (althoughthese will be inactivated when theplayers land).

ADA Positions: Three airdefenseartillery positions (each equipped witha truck-mounted air defense radarset and an LAV PIVAD antiaircraftvehicle) are shown on the map. Theteam will need to knock out the onecovering the seaward approach tothe mansion, or the PIVAD can bebrought to bear on the motorboat.

Mansion: The outside of the mansionis guarded by a pair of sentries who patrolthe outside wall all night.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOMost of the action in this scenario

should be taking place in the mansion,where the characters must deal withthe guards (both two- and four-legged),locate the hostages, and get them out,all within a few minutes. Bear in mindthat most people in the mansion will beasleep and will follow the rules forwaking up described on pages 84-85.

Two bodyguards and one dog handlerare awake all night in asmall communi-cations center on the first floor. These willrespond immediately to any suspicioussound or if the dogs begin barking.

NPCSThe four hostages are Novice

NPCs and are unarmed. The estateguards (including the dog handlers)are Veterans, equipped with walkie-talkies and MP-5 SMGs.

The two bodyguards with the dog arepart of a special team of six Elite NPCsarmed with PA-15 pistols. Those on nightduty are also equipped with Uzis andwalkie-talkies.

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSPitch a curve at the players by

making one of the bodyguards anattractive woman, especially if theteam is all male.

If the action goes on for more than15 minutes, a platoon of Cuban mer-cenaries in trucks will arrive at themain gate to reinforce the estateguards.Thesewill be Veteran NPCS,armed with AK-74s and PK MGs.

Hold Until RelievedPropaganda is vitally important to any po-

litical/military operation. The side that con-trols the airwaves gets to broadcast that theyhave won.

MISSION BRIEFINGOnly onetelevision station broadcasts from

Barbados, and its control will be vital in thecountercoup to reinstall Prime MinisterForsythe. The team must take the TV stationand broadcasting tower intact, bring in thepatron's propaganda specialists (three tech-nicians and a newsreader, along with 800kilograms of electronic equipment, includingabout 60 videotapes containing haranguesand political statements for every conceivablesituation) and a Barbadan military officer loyalto Forsythe to make it all official. The team isthen to establish a defensive perimeter andhold the station against all attackers until amore permanent garrison can be landed(between six and eight hours).

APPROACHThe team will be landed near a coastal

village and met by a sympathetic local with a

five-ton truck. The truck will transport theteam and the others to the station, where theywill overcome the gatekeeper and take overthe station with minimal bloodshed (none ofthe station personnel are soldiers). The tech-nicians will then disconnect the cable con-necting the tower with the studio in the city,install their equipment, and commencebroadcasting. Enemy forces can be expectedto try to silence the station. The team mustprevent this.

RETRIEVALThe team will be extracted by the same

trucks that bring in the relief force.

MAP DESCRIPTIONThe map shows the station and surround-

ing area on the eight-meter tactical grid.Broadcast Tower: This structure holds

the TV antennae at the correct altitude foroptimal broadcast range.

Generator Building: This building is littlemore than a tin shed containing the generatorthat powers the broadcast equipment.

Equipment Building:This installation is abroadcast tower with emergency backupequipment to continue broadcasting a signal

if the connection with the studio (locatedelsewhere) is broken. The equipment build-ing was never intended to serve as a fullyequipped broadcast studio. It will have to bemodified with additional equipment that thepatron's technicians bring along with them

Tool Shed :Atin structure holding groundsmaintenance equipment for the installation.

Perimeter Fence: This is a light cyclonefence intended to keep out casual intruders.A small gate is shown.

REFEREEING THE SCENARIOThe four staff members at the station are

unarmed Novice NPCs and will offer no resis-tance to the team. They will take the firstopportunity to run away if left unattended.Two hours after the station begins broad-casting Forsythe's propaganda, a reconsection of enemy soldiers will arrive in LandRovers and look the place over, securing theroadfromthesouth. An hour later, atruckborneinfantry platoon will arrive along this road,supported by two Ferret armored cars. Thisplatoon will deploy and attack the station.

If this attack fails, one hour later anotherplatoon will arrive, this one mounted in M113sand supported by a 60mm mortar team.

At the end of seven hours, the enemy willretreat, due to the approach of a company ofloyalist infantry from the main landings to thenorth.

NPCSThe truckborne infantry and recon troops

are Novices; the APC-mounted infantry andthe Ferret crew are Experienced. All are or-ganized as British-style units.

Recon Infantry Section: This consists ofa section leader, a Carl Gustav gunner, aMAG machinegunner, and six riflemen (twoof which serve as vehicle drivers). The sec-tion is carried in two Land Rovers, and eachsoldier is armed with an FN-LAR (includingweapons Crewmembers).

Truckborne Infantry Platoon: This con-sists of a platoon leader, an assistant platoonleader, and three rifle sections (organized asthe recon section, above). The platoon iscarried in unarmed American 2 V2-ton trucks.

APC-Borne Infantry Platoon: This pla-toon is organized the same way as thetruckborne platoon, but has a 60mm mortarteam (carried in a Land Rover).

ALTERNATIVES AND VARIANTSFine-tunethe scenario by adjusting thenumber

of attackers and improving their equipment toprovide a challenge for the characters. Tanks areout of the question, but an armored car with a20mm gun or larger can be introduced.

PRICE LISTPrices and the meaning of the availability

code in Merc: 2000 are radically different fromTwilight since prices in Twilight were deter-mined by adifferentsetofcriteria.The availabil-ity code is still in two parts. The code to the leftof the slash now means availability withoutcontacts; the code to the right of the slash nowmeans availability with contacts (how contactswork into it is explained on pages 12-13). Theabbreviations are the same (V: Very commonC: Common S; Scarce R: Rare and —: Un-available). Weight remains the same in bothgames.

This listing is for the referee and playerswhen purchasing equipment. Items aregrouped by broad categories (meleeweapons, bows, etc.).

We have included most items listed in Twi-light.but so me were leftout because they haveno real application in Merc: 2000. No prices foralcohol fuels are included, for example, sincethe situations where the characters will buythem are almost nonexistent.

Conversion: Unfortunately, there are noeasy guidelines for conversion of prices fromMerc to Twilight or back. Merc prices can bearrived at simply by using present-day priceswhere they can be found or extrapolating fromsimilar items listed in this book.

Converting Merc prices to Twilight andvice versa requires a referee judgment onthe relative value of the item to the situationrepresented in the game, and a decision onhow easy the item is to make, how muchdemand there will be for it, and other eco-nomic considerations. Judging from the lackof questions we have received on this matterover the years Twilight: 2000 has been inprint, few referees really have any problemsin doing this sort of thing.

DOCUMENTSNote that these are all for forged docu-

ments. Genuine documents can be ob-tained through the normal channels forsuch things and usually involve only nomi-nal fees.

Forged Passport, Identity Papers,Etc.: Price: $1500 (—/S).

Forged Bill of Lading or Similar: Price:$1000 (—A/).

Forged End User Certificate: Price:$5000 (—/R).

Other Forged Document: Pr/ce:$1500(-/S).

MELEE WEAPONSAxe: Price: $50 (V/V).Bayonet: Price: $45 (V/V).Club: Price: Usually free for the taking

(V/V).Hatchet: Price: $15 (V/V).Knife: Price: $45 (V/V).Machete: Price: $75 (V/V).Spear: Price: $45 (VA/).

BOWSCrossbow: Price: $550 (C/C).Hunting Bow: Price: $450 (C/C).

REVOLVERS ANDSINGLE-SHOT PISTOLS

38 Special (Revolver): Price:$220 (V/V)..38 Special Snubnose (Revolver):

Price: $250 (VA/)..44 Magnum (Revolver): Price:

$450 (C/C)..357 Magnum (Revolver): Price: $300

(V/V).Black Powder Pistol: FWce:$120 (C/C).Stun Gun: Price: $600 (R/S).

AUTOMATIC PISTOLS.22 (Automatic): Price: $180 (C/C)..380 (Automatic): Price:$250 (C/C).HP-35: Price: $475 (C/C).M9 (M92S): Price:$540 (C/C).M1911A1: Price: $275 (C/C).M1933Tokarev: Price: $350 (—/C).P-64: Price: $400 (—/S).P7M13: Price: $450 (S/C).PA-15: Price: $450 (S/C).PM Makarov: Price: $400 (—/C).Vz-52: Price: $400 (—/S).S&W Model 0 (Mk-22): Price:$900 (—/R).

BATTLE RIFLESFN-FAL (L1A1): Price: $750 (—/C).G3: Price: $760 (—/C).

SUBMACHINEGUNSAKR: Price; $400 (—/C).

AMD-65: Price: $450 (—/S).G11: Price: $800 (—/S).L2A3 Sterling: Price: $500 (—A/).M3A1: Price: $500 (—/C).M12: Price: $650 (—A/).M177: Price: $700 (—A/).M231: Price: $700 (—/S).MAT-49: Price: $650 (—/C).MP-5: Price: $500 (—A/).PPSh-41: Price: $600 (—A/).Uzl: Price: $500 (—A/).Vz-24: Price: $750 (—/R).Vz-61/62Skorpion: Price:$800(—/R).

ASSAULT RIFLESAK-74: Price: $500 (—A/).AKM: Price: $500 (—/C).AKMR: Price; $550 (—/C).AR-70: Price: $650 (—/S).FA-MAS: Price: $750 (—/S).FN-FNC: Price: $700 (—A/).L85 (IW): Price: $750 (—/R).M16A2: Price: $650 (—A/).M71: Price; $700 (—/S).

SPORTING RIFLES.22 Bolt Action: Price: $120 (VA/)..22 Semiauto: Price: $180 (VA/)..30-06: Price:$320 (C/C)..30-30: Price:$300 (C/C).Mauser Bolt Action: Price. $320 (C/C).Tranquilizer Gun: Price: $1200 (—/R).

SNIPER RIFLESC3 (Parker-Hale): Price: $1200 (C/C).FR-F1: Price: $1250 (—/R).L42: Price: $1200 (C/C).M21: Price:$1200 (C/C).M40: Price:$1100 (C/C).PSG1: Price: $1250 (—/C).SVD: Price: $1100 (—/S).Vz-54: Price: $950 (C/C).

SHOTGUNSDouble: Price: $120 (VA/).H&K Combat Assault Weapon: Price:

$750 (—/S).Pump: Price: $350 (VA/).Semiautomatic: Price: $450 (C/C).

AUTOMATIC RIFLESL86A1 LSW: Price: $850 (—/S).M249: Price: $750 (—/C).RPK-74: Price: $700 (—/C).RPK: Price: $675 (—/C).

MACHINEGUNSAAT-52: Price: $1800 (—/R).

L7A2 GPMG (MAG): Price: $1700 (—A/).M60: Price: $1800 (—A/).M214: Price: $7500 (—/R).MG3: Price: $1800 (—/C).PK: Price: $1600 (—A/).Vz-59: Price: $2000 (—/S).

HEAVY MACHINEGUNSDShK: Price: $4200 (—/C).KPV: Price: $4500 (—/S).M2HB: Price: $3500 (—A/).

GRENADE LAUNCHERSAGS-17: Price: $1750 (—/R).BG-15: Price: $400 (—/S).HK-69: Price: $460 (—/C).M203: Price: $450 (—/C).Mk-19: Price: $1800 (—/S).

ROCKET LAUNCHERSArmbrust: Price: $250 (—A/).AT4W: Price: $250 (—A/).Carl Gustav: Price: $250 (—/C).Folgore: Price: $750 (—/S).LAW 80: Price: $250 (—/C).LRAC F1: Price: $650 (—/S).M12 SMAW: Price: $650 (—/C).M72 LAW: Price: $260 (—A/).RPG-16: Price: $450 (—/C).RPG-18: Price: $550 (—/C).RPG-75: Price: $300 (—/S).

ANTITANK MISSILE LAUNCHERSADATS: Price: $75,000 (—/S).AT-3 "Sagger": Price: $5500 (—/C).AT-4 "Spigot": Price: $7000 (—/C).AT-5 "Spandrel": Price: $8500 (—/S).AT-7 "Saxhorn": Price: $9000 (—/S).Dragon PIP: Price: $9000 (—/C).HOT: Price: $45,000 (—/C).MILAN II: Price: $60,000 (—/C).Swingflre: Price: $55,000 (—/S).Tank Breaker: Price: $75,000 (—/S).TOW II: Price: $60,000 (—/C).

LARGE-CALIBER GUNSAND HOWITZERS

122mm D-30 Howitzer: Price:$85,000(-/R).

125mm Gun (Rapira-3):Price:$45,000MR).

MORTARS60mm: Price: $6500 (—A/).81mm: Price: $8000 (—A/).82mm Vasilek: Price: $12,000 (—/S).4.2": Price: $10,000 (—/S).120mm: Price: $15,000 (—/S).

TRIPODSNHT (NATO Heavy Tripod): Price.-$800

(-/C).NMT (NATO Medium Tripod): Price:

$650 (—/C).NLT (NATO Light Tripod): Price. $500

(-/C).PHC (Pact Heavy Carriage): Price:

$550 (—/Ft).PMT(Pact Medium Tripod): Price:$450

(-/C).PLT (Pact Light Tripod): Price: $375

(-/S).

AMMUNITIONMagazines are purchased separately

and cost $1 per round of capacity, exceptthe 1000-round drum for 5.56mm N, whichcosts $800.

SMALL ARMSAND MACHINEGUNS

Arrow/Crossbow Bolt: Price: $36 per24 (C/C).

Stun Dart Package: Price: $50 (—/R).4.7mm CIs (4.7x21 mm Caseless):

Price: $1300 per case (—/S).5.45mm B (5.45x39mm Bloc): Price:

$170 per case (S/C).5.56mm N (5.56x45mm NATO): Price:

$160 per case (C/C)..22 LR (5.7x17mmR Long Rifle): Price:

$110 per case (V/V).7.5mm MAS (7.5x54mm MAS): Price:

$80 per case (R/S).7.62mm T (7.62x25mm Tokarev): Price:

$375 per case (R/S).7.62mm S (7.62x39mm Short): Price:

$80 per case (R/S)..30-30 (7.62x51 mmR): Price:$130 per

case (V/V).7.62mm N (7.62x51 mm NATO): Price:

$75 per case (C/V).7.62mm L (7.62x54mmR Long): Price:

$80 per case (C/V)..30-06 (7.62x63mm): Price: $95 per

case (C/C)..32 ACP (7.65x17mmSR): Price: $240

per case (V/V).8mm M (7.92x57mm Mauser): Price:

$45 per case (C/C)..380 ACP (9x17mm): Price: $240 per

case (V/V).9mm M (9x18mm Makarov): Price:

$200 per case (C/C).9mm P (9x19mm Parabellum): Price:

$195 per case (V/V).9mm Subsonic: Price: $45 per box (—/S).

.38 Special (9x29mmR): Price: $90 percase (V/V).

.357 Magnum (9x33mmR): Price:$100per case (V/V).

.44 Magnum (11.2x32.8mmR): Price:$120 per case (V/V).

.45 ACP(11.43x23mm): Priced 0 percase (VA/).

12.7mm B (12.7x83mmR Bloc): Price:$80 per case (—IS).

.50 BMG (12.7x99mm Browning Ma-chinegun): Price: $75 per case (S/V).

.50 SLAP (12.7x99mm Saboted LightArmor Piercing): Price: $85 per case (S/V).

14.5mm B (14.5x114mm Bloc): Price:$110 per case (—IS).

15mm Dart/Cartridge: Price: $45(including dart, drug, and CO2 cartridge)(-IS).

12 Gauge (12-Gauge All-Brass): Price:$110 per case (V/V).

HAND GRENADESAntitank: Price: $24 each, $325 per

case (—IC).Chemical: P/7ce; $18 each, $250 per

case for smoke, double prices for irritant(smoke, C/S; irritant, S/R).

Concussion: Price: $8 each, $120 percase (—A/).

Flash-Bang or Crash-Bang Grenade:Price: $15, $120 per case (—IC).

Fragmentation: Price:$10 each, $150per case (—A/).

Thermite: Price: $18 each, $250 percase (S/C).

WP (White Phosphorus): Price: $12each, $170 per case (—/C).

GRENADE LAUNCHER ROUNDS30mm HE: Price:$2 each, $50 perdrum

(-/C).40mm HE: Price: $3 each, $200 per

case (—A/).40mm HEDP: Price:$4 each, $250 per

case (—IC).40mm CHEM: Price:$3 each, $120 per

case, (—IS).40mm ILLUM: Price: $2 each, $75 per

case (—IC).40mm HVHE: Price:$5 each, $220 per

case (—IS).40mm HVHEDP: Price: $6 each, $275

per case (—IS).40mm Stun: Price:$20 each, $800 per

case (—IS).40mm Grapple: Price: $20 each, $800

per case (—IS).

ROCKETSFolgore HEAT: Price: $24 (—IS).58.3mm HEAT: Price: $32 each, $80

per case (—IS).82mm SMAW HE: Price:$35 each,$180

per case (—IS).82mm SMAW HEAT: Price: $35 each,

$180 per case (—/S).84mm HEAT: Price: $32 (—IS).89mm HEAT: Price: $40 (—IS).

RIFLE GRENADESHEAT: Price:$8each, $65 per case (—IC).WP: Price:$14 each, $100 per case (—IC).140mm RAW (Rifle Assault Weapon)

HE: Price: $36 each (—/R).140mm RAW (Rifle Assault Weapon)

HEAT: Price: $48 each (—/R).

ANTITANK MISSILES152mm HEAT (Tank Breaker): Price:

$9000 each (—/R).152mm HEAT (TOW II): Pr/ce: $6500

(-/C).152mm HEAT (TOW Il-C): Pnce. $7500

(-/S).AT-3 "Sagger": Price: $4500 (—/C).AT-4 "Spigot": Price: $5000 (—/C).AT-5 "Spandrel": Price: $8500 (—/S).AT-7 "Saxhorn": Price: $9200 (—/R).AT-8 "Songster": Price: $12,000 (—/R).MILAN II: Price: $8000 (—/C).MILAN Il-T: Price: $9000 (—IS).HOT: Pr/ce: $5500 (—/C).Swingfire: Price: $5500 (—/S).127mm HEAT (DRAGON PIP): Price:

$3000 (—/C).ADATS: Price: $3500 (—/S).

AUTOCANNON ROUNDS23mm API: Price: $36 per case (—IS).23mm HE: Price: $36 per case (—IS).25mm API: Price: $38 per case (—IS).25mm HE: Price: $40 per case (—IS).25mm APDU: Price: $55 per case (—/R).30mm API: Price: $45 per case (—IS).30mm HE: Price: $45 per case (—IS).40mm HE: Price: $50 per case (—/C).75mm HE: Price: $65 each (—IS).75mm WP: Price: $68 each (—/R).75mm APFSDS: Price: $82 each (—/R).

LARGE-CALIBERROUNDS

105mm HEAT: Price: $115 (—/C).105mm APFSDS: Price: $120 (—/C).105mm APDU: Price: $130 (—/S).105mm WP: Price: $130 (—/R).

120mm HEAT: Price: $120 (—/C).120mm APFSDS: Price: $125 (—/C).120mm APDU: Price: $135 (—/S).120mm WP: Price: $135 (—/R).125mm HE: Price: $130 (—/C).125mm HEAT: Price: $140 (—/C).125mm APFSDS: Price: $150 (—/S).125mm APDU: Price: $175 (—/R).125mm Powder Charge: Price:$40

(-/C).

HOWITZER ROUNDS122mm HE: Price: $135 (—IS).122mm HEAT: Price: $140 (—IS).122mm ICM: Price: $200 (—/R).122mm WP: Price: $160 (—/R).122mm CHEM: Price: $160 (—/R).122mm ILLUM: Pnce: $150 (—IS).122mm Powder Charge: Price:$40

(-IS).152mm HE: Price: $150 (—IS).152mm HEAT: Price: $180 (—IS).152mm ICM: Price: $300 (—/R).152mm WP: Price: $200 (—/R).152mm CHEM: Pnce: $200 (—/R).152mm ILLUM: Price: $190 (—/R).152mm Powder Charge: Price:$60

(-IS).155mm HE: Price: $140 (—/C).155mm HEAT: Price:$175 (—/C).155mm ICM-DP: Price: $280 (—IS).155mm WP: Pnce: $190 (—/R).155mm CHEM: Price: $190 (—/R).155mm ILLUM: Price: $170 (—/S).155mm FASCAM: Price: $300 (—/R).155mm Powder Charge: Price:$55

(-/C).

MORTAR ROUNDS60mm HE: Price: $72 per case (—/C).60mm WP: Price: $75 per case (—IS).60mm ILLUM: Price: $75 per case (-VS).81mm HE: Price: $36 per case (—/C).81mm WP: Price: $48 per case (—IS).81mm ILLUM: Price: $45 (—IS).82mm HE: Price: $60 per clip (—IS).82mm HEDP: Price:$65 perclip (—/R).82mm WP: Price: $75 per case (—/R).82mm ILLUM: Price: $70 per case (—/R).4.2" HE: Price: $48 per case (—IS).4.2" ICM-DP: Price: $60 per case (—/R).4.2" WP: Price: $55 per case (—/S).4.2" CHEM: Price:$55 per case (^R).4.2" ILLUM: Price:$55 per case (—/R).120mm HE: Price: $72 per case (—IS).120mm WP: Price: $80 per case (—IS).120mm CHEM: Price:$85 per case(—/R).120mm ILLUM: Price:$85 percase (—IS).

EXPLOSIVESFrame Charge: Price: $100 (—/R).Primercord: Price: $15 per meter (—/C).Dynamite Stick: Price: $8 per quarter-

kilogram stick, $600 per case of 100 sticks(S/V).

Engineer Demolitions Kit: Price:$500(R/C).

Mine, Antipersonnel: Pr/ce:$110, $375per case (—/C).

Mine, Antitank: Price: $650, $1100 percase (—IS).

Mine, Directional: Price: $240, $1200per case (—/C).

Plastic Explosive: Price: $35 per one-kilogram block, $600 per case of 20 blocks(-/C).

GENERATORS1.5 Kilowatt: Price: $450 (C/C).5 Kilowatt: Price: $750 (C/C).10 Kilowatt: Pr/ce: $1100 (S/S).60 Kilowatt: Pr/ce: $1600 (S/S).100 Kilowatt: Pr/ce: $14,000 (S/S).500 Kilowatt: Pr/ce: $25,000 (R/R).

HEATERS AND COOLERSField Cooker, Military: Pr/ce. $25 (C/C).Portable Heater: Price: $75 (C/C).

HAND TOOLSAircraft Tools: Pr/ce: $1100 (S/S).Arc Welder: Pr/ce: $850 (C/C).Basic Tool Kit: Pr/ce: $250 (V/V).Construction Tools: Pr/ce:$400 (V/V).Electrical Repair: Price:$275 (V/V).Electronic Repair: Pr/ce:$350 (V/V).Excavating Tools: Price: $250 (V/V).Heavy Ordnance Tools: Price: $2400

(-/S).Lockpick Tools: Price: $50 (—/C).Portable Machine Shop: Pr/ce:

$12,000 (S/S).Power Hand Tools: Pr/ce:$1200 (V/V).Small Arms Tools: Price: $750 (S/C).Tracked Vehicle Tools: Price: $2200

(-/S).Wheeled VehicleTools: Pr/ce:$800 (V/V).

RADIOS ANDCOMMUNICATIONS GEAR

2km Hand: Price: $250 (V/V).5/25km Manpack/Vehicular: Pr/ce:

$800 (C/C).5/25km Secure:Pr/ce:$1100 (S/C).50km Secure Vehicle: Pr/ce:$1450 (S/C).Directional Microphone: Price:$3000

(C/C).

Frequency Hopping Radio: Pr/ce .$800(R/S).

Individual Tactical Radio: Price: $550(S/R).

Portable Facsimile Machine: Pr/ce:$1800 (C/C).

Portable Satellite Downlink Sub-system: Price: $12,000 (R/S).

Radio Direction Finder: Price: $1500(C/C).

Scrambler/Descrambler: Pr/ce. $2000(R/S).

Transponder: Pr/ce: $1800 (S/C).

RANGEFINDERSPortable Coincidence RF: Pr/ce. $7000

(-/S).Portable Laser RF: Pr/ce:$15,000 (—/S).Reticle Gunsight: Pr/ce: $7500 (—IS).Vehicle Coincidence RF: Pr/ce:

$25,000 (—/S).Vehicle Laser RF with Ballistic Com-

puter: Price: $45,000 (—/R).Vehicle Laser RF: Pr/ce: $30,000 (—/R).

VISION DEVICES4x Binoculars: Price:$75 (V/V).25x Image IntensHier: Pnce: $750 (R/S).IR Goggles: Pr/ce: $850 (R/C).IR Spotlight: Price: $5000 (R/C).Starlight Scope: Price: $1250 (R/S).Telescopic Rifle Sight: Price:$750 (C/C).Thermal Sight: Price: $1250 (—/S).White Light Spotlight: Price:$225 (V/V).

RADARSArtillery Counterbattery: Pr/ce:

$45,000 (—/S).Ground Surveillance: Pr/ce: $30,000

(-/S).Mortar Counterbattery: Pr/ce:$56,000

(-/S).

LASERDESIGNATORS

Man Portable: Price:$15,000 (—/R).Vehicle Mounted: Pr/ce:$18,000 (—/S).

NBC EQUIPMENTChemical Defense Suit: Pr/ce: $975

(-/C).Chemical Sniffer: Price: $750 (—/S).Gas Mask: Pr/ce:$110 (S/V).Geiger Counter: Price: $250 (S/C).M256 Chemical Detector Kit: Price:

$24 (—/C).Optical Chemical Sensor: Pr/ce: $850

(-/R).

Steam Decontamination Trailer: Price:$14,000 (—/R).

MEDICAL SUPPLIESAnesthetic, Local (100 Units): Pr/ce:

$45 (—N).Anesthetic, Total (100 Units): Price:

$75 (—IV).Antibiotic (100 Units) +, -, & ± Variet-

ies: Price: Liquid, $25; oral, $30 (—W).Antifever (100 Units): Pr/ce:$10 (-^V).Atroplne (100 Units): Price:$25 (—/C).Atropine(Autoinjector): Pr/ce:$75 per

kit of 10HC).Blood, Whole(1 Unlt):Pr/ce:$45 (—C).Pain-Reliever, Mild (100 Units): Price:

$40 (—N).Personal Medical Kit: Pr/ce.$25 (S/V).Plasma (1 Unit): Price:$40 (—/C).Sedative, Mild (100 Units): Price: $30

(-/C).Sedative, Strong (100 Units): Price:

$45 (—/C).Surgical Instruments: Price: $350

(—/C).

BODY ARMORClose Assault Vest: Prfce:$1200 (—IS).Flak Jacket: Price: $450 (R/C).Kevlar (Ballistic Nylon) Helmet: Price:

$150 (C/C).Kevlar (Ballistic Nylon) Vest: Price:

$350 (R/C).Steel Helmet: Price: $120 (V/V).

PERSONAL GEAR1-liter Canteen: Price: $10 (V/V).2-liter Reserve Canteen: Pnce: $25 (V/V).5-liter Reserve Canteen: Price:$30 (V/V).Assault Suit: Pr/ce: $1100 (—/S).Basic Load: Free upon creation of

character (except for weapons).Combat Webbing: Price: $30 (V/V).Extreme Cold Weather Gear: Price:

$200 (V/V).Fatigues: Pr/ce: $80 (V/V).Flashlight: Pr/ce: $10 (V/V).HALO Rig: Pr/ce: $3500 (—IS).Pack: Pr/ce: $30 (V/V).Parka: Pr/ce: $80 (V/V).Shelter Half: Pr/ce: $45 (V/V).Sleeping Bag: Price: $85 (V/V).Snorkel Gear: Pr/ce: $120 (V/V).Thermal Fatigues: Price: $100 (V/V).

OTHER EQUIPMENT20-Liter Jerrycan: Price: $20 (V/V).Air Compressor: Pr/ce: $280 (V/V).

Air Tank, Aqualung: Pnce:$110 (C/C).Aqualung: Price:$300 (C/C).Food, Domestic: Pr/ce;$3 per kg (VA/).Food, MREor Equivalent: Price:%5 per

kg (VA/).Food, Wild: Pr/ce:$1 per kg (VA/).Grapple: Price: $60 (VA/).Grenade, Colored Smoke: Price: $30

(R/S).Grenade, Illuminating: Price: $25 (—/S).Horse Tack: Pnce: $300 (C/C).Pack Saddle: Price: $200 (C/C).Parachute: Price: $450 (C/C).Paraglider (Steerable Parachute):

Price:$650 (C/C).Rebreather Recharge Kit: Price: $120

(S/S).Rebreather: Price: $375 (S/S).Rope: Price: $100 per 50m coil (VA/).Shotgun Flare: Price: $5 (R/S).Signal Flare: Price: $25 (C/V).Silencer/Suppressor: Pnce:$1000 (S/C).Skis, Cross-Country: Price: $450 (VA/).Skyhook (Ground Unit): Price: $800

(-/R).Tent, 4-man: Price: $120 (VA/).Tent, 10-man: Price:$375 (C/C).Tranq Autoinjectors: Price:$75 perset

of three (—/S).Underwater Carrier: Price: $85 (R/S).Vehicle Low-Altitude Extraction Kit:

Price: $8000 (—/R).Vehicle Parachute Kit: Price: $12,000

(-/R).

FUELAvgas: Price: $.50 per liter (C/C).Gasoline: Price: $.50 per liter (VA/).Diesel: Price: $.40 per liter (C/C).

UNARMORED CARGO VEHICLES1-ton Cargo Trailer: Price:$1100 (VA/).1000-Liter (1-Ton) Tank Trailer: Price:

$1200 (S/C).5000-liter (5-ton) Tank Truck: Price:

$20,000 (S/C).10,000-Liter (10-Ton) Tank Truck:

Price: $30,000 (S/S).Bicycle: Pnce: $250 (VA/).Civilian Car: Price: $14,000 (VA/).FAV: Price:$15,000 (R/S).GAZ-46 MAV: Price: $12,000 (—/S).HMMWV (Hum-Vee): Price: $18,000

(-/C).HMMWV Fire Support Vehicle: Price:

$24,000 (—/R).LWB Land Rover: Price:$11,000 (VA/).M151 V4-Ton Truck "Jeep": Price:

$9500 (VA/).M548 6-Ton Cargo Carrier: Price:

$28,000 (—/S.M648 10-Ton Cargo Carrier: Price:

$32,000 (—/S).M973 Carrier, Tracked, 11/2-Ton SUSV:

Price:$28,000 (R/S).M992 FAASV: Price: $30,000 (—/R).Motorcycle: Price: $2200 (VA/).PTS-M: Price: $18,000 (—/R).Truck, Cargo, 3/4-Ton: Price: $11,000

(C/C).Truck, 1-Ton: Price: $20,000 (C/C)Truck, Cargo, 'A-Ton: Price: $12,000

(VA/).Truck, Cargo, 21/2-Ton: Price. $18,000

(C/C).Truck, Cargo, 5-Ton: Price: $22,000

(C/C).Truck, Cargo, 8-Ton: Price: $35,000

(C/C).UAZ-469: Price: $8500 (—/S).

INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLESAIFV: Price: $275,000 (—/S).AMX-10P: Price: $225,000 (—/S).BMP-1: Price: $110,000 (—/C).BMP-2: Price: $125,000 (—/S).BMP-3: Price: $150,000 (—/R).BVP-1: Price: $115,000 (—/R).BVP-2: Price: $130,000 (—/R).FV-510 Warrior (MCV-80): Price.

$220,000 (—/S).M-80: Price: $140,000 (—/S).M2 Bradley: Price:$1,100,000 (—/C).M2A2 Bradley II: Price: $1,250,000

(—/S).M2A3 Bradley: Price: $1,500,000 (—/R).M113: Price: $150,000 (—/C).M113A3ACCV: Price: $160,000 (—/S).M115A1 ACCV: Price:$200,000 (—/R).Marder: Price: $280,000 (—/S).

ARMOREDPERSONNEL CARRIERS

BTR-50P: Price: $55,000 (—/S).BTR-60: Price: $95,000 (—/C).BTR-70: Price: $100,000 (—/S).BTR-80: Price: $110,000 (—/R).BTR-152: Price: $90,000 (—/S).Commando V-300 APC: Price:

$350,000 (—/S).EE-11 Urutu: Price: $180,000 (—/R).HWK II: Price: $75,000 (S/R).M60-P: Price: $80,000 (—/S).MT-LB: Price: $90,000 (—/S).OT-62: Price: $55,000 (—/R).OT-64: Price: $65,000 (—/R).

OTO-Melara 6614: Price: $75,000(-/S).

Panhard M3: Price: $50,000 (R/C).Panhard VCR: Price: $75,000 (R/S).RAM V-1: Price: $45,000 (S/C).RBY Mk1: Price: $45,000 (S/C).TAB-72: Price: $100,000 (—/R).TAB-77: Price: $110,000 (—/R).TAB-90: Price: $120,000 (—/R).Type 531: Price: $65,000 (—/R).

LIGHT COMBAT VEHICLESAAVP7A1: Price: $275,000 (—/S).BA-64: Price: $20,000 (—/R).BMD-1: Price: $250,000 (—/S).BMD-2: Price: $400,000 (—/R).BRDM-1: Price: $200,000 (—/R).BRDM-2: Price: $250,000 (—/S).BRDM-3: Price: $250,000 (—/S).BRDM-4: Pnce: $275,000 (—/S).Commando Scout: Price: $60,000

(-/C).Commando V-150: Price: $250,000

(-/C).Commando V-300 CS: Price:$350,000

MS).Commando V-300 TUA: Price:

$350,000 (—/S).EE-3 Jararaca: Price:$200,000 (—/S).EE-9 Cascavel: Price:$200,000 (—/S).Ferret: Price: $95,000 (—/S).FUG-70/OT-65/OT-65A: Price:$180,000

(-/S).LAV-25: Price: $225,000 (—/S).LAV-75: Price: $500,000 (—/S).M3 Bradley: Pnce: $950,000 (—/R).M3A1: Price: $20,000 (—/R).M8: Price: $35,000 (—/R).M18 Mortar Carrier: Price:$1,100,000

(-/R).M20: Price: $125,000 (—/R).M22 Laser Generator Vehicle: Price:

$1,200,000 (—/R).M24 Chaffee: Price: $350,000 (—/R).M41: Price:$500,000 (—/R).M106 Mortar Carrier: Pnce: $160,000

M S ) .M551 Sheridan: P/7ce:$850,000(—/S).M577A1: Price: $190,000 (—/S).M750 AC (Commando V-350): Price:

$375,000 (—/R).OT-65: Pnce: $225,000 (—/R).OTO-Melara 6616: Price: $85,000

M S ) .Panhard AML: Price: $85,000 (—/C).Peacekeeper Armored Car: Price:

$65,000 (R/R).PT-76: Price:$225,000 (—/R).

SO-120: Price: $300,000 (—/R).TAM/TH-301: Price: $750,000 (—/S).Type 62: Price: $950,000 (—/R).VBC-90: Price: $750,000 (R/S).

ENGINEERING VEHICLESM1 AVLB: Price: $4,100,000 (—/R).M5AbramsARV: Price:$3,950,000 (—/R).M60 AVLB: Price: $1,200,000 (—/S).M88A1 ARV: Price.$850,000 (—/S).M728 CEV: Price: $1,100,000 (—/R).

MAIN BATTLE TANKSC-1 "Ariete": Price: $4,000,000 (—/R).Cadillac Gage Stingray: Price:

$1,400,000 (—/S).EPC "LeClerc": Price: $4,000,000 (—/R).FV-4030/4 Challenger: Price. $4,200,000

(-/R).Leopard I: Price:$1,700,000 (—/C).Leopard II: Price;$3,500,000 (—/S).M-47: Price: $900,000 (—/R).M-77: Price: $1,000,000 (—/R).M-81: Price:$1,100,000 (—/R).

M-84: Price: $1,500,000 (—/R).M1: Price: $3,750,000 (—S).M1A1: Price: $4,300,000 (—/S).M1A2: Price: $4,900,000 (—/R).M4A3E8: Price: $750,000 (—/R).M48A3 Patton: Price: $1,000,000 (—/S).M48A5: Price: $800,000 (—/S).M60A3/A4: Price: $1,200,000 (—/C).T-34/85: Price: $800,000 (—/R).T-54/T-55: Price: $950,000 (—/C).T-62: Price: $1,000,000 (—/C).T-64: Price: $1,100,000 (—/S).T-72/T-74: Price: $1,500,000 (—/C).T-80: Price: $3,800,000 (—/R).T-90: Price: $4,000,000 (—/R).Vickers Valiant: Price: $1,700,000 (-VS).

SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERYASU-85: Price: $110,000 (—/S).Bm-14: Price: $25,000 (—/S).Bm-21: Price: $45,000 (—/S).Bm-27: Price; $40,000 (—/S).LAV-PIVAD: Price: $500,000 (—/R).M-77 Dana: Price: $650,000 (—/R).

M7 Priest: Price; $45,000 (—/R).M17 LAVAA: Price: $250,000 (—/S).M21LADA Laser ADA Vehicle: Price:

$3,500,000 (—/R).M42 Duster: Prfce; $250,000(—/S).M48 Chaparral: Price; $450,00 (—/S).M107 SPA: Price: $110,000 (—/R).M109A2: Price: $950,000 (—/S).M110A2 SPA: Price: $110,000 (—/R).M691 Diana: Price: $850,000 (—/R).M741A6 PIVAD: Price:$750,000 (—/S).M901 ITV: Price: $250,000 (—/S).M917 ADATS: Price: $350,000 (—/R).M948 LARS: Price: $200,000 (—/S).M975A3 Roland II: Price:$750,000 (—/S).M990 ADA: Price: $750,000 (—/R).M993 MLRS: Price: $750,000 (—/R).MPGS-90: Price: $600,000 (—/S).SO-122: Price: $250,000 (—/S).SO-152: Price: $300,000 (—/S).SO-203: Price: $500,000 (—/R).SU-130: Price: $600,000 (—/R).XM12 Laser ADA: Price: $7,500,000

(-/R).ZSU-23-4: Price: $450,000 (—/S).ZSU-30-2: Price: $650,000 (—/R).

HOVERCRAFTM5 RACV: Price: $1,750,000 (—R).XM22: Price: $2,250,000 (—/R).XM23: Price: $2,250,000 (—/R).KvP-92: Price: $950,000 (—/S).KvP-92z: Price: $1,200,00 (—/R).KvP-121: Price: $3,500,000 (—/R).

ANIMALSCamel: Price: $3000 (R/S).Dog, Guard: Price: $1200 (V/V).Elephant: Price: $8000 (R/S).Horse (Broken): Price: $2500 (V/V).Horse: Price: $2000 (V/V).Mule: Price: $1750 (C/C).Ox: Price: $800 (R/R).

BOATSVery Small Open Boat: Price: $1000

(C/C).Raft, Inflatable, 500 kg Capacity (Very

Small Open Boat): Price: $350 (C/C).Raft, Inflatable, 1000 kg Capacity (Very

Small Open Boat): Price: $650 (C/C).Small Motorboat: Price:$14,000 (C/C).Small Sailing Boat: Price: $10,000 (C/C).Medium Motorboat: Price;$35,000 (C/C).PBR: Price:$100,000 (—/R).River Tug: Price; $950,000 (S/S).Barge: Price: $750,000 (S/S).Torpedo Boat: Price; $2,100,000 (—/R).

DESIGNER'SNOTES

The first question to be answered is, "WhyMerc: 2000?" Simply put, we did it becauseour customers wanted it. Many of our cus-tomers wanted to game out a situation thatwas a little less depressing than Twilight,where they could engage in commando raids,hostage rescues, and other "adventure novel"type stuff and then go home to civilizationafter it was all over. A good many wanted away to work aircraft into their battles, and thesituation in Twilight simply did not allow thatin any great numbers. A number of our cus-tomers have been doing something like Mercfor years: They take the system and use it togame out present-day small unit actions,where, as one put it "The PCs have plenty ofgas, plenty of ammo, and they don't have toworry where their next meal is coming from."Games dealing with mercenary-type adven-tures have proven popular in the past (as ourown product Mercenary proved in the late1970s). It struck us that we could work somesimple modifications to the Twilight back-ground and give our customers a whole newworld in which to adventure.

The design of Merc was easy in some waysand difficult in others. Easy because I had nomajor rules systems to design. Since Merc wasintended to be a supplemental background forTwilight (an alternate future, as it were), I hadnone of the major headachesthat attend designinga game from the ground up. Difficult because Ihad to create a new chronology that would seemas reasonable as Twilight's, reflect the changessince 1989, and still get us to the world politico-economic situation we wanted by the year 2000.I originally intended to keep as cbse as possibleto the newchronology intheTwilight revision, butit rapidly became obvious that this was not goingto work. Those taking notes will discover that thetwo chronologies depart from each other fairlyquickly.

Reality intervened as the product was fi-nalized, and I revised the 1990-1991 eventsseveral times to reflect the changing worldsituation. I wrote three versionsof the outcomeof events in the Persian Gulf and picked theone that seemed most likely at press time. Ifthings go they way they always have, someearthshaking event will occur the day afterMerc goes to press, ruining all my carefulprojections.

I chose to include industrial espionage

missions (in addition to the usual commandoraid, hostage rescue, and so on) in order toprovide referees with additional options forvaried missions.

RULESEarly on, I made the decision to keep the

fatigue rules and the requirements for foodand rest. Despite playerwishes to the contrary,their characters are not above such thingsand are subject to human limitations. I thinkplayers will be pleased with the one of thechallenges that Merc presents: howto achievea specific mission when all you have is whatyour team members can carry on their backs.Even though scenarios last only afewdays atmost, fatigue and food are vital considerations.In war, victory often goes to the side that is theleast exhausted.

I chose not to include detailed rules onwhat happens to the characters betweenmissions, although some treatment of spe-cifics was necessary. How a mere gets his jobis left a little up in the air, although I have givensome general guidelines. The rules on medicaltreatment and healing from Twilight willhandle wound recovery very nicely.

Character Generation: The mainchanges to character generation were in theacquisition of equipment and the means bywhich careers are ended. Since there was nolonger a nuclear war to form the last term,there was no clear-cut place to end charactergeneration. Players simply choose when theythink their character is ready.

Encounters: The mechanics of encoun-ters remain the same. Afew remarks neededto be made with regard to the different sortsof encounters occurring in Merc. Most Mercencounters are mandated because of thediffering nature of the adventure scenarios.Since teams don't traverse great expanses ofterritory, there is less need for encountertables. Also, since there was no global holo-caust, the specifics of the terrain type de-scriptions needed to be changed.

Referee: Referees of Merc need differentadvice from those running Twilight, althoughmuch of the advice in the latter also applies to theformer. Merc will tend to be more episodic thanTwilight, and I feel that referees will find Merceasier to run from this standpoint. Because of theincreased emphasis on tactical actions, how-

ever, referees will need more maps of the loca-tions where the action takes place. Maps at1:1,000,000, 1: 100,000, and 1: 50,000 scaleswill prove invaluable, but represent more of aninvestment in a specific locale than many RPGshave required in the past. Referees should re-member that one hilly area looks much likeanother, and you can use the same map (withsome name changes) in many different actions.

The sample adventures I included were writ-ten to inspire referees as well as give somethingto play immediately. They are deliberately madesimplebecauseof theirprototype nature. Refereescan (indeed, should) make their scenarios moreinteresting by including such possibilities as pa-tron double crosses, traitors, bad intelligencedata, and the thousand other examples ofMurphy's Law that are bound to occur in thesesorts of situations.

Combat: The combat rules of Twilightneeded no modification for Merc. It was neces-sary to add a few rules, however. To deal withsilencers, for example, one must have rulesabout the sound made by unsilenced weapons.I added weather conditions and expanded onparachute drops because these things seemedto be required. I did not add rules for air-to-groundfire support or air-to-air combat, however. Thesewill appear (along with statistics for helicoptersand transport aircraft) in the upcoming AviationHandbook, suitable for use with both Twilight andMerc. The Twilight combat rules contain almosteverything the referee will need.

Equipment: Price and availability ofequipment are radically different between thetwogames. Equipment in Twilight was pricedaccording to its value in the world situation ofthat game, which differs tremendously fromtheworldsituationofMerc. Referees will needto exercise a little common sense and try tokeep the collection of gear in the team'shands from growing too large (perhaps bybilling the characters for warehouse fees ifthey accumulate too much stuff).

CONCLUSIONMerc has a completely different flavor

than Twilight. The concentration on tacticalcombat and mission planning presents playersand referees with a whole new collection ofsituations and a set of problems very differentfrom those in Twilight. It is a much simplergame in some respects: The characters don'thave to worry where their next meal is comingfrom, and they needn't pay excessive atten-tion to their ammunition consumption. Theydon't have to consider how their actions willaffect the future of civilization in the areawhere they are fighting, and they don't haveto worry much about politics or economics(unless they want to).

INDEX TO MERC: 200040mm Stun Grenade Chart 181989 61990 61991 71992 71993 81994 81995 91996 91997 101998 101999 102000 11Africa 68Air Distances Chart 116Air Rates Table 49Air Travel 49Animals 71Barracks Map 75Body Armor 14Border Patrols/Paramilitary Police Forces ...87Campaigns 49Central America 57Central America and the Caribbean Map .... 56Central Asia 64Central Asia Map 64Character Generation 12China 87Chronology 6Commando Scout 20Commando V-150 21Commando V-300 APC 24Commando V-300 CS 23Commando V-300 TUA 22Commands Diagram 84Company Man NPC 50Contacts 12Crime 55Criminal Cartels 87Critical Hit/Quick Kill (New Rule) 85Designer's Notes 118East Asia 66East Asia Map 66Eastern Europe Map 61EE-3 Jararaca 25EE-9 Cascavel 26EE-11 Urutu 27Electronics 14Elite Forces 87Encounters 70Enthusiastic Newbie NPC 51Equipment 12Equipment List 14

Europe 60Explosives 14Ferret 28France 87Freedom Fighter/Terrorist NPC 50Generic Locales 71Group Encounters 70Guard Dogs 85Headquarters Building Map 74Hiring Hall 56HWK II 29Ice Man NPC 51Indian Subcontinent and Indian Ocean 64Indian Subcontinent Map 65Industrial Security Forces 87Introduction 4Item Encounters and Settlements 71Lifestyle 48Local Recruit NPC 50Loudmouth NPC 51LWB Land Rover 30M20 31M24 Chaffee 32M41 33Maniac NPC 50Mansion Map 76Meeting Patrons 52Mercenary Terms and Expressions 13Middle East Map 63Middle East/Near East 62Miscellaneous Equipment 16Mission Generation 46Near East Map 62New Ammunition 18New Combat Rules 84New Military Occupation 13Noise Chart 85North America 56North America Map 58Northern Africa Map 68Officers'Quarters Map 73Opposition 48, 86Organizations 52OTO-Melara 6614 34OTO-Melara 6616 35Overland Travel 49Overview of Character Generation 12Pacific 56Pacific Map 57Panhard AML 36Panhard M3 37Panhard VCR 38Parachute Deviation Diagram 84

Parachute Landings 84Patrons 46, 52Perimeter Checkpoint Map 71Price List 108Prison Camp Map 80Quiet One NPC 51Rads 12RAM V-1 39RBY Mk1 40Referee 46Remote Estate Map 82Retrieval 48Rewards 48S&W Model 0 (Mk-22) 19Sample Campaigns 100Sample Missions 88Scenarios 46Sheds, Huts and Hovels Diagram 78Signal Gear 15Silence/Noise 84Sleeping Garrisons 84South America 58South America Map 59Southeast Asia 67Southeast Asia Map 67Southern Africa Map 69State of the World: 1 July 2000 11Stock NPCs 50Stun Gun 19Tactical Grid (Blank) 115TAM/TH-301 41Teams 46Time, Travel and Encounters 70Tranquilizer Gun 19Travel and Transportation 48Truck, 1-Ton 42Type 62 43Underground Bunker Map 72United Kingdom 87United States 86US Armed Forces 54USSR 86VBC-90 44Vehicle Cards 20Vickers Valiant 45Water Travel 49Weapon Cards 19Weapon Pits Map 72Weather (Optional) 85Welcome to the Life 12Western Europe Map 60World of 2000 54World Space Programs 54