The following video seems oddly appropriate for the alternative path in Act 1 of Segira's adventure, so I'm including it for mood listening. Of course, the players may not be aligned with NATO (and even then may not be aligned with the CIA), but you may choose any intelligence agency you so desire.
Act 1 Route 2: Infiltrating Yesov
If the players decide to let Majda go on her own and help Petrović with sabotaging the Free Reds in the city, they will have a number of opportunities to do so.
During this portion of the adventure, you should track the "heat" suffered by the players. Each time they get into an encounter with the Free Reds, roll d10 and then add the amount to the die. Once it reaches 10, go immediately to Act 2, with the players already in whichever section of the city that would be implied by their current objectives.
There are five main objectives that can be achieved in the city, and if the players follow Petrović's directions the whole thing ends with a conflict or signal that gives Herceg impetus to move into the city.
The five objectives are as follows:
- Infiltrate the military base and steal supplies or destroy the fuel depot.
- Control the radio station to broadcast the code word to begin the assault (or at least shut off Free Red propaganda and create a diversion).
- Liberate a scouting party that Petrović lost contact with.
- Demolish the bridges linking the old town and newer city, limiting the Free Reds' ability to respond to Herceg's assault.
- Link up with local resistance forces and convince them to join in the assault.
Each time a group of players goes through the city, choose a point man and have them roll Awareness (+10) or Awareness (+20) at night (they gain bonuses from any relevant Specializations, Talents, and Roles).
1. The Military Base
The military base is impervious to direct assault with the tools and resources available to Petrović and Herceg, but could be sabotaged in other ways. It is where the highest concentration of Free Reds may be found, but it is still intended to hold more people and have more staff than the Free Reds provide.
However, the military base has a weakness. Although most of the heavy vehicles have been destroyed or transferred out (the exception being a lonely BTR that spends its days in the military base, but makes a sojourn to the medieval castle each night to provide heavy fire support should anyone attempt a direct assault on Dragić), the fuel depots are still largely untouched.
Torching these would create a distraction, and also signal Herceg.
To do this requires sneaking through the base's perimeter. An Awareness (-10) test can spot an unguarded gap in the walls and fences surrounding the base, or the combination of a Grace (0) and Awareness (0) test can be used at night to try and slip through in the cover of darkness undetected.
In any case, the players will definitely start a fight by going down this route, but they could try to outsource it to locals or use a rocket launcher or other heavy munitions to attack from afar.
While the BTR typically guards the front gates of the military base, it is pulled back to fuel up twice a day; once when it returns from the castle, and then another time a few hours before its departure for the castle.
Remember that the players do not know these schedules, and they likely arrive in town around noon; this means that if their first stop is doing recon on the military base they will need to wait a couple hours, but if they check out another objective first or dally on the way they may actually find the front gates guarded only by a couple rookie revolutionaries.
In addition, the armory at the military base has additional supplies, which may be helpful with the bridge demolition objective.
There are about fifty Free Reds in the military base at any time, and up to two-hundred at peak hours. A direct fight will likely kill the players' characters quickly and messily (roll two attacks for each player at a -10 penalty to their defenses unless they are in cover or fleeing after the first round of combat ends, regardless of how many enemies they alerted at first).
2. Radio Station
Petrović provides the players with the code words needed to start the assault. Broadcasting them from the radio station will not only ensure that Herceg gets the message, but may reach some of the other partisans in the mountains as well.
The radio station itself is guarded only by two or three Free Reds, though a couple more inside are managing a flow of propagandized drivel supporting the "revolution and war against the Imperial West and East" that has little coherence (the broadcasters previously employed by the station are not really experts on Marxist theory or supporters of the Free Reds, but they are rather fond of keeping their heads).
Any move against the radio station is almost guaranteed to draw the Free Reds, but it may not cause an immediate confrontation unless the players broadcast the code-word to start Herceg's assault. Assuming no damage is caused to the equipment (in which case an Intellect roll may be required to repair it), the broadcasters can handle whatever the players want, including fleeing for their lives and leaving nothing on the air.
This will cause a stir among the locals, which could be useful if the players want to pursue another objective.
3. Liberate Petrović's Scouts
Petrović sent scouts ahead into Yesov, but they were recognized by the Free Reds. Two are being held captive in City Hall, and one in the Old Town Center. Another was injured but has escaped to a local pub and gambling den, The Gilded Castle, where she is in hiding.
Petrović only knows about the whereabouts of the three captured scouts. They have intelligence that could be valuable to the Free Reds, but more importantly they never returned with details about the Free Reds' disposition. The injured scout was able to make contact with the resistance, but may be difficult to get any information out of unless her friends have been rescued and the players can prove their allegiance to Herceg (a Grace roll may be helpful).
Any of the scouts can tell the PCs about the BTR, the general layout of defenses, and other events that have happened in the city since the Free Reds moved in.
Each of the captured scouts is guarded by a squad (~8) of Free Reds, and they are paraded outside during the day. At night they are taken inside occupied buildings (the church in the old town, or the city hall building itself). The night-time approach is ideal for stealth, but limits the potential for distractions.
4. Bridge Busting
Herceg planned to use the river dividing Yesov as a strategic tool in his retreats. The paved road through the old town is the only paved road that runs into the mountains from the north and connects to Zastivo through a series of tunnels.
Cutting off the bridges would have given him time to prepare for a major armored assault, but the Free Reds took over Yesov before he had a chance to say otherwise.
Taking explosives from the cache and using them to demolish the bridges is an option for the players, especially if they have combat engineers. This will attract a great amount of attention and probably start the battle in Act 2, but may require additional supplies. Herceg's cache has these, but its location is not known to Petrović and the players. Otherwise if the players are able to retrieve some from the military base
5. Meet with Local Resistance
The local resistance leans friendly toward Herceg, since he's considered a true Segiran leader, but they are unwilling to fight the Free Reds; they have local connections or too much livelihood at stake to take risks unless Herceg is the clear victor.
Finding the resistance is somewhat difficult. It requires a Presence (0) plus Awareness (0) test to find the resistance (one failure out of two increases the heat by the result of a d10 roll; the resistance is found but the Free Reds become aware of agitators).
The local resistance is happy to give players the location of Petrović's missing scouts, and will mention the BTR at the military base in passing.
NATO or Soviet players are actually at an advantage here; while they will need a translator, the idea of a major world power backing Herceg would certainly be enough to bring the local resistance to their side. Other PCs would need to accomplish at least one other objective before meeting with the resistance to gather support.
Alternatively, well-equipped players could use their charm or a show of force to prove their worth to the resistance.
Moving On
I probably have to do some editing and review before moving this on to publication, but this is Act 1 for now. Tomorrow I'll be posting bits and pieces of Segira throughout the day, because I probably will have some good time to work on it. Now, however, I'm going to bed.
Originally I had not planned on this map being a full page, but I guess it will be. There are still a lot of parts that need to be finished, but you can see the block-out now. I had planned for the points of interest chart to be in the bottom left and cover the terminus of the river, which needs to be blocked out somehow.
