Editing Twilight: 2000

{{short description|Post apocalyptic tabletop role-playing game}}
{{Lead too short|date=April 2024}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox RPG
| title = Twilight 2000
| subtitle = Roleplaying in the Devastation of World War III
| image = Twilight2000cover.jpg
| caption = Second edition rulebook from 1990
| designer = {{Unbulleted list|[[Frank Chadwick]]|[[Dave Nilsen]]|[[Loren Wiseman|Loren K. Wiseman]]|[[Lester W. Smith]]}}
| publisher = {{Unbulleted list|[[Game Designers' Workshop]]|Free League Publishing}}
| date = {{Unbulleted list|1984 ''(1.0)''|1990 ''(2.0)''|1993 ''(2.2)''|2008 ''(Twilight: 2013)''|2021 (4th edition)}}
| genre = {{hlist|[[Post apocalyptic]] military|alternate history (4th edition)}}
| system = {{hlist|[[Percentile die|percentile]]|[[Year Zero Engine]] (4th edition)}}
}}
'''''Twilight: 2000''''' is a 1984 [[post-apocalyptic]] military [[tabletop role-playing game]] published by [[Game Designers' Workshop]] (GDW).<ref name="DD70-79">{{cite book |last1=Appelcline |first1=Shannon |title=Designers & Dragons. '70-'79 : A history of the roleplaying game industry |date=2014 |publisher=Evil Hat Productions |location=Silver Springs, MD, USA |isbn=978-1-61317-075-5|edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|167}} Set in the aftermath of [[World War III]] (the ''Twilight War''), the game operates on the premise that the United States/[[NATO]] and the [[Soviet Union]]/[[Warsaw Pact]] have fought a lengthy conventional war followed by a limited [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] with all its consequences. The player characters are survivors of said war. 

== Setting ==
=== Original setting and game history ===
Adventures in ''Twilight: 2000'' typically involve a military unit stranded in Central Europe several years into [[World War III]] and emphasize realistic depictions of military and social systems after a nuclear war. The war, as it continues on from 1997, has aspects of the [[broken-backed war theory]], wherein a catastrophic nuclear exchange occurs between two belligerents and is then followed by a continuation of conventional war.

The game was first published in 1984 during the [[Cold War]] and was intended to be an accurate depiction of a possible future,{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} but events in the world have rendered the premise of the game an [[alternate history]].

In ''Twilight: 2000''<nowiki/>'s version of 1995, a series of [[Sino-Soviet split|Sino-Soviet border conflicts]] expands into general war between the Soviet Union and China. The Sino-Soviet war rapidly escalates from [[conventional warfare]] into exchanges of [[Weapon of mass destruction|nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons]]. In 1996 a cabal of East German and [[West Germany|West German]] military officers seek to [[German reunification|reunify]] their country. Unified German forces stage a coup d'état against the [[Group of Soviet Forces in Germany]]. The US and NATO allies initially attempt to stay out of the war, but are quickly drawn into the European conflict. France withdraws its troops from Germany and then withdraws entirely from NATO, declaring its neutrality in the conflict.

Between 1996 and 1997, a largely [[Conventional warfare|conventional war]] is fought between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces throughout Europe. There are limited exchanges of [[Tactical nuclear weapon|battlefield nuclear weapons]], and chemical and biological weapons. During [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] of 1997, the Soviet Union launches a surprise [[Pre-emptive nuclear strike|first strike]] against targets in the United States and Europe. The US and Great Britain launch retaliatory nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union. France, because of its neutrality, largely escapes direct damage.

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

By the summer of 2000, the European [[Theater (warfare)|theater of operations]] has been fought to a near stalemate. In one final effort to break the deadlock and end the war, NATO forces plan a summer offensive across Northern [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] and into the [[Baltic states|Baltics]], but the offensive grounds to a halt in the face of a Warsaw Pact counterattack. Several divisions and corps on each side are virtually eliminated, [[supply lines]] are lost, high level command breaks down, and armies in the European theater lose [[Unit cohesion|cohesion]] beyond the [[platoon]] unit. Some go "native" and integrate with the militias of independent [[City-state|free cities]], others turn into gangs of marauding bandits, and some small groups of surviving soldiers seek to find their way home.

==== Later history ====
To create 300 years of background history for their science-fiction RPG ''[[2300 AD]]'', GDW staff members participated in an in-house simulation called "The Great Game", with [[Frank Chadwick]] as referee. Starting with the world situation in 2000 following the Twilight War, players controlled one or more countries and guided them through 300 years of development, including the discovery of [[faster-than-light]] space travel, [[Space colonization|colonization]] of other Earthlike planets, and contact with a variety of sentient aliens. The staff member playing France, [[John Harshman]], did exceptionally well, leading to France being the supreme superpower in 2300.

=== Revised setting ===
The Second Edition (published in 1990) and subsequent editions featured a reworked background intended to be an alternate history closer to 1990s real-world history. Version 2.2, GDW's final edition of the game, was published in 1993 and featured a background in which the [[KGB]]'s [[Alpha Group]] obeys the coup leaders in the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August 1991 Soviet coup attempt]] and storms the [[White House (Moscow)|Russian White House]], killing [[Boris Yeltsin]] and effectively preserving communist control. This also had the effect of future-proofing the game, as anything that happened in reality after 1991 could be ignored.

In 2017 and 2018, there were three new official modules for ''Twilight: 2000'' released online, including a source book for East Africa/Kenya, a new standalone adventure played during the same time as the "[[Going Home (Twilight 2000)|Going Home]]" module and a Korean source book. These three releases were all officially approved by Marc Miller, who is the current owner of the ''Twilight: 2000'' game, and were the first new releases for the 1st and 2nd edition since the mid-1990s.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

== Publication history ==
=== First and Second Editions ===
GDW extended the timeline of ''Twilight: 2000'' to create the background history for the science fiction game ''[[2300 AD]]''; by doing so, the depressing post-nuclear environment of ''Twilight: 2000'' is mitigated by the outcome in which the Earth rebuilds itself and begins to [[Space colonization|colonize space]].

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

In 1990, realizing that the game's background was in danger of becoming obsolete, GDW published ''Merc 2000'', an alternative campaign setting which revolves around mercenaries fighting brushfire wars in a time in which the Twilight War never occurred. After ''Merc 2000'' was released, many supplements and articles printed in GDW's ''Challenge Magazine'' featured ''Twilight: 2000'' with equipment and background conversions to ''Merc 2000'' or were ''Merc 2000''-only.

In 1991, GDW licensees [[Paragon Software Corporation|Paragon]] developed the ''[[Twilight 2000 (video game)|Twilight 2000]]'' computer game adaptation (complete with expansion, "the Colonel") depicting a squad of 20 soldiers stranded behind enemy lines in Poland, struggling against the despot Baron Czarny.

====Supplements====
GDW produced over 40 supplements for ''Twilight: 2000'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Players' Guide to the Twilight: 2000 role-playing game system. |date=2006 |publisher=Far Future Enterprises |edition=1 |url=https://www.farfuture.net/Guide%20to%20Twilight%20v1.pdf |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref> including:
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''The Black Madonna'', 1985
* ''[[The Free City of Krakow]]'', 1985
* ''Pirates of the Vistula'', 1985
* ''The Ruins of Warsaw'', 1985
* ''Armies of the Night'', 1986
* ''[[Going Home (Twilight 2000)|Going Home]]'', 1986
* ''[[RDF Sourcebook]]'', 1986
* ''Red Star, Lone Star'', 1986
* ''US Army Vehicle Guide'', 1986
* ''Airlords of the Ozarks'', 1987
* ''Allegheny Uprising'', 1987
* ''Gateway to the Spanish Main'', 1987
* ''King's Ransom'', 1987
* ''Soviet Army Vehicle Guide'', 1987
* ''[[Howling Wilderness (Twilight: 2000)|Howling Wilderness]]'', 1988
* ''Kidnapped'', 1988
* ''The Last Submarine'', 1988
* ''Mediterranean Cruise'', 1988
* ''Satellite Down'', 1988
* ''Small Arms Guide'', 1988
* ''Urban Guerilla'', 1988
* ''The Bear's Den'', 1989
* ''Boomer'', 1989
* ''Heavy Weapons Guide'', 1989
* ''Return to Warsaw'', 1989
* ''[[American Combat Vehicle Handbook]]'', 1990
* ''[[Infantry Weapons of the World]]'', 1990
* ''NATO Vehicle Guide'', 1990
* ''[[Soviet Combat Vehicle Handbook]]'', 1991
* ''[[Survivors' Guide to the United Kingdom]]'', 1990
* ''[[Twilight Encounters]]'', 1990
* ''[[White Eagle (Twilight: 2000)| White Eagle]]'', 1990
* ''[[Bangkok Cesspool of the Orient]]'', 1991
* ''[[NATO Combat Vehicle Handbook]]'', 1991
* ''[[Castle by the Sea]]'', 1993
* ''[[Special Operations (Twilight: 2000)|Special Operations]]'', 1993
{{Div col end}}

Additionally, [[3W (company)|3W]] produced one supplement:
* ''City of Angels'', 1989

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

The ''Twilight: 2013'' core rules were released on 8 November 2008 as a PDF.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=58794| title = Drive-Thru RPG product page}}</ref> A print edition was also released. In December 2010, 93 Games Studio announced it was going out of business.

===Fourth Edition===
In 2020, [[Free League Publishing]] announced they had received a license to publish a new edition of the ''Twilight: 2000'' setting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Edition of Twilight: 2000 Announced|url=https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=2dcfb24fb7c8d0fb9c2f52040&id=4e5ab10e7b|access-date=2021-03-08|website=us3.campaign-archive.com}}</ref> The game has a new ruleset based on the [[Year Zero Engine]], and background where the Soviet Union survives the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and battle in central Europe is joined in 1998. It was released in November 2021 under the name ''Twilight: 2000 – Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was''. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was – Twilight: 2000 RPG Released Today|url=https://www.gamespress.com/Roleplaying-in-the-World-War-III-That-Never-Was-Twilight-2000-RPG-Rele|access-date=2021-12-02}}</ref> It featured two settings: Poland and Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/games/twilight-2000/| title = Twilight: 2000 Roleplaying in the World War III That Never Was}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackgate.com/2021/02/01/twilight-2000-roleplaying-in-a-post-nuclear-holocaust-world/|title=Twilight: 2000 — Roleplaying in a Post-Nuclear Holocaust World – Black Gate|date=February 2021 }}</ref>

The first expansion to the game, ''Urban Operations,'' includes rules for play in urban environments and is loosely based on the classic module ''Free City of Krakow'' from the first edition of ''Twilight: 2000''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DadsAngry |date=2023-10-25 |title=Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time! – Urban Operations [Twilight 2000] |url=https://rollingboxcars.com/2023/10/25/building-by-building-room-by-room-one-rat-at-a-time-urban-operations-twilight-2000/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Rolling Boxcars |language=en}}</ref>

==Alternative settings==
=== Merc 2000 ===
Whereas ''Twilight: 2000'' was set in the immediate post-[[World War III]] era, with characters representing soldiers trying to survive, characters in ''Merc: 2000'' are mercenaries working for or against government forces in a world where the "Twilight War" involving nuclear weapons did not occur.

''Merc: 2000'' must be used with ''Twilight 2000'' versions 2.0 through 2.2; the earlier first-edition ''Twilight: 2000'' rules differ too much to be easily usable without extensive adaptation.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} The ''Merc: 2000'' rulebook details the game world, gives additional rules and equipment that will be more useful in mercenary [[role-playing campaign|campaigns]] than the original set of rules and equipment in ''Twilight: 2000.'' It also supplies some basic [[Adventure (role-playing games)|adventures]] to play. GDW additionally published a number of separate adventures for use with ''Merc: 2000''. ''Merc: 2000'' has a supplemental rulebook called ''Special Forces'' which gives guidance for those wishing to play as members of a Special Forces unit. Additional equipment is described and there are more sample adventures.

In GDW's own gaming magazine ''[[Challenge (game magazine)|Challenge]]'', they close the gaps between the setting of ''Merc: 2000'' and their future role-playing game ''[[Dark Conspiracy]]''. ''Merc: 2000'' characters are confronted there with aliens as the world turns into the near-future setting of Dark Conspiracy.

=== Cadillacs and Dinosaurs ===
''[[Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (role-playing game)|Cadillacs and Dinosaurs]]'' used the second edition ''Twilight: 2000'' rules and was set in [[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]]'s underground comic book series ''[[Xenozoic Tales]]''. ({{ISBN|1-55878-073-4}})

=== Dark Conspiracy ===
''[[Dark Conspiracy]]'' used the same set of rules to present a setting in which characters in a near future dystopia fought monsters which hunted human beings.

=== OPFOR Games ===
Characters in ''Twilight 2000'' games are typically representative of US and NATO military forces. Within the T2K gaming community, games that are centered on a group of Soviet/Warsaw Pact characters are referred to as "OPFOR games" for [[opposing force]]. There are no full OPFOR games as published adventures, but the concept is a popular [[Play-by-mail game|PBEM]] scenario.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}
==Awards==
At [[1984 Origins Award winners|Origins 1985]], ''Twilight 2000'' was awarded the H.G. Wells Award for "Best Roleplaying Rules of 1984".<ref name="originsawards">{{cite web| url = http://www.gama.org/OriginsAwards/OriginsAwardsWinnersThe1980s/The1984OriginsAwards/tabid/3227/Default.aspx| title = The 1984 Origins Awards| publisher = [[Game Manufacturers Association|The Game Manufacturers Association]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121216052405/http://www.gama.org/OriginsAwards/OriginsAwardsWinnersThe1980s/The1984OriginsAwards/tabid/3227/Default.aspx| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2012-12-16}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[Rick Swan]] and [[Greg Porter (game designer)|Greg Porter]] reviewed ''Twilight: 2000'' in ''[[Space Gamer]]'' No. 74.<ref name="SG">{{cite journal|last1=Swan |first1=Rick |author-link=Rick Swan |last2=Porter |first2=Greg |author-link2=Greg Porter (game designer) |date=May–June 1985 |title=During the Holocaust - Twilight: 2000|journal=[[Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=74|pages=8–9}}</ref> Swan commented that "Whether or not ''Twilight: 2000'' becomes a standard remains to be seen, but it certainly fills a niche and does so successfully; I hope it finds an audience with role-players and wargamers alike. As a design, it's nothing spectacular, but as a concept, it's an innovation."<ref name="SG"/> Porter commented that "All told, ''Twilight: 2000'' is a tragic waste of [money]. The nice concept and character generation system are completely overrun by innumerable flaws and hopeless violations of the laws of physics."<ref name="SG"/>

Swan gave another review of the game in his 1990 book ''[[The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games]]'', where he called it "a rare example of a game that's satisfying for both role-players and tactical wargamers." Swan thought the character generation system was "the game's weakest feature ... the procedure takes forever, involving innumerable modifiers and convoluted formulas." But he found the combat system "exceptionally clean ... a nice balance between realism and playability." Swan concluded by giving the game a solid rating of 3 out of 4, saying, "''Twilight:2000'' is easily the best of the postapocalyptic RPGs."<ref name=swan>{{cite book | last =Swan  | first =Rick | author-link=Rick Swan |title =[[The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games]] | publisher =St. Martin's Press | date =1990 | location =New York | pages =230–231}}</ref>  

Chris Felton reviewed ''Twilight 2000'' for the UK games magazine ''[[Imagine (AD&D magazine)|Imagine]]'' magazine, and stated that "Overall, this is a good game, well worth clubbing together for if you belong to a group of experienced players who like free-running games and whose referee can run a scenario from minimal notes. If your referee has no experience of 'winging it' and needs all the details worked out in advance, this is not the game for you."<ref name="Imagine27">{{cite journal | last = Blakeman |first = Andy | title =Notices | type = review | journal = [[Imagine (game magazine)|Imagine]] | issue = 27| pages =42| publisher = TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. |date=June 1985}}</ref>

[[Marcus L. Rowland]] reviewed ''Twilight: 2000'' for ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' #68, giving it an overall rating of 5 out of 10, and stated that "it's evident that this game has been written by and for Americans, with little or no understanding of European attitudes or desires."<ref name="WD68">{{cite magazine  | last =Rowland | first =Marcus L. | author-link =Marcus L. Rowland | title =Open Box  | magazine =[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]  | issue =68  | pages =13–14  | publisher =[[Games Workshop]]  | date = August 1985  }}</ref>

''[[The Games Machine]]'' reviewed ''Twilight: 2000'' and thought it was "Not a game to return to week after week maybe, but for a complete change of style it's well worth a play."<ref name="TGM17">{{cite journal | title =The Future Looks Dark | journal = [[The Games Machine]] | issue = 17 | pages =77 |date=April 1989}}</ref>

Allen Mixson reviewed the 2nd Edition ''Twilight: 2000'' in ''[[White Wolf (magazine)|White Wolf]]'' #24 (Dec./Jan., 1990), rating it a 4 out of 5 and compared it to ''[[Twilight Encounters]]'' and stated that "since you get the same and even more in the 2nd Edition, spend your money on this product. The little bit more you pay for the 2nd Edition is money well spent. For those who are into ''Twilight 2000'', this is a must have."<ref name="WW24">{{Cite magazine |last=Mixson|first=Allen |date=December 1990 – January 1991 |title=Feature Review: Twilight 2000 |magazine= [[White Wolf Magazine]] |number=24 |page= |pages= 30–31 |url=https://imgur.com/a/liET3wA}}</ref>

In a 1996 readers poll conducted by the UK games magazine ''Arcane'' to determine the top 50 role-playing games, ''Twilight 2000'' was ranked 35th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Pretty much all the previous 'post-apocalyptic' RPGs had been fairly fantastical, and had been set some time after the apocalypse. ''Twilight: 2000'' is realistic and set in the middle of the breakdown of European society. Involving, but not exactly cheerful."<ref name="Arcane14">{{cite journal|last= Pettengale|first=Paul|date= Christmas 1996 |title=Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996|journal=Arcane|publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]]|issue=14|pages=25–35}}</ref>

James Davis Nicoll in 2020 for ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'' said "''T2000'' avoided Chadwickification — the tendency of any RPG Frank Chadwick had a hand in to slowly become a military RPG — by being one right from the get-to. It was pretty well supported by GDW. New editions appeared as various key elements of their future history were superseded."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2020/06/10/stormbringer-stargates-and-fighting-sail-ten-classic-unplayed-rpgs/ | title=Stormbringer, Stargates, and Fighting Sail: Ten Classic Unplayed RPGS – Black Gate | date=10 June 2020 }}</ref>

In a retrospective review of ''Twilight: 2000'' in ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'', Patrick Kanouse said "In ''Twilight: 2000'', the characters can forge their own future, and to me, that is the magic of the game — its promise of hope in a gritty, dangerous, breaking and broken world."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackgate.com/2020/06/11/exploring-post-apocalyptic-poland-in-twilight-2000/|title = Exploring Post-Apocalyptic Poland in Twilight: 2000 – Black Gate| date=11 June 2020 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [https://boardgamegeek.com/rpgitem/50858/twilight-2000 ''Twilight: 2000'' at BoardGameGeek]
* [[List of stories set in a future now in the past]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.org/details/games731986march/page/n49/mode/2up Review] in ''[[Games (magazine)|Games]]''

[[Category:Twilight: 2000| ]]
[[Category:Alternate history role-playing games]]
[[Category:Frank Chadwick games]]
[[Category:Game Designers' Workshop games]]
[[Category:Military role-playing games]]
[[Category:Military science fiction]]
[[Category:Origins Award winners]]
[[Category:Post-apocalyptic role-playing games]]
[[Category:Role-playing games introduced in 1984]]
[[Category:Science fiction role-playing games]]
[[Category:World War III speculative fiction]]