Free League Announces Twilight: 2000 4th Edition

Free League is fast catching up with Modiphius with its collection of licensed RPGs. They've just announced that the post-apocalyptic WW3-themed Twilight: 2000 4th edition boxed set will be coming to Kickstarter in August.

Here's the full announcement:

 PRESS RELEASE

---

A new edition of the classic roleplaying game Twilight: 2000 was announced today by Free League Publishing, makers of the ALIEN RPG, in partnership with Game Designers’ Workshop and Amargosa Press. The new edition goes back to the roots of the franchise with a boxed set for sandbox roleplaying in the devastation of World War III. It will come to Kickstarter in August, to be released in early 2021.

The new edition of the apocalyptic RPG Twilight: 2000 will be the fourth in the series, the first being released by Game Designers' Workshop in 1984. Just like the original version, the new edition is set in a year 2000 devastated by war – now in an alternate timeline where the Moscow Coup of 1991 succeeded and the Soviet Union never collapsed.

"The first edition of Twilight: 2000 was an iconic game for me back in the '80s, and we are humbled and honored to work with Marc Miller and Game Designers’ Workshop to bring a new edition to life. The original game was really ahead of its time. Our goal is to build on the amazing sandbox survival gameplay and develop it further, making it more accessible using the tools of modern game design,"says lead game designer and Free League founder Tomas Härenstam.

"When I saw this proposal to revisit the Twilight universe, I signed on immediately. As I have seen the work proceed, I have not been disappointed, and I look forward to seeing this project become reality,"says Marc Miller of Far Future Enterprises and co-founder of Game Designers' Workshop.

Also part of the project are Amargosa Press (who have recently announced the new Dark Conspiracy 4th Edition RPG), Polish RPG publisher Black Monk Games (who will act as a consultant on the Poland in 2000 AD game setting as well as publish a Polish edition of the game), and Far Future Enterprises (who publishes the fifth edition of the Traveller science-fiction roleplaying game).

The design team is led by Tomas Härenstam (ALIEN RPG, Forbidden Lands, Mutant: Year Zero), with setting and scenario writing by Chris Lites (Conan, Over the Edge), editing by Angus Abranson (Doctor Who, The One Ring), interior art by Niklas Brant (Forbidden Lands), cover art by Martin Grip (ALIENRPG, Symbaroum), and maps by Tobias Tranell (Forbidden Lands). Several active and retired servicemen from the U.S. military are assigned to the project as consultants.

"Twilight: 2000 was a favorite of ours at school in the '80s, with many a lunch hour spent salvaging what we could as we traveled across the ruins of Europe trying to survive. I’m honored to be involved in a new edition, and being able to work with the Free League is a fantastic bonus!” says Angus Abranson of Amargosa Press.

Just like the original game, the new edition of Twilight: 2000 is set in a Poland devastated by war, but the game also offers an alternative Swedish setting, as well as tools for placing the game anywhere in the world.

In the game, players take roles of survivors in the aftermath of World War III – soldiers or civilians. Their goal, beyond surviving for another day, can be to find a way back home, to carve out their own fiefdom where they are, to find out more about the mysterious Operation Reset, and maybe, just maybe, make the world a little bit better again.

The core gameplay uses a "hexcrawling" system established in the post-apocalyptic Mutant: Year Zeroand survival fantasy Forbidden Lands RPGs (both Silver ENnie winners for Best Rules, in 2015 and 2019), developing it further to fit the gritty world of Twilight: 2000. The core rules are built on the Year Zero Engine used in those games (as well as in the ALIEN RPG), but heavily adapted to fit Twilight: 2000 and its focus on gear and gritty realism.

More information about the new edition of Twilight: 2000 will be forthcoming soon.

 

[Nikosandros]

I've read that the game is set in an alternate timeline in which the August Putsch of 1991 succeeds. However, by 1991 the Soviet Union was already extremely weak. Are there other earlier deviations from history or is 1991 the first point of divergence for the timelines?

 

[Stormonu]

It's set in the year 2000.

Are you using the "story thus far" from any of the previous editions or is it being rewritten based on what really happened with a new divergence somewhere in the timeline?

Will we see supplemental books like the US/USSR/NATO Vehicle guide? Those are my favorite books to gawk through in this series.

I collected this game - never got to play it, though because my knowledge of places like Poland and such was pretty much nil. Though the idea of a Red Dawn setting, in the US could work for me.

 

[Paragon Lost]

Like the first poster, I do have some concerns, but because it's Free League I find myself excited. Being stationed in Europe for most of the 80's and 90's as a recon scout doing border patrol duty and being a gamer, I loved running Twilight 2000 when it came out.

It was dark, gritty and though there were mechanics issues and inaccuracies (which we corrected), it was still just so well done that we loved it. It was one of our on rotation games along with Battletech, 1st AD&D, GURPs, Star Fleet Battles and Rifts. So over all I'm excited because Free Leagues just does such good work.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I've read that the game is set in an alternate timeline in which the August Putsch of 1991 succeeds. However, by 1991 the Soviet Union was already extremely weak. Are there other earlier deviations from history or is 1991 the first point of divergence for the timelines?

Alternatively they could have increased the nuclear component which would have made the conventional element less important (but would change the setting a bit). Or it could just be handwaved, which is probably fine.

Honestly though I'm just weirded out that a game that was set in what seemed pretty far in the future when I was a kid, is now set in what will be, by the time this comes out, the equivalent of about 1980. Brrrrrr. So old.

 

[Paragon Lost]

Alternatively they could have increased the nuclear component which would have made the conventional element less important (but would change the setting a bit). Or it could just be handwaved, which is probably fine.

Honestly though I'm just weirded out that a game that was set in what seemed pretty far in the future when I was a kid, is now set in what will be, by the time this comes out, the equivalent of about 1980. Brrrrrr. So old.

For those of us who played it while stationed in Europe during the cold war era it didn't feel far future since we actually were in the areas written about and using the exact gear and in military units serving in those areas. Personally I have no issues with playing this as an alternative time era setting.

We were playing it like that back then as it was. No one who served truly wanted to have history going down the path that it did in Twilight 2000, but the writers did do a solid, informed job at coming up with a believable fascinating alternative timeline that was fun to play in.

 

[Capital_Q]

Is there any creative involvement from the original GDW designers?

 

[Ace]

Speaking of WW3

"... In the early days of World War 3, guerillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth."

Definitely running Red Dawn with this.

WOLVERINES!

Nice glyph.

Free League will do fine with his as they always do. The MY0 rules are a bit odd for the setting but again I preferred GURPS to the very wargamey original rules so I'm not one to talk. I hope they do vehicle combat well as its an important part of the setting.

I have a feeling though the system won't be very good for Red Dawn that nor will the setting.

Red Dawn is more a parable out disarming the population via gun control and a subsequent Russian (or if you must North Korean) invasion .

Twilight 2000 is a huge 80's (in the case of this game very early 90's) military planning exercise/war turned game setting. I'll avoid spoilers but of they stick to the core ideas , the setting is quite different.

Its really good though and getting a Scandinavian perspective on the setting will be neat.

In the original game there was a US setting. It was interesting. You can Google for module names if you like and get a feel for it.

The game for Red Dawn is an RPG called The Price of Freedom from 1986 with an Idaho based supplement and its GM's pack. Not played it but read it its old school.

 

[Imhotepthewise]

Awesome sauce!

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

In our last campaign that we didn't finish we were so scared of getting shot that we were crazy hesitant to engage, which was a huge difference than most games with gun rules that you just rub some dirt on it and its all better. I'm going to see if that GM will fire his old NYC module campaign back up.

 

[marroon69]

Wow! Awesome! I am looking forward to this! Loved this game in the 80's! I still have most of it. I am a little tentative about the new system but willing to give it a try