Category: Night Witches: Discussion

Handouts & doubts & typos

Pages from the complete, 46-pages file.

Typos

Pag. 13: In Missions, there is a “Spewcial” and a “duty station. veryone”.

Pag. 17: In Honors, it’s not said the medal doesn’t increase +medals, while in all the other it’s said.

Pag. 21: In Mission A, I guess the part “All consequences are increased by one during this mission” should be red.

Pag. 25: I guess “Wingman move” should be “Vedomaya move”.

Pag. 31: I guess “Support” should be “Vedomaya”.

Pag. 40: “after the debrEIf” (inverted letters).

Pag. 40: “choose an initial GM” seems to imply the training duty station is played without a GM.

Pag. 44: “in the form of Captain barsukova” (missing capital letters).

Doubts

Pag. 18: “Adequate supplies: +0 to all Scrounge and Repair rolls.”

There is some difference between this and pag. 20, “There are no special supply rules for Peresyp’”?

Pag. 36 & 38: “As Senior Lieutenant Petrova, ask each player one question” & “As Captain Barsukova, ask each player one question”.

Questions like “What did you lie about on your regimental intake form?” and “Why does the NKVD already have a file on you, and how did you get around that black mark to join the regiment?” seems more like questions done by GM, than an NPC; the second, asked by an NKVD official, sounds almost like a request for auto-impeachment O_o

Pag. 41: “We’ll be pilots, navigators, mechanics and political oficers”.

Players characters can help mechanics, but can they also be mechanics, as an official role? O_o

One thing I’d have loved to see in the rules are examples from real women: what was their life in the base? what was like being caught being a lesbian? what was like having to scrounge for parts? But with real examples from history.

The same for Natures and Roles: there was a woman from the 588th who was a Hawk? What was she like? And a Protector?

If you know Grey Ranks, I’m thinking about the sidebars with grey ranks’ stories: I always use them when presenting the game, because I can spend ten minutes trying to explain what the Thing Held Dear is and what does it mean lose it, or I can just read Anna’s story.

Jason Morningstar, could you share some stories like those? A Hawk, a Sparrow, some good moment, someone who paid just for being herself, things like those?

A question about flying and navigating (quoting from the rules): “In an emergency, anyone can fly and anyone can navigate, both from either seat, but making a Move outside your assigned position requires a change in the fiction first”.

I was wondering, which change in the fiction? I’m not very clear about what, in reality, means trying to fly or navigate from the wrong seat, so I’m not sure about these changes. Any examples?

After a first reading of the rules, there is some rule I’m not sure about (sorry if some answer is already in the rules, I must have missed them); between «» quotes from the rules:

• If I want to help a plane I’m not Vedomaya-ing on, I can’t use my hold, so it’s Tempting Fate?

• Pag. 39: «Assign one player character as a navigator to Wayfind and one as a pilot to lead the Attack Run. The remaining player characters are Vedomyye, or “wing women.” Assign them planes other than their own to protect using the Vedomaya move. A pilot or navigator can be a Vedomaya».

So, one PC is navigator, one is pilot, the other are Vedomyye; they must be, or can be? From here, it seem they must, but on page 41 it says «Anyone […] who wasn’t assigned a primary mission function […] can be assigned a plane to watch over as Vedomyye» (bold added). On page 94, it says «All other player characters must be assigned other planes to serve as Vedomayas» (bold added, almost same thing on page 97). So, other PCs must, or can, be assigned as Vedomayas?

Moreover, what does it means «A pilot or navigator can be a Vedomaya»? If it refers to pilot and navigator who Wayfind and Attack Run, I don’t get the «the other are»; so I think it just says no matter your role you can be Vedomaya… just looking for confirmation, about this.

• Pag. 41: «On a miss, either scrub the mission and return to the airbase in shame, or strike the target late and alone, forcing you to make your own Attack Run. Planes relying on your navigation can choose which miss condition they would prefer».

Here I’m not sure about the «Planes relying on your navigation can choose which miss condition they would prefer» part: does it means they have to choose if either scrub the mission, or strike the target late and alone?

Same doubt for Attack Run move.

• Pag. 46: «Call out another player character you despise at a Debriefing and roll +regard. On a 10+ hold three; on 7-9 hold one. Spend your holds, one for one, to give your enemy -1 forward. For more on holds, see “Rolling the Dice” on page 11».

«To your enemy» could mean Germans, right? Not (just) the PC you despise.

• Pag. 104: «Everyone must make at least one successful Wayfind and Attack Run Move while in training to qualify for combat duty.»

So, if some PC isn’t successful in those moves she just begins the second Duty Station without being able (officially, at least) to be pilot or navigator?

• Pag. 140: «You could also choose Mission Pool twice»

So if I have three holds I can choose three times the same option?

• Last, I’m not sure about what happens in Replay:

«I want our lead navigator, Lieutenant Gordievskaya, in plane 079 with Lieutenant [Zoya] Kovalyova. And in the lead plane, 122, will be myself [Tamara] and our new Junior Lieutenant. [Valya]». So Gordievskaya and Zoya in 079 and Tamara with Valya in 122. “Lead navigator” means the one rolling Wayfind? On page 97 it says, «The lead navigator will usually make the Wayfind Move» (bold added), and Gordievskaya is an NPC, so I’d say no; but later on Grace (as Tamara) says, «Uh, I’m lead navigator, obviously»; the lead navigator wasn’t Gordievskaya? O_o

Then: «I want Valya looking out for the crew of 079 when they lead the attack. I’ll cover them as well. Anna, I want Zoya watching us in 122»; so 079 is covering 122 and 122 is covering 079.

Then: «Zoya’s been through this before. She’s flying close to 079, close enough to see Valya and Tamara»; so Zoya, now in 122, flyes close 079? O_o Indeed, it’s 122 that distracts enemies: «A searchlight is about to find us but 122 races ahead and distracts it».

There was a switch where it’s said «Yeah, switching duties mid-mission is weird. But it makes sense 122 could cover 079»? But 122 is covering 079 is from the beginning.

So… am I missing something amidst all the names and numbers? O_o