Twilight: 2000, by Free League Publishing, is the source for my next build in the #CharacterCreationChallenge. This time we meet Carl “Banger” Drayton, a former construction worker and munitions expert who got called into the service when World War III started.

Banger was quite content before the war came. He’d drop his dog off at his dad’s farm each morning on the way to work, lunchbox and hardhat in the back of his truck. Once there, a bit of ribbing with the other guys and some chatter about the latest Bruins loss, then he’d start planning the blasts for the day as the proclaimed Big Dig lumbered on.

Then the war came and he was recruited into the army to carry a gun and prevent the insanity that was all too unavoidable. The chem, the nukes, the death and destruction. Order was gone and chaos reigned.

Now he’s part of a small band of freedom fighters, trying to guide some refugees out of the war zone and find somewhere safe – if any such place exists.

Carl’s strong and well-trained in offense – always willing to go toe-to-toe or fire off a few rounds to protect his charges. And, speaking of charges, he’s the go-to guy if something needs to be blown up.

Someday, though, he’s going to get out of there. For good. Find a little island that nobody cares about, build himself a house, and forget all about this hell.

Twilight:2000

I got this RPG as part of the 2024 Humble Bundle offering but hadn’t really given it much thought. As a post-apocalyptic themed game, the main goal is survival. And that’s not of particular interest to me.

Still, you learn a bit more about the game and its mechanics by diving in to character creation, which is what I was most hoping to gain from taking on this challenge.

There are two methods for character creation. You can go the easy route by selecting one of nine archetypes or the harder but more flexible way of using a life path. I chose the latter.

Doing so had me follow what was basically a flow chart – follow some steps to get your age, Cool Under Fire (CUF) state, your main attribute scores, your childhood, and some starter skills. After that, you enter a career loop that has the potential to make you a pretty senior and skilled individual. Alas, I only got two terms in the loop before the dice punted me out.

It was a bit confusing the first time through, as is natural, but I think if I had to create a second character it would be much easier.

Attributes are scored using a letter grade that is then associated with a die type that then is used when you perform checks to see if you succeed at a challenge. It’s different but I don’t know that it’s actually better than the methods they use in their other games – which also vary.

At the end of the day, I was pleased with how Banger came out, and the use of life paths was something I’d like to see in other RPGs. The concept was pretty neat.

If fighting a desperate battle for survival following World War III sounds interesting to you, grab yourself a copy and try it out.