Soviet Baztiumstan

09 Feb, 2026

An alternative way to engage with the myths from Chris McDowell's Mythic Bastionland.

Context

The PCs are Agents of the Party, united by a common Mandate and visions of the socialist future. The apparatchiks in the Central Bureau have appointed you as agents to travel to a distant Republic as a single Cadre, and uphold your Mandate. You are expected to work together to uphold the revolutionary work of the Party.

Agents have 3 Aptitudes - Vigour, Clarity, and Resolve. Roll 1d10+1d8 to determine each.

Mandate

Every Agent has agreed to uphold your Cadre’s Mandate to the Party. The Mandate contains three elements:

• Advance the Revolution
• Protect the Workers
• Investigate the Anomalies

Equipment

Every Agent receives the following equipment: a suit and tie, a camera, an identity card, a pencil, and a notebook. Each Cadre also receives a party-owned car to transport them around the Republic, with a party-appointed driver (2d6 for each Aptitude, 1 GD, carries a pistol (d6)) Select one of the following vehicles:

• ZIGA-61 Executive Sedan (2 durability, luxurious upholstery, bright headlights, trunk full of whiskey, caviar, and kopeks)
• AvtoMAZ-57 Unmarked Van (4 durability, surveillance equipment, can tap into local radio transmissions and phone calls)
• Volodnik-48 Off-Road Truck (6 durability, spare tire, driver carries hunting rifle (d10 long) instead of pistol)

Each Agent also receives additional equipment according to their Background.

Backgrounds

Check on this table based on your highest Aptitude.

| | Vigor | Clarity | Resolve | | :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- | | 2-8 | War Veteran Friends in Low Places: Any time you visit a settlement, you can find an old army friend to help you out. You know how to drive. Take an assault rifle (2d8 long suppress) and a grenade (2d10 blast, 1 use). | Nomenklatura Friends in High Places: Whenever you get in trouble with a government or military official, if you have an opportunity to make a phone call, you can have them overridden. Take a stash of foreign currency (3 uses) and a concealed pistol (d6 hidden). | Reformed Priest Faith in the Material: Attacks by supernatural creatures are impaired against you and you always succeed at Resolve tests in their presence. Take a machine pistol (2d6 suppress) and a book of ideology. | | 9-12 | Militsiya Police Instincts: You always know when someone is lying to you. You know how to drive. Take a rifle (d10 long) and handcuffs. | Military Engineer Identify Weakness: You can always identify the weak points in any structure or machine. Take a repair kit, a satchel of explosives (4d10 blast, 1 use, can refill at any Major Settlement), and a bottle of good vodka. | Bureaucrat In Triplicate: When a Major Settlement, you can fill out a request for any one item (even if restricted); it will arrive on the first day of the next Season. Take any one item. | | 13-15 | Pioneer Leader Be Prepared: You can follow tracks and find food and shelter in the wilderness. Take a rifle (d10 long) and a compass. | Doctor Medical Specialist: You can diagnose and propose treatment plans for any injury or illness. Take medical supplies (3 uses, can refill at any Major Settlement), and a bottle of good vodka. | “Diplomat” Polyglot: You can speak any known language or dialect with ease, as if native. Take a disguise kit and a dagger (d6 concealed). | | 16-18 | Railroad Worker New Socialist Man: You can lift anything smaller than a railroad car. Take a big wrench (d10 hefty). | Scientist Field of Knowledge: Pick a scientific field of knowledge; you know everything about that field. Take a set of scientific instruments. | Truck Driver Sleepless in Sibersk: You know how to drive and never suffer consequences for driving at night. Take a spare tire and a fuel can. |

Republic Generation

Context

The guidance in this section will help you generate an individual Worker’s Republic, which forms a small part of the much broader Union. Feel free to ignore this guidance wherever you find

A few decades ago, the typical Republic was a near-medieval kingdom, riven by ethnocultural and class conflict. The Revolution is still relatively young; the serfdom and despotism of the past is within living memory. Optimism about a brighter future has yet to turn sour.

The Hex Map

Your republic should be mapped on a hexagonal grid, roughly centred on the Republic’s Capital. A 12x12 grid is typical, whether the republic is landlocked, coastal, or an island chain.

Typically, players get a copy of the map showing general terrain, land usage, major settlements, and rivers. Minor settlements, landmarks, and anomalies are not marked.

Rural Terrain

Most of the Republic is made up of agricultural, pastoral, or otherwise underdeveloped terrain. You can use the Terrain spark table to generate clusters of up to d12 hexes with the same terrain type.

Typically, rural hexes contain minor settlements such as small collective farms or pastoral communes, connected by low-grade dirt roads. These are generally too undeveloped to be marked on the map.

Water

Most Republics have at least one or two rivers, often diverging into different tributaries. They also often have a coastline, or a large lake or two.

Urban Settlements

Pick six hexes to be Urban Settlements. One of those settlements is the Republic’s Capital. Each of the other Urban Settlements will be dominated by a specific industry and a local issue. Use the Industrial Plant and Local Issue spark tables.

Landmarks

Apart from Urban Settlements, you should place two or three of each of the following types of Landmark:

• Monuments: Human-built features of major significance.
• Features: Natural features or landmarks worthy of attention.
• Hazards: Dangerous environmental features that should be avoided where possible.
• Institutes: Scientific laboratories where research in a specific field is being carried out.
• Facilities: Structures and sites where human activity is carried out.

These are not encountered by default while travelling through the hex, but may be found when sought out by players.

Anomalies

Using the Myths from Mythic Bastionland, place 6 Anomalies in remote places. Number them as 1-6. The hexes are clearly affected by the presence of the Anomaly.

The Capital

When generating the capital, draw a circle to represent the Capital’s orbital tram network, with a line through it to represent the Capital’s grand avenue. Along the orbital tram network, place d4 Industries and d4 Facilities. Along the Grand Avenue, place the Presidential Palace, a Scientific Institute, and a Monument.

The Capital is beset by three Local Issues, many of which may spill over beyond the Capital itself.

Spark Tables

Rural Terrain

Agricultural Product

Human Monuments

Natural Feature

Special Facility

Scientific Institute

Industrial Plant

Local Issue

Time & Travel

The Day

While others may follow a different pre-revolutionary calendar, under Socialism, each day has four Phases:

• Morning
• Afternoon
• Evening
• Night

The Year

Each Year has four seasons:

• Spring
  • Mid-Spring is marked by May Day, a day of celebrations and festivities dedicated to the achievements of labourers and workers.
• Summer
  • Mid-Summer is marked by Congress Day, when party officials gather in the Capital for the People’s Congress.
• Autumn
  • Mid-Autumn is marked by Red October, a day of commemoration and celebration of the Revolution.
• Winter
  • Mid-Winter is marked by New Year’s Day, a day of gift-giving and festivity with families.

Travel by Automobile

Travelling by car allows you to cover the following distances in a single phase:

• 1 hex on dirt roads (1 Durability loss)
• 2 hexes on motorways
• +1 hex if the the driver floors it, at a cost of 1 additional Durability
• +1 Durability loss in bad weather or at night.

A Driver can make a Clarity Save to avoid Durability loss.

When your car would suffer Durability loss, roll on the following table for car issues.

Car Troubles

Travel on Foot

You can travel 1 hex on foot at a cost of d6 Vigor per phase.