Two Locations in Silesia

It’s no secret that The Black Madonna is one of my favorite Twilight 2000 modules. Between exploring the historic region of Silesia and the holy relic subplot, I’d argue The Black Madonna is the most “Polish” of the Poland adventures.

Our past sessions stemming from this module:

Time to leave

The Black Madonna

The shootout in Częstochowa and aftermath

25 July to 28 July 2000

Post-Black Ops mission

Raciborz Castle

The Polish Pope

Some additions

I’d taken notes on a couple of locations in the region that my group could potentially encounter. They never got close, so I didn’t detail them. But I thought I’d share the places here for your Twilight 2000 game group: Planetarium Śląskie & the Castle on Mount Birow.

Planetarium Śląskie

In English, it’s the Silesian Planetarium, a 400-seat dome for both education and astronomical observation, dedicated to the great Polish astronomer Mikołaj Kopernik… known to the rest of the world as Nicolaus Copernicus.

In the world of Twilight 2000, the planetarium was uncomfortably close to the nuclear destruction of Chorzow and Katowice in 1997. However, the facility is outside both cities in its own dedicated park, and canon is sufficiently vague that we can plausibly declare that the observatory escaped destruction. That said, it’s likely that the nearby park was scarred by fire, and now has three years of new growth.

The facility would make an interesting base for civilians, marauders, or scientists.

Castle on Mount Birów

The “castle” is not a castle, and the “mount” is not a mountain. It’s more of a hill fort, really.

An ancient settlement, by the time of the Twilight War it was a tourist attraction. The site does have a good command of the surrounding area. Take a look at this 360° panorama. (you can spin it with your mouse.)