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SETTING

«The enemy we face in South Vietnam today, both regu-lar

and guerrilla forces, is challenging us with many old fighting
techniques and a few new ones. We have shown that he can
and will be defeated.»
– W. C. Westmoreland
(General, United States Army Commanding),
Foreword to Handbook for US Forces in Vietnam (1967)

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THE VIETNAM WAR

The Vietnam War was fought for twenty years, from 1955 to
1975, and pitted pro-communist forces against pro-US
government forces in South Vietnam.
The Geneva Conference of 1954 established the division of
the Indochina peninsula into three independent states:
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Vietnam was also divided in two,
along the 17th parallel:

• North Vietnam, a pro-communist democratic republic led by

Ho Chi Minh, with Hanoi as its capital;
• South Vietnam, a republic led by Ngo Dinh Diem and
supported by the United States, with its capital in Saigon.

The Geneva Conference envisaged free elections and

reunification of the country by 1956. In 1957 the war began
between the South Vietnamese government army and the
South Vietnamese guerrillas supported by the North Vietnamese
government. In 1960, the North Vietnamese government formed
– together with China and the USSR – the National Front for
the Liberation of South Vietnam.

At the end of December 1961, the first US military advisors

arrived in Saigon. In 1963 Diem, the self-appointed president
of the Republic of South Vietnam, was assassinated during a
coup d'état with the help of US intelligence, which brought a
military junta to power. While the direct involvement of the
United States in the conflict progressively increased, successive
governments in the South aroused opposition from the
population, especially in the countryside, where guerrillas (who
were part of the Viet Cong) organized guerrilla warfare and
sabotage actions , aimed at weakening puppet governments.

The theater of war was mainly the territory of South Vietnam

but, with Nixon's rise to power, the US military was secretly
authorized to bomb

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– and, obviously, infiltrate – the territories of neighboring countries such

as Cambodia and Laos.

In 1969, Nixon initiated, together with advisor Henry

Kissinger, what was defined as the "Vietnamization of the
conflict", which envisaged the progressive disengagement
of the US armed forces in favor of a greater commitment
by the South Vietnamese forces.

This led, within a few years, to a peace treaty, signed in

Paris on 27 January 1973. The treaty sanctioned the
suspension - by the United States - of all military aid to the
Saigon government, in exchange for formation of a
democratic government and the provisional maintenance of the two Vietnams.

US ARMY
Although the United States deployed all its military force
(air, naval and land) during the Vietnam conflict, this world
of adventures for Fate focuses exclusively on the land army;
this with the sole purpose of providing an even more direct
and claustrophobic experience.

From an organizational point of view, the US army in

Vietnam was not dissimilar to today's with the hierarchy set
up in corps, divisions, brigades, battalions, companies,
platoons and squads. As you will see later, what interests
you is the formation of a team (p. 37).

JUNGLES AND VILLAGES

Our imagination is certainly influenced by films and comics

set during the Vietnam War. You shouldn't have much
difficulty imagining the rent of the

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jungle or a Vietnamese village, nor in describing Saigon or the

local people.

Try, if possible, to anchor yourself to positive stereotypes (able,

therefore, to get you on the same page) and to avoid negative
ones (one above all, the characterization of Vietnamese civilians
as naive and submissive).

There's an easy way to do it: Fear is a game created and

conceived to mock an infamous war, amplifying its negative
effects and unloading them on US soldiers. Don't use it,
therefore, to be assholes and to perpetuate the supremacy of
the strongest over the weakest.

IMPORTANT PLACES
• Cu Chi – A district about 30 kilometers from Saigon in which
there was a network of underground tunnels that extended
for 250 kilometers. The Viet Cong used the tunnels to hide,
stock up on weapons, or take American soldiers by surprise.

• Hamburger Hill – Name with which it was baptized

the Dong Ap Bia hill in South Vietnam, after it was the
scene of a bloody battle in May 1969.
There were around seven hundred dead and almost four
hundred wounded; the corpses were scattered and piled up
along the slopes of the hill, almost like the layers of the
typical American sandwich.
• Hué – The city of Hué was the scene of one of the battles
that took place in 1968, during the Tet Offensive. The
battle lasted over a month and the old imperial city suffered
extensive damage. The Americans and South Vietnamese
won but suffered many losses and it was a hard blow
especially for propaganda: the enemy was able to overcome
the enemy's resistance and hold the ground for weeks.

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• Ia Drang – The Battle of Ia Drang (Operation Silver

Bayonet) is considered the first pitched battle of the
Vietnam War, between the US Army and the
Vietnamese People's Army.
• Khe Sanh – Khe Sanh was the first US military base
to be abandoned during the conflict, under attack by
the enemy. The siege lasted about two months and,
although the US soldiers managed to break the
North Vietnamese encirclement, the base was
secretly abandoned and the enemy
took possession of it. • My Lai – The My Lai massacre
went down in history because on 16 March 1968 a
group of US soldiers, under the orders of Lieutenant
William Calley, killed 504 helpless and unarmed
civilians,
almost exclusively elderly people, children and women.
• Saigon – Capital of South Vietnam (the Republic
of Vietnam) and nerve center of South Vietnamese
power. At the war's conclusion, Vietnam National
Liberation Front forces took the city and renamed it after Ho Chi Minh.

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CREATION
OF THE MATCH

«On that humid March afternoon, as we marched

through the rice fields, we carried with us, in addition to
our backpacks and rifles, also the intimate belief that
the Viet Cong would be quickly defeated. We kept our
backpacks and rifles; that belief vanished."
- Philip Caputo

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To create your game of Fear , follow the rules contained in Fate Basic
System ("Creating the game", p. 17) and integrate them with those
present in this chapter. To make your job easier, know that the first
two stages of game creation in Fear ("Agree on the premises" and
"Choose the period") differ from the normal procedure.

GAME CREATION IN 30 SECONDS

1. Agree on the premises
2. Choose the period
3. Identify problems
4. Create faces and places
5. Create characters

AGREE ON THE PREMISES

The world of Fear is based on the aesthetics of the war in Vietnam
which is intertwined with the characteristics of the horror genre.

When you play Fear you will have to deal with these elements that
are part of the game's premises:

• high character mortality;

• isolation;
• inhospitable and dangerous places;
• altered sensory perceptions;
• subversion of natural and social laws.

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In any case, it is always advisable to start creating the game by

discussing the type of story you intend to play together, for example
by answering the following questions.

What level of violence can we tolerate?

Fear is a war game, violence is therefore the basis of the stories

that can be created by following the rules of this world of adventures
for Fate. However, this is not a good reason not to take into
consideration the needs and sensitivities of other players. Discuss
among yourselves and try to find a common ground, keeping in
mind that showing violence is not always the most effective way to
achieve certain atmospheres.

What kind of characters do we have in mind?

Will your characters be war heroes, disillusioned soldiers or military

pragmatists? Will there be latent conflicts between you or will you be
close-knit and on the same wavelength?

What genre of horror are we interested in exploring?

Discuss the type of horror you like best and start building your
gaming experience starting from the answers. Maybe someone is
more fascinated by the atmosphere of psychological horror, or
someone has in mind to play a war story with comrades who return
from the dead and are hungry, perhaps for American meat.

Fear has a
What kind of missions would we like to tackle?
mission
structure,
Talk a little about the challenges you would like to face. interspersed with "normal" situ
No one is interested in the boring life of the soldier quartered in the For now, just
figure out what
base camp. kind of missions
I'm interested
you for your
group.

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CHOOSE THE PERIOD

The first thing to do is decide which period to play.
In Fear it is possible to play in six different periods, which essentially
differ in the type of missions and the type of problems that must be
considered when creating the Mission by the GM.
The scale is a
relative measurement

to the epic nature

of your story. The more Furthermore, the scale of a game of Fear is that of the territories of
the scale increases, the South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Depending on the period
more your story will

involve a larger territory

chosen, it is possible that the scale narrows (as in the early periods,
and yours in which the American presence was recorded only in South
shares will have
Vietnam) or widens (when the war involves - in often unofficial ways
more serious
consequences. the states bordering Vietnam).
–

HOW TO READ THIS SECTION

At the beginning of each period you will find some brief

historical-strategic information, based on reports from
the United States armed forces.

Inevitably they will seem a little biased, but that's okay. It

is right that, when choosing a period, you are guided by
what were the official intentions and strategies of the
American armed forces. You know that nothing went
as planned and maybe that's one of the reasons why you
decided to play Fear.

Under the historical-strategic boxes you will find a

description of the period and the type of missions you could face.

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Republic F-105D Thunderchief bombs a military target.

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1962-1965
Advisory e Defense

A month before the start of the "Advisory" campaign, the

American Military Assistance Command was formed in
South Vietnam. There are therefore American military
advisors present in Vietnamese territory, whose units
increase within a year from 700 to 15,000, including around
thirty detachments of the army's special forces.

The United States' primary objective is to contain threats

to the government of the Republic of Vietnam from Viet
ÿ Cong fighters.
Viet Cong
Abbreviation for
On August 2, 1964, some North Vietnamese boats attacked
Viet Nam Cong-san
(“Vietnam the Maddox, an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Communists”); the
US soldiers
In the same month, American planes began bombing North
they were further
Vietnam.
abbreviated with the
acronym VC (Victor Operation "Rolling Thunder" began on February 24, 1965,
Charlie) or directly
Charlie.
a massive American bombing raid against North Vietnam.

The first American combat troops to arrive in Vietnam were

two battalions of Marines who landed on March 8, 1965 at
Danang Air Base.

Between October and December, the American forces -

thanks to the fundamental help of air support - manage to
defeat the North Vietnamese units in the Ia Drang valley.

In December, American soldiers in Vietnam reach

approximately 200,000 units.

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During this period, the direct involvement of the United

States in the Vietnam conflict grew exponentially. This is
probably an uninteresting period to play, due to the fact
that - at least in the first phase - there are still no American
combat troops present on the territory.

Nonetheless, the main threats concern the cities controlled

by the government of the Republic of Vietnam and missions
to find and identify the Viet Cong (or their sympathizers)
among the citizens were certainly not so rare; normally all
military operations in this period were conducted by one or
more American advisors supported by South Vietnamese
army patrols.

In 1965 everything changed: the arrival of the first marine

battalions provided the right tools to change strategy. The
objective is to repel enemy attacks to gain time and
organize bases and logistics.

This is the right time for patrol and reconnaissance missions,

awaiting the first real open battle in the Ia Drang valley.

Exercise in South Vietnam.

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1965-1968
Counteroffensive (I, II, III)

On January 19, 1966, Operation Van Buren began to

identify and destroy the 95th North Vietnamese
Regiment (believed to be in the Tuy Hoa Valley) and to
protect rice plantations in the coastal region.

Between 20 and 23 January 1966, a temporary ceasefire

was proclaimed on the occasion of the Vietnamese New
Year (Tet).

Between February and March 1966, reports of North

Vietnamese infiltrations in Quang Tri province by divisions
coming from Laos and the demilitarized zone intensified.
The negligible military presence in the northern
provinces of South Vietnam (only a South Vietnamese
division and a battalion of marines) is intensified.

On April 12, 1966, American B-52 bombers took off

from the Guam base and began bombing the roads
adjacent to the border with Laos. At the end of 1966,
American soldiers in Vietnam reached around 400,000
units.

In September 1967 the communists began large-scale

actions. Westmoreland (commander-in-chief) fortifies
Khe Sanh. At the end of 1967, American soldiers in
Vietnam reached approximately 500,000 units.

In January 1968, Sihanouk (ruler of Cambodia) tells

Johnson's emissary that he will not stop American forces
in their pursuit of the Viet Cong along the Cambodian
border.

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As the conflict escalates, the number of soldiers and supplies

that the United States decides to send to Vietnam increases.

The U.S. military supports the South Vietnamese government

army in its effort to force North Vietnam to cut off contact and
supplies with guerrillas in South Vietnam and Laos.
Furthermore, the main objectives concern the defeat of the
Viet Cong and the control of the territory.
thorium.

It is the period in which the infamous search and destroy

operations are organized to protect bases along the coast
and military camps in the provinces around Saigon.

The idea was to infiltrate enemy-controlled territory with

groups of ground forces, track down the enemy, destroy him
and immediately recover the soldiers. This strategy was only
possible thanks to the use of a new technology, the helicopter,
the ideal means to counter guerrilla warfare in the jungle.

Saigon, 1975: Operation Frequent Wind.

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1968-1969
Tet Counteroffensive
e Counteroffensive (IV, V, VI)

The Tet offensive begins on January 31; the North

Vietnamese and Viet Cong attack major and minor
centers in South Vietnam.

On February 25, the Americans and South Vietnamese

retook Hué, after twenty-six days of fighting.

At the end of 1968, American soldiers in Vietnam reached

approximately 540,000 units.

During this period the United States experimented with the ability
of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to carry out large-scale
attacks, even in cities theoretically under the control of government
forces, such as Saigon. The Tet offensive was opposed by three
large operations in which entire battalions were involved, especially
in the northernmost regions of South Vietnam, on the border with
the demilitarized zone between the two Vietnams.

It is also the period of "pacification" campaigns: after having

secured a village or town, we proceeded with the identification of
all the inhabitants in search of Viet Cong infiltrators. This type of
operation proved to be sufficiently effective in countering the
control of the Viet Cong's political apparatus and therefore
became the norm in the following years.

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With the support of US forces, the South Vietnamese government is

trying to conquer portions of territory even in rural areas; this project is
called the Accelerated Pacification Campaign.

1969-1970
Tet 69 / Counteroffensive,
Summer-Fall 1969 e Winter-Spring 1970

The Tet Offensive of 1969 was effectively countered by US

ground operations.

On March 18, 1969, Nixon secretly began the bombing of

Cambodia. On May 14, Nixon proposed the simultaneous
withdrawal of American and North Vietnamese forces from
South Vietnam. On September 3, Ho Chi Minh died in Hanoi
at the age of seventy-nine.

At the end of 1969 the number of American soldiers in

Vietnam was reduced by 60,000 units.

On April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that American and

South Vietnamese forces had attacked Communist
sanctuaries in Cambodia.

During this period, the number of American soldiers was slightly

reduced, on the basis of the Nixon doctrine which envisaged a
"Vietnamization of the conflict", i.e. the progressive disengagement of
the US armed forces in favor of a greater commitment by the South
Vietnamese forces.

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The period of large land operations is over; the enemy attacks are
concentrated on the positions of the South Vietnamese forces and
the American soldiers are engaged in small actions conducted by
small teams.

Nonetheless, the US army is committed to maintaining fire bases in

the northern regions of South Vietnam; we fight for the control of
strategic hills, in a war that increasingly takes on the characteristics
of a conflict dominated - on both sides - by irrationality and the
waste of human lives.

1970-1971

Sanctuary Counteroffensive
e Counteroffensive (VII)

On October 7, 1970, Nixon proposed a ceasefire but

repeated the mutual withdrawal formula the following day.

At the end of 1970 the number of American soldiers in

Vietnam dropped to 280,000 units.

In February 1971, raids against Ho Chi Minh's trail began

in Laos.

The North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong move towards the capital
of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, thus providing the pretext for Lon Nol
(an anti-communist who came to power in Cambodia thanks to a
coup d'état) to request the help and support of the United States .

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It is the period of joint US-South Vietnamese-Tnamite operations

in the territories of Cambodia and Laos, in order to destroy the
enemy's sanctuaries and get their hands on the elusive Central
Office for South Vietnam (COSVN), the control center of the enemy
military operations in the Saigon region.

1971-1973

Consolidation (I-II) e Cease-Fire

On March 30, 1972, North Vietnam launched an offensive

in the demilitarized zone.

On May 1, 1972, the North Vietnamese captured the city

of Quangtri.

On January 27, 1973, the ceasefire agreements were

officially signed in Paris.

On March 29, 1973, the last American troops left Vietnam.

This is perhaps the least interesting period to play, unless you

want to set your campaign in the most agitated moments of the
withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam.

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IDENTIFY PROBLEMS

Follow the rules for creating problems (and their aspects) contained in
Fate Base (pp. 22-25).

Furthermore, a Fear campaign always has two aspects of the game that
are constantly present in the game:

• Nothing is as it seems;
• Charlie is everywhere.

In the depths of the jungle and the chaos of the city, appearances are not
only deceiving but can also prove fatal. Nothing is as it seems means
that the characters will have to face the real possibility that their sense
organs are not the most reliable tool for navigating Vietnam.

The corollary of this first aspect of the game is that any moment is a good
time to move the enemy's pieces, since Charlie is everywhere.

CREATING FACES AND PLACES

If you have ideas for any NPCs or locations you'd like to see in the game,
now is a good time to create them all
Together.

CREATING CHARACTERS

You can create characters after you finish creating the game, or you can
start creating them during this process. In any case, you will find all the
information and procedures for creating characters in the next chapter.

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