Author Topic: General Pulp/DieselPunk/Occult/Nazi thread.  (Read 70473 times)

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Tema69

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General Pulp/DieselPunk/Occult/Nazi thread.
« on: July 06, 2008, 01:20:21 PM »
This thread started with my desperate cry for help for a campaign (see the entire first page as well as the rest of the OP), but seems to evolve into a more general "what would be cool to include" kinda thread. So therefore, let's have this thread be the...
Selfproclaimed Official General Pulp/DieselPunk/Occult Nazi thread
Disclaimer: This thread is purely for RolePlaying purposes, and is not intended to diminish the acts or losses of anybody. R.I.P. to the fallen on both sides.

...where we can post good movies, series, books, RPG products and our own ideas related to pretty much anything in the pulp genre (that's kinda broad!), modern steampunk/dieselpunk (nazi walking robots for examples), Occult (relics, artifacts, demons, etc...) and/or Nazi (because they make such good villains after all - wether now or back during WW2).

I'll keep updating the OP with the stuff we come up with, so you don't have to search too much to find what you're looking for.

Keywords list:
-Hollow Earth (SS digging in mines to reach it)
-Psionic Mind Control Devices (preferably epic-sized)
-Zeppelins
-Jet engines (on pretty much anything - automobiles, jetpacks, fighterplanes, rockets, etc...)
-Tesla (-coil Death Ray; -Remote Control; etc...)
-Big a*s robots and 'mechas'
---Walking Mechas (a SdKfz.221 on legs for example)
---Turning the Eiffel Tower into a spider robot
---Using the Sphinx's head on a big robot
---[please add to the list]
-Artifacts:
---The Shroud of Turin
---The Hilt/Shards of Excalibur
---Nails of the True Cross ('would be cool to have your armour be forged from the nails, huh?)
---The Spear of Destiny/Longino's Spear
---The Holy Chalice
---The True Cross (I've thought about having some nazis use a piece of wood from the holy cross to make a rifle or something)
---Slivers of the True Cross
---The Rosetta Stone
---The Arc of the Covenant
---[please add to this list ]
-Zombies/Undead
---Created thanks to chemicals and drugs from the bodies of fallen soldiers and untermenschen
---Revived germanic/teutonic knights in plate armour
---Vampires
-Ghost Killing Devices (sucking the undeath out of them to power something - which kinda pisses the ghosts of)
-The Blutfahne
-SuperHumans (genetically engineered superaryans)
-Jewish Clay Golems
-AmericaBomber (Silbervogel)
-[ideas anyone? - did I miss anything?]

Movie/Book/Serie list:
-Hellboy (movie serie)
-Indiana Jones (movie serie)
-Sky Captain (movie)
-Hellsing anime (movie/TVserie/OVA)
-Blood & Relics (available as PDF)
-Thrilling Tales: Omnibus (available as PDF)
-Thrilling Tales: Zeppelin Adventures (available as PDF)
-Thrilling Tales: The Mummy's Revenge (available as PDF)
-Gear Krieg (available as PDF)
-Victory: War of Bronze (available as PDF)
-Weird War II: Blood on the Rhine (available as PDF)
-Weird War II: Hell in the Hedgerows (available as PDF)

Organisations List:
-The Thule Society (real stuff)
Occult-interested nazis.
-The Iscariot Organisation (taken from Hellsing)
Holy overzealous warrior priests and paladins from secret sections of the Vatican, specialized in Exorcism and Assassination of heretics/demons.
-The Millenium (Hellsing)
Nazis building an army of vampires.
-The Wild Geese/General kinda Mercenary types
General guns for hire is always cool, and can make for fun characters/NPCs/villains.
-Unit 731 (real stuff)
Japanese covert chemical/biological weapons research facility of WW2. Noted in the Zombie Survival Handbook as having researched into zombie creation.

List of imagination spurs:
PCDs -by Herbert West: How about a nazi plot to turn the Great Pyramid Of Giza into a massive 'Psionic Compression Device' (A fancy name for a mind control device)? However this time the plot twist is that the PCD on the pyramid is only a proof of concept model and that there are two others, one on the Empire State Building and one that is mobile (on a giant robotic spider/on a zeplin)
Hollow World -by Herbert West: The allies never payed Hitlers mad attempts to dig into the 'Hollow World' of their supposed ancestors much attention. Until now. An elite unit of SS soldiers have been deployed into one of the dig sites. What have they found? Could it be some ancient creature? Perhaps a Great Old One? Or have they really discovered the entrance to the fabled 'Hollow World' of the ancients, which has only been reffered to as Atlantis, Mu and Lemurai? One thing is for sure, the earth has a way of burying things which should never see the light of day.
Sphinx-headed Nazibot -by Orion: I just recently played a game where (I love this) a supervillain wanted to mount the Sphinx on the head of a giant fighting robot, because the Sphinx is an object of great mystical power. Can you imagine a giant Nazi-bot with the Sphinx for a head stomping around Warsaw or Paris or Prague? Great fun. Great, great fun.
Cavalry Charge -by Backstabbist: dust off the Mounted Combat rules and have some Polish Lancers & Dragoons, that have gone underground & low tech, thrown in the mix. Some folks might laugh, but that is till they find out the 6th level Lancers are using D&D Fighter class and are unbalanced death machines on horseback.
Ghoul Zeppelin -stolen from Thrilling Tales: A German passenger zep is damaged in a storm and forced to land in South America, due to deflated gas chambers. Down in the jungle, they send out expeditions to find food and water, and stumble across an ancient temple. The temple is, of course, dedicated to ghouls/zombies/monsters, and inside the temple are some exhausts blowing Hydrogen infected with Necrotizing Faciitis (ghoul disease). The crew decide to use the gas (not knowing that it is infected with anything) to reinflate their zeppelin (which takes a long time). During that time, a lot of the crewmembers start contracting the disease and die, only to reappear, attacking the zeppelin's passengers and crew. After some time, nearly the whole crew and passengers have been infected, some running off into the jungle, but the captain and some crewmembers finish reinflating the zeppelin, and head for NY, wanting to crash the zeppelin and spread the ghoul-gas (could make some interesting Apocalyptic stuff - WW2 Apocalypse, pretty cool, huh?). The US knows nothing about this, except that the Zeppelin is heading for NY, and the PCs are tasked with intercepting it and bringing it to an airbase.
Golem Extraction -by Herbert West: A Jewish preist has rediscovered the method of creating a Clay Golem. Unfortunately it is written that no golem may be perfect. He is using it to defend the Warshaw Ghettos from the Nazis but it is slowly becoming more and more violent and less contolable. Perhaps one day soon it will turn on its creator and those who it was built to protect, or perhaps it being bathed in so much human blood has caused it to gain sentience. Now all it wants is to end the killing and live out its life in quiet contemplation so it attempts to flee Nazi Germany in favour of remote South America.
Basically the Golem contacts the allies in the hopes that they can help it escape Nazi Germany. Basically think Roger from the Hellboy comics.
King Solomon's Mines -by Herbert West: The Nazis have discovered the legendary "King Solomens Mine" in Africa (It is rumoured that king solomon's mine was the source of his vast wealth hidden within darkest Africa) and have been mining it to give them an economic boost in the war. But that is not all they have found. In one of the deepest and darkest cavern they have discovered a great sealed brass door inlaid with the seal of Solomon. Perhaps this is where Solomon rebound the evil spirits after they were released from the brass vessel in the lake in Bablyon (Legend has it that King Solomon bound the evil spirits in a brass vessel and dropped it into a lake in Bablyon but the people of Bablyon, thinking there to be treasure inside it dregged it up and, apon opening it, released the evil spirits back into the world).
Luckily it can only be opened with Solomons Ring (A ring formed of twelve jewels presented by the four animals, the four angles and the four spiritual creatures who payed hommage to him when he became king of the world) which has been splint into its component parts and scattered across the world (Each bears a secret mark or character) which when recombined will give the wearer the power to command animals, angles and spiritual creatures to do his bidding. One stone is set into the copy of "The Greater Key of Solomon" owned by the British Musuem which will have clues inside it to where the others lie.
I think that a Nazi raid on the British Museum would catch the allies attention, especially if they only stole one, old medieval manuscript of questionable origins and no real worth.
Alternate Golem Extraction by BrokenOakleys: Perhaps the Allies need a secret weapon, like the Golem, to push through the hedgerows, and the team has been sent behind enemy lines in Poland to contact the Jewish underground and get the only known plans for the Golem.  The Jewish underground is naturally suspicous, and wants the Players to prove their worth with a little mission....
[to intertwine both Golem ideas: I can see the PCs being tasked with extracting the Golem (after having made contact with the Jewish underground some time before), but receiving new orders (bringing it to battle in Normandy instead of England or USA) along the way back.]

Nasty Undead in the Hedgerows by BrokenOakleys: Or maybe some nasty undead thing that lives in the Hedgerows has been woken up by the fighting, and is feasting on both Nazi and Allied troops. A German and Allied patrol are stranded together behind a hedgerow as something nasty picks them off one by one.  Will the Waffen-SS and Jewish American Rangers learn to trust each other and defeat the nasty?
Polish Massacre by BrokenOakleys: In the RL Polish campaign in '39, 15,000 Polish officers were captured by the Soviets.  Their fate was a something of a mystery* until around 1990, when the former Soviet Union admitted it had executed them in the Katyn forest.  Perhaps the players are sent to investigate, and discover signs of some bizarre military experiment where the Soviets are turning the Polish Troops into super undead soldiers....
*Actually, everybody knew the Soviets did it.  Despite the official Soviet position that the Germans were responsible, Stalin's son as much as admitted guilt when he said:  "That's nothin'.  We killed three million during collectivization alone!"  That, along with some good CSI work at the massacre site, pointed the blame at the Reds.
Neue Schwabenland by BrokenOakleys: In RL circa 1947, The United States sent a task force to the South Pole to locate a secret Nazi base.  They (officially) didn't find one.  But what if it did exist?
This would be a great way to have a Zeppelin adventure.  Perhaps the players go to the South Pole in one of the Los Angeles class Airships, which came complete with tiny scout planes berthed in the underside of the airship*.  Airships could travel great distances:  the Hindenberg routinely made trips from Germany to Brazil.
*In RL, three out of four crashed prior to WW2 due to bad weather.
[It was supposedly planned as a submarine base, but could include all kinds of cool stuff like the AmericaBomber, etc...]
SuperPsychic by Herbert West/2000AD: On 'Anthrax Island', the most deadly plauge island off the English coast there is a military installation called 'The Vault' and 2 miles underground there is a single cell guarded by 20 men. Inside that cell is the greatest psychic of all time. Its never really shown what he does to get in the island, but in one part where you see him use his powers to to hurt this Nazi woman, her face melts. And theres another bit where he asks for a cigarette from his visitor, and then reveals that he has pyrokinesis. Frigin awesome.


Links:
- http://youtube.com/watch?v=NWBKSO4DvWk (part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wfSHV4zYMw (part 2)- really cool video, it has a NaziBot, a YankeeBot and a GookBot. Pretty awesome stuff.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpMWTFYfOYk&feature=user - same creator, cool video with rocket powered dragon robots. I guess something like this could be included easily in a SteamPunk Nazi setting.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZHk76Cl3fA&feature=related - short 'fun' video of a steampunk robot.
- http://dangeruss.deviantart.com/gallery/#Sci-Fi - some computer-made models of another guy's drawings (see next link).
- http://malaveldt.deviantart.com/gallery/ - a great artist. He has made a lot of futuristic, steampunk stuff, like Siege Walkers, and Gun Walkers, etc...
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6516392101427202574 - from the same artist, a walker/tank animation.
- http://s2ka.deviantart.com/art/Retro40ultralight-57846416 - an drawing of an ultralight airplane, a "war bird".
- http://dusty.deviantart.com/art/RAFUFO-2251220 - a drawing of a weird RAF UFO.
- http://www.fengzhudesign.com/gallery.html - Wow. Mostly futuristic stuff, but easily adaptable and a great source of inspiration.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97nyIePE07o - A documentary in German about the V3 vengeance/retribution weapon, a 130 meters, 150mm cannon that could fire projectiles at 1500 m/s. For information in English see this post: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=997.msg26868#msg26868.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqHzZKcyRqw&feature=related - A Discovery documentary about the Axis Weird Weapons of WW2. This is the first of several parts, the rest of which can be found under 'related videos' to the right.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCP2qbHDGIs - A Gentleman's Duel, a CGI animation that's more Victorian Steampunk than anything else, but awesome nonetheless.
- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3wNgXVPCrjIhttp://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=992.msg24711#msg24711
Quote
That's all well and good, but what is in that file is what I really need to work on.

My ideas so far have been:
The PCs will be tasked to follow a group of Thule members (occult nazi group) who are trying to accomplish some fiendish scheme to help them in the war. This could be an artifact they are looking for, a ritual that needs to be accomplished, or something. Think Indiana Jones and Hellboy movies.
I've been looking at how an adventure/campaign should be set up, and I've come to this:
I'd like to include:
- A couple of Skill Encounters (climbing, sneaking, etc...) : around 2.
- Some Combat Encounters (Die Cultist, Die!) : around 5.
- A puzzle or a trap of some sort : around 1.
- A few roleplaying encounters (where Vasilij could use his diplomacy and good standing) : around 2.
- A mook encounter where the PCs get to gun down hordes of low-levels : just 1.
- Some sort of safe-haven (possibly someone Vasilij knows or someone who knows him and owes his father a favor or something) where they can heal up and possibly gear up on equipment : just 1.
- A big fish encounter, where it's just dangerous enough to be real deadly, but something that can be overcome by various ways (combat, sneaking, RP'ing, etc...) : just 1.
- Big Finale. Stop the ritual sacrifice, destroy or steal the artifact, etc... : just 1.

---
Apart from that, I'd like to include some sort of Vehicle Combat - possibly tank or mecha (the PCs could very well be on foot against the vehicle), a chase (boat, truck, car) and perhaps an encounter that could be overcome by 1vs.1 defeating someone in close combat (to let Llowa shine - think "You can pass, if you can beat Mongo in single combat" ... "MONGO SMASH! *graawhr* "). Exotic countries could be cool too (again, think Indiana Jones - India, Sovjet, Greenland, South America, etc...).
---
Edit: Look at the posts below to see what this has evolved to become.

Any help really appreciated, for some reason my brain has been completely unimiginative for the last couple of days and incapable of coming up with anything good. A :cc to anyone who helps out! :D
Edit: Don't worry, I've got 'em jarred, so yours won't get out (your friend's one might, though, but that's what you get for purchasing your Cthulhus otherwhere than here).
« Last Edit: November 09, 2008, 09:40:19 AM by Tema69 »
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Herbert West

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2008, 06:46:03 PM »
Are the Nazi's still in control of France?
I can never remeber.

What if the file has information on a new super tesla weapon?

And what about the heros having to go into the heart of Germany to find out about some sort of super battery (maybe ghost powered?) that they want to use to turn the Eiffle tower into a super telsa weapon?

But the catch is....
Its on a non stop train to France that leaves in half an hour!

Hows that for an idea?

Hope to see this new setting bloom
-Herbert
I\'m not actually American if you got that idea from the picture. I\'m just a stalwart supporter of President Cthulhu. He will come to England soon.

Tema69

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2008, 07:10:22 PM »
That's great!, mate.  :clap
The Germans control France, minus Normandy. The Germans are fighting the Allied in Italy. The Sovjet Union is neutral and the Germans have not broken the Non-Agression Pact.

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France used Tesla weapon in their Maginot line, and transforming the Eiffel Tower into a super Tesla Death Ray is somehow too cool to not be used. I'm deffinetely going to use that. Ghost powered sounds cool - would you mind elaborating that idea a bit? Perhaps it is powered by an ancient relic that needs to be taken into custody first. The PCs could find out what the relic is and where it is, realizing they need to grab it before the Germans. They are too late [combat encounter with the remaining German troops who are preparing to move out by truck], and find out it will be used to power a battery of some sorts which will be assembled in a secret base somewhere. Arriving there, they fight/sneak their way down the underground tunnels [Skill encounter - sneak past the first guards so they don't shut the whole thing down - then a few combat encounters against a few underground defensive positions - perhaps a remote controlled sentry gun?], only to find out it has been moved. Then, somehow (how?), they learn it leaves on said train. I can see them hijacking a helicopter and trying to rappel down on the moving train while holding the pilot at point blank with a gun [Skill Encounter - climbing down the rope + RolePlay/Intimidation to keep the pilot flying]. I like trains. You can put guns and armour on them and stuff [Land on roof - some guns open fire on them - Big Fish Encounter - dangerous stuff: fight the gun positions now (the PCs have a Bazooka) or risk getting shot up while leaving?]. I think it would be cool to have the PCs destroy the battery when the train approaches Paris [trap/Puzzle? to destroy it? - Combat Encounter taking out the guards, then all wagons are sealed off, and will only open upon arrival - so the PCs can catch their breath and heal up with the german supplies - assuming the RelicBattery is in the same wagon as other supplies - small arms ammo, grenades, medickits], and then follow the Inventor/MadScientist and his bodyguards through the streets of Paris, and up through the Eiffel Tower (need reason why he would run up the Eiffel Tower and not to the nearest German Barrack), ending in a showdown on the top platform [Big Finish combat encounter - bodyguards and crazyscientist + giving them an MG to mow down troops running up the stairs but only giving the MG limited ammo - Mook Encounter] - and a nick-of-time helicopter extraction before the whole Paris Garrison comes storming up the stairs [since their MG is now dry].
Man. Thanks for the inspiration.  :bow

Thanks.
-Thomas

Edit: I'm just gonna clear it out so it's easier to read (these are my notes for the game too, so it's as much for myself ;) ):
CHAPTER 1:

-The PCs read in the Major's file that the Germans are grabbing an ancient dagger owned by Dr. Emanuel Zepper (which is in his private collection in Belgium - near the town of Oostende), which will be used to power a battery, which itself will be used to power a devastating Tesla weaponry related to the EiffelTower. Magnus von Wedderkop, a Nikolai Tesla fanboy, is also involved, and he noted as a target of opportunity as he is believed to be connected with many of the German superweapons and is too fanatic to be kidnapped and forced to work for the Allied.
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So. I've created Major Horrock's file itself, containing the different clues. The first two documents are the two pictures above, which "look like a picture of a picture", because a spy has taken pictures of the documents and sent them instead of simply stealing them so the Germans wouldn't get suspicious. The third document is a photo of Magnus von Wedderkop, the mad scientist villain, and a short biography of his interests in TeslaCoil technology. A note indicates that Magnus has been designated as a target of opportunity and should be killed if possible. Also included are Horrock's notes about von Wedderkop needing the "Dagger of Kali" to power the battery system, and said dagger is in the possession of a wealthy private collector, Dr. Emanuel Zepper (an Alsacian collector living in Belgium, near the sea, which is unknown to the PCs, they will have to do some research). Along with the other documents is a translated (from German) 7-page document on the functioning of Tesla Coils as weaponry (searched the web for TeslaCoil and copied some stuff from a webpage - it's not an important piece of evidence/clue, but it's good fluff IMHO). The file is a standard "Eyes Only" type of yellow/beige file, and I've burnt the lower right part of the whole thing (because the file is supposed to be found in the rubble of the bombet out HQ).

-The PCs find out where the Zepper's mansion is, either by doing research of their own, or by asking around (Favor talent), and when they get there (they will need to be inserted somehow - using they connections and diplomacy abilities. perhaps a discrete small-boat insertion to the coast, then a short hike to the villa), must fight through two squads of German troops who were on their way away (or they could wait for them to go, I'll have one of the NCOs or a motorbike driver forget his sidearm/weapon, and run back for it while the truck drives away, the PCs'll hopefully capture him and interrogate him). They were too late, the dagger has been taken and flown away in a helicopter before they arrived, and the troops are leaving in a truck. Dr. Emanuel Zepper wasn't even home during the operation (possible recurring villain/allied in later campaigns), but some servants were, and they were simply held at gunpoint during the whole ordeal (alternatively, if the PCs don't interrogate anybody, one of the servants might tell them what she heard [see next]).
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-1 Squad (CR 9) consists of:
--1 Squad Leader (NCO with MP40) Mid-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
--2 Riflemen (Privates with G43) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--3 Riflemen (Privates with StG45) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--1 Rifleman/Bazookaman (Private with MP40 and Panzerschreck) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
--1 Machinegunner (Private with P38 and MG42) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
--1 Machinegunner Assistant (Private with P38) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary

-They learn (either by overhearing the leaving soldiers, when interrogating a captured soldier or the returning NCO or by one of the servants) that the chopper was heading for a secret underground base located in the Vosges mountains where the dagger would be used to create a battery system/power generator of some sort to power said superweapon.

-The PCs regroup (back across the channel perhaps?), and are sent out (parachuted?) to do an unofficial (if they report in to a trusted officer [who will tell them that there is an allied operation in the works which will be started soon - he warns them not to get caught up in it]) recon mission (if they don't tell an officer about it, they could try to bribe a pilot to fly them over the area or call in a favor) against the base (which is heavily guarded, disguised as a radar complex, protected by a Tiger Tank and around a small infantry coy), they see Magnus von Wedderkop entering a side door, and may also see that instead of going into the building, the door opens on a staircase going down), the helicopter (the one who carried von Wedderkop and the dagger from Belgium) is parked next to the main building, and finally, they see a cargo elevator disguised as a trash compactor placed a few hundred yards away (a truck may unload what seems to be perfectly new boxes of food and mechanical gear and shove it into the machine).
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-1 Tiger Tank + Crew (crew isn't inside but sitting on it - once every few hours, they need to start the engine for 20 minutes, creating a lot of noise - which may allow the team to sneak closer)
-1 Squad Patrolling (without the Machinegunner and Assistant Machinegunner)
-1 Machinegunner+Assistant on the roof providing overwatch)
-1 Fa223 Helicopter + Pilot (pilot is sitting in the door, smoking)
-1 Infantry Coy (1 MG section [2 MG42s + crew, riflemen and leader], 3 Rifle Platoons minus the squad patrolling [8 Rifle Squads - see above], Headquarters [Coy Commander, Medic, etc...] and Supply [Drivers, Cooks, Pay Clerks, etc...])
Only the MG42 team and the patrol are actively looking for intruders.

-There, they learn (either by capturing a patrolling guard or by overhearing an NCO shouting it while ordering people around) that the battery system will be sent by train within half an hour, and must thus infiltrate the complex quickly without raising alert (I've mapped the base out: they must bypass the first guards without raising alert, as they control a base shutdown switch, which will seal access to it, bypass or destroy an MG42 sentrygun, and possibly the controller sitting in a room nearby with a guard, then fight their way through a patrol rushing up if noise is made, otherwise just patrollin' around, and get to the train station, only to see it roll out).
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-2 Rifle Squads on guard duty in opposite rooms (use stats for PanzerGrenadier Squads without heavy weapons) (CR 8 ):
--1 Squad Leader (NCO with MP40) Mid-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
--5 Riflemen (Privates with StG45) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--1 Rifleman (Private with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
-MG42 Sentry Gun (drops from the dome ceiling in a circular room without any cover) (est. CR 8 ):
--Def 11; Hardness 5; HP 9; Break DC 19; (use attack rolls from MGunner in adjacent room); Technology DC 22 or Perception DC 26 check to notice that there are some cables that might be attached to the MG and following the cables with the eyes shows that one of the stops near a door on the opposite end of the room (Perception DC 24 to be sure of which cable to cut - otherwise, roll 1d100: 33% chance of MG42 cable, power cable (plunging the whole underground base in darkness) or safety-seal-of cable (not allowing the guards to seal everything off).). Break DC 15 to access the cable panel, and only 1 point of damage is required to cut/destroy a cable.
--Machinegunner (Private with P38) Mid-Level Fast/Smart Ordinary
--Guard (Private with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinary
-Patrol (use stats for PanzerGrenadier RifleSquad without Heavy Weapons - see above) (CR 8 ).
-Train Station Guard (use stats for PanzerGrenadier RifleSquad without PanzerSchreck - see above but add a MG42 gunner + assistant) (CR 9).

-They can/should go out the emergency exit (which leads to the roof of the main building), slide down the ladder to the helicopter, taking the pilot (who was just chillin' and smokin' a cigarete) prisoner, and force him to fly them over the train, before the enemy troopers start putting up an effective defense.
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-Pilot (Senior Airman with Luger) Mid-Level Fast/Dedicated Ordinary
-Base Defense (see above).

-The train has AA guns (1 Quadruple 20mm and 1 single 37mm), but will not fire on their own chopper at first. Once they spot the Allied PCs leaving it, they will try to shoot down the chopper and the PCs. Avoiding/ignoring the guns is possible, but the PCs will then have to face them later on (when they arrive in Paris).
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-Quad 20mm Autocannon (17d6 damage, +1 to hit, but +8 to the Reflex DC to avoid autofire; Hadness 6, HP 30) (CR 17) - both located in the rear of the train.
-37mm Autocannon (6d8 damage, +1 to hit, but +2 to the Reflex DC to avoid autofire; Hardness 5, HP 20) (CR 8 ) - located near the middle
The PCs land in between these guns. Once landed, the gunners suffer -4 to hit because it is hard to depress the gun low enough, and crouching/kneeling/sitting/being prone makes it completely impossible for them to hit. Remember the CrossFire rules (the guns might end up shooting eachother).
Edit: Removed one of the 20mm Quad FlaK. Wouldn't want a Total Party Kill.

-Having shot up the guns (or just ignored them), they drop through a roof hatch and must now fight their way through two wagons, the first being (6) officers's quarters (they could manage to sneak past this one thanks to the closed compartments), and the second being (18) guards' (with SMGs) quarters, divided into 4 parts. At the end of that wagon, one of Magnus' bodyguards will step through the door and start blasting at them with his MG42 (heavily armoured kinda guy).
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-Officers' Wagon (CR 11)
--6 Officers (2 Officers with Lugers, 3 with P38, and one with a Walther PKK) Mid-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
-Guards' Wagon 2x (CR 6); 2x (CR 5); (CR 7)
--5 Guards (Privates with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--5 Guards (Privates with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--4 Guards (Privates with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--4 Guards (Privates with MP40) Low-Level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--1 BodyGuard (NCO with MG42) Mid-Level Strong/Tough Ordinary [with distinct advantage - good armour and weapon]

-The next wagon contains the battery system, which will have to be destroyed, but to access it, Magnus von Kedderkop has installed a safety precaution device (Retinal Scan?), where they will need to guess what the device is (retinal scans in the fifties aren't too well known :)), bypass it (Disable Device DC real high), or activate it (grabbing one of the bodyguards' head and pushing the button - if they work out what it is really fast, I might have the Retinal Scan only work on living individuals, so they will need to first-aid one of the bodyguards - if the button is pushed 3 times without a correct eye in front of the scanner, the safety defense mechanism is started, and only Magnus can now open the thing - the PCs will have to leave the battery system and go for Magnus instead) or face the consequences (turning the wagon into a gas chamber perhaps filled with Zyklon B?). A PC might want to grab the dagger and try to sell it later. The dagger itself has only been slightly damaged by the destruction of the battery and should be worth a lot.
Quote
-Battery Guards (CR 7)
--4 Guards (Privates with MP40) Low-level Tough/Dedicated Ordinaries
--1 BodyGuard (NCO with MG42) Mid-Level Strong/Tough Ordinary [with distinct advantage - good armour and weapon]

-Magnus von Kedderkop, however, has escaped the Battery System wagon at the first sound of gunfire and activated a general shutdown which has caused all the wagons to isolate themselves, shutting all doors and exits (only after the PCs enter the BatterySystem wagon). The PCs must now wait for some time (depending on how far away the secret base was, and how long it took them to reach the chopper - no more than a few hours), but luckily, the wagon has a supply of medical kits, and they can scavenge the bodies of their fallen enemies for ammunition and grenades.
Quote
A lot of 9x19mm Ammo from the 4 guards, 2 Grenades each, and standard equipment.
Some 7.92x57mm Ammo from the Bodyguard, and a Single Shot flamethrower (Einstossflamenwerfer 46) that he didn't use because of the proximity of the Battery System.

-Upon arriving at Paris at the Gare Saint Lazare, the doors open and the PCs see a ramp fold out, and von Wedderkop flee with his remaining bodyguards in a car, but luckily, a civilian car is parked nearby, and the owners won't miss it (or at least they won't be able to do a damn about it). The PCs can try to follow him in their vehicle (here, the big AA guns might open fire on them if they haven't dealt with them), resulting in a wild chase through the narrow streets and broad boulevards of Paris (luckily I've lived there for some years, so I know it quite well) until they reach the Eiffel Tower.
Quote
Remember to brush up on vehicle combat, etc...

-While he takes the only working elevator, the PCs will try to keep up with him on the stairs, and while he leaves a bodyguard behind to slow them down twice, they will reach him at the top, where he has retrieved a handheld TeslaCoil (powered by a stationary battery - 40 lb.) and is trying to radio to yet another secret base for extraction in an experimental VTOL aircraft (like this one: http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/focke_269.php). All the while, he will be protected by his remaining bodyguards. Taking them down and killing von Wedderkop (any ideas about the von Wedderkop battle, or should he simply be some moderately weak scientist spraying around with his machinepistol? Edit: I've decided to give him a small TeslaCoil DeathRay... Any other ideas?), the PCs see the dozens of troops converging on their position and running up the stairs, but they can grab the MGs of the bodyguards and hold them at bay for a while (the Engineers in the Party will notice/know that the Eiffel Tower is fitted with a huge radio transmitter and will hopefully call for extraction - Otherwise, the nazi VTOL arrives, and due to poor weather - a climatic battle on top of the Eiffel Tower is nothin' without wind and rain - won't recognize the PCs as enemies, thinking they are Magnus and his bodyguards; the PCs should once again force the pilot to fly them back - or perhaps just ride along, ending up in a secret base deep in Germany).
Quote
-Bodyguards (see above) 2x (CR 7)
-Final Battle (CR varies)
Depending on how wounded they are, between 2 and 4, perhaps more, bodyguards are present, fighting to the death to protect Magnus radioing for extraction.
-- x number of Bodyguards
--Magnus von Wedderkop (Handheld TeslaCoil [4d6 damage, ignores Armour, 40 ft. range, Unreliable4], C96 Schnellfeuer) High-level Smart/Dedicated "Hero"/Villain.
Note: von Wedderkop will delay his initiative and ready actions as much as possible, no matter what, trying to hold out until reinforcements arrive from below or extraction from above.

-Mowing down the storming troops, the PCs hold off until the last bullet, and then when all seems like they'll be overrun, the chopper appears, dropping a ladder for the PCs to hold on to, flying away in the darkness of the french night while the German troops storm up to the platform and Allied troopers assault Paris below them.
Quote
One-hit one kill kinda troops, they won't be attacking at all, just charging over their fallen comrades and up the stairs, trying to get into accurate grenade range (est. 15-30 meters). There seem to be an infinite number of them, and as the PCs run out of bullets, the chopper arrives a few rounds later.



Edit2: Just found some great pictures and modified them a bit.

"Tesla Eiffel Tower Weapon's System Firing Platform"

Edit3:
So. I've created Major Horrock's file itself, containing the different clues. The first two documents are the two pictures above, which "look like a picture of a picture", because a spy has taken pictures of the documents and sent them instead of simply stealing them so the Germans wouldn't get suspicious. The third document is a photo of Magnus von Wedderkop, the mad scientist villain, and a short biography of his interests in TeslaCoil technology. A note indicates that Magnus has been designated as a target of opportunity and should be killed if possible. Also included are Horrock's notes about von Wedderkop needing the "Dagger of Kali" to power the battery system, and said dagger is in the possession of a wealthy private collector, Dr. Emanuel Zepper (an Alsacian collector living in Belgium, near the sea, which is unknown to the PCs, they will have to do some research). Along with the other documents is a translated (from German) 7-page document on the functioning of Tesla Coils as weaponry (searched the web for TeslaCoil and copied some stuff from a webpage - it's not an important piece of evidence/clue, but it's good fluff IMHO). The file is a standard "Eyes Only" type of yellow/beige file, and I've burnt the lower right part of the whole thing (because the file is supposed to be found in the rubble of the bombet out HQ).

Edit4: Damn shortcuts for smileys. Challenge Rating Smiley, anyone? I meant, of course, CR 8.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2008, 10:52:19 AM by Tema69 »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2008, 07:40:34 PM »
dust off the Mounted Combat rules
and have some Polish Lancers & Dragoons, that have gone underground & low tech, thrown in the mix.

Some folks might laugh,
but that is till they find out the 6th level Lancers are using D&D Fighter class and are unbalanced death machines on horseback.
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2008, 07:54:54 PM »
The Spear of Destiny is always a fun gag. It has that mythological feel while staying true to a European game (it's Christian mythology, after all). Given how powerful it is, it could be a monumentally crazy weapon that basically turns some Nazi strongman into the Big Bad of the game, or it could be part of a magic machine or a ritual.

I just recently played a game where (I love this) a supervillain wanted to mount the Sphinx on the head of a giant fighting robot, because the Sphinx is an object of great mystical power. Can you imagine a giant Nazi-bot with the Sphinx for a head stomping around Warsaw or Paris or Prague? Great fun. Great, great fun.

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2008, 08:04:38 PM »
Thanks to y'all, you have given me great ideas, now I could just use some help with the details (see my post above).

Hmm... Just read "Currahee" by Donald Burgett, an American 101st Airborne trooper writing about the combat he saw during Operation Overlord. They encountered White Russian cavalry charging them and cutting them to pieces with swords. They were mighty shocked, but the cavalry somehow seemed vulnerable to .30-06 rounds. It might be interesting to include a cavalry charge somewhere in that campaign.

Indeed, the Spear of Destiny is a good artifact, but I think I'll save that for later, not wanting to start of with too wellknown relics. The Nazis did own the Spear of Destiny during WW2, and Hitler Committed suicide a few days after the Allied forces took possession of it. I'm thinking I might give it to some Nazi Splinter Group, possibly some Thule cultists in a ritual or demon summoning. Giving a Demon the Spear of Destiny would be both ironic and overpowered.

The Sphinx on a Nazi-Bot? Wow, you guys have great ideas! I'm gonna use that later. That would make some fun desert environment adventures.
Great fun? It sure sounds like that. How did it turn out?

Edit: How about a demon-with-the-spear-of-destiny-powered Nazi-bot with a sphinx head. The two adventures might seem unconnected, but after finally blowing the nazi-bot to pieces, they might get somewhat upset when a spear-wielding demon rises from the rubble.  :evillaugh

Edit2: How about, to add tension, the Tesla Eiffel Tower Weapon System [die Tesla Eiffelturn Waffensystem - souds kinda cool in German, huh?] is to be ready for an Allied attack on Paris? So if the PCs don't succeed, the entire assault force will be anihilated by the Death Ray? That way, I hope not to get a "oh, well, we'll get him in half an hour, let's get some croissants and some coffee before we follow him up..." -attitude.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 11:36:41 AM by Tema69 »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2008, 03:27:53 PM »
Your welcome for the idea, it comes from a medium length story that I have in the works entitled "The man with the glass revolver", which is based on a dream I had. In it 'The man with the glass revolver' must head to Germany on foot,finding many allies on the way. In the end however he is too late to stop the Eiffle Tower being turned into a weapon. A final fight that takes place on the actual tower involves him and the SS scientist/soldier in a quick draw duel with one bullet each. He appears to miss causing the scientist to say "You were meant to be the best, now you will die" prompting 'the man' to state that "I only need one". The scientist turns round and sees that he has shot through the center of the battery. A massive explosion ensures as the companions of 'the man' look onwards at the explosion.

Sorry about the rant, but i wanted to give some background.

The spirit battery was an idea taken from a Forbiden kingsdoms suppliment (I can't remeber which) and basically it utilizes background spirtitual energy in a kind of spirtual fission. Very unethical as it kills ghosts. And explodes.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 03:51:15 PM by Herbert West »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2008, 04:28:11 PM »
You must have some cool dreams. I never remember mine. It sounds like an interesting story.

Killing ghosts, huh? That's interesting. I think I'll use that, although the PCs will probably not know it. I might use that as an adventure hook related to a ghost killing spirit battery later on.

So, any of you guys have any ideas on the following:
-Having the EiffelTower System be part of the defense in the upcoming battle against the allied attack thus forcing the PCs to act quickly?
-Any idea of where to locate the secret base?
---Perhaps it is disguised as something else? A radiostation or something, so the Allied wouldn't be suspisious of enemy activities in the area, and when/if bombed, the underground base would still be relatively safe?
-What would be needed to defuse/destroy the battery? Consequences?
---A puzzle of some sort: something that can't be overcome easily by any d20 roll.
---Consequence: everything is sealed off, and Zyklon B gas being pumped into the wagon. Doors will automatically open upon arrical in Paris.
-Why Magnus von Wedderkop (the mad scientist type) would run up to the Eiffel tower even though his battery has been destroyed? (this is the most important so far - as we can't have an adventure in Paris without going GungHo in the Eiffel Tower)
---He hopes to destroy the stuff he has built so it won't fall into enemy hands?
---He has a smaller regular battery and hopes to connect it to the weapon and have it used, but much less effectively?
---He has installed a large supermodern rocket pod and hopes to man it and fire at the incoming Allied planes and tanks?
---Geee... I really need help with this one.

And as promised, have a jarred :cc ... I keep 'em in jars because they may be able to unscrew the lids from the outside, but not from the inside.  :evillaugh
...anyway.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 04:51:14 PM by Tema69 »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2008, 05:09:38 PM »
Ideas for a puzzle:

Perhaps use one from the game The 7th Guest
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2008, 05:25:34 PM »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2008, 06:06:39 PM »
I love you guys, I might be able to get some inspiration out of this if I ever start a pulp D20 campaign   :D
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2008, 06:11:32 PM »
I was hoping I wasn't the only one needing stuff like this. I'm glad you found it then. :)

Any thoughts or ideas about any of this stuff?
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2008, 06:32:22 PM »
Unfortunately I've been severely lacking in inspiration lately, so I don't really have all that many ideas...

Maybe some ideas from Crimson Skies if you plan to include aerial adventure?
That's all I've got at the moment besides the obvious Indiana Jones and Hellboy for ideas, sorry :P

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2008, 06:38:02 PM »
Crimson Skies, the PC pulp flying game? I bought it, but my cpu wouldn't run it.
So what do you mean? :) What kinda stuff?

Yeah, IndianaJones and Hellboy are good sources of inspiration for any pulp game. ;)

Anyway, drop by again if you come up with some ideas.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 06:51:06 PM by Tema69 »
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2008, 07:22:32 PM »
7th guest is a 1992 puzzle/horror game and the first game realised only on CD (Wiki it for more info) the puzzles in it are quite good and make for good inspiration. A true classic.

Penumbra Overture is a 2007 adventure/horror/puzzle game which is geniunely terrifying and has supernatural overtones and steampunk undertones despite being set in modern 2001. Another fine work. The generator puzzle I was reffering to was a complex system of poorly marked levers which had to be pulled in the correct order, with the risk of explosions (or so the generator manual claimed).

Hope that clears things up. I could be more specific but the hour is late, and Herbert west is but a man! And men need their dream haunted rest.

Night all,
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2008, 08:09:42 PM »
Thanks man. I'll look it up. I think I might just go with the Retinal Scan though, but if the device is activated 3 times without the eye of one of the bodyguards (or theoretically, von Wedderkop), the GasChamber (or whatever trap) is activated. And I'll be sure not to be too specific in the description of the device ("A camera-like lens is placed at about head-level, and there's a big 'Start' button on the right.")... If the PCs are doing very well, or have figured out what it is quickly, or to add some extra fun, the bodyguard might need to be alive for the thing to work. ("I strip of all his armour, put a gun to his head, and then you can start First-Aid'ing him.").

And indeed, here in GMT +1, it's midnight. So goodnight to y'all and thanks for the help so far. I hope you'll bear with me and help me out with the remaining details.

Tema
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2008, 10:44:30 PM »
Your Shotgunner needs a Winchester Model 12 trench gun, complete with Enfield M1917 bayonet, for Kraut-stabbing goodness!

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #17 on: July 09, 2008, 06:06:39 AM »
Which he has indeed. :) As well as the Hail of Bullet feat from Ultramodern Firearms. So he can walk around and Burst Fire people in the face with his Pump Action shotgun.
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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2008, 06:09:26 AM »
Your CPU won't run Crimson Skies? Even my 8 or so years old computer can handle it.

It really has a swashbuckly pulp feel going on, has a lot to do with aerial piratry. One of the main character's lines is "I don't copy Errol Flynn, it's the other way around!" :P

After WW1 the U.S. experienced an influenza epidemic caused by a disease brought back drom Europe by returning servicemen. Because of this isolationism  grew in popularity.
The then president, Woodrow Wilson, wanted to form a League of Nations with Europe which enraged citizens and allowed for Warren G Harding's "New Independence from Europe" campaign to flourish.
Over the years and after (then president) Harding's death a battle between ideologically distinct regions in America started to form. Eventually after a new influenza epidemic states closed their borders and regionalism would eventually cause a stock market crash which would be the final blow to the U.S. The Federal government crumbled and the vast majority of the nation's military deserted or swore allegiance to their native states. Many turned mercenary or bandit.

Because of this isolation and regionalism borders were closed and commerce ground to a halt, prompting trade and transport traffic to take to the air. Brushfire wars demolished the intercontinental railway system and highways quickly fell into disrepair or were sabotaged. Cargo zeppelins and the like were the new mode of transportation and commerce. Because of this and the continual state of turmoil, bands of "air pirates" started to form.
Militias, determined to defend there states, and private security companies using airplanes also started to surface.

That is the basic history of the Crimson Skies universe, as it is in 1937, so if you use it or some aspects of it, you might want to advance it by a decade or so ;)

As for the tech, a lot of "alternative" airplanes, including push-prop airplanes and nitrous boosters for short term speed boosts. Specialized weaponry such as "Zep buster torpedoes" and flak rockets, zeppelins capable of acting like aerial carriers, deploying a complete wing of fighter aircraft from an internal hangar through hangar bay doors in the belly and retrieving them in mid-air with a sort of arrestor hook.

Hope this wall of text helped to give you a feel for the Crimson Skies universe :P

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Re: Need Help with a WW2/IndianaJones/Hellboy Pulp Adventure.
« Reply #19 on: July 09, 2008, 07:39:09 AM »
I haven't tried with my new cpu, but when I tried with my old one 5 or 6 years back, it didn't work (I don't remember what didn't work though - I guess I can try again if I can find the game).

Alright, thanks a lot, that looks really interesting. I might use that, as I love Zeppelins (especially the aircraft carrier kind) and air pirates (recently GM'ed a D&D game where the [evil] PCs ended up investing in a small castle/fortress, an armoured zeppelin with big howitzers and a Leadership feats - that was swashbuckling air-piratry at its best! [especially because one of the PCs was a Dragon Rider]).

Thanks for the explanation. I think I'm gonna have the PCs be aboard a big nazi zep on its way to bomb NY sometime. And of course, it should have a few jet fighters inside. This reminds of SkyCaptain.
Tema69. 69 marks my affiliation to the ex-youth house on Jagtvej 69 in Copehagen, Denmark, a place where there used to be room for everyone until it was sold.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=997.0
The Self-Proclaimed General Pulp/SteamPunk/Occult/Nazi thread! Drop by.

http://tema69.deviantart.com/
My DeviantArt account. Check by the gallery and drop a comment.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2528.0
Download my "Action Movie Realism" Rules* as well as my WW2 Supplement.
P.E.A.C.H.
* Available as a .pdf!