The Red Knight of Germany

He who gets excited in fighting is sure to make mistakes.

Real Name:	Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen	Height:	5’10”
Archetype:	Avenging Spirit	Weight:	N/A
Affiliation:	German Empire	Eyes:	Red
Occupation:	WWI Fighter Pilot	Hair:	Brown
Base:	Morlancourt Ridge, France	Race:	Human (Before Death)
First Appearance:	The Eastern Front, WWI

Tattered fabric flutters from the three wings of an old German triplane. The faded red fuselage has seen better days and as the airplane swoops down into a silent dive you realize it’s translucent. All that can be seen of the pilot are two blazing red eyes as he fires the plane’s twin machine guns.

POWERS

The Red Knight of Germany is usually seen in his spectral WWI triplane, a Fokker Dr. I. The aircraft’s outdated appearance belies its speed and maneuverability, as the Red Knight’s Fokker has reportedly kept pace with the rocket propelled Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. The Red Knight may turn himself and his plane incorporeal and it has twin machine guns that fire ghostlight.

The Red Knight can also summon the Flying Circus, a ghost squadron of five fighters resembling his former unit, Jagdgeschwader 1.

WEAKNESSES

The Red Knight is anchored to the Morlancourt Ridge area. This has led to the Luftwaffe to declare the area a no fly zone for its pilots. This has done nothing but enrage the ghostly fighter ace. It is also rumored that the Red Knight can be destroyed if whatever binds him to this plane of existence, and the Morlancourt Ridge, is burned.

TACTICS & STRATEGY

The Red Knight usually lies in wait and ambushes German fighters and bombers as they cross over northern France. The ruthless fighter pilot has been known to actually fly out of the Somme River in order to surprise his enemies. Once in a position to attack, the Red Knight will summon his Flying Circus and begin to paint the skies with blood.

The Red Knight prefers to operate at night in order to take advantage of the translucent properties of his aircraft. To date, the only opposition that has been effective against the Red Knight have been Foo Fighters.

HISTORY

Manfred Richthofen was known as the Red Baron to the rest of the world during World War I. The German flying ace was shot in the heart by a .303 bullet in 1918 while pursuing a Sopwith Camel and managed to safely land his triplane before succumbing to his wounds. His spectre now haunts the skies over France and Germany flying a ghostly Fokker Dr. I Dreidecker.

Sightings of Rittmeister Richthofen are often from pilots who see him engaging alien Foo Fighters. His aircraft is faster and much more maneuverable than any Fokker Dr. I ever was. He has yet to engage any Allied pilots in combat, but that does keep Allied pilots from wetting themselves when they see the spectral flying ace.

AFFILIATIONS

At the moment, the Red Knight’s allegiance appears to be only to his own cause. He is clearly an enemy of Nazi Germany, but it is highly advised to avoid Manfred’s ghost at all costs. His spirit is vengeful and may misjudge any Allied presence as a threat.

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

Schattenkrieg: The Soviet Union

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

Since Schattenkrieg is set in an alternative history, there is a need to define what is different in this fork of time. What is the same and what is different needs to be established and it all has to make plausible sense, which can become a very daunting task.

The first country to be defined was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Soviet Union

Die, but do not retreat. – Stalin

Unternehmen Barbarossa (English translation: Operation Barbarossa) ended surprisingly well for the Third Reich. The German offensive surprised the Soviets and caught the Red Army ill-prepared. Inadequate training and obsolete equipment allowed the Wehrmacht to stroll through Soviet defenses.

Operation Barbarossa revealed the newest member of the Axis Powers, the enigmatic Doppelgänger Empire. Though there was little combat contact with the alien race during the German offensive, the Doppelgängers did deploy a device that influenced the local climate in October of 1941 after the fall rains impeded the German supply lines. The device created a sweltering heat wave that kept the roads firm and allowed the eastern blitzkrieg to sweep over Moscow.

Before the final blow that brought Moscow to its knees, Stalin overturned his no-retreat policy and had ordered the disassembly of several key weapon factories that were to be sent by rail over the Urals and deep into Siberia, well beyond the grasp of Hitler. As Moscow fell, the Red Army retreated with the vital factory equipment and collapsed key mountain passes behind them.

The Germans have occupied the Ukraine, a very important source of food and natural resources, but left the rest of western Soviet territories to rot. That is of course, after they had deported much of its citizens back to Germany for slave labor. Today, Moscow and much of the surrounding area, a 300 mile radius, has become a frozen wasteland as the Doppelgängers have reversed the function of their device.

The Doppelgänger device has also effected the life that still manages to survive in the area. Radiation has turned many Russian survivors and wildlife into mutants raving with madness. Mammoth bears and wolves have been reported by Allied and Axis troops unfortunate enough to have reason to be there.

The remnants of the Soviet leadership and its Red Army have regrouped in an undisclosed location deep in the Siberian tundra. Radio communications confirm that they are planning a massive counterstrike against the Germans. Currently, Stalin has been aiding the Allied forces with small commando units that have ongoing missions to disrupt the German infrastructure with as much violence as necessary.

EXTRAORDINARIES

Little is known about the existence of Extraordinaries in the Soviet Union. The press and communication is heavily censored since the The Great October Socialist Revolution and was sparse during the reign of the Czars before that. It is believed the USSR has gone to great lengths to document their Extraordinary population and recruit them into government sponsored programs well before the Western world developed parallel programs. Recruitment into state sponsored programs is usually not optional and the NKVD may have a team comprised wholly of Extraordinary operatives to convince their fellow metahumans to join.

Even though information on current Soviet Extraordinaries is scarce, there are many legends and folklore that hint at historical Extraordinaries that may still exist within the large expanse of the Soviet Union. The myths of Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga are certainly tales surrounding old Extraordinaries. More recently, it has been confirmed that the late Czar’s advisor, Rasputin, is an Extraordinary exhibiting uncanny abilities of cheating death.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Shortly before the Germans broke their non-aggression pact with them, the Soviets rescued Nikola Tesla from poverty in the United States. Since that time, the Soviet Union has been developing weapons based on Tesla technologies. Tesla rifles and electromagnetic pulse canons have been field tested and are being deployed with specially trained units in the Red Army. The deployment is slow since the USSR has had a hard time rebuilding their factories, even after being able to retreat with key equipment.

The Soviets have also uncovered something at Lake Cheko which is very near the Tunguska Event hypocenter. Intercepted radio communications have not given a lot of details and since the object’s discovery, Soviet radio traffic has been encrypted.

PERSONALITIES

Joseph Stalin is the current Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Stalin is furious about his incorrect calculations regarding the German invasion and their success in the Eastern Front. He has become ruthless in the pursuit of exacting vengeance on Hitler’s Third Reich.

Nikola Tesla is a Croatian born American inventor responsible for alternating current electricity. Stalin had Nikola kidnapped shortly after the Nazi-Soviet Pact to enlist his aid in developing the burgeoning Soviet industrial market.

Rasputin the sorcerer who was poisoned, shot, castrated, drowned, and burned by agents of the last Czar of Russia. He still lives and has his own agenda for Russia. It is believed Rasputin is involved in the research initiative at Lake Cheko in Tunguska.

ORGANIZATIONS

Not much is left of the Soviet Union’s bureaucracy except the bare minimum needed to keep the few operating factories and the remnants of the Red Army functioning. Stalin and a few members of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, the Soviet Union’s executive governing body. Everyone else fell when the Wehrmacht sacked Moscow. However, beyond the regular Red Army units, there are two organizations of note operating within the remnants of the Soviet Union.

The NKVD (Russian: Народный Комиссариат Внутренних Дел Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), or the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, is the Soviet state security agency that operates with impunity in its duty to suppress enemies of the state, foreign and domestic. The NKVD is ruthless and has a large network of spies built during the reign of Vladimir Lenin. Since Operation Barbarossa, official communication to operatives outside the Union has broken down, giving NKVD agents little direction on their actions. Many NKVD behind German lines have attempted to contact Allied Forces in Paris, looking for refuge. Many more have become little more than terrorists preying on military and civilian targets indiscriminately.

The genius of Nikola Tesla is behind the Tesla Corps, a battalion of shock troops for the Red Army. Armed with Tesla Rifles and encased in strange armor, the Tesla Corps will spearhead the Soviet counter-offensive against Germany. In the meantime, they have been field testing new weaponry against the mutants ravaging the wasteland around Moscow.

AGENDA

The current Soviet agenda is to rebuild its infrastructure and military might. A lot of importance is being placed on researching new technologies under the guidance of Nikola Tesla. The communist regime is currently content with allying itself with the anti-fascist government of the West for now, but this may change once the Axis Powers fall.

ALLIANCES

The Soviet Union has entered uneasy coalition with the Allied nations of Britain, the United States, and the freedom fighters of fallen European nations that comprise the Resistance.

Written by Michael Brewer

Edited by Cassey Toi

Schattenkrieg Personalities

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the personalities being developed for Schattenkrieg. Several of these characters are intended to be pre-generated characters for players. You’ll notice that in Schattenkrieg, the origin of supers using alternate identities actually stems from the tactical practice of using callsigns when communicating over radio:

Callsign: Cinder

Sgt. Burgess is massive man, towering nearly seven feet tall and weighing several hundred pounds. Burgess hails from New Orleans where he made money wrestling alligators for a side show. In addition to Cinder’s superhuman strength, he has been possessed by a Voodoo spirit.

When the spirit is allowed control, it gives Cinder the ability to invoke balefire; causing his dark forearms to begin to to glow like embers and his eyes to smoke. Cinder can launch flaming projectiles from his hand while the possessing spirit is loosened and his strikes inflict additional damage. Unfortunately, the possessing spirit sometimes doesn’t care if it’s striking at friend or foe.

Callsign: Lazarus

Lt. Anderson was actually killed in an explosion when his unit came into contact with doppelgänger survivors inside a crashed UFO. Lt. Anderson was covered in what appeared to be coolant from a pipe ruptured during fire fight. While doused with the viscous liquid, Lt. Anderson was struck by an alien energy weapon and promptly caught fire, burning the flesh clean off his bones in a matter of minutes.

His remains were recovered and placed in a body bag to be shipped home for burial, but Lt. Anderson’s body regenerated during the trip and awakened to find himself trapped inside the bag. Since then, Lt. Anderson has been shot in the head by a sniper, jumped on exploding grenades, and even been blown up by a panzerfaust only to recover within hours (or days in the case of the rocket propelled grenade).

Callsign: Sol

Sol is a nearly omnipotent being that volunteered to allow the American OSRD study him in their burgeoning genetics research in order to provide an Allied answer to the German Über Soldat. Sol wields very the power of the stars, but is vulnerable to gold; which was discovered by the scientists conducting the research.

Now, the OSRD is attempting to harness and direct Sol’s nearly limitless power in the form of a giant artillery canon. Unfortunately, the program has bound Sol to a cold lab table with golden shackles against his will; constantly probing and poking his body with their golden surgical implements. The process is driving Sol insane.

Callsign: White Noise

A ghost in the radio. White Noise is permanently incorporeal and works for America, but has no restraint. His real identity is classified. White Noise projects sonic energy from radios to stun and sometimes kill. It is believed that White Noise can listen to any radio broadcast within 100 miles of his location.

Callsign: Wraith 03

Private Jasinski was one of seven volunteers who survived one of the more successful government programs to engineer Extraordinary soldiers. The Wraith program actually experimented with drowning victims in ectoplasm harvested from a spectre the military had managed to trap in a containment unit during the Great War.

During the containment of the spectre, a Marine was engulfed ectoplasm from the spirit’s attack. The Marine was also paralyzed by the spectre’s cold grasp and asphyxiated before the ectoplasm could be removed from his nose and mouth. Luckily, he was promptly revived by the unit Corpsman, but found he would sometimes slip from reality, allowing him to see into the world of the dead.

The OSRD tried to reproduce the effect, hoping it would allow soldiers to gain intelligence on enemy positions by seeing through the physical world. The program discovered that applying the same process (death induced by class IV spectres), yielded different results with different people. Wraith 03 gained the ability to become incorporeal by entering the realm of the dead. This means he can avoid enemy troops while still being able to observe them, but the Underworld is not without it’s own dangers.

Re-imagining History Accurately

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

I know the title of this article sounds like an oxymoron; how can one accurately change history? If you change it, then by definition it would not be accurate, correct? Yes, if you’re trying to pass off the re-imagining as truth. What I’m after is a fictional history based upon conceivable alternate outcomes of major events.

Schattenkrieg is set in an alternate Earth history during World War II. I wanted to extend the war and while supers and aliens are integral to the story, I didn’t want to simply hand wave the reasons behind the alternate outcome. This is particularly important since supers and aliens are fairly rare. I did a lot of research on plausible decisions that could have changed the direction of the war. In fact, I found that there is quite a passionate group of people who debate such things.

With Schattenkrieg, I took a handful of operations that I considered instrumental in determining the course of war and changed them. In many cases I gave reasonable explanations for the new direction, but then set it in a pulpy context.

For instance, Operation Barbarossa was the German offensive that opened up the Eastern Front when Hitler decided to attack the Soviet Union. Before that operation, there was a non-aggression pact between the Germans and the Soviets, but both sides knew it wouldn’t last. If not for a few critical events, the Germans would have succeeded in eliminating the USSR from fielding any resistance.

The primary reason the Third Reich failed in its conquest was because the poor weather kept its supply lines from reaching the embattled Wehrmacht. The poor roads and harsh winter took a massive toll on German troops which allowed the Soviets to mount successful counter-offensives. But what if the weather had been slightly kinder? The Germans may have been able to pull it off.

So in Schattenkrieg, the Germans used an alien device that ensured a climate conducive to their blitzkrieg tactics. A plausible reason (better weather) wrapped in a pulp context (alien device). I plan on detailing several important events that provide the true history as well how it is different in Schattenkrieg.

Written by Michael Brewer

Edited by Cassey Toi

Confronting Sensitive Issues in Settings

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

Considering most games are played for entertainment and diversion, it is rare to find one that tackles sensitive or controversial topics head on. Even when a game is controversial, it is usually because the setting or the rules allow for some particular activity to occur, such as sacrificing children to power sorcery. Games rarely make a statement or teach players a point: “This is what the company/designer believes.”

One of the few games that do this very thing is Train by Brenda Brathwaite. Schattenkrieg isn’t one of those games, but it is a setting that might allow for some dark and controversial play. Nothing is stopping players from running evil Gestapo PCs.

In fact, I can foresee accusations from people living on the fringe of sanity that by even developing backgrounds, personalities, and adversaries from the Axis Powers of World War II that we could be encouraging that kind of play.

Stuff like this makes me question my approach to setting design. Should I avoid any references to the Holocaust? If it’s an alternate history, should I be so bold to rewrite that part of it? Should I even be developing the setting in the first place? Even though I’d like to avoid such accusations, I’m not going to ignore the atrocities that occurred during WWII during the development of the setting.

I don’t think I would be doing anyone a favor if I did. It certainly wouldn’t prevent controversial play and I believe I would be doing an injustice to everyone involved in World War II, especially the Jewish (and other ethnic) victims of Himmler & Hitler’s Final Solution. We should always remember what happened during WWII.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

So how do I want to confront this issue with Schattenkrieg? I could ignore that there are sensitive topics and just make a game. Or I could confront them head on and explicitly define where I and Nevermet Press stand. I like sharing my opinion, so let’s go with the latter option:

Schattenkrieg is developed with the explicit notion that the Nazis and their Final Solution were the darkest of evil and was one of the worst atrocities ever committed by mankind. The Nazis in Schattenkrieg are the BAD guys and not suitable for player characters.

If anyone has any questions or comments about how I’m confronting this sensitive topic, feel free to leave a comment below or message me privately using our contact form.

Game Design: Do Your Homework

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced here that Nevermet Press was developing an alternate World War II pulp setting for Mutants & Masterminds called Geheimkrieg. We even published some intro fiction on the blog to set the tone. Well, I had yet to complete my homework on the setting.

Last week I discovered that there was a miniatures skirmish game with the same name. It also has some similar supernatural elements to the theme. However, it wasn’t a roleplaying game and it didn’t deal with supers. So I had a few choices.

I could be a jerk and ignore the fact and keep marching on, hoping that no one would cry foul or have the money to pursue legal action. I could attempt to contact the owners of the skirmish game and seek permission, but that would require a complicated (and perhaps costly) legal document to protect both of us. Or I could just change the name.

I decided to kill the working title and choose something else; something that is not already in use and would not lead to future trademark entanglements. Sure, it might mean an early onset of product identity confusion (“Hey, wait a minute, I thought Nevermet was making something else…”), but it’s really early in the design phase. So early it probably wouldn’t even be noticed if I hadn’t chosen to write about it here.

Nevermet Press is pretty open about the creation of our material, so this presents a great opportunity to provide some insight on how we tackle hurdles like this.

Market Research

When I first started laying down the idea for an alternate history setting for WWII, I did thorough research on what was already available. Of course, for our Savage Worlds fans reading this, Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s Weird Wars instantly comes to mind. I also found a lot of miniature games, such as the really cool looking Incursion, and some interesting DIY one-offs.

I had already decided that I wanted to develop for Mutants & Masterminds and discovered that they even had a WWII adventure available for free on their website, Live in Infamy. But there wasn’t really a setting available. Nazis, zombies, aliens, and supers. I was sold.

I then researched a name. I needed something that immediately invoked the idea of the world at war. Something that sounds exotic, at least to native English speakers… I decided to call it “Secret War” because of the backstory I had developed with our writers and artists. A story where WWII has met sort of an uneasy stalemate and the powers are recruiting unconventional forces (read: aliens & supers).

Since I have been trying to teach myself German (unsuccessfully), I pulled out the dictionary and looked up secret in Deutsch.  Geheim. I didn’t need to look up war, everyone knows that word. I slapped the two together and liked it so much I didn’t even bother searching the term.

Proper Prior Planning

In the Marine Corps, we had a term/phrase called the Seven Ps (or 7Ps). Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Well, had I remembered my training, I would have double checked my new title, but I didn’t because I was excited about it and pretty sure no one had ever put the two together in the context of a tabletop game.

Wrong.

If there is one thing anyone takes away from this reflection, it should be that nothing is new. I often fear we live in a world of remix and remake where nothing is original. Then I realize it was probably that way for a very long time (like since man discovered his imagination). It’s always been about tweaking an idea just enough that it appears fresh. When that happens enough, you can look at the originating idea and the newest creation and it looks like innovation.

Or I could be wrong, but very rarely is something created from whole cloth. We stand upon the shoulders of giants here (which are really just a bunch of dwarves stacked atop each other in a manner that appears as a giant).

Final Answer Is

So I still needed a name. Well, I went back to the drawing board with our team and put out a bunch of ideas, took some ideas, and finally came out with Schattenkrieg, Shadow War. It fits the theme nicely and I got approval from a native speaking German that it was both correct and sounded way better than the first title I had chosen.

So a big shout out needs to go to Michael Wolf of Stargazer’s World for providing invaluable assistance on verifying our setting’s new name.

But of course, I was very sure to research this new name. I even did several searches with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for anyone who might have registered it as their mark. I didn’t find much of anything besides German references to a Tom Clancy book. Good Deal!

Guten Tag,

Michael Brewer

A Brief Introduction to Schattenkrieg

This article contains content for Schattenkrieg, Nevermet Press’ alternate World War II pulp setting. Our content is community driven so we want feedback from you. Please leave a comment here, write about it on your own blog, or contact the Lead Designer, Michael Brewer, if you would like to contribute directly.

Edited by Cassey Toi

“Jesus Christ! What kind of sick fuck did that?” I spit the words past teeth clenched on one end of the tourniquet I’m applying to my shredded left arm. My forearm looked like hamburger and my blood was flowing freely. It would heal soon enough on its own, but I still wasn’t used to my new regenerative abilities.

Tying off the compression wrap, I kneel down to inspect the carcass of the hideous creature that had caused my injury. “Lieutenant, this is definitely the work of Fremder,” Zora informed me. Zora Skerrit was a biologist attached to my unit by the OSS. Her Slavic accent was more pronounced when she was frightened. “The mutations resemble similar specimens found in a laboratory in Argentina we believe he was operating. It also shares traits with the Parisian Marauders.”

Parisian Marauder MKII by Rob Torno

The creature was once human, or rather, several humans. It had been hanging from the ceiling in the passageway of the underground bunker we were searching, when it surprised us and pounced on me. It was disgusting. It scampered around on six arms… where six hands used to have fingers and thumbs, there were four razor sharp talons.

The arms were elongated, with an extra segment, effectively giving each arm two elbows. These arms protruded from three torsos conjoined at the waist, almost as if their flesh has been kneaded together like clay. The creature had obviously been formed out of two men and one woman. The mutant has no legs, but the other end of each torso terminates with a head in which resides a giant, impossibly large, needle-toothed maw. Each head sits atop a long rubbery neck.

One of those maws had minced my left forearm before my team had been able to react. It had continued to chew on my arm even after Sergeant Burgess had lit the other two heads on fire with his pyrokinetic blasts. I had to resort to my trusty sidearm to spray the mutant’s grey matter on the wall. Burgess’ fire did nothing to improve the smell of the beast either.

“Nazi bastards must have realized they were wasting a precious commodity by killing Jews and instead decided to turn them into beasts of war,” Private Jasinski, our scout, muttered as he turned over an arm with several digits tattooed along the forearm.

“We’re burnin’ daylight kids,” said Burgess. “Let’s get the shit we came for so we can get the hell out of here.”

I looked down at my arm, the wounds had already closed. I untied the tourniquet and used it to mop up the blood which was the only trace that an injury had ever occurred. I threw the blood soaked compression wrap onto the floor beside the mutant and nodded my head in agreement with Burgess, “You’re right, Sergeant. Men, check your weapons then move out. Continue down the corridor, don’t bunch up. Maintain a five yard distance with the man in front of you.”

Jasinski turned to me and said, “You know sir, you shouldn’t waste our medical supplies, some of us don’t recover from injuries as well as you do.”

I looked up at Jasinski, “I tend to forget I’m so resilient when my arm’s being chewed on by a mutant monster. Jasinski, I want you to take point.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Jasinski responded as his form faded from sight. I couldn’t even hear the footfalls of combat boots as he moved ahead of the unit to keep anymore mutant nasties from surprising us. Privates Marcone and Campbell ensured their Thompsons were good to go before stepping off down the corridor at a brisk, but cautious pace. Zora and I followed while Burgess brought up the rear.

It’s early September, 1945, though I can’t quite remember the exact date; the days all run together after a while. We’ve been tracking and eliminating German insurgents that had been wreaking havoc behind the Paris front-lines for the past month. The local units had dubbed them the Parisian Marauders. Only these insurgents were not your average krauts; they were mutant terrors very similar to the beast we just put down. Except the ones tearing apart GIs in Paris were still single monstrosities instead of the macabre amalgamation we just encountered.

My squad is a special team of commandos assembled by the O.S.S., the Office of Strategic Services. Each of us had a unique gift that set us apart from regulars, even other highly trained commandos. Though people like us were becoming popularized on radio programs, newspapers, and even on the silver screen, I suspect people possessing powers beyond the capabilities of average humans have always existed. It sort of lends new credence to Greek myths like Hercules or even more recent legends and folktales like John Henry. Only, modern marvels like the television are making the world a smaller place along with radio and telephones. So information travels faster and is becoming easier to validate.

The governments of the world mostly ignored Extraordinaries, the label the papers have officially pinned on them, or treated them as threats. Them. I guess I mean us. Well, at least until the Great War. That’s when they began instituting programs to recruit them for use in clandestine missions. But they found it difficult to command what amounted to a bunch of hot shots with powers beyond the government’s limited imagination. So they turned to programs to develop Extraordinaries in-house, so to speak. Most of those programs failed too; Jasinski being one of a handful of recent successes from some project called Wraith. The rest of us were born Extraordinary or, like myself, gained that status through mishap.

I see Pvt. Jasinski’s form waver as if looking at a mirage as he and his equipment turns invisible so he can scout ahead of the squad. Hopefully we can secure this bunker without anymore surprises and shut down Fremder and his vile operation before anyone else falls victim to his experiments. I hear our boys in white lab coats back stateside are real close to finishing some super weapon to end this war; it could not end soon enough.

---

The D-Day invasion of Normandy by the Allies was not as successful as they had hoped. They had surprised the Germans, but Hitler’s war machine quickly recovered. The Allies were able to strike into Paris before the Wehrmacht was able to counter attack. The city is currently under the control of the Allies, but has switched hands twice since Operation Overlord. The war effort has devoured the resources of both the Allies and Axis in Europe which has resulted in what amounts to be a stalemate in the European theater. Hot spots still flare up along the front lines as the Axis and Allied powers test defenses, new tactics, and technologies.

America is still fighting a war of attrition in the Pacific and the atomic weapons that could end it have yet to be deployed. The Manhattan Project, which was tasked with creating the first functioning atomic bombs, has suffered several major setbacks from Axis agents who sabotaged their plutonium enrichment program. The African theater was secured as planned, but the Germans are using guerrilla warfare tactics against the occupying Allies in Egypt and proving difficult to root out.

The Soviets were routed during the German offensive of Operation Barbarossa. The winter was not as harsh as normal, and there are some intelligence reports that indicate some sort of Italian weather device guaranteed the Axis victory against the unprepared Red Army. The remnants of the Soviet military withdrew into the harsh expanse of Siberia after the destruction of Moscow, but have recently made contact with Allies and are planning a massive counter offensive against the Eastern Front of the Third Reich.

But this war is far from conventional.

As the second World War trudges on, both the Allied and Axis powers begin to look for alternative resources to secure the final victory. Thus the Shadow War, the Schattenkrieg has begun. UFOs have begun supplementing the Luftwaffe over Parisian skies. Dead soldiers are rising to eat their comrades. Strange electrical storms roll out from Siberia. Extraordinary people begin to make their presence known and are answering the call to arms. Become a part of Schattenkrieg and stop the Nazis and their evil agenda.

M&M Superlink

Earlier this week, we received communication from the Mutants & Masterminds Line Developer, Jon Leitheusser, that our M&M Superlink license query for the Schattenkrieg setting had conceptual approval.

This is great news as it means we are free to move forward on development of Schattenkrieg. Of course, all material is still subject to final approval prior to release by Green Ronin, but I’m confident we’ll be able to meet expectations.

As always, our patrons will be able to read most of the non-mechanics here on the NMP blog before everything is composed along with their mechanics and published in book form. In fact, return here tomorrow to read some fiction that introduces a little of the alternate WWII history of Schattenkrieg.

Schattenkrieg – Design Choices

At the beginning of the year, Jonathan and I saw how much steam Nevermet had lost during the holidays so we brainstormed some ideas on how to feed the boiler so to speak. We concluded that first, the owners (Jonathan and I) needed to be excited and totally invested in whatever project(s) we undertook. Jonathan’s pet project became the Loaerth & Feywyrd setting and I had something dark & gritty in mind dealing with WWII.

This article is a look at how my own project, Schattenkrieg (my apologies to any native German speakers for slaughtering the language), a pulpy World War II supers setting (yeah, it’s a mouthful). It is meant to give a peek into why I made the design choices I did.

Those that really know me understand that besides gaming, I have also have a deep seated fascination with horror. I like some of the new stuff, but really love classic Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, and pretty much everything from the 80s. My fascination has carried over into gaming; I have an extensive Ravenloft collection and absolutely love the World of Darkness (both versions). So, I decided my project definitely needed a large dose of the horrific.

I also wanted to break away from the fantasy scene, yet wanted something familiar where I needn’t create a whole world from cloth (and perhaps allow the game material to be used in established games). I was tired of dwarves, elves, gnomes. Well, it just so happened that I was watching a movie that involved Nazi zombies and the deal was sealed; I wanted an alternate history WWII setting.

When it came to selecting the rules that I would support with my project, I found that I really only wanted to use one system, Mutants & Masterminds. M&M, to me, is probably the pinnacle of what was done with d20 game design. It’s sleek, sexy, and point buy. Oh, and it uses a core mechanic most every roleplaying gamer knows. This reminds me, I need to send an email to the M&M Superlink crew to get approval before we publish any mechanics.

Anyways, I looked at all my design choices: a horrific, alternate history WWII setting that used the Mutants & Masterminds setting. The first thing that occurred to me was that it sounded very similar to the Weird Wars setting by Pinnacle Entertainment Group (publisher of Savage Worlds). It also sounded very niche (within a niche, within a niche).  So I opened up the audience a little by deciding the setting would be more pulpy (though there is still plenty of room for horror in pulp) and maybe it could be beneficial to support Savage Worlds, too.

There are a lot more details for the Schattenkrieg project (formerly known as Geheimkrieg), much of which plays out on the NMP content developer mailing list. We’re looking at a cold war scenario where the Germans were never defeated, as well as pre-war ideas. We have aliens, Oriental magic, artifacts, Tesla Death Rays, and many other ideas brewing, so be on the lookout for future Schattenkrieg content.

I stuck with much of my preliminary design decisions simply because that is what I want to create. If I can get a few content developers, mutants, or masterminds interested too, then it’s a win.

MB!

Encounter: Le Danse Périlleux

Written by Michael Brewer Illustrated by Matthew Lichtenwalner

Difficulty: Medium Magic: Medium Keywords: ball, disguised, hostages, masquerade Terrain: Interior – Ballroom Treasure: Minor

A grand ballroom packed with revelers dressed to the nines stretches out below the balcony. Two sweeping sets of stairs extend from the sides of the balcony to the floor of a ballroom large enough to dock a small ship. The marble arches supporting ceiling of this massive hall reach skyward another story above the balcony

Exquisite tapestries that depict debauch revelries line the interiors of several alcoves along the length of the walls leading to the magnificent view at the end of the ballroom. Five huge chandeliers of polished bronze hang suspended above the ballroom by chains anchored along the western wall between the alcoves. Four tables laden with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres have been set near the foot of the stairs.

The far end of the ballroom terminates in a half circle enclosed in a wall of glass; dozens of large windows honeycomb the exterior wall at the end of the hall giving guests a magnificent view of the city below from the room’s precarious perch upon the cliff.

Background

The ballroom is 60 feet wide and 100 feet in length and is part of a larger estate built by the prostitution and brothel madam known as The Desire from decades worth of extortion and exploitation. Desirae Turpis is the madam’s birth name and most people believe her to just be a wealthy heiress. The ballroom extends out from the chateau proper along a narrow cliff that juts perilously away from the bluff the chateau is built upon.

This masquerade is being held in celebration of some minor stellar event and is hosted by The Desire. These balls are the current rage among the aristocracy and the majority of them have turned out for the occasion. No doubt many discrete (and indiscreet) trysts will be taking place either by direction of The Desire or just out of naturally occurring lust.

The Desire has ulterior motives for holding the ball. One objective is to grow the network of aristocrats that have fallen victim to her schemes, but an even more sinister object is at hand: assassination. The Desire brokered a deal between a local lord and the assassin guild to have a rival nobleman eliminated. Since this rival nobleman has also interfered with her prostitution operations, it serves The Desire’s interests as well.

The PCs have been tipped off that there will be an assassination attempt, but do not know who the target is or who the assassins are (or how many there may be).  Even if they did, the costumes would hinder their ability to identify either party involved.

Objective

The PCs must prevent the assassination and capture at least one of the assailants for questioning.

Adversaries & Tactics

Assassins Number: 4-8 Equipment: Light Crossbows, Short Swords, & Poisoned Daggers Attributes: Stealthy, Dexterous, Quick

• There are four to eight (depending on how difficult the Game Master wishes to make this encounter) assassins disguised as revelers at the ball.  They are spread throughout the ballroom, but there is only one tasked with the duty to murder the nobleman.  The remaining assassins are for support.
• Once the PCs engage the first assassin, three more close and flank.  If the Game Master has chosen to insert additional assassins, they are on the balcony and begin peppering the PCs with light crossbow bolts.  Once combat has begun, the guests begin to panic, scream, run and general chaos ensues.  The assassins will attempt to use guests as cover and may take one or two hostage using them as human shields.
• If a PC is injured with a poisoned dagger and fails to defend against the poison, he is immediately weakened and will die within 24 hours if the antidote is not administered. Retrieving the antidote should provide the PCs with another short quest.  Once half of the assassins are neutralized, the remaining antagonists escape by pretending to be terrified guests and fleeing with the other revelers towards the city.

Environmental Effects

1. Chandeliers: There are five chandeliers hanging above the ballroom.  Creative PCs may be able to maneuver their enemies below the chandeliers and have one of the characters release the anchors sending one crashing down upon the assassins.  If the assassins fail to react quickly, the chandelier knocks them unconscious and pins them to the floor.  A chandelier is large enough to pin four assassins standing in tight formation. An extremely agile and creative PC may be able to use the chain anchoring the chandelier closest to the balcony to swing up to the balcony by releasing the locking mechanism.  It may provide the quickest route to engage any assassins there.
2. Guests: Fleeing and cowering guests will hinder movement, reducing a PC’s movement by half.  Guests may also hinder a PC from being able to adequately engage an assassin by providing cover and concealment.  An assassin who is still disguised as a guest will gain a surprise attack on unsuspecting PCs.
3. Refreshment Tables: The refreshment tables are very sturdy and may be used for cover from the assassins with crossbows upon the balcony.  However, a combatant standing upon a table and is in melee with an enemy who is on the floor gains combat advantages for being on higher ground.
4. Stairs: A combatant standing on the stairs and is in melee with an enemy who is at a lower position on the stairs or is on the floor gains combat advantages for being on higher ground.
5. Windows: A combatant may rush an enemy and push them through a window.  If the attack is successful and the target fails to react quickly, he is thrown from the window and falls down the cliff face to his death.

Development

The encounter begins when a guest screams as the assassin brandishes his dagger and attempts to stab the nobleman (who may or may not avoid the attack).  Once the guest screams the PCs are able to close with the initial assassin within seconds and combat begins.  The guests begin to panic and flee or cower as the ballroom erupts into chaos.

Awards, Findings, & Treasure

If the PCs are able to kill or capture the assassins they may recover their equipment.  Whether or not these are magical or otherwise worth more than ordinary versions is left to the Game Master.  If the PCs manage to capture an assassin alive, then they may be able to discover who hired them and why.

The nobleman awards the PCs with monetary rewards as well as free room and board at a tavern he owns in the city.

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Le Danse Perilleux by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.

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