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03-31-2015, 08:39 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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[WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
For years, I've wanted to run a one-shot scenario or a short campaign between the 20th and 30th of April, set in a ruined Berlin with the PCs taking on the roles of SOE/OSS agents on the hunt for something terribly mysterious that mustn't fall into the hands of the Russians.
I'm starting preparations for a game like that now and I would like to get input from the Hive Mind on some vital aspects. The McGuffin could be almost anything. The Spear of Longinus is traditional, the Amber Room is a lot cooler, albeit somewhat difficult to log around, and reading the right kind of literature ought to give me dozens of other good ideas. More to the point, however, what is a plausible way to get a party of Western covert operatives into Berlin just ahead of the Russians? What is a plausible way for them to be extracted? What are good sources for the situation in Berlin in April 1945? What might a team of up to a dozen agents expect to meet in the way of opposition on the way to Berlin or on the streets? Assuming that they try to infiltrate as German soldiers, wounded or fleeing, how much remained of any coherent security? Officers who knew where any units were supposed to be? Any other helpful suggestions are appreciated. Edit with Update Well, I've run two sessions. This is a short capsule review of what the scenario entails. The scenario is set in an alternate history where the changepoint is that in 1943, with the tide of the war overwhelmingly against the Germans, SS-Brigadeführer Karl Maria Weisthor (Wiligut) somehow managed to get back into the good graces of the Reichsführer-SS and was reinstated to his rank and position on the Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS. Somehow, however, the previously harmless, if wildly racist and hilariously deluded, pagan occult rituals that he likes to engage in now work. Important Secret Backstory (and call for suggestions for scenes, encounters and set-design for the upcoming session). While history before 1943 has remained true to our world in all ways except possibly some extremely subtle ways going way back, all of which match the real-world beliefs of at least some people in the real world, the change point means that many minor things are changed in 1943 onwards and the history of the last part of 1944 and the beginning of 1945 has been changed in many ways. True, the majority of the world's population is entirely ignorant of any changes, but to a select few, they are mind-shatteringly obvious. Here's a description of what the Allies are doing in the occult department during the war, especially once the previously ignored reports of occasional oddness start gaining credibility as 1944 goes on. Here's a list of PCs and the rest of the Allied commandos taking part in Operation Brünnhilde. Some descriptions of the PCs, proposed roles for pre-gen characters and early concepts for pre-gen characters. The target of the Allied commandos is the fictional Weltmittelspunktbunker, located near the Reichkanzlei, where the inner core of Himmler's SS has taken refuge, led by his 12 Black Knights and secret coven of sorcerers. Here, they must seize or destroy the Bernsteinzimmer (Amber Room) before Walpurgisnacht. The alternative, according to the occult boffins, would be at the very least an unimaginable catastrophe or even possibly the end of the world. Obviously, the finale of the scenario is set in the Zitadelle sector of central Berlin, where all the government buildings are located. Some other locations in the first session are discussed in this post. First session involved saving Hermann Fegelein from the RSD men Hitler sent after him. And here are some tantalising snippets of the PCs' adventures in the second session: First Evidence of the Odd - The Howling of Wolves in the Night The Nature of the Foe - Totenkopf Stormtroopers and SS-Sonderkommando Jäger First Contact - Ambush of the SS-Sonderkommando Dirlewanger Stats for their foes: Stormstroopers of SS-Sturmkampfgruppe Totenkopf (still some mechanical issues to be worked out). Jäger of SS-Sonderlehrgang z. b. V. Jötunheim ('Jagdverband Wehrwolf'). Dgra Bla Warrior of the Third Root Race. Sger pa caste Zimchongpa warriors (still only suggestions, awaiting forumite comments).
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 05-30-2015 at 04:40 PM. |
03-31-2015, 09:18 AM | #2 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
Assuming they have the backing of OSS or SOE, and can pass for Germans, getting in should be possible. The best cover is as SS, since there are fewer people they have to explain themselves to, and SS being on special secret missions is plausible. Genuine German vehicles are not hard to come by at the Western front lines. So given fuel, well-forged identity papers, and a supercilious attitude, they can just drive to Berlin.
They don't want to be fleeing or wounded soldiers, or civilians, since those people were mostly heading west by this time to surrender. Heading for Berlin in a small group is implausible, unless you have some special mission. The risks along the way are ambushes from people who want their supplies and transport for their own mission, or for fleeing west to surrender, officers who want to take it and them for the same purposes, who can be got past with enough paperwork and attitude, and roving Allied fighter-bombers, whom you just have to hide from. Once they're in Berlin, see Antony Beevor's Berlin: The Downfall 1945 for a good description of the situation. They're liable to get conscripted almost at random for units to fight in the defence, by people with direct orders from the Führer, so keeping a very low profile is advisable. The Führerprinzip was exploitable, but could bite back. Getting back out again is harder. If they leave their vehicles unguarded, they will be stolen. Getting picked up by aircraft is conceivable, but the Berlin airfields are all subject to Soviet attack and ones further west will still have Luftwaffe ground troops with AAA even if they don't have much in the way of aircraft. Getting picked up by submarine is hard: Berlin is some way from the Baltic coast, and the Danish Straits are still heavily mined; the Western Allies have left the Baltic to the Soviets. |
03-31-2015, 11:06 AM | #3 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
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Anyone who looks like they are fleeing is also in danger of being arrested and summarily executed um die andere zu ermütigen, and some would-be arresters will have a lot of guns. A setting for an Icelander-adventure for sure!
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature |
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03-31-2015, 11:42 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
The party is obviously part of the Swedish diplomatic personnel, and they are traveling to Berlin with plenty of additional space on their vehicles because they are going to pickup and evacuate some personnel and stuff from the Swedish embassy. Their vehicles are painted white and sport a large Swedish flag.
Verifying this will be difficult, as communications will have broken down everywhere, and also because actual such convoys were incredibly doing the rounds even while the last shots of the war were being fired (they were going to POW and concentration camps, but those are details). Naturally, one stubborn and/or Nazi diehard officer could still refuse free passage until he gets clearance from higher ups - which means at the very least a long delay. They can go away in the same way, openly heading for either the Danish border or a port in Allied hands. As to the type of opposition, at this time anything goes. You could have Volkssturm old men equipped with StG 44s, just because nobody managed to deliver them to more deserving units. Another source is C. Ryan; better for the ambience and personal anecdotes than for general military history, but that is probably what you need. |
03-31-2015, 01:56 PM | #5 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Other options --
I'd suggest using the Swiss as cover, as there are probably more OSS/SOE agents speaking German (the primary Swiss lingo) vs. Swedish.
By late 1944 the OSS, at least, and I'd guess the SOE as well, could forge not only papers but the Gestapo/SD identity disks that give the bearer unlimited rights to search, arrest, and question. You'd do fine until you met a bloody-minded oppo (i.e., actual Gestapo agent/SS officer/SD official.) You even infiltrate/exfil. by aircraft -- I know Monty was using a Fieseler Storch and I'd guess other guys had other German aircraft. Depending on how big the item was requiring extraction a Siebel transport or a Ju-52 might work. (Of course, your big problem would be to avoid Allied fighters -- targets were scarce by April 1945 and a lot of fighter jocks were hungry . . . I'd suggest night.) Another option might be to have non-German speaking members of the group act as "foreign volunteers" (i.e., slave labor, complete with striped suits) under SS/SD control (i.e., those that do sprechen sie Deutsch.) Claim to be furthering some secret German weapons project. (IIRC the German Post Office was then working on nuclear research . . . don't ask.) |
03-31-2015, 02:31 PM | #6 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: Other options --
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Actual OSS agents parachuted 30 miles outside Berlin at the end of March 1945, buried their weapons and communication devices in a field and took a train inside the city. They had papers, but no one asked to see them and they decided to stay illegal in the city, as it seemed easier in the chaos than trying to find someone to deal with their work orders. Obviously, some PCs could enter this way earlier than the rest of the team and act as forward scouts. They'd get weapons from one of the very few resistance cells or from a convoy pretending to be Swedes or Swiss. Granted, German would be a more useful language in Berlin than Swedish, which would suggest a pretend Swiss convoy. On the other hand, how many German soldiers know Swedish when they hear it? Anyone who could speak accented German and a vaguely Scandinavian language should be able to pass, inc. Norwegian or Danish resistance figthers recruited into the SOE. Hell, a lot of Polish or Lithuanian seamen or port workers would speak German with a similar accent and be able to repeat a few phrases in passable Swedish too. For that matter, Finland (where the majority speak at least some Swedish) was fighting Nazi Germany during the early months of 1945 and many of their soldiers had previously served alongside German soldiers on the Eastern front (some of them actually as part of the SS). As at least one Finn joined the US Special Forces after the war, it wouldn't be a huge stretch* to imagine a platoon or so of them serving the SOE/OSS for new papers, a nice cash settlement and a ticket far from the Soviet Union. *Comparatively speaking, considering that we are considering allowing ourselves at least one and probably more of: the Grail, the Spear of Longinus, the Amber Room, werewolves in Wehrwolf, sorcerous black knights of the Thule Society and Ragnarok.
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! |
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03-31-2015, 03:08 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
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I was wondering more about the level of organisation and security of the more mundane threaths likely to be encountered prior to the scenario leaving the realms of reality behind while making derisive noises. I want the adventure to start out with a tense scene or two where sneaking around and bluffing through potentially suspicious opposition are both options, but shooting their way in might also work. And then have a scene where combat which is more or less inevitable, but which nevertheless serves primarily to allow the players to display the awesomeness of their hand-picked To Save the World pre-gen characters and their ultra-lethal supporting team members. Police, security forces and small units of confused defenders are all good for the above. Volkssturm is excellent. Within walking distance of Reichskanzlei, what are likely units to be encountered and who commanded them? I mean before one would encounter units from Kampfgruppe Mohnke, that is. I will be... making some changes to that Kampfgruppe for the purposes of this scenario. :) *And most certainly shouldn't still be fighting despite mortal wounds and what appears to be decaying skin tightening over their skulls. **Oh, yes. Have Beevan, shall have to obtain Ryan.
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Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 03-31-2015 at 03:18 PM. |
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03-31-2015, 03:40 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
I think this motivational poster describes your campaign: http://s100.photobucket.com/user/Alm...GURPS.png.html
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03-31-2015, 03:50 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: May 2009
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
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03-31-2015, 03:59 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht
They won't want to be wearing anything close to SS uniforms when the Russians finally arrive. That will be an unpleasant death.
They also don't want to use a cover as Soviet-sympathizer Germans, members of the local Communist party or whatnot. Those guys didn't fare too well either. As far as getting out, the Swedish might be a good route. I wonder what would happen if the team took shelter and re-emerged in their Allied uniforms after the fighting had stopped. Not sure they'd be able to get past the Soviets with their prize, but they might be able to stash it for later retrieval. |
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covert ops, special ops, tactical shooting, weird war ii, world war ii, wwii |
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