Stranded Reich 5 Platoons

[Gedrin]

I'm running a campaign in which an off course Reich 5 conveyor transited into an alien FTL drive ship. The resulting event disabled the conveyor and ship, sending them crashing to the surface of a world like 2003 RL. It also released "cosmic energies" that bestowed super powers to a small fraction of North American population.

The aliens were recovered, in stasis, by the US and are currently the only aliens in Area 51, with no small sense of irony on behalf of those who put them there.

The company of raven division assault troopers, crashed. They did not blend in well. While attempting an alternate route home, a third of their number, including the majority of their tech support staff, were located by the FBI. The FBI was clueless about what they were actually facing, and the few captives suffered from "sudden detonations of the head". The gear has lead them to believe that one of two things is going on; A: there is a secret super-tech organization of Nazis in Germany that has invented a host of new technologies without being discovered, or B: something really weird related to the new supers.

This left two platoon sized units of stormtroopers in the US. They've got arms, armor and mini-facs capable of producing ammo from local materials, but their technical support went up in smoke with the remains of their conveyor. As they're off course, they don't expect rescue, and don't know how to build a conveyor. However, they're generally fanatic nazi types and are in a 2003 that has emerging super powers, so figuring out that is an obvious mission.

So, what sorts of activities might these guys be up to and what sorts of mistakes are they going to make along the way that might reveal their locations?

[ericthered]

What happened to their leadership? A lot depends on whether or not you have a simple and automatic leader, and what sort of background the leader has.

[Astromancer]

What superstitions do your Nazis go for? Are they into Ascended Masters? secret Aryan Overlords?

Or will they just recruit any Neo-Nazis they think they can use and sort through for the useful scum?

[Gedrin]

Thanks for the replies.

What happened to their leadership? A lot depends on whether or not you have a simple and automatic leader, and what sort of background the leader has.

Their company leadership is gone. Essentially, you've got two platoons and insufficient support personel. No outside "special officers" or anything like that. The senior surviving officers are of same rank, and while there could be some push and pull, they're military officers, and a power struggle is unlikely. They've got no orders for the situation, but are above average troops and veterans of crosstime campaigns.

What superstitions do your Nazis go for? Are they into Ascended Masters? secret Aryan Overlords?

Or will they just recruit any Neo-Nazis they think they can use and sort through for the useful scum?

I use a slightly rationalized Reich 5. Essentially, the understand DNA, have completed the genome project, and recognize it's implications for Aryan Hoodoo. However, it's done nothing to deter them from thinking that, what they've come to call the Aryan Man, is genetically and culturally superior, after all...they conquered their world. Clearly the local Aryan culture and genetic pool had become corrupted and weakened, after they allowed Hitler, admittedly an honored visionary but not exactly the picture of Aryan majesty, to retain power beyond the point he was useful. At the level these troops operate, the various mythological and mystic organizations function like secret societies and, not that they'd put it this way, masonic lodges. They're aware of the "weird stuff", but as crosstime soldiers, once you've seen a Lizardian Klansman...you just kinda take it as is or crack up.
If they can find members of their "lodges" they'll take advantage. As for local nazis, I'm treating these guys as upper tier infantrymen, like 10th Mountain or 101st. There'd be a lot of sifting for them to find acceptable associates. Possibly a place that they'd trip up and alter an undercover FBI agent or such.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Gedrin

As for local nazis, I'm treating these guys as upper tier infantrymen, like 10th Mountain or 101st. There'd be a lot of sifting for them to find acceptable associates. Possibly a place that they'd trip up and alter an undercover FBI agent or such.

Well, they know they can't fight the armed forces of a large country, so they need a place to hide, and food supplies, and so on. They'll willingly exploit local neo-nazis for those things.

Your Reich-5 has conveyors. Does it have a large inter-world organisation? Can the stranded troops hope for rescue by Reich-5 if they try to do things that make the likes of Infinity investigate events on a world? Presumably they don't have the skills to pilot an Infinity conveyor if they manage to steal one?

[fchase8]

So none of the remaining Nazis are magical? Because that's how Reich-5's secret parachronic program had been working.

Even if Reich-5 developed a conveyor, they would have some knowledge of magic, even non-mages, just from the origins of the program. That kind of knowledge could come in handy in a world with supers (even if the exact laws are different).


Wouldn't the isolated Nazis, in a world with supers, want to find their new Übermensch? I'm assuming supers can be any race, but appearing in North America does tilt it towards Caucasian.


And could any members of the unit crack? Parachronics, magic, aliens, supers - even the most die-hard Nazi might start thinking 'forbidden thoughts'.

Those wouldn't necessarily be ideas of tolerance, acceptance, liberty, democracy. They could start really believing paganism, or fall back on the 'old religion' of Christianity. They could abandon their belief in the Fatherland, in their unit, and just 'look out for #1'.

[Randyman]

Originally Posted by Gedrin

Their company leadership is gone. Essentially, you've got two platoons and insufficient support personel. No outside "special officers" or anything like that. The senior surviving officers are of same rank, and while there could be some push and pull, they're military officers, and a power struggle is unlikely. They've got no orders for the situation, but are above average troops and veterans of crosstime campaigns.

One of the surviving officers would have seniority (by prior designation if nothing else) for the exact purpose of replacing a lost company commander. And the first order of business out of combat or crisis would be to reestablish company leadership according to the designated seniority. (Now, if the Nazis specifically did not do such historically, there are grounds for the scenario you describe.)

[ericthered]

I suspect the first priority is to get to a place where they can lie low long term. This might mean a hideout in the wilderness, but I doubt it. It either means a nest of sympathizers or getting to a place where the german accent can pass unnoticed.

You said you have essentially sane, pragmatic troops, so the eventual goal is either escaping into civilian life or setting up as an organized crime group. They'll know the basic shape of history, and where the various places they can hideout are (on a geographical scale).

If you want to keep them in the story, have them hole up in some police free neighborhood and take over. Goals I'd give them include:

1) getting access to area 51 and stealing back the conveyor. This is a very long term goal.
2) Getting their hands on the supers and figuring out what drives it. They are better situated to do than most other groups, given their cross time experience and insider knowledge on what is causing this.
3) Generally building a larger power base.

If you want them to remain players rather than pieces, you need to give them an edge. Examples include:

• Keeping extensive ultra tech equipment -- and more than just weapons and armor
• Having the mystic advantages provided in the core setting
• Being a company of Spies and otherwise crafty individuals. They would look more like infinity agents, or perhaps special forces, and less like Infantry.
• Having them get a load of super powers, as they were at ground zero.
• Having a few VERY capable individuals in terms of criminal/ espionage activities.

Ideally you have multiple of the above.