Difference between revisions of "The complete house of usher notes, unabridged"

Latest revision as of 11:28, 20 February 2007

Birthday Game

Horror Themed: What makes a story scary? Points to consider: Gamers will anticipate EVERYTHING. Because of this, nothing surprises them. Because they cannot often be surprised, it is very hard to develop tension (although matt has done a good job of this in miragliano). This makes “scary” a lofty and near impossible goal. I've tried to overcome this with shock value: child serial killers, hordes of zombies, etc. This works for “false” scary, ie, the players try to have their characters act frightened, but this doesn't last long, because acting, and being, scared is exhausting. For a truly frightening story, the fear must be real. And that's hard. So, on the question at hand: The Other vs. Shock: I still intend to use some elements of shock to heighten certain scenes, but I'd like to keep it to a minimum. What if I adopted a “hemingway-esque” style of Gming? Ie, minimalist descriptions, forcing the players to ask for details if they want them. But shock will be used as punctuation. I'd like to focus this story on the Other, the darkness inherent in the human soul. This leads naturally into the next point: Deception: Because gamers are so hard to surprise, I am going to try to use treachery to accomplish the heightening of tension. Rather than try to hide that the story is about the supernatural/horror/evil, I will sort of advertise it, so that the players will expect something freaky/monster-y. In fact, although the game will be full of evidence suggesting such enemies, the real foe(s) will be one NPC and one PC member of their group outright, and possibly other PCs, depending on how they pursue their goals. Thus, the hope is that as the story progresses, tension will develop, not from the presence of a perceived threat, but from its continued absence. No idea if this will work.

The characters: Father Price: The US military wanted a pretense for coming here: the catholic church got wind of this and, because they had business to conduct in the region, agreed. Father Price was sent along to lend “legitimacy” to their little operation, but nobody knows that his mission is to track down the presumed ruins of the ancient and fabled Ecsed Abbey, records of which might exist in the library of the mansion that the military is investigating. The Abbey apparently contained the bath of bartolomaeus, a saint who was said to be able to wash away wounds and sins in the basin that he made out of marble. Doctor Valentino: A catholic who converted to Judaism, Valentino was incarcerated early in the war in a concentration camp along with his wife. He volunteered to aid with “medical duties” in order to escape the camp, little realizing that he would be aiding in human experiments. When his wife fell ill in the camp, Valentino panicked, and, given a brief opportunity, fled to the US. There, his knowledge of the concentration camps has made him an important advisor, along with his knowledge of a “biological” weapons program among the germans. It is because of these two things that he has been selected for this mission, although the government does not know of his darker past. Bioweapons expert (no real such thing in1945, but something close): Many countries have begun evaluating the usefulness of biological weapons in warfare. Among the chief theorists in the US is Doctor Franklin Brown. Although the stated purpose of his mission is to bring back samples in order to help protect “the boys on the front”, he has been informed that he should gather all possible evidence in order to help jump start the US' program for the coming cold war with Russia. Intelligence head officer: A go between the desk jockeys and the men in the field doing special ops, Captain Arnold Bannigan is a well experienced soldier with a highly practical understanding of intelligence. He is definitely the right man for this job, because he has very good experience in gathering information while simultaneously assessing the risk of further acquisition versus the benefit of said attempt: in short, he thinks on his feet. Since the higher ups are entirely unclear as to the nature of the work done at Ecsed, it is believed that he will do the best possible job of figuring that out without risking exposure to something that nobody understands. 2nd in command intelligence guy: having worked closely with Bannigan before, Marshall Albright has a good sense of what his duties are. He is the quintessential second in command: he makes sure the logistics are all in place so that his boss can keep things running smoothly. Mostly a desk jockey type, he is fairly expert at theoretical elements of intelligence but less well versed in the practical elements Enigma expert/Russian spy: brought along in case additional enigma encrypts are found, this character is in fact not an enigma expert at all, but just a mathematical wiz the russians inserted into the enigma unit so they could get their hands on some of the decrypts. Now, this character is on this very important mission, for which it may be worth it to blow his/her cover... Special forces sergeant: Straightforward and to the point, Sgt. Shaftoe has worked with Bannigan and Albright before, as one of their “men on the ground”. Although he's new to the intelligence gig in general, he's sharp, so he keeps things moving. He is in charge of the 5 rangers. 5 army rangers (NPCs): until players start dying

Important NPCs: remaining Nazi: this Nazi killed the rest of his unit and is now completely out of his gourd serving the evil that permeates the house. He has mastered the tunnel system, but spends most of his time sleeping in the woods: he comes in only to make blood deliveries, which are stored in a secret basement behind the torture chamber. Once the characters stay for a while, if things don't heat up sufficiently, he will come in and start to cause trouble. Staff (Butler, Gardener, Maid): I would like to keep their involvement in this whole thing hazy. They are certainly innert: their safety is ensured through their non-involvement. But they may be criminally neglectful... I think that I will make Lt Albright an NPC The crucial PCs are Valentino, Price, Brannigan and Brown First. Then Smith, Then Albright and Shaftoe.

The Timeline: Day 1: The characters will arrive after an unpleasant journey via submarine and then via truck. They will be informed that they have exactly one week from the day after they reach the house before they must rendezvous with a sea plane at the lake up in the mountains behind the manor. The characters will reach the manor close to Dusk, and will be admitted by the staff: The rangers will take watches, and will set up in the caretaker's house, while the characters will make themselves “at home” in the manor: either on the first floor in the front of the house, or in the guest chambers on the second floor. During this night, several of the characters (the doctor, the priest, and possibly one other character) will have very disturbing dreams, prefabricated. I should have these typed up by game time. Other than this, nothing strange will happen. The Dreams: 1.)The Priest: You wander down a dark hallway, with heavy set doors on each side of you. Cries of women emanate from each of the chambers. At the end of the hallway is a stairway that leads down into the dark. In the darkness, like jet set in black velvet, you can feel a pair of malevolent eyes watching you. Whatever it is fears the light of the torch that you carry, you lunge forward, but it flees into the darkness: all you can see is a dark uniform, with the glint of shiny brass buttons, and the tall form of a military man... 2.)The Doctor: Before you is a large stone bath, made of white marble. Slowly, from out of the darkness, it fills with liquid. From the darkness behind the bath, your wife, her skin pale as the night of your wedding, steps towards the bath. She beckons for you, and you know that if you can only submerge yourself in that bath, your sins will be forgiven, and you and your wife can be at peace. You go to step forward, but you feel strong hands grabbing your arms, pulling you back: as you look down, you see white shirtsleeves sticking out of the arms of a black robe... 3.)The Enigma Expert: You have been discovered, your cover blown. Men hunt you through the house, and you run like a caged rat, your space getting ever smaller. You navigate through the halls, maneuvering into a great hall lined with books, and into a closet lined with mirrors. Here you will be safe... Day 2: The search of the house for the mysterious “bioweapons” project, which was either coordinated/executed/whatever here can begin. The characters will eat and then presumably begin searching the house. It will become almost immediately evident that the house is not built at all as their map suggests. I don't know how the characters will approach this problem. There will be significant evidence of Nazi activity around the manor: 1.)Infirmary will have a “lab” set up, very similar to Dr. Brown's. 2.)The shop will have a large wooden construct, with small, sturdy wheels set up in it, about 80% complete. Significant lengths of rope will also be scattered about. 3.)Some of the tables in the main dining room will have various books scattered on them, open to “random” pages (not actually so, what the pages are will depend on the character that finds this). The books originate in the library. 4.)The Trained Eye will see that the Library has been carefully searched. Initially, the entrance to the labyrinth will be hidden, but the last remaining Nazi has used this entrance and exit occassionally and thus the group will find it much faster than the Nazis. 5.)The Nazis will appear to have set up camp in the Guest Apartments, with notes and such scattered in the guest solarium. Careful examination of these notes will reveal meticulous notation of measurements of the house, and an extensive discussion of good possible “hiding spaces”. Interjected somewhere into these notes will be a note written in brown ink (blood) which will be just insane gibberish and doodles, mostly of Nazi propaganda. 6.)Careful examination of the Armoury will reveal that several weapons, likely daggers, possibly a crossbow, and some other hand weapons appear to be missing. 7.)The house will contain poison at a number of locations: some in the lab, some suicide capsules that will be conveniently scattered around the house and should be found a.) by Dr. Brown, b.) by Dr. Valentino, c.) maybe by alex smith. 7.)additional notes, and these important ones, that should only be found near the end of the day by one character, probably Dr. Brown (although the notes will be in German, which the doctor does not read: When all of this is gathered up, it will become fairly clear that: 1.the house was not meant as a bioweapons facility, nor even as a command center, 2.but rather that the Nazis had come here to search for something to “jumpstart” their own bioweapons program. 3.There will be evidence suggesting that it is some sort of blood pathogen, 4.with an unknown transmission route, 5.totally dissimilar from known diseases. 6.It appears that they hoped to harness its power to turn the tide against the russians, where they desperately needed large scale weapons. Later notes will indicate that the search has gone poorly, although valuable tomes of interest to some of their bosses had been found. There will be indications that they think they are being watched or followed, and that the men have reported seeing strange shapes and creatures both around the manor and within it. The commander will indicate that he plans on keeping a tighter grasp on his crew, then everything abruptly ends after 3 (4? 5?) nights. This will be some nice ominous foreshadowing. 8.) Also in day 2 or 3, important evidence from the infirmary will indicate that the pathogen may be found in some very old samples in the house: references will refer to some of the books in the grand library which talk of plagues and dates in the surrounding countryside, with certain items circled which might host the remains of the pathogen they wish to acquire. During this day, the butler and maid will come in to do housecleaning. They will indicate that they have disturbed nothing because that is what their contract stipulates, especially since there would be a risk of offending the Nazis. When questioned about the Nazis, they will say that they were sent away for several days: when they returned, all the Nazis were gone. They will have nothing to say about what they might be searching for. If he hasn't figured it out already, the priest will learn from stuff in the grand library that the manor is in fact the same place as Ecsed Abbey, and therefore the relic that he is supposed to find so that the church can recover/cleanse it must be there if it is anywhere. There will also be numerous very disturbing books in the library, some of which will mention names identical to some of the other characters. The door to the labyrinth will be locked: it is a heavy door that will not be that easy to force open, and it is hidden behind a huge mirror: anyone who is alone in front of the mirror will be the victim of nearly indistinguishable optical illusions. I won't allow the characters to get through it, other than if one is alone, until at least nightfall on this day. If one person goes in, they will be stuck there for quite a while, during which time they may play one of the soldiers: at some point I will come back to their character, who will get ambushed by the Nazi, or they will find the bath, then get ambushed from behind. Chances are good that this will be the end of this character. If they make their way to the bath, Katherine will be submerged in it, and will jump them, either that or the Nazi. Night 2: This night, everyone will have either a disturbing dream, a nightwalking episode, or something between the two: ie, they will not be sure if they are asleep or awake. One mechanism i will try to use is that some of the characters may wake up to see some of the other characters sleepwalking, or they will dream that they see another character sleepwalking, although that actually happened to said character. During this night, the Nazi will try to get to the radio equipment, depending on how accessible it is. The Doctor will dream of his wife, of purification by the bath (something he should see mentioned in some book, maybe the priest will show him...). He will also have increasing senses of foreboding and fear regarding the danger to the world should their mission succeed. It will be necessary to convey to the Doctor at this point that it is absolutely crucial that whatever is in the house not be found by the team, and that no information regarding it must ever leave the manor. Night 2 Dreams, etc. The Priest: The priest will get up and have a sleepwalking episode at effective Stealth +10. If a character wakes despite this fact, they may follow him. He will go upstairs, through the house, and to the library. Where he will kneel in front of the central pillar and beginning performing an exorcism. While this is going on, he will be having an extremely vivid dream where he wakes up in whatever place he was sleeping, tied down, having very violent, steamy, hot sex with a beautiful, red haired woman in her early 30s. Her face is in shadow. If no one follows him, evidence of the exorcism will be evident in the morning. The priest will self inflict 4 points of damage: if anyone tries to interfere, he will run and, if at his destination or cornered, will attack the pursuer in HtH combat. If they summon help: IE, the entire group, this will be the exact moment the Nazi steals the radio equipment. Dr. Brown: Will awake, and notice that the priest is gone. He will wander through the house, looking for the priest, and wander through the top floor to the library. There he will see the priest meeting with a commoner-dressed woman with red hair in russian. Suddenly, the woman will look up making eye contact with Dr. Brown: he will see that she is a very beautiful woman in her early 30s. At this moment he will wake up to see the Priest still/back in his bed. Capt. Brannigan: will awaken while the priest is away. If he makes a ruckus, this will interrupt Dr. Brown's dream at the point where the woman is looking up. If not, he will find the priest wandering back in a shuffling step from the hall. He will mumble something about having to go to the restroom. When Brannigan steps into the hall, he will hear the sound of the front door slamming. If he goes to investigate, he will find some water pooled on the floor near the door. Alexander Smith: He will dream of a piece of paper in a bible on which is written: Alexander Smith ist Der Russische Spion! In a hastily scrawled script. If he looks the next day in the priest's bible, the paper will be there. If he doesn't, the priest may or may not find it. Dr Valentino: Will dream of the house from outside, in an unearthly quiet. Then he will see the inside of the house, with a shadowy figure in an officer's uniform searching the house. Then it will cut to a basement room, where the officer will open a mysterious door, and blood will flood out, covering the officer. Then it will cut to him talking to his men outside the house, and the blood will transfer from him to them. Then it will cut to them all back in the US, with the blood running off them and onto the people around them... Then he will dream of his days in the clinic, infecting people with diseases, but now one of the doctors will be Capt. Brannigan, one Lt. Albright, and one Dr. Brown. They will be injecting each patient with blood, and each patient screams and then their flesh begins rotting off their bones. As long as Shaftoe is not staying in the house, he will not have bad dreams. Yet. Day 3: By this point I assume that the characters will have made a solid survey, at least superficially, of the house. They will probably be aware of the library, of the prison cells, etc, although they will probably want to investigate all of this more closely. The characters may enter the labyrinth at this time, although this will not go well for them if they just head in headlong. The mirrors of the wall are made of polished metal, and thus will not shatter if shot. The NPCs will complete their survey of the valley and conclude that there is nothing of significant danger in the surrounding countryside other than wolves, which seem to be keeping their distance. During this day, each characters goals should congeal: ie, what is the priest going to do to find the relic/tub? What will he do when he finds it? Night 3: The night will begin with the baying of wolves: as soon as the moon rises, a pale yellow moon, the baying will stop. Two of the soldiers will sneak off to the bar in town. The priest will dream of carrying the tub back to rome, in great celebration (maybe), but with great foreboding at what may be found in the house. At some point he will begin to have visions concerning evil infecting some of the other characters. Also, at this night, some of the characters should begin to dream of treachery/betrayal by the other characters. Some of the characters will be awakened by things that go bump in the night. If they follow the noises, not much will come of it, though they will see strange shapes: rats, whatever, maybe even see the Nazi sneaking around, but with his knowledge of the tunnels he will escape easily. During this night, the two guards who went off will get attacked by the wolves. On their bodies, when found, one of the soldiers will have hastily scrawled poem “I once met a hungarian girl, “meet me tomorrow” she said, and, with a twirl/ of her red hair she went into the night/where the howling of wolves made my balls shrink up tight!” Day 4: The rangers will report two of their number missing, and the sergeant and the remaining three will set out to find them, taking most of their heavy artillery with them. The army guys will be on high alert, probably arming themselves. On this day, it is crucial that the doctor become aware of the priest's ambitions, and of the army's ambitions. Some of his insight may be slightly “supernatural”. The Nazi may also move some stuff around to help him, inadvertently. The Russian should also come into possession of some of the intel, but I”m not sure which. 070205 Notes I think that Alex Smith should find some enigma transcripts, that, when he's painfully decrypted them, should basically read like someone's confession under torture, or during an exorcism. Dramatis Personae Father Price: Int: 7 Ref: 5 Tech: 4 Cool: 8 Attr: 5 Luck: 7 MA: 6 Body: 6 EMP: 9/9

Skills: Authority: +5 Endurance: +3 Interrogation: +4 Oratory: +3 Human Perception: +5 Awareness/Notice: +5 Education: +7 Expert: Church history: +7 Language: Hungarian +5 Language: Latin +5 Language: German +5 Language: Russian +5 Library Search: +7 Teaching: +4 Handgun: +1 Melee: +1 Rifle: +1 First Aid: +5

Equipment: Leatherbound Bible, Robes, Rosary, Notebook, 3 pencils, penknife, flashlight and one change of batteries, tracing paper, local maps (including a map of the manor), First Aid kit, waterproof matches.

Background and Motives: You have a long and illustrious career behind you studying and recording the history of the church, with a special emphasis on miracles and relics. Your research has landed you in some very secret circles, most notably the inquisition, which contrary to popular belief continues to exist, battling the darkest faces of heresy in the world (your personal contribution coming in the interpretation of church law, and the use of various relics to protect the faithful). Your expertise on the most direct evidence of God's works in the world has been used to recover numerous sacred relics that were thought lost, and thus it came as little surprise to you when the church approached you with a mission involving an ancient Abbey, thought lost, housing a very special relic. Called Ecsed Abbey and located somewhere in Hungary, the Chapel was likely built around 1000 AD and was said to be of unsurpased beauty and size for its time. It was built to house the Bath of Bartholomaeus, a saint who was said to be able to revive himself, and others, by bathing them in the sacred waters of a marble bath that he had hewn with his own hands. Martyred by Godless Heathens who attacked his flock, His remains were buried on the site of the battle while the tub was taken into the care of one of Hungary's royal families, who built a grand chapel to house it, so that pilgrims might come and be cured by the holy water within it. Unfortunately, in the 1300s, the invasion of the mongols led to the destruction of the area in which the abbey was said to be located, and all evidence of it, and the grand relic that it housed, was lost. In the wake of the 2nd world war, the church fears that the location may be forever lost with the godless russians in control of the area. However, an opportunity has presented itself: The United States military, seeking to uncover German intelligence operations at a manor in Northeastern Hungary, is apparently looking for a “front” to justify the insertion of US military personnel into a Russian controlled zone. Seizing upon the opportunity, the church has suggested that the military “pretend” to be helping the Vatican in the search of an important religious site in the region. In order to lend credence to this cover, a priest must be sent. You are that priest. Of course, the rub is that the “cover” is in fact the real purpose of the mission, at least as far as you are concerned. Royal residences, with their ancient libraries, have been one of your best resources in tracking down ancient sites: the church hopes that you can use your time in this manor to access whatever materials, written or word-of-mouth, to gain some insight into the location of Ecsed Abbey, so that the church may properly de-sanctify the grounds and possibly even begin an archeological dig and/or investigation into the whereabouts of the bath. Your records indicate that the healing power of the bath was observed and recorded at least a dozen time, making it one of the best confirmed and arguably one of the most “powerful” relics on record. It is thus of utmost importance that the relic be recovered, whole or piecemeal. Since the church has not revealed the true purpose of your involvement, you are to be discreet, but finding the abbey and the item involved is more important than keeping the nature of your mission a secret.

Dr. Valentino:

Int: 8 Ref: 10 Tech: 8 Cool: 5 Attr: 7 Luck: 3 MA: 9 Body: 10 Emp: 4/1

Skills: Medical Tech: +7 Endurance: +6 Athletics: +5 Personal Grooming: +4 Human Perception: +5 Persuasion: +8 Awareness/Notice: +6 Biology: +6 Chemistry: +6 Diagnose: +6 Education: +5 Hide/Evade: +8 Library Search: +4 Language: Latin +3 Language: English +7 Brawling: +6 Handgun: +5 Rifle: +2 Melee: +6 Stealth: +8 Pharmaceuticals: +6

Equipment: First Aid Kit, Surgical supplies (suture, scalpels, gauze, forceps, retractors, clamps, morphine, iodine, 100% alcohol), Camera and Flash (30 picture capacity), Flashlight with one extra set of batteries, Notebook and 3 pencils, zippo lighter, 2 packs cigarettes

Background and Motives: You were raised a strict catholic in Northern Germany, but your faith lapsed in young age, and when you met a beautiful Jewish woman in the early 30s, you agreed to convert so that you could be married. When the Nazis came to power, it never occurred to you that you might fall victim to them until you were almost on the train. It seemed terribly unfair to you, and you became secretly very angry with your wife. But at that time, there was no time for such things. The beginning of your time in the camp was the worst. You were strong and could do the work, but the fear was almost uncontrollable: you would have done anything to get away from that fear. Your wife deteriorated, and this made you more afraid, because those who became weak often disappeared. When they asked for medically skilled individuals to aid in research, you were the first to volunteer. When they accepted you, you were so relieved; relieved to be away from the camp, relieved to be away from your wife, whose sickness reminded you only of the misery of your plight and whom you could not help, relieved to be doing what you were good at. But when they brought you to the “labs”, that relief turned into horror. The subjects were human, and the research involved the use of microorganisms as potential weapons of war. At first you thought you would not be able to go through with it, but the thought of the misery of the camp made you seal your mind away, to work without thinking about where you were or what you were doing. Nevertheless, bits and pieces filtered through to you, and they were terrible. You had trained your whole life to combat disease, and here were men, slowly but surely training diseases to be better, horrific killers of man. Their efforts were still rudimentary, but the men were brilliant, terribly brilliant, and it was your belief that their problem lay not so much in their inability to accomplish their goal, but their lack of a suitable substrate on which to work. Most of the microbes they investigated seemed reticent to respond to their prodding: much discussion in the faculty lounge went into new candidates, and often when you went in to clean the blackboard, there were long lists of new organisms to try. Over time, a consensus seemed to emerge: the ideal organism would be easy to spread, airborne or via simple contact, and should quickly enter the bloodstream, or secret bloodborne toxins, in order to induce the highly fatal septic shock. You felt like the condemned man looking at the hangman's rope: their logic was good, you knew that if they had such an organism, it would do just what they wished. Worse yet, their discussions suggested that the rest of the world was yet none the wiser. One conversation in particular struck you: it concerned the application of such a weapon. The doctors were noting the futility of the advance into russia, the countless numbers of soldiers available to the enemy, when another responded: “well, when we are done, that won't be a problem anymore, will it? If ever there was a place for our weapon, it is the eastern front!” At night you were returned to the camp. There, you lay awake at night, unable to sleep, tormented by so many things: if only you had not let your christian faith lapse, you would be a free man, maybe even an important man! They were crazy thoughts, but you had them nonetheless, there in the dark. Your wife's condition got worse, and you had to hide her away on the days that she could not work properly. You knew she didn't have long, and your superiors were beginnning to take note of your tardiness and tiredness on account of her. Just when you thought her plight would bring about the end of both of you, a miracle occurred. The Doctor with whom you worked became violently ill on a day that he was supposed to travel by train: he had left all of his things to prepare for the trip at the office. Seeing your only chance to survive, you took the passport, travel papers, train ticket, and his clothes, and prepared your escape. You worked late into the night, “wrapping things up”: the guards had grown complacent with you, since you were the most obedient of the workers, so that only one remained to lock up at the end of the night. You cracked the man's skull with a heavy desk ornament, and then choked him to death, then made your way to the train station with only minutes to spare. Switching trains, you came to a city where you had old friends, through whom you arranged an escape to Britain and from there to the US. Because of your experience in the concentration camp, and your work on the Nazi research programs, you were sought out by the US intelligence service. As the war came to a close, you became something of a resident expert, helping to prepare elements of the military of what they might find in the camps. Your thoughts went occassionally to your wife, but there had been no other way: she was sure to have died, and you with her. When this occurred, you went to church, a catholic church, praying for forgiveness, and this seemed to help. Initially, the interest of the intelligence service was only minor in regards to your “research”, but a few weeks ago, A man named Captain Arnold Brannigan approached you and broached the subject. After a succinct explanation of your duties, the man became very excited, and invited you to come to a meeting the following week. The meeting turned out to be a much bigger event than you had anticipated, with more than one general, and several important political figures in attendance. You felt very important when Captain Brannigan asked you to repeat your testimony. When they questioned you, and the conversation concerning the Eastern Front came out, there was a stir in the room. Shortly thereafter, they asked you to step out. Later that evening, Captain Brannigan approached you with an offer. It appeared that the research had, of course, continued in your absence, and that crucial parts of it had been placed, or perhaps even implemented, somewhere in Hungary. The Captain was vague on the detail, apologizing that it was all highly classified, but it appeared as if the military intended to move quickly to acquire this research. They wanted your help, since you were one of the only people left alive with first hand experience of the project. You agreed immediately. Not because you were eager to help: if you never returned to Europe, it would be too soon. But here was a chance to redeem yourself. You might not return: in fact, from your experience, you almost certainly could never return if their intelligence proved true. But it seemed that these men were oblivious to this fact: the captain had not spoken of destroying the site (something, you thought, that could be done with bombers), but of investigating it. It would be up to you to make sure that whatever remained of that horrible project would be destroyed. Dr. Brown:

Int: 8 Ref: 6 Tech: 7 Cool: 6 Attr: 6 Luck: 7 MA: 4 Body: 5 Emp: 5/3

Skills: Resources: +5 Interrogation: +3 Human Perception: +3 Persuasion: +3 Awareness: +4 Biology: +9 Chemistry: +7 Education: +6 Expert: microbiology +6 Expert: WMDs +6 Library Search: +4 Handgun: +3 Rifle:+1 Pharmaceuticals: +6 First Aid: +1

Equipment: Notebook and 5 pencils, bio-kit (sample jars, gas mask, apron, rubber gloves, forceps, scalpel, garbage bags x10, 1 canister gasoline, waterproof matches, biohazard tape, goggles, microscope and 5 slides, small jar formaldehyde, packet of dry agar), .45 colt (loaded), pocketknife, magnifying glass, flashlight with one extra set of batteries, flask of whiskey

Background and Motives: You have been stationed at Fort Detrick for some years, working on the US biological weapons program. In the face of development of such weapons by Japan and Germany, it has become clear that the safety of the United States depends on mastery of WMDs. Furthermore, your superiors have been speculating that the russians will soon pose a new threat, and against their countless numbers, it is clear that such weapons would be necessary. The rapid capitulation of Japan after the atom bomb, with no further loss of American lives, demonstrated to you the importance of your research. As long as men like Hitler exist in the world, the best defence must remain a good offense. Admittedly, progress has been slow. Some “weapons grade” organisms have been developed, but efficacy of administration, rapidity of onset, and protection of the home population all still drastically limit their efficacy. Now, with the Allies in control of Germany and Japan, evidence is beginning to surface that their respective programs may have been significantly advanced compared to that of the US. In particular, a project apparently dubbed Operation Tenebrae Mortis (Shadows of Death) by the German military was shrouded in secrecy but may pertain to biological, or at least WMD, weapons. You had largely put the mysterious OTM (as Tenebrae Mortis had come to be called in your department) out of your mind, when you were summoned to a meeting held by some higher ups at the Intelligence Bureau. Apparently, close to the end of the war, a series of Enigma transcripts had been intercepted. However, due to a bad connection, it had been difficult to decode them. It had become clear now that the transcripts referred to work on OTM, though whether the work was related to actual use of WMDs, their development, or pilot research was very unclear. A man named Dr. Valentino testified to the work being done by German researchers early in the war on biological weapons: this prospect greatly excited you, since it would mean your department would likely be involved. In part due to your urgings, the project has been catapulted to the fore, with a team (including yourself, of course) assembled and ready to ship out to recover whatever is at this site. OTM has been something of a pet project for you, and you think that “cracking” it would be a nice way to close out your military career. Not only that, but you feel a particular urgency in your work since the dropping of the atom bomb: the proverbial cat, so to speak, is out of the bag, and you want to make absolutely sure that the USA is at the front of the pack so that such weapons cannot be employed against it. Recovering any elements of OTM is crucial to the safety of your country.

Capt. Brannigan:

Int: 7 Ref: 7 Tech: 5 Cool: 8 Attr: 6 Luck: 5 MA: 6 Body: 6 Emp: 6/6

Skills: Authority: +8 Combat Sense: +2 Resources: +7 Personal Grooming: +4 Endurance: +3 Human Perception: +5 Leadership: +6 Persuasion: +4 Awareness/Notice: +5 Education: +6 Expert: Intelligence +7 Mathematics: +3 Expert: Cryptography: +4 Athletics: +4 Brawling: +3 Handgun: +6 Rifle: +5 Melee: +3 Smg: +3 Weaponsmith: +2

Equipment: .45 colt, standard issue military uniform, dress uniform, M1 carbine, notebook and 1 pencil, Flashlight with 3 extra sets of batteries and 2 extra bulbs, waterproof matches, first aid kit, bayonet, pen knife, 2 packs cigarettes, 10 days of 1 time pads (cryptographic), small toolkit (screwdriver x4, small hammer, 3xpliers, some nails and screws), 2x gas lanterns (full), flask whiskey, 2xbars chocolate, $100 in gold, binoculars, grease pencil

Background and Motives: Although it wasn't clear that it would be the case at the beginning of the war, you are now wholly convinced that good intelligence services are what largely won the war for the Allies. And you have been on the front lines of that particular battle from the beginning. You helped coordinate the American contributions to the cracking of Indigo and Enigma, and then you flew out to the troops and helped put that intel to good use. Largely, your longstanding military service coupled with your excellent understanding of cryptography has meant that you can interface with both the desk jockeys and the men in the trenches. Not only that, but you consider yourself a reasonably personable fellow. People skills and an understanding of both sides of a conversation are a rarity, and the result has been that you have been put in charge of many of the most sensitive intelligence issues in the war. Operation Tenebrae Mortis is one such issue. A mysterious unit with even more mysterious goals, OTM was not discovered until the unearthing of a few hastily destroyed files in captured bunkers were found. OTM seems to have a frightfully high security clearance, and access to funds and equipment that should by all rights have been going immediately to the front at the late stages of the war. Their movements seem eratic, with evidence of their activity turning up deep in russia, Rome, scattered french Chateaus, as well as a few unidentified sites in the middle east, Egypt, and deeper in Africa. You have wracked your brain trying to figure out what the Nazis could be trying to pull at this late stage of the war, and have come up with nothing. Until, that is, the Hungarian communique. Two Enigma Decrypts, partial though they may be, seem to have solved the problem for you. The decrypts suggested to your think tank that biological weapons may be the focus of OTM. And in this the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit. It is a final act of desperation by those Nazi scum. No weapon, not Nukes, not chemicals, could be so secretly dispersed, so diabolically conceived, and could kill so many people if it were properly executed. Your bio-experts have assured you that such a thing could not happen so quickly, but you have seen the terrible genius of the enemy realized several times, and you do not doubt that it could very well happen so quickly. Several of the African regions could easily be the source of some dreadful organism, and several of the other sites might be useful as dispersion centers. In fact, you have already moved numerous spies into ports, military bases, and train stations in the US, looking for possible evidence of the dispersion of a bio-weapon. The decision to move on the OTM site mentioned in the Decrypts has also been spearheaded by you. At this point, that entire region is in allied control, and the idea that a unit, even a small unit, of Nazis could remain there undetected strikes you as ludicrous. But they may have left evidence of whatever they were doing, especially if they were doing it in as remote a location as is indicated by the coordinates. It is absolutely crucial that whatever is found at the mansion be recovered: if this is a widespread attempt by the Nazis to revenge themselves on the allies, anything you find at the Manor may help to stop its spread. Lt. Albright:

Int: 6 Ref: 7 Tech: 6 Cool: 6 Attr: 5 Luck: 7 MA: 5 Body: 6 Emp: 7/7

Skills: Authority: +5 Resources: +5 Jury Rig: +5 Human Perception: +3 Education: +7 Expert: Cryptography: +7 Expert: Intelligence: +7 Language: German +5 Language: Russian: +5 Language: Japanese: +5 Mathematics: +5 Physics: +4 Library Search: +5 Handgun: +3 Rifle: +2 First aid: +2 Pick Lock: +5

Equipment: Radio Transmitter 2x extra batteries for transmitter, Toolkit/spare parts for transmitter, Maps of the area (including the manor), .45 colt, Notebook and 5 pencils, slide rule, collection of charts/tables for cryptanalysis, tape measure, abacus, 2 cryptographic reference texts, binoculars, flashlight with 2 sets extra batteries and 1 extra bulb, penknife, lockpicks, ball of string and handful of pins, Evidence kit (grease pencil, activated charcoal, tracing paper, 3xbrushes, 5xpiece of chalk, ball of string, masking tape, forceps, 15xevidence baggies).

Background and Motives: You have worked for Capt. Brannigan for a long time, working as his primary liaison on the desk jockey side of things. You've helped coordinate many of the USA's efforts to decrypt enemy transcripts, most of them successful. In recent months, The Captain took you into his confidence regarding evidence of a strange Nazi unit called Operation Tenebrae Mortis, or OTM. You were put in charge of gathering all available evidence on them and reporting to the Captain alone. Your work on this topic has been painfully slow: the Nazis appear to have been very careful to conceal any evidence of their activities, even as their empire crumbles around them. As such, you believe that they are hiding something of great importance, and this has drawn you further and further into the project. It is clear that their widespread activity, use of highly trained special forces, and nearly limitless resources means that they represent an important element of the Nazis strategy, and that they must be working on something of quite a significant level of power. Both you and Captain Brannigan have wracked your brains trying to crack this puzzle: recently, decrypts have shed some light on this topic. It appears, from the decrypts, that OTM is working on biological weapons of some sort, and that one of their research centers may be at a hungarian manor. You are eager to get there and finally solve this mystery, although the implications of a biological weapons lab frighten you somewhat.

Alexander Smith

Int: 10 Ref: 6 Tech: 7 Cool: 8 Attr: 7 Luck: 8 MA: 5 Body: 5 Emp: 7/7

Skills: Credibility: +4 Resist Torture/Drugs: +5 Human Perception: +5 Persuasion: +5 Awareness/Notice: +4 Education: +5 Expert: Cryptanalysis: +3 Mathematics: +9 Language: English: +8 Language: German +8 Language: Hungarian +6 Language: Polish +8 Library Search: +4 Physics: +3 Brawling: +2 Handgun: +2 Stealth: +3 Forgery: +3 Pick Lock: +3 Pick Pocket: +4

Equipment: Slide rule, 4x texts on cryptanalysis, notebook and 3 pencils, 3x texts on mathematics, piece of paper containing radio frequency and code to transmit to russians, $100 in gold, tracing paper, 3x pieces of chalk, copy of the decrypt regarding the manor.

Background and Motives: You are not, in fact, an enigma expert. You are a brilliant mathematician, that is true. But you are first and foremost, in your current life, a Russian spy. Recruited for a fledgling and badly behind cryptanalysis program in Russia, your superiors soon realized the extent of the advantage the americans and the british had gained against the nazis with their cryptanalysis. Yet their own program was so far behind, it was almost hopeless to catch up. As such, they took those people they thought had the best chance of understanding Enigma, and the techniques used to understand it, and inserted them into their very well developed spy program inside the US. There, your math skills and a few well placed exaggerations (lies, some might call them) got you recruited to a group churning through enigma decrypts. While in that group, you could contribute to enigma decryption, and you are beginning to learn how it works, but you certainly can't do it without help (mechanical or personal). Now, by a stroke of good or possibly very bad luck, you have been selected, because of your “polish” background and knowledge of Russian and Hungarian to accompany a top secret mission near to the front and behind russian lines. This, of course, is the sort of thing that makes or breaks a spy's career. It could be nothing. Then again, it could be the kind of thing worth running back to Moscow for. So far, they have told you very little, but just a few days ago they showed you the decrypt that started this whole thing, and it made your skin crawl...

Sgt. Shaftoe:

Int: 5 Ref: 8 Tech: 5 Cool: 8 Attr: 6 Luck: 5 MA: 8 Body: 7 Emp: 5/3

Skills: Combat Sense: +3 Authority: +3 Endurance: +6 Strength Feat: +6 Swimming: +5 Resist Torture/Drugs: +4 Leadership: +5 Awareness/Notice: +5 Hide/Evade: +5 Stealth: +5 Shadow/Track: +6 Wilderness Survival: +7 Athletics: +7 Brawling: +5 Handgun: +4 Rifle: +6 Smg: +6 Heavy Weapons: +5 Melee: +4 Driving: +4 Basic Tech: +5 First Aid: +5 Weaponsmith: +4

Equipment: .45 colt, M1 carbine with scope, Thompson Smg, with 2 extra clips each, 5 grenades, 6 flares, flask of whiskey, flashlight with one extra battery, waterproof matches, rain gear, gas mask, map of the region (not including the manor), coordinates for rendezvous point, small notebook and one pencil, first aid kit, bayonet, boot knife, 3x50 yd. Rope, shovel, canteen, binoculars, 2 packs cigarettes.

Background and Motives: You have been assigned to aid Capt. Brannigan, a man you've helped before with his hairbrained intelligence outfits. Usually, it involves inserting into some hellhole, killing a bunch of unsuspecting Nazis or Nips, and then stealing or planting something in said location. But the war's over, and your glad to hear that this mission will basically be a babysitting job of a swanky mansion while some suits dig around its guts to find some secrets. At least, that was your first impression: looking at the roster, you're not pleased. It's too much of a motley crew, too randomly and rapidly assembled, not enough military personnel. You get a bad feeling about this, because most of the civilians that you've seen get mixed up in an operation of yours, even the ones that profess to “just want to help” usually have their own agenda. And that usually means they're a spy or a profiteer, and you hate both. You're keeping an eye on these guys: watching your unit's back, so to speak. The war's over, and you don't want to see any more rangers go down now when the real danger is over...

Army Rangers are same stats as Shaftoe, -2 to all skills, -1 to all stats. They have the M1 carbine, a .38 handgun, a bayonet, the matches, flashlight, and cigs, shovel, 3 grenades a piece, rain gear, and canteen. The Nazi is same as Shaftoe, +1 to all stats and skills. Armed with several daggers, a mace, and a crossbow.

The Transcript of the Enigma Decrypts (Translation by US intelligence: “~” indicates a space where the transmission was indecipherable, “X” indicates censored information by the US intelligence service) 1.) Alpha 7 reporting for Pack 7 For Tenebrae Mortis only: Reading of this transcript by anyone without clearance Styx is subject to immediate court-martial. -We have situated at Manor: Coordinates XX-XX-XX by XX-XX-XX. Perimeter established. do not correspond accurately to 10:25, 20 February 2007 (MST)~ of the building. (an additional sentence that was entirely lost) -We blood stored in the ~~ because of temperature considerations. Moving these will be difficult. The lab we have set up is both and . -Once the ~~ is 10:25, 20 February 2007 (MST)~ and in place, it will be exceedingly difficult to handle without expert assistance. We request be sent immediately, since we anticipate completion of phase 1 by 10:25, 20 February 2007 (MST). Crucial that they have access to full if we are to proceed. 2.) Alpha 7 reporting for Pack 7 For Tenebrae Mortis only: Reading of this transcript by anyone without clearance Styx . -Phase 1 extended: proving more difficult than anticipated, and because safety measures tightened: Working in , and it is critical that my men not be exposed to . (Sentence lost). Should this occur, mission termination sequence will be sent immediately. -Time running out: approaching closer each day. Again request experts to speed

The Notes 1.)Wir haben bis jetzt noch nichts gefunden wovon wir die pathogene substanz isolieren koennten. Die arbeit laeuft langsam voran wegen den methoden, die wir einwenden muessen um uns zu schuetzen: als ein -blut uebertragener infektzioeser agent, muessen wir sehr vorsichtig sein, das waerend der suche des hauses, wir uns nicht verletzen. Dazu kommt noch das es weiterhin unklar ist, wie die krankheit uebertragen ist, und das sie eigentlich total unverstanden ist: der grossteil unserer suche machen wir deswegen mit gasmasken an. Aber hoffentlich wird es uns die macht geben, die unglaubliche menschen-resourcen der russen endlich zu verkleinern. 2.) Die suche geht weiterhin schlecht, obwohl wir mehrere buecher in der bibliothek gefunden haben, die von dem Kommandant gesucht werden. Diese buecher haben wir zum speicher in den noerdlichen solar gelegt. Die maenner sagen das sie gestalten waerend der suche gesehen haben, und auch geraeusche gehoert haben, und der moral der maenner sinkt. Ich hoffe das die gerausche vielleicht von ratten kommen, und das wir diese geraeusche vielleicht benutzen koennen, um verstaecke in dem haus zu finden.