Spes Magna Games

I’ve not gotten much writing done in the past several weeks. No good reasons why. I did start outlining Commandos & Cultists, a mash-up of The Cthulhu Hack and WWII: Operation WhiteBox. As I’ve written once before, the heroes in ComCul fight against the Thule Society, an occult society that directs much of Nazi Germany’s occult activities, operating through the Heereswaffenamt (HWA) (with its Wissenschaft (HWW) and Okkulte (HWO) divisions) as well as the Ahnenerbe, a Nazi-backed archaeological and occult organization. (Nota Bene: These groups come from the “Mini-Setting: Nazi Occult” section of WWII: Operation WhiteBox.)

The real Thule Society was founded in the early 20th century. It was a bizarre mixture of neopaganism, anti-Semitism, eugenics, pan-nationalism, and occultism. Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel, strove mightily to make his devotion to the racialist occultism of the Thule Society into a sort of state religion for the Reich, envisioning Thule Society beliefs replacing other religions, especially Christianity, which Himmler loathed. An important part of Thule-inspired doctrines involved discovering the undiluted blood of Aryan descendants. Those with pure Aryan blood were destined to rule. Others were fit to serve, except for the lowest of the Untermensch, which had to be exterminated.

To assist with the racial classification and establishment of the race-based caste system, Munich-based Lehmann Publishers, a publisher of eugenics materials, manufactured the Augenfarben-Tafel shown in the picture. The glass eyes show 20 different eye colors used by proponents of Nazi racial ideology to help better classify individuals based on their suitability for various state-granted privileges, such as those related to marriage and children.

A small number of Augenfarben-Tafel possess magical properties. Various high-ranking Nazi officials, especially those assigned to the HWA, own magical Augenfarben-Tafel. A person carrying a magical Augenfarben-Tafel is surprised 1 in 6 times and suffers only a -2 penalty to hit invisible foes. The carrier also enjoys a +1 bonus on saving throws against being blinded. Fully 75% of magical Augenfarben-Tafel enable the user to cast Darkvision (50%), Wizard Eye (25%), or both (25%). Spells cast via a magical Augenfarben-Tafel can be used once per day.

Tags: magic items, The Black Hack, The Cthulhu Hack, WWII: OWB

Well, I’ve still not gotten much writing done. Pretend I’ve listed all of the excuses here instead of this sentence. That said, my attention deficit slipped into attention surplus long enough for me to complete about thirteen pages of Commandos & Cultists, a sort of The Cthulhu Hack, The Black Hack, and WWII: Operation WhiteBox mash-up. (I’ve mentioned this once before in another post.)

Once of the aspects of The Black Hack (TBH) that I’ve read (and cribbed for my own work) several times relates to how measurements of time are abstract. The basic unit of time is the moment. In general, moments are fleeting, lasting no more than a few seconds. In another words, a moment in TBH corresponds to a melee round in D&D.

As I was working on Commandos, I had a minor epiphany. Since TBH treats time as relative, not all moments are as momentary as other moments. When appropriate to the story played out in a game session, a moment might be six seconds long (a modern D&D melee round), a minute long (an AD&D melee round), ten minutes long (an AD&D turn), et cetera. But, in the final wash, if the GM can measure every PC’s individual actions with an identical unit of absolute time, then that unit of time can be treated as a single moment.

For example, a team of commandos wants to spread a bit of chaos and fear in the enemy ranks. The commandos plan out a campaign of nocturnal harrassment that lasts for three nights. The GM decides to treat each night as a single unit of time during which each commando can accomplish three tasks. For each commando, two of these tasks are moving into and back out the enemy lines. The third task might be stealing food, sabotaging a vehicle, absconding with classified documents, disrupting communications, et cetera.

In keeping with TBH‘s action resolution system, each commando’s actions would be resolved with a single die roll, using whichever ability score seems most appropriate. Sneaking behind enemy lines? Dexterity. Disguising oneself as a high-ranking officer and bluffing one’s way behind enemy lines? Charisma. Sloshing through a half mile of rat-infested sewer tunnels? Constitution. It doesn’t matter that each one of those tasks would take longer than a moment when measured with a stopwatch. Game-wise, treating each action as a bit of narration followed by a single die roll suffices to keep the action moving.

So, back to the commando team and their three night campaign of harassment. Each night has the potential to be resolved by as few as three d20 rolls per commando. Should a roll fail (“Ach! Your mustache has fallen off!”), then all of sudden time compresses, and a moment that before might have lasted for a few hours suddenly becomes a series of seconds-long moments in which a commando has to fight for his life.

Tags: The Black Hack, The Cthulhu Hack, WWII: OWB

Nota Bene: The H.P. Lovecraft picture is from Publishers Choice Quality Stock Art, copyright Rick Hershey/Fat Goblin Games.

Yes, I know about Achtung! Cthulhu. By all accounts, it’s a great game, but I don’t own it. I do, however, own The Cthulhu Hack and WWII: Operation WhiteBox, which are also great games. So, what if I combined the latter two, while perhaps drawing some inspiration from the second edition of the also-great The Black Hack?

In my mash-up, the PCs fight against the Axis. They’re also fighting against the Thule Society, an occult society that directs much of Nazi Germany’s occult activities, operating through the Heereswaffenamt (HWA) (with its Wissenschaft (HWW) and Okkulte (HWO) divisions) as well as the Ahnenerbe, a Nazi-backed archaeological and occult organization. (Nota Bene: These groups come from the “Mini-Setting: Nazi Occult” section of WWII: Operation WhiteBox.)

Some character classes come from WWII: Operation WhiteBox. These are the Charmer, Combat Engineer, Grunt, Maquis, Sniper, Tactician, Wheelman, and Überläufer. There are also civilian assets, specifically the Bruiser, Ruffian, Adventurer, Philanthropist, and Scholar, all adapted from The Cthulhu Hack. Or, at least at the moment, I’m thinking that’s how things could work out. Thus, a group of PCs could be comprised entirely of commandos, entirely of civilians, or of a combination of the two. I also might adapt The Cthulhu Hack classes into expanded background “packages” for the military and partisan classes.

For example, let’s explore what the Charmer might look like. This is a very rough draft. The Commando Usage Die would apply to doing commando things, like scaling a cliff, setting an explosive charge, et cetera. It represents the “Special Forces Training” rule found in WWII: Operation WhiteBox (p. 37). Flashlights, Sanity, and Smokes work as described in The Cthulhu Hack.

The Charmer
Charmers rely on a combination of wits and natural charisma to influence others and avoid trouble. They often play support roles in operations, acting as negotiators, translators, and liaisons, but charmers can pull their weight in a fight when necessary.

Starting Stats
Starting HP: 1d6+2
Starting HD: 1d6
Attack Damage: 1d6 or 1d4 in unarmed

Usage Dice
Commando: d6
Flashlights: d8
Sanity: d8
Smokes: d10

Special Features
Detect Deception: Roll with Advantage when attempting to detect deception.

Loyal Allies: The Charmer has a special Loyal Allies Usage Die that starts at a d4. Given time and the proper means and location, the Charmer can call upon a number of allies equal to the Usage Die roll.

His Mind of His Own: Roll with Advantage when resisting attempts to influence the Charmer.

Gaining a New Level
Acquire and share a number of Experiences equal to current HD to advance a Level. When a Level is gained:

Attributes: Roll 1d20 for each Attribute. If you roll over, that Attribute goes up by one. Make an extra roll for either Dexterity or Charisma.

Hit Dice: Gain one HD. Roll 1d6 and gain that many additional maximum HP.

Usage Dice: At every odd-numbered level, increase one Usage Die by one step.

Tags: Character Classes, The Black Hack, The Cthulhu Hack, WWII: OWB

Have I mentioned recently how much I like Peter C. Spahn’s WWII: Operation WhiteBox? Also, here are some friendly NPCs who might help your commandos

American Ace

Armor Class: 7 [12] (Dex and combat training)
Hit Dice: 3
Total Hit Bonus: +3
Attacks: Weapon or fist
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Ace pilot
Movement: 12
HDE/XP: 3/60

Perry Webb, the American Ace, is one of many costumed operatives active during World War II who were recruited into the United States military. Perry is a skilled mining engineer and an exceptional pilot. He brags that he can fly anything with wings, and there is little cause to doubt this boast. Perry gains a +1 bonus to-hit with aircraft weaponry, and any aircraft he pilots gains a +1 to Armor Class. When he makes a strafing run, there is a 2 in 6 chance (4 in 6 for vehicles) that any character caught in the path of fire is struck by 0-3 rounds.

Ka-Zar the Great

Armor Class: 5 [14] (superhuman agility)
Hit Dice: 5
Total Hit Bonus: +8
Attacks: Weapon (+3 damage)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Speak with animals, superhuman strength and agility
Movement: 15
HDE/XP: 6/400

David Rand is the son of British parents, John and Constance Rand, born to them in 1918 in South Africa. When he was a three-year-old, his family went a trip from Johannesburg to Cairo to visit David’s grandfather; however, they crash landed in the Belgian Congo. As John fruitlessly attempted to flag planes, David developed a bond to many of the jungle’s native animals, befriending some of them, such as Zar the Lion, who watched over this family after David rescued the lion from quicksand. Soon after, his mother died of jungle fever and was laid to rest. David grew up into adolescence with his father, learning how to survive in the jungle, as well as how to read and write. David’s life changed forever the day that Paul de Kraft, a jewel hunter, entered the region searching for jewels along the river. Paul murdered John Rand, and would have done the same to David if it had not been for the intervention of Zar, who slew two of de Kraft’s minions. De Kraft escaped. Orphaned, David was adopted as Zar’s pride and rechristened Ka-Zar.

Ka-Zar is a staunch enemy of the Nazi regime. When he learned that Nazi forces were landing in Italian-controlled Ethiopia, he led an army of animals and destroyed a Nazi airport, ruining the plot to bomb British settlements in Egypt. He and his animal army next attacked a train controlled by the Italian Fascists. Finding an Italian military camp outside of Kenya, Ka-Zar learned that they plotted to attack a British outpost. With the aid of his animal army, Ka-Zar flooded the camp by destroying a dam.

Due to ingesting a magic potion, Ka-Zar has superhuman strength and agility, which explains his AC and to hit bonus. Ka-Zar can lift about fives times his body weight.

Tags: NPCs, WWII: OWB

And now, more gonzo ideas for WWII: Operation WhiteBox by Pete C. Spahn.

Brainiape

Armor Class: 5 [14] (heavy hide and Dex)
Hit Dice: 6
Total Hit Bonus: +6
Attacks: Weapon or fist
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Telekinesis (120 lbs), telepathy (60 ft.)
Movement: 12
HDE/XP: 7/600

Today, it is almost universally believed that Adolf Hitler commited suicide in May 1945, but this is only part of the truth. Alerted by the gunshots, Nazi doctors managed to get to Hitler’s body before he died. They placed him in a state of suspended animation using Nazi superscience while they moved him in secret away from Berlin to special labs in Tanganyika, which had been part of Deutsch-Ostafrika until the early 1920s. There Nazi superscientists removed Hitler’s brain to repair the damage done by the bullet. Unfortunately, organ failure in Hitler’s body made returning the brain to its original place problematic, and so the superscientists transplanted Hitler’s brain into the body of a fierce mountain gorilla. Years of physical therapy and further surgeries followed as Hitler’s brain grew stronger and gradually adapted to its new home.

By the mid 1950s, Adolf Hitler was ready to resume his role as Führer. What’s more, work on the time machine had been completed. Adolf Hitler entered the chrono-capsule and was displaced back to early 1941. Hitler’s goal was to convince his earlier self to put off invading the U.S.S.R. until after Great Britain had fallen. Unforeseen complications with the time travel matrix, however, damaged Hitler’s memory. Now known as Brainiape, Hitler has forgotten who he is and his mission to avert his eventual suicide, although his dreams are haunted by strange images like memories that lead Brainiape to believe that he and Hitler share some fateful future. Brainiape serves the Nazis as an agent of terror.

Armless Tiger Man

Armor Class: 6 [13] (martial arts training and Dex)
Hit Dice: 3
Total Hit Bonus: +3
Attacks: Bite or kick
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Demolitions, prehensile toes
Movement: 15
HDE/XP: 4/120

Eric Hertz worked in a mechanical laboratory in Munich, Germany. One day his arms were caught in a machine and were amputated. Surviving the experience and given reading material on how to operate day-to-day using his mouth and feet, Hertz developed a hatred of all machines and began honing his skills and working himself to his peak physical level.

Recruited by the Nazis, Hertz’s teeth were filed into steel-hard fangs via surgery and special treatments with radioactive calcium. His feet were surgically modified to become exceptionally agile. As a result, Hertz’s toes almost have the same dexterity as human hands. He was extensively training in unarmed combat, and his feet and fangs are deadly weapons. As Armless Tiger Man, Hertz is an assassin, cannibal, and saboteur.

Tags: NPCs, WWII: OWB