Flashback Friday: Huginn for Savage Worlds and Weird Wars

Antwerp 1946
After allied forces were recently expelled from the port by Nazi reinforcements, remote viewers of Project: Crystal Ball have confirmed reports from survivors of the attack that the enemy wielded mind over matter...and worse.

HUGINN

"They were in our heads!  Their mouth's weren't moving, but we could hear them...in our minds.  They showed us terrible things.  Awful things.  And then Jimmy...uh...Private Scott got tossed up in the air, at least fifty feet and he landed next to me with a sick thump.  Like a bag of concrete hitting the pavement.  Y-yes sir, I ran.  I didn't know what else to do...I didn't know what else to do..."

-Testimony of Sergeant Timothy "Skip" Perkins on what happened at Antwerp.

HUGINN 

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8

Skills: Notice d10, Taunt d8

Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 10

Special Abilities 

• Psychic Armor (+4)
• Fear (-2)
• Powers Points (30)
• Barrier
• Blast

• Bolt
• Deflection
• Mind Reading
•Quickness

GameStorming: Shadow War = Weird War Stories + Shadow of the Demon Lord

I've always liked the weird war genre and I'm a HUGE fan of Creature Commandoes.

It got me thinking about running a Shadow of the Demon Lord game set in either our world or an alternate world where the players are monsters facing an EVIL enemy with anything at their disposal.

Werewolves, Vampires, Clockwork, Changelings, Magicians etc.

Supplements I think would be good:

Tooth and Claw for werebeasts and Foulest Reptiles for lizard men or gill men.

It's an idea I hope to explore further.

Weird War Stories Icons for 13th Age

One of the unique aspects to 13th Age are Icons, they are the equivalent of the powerful NPC's that aid or oppose your player's in the course of the campaign.

Here is how the Icons are represented in my Weird War Stories setting:

The Archmage is Zatara.

The Crusaders are the Losers.

The Diabolist is the Ultra-Humanite.

The Dwarf King is G.I. Robot

The Elven Queen is Madame Xanadu.

The Emperor is the Unknown Soldier.

The Great Gold Wyrm is Sgt. Rock.

The High Druid is Solomon Grundy.

The White Queen is Mary, Queen of Blood.

The Orc Lord is the Iron Major.

The Hierophant is the Haunted Tank.

The Prince of Shadows is Blackhawk.

The Three are Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast.

Achtung! Cthulhu Kickstarter

Modiphius Entertainment, Angus Abranson, and Chronicle City have a Kickstarter set up for a Keeper and Adventurer's book for the WWII/Mythos mash-up.

Be sure to check it out!

Buy this! Schnell!!

Achtung! Cthulhu.

This looks awesome and I could probably raid it for Weird War Stories, if nothing else.

Updated: It's live on rpgnow.

Weird War Stories: Reichsraptor

France 1946
Agents of Operation: Malleus have been faced Uberfalkonier's who were commanding highly trained velocirapters on the field of battle.  Obviously, this was surprising to the agents because they thought dinosaurs were extinct and they didn't expect the Fuhrer to have weaponized them.

It appears the program is still fairly recent as creative problem solving quickly dispatched their first encounter with what has been labled Reichsraptors.

There is growing concern that more cryptids are joining the 3rd Reich.

Reichsraptor

No. Enco.: 1 - 6

Movement: 120'

Armor Class: 2 (18)

Hit Dice: 3

Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d6/1d6/1d4

Special:  Surprise.

Save: F3

Morale: 8

Alignment: N

X.P. Value: 95

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15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathon Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

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G.I. Combat #1

This week DC Comics launched a new G.I. Combat series as part of its NEW 52 line-up.  Specifically, it features The War That Time Forgot, which is a major inspiration for several elements of my WEIRD WAR STORIES game that, hopefully, will return from hiatus this month.

After the Avacyn Restored Prerelease, today is basically my monday, so I've not yet read the issue.  But I intend to do it soon and will post my thoughts.

I can't recommend the Showcase Presents: War That Time Forgot Trade Paperback enough, if you want to see the silver age stories where these ideas originated.

Strata Gem

A Strata Gem is a magic item created by elven Anathemancers of Aerth to bind beings to their service.  The ritual  they employ is a very strictly guarded secret, but it is believed to require a willing observer and the sacrifice of a separate sentient being.  It is widely accepted that Amber is also a requisite material for the ritual.  Once bound, the wielder has complete control over the unfortunate victim of the Gem.  Deciding when, where, and how long they are released.  Many mystics also believe the wielder has the power to deeply influence the actions of whomever is bound to the Gem.


Several Operation: Malleus agents witnessed the binding of a Giant Ape to a Strata Gem, by an unidentified elven Anathemancer, most likely a member of the Thule Society.   Their investigation led them to believe the elf sacrificed a nazi soldier while transporting the creature from The Tiergarten, a hidden base somewhere off the coast of Brazil, to France.  It is believed the witness to the ritual was a Dr. Ono Kosei, a Japanese scientist on loan to the Nazis.  Kosei was killed during the raid by the Hammers, but the elf, while it was reported he was badly injured, escaped with the Strata Gem successfully created.

Gnomes of Zuriq

The Gnomes were old before humans walked the Earth.  Some stories say they helped the Gods of Olympus in their war against the Titans.  And a few say they even taught young Zeus about rebellion.

Its unknown how many Gnomes there are left on the Earth today.  Few alive even know what a Gnome looks like.  The main reason for this is that Gnomes have a psychic camouflage that makes them appear as normal humans, unless they desire otherwise.  It is known that they are all capable Magic Users and have been provided Divine magic to cultists who have worshipped them.

Recent intelligence from the O.S.S. Project: Malleus reports that a Gnome's true form is that of a human man or woman with the head of an animal, as portrayed in Egyptian Hieroglyphics.  The Hammer's did not face a Gnome directly, but commented about the aura of power surrounding them and their effect on Agent Atropus.

The same intelligence describes encountering a Gnome, going by the name Scythian who is working with the Russian government and has been central in their "Space Program".  Operatives encountered this Scythian and a strike force of intelligent apes, highly trained dogs and several female agents on a moon base claimed by the Russians.  The Scythian has used an ancient temple, he claims to be Asgard, as a base and was repairing the fabled Rainbow Bridge.  When our operatives encountered his base, he became aware that the Nazis were planning to invade the Moon and soon after the Rainbow Bridge was activated from its other end...and subterranean site they claimed was the corpse of Fenris Wolf.  The Hammers were able to deactivate the Bridge, but the Fenris site was destroyed. Debriefing has shown that when the Hammers first invaded the site, another Gnome, who identified himself as the Aryan, fled when Agent Atropus made contact with a being deeper in the Aerth, that Agent Gargamel, strongly feels was the Old One known as Ithaqua.  The Aryan is obviously a Nazi operative and research needs to begin on how to deal with these mythic beings.

Gnomes of Zuriq

No. Enco.: 1

Movement: 60'

Armor Class: 2 (18)

Hit Dice: 9

Attacks: 1

Damage: By Weapon or Spell

Special:  Gnomes are always Magic Users and may Multi-Class freely.  Gnomes can psychically appear as human at will.

Save: F9

Morale: 9

Alignment: Any

X.P. Value: 3100

In the beginning

Cross Planes is my foray into the OSR and DnD in particular.  The title takes inspiration from 2 sources:

1.  Cross Plains, TX was the home of Robert E. Howard, of whom I am a huge fan.

2.  I have a huge fondness for cross-genre stories and adventures; Nazis, Dinosaurs, Power Armor, Talking Apes, and Barbarians are all integral ingredients to making any story better...especially DnD.

After a several-year sabbatical from gaming, I've been lucky enough to have the chance to begin running campaigns again (and playing in several).

Weird War Stories draws inspiration from DC Comic's Creature Commandoes, Trey's Weird Adventures,  & Pulp Fantasy.  The setting is our Earth in 1947.  Due to the presence of Magic, WWII is still in high gear and the OSS has assembled a team of exotic agents to combat the increasingly bizarre and destructive tactics of the Axis Powers.  Operation: Malleus or the Hammers as they call themselves, have several notable agents:

Gargamel is a Necromancer and Investigator into Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, who is determined to gain as much forbidden knowledge from his missions as any man's sanity can handle.

Krow has returned from the grave to destroy Adolph Hitler and rid the world of his Evil in retaliation for destroying his entire family's bloodline.  Sir Justin Krow, Lord of Wyndham Thorn took up residence in the body of his last remaining descendant, Robert, as he was torn down on Normandy beach.

Nathaniel Black has been a spy for Great Britain for nearly a decade, but after being attacked by Nazi "Warwolves" last year, the OSS has given him resources to control his "inner beast" and promised a cure, after war's end, of course.

Atropos or Michael Cole was the only survivor of a U.S. Marine Squad that was assigned to take the Pacific island of Pohnpei.  The massacre the Navy came upon is classified and rumors say the C.O. tried to "put Cole out of his misery" when they found him.  After several attempts to dispose of Cole proved impossible, he was transferred to the OSS, where he has been amazingly effective.  And brutal.

James O'Malley is a Presbyterian Chaplain who has been assigned to their Unit.  His faith has been severely tested by not only their missions but by his fellow agents.

K.A.R.N.A.K. is an android discovered in 1942 in Egypt, by the Allies.  His memory banks were wiped but he's adapted quite quickly to his place in the OSS.  He has proved quite adept at helping to control Atropus in the field.

So far the Hammers have intercepted Nazi's deploying trained Velociraptors into Vichy France; tried to prevent a ritual that bound a Giant Gorilla to a Soul Gem;  And though failing to stop the ritual or recover the Gem, found information that led them to the shattered remains of Asgard on the Moon, where they came face to face with one of the legendary Gnomes of Zuriq--the Scythian!  They discovered he had been helping the Russian government rebuild the Rainbow Bridge as a method to unleash his ape army, Stalin's Shrewdness!