DOGFACES Campaign SPOILER PAGE

first story arc

A part of the BattleHymn, the heroes are involved in propaganda on the public. I plan that to be a big factor of my campaign.

Eventually the group WILL be involved in missions of deadliness, facing Nazi and Japs overseas - but at first I want them to have to deal with the conspiracy and political stuff of their own governement and how people will USE them (use in the bad sense of the word).

My opening scene for the campaign is slowly shaping...

Perhaps you folks can offer ideas and aid. It's what amounts to a big opening scene for what the players will expect but also a great intro to the propaganda nature of the war effort at some points. and even on to the hereos being asked to sell war bonds.

• My thought is to throw some action at them (that will be false, see more below) for the first game session.
• Then to throw the politics and propaganda at them.
• Then on to some "boring" situations to make the heroes be chomping the bit to get overseas...
• Possibly some hints at the conspiracy that the government NEW about the attacks headed for Pearl Harbor before they hit -
• Which will culminate in the Pearl Harbor hit and the government "releasing" the heroes (but pointing them at Japan for the first mission a retalitary strike)

OPEN IDEAS

• Street prostitutes are wearing costumes approximating those of the various super heroines, including those of any PC super heroines.
• Ethnic heroes are not embraced as saviors by the largely white recipients of their heroism.
• Machine guns are deadly. Besides the autofire, they are Lethal, penetrating, and likely have improved critical.

Home Base, HQ

Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay started out as the constructed home for a Pacific Exposition in 1939. The US Navy appropriated it for their use during WWII and it remained a naval base from then on. Not sure at the moment whether it still is a naval base or has been closed down like so many others. It's a picturesque location and has easy transportation because the San Francisco Bay Bridge uses it as the mid-point of the bridge, so there is easy car access.

For my Vanguard campaign, which was a post-WWII campaign focussed on a United Nations team, Treasure Island became their HQ, instead of the Navy's.

OPEN...

Begin in Media Res!

You can make them pass through hell, stop Hitler himself and then say "Cut! Let's do it again."

Bombs, tanks, action...

I'll be hamming it up quite a great deal for the "movie set" scene though. It's "Hollywoodland's" vision of what war is like. More akin to (original) Dick Tracy or Flash Gordon in style than Saving Private Ryan. So this will be a fun contrast for when the Heroes go to the real war...

Setting the scene very much like a merge of several scenes from the movie Saving Private Ryan. Specifically with the bridge being taken by the Nazi... possibly a wall falling and revealing the child and her family with a major sniper.

Add in a few interesting Nazi "supermen"

The PCs know "their mission" is to stop the Nazi from taking the bridge. Save innocents. and perhaps to take at least one of the Nazi Supers prisoner for the government to interogate.

For any of the hero PCs that seem to be killers types, I'll give a private note that they avoid lethal force on this mission.

In the end the "trick" (to the players) is that this is all being captured by film and camera as part of a training/propaganda film and exercise.

This would end the game session with a "breaking the 4th wall" type pull back revealing the cameras and such...

The player CHARACTERS will be told that they reluctantly agreed to this setup to get to know their new teammates, whom they have NEVER trained with until this time. Then later they will each be asked to review the tapes as a team and comment on what their teammates did for good/bad. Making suggestions to be a better team...

I'll have a drill instructor / coach like Newt Rockney in there yelling at them. Who'll be training them in the future. etc...

All this would be roleplayed fun. Setting up the politics and propaganda to follow... Namely things like

• costume fittings
• codename choices
• meeting the super villain actors! that were playing the Nazi
• doing war bond drives
• recruitment drives
• publicity photos
• govenor balls and charity events
• hearing popularity polls (from teammate to teammate)

and then into some local "homefront" training excerises, from boring training stuff - to field missions, ie. stopping bank robberies... SOME of which they'll later learn are FAKE!!

Setting up the "over the top" style villains, that are really actors for the press ... for the heroes to punch out on film and for the papers to build their popularity... but it's all a sham!

essentially putting them up against "easy" villains at first...

Then later when they get "real" combat... really throw the HARD villains at them... making them fear for their lives.

first campaign played out

• issue # 1:1: "BRIDGE TO WAR" , June 3, 2006.
  • RECAP: We open on a bleak Russian battlefield (strangely devoid of snow or chill) as our heroic Dogfaces spread their small force of GIs to cover control of a bridge that stands as one of the last gateways to Lenningrad. Prime Minister Churchhill and the boys have arranged for the Dogfaces to defend the bridge as Nazi Tiger Tanks crest the hills leading into the ravaged village beyond. Coming into sight the boys see a big fella in a steel spiked helmet, tearing a massive brickface from a burnt out building he heeves it nearly two football fields across the bridge at our boys! This man mountain must be "the HUN" according to intel. Following up "COMMANDANT TIGER" commands a triad of Tiger Tanks as German support troops rally toward the bridge. The Dogfaces stand their ground. Dr. Oblongata fortifies the men's position with a force shielf crafted from his mind as they ping rifle shots baiting the tanks into their land mine traps. Slinking into the river Subject Six tries to get the jump on the Hun and they meet on the riverbank in deadly fisticuffs! Meanwhile our boy Mal, the test subject with vampiric ability spies the illusion caster "MADAM VERSTANDER" and leaps across the raging river fangs bared for her. As the allies hold the axis, and Mal swoons the Madam - a blasting boom of "CUT..CUT...CUT!!" comes from "offstage"... The reveal shows this is NOT Russian and our boys aren't in battle with the enemy. This training exercise has been staged on Universal's lot in Hollywoodland! But no matter the necessity needless violence and the accidental deaths in this training excersize are things the Brit Dr. Oblongata will not bare witness to! As the General rounds up the troops to discuss the training excersize Oblongata refuses... Not for long though. The very next day the nation reels as we learn Pearl Harbor has been senselessly attacked by the Empire of Japan. Utilizing ANOMs for the first time in the World Wars, Japan struck a horrid blow. 18 hours later our boys are dropping on Hawaii to seek out the Jap Curveballs responsible. As they arrive in-port, it is the aquatic Subject Six that finds some interesting clues. Among the wreckage a massive stone samuria stands, hand on hilt ready to draw. But he is inert it seems, strange runic symbology criss-crossing his body. Quickly Six sees that it wasn't always motionless, this brute WALKED into the harbor! And the Arizona bares a sword-like gash down it's side!! Before the Dogfaces regroup, Six also finds there are an unusual clutch of sea creatures in the area - as large sharks and orca snap at him. It is unknown what goes on here. Why this sentry was left. Or if the Japs haven't left at all!! Next issue we will see the fruition of this mystery and delve into... the HELLSHIP!!

Second Arc

The BACKSTORY...

The new team, assembled by volunteer from FDR's ANOM program to aid those in peril at the Pearl Harbor attacks, have just arrived back in the states after having been captured by "the Rising Sun". The team escaped rescuing over 200 souls from a mystic artifact called a 'Hellship' constructed by unknown japanese sorcery as the Empire's Fleet gathered above the Attu Islands.

The boys guess that the Japs plan some sort of incursion soon but know not what exactly. Luckily they'll have the chance to interogate the mighty (and honorable) Jotun (aka. Joe-Ton to the American Press) a famous olympic sumo athlete captured as one of the members of the Rising Sun on their escape.

Meanwhile, back in the states - the marketeers morn the loss of their boss who was horribly killed when the DOGFACES were captured at Pearl. But with a new director the team of ANOMS soon learn that the PR bizz ain't as honest as Uncle Sam might want it. They're asked to plan a PR stunt that involves a strange "alien visitor" bent on aiding the NAZI in throwing America into a raging fear. The problem is that this "Nazi Alien Visitor" is a concoction of the Army's PR Core to bolster the team's powers in the eyes of the American Public... To "ya know, make Joe American feel safe he's got 'Curveballs' with super powers on his side to stop the Nazi!"

As the team plans this media event one member will be thrust into a real Nazi spy ring of intrigue. Not fully learning the details of the Nazi Spy connections - the team will have to deal with "ADHESION" (which the press will dub "the Glue Goon") who has a gadget inspired exo-skeleton created in his auto factory in Detroit (now a tank, plane and shell factory)... He's got his family all glued up along with 45 other bank hostages at the scene of his bank robbery!!

The heroes will have to come to the cities aid, pushed by the marketeers as another PERFECT way to get snap-shots on the front page... But they'll slowly learn that the Glue Goon might not be the evil mastermind the police (who have baracaded him in the bank) think him to be.

Later after the Heroes get involved an evil REAL Nazi menace will interupt before the Glue Goon can spill his tale of whoa... Attacking with a force of plain clothed Nazi, the mastermind spy of the master race can't let the Americans know the depth for which the Krauts have infiltrated the American Factories... Leading to a grander adventure to find and foil Nazi Spies in our factories before they can steal our engineering marvels or booby trap our GI's equipment!!

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PREVIOUS ROSTER

• SUBJECT SIX (aka. ???)
  . ... (as played by karl)
• MAL (aka. ???)
  . ... (as played by wayne)
• DR. OBLONGATO (aka. Dr. Abdul Oblongato)
  . ... (as played by john)
• DEVIL DOG (aka. ???)
  . ... (as played by bill)
  • [KIRBY] (aka. Cerebus Mk III)