Dragons Wake (SWADE PbP)

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Characters

Ashton Eldridge, the Night Haunt (played by Max)

Olivia 'Liv' Gray, a.k.a. Agent Iris (played by IMGoose)

Milton Moreira, Codename: Velvet (played by Fred)

Max Macht (played by CKirby)

Private First Class Eric "Rocky" Andrews (played by 8Bit)

Setting Brief

The world is broken, and we can’t even be sure who did it.

The years after the Great War — the War to End All Wars, the explosion of all the illusions of the Belle Époque - were thick with race-hate, aggression, hypocrisy, greed and wounded pride. All that was worst in humankind seemed to fester at the core of Europe and flow outward, like a boil on the world bursting and spreading its infection.

The world responded in kind. Or, perhaps, the war was a manifestation of a deeper madness in the world. Abominations arose from the sea, crept from the dark holes in the earth, slithered down from the sky between rain drops and made the war of nations into a battle of humanity against something inextricably Other... and against those humans who would ally themselves with anything, no matter how evil or alien, in order to overcome those peoples they understood enough to despise.

But even as Earth’s mortal inhabitants learned, to their sorrow, that they were not alone, the weird entities arrayed against them found that they did not possess sole dominion over the laws of time and space. A few women and men, very few, saw the impossible and became impossible themselves. Faced with alien gods, they became, themselves, godlike.

All the nations of the world put these godlike superhumans, these Talents, to work in their war efforts. The Allied powers formed a Talent Operations Group as a military arm equivalent to their Navies, Air-Forces, and Armies.

Around the world and throughout the war, Talent commandos use their amazing abilities to confront superpowered Nazi "Übermenschen", Japanese "Thousand Dragon Sons" (roughly translated from Watatsumi No Sen-Ri No Musuko) and the secret, awful Mythos creatures the Fascists attempt to release and control to win the war.

Things You Need to Know

Superhuman individuals - Talents - have occurred at a very low percentage for a long time. A huge increase in Talents manifesting happened during World War I, though scientists and academics do not know why, or how, or in response to what stimulus this explosion of Talents occurred.

By 1935, Allied Intelligence agencies become aware that a secret occult research organization called Black Sun has begun working for the highest echelons of the Nazi government. Black Sun operatives scour the earth for occult writings and occult artifacts. Allied Intelligence finds no similar occult preoccupation among Italian nor Japanese forces up to the start of the game in mid-1942.

Even after WWI, the existence of Talents wasn't fully accepted by scientists, experts, or the general public. That changes in 1936, when Hitler has a crew of Übermenschen demonstrate their awesome abilities at the opening of the 1936 Olympics.

In 1939, Allied Intelligence learns that a new occult military unit called Nachtwölfe has been created. By early 1940, they are putting occult based weapons into the field for use against the Allies.

In July 1940, at the beginning of what becomes known as The Battle of Britain, Black Sun and Nachtwölfe operatives summon a massive tentacled Mythos horror in the English Channel, hoping to direct it towards the British coast. It is defeated by a brave group of Allied Talents who utterly obliterate the thing.

In the fall of 1940, Japan claims to be able to manufacture Talents. These claims are downplayed by Allied Intelligence at first.

By April, 1941, it's clear that Japan is fielding "Fire Teams" of Talents who all have remarkably identical elemental superpowers. Surrounded by a nimbus of energy that resembles a ghostly Japanese dragon, these individuals have control over Air, Earth, Fire, Water or Darkness. Japan calls these manufactured Talents the Thousand Dragon Sons. They continue to field the more idiosyncratic "natural" Talents in the field as well.

After the US enters the war in late 1941, the Allies combine their Talent Operations Groups and assign these superhuman troops as needed to critical operations and missions where the Axis powers are believed to be deploying their own Talents or utilizing Mythos derived technology.

Game Notes

Intelligence And Mission Brief, TOG Team "Dragon Slayer", 12 July 1942, Pearl Harbor

FOLLOWING INTELLIGENCE BRIEFS, MISSION OBJECTIVE, AND TEAM ORDERS ARE DESIGNATED
TOP SECRET: EYES ONLY. DO NOT CONVEY OR REVEAL TO ANYONE INCLUDING ALLIED PERSONNEL
EXCEPT ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE MISSION OBJECTIVE.

ORDERS

Subjects Agent Iris, Macht, Night Haunt, Rocky, Velvet to report after briefing to U.S.
Brigadier General Rupertus aboard USS Neville marshaling Operation Watchtower forces near
Fiji by no later than 21 July 1942. Attached to 1st Raider Battalion, Marines, on or about
7 August 1942, commence invasion of Tulagi. Secure target location designated HOTEL (see
below). Destroy Talent manufacturing facility located in or near designate HOTEL, Tulagi
island. Secure Axis Talent and Occult Scientists designated KAGUTSUCHI (see below) and
SEIOMENN (see below) alive and return to Pearl Harbor for questioning. Secure scientific
notes, experimental notes, research plans, blueprints, et. al. produced by same to Pearl
Harbor for analysis. If unable to secure targets or documentation, destroy same.

BRIEFS

December 1941

Matsumi Tomio (designate KAGUTSUCHI), mastermind of Watatsumi No Sen-Ri No Musuko
("Thousand Dragon Sons"), arrived Tulagi island, Pacific. He arrived with five IJN
uniformed Talents, capabilities unknown.

Subsequent aerial recon showed construction of large two story concrete bunker (designate
HOTEL) near Tulagi IJN anchorage. Analysis of material shipping manifests and equipment
noted on site suggest possibility of subterranean levels beneath HOTEL.

February 1942

Designate KAGUTSUCHI makes direct contact with Reichsführer-SS Himmler. Code breaking
designate Bletchley indicates message requested urgent Black Sun consult.

March 1942

Designate KAGUTSUCHI contacts IJN Pacific Command. Designate Bletchley indicates message
confirms operational status of new Thousand Dragon Sons manufacturing facility, located
Tulagi island.

April 1942

Krafft Heimburg (designate SEIOMENN), Black Sun occultist and Nachtwölfe chief occult
scientist sets sail aboard U-113 from La Pallice accompanied by Übermenschen designates
Gungnir and Grabstein as bodyguards. Arrives Tulagi Island July 1942.

July 1942

Office of Reichsführer-SS Himmler contacts designate KAGUTSUCHI directly. Designate
Bletchley indicates message urgently requesting status U113 and SEIOMENN. KAGUTSUCHI reply
indicates U113 and SEIOMENN departed Tulagi as scheduled, no further updates.

Aerial and submarine reconnaissance indicates U113 still anchored Tulagi island. Listing
to port indicates severe battle damage. Unknown source.

USS Neville (Underway) Briefing Room, 0600 Local, 6 August 1942

U.S. Brigadier General Rupertus approaches the podium. The mission commanders stand and salute as he enters the room. General Rupertus returns the salute as he's walks, "At ease!" he barks.

He settles in behind the podium.

"Gentlemen. And lady." He says, nodding to Agent Iris.

"You've all been given tactical maps, with objectives marked for your units."

He checks to see head nods from a few folks in the crowd.

"Here's the overall strategic situation. Our intel tells us our ground forces will outnumber IJA forces two to one. Our current submarine and aerial recon suggest no INJ naval forces within striking distance of our objective, importantly including aircraft carrier groups. We have been given 48 hours to achieve our goals of capturing Tulagi and Gavutu.

At 0330, three ad-hoc under water demolition platoons will insert into our two landing areas. These teams have been drawn, as we've been doing, from volunteers out of Navy Construction Battalions. Teams Seabee Alpha and Seabee Beta will set explosives on coral formations blocking clear access to our primary landing site. They will recon the site, and report back to USS Neville by 0500.

Seabee Charlie will insert with Dragon Slayers, our Talent Operations Group team, near target location Hotel. Seabee Charlie will set explosive charges on the fuel depot and ammo depot in the IJA camp while Dragon Slayers take up hidden positions in the jungle.

At 0600, carrier flight operations from the USS Wasp will commence. Bombing runs on noted defensive hard points, especially the numerous pillboxes located along the main ridge line of the island from our primary landing site to the IJA HQ to the southeast.

Our landing will be timed to hit the beach at 0800 hours. We will attempt to draw out the two known Thousand Dragon Son fire teams on the island - and as many IJA assets from their primary HQ and Hotel as possible

At 0830, Seabee Charlie and the Dragon Slayers will set off their explosives, and draw out and defeat the remaining IJA defenders still on site at HQ and Hotel.

From there, Second Battalion of the 5th will proceed to capture the northwest portion of the Tulagi, while First Raiders Battalion will proceed along four avenues of attack, to meet at IJA HQ and Hotel within our operational window.

USS Wasp carrier air support will then turn their attention to Gavutu. At 1100 hours, they will being flying sorties to attack hard point defenses of the IJN seaplane base contained there. At 1200 hours 1st Parachute Battalion will drop onto the island at begin their capture of it.

The USS Neville battlegroup, after dropping of the 2/5 and the 1st Raiders, will move to a position near Gavutu to provide direct fire support.

Your unit commanders can provide additional details, and answer any remaining questions you have. Good morning, and good hunting!"

As he leaves the podium, all in the room stand and salute him. He returns the salute, and exits the room.

A young man with a round face and a beaming ready smile approaches the Talents in the room. He holds out his hand, and says, "Hello. I'm Ensign Lewis F. Luehrs - I'll be commanding the underwater demo team taking you into the lions' den tomorrow."

Marine Gear Issued to Characters

Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife

Bowie knife

Two Mk II "Pineapple" fragmentation grenades

Your choice of:

• M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle and bayonet, and an M1923 Cartridge Belt with 88 rounds of .30-06 ammo in eleven 8-round clips (1 in gun, 10 on belt), or
• M3 "Grease Gun" submachine gun, and an M1923 Cartridge Belt with 180 rounds of .45 ACP ammo in six 30-round magazines (1 in gun, 5 on belt)

Boondocker suede “low top” boots

US Army reversible brown/green herringbone twill camo two-piece uniform

US Army M1 helmet with jungle camo cloth cover

US Army rucksack containing:

• Lightweight jungle hammock and mosquito netting
• Rain poncho
• Jungle first aid kit
• Canteen

Weapon	Range	Damage	AP	RoF	Shots	Min. Str	Weight	Special
Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife	3/6/12	Str+d4	1	-	-	d4	1	-
Bowie knife	-	Str+d6	-	-	-	d6	2	-
Mk II grenade	4/8/16	3d6	-	-	-	-	1	Medium Blast
M3 "Grease Gun" SMG	12/24/48	2d6+1	1	3	30	d6	8	Auto
M1 Garand rifle	24/48/96	2d8	2	1	8	d6	10	Semi-Auto

Game Rules

The game will be played using Savage Worlds Adventure Edition along with the Super Powers Companion for that game.

Setting Rules

The following setting rules are in effect for this game:

From SWADE Core

• Born a Hero
• Conviction
• Creative Combat
• Fanatics
• Fast Healing
• High Adventure
• More Skill Points
• Unarmored Hero
• Wound Cap

From Super Powers Companion

• Comic Book Combat
• Death and Defeat
• Larger than Life
• Never Surrender
• Throwdown

Veils & Lines

The following are Lines for this game:

• No harm to kids described or alluded to at all in the game
• No torture described or alluded to at all in the game
• No attempts by players or players' characters to excuse or justify real life horrors (e.g. Fascism) unless coming from obvious, explicitly immoral antagonists
• No sexual coercion or violence described or alluded to at all in the game

The following are Veils for this game:

• Romance is fine, but any displays of affection are limited to hand holding or a chaste kiss "on screen"; anything else should be a "fade to black" moment
• This is a WW2 game, but I do not want graphic descriptions of violence / the impacts of violence described in great detail

Current Map

Note: Map is a composite of maps and tokens drawn by 2 Minute Tabletop - whose maps are fantastic. All aside from the U-boat, which is from a iStock Photo whose artist is unknown to me.

A - HOTEL / concrete two story building

B - Outdoor Prison, recently constructed, with three story watchtower

C - Mostly submerged U-Boat, listing heavily to port, leaking diesel, conning tower above water

D - Comms / Command hut, wood/bamboo construction, one story, nearby radio antenna ~4 stories tall

E - Barracks huts, wood/bamboo construction, one story

F - Fuel oil, stored inside barbed wire fencing

G - Camp generator

H - Start of anchorage docs, wooden construction, 3 more docks north by northwest (not shown on map)

JA - Japanese Army soldier

JA - OUTLINED IN RED = KIA

UA - US Marine - member of Seabee Charlie Squad

UA - OUTLINED IN RED = KIA

Da - Thousand Dragon Son - air (KIA)

De - Thousand Dragon Son - earth (KIA)

Df - Thousand Dragon Son - fire (KIA)

Dv - Thousand Dragon Son - void (on roof of HOTEL, not shown)

Dw - Thousand Dragon Son - water (KIA)

Mi - Milton

NH - Night Haunt

MM - Max Macht

AI - Agent Iris

RO - Rocky