I

ROLEPLAYING SUPPLEMENT

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 GEARKRIEG

ROLEPLAYING SUPPLEMENT
1
Trapped!
Jack awoke to the cold shock of water on his.face. His head
spun as $he if just had a night on the town and his vision
was blurry. The ~ U U C O U Ssounds ofthe Amazonian jungle .
were oddly mufled, but audible. He briefly took comfort in
the fact that his ears were at least working properly - until
he actually started to listen to what he was hearing.
“Good morning Herr Memphis,” an all-tooTfamiliarvoice
hissed from in front of him. “It is good to see that the drug b
efects are finally wearing ofl We were worried that you
might remain unconscious and miss out on a demonstration
of Doktor Hempell b latest scientific triumph.. . ’’

Daring heroes, brutal thugs and mastermind villains

confront one another for the future of civilization as a
world-wide war rages around them. This is the world of
Gear Krieg, a roleplaying game of two-fisted pulp action
from the creators of Heavy Gear, the Jovian Chronicles, and
Tribe 8! This sourcebook features:
Extensive guidelines and tips for adventuring in the pulp-
style Modern Age;
Design notes and suggested backgrounds for both heroic
and villainous characters;
Dozens of data files on famous heroes, sidekicks, hench-
men and villains;
A headquarter generator to provide both heroes and
villains with proper housing;
New perks, flaws and superscience gadgets.

Gear Krieg: Heroes & Villains is a supplement to the Gear

Krieg Roleplaying Game.

www.dp9.com

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 Fiction: Heroes of the Modern Age .... 4-5 Naming Conventions ...................... 19
Sidebar: Alternate ldenteties .......... 19

Original Concept ADVENTURES ............ 6 New Perks and Flaws ..................... 20

John Bindas. Hajj Nasri Andreas. Lloyd D. Pulp Plotting 101 ................................... 7 Skill Uses ........................................ 21
Jessee. Richard Meaden. Ken Winland. Sidebar: Tactics Skill ....................... 21
Dave Graham
Danger .............................................. 8 c
Writing Sidebar: Script Immunity ................. 8 INGS OF A PULP
HERO .......22
James Maliszewski Writer Adventure Rewards .................. What Makes a Hero? ........................... 23
John Buckmaster Additional Writing Sidebar: Import. of Being Earnest ....9 Pulp Conventions ............................ 23
Scott Lette Additional Writing
Pulp Plots and Plot Elements ................ 9 Heroic Motivations .......................... 23
Tom McGrenery Additional Writing
Esteban Oceana Additional Writing
Give Me Shelter ................................ 9

Chris Upchurch Additional Writing A Penny Short and a Day Late ........ 10 Part of the Team .............................. 25
Marc-Alexandre Vezina Senior Editor The Garnemaster’s Responsibility .. 25
Wunji Lau Additional Editing
Breaking and Entering .................... 11 Heroic Archetypes ..... ...... 25
Pierre Ouellette Creative Director
Capture the Flag ............................. 11 The Hero ......................................... 25
Production The Sidekick ................................... 25
Pierre Ouellette Art DirectorlDesigner
Damsel in Distress .......................... 12 The Support Character ................... 26
Jean-Franpois Fortier Layout Artist
This Belongs in a Museum .............. 12 Heroic Campaigns .............................. 26
Kieran J Yanner Illustrator
Marc Ouellette Computer Illustrator Strangers in a Strange Land ........... 13 Independent Heroes .................
Alain Gadbois Modeler/Photographer Consulting Detectives ..................... 13 Government-Sponsored ................. 27
/Cover Photo Allies Armed Forces ........................ 27
Escort Service ................................. 13
Marcel Bastien Modeler
On the Run ...................................... 14 League of Nations ....
Administration A Friend in Need ............................. 14 Sample Heroes ................................... 28
Robert Dubois Sales & Uninvited Guess ............................. 14 The Canuck ..................................... 28
Marketing Manager
Contract Negociations .................... 15 Gunnery Sergeant Charles Recker . 30
Silhouette Chandler’s Revenge ....................... 15 Henri Maupassant ........................... 32
Gene Marcil System Designer Sidebar: Design Note . Noah Crenet ...................
Stephane I. Matis System Designer
Diplomatic Overtures ...................... 16 Tor Ulfrsteinn ................................... 34
Marc-Alexandre VezinaSystem Developer
Amnesia .......................................... 16 Nolan Malley ................................... 36
Special Thanks Missing Persons...........
Paolo Marino. Peter Anspach
Hold the Line ................................... 17 INGS OF A PULPVILLAIN ...38
The Quest ....................................... 17 Becoming a Villain ....................
What Happened? ............................ 17 Motivations Redux .......................... 39
Hazard Pay ..................................... 18 The Devil is in the Details ................40
Character Design Tools ...................... 18 Behaviors ........................................ 40
Character Types .............................. 18
Background .................................... 18 Sidebar: The Coup against FDR ..... 41

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 Villainous Archetypes ..........................
The Crime Lord ..............................
Sidebar: Pulp-era Stereotypes ........ 43
The Aristocrat ..................................
The Mad Scientist ...........................
The Mercenary ................................
The Femme Fatale .................
The Thug .........................................
Sample Villains and Henchmen ..
Freyja Follesdal-Ulfrsteinn ..............46
Lars Kiergard ..................................
Morderprimas .................................
Massimo Marchand ........................
Maxwell Lambert .............................
Natascha Gandossi ........................
Shen Lo Hu .....................................
Dr. Hans Sonderbar ........................
Wang Han ....................................... 58
Tien Lung ........................................
William Haulm .................................
Agent Zero ......................................
SS Julius Hagan ..............................
AND HEADQUARTERS 68 ........
The Role of Hideouts ..........................
Use in Adventures and Campaigns 69
Sidebar: Adventure Locales ........... 69
Sidebar: Exotica ...................
Designing Hideouts ...........................
Structures .......................................
Typical Components .......................
Defenses .........................................
Other Components .........................
Sidebar: Sample Head. and Lairs .. 71
Table: Action Elements ...................71
The Golden Eagle ...............................
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
42 Resistance Base 8-22 ........................ 74
Produced & Published by
42 The Old House ...................
Baron Eisen's Flying Fortress .............. 78 5000 Iberville, Suite 332
Ice Station Walkurie ............................ 80 MontrBal, Quebec,
44
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45
Stalingrad Sonderkommando Base .... 82
Lord Blackstone's Redoubt ................. 84
Canada
H2H 2S6 -
All artwork02000-2002Dream Pod 9, Inc.
Gear Krieg, Panzerkampfer,Silhouette and
THE TRADE ............ 86 all other names, logos and specific game
terms are 0 Dream Pod 9, Inc. All Rights
45 Gadgets and Devices ......................... 87 Reserved.
Adventure Uses ................. Gear Krieg: Heroes & Villains, Gear Krieg,
the Gear Krieg logo, Panzerkampfer and
Superscience .................................. 87
Silhouette are trademarks of Dream Pod
48 Sidebar: The Good Side of Failure , 88 9, Inc.
49 Signature Items ............. No part of this book may be reproduced
50 Equipment ........................................... 88 without written permission from the pub-
lisher, except for short excepts for review
52 Weapons ............................................. 93 purposes. Any similarities to characters,
54 Sidebar: Weapon Notes ..................93 situations, institutions, corporations, etc.
(without satirical intent) are strictly coinci-
55 Superscience Doomsday Devices ..... 94 dental. The use of the male gender through-
56 Index ................................................... 95 out this manual should in no way imply the
exclusion of the female gender or suggest
that the game is intended exclusively for a
60 male audience. It is our hope that the fe-
male garners will find this book just as in-
62
teresting as their male counterparts.
64
Warning! Gear Krieg is a work of fiction in-
66 tended to be used in a game context only.
It contains elements which may be deemed
inappropriate for younger readers. Dream
Pod 9, Inc. does not condone or encour-
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Dream Pod 9 can also be reached through
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72
 Nazis. He had a hard time focus-
ing, let alone remembering the se-
quence of events that had led him
once again into Colonel Kaufman's
less-than-gentle care.
"Again you amuse me, Herr Mem-
phis," Kaufman was saying. "Doktor
Hempel has often told me that I
should simply kill you with a bullet
to the brain. That has always
seemed.. .unsporting somehow. It
lacks a certain.. .I don't know what."
Kaufman then smiled his thin, ca-
daverous smile. "Besides, what
Jack awoke to the cold shock of water on his face. His head spun as if he'd would be the point in killing you
just had a night on the town and his vision was blurry. The raucous sounds before you had the opportunity to
of the Amazonian jungle were oddly muffled, but audible. He briefly took view the true inauguration of the
comfort in the fact that his hearing was at least working properly - until he Thousand Year Reich?"
actually started to listen to what he was hearing.
Jack grinned broadly. "And you said
"Good morning Herr Memphis," an all-too-familiar voice hissed from in front you had no talent for humor."
of him. "It is good to see that the drug's effects are finally wearing off. We
Tom laughed again from behind his
were worried that you might remain unconscious and miss out on a demon-
friend's back. He was joined by
stration of Doktor Hempel's latest scientific triumph."
Hempel, whose nervous high-
There was a short burst of high-pitched laughter from another direction. pitched giggle seemed incongruous
From the echoes of the voices, Jack guessed they were in a sinkhole or a with the scientist's frightening ap-
small cave or something like that. He couldn't get a good look around. His pearance. Jack's vision was still too
vantage point was too limited and the drug -whatever it was -was still in blurry to make out Kaufman's reac-
his system. tion, but he imagined it wasn't very
forgiving. Of course, Kaufman and
Jack strained to lift his head and turn in the direction of Colonel Kaufman's
Hempel never saw eye to eye on
voice. He could feel thick ropes binding him to someone behind. Tom? Yes.
anything. Kaufman was a true Nazi,
It had to be Tom, still out cold as usual. The two of them had been observ-
a devout soldier of the Fatherland,
ing Kaufman's camp from the safety of higher ground, which apparently
while Hempel, on the other hand,
hadn't been so safe after all.
was more of a mercenary, serving
"You're a real humanitarian, Kaufman," he croaked Nazism more for scientific funding
than belief in the cause itself.
Kaufman allowed himself a stage-laugh. "You see? This is precisely why I
love you Amerikaners, Herr Memphis. You have such a wonderful sense of "En o u g h ! K a uf ma n barked
"

humor - even in the face of your own demise. I sometimes wish that I through gritted teeth. "I have en-
possessed such a talent." joyed our little conversation, but I
am afraid that it will soon be at an
"I'd be happy to teach you," Jack deadpanned. "If you'd like to switch places
end -as will you and your friend."
with me, I'd gladly show you how to laugh in the face of death. I'm a very
Jack could begin to make out his
hands-on sort of teacher, you know."
surroundings - he was in a cave,
Jack heard a familiar chuckle from behind his back. Tom was awake after and there was something hanging
all. Jack still had a difficult time remembering what had happened -how by chains over them. Something
they had ended up here, tied back to back and surrounded by a horde of big.

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 “In just a few minutes, Herr Mem-
phis, you will make history. Your
name will be forever joined with the
triumph of German superscience.”
“I’m honored.”
”You should be. I do doubt your sin-
cerity, but it is of no consequence.
All that matters is that soon this cave
- and the countryside for kilome-
ters around it - will be no more,
thanks to Doktor Hempel’s radio-en-
ergetic bomb. ‘I
Jack tried to keep his poker face
but couldn’t stop his jaw from
clenching. Kaufman’s twisted grin
grew wide, revealing his long, fang-
like teeth. “I am pleased to see you
recognize the significance of this
discovery.”
“But you couldn’t,’’ Tom blurted.
“You don’t have -“
“Enough radium? Is that what your
vaunted OSS believes? I had be-
lieved that your British allies might
have actually taught you something
about intelligence gathering. A pity.
There is little glory in overcoming an
incompetent enemy.”
Kaufman turned his back to Jack
and along with Hempel and his
guards walked further up a crude
earthen ramp. He paused, then
quickly turned around again to face
the bound pair. “Believe me when I
say that I will miss these little chats
we have had over the years. As con-
founding as your incessant escapes
were, I did derive a certain comfort
in them, as if they confirmed that the
world does operate according to a
plan. As certain as the sunrise, Jack
Memphis would always be able to
find a way to defer his death to yet
another day.”
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
For once, Jack had no idea what to
say. Kaufman continued, his expres-
sion almost sad.
“In this Modern Age in which we live,
so much is uncertain. It was always
reassuring to know that I could
count on you and your companions
to turn up, as you Americans say,
like a bad penny. Now that your
death lies before me, I cannot help
but wonder what that means for the
predictable world I have come to
know. Perhaps we are entering a
new stage of history...”
Kaufman smiled again. “Yes. Con-
sider that, Herr Memphis. With the
detonation of this bomb -and your
death along with it -a new Atomic
Age may b e dawning, with the
Reich as its premier power!”
“Don’t be so sure of that, Kaufman.”
Jack yelled back at him, desperate
to say something - and to delay
being left alone in this cave with no
obvious means of escape.
“Please,” the Colonel replied, “no
more words. They cannot possibly
equal the sublimity of this moment.
They will only spoil it in my mind. I
would rather remember you as an
equal, a worthy opponent who pro-
vided me with a welcome diversion
from the drudgery of warfare rather
than as a sad, pathetic man trying
to prolong his last minutes through
subterfuge. You are a better man
than that.”
Jack gaped. It wasn’t every day he
got a compliment from his oldest
and most nefarious rival. Then be-
latedly, he realized he was being
toyed with, and grimaced.
It was now Kaufman’s turn to giggle
-and it was not a pretty sight. The
throaty laugh was quite different
than Hempel’s, savage and cruel.
“Perhaps you are right, Herr Mem-
phis. Perhaps I do have a sense of
humor, after all.” He suppressed
another giggle. “Farewell. Or per-
haps I should say Adeus instead.”
Without another word, Kaufman
and his entourage tromped out of
the cave.
Jack seethed with rage. “I can’t
believe I fell for his ‘honorable en-
emy’ line,” he muttered. “I must be
the biggest fool in the world.”
“Nah,” answered Tom from behind
his back, “you just can’t help believ-
ing that even a bum like Kaufman
has a good day now and again. No
shame in that. You know it’s being
willing to give even a rankvillain like
Kaufman the benefit of the doubt
that makes you better than him.
Without that kind of optimism, I don’t
think we’d have been able to ac-
complish have of what we have in
the past few years.”
Tom paused, and then struggled
against his bonds. “Now, not to
seem pushy, but could you maybe
quit crying in your milk and maybe
figure out how to get out of here?”
 x rr .-
@I

, .. IT

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 addition to the other obstacles. This is
an example of one-upmanship, because
it allows the Gamemaster to reuse a plot
Pulp adventures depend heavily on a combination of creativity and one-upmanship
element and increase its difficulty in
- and Gear Krieg is no different. Creativity is easy enough to understand: pulp
doing so.
adventures thrive on new and original ways to challenge the heroes. Because so
many of the elements that make up a pulp adventure are cliched - the stalwart Of course, there are other ways to intro-
heroes, the dastardly villains, the high stakes, the dying soliloquy, etc. - it's espe- duce one-upmanship into a campaign.
cially important that the nature of these elements change each time they occur. Difficulty or hardship is not the only ele-
Consequently, Gamemasters must constantly seek out new ways to place the he- ment of pulp adventures worth increas-
roes in danger. One session, the story might take place in the rugged terrain of ing over time. As noted above, outland-
North Africa, fighting alongside brave Bedouin warriors, while in another the story ishness is another example of one-
might take place on the icy plains of Antarctica, infiltrating the Third Reich's hidden upmanship. Pulp stories have a unique
weapons factories there. presentation, one that place great stock
in style and flair. Sometimes, their plots
Of course, creativity is more than just changing the scenery. It's also about making
may be old and tired, but they're never
each instance of an element appear new and exciting. In some campaigns, for
presented without a certain panache
example, there might be a long string of adventures that all take place in occupied
that helps to elevate them above their
France or in the jungles of South America. Each of these adventures shares the
source material.
same locales and backgrounds, as well as the same basic pulp elements, What
sets one tromp through the Amazon from another? How does the Gamemaster keep Thus, the heroes don't merely battle a
his adventures distinct in the Players' minds and avoid repetition (and the boredom Nazi scientist working on a super-
that inevitably comes with it)? weapon to defeat the Allies, they battle
him in his underwater lair in the Medi-
terranean. Even better, they do so after
fighting off a battalion of zombie frog-
men e q u i p p e d with some of the
scientist's latest diabolical weaponry. If
the Gamemaster is feeling really in-
spired, he might even add radio-con-
trolled sharks or the ancient ruins of
Mycenae to the mix.

The key is that all of the elements men-

tioned are flamboyant additions or ex-
pansions of more basic elements. Any
long lasting Gear Krieg campaign will
quickly fall prey to repetitiveness if it
I
does not take advantage of both cre-
ativity and one-upmanship. This is es-
for example, the characters regularly pecially true of campaigns that deal di-
traipse through the Australian Outback rectly with the events of the Second
To some extent, this is where one-
as they battle against the evil minions World War proper. War-based stories
upmanship comes into play One-
of Lord Blackstone. The first time they quickly tend to devolve into either tac-
upmanship is another important element
did so, they contended only with the tical situations (for which the Gear Krieg
of the pulps that works very well in Gear
physical hardships and perhaps a few miniatures game is naturally well suited)
Krieg. Each time an element IS re-used
wild animals. The next time they do so, or into special operations missions, with
in an adventure or campaign, it should
the GM might consider sending a few the characters in the roles of infiltrators
not only be different, it should also be
of Blackstone's thugs against them in
deadlier or more outlandish. Suppose,

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 and saboteurs. Despite this, a clever
GM can keep these types of scenarios
fresh and exciting, if he's willing to ex-
ercise some creativity with the basic el-
ements that constitute them. The same
is doubly true of other types of adven-
tures, where the options are a bit
broader.
Pulp heroes face incredible danger ev-
ery day, but very rarely came to any
serious harm during their death-defying
adventures. A combination of clever
tricks, fast thinking, audacious daring,
sheer luck, and plot immunity from pulp
authors reluctant to kill a favourite char-
acter saved countless heroes from
seemingly sure death.
Pushed out of flying aeroplanes, being
trapped in flooded caverns, dodging a
hail of gangster lead, pulp heroes sur-
vived it all, with only torn shirts, ripped
stockings and mussed hair to hint at the
dangers they had faced. In a fair fight,
the good guys never lost, being beaten
by the bad guys only through over-
whelming odds, traps, hypnotism, and
other cowardly and treacherous acts.
It's harder for GMs to have their Play-
ers' PCs continually stare death in the
eye and still have these heroes regu-
larly surviving deadly pulp RPG adven-
tures, but it can be done.
Introduce cinematic rules, reducing
most wounds to simple unconscious-
ness, and minor injuries to blackouts,
The actual rule (page 83 of the rulebook) is a little uncleax S.I. may be invoked
whenever there is an Opposed roll, which makes it somewhatpowe$ul. SI use must
be declared before an Opposed Skill test is made. S.I. cannot be invoked to cancel a
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
dazing and temporary incapacitation.
Instead of lethal injuries, arrange situ-
ations for the mortally wounded PC's
body to disappear, and later reintro-
duce the character to the storyline with
a some lesser but longer lasting injury
and an explanation of some sort for
their disappearance. Make copious use
of the Luck Perk and Daring Dice, al-
low characters to push their strength
and will-power to beyond the brink, and
let them use extra experience die rolls
and "brownie points" to save their PCs
from certain death. Note that this pulp
adventure ingredient is one of reduced
PC deaths, not outright immunity from
death. If Players have their PCs repeat-
edly perform reckless and thoughtless
actions, let the dice fall as they may,
and occasionally let such PCs die. On
the other hand, never let a string of bad
die rolls alone spell the demise of an
otherwise well played pulp PC hero.
Other tricks to reduce the lethal effects
of gun combat can be gadgets invented
and used by the PC pulp heroes. Allow
bulletproof armour for those heroes who
frequently face lead-happy enemies.
Allow gadgeteers to invent strange elec-
trical devices that render gunpowder
inert within its area of effect, or personal
force shields that will only allow slow-
moving weapons such as swords or fists
to penetrate. You can also have the pulp
version of the magic healing that is com-
mon to fantasy games: have someone
come up with superscience devices
such as "blood regenerator," "bone
stappler" and "plastic flesh" that can be
invented by gadgeteers to quickly patch
up damaged or even mangled heroes.
Emphasize to your Players the pulp con-
vention that both crooks and heroes will
more often surrender in the face of over-
whelming odds than fight on to the last
anaemic drop of blood. Do not punish
PCs who honor the classic pulp tradi-
tion of surrendering to the enemy; in-
stead, reward them with having them
taken to the villain's secret HQ. Once
there, give them a chance to escape
and turn the tables on their former cap-
tors. Have your NPC villains make heavy
use of knockout gas, bludgeons and
narcotic bullets to bring down our he-
roes. Let fisticuffs and brawling be the
preferred means of combat by the
agents of the villain and the heroes, by
allowing handguns to b e quickly
knocked to the ground at the start of
fighting when they are first pulled out
by trigger-happy combatants. Providing
situations where everyone knows that
firing a gun is foolhardy, perhaps aboard
a hydrogen-filled dirigible or inside a
dynamite factory, is yet another trick to
reduce the scale of lethality of your pulp
RPG combats.
An important mean to keep the Players
in the proper heroic spirit it to properly
reward them for heroic behavior. There
are many ways to do this, and which
one(s) will provide the best results de-
pends on the individual Players; a good
Gamemaster will listen to them and ad-
just the reward to best fit each person's
expectation of the game. Rewards in-
clude (but are certainly not limited to):
Contacts: They acquire the friendship of
powerful patrons who can supply equip-
ment, access to certain places, or cut
through red tape.
 The Importance of
Being Earnest
Players should recognize this pulp
convention of the hero being role-
models of bravev, honesty and in-
tegrity. They are people of action, not
words!
PC acts of self-sacr$ce, gallantry
and daring should be encouraged
with appropriate rewards specific to
the pulp game world.
Players who persist in having their
PCs pe$orm less than noble actions
may find to their surprise NPCpulp
heroes showing them up and getting
all the goodies.
Even worse, NPC pulp villains may
try to recruit them as allies for their
own nefarious plots!
Glory: Let the newshounds sing their
praise on the front page of city newspa-
pers. Maybe ticker-tape parades are
held in the heroes' honor,with the mayor
bestowing to them the key to the city.
For those really lucky, perhaps children
will begin to follow the adventures of the
PCs, with hero fan-clubs springing up
complete with secret passwords and
decoder rings!
Power: Hand out Experience Points,
Daring Dice, even Destiny Points. Make
sure the Players can improve their char-
acters by acquiring new Skills and
Perks.
Toys: Reward the Players by giving
them access to new equipment, ve-
hicles, etc. They could also get a new
headquarter!
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
AND PLOTELEMENTS
This section provides many examples of pulp-style plots and plot elements to spur
the imagination of GMs looking for new ways to spice up their campaigns. Many of
those listed below can easily be used in conjunction with the Random Adventure
Generator included on pages 175-184 of Gear Krieg: The Roleplaying Game. Oth-
ers are more "free floating" and can serve simply as inspiration to Gamemasters
looking for ways to spice up plotlines they've used again and again in their games.
This is more than a list of simple plot outlines (although it does do that as well).
Instead, it focuses on the elements that make each plotline distinctive, as well as the
most common variations on those elements. In this way, the GM has a valuable
resource to which he can turn whenever he is at a loss about the sort of adventure
he would like to present to his Players - right down to new and exciting ways to
reuse staples of the genre like "On the Run" or "Captured!" Another possible use of
these plots and elements is in thinking about the backgrounds of Player Characters
and NPCs, both of which might be filled with lots of exciting exploits. By using ex-
amples from the following section, Players and GMs can both get at least a basic
idea of the things they need to think about when they say, for example, that a par-
ticular character is a fugitive or an intrepid archaeologist who regularly visits ancient
ruins. This section is not intended as a substitute for creativity, of course, but it
should nevertheless provide plenty of food for thought.
they hoped to escape in the first place.
Another alternative is that the shelter is
The characters face some sort of dan-
the home or base of a completely differ-
ger, whether natural or man-made. They
ent but nevertheless dangerous threat,
are currently unable to deal with the
such as a rival group of mercenaries or
danger and so seek shelter from it -
a super scientist who doesn't take kindly
any shelter they can find. Conveniently,
to intruders on his domain. A different
a place that might just serve that pur-
kind of challenge could arise if the shel-
pose comes into view. Unfortunately,it's
ter houses antagonistic but not neces-
not quite as safe as the characters ini-
sarily sinister inhabitants, who are ini-
tially believed it to be, creating all man-
tially skeptical of the characters' true
ner of difficulties - and possibilities for
intentions. Perhaps it is the hideout of a
adventure.
Resistance cell or partisan group, who
There unexpected difficulties the char- question the characters' relationship to
acters face in their would-be shelter can the Axis. In cases like this, the danger
be one of many different things. One of shifts into the social realm, in which the
the likeliest (and most common in the PCs must prove their good intentions
pulp tradition) is that the shelter is some- before they can take advantage of the
how actually connected to the original shelter.
danger the characters are fleeing. For
example, the old, seemingly abandoned
chateau might in fact be the secret lair
of Baron Skull, whose tender mercies

AND A DAYLATE
The heroes arrive in a locale, typically
one they had specifically set out to
reach, and discover that they have ar-
rived too late. The villains have already
been there and succeeded in doing
whatever it is they intended to do. De-
pending on the tone the GM wishes to
convey, the villains may have done ev-
erything from destroy the locale and kill
all its inhabitants (for a very dark sce-
nario) or simply stolen an important ar-
tifact or piece of information (for a less
oppressive one). In any event, the char-
acters now find themselves in the un-
comfortable position of having failed
before they even started! More than
likely, they will use the evidence and
clues they find or are given at the origi-
nal locale to initiate a chase. Conse-
quently, this makes for an excellent start
to any quest-based scenarios. It nicely
provides a suitable reason for the he-
roes to take up a merry chase across
the globe to find the evildoers who
bested them at the beginning.
There are a number of possible varia-
tions on this scenario that a GM can use
to make each instance of it distinctive.
The evidence might point to the villains'
having moved on to a particularly dan-
gerous area or locale, one that the he-
roes are either unfamiliar with or for
which they are particularly ill prepared.
This gives the Gamemaster a good way
to introduce a new or unusual setting
into his campaign. Another possibility is
that the villains purposefully leave be-
hind false or misleading evidence in or-
der to set the characters up for a fall
later. The evidence might lead the he-
roes into a trap that has already been
planted in advance, for example. It is
also possible that the villains' escape
places the heroes in a distinct advan-
tage. Perhaps the villains have fled into
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
the characters' home territory or into a
locale with which they are intimately fa-
miliar. Such a case might well lead to a
more lighthearted scenario, one in which
the Player Characters have the chance
to act as the masterminds rather than
as the pawns. This kind of scenario
makes a nice change of pace from the
more dire and brooding scenarios that
are common in some Gear Krieg cam-
paigns.
Pulp stories thrive on outlandish plots
and improbable events. Having the he-
roes cooperate with the villains is one
such outlandish and improbable event.
Of course, the question arises as to why
the heroes would do such a thing. A
common pulp explanation is blackmail.
Through some means, a villain has
come into possession of information or
an object or a person that he uses to
make the heroes do his bidding. Though
they are unwilling, the heroes have no
choice but to do as he says, lest there
be long-lasting - and unpleasant -
consequences. This type of scenario
can occur in several different ways. One
of the simplest is to base the blackmail
on a Player Character's background or
(better yet) Flaws. In this way, the
Gamemaster is taking advantage of in-
formation the Player has already created
to use against his character. Though
sometimes cruel (and blackmail sce-
narios often are), this can show that
there is a price to be paid for every Flaw
a character takes and that a good back-
ground can just as easily be used
against a character as in his favor. At
the same time, many, if not most, Play-
ers enjoy seeing their character's back-
ground form the centerpiece of an ad-
venture, even if doing so is sometimes
to their disadvantage. Another equally
satisfying possibility is that the black-
mail derives from a previous adventure,
perhaps one in which the characters
acted dishonorably or did something
they later regretted. This approach is
likewise encouraged because it lends
weight to previous scenarios and sug-
gests continuity -an important element
in any successful Gear Krieg campaign.
By its very nature, blackmail scenarios
involve a lot of duplicity and subterfuge.
The villain must not only find a way to
obtain the thing he uses to blackmail the
characters, but he must also find a way
to keep it in his possession. If he can-
not do that, his entire plot will fail and
he may find himself on the receiving end
of harsh justice meted out by the he-
roes. If the GM is fond of melodrama
(and what pulp campaign would be
complete without it?), he might allow for
the possibility that the blackmailer can-
not be easily defeated. Perhaps he
knows something that cannot be forgot-
ten or taken awayfrom him. In fact, many
pieces of blackmail information are nec-
essarily intangible and cannot be re-
moved from the villain's possession,
unless they are of a sort that requires
corroborating evidence.
Secret identities are good examples of
this sort of information. If Baron Eisen
knows that Captain Midnight's true iden-
tity is millionaire adventurer Bruce
Wembley-Scott, he has the means to
blackmail his nemesis. However, he
needs proof or else the world will not
believe Eisen's ridiculous tale. In any
event, superscience provides some
means of erasing memories or destroy-
ing information, but it does not always
work. In such cases, the heroes must
choose between giving in to blackmail
or killing their enemy in order to preserve
their secrets - choices that are ripe with
dramatic possibilities.

This is perhaps one of the most com-
mon and simple scenario types. It also
has the most potential for variety, since
any number of variables can b e
changed to make it more interesting and
unusual. In outline, it involves the char-
acters traveling to a particular locale and
entering it for the purpose of recovering
some person, object, or information.
Most often, the locale itself is danger-
ous, perhaps because of its remoteness
or its inhabitants. In any event, the bulk
of the scenario is taken up with navigat-
ing through the locale and finding the
ultimate goal that drew the heroes there
in the first place. A villain's headquar-
ters is a typical locale, but many others
are possible, such as ancient ruins, a
military base, a bank, a secret labora-
tory, or even the home of some wealthy
personality. Gamemasters looking to
add spice to this scenario can do so by
varying the locale and the goal of the
quest. A good way to challenge the
Player Characters is to keep in mind how
they usually resolve the challenges they
face. If they are more cerebral in their
approach, placing lots of armed guards
in the locale might prove more a threat
to them than lots of traps and obstacles.
There are plenty of other variations as
well. For example, the goal of the mis-
sion might not be the acquisition of a
particular thing, but its desfrucfion. An-
other variation has the characters in
competition with other groups to obtain
the same item, who might even know
more about the locale than they do. Al-
ternately, the entire mission is based on
false information.Perhaps the item is not
located in the locale the characters be-
lieve it to be. Perhaps it has even been
purposefully removed to another locale,
in order to trap the characters who at-
tempt to seize it. There are, in fact, so
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
many different possibilities that a clever with Chinese Nationalists or Commu-
GM should have little difficulty creating nists, French Resistance fighters, or
dozens of variations on this scenario. It partisans in the Balkans. In this varia-
is, after all, one of the classics of all he- tion, there is a great deal of roleplaying,
as well as combat, as the characters
roic fiction, not just the pulps.
work to win over their allies and learn to
respect one another's ways of doing
things. Indeed, this scenario can easily
Just as "Breaking and Entering" is a serve as the basis of an entire cam-
classic of heroic fiction, so too is this a paign, as the characters are inserted
classic of war fiction. That is important into a region to work as advisors and
to bear in mind.Gear Krieg, even in its slowly become more and more involved
roleplaying form, is about war. The in its trials and tribulations, until, at last,
progress and development of World War they become their own. This scenario
II is an integral part of the Modern Age.
The war can and should provide lots of
opportunities for adventure. This sce-
nario type involves the characters' be-
ing tasked to secure and hold a loca-
tion for military purposes. Perhaps they
are sent to seize an important lookout
point or landing strip. They might even
be sent to seize an entire island or small
peninsula. The scope of the mission
depends largely on the power level of
the Player Characters and the degree
of difficulty the GM wishes to employ.
Whatever the case, the scenario focuses
on the trials and tribulations of obtain-
ing the target in the face of enemy op-
position. Equally important is the story
of holding the target, since enemy
troops will often make tactical retreats
from their positions to regroup and
launch their offensive again later. Thus,
the heroes might well find themselves
in a situation in which the seizure of a
locale might be relatively simple but the
holding of it is the true test of their mettle.
A common variation on this scenario -
and one especially well suited to
roleplaying games- is one in which the
heroes must train and command an in-
digenous forces of guerrillas to seize
and secure the territory. The Second
World War offers lots of opportunities for
this sort of arrangement, whether it be
I1
 also offers Gamemasters a chance to
integrate their roleplaying scenarios with
tactical combat, which makes it an ex-
cellent segue for those who also enjoy
the Gear Krieg miniatures game to in-
troduce it into their campaigns.
The Player Characters find themselves
in a location infested with an enemy or
obstacle of some sort and they must
work to remove them before they can
take up possession of or residence in
that location. In a military environment,
this is largely indistinguishable from
"Capture the Flag." Consequently, this
scenario type is largely reserved for
more "civilian" pursuits. Classic pulp
examples include a character who in-
herits a home, only to find it held by un-
pleasant local residents, wild animals,
or even ghosts! Of course, in Gear Krieg
there are no ghosts as such, but that
does not mean the Player Characters
will know that. Someone might be using
myths and legends of monsters to cover
their own sinister activities. Scenarios of
this type are good ways to introduce
weird and peculiar superscience experi-
ments gone awry. The Modern Age is
definitely a time in which science rules
the day and it does indeed offer a bet-
ter future - if used properly. Unfortu-
nately, not every use of science will be
a proper one and not all scientists will
take the precautions they should when
undertaking their work. Consequently,a
GM could easily create several sce-
narios in which the characters must
"clean" and area that has been ad-
versely affected by superscience. Other
possibilities include wild animals that
have taken up residence in an area, or
even criminals on the run, who have
holed up inside a seemingly abandoned
home or estate.
12
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
While not literally a damsel (in every
case anyway), this scenario types in-
volves the heroes rescuing or protect-
ing someone who is placed in grave
danger In the pulps, this is quite often
a beautiful and naive young woman, but
there is no reason to limit it to that in a
Gear Krieg scenario The Modern Age
is a dangerous place and ingenues are
not the only people who will run afoul
of its worst aspects Besides, Gear
Krieg only takes its inspiration from the
pulps of the past, it is not a recreation
of them The Gamemaster should feel
free to change whatever elements he
likes in order to meet his own desires
and those of his Players If the stereo-
type of an incapable and foolish young
beauty is inappropriate to the type of
game he wishes to play, he need not
use it It is just as plausible to use an
equally clueless young man or an ab-
sent-minded professor For that matter,
there is no requirement that the "dam-
sel" be at all incapable It is just as
possible that he or she has simply run
into big trouble of one sort or another
and now need assistance Any sce-
nario in which the primary goal is to
rescue someone falls under this cat-
egory in one way or another
A common variation on this theme is
where the characters must protect a
character from harm rather than rescue
them In this case, the heroes act as
bodyguards or even chaperones The
degree of seriousness in this kind of
scenario is quite variable If, for ex-
ample, the characters are assigned to
protect an important dignitary from as-
sassination by enemy agents, the ad-
venture will likely be grim and even a
little dark If, on the other hand, they
must keep an eye on the precocious son
of an ambassador, as he wanders about
New York City, the adventure could very
well be quite comic. Indeed, a common
trope in protection scenarios is that the
person to be protected is either unco-
operative or oblivious to the dangers that
face them. In this case, the characters
must contend not only with the very real
threats that surround their charge, but
also the charge's own tendencies to
place himself in danger.
IN A MUSEUM
This is another variation on "Breaking
and Entering," but it deserves its own
entry because it is such a commonplace
of the pulp genre. In one respect or an-
other, many recent pulp-inspired mov-
ies and novels follow this type, in which
the characters are treasure hunters or
archaeologists seeking out ancient arti-
facts or information from the past. In
many cases, these quests tend to take
on mystical or magical characteristics,
because the objects of the quests are
religious or spiritual in nature, such as
the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail.
In Gear Krieg, no such artifacts have
genuinely mystical powers, but that
does not change the fact that many
people believed that they did. In times
of crisis and war, possession of irnpor-
tant icons of religious or historical value
can hold great power. Hitler himself was
very much aware of this, which is why
he created a branch of the dreaded SS
known as the Ahnenerbe, one of whose
missions was the recovery of ancient
artifacts for use in propaganda and
other purposes. Rumors claim, for ex-
ample, that the Ahnenerbe seized the
Spear of Longinus from Austria, which
legend says was used by the Roman
centurion who pierced Christ's side at
the Crucifixion. In the Modern Age, the
heroes might well be tasked with pre-
 venting such thefts by the Nazis or per-
petrating them themselves in the cause
of good.
There are many variation to this type of
scenario. One is that the artifact sought
either does not exist or does so in an
unusual fashion. For example, the mythi-
cal "Heart of Zolo" the heroes seek might
not be a large diamond at all, but in-
stead a person in the bloodline of the
ancient warrior himself.This kind of turn-
about throws the characters off the trail
and prevents their becoming compla-
cent. Similarly, it is possible that the ar-
tifact is itself dangerous. Following up
legends of the "Stones of Fire" in Africa
might lead the heroes to a uranium mine,
whose deadly radiation could kill them.
Yet, they must prevent the Nazis from
getting their hands on the uranium, lest
their atomic weapon experiments be-
come reality. There are also plenty of
ways to protect the artifact, both by se-
curing them behind traps and obstacles,
as well as providing them with human
and animal defenders. If the
Gamemaster is ever at a loss for ideas,
he can consult one of dozens of movies
made since the golden age of the pulps
for inspiration. Many include a wide va-
riety of deathtraps, guardians, and re-
versals - more than enough for any
Gear Krieg adventure.
s assistance from the proper authorities.
STRANGELAND
The heroes find themselves in a land or
situation with which they are unfamiliar.
The conflict of this type of scenario
stems from trying to come to grips with
situations and individuals that are totally
alien or outside the experience of the
Player Characters. This scenario type
also has the benefit of making even very
accomplished and Skilled characters
contend with obstacles they have never
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
been encountered. In this respect, it is
a good way for the Gamemaster to cre-
ate a real challenge for his Players. Even
very experienced Player Characters can
find themselves largely at a loss if the
GM is especially devious in planning this
type of adventure.
There are a large number of variations
on this basic set-up. One of the more
common -and one very much in keep-
ing with pulp conventions-is the "cast-
away" scenario. In this variation, the
characters are not merely thrown into an
unfamiliar environment and forced to
contend with unknown adversaries.
They are also given minimal resources,
due to a shipwreck, plane crash, or
some other misfortune. In Gear Krieg,
many heroes rely heavily on their equip-
ment and superscience gadgets. This
eliminates those items and forces the
characters to rely solely on their own
ingenuity and cleverness - a true test
of a pulp hero.
Another pulp favorite is the detective
scenario in which the characters arrive
on the scene just as a crime of some
sort has been committed. The type of
crime can vary from theft to murder to
blackmail. What is important is that the
heroes find themselves forced to solve
the mystery themselves without much
The true hallmark of this scenario is that,
in the pulp tradition at least, it is some-
thing unexpected. The characters rarely
enter the scenario specifically expect-
ing to be involved in a criminal investi-
gation. Instead, it springs on them by
surprise, often in the midst of some other
innocuous social gathering, such as a
high society party, scientific conference,
or diplomatic meeting. This isn't a hard
and fast rule, of course. If the charac-
ters are well known as crime fighters or
have a reputation of being particularly
knowledgeable about the type of crime
committed, they might be called in to
deal with it. The primary issue for the
Gamemaster is why the Player Charac-
ters rather than the legitimate authori-
ties must do the bulk of the investiga-
tion, or at least why the characters are
more successful in their investigation
than the police, for example.
There is almost infinite variation possible
for this type of scenario. The nature and
extent of the crime provides many op-
portunities to make each scenario very
different from its predecessors. Indeed,
entire campaigns can be built around
solving mysteries of one sort or another.
It's thus little surprise that some of the
most enduring pulp characters were
detectives of one sort or another.A more
or less standard conceit of pulp stories
involves the heroes having some per-
sonal stake in the solving of the crime.
Perhaps the murder victim is an old army
buddy. Perhaps the item stolen is vital
to a character's research. Perhaps the
hero's family reputation is on the line. It's
even possible that the characters are
accused of the crime and must solve
the crime to exonerate themselves.
Whatever the reason, a personal stake
makes it vital that the Player Characters
rather than NPCs take up the investiga-
tion and ensure its satisfactory conclu-
sion.
There are basically two different types
of Escort Service scenarios. The first is
very much like "Damsel in Distress" in
that the characters are charged with
taking a person or persons from Point A
to Point B and to keep them from harm
while they do so. Often, their charge is
 troublesome in some fashion or other,
whether it be because of their curiosity,
impetuousness, or bad habit of ticking
off local crime lords by welching on their
bets. In any event, the characters find
that the journey itself is far less prob-
lematic than dealing with the person
they're meant to protect. This isn't uni-
versally the case. Sometimes, Escort
Service scenarios really are about the
journey, in which case the focus should
be on environmental hazards and ob-
stacles rather than social interaction.
The second type has the characters
charged with delivering an important
item of some sort from Point A to Point
B.The item in question could be a dip-
lomatic package, an ancient artifact,
spare parts for a superscience device
- almost anything. All that matters is
that it's vitally important that it reach its
destination unharmed. Naturally, some-
one (sometimes several someones) is
out to seize it for themselves and they're
willing to d o whatever they must to
achieve their objectives. This variation
often functions as a "bridge scenario"
between others, such as after the char-
acters have discovered that Resistance
Base B-22 needs more ammunition in
three days or they'll fall before Colonel
Kaufmann's cadre of rocketfruppen. The
journey is an adventure in itself, but it's
also a segue into another scenario in
which the characters not only resupply
the base but also help defend it from
the Nazis.
Like many of the pulp scenario ideas in
this chapter, On the Run has two dis-
tinct variations. The one involves the
Player Characters hunting down a fugi-
tive of some sort. By "fugitive," one
should not necessarily understand a
criminal. Rather, a fugitive is simply
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
someone the heroes must find and, for
one reason or another, cannot. He may
well be a dangerous Axis prisoner of war
who managed to escape from a deten-
tion center and is on his way back to
headquarters to warn his masters of the
D-Day invasion. But he may also be a
reclusive scientist whose ideas hold the
key to preventing a Japanese invasion
of Hawaii, but whose conscience won't
allow him to work for the military. The
important point is that the characters
must piece together clues to find the
location of the person they seek and
then find him before it is too late.
The second variation involves the
Player Characters themselves being on
the run. In this case, the heroes must
escape and avoid capture by hostile
forces. As in the first variation, the rea-
sons for their running can be one of
many. They may be accused of crimes
they didn't commit. They may have es-
caped from a prison camp and are try-
ing to make their way home. They may
simply want to avoid the media atten-
tion that hounds them whenever they
make their way back home. Whatever
the reason, the characters need to keep
a low profile until they can find a safe
haven where those seeking them can
no longer find them.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed," or
so the saying goes. The friends of pulp
heroes can be anything from trench
mates in the Great War to wealthy play-
boys to the governments of mighty na-
tions. This scenario involves those
friends playing on the characters' sense
of loyalty to aid them in their time of
need. In this case of adventure, the he-
roes' primary (and sometimes only)
motivation is to aid their comrades. It's
out of loyalty and friendship that they
undertake whatever mission their friend
asks of them. Many times, the mission
is of immediate assistance to the friend,
such as finding the Axis spy among his
family retainers or protecting him from
the machinations of the World Crime
League. Other times, though, the mis-
sion might be of a different sort, one in
which the friend has a professional stake
but not a personal one. For example, a
friend in the British Foreign Office might
ask the heroes to help him resolve a dis-
pute in India or a friend in the Army Air
Corps might ask them to help retrieve
an experimental plane that's crash
landed in Central America.
Another option involves a more abstract
definition of "friend," such a battalion
of Marines caught behind enemy lines
in the Pacific and in need of assistance.
In this case, the heroes must help their
"friends" by traveling to their present
locale and rendering a specific sort of
aid - supplies, weapons, intelligence.
This type of scenario is a common one
in wartime and is, in fact, a staple of
war movies and related genres. Being
set during World War II, Gear Krieg
makes a very fitting venue to include
these scenarios. They can easily serve
as lead-ins to tactical combat games,
too, if the Players and Gamemaster are
so inclined.
The characters are traveling from one
locale to another or are involved in some
other type of activity when they acciden-
tally stumble across the secret head-
quarters of a villain and his henchmen.
Although the characters have no idea
precisely what the villain is up to, they're
sure it's no good. Consequently, they
have no choice but to begin an investi-
gation into the matter - and deal with
it. This type of scenario has a number
 of advantages. First, it allows the GM to
throw the Players off guard, since they
were not expecting to encounter, for
example, a hidden Japanese military
base, in the ice fields of Alaska. Sec-
ond, it introduces an element of mys-
tery into the game. Why are the Japa-
nese in Alaska of all places? What do
they hope to gain?
In this type of scenario, the Player Char-
acters are not the only ones caught off
guard. The villains, too, might have no
idea what to do with the heroes. They
may never have expected anyone to
discover them, hidden deep in the
jungles of the Amazon or in a safe house
on Manhattan Island. This makes for a
nice change of pace. In pulp stories,
villains are often ultra-competent and
paranoid to the point of planning for
every possible contingency. By casting
the characters as Uninvited Guests in a
villain's domain, the GM can show that
even villains have bad days. They can
fail to prepare and their plans can be
thrown into chaos as a result. This
doesn't mean the villains need be in-
competent or comical (though they can
be). Rather, it means that the villains will
have to react on the spot without the
usual elaborately planned death traps
and schemes. In this way, their confron-
tation with the Player Characters is more
primal and visceral - ingenuity against
ingenuity and resourcefulness against
resourcefulness.
NEGOTIATIONS
CONTRACT
Someone or some group possesses
something of value to the Player Char-
acters. However, it is just as valuable to
some other person or group, possibly
enemies of the characters. Those who
possess the item are unwilling to simply
give it away with first requiring the char-
acters and their rivals negotiate for it.
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
hat can the one offer that the other c 's
innot? Why should the owners give it
For reasons unknown, the characters
the heroes rather than the villains7
are attacked by a mysterious group of
lis type of scenario is one based
assailants Even if the characters man-
ound subtlety and social interaction
age to defeat their attackers, they find
iere can be hidden violence in the
the attacks continue and dog them
ackground, as the characters vie with
wherever they go The point of this sce-
eir rivals, but it should not predomi-
nario is for the heroes to figure out the
ate Sometimes, in fact, violence
nature of these attacks and how to stop
akes it more difficult for the charac-
them Chandler's Revenge is an ex-
rs to achieve their objectives Instead,
tremely wide-open sort of scenario, one
ey must resort to a combination of
that can be used in a number of differ-
jile, cleverness, and diplomacy to win
ent ways The most common assump-
e thing they seek
tion is that the characters have been
ne of the things the Gamemaster targeted by some villain, who is deter-
iould bear in mind is why characters mined to eliminate the threat they pose
their rivals cannot simply take the item to him at any cost This villain can be a
vay from those who possess it. For new one or an old one. If it is an old one,
ample, if an African tribe knows the the attacks might be in revenge to a pre-
;ation of the radioactive material each vious defeat at the hands of the heroes
Je needs to advance its atom bomb This is a very useful tool for the GM,
ogram, what's to stop them from tak- since it helps to establish a sense of
J the material for themselves without continuity and the realization that past
?alingwith the tribesmen? More often actions have consequences If the char-
an not, the heroes' ethical nature con- acters had previously beaten and hu-
'ains them from acting, but what about miliated Baron Eisen to such an extent
e villains7 Why wouldn't a team of Nazi that he loses the support of his Fuhrer,
ientists simply kill the villagers and he has good reason to seek vengeance
sal the material they need? The GM In addition, pulp stories thrive on se-
?edsan explanation of some sort Oth- quels and follow-up stories Having the
wise, the negotiations ring hollow and characters attacked by an old adversary
e easily sidestepped, thereby making (perhaps one believed to be dead) adds
e adventure less successful both suspense and mystery to a cam-
Design Note
The Chandler's Revenge plotline takes its namefrom the American novelist Raymond
Chandler (1888-1959),whose hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe is perhaps his
best known literary creation. Chandler is also well knownfor having said that, when
he was at a loss for how to keep the plot of his story moving, he would have a bunch
of thugs show up and start shooting at the good guys. It did not matter why they start
shooting: that could always be figured out later What was important was that the
protagonists were now in mortal danger and must do something. They must react or
else lose their lives. Maintaining a steady pace is very important in pulp stories and
unexpected and inexplicable violence is often a good way to kick offan adventure,
since it gets the characters to think about their situation as they try tofigure out who
has attacked them and why.
 paign, both of which are integral to the
pulp sensibilities on which Gear Krieg
is based.
In the midst of a world war, allies are
more important than ever. This adven-
ture type revolves around the Player
Characters being sent as emissaries to
open peaceful relations with a group,
culture, or nation. In the pulp tradition,
the objects of the mission are the in-
habitants of some far-off land, whose
ways and society are unknown to the
heroes. The tension in this scenario
comes from learning about these
would-be allies and avoiding any so-
cial taboos and faux pas that might
derail the negotiations -or worse. The
reasons for the mission can be many
and varied. Perhaps the Allies wish to
build an airstrip or refueling facility in
the territory of a jungle tribe. Perhaps a
Pacific island kingdom occupies a stra-
tegic location in the war against Japan.
Whatever the reason, the characters
represent their government (or a fac-
tion thereof) and must establish friendly
relations to further their cause.
This type of adventure can include sev-
eral variations. One of the more obvi-
ous is that, like "Contract Negotiations,"
the characters have rivals. Another op-
tion is that a member of their diplomatic
team is in fact a spy for their enemies
and he intends to sabotage their efforts.
It's also possible the entire mission is a
trap perpetrated by their enemies, a
false lead intended to draw the heroes
into unknown territory and away from
support from home. On the other hand,
the diplomatic overtures might only be
a prelude to a greater level of coopera-
tion, one that provides the Allies with aid
in an unexpected area, such as intelli-
gence about German expeditions into
16
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
the Himalayas or proof of a Japanese
submarine base in the Gulf of Mexico.
A common plot element of many pulp
stories is amnesia, whether it is Player
or non-Player Characters who suffer
from it. Amnesia is a powerful narrative
tool that can add a great deal of mys-
tery -and frustration -to a Gear Krieg
adventure. Therefore, Gamemasters
should use it sparingly and with the full
knowledge of its consequences. No
matter who suffers from it, amnesia in-
volves one or more persons forgetting
some portion of their memory. The clas-
sic case of amnesia is when a person
forgets everything they know, including
their own identities. Obviously, this sort
of amnesia is generally inappropriate for
Player Characters, since it would place
unrealistic expectations on their Players,
who must pretend that they don't know
who their own characters are. On the
other hand, a new character might be
introduced into a campaign (with the
cooperation of the Player, of course),
who has no idea who he is or why he is
involved in the adventure.
More likely than not, amnesia in a Gear
Krieg adventure will be partial. For some
reason (known or unknown), a charac-
ter has forgotten some important - even though the heir might have been
probably vital - piece of information,
such as who murdered the British am-
bassador or the location of an Antarctic
base. The scenario's drama stems from
the efforts of the character and his com-
panions to recover those memories in
time to prevent something worse from
occurring. In most cases, the cause of
the amnesia plays a role as well. If, for
example, a superscience device trig-
gered the amnesia, finding that device
and using it properly becomes an im-
portant adventure goal. If, however, a
blow to the head triggered the amne-
sia, no such easy resolution is possible
and more subtle (and drawn out) means
might be necessary to resolve the mat-
ter.
A great many pulp stories involve the
search for a missing person or persons.
In the a world at war, it's very easy for a
person to run afoul of all sorts of dan-
gers, any one of which might cause
them to become lost or otherwise de-
layed. In fact, there are an almost infi-
nite number of possible "missing per-
sons" and an equally large number of
causes. A few examples of missing per-
sons are:
A young heir to an immense amount
of money;
A spy sent deep into enemy territory;
A diplomat on a peace mission;
An explorer who ventured into the
wilds of Asia;
A reclusive superscientist who does
experiments high in a mountain range;
A fighter pilot shot down behind en-
emy lines.
These persons all qualify as "missing,"
kidnapped by a jealous relative while the
superscientist might have run afoul of
his own invention. What is important is
that the person has not been seen in
some time and their absence is signifi-
cant. Someone has to notice and care
about their disappearance for this type
of adventure to work.
How this sort of scenario plays out de-
pends greatly on who the missing per-
son is and why he is missing. If the per-
son is a spy whose been captured by
the Nazis, the process of finding and
 rescuing him will probably be much
more action-packed and direct than if
the person is an heiress who eloped with
her secret lover against the wishes of
her family. Both elements color the way
the scenario will play out, including the
obstacles and opposition that the he-
roes will face.
This type of scenario is largely military
in its applicability. It involves the char-
acters having to, either by orders or by
necessity, to organize the defense of a
particular location against an attack.
The location and the nature of the at-
tack can vary, depending the wishes
and desires of the Gamemaster. One
of the traditional ways this scenario can
play out is for the Player Characters to
be sent to take charge of an outnum-
bered and demoralized band of de-
fenders, providing them much needed
leadership and support. In order to
mount a reasonable defense, the he-
roes must overcome the defenders'
handicaps and whip them into shape
in time to hold back their attackers.
Another classic version of this scenario
involves the characters being sent as
advisors to a group of more primitive
defenders. By "primitive," one should
understand it in a purely technological
sense. That is, a band of Greek parti-
sans low on ammunition and materiel
would qualify as primitive, just as a tribe
of Amazonian natives might. Whatever
the case, the characters enter the re-
gion and work with the locals to mount
an effective defense against the immi-
nent attack. The tension of the scenario
comes not just in finding ways around
the technological deficiencies of the lo-
cals but also in winning their trust and
cooperation. In some ways, this version
of the scenario is much more socially-
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
oriented than violent, even though the
actual battle against the enemy plays
an important part of its climax.
Probably the most basic of all adven-
ture types, "the Quest" involves the
Player Characters starting a grand
search for an item, place, or person that
is very important to their cause, what-
ever that may be. Frequently, the quest
is a globetrotting affair that takes the
heroes from point A to point B to point
C in an effort to gather the clues nec-
essary to obtain their goal. Along the
way, they encounter a wide variety of
opposition, from rivals to environmen-
tal hazards to faulty information. The
climax of such a quest involves not only
achieving their goal but bringing it back
to their home base so that it can fulfill
its purpose. For this reason, the
Gamemaster should take care in con-
sidering the ultimate goal of the quest,
since the Players will not be satisfied
simply with achieving it. They will want
to see it affect the world in some last-
ing way. Thus, if the heroes are seek-
ing a source of uranium for the atomic
weapons program of the United States,
they will want to see that uranium put
to use in fighting the Axis. If it isn't, they
will probably feel cheated and that their
efforts were for nothing. Therefore, a
GM should never make the goal so im-
pressive that its continued presence in
his campaign will do permanent dam-
age to the setting.
Of course, not all quests succeed -or
succeed in the way that the characters
believe they might. In aforementioned
example, the quest might be for a steady
source of uranium. German agents fol-
lowing the same clues oppose the
Player Characters. When the characters
find the uranium, they discover it pos-
sesses an unstable nature that would
prove disastrous if anyone attempted to
use it, especially the Germans. The goal
of the quest then changes from obtain-
ing the uranium to keeping it out of the
Germans' hands and then erasing all
evidence of its existence. These kinds
of turnabouts are perfectly acceptable
and make nice changes of pace from
time to time. What is essential, though,
is that the Players feel that they have no
wasted their time. If the GM intends to
turn the tables on them, he had best
have a good reason for doing so - and
a suitable replacement reward.
The characters must investigate the site
of a recent tragedy of some sort. Per-
haps a military base has been de-
stroyed. Perhaps a stately mansion has
burned to the ground. Perhaps an air-
plane has crashed. In all these cases,
the destroyed location or vehicle suf-
fered an inexplicable fate. Until the di-
saster occurred, there was no evidence
that anything was going wrong or that
there was any danger of mishap. The
purpose of this scenario then is to in-
vestigate the wreckage and determine
the cause of its destruction.
In Gear Krieg, superscience gone awry
is a common explanation for such un-
fortunate events. That's why the
Gamemaster should be careful not to
rely on it too often. Every now and again
is perfectly acceptable. Indeed. most
 Players will probably expect it, because
science gone mad is a staple of the pulp
genre. However, the overuse of this ex-
Beyond the basic character design rules, the Gear Krieg rulebook already offer
planation has many pitfalls, not the least
many hints and tips to make characters in the pulp genre. In the natural evolution
of which is boredom. Science in the
of the game line, a number of new ideas and concepts appeared, and they are
Modern Age is a force that holds the
grouped in this section. In addition to a number of new personal Perks and Flaws
power to transform the world into a uto-
(all of them inspired from the pulp stories) to add to the existing list, the text below
pia, even if, in the wrong hand, it could
provides a number of ideas and character concepts to supplement the limited
do quite the opposite. Too many tales
selection that was already listed in the rulebook. Often, the pulp hero's profession
of science gone awry and the heroes
defined him as much as his personality or appearance: the readers (and Players)
might begin to question its usefulness.
will expect a different story approach from a hard-boiled detective than from a
Moreover, an over-reliance on
daring adventurer/archeologist.
superscience as an explanation shows
a lack of creativity. Better that the GM
use Axis saboteurs or venal mobsters
than turn to superscience again and
again.

H
In order to achieve another goal, the
characters must pass through danger-
ous territory and survive. This type of
scenario is typically an adjunct to an-
other type rather than an end in itself.
For example, the characters might need
to find a rare plant found only in the
depths of the Amazon or rescue a pilot
downed on the icy plains of Antarctica.
The mission is otherwise quite straight-
forward, but the inherent unpleasant-
ness of the terrain makes it especially
difficult. The dangers the characters
face are generally natural and imper-
sonal. They have nothing to do with the
larger focus of their mission. Rather, they
simply exist and must be overcome in
order to achieve their goals.
115 You can gently twist these stereotypes
to get more specialized or customized
Backgrounds and vocations of the he-
characters. Simply mix and match the
roes can also help to explain their in-
attitude qualifier in the left column to a
volvement in pulpish adventures. Ste-
backgroun/profession in the right col-
reotypical active professions of the
umn. The result can get pretty strange,
good guys of pulp adventures included
but in general it works! While Gear Krieg
a large number of different professions,
doesn't share the more fantastic ele-
most of them action-oriented (there
ments of the pulp era, still unique back-
were no bureaucrat heroes). The table
ground abilities and skills for layer Char-
on the right page lists a few of the pos-
acters should be encouraged. The he-
sibility - read across to see some of
roes of the pulps could be literally any-
the stereotypes of the pulp genre as a
one, as long as they stood behind truth,
whole.
justice, and fair play.

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)


A stint in the Great War will provide fa-
miliarity with weapons, combat tech-
niques, and even how to handle air-
planes and potato peelers for a PC with
this type of background. Time spent in
the police station, as a rookie cop, news
hound or even as a custodian can pro-
vide in-depth knowledge of police
procedues, the city, underworld con-
tacts, and even how to fix a leaky fau-
cet. Running away to join the circus at
an early age can give useful knowledge
of acrobatics, disguise artistry, snake
handling and human cannonballery.
As a last example, merely having sold
newspapers or shined shoes as a kid
on the street corner near the city hall or
local honky-tonk, and remembering the
face or shoes of all the politicians, ce-
lebrities and crime figures that bought
papers can be a very useful background
for a reporter.
NAMING
CONVENTIONS
Disguises, strange names and alter
egos for the PC pulp heroes not only
give a touch of mystery to the adven-
ture, but also protect them from the un-
Suggested Character Backgrounds
Qualifier
Absent-Minded
Cerebral
Cigar-Chewing
Crime-Fighting
Cynical
Exotic
Frustrated
Gold-Digging
Hard-Boiled
Jaded
Quiet
Troubleshooting
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
I
welcome attention of the press, the po-
lice and criminals. The Players should
be given a free hand to invent distinc-
tive names for their alter-egos. If they
do not, they may find over-zealous
newspaper reporters doing it for them!
If the PC heroes are using their real
names during their adventures, have
them attach a colorful nickname to cre-
ate such vibrant monikers as "Flash
Smith," "Thunder O'Donnell" or "Wicked
Williams". Sometimes, a professional
title or even the place they were from
provides part of the nickname; "Doc
Ravage" and "Montana Joe" are some
examples of this naming trick. Finally,
epithets, little descriptive phrases such
as "The Daring Crusader," "The Man of
Cobalt" or "The Impossible Flyer" can
also b e attached to the Player
Character's name to spice it up a little.
Secret hideouts, gadgets, exotic ve-
hicles and more were stylistic conven-
tions that some Players may want to in-
clude in their charcter's conceptions.
These may also have their own sepa-
rate colorful names and labels for these
items.
Profession
Professor
Gadgeteer
Veteran
Stage Magician
Soldier-Of-Fortune
Mystic
Law Officer
Femme-Fatale
Detective
Playboy
Martial Artist
Circus Performer
Alternate Identities
Alternate Identities were a common
feature in the pulp stories, especially
the crime-$ghting ones. While itpre-
sents obvious securio advantages, a
secret identity has risks and compli-
cations all of its own - which, of
course, can be used to make the game
session much, much more interest-
ing ...
The mundane world will present in-
teresting pitfalls f o r a Character
leading a double life. If they have a
regular nine-to-five job, their boss
might become upset at the late ap-
pearances or missed days, all of
which are secretly spent fighting
crime. The local daily newspapel; in
an effort to boost sales, might start a
campaign to rid the city of these se-
cretive vigilantes - they are as bad
as the mobsters themselves! The
heroS romantic partnel; best friend
or noisy landlady could become cu-
rious about that locked room in the
basement (the entrance to the secret
headquarter). Worse, an amateur
crime-fighter might seek a shortcut
to glory by assuming the same secret
identity, to later reap the fame and
reward for themselves.
The villains can also use the secret
identity to their own benefit. They
could impersonate the charactel;let-
ting the blame for their numerous
crimes fall on the shoulders of the
hapless vigilante, simultaneously
taking the heat off themselves and
getting rid of the thorn in their side.
They could also track the good gujs
to their secret headquarters, stealing
valuable property, equipment or in-
formation - the characters cannot
go complain to the police, after all..
Last but not least, there is always the
old fashioned blackmail: do this, or
else we reveal your identity to the
entire world.

As presented in Gear Krieg The
RoleplayingGame, Perks and Flaws are
entirely optional. Many Gamemasters
may find them not only an unnecessary
complication, but also an avenue for
abuse by Players. Consequently,
Gamemasters are well advised to keep
a tight rein on the number and types of
Perks and Flaws he allows in his cam-
paign. An upper limit of 5 points of Flaws
(or 10 in a Cinematic game) is still rec-
ommended.
At the same time, there is no question
that Perks and Flaws serve several very
important purposes. Firstly, they allow
Players to create the characters they
want to play. By choosing appropriate
Perks and Flaws, Players can add the
little details that differentiate one dare-
devil adventurer from another.They pro-
vide tiny bits of flavor that enable Play-
ers to create truly unique characters.
Secondly, they are very much in keep-
ing with the pulp traditions on which
Gear Krieg is based. With a few notable
exceptions, even the most heroic of pulp
heroes had a weakness. The same is
doubly true for villains, some of whose
diabolical plans could only be defeated
by exploiting their secret Achilles heel.
Similarly, pulp heroes and villains might
be exceptional human beings with a
broad range of Skills, but even they ex-
celled in some areas more than others.
These areas of special aptitude form the
basis of their styles and attitudes, both
of which are vital to the pulp mindset.
For this reason, the following is a list of
new Perks and Flaws to supplement
those already described in Part Two of
the Gear Krieg: The Roleplaying Game
rulebook. They give additional ways to
customize heroes and villains in a cam-
paign, some of which might suggest
character ideas in themselves. As al-
20
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
ways, their use in a campaign is left to
the discretion of the Gamemaster, who
knows best what is acceptable.
Catlike Balance (2): The character has
above average balance. He gets a + I
on Acrobatics checks; the Gamemaster
may agree to extend the bonus to other
Agility-based checks, if the circum-
stances warrant it. There is no downside
to Catlike Balance.
Combat Veteran (3): The character has
been in combat often enough to have
developed a high degree of ease in com-
bat situations. Consequently, the char-
acter gains + I on Combat Sense checks.
Combat Veteran has no downside.
Common Sense (1-4): To one degree or
other, the character possesses innate
good judgment and generally knows
whether a given course of action is rea-
sonable or not. A number of times per
session equal to its point cost, the Player
of a character with Common Sense may
ask the Gamemaster whether a particu-
lar action will have negative conse-
quences before he undertakes it. This
Perk does not allow the Player to learn
whether the action will succeed or even
if it will have a positive outcome, only
whether it will have any unpleasant re-
percussions. It has no downside.
Crack Driver/Pilot (2): This is actually
two different Perks, each of which costs
two points. Characters who possess
this Perk gain either a +1 on Drive or
Aircraft Pilot checks, depending on
which version he takes. This Perk has
no downside.
Internal Clock (1): The character has an
innate sense of temporal flow and al-
ways know what time it is. He gets a +1
bonus to any action or undertaking that
requires great timing.
Human Computator (1): Possession of
this Perk allows the character to quickly
and easily calculate mathematical equa-
tions of all sorts without error. At the
Gamemaster’s discretion is can grant a
+1 to certain Skill checks, such as
Computator, Navigator, or even Me-
chanical Design. lt has no downside.
Linguistic Aptitude (1): The character
has a knack for languages. Point costs
for learning new languages after char-
acter creation are reduced by one, as
long as the character has the opportu-
nity to study the language for a few
hours or discuss with a native speaker
for a few minutes.
Mechanical Aptitude (1): The character
has a knack for mechanical tasks. He
gets a +1 bonus to any action to repair
or maintain mechanical devices, regard-
less of skill level.
Natural Leader (1): The character has
charisma, and people tend to follow his
lead in tense situations. Any “extra” (i.e.,
NPCs that are not critical to the story,
such as bystanders) will automatically
follow orders in such situations. The
character also gets a +1 bonus to INF
when trying to convince groups (10 per-
sons or more) to follow a course of ac-
tion. A possible downside is that the
character might be drafted as an ad-
hoc leader, when the situation demands
another type of response.
True Love (5):The character has found
his one true love and the affection he
feels toward her is so great that it proves
beneficial in a number of circumstances.
First and foremost, the character gains
a +1 on any Skill checks directly related
to protecting or rescuing his True Love.
In general, this would not mean that the
character gains the bonus for every
check he might make while undertak-
ing an adventure in which his True Love
 has been kidnapped (although it could,
at the GM's discretion). More likely, it
means that he gains the bonus when
fighting off thugs who seek to harm her
or when swinging across a chasm with
her holding on to him for dear life. Again,
the exact interpretation is up to the
Gamemaster. True Love has a severe
downside, specifically that a character
who possesses it will stop at nothing to
save his True Love - even at the cost
of his own life.
Big Mouth (-1): The character has an
unfortunate tendancy to say the wrong
thing at the worst possible time. All failed
social tests are treated as Fumbles.
Combat Stress (-3): Though not neces-
sarily a coward, the character dislikes
violence and is ill at ease in combat situ-
ations. Consequently,the character suf-
fers a -1 on Combat Sense checks.
Creepy (-2): Through his attitude and
body language, the character projects
a weird aura that makes people uncom-
fortable. Consequently, the character
suffers a -1 modifier on all social tests.
Soft-Hearted (-3): The character has a
personal sense of ethics that prevents
them from killing or bringing lasting harm
on another person. The character will
also go out of his way to help people in
distress (even though it might be a trap).
Speech Impediment (-1): The character
stutters, mumbles or is otherwise hard
to understand. Consequently, the char-
acter suffers a -1 modifier on all discus-
sion-related tests, including social con-
versations, arguments, military commu-
nications and so on.
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
extensive background in firearm use
might want to use his Small Arms Skill
The Skills listed in the basic rulebook
to identify the make of a particular
ought to be enough to cover most situ-
weapon, simply by its sound, in this
ations that occur during the game (and,
particular case, the SA Skill would be
failing that, an Attribute test can always
used, but would be modified by the
be taken instead) There are times, how-
Knowledge Attribute (since it relies on
ever, where the Gamemaster may want
the character's memory and experi-
to add more uses or details to one or
ence) This encourages the Players to
more Skills; some groups prefer fairly
think creatively and gives them a little
detailed combat scenes, and will de-
more versatility in the game
mand it. In such a case, Skill use can
easily be expanded
Though each Skill refers to a particular
Attribute, this need not be an absolute
rule. For example, a character with an
m W 4 - 7 H - W
Example: Tactics Skill
The Tactics Skill is somewhat limited to military uses at the present, which makes it
less useful than other Skill. One way to make it more valuable is to use it to gener-
ate a "bonus pool " f o r groups involved in combat.
At the start of afight, all involved Characters having at least one level of Tactics
may contribute them to a pool ofpoints that may be shared among the group mem-
bers. These points may be freely added as a bonus to any dice roll made by any
member of the group during the combat.
Expendedpoints will be automatically recovered at the start of the next combat, but
in case some of the participants have been killed or Otherwise incapacitated, they
will not be able to contribute theirpoints. The maximum extra bonus is equal to the
maximum level of Tactics skill among the group.
Example: Jack (Tactics z), Laura (Tactics I ) and John (no Tactics) are ambushed
by a group of Nazi stormtrooper (among them, only the commanding NCO has
Tactics I ) . Their group starts with a collective bonus pool of z + I =3points they can
spend as they care. They cannot use more than z points for a given roll, though, and
when the last point is gone, they will not be able to use them until a new combat
starts. Their opponents have only a bonus point to use.
The points must be allocated before the actual dice roll (a good way to keep track of
this is using glass beads or similar counters). The group should have a designated
leader during combat (possibly the character with the higher Tactics skill) and s h e
should be in charge to decide where to spend the bonus points. Ifa character has a
Tactics Specialization that applies to the situation at hand,the character's actual
Skill level is considered one point highel:
The bonus points available through this Tacticspool can be used only for Skill tests
regarding movement or combat (for example, they cannot be used to increase the
effect of a First Aid roll, but may be used for Dodge or Throwing).
21
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 All heroes need a reason for adventur-
All stories require one or more protagonists to build the plot around; the pulp genre ing. Unlike characters from more com-
just required heroes, and the rest naturally followed. This makes this type of fiction a plex genres, pulp heroes usually had
natural lead-in to a roleplaying game, which is best filled with action, surprises and very straightforward motivations.
unexpected twists to keep the Players' attention. Additionally, the straightforward
Curiosity: It might be scientific curiosity,
nature of the pulp genre makes it easy to throw wildly different types of characters
or it might be the reporter's thirst for new
together in adventuring, which allows Players to each have their own individualized
stories. Regardless, curious characters
part to play in the story.
will be easy to draw into any type of plot,
The heroes of pulp magazines were cast in a mold of courage and nobility. They if provided with a tantalizing enough
never backed down from a challenge, were always ready to risk their lives for a lead (like a half-dead victim staggering
good cause, and generally were paragons of virtue (though they could have a few through the door, clue in hand).
defaults, those were usually minor). In a sense, the heroes of the pulp genre were
Excitement: This motivation was com-
comparatively simple characters. They faced no ambiguity about good and evil; the
mon among the pulp heroes. They went
distinction between the two was always razor-sharp, both in appearance and moti-
on adventures for the sheer thrill of it,
vations. Though they might sometimes need to kill, the heroes never did so easily,
either because they were bored or be-
and the victims were always bad guys who had attacked first.
cause they were addicted to the adrena-
line rush. This type of character should
be built to take risks - get lots of Dar-
ing Dice and Destiny Points!

Idealism:This type of hero simply wants

to make the world a better place. He
(or she) is a strong believer in the val-
ues of the Free World (liberty, equality,
freedom of speech, etc.) and will try to
defend them against those who would
destroy them. This is good for war-ori-
ented stories.

Justice: The favored motivation of the

"crime fighter" (masked or not) that
populated avery common type of crime-
oriented pulp fiction. This can also be
P Though the characters, like most used for espionage stories.

Adventurers in the pulp magazines were
larger than life, being the strongest, the
most athletic, the smartest, and naturally
the most heroic
The game already recognizes this most
Player Characters will have several At-
tributes and Skills above the baseline,
and access to tools, equipment and
contacts that most mortals would never
see in their lives
people, will usually have jobs and pri- Redemption: This was not as common,
vate lives, they always seem to be able since pulp heroes were not supposed
to slip out of them to go adventuring. A to commit bad deeds, but it is possible
few heroes were portrayed as being in- that the character once made a terrible
dependently wealthy, and were not mistake, and is trying to atone for it.
subject to this kind of minor problems.
Others could invoke field trips or vaca-
tion time and simply slip out the back
door. In any case, when adventure
called, the heroes were always ready
to answer!

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)


In designing pulp heroes, whether as
Player or non-Player characters, the
"Doc Savage Problem" often rears its
head. This problem isn't unique to pulp
stories; it occurs in other genres as well.
However, it is especially acute in the
genre, if only because of the over the
top nature of the characters and plots.
The problem takes its name from per-
haps the most famous of all the pulp
characters of the 1930s and 1940s -
Dr. Clark Savage.
Created by Lester Dent, whose four-act
model of storytelling is an important in-
fluence on Gear Krieg: The Roleplaying
Game, Doc Savage is the ultimate hero.
He is not only a genius, holding several
advanced degrees that make him a doc-
tor several times over, he is also a per-
fect physical specimen of humanity,tall
and well-muscled, with a perpetual tan
that gives him the nickname "The Man
of Bronze."
Doc Savage traveled the world with his
five boon companions, with whom he
served during the Great War. Though
they themselves were impressive indi-
viduals - a chemist, a lawyer, a geolo-
gist, an engineer, and an expert in elec-
tronics - none of them approached
Doc's level of brilliance, even in their own
fields of expertise.
Except for the fact that they were old
comrades whose friendship was forged
in the chaos of the Great War, there is
very little reason for Doc to associate
with his companions. They are all very
much inferior to him and, more times
than not, their inferiority makes them
more of an impediment than an advan-
tage. Doc spends a great deal of his
time rescuing his friends from threats
24
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
that he, being a singular example of
human perfection, isn't affected by.
While many pulp heroes (and, by ex-
tension, Gear Krieg characters) are
modeled on the good Doctor, this is not
an especially good thing. It's not that
the Doc Savage stories are unenjoyable
- quite the opposite. Much like Doc
himself, they are perfect examples of
pulp conventions in action and any
Gear Krieg Gamemaster who wishes to
run a long-standing campaign would
be well-advised to read at least a few
of his adventures.
The heart of the problem is that Doc is
irreplaceable. He is not only the focal
character of the stories in which he ap-
pears, he is also the only character who
really matters. He excels in every field
of human endeavor and is both men-
tally and physically far more impressive
than any of his friends or allies. In a very
real sense, Doc doesn't need any of his
companions. He would undoubtedly
perform just as well, if not better, if he
went off on his own and undertook his
adventures without companions.
Doc Savage highlights a problem that
Players and Gamemasters alike should
avoid when creating Gear Krieg heroes.
There is nothing wrong with a superior
human being. All pulp heroes are, in
some ways, better than the ordinary citi-
zens they protect from Nazi spies and
Japanese crime lords. Yet, their superi-
ority must be limited in some fashion;
they must need the help and assistance
of others. Even though Jack Memphis,
for example, is a test pilot extraordinaire,
he is constantly getting into trouble that
requires the assistance of Tom or Amelia
or Professor Henry to overcome. Jack
is neither invincible nor indispensable.
He is part of a team that consists of sev-
eral parts. True, he is a very important
part of that team: its leader. Neverthe-
less, he is not so well Skilled that he
doesn't need Tom's strength or Amelia's
savvy to help him reach the conclusion
of his adventures. This is a much more
appropriate model for creating pulp
heroes than Doc Savage, no matter how
important Doc is as the source and in-
spiration for them all.
The solution to the Doc Savage prob-
lem is inherent to the way that the game
is written. For one, all beginning char-
acters start with roughly the same level
of power. Unless a new character is in-
troduced into a campaign after its be-
ginning, there is very little reason for
any of them to so far outstrip their com-
rades that they approach Doc Savage-
like levels of indispensability. Moreover,
the nature of character generation im-
poses a variety of restrictions on newly
created characters.
For example, it is impossible for any
single character to be good in all areas
of expertise. Likewise, any character
whose Attributes are far above the hu-
man norm in several areas will probably
be deficient in the area of Skills. The
point is that the character creation sys-
tem makes it more or less impossible to
start out as a god among men.
A consequence of this is that Gear Krieg
characters are, almost of necessity, part
of a team. They will have partners and
associates who aid them in their mis-
sions, since they are incapable of do-
ing everything that needs to be done
on their own. Specialization is therefore
the watchword of any group of Player
 characters. It's not only a good way to
overcome the nature of the character
creation system; it's just common sense.
he heroes of the pulp genre usually followed a series of cliches. They could easily
Thus, a group might include a Great War
e placed in distinct categories, such as the Crime Fighter, the Ace Pilot, and so on.
veteran skilled in a wide variety of weap-
his makes it easier to rapidly create a new character, and it also makes the in-
ons, a superscientist with the latest gad-
ame portrayal a breeze: everyone knows what the square-jawed hero will do when
gets, a suave confidence man with a
rought before the main villain.
winning smile, and a self-taught me-
chanic who can pilot any vehicle con- :haracters in the same category share a similar background, skill set and equip-
ceived by the mind of man. Each char- lent - it is up to the Player to find the right style to truly set his character apart from
acter fills a niche and complements the II the others. It might be a signature move, a peculiar item of clothing, or a piece of
others. They are, in a very real sense, a quipment that no one else has
unit that is more powerful and flexible
than any one of the characters that
makes up the team. Unsurprisingly,they
are much more likely to succeed in their
missions and form the basis for a long
lasting campaign than a more narrowly
focused group of characters.

RESPONSIBILITY
Of course, Gear Krieg doesn't succeed
because of Players alone. The
Gamemaster also has a responsibility
to accommodate a style of play condu-
cive to teamwork and specialization.The
easiest way to do this is through diver-
sity, which is to say that the Gamemaster
should avoid creating one-note adven-
tures that dwell on only a single aspect
of the setting.
The ideal is to create scenarios that
possess multiple facets, typically one for
each member of the team. The inten-
tion is to give every character something
to do, but having multiple facets is a
good way to create unusual adventures
as well.
fields of science, medicine, defense and
technology, the Adventuress of today is
i e heroes are men in search of adven-
a strong and tough woman who has
re No matter where they go or what
come alive in this new age of wonders
appens around them, their lust for life
and war.
anages to land them in the middle of
iuble time and time again The hero
wer simply 'goes' - he dives, leaps
careens, flinging himself into situa-
A best friend, a close relative or a hero-
Ins with gusto Dedicated to his com-
worshipping kid, the Sidekick is a vital
mons, the hero is almost invariably
part of any action team. Bound by blood,
iivalrous, patriotic and loyal, devoting
friendship and loyalty, he'll stand by the
mself to them and expecting similar
hero until the end comes, whatever that
?votion in return
may be. While he may come off some-
?roes don't have to be men, either times as comic relief next to the staunch
eed from the repressive social mores and stalwart square-jawed hero, the
the past, women are blazing their own Sidekick is the one who always comes
iils Joining fathers and brothers in through when the cards are down.

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 While most people will not want to play
second fiddle to other Players in the
group, there's no reason the Sidekick
There are many ways to bring the characters together as a team for extended play,
cannot get as much "screen time" as
and most of them are based on the style of the campaign itself. The first chapter of
the Hero. They can pull their weight just
this sourcebook features a huge number of suggested pulp adventure plots, and
as much, it's just the style that is differ-
more can easily be created with the adventure generator found in the basic rulebook.
ent. Still, playing Sidekicks is best left
All that remains to do is to tie them up together under a general theme. The theme of
to the better roleplayers, possibly with
the campaign will also dictate what kind of support the group will have access to.
a good ear for the pulp genre and a will-
ingness to share the spotlight. The following campaign suggestions are not all that is possible, of course. They are
simply those that fit best with the world of Gear Krieg, where a war for the future of
Humanity is going on. It is quite possible to set the campaign in the years before the
war begin, and play in a more typical pulp-style game. This will open up additional
The Heroes often need specialized help themes, such as the crime-fighting league, the explorers' society, and so on.
during their adventures, and this is
where the Support Character comes in.
While not as dashing as the Hero nor as
loyal as the Sidekick, the Support Char-
acter is perhaps more useful than either
archetype. Not restricted to
superscience technicians, this arche-
type can be used for any eccentric ex-
pert, their expertise and knowledge of-
ten accompanied by some bizarre col-
lection of personality traits that serve to
highlight their unique genius.

Though usually left as a Gamemaster-

controlled NPC, the Support Character
can be played, as long as the person
controlling him accepts that their role in
the story is to provide the main charac-
ters with the skills and help they other-
wise lack. One way to handle this might
be to have one Player incarnate several
persons, from the wise old scientist that
gives them their gadget to the nervous,
scrawny type that becomes a fearless
daredevil once put behind the controls
of an airplane.
This is the most free-form type of cam-
paign there is. The Characters are re-
In this type of campaign, the heroes are
sponsible to no one but themselves.
on their own One or more of them is
They can chose the type of adventure
wealthy and can afford to supply the
they will go on to. This allows the
group with the tools, weapons and ve-
Gamemaster to use a large variety of
hicles they need to go on adventures
themes, the campaign's main thread
They have a headquarter or base
being the group itself. One week, they
somewhere, most likely o n the
might track down a jewel thief; the other,
sponsor's property (a private mansion
break a Nazi spy ring; the next, hunt
or lab, a penthouse in a great city, etc )
down a rare animal in the jungle of Af-
Their most likely motivation will be ex-
rica. Each adventure can be different
citement or idealism
from the previous one!

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The Player Characters' team is spon-
sored by a government or government
agency (there is some overlap with the
League of Nation team, see further).
They may or may not be actual employ-
ees - it does not really matter. They
might have been hired as consultants,
or they are the secret "ace in the hole"
of a powerful senator that uses them to
solve problems that cannot be otherwise
be rapidly dealt with.
This type of campaign is a good com-
promise between the independent team
and the fully-fledged government as-
signments. The Characters still get sup-
port, assignments and protection, but
they have considerably more leeway to
operate.
ALLIESARMEDFORCES
The Characters could all be soldiers in
one of the Allied armiesfighting the Axis
menace. This type of campaign is per-
fect for those that want the game to fea-
ture lots of heavy machinery and large
guns.
While the chain of command might
prove to be an unbearable burden at
first, there are easy ways to free the
team. They are likely to be placed in an
independent unit that, commando-like,
roams the countryside to right wrongs,
lend a hand to friendly soldiers in dis-
tress, and ultimately track down the vil-
lain (which will probably be an enemy
officer or scientist).
The Covenant of the League of Nations
states that the organization's mission is
"to promote international co-operation
and to achieve international peace and
security by the acceptance of obliga-
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
tions not to resort to war." In the case of - Germany, Italy, and Japan - are no
the Second World War, the League has longer members of the League. This fact
failed to live up to these high-minded hampers the teams' ability to operate,
goals. Secretary General Sean Lester but not their resolve to do so.
undertook the task of correcting the er-
In Axis-held areas, the teams operate
rors of the past by creating "Plenipoten-
undercover, following the specific or-
tiary Teams" to act as trouble-shooters
ders of the Secretary General. As they
throughout the world.
do elsewhere, the teams gather infor-
The Plenipotentiary Team is a perfect fit mation. They also coordinate with anti-
for a gaming group. It can include any Fascist rebel groups and encourage re-
type of character, it supplies them with sistance to tyranny in whatever form
all the support they need, and provide they find it. Secretary General Lester
missions tailored to their abilities and has given the teams access to funds
skill levels. Teams are usually a varied and equipment in this noble mission,
collection of men and women, each as well as the full support of the League
bringing different Skills to the group. Council.
Some are diplomats, while others are
soldiers and scientists.
The composition of a team depends
greatly on the specific mission the Sec-
retary General has assigned it. Convinc-
ing Communists and Nationaliststo work
together against the Japanese in China,
for example, calls for diplomacy, while
lending aid to the French Resistance is
the domain of soldiers and rogues. The
inhabitants of occupied nations -
China, France, Poland, the Philippines
- make up a disproportionate number
of these teams, as do expatriate Italians,
Germans, and Japanese opposed to
their nations' policies. Americans are
also commonplace, perhaps atoning for
their country's unwillingness to join the
League in the past.
They also have a number of advantages
that other type of group don't have. As
diplomatic personnel, the teams may
move freely throughout the world, rely-
ing on the League's status to ensure safe
passage. In this capacity, team mem-
bers work to gather information and
coordinate efforts between allied gov-
ernments. Of course, the main threats
to peace and justice in the Modern Age
27
 .. - -

28

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 29

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 ...............
........................
ght Brown, golng QY

Complexion: ..........................

lace: ............... Newport News, VA

the city from the chaos of the Chinese civ and Japan’s invasi

looking to round up rowdy Marines.

no matter what kind of havoc he might wreak the dght before, when r
tional Marine. Decorated several times for his service during the First

nia to help train the influx of new wartime recruits.

lacked before they were out the door.

back in a fight.

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 - - ---A"

ER +I

S!kills

----- A.

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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 --

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 I

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 36

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 I I

37

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 Such a general need not be overly au-
thoritarian or cruel. He need not be cor-
rupt. In fact, he may well be a true pa-
At the heart of most exciting adventures is a villain worthy of the heroes. One of the
triot whose motivations arise from genu-
most important elements of the pulp stories on which Gear Krieg is based is the
ine concern about the well being of his
villain. His personality, goals, and methods provide not only the backdrop against
countrymen. Consequently,the general
which an adventure is set, but also cues as to how that adventure will unfold and the
may not be willing to do whatever it takes
themes it will evoke. The basics of creating pulp villains have already been dis-
to achieve his goals. He might adhere
cussed on pages 164-168 of Gear Krieg: The Roleplaying Game. Gamemasters are
to a code of honor that prevents him from
encouraged to be familiar with this introductory material before reading this chapter,
harming innocents, for instance. Yet. he
since it draws heavily on the groundwork laid there.
is a villain, because he betrayed the ci-
vilian leaders of his nation and under-
mined the values he claims to cherish.

What is common to both types of villains

I portion with their goals. Whether they
One of the most basic questions any
Gamemaster needs to ask about the vil-
lains he uses is "What motivates them?"
Villains, especially pulp villains, are hu-
man beings, so they can have as wide
a range of motivations as any one else.
In many ways, they have an even wider
range, since they are often willing to con-
sider options and alternatives that he-
roes (or even average people) might not.
For example, a villain might see his work
as advancing the cause of science and
all other considerations are insignificant
to him. In fact, it's entirely possible that
he is advancing the cause of science in
his work. What makes him a villain is his
methods. A true pulp villain may indeed
have a wider range of motivations and
options, but that's because he probably
doesn't view what he is doing as wrong.
He sees it as good in itself. If a few
dozen - or thousand - people die in
his quest to harness the power of the
atom, it is a small price to pay for
progress. This sort of amoral thinking is
a hallmark of pulp villains, especially
Nazis and those like them, who view
their twisted philosophy as somehow
improving the lot of the human race.
At the same time, it's perfectly possible
to imagine villains whose motivations are
genuinely noble. In these cases, their
range of options is probably more lim-
ited than even heroes, because they
possess a strange kind of honor that
restricts their ability to act. For example,
a general might see the squabbling of
his country's leaders as an impediment
to its self-defense in the face of the Nazi
threat. He might then consider that the
best thing for his fellow citizens would
be the establishment of a benign mili-
tary dictatorship with him as its leader.
is that their actions are totally out of pro-
seek to advance science, protect their
country, or simply enrich themselves,
they are all united in their willingness to
act above and beyond what ordinary
people would consider reasonable.
Even if they claim otherwise, they reject
everyday morality as some inapplicable
to themselves. They exempt themselves
from the common sense understanding
of right and wrong that most people
possess. That's why it's generally easy
to recognize a pulp villain for what he is
- he places himself outside the bounds
of the law in order to achieve his ends.
Gear Krieg villains are no different and
the Gamemaster would do well to con-
sider the point at which an antagonist
is willing to cast aside his common hu-
manity to achieve his goals. The extent
to which he is willing to do so will de-
termine a lot about how sympathetic he
appears to the characters. This is an
important point: not all pulp villains are
created equal. Some are simply nefari-
ous. The Nazi scientist who experi-
ments on concentration camp intern-
ees is evil and the players will likely re-
quire very little convincing of this fact.
Opposing him come naturally to he-
roes, because the scientist has placed
himself so far beyond the reach of law

39

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 and morality that, in a sense, he's no
longer even human.
The general, on the other hand, might
be portrayed more sympathetically. His
goal -the protection of his fellow citi-
zens from Nazi tyranny - is laudable
one that the heroes share. That he pos-
sesses enough honor and decency not
to harm innocents or act rashly is to his
credit. At the same time, he is willing to
overthrow the democratically elected
leaders of his nation just to gain secu-
rity in the face of the Nazis. That is un-
acceptable to most characters (or
should be), which is why the general is
in fact a villain rather than a hero. He is
nevertheless a more complex villain than
the scientist, because the characters
might see some logic in his actions.
They might even agree with him that the
elected leaders of the nation are badly
bungling their duties and playing right
into the hands of Hitler. Yet, the general
has clearly crossed a line that should
never be crossed and no amount of ex-
plaining the reasons behind his actions
will turn him into a hero.
THE DETAILS
The evil arch-villain is at the centre of
every pulp adventure, and as such he
needs as much details as the main char-
acters. He (or she) must be as memo-
rable as possible. Pick a colorful back-
ground, a bizarre disguise or uniform,
and above all a unique name.
Look up names in telephone books,
movie books, or simply make one up out
of random syllables strung together. For
foreign bad guys, refer to an atlas and
pick. You can also slightly change or
steal outright the names and villains from
pulp stories and comic books. If the vil-
lain is a mysterious figure, give them a
menacing name. One quick and dirty
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
way to name a villain is by combining a
color with a word suggesting something
animal, supernatural or about leader-
ship. Once this is done, build up the vil-
lain by having others refer to him in terms
of terror and awe; have newspapers,
police "wanted posters" or bragging
criminal underlings trumpet their diaboli-
cal deeds and horrible crimes.
Give the villain quirks or traits based on
the above; a scary costume, a deep and
cultured voice, a squeaking laugh, a me-
chanical hand, etc. Such traits can be
used in the plot to figure out what evil
deeds they will commit. This trick of
fleshing out a character can also be
used with other NPCs, whose person-
alities can be filled in with the use of
such external features. The more impor-
tant the NPC, the more individual quirks
and outward personality identifiers they
should have.
Pulp villains share a number of stereo-
typed behaviors that make little sense
in the modern world. Often, their actions
will provide an opportunity for the he-
roes to destroy them. While this makes
little sense, it fits the genre and give the
good guys a chance to show off and
provide much additional entertainment.
The followings are a few of the most
commonly observed behaviors of the
pulp villains.
Unless it's absolutely necessary, villains
will send henchmen to deal with the
heroes and implement their plans (like-
wise, henchmen will first delegate the
tasks to their troops and thugs before
attempting to take care of things them-
selves). Henchmen often enjoy a re-
markable degree of leeway in both their
methods and results. Most villains have
the outmost confidence in their troops,
and will not check to make sure that a
task has been completed after the or-
ders have been given. In general, even
if one or more henchmen fail miserably
at a given task, they will suffer a tongue
lashing at most and be sent out to try
the task again.
Villains like to gloat and sign their evil
deeds, and as such will rarely go to
great lengths to hide their involvement
in a given case (the really dangerous
villains are the ones that do). Often, even
undercover agents will sport tattoos or
other distinctive marks identifying them
as members of the villain's organization.
Villains and henchmen dislike killing
heroes right away - they fear losing
useful information, and will always at-
tempt to take them alive whenever pos-
sible. If they must kill, they like to use
elaborate assassination plans, such as
placing a venomous creature in a bed-
room, instead of simpler and more di-
rect methods like concealed bombs
and sniper guns.
Villains tend to have problems with their
love life. Vanquished enemies and sup-
planted family members are never killed,
but kept imprisoned in a forgotten cell
of a dungeon, base or other lair. Villains
tend to be attracted to people who ac-
tively oppose them; this is also valid for
henchmen and villainous offsprings.
Villains always accept a challenge from
the hero. They are generally too arro-
gant to turn the offer down. Likewise,
they will not wait until their back is to
the wall, but instead call off their troops
and henchmen to deal with the prob-
lem personally.
During the final showdown, henchmen
and villains alike will engage the heroes
in physical combat regardless of the sur-
roundings, even if the latter happen to
be a dangerous place like the edge of
a cliff or a small bridge over molten lava.
 Many villains are vain and often like to
gloat before getting rid of their enemies;
this includes explaining the entire plot
or evil plans.
When escaping, villains and henchmen
always stop to pose dramatically and
toss off a smart one-liner. Hidden es-
cape routes, secret gadgets and sur-
prise tricks concealed up the villain’s
sleeve all help to ensure the villain’s ul-
timate getaway. Pulp villains are rarely
truly dead despite the fact that no one
could possibly have survived the final
explosion/fall/crush by heavy object. By
making sure no body is found, the GM
can have the villain return at a later date
stronger than ever, usually with some
sort of explanation, no matter how im-
probable. Failing this, pulp villains can
always have identical twins to step in
after their demise in a previous adven-
ture (or maybe the dead villain was a
look-alike decoy?). It has also been
known for other crooks to cash in on the
fame of a famous and truly dead villain,
adopting their reputations as a cover for
their own crimes.
Equally important to a good villain is
his fatal flaw. All pulp villains have them.
They are another vestige of their lost
humanity, a sign that they are not quite
as different from heroes as they might
first appear. Fatal flaws are also con-
venient means for the characters to de-
feat them - if only the can determine
the flaw.
Good fatal flaws tie into the villain’s his-
tory and archetype. For example, a
Crime Lord may have a weakness for
gambling, enabling a character to wa-
ger for his life. Likewise, an Aristocrat
may consider killing to be personally
abhorrent, always leaving such dirty
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
ork to his henchmen. Whatever the win, certainly, but that does not mean
1w, it should evolve naturally from the that easy victories will bring them much
mtral concept of the villain. pleasure. The GM should construct his
villain’s fatal flaw in such a way that it
den so, flaws should not be an “es-
serves as a possible means of defeat-
3pe hatch.” While they are meant to
ing him rather than a sure-fire method.
3 exploited by the characters, doing
should require effort. Players like to
Smedley Butler and the Coup against FOR
President Franklin Roosevelt sufferedfrompolio, a condition he hidfrom the Ameri-
can people with the collaboration of the media, who never explicitly broached the
subject in print or on the radio. Howevel; in 1933, Roosevelt’s polio became so
severe that many - especially business leaders - began to worry that he could not
adequately handle the running of the government, let alone deal with the combined
problems of the Great Depression and foreign enemies.
Thus, a conspiracy was formed, with powerful business executive from corpora-
tions like DuPont, Goodyeal; and J.P Morgan forming its inner circle. They turned
to a Marine Corps general and decorated hero of World War I named Smedley
Butler to approach Roosevelt with an ultimatum: surrender the day to day gover-
nance of the United States to himself(with the backing of the conspirators) or face
the prospect with a military coup, supported by veterans of the American LRgion.
The conspirators hoped that Roosevelt would create a new cabinet position, the De-
partment of General Affairs, whose secretary would be Smedley. The Department
would reverse many New Deal policies, in accordance with the wishes of Wall Street.
For example, it would reinstate the gold standard for currency, which Roosevelt had
abandoned to stabilize the American economy. In the end, Smedley would become the
real ruler of the United States, with Roosevelt reduced a jgurehead position. The
conspirators believed that the only way toprevent America’s becoming a Communist
country was to institute a Fascist governmentalong the lines of Germany or Italy, with
Smedley in charge and big business giving him his orders.
In the end, the conspiracyfailed because, despite everything, Smedlq had too many
qualms about overthrowing the American government. Instead, he reported the plot
to Congress, which investigated the matter and put an end to it. Smedley didn’t do
thisfor Roosevelt, whose policies he disagreed with. He did it because he felt it was
the right - the honorable - thing to do. The idea of a soldier taking orders from
business leaders to undermine democracy ran counter to his sense of integrity.
For a number of reasons, Congress and the media covered up the conspiracy. I t s an
interesting sidebar in the history of the United Stutes during the GreatDepression and
should provide GMs with plenty of ideasfor Gear Krieg scenarios. I t 5 certainlypos-
sible that, though this coupfailed, others may be under way, perhaps with the help of
Germany or Japan. I t s even possible that a villain of some sort might wish to make
himself leader of the United Statesfor any one of dozens of reasons. Though it seems
far-fetched, it’s important to remember Smedley coup that almost was, since it pro-
vides a much-needed tonic to those who think such a thing could never happen in a
bastion of democracy. If it’s possible in America, it’s possible almost anywhere.
 What follows is advice tailored for each
of the major villainous archetypes found
in Gear Krieg The Roleplaying Game as
well as templates that provide statistics
for "typical" members of each arche-
type. There are likewise notes for
customization, which should give the
GM plenty of ideas he can use or reject
according to the needs of his campaign.

The Crime Lord is probably the most

straightforward villainous archetype in
Gear Krieg, and with good reason. His
motivations are the simplest. The Crime
Lord seeks, above all else, the wealth
and power that come from controlling
illegal activities. His interests are, gen-
erally speaking, much less world-shak-
As explained at length in Gear Krieg The Roleplaying Game, pulp stories thrive on
ing than those of other types of villains.
archetypes. They're a useful shorthand that allows the author to explain the nature
They're also of the sort that's least likely
of his villain quickly without slowing down his plot. That is very important, because
to have much to do with the course of
pulp stories thrive on being fast-paced and exciting. Anything that slows down a
the war itself. They may take advantage
story, such as unnecessary exposition, is poisonous to a successful pulp adven-
of the chaos World War II is wreaking
ture. Consequently, archetypes give the GM powerful tools with which he can set
(as is the case with Massimo Marchand
the stage without having to explain every detail.
of the World Crime League), but they're
Knowing, for example, that Lord Blackstone is an Aristocrat makes it easy to get into probably not all that politically moti-
his mind and use him as a character. Certainly, he's a different type of Aristocrat, vated. Indeed, most successful Crime
say, than a dispossessed White Russian duke with dreams of defeating Stalin and Lords learn a healthy distrust for all
becoming Czar, but both share many similar characteristics: wealth, urbanity, dis- forms of government, whether authori-
dain for the "lower orders." The specific uses of these characteristics will certainly tarian or democratic. For that matter,
differ. Blackstone's disdain for the common people, for example, manifests in an most Crime Lords face even stiffer op-
intense hatred of the United States and Americans, whom he dismisses as "mon- position from Fascist governments, part
grels." The Russian duke, on the other hand, might show his contempt toward not of whose political agenda consists ex-
only the Communists but also all who do not share his love of Persian caviar and big treme "law and order" platforms.
game hunting.
In this respect, Crime Lords are often
Archetypes provide a rough framework for the GM that takes some of the workload politically agnostic, or even anarchistic.
off in creating and using villains in his campaign. Each archetype is sufficiently This isn't to suggest that Crime Lords
broad so as to give lots of opportunities for customization. That is really the key to don't see the value in discipline and a
creating memorable villains for a Gear Krieg campaign. Just as creativity and one- strict hierarchy of authority - far from it!
upmanship are useful general principles for GMs, they're also very helpful to bear in Indeed, one of the common character-
mind while creating villains. By finding new and unusual ways to warp the basic istics of all Crime Lords is their obses-
archetypes, the Gamemaster is making his game more interesting and ensuring sion with control. Crime Lords get to be
player interest. Yet, because the archetypes already provide all the basic informa- Crime Lords by bringing a wide variety
tion the GM needs, he can concentrate on making the specific examples of them all of criminal activities under their control.
the more memorable. There are probably examples of Crime

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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 Lords who specialize, such as those in-
volved solely in drugs or gunrunning, but
even they show an overarching desire
for control. Perhaps, then, it is more ac-
curate to say that Crime Lords are all
alike in the grand scope of their visions.
They wish to control a//the criminal ac-
tivities in which they are interested. Thus,
a Crime Lord in Burma might seek to
dominate the world trade in opium, while
a Crime Lord in Europe might have more
interest in being the sole supplier of
weaponry to resistance and partisan
groups.
On the other hand, many Crime Lords
do show a remarkable breadth of vision.
They are not content simply to control
drugs or prostitution or illegal gambling.
They want to control it all. By being the
sole supplier of a wide variety of hu-
man vices, they can gain much more
wealth and influence than they could
otherwise. In addition, Crime Lords of
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
Pulp Era Stereotypes
It’s worth mentioning that many pulp Crime Lords are horrible examples of eth-
nic and racial stereotyping in action. The Mandarin sub-type qf Crime Lord, ”for
example, exemplifies an unpleasant element of anti-Asian prejudice during the
1930s and 1940s. It’s frankly hard to read stories or watch movies from that era
without recognizing this unfortunate element of the popular culture. The same is
truefor other types of villains, which are based around misconceptions andpreju-
dices about Italians, Irishmen, and other cultures that were diferent from the
mainstream of the day.
The dificulty in addressing this reality of the source material is twofold. On the one
hand, so much of the mystique of Crime Lord characters is based around their
mysterious and exotic nature. By using a Mandarin, it is very much in keeping with
pulp conventions and the dictum to be creative. After all, what GM wouldn’t rather
send his players up against the diabolical Dr Fu Manchu rather than just another
dull kingpin? Despite the crudity of the portrayals in the pulps, ethnic Crime Lords
nicely convey the exoticism that is part and parcel of the pulp esthetic. Gear
Kriegrelies on this just as much as the pulps themselves. By rejecting the use of
ethnic Crime Lords out of hand, the Gamemaster may be depriving himself of an
interesting and intriguing villain.
The other dificulty is one ofperspective. People living during the Igjos and 1940s
didn’t think of themselves as racist. At least, very few of them did. Even the more
well educated and open-minded people of the time saw nothing wrong with the
portrayal of Italians as gangsters or Chinese as a “yellow menace.” To them, it was
just the way things were, nothing more. Since Gear Krieg is set during those times,
each GM must ask himselfhow closely he wishes to adhere to the values and ideals
of the time. After all, this is period in which African-Americans lived in segregated
neighborhoods yet were still expected to fight and die for their country. It’s the
same time when both the American and Canadian governments intern their citizens
of Japanese ancestry yet still claim to be somehow better than the Nazis.
Of course, Gear Krieg is also set in an alternate I94OS. There are many differ-
ences from the history of the real world. A GM would be well within his rights to
assume that more than the development of science has been altered. Perhaps pub-
lic opinions and mores have changed too. Especially if the Gamemaster wishes
the Allies to be painted in the best possible light, he may decide to downplay or
even ignore the ugly elements of the time, including racism. It may not be true to
history, but then there were no walkers in 1941 either
In the end, it’s up to each Gamemaster to decide how much he wishes our modem
values and ideals to impinge upon the reality of Gear Krieg. As a general rule, it’s
probably best to avoid the most egregious stereotypical portrayals of ethnic Crime
Lords. Even i f a GM is very interested in showing the Modern Age as it was and in
emulating the pulps, there is very little to be gained by using blatantly racist stereo-
types. Moreovel; there is potentially a great deal more to be gained by showing these
characters as well-rounded individuals. There is no reason to preclude the use of the
Mandarin as a villain in a Gear Krieg adventure. However; instead ofportraying him
as villainous simply because of his ethnicity, it might be much more interesting to give
him real motivations and desires. Perhaps he turned to crime to seek revenge on the
Westernpowers that humbled China during the Boxer Rebellion.
43
 this sort make much more versatile vil-
lains. A Burmese opium baron is, for
the most part, useful only in adventures
set in east Asia. The same is true of
gunrunners in Europe or mobsters in
Chicago. This isn't to say that such vil-
lains don't have a place in Gear Krieg.
After all, not every villain must be a
world-spanning megalomaniac, whose
tentacles span multiple continents.
There is a time and a place for more
"local" antagonists. They certainly
make a nice change of pace from their
more impressive counterparts.
At the same time, there's no denying that
pulp stories and Gear Krieg share a love
for larger than life characters and
events. The bigger the better is often a
good rule of thumb. Consequently, many
Crime Lords will possess vast networks
of minions and access to incredible
wealth. As mentioned previously,
Massimo Marchand of the World Crime
League is a premier example of this type
of Crime Lord, but there is plenty of room
for others to exist. The world during the
Modern Age remains a large place.
Despite the inexorable march of super-
science, travel and communications are
not yet instantaneous. It is thus extraor-
dinarily difficult for any single individual
to corner the market on any aspect of
criminal endeavor. There are thus lots
of opportunities for crime lords to set up
shop, especially in remote locales over-
looked by their more obvious competi-
tors. Crime Lords could easily ensconce
themselves in Africa or Asia without
much difficulty and they'd be a welcome
change from the Mafia dons and Ameri-
can gangsters that are staples of the
pulps.
ally at odds with most of its inhabitants.
This fact will often mystify the villain, who
does not understand why his beneficent
offer of betterment is being rejected. If
his plans are foiled often enough, the
Philosopher King may even become
embittered, convinced that no one truly
understand him or his plans. This only
makes him more dangerous.
The Plutocrat is the most extreme form
of Aristocrat in that he believes the
wealthy are best suited to rule. Unlike
other types of Aristocrats, the Plutocrat
does not view wealth as somehow
"dirty." He revels in it and enjoys the
privileges it gives him. More than likely,
the Plutocrat does not come from wealth,
having gained it for himself through ruth-
less business dealings. He may be a
robber baron or shipping magnate,
someone with power equal to his wealth.

Superscience is an integral part of both

the pulp genre and the Gear Krieg set-
The Aristocrat is witty, urbane, and ex-
ting. Thus, it should come as no sur-
tremely elitist. He believes the world
prise that there are those who seek to
would be best run by "the right sort of
use Superscience not for the good of
people," by which he means people like
mankind, but to further their own dia-
himself. Impossibly wealthy and well
bolical ends. Such people are Mad Sci-
connected, the outside world may not
entists. Whether appearing as the main
even recognize the Aristocrat as a vil-
villain or as his servant, the Mad Sci-
lain at all. Instead, he appears as a
entist will be a common villain in many
prominent industrialist or political
campaigns.
leader, making the job of the charac-
ters all the more difficult. Lord Augustus If there were such a thing as an arche-
Blackstone, the traitorous British noble- type of an archetype, Dr. Frankenstein
man, is a prime example of this kind of would be it. Dr. Frankenstein toys with
villain. the boundaries of life and death, using
his advanced knowledge of biology and
Of all the villain archetypes, the Philoso-
physiology to stretch the definition of
pher King is perhaps the most genuinely
human. Gear Krieg does allow for reani-
noble. Well educated and thoughtful, he
mated corpses, and there is nothing
seeks to improve the world through his
wrong with "improved" human beings.
actions. At least that is what he believes
Indeed, the Third Reich will undoubtedly
he is doing. Being a villain, his under-
employ more than a few Mad Scientists
standing of "improving" the world is usu-
of this variety in an effort to create the

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 "Nazi superman" to which their insane
ideology is dedicated.
The Machine Man type of Mad Scientist
is obsessed with machines, believing
them stronger and better suited to many
tasks than "crude human beings." He
will undoubtedly outfit his henchman
with gears to use against opponents. He
may even use experimental robots as
guards. Whatever the case, the Machine
Man represents the "cutting edge" of
mechanical development - including
devices no reputable scientist would
ever employ.
Not all pulp villains need have agen-
das of their own. Some of them can be
soldiers of fortune, willing to serve any-
one willing to pay their exorbitant fees.
The Mercenary archetype works espe-
cially well for the main henchman of
other villains.
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
World War I destroyed the lives of many.
Some of those lucky enough to escape
with their lives were forever changed:
hardened, warped. Their former values
did not survive the bloodbath of the
Somme or the insanity of Dieppe. When
they returned home, they found they
could not return to their former lives. True
members of the "Lost Generation," the
World War I Veteran decided to use his
talents for twisted purposes, vile mock-
eries of the virtues he once upheld.
The Old West may only be a memory to
some, but it's still alive and well in the
minds of many. New Mexico and Arizona
only entered the Union a few years be-
fore the outbreak of the World War I.
These former territories provided safe
havens for veterans of the Old West,
embittered men whose Skills as gun-
fighters (or hired killers) once earned
them respect and fear. Now, the few
Grizzled Gunfighter who remain ply their
Skills to Crime Lords, Elitists, and oth-
ers. Though old, they are still formidable
opponents, possessing equal doses of
weapons prowess and cunning.
The Femme Fatale is a purely female
pulp archetype. Indeed, she uses her
gender to great advantage, playing on
men's weaknesses in the face of the Fair
Sex. She is always stunningly beautiful
and often of an exotic national heritage,
and employs honeyed words and se-
duction to achieve her goals. More of-
ten than not, the Femme Fatale is a se-
cret villain, pulling strings from behind
the scenes.
The Femme Fatale is always stunningly
beautiful and often of an exotic national
heritage (depending on one's point of
view, of course). She employs honeyed
words and seduction to achieve her
goals. More often than not, the Femme
Fatale is a secret villain, pulling strings
from behind the scenes. More than a
few pulp heroes realized only later that
the seemingly innocent young woman
who hired them was in fact the real vil-
lain all along!
Femme Fatales also work well as asso-
ciates to other villains, either as full-
fledged partners or as girlfriends or
molls. Because of her nature, the
Femme Fatale often relies on others to
function as her muscle. This is not a
universal rule, of course. It is perfectly
possible to imagine a pistol-packing
Femme Fatale who mixes it up with the
best of them. Nevertheless,GMs should
remember the role of women in the time
period and how that will affect the cre-
ation of plausible female villains.
No evil plan can be brought to fruition
by the efforts of one person, and every
good villain needs at least one or two
loyal henchmen to set events in motion.
Assigned to menial tasks, cleaning,
performing repetitions of experiments,
and burying the corpses of tests gone
wrong, henchmen are also the first ones
to fall when the heroes come marchmg
in. Despite all of that they continue to
soldier on, knowing that sooner or later,
one of these scientists will finally get it
right.
TheThug is physically very powerful, but
often lacking when it comes to planning
or strategy. His usual method of attack
is direct confrontation. Some thugs are
trained and relentlesswarriors, however.
They use guile and planning to achieve
their ends, and are relentless in pursuit
of their goals. They will not stop until they
or the heroes have been defeated.
45
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 .....................

s: .Facial scar, 1ar

ployer’s wide range of enterprises, Lars is occasionally called

r at the International Restaurant allows him to

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 ... Mechanical
hments and limbs

imates”) a r e the .- _ =IvIu

r----.VV U L I G e i i b e Leoen
ving drone“) research led by Dr. Hans Sonderbar. The project’s main goal
ibility of mechanical limb replacements for ordinary soldiers. The first
lesser primates, and as confidence in the program grew, experiments bega
ies s o f a r have shown t h a t the gorillas a r e very effective when use
even mnct nf +hrri= --<-A ’
L -

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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 as been crime lords. Each s ised UI ne m e mom e:

e importance, and granted Massimo the freedom to work on this idea.

Massimo’s natural charisma helped again, but even this was not enough.
to ensure things worked properly, he would need to speak directly to

r 2 struck, and Massimo sensed an openin ations of the w

e to create the international syndicate. I-

mblems inherent with such a large organisation of C

his dedication may turn into megalomania.

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 I I

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 .........................

tinctive Marks: .............................. IlUtlG

to be the pinnacle of Amer

Hollywood starlets. However, behind his rich and famous lif

s his immense inheritance to his father’s oil business. Samson Lambe

the Germans, he recruited his first source, a young W

partment. Since then, under the cover of his high society
,ban fifty moles in the &
minor Hollywood movie :;tars and members of European

ionage ami 1 l o X G llv d e a of the evil pUPpose they i

IIu dsmisses every account of Nazi barbarity as mere communist prop

s of anyone who attempts to point out the true Rature of the Third Reich.
neae comm
come a true

52
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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 ..-

I 53

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 54

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 . -
we him the chance to

55

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 .r

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 ~ - -

- -

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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 Date: ...............

U&ive Marks: .. S

a reputation for more than the quality of its CIles. archeologists

nt the lavishly decorated dining rooms or tosE

most interesting person in the place is the proprisuva,.v--D ----.

his power will draw

as the hea.dqua*rS
ofitable opwrtunities to him. The restaurmt, quM lucrative in and of itself, Serves
'e of smugling, gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking.
Wang Han lives by a stmx morai GUUF~
n@ai police would surely label him a C
utes or offer imp0

, propriety m d intemty. The de r traditional va

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 I I
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 Who exactly this person

. ..

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 ...... 1.00bLU L

.........
..................Mainz, liermany
: . Cybernetic eye and arm,
side. Scars on right cheek.

l l G IUGCII - _"
"IA"-""- LlU, AI" -r -___

grabbing arms and cap guns. Because of this obsession, he didn't do overly well a
de it into his chosen faculty of Mechanical Engineering at university.
ity, his marks improved drasticdlY. Hans w a , ~finally able to build
building them from scraps he found. He completed his ba
his stu&es. He eventually gained his Doctorate in Mechan
w&s innovative; Hans proposed that it would be possible to augment a human bc9ng with mechanical
perhaps even replace lost limbs.

("Living Drone") program to test

done on gorillas. The augmentat
changes. The beasts lo
While the gorillas would on their masters, it wa
rge, and they soon ordere ing of these Morderprim

tests that one of the animals w

lost, and his right arm severely led to keep on wo
more than ever, he ie
due to cost conc

attack, Hans has been quite

the program to go
it can be done. If his

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david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 Vehicles can also provide mobile adven-
ture locations for pulp heroes on the
move. Rather than just being a means
Pulp heroes and villains were sometimes as well known for their bases and hidden
to get from here to there, the means of
lairs as they were for their exploits. Gear Krieg heroes and villains are no different.
transport can be the main setting for ad-
In fact, hideouts and headquarters are probably an important part of most long-
venture. The Orient Express, a sleek
lasting campaign. This is especially true of heroes, who need a base from which to
millionaire’s yacht, huge helium-filled
operate - even if they typically engage in globetrotting adventures that take them
dirigibles, rusting tramp freighters, trim
from New York to Cairo to Shanghai. At the end of the day, even heroes need a
speedboats, baroque aerial aircraft car-
place to call home.
riers, and elegant ocean liners can all
Villains need headquarters even more desperately. A villain’s lair is more than his be the scene for claustrophobic pulp
home; it’s an expression of who he is and what he values. For example, a villain action.
who has constructed a mountaintop stronghold is probably an aloof and arrogant
A great deal can happen on such a
sort, who prefers to keep his distance from the actions of his underlings. A villain
movable feast of a setting, with the ad-
who maintains a base right near the front lines of a war zone might also be arro-
vantage of using such a limited location
gant but he’s hardly aloof. Rather, he is likely over-confident and bellicose, the sort
being that it constrains the number of
of individual who likes to take matters into his own hands rather than trusting them
choices available to the PCs, making the
to his minions. Mind you, a good Gamemaster will sometimes play against type
action and adventure easier to control
and create villainous strongholds that run counter to expectations but, even so, it’s
by the GM.
important to remember that a villain’s personality should color the type of head-
quarters he adopts.

Adventure locales
The following observations and de-
sign notes are primarily intendedfor
lairs but can also be used for any
place where an important adventure
plot point occurs. Indeed, all such
locales should be memorable in their
own way - why set the gangsters’
ambush in an empty warehouse when
the encounter can take place in an
old abandoned theater;complete with
gilded decorations, rotting curtains
(to slide from the half-collapsed bal-
cony) and partially emptiedfloor?

pulp adventures conclude with an as- Each adventure locale should have
CAMPAIGNS sault on the villain’s lair, fighting the both an interesting theme andplenty
henchmen who guard it, and overcom- of dkcor elements that can be used
An important consideration IS that hide-
ing its many deathtraps before facing in the course of the game.
outs and bases are adventuring locales.
the mastermind himself. Consequently,
They are intended not merely as back-
a villain’s hideout should be inherently
ground color; they are the places where
interesting. It should be the kind of place
heroic or villainous deeds take place.
that could easily become the focus of
In running a Gear Krieg adventure, the
an adventure, even if it is not.
Gamemaster will usually set a great deal
of its action within a stronghold Many

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 ancient Maya city overgrown by the
jungle, a valley hidden in a mountain
range, or a great estate in the country-
Pulp heroes are always traveling to the farthest comers of the earth in pursuit of
adventure. Though their mission can begin across town, often something will occur side. Though the characters are un-
(a pursuit, a clue or other lead) that will take them to some far and exotic place, likely to play tourist (they have a vile
filled with wondeifiul views and new dangers. In many cases, this is like traveling plot to foil, after all), it is usually a good
back in time, visiting locales where the sights and smells have remained much the idea to be plentiful with the general
same for an untold number of years. setting description, if only to set the
stage properly.
One does not have to travel to Afrika or the Middle East to get a touch of the exotic,
though. There are many places, in the heartland of America or within the cities of Main Room: The main control room,
old Europe, that canfuljill the same needs: be it a neighborhood (Chinatown, Little bridge or throne room of the villain's lair
Italy), a Hollywood studio lot, ancient ruins or old buildings. usually doubles as his primary interro-
gation chamber as well. Even if a dedi-
cated room exists for the latter purpose,
newly caught heroes will first be brought
here to face the villain (usually, giving
them a good idea of what the latter is
Both headquarters and lairs are fairly large, and their design and actual construc-
up to and where they need to go to de-
tion is largely outside the scope of the game. They are mostly sets and stages where
feat him and his fiendish plans).
the characters can play out the drama of the adventure, and as such their construc-
tion relies much more on the needs of the story than the budget of the villain. This is Cells: Captured enemies are often
more of a boon than an inconvenience, really: it allows both Gamemasters and Play- placed in the same cell or cell block,
ers to indulge in more fantastic designs, rather than be constrained by the limited the key(s) to which are available to all
budget of the characters. Convenient explanations (an inheritance, a secret bene- guards and officers. This, of course, is
factor, government grants, etc.) can usually be found to explain who paid for that a matter of convenience to the guards.
splendid office filled with gadgets and located in the penthouse area of the Empire Few pulp villains, being naturally arro-
State Building gant, overestimate the heroes and their
resourcefulness. Most cells feature ex-
tectural elements; that is, items that can posed pipes or thin walls that allow the
be used by the characters to move the use of Morse code, and have access to
When building the headquarter or lair,
story in interesting ways. This can in- the ventilation system.
care must be taken to ensure that it will
clude (but need not be limited to) furni-
maximize the style and game opportu- Hallways and Corridors: Lair hallways
ture, items scattered about, structural
nity. Sure, the architecture might not and passages always feature alcoves
elements, etc. (see the table on next
make total sense - who would place a or protruding structural supports that
page). Let your imagination run wild,
door that open midway up a wall? - can be used for cover in afirefight. They
and if it runs a little short, try looking at
but as long as the place has a look of will be well lit when the characters is led
floor plans and pictures of interior de-
its own, it will remain a memorable mile- through them by the guards, but dark
cor in magazines or in books on famous
stone in the campaign. The first thing to and shadowy when they attempt to es-
buildings. Other RPG supplements can
do is to decide what the main purpose cape. Corridors are generally wide
also be mined for maps of buildings and
of the structure is: the heroes' headquar- enough to take two people walking
other interesting structures; simply
ters will need more description than the abreast.
adapt the physical descriptions to the
villain's secret base, which will in turn
1930~-1940~.
need to be filled with henchmen, sol-
diers and hard data (wall thickness, door
lock complexity, etc.). Traps: These are generally found only
Grandiose Setting: Lairs are generally in abandoned locations or in the back
It is important to furnish the headquar-
located in sweeping vistas, such as an entrance of the villain's lair. They can
ters and lairs with action-oriented archi-

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 €3

include traditional items such as trap

doors, bottomless pits, hidden mecha-
nisms that drop heavy objects, etc. The
only thing to remember is that the trap
must have a way out! The Gamemaster
is trying to get the adrenaline flowing,
not kill off the characters before they can
meet with the person behind all their
recent troubles.
Weapon Emplacements: Many lairs fea-
ture external defense mounts equipped
with cannons, rockets and other, more
experimental weapons. These are often
concealed, especially if the lair itself is
supposed to b e a secret location. In
general, gun turrets and other defensive
weapons can rotate far enough to fire
directly inward, or at least at each other.
The smaller guns are often losely at-
tached to their base, and can b e car-
ried off by a strong hero.
Access: Even the most impenetrable lair
has at least one weakness or access
point, though getting to it is often ex-
Sample Headquartersand lairs
Thefollowing pages features a small but hopefully representative sample of head-
quarters and lairs. They can be dropped “as is” in most campaigns, or be used as
inspirations for more individualized constructs.
Each description is divided in several sub-section. Thefirst one is an overview of
the place and the people within. Structure describes the physical look and game
properties of the lail: This includes its appearance, interesting game-related fea-
tures, wall thicknesdtoughness, etc. Alternate Uses describe other ways to use the
sample, by changing the setting, function or ownership.
cessively dangerous It can be a small Dangerous Items: Experimental
maintenance hatch on the top side of superscience machinery, monstrous
the ship, an old chimney, or maybe a pets, or hazardous lair physical feature
natural cavern underneath the castle are rarely, if ever, placed behind sturdy
safety devices such as handrails or thick
Maintenance Corridors and Ventilation
walls Likewise, lava, vats of hazardous
Ducts: These are usually large enough
chemicals and other open-air pools are
to crawl through If this is not the case,
not covered when not in use This, of
the shaft is at least wide enough to ad-
course, is to place the Heroes in peril
mit the smallest member of the heroes’
when they fight the thugs and hench-
team, or a bright pet Exit points, such
men, and to provide a convenient way
as external panels and ventilation
to dispose of the villain at the end of the
screens, are fastened with the least
climatic fight sequence Besides, lairs
amount of screws or nails as possible,
look much more grandiose without ugly
and almost never require tools to open
and cumbersome safety equipment.

Item Made of Found In Suggested Action Use

Balcony Stone, Wood, Metal Anywhere Throw Thugs Over, Collapse During Fight
BoxlCrate Metal/Wood Anywhere Jump From, Hide, Makeshift Projectile
Bridge Wood, Metal, Stone Caves, Factories,Secret Bases Throw Thugs Over, Collapse During Fight
Chandelier Wood, Cast Iron Castle, Mansion Swing From, Makeshift Projectile
Chem. Labware Glass, Plastic, Metal Labs, Factories Projectiles, Exploding Ambiance
Conveyor Belt MetaVRubber Factories,Secret Bases Access/Escape, Fight Scene
Door Various Anywhere Hidden Passage, Block Pursuers
Drape Fabrics Anywhere Slide Down, Blind/Capture Opponent, Hide
Ladder Wood, Metal, Rope Factories,Caves, Secret Bases Change Floor, Hand-To-Hand Combat
Machinery Metal/Hydraulics Factories, Labs, Secret Bases Death Traps
Ramp Concrete, Rock Loading Docks, Hangars, Factories Slide Down, Send Items Toward Pursuing Thugs
Shaft Metal, Rock Elevator, Cave, Secret Base Make Villain Plumet, Access to Forbidden Floors
Stair Wood, Metal, Concrete, Etc Anywhere Change Floor, Hand-To-Hand Combat
Tools Metal, Wood Factories,Labs, Supply Areas Makeshift Weapons
Tunnel Metal, Rock Cave, Secret Base, Sewer Access to ForbiddenAreas, Escape Route
Vat, Chemical Metal Factories,Labs, Secret Bases Death Traps

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 The Golden Eagle is the greatest cre-
ation of the American genius, Dr.
Reginald Swift. Accompanied by his
sextet of heroic companions and twenty
ace pilots known as "Swift'sStrikers,"the
good doctor uses this giant flying wing
to travel across occupied Europe to fight
against Nazi tyranny. Operating under
the banner of the OSS, Swift and his
companions work with resistance and
partisan groups to defeat the Axis and
its diabolical agents.
The Eagle is huge - approximately the
size of a football field -with eight en-
gines driving counter-rotating pusher
propellers. Dr. Swift has discovered a
unique non-metallic alloy with incredible
properties while experimenting with car-
bon paper and, with the help of his close
friend, Howard Hughes, used it to build
the Eagle. This material makes the air-
craft virtually invisible to radar. Four
huge fans built into the body of the ve-
hicle allow it to hover and therefore re-
moves the need for a prepared runway
to land. The Eagle also burns hydrogen
as fuel, so it can be refueled in the field
so long as it has a source of water and
plenty of electrical power.
When operating in the field, Swift lands
the Eagle in a convenient locale and
conceals it with a huge camouflage net.
He and his men then set out with his
armored roadster and two unique walk-
ers to achieve whatever objective Presi-
dent Roosevelt has asked of him. To
date, Swift and his companions have
been involved in no fewer than a dozen
separate actions against the forces of
the Axis. With the entry of the United
States into the war, there is every rea-
son to believe they will see even more
excitement - perhaps even in the Pa-
cific, as the full extent of the Japanese
Empire's perfidy becomes apparent.
72
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
The Eagle's interior is a maze of beams
and support structures, all drilled with
many holes to make the structure as light
as possible. Aluminium and the strange
carbon-based material discovered by
the Doctor are used everywhere. They
are fairly sturdy; should afirefight break
out in the ship, the walls and bulkheads
are considered to have Armor 60 (Per-
sonal scale). The outer skin is more frag-
ile, and has Armor 30.
The living areas of the ship are concen-
trated in the center wing section, though
narrow passageways provide in-flight
access to the engines. The bulk of the
lower deck is taken up by the hangar,
main landing gear well and several cab-
ins and storage areas. The upper floor,
accessible through a pair of stairs, holds
the roomy cockpit, a radio room, a navi-
gation room and a meeting/planning
area equipped with an observatory. Dr.
Swift has a small office at the backthat
can be isolated with a drape.
The aircraft is only lightly armed - it is
too ponderous to risk in battle, and rely
on stealth to avoid attacks. Two banks
of four 30mm cannons are placed in the
roots of the wing for strafing attacks.
Each wing sports two observatory
bubbles, one on top and one on the
bottom, that can be equipped with a
heavy machinegun. Likewise, the main
observatory can mount a pair of
rnachineguns as well.
The ship can fly at speed of up to 480
kph and has a flight range of nearly 2000
km. Heavy duty landing gear allows it
to settle down anywhere its hover fans
can take it. Twin pontoons make the
Eagle entirely amphibious; each can
also be detached and used as a speed
boat (see rulebook), though the ship
cannot float without both of them at-
tached to its hull.
Hughes' Folly: the Golden Eagle was
intended to be the first of a line of mega-
aircraft that would revolutionarize com-
mercial air travel. Howard Hughes sunk
a considerable amount of money into the
project, and was mortified when the
plane disappeared somewhere over the
Pacific during its maiden, around-the-
world flight.
The ship ran into engine difficulties and
crashlanded on a remote island in the
Pacific that is part of a small archi-
pelago. The local primitive tribe has
begun adoring it as their god, with the
ship's cargo as bounty from the sky.
They will be very reluctant to let anyone
near it, and any attempt to remove it will
be met with hostility at first. Of course,
while noble adventurers might have the
patience to explain the nature of the air-
craft, it is unlikely the Imperial force sail-
ing toward the archipelago will share the
same humanistic view.
C-147 Skylifter: The aircraft is a revolu-
tionary prototype developed by a group
of engineers from the major American
aircraft companies. If successful, it is
intended to become the U.S. Army Air
Force's heavy lift airplane, capable of
taking walkers, tanks and troops over-
seas and land them right at the Nazis'
,
doorstep. Naturally, the Axis got wind
of the ambitious project, and they want
to make sure the craft never gets off the
ground - or that if it does, it will either
crash or be captured right away.
 legend
1 Cabin
2 Wheel Well Housina
3 Ladders to Upper Floor
4 Storage
5 Main Hanaar
6 Rear Access Ramp
7 Cockoit
a Navigation Room
9 Radio Room
10 Meetino Room
11 Observatory Dais
12 Dr. Swift's Office

73

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 CllAPTEK AND HEAT:
FOUR:HIDEOUTS
Hidden deep in the thick forests of
southern France, this complex looks like
abandoned fortifications from the first
world war, both from the air and from
nearby Old, thick trees surround the
place, and creeper vines cover most of
the buildings The paths are dusty and
sometimes half-blocked by overgrown
bushes The concrete of the casemate
and its attached parade ground is
stained and pitted Most maps mark the
place as a modern ruin
Yet in reality, the various buildings only
seem abandoned -they really hide a
full-blown base used to strike at Nazi
interests This is one of the main bases
of operation of the Resistance in the
South of France Needless to say, im-
mense efforts are deployed to keep the
base a well-kept secret only the most
trusted agents are aware of its exist-
ence, and the operating staff perma-
nently lives on site
The base has no true perimeter, as a
barbed wire fence might attract the at-
tention of a bored German soldier pass-
ing by the area Instead, a series of look-
outs take turns in concealed watch
posts hidden among the larger trees
Wires are laid along the ground to a sta-
tus board within the command center,
allowing the men to discreetly signal any
enemy activity in time for a base shut-
down (or evacuation)
With the exception of the main hangar,
which is built out of pitted concrete and
made to resemble an abandoned case-
mate, the rest of the base is composed
of low wooden buildings, many half-
covered with vegetation and darkened
by years of apparent neglect. The inte-
riors are completely different, however:
74
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
spartan but clean, with straw mat- hangar pulls double duty as a class-
tresses on the floor, gun racks on the room and vehicle study area. The land-
wall and one or two beaten-up radio ing area outside is used to practice
sets used to listen to German commu- vehicular maneuvers, and includes a
nications. few beaten-up cars and walkers to work
with.
The base features a modern medical
ward where grievously wounded parti- The Villain's Lair: There is no reason the
sans can be brought to hide while they base cannot be used as a model for an
heal. In addition to a small operating enemy forward base. It has the same
theather, the ward houses a selection features, but each building houses 2d6
of drugs and medicinal compounds, all enemy soldiers in various states of readi-
smuggled in bit by bit by visitors. There ness (those in the barracks are likely to
is also a well-equipped machine shop, rest or sleep; those in the command
able to produce basic weaponry and center will be on guard)
ammunition.They can also manufacture
mechanical replacement parts for com-
bat vehicles (including walkers), but
more delicate components such as Generators
computators are too complex for the lim- Machine Shop
ited tool selection. Technicians Barrack
Briefing Room
The command center is built in a stur-
Command Center
dier way and can resist most small arms
Armory
fire. It houses a cramped briefing room Warehouse
with benches and a mapboard, and a Medical Ward
well-stocked armory with several rifles, Garage
submachineguns, and other useful ac- Hangar
cessories. Landing Area
Auxiliary Generator
Mess Hall
Barracks
Jungle Base M-17: The base has the
exact same purpose, but is located
somewhere in Asia instead. The build-
ings are built on stilts and are made of a
tough local bamboo. The vegetation
surrounding the base is a thick jungle,
with many trees partially covering up the
landing zone (they are pulled back with
heavy ropes when helodynes are ex-
pected).
Spy Training Camp: This secret loca-
tion is where all the Allied (or even Axis)
spies are trained. It is likely located in
the British countryside, or outside a
New England village. The machine
shops turn out many gadgets, while the
 75

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 FOUR:
CHAPTER HIDFOUTS
AND HEAT)

The British Special Operations Execu-
tive operates a secret forward base con-
cealed in an old warehouse complex in
Paris. Codenamed the Old House, the
SOE uses it as a headquarters, store-
house for special equipment, arms and
armor, and as a detention area for im-
portant prisoners.
Access to the place is through a net-
work of tunnels connecting the Metro
and the old catacombs under the city,
as well as the sewers leading to the
Seine. All of them emerge in the base-
ment, under the stairs. There is no other
access to the compound -the build-
ing is walled in on all sides by older
buildings. There are concealed hatches
in the roof of the third floor for emer-
gency escape; all are boobytrapped, in
case someone attempts to open them
from above.
Like Base 8-22, the outmost efforts are
made to keep the existence of this
safehouse a complete secret. Lookouts
are placed in the access tunnels, and
the password changes daily. There is
also a generic password (“I’m looking
for a Safehouse”), for those agents who
have been out of contact for a long time.
Unlike the daily password, the generic
one will not grant access directly but
will summon additional soldiers and
officers who will attempt to authenticate
the newcomer(s).
Despite many attempts to make the
place more comfortable, its original pur-
pose comes through. The walls are old
masonery, hastily covered with white
paint. The floors are bare concrete in the
basement, and made of wooden planks
in the upper landings. There are no win-
dows, except for a couple of small dusty
skylights on the third floor; lightbulbs,
many covered with makeshift
lampshades, and used to illuminate the
place. Power comes through illegal taps
in the basements of nearby buildings:
their use is rotated to avoid drawing at-
tention. Excessive use of electricity,
such as tests of superscience equip-
ment in the basement, is frowned upon
but may be acceptable in dire circum-
stances.
All bedrooms except one contains mul-
tiple bunks, about half of which are gen-
erally occupied at any given time by an
exhausted partisan. Men and women
are separated, but they must share the
single bathroom, a plain, leaky place
with one rusty shower and cracked toi-
let. The bedrooms surround the com-
mon area, which houses tables or
chairs, depending on the time of day.
The Old House, despite its rougher side,
does have some useful facilities. One
of the bedrooms has a single bed and
a desk, and is used for visiting VIPs or
couples. The basement features, in ad-
dition to extensive food and supplies
storage, a workshop equipped with a
fairly complete selection of tools. A se-
cret door leads to a very well concealed
room that can be used as an ultimate
hiding place if need be. The third floor
houses most of the amenities: a tiny
lounge with three chairs for private con-
versations; a librairy filled with a selec-
tion of teaching and research texts, with
some classical novels; a study, which is
normally used by the radio operators;
and a large empty attic-like room that is
used as a gym.
Smuggler’s Den: The Old House’s se-
cluded location makes it a perfect lair
for the criminally-minded. The storage
rooms are filled with black market items
that will make the smugglers rich, likely
stolen from people in need. This type of
activity would make them a target for the
Germans; maybe the crime boss has an
agreement with the local Werrnacht
commander, in return for a modest cut?
MP
Basement legend
1 Storage
2 Utility Room
3 Secret Room
4 Workshop
5 Storage
6 Stairs
7 Storage
Main Floor legend
1 Foyer
2 Abandoned Office
3 Bedroom
4 Bedroom
5 Kitchen
6 Mess Hall/Commons
7 Bedroom
8 Bedroom
9 Bathroom
Upper Floor legend
Study
Storage
Lounge
Library
Stairs
Gymnraining Room

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 Upper Floor

Main Floor

77

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)


The feared Flying Fortress is a vast Zep-
pelin aircraft carrier built by the infamous
Baron Friederich von Eisen. While out-
wardly similar to Germany's other
LuffForfresses(see Luft Krieg Compan-
ion for more details on these flying
battleships), Eisen's ship is a very dif-
ferent beast, in a class all of its own.
Manned by his handpicked and chemi-
cally altered Hiflerjugend (a derivative
of the same process used to create zom-
bie troops), the Fortress has terrorized
Europe for months. Despite the best ef-
forts of the Royal Air Force and their
American reinforcements, the Zeppelin
has proven all but invulnerable to con-
ventional attacks, leading many to sus-
pect that Eisen has developed some
remarkable means to protect it. Those
suspicions are correct: deep within the
mountains of Norway, Eisen unearthed
a very rare material he calls the "Bone
of the Frost Giants." Alloyed with steel
in a special superscience foundry, this
material becomes a metal that is both
incredibly strong and easily shapeable,
giving the Nazi genius the means to
fashion all manner of frightful devices.
At present, aboard his floating labora-
tory, the Baron is developing mechani-
cal battle-suits with which he hopes to
outfit his personal guards, so that he
might create a fighting force worthy of
his Fuhrer. He occasionally participate
in raids on British cities to replenish sup-
plies and acquire test subjects for some
of his most extreme experiments.
The silvery-gray hull of the ship shines
dully in the Sun, making the red Nazi
flags painted on the stabilizers stand
out The outer skin is clad in thin sheet
78
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
of Eisen's special alloy, protecting the should the Fortress be forced to ditch
complex structure of support beams in the ocean.
and hydrogen lifting cells that lie be-
neath. The alloy has proven impervious
to most plane-carried weapons, and
even some light tank guns. The only Hunt for the Gray Siegfrid: The Siegfrid
weak spots on the surface are the flight was to be Count Zeppelin's ultimate tri-
cockpit and the main bridge, but both umph, a personal revenge against na-
are small and protected by gun batter- ture for the calamities that befell his pre-
ies. It is likely that the only way to de- vious giant dirigibles. When the ship was
stroy the ship is from the inside, either launched just before the start of the war,
by setting explosives or overloading one it was hailed as the pride of the Third
of von Eisen's superscience creations. Reich, which used it as a propaganda
tool. When the conflict started, the
Motive power comes from a large num-
Luftwaffe demanded that the Siegfridbe
ber of engine pods scattered all over
turned over to them. The ship's captain,
the superstructure and the leading edge
unbeknownst to most, was resolutely
of the ship. The Fortress can easily lose
anti-Nazi, and he, along with a small
up to half of them with only a slight re-
retinue of loyal officers, mutinied and
duction in speed. The lateral pods can
took off with the vessel. Now, every air
rotate in the vertical plane to provide
force in Europe IS looking for them
additional lifting power if need be; this
is normally used to increase take-off
speeds, but could also compensate (at
least temporarily) for the loss of some Orientable Engine Pod
lifting cells. Armored Hull
Most of the interior of the Fortress is filled Radar System
with the lifting cells, with maintenance Bridge
catwalks and stairs crisscrossing the Vertical Stabilizer
6 Landing Gear/Aircraft Bay Housing
space beneath. All the engines can be
accessed from the inside, and there are U-boat
Main Propulsion Unit
ladders to get into the landing gear wells
von Eisen's Laboratory
and lower aircraft bays (the latter con-
Secondary Engine Pod
tains two fighter planes apiece). The
Anti-Aircraft Gun Turret
only doors are those that isolate the
Flight Cockpit
Baron's laboratories at the back of the
ship. Some intelligence agents, based
on pictures, have theorized that the en-
tire rear section can detach and fly off
on its own, though there are no proof of
this.
The bottom of the hull is markedly dif-
ferent from the rest of the vehicle. That
is because it is in fact the lower section
of a miniature U-boat that can detach
from the main craft to perform missions
of its own or be used as an escape raft,
 4
" I

79

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)


The Nazis have built a super secret U-
boat base under the ice pack in Antarc-
tica. A strange crystal was discovered
in a deep fissure under the ice by Thule
Gesellschaft explorers. This crystal pos-
sessed great potential as an energy
source and was exploited by a Jewish
genius scientist who has been forced
to work for the SS, coerced by threats
to his family and friends.
Using the crystal as a power source, the
Kriegsmarine has built the new type
XXVlll U-boat that has almost no need
to surface since it can use its abun-
dance of electricity to make oxygen for
the men and no need of diesel engines.
These U-boats are seriously dangerous
to the allied convoys since they are vir-
tually immune to all methods of detect-
ing them. Fortunately,the Germans have
only managed to build three of them,
since the crystal needed to power them
is extremely rare. These Type XXVIII U-
boats operate from the secret Antarctic
base called Ice Station Walkurie.
0 further heat or shock might dislodge one
The base is located in a region of
densely packed ice that has proven to
ice and snow just waiting to fall down
on the unwary. The ground is also un-
stable, and shifts in the ice cover some-
times open pits right where they are least
expected. The German garrison is
aware of this, and they only lose one or
two men per month now.
Surface access to the base is through a
metal shaft that has been sunk at one
end of a corridor; there is always a sen-
try on duty there. A deep crevice goes
all the way to the open sea and is the
main entrance to the base; this is where
the U-boats come to dock, after some
tricky navigation. A cavern has been
dug and reinforced to the side of the
crevice to form a sturdy hangar where
technicians can work on the submarines
without interruptions.
A series of small sheet metal buildings
have been erected in the more stable
caverns to provide housing for the men.
Large metal girders have been erected
to serve as support columns for the ceil-
ing, which has been weakened by the
warmth generated by the installations.
Though they are stable at the moment,
or more of them.
The base is also connected to a series
The Lost City of Kurazuma: The base is
located on a volcanic mountain plateau
in the deep jungles of South America.
The ancient inhabitants that built the city
that now lies in ruins above the crevasse
once worshipped the power crystals; it
is quite possible that experiments with
them, ir even simple continued expo-
sure, doomed their civilization and
caused it to disappear. This alternate
version is the same, though the walls are
volcanic rocks and the glacial exits (IO)
now leads to vast undergroud lava
pools
Entrance Crevasse
Hangar
Storage
Medical Bay
Galley
Barracks
Power Generators
Command Center
Surface Exit
Glacial Exit

be fairly stable. It is completely invisible
from the air - most of the base is lo-
cated within the ice itself. It can be found
by a team on foot if they have a fairly
good idea of what they are looking for,
of deep caverns in the ice, but few ven-
ture there because of the constant risk
of collapses. It is in these caverns that
the crystals have been found, and sur-
vey teams are sent time and again to

but they will need specialized equip-
ment (supplies, dog sleds or some
superscience equivalent) to reach the
remote region.
The area around the base is ominous-
look for more (usually, with little results
and many casualties).
No one really knows how far the cav-
erns extend, or whether they are con-
nected to the surface at other points. It

looking, the horizon filled with white is possible that somewhere the cavern
desolation as far as the eye can see; is open to the sea.
there is no sound, saves from the vicous
howling of the frigid wind. The place is
also treacherous, with large blocks of

80

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 81

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)


SONDERKOMMANDO
BASE
In a small satellite of the German en-
campment near the Axis-held parts of
the ruined city of Stalingrad, an insane
German doctor works on turning Soviet
POWs into mindlessly aggressive
Sonderkommando (chemical zombie
warriors). These infernal troops are cre-
ated here in the camp and stored in the
barracks until they can be used in the
urban warfare that holds the Stalingrad
battle in its icy grip.
Once there are enough Kommandoes
ready, they are bound with heavy chains
locked at all times except twice a day
for food service (a generous name for
the organic broth that is given out in
meager portions).
The hangar contains an experimental
twin-rotor Focke-Wulf cargo helodyne
that is used to ferry the prisoners to and
from the camp. When it is needeed, the
mechanics wheel it out onto the central
plaza for take-off. It is too slow and frag-
ile to serve in combat, and as such is
unarmed.
There is a three-story tall watchtower at
each corner of the camp. It is made of
metal girder with a ladder in the middle,
's but keep the guard posts. This
mple factory can be anywhere; maybe
needs to be raided to acquire a new
'ototype - or perhaps the heroes are
e defenders.
legend
-~
1 Off ices
2 Officer Mess
3 WeaDon Storaae
4 Hangar w/\n/orkshop
5 Guard Post
-
6 Barrack
7 Laboratory
a Watchtower

and herded (with generous applications
of cattleprods and bayonets) aboard a
transport of some kind. They are then
taken to the edge of the Soviet-held ter-
ritory, where they are given one last in-
jection and sent on their way, like hid-
eous anthropomorphic nerve gas,
against the Red Army.
but the top platform is armored with
sheet metal (Armor 30, Personal scale).
It also has a thin roof to ward off rain. A
weapon mount is bolted to each side of
the platform, so that the heavy
machinegun can be brought to bear in
any direction (it takes about one turn to
switch the facing of the gun).

The camp has a fairly anonymous look,
with low buildings of sheet metal and
wood scattered about the encamp-
ment. Being in German-held territory, it
features little in the way of fortifications
or other defenses. The chainlink fence
is mostly present to keep curious sol-
diers out, and any escaped
Sonderkommando in. At most, an ar-
mored half-track will be parked on the
central plaza as a security feature.
The barracks are all the same and fea-
ture little in the way of creature comforts.
This is where the prisoners are locked
in before being taken to the laboratory
for "processing." The walls are made of
thin, ill-fitting sheet metal that does little
to keep the cold Russian wind out. Only
the door is made of sturdy timber, pad-
Prisoner Camp: The double barbed
wire fence is not to keep enemy troops
out, but to keep prisoners in. A dusty
patrol road surrounds the perimeter and
is constantly walked by armed patrols
flanked with vicious dogs (possibly
augmented with mechanical attach-
ments). The central plaza is actually an
assembly area where the prisoners are
taken each morning for a head count
and punishments for the previous day's
transgressions. The watchtowers' guns
point inward.
Industrial Area: Replace the open cen-
tral plaza with a two-story tall factory
building. The barracks become storage
buildings, and the officers' mess be-
comes the cafeteria and employees'
service building. Remove the watchtow-

82

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 83

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 mxs
REDOUBT
Augustus Hugo William Hawkridge,
Sixth Earl of Blackstone, is a well-known
figure in the social circles of upper Brit-
ish soceity. He ISalso as diabolical a
villain as any in these troubled times A
British lord with a noble lineage stretch-
ing back to the Glorious Revolution of
1688, Blackstone is also one of the
Third Reich's most effective agents
Using the vast resources of his Com-
monwealth-wide businesses, he works
behind the scenes to weaken both Brit-
ain and the United States, hoping he can
bring about the ultimate victory of Ger-
many in the ongoing conflict He be-
lieves himself to be a British patriot, and
he sees Germany as an ally, not an en-
emy Indeed, he shares Hitler's insane
beliefs in racial superiority and envisions
a "better world" in which the combined
might of the British Empire and the Third
Reich rule over "lesser peoples" with an
iron fist
The Blackstone family owns a number
of properties across England and Eu-
rope, one of which is a mid-sized re-
doubt in a remote corner of the British
countryside Lord Blackstone likes to
use it as a place to work on some of his
more outlandish plans, since it far away
from prying eyes No doubt, the man-
sion and its comfort also help
e
The main structure of the estate is the
mansion itself, a stately building with two
wings and three floors. Though the ex-
terior is fairly plain, the interior is loaded
with elegant carvings, thick imported
carpets, hard wood furnitures and other
creature comforts. Heavy brass locks
are placed on the thick oak doors, and
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
the stairs are made of marble. The en- Hospital: The mansion is an hospital for
tire mansion speaks of old wealth, war veterans. It can be located almost
cunnigly managed over the years, and anywhere -casualties were high on all
great wordly tastes. sides. Characters can be taken there
once wounded, or perhaps they have
Over the years, a number of buildings
to visit the place to interview a soldier
and structures were added to the prop-
about the strange machine that wiped
erty, ostensibly to make the place more
out his squad.
self-reliant. As part of his "war efforts,"
Lord Blackstone has had a small medi-
cal ward built on the lawn near the man-
sion. Few people seem to notice that the
Guard Post
convalescing soldiers (all of them blond
Warehouse
with blue eyes) never seems to get bet-
Generator Bunker
ter, nor do they look to be in much pain
Motor Pool
despite their heavy casts.
Autogyro Hangar
The domestics' quarters, located behind Security Bunker
the mansion, have been turned into bar- Machine Shop
racks for Blackstone's private security Auxiliary Generator
force. The nearby great gazebo is used Training Building
as a training facility where Thuggee as- Operation Building
sassins, hired from Blackstone's con- Barracks
tacts in India, practice their deadly skills. Medical Ward
Machine shops, generators, and other Blackstone Mansion
buildings ensure that the mansion is Mess Hall
entirely self-sufficient. If any problem
crops up, an autogyro is concealed in
the hangar, always ready for flight; a
narrow tunnel link the latter to a secret
panel in Blackstone's office.
College:The stately old mansion houses
a modern private college. The tranquil
setting and extensive support facilities
makes this place a perfect location for
quiet scientific researches. There are
plenty of young undergrads to help out
with the menial parts of the work, and
many of them are skilled workers and
researchers of their own. It is rumored
that many of the tenured professors are
actually well-connected and experi-
enced adventurers; they do go on a lot
of field trips and symposiums in foreign
countries.
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
 Clues: some gadgets will provide clues
for locating and defeating the villains.
Equipment, be it in the form of a weapon, tool or accessory, has always been an They can be used to subtly guide the
essential storytelling plot device. Whether it is used for atmosphere, style, to aug- Players' actions and put them back on
ment a character's already considerable abilities or simply as the main excuse for track. A chemical sniffer can provide a
an adventure, a well-placed and well-designed accoutrement always adds depth useful trail. Detective powder reveals fin-
and complexity to otherwise mundane human interactions. gerprints, shoe prints and other marks,
no matter how faint.
Historically, an incredible diversity of gadgets were invented and used by pulp
heroes and villains in the magazines and serials. These are often used for inspira- Drama: items can b e used by the
tion by the Modern Age's superscience engineers and brilliant inventors. While the Gamemaster to provide drama, for ex-
governments and large companies will look into almost anything that might be of ample when a damaged lifesaving de-
use, they tend to concentrate most of their development efforts into items that can vice has to be repaired in a race against
be reliably mass-produced. However, private inventors and laboratories, along time The classic example of the dramatic
with government secret program researchers, have much more leeway, but they gadget is the ubiquitous Red Digital
will often be restricted to making a limited production run, or a one-of-a-kind de- Readout that always clearly accurately
vice that cannot be replaced and must be kept secure at all times! counts down to the last second of the
heroes' efforts to halt it in Gear Krieg, a
standard clock face might be more in
keeping with the period, but the idea is
always the same

Beyond their use to create ambiance and
style, gadgets are very handy tools in
planning and plotting pulp RPG adven-
tures They can be used in a number of
ways, all of which can be combined with
one another or just used on its own
McGuffin:a word coined by movie direc-
tor Alfred Hitchcock to describe an item
that is used to kick off adventures It can
be anything, really, and does not even
have to be functional A lead-lined brief-
case filled with a rare radioactive ore has
to be taken back from the Nazi, a price-
less piece of jewelry that marks its bearer
as the rightful leader of a forgotten jungle
tribe is another The key to the McGuffin
is not that it does anything in particular,
but that everyone wants it for one reason
or another. A perfect example of a
McGuffin is the mysterious briefcase in
the movie "Pulp Fiction."
Safety: an item that can be used by
Player Characters to neutralizethe efforts
of villains trying to kill them in deathtraps
and other cliffhanger situations.An elec-
tronic master key, concealed in the lin-
ing of a boot, opens a cell door. A tiny
vial of acid, thrown on the master control
panel, destroys the circuit that powers a
death ray. A special refractive glass in
the hero's apartment windows makes him
appear slightly off his actual position,
throwing off the aim of a rifle-armed
would-be assassin.
s
Superscience items generally differ from
their more mundane counterparts, being
more powerful, smaller or otherwise more
advanced, yet unpredictable in practice.
They are also generally impossible to
understand without very specialized
training or knowledge, and are often the
equivalent of the "magic items" common
in fantasy settings, both in terms of style
and use. Mad scientists and advanced
research labs are the equivalent of rna-
gicians, possessed of knowledge and
abilities beyond the understandingof the
(relatively) simple-minded heroes. The
devices themselves are often clunky,
odd-looking, and almost always have
unforeseen side effects.
Most pulp inventions did have some
basis in scientific fact; pulp authors, al-
ways tried to keep just enough believ-
ability in the stories to keep the audi-
ence intrigued by the real-world possi-
bilities of their hero's fictional gadgetry.
Such items only require the flimsiest of

87

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 technical explanations for their work-
ings; they are effectively magical de-
vices, and the fun is in not asking too
many questions Pulp logic is based on
leaps of faith, if liquid nitrogen freezes
things, and water guns shoot liquid, then
according to pulp logic, one can of
course have a gun that shoots liquid ni-
trogen, thus creating a "freeze gun."
On the other hand, many p u l p
superscience items are items in real-
world use today, for instance, the Elec-
tric Master Key presented on page 90
is derived from a real-world piece of
equipment, and is "superscience" only
because of its game-world availability
forty years before its real-world incep-
tion One can gain inspiration for new
pieces of Gear Krieg equipment by sim-
ply looking around any shopping mall's
gadget store Imagine what odd uses a
superhero battling high-tech Nazis
might have for a keychain that responds
to a whistle, paste that turns rock-hard
under light of a specific wavelength,
colored contact lenses, or even (admit-
tedly, some extra creativity might be re-
quired for this one) a computator-con-
trolled "digital pet."
The Good Side of Failure
It is not unusual for a pulp character to
be partially defined by his equipment;
indeed, it is often equipment that rounds
out and distinguishes a character. A
daring pilot might never be far from his
customized airplane; the adventurer al-
ways carries a pair of well-maintained
heavy revolvers with special, hand-cast
"lucky" ammunition; the villain is never
seen without his sinister breathing mask;
and so on. For better or worse, a char-
acter can often be identified or distin-
guished by recognition of his personal
equipment; sometimes this leads to free
drinks in a bar, and at other times it leads
to unpleasant surprises in one's hotel
room. During character creation, the
Player may select one possession or
piece of equipment that will become his
character's "signature item." If the player
desires, he can pay Character Points for
Perks for use with his signature item.
Warranty Plan: The character has a
spare, or can repair the device, or knows
someone who can. If the signature item
is lost or damaged, it can be replaced.
The player must define a specific set of
conditions for the item to be replaced,
e.g. "1 have to go visit Dr. Ziggy in Ne-
braska," or "I need two days and some
watchmaker's tools." The conditions are
subject to GM approval, and should not
be so easy to meet that the player can
carelessly throw his signature item away
on a regular basis. 2 Character Points.
Hey, I Know You: Normally, a signature
item provides a balance of good and
bad recognition. With this Perk, the item
is now widely recognized as a famous
"good guy" icon, which can open many
doors on the player's home ground and
sometimes even in enemy territory. Add
+1 to the character's INF when dealing
with friendly or neutral NPCs. There's no
additional downside to this Perk; the
same people who hate the character still
hate him just as much. 2 Character
Points.
It's a Part of Me: Using this item is sec-
ond nature to the character. Fumbles
that occur when using this item are ig-
nored (they count as a result of 1). 3
Character Points.
Unconventional Usage:] The character
gains a +3 bonus to use the item for a
specific task. The task should be lim-
ited in scope, and should be something

The Gamemaster is the one that decides ifthe gadget will always work as intended that normal skill with the item doesn't
in all situations and conditions. An item does not always have to work properly, cover. For instance, for a gun, "shoot-
especially if it makes the adventure too easy or if it ruins a plot. On the other hand, ing people in the head" is both too broad
the pulp stories were notorious for their inventive use of strange devices. A one- and covered by standard gun training,
shot, capacitor driven lightning gun, hidden in a lighter or other innocuous item, but "using my customized gun as a
can be used for assassination - but it can also be used to destroy the ballroom's thrown weapon" fits nicely. 4 Character
main chandeliel; plunging the room into darkness and allowing the wielder to es- Points.

Also, a device that fails to do what its designer intended can still be useful in other
ways. For example, if a character is about to use his newly-acquired mind-control
gun to take over the villain's min, ruining the adventure, the GM can make the Atomic Car: some of the most prominent
attempt an automatic failure; later on, though, the hero may get a chance to dis- physicians in the world have theorized
cover that the gun also works to calm guard dogs, attract bats, or do something that the energy of the atom may one day
else that wasn't obvious before, but which is suddenly of great value in a given be harnessed to provide nearly unlim-
circumstance. In this way, the players still get to have f i n and use their toys without
necessarily ruining a well-laid out adventure.

88

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 ited power. Many whisper that there has
been at least limited success in the field:
shadowy, fast vehicles with bizarre fins
and superior performances have been
spotted.
The Atomic Car is powered by the de-
cay of a piece of radioactive ore in a
mini-reactor located in an armored,
lead-lined housing. The reactor provides
electricity to powerful electric motors
that drive the wheels silently. Apart from
some water for cooling and an occa-
sional maintenance stop, the car does
not need fuel - Deployment Range is
unlimited for a full year, and the car
moves up to 60 kph faster at top speed
than an equivalent-sized, unmodified
car. A tuned hydraulic, computator-
driven suspension cancels the effects
of the reactor's weight and inertia, main-
taining the vehicle's original maneuver-
abiIity.
Each car is likely to be a one-of-a-kind
creation; it can be a government proto-
type, the work of a mad genius, or the
preferred means of transportation of a
vigilante, masked crimefighter. What-
ever its nature, it will attract a lot of un-
wanted attention.
Brain Cap: Looking somewhat like an
alien apparatus from a cheap Saturday
morning serial, the Brain Cap is a heavy
metal device studded with magnets,
Tesla coils and other items of dubious
origins. When placed upon a person's
head, the alternating fields generated
by the cap stimulate the neurons in the
brain, providing a short term boost in
intelligence and creativity (+2 bonus to
any Creativity or Knowledge tests). The
device requires much power and cool-
ing machinery, and cannot be easily
transported out of the lab. Each use
takes ld6+10 minutes to set up and
perform; it is not recommended to use
it more than once a day. If this is the
case, make a PSY test versus a Thresh-
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
old equal to (2+number of uses that
day); if failed or Fumbled, a psychologi-
cal quirk (paranoia, phobia, megaloma-
nia, etc.) appears. Needless to say, the
Brain Cap is a favorite of mad scientists
everywhere
Chemical Tracking Device: A virtual "lab
in a can," this item allows the user to
track down a quarry by following the
chemical trail left behind. It can also be
used to identify the presence of drugs,
explosive, poison or any other chemi-
cal compound. Once properly cali-
brated (which requires I d 6 minutes), it
can detect a particular smell up to a
block away. The device also gives a
+1 modifier to any Notice or Percep-
tion test involving the sense of smell.
Dehydration Ray: work into radar de-
vices and microwaves led to a num-
ber of individual "radar gun" projects.
Some of these coupled the radar wave
generator with a frequency impulsor
mount dialed to water, creating a ray
gun that literally boiled away moisture
without affecting anything else. The
Dehydratation Ray is treated as a
weapon using the "Small Arms" Skill.
In addition, any spotting or attack
within or passing through its Arc of
Attack and range is subject to an ad-
ditional -1 modifier due to the 'haze'
effect created by boiling atmospheric
moisture in the beam.
Detective Powder: This handy investi-
gative tool takes the form of tiny vials
filled with colored dust of various
shades, housed in a small leather wal-
let. Each vial contains a special reac-
tant tailor-made for a specific type of
surface or material; when carefully
spread over a small area, the powder
will reveal any foreign element such
as fingerprint, boot print, hair, scuff
mark, etc. This provides a +2 bonus
to Notice or Perception tests involv-
ing such clues. Each vial contains
enough powder to cover a one-foot
square area and requires a day to pre-
pare (each detective has his own per-
sonal - and often secret -formula).
The basic kit contains enough for two
uses (not all will be suitable).
 I '
Electric Master Key: this tiny device is
composed of a number of rods and pins
that are magnetically controlled from
within the handle. When inserted in a
lock, the rods and pins seek to fill the
space available, activating the tumblers
one by one until the lock opens. While
the master key cannot open everything,
it gives a +2 bonus to any Locksmith
Skill tests.
Electronic Stethoscope: boost sounds,
include an automatic cutoff system that
immediately blocks the wearer's hear-
ing when he is subjected to a sudden,
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
very loud noise. High sensitivity circuits
give a + I bonus to PER, but only for
hearing tests. Give bonus to Medical
when used by doctors.
Gas-Gun: this pistol-like device projects
a stream of compressed gas toward its
target. Thanks to the special shape of
the nozzle and the power of the tiny
compressor, the stream can travel sev-
eral meters before breaking up into a
meter-wide cloud. Though a number of
payloads can be used, the most com-
mon one is a sleep-inducing gas.
Hypno-Ring: this curious and extremely
rare device is a thick ring with a revolv-
ing metal disk on top. A special spiral
pattern is etched on the disk; when it
rotates, the visual effect, combined with
the small wave emitter placed within the
ring, put people in a trance state, mak-
ing them susceptible to commands. The
affected victims will not do anything that
would harm them (one cannot order a
mesmerized person to jump off a
bridge), but casual orders will be fol-
lowed without questions (open the door;
forget we passed through here; tell me
the name of the man who delivered this;
etc.).
To operate the device, an Opposed Skill
test is made between the wearer's Influ-
ence Attribute and the intended victim's
Willpower. The Margin of Success indi-
cates how many one-sentence com-
mand can be given before the target
shakes off the effect of the ring. A Draw
means the target is not affected, but
neither do they notice what happened.
A Failure means the ring has no effect
but the target is suspicious; on a
Fumble, the target becomes aware of
the control attempt.
Hypo-Gun: this device can inject a vari-
ety of poisons and drugs through the
skin by using compressed air. While it
 must be placed in contact with the per-
son or animal being injected, the gun is
powerful enough to do its job through
fabrics and thin leather (any kind of ar-
mor block the injection). Though hypo-
guns usually are somewhat pistol-
shaped, they can take a number of
forms, such as a tiny, palm-concealed
device.
Invisibility Suit: An offshoot of the Rus-
sians' work with Tesla technology, the
Scattering Field generates an extremely
low-voltage electrical field that bend
light within a certain radius around it.
Though this does not afford true invis-
ibility (as the designers had originally
hoped), it does make everything in the
near vicinity much more difficult to see
clearly, and therefore harder to target.
The Invisibility Suit is made of heavy
canvas, with the Field emitters attached
to it with heavy rivets: a helmet with face-
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
plate is included to protect the wearer's
eyes. The Field requires constant minute
adjustments and care must be taken
when moving with it; the suit is treated
as a weapon and require one Action per
round to use. Any spotting or attack
within two meters of the wearer is sub-
ject to an additional -3 modifier.The field
has otherwise no effect, beyond some
constant small static discharges.
Magneto-tractors: A by-product of the
researches conducted at Menlo Park,
this strange device is composed of a
set of ankle and wrist bracelets, from
each of which a thick coiled power cord
emerges to connect to a bulky back-
pack that emits a constant low humming
sound. The bracelets are linked to one
another by powerful yet focused mag-
netic fields powered by the coil located
in the backpack. By interacting with the
Earth's magnetic field, the bracelets pro-
vide an anchor and support to any ef-
forts involving brute strength -at least
until the power lasts! This translates into
a +3 modifier to any Build or Strength
tests. Make a PSY test versus aThresh-
old equal to (2+nurnber of uses since
last recharge) each time it is used; if
failed or Fumbled, the device shuts
down. The downside includes the afore-
mentioned power loss and an unfortu-
nate tendency to attract stray small
metallic objects.
Metal-RottingGas: This complex chemi-
cal compound attacks the molecular
bonds within metals, reducing them to
finely-grained dust in a matter of min-
utes. It can be used as a load for gas
guns or grenades, or used to fill small
glass pellets (which are easily conceal-
able). The gas acts on most metal, dis-
solving them at a rate of l d 6 cm per turn;
it does not affect living flesh. Many he-
roes like to keep a pellet concealed up
their sleeve, ready to burn through hand-
cuffs or a cell lock.
Micro-modulator: This device adds a
soothing carrier wave to sound, making
a voice (or song, or music) more pleas-
ant to the ear. First developed to com-
pensate for the poor quality of radio
broadcasts, it has since found a more
sinister use. When activated, it provides
a +2 bonus to any Influence tests; it also
gives a +2 bonus in an Opposed Skill
test to detect a lie. In general, the de-
vice is built into a normal looking radio
microphone, or a hand-held device of
some kind.
Plastic Flesh: Studies in the new and
upcoming field of polymers and plas-
tics have yielded some fairly strange
substances. "Plastic flesh" is the nick-
name given to a family of organic plas-
tics that can be attached to living flesh
and removed without harm. Though
there are obvious medical applications,

:
I-
the fabrication process is still too costly
and complex to make more than small
quantities. In the meantime, some spies
have received samples, using it to aug-
ment their already considerable dis-
guise skills. A palm-sized ball of plastic
flesh is enough to provide a +2 modifier
to any attempt at Disguise. The sub-
stance can also be used to correct mi-
nor defects in a person's appearance,
providing a +1 bonus to Grooming tests.
Pocket Radar: a highly miniaturized ver-
sion of the new detection device fielded
by the British, this handheld pocket ra-
dar is used to detect movement and
items in low-visibility situations. The
pocket radar cancels the negative modi-
fiers due to low lighting or fog condi-
tions, for any Notice or Perception tests.
The downside of the pocket radar is its
fragility: the tiny vacuum tubes are prone
the shattering if the item is dropped or
92
david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)
banged a little too hard (roll a die when
the device is dropped or hit, adding +2
if this is during a combat or other tense
situation: the pocket radar ceases to
function on a result of 6).
Sonar Goggles: this bulky pair of
goggles has no opening for the eyes,
relying instead on sound waves to cre-
ate a picture on small phosphor screens.
While the quality of the resulting images
is extremely poor (-2 to any Perception
or Notice tests that involve small details)
and only display the outlines of objects
(one cannot read or see color with this),
the goggles let the wearer see as in plain
daylight, even in pitch darkness. Dogs
and other animals are bothered by the
ultrasounds used by the device, and
some sonar-using animals such as bats
may attack or collide with the wearer.
Speed Compound XH-22: The product
of a small, privately owned experimen-
tal lab, this strange mixture accelerates
the chemical reactions in the human
body to superhuman rates, allowing a
person to move and reacts at incred-
ible speeds. Unfortunately,it is very hard
to make, and each dose requires exten-
sive preparation and refinement by a
dedicated chemist: as such, it is impos-
sible to buy and must be made to order,
taking one full week per dose.
The compound requires (1dG+BUI) min-
utes to take effect and last for (1d6-FIT)
hours (minimum one hour). During that
time, the person moves ten times as fast
as a normal human being (if AGI tests
are called for, add 10 to the character's
usual Agility Attribute). Once the effect
wears off, the character will be ex-
hausted and suffer the effect of a Deep
Wound until they can get a full eight
hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Wrist-Radio: This is a small hand-free
radio set. It can be used to communi-
cate with a unit on the same frequency
up to 2 km away (though it can receive
messages from more powerful transmit-
ters up to the latter's maximum range).
The casing is made of brushed metal
and is extremely light (30 g) and sturdy.
A tiny battery powers it, and is good for
about two days (two hours with constant
usel.
li-
I -
 X-Ray Monocle: thanks to advanced
glass-making techniques, an X-ray re- I I
active screen has been embedded
within a seemingly ordinary monocle
(albeit one with a heavy frame). When
skillfully used with a radium wand (a
small, pencil-like device that can be hid- I

den in a cane or umbrella), the wearer

can see through doors, clothes and thin
walls. Metal objects appear in stark con-
trast; thick metal constructs, such as a
safe or a massive desk. will block vision.

L-N2 Gun: a British invention, this de-

vice carries a reservoir of liquid nitro-
gen which can be used to hose down a
large area, in much the same manner
as a flamethrower, or squirted in thin
high pressure streams at specific tar-
gets. Most inorganic materials, particu-
larly metals and armor, become ex-
tremely brittle and are prone to shatter
under stress (such as weapons fire) af-
ter being "frozen" to -150QC or below
until they "thaw" again. Against people
(and other objects with a high water
content) these weapons can instantly
freeze targets rock solid, or at least
cause severe cold burns. The original
intent of these "weapons" however was
civil defense as fire fighting tools since
the liquefied nitrogen attacks two of the
three sides of the Fire Triangle, denying
the fire both the heat and oxygen it
needs to continue burning.
The "pistol" version is approximately the
size of a submachinegun and carries
enough liquid nitrogen in its detachable
thermos bottle reservoir for 5 stream
shots. The "rifle" sized version comes
with twin insulated backpack tanks ca-
pable of 100 streaming shots or hosing
down a 10 meter radius 4 times. Vehicu-
lar sized versions have also been built
for some of the trucks in the London Fire
Brigade, although their "capacity" is lim-
ited to what the trucks themselves can
carry.
Lightning-Gun: this is a high powered
taser-like device built on the frame of a
regular gun. It shares the same stats,
except that the DM is considered to be
an equivalent Electric Intensity (see the
Electricity rules in the rulebook).
Metal Fists:These are non-descript (but
somewhat bulky) leather gloves that
contain special alloy plates along the
knuckles. When a contact on top of the
glove is triggered, a tiny battery ener-
gizes the alloy and makes it rigid. This
provides a +2 bonus to the wearer's UD.
Thermal Rays: Russian scientists were
also fascinated by the immense defen-
sive potential of Russia's harsh tempera-
tures, and started to work on technologi-
cal means to control heat for defensive
purposes. The result was a series of
special "thermal rays," capable of gen-
erating localized heat and cold zones.
These were used mostly behind the
battle lines to thaw out roads and rails
and to freeze rivers to ensure uninter-
rupted supply lines. Often, heat rays
were also used to turn frozen farmland
into a muddy morass that the Germans
would have to fumble across under a
withering hail of fire from prepared Rus-
Manual Action: Some weapon types
(bolt action, pump action, lever ac-
tion) require conscious thought on
the user's part, and so chambering a
new round for them requires an Ac-
tion. In other words, when you use a
Lee- En$eld, for example, you only
get a shot per round, while a revolver
allows you to shoot twice. Reload-
ing (inserting a new magazine, for
example) is a separate, ofen much
slower action covering one turn or
more. This is an actual clar$cation
of the existing rules.
Shotguns: these now get a flat + I at
short range only for each shotgun-

93

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 sian positions. Thermal Rays can
change the terrain type of 1 square MU
per hour.

DOOMSDAY
DEVICES
Superscience devices are a staple of the
pulp genre; what good is a villain with-
out a Doomsday machine of some kind?
These take on a variety of forms and
purposes, but almost all are intended
to create destruction on a massive scale
in order to terrorize people into submis-
sion. Fortunately for the heroes, the
machines often have failings, weak
spots or other limitations that provides
them with the time and means to destroy
them before they can cause harm to the
Free World.
Game-wise, the doomsday devices are
most often a prop or McGuffin to
kickstart the adventure, rather than an
actual piece of equipment. Its effects are
just too terrible to be used directly
against the characters, and serve mostly
to provide a stick to motivate the heroes
into taking action. Occasionally, they
can have some local effects, such as
the instant faults created by the earth-
quake machine below. A city-wide mind
control device, activated at low power,
might be used to create mindless troop-
ers out of the local citizens, who in turn
will attack the heroes with whatever tools
they have on hand.
Doomsday machines are a great oppor-
tunity for scientist characters to shine.
While the more action-oriented charac-
ter types, such as the Pilot or the Ad-
venturer, normally get all the fun, in this
case the Scientist is the one that has to
figure out what the device is, what does
it do, where it is located, how can the
heroes protect themselves from its ef-
fects, and so on. The Scientist will also
be the one to find the machine's weak
spot (pulp-style doomsday devices a/-
ways have a weak spot or self-destruct
function).
The text below showcases two possible
doomsday devices. Naturally, many
more are possible. A quick way to gen-
erate one such machine is to take a stan-
dard equipment piece and scale it up a
hundred or thousand folds. Both its ef-
fects and weak point will normally be
fairly evident.
Earthquake Triggering Machine: This
bulky device is about the size of a me-
dium-sized house. lt cannot be moved,
being solidly attached to spikes and
antennae buried deep into the ground.
When activated, the powerful coils lo-
cated under the central dome create a
resonance pulse that is channeled deep
within the ground. By carefully adjust-
ing the decay rate of the pulse, earth-
quakes and tremors can be generated
up to 500 kilometers away, twice a day.
Each quake is powerful enough to rip
open fault lines deep enough to swal-
low a car or walker whole (make a Pilot-
ing or Driving tests versus a Threshold
of 4 to avoid falling in).
The device is heavily armored to pre-
vent its destruction by enemy bombers
and tanks. It, however, quite easy to set
the power coils to an overload state,
wherein the pulse generated will be fed
back into the device, literally shaking it
(violently) to pieces within I d 6 minutes.
Weather Control Device: At present
there are only two of these machines
known to be in existence, and the pos-
sibility of a third is speculative. These
devices are comprised of a large fixed
radio dish (aimed directly upwards into
the sky), several room-sized vacuum
tube arrays for processing power, a few
kilometers of heavy duty power cables
and a power source sufficient to light
up a small town. The heat produced by
all of these systems is sufficient to keep
a medieval stone castle warm in winter.
A platoon of engineer/scientists is
needed maintain these systems before,
during and after operation. Everything
can be dismantled and loaded into box-
cars for rail transport should the opera-
tion need to be moved.
Controlling the weather is a lengthy op-
eration and can only be maintained for
a relatively short time window, after
which the device needs to be taken off-
line for extensive maintenance checks,
recalibration and tube replacement. For

94

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

 Action Elements Table 71 Ice Station Walkurie 80 Tactics Skill 21
Agent Zero 64 Independent Heroes 26 Thermal Rays 93
Allies Armed Forces 27 Invisibility Suit 91 Thug the 45
Alternate ldenteties 19 60
Archetypes Heroic 25
Archetypes Villainous 42 Lars Kiergard 48
Aristocrat the 44 League of Nations 27 Ulfrsteinn. Tor 34
Atomic Car 88 Lightning Gun 93
L N2 Gun 93
Villain 39

Baron Eisens Flying Fortress

18
78 Mad Scientist the 44 w
Behaviors Villains 40 Magneto tractors 91 Wang Han 58

Brain Cap 89 Malley Nolan 36 Weapons 93

Massimo Marchand 50 Weather Control Device 94
C
Canuck the 28 Maupassant Henri 32 William Haulm 62
Maxwell Lambert 52 Wrist Radio 92
Character Design Tools 18
Chemical Tracking Device 8 McGuffin 87
Clues 87 Mercenary the 45
X-Ray Monocle.......................... ............_......
... .......93
Components Hideouts 70 Metal Fists 93
Crenet Noah 33 Metal Rotting Gas 91
Crime Lord the 42 Micro modulator 91
Morderprimas 49
Motivations Villains 39
Danger 8
Defenses Hideouts 70 IT--
DehydrationRay 89 Naming Conventions 19
Designing Hideouts 70 Natascha Gandossi 54
Detective Powder 89
Doc Problem the 24
Doomsday Devices 94 Old House, the 76
One-Upmanship 7
Drama 87

Earthquake Triggering Machine 94 Perks 20

Electric Master Key 90 Plastic Flesh 91

Electronic Stethoscope 90 Plots 9

Pocket Radar 92
Equipment 88
Exotica 70 Pulp Conventions 23

-
Pulp Plotting 7

Femme Fatale the 45

rw-
Recker, Gunnery Sergeant Charles 30
Flaws 20
Flaws Villains 41 Redoubt Lord Blackstones 84
Resistance Base B 22 74
Rewards Adventure 8
CY
Gadgets 87
Gas Gun 90 Sample Heroes 28

Golden Eagle the 72 Script Immunity 8

Government Sponsored 27 Shen Lo Hu 55

Sidekick the 25
TT Signature Items 88
Hagan SS Julius 66 Skill Uses 21
Henchman the 45 Sonar Goggles 92
Hero the 23 25 Sonderbar Dr Hans 56
Heroic Campaigns 26 Speed Compound XH-22 92
Heroic Motivations 23 Stalingrad Sonderkommando Base 82
Hideouts 69 Stereotypes 43
Hypno-Ring 90 Structures 70
Hypo-Gun 90 Superscience 87
Support Character the 26

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)

david serban gheorghe (order #18155011)