Dread-spionage
Hey folks,
So, time to once again resurrect this wonderful thread, and tap you all for thoughts, advice, and suggestions.
I'm running a Dread game in a couple of weeks, and I could use some help locking down the plot. Let me give you the basics.
The scenario is called "Cold." It's a cold war spy thriller with a supernatural horror twist, set in Berlin in the early 1950s. The idea was originally inspired by the RPG "Cold City," but in practice it ultimately takes the majority of it's inspiration from the novel "Declare" by Tim Powers, as well as a bit from the writings of Charles Stross.
The characters are;
The American
The Brit
The Frenchwoman
The Soviet
The German
The Jew
The characters are all working together at the start of the scenario, despite their different backgrounds. The Soviet has defected to the Americans with info about the subject they are going to be dealing with. The mission is a joint US/British operation. The German works for the "Gehlen Organization"--a German intelligence group started by the CIA to help them spy on the Soviets after WWII. The Jew was OSS during the War, before later joining the Mossad, and has some pull with the current CIA head-of-station in Berlin, and has gotten himself in on the mission. I haven't worked out exactly what the French agent's involvement is, beyond the fact that the French are strongly allied with the US and Britain in running the Allied sectors of Berlin. I'd like to come up with something a little stronger, but that should work if that's the best I can come up with.
Here's the bare bones of the plot; The Soviet's have recently uncovered in the Soviet sector of Berlin a secret, defunct Nazi research facility where the Nazis were working on something called "Operation Jotunheim" during the War. The Soviets have taken all the physical material and data in the facility and have started working on it themselves, calling it "Project Koschei." They are soon going to relocate everything to Moscow, but are still looking for a key missing piece to the Nazi project, something the Nazis code named "Die Nadel" ("The Needle.")
The Soviet has defected to the Americans with the preceding info. The Soviet does not know what "Project Koschei" or "Die Nadel" actually are, though there is some suggestion that "Koschei" may be some sort of biologically based mind control or psychological warfare weapon. All the allies really know is, whatever "Koschei" is, they don't want the Soviets to have it.
So basically, the PCS are tasked with looking into the matter, trying to achieve any or all of the following; learn more about the precise nature of Project Koschei, learn the nature of Die Nadel, locate and acquire or destroy Die Nadel before the Soviets can get it, locate and acquire or destroy the materials and/or data involved in Project Koschei that the Soviets already have, before it can be sent off to Moscow. All of this is set against the backdrop of a an escalating blizzard that is slowly but effectively shutting the city of Berlin down.
The horror element comes in when the PCs learn through the course of their investigation that Project Koschei is actually a nigh-Lovecraftian entropic entity (in power level and form most similar to the djinn in Powers' "Declare," but in function and effect more like John Tynes' interpretation of Hastur for the "Delta Green" mythology,) that breaks down order and consumes complex patterns...like human thought processes. It also endlessly consumes heat. If the entity is freed, it will begin by consuming the minds of anyone it encounters, leading to madness and eventually catatonia and/or brain death. Eventually, other ordered patterns will break down, and heat transfer will continue to occur, until entropy reaches it's maximum capacity and all functions in reality cease. Basically, the entity can potentially lead to a superaccelerated heat death of the universe, if allowed to. The Nazis had been researching to try to discover if there was a way to weaponize the entity, harness its power and release it only under controlled circumstances, to try to causes madness, chaos, and psychological breakdown amongst their enemies.
The truth about Die Nadel is that it is not some sort of key component to activating and/or controlling Project Koschei, as the Allies believe. It is in fact a kill switch, designed to destroy the entity, should it get free of all bonds and controls.
So, that's the basics...defecting spy brings word of Soviets getting hold of Nazi weapon. Allied spies try to acquire or destroy said weapon, learn that it is actually horrible nameless entity in the process of being awakened/unleashed, need to stop it if they can...all against a backdrop of the worst blizzard they've ever seen.
The problem is, I don't really know what happens in the plot. How do they get from the beginning of the story to the end? What events, people, etc. do they encounter along the way? I have some ideas for elements I'd like to throw in, but I'm not sure which ones I should use, how to use them, etc. I'll go ahead and just toss out some of the ideas, elements, scenes, characters, etc. I've had. I'm not necessarily intending to use all of these, just looking for some ideas on which ones I might want to use, and how to incorporate them.
- A murdered agent or intelligence asset, possibly an old friend or mentor of one of the PCs, right at the start of the investigation.
- Possibly the asset isn't actually dead, but faked his own death, either to go deeper and do good work (shadowy ally of the PCs) or because he is on the wrong side of things (twist reveal enemy of the PCs)
- Maybe the asset is not dead, just missing. PCs have to look for him.
- Brother/partner/other close associate/relative of missing/dead asset is in a mental hospital, and the PCs have to get in to question him. Asylums are always good fun in a horror game.
- A Soviet intelligence asset known as "The Grinning Man" and "The Persian" is working on acquiring Die Nadel for the Soviets. He is an obvious but mysterious antagonist the PCs have to race/struggle against.
- As more is learned, The Grinning Man comes to seem more and more supernatural himself...something unnatural/inhuman in human form acting as a herald of the coming beast. Perhaps he is only pretending to work for the Soviets, but actually serves the entity.
- Grinning Man refers to the entity as a "daeva", one of Zoroastrianism's "wrong gods," beings who are corrupted by "druj" ("the Lie")--which is disorder, entropy, corruption, madness, sin, etc.--and are thus unable to accept "asha" ("The Truth") that leads to righteousness, order, reason, etc.
- This ties well into the spy story aspect, as all of the characters live their lives immersed in "The Lie"...everything they do is about secrets, deception, false identities, paranoia, etc. That's what it means to be a spy. Thus, they are susceptible to druj, and resistant to asha.
- The Grinning Man goes by the name "Indrid Cold" (the name I got from the Mothman events of West Virginia in the 70s, but plot-wise it has nothing to do with that...I just always loved the name and the weirdness of the character.) The name "Indrid" bears a resemblance to both "Indra," who--in Hindu mythology--is king of the "devas" (good spirits/gods who oppose the sinful "asura") and god of storms; and "Indar," who--in Zoroastrian belief--is one of the "daeva" (corrupt, sinful spirits opposed by the good "ahura") is said to "freeze the minds of men, making them incapable of righteous thought.
- This ties in to something I am thinking, which is that The Grinning Man/Cold seems to be hostile and malevolent (i.e. "Indar") but in the end is revealed to actually be working to stop/defeat the entity, and is actually good and helpful (i.e. "Indra.") I want to play with themes of trust, betrayal, and deception, and have the thought that in the end the PCs' seeming enemy turns out to be an ally, while an ally turns out to be a foe.
- Working from this premise, my thought is that their handler(s) who assign them to this mission in the first place are actually revealed to be enemies at the end. Are they actually working for the other side? Or are they misguided "patriots" hoping to use the entity themselves, or trick the Soviets into unleashing the enemy on their own soil, foolishly thinking that it will *only* destroy them?
- The biggest twist I am considering is that the characters are all actually already dead. They died during the war, each of their deaths in some way connected to this entity, and they are now currently prisoners within it's mind. This inspiration comes from a bit at the end of the Charles Stross short story "A Colder War";
"There is life eternal within the eater of souls. Nobody is ever forgotten or allowed to rest in peace. They populate the simulation spaces of its mind, exploring all the possible alternative endings to their life. There is a fate worse than death, you know."
In this version, their minds/spirits have been trapped within the entity's mind, reliving their deaths over and over, and slowly going mad. But their "handler" in the real world has summoned/awakened/bound them, and they now interact within a "virtual" Berlin within the mind of the entity, with no memories of their previous existence there. They believe they are alive and on a mission, but their "handler" actually has them searching the entity's own mind for the keys to its control or destruction.
In this version, "Indrid Cold" seems hostile and malicious because their perceptions are skewed due to their time inside the entity's mind, but he is actually a benevolent being trying to help them destroy the entity and free themselves to go on to their final rewards. This adds layers to the title of the scenario, "Cold." Now, not only is it a cold war story, set in the middle of a blizzard, with an entity that consumes heat, and a man who uses the name "Indrid Cold," but it is now also a "cold day in hell," for them, and Indrid is trying to let them finally rest, or in spy speak, help them "come in from the cold."
I feel like this twist/angle to raise the story from being just a "spies hunt and destroy monster" plot. But at the same time, I worry that it may be too complex, too intricate, and could feel like a cheat to the players, when the ending comes. So...I don't know. Any thoughts?
Ok, that's it for now. This post is gargantuan enough at this point. I'm going to wrap up here, and see if anybody has any comments. If I think of more key tidbits to share, I'll put them in another post.
Thanks for your time.
Best,
~~~~Random
