AIM-54 said:
It's not so much that they see the Nazis as a non-threat, but rather that the powers that be are still organizing their supers resources in an allied fashion (rather than strictly on a nation-state basis) and at the moment, resources are stretched thin trying to deal with the Communist threat. The Greek civil war has only just ended, Italy is still struggling with its Communists, though its election went the "correct" way, at least partially due to Allied supers preventing Communist supers from successfully tampering with the populace, France is occupied in Indochina, there are rumblings in Korea, and the two China's issue remains fresh. The Nazis, from your report, seem occupied trying to complete the conquest of Atlantis and have, as yet, shown no particular interest in immediately sending forces back to the Earth dimension. Of course, your team is very likely to be sent there in the near future, but the politicos have to have their say, as well.
My personal argument would be, if it comes up, that the communists as yet seem unwilling or unable to openly oppose Allied forces on the world stage; the seeds of a strategic competition have certainly been sown, but the Communist idea of world domination (more akin to a world-wide class war) presents a far less immediate threat than the Nazis. The Nazis, after all, made a decent effort at conquering the globe even without power armor and Atlantean-derived super treatments. With a whole world, rather than merely a whole nation at the Nazis disposal, we must be extra wary.
These Nazis, I would point out, are not limited to any particular territorial area should they choose to open a front in the "real world." They may attack anywhere, at any time. Thus, they must be stopped on a battlefield of our choosing. Otherwise, we risk allowing who or whatever now leads the Nazis to choose it for us. Not a pleasant idea. Though I do not want to abandon the very real conflicts in the material world, we must either subdue the Nazis in Atlantis, or somehow isolate, destroy, and/or sever whatever planar gates still connect that world to ours.
I have no doubt that this latter option would be easier than single-handedly winning an extraplanar war. However, it is at best a temporary solution. Though we might isolate our Earth from Atlantis in the short term, the Nazis need only find a gateway to
another plane that remains adjacent to ours, and then return here from there.
This, of course, begs the question - is isolating earth from ALL planes an option?
Atlantis has always been a separate dimension from Earth proper, but in the past the dimensional barriers between them were much thinner, allowing travel between them, generally through dimensional gates, of which two are known, one in the Mediterranean and one near Bermuda. As human civilization advanced, the Atlanteans saw the human thirst for knowledge and love of technology as a danger to their more environmentally aware (if you will) society and worked to strengthen the barrier between the two dimensions. Any unwanted or accidental crossings of the barrier were met with lethal force. The last likely interaction with the Atlanteans was in the mid-16th Century, though details are sketchy. Most likely it was the observation of a gate opening and a last Atlantean or group of Atlanteans departing Earth, perhaps after working to diminish human recollection of them.
Any idea what they were/are hiding? Perhaps we need to mount an expedition to a now-abandoned Atlantean outpost? Is there anything of potential use that could be gleaned from such a place?
From what you've gleaned, Atlanteans all tend to have some powers, allowing them to live comfortably both above and below water, though anything beyond that is somewhat rarer (I think I'm going to use the Atlantean template in the Mastermind's Manual as is for standard Atlanteans). Those with greater powers are also generally within the realm of natural powers (elemental control etc).
What capabilities does Nereus, our erstwhile ambassador, possess?
Atlantean society is based on an enlightened monarchical system. The royal family strongly exhibits super-characteristics, though not all of the Atlantean nobility are similarly blessed. Knowledge and philosophical thinking are among all Atlanteans favorite pastimes, though scientific experimentation is discouraged out of fear of what could result. The arrival of the techno-Nazis has certainly borne out the danger of such things for many Atlanteans. The middle and lower classes tend to be merchants/artisans or farmers/fisherman. There are strict rules guiding Atlantean agriculture to ensure harmony with the elements. Art and literature are particularly valued pursuits and class is no boundary to an Atlantean with talent in those areas.
Is there a warrior class of some sort? Any evidence of a resistence against the invaders? Harmonious ideals aside, we will likely need allies if we're to prosecute this war in relative isolation.
