WOLFENSTRAHD (SWADE)

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD

This is Curse of Strahd, but not as you know it. This is Curse of Strahd, converted to Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition), combined with Hellboy & Wolfenstein, by way of The Suicide Squad. If you have to blame someone for this tonal travesty, blame Joe Abercrombie and his most recent novel 'The Devils' (which is great, by the way).

Sorry Doug. I know this is the opposite of what you told me to do, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

The year is 1940. The world is at War. While Allied forces clash against the Axis war machine along the European front, the Vatican maintains a policy of neutrality - or so they would have Hitler believe. In secret, Pope Pius XII authorises the formation of a special team of unique "assets" to disrupt Nazi operations and spread terror throughout the German army.

The country of Barovia (nestled in the densely forested heart of Eastern Europe) and its leader - the reclusive Count Strahd von Zarovich - has allied with the Third Reich, furnishing German forces with powerful weird science weaponry. Recent intelligence suggests the Count is a greater monster than even his new friends in Berlin - the kind of monster that cannot be put down by a bullet.

Fortunately, in the catacombs beneath the Holy City, the Vatican have been quietly gathering monsters of their own....

Some slight amendments to the original posting;

The SW Horror Companion has rules for playing the following monstrous characters; Angel, Demon, Mummy, Patchwork Monster, Revenant, Vampire & Werewolf. Due to these archetypes being more powerful out of the gate, monstrous characters will start at Novice rank.

If you choose to play as a Human freelancer (priest, vampire hunter, soldier, occultist, etc...), you can start at Seasoned rank.

Probably best to do character creation together in first week.

 

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD
Session 1

Beneath the Holy City of Rome, Taskforce M (for Monster) assembles for their latest mision.

"I still don't care for how frivolously we throw around the M word," Dhrall Blood-Drinker laments, as the Vatican exorcists carefully disable the warding sigils binding the wizened diabolist, "Can we not just say we are humanly challenged?"

The rest of the team consists of;

Cassius Hector Barbastella; enforcer for the vampire mafia. The elders of Clan Barbastella offered the services of their favored son to the church in recompense for the (many!) murders comitted by his wild and rebellious sister Adelia.

Guy Hades; Boy from Hell, all grown up.

Vex; wise-cracking skeleton detective with a flare for magic. Wears an immaculately tailored suit and loves cruising around in his vintage roadster.

Cardinal Gunn oulines the mission parameters. Count Strahd von Zarovich, despotic ruler of Barovia (a small isolated country nestled in the densely forested heart of Eastern Europe) has sided with the Nazis, and is supplying the German Army with weird science weapons that could swing the balance of war in Hitler's favor. Taskforce M are to cause mischief and mayhem throughout the Count's domain, culminating in the assassination of Von Zarovich himself! A Vatican agent named Doru will rendezvous with the monsters in Barovia Village to provide additional intel.

The taskforce will travel to Barovia via train. Vex insists on bringing his car, which is loaded onto an open flatbed. Neither Dhrall Blood-Drinker nor Guy Hades can pass for human, so they hide inside the vehicle (Dhrall in the boot, Guy under a blanket on the back seat).

Meanwhile, Cassius enters the buffet car and spots a beautiful young woman travelling alone. She introduces herself as Ireena Kolyana, returning home after many years studying abroad. When his own reasons for travelling to Barovia are queried, Cassius intimates a familial relationship with Count von Zarovich. Ireena immediately clams up and takes her leave of the pallid stranger.

Ireena's exit is stymied by the arrival of a German officer demanding to inspect her travel papers. Her documents elicit suspicion and Ireena is taken into custody. Cassius claims to be her fiancee, and he gets arrested also. The Nazi goons manhandle the prisoners toward the guard van near the front of the train.

As they pass Vex's car, Cassius boots the officer off the side of the speeding train ("This. Is. Barovia!"). The officer's name was Wilhelm, and he screams in a very distinctive manner as he plunges to his doom. The remaining soldiers open fire, perforating Vex's roadster with bullet holes, and wounding the dhampir. Cassius scuttles beneath the train, clinging to the underside of the carriage like a spider as he waits for the rattle of gunfire to subside.

At this moment, the boot of the car pops open, and Dhrall Blood-Drinker springs out like a hellish Jack-in-the-Box! Nazis scream and unload more ammo into Vex's beloved roadster. Guy Hades emerges from the rear driver-side door and chucks Ireena into the recently vacated trunk, out of harms way.

The sound of prolonged gunfire eventually lures Vex out of this cabin, where he promptly beats the scheiße out of two soldiers he encounters in the buffet car.

Heavy footsteps resound as an armoured Ubermech emerges from the guard van. Firing up the laser weapon built into its suit, a beam of super-concentrated light sweeps across the train, surgically severing Dhrall's left arm below the shoulder! The diabolist is incapacitated (in hindsight, the laser would have cauterized the wound, so there was never any risk of Dhrall "bleeding out").

Sudden darkness as the speeding train enters a tunnel. Guy attacks the Ubermech in melee, but is grappled by the armoured giant and held against the wall, sparks flying from his horns as they scrape against the stone. Drawing his oversized hand cannon from beneath his long leather coat, Guy unloads a dozen armour-piercing rounds into the skull of the Ubermech, finally ending the threat.

Vex is dismayed by the damage to his vehicle.

Guy harvests the Ubermech armour (AV6, Size+1, imposes the Clumsy & Slow hindrances) and laser weapon (2d8, AP4, RoF1, 15/30/60).

The train emerges from the tunnel, and Taskforce M get their first good look at Barovia. The train line terminates in Barovia Village, a small settlement huddled in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, gothic sanctuary of the Count von Zarovich. The monsters jump from the train to avoid whatever might be waiting for them at the station.

Vex manages to drive the damaged roadster off the train without writing it off. Ireena is still locked in the boot, and Taskforce M win her over by arguing that the Third Reich are the real monsters. Ireena confesses that her brother Ismark is tight with the local resistance fighters, and she will put in a good word once they have been reunited.

Vex hides the roadster behind a hedge, and Taskforce M sneak into Barovia Village unobserved by Nazi patrols. Ireena's house is unoccupied, and the monsters hole up there while they plan their next move.

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD
Session 2

The monsters' first night in Barovia passes uneventfully, but no-one gets much sleep - least of all the injured diabolist Dhrall Blood-Drinker, who moans fitfully on Ireena's couch. The stump of his severed arm hurts like a sonovabitch. Peeking through the curtains onto the street, Vex sees the Germans are going door-to-door in search of suspicious newcomers linked to the train attack. The soldiers bang on Ireena's door, but the monsters stay quiet and out of sight until the squad moves on to the next house.

Cassius slips out to find Doctor Donnavich, the town sawbones. He convinces the good doctor to accompany him to Ireena's house to treat Dhrall. While the doc is initially shocked by Taskforce M's monstrous countenance, Ireena quickly vouches for their good intentions. Donnavich needs medcine to ease Dhrall's suffering, but the Nazis confiscated his stock of antibiotics. He suggests ambushing a German convoy along the road between Barovia Village and Vallaki to steal back the medical supplies.

Vex casts Disguise to alter his horrifying skeletal visage to something more agreeable to Aryan sensibilities; blonde hair, blue eyes and a jawline chiseled from granite, then heads to the tavern to rendezous with Vatican agent Doru. The informant is not present, and a quick chat with the bartender reveals Doru got himself 'disappeared' by the Nazis. The barman does not know where Doru was taken, or even if the man is still alive.

Denied the "additional intel" their contact was to provide, Taskforce M ponder their next move. They decide to raid a German convoy for medical supplies as Doc Donnavich recommended (doctor's orders being the closest thing they have to actual orders at present). The road out of Barovia passes through a wood, before climbing into the mountains, where military checkpoints bookend the bridge over Tser Falls. Guy Hades uproots a tree with his bare hands and blocks the road.

Several hours pass before the monsters hear the rumble of the approaching convoy; the truck bearing medical supplies and a single escort car. The vehicles stop before the obstruction. The soldiers eye the trees warily, expecting trouble. Cassius calls upon his dark bretheren, summoning a swarm of vampire bats to feed upon their Nazi blood. Guy targets the escort vehicle with his laser weapon and blows it up. Multiple soldiers die in the blast (as do most of Cassius' bats). The panicked driver throws the truck into reverse, overshoots the bend and rolls over among the trees. Cassius punches through the cracked windscreen, drags the driver out and bites down on his jugular. The monsters ransack the overturned truck and find the promised medical supplies, plus a sword for Cassius and two crates of weapons and ammo the monsters plan on gifting to the resistance.

Doc Donnavich uses the medcine to stabilize Dhrall. Ireena thinks her brother Ismark is in Vallaki working with the resistance cell there to depose Baron Vargas. Taskforce M want to hook up with the resistance and recruit fighters for the inevitable assault on Castle Ravenloft. Vex and Cassius enjoy a leisurely drive along the picturesque mountain road to Vallaki, trusting their forged travel documents to get them passed any German checkpoints.

Guy Hades is left to lug the two crates of stolen munitions cross-country. The crates are heavy as F, and Guy abandons one in the foothills. He successfully carries the other crate over the mountains, then stops for a well deserved rest in a conspicuous cave mouth. Momma Bear doesn't take kindly to the intrusion and attacks! Guy swings at the charging beast, but somehow the bear deflects his blow!

BEAR "I know kung-fu."

GUY "Show me."

They fight! Guy's coat is torn to shreds, but he gets the bear into a headlock and manages to choke it out. Exhausted, Guy collapses beside the unconcious bear and sleeps like a demon baby.

Reunited outside Vallaki, Taskforce M infiltrate the town via the sewer system. Vex scouts ahead and hears about a religious ceremony being held near the Baron's manse. He follows the crowd and watches a half-dozen sacrifices being herded into a huge wicker sphere. Red robed cultists begin dousing the sphere with flammable oil, as Baron Vargas lights a torch and rants about the purifying fire of the blazing sun.

Vex decides to hang back and see how this plays out....

A shot rings out from a rooftop overlooking the scene, covering fire for the plucky band of resistance fighters heading for the stage. Ismark Kolyanovich leads the charge! Baron Vargas retreats into his mansion - pausing only to toss the torch into the pool of oil around the wicker sphere! WHOOSH - flames consume the shrieking prisoners!

Taskforce M rush to aid the outnumbered resistance fighters (well, Cassius and Guy rush, Vex kinda' saunters). The skeleton detective explodes a food vendor's cart with Blast, killing the guards using it as cover. Cassius summons a swarm of rats from the sewer, flooding from the drains in a torrent of gnashing teeth. Guy's laser weapon lances out and kills more men. Ismark pushes forward toward the blazing sphere, but the intense heat forces him back. Cassius unsheaths his new sword and slashes at the wicker ball. It pops open like a goddamn Kinder Surprise, the surviving prisoners staggering clear of the flames.

"I dont know who - or what - you are, strangers," says Ismark, "But you have my thanks! We aren't safe here. Follow me to our safehouse and we can discuss how to rid Vallaki of those fire-worshipping zealots once and for all."

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD
Session 3 (also known as Cassius' Very Bad Day)

The monsters join Ismark and his resistance fighters in their hideout. Vex hands over the letter from Ireena. Ismark is not thrilled that his sister has returned to Barovia during a time of such tumoil, but is grateful to Taskforce M for keeping her safe. Once Baron Vargas is unseated, Ismark plans to extract Ireena and Doc Donnavich from Nazi-occupied Barovia Village and have them join him in Vallaki.

A radio operator intercepts a German communique reporting Count Von Zarovich has mobilised the Nightfangs (his personal death squad) to hunt down and eliminate Taskforce M. The Nightfangs have an evil reputation, and their leader is a bloodthirsty pyschopath who delights in dismembering their victims.

Suddenly, a golden portal snaps open and a pair of surly angels unceremoniously dump Dhrall Blood-Drinker into the hideout. It seems the papal binding upon each of the monsters serves to 'snap' them back together if they get separated (much like the concept of 'rubber banding' in Mario Kart).

The resistance need to press their advantage and deal with the Baron before he call in reinforcements. Taskforce M are to invade the Baron's manor, with back-up from NPC resistance fighters. The monsters opt for a no-frills assault on the front entrance. The gate is chained shut, but Guy Hades blasts the padlock apart with this trusty hand cannon. Dhrall summons a slathering hellhound from the abyss, and the Baron's men scatter in abject fear of the four-legged fiend. Vex blasts the fleeing humans. Cassius advances across the flowerbeds, spent rounds from his tommy gun scattering among the peonies. A red robed cultist casts Burst, setting both the dhampir and the flowerbeds ablaze!

With the defenders dead or fled, Taskforce M enter the Baron's home. Dhrall menaces the servants until they fearfully reveal Baron Vargas retreated to his sanctum beneath the manor. Vex uncovers some interesting documents in the Baron's empty office. The first is a letter from Count von Zarovich ordering the Baron to send more prisoners to the Hexworks. The second is a scrap of parchment outlining a ritual to summon the Avatar of the Blazing Sun, emphasizing the importance of keeping three 'divine braziers' lit during the ceremony.

The monsters head down to the cellar, where they find a serious-looking door. A hatch at eye-level slides open and the wizened old gatekeeper blinks out at them.

"If I eat, I live. If I drink, I die. What am I?"

"F*** your riddles, old man!" roars Guy, "Open this door!"

"The answer is fire," Dhrall says wearily, rolling his eyes.

The Gatekeeper offers the monsters red robes to mingle among the other cultists, but they demur, preferring to brazenly announce their presence and forfeit anything resembling surprise.

Taskforce M continue down to the sanctum, a cavernous chamber lit by three ornate braziers. Baron Vargas, stripped to his waist, is being annointed with holy oils by two red robed cultists. Vex tells the Baron he is under arrest.

"You have no authority here," the Baron scoffs, "You are an abomination before God, and his wrathful eye will reduce of you to ash and bone!"

"I'm a talking skeleton, mate." Vex answers, whipping out his pistol and plugging the Baron between the eyes, "Since you love God so much, why don't we send you to meet him."

The Baron topples backwards into the brazier. The flames leap higher and flare blindingly bright. The Baron's 'sacrifice' has called forth an Avatar of the Blazing Sun; a great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame! The cultists prostrate themselves in exaltation before this fiery entity.

Cassius (still grievously injured from the previous fight) grabs a cultist to sup of their life-blood, but fails his Vigor roll and gore spurts everywhere but into his mouth, wasted. He tries again with a different victim, rolls snake-eyes, and the same thing happens again. The Avatar turns its wrathful eye upon the dhampir, and Cassius bursts into flame, collapsing in a crispy, crunchy, blackened heap. Guy drags the incapacitated dhampir into cover and offers up his own demonic blood to resuscitate his dying team-mate. The infernal plasma burns in Cassius' veins, but he feels himself re-invigorated.

"The braziers!" Vex cries, "Extinguish the braziers!"

Vex tips over the nearest brazier. Guy knocks over a second, and Dhrall's hellhound topples the third. Extinguishing each divine brazier inflicts a wound on the Avatar that cannot be soaked, and dousing all three untethers it from this plane of existence. With a deafening boom, the Avatar explodes in a cloud of greasy embers!

Vex splutters and dusts off the cuffs of his exquisitely tailored suit.

"This **** had better wash out." he grumbles.

The resistance fighters rejoice at the end of the Baron's reign over Vallaki. Ismark promises aid when the monsters launch their assault on Castle Ravenloft. Taskforce M cut loose and spend the evening celebrating, then turn their attention toward their next objective. Ismark told them about a Nazi excavation beneath the Abbey of Saint Markovia. The Germans cannot be allowed to unearth whatever it is they are digging for!

The monsters pile into Vex's roadster and make tracks toward the monastery.

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD
Session 4

The monsters all pile into Vex's roadster and set out on their road trip to the Abbey of Saint Markovia, to sabotage the Nazi excavation beneath the monastery.

VEX: "Buckle up everyone! Safety first!"

DHRALL: "Pah! Seatbelts are for mortals." ( +1 benny for funny)

The sky darkens as the miles roll by, and soon it starts to rain. We treat the journey as an Interlude, where the monsters can share aspects of their back story for the sweet promise of an additional benny.

Suddenly, something small, dark and malformed skitters into the road ahead of the speeding roadster, the light from the headlights reflected by a dozen mismatched eyes before Vex slams on the brakes. Squinting (can a skeleton squint?) through the rainswept windscreen, Vex can see no further trace of the weird, spider-like critter. Did he imagine it?

Taskforce M continue on toward the abbey. The German dig site is quiet, perhaps even too quiet. Diggers and other excavation equipment stand idle. The monsters find evidence of a one-sided battle the Nazis evidently lost, but no bodies. Cassius detects a trail of blood leading into the mine beneath the monastery. Vex hypothesizes the Germans dug too greedily and too deep, and awoke something nasty in the dark. This theorem is reinforced by documents in the foreman's tent, detailing how the excavation unearthed an ancient creature encased in amber. The Germans planned to extract the specimen and transport it to a facility in Berlin for further study. The foreman's records abruptly stop after expressing this brilliant notion. The orders from Berlin are signed by Heinrich Himmler himself, indicating the S.S are up to their Nazi eyeballs in esoteric naughty word (and foreshadowing events for a possible continuation of the Wolfenstrahd campaign).

Taskforce M head into the mine. A pretty janky-looking elevator descends deeper into the earth. The monsters head down. They hear something scuttling around in the shaft, then a loud thud as whatever it is lands on the roof of the elevator cab. Cassius opens up with his tommy gun, riddling the roof with holes (yet miraculously missing the mechanism controlling their descent). The thing in the shaft emits an alien howl, splattering the sides of the shaft with viscous yellow ichor as it retreats (for now).

The lift comes to a juddering halt at the bottom of the shaft, and the monsters pile out. They hear more skittering in the dark, and Vex lights a torch to reveal an incalculable number of malformed, spider-like creatures flooding the tunnel. Taskforce M flee from the swarm (Quick Encounter), until Guy Hades thinks to collapse the ceiling behind them, ending the chase - but also trapping the monsters in the mine!

Forging ahead, the monsters reach a mine cart station for transporting equipment to other parts of the mine. Knowing it's only a matter of time before the spider-things find a way around the cave-in, the monsters hop into a mine car and set off along the track. Vex handles the controls to ensure the mine cart does not derail. Guy calls out a warning as another cart closes on them from behind, carrying a half dozen sickly-looking monks with glowing yellow eyes, all brandishing improvised weapons with harmful intent. Dhrall casts Havoc to wreck the pursuing train, but not before several monks hop over to the monster's line. Guy repels the boarders from the rearmost car.

More spider-things - clinging to the ceiling of the tunnel in ambush - drop down into the monster's train. Cassius is grappled by one of the insectoid horrors. Guy blasts the critter with his hand cannon, splattering them both with yellow goo.

Two more mine cars laden with infected monks join the pursuit, speeding along seperate tracks running parralel to the the main line. Vex notices their own track ends abruptly up ahead, and they have approximately 2 rounds (12 seconds) to jump to another line!

Cassius makes an Athletics check... and rolls snake-eyes. He jumps over to the left line, not realizing that track also ends in a sudden, dizzying drop. He disappears with an echoing expletive, as the rest of the party speed on without him!

The remaining members of Taskforce M all hop over to the right line, moments before their original train follows Cassius into the void. They clear the remaining hostiles and ride the new line to its terminus, another platform for the loading/off-loading of mining apparatus. There is no sign of Cassius, but the monsters assume he will catch up at some point.

Up ahead, the tunnel is illuminated by an unwholesome yellow glow, originating from a large fragment of crystallized amber. A dark, alien silhouette is dimly visible, sealed within the phosphorescent shard. The missing soldiers from the excavation site stand guard over the pellucid stone 'egg', their eyes glazed yellow with alien purpose.

Vex creeps closer. Dissonant whispers tickle the edges of his mind, urging him to draw closer still. Vex is having none of that nonsense and casts Blast instead, targeting the weird alien embryo. The amber shell cracks open, releasing the eldritch horror gestating within the stone. A truck-sized mass of writhing black tentacles, maddening eyes and gnashing, spitting maws shakes free from its aeon-long slumber. Vex stares agape at the Lovecraftian abomination he has unwittingly unleashed upon the world. He might leave this bit out of his report to Cardinal Gunn, if he lives long enough to write it....

The shoggoth (cos that's what it is) is immune to all mundane damage, but vulnerable to magic. Unfortunately the party exhausted their power points punting infected monks off their mine cart. Guy fires his laser weapon at the monstrosity, which the shoggoth does not care for one bit. It lashes out with many tentacles, pumelling Guy Hades into a boneless mass of bloody viscera.

RIP GUY HADES

His magic exhausted, Dhrall tries desperately to kill one of the infected soldiers and regain some power points via the Blood Magic edge. With the cold detachment of mindless drones, the soldiers gun the enfeebled sorcerer down. Dhrall's body bursts into flame as his cursed soul returns to Hell, where his corporeal form will slowly - and painfully - knit back together over several decades.

RIP DHRALL BLOOD-DRINKER

Cassius returns just in time to witness the unceremonious end of his two team mates. The wayward dhampir has already made some new friends - a swarm of bats, that he sics on the infected soldiers. He and Vex race for the elevator at the rear of the cavern, promising a swift exodus to the safety of the surface. Vex grabs a bandolier of hand grenades from a fallen soldier in passing.

The elevator begins its slow, juddering ascent. The wrathful shoggoth hauls its vast, undulating bulk up the shaft in pursuit, writhing tentacles entwining the cab, weighing it down. Vex pulls the pins from the grenades he lifted, then chucks the belt into one of the shoggoth's many gaping maws. The resultant explosion blows the abomination apart from the inside out, and the severed, charred tentacles release their crushing grip around the cab.

The surviving monsters ride the elevator up, and step out into the Abbey of Saint Markovia. The remaining monks all perished (heads exploded) when Vex destroyed the the alien parasite that had spread through their congregation. Vex pokes around amidst the bodies and finds the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, a potent talisman that grants the wearer the power to fly. Large black wings sprout from Vex's shoulder blades, and he gains a pool of ten power points to cast Fly and/or Havoc.

Taskforce M burn down the monastery to block the entrance to the accursed egg chamber. The monsters return to Vallaki in contemplative silence, reflecting on the loss of their allies, and the fact it could just as easily have been them that did not make it out. It's almost like they are in some kind of naughty word 'suicide squad'.

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

WOLFENSTRAHD
Session 5

The surviving members of Taskforce M limp back to Vallaki to lick their wounds. The resistance have comandeered the Baron's manse as their new headquarters. Ireena Kolyana and Doc Donnavich are there, having been successfully extracted from Barovia Village. The monsters use the partisan's radio to contact their Vatican handlers. Cardinal Gunn has new intel: German high command has dispatched engineers to work on Operation Phobos. In addition to their primary objective (assassinate Count von Zarovich), Taskforce M must uncover this Nazi plot and prevent it bearing fell fruit. Reinforcements will parachute into Barovia to join the monsters on the ground.

Cut to an unmarked plane flying low over the moonlit mountains. On board are Victor Moonstruck (gruff Russian werebear) and Guy Hades II. It turns out the Vatican grew the original Guy Hades in a lab after getting their hands on a demon seed (the less said about that the better), and whenever he dies they just defrost a new one. Due to gremlins in the cloning tech, each new specimen has to roll on the Clone Defect Table. Guy II is 'born' with a stunted intellect, as per the Clueless hindrance.

Also present is a squad of battle hardened mercenaries sent to support Taskforce M. They are;
Angel: we never learn much about Angel, for reasons that will soon be apparent
Blade: inoffensive African soldier of fortune, likes to read in the downtime between gunfights
Harker: eagle-eyed sniper
Rayne: bitchy merc with a foul mouth and fouler temper

They are accompanied by the dismbodied brain of former German scientist Walter Thiel, bobbing gently in a jar of formaldehyde. Thiel was killed in an Allied bombing run, but his mind was salvaged to provide Taskforce M with his technical experise.

"Guten tag! My name is Walter Erich Oskar Thiel - which is funny, because I 'feel' nothing. Aha-ha... ha. Just a little gallows humour to break ze ice."

Something hits the plane. The pilot announces a bird strike, nothing to worry about. Victor peers through window. Those aren't birds, they're bats. The passengers hear breaking glass from the cockpit, followed by screams. The plane shakes violenty, and falls into a sudden, stomach-lurching dive.

A member of the flight crew heaves open the exterior door. Howling wind fills the belly of the plane. The sheer face of a mountain slides past, alarmingly close.

"Wait until you are clear of the plane before deploying your chute." the crewman says, "Deploy no later than 5,500 feet. Keep your legs up when you land. Ok, see you on the gr-aaaaaaggghhhhhh!!"

A pale hand reaches in through the open door, grabs the crewman and tosses him into the spinning propellor blades. Blood splashes the underside of the wing. A tall, handsome man in impeccable evening wear steps into the plane, as calmly as though he were boarding a bus.

"Good evening. I am Count Strahd von Zarovich. Welcome to Barovia."

The plane is plummeting towards the ground and will crash at the end of the third combat round. Anyone still on board at that time will die in the fiery wreckage.

Guy II tackles the vampire lord and yeets him out of the plane. Strahd doesn't seem too bothered. Leathery wings burst from his back as he transforms into a monstrous, flying bat-like creature. Victor and the mercs bail out, leaving Guy II alone on the doomed aircraft. Victor has the brain of Walter Thiel strapped to his chest.

Nobody wants to be the first to open their parachute with the bat-thing nearby, but the ground is rushing up to meet them, and Angel is the first to lose his nerve. He pulls the rip cord and deploys his chute - presenting the vampire with an irresistible target. Strahd swoops down to disembowel the helpless mercenary. Angel's eviscerated corpse floats gently toward the ground, raining entrails from his riven torso.

RIP ANGEL

Reaching 5,500 feet, everyone else starts popping their chutes. Everyone except Guy Hades II, who freefalls toward Strahd and grapples the vampire in mid-air, pinning Strahd's wings against his back! Strahd tries to break free, but cannot escape the grapple. The mountains give way to rolling foothills, and an expansive vineyard stretches out below. Together, they plunge toward the winery building, smashing through the roof (and several floors below) before landing in a huge vat of fermenting grapes. Guy II uses Strahd's body to cushion the worst of the impact. Shaken (and dyed purple by wine), Guy II sees Strahd rise from the debris, recovered almost instantaneously from his catastrophic injuries. The Count launches into the air, and retreats toward the distant ramparts of Castle Ravenloft. While the vampire recovered quickly from the wounds to his body, the damage to his pride will surely fester like a poisonous barb.

The new, expanded Taskforce M rendezvous in Vallaki. Vex's roadster is one sweet ride, but impractical for transporting large groups of burly men. Cassius acquires a butcher's van, but cannot drive.

"A vampire should not find it this hard to find the biting point!" Vex cries, as Cassius stalls the engine for the umpteenth time.

The monsters plan to destroy the Hexworks, but first they need to raid a German munitions depot for explosives. We treated the raid as a Quick Encounter. Victor and Guy II assault the main gate to occupy the Nazis, while Vex sneaks in unseen and steals enough TNT to level the facility. Cassius summons a swarm of bats to cover their escape.

Taskforce M head straight to the Hexworks. An electric fence encloses a large industrial compound. Tall chimneys spew noxious green smog into the air. Fortunately the monsters bought gasmasks (for those of them that still need to breathe). Security is heightened following the attack on the munitions depot. In addition to the standard compliment of swastikad soldiers, two hulking Ubermechs patrol the perimeter.

Vex casts Disguise, and assumes the identity of his Germanic alter-ego; Adam Hansel, Health & Safety Inpector!

SOLDIER: "What is ze purpose of your visit?"

VEX: "Surprise inspection."

SOLDIER: "Your name is not on ze list."

VEX: "It wouldn't be a surprise if it was."

The guards can't argue with that logic, and let him in. Vex scouts out the facility and discovers the prisoners are being exposed to a bespoke nerve agent that triggers overwhelming terror, and that Operation Phobos is a rocket delivery system for the gas to be deployed acoss Europe! He also identifies the structural weak spots where their stolen TNT will do the most harm.

Vex rejoins the team, and Taskforce M initiate their assault! Everyone (except Harker) piles into the butcher's van to ram the main gate. German soldiers open fire on the speeding meat wagon. Bullets shatter the windscreen, but Vex somehow steers the out-of-contol vehicle through the checkpoint, before crashing into the base of the German's radio mast, crippling their communications. No reinforcements for you, Herr Nazi!

Everyone exits the burning van. Vex is carrying the explosives. Victor (bear mode) tears through a squad of German soldiers. Harker hangs back to provide overwatch, but does not see the German sniper on the roof of the Hexworks until it is too late. He spots the flash of light reflected from the hostile scope an instant before the bullet punches through his eye socket, splattering brain matter from the exit wound in the back of his skull.

RIP HARKER

Cassius & Blade advance though the loading bay, laying suppressing fire on the soldiers hiding behind the stacks of freight. Blade's weapon jams, leaving him exposed. The Nazis gun him down, body flopping like a landed fish as he is pumped full of lead.

RIP BLADE

The two Ubermechs stomp into the fray, but Victor & Guy II are waiting for them. Guy II rips the first automaton in half (a prodigious feat of strength considering their high Toughness). The second Ubermech grabs Victor and throws him into the electric fence (shocking), before Guy II tears off its armour-plated arm and beats his shiny metal ass with it.

More soldiers spill out of the Hexworks. Vex hits them with Blast, blowing a big ole' hole in the front of the building. Vex & Rayne head inside to lay the charges.

TBC