They also bring thieves, con artists and vagabonds, all happy to rob people blind. Any Wayfarer O. An epic new setting and new Splicers House and their unique, new Host Armors, War Mounts, Desert Rose, bio-engineered ants, other creations and plenty of adventure ideas.
An insidious new villainous organization, notable super-villains and adventure ideas galore. The chaos of the Great Cataclysm is different around the globe.
Our staff reviews each submission to make sure it works within the Palladium gaming system it's not too over or under-powered before publishing the piece. After a few submissions and working with the Palladium staff, they collaborated with Palladium to flesh out their ideas for whole new books. If you want a great survey of content from across Palladium's gaming lines, the Rifter subscription is a fantastic way for you to learn about new games, fun scenarios, and great new supplemental content!
I was fortunate enough to be Anthony's content editor on this one and I can assure you that its good stuff! Psychics are having premonitions of impending doom, and then a Psychic Investigator from the Lazlo Society sends an e-mail S. Can your characters get to the bottom of this before it is too late? This adventure was heavily inspired by the alternative Dead Reign material from The Rifter 45 , specifically concerning the Cult of Brulyx.
I'm particularly proud of this article. This article includes 10 monsters inspired from by Japanese Myth. It also includes some Hook, Line and Sinkers and various ideas for bringing Japanese monsters to other parts of the world. The House of BTS is a fan site and all of it's content is free. However please consider a small donation as it will help maintain the site and help provide new information, artwork and materials.
As the Host of the House, I thank you for your generosity! Furthermore, if you acquire BTS products illegally, Hell Hounds will take dumps on your lawn, Gremlins will reduce your electronics to paperweights, Brawing Joe's will pick fights with you, Banshees will howl in your bedroom all night, Devil Ghost's will crank call you, a Bogey Man will swipe all of your liquor, and Gormaglut's will empty out your fridge. In other words, don't steal!
Used with permission. This is another favorite of mine and I wish I'd written it. Trolls and true Orcs that are part of messy, but having just the one provides an opportunity to create a Ogre tribes as the ones most likely to encounter Hogres generally different kind of character with a unique background.
Generally indifferent to as Orcs and Goblins are quite restricted with regards to the O. Some humans consider Hogres to they are able to select. I be- Habitat: Found in or near any areas where Ogres can be found in small lieve the Half-Ogre provides the flexibility to explore careers and numbers. Hogres tend to emerge from small, isolated Ogre tribes that, ambitions not available to an Orc, but without the obstacles that can for whatever reason, have been forced to rely more and more on kid- come from playing a Troll or giant.
It is my hope that the Half-ogre or naped human women for breeding stock. Although all Ogres development and role-playing. Game on! The same goes for Ogre settlements that are far from human populations and are therefore, unable to rely on human abduction to keep their numbers up. Therefore, Hogres are much rarer amongst the. The Ogres of the Silver Range Mountains and the part of the Old Kingdom Mountains that borders the Timiro Kingdom are a special case, comprising a number of large Ogre tribes in one area, but having survived for millennia by raiding the human kingdom in the lands below.
Follow me Favorite Weapons: Large clubs, maces, axes and spears, mainly for the back to the war-torn s with an evil greater than many supernatural reasons mentioned previously. Spears are a favorite hunting weapon. Other notes: 1. May worship the gods of their Ogre or human parents if any or none at all. Druidism is becoming popular among those commu- nities that live in isolation in the wild. Evil gods and demons offer Introduction a tempting path for anyone who has been mistreated by their own Operation Minotaur was conceived as a hour gaming one-shot for people, be they humans or Ogres.
Contrary naries, hired thugs or laborers. May be willing to work for or with any to the far more frequent mystery or detective type BtS game, this adven- races in order to make a living.
Can wear any type of armor, provided it can be found in their historical backdrop of World War II. Most prefer a simple surcoat of chain mail or double-mail, or Like many motion pictures, as diverse as for example Raiders of the leather armor, as it enables them to stay quiet while hunting game.
Can learn any skill a human or Ogre can — education depends makes use of stereotypes for easy conveyance of flair. If you do not like largely on where and how they were raised. None of the 5. Tends to view all other races with suspicion. Finds it dif- stereotypes employed are meant to reduce anyone to an unhappy extract.
Less belligerent and competitive than Ogres. May work well as you would when playing at a convention. At the end of this article, in a group so long as the Hogre feels accepted by the other members you will also find some ideas for further adventures and tips on how to of the group and is receiving their rightful recognition, respect, and turn the adventure into a whole campaign, To New Horizons.
However, share of loot and supplies. Hogres are happy and cooperative when you might have other good reasons to play a tight game of about 5 hours; treated like an equal, not a second class citizen or worse.
The because women usually were not part of the army in WW2, do not let fact that such a creature is essentially just another Ogre felt like a yourself be confused by this. Hundreds of thousands of women served missed opportunity.
It is true that too many interbreeding races valiantly on all sides, some in irregular roles, such as agents or in the. Britain is battered but resilient. Poland has ceased to exist, again.
As a non-army background, war corre- and Italian troops have taken command of the Island at considerable spondent is a great choice, and there were several female war correspon- cost, but resistance there is now virtually non-existent. Since 4pm on dents in the thick of it, such as the phenomenal Margaret Bourke-White. The For the admittedly scant German resistance see the German White Rose goal of this ambitious campaign in Africa had been to clear eastern Cyre- group and one of my personal heroes: Sophia Scholl.
This would have The characters are a very! The sance mission into Axis occupied Crete. For better immersion and verisi- Mediterranean theater, including Northern Africa, is embattled but for militude I have given my best effort to embed the unreal into real events, now the Axis has the upper hand.
Suspend disbelief and enjoy! Britain and its Commonwealth troops. The USA has not yet joined the war and is officially neutral although it supplies Britain. Churchill works very hard to convince the USA to get into the war. The general public Quick Start and many politicians are opposed to engaging in another war but Presi- dent Roosevelt is covertly preparing his country by strengthening mili- If you want to jump [pun intended] right into the action skip playing tary training and purchasing.
There is every sign out the ops order Handout 3 to the players in advance, only to the cap- that the Third Reich has set its sights on its partner Russia next. This tain if you want to make this more interesting and more military-like, and may bring Russia into the war siding with the Allies or at least drawing set the scene as a G. Behind closed doors, some in the transport plane, all geared up, the engines roar, and the jump light turns Soviet Union see that they need to start cooperating with the Allies.
Yet, on red, when you remember what General Montgomery said to you Ru- to the setting. There I will give you some hints to increase the BtS flair for this tional manner despite robust efforts of the German counter-intelligence game, such as whether a location is a good spot for certain P.
Britain gets much valuable data out of the German communica- abilities to kick in, what it might show, etc. BtS demands quite a bit of tions, much of it is disconcerting but at least Britannia is not blind.
Churchill endorsed the it pays off as it helps to build tension and slowly and threateningly draw idea to form a special force in July , which became famous under open the curtain for the supernatural! The SOE works in small units, sometimes supernatural.
Keep that in mind especially for a wartime scenario. It is all operatives work alone and are tasked with infiltration, subversion, sabo- too easy to focus on the action and soldiering aspect of the game — which tage behind enemy lines, assassination — such as the assassination of is also fun — but to forget that it is a horror game.
That said, I will also Reinhard Heydrich in Prague — espionage, and building up resistance recommend Proximity to the Supernatural levels at certain stages of the networks and local guerrilla units, such as in Crete or occupied France. Likewise, the first British Commando units were formed in June and tasked with coastal raiding and all sorts of special operations as well as being used as assault infantry; the so-called Layforce is one of the first Setting the Stage examples of such units.
The Second World Maybe this message would not have raised more than an eyebrow under War is raging. The nations of the world have clad themselves in steel.
It is not a good war for the tage to the Axis. Some very strange intelligence about an occult Ahnenerbe Allies so far. The Axis has triumphed again and again. Either way, the Allies do not need even better or more in red for effect if you can. German soldiers, either alive or as the walking dead. To be sure, most members of government, if In any case, there will be one new captain in the party. The failure rate for those tested for SOE was very high and those who failed were se- questered for several months.
The party will consist of men and women who have successfully braved this challenging crucible. Some characters will only receive a phone call, others will be dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, and yet others may be picked up at work, literally plucked from their office desk.
Another character may not come back from a walk with his dog, etc. Characters with automatic abilities — like premonitions, omens, etc. Perhaps there are extra-dark clouds in the sky. Perhaps there is a sudden lightning storm and a blurry face can be seen suddenly illuminated in a dark corner, only.
Welcome to the Army to be gone when the lightning is. Maybe, when riding the Underground, it will stop unexpectedly and directly in front of a recruitment poster. Perhaps you will want to send it to the players together with the ing, the party will find itself sequestered off to a very quiet part of the invitation for the next gameday. This may serve to build excitement and base, an old Victorian battalion HQ in a small park.
In case or a chaplain, a war correspondent, a pilot, a secret service man, an adven- of a W. If your players have or want to make in-. Orders in Aldershot teresting civilian characters, you should also have no problem to get them into the service of the crown.
It is wartime after all and SOE drew from all walks of life. However, you are not restricted In this chapter the party will get their orders and meet General Mont- to fit all characters into the SOE. Especially British commando units, like gomery. Royal Marines Commandos or a Layforce commando, are well suited. BtS Flair Info: The whole chapter is x1 Proximity to the Supernatu- Whatever the characters signed up for, they all signed a slip of paper ral.
Even though the characters are not literally placed under the micro- that they might be activated at any time. Instinctively, they will not want to draw attention to themselves. Also, there is absolutely nothing supernatural around them. Anoth- The ground floor has been converted to quarter the party. They will er example for science not being quite there yet is Aircraft: Jet. Replace find a sufficient number of well-furnished if dusty rooms, and, luxury of any skills you find not to fit with an appropriate alternative skill, such as luxuries, each will get his own.
There is also a large dining room that is Military Etiquette, or give a free choice from an appropriate skill family. There is no evidence as to That said, no skill would convey knowledge inappropriate to the year of what the mission is about on the ground floor. A set of rather unwelcom- the game.
Mind, if a skill potentially covered certain knowledge but such ing military policemen, none below the rank of sergeant, guard the house would have to be considered to be very rare in , e. No one is allowed to enter without written orders or a elite scientists, give stiff skill check penalties , or even worse!
There are also two guards at the foot of the stairs to the upper floor at all times. All guards have Basic Parachute Infantry sidearms and rifles and look prepared to use them. Apparently, whoever is in charge here means business and has something to protect. Charac- Crash Course and SOE Training ters ranking higher than the guards will be treated politely but the guards There have been quick parachute infantry courses in the war, e.
Orders from the general. Such parachutists spent two weeks Messengers can be seen running to and from the 1st floor. The house training at Hardwicke in Derbyshire. They had to complete training, go has the air of an active military command post. The party will be well through assault courses, and do runs of up to 10 miles 16 km. They also cared for. Orderlies are present in the dining room and will serve tea and had to pass psychiatric interviews to test if they were mentally suited for biscuits, sandwiches or hearty meals at the appropriate times.
Any rank parachute operations. SOE training was a bit tougher and included hand-to- and file soldier will also be served whiskey, tobacco, and such, but only hand combat training, picking locks, forgery and radio set use. The follow- on request by an officer or NCO. A large staircase, covered with a plush Persian carpet, leads upstairs. Whether you make up new characters or modify existing ones, all For the last two days, General Montgomery and his staff have used characters, no matter what the occupation, get the benefit of some of the the upper floor to plan Operation Minotaur and assemble task force The- following skills at first level as additional Secondary Skills unless you seus.
The whole upper floor looks more like a field command post than as G. Maps of Crete and the Southern Mediterranean theater the player will not have to spend a skill selection for it. Should a char- hang from the walls, pins in it with small note papers showing estimated acter already have one of the skills or rather invest a skill slot, they will allied and enemy positions and numbers.
Montgomery has his whole staff the advantage that the skill is not merely a Secondary Skill but either an present; apparently, he is not only preparing for the operation of task Occupational or Elective Skill and, thus, will be used with more aplomb.
No wonder, Opera- tion Battleaxe just failed yesterday; the Empire scrambles what it can. The cellar contains a goodly assortment of old wine bottles and old All characters will receive furniture, but nothing much else.
Military Etiquette! Rifle, W. They are not reprinted here for copyright reasons. I have not given links Submachine-Gun, W. Pistol or W. Knife for the same reason and because, over time, they may become outdated. There is lots of footage of Monty on the net, including from For the situation on Crete I really recommend to watch two mov- ies by the U. You could even show the OSS footage to the party! Admittedly, showing these movies in is a bit of a stretch, especially because the OSS as the forerunner of the CIA was not formed before June , but, hey, it is a game.
Also, General Montgomery is well connected. In any case, these two movies form an excellent situational report that you could show to the new recruits of Task Force O. This may help your players get into the groove of the game. Perhaps you send the links to them before the game to watch in their own good time, or — for even more flair — darken the room on game day it- self and show the movies then.
For best effect, rearrange seating to make your game den appear a little more like an impromptu movie theater. Some want action fast. You might not want to bother them with watching a total of 30 minutes of Second World War footage. Others will love it, especially history buffs like me. In any case, you as the G. The G. It will give you a better feel of the lay of the land and what the characters will face. It may also be interesting to see how the German newsreel reported on the situation in Crete.
Look for the editions of 30th May and 6th June on YouTube. This will show you some wartime use of Wagner long before Apocalypse Now. In any case, I suggest giving the party a maximum of minutes to read and talk.
Theseus Rising! I would not answer any questions by the party at this point; there is no one there whom they could ask after all. As an alternative to doing it on gameday itself, to get to a quick start The party members arrive at Aldershot, U. I recom- from each other.
They will arrive between the early morning and noon mend sending Handouts 2 and 3 only to the designated party leader, i. This will give them a head start and you torian house described above. Only sending the orders to the officer the beginning of the game, just enough to start worrying if whatever the in charge also increases the military flair.
The orderly arrives again. If they did not know each other, you would want to give them some time to If they do not follow the invitation immediately, the orderly will in- get acquainted. A chat after the movie showing may be just it.
When you do you could play some music of the era for added flair. There is a gramo- not play this as a one-shot but in the course of a Second World War phone in the dining room! All Monty will command the 8th army and seal his way to the top with of you wonder why you were shown a movie about the latest di- his victory at El Alamein. They will be led to a simple and practically furnished study on the an envelope.
Monty will usually not speak before being Make a copy of Handout 3 Orders. This should further serve to saluted by the Captain but do not let that hold the game.
You have been selected to form task force The- then to instruct the men, but let the players do with that as they please. I assume you know your orders. These are dark days. Much It is a special situation after all, and leeway will be granted to the valiant depends on you to turn the tide. Besides, it is a Monty will also say that, quite unfortunately, he does not know much more than what has already been put in the resupplying the group will be out of the question. He will tell them, though, that they are to keep their priorities ingenuity and resourcefulness.
He advises the party that the Germans straight. They are to proceed as they see fit on the ground to accomplish have supplied their troops by parachute drops for a while, so medical, their mission. An old airdrop is also a neat trick up the G. Monty movement but at this time they are quite inefficient.
He will not tell the nods to the orderly in thanks and addresses the party: party that British military espionage has people in Crete to organize and aid Greek resistance. We had tioned in the orders could prove invaluable, especially the farmer and his to advance the schedule.
Monty is sure that the farmer will have to Crete. If we do not hurry now, we might not be able to deliver better information than he can hope to have of the immediate situation in you at all. It is a close call as it is, to be quite honest.
Do not waste the Zakros area. The group needs to be wary of SS or Italian patrols, but the time gained. The Nazis have crack troops on that island and may even be able to contact the scattered remnants of Allied troops and every hour will increase the chance of detection. Use your best find individual Commonwealth soldiers who may hide in the mountains. Remember, this is mainly a recon mission.
The following is highly clas- sified. We have obtained information that the Nazis are experi- menting on humans to make soldiers more resilient.
Find out about this project; obtaining Parachuting into Crete more intelligence about it is paramount. Leaving in the evening of the 18th, they will jump into eastern Crete about 36 BtS Flair Info hours later before dawn on the 20th. Flying somewhere took a lot longer in than it does today. That should worry the party already a bit. Make back to land to kill with their supernatural strength, only to be killed when sure you describe the adrenaline rush and the uncanny feeling they have.
Others are the Huckopp or Aufhocker, undead waylaying supernatural, you can use a cool description, without giving the mul- wanderers. Mind, the characters will probably not be be shrugged off, and become heavier and heavier until their victim is crushed able to use the extra points gained through the x2 I. Usually, the Huckopp will force the victim to carry him to jump, but gaining power is not the only reason to give the multipliers.
Others, like the Nachtzehrer Night- The multiplier will revert to x1 a few breaths after landing. They 2 This chapter contains an optional encounter. Whether or not you will telepathically link with a victim, usually the people of their own village, play it, is your decision. You may decide to speed up the game and fore- and draw on their life energy P. Victims will die 3 As said, BtS is all about building tension. Build it up like a steady either from emaciation after a few days or suffer from the plague.
If a deceased drumbeat in the background that gets more and more intense. Make sure is suspected to become a Nachtzehrer, he will be buried face down. It is said to ask the players what they do during the flight. They will probably that this makes it impossible for a Nighteater to rise. Give them a little time, General Montgomery does not believe in the occult. He is sure that this maybe 10 minutes, to role-play getting better acquainted and talking is only some crazy reference to something mundane.
Probably, the Germans about the mission, but make sure to put them in the right frame of mind experimenting on drugs to make their soldiers tougher and stronger or on before that. Now, imagine yourself in the situation of our heroes. They prisoners to make them fight for the Nazis. Mind, Monty does take this very have just been taken out of their normal lives and this is their first mis- seriously because, no matter what, the Allies must find out what is going on.
They did not have much training, but now go straight into mostly Knowing the average role-player, I would dare to bet that at least one unknown danger. Nothing is worse than waiting — the long hours of the in your party will ask for special equipment.
Monty knows that at least flight will be stressful. Drive that point home to them. I am sure one or some in the group are veterans and will listen to any reasonable request. That makes sense but it is also a golden BtS G.
You as G. After all, the group is going to parachute in so they about the future during the long flight. They are getting closer to Crete A character Cairo HQ c. The SOE radio gives the G. This odor stands for hard labor and is also a way to introduce a substitute character in case members of confinement, which is certainly what is in the future for the party hard the party perish in the action.
The plane does feel like a cof- Radio Check s : Whenever the party wants to use the radio, one or fin, after all. Spelling out things like this may increase the tension. Use more Radio: Basic checks will be necessary. It is easy to make spelling mistakes in Morse, particularly when using code. A check will always be necessary to properly receive a The party will be surprised to see an Italian airplane, a Caproni message, i. Get in and gear up.
We will ter-intelligence on Crete are actively listening for and hunting down en- take off in a minute or so. Huxley will later have those waiting for an answer to your transmission. Crete is still heavily pa- blinds uncovered when leaving Gibraltar, i. On the plane, the party will find the following equipment: ciently. When an enemy radio operator is detected by one of the listening 1 parachute properly packed up in a rucksack for each soldier.
Note, radio 1 side arm per soldier. The party will, of 10 pineapple hand grenades. If you have been to the army, yards m. It has been said that this has been one of the quietest guns you will know that not everything must make, err, immediate sense. It has an shot magazine. It is 1 rucksack for each soldier. The version the party gets is an early prototype, real 40 dry rations total, not for each soldier.
Due to its 10 water canteens for 34 ounces 1 liter each. Range: yards. Damage: Single shot 5D6, short burst 5D6x2, long burst 5D6x3. A map of eastern Crete, Zakros area.
SOE radio set suitcase: This radio unit has been fitted into a small, brown leather suitcase. It has to be set up before use, i. The radio can only use CW, i. Power is about 20 Watts; range The plane is not too uncomfortable or too windy, but the flight works out to be between and 1, miles , km. The plane is barely 6 years old, but creaking at Background: The SOE equipped its agents — usually one set per team every turn.
The passenger compartment is smaller than could be — with a strong but simple radio set to transmit and receive radio messag- expected.
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