Achtung! Cthulhu Season 2 Ep9

Jumping for Freedom

Bold text: mechanics
Italics text: Out of character explanation
Plain text: Roleplaying

Materials used: Achtung! Cthulhu Core, A!C Vive la Resistance, A!C Secret War Documents, Mythic GME 2e, A!C Quick Trip to France, My personal WW2 Random Table

In the last episode, Diego received another mission, this time in a small village in France. A red-haired female Black Sun agent had been spotted leading a contingent of troops into the village. The resistance contact there ceased communications and Diego has been sent to find out what Black Sun is doing, and try to stop it.

Chaos Factor 5

Expected Scene: Parachute into Saint Sulac village area

Test the Scene: 9 vs 5 Expected Scene

Diego sat in the floor in the rear of a vibrating A.W. 38 Whitley. An overly bulky pack on his back with a parachute meticulously folded within kept him perpetually off balance as the plane rocked through the French skies. The journey at sunset over the English channel had been smooth, the drone of the bomber’s engines the only thing Diego could hear. Now that they were over France, the plane jumped and rocked in the stormy, turbulent air. Diego thought he was going to be sick. He had the ritual dagger in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the large ruby in the hilt.

One of the airman who crewed the plane was making his way toward him, holding on the sides of the plane as it swayed. When he was close, he knelt down and yelled over the sound of the engines. “We are nearing the drop zone, time to get ready!” He glanced at the exposed blade of the unusual knife but said nothing. No one ever mentioned it, but it always elicited a stare. Diego sheathed the blade and struggled to stand. The airman put a hand under his arm to help him to his feet.

“I’m going to open the cargo door. When I slap your shoulder, it will be time to jump! Got it?” the airman shouted into his ear. Diego nodded. He understood, but he would be damned if this was something he actually wanted to do. This was his first time in an airplane, never mind jumping out of one. He quickly double checked the straps on his pack, his rifle, his handgun in his hip holster. All was in order. A drop bag dangling under his feet would contain a demolition kit, rations, and spare ammo. He pushed it along with is foot as he positioned himself in front of the door.

The airman released a lever, and the door came off in his hands, only held in place by some straps. He moved it to the side into a slotted rack and motioned for Diego to step forward. Outside the sky was dark with night, but on top of that, black clouds raced past the aircraft. Howling rain stung his face through the open door, at a high rate of speed. Diego stepped hesitantly toward the door, gripping the edges with white knuckles. He tried to spot the village below, but all he could see was swirling clouds. A hand slapped his shoulder, indicating it was time to jump. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, but his feet would not move. The hand slapped him again, more urgently this time. But his body was locked in place. He could not move. The slap then turned into a body check-shove and he went tumbling out of the airplane, his scream masked by the roar of the airplane and the surrounding storm.

Diego Agility + Athletics=12 Difficulty 2
Buy 1d20 for 1 Threat (GM starts this mission with 1 Threat already, now at 2)
3d20=6,8,10. 3 Successes, +1 Momentum

He tumbled in the air for only a moment before he was jerked upright by the chute deploying from his pack. He looked up to see the white silk billowing above him, the automatic deployment strap disappearing with the plane into the clouds. Even with the chute, he was falling rapidly. The clouds swirled beneath him, then he suddenly broke through them. A scattering of lights flicked on and off a few times to his east, but the village was largely in the dark. With his current heading, he thought he would land a few miles outside of the small town.

As he drifted toward the earth, he recalled his instructions. He was to try to find Aramis in a safehouse northeast of the village. So, it looked like his hesitation had him on the opposite side of where he needed to be. No matter, he would skulk through the darkness and hopefully find the resistance home without too much trouble. Lightning forked in the sky over the village. It held an ominous feeling that was unusual for a storm. As he looked around in the darkness, the storm seemed to be located just over the town, and sat there. It must be his imagination, that is not how storms behaved. But he knew it wasn’t. Something supernatural was already in the works. Black Sun was certainly behind whatever it was.

WW2 Random Table: Stop + Fuel

He was nearing the ground now, and he could see he was coming down near a French gas station. Two tall pumps with a red star on them were stationed outside of a building. From what he could see from here, it was unoccupied at this time of night. A large sign over the building read, Antar. He doubled up his legs as he drifted toward the ground.

Diego Agility + Athletics=12 Difficulty 2
2d20=13,14. Fail.
3d6=5,5,5. -3 Stress. 11/14.

He impacted the ground HARD. Much harder than he had expected. He tried to roll when he landed, but he just collapsed in a heap. His drop bag tangled in his legs, and he could feel the sharp edge of an ammo box or his demo kit jam into his ribs as he fell onto the ground. He pushed away the pain and began to gather the silken parachute into his arms. His eyes darted about, hoping his descent was not noticed by anyone peering up into the night sky. Soon, the pack was stuffed clumsily with the chute and jammed under a parked car outside the fuel station. The drop back converted into a small backpack, and he slung it over his shoulders and scampered into the surrounding woods. It would be too dangerous to travel along the road to the other side of the village.

Mythic, did anyone spot him landing? 88 vs 50 No. I rolled a double, but it is not under the chaos factor of 5, so no random event.

WW2 Table: Defend + Strange

The air crackled with an energy that felt otherworldly. As Diego crept into the woods nearer the village, the sensation only grew stronger. Something or someone was watching…and waiting. He rubbed his hand over his face and tried to get his bearings for the correct direction of travel.

Diego Reason + Survival=10. Difficulty 2 (I was going to do a 3, but since he can see the road from here, it is slightly lower to find his location)
2d20=5,12. Fail.

Diego took note of his surroundings and made his way toward the safehouse location he had been given. What he did not realize was that he was going the long way around the village. By the time he arrived at the correct location, the eastern sky was lightening with the coming dawn. His time was running out. The storm overhead was in an outright fury.

End of Scene

Chaos factor +1=6

Expected Scene: Rendezvous with Aramis

Test the scene: 8 vs 6 Expected Scene

Diego was soaking wet from the rain, sitting under a tree gazing at a darkened house with a red curtain in the front window. Just as he had been instructed, it was the first of three possible safehouses that were scattered around the village. Hopefully his contact was in one of them. Just as he was about to trot toward the home, a chill wind swept across him. Colder than should be normal for a summer night like this. A huge roll of thunder boomed overhead and lighting arced from the ground up into the sky. Something bad was happening.

Diego Will + Resilience=11 Difficulty 1
2d20= 6,11. 2 Successes, +1 Momentum (2)
No mental damage

Diego Coordination + Stealth=13 Difficulty 1
2d20=10,16. 1 Success

He shook off the chill of the cold wind and scuttled toward the door of the home. As proscribed, he knocked in a specific pattern. A candle was lit in the house, and the door warily opened.

“Who is there?” a scared male voice emerged from the cracked door in French. Diego was not a fluent French speaker, but he had been taught a few phrases. He was told his contacts would know English, so he responded with the passphrase.

“I need a cigarette,” he whispered. He waited a painful few moments before a hand reached through the crack and motioned him inside. He quietly slipped through the door, and closed it behind him.

Mythic domicile: Full + Frightening

The house was stuffed with people. Several women and children were huddled in the room, the flickering candlelight revealing sheer terror on their faces. Diego realized he must look menacing towering over them, dripping wet, holding a rifle. He slung the gun onto his back and squatted to the floor. It was nice to get a moment’s respite after the drop and hike through the woods. He could hear more whispering voices from adjacent rooms.

Diego catch Breath Will + Resilience=11 D 2
2d20=10,13 Fail.

Before he could relax though, the old man holding the candle motioned for him to stand. He spoke in broken English. “You cannot peace here. Germans look houses few hours. Take villagers to…uhhh how you say…big house.” He gestured toward a chateau that dominated the village.

Mythic is Aramis here, unlikely? 17 vs 50 Yes.

“I’m looking for someone.” Diego ignored the man’s waving hands, trying to shoo him out of the house. “A man named, Aramis. Do you know him?” At the name, the man’s shooing ceased and he froze in place. Several of the other people cowered in the room.

A strongly accented man’s French voice spoke up from an adjacent room. “I need a cigarette.”

Mythic descriptor tables: Carelessly + Mighty

“I only have Lucky Strikes.” Diego responded. A moment later, a big man with messy hair stepped into the room. He was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. A bloody bandage wrapped his left thigh.

“Who are you?” he said in English.

“My name is Diego Vega, I was sent here to investigate what is going on in this village. Are you Aramis?” The big man nodded.

“Please, let us leave to not endanger the people here.” And he started moving toward the back of the house.

“But they said the Germans have been taking them? Shouldn’t we stay to keep them safe?”

“When you try to stop them…they…do worse things.” He did not elaborate and motioned for Diego to follow him. The younger man complied. They emerged into the yard in the rear of the home. It was on the outskirts of the village, and so had a cluster of trees near the house. Aramis made for one. As they approached, Diego could see a child’s enclosed treehouse clinging to the branches above. Aramis pulled on a small bit of twine and a rope ladder collapsed from above.

“The Germans are overconfident. It did not occur to them this child’s playhouse might be a tactical disadvantage to them.” He shrugged and began to climb the ladder. Every rung he ascended, he would groan in pain from his leg wound. Diego waited until he had reached the top, then he scurried up the ladder after him. He pulled the rope ladder up after he had reached the wooden platform. A teen boy sat up there, dozing in a bedroll. When Diego stood, he bumped his head on the low ceiling. The young boy sat up on his elbows in alarm.

Aramis said something soothing to him in French, then picked up a pair of binoculars from a small shelf, a two-by-four nailed into the wall of the treehouse. He motioned to the road leading into the village. “There are two Black Sun troopers stationed there, with an MG42. We initially tried to ambush the convoy as they approached the town, but the machine gun was too much for us to overcome. It scattered my team and a few of them did not make it.” He handed the binoculars to Diego.

Diego Insight + Observation=8 D 1
2d20=7,19. Success

Even in the dark, the sight of the Black Sun troopers leapt into his view. They lounged behind a sandbag barricade, the barrel of the MG42 slanting up toward the sky. One of the men was dozing, the other was pulling a drag on a cigarette. Diego lowered the binoculars and nodded.

Aramis continued, “The red-haired woman we believe to be Liesel Bohm is leading the regiment. She and some others took up residence in the chateau. They have been culling the village for prisoners for some unknown reason. Something dark, I imagine.” Diego gritted his teeth. This was all his fault. If he had not had his…dalliance with the repulsive, but beautiful woman, these people would not be subjected to whatever cruelty she was performing.

“We have to stop her,” was all he growled. Aramis raised his eyebrows at the younger man’s vehemence but nodded in agreement.

“We should eliminate the machine gun team first. If we assault the chateau, they will come with the MG42 and make short work of us. Quietly if we can, not to alert the others.” Aramis sat down heavily on the floor of the playhouse, wincing in pain.

“Is there anyone to help with the operation? Or am I going at it alone?” Diego squatted in front of him. Aramis looked hurt and harumphed.

“Cocky American. You cannot do it alone. I will assist you.”

“You’re hurt.”

“That’s war.” Aramis stared at him with his steely gray eyes and finally Diego nodded. So, they had to take out that MG crew before dawn. Silently. With one person that was seriously wounded. That should be fine.

End of Scene

Chaos factor +1 =7

Close thread Rendezvous with Aramis
Open thread eliminate MG crew

That’s it for this scene! Next scene will be our first combat with the Black Sun troopers this mission. Hopefully we can figure out a way to take them out silently, else we will end up in a shootout.