[WW] OK, they're off the beach. Now what?

[Matt Smith <mdsiii@nts-online.net>]

Those of you who read my report on my first WeirdWars session know
that I got my PCs through Omaha Beach with just a touch of weirdness.
My current problem is what to run next, as the dogfaces hit the
hedgerows.

I'm currently juggling several possibilities in my head. Any comments,
opinions, or oddball suggestions would be welcome.

1) No weirdness. Just a straightforward squad-level WWII firefight.
I'm currently plowing through my old Ambush! wargame for ideas and
maps for this. Anyone else looking to wargames for inspiration?

2) The PCs fight their first SS unit, complete with Blood Mage
support. I'm thinking of doing this much more subtly than the rulebook
adventure. Odd things may happen as the Blood Mage traces his runes,
but the players will only see effects, not any actual spellcasting.
The soldiers should be going, "What the hell?", not " Hey, there's a
Nazi black magician casting spells at us!"

3) The sudden arrival of massive, violent death to the bocage
(hedgerows) raises a mystical backlash, a supernatural killer that
seeks out the violent- the soldiers- of both sides. I'm thinking here
of some sort of animated thicket- a Bocage Elemental, if you will.
This should be run in classic Horror In The Shadows style. Some
elements and scenes I am considering using with this:
   a) Pinned down and hopelessly outclassed in a night counterattack,
the PCs are saved when SOMETHING takes out a major German attack
element- maybe even a tank.
   b) The PCs discover that both sides are losing patrols. This might
even lead to a truce and a highly unofficial joint investigation with
the Germans.
   c)The monster can hide effectively by simply standing still. It
will be mostly bulletproof, I'm thinking. So what will hurt it? Ideas,
please. Maybe I'll give my PCs the opportunity to commandeer a
Rhino-equipped Sherman and charge the thing...Possibly it's helpless
if uprooted?
   d) I want the climax to occur during a historically important event
of the Normandy campaign, but I'm uncertain what would work best. The
capture of St.Lo by the 29th Division? The Breakout? The closing of
the Falaise pocket? Or something else?

On a related note, I planned to go over Pinnacles "Making of
WierdWars" articles for inspiration, only to find that they'd taken
them down. Did some list member with more foresight than I save
copies, and would they be willing to send them to me?


Matt Smith
I've only got until Sunday to come up with something solid. Help
meee...