ShadowWorld is a diceless roleplaying game based in our world in August 1942, playing operators of a branch of the Special Operations Executive, Room 33. They are sent out to interrupt the nonstandard research and development efforts the Third Reich is performing: black magic, psionic powers, ancient secrets, dark conspiracies that are hidden from or dismissed by the general public.
The players are operators of the SOE, with magical, psionic gifts or mutations, sent on mission into occupied Europe. It is a serial campaign: a series of missions that can be played independently in an ongoing world setting. You don't need to do any preparation or play more than once, but the more you put in, the more you get out of it. Note that this setting shares game mechanics, but no cosmology, history, or anything else with the 'Mainline' ShadowWorld campaign.
The setting is the real world in August 1942 with some changes (all due to player character actions): the Bismarck wasn't sunk and is now hidden with her sister ship the Tirpitz, and the two battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Norwegian fjords, but more importantly, the leadership of Germany and Italy were massively changed:
- In February, 1942 Hess and Himmler were killed.
- In early April, 1942 Hitler, Von Ribbentropp, Mussolini, and Galeazzo Ciano were killed.
- In late April, 1942 Heydrich took over as Führer and had Goering, Bormann, and Canaris killed.
- On April 30, 1942 Heydrich and the assembled top of the SS were killed.
(Mis)guided by the advice of Aleister Crowley, consultant on mystical matters to the SOE, a team manipulated events to put Erwin Rommel in place as the new Führer.
CONTENT WARNING: ShadowWorld WWII involves many adult themes.
Game will run late: I expect, and will work hard to, end at 1am.
We will splurge remaining food vouchers, money and all to conduct the traditional chicken armageddon sometime mid game.