It's May 3, 1915 and the Lusitania
is steaming along on its return run from New York to Liverpool. Unbeknownst to the
people on board there are two groups of strangers on board.
Chronology
| May 1st, 1915 |
The Lusitania leaves New York
harbour for Liverpool. |
| May 3rd, 1915 8:00 am |
Unbeknownst to the crew and
passengers the Kranzons have appearred below decks. |
| May 3rd, 1915 8:15 am |
The Drelbs splash down off the starboard
side. |
| May 3rd, 1915 8:22 am |
A lookout spots the Drelbs adrift and a
boat is sent out to retrieve them. |
| May 7th, 1915 |
Ship enters the danger zone where enemy
subs are expected. Captain Turner takes all possible precautions ordering all the
lifeboats to be swung out, all the bulkhead doors to be closed, look-outs to be doubled
and steam pressure to be kept high to give the ship all possible speed in case of
emergency. |
| May 7th, 1915 8:00 am |
Speed is reduced to 18 knots to secure the
ship's arrival at the bar outside Liverpool at 4.00 am the following day, in order to
catch the high tide. |
| May 7th, 1915 12:40 pm |
The ships course was altered in order to
make a better landfall. |
| May 7th, 1915 1:40 pm. |
The ship is brought closer to land and the
Old Head of Kinsale is sighted |
| May 7th, 1915 1:50 pm |
The ship's course is steadied so an
officer begin to make a four-point bearing but this was never completed. |
| May 7th, 1915 2:00 pm |
The passengers are finishing their lunch. |
| May 7th, 1915 2:15 pm |
The ship was 10 to 15 miles off the Old
Head of Kinsale with the weather clear and the sea smooth. Captain Turner then heard the
second officer shout 'There is a torpedo coming, Sir'. Immediately afterwards there was a
terrific explosion on the starboard side, between the third and fourth funnels. Almost
simultaneously there was a second explosion, which was thought at the time to be a second
torpedo but has since been confirmed as an internal explosion, although the cause has
never been definitely established. |
| May 7th, 1915 2:35 pm |
The Lusitania sinks with the loss of 1,198
lives. |
The Kranzons and the Drelbs have both imposed their unwanted attentions on the
unsuspecting crew and passengers of the Lusitania. The Drelbs have no sinister motive like
that of the Kranzons but their sexual advances are unwanted all the same. The Drelbs are
on the ship because the technicians manning the time machine miscalculated the landing
date, after all what's 60 years when your travelling millenia back into the past? (And
let's not forget that they ended up kilometers east of New York city, good thing that ship
was there!) Though the fact that they're actually optimised in training and equipment for
the era depicted in the training "documentary" they watched might put them at a
bit of a disadvantage. (Their training film was Saturday Night Fever). The 1915 era crew
of the Lusitania don't appreciate disco music or the casual manner of the Drelbs.
The Kranzons on the other hand move about randomly in time and space
and usually don't care when or where they are (though since that unfortunate early 21st
century encounter with that human cannibal they don't care much for periods or places
where they might not get ahold of enough wine and beans to make their transfer possible.
When they realize where they are they might be a bit upset, especially if they realize
that there isn't much time before the ship is sunk.
The people on the ship
There are two main groups on the ship.
Group One
The passengers who are typical 1915 era humans. The Americans among
the passengers are a bit nervous about the possibility of the ship being sunk. They all
saw the warnings the German Embassy in New York put in the paper. But other than that they
are rather open and outgoing. The British among the passengers are more nervous than the
Americans and know what the dirty Bosch are capable of! Both groups are made up of
whatever stereotypes you want to inflict on your players, the ugly American nouveay riche,
the upper class British twit, society matrons, serious businessmen, an Anglican clergyman,
mermaids (cross Atlantic prostitutes), young IT girls, maybe even a silent movie star or
two!
Group Two
Is the English crew who are nervous because they are well aware of
the munitions and arms hidden below deck. They will react in a hostile fashion to anyone
snooping around the ship. All the crew are carrying knives for use in their
"duties" while the ships officers are all armed with .32 revolvers which they
are carrying concealed. Remember that the captain is the ruler of his ship and can do
pretty much anything he wants outside of territorial waters. The crew is all quite
competent and disdainful of foreigners, Krauts and their allies, the Irish (who have just
seceded from the Empire), lower classes, etc., etc. (Especially the officers!)
Typical crew member stats:
Resist seduction 3 (add 10 to this value when one
of those weirdo foreigners is trying to seduce them, add 20 when the Drelbs are the wrong
sex! Subtract 1-10 (per drink) depending on how drunk they are. They are sailors after
all! They'll drink one drink per persuasion role an opponent makes.)
Consume alcohol 18
Perform duties under the influence 15
Be obsequious to people of higher status 16
Knife attack 10 1D4
HP 15
Typical officer stats
Suck up to rich passengers 15
.32 revolver (6 shots) 11 1D6
Bellow orders 15
Scream at underling 18
Be stuck up to underlings and the lower classes 14
HP 15
The Kranzon
The Krazons always arrive stark naked and can appear as either a
male or a female (depending on who they last ate) when they do arrive. They arrived on the
Lusitania below decks and managed to quickly find some clothing to wear.
Hypnotize human 15 (only works on humans who are
alone)
Recognize period in time 14
Consume human 13
Travel 14 (requires three successful consumptions)
Find wine and beans 12
Appear human 18
Human trivia 13
Soothe human 12
Mindspeak with other Kranzon 8 (works (as well as it does anyway) at any range)
HP 15
As much as they would like to be the Kranzons aren't invulnerable.
In fact rather the opposite. Their only offensive ability is their hypnotize ability, and
that only works on humans who are alone at the time. Any human they catch alone is
probably doomed to be dined upon but against humans in groups they're at a disadvantage.
Anyone seeing the Krazons as they dine on their prey (this is the only time at which they
appear in their normal form) will see a rather attractive, multicoloured amorphous blob
which is rather incongrously eating a human, bones and all while consuming beans and a
bottle of wine. The sight is of course worth a SAN roll (and a few laughs for the sickos
out there!) Another problem that the Kranzons have is that they hate each other.
Unfortunately they need at least four of the six members of the collective in order to
make the transfer to another time and place so they have to stay realitively close to each
other. After certain conditions are met (and they still haven't figured out exactly what
it is even after all these millenia) an individual Kranzon will consume his collective
mates and create a new, better collective. (Well, it has to be doesn't it? It's made from
me!)
The Drelbs
The Drelbs appear fully clothed and ready for action! 20 feet above
the surface of the Atlantic 1/2 mile in front of the ship! Splash. After a few uncertain
moments the ship arrives and rescues them. It's up to them to make up a story just why
they are floating in the ocean. Are they spies? Shipwreck survivors? Victims of the dirty
Bosch? Why are they so outlandishly dressed though? They must be sailors. But why don't
they know anything about being a sailor then???? Well here they are and they are ready to
Part-tee!
Skills
Seduce human 19 (subtract 10 points for the more
uptight early 20th century mentality)
Get it on 16
Disco dance 20 (half chance at the more stately 1915 dances once they get the
idea).
Look cool 15
Bust a move 18
Consume illicit substances 14
Switch sex 11
HP 15
Equipment : time travel gizmo (looks like gold peace medallion);
groovy white threads that can be reversed for male or female disco attire; stash (of
hallucenogenic substance). They also have a group getto blaster which has the
complete soundtrack to the documentary movie on it.
This page last modified June 05, 2000
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