World On Fire: Shadow Ops [a Fantasy WWII Quest]
- Thread starter Zoosmell
- Start date
- Mature Fantasy Alt. History
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] American car (1932 Ford Model B coupe)
Have to say just oof, for Shizuko when it rains it just pours.
Have to say just oof, for Shizuko when it rains it just pours.
- Location
- USA
[x] Buy one in India (1930 Plymouth Model Q)
- Location
- United States
Yunnan's independent streak, like much of Chinese history, is something that has existed for thousands of years. Ironically enough, their ideological ties to Chinese Republicanism has reeled them - and much of southern China - closer to the political center of the nation than they've ever been before, although this doesn't necessarily translate into obedience to the Generalissimo, much to Chiang Kai Sheck's ever-growing list of griefs.
As the rest of this post goes on to show, we'll be needing every mechanism possible to earn respect, so investing in these status symbols is probably worthwhile. I'd go for an American vehicle, it carries the "aloof westerner" vibe we want without invoking the fraught history England has with the locals.
Heh, mixed-race sniping. Although, to be fair, the US military didn't exactly send its best to the Chinese/Burma theater. Stilwell's a more complex figure than the incompetent martinet he tends to be remembered as but it's undeniable he was the wrong man for the job, and Chennault - while far less of an unlikable prick - also tended to dramatically overestimate the capability of air power to accomplish his wild promises, although his regular leadership of the Fighting Tigers was genuinely excellent.
Yeah, the fact that we're having to glamor ourselves is the furthest thing from ideal. Still, I maintain my assertion that this is the most optimal war theater we could have been deployed into. One way or another the US Navy will island-hop its way to Japan, and that schedule being mildly accelerated or halted won't have any meaningful strategic consequences. The fighting in China, on the other hand, bears a number of opportunities where greater attention on the part of the Allies could have provided many rewards and certainly changed the course of history, and it's a situation where Shizuko's efforts could conceivably push that scale enough to matter. We just have to put up with the bullshit in the meantime.
He's sort of the opposite of Shizuko, I suppose. Someone who prized their connection to their Asianic heritage over their western half. I can see why they might naturally clash for all that they're superficially similar.
There's a lot to be held against General Stilwell, but his immense frustration with the Republic of China is certainly more than a little understandable.
Would knowledge of the Nazi concentration camps even be that widespread at the moment? I was under the impression they tried to keep them a secret, although I might be mixing that up with the Death Camps/Final Solution.
Huh, that's an American MP? I also kinda doubt anyone would care enough about some grunt's right-wing political views to exile them to Yunnan, although he might be the son of someone politically important or something like that.
I'll have to remember that little Chekhov's gun for later.
... Resisting the urge to google what the visual difference is between people of Chinese and Japanese ethnicity. Although they may well be pitching a fit about Shizuko being mixed race, considering how virulently racist literally everyone here is.
[X] American car (1932 Ford Model B coupe)
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
And we can fly.
Wait, what?
Ah, that explains it.
Good punch.
Important tidbit to remember.
Oh shit, here we go again.
[x] Buy one in India (1930 Plymouth Model Q)
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Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
[X] Buy one in India (1930 Plymouth Model Q)
Support the local economy, such as it is.
Well, rather, I can't think of a good reason to waste shipping space on good possessions that might never make their way back.
Support the local economy, such as it is.
Well, rather, I can't think of a good reason to waste shipping space on good possessions that might never make their way back.
It's hard to verbalize IMO, you kind of have to grow up with it.
- Location
- Singapore
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] American car (1932 Ford Model B coupe)
I can't explain it but speaking as a person of southern chinese ethnicity yeah we can generally tell the difference even today, nevermind back then.
- Location
- Dethklok
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- Location
- Internet
[X] American car (1932 Ford Model B coupe)
A Step Away From Paradise Pt. III
Zoosmell
Blind Idiot Arcana
- Location
- Kansas
[><] We Return To Our Scheduled Broadcast
"Alpine gear? Don't we already have that?" you ask as you finish crossing the street.
Ethel nods. "True. And we also have Babel pins. But they don't work well with written word, not quickly anyway. And if the point is to blend in quickly..." She gestures in a figure-it-out sort of way.
"They expect us to be there a while?"
"Or they're sending us to a very don't-trust-anyone sort of place."
You nod. "Uyghur... they speak that in northwestern China, right? Xinjiang?"
"Another oddity, that - Xinjaing has changed hands a few times, but it isn't like the frontier days of your country's history like some other parts allegedly under the Generalissimo's control. And it isn't - it's under Soviet control."
You pause, just as you reach the building that SHADOCOM East calls home. Far from a grandiose affair - it isn't even from the Victorian era, like most "government" buildings in Calcutta - it is a completely average office block. Probably the point, now that you think about it.
Ethel tears up her silencing charm as you both pass through the entryway, and your conversation resumes once you get past the guards at the entrance to the headquarters proper. There are a few conversations here and there, but not enough to drown anything out should you speak in low tones - and the foyer is spacious enough you don't have to.
"We're going to have to leave Kaplani behind again, aren't we."
The Rhodesian woman shakes her head. "Not necessarily. Not anymore, anyway - the official Party line, according to her, is that what other nations do with their supernatural minorities is their business. The concern is more with local authorities than the actual Soviets." She shrugs. "Apparently, wherever we're going in Turkestan, SHADOCOM doesn't want anyone finding out about us being there."
She checks her watch. "Well. The briefing is in half an hour, so I suppose we'll find out then, won't we?" Smiling, she walks off towards the cafeteria. You're not really hungry just yet, so you let her go, and head over to one of the training rooms in the first basement.
In the time since Midway, you've trained in... (Pick any 2, any subsets of 2, or any one area twice - no rolls this time since it's been so long chronologically since the last chapter, you get a perk automatically)
[ ] Flight maneuvers
[ ] Shooting
- [ ] Weapon type?
- [ ] On land
- [ ] In air
- [ ] Both (2 rolls, result is the average)
[ ] Swordsmanship
[ ] Magecraft
- [ ] Potioneering
- [ ] Wind magic
-- [ ] Offensive
-- [ ] Defensive
-- [ ] Utility
- [ ] Spell shooting
Intermission vote ended in a tie, so the tiebreaker vote will be here:
[ ] 1932 Ford Model B coupe (Your own car from back in the US)
[ ] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
"Alpine gear? Don't we already have that?" you ask as you finish crossing the street.
Ethel nods. "True. And we also have Babel pins. But they don't work well with written word, not quickly anyway. And if the point is to blend in quickly..." She gestures in a figure-it-out sort of way.
"They expect us to be there a while?"
"Or they're sending us to a very don't-trust-anyone sort of place."
You nod. "Uyghur... they speak that in northwestern China, right? Xinjiang?"
"Another oddity, that - Xinjaing has changed hands a few times, but it isn't like the frontier days of your country's history like some other parts allegedly under the Generalissimo's control. And it isn't - it's under Soviet control."
You pause, just as you reach the building that SHADOCOM East calls home. Far from a grandiose affair - it isn't even from the Victorian era, like most "government" buildings in Calcutta - it is a completely average office block. Probably the point, now that you think about it.
Ethel tears up her silencing charm as you both pass through the entryway, and your conversation resumes once you get past the guards at the entrance to the headquarters proper. There are a few conversations here and there, but not enough to drown anything out should you speak in low tones - and the foyer is spacious enough you don't have to.
"We're going to have to leave Kaplani behind again, aren't we."
The Rhodesian woman shakes her head. "Not necessarily. Not anymore, anyway - the official Party line, according to her, is that what other nations do with their supernatural minorities is their business. The concern is more with local authorities than the actual Soviets." She shrugs. "Apparently, wherever we're going in Turkestan, SHADOCOM doesn't want anyone finding out about us being there."
She checks her watch. "Well. The briefing is in half an hour, so I suppose we'll find out then, won't we?" Smiling, she walks off towards the cafeteria. You're not really hungry just yet, so you let her go, and head over to one of the training rooms in the first basement.
In the time since Midway, you've trained in... (Pick any 2, any subsets of 2, or any one area twice - no rolls this time since it's been so long chronologically since the last chapter, you get a perk automatically)
[ ] Flight maneuvers
[ ] Shooting
- [ ] Weapon type?
- [ ] On land
- [ ] In air
- [ ] Both (2 rolls, result is the average)
[ ] Swordsmanship
[ ] Magecraft
- [ ] Potioneering
- [ ] Wind magic
-- [ ] Offensive
-- [ ] Defensive
-- [ ] Utility
- [ ] Spell shooting
Intermission vote ended in a tie, so the tiebreaker vote will be here:
[ ] 1932 Ford Model B coupe (Your own car from back in the US)
[ ] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Interesting. Seems we have some Black Ops work incoming.
-[X] Magecraft
--[X] Wind magic
---[X] Offensive
-[X] Spell shooting
Since there are no rolls this time, we should train skills we haven't put any training in yet.
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
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- Location
- Singapore
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
- [X] Spell shooting
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
- [X] Spell shooting
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
- Location
- United States
[X] Swordsmanship
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
[X] 1932 Ford Model B coupe (Your own car from back in the US)
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
[X] 1932 Ford Model B coupe (Your own car from back in the US)
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Swordsmanship
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
- Location
- USA
[x] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
- Location
- Internet
[X] Swordsmanship
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
[X] Magecraft
- [X] Wind magic
-- [X] Offensive
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
[X] Flight maneuvers
[X] Magecraft
-[X] Wind magic
--[X] Offensive
Because getting swatted by seafood is embarassing, time to drill more.
And to open up more offensive options for when mundane weapons aren't doing it.
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
[X] Magecraft
-[X] Wind magic
--[X] Offensive
Because getting swatted by seafood is embarassing, time to drill more.
And to open up more offensive options for when mundane weapons aren't doing it.
[X] 1930 Plymouth Model Q (A car you bought in India)
Vote closed
A Step Away From Paradise Pt. IV
Zoosmell
Blind Idiot Arcana
- Location
- Kansas
[><] Winning Vote: Swordsmanship, Offensive Wind Magic
This may or may not be the last chapter to use the current system, might switch WoF Quest over to using Fate as its base
You look over at the bokken you've been using for months to get your swordsmanship up to proper stuff. You were never bad per se, but your "decent" at using a cavalry sabre was a peacetime version of "decent", not one suited to wartime. And certainly not suited to fighting the Japanese military - with the Masquerade lifted, virtually every mage, witch, and whatever in the Empire is expected to know how to use a sword well enough to at least win local tournaments, if propaganda is to be believed. And well enough to do respectably well in them, if intel is to be believed.
The HQ has a trainer in "kendo" as it is now called. He's no Miyamoto Musashi, but he's certainly better than you - even now. Kenichi Matsuhito, the man reminds you of a cross between a bear and an English bartender, sounding more like the former than the latter when he does talk, which is almost never. What little you do know about him can fit into three sentences: He's 6th dan, he was born "in Hokkaido", and he left Japan because he was a republican.
Even with his lack of speech, he's been a good enough teacher, and managed to raise you up to 1st dan. In celebration of it, he managed to get you a katana - a mage-made one, which makes it orders of magnitude stronger than a regular one. Stronger even than your old cavalry sabre.
Trained Swordsman - All rolls involving using your sword have 1 less Difficulty
Item GET: Mage Katana - A standard-length katana with a typical cross-section. Strong as a cavalry sabre. Holds its edge well.
[><] Sheath decorations - A reversible wrap, stars & stripes on one side, pure black on the other.
Passing the training room on, you walk by another training room - this one for magic. Vaguely, it is similar to the other - well-lit, padded walls, padded flooring, and padded ceiling, too, just in case. However, this room is used for practicing magic, so besides being larger and with different equipment, the materials are also different. Moderately shockproof, relatively airproof, very waterproof, and very very fireproof.
It's nice enough, you suppose, but as a wind specialist and a witch both you prefer a bit more room, so you never really used it. Weronika uses it all the time, though.
Now, for instance. She's in there, looking much more like a mad scientist than a witch in a white coat, goggles, and rubber gloves. You knock on the door, which also has a window - if protected by an almost excessive amount of runes, sigils, and rebar - and nod your head in the direction of the briefing room as you enter it yourself.
Disarm - Use wind magic to knock a target (or targets) weapon out of their hands. A crit smashes it into them hard enough to knock them flat, or pulls it into your own hands (player's choice)
On the surface, the briefing room is identical to the one at the office on Baker Street. Further details reveal themselves whenever the lights are still on - they both have the feel of the study of some turn-of-the-century gentleman, but - how to put it? The briefing room of Baker Street seems owned by some noble who spends his time engaged in intellectual pursuits and social gatherings, the one here in Calcutta seems owned by the sort to go to Africa (or India) and shoot a few elephants for a jolly bit of sport, then write wildly sensationalist books on his adventures there.
Subdued to a tasteful level, of course, but the might of Britain still feels more apparent here than in London itself.
The man at the front of the room couldn't have looked more fitting for the décor if he had been in a bright red dress uniform and wielding a Brown Bess. An older gentleman with blondeish hair, his mutton chops meet in a moustache that dares anyone in the room to claim that Victoria is not still Queen of the Empire. As it is, his tie is red, and the cane he uses as a pointer is made of walnut.
"The mission, or likely missions, is simple enough, so I will get right to it," he says.
A map of the province is shown on the screen. It's not as detailed as the ones you're used to from Europe. But it does the job. An area along the southern part of the province is circled.
"Your team will likely be there for a while - some months, perhaps. There are some clandestine, supernatural Japanese units believed to be operating in or near Xinjaing, from both the Army and the Navy, but for the most part, they have done... little besides stay in place. That may change - is likely to change - but that is not the focus of Springheel itself."
Another slide. It shows the Kunlun mountains in greater detail, with a particular pass circled. A pass that most certainly was not visible on the previous slide.
"This valley was discovered by outsiders about forty years ago. Through various agreements between the covens and lodges of Europe, the Americas, and Asia, along with the governments of China, the Soviets, and the Mongols, as well as the religious leaders of Tibet, it has remained secret, both to the mundane and magical world. We even had a book published as fiction, with the wrong location and just enough red herrings to keep people coming to the wrong conclusions as to where to look. For a few decades, at least."
Another slide, this one a military map with military units.
"Japan, who was not informed, has managed to determine its whereabouts. Or as good as do so - they're in the right area, and slowly but surely heading in the right direction."
"Your task is to link up with the inhabitants of the valley, if not then the general area, and ensure they never reach Shangri-La."
[ ] Questions
This may or may not be the last chapter to use the current system, might switch WoF Quest over to using Fate as its base
You look over at the bokken you've been using for months to get your swordsmanship up to proper stuff. You were never bad per se, but your "decent" at using a cavalry sabre was a peacetime version of "decent", not one suited to wartime. And certainly not suited to fighting the Japanese military - with the Masquerade lifted, virtually every mage, witch, and whatever in the Empire is expected to know how to use a sword well enough to at least win local tournaments, if propaganda is to be believed. And well enough to do respectably well in them, if intel is to be believed.
The HQ has a trainer in "kendo" as it is now called. He's no Miyamoto Musashi, but he's certainly better than you - even now. Kenichi Matsuhito, the man reminds you of a cross between a bear and an English bartender, sounding more like the former than the latter when he does talk, which is almost never. What little you do know about him can fit into three sentences: He's 6th dan, he was born "in Hokkaido", and he left Japan because he was a republican.
Even with his lack of speech, he's been a good enough teacher, and managed to raise you up to 1st dan. In celebration of it, he managed to get you a katana - a mage-made one, which makes it orders of magnitude stronger than a regular one. Stronger even than your old cavalry sabre.
Trained Swordsman - All rolls involving using your sword have 1 less Difficulty
Item GET: Mage Katana - A standard-length katana with a typical cross-section. Strong as a cavalry sabre. Holds its edge well.
[><] Sheath decorations - A reversible wrap, stars & stripes on one side, pure black on the other.
Passing the training room on, you walk by another training room - this one for magic. Vaguely, it is similar to the other - well-lit, padded walls, padded flooring, and padded ceiling, too, just in case. However, this room is used for practicing magic, so besides being larger and with different equipment, the materials are also different. Moderately shockproof, relatively airproof, very waterproof, and very very fireproof.
It's nice enough, you suppose, but as a wind specialist and a witch both you prefer a bit more room, so you never really used it. Weronika uses it all the time, though.
Now, for instance. She's in there, looking much more like a mad scientist than a witch in a white coat, goggles, and rubber gloves. You knock on the door, which also has a window - if protected by an almost excessive amount of runes, sigils, and rebar - and nod your head in the direction of the briefing room as you enter it yourself.
Disarm - Use wind magic to knock a target (or targets) weapon out of their hands. A crit smashes it into them hard enough to knock them flat, or pulls it into your own hands (player's choice)
On the surface, the briefing room is identical to the one at the office on Baker Street. Further details reveal themselves whenever the lights are still on - they both have the feel of the study of some turn-of-the-century gentleman, but - how to put it? The briefing room of Baker Street seems owned by some noble who spends his time engaged in intellectual pursuits and social gatherings, the one here in Calcutta seems owned by the sort to go to Africa (or India) and shoot a few elephants for a jolly bit of sport, then write wildly sensationalist books on his adventures there.
Subdued to a tasteful level, of course, but the might of Britain still feels more apparent here than in London itself.
The man at the front of the room couldn't have looked more fitting for the décor if he had been in a bright red dress uniform and wielding a Brown Bess. An older gentleman with blondeish hair, his mutton chops meet in a moustache that dares anyone in the room to claim that Victoria is not still Queen of the Empire. As it is, his tie is red, and the cane he uses as a pointer is made of walnut.
"The mission, or likely missions, is simple enough, so I will get right to it," he says.
OPERATION SPRINGHEEL
"As you've no doubt heard by now, you will be heading to northwestern China, in Xinjiang province."
A map of the province is shown on the screen. It's not as detailed as the ones you're used to from Europe. But it does the job. An area along the southern part of the province is circled.
"Your team will likely be there for a while - some months, perhaps. There are some clandestine, supernatural Japanese units believed to be operating in or near Xinjaing, from both the Army and the Navy, but for the most part, they have done... little besides stay in place. That may change - is likely to change - but that is not the focus of Springheel itself."
Another slide. It shows the Kunlun mountains in greater detail, with a particular pass circled. A pass that most certainly was not visible on the previous slide.
"This valley was discovered by outsiders about forty years ago. Through various agreements between the covens and lodges of Europe, the Americas, and Asia, along with the governments of China, the Soviets, and the Mongols, as well as the religious leaders of Tibet, it has remained secret, both to the mundane and magical world. We even had a book published as fiction, with the wrong location and just enough red herrings to keep people coming to the wrong conclusions as to where to look. For a few decades, at least."
Another slide, this one a military map with military units.
"Japan, who was not informed, has managed to determine its whereabouts. Or as good as do so - they're in the right area, and slowly but surely heading in the right direction."
"Your task is to link up with the inhabitants of the valley, if not then the general area, and ensure they never reach Shangri-La."
[ ] Questions
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Icipall
Don't worry, we can fanfix that!
- Location
- Cold snow fields of Finland
Ah, I see.
Nice, and we got a new sword.
Use the Force, Shizuko.
Probably preparing for something and concentrating their forces.
Well I'll be.
So, what would be good American sheath decorations?
[X] Sheath decorations - A reversible wrap, stars & stripes on one side, pure black on the other.
[X] "Have any entry or garrison agreements been signed with Shangri-La? Do we have basing rights?"
[X] "What's our insertion plan and who exactly are we linking up with? What magical support is Shangri-La willing to have sally out with us? Our retreat plan, if necessary?"
[X] "What else do we know about the Japanese intel? Is this a reconnaissance in force or a dedicated push? How large is the opposition?"
[X] "Can we call in air support or are we on our own?"
[X] "How do we define success? Are we looking to disappear the Japanese assault or make a statement? If we deploy forces openly, will they know there's something there and just come back?"
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- Location
- United States
I wonder what value Shangri-la posses from a military perspective. What would the Japanese - or alternatively, the Allies - be getting out of controlling it? Presumably it's something powerful if there was an international agreement to leave the place well enough alone.