One of the initial decisions we made for Dark Reich is that we would try, at least initially, to write the setting from the point of view of the German Reich. Instead of the “heroes” being the Allies, we felt that it would be more interesting to make our characters soldiers and servants of the Dark Reich itself.
That’s not to say that we are taking the side of “evil”, although we should mention that the setting uses a set of moral shades rather than black-versus-white. We have decided that the Nazi regime is the enemy of the heroes, but that those heroes can be German citizens. To facilitate this idea, we’ve decided that the Nazi’s form only one faction within the Reich. Those who do not support the ideals of Adolf Hitler can choose a different path.
How does the average German infantryman feel about the Nazi regime? In Dark Reich, it’s likely that the range of views is wide and that YOUR hero may well be actively opposing Hitler’s cronies.
Who will you roleplay?
From my hazy remeberance of my history lessons, I think I am right in saying that after a while, the main professional soldier in the Wehrmact (?) felt as if they were a second class soldier, as more and more support went in to the SS – better kit, any soldiers that met with the requirements to join (Member of the Nazi party, arran race, etc).
I’m sure that a few months on the Russian front would also sway the mind of a soldier into feeling not of warmth towards the ruling class.
You are right in this being a sea of shades of grey – and the worry is that if the forces of ‘good’ within the German state are fighting back, how far can they push before the authorities decide to remove them – with a state looking into magic, who they check workers using magical checks, trying to remove dangers to the status quo?
And how would you manage a party of characters who are all have a questionable moral code? In reality, not all Germans were nazis, and the same can be said with what is happenning in Zimbabwe – Only a small group do the crimes, but many more go along with the crime, turning a blind eye – and such causes a state to get a certain name.
My worry is finding enough sub groups within the state that can allow a roleplay campaign to survive. And the more powerful the state gets, the harder it is for a group ‘anti’ to the leadership to survive and stay below the radar.
I don’t think there is much to worry about in a campaign focused on Germany. Putting that aside, however, there is nothing stopping a GM running a campaign with a focus on a different faction or national power. We are simply STARTING with Germany because it’s a fresh treatment of WWII and alternates to stop viewing all German citizens as both Nazi and evil.
From the perspective of Germany, however, there is plenty of fuel to keep a campaign burning. Using Brandenburg-X, the magickal war is introduced. Even without it, there will be resistant factions in each nation that the Third Reich conquers. Campaigns can also span the theatres of war: western front, eastern front, balkan front, desert front, and even the Pacific front.
To my mind there are a few obvious campaigns I would run in the setting, each in order to build Dark Reich further. The first is probably Brandenburg-X, which has profound effect on the world; next comes the military campaign of soldiers from 1939 until 1946, when the Kalterkrieg descends; third would be the civilian campaign, perhaps featuring occupied resistance fighters in Britain, France or Poland. From there I would branch into other nations at different periods. I think that would keep a group busy for a few months, if not years. And let’s be honest, few groups are that diligent.
Talking of how the setting would work, I’ve mentioned in the past that I might find it difficult to play a game where the heroes work for a ‘evil’ power, but after watching ‘The Eagle Has Landed’, my view has changed somewhat.
The main German characters come across as being ‘good’ – what with the rescue of the Jewish Girl by Michael Caine’s character (Kurt Steiner) – even though it put him in line for treason charges, or the rescue by a German Soldier of a little girl, falling into the river. It shows you a character can be good in a corrupt society.
Che mentioned a few other films – which I cannot remember at the time, that showed german soldiers standing out from the norm.