For Free RPG Day I ran an Achtung! Cthulhu (CoC 7E) scenario set in Burma during the Japanese occupation. As sessions were only supposed to be two hours long, the following is more of a loose seed that can be adapted for a short or longer adventure.
The Scenario
June, 1943
Allies struggle (and are failing) to re-occupy Burma from the successful Japanese invasion in ’42. Monsoon season will begin shortly and failure now means a delay until November. Operation Longcloth proved (or at least kept propaganda alive) that British and Indian soldiers could operate in the jungle as effectively as the Japanese and with morale boosted amongst the Allied Forces, it’s time to bring the fight back.
Brigadier Orde Charles Wingate has one more mission planned for a small group of his hand-picked “Chindits” and various Allied liaisons before the rainy season starts. It’s a smaller sortie than disrupting railway communications, but no less important. It’s believed that the Japanese have set up a communications array in an abandoned temple 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) east by north of Bhamo, on a high plateau. The Japanese goal is likely to begin the next operation of their invasion and expand their occupation.
Rather than send out a large force, the Allies believe a small squad can examine report back so the military can plan while all fronts are sealed due to rain. If the squad can sabotage or dismantle the Japanese operation, so much the better, but intelligence work is crucial. It’s better to have the team come back alive with information than risk death and keeping superiors in the dark.
Getting through the jungle is never easy and the squad must make their through dense greenery and up a mountain. Not only is the terrain treacherous, dangers like tigers lurk in the jungles. Mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas provide not only nuisance but threat of disease. The squad will need to travel days through the jungle, ford a river, and begin an upward hike through mountain trails.
Vines are not uncommon in the jungle, but the investigators will note especially green vines winding along the trains. The vines themselves don’t have many leaves, but have a bright green, bark-like, texture. Natives and biologists won’t recognize the vines as from the area.
The temple itself is built on the top of the plateau. Despite this being the location of the invaders, the temple and is oddly quiet. There are certainly signs the Japanese army was here recently as gear can be seen, as well as a small radar. The squad might notice black snub-nosed monkeys scurrying around and eating rations. But there are no human activities outside the temples.
Inside the main temple there appears to have been signs of a fight and strange chittering sounds from a decaying staircase lead further into the mountain. Investigating further, the squad will see strange carvings on the wall, crude drawings of a mass of vines or tentacles intertwined with people; it’s difficult to ascertain if the figures are in rapture or agony. If the team pauses or turns around, they will also notice that a number of monkeys seems to be following them.
The stairwell leads past multiple smaller one-room enclaves and down into a large, circular chamber. The auditorium is ornate and decorated with strange glyphs and disturbing murals of men and women being eviscerated and torn apart by vines. In the center of the chamber monkeys, painted in blood, dance around the brutalized bodies of Japanese troops, tied to two tall pillars. One of the monkeys turns and smiles, its sharp teeth a gory mess. A yawning portal begins to form and the dead bodies of the soldiers slowly fall inside.
The squad must fight the monkeys inside the temple and out. If they survive the marsupial encounter and spend time investigating the portal or temple without a plan, the Great Old Ones Zhar and Lloigor will rise up inside the temple and destroy them. If, upon survival, they simply run away, they will fall as the Twin Obscenities rise from the plateau. The mountain itself is alive with the vines of the Great Old Ones and will begin moving, chasing the squad to their demise or to the base.
Only a quick decision to destroy the temple with explosives will prevent the Great Old Ones from destroying everything around them. Due to the demolitions, the temple buildings will be unstable and crumble around the squad. Few, if any, will likely survive the debris. Survivors will have to brave the jungles once more and report back, if anyone even believes them.
In the Free RPG Day session, the players managed to make it back to the military base and, once they were able to convince the Brigadier the mountain was actually moving, summoned forth bombers and heavy artillery to set the mountain ablaze. The PCs survived, but would never be quite the same.
Pre-Generated Investigators
The following characters were made available to players of the session. I’m a believer in providing character artwork so other players can easily remember names and faces of the characters. Character Sheets and pictures downloadable in zip 1 and zip 2. Character names and artwork credit is as follows:
- Corporal Jitinder Khatri – Intelligence Officer, First Corps Operative
Scan from 30th Pujabis illustrated book - Lance Corporal Sar Ibrahim – Combat Engineer
Scan from 30th Pujabis illustrated book - Lance Corporal Mukesh Anand – Signalman
Sikh Commando by Ander Plana - Private Ajit Bakshi – Doctor
The Scientist by Ander Plana - Stella Rosso – OSS Operative
Barbara Adskiiova by Ander Plana - Private Camden Grant – Artilleryman, Reconnaissance
Green Ghost by Ander Plana - Lance Corporal Chen Fu
Gebirgsdivision Sniper by Ander Plana - Private Oliver Acker
Tank Hunter by Ander Plana
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