It is not difficult to see how rife this environment is with role-playing possibilities. Players take the role of soldiers or civilians caught in the wake of the Lizards invasion, forced to turn to their former enemies to try and survive in a world gone mad. Whether they are Panzer drivers in the heart. of the Ukraine, Chinese partisans in the Asian hills, RAF pilots flying sorties over occupied Europe, or American troops fighting madly through the streets, of Chicago, a rich and rewarding campaign of battling imperialistic space iguanas can come to life with just a few steps.
Research, of course, is : a must. The overview of Turtledove's books presented above is hopelessly inadequate, and GMs planning a campaign set in Worldwar should definitely familiarize themselves with the real thing (In the Balance is available in paperback wherever fine literature is sold; Tilting the Balance shouldn't be far behind). A healthy dose of World War II history can't hurt either; many of the central players in Worldwar are actual historic figures, and understanding what made them tick can be key to running a strong story.
Once the GM feels sufficiently immersed in the material, he or she should choose one of three principal areas of fighting as the setting for the characters to occupy. Each one has a slightly different flavor to it; depending on what the group wants to do with the campaign, one particular location will probably serve best.
The war in China is mostly underground, consisting of guerrilla raids and sneak attacks augmented by the more direct tactics of the Japanese army. Clandestine operations are the name of the game here; characters will most likely conduct hit and run raids, carry out assassinations, or participate in smuggling operations. Within the urban centers, active resistance is a little more downplayed in favor of more secretive activities; steamy intrigue, midnight meetings and mysterious packages delivered while dodging Lizard patrols are the order of the day.
Ironically, Europe hasn't changed much from the way the actual war was fought. Occupied countries are hotbeds of underground resistance while-the regular armies battle fiercely to hold back the tide of alien advancement. The Russian front is one of the ugliest places on the planet and the troops who managed to survive there have taken the word "tenacious" to new levels. Meanwhile, the various heads of state struggle to coordinate their attacks, and diplomatic exchanges have become both more intense and far mote dangerous since the Race landed.
As a good shorthand rule, the style of play in the European Theatre should be all but identical to the style of your favorite World War II movie. Replace the Nazis with the Race and throw the Germans in with the good guys (yikes), and you're ready to rock. (Note: check out Dave Dollar's article "Nazis: I Hate These Guys" in SHADIS issue 20.5 for ideas on how to run German characters.)
In America, the idea of an alien invasion hits home the hardest. Spared the wide-scale destruction of WWII, we Yanks have a tough time imagining a foreign power on our soil. In Worldwar, however, things have changed. Now the little green men really have landed and they're invading Hometown, U.S.A. Chicago has been pounded flat, Illinois is a scorched wasteland, and luxuries like hot water and electricity are no longer available in many parts of the country. The infrastructure has taken a beating, and it's not unusual to see horse-drawn carriages as the primary means of transportation.
Characters moving crosscountry will have to avoid Lizard occupiers or enlist the help of passing Army convoys to get where they are going. How Americans deal with such a lifestyle -- and the reactions they have to their formerly secure homes being flattened or occupied by bugeyed monsters from beyond the stars should be central to a home front campaign.
Once the setting is established, creating characters shouldn't be too difficult. Most players should play members of the military (infantry, tank crewman or Pilot, most likely') or hold specialized government posts (spies, etc.). Civilians are possible as well, but even they will have some sort of military bent as well; the war is affecting every man, woman and child on the planet. Civilians will most likely be guerrilla fighters, members of a national resistance group, criminals, smugglers or the like.
A healthy mix of nationalities within a given party is very important; Worldwar is about humanity joining together during its most divisive period, of working with your most hated enemies for the survival of the species. Characters should be a mishmash of former enemies and rivals, and intraparty conflict - to a certain point should be encouraged.
The six most obvious character nationalities are those of the five major powers - America, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and Japan - plus China, the site of one of the Race's pivotal footholds. Characters from Canada, France, Australia, Italy, and various occupied European nations are possible as well, although many of those nations have either been taken out of the fight or are too isolated to do much on a wide scale. Too many characters from these countries could wreck the game's credibility.
Getting a mixed group of characters together is much easier than it may seem. In Europe, the limited land space has thrown everyone together, and heavy Getman/Russian mixtures are present all across the Russian front. Add a British SAS commando or American advisor and you're in business. China has U.S. forces present on its soil (Black Sheep Squadron, anyone?) and the Russians weren't far away either. German and Japanese prisoners of war were often interred in the United States for the duration of the war; with the coming of the Race, those prisoners might be set free and even armed in order to fight the good fight.
No matter where your story is set, a mixed group of nationalities could appear without raising much of an eyebrow. (just be sure things are explained properly in character backgrounds - Cpl. Klink wouldn't show up in downtown St. Louis without some kind of plausible reason).
Another great way to get the players together is to have them captured by the Lizards and subsequently escape (see below). The Race took many captives during their initial raids and threw them together with little regard to ethnicity or nationality. The group could find themselves in a camp on foreign soil, and forced to join together to effect an escape. Once gone, they will have to find their way across occupied territory - with help from natives who may not even speak their language - to eventually reach their own lines. If an ordeal like that doesn't bring a group together, nothing will.
The central theme in Worldwar is that of unity, of former foes joining together against a common threat. A good Worldwar campaign will have this theme underlying almost everything the players do. A certain amount of intraparty conflict should be encouraged, but the players should be made painfully aware that they must set their squabbling aside and concentrate on the business at hand.
A sense of desperation should be present as well. Despite their shortcomings, the Lizards are still formidable foes who now control a large segment of the planet. To defeat them, the players will need to hit them with everything they have, and if they do go down, do so with guns blazing. Emphasize the fact that Earth has very little to lose and that significant risks must be taken if the characters wish to regain their planet.
Finally, the alien presense should be sprinkled liberally throughout the otherwise "normal" WWII game environment. The Lizards' equipment is strange and unearthly, their appearance is almost too odd to seem real, but real they are and their presense on Earth is unquestionable.
Their ships tower above the landscape, their killercraft streak across the skies at will. Any characters coming into close contact with the Race (especially if they are captured and brought to one of their ships) should unnderstand that the invaders really are from a planet beyond the stars. The contrast between their gritty reality of world war and the sci-fi impossibility of the enemy should crop up often enough to remind everyone of the situation (i.e., just when the players seem to be getting used to things.)
Game systems are an eclectic lot, and GMs should feel free to use whichever one they are most comfortable with for their campaign. GURPS is easily adaptable, of course, as is FUDGE. Any "reality"-based system can work well too; GDW's Twilight: 2000, in particular, is excellent for this sort of setting. The character generation system is designed for soldiers of various nationalities, and combat is played fast and effectively. Simply remove the more modem equipment (anything after 1945), and you're set. Hook Line and Sinker
The Package
H: The players are contacted by members of their respective governments and asked to rendezvous at a meeting place here in Lizard-held territory.
L: After a short but harrowing journey, the characters arrive at the rendezvous site. They are greeted by a woman who gives them a large wrapped package. They must get the package to another contact on the far side of the territory.
S: From there, the adventure becomes a dangerous journey through alien- held territory. The players must dodge patrols and killercraft, maneuver through an occuped town and carefullly thread their way through a pitched battle between aliens and Terrans to reach their contact.
The package contains technology stolen from the Lizards and destined for Allied scientists. Once the Lizards realize who has it and where its heading, they will stop at nothing to get it back. Depending on the circumstances, the players may be tempted to use the technology to extricate themselves from a sticky situation. Such an act would bring every Lizard within 200 miles straight down on top of them.
If de Gaulle Could Do It...
H: The characters are operatives working within a Lizard-held country. While working on a particular assignment, they receive a transcript of a local garrison's report to the Fleetlord.
L: The garrison is holding an important leader of the occupied government (exactly who this is is up to the GM) and is planning to transfer him to a more secure location (i.e. one of the ships in orbit). If the characters could rescue him and get him to a free country, the benefits to morale and propaganda would be extraordinary. They have a window of approximately three days before he is moved, and there is no time to check in for orders. They must act quickly if they wish to capitalize on the situation.
S: Needless to say, the garrison is well defended, and located within a veritable fortress a hilltop castle, a secluded monastery, or whatever, depending on the locate). Getting in and out should be an exceedingly difficult task. Once they escape, they'll have to high-tail it to the border with the irate forces of the Race in hot pursuit. Luckily, the Lizards have a hard time telling "Big Uglies" apart, and it shouldn't be overly difficult to disguise the leader once he is freed. This will make the journey considerably easier. If the GM feels charitable, the local resistance cell can tend a hand, providing a diversion, layouts of the garrison, or whatever.
"Zer Vill Be No Escapes From Zis Cemp!"
H: The players have all been captured by the Race in one incident or another' After an unpleasant journey to an orbital ship and a fun-filled interrogation/ experimentation session, they are returned to Earth and placed in a P.O.W. camp somewhere in occupied territory. Once there, they meet each other and begin planning an escape (players hate being taken prisoner, and an escape attempt is only a matter of time).
L: During their plans, an independent escape attempt is discovered by the Lizards, and the perpetrators are executed. The camp commander warns the remaining prisoners against future escapes.
S: The players, being the cocky bastards that they are, ignore the warning. They put their plan into action and surprise! It works. Once free, they must make their way through occupied territory to reach a friendly power. Knowing that capture and return to the camp would mean a death sentence, the players should be extra motivated to stick together and get away clean.
A nasty twist to this scenario is to have the players reach Terran held space, only to learn that the local army commander isn't going along with the "unity of mankind" plan. He tries to have any of his former enemies in the party (Russians or British if he's German, Germans or Japanese if he's American, etc.) killed, and orders any "friendly" characters to help him. Will the players turn their backs on the comrades who helped them get this far?' (If they do, you may want to check them for a pulse). In any case, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire for some or all of the characters, and the players may end up on the run from the very forces they tried so hard to reach...
This HLS is a good way to open a campaign, and obviously can have an endless number of permutations.
Conclusion
Alien invasions are relatively untouched territory for role-playing games, and their cliched status may be cause for some concern. But with help from Harry Turtledove (I can't emphasize enough how cool his books are; read them!) and a little imagination, there is plenty there for resourceful gainers to exploit. Once the campaign is rolling, you'll be surprised at how enjoyable it can become. So check your weapons, tighten your belt, and keep watching the skies. The Lizards have arrived, and they're ready to put the entire planet under their ruling thumb. Pray that we can find a way to stop them...
More Space Iguanas Uber Alles Role-playing in Harry Turtledove's WorldWar
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