Frost Bite

1474 words

Kolyma, Siberia, Winter of 1949. A handful of gulag inmates dig up a frozen monster. They devour it, and are transformed. Immune to cold, these “horned men” live a parasitic, predatory existence in the frozen forest.

SV8 BRIEFING

The one legged, walleyed, cheerful Colonel Merab Yakov briefs the Operatives (pregens at the end) thusly:

A half eaten body was found at ITL 336 gulag, in the Kolyma Mountains of Siberia. Witnesses described a “giant man” fleeing the scene. Officials wrote it off as a bear attack. Dentition on the wounds was closer to human than animal.

Determine if a supernatural threat is present. If so, liquidate it.

THE CAMPS

Ispravitelno-trudovykh (ITL) 336 is a gulag in the Kolyma Mountains, opened in 1948. Their job is to build a highway through a valley - cutting trees, breaking rocks and moving earth.

There are about 600 men and 400 women, divided into a men’s camp and adjacent women’s camp, plus a tenth as many guards and staff. The work is brutal, the food inadequate. 5% of prisoners die annually - of malnutrition, disease, cold, beatings, shootings and fights.

The camp has barracks, housing for guards, infirmaries, showers, mechanical and administrative buildings, radio transmitters, guard towers, and wire fences. Guards are not concerned with stopping escapes. Anyone who tries to run freezes.

THE TERRAIN

ITL 336 sits at the South end of a valley, through which prisoners are slowly clearing a road. The terrain is boreal forest covered in heavy snow, impassible to wheeled vehicles. Beyond the forest, mountains. There’s a storm brewing over the woods to the East.

The region is uninhabited by native peoples.

Use the Cold rules on pg 63 of the Agent’s Handbook for the weather.

ARRIVAL

The Operatives fly by lend lease C47 to Magadan, then board a ZIS truck and drive 150 miles over frozen dirt roads to the camps.

Camp Director Sudayev invites Operatives into his office. He’s unhappy with his job and fears trouble, but pretends he’s eager to help. Technically, the camp is MVD run and not answerable to the GRU. But in the Soviet system, threats and bribes from connected officials have cross-jurisdictional power.

THE INMATES

“Zeks” in camp argot. Political prisoners, criminals, and soldiers/civilians returned from the war against fascism. Career criminals rule the inmate hierarchy, with the petty criminals and politicals below them, and those who collaborate with authorities at the bottom.

Zeks are thin and sickly, obedient but taciturn. Politicals open up to fellow intellectuals, criminals can be persuaded by rogues in disguise. Women prisoners are reluctant to speak to male Operatives. A doctor could offer medical treatment, a bureaucrat a reduced sentence.

SV8 Operatives are not devout Stalinists. Seeing beatings, starvation, sexual exploitation of female (or male) prisoners, etc costs SAN from Helplessness.

THE BODY

The body was found in the men’s camp, near the fence, at night. The guard Maxim saw a “big man” crouched over the corpse, who ran out a hole in the wire when he shone his flashlight.

Surly camp physician Dr Ludmila shows Operatives the corpse. Cause of death: exsanguination, throat torn open. The bite matches human dentition but the teeth were sharper. It doesn’t match “necrophagist” dentition. The killer tore off chunks to eat.

Ludmilla mentions the dead man had a sack of tea and sugar in one hand, a knife in the other. Both stolen before the Operatives arrived.

CLUES

Operatives who investigate leads find an associated NPC, who gives clues if properly handled.

The dead man was petty thief Boris. He heard there were men who traded things for sugar and tea by the fence at night.

Examination of camp records with Accounting or Bureaucracy uncovers irregularities. Nine male zeks from a construction crew disappeared a month ago. There were also disappearances after that group went missing - prisoners cutting timber in the woods. Similarly covered up. If Operatives don’t notice, the zek Burya working the office can tell them - in exchange for protection from the boss.

Two guards on the roster are “ sick”. The administrator says they’re in sickbay in another camp. Truth is, they went into the woods to hunt the “forest man” who took their favorite girls from the women’s camp. The guard Miroslav will tell you where, for money.

The spot where the beast was dug up is at the highway construction site in the valley. The nine zeks ate it, and deposited the bones in a nearby crevasse. They have ice crystals on them and are abnormally cold. They came from a six legged, horned bear.

A biologist or survivalist knows large predators have large ranges. Whatever ate the dead man, the camp is inside the territory it hunts. And that’s assuming there’s only one.

There’s a samovar missing from the men’s camp storehouse. Criminal boss Gennady stole it, and traded it to a “big fellow” from the woods in exchange for meat. He survived because he didn’t draw his knife. He knows where and when to meet the Horned Men.

There have been disappearances in the women’s camp (similarly covered up), but no corpses. Polina the actress says “horned men” appear outside the fence at night with gifts of meat and fur, promising to take women to a place they’ll never be hungry or cold. Some girls take the offer.

The storm hangs over the forest a few miles away. A meteorologist could pinpoint the center, which doesn’t obey normal weather patterns. Zek Raskolnikov the weatherman can help, in exchange for a commuted sentence.

The thermal sight is useless for tracking Horned Men, unless recalibrated by an electrician to detect cold spots rather than hot spots. Franz the German POW can help, but wants to go home.

THE HORNED MEN

The Horned Men are nine zeks who ate a beast they found in the ice, and were transformed. They are huge, and have fangs, claws, and a single horn on their foreheads. They are immune to cold, their bodies actively chill the world around them.

They are not obligate cannibals like ghouls. They kill men when hungry or scared, but are happy hunting moose and deer. They are not scared of women, unless they shoot first.

Their leader is Dolgun, a Ukrainian peasant. An experienced woodsman, Dolgun likes being a bear-person. The others respect his strength, cunning, and willingness to share the women.

THE GROVE

Six miles from the camps, deep in the forest, is the grove where the Horned Men camp. It’s the locus of the winter storm - the Horned Men create a polar vortex wherever they gather. Visibility is a few meters, movement is half speed unless the players have snowshoes or skis, then it’s two thirds.

The Horned Men sleep in beds of fur - for comfort rather than warmth. The bones of prisoners and guards eaten by the horned men are buried in the snow.

In the center of the camp is a samovar - a brass vessel for boiling water. Occasionally the horned men barter black tea and sugar from the camps. It reminds them of home.

The Horned Men bribed thirteen women to leave the ladies‘ camp. They are normal humans and live in a zemlyanka - an insulated timber and earth dugout in the grove. They skin animals the men bring, sew clothing, and cook meals from meat, bark and roots. They’re warm, well fed, and nobody beats them. Paradise, compared to the camp. The Horned Men aren’t allowed inside. Except for sex, which happens in a curtained alcove. Their self appointed leader is former gangster’s moll Doris. She is jealous of beautiful opera singer Katya, who brought pneumonia with her from the camp.

The dugout’s stubby chimneys are visible from the surface, venting steam. They glow bright on the thermal sight at 100 meters or less.

SOLUTIONS

The Horned Men can be hunted and killed in a gunfight, but it’s tough. The storm lets them set ambushes and then disappear. They’re easier to pin down if Operatives find the grove. They’ll stand and die to protect their “wives”.

Guards can be requisitioned from the camp to aid with the fight. They are incompetent cowards and only useful as bait.

Talented bureaucrats can draw a platoon of Red Army soldiers from Magadan. With flamethrowers and machine guns, these veterans can wipe out the Horned Men if the grove is pinpointed.

Killing a Horned Man costs 0/D6 SAN from Violence, or 0/D4 if they attack first. Killing their wives costs 1/D10, +1 per victim.

If Operatives - especially women - approach without brandishing guns, diplomacy is possible. The Horned Men can be persuaded to move into the deep mountains with their wives and stop eating people. A gift of tea and sugar, or medicine for Katya, would seal the deal. For decades after, the shtormovaya dolina is avoided by mountaineers for its neverending blizzards and “cannibal tribesmen”.

WEAPONS

The Operatives’ baggage includes equipment for use against “necrophagists” - humans transformed into beasts by cannibalism. SV8 likes to be prepared.

• Two ROKS Flamethrowers (Heavy Weapons Skill, 10% Lethality)
• Twelve F1 Grenades (Athletics Skill, 15% Lethality)
• Five Explosive Charges (15% Lethality, Demolitions skill 40% or higher can bundle two charges to create a 30% Lethality bomb)
• A crude thermal gunsight based on a German ZG 1229 Vampir, with heavy batteries
• A high powered backpack radio, with heavy batteries

Operatives can also draw guns from the camp armory.

• SKS carbines (D12, 3 AP)
• Old M44 carbines (D12+2, 5 AP, bolt action penalty)
• Double barreled “Baikal” hunting shotguns (2D10, +20% to hit, buckshot special rules)

STAT BLOCKS

GULAG GUARD - The MVD’s Less-Than-Finest
STR 10, CON 10, DEX 10, INT 10, POW 10, CHA 10
HP 10, WP 10, SAN 50
SKILLS: Alertness 40%, Athletics 40%, Navigate 40%, Survival 40%
ATTACKS: SKS Carbine (40%, D12, 3 AP)
Truncheon or Rifle Butt (40%, D6)

HORNED MAN - Mutated Prisoners
STR 13, CON 16, DEX 12, INT 10, POW 10, CHA 10
HP 15, WP 10, SAN 40, Alien Behavior Disorder
SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Dodge 60%, Navigate 60%, Survival 60%, Stealth 60%
ARMOR: See GENERAL WINTER
ATTACKS: Fists, Feet and Horn (60%, D6)
A Couple Stolen SKS Carbines (40%, D12, 3 AP)
ARTIC VORTEX: Horned Men generate a vortex of cold around themselves. Anyone within ten meters has their DEX temporarily halved, and takes 1 damage per round - or 2 if not wearing cold weather clothes. The snowstorm erases footprints and is easy to get lost in.
FROST BITES: Horned Men can move freely through snow, and use their own vortex of cold to hide their movements. They can attack from Stealth and potentially deal double damage, disappear into the blizzard, then do the same thing again.
GENERAL WINTER: Horned Men are not harmed by the cold. They take double damage from fire.
ALIEN BEHAVIOR DISORDER: Horned Men are ruled by strange urges. They can converse with normal humans, but a man who looks threatening (IE brandishing a weapon) provokes a SAN test to avoid attacking and eating him.
SAN LOSS: 0/D4

RED ARMY SOLDIER - Great Patriotic War Veteran
STR 11, CON 11, DEX 11, INT 10, POW 10, CHA 10
HP 11, WP 10, SAN 50
SKILLS: **Alertness 40%, Athletics 40%, Demolitions 40%, Heavy Weapons 40%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 40%, Survival 40%
ATTACKS:** SKS Carbine (40%, D12, 3 AP)
DP28 Machine Gun (40%, 15% Lethality, 5 AP)
PPSH (40%, D10 or 10% Lethality)
F1 Grenade (60%, 15% Lethality)
ROKS Flamethrower (40%, 10% Lethality)

ZEK - Gulag Inmates
STR 9, CON 9, DEX 9, INT 10, POW 10, CHA 10
HP 9, WP 10, SAN 45
SKILLS: Alertness 50%, Criminology 50%, HUMINT 50%, Survival 50%
ATTACKS: Makeshift Knife (50%, D4, 3 AP)
If you need to generate a zek, roll 2D6 on the table for what they were charged with. Adjust one column left for female inmates.

2D6	1 or less	2	3	4	5	6
-	Political		Criminal		Military
1	"Wrecking"		Organized Crime		Desertion
2	Anti Soviet Behavior		Theft		Cowardice
3	Treason		Assault or Murder		Captured by Germans
4	Foreign National		Fraud or Embezzlement		Fought for Germans
5	Disfavored Ethnic Minority		Black Marketeering (buying or selling)		Worked for Germans (civilian slave laborer)
6	Spouse of Enemy of People		Sexual crime (rape, homosexuality or prostitution)		German or Japanese POW kept after war

THE PREGENS

SGT DRAGOMIROV - The Soldier
Belarusian Male, Age 29
STR 12 CON 12 DEX 14 INT 12 POW 12 CHA 10
HP 12 WP 12 SAN 55 BREAKING POINT 48
BONDS:
Brothers in the Forest 9
Elderly Parents 7
Hastily Married Wife 5
Choose an SV8 Operative 5
MOTIVATIONS AND DISORDERS:
Uphold the Soviet way of life
Stand up to bullies
Don’t get taken advantage of
SKILLS: Accounting 10%, Alertness 50%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 30%, Criminology 10%, Demolitions 40%, Disguise 10%, Dodge 30%, Drive 40%, Firearms 60%, First Aid 40%, Foreign Language (German) 40%, Heavy Machinery 10%, Heavy Weapons 60%, History 10%, HUMINT 10%, Melee Weapons 30%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 40%, Occult 50%, Persuade 30%, Psychotherapy 10%, Ride 10%, Science (Meteorology) 40%, Search 20%, Stealth 10%, Survival 50%, Swim 20%, Unarmed Combat 50%.
ARMOR: 1 Point of Helmet
ATTACKS: PPSH 41 (60%, D10 or 10% Lethality)
C96 in 9mm Parabellum (60%, D10)
Unarmed Combat (50%, D4-1)
BACKGROUND: You were in the Red Army in ‘41. You survived Barbarossa through sheer luck, finding refuge in the endless forests of Belarus and joining the partisans. You fought behind fascist lines for four grueling years. The NKVD rewarded you with a trip to a filtration camp. SV8 took an interest in your stories about a meeting between the SS and a “woman of the woods” that you and the boys broke up. So they pulled you out, handed you a promotion, and gave you your job back - destroying threats to the Motherland. You look younger than your age and take joy in simple things you missed in the forests. You have a feeling Yakov sent you on this mission to get you out of the way for a couple weeks.
EQUIPMENT:
SV8 Badge
One Time Pad
Map and Compass
Arctic Clothing
Bad weather gear (flares, crampons, gasoline handwarmer etc)
Snow shoes
Flashlight and spare batteries
A day’s food
Multitool
First Aid Kit (+20% to First Aid tests)

DR SAMOYLOVA - The Physician
Russian Female, Age 33
STR 12 CON 14 DEX 11 INT 12 POW 11 CHA 12
HP 13 WP 11 SAN 53 BREAKING POINT 44
BONDS:
Survivors From Hospital in Piter 12
Sister 8
Orthodox Church 7
Daughter Fathered by a Now Dead Soldier 9
MOTIVATIONS AND DISORDERS:
Save people
Be the good person everyone insists you are
Prove you have the stomach for this job
SKILLS: Accounting 10%, Alertness 20%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 50%, Criminology 10%, Disguise 10%, Dodge 30%, Drive 20%, Firearms 40%, First Aid 60%, Forensics 50%, Heavy Machinery 10%, History 10%, HUMINT 10%, Medicine 60%, Melee Weapons 30%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 10%, Occult 50%, Persuade 60%, Pharmacy 50%, Psychotherapy 60%, Ride 10%, Science (Biology) 60%, Search 60%, Stealth 10%, Survival 10%, Swim 20%, Unarmed Combat 40%
ATTACKS: 1895 Nagant (40%, D8)

• Unarmed Combat (40%, D4-1 or disarm or pin)

BACKGROUND: You were a physician during the siege of Leningrad. You never starved, but you saw plenty of hunger. And cannibalism. And the necrophagists who crept into your morgue at night to snack on the multitudes of fresh corpses. Or the live ones. SV8 burned out the infestation. And they liked the way you handled it - though you couldn’t bring yourself to actually kill any of the dog faced people. Men love your smile and your body, women find you nonthreatening. You feel guilty about being so well fed. You have a feeling Yakov sent you on this mission to get you out of the way for a couple weeks. You aren’t happy about it. You don’t want to be around starving people again.
EQUIPMENT:
SV8 Badge
One Time Pad
Map and Compass
Arctic Clothing
Bad weather gear (flares, crampons, gasoline handwarmer etc)
Snow shoes
Flashlight and spare batteries
A day’s food
Multitool
First Aid Kit (+20% to First Aid tests)
Medical and forensic analysis tools

LT GOLOVIN - The Officer
Ukrainian Male, Age 35
STR 12 CON 12 DEX 12 INT 11 POW 12 CHA 13
HP 12 WP 12 SAN 47 BREAKING POINT 36
BONDS:
Family in Moscow 8
Illicit Family in East Berlin 10
Mistress in West Berlin 11
MOTIVATIONS AND DISORDERS:
Impress others with your acumen
Be loved
Disorder: Depression
SKILLS: Accounting 10%, Alertness 50%, Athletics 30%, Bureaucracy 40%, Craft (Electronics) 40%, Criminology 50%, Disguise 50%, Dodge 30%, Drive 40%, Firearms 50%, First Aid 10%, Foreign Language (English 50% German 40%), Heavy Machinery 10%, Heavy Weapons 50%, History 10%, HUMINT 60%, Melee Weapons 30%, Military Science (Land) 60%, Navigate 10%, Occult 30%, Persuade Persuade 60%, Psychotherapy 10%, Ride 10%, Search 20%, SIGINT 40%, Stealth 50%, Survival 10%, Swim 20%, Unarmed Combat 50%, Unnatural 10%.
ATTACKS: PPS 43 (50%, D10 or 10% Lethality)
TT33 (50%, D10)
Unarmed Combat (50%, D4-1 or disarm or pin)
BACKGROUND: You were yanked out of Berlin for this mission, where you’d worked for the last four years, keeping tabs on the Americans and their leftover Nazi lapdogs. Frankly, you’re a little upset. You sweated, bled and cried for the Motherland, and now you’re being sent to Siberia - even for just one mission. Not to mention all the poor frauleins who will miss you - and your ability to ply them with black market goods. You’re handsome, used to the good life, but not afraid to get your hands dirty. You have a feeling Yakov sent you on this mission to get you out of the way for a couple weeks. Maybe the ladies at the women’s camp will show you the appreciation he doesn’t.
EQUIPMENT:
SV8 Badge
One Time Pad
Map and Compass
Arctic Clothing
Bad weather gear (flares, crampons, gasoline handwarmer etc)
Snow shoes
Flashlight and spare batteries
A day’s food
Multitool
First Aid Kit (+20% to First Aid tests)
Disguise Kit
Vodka, cigarettes, candy and money for trading

VARVARA - The Lowlife
Russian Female, Age 29
STR 13 CON 13 DEX 13 INT 11 POW 8 CHA 8
HP 13 WP 8 SAN 44 BREAKING POINT 33
BONDS:
Surviving Comrades in GRU Wetworks 7
Son, in the Young Pioneers 5
Choose an SV8 Operative 8
Husband 0
MOTIVATIONS AND DISORDERS:
Live dangerously and avoid the consequences
Save a little on the side for yourself
Addiction: Tobacco
Adapted to Helplessness and Violence
SKILLS: Accounting 10%, Alertness 50%, Art (Forgery) 40%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 10%, Criminology 60%, Disguise 50%, Dodge 40%, Drive 50%, Firearms 60%, First Aid 10%, Heavy Machinery 10%, History 10%, HUMINT 50%, Law 40%, Melee Weapons 40%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 50%, Occult 40%, Persuade 50%, Psychotherapy 10%, Ride 10%, Search 20%, SIGINT 40%, Stealth 50%, Survival 50%, Swim 20%, Unarmed Combat 50%
SPECIAL TRAINING: Lockpick (DEX*5)
ATTACKS: Hi Power (60%, D10)
Big Knife (40%, D6+1, 3 AP)
BACKGROUND: During the Great Patriotic War, SV8 got you out of a gulag, and kept you from going back in after the war ended. In exchange, you used your criminal talents to serve the Motherland, spying and killing behind the scenes to keep Russia safe from supernatural horrors. You like the danger and the violence. You like your fellow Operatives. You really like not being in a gulag. You look older than you really are, but you can still turn a man’s head if you put in the work. You laugh easily at the darkest of jokes. You have a feeling Yakov sent you on this mission to get you out of the way for a couple weeks.
EQUIPMENT:
SV8 Badge
One Time Pad
Map and Compass
Arctic Clothing
Bad weather gear (flares, crampons, gasoline handwarmer etc)
Snow shoes
Flashlight and spare batteries
A day’s food
Multitool
First Aid Kit (+20% to First Aid tests)
Disguise Kit
Vodka, candy and money for trading
Two cartons of cigarettes

CPT BERZIN - The Apparatchik
Russian Male, Age 40
STR 12 CON 12 DEX 11 INT 13 POW 11 CHA 13
HP 12 WP 11 SAN 53 BREAKING POINT 44
BONDS:
Friend in the Stavka 11
Friend in the Politburo 11
Friend in the Criminal Underground 9
Opera Group 10
MOTIVATIONS AND DISORDERS:
Amass power without attracting attention
Learn secrets without seeming dangerous
Don’t get caught
SKILLS: Accounting 60%, Alertness 20%, Athletics 30%, Bureaucracy 60%, Craft (Electronics) 30%, Criminology 30%, Disguise 10%, Dodge 30%, Drive 20%, Firearms 40%, First Aid 10%, Foreign Language (Chinese) 50%, Heavy Machinery 10%, History 40%, HUMINT 70%, Law 60%, Melee Weapons 30%, Military Science (Land) 50%, Navigate 50%, Occult 10%, Persuade 70%, Psychotherapy 10%, Ride 10%, Search 20%, Stealth 10%, Survival 10%, Swim 20%, Unarmed Combat 40%.
ATTACKS: 1895 Nagant (40%, D8)
Unarmed Combat (40%, D4-1 or disarm or pin)
BACKGROUND: You’re a card carrying Party member. You wormed your way into GRU SV8 because it looked like a nice unobtrusive posting that never seemed to get purged. All the stuff about demons and aliens turned out to be an interesting bonus. You’ll never be at the top of the nomenklatura - which means you’ll never be in anyone’s sights. You’ve got an obscure bureaucratic cubby from which you wield serious power. Exactly how you like it. You have a pleasant but forgettable face, and usually speak softly. You can attract attention and put steel in your voice, if you have to. You have a feeling Yakov sent you on this mission to get you out of the way for a couple weeks. You suspect he’s doing something dangerous, and doesn’t want you to get caught in the fallout. It’s nice to have friends.
EQUIPMENT:
SV8 Badge
One Time Pad
Map and Compass
Arctic Clothing
Bad weather gear (flares, crampons, gasoline handwarmer etc)
Snow shoes
Flashlight and spare batteries
A day’s food
Multitool
First Aid Kit (+20% to First Aid tests)
Brandy, cigars, caviar and money for trading

Credits

This was an entry to the 2020 shotgun scenario contest. Written by mellonbread