Monday, January 2, 2017

Rivals In The Sky: The Black Cross

Brazen criminal acts by the Condor and other Free Skies operators have the Imperial Powers in an uproar.  Europa is caught in a delicate balancing act of treaties and ententes, any attempt to pursue the thieves across the border could be construed as an act of war.  Aero-Admirals across the continent are eager to escalate rising tensions and prove their mettle.  They pitch curtailing the Free Skies as a side effect. Reasoning that if the skies are fully militarized then the windbourne lowlifes would have nowhere to flee.
[Campaign Aspect: Roll the Iron Dice]

 The thought of total war terrifies all who can conceive it's sheer enormity. Prussian Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck has dedicated his life to entangling the Imperial Powers in a web of treaties few can properly perceive. Actions that are quietly approved by the Prussian government, as their nation is encircled by foes. Prince Rupert Hapsburg V of the Prussian Allianz has sidestepped the bureaucracy, vainglorious fool he is. Joining the Black Cross, a modern mercenary company claiming descent from the Teutonic Knights.  Staffed with a core of veterans form the Franco-Prussian Conflict and funded by similar noble whelps.  The Black Cross has escalated their prescence in the wind with a host of zeppelins, assault boats, mobile airfields.  They're known for their professionalism and rigid discipline, though it leaves their responses unsurprising.
[Faction Core Aspect: War is Our Trade, Flaw: Rigid and Predictable]

Adventure!: The Black Cross' iceberg fortress, Der Glatscher, rests above the Arctic Circle housing outlaws and other prisoners, released upon receipt of ransom or bounty.  Though you could turn a profit flipping the imprisoned flesh to loved ones and comrade, you'd be as foul them and the Imperial Powers that fund them.  Instead your aim is Der Glatscher's mysterious power source, rumors swarm around the device but you'll be able to put them to bed and tear the proverbial heart from the hated Black Cross.


Next week: Buccaneers of the Free Skies!