Their Finest Hour- New Privileges

Adventuring in World War II opens new niches in society, and pulls military rank into greater importance. To reflect the new chaotic status quo, here are some new Privileges.

Black Market Connection (any, 2/6)

Some people will do anything to get their hands on some of the luxuries they took for granted before rationing. Luckily, you can get your hands on rationed material that “fell off a lorry”, such as butter, toilet paper, or cigarettes. 

For 2 points, you are a trusted customer of the black market and know who to talk to about getting your hands on all the comforts of better days without any fuss. For 6 points you are the black market racketeer and always have something valuable and illegal near at hand.

Civil Defense (any, 2)

You may be a civilian, but you can still protect your country. As a trained volunteer or part-time employee of a civil defense organization, you hold a position of responsibility and some authority in your community. You may not be able to arrest anyone, but when the bombs fall, people look to you for leadership and safety. Civil defense organizations include the Royal Observer Corps, Air Raid Precautions, the Home Guard, and the Auxiliary Fire Service.

Military Commissioned Officer- (upper/ middle, 4/5)

You survived training from a military academy or rose through the enlisted ranks step by step into the prestigious category of “officer”. Officers sit at the top of the military chain of command and rank has its privileges. No more manual labor and no more bunkhouses.

For 4 points, you serve as a Flying Officer in the Royal Airforce, a Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, or a Lieutenant in the British Army. For 5 points, you are a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Airforce, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, or a Captain in the British Army.

Military- Noncommissioned Officer- (middle/lower, 2/3)

As a noncommissioned officer, you loom over privates (British Army), seaman (Royal navy) or aircraftman (RAF) and make sure they don’t trip over their boots while training or protecting their country. Whatever fool plan the Brass cooks up, you ensure the enlisted men follow it through in the field and safely return your squad back to base. 

For 2 points, you’ve reached the rank of Corporal in the Royal Air force or British Army or Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy. Despite your rank, you live and eat with the enlisted men. For 3 points, you reach the more senior rank of Sergeant in the Royal Air Force or British Army, or Petty Officer in the Royal Navy with your own mess and quarters.

Military- Enlisted Personnel- (any, 0)

Congratulations! You sit at the bottom-most rung of the military rank ladder. You have no one to order around, and take orders from everyone. In exchange for service to your country, you eat 3 square meals, sleep in a barracks, wear a snappy uniform, and earn decent pay. Although you may rise to the level of an NCO one day, you start as an Aircraftman in the Royal Airforce, a seaman in the Royal Navy, or a private in the British Army

Works for the Government- (upper/middle, 4)

You work in one of the many secret corners of Mr. Churchhill’s war-time government. Whether you develop new methods of waging war, crack German cryptographic codes, or perform covert missions abroad, you cannot tell anyone about your work. Not only does your job give you access to some very important people, but your superiors may extend their resources to you if it suits their mission or maintains secrecy.

Their Finest Hour- New Talents for a New World

The modern world of 1940 and the changing face of war bring all sorts of new challenges and dangers, so here’s a handful of new talents to push the capabilities of a Victoriana character a little further up the timeline.

Ace Pilot- You took to flying like a duck takes to water, much to the dismay of enemy aircraft. Your first five confirmed kills in aerial combat qualify you to the elite club of Flying Aces. In a Dogfight, your damage pools for aircraft armaments gain +2 dice.

Boffin- While some rely on bullets, you rely on brains. No matter what the uneducated rabble say behind your back, your book-smarts and ability with a spanner solve problems before they arise. You gain +2 dice to your Electronics, Ad-hoc Repair, and Demolition dice pools.

Flying Blind- Where others squint and fumble through the sky with white knuckles, you soar. You trained in advanced techniques for piloting aircraft in limited visibility. Your Aviation, Motoring, and other vehicular tests always subtract 3 black dice from their pools for fog, darkness, smoke, or other sight-based penalties.

               

Lead Foot- You can make your automobile do everything but talk. Because of your expertise behind the wheel, all of your dice pools for operating an automobile add 2 bonus dice. This includes such diverse uses as chase pools, dodging attempts to run you off the road, and using your vehicle as a battering ram.

Paratrooper- With proper training from the SOE, a supportive circus family, or a lifetime of crashing down unexplored mountains, you know how to take a fall and get back up. When you suffer damage from a fall (including when landing with a parachute) you always have an Armor Value of 2 in addition to any other Armor Values from gear, magic, or actual armor. 

Seadog- Whether you haul nets on a fishing boat, labor in the dry docks at Portsmouth, or man a gun on a Royal Navy Battleship, the sea is your bread and butter. Your experience gives you +2 dice to any test involving ships, boats, or nautical lore. This is most obviously useful in Pilot (Boating) tests, but it may also apply to other skills such as Navigation, Ad-hoc Repair, or Streetwise at the Gamemaster’s discretion.

Wireless Wiz- You fathom all the mysteries of radio waves. Armed with technique and knowledge you perform all sorts of amazing feats with a wireless set (or radio to the Americans), such as spot other nearby wireless sets with telemetry, exchange coded messages, use radiolocation to detect far off objects, and even listen to the BBC! With this talent, you can utilize a wireless set to gain +3 dice to Navigation, Electronics, or Perception skill pools.

 If you take this talent a second time, you gain +3 dice to skill pools when attempting to repair a wireless set. Additionally, if you pass an Ad-Hock Repair or Electronics test with 6 black dice, you can construct a crude short-range wireless set in 2 hours using only what you have on hand (at the Gamemaster’s discretion).

Virtuoso- You not only make music, you make art! Your years of practice, innate talent, or a Faustian deal give you musical ability across a wide range of instruments and styles. You gain +2 dice to any skill pools for producing music (such as singing, conducting, or playing an instrument).

Their Finest Hour- Subraces At War

When I reviewed the first series of posts I wrote for Their Finest Hour, I found lots of bits and pieces worth including and expanding for the Blitz Spirit. My favorite piece was a post spit-balling how the Victoriana subspecies fit in the setting of the Battle of Britain. I really hope you liked that post too because I adapted it for the Blitz Sprit and tripled its length!

Here are some of the fresh ideas:

Beastfolk

The specialized adaptations present in beastfolk anatomy give each member of the subspecies different routes to serve in civil defense. Beastfolk suited to tunneling thrive in demolitions, construction, and rescue. Night vision benefits members of the Royal Observer Corps and the fire watch. The RAF always needs more meteorologists with an innate sensitivity to upcoming weather conditions. The fleet of vital fishing, rescue, and patrol boats in the Channel welcome any beastfolk able to swim long distances and survive for minutes below the water’s surface.

Dwarves

Something clicks into (or out of) place in the minds of dwarves repeatedly spending nights in air-raid shelters. The cozy subterranean world welcomes them. This effect mostly wears off before morning, but a small percentage refuses to come back up. If bodily forced to the surface, they wander deep into the underground and never return home.

Eldren

The exiled royal families of Europe sought sanctuary in Britain and found it in the eager arms of English society, particularly among the nouveau riche. They glamorized the Eldren refugees among them as dashing and tragic romantic figures and competed over them for houseguests and marriages. Any Eldren with an exotic accent finds themselves the toast of London for a day or two.

Gnomes

Because of their frail frames and weak constitutions, very few gnomes meet the requirements for military service. The families of the few gnomes found suitable to enlist boast of their loved one’s achievement. Still eager to aid their country, gnomes use their natural nocturnal natures to help in the observer corps, the ARP, the Home guard, and volunteer fire stations. While not the most rugged and athletic of subspecies, gnomes don’t have any trouble staying alert and awake during long stretches of night duty.

Halfling

A halfling’s gregarious disposition and low social class makes them a perfect symbolic “man in the street”. The Ministry of Information devised a series of propaganda posters with this in mind featuring a halfling character named “Bingo” to demonstrate the way citizens should behave in a crisis. While many resent being made into a slogan, other halflings choose to embody the cheery spirit and do what they can to elevate the morale of their neighborhood.

Ogres

Everyone makes do with less during rationing. Unfortunately, ogres make do with more less than others. The caloric intake required by an ogre’s 8 ft frame exceeded the earliest ration books by a factor of three. The Ministry of Food quickly caught their mistake and promptly produced ration books specifically for ogres. Still, many grumble about ogres taking more than their fair share especially in line at the butcher’s shop.  Some rumors maliciously speculate barbaric ogres abducted a few of the children “evacuated to the country” to supplement their rations. 

Orcs

Even as the city streets fall into the deep dark of the Black Out, orcs carry on in their work as night watchmen, policemen, and ambulance drivers. Their perfect night vision allows them to safely navigate the city streets even on moonless nights. Many night owls who would have shunned the presence of an orc before the war feel a small twinge of comfort as they climb into a bus at the sight of one behind the wheel.

Next week’s post, we’ll look at some new character options for a 1940s adventurer.

Their Finest Hour-The Blitz Spirit

Our next series of posts descends from the war in the skies to the struggle for survival on the ground. While almost all of the character options of the Victoriana 3^rd edition rulebook still suit player characters adventuring 90 years later with minor adjustment, the modern world of Their Finest Hour requires some new material. The next few posts explore the new Talents, Privileges, Assets, Associations, and Complications needed to bring the Battle of Britain to the Victoriana world and give your characters the Blitz Spirit.

By the end of this series, I’ll compile all these new options and more into an illustrated PDF on this blog’s resources page. Here’s a preview of the illustrations gracing the pages of the Blitz Spirit.

Dogfights- Now Available for Download

We’re starting off the year with a bang (or rather a daka-daka-daka) with the release of the Dogfighting rules for Their Finest Hour. This PDF contains everything needed for the aerial combats between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. It’s my most game mechanic focused writing yet, with 13 pages of maneuvers, aircraft stats, armaments, monsters, situational rules, and scale silhouette charts.
As with all my PDF’s, I’d love to hear any corrections, quibbles, or playtest feedback you might have.

Dogfights is available for free on this Blog’s Resources page or right here.