“You glimpsed Hades, Moore.
You saw the place of eternal torture and damnation. And yet you are a fool to
think it was a nightmare, to think you are safe, because the things you fail to
understand cannot reach you. But I tell you, they can!.”
Robert
McCammon’s 3rd published novel back in 1980, The
Night Boat had a very interesting premise – Nazi zombie
submariners freed from 50+ years at the bottom of the ocean, the result of a
voodoo curse which kept them between life and death, but still decaying and
thirsting for both revenge and flesh. While not the greatest horror novel (and
certainly not my favorite McCammon book…that write-up is for a later date), I
found that The
Night Boat offered
something different and memorable. The zombies weren’t the traditional or
typical undead, but a mixture of ghoul, spirit, and malicious tangible hate.
U-198
and crew
U-198:
U-198 is a German u-boat of the German VIIC, armored and able to withstand pressure and
depth as well as armored with both torpedoes, an 8.8 cm cannon, a 28mm fixed
cannon, and 2 C30 20mm cannons. Due to the damage and corrosion of being on the
bottom of the ocean, the cannons are initially inoperable, but when capable are
able to shell from ten areas away hitting two square areas for Am (50) damage.
The light cannons and the fixed gun do from Rm (30) to In (40) damage, halving
effective armor protection.
U-198 is
initially unable to utilize its external weaponry, but its twin torpedo tubes
are functional when unsealed.
The U-198
has the following stats:
Control: Gd
(10)/ Pr (04)
Speed: Gd
(10)/Pr (04)
Body: Rm
(30)
U-198 is
considered to be externally damaged when encountered initially, hence the
secondary stats. Once access to materials for repair, it can be repaired within
24 – 72 hours by trained mechanics (as seen in the book).
The Crew of
U-Boat 198
F: Gd (10)
A: Gd (10)
S: Ex (20)
E: Ex (20)
R: Typ (06)
I: Typ (06)
P: Typ (06)
Health: 60
Karma: 18
Resources: Fe
(02)
Popularity: -10* (See Limitations)
Talents:
The crew of
U-198 have the same skills as they had in life, including:
Military
Navigation
Sailing
Vehicle
Operations and Repair: Submarine
Firearms
As a result
of their curse, the crew are considered to have Mystic Origin*
Powers:
Undead
Due to their
actions during the war, the crew of U-198 were condemned to undeath, trapped in
the bowels of U-198 for over forty+ years, rotting away and growing hateful
towards the living. The crew’s perpetual state and cursed nature grants them
their higher strength and Endurance, while their rotting nature has actually
done very little to slow them down. As effectively cursed zombies, the crew are
immune from poisons, toxins, disease, and normal environmental effects. The
crew does not need to eat or breathe, nor do they require rest. The desire to
eat the flesh of the living is more to do with the hate they possess and the
curse they are under rather than a requirement.
The crew of
U-198 shrug off most normal attacks below Gd (10), except for direct head-shots
and fire, which can destroy them. Due to
their putrid nature, the Crew of U-198 are easily detected by smell, giving
them a -1cs to all stealth checks. Finally, the Crew of U-198 are immune from
effects which control or curse undead, as they are held in check only by their
captain. The crew of U-198 only pause when their captain orders them to, and
seemingly only listen to him.
Horrifying
Appearance
Due to their
rotting appearance, whenever a person first encounters the crew of U-198, they
must make a Psyche FEAT vs Ex (20) intensity and require a yellow success or
higher. Failure results in a round of abject terror from the sight of the
creatures. In addition, each encounter with the crew of U-198 only lessens the
effect only by degrees, requiring only a Psyche FEAT vs. Gd (10) intensity only
requiring a Green result.
Group
Attack:The crew usually attack in numbers of 3-4 or more,
and are adept at using group tactics to attack and hunt. As such, unless
impaired or wounded they will all act on the same initiative and attack as a coordinated
group.
Contacts:
The crew of
U-198 had various contacts in life, in death they have none.
Captain
Wilhelm Korrin
The captain
of U-198, Captain Korrin is the leader of the undead crew, cursed to wait at
the bottom of the trench until inadvertently
freed.
F: Gd (10)
A: Gd (10)
S: Ex (20)
E: Ex (20)
R: Gd (10)
I: Rm (30)
P: Rm (30)
Health: 40
Karma: 70
Resources:
N/A
Popularity:
- 10* (See Limitations)
Talents:
Military
Leadership*
Firearms
Knowledge:
U-boat operations
Knowledge:
Allied shipping routes
Knowledge:
Ships
Navigation
Mystic
Origin*
Powers:
Captain
Korrin has the same abilities and powers of the others of his crew.
Contacts:
During Life,
the Captain had contacts within the German Navy. In death, the Captain has no
contacts.
Limitations:
The crew and
captain of the U-198 share the same limitations, born out their curse:
Cursed:The captain
and crew of U-198 were cursed after their attack on the island of Coquina
during WWII. While U-198 was sunk, the curse prevented the crew from dying,
instead keeping them in a rotting undead state, trapped below the undersea
shelf across an abyssal until freed. The crew cannot easily be killed,
requiring the destruction of the U-boat in order to end it, although individual
members of the crew were able to be destroyed by reducing their active health
to ‘0’. The crew will continue to exist and are bound to continue their war
until destroyed, and will focus purely on repairing U-198 and continuing their
attack. Due to the nature of the curse,
Exorcism and similar powers do not work to free the crew…they must be destroyed
individually or through the destruction of U-198.
Hideous: While a
benefit in some ways (terrorizing as it is), the hideous and putrid nature of
the crew gives them a permanent -2cs reaction bonus for any interactions. Even
those who knew the crew if are affected.
Flesh for life: The
Crew are not required to feed on the flesh of the living, but do so as if
possessed by spirits and will kill and devour anyone who they can during their
forays and attacks.
