Fighting the Nachtwölfe - a Mephisto review

Even before the 2d20 rulebook for Achtung! Cthulhu has been published, Modiphius already provides a series of adventures that can be played with the starter set A quick trip to Paris. In Operation Vanguard, player characters are sent out to explore a secret Nachtwölfe base in the occupied Netherlands. It is up to the player characters to contact the local resistance, scout out the location, and infiltrate the base. Due to the location and security measures, this operation is challenging. While the Black Sun cultists were the agents' antagonists in the first quick-starter adventure, this follow-up mission focuses on the activities of the Nachtwölfe. Thus, the mythos faction that plays around with alien technology is introduced.

Operation Vanguard is an adventure that emphasizes exploration and preparation, as well as combat and action. Of course, the goal here is to uncover sinister experiments being conducted by the Nachtwölfe (although, in reality, DNA that was only discovered in the 1950s, which probably will not matter for most players). Operation Vanguard is thus another introductory adventure to learn the basics of the game and introduce the player characters to another group of antagonists.

(Björn Lippold)

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Operation Vanguard

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Operation Vanguard System- Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Producer- Modiphius Price- $6.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/355128/Achtung-Cthulhu-2d20-Operation-Vanguard?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- Almost perfect but not what I wanted. 97%

Basics- Time to go, soldier! You just stopped a Black Sun ritual, so now it’s off to stop more Nazi shenanigans! What could they be doing off at sea?

Mechanics or Crunch-Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 does almost all the things I want and does them right, and this adventure has that as well. Solid monsters and encounters lead you through a stealth to destruction mission with lots of fun along the way. Just well done crunch if you like the 2d20 system. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- The theme/fluff/story is where I have my one major problem. The story itself is great. Investigate Nazi base, destroy, stop bad guys-all the fun things players want to do in Pulp Weird War II. But, this was billed as the sequel to the starter adventure, and it is, but it's just a second adventure after the first. They are not connected in any real way. It doesn’t tell as much of a continuing story aside from "go destroy more weird stuff." Go destroy the weird stuff is honestly 90% of A!C 2d20, and that’s why my players and I are here. But, I wanted the escape from France of the last adventure. My players LEVELED the castle in the last one as nothing stops evil like 40 TONS of stone to the head. So my expectations were slightly let down. If you don’t have the same expectation, you will have a blast. 4.5/5

Execution- PDF? Yes. Hyperlinked? Yes, extremely well done. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT. A page with pictures to cut out to give to players for handouts, hyperlinks EVERYWHERE, easy to read, nice stat blocks, and TWO VERSIONS as a less graphics intensive one makes my tablet run better all make me a happy GM. This is how I want books made. 5/5

Summary- Oh A!C 2d20… you make me so happy. It’s a well done, slick system, and this is a well done slick adventure for it. I just wish this was more "direct sequence" and less "continuing adventures", but oh well. If you don’t have my singular crazy obsession with continuity, then you will absolutely LOVE this book. From crunch, to story, to just general production, I’m glad to have this one. 97%

The layout and quality of the maps are very helpful. If you are not familar with this system the layout and notes are very useful in heping you understand the rule system and in running the adventure. If you are not very knowledgeable about world war 2 thats ok as the gm notes tell you exactly what you need to know historically up to that point. If you like chulhu or world war 2 adventures you find this adventure useful.

This 28 page product gets you right into the mission, which is great for any short adventure. It includes some historical background that to me is a must for any real world adventure not based in the current era. The maps and player handouts are good quality images and the story allows for the players to choose their own way while not feelimg railroaded. Although it's a sequel to A Quick Trip to France, you don't need to run that adventure first (Though it's free so why not?) Finally at the end, a few ideas for what might happen once the adventure is over are suggested for those who wish to continue to plot.