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Ballad of the Green Beret(by; Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler and Robin Moore ~ 1966)

Fighting soldiers from the sky, Fearless men who jump and die,

Men who mean just what they say The brave men of the Green Beret.

Silver wings upon their chests, These are men, America’s best,

One hundred men we’ll test today, But only three win the Green Beret.

Trained to live off nature’s land,

Trained in combat, hand to hand, Men who fight by night and day,

Courage take from the Green Beret.

Silver wings upon their chests, These are men, America’s best,

Men who mean just what they say, The brave men of the Green Beret.

Back at home a young wife waits, Her Green Beret has met his fate, He has died for those oppressed,

Leaving her this last request:Put silver wings on my son’s chest,

Make him one of America’s best, He’ll be a man they’ll test one day,

Have him win the Green Beret.

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Countdown

Operation Winter KillMission Pack 2

Written by:Mark Whistler

Interior Photos:United States Department of Defense

Cover:R. Hyrum Savage

Layout:R. Hyrum Savage

Edited by:R. Hyrum Savage

Published by:OtherWorld Creations32581 Cullen Court

Winchester, CA 92596www.otherworlds.cx

Countdown: Operation Winter Kill© 2004, OtherWorld Creations.

Interior Images © 2004, United States Department of Defense. Used with permission

The OtherWorld Creations logo, and Mission Pack™ are a trademarks of OtherWorld Creations. All rights reserved.

Published Under the d20 Modern SRD© 2002 and OGL License© 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

d20 Modern™ is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is used with permission. Wizards of the Coast(R) is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of

Hasbro, Inc., and is used with permission

‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 4.0. A copy of this

License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

This Mission Pack™ uses modern day names and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. No similarity to any person either living or dead is intended or should be inferred.

This book uses governments, poltical figures, and intelligence agencies as setting, characters, and themes. All such uses are only intended for entertainment purposes.

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CountdownOperation: Winter Kill

When the force of rushing water reaches the point where it can move boulders, this is the power of momentum. When the speed of a bird of prey is

such that it can strike and kill, this is precision. So it is with skillful warriors — their force is swift, their

precision is close. Their force is like drawing a bow, their precision is like releasing the string.

-Sun Tzu

In every era, in every nation, men and women are called upon to take extraordinary action. Actions that make a difference. Sometimes we see them on the evening news or read about them in the paper. More often than not, however, their identi-ties are secret, their actions happen in places far from our shores. Places that are themselves inimical to human life. They go to these places to defend our way of life, or to help others achieve a way of life free from tyranny, oppression, or cor-ruption. They don’t see themselves as particularly heroic, just people doing a job, a job they are trained to do, and one they do better than anyone else.

Introduction

Welcome to “Countdown: Operation Winter Kill”, part of the new line of adventures for Wizard’s of the Coast’s D20 Modern or AEG’s Spypcraft. “Countdown: Operation Winter Kill” is a multi-part adventure for 4-6 characters of Intermediate power levels (Fourth through Seventh level). The mission will not only require that the players utilize strategic thinking, but it will also call for the group to deal with issues of morality and ethics. If you have plans on being a player in this adventure, we encourage you to stop reading right now; else you spoil the scenario for yourself.

If you are running the game, then read through the entire Mission Pack™ carefully before begin-ning play. As is the case with any adventure, the GM is free to choose what he, or she, wants out of it and may leave the rest if it does not fit with the tone of the game they intend on running. The setting, as you will soon see, takes place in a world very much like our own, yet slightly differ-ent. Inside this Mission Pack™ you will be privy to classified secrets and pictures that, up until

now, the Government couldn’t show the public. But how is it diverse you ask? Well, for starters, as stated in D20 Modern this is a role-playing kit that is designed for action and adventure straight from a movie, favorite book or your TV. In any “Countdown” Mission Pack ™ YOUR players are the heroes, and it is up to all of you to stop the forces of evil. All of the Countdown Mission Packs are designed to be run in 24 hours of game time, and it is entirely possible to run “Operation Winter Kill” in one session of play. But enough about that, let’s get on with it!

How To Run This Adventure

First and foremost the Gamemaster (hereafter referred to as the GM) should read the mission completely, as was stated before. In doing this it will let the GM feel the pace of the game and how it is intended to play out. The player characters are on a rigid timetable and the tempo should be frantic at best. One of the key issues that should, must, be kept in mind is the fact that they (the PCs) are on a limited timetable due to the harsh conditions of the Antarctic and the oncoming storm

“Countdown: Operation Winter Kill” is loosely based on real-world events and technology, much like any modern adventure film in this genre. As the operatives (PC’s) proceed, more information will become available to them. This may influence their course of action and lead to further adven-tures as the operatives follow-up on clues they uncover. On the other hand, if your players are the “shoot ‘em all, let God sort them out” variety, well, there’s plenty of that too.

Information utilized in the making of this adventure stems from current periodicals, television news broadcasts and the Internet. Popular media offers up a valuable resource of interesting material to be used in creating and crafting adventures for D20 Modern or Spycraft, make use of it and edu-cate yourself.

Two Ways to Start

If you are familiar with this type of adventure, you know that there is usually a briefing which consists of information the players need to know. This is how the adventure is presented. Start with the Prologue and proceed from there.

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For a change of pace, the GM can start the play-ers with an encounter, then use a cinematic tech-nique to warp them back in time for the briefing. To utilize this option, simply start the adventure with Scene 2 Night Drop at the End of the World rather than the more conventional begin-ning described in the Prologue. This starts the adventure off with a bang as the operatives are dropped into hostile territory, under disorienting conditions, and immediately have to fight for their very lives as well as the success of the mission!

Prologue – For the Operatives

Fort Drum, New York – Secure Briefing Facility [Insert GMT Time Code]

The operatives are assembled in response to an emergency action code and told to respond to Fort Drum New York. The operatives provided are members of the 10th Mountain Division which is headquartered at Fort Drum and have been “volunteered” by their CO. Operatives from other branches have likewise been assigned to this mission, any Department 7 or Strike Force 7 are here by order of the Director.

The operatives are allowed to make Spot skill checks (DC 15) to notice a cargo helicopter being loaded with two skids of gear. A success at DC 20 indicates that the gear is rigged for para-chute drop. A success at DC25 reveals that there are snowmobiles of some kind on the skids.

You file into a secured briefing room, Miller, joking as usual about “finally getting pink slipped,” stifles himself in mid-sentence as you see the figures in the front of the conference room. In addition to Lt. Walker, the base commander stands to one side, speaking quietly, but with some emotion, to a man you’ve never seen. However one glance screams “bureaucrat,” from his immaculately tailored suit to the flag pin in his lapel. Then he does the unex-pected. He smiles at the base commander and speaks in a voice that while not very loud, cuts through the renewed chatter of your teammates.

“General, this briefing is on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t have a need to know. Feel free to take it up with the Joint Chiefs, the commander- in-chief, or God himself. In the meantime you can get out or I’ll have you removed.” White with fury, the base commander stalks out of the room. Then this “bureaucrat” turns his gaze on you, still smil-ing. You realize this man is a wolf, no, make that a Siberian tiger, in the guise of a Washington paper-pusher. This should be interesting.

“Gentlemen, be seated. Sergeant, seal the room on your way out.” After the door closes, his smile vanishes.

“Gentlemen, turn to the red foil envelope in your briefing packets. Open the seal when I tell you and read the document inside quickly, then place the document back inside the envelope and reseal it. Open it now.”

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Inside the envelope is a single sheet on Presidential stationary. The document authorizes Director Phelps of Department 7 to requisition the assistance of the reader for a mission to satisfy the needs of national security until further notice. After you place the document back into the enve-lope and reseal it, the envelope heats up rapidly and curls into a small, black, crumpled shape before it powders in to ash so fine it leaves merely a faint gray residue on your clothes.

“I am Director Phelps and by order of the President of the United States, for the duration of this mission, you belong to me.” He turns and activates a monitor with a map of Antarctica on it. “Please listen carefully to this recording and follow along with the transcript in your briefing package.”

A voice comes from the monitor’s speaker as the image on the monitor zooms in on an aircraft des-ignator on the screen, reading XRT9.

Transcript: XTRAIN prototype flight designator XRT9

Flight Control: “X-Ray Tango Niner please report system status and prepare to initiate trans-atmospheric climb. Your next altitude will be ninety miles, repeat nine zero miles. Please confirm.”

X-Ray Tango Niner: “Order received Control. Life support is go, trans-atmospheric engines are go, telemetry go, ready to begin climb to nine zero miles on your command.”

Flight Control: “ Very good X-Ray Tango Niner, initiate trans-atmospheric climb on my mark. Initiating ten-count…now. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, MARK.”

X-Ray Tango Niner: “ Trans-atmospheric engines active, altitude now 9 miles … 15 miles … twentythr…” [static].

Flight Control: “X-Ray Tango Niner please state your situation.”

X-Ray Tango Niner: [static]

Flight Control: “X-Ray Tango Niner state your situation.”

Telemetry: “He’s coming down, fast. Telemetry reading indicates terminal velocity.

Flight Control: “ X-Ray Tango Niner do you read me?

Unidentified Voice: “Oh my god.”

Telemetry: “We’re still getting altitude read-ings, impact in seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, impact.”

Flight Control: “X-Ray Tango Niner is down, I need latitude and longitude immediately, some-one get me the President and notify the joint chiefs.”

On the monitor, the designator XRT9 flashes red.

“What you have just seen and heard was a test flight of new experimental aircraft that took place over Antarctica this morning. The XTRAIN pro-gram is a new type of interceptor under develop-ment which was being tested under conditions available in only two places in the world. This aircraft performed flawlessly during several test flights over U.S. soil and so a go ahead was given to test it under more realistic conditions. Unfortunately something has gone wrong and the aircraft has crashed in the Norwegian zone near an inactive Russian base called Komsomol’skya Base.”

“A conventional recovery mission is out of the question at this point, not only would it require international involvement, it could potentially expose the existence of XTRAIN and other tech-nologies we’d like to keep secret at this point. By treaty, no military operations of any kind are per-mitted on the Antarctic continent, so any revelation of this mission would be a serious embarrass-ment for the nation. Your team’s particular skills make you the ideal choice for a covert insertion to recover what may be recovered and destroy the remains of what can’t be recovered of the XRT9.”

“This is an extremely important, extremely hazard-ous mission. It is currently winter in Antarctica, which means that darkness is constant there and the weather is likely to be your chief concern. Temperatures are currently -40 to -50 degrees Fahrenheit not counting wind-chill, so a prolonged

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operation is likely to have a high attrition rate. However, a brief window of decent weather has opened in the last 6 hours, and its expected to last approximately 8-12 hours. A small, well equipped team should be able to operate there for the short amount of time needed to get in, recover the flight data recorders, and get out before the next storm hits.”

“We plan to insert you via HALO directly over the crash site, with a new model two-man snowmo-bile which should enable you to complete your mission and be out before the weather turns, with no one being the wiser. Extraction will be by ship at one of these extraction points, here, here, or here.” As he speaks, tell-tales light up on the map on the monitor.

“Are there any questions.” He waits a beat then proceeds, cutting off anyone too slow to speak as that grim smile reappears. “Good, I didn’t think so. You’ll have plenty of time to read the rest of the briefing packets on the flight down. Antarctic gear has been prepared for you, and you have 15 minutes to recover any additional equipment you think you may need from the armory. Your helo is leaving in exactly 20 minutes. Good luck men.”

Allow the players a few minutes, no more than five, to prepare a list of additional equipment beyond weapons, armor, ammunition, communi-cations, and night-vision gear. Use the load outs for the provided characters as guidelines. See the “Gearing Up” section on page 8 for more sug-gestions.

With that, the door of the briefing room opens and several pairs of men enter wearing SOG black beret’s, one pair for each member of your team. They escort you to the armory where you sign for your gear and get one last chance to col-lect equipment. Then they march you to a waiting cargo helicopter which lifts off.

Adventure Background

The man who wins every fight is not the most skillful. If you can make your enemy helpless

without fighting, you are.-Sun Tzu

North Korea’s announcement of their intention to become a nuclear power, in direct contravention

of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and the Agreed Framework of 1994, initiated a frenzy of activity by the defense establishment. While the White House and State Department downplayed the threat in order to maintain public confidence and pursue a “diplomatic solution,” several programs were accelerated to provide some means of real defense should the North Koreans not submit. Programs such as the ABM system currently in testing, as well as other ultra-secret programs that had been in various stages of development. This included ground-based particle weapons, space-based x-ray lasers, and the Experimental Trans-Atmospheric Interceptor (Stealth), or XTRAIN.

The XTRAIN fighter, codenamed Project Kill Shot, was based on the theory that craft capable of flight into trans-atmospheric altitudes could be used to shoot down incoming enemy missiles, be they North Korean, Chinese, or even from the former Soviet Union. The idea was to intercept the mis-sile just as it reached the peak of its ballistic flight path, when it was at nearly zero velocity, and destroy it harmlessly above the atmosphere.

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