So, OOC is here.

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December 1943
Ulm, Baden-Württemberg
Germany

You've been called by a figure you are aware of in the intelligence community known as "Centurion", a British SOE double-agent called Robert Fitzroy to a beerhall in the south of Germany, in the city of Ulm. The premise he has laid out is simple, and he has reached out through his contact, "Edelweiss", a femme fatale Swiss gendarme known as Valerie Mercier to you. The two aren't often connected, in fact, Robert seems completely alien to the work Valerie does, which makes it strange to connect the dots.

He understands your position within the shitstorm that has hit Germany- the bombing raids are increasing, and the Allies are marching through Italy with remarkable pace, and the tide on the Eastern Front has suddenly and rapidly deteriorated. The German War Machine is losing ground, and with it, the people are suffering. There's quiet dissent in the army at Hitler's meddling in their affairs, and everyone is feeling the pinch. Repression is getting harder. People are starving. There's the carting away of Jewish and other individuals the Nazis deem "undesirable", with genocide on an unprecedented and unknown scale to those who know the reality*. The SS are being diverted to deal with it, rather than being sent to the Ostfront. Casualties are mounting, enormously. A lot of people are dying for no good reason whatsoever, and the dream of Hitler's thousand-year Reich feels like it's a dying one, with the Americans intensifying their war against the Japanese and supplying armaments to the rest of the Allies. The Italians are turned.

And for intelligence operatives looking to shorten the war, everyone is aware that the German state is moving gold, stolen from anyone, melted and reformed and then moved. That gold is paying for soldiers and the war effort, to the industrialists as a guarantee in the total war effort, it's paying for oil bought from the Romanians, and the overall German economy. Reserves taken from Poland, France, Austria, being moved and juggled, that are unbeknown to anyone.

Centurion, or Robert has figured out that one such movement of almost seven and a half tons of gold is being moved from Ulm to the north, up to Berlin. It's French in origin- the gold was stolen from the direct reserves of the Third French Republic, and it's been melted and reformed so many times, with elements of melted gold even added from Jewish and Gypsies taken at concentration and death camps. It's dirty, but in times of war, it is worth tens and hundreds and hundreds of millions of Reichmarks, and hitting it would be a huge blow to the gold reserve of Nazi Germany. A small but significant act of resistance. One that could hamper the German War Machine even more, bringing it closer to collapse, the destroy one more cog by defaulting it in the only real currency that is not arbitrary, or made up. Gold never loses it's value.

The plan is to steal it, using a complicated diversion to Switzerland via Konstanz...putting it out of the hands of the Nazis. Get it across the border, and officially, the plan is to derail it over a bridge in the High Alps, destroying all traces of the gold, and making it unrecoverable. Robert doesn't want that. Robert wants gold in his pocket and in the pockets of the people helping him, and melted down again to be placed into an infamously good Swiss secret bank. But do they? That is only the beginning of the tale, as twists, turns and a chain of consequences that go beyond just a train robbery.

Some are going to be very rich. Some are going to be very dead. Others are going to help win the war. All will be thieves of the highest order.

Welcome to the Band of Bastards.

*wasn't believed in the common German populace at the time that the Holocaust was happening- though figures in the intelligence community, as well as among military leaders and inferences made it assumed that this was happening.

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Character sheet is below:

Name (or known Aliases):

Age:

Nationality:

Affiliation: (Double Agent, Undercover, naturalised in theatre, and their loyalties. Who do they serve, or at least...who do they appear to serve?)

Role: (Soldier, Spy, or some kind of Specialist?)

Appearance (picture/description- preferably both if possible)

Personality:

Service History: (This part needs to be filled out as truthfully as possible. Blank sections are a possibility.)

Other: (The things that add a little spice to them. If you don't put it here, then flesh it out IC, as this is what builds your character's taste.)

The CS is very very WIP at the moment, but that's the basic idea.

Count me in, all of you! You're not allowed to start a good WWII-RP without me, you know. And you're not allowed to keep me out either way ;)

Hey, are commandos OK?

@Lady Selune

Yup, absolutely fine. Keep in mind they're gonna be a little out of place- so perhaps giving them an alias, or a way to get into Germany undercover may be an idea. After all, when somebody goes

WHHHHERREE ARE YOUR PAPERS?

A .45 to the head isn't always the answer :D

Still in, and I'll have the start of a sheet up real soon.

@Lady Selune

Yup, absolutely fine. Keep in mind they're gonna be a little out of place- so perhaps giving them an alias, or a way to get into Germany undercover may be an idea. After all, when somebody goes

WHHHHERREE ARE YOUR PAPERS?

A .45 to the head isn't always the answer :D

NONSENSE! Nothing can't be solved with a pistol!

She'll probably be a demo expert parachuted in because they assume that A. Nobody will expect a chick to have high explosives, and B. They assume the original plan is a go.

I've got two characters in mind for this: The first, on your recommendation, is a Russian firm believer in Marxism who wants to use the money to fund Mao's operations in China. He's really not a fan of Stalin's regime, but he'd never let anyone know. He covers it up by being ruthlessly loyal, to the point turning his own father in for persecution. That was a bit of a moral event horizon. He's a man who realizes that in order to destroy a monster, he may need to become a monster himself.

The second is a nurse with the Italian Red Cross who's been involved with partisan forces in Italy (both republican and monarchist). She's been personally touched by tragedy and it's changed her outlook on things a fair bit. Nominally, she's there on the secret orders of Princess Marie Jose to help bring the war to an end faster and to use the money to fund those same partisan groups. However, she may have some selfish motivations of her own.

@Lady Selune Any chance she'll be Soviet, since they tended to have more women in active combat than other groups? Seeing as I'm making a Russian, perhaps they could have some past connection?

Name (or known Aliases): Major Tom Carson, SOE Codename ORANGEMAN

Age:43

Nationality: British

Affiliation: British Army, Special Operations Executive

Role: Soldier, Spy, demolitions expert

Appearance:

Personality: Carson is a harsh-voiced officer from Belfast. A loyal subject of the King, his bloody experiences of the fighting against the German Empire in the First World War shaped his personality into a more ruthless and selfish person than he had been. He serves his country as he always has, but he's keeping an eye open to serve himself too.

Service History:

1914-1918: 36th Ulster Division, France.
1940: Royal Ulster Rifles, British Expeditionary Force.
1941: Paratroop Regiment
1942-1943: SOE

Other: Speaks fluent German and French, having lived and worked in Alsace during the inter-war years.

@kingkonradSo I'm thinking a low-to-middling SS officer, one more loyal to himself than the German cause. Basically he's trying to get the hell out of dodge, preferably with his head on his shoulders, and as much wealth as he can carry. The ship's going down, and he doesn't want to be on it.

@Lady Selune Any chance she'll be Soviet, since they tended to have more women in active combat than other groups? Seeing as I'm making a Russian, perhaps they could have some past connection?

Well, I didn't intend to, but sure, we can roll like that.

@Lady Selune Totally up to you. I'm new here and honestly don't have much of an idea how things work, so I definitely don't mean to just impose a character narrative on you. I just remember that the Italian partisan fighters and the Soviets tended to put women on the front lines the most.

@Ulstermann

Excellent CS. I really should get to work on mine...but don't worry, it'll be a fine specimen when I do :) You can post it in the Character tab if you like.

@DepressedSoviet

Excellent. That can work quite nicely. For some, this is an escape strategy- a way of bailing out of Germany, with cash. The Argentina-route and all that. They're particularly useful as they can bring on board people under them, to do their bidding- more people knowledgeable of the heist may be a bad thing, but it allows for more to be accomplished.

@Force and Fury

Good CS- I'm definitely liking her slant, the way she is portrayed.

@ONL

Glad to have you on board. I'm going to assume four things:
1) You will make a Norwegian character
2) He'll be called Jakob Nordheim
3) If not, then I'll be disappointed
4) He'll definitely be sarcastic and generally enjoy killing Nazis

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Overall very very happy about how people are getting into it. I would say that chances are your characters probably know of "Centurion"- something I'll explain better when I make all my CSes. Apologies in advance that I didn't do a lot- I've been hit by revision and a few other blues today, but it should all be done tonight :)

Name (or known Aliases): Jakob Norheim - Codename "Viking"

Age: 32

Nationality: Norway

Affiliation: Allied SOE-operative, loyalty lies to his homeland and family. The Germans can go and fuck themselves slowly with a rusty pitchfork.

Role: Special Weapons Operative, handling heavy weaponry such as machine guns, mortars, artillery, anti-tank weaponry, improvised weapons and the like.

Appearance:

Jakob is a pretty handsome guy, though not overly muscular or masculine. To the untrained eye, he might look like a happy and kind man, the kind that greets you passing the baker's shop on a Wednesday morning. His hair is blonde, his face cleanly shaven and washed, and his height making him stand nearly 6ft tall. To the die-hard Nazis, he's the perfect aryan. Too bad for them that this kind-looking man is neither kind, nor happy to be complimented by them.

Personality: Jakob's not an overly talkative type of man. When he does decide to talk, it's mostly a short, sarcastic comment followed by him walking away. He doesn't have time for your bullshit, unless you're a friend of his or the talk helps him in taking revenge on the Nazis. It doesn't mean that he loathes his teammates, it simply means that he'd rather be chatty once the mission is over. Then he can crack jokes, enjoy a cold beer and smile. Until then, get out of the way of his .303 Bren light machine gun.

Service History: Jakob didn't have much military training until the cold days of april 1940, when Norway was invaded. While the order to mobilize was sent out (by mail, how brilliant was that?), Jakob made his way north as fast as possible to join the ranks of Norwegian soldiers. He was ready to fight for King and Country. He didn't have to wait for long, as his company was sent out to hastely stop the advancing German forces. While not as well equipt as the Nazis, Jakob's company managed to hold of the Germans for several days, even after suffering heavy casulties, especially close-quarters combat. Jakob himself slowly began to change over the course of that battle, and the following campaign; the further Jakob and the Allied forces were pushed north, the more Jakob focused on killing Germans in as large quantity as possible, and in ever more violent ways. When, in mid-June, the Allied forces were effectivly pulled out of the Norwegian theatre-of-war, Jakob wasn't the man had once been. The cheerful Norwegian who had barely shot at rabbits before the war, was now replaced with a ruthless soldier who didn't give two fucks about the Germans.

That served the Allied High-Command pretty well, and so Jakob was placed in the infamous "Kompani Linge", where his ruthlesness was transformed into precision. He was by the end of 1943 more than a simple soldier; he was a talented commando, skilled in use of various weapons and tactics. No wonder he was sent on so many missions across the European coast between 1940-1943. On one particular mission, Jakob saved a certain British SOE-agent in an information-exchange. That man Jakob came to work with later on, slowly growing something akin a friendship between them.

Jakob's service record includes; several commando-raids on German coastal positions and installations, sabotage-operations behind enemy lines, extraction of Allied operatives and Naval-landings in Italy. And as of lately? Well, let's just say that a certain bird called for assistance in the Eagle's nest, and the "Viking" wouldn't waste any time in answering it.

Other: Speaks German fluently, English with an accent, and keeps a collection of German collar-emblems. Most of them are bloody, and you'd be better off not asking how he got them.

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Name (or known Aliases): Silvio Colani, also known as "Machine gun Colani"

Age: 29

Nationality: Italian American, born and bred New-Yorker

Affiliation: US Army, OSS-Agent. As far as his loyalty, you need only look to his family back in New York to find it. Nothing above or beside the Family. Cross them, no matter if you're American or German, you'll be sorry. Who this family is, that's none of your damn business, so don't ask.

Role: Soldier, close quarters combat
Appearance

Personality:

Service History: Now one thing is important to remember when talking about Silvio's service record; he's been trying to get as far away from home as possible ever since "The Incident" happened to him. What "The Incident" was, he doesn't say, but it was so bad that he willingly joined the Army and went overseas when he just as easy could have stayed home and worked a decent job. His time in the Army however, oh how he likes to brag about it! He served with the US Rangers, 3rd Ranger Battalion, across the North African Coast against the German Afrikacorps. He proved himself to be just as effecient with his drum-magazine M1928A1 Thompson as with a knuckle-knife, earning him the respect and the nickname of "Machine gun Colani", as if he was something of a gangster. Oh if they only knew.

After the victory in North Africa, it was only natural that Silvio and the battalion partake in the invasion of Italy. Silvio started to act a bit odder after they landed on Italian soil, though nobody could figure out why. Perhaps it was the letters he suddenly started recieving? Regardless, his soon proved be just as lucky as he had been skillful. He was one of the few to escape the Battle of Cisterna, where most of the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions were killed or captured by the Germans. Where a Ranger normally would have been transferred to a new battalion, Silvio was offered to serve in the OSS. No specific reason was given, except his knowledge with Italian language and culture, and his guts. Regardless of this, he served in several operations throughout 1943, gaining new aquentices that he simply couldn't avoid even if he tried to. One such person was a certain British agent, hidden somewhere in Germany and doing God knows what. All he knew was that "someone" needed help with a "train robbery". Good thing Silvio knew how to run a train then.

Other:

Updated my CS now! Robert and Valerie have been added in, Lukasz should come tomorrow night (and I'll kick off the IC shortly after so that we get the rest of our characters in).

@Lady Selune

Also, sorry I didn't reply- it makes sense I suppose :D

On further consideration, I'll probably be dropping out. I've got other RP's I'm already invested in, and overestimated the amount of time I would have left, sorry.

@Lady Selune

Oh, shit :( Shame to hear, keep us in mind if you are interested!

For everyone else- I've gotten too tired today, and wasn't able to make the character. I'll wait on a couple more chars to go up before I make the IC/and my last character for tomorrow evening :)

@DepressedSoviet@JDolan Bump-ity-bump! Still in this? Konrad are waiting for your character sheets.

Yeah I know. I'm working up the last of the character. It's been a bit of a busy weekend.

@JDolan@ONL

Yup, get it up ASAP. Lukasz/Felix is about to be done, I'm really sorry for stalling for everyone else. I'll see if I can set up the IC- it should really put in motion the beginning of the meeting of characters.....and one ugly Nazi motherfucking bastard you're gonna want to stab/strangle/murder straightaway. Rest assured...you will.