THE MONASTERY OF DEATH

This is a multi-sided affair for up to 6 competing players, the Director takes the Order of the Purple Pentacle and the demons.  The players take one party each. If you have fewer, let the players have more than one to occupy their minds!

 The background:  Spain, 1937.  The Civil War is raging all around this valley.  Into this dangerous and barren setting the Diogenes Club sends a force to rescue a young beautiful heiress from being sacrificed by the Order of the Purple Pentacle.  The Occultists of Nazi Germany are here to search for an occult tome.  The Vatican has sent a Cardinal to recover a relic stolen by the Order.  The factions at war have sent in patrols to find out what the international interest is.

 The Board Set Up:  The area is rough hilly terrain cut by valleys with small abandoned farms, walled fields, forgotten orchards, overgrown olive groves and woods on valley floor and lower slopes give way to neglected vineyards, copses and rocky outcrops on the upper slopes; along the stony valley floors run tracks crossed by shallow streams.   The centre of the board is a flat topped hill on which stands the ruins of a monastery that was once a Moorish mosque and before that a Roman temple – get the picture?  It is old and scary.  Very old and awfully scary.   

Cast

 The Diogenes Club, Oxford

Good morning, chaps, or should I say Gentlemen of Extraordinary Talents and occasionally, very, very occasionally (Harrumph) an exceptional lady.  As you are all aware Lady Erin Sepport, the daughter of our esteemed Secretary, Sir Jeckyl Sepport, Earl of Mummerset was kidnapped London. Our sources confirm the absolute bounders of the Order of the Purple Pentacle as the cads who took the filly to the Monasterio del Lobbi y Coridor in a disputed part of Spain. 

Your Mission is to rescue her from a fate worse than death at the hands of these perfectly ghastly cads.  You are also to recover a manuscript that was stolen from Nazis who stole it from ... well you get the picture.  It is supposed to be in the monastery.  And not to mention the sword.  This sword is reputedly a Holy Relic and was stolen from the Vatican and it has also made its way to the Monastery.  You can see that all three episodes are related - the kidnap, the manuscript and the sword - no doubt some dastardly scheme dreamed up by Johnny Foreigner!

And so, we’re off to sunny Spain, Hey Viva Espana!

 

 

The Papal Office, Vatican City

 My dear Cardinal, the sword of Santa Justa Juancornetto has been stolen from the vaults of the Monastery Vinhoverde in Tuscany.  One of the slain brothers was found to have a symbol pulled from his assailant.  Our arcane historians recognised it as the symbol of the suppressed Order of the Purple Pentacle whose last known hideout was the Monasterio del Lobbi y Coridor in Spain - right in the middle of the war zone.  The Order was suppressed for raising demons in the 15th Century.   

When the sword is in the presence of a Demon it glows with an inner purple flame.  Any demon that fights the bearer of the sword does so at a disadvantage and the wounds that the sword inflicts are enough to dive any demon back that it does not kill.   

Our agents report that an English woman has been taken to the monastery as has a manuscript stolen from the Nazis who stole it from ... it matters not.  So it looks like these three are all in Spain just now. 

You are to recover the Sword of Santa Justa from the demonic knights together with the manuscript and the woman.  You are to stop any pagan ritual and use a crucifix to stop any Demons entering the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

German flag from www.warflag.com

Himmler’s HQ, Berlin

 Guten Morgen, Hauptmadchen the secret Manuscript Ars Daemonica was stolen from our vaults last night.  Two raiders were killed and their symbols are identified as those of the Order of the Purple Pentacle.  Our Condor Legion has traced them to the Monasterio del Lobbi y Coridor in Spain.

 SonderAbteilung XIII is Himmler's personal occult artefact gathering force and you are to recover Ars Daemonica which has text in Egyptian hieroglyphics and Cuneiform.  It details the rituals for raising and binding demons using human blood.  You need to be aware that the English and the Vatican are also interested in the Monastery for different reasons, an English heiress has been kidnapped and taken there and a Holy Relic was removed from the Vatican and it, too is is there. 

You are to recover the manuscript at all costs and get the sword if you can as well.

 

Supporting Cast

 

 

The Carlists  are mainly Roman Catholic have considerable support from the church and so you will support the Cardinal but they also have loyalties to the Nationalists.  The Republicans will probably help out the British and the Nationalists the Germans.

 The Brigadier has sent your patrol into the valley after hearing that foreigners - Italians, British and Germans are roaming the countryside heading for the Monasteria del Lobbi y Coridor.  From the map it is a fairly useless piece of ground but the Nationalists and Republicans are also sending in patrols because of the “treasures”.    

You are to carry out a reconnaissance of the ruins and discover why it so important to the foreigners, the Nationalists and Republicans.  You are to fight your way in and out if necessary.  You are to capture the manuscript and the jewel encrusted sword if you can as well.

 

The Republicans are from the International Brigades and so can be of almost any nationality you choose – American, British, French etc.  You will support anyone opposed to the Nationalists; the British in this case and will attempt to thwart any Nationalist or Carlist supported party.  You expect that the Carlists will support the Cardinal but they have loyalties to the Nationalists.     

The Brigadier has sent your patrol into the valley after hearing that foreigners - Italians, British and Germans are roaming the countryside heading for the Monasteria del Lobbi y Coridor.  From the map it is a fairly useless piece of ground but the Nationalists and Carlists are also sending in patrols because of the “treasures”.      

 You are to carry out a reconnaissance of the ruins and discover why it so important to the foreigners, the Nationalists and Carlists.  You are to fight your way in and out if necessary.  You are to capture the manuscript and the jewel encrusted sword if you can as well.

 

 

 

 

 

The Phalangists will support the Germans – you might use Condor Legion advisers in the Nationalist troops if you like.  The Carlists will support the Italian Cardinal but they have slight loyalties to the Nationalists.  Then there are the Internationals who are mainly communists but will probably favour the British. 

The Brigadier has sent your patrol into the valley after hearing that foreigners - Italians, British and Germans are roaming the countryside heading for the Monasteria del Lobbi y Coridor.  From the map it is a fairly useless piece of ground but the Republicans and Carlists are also sending in patrols because of the “treasures”.     

You are to carry out a reconnaissance of the ruins and discover why it so important to the foreigners, the Nationalists and Carlists.  You are to fight your way in and out if necessary.  You are to capture the manuscript and the jewel encrusted sword if you can as well

 

 The Spanish Civil War figures come from Anglian Miniatures.  They are available in the USA from Brigade Games.

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