GodSmack!

[Loch Belthadd]

In bitter cold Finland, the Bitterfrost has struck, freezing Soviet soldiers and tanks. Amidst the tundra, the Icingmen (living icicles... "Jack Frost" and "Frosty the Snowman"), Suomi Birds (Birds that exhale snow and ice), and Snorri Elves (long-nosed elves with skin like the blubber of walruses) patrol the border and spread the growth of their holy iceshelf. Fire is anathema to these creatures, and they have killed both Finns and Russians for blaspheming the sacred frost.

[spoiler=Finland...]

[/spoiler]

[LordVreeg]

In bitter cold Finland, the Bitterfrost has struck, freezing Soviet soldiers and tanks. Amidst the tundra, the Icingmen (living icicles... "Jack Frost" and "Frosty the Snowman"), Suomi Birds (Birds that exhale snow and ice), and Snorri Elves (long-nosed elves with skin like the blubber of walruses) patrol the border and spread the growth of their holy iceshelf. Fire is anathema to these creatures, and they have killed both Finns and Russians for blaspheming the sacred frost.

[spoiler=Finland...]

[/spoiler]

good call.  Stalin saw Finland as a 'warm-up', a dry-run to show the rest of the world that Russia was a force to be reckoned with and as an equal to Deutchland.  However, what it ended up showing the world was;
1) Stalin's absolute dismantling of the Russian army's executive and leadership branch had huge overarching consequences.
2) The russian forces were inferior in terms of training, equipment, strategy, and morale.
3) Don't fuck with the Finns.  And don't underestimate home turf, short supply lines, natural defences, Mother Nature, and nasty warriors who can shoot from skis if you are so stupid to choose to fight in the snow.

[Superfluous Crow]

The opiates sound neat.
@Vreeg; don't forget the White Death i linked to earlier.
For the angels i would look up wiki articles on the choirs of angels and the Ophan if you want to add some... weirdness to the angelic hordes.
The new russian classes seem to fit the tone nicely; i especially love the ghosts.

[Ghostman]

Since the USSR seems to be getting a paranormal/pseudoscience flavour, you might want to look into the Tunguska event of 1908 (scroll down to the speculative hypotheses) for some ideas.

[LD]

Added information on the german and Japanese resistances:

---
Greater Detail

The German Resistance
Not all agree with Hitler's pact with the Devil and the Demons. Some have organized themselves into resistance organizations. The most notable are led by General Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox in northern africa. Rommel believes the demons to be distasteful to life itself and has met with Egyptian priests and Moslem Imams in the conquered territories to determine how to extricate Germany from its terrible blood pact.

The Imams have given Rommel a book of words. The book, on its cover, has the arabic Aleph in bold green type, surrounded by a white outline. inside the book are prayers to Allah. They do not know if the prayers will be answered, for Allah wills as he wills, but they hope that the book's pages will help rommel and his allies in their times of need. Rommel has distributed pages to several of his co-conspirators, and some have fallen into evil hands. It seems that some of the prayers at least, have been answered.

The Egyptians then suggested that the demons should be put on a project to examine the pyramids. The demons did so and ancient curses rained down upon them in the Valley of the Gods. Demons are stricken with boils, swarmed by locust and more as long as they are in the maghreb desert of northern africa. Many demons have left the warzone, and more human soldiers have been transfered in. Slowly, Rommel is being rid of the demons. But the mummies, osirons, scarab beetles and more also harass Rommel's men-- though not in as deadly fashion.

[ic]Mummies, Osirons, Scarab Beetles ; The Aleph Book; Rommel[/ic]

Some Resist in Japan
Not all agree that General Tojo and the Oni-Spirits are the proper rulers of Japan. Some say that the Emperor fell under their sway and has been ensorcelled. They do not like the extreme brutality of the demons, nor do they think that the demons respect the Japanese people-- they fear that after the war is finished, they too will be enslaved.

In Japan the resistance is very much cloak and dagger. Ninjas skulk in alleyways, procuring deadly and sanctified extracts from thousand year old trees, cracking open millennia-old stones and digging deep to find petrified wood and amber to squeeze in order to reach the ancient blood and body of Japan- ancient blood and spirits that can be used to frighten, demoralize, and slay the otherworldly demons.

By coating their swords in the land's fluids, the Ninja can instantly slay most demons. But few are slain, because the DemonWatch at night keeps a close eye on all locals. Still, the resistance exists and with every member who is slain by a demon, two more join the cause.

[LD]

Ghostman- I have heard of that before. It might be interesting to incorporate.

CC- Thank you for the comments and the suggestions. I will see what I can do with them.


---
Russia
Mineralologists led by Leonid Kulnik hard at work just north of the large Lake Baikal, in the Valley of Death discovered the remains of the Tunguska Comet which struck the ground in 1908 and which set the earth aglow.

The comet's phosphorescent gases, lights and vapors set the world aflame, allowing people in Britain to read by the night-sky glow for several nights after the impact.

The Minerologists' work has allowed them to recover the gases, and Russian chemists have isolated them in a vaporous form that when breathed, causes a subject to glow and shimmer. A side byproduct that has been discovered however, is that when aglow, the subject exhibits extreme magnetism. The magnetism, however, is not ordinary magnetism. Instead the magnetism is keyed to attract and to extract the radioactive elements from ordinary objects and the earth.

Radium, Polonium, Uranium, Astatine, Radon, Francium, Actinium, Thorium and Protactinium float in ball-form mushes around the glowing subject. The elements constantly circle and sicken both the subject and those surrounding them. Scientists, however, have been working on a Radiation suit that will render the subject immune to the glowing radiation.

When the suit is complete, the Radiatomensches will be very deadly weapons in the Russian arsenal, and when the Russians eventually discover how to properly build a pile to cause nuclear reactions- the Radiatomensches' extractative skills will be very much in demand.

[ic]Radiatomensches[/ic]

[LD]

Cherubim "The Peacemakers"
The Cherubim are God's diplomats. They also are the most magical of his creations. The Cherubim can accomplish great tasks with but a wave of the hand. But they are loathe to act. Every magical action they take does two things. One, it hastens the end of the world, and two, it results in the demons gaining extra power- for the power at the center of the world is that of entropy- at the beginning everything God created was good, but the more the world is interacted with, interfered with, the more cosmic entropy decays the world.

Perversely, the more the Cherubim interfere to save the world, the weaker becomes the angels' hold on that world. Therefore, they are loathe to involve the supremely powerful Cherubim in any disputes, save diplomatically as a bargaining threat for short-term gain.

The Ophanim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophanim

The MBT (Main Battle Tank) of the Angellic Armies is controlled by the Ophanim. The Ophanim ride on fiery chariots that burn the earth, and in their wake sow and plant new seeds that quickly grow into forests or jungles with the multifarious bloom of life.

The Ophanim are grim growers and steady assailants. They ram their chariots into enemies, piercing their sides with flame-- ending old and bringing new to life.

There are only few Ophanim, but they are universally dreaded and feared by the Demonic hordes.

Chayot "Throne Angels"
The Chayot are angellic manifestations of honor, justice, and power. They do not manifest as creatures, but as objects- such as the seat of God, the Throne of an honored one, the mallet of Justice, or the Sword of Truth.

The Chayot are driven in their goals. Once a mortal comes in contact with a Chayot and is adopted, the Chayot will bind themselves to that mortal.

It is not uncommon to see mortals, floating on thrones, fly through a battlefield on strike missions against Nazi high command. The Chayot will twist and turn to avoid the Messerschmitds and German air force, and will bash against enemies, trying to crush them.

The Aerilim "Footsoldiers"
The Aerilim is the common angel.

Hashmallim "The Manifestations"
The Hashmallim are found in the air, in the water, in the earth, and in the flame. They are not often encountered in direct conflict, but they can have great effect on the tide of battle. The Hashmallim can strip water of its nutrients, can carbonize oxigenated air, can make flames fall flat or fan them greater, or they can poison the earth. They can do all these things, but they can never have a direct effect on sentient beings in the world. Still, their indirect effects can be quite powerful.

Seraphim
With grand and glorious serrated wings, the seraphim and their poison prick thousands of demons. the angellic Airforce is thankful to have the Seraphim-- Despite the creatures' foul temper. Many suspect that if any angels are likely to fall and betray the side, it will be the Seraphim who have bonded with the serpents of the ground and who can sympathise with their fallen demonic brothers who failed in their revolt against God thousands of years in the past.

The Seraphim also carry quivers full of steel tipped arrows that penetrate even the toughest demonic armor.

Malakhim "Messengers"
The Malakhim messengers float around the battlefield, healing and delivering messages. They are superhumanly fast and often take the form of doves.

[Superfluous Crow]

I like the angels. While still somewhat classical (definitely a good thing in a campaign like this), there are enough twists to make them your own as well.
I wonder, how do you portray angels in general: are they faceless beings of light or fleshy human-like cratures with wings?

[LD]

Thank you.

The Seraphim and the Aerlim are more fleshy human creatures with wings

The Ophanim chariot angels, Hashmallim, and Makhalim "Messengers" and certainly the Chayot are more of the faceless beings of light variety.

[Endless_Helix]

Awesome setting!

I really like the use of traditional myth, particularly the finnish frost spirits. Also, your necromantic nightmare of Eastern Europe is awesome. It kinda reminds me of the Mournland from Eberron (which I assume is something of an inspiration.) I think that you should really begin fleshing out some more of the characters of the world, some of the specific areas. I want details, by hellfire!

[LD]

Thank you for the encouragement!

Although I am familiar with the Mournland, I actually did not think of that at all when constructing Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is 10 parts: One part Brothers' Grimm, three parts Slavic Myth, one part Transylvania Dracula/Frankenstein's Monster, two parts White Wolf games, one part Zombie movie, one part Gypsy myth, and one part Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser/Lawrence Watt Evans Tale.

(Caul-beasts are real slavic creatures [search this page: http://www.michaelclutton.com/vampires/vampire_origins.html for caul; there are three stories as far as i understand 1. Caul=werewolf; 2=caul=vampire; 3 caul=semi-vampire thing like a Vargouille.]. As are Tatzelwyrms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatzelwurm. [Paizo recently also adapted them in their Kingmaker game... I suppose Slavic myth is the latest to be plundered by DnD--at least I was there first.] Paizo also introduced the drejkavac http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drekavac which I had not added previously, but which I think I will add.

thank you very much for your enjoyment.

I will see what I can do about detailing a character or two. Were you hoping on more dramatis personae like the ones I detailed in the second post on the thread?

What were you thinking of for details on areas? I painted some broad strokes across the world-- were you looking for how any particular city was changed? Basically this is the real world at world war II time-- except with Godsmack! flavour to the actual sides. :)

[LD]

Playable Characters in the Hell of Eastern Europe
-Slavic characters always have a drawback in addition to a power.

[ic=Josip Broz]Josip Broz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito
With a necrotic hand grafted to his arm by a gypsy woman, he has been restored to full functionality. The arm, partially chewed off during an engagement with the zombie armies of the Viscount of Transylvania, was tied off with a tourniquet and completely sawed off before infection could set in by the would-be savior of the Slavic peoples himself. Broz, a dashing figure, stands at the head of the Slavic resistance.

[ooc]
Power: Sinewy necrotic hand that has twice the power of an ordinary man. Tendons in the hand can also stretch and twist in absurd geometric shapes.

Drawback: Gypsy Curse. There is always something wrong with every gypsy blessing. If he does not kill a demon every twenty four hours, his arm will struggle against him, thinking that he has turned to the side of the zombies and vampyres and walking dead..
[/ooc][/ic]

[ic=Vasilisa]Vasilisa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilisa_%28name%29
A former homemaker, while sweeping, Vasilisa found her house and her husband assaulted by skeletal goats. She dropped the broom and ran back home to grab her crosses and her charms and rushed to save her husband, who was being trampled, but she was too late. The goats then turned to her. She shook the charms, but did not dissuade them, so she bent down to grab her broom and shoo the goats, like a good Slavic housewife would do. She whacked a goat on the nose and it cowered, then the others fled. Now, wielding her broom, and bearing a no-nonsense mien, she stands at Josip Broz's side, elevated to a Queenlike-status in the Slavic resistance.

[ooc]
Powers: Sweeping Away - Her broom can shoo away and discipline skeletal and undead animals and animal-like creatures. Spiders and vermin also tend to melt in her presence, as though they have been swat. Her home cooking and herbal remedies keep away the Black Plague, the Creeping Weeping, and the Red Death. She spends much of her days herding skeletal beasts and brewing strong teas and soups for the Slavic soldiers.

Drawback: Ethereally Attractive - The undead seek her out, for they can sense her great beauty. Undead human beings make a bee-line for Vasilisa if they are anywhere in her vicinity.
[/ooc][/ic]

[LD]

To make this playable;

I am brainstorming for the system whether or not to adapt a version of Steerpike's system for tempter- to associate each power with an energy pool.

Another option is to use Hero's system of purchased powers.

Right now there isn't really much balance between the powers that the characters have; it's all sort of random- in the spirit of the free-form nature of the game where players can shape reality. But it might be nice to allow players to have some minor powers in addition to their major main powers that I have identified- so that they have several things they can do during play.

[Endless_Helix]

I have to concur; anything too rules-heavy will make the game slow down way too much. I get the sense that this world is meant to be slightly imbalanced, so I might suggest the system Dungeons and Discourse found here uses. Take a gander. It's worth looking at.

[LD]

That is interesting, Thank you.

DRAFT SYSTEM FOR PLAYING

Statistics for a Player

Name
Experience Points Gained in (Battle, Leadership, Wisdom)
-These experience points are used to add positives to modify rolls. You gain experience in them when you succeed at a task. When you use the bonus, it disappears.
-Generally you will roll for success when you are not using your Power (automatic success) to achieve something.

Health: How much does someone have to hurt you before you expire
Armor: Protection
Power:
Drawback: (Optional - For roleplay purposes, except in E. Europe where they are required.)

That seems fairly simple, and allows for the unbalancing Powers.

It's up to players' creativity to make the most use of their powers in the game.

They can also do general Battle (attack) rolls, leadership roles (for charisma and convincing others to follow), and wisdom rolls (like Cthulu's Idea roll and Intelligence rolls in DnD.)