Run, Rabbit Foot, Run

A scenario seed for GODLIKE by Benjamin Baugh, (c) 2002.

Johnny Calhoun never wanted to go to war. He wanted to take over his dad’s plumbing business and marry his girlfriend Suzie. But he got drafted, and kissed his tearful mother goodbye. Now, our Johnny isn’t a big lad — just over the height requirement for infantry if you count his cowlick — and the only thing that stands out about him is his unruly, shocking red hair.

“Keep your head down, boy!” his pa said. “That mop of yours will make a good target otherwise.”

When he hit the European Theater, he was the smallest guy in his unit. With that and his red hair (now in an Army cut), he became the company’s lucky totem. Rub “Rabbit’s Foot” Johnny’s hair before wading into the shit and you might come out alive.

After a month, when the casualty reports were analyzed stateside by a logistical Hyperbrain, it was clear that some other agency beside pure chance was at work. Johnny’s unit had no fatalities, and only three casualties — all of which occurred off duty and away from action.

Section Two followed up on it at once.

Careful scrutiny found that anyone who rubbed Johnny’s head picked up some kind of ‘luck charge’ which averted certain death, or at least minimized injury. Johnny had no idea he was an actual lucky charm (though he certainly believed in his ‘luck of the Irish’), and beyond occasionally seeing something weird around known Talent soldiers (something he always took for granted, figuring everyone saw it), he was entirely normal.

Section Two began moving him around, especially into areas of heavy fighting, and many soldiers moving into the deadly house-to-house fighting in France owed him their lives. Johnny was always a bit bemused by the whole thing.

Everything was going swimmingly until Johnny’s jeep was ambushed by an Überkommando Squad and his handlers were killed. He was captured. A projective teleporter traveling with him (code name: Letter Home) managed to teleport a hastily scribbled note back to HQ before buying it. The Germans had The Rabbit’s Foot.

His lucky touch is enough to potentially unbalance operations in the whole sector. Retrieving (or as a last ditch, eliminating) him is now priority number one for the closest TOG team. And who might that be?

The Germans have him trussed up in the back of a truck and make good use of his lucky touch during the pursuit. The Germans should actually be less powerful than the players –when they can essentially shrug off death (once apiece) through unlikely circumstances, it can get as frustrating as hell.

And imagine putting the players in the position of having to kill poor Johnny to keep him from falling into German hands; can you say ‘moral crisis?’

Game Stats for Rabbit’s Foot Calhoun (as of 1944)
Body 2 Coordination 2 Sense 2
Brains 2 Command 2 Cool 3                            (1 point spent)
Skills
Brawling 2, Cryptography 1, Endurance 2, Explosives 1, Grenade 2, Language (English 2),
Machine gun 1, Mental Stability 1, Mortar 2, Pistol 2, Radio Operation 1, Rifle 2,
Running 2, Stealth 1.
Base Will 21                                                      (16 points spent)
Talent Power (8 points spent)
Rabbit’s Foot Luck (based on Side Step) 4hd
(Qualities: Defends, Robust, Useful Outside of Combat; point cost: 4/8/16 per die; 32 pts.)
Side Effect: The power appears as a freak of chance, miraculously  preventing death.
Extra: Extend to Others +2/+4/+8                                                                                 +16 pts.
Flaw to Extend to Others ‘ Only One Use -1/-2/-4                                                     -8 pts.
Flaw to Extend to Others ‘  Luck Recipient can be Interfered with -2/-4/-8.        -16 pts.
Flaw: Expensive -1/-2/-4                                                                                                  -8 pts.
Flaw: Nervous Habit ‘ Can only be granted by Touching Johnny’s hair -1/-2/-4-8 pts.
Final Point Cost is 1/2/4; 8 points.
Notes: Johnny’s power works for anyone who touches his head, including himself. It always costs him a Will Point to ‘charge’ someone with his luck. While they hold the ‘charge’ they are recognizable as having a Talent Effect, which can be Interfered with as normal if a Talent wants to spend the Will to cancel it. When the holder of the ‘luck charge’ gets into dire peril, the Side Step will activate, saving them that once, and no more (even Johnny has to rub his own head and spend the Will to activate it.) The good news is, if the person using the ‘luck charge’ is in the vicinity, Johnny will receive the Will Award for saving him or her. This means that Johnny usually has enough Will to keep the power going for his friends. When the Germans have him, they simply threaten him while he’s tied up and the Ubermensch with them verifies if Johnny is lying or not.

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