Afrika Korps - A community roleplaying adventure in 1942

[Baron]

Ponch, you fool!  We have no FLOSS!!!!

Think about it: broad daylight outside turns to dusk while inside.  Guns that shoot but draw no blood and make no sound.  Lamps that apparently we possess but do not appear in our inventory.  Tents that shred without recourse to warranty -these are the signs of a temporal paradox people!  We are probably between realities even now, in some sort of sweaty nether region where a misdirected sneeze can send us all spiralling into the vortex of oblivion.  BEWARE!

...but, since we're stuck here we might as well see the sights.

>> Go to Tent IV

[Ponch]

We are probably between realities even now, in some sort of sweaty nether region where a misdirected sneeze can send us all spiralling into the vortex of oblivion.

The Quantum Taint! It's exactly as Einstein theorized! (In one of his lesser known and hopefully unpublished papers)

We have no choice except to rub Tent IV and explore the lamp. God help us all. 

[miguel]

YEAH! Rub tent until we are sent into the klinex of oblivion!

[Tabata]

We are probably between realities even now, in some sort of sweaty nether region where a misdirected sneeze can send us all spiralling into the vortex of oblivion.  BEWARE!

Oooh - nooo ...
   

> pinch yourself (to be sure you are not sleeping)

[Eric]

Oh crap. This means we're probably a werewolf.

I actually came to post this same thing...except I wasn't joking!

[Ponch]

Oh crap. This means we're probably a werewolf.

I actually came to post this same thing...except I wasn't joking!

Being a werewolf is nothing to joke about! Sounds to me like Eric's in league with the lamp!

[Frodo]

Poor, misunderstoon, lonely werewolf.   

[Ghost]

Okay, after clicking Frödö's dragons, let's think.

This is some sort of excavation site for sure- equipment and setup make that pretty clear. It's safe to say we are part of some team that's either following a hint to recover something, or that's just stumbled over something by accident.
In the second case, it could've been something dangerous. Maybe a guarded location?
What we should do is get a bit more of a picture why all these tents are here. So, I suggest:
> remember job assignment

Wow. Being the voice of reason is stressful. Someone else take over, please!

[miguel]

> remember job assignment

10 pages after someone thinks about this!
Ghost, you are clearly the voice of reason.
Yeah, it should be really great if we knew what kind of mission these troops are here for!
And what about his personal details about life? Like age, town of birth, is he married?

> remember upbringing

[Ghost]

> remember upbringing

That's even better! Let's shed some light on ourselves! +1!!

[Ponch]

Remember the Alamo!

[Baron]

Countermand that Alamo remembrance!

We already know Hans' marital and family details (remember the letter???)

And since he knows from experience that the radio is a pain to haul around, we can assume that he is a low ranking grunt that would not be privy to the executive details of the mission.  I say we press on blindly and arrogantly, like at the Alamo!

[Ponch]

Countermand that Alamo remembrance!

Yer lucky I don't know no fancy big words, buddy. Otherwise, them might be fightin' words! 

[miguel]

Hm, the letter does tell us that he is missed and loved back home. But not much more. And the fact that he knows from experience that the radio is a pain to carry around maybe means that he is a communication operator?
His history should be interesting to know, maybe to find out if there's something in his past that lead him to be in this strange situation.

But most important, and I remember Ghost's post, right before the Alamo, that we should know what was our mission/assignment at this digging site in Algeria.

[Baron]

OK, here's my perspective.  I know you guys want to hear it from the horse's mouth (er.... sorry WHAM), but the surrealism of our current predicament makes it highly unlikely that any conventional memory of mission facts or personal history is going to help us in any tangible way.  Recall that WHAM is a master story-crafter and puzzle architect.  He's trained at elite adventure academies and at high-level top-secret adventure facilities.  He's like a black-belt flying-ace assassin of adventure design.  Do you think he's stripped to the waist and painted his face just to tell us off the bat that we're some sort of werewolf (my money is actually on "were-mummy")?

"Thinking back, you have vague recollections of scratching behind your ears with your hind paw and licking your unsheathed genitalia."

  Forsooth not!  No, he will conceal the twisted details of what is really going on behind a veil of guile and deception.  We cannot assume the luxury of being a homo economicus who makes only rational decisions based on complete information, but rather that we are the prisoners viewing so many shadows in Plato's cave.  We are meant only to have a vague notion of reality, and on this we must base our decisions.  Thus, I can predict our backstory without even having to ask:

Possibility #1: We don't remember much (probably due to the phenomenon that has allowed us to sleep through a raid on the camp by supernatural forces)

Possibility #2: We remember trivial facts that have little bearing on the task at hand

Possibility #3: We remember vague details about searching for something important to the war effort, probably some sort of super weapon à la Ark of the Covenant

Possibility #4: We misremember stuff, for the same reasons discussed in #1, which will throw us off the scent

     None of which really helps us, since we 1) know little enough already, or 2) already know some trivial facts, or 3) know that there's something powerful out there anyway, or 4) are confused enough already.  I submit that only after unravelling a series of clues, each more devious than the last, will we begin to grasp the weft of WHAM's rich tapestry.  Furthermore, I say that physical evidence trumps murky recollection and that we should continue to look around, or "blunder about" if you will. 

>> Goose Step to Tent IV

[miguel]

If we are indeed a were-mummy we should use super senses to our advantage...

> lick shreds of cloth
> smell shreds of cloth

...hoping to find traces of blood or soup.

[Ponch]

...hoping to find traces of blood or soup.

Soup Nazis? Man, I hate soup nazis. The only thing worse is Illinois Nazis.

+1 Tent IV exploring. The shattered remains of this camp aren't going to explore themselves.

[WHAM]

> Go to Tent IV

You walk outside of tent III and head to the tent propped up right next to it. You enter tent IV, the mess tent.
The mess tent is void of life. The only things apparently visible are dirty dishes in the dishwashing pan underneat the table, some canned food under the other table, and the field chaplain's bible and crusifix atop the table. The weapon rack near the door is empty and there is no fire in the stove. Some mostly burn-out candles are also strewn about the tables.

[Tabata]

> examine book (on table)

     

[Fred7162]

> examine book (on table)

     

+1 Even though I thinks it's just a regular bible.