Post by carandini on Apr 9, 2010 7:45:19 GMT -5
Eisernteufel (Iron Devil)
Name: Bruno Reichsmann
Location: Germany
Group Affiliation: SS
Powers: The Iron Devil is a highly skilled athlete with extensive military training. He has received training alongside every elite unit in the Reich, from the Fallschrimjager of the Luftwaffe, to the Gebirgsjager of the Wehrmacht. He possesses a keen and tactical mind, devoted toward the espionage and counter-espionage. As head of Projekt Nieblungen, the Iron Devil is responsible for one of the Reich’s chief assets, an extraterrestrial craft captured in 1939 when the German army invaded Poland. Due to his position as head of the project, the Iron Devil will often be equipped with advanced equipment reverse-engineered from the captured saucer when he is operating in the field.
The Iron Devil’s principle abilities stem from the alien helmet he wears. This device greatly amplifies his mental abilities, enabling him to employ psionic powers. Using the helmet, Iron Devil is able to use telekinesis to move objects of up to 200 pounds and at a distance of 100 yards away. He is able to read the minds of others within 50 feet, detecting the surface thoughts of his subjects. He often uses this ability in interrogations, since prisoners will invariably think about the information they wish to keep from him at some point in the process, allowing Eisernteufel to learn what he wishes to know. He is also able to use the helmet’s powers to subtly influence other minds, enabling him to manipulate people. While he can’t cause overt, direct actions in this manner, such as making a sentry draw his pistol and shoot himself, the Iron Devil could redirect the sentry’s attention by making him believe he saw something at the corner of his vision or heard a faint sound, allowing the Nazi to slip past unseen.
History: Bruno Reichsmann joined the Nazi party in 1925, when the NSDAP began to increase its powerbase from a principally Bavarian movement to a national movement. Prior to joining the Nazis, Reichsmann had been an activist with the notorious Freikorps, a right-wing political group operating in the north of Germany. As a part of his work for the Freikorps, Reichsmann was often called upon to spy upon political rivals and opponents in the Weimar government. Sometimes his duties expanded beyond simple espionage to encompass assassination and sabotage. The mysterious fire which engulfed the headquarters of the Communist party in Bremen, killing dozens of Red leaders is only one incident that Bruno Reichsmann might be responsible for.
Reichsmann brought his skills to the Nazis and quickly rose through the ranks, being inducted into the elite SS only a few months after swearing his allegiance to Adolf Hitler. Within a year, Reichsmann had become second only to Heinrich Himmler within the organization, and the two men soon became bitter rivals. Reichsmann, well-educated and with an urban background, had nothing but contempt for the son of a chicken-farmer, with his rural upbringing and strange, mystical obsessions. However bitter their rivalry, the two men both enjoyed the favor of the Fuehrer and knew that to act too directly against their enemy would bring about their own downfall. Reichsmann bided his time, waiting for the opportune moment.
That moment came in 1930. Reichsmann learned of a communist plot to assassinate the Fuehrer before he could gain any more power or prominence and lead the Nazis to victory in the Reichstag elections. Reichsmann had his agents eliminate the communist plotters, but he saw an opportunity to exploit their plan toward his own ends. With all the background already established to support the plot when it was investigated later, Reichsmann saw a chance to eliminate his rival Himmler. Reichsmann had his loyal agents disguise themselves as the communist partisans, and gave them orders to carry out the plot, with a few changes. The attempt on Hitler would fail, Reichsmann selflessly risking his own life to save his Fuehrer. Sadly, Himmler would not fare so well, incinerated by one of the Molotov cocktails the ‘communists’ would throw into the Fuehrer’s limousine.
The plan proceeded ahead and as the Nazi motorcade made its way through the streets of Munich, Reichsmann awaited the moment when they would reach the position in which his agents were waiting. He would seize Hitler, pushing him from the car as the assassins appeared. Himmler’s bullet riddled carcass would be left to burn inside. The first sign that something had gone wrong was when Himmler suddenly sprang into motion, grabbing Hitler and pulling him from the slow-moving car. Armed men rushed the limousine from both sides. At once Reichsmann realized what had gone wrong, he’d underestimated Himmler’s intelligence network. The SS chief had learned of the plot and subverted it toward his own ends. The agents attacking the limo weren’t Reichsmann’s, they were Himmler’s. Reichsmann dropped to the floor of the car as bullets sprayed into the vehicle. The Molotovs came next, engulfing the car in flames before the ‘communists’ fled back into the alleys of Munich.
Hitler was still recovering from the dramatic, violent attempt on his life, speaking words of gratitude to Himmler for saving his life. Himmler commented that it was a pity Bruno Reichsmann had not been so quick thinking, bemoaning that such a loyal and valiant Nazi had been lost to treacherous communist thugs. The smile Himmler was wearing slipped from his face when something crawled out of the burning wreckage of the Fuehrer’s limousine. His body hideously burned, Bruno Reichsmann had survived the attempt to eliminate him. As Himmler looked into the glaring eyes that stared at him from the charred ruin of Reichsmann’s face, Himmler knew that his enemy would recover. Reichsmann would live if only to have his revenge against Himmler.
Bruno Reichsmann did recover, although repair of his face was beyond even the most skilled surgeons in Europe. Ironically, the injuries he had suffered in the attack made him still more popular with Hitler, making it more impossible than ever for Himmler to remove Reichsmann from his position within the SS.
As the Nazis took over the reins of government, abolishing the republic and establishing the Third Reich, the power of the SS grew. No longer merely an elite bodyguard, the SS was now an elemental force within the Reich itself, commanding legions of men and the immense wealth of a revitalized Germany. The SS found itself funding research in all areas of science, devoting its resources toward the dual purposes of strengthening the German consciousness and arming its new military with weapons such as the world had never seen before. Still technically Himmler’s subordinate, Reichsmann hotly contested the squandering of resources on Himmler’s occult and mystical projects, on his funding of archaeological expeditions to uncover the remains of such mythical places as Thule and Atlantis. Reichsmann saw no merit in such things, it was in science not superstition that the fortunes of the Reich would be founded. The endless arguments between the two SS leaders finally came to a head, forcing Hitler himself to intercede. Himmler would remain head of the SS and Gestapo, and would be allowed to carry on his researches into the origins of the Aryan race and the lost heritage of the Aryan people. Reichsmann would be put in charge of the SS science division, overseeing the myriad projects which fell under the banner of technology and engineering. It was a compromise neither man was fully satisfied with, but the Fuehrer had spoken, and his word, now more than ever, was law.
Under Reichsmann’s guidance, German scientists have made considerable technological progress. He has also used his position within the SS and his background in espionage to ensure that Germany has access to the finest minds in the world, leading many operations to abduct foreign scientists from their homelands. When, in 1938, an extraterrestrial craft crashed in Poland, Reichsmann soon learned of it, devoting his full attention to capturing the advanced technology such a craft promised. It was in part due to Reichsmann’s prodding that the Nazi war machine rolled into Poland in 1939, months before the Wehrmacht felt it was ready for such an operation. Reichsmann was among the vanguard of the invasion, leading a division of SS to seize the Polish military base where the remains of the craft had been relocated. The base was seized almost before the Poles had time to consider mounting a defense, its valuable technology seized by Reichsmann’s task force. He lost no time arranging for its transport back to Germany, where the finest minds in the Reich would be set toward unlocking its secrets.
Among the first artifacts recovered from the saucer to be figured out by the Germans was a strange metallic helmet. This device appeared to have served some function in allowing the alien crew to interact with their engine system – a fully sealed and self-contained compartment that seemed to allow no access to from anywhere within the ship. The answer lay within the strange helmet which greatly augmented the mentality of anyone who wore it. As soon as this quality of the helmet was discovered, Reichsmann confiscated it from his scientists, taking its study as his personal project.
By degrees of experimentation, Reichsmann discovered the properties of the alien helmet. He discovered its abilities to manipulate objects through telekinesis, which explained how the alien engineers had maintained their ship’s engines. He also learned of the helmet’s other abilities, the power to read thoughts and even influence the minds of others. Reichsmann felt at once the awesome power he now held. No secret in the Reich would be safe from him now. Once again, he turned his mind to his rival in the SS. With the alien helmet under his control, he could resume his plans to bring about Himmler’s downfall.
Reichsmann took to wearing the helmet constantly, paranoid that the device would be stolen from him if he ever allowed it to leave his sight. The psycho-reactive structure of the alien metal responded to Reichsmann’s subconscious fears, remolding itself to resemble a German stahlhelm with a featureless mask of iron. Because of his sinister appearance, he soon garnered the name ‘Eisernteufel’, the Iron Devil. It was a name which Reichsmann happily adopted. It was a name he was determined that all within the Party would soon learn to fear.
Once the advanced science of the aliens had been unlocked, the German war machine would be unstoppable. Nothing would prevent the Reich from dominating the world. And as the man who had provided the Reich with such a source of limitless power, nothing would stop the Iron Devil’s domination of the Reich.
Description: The Iron Devil is a tall, athletically built German. He wears the uniform of an SS general, often with a black leather greatcoat. The helmet he wears conceals his face completely, only two narrow slashes for his eyes and another for his mouth breaking the smooth surface of the covering. He will often carry an exotic side-arm with him, most often a plasma-weapon derived from the advanced propulsion system of the alien craft. This weapon fires a focused ball of ‘starfire’ which is capable of burning clean through solid steel in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, the weapon has very limited range and its power source capable of only a few shots.
The Iron Devil is often accompanied by his ‘Shield Maidens’, a bodyguard of highly trained female SS soldiers fanatically devoted to their enigmatic commander. The Iron Devil’s opponents within the Reich contemptuously refer to this bodyguard as his ‘harem’ and suggest that their relationship with Eisernteufel is anything but platonic.
Name: Bruno Reichsmann
Location: Germany
Group Affiliation: SS
Powers: The Iron Devil is a highly skilled athlete with extensive military training. He has received training alongside every elite unit in the Reich, from the Fallschrimjager of the Luftwaffe, to the Gebirgsjager of the Wehrmacht. He possesses a keen and tactical mind, devoted toward the espionage and counter-espionage. As head of Projekt Nieblungen, the Iron Devil is responsible for one of the Reich’s chief assets, an extraterrestrial craft captured in 1939 when the German army invaded Poland. Due to his position as head of the project, the Iron Devil will often be equipped with advanced equipment reverse-engineered from the captured saucer when he is operating in the field.
The Iron Devil’s principle abilities stem from the alien helmet he wears. This device greatly amplifies his mental abilities, enabling him to employ psionic powers. Using the helmet, Iron Devil is able to use telekinesis to move objects of up to 200 pounds and at a distance of 100 yards away. He is able to read the minds of others within 50 feet, detecting the surface thoughts of his subjects. He often uses this ability in interrogations, since prisoners will invariably think about the information they wish to keep from him at some point in the process, allowing Eisernteufel to learn what he wishes to know. He is also able to use the helmet’s powers to subtly influence other minds, enabling him to manipulate people. While he can’t cause overt, direct actions in this manner, such as making a sentry draw his pistol and shoot himself, the Iron Devil could redirect the sentry’s attention by making him believe he saw something at the corner of his vision or heard a faint sound, allowing the Nazi to slip past unseen.
History: Bruno Reichsmann joined the Nazi party in 1925, when the NSDAP began to increase its powerbase from a principally Bavarian movement to a national movement. Prior to joining the Nazis, Reichsmann had been an activist with the notorious Freikorps, a right-wing political group operating in the north of Germany. As a part of his work for the Freikorps, Reichsmann was often called upon to spy upon political rivals and opponents in the Weimar government. Sometimes his duties expanded beyond simple espionage to encompass assassination and sabotage. The mysterious fire which engulfed the headquarters of the Communist party in Bremen, killing dozens of Red leaders is only one incident that Bruno Reichsmann might be responsible for.
Reichsmann brought his skills to the Nazis and quickly rose through the ranks, being inducted into the elite SS only a few months after swearing his allegiance to Adolf Hitler. Within a year, Reichsmann had become second only to Heinrich Himmler within the organization, and the two men soon became bitter rivals. Reichsmann, well-educated and with an urban background, had nothing but contempt for the son of a chicken-farmer, with his rural upbringing and strange, mystical obsessions. However bitter their rivalry, the two men both enjoyed the favor of the Fuehrer and knew that to act too directly against their enemy would bring about their own downfall. Reichsmann bided his time, waiting for the opportune moment.
That moment came in 1930. Reichsmann learned of a communist plot to assassinate the Fuehrer before he could gain any more power or prominence and lead the Nazis to victory in the Reichstag elections. Reichsmann had his agents eliminate the communist plotters, but he saw an opportunity to exploit their plan toward his own ends. With all the background already established to support the plot when it was investigated later, Reichsmann saw a chance to eliminate his rival Himmler. Reichsmann had his loyal agents disguise themselves as the communist partisans, and gave them orders to carry out the plot, with a few changes. The attempt on Hitler would fail, Reichsmann selflessly risking his own life to save his Fuehrer. Sadly, Himmler would not fare so well, incinerated by one of the Molotov cocktails the ‘communists’ would throw into the Fuehrer’s limousine.
The plan proceeded ahead and as the Nazi motorcade made its way through the streets of Munich, Reichsmann awaited the moment when they would reach the position in which his agents were waiting. He would seize Hitler, pushing him from the car as the assassins appeared. Himmler’s bullet riddled carcass would be left to burn inside. The first sign that something had gone wrong was when Himmler suddenly sprang into motion, grabbing Hitler and pulling him from the slow-moving car. Armed men rushed the limousine from both sides. At once Reichsmann realized what had gone wrong, he’d underestimated Himmler’s intelligence network. The SS chief had learned of the plot and subverted it toward his own ends. The agents attacking the limo weren’t Reichsmann’s, they were Himmler’s. Reichsmann dropped to the floor of the car as bullets sprayed into the vehicle. The Molotovs came next, engulfing the car in flames before the ‘communists’ fled back into the alleys of Munich.
Hitler was still recovering from the dramatic, violent attempt on his life, speaking words of gratitude to Himmler for saving his life. Himmler commented that it was a pity Bruno Reichsmann had not been so quick thinking, bemoaning that such a loyal and valiant Nazi had been lost to treacherous communist thugs. The smile Himmler was wearing slipped from his face when something crawled out of the burning wreckage of the Fuehrer’s limousine. His body hideously burned, Bruno Reichsmann had survived the attempt to eliminate him. As Himmler looked into the glaring eyes that stared at him from the charred ruin of Reichsmann’s face, Himmler knew that his enemy would recover. Reichsmann would live if only to have his revenge against Himmler.
Bruno Reichsmann did recover, although repair of his face was beyond even the most skilled surgeons in Europe. Ironically, the injuries he had suffered in the attack made him still more popular with Hitler, making it more impossible than ever for Himmler to remove Reichsmann from his position within the SS.
As the Nazis took over the reins of government, abolishing the republic and establishing the Third Reich, the power of the SS grew. No longer merely an elite bodyguard, the SS was now an elemental force within the Reich itself, commanding legions of men and the immense wealth of a revitalized Germany. The SS found itself funding research in all areas of science, devoting its resources toward the dual purposes of strengthening the German consciousness and arming its new military with weapons such as the world had never seen before. Still technically Himmler’s subordinate, Reichsmann hotly contested the squandering of resources on Himmler’s occult and mystical projects, on his funding of archaeological expeditions to uncover the remains of such mythical places as Thule and Atlantis. Reichsmann saw no merit in such things, it was in science not superstition that the fortunes of the Reich would be founded. The endless arguments between the two SS leaders finally came to a head, forcing Hitler himself to intercede. Himmler would remain head of the SS and Gestapo, and would be allowed to carry on his researches into the origins of the Aryan race and the lost heritage of the Aryan people. Reichsmann would be put in charge of the SS science division, overseeing the myriad projects which fell under the banner of technology and engineering. It was a compromise neither man was fully satisfied with, but the Fuehrer had spoken, and his word, now more than ever, was law.
Under Reichsmann’s guidance, German scientists have made considerable technological progress. He has also used his position within the SS and his background in espionage to ensure that Germany has access to the finest minds in the world, leading many operations to abduct foreign scientists from their homelands. When, in 1938, an extraterrestrial craft crashed in Poland, Reichsmann soon learned of it, devoting his full attention to capturing the advanced technology such a craft promised. It was in part due to Reichsmann’s prodding that the Nazi war machine rolled into Poland in 1939, months before the Wehrmacht felt it was ready for such an operation. Reichsmann was among the vanguard of the invasion, leading a division of SS to seize the Polish military base where the remains of the craft had been relocated. The base was seized almost before the Poles had time to consider mounting a defense, its valuable technology seized by Reichsmann’s task force. He lost no time arranging for its transport back to Germany, where the finest minds in the Reich would be set toward unlocking its secrets.
Among the first artifacts recovered from the saucer to be figured out by the Germans was a strange metallic helmet. This device appeared to have served some function in allowing the alien crew to interact with their engine system – a fully sealed and self-contained compartment that seemed to allow no access to from anywhere within the ship. The answer lay within the strange helmet which greatly augmented the mentality of anyone who wore it. As soon as this quality of the helmet was discovered, Reichsmann confiscated it from his scientists, taking its study as his personal project.
By degrees of experimentation, Reichsmann discovered the properties of the alien helmet. He discovered its abilities to manipulate objects through telekinesis, which explained how the alien engineers had maintained their ship’s engines. He also learned of the helmet’s other abilities, the power to read thoughts and even influence the minds of others. Reichsmann felt at once the awesome power he now held. No secret in the Reich would be safe from him now. Once again, he turned his mind to his rival in the SS. With the alien helmet under his control, he could resume his plans to bring about Himmler’s downfall.
Reichsmann took to wearing the helmet constantly, paranoid that the device would be stolen from him if he ever allowed it to leave his sight. The psycho-reactive structure of the alien metal responded to Reichsmann’s subconscious fears, remolding itself to resemble a German stahlhelm with a featureless mask of iron. Because of his sinister appearance, he soon garnered the name ‘Eisernteufel’, the Iron Devil. It was a name which Reichsmann happily adopted. It was a name he was determined that all within the Party would soon learn to fear.
Once the advanced science of the aliens had been unlocked, the German war machine would be unstoppable. Nothing would prevent the Reich from dominating the world. And as the man who had provided the Reich with such a source of limitless power, nothing would stop the Iron Devil’s domination of the Reich.
Description: The Iron Devil is a tall, athletically built German. He wears the uniform of an SS general, often with a black leather greatcoat. The helmet he wears conceals his face completely, only two narrow slashes for his eyes and another for his mouth breaking the smooth surface of the covering. He will often carry an exotic side-arm with him, most often a plasma-weapon derived from the advanced propulsion system of the alien craft. This weapon fires a focused ball of ‘starfire’ which is capable of burning clean through solid steel in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, the weapon has very limited range and its power source capable of only a few shots.
The Iron Devil is often accompanied by his ‘Shield Maidens’, a bodyguard of highly trained female SS soldiers fanatically devoted to their enigmatic commander. The Iron Devil’s opponents within the Reich contemptuously refer to this bodyguard as his ‘harem’ and suggest that their relationship with Eisernteufel is anything but platonic.
