Ghost U-Boat (U-2666):

It was the end of World War Two and the Nazis were desperate. They had been unable to stop the flow of supplies from North America to England and the Germans were quite clearly losing the war. Losses of German U-Boats had been horrible and a huge number of German sailors had dies in the steel coffins, as many called them. Still, the hopeless crews were sent out again and again with less coming back each time. A number of new submarine designs were developed in an attempt to redress the balance in the Atlantic with new technology. One of these new submarines was the class XXI. The submarine used a snorkel to stay submerged, had a more streamlined hull and could travel faster underwater than any previous class, and could dive deeper. It was a whole new level of development in submarines. Even so, it was too late and the war ended before any of the new submarines could enter the fight.

At the same time which large numbers of submarines were being lost, large numbers of Waffen S.S. units were replacing normal army units in the fighting. Himmler, chief of the Waffen S.S. thought that his men would make more brave crews for submarines than the sailors of Karl Dornitz's Navy. He was able to persuade Adolf Hitler to support a program where submarines would be crewed by S.S. Volunteers. The program was developed in secret with not even the Chief of the Navy knowing about the program. The crew was to be the most loyal men in the S.S. and dedicated to the defeat of the enemies of the Nazis. It was rumored around Nazis who knew about the program that the captain was a practicing occultist who specialized in the dead and the undead. So was born the submarine which did not exist. The boat, U-2666 sailed out for its maiden voyage only weeks before Germany surrendered. When the Nazis realized that they would lose the war, all of the workers who built the boat were executed so that it would be kept secret so the submarine could continue the war in secret. All of the Nazi leaders who knew directly about the boat committed suicide. Around Nazi circles, there was rumors of a secret base on a remote island. The U-Boat was never heard from again. It is possible that it was sunk in the final days of the war and it is also possible that the crew decided to scuttle the submarine themselves after Germany surrendered.

Something happened after the coming of the Rifts. Things that were long dead and buried woke up. In the case of U-2666, something extremely evil woke up. There is not explanation for why this occurred, maybe it was the extreme evil and hatred of the crew which did not allow them to rest, maybe it was something related to the occult practices of the captain. The ocean became a very dangerous place with the coming of the Rifts with sea monsters, pirates, and other deadly magical storms. The first few sighting of U-2666 was considered to be the sighting of a submarine crewed by pirates and there was little concern over it. This changed over time and there was just something eerie about it. Eventually it was learned that it was something beyond that of simple pirates and it was a ghost which had returned and not returned for benevolent purposes.

The submarine appears to be covered in deep rust but otherwise looks to be intact. When seen, it is usually surrounded with some kind of witch fire and a malevolent aura can be felt coming from the submarine. The U-Boat seems to attack everything, merchant ships, warships, sea monsters, and even other haunted ships. It also does not appear to differentiate between good and evil. Against larger targets, the submarine usually rises to periscope depth ad launches a volley of torpedoes. The torpedoes follow their targets as if they are possessed by demons and there are scholars who speculate that this is the actual case. On smaller targets, the submarine will rise and use its guns on it. As well, if a ship is able to launch life boats, the U-Boat will rise to the surface and use its guns to murder any survivors. Occasionally, a few of the crew will exit the inside of the U-Boat and grab a few living survivors which are hanging off the submarine itself and drag them back inside their steel coffin. None have ever returns. Some scholars have speculated that the prisoners power the ship as sacrifices while others believe that the prisoners are consumed by an undead crew. When seen, the crew will appear as half rotted corpses which are dressed in the tattered remains of S.S. uniforms. They are a horrifying sight and some have fainted in fear just being near the undead crew. The smell is also appalling. When a hatch in the submarine opens, a bright yet sickly green glow comes from the opening. The same occurs when holes are blown in the side of the U-Boat. A psychic sailor once attempted to get a vision of the inside of the ghost submarine and have horrible visions of dripping blood. She had to be sedated afterwards and it was a long time before she could talk about. She shudders to this day when asked about the U-Boat although she will reluctantly answer questions if asked. If it seems that the submarine is about to be destroyed, it dives deep and escapes. It appears to have the ability to dive far deeper than it could originally and some speculate that it can dive to the bottom of the ocean. The New Navy has encountered it several times and there is a standing order to attempt to sink the ghost submarine. Even though it is slower than their submarines, they have been unable to follow it as it has dove beyond their maximum depth. About the only thing the ancient submarine does not appear to attack are vessels of the Coalition Navy. Scholars have been unable to find any records on the submarine but some who have researched ancient history and the Nazi party believe that the prominent Coalition symbol with its skull motif on the ships makes the submarine crew consider it to be one of their own. It is likely that it would not attack vessels displaying the Nazi flag or symbol or the old World War Two German Navy flag. It also would likely attack any vessel displaying the Star of David before any others. While some scholars discount the stories, there are stories of bodies which had just been previously killed by the U-Boat rising up as if alive and climbing onboard intact vessels and attempting to murder anything living. It has also been told that these corpse will attempt to drown remaining survivors. Other stories tell of the ship suddenly summoning a Demon Maggot which fights off attackers on the deck of the submarine. Some think that the evil magic comes from the submarine while others consider it to be the work of the crew of the vessel which it is likely that one is a necromancer. It is further speculated that this necromancer is the captain of the submarine.

Model Type: Type XXI Submarine
Vehicle Type: Ocean, Ghost Submarine
Crew: 58 (Supernatural)
Horror Factor: 18

M.D.C. by location:

	Torpedo Tubes (6 - Bow of submarine):	130 each
	Twin Flack Mounts (2 - Superstructure):	66 each
	Main Sail / Bridge:	666
	[1] Bow Planes (2):	330 each
	[2] Propellers (2):	300 each
	[3] Main Body:	2,666

Notes:
[1] Destroying the submarines bow planes will reduce the submarines ability to change depths but will not eliminate it. It also makes it difficult for the submarines crew to control the submarine giving a penalty of -25% to all piloting rolls.
[2] Loss of one of the propellers will reduce submarine's speed by half and give a -10% to piloting rolls. Destroying both of the submarine's propellers causes serious problem. The submarine will no longer be able to use forward momentum and the bow planes to keep the submarine level.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body destroys the submarine's structural integrity, causing it to sink. The undead crew appears to be unaffected by water pressures and it is unlikely that they will be killed by the sinking.
Note: The U-Boat will regenerate at 20% of the hit locations MDC per day, meaning all damage will be restored within 5 days of being damaged.

Speed:
Surface: 17.8 mph (15.5 knots/28.7 kph).
Underwater: 19.9 mph (17.25 knots /32.0 mph)
Maximum Depth: Effectively Unlimited (The Submarine appears to have no maximum depth.)
Maximum Effective Range: Effectively Unlimited, the engines appears to need no refueling and seems to run on magical energy. The boat's crew does not appear to require provisions.

Statistical Data:
Length: 251.6 feet (76.7 meters)
Draft: 20.7 feet (6.3 meters)
Width: 26.2 feet (8 meters)
Displacement: 1,621 tons (1,819 tons submerged)
Cargo: Submarine is very cramped, 10 tons of nonessential equipment and supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ships spaces are take up by extra torpedoes, weapons, and engines.
Power System: Magic, systems seem to work as if run by magic
Black Market Cost: Not for Sale, due to the haunted and evil nature of the submarine it is doubtful anyone would want the boat and the U-Boat is completely independent. Several groups would likely pay huge amounts to have the submarine destroyed.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Two (2) "Balefire" Twin 2 cm Flack Cannons: These weapons are mounted in twin mounts with one in the forward part of the superstructure while the other is in the after part of the superstructure. Originally, the weapon mounts were designed for defense against attacking aircraft. The undead crew of the submarine often use the guns to kill survivors in life boats. It is the original cannon but 'Ghost" energies cause the cannon to fire streams of rounds constructed from magical energy instead of standard projectiles. Rounds will effect both the target hit and any crew inside as if they are hit by the spell "Havoc" and the weapon appears to a virtually infinite payload.
   Maximum Effective Range: 4,000 feet (1,220 meters).
   Mega Damage: Single Round inflicts 4D4 and Long Burst 2D6x10. Each burst also inflicts 1D6 Direct to hit points per melee (Inflicts double MDC to Supernatural Creatures) to the crew and the target also needs to save vs magic or are -3 to initiative, strike, parry, and dodge. (has no sense of direction or time.) Secondary effect goes direct through power armor and vehicles. Duration of secondary effect is ten melees. Havoc effects a 10 foot (4.6 meter) diameter area.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (Usually four for ship's lich crew)
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited
2. Six (6) "Water Wraith" 53.3 cm (21 inch) Torpedo Tubes: The submarine has six torpedo tubes in the bow. The torpedoes glow with an unnatural green light. Some think that the torpedoes contain some sort of demon which possesses the weapon. The torpedo will chase down a fleeing target and are incredibly fast compared to a World War Two torpedoes, about sixty knots. While quite a bit slower than most advanced torpedoes used by Post Rifts Navies, the torpedoes appear to have effectively unlimited endurance and the only way to stop the torpedo appears to be to destroy it. The torpedo will attack over and over again unless it is destroyed (50 MDC) The torpedo has two attacks per round and is +3 to strike and dodge. Luckily, the submarine seems to possess only limited numbers of these malevolent weapons at any one time although they appear to regenerate slowly although no-one knows how this occurs. Some speculate that the torpedoes just reappear on the racks but it is mostly guess.
   Maximum Effective Range: Effectively unlimited, Once fired, the possessed torpedo will travel and pursue the designated target until its target or the torpedo is destroyed (or the target vanished from sight or gets away by another means)
   Mega-Damage: 4D6x10 M.D. of magical energy every time the torpedo strikes
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 3, 4, or 6. Reloading takes 2 full melee rounds.
   Payload: 6 Total (Has 17 torpedoes for reloads), Regenerates at the rate of 1 torpedo per hour.

Special Abilities as a Haunted Vehicle:

• Will of Its Own: The submarine has a will of its own (or it could be the lich crew) and operates completely independently. No one seems to be able to make sense of the course of the vessel and the ships motivations. The guns and tubes on the submarine can fire at the usual rate of fire and the boat can make course changes on its own. The motivation of the vessel appears to be pure evil and the boat will do practically anything to end the like of those living. Its alignment should be considered to be diabolic. It does not attack vessels with the Coalition symbol prominently (along with Nazi symbols and old World War Two German Navy Symbols.)
• Undead Crew: The submarine is crewed by over fifty undead crew members. They will sometimes attempt to board other ships and will also protect their haunted submarine. They appear mostly skeletal and are dressed in the tattered remnant of Nazi S.S. uniforms. They are extremely evil and should be considered of diabolic alignment. Similar to vampires, the undead crew only take damage from fire, silver, and enchanted weapons. They each have 100 Hit Points except the Captain who has 150 Hit Points. Consider the crew to have supernatural strengths of 20 for damage purposes, supernatural endurance, and four attacks per melee. They also have a horror factor of 15. The Captain is considered a sixth level Necromancer with 120 P.P.E. He can also use P.P.E from the vessel. He retains the ability to animate the dead and other necromancer abilities. Captain's Spells: Command Ghouls (10), Commune with Spirits (25), Constrain Being (20), Consuming Power & Knowledge (20), Control/Enslave Entity (80), Death Trance (1), Death Strike (25), Death Mask (12), Divining: Tombs & Graves ( 10 or 35), Fear (5), Fire Ball (10), Horrific Illusion (10), Life Drain (25), Mask of Deceit (15), Minor Curse (35), Object Read the Dead (8), Recognize the Undead (8), Sense Evil (2), Sense Magic (4), Shadow Meld (10), Shadows of Doom (45), Shadows of Death (45), Sickness (50), Spoil (30), Stench of the Dead (6), Summon Magot (monster, 320), Tongues (12)
• Inexhaustible Propulsive Force: Range and fuel are not a problem; the craft seems able to go on forever, powered by a magical power source. The boat seems to also produce electricity to run all of the submarine's systems.
• Regenerates Damage: The submarine will regenerate at 20% of the hit locations M.D.C. per day, meaning all damage will be restored within 5 days of being damaged. Even if a hit location is completely destroyed, it will slowly regenerate until completely restored. The vehicle will only be destroyed if the vehicle is brought to -2666 M.D.C. Otherwise, the vehicle will regenerate all damage.
• Natural P.P.E.: 500, The submarine virtually fairly hum with magical energy. The energy regenerates at the rate of 50 P.P.E. per hour. Double P.P.E. and regeneration on ley lines and triple P.P.E. and regeneration at a Ley Line Nexus. Magical energy can be used by the ship's captain for spell casting.

Quirks:

• Drips Blood: If someone could get inside the of the submarine, it would appear that everywhere blood would be dripping. As well, it appears that blood is spraying for the ship's engines.
• Death Aura: The vehicle fairly glows of death energy; anyone who looks at it can instinctively sense its necromantic energies. The vehicle also exudes a sickly smell of death and rotting flesh. The submarine has a sickly green glow which can be seen when the submarine is damaged or a hatch is opened.
• Rejects Modern Components: The submarine will not accept the addition of modern components and components will seem to fail within a few days. This probably does not matter because the vessel has no crew beyond that of undead.

[Golden Age Weaponsmiths is a trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Special Credit to Talis D. Merrill (taalismn@pop.tiac.net) for many of the concepts and enchantments / powers for Ghost / Haunted vehicles.

Copyright © 2005, Kitsune. All rights reserved.