At the core of the philosophy behind NecroMech is the continued addition AND availability of content. To reflect this our Kickstarter updates will focus on what will be included in version 2.0.0. that only our backers will see with release at the conclusion of the campaign.
I decided to start with Gordon Ashton, since this is a character who I see as my own personal alter-ego and a character I would play given the opportunity in one of your adventures.
Gordon’s background paints the picture of a man with a profound motivation to “Kill Germans”, the opportunity to do so, and the will and tenacity to see the job done.
Gordon loses both his parents, his father a soldier and his mother a nurse working on the front line, to WWI. At age 13 he finds himself at the John Benn orphanage on Bower Street in Stepney, London. Harboring an intense hatred for the Germans Gordon enlists in the army as soon as he reaches his 16th birthday, becoming Private Ashton – 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Aldershot. As part of the British Expeditionary Force, now Sergeant Ashton, is sent to France in September 1939. While being driven back through Belgium and north-western France, for eventual evacuation from Dunkirk in May 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, Gordon earns the reputation of a relentless fighter giving no ground to the Germans unless steeped in their blood. Gordon transfers to the No. 7 Commando in August 1940 and is sent to the Middle East as part of Layforce; fighting side-by-side with Robert Hannay during the Layforce attack on Bardia in April 1941. After agreeing to keep in touch after the war they go their separate ways with Gordon taking part in the battle of Crete, assisting in the evacuation of the Allied forces. However, he is temporarily taken prisoner before killing his 4 German soldier escort and making good his escape. In March 1945, now part of 1st Commando Brigade (after his own commando group is disbanded). Gordon is again captured during Operation Plunder as he crosses the river Rhine at Wessel. This time he is unable to escape after being captured and is taken initially to Stalag 6F in Bocholt only 25km away. However, with the allies pressing forward he and the other POWs are moved east. Unfortunately for Gordon, he is included in a small group identified as particularly “tough and resilient” and sent to Wewelsburg (120 miles away) as test subjects for Dr. Kruckel in his “stitching project”.
What happens next explores how this singular focus together with the impact of his grafts play out in terms of the moral choices he makes and will make. Moral ambiguity is a constant theme throughout NecroMech.
“The tests begin again. The ache in my mouth seems to pulse with anticipation. But I now have control. I will not kill anymore.”
“I remember the first time. Waking with the memory of the torment. Touching my teeth. Not my teeth. Something else.”
“I bang on my cell door. It opens. Escape…”
“Is it the third? No the fourth. Another Nazi lying at my feet. Throat torn out. His blood. But so much more. The memory of another man screaming as the blood pours from his very skin, pulled by some unseen force to shower me in red. My pain is gone. I need more! Wait. What am I thinking!”
“I run on. She comes out of nowhere. We crash to the floor. I sense the very life flowing through her. How? Her proximity fills me a profound, aching, need? What is this feeling? I grab her exposed arm, she screams, the relief, another scream… I must STOP!”