"Paranormal Lab"

All right, "Paranormal Lab" is ready now.
In this picture we observe: Dr. Gertrude Roth and her assistant Otis Schroeder performing some tests on a giant brain and a huge eyestalk of "unknown" origin. Their underground facility is well equipped and has many chambers with all sorts of different contraptions... well worth exploring, don't you think?
It seems there is (literature, internet) enough material for a whole new game, or at least a totally new branch, the "paranormal branch", not pure sci-fi but a srong reference to it:
- Ahnenerbe - (Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft) organization was founded by Heinrich Himmler in 1935, and later was incorporated into SS in 1939. The Aryan ancestral heritage research undertaken by Ahnenrbe, including all kinds of expeditions (Iceland, Tibet), excavations (of different burial grounds, etc.), and all kinds of medical experiments (most of which were condemned during the Nurenberg trials)
- Thule society - (founded in 1918 by Rudolf von Sebottendorf, named after Ultima Thule - most distant land, in the North, believed to be the place where the Aryan race came from,) was engaged in many different activities, including Nazi mysticism and political intrigue. Thule society is considered to be a predecessor of DAP (German Workers Party) formed in 1919, which later became NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party). It is said that Hitler himself was a member of Thule society. Although to avoid embarrasment of being associated with the occult Hitler later absorbed them into NSDAP with many active Thule society's members like Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rosenberg assuming different roles in it.
In relation to Silent Storm I think the mystical part is probably the most interesting (possibly because it is a safe (not condemned) topic due to being highly improbable and unlikely), but I am more interested in the medical aspect of their research, making it a source of certain medications and possibly of some rare tools (unlimited surgical set, for example), statistics modifying equipment (one-time only) or some strange, unexplained extracensoric gadgets or implants.

Here is another picture (Jasc paint shop pro 8 image) I drew the other day.

From left to right:
Generalmajor Otto Ernst Remer, the founder of Socialist Reich Party (SRP), the extreme right-wing splittoff of the German Empire Party - left (I used a real photo of him), Remer's secretary and personal
bodyguard Carmelia Donitz - middle ( fictional, maybe Grand Admiral Karl Donitz' daughter or niece, who knows?), Lukas Kahl - right (fictional, the head of SRP's paramilitary organization Reichsfront).
Note their insignia and symbols resemble those of Nazis.

A short summary of their activities: Formed in 1949, engaged in Holocaust denial, critisizing FRG's chancellor Adenauer for being an American puppet, advocated Karl Donitz as the last rightful leader of Germany, etc. In 1952 SRP was accused of being neo-nazi and banned by Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court of West Germany).
It is also believed that SRP was financed by Soviet Union with the goal to destabilize the young, then, FRG.
Could be an interesting twist in the plot, couldn't it?

Daily newspaper, Office of Military government for Germany (U.S.)

This is an example of a periodical that could be made available for purchase from newspaper stands or book dealers like Gunther (in Zeizenburg, H&S). they may contain: - clues (articles, ads, "Wanted" posters, etc.), - overviews of political events (in this issue I used some of the "Time" magazine's archived articles (photos I got in many different places, including Wikipedia), meaning that the events described here indeed took place in the second half of December 1949, - weather changes (affecting the choice of clothes for the characters to enable them to operate without certain penalties, etc.

The "Massacre at Bogenschaffen" (T.H. base) article is the only one related to the game Hammer & Sickle. There could be more if I had a specific plot event that needed to be described or introduced.

The Communist and Nationalistic periodical could also be created allowing the player to learn about different perspectives and enter different branches/quests, examples: "Paranormal branch/large quest"(Ahnenerbe, mind control research, etc.), "Power branch"(pure "hack and slash"), "Gehlen Org. branch"(ex-nazis, CIA (Critchfield) - Nazi (Gehlen) connection, BND, Munich, Pullah ), "German Communists branch/large quest"(internal conflicts between Communists and Social Democrats in SED), "Neo-Nazi branch" Socialist Reich party, their paramilitary org. Reichsfront under the leadership of Generalmajor Remer and his cronies, "Mossad quests" (Israeli Intelligence Agency was formed on Dec13, 1949), British and French military publications could be imitated too. The possibilities are numerous.

The newspapers would permit the player to actively look for the information about the area he/she is in and the world.

"Keyhole Berlin 1949" poster

West Berlin 1949 (military installations, airports, districts, transportation network)

Dec.29, 1949. 11:57 p.m. Grosser Wansee, Zehlendorf, West Berlin.(H&S poster).