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1 
 Adventure: 
Operation Sinterklaas 
-Written by Andrew McColl
Plot Synopsis 
The players learn that the nefarious ThuleSociety have put in motion a plot to travel to theNorth Pole and abduct Santa Claus. The playersmust give chase to make sure that Christmasremains safe for another year.This adventure is designed as a one shotmission using pre-generated characters found inthe HEX books, though your players can maketheir own characters if they prefer. Not all ofthose characters would be appropriate for thisadventure, but there are more than enough. Thisadventure can handle up to eight characters, forreasons that will become clear later in theadventure.You could also use this adventure as thestarting point of an ongoing campaign or as atransitional adventure in an existing campaigntaking your characters inside the Hollow Earthfor the first time. At the end of the adventure,you will be given the option of having yourplayers returned safely to the surface or leavingthem inside the Earth to explore its mysteriesfurther.
GM Note:
You may be wondering how a storyfeaturing Santa Claus, his magical sleigh andflying reindeer fit into the world of HollowEarth. The truth is, they don’t, at least not in thetraditional sense. Certain aspects of thetraditional version of Santa have been adjustedto fit into the setting better. Should any of yourplayers complain about these changes, justremind them that Earth is hollow and they’re ona mission to rescue Santa and save Christmas.Failing that, give them some more eggnog.You will require a copy of
Hollow EarthExpedition
to be able to use this adventure. Whilesome elements have been taken from
Secrets of the Surface World
, all the information you requirehas been included where appropriate.
The Strange Transmission 
October 7th, 1936
The players are called to the offices of the U.S.Army’s Intelligence Division. They have beenchosen because either they have worked for theDivision in the past, or their particular talentsare deemed most appropriate for the mission.Once they have all arrived, they are shown intoa small conference room where they are met bya dour looking man who introduces himself asMajor Thompson. He has called the playerstogether to ask their assistance about a matter ofupmost importance.He explains that the Intelligence Division hadrecently intercepted a transmission from a groupwithin the German Nazi party. It stated thatthey had discovered information pertaining toancient powerful technology. They are not surewhat purpose the Nazis have in mind for thetechnology, but it cannot be good.The transmission was sparse on details otherthan that the information was pointing towardsto the North Pole. A Nazi airship has beendispatched and is expected to reach the pole in afew days. The most curious part of thetransmission was the name that was used for themission: Operation Sinterklaas. Charactersfluent in German (
technically it’s a Dutch word,but close enough
) will recognize the second wordas being a translation of Santa Claus.Major Thompson asks the players to disregardthe curious title; it is obviously some Nazi trickto throw people off. The U.S. Army are takingthis matter very seriously, and he asks them totravel after this Nazi airship, see exactly whatthis ancient technology is and, if possible, stop itfrom falling into enemy hands.Following the briefing, the players are allowedto gather any belongings that might want to take
 
Operation Sinterklaas 2 
for the mission. Once ready, they are driven to alocal military airfield where a military FordTrimotor waits on the tarmac. It has beenmodified with machine-gun turrets on eitherside of the fuselage, and snow skis are in theprocess of being attached.The characters are informed that they shouldbe able to catch up with the airship within a dayor two. It will then be up to them to assess thesituation and proceed as they see fit. MajorThompson explains that cold weather gear iswaiting for them on the plane and there shouldbe ample ammunition for any weapons theyhave on them.
To the Pole 
The flight to the North Pole takes a little morethan two days, with a number of quick stopsalong the way to take on fuel and furthersupplies. As the plane travels further north, thecharacters start to feel the biting chill more andmore. Fortunately, the supplied cold weathergear helps offsetting the biting chill.The third day dawns and there is still no signof the Nazi airship. The pilot is starting tobecome anxious and tells the characters that, ifthey do not see anything soon they will beforced to turn around. Better that than end upstranded on the ice. A short while later, theplane hits a patch of unexpected turbulence andthe instruments start giving unusual readings.One moment the altimeter is showing a flyingheight of 1000 feet, the next they are belowground level.As this all happens, the sky begins to darken asif the plane had flown into a bank of thick cloud– yet no cloud can be seen through thewindows. The pilot tries to radio for assistance,but gets nothing but static. Whatever they areexperiencing, they are going to be doing soalone. Just as it seems the aircraft is about to be tornapart by the rough conditions the darknesssubsides and the turbulence eases. Things returnmostly to normal, the only difference being thatwhere there was once a barren icy plain beneaththem, there is now a series of low mountains,whose snow-capped peaks are a little too closefor comfort. The pilot takes emergency evasivemeasures and no damage is done.
Death From Above 
At this point, the players need to make aPerception roll with a difficulty rating of 2. Anycharacters that succeed will spot a large eagleflying above and slightly behind the aircraft. Itwill soon become relevant that the creature ismuch larger than first thought. The aircraft hasinadvertently attracted the attentions of acolossal Roc (see pg. 223,
Hollow EarthExpedition
) intent on defending its territory fromthis new intruder.The pilot starts taking evasive maneuvers andcalls for the players to “man the battle stations!”Two of the players will be able to man themachinegun turrets on the sides of the aircraft,while braver souls may wish to open the sidedoor and open fire from there. The Roc willattack every third turn with its claws as it soarspast. If the characters manage to deal 8 points ofdamage to the Roc it will immediately break offthe attack and return to its nest. Alternatively, ifthe plane takes 8 points of damage from the Rocit will be forced to the ground.
Military Ford Trimotor 
Size Def Spd Hnd Strc4 4 100 0 12 Armament:
2x Browning M2 .50 Machineguns
Rough Landing 
If the aircraft takes sufficient damage duringthe combat the pilot attempts to land the aircraftin a nearby clearing. To the relief of everyone onboard, the Roc leaves the area soon after. If theaircraft manages to make it through the combatrelatively unscathed, the pilot decides to itwould be safer to land the plane than riskanother assault.Whatever the outcome of the combat, theplayers find themselves in a small clearing.Other than the fact that they were recently flyingover arctic waste and they have just beenattacked by a mythical creature, the scene israther unremarkable. If the players wish tosearch the area, ask them to make a Survival roll
 
Operation Sinterklaas 3 
(Diff: 3). Any player succeeding will notice thatthe clearing had recently been passed throughby a group of humans. The tracks lead to a smallpath leading away from the clearing.The pilot informs the players that it will takesome time for him to affect repairs, allowingthem some free time to investigate the tracks.They can easily follow the path through theforest and it leads them to a small rise that looksover the next valley. Nestled in a valley is whatlooks like a small log cabin. Any player whomakes a Perception roll with a difficulty of 3 willalso be able to see that the area around the cabinlooks like it has been the site of a recent conflict.As the players advance down the path towardsthe cabin, a squad of Nazi soldiers walks out ofthe front door. They do not appear to beexpecting trouble, so are not on their guard anddo not spot the players immediately. There areenough trees between the players and the Nazisthat they can take cover if they wish to make astealthy approach. Use the stats on page 201 of
Hollow Earth Expedition
for the soldiers. Feel freeto include as many soldiers as you think yourplayers can handle. The fight should not be toochallenging, and reward the players for simplynot charging in.Once the Nazis have been defeated, the playerscan get a better look of the area around thecabin, as well as the inside of the cabin itself. Aquick search of the area reveals that if there wasanyone living here, they are now gone. Theinside of the cabin has been ransacked and thereare signs of a scuffle outside. If any of thesoldiers were taken alive, some pointedquestioning will get them to reveal that the restof their detachment has already left with the oldman and his flying machine. They had been leftbehind to guard the cabin and would be pickedup later.
The Reindeer
As soon as the players have finished searchingthe area and questioning any prisoners, theyhear an indignant snorting from the tree line.Looking around, they see that eight large deerhave emerged into the clearing. Canny playersmay realize that these are Santa’s reindeer. Theplayers may make an Animal Handling roll(Diff: 3) to attempt to pacify the animals. Anyplayer who also uses any of their names(Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid,Donner, and Blitzen) gains an additional twosuccesses. The reindeer have stats identical tothose of the Irish Elk (see pg. 227,
Hollow EarthExpedition
) with a flight speed of twice theirMove rating.
“What about Rudolph?”
Time for a quick history lesson: Rudolph wasadded to the sleigh team some time after Santabecame a cultural icon, in 1939 to be precise. Hewas created by Robert L. May for departmentstore chain Montgomery Ward as part of aChristmas promotion. Seeing as the events ofthis adventure take place three years prior to hiscreation, Rudolph has been left out of theadventure.Soon after the reindeer have been pacified, theyeach start gesturing to their backs with theirantlered heads. They want the players to get ontheir backs for some reason. They even lowertheir hindquarters to make it easier for theplayers to jump on. The players may be hesitantto do so at first, but remind them it has onlybeen a short time since they left the pilot withthe plane, so they can afford to explore a littlemore.With all the players mounted safely, thereindeer start trotting towards the far edge ofthe clearing. As they approach the tree line theybegin to pick up speed and, just when it lookslike they are about to run into the tree, kick offwith their front legs and start climbing into theair. These really are Santa’s flying reindeer. Theflight is surprisingly smooth, and the players donot feel any ill effects despite the altitude andthe cold air obviously rushing past them.The reindeer turn towards the location of thedowned aircraft, quickly form into the familiarsleigh formation, and soar through the sky. Thistime there are no Rocs to bother the players andthey can get a much better view of thesurrounding terrain. The cabin and clearing arenestled within a range of low hills that rise tosnow-capped peaks in the middle distance.Behind them, the hills give way to forested
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