Statistics - The Electric Age - Der Haber-Prozess

As I wrote up elsewhere, in the alternate Great War setting I am writing up, German scientist Dr. Fritz Haber, in our world the father of chemical warfare, took his prodigious talents a step further and reanimated corpses to solve Germany's desperate manpower shortages.  It is time to put some statistics to that.

Dr. Fritz Haber, inventor of the Haber Process

Dr. Fritz Haber's revolutionary, some would say immoral, process to reanimate the recently dead relies on modern chemistry and a large electric battery to overcome some of the cessation of natural function at death.  The results of the Haber Process - a term previously applied to the manufacture of nitrates for explosives - are not perfect, but they have allowed Germany to tap previously unimaginable personnel reserves.  These are neither the shuffling "Habers" of later horror movies, nor the mind-controlled "Zombi" popularized in American fiction after the occupation of Haiti, but rather a reanimated, somewhat degraded version of the original person.

Habers vary considerably in quality based on when in the war they were created, and the delay between death and reanimation.  For instance, Fritz Haber's wife, Clara, showed severe personality changes and some loss of intellectual capacity, but physically was largely indistinguishable from her prewar state, save for the battery pack that she had to carry.  However, Habers made from the corpses of battlefield dead retrieved more than three days after death proved to be useless for anything other than bayonet charges, and barely useful for those, due to advancing decay in the body.

Most Habers, starting with the original Clara, carry their required battery on their upper backs, giving them a uniquely hunchbacked appearance.  This has helped to stigmatize them further.  It also complicates medical care to them, but not so far that it makes it impossible - the battery pack merely has to stay attached, not strapped to the Haber.

In Savage Worlds terms, Habers function as follows:

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Strong-Willed - Either because of some insight into what comes after life, or simply because they have a hard time processing social stimuli, Habers start with a d6 in Spirit.

Tough - The chemical processes, and the batteries that prevent them from dying, mean that Habers are harder to kill than a normal opponent.  Habers start with +1 Toughness.

Brave - For similar reasons to their improved Spirit, Habers are virtually immune to fear.  They start with the Brave Edge.

Feel No Pain - Sense of touch is among the first things lost during the decay process. Habers do not take Wound penalties.

Free Edge - Habers are still human beings, merely reanimated.  Therefore they start with the standard human free Edge.

All Thumbs - One of the first casualties of the decay process is fine motor control in the reanimated.  All Habers start with the All Thumbs Hindrance.

Shunned - Habers are viewed with deep suspicion by most of the world as unnatural, immoral creatures.  They start with the Minor version of the Outsider Hindrance.

Habit - Habers require a large battery, approximately 10 kilograms (20 pounds, conversion simplified just for ease of math), connected to their person at all times.  This counts as a Major version of the Habit Hindrance.

Mental Degradation - Habers suffer a -2 to all Smarts-related skills and tasks, and can have a maximum Smarts die of a d10.

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Example Habers:

Clara Immerwahr Haber was the first woman to achieve a doctorate in chemistry in Germany.  She was also a deeply unhappy wife, a noted pacifist, and the first recipient of the Haber Process after her first (1915) suicide.  While her husband was gone in 1917 during the tests of the Haber Regiments on the Eastern Front, she quietly removed her battery pack and died, and attempts to reanimate her again failed completely.

The following statistics are based on creating her as a Haber, not as a standard human.  Asterisks indicate a modified attribute.  The Repair skill is based on the fact that Savage Worlds Repair covers everything from demolitions to aircraft maintenance, and includes laboratory equipment design, construction, and repair.

Wild Card; Rank: Seasoned, Agi d6, Sma d10*, Spi d10*, Str d4, Vig d6, Toughness 5, Parry 4; Edges: Scholar, Brave; Hindrances: Pacifist (Major), Habit (Battery) (Major), Outsidor (Minor), All Thumbs; Academics d12, Notice d6, Persuasion d8, Repair d8, Science d12.


Oswald Boelcke was Germany's first great war ace, and author of the Dicta Boelcke, the rules which govern how German pilots prosecute the air war.  He was also a prime candidate for the Haber Process, because he crashed near a German artillery position and his wounds, while lethal, were comparatively minor.  Boelcke's return to flight was a propaganda coup for the Luftstreitkräfte, but Boelcke himself would rather have been all the way out of the war.

Wild Card; Rank: Veteran, Agi d10, Sma d4*, Spi d10*, Str d6, Vig d8, Toughness 6, Parry 6; Edges: Ace, Combat Ace, Celebrity, Brave; Hindrances: Death Wish, Code of Honor, Habit (Battery) (Major), Outsider (Minor), All Thumbs; Athletics d8, Notice d8, Driving d8, Fighting d8, Piloting d12, Repair d8,  Riding d8, Shooting d10.

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