Officially a Soviet technical institute conducting plasma research, the remit of NII-437 was to investigate the paranormal and turn whatever it could find to the advantage of Mother Russia. After success in developing supernatural talents in children, NII-437 was consolidated in a remote location in the Solovetsky Islands.

While NII-437 continued to produce results, increased funding saw the facility expand, but eventually NII-437 was too successful. The test subjects began running the place and conducting their own esoteric research. Alarmed about the potential of this rogue school of witches and wizards, when the Solovetsky facility could not be brought to heel, the army were sent in.

The battle was terrible, and though the test subjects were powerful, they were not disciplined soldiers or military tacticians. Expenditure of men and ammunition won the day for the Soviet authorities, but the legacy of NII-437 would live on…

Adventure Seeds

Digging in the Dirt: The ruins of the Solovetsky Island facility are contaminated with magical fallout, but there may be paranormal artefacts waiting to be found. Of course, there are probably unnatural things still lurking nearby…

Forgotten Victims: Soldiers exposed to horrific magic might still be incarcerated in various asylums, as might surviving test subjects, chemically sedated but kept alive for study. One of these inmates might be the road into uncovering the story of NII-437, or maybe someone or something with unnatural powers escapes…

Down Among the Dead: A selection of artefacts either found or created by NII-437 were deemed too dangerous to be kept on the mainland and were sent by submarine to a remote arctic facility. They never got there, but now the missing sub has been found on the seabed. Are the characters sent to recover the artefacts, or ensure another team doesn’t disturb them? Or has something terrible washed up on the shore near an arctic town?