Black Madonna Twist
 

Instead of going to the trouble of trying to locate and acquire the genuine Black Madonna of Czestachowa, it seems like it might be easier for a well connected oganization (like the KGB/GRU or CIA/DIA) or individual (like the Markiz of Silesia) to forge it and pass the forgery off as authentic.

The Germans used captive Jewish artisans to forge documents and Allied currency. Apparently, it was extremely difficult to detect the forgeries or to differentiate between the forgeries and the real thing, even for experts.

This opens a wide range of missions for a PC group. They could be sent by any number of entities to find/kill/rescue/escort someone capable of creating or detecting a forgery of the Black Madonna.

I can see a half dozen purported Black Madonnas floating around after 2000 with various parties trumpetting theirs as the real one.

Anyway, I thought I'd float the idea. I skimmed through the module and didn't see forgery mentioned at all, nor do I remember reading the idea here or on the old forum. I hope it's useful (and original).

It makes perfect sense for those with the technical ability to do it, and the capability to keep it a secret - not much point in forging something you intend to use for propaganda and have it public knowledge to be a fake....

Of course as Rae has indicated, finding suitably skilled people might be almost as difficult as recovering the original item! And then you still have to convince them to do the job!

Im gonna use the Madonna as a tool in my 11th ACR storyline...

It does give someone ALOT of political power indeed.

For a twist, have the Germans accuse your PCs of trying to pass off a forgery. The PCs then have to find someone who can authenticate it.

= potentially huge side mission.

Indeed. Finding them would probably be the hardest part. I think most pragmatists could be persuaded fairly easily. There's the carrot (food, shelter, protection, luxury items, etc.) and the stick (hostage-taking, torture, threat of death, etc.).

I love it. Wish I'd thought of it when my campaign was running and still set in Europe. Then again, the PCs (and players) in my campaign seemed only passingly interested in what they had when they captured the Black Madonna. They found a backpack nuke in the same cache and that captured their interest a great deal more :D

Interest? Maybe...
Attention? ABSOLUTELY!

It's not something you'd be all that comfortable in dropping....