The Horrorday Gang Story Pack

The Sims 4: The Horrorday Gang Story Pack is a pack of characters plus one lot for The Sims 4 created in August and September of 2020 by Dozerfleet Labs. Its purpose is to adapt elements of Dozerfleet Comics' The Horrorday Gang to The Sims 4.

Description
This pack allows players to assume the role of any one at a time of 14 out of 16 major characters from the main cast of The Horrorday Gang, and either play out the scenario of that story or else create an elseworld that takes that character in a different direction. Given the natural household gameplay model for Sims 4, players may download all the characters, re-arrange them by household, and play out their destinies as the player sees fit.

Synopsis
Since 1990, the Dark Kingdom of the North, Nordreichdun, had been the domain of Adolphus Kraus and his gang: better known as Krampus and the Horrorday Gang. They only terrorized the outside world when necessary for their annual rituals, and maintained a relative isolationism otherwise. In 2018, that isolation was violated. Wanting to seize an entire subdivision to use as a blood sacrifice while merging several confiscated Marlquaanite rubies in an effort to forge a new Earth Abdygalis Shard, Icy Finger affiliate Chad Estahm needed to keep his plans a secret until the exact right moment. Estahm had spent years developing cover; acting as a sheriff over Dickey County. With his influence, he had managed to corrupt nearly every office of local government, bending more and more of the bureaucracy to his will.

But he had one small problem: his brother! Refusing to partake in the "Great Merging," Anton Estahm instead tried to get in touch with the Navyrope Society - and to expose his crooked brother. Chad was having none of it! Hearing wind that the remnants of Washington - slowly being phased out by Halal Affadidah - were giving him the green light; Estahm used his powerful connections to make Anton a political prisoner. Yet, Anton escaped from prison, desperate to continue his mission to expose his brother's villainy. Around the same time, Estahm saw fit to begin harassing local farmer and truck delivery man Rob Strainer - whose overt Christianity and sympathy for the Navyropes got under Estahm's skin. He began a relentless, spiteful campaign to destroy the family - Rob especially. But he underestimated Rob's determination to get his family back, come whatever may.

Pushing his luck further, Estahm staged an invasion of Nordreichdun, injuring the Tomte and using a diversion to get Jerry, Perchta, and Luca to forget about the compound. Using a fancy wristband, Estahm enslaved Krampus. He assigned the monster but one task if he wished to live: hunt down and kill Anton, before Anton could cause any more trouble! Krampus eventually finds a way to get the wristband off; and mayhem ensues when Estahm's men try to kill the monster. They realize that if Krampus won't kill Anton for them, then they need Krampus dead - before his gang comes to retrieve him!

Perchta and Jerry head out, on orders from Luca, to find a lead on the boss and his whereabouts - while Luca and the Straggele heal the Tomte. They discover some of Rob's abducted children - about to be trafficked. Anton trying to turn to Rob for help proves disastrous for Anton, who dies anyway amidst the fighting when the Screwworms arrive. Yet, Rob is able to kill most of them, and take in an injured Krampus. A truce forms, and intensifies when they get a call from an injured Perchta. The attempt by Perchta to get a lead on the boss's whereabouts ended badly. The Screwworms left her badly wounded, but she was saved by Strainer's daughter. However, Jemma was killed by the Screwworms for her interference - along with several other children that rose up, that were supposed to be sent off to Arfaas' Gleeful-N'-Young operation!

Perchta is forced to fall back. However, she does so only after contacting Jerry. Jerry has more success locating Rob's son, Ted. He's unable to learn much from the Screwworms, but manages to kill them before they can kill Ted. Luca and a handful of the Straggele arrive at Rob's house, with Perchta retreating to Nordreichdun to watch over the kingdom while the boys do their thing. From there, she'd receive medical treatment from other guardsmen. The Tomte, rested up, heads south to join the fight.

It soon dawns on the Horrorday Gang and on the two reunited Strainers that their families have been dealt a blow. And many more families - many of whom don't deserve it - are about to be dealt an even worse one! Estahm was out of control. The Strainers wanted to be reunited, and end the rule of Estahm's corruption. The Horrorday Gang had a simpler idea: revenge! As the crooked sheriff continues his pursuit of the ritual, his Screwworms capturing all of Forbes and Oakes, Estahm would soon learn one very uncomfortable truth: Santa and his reindeer weren't coming this year. He had a meeting to attend...with the other guys!

Heroes

 * Dickey County residents
 * Rob Strainer
 * Ted Strainer &dagger;&dagger;&dagger;
 * Anton Estahm

Antiheroes

 * Horrorday Gang
 * Adolphus Kraus / Krampus
 * Gerald Smack / Jerry the Psycho Reindeer
 * Luca "the Snowmobster" Ricci
 * Tom Ometin / Tomte &dagger;
 * Polly Ann Wilson / Perchta
 * The Straggele
 * Salik Skifte / Hosenzünder
 * Ivalu Molgaard / Scharfekatze
 * Annabelle Shelly / Luftmädchen &dagger;&dagger;

Villains

 * Society of the Icy Finger
 * Warren Buntine / Rappaccini
 * Screwworm Network / Dickey County Sheriff's Office / North Dakota CPS
 * Sheriff Chad Estahm
 * Wilma Menka
 * Jack Strainer

Supporting cast

 * Leah Strainer  &dagger;&dagger;&dagger;
 * Jemma Strainer &dagger;&dagger;&dagger;

Notes on cast dynamics

 * &dagger; The Tomte is a visual effect using a garden gnome object that comes standard with Sims 4. As such, he's not downloadable.
 * He is "playable" in the game though, but only as an object.
 * His eye effects in screenshots and videos have to be added in post-production.


 * &dagger;&dagger; Annabelle isn't included in the pack as of 2022 per se; but it is entirely possible to reverse-engineer her by aging up her Sim from The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff and then aging her to a young adult, and her mother Betsy to a full adult.
 * From there, the visuals provided for Luftmädchen for her literary universe counterpart should provide clues as to how to dress Annabelle for the part of Luftmädchen.


 * &dagger;&dagger;&dagger; Ted and Jemma begin the download as being with their mother, only by virtue of the household Gallery requirements in Sims 4. Per scenario gameplay, the kids have to be separated from their mother.
 * Jemma dies canonically due to Perchta's inability to save her - though Perchta notes that Jemma wasn't "spoiled" first, and feels remorse at this failure. This fuels Perchta's desire to rip apart Estahm's men even more, since they made her feel guilt.  She wants to avenge Jemma.  Alas, along with Annabelle and Tomte, Perchta is wounded in battle, and must retreat before the climax.  This only makes the men fight that much harder, knowing that they don't have Perchta to make their job easier.
 * Players have the option, however, to break from canon and change the scenario, so that Perchta does save Jemma in time.
 * Whether Perchta kills the other kids in the holding chamber that actually have been "spoiled" (read: molested), or gets talked out of it by Jemma being sweet, is up to the player.
 * In this case, the logical thing is for Perchta to take hold of Jemma for safekeeping. She can either take Jemma back with her to Nordreichdun, deliver Jemma to Rob, or deliver Jemma to Leah.
 * If she takes Jemma to Leah, she'll want to rescue Leah from the halfway house and then deliver both of them to Gerosha. She'll drop them off with the Exodus Agenda, then alert her crew back in North Dakota of the fact that she got the Strainer women out of harm's way.
 * If she takes Jemma to Rob, then Rob will send Jemma away with a few of her old friends on an evening road trip toward Gerosha. He knows the trip will be dangerous, and that they'll have to cross through Chicago to get to southern Indiana.  But it would still be preferable to having Jemma stay in North Dakota, where she risks becoming Krampus food or being recaptured by Estahm.
 * If she takes Jemma to Nordreichdun immediately, she'll keep her there until all the other surviving Strainers are in Gerosha, and will then deliver Jemma back to her family. Annabelle will watch over Jemma in the mean time, recounting the time she lost her own family.
 * Ted lives canonically, and helps his father and the Horrorday Gang out after being rescued by Jerry from a bad foster home (and later, more of Estahm's goons.) Players can always change this up.
 * If Jerry fails to save Ted, Ted dies.
 * Players may make Ted afraid of Jerry, rather than think he's cool. In this scenario, Ted flees from Jerry, right into another trap of Estahm's men, and dies.
 * Ted canonically survives the battle. Players have the option to have him die in the battle, however.
 * Jerry could deliver Ted to Leah, rather than to Rob. But he'd then have to rescue Leah and send both of them to Gerosha.  This, however, would complicate Perchta's rescue of Jemma.  It would also result in the Horrorday Gang taking a little longer to assemble properly, as Perchta still gets injured (unless players will it otherwise,) meaning she won't be able to take Jerry's place during the final showdown.


 * Wilma is canonically a witch. Yet, to maximize her abilities, she should combine the Spellcaster occult state from Realm of Magic with the Armageddon Mod by Sacrificial.
 * Since her eyes glow green rather than red, the glowing red effect needs to be turned off in Supervillain mode. She should have her green eye effect added in post.


 * Krampus' power over the environment when he has his Dark Santa outfit on is not a power that the game naturally gives to him.
 * It can be simulated, however, by the player palette-swapping objects in Build/Buy mode with the R key, then re-stylizing objects to remove color from them as much as possible.
 * Krampus' redecorating shtick consists of "sucking the joy out of seasonal festivity." As such, he only needs to change the environment enough to make Christmas decorations look dull and lifeless, like the spirit of the season has left them.  He doesn't have to turn everything into Halloween.  He may be a "vampire" of sorts, but he isn't Dracula.


 * Perchta's shapeshifting a-la DC's Clayface is not possible in gameplay. Players will have to get creative with placement, especially using the TOOL mod by TwistedMexi, and can then draw in her "putty mode" with Photoshop.


 * Jerry's eyes are the Supervillain glow effect from the Armageddon mod. His chainsaw also requires mods and CC.


 * Luca's eye effect is the same as Jerry's. His Tommy gun effects are from the Extreme Violence mod.


 * All spears / harpoons used by the Straggele are custom content from elsewhere.


 * Jerry the Psycho Reindeer is only one-of-a-kind, because the other Dark Reindeer from Project: Ijiraq are all dead. Jerry himself killed most of them.  George Lawence, the one who escaped before being turned, was killed by the Purge-Flare.  Slasher (an evil counterpart to Dasher) was killed by Icy Finger scientists.
 * The other Dark Reindeer were named:
 * Mancer (an evil counterpart to Dancer)
 * Trancer (an evil counterpart to Prancer)
 * Succubus (an evil counterpart to Vixen)
 * Dinokiller (an evil counterpart to Comet)
 * Niulang (an evil counterpart to Cupid, named after the Chinese deity)
 * Kernwapen ("Atom Bomb," evil counterpart to Donder ["thunder"])
 * Lichtvorführung ("Light Show", evil counterpart to Blitzen ["lightning"])

Locations

 * North America
 * United States of America
 * Washington, DC
 * North Dakota
 * Dickey County
 * Forbes
 * Oakes
 * Greenland subcontinent
 * Nordreichdun
 * Nordreichdun Castle
 * Nordreichdun Airfields

Package contents
Note: The Tomte is a Photoshop effect applied to a default gnome yard decoration in The Sims 4. As such, he's not included in this pack.


 * Nordreichdun Castle.zip (237 KB)
 * Krampus.zip (144 KB)
 * Luca the Snowmobster.zip (101 KB)
 * Jerry the Psycho Reindeer.zip (149 KB)
 * Perchta.zip (100 KB)
 * Salik Skifte and Ivalu Molgaard - the Straggle.zip (237 KB)
 * Rob Strainer.zip (106 KB)
 * Jack Strainer.zip (90 KB)
 * Leah, Ted, and Jemma Strainer.zip (18 KB)
 * Sheriff Chad Estahm.zip (97 KB)
 * Anton Estahm.zip (91 KB)
 * Wilma Menka.zip (88 KB)

Additional custom content requirements
Note: While you can technically get away with running this pack without these mods, these are ideal for performance without sudden contents going missing.

For environment

 * Armageddon Mod by Sacrificial
 * Extreme Violence Mod by Sacrificial

For all characters

 * Height Slider and Shorter Teens Mod v1.97 by SimmyTheSim at Mod the Sims
 * Note: Deprecated. Feel free to use a more updated height slider if you choose.
 * Defined Hand Overlay by Samantha Gump at Sims4Nexus
 * Defined Feet Overlay by Samantha Gump at Sims4Nexus
 * 95 Combined Skin Color Overlays (September 2014) by Simsperience
 * Studio K Karzalee Gun Belt

For Krampus

 * Krampus-ified Father Winter Suit by Dozerfleet Labs (linked in thread straight to MediaFire)

For Krampus and the Straggele

 * World of Warcraft Demon Hunter Horns by Illidari at Valhallan
 * Anonymous Mask by Karzalee at Studio K Creations

For Krampus and Jerry

 * Angel and Demon Traits by Simsbunny19 at Mod the Sims

For Jerry

 * Fur Skin Overlay by EmuMaster2002 at Mod the Sims
 * Antlers by Mikalina

For all males

 * Ricky Male Skin Overlay by Wistful Castle at The Sims Resource
 * Body Hair V5 by Luumia

For all females

 * Ginerva Skin by SayaSims at The Sims Resource
 * Valencia Skin by SayaSims at The Sims Resource

Inspiration
Inspiration for this pack came from the Facebook feed of Bob Miner of North Dakota, at the center of a legal controversy known as "Minergate," involving multiple levels of CPS engaged with state government in some of the most egregious violations of the constitutional rights of citizens ever to be committed in US history. As such, the embellished tale of The Horrorday Gang is Minergate, told from Bob's point of view. It borrows Gerosha mythological elements from the Centipede and Fire Saga, as well as from Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo - and even has influenced retroactively the development of smaller plot points in Blood Over Water!

The elements of this story not interested in telling an embellished tale of the state of North Dakota being involved in racketeering and child trafficking, as well as racist persecution of white families in Dickey County, from the point of view of one of the most prominent victims of state corruption, are mythological elements. They are derived at further integrating Austrian, Inuit, and other cultures into Gerosha mythos. Primarily, elements of mythology regarding Nordreichdun are centered around integrating into the mythos an explanation for how Krampus is (sort-of) "real" in the Gerosha universe, but Santa Claus isn't.

These elements further tie in with earlier efforts to create a Krampus-themed villain for Gerosha content going as far back as a Krampus-modified North Pole lot on the Sims 4 Gallery in December of 2017 - with the original file being released by the user FindJoo from Indonesia. Further efforts to make a compelling Krampus character for Gerosha were enhanced when the Dozerfleet founder got to watch the Michael Doughtery film.

It was not long after that in which Adolphus Kraus was reimagined as a sort of Doctor Doom knockoff that had taken control of northern Greenland - mixed with a vampire that had a need to feast every December and could attack with Venom-like brutality. The Straggele were then reimagined as his cult following of brainwashed Inuits, taking cues from both Doctor Doom in classic Marvel Comics and from Joseph Seed in Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn.

Along with this came a desire to mix the Krampus reimagining with a dramatization of Bob Miner's legal war against North Dakota state corruption, on reason that Sheriff Chris Estes (the inspiration behind Chad Estahm) "deserved nothing less than to be torn limb-from-limb by Krampus for all he's done." To further drive home the point of the bad sheriff deserving this fate, it's explained that the sheriff, to create a new Abdygalis Shard after the destruction of the one in Romania, needed to take the entire town of Oakes hostage and blood sacrifice them in an occult ritual. This ritual would also resurrect Belay and Astirnah, who had been defeated over two years earlier by the Angelic Army during the events in Cherinob 2.

Estahm was on the brink of following through with this and other diabolical plans, including plans to kidnap every "expendable" child he could from Forbes and have them trafficked to what remained of Gleeful-N'-Young after the death of Clyde Spendelworth.

However, his brother Anton was about to expose him. He has his own brother kidnapped, and made a political prisoner. But after his brother escapes from prison, Estahm ignores his higher-ups in the Icy Finger advising against it, and uses his rank in the organization to stage the abduction of Krampus - whom he tries to turn into a one-man Suicide Squad knockoff in order to hunt down Anton.

Naturally, as Krampus is able to finally break free from the restraints keeping him under Estahm's control, and is rescued by Rob Strainer (Bob Miner's stand-in,) the two realize that stopping Estahm and saving what remains of Rob's family (and the town of Oakes) will require them to work together to visit on the sheriff the one thing they both want on him: revenge. In this very direct way, Estahm (Estes) is shown to be fully deserving of his impending horrific fate.

Thus, a basic pitch was developed for a novel, which was to be dubbed The Horrorday Gang. This angry tale of antiheroes didn't stop at just giving Krampus something to do, however. Jerry the Psycho Reindeer was added to the mythos, as Krampus' chauffeur, giving him an "Evil Rudolph" companion. Jerry had previously featured in the song "Jerry the Psycho Reindeer" off the Every Ape and His Brother album The Chicken of the Opera from 2008, and his song was worked into Gerald Smack's Ijiraq Program origin story to justify his inclusion in The Horrorday Gang. Likewise, this also allowed him and George Lawence to have originated from the same lab, explaining George's psychosis in Blood Over Water.

Following on the heels of giving Krampus (the Bad Santa) an "Evil Rudolph" companion, Luca Ricci was introduced as "Luca the Snowmobster." This gave Krampus his own evil Frosty counterpart - who also got his own song: "Luca the Snowmobster" off the Every Ape and His Brother album Winter Horrorland. Reimaginings of Perchta and the Tomte added to the ranks, until there were a sufficient number of warped Yuletide mascots to feel like a proper cast.

Rollout
Realizing that a Sims 4 story pack of this concept would be able to be rolled out much sooner than an actual, properly-written novel and in a more timely manner to raise publicity about the plight of the real-life Bob Miner; this story pack was openly pursued in the summer of 2020. The goal was to ensure it got a proper release and promotion cycle across Dozerfleet's greater web network before December of 2020 rolled around - so that a re-issue of promotion for it would arrive in time for the Christmas season.

Distribution
Implementation of this pack was incremental, with members of the cast introduced piecemeal beginning on mid-August of 2020 and continuing until September 2nd. The actual Horrorday Gang members themselves were the first to get uploaded and focused on, followed by the Straggele. Rob Strainer and his family were added next, followed by Anton and finally, the main antagonist villains. Chad Estahm and Wilma Menka took the longest time to upload, as pictures of their inspirations in North Dakota were difficult to find online.