Delta Green - Actual Play (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

[kinnygraham]

I haven't been on here a while due to limited PC acess - but I finally got to kick off my Delta Green game on Monday of this week ( 6th September 2004 ) and things went well - so I thought I would share the experience. I've also shared this with the community over on Yog-sothoth.com and I hope it's of interest to people here.

I've started off with two players (my thanks to Martin Tulloch and Steve Emmott from the Leeds role-playing group ...Some of you on here may know Steve as he is a manager in the Travelling Man chain of games shops here in the UK). I hope to introduce one or more additional players as things develop.

I kicked the campaign off with 'Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays- - the suggested 'introductory' scenario from the original Delta Green sourcebook.

For those of you who think you might end up as a player in that scenario - please stop reading now. What follows are some notes on what I did to prepare the scenario and how the first session went. Most of the handouts I refer to I have saved on to a folder on the Delta Green Yahoo Group so that other Keepers can use.




Steve played agent 'Scott Hackett' a somewhat grizzled veteran who was formerly on regular duty with the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Hackett was present at the Siege of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco - the mental scars of which he bears to this day.

Martin played agent 'Peter de Vere'. Peter comes from old East Coast money but is currently estranged from his blue blood relatives and lives very modestly having been 'cut off' . He is also something of a maths whizz kid. He took advantage of an FBI scholarship programme and his immediate future is committed to the Bureau as a result.

I kicked off the game explaining that it was set in August of 1997, and that the players were based in the Phoenix Field Office in Arizona. [I was able to show them handouts depicting the FBI building in Phoenix and an FBI Arizona office patch - images obtainable from the FBI website ]

Atmosphere wise - the scene was set with the use of the 'Silence of the Lambs' soundtrack throughout....

The characters had been summoned to see the SAC for Phoenix who was assigning them to a new case. I gave them a handout depicting the front page of the 'National Tattler' which contained a story about mysterious disappearances occurring on or near Highway 70 passing through the San Carlos Indian reservation. They were told to make their way to San Carlos the next morning to meet up with the Arizona State Police Major investigating the disappearances. They were instructed to play it carefully with the local law enforcement - the reservation is a separate legal jurisdiction with it's own police force in addition to the state troopers - and relationships between Native-Americans and federal agencies have been strained in the past [another handout was provided describing the case of Leonard Peltier - an Indian activist convicted of killing two agents]. The PCs were being assigned on an 'advisory' capacity only.

The characters obtained a detailed map of the area [ I had purchased a good atlas of Arizona so was happily able to oblige ] and after signing for a 4 wheel drive vehicle from the car pool and gathering some equipment together they set off for the San Carlos area - just over 2 hours drive away. They checked themselves in to the Apache Gold Casino Hotel [which can be viewed online at it's own website ] and set off on recce of the area. First impressions were that Highway 70 was a lonely, quiet stretch of road.

Returning to the hotel there was some nice role playing between the players as their characters got to know each other a little better over a drink - Hackett expressing mild cynicism about the role of mathematics and statistics in modern investigative work and then clamming up, changing the subject and ordering more drinks when the subject of Waco was raised by de Vere.

The next morning they made their way to San Carlos and after encountering a Tribal Police Officer engaged in some public relations with some tourists [giving me a chance to use a picture of a San Carlos Tribal Police officer doing just exactly that which I'd found on the 'net') they met up with Major Frank Garrett of the ASP and Sheriff Colorados of the SC Reservation Tribal police. After making it plain that this was their 'turf', further details about the disappearances were provided and the last known whereabouts of the individuals concerned were plotted on the map. Hackett made a point of trying to put Colorados at ease - emphasising that they were here to assist and not to hinder.

The two agents decided to visit the scene of the last disappearance - that of an Indian rancher and his family who had vanished from their home. With Colorados accompanying them they arrived at the property - de Vere setting off to examine the buildings and Hackett exploring the surrounding area to look for vantage points from which the house may have been monitored. Reaching a nearby hillock, the keen-eyed Hackett spotted vultures circling about a mile away further into the hills surrounding the property. They all set off to investigate - joined at this point by John Crow, a taciturn old Apache and neighbouring farmer.

Presently they came upon an a flat, barren area surrounded by dunes. Vultures had alighted upon what looked like a large number of small mounds of disturbed earth and were greedily feasting on gobbets of flesh they were tearing from them. The stench of death hung heavy in the hot, oppressive air... Examining the nearest one, the players discerned that the mounds seemed to contain sheep carcasses. Furthermore, they were covered in prints and it looked as if a coyote had uncovered the sheep - although there were no signs that the coyote had done anything to the carcasses after exposing them. John Crow explored further (ignoring the agents concerns about contaminating the scene) and silently pointed out a larger mound to them. The squeamish de Vere stayed put, but Hackett moved closer and soon saw that there was a human hand protruding from the larger mound - as well as signs of exposed clothing. It looked big enough to contain several persons. Colorados went off to his cruiser to summon backup. Crow completed his examination of the area, looking even further perplexed by something - but not divulging anything to the white men and only conversing in Apache with Colorados on his return. Colorados informed the investigators that Crow had noticed that the coyote tracks could not be found entering or leaving the area. John Crow apparently thought that this was the work of 'spirit animals' . Colorados had further news; his men were on their way to secure the scene, but the two agents were wanted elsewhere. The Arizona State Troopers had spotted the roof of a buried car from the air about 12 miles further down State 70 from their present location.

Arriving at the scene, they found Garrett and his State Troopers busily excavating the car. De Vere spotted the fact that the troopers were standing all over some further prints: coyote prints again. From marks on the roof, it looked as if a coyote had exposed the roof of the car. Photographs were taken, somewhat to the chagrin of Major Garrett - who was in a hurry to establish whether the vehicle was an important development or not and who was not really interested in 'wildlife'. The car was then exposed enough for the driver's door to be opened and Garrett and the State Troopers turned expectantly towards the agents. Hackett bravely stepped forward and took the plunge. Opening the door, he was confronted first by the sickening stench of decay and immediately thereafter by the sight of a rotting, disfigured corpse. The body was that of a man. His bottom jaw hung impossibly open - obviously dislocated by a substantial degree of force, and his intestines were spilled out on his lap. Hackett successfully fought back the natural urge to vomit - barely. Two of the State Troopers didn't. De Vere, squeamish again, kept his distance. The Medical Examiner and a ASP forensic team were summoned. In the meantime however, the Texas plates of the car were exposed and identified - providing a further twist to the day's events. The two agents were aware of the car owner's name from an FBI bulletin which had been circulated some weeks earlier [I had a handout prepared summarising the following facts] The car belonged to a Kenneth Braverman, a Houston cop wanted in connection with a series of gruesome prostitute murders - and also for the murder of his two children and suspected kidnapping of his wife. It now appeared he was dead, with no sign of his missing wife......

And that was where we left the first session....

Hope this was of interest, and I'll provide a further update as the game progresses.

[kinnygraham]

OK - played the second session of my Delta Green game last night (13th September 2004). As before, this contains SPOILERS for a published Delta Green scenario - so potential players - STOP READING NOW ! If your Keeper has been talking about how much he's really looking forward to buying the Delta Green D20 statted re-print (or has just bought the original for a small fortune off of E-Bay)......THAT MEANS YOU !



We picked up where the action left off last time (see my last journal entry), with the player characters investigating some mysterious disappearances in the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. After potentially having found the remains of one of the missing families, they were summoned to another site where they uncovered the body of a policeman turned wanted mass murderer - not something they were quite expecting.

Re-examining the corpse before the forensics team arrived, agent Hackett could see that most of it's front teeth were missing (in addition to the dislocated jaw and severe abdomen trauma). They then decided to let the forensics experts do their jobs. They headed off to the first site where another forensics team from the Arizona State Police were now engaged in documenting the scene. They were also introduced to Dr Guiturez, the Medical Examiner from neighbouring Graham County whose jurisdiction encompassed the reservation. The large shallow grave found earlier now disclosed the four corpses of the missing Begay family and they were not a pretty sight. Twenty sheep were also buried nearby. The two agents decided to call it quits for the evening - the forensic technicians faced a long night ahead of them and expected to be able to deliver a preliminary report in the morning. They headed back to their hotel to discuss the case over a bourbon or two but they were still trying to come to grips with events. Agent De Vere, before retiring, decided to do a bit of internet research on coyotes (both burial sites seem to have been exposed by the action of coyotes) and he found that that the Coyote Spirit was an important figure in Native American myth - a trickster / joker culture hero who can be either deceiver or deceived.

Awaking the next morning, De Vere was also puzzled to find a plain brown envelope pushed under his door. Opening it, he found it contained a County map of West Virginia with the neighbouring counties of Tucumseh and Lowery circled in red. Accompanying it was a clipping from the Scientific American describing how West Virginia had been treated to a spectacular meteor shower back in January (it was now August). In fact Tucumseh County had been the recipient of some meteor fragments. Puzzling over this, De Vere committed these materials to evidence bags. He shared his research of the night before, and this latest information - with Hackett on the drive over to the morning briefing in the SC Tribal Police Station. From there they dispatched the envelope and contents to the lab in Phoenix for analysis.

Here they attended a briefing given by a bleary eyed Guiturez who had toiled through the night. His results were as follows:

The Begay family had all had been subjected to a horrific attack, their bodies were drained of blood and they had been mutilated in a variety of nasty ways. It looks as if someone had hacked off various strips of flesh and muscle. Interestingly their bodies showed traces of an as yet unidentifiable paralysing agent which seems to have affected their muscles. Sheep carcasses found at the scene also showed these traces. The ME requested the assistance of the FBI labs in analysing the substance and a sample was duly dispatched.

Kenneth Braverman died of severe abdominal trauma (his stomach was slashed open). Shortly thereafter, someone (and all the evidence - flesh scrapings found on his remaining teeth, teeth found lodged in his oesophagus etc - pointed to his missing wife) shoved their arm down his throat and ripped out his lungs. Braver man's wife looks as if she spent some time in the trunk of the vehicle (where bindings were found) and her bloody fingerprints were also found in the front compartment.

Major Garrett of the ASP contacted the Houston PD on a conference call and shared their findings. The Houston PD were surprised and mystified. Their take was that Elaine Braverman had been kidnapped against her will. Surely she hadn't been in on the death of her children ? And surely she hadn't been able to kill Braverman in such a brutal fashion ?

Nevertheless - this was the only lead they had (the players had not divulged their secret about the envelope). Major Garret and Sheriff Colorados therefore tried to organise a search to see if anyone had encountered Elaine Braverman.

The two agents however, decided to spend the rest of the day and evening engaged in a search of their own. Using the West Virginia information as their starting point, they researched and uncovered an interesting and unsettling series of facts. Lowery County in West Virginia had been subject to a series of cattle mutilations and strange disappearances back in February - with all manner of kooky theories posited (e.g. UFOs, Satan Worshippers etc). They also uncovered a case of a suspected cannibal who had shot himself in Lowery County when interviewed by the police. They then discovered that the Medical Examiner who had performed his autopsy suddenly decided to quit his job and leave town. A week later he was discovered dead - gutted - in a Nashville Hotel Room. For the month subsequent to this, Nashville's homeless started to disappear with investigations eventually centring on a local priest who ran a homeless shelter. The priest disembowelled himself before he could be questioned properly.

Sensing a connection to their own case in essence if not in fact, the agents began to posit the existence of either a person or persons unknown (Hackett, still bearing the scars of his Waco experience, suggested the possibility of an apocalyptic cult) somehow connected to these individuals. Their revelry was interrupted by a late call from the Medical Examiner's Office. His assistant had done a comparison of the coyote tracks form both the sites. It looked as if the same coyote was responsible. The agents called it a night - more puzzled than ever. They made a point of looking to see if anyone was observing them at the hotel - but noticed nothing out of place.

Next morning, the agents put in a call to the Phoenix office to chase the lab on the analysis of the unknown paralysing agent. This wasn't yet ready - but analysis on the 'surprise' envelope was. With the exception of the agents' fingerprints, it was clean as a whistle. De Vere took this to mean that it had been put together by an intelligence professional, or someone versed in similar techniques.

Next up was a briefing from the State and Tribal Police which described how they had so far drawn a blank in the search for Elaine Braverman. The agents were interrupted so that they could take a call from the Special Agent in Charge of Phoenix, Patrick Hobson, who had assigned them to the case. He chewed their asses out for not having been in touch with the latest developments. The agents decided to share all of the information they had. Hobson's head told him that most of what they had uncovered was unconnected, but his veteran's instincts agreed with the agents and he agreed to assign some research resource looking for similar cases. He was also able to tell them that the Phoenix lab had drawn a blank on the paralysing agent and that it had been forwarded to Washington for further research.

Shortly thereafter a call was received. A body had been discovered near to one of the disappearance sites. Descending on the location - a gas station on Highway 70, the agents and other troopers were led to a spot nearby where the shallow grave of young man was found. He was a gas station employee who had disappeared during a night shift. The gas station owner had been led to the spot by the incessant howling of an unseen coyote. When he arrived at the spot he found that the body had been exposed by what looked like the scrabbling of a coyote. The corpse's visage bore an expression of horror which particularly unsettled De Vere when he looked at it. The decision was made there and then to re-visit the other disappearance sites on the assumption that the bodies may be buried nearby - and the agents split up to accompany State and Tribal police in their efforts. The day was a partial success - yielding two more bodies (again seemingly recently exposed by a coyote). The search continued into the evening and was called off as light failed - to be resumed again the next day. Again the agents were on guard against being perhaps under surveillance - but again noticed nothing.

The morning briefing brought the autopsy results from the days previous 'finds'. Same MO as before - blood loss, traces of the mystery substance and ghastly wounds inflicted. The day's search brought two more bodies discovered in a spot previously examined. Again, the bodies seemed to have been deliberately exposed - overnight - by a coyote. At midday they received further news from Hobson...the FBI lab in Washington, which contained some of the finest minds and resources in the world, were unable to identify the paralysing substance describing it a something 'unknown to humankind'....The other disconcerting news was that he had discovered another case of mass murder and cannibalism. This occurred in New Orleans - where a local man had seemingly ended the terror reign of a vagrant cannibal by blasting him with a shotgun. Coincidentally, the vagrant's last known address was a certain homeless shelter in Nashville......

And that is where the session ended.....

[kinnygraham]

Played the third session of my Delta Green game last night (21st September 2004). As before, this contains SPOILERS for a published Delta Green scenario - so potential players - STOP READING NOW !


The action resumed on the afternoon of Tuesday 12th August 1997 (play had commenced on Friday 8th August). As advised in my previous journal, the characters had just been informed of another interesting case of serial killing with cannibalistic overtones that had occurred in New Orleans just about two to three months ago. There, the terrifying reign of a murderer and cannibal had been brought to an abrupt end by a local man who had shot him dead. They had also been advised that a strange substance, found in all the corpses so far located, had defied laboratory analysis by some of the finest experts the FBI had to offer.

The players requested that the Phoenix field office research the whereabouts of David Charles - the New Orleans citizen who had slain the serial killer. In the meantime they decided to head off to San Carlos lake to visit another site - a campsite where two Phoenix anglers had disappeared (I was able to provide a picture of this obtained from the 'net). Once there they encountered another couple of fishermen who were camped on the lakeside seemingly oblivious to any danger (their bravado probably fuelled by the cans of beer they were steadily working through). This encounter lead to some good, light-hearted role-playing from the players; DeVere, to the veteran Hackett's amusement, speculated on whether these guys had a permit to fish on the lake. Hackett responded that while he was absolutely sure that that was a very grave and important question, it was quite unfortunate that they already had the small matter of a multiple killer to think about. DeVere ignored his sarcasm and moved off to interview the men - while Hackett followed along asking him if he thought he should draw his piece or request backup in case things turned ugly with these 'potentially dangerous criminals'.

The interview drew a blank. DeVere had been speculating on whether the anglers might have spotted anything that may have led the agents to a body in the water but nothing was discovered. The agents decided to call it quits for the evening but on the way to their cars they received a call from the Phoenix field office asking them to get to a fax. They headed back to the Tribal Police Station in San Carlos and received some more interesting intelligence. David Charles, the hero 'cannibal killer' of New Orleans had apparently turned up dead just over two months ago. He had been discovered dead from horrific stab wounds to the stomach in a Houston hotel room. DeVere made the connection instantly - Houston was where Kenneth Braverman was from (he was the cop wanted for multiple murder who had turned up dead in a buried car on the Reservation).

The characters retired to the bar in their hotel to consider the case again. They now had a lot of dead bodies all over the country, and here in Arizona, all linked by the most tenuous and circumstantial threads. They considered their third party or ‘cult’ theory anew and kicked around a few scenarios. DeVere also postulated the possibility of some kind of viral infection that induced homicidal madness; but neither was wholly satisfied with these theories.

The next morning they were awoken early by an Arizona State Trooper sent by Major Garrett. Apparently Sheriff Colorados wanted to see Garrett and the two agents. When they got to San Carlos, Colorados informed them all that he had become concerned about the whereabouts of three tribal elders who had taken off into the wilds about 3 weeks ago on some form of spiritual retreat to a sacred cave. They were now late back – and what’s more a young pupil of the holy men sent yesterday to find them had not returned either. Most of the State and Tribal police were needed for the searches planned today down at the lakeside – so after outfitting themselves in clothing more suitable to the ‘great outdoors’ the two agents set off in their Jeep Cherokee after Garrett and Colorados.

They drove higher into the Gila Mountains, eventually turning off onto a rough mountain road that wound down into a wooded valley beside a creek. Eventually this road came to a halt, and they left their vehicles behind and set off on foot (with Colorados bringing along his rifle at the suggestion of Hackett). After a trek of several miles alongside a small creek, Colorados set off on another trail which wound uphill through the woods. Rounding a bend in the trail, Colorados paused and pointed put out a cave set into the side of a small mesa just up ahead. Colorados asked the rest of them to stay put while he went ahead to check things out.

No sooner had the words left his lips when the back of Garrett’s head exploded in front of their eyes as a shot rang out from the direction of the cave ! Garrett went down like a stone on his back in front of the shocked men. The two FBI men reacted quickly – DeVere taking cover in the trees to one side of the trail and Hackett shoving a stunned Colorados into the trees on the other side.
Drawing their guns, they looked towards Garrett’s prone body. Hackett could see that a neat hole had been drilled between his eyes – whoever they were up against was a considerable marksman. This was confirmed a moment later as another shot slammed into Garrett’s body – this time hitting him squarely in the groin. Colorados was in a panic – whispering ‘shit shit shit shit’ as he crouched - rocking back and forth, clutching his gun and staring wide eyed at Garrett’s corpse.
A third shot slammed into Garrett’s groin again. Hackett shouted ‘FBI ! Drop your weapon and surrender !’ - but the only response was a further shot in his own direction which rattled through the trees. Hackett – something of a weapons expert, tentatively identified the rifle as a Lee-Enfield Mk III – an older, bolt action weapon. The two agents couldn’t see each other clearly and did not want to risk shouting. Hackett pulled out his cell phone and called DeVere’s number. The phone rang out in the quiet mountain air. This immediately drew another shot in the direction of DeVere which he heard cutting through the branches very near to his position and he scrambled backwards in the direction of the creek. They both conversed in whispered tones – Hackett could barely see the cave mouth from his position but could see no movement. Colorados had pulled himself together by this time and attempted to raise backup on his radio. DeVere suggested that they try and lure the shooter into sight. They put the plan into operation; Hackett ‘borrowing’ the sheriff’s rifle and swapping positions with DeVere (working back and across the creek so as not to expose themselves to possible fire). DeVere then placed his cell phone as near to Garrett’s body as he could risk while Hackett crawled into a good position where he could observe the cave mouth through the scope of the rifle. Ringing DeVere’s number he scanned the cave mouth - but saw nothing. Deciding to sit tight for backup the agents were informed that a team from the Special Operations Unit of the Arizona State Police Special Enforcement Bureau was en-route to their position. They could also rely on some assistance from some State Troopers who were also on their way.

These units duly arrived about an hour later. The State Troopers were shocked to hear about the death of Garrett. Hackett (an ex-member of the elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team) briefed the SWAT team on the situation. The SWAT team agreed on a strategy – covering the cave mouth with snipers and sending two five man elements up the flanks to mirror the cave mouth. Again, there was no sign of anybody so the team went in to the cave – updating their superior officer as they went. Two bodies were almost immediately spotted – along with something else which evidently freaked out one of the normally cool headed SWAT officers, who broke comms protocol with a repetitive stream of alarmed and panicked swearing. However, the site was shortly given a cautionary all clear and the two agents and Colorados headed up to investigate.

The cave was a charnel house. Two bodies sat propped against a wall. One was of an elderly Apache man, his face set in a mask of agony. His flesh was stripped to the bone from his waste down and he was matted in gore. The other corpse was that of a young Apache boy. His throat was slit open and random strips of flesh and muscle had been stripped from his body. Not far from where they lay was an even more disturbing site – a horribly suggestive pile of smashed and gore soaked skull fragments, broken rib cages, gristle, flesh and scraps of cloth. The two agents kept their cool – perhaps by now becoming accustomed to the macabre sights this case had thrown at them so far. Colorados was horrified – the old man was one of the missing elders and the boy was the pupil he had sent to look for them. He turned way retching and headed for the clean air outside.
One of the SWAT officers took the agents to the rear of the cave. Here it became apparent that there was some kind of vent through which a man could squeeze and through which their shooter may have made an escape.

As they took stock, Hackett noticed that something lay half buried and concealed by sand towards the rear of the cave near the vent. Investigating further he established that it was something like a canvass bag or holdall. Deciding not to look further he established that one of the officers present has been trained in bomb disposal techniques – this officer was tasked with investigating the item just in case any nasty items (like an Improvised Explosive Device) had been left behind.
Meanwhile DeVere had re-surveyed the cave and was drawn to the corpse of the old man. He spotted that he was wearing some kind of charm and was intrigued to see that it was carved in the image of a coyote.

Hackett quickly established that the vent was drawing air through the cave and proposed that the SWAT officers use their tear gas canisters in an attempt to ‘smoke out’ any lurker who may be waiting in ambush on the other side of the vent. This plan was put into action. Hackett led the way – supported by four SWAT officers and DeVere. They found themselves in a narrow chamber with two potential exits – tracks on the floor indicated that a large man in rugged outdoor boots had passed this way. They squeezed through a second narrow aperture – this time seeing sunlight shining into the space beyond. In this further chamber, they saw a narrow chimney like fissure open to the sky above and quickly calculated that a fit man could have climbed his way up. However, to the amusement of the SWAT team, both Hackett and DeVere were unable to do so – both sustaining skinned knees and bruising in their failed attempts. A SWAT officer was successful however – though when he reached the top he soon reported that the tracks he found soon disappeared on the rough rocky terrain.

Returning to the cave through the vent, they were amazed to see that the canvass ruck-sack (now declared ‘trap free’) had held an item quite unlike anything they had ever encountered. A strangely glowing spherical object a little larger than a basketball. It appeared to be made of metal or perhaps plastic, but it’s interior seemed to hold some dim lights which glowed at intermittent and seemingly random intervals [an image of the item was supplied at this point].

Colorados, now the senior investigating officer since Garrett’s death, had once again pulled himself together and was efficiently directing the examination of the scene. The SWAT team was stood down – though an aerial search of the area was ordered. Forensics had also arrived – as had the sorely pressed Medical Examiner Dr Guiterrez and both set about their business. The immediate good news was that there seemed to be plenty of prints on the bones that should yield a match. However, the ‘item’ which had been discovered continued to confound – attempts to dust it were impossible, as anything just seemed to glide right off its surface. The item was taken into the possession of the Tribal Police. The two agents decided to contact Hobson, their SAC in Phoenix, but were informed that he was in an extremely important meeting and could not be disturbed.

Hackett – after locating some of the rifle cartridges from a spot just at the edge of the cave, collared Colorados. It was clear to him that they were dealing with a large man, someone who knew the area – and who used a pretty distinctive rifle. Might he know of such a person? Colorados said no, but something in his eyes said different.
Colorados informed them that he was leaving the scene to go and tell some folks ‘some very bad news’. The agents were suspicious however and followed him to San Carlos, there shadowing him on foot. However, a few checks established that he did indeed seem to be visiting the relatives of the dead elders and their unfortunate pupil.

Attempting to contact Hobson again, they were tipped off that Hobson seemed to be locked up in his office having a shouting match with some ‘visitors’ from Washington.
Shortly thereafter they received a call from Assistant SAC Bellamy. Hobson was taking some leave and Bellamy was in temporary charge. Some gentlemen from Washington (their exact agency not divulged) would be down to see them in the morning and they were to give them their FULL co-operation.

More perplexed than ever, the agents decided to retire for the evening.

However, their slumbers were disturbed by calls to their rooms at about 5.30 in the morning. Someone had hit the Tribal police Station in the middle of the night. 3 officers were dead, butchered, and the mysterious ‘item’ was missing….
And, as they were absorbing this piece of news they were then called by the forensics team who had been working through the night. They had a match on the prints from the cave. The agents, it seemed, had a combination of ‘John Rambo and Geronimo’ on their hands.
The prints belonged to a Master Sergeant Emanuel Santana, a soldier with extensive Army Special Forces training and three tours in Vietnam (latterly, seconded to Project Phoenix – a CIA sponsored counter-intelligence and ‘wetwork’ programme). Santana had deserted back in 1971 while on leave and consequently was a federal fugitive.

The case now belonged to Hackett and DeVere.

And that’s where the session ended.....

[Turin Turambar]

Great story! i see a good GM'ing there...


Keep us informed!

[Joshua Dyal]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting!

[committed hero]

Yeah - had to go dig out my copy and see what could happen next.

[kinnygraham]

Thanks for the kind comments guys - I'll try and get an account of the next one posted as soon as it is played...

[kinnygraham]

OK folks, we were able to play another session of my Delta Green game last night (4th October 2004) . As per the previous entries in my journal, this account contains SPOILERS for a published Delta Green scenario. Potential players should stop reading now.


We picked up the action where we left off last time. The two agents had just found out that the main suspect in their baffling case was an ex-special forces Apache man named Emanuel Santana who had deserted from the Army back in the early '70s while home on leave from the Vietnam War. Worse, someone had attacked and killed 3 San Carlos Tribal Police Officers in the early hours of the morning. The agents were initially under the impression that this had happened in San Carlos, but en-route this was quickly clarified and they learned that it was a sub station in Geronimo where the incident had occurred. Arriving there, they found two State police cruisers already at the scene parked up alongside two Tribal Police cruisers. Two of the Troopers appeared to be comforting two of the tribal police. Sheriff Colorados sat alone on the edge of his patrol-car seat with his head in his hands - clearly shaken.

Hackett approached Colorados while De Vere moved off to enter the police station, which was little more than a glorified porta-cabin set in a small lot surrounded by a barbed wire topped fence. Stepping past the trooper guarding the entrance, De Vere was immediately confronted with the grisly sight of an officer slumped back over his chair at his desk. His throat was slashed wide open and congealing blood covered everything. Careful not to disturb anything, he stepped past. Now in a small corridor he could see a room to his right containing unlocked equipment lockers. To his left there was another room - obviously a rest area with soft seats, coffee machine and a small TV. Two other officers lay sprawled here face down - the stench of blood filled the air and it was apparent they had suffered the same fate as their colleague. An area to the rear held two empty cells and access to the rear of the building. De Vere decided to leave - not wishing to contaminate the scene any further. Outside, a dismayed Colorados eyed Hackett, who informed him about their lead on Santana. Colorados did not appear to be surprised when his name was mentioned (he clearly had been thinking about him when Hackett had supplied a brief profile the day before) - but he nevertheless insisted that Santana could not have been responsible; he was a peaceful hermit who had turned his back on violence a long time ago. The implication of this was clearly that the local community had been sheltering Santana since his desertion Hackett tactfully pointed out that people have been known to snap under stress and that they couldn't ignore the physical evidence.

Hackett was then called by SAC Hobson - whom they had learned had recently been temporarily suspended. He gave them a quick 'heads up'. The 'gentlemen from Washington' had apparently become aware of the strange samples that were currently baffling the FBI labs and were extremely interested in where they had come from. They had already seized the samples in Washington on the grounds of 'national security' and had turned up in Phoenix throwing their weight around and generally pissing Hobson off. Rubbed up the wrong way and unconvinced by the line they were taking - he had done his level best to stall them but had eventually been advised by a superior in the Justice Department that he was to consider himself on 'indefinite leave'. Hobson was aware of the lead on Santana - though not aware of the most recent slayings. He advised that since Santana was a federal fugitive that the agents could and should take over the case. He told them not to let the 'assholes from Washington' push them around and wished them luck.

The two agents began to direct the crime scene, during which they learned something strange from a civilian living nearby. Apparently she had been awoken by the sound of a coyote howling at about 5.30 or so in the morning - it had continued for about 15 minutes or so, but then broke off with a long, mournful cry.... A two man TV crew turned up and Hackett deflected questions, promising a full statement later. The two agents re-examined the scene - Hackett walking the fence perimeter looking for clues whilst De Vere's attention was taken up by a car ,with New Mexico plates parked, seemingly abandoned, across the street from the station. He requested a check on the owner.

In the meantime, Assistant SAC Bellamy contacted the agents - advising them that some people from the National Security Agency were on their way. Their interest was in the unidentified substance and the agents should offer their full co-operation. However, bringing Bellamy up to speed with the recent murders he sanctioned the agents in organising a full scale manhunt. In the next half an hour or so it became apparent that the agents would soon have considerable resources at their disposal: 40 State troopers (including access to two helicopters), 10 US Marshalls, 8 FBI agents, 50 Tribal policemen and over 100 civilian volunteers (including two blood hound teams). The area soon become a hub of activity as the hunt team began to assemble.

By this time, the weary police forensics team had also arrived and completed an initial examination of the scene - they gave De Vere their take. The first officer to die had been slashed on the throat from the front. The other two looked as if they had been 'stung' with the same mysterious paralysing agent and then butchered quickly and efficiently. Prints had been obtained which the technician was willing to bet were the match of Santana's. More bad news followed - not only was the mysterious sphere missing but a shotgun and bullet-proof vest were also gone.

Acting on a hunch (based on the supposition that the killer would be covered in blood) the two agents decided to check the dumpster outside and hit paydirt - discovering blood drenched clothes. A forensic examination quickly yielded another disgusting token of how savage their prey was; a human finger stripped of flesh was discovered in the pocket of the jeans.

De Vere found out the mystery car belonged to a young woman from a small town in New Mexico. Documents found in a travel bag in the rear led to the discovery that she had recently left a hotel near the Grand Canyon. De Vere felt this could be important but couldn't yet say why.

Hackett addressed the gathering team of civilian searchers and warned them that they would be hunting a man previously thought to be a friend: Emanuel Santana. The news wasn't too well received, until Colorados intervened and revealed how guilty he felt about not acting sooner. Three of his colleagues - all Apaches of course - might still be alive if he had. This sobered the crowd and they agreed to do what they could - though they were still wary of the possibility of Santana being shot out of hand by trigger-happy policemen.

At this point the agents were greeted with the sight of a black sedan nudging it's way through the crowd. It stopped and four men in shades and black suits got out. One was immediately confronted with the reporting team who had questioned Hackett earlier on. Two of his colleagues sprang into action; one ripped the microphone from the female interviewer and pushed her away, calling her a 'pinko bitch' before tossing it away. The other delivered a swift punch to the camera man, before trashing his camera in full view of everyone present. These two took up positions in front of the station - keeping their eyes on the subdued crowd who had been surprised by this display.

The older of the two remaining men stepped forward and introduced himself as Agent Harper - snapping off an NSA ID. In an abrupt manner, he explained that he and his colleagues would require all files and samples in connection with the mysterious paralysing agent. This was a 'confidential matter of national security' but he was willing to disclose that they were on the trail of a 'sophisticated bio-terrorist' whom they had been monitoring and that they suspected the substance had been made by him However, right now they wanted an update on just what the hell was going on here. The agents filled him on on the last 24 hours - omitting nothing. News of the mysterious sphere seemed to be of particular interest and the two 'spooks' exchanged looks as it was mentioned. Leaving, they ordered the two agents to co-operate fully in all matters in relation to the mysterious substance. They would be 'around' and expected to be fully updated upon request. Hackett, finally tiring of their manner baited them by telling them that he may have 'misplaced' some files although he couldn't remember where right now. This went down like a lead balloon and Harper reminded them sternly that their full co-operation was expected, before driving off with his colleagues.

Further mystery was to follow when De Vere recieved a call on his cell-phone. A disguised, synthesised voice asked: 'Did you like the clippings I sent you ? Listen up, in case you haven't realised, those spooks are not your friends. Their focus will soon be on the sphere. You are not interested in in the sphere. You are interested in what arrived in the sphere. You are interested in what has Santana. Good luck.' This message was relayed to Hackett; both were perplexed again.

With the search already underway, the decision was made to let a bloodhound team have scent of the discovered clothing. This brought immediate results and the hounds led the agents and searchers further into the small town. After initial confusion it became apparent that their quarry had stolen a car from outside a house. An APB was immediately issued, and the missing car was discovered within half an hour, abandoned by Highway 70 about halfway between Geronimo and San Carlos.

Just prior to leaving the two agents took another call from Harper. He's been in touch with his superiors he explained, and it seemed that a 'vital component' of a an American satellite system was suspected to have come down somewhere in Arizona recently. This 'sphere' sounded very much like the component. They were ordered to report any sightings immediately.

The two agents were soon at the abandoned car along with the bloodhound team - the trail led north, back into the Gila Mountains. The agents had requested that the helicopters available to them search ahead and this request paid dividends when word came back from one that a suspicious figure had been spotted moving quickly through the terrain on the other side of the mountains. A minute later their suspicions were confirmed when the 'copter reported that it had been fired upon ! The copter shadowed their quarry at a distance and the two agents were soon airborne themselves in pursuit.

Shortly, it was reported that the fugitive had 'gone to ground' in a cabin off a rough mountain trail in the northern foothills of the mountains. Shortly after, another figure had swifly emerged - entering another small out-building before re-entering the main cabin.

Over the next two hours it became apparent that the agents faced a siege situation. The cabin was a vacation spot, recently rented by a party of five individuals from Phoenix. Their car was parked to the rear of the property. All the curtains in the property were closed so nothing could be seen inside. An outer perimiter was quickly established and The SWAT team the agents met yesterday was summoned. No contact or any sign of movement was received from within the building The SWAT team stealthily moved into position - one five man element ('Tactical 2') to the rear of the property and the other ('Tactical 1') to the front. The two FBI agents volunteered to act as 'trailers' to Tactical 1 - officers who would follow the team in to secure any hostages and make any necessary arrests. Both donned ballistiv vests. Final cover was provided by two snipers.

Tactical 2 suddenly reported that they could hear screaming from within the building. Within seconds the agents could also hear the screaming - someone was in extreme pain or distress. A smashing sound was then heard. Tactical 2 requested permission to 'go dynamic'. Hackett and De Vere both agreed instantly that it was obvious that lives were in danger and they would have to act - seconds later the go signal was given.

An officer from Tactical 1 battered open the front door with a ram and stood aside. It instantly became apparent that there was a blockage behind the door, though it opened sufficiently far back to admit the first officer. A shot rang out and he went down instantly. His colleague, fired by adrenalin and his ingrained training to clear any potentially deadly 'funnel zone' followed immediately, stepping over his body. His three colleagues immediately followed. Hackett and De Vere also decided to enter.

Inside, the SWAT officers were momentarily taken aback by what confronted them. Immediately to their front a screaming, bound hostage - a young man - lay against a hastily erected barrier of beds and other furniture. A carpet of flame enveloped the area between the door and this barrier. Somewhere above and beyond was a balcony, over which mattresses lay draped. A figure holding a rifle could be seen adjacent to the stairs leading up here, apparently taking aiming at them. The SWAT officers delayed in the immediate confusion. As Hackett and De Vere arrived through the door another of the officers was felled by a shot. Hackett and De Vere, less encumbered by headgear, instantly realised that the shot came from immediately above. Looking up, they could see that sizeable holes had been made in the ceiling. A SWAT officer reacted to the shot - letting off an SMG burst at the figure with the rifle, dropping him instantly. Hackett screamed, 'Cease fire ! The shooter is in the ceiling ! The shooter is in the ceiling !' before body charging an obstruction in order to clear the flames. Successful, he found himself at the foot of the stairs up. Meanwhile, De Vere let off two shots into the ceiling.

Hackett was now screaming for Tactical 2 and was somewhat relieved to see them emerge from a corridor to the rear - he shouted at them to locate a fire extinguisher. One of the lead officers was now on fire and was frantically trying to smother the flames in the corner. De Vere was now dragging the hostage to the corner - clear of the flames.

Hackett immediately headed up stairs, passing the downed rifleman - a young man about the same age as the first hostage - dead or dying from gunshot wounds. Moving past he saw two doors to the left and right - and a stepladder leading to the attic space above. One of the rooms was a bathroom, containing another bound hostage. This was a young female whose tendons at the back of her ankles and knees had been slashed. The other room was an empty bedroom.

De Vere was now struggling manfully to drag one of the fallen officers from the flames and out the front door - despite the fact that he was beginning to take damage from the flames. A shot rang out and a third officer went down beside him screaming 'I'm hit ! I'm hit !'.

Hackett crept up the stepladder - it was obvious that this latest shot had come from above. Edging up he could see that the attic was a large storage space criss-crossed with beams. Near the centre, another young woman lay bound and gagged. Over her, holding a rifle stood the tall muscular figure of a mature Apache man. He looked up and his eyes met Hackett's in the flickering firelight from below. He grinned - and Hackett realised that he was glimpsing insanity, damnation and death in that visage. Hackett had a clear shot, but still felt compelled to challenge him - shouting 'FBI ! Freeze !'. Santana discarded his rifle, but in a fluid motion he reached down and pulled up a shotgun. Hackett fired, missing him with his first shot but hitting him in the chest with the second, rocking him back. Hackett fired again, missing again before clipping him on the leg. Santana laughed like a lunatic - before leaping into the air off the beams and plunging through the ceiling into the chaos below !

Below De Vere was incredulous as a huge hulking figure came crashing down into the flames beside him in a shower of plaster ! There was an audible crack of bones and De Vere could see shattered bone protruding from the man's thigh. Incredibly, Santana was starting to rise - laughing (or was it screaming ?) insanely as he did so. De Vere who could see that Santana was wearing a ballistic vest, drew his piece again and shot him again - again hitting him on the leg.

Hackett was heading for the balcony at this point. A SWAT officer below fired a burst at the rising figure - tagging him on the back of his vest with two bullets before a third exploded a piece of his skull. Incredibly - he kept rising ! It was now apparent that he was doused in something flammable - he was already enveloped in flame. Hackett put a shot in his leg again, exploding his knee cap - but still he kept going ! This impossible sight deeply affected De Vere, who was crouched in the doorway where he had been attempting to drag the fallen officer - and he only narrowly dodged backwards - falling outside on to the porch, as the laughing, burning figure leapt for the door and staggered beyond and down the stairs. A sniper was instantly granted permission to shoot, and De Vere saw the top half of Santana's head explode with the power of the shot before the flaming figure fell and moved no more.

Back in the lodge, as the extinguisher smothered the flames, Hackett grimly surveyed the carnage.

And that was where the session ended.

[Fulsrush]

Wow.

That sounds like a damn fine adventure.

I ran Shadow Puppets and Power Plays a few weeks ago, as a one-shot for new society members, with six pre-genned FBI agents and consultants, making up Task Force Deliverance (hostage rescue and abduction investigation).

Running it over 3+ sessions really seems to have given you time to flesh things out a bit. I had to skip the attack on the police station, and just went straight from Santana escaping the cave and heading across the mountains.

The final showdown with Santana took place in the middle of the desert, with five of the PCs shooting it out with him.

The two special agents-in-charge of the team both failed Sanity rolls and went doo-lally when they saw Santana sitting up after they blew his brains out. A few more bullets, and Santana starts playing dead. The strategy didn't work because the tac-team leader PC unloaded two entire magazines from her Glock sidearm on full-auto, to confirm the kill. At least a dozen of the bullets hit Santana's abdomen, mincing the parasite and ending its rampage.

The forensic pathologist, usefully on-hand as the team medic, scooped up a chunk of the alien tissue into a sample jar, just before one of those NSA helicopters came into land and took the body away.

At roughly the same time, two MiBs went into the team's base at the Reservation Police Station, brutally karate-chopped the team researcher across the throat, winding her, and stole the orb from Santana's backpack.


For anyone who's interested in the Cthulhu Mythos a thousand years earlier, The Abbey of St Bartholomew (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=153133).

[kinnygraham]

For anyone who has been following this, they may be interested to know that the handouts and other bits and pieces that I prepared for this scenario are available to download here (http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=291 ) from yog-sothoth.com.

[kinnygraham]

This is the latest instalment of my DELTA GREEN game (played on 26th October 2004). As is the case in my previous entries, this contains SPOILERS for a published Delta Green scenario. Potential players should stop reading now.




We picked up the action immediately where we left off the last game; a hunting lodge in the Gila Mountains which had become a scene of carnage after a siege situation had gone horribly out of control.

Agents Hackett and DeVere were shaken up pretty badly - but they both realised they had jobs to do and they quickly set about securing the scene as a team of paramedics raced up the drive to the lodge, accompanied by a team of US Marshalls and other policemen. One SWAT officer was dead and another two were critically injured. A fourth had sustained some burns to his lower legs as well. One civilian was also dead, shot by one of the SWAT team as the horror of the lodge had unfolded. Two civilian females were badly injured - apparently 'hobbled' through deep cuts and slashes to the tendons in their legs and ankles. Both were deeply traumatised and in severe shock. The fourth civilian - a male - had minor burns to his legs and was also deeply shaken.

The badly burned, still smouldering body of Master Sergeant Emanuel Santana, the apparent cause of all this havoc, lay at the front of the building, with half of his head missing.

Hackett and DeVere reflected on just what had happened. Hackett remembered the look of utter insanity in Santana's face when he had confronted him in the attic space of the lodge. De Vere had narrowly dodged the Apache's flaming body as it had lunged out of the door of the lodge, and had been mere feet away when he was finally brought to a halt by a sniper's bullet. Both had saw this man sustain a sickening leg break and take multiple bullet wounds - at least one to the head prior to the sniper's final shot - and laugh it all off manically.

Hackett and DeVere could only theorise that Santana was the victim of some kind of infection or virus and was concerned that some kind of contamination could be passed from Santana's body. Dr Guiturrez, the Medical Examiner, was now on the scene and he was quickly admitted through the cordon that had been set up around the property to keep away the gathering news crews and civilian searchers who were converging on the scene. Hackett and DeVere explained in broad terms the concerns they had and the Doctor agreed that he would take some extra precautions accordingly - utilising a breathing filter or gas mask, ensuring there was no skin to skin contact and 'double bagging' the corpse. All this had to wait though until the 'crime scene' team had photographed and documented the corpse where it lay.

Leaving them to it, Hackett and DeVere ordered up the three 'copters they had at their disposal (two from the Arizona State Police and one from the US Marshall's Office) to assist in evacuating the wounded. By now, the badly shaken male civilian survivor had been able to impart a faltering account of what had happened to one of the para-medics and a Marshall. Apparently Santana had burst in armed to the teeth threatening to kill them all. He had ordered him to go to a woodshed and retrieve an axe and then directed him to the attic to knock holes in the plaster. Santana had then directed them to create makeshift barriers of furniture and mattresses in the main room and the young man had then been bound hand and foot and placed in front of one of the barriers. Santana had then doused the area in kerosene. He'd forced an unloaded rifle into the hands of the other man - and stuck them with a glue, forcing him to take up position on the banister. Finally, he had taken the females upstairs, 'hobbled' them and promised further violence before retreating into the attic space - there to start a fire below and unleash the ensuing carnage.

Hackett and DeVere decided to re-enter the building in search of the mysterious sphere which Santana had killed to recover. De Vere discovered it, nestling in a rucksack along with the other baggage of the unfortunate vacationers. Hackett was drawn outside by the sound of another helicopter arriving and he went outside to witness the arrival of their four 'friends' from the NSA in a sleek black chopper. They disembarked, immediately heading towards Hackett. Inside the building, DeVere collared one of the State Troopers and handing over all the rucksacks, gave orders for them to be kept with the injured civilians as doubtless they would like to have some of their possessions nearby.

Outside Agent Harper demanded an update from Hackett on the situation. He showed little concern for the obvious carnage, instead immediately enquiring as to whether the sphere had been located. Hackett answered in the negative. DeVere joined them at this point. Harper then said he understood that they'd killed Santana. Hackett confirmed this and Harper immediately informed them that he and his men would be taking possession of the body. Even more so than before, Hackett and DeVere knew that something just wasn't right here. To their knowledge, the NSA were primarily concerned with communications, cryptography and associated technology and security. Showing up out of the blue on the basis that they had been pursuing some kind of bio-terrorist was extremely unusual to say the least. They then seemed to have changed their focus to the sphere, allegedly part of a government satellite - and NOW they wanted to take possession of a dead body, which due legal procedure dictated was correctly the responsibility of both the FBI and the Medical Examiner. Hackett told them that this wouldn't be possible. Harper bristled, and told them that they were making a big mistake as far as their careers were concerned - ASAC Bellamy (acting SAC) would not be pleased. Hackett responded that he didn't really give 'a flying fuck'. The body was staying put until they decided otherwise. Harper warned them 'not to fuck with them'. DeVere's rage boiled over then and he pointed out that he had just been through a day from hell, had seen several people die and consequently wasn't really in the mood to deal with shit from a bunch of jumped up assholes. One of the spooks over Harper's shoulder made a show of cracking his knuckles at this. At this point DeVere glanced over to see the rucksacks being thrown safely aboard one of the ASP 'copters alongside one of the injured girls and the surviving male. De Vere then pointed at the knuckle cracker and asked Harper if this was 'his girlfriend' ? Harper was stony faced and said in a low voice 'You'll be fuckin' hearing from us' - before turning away toward their own 'copter.

DeVere broke away immediately deciding to try and hitch a ride in the ASP 'copter in order to stay with the sphere. He was too late and it lifted off from the field in front of him. He decided to hail it over the radio and it took thirty seconds or so before he got patched through. By this time the 'copter was a 150 feet or so in the air. He'd just got through to the pilot to make his request when the line was suddenly affected by a loud shock of static. A second later DeVere and Hackett were blinded by an intense ball of white light from the copter's position, and seconds later both men were rocked (DeVere was knocked to the ground) by a powerful blast which rolled over them lifting dust into the air. They tried to regain their composure ....their eyes smarted from the brief glare, but when they cleared moments later - the helicopter was completely gone ! No debris had fallen or was falling to earth. The strange explosion had removed it utterly as if it had never existed !

Both agents stood shocked - along with everyone else at the scene. Guilt rose up in DeVere - he instinctively knew this had something to do with the sphere and he had arranged for it to be on the craft. The only people on the move were the spooks - Harper tore across from his own helicopter with his men hot behind him. 'What the FUCK did you do ?!! What was on that 'copter !! What the fuck was on that 'copter ?!!' he raged at the stunned men. They had no reply - and disgusted, Harper stalked off again - appearing to be making a call into a cell phone as he departed with his men. Their black helicopter lifted off seconds later....

Hackett and DeVere recovered sufficiently and checked that everyone else was OK. There was nothing they could do - no further casualties to attend to or aid they could render and so slowly they resumed the business of directing the crime scene. DeVere confessed his part in the 'copter explosion to Hackett - who reassured him that he was not to know. When a rattled Dr Guiturrez informed them that they were ready to remove Santana's body to take it for an autopsy, the two agents decided that they should accompany him and left the cleanup operation in the care of the US Marshalls and some FBI agents who had arrived belatedly from Phoenix. DeVere chose to ride in the back of the ambulance with the body-bag, with Hackett accompanying the Doctor in his car. Hackett paused at the outer perimeter to converse with Sheriff Colorados and did his best to assure him that whatever Santana had become, he wasn't the same man who he had known - which gave the Sheriff some small crumb of comfort.

The drive to Globe took some forty minutes, during which time Hackett noted that they appeared to be getting shadowed by a familiar black 'copter. The body bag was taken to the local hospital (where Guiterrez had his lab) and taken into the hospital. Entering, the eagle-eyed DeVere spotted a suspicious black van with government style plates parked around the corner from the hospital.

The autopsy was to take place in the hospital basement. The doc explained that normally his assistant Susan would be present, but he had given her some much needed time off to rest. He should manage on his own, but he may ask the assistance of the agents in taking down some notes etc. They said that they would help in any way they could. The orderlies departed after leaving the body (now 'de-bagged') and the Doctor set about his work as the two agents looked on - now dressed in green surgical smocks.

First order of the day was to take further photographs. Santana's corpse was a fairly gruesome sight. The top half of the head was missing, most of the flesh was badly burned and there was evidence of other gunshot wounds. The smell of scorched flesh was powerful even although they had all taken the precaution of wearing filter masks. The doctor recorded his initial impressions and then detailed the clothing Santana was wearing, including the bullet-proof vest, before cutting it from the body and bagging it. Further photographs were taken and the entry points of the various bullets noted. The doctor explained that it was his intention to X Ray the body to locate the bullets and associated fragments, but first he intended to wash the corpse down first in case anything else was concealed by the congealing blood and other unpleasantness. This process revealed something unusual. It seemed that Santana had some kind of incision in his abdomen, about six or seven inches long, which had pierced right through the skin to the entrails beyond. It was highly unlikely that he had sustained this in the fire fight at the lodge.

DeVere recalled that a lot of the previous corpses had sustained strange needle like wounds (the probable means by which a paralysing agent had been introduced to the victim's systems) and bent over the corpse to have a look for anything similar. He was utterly, utterly aghast when Santana's corpse suddenly sat bolt upright and faced towards him ! A split second later it spewed a disgusting mass of congealed blood, vomit and bile all over him ! Hackett was rooted to the spot in dumbfounded surprise and something snapped in the Doctor. He started screaming his lungs out in primal terror and backed away into the corner of the lab. Both agents were further amazed to see something long red and sharp dart whip-like from Santana's mouth at DeVere, narrowly missing him with an audible snap as he dodged backwards. DeVere started backing away further, scrambling frantically to pull his smock aside to reach his gun. Hackett started acting likewise - but both were horrified to watch Santana commence to punch out the lights above the examination table - plunging the room into darkness seconds later ! The Doctor was still screaming, but somehow DeVere managed to hear the sound of bare feet hitting the floor and he realised with terror that Santana's corpse was upright and coming for him. Hackett aimed himself for the door but had forgotten about a wheeled trolley full of instruments which barred his way - he clattered into it overturning it and only narrowly managed to stay on his feet. Seconds later he was at the door which he flung open to let light in from the ante-room beyond. By this time, DeVere had cleared his gun and he presented it point blank at the advancing horror. He pulled the trigger - but nothing happened ! The gun had jammed ! Seconds later he felt a needle like sting on his shoulder as the thing from Santana's mouth struck home. An impossible numbness swept through his muscles and he collapsed to the floor. This was the signal for Hackett to start firing his gun. He put two bullets in it centre mass and it turned towards him....something was writhing and wriggling in Santana's gut as the dead man limped towards him ! Hackett fired again and again making sure his shots were directed at the belly of his adversary. The thing paused, and groped for a scalpel on the table before lunging at Hackett. However, the shattered leg could not bear the weight of this action and Santana collapsed at Hackett's feet. Hackett was screaming now - cursing over and over and he fired more shots into the lower back of the body which was floundering at his feet. Horrifically, the corpse actually began to speak ! 'Wait !' it rasped 'Wait ! I can show you so much ! So MUCH !' But Hackett continued to fire his Glock - again and again. The final horror was yet to come though - he could now see...something...oozing from underneath Santana's body which was no longer moving. A greyish jelly-like mass edged with tiny fibres. Hackett transferred his fire to this.....thing - using up the remaining bullets in his clip and smearing it into the floor. When he had finished, it was no longer moving. Cordite hung heavy in the air.

The Doctor was rocking back and forward, his hands over his head, whimpering quietly. DeVere lay still. Hackett reloaded and moved off to help his friend. He was awake - could feel and hear and see. But he could not move. Suddenly they heard a voice from outside demand that they throw out their guns...Hackett, weary, obliged. The four spooks - including Harper - entered the room cautiously. The other three had SMGs, Harper had a taser and a suitcase. The other three covered the doctor and the agents as Harper examined the corpse - kicking it over. They could see that something had crawled from the hole Santana's gut. It looked like some kind of greyish jelly vaguely lobster like in shape - with strange, short tentacle-like protrusions. The organic 'whip' which had menaced DeVere was at one end of it - the other end had been severed in two by the ferocity of Hackett's fire. 'Jeez Hackett' announced Harper with amazement ' You really screwed the pooch here'. He preceded to gather the two pieces of the thing into a plastic bag which he returned to his case. He turned to the agents and seemed to want to say something more - but appearing to hear noise from the corridor outside, the spooks beat a hasty retreat. Seconds later an orderly arrived - gawping in amazement at the scene

The next hours passed in a blur. The lab was a scene of frenzied activity as the local police descended on the scene. The Doctor was taken away and heavily sedated. DeVere was transferred to a bed upstairs and gradually the paralysis eased. The two agents were given due respect from the local cops - but it was also made clear that the strange events in the morgue had been reported up the chain of command. The two agents struggled to come to terms with what had happened. They were wise enough to remove the tape of the autopsy from the Doctor's recorder. Checking out the security tapes for the hospital they were unsurprised to learn that the cameras had suffered some kind of failure just prior to the arrival of the spooks. They started to think about piecing together a cover story - just as they were summoned to Phoenix by Bellamy to explain themselves. Chances were that they would face an investigation from the Office of Professional Responsibility - the FBI 'internal affairs' department. DeVere then received a strange call from their mystery friend - to ask if they had managed to stop 'the thing that had Santana'. On hearing that they had, the voice said 'Good. We'll be in touch' and hung up.

En-route to Phoenix they were surprised to get a further call from Bellamy. 'Senior Bureau people' he explained, had heard about the job they had done in bringing down Santana at the lodge and thus wrapping up the case. They were to take some well-earned leave and report back in 3 days where the 'other matter' of the morgue could be discussed.

The two agents headed for a bar in Phoenix - but not before DeVere's mystery caller rang again to invite the two agents to a meet at the Phoenix Hall of Flame (a fire fighting museum) the next morning. The two agents got drunk - DeVere decided to start smoking - and they reviewed the impossible events of the last few days. Something unnatural, something vile, it seemed, had arrived during a meteor shower and blazed a trail of murder and brutality half way across the US. Suddenly, the world didn't make so much sense anymore....

The next morning they were met in the Hall of Flame by a mysterious dreadlocked African-American female, dressed in shades and a sharp business suit . She claimed to represent a 'government organisation' who specialised in protecting the citizens of America from 'unnatural phenomena' such as the two agents had recently encountered. That organisation wished to recruit Hackett and DeVere. They were like fire-fighters she explained. They smelled the smoke and put out the fires. Were they interested in joining ? Naturally, they were full of questions.

Had this organisation met things like the Santana creature before ? 'No'. She had followed it's trail through the papers and made the connections. Then there were other 'things' ? 'Other threats. Yes'

Who were the spooks ? 'A rival faction - with an unhealthy interest in acquiring extra-terrestrial technology'. Yes, they seemed well resourced. Her own organisation was not without its own assets.

Would they be 're-assigned' or seconded ? No - they would operate covertly - utilising the authority they had as FBI agents.

She also hinted that Waco had been one of their ops - Hackett had served their and his curiosity was naturally aroused.

So - what was it to be ?

Both agents thought for a few seconds, discussing it briefly before announcing that they were 'in'.

'Good' she announced. 'Our clearance level is Delta Green and that's what we call ourselves. Welcome to Delta Green gentlemen'.

'We'll be in touch' she said simply, and walked away.

[kinnygraham]

In order to set up things for my next session, I've sent the following to my players in order to (mostly) wrap up 'Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays' and hopefully - quickly move on to the next scenario when we have our next session.


'One month has passed since a dead man got up off a mortuary slab and tried to kill you.

Since that time, you have been lying awake most nights trying to rationalise the stark horror of that room - the impossibility of a bullet-ridden corpse hunting you in the dark, the awful, maddening, rasping sound of a dead voice raised to offer blasphemous secrets and God only knows what else...and the knowledge of some awful thing that buried itself deep and furtive and feral in the guts of men both living and dead - and which wrought bloody havoc for half a year or more in a sickening spiral of brutality and death.

But to dwell on such things for too long is to court madness. So you try to dwell instead on the mysterious offer that you have accepted and on the contents of the intriguing package that appeared in your mail. Whoever they are, it seems that this DELTA GREEN group are serious in their intent. You have also sensed their influence over the last few weeks. The Office of Professional Responsibility, the FBI's 'internal affairs' department, quite uncharacteristically seem prepared to cut you a lot of slack in their investigations into the mortuary incident so far - balancing the 'undoubted success' of your apprehension of Santana (a media coup of some significance for the Bureau - even if the two 'stars' have been kept well out of the limelight) against the 'trivial' nature of some post-mortem injuries inflicted on Santana's corpse. Indeed, their attentions instead seem to have switched to the 'unidentified vigilantes' who sought to disturb proceedings in the mortuary and who may have been responsible for provoking any 'accidental' firearms discharges. The investigation is not yet complete - but until it is, it's business as usual and back to work for the Bureau – both for you and for Hobson who seems to have recovered his position of SAC amid talk of ‘misunderstandings’ and ‘mis-communication’.

But at night, you think. It did not feel like an 'undoubted success' to you. Not when it went down out at the hunting lodge, not when you attended the funeral of Officer Chavez of the ASP - felled when he entered the burning room, and not when you visited Keefer and Drake - his two colleagues lying broken and burned in critical condition in a Phoenix hospital. In fact 'undoubted success' seems like a sick joke when you think about all of them - about the dead kid and his maimed friends who'd survived only to die in a helicopter explosion that no-one can explain (not least because all electronic equipment, including cameras, seemed to have malfunctioned just seconds before the blast). The girl who made it will never walk again you hear. The Tribal Police Officers butchered where they stood. Major Garrett - his brains shot out on to the forest floor. The Apache shamen and their unfortunate apprentice. Kenneth Braverman, his kids and his wife (and God only knows what happened to her) - and all of the other brutalised dead leading back on a bloody trail back to West Virginia and perhaps......... beyond?

But most of all, you can't help think about Santana himself. You were a little surprised when Sheriff Colorados contacted you and invited you to his funeral rite just over a week ago. His body had been cremated with little ceremony about a week after his death, but it seemed that his own people wished to say a last farewell - despite the horror he had caused. It was with no small amount of trepidation that you took to the Gila Mountains again - but as you travelled with Colorados you began to understand his need - to know that whatever Santana had done, it wasn't the essential 'him' that had performed these fearful deeds. You'd already hinted as much to him in the wake of the carnage out at the lodge and now he seemed to be content with your re-affirmation that this was indeed so - even if your confirmation lacked the detail that others might have needed. In a ceremony at sunset, Santana's ashes were scattered in the mountains that he had loved. Somehow, you were not surprised to hear a lone coyote howl once, alone and unseen, somewhere off in the darkening gloom.

But Santana's shade knows no rest - at least not in your fevered dreams. In slow paralysing nightmares he comes to you - borne on mournful desert winds whispering in from the east. His dead eyes bore into you - and his dead, dread voice promises sweet damnation if only you will listen to him.

It's only when you awake sweating that a damnable thought comes to mind - perhaps such horror can only be erased by something new, something fresh - and perhaps more terrible still? '



And that pretty much concludes 'Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays' which I've enjoyed running immensely.

If anyone is interested, I might also get back and post some notes about some of the plot twists that happend during the scenario. Player action can always throw you - which is what makes role playing so fun - and some things happend that I wasn't expecting and other things didn't happen that I thought would !

Keepers might be interested in hearing that kind of stuff ( I love playtest notes when they are provided) - if so, let me know.

Hopefully - I'll be back with an account of a new scenario soon - cue fiendish laughter ;) .

[Fulsrush]

Ooh, nice wrap-up, presenting Santana to be as much a victim as the other dead.

(Damnit, must get back to writing up my Cthulhu Dark Ages game...)

[kinnygraham]

.....


(Damnit, must get back to writing up my Cthulhu Dark Ages game...)

Yes please - drop me a PM when you do, just to make sure I read it.

Cheers.

[Fulsrush]

Will do.

Taster: The Christ-child was born to a 'virgin' last week, bringing on a wave of post-millennial confusion, and this week was given the name Bartholomew.

Yes, the second coming of Christ is called Bart. At least I had the sense to veto Damien...

[kinnygraham]

After a few week of postponements for one reason or another, I finally got to run the next instalment of my 'Delta Green' campaign the other night (7th December 2004) .

SPOILER WARNING

This time, I chose to run the Delta Green scenario 'See No Evil' which was published in 'The Unspeakable Oath' issue # 16/17. The following is an account of what happened in the first session, and as such, contains spoilers for that scenario. Potential players should stop reading NOW.


For this session, I was able to welcome back Martin Tulloch and Steve Emmott (playing FBI Special Agents DeVere and Hackett respectively - still battered around the edges from their experiences in Arizona) and also to introduce a new player to the group. Nick Clements played Special Agent Pat O'Connor - a 'specialist' in the technical aspects of surveillance who only recently graduated from the D.E.A 's training programme in Quantico.

Moody atmosphere was provided by use of the soundtrack from the movie 'Insomnia'.


The story opened in October of 1997 (just under two months since the events in Arizona) and by this time Agents DeVere and Hackett were now inducted into the Delta Green conspiracy - having received a package containing details of how the mysterious organisation operated shortly after they agreed to join. Both men now comprised 'T' Cell in the Delta Green structure and had chosen the codenames 'Turner' and 'Thomas'.

Now the two agents found themselves in New York, having only recently been 'temporarily' re-assigned there by their superiors. This was not a complete surprise to them since they had been warned of this development by 'Cell A' - the shadowy 'directors' of the Delta Green conspiracy. Agent 'Alphonse' had e-mailed them the following briefing:



'From: ‘A’ Cell
To: Agents Turner & Thomas
Subject: Operation ‘See No Evil’

Your employers will shortly be temporarily re-assigning you to another city.

There, you will be tasked to head up a surveillance operation against an organisation that the Bureau has recently developed an interest in.

This organisation, and in particular the individuals comprising its leadership, is also of potential interest to DELTA GREEN. We require objective analysis and intelligence in this matter, and consequently we cannot share any further information on the target subjects with your Cell at this time.

Your superiors will place legal parameters upon the nature of the surveillance that you will be conducting. As DELTA GREEN agents, you will NOT be bound by such parameters. Given your recent experiences, I am sure that you will understand when I say that you are to consider yourselves answerable to a higher authority.

The fellow members of your team are NOT cleared for DELTA GREEN intelligence and will be unaware of your true purpose in this operation. Extreme caution must therefore be exercised, particularly with regards to any breach of the legal parameters discussed above.

However, a technical specialist from another Agency will be tasked to support your team. He has been instructed to follow your direction in all matters pertaining to the surveillance (including potential questions of legality) and he should be assessed for potential recruitment to your Cell at some point in the future. This individual while not DELTA GREEN ‘aware’ or ‘friendly’ has unique characteristics that make him a very suitable subject for induction.

To summarise your objectives:

1) Covertly gather intelligence on the target subject(s) while maintaining your cover. We will be particularly interested in any indications of ‘occult interest’ or of any manifestation of paranormal phenomena.
2) Report back to ‘A’ cell when the surveillance operation is complete, or at your discretion should circumstance dictate.
3) Assess the ‘technical specialist’ referred to above for potential induction to DELTA GREEN and ‘T’ Cell.


Be seeing you, Alphonse.'




And so the two agents found themselves on an early Sunday afternoon in a meeting room in the FBI New York field office in Federal Plaza in New York. Also present in the room was ASAC Michaels and SA O'Connor of the DEA. Michaels came to the point.

He wanted the two agents to head up a surveillance operation against an organisation calling itself 'The Review' - a society of right wing historians dedicated to challenging the accepted facts of the Holocaust. The Bureau suspected that the Review may have links with far-right white-supremacists, fascists, extreme militia groups and other similar organisations and were concerned that their 'work' provided such organisations with an intellectual rationale or justification for their extreme views The Review were due to have a conference in New York that week - affording the Bureau the perfect opportunity to observe their 'Big 4' in the one geographical location and to build up a better picture of them.

Michaels handed out files describing the history of the Group and the known facts about the main players in the organisation:

Michael Drinkwater. An out of work History professor and self-described expert on the concentration camps. Due to arrive in NY's JFK airport from Providence the following afternoon.
Allan Bhrunt. A publisher who edited the Review's 'Journal'. Also a one-time petty criminal with previous convictions for forgery, assault and possession of narcotics. Due to arrive by train from Florida in NY late Tuesday afternoon.
Peter Hames. A retired USAF Major and apparent 'specialist' in Nazi Party documentation. Due to arrive on Thursday - also to JFK - from Ohio
Stephen Colm. The group's Secretary/Treasurer and all round administrator. Colm was also resident in New York - unlike the other three who were booked into the Marriott in Times Square.

Agent O'Connor was on secondment from the DEA to provide technical assistance to the operation and other manpower would be provided by four rookie FBI agents whose files Hackett and DeVere were able to peruse shortly before being introduced to them.

Agent David Faulkener - a former Assistant State Attorney (white Caucasian).
Agent Samantha Lynn - a former Naval Investigative Services officer (white Caucasian).
Agent Eric Roberts - a law school graduate (African American).
Agent Steve Udagawa - a former Army Intelligence analyst (Japanese American).

Michaels reminded the agents about the legalities of such an operation. 'Non-intrusive' surveillance (photography, parabolic microphones etc ) was in. Intrusive surveillance (wiretaps, planting bugs etc) was out - unless the agents could show 'probable cause' that a crime was being planned or committed in order to obtain a warrant.

The two FBI men introduced themselves to O'Connor while Michaels went off to fetch the other rookie agents. Hackett immediately probed O'Connor about whether he would consider himself to be a stickler for procedure. To Hackett's satisfaction, O'Connor conceded that he wasn't - especially where a bunch of Nazi apologists were concerned. O'Connor had his own reasons for taking such a view. His training had been overseen from a distance by his Uncle Mike - a senior figure in the Drug Enforcement Administration. His Uncle Mike had only recently informed him that he was going on a surveillance operation for the FBI and that he was not to worry about the legalities of any tasks that he was asked to perform by the agents in charge. Such questions were for his superiors to consider. Uncle Mike was aware that this was a strange request - but had assured him that it was important.

There was some nice role-playing in the next stages of the evening as the player-characters introduced themselves to the team of rookies. Hackett and DeVere were keen to see how 'flexible' these agents would be should they overstep the mark in their surveillance of the The Review. To that end he tasked the rookies with finding a good bar while he, DeVere and O'Connor went off to requisition all manner of esoteric surveillance equipment. When they caught up with them (in a nearby bar frequented by 'federal types') they were interested to see who had bought alcohol and who hadn't. From there they took the rookies to a restaurant - discussing 'the Review' and possible strategies such as having two of the agents pose as a married couple in the Marriott or having one of them attend the conference (Roberts jokingly volunteered at this point). Lynn seemed determined to prove her worth - matching the drinkers in the group. Roberts wasn't averse either, but Faulkener and Udagawa kept to the sensible stuff for the main part - only drinking a shot when told it was a Fed 'tradition'. Eventually the senior agents sent them away and tasked them with researching further into the Review while they continued with their own preparations. They were to meet again the next morning at 8.30am back at Federal Plaza.

O'Connor headed straight uptown to check out the Merriweather Centre (the convention spot where the conference was to take place) and the Marriott that three of their subjects would be staying at. The Centre was closed though he did get a good idea of the general layout. At the Marriott he established the general layout and earmarked a building opposite as a potential monitoring spot. He telephoned this info to DeVere before heading back to his hotel. Here he established that the Merriweather Centre floorplans were not available online - so he asked the Bureau to obtain them from City Hall. Finally he retired to bed to read over the available files on 'The Review'.

DeVere put in a call to the Bureau requesting that they establish exactly what rooms their targets would be staying in. With this info established then went to interview the hotel manager (identifying himself as an agent) and explained that they wanted to conduct a surveillance op in the hotel and that they would need access to a room next door to one of the subjects (Bhrunt was chosen here as his room could not be overseen from the spot opposite that they'd picked out). Naturally the hotel manager needed written authority and DeVere assured him this would be forthcoming. DeVere then crossed the road to the opposite building and obtained the building owner's details from the security guards with a view to requesting access to set up a surveillance spot. DeVere then headed back downtown to the hotel.

Hackett stayed put - having a few more drinks in the bar of the hotel they were all staying at. He then contacted the Bureau and asked them to see if a check could be made on the movements of known white-supremacists or similar types - perhaps some of them would be attending the conference ?

The next morning, as was their custom back in Arizona during the 'Santana case', the two FBI men met over breakfast. They speculated on what Delta Green's interest might be and Hackett asked DeVere if he could perhaps search the internet to see if any of these Review types had 'occult' interests. They also speculated on O'Connor and on why (skill set aside) he might make a good recruit for Delta Green. O'Connor then joined them and they talked over the mechanics of the surveillance op before heading off to meet up with the rest of the team.

Back at the Federal building, it soon became apparent that they had overlooked Stephen Colm - who was already resident in New York. O'Connor twigged to this first, but the rookie agents weren't far behind. Lynn pointed out that the surveillance op was supposed to be in full swing from today and that all seven of them were sitting around with their 'thumbs in their asses' while Colm was presumably walking around out in the City. Hackett took this one on the chin - knowing that they deserved it. He tasked Lynn to call Colm at his workplace (an accountant's office) impersonating a telemarketing type to establish if he was at work. While she did this (Colm was indeed at work she was able to confirm) , the rest of the team discussed how they would go about covering Drinkwater's arrival at JFK today - as well as setting up the surveillance equipment. Permission had been obtained from both the hotel and the landlord of the offices opposite - but this remained a challenging logistical exercise - especially considering that the Delta Green men and their technician also wanted to take the immediate opportunity of breaking into Colm's flat that day to plant some extra 'gear' of their own.

We left the session there, with the prospect of some careful planning ahead and a little good old fashioned B&E......!

[kinnygraham]

Played the next session in the scenario 'See No Evil' the other night (15th December 2004). You can read about the last session in my previous post.

This account contains SPOILERS for the scenario and should therefore be avoided by any potential players.




We opened the game with the agents at Federal Plaza, planning to have a look at Colm's apartment - and to make the necessary arrangements to start putting the Review members under surveillance.

Rookies Faulkener and Lynn were assigned to start setting up surveillance gear (telescopic cameras, parabolic microphones, recording equipment etc) in the office room overlooking the Marriott. Taylor was despatched to the accountant's office where Colm worked to give everybody a heads up in case Colm should leave (Hackett anticipated that Colm would probably go to meet Michael Drinkwater - who was due to arrive at 4.45pm at JFK that afternoon). DeVere signed a car out of the vehicle pool and took Ugadawa with him on a trip to JFK - planning to make contact with airport security in preparation for Drinkwater's arrival - and to scope out the arrivals hall in case he made contact with anyone.

Hackett and O'Connor - now dressed as 'maintenance men' in boiler suits and hard hats, signed out a non-descript white van from the car pool and headed over to Colm's apartment, which was located in a nice brownstone building near Central Park. They immediately surmised that the building had a door entry system. Deciding not to try and bypass it, O'Connor instead headed for the rear of the building - where he located fire escape stairs which looked as if they would granted access through windows to Colm's apartment. O'Connor called Colm's apartment from his cell to double check that no-one else was in (according to his file he was a divorcee - but the agents were taking no chances). The phone was not answered - but O'Connor was slightly dismayed when he heard a barking from within the apartment, seemingly in response to his call. It sounded like Colm had a dog in there. He quickly established that the main window panel - which gave access to a bedroom - was wired to detect it being opened (a precaution to alert the building supervisor to the possibility of a fire). He de-activated this (though not as tidily as he liked, meaning that his deliberate tampering might be detectable should anyone go looking) and after co-ordinating with Hackett in a successful ruse to lure the building super to the main door of the building - managed to open the window. The dog continued to bark away - evidently just on the other side of the door from where O'Connor now stood. The bedroom itself was neat and tidy. O'Connor gave it a quick and careful search, noting nothing much unusual other Colm's collection of military figurines in a display case - and a largish box on the floor of the walk-in closet. This contained a 9mm automatic and several boxes of ammunition which the DEA man replaced carefully where he found them. He then prepared to open the bedroom door and control the dog - preparing a blanket to cover it in should the need arise. This proved to be unnecessary though; the beast - a small mongrel - was perfectly docile and friendly when confronted - quieting down immediately. O'Connor next explored the living room (large collection of political and history books - though no TV) and kitchen (tailored for a man who obviously very much enjoyed cooking). However, the front door area provided a perplexing surprise. Here, it was apparent a large amount of talcum powder had been spread - evidently in a crude attempt to detect any intruder. Due to the apartment lay out O'Connor would have to negotiate this should he wish to explore the rest of Colm's place. As a precaution, he ensured that the dog was trailed through the talc - hoping that it would be blamed for any disturbance (!) Removing his footwear he then levered himself up and around the area, dropping safely on the other side where he was able to approach the door to another room. However, here he spotted another detection 'device' - a hair fastened to the junction of door and floor with some small slivers of sell-o-tape. O'Connor would have to break this should he wish to gain access to the room. This he did - entering a study that had previously been a bedroom containing a large locked filing cabinet, telephone, PC with peripherals and a small bookcase containing a mini-library of conspiracy-theory 'literature'. Further ' hair devices' were placed at strategic points in this room. Clearly, Colm was either paranoid - or very prescient. O'Connor decided to work quickly, deciding not to tamper with the files or the PC. Instead he place a bug in the phone and then planted a miniature camera and microphone which would broadcast to recording equipment he would place nearby. He also ensured that the dog entered to room, in a hope that it would get the blame for breaking the hair. This task completed he tried to negotiate the 'talced' area again by climbing around and over it - but he was unsuccessful and he ended up on his ass in the middle of it. Cursing he grabbed the dog again and rolled the creature back and forward in the talcum powder ! Searching the bedroom he found a large quantity of the stuff and he set about trying to replace some of it on the floor again. Finally he planted another camera and bug in the living room - and a further audio bug in the master bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he exited the building the same way he came in.

Meanwhile out at the airport, DeVere contacted airport security and explained in broad terms the surveillance op that they were conducting. He requested permission to use the airport cameras to monitor and record Drinkwater's arrival. Security went a step further and offered to have Drinkwater pulled aside on a 'random' search to get a look at his belongings. A 'fishing expedition' in other words. This was just fine by DeVere. Meanwhile, Udagawa was tasked with familiarising himself with the arrivals hall just in case Drinkwater should try and make contact with anyone here. These arrangements made, they headed back into the City to rendezvous with the others at the office across from the Marriott.

Here the two DG agents met with O'Connor met up to discuss what had happened that day so far (O'Connor choosing not to divulge that he'd fallen on his ass in the apartment....). The DEA man also checked the equipment that had been set up here to make sure that it was OK. Hackett then received a call from ASAC Michaels who explained that he wanted to see him and DeVere downtown at the Federal Building later that evening, instructing them to alter their plans accordingly.

It was also at this point the agents realised that they hadn't planned as well as they might in terms of transport. They needed to put tails on both Colm and Drinkwater and they were woefully short of transport, having only two vehicles between them - one of which had government plates. The agents quickly improvised by hitting a car-rental place near the Marriott - but though the rookies didn't say anything, there were certainly a few eyebrows raised.

The next assignments were then made. Hackett and O'Connor, with Lynn (in another vehicle) went over to meet Taylor outside Colm's workplace planning to tail him if he went to meet Drinkwater. DeVere, Udagawa and Faulkener headed out to the airport (all in separate vehicles) to prepare to watch over Drinkwater.

Colm left his workplace just after three and immediately headed home, but to Hackett's surprise it became apparent that he wasn't intending to leave again in time to meet Drinkwater. The agents at Colm's decided to stay put to see what he would do. O'Connor sloped off to review his surveillance equipment. He could see that Colm was immediately suspicious when he'd entered the flat - and that he had headed straight to his office to check that his files and PC had not been tampered with. Thereafter he'd taken a stiff drink, obviously rattled by something. O'Connor suspected that Colm probably knew something was amiss.

Meanwhile out at the airport, DeVere was able to monitor Drinkwater's arrival and 'random' search. Nothing unusual was found in his baggage and he was waved through to be picked up by Faulkener and Udagawa, who tailed him to the Marriott with DeVere catching up. Once checked into his room, Drinkwater called his wife and then Colm. Hackett and O'Connor (now in the van outside the building) were able to listen in thanks to the bug that had been planted (agents Udagawa, Faulkener and DeVere could listen in to Drinkwater's side of the conversation - thanks to the sophisticated mikes that were pointing at his hotel window from the office across the road). The conversation was brief, Drinkwater merely informing Colm if his safe arrival and enquiring about the readiness of preparations for the Conference on Saturday. Drinkwater did seem to detect that something was amiss with Colm, but Colm assured him that he was OK, and the conversation ended with both parties apparently looking forward to seeing each other on the day of the meeting.

Hackett and DeVere were now shortly due downtown to see ASAC Michaels and they left O'Connor, Lynn and Taylor outside Colm's place, with Faulkener and Udagawa 'on station' across from the Marriott.

Meanwhile, O'Connor had checked and established that Colm was not licensed to own a firearm - interesting news. He also took the opportunity of secretly planting a tracking device on Colm's car (unobserved by the two rookies) - shortly before the man himself left his apartment to walk his dog in nearby Central Park. The two rookie Feds and the DEA man had to exercise caution here - Colm was clearly jumpy and jumping at shadows and they had to work hard to remain unobserved. Colm talked with no-one and returned to his apartment after half an hour.

Down town, ASAC Michaels came to the point and asked Hackett and DeVere if they felt they were up to the job of leading the surveillance op. It had been 'brought to his attention' that their organisation so far had been less than stellar. Colm had travelled to work that morning while all of the agents were downtown doing nothing. Was alcohol a factor here ? He was aware that both of them, Hackett in particular, had been drinking heavily the day before. And he'd also been informed that they hadn't planned the transport situation adequately that afternoon. Hackett - the veteran of the two, seemed to be bearing the brunt of the criticism. DeVere attempted to defend him but Michaels was having none of it. Hackett explained the drinking by saying that this was his way of bonding the group. Michaels countered that he could accept this normally - but not when it could be inferred that it was affecting his performance and that of the team. Hackett had to concede here. Michaels finished his lecture by warning the two that they were setting an example to the rookies. He appreciated their assistance in helping the New York Bureau out (their surveillance manpower was stretched by several ongoing organised crime investigations) and was aware of their solid reputation from the 'Santana case' - but he did not want that assistance to be 'counter-productive'. The two agents assured him that they were 'on the case' and left - keenly wondering which one of their rookies had been reporting on them.

They headed back to the office across from the Marriott. Drinkwater had left his room for a meal downstairs and Udagawa had crossed the road to observe him - but he had apparently made no unusual contact with anyone, and was on his way back to his room apparently when the senior agents arrived back. Here, the agents listened in he ordered up a movie (of all things, 'Schindler's List') and settled down for the evening.

O'Connor left Lynn and Taylor back at Colm's and headed back to the office to meet up with DeVere and Hackett. He described how Colm had been very concerned to check that that his files were intact and was contemplating breaking in again. It was late evening - and the agents now had to decide who would cover the targets in the wee small hours. Bhrunt was also due to arrive in NY the following day.

We left the session with the three agents slowly realising that their 'low key' surveillance op was something of a logistical challenge....and Hackett and DeVere still did not know what justified Delta Green's interest.....

[Fulsrush]

The poor dog...

[Delirium]

Superb write up.

I'll be running DG starting from Jauary so this very interesting. Keep 'em coming :)

[silburnl]

Sounds like a fun game. One question regarding the organisational screwups that led to the ASAC carpeting the two principals - was that down to IC flakiness (Hackett's drinking say) or the players not being familiar with the routines and procedures of a covert surveillance op?

Regards
Luke

PS
Very, very minor quibble/question. Colm lives in central Manhattan and has a car? Aren't eldritch monstrosities from beyond space enough ulcer-fodder for him?

[voidstate]

So, are you the person responsible for the kick ass DG recruitment poster I saw in Travelling Man at the weekend? I was really impressed with it.

voidstate

[kinnygraham]

Thanks for the kind words people - it's good to know that someone out there is enjoying these write - ups.

Silburnl - I've answered your points in a PM (slightly spoilerish - and my players happen past here sometimes...)


So, are you the person responsible for the kick ass DG recruitment poster I saw in Travelling Man at the weekend? I was really impressed with it.

voidstate

Not quite.. ...The poster is certainly about my campaign, but the kudos must go to one of my players who put it together (Martin Tulloch - aka 'Agent Turner' / Special Agent DeVere). As you can imagine, I was very pleased with it - and it served its purpose in helping us recruit 'Agent O'Connor'.

I was going to ask him to add the Delta Green 'logo' to it (which I think would enhance it even more) in case anyone else was interested in using it...

[kinnygraham]

Played the third session of 'See No Evil' on 22nd December 2004.

As always, this account contains SPOILERS for this scenario.

We opened play on the Monday - the first day of the surveillance, about 10pm in the evening, as the characters considered their next options in the operation.

Drinkwater (observable from the office opposite) seemed to be settling down for the night, and Colm had returned to his flat after walking his dog. Reviewing progress so far, the two DG men and O'Connor decided that more transport was required for the upcoming days. Hackett and DeVere headed downtown to Federal Plaza to sign out for more vehicles, but unluckily were only able to obtain one more that was suitable (the rest being used for other Bureau activities). This gave them a pool of five vehicles to work with: a van (the rear packed with monitoring gear being used illicitly by an obliging O'Connor), a government car not suitable for surveillance, two rentals - and a car they had just signed for. DeVere was also curious about Hames - the ex USAF major - and took the opportunity of putting in a request to see his military records.

Returning uptown, arrangements were soon made to cover the 'night shift'. Hackett took the shift at Colm's, rotating through the night with Lynn and Taylor (who jokingly warned Lynn not to get any funny ideas as they settled down to grab some shut-eye in the back of the car). O'Connor and DeVere settled down on bunks at the office - rotating through the night with Udagawa and Faulkener. The night passed uneventfully at both locations.

The next morning, Drinkwater arose and headed down for breakfast - where he was monitored by Udagawa. Drinkwater returned to his room briefly to brush his teeth and then headed out on foot into the thronging Manhattan streets. The team took no chances - assigning DeVere, Faulkener and Udagawa to work the surveillance on foot. Over the course of the morning it became apparent that Drinkwater was something of a bibliophile - he was visiting a number of bookstores and buying up a lot of political and historical works.

O'Connor took this opportunity to enter the Marriott and the room adjacent to the one that Bhrunt was due to book into that afternoon (access to this had been arranged by DeVere via the Bureau yesterday morning) . Here, he spent the morning carefully accessing the ceiling space to plant fibre-optic cables and audio bugs with good coverage of Bhrunt's room. In similar fashion to the equipment planted in Colm's apartment, these would transmit to recording equipment nearby (in Bhrunt's case to equipment in the adjacent room; in Colm's, to a box disguised to look like a small electrical junction box at the rear of then property) - the signals could also be monitored 'live' from the equipment in the rear of the van if it was within half a mile or so.

Meanwhile, the remaining agents followed Colm as he made his way to work in his car. It occurred to them that a sensible Manhattanite could probably make this journey on foot, or by bus. But Colm appeared to prefer the car.

After finishing at the hotel, O'Connor then headed over to Colm's apartment to review the tapes he had made. It was apparent that Colm was at least suspicious that something wasn't right - (there had been disruptions to at least one of his detection devices - though not the most important ones) and he seemed to be particularly concerned about the contents of his filing cabinet. But after checking that this was undisturbed he'd done nothing interesting other than taking the call from Drinkwater, walking the dog, cooking a meal and settling down for the night. However, he had re-set his devices the next morning, before setting off for work.

The next challenge of the day was to monitor Bhrunt's arrival at Grand Central at 5pm that evening. By now, Drinkwater had returned to the hotel to read some of his many book purchases - so the coverage required on him was minimal (Udagawa was assigned), assuming that he didn't do anything unexpected (by no means guaranteed). However, the team were alert to the possibility of Colm going to meet Bhrunt - and they planned accordingly, but unnecessarily as it turned out. Bhrunt (short and stocky) took a taxi to the Marriott, tailed by Lynn, O'Connor and Faulkener - with DeVere waiting on him outside the Marriott. The agents had been speculating on why he had opted for the train rather than flying - and now their suspicions were aroused when they noticed that in addition to a larger hold-all suitable for clothes, he also had a large black briefcase on him. He checked in - and went for his room. O'Connor excused himself and headed for his equipment - where he was able to view Bhrunt throw the briefcase under the bed. O'connor then crossed the road to meet the rest of the group at the office.

Colm had headed straight for home - again tailed by Hackett and Taylor.

Back at the office opposite the Marriott the agents were able to listen in via laser microphone as Drinkwater made arrangements to meet someone (assumed to be Bhrunt) for dinner at seven. O'Connor headed for the van to watch and see if Bhrunt left the case behind. He didn't. Disappointed, O'Connor left the surveillance here to head back over to Colm's. The two Review men did indeed meet in the hotel lobby and walked on foot to an Italian restaurant several blocks away. At this point the agents got some good zoom photos of the briefcase - they'd discussed a plan to switch it, and were keeping their options open. Despite the best efforts of the covering agents (DeVere, and Udagawa), they couldn't pick anything up on their portable parabolic mikes (the restaurant was too noisy and they didn't have anything close to a good position). They were frustrated, but didn't want to enter the restaurant without reservations as they felt it might risk their cover. After eating, the two Review men crossed the road to a bar - where Udagawa was able to partially listen in from the booth adjacent to the one their subjects settled in. Udagawa was able to report that at one point the two men were racially classifying the other patrons of the bar. Udagawa was Japanese in ancestry - and he'd even overheard them classify him as 'High Yellow' as he'd made his way to the gents to get a better look at them. Clearly they were dealing with a couple of racist pricks the team decided. As a precaution, DeVere took over in the bar - with Udagawa taking up a position outside. Their targets had several rounds of drinks over the course of the evening, before eventually walking back to the Marriott.

Over at Colm's apartment O'Connor reviewed the coverage they had on him for the evening (on the other side of the block away from Hackett and Taylor in order that the rookie didn't see how far 'over the line' they'd went in their surveillance) . Colm had been busy on the phone in the late afternoon - making arrangements with the Merriweather Centre, book vendors, caterers etc in relation to the Conference. The details were noted in case they became useful later on. They also heard that Bhrunt had phoned Colm to notify him of his arrival in NY - although it was apparent the two were not planning to meet until the Saturday of the Conference. This got the agents speculating on the relationship between The Review members - it was becoming clearer from what they had heard so far that Colm was perhaps not as close to the other two men as they were to each other. He walked the dog at 7.30pm, the same time as the previous evening, under surveillance from Hackett and Taylor who followed him to Central Park and back. They observed how he seemed to take great pains to avoid human contact, giving people a wide berth where possible - although he did exchange a few words with an old lady who emerged from his apartment building when he returned. Back at his study, he'd switched on his PC to read his e-mails (allowing O'Connor to observe his password - 'destiny') before opening up his filing cabinet (disabling a hair 'detection device' first) and retrieving some correspondence from the rearmost file in the bottom drawer). He read through this at length - seemingly rapt in what was written - before finally putting the letters away again, drinking a nightcap, and retiring for the evening.

With their targets settled - the DG men were able to cover off a few loose ends. A summary they received of Hames military records showed nothing too unusual - he'd flew bomber missions over Germany during WW2, and then had been stationed over there after the war. Hackett was still interested to see if any known white supremacists were descending on the Conference - but that information was not available. Reviewing their footage, they were able to confirm that Colm was permanently hooked up to the internet - so DeVere, normally competent in computer tech, tried to hack in to his system - but was unsuccessful.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully - and it looked like Drinkwater and Bhrunt were going to sleep late. Colm took off for work as usual (setting up his 'traps' once again before leaving) and the agents agreed that O'Connor should break in again - with DeVere hacking into his PC again at the same time. O'Connor was well prepared this time - purchasing a 'dust-buster' hand held hoover, acetate, tape and other items to help defeat Colm's rather primitive measures.

DeVere was successful in hacking into the system - obtaining access to the Review's membership files, Colm's writing projects - and interestingly, an 'encrypted' file labelled 'Sundries'. Unfortunately, he was not able to defeat the encryption - yet.

O'Connor broke into the apartment again - well prepared for the devices he encountered. The dog was as docile as he was on the visit before. He gained access to the files and saw that for the most part, they were records concerning the financial records of the Review and it's membership, book publications etc. However, the correspondence that Colm had been so interested in the night before was something different. They appeared to be a number of letters to 'Stephen' (Colm's first name) from someone identified as 'Linz'. A quick scan indicated a collection of right wing rants - but strangely, these were also interspersed with drawings of weird symbols and diagrams. O'Connor took careful photographs of these and put them back where he'd found them. He also took pictures of Colm's conspiracy book collection - before heading out the door.

O'Connor quickly developed his film, and Hackett left his surveillance post outside Colm's employer to join him in the van. Reading in detail they could see that 'Linz' was demonstrating knowledge of WW2 history and similar matters. But in addition to railing against Communists and Jews - he was also was hinting to Colm that there were 'others' who thought as he did. Furthermore, that they were in possession of secret and powerful knowledge which could help them turn the tables on their enemies. The last letter ended with a promise that Linz would contact Colm ' near the time of the Conference' and show him the power that he commanded. 'Enlightenment and Destiny' are at hand the last letter promised....

And that's where we left the session.

[kinnygraham]

Played the fourth session of 'See No Evil' on the 12th January. This account contains SPOILERS for that scenario . The previous events in this game can be found in my previous posts .

We opened the session about midday on Wednesday with Agents O'Connor and Hackett considering the strange letters photographed in Colm's apartment (which the DEA man had broke into that morning). The other two surveillance targets (Drinkwater and Bhrunt) had not left their hotel rooms yet - so Agent De Vere left Udagawa, Faulkener and Lynn at the office overlooking the Marriott and headed over to Colm's place to meet the other two and read over the intriguing correspondence.

Considered in more detail, the letters (about 18 or so in total) initially seemed more concerned with the author, identified as 'Linz', proving his in depth knowledge of German and Nazi party centered WWII history. However, the letters soon degenerated into a combination of paranoid conjecture and lectures, leavened with occultish mumbo-jumbo illustrated with strange diagrams. The key point of the letters as far as as the agents were concerned was that the author seemed to be hinting that he represented a faction in possession of some secret and powerful knowledge - and that he would be getting in touch with Colm at about the time of the Review Conference to prove the truth of this.

DeVere's first reaction was to scan a selection of these and e-mail them to Cell A with a request for analysis and further guidance. He then turned to the matter of the encrypted file from Colm's PC that he had hacked into. His strong hunch was that that the file had been prepared using an as yet unidentified text as the key - find the text, and it would be a simple matter to translate the file. O'Connor had taken the precaution of photographing the book collection in Colm's office and they now examined this in detail. This collection was a widely ranging library of conspiracy 'literature' - everything from texts about the 'true' identity of Shakespeare, the 'staged' death of Elvis, the assassination of JFK, faked moon landings and UFO cover ups. The only book that stood out as utterly different in this collection was a copy of the complete 'Jeeves and Wooster' by PG Woodhouse. DeVere left the others, heading off to the nearest bookshop to look for a copy. The agents received word that Drinkwater was now stirring, and it had to be assumed that Bhrunt might be on the move as well - so O'Connor (who was strongly of the opinion that both Colm and Linz were obviously crazy as batshit and not worth all this fuss) headed back to the Marriott to provide some backup. Hackett headed back on foot across Cental Park to assist Taylor - who was on station outside Colm's employer's.

Over the next hour it became apparent that Drinkwater, now followed by Faulkener, was apparently engaged in another book shopping expedition - this time concentrating his attentions to the crime and thriller sections. Bhrunt, still in possession of his suspicious briefcase and followed by Lynn, had headed uptown and after a few blocks had surprised the team by entering the lobby of a local radio station. Lynn could only enter as far as the foyer without a reasonable excuse to go further and became concerned that she would lose him if Bhrunt exited the building by another route - so O'Connor (driving the van containing all his hi-tech surveillance gear) quickly established that delivery bay opening on a rear access road was the only other possible way out. He took up position here as the team tuned in to the station. It became apparent that Bhrunt was due to appear at 2pm on a current and political affairs centered show - alongside a journalist / author and a local official. As the show unfolded, The Review's skill in spreading the 'gospel' of Holocaust revisionism became apparent. Bhrunt refused to rise to any bait - either from the host, guests or callers and instead simply and calmly presented himself as a simple 'seeker of truth'. He pointed out that surveys showed that most of the American people did not believe what their government had told them about the assassination of JFK - and he asked them to merely open their minds to the possibility that they had been lied to about other things as well. He referred listeners to their web-site and to the books that they had published - though interestingly he made no mention of the imminent Conference.

While this performance unfolded, DeVere - now in possession of his Jeeves and Wooster volume - set about cracking the code in Colm's encrypted file. His hunch was proved correct, and with the key provided the capable FBI agent was able to make short work of Colm's simple cipher. There was a lot to get through, but a representative sample provided a fascinating, if somewhat worrying, insight into the man's mind :

Selected Excerpts from the ‘Sundries’ file created by Stephen Colm

12th August 1996
‘Was followed again today. I’m sure of it. But what do they intend? Another assault like the last one in an attempt to silence me? To silence all of us? They are pulling all the strings and expect us to dance to their tune. But I will not. I must be doubly careful f