[center][h1]Delta Green: Whispers in the Darkness, Occult Action and Intrigue[/h1][/center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Si8zIIn.jpg[/img] [h3][right]"We're the only ones who understand that you can't understand...[/right][/h3] [h2][b]...And that's all you need to fucking know..."[/b][/h2] [center]-Donald Poe, USMC (Ret.) aka Agent [b]ALPHONSE[/b][/center] [center][i][url=https://youtu.be/eNx0c4UXmoM]Choose federal law enforcement[/url]. Choose the military. Choose NASA or the CDC. Choose lying to your superiors. Choose to ruin your career. Choose no friends. Choose divorce. Choose life through the bottom of a bottle. Choose destroying evidence and executing innocent people because they know too fucking much. Choose black fatigues and matching gas masks. Choose an MP5 stolen from the CIA loaded with glasers, with a wide range of fucking attachments. Choose blazing away at mind numbing, sanity crushing things from beyond the stars, wondering whether you'd be better off stuffing the barrel in your own mouth. Choose The King In Yellow and waking up wondering who you are. Choose a 9mm retirement plan. Choose going out with a bang at the end of it all, PGP encrypting your last message down a securely laid cable as an NRO Delta wetworks squad busts through your door. Choose one last Night at the Opera. Choose Delta Green.[/i] [b]— An Agent Long Gone[/b][/center] You are sat in a room filled with peculiar characters you've met only an hour ago, or maybe you remember some faces, or know some names by reputation in the circles you're commonly found in. Scientists, scholars, as well as types you'd find in warzones or unmarked police cars, driving or riding in the back. Either way, it isn't every day you get a flight paid for by... well, you're not really sure. All is quiet in the small house here in Blackriver, West Virginia, that will be your home for the foreseeable future- even though the future could hold anything at this point. Finally, a man emerges from the door to the garage and smiles in a way that is too genuine to be trustworthy. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, let's begin shall we?" ==Days Earlier== You sit on the edge of your bed, the news playing in the background with a litany of what's wrong in the world- murders, kidnappings, pesticides, the war on terror, etc. You clutch a phone in your hand- not yours, a pre-paid thing of the past- waiting. Thinking and waiting. The meeting you had earlier was odd. Told you to be at the meeting place- it could've been a coffee shop, a dive bar, a museum, a library, anywhere- but only if you got the go-ahead from the only number programmed on the phone. There was a man you'd never met before there, just sitting at the table, but eating and lounging as if no one else could see him. He wasn't even dressed like the others. The higher-ups asked you the routine questions- things about drug use in the past, past employment, what you were responsible for now in your current career. It was almost like a damned review, but nothing of that type was scheduled this month. After you give your answers, the man perks up and asks, "How do you feel about flying?" What kind of question is that? You give your answer and he smiles and nods, then starts the conversation. Have you ever been outside the US? Ever been in trouble with the law? Do you travel often? Do you have any friends or family overseas? You answer his questions, albeit a little stilted and awkwardly. You're not sure what the hell is with this guy. "There's an opportunity for you. This is probably something you'd do well to take up. A door has opened for you, but only if you want it." The man says, suddenly the air in the room is even more serious than it was before the man first spoke. "We do urge you to choose wisely." A phone is slid across the table to you. A pre-paid thing of the past. "Wait for the text tonight." The very same phone in your hands now buzzes. Flipping it open reveals the automated message '1 new txt msg.' Opening up the text reveals a peculiar message, [i]You are cordially invited to a night at the opera. Meet me at[/i], and you do. The meeting goes well, discussing you, your past, your home life, your social media presence. The man asks you if you have an idea of why you’re here with him. You shake your head. The man nods, "I wouldn’t think so. Let me tell you what this is about..." ==Present== The day's briefing is held in the living room by the same lax-dressed man that you talked to those few days back, as well as an unnamed stranger. The familiar man hands out a sheet of paper to be passed around the room. The service picture of a man in US Army dress uniform with his name at the bottom- Clyde Baughman. Beneath that is a short profile of Clyde Baughman- D.o.B.: 3/28/1931 Family: Wife, Marlene (8/20/1934 – 11/2/1985), Daughter, Sharon (9/12/1957), Son, Michael (7/28/1960) Employed by Bureau of Internal Revenue (later IRS) 6/11/1955 – 9/1/1986, retired as Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Operational Support. Active with group from 1958 to 1969, taking part in eleven+ operations. Numerous consultations as friendly with a specialty in taxation and property confiscations. No current association with group. “Two days ago at 2200 hours,” Steve Foster, your case officer, begins, “Retired Army Lieutenant Baughman passed away in his apartment in Charleston. Years ago, Baughman was given the same chance at opening new avenues for his career, just like all of you here today.” “Your first order of business is to go to his apartment and remove any… incriminating documents. Anything anybody but Clyde Baughman and everyone here doesn’t need to know.” Steve Foster looks at everybody in the room as the other man beside him holds up a key, presumably to Baughman’s apartment, “Welcome to the team, ladies and gentleman. Dismissed.” [center]* * *[/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bfk0PAn.jpg?1[/img][/center] All Forum-wide Rules Apply The GM's word is law This RP was inspired by the Delta Green tabletop game, The Cthulu Wars by Kenneth Hite and Kennon Bauman, True Detective S1 and Denis Villeneuve's Sicario [center]* * *[/center] Hello! As the title says, this RP is one about action and intrigue with an occult bent. Heavily influenced by media such as the Delta Green tabletop game and the Cthulu Wars book, from which came the premise of this RP, and mainly season one of True Detective and Denis Villeneuve's Sicario film, the atmosphere of which I hope to weave into this game. Your characters can come from any number of organizations and institutions both government and civilian. Although this is an action game, I don't want players to think they have to necessarily be Hank Stonebulge, war veteran and supercop with ten machineguns and gets his calories from red meat and cigarettes. That is to say, you can be a scientist, a scholar, a private eye, a federal agent, former or active duty military, or a career criminal with a history of working for the law to cut a deal. Steve Foster is not beholden to tradition for recruiting teams and neither am I. This is mainly to not alienate people who are interested but don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of federal agencies or the like. I do encourage players to get creative with their characters, as long as they make sense, of course. An analyst probably won't be the greatest at making 400 meter shots with a rifle. Like said above, I do hope to capture the atmosphere of Sicario and True Detective. The RP will mainly be about the investigation of the case the team has been brought on for, as well as how they bond with their teammates, cope with the events of the RP that might challenge their ideals, and grow along the time spent working this case and just what it uncovers about the true workings of the world around them. As such, don't expect shooting first and asking questions later to get you far. You may be working for a shadowy 'Man in Black' but that doesn't give you legal immunity. Player characters will have to navigate this new world of intrigue and horror smartly, and may be called upon to do morally repugnant things in the name of not only national security, but the preservation of humanity as they know it. Join me on this romp from the heartbroken hills of West Virginia, and all the way down to Juarez, Mexico, and beyond. Over the course of the RP, questions may arise. Who is Steve Foster? Why is such a small case being treated with such secrecy and ambiguity? How far does this whole thing go? Who can I really trust? And remember... [center][b]“Deception is a right. Truth is a privilege. Innocence is a luxury. The war is never over.”[/b][/center] [center]* * *[/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QV0t2Pp.jpg?1[/img][/center] [hider=What Is Delta Green?][url=http://www.delta-green.com/2017/04/what-is-the-program/]Delta Green: An organisation which encourages middle-aged accountants and bureaucrats to drive vans filled with dynamite into the homes of white supremacists who worship the risen spirit of Hitler.[/url] tl;dr - Delta Green was a government program born of the US government's raid on the degenerate coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Dissolved during the Vietnam War in 1969 following a disastrous and unsanctioned raid in Cambodia, Delta Green post-1970 is an illegal, unsanctioned conspiracy of military personnel, federal agents, and capable and exceptional civilians that investigate and dispose of preternatural threats to the US and the world as a whole. Officially reinstated in late 2001 as 'The Program' and tasked to investigate, recover, and/or destroy preternatural threats to the US, Delta Green often achieves these high ideals with low methods. "...as criminal an enterprise as all the conspiracies and blacker-than-black military projects that came before it."[/hider] [center]* * *[/center] [Hider=Dossier]Name: And any aliases, nicknames or code names, if applicable Age: Gender: Take this into account when choosing an Agency/Organization. There isn't exactly a lot of females in the Army Rangers or other such organizations. Appearance: Height, build, facial structure. Voice and mannerisms, even. A picture may be attached, but oh, so help me if it's anime. Agency/Organization: Rank, if necessary. We do need a balanced team and it wouldn't make sense for a group comprised entirely of tier-one special missions unit guys to be sleuthing. Education: Were you a straight-edge, motivated college-boy riding a scholarship through West Point straight into a Lieutenant rank or did you learn everything you know during your time in the military/law enforcement/criminal life? Background: This is where you flex how good your writing and research into your character goes. Are they a scientist or scholar? A career criminal? A federal agent? A state detective? You are the cowboy, the idealist, the unfettered, grizzled veteran with one last op in him, or the person not knowing what he's getting himself into. You are motivated and believe in what you're doing, half the reason you were picked. The other half is that you've brushed shoulders with the unknown in some way but have yet to go mad; come across some weird stuff in the Afghan mountains, seized some weird artifacts on a raid, busted a small-time religious cult while undercover. Cognitive dissonance worked wonders, it seems, because instead of a gibberish mess you’re pretty alright. Personality: Try to get detailed with this. You'll want to know how they'll react if they ever come across a drug-fueled sacrificial blood orgy to Nyarlathotep. Family, Friends, and Associates: Wife? Kids? Ma and Pa? Best Friend? any and all go here. These count as Bonds and can be invoked when failing a WP roll. Each Bond has points equal to your character’s WP and invoking the specific bond lowers their score by -1 point. Likes: Dislikes: Fears: I'm not talking about your character's phobia of spiders, I'm talking about what keeps them up at night and makes them insecure. What drives them to do what they do to spite it so that it never becomes a dreaded reality? Existential, people. (20 points to spread out within these attributes) STRENGTH: DEXTERITY: STAMINA: BUREAUCRACY: INTELLIGENCE: WILLPOWER: Skills: Gifted(+5): 2 skills Adept(+4): 3 skills Average(+3): 3 skills Novice(+2): 4 skills Weaknesses: At least one nonphysical and physical weakness. Off-Duty Clothing/Equipment: Because you're not going to be walking around in door-kicking gear all day, every day on a clandestine op. Clothing: Weapons: Tools/Equipment: Operational Clothing/Equipment: Nothing that would remove all doubt that you are part of the US military/are American. NATO weaponry is fine, but not required. Clothing: Weapons: Tools/Equipment:[/Hider] [hider=Dice Rules][u][b]Dice Rules -[/b][/u] Rolls made that do not pertain to skills but instead attributes themselves are rolled as 1d20(+attribute points), i.e. “Roll to lift the log out of the road and drive past.” Rolls for Bureaucracy are made when requesting resources from your character’s home agency. These are rolled the same way as any other attribute, but the item requested will possibly lead to inquiry depending on how big the expense is. A request for information on a suspect is going to raise less questions for a federal agent than requesting an FBI HRT team be called in. Likewise, sanity rolls will have to be made when doing violent acts on helpless or innocent individuals, feelings of helplessness due to unforeseen mistakes and the like, and brushes with the supernatural. These sanity checks are rolled just like any other attribute-specific roll, with the option of making a saving roll using your willpower as a modifier. Should your PC fail a SAN roll even after a saving roll using Willpower, deduct one point from your character’s Willpower. Willpower can be recharged to completely full by a successful Home Scene. [u][b]Combat-[/b][/u] *In combat engagements where your character is taken off guard, the modifier of your awareness skill is rolled on 1d20+[modifier]-5. 6-9 keeps your character from being overpowered and only lightly wounded, 10-20 lets your character successfully repel and counter with the weapon they are using. *Just as well, in situations where your character gets the drop on a character, as in breaching and clearing a room, you get an automatic +5 on your initial combat roll against your first two targets. Successful stealth attacks get the same modifier, but only against the first target if attacking at hand-to-hand range, regardless if using a knife or a gun. [b]1-10[/b] is a failure, your character will be injured and brought down, where a second roll of the dice will determine if the enemy will continue to focus on this character to finish the job or take on another target (less than 5, continue the attack, 5 and up, move on unless there’s no other characters to fight). Depending on the circumstances, GM will decide if the situation will be fatal. Close characters may elect to intervene, where if a player says they wish to intercept, will have to do another combat roll to see if they both make it to the character in time and receive injury in the process. [b]11-15[/b] is a success, but with minor injury. Your character receives a minor wound that will have to be treated and will hinder their ability to fight somewhat, but it won’t take them out of the fight. Each subsequent roll with an injury will have a -1 penalty on the roll, and each injury added increases the penalty. [b]16-20[/b] is a success where the best possible outcome for that engagement occurs. [u][b]Stealth-[/b][/u] [b]1-10[/b], Rolls in stealth that fall within this range are considered a failure. Your character is spotted. [b]11-15[/b] rolls mean a soft success. Enemies may know you are there but they don’t know where you are. [b]16-20[/b] is a resounding success. [u][b]Forensics-[/b][/u] [b]1-10[/b] is a failure, you may elect to make a saving roll but only if the initial roll resulted in a 6 or higher. The saving roll is a 1d5. [b]11-15[/b] is a soft success. Investigating a crime scene means you may or may not find all clues. Cleaning a crime scene means that there may still be evidence left behind by the cleaner and law enforcement may be able to latch onto their trail. [b]16-20[/b] is a resounding success. [u][b]Interrogation-[/b][/u] This isn’t always waterboarding and threats. Players may make use of the good ol’ good cop-bad cop dynamic to squeeze a suspect. Carrying out torture calls for a Sanity roll for Sanity - Violence, 1d20(-WP). Don’t expect wholly accurate answers from this method. [b]1-10[/b] failure. You may opt to use torture, and if you do then 1d20(+interrogation modifier). Whether a failure or success after that, make the San roll for Violence. [b]11-15[/b] Soft success, the detainee gives away a tidbit of information that might be worth looking into. [b]16-20[/b] resounding success. [/hider] [hider=Skills][b][u]Combat[/u][/b] Marksmanship, long guns Marksmanship, handguns Marksmanship, sniper Demolitions/EOD – The ability to create makeshift explosives, use high-power explosives, and defuse them. Hand-to-Hand – Covers the use of one's own body as a weapon, as well as improvised weapons, knives, machetes and the like. Tactical Driving – Pit maneuvers, . [b][u]Tradecraft[/u][/b] Subterfuge - The art of stealth and disguising yourself, an item, and concealment of items on your person. Awareness – Listening, spotting hidden things. Interrogation – You are well-versed in being both the good cop and the bad cop, as well as knowing the different and nuanced techniques of breaking a prisoner's will. Persuade – You are versed in flipping people to your side using anything from their vices to their ideals, as well as convincing people why they should or should not do something. Crafting – The ability to make rudimentary tools and weapons. SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) - A skill encompassing evading capture and survival in the wilderness. Knowledge in this skill also gives the ability to track enemies in wilderness areas. Breaking-and-Entering - The knowledge of picking locks and other various manners of getting into places you should not be. Lockpicking, climbing, etc. [b][u]Sciences & Studies[/u][/b] First Aid – Treating light wounds, broken bones Surgery – Self-explanatory Criminology Anthropology Archaeology Computer Science Military Science, Land - Covers military strategy and tactics on land Military Science, Sea - Military strategy and tactics in any body of water, ocean, rivers, and lakes Military Science, Air History Forensics Law Psychology Engine Mechanics [b][u]Foreign Language[/u][/b] – Just list any other languages your character is fluent or knowledgeable in, if any. Limit of 3. 1 fluent, 1 semi, 1 rudimentary. [/hider] [hider=Home Scenes][b]Home scenes[/b] are vignettes that take place between missions and story-beats to outline the PCs' daily lives. This is a stretch of time that usually takes place a week in-game before they're contacted to get back to work. Players are in control of these scenes with me, the GM, possibly playing NPCs if asked. [b][i]What Changed?[/i][/b] During a Home Scene, take stock of anything and everything that's changed for a character after an operation. [b][u]Bonds Damaged or Broken[/u][/b] Describe how the relationships in your life have deteriorated. Colleagues, friends, spouse, children, anything and everything in their interpersonal relationships outside of Delta Green. You want to open up, but you know you can't, [i]or else.[/i] [b][u]Permanent Injuries[/u][/b] What injuries did they get, how do they hinder them? What do they look like? [b][u]Disorders Gained/Worsened[/u][/b] If your character has chosen to turn to drugs and alcohol to quiet the memories. If they already have unhealthy coping mechanisms, do they worsen? Has their PTSD gotten worse, or are they (not) noticing the warning signs of it beginning to take hold? [b][u]Work[/u][/b] If the PC misused any of their contacts or resources within their home agency, how does it effect their relationships with the higher-ups? The Contact themselves? [i]Home Scenes can be any of the following-[/i] [b][u]Fulfill Responsibilities[/u][/b] If your character focuses on day-to-day obligations and relationships, describe something the character is doing at work or at home to support one [i]Non-Delta Green[/i] bond. Roll for a sanity test. Success strengthens the Bond, a soft-failure strains it, and failure means a disastrous conflict; a bad argument, your kid is in the hospital, you find your wife/husband with another wo/man, etc. Get creative. And depressing if a failure occurs. [u][b]Back to Nature/Alone Time[/b][/u] Your character can spend time in seclusion, in nature or otherwise. Keep in mind this isn't a day out with the family, this is your character wanting to be [i]alone.[/i] Either way, if they choose this, this strains Bonds if they have any outside of Delta Green. Roll for a sanity test. Success means that the time spent alone doesn't damage any bonds, soft-success that the time spent alone does fuck-all for their mind-state, and a failure means that a Bond gets strained. Your choice when the argument with this Bond happens. [b][u]Establish a New Bond[/u][/b] Your character attempts to create a new Bond. This means that the person or group is becoming a very important part of your characters' lives. Roll a sanity test. Success gives you a new Bond, soft-failure has your character fail to hit it off, and failure means your character could've spent time alone wallowing, or the attempt at gaining friendship went horribly wrong somehow, or perhaps they betrayed some trust by going out and drunkenly hooking up with someone. Who knows, get creative. [b][u]Go to Therapy[/u][/b] Therapy is a systematic deconstruction of mental trauma. It is an ongoing process requiring honesty and commitment. Your character must decide whether to truthfully tell the therapist what caused them to sign up. If they do, roll for persuasion. If you succeed, the therapist believes everything you say, good and bad. Soft success means anything you tell her about the Unnatural is passed off as delusions. Failure may lead to her canceling the session after the confession. Mentioning inflicting violence on another person deserves a persuasion roll. Success means she listens to everything you say, good and bad, with no concerns that there will be continuing violence after you leave their office. Soft-failure deserves a sanity roll for the therapist. Failure has her call the authorities either to the office or to your place of residence if it is known to them or you are staying there during the Home Scene. [u][b]Personal Motivation[/b][/u] Your character indulges in the things that they find most meaningful. This strains relationships with bonds the same way [b]Back to Nature/Alone Time[/b] does. [b][u]Stay on the Case[/u][/b] Your character spends nights and weekends poring over evidence and case files from the past operation. This reduces bonds in the same way [b]Personal Motivation[/b] and [b]Back to Nature/Alone Time[/b] does. This gives the chance of finding some pertinent clue, maybe a particularly valuable one. Perhaps whatever hunch you get turns out to be dangerously wrong, or perhaps you find nothing and instead endlessly obsess into a spiral of self-destruction...[/hider] [hider=SANITY RULES]Your character’s sanity is based on their WP stat. The higher the WP the more solid your character’s sanity. Your WP Stat determines the outcomes of WP rolls. WP rolls are made when your character is faced with three different types of scenarios- [b]Violence[/b] both inflicted and witnessed, second- or first-hand. In cases of your character inflicting violence, this is in cases where they are faced with inflicting violence in cold blood or towards individuals usually deemed as harmless, I.e. assassination, hurting an Eldritch Abomination-tainted child, or elderly persons. [b]Helplessness[/b] comes into play when situations that get out of hand in which your character can not possibly foresee or influence the outcome. I.e. Oops, the cultist we decided to let live went on a murder spree a week later. [b]Unnatural[/b] is where your character comes into direct contact with the forces that lurk beyond and beneath our reality, I.e. witnessing first-hand a cultist transform into some quivering, slimy, betentacled abomination. SAN rolls, particularly resisting SAN loss, can be done by invoking one of your Bonds. A successful SAN Roll will still inflict 1 point of WP lost. Don’t want to lose that WP point? Invoking a Bond will have your character find strength in that other person, place, or thing. Add back 1 point to your WP score, but take 1 point from that Bond. Next interaction with that particular bond will be negative in some way, whether it be an argument, that special place being tainted in some way, or that special object being broken or otherwise sullied. During the next interaction with that specific Bond, you can attempt to fix that Bond and add back 1 point to the Bond, but that requires a resounding success with a WP roll. A failure at repairing the Bond does not effect the point count positively or negatively. Now, it is possible for your character to become adapted to these SAN rolls, in which they always succeed. Sounds rad, right? Well, not entirely. Unnatural can not be Adapted against, but Helplessness and Violence can be. Adaptation to Violence happens when your character succeeds a SAN Roll to Violence-Inflicted three times, or five times succeeds a SAN Roll to Violence-Witnessed in a single span of time between Home Scenes. Now, your character Joe Schmo always succeeds SAN Rolls for Violence and is cold-blooded death machine. The trade-off is that Joe Schmo now has to make SAN Rolls to avoid inflicting violence on others in times of extreme stress(A hard fail WP roll of any kind) and has trouble not resorting to violence as the first option. Fail a WP roll on something? Now Joe Schmo is breaking everything in his house because his wife threw something important of his away. Reaching 0 WP while Adapted to Violence sees Joe Schmo going insane and seeing everyone as an enemy until restrained or otherwise incapacitated. Adaptation to Helplessness happens when your character succeeds five times to a SAN Roll to that type of trauma. Joe Schmo is now used to being helpless and always succeeds by default to WP Rolls concerning that specific type of trauma. The trade-off? In times where Joe Schmo fails at getting closer to his goal, he must make a WP roll to not become an apathetic mess of a person. Reaching 0 WP while Adapted to Helplessness will render your character an unresponsive, lethargic dummy of a person.[/hider] [u][b]::TEAM ROSTER —- GRU UMBRA::[/b][/u] [b][u]::CASE OFFICER::[/u][/b] FOSTER, STEVE | M | CIA DIRECTORATE OF OPERATIONS, SPECIAL ACTIVITIES CENTER, OPERATIONS OFFICER [u][b]::TEAM LEADER::[/b][/u] DONNELLEY, JOSEPH | M | CIA DIRECTORATE OF OPERATIONS, SPECIAL ACTIVITIES CENTER/SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP (GROUND BRANCH), PARAMILITARY OPERATIONS OFFICER [b][U]::ASSETS::[/u][/b] MACCREADY, DAVID | M | INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR MOORE, AVALINE | F | BOOZ - ALLEN HAMILTON, CIA CONTRACTED DR. LAINE, HEATHER | F | FBI NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ANALYSIS OF VIOLENT CRIME, BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS UNIT, SENIOR SPECIAL AGENT JIMENEZ, JASON | M | DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, DEFENSE CLANDESTINE SERVICE SHIRZAD, BAJBALA | F | CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, DIRECTORATE OF OPERATIONS, SPECIAL ACTIVITIES CENTER, SPECIAL PROJECTS [b][u]::KIA PERSONNEL::[/u][/b] MATHIEU, LAURENCE | M | NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE, PARK POLICE SA WEISSMAN, GWEN K. | F| US AIR FORCE 67TH CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS GROUP, SENIOR AIRMAN SSA STEWART, THOMAS | M | FBI CCRSB, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION, SENIOR SPECIAL AGENT SFC MORALES, AVERY | M | US ARMY PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS, 4TH POG(A), 7TH POB(A)