OVERVIEW
Salem, Oregon. A team of Delta Green agents were transporting a dangerous artifact to the Salem Municipal Airport, where a helicopter is waiting to pick it up. One of the agents was driving a van that went through the concrete barrier on the side of the Center Street Bridge and is presumed to have died on impact. The van is sitting at the bottom of the Willamette River, about 50 feet underwater.
Delta Green has been able to convince Salem PD that the Agents are members of the Oregon Department of Transportation, but someone from ODOT will find out soon. The Agents, summoned for this mission at the last minute, have about four hours to retrieve the artifact and get it to the airport before their cover is blown.
BRIEFING
Agents start on-scene in the coned-off right lane of the Center Street Bridge with their vehicle and an ODOT pickup truck, its orange lights flashing. They were called for this mission in the middle of the night with hardly any time to prepare. Their handler told them that they would be posing as members of ODOT, the Oregon Department of Transportation, but they have a few hours at most before someone notices that an ODOT pickup truck is missing. Inside the truck is a note that says, “Handle carefully, it doesn’t like to be moved. — PARKER”
SITUATION AT POINT A
Agent Ignacio Hernandez is currently spending his time dead at the bottom of the river in a smashed-up panel van. The van is about 50 feet underwater and is at one of the lowest parts of the river in this area. There is a park on either side of the river, both of which have a clear line of sight to the area of the river the van landed in.
- Wallace Marine Park on the west bank has a boat ramp and road access. It is a popular spot for homeless people to camp. The boat ramp is south of the bridge and lines up with where the van is.
- Riverfront Park on the east bank has a dock accessible by foot and is generally empty at night. It is also home to the famous Willamette Queen, a beautiful sternwheeler that typically hosts riverboat tours and weddings. It spends most of its time moored at the single dock and operates by appointment only.
The Central Street Bridge stands about 110 feet over the river, with another 50 feet below the water to the van. The van is about halfway between both banks of the river, with about 400 feet to shore on either side.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
The van is at the bottom of the river and has a significant amount of damage on all sides, with several dents and small holes that are too large to be bullet holes. In the rear, a steamer trunk is sitting on the floor. The box is a heavy, green, metal steamer trunk with the latches and handles broken off. There are metal brackets with several bolts keeping the trunk shut. It has some damage from rust and scratched into the top are the words "NEVER OPEN THIS BOX."
The trunk is heavy, waterlogged, and awkward to move for a single person. The weight is distributed unevenly and shifts when it’s moved. There are no solid handholds. A single Agent can remove it from the back of the van by themselves, but getting it to the surface will take some work. The box is full of baseball-sized chunks of basalt rock. The container is not completely airtight or watertight.
WHAT THE ARTIFACT DOES
The box itself does not have any special properties, all effects are caused by the rocks inside. Periodically, the artifact will pull things closer to it, and specifically targets three kinds of things: metals, bodies, and fluids, including the fluids inside your body. The rocks will pull together as fast as they need to when the effect activates, even if they’re separated.
The artifact will activate if it’s being moved. Before the artifact activates its effect, Agents will hear the sound of the rocks rumbling as they gather. When the artifact pulls something to it, it will keep it there for a short amount of time before releasing it with force. The amount of force it uses to pull and push increases with time. Likewise, the time it spends holding on to something increases.
The effects can be divided into three stages, becoming more intense over time. The effect is not always uniform - you can target specific people and things with different effects.
Stage I
- Metal: Small objects moved quickly. Larger objects will move slightly and tip over.
- Bodies: Anyone nearby will feel a slight pull from inside them, disorienting them a little. They may fall over when the effect pushes them.
- Fluids: Anyone nearby will begin feeling nauseous and their mouth will go dry. Water and other fluids will begin to be drawn closer, droplets moving faster than larger bodies of water.
Stage II
- Metal: Small and medium sized objects move very quickly, potentially causing injury. Large objects move at a steady pace and may fall over. Small objects are moving fast enough to do 1D4 - 1 damage.
- Bodies: The amount of force used cannot be resisted easily. Unless restrained or wearing a seatbelt, a -20% penalty to physical actions will be incurred.
- Fluids: Agents will begin feeling sick and cold as their stomachs churn and blood struggles to flow to parts of their body furthest from the artifact. A successful CONx5 roll will keep them from becoming sick. A failed roll will cost 1 WP as the artifact induces a feeling like motion sickness. Water will puddle around the box.
Stage III
- Metal: Large and small objects alike are attracted to the artifact at a high velocity. Smaller objects are going fast enough to do 1D6 damage and larger objects may do 1D8. Vehicles will be drawn closer and any vehicle nearby will struggle to go in any other direction. A single door or wall of a normal vehicle can provide 3 Armor.
- Bodies: The amount of force is unbearable and bodies will slam against the artifact unless restrained. Even when restrained by a seatbelt, it is pulling on all parts of the body and a -20% penalty to all physical actions will be incurred. Lose 1/1d4 SAN as your body feels as though it’s being torn apart by an unseen force.
- Fluids: Agents are acutely aware of where all the blood is in their body and will begin seeing intrusive black spots in their vision as their heart struggles to pump blood to the brain. A failed CONx5 roll causes a loss of 1d4 WP. Rain, oil, and other fluids will seep through even the smallest spaces to reach the artifact.
COMPLICATIONS
The scenario is largely divided into two stages: retrieving and transporting the artifact.
Getting the box out of the water is already a bit of a challenge because it’s heavy and far from shore. There are homeless people camping on either side of the river, but especially in the area around the boat ramp, so having them come to watch or even harass the Agents is an option. The Salem Police Department is only a few blocks away, so police will respond pretty quickly to gunshots and other disturbances. ODOT will soon know their truck has been stolen and has GPS tracking on their vehicles - they will send the police to get it back.
When the Agents are transporting the artifact, this is a good time to beat them up. Being in a vehicle keeps the Agents confined and vulnerable to the artifact’s effects. Keep in mind that the artifact will toss around things inside and outside of the vehicle, so don’t be afraid to build tension by cracking windows or pulling an Agent’s firearm out of their hands.
You can slow them down by introducing some traffic, pedestrians, and nighttime roadwork. The artifact can push and pull other vehicles to cause traffic accidents. If you need things to go really wrong, the artifact can push the bolts out, causing the rocks to spill and get loose. The effect is more powerful when the rocks are out in the open, attracting anything around them, but they only activate if most are moving at once.
GETTING TO POINT B
Getting from the bridge to the airport ordinarily only takes about 10 minutes. The airport is about 3.5 miles away. The airport isn’t that far away, it’s just across town, so make your Agents work to get there.
Once the Agents arrive, they will be let in by a friendly airman with the Oregon National Guard. A helicopter is waiting for the Agents and a couple airmen will secure the box with a long cable before flying it out to the ocean to dump it. Agents should try to get rid of the truck if they still have it.
Credits
This was an entry to the 2021 shotgun scenario contest. Written by Deer