a Delta Green scenario by Jacqueline Bryk
Introduction
This scenario takes place in and around a single Green Box in the early 2020s. It can be run for new or experienced characters in either the Program or the Outlaws. A mix of Alertness, Craft skills, HUMINT, and Persuade are useful here.
The Briefing
Agent WATSON went off-grid roughly two weeks ago, in Wilmington, Delaware. A program manager for the CDC, she vanished with several thousand dollars of government money and Program assets. The characters’ handler shares a suspicion that WATSON hasn’t gone far, due to the nature of her work. She's been staying in room 303 of a Quality Inn in Rt. 13. If asked about WATSON's work for Delta Green, the handler gives a vague explanation including WATSON’s work with grants and how much money flows through Delaware.
If the player characters are part of the Program, their contact asks them to re-establish contact with WATSON and turn over her research. If, however, they are part of the Outlaws, their contact warns them that WATSON has access to extremely dangerous biological agents and is within two hours of several major metropolitan areas. Combine that with her willingness to embezzle and go AWOL, and she’s clearly an unstable element. Outlaw Agents are given tacit approval to take her out if she doesn’t cooperate.
The Truth
Agent WATSON went dark to care for a Hound of the Angles — or, more accurately, a juvenile form of a Hound tied to the sphere. The hound (puppy?), named “Sparky” by WATSON, is a small, roiling mass of sea glass, about a foot in diameter. It must stay within five feet of the sphere at all times.
WATSON originally stayed in a nearby Quality Inn (see Room 303 below), but since going dark, now spends much of her time in the storage unit. It’s not the most comfortable arrangement, but a chem-toilet, a cot, and fast food make it liveable. Her SAN is in slow decline, as “Sparky” isn’t the only unnatural presence in the unit (see Green Box-8675 below).
The Program wants to train the Hound. The Outlaws want to destroy it. The player characters may choose another option entirely.
“Sparky”
Hounds of the Angles chase time travelers, honing in on their targets like robots from the future with the serial numbers filed off. Their careful tactics imply some sort of training. Some agents may recognize the dogged stubbornness of the Hounds in themselves. Do they have a chain of command? Who, or what, is responsible for training the Hounds?
“Sparky” shows no such training. It bobbles in the space around the sphere it’s tethered to, testing the limits of its three-dimensional anchor-prison by floating through the air or rolling along the ground. WATSON keeps the sphere binding “Sparky” well out of reach of any obvious right angles in the storage unit. Occasionally, it emits a noise not unlike the tinkle of breaking glass, or a series of singsong beeps. Full-grown Hounds of the Angles do not make these noises, or indeed any sound at all.
Seeing “Sparky” for the first time causes a SAN Loss of 0/1d6.
Room 303
Agents can easily gain access to WATSON’s room at the Quality Inn with a successful Persuade roll at the front desk. WATSON used the room for an extended stay up until roughly two and a half weeks ago. Housekeeping reports no signs of life.
Room 303 itself is an unremarkable two-star hotel room. A successful Search roll locates a brochure for a local storage facility on Rt. 13 behind an end table. It’s covered in scribbled notes —- a Forensics roll indicates it’s WATSON’s hand — that include information on the storage unit, plus some odd writings about dog training.
Green Box-8675
Besides WATSON and “Sparky”, the Green Box contains the following. If you’re running this scenario as part of a longer campaign, feel free to seed hooks for future scenarios here as well.
- A vintage fireman’s ax, carefully etched with an elder sign on the blade. Using it against an unnatural entity allows the wielder to reroll a failed Sanity roll against that entity.
- A simple white ceramic bowl, carefully stippled with petal-like red marks. A SIGINT roll reveals that they are in the shape of a plant-like face staring back at the viewer. Filling the bowl with water and concentrating on it for an hour grants the user visions of prehistoric Appalachia. 0/1d4 SAN test.
- WATSON’s “bedroom”: a military cot, a chem toilet, a beat-up desk, and a laptop with an impossible password. This little hideaway is built in the back of the Green Box with stacked, ruined sofas, other boxes from the unit, and insulation. Searching the desk requires persuading WATSON that it’s a good idea, and reveals:
- A copy of Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy by Peter Israel and Stephen Jones
- A copy of the MIT Guide To Lockpicking
- A mislabeled ammo box full of hollowpoints
- A heavily annotated copy of How To Be Your Dog’s Best Friend by the Monks of New Skete
- A CDC-issued phone with the SIM card removed
- A full bag of dog treats
- A cloudy obsidian sphere, 3.5in in diameter, placed carefully in the middle of a deep, round cushion in a large bare space in the middle of the unit. “Sparky” is bound to the sphere.
Possible Outcomes
WATSON seems resigned to the fact that the agents came looking for her, and lets them in once they make their presence known. She attempts to explain how rare “Sparky” is, how she’s been trying to train the Hound as a Delta Green asset, and how no one else understands. A quick HUMINT roll reveals that WATSON is exhausted, ill-fed, and slightly manic. “Sparky” is curious about the agents and will attempt to get as close to them as its binding will allow. Below are some possible endings to the scenario:
Attack WATSON: Watson will attempt to defend herself with a Glock M-19 loaded with hollowpoint bullets. She uses the mess of the storage unit to her advantage. Sparky attacks when the agents are in range. Both fight until incapacitated or killed.
Try to bring WATSON in: WATSON tries to talk them out of it and asks them to hide her instead. If they use force, see above.
Leave WATSON alone: WATSON is found dead behind the storage facility a month later, apparently suffocated with a plastic bag. “Sparky” is nowhere to be found.
Help WATSON disappear: WATSON continues her research into the Hounds of the Angles in one of the many countries who refuse to extradite to the US. She may become the focus of a future mission. With a successful Persuasion roll, she can be convinced to leave “Sparky” behind.
Deliver “Sparky” to the Program: “Sparky” is kept in a special circular room and repeatedly pulled apart for study. The Program attempts to train it, but without WATSON, their success is limited.
Destroy “Sparky”/deliver it to the Outlaws: One less threat to the world.
Keep “Sparky”: It takes time for the puppy (?) to relax around the agents, but with time and attention, it begins to treat them as its people. Of course, it’s very difficult to hide, and its parents (?) or other Delta Green agents may come after it, but they have a small glass friend for as long as they can keep it.
Release “Sparky” from its bonds: This requires breaking the sphere with a melee weapon adorned with the elder sign. “Sparky” immediately beelines for the nearest right angle and disappears. Next time the agents encounter a Hound of the Angles it refuses to attack them —- for now.
Appendix: Stat Blocks
Agent WATSON
STR 13 CON 11 DEX 10 INT 17 POW 12 CHA 10
HP 11 WP 12 SAN 20 (insomnia, manic episodes, obsession)
SKILLS: Accounting 50%, Alertness 30%, Athletics 40%, Animal Training 20%, Bureaucracy 60%, Computer Science 60%, Disguise 40%, Dodge 50%, Drive 20%, Firearms 20%, First Aid 50%, Medicine 40%, Navigate 20%, Occult 30%, Persuade 30%, Pharmacy 30%, Ride 10%, Survival 30%, Unarmed Combat 40%, Unnatural 20%
Attacks: Glock M-19 (medium pistol, 15m range, 1d10 damage+1d4 from hollowpoint bullets)
“Sparky”
STR 11 CON 11 DEX 10 INT 6 POW 10
HP 11 WP 5
SKILLS: Alertness 45%, Angular Apport 40% (0% when bound), Stealth 20%, Unnatural 25% Attack: Shard Sweep 20%
Angular Apport: As per the Delta Green Handler’s Guide
Curved Space: As per the Delta Green Handler’s Guide, with the addition that the obsidian sphere does not damage it while it’s bound.
Inconstant Form (juvenile): As per the Delta Green Handler’s Guide, except physical attacks against “Sparky”, an immature Hound of the Angles, hit on a successful Luck roll .
Shard Sweep (juvenile): As per the Delta Green Handler’s Guide, but only does 1d6 damage.
SAN Loss: 0/1d6
Credits
No Take, Only Throw was written by Jacqueline Bryk for the 2022 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13No_vSAexcRhoX9VSy4YpYJmX8qEq6K33c-WK1c5bsA/edit