“…there had come to the New Orleans police a frantic summons from the swamp and lagoon country to the south. The squatters there… were in the grip of stark terror… There were insane shouts and harrowing screams, soul-chilling chants and dancing devil-flames; and, the frightened messenger added, the people could stand it no more.”
-H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
The Bayou Lafourche Incident
Setup
1967, New Orleans, Louisiana. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office has received multiple calls complaining of loud music and screaming from Bayou Lafourche, south of New Orleans. Specifically, the complaints are centered around the Saraswati Awakening Community, a hippie commune located on the bayou.
The Sheriff’s Office has chosen to treat this as a normal noise complainant, and has sent a single squad - the player characters, called “the Sherrifs” - to investigate. The Sheriffs are likely familiar with the Community, though they probably know it only as a haven for drugs, sex, and rock’n’roll.
The Saraswati Awakening Community
The Saraswati Awakening Community is home to roughly 50-60 hippies at any given time. Stereotypically, the hippies are white, middle-class twentysomethings, though they welcome anyone who wants to join and is willing to contribute to the success of the commune. The community sells some of what it grows at farmers’ markets in New Orleans, but otherwise keeps to itself—however, rumors of plentiful drugs and “free love” draws a number of “tourists” from the city.
The Community itself consists of several stand-alone buildings, along with a number of garden plots and greenhouses. It is in a remote area of the bayou, though a rough dirt road allows (relatively) easy access by car.
When the Sheriffs arrive, the Community appears abandoned. Loud rock’n’roll music plays over a series of loudspeakers, making conversation difficult. As the Sheriffs investigate the buildings, allow them to discover clues about the recent history of the Commune (see Hints of History), as well as hints that something is deeply wrong (see Signs of Madness). As appropriate, allow them to make rolls to learn more about what happened (see Items of Investigation).
When the Sheriffs have explored enough of the Community, allow them to discover the record player that is pumping music to the loudspeakers. It can be shut off easily, finally silencing the speakers (Proceed to The Ritual Circle).
The Buildings
- Dormitory: A long building holding about two dozen bunkbeds.
- Gardens & Greenhouses: Outdoor garden plots, elevated planters, and rickety structures covered in plastic sheets, all filled with crops for food, textiles, and medicine.
- Kitchen: A communal kitchen with an attached eating area.
- Still: An unlicensed still for making moonshine.
- Workshop: A large, open building for making and displaying art.
Hints of History
Liberally scatter hints to the recent history of the Community during the exploration. Some evidence might include:
- Paintings, statues, and pottery depicting nature scenes, anti-Vietnam War slogans, and psychedelic hippie imagery.
- Images of a particular Hindu goddess, including paintings, statues, etc. (see Items of Investigation 1)
- Produce, cloth, and art packaged for sale in New Orleans.
- Letters, notes, order forms, or receipts between the Community and businesses in New Orleans (see Items of Investigation 2 & 5)
- Packing materials for art supplies
Signs of Madness
As the Sheriffs explore, add signs showing the commune’s rapid descent into madness. Call for SAN rolls as appropriate. Some suggestions include:
- Crops, wilting on the vine
- Art supplies, ruined and wasted
- A portrait of the goddess, defaced
- A second portrait, whose eyes have been painted over, with the message “DON’T LOOK” scrawled underneath
- This is a warning about the mechanics of the Cthulhu Idol (see Appendix).
- Multiple half-finished sketches, statues, paintings, etc., all depicting the same, squatting figure (see Items of Investigation 6)
- A crude mural, depicting a strange monster
- An Unnatural skill check (which the Sheriffs don’t have) would identify this as an attempt at painting Great Cthulhu.
- An unreadable message, painted in blood
- An Unnatural skill check (which the Sheriffs don’t have) would identify this as a portion of the chant of the Cthulhu cultists: “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”
- Signs of struggle, many-on-one
- A grisly suicide, hastily buried
- A mutilated corpse, left to rot
Items of Investigation
Allow the Sheriffs to use their skills to investigate the scene. Reveal the following clues as appropriate.
- Occult 30%: The Hindu goddess depicted throughout the Community is Saraswati, the goddess of poetry, art, and music.
- Bureaucracy 50%: The invoices and order forms indicate that the Community had under-the-table deals with an art gallery in New Orleans, where they would trade unspecified “supplies” for paint, canvas, brushes, etc.
- Survival 50%: One of the greenhouses appears normal from the outside, but is secretly full of marijuana plants.
- Alertness 50%: Several of the crates intended for sale contain secret compartments filled with weed and booze.
- Accounting 50%: One of the letters from the art gallery, dated about ten days ago, describes a “statuette” the gallery has for sale. The letter describes the statuette in glowing terms full of artistic buzzwords; you get the impression that the seller really wants to get rid of it.
- Forensics 50%: The half-finished art suggests that the artists were all attempting to depict the same subject (see Appendix). Judging from the number and placement of the pieces, it seems that this figure rapidly became an all-consuming obsession of the hippies—though, the more they drew it, the more erratic and less refined the art became.
The Ritual Circle
When the music falls silenteither through shutting off the record player, or through other meansthe Sheriffs can finally hear loud drumbeats and shouting coming from deeper in the woods, sounds that the music had been masking. Exploring in that direction reveals a narrow path that leads to the Ritual Circle.
The Sheriffs emerge from the woods to find a scene of blood and horror. In the middle of the clearing, roughly thirty naked hippies sing, scream, chant, and dance around a bonfire (see Crazed Hippie in Stats). Most of them are covered in blood and carry knives or other simple weapons.
Around the edge of the clearing are mutilated corpses. Some hang from the trees in unnatural poses, some have been staked out and mutilated, and some appear to have been attacked at random. They appear to be a mix of hippies, other swamp-dwellers, and kidnapped tourists.
In the center of the bonfire is a tall boulder, streaked with gore. On top of the boulder is a short squat statue (see Appendix).
One or more of the Officer’s bonds is among the crowd, either a dancer or a victim. If possible, use one of each of the Sheriffs’ Bonds, favoring those Bonds who might have been attracted to the Community in the first place (e.g., teenagers, artistic types, etc.).
Upon seeing the scene, all Sheriffs suffer SAN 1d8/1[Violence]. Depending on how the encounter proceeds, it may be appropriate to inflict additional SAN.
Allow the Sheriffs to decide what to do next. Easy options are to run away, call for backup, or to try to bring the hippies to order. Reveal the presence of their Bonds before allowing them to decide.
An Ending?
How the scene resolves depends on the actions of the Sheriffs. If they call for backup, overwhelming force may be enough to subdue the hippies. If they open fire, the hippies attack en masse. If they run away (or left the scene without discovering the Ritual Circle), ask them if and how they reported what they saw, then narrate the Sheriff Department’s actions. Were they commended for their reports, or disciplined for cowardice?
If appropriate, perhaps an Agent of Delta Green contacts them shortly after the events, with the goal of interviewing, recruiting, or perhaps even silencing them. Perhaps they’re waiting by the car when the Sheriffs return?
Finally: what happened to the Idol? If none of the Sheriffs recovered it, where is it now? The Handler may opt to keep the Idol’s ultimate fate a secret, but if they do so, should make sure the Sheriffs know that they have lost track of it.
Appendix: The Cthulhu Idol
This Idol is one of the star-idols, said to have arrived on Earth with the Great Old Ones themselves. Accordingly, it has a unique ability to spread fear and madness.
The Idol itself is roughly 8-12 inches tall, and made of a strange, greenish stone that sparkles oddly in the light. It depicts Great Cthulhu seated on a block of stone whose sides are covered in alien writing. It is cool and slightly greasy to the touch.
The idol is unsettling to look at, but has no mechanical effect unless studied in detail. If the Sheriffs give the Idol more than a passing glance, they take SAN 1/0 [Unnatural]; if they examine it closely, they take SAN 1d6/1 [Unnatural]. The idol gives the impression of something that is impossibly old, not of this world, and, perhaps, should not exist.
The effect of the Idol depends on the disposition of the person(s) viewing it, with those of a sensitive, creative, or artistic bent being affected more strongly. The Sheriffs, who are relatively grounded, will be largely unaffected. However, the hippie artists, who studied the Idol carefully to capture its unusual appearance in their art, were almost destroyed by the subsequent madness.
Stat Blocks
John R. Legrasse, Investigator
STR: 10 - 50%
INT: 15 - 75%
(Meticulous)
CON: 12 - 60%
POW: 11 - 55%
DEX: 14 - 70%
(Precise)
CHA: 10 - 50%
HP: 11 WP: 11 SAN: 55 BP: 44 Bonds: 3
Accounting: 30%
Alertness: 60%
Anthropology: 0%
Archaeology: 0%
Art: 0%
Artillery: 0%
Athletics: 30%
Bureaucracy: 30%
Comp. Sci.: 0%
Craft: 0%
Criminology: 80%
Demolitions: 0%Disguise: 10%
Dodge: 30%
Drive: 50%
Firearms: 40%
First Aid: 30%
Foreign Language: 0%
Forensics: 70%
H. Machinery: 10%
H. Weapons: 0%
History: 10%
HUMINT: 70%
Law: 50%
Medicine: 0%
Melee Weapons: 50%
Military Science: 0%
Navigate: 40%
Occult: 10%
Persuade: 60%
Pharmacy: 0%
Pilot: 0%
Psychotherapy: 10%
Ride: 10%
Science: 0%
Search: 40%SIGINT: 20%
Stealth: 10%Surgery: 0%
Survival: 10%Swim: 20%Unarmed Combat: 60%Unnatural: 0%
Service Weapon: S&W.38 “Colt Official Police” Revolver
Skill: Firearms Base Range: 15m Damage: 1d10 Ammo Capacity: 6
Legrasse is a quiet, focused investigator. He’s in charge, in large part, because he knows how to follow the rules and make sure all the paperwork is correctly filed.
Howard L. James, Corporal
STR: 12 - 60%
INT: 11 - 55%
CON: 14 - 70%
(Veteran)
POW: 15 - 75% (No-Nonsense)
DEX: 10 - 50 %
CHA: 10 - 50%
HP: 11 WP: 11 SAN: 55 BP: 44 Bonds: 3
Accounting: 10%
Alertness: 80%
Anthropology: 0%
Archaeology: 0%
Art: 0%
Artillery: 20%
Athletics: 50%
Bureaucracy: 10%
Comp. Sci.: 0%
Craft: 0%
Criminology: 40%
Demolitions: 0%Disguise: 10%
Dodge: 30%
Drive: 70%
Firearms: 60%
First Aid: 30%
Foreign Language: 0%
Forensics: 0%
H. Machinery: 10%
H. Weapons: 70%
History: 10%
HUMINT: 50%
Law: 30%
Medicine: 0%
Melee Weapons: 50%
Military Science:
Land 20%
Navigate: 40%
Occult: 10%
Persuade: 40%
Pharmacy: 0%
Pilot: 0%
Psychotherapy: 10%
Ride: 10%
Science: 0%
Search: 40%SIGINT: 0%
Stealth: 10%Surgery: 0%
Survival: 10%Swim: 20%Unarmed Combat: 80%Unnatural: 0%
Service Weapon: Winchester 1907 Rifle
Skill: Firearms Base Range: 100m Damage: 1d12 Ammo Capacity: 10
James, the oldest of the group, is a Korean war vet with little interest in leadership. He tends to be rather straightforward and stubborn, and is one of the few in the Sheriff’s department to routinely carry a rifle.
Sebastien “Tibbs” Thibodeaux (“tib-a-doe”), Deputy
STR: 14 - 70%
(Big)
INT: 10 - 50%
CON: 11 - 55%
POW: 12 - 60%
DEX: 10 - 50%
CHA: 15 - 75% (All Smiles)
HP: 13 WP: 12 SAN: 60 BP: 48 Bonds: 3
Accounting: 10%
Alertness: 60%
Anthropology: 20%
Archaeology: 0%
Art: 0%
Artillery: 0%
Athletics: 30%
Bureaucracy: 10%
Comp. Sci.: 0%
Craft: 0%
Criminology: 40%
Demolitions: 0%Disguise: 10%
Dodge: 30%
Drive: 50%
Firearms: 40%
First Aid: 30%
Foreign Language:
Cajun 20%
French 20%
Louisiana Creole 60%
Forensics: 0%
H. Machinery: 10%
H. Weapons: 0%
History: 30%
HUMINT: 70%
Law: 30%
Medicine: 0%
Melee Weapons: 50%
Military Science: 0%
Navigate: 40%
Occult: 10%
Persuade: 60%
Pharmacy: 0%
Pilot: 0%
Psychotherapy: 10%
Ride: 10%
Science: 0%
Search: 40%SIGINT: 0%
Stealth: 10%Surgery: 0%
Survival: 50%Swim: 20%Unarmed Combat: 60%Unnatural: 0%
Service Weapon: S&W.38 “Colt Official Police” Revolver
Skill: Firearms Base Range: 15m Damage: 1d10 Ammo Capacity: 6
Tibbs grew up on the bayou, and can make conversation with most of the folks who live there. He loves a good laugh, but knows when to keep it professional.
Hector “Juicebox” Hobbs, Deputy
STR: 10 - 50%
INT: 14 - 70%
(Insightful)
CON: 12 - 60%
POW: 10 - 50%
DEX: 15 - 75%
(Flexible)
CHA: 11 - 55%
HP: 11 WP: 15 SAN: 75 BP: 60 Bonds: 3
Accounting: 10%
Alertness: 60%
Anthropology: 0%
Archaeology: 0%
Art: 0%
Artillery: 0%
Athletics: 30%
Bureaucracy: 10%
Comp. Sci.: 0%
Craft: 0%
Criminology: 40%
Demolitions: 0%Disguise: 30%
Dodge: 30%
Drive: 50%
Firearms: 40%
First Aid: 30%
Foreign Language: 0%
Forensics: 0%
H. Machinery: 10%
H. Weapons: 0%
History: 10%
HUMINT: 50%
Law: 30%
Medicine: 20%
Melee Weapons: 50%
Military Science: 0%
Navigate: 40%
Occult: 50%
Persuade: 40%
Pharmacy: 20%
Pilot: 0%
Psychotherapy: 30%
Ride: 60%
Science: 0%
Search: 40%SIGINT: 0%
Stealth: 30%Surgery: 0%
Survival: 30%Swim: 20%Unarmed Combat: 60%Unnatural: 0%
Service Weapon: S&W.38 “Colt Official Police” Revolver
Skill: Firearms Base Range: 15m Damage: 1d10 Ammo Capacity: 6
“Juicebox” is the youngest of the squad, which results in no small amount of teasing (When he asked for a drink, Tibbs tossed him a juicebox, and the name stuck). He’s not a hippie himself, but digs their vibes, and knows how to talk the talk (represented by his high Occult skill).
Crazed Hippie
“I wanna see it painted / Painted black / Black as night / Black as coal / I wanna see the sun / Blotted out from the sky / I wanna see it painted, painted, painted / Painted black, yeah”
-”Paint It, Black”, The Rolling Stones, 1966
STR: 10 - 50%
INT: 10 - 50%
CON: 10 - 50%
POW: 10 - 50%
DEX: 10 - 50%
CHA: 12 - 60%
HP: 10 WP: 10 SAN: 0
Skills: Art (Various) 40%, Pharmacy 20%, Occult 30%
Weapons: Improvised Weapon
Skill: Melee Weapons Damage: 1d4
The Crazed Hippies of the Saraswati Awakening Community have lost any vestige of sanity. They operate purely on instinct, and are quick to violence, both against themselves and others, often screaming or laughing as they do so.
A single hippie is not particularly dangerous, but, in a mob, things can quickly spiral out of control.
Credits
The Bayou Lafourche Incident was written by brokenimage321 for the 2025 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18v1QWvrlF8VNL4oNIT7sqCDSRKg2CndWlja_bl9LKkw/edit