THE TOBRUK FILE
(Delta Green Shotgun Scenario by Dregarexter)
Background
One night, during a storm in the Libyan city of Tobruk, the villa of Khaled Al Fituri (a local warlord) descends into chaos. An NSA spy camera, which monitors the residence’s atrium, distorts its image; the feed trembles and goes into blackout for several minutes, then comes back on showing Khaled speaking with two guards. He suddenly freezes and opens fire on one of his men. Within an hour, the villa’s entire private security force flees.
Khaled’s brother, Osama Al Fituri, secretly has him transferred to an isolated ward of Tobruk’s hospital and orders the villa surrounded by his loyal enforcers from the Ahmed bin Wakkas unit. The explanation is that an old satellite transmission antenna installed in the villa by the Russians for encrypted communications was damaged by a magnetic storm in the previous days, and an electrical surge compromised its internal power board. As a result, the antenna began emitting micro-electromagnetic pulses and subsonic vibrations at irregular intervals, which propagated through the sand surrounding the residence.
These frequencies attract Sand Dwellers, sand-formed predators that inhabit the subsoil but perceive these vibrations as territorial signals. The creature arrived as soon as the signal activated (distorting and freezing the camera) and begins to wander through the villa.
Agents’ Briefing
The characters are already in Tobruk at the Corinthia Hotel under a Program-provided cover consistent with their professional identities.
The briefing is held by an AFRICOM liaison who happens to be in the area for unrelated reasons but also works for the Program. The officer offers very few explanations. He shows only the NSA fragment of the incident: black video, then Khaled fires, the guard falls, a shadow crosses the corridor. The order is to investigate in Tobruk under a credible cover to understand what happened and neutralize any anomaly. During the briefing Agents are warned to be cautious around the Russians, as it is known they cooperate with the Al Fituri and might not look kindly on U.S. operatives.
The object of the investigation is clear: understand what Khaled saw and determine if it’s a Threat.
Investigations in TOBRUK – Meeting Khaled
The Agents may obtain an interview with Khaled if they choose to. He is hospitalized, sedated, speaks incoherently, and attributes everything to a supernatural intervention. Khaled speaks only Arabic. He insists that “the sand wanted my soul.” He is brutally sincere and offers no logical clues except a confused memory of the storm: that the villa “shook strangely” and that an intermittent metallic noise came from the roof.
If his clinical condition is examined, it emerges that his blood contains traces of Captagon (a Drug that induces paranoia, and distorted perceptions like hallucinations). Khaled describes the creature roughly as a Djinn. He recalls a stele given to him by the commander of a Syrian mercenary unit present in Tobruk (Nimr Homs – the Leopards of Homs) and fears that they may have cursed him. He fears a punishment from the devil for his misdeeds. The Sand Dwellers are not originated by the stele but it is also magical anyway
The Ahmed bin Wakkas
The villa is surrounded by Osama’s men, armed and intent on preventing any leakage of information. They allow Agents to enter only if they established a credible local cover, if they carry a letter signed by Osama Al Fituri (even a forged one), or—since the militia is not inside the villa—if the PCs are stealthy enough to slip in on their own.
They have also escorted and authorized the entrance of an electronic technician who has gone up to the roof and is not visible from the front of the house. The technician will turn out to be an agent of the GRU-SV8.
The men have also arrested Faraj Al-Masri, one of Khaled’s guards, who fled the villa in a state of shock after sneaking inside at night to steal valuables from Khaled’s residence. His arm is bandaged, and his voice is hoarse. Faraj saw the creature, which was still inside the house, and killed it. He is reluctant to talk. He says it “had no bones” and moved like a wave, overturning furniture in the sitting room before he put it down. Faraj stole Captagon from the house but does not admit it.
The Villa
The interior of the villa is luxurious, and in many areas everything appears immaculate. Khaled’s rooms feature fine marble and a baroque style of decoration. His wardrobe contains uniforms and extremely expensive clothes. Among his personal effects are religious items, a Quran, several Rolex and Patek watches, numerous photos taken during military parades, and a bag of Captagon lying open with twelve pills apparently spilled on a small table.
In a reception hall, sand is scattered on the floor, arranged in irregular prints. Cushions, chairs, and ornaments are overturned as if struck by a ferocious animal.
At the point where Faraj fired, there is a mound of fine sand forming an apparently human figure that crumbles to the touch like dehydrated fabric. A slanted flashlight beam reveals faint concentric directions in the granules, as if the mass once had an internal structure. It is no longer a creature, but its shape (Science, Medicine, First Aid checks) appears to reproduce humanoid musculature with uncanny accuracy.
- On the second floor there is a large terrace. Looking back from there, one can glimpse the roof with an antenna swaying slightly, as if someone were manipulating it (the GRU technician, though he can’t be seen clearly). Reaching the roof from this terrace is not easy.
Another room contains three archaeological objects: a white knife with a bone handle carved with symbols, a decorated Roman-era amphora, and a fragment of basalt stele (the one Khaled mentioned). It is a piece originating from the Syrian black market—a dark, heavy stone, polished on only one side, bearing the engraved figure of a faceless elongated being with spiral-shaped arms and a lower body dissolving like sand in the wind. The carving is ancient, probably Nabataean or late pre-Islamic Aramaic, and depicts one of the so-called “desert spirits,” a wind-djinn associated with Palmyrene traditions.
These objects have nothing to do with the Sand Dwellers, but they are truly magical. The stele can summon a Dijin, which manifests by emerging from the jar. The dagger is an instrument that allows control over the Dijin: whoever holds it is not attacked by the creature and can give it commands, including returning to the jar. The Dijin automatically attacks anyone (including Sand Dwellers, if present) who is outside the jar and does not possess the dagger.
The Roof
If the PCs go up to the roof before the antenna is reactivated, they find a man in civilian clothes apparently attempting to repair it. He speaks English, Arabic, and Russian. He claims he was called to inspect storm damage and insists the antenna must be taken to a laboratory. His tools are suspiciously advanced.
The GRU-SV8 technician’s real intention is to record the anomaly and recover the power board to reproduce the phenomenon elsewhere. He is not hostile as long as the PCs do not interfere with his plan. He may even try to collaborate while misleading them.
If the PCs observe him (Electronics checks), they notice he is performing tests, turning modules on and off, and recording oscillations. When he activates the most compromised internal routine, the antenna vibrates and a new electromagnetic cycle propagates.
The Arrival of the Two Sand Dwellers
When the antenna is reactivated, its vibrations become perceptible: in certain rooms, the PCs feel a descending hum, almost a pulse, as if the source were not the ground but the ceiling.
Two Sand Dwellers rise toward the residence, attracted by the signal. One quickly crosses the garden and attempts to enter through a side door; the other approaches more slowly, focused on the roof as if searching for the source. They attack anyone at sight.
The GRU-SV8 agent watches with a mix of terror and fascination. If the PCs try to destroy the antenna, he attempts to stop them, but will not attack first: his priority is taking the internal board with him.
Ending
The only permanent solution is to deactivate or destroy the antenna. Once done, the phenomenon stops, the villa calms, and the Sand Dwellers cease to arrive. The Russian, if alive, decides whether to flee with any hardware he managed to salvage. Faraj and the Ahmed bin Wakkas remain convinced this was a Djinn attack against Khaled as divine punishment. The truth will never make sense to them.
Stats Block
Sand DwellerSTR 16, CON 14, DEX 12, INT 5, POW 10, HP 15Armor 3; Claw attack 60%, 1D8 damageSpecial: Moves through sand and soft surfaces; SAN 0/1D6 on sight.
GRU-SV8 OperatorSTR 14, CON 13, DEX 13, INT 12, POW 12, HP 13Firearms 60%, Stealth 50%, Persuade 40%Gear: suppressed pistol, technical tools, handheld spectrum analyzer.
Ahmed bin Wakkas – GuardSTR 14, CON 13, DEX 12, HP 13Firearms 55%, Alertness 45%, Intimidate 60%.
Faraj Al-MasriSTR 12, CON 11, DEX 11, HP 10Firearms 40%, Persuade 30%; wounded, –20% to physical actions.
Wind Djinn (Breath-Born One)
Evoked exclusively by the ritual Call the Breath-Born One
STR — (not applicable; non-corporeal), CON — (not applicable), DEX 20, INT 12, POW 18HP 20 (treat as coherence rather than physical health)Armor: Immune to normal weapons. Hypergeometric attacks harm it normally. Extreme cold (liquid nitrogen), superheating (thermite), or directed chemical dispersal can slow, disrupt, or scatter it, imposing –20% or – 40% to attacks and movement for 1–3 rounds.
Movement: Flies or moves as a roiling vortex; ignores terrain.SAN Loss: 1D6/1D12 on first sight.
Attacks
• Cutting Gale (Wind Slash)
65%, 1D8 damageA sudden compressed blade of air capable of slicing through flesh. Ignores armor unless it is sealed, rigid, or fully ballistic.
• Sandstorm Flay
55%, 1D6 damage per round + blindedThe Djinn engulfs a target in a spiraling cloud of sand particles. Victim must make a CON×5 test each round to avoid choking; failure causes 1D4 extra damage.
• The Breath Taken (Special Attack)
Opposed POW vs POW; on success: 1D6 WP loss and stun for 1 roundThe Djinn steals the air from a person's lungs, leaving them gasping, unable to speak or act.
• Dispersal Surge (Special Attack)
Used when cornered or injured. 60%, 1D8 damage in a 5-meter radiusThe Djinn explosively expands into a violent windburst filled with razor-fine grit. Anyone in the radius takes damage and must succeed a STR×5 roll or be thrown prone.
Special Traits
Untouchable by Normal Means:Bullets, blades, blunt trauma, and fire have no effect. The attack passes through its swirling form.
Hypergeometric Vulnerability:Any spell, hypergeometric weapon, or object imbued with unnatural geometry can wound it normally.
Material Interaction Weakness:Substances that drastically alter air temperature or density—liquid nitrogen, thermite, high-powered cryo or heat systems—can temporarily disrupt its coherence, slowing movement and attacks.
Avoids the Wind Dagger:The Djinn will not harm or approach the wielder of the Wind Dagger unless cornered or directly attacked by them.
The “Stone of Al-Ruwwad”
(basalt stele fragment from the Palmyra desert)
A black, irregular basalt block, about 28 cm long, heavier than it looks. One side is roughly broken; the only polished face bears a shallow but extremely sharp carving of a faceless elongated being with spiral-shaped arms, its lower body dissolving into sand-like lines, as if dissolving into the desert itself.
Along the lower edge of the front face are faint Nabataean or late Aramaic markings, decorative rather than linguistic—motifs commonly used in pre-Islamic desert cults to depict spirits tied to wind, shifting dunes, and the unseen.
The fragment originates from an illicit excavation near Tadmor (Palmyra). Local lore calls the site Al-Ruwwad, “The Walker”, a place feared for its association with wind-djinn and nomadic desert spirits said to inhabit the boundary between surface and underworld.
The reverse side of the basalt block is far more unsettling. Though rough and unpolished, it bears a small section of cuneiform incised with remarkable precision, clearly older than the decorative markings on the front. The inscription is fragmented and incomplete, but specialists who examined photographs suggested it resembles a ritual formula from early Akkadian desert cults. Its phrasing—partial, eroded, and mistranslated in inconsistent ways—appears to describe a procedure to “release the Breath-Born One from the Jar of Winds.”
The Jar of the Wind
The so-called Jar of the Wind is a tall ceramic vessel of pale, sand-colored clay, its surface unusually smooth despite visible age. The jar is narrow at the base, swelling outward in a rounded belly before tapering sharply toward a short, chipped neck. The clay shows signs of firing consistent with early Iron Age desert kilns, and faint traces of mineral deposits suggest it spent centuries buried beneath shifting dunes.
The Jar of the Wind is a tall, sand-colored ceramic vessel of ancient desert craftsmanship, its surface wrapped in a continuous band of shallow carvings depicting elongated, faceless figures that trail off into curling lines of dust and wind. Whorls resembling miniature whirlwinds, broken dune shapes, and silhouettes dissolving upward suggest a symbolic connection to pre-Islamic wind-spirits and desert djinn. Near the rim, a repeated tapered spiral—known in scattered folklore as the Seal of the Empty Breath—implies the jar once served as a symbolic prison or conduit for such entities. A successful Occult check reveals that this iconography aligns with traditions in which beings “born of wind” can only be released or compelled through vessels that echo their nature; while the jar holds no power itself, its motifs unmistakably reference creatures associated with storms, shifting sand, and vibrations carried through the desert air.
The jar is directly linked to the stele. If the ritual inscribed on the stele is spoken aloud while the jar is in view, a Djinn emerges from within it. The Djinn attacks anyone present except the individual who possesses the Wind Dagger.
The Wind Dagger
The Wind Dagger is a single piece of worked human bone, carved so finely that handle and blade appear grown from the same pale, curved structure. Its surface bears a series of shallow cuneiform inscriptions, worn but still legible, describing—obliquely—how the blade allows its bearer to “stand against the Breath-Born One.” The bone is unnaturally light, almost hollow-sounding when tapped, and the edge, though unsharpened by metal tools, feels capable of cutting far more than flesh. An Occult check suggests the weapon was fashioned not to slay a Djinn outright, but to repel or command one long enough for its wielder to survive the encounter. The Wind Dagger is not a weapon itself and will shatter if pushed against an hard surface. The bearer can issue command to the Djin and eventually order to go back in the Jar. If the jar is destroyed the Djin can’t be banished this way.
Ritual: Call the Breath-Born One
Source: Inscribed in cuneiform on the reverse of the Stone of Al-Ruwwad.Learning: Not required; reading the inscription aloud directly from the stele activates the ritual.Requirements: The Jar of the Wind must be in clear view during the recitation.Time: 30–60 seconds, a single uninterrupted reading.
Costs:
- Caster: 5 WP and 1D6/1D12 SAN
- Observers: 1D4/1D8 SAN
Effect:The ritual tears open the boundary that seals the Jar of the Wind. As the final words are spoken, the jar vibrates violently, its interior filling with a rising hiss of air before expelling the Wind Djinn, a predatory spirit of sand and storm. The Djinn manifests fully within moments and immediately becomes hostile toward all living beings present, except the individual wielding the Wind Dagger, whom it instinctively avoids and will not attack.
The ritual provides no means of controlling, commanding, or banishing the entity. It is a one-way summoning—a release, not a pact. The Breath-Born One is free to act according to its nature.
Credits
The Tobruk File was written by Dregarexter for the 2025 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dXqyUhhK7W_x2QtUVQixxDFP9Q8STBg9UPCsBKntYjY/edit