Time Shifts

Note:

For this scenario to work properly, your players must be infected with a supernatural phenomena. This may be they happen to be supernatural phenomena (for example, they may be Protomatter Simcualra as defined by http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/the-pink-men-made-him-do-it), they possess an artifact from the Yith, or they’re being “blessed” by a supernatural deity. Your players do not need to know that they are infected, at least at the start of the scenario.

Mission:

The year is 1999. Miskatonic University has recently built Forest Town - a research campus focused on artificial intelligence and automotive engineering. Their success rate is suspiciously high. At the same time though, research staff are mysteriously disappearing from this campus. These disappearances are widely blamed on UFOs spotted near the area. Delta Green suspects that these disappearances are actually blood sacrifices - the University is sacrificing people as part of a pact with a Mythos deity. Investigate.

Time Shifts: As players investigate the situation, history itself changes. One minute, the players are in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland where all technology is powered by magic. The next minute, they are in a dystopian Kingdom of America ruled by the Emperor Bill Clinton. The third minute, they return back to their “original timeline”. Nobody other than the players notice these “time shifts”, and they act as if history has always been this way. No “important details” are modified - Delta Green still exists, Forest Town is a research campus, and the disappearances must be investigated.

The reason players see these time shifts is due to their infection by a supernatural phenomena. This infection allows them to better understand what is going on. Players cannot control these time shifts, but they might be able to “predict” a future time shift and act accordingly.

These time shifts indicate literal modifications to history, being done by a Vietnamese intelligence agency known as the Dao Sâm.

The Truth: The leader of the Forest Town, Ignacio Lorenzia, is a notable Chicano businessman who avoids publicity whenever possible. Investigation into Ignacio’s past reveals a fascination with the fringe field of “time communication” - he believes that insights from the past and future would “revolutionize” the world. In 1995, Ignacio successfully contacted the year 2020 and talked to the Dao Sâm.

The Dao Sâm taught Ignacio the secrets of time communication, but wants blood sacrifices in return. Ignacio Lorenzia agreed and asked Miskatonic University to build Forest Town as an “embassy” to allow for easy communication between the “present” and the “future”.

Inside the campus is a heavily guarded “Time Communication Center”. The Center consists of four empty houses that are disconnected from all forms of utilities - the only items there are a complete set of cupboards and wooden panels. These houses have been contaminated with the Yellow Sign, specifically drawn by Dao Sâm.

At night, research staff will go inside the cupboards and enter into the “Night World” - allowing them to travel to different time periods. This is the reason why Forest Town has been so successful in their research. Already, the researchers have successfully built and field-tested UFOs - which are actually self-driving VTOLs. These UFOs are armed with microwave beams, and are being used to conduct the blood sacrifices that Dao Sâm wants.

Dao Sâm is an organization that specializes in time travel. They know how to build Tillinghast resonators, manufacture the Liao drug, and draw the Yellow Sign. However, time travel is inherently risky. Dao Sâm wants to ensure that time travel can be done “safely” - people should not be eaten by monsters that lurk within the time stream.

Therefore, Dao Sâm regularly conduct blood sacrifices to fuel Angka, a gestalt consciousness that requires constant hypergeometry in order to perform any meaningful actions. In return for blood sacrifices, Angka provides protection to the cultists, allowing them freedom to travel through the timestream.

The act of gathering blood sacrifices is time-consuming though. Dao Sâm’s ultimate goal is to summon Angka outright into our dimension. That way, Angka can gain all the blood sacrifices he wants, allowing Dao Sâm to focus on time modification.

Delta Green had previously fought against Dao Sâm in the 1960’s, leading to the disastrous event known as Operation OBSIDIAN - a failed attempt to summon Angka into our dimension. After that, Dao Sâm decided to lie low, limit their blood sacrifices to minimal levels, and stop trying to summon Angka. Better to do nothing than risk getting exposed.

In 2020, a Tillinghast resonator in Vietnam malfunctioned, leading to a massive increase in T-Radiation. Dao Sâm concluded that if the malfunction is not fixed, the entire world would be destroyed in the late 2020s. Dao Sâm decided that they need to summon Angka, so that they can “safely” conduct the necessary timeline modifications that will fix the Tillinghast resonator. But they won’t summon Angka in 2020 and risk attracting Delta Green’s ire. They chose to summon Angka in the past, in 1999, using Ignacio Lorenzia as a convenient patsy.

Summoning of Angka:

One week after the players begin their investigation, Dao Sâm will summon Angka into our dimension. When Angka is summoned, time shifts will occur more rapidly - once every combat round. Angka cannot damage the players directly but can use these time shifts to create difficult (and damaging) situations  - transporting players to a very radioactive wasteland, summoning Hounds of Tindalos to attack specific targets, creating a drunken frat party where there’s a lot of civilian meatshields who could soak up bullets, etc.

Angka’s physical form is incredibly vulnerable. Explosives and air raids would be super-effective against this physical form. The cultists responsible for summoning Angka will try to defend Angka violently, but can be easily dispatched.

The cultists will try to persuade the players of the righteousness of their cause. After all, they’re trying to save the world! If the cultists fail, then humanity will be rendered extinct. If the cultists do succeed, at least humanity gets to “live” for eternity under the “benevolent” eye of Angka. Players may agree with the cultists, or decide that human extinction in the future is preferable to present suffering under Angka.

If the players side with the cultists, they will be initiated into the Dao Sâm and be partially spared from Angka’s wrath. However, the time shifts will continue. Even if the cultists are able to repair the Tillinghast resonator and save the world, they still want to continue modifying the timestream safely. And this means protecting Angka’s physical form.

If players destroy Angka, the time shifts will stop. Players will travel to a timeline that is similar to their “original timeline”, but where Forest Town has just been occupied by Delta Green and is being dismantled.

Premature Activation:

If players gather enough evidence to incriminate the Dao Sâm, or manage to destroy the VTOLs that are being used to conduct human sacrifices, the cultists will panic and conduct a premature ritual to summon Angka. This ritual will succeed, but the “bindings” that keep Angka loyal to Dao Sâm will be undone. Angka will quickly turn against the cultists and destroy them. This means that the players will have to confront Angka and his time shifts by themselves, without any interference by Dao Sâm.

Optional Reference Material:

STAT BLOCKS FOR NON-MONSTERS

VTOL (based on stats from “Flying Saucer (SCADR Aircraft” from “Night Lights”)

HP : 30

Armor : 5

Air Speed : Average

Microwave Beam Weapon (from “Night Lights”)

Damage: 1D4 per round and -20% all checks while under the beam

Disease: Acute Microwave Sickness

Route: Absorption via Radiation

Speed: 1D6 days

CON Test Penalty: None.

Damage: 1D6

Symptoms: Muscle and nerve pain, abdominal pain, GI bleeding (can manifest as vomiting blood and passing bloody stool), photosensitivity, burns.

Cure: Physical therapy

Dao Sâm Cultist (based on stats from “Delta Green Kill Team”, from “ | My Big Fat Deep One Wedding ”) STR 12, CON 12, DEX 12, INT 12, POW 12, CHA 12 HP 12, WP 12, SAN 55 DISORDERS AND ADAPTATIONS: Adapted to Violence SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Demolitions 40%, Firearms 60%, Foreign Language (Cambodian) 50%, Foreign Language (Vietnamese) 50%, Foreign Language (Aklo) 50%, Heavy Weapons 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Military Science (Land) 60%, Navigate 50%, Stealth 50%, Survival 50%, Swim 50%, Unarmed Combat 60% ARMOR: 6 points tactical body armor and helmet ATTACKS: M4 (60%, D12 or 10% lethality, 3 AP) Or MK14 (60%, D12+2, 5 AP), Or M249 SAW (50%, 15% lethality, 3 AP) Or M60E3 (50%, 15% lethality, 5 AP) Or M203 (70%, 15% lethality, 10m kill radius), M9 (60%, D10), Frag Grenade (80%, 15% lethality, 10m kill radius)

On The Radio: Each cultist has a hand radio set, allowing instant communication between cultists and Ignacio Lorenzia.

Infected With Supernatural Phenomena: Each cultist is able to perceive time shifts and remember what happens during each shift, like the players.

Ignacio Lorenzia (based on stats from REVEREND FATHER LYMAN GAUSS-WERNSTRO, from | The Pink Men Made Me Do It ) STR 25, CON 13, DEX 9, INT 13, POW 11, CHA 14, HP 19, WP 11, SAN 41 DISORDERS AND ADAPTION: Megalomania Skills: Alertness 50%, Criminology 60%, Dodge 40%, Drive 50%, Firearms 40%, Foreign Language (Cambodian) 50%, Foreign Language (Vietnamese) 50%, Foreign Language (Aklo) 50%, HUMINT 50%, Law 40%, Melee Weapons 40%, Occult 50%, Persuade 50%, Stealth 50%, Unarmed Combat 50%

On The Radio : Ignacio Lorenzia has a hand radio set, allowing instant communication between cultists and Ignacio Lorenzia.

Symbolic Figurehead: Ignacio Lorenzia is dependent on the cultists for advice. He cannot act independently without prior permission from the cult. He also is not supernaturally infected, and thus cannot perecive time shifts.

Angka has no statblock, as befitting a deity. His physical form will disintegrate if blown up multiple times. Every combat round, he will cause a time shift, radically changing history in the hopes of disrupting the players.

Credits

Time Shifts was written by Tariq Ali for the 2022 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NrBi5RFdJsnrnhz8HOpFon88HgGi1H0hM0xiOQ52aSU/edit

page revision: 2, last edited: 05 Sep 2024 03:57
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