“Wizards!”
A two rogue elements referring to themselves as “Delta Green” have begun open and chaotic unnatural combat with one another in the streets of New Jersey. This cannot be allowed. A strike team of heavy operators, assembled from national agencies, has been arranged to stop this threat to everything the Program has worked to achieve. Element SPELLBOUND will be on call 24/7 until this flagrant miscarriage of dark forces has been compromised to a permanent end.
Every player character should be a Special Operator or similarly martial profession. Less martial professions are ill-advised. Every player character is a blooded Delta Green agent, and Damaged Veteran packages should be allowed by default. Every player character knows what “The Program” is.
The Truth:
“WIZARD PRIME” is actually an Outlaw cell comprised of two Cells that merged unintentionally due to miscommunication. The “confidential source” is an Outlaw agent that has dropped a dime to the Program to try and clean things up.
The Briefing:
The briefing takes place at 0500 hours, Eastern Standard time, Tuesday the 22nd of August. The Operators have been assembled in a large truck trailer just off the road of Sgt. Anthony’s Park in Hoboken.
At 1800 hours Eastern Standard time, Monday the 21st of August 2017, the Program received intelligence from a confidential source pertaining to a partisan split in a group under surveillance — known as ‘WIZARD PRIME’ — that had been studying the unnatural for several years. This intelligence was regarded simply as a factor to observe, but by 1930 hours the Program was on red alert when their surveillance detail saw a huge fireball consume their known hideout in the Hoboken suburbs.
Shortly thereafter, the surveillance team observed a brutal firefight between two groups of WIZARD PRIME’s former members. The confidential source contacted the Program again, and informed them that a schism had indeed taken place, and now WIZARD PRIME had split into two elements — WIZARD ALPHA and WIZARD BETA — which are now active, rogue, and hostile toward one another.
The surveillance team reported seeing unnatural phenomena present after the blast, including, in their words, “one of those guys turning into a spark-head that was throwing lightning bolts all over the goddamned place.”
While the nature of WIZARD PRIME was known to the Program for some time, their capacity for unnatural phenomena was believed to be very low. Now that they have been revealed to have no control, they must be contained and destroyed.
The Informant:
In a separate truck-trailer is the informant whom called in the initial reports about WIZARD PRIME. A nearly-elderly man sat on a folding chair. He’s well-built and has a buzzcut, he is very upfront; he was added to the group for his martial skills, but very quickly became aware of the group’s incompetence.
When they started arguing over a cardboard game for kids, he walked out of the complex and straight to a payphone to inform The Program, having been aware of them for reasons he refuses to disclose.
The operators are informed they must make a decision as to his future. If they decide he must die, they must pull the trigger.
The Scenario:
Element SPELLBOUND is to locate both groups; WIZARD ALPHA and WIZARD BETA, and completely eradicate them. The group was known to comprise six members in entirety, and now it is believed that there are two groups of three, though this is uncertain.
As the Handler, you should not say which member is in which group.
See NPCs for stats.
The Targets, WIZARD ALPHA:
WIZARD ALPHA is in favor of using the Unnatural to further humankind, and will not balk at using any Rituals, Artefacts, or Spells they have to in order to achieve their goals.
Dr. Howard Dulles, 53 - Anthropological researcher for the United States Geological Survey. A Black man in later age, he wears a garish tie with his suit and is balding on top. Firebrand and fervent in his cause, and unwilling to negotiate.
Marie Boucher, 42 - Archivist for the United States Library of Congress. Fair-skinned, auburn-haired and wearing a white turtleneck, she has a scar on her cheek from a ‘hunting accident’. Half-unhinged, she cackles madly when combat begins.
Harold Mass, 39 - Former Military Policeman and current guard for Arnott & Stokes Security Logistics, a mall police firm. Always packing a Glock, it’s become a surrogate for his son, whom died in infancy.
The Targets, WIZARD BETA:
WIZARD BETA is against using the Unnatural for any kind of gain, and wants to destroy all traces of the Unnatural — but they have now stooped to using it to achieve this goal, in fear that ALPHA may render them extinct first.
Dr. Magdalena Bhai, 44 - Neuroscience fellow for NJMS Rutgers. Tan-skinned woman of North Indian descent. Stalwart and stoic, very little seems to faze her. Except dogs and wolves — she is deathly afraid of them.
Michael Meccanica, 33 - Known criminal and associate of the Scoleri crime family. His skin is sun-damaged, he’s covered in liver spots, and he has a nose like somebody hit him with a hammer. At home breaking skulls, combat is something he never steps away from.
Dr. Johnathan Brio, 61 - Geneticist for the KludoChem agri-research concern. A gaunt man who looks like a gargoyle. Bald on top with wing-like wisps of hair either side of his head. He acts emotionless and hollow, as if the spark of life within him was snuffed out.
He’s a Yithian host.
The Wildcard:
Thomas Pines, 29 - Legal clerk for Joseph & Algonquin. A recent replacement. He has broken off from both groups, and will try to back the winner near the end. Black-haired, sharp-suited, and charismatic.
The Chase:
WIZARD ALPHA and WIZARD BETA have immediately gone to ground, but neither group practices very good OPSEC.
Agents with good Computer Science or SIGINT will be able to easily get pings on their membership around Hoboken if their devices are somehow accessed, though these should be fuzzy and distant pings. They should not be able to find their hideouts without capturing and interrogating a member.
In their current state, neither WIZARD group is allowing their members to remain fully alone. Though they hunker down as trios, when leaving their hideouts for supplies (every 6 hours) they move as a duo to avoid suspicion, with one member remaining at base.
At least one agent in every excursion duo foolishly has a trackable phone. LUCK roll at 50% means both have their phones.
If the players track down one of the WIZARD duos in public, they must pick them out from a crowd. These are surviving Delta Green operators. They know to avoid suspicion.
Their hideouts are disused warehouses long-owned by Outlaw assets, and are guarded with traps and alert systems, though many of these are old and should have a 20% chance of failure any time a player triggers them.
The next full-on confrontation between the groups will be at 1930 hours, Tuesday the 21st. 4 members, 2 of each group, meet at the Colgate Clock on Hoboken’s seafront.
An attempted peace-brokering meeting instantly goes south, and both parties open fire on each other with automatic weapons in full view of Hoboken’s business community.
At the Colgate Clock, They will use Unnatural methods if the battle is not decisive (and the players are present to see it). If the players miss this fight, then mention at least one ritual being visibly used and requiring cover-up.
If any member of the groups is dead or captured, this meeting does not take place.
After this confrontation, the next encounter is on the platform of the PATH Hoboken Station at 0300 hours, Wednesday 23rd. Another four members come into clash with automatic weapons yet again.
This time, they should use unnatural methods very quickly, whether or not the players are present. This battle should not resolve without the players encountering them - they should be alerted by police scanners etc.
If they survive, the final encounter, Encounter 3, is on 7th Avenue, Times Square, over in NYC. This time, all surviving members come into violent contact. WIZARD ALPHA is blindsided when WIZARD BETA T-bones a box truck they are in with a souped-up Volkswagen camper. BETA then immediately piles out and begins attempting to bring things to a sticky end.
This fight should be brutal and bloody.
If the players made it here, then it’s going to be hell. Lots of innocents are in the firing line, as are recording devices and cameras.
Thomas Pines will back whichever group has more surviving members at this point. Otherwise, he should be a loose thread that players can pull to find the other members.
STAT BLOCKS
WIZARD ALPHA
Dr. Howard Dulles
Archaic Anthropologist
STR 10 - CON 10 - DEX 12 - POW 16 - INT 17 - CHA 9 - HP 15 - WP 17 - SAN 21
STANDARD ARMOR: 3 (Kevlar Vest)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
STANDARD WEAPONS:
S&W 1006 10mm
1D12 damage, 20m range, 10 capacity. Two spare mags.
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above, with the addition of:
Ithaca M37 Stakeout
2D8 Damage, 75m range, 4 capacity, firing buckshot. Twelve spare rounds.
Skills:
Firearms 40%, Anthropology 60%, Persuade 30%, Alertness 61%, Stealth 42%
Science (Geology) 40%, Unnatural 40%
Rituals:
Withering - 12 WP, 3 HP, 1D8 SAN
This chanted ritual withers flesh and blasts bones, inflicting 3 HP damage to the operator and 1D20 HP damage to a living target. The target must be nearby and in sight.
Shambling Horror of Akkati-Sai - 10 WP, 1D10 SAN
This chanted ritual, called in the presence of a corpse or a person with less than 5 HP remaining, possesses and withers their carcass into a nightmarish ghoul that exists somewhere beyond life and death. If there are no viable candidates, then a random NPC should make a CON test. On failure, they are possessed and transformed. This monster attempts to do nothing but kill and propagate its otherworldly taint. See stat-block below.
Marie Boucher
Anarchistic Archivist
STR 9 - CON 11 - DEX 14 - POW 10 - INT 12 - CHA 10 - HP 13 - WP 17 - SAN 14
STANDARD ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 5 (Reinforced Kevlar, Surplus M1 Helmet)
Skills: Bureaucracy 60%, History 50%, Computer Science 40%, Craft (Electronics) 20%, Firearms 27%, Demolitions 19%. Melee Weapons 35%, Alertness 62%, Unnatural 35%
STANDARD WEAPONS:
Mossberg 500 Stockless (under coat)
2D8 Damage, 75m Range, 5 Capacity, firing buckshot. 28 spare rounds, with 8 slugs.
Combat Dagger
1D6 Damage, 3 Armor Piercing.
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above, with the addition of:
M16A2 Assault Rifle
1d12 Damage, 10% Lethality, 100m range, 30 capacity, 3 Armor Piercing. 4 spare mags, one “jungle taped”.
Home-Bomb
15% Lethality, incendiary coverage over 8m (5% lethality every turn), 10m Kill Radius.
Rituals:
Thunderbolt of Ages - 2D8 WP, 1D8 SAN
This shouted ritual hurls a lightning-bolt at a target, inflicting 5% Lethality on them immediately. The operator can make this 10% by spending 2D8 SAN instead. If the target is holding a firearm in their hands, they must make a LUCK roll to avoid a negligent discharge. Handler’s discretion if this can harm nearby persons.
Yötön Yö - 1D20 WP, 1D10 SAN
This gestured ritual shrouds a 10m radius in pitch darkness and returns the Operator to a location they have pre-determined. The veil of darkness lifts after one turn. All actions requiring sight are at -20% while in the shroud unless night vision or illumination is used. This succeeds even if the operator is rendered unconscious or insane by the WP/SAN costs.
Harold Mass
Mischievous Mall-Cop
STR 15 - CON 15 - DEX 15 - POW 12 - INT 9 - CHA 8 - HP 15 - WP 12 - SAN 18
STANDARD ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 6 (Tactical Armor, Kevlar Helmet)
Skills: Alertness 65%, Athletics 54%, Firearms 50%, Demolitions 50%,
Military Science (Land) 50%, Stealth 45%, Melee Weapons 40%, Unarmed Combat 40%, Unnatural 29%
STANDARD WEAPONS:
Glock 17 (Totemic Compulsion)
1D10 Damage, 15m Range, 17 capacity, 5 Armor Piercing (FMJ rounds loaded).
Three spare mags.
Baton
1d6 Damage.
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above.
The Glock 17 capacity increases to 33 rounds for its first magazine in-encounter.
Surplus M1 Garand w/ Bayonet (1d8 damage, 3 Armor Piercing)
1D12+2 Damage, 150m Range, 10 capacity, 5 Armor Piercing.
Mk2 & M67 Grenades (x4)
15% Lethality, 20m range, 10m Kill Radius, rolled with Athletics.
Rituals:
Laughter - 4WP, 1D6 SAN
This ritual shrouds a target in preternatural, haunting laughter that distracts their senses and clouds their judgement. Anyone targeted suffers -20% to all subsequent rolls for 1D4 hours and must make a SAN test, losing 1/1D4. This can render them Temporarily Insane. A successful POW test halves this, but a SAN test is still required. A crit success on POW clears it entirely.
WIZARD BETA
Please note: Wizard Beta has additional weaponry and armor in Encounter 3.
Dr. Magdalena Bhai
Neurotic Neuroscientist
STR 11 - CON 10 - DEX 12 - POW 15 - INT 17 - CHA 9 - HP 15 - WP 15 - SAN 35
STANDARD ARMOR: 3 (Kevlar Vest)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
ENCOUNTER 3 ARMOR: 5 (Reinforced Kevlar + Helmet) (Encounter 3)
Skills: Science (Neuroscience) 50%, Science (Biology) 40%, Medicine 50%, Psychotherapy 20%, Firearms 26%, Stealth 60%, Unnatural 15%
STANDARD WEAPONS:
FN FiveSeven
1D10 Damage, 15m Range, 20 capacity, 5 Armor Piercing
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above, with the addition of:
Spectre M4 SMG (Suppressed)
1D10 Damage, 10% Lethality, 50m range, 30 capacity.
M4A1 Carbine w/ Laser Sight (Suppressed, Encounter 3)
1d12 Damage, 10% Lethality, 100m range, 30 capacity, 3 Armor Piercing. 4 spare mags.
Rituals:
Little Raincloud - 4 WP, 1D4 SAN
This ritual is comprised of a coarse sand-like powder hurled in a 3m radius. All those in the radius of the dust are immediately victim to a tumbling, indefatigable acid rain that lasts for 1D4 turns. Those in the radius suffer 1D6 damage every turn. This is blocked by armor, but the armor is damaged by an equal amount to how much it protects them.
Ferrous Bearings - 8 WP, 1D10 SAN, 1D8 HP
This ritual appears as two brassy-silvery balls which must be collided together by the operator, whom designates a 17m cone forward of themselves. Anyone caught within this cone immediately suffers 2D10 radiological damage that ignores armor. Anyone killed by this Ritual violently disincorporates into glowing green sludge before the eyes of anyone present, necessitating a SAN check, 1D6 on failure.
Michael Meccanica
Murderous mafioso
STR 15 - CON 15 - DEX 12 - POW 10 - INT 9 - CHA 13 - HP 15 - WP 10 - SAN 26
STANDARD ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 5 (Reinforced Kevlar, PASGT Helmet)
ENCOUNTER 3 ARMOR: As above.
Skills: Unarmed Combat 70%, Melee Weapons 60%, Stealth 60%, Firearms 40%, Lockpicking 50%, Persuade 60%, SIGINT 20%, Alertness 54%, Criminology 50%, Heavy Weapons 50%, Unnatural 12%
STANDARD WEAPONS:
Smith & Wesson Model 19 Snubnose (.357)
1D12 Damage, 20m Range, 6 Capacity.
Switchblade Knife
1D4 Damage, 3 Armor Piercing
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above, with the addition of:
Micro-UZI
1D10 Damage, 10% Lethality, 50m range, 30 capacity.
M9A1 Flamethrower (Encounter 3)
10% Lethality, 10m Range, 2m Kill Radius, 5 Capacity
Rituals:
None.
Dr. Johnathan Brio
Sinister Scientist
STR 9 - CON 10 - DEX 13 - POW 20 - INT 20 - CHA 8 - HP 14 - WP 20 - SAN 9
STANDARD ARMOR: 3 (Kevlar Vest)
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 6 (“Mysteriously Cobbled Armor”, “Strange Helmet”)
ENCOUNTER 3 ARMOR: As Above.
Skills: Occult 80%, Total Knowledge 75%
TOTAL KNOWLEDGE: As temporal explorers, the Great Race have access to endless epochs of knowledge from all times and cultures. Knowing a challenge is coming, they can learn all they must know before it begins. Only occasional, strange variances in causality limit them. They have the equivalent of 75% in every skill, alien or human.
STANDARD WEAPONS:
Beretta 92FS:
1D10 Damage, 15m Range, 15 capacity, 5 Armor Piercing (FMJ rounds loaded).
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
As above, with the addition of:
“Meson-Gluon Blaster”
A cobbled-together construct of metal and doohickeys. This can inflict 1d6, 2d6, or Lethality 15% damage at the wielder’s decision. It ignores armor, but not cover. This appears as a violent beam of uncontrollable electrical and particle energy. If the highest setting is used, the weapon cannot be used next turn without incurring a -20% penalty due to the hysterical amounts of recoil.
THE WILDCARDS
Thomas Pines
Tumultuous Turncoat
STR 10 - CON 10 - DEX 12 - POW 10 - INT 10 - CHA 10 - HP 15 - WP 10 - SAN 42
STANDARD ARMOR: None.
ENCOUNTER ARMOR: 4 (Reinforced Kevlar)
Skills: Stealth 60%, Law 60%, Bureaucracy 40%, Criminology 40%, Firearms 35%, Lockpicking 40%, Unnatural 15%.
STANDARD WEAPONS:
Beretta 92FS:
1D10 Damage, 15m Range, 15 capacity.
ENCOUNTER WEAPONS:
Remington 870 Police Tactical Folding
2D8 Damage, 75m range, 6 capacity, firing buckshot. Twelve spare rounds.
ENCOUNTER 3 WEAPONS (If with Beta):
M4A1 Assault Rifle (Laser + Suppressed)
1d12 Damage, 10% Lethality, 100m range, 30 capacity, 3 Armor Piercing.
Rituals:
Let’s Kill - 5WP, 1D8 SAN
This ritual requires the operator to shout its title phrase; “Let’s kill!”. Once used, the next successful attack the operator performs deals an additional 1D10 damage. If the success is a crit, the damage is turned into 20% Lethality.
Shambling Horror of Akkati-Sai (Envenomed)
Not really shambling.
STR - 15 - CON - 15 - POW 18 - INT 2 - CHA 0 - HP 15 - WP 5 - SAN 1/1D4
Envenomed can only inherit a maximum of 3 Armor from the body they’re crafted from as a result of the damage possession incurs. They can use firearms at 20%.
RADIO-REACTIVE: Envenomed do not move merely on normal turns- they take an action every time they are targeted with an action or attack.
CLUMSY(ISH): Envenomed do not defend themselves against attacks, and suffer a lower Firearms score than their progenitor.
THE RUNNING DEAD: Envenomed move at a rate of 35M/turn if they take no action. If they take an action, they move at 5M/turn.
FIRE UP: If aggravated by attack or a miss, Envenomed enemies can move an extra 1M in any direction after sustaining further attacks, usually toward the one who hit them last.
RISE AGAIN: If reduced to 0HP, Envenomed will 'fake death' and slump to the ground. They regenerate 1HP/turn in this state, and will rise again at 3HP. They can only be put down by being over-damaged beyond 0HP.
UNDYING: Envenomed take no damage from radiation, cold, or suffocation. They cannot drown, cannot starve, and do not thirst.
THE PEOPLE IT KILLS…: Being attacked by an Envenomed in melee or unarmed combat and reduced to 5HP or below requires a CON save. If this save fails, the victim immediately dies and suffers from ‘Get Up and Kill!’.
… GET UP AND KILL!: Any human or animal (not Unnatural) target killed by the Envenomed in melee or unarmed combat revives in 1d2 turns as another Envenomed. Player characters who suffer this fate may be controlled by the player, so long as there is an accord between them and the Handler that their new sole goal is to kill and convert. Avoid this if it might be socially awkward/messy.
Credits
Wizards! was written by BBFIII/Harlequin for the 2024 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zJ3hjQU3I5tO70boX32t23kSKW6eFjgSJ4kFZcFAWJs/edit