Delta Green: Future/Perfect on Lovecraft eZine

Tuesday night, February 11, 2014, I’ll start a Google Hangouts game featuring Dennis Detwiller’s Delta Green: Future/Perfect. The players signed up at the Lovecraft eZine. It sounds like most of them are new to Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green, so it ought to be really fun. Future/Perfect is available free for downloading, but I encourage players in this adventure to avoid it at all costs. And of course if you have read it, please don’t post any spoilers here or in the Lovecraft eZine message board on Facebook.

Watch the Game

Click here to view the games in progress each Tuesday night and talk about it at the message board.

View all episodes in a playlist here.

Needless to say, SPOILER ALERT for Delta Green: Future/Perfect!

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

Preliminary Briefing

Two people have died in Hellbend, California, population 87. Hellbend is a fading remnant of a former company town in Death Valley. It’s been dying itself for sixty years. But the gruesome violence of these two deaths has drawn the attention of the outside world.

Hellbend map - Future/Perfect

Click to zoom

The road to Hellbend.

The road to Hellbend.

Near Hellbend

Near Hellbend

Victim: Clifford Potter

White male, age 58. A metalworker who moved to Hellbend nearly 20 years ago after retiring early from a foundering Ford plant in Detroit. He was known to collect scrap metal in the ruins of the Hunt Electrodynamics plant outside town.

Potter’s body was found near the Bobcat construction vehicle that Potter had rented from the Sip ‘n’ Gas in Hellbend. The body had been badly disturbed and largely devoured by scavengers, although that did not cause the trauma that apparently killed him. Both his arms (now missing) were sheared off through the humerus. They showed marks consistent with a series of two- to five-inch blades, perhaps from a construction tool. His ribcage was crushed as by a weight of at least half a ton.

In consultation with Inyo County coroner Abner White, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office investigator Lucas Androzy determined the death was most likely a freak mechanical accident. The discovery of Lucille Mayer’s body forced the sheriff’s office to revisit that conclusion.

  • Vitals: 5’10”, 165 lbs
  • Time of Death: 1800 to 2100 hrs, March 5, 2013
  • Discovered By: Jarvis Greene, Sip ‘n’ Gas proprietor
  • Body Location: 2.3 miles noth of Hellbend, 400 yards from the Hunt Electrodynamics plant
  • Cause of Death: Blunt force and cutting trauma
  • Family: none living
  • Enemies: none
Clifford Potter

Clifford Potter

Victim: Lucille Mayer

White female, age 36. A sculptor from Los Angeles who moved to Hellbend in 2007 to live with her girlfriend, artist Emily Warren. Known to walk the perimeter of Hellbend to look for scraps of dried wood for sculptures.

Mayer’s body was found in a little cave in a gully on the outskirts of town. Much of the body was missing and what remained had been largely devoured by scavengers. Mayer was identified from dental records. Her ribcage and skull were crushed as by a weight of at least half a ton. One leg, one arm, and her pelvis had been sheared through with tremendous force. They showed marks consistent with the marks on Potter’s body and with a series of two- to five-inch blades, perhaps from a construction tool.

Inyo County coroner Abner White confirmed the similarities between the wounds to Mayer and Potter.

  • Vitals: 5’2″, 102 lbs
  • Time of Death: Between April 24 and May 8, 2013
  • Discovered By: Joshua Orrino, U.S. park ranger
  • Body Location: 1.2 miles south of Hellbend, in an arroyo cave
  • Cause of Death: Blunt force and cutting trauma
  • Family: Emily Warren (companion), Tanya Mayer (mother, Los Angeles)
  • Enemies: none
Lucille Mayer, right, with Emily Warren

Lucille Mayer, right, with Emily Warren

The Task Force

After reviewing the Mayer report, Inyo County Sheriff Alfred Mann instructed Deputy Androzy to reopen the Potter case. Then Mann contacted the U.S. Park Service, the FBI, and California’s Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence to tell them that there appeared to have been two murders in Death Valley National Park — U.S. government property — and to request assistance if the federal government preferred to let the county investigate and prosecute. The FBI asserted jurisdiction and invited the Park Service, the state of California, and Inyo County to join a task force to investigate the deaths.

The task force originally comprised six investigators:

  • Special Agent Lester Hanlon, FBI, age 48
  • Special Agent Mark Smith, FBI, age 32
  • Special Agent Daniel Ferguson, National Park Service, age 49
  • Special Agent Daric Brackney, California Bureau of Investigation, age 37
  • Special Agent Corey Pettus, California Bureau of Investigation, age 31
  • Deputy Lucas Androzy, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, age 26

During the investigation, Hanlon and Smith called one of their supervisory agents in Bakersfield, Special Agent Grunberg, for advice and help. He activated a new federal task force that assumed jurisdiction under top secret conditions. After Grunberg signed most members of the old task force on, the new task force included:

  • Special Agent Clark Grunberg, FBI, age 44
  • Special Agent Kimberly Tralvaybe, FBI, age 43
  • Special Agent Lester Hanlon, FBI, age 48
  • Special Agent Mark Smith, FBI, age 32
  • Special Agent Daniel Ferguson, National Park Service, age 49
  • Special Agent Daric Brackney, California Bureau of Investigation, age 37
  • Special Agent Corey Pettus, California Bureau of Investigation, age 31

FBI agent in car

The task force expects to work out of the sheriff’s office’s Death Valley Resident Post at Furnace Creek Ranch, about 10 miles southeast of Hellbend. Lodging is on site at the Ranch at Furnace Creek.

Furnace Creek

On May 12, 2013, the Hellbend Task Force held its first meeting at the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Independence, California, about 130 miles southeast of Hellbend. The investigation began that night in Hellbend. It ended a few days later at the ruins of the Hunt Electrodynamics plant a few miles away.

The Investigators

DARIC BRACKNEY
Special Agent, Bureau of Investigation, Calif. Dept. of Justice, age 37
STR 5, CON 15, SIZ 14, INT 18, POW 15
DEX 13, APP 10, EDU 18, SAN 75, HP 15
Damage Bonus: none
Education: B.S., electrical engineering, U.C. Berkeley
Attacks and Armor: Handgun (9mm) 50%, damage 1D10
Grapple 55%, damage special
Light kevlar vest, 6 armor points (in the car trunk)
Skills: Computer Use 60%, Drive Auto 70%, Electrical Repair 60%, Electronics 50%, Fast Talk 65%, Law 40%, Listen 55%, Mechanical Repair 60%, Persuasion 60%, Psychology 55%, Spot Hidden 50%
Language Skills: English 90%
Background: A veteran investigator with a knack for interrogations, and a die-hard gearhead. He hurt his back badly a couple of years ago falling from his roof, so these days he avoids physical fights or lifting heavy things. He’s massaged the system and pulled in favors to dodge yearly physical exams and keep his job.
Status: Busily covering up the disaster at Hunt Electrodynamics and the disappearances of FBI agents Grunberg and Tralvayne.

DANIEL FERGUSON
Special Agent, National Park Service, age 49
STR 10, CON 18, SIZ 17, INT 14, POW 10
DEX 13, APP 9, EDU 19, SAN 50, HP 18
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Education: B.S., Zoology, New Mexico State U.
Attacks and Armor: Handgun (9mm) 50%, damage 1D10
.30-06 hunting rifle 45%, damage 2D6+4
Grapple 55%, damage 1D3+db
Light kevlar vest, 6 armor points (in the car trunk)
Skills: Botany 30%, Dodge 66%, Drive Auto 40%, First Aid 50%, Law 40%, Listen 60%, Natural History 60%, Navigation 70%, Spot Hidden 55%, Track 55%, Zoology 50%
Language Skills: English 95%, Apache 25%
Background: A career Park Service investigator who mostly coordinates searches for lost campers and busts roving meth labs. The Hell’s Bend bodies were found inside Death Valley National Park, so his agency sent him to assist. He played football in college in the 1980s and still has a linebacker’s sturdy bulk, but most of his muscle has gone to flab over the years since then.
Status: In long rehabilitation from horrendous bite wounds, a gunshot wound, blood loss and psychic trauma sustained at Hunt Electrodynamics.

LESTER HANLON
Special Agent, FBI, Bakersfield office, age 48
STR 11, CON 14, SIZ 14, INT 17, POW 9
DEX 14, APP 9, EDU 20, SAN 45, HP 14
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Education: J.D., U. of Richmond Law School
Attacks and Armor: Handgun (.45) 70%, damage 1D10+2
Rifle (AR-15 carbine, in the car trunk) 70%, damage 2D6+1
Punch 70%, damage 1D3+db+martial arts
Grapple 70%, damage special
Light kevlar vest, 6 armor points (in the car trunk)
Skills: Law 55%, Drive Auto 60%, Fast Talk 55%, Listen 75%, Martial Arts 70%, Persuade 65%, Psychology 55%, Spot Hidden 75%
Language Skills: English 100%
Background: A veteran agent and former Maine police officer. Several years ago he barely survived being abducted and tortured by the followers of a serial killer he had helped put away. After several years riding a desk he’s only just returned to the field.
Status: Told off his FBI supervisor and drove off alone in shock after helping Brackney demolish the tunnel under Hunt Electrodynamics.

COREY PETTUS
Special Agent, Bureau of Investigation, Calif. Dept. of Justice, age 31
STR 13, CON 16, SIZ 10, INT 10, POW 10
DEX 11, APP 10, EDU 18, SAN 50, HP 13
Damage Bonus: none
Education: B.S., criminal justice, U.C. Davis
Attacks and Armor: Handgun (9mm)  40%, damage 1D10
Rifle (AR-15 carbine, in the car trunk) 45%, damage 2D6+1
Punch 60%, damage 1D3+martial arts
Kick 50%, damage 1D6+martial arts
Grapple 65%, damage special
Light kevlar vest, 6 armor points (in the car trunk)
Skills: Drive Auto 50%, Fast Talk 45%, Law 45%, Listen 65%, Martial Arts 50%, Persuade 50%, Psychology 50%, Spot Hidden 65%
Language Skills: English 90%, Spanish 25%
Background: A razor-thin and hard-eyed young detective who spends most of her free time jogging or practicing martial arts.
Status: In long rehabilitation after vicious claw wounds to arm, head and torso sustained at Hunt Electrodynamics. (Lost 3 APP from the injuries.)

MARK SMITH
Special Agent, FBI, Bakersfield office, age 32
STR 10, CON 13, SIZ 9, INT 10, POW 14
DEX 10, APP 12, EDU 16, SAN 70, HP 11
Damage Bonus: none
Education: B.A., liberal arts, Thomas Aquinas College
Attacks and Armor: Handgun  (9mm) 30%, damage 1D10
Punch 60%, damage 1D3
Shotgun (12 gauge, in the car trunk) 40%, damage 4D6
Light kevlar vest, 6 armor points (in the car trunk)
Skills: Anthropology 50%, History 50%, Law 40%, Library Use 50%, Occult 50%, Psychoanalysis 40%, Psychology 40%, Spot Hidden 40%
Language Skills: English 80%, Latin 40%, Spanish 40%
Background: At a loss for a steady career several years after college, Smith all but stumbled into the FBI when they badly needed Spanish-speakers and a friend of a friend introduced him to a Sacramento agent.
Status: Hospitalized with a concussion sustained in the tunnel under Hunt Electrodynamics. Busily covering up what happened, especially the disappearances of Special Agent Grunberg and Special Agent Tralvayne.

At Hellbend

Here we’ll post documents and data uncovered by the team.

SPOILER WARNING! Like viewing the episodes, these images will reveal secrets of Delta Green: Future/Perfect Part 1. If you expect to someday be a player in that scenario, stop here.

Greene-want-ad

Montgomery Greene’s “help wanted” ad from 1937.

Clifford-Potter-House

Clifford Potter’s House

Map in Potter's Kitchen

Greene-transcript-1

Greene-transcript-2

Greene-transcript-3

Hunt Electrodynamics Plant 004

Hunt Electrodynamics Plant 004

meganeura size comparison

The gold cube

Monolophosaurus-in-Future-Perfect

Shane Ivey runs Arc Dream Publishing and is lead editor for Delta Green.