From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V1 #86 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Tuesday, July 28 1998 Volume 01 : Number 086 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:36:11 +0200 From: "Florian Hanke" Subject: Background Music (Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) Winkelman, Mark wrote: > And on a related topic does anyone use background music for atmosphere > when gaming. I do and as GM strictly enforce whats played. Often > starting with something contemporary that you might hear on the radio or > walking down the street when things start off and then get progressively > weirder and more unpleasant. I also use very different music for the > Dreamlands sequences (Terry Riley especially). A useful source is that I > also do reviews for an experimental music magazine which a friend in the > UK runs and some of the stuff he has sent me is suitable, often very > atmospheric with no rhythm, words or melody just tones and timbre being > explored. It certainly can help to scare the pants off the players. I always let some music run in the background, because it helps building up that atmosphere and mood which play a central part in CoC. Music influences our feelings more than some may think - imagine watching "Star Wars" without background music! I think best for background music are strings or atmospheric music (like you mentioned) Although you may had some playlists some time ago, here's mine: #Background: Films: Basic Instinct The Cotton Club (for that speakeasies in 1920) Miss Smillas sense for snow (maybe the name is different) The Abyss (good for SCUBA) Crimson Tide The Outer Limits Hitchcock film music by B.Herrmann (altough your players may know Psycho, ...) You could try: Leon the professional Other: Aphex Twin - Ambient II #Special Scenes Films: Interview with a Vampire (or was it some other Vampire film?) The Exorcist - Mujaheddin singing or strings perfect for bugs running around (for some B-movie adventure) Speed (action scenes) Other: The Hunter - The Hunted from Alex Cremers (Some treasures in there, especially for DG) When I was young I used to play "It came from the desert" on my computer - was there ever a film with that name? If yes - is there a CD/Cass of it? Perfect music for DG! What could be added? I hope alot! Does anyone know some "Detective" music? I hope you know what I mean. Regards Florian Hanke ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:40:27 +0200 From: Lars-Inge Lindbom Subject: Re: War crimes tribunal (was DG: A Forgotten Horror) Dhl9@aol.com wrote: > > Anyone notice that there is now a permanent war crimes tribunal? There is so > little talk about it but I think it will have a major impact on how the world > does business. If the UN really uses this tool we could see the budgets of > intelligence/ covert ops sections skyrocket. One key word, deniability. We have heard some abaut it here in Sweden.Especially since an ex Croatian mayor hanged himself in the special warcriminal prison sometime during spring.I read an article abaut the UN warcriminal prison in Holland.Hightech and highsecurity but very few prisoners so far. Lars Lindbom.Stockholm,Sweden. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:06:46 +0200 From: PM Subject: Re: Background Music (Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) >> And on a related topic does anyone use background music for atmosphere etc. >I always let some music run in the background, because it helps building up >Although you may had some playlists some time ago, here's mine: > >#Background: >Films: > Basic Instinct > The Cotton Club (for that speakeasies in 1920) > Miss Smillas sense for snow (maybe the name is different) > The Abyss (good for SCUBA) > Crimson Tide > The Outer Limits > Hitchcock film music by B.Herrmann > (altough your players may know Psycho, ...) > You could try: Leon the professional > >Other: > Aphex Twin - Ambient II > >#Special Scenes >Films: > Interview with a Vampire (or was it some other Vampire film?) > The Exorcist - Mujaheddin singing or strings perfect for bugs running >around (for some B-movie adventure) > Speed (action scenes) >Other: > The Hunter - The Hunted from Alex Cremers > (Some treasures in there, especially for DG) Suggested CD : Koyaanisquatsi (Philip Glass) Perfect for a sinister ritual The Fog (Carpenter) Some pieces of INFERNO (Keith Emerson) and SUSPIRIA (Goblins) ============================================= Patrice Mermoud (Paris - France) mermoud@easynet.fr mermoud@mygale.org http://www.mygale.org/~mermoud/ ============================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:34:32 +0200 From: "Florian Hanke" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Wow! This topic seems to have kicked off an avalanche.. So I'd like to say something about it, if you're not interested just read the scenario ideas below... Ok, first about the little nukes: >Graeme wrote: >Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since my physics is pretty damn rusty, >but I thought I remembered that the amount of weapons grade plutonium that >you needed for critical mass was a little over 14 pounds. Can anyone >confirm or deny this?? That's about right, a bit more I think - in the Bomb which was dropped over Hiroshima "Little Boy" there was about 15 kg of Uranium 235, split into 2 halves. At the impact, an explosive propellant pushed the two halves together to achieve the critical mass, emitting enough Neutrons to start an uncontrolled chain reaction. Now with the little nukes, I think terrorists, would never use such a bomb. They're not crazy - for what they want to achieve, a conventional bomb is sufficient enough. But maybe in your DG campaign they can be just a little crazy ;) The reason that the bombs are about at least as 500lbs heavy, is that the military wants adequate (I don't know if this word sounds a bit ironically) firepower and to get such a bomb working you need a container, lots of electronics, an explosive propellant, some U-239, a fuse control, etc...etc... but maybe a small group equipped with transporters might be able to bring it somewhere. Now for the "forgotten horror": I'm not sure that the cold war is over now. - -During the Kuwait-Iraq crisis the Clinton-Administration refused to sign the "non-use" of nuclear weapons, which made relations to Moscau more complicated. - -The hyped De-targeting of american and russian rockets could be undone in seconds. - -The US uses 4.5 billion $ for the "Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program" - which is in fact a Program for atomic tests. - -After "START1", the number of strategical nuclear warheads should have been reduced to about 7500, but there are still 5000 more (in case of an outbreak of hostility). - -After "START2" the number should be reduced to about 3500, but this treaty is now paralyzed by the financial problems of the russian duma. And even if the number of nuclear warheads should be reduced, the militaries will find ways to enhance their weapons, e.g: - -US U-boats are being equipped with less, but much more accurate D-5 rockets to substitute for the C-4 - -After "START2" MX-rockets should be removed - so the warheads are just remounted on Minuteman-III-rockets, which in fact enhances the explosive worth from 170 kilotons TNT to 300 kt TNT (!) At the moment there is a new weapon being tested: the US B-61-11, an "earth penetrator". Just an example: In the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) there are several russian and east-european targets (3000 at the moment, 12500 in the past) mentioned. In case of war, an underground russian HQ would have received 69 direct consequent nuclear hits to achieve a 95% (over-)"kill probability"! Now with this B-61-11 you need just one warhead to achieve this - sure the numbers are going down, but it's not as good as it would seem! BTW: The US have at the moment 2300 warheads in constant readyness which together have an explosive capability of 44'000(!!!) Hiroshima-bombs, which is 550 million tons TNT!! Together with the russian bombs, just add maybe 200 mill. tons... This SIOP is in itself *very* grotesque: e.g: some targets are communication centers. If you want to destroy one, just send a commando with dynamite to bomb the antennae - yeah, but we're here in a nuclear war - just send one of those 12'000 warheads, who cares anyway? Of course, everybody would say: "You must be crazy - destroy an antennae with a half megaton bomb!?!?!?" - As I said, a nuclear war is grotesque and crazy! Even Switzerland (where I live) wanted to build one - and they even intended to throw it on its own land if someone would invade - craaazy! You know - during the cold war there was a certain balance - now there isn't anymore... I hope nothing goes wrong. But I fear more the biological and chemical agents, they are more likely to be used (e.g: Iraq uses gas against the kurds) About the BBC documentaries: I'm sure not only the russians are developing new Bioweapons - and the talk about these race-specific weapons, they're being researched since WWII by almost every bioweapons-developing country! As with terrorists I'd fear more the laser weapons - 1mWatts per sqare millimeter is enough to leave you blind (permanently) - perfect for terrorists, or your DG campaign :-\ Phew! If someone got here, congrats! As scenario ideas I have: Ozeanic underwater nuclear tests could disturb someone "sleeping" there! "Conducting tests, cap'n - everything normal - wait what's that??!!!...It's .. it's huge!" - "All hands on station, pull back full power" - "Sorry, cap'n we have to reboot Windows NT for this" - "What??!?!?!" - "It will take about 4 mins! I sure hope you don't have this deathgrip power kind of thing, cap'n?" - "The thing's coming nearer ... AAAAgh!" - yeah, you know... Some Endtimes scenario: After the 3rd world war - the old ones are again walking on this earth - oh well doesn't sound that cool does it? I mean would you fear a squid that's grown too big when you're having your own survival problems with nuclear radiation?? Probably not! Till tomorrow, guys - and don't press that red button! Florian Hanke ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 17:42:22 -0500 (CDT) From: "G. Wyckoff" Subject: DG: Re: War crimes tribunal > We have heard some abaut it here in Sweden.Especially since an ex > Croatian mayor hanged himself in the special warcriminal prison sometime > during spring.I read an article abaut the UN warcriminal prison in > Holland.Hightech and highsecurity but very few prisoners so far. > Lars Lindbom.Stockholm,Sweden. I smell story idea. War criminal in the prison starts scrawling arcane symbols on the wall with crayon and muttering. Guards figure he has popped a gasket, but the next morning, the guy is gone. One of the agents, connected to the UN or Interpol or something of the sort, gets a call to a night at the opera to find him. Or, even worse: a DG agent gets caught in mid-op and thrown in the prison for war crimes (how is the UN supposed to know that the Mi-go, and not your friendly DG agent standing over the ruins, actually detroyed the village). The PC's have to decide whether to follow orders and forget about it, or break their fellow agent (PC or NPC) out of prison. Great way to get those DG agents over to Europe. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:49:40 +0200 From: "Florian Hanke" Subject: Re: Background Music (Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) I just wanted to add: Background music can also very well be used to keep players guessing. Play for example the first track of "The outer limits" as they are exploring some dark, but normal house and they will be freaking out - the next time you play it, they will probably be saying "He's doing it again, hah, what's to be afraid of?" Then of course something happens. Just one of those cheap music tricks. Regards Florian Hanke ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:23:28 -0500 From: Nightstar Subject: Re: DG: Lovecraftian Inspired Movies (was Re: DG: D. Skies etc) >The Beyond, currently in midnight release from Grindcore and Quentin >Tarantino's release company, Rolling Thunder. Severely gory flick from >one of the gods of Italian horror, Lucio Fulci. It's Lovecraftian >insofar as the McGuffin is the Book of Eidon. I'd hesitate to >recommend this to anyone, strong of stomach or no. Anyone know where I can get a copy of this movie? - ----------------------------------------------------------- Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel......heh heh heh. Nightstar ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 17:12:57 -0500 From: Nightstar Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes > >> 1. Any particular means to keeping players committed (aside from >> blackmail, of course)? I just started Pagan's Walker in the Wastes to >> have half my players uncommit. It really pissed me off, as I had done >> some pretty extensive preparations. Regardless, anyone got any clues to >> keep the plebes we call players from ditching on four Fridays in a row? > In my campaigns, my players have found out that their characters live without them and are "inspired" by them only when they are present for a session. If a player misses a game session, his character continues to play without him. How you say? Well, heh heh, there is an affliction in my game universe that all characters are subject to. It is called "Absentia Mentalis" or absent mentality. The way it works, if the player doesn't show up, the character becomes mindless and must be lead around by his "friends" since he is totally at their mercy. My players dread to miss a session since they cannot "remember" what happened to them while they were "mindless". As the Keeper, I tell them nothing. If their companions wish to tell them anything that is their choice. Since some of my players are very cutthroat, it often doesn't pay to miss a session. Case in point: During one campaign, several "artifacts" were discovered in an abandoned mine shaft. Since cooperation and trust are not real strong points of my group, there was quite some discussion about the distribution of these (phony) artifacts. After some wheeling and dealing, the distribution was made. The game continued as the party tried to find their way out of the labyrinth. There were ghouls and dangers to be experienced and the party began to argue about who should go first. Next game session, one player did not show. When he showed the following session, his character was nude and owned nothing but his shoes and was near death. Visibly upset, he asked what happened. His companions replied,"Don't you remember? You volunteered to walk point and got attacked. But we saved ya, man!" Suffice it to say, NO ONE MISSES A GAME SESSION. - ----------------------------------------------------------- Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel......heh heh heh. Nightstar ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:01:16 EDT From: CroakerJr@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Encyclopedia Cthulhiana In a message dated 98-07-27 16:23:08 EDT, you write: << it is not unreasonable that Encyclopedia Cthulhiana is not the only Mythos related piece of fiction or gaming material that might turn up in a game. >> Wow, this brings back memories... back around 1985 Different Worlds magazine published an article which gave SAN loss and Cthulhu Mythos stats for all of Lovecraft's mythos stories. I wish I still knew the guy who owned it. If anyone sees a DW from that era, take a peek. Shane Ivey ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:05:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Bryant Durrell Subject: Re: DG: Lovecraftian Inspired Movies (was Re: DG: D. Skies etc) Nightstar writes: > >The Beyond, currently in midnight release from Grindcore and Quentin > >Tarantino's release company, Rolling Thunder. Severely gory flick from > >one of the gods of Italian horror, Lucio Fulci. It's Lovecraftian > >insofar as the McGuffin is the Book of Eidon. I'd hesitate to > >recommend this to anyone, strong of stomach or no. > > Anyone know where I can get a copy of this movie? Grindcore will be releasing it on video fairly soon. I believe their email address is grindcore@aol.com. - -- Bryant Durrell [] durrell@innocence.com [] http://www.innocence.com/~durrell [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing." -- Oscar Wilde ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:27:58 -0400 From: Steven Kaye Subject: Re: DG: Red Mercury There's also an article on the mysterious "red mercury" on the Fortean Times web site (http://www.forteantimes.com). Incidentally, FT is a great source for adventure seeds - I remember an article suggesting a war between the Sokka Gakkai (sp?) and the Aum Shirikyo, with Tesla weapons and Allied protection of members of Unit 731 thrown in for good measure. Steven - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steven Kaye box_nine@ix.NOSPAM.netcom.com "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." -- Satchell Paige ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:48:42 -0400 (EDT) From: John Petherick Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes At 11:27 AM 7/28/98 -0400, you wrote: >Stephen wrote: > >>Anyway he told me that the Russians had developed a back pack >>nuke, that is an nuclear bomb small enough to fit inside a briefcase or >>rucksack. More than this, they had built 80 of them prior to the fall of >>the USSR. However, a recent investigation by General Lebed, while he was >>still security minister revealed that the Red Army could only find 47 f >>them. Shortly therafter he was fired from his job. > >Ouch! I though that reducing the size of nukes (below about 500lbs) was >technically unfeasible. As I recall this was unrelated to the critical mass >of plutonium you would need (I'm no physicist and I don't think that the >critical mass needed to initiate a nuke is common knowledge), but something >to do with radiation sheilding... of course, if you're fanatical enough >than little things like tumours, large blisters, no immune system and all >your hair falling out might not matter (viz. the final episode of "Edge of >Darkness"). I suppose it depends on how big your briefcase is! > "Backpack" may be a misnomer. The Soviets and the United States both supposedly developed small nuclear weapons that were termed "man portable". They'd probably have a gross weight comparable to an extremely heavy field pack. Or they may have been modular and capable of being easily assembled. As for shielding, none is needed for a nuclear weapon to protect against the radiation from the fissile material. Enriched uranium and plutonium are both alpha emitters, and alpha particles are of negligible concern (as long as the radioactive material remains outside your body). Certainly, the outer shell of a device or even the conventional explosives are capable of absorbing any alpha or beta radiation. There are, of course, decay products within the material which are gamma emitters but the amount of radiation from these isotopes is pretty minor (at or near environmental background). The NEST teams apparently (or would) detect missing or terrorist nuclear weapons using some kind of radiation detector, probably one tuned and highly specific for the gamma wavelength(s) produced by these decay products. There may be shielding material inside the device but it's purpose is to focus, contain or otherwise manipulate the gamma or X-rays produced during the fission reaction in order to trigger a fusion reaction. And this shielding material is certainly not lead. ********************************************************************* John Petherick, CIH jpetheri@cyberbeach.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:24:49 EDT From: CroakerJr@aol.com Subject: Re: Angels (was RE: DG: A Forgotten Horror) In a message dated 98-07-28 13:14:13 EDT, you write: << I've noticed a lack of the former type of contact case in Delta Green. Benign contacts were most prevalent in the post-psychedelic sixties and seventies. That's when UFO cults like Heaven's Gate began forming. Contactees proclaimed a coming New Age fortold by their "Space Brothers". Things got sour in the Eighties after Communion. Aliens became abductors and experimentors (taking the place of Incubi and Goblins in our collective psyche). Now ANGELS are the benign contactors. Perhaps the secret masters who are initiating the contacts have a rival, or perhaps they're working on two fronts. >> Once again I'll heartily recommend Richard Lupoff's "Documents in the Case of Elizabeth Akeley," which not only stars a proto-DG-type investigation but also kicks off with spirit-channeling in a 1979 New Age cult. Vernon Whiteside Lives! Shane ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:24:51 EDT From: CroakerJr@aol.com Subject: DG: Nyarly & nukular stuff (heh heh heh) Someone asked about running a game with Islamic or quasi-Islamic terrorists following Nyarlathotep. (1) Nyarlathotep has been given a heavy Arabic treatment before in Chaosium products. See "Masks of N." and "Day of the Beast" for possible inspiration. (2) Check out the possible Karotechia connection: there was major Nazi involvement with Palestine and Islamic states during wars with Israel just after WW2. Hmmm... Karotechia survivors in the late 1940s trained Palestinian guerillas, and used that opportunity to get their hands on some Old (as in "Great Old Ones" old) merchandise while honing the select of their trainees into a fanatical cult worshipping the Enlightened Masters (aka Nyarlathotep in his Guise of the Week, before he put on the Hitler mask).... The Karotechia resurgent in the 1990s heads back over to the Mid-East to find what became of the Nyarlathotep cult in preparation for devastating attacks on certain cities; like, for instance, using a briefcase bomb to sacrifice Paris or New York to Azathoth... Looking at the discussion of the cold war as inspiration for portraying the horror of the Mythos in DG: The Cold War seen as communication problem: that is scary. (Reactionary rant mode on: That was a heck of a communication problem to result in the murder of that many millions of Communist nations' citizens for the crime of political disagreement. Rant mode off.) "Cold war" is a misnomer. It was a shooting war (Korea? Vietnam? Afghanistan? etc.), and like any shooting war it happened because people fervently believed in what they were doing. The difference here was that both sides were afraid to shoot with their biggest guns, thank God; hence we distinguished the Cold War from all the other terrors that came before and around it. Nowadays, as others have noted on this list, the weapons of nuclear and biological war are slowly but surely finding their ways into hands far beyond the control of the superpowers; and Russia and the US are not quite dance partners just yet. The US still spies on Russia, Russia still spies on the US, and both have more than enough weapons of mass destruction to go around. What's unsettling to me is that the old rules still apply, but nobody wants to say them out loud; which makes one wonder how long it will be before somebody fails to learn them. IMO, all this brings up another juicy Lovecraftian theme: people may well further the aims of the servants of the Old Ones simply by not taking them seriously. "You're saying the FBI and CIA should investigate this group because they believe they can resurrect Hitler? Go back to your desk!" Heck, this ought to be a factor in every DG game. Shane ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 21:21:38 -0400 From: "Walter B. Haight" Subject: Re: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror At 12:53 PM 7/28/98 EDT, you wrote: >Anyway.... > > I think what disturbs me most about nuclear war is not so much the fact >that it has "gone away" but that the general public seems to think this is the >case. Somehow, the wall coming down and the Soviet Union disintergrating has >convinced everyone that things are just hunky dory again. Personally, the >Soviet Union collapsing like a house of cards scared the shit out of me and >still does. I saw a special on the Russian military and they were using ><> seals on door to prevent theft. <> Jesus. > In addition, few people had any inkling about the sheer magnitude of >overkill which would have been the hallmark of an 80's exchange. All I have >read basically said everything we got, we would throw at them and vice versa. >New York (my home town) would have been a smouldering crater, no buildings, no >survivors, just a big radioactive ditch. > Also...And this is just a pet-peeve. People saying "Nuculer". Gahh! I >hate that. I saw a special on the History Channel and the commander at SAC >was saying "We have the capability to launch a nuculer attack from here, at >the...." The commander at SAC DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE NUCLEAR! > > Spittle, drool, slobber. > > > > sorry. > > >Dennis Detwiller > > I have the exact same condition. It would irk me beyond all belief when my high school physics teacher would say "nuke-ya-ler" instead of " nuke-lee-ar". I feel your pain. Milk and Cookies Aaron Litz ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:31:02 -0500 (CDT) From: Don Juneau Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Graeme Price wrote: > Stephen wrote: > > >Anyway he told me that the Russians had developed a back pack > >nuke, that is an nuclear bomb small enough to fit inside a briefcase or > >rucksack. More than this, they had built 80 of them prior to the fall of > >the USSR. However, a recent investigation by General Lebed, while he was > >still security minister revealed that the Red Army could only find 47 f > >them. Shortly therafter he was fired from his job. > > Ouch! I though that reducing the size of nukes (below about 500lbs) was > technically unfeasible. As I recall this was unrelated to the critical mass > of plutonium you would need (I'm no physicist and I don't think that the > critical mass needed to initiate a nuke is common knowledge), but something > to do with radiation sheilding... of course, if you're fanatical enough > than little things like tumours, large blisters, no immune system and all > your hair falling out might not matter (viz. the final episode of "Edge of > Darkness"). I suppose it depends on how big your briefcase is! Actually, both the US and Ivan made Atomic Demolition Munitions (US term - not sure of the Russian phrase), which are man-portable to some extent. (You have to be pretty beefy to haul one around.) Back in fifty-something, the Army fired off one 8-inch tactical atomic in Nevada - there was an article in some historical-war mag within the past two-three years. ("8-inch" as in 8-inch artillery piece. Looked prettty cool, and I think I have a binary of the shot.) In John McPhee's THE CURVE OF BINDING ENERGY, Dr. Theodore Taylor goes into the sorry state of US atomic-power security, and how little it really takes. (He did a fractional-kiloton device once, that used significantly less than 5 kilos of plutonium, IIRC. I'd have to dig that reference out. I'll also note that fractional-kiloton tests were done in Missouri according to one listing of tests. [Might be in the big nuke catalog online - forget where, but it's got a lot of test-info.]) ADM is an important part of PAYBACK, by JC Pollock. (Fiction) In with the specforce-vets-vs.-commie/terrorist-menace is a pile of info, which may have some basis in reality. (ADM is also one of the MOS offerings when I joined the Army. Souveniers?) Don ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:47:53 -0500 (CDT) From: Don Juneau Subject: Re: War crimes tribunal (was DG: A Forgotten Horror) On Tue, 28 Jul 1998 Dhl9@aol.com wrote: > Anyone notice that there is now a permanent war crimes tribunal? There is so > little talk about it but I think it will have a major impact on how the world > does business. If the UN really uses this tool we could see the budgets of > intelligence/ covert ops sections skyrocket. One key word, deniability. There were reports around last year, of spec-ops units being folded into one "hunter" group for snatching war-criminals in Bosnia, etc. Can't remember if they actually did anything, but it was a UN thing. (TIME magazine?) Don ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:07:02 -0400 (EDT) From: The Man in Black Subject: Re: DG: Glovecleaners in Oklahoma On Mon, 27 Jul 1998 MgkellyMP5@aol.com wrote: > Speaking of terrorists, I had an idea about a group of Egyptian terrorists > under the influence of Nyarlathotep (Sounds like the Karotechia. I know, but > these guys aren't just sitting around a villa in Argentina). Has anyone used > terrorists in their DG campaign or have a suggestion as to what prominent > historical figure Nyarlathotep would appear as to a Muslim? True Islam teaches > peace and tolerance, so Mohammed is out, but I am lacking in knowledge of > other historical Middle Eastern leaders. These guys could be under the influence of the Black Pharoah cult, in which case Nephren-Ka (Nophru-Ka? I always get those two mixed up) or Nitocris could be their boss. And Mohammed is not out under any circumstances, as any Islam practiced by the terrorists could easily be perverted by Nyarlathotep. The outer god could very well appear as the Archangel Gabriel (who presented the Koran to Mohammed), or maybe as a burning bush. The Man in Black is : Kenneth Scroggins Novus Ordo Seclorum : Annuit Coeptus : E Pluribus Unum ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:12:38 -0700 From: "JimmieBise,Jr" Subject: DG: Re; A Forgotten Horror Well, from yet another 30-Something, who was raised by a very politically conservative set of parents, and who grew up with a fascinations for things military, let me add: 1) The threat of nuclear war (Oh, yeah, I'm another one who hates "nucular"!) is far from over. There are at least three fronts on which the use of nuclear weapons is not only possible, but, should things go badly, very likely. - The India/Pakistan conflict - The Middle East, especially Israel and Syria, who have much larger watchdogs making sure they don't drop a nuke. If those watchdogs get distracted.... - The Terrorist Wars (involving Lybia, some factions inside the former Soviet States in Eastern Europe, and in the former Yugoslavia) The only reason things haven't blown up there (no pun intended) is because the United States, England, and several other large countries and making very very sure that the use of such weapons isn't worth the tactical or ideological victories the users may gain. 2) Despite that there are still plenty of nukes out there, many of which can be carried quite easily and unobtrusively by an ordinary person, the vast majority of people believe that nukes are a thing of the past. The general ignorance, more than anything, may well be what causes the next nuclear detonations. It's amazing what an uninformed public can do, especially when it comes to neglecting a problem they don't believe exists. 3) Here's a little tidbit. Several years back, the country of Libya made a proposal to India to pay off that country's entire national debt in return for the technology to make a nuclear device, and a means of delivering it intercontinental. India wisely declined, but was basically bribed into the decision by the US and a couple other countries. Perhaps the next country Lybia or some other terrorist-backed group approaches won't warn us after the proposal's made. In conclusion, I still worry about the possibility of nukes....not in a global war that I was brought up to fear, but in something that could strike right next door. Terrorist attacks would be all the more devastating with that added weapon, wouldn't they? - -Jim ===================================================== "If all the World's a stage, I'm fairly certain I missed my cue line..." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:22:14 -0400 (EDT) From: The Man in Black Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, G. Wyckoff wrote: > Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since my physics is pretty damn rusty, > but I thought I remembered that the amount of weapons grade plutonium that > you needed for critical mass was a little over 14 pounds. Can anyone > confirm or deny this?? Or am I not supposed to know this and some MiB's > are gonna be knocking on my door tommorow? Soon... very soon... Anyhow, The USA has Alpha Charges, which are about 10kt yield nukes that weigh about 80 lbs. Fits in a big suitcase. Not too sure about Russian micro-nukes. These devices are bound to be less reliable than macro-nukes. The Man in Black is : Kenneth Scroggins Novus Ordo Seclorum : Annuit Coeptus : E Pluribus Unum ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:40:58 -1000 From: "M-Zodiac" Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes > >How old are your players? If you expect them to stay in on a Friday >night you may be asking a little bit too much;-) > Ahh. REAL gamers don't NEED social lives! - -Marc "Know this. Elric cannot have what he desires most. What he desires does not exist. What he desires is dead. All Elric has is sorrow, guilt, malice, hatred. This is all he deserves and all he will ever desire." -Moorcock, "The Vanishing Tower > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:43:26 -1000 From: "M-Zodiac" Subject: DG: Re: Re: RE: RE: Encyclopedia Cthulhiana > > On a similar note, the Wildcards novels took that tact in the second >book, way back when the Tantric sorceror Fortunato was part of the series. >He said that HP Lovecraft's father was a Scottish Rite Mason, and that's >where he bastardized his mythos from, i.e. stuff he saw on his father's >bookshelf. > Be Seeing You, > Agent WALLACE > aka Eric Brennan I think I heard his dad really was a mason. However, he never really knew the man and grew up with his mom and aunts. I believe, I read that in Lin Carter's HPL bio. - -Marc "Know this. Elric cannot have what he desires most. What he desires does not exist. What he desires is dead. All Elric has is sorrow, guilt, malice, hatred. This is all he deserves and all he will ever desire." -Moorcock, "The Vanishing Tower" > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:50:46 -0400 (EDT) From: The Man in Black Subject: Re: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, THAT FOOL! Walter B. Haight wrote: > > Also...And this is just a pet-peeve. People saying "Nuculer". Gahh! I > >hate that. I saw a special on the History Channel and the commander at SAC > >was saying "We have the capability to launch a nuculer attack from here, at > >the...." The commander at SAC DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE NUCLEAR! > I have the exact same condition. It would irk me beyond all belief > when my high school physics teacher would say "nuke-ya-ler" instead of " > nuke-lee-ar". I feel your pain. YOU FOOLS! You do not understand the true nature of language! Language is a dynamic thing, both spoken and written. It changes over time. It changes over space (regional accents). It is beyond your puny comprehensions! Your fear and loathing of so-called "mispronounciation" only reveals your ignorance! Variance in Language is a *good* thing. It provide more accurate and personal means of communication when older forms begin to erode. Language merges into pidgins when cultures meet. New concepts are absorbed. Oboslete concepts are abandoned and old but applicable concepts ressurected. Language can be used as a measurement of cultures. Linguistics can reveal details about the military (ie The form "Nucular" shows the prevalence of Southern Accents in the military due to most training facilities locations in the American South and widespread recruitment from southern and midwestern regions, and how military culture unconsciously mimics this accent). Abandon peevishness and COMPREHEND! (NOTE: Use of this rant as a handout is permitted under section 84-B paragraph 18, OPERATIONAL ORDER: PEDANTIUM) The Man in Black is : Kenneth Scroggins Novus Ordo Seclorum : Annuit Coeptus : E Pluribus Unum ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:20:05 -0700 From: pkapera@juno.com Subject: Re: DG: Background Music > I also use very different music for the >Dreamlands sequences (Terry Riley especially). A useful source is that >I >also do reviews for an experimental music magazine which a friend in >the >UK runs and some of the stuff he has sent me is suitable, often very >atmospheric with no rhythm, words or melody just tones and timbre >being >explored. It certainly can help to scare the pants off the players. Any chance of you posting some of the names of the ones that were released - esp. in the U.S. (if you know). At the very least, let us know what magazine it is (I have a few shoppes I can go to to find import mags and CDs). - P. Controlled chaos is cool. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 20:04:46 -0700 From: pkapera@juno.com Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror) On background music: >>Films: >> Basic Instinct Cooler than you might think. Lots of good swells. >> Crimson Tide If you liked that, check out "The Rock" and, when it hits, "Armageddon" (scores only - I stay far away from words for background music). Beware "Con Air", though, unless you like the musical equivalent of a meat grinder roaming around in your head (so disconcordant, it's scary). > The Hunter, the Hunted (Alex Cremens). Really good. Available through Wizard's Attic, byt the way, along with its predecessor (which is arguably better), "Dark Themes >From Beyond." >The Fog (Carpenter) One of the best horror scores ever!! If you (or anyone on this list) has a copy of this, I would gladly pay shipping to mail a blank tape to you if you could copy it for me (it is long out of print, my copy was destroyed, and the record stores laugh at me when I periodically request it). Other stuff you guys can (hopefully) use (long): ** "Miracle Mile" score (Tangerine Dream; high energy). ** Thomas Moore - "Music for the Soul" (ominous holy music). ** "Alien 3" score (gods, this is good!). ** Anything by Dead Can Dance (words included, but good luck understanding very many of them!). ** "The Usual Suspects" score (as good as the movie itself. 'Nuff said). ** Orbital - "Insides" (particularly "The Box"). ** Anything by Recoil (highly industrial). ** About half of "Nostradamus" (alternately dark and happy; go figure). ** The Death Odors -" International Compilation" (Italian; limited to 1,000 copies, but it's a hour of sheer madness; mostly what I call "depth sound"). ** Tangerine Dream - "Zeit" (like the Death Odors, but not as immersing). ** "The Seventh Sign" score. ** "Psycho II" score (Jerry Goldsmith is a god). ** The usual scores ("Hellraiser", "Warlock", "Candy Man", "Jacob's Ladder", etc.) Good listening, - P. Controlled chaos is cool. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V1 #86 *******************************