From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Davide Mana [doctor.dee@iol.it] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 9:51 AM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: Check this out. Cheers! If you are out there, you might like to check this out http://www.echelonwatch.org/ take care. Davide Mana Torino, Italy doctor.dee@iol.it The Ice Cave - http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/leiber/50/ice_cave.htm From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Joseph Camp [alphonse@delta-green.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 1:53 PM To: dgrpg Subject: DG: Christian Conkle Games With NSA Christian Conkle, a former subscriber here, attempted to infiltrate the list with the following piece of disinformation, no doubt on the orders of his new masters. As non-subscribers are barred from sending email to the list, I am forwarding it on myself for educational purposes. Should anyone wish to sanction Conkle directly, his email address appears below. Such sanction is not approved by A Cell, but we probably wouldn't mind, either. be seeing you, Alphonse --- From: "Christian Conkle" To: Subject: Gaming with the NSA Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 12:20:03 -0500 Hi all, I'm back. Though you probably never missed me. I've been unsubscribed since about July. I just wanted to check in and say I've now moved across country and am living in the Washington D.C. area. It's wierd to be living where I used to set my DG scenarios, and where most of the X-Files action takes place. I also just wanted to say that for the past 3 months I've been gaming with a group of guys I met on the Mekton Zeta Mailing List. They also happen to be Military Intelligence working for the NSA (cough) I mean the Defense Department. Yes, it's true. Every other Saturday for the past 3 months, I've been taking the Green line out to Greenbelt, Maryland, then getting picked up and driven to Fort Meade and gaming in the shadow of the NSA building with guys who tell me the coolest stories, both military and NSA. They are also some of the best gamers I've ever played with. First of all, one of them owns every NSA-related film ever made. Sneakers, Mercury Rising, Enemy of the State. He gets a kick out of them. He jokes about the NSA death squads and how the aliens are stored in the basement. They always joke about the NSA death squads and the public perception of the NSA. The reality is that the NSA are a bunch of military specialists and civilian wierdoes, either very thin or very fat, and all geeks. Second, there really are those palm-print and retina scanners. I thought that was a Hollywood myth, but they're real. Third, the NSA really does hire Idiot Savants who are good with numbers and patterns. I thought that was a Hollywood myth too. Several of the guys tell me stories of wierd people they see roaming the halls. Fourth, speaking of wierd people roaming the halls, I am told by several NSA employees that there are people who walk the halls with one hand always touching the wall. Even over door jambs and windows, a hand is feeling along the wall. When asked why, the response was that they were looking for holes in space, where their hand can pass through the wall. Multiple anecdotes confirm the same response from multiple hall-walkers. Fifth, when I joked about Project Echelon monitoring every phone and e-mail in the U.S., thinking that was an exaggeration, they responded rather matter-of-factly that although it can, they generally target suspected terrorists and that less than 10% of it is ever really utilized. They weren't aware that I was joking. Be seeing you! _________________________________________________ Christian Conkle Web Developer - National Committee for Quality Assurance conkle@mecha.com - conkle@early.com - conkle@ncqa.org From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Davide Mana [doctor.dee@iol.it] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 3:06 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: Vaulting over the Fence Greetings. I will not post a long session write-up, but just a briefer post-mortem this time. Suffice it to say that after a quick and incredibly focused summary of last week's game, the team kick-started an almost perfect investigation. They split to interview potential witnesses, using coherent contacts to gather further data. They have by now a general overview of the events: they know a vampire of sorts has been stalking Vietnam these last few months. They know it last hit in Da Nang and they are almost pretty sure it's currently posing as private Williams, that was sent to theoperations area up north just twelve hours before they closed in on him. Alien parasite ('body snatcher') theories have been reviewed together with a lot of others, and when we closed the dances yesterday night at two a.m. (terrible hours considering me and another guy were to rise and shine at 5.30), the team was boarding a Huey chopper to get in the hot zone and track the Traveller. They have a lot of data and some pretty heavy ordnance, and the fact that this will be 'chasing Santana' all over again, with the added bonus of jungle, Viet-Cong and booby traps, we're in for some pretty stiff action next week. MJ involvement is still a big question mark (see below). A link with Tiger Transit has ben established and will be reinforced in our second scenario. Character creation and development rules are now working properly. [incidentally, say what you like - the Basic RPG engine is excellent for this kind of semi-improvised retrofitting] This said, I'll allow myself a pair of very personal considerations and then get to the meat of this post. Very personal consideration: my team was once called (not by me) 'the best CoC team in Turin'. A very stressful experience with "Masks of Nyarlathotep" led to complete team and keeper burnout. Currently the guys do not know they are playing Cthulhu - the most paranoid are probably thinking ConX, the others are just coming along for the ride. It was uncanny therefore seeing the old CoC muscles getting at work again - the last two sessions have been one of the two or three best pieces of roleplaying I've seen in fifteen years. Effortless, elegant, perfectly balanced, incredible team work - even our resident munchkin has been absolutely brilliant. I guess we'll always be a Cthulhu team. And I drink to that. Now, on to two considerations that might call for list input. But as I'll discuss published scenario and sourcebook details, here comes the mandatory > > SPOILERSPACE: DG players keep out. [ragazzi, se siete là fuori questa è l'ultima occasione per andarvene] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED [appunto] > > a - MJ/DG relations in 1968-1975 The original "Puppet Shows" storyline does include notes about MJ involvement. Fine as they are, they are focused on the 1990s setting. Now, how would MJ and DG interact in the late sixties/early seventies? Of course, the relationship is evolving, but.... 1968: While DG is basking in the last few days of out-in-the-open, Cowboy-variety free rein, the MJs are already in their post-Dallas phase - they are getting more paranoid by the day, and their power-hungry streak is showing. Both teams have been looking at each other with open contempt ("Spook-chasers"7Techno-freaks") and are probably getting increasingly suspicious at each other. And yet, both teams are currently at play in the same field. Q: is a joint op still possible? Q: is the kind of "we get the beast you keep the tech" deal that my players might favour still feasible? My personal answer is no to both. On one hand, MJ are doing all they can to become invisible - a joint op with DG might be seen as a possible security breach. On the other, DG might not like to side with people shooting presidents. And yet, there's a lot at stake, and both sides might look at the above agreement as a winner. Or MJ might try and use the DG team and afterwards just retire them (this one I like and find likely, but I'd hate to see my campaign turning into "DG vs MJ" as the survivors decide to retaliate). Any opinions, suggestions or what, out there? b - Gorging The Traveller According to the Traveller write-up in the Book, the critter feeds on blood (check) and on strongly negative emotions. Imagine our little wormy friend inside the body of a Marine Corps man deep in the combat zone, Vietnam, just after the Tet. The guy is like the proverbial sweet-toothed fat man in the candy shop. What could this do to our alien visitor? Would he feed himself stupid? Would he react as many living things do, and start reproducing? Would he just call some friends and ask them to bring a few six-packs and some chicks? As I already said, list input is more than welcome. And here I stop. Take care. Davide Mana Torino, Italy doctor.dee@iol.it The Ice Cave - http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/leiber/50/ice_cave.htm From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of John Petherick [jpetheri@cyberbeach.net] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 7:14 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: [DG: Vaulting over the Fence] At 04:53 PM 11/17/99 PST, you wrote: >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> > >>b - Gorging The Traveller >>Would he feed himself stupid? >>Would he react as many living things do, and start reproducing? >>Would he just call some friends and ask them to bring a few six-packs and >>some chicks? > >Oh yes;- breeding. Definetely. > I can see the Traveller reproducing asexually. Just getting bigger and bigger, increasing it's size and POW. Maybe needing a larger host, definitely leaving larger exit wounds. Until it reaches critical mass and fissions, possibly into two smaller organisms. Or, even better, encysting somehow and then bursting forth with a plaque of little Travellers. Hmm ... encysting in a host, complete with some compulsion to seek out a large number of suitable hosts for it's offspring. Sounds like it's time for R&R in Saigon .... Of course, it's possible that the offspring are antagonistic and cause their hosts to compete until only a few survivors are left causing even more carnage in the big city. Or possibly there's an instinct to disperse, making infected hosts travel to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Australia, the States, etc.. ********************************************************************* John Petherick, CIH jpetheri@cyberbeach.net From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Nick Brownlow [stabernide@netscape.net] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 6:26 AM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Traveller life cycle[ Was: DG: Vaulting over the Fence]] >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> >-> > >I can see the Traveller reproducing asexually. Just getting bigger and >bigger, increasing it's size and POW. Maybe needing a larger host, >definitely leaving larger exit wounds. Until it reaches critical mass >and fissions, possibly into two smaller organisms. This is my take on Traveller reproduction; being the disgusting blob variety of creature it just bloats on blood until it gets too big for its host, then 'buds off' another of its kind, which then exits the host in his excrement, vomit, or whatever. appealing as the 'fission' explenation is, however, the DG rulebook talks about a 'larval' stage in the Traveller's development, implying the offspring won't be a copy or clone of the original Traveller, but rather an immature version. It will instinctvly find its way to a suitable host (or perhaps be assisted by 'Dad') in which it will grow to adulthood within a few days. it is only at this point that it becomes capable of controlling its host. Perhaps the Traveller only grows the apparatus neccesary to plug into another organism's nervous system after it has gestated inside it for a while (which raises an interesting question;- can it grow new apparatus should it suddenly find itself inside, say, a fish? Or is it stuck preying on humans/mammals for the duration?). I would also add to this the idea that the Traveller's aren't very intelligent in themsleves- rather they plug into a host and use their brain; the squidgy thing crawling across the floor has no more sentience than an amobea. They do however, retain a 'memory' of sorts between hosts; allowing them to become gradually more intelligent as they gain more experience of their hosts thought processes. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Graeme Price [graemep@immagene.mcg.edu] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 7:55 AM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: Traveller life cycle[ Was: DG: Vaulting over the Fence]] [SPOLIER SPACE REDACTED - DAVIDE'S PLAYERS PLEASE SOD OFF!] >This is my take on Traveller reproduction; being the disgusting blob variety >of creature it just bloats on blood until it gets too big for its host, then >'buds off' another of its kind, which then exits the host in his excrement, >vomit, or whatever. First off, I question whether the Traveller needs to reproduce for the purposes of Davide's scenario. One of the problems would be what does the Traveller gain by doing so? In this case it would only attract attention, and if we go by Puppet Shows as the yardstick, it makes a concious effort to cover it's tracks by moving from host to host and eliminating the evidence. Not only that, but the offspring would be effectively stranded on earth (only room in the globe for one of them). This objection also applies to the "grows out of control" possibility (not enough room in the ship - but see below). The offspring could continue on it's spree of course, but I suspect that unless it's well handled by the Keeper (note: there's no suspicion that it won't be!), the thing could get a little bit samey for the players. I like the option of having it bloat within the host, and the thought of it spewing little golfball sized baby travellers instead of faeces is rather disturbing... Reproduction by binary fission is biologically plausible, but (to my mind a little bit mundane). I have been knocking around a few thoughts about chemcially encoded memory lately though and this seems like a good place to expound, so.... If you take the idea that the Traveller is effectively a highly structured blob, with internal organs arranged inside a flexible tube and a dispersed nervous system (no centralised brain). Couple that with an ability to store sensory input and output (behaviour, memory, personality [such as it is]) by encoding them into chains of some organic compound (doesn't matter which) that can be exactly duplicated as the organism divides. Then go for the reproduction scenario as follows: First traveller finds suitable host and divides. The memories are copied exactly to the new Traveller and you now have two identical Travellers with the same memories and abilities. One of them now gets back into the spaceship and leaves to make it's report. Other one now sets about building it's evil empire. Only now it doesn't want to divide right away (as this would attract attention), so it enters a new host and begins to grow more complex reproductive organs - allowing it to produce cysts containing larval baby Travellers. Of course, this would result in it getting much, much bigger causing the host to swell massively (I'm thinking Brando in Apocalypse Now... which seems strangely appropriate) and begin discharging the cysts. Perhaps some of the cysts would be hatched and used to control slaves for the Big Fat Traveller (Psychic control by BFT with limited personality/autonomy for the slaves type thing) to provide protection and food. Perhaps some would then begin constucting new spaceships even. This could be very fun to run... imagine a village or ruined temple taken over by the Big Fat Traveller, surrounded by semi-zombie Traveller slaves, with a bloated former human in the centre building spewing out little Traveller eggs whilst his drones disassemble wrecked Hueys and stolen electronics and rebuild them into a giant something.... with the Door's playing "The End" in the background. Super. Anyway, just a few thoughts which popped to mind after reading what other guys had written. Later Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Tim Craft [deadtim@thefaxcompany.com] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 11:44 AM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: DG Newbie Hello, all. I purchased about two weeks ago both Delta Green books, devoured them, and now I'm a big DG/Pagan fanboy. My first DG (and CoC) campaign starts this Saturday, and I'm wondering if any of you have *any* advice on how to make it a successful one. Things I should avoid, things I should read, etc. Yes, I've scoured the net, Ice Cave, and I have that GREAT character generator (Byakhee). But I'm still a wee bit on the nervous side (which is odd, I've been gamemastering for years). Which is a good adventure to start with? (I'm thinking Puppet Shows, but I have two problems with it A) don't like the 'Coyote' angle and B) I want the PC's to have a choice in the agency they come from (Puppet Shows is geared primarily towards FBI).) I LOVE 'Night Floors' (despite the semi-weak ending), and I'm wondering if I should just use that as a beginning adventure (modified a wee bit, of course). My last question is this: I have no doubt it has been brought up before, but I am a big fan of the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley. Do any of you out there run a Delta-Green/E-Branch hybrid type of campaign? How successful is it? Ok, I'm all questioned out. For now. =) DeadTim "The only good Tim, is a DeadTim." From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Bruce Ballon [Bruce_Ballon@camh.net] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 4:09 PM To: 'dgrpg@delta-green.com' Subject: RE: DG: DG Newbie Howdy, I don't know the name of the movie, but I guess the scenario in Dwellers in Shadows from Triad has a Skinwalker scenario in it as well... Bruce -----Original Message----- From: Doug Iannelli [mailto:djiannelli@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 4:46 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: DG: DG Newbie There's a movie (and goddamit, I can't remember the name so somebody else help me out here) called "Shadow somthing" that seems to have either heavily influenced or been heavily influenced by "Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays. It stars Scott Glenn as a law enforcement officer assigned to pick up a convicted killer from a Navajo Nation reservation. Said con end ups being a "Skinwalker" and escapes, resulting in a cross-desert manhunt on horseback trying to apprehend this homicidal/supernatural threat. "Skinwalkers" in true American Indian folklore (Navajo specifically) are their answer to the European vampire and shapeshifter mythology. There's much more to the story - but concisely put, the Skinwalker can consume the likeness or another. So...... That's the basis of my twisting the "PSASP" plot to make it a little less dependant on the Coyote Spirit. The local tribe (Navajo in my game, rather than Apache) believe the killer is a Skinwalker and very dangerous. Yes, the cede, he's one of them, but he's also very much unlike them. The Coyote Spirit can be used as a manifestation of Santana or an opposing supernatural being, it's up to you. I've opted to make him a baddy so as to immerse the PCs in their utter ignorance of Native American mythologies. As for character classes, here's my solution: One player's a Federal Investigator. Another an INS agent because Santana's killed in Mexico in my story. The rest can be all manner of other federal investigators. Marshals after the AWOL soldier, Alphabet soup types buying into the KEYHOLE Satellite story of the Majestic boys, etc. Hell, how about a Bureau of Indian Affairs special agent? Hope this helps. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Davide Mana [doctor.dee@iol.it] Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 4:45 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: The Fence is Up! Greetings. Last message for tonight. The Across the Fence pages are up and running. You get the general feel of the site, rules, bibliography, some stolen pics and the promise of lots more to come. The URL is http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/zenith/134/dgfence.htm Get there if you like, take a look around, let me know what you think. Over. Davide Mana Torino, Italy doctor.dee@iol.it PS: just in case... I have not forgotten about the Cave. I'll start moving on the night of the 26th of this month. From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Nick Brownlow [stabernide@netscape.net] Sent: Friday, November 19, 1999 6:06 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: [DG: COC SPELL DESCRIPTIONS: Consume Likeness, Dominate] >I have some personal experience with the Hermetic/Western occult as well >as the Voudoun systems of Magick, so I could probably offer a few decent >descriptions of ideas for spells; Check out 'Liber Kaos' by Peter Carroll for what Grant Morrison calls 'punk' magick (as opposed to the 'prog-rock' tradition of the Hermetic occult). probably better suited to Mage than CoC, but food for thought nonetheless. Particularly useful for linking magickal theory to the field of quantum physics and mathematics. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of That Lech Guy [lechvoxen@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, November 19, 1999 6:08 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: This week's Horoscope! So everyone can plan their weekend, I'm presenting the Delta Green Horoscope for your viewing pleasure... The Delta Green Horoscope Aries: (March 21--April 19) Let the sun shine in! Take care of those pesky voices in your head once and for all with a healthy trepanation. Taurus: (April. 20--May 20) People want to meet you. Sure, being part of a government conspiracy can be fun, but now that *everyone's* following you, perhaps you should be a bit more paranoid. Gemini: (May 21--June 21) What's that shadow on your back? Exercise sounds good, but won't get you far. Ever try outrunning a Byahkee? Cancer: (June 22--July 22) Everything becomes easier today as your friends begin using one-word names. Let them think you find it funny, then hand over their real names to those guys in the van that's always following you. Leo: (July 23--Aug. 22) Things look different today. Is it the rain? Perhaps your mood would be better if you weren't trapped in a Mi-Go braincase. Virgo: (Aug. 23--Sept. 22) Make new friends and solve financial troubles! Let the men in the black helicopter take you away and you'll never need to worry about bills again. Libra: (Sept. 23--Oct. 23) The stars are right! But you might be wrong if you think you're going to survive Cthulhu's rising. Hedge your bets and join a cult. Scorpio: (Oct. 24--Nov. 21) Watch out for lead poisoning. Keep on your toes today - a hail of bullets from an office building might just ruin your date with the cute receptionist. Sagittarius: (Nov. 22--Dec. 21) You discover something new today! Perhaps you should have heeded the old man's advice, but the old book was just too darn cool. You won't find it on Oprah's list, but this Necronomicon's one book you just can't put down! Capricorn: (Dec. 22--Jan. 19) Take note of your surroundings. If you suddenly find yourself in a space ship high above the earth's atmosphere, chances are you didn't take the wrong exit. Aquarius: (Jan. 20--Feb. 18) Watch out who you insult. Those aren't just friendly Jehovah's Witnesses pounding on your door - when in doubt, be sure to kill off the entire cult when you burn their stronghold to the ground. Pisces: (Feb. 19--March 20) Today's not your day, but plan ahead just in case. Once you find out Secrets Man Was Not Meant To Know, you be glad you left your gun at home … ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of That Lech Guy [lechvoxen@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, November 19, 1999 6:48 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: Re: Traveller life cycle I love it!!!! I was just looking for that perfect little interlude, and Vietnam was going to be the setting. Now I have everything I need. Watch for the Identity Crisis Campaign update soon. And you sir, may take a little gold star and place it on your forehead... Cheers, -lech ------------ This could be very fun to run... imagine a village or ruined temple taken over by the Big Fat Traveller, surrounded by semi-zombie Traveller slaves, with a bloated former human in the centre building spewing out little Traveller eggs whilst his drones disassemble wrecked Hueys and stolen electronics and rebuild them into a giant something.... with the Door's playing "The End" in the background. Super. ------------ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of REFLECTING SKIN [reflectingskin@hotmail.com] Sent: Saturday, November 20, 1999 3:45 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: [DG: COC SPELL DESCRIPTIONS: Consume Likeness, Dominate] Yep, Liber Kaos, Liber Null and Psychonaut, Psybermagick, Prime Chaos...got the whole rack of those...The old school stuffed shirt is a little more the flavor of COC I think, but hey with Delta Green its a modern world, Im sure at least ONE Kaos Keraunos Kultist has stumbled upon a formula for unleashing Eldritch Horror. Ref Skin ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Gregory A. Muir [gregmuir@flinet.com] Sent: Saturday, November 20, 1999 9:12 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: DG: Buffy the Vampire Slayer > It has come to my attention that a suspiciously familiar group has been > portrayed recently on the popular program, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: a > recent episode featured a secret government or government-related operation > based out of the local university, which uses highly-trained troops (one was > referred to as a "Special Agent") to hunt and capture vampires and other > demons, and university resources to hold, study, and dispose of them. The Yes, it seems quite similar to Delta Green. There is also evidence of a group similar to NRO Delta as well. In previous episodes allusions to government-sponsored coverups of demonic activirty were made. At the end of an episode involving a young girl who discovered how to become invisible we see her captured and abducted by government agents. In the last segment of the episode we see the "treatment" the agents promised her. We see an instructor in a classroom full of desks with books. The instructor says to the room "turn to chapter 9." We see every book in the room open and turn to that chapter. The page reads "Chapter 9: Assasination." "cool," the invisible student responds. I think a Delta Green/Slayer crossover would be fine Section 8 material. > leader of this operation works or poses as a professor at the university, > and at least some of the more young-looking personnel pose as students. > Considering the show's past allusions to Lovecraftian subject matter, its > portrayal of covert government activity might bear monitoring. > > Of course, it will most likely prove harmlessly inaccurate. > But of course. :) From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Steven Kaye [box_nine@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Sunday, November 21, 1999 3:42 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: Game in the New York Metro Area Having kibitzed about Delta Green long enough, time to put my money where my mouth is: Vietnam's wound down, but don't worry, Lebanon's coming along nicely, and they're already inventing bombs for the next big one. Unemployment and inflation are high. New York's in the grip of one of the hottest summers on record. A serial killer's stalking blondes with a .44. Cocaine's the rage at all the parties. New York City's been hit with a blackout, twelve years after they swore up and down it could never happen again. Arson, riots, looting, rape. That's par for the course. Funny thing, though. Some of the women claim their attackers weren't human. No Alphonse to hold your hand. No Adam to take care of the paper-pushing. No Andrea to clean up the mess. Reggie? Who's Reggie? It's July 1977. Welcome to LIFE DURING WARTIME. Agents are cordially invited to a psychotic opera, targeted to commence January 2000. To maximize security, this will be a live simulation, colloquially termed "face-to-face." One of our agents has acquired space in a former pencil factory in Jersey City for this purpose. For further details, please send e-mail to box_nine@ix.netcom.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Steven Kaye box_nine@ix.NOSPAM.netcom.com "In short, we did all we could to stimulate an official discovery of the ghastly wreck, without making reference to incredible manifestations, or to humane but illegal acts of euthanasia." -- Michael Shea, The Colour Out of Time From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of PM [mermoud@easynet.fr] Sent: Sunday, November 21, 1999 5:29 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: DG: Buffy the Vampire Slayer >> It has come to my attention that a suspiciously familiar group has been >> portrayed recently on the popular program, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: a >Yes, it seems quite similar to Delta Green. There is also evidence of a >group similar to NRO Delta as well. In previous episodes allusions to Not to mention some report of strange experiment involving fish (or fish people) DNA on some college swimming team that made them evolve into some strange hybrids... Definitely ICE CAVE stuff. ============================================= Patrice Mermoud (Paris - France) mermoud@easynet.fr mermoud@multimania.com ============================================= From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Val_Salvis@webtv.net Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 7:34 AM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: DG: All want for Xmas is... MY DGML SHIRT!! Yes, the one I Voted for Umpteen months ago, and the one I Gave T&C Corp my credit card # for...any news when this or if this is going to take off? there's some shirts on the Outsider that I'm starting to itch for, and I'm tempted to shift my credit that way if the DGML shirt doesn't fly. Don't get me wrong, the DGML shirt is my fave but if the deadbeats who requested one don't start paying the kitty, I'll have too move along, tired of Tshirt Limbo! BCNU, Matt From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Jay Dugger [duggerj@reed.edu] Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 9:18 AM To: Delta Green Mailing List Subject: DG: Consume Likeness -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 How would you learn Consume Likeness? One, you might learn by assisting its casting. Two, you might learn it from a grimoire. Three, you might re-invent it. Assisting another spell-caster doesn't imply cooperation. A slave or servant might inadvertently learn enough of the spell's procedure to reproduce its effects. Obviously, simple cannibalism doesn't reproduce this spell's effect so preparation (cooking) is critical. The spell's high cost (10 MP/6 hrs) makes a handy source of MP necessary for low-POW casters. A Mythos tome might include this spell, but I know of none in the published literature. Perhaps "At Your Door"'s Tcho-Tcho cookbook's hidden chapter contains it. The 1d20 SAN + 1 POW casting costs combine with its requirement for fresh bodies to make self-study impractical. Find a corpse, suffer the extreme horror of cannibalism and then self-hate as your flesh warps, runs and flows into the semblance of your past few meals. Finally, you might re-invent the spell. A serial killer with cannibalistic tendencies might find his post-murder habits now allow him to assume the looks of a devoured victim. Miscasting another spell, such as Food of Life, might yield these results. Perhaps a caster needn't consume a corpse. If the spell doesn't reform the caster's body into the image of the victim, it might materialize some ectoplasmic shell about the caster. Imagine a full-body stocking that responds like and appears as flesh, but made from some ethereal or astral substance or being. Consume Likeness might actually summon astral parasites to do the eating, force them into the victim's form and then bind them to the caster's body. This begs the question of how insubstantial beasts could ingest flesh, bone and sinew. The spell might tie the spirits into the caster's mouth and all the victim's meat actually vanishes into elsewhere. Maybe the caster allows those spirits to possess him for the duration of Consume Likeness's casting. The caster eats the victim's meat while the others swallow the victim's essence. An assistant then becomes useful to keep control of the caster's possessed body. Mishandling this spell could lead to horrific results. Mundane risks of disease aside, eating so much food in a short time might damage the digestive system. Rupturing your stomach or intestines is a gruesome possibility. Repeated switching between forms might fail half-way between two or more visages. What if your body forgot which form was which? What if your body failed under the strain? An over-stretched rubber band snaps. I leave the remainder of the analogy as an exercise for those with splatterpunk tendencies. Combining this spell with Consume Memories risks identity. Spell-casters using both spells on the same victim might find the deceased acting through them. Think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Since high SAN and POW losses accompany the spell, it seems unlikely any PC would suffer such a fate. It makes an interesting weakness in opponents, though: The unknown infiltrator aiding Cell F against their foes, Acolytes of the Purple Behemoth, knows things only Agent Fletcher knew. But he died in the raid in Maui, eaten at the cult's cannibal feast... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 5.5.5 for non-commercial use iQA/AwUBODiz+oJ4fAzAb7AFEQJv0gCg8EatoPfM7lDPl8zbmYzB4eeYzgYAni32 Ni5tuUjU9KJFPgqBD+0IJHa0 =dEKd -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --------- Jay Dugger : Til Eulenspiegel til_e@hotmail.com : duggerj@reed.edu --------- Sometimes the delete key is your best friend. From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Doug Iannelli [djiannelli@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 5:19 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: Team-assembling philosophy [was Re: DG: The Fence is Up!] It's interesting that team development has been broached as a topic of conversation among us. The idea behind my campaign "The Nightmare Factory" is an attempt to address this very issue. I, like many Keepers (and, I imagine, players) have grown bored with the usual two-dimensional character background delineating in very basic terms that PC's experiences and personality traits. Drawing from the DG recruitment synopsis provided in the core Sourcebook, I elected to run a campaign that chronicled the inception of a DG cell from its most base origins - the unsuspecting average shmoe who stumbles onto the greater (and darker) scheme of things. While only one character is currently being showcased in "Poker Night" on the DG site, there are also three others currently engaged in solo scenarios roughly coinciding with the events transpiring around Lt(jg) Chance Boudreaux. One of these in particular will cross over into Poker Night during Session 10, it looks like. The other two are engaged in two seemingly unconnected facets of the same story and are completely oblivious to each other and their respective activities. All of these stories will be showcased at DG.com when the time is appropriate (I don't want players reading transcripts from other scenarios and drawing conclusions). Now, don't get me wrong. This is ALOT of leg work on the part of the Keeper, trust me, I'm living through it right now. (Particularly with the scheduling of online games) But I am already seeing the benefits from the natural evolution of my individual player's characters without so much as an inkling from me as to how they should behave. By focusing the roleplaying on each individual player one at a time for starters (i.e. solo scenarios), the players are pidgeon-holed into developing a good personality base for their characters since 99.9% of the action revolves around them and their sole perception of what is going on. Good, well-portrayed NPCs are essential, as the detail with which the Keeper plays them is a good method of coaching players in detailed personality structures. Everyone has their weakness and faults, yet everyone has some redeeming facet. Sometimes it may appear generic at the outset (as in the staff at Liberty in Poker Night), but with time each NPC develops into a living, breathing person with whom the player character must interact. In Session 9 of "PN", which should post any day now, witness the distress that the PC displays at the loss of several NPCs. Also witness the different manner in which the PC, by this point in the game, naturally falls into his role as a medical officer and deals with each individual NPC. I could have wrote a novel for this player about his character and dropped him into the scenario and he still wouldn't be able to play him in such a multi-faceted and three-dimensional manner. When Boudreaux falls in with the second PC, Morgan McCrae in Session 10, both players will have some diametrically opposed views on the military's involvement in the local UFO thing as well as some (probably unspoken) concurrent beliefs. Boudreaux will be faced with a snooping civilian that could be a great ally, but is threatening the breakdown of order among the survivors at NAAS Liberty in her zeal to uncover the truth behind the UFOs. I will not have to coach this behavior one iota, trust me, it will come naturally. At the end of Poker Night, the two will again be separated in the course of the cover-up only to be reunited in a later (2-3 down the road) scenario. They may have fond or foul memories of their last exploits together and may in fact have suspicions about the true role of the other in the events at Liberty, i.e. "You're supposed to be dead." "Oh, yeah, well they seemed to know an awful lot about what we saw considering only you and I read those documents." That kind of shit. In the end, after each has played through their initial scenario (exposing them to some facet of the dark truths out there), their first (unbeknownst to them) DG Op, their "Jump at Those Shadows Boy" Second DG Test Op, and their final, as a complete new cell First Official DG Op, each character will indeed have a set in stone persona and a closet full of skeletons that will naturally dictate the way they view and do things. Now, for "Fence" or similar campaigns: I can't stress enough the benefits you, as a Keeper, can reap from a short solo scenario prior to running the actual campaign. It may include one or two of the PCs and may or may not be related to the later campaign. But it will set the characters with the diverse and potentially conflicting personalities that are common in military environments. This is also an excellent avenue by which to introduce some pertinent NPCs that will appear later on and to allow the PCs to develop some natural impressions about them. These preliminary scenarios also allow the Keeper to get a good feel for the player's style and afford him some insight of what to expect from this player and this particular PC. Is he brash? - maybe he needs a reality check? Too wimpy? - maybe he needs to be put in a situation that forces him to have his mettle tested. Just plain dangerous? - give him an ass kicking that nearly puts him six feet under. The ways to instill in influence PC behavior are only limited by the whiles and patience of the Keeper if he's up to it! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of Davide Mana [doctor.dee@iol.it] Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 3:51 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Traveller canned [was Re: DG: I feel like the only living corpuscle in a dead body] Greetings! Mark McFadden shook me and woke me up when he wrote > Just testing. No messages from one of the more prolific lists in my Inbox, >time to check. > Anybody out there? I'll assume only Yanks are celebrating any holiday. Not exactly. Apart from some personal, University-related celebration, I've beed dry-drooling on the copy of the "John Carpenter Catalogue" my brother just gave me as a belated birthday gift - huge selection of articles, lotsa photos, opinions and thoughts by The Man Himself, and the kid was able to flag down both Carpenter _and_ Argento today and got it autographed! John Carpenter kept my brother's pen, but what the hell.... Enough of this shameless showing off. Yesterday night my team entered the combat zone, faced the Traveller and put it in the can - literally. The development in brief, with notes. The team is dropped in on the field under enemy fire and starts tracking the unit in which the Traveller infiltrated itself. First Note - nothing better than a D30 to simulate random shelling from long-range field artillery. "OK, kids - this is a D30. The higher the roll, the closer the shell hits. Like this...!" [Keeper rolls a 23] "Hey, that was close! You ears are ringing but you were not even hit by the dirt and debris, so it's all right..." Under a steady fire from Charlie (or is it Friendly Fire?), the guys crawl through the undergrowth to a first US matrimnes position. The usual highly strung kid shots first and calls later, the team hits the dirt, the shrink returns fire - and kills the boy. First major sanity rattling. They keep going. As the shelling relents, strange noises are heard through the greenery. A pair of bushes are Wheed-Whacked (TM) using an M60, but nothing turns up. [what was that? Who cares - keeps the tension high] The team chances upon traces of fighting between Our Side and Them, stumbles on a weird and pretty racy piece of statuary lost in the jungle. At the base of the statue the Traveller has buried his ship. One for the homeboys. [the idol will be useful later - this is borderline tcho-tcho country, after all] As they spend the night among the brances of the trees surrounding the idol, the characters get the visit of a completely bonkers marine. he lost his kit, lost his way and lost his mind. The guy, corporal Hobbs, put back into working order and roughly questioned, relates a nightmare story of violence, warfare and desertion, culminating in scenes of canibalism and blood-drenched madness. The forest is silent. The shelling has stopped. The first rays of the sun are crawling over the eastern horizon (this is no "Green Berets") as the team finally reaces the site of the latest Traveller feast. Poor private Williams, the last host of the worm, is just one of the victims. While the doc and the engineer perform a hasty post mortem, the ranger and the OSI agent hunt for tracks and clues. The women cover them. It's pretty definite the new host is a marine. The guys do a small powwow. Hereabouts there's a marine with an alien lifeform in his belly. Hostile. Quick glances are exchanged. OSI officer to Corporal Hobbs (Homer Simpson voice): "Hey man, do you mind if I take a look at your boots....?" In the first turn, the Traveller Infested Hobbs strikes the M60 wielding ranger, throwing him a few yards away with a pair of crached ribs. Then he picks up an assault rifle and sprays the team, causing minor wounds. Finally he sprints away, trying to grab for the rucksack containing his ship, but misses. In a "Predator" rerun, the team bullet-defoliates a few hundred square meters of jungle. Ten seconds? Over. [the traveller reproduced over the night. While one copy ran to ground, the other got back to retrieve the ship and was caught by the team] The forest is silent again. Five men in a tight group, a lone, wounded officer a few meters away, and a predator in the greenery. Cue to music from Jaws. The players regroup, and decide to hold their ground. They have, after all, heavy ordnance aplenty. Second note: they are right. The Traveller is good for a modern-day, civilian/law enforcement setting. Face him with six scared players using M16s amd M60s and he's dead meat no matter what. Screw scientific data gathering. At this point I was pretty eager to let them get the first traveller in order to cover the retreat of the second, so I let them get it their own way. Otherwise, major fiddling would have been necessary. The Traveller wants his ship back. He knows he could simply stalk the team and get them one at the time, but his army memories allow him to understand that the team is asking for a tactical air strike on the area, so he knows his time is running short. He tries to attack the players with thrown stones (considering the strenght of the Traveller-enhanced Hobbs, a deadly weapon). Gets sprayed with bullets some more. He tries to goad one of the characters out of the group promising untold marvels in exchange for his ship (his host is dead and he wants to get another). For an answer, the players place a few Claymores over the ship and prime them. He attacks (he knows his better half is safe and sound by now) and gets fried royally. The remains are placed inside a jug and the guys get back to the RW point on the double. I will not cover booby-traps and Charlie patrols hindering them for the next sixteen hours. When they get to the chopper meeting point, they are surprised to find MJ man Col. Greene waiting for them with a black Huey (this was a smartass touch, I know). They hand over the dead and mangled alien but are successfull enough to convince him they never found the ship. With his patented Sneaky Bastard Evil Grin, Greene has them sprayed with some perfunctory BFG cover fire and leaves them stranded in the combat zone. The field pieces start pounding the land again. Time to put in action plan B. End of session. All in all, a pretty successful run once again. The characters are obviously planning revenge on Greene, but that'll have to wait for a while. For all practical purposes Delta Green has the traveller ship. And this is it. Back to Carpenter oggling. Later! Davide Mana Torino, Italy doctor.dee@iol.it The Ice Cave - http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/leiber/50/ice_cave.htm From: owner-dgrpg@delta-green.com on behalf of That Lech Guy [lechvoxen@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 4:56 PM To: dgrpg@delta-green.com Subject: Re: DG: You ARE the only living corpuscle in a dead body yes, it's true. no one else here on planet .com. in fact, you could say the entire world has turned away and left you to die in that vacuous idol you call a body. whew, who knew you'd bitch and moan so much... as for the real world around us, and the subsequent conversations of John Carpenter, i have a thought. back to my Yellow Sign sunglasses, what if wearing them revealed the "Real World" with all its rosey colors and death and decay. putting on the glasses would essentially be a short cut for reading The King in Yellow. you see everything clearly and now understand your place in the universe. but would you want to take them off? orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... what if player characters were sent to investigate a murder, but then found the bodies to be their own? would their names and identities now be switched, or was it just the physical bodies? certainly a sanity-shattering incident to see one's own dead body. another idea, which may or may not have come up: what if MJ12 were to recruit PCs before DG got them. they could be made pawns in the turf war, being led to believe DG is just a bunch of cowboys bent on ruining the technological advances given by The Greys. furthermore, the PCs could be given a taste of the wonderous technology, which would probably get them hooked, and then introduce these crazy federal agents running around with one-word code names who are trying to infiltrate the greater MJ12 structure and should be stopped at any measure. even better, what about recruiting one player (in a party) into MJ12 before DG gets brought up, and then, when DG comes knocking on the door, you already have one mole ready to do the dirty work. and you didn't even have to bring in the Outlook group... just some thoughts to stir up conversation before i descend into a four-day drinking binge. have a good weekend... yours, -lech >From: LizardRoi@aol.com >Reply-To: dgrpg@delta-green.com >To: dgrpg@delta-green.com, mark.mcfadden@warnerbros.com >Subject: DG: I feel like the only living corpuscle in a dead body >Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 15:34:01 EST > > Just testing. No messages from one of the more prolific lists in my >Inbox, >time to check. > Anybody out there? I'll assume only Yanks are celebrating any holiday. > >Mark McFadden >The Studio is a damn ghost town, right down to the tumbleweeds blowing down >Main Street (my office is by the western town sets) everyone split early to >take their place in the Thanksgiving lines at the airports, supermarkets >and >freeways. > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.comFrom: Majordomo@delta-green.com Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 6:11 PM To: sivey@zealot.com Subject: Confirmation for subscribe dgrpg -- Someone (possibly you) has requested that your email address be added to or deleted from the mailing list "dgrpg@delta-green.com". If you really want this action to be taken, please send the following commands (exactly as shown) back to "Majordomo@delta-green.com": auth fcc16947 subscribe dgrpg sivey@zealot.com If you do not want this action to be taken, simply ignore this message and the request will be disregarded. If your mailer will not allow you to send the entire command as a single line, you may split it using backslashes, like so: auth fcc16947 subscribe dgrpg \ sivey@zealot.com If you have any questions about the policy of the list owner, please contact "dgrpg-approval@delta-green.com". Thanks! Majordomo@delta-green.com