Cthulhu Megathread: It's pronounced "Khlul'-hloo" (Lose 1D10/1D100 Sanity)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Cthulhu Megathread: It's pronounced "Khlul'-hloo" (Lose 1D10/1D100 Sanity)

uncertainty: Aug 8, 2011

I will be dm-ing a DG one-off soon and have not used this system / setting before. Which book is best to read for understanding the organization? The handlers handbook or are other sourcebooks better?

# ¿ Aug 11, 2023 04:54

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 13:41

uncertainty: Aug 8, 2011

Siivola posted:

If you want an entire decade's worth of metaplot in one dry book, handlerbook.

If you need just enough to get you through a one-shot, the free quick start adventure and maybe an episode of X-Files.

It's a one shot but with the hope to continue. I'm planning on doing last things last, but I want to flash out the DG background a bit more and maybe play it up at the end again. I'll check out the handlerbook and see if I can get through it!

# ¿ Aug 11, 2023 06:04

uncertainty: Aug 8, 2011

Flakey posted:

You're much better off waiting with the Handler Guide until after running Last Things Last. There's really nothing in the HG that will help you. I'd suggest the quick start and the Agent's Handbook for useful advice on playing DG.

Ok I will do that!

Owlbear Camus posted:

I'd second not drinking from the firehose till you run a scenario or two.

Cliff notes version:

Delta green is the "white hat" MIBs. Founded in 1927 after the Innsmouth raid made it clear fish people were real. Active in WWII against a rival Nazi occult group the Karotechia. A few members of that survived through mythos means and went to Brazil to do supervillain poo poo, but were eventually mopped up around Y2K.

1947 Roswell crash (highly staged) introduces the US to the migo, using the more humanoid classic greys as a front and staying behind the curtain. The US signs an Accord with them, MJ-12 is formed to exploit alien technology. Playing the long game the Migo (through the grays) make contact in the 80s and the government agrees to cover up some abductions and experiments in exchange for the Report (reputedly perfect intelligence on every other world power) and The Cookbook (comprehensive information on how to play with the human genome). This is of course a thorny gift and the boundaries are pushed and ignored by the fungi constantly.

They are the "black hat" MIBs and foils to Delta Green. Broadly: DG wants to destroy unexplained poo poo and bury it to protect people. MJ-12 wants to harness it for national security.

DG fucks up royally in Southeast Asia with a huge body count and gets shuttered in the 70s. People still read in keep it going, off the books, as an informal cell network without official sanction.

After the turn of the millennium through a number of machinations MJ12 is officially shuttered and Delta Green (euphemistically called "The Program") once again has official sanction as a highly clandestine but officially authorized government aparatus, and tries to draw the "cowboys" back into its ranks with moderate success. However some elements of MJ12 are brought in, and their remit to keep and study vs. destroy dilutes the mission. Many MJ-12 dudes break off into a contractor called March Technologies to keep playing with Mythos fire.

Some Delta Green dudes decide to stay out in the cold and work off the books rather than trust the state, even continuing to recruit into the parallel unofficial network. If your game turns into a running campaign that draws off the "official" setting, one of the big things to decide is if your agents are part of The Program or still part of the unnoficial Cowboy Network. The big difference is how much official cover they have vs. having to pull bureaucratic strings that can get them in trouble if uncovered, as well as whether or not they might be told to stop investigating something because it runs against March Tech's interests.

It's worth noting that with the level of secrecy both The Program and The Conspiracy operate on, the players may not know themselves, up to and including that the "other Delta Green" even exists. Their handler, whether Cowboy or Official very likely only reads them in on the barest need to know stuff. Their first inkling might be when a spooky event causes operational conflict with another group of agents investigating it.

This is *extremely* helpful, thank you!

# ¿ Aug 11, 2023 16:04

uncertainty: Aug 8, 2011

A few months ago I dm-ed my first Delta Green session going with last things last. It really helped me listening to the glass cannon play that scenario before to see what worked for them and what I wanted to change.

Soon I want to dm another one or two-off so I am looking for recommendations for podcasts or streams where reasonably entertaining people play short delta green scenarios.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2024 02:29

uncertainty: Aug 8, 2011

Awesome, thank you so much! I was looking into extremophilia (also considering convergence and the drove) so will try to find those episodes for Black Project Gaming first!

# ¿ Feb 1, 2024 05:55

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Cthulhu Megathread: It's pronounced "Khlul'-hloo" (Lose 1D10/1D100 Sanity)