Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu is different from the games we've played in the past. CoC is
about investigation, solving mysteries, and monster hunting. I've attached a
PDF that give you the basic idea of the game and an overview of the rules. The
actual rules are little more detailed that what is in the pdf, but it is a good
overview of the game. The thing to remember about CoC is that fighting
monsters and getting loot is not the main focus. There will be combat of course,
but it's very different from other games. If someone shoots at you with a pistol,
you could be seriously injured and possibly killed. If someone shoots you with a
rifle, shotgun, and an automatic weapon...well I hope your Dodge skill is high.
Most monsters will shrug off bullets like water. That's not to say you shouldn't
carry a firearm. Guns work great against crazed cultists, insidious government
agents, and sometimes the occasional monster. There's no resurrection or
"save your butt" points in CoC so you have to be wary about getting into a fight.
I won't be trying to kill your characters, but if you try and take on a monster
without doing some investigation first you could be in trouble. The X-files is a lot
like for Call of Cthulhu. Mulder and Scully always track down every lead possible
and follow ever clue. That's how you should think about playing CoC. For those
of you that "just like to shoot stuff" don't worry they'll be plenty of that too.
Delta Green
This campaign centers around an organization called DELTA GREEN.
In 1927 after an encounter with supernatural beings the US Government formed
a Covert Agency known as DELTA GREEN to investigate and combat the
supernatural. For more the 40 years Delta Green fought the supernatural,
including PROJECT WEREWOLF, the Nazi project to harness supernatural
powers to conquer the world. In 1969, after disastrous raid on a cultist camp in
Cambodia the government disbanded Delta Green. The leaders of Delta Green
decided that the supernatural was too much of a threat for them to simply stop
what they were doing. Delta Green began operating as an illegal conspiracy
within the US Government. In 1994, members of a rival Covert Agency, known
as Majestic (more on them later) assassinated one of the leaders of Delta
Green. As a result, Delta Green went underground. They organized on a cellstructure
with strict rules about communication. Nowadays, Delta Green Agents
only know and communicate with each other using code names.
Characters
In Delta Green there are two kinds of Characters: Delta Green Agents and Delta
Green Friendlies. A Delta Green agent is a member of the Federal Military, Law
Enforcement, or Intelligence Community who is directly involved in the Delta
Green conspiracy. A Delta Green Friendly is a regular person who has had an
encounter with the supernatural in the past. They may have run across a Delta
Green agent at work or been recruited by a Delta Green agent.
Agents
Delta Green Agents come from any of the Federal Military, Espionage, or Law
Enforcement agencies. There are many options if you want to play this type of
character.
FBI,CIA, IRS, ATF, DEA, EPA, NSA, Postal Inspectors, US Marshals, Secret
Service, even the US Fish and Wildlife Service are all possible DG Characters.
Don’t discount any of them, US Fish and Wildlife is one of the few agencies
whose agents actually how to track and receive the same weapons training as
the Secret Service.
If you want to play "the combat type" you really can't beat being a member of US
Special Operation's Command - Navy Seals, Marine Recon, Army Rangers, and
Delta Force.
Some of the Delta Green agents come from even less know agencies:
FinCen - Monitor Financial Networks and markets for signs of Criminal Activity,
Terrorism Funding, and Money Laundering.
Intelligence Directorate - Watch for Signs of nuclear weapons and technology
being bought, sold, or transported.
US Space Command - no not Nasa, these guys run all the spy satellites.
Federal Research Division - Tasked to "know everything about everything" in
support of Intelligence gathering
Bureau of Intelligence and Research - analyze intelligence from multiple sources,
correlate it and look for patterns (This agency has seen huge growth since 9/11)
It's pretty easy to get inspiration from Movies and TV for a Delta Green Agent.
Jack Bauer from 24, Mulder and Scully, and the entire cast of NCIS would all
make excellent Delta Green Agents.
Friendlies
Delta Green Friendlies come from all walks of life, they may even be law
enforcement as well just not working for the Federal Government.
The suggested careers for Delta Green Friendlies are:
Author - Any Kind if Writer really
Doctor - could be a Psychiatrist, Coroner, or any specialty of an MD
Engineer – Chemical, Electrical, Nuclear
Lawyer - Always good to have someone who can get you out of jail.
Parapsychologist - a Psychologist who studies the occult and Psychic Abilities.
Police Detective - includes Profilers, CSI's, and Forensics experts.
Police Officer
Private Eye
Professor/Scientist- not necessarily a college professor but a trained academic in
some field.
Antiquitarian - a unique career "collector of weird and unusual object and
information" might be a better description
Criminal - anything from a professional Thief to a mobster.
Dilettante - The Idle rich, not many skills but loaded with cash
Drifter - not a Bum but some one who moves from small town to small town
taking odd jobs
Computer Hacker
Journalist
Pilot
Zealot - You can call them terrorists, but they don't like monsters either. They're
pretty good with explosives too.
Anything you can think of can be a career choice for a Delta Green Friendly. In
past campaigns I've had a player who was a Truck Driver and one who was a
Street Bum. Some of these might not sound all that glamorous but keep in mind,
Indiana Jones was a professor. Nothing is keeping you from being an expert in
Anthropology AND Martial Arts.
Again there is lot's of inspiration for Delta Green Friendlies. Any of the
Characters from the various mystery shows can be a great idea for a Delta
Green Friendly. Law and Order, CSI, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, Bones, even
Ghost Whisperer.
In terms of what kinds of Characters are useful here are some Stereotypes that
work well in any CoC Game:
The Professor - who learns magic and increases their supernatural knowledge
while barley hanging onto his Sanity
The Sneaky One - who can break into places that you aren't allowed
The Face-man - who can talk people into things and talk their way out of trouble
The Combat Type- who doesn't learn anything about magic, keeps their Sanity
high, and is prepared to shoot things when needed
Physical Information Gathering - people who can examine an area for clues
Information Research - interpret clues and research facts to aid an
investigation.
Combining one or more into something new and interesting works as well; my
last CoC character was a combat type, with some thief skills, with a little
information research.
Psychic Abilities
In addition to the normal skills each character may have a psychic ability. This
isn't Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters though. You aren't a super-hero. The
psychic powers are more akin to the Stephen King Variety like in "Firestarter."
The abilities may work when you don't want them to, not work when you really
need them, give you headaches and nosebleeds, and occasionally save your
butt. I'll go over psychic abilities more when you make your character but be
thinking about what kind of power you might want. You don't have to have one if
you don’t want but it’s an option.
Majestic
Delta Green has more than a few enemies but the big one is Majestic. In 1947,
a spaceship crashed in Roswell, NM. This was real. The government recovered
the spaceship, an alien corpse, and a live alien. Majestic was formed to deal
with aliens much like Delta Green was formed to deal with the supernatural.
Majestic made contact with the aliens and came to an agreement know as the
“Accord.” The Aliens agreed to trade hi-tech secrets to Majestic in exchange for
a few "favors"; mostly turning a blind eye to the kidnapping and experimentation
on humans. Majestic also covers up all evidence of alien activity. This didn't sit
too well with Delta Green. DG agents were bleeding and dying to protect
humanity from the supernatural. Majestic was not only allowing alien
experimentation on humans but were helping cover it up! A shadow war started
between the two agencies which Majestic assumed they had won with the
disavowment of Delta Green in 1969. However, Delta Green was still operating
illegally and continued to work against Majestic. In 1997,One of the leaders of
Delta Green discovered something about the aliens that was even more
insidious. A Majestic-12 hit team killed him and began to systematically target all
members of Delta Green. This drove Delta Green underground.
MJ also has another interest in the DG agents and friendlies. One
division of Majestic does research into psychic abilities. Their official name is
the Department of Scientific Intelligence, but everyone knows them as "The
Shop." Their research usually involves kidnapping and experimentation on
psychics. More than a few psychics end up working for Delta Green after they
are rescued from a Shop research lab by DG agents.
Delta Green as an organization has a lot of information on the supernatural,
Majestic, and the Aliens. During play, you may be able to access some of this
information, including what the Assassinated Delta Green leader found out about
the aliens and why he was killed.
