Queueing Theory: A Delta Green Scenario

by TheVeryShyguy

This is my first Delta Green scenario that I have written, and it came from a place of hatred. Not for any specific people, groups, or the system itself. It came from my brief, but excruciating time spent waiting at the Canadian equivalent of the DMV. It was for something simple, just wanting to switch my drivers license to the local version as I had just recently moved into a new place.

I should have realized what I was getting into when I noticed the large but overflowing trash bin outside, full of bottles and wrappers from a row of nearby vending machines. What followed was a 1 hour and 20 minute wait in a hot, crowded and loud room. Time had seemed to come to a crawl, occasionally there was a child screaming, people had tired looks on their faces, as did I, waiting for what seemed like an eternity. Despite there being several counters, only 2 were being operated. I quickly became tired of the lights above my head occasionally turning off and the nearby loudspeaker belching out harsh strings of letters and numbers signaling one of the mass of people to come to the counter.

Finally, I was called forth, only to be told that there was a new system in place, and that the ID that I brought with me wasn’t going to be accepted. I left that building a broken and bitter man, and as soon as I returned home I spent the entire afternoon and evening working on this scenario.

I have written plenty of different campaigns for various TTRPG systems in the past, but it was the first time that I had written a fully fleshed out scenario for Delta Green. I spent hours researching the books, consulted city maps of Cincinnati, and various other scenarios like Operation Fulminate and Last Things Last for formatting and laying out the structure and flow of the scenario.

The biggest thing that came to mind as I was in the Canadian DMV was thinking of a suitable monster/creature to use to hammer in the psychological elements of this scenario. After a few minutes I landed on using a Lloiger, an entity that was suicidally nihilist, a living vortex of pain and suffering, one whose invisible presence gradually broke the minds of anyone nearby its stone focus. Such a thing was the perfect being suitable for this scenario, as its abilities were ideal for acting as an invisible presence that wears down the agents as they try and finish the scenario. I want to thank everyone who has helped me see this scenario to fruition, and to you, the reader, for taking the time to read this scenario. I hope the agents experience as much misery as I did waiting in that horrid place.

DELTA GREEN: QUEUEING THEORY

Background

On May 16th, 2003, a local Cincinnati news outlet reported a brutal murder inside of a 4-way intersection within a small neighbourhood on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Looking further into the situation and surrounding area, members of the Program have discovered that this neighborhood has recently been experiencing a large spike in violent activity and suicides. Small fights quickly turned into deadly brawls, road rage turned to vehicular manslaughter, and bouts of depression quickly became acute. The cause for this was unknown, and the police and hospital staff are quickly becoming overrun with cases. Delta Green has dispatched a team of nearby agents to convene at this neighbourhood and find and resolve this phenomena.

This is their story.

(The following information is for the Handlers eyes only, spoilers ahead)

Handler’s Information

In late 2000, Micheal Kelly, a senior manager, went on a trip to the Azores with his family. Among many of the things he brought back from his vacation was a stone he found while scuba diving. This stone was a Lloiger Focus, a stone that conducts the terrible physic energy of a being millennia old; a being that once ruled the Lemurians millennia ago in reptilian bodies.

Kelly decided to use the stone as part of some decor in an aquarium he had recently installed in his office. Unbeknownst to him, the focus began to feed on the peoples in its surroundings, slowly spreading its psychic influence further and further until its emanations reached a 5km diameter around the neighborhood’s DMV office. Over time, people began to suffer from the Lloigers power presence. Kelly has been suffering the worst of this phenomena, over the months he has been slowly deteriorating, trying to fight past the overwhelming physic force emanating from the nearby focus. What should be mentioned is that no one is actively malicious on their own in this scenario. Everyone is a victim of the Lloiger and its psychic powers, be sure to express that in people’s faces and emotions, especially the close you get to the DMV.

Involving the Agents

Delta Green is a secret organization that is buried within the United States government, using agents embedded within to seek out and cover up the paranormal and supernatural. Delta Green agents come from a variety of backgrounds, both within the public and the private sector. In this scenario, agents will be informed of the situation via an encrypted email from their handler. The message will include information and directions that will bring the PCs to a government building in Cincinnati where the Agents will meet with their case officer, Vincent Abernathy. After explaining the initial situation, the case officer will give the agents a box that contains DEA badges for them to use as their cover. Their cover story is to investigate the recent violence as part of a possible drug epidemic. After that, the case officer will tell the Agents to head to the crime scene to gather evidence.

The Crime Scene

At first, the agents will be directed by their handler to investigate a recent crime scene involving a road rage incident that occurred at a 4-way intersection. Arriving at the scene the agents will find that the entire intersection has been closed off by the police. Every access point is covered with police tape, with the area covered with police. In the center of the intersection are two cars, one of which has most of its back crumpled in, with the larger car still stuck to the vehicle. The smaller car’s driver side door is open, and on the ground is a chalk outline, the asphalt is stained with blood. (The Handler at any time in this scenario can make the appropriate sanity checks for the agents found within the Agents Handbook).

Should the agents make their way successfully to the center of the scene, they will meet with the forensic team sweeping the scene, the body having already been sent off the nearby morgue for an autopsy. (Autopsy will reveal a cracked ribcage, multiple contusions, any effects that preclude random and senseless violence enacted upon a person). The victim’s name was Alicia Day, and the perpetrator’s name is Jonathan Keyes).

Viewing the security footage reveals that the suspect rammed into the small car that was taking its time in front of a green light, the driver appearing to be on her phone. The assailant then gets out of his car, pulls her out of hers, and starts beating her on the ground while screaming the entire time. The assailant then stands there for a second, before looking around, (HUMINT roll suggests that the subject appears to be coming out of a fugue state). A high enough awareness will show that Keyes has a handgun, yet never once used it.

Within the neighbourhood, agents should find that some electronics will have difficulty working or outright fail at times, this will come in the form of luck rolls, as well as tech rolls should the Agents attempt to fix the issue or stop the glitching on their end. There is no time limit to this scenario, but agents are urged by their handler to find the source as soon as possible in order to prevent further lives from being lost.

Agents in the precinct might hear on the police radio of a disturbance of a liquor store, with suspect identification matching that of the traffic stop assailant. An agent in the area with a high psychology roll will have the idea that someone who has committed a violent action will try and drown their sorrows in alcohol or drugs.

A Complication:

A local cop, Caroline Winters, who was investigating the scene will be suspicious of the agents, doubting their legitimacy. She will attempt to stonewall the agents, or at the very least, investigate them pulling apart their aliases and begin investigating their actions throughout the scenario. (Cop was once a detective who got demoted to foot patrol after investigating the mayor against the chief’s orders).

The Liquor Store and Apartment

After getting some clues to head to the Liquor Store (Shots N Stuff), the agents will arrive at an active scene, where the assailant had incapacitated but not killed the security guard and, after taking a few bottles of whiskey and ran out the back. Agents can then engage in a tier 2 difficulty chase to get him. Should they fail the chase, they can track them down to his apartment by requesting assistance from the local police force, or by gathering clues from city hall regarding his apartment. Regardless of what occurs, the Agents can now question the man or investigate the body/apartment. The Apartment is a small brownstone building, with Keyes’ apartment being listed on the third story. The clues in this man’s wallet/apartment/testimony will reveal that the last place this man was before the attack was at the local DMV, having his license just renewed. Keyes himself works as an Uber Driver, while also looking for work at a local university in Mathematics. Local testimonies and investigations, agents can piece together a circle of these incidents, all leading back to the DMV as a last or second to last location, with most people ending up violent, suicidal, or drained.

Should the game be slowing down:

  • Agents can notice an ambulance and police sirens speeding towards a highrise where someone has recently jumped. All the body had on their unidentifiable person was a wallet and a phone. Within the apartment, or within the person’s wallet is a driver’s license from out of state, clues in the apartment should point to the person having attempted to have gone to the DMV to swap their license.
  • During the drive across the city, Agents should come across rowdy and dangerous drivers, cutting people off, tailgating, and all sorts of random events.

The DMV

Unknown to the agents, the Cincinnati Department of Motor Vehicles office is a nightmare, a nexus of hatred and despair, its unseen tendrils dig into the soft and supple minds of those unprepared and unaware of its malevolent nature. The building is an assuming one, a grey, drab building made with government efficiency and little to no character. Outside the door is a large trashcan, overflowing with empty bottles and snack wrappings. Inside of the building is a large room with various rows of chairs in the center, with a few set next to the building’s windows. Every now and again, one specific part of the room’s lights will flicker and randomly just shut off, not the entire lighting system, or just one bulb, just a few lights.

Despite there being several booths, only 3 are open, with one of them there is a small sign  saying “Out for Lunch”. In the last two booths are two employees, Lamarr Gibson and Margaret Stalsworth. Lamarr seems well meaning but overworked and stressed, having not had his lunch break in seemingly a long time. (Agents can deduce that via his expression, clothing, and nearby energy drinks that this man had been seemingly working for several days nonstop). Margaret, on the other hand, is a fusion of Patty and Selma from the Simpsons, constantly smoking, rude, and snappy, always stacking cards and documents, never being gentle. She blames this behaviour on her menopause, but any agent can tell that she’s lying. Neither attendant knows the reason for the recent outbreak of violence in the neighbourhood or are complicit in it, they are people, like everyone else, suffering from an eldritch being hidden in plain sight. While either one will tell the agents to schedule a meeting using the automated kiosk at the front, a cursory glance can tell that these machines are out of order. With the kiosks out of order, the agents are forced to wait in line until a meeting can be scheduled.

Across from the doors and next to the booths are a set of vending machines, one for drinks, and one for drinks. Trying to order an item is an ordeal in itself. For the most part, the machine will not take your money, always seeming to reject it, or if the agents are trying to use a card, it will state that the machine cannot read the card. In the event they succeed on a lucky roll to the Handlers choice, the machine will fail to properly dispense their product, stuck uncoiling the stack at the wrong moment. (The fault with the machines should always be technical.) The temperature of the room is warm, uncomfortably warm. It makes the agent’s mouth dry, they begin to sweat after a few minutes, it’s slightly humid, but not too humid. It’s even worse on account of all the people, men, women, accompanying babies and children, the elderly, it’s a mass of people, all trying to appease the machine that is the bureaucracy of the department of motor vehicles in their little rituals. Time seems to come to a standstill, one or two hours can seem like several, and vice versa. Agents that notice will take a 0/1 SAN if they notice then. The automated announcement speaker, which reads tickets with letters AND numbers, will announce the trinkets inconsistently.

Every few hours the Agents stay and wait within the DMV, each Agent will lose 1d4 willpower. This willpower can be restored should the agents leave the building and wait a few days, but they will lose their place in line. Randomly, some fights can begin to break out, arguments between people or general complaints can schedule into brawls, those of which are ignored by Lamarr and Margaret. At one point, likely through hour 6-8, a quiet, innocuous man in the center of the seated crowd will stand up, and chuckle to himself. Without saying a word, he will walk out of the building, and Agents not looking will hear a squeal of tires and a thud. Agents looking at the man walking away will see him walk straight into oncoming traffic, and will suffer the appropriate sanity loss of seeing the accident.

Should the agents finally make it to the desk, either the attendant will inform them that they need to fill out some paperwork, or that their system is undergoing a software update. They will then have to return to the line and wait. Should the agents attempt to sleep, the Lloiger will attempt to sap away their willpower. This can be expressed by the agents receiving headaches, eye strain, muscle spasms, and the like. If one of the agents were to go along into the bathroom a Queuer would follow suit, and then fly into a murderous rage while washing their hands near the agent, as their mind has been broken by the Lloiger.

Should the Agents finally snap and attempt to find the manager, security might try to stop them. If not, they will go through the back rooms to find a small set of offices, with paperwork piled high, computers that are bluescreened or showing errors, the printer is like the one from office space, never working, cranky, and always printing the wrong thing.

Kelly’s Office

Within this small private office lies the root of the problem. Inside is a small office that looks like it has never left the 1970s, with a faded red carpet covering the entire floor with fake wooden paneling all around. On the right side of the room is a small window at the top of the room. Below is a fish tank, with most of the fish moving sluggishly and seem to have some sort of weird growth on them, like tumours. At the end of the room lies a desk with a laptop, some cups, stapler, and a photo of a man with his family, smiling on the beach. Sitting at the desk is a man with balding hair and grey glasses, with a red tie and stained white shirt. He is sitting down with his arms folded in, slowly breathing. If spoken to, he is at first unresponsive. If insisted or shouted at, he gets up, slowly, showing a terrible sight. Parts of this man’s face no longer look like the smiling man in the photo, and instead seem to be covered in weird splotches and growths, one of which is in his left eye, pushing against the eyepatch kept underneath the glass lens. The man doesn’t seem to notice, and with a glassy stare, tells the agents that they need to schedule an appointment, almost in a tired, monotone voice. Lying in the aquarium is the Lloiger focus, should the agents attempt to make a move on it, the Lloiger will use everything in its power to attack. This includes using a vortex, suicide, induce rage, or use telekineses to throw things around in the entire building, or cause some of the Queuers to go berserk. This ends once the Lloiger uses up all of its WP it has stored, or if the agents somehow manage to break the Lloiger focus.

Stats

The Lloiger

  • Consult pg. 211 of the Handlers Guide for Lloiger stats, since this is only a single focus, use the aforementioned skills and stats.

Queuer

  • Roll up a standard human, stats can change slightly between people, don’t bother with non-combat skills.

Clues

Intersection

  • Chalk Outline
  • Crumpled Car
  • Forensic Analysis
  • Officer Testimonies

Precinct Mourge

  • Autopsy Results
  • CCTV Footage
  • Criminal Check on Jonathan

Keyes’ Apartment

  • DMV receipt
  • Updated License (for 2 days ago)
  • Sticky note on fridge
  • Jonathan’s testimony
  • Phone/Computer Reminder

DMV

  • Flickering Lights
  • Lots of energy drinks
  • Filthy Bathrooms (toilet and sinks show blueish green water)
  • Bad vending machines

Kelly’s Office

  • Family photo with note written on the back showing date and locations from Hawaii
  • Wastebasket with receipts for many new fish and aquarium filters
  • Computer shows google results on curses of taking objects from sites, as well as signs for taking stolen objects dating back months ago on search history
  • Testimony from Micheal in his lucid state
  • The blueish green water in the aquarium
  • The sluggish fish showing growths on them
  • A WebMD link related to symptoms which link to cancer diagnoses
  • A loaned book on mystery novels written by an obscure author

Characters

  • Officer Winters (31): A former detective who has hit the glass ceiling
  • Jonathan Keyes (28): An uber driver working on his math degree
  • Lamaar Burton (24): A college psychology student who is making extra money on the side
  • Margaret Stalsworth (43): A middle aged women who has checked out decades ago
  • Micheal Kelly (35): A middle manager family man who brought back something he shouldn’t have

Conclusion

Delta Green’s objective was simple, find the source of the phenomena that has led to the destabilization of the neighbourhood and neutralize it. Should these conditions be met and that none of the Agents actions be possibly traced back to the program, their case officer will be happy with the result.

Handouts

DMV Form:
Create a list of questions for the agents to fill out, have them fill in check boxes and answer questions about their name, identity, and other busywork to physically engage them in the paperwork. Once completed, the agents can return the paper, only to tell them that they have made a mistake and have used the wrong form. Take 1d4 willpower loss as a result.

 

TheVeryShyguy is just a guy who is shy, as well as a fan of TTRPGs, SciFi novels, and Crabs