Yes. The first Delta Green scenario was Convergence which was released in a magazine in 1992. The writers continued to work on the setting through to the published release of the Delta Green supplement in 1997. The X Files, itself was also most likely released under the influence of hugely successful shows like Twin Peaks and Silence of the Lambs. In the 1990s, weird thrillers featuring FBI agents and the like were quite popular.

Chris Carter created The X-Files, which premiered on September 10, 1993. The soft cover book I own is copyrighted 1996. But speaks about a COC magazine where the concept was published earlier.

@@kellyjeaularson5786 The Magazine was The Unspeakable Oath issue 7, Fall 1992, which I have in front of me :-) The scenario is Convergence.

​@@rory7590Pagan described how they lacked a proper 90's setting. They thought players wanted to play an organization to have some framework. And as federal agents you can bypass that every scene where you must break into the coroner's.

​@@jamesthomas807They don't spell out the whole DG setting but they suggest you play the game as a federal DG cabal.

And gives the players agency. There is a reason for them to continue on investigating. It's hard to continue with a CoC campaign at times...

Delta Green used to have another organization called "Fate" that was basically the "Occult Mafia".

Wow, someone messed up. They would get way more applications if that was their name!🎉😂

Haven't played this. To make an analogy, it sounds like a Starfleet Intelligence vs. Section 31 vibe (dunno if you know what that is). Can you play as either faction? Or are the outlaws bad guys?

They're both morally ambiguous with similar goals but differing means and resources. Some "cowboys" even *pretend* to come in from the cold, but stay in touch with the "A-Cell" network and cover for them.

@@pocketheart1450 The closest analogy I can make between The Program and The Outlaws is the cop show "The Shield". The Program are the official, straight-laced government agents, who do things by the book and have official but conditional (i.e: follow the rules of engagement) support. The Outlaws are more like Vic Mackey's Strike Team, who very much work for themselves and their own agenda, which might not always be just moral, while ostensibly working within the same governmental apparatus for the same end goals. Neither likes the other, both think the other is a hindrance at best, enemies at worst, but they occasionally ask one another for help when one needs access to the other's resources, be it weapons, money, information or access.

@@WoobooRidesAgain The Shield was incredible. And okay, that makes sense. So the Outlaws are like interested in their own agenda, as opposed to the more straight laced lawful agenda of the Program. So my previous analogy doesn't work, because Starfleet Intelligence and Section 31 have ostensibly the same goals, but S31 are fanatics who will break any rule and commit any atrocity if it means securing the safety of the Federation.

​@pocketheart1450 The best way to distinguish them is they're both morally and ethically gray. But they have methodologies that make them different. The Program is more MiB and organized as a Gov't Black Ops Program. The Outlaws are very much home grown. Paranoid because they've been burned in the past and just as secretive. Without official support they get the job done by any means with sometimes caches of gear over 20 years old. Both target civilians who stray too close to the horrific truth and both face the unknown at great personal sacrifice.

You ARE the smoking man.

Might I suggest Roleplaying Public Radio, they are an audio only podcast that does a fair amount of Delta Green play through!

I have to admit I'm curious to see who would be the "vaping man", subtly undermining the groups investigation for their own nefarious goals. 😁

@@Hellbovine82, you've nailed the zeitgeist!

Roleplaying Public Radio and Pretending to be People are the two I'd recommend as well. God's Teeth is the greatest campaign I've listened to!

"The Rancor's Brothel" also has some very good Delta Green content, and capture the bleak comedy of the setting well.

this really ties back to its source material, where Lovecraft has such a low opinion of humanity that he thinks they'll drive themselves to death or insanity for little to no reason

@@ashegrey2321 That's great for a fictional short story you read on your own...not so much for a game you share with friends to have something we now find very elusive...fun. 🙄

The best way to ensure that your Investigators stay invested in the plot in CoC is to establish reasons ahead of time why their characters wouldn't want to simply "give up." This can be as simple as generally having the investigators be personally tasked with doing said investigation or something connected directly to it. This could be something a friend or relative asks of them, or maybe much more direct like that their day job requires them to do it. Even if it is only the initial hook that gets them involved in the investigation at first, that's fine if the investigation falling to them is a certainty due to them being the only ones able to deal with or aware of a danger that must be stopped. That especially works well if it is a world threatening danger like in Chaosium's CoC campaigns, Masks of Nyarlathotep, or The Children of Fear. Another way is to reinforce their involvement by making sure the players' characters have direct ties to the plot via their backstory that won't just "go away" if they decide to go home and stop investigating, or that basically lure the Investigators into continuing out of curiosity or something else, not unlike a Lovecraftian protagonist might typically be. Lastly, if there's no reason or way you can come up with to keep them from just quitting investigating the danger, and them choosing to do so isn't able to be worked into the plot so they can be pulled back into the thick of it, then you should let them know ahead of time that they would then need to create another character who is going to be motivated enough to stay or at least is prevented from backing out. Really though, it's on the CoC Keeper to work with their players to figure these things out ahead of time, so the game will progress smoothly and any potential roadblock is avoided or turned into another interesting way for the story to progress.

incredible!

@@MegaNinjaninja Why, thank you. My proudest moment from the campaign was when I had Stephen Alzis trick the group into assassinating a Senator. It hardly took any effort at all, the group had actually started trusting Alzis; he simply suggested that the Senator was involved in some shady activity, which the group just assumed to mean he was involved in a Mythos cult and human sacrifice. They tracked the Senator to a hotel room he was visiting with a prostitute, and shot him dead. Engaging the prostitute was the extent of his shady activity; Alzis just wanted the man dead and manipulated the group into doing it for him. The looks on the players' faces when they later found out was worth a million dollars.

Thanks!

They have Roll20 modules now, always a chance to find a game online

@@jmscalercio oh it's not about that, it's about not feeling confident enough to run a mystery horror game

I feel like "Impossible landscapes" is far closer to "True detectives" then X-files but otherwise I agree, it is excellent and very creepy.

@@loke6664 Absolutely! (I'm running separately, 2 individual unrelated campaigns)

@@Zenondikar It is a great game, but 2 campaigns at the same time is too much for me, Delta Green have a lot of prepare time unless you run modules. I think one of my favorite props for it is a conspiracy board with pins and red thread so my players can set up clues and try to connect things. It do help their thought process but I admit the main reason I use it is because it really sets the right mode. I also run a bit of CoC, I highly recommend "Viral" if you are into Cthulhu modern, it is a brilliant little adventure about 5 KZfaqrs who goes ghost hunting on a haunted island outside Sicily and really scared the crap out of my players. It is pretty similar to Delta Green and is a whole lot of fun for 1-3 sessions when you need a break from the other stuff you play, Drivethrough.rpg have it as PDF or a really nice hardback (but if you are getting it, pay the 1 extra buck for the PDFs so you can write out all the handouts). Seriously, if you don't use a conspiracy board, I recommend you getting one. Delta Green tend to have a lot of cool handouts like newspaper clippings, photos and files which is perfect to pin on a board. :)

Conspiracy X is much more action.

It's really fun, adventures can really go both ways giving you more horror or more intrigue depending on what you like - Maddie

It is...and the Delta Green game world and lore is detailed and substantial! Lots of published adventures ("scenarios"), campaigns and even novels. However, once you have the game mechanics down you will need to create adventures on your own for a "Monster of the Week" investigation (vampires, ghouls, zombies, cryptids, etc.). Most of the adventures at this point have you facing indescribable and indestructible cosmic horrors.

I'm really keen to play the UK setting - I've just started reading into it! Let me solve a mystery on the tube - Maddie

@@dicebreaker With such a rich history (and a supernatural history as well) it would be easy to find an unnatural baddie or cult to go up against anywhere in the UK. Also, I'm thinking of creating a PC or NPC character that is a canine! A dog would be useful to a K9 handler and an investigator as well. Just not Scooby-Doo 😂

The other org was in the former Soviet Union. You are FSB blokes fighting Ural cults, organitsya and the post-soviet system. Your budget is permanent but has not been adjusted for inflation since the 80's at the least.

I played Sentinels of Twilight for the first time a few weeks ago and it was amazing!! We had some perfect horror moments when everything started kicking off - Maddie

The amount of rolls in Delta Green where I'm desperate for a luck point 😭 hahaha but glad you enjoyed and definitely agree that the mechanics work really well! - Maddie

Interestingly enough, there is a similar canon "Canadian Delta Green" called M-Epic, which is described in Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (as well as in other places). It operates a lot like Delta Green in some ways, but has a few specific differences that make it stand out from DG too.

You can definitely just use regular people if you’d prefer. It’s better to introduce them to delta green at some point because it’s such a great plot device and a huge part of the setting however. But yeah you can have cops or fireman or any other regular job, and they have stats recommended for them.

@@liamobrien6044 Interesting! Thank you. I guess having characters start better equipped with resources to draw upon helps remove mundane obstacles and boil things down to their essence but I guess the regular people route and all those obstacles is one of the big appeals for me. Glad they accounted for that possibility.

Pagan thought it was hard to constantly thrust random dilettantes, professors, prize boxers and detectives against the mythos. Especially halfway into Orient Express where you try to enlist train staff and passengers as replacements. An organization creates continuity.

And in the game too

In Classic DG adventures, roughly every third adventure ends with the SWAT team and a good old federal raid. This has the gravity of the final ritual in other adventures when you finally have all bits. One adventure ends with full Waco, another with an AFB security company. DG to me is a game of enlisting the federal government.

Old DG adventures are often about subverting and enlisting parts of the federal state. You are more free to enlist locals as friendlies. The adventures describe what federal resources are available. You might command a posse of hunters and deputies, an AFB security platoon or the SWAT team in the end.

Chaosium tried to use other eras. The 1890, modern Japan, pre-Great War Britain in 1910. When DG was created, Cthulhu 90's already existed but Pagan thought it needed a strong setting and framework.

I've only ever played one game of Delta Green that related to the Cthulhu mythos so I think you'll easily be able to find adventures that have nothing Lovecraftian about them! - Maddie

Chaosium had a number of books for their 90's setting. One in modern Japan. One source book with a few adventures.

You need the Agent's handbook to run the game. This book contains agent creation, combat, sanity, and the rules of the game. The Handler's Guide contains the lore, magic, and other nasties that go bump in the dark, with no real rules included.

@@geoffreybaser2300 That's really helpful. Thanks for your reply!

It is very similar to the laundry files, but isn't quite so bureaucratic

​@@cerosisFile for that overtime or you won't get paid! LOL

Yes! So so many, Arc Dream Publishing have a bunch of books you can check out, or there is a annual competition of scenarios where people share short adventures to run. The long campaign Impossible Landscapes is one of the best campaigns I think I'll ever experience so if your group likes Delta Green I'd really recommend checking it out.

Pagan included one mob group with an avatar of Nyarlathotep. You can meet them and bargain. DG itself are the heirs of the first federal raid on Innsmouth.

My interpretation was always that Alzis was an avatar of Nyarlathotep.

Spycraft rpg. I have it, never played it, but it gets good reviews

The original TSR "Top Secret" 1st Edition and "Top Secret-S.I." from the 1980s-90s. I still play 1st edition with lots of home brewing. 👍🏼

Kult kinda feels like the opposite side of the coin to Delta Green, where you play as, rather than sniff out, the things that go bump in the night. what could be pretty interesting would be two parallel campaigns where one group plays a group of weird spooky bdsm demons and the other plays the agents tracking them down.

Not limited to federal you could definitely play from a sheriff's department, character creation is just picking a set of skills so you can get creative with it - Maddie

DG recruits people from the federal government. In general, you play either federal law enforcement, anyone with a federal science budget or the intelligence community or armed forces. DG wants people who can take part in federal investigations. Your home agency loosely determines your abilities. If you have lab access, stuff you can steal, database access, arrest powers, all that helps.

​@@dicebreakerOne loose thing in old DG was used of federal powers. We had one CDC bloke who managed to get a town quarantined. An FBI agent can arrest people. An NSA black bag man can borrow burglary tools. You are assumed to nick stuff, with a little DG help with records, from your day job. One PC had a flamethrower.

PISCES in the UK, thoroughly infiltrated by the Shan. All higher ups have an alien insect in their heads. They still want to keep mythos competition away.

It felt more action-adventure than the traditional investigation.

They’re both about alien conspiracies so it see s like splitting hairs…