Introduction[]
In 1994, a team of agents embarked on Operation WETLANDS, an investigation into reports of a resurgent Cthulhu cult in the Louisiana swamps. Detective John Legrasse, Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigative Division, was brought along as a friendly. The operation ended catastrophically; all agents KIA. Legrasse was arrested and spent a few years in prison for his involvement.
A recent string of missing persons reports has led the LSP to bring Legrasse in for questioning. All of the victims are black, all went missing in the southern swamplands. Several were known members of a local voodoo faith group. LSP believes the profile aligns with the ’94 cult members.
Delta Green also believes there may be some connection to the ’94 incident, and has dispatched the Agents to investigate. They have been instructed to question Legrasse about the specifics of the ’94 case and investigate any current unnatural threats associated with the disappearances. Detective William Curtis, a friendly within LSP, will facilitate their meeting with Legrasse in a secure interrogation room. An FBI case file has been hastily doctored up as jurisdictional cover.
Former Detective John Legrasse[]
Detective Legrasse is strange. He’s seen weird and internalized it. Since his release, he’s dug deep into the occult. His ultimate conclusion: Nihilism. As a result he has barely put any effort into his appearance. His outfit stained, facial hair unkempt, and breath smelling of booze. He doesn’t seem drunk, however.
The Handler is encouraged to make up implausible details for the ’94 investigation, but the following should be conveyed:
Legrasse was not the first member of his family to encounter the unnatural. His namesake Great-Grandfather was a New Orleans Police Inspector, responsible for conducting a raid on bayou cultists in 1907. In the 90s, Detective Legrasse was investigating a murder which brought him into the orbit of the Cowboys’ cult investigations. When they learned his family history, they decided to bring him along.
After several days of detective work, the agents raided the compound… at exactly the wrong moment. A heavily armed gang, the Glorious Crimson Motorcycle Club, rode up on the compound just behind them. The bikers were also there to exterminate the cult, and they did so with extreme prejudice. As far as Legrasse knows, it was simply racially motivated: the GC is a white supremacist group (“and a bunch of inbreds”). The agents were caught in the crossfire and killed, but they let Legrasse live, despite a clear opportunity. He has no idea why.
As the only person on the scene when the cops showed up, Legrasse was arrested. The DA tried to pin the massacre on Legrasse, but they couldn’t get a murder conviction on a police officer. He served only a few years on a lesser charge. He never gave up why four federal agents were found dead.
Legrasse believes strongly that if there’s any connection to the prior case, it’s the motorcycle club.
Legrasse is extremely interested in the case. He will offer, even plead, to accompany the Agents. The reason he was spared is a driving mystery for him, but he was afraid he’d be killed on his own. If the Agents do not bring him along, he will tail them and continue his own investigations, using them as cover. He is very good at staying out of sight.
The Clubhouse[]
The clubhouse sits on a lonely stretch of road. A gravel lot provides ample parking for bikes and lifted trucks alike. Inside, a public bar, open only at night, is separated from the members only back area by a guarded door. Pool tables and dartboards fill the space. The typical “clientele” consists of friends of members, women looking to pick up a biker, and locals who are sympathetic to the club’s ethos. Nonwhites are, to put it mildly, not welcome. The bikers hang out in the members only area, but the only bathrooms are in the public area. The bikers will allow some women in the back room, if they find them attractive and “available” enough.
The key clue here is that the GCMC is affiliated with the Invisible Empire of the Hydra, a splinter Klan group. Some of the bikers will head from the Clubhouse to the Lodge. These members look more inbred than the others, and shuffle slightly as they walk.
The Lodge[]
The lodge sits farther down the same road, after the pavement gives way to dirt. It’s a small, two story structure. A porch sits out front, vacant. Security floodlights illuminate the back yard and abutting bayou, from the road a dock can be seen with small boats tied up. The other two property lines abut thick woods curtained with Spanish Moss. Blackout curtains prevent seeing in through the windows. Agents can make a stealth check to attempt to hide their vehicles out of sight but accessible to the road.
After a few minutes, a torchlit hooded procession will depart the Lodge and head into the woods. Two sentries remain behind on the back porch, out of sight from the front, and make rounds of the building as dramatically appropriate.
The first floor contains an entry hall, kitchen / dining area, and social space. The rooms are divided by the enclosed staircase in the middle of the building, the door of which faces the back. The front door is centered, and there are two doors to the back porch, one at each corner. Portraits of unhooded Klansmen hang on the walls; features becoming paler and sicklier as they progress through time.
The second floor contains a few bedrooms, but the clear focus is the ritual room. The layout is clearly inspired by masonic organizations, and an appropriate skill reveals a possible connection to the Esoteric Order of Dagon. On a table in the center of the room sits a small stone Cthulhu idol. An antique writing desk contains founding documents and core tenets.
Cross Burning[]
The torchlit procession eventually gathers in a clearing by the water, circling around a cross which is then ignited. The leader of the group, Rodger Lanoux, speaks of the power of their race, the power of their gift, and the need for continued sacrifices. A bound girl, the most recent disappearance, is brought forward. To demonstrate his “gift”, Rodger unhoods himself, revealing a face with the appearance of an albino crocodile. A boat sits on the shore, and the girl is forced aboard. The handlers push the boat off, and as Rodger’s speech crescendos, the girl is pushed into the water. The crash of water and the spreading blood leave no doubt as to her fate.
Invisible Empire of the Hydra[]
The IEH was founded by Alexandre Lanoux. A policeman who was present at Legrasse’s 1907 raid, Lanoux found himself transfixed by what he saw that night. Through the warped lens of his racist beliefs, Lanoux thought that if the “mongrels” in the swamps could conjure up what they saw that night, then white men should be able to surpass even that. He stole the Cthulhu idol from Inspector Legrasse in 1929. Lanoux felt drawn to the bayou, where the idol attracted the attention of something that had long dwelt in the brackish: a Greater Deep One referred to by locals as “Big Jim”. He offered Lanoux mysterious gold and long life to his family in exchange for human sacrifices. Lanoux agreed, and the IEH was founded shortly thereafter.
The central belief of the IEH is that only the white race is worthy of the Deep One’s gifts. Thus they explain away any failure of the Deep One reproduction as the consequence of unknown “bad blood”. This is obviously untrue, but “Big Jim” finds no reason to correct them. They also believe that any “magic” practiced by other races is to be eliminated. Often this is the source of their sacrifices, killing two birds with one stone.
Dreams in the Meth House[]
Like many white supremacists, the IEH/GCMC traffic in meth. The use of stimulants by hybrids has a documented effect of extending the transformation, but the impurities of meth prevent the transformed from properly developing the organs necessary to survive the ocean depths. Thus they remain in the bayous. There are two production facilities deep in the swamp, accessible only by boat.
Legrasse’s Answer[]
Legrasse was spared in ’94 because he is an unknowing hybrid. He never knew a father and was given his Mother’s surname. In reality, his father was one of the GCMC bikers, and his mother a victim. If Legrasse is present at the cross burning, or sees the idol, his last mental defenses will break, turning him against the Agents.
Resolution / Continuation[]
What constitutes resolved is up to the handler; continuing beyond this scenario is an option. The Lanoux and their followers are a smaller community than Innsmouth, but they don’t take things lying down. They’ll track down agents if they know who to look for. And if Legrasse is turned and survives, he’ll help.
Stats[]
John Legrasse[]
STR 11 CON 12 DEX 13 INT 13 POW 11 CHA 9
HP 12 WP 11 SAN 20 BP 11
Skills: Alertness 70%, Bureaucracy 40%, Criminology 60%, Drive 50%, Firearms 50%, Forensics 50%, HUMINT 50%, Law 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Navigate 60%, Occult 70%, Persuade 40%, Search 40%, Unarmed 60%, Unnatural 2%
Adapted to Violence
Addiction: Alcohol
Human Biker[]
STR 12 CON 11 DEX 11 INT 9 POW 10 CHA 8
HP 12 WP 8 SAN 50 BP 40
Skills: Alertness 40%, Criminology 50%, Drive 60%, Firearms 50%, Melee Weapons 60%, Unarmed 50%
Possible Weapons: Medium Pistol, Heavy Pistol, Knife, Brass Knuckles, Chain (Use Club stats)
Addiction: Methamphetamines
Methed Up Hybrid[]
STR 16 CON 12 DEX 13 INT 10 POW 12 CHA 9
HP 14 WP 12 SAN N/A BP N/A
Skills: Alertness 40%, Criminology 50%, Drive 60%, Firearms 50%, Melee Weapons 60%, Swim 75%, Unarmed 50%, Unnatural 7%
Addiction: Methamphetamines
Possible Weapons: Side-by-Side Shotgun (Shot), Modified AR-15 (automatic), Medium Pistol (Revolver), Bang Stick (Melee Attack, Damage as per Shotgun close range, Ammo 1, AP 3, usable underwater)
Other attacks and qualities as per Lesser Deep One in Handler’s guide
Rodger Lanoux[]
STR 17 CON 15 DEX 13 INT 10 POW 14 CHA 12
HP 16 WP 12 SAN N/A BP N/A
Skills: Alertness 40%, Criminology 50%, Drive 60%, Firearms 50%, Melee Weapons 60%, Occult 60%, Swim 75%, Unarmed 50%, Unnatural 15%
Addiction: Methamphetamines
Weapon: Heavy Pistol (Revolver)
Other attacks and qualities as per Lesser Deep One in Handler’s guide
“Big Jim”
Armor: 4, all else as per Greater Deep One stats from the Handler’s guide.
Credits[]
True Deeptective was written by Michael Fox for the 2019 shotgun scenario contest.
Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © Michael Fox, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.
True Deeptective is not available here under CC-BY-SA.