A team of Section H archaeologists returning from a dig in the Scottish Highlands is waylaid by bad weather.
SECTION H[]
(Based on the article of the same name by Graeme Price in The Black Seal Issue 1)
Section H is a secret government office which provides historical research for MI5 (Britain’s domestic intelligence service) and regulates archaeological digs in the UK – with the aim of making sure that no evidence of paranormal creatures, artefacts, or activities is unearthed, except by appropriately vetted Section H personnel.
Section H’s cover organization is the British Archaeological Review Board, a quasi autonomous nongovernmental entity with the power to initiate, investigate, supervise, and if necessary, shut down archaeological digs in the British Isles.
(Section H is the ARCHINT arm of PISCES. Only Director Hennessey knows this. The rest believe they work for the chaps in Box 500)
SECTION H AGENTS[]
Section H Agents are archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, media specialists, lawyers, scientists, technicians and bureaucrats. The Section does not have any police or military rank or powers. They do not carry guns, and will not be issued them without express consent of the Director for a very good reason. If Agents get into a dangerous situation, they’re expected to flee or sit tight until help arrives, mobilized through MI5 or legitimate police channels.
If your players don’t feel like creating new characters, use these pregens.
FELIX PICKLES - Field Technician who Never Shaves[]
STR 14, CON 14, DEX 11, INT 11, POW 11, CHA 11
HP 14, WP 11, SAN 55, BP 44
SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 70%, Craft (Electrician 60%, Mechanic 50%, Plumber 50%), Demolitions 50%, Drive 50%, First Aid 50%, Heavy Machinery 60%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 30%, Search 40%, Unarmed 80%
BONDS: Mum 11
Dad 11
Pub Mates 11
Somerset County Cricket Club 11
MOTIVATIONS: Get the job done
I never met a nice Welshman
CIDER AND SCRUMPY
I'm still young
DR OLIVIA “LIVVY” CRUTCHLEY - Archaeobotanist and Educated Chav[]
STR 13, CON 11, DEX 11, INT 13, POW 12, CHA 11
HP 12, WP 12, SAN 60, BP 48
SKILLS: Alertness 40%, Archaeology 50%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 40%, Foreign Languages (Gaelic 50%, Latin 40%), History 60%, HUMINT 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Occult 40%, Persuade 60%, Science (Biology) 60%, Search 40%, Unarmed Combat 60%
BONDS: Me Finger and Thumb 11
Me Peter Pan 11
Me Skin and Blister 11
Me Manhole Cover 11
MOTIVATIONS: Mince Pies on the Prize
Die with me daisy roots on
Get out of the taters
Sometimes you just need your James Blunt licked
WREN REES - Nebbish Experimental Archaeologist[]
STR 11, CON 11, DEX 12, INT 13, POW 12, CHA 13
HP 11, WP 12, SAN 60, BP 48
SKILLS: Accounting 40%, Alertness 40%, Anthropology 40%, Archaeology 40%, Art (Stonecarving 30%), Athletics 50%, Computer Science 30%, Craft (Carpentry 60%, Engineering 50%), First Aid 30%, Melee Weapons 50%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 30%, Science (Astronomy) 30%, Search 40%, Stealth 30%, Survival 50%
BONDS: Mam 13
Tad 13
Brawd 13
SCA Shire of Mynydd Gwyn 13
MOTIVATIONS: I know I'm right but I have to prove it.
I will find true love.
PEOPLE'S VOTE! SECOND REFERENDUM!
Is there a vegetarian option?
DR RUHI SINGH - Lazy but Fiendishly Intelligent Anthropologist[]
STR 10, CON 12, DEX 13, INT 15, POW 9, CHA 13
HP 11, WP 9, SAN 45, BP 36
SKILLS: Anthropology 70%, Bureaucracy 40%, Foreign Language (Old English 50%, Sanskrit 30%), Forensics 40%, History 60%, HUMINT 50%, Medicine 40%, Occult 60%, Persuade 40%, Psychotherapy 50%, Science (Geology) 40%
BONDS: Daddy 13
Loyal Graduate Students 13
Sycophantic Friends 13
“Daddy” 13
MOTIVATIONS: Can’t someone else do it?
My name WILL be first when we publish the paper
Treat yourself - nobody else will
Mon Celtic, Rangers fuck off
SIR DOUGLAS SINCLAIR, ESQ - Civil Servant and Social Climber[]
STR 13, CON 12, DEX 10, INT 11, POW 11, CHA 15
HP 13, WP 11, SAN 55, BP 44
SKILLS: Accounting 60%, Anthropology 30%, Art (Forgery) 40%, Bureaucracy 60%, Computer Science 50%, Criminology 30%, Foreign Language (Irish) 50%, History 40%, HUMINT 70%, Law 60%, Persuade 70%, Unarmed Combat 60%
BONDS: Public School Chums 15
Indispensable Personal Assistant 15
Domineering Attentive Parents 15
City of London Solicitors Company 15
MOTIVATIONS: Be kind to those less intelligent than yourself
Demonstrate your value, especially to the ladies
It’s not racism, it’s nationalism, dear
Get promoted out of this ghastly dead end job
BRIEFING[]
Well, that was a bloody waste of time. Your dig in the Scottish Highlands for a suspected Unnatural artifact turned out to be nowt but a cache of auld Viking dross. So you're packing up your gear and heading home, dreaming of a nice quiet pint in the pub. Weather's a bit of a tart but you have a good feeling about this… Wait, what ya mean the bridge is closed?
AN STOIRM[]
A freak storm rolls in over the peninsula. Biting winds, whiteouts, and pelting hail and snow. The bridge back to the mainland is impassable. Agents will have to travel down Beanntan nam Fiadh to get back to the mainland. Tis nae but a wee drive.
THE RELIANT ROBIN[]
Popular in the North, this three wheeled, fiberglass framed van is notorious for its unique handling characteristics. In the snow, wind and ice, the Reliant is at risk of tipping over on its side. Agents can probably right it with a good push, provided they climb out the side doors to do so. If it gets seriously stuck, it’ll be hours before a tow arrives. Plenty of time for Agents to be waylaid by one of THE ESCAPEES or THE BLUE MEN.
BEANNTAN NAM FAIDH[]
Beanntan nam Fiadh (Hills of the Deer) is a small peninsula, typical of the West Coast. The main settlement is the fishing village on the road back to the mainland. All the boats are currently in for the Winter. A few isolated houses and crofts are scattered across the hills. The nearest towns of any size are Fort William and Inverness.
THE MANOR[]
The road to the village passes by Foxglove Manor, a stately home from the 1700s. Surrounded by high walls, tourists rarely push past the sign for “private property”.
In reality, Foxglove Manor is a high security mental hospital for PISCES personnel left over from the previous administration - not dangerous enough for the Magonia, not sane enough to be released into community care. The Winter storm just killed the power, allowing several dangerous patients to escape.
The lights are out at the compound. Staff are trying to restore order and stop any more patients from escaping or injuring themselves and others. Agents who approach are warned off by armed guards shouting that the facility isn’t safe. No, they can’t use the phone, the power just went out.
THE PUB[]
If Agents make it down the icy road to the village, they can wait at the Aranmeasan Pub for the storm to dissipate before heading home. The bar is warm and dry, the food is edible and the beer is drinkable. THE ESCAPEES and THE BLUE MEN have the same idea.
THE ESCAPEES[]
There are three escapees wandering the frozen moors, hills, fens and lochs of Beanntan nam Fiadh.
Cpt Alasdair Mac Dhomhnuill is a former JAGUAR commando - an SAS goon puppeted by a Shan. He is trepanned, but believes his bug is coming back to save him from his kidnappers. Armed with a stolen pistol and improvised fighting knife, he uses his escape and evade training to make his way across the peninsula. He would love to take Agents hostage as insurance against recapture.
Angharad Williams is a Talent - a psychic recruited by PISCES for counterintelligence work. Reduced to misery and madness by psychic contact with a standing stone, she was institutionalized for her habit of harming herself and others in fits of psychotic fear of a future event. The storm does not touch her. Wind, snow and waves bend to avoid her path. She is confused and scared, and her touch transmits nightmarish apocalyptic visions.
Luthais Chisholm is a minor cultist, caught by PISCES during a raid near Loch Leven. He suffers from OCD, but can’t be deposited in a normal hospital thanks to his command of the ritual Infallible Suggestion, which he uses to stop people from doing things that displease “The Goddess”. Right now the Goddess wants him to stop the “sea devils” and their kin from taking Angharad. The shitty weather is clearly a sign of the Goddess’ anger.
THE BLUE MEN[]
The Blue Men of the Minch are aquatic humanoids with gray, long limbed bodies. They heard Angharad’s psychic cries, and summoned the storm it to free her. They want to take her away from her miserable life on shore, to dwell in splendor with them beneath the waves.
Like their kynde across the world, the Blue Men are heavily influenced by the human cultural milieu they intermix with. They dress in a parody of surface dweller regalia, with sealskin kilts and mother of pearl dirks in kelp stockings.
When they first encounter Agents, their leader calls out the first half of a verse. Agents who know the old ways realize they must respond with something that fits the rhyme and meter. Those who succeed are left alone. Those who disappoint are conscripted into tracking Angharad down, in exchange for lifting the winter storm and allowing them to leave peacefully.
THE CONTAINMENT TEAM[]
The PISCES Containment Team arrives by lorry after a few hours, disguised as a police firearms unit. They’re well armed, but try to take patients alive. If Agents act even a little bit weird, the team assumes they’re inmates and tries to subdue them. Section H affiliation does not save Agents from being detained - the goons assume the Agent is an insane former operative who escaped Foxglove. If Agents are in the middle of a delicate situation with the escapees or deep ones, count on the rescue team to totally fuck it up.
NPCS[]
CPT ALASDAIR MAC DHOMHNUILL[]
STR 13, CON 13, DEX 13, INT 10, POW 13, CHA 7
HP 13, WP 13, SAN 52, Codependency (Shan), Adapted to Violence
SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Demolitions 40%, Firearms 60%, Heavy Weapons 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Military Science (Land) 60%, Navigate 50%, Stealth 50%, Survival 50%, Swim 50%, Unarmed Combat 60%, Unnatural 5%
ATTACKS: Browning Hi Power (60%, D10)
Improvised Knife (50%, D4+1, 3 AP)
ANGHARAD WILLIAMS[]
STR 7, CON 11, DEX 12, INT 14, POW 10, CHA 12
HP 9, WP 16, SAN 41, Panic Disorder, Adapted to Helplessness
SKILLS: Alertness 50%, Art (Photography) 60%, Anthropology 40%, Criminology 50%, Forensics 40%, History 40%, HUMINT 40%, Occult 50%, Persuade 50%, Search 70%, Unnatural 16%
ATTACKS: Unarmed 40%, damage 1D4−2.
TOUCH OF MADNESS: Anyone who touches Angharad while she’s undergoing an episode takes 1/D6 SAN from terrifying apocalyptic visions, but gains the same percentage in Unnatural.
LUTHAIS CHISHOLM[]
STR 11, CON 9, DEX 11, INT 11, POW 12, CHA 11
HP 10, WP 12, SAN 50, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
SKILLS: Accounting 50%, Bureaucracy 50%, Computer Science 50%, Criminology 60%, Foreign Language (French) 50%, HUMINT 40%, Law 50%, Persuade 60%, Unnatural 2%
RITUALS: Infallible Suggestion
THE BLUE MEN OF THE MINCH[]
STR 17, CON 15, DEX 12, INT 13, POW 12
HP 16 WP 12
ARMOR: 1 point of thick scales or flabby hide.
SKILLS: Alertness 30%, Athletics 50%, Persuade 30%, Swim 75%
ATTACKS: Knife-like talons 55%, damage 1D8, Armor Piercing 3
Grapple 55%, pins the target
AMPHIBIOUS: Blue Men are as at home in the depths of the sea as on dry land.
INHUMAN MOVEMENT: Blue Men can leap, climb, and lope in a wholly inhuman manner. With an Athletics test, they can cover heights and obstacles that would stop a normal human. Blue Men can move up to 25 kph on land, and 30 kph in the water.
RITUALS: Storm and Stillness
SAN LOSS: 0/1D4.
CONTAINMENT TEAM[]
STR 12, CON 12, DEX 12, INT 12, POW 12, CHA 9
HP 12, WP 12, SAN 55, Adapted to Violence
SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Demolitions 40%, Firearms 60%, Heavy Weapons 50%, Melee Weapons 50%, Military Science (Land) 60%, Navigate 50%, Stealth 50%, Survival 50%, Swim 50%, Unarmed Combat 60%
ARMOR: 6 points tactical body armor and helmet
ATTACKS: MP5 (60%, D10 or 10% lethality)
Glock 17 (60%, D10)
Flashbang (80%, Stun)
TASER (60%, Stun)
Unarmed (60%, D4-1)
Credits[]
Yomping was written by David Tormsen, Tetrarch, and mellonbread 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 © David Tormsen, Tetrarch, and mellonbread, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.
Yomping is not available here under CC-BY-SA.