The Sage's Library: Delta Green

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[@MikeJDeSanto]

I heard someone once say that in Delta Green you die a hero or live to be the villain the next team is sent to kill.

[@iesika7387]

Second DG scenario I played ended with us disposing of a former agent by incinerating her in the crucible of an abandoned steel plant. That "oh she was one of us. and we touched that thing that she touched" realization moment was great.

[@jordanchadwick3225]

FYI: In the original incarnation of Delta Green (published circa 1991) up until the current revision, Delta Green was an organisation within the US Government which had actually been shut down following events during the Vietnam war. But the agents, despite being reassigned or retired, kept operating in secret, forming a conspiracy to continue DG's work. So, if you play in the "classic" version, the Agents all have day jobs with the alphabet agencies (FBI, NSA, CIA, etc), but get called in to operate in secret. They also have no budget, and have to rely on whatever other agents and operatives have scrounged together. Definitely makes for an even more fun and desperate game ;)

[@NefariousKoel]

IIRC, the latest edition has a very similar situation in that the characters are in various intel, spec-ops, or investigative gov't agencies. Although they're still secretly in a Delta Green cell. Only knowing DG only through a handler and the handful of other PCs in their cell who are on-call to sneak off from their day jobs and deal with the latest cosmic horror threat.

[@MeMyselfandDieRPG]

That’s how we play it.

[@MriInterocitor]

@@MeMyselfandDieRPG At least, that's how your players think they're playing it.

[@jordanchadwick3225]

@@MeMyselfandDieRPG Also, I have to say Trevor that your taste in games is MINT 👌🏻 The only sages library vid I've "disagreed with" is your Burning Wheel vid. I get why you've said you wanted to "throw the book across the room" - I certainly had a bit of trouble getting my brain around it at first, but once BW *clicks* it is an incredible game.

[@jordanchadwick3225]

@@NefariousKoel the difference in the latest edition is that DG has been "reactivated" or brought back into the government fold.

[@atinybard6594]

Glass Cannon - Impossible Landscapes - Get in the Trunk. 10/10 actual play of DG

[@lionelhutz3142]

Awesome overview on one of the best horror TTRPGs out there now..."Delta Green". You forgot to mention 2 of its greatest strengths compared to its parent game "Call of Cthulhu". 1.) The motivation and agency for the players. One of the big problems running CoC is that many times there is no sensible reason for players to continue on and risk life and sanity. With DG the motivation is built in from jump-street and always there to continue on with the mission. 2.) The background story and lore that the creators of DG have created over the years is incredibly interesting...and terrifying. The timeline in the DG Handler's Guide reads like a great horror novel. These 2 reasons alone make a great incentive to at least try a one-shot with this game. 👍

[@synthastro]

One of my favourite games for many years along with Call of Cthulhu. VERY hard to do either of them satisfactorily in solo though.

[@DoctorEviloply]

I will say in my opinion that Delta Green has some of the absolute best horror campaign books of any RPG. Full stop. Impossible Landscapes is a masterclass in RPG horror and taught me so much of how to run effective horror campaigns. It will mess with your players minds in the best possible way and if you play no other Delta Green adventures, you should at least try Impossible Landscapes.

[@matfalkner]

I tend to yes and my players. This lead to my DnD players ending up on Earth releasing some creatures from an eldritch god onto our world. Before last night I’d only run DnD. But 4 players missed so I asked the two if they wanted to run a DG game as cops related to some of the incidents from the previous game investigating some of the eldritch stuff. Had a blast! Got to bring in Easter egg NPCs from DnD. One PC found out that the other party is somewhat responsible for his former partner’s death. His partner’s widow was his bond. So fun.

[@lionelhutz3142]

That sounds awesome. Delta Green lends itself to incorporating other story lines and adversaries into a game. Call of Cthulhu scenarios and campaigns can definitely be incorporated into the game's plot. 👍

[@andrewstraight2961]

Love learning about all these new systems! Thanks Trevor!

[@APaganPerspective]

would love to see you run a 1 shot of Delta Green

[@TrippyTheShroom]

Probably my favorite RPG of all time, I absolutely adore Delta Green. Soooo much fun.

[@NefariousKoel]

Something I appreciate in Delta Green's Handlers Guide is the inclusion of the Intel operations jargon and some general tradecraft. Setting flavor like that, even if the Handler doesn't use it often, is great. A lot of recognizable stuff, along with some vaguely familiar terms, in a compact reference.

[@emanoelmelo]

Your enthusiasm is contagious, now I wanna play it!

[@DiomedesRangue]

So we've played around 30 sessions using this system and it's my new favourite. Great recommendation.

[@torinmccabe]

Great review. One thing I would add for a bit of hope to balance the grim darkness is a positive goal like Mulder striving to find his abducted sister. So although you might ruin your all connections as you keep adventuring maybe your ending includes not only your death and burning of all your connections but it also includes you finding and rescuing your long lost sister.

[@DiFioreJA]

Great series! These videos are great! Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you :D After becoming burnt out of DND 5e, and being interested in designing my own system, I'm looking for other systems to try and get inspiration from. There are so many gems out there made over so many years and it's overwhelming and confusing for someone who is younger (didn't grow up in the 80's) and newer to the hobby to learn about them all or even know about them all. It's nice to have someone, who knows about so many of them, give their 2-cents about each of them and specific mechanics and systems within the game; as well as speak to how they remember the games fondly and how each of the games make them feel and how much fun they have had with them. Thanks a bunch! I'll definitely be coming back for more.

[@jamesrpgart6577]

You’ve mentioned this game a couple of times in other videos and I’ve since considered running it next, so after watching this video I’m REALLY considering it. Thanks for doing this series, and despite the focus problem, the new camera looks great, noticed immediately.

[@DiomedesRangue]

wonderful! love this series so much. I've had my eye on this game for a while now

[@Joeys-Channel]

The best delta green playthrough hands down is by the glass Cannon. Do yourself a favor and look them up on KZbin

[@b.k.8515]

I wish I could like twice, excellent video. I love the explanation, I love everything about this. Amazing

[@throughlydruxy8501]

For anyone who wants a couple awesome DG actual play podcasts Glass Canon Network has a great run and Pretending to be People have a great DG/Pulp Cthulhu game.

[@Rich_H_1972]

Great video, Sir Trevor of Devall! You'd also like the Laundry RPG, now out of print, but based on a set of books by Charles Stross and is basically Cthulhu meets the British Civil Service. It's weird and darkly amusing and very, very British. I recommend it if you can get hold of a copy.

[@MriInterocitor]

My favorite thing about Delta Green is that game lead Dennis Detwiller has found two different conspiracy theorists who've incorporated Delta Green into their delusions and insist it's real, no how much he explains it's just a game.

[@KartoffelnSalatMitAlles]

Links?

[@MriInterocitor]

@@KartoffelnSalatMitAlles Dennis mentions it on Twitter every so often. We've known each other most of three decades and thesetbjngs accumulate.

[@flamboyantwarlock7101]

Lovecraft is the same with certain occultists. Even when he was alive, he had people who thought his stories were true no matter what he said to the contrary.

[@pencilmage]

dg overtook my top spot of ttrpgs a few years ago... its soooo good :)

[@allluckyseven]

I _think_ the first time I saw "roll under but high, doubles are crit" was in Unknown Armies in the late 90s... But I'm not sure if it was the first use of that mechanic, which btw I like a lot. Could you please talk about other d100 games in the near future? I saw Runequest (and Mythras) in your shelf... I'd appreciate if you could talk about those games in particular. It's interesting that those games (IIRC) -- as well as the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu -- use the "halves/fifths" for specials/crits instead of the doubles. That gives you a higher percentage of specials/crits than doubles (of course), but it makes it harder (takes longer) to read the result. I mean, a little bit. Maybe less than the 3d6 of GURPS you talked about the other day. Hah! I just checked and according to rpggeek, Greg Stolze, who did UA, also worked on this version of Delta Green... (But I think it was John Tynes who had come up with that mechanic, initially.)

[@svenk5221]

This guy buys a new camera every 3 minutes 🤣🤣 Love your review and this game!

[@DiomedesRangue]

I'm really considering using this for my next game. I'm thinking of doing an xcom style of campaign.

[@bizzy5439]

Loving this series and Delta Green is new to me, thanks! Also not sure if it's the position of the new camera or your light but you kinda look like you're in a sauna, dude haha no judging, sauna on if you will

[@rolconcosas]

I don't think it has been translated into english, but there's a spanish rpg called Nameless Cults where players portray modern day people confronting the mythos and using them for their own benefit, thus beginning to become cultists themselves! The system is kind of Fate-ish but with more traditional approaches to sanity and combat. Great fun.

[@iesika7387]

Last Things Last was my first scenario as a player. No spoilers beyond what was said in the video itself - our party of 3 ended up with the two guys hiding in a car (one very wounded, I think he had 1 or 2 hp) and my character going OKAY SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DEAL WITH THIS and setting off solo with an axe. Ended up being one of my favorite combat encounters from any tabletop game I've ever played. The least-wounded of the other PCs showed up at just the right moment to save my ass. Combat was completely brutal, got extremely physical and in your face, and yet with a really good roll and high Power, I ended up walking out with I think 1 more sanity point than when I went in. Completely wild.

[@GeoKan]

I would love to see you Handling a group!! Can you post any video with actual gameplay?!

[@AtrusGambit]

Can it solo? Would solo investigators handbook work for this?

[@lionelhutz3142]

You can solo but there are NO solo adventures created by Arc Dream Publishing for Delta Green like Chaosium did for Call of Cthulhu. Solo play in DG would require lots of tweaking and modification because the creatures and adversaries a DG player faces are so deadly and so mind-bending. Also solo-play takes about 20% of the built-in paranoia of group play out of the game. 🤔

[@fsmoura]

11:15 _"...I mean, it's _*_just_*_ a game"_ Wha-wha-what did you just say!?!? REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ( oДo)

[@cextheartist]

seems good af.

[@carpelo]

Very compelling Trevor! Do you think it could be played solo? Do you know "The Solo Investigator's Handbook" for soloing with Call of Cthulhu?

[@MrDowntemp0]

That mechanic sounds incredible! Would love to hack it into an OSR game

[@xionkuriyama5697]

I definitely wanna play DG sometime--I love SCP and it's basically just an SCP TTRPG.

[@MriInterocitor]

I can definitely imagine Delta Green characters hanging out in the Antimemetic Division.

[@Scubasgamecorner]

Love these Sage Libraries…. Quick side question about your merchandise…..Will you be making Hoodies part of what’s on offer, those come in real handy up here in the North East…. And in the XXXL variety 😊

[@MeMyselfandDieRPG]

I’ll look into it!

[@Scubasgamecorner]

@@MeMyselfandDieRPG Thank you. You Rock my man....your very entertaining show has helped me through some dark times and inspired me to run my own solo campaign.

[@robertkimble8385]

Would love to see Scarlet Heroes on here if the sage has it in his library.

[@MeMyselfandDieRPG]

Alas, I do not :(

[@kylemendoza8860]

Delta green is secret. I get they just would not drop a rocket launcher of at The house of one of their investigators. ( I don't know if they're called that in a game). What exactly involvement would they have?

[@luceatlux7087]

We need to start wearing robes in public. (*though I know he's wearing a smoking jacket) Furthermore, tunics and good smelling pipe tobacco needs to be more popular and the later should be given a lowkey exception in regards to the smoking laws.

[@leonciopalacpac9269]

This game gives SCP Foundation vibes

[@trikrein]

This is definitely one of the sources SCP pulled from.

[@lionelhutz3142]

It definitely can play that way if you like but with lots and lots of tweaking. The amount of creatures and adversaries of Delta Green is quite small compared with SCP lore. The story and lore is definitely more pulp-horror compared to DG...and the size of the SCP Foundation itself and the resources available is vast compared to the DG organization.

[@mrksimka1159]

Ah Yes the Delta green A game I wish to have an official localization in my country only to make a tiny bit less underground "in the know" game

[@johnberry5296]

Man, I wish you could realistically get a solo game of this working…..

[@timothygutierrez]

Third!

[@bobr4024]

This is probably not going to go well because I don’t like this game and I read the comments where it looks like everyone else does. Let me say that I have not ever seen a game that had better rating or more beautiful books, both layout and quality. With that said, I’m gonna say this and try to keep it short. I think that DG would’ve been MUCH more appealing to me if the all of the looming horror could POSSIBLY destroy your PCs mind and relationships - or even PROBABLY. Instead, in DG, Losing your mind and all of your relationships is INEVITABLE. That’s my complaint. Your demise is inevitable. I don’t understand how that’s fun. I’m not trying to be contrary. I just really don’t get it. I’m parking my car on the railroad tracks hoping that I’ll survive the train smashing into me. The remarkable backstory and beautiful books don’t make up for a hopeless premise. It just doesn’t attract me. .

[@totallymojo]

@@bobr4024 As you probably know, ttrpgs are not about winning, it's about experiencing a specific type of story. I LOVE to run my character into the ground. It feels so gritty and real somehow.

[@UnclePutte]

Delta Green... I liked the initial premise. I however dread the frothing-at-the-mouth alabama culture warrior real life insanity that latches onto it, from the inside and out. Jesus Christ Greg Stolze.