Do my work for me... d20 Dark*Spycraft Adventure..

[ragboy]

Okay,

So I've read d20 Cthulhu, read a lot of old Dark*Matter stuff, read jonrog's and Heap's story hours, and developed and run a one-shot in this genre (Story Hour to follow, hopefully). Now, I'm looking to get a second, longer adventure and campaign together. I'm really liking the look and feel of Delta Green. It fits the Spycraft angle I'm going for, but not necessarily the 'pretty boy/girl superspy' genre. So, here's what I got for an adventure outline. Give me a 'nasty surprise.'

Synopsis

The group finishes their training with <insert covert paranormal organization>, but they must complete a full-fledged, in-the-field training mission. Due to the ties the unnamed org has, they send the group as observers on a DEA bust in small town north central Texas.

One of the deputies of <Texas> county has recently moved to the area from out of state. With his previous experience in law enforcement, he saw a lot of corruption and was disgusted by it. So, he moved his family (wife and three young daughters) to small town Texas, where he assumed it would be Clean Living (TM). He immediately realized his mistake when he discovered that his boss, the sheriff, is tied in with a Mexican smuggling cartel (drugs, illegal aliens, guns, etc). Though he doesn't have definite proof, he does know that a Cessna flies in to an old private airfield once a month with a shipment of contraband destined for the nearby D/FW metroplex. Since he suspects his boss, he contacts the DEA who opens a case and starts infiltrating the area.

Enter the group. The DEA team lead doesn't want them there, but he's got his orders. The DEA has discovered that a capo in the cartel is due in with the next shipment, so they've got the bust all laid out. They have not had the time or manpower to get evidence on the sheriff. The group is to use their cover (as freelance computer consultants) to infiltrate the sheriff's ranch house, gather what information they can, and help build a case.

The problem is, all is not right in Smalltown. The sheriff has some incriminating evidence of a different kind. First off, his wife is strung out on a local flavor of crystal meth. Not only that, but she's the local dealer's plaything because of it. Poking around in the sheriff's house reveals a secret basement room with a cheesy altar to some goddess/demoness and 8x10 glossy photos of the 'rites' he, his wife, other women and the dealer perform their 'rites.'

I built the above to get the group to expect Something Horrible from the sheriff side of the equation, but I actually want to hit them from the cartel side. I'm thinking the cartel doesn't just smuggle contraband, they also move Some Junk That Cannot Be Named. The sheriff side of it is just sexual perversion taken to the next extreme. He and his dealer buddy have convinced a few loose women in town (including his own wife) that their devil worshippers, but they're just trying to build some web content for a skin site.

Anyway, I'm open to any suggestions. I considered genetic supersoldiers ala Modern and that Dungeon mini-game that I can't remember the name of. But, I'm not totally sure I want to go down that progression. In the one-off, I've already built the case that the world is not what it seems (when the group was trapped in a dimensionally shifted Wal-Mart with a demon). I don't want to do an Army of the Dead. Looking for subtlety and horror.

Thanks!

 

[Starglim]

This may be of interest:

Jaundiced Eyes: Blacker than Black

The cartel could be real cultists whose leaders can cast a few nasty attack spells if need be, or turn into something awful from another dimension when shot.

They could be sandmen.

The Stuff that they traffic could itself be dangerous when the case is opened, such as jars or vats containing oozy creatures, artifacts that do something wacky when exposed to sunlight, or a volatile substance that spreads poisonous or mind-altering vapours when exposed to air.


edit: link title

 

[jonrog1]

Depends on how far into That Which Cannot Be Named you wish to go. How about the stuff is laced with a compound which affects the users in three steps:

1.) Great high, no bad effects.
2.) Heightened senses, mild supersoldier effect (for the grunts you fight), mainly in the no-pain feelin', fast healin' variety.
3.) Psychic sensitivity with other addicts, sharing emotions, thoughts, but then
4.) Loss of individual personality, beign subsumed into the uber-mind which is, of course
5.) Yog-Soggoth-y.

You may actually wish to drop a clue path implying they lifted this from some government project (and why not? The government punched a hole inter-dimensioanlly, this stuff came out -- hey, there's another adventure into that blasted out lab...) to tempt the PC's into thinking its their key to super-soldier stardom.

 

[ragboy]

I like both of these. It ties in nicely with some short term uber-plot stuff that I had considered. My uber-alles-plot is to move the world toward an 'End Times' type situation, but slowly and more gracefully than Gene-Tech or Gamaworld. This could get the ball rolling nicely.

I'll let ya'll know how the players react when the shuggoth hits the fan.

Thanks!

 

[Munin]

(when the group was trapped in a dimensionally shifted Wal-Mart with a demon)

*snip*

Thanks!

To keep things on thread:
Do not forget Men in Black. Depending on what the Bad Thing is that the cartel is smuggling, the MiBs could be after it as well as the party. Nothing like a little competition to light a fire.

 

[shadoe]

You could also tie in the Branch Davidians from Waco. They could have known something about what is going on, and were taken out by operatives that had infiltrated the government. Possibly they were the "good guys" or possibly they were just as bad as they appeared in the news, and just worked against the cartel for it's own reasons.

 

[lethil]

Another possiblity would be to use Dark Inheritance, by Mythic Dreams Studios.

Coming out at Gen Con, it covers the supernatural, rules to build cults, invocation and ritual magic rules, and it uses the Spycraft system. It also has plenty of allegiences and agencies to ensure that you can have the <insert paranormal group here> covered.

You want dark magic and Spycraft? Take a peek at Dark Inheritance. The website is supposed to be up soon, but the forums are currently up and running.

Might wanna drop by there and ask some questions.

http://www.darkinheritance.net/forum/