Homebrew 'Handler RULE': Unlike later Delta Green operations characters will be in the trenches with their 'handler'. That doesn't, however, mean that the handler is going to solve all the character's problems. He'll be handling things in the background. Some days he'll be easier to reach than others.
DICE ROLLS: Made easy
Almost all rolls are a d100 roll. With 001 being the best possible roll, and 100 being the worst possible roll. Successes are rolls that land underneath the percentile on your character sheet.
Critical Roll > Hard Roll > Soft Roll
Critical = Double numbers (I.e. 001, 11, 22 - 88, 99, 100)
Hard Roll = All other rolls under 20, or above 80
Soft Roll = All remaining rolls. If the agent rolls their percentile exactly it's what we call a sloppy success. You succeed but just barely...
TLDR; Lower is better but lowest critical is best.
Example: Grant rolls to seduce the enemies' hot girlfriend. His persuade is a 40 but he rolls a 44. She throws her drink on him and leaves.
It was a critical failure, but a critical failure as far away from 100 as you can get. Grant completely failed his objective and is humiliated. But had Grant rolled a 99 it would have been catastrophically worse. He would have been slapped, escorted out of the bar, or possibly arrested.
Leveling Up
In Delta Green, learning happens through failure. Whenever you fail a skill check, make a note of it. Every two game days I will announce a level-up roll. That's when you will roll a 1d4 for every failed skill check. You then add the result of that roll to your character sheet. Feel free to find an opportunity to roll every skill you have.
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Communication, Travel
-This is not the modern era. There are payphones, but they're probably wiretapped. Some people might carry radio arrays, but these things are huge backpacks, and generally short ranged. Communication is slow. What's more, travelling with one means you're obviously a spy. So kill on sight. Also, trust is hard to come by. It's recommended that agents only disclose information to other agents or select friendlies (i.e. players). TLDR; Spread of information is person-to-person, and need-to-know.
-Travel is slow, and there are checkpoints and patrols to be wary of. What's more, roads are dangerous so you likely won't be driving unless there's a reason to. It's also ill-advised that you carry weapons that aren't securely hidden (small to medium handguns, and knives). In the event that you're caught by a patrol or checkpoint, a series of rolls will happen to determine whether these objects are discovered. And the further into the campaign we get, the more you will be scrutinized. If you are injured, or match the description of someone in the resistance that was seen fleeing a scene, you'll be arrested and questioned, possibly shot on the spot. TLDR; Travel is slow and dangerous.
GM Recommendations:
- Be creative! In the event that information needs to be spread/coordinated to agents in the field. Role play the creation of a system. Want to speed up travel times? Feel free to brain storm a way to do so! I encourage players to fight, and to fight hard. Because the odds are already stacked against you.
Timeslots, Travel Time, & Rest
-This operation is a long-term assignment. Deployment could very well last months. That said, you are on a schedule - and time is NOT on your side. Game days will vary in length. Every one of them hinges on important events. Ones that I may, or may not, draw immediate attention to. Some events require discovery. But for this campaign I am requiring players to keep track of a great deal beyond just their sanity, HP, and fatigue.
Below is the link of the campaign calendar. The calendar is an editable google spreadsheet that you should all have access to once the campaign starts. Feel free to do with it as you will once you have access. As I drip information to you, I will gladly fill it in on the calendar for reference unless told to do otherwise. You may also keep links to threads on the calendar at your leisure. Or leave public notes. But for your part, the threads within the game-days will be subdivided into calendar-days and time slots. You may have as many or as few threads as you wish while still contributing to the overarching narrative (See "Resistance Readiness").
Campaign Calendar
<link incoming>
Time Slots
- Early Morning (0400-0600)
- Mid Morning (0600-0800)
- Late Morning (0800-1000)
- Early Afternoon (1000-1200)
- Mid Afternoon (1200-1400)
- Late Afternoon (1400-1600)
- Early Evening (1600-1800)
- Mid Evening (1800-2000)
- Late Evening (2000-2200)
- Early Night (2200-2400)
- Mid Night (2400-0200)
- Late Night (0200-0400)
-Players will need 3 consecutive Timeslots of dedicated R&R to attempt to recover fatigue (i.e. willpower points). Upon a successful completion, fatigue recovery = 1d6 roll*
-Travel requires one dedicated timeslot prior to a thread = 1 dedicated timeslot if moving within an area of operations, or 3 dedicated time slots if moving between areas of operation.**
*(Note: If 'Hunted', notify GM when you roll to recover fatigue.)
**(Note: If 1 star or higher, roll a 'Wanted Check' and notify the GM if you roll higher than your wanted level, or if you roll a critical success.)
HEAT/Wanted Level
Your characters are all enemy agents actively working against the NAZIS. Each player begins the campaign with a score of 200% on your character sheets. As the campaign progresses your heat level will rise and fall based on your character's actions. This change brings with it benefits as well as drawbacks. But all of these changes should be tracked and monitored as I will occasionally call for a 'Wanted Check'. A wanted check = 2d100, where you are trying to roll under your current wanted percentile.
Until you reach 1 star of notoriety you have a static heat level, meaning your percentile will NOT lower. Once you arrive at 1 star your HEAT is no longer static. At that point, when you travel you must roll your HEAT (2d100). Upon a failed roll - checkpoints, patrols, and officials will randomly spawn as micro encounters. If you're travelling with a wanted person and end up in the same micro encounter BEFORE reaching 1 star, all three will leave you alone unless you give them a reason not to. It's only when working with the resistance, or going out on a mission, that you gain leveled heat for your trouble.
WANTED Levels
- 0 star = 200 - 181% | Just show them your papers and act casual
- 1 star = 180 - 161% | Chance you'll get caught by a checkpoint, but patrols and officials pay you no mind.
- 2 star = 160 - 141% | You are further scrutinized at checkpoints, and there's a chance a patrol or an official will stop to question you.
- 3 star = 140 - 121% | You've got a 50/50 chance of making it through a checkpoint, and there's now a good chance a random patrol or official will stop to question you. Further more, you're now hunted (See note).
- 4 star - 120 - 101% | Can't get through a checkpoint. But you still have a small chance if you encounter a patrol or official.
- 5 star = 100 > 0% | Kill on sight, and anyone you are seen with will have their heat rise as well.
-Lowering your wanted level: In order to lower your wanted level you simply need to lie low. Then once you've reduced your heat percentile to the desired threshold, you need to recruit a fellow operative to initiate a 'Heat Reduction Operation'. By itself, HEAT is lowered 1d6 per calendar-day that you go without advancing the mission. But you are still subject to both the negative & positive effects of your star level until the 'Heat Reduction Operation' takes place. If you completely remove your HEAT to 0 star, your level is once again static. This means it will NOT degrade as you lie low.
---Heat Reduction Operations: These low-risk operations cost a dedicated timeslot, and are subject to the creativity of the players. A few examples include changing the agent's persona, removing wanted posters, feeding false information to the Gestapo, etc.
Heat benefits
0 star: --n/a--
1 star: --n/a--
2 star: --n/a--
3 star: Partisan respect, gain a +20 on Charisma checks when working with the resistance
4 star: Maquis Notoriety, roll advantage +20 on Charisma checks when working with the resistance
5 star: Heroic Status, your exploits have left the Nazis reeling. Every game day the Maquis tell stories of your accomplishments boosting morale and recruitment.
Money & Basebuilding
Trade Product (TP) will be the currency of the game. This may be everything from money & luxury goods, to food surplus & medicines. This is what you will use to barter or bribe with since paper currency is so unstable. Feel free to roleplay TP however you want! You can pool it or horde it. Invest it or spend it. This is individual currency, and I'm leaving its use completely up to players. But this is not a resource that refreshes. After the initial gift by the Maquis, players are on their own regarding its procurement. There will be a job board in the Maquis hideout that players can utilize, or if they have high charisma they may attempt to barter & trade for more! Use TP to refill ammo, pay for safe houses, arrange transportation or weapons, or donate to the resistance.
TP Conversion Table
1 TP = 50$ in todays money
15 TP = Resupply ammo, medicine, etc.
50 TP = Training Operation for Resistance
100 TP = Standard Bribe/Safehouse Cost: Without which you will NOT be able to sleep.
250 TP = Donation amount for a guaranteed 50 Resistance Points
Trading/Investing
At the beginning of every game-day, players may set aside a fixed amount of TP for investment. They will need to dedicate one time slot every calendar-day to trading. Then at the beginning of the following game day, players may roll to see how well their investments went. This roll will either be Accounting, or Charisma x5. Follow this table to determine how well you did:
Mercantile Roll
Critical Failure = Lose all TP (Notify GM)
Regular Failure = Lose half of TP
Soft Success = Break even
Hard Success = %50 profit
Critical Success = Gain TP based on degrees of success x100%.
Example: If the agent rolls an 80%, and nets an 001 = That's a modifier of 8.
(Final Note: The black Market is run by the Maquis but they can pretty generally get what you need, see them for price details.)
RESISTANCE READINESS
The day will come when you need to call on the resistance for help. And while they're willing to answer the call, a bunch of farmers with guns does not an army make. So you'll need to take the time to recruit, train and equip them. Training can be done by taking a timeslot and some trade product (TP) to actively train them by rolling your skill*. If you fail the roll you'll only get half as much credit towards readiness, but you can use this failure to level up your skill. Recruiting, & equipping can be a tad more involved. One way is to donate TP, another way is to actively take on missions to recruit and supply them.
This operation will take place over the course of 42 calendar-days. In theory, five active characters should be able to max out resistance points (RP). Unfortunately, this war is ruthless and your enemy is unpredictable. There will be setbacks that you cannot plan for. My advice is that you do NOT rest on your laurels.
*Agents may not level up Occult or Unnatural in this manner. Lest they wish to become the mission
Resistance Readiness Table (RP)
- Daily Training/Recruitment operations = (5 RP for failure, 10 RP for regular success, 30 RP for Critical success)
- Daily Heroic Bonus (5 star heat level) = 100 RP
- Active missions have much higher RP rewards. But the penalty for failure = -10 RP
(There are hidden benefits to overachieving)