A Twisting, Fractal Thing

Born of the U.S. government's 1928 raid on the degenerate coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, the covert agency known as Delta Green opposes the forces of darkness with honor, but without glory. Delta Green agents fight to save humanity form unnatural horrors - often at a shattering personal cost.

An Introduction to Impossible Landscapes

A Pursuit of the Terrors of Carcosa and the King in Yellow

The first ever full-length campaign written for the Delta Green system, "Impossible Landscapes" was developed and edited by Dennis Detwiller, Shane Ivey, and Stephen Buck to act as a dive into the surreal horror that haunts those stories that involve the King in Yellow, the Yellow Sign, and that maddening play that seems to haunt the minds of those who read it. It tells the story of those who come to stand at the verge of the impossible, like Camilla, asking: what impossible landscapes wait beyond? Past the cracked corners of this false world? Beyond the last door of the palace...

 

UOHT:	From your first mewling to last extremity, A king watches, Eyes empty like a newly polished sepulcher, Expression indifferent as time.
	─ "The King in Yellow," Act II, Scene I

 

What the Campaign Holds

This campaign concerns a missing woman, a mysterious play that drives minds to madness, a terrible symbol called the Yellow Sign, and the end of the world. Agents will skate the edge of a mystery that unravels their existence. They will struggle to find a way back from a fictional place that has somehow manifested into reality: the Kingdom of Carcosa. The campaign will focus on surreal horror like the sort of feelings found in The OA, The Shining, Twin Peaks, Jacob's Ladder, Lost Highway, and The Ninth Configuration. The Agents will move from the ordered world we call home to that of Carcosa, that realm of madness presided over by the King in Yellow. And when the Agents look back, they may find that "the world" that once felt so certain and firm is little more than a mirage on the roiling surreality that the King rules over. Endless leads, countless options. And a darkness that turns all paths to the King, to Carcosa. Agents will confront monsters, but the worst monsters often come from the depths of the human mind. These threats are as endless as imagination and as insubstantial as smoke. They are deadlier than any ancient, slumbering Lovecraftian god.

NOTHING IS TRUE, EXCEPT OUT IS THROUGH

What is Expected Between You and I

Delta Green is a dark and lethal system. This is a game which includes rules for how to properly dispose of bodies, and provides a "lethality rating" for some firearms that allows them to bypass the need to roll damage when turned on the Agents - or any mortals who they need to put down. There are themes of mental degradation, the cloying pains of surreal horrors tearing away at the Agents' minds, and the hard decisions that may need to be made in order to protect broader humanity from threats they will never understand. Of course, we will always be adhering to Myth Weavers rules, but we are going to take extra precautions to ensure that all players are both informed of the intent - exploring these dark themes and ideas through the lens of our characters - and enthusiastically consenting and comfortable. There will never be a time where any players are going to be ostracized or ridiculed if they express discomfort. And while it may sound obvious, it is worth reiterating: there is never a point of no return where a player's consent cannot be withdrawn, and it is never a bad time to reach out or speak up if you are uncomfortable (whether that be openly in the OOC thread, or through direct messages if that feels more comfortable). If the fun isn't unanimous, it doesn't exist. What I can expect from you: - An understanding of intent to engage with themes of surreal horror, illusions, paranoia, and delusion. - One post per week in the main thread where the investigation is active (or elsewhere, as discussed). Obviously exceptions will be made, just please communicate with me so I know you're needing to step away. I don't care why, you don't owe me that, I just want to know if you're stepping away and - if possible - an estimate on when you think you'll be able to resume activity. - Clear and open communication in the event of issues with posting (life happens, we've all been there), as well as the same regarding your comfort level with events in play (both IC and OOC interactions). See the point regarding the post once per week for reference. What you can expect from me: - Respect and awareness of your consent and comfort with play at all times. - One post per week in the main thread where the investigation is active (or elsewhere, as discussed). - Clear and open communication in the event of issues with posting or running the game (I have a curse at times). - Confidentiality regarding any expressed discomfort or issues, if you do not wish them to be aired publicly, and providing full attention and a space for you to speak on them if you wish for it.

 

 

The Mental Aspect of it All

This game is not about real-world psychiatry. It will make no attempt to grapple with the very real and challenging struggles that come from any number of mental conditions. It is entirely ficticious and should always be treated as such. Instead, it is focusing on a fictional, peculiar clarity of thought that infects only those Agents touched by the power of the King in Yellow. Though players will guide Agents through asylums and deal with psychiatrists, drugs, and delusions, characters touched by the King suffer from something entirely different than any sort of mental illness or diagnoses. They suffer from truth. The Agents' world is the illusion. Theirs is a kind of special sight, through which they can glimpse the actual disposition of things. As that clarity increases, those still caught in the delusion of reality call them insane. In the end, when a player has pushed an Agent through to the absolute truth, they find that there is no such thing as "our world." There are only beings that surround and orbit the King in Yellow, the play, and the Yellow Sign. Everything else, all human industry and creation, is nothing but imagined folly.

ONCE ON THE PATH, THERE IS ONLY THE PATH

>	THIS BOOK HAS TEETH... BUT ONE MUST EAT IT. CHEW IT AND SWALLOW IT. AND THEN ACT AS THE BOOK MIGHT ACT. THIS IS NO SMALL TRICK.
>	THEN THERE IS THE DANCE.
>	ONCE THE DANCE BEGINS, OTHERS ARRIVE. IT IS THEIR JOB TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE BUT TO FEEL REAL FEAR. AS THEY ACT, THEY DANCE. THEY DANCE WITH THE PERSON THAT HAS BECOME THE BOOK, THEY DANCE WITH THEIR REAL FEAR, THEY DANCE AROUND A STAGE, AND A STORY IS TOLD IN THE TRACKS OF THEIR STEPS AS THEY KEEP DANCING.
>	LET US NOT FORGET THE DICE. THE DICE SING. THE DICE SING OF OPENING DOORS, AND BRAINS SPRAYING ACROSS WALLS, AND THE TRANSLATION OF BOOKS. THE SONG OF THE DICE LETS YOU CLIMB BURNING TAPESTRIES AND SCREAM AND GO MAD AND HIDE, WEEPING IN THE DARK AS MARIONETTES SPIN IN ECHOING TUNNELS OF SMOOTH STONE.
>	THE DICE SING A TUNE TO WHICH THE FALSE PEOPLE DANCE WHILE THE BOOK, INSIDE, LEADS ALL ON. AND WHETHER THEY WANT TO OR NOT, THEY DANCE.
>	YOU DANCE. WE DANCE.
>	WE ALL DANCE, HAND IN HAND	UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
		UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
		UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
		UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
		UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD