Delta Green has always been my go-to game for modern horror role playing since it first slithered into my life in the mid-1990’s. Back then, it was some of the most well-written source material for the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Now, with the release of the Delta Green: Agent’s Handbook, it is a fully self-contained rules system built around the same great setting that has been updated to the current era. All the things familiar about the Basic Roleplaying system are still there, but streamlined and geared specifically towards the Delta Green setting.

Everything you need to start playing right away is here, without having to wait for more books to come out. Chapters on overview, playing the game, character generation, combat, equipment/weapons, agencies, and tradecraft/terminology are all presented in an easy-to-follow format. Sprinkled throughout the chapters are immersive, vignettes of doomed Delta Green agents and affiliates -- a nice touch to give you an idea of what may be in store for your character in the not too distant future. Especially fun is the chapter on ‘Home’, a treatise on how interactions with friends, family, and a day job can either help or hinder your character’s ability to recover Sanity and cope with The Unknown. The art and format are what really shine and really can’t stress this enough. The fonts and tables stand out well against a background made to look like a well-read and official government dossier. The interior art is primarily made up of official looking documents and photographed scenes of people preparing for or experiencing the creatures and effects of the Mythos. The layout and imagery really help to suck you in to a hideous and unforgiving world. With each new section, you get a sense of the impotence of modern man when faced with the Mythos. At the very least, the visuals and short-story content will set the mood for the game, but more likely will be nightmare fuel for your players.

Whether new to the realm of modern horror or a veteran of the setting, you need this book. With the scenarios that are currently available combined with the incoming wave of additional source material slated to roll out, the Delta Green: Agent’s Handbook will keep you busy rolling up and killing off characters for years to come.

I joined this Kickstarter after taking a look at the early rules document. I was thinking about purchasing the new Call of Cthulhu at the time, but I instantly fell in love with these rules. They are the best horror RPG rules I've used. Super streamlined, with a great reworking of Sanity, and fantastic additions for downtime and family life. Another nice addition is Lethality, making combat realistic and frightening. I really like conspiracy and "monster of the week" campaigns, and this game does both very well, with the bonus of existing within HPL's Mythos. Character creation is fast, but you still end up with a deep character. The information on government organizations is top notch. You can easily run any previous Delta Green material or CoC scenario with these rules. This is really the only horror game I'm ever going to need. It's perfect. Can't wait for more of the books.

This is a great book and my favorite interation of the BRP rules for a Mythos game and it does an incredible job of bringing personal horror to the Mythos and the impact that doing the DG job has on the characters.

In addition to this, it is one of the best books for information on US government agencies, both foreign and domestic, as well as information on the military. Even if you don't want to play an DG game, you could use this for a military or federal agent game.

Some of the best mechanical parts of the game include how Sanity and the Breaking Point works; Bonds that represent the relationships that PCs have with family, friends, and organizations that can be used as a source of strength, and will deteriorate over time as the PCs continue to hold back the dark; and Lethality ratings for weapons which is a percentage chance for some weapons to automatically kill a target (mostly human targets), and makes combat deadly which is appropriate for the setting.

Overall, it is a great new start for the Delta Green line.

This review originally appeared on www.forgotmydice.com

Dungeons and Dragons has always been my first love, which I started playing back during 2nd Edition, and it’s a game I always come back to. But the first RPG that blew my mind when I read it, so that it changed how I thought about RPGs, was the original Delta Green supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, written way, way back in 1997. Delta Green introduced me to my favorite RPG genre, modern conspiracy horror. Well, now Delta Green is back, and this time it is its own RPG. I couldn’t be more excited.

Delta Green as a game product was a serious attempt to bring Cthulhu-style horror to a modern-day setting. In the original edition, they brilliantly married UFO conspiracy theory that was popular in the 90’s with elements of the Cthulhu mythos. Though the Delta Green book came out not long after The X-Files premiered, it was being developed around the same time as the show. So while the game was never really inspired by The X-Files, they oddly feel very similar, as if the writers of both were tapping into the culture zeitgeist of the time.

The Setting The original Delta Green supplement chronicled the agency’s history, starting with its inception as a government creation spun out of the events of the novella “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” If you have read the story (Spoiler Alert), “The Government” depth-charged Devil’s Reef at the end of that tale, and the US government took several fish-men hybrids away for study. Delta Green was the agency put in charge of those fish-men and the artifacts they recovered. Over time, Delta Green morphed and found its calling by fighting Mythos-studying Nazis in WWII. They eventually got disbanded after a bad operation in the 70’s, and re-formed into a terrorist conspiracy that operated within the US government, which is where the story was left back in 1997.

However, the real world marched on after that point but we’ve had no update to the original setting, even after several awesome books and adventures were published. Unfortunately, that information void continues to hold true in the upcoming Delta Green: Agents Handbook (available currently in PDF), though most likely because it is a players’ resource, and in a game of conspiracies, the players shouldn’t be aware of the behind-the-scenes history right away. Part of what makes the game fun for the Game Master (or Case Officer, in this RPG) is slowly revealing the layers of the conspiracy. For me, who is a bit of an old hat in the storyline, not being able to know what’s been happening was a little bit of a bummer, but the Case Officers Handbook is due out next and that should have all this information stashed there. So yeah, I’m going just a bit nuts waiting for the next book.

Rules What you do get is rules, which is everything you need to create a character and run the game. There is not much in the way of setting within these pages. The Delta Green RPG builds upon the original Call of Cthulhu RPG. The goal of the system is to streamline everything in Call of Cthulhu, update it to the modern day instead of the 1920s, but still have a product that’s compatible with older Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green material. In general, they have succeeded.

If you have played Call of Cthulhu before, not much has changed. The system is based on a d100, and your skills are based on flat percentages. For instance, if you have a 60 Survival, that means to succeed on a check, you have to roll 60 or under on a d100. They have further streamlined this system by borrowing concepts from the Gumshoe RPG system. Basically, if you have a 40 or higher in a skill, and what you are attempting isn’t time-sensitive, the Gamemaster usually won’t force you to roll and instead just give you the clues. If you have a 60 or higher, the Gamemaster gives you better clues. This was the best part of the Gumshoe game engine, since as a Gamemaster I’m usually scrambling to figure out how to let the players find a clue again after the whole table rolls terribly. It assumes competence of the players, instead of forcing them to roll everything, which makes sense. If you’re skilled in Archeology, you’re not going to fail seeing what is and isn’t Egyptian in the strange tomb you have uncovered. Using a system like this helped the tail end of my D&D game quite a bit, but I’ll get into that next week.

Another bit that I liked was the method of character advancement. Handing players XP for character improvement seems weird in a system that is known for character insanity and death. Instead, during the session, if you fail a skill roll, then you place a mark by the skill. If your character survives, at the end of the adventure, all marked skills go up by 1 point. It’s like the character deciding to double down to improve skills so that they wouldn't have the same trouble again. It’s a little random and arbitrary, but that is Call of Cthulhu for ya.

The master stroke for modern Cthulhu gaming has to be the revised sanity chapter. Call of Cthulhu handles sanity in a way fitting of a 1920s pulp horror novel, but those actions don’t quite translate to the modern day. For example, if your character fails a sanity check, he or she may pass out or develop strange phobias. The Delta Green RPG revises this concept by making the sanity mechanic that more resembles PTSD. Also, sanity loss comes from fewer sources, such as violence, helplessness, and witnessing something unnatural. Your character can become hardened to sources of insanity, which means you don’t take sanity losses from those sources anymore, but it also means you are becoming a cold soulless person that is starting to resemble the very monsters you are fighting.

You can also resist sanity loss by sacrificing points in personal connections you have. But this also comes at a cost, since after the adventure is over, you have to explain how this loss of connection occurred. For example, after fighting off some fish-men, you start to drink a lot more at home and start yelling at your kid, which has permanently damaged your relationship. It is unsettling and uncomfortable but more realistic to simulate a modern game where you’re slowly losing your mind.

Final Thoughts Overall, I’m very happy with the new version of the Delta Green RPG. I’ve only played the game with the original Call of Cthulhu system once and found the experience lacking. It was obvious to me even then, that there was a little bit of a disconnect between the rules and the setting. After that, I used Wizards of the Coast’s d20 version, which wasn’t much better but it was during the d20 boom and I understood the system. I was planning on using the Gumshoe Trail of Cthulhu version if I ran Delta Green again, but then they announced this update to Delta Green RPG, so I’m going to give this a try. They have cleaned up most of the problems I had with the original version, and the new sanity mechanics are very evocative of the setting and time period. While I am disappointed with the lack of setting detail, I know it’s coming, so I just have to wait for it a little bit longer. Once a few more books come out in the line, this is going to be a great game to pick up. I’m especially looking forward to the King in Yellow campaign book they have been talking about. The only question is, when will it be out, and will it be in time to start when I wrap up my current campaign? My hope is yes, as the anticipation is definitely getting to me. Pardon me while I go roll a sanity check vs helplessness during the wait.

Opening with an Overview, this is the players' book for the Delta Green RPG. The Overview is interesting, stating that it is a warning... that Delta Green is not about adventure and bug hunts and guns, but about fear. A fear that the things the characters deal with can end not just their lives but the very Earth itself. Once it's calmed down a bit, there's a more reasoned explanation of what Delta Green is and does: a covert operation hidden within the depths of the establishment, with a mission to investigate, contain, and conceal unnatural events. It's a strange organisation with no headquarters or bases, with most agents knowing only a few others and generally working a 'day job' when they are not off on a mission for Delta Green. Agents are recruited carefully and slowly, they need to be certain that they have the right people. There's a run-through of the common features of all the missions undertaken: suspense, horror, violence, moral dilemmas, secrets, mind-bending knowledge, and the personal and professional consequences of being a Delta Green agent. This opening chapter ends with an outline of how the game is played, primarily aimed at those not familiar with role-playing games.

Next, Agents contains all the information you need to create your character. The system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role Playing one with characters described by their Statistics (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Power and Charisma) which can be rolled or determined through a point-buy system. There are some Derived Attributes to work out, then you select a Profession and Skills before adding personal details including the character's bonds to important people (vital for hanging on to your sanity) as well as things like name, appearance, current job and so on. There's masses of detail to help you through the process. If you don't care for the Professions offered here (which provide your main Skills), there are notes on how to invent your own.

Then The Game is a chapter which explains, in great detail, how to play the game, and use the abilities and skills that your character has to effect. The core system is percentage based, with the aim being to roll under the percentage you have in an applicable Statistic or Skill. It's advised that you only get the dice out if the task you wish to undertake is a difficult one, if the situation is unpredictable or when there are consequences to failure... dire ones, that is. There are lots of examples to show you how the system works, but it's pretty intuitive. One nice angle is the Luck Roll - a straight unmodified roll giving you a 50% chance of things going your way: use this when wondering if the car you just stole has a first-aid kit aboard as you need one, or if the neighbours are in when you are busy kicking a door down to break in... There's things like opposed tests and pursuits here as well.

Combat, however, gets a chapter to itself. This takes you through brawling in great detail, with all the options available - some of them optional - and how to make the most of the skills, equipment and situation that you have. There's a lot to absorb here, but it's worth reading so that when you do have to fight, you do so to best effect. It can get pretty lethal though - just like the real world - so pick your fights carefully. There's also things like protection, healing and other useful combat-related material here too, as well as other ways to harm or be harmed - poisons, environmental dangers, fire, falls and so on.

Next comes Sanity. In a game about horror and fear, it's quite easy to lose your marbles... so here are the rules for hanging on to your sanity, or losing it big style. All sorts of things can put a Delta Green Agent's sanity at risk, both the things that they see and experience, and the things they find that they have to do. There's a splendid selection of disorders that deranged minds might turn to, and a scant few notes on therapy that may, just may, aid in recovery.

The next chapter is Home. The brief respite of normal everyday life that anchors agents, reminds them of why they do what they do, reminds them of normal life. In this game, short scenes are used - normally between missions - to enable agents to touch base, but also to see how what they have done and seen affects that which they hold most dear. This is also when they can attend theraphy sessions, gain additional skills through training and study... or even face prosecution if the authorities have noticed what they've been up to! It's a neat way of incorporating an air of real life into the game, making things like boosting your skills a part of the game rather than book-keeping.

This is followed by Equipment and Vehicles. This deals with the gear that the agent needs (or would like to have). The expense is handled in an arbitrary manner without tracking every dollar spent. You only have to argue the case for access to high value or hard to obtain items, most of the time it's deemed that agents have access to the things that they need. It depends on the mission, the cover story and the item you want... and a lot is left to the Handler's discretion! There can be consequences for asking for something that the powers-that-be deem inappropriate to what they think you are doing, and there can be an after-action review in which awkward questions can be asked. Or you can try the black market... It's only then that we get down to the actual lists and applicable game mechanics for actual items. Again, it's a neat system which adds realism to the process without bogging it down in masses of accounting and record-keeping.

Next is an extensive chapter of Federal Agencies. All the alphabet soup agencies you've heard of and quite a few that, unless you are obsessive about US government agencies, you probably didn't know existed. It also includes the military, as well as law enforcement, intelligence, diplomats and public safety. The main idea here is that they are potential employers of record for our agents. Each agency is described with notes on whether or not their staff have powers of arrest, do they carry weapons as a matter of course, what funds are available to them and do they have access to more exotic items of equipment. Appropriate professions are listed for each one, and there are notes on how best to play a member of that agency. It's all quite fascinating, and gives a wide range of interesting backgrounds - I once played a Centers for Disease Control doctor, another time I was a CIA consultant and historian scampering around Afghanistan...

Finally, there's a series of appendices covering tradecraft (all those useful tricks of espionage or undercover work), a comprehensive glossary and some recommended reading. And a character sheet.

It's an excellent introduction to the game with loads of useful background to help you create and play an effective Delta Green agent. Good luck... you'll need it.

There is a reason Delta Green is a classic in the TTRPG world. This new Agent's Handbook updates much of the technology and other details of the setting, but it doesn't take away from the "classic" feel of a decades-long conspiracy and and courage at the brink of madness. It's been a while since I last played Delta Green, this is the perfect excuse to jump back in.

The most compelling part of the game (for me) is the ever-present focus on the Lovecraftian themes of madness and cosmic horror. Yes, other games have the sanity mechanic, edge, guts, etc... but few are as central to your character as it is in Delta Green. Even set in the 20th and 21st Centuries, this is still the biggest threat to humanity, and getting too close to the truth is only going to drive you over the edge and into a straightjacket or worse. When you're playing a PC with that much responsibility and that much to lose, and the game keeps reminding you of that at every turn, it makes for an unique gaming experience. I've played only a few games over the years where the players were so upset by the setting that it affected the way they normally play. It gets intense. And the fact that this current DG Handbook is filled with so much new gear and evolved backstory makes it an easy choice for a group looking to get into something detailed that isn't "standard".

The layout is solid as well, the font size and style are easy on the eyes (something that actually makes a huge difference when you read as many corebooks and TTRPG books as I do.) The art is terrific, I just wish there was a bit more, but that is no reason to take away stars on a review. Glad to see the agents of Delta Green are still carrying on the fight in 2016 and beyond! Go, go, Delta Green!