Haystack, Oregon.

An adventure for Delta Green. I’m running it using Violence. You could run this for any modern paranormal game with a little work: mostly replacing MJ12 and DG with appropriate factions.

Upon the Pacific coast rests Haystack, a crumbling town of 687. Boats rust in the harbour, and trash accumulates in the streets. De-industrialisation and a failing fishing economy leaves most of the population retired or unemployed. The sea does not weep for them.

Timeline

• ~130 years ago: The people of Haystack enter into a blasphemous concord with the Deep Ones living off the coast. In return for carrying their progeny to term, the creatures ensured bountiful waters, teeming with fish pliant and fat.
• ~30 years ago: As a result of Delta Green operations, the Deep Ones severed their contact with the surface. The waters begin to grow barren.
• ~10 years ago: Falling harvests combine with a downwards turn economically. The town begins to rot.
• ~3 years ago: Imogen Moss begins to have powerful dreams of a great destiny, a return to the ways of Old. In truth, a Mi-Go wishes to capture a Deep One for study and experimentation - and finds the best route is to ensnare a human into trying the rituals required. The economic downturn drives many to join Imogen’s group: The Hydrean Order, promising the return of prosperity.
• ~2 years ago: Rachel Foster returns to Haystack, having been initiated into the usage of the Voor’s Head Device. She begins teaching it to those she believes to be receptive.
• ~1 year ago: Delta Green agent, Nick Poacher, conducts genealogical research and discovers his family originates in Haystack. Cross-reference with his case files reveals the Deep One taint present within the town.
• ~3 months ago: MJ12 detects Grey related activity in the area and dispatches Declan Booth to investigate.
• ~1 month ago (early July): Nick Poacher seeks answers in Haystack. Unmarried and friendless, his absence is not noted.
• 2 nights ago (July 31st): The Hydrean Order detect and capture Nick Poacher. He manages to dial out to his DG handler before being pulled away. Declan Booth had been observing Poacher, and goes into hiding after witnessing the capture.
• Now: The player characters are briefed.
• In 3 days time: Declan returns from hiding, actively seeking any further outsiders who may be associated with Poacher.
• In 6 days time: Poacher is used in a successful sacrifice at midnight. The Order re-establishes contact with the Deep Ones.
• In 7 days time: The Mi-Go abducts a Deep One envoy.
• In 8 days time: 352 Deep Ones invade Haystack and kill everyone.

The Brief

It is 9AM, August 2nd, 1990. The Player Characters have been summoned by their handler to a truck-stop motel on Route 101, about 2 hours drive from Haystack. Room 23, unlocked, contains a manilla envelope marked with the usual green triangle. Within is a printout and a cassette tape. The printout reads:

“Your fellow, Nick Poacher, has disappeared on unofficial business in the town of Haystack. Determine what he was doing. Recover him if possible. Close any business he may have opened. Enclosed is the recording which informed us of his issues. The call was made at 9:32 PM, 31st of July. Destroy this note.”

The following transcript details the recording:

Side A
[Immediate sound of banging.]
[Metallic echo, rustle. Banging continues.]
Man 1: Shit. (Panicked, quietly.) [Metallic clatter.]
[Sound of splintering wood, door slamming.]
[Several male voices shouting.]
Man 2: Don’t you fuckin-
[Several wet thuds.]
Man 3: Motherfucker.
[Spitting.]
Man 2: Get the feet.
[Knocking, banging, muffled swearing.]
Man 2: Close [indistinguishable]… don’t you…[indistinguishable]… [~55mins silence.]
Side B
[~55mins silence.]
Man 4: Okay, tidy up the blood. Put the broken shit in a bag. She’ll let you know when you can go home.
[Recording Ends.]

The silence has not been edited out.

Characters

Imogen Moss

The leader and founder of the Hydrean Order. 45 years old and on the fringes of the old Haystack, Imogen has been manipulated via her dreams and deeply layered psionic suggestions. She carries a silver cylinder she believes to be an artefact from the Deep Ones, enabling her to commune with a Deep One elder keen to begin the concord anew. In truth, the Cylinder contains a human brain, used a psionic interface for the Mi-Go controlling the situation. It wishes to capture and dissect one of the creatures - and is happy to wait the multiple years required to make it happen.

Imogen’s sense of reality and dream has been entirely eroded. The role of leader feels inconsequential to her, and she shows no real talent - her followers are similarly controlled through suggestion and dreams.

Nick Poacher

51 and with little to show for it but nightmares. Nick has been with Delta Green for 20 years, and has killed scores in what he believes to be a righteous cause. Discovering that this underworld might be in his blood nearly broke him - only the idea he might disprove it by travelling to the source kept him going.

Declan Booth

A 32 year old professional with the NSA, suborned to NRO DELTA as a low-profile field investigator. Delcan truly believes what little he knows of MJ12’s mission - protecting America from the threat of the Greys by first letting them show their hand. He knows nothing of Delta Green, but is thrilled at the idea of another group working against the extra-terrestrials. He has yet to call anything in to HQ, and will bend the truth if asked to keep anyone’s involvement quiet - even exchanging encrypted contact details to help with new friends. He has come up blank in finding Grey involvement, and only knows a little of the Hydrean Order.

The Town

Haystack is filled with the desperate. The mass loss of jobs with the closure of the canning factory and decline of fishing waters traps many within the town, unable to leave, their property valueless. The coastal air is always moist, leaving the entire area feeling clammy. All of the cars rust aggressively, the streets are pocked with holes in which trash gathers, huddling for warmth.

The Hydrean Order lurks in the shadows - they do not yet have the authority to operate in the open, nor do they want the attention. Where needed, isolated individuals are threatened into compliance or silence. Most of the members are old folk who remember the bounty purchased by their blasphemous congress with the Deep Ones. Few in Haystack are happy to talk with outsiders - especially those with government badges.

Joe’s Motel

A slowly decaying 2-storey motel on the edge of Haystack. On the desk during the day is Chloe Ellis (36). She is happy to have a job, and will not risk it for anything except cash - she has nearly saved enough to move away from Haystack. The night clerk is Lucy Wallace (42), the wife of Joe Wallace. She is domineering but extremely chatty.

4 rooms are registered as in-use currently:

• Jenson Wright (32) - A salesman for boat parts, specialising in older out-of-production models. Here to potentially purchase some of the condemned vehicles for parts. Here for the past 2 months.
• Erin Wallace (24) - Her life destroyed by the death of her husband and son in a car accident. She is here to join the Voor’s Head Device community in the woods, but is mustering up the courage to face them. Here for the past week.
• Van George (46) - Kicked out by his wife, Alice, for sleeping around. A Haystack local, he was never initiated into the mysteries that kept the fish plentiful. Here for the past 2 weeks.
• Jake Taylor - The false name used by Declan. His room has been half-emptied, dirty clothes in heaps. Left behind:
  • A receipt from a nearby outdoor goods store, dated the 1st of August. Items bought: all-seasons tent, hikers map of Haystack State Park, 2 weeks trail rations, fishing rod.
  • The case for a set of high-powered binoculars.
  • Phone tapping equipment with signs of recent use. The records show that ‘Jake Taylor’ has been here for 3 months. He was last seen at 11AM on the 1st of August, leaving in his Ford Granada by Chloe.

The Waterfront Motel

Ten rooms, all dirty and damp, face the harbour. The owner, Callum Marsh (59) is a huge man of few words. He is a member of the Hydrean Order, and informs Imogen of anything usual via telephone. The check-in book was “lost” recently - burnt after the capture of Poacher. Callum is happy to share that 3 of the rooms are currently in use:

• Charlie Howard (42) - A day-labourer, staying here due to proximity to the harbour. He overheard a scuffle on the 31st, but has been intimidated into silence. He is looking for quick work to buy a bus-ticket out of Haystack. He has been here 3 weeks.
• Chelsea Webb (19) - A sex-worker and Haystack native. She has plans of moving away once she has enough money saved. She was out with a client on the 31st. Here for the past 3 months.
• Cody Lee (31) - A member of the Order, told to stay here and watch to see if anyone tries to follow Poacher’s trail. He joined the Order at the insistence of his father, but is happy to have the direction in life. Asked, he claims to be a boat mechanic. Beneath the bed, he keeps a sawn-off shotgun. On the wall, in green ballpoint, a triangle has been drawn below an airduct, the cover loose. Within the vent, a bag containing:
  • A 9mm handgun, loaded.
  • A mobile phone, battery long dead.
  • A weatherpoof tear-away notepad. Only one used page has not been torn out. It reads: “Someone is bringing it back. Hostile looks, scared looks when you ask about the Old Days. Esp. Old Folks. No sign of Poacher. Dogs at the old canning factory. Someone watching - Ford Granada”

Sheriff’s Office

The sheriff, Nathan Simpson (37), aims to be genuinely helpful with anything unrelated to the Hydrean Order. Any questions on the subject, or related to it, causes Nathan to inform Imogen of the investigators. He warns people away from the Canning Factory, claiming he suspects dangerous “drug-users and squatters.” For anything unusual in the area, he directs investigators to “the old Posser place near the state park” - the manor used by the Voor’s Head Device group.

Harbour

Rusting fishing vessels bob, crewed only by seabirds. Small crowds of hopeful day-labourers compete for positions on the 3 remaining working boats. All this is nominally watched by the harbour-master, Frankie Mason (71). Half blind with drink, he happily gives access to his records. Four vessels are marked as having left recently:

• The Orca, a fishing vessel under Harvey Perry.
• The Warlock, a fishing vessel under James West.
• The Delight, a fishing vessel under Ollie Cox.
• The Bachelor, lacking a name under the Captain column. Being used by the Hydrean Order to hold Poacher.

Those waiting into the deep evening see all boats return bar the Bachelor.

The Bachelor

An hour out to sea, the Bachelor floats, lights on. Aboard are Madden Burton (61), Gideon Lindsey (52) and Elliot Roberson (21), all three with hunting rifles. They have been told to guard Poacher, as he has been selected for a special destiny. He lies in the hold, occasionally fed and watered from the large coolers of supplies. The three Order members sleep in shifts. Elliot is keen to prove himself, whilst Madden will only spill blood in self-defence. If the situation turns sour, Gideon will hold Poacher hostage to save his own life. All three know how to operate the radio to call for assistance from the shore - another 10 Order members arriving aboard the Lucky, a leaking tug barely seaworthy.

On the 8th, Imogen arrives at night aboard the Lucky, carrying the Cylinder and unknowingly accompanied by the Mi-Go. After an hour of preparation, Poacher is ritually emasculated and thrown into the water. The Deep Ones respond, giving Imogen tokens with which to contact them again.

The Canning Factory

A 10’ high fence, topped with razor-wire long rusted, surrounds the old canning factory. Only a single road allows access via a gate. 6 Order members patrol at all times, accompanied by 6 guard dogs. All carry rifles. Imogen spends her time within the main office floor, interpreting the dreams and suggestions given to her. Unbeknownst to all, a Mi-Go lurks in the rafters. If gunfire starts, Imogen flees in a car kept covered in the carpark, accompanied by d6 Order members. The Mi-Go follows carefully if dark - otherwise staying put.

A large radio-set up keeps communication with the Bachelor, and a notepad shows their latitude and longitude. Once a day, one of the members of the Order checks in.

The Manor

Slowly being consumed by the forest, a crumbling manse in the Victorian style. Squatting here are 8 devotees of the Voor’s Head Device, a thick black hood worn over the head to grant mystical insight. This community is led by Rachel Foster, who is happy to talk to visitors - offering to guide them in the usage of the hood. None here have yet glimpsed the Black Ocean.

Camping nearby, car hidden under a camouflage net, is Declan Booth. He mostly tries to stay hidden and out of sight, although he has been trying to determine the nature of the Voor’s Head group whilst hiding out.