Alternative Rules for Psychics in The Fall of Delta Green

By Jason Kraus

What follows are alternative rules for psychics in Fall of Delta Green that strain Health instead of Stability.

Psychics use Paranormal Ability Points, which are a General Ability that can be improved and refreshed the same way. Using Paranormal Powers does not damage Stability when used, though the outcome of their effect on a target can trigger a Stability test. Instead, the use of Paranormal Powers causes Health damage. The greater the effort, the greater the potential Health damage to the psychic. Psychics can build Paranormal Potential Points in the same way a sorcerer can build Hypergeometry Potential Points.

Power Use

Psychics spend Paranormal Ability Points to use Paranormal Powers.

• If unresisted by a human target or against an inanimate object, the Paranormal Power takes effect.

• Against a non-psychic who is aware of the power use against them and chooses to resist, they may resist the psychic in a head-to-head roll and add any number of Sanity and Health points to improve their roll. This applies only if they are aware that they are facing a psychic. If the non-psychic’s total is greater than the psychic’s total, the Paranormal Ability does not take effect.

• If a Paranormal Power is used against another psychic, the psychic and their location are both detected. If the psychic target resists, the opponents go head-to-head in a Psychic Duel to determine the outcome.

Unlocking a New Psychic Ability

Unlocking a new paranormal power is a traumatic event. Whenever a player attempts to use a Paranormal Power for the very first time, it costs an additional 2 Paranormal Ability Points or 4 Stability points.

Stability Spends

Psychics can spend Stability points on a 1-for-1 basis to improve die rolls on the Paranormal test.

Psychic Duel

A Psychic Duel is a mind war between two psychic opponents and lasts three rounds. Psychics can use any power they want, as long as that power affects a living target. Each round, both psychics make secret Paranormal Ability Point spends that they can add any number of Stability points to. The total spend points are added to the die roll and then revealed to determine the winner. The loser receives the difference in the scores as Health damage and the winner gets a +1 bonus to their die roll for the rest of the duel, which is cumulative. In the event of a tie, the powers cancel each other out, no bonus is earned, and play continues. At the end of the third round, the victor is the psychic with the most wins and their paranormal power takes effect, if the loser is even still alive.

Health Effects

When unopposed, each use of a Paranormal Power requires a Diff 4 Health Test. The difficulty is modified by the number of points the power costs plus the level at which the Paranormal Power is used. The sum of the player’s dice roll and points spent is compared to the Difficulty number. If the combined result (point spend + dice roll) is less than the Difficulty, apply the difference as Health damage to the psychic as the psychic power takes effect. If the Player’s sum is greater than the difficulty, the psychic suffers no Health damage as the psychic power takes effect.

Paranormal Powers

Suggestion (two-point power) – The ability to psychically nudge a living target to do your will. The target can resist if they are psychic or otherwise aware that their mind is being manipulated. Must have eye contact with the target to use Suggestion.

Telekinesis (three-point power) – The ability to lift, move, and manipulate objects with only the mind. The living target can resist if they are psychic or otherwise aware that they are being telekinetically manipulated. A non-living target cannot resist. Line-of-sight to the target is necessary.

Biokinesis (three-point power) – The ability to temporarily overcome physical limitations. The psychic can only use this power on themselves to create a temporary point pool to spend on any physical abilities. Any damage effects are taken immediately after the pool points are spent or three turns later, whichever is first.

Pyrokinesis (four-point power) – The ability to initiate combustion of a flammable object. The living target can resist only if they are psychic. A non-psychic or non-living target cannot resist. Line-of-sight to the target is necessary. Treat this as Extensive Fire Damage as per the table on the Fall of Delta Green Rulebook p.108

Technokinesis (four-point power) – The ability to psychically nudge an electronic object to do what the psychic wants it to do. An electronic object cannot resist this power.

Paranormal Power (Cost)	Cost Level One (1)	Cost Level Two (2)	Cost Level Three (3)
Suggestion (2)	Easy nudge, soft mind with no stake	Serious push, strong mind or one with a stake in the outcome	The Voice
Telekinesis (3)	5 pounds or less	Approx 50 pounds	Approx 250 pounds
Biokinesis (3)	3-point pool	4-point pool	5-point pool
Pyrokinesis (4)	Ignite a fuse or a match	Ignite a grenade or a bonfire	Ignite a M117 General Purpose Bomb or a house
Technokinesis (4)	Manipulate or jam a radio	Manipulate an electronic door lock at Lubyanka Prison, Moscow	Manipulate an electronic door lock at NORAD HQ at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex

Examples of use in play

Example 1: Charlotte the Delta Green psychic uses her mind to command a Czech border guard to let her car through the border. Since the guard is soft-minded and bored and wants to get out of the cold, it requires very little from him to look the other way. The difficulty number is 7 (Diff 4 + Suggestion which is a 2-point power, used at level 1). Charlotte’s player spends 2 Paranormal points and rolls a 4, for a total of 6. Since the difference between the difficulty number (7) and her roll (6) is only 1, Charlotte suffers only a single point of Health damage. Charlotte wipes the blood dripping from her nose and accelerates her Skoda deeper into the Iron Curtain.

Example 2: Pyotr the CIA Operative and Delta Green psychic has finally cornered Blake, the double agent who sold out their cell for a dacha in Sochi. Blake calls desperately on his radio for KGB help. Smiling, Pyotr decides to psychically jam the handset’s signal. The difficulty number is 9 (Diff 4 + Technokinesis which is a 4-point power, used at level 1). Pyotr’s player is out of Paranormal points and decides to spend 3 Stability to improve his dice roll. He rolls a 4 and adds 3 points from Stability totaling 7. Pyotr suffers 2 Health damage and the capillaries in his left eye burst, turning the eye crimson as he draws his Makarov. The radio jammed, and still smiling, Pyotr pumps two rounds into Blake’s chest, calmly closes the distance, and delivers two more into his head. The cold-blooded killing initiates a 5-point Stability test for Pyotr, which he fails. The loss of 8 Stability (3 from the initial roll plus 5 from the killing) may move Pyotr closer to cowboy they always said he was, but the payback was worth it.

Example 3: The East German Stasi are closing in on Delta Green psychic James and he is still far from the team’s safehouse. James spies a Robur 1801A cab-over-engine truck loaded with propane canisters. As the Stasi close on his position, James attempts to ignite the canisters. James’ difficulty number is 10 (Diff 4 + Pyrokinesis which is a 4-point power, used a level 2). Desperate, he spends his last Paranormal (1) and Stability (1) points to add to his roll. James’ player rolls a 1 and adds 2 points for a total of 3. The power still works and the truck detonates, driving the Stasi into panicked flight but James suffers 7 damage, pressing his remaining health well into the negative. Lucky for him, he passes his Consciousness roll but that safehouse suddenly got even farther away.

Example 4: MAC-V SOG counterinsurgent and Delta Green psychic Minh has followed Colonel Pham into a teahouse in Hanoi, North Vietnam. Revenge finally his, Minh begins to telekinetically crush the NVA colonel’s head. Pham recognizes the threat and surprises Minh with his own psychic power. The two enter a Psychic Duel. Hoping for a quick kill, Minh spends his full 4 Paranormal Ability Points and the last 3 of his Stability and rolls a 3 for a total of 10. Pham reveals that his total is 10 as well. Minh begins to sweat. Across the restaurant, the two glare at each other and enter the second round of the duel. Minh, with no more Paranormal Ability Points and zero Stability, rolls a 2. Pham, fueled by a secret Soviet psychic-drug cocktail, spends 4 more Paranormal Ability Points and 1 Stability and rolls a 5 for a total of 9. Minh absorbs 7 points of damage. His eyes roll back in his head, his shoulders go slack, and his clothing begins to smoke. The third and final round, Minh has failed his Consciousness roll and is defenseless. The NVA Colonel spends 5 more drug-fueled Paranormal Ability Points and 2 Stability and rolls a 6, for a total of 13. But since he won the previous round of the duel, Pham adds an additional 1 point, inflicting a devastating 14 points of Health damage on the powerless Delta Green counterinsurgent. Minh bursts into furious flame and the teahouse frantically clears out as the Colonel leans back in his seat and smokes a Laika cigarette. Colonel Pham might pay for using the Soviet drug cocktail sometime, but not today.

Example 5: It’s midnight in Tokyo and the long night’s fight has come down to its final critical moments. Delta Green psychic Aurik, bloodied and exhausted, is trapped in a small Shinto shrine by a group of katana-wielding Deep One hybrids. Aurik swaps out the last magazine for his Beretta M12 submachine gun and uses his remaining 2 Paranormal Ability Points to attempt Biokinesis at maximum threshold. His difficulty number is 10 (Diff 4 + Biokinesis which is a 3-point power, used a level 3). He rolls a 2 for a total of 4 and will suffer 6 Health points immediately after he spends the 5-point ability pool he’s just paid for. With a Teutonic roar, eyes and ears bleeding, Aurik rushes out of the small temple and descends on the yakuza like a terrible oni. The submachine gun on full auto, Aurik puts all 5 of his new Ability points into Firearms and mows down his opponents. He has just enough time before he receives the 6-point Health damage and falls unconscious on the temple’s wooden stairs to hope that that surly old man Trey is strong enough to carry him out of this fine mess.

 

Note: Psychic powers and the rules behind them are inspired by the films “Scanners” (1981) and “Firestarter” (1984). Two great movies. Watch them if you have the chance.

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The Fall of DELTA GREEN adapts DELTA GREEN: THE ROLE-PLAYING GAME to the GUMSHOE investigative roleplaying system, opening the files on a lost decade of anti-Mythos operations: the 1960s. Players take on the role of DELTA GREEN operatives, assets, and friendlies. Hunt Deep Ones beneath the Atlantic, shut down dangerous artists in San Francisco, and delve into the heart of Vietnam’s darkness. Purchase The Fall of DELTA GREEN in print and PDF at the Pelgrane Shop.