Psychosupernatural Formulas for The Fall of Delta Green

By Jason Kraus

The late 1960s were a heady time for society. Classified, compartmented military and intelligence programs on both sides of the Iron Curtain experimented with previously unutilized chemical compounds to gain advantage over their adversaries and insight into the human mind. In the shadowy corridors of Langley and Lubyanka, the competition to win the race into outer space was at times matched by the competition to win the race into inner space.

By experimenting on both witting and unwitting subjects, governments used psychosupernatural formulas to test the viability of unique chemical and magickal compounds for military and intelligence purposes. MAJESTIC, ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), and SV-8 pushed the thresholds of experimentation, leaving organizations like Delta Green to pick up the pieces when things often went terribly wrong.

History books are rife with details on the efforts that became public over time, but for The Fall of Delta Green we’ll focus on a few lesser-known efforts that remain hidden.

Access to Formulas

With the appropriate Agency/Network spends, an agent may gain access to some of these government-controlled psychosupernatural formulas. Of course, all of these chemical mixtures are still experimental and potentially temperamental, so the agent would serve as something of a guinea pig in an uncontrolled testing environment. Unless the agents quietly acquire the highly experimental pharma, the issuing agency would almost certainly require a full debriefing on the experience.

Formulas by Agency

MAJESTIC

By virtue of its unique purview in the US government’s architecture of secret programs, MAJESTIC scientists have reverse-engineered non-human technologies to replicate what they suspect is an alien method of instantaneous communication.

• 24.13R.04 – This drug mentally connects users taking the same cocktail in the same geographic area, allowing for instantaneous communication and tactical planning. The group awareness lasts for 6 hours. The drawback is that with connected minds, Stability tests are shared throughout the collective group. When any member of the 24.13R.04-connected group experiences a Stability test, all members must roll that same test. Further, if any member of the group is killed and their consciousness suddenly ‘unplugged’ from the collective, all remaining members take a 4-point Stability (Helplessness) test.

MKULTRA–Advanced Research Projects Agency Joint Programs

The CIA’s MKULTRA family of chemical-experimentation programs is vast, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has always been a very willing partner. By using chemicals, ancient tomes, and magicks discovered by Delta Green, MAJESTIC, and the FOREVER Program (but unattributed to them), this joint project has made significant headway in understanding the new frontiers of the human mind, especially its combat applications.

• Lotus-34 – The thirty-fourth version of this FOREVER Program- and Xin magic-derived combat applications formula continues to improve the survivability of its test subjects. Given to select MACV-SOG, Phoenix Program, and Daniel Boone deep-infiltration teams, Lotus-34 has demonstrated higher combat effectiveness across the whole spectrum of measures. Lotus-34 provides users a 6-point General Abilities pool, the drawback being that after 120 hours/5 days, the individual suffers 1d6+2 L1 Health damage and a Diff 4 Stability test (Helplessness) as their body is wracked with agony.

• Formula Starfinger – This Xin-derived concoction allows the user brief out-of-body experiences during which they move by thought alone and are able to affect the material world on a limited basis. The cost of use is a mere 3-point Stability test. However, users report they drew attention from “aggressive lamprey, barbed jellyfish, and starfish with hundreds of needle teeth”. If notified, Delta Green experts would identify these creatures as “Those Beyond” and “Tillinghast Horrors”.

• Reds – Named for their lipstick-crimson color, Reds are another FOREVER Program-derived combat-applications formula. Proven effective and straightforward, Reds allow the user to convert Stability and Sanity to Health on a 1:2 basis (1 Stability/Sanity becomes 2 Health). This results in a highly lethal and robust combat operator. Repeated use has shown extremely high rates of serious addiction. First use requires a Diff 2 Health test with each subsequent use increasing the Diff by 2. First failure on this roll creates an Addiction to Reds per the rules on p. 123 of The Fall of Delta Green rulebook.

Spetsialni Viedotstvo 8 (SV-8)

Following the capture and exploitation of Karotechia scientists during World War II, the Soviet Union’s GRU SV-8 has aggressively pursued development of a wide spectrum of psychosupernatural formulas in pursuit of the perfect Socialist state and toward the destruction of the decadent, democratic West. Initially tested on state prisoners and other “recruits,” successful compounds have made their way into field use in Cold War conflict zones, such as Berlin, Beirut, West Africa, Mexico City, and the Vietnam War.

• Cocktail Theosis – The pride of SV-8’s experimentation into psychosupernatural formulas, Cocktail Theosis provides a massive boost to a psychic’s abilities. Users are imbued with a temporary 10-point Paranormal Ability pool. The drawback is the user immediately and permanently develops both Aggressive Tendencies and Megalomania mental disorders, per their descriptions in the rulebook. This has resulted in limited use in the field by mostly psychic assassins dedicated to neutralizing a specific target and expected to be a one-way trip.

• Laika – A 25-year evolution of a nascent Karotechia effort, the Laika formula effectively makes a user the physical equivalent of a Lesser Deep One. The user’s body takes on a hideous aspect reflected in the following statistical adjustments: Hit Threshold 5, Alertness Modifier +1, Stealth Modifier +1, Melee attack d6+1, Armor -1 vs. physical, and Frog-like Leap as described on p. 228 of the rulebook. Each use lasts 1d6+1 hours and reduces Sanity by 1. In addition, users report a powerful compulsion for the sea that worsens over time.

• Krem – An injectable, near-instant 90-second torpor during which the user’s spirit is wrenched out of its body and into higher dimensions, temporarily replaced by a “healing energy.” This results in a miraculous full return to Health. The user’s spirit is then recompressed from higher dimensions into its original, now ill-fitting three-dimensional mold. The user makes a Diff 5 Health test where failure results in a permanent -1 to Health. An additional side effect is the dramatic aging of tissues and internal organs that will result in an abbreviated natural lifespan.

Black Stars Outlaw Motorcycle Club

• The Green Stuff – Derived through ritual sacrifice of an enemy of, or traitor to, the Black Stars MC, charnel-black Liao lotus flowers burst from the victim and bloom. Once cooked up in the filthy sinks and bathtubs of Black Stars MC flophouses, the Green Stuff allows users to see invisible, extradimensional, and hypergeometric entities and spaces, per the Voorish Sign on p. 207 of the rulebook. The effect lasts two maddening hours, costs 1 Sanity, and requires a Stability test (Unnatural) with the potential loss of 3 Stability.