TEXT: WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  1 
   
  Introduction 
  In 1998, one of my scenarios in Pagan 
  Publishing‟s Mortal Coils scenario collection, 
  Common 
  Courtesy, 
  pitted 
  Classic-era 
  investigators against a sect of Afghani tribesmen 
  who adhered to ancient Scythian rites and 
  practices.  Their high priestess, a stunningly 
  powerful and ancient Scythian sorceress named 
  Nasra, the “Exalted Grandmother”, was an 
  adherent of Yog-Sothoth.  Not outwardly malign 
  as much as greatly concerned with maintaining 
  the culture of the Paralatae, or Royal Scythian 
  subgroup 
  of 
  the 
  tribe, 
  Nasra‟s 
  obsessive/compulsive focus on doing Scythian 
  rituals correctly was central to the optimal 
  solution of that scenario. 
  Since that time, people have occasionally asked 
  me, or wondered online, “what happened next?”  
  With Soviet, and then U.S. military activity in 
  Afghanistan—the very remote, tribal regions 
  where the Paralatae now have their homeland—
  some have wondered what use could be made of 
  them in a modern/Delta Green setting.  And 
  others have wondered how it is that a POW 35 
  sorceress born circa 310 B.C. both got her POW 
  that high and managed to stay off the world 
  stage, or what the Mythos connection was.  This 
  article and scenario addresses these issues, and 
  provides a true thematic sequel to Common 
  Courtesy in the Delta Green setting. 
  Origin & Early History 
  The Paralatae, or Royal Scythians, are an ancient 
  (in truth, extinct), warlike tribe of early horse 
  archers best known to modern scholars through 
  the Histories of the Greek historian, Herodotus.  
  They were one of several Black Sea area 
  empires that held sway in the several centuries 
  B.C., before they were swept off the world stage 
  by a series of conquerors, beginning with Philip 
  of Macedon, then by Alexander the Great, and 
  finally (during the waning days of the Roman 
  empire) by the Goths.  Although they were semi-
  nomadic, they did have a few larger towns and 
  capital cities over the centuries, mostly centered 
  around the Black Sea.  Their royal funerary rites 
  (involving ritual scarification of mourners, 
  erection of enormous kurgans (tombs) and the 
  human sacrifice of the king‟s concubines and 
  retainers) are described by Herodotus in detail.   
  Common Courtesy posited that, for reasons that 
  were not dwelt on in detail, a branch of the royal 
  family (led by a very powerful Mythos-
  knowledgeable sorceress, Nasra, the “Exalted 
  Grandmother”) survived into the modern era.  
  They had managed to cling to existence in 
  Afghanistan (a hinterland of the Scythian 
  Empire at its height), and were (for reasons not 
  explored in detail) extremely concerned with 
  maintaining their cultural integrity as it existed 
  back in the days of Herodotus‟ accounts.  Our 
  first task is to explore why this is. 
  The story of the Scythian Yog-Sothoth cult 
  begins circa the 7th Century B.C.  The backstory 
  is 
  consistent 
  with 
  the 
  concept 
  of 
  the 
  “Olympians” in the Cthulhu Invictus setting, but 
  alternatively, one can just posit that for whatever 
  reason, the bloodline of a mythical sorceress, 
  Medea, is somehow tainted and potentially 
  targeted for severe punishment by the forces of 
  the Mythos. 
  Medea is a figure in Greek mythology involved 
  in several major stories, several of which have 
  been adapted into operas and oratorios.  She is a 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  powerful sorceress, and the niece of Circe (the 
  sorceress in The Odyssey who turns Odysseus‟ 
  crew into swine).  Medea was wed to Jason (the 
  hero of the Argonaut myth), although he 
  eventually abandoned her.  According to 
  Herodotus, after her abandonment by Jason, 
  Medea fled to the land of the Scythians along 
  with her son Medus, wed the king of the 
  Scythians, and established a dynasty, the 
  kingdom of the Medes.  (Some treatments of her 
  aunt, Circe, have her retiring to Scythia and 
  marrying their king as well, after the events of 
  The Odyssey). 
  Medea is an angry, vengeful and spiteful figure 
  in myth.  She is also a descendant of the 
  Olympian gods, specifically the granddaughter 
  of the sun god, Helios.  For our (fictional) 
  purposes, the central point is that Medea was 
  (fictionally) a real, historical figure.  Not all of 
  the myths about her are strictly accurate, but the 
  parts about her being a sorceress, whose descent 
  and blood are not strictly human, are accurate.  
  She was a Mythos-influenced sorceress, with 
  Mythos-tainted blood, and she fled into exile in 
  the empire of the Scythians to avoid the wrath of 
  her former sorcerous/Mythos patrons. 
  In the Cthulhu Invictus setting, the Olympian 
  gods are a group of transcended humans (and 
  their descendants) who dared to steal power 
  from under the nose of Hypnos, god of dreams 
  and lord of the Dreamlands.  Hypnos had, by the 
  time that Rome rises, caught up to almost all of 
  them and condemned them to horrible fates in 
  the Dreamlands, although a few, minor 
  Olympians had managed to skirt his wrath by 
  remaining off the world stage. 
  Of course, these assiduously avoid dreaming, 
  either by avoiding sleep, or by dulling their 
  minds to the temptations of the Dreamlands 
  through the use of narcotics and/or sorcery, lest 
  Hypnos find and cast them (and all of their 
  friends, relatives, kinsfolk, and anyone who ever 
  supported them) into unending nightmare. 
  Medea was a descendant of one of these 
  Olympians, Helios, and used her sorcery to hide 
  as best she could from Hypnos‟ wrath.  In her 
  continuing efforts to avoid her final doom for 
  the corruption of her blood, she delved into a 
  wide variety of magical traditions, including the 
  worship of Yog-Sothoth as Tawil-at-Um‟r, the 
  Keeper of the Gate.  Her goal was to learn how 
  to change and focus one‟s perceptions, in the 
  hope of never dreaming.  Avoiding dreaming, 
  she thought, would keep Hypnos‟ wrath at bay. 
  It worked, for a long time.  While Medea dared 
  not sleep, and was forced to resort to numerous 
  dark bargains to remain as awake as possible, 
  her devotion to Yog-Sothoth served as a bulwark 
  to Hypnos‟ wrath.  When her power base in 
  Greece was broken, she was forced to flee to 
  Scythia, beyond the bounds of then-conventional 
  civilization. 
  Medea lived on in comparative exile for several 
  centuries, thanks both to her part-human heritage 
  and to her sorcerous experiments aimed at life 
  extension and soul preservation.  She set herself 
  up first as queen, and later as High Priestess of 
  the Scythians, operating out of their great 
  Crimean capital at Gelonus.  Living for many 
  centuries, and recreating herself every now and 
  then to avoid gaining a reputation as immortal 
  (and hence, perhaps attracting the notice of 
  Hypnos), she married many times and gave birth 
  to many, many children.  It is possible, at least, 
  that a good chunk of the Earth‟s population 
  traces its descent back to her through at least one 
  line of ancestry. 
  Most of the children were sons.  One of her few 
  daughters, and her first, by the then-current King 
  of Scythia, was Nasra.  Nasra displayed the 
  potential for sorcery early on in life, and so was 
  groomed by her mother to follow the family 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  business—including the part about avoiding the 
  gaze of Hypnos. 
  The Decline of the Scythian Empire 
  At its 4th Century B.C. height, the Scythian 
  empire stretched from the Black Sea, north into 
  the Ukraine, east and south to the Indus and 
  modern day Afghanistan. The Macedonian 
  expansions of the late 4th Century B.C. saw the 
  beginning of the destruction of the Scythian 
  empire.  Philip of Macedon defeated the 
  Scythian king, Ateas, at the battle of Dobruja in 
  339 B.C., sending the royal court (including 
  Medea) scattering southeast toward the Dnieper.  
  After being scattered again by Alexander the 
  Great, their remnants settled for several 
  centuries (~300 B.C. -~300 A.D.) in the Crimea, 
  with a capital city known as Scythian Neapolis. 
   
   
  Scythian Empire at its height, circa 400 B.C. 
  Nasra, the Initiate:  Nasra was born in what is 
  now the Crimea in 310 B.C.  Her mother was the 
  (then High Priestess) Medea (by then using the 
  name Hestia), and her father was then king 
  Satraces.  Her childhood was anything but 
  normal; Medea told her the truth about her 
  ancestry, the threat facing her people, and what 
  her role in the world was to be when she was 
  seven years old.  She was (and is) not entirely 
  human, but rather 1/8th “god.”  She is her 
  mother‟s eldest daughter. 
  Her mother taught her that she had to be tough, 
  because a time would come where she would 
  have to do something horrible beyond imagining 
  in order to save not just her people, but much of 
  the world.  And she could not let the price break 
  her mind.  It would involve her bearing twins on 
  behalf of a great being—a real god made flesh.  
  Nasra was raised from infancy to not be 
  bothered by the possibility.  After all, she was 
  1/8th “god” herself. 
  As part of her magical education, Nasra had to 
  travel the world, study from every sorcerer 
  imaginable, join every cult she could find (no 
  matter how misguided or despicable), and learn 
  object lessons about how these cults ultimately 
  failed.  The purpose of her education would be 
  to learn how to both face down and use horror 
  and yet, not make enemies that would bring her 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  down.  She would learn from the many, many 
  mistakes of others. 
  In the Cthulhu Invictus setting, Nasra, the 
  Initiate might be encountered in virtually any 
  cult, temple, sorcery school, or other group 
  engaged in arcane or Mythos shenanigans—
  regardless of their goals—from circa 295 B.C. 
  until 153 A.D.  She served stints as:  a keeper of 
  occult lore at the Library of Alexandria; a series 
  of soothsayers for hire in Athens, Rome, among 
  the Gauls, and elsewhere; an important figure in 
  the corrupt Roman Daoloth cult of Apollo 
  Delphinios; and court astrologer to several 
  potentates.  Often she pretends to be the 
  daughter of her prior guise, as she ages very 
  slowly. 
  Rumors persist of her involvement in a more 
  orthodox Judean messianic cult active in the 
  Levant circa 33 A.D., in which she posed as the 
  wealthy patron of the head rabbi.  She finds her 
  eventual status as a saint amusing and has fond 
  memories of that time. 
  If encountered, she is adverse to combat, not 
  willing to die, and is the first one to become 
  scarce if things get out of control.  She is polite, 
  obviously of refined birth, and perhaps even 
  friendly in an aloof, aristocratic sort of way, but 
  utterly ruthless if cornered. 
  Nasra, the High Priestess:  And then, one day 
  circa 153 A.D., a messenger arrived for her from 
  home.  She did not keep in any kind of sorcerous 
  contact with her mother—such means of 
  communication often involved dreams, and were 
  to be avoided.  But it had been years since she 
  had heard from home, and she had been 
  concerned.   
  Her mother had seemingly disappeared from her 
  sleeping chamber, after giving birth to another 
  (rare) daughter.  There were no signs of a 
  struggle, but her bed was sodden with blood and 
  foulness, as though a large animal had rotted in 
  it over the course of weeks.  The man who had 
  been warming it, a Christian missionary from 
  Greece named Autolus, simply stared and 
  babbled.  He had been refusing to take food or 
  drink, and not even a hot poker had elicited any 
  sense from him.   
  Her mother had found him interesting enough to 
  sleep with, which Nasra suspected was a fatal 
  mistake: taking an open interest in an ascendant 
  foreign religion had doubtlessly angered the 
  “real gods”.  (At least, that was how Nasra 
  thought of the matter at the time.  Since then, 
  she has realized that it is more a matter of one‟s 
  own force of will, since the mindless forces of 
  the Mythos care little for people.  It is more 
  about avoiding the consequences of losing 
  control over the stolen power that she and her 
  mother had enjoyed). 
  Nightmares assailed her all throughout her 
  journey back home. 
  The Bargain With Tawil-at-Um’r 
  When Nasra returned from her studies and 
  cosmopolitan life in Greece, Rome and Egypt, 
  she found her dynasty shattered and on the brink 
  of collapse.  Successive efforts to resist, and 
  being crushed by, first Philip of Macedon and 
  then Alexander the Great had ruined a once 
  mighty, urbane dynasty and reduced them to 
  nomads who lacked the confidence of the tribes 
  they once lorded over. 
  Worse still, the Scythian empire seemed 
  finished:  its capital crumbling, its more 
  civilized 
  tribes 
  becoming 
  increasingly 
  Hellenized, the old gods becoming forgotten in 
  favor of the new, false gods of the Near East.  
  This, she realized, risked death and worse than 
  death. 
   
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  Indeed, the signs and portents were bad; her 
  people had begun to be tormented by constant 
  nightmares, and she herself feared to fall asleep.  
  Hypnos‟ gaze was fixing on her and her people.  
  Her mother had known that this would happen 
  eventually. 
  The power of the Scythian sorcerers derived 
  from the Olympians, through their descent from 
  Medea.  It was stolen power, stolen from 
  Hypnos and the Dreamlands.  Nasra well knew 
  that sorcery had its price, and it was a price that 
  she had always been willing to pay.  Faithfulness 
  of the Scythian people to other gods, real gods—
  in particular, Tawil-at-Um‟r, the Keeper of the 
  Gate—had spared her and her bloodline from 
  Hypnos‟ wrath.  But those gods were fickle, and 
  if their faith faltered too much, she was afraid 
  Nasra, the Initiate, Being Groomed to Become High Priestess of the Paralatae. 
  Nationality: Scythian 
  STR:  12 
  DEX:  13 
  INT:  18 
  CON:  16 
  APP:  14 
  POW:  18 
   
  SIZ:  11 
  EDU:  14 
  SAN:  00 
  Luck:  90 
  Hits:  14 
  Age:  22 (apparent)  
  (Use this set of statistics for all periods through late Antiquity, during which time she appears as a 
  young adult). 
  Damage Bonus:  +0. 
  Education:  Sorcerous training and tutors from many corners of the ancient world. 
  Skills:  Accounting 10%; Anthropology 50%; Archaeology 45%; Art 80%; Astronomy 99%; Bargain 
  50%; Biology 50%; Botany 65%; Cartography 55%; Credit Rating 30% (99% to Scythians); Cthulhu 
  Mythos 50%; Fast Talk 65%; First Aid 90%; History 95%; Law 50%; Natural History 95%; 
  Navigation (Land) 99%; Occult 99%; Persuade 95%; Pharmacy 55%; Physics 25%; Psychology 95%; 
  Ride 99%; Speak Scythian 100%; Speak/Read/Write Latin, Greek, Sumerian, Aramaic, Akkadian, 
  Hittite 99%; Scythian Rituals 100%;  Woodcraft 95%; Zoology 50%; Behave Imperiously 50%. 
  Spells:  Augur, Bless Blade; Call Yog-Sothoth (as Tawil-at-Um‟r); Call/Dismiss Yog-Sothoth; Chant 
  of Thoth; Cloud Memory; Command Ghost; Conjure Glass of Mortlan; Create Mist of Releh; Death 
  Spell; Deflect Harm; Enthrall Victim; Fist of Yog-Sothoth; Flesh Ward; Heal; Journey to the Other 
  Side; Levitate; Mesmerize; Mindblast; Steal Life, Wrack; most types of ritual magic; other spells at 
  Keeper's discretion. 
  Weapons:  Nasra carries an enchanted, gnarled, gold-inlaid walking stick always kept fully charged 
  with 18 magic points.  Fist of Yog-Sothoth is her usual choice for self-defense.  Persistent enemies get 
  Wracked. 
  Nasra at this age has Javelin, Tulwar and Horseback Archery skills all at 70%, but typically does not 
  carry weapons. 
  Notes:  Nasra's purple and gold-ornamented sarong is enchanted and counts as 15 points of armor 
  against non-magical attacks.  If expecting trouble, Nasra augments this with Flesh Ward. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  that Hypnos‟ revenge would not stop at her.  It 
  had not stopped at those most responsible 
  before.  The other Olympians, together with 
  their entire bloodlines, had been reportedly 
  blotted from the Earth by Hypnos‟ wrath.  And 
  now Nasra was the High Priestess, and 
  preventing this fate from befalling her and her 
  people (in a very broad sense) had become her 
  problem. 
  And so Nasra did what sorcerers always do, as 
  she had been prepared to do her whole life.  She 
  made a deal.  She summoned her god, the 
  Keeper of the Gate, and asked it what she could 
  do to keep her people safe from being cast into 
  eternal nightmare.  She already suspected from 
  her childhood indoctrination what its answer 
  might be. 
  Tawil-at-Um‟r was quite accommodating, or so 
  it seemed at first.  It proposed a simple 
  arrangement.  As long as Nasra remained High 
  Priestess of the Scythians, and venerated it, 
  Tawil-at-Um‟r would protect her and her people 
  from the wrath of Hypnos for her loyalty and 
  devotion. 
  Only after the bargain was struck, and sealed by 
  the bearing of twins, did Nasra begin to worry 
  about matters of contract interpretation. 
  Nasra, the “Exalted Grandmother” (Or, It 
  Ain’t 
  Easy 
  Bein’ 
  Queen): 
   
  Perhaps 
  appropriately, there were twin prongs to the 
  bargain.  First, Nasra had to remain High 
  Priestess.  If she ever died, she realized, her end 
  of the bargain would be broken, and her people‟s 
  suffering would be beyond human imagining.  
  And the implications of how many people might 
  be caught up in Hypnos‟ wrath, given how long 
  her mother had lived and how many children 
  both she (and Nasra) had birthed and dispersed 
  across the globe, weighed heavy on her mind. 
  Staying alive was the easy part.  Nasra herself 
  was not entirely human, so dying soon was not a 
  concern.  She had no compunctions about using 
  sorcery, and stealing power and continued life 
  from an endless stream of enemies who sought 
  to pillage her people. 
  With her twin guardians, people eventually, for 
  the most part, wised up and quit bothering 
  Nasra‟s Paralatae.  Usually, her armies (led by 
  her more human “Youngest Son”) sufficed to 
  deter attack.  Occasionally, when someone got 
  too daring (not often, given how militaristic the 
  remaining Scythians were), they were taught a 
  lesson 
  in 
  hyper-geometric 
  principles 
  and 
  otherworldly 
  monsters. 
   
  This 
  sometimes 
  included subjecting them to the tender mercies 
  of what Nasra refers to as her “Eldest Son”—the 
  less human son of Yog-Sothoth born to her to 
  seal the bargain. 
  At least, people quit seriously bothering the 
  Paralatae for a century or two, until the Goths 
  came calling. 
  Second, the Scythian culture had to remain 
  intact, or she would not be High Priestess of the 
  Scythians.  And that realization was fraught 
  with practical implications.  Where was the line?  
  When would the “Scythians” quit being 
  “Scythians?”  If they stopped worshipping 
  Tawil-at-Um‟r?  If they changed the worship too 
  much?  If they stopped speaking Scythian?  If 
  the line of kingship was broken?  How many 
  angels can dance on the head of a pin? 
  These are all excellent questions.  Nasra does 
  not have a “unified field theory” or a perfect 
  answer.  There have been a few near misses over 
  the centuries, where she began to feel Hypnos‟ 
  gaze upon her and had to make a quick change 
  in cultural practices or conduct a purge.  But she 
  is very, very conservative about maintaining 
  Scythian culture.  A lot of lives depend upon her 
  getting things right, and her education has taught 
  her to be extremely risk adverse when dealing 
  with the Mythos. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  One central Scythian magical belief is that one‟s 
  soul is inextricably tied to, and indeed bound up 
  in, the earth of one‟s homeland.  As a result, the 
  Paralatae clung tenaciously to their real estate, 
  adopting a very defensive posture.  She bound 
  the less human twin to remain near her palace at 
  a horrible sacrificial cost, preventing it from 
  attacking anyone who meant no threat to the 
  Scythians.  Over time, it began to follow her 
  instructions, at least more often than not. 
  While 
  most 
  ancient 
  empires 
  thrived 
  on 
  continuously acquiring land, because of the 
  Bargain Nasra was more worried about not 
  losing land (and hence, seeing “Scythia” further 
  erode).  If she gained territory, she might lose it 
  later, and she was not sure how that would play 
  out in terms of the Bargain.  Instead, she and her 
  descendants, who came to form the royal line, 
  became skilled diplomats, masterfully playing 
  off enemies against one another always with the 
  goal of simply being left alone.  While the bulk 
  of the population was kept insular and as “purely 
  Scythian” as possible, the royal line was 
  permitted to travel, interact with foreigners, 
  study at academies, and generally act as royal 
  families did.   
  Goths and the Flight to Afghanistan 
  There was a near disaster for the Paralatae 
  around 300 A.D.  The relocated capital of the 
  Scythians, in the vicinity of current Simferopol, 
  was thoroughly sacked by the Goths.  The Goths 
  brought their own magic to bear, thwarting the 
  efforts of even Nasra‟s “Eldest Son” to stop 
  them.  Her “Youngest Son” was killed by the 
  Goths when they sacked her capital; a mention 
  of this event can be found in the rare Gothic 
  Necronomicon 
  and 
  other 
  Gothic 
  occult 
  histories. 
  Nasra and a group of a few hundred exiles (plus 
  the “Eldest Son”) were forced to flee their 
  capital, and Nasra (and perhaps a good chunk of 
  the world) suddenly had a serious potential 
  problem.  She began to be assailed by 
  nightmares, and the signs and portents were 
  unmistakable—Hypnos was drawing nigh.  If 
  she and her people were conquered and 
  assimilated by the Goths, or whomever, that 
  would be the end of not only her, but (perhaps) 
  many, many people.  A months-long onslaught 
  of nightmares that affected a good portion of the 
  world c. 300 A.D. might be mentioned in any 
  contemporary occult work. 
  Nasra‟s solution was to flee to the farthest, most 
  remote end of anywhere that might fairly have 
  been called “Scythia” at any time, concentrate 
  what remained of the Paralatae there, and hold it 
  at all costs.  Uncertain as to whether this would 
  be sufficient, or for that matter what would be 
  sufficient, she decided that she needed to get 
  even more, ruthlessly serious about keeping 
  things under her umbrella as “Scythian” as 
  possible:  dress, customs, culture, language, 
  down to food and casual customs. 
  New things like modern weapons and improved 
  technology were only adopted over very long 
  periods of time, and even then only used 
  sparingly and after careful thought.  They might 
  learn to use rifles or drive cars, but they will 
  avoid using them in favor of more “Scythian” 
  things like bows and horses if possible.  They 
  view adopting new things as taking chances with 
  fate.  (The rank and file Scythians do not 
  understand 
  the 
  real 
  reasons 
  for 
  their 
  ultraconservatism; rather, their culture simply 
  requires that they do what Nasra says.  Their 
  diplomats know a bit more.  Since they prosper 
  under Nasra‟s system, it works for them). 
  Ultimately, Nasra and the remnants of the 
  Paralatae settled in what had once been the 
  southeast corner of the empire at its heights, in 
  what is today the Farah Province of Afghanistan.  
  This was once the hinterlands of the Scythian 
  empire, home to a minor branch of Indo-
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
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  Scythians and one of the least hospitable parts.  
  They have picked up and moved around western 
  Afghanistan a few times in the intervening 
  centuries, always carefully calculating what 
  would best maximize “Scythian survival” in the 
  abstract. 
  The Importance of Being Earnest 
  Nasra‟s formula for avoidance of a breach of the 
  ancient Bargain with Tawil-at-Um‟r worked 
  well for millennia.  She kept her populace small, 
  several hundred to a few thousand in number, 
  and off the beaten path, settling in remoter parts 
  of Afghanistan.  She leveraged her longevity and 
  sorcerous knowledge into a sustainable situation.  
  She uses millennia of diplomacy, contacts and 
  education to avoid the worst of periodic 
  invading armies.  She sets up camp in places that 
  nobody wants to conquer and hold.  She uses 
  millienia of wealth, know-how and discipline to 
  eke out a comfortable living no matter where in 
  western Afghanistan she has to set up camp at 
  any time. 
  Occasionally, foreigners happen upon her 
  village.  Nasra would prefer not to deal with 
  foreigners at all, but early efforts at complete 
  isolation resulted in the familiar pattern of 
  nightmares starting up.  She realized that “being 
  Scythian” did not mean much if the zeitgeist of 
  the world did not comprehend “Scythians” still 
  existing in some sense.  Groups draw their 
  distinctiveness by contrasting themselves to 
  other groups.  As a result, Nasra has had to 
  juggle.  She wants people to know that they are 
  Paralatae, and true to the old ways, but not to 
  have too much contact so as to tempt her people 
  into different ways or risk conquest.   
  Over the centuries, she has developed a standard 
  operating procedure for dealing with outsiders.  
  People who want to learn about them are 
  tolerated, but they must be sincere.  People who 
  want to try and inculcate them with their views 
  are barely tolerated, as long as they fail and then 
  leave.  If they seem at risk of succeeding 
  (particularly 
  persuasive 
  or 
  charismatic 
  missionaries like Autolus), they have to be 
  killed.  That lesson has been learned.  Traders 
  entering the village are not welcome and tend to 
  mysteriously disappear in inexplicable and/or 
  hyper-dimensional ways—accompanied by the 
  unearthly bellows and invisible steamrolling of 
  her “Eldest Son”.  The Paralatae go out of the 
  village to trade, in that way controlling the 
  extent of any interactions. 
  Those who would attempt to assert some kind of 
  authority over them are laughed at and mocked 
  at first—experience has taught her that ignoring 
  them is the best policy.  However, if they get 
  violent--or worse, attempt to occupy the 
  village—they must be dealt with immediately 
  and decisively.  If the Scythians are met with 
  overwhelming and persistent force, they relocate 
  the village, but they must keep their home base 
  within the historical boundaries of Scythia. 
  The sorts of people that are tolerated, and the 
  extent of their tolerance, shapes what kinds of 
  records and research material might be available 
  on the Paralatae.  It takes a deliberate approach 
  to the village to generate any sort of response 
  stimulus.  Scouts and surveyors, explorers, and 
  missionaries might come across them and live to 
  tell the tale, noting them as an unfriendly, highly 
  closed society with a reputation for violence and 
  trucking in the supernatural among neighboring 
  tribes.  Traders headed for the area often never 
  return. 
  The area where their village is located has a 
  reputation for being haunted and earthquake 
  prone.  The area around their village tends to be 
  avoided by insurgents and military forces that 
  know what is good for them.  There is little there 
  worth holding, and military probes turn up 
  ambushed, with no survivors.  The Afghani 
  conflict of recent years has, unfortunately, 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
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  9 
   
  introduced both reckless Taliban insurgents and 
  oblivious Western forces into the area, and there 
  has been conflict with, as well as “lost patrols” 
  on, both sides. 
  It would take a disaster for Nasra and any 
  significant portion of the populace to leave the 
  boundaries of the old Scythian Empire.  The 
  Paralatae had such a disaster c. 1925.  It was 
  nearly as bad, and nearly as apocalyptic, as the 
  Gothic sacking of their capital c. 300 A.D.  
  These are the events of the Common Courtesy 
  scenario, the “canonical” events of which 
  follow. 
  Consistent with prior practice, Nasra had 
  allowed the current heir to the Scythian throne, 
  Turib Nasfari, to go out and learn about the 
  world in 1920.  A National Geographic team, 
  including bohemian photographer Ellen Black, 
  had traveled to Afghanistan to do a feature on 
  the area in 1920, had happened upon the 
  Paralatae, and Turib left with them. 
  Unfortunately, Ellen ran with a fast crowd in the 
  U.S.  Turib contracted syphilis and died in 
  California in 1925.  This provoked a crisis, since 
  Turib‟s father had died unexpectedly while 
  Turib was out learning the world, and as the 
  apparent king, Turib had to be buried the “right” 
  way.  Nasra was extremely uncomfortable with 
  the potential consequences of failing to do so:  
  failing to bury a king properly would be a 
  profound departure from societal norms, and a 
  profound threat to the maintenance of their 
  traditional Scythian identity. 
  Nasra‟s journey to America, accompanied by 
  150 of her Scythian bravos, was fraught with 
  nightmares as Hypnos‟ will began to encroach 
  on them.  Fortunately, after some clashes with 
  local law enforcement and some overly 
  inquisitive 
  occult 
  investigators 
  (Common 
  Courtesy), a peaceful solution was brokered.  
  Ellen 
  Black 
  and 
  the 
  investigators 
  were 
  persuaded to participate in Turib‟s proper 
  funeral, and the matter was largely kept out of 
  the media with the intervention of elements of 
  U.S. Naval Intelligence.  Hypnos‟ gaze 
  fortunately faded. 
  The Paralatae Homeland and 
  General Notes on the “Cult” c. 2011. 
  Location:  For the better part of the 20th and 21st 
  centuries—including both the time of the 
  various events giving rise to Common Courtesy 
  and at present—the Paralatae Homeland is 
  village located in the remote, mountainous, 
  eastern part of Farah Province in Afghanistan, 
  bordering on Iran.   
  Farah Province is large, remote, and sparsely 
  populated.  It is home to numerous ancient, 
  ruined 
  castles 
  and 
  Persian 
  Empire 
  era 
  archaeology sites.  It is predominantly Pashtun 
  in terms of ethnic makeup, with a significant 
  Persian, Farsi speaking minority. 
  The province was under Taliban control in the 
  1990s, but after the Northern Alliance entered 
  Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban fell back to the 
  east and only sporadic conflict and incursions 
  have occurred in the province since.  The roads 
  and strategic routes throughout the province are 
  heavily mined, discouraging raids and casual 
  incursions by any side in the conflict.   
  When clashes do occur, though, they tend to 
  occur in the eastern border region, in the general 
  vicinity of the Paralatae Homeland.  Indeed, the 
  notorious and still (as of the date of this article) 
  under investigation May 2009 airstrike against 
  insurgents in the eastern village of Granai, 
  alleged to have killed over 100 civilians, 
  occurred in the general area of the Paralatae 
  Homeland.  Northern Alliance forces monitor 
  the area, especially via drone aircraft, but also 
  with ground troops. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
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  There are significant numbers of international 
  aid and relief workers working in the area, 
  particularly in the eastern mountain regions, and 
  occasional, roving insurgent gangs have struck 
  in the area and temporarily tried to seize control 
  of transportation corridors.  In short, the locale 
  balances remoteness and difficulty of access 
  (good for enclave survival and isolation) with 
  occasional foreigners being in the area (good for 
  scenario entrees). 
  Size/Daily Life:  The Paralatae Homeland is, at 
  present, a village of about 500 people.  It is 
  located about 150 km. due east of the city of 
  Farah, along the Bakwa/Gulistan sub-regional 
  border, about 10 km. east of the southern road 
  along the border.  It is situated in flat rangeland 
  suitable for horses, at the base of some steep, 
  rocky hills and cave structures. 
  For a highly detailed map of Farah Province at 
  present and a socio-economic overview, see: 
  http://foodsecurityatlas.org/afg/country/provinci
  al-Profile/Farah 
  The area is marked by Nazca line-style 
  pictographs visible from the air or via satellite.  
  The pictographs depict a bat-winged serpent 
  (Critical Occult roll or appropriate research into 
  Scythian practices:  this is a symbol of the 
  Scythian godhead).  Surrounding the village are 
  hundreds of kurgan burial mounds, with 
  (depending on their age) crumbling skeletons of 
  riders atop horses set atop high poles around 
  each. 
  Nasra‟s “Eldest Son,” the less human, mostly 
  invisible twin she bore to Yog-Sothoth, is still 
  around, a doomsday weapon to be loosed against 
  anyone who seriously threatens the tribe‟s 
  survival.   It haunts the hills and caves outside 
  the village, generally lying quiescent and 
  generally listening to its mother, who has told it 
  only to harm those who seek to harm the 
  Scythians.  Since sons of Yog-Sothoth are not 
  generally noted for minding their mothers, she 
  further keeps it in line with magic and Elder 
  Signs.  Should Nasra die (or even meaningfully 
  fall asleep), the Eldest Son would be much freer 
  to ravine and slay. 
  The village is clean, busy, and well-organized—
  suspiciously so.  They raise crops to sustain 
  themselves, and breed horses, which they sell 
  through intermediaries to buyers in the region.  
  It has well-though out irrigation, good defense 
  and lookout emplacements, attractive stone 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
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  11 
   
  buildings, and excellent sanitation.  It is all 
  based on Late Antiquity technology—gravity 
  wells, concrete and aqueducts are in evidence, 
  but machines, automobiles and firearms are few.  
  The Paralatae dress traditionally, use traditional 
  weapons, and live traditional lives.  While they 
  have a stash of RPGs, AK-47s, and even the 
  captured Soviet-era armored personnel carrier 
  from the Taliban‟s last raid, they do not use 
  them except in those instances where one of 
  their emissaries needs to blend in outside the 
  village. 
  There is a no-fly zone in place (including for 
  drones) directly over the village, per the 
  SECNAV‟s rules of engagement for the village 
  (discussed below).  Although foreign aid 
  workers are tolerated, they rarely go there since 
  the place is so clean and well-organized. 
  Reputation & Contact with Afghani and 
  Foreign Forces:  The Paralatae, up until the 
  events of Standard Operating Procedure, play 
  the role of a local Afghani warlord enclave that 
  both sides have learned to leave alone, albeit for 
  different reasons. 
  From the perspective of the Northern Alliance 
  forces and government in Kabul, they are 
  somewhat 
  cryptic 
  and 
  poorly 
  understood 
  “friendlies,” who have to be handled with kid 
  gloves when necessary, and left alone if at all 
  possible.  Early in the Afghan War, military 
  scouts intent on reconnoitering eastern Farah 
  province noticed the Paralatae village on 
  satellite, but wisely chose to monitor the village 
  and watch for insurgent patterns.  The village is 
  miles off of any significant road, and U.S. forces 
  were able to secure the route and shove back a 
  few Taliban insurgents without the village even 
  stirring. 
  Eventually though, in 2005, a squad of soldiers, 
  under the command of Marine 1st Lt. Jerome 
  Taylor, was sent into the village to investigate it 
  and search for insurgents.  Only Lt. Taylor 
  returned.  He was not a pretty sight when he did.  
  Taylor‟s squad had intruded on a royal funeral 
  ceremony, and only Taylor had had the sense to 
  play along.  He was returned without a scalp, 
  and had been subjected to ritual purification 
  (scarified face, an arrow jammed through his left 
  hand, and showing signs of having smoked a 
  great deal of marijuana).  His mind was also 
  broken and he displayed classic signs of PTSD. 
  Taylor was accompanied back to his base by 
  Talil Nasfari, the latest in the long line of royal 
  relatives cum diplomatic negotiators.  Nasfari 
  laid it out for Lt. Taylor‟s command and control 
  structure as follows:  Our village is a holy site.  
  Many centuries of kings have their tombs in our 
  village.  We are an ancient people with no use 
  for the Taliban.  Taliban are not allowed there.  
  Neither are your military forces.  Leave us alone 
  and do not set foot on our land, and we will not 
  cause you any trouble.  If you need to talk to us 
  for some reason, send someone other than a 
  soldier and ask for me.  Next time, no soldiers 
  shall return. 
  Lt. Taylor, for his part, spoke of participating in 
  a royal funeral; the strange tongue they spoke 
  among 
  themselves; 
  an 
  old 
  woman 
  who 
  interrogated him for a week without sleeping or 
  allowing him to; and how his squad had lost an 
  initial firefight to a bunch of mounted archers on 
  horseback, like something out of an old Western. 
  Taylor also spoke of odd earthquake like 
  rumblings, like some enormous animal crashing 
  and roaring through the hills.  He did not see it 
  himself, but some of his men saw signs of 
  something huge, and it caused the panic that 
  resulted in their massacre.  And it talked. 
  Word of this odd encounter worked its way up 
  the chain of command, and eventually came 
  within eyeshot of certain read-in elements at 
  Naval Intelligence.  They ordered that, pending 
  specific clearance from Naval Intelligence, 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  Nasfari‟s contact protocol was to be honored.  
  This failure to seek retribution for the 
  elimination of a squad of Marines and mutilation 
  of a Marine officer does not sit well with several 
  factions within the Marine Corps.  Nonetheless, 
  and up until the events of Standard Operating 
  Procedure, they have reluctantly followed 
  orders.  They leave the village alone, and on the 
  rare occasions when something is needed, they 
  send in foreign aid workers to snoop around or 
  carry messages. 
  The Taliban to the east of Farah Province leave 
  them alone now, but only because they are tired 
  of being slaughtered.  It is strictly a strategic 
  decision, and one that does not sit well with the 
  Taliban mullahs.  The mullahs know that the 
  “ancient ones”, as they call them, are not 
  Muslim, that they laugh at Islam as a “new 
  delusion,” and even truck with “demons”.  They 
  know the local legends that an invisible demon 
  lives in the caves and hills next to the village, 
  and feel like they really ought to do something 
  about it.  This helplessness infuriates them.   
  Beginning in the 1980s, the Taliban undertook 
  periodic efforts to kill, capture, enslave or drive 
  out the “ancient ones”.  These efforts at 
  “defending the faith” have failed abysmally, at 
  the cost of hundreds of Taliban lives.  Early 
  raids produced near total Taliban casualties, save 
  one or two blinded, scalped survivors who came 
  back to the mullahs with a simple message:  
  leave us alone or die.  Unlike the Americans, the 
  Taliban leaders did not get the hint.  They kept 
  sending raiders.  The raiders kept dying. 
  Once, they sent a very large force of several 
  hundred men armed with RPGs, and even an 
  old, captured Soviet era light armored vehicle.  
  Nasra did not mess around with them this time; 
  she simply had her warriors lure them into the 
  hills via a feigned retreat, and loosed the “Eldest 
  Son” on them.  No one returned from that 
  expedition, and their crushed bones and rusting 
  weapons litter the foot of the hills.  That finally 
  got the message across. 
  The result of the foregoing has been that eastern 
  Farah 
  province 
  has 
  become 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  comparatively quiet, quasi- demilitarized zone.  
  The Taliban gave up trying to control this area in 
  the early 2000s, although occasional bandits and 
  raiders still come through.  International relief 
  workers, 
  pseudo-missionaries 
  and 
  other 
  ideological do-gooders operate with relative 
  impunity in the region, although they know that 
  they are not exactly welcome in that one odd 
  village 
  at 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  grasslands.  
  Conventional wisdom attributes this relatively 
  calm state of affairs to well-organized, generally 
  pro-Western local strongmen. While there is 
  some truth to this, in addition the Taliban are 
  scared to death of the Paralatae and whatever 
  lurks in the hills near their village. 
  Foreign aid workers have divergent views and 
  information about the village.  Missionaries or 
  religiously affiliated outreach workers receive 
  decidedly hostile, and even violent, reactions.  
  Food, education and medical workers are treated 
  respectfully but asked to leave since their 
  services are not needed.  These are often used to 
  convey requests from the military or advise 
  about military operations that might be going on 
  nearby.  Journalists and photographers (although 
  few have gone there) are tolerated, although they 
  generally have to interact with Talil (who speaks 
  good English). 
  Research Sources 
  An overview of what determined researchers 
  looking 
  into 
  either 
  Paralatae/Mythos 
  connections, Paralatae survival after the Goths 
  sacked their capital c. 300 A.D., or the history of 
  the Paralatae village in Farah Province follows. 
  The Scythians and Mythos Worship In 
  General:  Anyone delving into an appropriate 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
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  occult or Mythos tome might, at the Keeper's 
  discretion, learn a few interesting facts.  The 
  tome should have good coverage of Yog-
  Sothoth to divulge any of these facts. 
   
  Worship of Yog-Sothoth as Tawil-at-Um‟r 
  is rumored to have occurred among certain 
  Scythian tribes, particularly the Paralatae, or 
  Royal Scythians. 
   
  Strict and proper observance of ritual is 
  extremely important to sorcerers devoted to 
  the Tawil-at-Um‟r aspect of Yog-Sothoth. 
   
  The 
  Paralatae 
  were 
  noted 
  for 
  their 
  sorceresses, who were well known in 
  ancient occult circles as teachers of magic 
  and divination. 
   
  Some commentators claim that Tawil-at-
  Um‟r is one of the less malevolent aspects of 
  Yog-Sothoth, in the sense that it would 
  interact with humans without necessarily 
  destroying them, though by no means 
  friendly. 
   
  Tawil-at-Um‟r is concerned with opening 
  the way to distant times and places, and 
  known for making deals. 
   
  The term "Exalted Grandmother" is an 
  honorific for particularly important and 
  powerful priestesses of Tawil-at-Um‟r. 
  Archaeology 
  Checks 
  After 
  Meeting 
  the 
  Paralatae or Seeing Their Pictures:  A 
  successful Archaeology roll identifies them as 
  appearing to be dressed as ancient Paralatae.  
  Alternatively, sufficient labor in a library or 
  consultation with appropriate academics leads to 
  the same conclusion.  Anyone who identifies the 
  Paralatae will know that Herodotus' Histories are 
  the best source for information about ancient 
  Scythians and their ways.  The Keeper might 
  wish to review Herodotus‟ descriptions of the 
  Paralatae, their customs and mannerisms prior to 
  using them. 
  The 
  Scythian 
  Recordings 
  (1920 
  A.D.):  
  Originally recorded by Ellen Black during the 
  National Geographic expedition c. 1920 A.D., 
  these are recordings of Nasra lecturing and 
  inculcating a group of young Scythians in 
  matters of proper behavior and obeisance, made 
  on a lacquer blank recorder. 
  The original recordings were seized by civilian 
  occult investigators in California c. 1925.  They 
  were eventually acquired at auction by P 
  Division (U.S. Navy Intelligence) in the 1930s 
  and wound up in the Library of Congress‟ closed 
  stacks.  In a Delta Green campaign, they would 
  be in the possession of “A Cell” and Dr. Everett 
  Wu, who has been unable to make more than 
  limited headway with them due to the challenges 
  of understanding the Scythian language.  He has, 
  however, transferred them over to MP4 files and 
  cleaned up the sound quality. 
  Anyone listening to the recordings will hear the 
  voice of an old woman speaking in a totally 
  incomprehensible tongue.  An Archaeology roll 
  enables the listener to identify the language as 
  seemingly Indo-European in derivation, and to 
  guess at a few words.  The name Tawil-at-Um‟r  
  is mentioned frequently.  A Cthulhu Mythos roll 
  recognizes this name as one of the names of 
  Yog-Sothoth. 
  The recordings comprise Nasra's lectures and 
  lessons on proper adherence to Scythian ways 
  and rituals of Scythian magic.  Understanding 
  them in any meaningful way requires either a 
  Speak Scythian roll, or six uninterrupted months 
  plus an Archaeology roll at -50%, or a 
  successful roll in some ancient, similar Indo-
  Iranian language (e.g., Old Persian, Hittite) at -
  50%.  Rewards for such a linguistic research 
  endeavor:  +5% to Cthulhu Mythos; -2d4 SAN; 
  +5% to Occult; and the following spells 
  potentially learnable: Call Yog-Sothoth, Bless 
  Blade, Cloud Memory. 
  Accompanying these recordings are several 
  more hours of separate, later recordings (c. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  14 
   
  1926) in which an unnamed woman (Ellen 
  Black-Nasfari) gives a Berlitz style course on 
  Scythian to English.  It is clear that she is not a 
  native speaker.  Spending about 100 hours with 
  these recordings grants two skill checks in 
  Speak Scythian (10% maximum). 
   
  The Testimony of Autolus (Mythos tome, 155 A.D., translated 1850 A.D.): 
  This is a verbatim transcript, in formal Latin, of a purported interview between St. Pius I, an early 
  Pope (d. 155 A.D.)  and Autolus of Thessalonika, a Greek Christian missionary.  Autolus was found, 
  his eyes gouged out, covered in small burns, and nearly catatonic, wandering the shores of the Black 
  Sea in late 153 A.D.  As Autolus was known to be a personal friend of Pius I, he was taken in and 
  conveyed to Rome for debriefing. 
  Autolus had spent that year at Scythia Neapolis (modern day Simferopol) on the Crimean peninsula, 
  attempting to proselytize to the remnants of the Scythian empire with little success.  He was 
  apparently welcomed, nonetheless, by their queen and high priestess, “Hestia”.  Autolus broke down 
  into ravings and hysteria several times during his debriefing when discussing her “and her children—
  so many children” but insisted that she had been kind to him.  She had taken a bemused, academic sort 
  of interest in his proselytizing, but explained that her devotion was to the old Greek god Helios, and 
  that to “turn her back on her grandfather, the sun” would cast the entire world into “nightmare”. 
  It was apparent that something had happened to “Hestia”, who Autolus described variously as queen, 
  sorceress, witch, lover and “mother in law of all that is holy”, but was incoherent when probed for 
  details.  He insisted that her eldest daughter must be found and that “the holy bloodline must be 
  maintained lest all mankind suffer damnation and fall under the sight of evil.”  Autolus raves about 
  certain schismatic beliefs that Mary Magdalene had escaped, pregnant, and given birth to the son of 
  the Christ far from Judaea, but strangely maintained that she was still alive in 153 A.D. and working 
  as a soothsayer with the forbidden splinter cult of Apollo Delphinios in Rome. 
  Autolus claimed to have put out his own eyes, and had adopted a disturbing habit of biting himself and 
  burning the soles of his feet.  His explanation was that if he slept too deeply, he “too” would be 
  dragged down the “thousand stairs” to certain torment.  By remaining in constant pain, he hoped not to 
  sleep too deeply.  Out of concern for his well-being, Pius I had doctors summoned to calm him with 
  wine and opiates, but that same night, Autolus disappeared from his room, leaving behind a stinking 
  pile of blood and corruption. 
  (The Testimony was kept in the Vatican Archives for many centuries without notice, but came to light 
  c. 1850 when a doctoral student from London, Niles Berkeley, found and included it in his dissertation 
  on Holy Grail legends and the myth of Merovingian descent from Christ.  His dissertation appends a 
  copy of the Testimony and translates it accurately into English). 
  The Testimony requires (depending on version) 20 hours to study and either a successful Read Latin 
  or Read English roll to comprehend.  It grants +1% to Cthulhu Mythos, a further +1% to Dream 
  Lore, and one new spell is potentially available:  Evade Perdition.   (continued….) 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
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  The Golden Arrow Wand (Mythos Artifact):  
  Shaped like a foot-long, three inch-wide 
  thunderbolt with an arrow-shaped head and 
  “fletching” carved into the tail end, this wand is 
  remarkably heavy, weighing 15 pounds.  It is 
  golden is color but not made of gold, although it 
  is metallic.   
  Scientific analysis would conclude that is made 
  of a transuranic element in the same column as 
  gold on the periodic table, but fortunately it is 
  not (conventionally or detectably) radioactive.  
  According to Nasra‟s mother, this wand 
  originally belonged to her aunt, who received it 
  from her (Olympian) grandfather. 
  The wand serves to orient its holder to higher 
  dimensions.  This has two primary effects.  First, 
  with the expenditure of 2 M.P.s, it acts as an 
  application of the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi.  
  Second, the wielder (and anything in contact 
  with him, like a hand-held weapon) can affect 
  beings not ordinarily harmed by non-magical 
  weapons. 
  California State Police Report (1925):  This 
  was a paper file which was in storage in 
  (fictitious) Blaketon, CA from 1925 until the 
  1970s.  It was reduced to microfiche in the 
  1970s, transferred to Sacramento, and the 
  original paper file destroyed.  As a result, it is 
  difficult to find for most people. 
  The police report is sketchy.  One Ellen Black-
  Nasfari, a photographer, was reported missing 
  by her attorney, John Clancy.  Clancy hired 
  private investigators to locate her; he alleged 
  that she had been abducted by associates of her 
  mother-in-law, some kind of “Afghani royalty”. 
  A group of foreign “Afghani” horsemen 
  attacked Blaketon a few days afterwards; there 
  The Testimony of Autolus (Mythos tome, 155 A.D., translated 1850 A.D.) (continued) 
  Evade Perdition (new spell):  The reason for this ongoing set of rituals and practices is not fully 
  explained in the Testimony of Autolus, but Autolus does describe a number of practices that he 
  engaged in so as to “hide from” or “avoid the gaze of” some fearsome being that he does not name.  It 
  is clear that Autolus felt that the “dark force” held sway over men‟s dreams and that to dream would 
  be the end of him.  Autolus was certain that if he fell well and truly asleep, or even let his 
  concentration wander for long, he was vulnerable. Evade Perdition combines a variety of mystical 
  chants and rituals, daily self-mutilation techniques, focus tricks and unusual and expensive 
  pharmaceutical preparations that are intended to keep the caster from falling fully asleep or dreaming.  
  Since human beings need to sleep and dream to function, it is largely a time-buying endeavor if one‟s 
  goal is to stop dreaming. 
  The rituals and self-mutilation involved, and the mental degradation that comes from a lack of true 
  sleep, costs 1 SAN per day and 5 M.P. per day (which are regained).  1 CON per week is also lost for 
  each week of continuous use.  The caster sleeps fitfully and never enters REM sleep as long as the 
  rituals are repeated every day.  Instead, the caster only lightly “sleeps” for 4 hours a day, without 
  statistic impairment (other than the SAN loss and weekly CON loss).  Eventually, with constant use, 
  the caster goes mad and/or his heart gives out from strain. 
  (On a Library Use roll when searching major British newspapers of the era, Dr. Berkeley was found 
  murdered in 1852 in a London alley, shot with an arrow and with his scalp taken.  No arrests were 
  ever made). 
   
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  16 
   
  were several injuries on the part of the police 
  force, and a couple of the “Afghanis” were 
  killed.  Shortly thereafter, Ms. Black-Nasfari 
  was located, and the investigation of the Afghani 
  tribesmen was discontinued on the orders of 
  “Naval Intelligence.”  (This gives investigators 
  an entrée into Naval Intelligence files, discussed 
  below). 
  The National Geographic Article File (1921): 
  The November 1921 edition of contains a 
  lengthy article and photo essay about a 1920 
  expedition to Afghanistan, in which the 
  expedition went both on and off the beaten track.  
  There is no Mythos or occult knowledge to be 
  gained from the magazine issue itself, but it does 
  serve as a gateway to a larger file of more 
  interesting material. 
  The article itself discusses traveling in the Farah 
  Province of Afghanistan in general, and is one of 
  the first things that will be turned up by a simple 
  library search for mystical or unusual practices, 
  or odd villages following anachronistic ways, in 
  Farah Province.  Two things are of interest. 
  One is a photograph, credited to “Ellen Black.”  
  This depicts a group of men (dressed in 
  Paralatae warrior attire, on horseback) posing in 
  front of a vaguely Grecian-looking marble 
  portico.  It is captioned “At a village in the east, 
  inhabited by men claiming to be of ancient 
  lineage.”  Still, an Archaeology roll identifies 
  the dress as Scythian inspired. 
  The second is a paragraph where article 
  discusses the “odd village of the „Ancient Ones‟ 
  at the edge of the steppes.”  They (unusually for 
  the area) are known for horse-raising, and claim 
  to be descendants of refugees from the Black 
  Sea, driven there by the Goths over 1,000 years 
  earlier.  The author of the article also notes that 
  their village has a reputation for being haunted. 
  The story file (buried in archives at headquarters 
  in Washington, D.C.) occupies two banker‟s 
  boxes.  Someone with an interest in the occult 
  could make a Ph.D. project out of these boxes, 
  by contrast. 
  The banker‟s boxes are full of two years‟ of 
  expedition notes, photos by Ellen Black, a few 
  recordings taken on a recording phonograph, and 
  a handful of archaeological samples, totems and 
  other fetishes.  The expedition notes reflect that 
  it was a private one that sold a story idea to 
  National 
  Geographic 
  to 
  obtain 
  some 
  supplemental aid.  Led by a Prof. Harold Dunfee 
  from Yale, Dunfee‟s expedition notes reference 
  an obscure Vatican document called the 
  Testimony of Autolus and Dr. Berkeley‟s 
  dissertation on it.  Dunfee is noted for his 
  research in early Christian myths and legends, 
  including myths concerning the bloodline of 
  Christ. 
  Dunfee was further pursuing and fact-checking 
  Berkeley‟s research, and thought he needed to 
  go to Afghanistan to pursue a lead on the 
  potential survival of the Scythians reportedly 
  encountered by Autolus of Thessalonika. 
  The expedition notes are a tour de force of 
  traditional 
  Pashtun 
  superstition, 
  Islamic 
  mysticism, speculation about the legendary 
  family of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and more 
  than a smattering of Tawil-at-Um‟r esoterica.  
  The expedition spent time doing a standard 
  travelogue, but a thorough review suggests that 
  Dunfee structured the expedition‟s route around 
  a desire to consult certain libraries, examine 
  archaeological sites and seek out a specific 
  village of “ancient ones.” 
  Dunfee evidently found what he was looking 
  for, although he was disappointed that he was 
  not 
  permitted 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  “Exalted 
  Grandmother”, head priestess of what Dunfee 
  calls the “Paralatae exile village.”  Dunfee does 
  not reach any conclusions or offer any explicit 
  statements about what exactly he was looking 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  17 
   
  for in the village, or what conclusions he 
  reached. 
  The archive file takes 6 weeks to thoroughly 
  review, and a successful Read English check for 
  non-native speakers.  Success nets +4% to 
  Cthulhu Mythos, -1d6 SAN, and grants skill 
  checks in Occult and Speak Scythian.  No spells 
  are available, but a cursory review of the archive 
  (skimming) gives the coordinates for the 
  Scythian village as well as a photograph of the 
  area pictograph (bat-winged serpent) taken from 
  a high point not far away. 
  A handout summarizing the results of a 
  skimming review of these files appears nearby 
  as Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator 
  Handout #3.  Skimming the file costs 1 SAN 
  and results in no Cthulhu Mythos gain. 
  Eastern Farah Province SATINT Summary 
  and SECNAV Rules of Engagement For 
  “Ancient Ones” Village, Southeastern Farah 
  Province (2005):  This military intelligence 
  report and accompanying rules of engagement 
  order originated in 2005 with the Secretary of 
  the Navy following the unsuccessful Marine 
  patrol into the village of the Paralatae. 
  A 
  particularly 
  sharp 
  and 
  restless 
  Naval 
  Intelligence officer, 
  Lt. 
  Andrea 
  Littleton, 
  decided to put in some extra hours to see if she 
  could offer any historical or anthropological 
  insight into what Lt. Taylor‟s squad had run 
  into.  She was surprised when she found not 
  only the National Geographic article from 1921, 
  but an old Naval Intelligence report from 1925, 
  where Naval Intelligence‟s “P Division” had, for 
  some unclear reason, gotten involved into some 
  kind of unruly funeral celebration in rural 
  Northern California. 
  Apparently, a sizeable group of the people 
  matching the description of the “ancient ones” 
  depicted in the National Geographic article had 
  gotten into some sort of kidnapping dispute with 
  the local police.  Strangely, an old investigative 
  arm of Naval Intelligence had been called in.  
  They invoked secrecy on the proceedings, and 
  all but a summary of the file were classified 
  beyond even her very high security clearance. 
  Lt. Littleton dutifully wrote her report up and 
  sent it up her chain of command.  Lt. Littleton, 
  “coincidentally”, disappeared the next day.  She 
  is listed as AWOL.  (If you are using the Delta 
  Green setting, her nosing around in “P Division” 
  matters led her to be recruited and taken in by 
  Delta Green, and assigned a new identity). 
  However, 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Navy 
  (“SECNAV”) (after “A Cell” called in a number 
  of favors and pulled several strings to nudge 
  things in that direction) shortly thereafter issued 
  an unprecedented SATINT summary and rules 
  of engagement for what was termed the 
  “Ancient Ones” village. 
  This report is highly classified and “eyes 
  only/need to know only”, for command level 
  military officers operating in that area.  “A Cell” 
  nonetheless has a copy and takes a keen interest, 
  through friendlies in Naval Intelligence, in 
  anyone challenging the rules of engagement.  “A 
  Cell” gives a copy of it to the investigators at the 
  outset of Standard Operating Procedure.  A 
  summary of the report appears nearby as 
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator 
  Handout #2. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  18 
   
   
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #3—A Summary of the 1921 Afghanistan 
  National Geographic Raw File Archive. 
  The boxes contain the field notes, raw photos, souvenirs, and receipts of an expedition to Afghanistan 
  that occurred in 1920.  It was led by Prof. Harold Dunfee of Yale University and was partially 
  financed by the National Geographic Society. 
  The boxes contain a copy of the November 1921 edition of National Geographic magazine, featuring a 
  lengthy article and photo essay about an expedition to Afghanistan which went both on and off the 
  beaten track.  The article itself includes a segment on the expedition‟s wanderings in Farah Province, 
  Afghanistan in general, but is not focused on weird or occult practices. 
  All of the photographs are attributed to Ellen Black, a young photographer who accompanied the 
  expedition. 
  The archive file demonstrates at an ulterior motive for the expedition on Dunfee‟s part, however, and 
  someone with an interest in the occult could make a Ph.D. project out of these boxes.  Dunfee was 
  interested in early Christian myths, including the rumor that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had been 
  married and had one or more children who escaped after the Crucifixion. 
  Dunfee references a Victorian-era English Ph.D. dissertation by a Dr. Niles Berkeley of the University 
  of London, which analyzed a Vatican document from the 2nd Century A.D. referred to as the 
  Testimony of Autolus.  Unknown to the rest of the expedition, Dunfee was fact-checking the accuracy 
  of Berkeley‟s research.  Dunfee was looking to confirm rumors of a haunted village of “ancient 
  lineage” in eastern Farah Province, inhabited by people reported to fancy themselves as direct 
  descendants of the Paralatae, the royal sub-tribe of the Scythian Empire. 
  The archive file is a tour de force of traditional Pashtun superstition, Islamic mysticism, speculation 
  about the family of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and more than a smattering of Tawil at-Um‟r 
  esoterica.  The expedition spent time doing a standard travelogue, but a thorough review suggests that 
  Dunfee structured the expedition‟s stops around a desire to consult certain libraries, examine 
  archaeological sites and seek out that particular village of “ancient ones.” 
  Dunfee evidently found what he was looking for, although he was disappointed that he was not 
  permitted to meet the “Exalted Grandmother”, head priestess of what Dunfee calls the “Paralatae exile 
  village.”  Dunfee does not reach or offer any concrete conclusions about what exactly he was looking 
  for at the village.  He does however note that the village is located near a pictograph (visible from 
  elevation) of a bat-winged serpent, a classic symbol of the Scythian godhead. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  19 
   
   
   
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #2—A synopsis of SECNAV’s SATINT 
  and Rules of Engagement For The “Ancient Ones” village, Farah Province, Afghanistan 
  This is an extremely highly classified, “need to know” intelligence file on a certain village in eastern 
  Farah Province, Afghanistan.  It consists of three basic parts, and is intended for review by U.S. 
  military units operating in that theater. 
  The first basic part consists of several hours of video footage and several dozen image files taken by 
  spy satellites and reconnaissance drone aircraft.  It depicts an unusual looking, off the beaten track 
  village of approximately 500 people at the edge of a steppe transition in Farah province.  The village 
  is located in a well defensible, hilly zone and is of unusual construction, looking like a combination 
  between a Greek movie set and a nomadic collection of yurts and horse pens.  It is very clean, very 
  well-organized, and there are few modern contrivances (like trucks) in evidence.  Various labels and 
  references on the images describe the village as belonging to the “Ancient Ones.”  A bat-winged 
  serpent pictogram is evident. 
  Several of the surveillance film segments focus on a hill overlooking the village to the northeast.  
  These show several previously forested areas that have been smashed flat, as though by an enormous 
  bulldozer.  At the foot of the hill is a cave, of which several stills have been taken.  Around the mouth 
  of the cave appear to be hundreds of bleaching skeletons and abandoned military gear, including a 
  flattened vehicle looking like a giant foot had stepped on it.  SAN loss 0/1 for this portion. 
  The second basic part of the file consists of an incident report, related interview notes and psychiatric 
  evaluations, and a research memorandum and synopsis of the foregoing by a Lt. Andrea Littleton of 
  U.S. Navy Intelligence.  (Continued….) 
   
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  20 
   
   
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #2 (continued) 
  According to Lt. Littleton‟s summary and compilation, a U.S. Marine patrol performing a routine 
  search for Taliban and basic area reconnaissance entered the village in question in 2005, disregarding 
  warnings that the village was “sacred ground” and “haunted.”  The village is miles off of any 
  significant road, and U.S. forces had been able to secure the nearest through road and shove back a 
  few Taliban insurgents without the village even stirring.  Still, someone had to go in eventually and 
  have a look around.  A squad of Marines, under the command of Marine 1st Lt. Jerome Taylor, was 
  sent into the village.  Only Lt. Taylor returned.  He was not a pretty sight when he did.  Taylor‟s squad 
  had (he reported, after being sedated) intruded onto some kind of royal funeral ceremony, and only 
  Taylor had had the sense to play along.  He was returned without a scalp and having been subjected to 
  “ritual purification” (his face scarified, an arrow jammed through his left hand, and showing signs of 
  having smoked a great deal of marijuana).  His mind was also broken and he displayed classic signs of 
  PTSD.  He was referred to the closed psychiatric ward at Walter Reed Hospital. 
  Taylor was accompanied back to his base by Talil Nasfari, an “envoy” from the village.  Nasfari had a 
  warning for Lt. Taylor‟s command and control structure:  His village is a holy site.  Many centuries of 
  kings have their tombs in the village.  His village was inhabited by an ancient people, some sort of 
  ethnic isolate, with no use for the Taliban.  Taliban are not allowed there.  Neither are anyone else‟s 
  military forces.  Nasfari insisted that Alliance forces leave them alone and not set foot on their land.  If 
  they were left alone, he promised that his people would not cause Alliance forces any trouble.  Any 
  requests for “parley” (as he put it) would need to come from someone other than a soldier, and they 
  should ask for him.  Next time, no soldiers would return. 
  Lt. Taylor, for his part, spoke in his debriefing of participating in a royal funeral; the strange (non-
  Pashtun) tongue they spoke among themselves; an old woman who interrogated him for a week 
  without sleeping; and how his squad had lost a firefight to a bunch of mounted archers on horseback, 
  like something out of an old Western.  He also spoke of odd earthquake like rumblings, like some 
  enormous animal crashing through the hills.  He did not see it himself, but some of his men saw signs 
  of something huge, and it caused a panic that resulted in their massacre in their firefight. 
  Later field intelligence supplements mention repeated Taliban attacks against the village being 
  crushed, ending in a massive Taliban raid that ended in unusual, loud, booming noises heard many 
  miles away.  The results of that assault are documented in the foregoing satellite images.  The Taliban 
  finally gave up with the village after that disaster, and now leave it alone.  The result of the Taliban 
  giving this village a wide berth has been that eastern Farah province has become a sort of 
  comparatively quiet, quasi- demilitarized zone in the Afghanistan conflict, although occasional bandits 
  and raiders still come through.  International relief workers operate with relative impunity in the 
  region, although they know that they are not exactly welcome in that one odd villages. 
  Lt. Littleton does not stop at synthesizing field intelligence, however.  She also did some historical 
  research.  She attaches a Dept. of the Navy intelligence report from 1925, in which (for some reason) a 
  Naval Intelligence element referred to as “P Division” was called in, apparently late in the 
  proceedings, to suppress and hush up an incident in rural Northern California in the winter of 1925.  
  Littleton openly speculates at a connection.  (Continued….) 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  21 
   
   
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #2 (concluded) 
  The 1925 “P Division” report is fragmentary, but outlines a conflict between local police in Blaketon, 
  CA and a group of “Afghani tribesmen” known as “Paralatae” over the course of that winter.  About 
  150 “Paralatae”, led by a woman known as the “Exalted Grandmother”, showed up unexpectedly, 
  stole a body from a Blaketon funeral home, and retreated to the countryside to conduct what is 
  described as an “ancient funerary rite with occult overtones.”  A local woman, Ellen Black-Nasfari, 
  was taken against her will and reported missing by her attorney, who had been handling the estate of 
  the deceased, her husband Turib Nasfari. 
  At least two violent encounters occurred between the “Paralatae” and law enforcement, resulting in 
  several casualties.  The “Paralatae” were described as ruthless, fanatical, “barbarian” throwbacks who 
  mostly relied on ancient technologies (including “bronze swords”, bows, and horses).  As things 
  appeared headed for a final showdown, “civilian occult experts” managed to broker a peaceful 
  solution.  Ellen Black-Nasfari and the experts convinced law enforcement and Marine Corps elements 
  to allow the funeral to proceed, and the matter was largely kept out of the media. 
  At the advice of the “civilian experts on occult matters”, the “Paralatae” were allowed to withdraw 
  back to Afghanistan at the conclusion of their funerary rite, roughly one year later.  Elements of “P 
  Division” kept local officials and citizens away from the “Paralatae” camp, which required a lot of 
  strings to be pulled.  Lt. Littleton concludes from their dress, language and reported habits that these 
  “Paralatae” were an ethnic isolate group descended from the Indo-Aryan branch of the Scythian 
  people.  There are references to “further investigations” being undertaken in connection with “civilian 
  experts” into “certain recordings found in Mrs. Black-Nasfari‟s apartment” and an “ongoing 
  debriefing” of Mrs. Black-Nasfari, but Lt. Littleton‟s report does not include these materials.   
  Lt. Littleton includes a one-page excerpt from, of all things, the November, 1921 edition of National 
  Geographic.  It appears to be part of an essay about an expedition to Afghanistan, with the portions 
  pertaining to one particular village excerpted and highlighted.  The excerpt includes a photograph 
  credited to “Ellen Black” and a paragraph referencing the photograph.  The photograph depicts a 
  group of men (dressed in ancient warrior attire, on horseback) posing in front of a vaguely Grecian-
  looking marble portico.  It is captioned “At a village in the east, inhabited by men claiming to be of 
  ancient lineage.”  There is also a paragraph where article discusses the “odd village of the „Ancient 
  Ones‟ at the edge of the steppes.”  They (unusually for the area) are known for horse-raising, and 
  claim to be descendants of refugees from the Black Sea, driven there by the Goths over 1,000 years 
  earlier.  The author of the article also notes that their village has a reputation for being haunted. 
  The third basic part to the file is a set of standing rules of engagement personally issued by the 
  Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), along with some commentary and written objections from certain 
  Marine Corps field elements (all summarily overruled).  SECNAV orders that the village of the 
  “Ancient Ones” be completely avoided by all U.S. military forces, period.  Any contacts needed to be 
  had with the village must be approved by SECNAV personally, and then undertaken by civilian 
  intermediaries. A no-fly zone is in effect over the village, including for recon drones.  The written 
  protests are divided in rationale between “slippery slope” arguments and revenge/loss of control 
  arguments (i.e., those bastards wiped out a squad of Marines and we need to teach them a lesson). 
   
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  22 
   
   
   
  Typical Paralatae warrior 
  Nationality:  Scythian 
  STR:  16 
  DEX:  16 
  INT:  11 
  CON:  16 
  APP:  08 
  POW:  14 
  SIZ:  13 
  EDU:  08 
  SAN:  00 
  Luck:  70 
  Hits:  15 
  Age:  21 
  Damage Bonus:  +1d4 
  Education: Combat and ritual training by the "Exalted Grandmother" 
  Skills:  Ancient Scythian Way of Life 70%, Art 20%, Climb 70%, Conceal 30%, Cthulhu Mythos 5%, 
  Dodge 70%, Drive Auto 05%, First Aid 50%, History 30%, Horseback Archery 70%, Jump 50%, 
  Listen 50%, Occult 20%, Speak Scythian 40%, Speak/Read/Write Pashtun 40%, Ride 80%, Sneak 
  50%, Swim 20%, Throw 70%, Track 70%. 
  Weapons:  Bronze Tulwar, 1d8+1+db, 70%, can parry and impale, 10 HPs. 
  Javelins, Throw%, 1d8+1, 1/2 rounds, 25 yards, 5 carried in quiver, can impale. 
  Bow, 70%, d8+1+1/2 db, 1/round, 90 yards, can impale, 20 arrows carried in quiver. 
  Armor:  Each Scythian will be dressed in hide trousers and heelless leather boots.  They will also be 
  wearing leather tunics under leather armor, and wearing a lot of gold:  rings, torques and hair combs.  
  They also carry a leather shield with metal scales.  Armor and shield grant 4 HP of protection. 
  Notes:  Scythian warriors are totally ruthless and fanatic.  However, their primary goal is to keep 
  Nasra alive.  Their own lives are disposable, and they have been taught that being perceived as the 
  aggressor in a fight, or resisting legitimate law enforcement, or annoying people who think they are 
  legitimate law enforcement, only invites more attention.  As a result, they are slow to be aggressors or 
  to kill disabled enemies.  Once attacked in their village, though, all bets are off. 
  The Scythians are fond of scalping defeated enemies, though.  Scalping does 1d6 of damage, and costs 
  the victim 1d4+1 points of APP and 0/1d3 SAN.  The Scythians clean the scalps and use them as hand 
  towels.  There is nothing sanitary about a bronze tulwar, so checks for infection would be in order for 
  a scalpee. 
  The Scythians are not totally averse to using modern technology, but they greatly prefer not to.  This 
  comes down from Nasra, who is uneasy about doing anything that might be seen as “not Scythian” 
  and, as a result, insists on fastidiously erring on the side of caution.  Only if very hard pressed would 
  the Scythians break out the stash of RPGs, AK-47s and other captured military hardware stashed in 
  their village.  They should be assumed to only have base skills with firearms and other modern 
  contrivances.  Note in particular that the rank and file Scythians are not very good drivers. 
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  23 
   
   
  Nasra, the "Exalted Grandmother", High Priestess of the Paralatae 
  Nationality: Scythian 
  STR:  03 
  DEX:  03 
  INT:  20 
  CON:  20 
  APP:  08 
  POW:  35 
  SIZ:  09 
  EDU:  25 
  SAN:  00 
  Luck:  99 
  Hits:  15 
  Age:  2,320 (looks 
  95) 
  Damage Bonus:  -1d6 
  Education:  2200+ years in the school of hard knocks 
  Skills:  Accounting 10%; Anthropology 50%; Archaeology 45%; Art 80%; Astronomy 99%; Bargain 
  50%; Biology 50%; Botany 65%; Cartography 55%; Credit Rating 30% (99% to Scythians); Cthulhu 
  Mythos 50%; Drive Auto 5%; Fast Talk 65%; First Aid 90%; History 95%; Law 50%; Medicine 45%; 
  Natural History 95%; Navigation (Land) 99%; Occult 99%; Persuade 95%; Pharmacy 55%; Physics 
  55%; Psychology 95%; Ride 99%; Speak Scythian 100%; Speak/Read/Write English, Latin, Greek, 
  Arabic, French, Russian, Chinese, Sumerian, Aramaic, Akkadian, Hittite, Pashtun 99%; Scythian 
  Rituals 100%;  Woodcraft 95%; Zoology 50%; Behave Imperiously 99%. 
  Spells:  All of the spells of the Greater Grimoire; Augur, Bless Blade; Chant of Thoth; Cloud 
  Memory; Command Ghost; Conjure Glass of Mortlan; Create Mist of Releh; Death Spell; Deflect 
  Harm; Enthrall Victim; Evade Perdition; Fist of Yog-Sothoth; Flesh Ward; Heal; Journey to the Other 
  Side; Levitate; Mesmerize; Mindblast; Steal Life, Wrack; most types of ritual magic; other spells at 
  Keeper's discretion. 
  Weapons:  Does not need or carry any.  Nasra does carry an enchanted, gnarled, gold-inlaid walking 
  stick always kept fully charged with 35 magic points.  Nasra has Javelin, Tulwar and Horseback 
  Archery skills all at 99%, but due to her advanced age relies on spells. 
  Notes:  Nasra's purple and gold-ornamented sarong is enchanted and counts as 15 points of armor 
  against non-magical attacks.  If expecting trouble, Nasra augments this with Flesh Ward. 
  Insanity:  Debatable.  Sincerely believes that if she allows her culture to die, the world will end.  She 
  would prefer not to guess wrong. 
   
  
  WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHUN THE SNARES OF DEATH? 
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  24 
   
   
  The Eldest Son, The Price of Staving Off Oblivion 
  STR:  35 
  DEX:  30 
  INT:  21 
  CON:  30 
  POW:  24 
  SIZ:  50 
  Luck:  99 
  Hits:  40 
  Damage Bonus:  +2d6. 
  Spells:  Call Yog-Sothoth, Death Spell, Implant Fear, Stop Heart, Voorish Sign. 
  Languages:  (in huge booming voice that shakes the trees):  Scythian 99%. 
  Attacks:  Bulldoze and Seize, 100%, damage 1d6 of crushing every round plus 1d10 of blood drain 
  every round after the first. 
  Big Stomp, 100%, 1d6 + db. 
  Armor:  Immune to most forms of physical damage.  Enchanted weapons do minimum damage.  
  Invisible except when feeding. 
  SAN Loss:  1/1d8 when invisible (profound sub-basso twittering in Scythian and inexplicable terrain, 
  tank and personnel smashing).  When visible (feeding as the blood briefly illuminates its bulk, or with 
  the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi), SAN loss is 1d8/3d10. 
  Talil Nasfari, Semi-Westernized Scythian Go-Between (2011 edition) 
  Nationality:  Scythian 
  STR:  14 
  DEX:  13 
  INT:  12 
  CON:  14 
  APP:  12 
  POW:  12 
  SIZ:  13 
  EDU:  12 
  SAN:  30 
  Luck:  60 
  Hits:  14 
  Age:  31 
  Damage Bonus:  +1d4. 
  Education:  Some College. 
  Skills:  Art 45%, Drive Auto 40%, Bargain 50%; Climb 70%, Conceal 30%, Dodge 70%, First Aid 
  50%, History 30%, Ancient Scythian Way of Life 70%, Jump 50%, Listen 50%, Occult 20%, Cthulhu 
  Mythos 5%, Speak Scythian 60%, Speak/Read/Write English 40%, Speak/Read/Write Pashtun 60%, 
  Ride 80%, Sneak 50%, Swim 70%, Throw 70%, Track 70%. 
  Spells:  None. 
  Weapons:  Bronze Tulwar, 1d8+1+db, 70%, can parry and impale, 10 HPs. 
  Javelins, Throw%, 1d8+1, 1/2 rounds, 25 yards, 5 carried in quiver, can impale. 
  Bow, 70%, d8+1+1/2 db, 90 yards, 1/round, can impale, 20 arrows carried in quiver. 
  Notes:  The latest in a long line of diplomacy-trained Scythians. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  25 
   
   
   
   
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  26 
   
  1.  Introduction 
  Standard Operating Procedure is a sequel, set in 
  the modern day/Delta Green milieu, to Common 
  Courtesy, published in Pagan Publishing‟s 
  Mortal 
  Coils 
  collection 
  (1998). 
   
  The 
  investigators, playing a Delta Green cell, will be 
  called upon to intercede in a looming disaster. 
  Rogue vindictive elements within the U.S. 
  military have “accidentally” caused a Predator 
  drone to bomb the village of the “Ancient 
  Ones”, the remaining homeland of the Scythians 
  in Farah Province, Afghanistan.  This has 
  triggered a potential disaster on several fronts, 
  and several different factions are mobilizing.  
  These are:  a pack of Taliban insurgents, 
  determined to both avenge prior defeats as well 
  as purge the world of the evil of the “Eldest 
  Son”; 
  Northern 
  Alliance 
  military 
  forces, 
  determined to investigate the strike and 
  generally assume control over the situation; and 
  MJ-12, which will infiltrate the Northern 
  Alliance response with a reconnaissance team 
  and try generally to figure out what is going on, 
  before taking decisive action to co-opt and/or 
  eliminate the Scythians. 
  This is very much of a “sandbox” style of 
  scenario, as the outcome is extremely variable 
  depending on the investigators‟ actions.  Rather 
  than script an investigation, Standard Operating 
  Procedure will lay out the available sources of 
  investigation, describe the various factions and 
  what will happen absent investigator action, and 
  discuss how the Paralatae will react to different 
  stimuli.  Ultimately, the most successful 
  outcome is to restore the status quo as much as 
  possible, and keep the Scythians from being 
  killed or dispersed, but this is an extremely 
  difficult outcome to achieve. 
  2.  Getting Started 
  This scenario is intended for an experienced cell 
  with a reputation for being able to operate 
  quietly.  Cells believed to be under active 
  scrutiny by MJ-12, or those with a reputation for 
  “cowboy” antics, will never even hear of the 
  operation.  “A Cell” needs someone extremely 
  discrete and capable of creative thought for this 
  mess. 
  Sometime prior to the beginning of the scenario, 
  the Keeper should introduce The Light of Day 
  website.  The Light of Day is a Wikileaks like, 
  hacker operated website that delights in 
  embarrassing the United States government in 
  particular.  Unlike Wikileaks, it has no public 
  face and has so far managed to have whoever is 
  operating it avoid identification.  (In fact, The 
  Light of Day is operated, under several layers of 
  cover, by a mainstream news agency to trial 
  balloon sensitive news stories and thereby, in 
  effect, generate its own news).   
  Two days before the Delta Green cell is 
  contacted, all major news outlets include in their 
  news cycle a story about another “accidental” 
  drone bombing of an Afghan village.  The 
  village is referred to as an “ancient holy site 
  belonging to an ethnic minority group in a 
  remote part of Farah Province, which had 
  remained neutral in the ongoing efforts against 
  the Taliban.”  Public relations flaks from the 
  Dept. of Defense address the “accident” at press 
  briefings, terming it “regrettable” and (falsely) 
  suggesting that “insurgent activity” had been 
  detected in the vicinity. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  27 
   
  One day before the investigators‟ cell is 
  contacted, in reaction to the news coverage, The 
  Light of Day website somehow obtains (via 
  hacking) and posts a few seconds of the Predator 
  drone footage leading up to the bombing run on 
  the village.  This limited footage likewise makes 
  the news cycle with all major news outlets.  
  Pentagon flacks deny the authenticity of the 
  footage. 
  The investigators‟ cell is instructed that the 
  “highest levels” are extremely concerned about 
  the Predator drone incident currently making the 
  rounds of the news cycle.  Delta Green has 
  acquired a longer clip, and the investigators are 
  advised that the incident appears potentially 
  related to an old (1920s era) Naval Intelligence 
  file.  The players are asked to discretely look 
  into the situation and take “whatever steps may 
  be necessary” in light of what they uncover.  
  This is an admittedly open ended assignment, 
  but the players are warned that military 
  intelligence may well be mobilizing on a parallel 
  investigation, and that discretion is a must.  Up 
  cell contact should be very limited due to 
  concerns about exposure, given the likely 
  involvement of other organization‟s operatives.  
  Anticipating the possible need for travel, a 
  supply cache has already been established for 
  the investigators. 
  The players are given: 
  --A thumb drive.  The thumb drive contains a 
  longer (minute long) clip of the Predator drone 
  footage, including operator voice-over chatter 
  (Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator 
  Handout #1). 
  --A paper copy of SECNAV’s intelligence file 
  on the village of the “Ancient Ones”, 
  summarized above as Standard Operating 
  Procedure, Investigator Handout #2.  This is 
  to be a hastily made copy of a paper document.  
  It is festooned with a variety of heavy-duty 
  security classifications, some of which the 
  players may never have seen or heard of before.  
  Scrawled in red marker is a note from the 
  players‟ cell contact:  “Burn after reading or 
  you‟ll be burned.  You never saw this, and it 
  doesn‟t exist.  Don‟t even ask.” 
  --Directions to a “Green Box”/supply cache 
  located in a storage locker near Logan Airport 
  in Boston.  Inside the Green Box are:  passable 
  fake passports, one for each cell member; open, 
  round-trip plane tickets for each cell member to 
  Kabul, Afghanistan; a contact name and number 
  in Kabul for a “friendly” with the International 
  Red Cross, Genevieve Jansen (and a warning 
  that Ms. Jansen is not “read in” but thinks that 
  the 
  players 
  are 
  legitimate 
  undercover 
  government agents, attempting to find out what 
  happened at the village); and a pre-paid Visa 
  card with $10,000. 
  One of the passports will be in the name of 
  “Thomas Leon”.  This identity comes with a Red 
  Cross employee credential badge; each of them 
  comes with limited background support (fake 
  social security numbers and a few years of fake 
  credit histories).  If someone calls the Red 
  Cross, they will have a Thomas Leon in their 
  payroll system.  He will be an aid worker 
  assigned to work under Ms. Jansen‟s supervision 
  in Afghanistan.  But it is far from a bulletproof 
  cover, as no Thomas Leon actually exists, and 
  the identities will not withstand serious digging 
  by law enforcement. 
  There is also contact information for a grey 
  market military supplier in Kabul who (with the 
  aid of the Visa card) will be able to set up the 
  players with basic gear:  street-available 
  weapons like AK-47s, basic body armor, etc. 
  Finally, a warning:  “Watch your backs.  
  Somebody broke protocol.  Expect cleaners and 
  parallel investigations.” 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  28 
   
   
  3.  Research & Stateside Events 
  a.  MJ-12’s Parallel Investigation:  The players 
  will probably want to do some additional 
  digging before taking advantage of the offer to 
  go to Afghanistan.  Logical research and 
  interview pursuits follow.  Note that while MJ-
  12 is also mobilizing to investigate, they have no 
  particular sense of urgency. 
  Rather, someone at MJ-12 will have seen the 
  same leaked videotape that the players have seen 
  (as they are covertly monitoring The Light of 
  Day Website), but will not have had the pleasure 
  of reading the SECNAV file on the “Ancient 
  Ones.”  They will have seen and digitally 
  enhanced the videotape, and been a little 
  weirded out by the booming sounds that 
  accompanied the downing of the Predator drone.  
  They will not have thought to try to filter the last 
  ten seconds of the archived version initially, but 
  will catch on and do this if they get a sense that 
  Delta Green is looking into this event. 
  So MJ-12 will be a step slow and on a slightly 
  different trajectory.  They will have seen 
  something weird, but not be highly alarmed 
  about it.  Rather, at first, they will stick a couple 
  of low-level guys on it to do some routine due 
  diligence.  
  The two MJ-12 agents initially assigned (Mr. 
  Black and Mr. White, if they must have names) 
  are not rocket scientists.  Rather, they are ex-
  Special 
  Forces 
  with 
  some 
  rudimentary 
  counterintelligence training—relative noobs to 
  the spy game.  They will be digging into 
  conventional 
  military 
  intelligence 
  sources 
  initially.  This will lead them to the general 
  background information about the village, and 
  most of the information in the SECNAV file 
  (except for the SECNAV‟s standing rules of 
  engagement 
  and 
  Lt. 
  Littleton‟s 
  historical 
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #1—A synopsis of leaked Predator drone 
  footage of bombing run on the village of the “Ancient Ones.” 
  This grainy footage runs about one minute in length, and appears to be taken by a low-light enhanced, 
  digital video camera from above, perhaps through a bomb sight.  It is consistent with footage taken at 
  night from a Predator drone aircraft.  Visible in the footage is the bat-winged serpent petroglyph 
  marking the location of the village, which appears nestled at the foot of a range of hills. 
  The camera circles the village for a while, which is distinctly odd looking.  There is a lot of audio 
  static in the background, which cuts in and out.  The village does not look like your typical collection 
  of Afghani huts.  Rather, it looks like someone has pitched about 100 felt tents around a square block 
  out of a Roman-era movie set, complete with Classical-style architecture and a small aqueduct. 
  The drone circles for a minute and drops its ordinance right on the central square, in the midst of the 
  anachronistic architecture.  A lot of static erupts when the bomb hits.  The footage continues for a few 
  seconds, at which point there is a loud roar, (almost like a trumpeting elephant) and a crash.  The 
  camera flips over and the footage abruptly ends. 
  (The village being bombed is clearly the same, odd looking village depicted in the SATINT reports in 
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #2. On an Idea roll if necessary, it strains 
  credulity to believe that any drone operator in his right mind could have “accidentally confused” this 
  village for some other one—it is far too distinctive). 
   
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  29 
   
  research.  They could get at that, but not without 
  risking undue attention).  In other words, they 
  will also have (eventually) the historical 
  SATINT footage, and the story, psych files, etc. 
  behind Lt. Taylor‟s encounter with the village, 
  but not have much of a clue as to what sort of 
  supernatural threat they might be dealing with. 
  Indeed, MJ-12‟s view of the situation, initially, 
  will be that a rogue government actor or actor(s) 
  probably sanctioned the village for some 
  reason—possibly Delta Green.  Early on, they 
  will be questioning Taylor, then perhaps doing a 
  little research, then perhaps looking into the 
  National Geographic archive.  They will be 
  looking for anything that smells like Delta Green 
  covering its tracks.  But it will initially be 
  consistent with a low level of concern—a pair of 
  lightly-armed MIBs flashing Dept. of Defense 
  identification and conducting general inquiries. 
  The players may get a sense that a parallel 
  investigation has been ongoing—people arriving 
  shortly before them asking similar questions, but 
  also looking for people who have been there 
  previously.   Lt. Taylor, depending on how the 
  investigators are with him, may tell the MIBs 
  that they were there before and give their 
  descriptions, or may call the MIBs when the 
  investigators show up later.  Or, maybe not.  The 
  investigators may, if they get noticed, find 
  themselves tailed or poked into by the MIBs.  
  This will all be in a low key sort of way, 
  however, until several days after the players get 
  involved. 
  Eventually, the two MJ-12 agents will think to 
  ask to dig through the National Geographic 
  archive, and depending on what the investigators 
  are up to at that point, things might get hairy.  
  That archive, once reviewed, puts MJ-12 on its 
  guard.  If the investigators have already looked 
  through it, MJ-12 might seriously try to identify 
  them and/or escalate their involvement level. 
   
  MJ-12 MIBs x2, Think They’re Defending 
  the U.S. of A. Against An Illegal 
  Government Conspiracy. 
  STR:  15 
  DEX:  15 
  INT:  13 
  CON:  15 
  APP:  12 
  POW:  12 
  SIZ:  15 
  EDU:  14 
  SAN:  60 
  Luck:  60 
  Hits:  15 
  Age:  30ish 
  Damage Bonus:  +1d4. 
  Education:  Military Special Ops Training 
  and Spook School. 
  Skills:  Climb 70%, Computer Use 40%, 
  Dodge 70%, Drive Auto 40%, Fast Talk 
  50%, Hide 77%,  Listen 50%, Library Use 
  50%, Martial Arts 50%, Occult 20%, 
  Speak/Read/Write 
  English 
  70%, 
  Speak/Read/Write Spanish 40%, Sneak 50%, 
  Spot Hidden 59%, Tradecraft 40%. 
  Spells:  None. 
  Weapons:  Ruger P91 semi-automatic 
  handgun, 2/round, 15 shots, 15 yards base 
  range, malfunction 98-00, d10 damage, 50%, 
  with laser sight (+10%) and silencer. 
  Fist/Punch 54%, 1d3+db. 
  Grapple 57%, special. 
  Kick 54%, 1d6+db. 
  Gear: 
   
  Bullet 
  resistant/Kevlar 
  weave 
  executive protection suits, 4 points of armor 
  (torso, 50% chance of protection); secure cell 
  phones; sunglasses; parabolic microphone; 
  wiretapping 
  equipment; 
  phony 
  search 
  warrant; other dirty tricks Keeper thinks 
  might be appropriate to a non-urgent inquiry. 
  Notes:  Overly non-descript. 
   
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  30 
   
   
  M.I.B. #1 (Black) 
   
  M.I.B. #2 (White) 
  If the investigators are looking through it at that 
  point in National Geographic‟s basement, the 
  MIBs (with or without backup, depending) 
  might try to sanction them, or follow them and 
  then arrange for an abduction and interrogation.   
  If the archive has been “borrowed”, legitimately 
  or otherwise, the MIBs will scramble, seek 
  instruction from their chain of command, and 
  matters will escalate.  The investigators might 
  feel some heat as they make their way to 
  Afghanistan from MJ-12 hit squads if things 
  escalate. 
  In any case, at the point that MJ-12 reads the 
  National Geographic archive (or it goes 
  missing), MJ-12 will conclude that it is not sure 
  what is going on, but that it might be Mythos 
  related and significant, and that it needs to send 
  someone into the village in Afghanistan to 
  investigate. 
  b.  The Light of Day Website:  The Light of Day 
  website (Know roll or simple research) is a 
  Wikileaks-like organization, devoted to airing 
  unedited 
  versions 
  of 
  whatever 
  top-secret 
  documents and video it can get its hands on.  
  Unlike Wikileaks, no one quite knows who runs 
  it; it is layered behind several levels of 
  misdirection.  Submissions to the site can be 
  made by e-mail, which is routed and re-routed, 
  hidden behind zombie servers, and generally so 
  thoroughly obscured that no one has yet been 
  able to find it.  Like Wikileaks, it has found a 
  place where it can store and disseminate its 
  infodumps, in this case a server in Iceland.  The 
  Icelandic authorities have stubbornly refused to 
  do anything about it, citing protection of 
  journalist laws.  Unlike Wikileaks, whoever is 
  behind The Light of Day is smart enough not to 
  annoy their host government, and there is no 
  public face to get embarrassed or discredited in a 
  sex scandal. 
  If the investigators have and can access any 
  well-placed 
  journalists 
  with 
  confidential 
  government sources, or well-placed intelligence 
  analysts, they might get some speculative insight 
  as to the operation.  Well-placed sources believe 
  that The Light of Day site is a test balloon scam, 
  run covertly by a U.S. oriented news agency.  
  They point to the rapidity with which the U.S. 
  news outlets report on the stories (suggesting 
  that they know in advance when a juicy story is 
  coming out on the site) and the website‟s focus 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  31 
   
  on U.S. activities.  (This is a correct 
  supposition). 
  Finally, there is vital information to be had just 
  by giving the public website a thorough 
  snooping through.  With a Computer Use roll, 
  the investigator can check through the site map 
  and scripting of the site and find an archived but 
  accessible, longer version of the video clip.  This 
  version of the clip runs about 10 more seconds 
  in length and has important extra footage at the 
  end (although without enhancement, the extra 
  footage simply appears to be visual snow and 
  audio static). 
  c.  Video Analysis:  Running the video clip 
  through sophisticated analysis (e.g., digitally 
  filtering sounds, enhancing the light) is 
  instructive and an important clue.  How much 
  the players get through these efforts depends on 
  whether they are looking at the one minute 
  (handout) version or the slightly longer version 
  (archived on The Light of Day) version. 
  The one minute (handout) version benefits from 
  further digital cleanup of the sound track.  There 
  is audio feed of the remote drone operator 
  offering running commentary on what he is 
  picking up on the drone‟s cameras.  It is plain 
  that the bombing of the village was no accident, 
  with 
  phrases 
  like 
  “target 
  acquired” 
  and 
  “ordinance away” being heard. 
  But perhaps most startling is a comment at the 
  very end, under his breath and only audible with 
  enhancement:  “gotcha you scalping sumbitches.  
  Orders be damned.  Oo-rah.”  (“Oo-rah” is a 
  Marine Corps chant).  This is then almost 
  immediately cut off by a roar and a smashing, to 
  which the operator shouts “what the hell…” as 
  something impacts the drone and sends it 
  careening. 
  The extra 10 seconds on the archived website 
  version are chaos.  This needs to be digitally 
  filtered or it appears as just snow and noise.  As 
  the drone spins around, the operator is generally 
  freaking out, and then the drone stops, as though 
  something caught it.  And at the very end, when 
  it is rather low to the ground, something looks in 
  the cockpit.  It appears as a semi-human warm 
  spot, perhaps 20 feet tall, but not exactly human 
  shaped, more like an enormous human head and 
  arms atop a blob of a body.  Only the heat 
  signature outline is detected by the drone‟s night 
  vision gear.  SAN loss 0/1. 
  d.  Scouring the Public and Not-so-Public 
  Record:  There are numerous additional sources 
  of information available, depending on the 
  extent to which the investigators are willing to 
  dig.  There are at least two potential interviews 
  suggested by the SECNAV file:  Lt. Taylor and 
  Lt. Littleton.  These are discussed below.   
  The one page of the National Geographic article 
  might send them to approach the Society for any 
  archive files, which are likewise discussed 
  below.  Reading through the archive file will 
  lead the investigators to the existence of the 
  Testimony of Autolus and Niles Berkeley‟s 
  dissertation on it.  It also underscores the 
  Mythos nature of the things ongoing at the 
  Scythian village.  The Testimony (apart from 
  opening up several new cans of worms) provides 
  another, critical indication that the Scythians are 
  trying to maintain their particular identity for a 
  reason, and hints at the consequences of their 
  failure.   
  The 1925 Blaketon, CA police report (above) is 
  not copied in the SECNAV file, but likewise 
  hints that the relationship with the Scythians has 
  been “managed” by Naval Intelligence since the 
  1920s.  All of this is helpful for putting the 
  investigators in an informed frame of mind upon 
  arrival in Afghanistan. 
  Generally speaking, requests sent up to “A Cell” 
  are ignored.  The first one might get a response 
  along 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  “DO 
  NOT 
  RISK 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  32 
   
  COMMUNICATION 
  EXCEPT 
  IN 
  DIRE 
  CIRCUMSTANCES. 
  USE 
  EXTREME 
  CAUTION.  EVALUATE SITUATION AND 
  MAKE FULL REPORT ONCE SITUATION IS 
  ASCERTAINED VIA ENCRYPTED E-MAIL.”  
  Subsequent ones not reflecting a full evaluation 
  and report do not receive a response.  Emphasize 
  to the investigators that there are both legitimate 
  and clandestine parallel investigations ongoing, 
  and that it is obvious that A Cell is concerned 
  about exposure as a result. 
  e.  Interview,  Lt. Jerome Taylor, U.S.M.C. 
  (Ret’d):  Lt. Taylor‟s military career effectively 
  ended after his forced participation in a funerary 
  rite in the Scythians‟ village.  While he might 
  have been able to tough that out, the evidence of 
  the “Eldest Son” that he witnessed on top of it 
  was too much.  He presented as a case of post-
  traumatic 
  stress 
  disorder 
  (“PTSD”) 
  with 
  delusional aspects, and only certain very well 
  placed people in Naval Intelligence had any idea 
  that something worse might be involved.  
  Unwilling to lend any credence to that view, the 
  Marine Corps simply treated Lt. Taylor as 
  though he were crazy and had been badly 
  mistreated by the Scythian village. 
  Lt. Taylor was routed through the Navy‟s PTSD 
  treatment regime (focusing on medication) and 
  mustered out honorably.  His pals from the 
  Naval Academy do not begrudge Marine Corps 
  in this regard; they do begrudge the fact that the 
  Scythian village has not been blotted from the 
  map. 
  Lt. Taylor is a very fit, 30-year old man who 
  looks like he is still in the Marine Corps.  He is 
  presently working at a Best Buy as a “loss 
  prevention specialist” for slightly above the 
  minimum wage in Toledo, OH.  Locally, he is 
  known as “that military looking dude who lost 
  half his ear in the war.”  Plastic surgery has done 
  a nice job of repairing the facial scars he 
  endured, but he still has a few. 
  Taylor is kept on anti-depressant medications, 
  although he comes across as normal under 
  normal conditions.  He suffers from occasional 
  nightmares 
  and 
  flashbacks 
  (tolerable 
  on 
  medication), and lives alone in a cheap 
  apartment near his work.  He participates in talk 
  therapy and volunteers at the local V.A., trying 
  to help fellow vets.  He owns a gun, legally, and 
  has an Ohio license for it if anyone bothers to 
  check before going to talk to him. 
  If left alone for a few more years, Taylor might 
  pull it together.  Unfortunately, the investigators 
  and/or MJ-12 are about to come calling and stir 
  up bad memories. 
  How Taylor reacts depends on whether the 
  investigators are first or (as is more probably the 
  case) the second gang on the scene, and how 
  they approach him.  If they are first, he will be 
  aloof but reluctantly cooperate with questions 
  asked for plausible reasons.  (He will, for 
  example, tell what he remembers about his 
  incident in Afghanistan, sanitized of any occult 
  overtones, if approached by a government 
  investigator looking into the “accidental” drone 
  strike on the village).  He might likewise 
  volunteer that he has gotten anonymous letters—
  he presumes from sympathetic fellow Marines—
  vowing that the village would be dealt with. 
  He will not (without torture or other effective 
  coercion, or having his apartment thoroughly 
  searched) reveal that he has gotten an 
  anonymous e-mail since the attack reading “WE 
  GOT EM”, or that he has a pretty good idea that 
  a former classmate, Capt. James Conway, 
  U.S.M.C., currently in theater in Afghanistan, 
  probably coordinated the attack.  The MIBs will 
  not be that intrusive on their first visit. 
  People coming right out with probing questions 
  hinting at Mythos knowledge can (Psychology 
  roll) detect that he is uneasy, and he quickly 
  orders them out. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  33 
   
  After the initial visit by whichever faction, 
  Taylor quickly has a nervous breakdown.  He 
  goes on a multi-day bender at a variety of local 
  bars and strip clubs, fails to show up for work, 
  catches a cab home when the clubs close, loses 
  his job, and does it all over again. 
  He is both more and less pliable at this point.  
  He 
  will 
  not 
  want 
  to 
  answer 
  standard 
  investigation questions through his drunken 
  stupor, insisting he told those other officers all 
  this just a while ago.  However, after his 
  breakdown, 
  Persuade, 
  Fast 
  Talk 
  or 
  Psychoanalysis might get him to tell the whole 
  story, including the parts about the horrific 
  bellowing of the “Eldest Son”, something no one 
  but his mother, “the Exalted Grandmother” 
  could see but everyone could hear. 
  Taylor will not give up his friend Conway or the 
  e-mail in either case (although he will pass out 
  easily and the investigators can toss the place, 
  and his computer is unprotected).  The IP 
  address can be traced back to Conway with 
  appropriate warrants or hacking. 
  f.  Failed Interview, Lt. Andrea Littleton, 
  U.S.N.:  Lt. Andrea Littleton, U.S.N., vanished 
  several years ago, shortly after completing her 
  intelligence report on the Paralatae.  She is the 
  subject of a missing person report, which 
  investigators with law enforcement credentials 
  or who otherwise manage to get a hold of an 
  open investigation file can read.  The Navy 
  likewise has an open investigations file, but it is 
  officially considered a cold case. 
  As far as the official records are concerned, she 
  just vanished.  She left work on a Friday evening 
  (after turning in her report) and did not report for 
  work the next Monday.  Her car was found 
  parked and locked at her apartment in Reston, 
  Virginia.  Her purse, cellular phone and all of 
  her personal belongings were found inside.  
  There was no sign of obvious foul play.  That 
  was the end of the trail:  no letters, no calls, no 
  sightings, no credit card activity.  No one saw 
  anything.  Nothing incriminating was found on 
  her computer.  Her boyfriend, a civilian attorney 
  named Scott Bell, was questioned, but was out 
  of town that weekend at a convention and had an 
  airtight alibi.  Things potentially useful in 
  locating her (like her computer) are in police 
  storage. 
  Things are almost too clean, and an Idea roll 
  might suggest some sort of covert assistance or 
  witness protection program being involved.  A 
  few things are odd because they are so clean:  
  nothing on her laptop computer at all work-
  related?  Despite the fact that she was ranging 
  far and wide and reviewing outside sources to 
  compile a historical review of a small tribe of 
  forgotten people?  Disappearing when her 
  boyfriend just happened to have a good alibi? 
  Getting Mr. Bell to talk should be difficult, but 
  in fact, Lt. Littleton did break protection 
  protocol to let him know that she was still alive 
  and (as she put it) “gone undercover.”  He even 
  hooked up with her once in Las Vegas a few 
  years ago.  He believes that she now works for a 
  highly covert arm of Naval Intelligence and had 
  to disappear for reasons of national security.  
  Which is not entirely untrue.  But, as actually 
  contacting and interviewing her would involve 
  “A Cell” putting the investigators in contact with 
  her Delta Green cell, it is not going to happen. 
  4.  Travel to the Village of the 
  “Ancient Ones” 
  Getting to Afghanistan can be as eventful or 
  uneventful as you wish.  There are no direct 
  flights from the U.S., and the investigators are 
  routed through Boston, to Dubai, and from there 
  on to Kabul.  Americans headed for Kabul are 
  subjected to a great deal of security checks and 
  baggage screening at every leg of their air 
  journey. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  34 
   
  It is then approximately a 14 hour drive from 
  Kabul to Farah city, the capital of the province, 
  although you can also fly commercially.  Since 
  the players will probably want to take advantage 
  of their connection in Kabul to obtain non-
  airport friendly supplies, however, they will 
  probably be driving. 
  The investigators should be allowed their 
  selection of a reasonable amount of street-level 
  gear (AK-47s, common handguns, basic military 
  surplus body armor and other gear).  Standard 
  military armor available consists of a Kevlar 
  vest, military boots, Kevlar gloves and military 
  helmet, amounting 6 points of armor (with a 
  66% chance of protection). 
  They can also hire a truck to take them as far as 
  Farah city, which can again be as eventful or 
  non-eventful as you wish.  They will pass 
  through a few military checkpoints, but lightly 
  armed “Red Cross employees” will not attract 
  much attention. 
  Should 
  the 
  investigators 
  secure 
  heavier 
  weaponry somehow (they might be able to 
  afford an RPG or two on their prepaid Visa card, 
  or a brick of plastic explosive), they had better 
  do a good job of hiding it or they will be 
  detained and have successfully compromised 
  their entire mission (Idea roll if they insist on 
  arming themselves to the teeth—it simply is not 
  consistent with their cover).  Of course, they 
  might approach the matter quite differently, such 
  as by bribing a private plane operator and/or 
  bribing local officials, and avoid the military 
  checkpoints entirely.  Note, of course, that since 
  this is Call of Cthulhu, the benefit to any 
  weaponry-oriented solutions should be short-
  term at best and illusory at worst. 
  In Farah city, they are welcomed by Genevieve 
  Jansen, the “friendly” local International Red 
  Cross supervisor.  Ms. Jansen, remember, thinks 
  that the investigators are undercover but 
  legitimate 
  spooks 
  (C.I.A., 
  D.I.A., 
  Navy 
  investigators, or some combination thereof).  
  Under normal circumstances she would not be 
  favorably inclined to help such people, but “A 
  Cell” has led her to believe that a rogue military 
  element is responsible (true) and that the 
  investigators are here to conduct an undercover 
  criminal investigation (not exactly). 
  Jansen‟s attitude will basically be that of a 
  snotty, over-privileged, somewhat immature, 
  bohemian former art student (exactly what she 
  is) who feels like she‟s somehow betraying her 
  principles by “helping the Man.”  She will be 
  much friendlier if she decides that any of the 
  investigators are into such things as promoting 
  diversity or helping this “ethnic isolate” survive.  
  Then she acts like a college-aged, bohemian 
  party aficionado.  She is flippant and generally a 
  pain in the butt, until someone is bleeding.  Then 
  she flips a switch and gets very serious and 
  competent. 
   
  Genevieve Jansen 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  35 
   
  Genevieve has had some contact with the village 
  of the “Ancient Ones” in the two years she has 
  been in Farah Province, although she has not 
  actually set foot in its boundaries and has not 
  been out that way since the drone strike.  She 
  exemplifies what knowledgeable outsiders know 
  about the village, and has some insights of her 
  own (see Standard Operating Procedure, 
  Investigator Handout #4).  Her art history 
  degree, ironically, is of some actual use to the 
  investigators as well. 
   
  5.  Status of the Village 
  A tactical overview map of the Scythian village 
  proper is nearby.  A map key follows.  The 
  description represents the Scythian village when 
  the investigators arrive in the area (post drone 
  strike). 
  General Comments:  The village is unusually 
  quiet for its size.  The temple center building 
  which dominates the village has been partially 
  destroyed by a bomb blast, but is mostly still 
  standing.  The Scythians  are at a very high state 
  of alert, and generally spoiling for a fight.  
  Sentry groups of Paralatae warriors, using 
  signaling 
  mirrors 
  and 
  animal 
  calls 
  to 
  communicate over distances, are scattered 
  around the region, watching for both further 
  drones and for approaching convoys. 
   
  Genevieve Jansen, International Red Cross 
  Supervisor--Thinking Globally, Acting 
  Globally 
  Nationality:  American 
  STR:  12 
  DEX:  13 
  INT:  14 
  CON:  14 
  APP:  15 
  POW:  15 
  SIZ:  12 
  EDU:  14 
  SAN:  72 
  Luck:  75 
  Hits:  13 
  Age:  28. 
  Damage Bonus:  +0. 
  Education:  B.A., Art History, Bowdoin 
  College; Red Cross Field Medic Training. 
  Skills:  Art 40%, Computer Use 40%, Credit 
  Rating 40%, Dodge 40%, Drive Auto 40%, 
  Fast Talk 50%, First Aid 88%, Hide 47%,  
  History 38%, Listen 50%, Library Use 50%, 
  Persuade 
  50%, 
  Pharmacology 
  44%, 
  Photography 
  33%, 
  Psychology 
  33%, 
  Speak/Read/Write 
  English 
  70%, 
  Speak/Read/Write 
  Pashtun 
  40%, 
  Speak 
  Scythian 01%, Sneak 50%, Spot Hidden 
  39%. 
  Spells:  None. 
  Attacks:  No weapons and no combat skills 
  above base.  Thinks she knows how to 
  defend herself, though.  Fortunately for the 
  investigators, she is pretty skilled at 
  administrating painkillers and stabilizing 
  gunshot and shrapnel wounds for transport. 
  Gear:  Kevlar vest, military boots, Kevlar 
  gloves and military helmet, 6 points of armor 
  (66% chance of protection); satellite phone; 
  GPS; sunglasses; binoculars; field medical 
  kit (with wound stanching bandages and 
  painkillers). 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  36 
   
   
  Standard Operating Procedure, Investigator Handout #4—What Genevieve Jansen Can Tell You. 
   
  The village has been there a very long time, at least several centuries.  They are some kind of 
  ethnic isolate with their own culture and language (which is nothing like Pashtun or anything else 
  she has ever heard). 
   
  They refer to themselves as “Paralatae”, which she remembered from an art history class.  That 
  refers to the royal house of the ancient Scythian empire.  They certainly act the part:  dress, 
  artwork, habits.  Going near the village is like overlooking an old movie set:  everyone in period 
  costume, few anachronisms to that era out in the open.  Although there is one old Soviet-era 
  armored personnel carrier parked in the downtown square, and they do have a couple of flatbed 
  trucks that they only use when they are traveling somewhere.  They do not even use guns, instead 
  relying on horseback archery and big, heavy bronze machete-like blades they call “tulwars.” 
   
  There is a temple structure in the middle of the village that looks Greek in influence.  The place is 
  green and well watered, with cisterns and a stone aqueduct collecting and bringing water down 
  from the nearby hills. 
   
  There are a lot of kurgans (old burial mounds) surrounding the village, and some of them are not 
  so old.  Rumor has it that this is how they bury all of their important people, and they do it like 
  Herodotus says the Paralatae did:  slaughtering horses and attendants and impaling them on poles. 
   
  The locals have an odd relationship with them.   The Paralatae do not bother anyone as long as 
  they are left alone.  The locals will tell you they hate them if you ask, but the whys are a little 
  obscure.  The Paralatae are not Muslim and deflect questions about their religion.  Rumor among 
  the local Pashtun is that the village is haunted by demons and that the Paralatae worship some 
  kind of demon that lives in the hills outside of the village.  There is a cave at the base of the hills, 
  just northeast of the village, that everyone is particularly afraid of. 
   
  The Taliban used to try to raid the village, but the last time that they tried, a few years ago, there 
  was a massacre and the Taliban by far got the worst of things.  Hundreds of Taliban were killed 
  and there is a killing field around the mouth of that cave that so concerns the locals. 
   
  She is aware of the basic story about Lt. Taylor‟s effort at forcing a reconnoiter of the village.  
  There are a lot of military people in theater that would like to level the place, but they have been 
  ordered to stay away from it.  She thinks that someone disobeyed those orders out of a desire for 
  revenge on behalf of Lt. Taylor and his men. 
   
  She has been to the outskirts of the village a few times.  If one goes to the edge of the village and 
  make oneself seen, eventually, they send out a spokesman.  The locals say that the spokesman is 
  usually a relative of the “Exalted Grandmother”, who is their queen and head religious figure.  
  The current one‟s name is Talil, and he is fairly polite and reasonable, as long as you do not want 
  to come into the village.  He‟s taught her a few words of their language (which he calls 
  “Scythian”) and gave her a present, a gold-inlaid hair comb.  She had a professor of hers back at 
  Bowdoin look at a picture of it and it looks like it is Scythian-influenced art. 
   
  They were interested in her wound-stanching alginate bandages, especially after they learned that 
  they were just algae-based and “the kind of thing that could have existed in Biblical days”. 
   
  The Paralatae make their living on subsistence agriculture and on raising and selling horses.  
  Occasionally they will take a load of horses to market and sell them for hard currency or luxury 
  goods, and it is known that some of the members of the ruling family travel abroad, but they are 
  completely self-sufficient. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  37 
   
  There are both 2-3 mounted patrols of 5-6 
  warriors out at any time, as well as men 
  concealed in the hills.  Work to repair the temple 
  is underway, and people are tending to the 
  horses and crops (generally to the east of the 
  map).  People fetch water from the cistern, but 
  apart from that and other strictly necessary 
  work, people stay indoors. 
  Nasra, the “Exalted Grandmother”, was badly 
  injured in the bomb blast and is comatose.  She 
  is at 1 H.P. and has suffered both shrapnel 
  wounds as well as a concussive head wound.  
  Not even 15 points of enchanted sarong is much 
  help against a bomb. 
  Although Nasra has been training an acolyte 
  priestess (a granddaughter of some far removed 
  tier), the acolyte is presently in Western Europe 
  learning about the outside world and studying 
  sorcery.  The acolyte (Ismala) is a week away 
  from returning.  Magical healing assistance is, as 
  a result, not immediately available.  Query if 
  Nasra will live that long.  The traditional healers 
  are doing their best. 
  There is an unusual stench in the area of the 
  village.  It is faint in most places, but strong in 
  the area of the cavern (Map Area 2).  There it is 
  overpowering:  ozone mixed with decay.  Every 
  so often, but occasionally at night, loud booming 
  groans emanate from that direction. 
  This would be due to the “Eldest Son”, and he 
  (?) is angry.  While he (?) is bound not to attack 
  the Scythians, or generally run amok, while 
  Nasra is alive, she is hovering on the brink of 
  death.  Strangers going anywhere near the cave, 
  or being vulnerable at night in the general area, 
  are at risk if they are not with the Scythians. 
  The Paralatae have a supply of LAW rockets 
  which they are reluctant to use unless hard 
  pressed to survive, 20 in all.  10 are at the 
  temple, the rest have been distributed to sentries 
  in high lookouts and around the perimeter. 
  LAW rocket launcher, base 15% chance, 
  damage 8d6/5 yards; 1/round; range 150; 
  malfunction 98-00. 
  Map of the Village 
  1. Central Temple:  This enormous building 
  (300‟ x 100‟ x 30‟ high) is built mostly of local 
  stone, but white and pink marble have been 
  hauled in from somewhere to dress it up.  It 
  strongly resembles a Classical Greek temple, 
  complete with partly open floor plan, a roof 
  supported by dozens of Corinthian columns and 
  statuary and colorful plasterwork.  Sun imagery 
  (Helios, chariots, mosaics depicting the rising 
  and setting sun, gold leaf strategically placed to 
  reflect light) feature prominently, as does a 
  winged serpent. 
  The southeastern end of the temple has taken 
  significant bomb damage.   
  Nasra‟s apartments are below ground.  All 
  entrances to the below ground level  but the one 
  in the center of the temple have been heavily 
  barricaded.  The Scythians—men, women and 
  children—fight to the death to prevent anyone 
  from entering the temple uninvited.  There are 
  about 200 men (it is a society with segregated 
  gender roles) who would count as Paralatae 
  warriors, but the women and older children 
  (another 200 or so) are not shy about picking up 
  a bow, nor ignorant in its use.   
  Attacking the temple hits the Paralatae where 
  they are most vulnerable—they must defend it.  
  It is possible to concentrate them there with a 
  heavy feint, and then bomb the complex.  
  Nasra, along with an honor guard of about 10 
  warriors and some overmatched traditional 
  healers, are in her apartments beneath the 
  temple.   
  2. Cavern:  This is the lair of the “Eldest Son”, 
  to the extent his existence intrudes onto this 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  38 
   
  plane of existence.  There is a stench of ozone 
  and death permeating the area.  The “Eldest 
  Son” is invisible to normal sight, but can be 
  detected with infrared or night vision scopes (as 
  a heat source with an inhuman outline) and of 
  course by sound (as it crashes through the 
  underbrush or speaks in a booming sub-basso). 
  The interior of the cavern is not something 
  anyone should ever report back on.  The “Eldest 
  Son” sticks close by it. 
  3. Soviet era APV:  This APV is in good 
  operating condition, intact, and ready to roll, 
  having been repaired by the Scythians for use in 
  an emergency.  They are loathe to use it, but 
  they will.  It is a standard BTR-80.  See: 
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTR-80 
  BTR-80:  Rated Speed:  12 (see BRP chase 
  system rules); Handling: 8; Acceleration: +/- 4; 
  Move: 134”; SIZ: 70; Armor: 18; HP: 100; 
  Passengers: 8 +3 crew; Cargo: 36.  Uses Drive 
  skill (essentially a large, Humvee-style eight-
  wheeled vehicle, with armor and 2x turret guns). 
  Machine Gun Turrets (x2):  (uses Artillery skill):  
  Base 05%, 4d6+4 damage (burst capable), 
  Range 200; Ammo: 1,000; Malfunction 98-00. 
  4. Water Cistern:  This is the terminus of a 
  cunning, partially underground aquifer system 
  drawing down water from the hills.  It is 10‟ 
  high, 10‟ in diameter, and made of stone and 
  cement.  It is both a source of cover for Scythian 
  archers (and possible LAW rocket shooters) as 
  well as a strategic target—bombing it imperils 
  the water supply for the village and things 
  quickly escalate from there. 
   
  Map of the Scythian Village Center 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  39 
   
  5. Kurgans:  Several dozen kurgans (burial 
  mounds) for Scythian royalty stretch out for 
  hundreds of yards to the west of the village.  
  Each is about 20‟ high. 
  Most just simply appear to be earthen mounds 
  due to their age.  One, still only a few years old, 
  however, still has a circle of impalement stakes 
  (20‟ high) surrounding it, on top of which are 
  the decaying skeletons of a dozen horses and 
  riders in full Scythian dressage (SAN loss 0/1).  
  Without Nasra to rein them in, defiling the 
  kurgans sends the Scythians into a reckless, 
  attacking fury. 
  6. Stone Tower:  The proverbial 30‟ high, round 
  stone tower, suitable for Calling Yog-Sothoth 
  (Cthulhu Mythos roll or familiarity with the 
  spell identifies).  Covered with runes and sigils, 
  and prone to sap 1 M.P. from anyone who 
  touches it. 
  7. Foothills Around the Cave:  Imagine a 
  couple hundred Taliban bodies steamrolled and 
  smashed flat by a spawn of Yog-Sothoth and 
  then left for the crows, complete with gear, for a 
  few years.  They are not just smashed and 
  dismembered, 
  but 
  affirmatively 
  flattened.  
  Several skulls seem to have been bitten in half 
  by some enormous maw.  A vehicle abandoned 
  there shows signs of having been stomped by a 
  gigantic, vaguely humanoid foot.  Many also 
  show arrow penetrations and scalping knick 
  wounds, suggesting some sort of bizarre 
  collaboration.  SAN loss for the killing field is 
  1/1d3. 
  6.  Stimuli and Responses 
  a.  Arrival at the Village/Investigators:  For 
  narration purposes, the author suggests allowing 
  the investigators to be the second interested 
  party to arrive in the area.  They will be 
  proceeded by a recon squad of Northern 
  Alliance troops, who will have encamped a mile 
  from the village on the road, set up a checkpoint, 
  and be trying to enforce the Standard Operating 
  Procedure of non-molestation.  This would 
  ideally be followed by the investigators, MJ-12 
  recon team, and finally the Taliban. 
   
   
   
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  40 
   
  The Northern Alliance troops (12 in total, 
  commanded 
  by 
  a 
  U.S. 
  Army 
  Captain, 
  Christopher Kluznarski), have no idea what they 
  are messing with.  They are simply doing their 
  best to keep military forces away from the 
  village, and to keep an eye out for the Taliban. 
  They are encamped behind temporary barriers, 
  and have basically strategically positioned two 
  APVs (similar for all material purposes to the 
  Soviet era one parked in the village), put up 
  some screens and camouflage nets, and are using 
  them to control the road.  They also have a 
  flatbed supply truck parked off the road, and 
  satellite phones to call for backup if needed. 
  Use the following statistics for the typical 
  Western soldier, including MJ-12‟s mercs. 
  Capt. Kluznarski is expecting relief workers, and 
  they are not flatly contrary to the Standard 
  Operating Procedure.  He is not surprised by a 
  Red Cross relief team, and is slightly acquainted 
  with Genevieve Jansen, so the investigators 
  strike him as kosher.  He will stop them, inspect 
  their credentials, make a few calls, and let them 
  through, assuming no out and out suspicious 
  behavior.  “Hang on to your scalps” will be his 
  parting warning. 
  Anyone going into the village itself uninvited is 
  attacked with little warning, and no quarter is 
  given.  Anyone going up to the edge of sight of 
  the village and waiting, waving a white flag, or 
  taking a similar non-threatening stance to make 
  themselves known, is approached after a while 
  by Talil Nasfari.  Talil has two broken arms in 
  slings. 
   
  Typical Western Soldier (Including Forte’s Mercs and the Checkpoint Crew) 
  Nationality:  American 
  STR:  15 
  DEX:  15 
  INT:  11 
  CON:  15 
  APP:  12 
  POW:  12 
  SIZ:  15 
  EDU:  12 
  SAN:  60 
  Luck:  60 
  Hits:  15 
  Age:  25ish 
  Damage Bonus:  +1d4. 
  Education:  High School and Military Training. 
  Skills:  Computer Use 25%, Dodge 50%, Drive Auto 40%, Hide 57%,  Listen 50%, Martial Arts 50%, 
  Speak/Read/Write English 60%, Speak Pashtun 10%, Sneak 50%, Spot Hidden 57%. 
  Weapons:  M4 selective fire NATO 5.56 mm combat rifle, 1 or 3/round, 30 shots, 90 yards base 
  range, malfunction 98-00, 2d6 damage, 60%, with laser sight (+10%). 
  Fist/Punch 54%, 1d3+db. 
  Grapple 57%, special. 
  Kick 54%, 1d6+db. 
  Gear:  Kevlar vest, military boots, Kevlar gloves and military helmet, 6 points of armor (66% chance 
  of protection); satellite phone; GPS; sunglasses; night vision goggles; binoculars; survival knife, 
  rations and watering system. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  41 
   
  Talil exemplifies what the most knowledgeable 
  Scythians, outside of the absent acolyte, Ismala, 
  know about their situation.  A Psychology roll 
  reveals that he is frightened and trying very hard 
  to put on a brave front, but the subject of his 
  concern is Nasra, not physical threats.  An 
  outline 
  of 
  what 
  Talil 
  (or 
  other 
  very 
  knowledgeable Scythians) knows pertinent to 
  the history of the Scythians and the threat posed 
  is given below. 
  Note that some serious roleplaying when 
  interacting with Talil is anticipated; he is not 
  going to info-dump a fantastic story on a 
  bunch of strangers, or give out tactical 
  information for free (such as Nasra being 
  incapacitated).  Bonuses to any Persuade 
  checks you decide to impose might be given to:  
  people who seem sympathetic to the Scythians‟ 
  need to maintain their cultural identity (+10%); 
  to those who seem to know about the incident in 
  California circa 1925 and suggest that a deal can 
  be worked out like before (+20%); or those who 
  seem to have a genuine belief (backed by details 
  of the research tree) that something hellish might 
  happen if the Scythians either disintegrate or, in 
  particular, if Nasra dies (+50%). 
   
  Talil is currently the recognized King of the 
  Scythians, thanks to Taliban raids over the 
  past decades and the recent drone bombing. 
   
  There is a scroll in the temple detailing the 
  genealogy of his people (Scythian is not 
  written, so Nasra keeps it in Classical Greek.  
  The founding queen of the royal family, a 
  woman named “Hestia”, was Greek).  Nasra, 
  their “Exalted Grandmother” and High 
  Priestess, is said to be the daughter of 
  “Hestia”.  According to legend, “Hestia” 
  lived for many centuries and had hundreds 
  of children, mostly sons, as did Nasra in her 
  younger days.   
   
  If things get into exactly how old Nasra is 
  and when the royal line was founded, the 
  Scythians 
  are 
  not 
  sure, 
  but 
  Nasra 
  occasionally speaks of things in Rome when 
  “Rome ruled the world” and finds Christians 
  amusing for some reason. 
   
  Their legends inform why the Scythians act 
  as ultra-conservatively as they do.  Talil 
  describes it as a “creation myth that the 
  Scythians sincerely believe in.”  It is said 
  that there is a war between the gods, with 
  the Scythians being faithful to the god of the 
  sun, and the enemy being the god of 
  darkness and nightmares.  They simply refer 
  to the god as the “sun god” and have no 
  other name for him. 
   
  Nasra is said to have struck a bargain with a 
  demon, Tawil-at-Um‟r, where the demon 
  would protect her people from the darkness 
  and nightmares as long as she remained 
  alive and kept the Scythian culture pure.  
  She has taught her people that what this 
  means is not completely knowable, but that 
  changing from the way that things have 
  always been is dangerous. 
   
  The danger is particularly great in matters of 
  faith.  Displaying interest in other faiths, 
  allowing those of other faiths to dwell 
  among them, and failing to properly perform 
  religious rituals (such as the funerary rites 
  for a dead king) are serious matters which 
  threaten to “break the bargain.” 
   
  If the bargain is broken, all descended from 
  “Hestia” (or Nasra) will descend into 
  nightmare.  Legend has it that those who 
  descend into nightmare will have their 
  bodies melt the next time that they truly 
  sleep.  There was a near miss in 1925, when 
  the burial of a king who was living in 
  California was temporarily disrupted.  Many 
  Scythians felt the gaze of the dark god upon 
  them for their delay, and Nasra is still 
  unnerved by the event. 
   
  As a reward for faithful service to their god 
  (which is how the rank and file see the 
  matter), they are protected by a demon 
  known as the “Eldest Son.” They believe 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  42 
   
  that the “Eldest Son”, like Nasra, is 
  thousands of years old and is, literally, her 
  son.  Apparently at one time there were two 
  sons like it, but one was killed centuries ago 
  when the Goths drove them east to where 
  they dwell now. 
   
  The “Eldest Son” is a huge beast which men 
  cannot see.  It dwells in a cave to the 
  northeast of town, at the foot of the hills.  It 
  comes on a foul wind, with the crashing of 
  trees and a booming voice, crushes its 
  enemies and drinks their blood.  The mouth 
  of its cave is littered with the bodies of the 
  last group of Taliban that attacked the 
  village.   That was a sizable attack, so Nasra 
  loosed the “Eldest Son” on them.  She is 
  reluctant to do this, since her control over 
  the beast is not perfect. 
   
  Nasra speaks to the “Eldest Son” as though 
  it were her son, and it answers her (in a 
  booming, inhuman voice) and calls her 
  “mother.” 
   
  Nasra is a sorceress.  She leads and informs 
  their culture and teaches them how to be 
  Scythians, and some of that includes ritual.  
  But she also works magic; he himself has 
  seen her fly, summon demons, and foretell 
  the future.  She also controls the “Eldest 
  Son.” 
   
  (Remember, the rank and file Scythians, or 
  even the more cosmopolitan ones like Talil, 
  are not sorcerers.  They have some Mythos 
  knowledge, as they would have to, given 
  that they live in close proximity to the 
  “Eldest Son”.  But their knowledge is 
  matter-of-fact rather than read in). 
   
  If the investigators manage to have a look at 
  the genealogy scroll (Read Greek, 4 hours to 
  study), they can pin down the dates and 
  some more details about what may be going 
  on.  This would mean either that the 
  investigators 
  somehow 
  get 
  themselves 
  invited into the village and into the temple, 
  or have the scroll brought to them.  If they 
  do manage to read it, though, it is concerned 
  only with royal lines of descent (so any 
  misadventures that Nasra may have had 
  while away from home are not discussed).  
  It goes back to no figure called “Hestia”, but 
  begins with a woman called Medea.  
  Medea‟s heritage goes back thence to 
  “Helios, God of the Sun.”  Nasra is shown 
  as being born to Medea (not “Hestia”) in 
  310 B.C.  If the investigators are the 
  studious sort, they may enjoy finding a 
  reference to an unnamed daughter being 
  born to Medea in 153 A.D., who is noted as 
  “died in childbirth.”  The father is 
  referenced as “Autolus of Thessalonika, a 
  Christian missionary.”  The “Eldest Son” 
  and the “Youngest Son” were to Nasra born 
  in 136 A.D. and their father is matter-of-
  factly named as Tawil-at-Um‟r. 
   
  The tactical situation at present is not 
  something that Talil will readily discuss 
  without 
  serious 
  roleplaying 
  and 
  trust 
  building, but it is dire.  Nasra is down, in a 
  coma, and near death from a near-direct hit 
  from the drone bomb.  They lack the 
  medical skills to revive her; sorcery or 
  advanced medicine (requiring surgery and 
  likely, a medevac) might be of assistance.  
  Nasra has an acolyte, his sister, Ismala.  She 
  is learning sorcery from Nasra, and has been 
  sent for.  She was last known to be in 
  Sweden, and is not expected for a week at 
  least.  Without her, they have no other 
  sorcerers at present, and they believe 
  (without evidence, but correctly) that the 
  “Eldest Son” will go berserk and kill 
  everything in sight if Nasra dies.  (Even if 
  Nasra does not die, if the “Eldest Son” 
  senses that Scythian survival is imperiled, it 
  will burst forth and start ravening and 
  slaying). 
   
  The Scythians were not totally surprised by 
  the strike.  They think that the American 
  soldiers are not of one mind about how to 
  
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  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  43 
   
  interact with them.  They have been told by 
  some soldiers that they will be left alone, on 
  orders from Washington.  For the most part, 
  that has held up.  But there were threats 
  made after they forced a patrol that entered 
  their village to participate in a royal funeral, 
  and killed most of them when they refused.  
  They expected some rogue group to seek 
  revenge at some point, and assume that this 
  is what happened.  (Even though from their 
  perspective, the Scythians did nothing 
  wrong).  They mean to kill any soldiers who 
  dare set foot in their village without mercy. 
  Whether, and to what extent, the investigators 
  are permitted into the village is a matter of 
  effective role-playing; do not have it turn on a 
  dice throw.  The Scythians do not immediately, 
  or even promptly, consent to letting anyone see 
  Nasra, let alone evacuate the camp—they need 
  to come to trust the investigators before 
  something like that is even considered.  A more 
  likely (very positive) preliminary outcome is to 
  allow the investigators into camp to assist with 
  some other wounded. 
  b.  “Northern Alliance/U.S.M.C. Squad” & 
  Their “Civilian Advisor”:  Roughly one day 
  after the investigators arrive (but before they 
  should have a clear opportunity, if things go just 
  swimmingly, to attempt to move/medevac 
  Nasra), the MJ-12 probe team arrives on the 
  scene.  This consists of one Humvee worth of 
  disposable mooks pretending to be U.S.M.C. 
  recon troopers, accompanied by Robert Forte, a 
  fairly senior MJ-12 spook with occult and 
  Mythos experience.  MJ-12 is operating here in a 
  fashion 
  unambiguously 
  without 
  Dept. 
  of 
  Defense sanction, and indeed, in violation of the 
  Scythian village Standard Operating Procedure. 
  The MJ-12 “team” (except for Forte) has been 
  assembled 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  toward 
  both 
  expendability and plausible deniability.  There 
  are eight private contractor/former military 
  mercenaries, who have never heard of MJ-12 
  and believe they are on an “honest” black op for 
  the C.I.A, and Forte, a (fully read in) MJ-12 
  spook.  They are dressed (except for Forte) as 
  U.S.M.C. recon troopers, and appropriately 
  equipped.  Forte is dressed like a spook on a 
  mission in the desert: desert camouflage and 
  body armor, sidearm, and an array of video and 
  audio equipment.  The mercs think they are 
  coming back from this mission; Forte rather 
  doubts this (with the sole exception of himself). 
  Forte‟s “team‟s” cover is fairly good:  they have 
  a man on the inside at regional command who is 
  prepared to field a call about their credentials 
  and purpose, and they do not have any heavy 
  firepower that they should not have.  Unless one 
  carefully examines their own Humvee, that is.  
  Their Humvee is rigged to blow up with an 
  impressive amount of C-4 plastic explosive, 
  cunningly hidden throughout the frame and 
  packed into empty spaces (12d6 explosion/3 
  yards).  Only Forte knows that the C-4 is there, 
  and he has the remote detonator in his pocket. 
   
  Robert Forte, M.I.B. & Grail Scholar 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
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  The MJ-12 “team” will roll up to Capt. 
  Kluznarski‟s checkpoint, park their Humvee, 
  and (in all likelihood) bluff their way past.  After 
  all, there are only nine men, without heavy 
  weaponry; and they swear they have strict orders 
  just to observe the village from a distance 
  Part of Forte‟s plan is to park his Humvee at the 
  checkpoint, further avoiding suspicion, and 
  proceed on foot up into the hills to the north of 
  the village to conduct visual recon.  There is a 
  squad level sniper rifle and a few LAW weapons 
  in the Humvee so that things look kosher, but 
  they leave those in the Humvee. 
  Mr. Forte is calm, polite, affably evil, and utterly 
  ruthless.  Apart from being a spook, he is an 
  academic, an expert on Early Christianity in 
  general and schismatic Christian cults in 
  particular, and knows that several early Christian 
  cults were actually slaves of the Mythos in 
  sheep‟s clothing. 
   
  Robert Forte, MJ-12 Senior M.I.B., Ruthless and Wily. 
  Nationality:  American 
  STR:  14 
  DEX:  15 
  INT:  17 
  CON:  15 
  APP:  12 
  POW:  17 
  SIZ:  15 
  EDU:  18 
  SAN:  49 
  Luck:  85 
  Hits:  15 
  Age:  40ish 
  Damage Bonus:  +1d4. 
  Education:  M.A., Religious Studies, Harvard Divinity School; Military Special Ops Training and 
  Spook School. 
  Skills:  Climb 70%, Computer Use 40%, Cthulhu Mythos 10%, Dodge 70%, Drive Auto 40%, Fast 
  Talk 50%, Hide 77%,  History 68%, Listen 50%, Library Use 60%, Martial Arts 50%, Occult 40%, 
  Speak/Read/Write English 90%, Speak/Read/Write Aramaic 60%, Speak/Read/Write Greek 60%, 
  Speak/Read/Write Latin 60%, Speak Pashtun 10%, Sneak 50%, Spot Hidden 59%, Tradecraft 40%. 
  Spells:  Cloud Memory; Command Ghost; Elder Sign. 
  Weapons:  Ruger P91 semi-automatic handgun, 2/round, 15 shots,15 yards base range, malfunction 
  98-00, d10 damage, 50%, with laser sight (+10%) and silencer. 
  Fist/Punch 54%, 1d3+db. 
  Grapple 57%, special. 
  Kick 54%, 1d6+db. 
  Gear:  Kevlar vest, military boots, Kevlar gloves and military helmet, 6 points of armor (66% chance 
  of protection); satellite phone; GPS; sunglasses; night vision goggles; binoculars; survival knife, 
  rations and watering system; 2x syringes of Outlook Group Orange memory wiping serum (causes 12 
  hours of “lost time”, during which subject remains conscious but afterwards, cannot recall what 
  occurred); 2x applications of topical Outlook Group Yellow paralyzing agent (complete paralysis for 
  CON x40 hours +1 point of SAN loss if a CON x1 roll, halved, is failed); 2x throws worth of the 
  Powder of Ibn-Ghazi. 
  
  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE 
   
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  45 
   
  Forte has worked for MJ-12 in disrupting several 
  other pseudo-Christian messianic cults that were 
  suspected to be (and turned out to be) Mythos-
  influenced, including elements of the Skoptsi 
  and a branch of the Icelandic Third Cloister.  He 
  has been assigned to this mission by virtue of a 
  Stateside review of the Testimony of Autolus. 
  Forte‟s actions, if left unmolested, are detailed 
  below.  He knows what Delta Green is and, if 
  the investigators butted heads with MJ-12 
  stateside, may have their descriptions.  They are 
  of secondary concern to him, though, and he will 
  not approach them or worry about them unless 
  they disrupt his mission (see Endgames, below). 
  If the investigators approach him either as he 
  arrives or heads to his stakeout in the hills above 
  the village, or while he is there, he will try to 
  maintain his cover as a mainstream civilian 
  intelligence advisor and feign ignorance as to 
  their identity as long as possible.  If things get 
  violent, he will try to escape, leaving the mooks 
  to deal with the investigators.  If he is killed or 
  captured, things proceed as described in the 
  Endgames section, below. 
  c.  Taliban Attack:  Eventually, things will be 
  brought to a violent denouement with the arrival 
  of a gang of about 200 Taliban, armed with AK-
  47s, pistols and other light, inexpensive 
  weaponry, a smattering of heavier weapons such 
  as LAWs, all riding in about 20 makeshift 
  pickup trucks (a few with light machine guns 
  mounted on the back).  Use the basic physical 
  and combat stats as for Northern Alliance 
  soldiers, only these guys have no body armor.  
  They arrive from the East when summoned by 
  Forte (see below). 
  AK-47:  7.62 mm assault rifle, selective fire, 1 
  or 20/round, 30 shots, 100 yards base range, 
  malfunction 99-00, 2d6 damage, 60%. 
  Even before the Taliban is invited in by Forte, 
  there will be a series of probes.  None of these 
  probes will be armed with anything more than 
  personal small arms or come with more than two 
  adult men.  Often they will have women and 
  children with them.  These, rather, will be 
  pickup truck driving Taliban friendlies with a 
  variety of semi-plausible excuses for being in 
  the area:  driving down the road to visit the next 
  village over; wanting to buy horses; taking a 
  wrong turn; etc. 
  (If the investigators have been paying attention, 
  and you might arrange for them to overhear that 
  exchange, the “buying horses” is a sad excuse 
  for a lie.  Strangers are not allowed in the 
  village, not even to buy horses.  The Scythians 
  take their horses to market.  This should pique 
  the investigators suspicions that the locals are 
  probing the situation). 
  Once they raid in earnest, they will throw their 
  lives away in an effort to kill as many Scythians 
  as possible, trusting (to a certain degree) that 
  their informant is speaking the truth when he 
  says that he will handle the demon in the hills 
  for them. 
  d.  When Talil Begins to Feel Hard Pressed:  If, 
  at any point, Talil feels that the situation is 
  irretrievable and that the Scythian village is at 
  serious risk of being totally eliminated, he has 
  his own Standard Operating Procedure.  The 
  Scythians—man, woman and child—have been 
  indoctrinated since birth that they are better off 
  dead than to have their village subdued. 
  And they are right about this:  if things get bad 
  enough that “Scythian culture” is at an end, the 
  wrath of Hypnos (may) rain down on them and 
  (maybe) all their descendants.  Nasra must die 
  for this state of events to be achieved.  Their 
  bodies (may) dissolve into corrupt, putrescent 
  puddles the next time they enter R.E.M. sleep, 
  and their souls (may) go to eternal torment in the 
  Dreamlands.  And the same (may) go for anyone 
  else that Hypnos can sort out as partaking of 
  
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  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  46 
   
  Medea‟s bloodline, which could be a huge 
  chunk of the global population. 
  In any case, at that point, Talil and the Scythians 
  have instructions to stage a feint attack in an 
  apparent effort to evacuate the village, with 
  Nasra (or her body) in the Soviet-era personnel 
  carrier in the village.  This is only a showy, 
  suicidal feint; someone will be headed for the 
  “Eldest Son‟s” cave and deliver a memorized 
  message in a tongue even older than Scythian.  
  The “Eldest Son” bursts forth and kills everyone 
  and everything it can find, playing no favorites 
  (not even with the Scythians). 
   
  7.  Endgames 
  While the temptation may certainly be there to 
  organize a miniatures battle, this is not how the 
  author thinks things should go.  This is a horror 
  investigation game, and confusion and chaos 
  should be the order of the day. 
  The consequences of investigator action should 
  be described cinematically, not resolved with a 
  plethora of dice rolling.  Only discrete 
  challenges (trying to sneak past a given guard, or 
  shoot a particular person you have spotted) 
  should be for the dice. 
  Absent investigator action, things proceed as 
  follows.  The “U.S.M.C. squad” shows up first 
  thing in the morning, on the day after the 
  investigators do (Day +1).  This gives the 
  investigators some time to role-play, poke 
  around and get themselves into some trouble.  
  The “civilian advisor” (Forte) manages to talk 
  his way past the Northern Alliance checkpoint 
  with his story about being dispatched to do 
  military recon.  They park their Humvee at the 
  Northern Alliance checkpoint and proceed on 
  foot to a campsite high up in the hills to the 
  northwest of the village. 
  Forte‟s cover story is called in and, by pre-
  arrangement, the checkpoint‟s primary point of 
  contact vouches for them.  Something does not 
  seem quite right to Capt. Kluznarski, though, 
  and he sends an e-mail higher up the chain of 
  command questioning the “civilian advisor‟s” 
  credentials. 
  
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  The “U.S.M.C. squad” camps out and observes 
  the village over the rest of the day, giving the 
  investigators more time to interact with the 
  Scythians and perhaps report back to “A Cell”. 
  Late in the evening of Day +1, Kluznarski gets a 
  response to his e-mail, denying any knowledge 
  about any authorized U.S.M.C. recon mission 
  and reminding him that access to the village has 
  been restricted to military personnel.  Kluznarski 
  starts to scramble his checkpoint.  He is under 
  observation by the “U.S.M.C. squad”, however.  
  When Forte sees them react, he gives the order 
  to the mercs to proceed on a recon of the village; 
  only he remains.  Their specific mission is to 
  recon the cave of the “Eldest Son”; he tells them 
  that it is a suspected weapons cache. 
  The “U.S.M.C. squad” moves down the hillside; 
  they take fire from Scythian archers but manage 
  to reach the cave.  While this is going on, Forte 
  uses the remote detonator to blow up his 
  Humvee (left at Kluznarski‟s camp).  This 
  results in a LOUD explosion echoing through 
  the hills, and kills most or all of Kluznarski‟s 
  team as well as anyone else camped there 
  without adequate cover.  (12d6/3 yards (per spot 
  rules, less 1d6 damage for each yard farther 
  away)). 
  The explosion gets the attention of the “Eldest 
  Son”, and a confused, noisy, bellowing slaughter 
  of the “U.S.M.C. squad” ensues.  They are not 
  expecting an invisible, extra-dimensional thing 
  to join the fight, and things get ugly fast.  Forte 
  takes careful notes and records video on a night 
  vision camera of the slaughter from his safe 
  vantage point. 
  Having learned what he wanted to learn--that 
  there is a Mythos presence in the village—Forte 
  puts his contingency plan into action.  He calls 
  his handlers on a satellite phone and reports 
  what he has observed.  He then calls a contact 
  that his handlers have in the Taliban, drops a 
  password on him, and manages to persuade them 
  that elements of the U.S. intelligence community 
  have determined that the village of the Ancient 
  Ones needs to be destroyed, and that they will 
  handle the monster they have uncovered in the 
  hills.  Perhaps they have already heard the first 
  strike earlier this evening?  Forte has seen their 
  probe teams, and hopes that they would like to 
  make common cause. 
  Ordinarily, the Taliban would not fall for an 
  apparent trap such as this, but they hate the 
  demon-worshipping Scythians so much that they 
  readily agree.  Just before dawn of Day +2, 
  about 200 Taliban in a variety of vehicles assault 
  the Scythian village, laying down automatic 
  weapons fire and LAW rockets and going house 
  to house (or yurt to yurt).  There are many 
  casualties on both sides.  The Scythian defense 
  effort centers on the temple complex.  It is dark, 
  loud and chaotic above all else. 
  Forte, still watching from hiding a distance 
  away, waits until the Taliban raid is fully 
  involved and the “Eldest Son” is out in the open, 
  and then calls in an airstrike via a handful of 
  MJ-12 
  controlled, 
  Accord-tech 
  augmented 
  Predator drones with conventional bombs.  The 
  village, Taliban raiders, “Eldest Son” and 
  anyone else who happens to be in the village are 
  carpet bombed and (depending on where they 
  are) likely killed.  Except for the “Eldest Son”, 
  of course, which goes berserk and starts killing 
  everything that moves.  The Golden Arrow 
  Wand (in the temple) may come into play if the 
  “Eldest Son” starts going after Scythians. 
  This is by design; Forte calls for the airstrike just 
  as soon as the Taliban attack is fully committed.  
  He is trying to leave no or very few witnesses, 
  and needs a “failed Taliban attack” to be the 
  explanation for why the village got blown up. 
  The airstrike will target the cave area, the 
  temple, and other large structures.  Good places 
  
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  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  48 
   
  to take cover include the hills away from the 
  cave, in the temple‟s sub-levels (where Nasra is) 
  and inside the cistern.  The temple is collapsed 
  in the attack and the investigators (if they were 
  in there) are buried alive, although perhaps not 
  hopelessly. 
  If he thinks that he can do so safely, Forte will 
  creep down into the village, plunder whatever 
  valuable Mythos lore or artifacts that he can 
  quickly find, and then call for an extraction at a 
  pre-arranged rendezvous point five miles away.  
  Otherwise, he just skedaddles to the extraction 
  point. 
  Whether or not MJ-12 “burns” Forte at the 
  pickup site is up to you.  If there are survivors at 
  the village, or someone gets away, Forte gets 
  betrayed and “burned.”  If the mission goes 
  cleanly, maybe he does not.  If it goes obviously 
  badly, and he becomes concerned that too many 
  survivors know of his team‟s clandestine 
  activities, Forte may rabbit or even try to team 
  up with the investigators to save his own hide. 
  Assuming that the investigators attempt a report 
  to “A Cell” and seek further instructions at a late 
  stage in the proceeding, put yourself in the shoes 
  of “A Cell.”  What would you do?  As a general 
  proposition, you want the Mythos purged.  
  However, there is evidence in this case that 
  purging the Scythians is contraindicated and 
  might result in severe fallout of some kind.  
  Obviously, the response will depend to some 
  degree on what the investigators report.  
  However, “A Cell‟s” predisposition will be to 
  maintain the Standard Operating Procedure, 
  which means either getting Nasra out of there, or 
  deflecting attacks pending her acolyte‟s arrival, 
  and sanitizing any suspected MJ-12 operatives. 
  Of course, Delta Green being Delta Green, the 
  investigators do not have a black helicopter 
  waiting to airlift them out.  On the other hand, 
  “A Cell” will not be too happy with the Son of 
  Yog-Sothoth in the area (or whatever that 
  invisible “Eldest Son” thing in the cave is.  
  Remember, labeling your monsters beyond how 
  they are known on the proverbial street is not 
  sound Keeping practice). 
  Investigator interference: might plausibly take 
  several forms.  And the point of this scenario (as 
  it is a sequel to Common Courtesy) is to present 
  the investigators with a drame cornelian:  give 
  them an awkward situation with no clear best 
  solution, require them to struggle internally 
  between their fear and hatred of outré cults and 
  watching a few hundred people get slaughtered, 
  and see what they do. 
  They might get the Soviet-era personnel carrier 
  running, load Nasra and some clutch cultural 
  artifacts (the genealogical record) into it, and try 
  to escape during the chaos of the Taliban attack.  
  Of course, the Scythians will have to think their 
  situation is dire—or be too busy fighting the 
  Taliban and watching the “Eldest Son” rend 
  them—to allow the extraction. 
  The investigators might interfere with Forte‟s 
  crew taking up their position overlooking the 
  village in the hills, or disrupt their silencing of 
  the Northern Alliance checkpoint.  They are 
  probably outnumbered, but if they do something 
  that successfully disrupts the early stages of 
  Forte‟s plan, more power to them.  If Forte 
  escapes after a fight with the investigators and 
  can get to cover, he will proceed with the 
  remaining stages of his plan, bypassing 
  confirmation of the Mythos activity in the cave 
  in favor of confirmation of apparent Delta Green 
  involvement. 
  Forte is not a fighter, and will surrender if his 
  crew is losing a firefight.  He is a potential 
  treasure trove of information if he decides not to 
  commit suicide, or is not somehow eliminated 
  by MJ-12 before he can be interrogated. 
  
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  By JEFF MOELLER 
   
  49 
   
  Disrupting the bomb-in-the-Humvee plot would 
  be a positive development, except that it is, of 
  course, booby trapped.  (Demolitions at ½ to 
  defuse).  If it goes off under circumstances 
  where nearby personnel have been evacuated 
  and there are survivors at the checkpoint, 
  however, this may or may not be a mission scrub 
  for Forte.  This will depend on whether he thinks 
  that he can still eliminate the witnesses and stage 
  a cover up. 
  Should the investigators somehow kill Forte 
  before he calls in the air strike and Taliban, they 
  will disrupt the situation sufficiently that MJ-12 
  will not bomb the village.  They need a set of 
  intelligent eyes on the scene to confirm that the 
  bombing run will actually stand a good chance 
  of eliminating both the village and witnesses, 
  and they need it to occur when the Taliban is 
  attacking for the sake of plausible deniability.  If 
  Forte never calls in the Taliban attack, there is 
  too much of a chance that, without a patsy, the 
  air strike will be noted as such and traced back. 
  Likewise, somehow disrupting the Taliban 
  attack after they are summoned (good luck, there 
  are 200 of them in a fleet of vehicles) prevents 
  the air strike; if the Taliban do not show up for 
  whatever reason, Forte scrubs the air strike to 
  avoid detection.  If the Taliban raid and ensuing 
  bomb strike do not occur, this buys enough time 
  for Ismala the Acolyte to arrive from Sweden.  
  She is able to magically heal Nasra and this 
  stabilizes the situation in the village; the window 
  to wipe out the Scythians will have closed. 
  8.  Reward, Repercussions and 
  Follow Up 
  1 SAN should be awarded to anyone who tries to 
  help Lt. Taylor get an increased level of mental 
  health services.  If Genevieve Jansen survives, 
  award 1 SAN.  If Kluznarski‟s road block team 
  is saved from death, at least in part, award 1d3 
  SAN to the investigators. 
  If the investigators escape with their miserable 
  lives from Afghanistan after they are put in 
  jeopardy, award each survivor 1d3 SAN. 
  No SAN should be gained or lost for however it 
  is that the plight of the Scythians resolves.  
  Honestly, is it a good thing, that will let them 
  sleep better at night, if the Scythians continue 
  on?  Is it a bad thing?  How about if they 
  manage to kill the “Eldest Son”—and thereby 
  remove the Scythians‟ best source of protection 
  (and expose some uncertain part of the world to 
  the wrath of Hypnos)? 
  If the Scythians are blotted out and Hypnos 
  takes his revenge on their bloodline, consider 
  carefully what, if anything, happens.  How 
  many people will it affect?  Anyone?  Is the 
  world decimated?  Or do a few people just 
  commit suicide and/or dissolve in their sleep?  
  That‟s purely up to you as the Keeper.  Nasra 
  and the Scythians have been making sorcerous, 
  tainted deals for millennia to avoid this feared 
  fate, but apart from the Scythians themselves, 
  how far Hypnos‟ wrath will reach is a question 
  that is very deliberately left unanswered. 
  Sure, Autolus and Medea faced an awful fate a 
  couple of millennia ago, and Nasra has felt eyes 
  upon her a few times since, but does she know 
  for a fact what will happen if she falters?  No-
  she‟s following a standard operating procedure, 
  too, one designed not to take chances.  A few 
  people might dissolve into puddles, or the world 
  might end.  The best ending to this scenario 
  would be an ambiguous one, where the 
  Scythians survive to some limited extent, and 
  everyone worries about what will happen to the 
  world as a consequence. 
  Author’s Notes:  Written as a lark during the 
  spring of 2011.  Please like my publishing 
  imprint at Facebook, search “Swefna Cyst 
  Publishing”.  Satisfaction guaranteed or your 
  money back. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Delta Green [multi]/adventures/DG - Adv - What shall I do to Shun the Snares of Death.pdf