Operation DAYMARK

## Intro

January, 1930

Robert Morris, an assistant lighthouse keeper, returned last month from a trial rotation at Aqotomac Lighthouse, an antiquated tower on a remote Maine island. In a debrief with the Lighthouse Service (LHS), he told of strange events. Floating lights, bizarre sounds, and mermaids rising from the sea. Quite the joke, this made the rounds at the LHS offices and soon spread to the other maritime services. When CMDR Thomas Powell of P4 heard the joke, he didn’t laugh. He took a drive up to the sanitarium where Morris was convalescing and asked for the whole story. Then he assembled a team.

## Brief

Powell has instructed the Agents to independently verify Morris’ claims. In particular, Powell wants to “find out if this has to do with that damnable Innsmouth lot.” Powell was aboard the submarine which torpedoed Devil’s Reef in ’28, and holds that such abominations are to be destroyed at all costs.

The LHS had previously been placed under Navy jurisdiction in times of war. As such, LHS officials have been told the team is establishing Navy procedures for administering non-electrified lighthouses, should foreign ones require operating during wartime. They are to join keeper William Cooper as “trainees” for a week, and are expected to pull their weight.

For era-specific character creation advice, see Will Roy’s generator.

## The Secret

The lighthouse is home to a Lloigor Stone, present on the island since long before the Wabanaki tribes walked the area. It enthralled the keepers, who placed it underneath the light’s wick. Now its influence is projected to passing ships by the rotating beams. The island is a vortex of depression, isolation, and suffering.

## Handler’s Instructions

The intent of this scenario is to create a sanity/WP spiral and gaslight the players for as long as it’s enjoyable. Give contrary details, pass vague notes, emphasize things which misdirect. Try to convince different players of different explanations: deep ones, Cooper as a Hypergeometer, even simple cabin fever. Shape Dream is an effective tool for this, especially when blurring the line of dream and waking. Mask the powers effects for savvy players. Draining WP can be explained by backbreaking labor; lack of recovery by shoddy beds.

Ensure, however, that the scenario is solvable. Don’t go outside of the bounds of the Lloigor’s powers to misdirect. After Day 5 slowly introduce hints pointing towards the light.

## USLHT Balsam

The Balsam is a lighthouse tender, a ship whose primary purpose is to support and maintain lighthouses. The crew make it clear that they don’t particularly like Aqotomac. It’s an almost bare rock surrounded by submerged ones. The place itself makes the crew uneasy; scuttlebutt is that the name comes from a Wabanaki word meaning ‘bad.’ As soon as the tower is in sight, they quickly load and ready a boat to bring the supplies and crew to the island’s small dock. They don’t stick around any longer than necessary.

## Aqotomac

Aqotomac Island is not very large. A boat shed, containing one oared dory, sits near the dock. A keepers’ house sits below the tower itself. A coal powered fog horn sits in its own building a few hundred feet away, and a toolshed and outhouse sit between the house and horn. Only a few clusters of pine trees dot the island. There are, however, plenty of crags and outcroppings one can use to hide. Staying outside for long periods of time is not reccommeded, as the temperature ranges -5–15°F, and the water a hypothermia inducing 35°.

Inside the tower, a spiral staircase leads upward. At the top, a clockwork mechanism drives the rotation of the lens, weights and chains hanging down the middle of the staircase. The lower burner assembly and fuel intake are also on this floor, as is the outside balcony. On the floor above sits the lens, focusing the light produced by the gas-wick burner (think giant Coleman lantern) at the center. A small access hatch in the lens assembly allows for changing of the wick. Because of the importance, fragility and cost of the lens, the floor is securely locked. Only Cooper has the key.

The house is small. The first floor contains a kitchen, with table and chairs; and a study, in which a locked desk holds the logbook and a woodstove provides warmth. Upstairs are three beds. Stored foods are dry or preserved, except for what crustaceans the traps bring in.

## William Cooper

Cooper is difficult to get a read on. He’s jovial one minute, deadly serious the next. He’s prone to flashes of anger regarding his authority or the security of the top floor of the lighthouse. He takes some pleasure in bossing around a few Navy men, particularly if any are officers, but he stops short of bullying them. He talks like an old salt, has extreme superstition, and always seems to know more than he reveals. He’s an alcoholic and maintains a secret stash of rum. Quotes below are things he might say, not mandatory insertions.

## Day 1

The team arrives late afternoon. Shortly upon arrival Cooper will establish the work breakdown: he is in charge of the light, and everyone else in charge of maintenance. If anyone complains he reassures “’s’only to keep that there lens safe.” At dinner, he’ll pour rum and propose a toast to survival. Then he’ll begin his shift atop the light. He sleeps from dawn to noon. One of the Agents has a nightmare (e.g. a Deep One body washed up on the beach).

## Day 2

“Put ‘yer back into it, Navy lad!”

Note: Each subsequent day follows a pattern: Morning duties, afternoon cleaning, supper (with Cooper), downtime (with Cooper), evening, nightmares.

The chores begin in earnest. Examples include painting, replenishing the light’s kerosene, cleansing the cistern, lubricating gearwork, and endless cleaning. Give Agents investigative meat to chew on. They might find a small carving of a mermaid, or see strange splashes in the water. At night, Cooper takes his shift; someone outside might see him drunkenly cavorting behind the glass panes. A different Agent has a nightmare (e.g. another Agent chases them through the house).

## Day 3

“Can’t see worth two damns out there. Gotta keep the horn goin’”

Fog rolls in. The Agents are awoken by the the foghorn, now a constant fixture (play it on repeat if you can). Its coal engine must be fed: another chore. The Lloigor assault slowly ramps up, creating hallucinations that blur the line between dreaming and waking. If an Agent can be tricked into attacking a hallucination, all the better.

## Day 4

The Agents are supposed to leave tomorrow, but a storm kicks up. The meal that night is fresh fish, one of the Agents witnesses Cooper hauling in a swollen throw net, bizarrely surrounded by fish flopping about. In truth, a gift from the Lloigor to its servant, but casts suspicion towards Cooper.

## Day 5-??

“Those fool sailors tell you Aqotomac means ‘bad’? It don’t. It means ‘painful’.”

The storm continues; relief never arrives. No one can be sure of how long they’ve been stranded. Days? Months? Sleep never seems to bring rest, nightmares continue and intensify. Supplies start to run thin. If one gets access to the logbook, it has entries for months (and an earlier account of Cooper’s enslavement). Anyone who attempts to use the dory to escape is either turned around through misdirection or wrecked by the storm

Cooper becomes menacing. He increases his drinking, supplied from his stash. His nightly shifts become much stranger, appearing to do a kind of ritual dance. One Agent notices the lighthouse beams have a green-blue hue. Cooper won’t surrender his keys without a fight, and will oppose hostile Agent efforts.

The Agents are trapped unless the Lloigor is exhausted. If the stone is removed from the light, it will no longer be able to maintain the ongoing effects by the next day. It will also use all of its WP store to try and stop the Agents. Should they be killed or enslaved, they will go down in the lengthy canon of mysterious lighthouse disappearances.

## Playing The Lloigor

From Day 5 on, The Lloigor is attempting to either enslave the agents or get them to murder each other.

If an Agent touches the stone, use Amputation to protect it.

If a player is Enslaved, they are driven to sabotage the mission and bathe in the light atop the tower.

Use Induce Frenzy on an Agent the others are suspicious of.

Activate Construct at a low CON, but it won’t engage in a prolonged fight. Use this on whoever suspects Deep Ones, appearing as a sea monster.

Avoid Vortex unless it feels it has no other choice.

## Resolution

With the effects ceased, The Balsam will arrive the next day. This will likely involve explanations to the captain. Asking about the date will confound, they arrived as scheduled on the 5th day. The fate of the stone, based on what they do with it, is up to the Handler.

## Stats

### William Cooper

**STR** 13 **CON** 13 **DEX** 12 **INT** 12 **POW** 12  **CHA** 8

**HP** 13 **WP** 12 **SAN** 20 **BP** 12

**Skills:** Alertness 50%, Craft (Mechanic) 80%, History 60%

**Disorders:** Depression, Intermittent Explosive Disorder (Starting on Day 5)

Enslaved by the Lloigor

### The Lloigor

**INT** 29 **POW** 64 **WP** 64

**Amplified:** Can completely replenish WP from passing ships each night while stone is in the light, limited to only the occupants of Aqotomac when not.

**Additional Powers:**

**Induce Hallucination –** Cause a target to see something which is not there. This may induce a SAN check at the Handler’s discretion. WP Cost 1

**Shape Dream –** When Draining Energy, the Lloigor may influence or outright create the target’s dream. Target loses 0/1D4 SAN. WP Cost 1

**Cancerous Reanimation –** Resuscitate one unconscious (from injury) or freshly dead subject, restoring 1D4+2 HP. Subject immediately loses all SAN and immediately suffers the effects of Induce Frenzy. Subject immediately dies when Frenzy is subdued.

**Rituals:** Storm and Stillness, Swarm

**WP spend per “day”:** Fog: 3 WP (Day 3 on); Storm: 20WP (Day 4 on); EMF: 2 WP; Temporal Doldrums: 4 WP (Day 5 on).

**Remaining WP per “day”:** 25 (Reduce to 20 for a 2 Agent game)

All other stats as per Handler’s Guide.

## Credits

Operation DAYMARK was written by Michael Fox for the 2019  shotgun scenario contest.

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © Michael Fox, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Operation DAYMARK is not available here under CC-BY-SA.