List of entries for the 2019 Summer Contest: Groups

> This contest is dedicated to all the cops, civilians, creatures, and cultists whose stories will never be told.
>
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The 2019 Summer Contest: Groups was the 2nd summer contest organized by /r/nightattheopera, an open table RPG community that utilizes a living world where Delta Green Agents and Operations take place in the same linear (or non-linear, non-Euclidean) timeline. The contest run from May 4th, 2019 through July 4th 2019.

## Definition

**What’s a group anyway?** A group or organization that interacts with the Delta Green universe. The primary goal of this contest is to create new things and expand the playable universe such that the group you create can be called upon for aid, used to stymie investigators, or simply provide flavor to a scenario. A group might be a cult, a company, a criminal enterprise, a conspiracy, or a clandestine government agency. Groups might fight the mythos, they might capture and weaponize the mythos, they might uncover and expose the mythos, or they might interact in some other interesting way.

## Contest Rules

* Maximum two entries per person
* By submitting an entry you agree to participate in the voting process, including providing fair, open, honest, and impartial (as much as possible) feedback on group(s)
* Submissions must be Google Docs (After the contest closes submitters may submit a laid-out PDF as a final version)

### Where should I start?

Adam Scott Glancy has written a great article here on making intelligence agencies who deal with the Mythos. While the article specifically deals with intelligence groups, it contains excellent advice for creating any sort of group for the world of Delta Green.

### Voting

Anyone who submits a group will be asked to rate 5 other groups based on the simple scheme below. Non-voting submitters will have their own scores set to zero. Please do not submit if you’re not up for reading and rating others.

### Judging

Entries will be judged on the following criteria using a 1-5 scale:

* Theme: Does the group fit tonally and thematically in the Delta Green setting - that sweet spot between gritty realism and supernatural horror?
	+ 1 - The group is a poor fit for the Delta Green setting, requiring too much suspension of disbelief
	+ 3 - This group feels like it belongs in the Delta Green universe
	+ 5 - The Delta Green universe fits this group. It is subtle but not boring, or bold but not outlandish.
* Presentation: is the group write up easy to follow presented in a good order and flow?
	+ 1 - The write up felt more like a stream of consciousness, difficult to follow
	+ 3 - The write up flowed cleanly from point to point
	+ 5 -  The write up followed a clear, centralized outline, I always knew where to look for the right information
* Novelty: is this group a fresh, new look or original concept? Or, does it use an established setting element in a novel way?
	+ 1 - This group relies heavily on tried and true setting tropes, or doesn’t bring much to the table. It feels like a reskin of an existing setting element.
	+ 3 - This group presents interesting ideas but does not break out of the box
	+ 5 - This group presents a new angle to explore or goes off in a fresh new direction.
* Interactivity: Can a Handler use this in a game? Is there a way for players to learn about it? To interact with it? To play as it? To destroy it? How does it react to those things?
	+ 1 - The submission is basically a short story. It may be a rich tapestry of evocative story beats and well realized characters, but there’s no way to actually use it in a game.
	+ 3 - The group’s presents the Handler and players with a suite of options for playing games that use it
	+ 5 - The group is designed from the ground up to be played with. The Handler has a full range of options for bringing it alive, and the Agents a full range of options for exploring it.
* Bonus: Was there something that stood out in this group write up that you weren’t able to capture in the rest of the voting rubric? Assign up to 5 bonus points (or 0).

## Winner

**1st Place**
Project Big Wheel by Agent Obtuse
**2nd Place**
The Stormchasers by Lithobraker
**3rd Place**
The Orne Library by Kevin Ham and mellonbread\*
\*As sponsors of the contest, not eligible to win. Therefore:

**3rd Place again**
Tie between Throughline News by Michael Fox and Project Praise by WillWrite
## Submitted Groups

1. Human Dawn by YankeeBluejeans - On the surface, Human Dawn is a new age MLM corporate cult - like NXIVM, Est, or Scentology - but in truth the leadership seeks enlightenment through supernatural means as it nudges humanity towards oblivion.
2. The Watercolour Institute by threethreethree - The group known as The Watercolour Institute is carrying out targeted killings with hypergeometric rituals. While the Institute looks like an enemy of Delta Green on the surface, they are technically unwitting allies in secret - for now...
3. Taskforce MOONSTONE by threethreethree - A Japanese anti-unnatural conspiracy for Delta Green RPG
4. The Orne Library by Kevin Ham and Mellonbread - The men and women of Miskatonic University who collect, curate, and protect some of the world's most dangerous mythos tomes.
5. Dawson, Merritt & Edelman, PLCC by Michael Daumen - They say an attorney who represents herself has a fool for a client. What does that make an attorney who represents Delta Green?
6. The Circular Artist’s Circle of West 45th Street by Schadenfreudude - The Circular Artists' Circle of West 45th Street are a mostly unsuccessful improvisational comedy and devised theatre troupe, blissfully unaware of the existence of the unnatural. Through a cruel twist of fate, each of them seems to have attracted the influence of the King in Yellow.
7. Special Research Department (特別研究部) - Japan by PromisingWriterGuy - A (well-rounded) Japanese anti-alien/paranormal group
8. The Stormchasers by Lithobraker - A down-to-earth charity rebuilding homes in Tornado Alley, run by the owners of a wealthy construction firm, practicing for the end of the world.
9. The Red Worm by Karl Parakenings - A friendly and highly-motivated research agency, eager to help the Agents, and quick to corrode when exposed to the Unnatural.
10. The Children of Dada by Lighthouse - An Anarchist artist mythos group, intellectual armchair activists who occasionally commit random acts of insanity.
11. White Stork Division by Lithobraker - Long-haul truckers carrying strange artifacts and creatures across America, and the research division that builds their vehicles.
12. Throughline News by Michael Fox - A web startup whose site *always* shows you *exactly* the stories you will find provoking. For some, too provoking.
13. The Fertile Crescent by Jake “ChiefMcClane” Cook - At the height of ISIS' power, a new terror group rises up in Syria, threatening not only the region, but the whole world.
14. The League of One by YankeeBluejeans - Multiverse explorers looking for a timeline where humanity isn’t doomed.
15. Church of the Fallen Angel by Algatress - God exists and he hates you.
16. The Invisible Tentacle by magnificantophat - A Cthulhu cult for Delta Green that has no idea what it's gotten itself into.
17. Project Big Wheel by Agent Obtuse - A faction about the USAF's attempt to weaponize hypergeometry in drone warfare - and an opportunity for the Agents to stop it...
18. Project Praise by WillWrite - A Christian charity tries to reconvert cultists from their false gods to Jesus Christ. They thought they would be fighting falsehoods and lies. They would find things much worse than lies…
19. Moss Covered Arrowhead by mellonbread - Choose one last Night at the Bunga
20. The Fraternal Order of King Vold by mellonbread - Monster Hunters become the hunted.
21. Sub Rosa by Jake “Chief McClane” Cook - A mythos fighting organization founded by Teddy Roosevelt