OPERATION Dropout

## BRIEFING

Agents are en route to Fort Knox, KY. They are riding in a rental SUV with a mobile wifi hotspot, speaking with their Case Officer.

“Three hours ago, space monitoring assets captured an unknown extraterrestrial object breaking through the atmosphere & crash landing in the vicinity of the training grounds on Ft. Knox. Intercepted US Army traffic indicates they have lost contact with Reserves units out on a training exercise. We suspect an EMP knocked out communications. Find the object, & act. In the morning, the area will be flooded with personnel & the object may fall out of our control”

At the fort, cell phone reception is lost; towers are down.

## ARRIVAL

Players arrive at FOB REDRUM, the headquarters for this battalion sized training exercise Operation DROPOUT. Generous Handlers will give Agents Army uniforms with ranks & military IDs to match: SGT Deane, SFC Gurta, 1LT Loops, CPT Armena.

Reserve soldiers are equipped with M4s with blank firing adapters (BFAs) attached & wear Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) gear; no live ammunition is allowed in the training area. A gate guard searches vehicles & personnel for live ammunition before entering the training area.

Agents that don military uniforms with Disguise, History, or Military Science (Land) will be able to move more freely among the soldiers (Luck roll to pass otherwise). Without them, motivated soldiers may attempt to “capture” the Agents, thinking they are the opposing forces (OPFOR) of the training exercise attempting to infiltrate American lines. If Agents are caught with live ammunition, they will be restrained for UCMJ disciplinary proceedings

At REDRUM there are different shops set up: intel, supply, signal, maintenance, etc. Each one gives a clue about what’s out there, but could lead to Agents being caught. Agents may get a map of the exercise. Live ammo is being stored & guarded here. Some suggested items that players may “acquire”: flashbangs, smoke grenades, tear-gas grenades, armor & helmets, binoculars, IFAKs.

Agents may overhear enlisted soldiers, “Specialist Jenkins, thought I heard him yelling near the civilian bridge but it was too dark to look for him.”

## THE THREAT

The object detected is actually two: a crashed alien spaceship & its emergency escape pod. Two previously unknown species of aliens came with it: a knowledge seeking, centipede-like being that semi-permanently affixes brains of various other alien species to stalks along its back while absorbing the information (Nazz-Kluh), & a dozen or more rat-like winged verminous creatures that feed on & discharge electricity (Electrovores). Electrovores caused the crash & EMP as hundreds of the creatures detonated at once. The Nazz-Kluh seeks to repair its ship & leave.

Most soldiers abandoned the mission when an EMP struck & they lost communication, leaving their vehicles & hoofing back to the exercise staging area. More motivated soldiers took the EMP as a difficulty modifier, digging into their fortified positions with their blank-firing laser guns. They are easy pickings for the Nazz-Kluh.

The Nazz-Kluh moves carefully about, attempting to stay undetected & out of trouble as much as possible. It has made one trip from the escape pod to the spaceship. It encountered lost Specialist Jenkins, decapitating him & absorbing his knowledge about the area & planet. Left Jenkin’s decapitated corpse propped against a tree. At the crash site, assessed the damage. Now, it attempts to find Earth repair parts to enhance & fix its ship to leave.

### ENVIRONMENT

EMP knocked out the power grid, communications networks, towers, & disabled every piece of military equipment with a battery. New pieces of equipment brought into the area function, but until towers & relay devices are repaired, communications are out. (except for satellite phones).

It is pitch black. Agents without light sources suffer 40% penalty to sight-based skills. Nazz-Kluh has darkvision. Electrovores hunt their batteries.

### ABANDONED CONVOY

Nazz-Kluh cannibalized vehicles for parts. Contact trucks are missing tool kits. Nearby is a dead mechanic, Specialist Jenkins with their head removed. Forensics notes serrated marks indicating blade greater than a foot long. 0/1 SAN from Violence. Strange centipedal tracks can lead Agents to other encounters.

### ELECTROVORE GRAVEYARD

Hundreds of dead, charred, & exploded electrovore carcasses litter the area. Their corpses may be examined with Science: Biology. Crackle with static. 0/1 SAN.

Navigate can show a pattern of the bodies laid out on a southward trajectory (towards SPACESHIP).

### ESCAPE POD

Anti-gravity alien emergency powered by strange sigils hovering 1m over the ground. Empty, but the inside has a non-Newtonian gel that absorbs kinetic impact 0/1 SAN from Unnatural. Strange footprints to be tracked (Survival),  lead to a climbed tree & an unseen threat. The pod can be pushed effortlessly. Under the pod there are more exploded electrovore corpses that have stupidly ate on the force exerted by the sigils & exploded. 0/1 SAN from Unnatural

### FRIENDLY OUTPOST

A platoon of soldiers dug in on a hill, awaiting further orders. Nearby are intact, non-functioning vehicles. Motivated soldiers that will treat Agents like they are OPFOR. Lieutenant Pendergraft, a highly motivated butterbar. SFC Winona, trying to look after soldiers & prevent injuries.

### BRIDGE CROSSING

Improved Ribbon Bridge over the creek. An ambush by either Electrovores seeking vehicle engines or Nazz-Kluh sinking threats.

### LOST SQUADS

Groups of soldiers lost, seeking guidance. Take orders from Agents using Persuade or that appear in charge, or follow Agents if suspicious. Not an NCO in sight. May give clues toward other encounters.

### SPACESHIP

Crater with marred earth leading to the sphere. Large clearing where trees & earth were disturbed from impact. Most likely encounter with Nazz-Kluh.

Ship itself made out of a strange, advanced polymer not of Earth, lightweight & incredibly strong. Still mostly intact. The engines, life support, & other systems can be examined with Craft: Mechanic or other skills, revealing strange sigils that power centrifuges & other seemingly impossible workings. It’s beyond an Agents’ ability to repair it at the moment.

1/1d4 SAN, +1% Unnatural

### ATROPIAN VILLAGE

Empty houses in a mock village (the OPFOR actors are at their real homes). Nazz-Kluh scrounging or ambush, or an electrovore feeding frenzy ( leftover batteries)

## ALIENS

### Nazz-Kluh, Knowledge Seekers

Six legged. Centipedal. 4m long, 1m tall. From a planet with gravity denser than Earth; stronger than most Earth creatures. Legs that slide & shift down the length of the body, giving the appearance of gliding.  6 paws with 6 appendages & 1 thumb, 4 retractable serrated 1.5’ claws (toza). Back has 4 stalks that stores brains while “downloading” the information to its own.

Agile & intelligent. Uses equipment with knowledge of its victims. In combat, prefers to either not fight. Prefers ambushes & traps to slow that it may escape. Intelligence is its greatest weapon. Refuses fights it can’t win. Uses Earthling military doctrine & tactics against Earthlings. If met with overwhelming force, or if its ship is destroyed, may attempt to hide instead of repairing its ship, living now on Earth.

The stat block below reflects having absorbed a single soldier's brain, Specialist Jenkins. Adjust as needed.

**STR** 23 **CON** 16  **DEX** 13 **INT** 21\* **POW** 12

**HP** 20 **WP** 12

**ARMOR:** **RESILIENT**, 5 Armor

**SKILLS:** As **KNOWLEDGE**

**ATTACKS:** Toza (front legs) 40%, 1d10 damage, AP 3

**Grasp:** 50% grapples target, allows for **SKULLJACK** the following turn

Various weapon attacks as **KNOWLEDGE**

**DARKVISION:** An ever adaptive predator, the Nazz-Kluh can see in the darkness. However, if exposed to bright sources of light, it may temporarily suffer a 20% penalty to actions for 1d6 turns.

**KNOWLEDGE:** Uses the brains of its victims to supplement its own thought processing power. Uses the tools of the creatures it learns from. Uses the skills of victims whose brains are currently affixed to it.

**…IS POWER:** for every 5 points of INT it consumes, the Nazz-Kluh gains 2 CON as it grows increasingly larger & more dangerous.

**HIGHER PROCESSING:**  For every 10 points of INT, the Nazz-Kluh is capable of taking an extra action to a maximum of 4.

**INTELLISENSE:** The innate ability to detect intellect. In combat, prioritize targets by targeting the creature with the highest INT.

**SKULLJACK:** On a grappled target, the Nazz-Kluh uses its Toza to remove the victims head & affixing it to a brain stalk on the Nazz-Kluh’s back. After 1 hour, it will have absorbed the INT of the target skull, & discards it, or else uses the head for an ambush.

**RESILIENT:** Due to size or unnatural toughness, an entity of this type can withstand overwhelming force. A successful Lethality roll does not destroy a resilient entity, but inflicts HP damage equal to the Lethality rating.

**VOCAL MIMICRY:** once the Nazz-Kluh has absorbed a victim’s brain, it is capable of speech recreating the victim’s. It often uses this to lure or ambush others.

**SAN LOSS:** 1/1D8

### Electrovore, Energy Seekers

Power hungry interstellar flying rodents, these beings feed on energy in any form, often to their own detriment. Many electrovores have fried to death. Interstellar species, but not evolved enough to navigate space on their own.

On Earth, they mostly ignore human targets & seek to feed on energy sources. If no prominent power source is found, it may attempt to feed on humans for their electric signals in their brains. To this end, they will also wildly attack Nazz-Kluh.

**STR** 3 **CON** 9  **DEX**  11 **INT** 4 **POW** 12

**HP:** varies, starts at 6, see **CAPACITOR**,

**SKILLS:** Flight (30% in Earth gravity)

**ARMOR:** See **KINETIC ABSORPTION**

**ATTACKS:** Bite 30%, damage 1d6, AP 3, leads to **ENERGY VACUUM**

**BLIND:** Uses other senses to navigate, but primarily seeks out power sources. In a crowded area or dense forest, Handler may choose to make a Luck roll to see if an Electrovore doesn’t smash stupidly into an object.

**BITE:** The electrovore latches on to a target with sharp, shocking teeth. The target or an ally may attempt to use an action to pull the electrovore loose (see **ENERGY VACUUM & THE BODY ELECTRIC**).

**CAPACITOR:** An electrovore’s body may only grow so much. As it grows in STR & CON from KINETIC ABSORPTION, the creature swells. Upon reaching 20 HP, an electrovore cannot grow any larger, & explodes in an EMP dealing 1d6 damage in a 3m radius. Grounding or draining the Electrovore of its power may prove to be a legitimate strategy over it, & Handlers are encouraged to allow Agents to craft clever traps against them.

**FLIGHT:** The electrovore is capable of silent flight.

**ENERGY VACUUM:** The turn after a successful bite attack & if still latched on to a target, the electrovore drains energy from its target. On a human target, this means draining 1 STR or CON (whichever is higher), adding it to its own stats.

**KINETIC ABSORPTION:** An electrovore does not take damage from forceful attacks, such as melee slams, firearms, or explosions, & lethality attacks deal only damage as if a failed lethality roll. Instead, it absorbs incoming kinetic force. For every point of damage from a forceful attack (melee slam, firearm, or explosive), it adds a point to STR or CON (whichever is lowest).

**TINY:** Weapon attacks against the electrovore are at a 20% penalty due to their small size.

**THE BODY ELECTRIC:** The electrovore emanates a static aura, disrupting & disabling electronic devices within 1 meter of it. A melee or unarmed attack without electrical grounding causes the attacker to suffer 1d2 HP damage. A successful Craft check is needed to repair the device.

**SAN LOSS:** 0/1D4

### Reserves Soldier

**STR** 10 **CON** 10 **DEX** 10 **INT** 10 **POW** 10 **CHA** 10

**HP** 10, **ARMOR** 6 if wearing kit, none if soldier is lazy.

**SKILLS:** Alertness 50%, Athletics 40%, Firearms 40%

**ATTACKS:** Unarmed 40%, damage 1d4-1

Blank-Firing Adapted M4 40%, damage 0 (or d12 / 10% Lethality if given ammo)

### 1LT Pendergraft, Weekday Accountant, Weekend Warrior

**STR** 13 **CON** 12 **DEX** 11 **INT** 11 **POW** 12 **CHA** 13

**HP** 12 **WP** 12 **ARMOR** 6 (Helmet + Full Battle Rattle)

**BONDs:** 4 (in the event the NPC becomes a PC)

**SKILLS:** Accounting 60%, Bureaucracy 80%, Computer Science 50%, Criminology 30%, Firearms 40%,  Foreign Language (German) 50%, HUMINT 30%, History 60%, Law 40%, Military Science (Land) 30%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 70%, Unarmed Combat 50%

**ATTACKS:** Unarmed 50%, damage 1d4

Blank-Firing Adapted M4 40%, damage 0 (or d12 / 10% Lethality if given ammo)

### SFC Winona, Too Old For This Shit

**STR** 15 **CON** 12 **DEX** 10 **INT** 10 **POW** 14 **CHA** 10

**HP** 14 **WP** 14 **ARMOR** 6 (Helmet + Full Battle Rattle)

**BONDS:** 4 (in the event the NPC becomes a PC)

**SKILLS:**  Accounting 30%, Alertness 50%, Athletics 50%, Bureaucracy 50%, Computer Science 50%, Craft (Mechanic) 40%, Drive 40%, Firearms 40%, First Aid 40%, Heavy Machinery 50%, Heavy Weapons 40%, HUMINT 50%, Law 50%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 50%, Unarmed Combat 50%,

## SAN REWARDS

1d6 for Mission Completion

1d10+1 for every life directly saved (at Handler’s discretion)

1d6 for recovering or destroying spaceship

## Credits

OPERATION Dropout was written by Jake "ChiefMcClane" Cook 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 © Jake "ChiefMcClane" Cook, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

OPERATION Dropout is not available here under CC-BY-SA.