PRIVATE DECAPITATION ISN'T A BAD IDEA

## Background

One night the incredibly intoxicated members of death metal band Annihilation Watch got a great idea to add Latin chanting from a book called Necronomicon to their upcoming album, Metempsychosis. This version of their song “Decapitionism” was only released on the special edition of their album, and it was played backwards for a metal effect. They didn’t know the lyrics were a spell to summon a demon from another dimension.

Metalhead and aspiring occultist Daniel Bates accidentally summoned the demon while investigating this special edition record for hidden satanic mysteries.

## Starting point

Cleveland, Ohio. Daniel Bates, 26 years old, is found dead in an apartment with his head missing. There are no signs of a struggle or gunplay at the scene.

The apartment stinks like burnt plastic. There’s a record player on the table, scorched and melted. Demolitions or Forensics determines that a record caught fire on the turntable, burning until completely incinerated. It was set to play a record backwards.

On the table next to the sofa are receipts from Henry’s Record Store, and an empty record sleeve. This record is a special edition of “Metempsychosis” by the band Annihilation Watch. It features a black and white ghostly skull scratched on the front of the cover. There are several Annihilation Watch posters covering up the walls of the apartment.

A quick internet search shows Annihilation Watch is an American death metal band, notorious for their extreme shows and musical style, achieving a cult following for the same reason. They’re currently on tour in the area near where Bates lived, playing songs from their new album Metempsychosis. They’re selling an exclusive special edition of the record on the tour, with an especially “dark and brutal” version of the track “Decapitionism”.

Bates’ bookcase is full of books about occultism and witchcraft, but no actual grimoires (Occult 40% assesses the books as harmless).

Bates’ other records are assorted black, doom and death metal.

His laptop’s search history is full of queries on demon summoning and magic (all bullshit). His email has an e-ticket for an Annihilation Watch gig a week ago in Seattle, and one for tonight’s gig.

There are footprints on the floor (Forensics 40%) that leave from next to the record player. Search 40% finds a small bag of marijuana under the mattresses.

The corpse and personal belongings (keys to his home and car, a mobile phone and a lighter) are at the local morgue. His phone has the same e-ticket for tonights’ AW show.

## Henry's’ Record Store

Henry, the owner of this small boutique, is preoccupied with cataloging new records, but loves to impress customers with his deep knowledge of esoteric musical trivia. Especially if asked with the pretense of wanting to buy something.

He says Bates bought a bunch of secondhand black and death metal records. If asked about the expensive special edition of Annihilation Watch’s newest record, Henry has the normal edition, but the other one can only be bought on their tour.

## Gig at the BarRage

Annihilation Watch has a gig at 11PM tonight, playing a show that will shock the world - the most dark and brutal live version of the special edition Metempsychosis disc they've ever played.

From 9:00 PM, the band mostly stays in the green room backstage. Annihilators (AW’s devoted roadies and security guards) will be moving stuff to stage and setting up the effects for the band. There are eight of them during the gig. Four of them moving stuff, two protecting their tour bus, two keeping a lookout for the band’s green room.

Getting to the green room requires sneaking in, disguising as an Annihilator, or pretending to be press and asking permission from the manager, Brandon Watts. Watts is fanatically protective of his bread and butter, but will let reporters in if he thinks they’ll make the boys look good. The Band is drinking, and easily pretty pissed off by journalists who annoy them too much.

The band’s tour bus contains fast food trash, empty beer cans, the special edition Metempsychosis records, and a spike covered laptop containing the band’s business information. It’s password protected so opening it would take time (SIGINT 40% or roll, if in a hurry). From there, Agents can find where the band has sold their special edition records.

At 11PM, the band plays their set. A drunken fight breaks out in the mosh pit, like at every AW show. Annihilators keep rowdy fans away from the stage with tasers, batons and pepper spray.

When they get to the solo in Decapitionism with the Latin chanting, the power of the fans at the gig will provide enough willpower to summon a whole swarm of Winged Servitors, which immediately swoop into the crowd and begin removing heads.

## The Special Edition Record

The exclusive special edition of Metempsychosis is sold in limited numbers at gigs during the tour. Fights have broken out among fans lining up at the merch table to purchase it. The discs are stored in the tour bus until the gig, then they sell out quickly.

If played backwards, the chant in the song “Decapitionism” activates a summoning ritual, incinerating the record and bringing a Winged Servitor into the world. The Servitor interprets the lyrics as instructions to decapitate the listener. Once this is complete, it returns to the otherworld from whence it came.

## How to stop the gig

The Gig can be stopped multiple ways. The Easiest is to set off the fire alarm or call in a bomb threat. While this cancels the gig at the bar, the band is buzzed enough to play the set in the parking lot. Smart Agent can call law enforcement and event managers of the city, to get this illegal show canceled (Bureaucracy, Law or Persuade)

The band can be dealt with force, but this requires dealing with the loyal masked roadies, the Annihilators. They aren’t warriors per se, but they’ll fight for their band’s sake. Killing one of the roadies pisses of the rest of the crew.

Manager Brandon Watts is a beast of his own, taking him down is even harder. Talking to him is a much safer option. Negotiating a hefty sum of money or trying to bring the band down through legal means (most of the band members have been arrested before) can help bring the show to a halt.

## Optional: Mr. Zelindor

Mr. Zelindor is watching over Annihilation Watch. Nobody knows exactly who he is and where he came from. He is seven feet tall, dressed in a fancy suit. He looks like an Arab version of Saruman from Lord of the Rings. If Agents try to kill Annihilation Watch, he appears behind them and asks: “Do you seek the truth?”. Answering positively opens the Agents up to horrific visions of an Apocalypse of Metal This costs 1d10/1d100 SAN, but grants each Agent skill points equal to SAN lost in an instrument.). If Agents refuse, he nods in understanding. “Ah, you are not ready” and disappears the moment they blink.

He appears in their dreams after the operation is complete, speaking in a language they do not understand. Telling them they are going to die.

## BAND MEMBERS

### Marcus Blast (lead singer)

Heavy built man with a long black hair. Has a growly voice.

**STR** 13 **CON** 12 **DEX** 11 **INT** 10 **POW** 10 **CHA** 14

**HP** 13 **WP** 10

**Skills**: Art (Death Metal singing) 60% Alertness 60% Firearms 60% Athletics 50% Melee Weapons 50% Persuade 60% Unarmed 60%

### Torkel Stigson (lead guitarist)

Blonde long-haired tall male talks with a Swedish accent.

**STR** 11 **CON** 11 **DEX** 13 **INT** 9 **POW** 11 **CHA** 14

**HP** 11 **WP** 11

**Skills**: Art (Guitar) 80% Alertness 50% Firearms 20% Athletics 50% Melee Weapons 60% Unarmed 40%

Halmar Blacknail (rhythm guitarist)

Brown haired male with Fu Manchu mustache. Has Norwegian accent.

**STR** 12 **CON** 11 **DEX** 12 **INT** 10 **POW** 10 **CHA** 14

**HP** 12 **WP** 10

**Skills**: Art (Guitar) 60% Alertness 50% Firearms 20% Athletics 50% Melee Weapons 50% Unarmed 40%

### Leonard Killstrung (bassist)

Looks like he’s constantly angry about something. Has a bushy brown mustache and diastema. Speaks with a lisp.

**STR** 12 **CON** 11 **DEX** 12 **INT** 8 **POW** 14 **CHA** 11

**HP** 12 **WP** 14

**Skills**: Art (Bass) 60% Alertness 50% Firearms 40% Athletics 40% Melee Weapons 60% Unarmed 60%

### Xerxes (drummer)

Long black dreads with some makeup under his eyes. Least talkative member.

**STR** 12 **CON** 13 **DEX** 10 **INT** 9 **POW** 14 **CHA** 12

**HP** 13 **WP** 14

**Skills**: Art (Drumming) 60% Alertness 50% Firearms 40% Athletics 40% Melee Weapons 40% Unarmed 60%

## OTHER ATTENDEES

### Brandon Watts (manager of Annihilation Watch)

Lawyer-looking well-spoken manager, whose first job is to keep the band alive and to make tons of money with them.

**STR** 14 **CON** 12 **DEX** 13 **INT** 14 **POW** 13 **CHA** 13

**HP** 13 **WP** 13

Skills: Alertness 60% Athletics 60% Bureaucracy 60% HUMINT 60% Law 60% Firearms 70% Melee Weapons 80% Persuade 60% Unarmed 80%

### Annihilators (roadies of AW)

Dressed in black tank tops and black jeans, all of them wearing black bandit masks.

**STR** 10 **CON** 12 **DEX** 10 **INT** 8 **POW** 10 **CHA** 10

**HP** 11 **WP** 10

**Skills**: Alertness 40% Firearms 50% Athletics 20% Melee Weapons 40% Unarmed 40%

**Attacks**: Taser (50%, Stun)

Baton (40%, D4)

Pepper Spray (50%, Action Penalty)

Mr. Zelindor (an observer)

See Optional: Mr. Zelindor

Can’t be hurt.

### Winged Servitor

**STR** 25 **CON** 25 **DEX** 12 **INT** 1 **POW** 8

**HP** 25 **WP** 8

**Armor**: 3 points of furry chitin.

**Skills**: Alertness 50%, Flight 40%.

**Attacks**: Claw 40%, damage 2D6. Bite 40%, Lethality 15%.

**Non-terrene**: The servitor is at home in nearly any environment. Radiation, pressure, cold, vacuum, and more have no negative effects on it. It can move on the surface of Saturn, the depths of the ocean or in open space with equal ease.

**Otherworldly flight:** The servitor can “fly” in any environment, flapping its membranous wings as if against some unseen current—even underwater or in space. In flight, the servitor seems slow and clumsy, certainly more sluggish than most avians. Yet, while in flight, it may suddenly vanish as if launching away at terrific speed, passing out of everyday dimensions and through unthinkable realities.

**Unnatural biology**: The servitor’s physiology would baffle any biologist. Making a called shot for “vitals” or another apparently vulnerable area inflicts normal damage, with no special game effect.

**San loss:** 1/1D6.

## Credits

PRIVATE DECAPITATION ISN'T A BAD IDEA was written by zomner 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 © zomner, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

PRIVATE DECAPITATION ISN'T A BAD IDEA is not available here under CC-BY-SA.