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When Pagan Publishing released Delta Green, their Call of Cthulhu sourcebook of modern conspiracy/horror, it was the best COC supplement ever. Pagan ups the ante in their new book Delta Green: Countdown (from here on DGC).

DGC bills itself as "...Reaching wider and digging deeper to map the terrain of the twisted pulp apocalypse we call the dawning of the 21st century." That is an excellent way to put it. Just like Delta Green, DGC's main bulk deals with the various weird and shadowy organizations that are the movers and shakers in the hidden world of the paranormal. As always, just beneath the surface of seemingly "normal" conspiracies and government agencies lies the specter of the Cthulhu Mythos, waiting to be discovered.

Each of the eleven new groups introduced in DGC gets its own chapter, and the quality for these remains consistently high. These groups range from a bizarre Russian cult known as the Skoptsi, to a shadowy government testing center called the Outlook Group, to Phenom-X a TV show that always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time.

The chapters on GRU SV-8 and Pisces, the Russian and UK equivalents of Delta Green are especially good. The designers really captured the feel of Cold War competition that persists to this day. GRU SV-8 even feels like a real modern Russian government agency, budget crunch and all. With the new potential allies presented here, the players have the option of going overseas in their battle against the Mythos. Also of note was the chapter on the Hastur Mythos, "A twisted skein of surreal destruction weaving its way through humanity." The Hastur section was just plain creepy, full of clever ideas on how to slowly work the Hastur Mythos into an ongoing campaign through seemingly random encounters and minor scenes.

In addition, the Keeper gets rules for new skills, new spells, new tomes, psychic powers, dossiers on paranormal life forms, and over 100 pages of new profiles on international law enforcement agencies.

Finally, the authors included two new adventures and a new "mini-campaign." The first adventure, "A Victim of Art" deals with mysterious murders in a small town. I liked it because of its simplicity. It was a perfect example of what a "normal" Delta Green adventure should be. My investigators played it through in an evening, and enjoyed it. The second adventure, "Night Floors" was very well done, perhaps the best Delta Green published adventure I've seen. It takes the players on a surreal ride, and throws them right into the heart of the Hastur Mythos. But maybe I'm just a sucker for the King in Yellow... The last adventure, billed as a "mini-campaign" was a little disappointing. Rather than being a mini-campaign, "Dead Letter" was simply a slightly longer adventure. On the plus side, if one doesn't expect anything more, it is a well crafted adventure, excellent for introducing players to the Karotechia, the occult wielding Nazis of Delta Green.

As much as I liked DGC, there were several problems with it. At $40, this is an expensive book. However, at over 400 pages the buyer gets what he pays for. The cover illustration of Nazis in full uniform with a Swastika flag behind them also bothered me. The Nazis in Delta Green play very similar roles to the Nazis in Indiana Jones, but one wonders why Pagan used this cover when the Karotechia only appears briefly in DGC. I understand that Pagan doesn't support Nazis or anything like that, but I wouldn't really want to leave this book out in public, people could easily get the wrong idea from the cover. Also of note was the 100 pages of new law enforcement agencies from around the world. Many of the organizations detailed were useful. "What sort of law agency are my Investigators going to run into while in Iraq?" Now I know. Also, players can now be investigators from other countries. I think a Mossad campaign might be cool. Even so, at more than 100 pages, it was too long, and in some cases seemed like filler.

Minor (very) details aside, buy Delta Green Countdown. It is everything that made Delta Green so good, but more of it. With a page count so high that it is almost bigger than the original Delta Green book and the Call of Cthulhu book combined, it is a bargain at $40, and will provide hours of entertainment.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Delta Green: Countdown
Author: Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy, John Tynes Category: game Company/Publisher: Pagan Publishing Line: Delta Green Cost: $39.95 Page count: 424 ISBN: 1-887797-12-2 Playtest Review by Jonathan Witt on 08/24/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Conspiracy	When Pagan Publishing released Delta Green, their Call of Cthulhu sourcebook of modern conspiracy/horror, it was the best COC supplement ever. Pagan ups the ante in their new book Delta Green: Countdown (from here on DGC). DGC bills itself as "...Reaching wider and digging deeper to map the terrain of the twisted pulp apocalypse we call the dawning of the 21st century." That is an excellent way to put it. Just like Delta Green, DGC's main bulk deals with the various weird and shadowy organizations that are the movers and shakers in the hidden world of the paranormal. As always, just beneath the surface of seemingly "normal" conspiracies and government agencies lies the specter of the Cthulhu Mythos, waiting to be discovered. Each of the eleven new groups introduced in DGC gets its own chapter, and the quality for these remains consistently high. These groups range from a bizarre Russian cult known as the Skoptsi, to a shadowy government testing center called the Outlook Group, to Phenom-X a TV show that always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time. The chapters on GRU SV-8 and Pisces, the Russian and UK equivalents of Delta Green are especially good. The designers really captured the feel of Cold War competition that persists to this day. GRU SV-8 even feels like a real modern Russian government agency, budget crunch and all. With the new potential allies presented here, the players have the option of going overseas in their battle against the Mythos. Also of note was the chapter on the Hastur Mythos, "A twisted skein of surreal destruction weaving its way through humanity." The Hastur section was just plain creepy, full of clever ideas on how to slowly work the Hastur Mythos into an ongoing campaign through seemingly random encounters and minor scenes. In addition, the Keeper gets rules for new skills, new spells, new tomes, psychic powers, dossiers on paranormal life forms, and over 100 pages of new profiles on international law enforcement agencies. Finally, the authors included two new adventures and a new "mini-campaign." The first adventure, "A Victim of Art" deals with mysterious murders in a small town. I liked it because of its simplicity. It was a perfect example of what a "normal" Delta Green adventure should be. My investigators played it through in an evening, and enjoyed it. The second adventure, "Night Floors" was very well done, perhaps the best Delta Green published adventure I've seen. It takes the players on a surreal ride, and throws them right into the heart of the Hastur Mythos. But maybe I'm just a sucker for the King in Yellow... The last adventure, billed as a "mini-campaign" was a little disappointing. Rather than being a mini-campaign, "Dead Letter" was simply a slightly longer adventure. On the plus side, if one doesn't expect anything more, it is a well crafted adventure, excellent for introducing players to the Karotechia, the occult wielding Nazis of Delta Green. As much as I liked DGC, there were several problems with it. At $40, this is an expensive book. However, at over 400 pages the buyer gets what he pays for. The cover illustration of Nazis in full uniform with a Swastika flag behind them also bothered me. The Nazis in Delta Green play very similar roles to the Nazis in Indiana Jones, but one wonders why Pagan used this cover when the Karotechia only appears briefly in DGC. I understand that Pagan doesn't support Nazis or anything like that, but I wouldn't really want to leave this book out in public, people could easily get the wrong idea from the cover. Also of note was the 100 pages of new law enforcement agencies from around the world. Many of the organizations detailed were useful. "What sort of law agency are my Investigators going to run into while in Iraq?" Now I know. Also, players can now be investigators from other countries. I think a Mossad campaign might be cool. Even so, at more than 100 pages, it was too long, and in some cases seemed like filler. Minor (very) details aside, buy Delta Green Countdown. It is everything that made Delta Green so good, but more of it. With a page count so high that it is almost bigger than the original Delta Green book and the Call of Cthulhu book combined, it is a bargain at $40, and will provide hours of entertainment. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)