The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Pagan Publishing's Delta Green (click here to see my review). Like previous Pagan chapbooks, it is only available via mail order direct from Pagan Publishing, but don't let this fool you into thinking the book is somehow second-rate. It is easily up to Pagan's usual high standards, which puts it head and shoulders above virtually everything else in the industry.

Machinations of the Mi-Go is obviously inexpensively produced -- the cover is black and white, and there are no interior illustrations at all -- but that can be forgiven. It is, after all, a specialty item, even within the fairly small RPG arena. But what a specialty item. This small book is stuffed to bursting with facts, ideas, adventure hooks and nifty details culled from Mythos fiction, outtakes from the original Delta Green (even with a tome well over twice the length, and probably three or four times the word count, of the average RPG book, the guys at Pagan couldn't fit everything they wanted into it), and other Call of Cthulhu books.

So what do you get? Well, for starters, you get a description of Yuggoth (Pluto to the un-Enlightened) and the Mi-Go base there, as well as descriptions of the Mi-Go bases on the moon and Mars. Chapter Two gives us a detailed description of Mi-Go physiology and society (at least as much as the mercifully limited intellect of the book's human audience is able to understand). Chapter Three delves into the bizarre world of Mi-Go surgery and technology -- and trust me, the nightmarish brain cylinders from Lovecraft's "Whisper in Darkness" (described and expanded on here in loving detail) are just the beginning. Chapter Four discusses how the Mi-Go have interacted with humanity throughout history, focusing on the legends of various Nepalese and Native American peoples.

I hope you'll forgive me if I'm a bit coy about the subject matter of Chapter Five (players read reviews too), but needless to say, if you've read Delta Green, you'll appreciate the wealth of juicy details about certain Mi-Go-related activities in the United States (and their ostensible perpetrators, as well). The book is rounded out by appendices providing a few more bits of information about the esoteric "Cookbook," a new "Mysterious Manuscript" which could make for a very interesting McGuffin, and a bunch of Mi-Go-related spells ("Subdue Human," anyone?).

All of this information is presented masterfully by Dennis Detwiller, who is one of the true geniuses of RPG design. Unlike many game designers, Dennis seems to appreciate that the measure of a great gaming product isn't how much it resembles a novel, or a comic book, or an encyclopedia -- it's what it can add to the game. Machinations of the Mi-Go adds a lot. Not a page went by while I was reading this book where I didn't encounter a half-dozen potential plot hooks, twists, or atmospheric details, all waiting to be plugged into Delta Green operations.

Even if you run Call of Cthulhu in a non-Delta Green setting, you'll find a lot of useful information here. If you are a Delta Green Keeper, this book is a must-buy. Dennis recently reported on the Delta Green mailing list that supplies are already getting low, so order now, or you'll be forced to wait until it comes back into print.

He also announced that the Fate will be the subject of the next chapbook. I can hardly wait.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Eyes Only Volume One: Machinations of the Mi-Go
Author: Dennis Detwiller Category: game Company/Publisher: Pagan Publishing Cost: $9.00 Page count: 50 ISBN: 1-887797-13-0 Capsule Review by Eric Brochu on 09/10/98. Genre tags: none	Pagan Publishing's Delta Green (click here to see my review). Like previous Pagan chapbooks, it is only available via mail order direct from Pagan Publishing, but don't let this fool you into thinking the book is somehow second-rate. It is easily up to Pagan's usual high standards, which puts it head and shoulders above virtually everything else in the industry. Machinations of the Mi-Go is obviously inexpensively produced -- the cover is black and white, and there are no interior illustrations at all -- but that can be forgiven. It is, after all, a specialty item, even within the fairly small RPG arena. But what a specialty item. This small book is stuffed to bursting with facts, ideas, adventure hooks and nifty details culled from Mythos fiction, outtakes from the original Delta Green (even with a tome well over twice the length, and probably three or four times the word count, of the average RPG book, the guys at Pagan couldn't fit everything they wanted into it), and other Call of Cthulhu books. So what do you get? Well, for starters, you get a description of Yuggoth (Pluto to the un-Enlightened) and the Mi-Go base there, as well as descriptions of the Mi-Go bases on the moon and Mars. Chapter Two gives us a detailed description of Mi-Go physiology and society (at least as much as the mercifully limited intellect of the book's human audience is able to understand). Chapter Three delves into the bizarre world of Mi-Go surgery and technology -- and trust me, the nightmarish brain cylinders from Lovecraft's "Whisper in Darkness" (described and expanded on here in loving detail) are just the beginning. Chapter Four discusses how the Mi-Go have interacted with humanity throughout history, focusing on the legends of various Nepalese and Native American peoples. I hope you'll forgive me if I'm a bit coy about the subject matter of Chapter Five (players read reviews too), but needless to say, if you've read Delta Green, you'll appreciate the wealth of juicy details about certain Mi-Go-related activities in the United States (and their ostensible perpetrators, as well). The book is rounded out by appendices providing a few more bits of information about the esoteric "Cookbook," a new "Mysterious Manuscript" which could make for a very interesting McGuffin, and a bunch of Mi-Go-related spells ("Subdue Human," anyone?). All of this information is presented masterfully by Dennis Detwiller, who is one of the true geniuses of RPG design. Unlike many game designers, Dennis seems to appreciate that the measure of a great gaming product isn't how much it resembles a novel, or a comic book, or an encyclopedia -- it's what it can add to the game. Machinations of the Mi-Go adds a lot. Not a page went by while I was reading this book where I didn't encounter a half-dozen potential plot hooks, twists, or atmospheric details, all waiting to be plugged into Delta Green operations. Even if you run Call of Cthulhu in a non-Delta Green setting, you'll find a lot of useful information here. If you are a Delta Green Keeper, this book is a must-buy. Dennis recently reported on the Delta Green mailing list that supplies are already getting low, so order now, or you'll be forced to wait until it comes back into print. He also announced that the Fate will be the subject of the next chapbook. I can hardly wait. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Eyes Only Volume One: Machinations of the Mi-Go