- The Grendel Agency
- A Scenerio Seed for Call
of Cthulhu/Delta Green
From: Morrigan (aj_hide11@hotmail.com)
Date: Thursday, December 18th , 2003
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- I find the name Grendel inspiring.
Here is one of the things I've done with it. My apologies to
any Danes I've offended with this, if I have. The Grendel Agency
939, the Danish government organized the Police Intelligence
Agency, within the Copenhagen Police Department, to act within
the borders of Denmark and in 1939, the Danish government organized
the Police Intelligence Agency, within the Copenhagen Police
Department, to act within the borders of Denmark and its territories
against threats to the national security, much as MI-5 does and
the FBI is supposed to. The PET also looks to the security of
the Royal House, and functions as a security advisor to the entire
civil administration. This force sometimes employed members of
the Copenhagen police as mechanics (physical punishment specialists),
and these mechanics were sometimes referred to by the nickname
"the Grendels" for their skill at, and enthusiasm for,
physical brutality.
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- In 1955, something was found
in Denmark's colonial possession, Greenland. Something terrible.
The secret of exactly what it was is unknown. Many carried it
to their graves. Some think it has to do with the Nazis and their
schemes in Greenland. Others think it might have something to
do with aliens, or with Czarist Russia, which had a known but
little publicized interest in Greenland. Whatever was found,
1955 and 1956 saw covert actions in Greenland, by nearly every
northern nation with the capability, explode. KGB and GRU agents
were present on the island for the bulk of the 1950s, trying
to make the secret their own. Someone, possibly Majestic 12,
employed the remains of the Nazi intelligence apparatus for the
same purpose.
- Denmark was appalled at the
flagrant disregard for its own sovereignty, and turned to one
Kjeld Johansen, one of the PET Grendels, for a solution. Given
resources and a mandate to "create an effective means to
preserve the sovereignty of the Danish state against deliberate
incursion, and to maintain Danish control over Item 482 [as the
secret discovered in 1955 which caused the whole mess was officially
known]", Johansen sought out a particular type of man in
the Danish police, both civil and military, as well as those
Danes who had collaborated with the Nazis on matters of internal
security and espionage: brutal, ruthless men to whom the law
was an obstacle to be navigated, not a barrier to be beat against.
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- On 1957, Johansen unveiled
his agency, officially called Grendel. Grendel's leg breakers
were put to work evicting all foreign intelligence bodies from
first Greenland, then the Faeroe Islands and mainland Denmark
as well. A very clear message was sent: you come into Denmark
with Danish permission or not at all. Grendel successfully repulsed
the GRU, and various American specfor teams as well.
- With treaties governing the
entry of covert action elements into Denmark, Grendel could focus
on reactive enforcement of those treaties, and on keeping the
secret of Item 482. To that end, Grendel established a base in
Greenland near the place where Item 482 was discovered in 1955.
It recruits scientists and academics from throughout Denmark
to study Item 482, while keeping others away from it. When makes
Grendel a player on the world scene is its capability for action,
which is great, and the lengths that it will go to in order to
hide the secret of Item 482. Grendel will throw any and everyone
out of Denmark that it has to, and, if someone outside Denmark
is threatening...
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- 1) the secrecy of Item 482,
- 2) Danish control of Item
482, or
- 3) Danish sovereignty (in
that order),..Grendel will go after them beyond Denmark's borders.
It will take any steps including assassination to promote those
three goals.
- Basically, Grendel is the
very secret mailed fist of Danish policy regarding national sovereignty.
It can, and will, take on anyone to advance the goals of the
Danish state through covert action, going to whatever lengths
are necessary. Beyond enforcing Danish sovereignty through covert
action, Grendel tries to, simultaneously:
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- 1) understand Item 482
- 2) protect Danish control
over Item 482
- 3) keep the very existence
of Item 482 secret
- It is very good at the last
two, and has little success with the first of these goals.
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- Grendel, bog monster and
the misbegotten descendent of Cain
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- Description: Grendel is a
filthy humanoid covered with thick, dark brown, matted fur that
has never been clearly seen, even by those who have battled him
in mortal combat - the hero Beowulf first among them. Grendel
is at least 15 feet tall, when he straightens up, although he
usually moves with a stoop shouldered gait. Grendel has more
or less human proportions and a manlike frame, although his arms
do seem rather long. Grendel's face is anything but human. Grendel
frequently bares fierce, sharp teeth, and his ears stand above
his head like those of a cat. Grendel's eyes are beady, black,
and set closely together. His fingers end in long, curved, dagger-sharp
talons, while both Grendel's fingers and toes are webbed to some
extent. The filth and excrement that mat his fur render him far
more foul-smelling than any natural animal.
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- Exactly what Grendel is cannot
be said. To some, he is a personification of the savagery and
remorselessness of the wilderness, sort of an idea come to life,
what is known as an allegorical being. Although Grendel haunts
the wilderness, he is always close at hand to human settlement,
for humanity is both his favorite prey and the focus of his unholy,
homicidal envy. Others are convinced that he is some sort of
plant elemental. Poetically, Grendel is a descendent of Cain,
the first murderer, whose bloodline was cursed by God. The unholy
envy and jealously that monstrous Grendel feels towards humanity
certainly qualifies as a punishment from God. Some even see a
relict Neanderthal as the truth behind the myth of Grendel. It
is equally likely that Grendel is not a single, solitary creature,
but represents a small population of bog giants. The saga of
Beowulf mentions Grendel's even more monstrous mother, and it
is entirely likely that this fecund beast had other mighty sons
besides Grendel.
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- Whatever Grendel actually
is, he is human enough to appreciate human comradeship, and to
envy those who enjoy the company of their fellow man. Unable
to partake of the pleasures of human society, Grendel is determined
to prevent others from doing so as well. Grendel can and will
both kill and eat grown human beings, often in bunches. Grendel
takes pride in horrifying and humiliating humans with the uselessness
of their defenses. When Grendel besieged the mead hall of Danish
chieftain Hrothgar - for twelve long years, before the coming
of Beowulf - he easily smote down any gates they might have closed
to bar his way and glutted himself on the flesh of those who
hid behind them.
-
- In battle with the Anglo-Saxon
hero Beowulf, one of Grendel's arms was torn from the socket,
a mortal wound. It is the Keeper's discretion if the Grendel
encountered by his victims...err, excuse me...PCs has one arm
or two.
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- Grendel is a near relative
of man's, alien but not utterly alien. Grendel is a perversion
of society's values. He exists just outside the world of men,
and exists seemingly only to assault it. Perhaps the truest terror
of Grendel is when his victims recognize something of themselves
in his loneliness and jealousy. Grendel knows his victims because
he longs to live among them. Grendel always attacks his prey
when it is most vulnerable: when they are at home, a place almost
everyone hopes is a secure sanctuary. Grendel chooses to personify
fear of the unknown and embody the bogeyman. Grendel seeks to
destroy that which he cannot have, human affection. Most players
will recognize Grendel as a savage, unrelenting force to be destroyed
for the greater good, but he also engenders sympathy as the misbegotten
beast deprived of all comfort and solace.
-
- These days, Grendel isn't
much seen. He's still around. There are enough mysterious sightings
of colossal and malevolent beings to be sure of that. Only those
privy to arcane mysteries - those who are illuminated - know
the truth behind Grendel, and whether he is in fact Cain's descendent,
a plant elemental, the personification of the savagery of nature,
a relict Neanderthal, or something altogether more mysterious
and menacing.
-
- Majestic 12 knows, for many
associated with it are illuminated, and these conspirators have
made attempts to yoke Grendel's might to their own dark purposes,
whispering in his ear of his need to revenge himself on a humanity
unwilling to accept the bog giant. If they have ever succeeded,
and for how long, remains unknown. Perhaps Majestic 12 keeps
Grendel captive somewhere, hidden away with the other anomalies
that they have accumulated over their years, in some half-forgotten
facility alongside the wreckage of UFOs and monsters from beneath
the sea, from which he escapes occasionally to wreck havoc. Or
perhaps he is freed from his prison to ravage on behalf of the
shadow government.
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- Who really knows?
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- The black bag operation of
the Danish government knows the truth of Grendel as well, and
have adopted Grendel's name as their own. Some within Delta Green
know, or suspect, enough of the truth, and there are always the
inhabitants of the Fringe who know a startling extent of the
truth, but are too deluded to realize what they have.
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- STATS
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- STR
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52 |
Hit Points: |
55 |
DEX |
20 |
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CON |
50 |
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SIZ |
60 |
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INT |
16 |
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POW |
30 |
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- Damage Bonus: +
6d6
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- Move:
- On land: 10
- In the water 11
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- Attacks:
- Punch/ strike with hand 40% 1d3 + 6d6 [1]
- Rake with claws 40% 1d4 + 2 + 6d6 [2]
- Bite and worry with teeth 45%, [3] 1d4 +
3 + 6d6 [2]
- Kick/strike with foot 25%, 7d6
- Grapple 40%, special [3]
- Armor: "Beowulf's
men rushed forward with their swords drawn, but their vicious
strokes fell harmlessly. Some dark enchantment protected Grendel
from their blades" [4]. Grendel has 6 points of armor. The
cause of said armor, which may be some type of spell, is unknown.
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- At the Keeper's discretion, mundane weapons
cannot harm Grendel at all, only enchanted ones and spells. Since
the purpose of Grendel is provide a physical menace for PCs,
it is also at the Keeper's discretion as to whether Grendel has
regenerative abilities of any sort. If he does, this may be the
mechanism by which Grendel first lost an arm in battle with Beowulf,
and then later grew it back. Grendel's regenerative abilities
should be in keeping with his nature as a brute, and 1d3 HP per
round seems most fitting.
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- Skills: Sneak
80%, Swim 50%
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- Amphibiousness: Grendel
is an amphibian, being able to live both on dry land and under
water. Indeed, it is said that Grendel lives beneath a lake.
Grendel has gills and lungs, as well as webbed extremities that
allow him to swim with facility. In the water, Grendel's move
is 11.
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- Stealthiness:
For such a big creature, Grendel is very stealthy, and his high
skill level with Sneak partially reflects this. Grendel has some
behavioral and paranormal marks in his favor to help him be sneaky,
as well.
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- Behavioral sneakiness: Grendel is quiet. The sagas that feature Grendel as
a character are sketchy on whether or not Grendel was capable
of speech. He is intelligent enough to understand and envy the
celebrations of others. Grendel rarely makes any vocalization,
even when injured. Further, he deliberately walks and moves in
a manner that makes a minimum of noise. That said, Grendel leaves
behind huge, frightening tracks. Anyone trying to listen for
Grendel must win a resistance table contest pitting whatever
skill or ability they are using to detect him against Grendel's
level 80 Sneak skill (POT 16 if a skill is not used).
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- Paranormal sneakiness: Grendel has some power to cloud the minds of men.
Grendel has what are called "the powers of encroaching darkness":
as Grendel approaches, night seems to descend. It grows darker
and duskier until, when Grendel is within arm's reach, a sort
of heavy twilight has fallen. Thus, Grendel has been called the
Demon of Twilight. When Grendel is within half a mile of the
PCs physical location, it is noticeably darker and quieter. As
Grendel approaches, it gets progressively darker and more silent,
until the aforementioned heavy twilight has set in. This prevents
Grendel from being clearly seen. Trying to see or shoot into
the zone of poor perception that surrounds Grendel, or through
it at something on the other side has a - 15% chance to succeed.
Likewise, activities which require the use of sight - including
fighting, reading, ritually casting spells, and so forth - have
their chance of success reduced by 15% within Grendel's zone.
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- Foul Odor: Grendel
does not smell nice at all. Part of this stink comes from the
fact that Grendel is usually damp, and everyone knows how bad
a wet dog can smell. Anyone smelling Grendel must win a resistance
table contest against Grendel's POT 4 stink, or else suffer a
- 5% penalty on all actions as the victim tries to keep from
gagging.
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- Low Light Vision and Optional Offensive
Sonar: Grendel cannot see especially
well in darkness biologically, his beady eyes being too small
and unsuited for such an environment. However, the old sagas
speak of Grendel moving with facility through the darkness, so
it is appropriate for Grendel to have some type of extra sensory
or supernatural perception to allow him to navigate in the darkness.
In game rules, Grendel is unaffected by darkness or other circumstances
that would impair biological sight, such as fog or mist. It would
seem plausible that Grendel, being amphibious, has some form
of biological sonar, a distance perception ability highly useful
for navigating in the dark as well.
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- At the Keeper's discretion, Grendel can also
emit sonar clicks that can be felt as well as heard. There is
some evidence that whales and bats emit sound like this to stun
or discomfort their prey. This "offensive sonar" acts
just like the spell Fist of Yog-Sothoth (see page 208 of the
5.5th edition of the Call of Cthulhu rules), and is Grendel's
sole use for Magic Points (but see spells below).
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- Spells: It
is up to the Keeper to determine of Grendel is smart enough to
cast spells. If the Keeper decides that he is, Grendel will have
1d4 low-wattage spells. Grendel is first and foremost a brute
battler, not a sorcerer.
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- Sanity: smelling
Grendel: 0/ 1 SAN, seeing Grendel: 1/ 1d6 SAN, looking Grendel
in the face: at least 1/ 1d4 SAN, and up according to the Keeper's
storytelling needs
- PCs recognize something of themselves in
Grendel's loneliness (Keeper's discretion): 1/ 1d10 SAN
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- Hooks
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- 1. Grendel can be portrayed as a sympathetic
being [5] and would-be hero if he is encountered by characters
willing to treat him with some measure of kindness and respect.
If he is used as an agent of Majestic 12, MJ 12 stokes his hatred
of humanity. Grendel could become a powerful force for good,
or, at least, some sort of an anti-hero, if he heard the opposite,
and had some inroads into the world of men.
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- 2. Grendel seems to be able to either bypass
or destroy any obstacle put in his path. He might be useful to
Keepers who are looking for a brute force foe to shake players
out of their "comfort zone", by confronting them with
a foe they cannot hide from, and that they must battle to the
death with every resource at their command. Handled correctly,
Grendel is the perfect unbeatable foe, a terrific cudgel to encourage
trigger happy players to think things through.
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- 3. Grendel is also useful as the villain
of a bottle story, like the "Aliens" movies, the unknown
"death bringer". Grendel is already furtive, and tries
not to be seen, so he makes a perfect marauding phantom, as the
PCs find themselves in a remote hunting lodge, or trying to determine
the cause of a plague of mysterious and brutal murders.
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- 4. If the Keeper has decided that Majestic
12 is somehow able to use Grendel for their own purposes, he
is a useful way to introduce MJ 12 to the campaign. As the players
seek the reasons behind the mighty giant they are battling, they
are led to the conspirators. That way a fairly simple smash and
bash adventure swiftly leads into the over-arching themes of
a Delta Green campaign. Basically, Grendel on his own is a useful
villain for a quickie game, but not as a recurring foe, unless
he is chosen to represent the manipulations of Majestic 12.
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- 5. Some people in Delta Green know of Grendel,
and have a fairly good picture of what Grendel represents. This
information can be handy to turn up the paranoia factor for the
PCs: "You knew about that...that...thing?! You could have
saved Tom and Dick and Harry's lives with just a few words, and
you didn't?!" There's nothing like the death of some PCs
that could have been prevented to mess with people's heads.
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- 6. Alternately, Grendel may decide to help
the PCs, with or without their knowledge, as a way to win friends
and respect. Keepers may not wish their players to have a powerful
"ace in the hole" like Grendel (after all, in a pure
fight, Grendel is unbeatable), but they could be encouraged to
rely on the unbeatable phantom, and then experience the horror
of being deprived of their guardian angel, or of seeing their
supposedly unbeatable benefactor cut down all too easily by some
sorcerous or super-science foe.
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- 7. Grendel could also be used as a lure to
get the adventure started. While dealing with the cannibal giant,
the PCs discover that the swamp where they're battling him has
a history of UFO and black helicopter activity. Away we go with
MJ 12 again.
-
- Notes:
- [1] Grendel is said to be powerful enough
to kill an armored warrior with a single blow. Close quarters
battle with Grendel is ill-advised.
- [2]Grendel is a filthy creature. At the Keeper's
discretion, there is a percentile chance equal to 100 minus the
victim's Constitution multiplied by 5 (100 - (CON X 5)) that
a wound inflicted with Grendel's claws or teeth becomes infected,
requiring antibiotics for (100 - (CON X 5)) days to clear up.
- [3] Because Grendel so rarely encounters
a foe the same size that he is - Grendel is fifteen feet tall,
after all - he must first grapple a victim close to his jaws
to successfully bit them. In game rules, in order to bite a victim,
Grendel must first have successfully hit and grappled the foe.
- [4] page 67, Jan B. Berends, "GURPS
Monsters" (Steve Jackson Games: 2000)
- [5] John Gardner's "Grendel" (Vintage
Books, 1971) brings to life a sympathetic but throughly vicious
Grendel that might inspire for these purposes.
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