The Glaakeen, an Old Threat for Delta Green

untitled 'doodle' by Asta Daily

In the Handler's Guide, in Glaaki's part of the Great Old Ones chapter, we learn about the Glaakeen (or Servants of Glaaki as they're called in CoC). Most of them hang around Glaaki and presumably do his bidding, but they also show up in Glaaki cults, most famously under the leadership of the Fate's Belial/Robert Hubert in Holy War in Eyes Only. In fan content, they're well suited for the dual role of 'muscle' and 'ascended elders,' a bit like how Deep Ones act in some Cthulhu cults. We're given 'stats' for them in one of Glaaki's abilities in the Handler's Guide, but it is incomplete if you want to actually use them.

The Glaakeen's first and main appearance is in the short story The Inhabitant of the Lake from Ramsey Campbell's The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants. That's where I draw my inspiration from.

Having HP and an attack is a start, but a monster needs more than that to be used in combat. I gave them 12 CON and STR because they have 12 HP. I gave them 5 DEX because that's how much the Handler's Guide's Zombie has, which is fitting because their write-up says it's a template for all sorts of zombies. Unlike your typical zombie, Glaakeen retain their former intelligence, so I gave them 10 INT as that's the score of an average human. I let them keep the average human's 10 POW as well because it felt more fitting for creatures whose bodies contain a small portion of their god's power. Smarter and more POWerful Glaakeen would have their own individual statblocks with more INT or POW.

Stats are a good start, but a statblock also needs skills. Specifically they need Alertness and Athletics skills, but also any others if they're going to do anything besides notice people and move around. Athletics isn't always necessary if the monster has STR or DEX, but it's still useful. It gives Handlers something concrete to roll if the Agents get into a footrace with the creature or it tries to catch something, jump over a gap, or climb a fence, etc. Mobility keys off DEX, and while the Glaakeen aren't fast, they're not shuffling zombies either. Their DEXx5 would be lower than the average human's Athletics, so I gave them Athletics 30%. They're not preternaturally aware in the story, but they're not clueless either so they get Alertness 25% as well. For this reason, they also get Search 25%. Their Unarmed Combat is 55% from their write-up in Glaaki and I gave them a 40% in Melee Weapons as well. It's above the base value like Unarmed, but not by much. Because they don't need to breathe or eat, they can go completely still without making any noise, so I gave them Stealth 30%. Glaaki can control the Glaakeen, but for the most part they remain independent. I gave them Unnatural 5% to represent what they would have learned via insane insights.

Next I named their attacks which is very important for flavor. The Handler's Guide suggests 1D4 to 1D8 damage for creatures with 9-12 STR. I picked 1D4 because it feels appropriately human-scale. 'Spine of the Father' is just a 'spear or fixed bayonet' ripped straight out of the equipment chapter of the Agent's Handbook.

GLAAKEEN – Undead Slaves of Glaaki

STR 12, CON 12, DEX 5, INT 10, POW 10

HP 12, WP 10

ARMOR: see DEAD FLESH

SKILLS: Alertness 25%, Athletics 30%, Melee Weapons 40%, Search 25%, Stealth 30%, Unarmed Combat 55%, Unnatural 5%

ATTACKS: Cold Hands (55%, 1D4 or grapple)

Spine of the Father (40%, 1D8, 3 AP) 

DEAD FLESH: The Glaakeen are more than just zombies, the essence of Glaaki splinters through their bodies, animating them. They are immune to poison and disease, do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep, and take half HP damage from all attacks except hypergeometry and fire. This applies after reducing damage from Armor or similar. Successful Lethality rolls still reduce them to 0 HP. Glaakeen are immune to pain and cannot be stunned or knocked out, only destroyed.

THE GREEN DECAY: The Glaakeen are dead but they decay slowly, unless in direct sunlight. Then they rot faster than any normal corpse, turning to sludge in a matter of seconds or minutes. Bright, direct sunlight inflicts an attack with a Lethality rating equal to the number of years they have been Glaakeen. If they survive, they lose an additional hit point for every 1D6 hours they spend outside of shady freshwater.

FORMER LIFE: Not every Glaakeen is identical as they all inherit the variation of living humans. If one of their stats was higher in life, it replaces the new value. The only exception is DEX as death has slowed them. Their new score is half the original, rounded down. Likewise, their Athletics skill is halved, to a minimum of 30%. All other skills remain unchanged except for Stealth which is increased by 20 points to a maximum of 99%. They may also retain any Disorders they accumulated in life.

SACRED LAKE: When the Glaakeen are near a sacred lake or place of power, their "magnetic" connection to their god grows. Something in the air dulls the minds of would-be infiltrators or allows them to sense the electric fields of metallic or living things. Within 1 kilometer of Glaaki, all Glaakeen receive a +40% bonus to Alertness and Search tests. They can also immerse themselves in a sacred lake to permanently halt the Green Decay after being exposed to sunlight.

SAN Loss: 1/1D8 to see a badly decayed Glaakeen or the chest wound of a fresher one

Dead Flesh is only a more elaborate write-up of the Zombie's Rotting Resilience defensive property. But flavor is important. It also shows that they're vulnerable to fire and that they can breathe or sleep or eat to imitate life. It also clarifies that they can't be stunned or knocked unconscious. This is because they're described as being unaffected by pain and injury. I chose this method over "12 HP and only hurt by 10% Lethality or greater" because 'Lethality thresholds' are bad design and I've personally seen them lead to confusion, frustration, or both many times. The exact reasons why are beyond the scope of this post.

In The Inhabitant of the Lake and subsequent gamification by Call of Cthulhu, the Green Decay is described as only becoming a threat after the 60th anniversary of one's 'antibirth.' Once you've been a Glaakeen for that long you just melt away in the sun. In the Delta Green Handler's Guide, the Green Decay affects all Glaakeen, but is significantly less lethal. Being exposed to direct sunlight simply inflicts an attack with Lethality equal to the number of years they have been Glaakeen. If the Lethality roll fails, there's a chance the ensuing 2D10 damage still isn't enough to immediately kill the Glaakeen. It also reinforces their status as semi-aquatic creatures.

I wanted to represent how Glaakeen aren't vampires and don't vaporize when they step into the light. Instead, they rot as green mold consumes them, eventually turning the remaining bones into a smelly puddle of soup. Of course, if they're old or already rotten enough, they might just collapse on the spot. My hope with The Green Decay mechanic was to allow for a scene where the Agents escape a Glaakeen in a forest by running across a highway on a sunny day. The Glaakeen stands at the edge of the shade, weighing its options, before sprinting through the light. It's horrible, melting and leaving bits behind but it reaches the shade on the other side and falls over in a steaming heap. For a brief moment the players think that they're safe, after all, the old book said sunlight killed them. But this one isn't dead yet, it's got a few HP left and that's enough for it to pull itself to its feet and keep chasing the Agents.

In the original story, whenever the protagonists approach the lake, there's always some indication that something knows they're there: ripples on the surface, shadows in the lake, figures moving in the treeline, etc. I'm not sure if this is canon or speculated on anywhere else, but it fit with the magnetic connection Glaaki has to his disciples, and thus Sacred Lake was born. I only gave them a +40% to tests because I didn't want to turn them into all-seeing sentinels. If the Agents don't do anything egregious or aren't actively being hunted, they can still escape notice simply by having enough Stealth to overcome their paltry Alertness scores (see the rules for resolving skill use without a rule on pages 28 and 42 of the Agent's Handbook).