Whispers of the Dead (Nyarlathotep)

Nyarlathotep Triptych by Jens Heimdahl

The Ritual

Contacting the Crawling Chaos is deceptively simple. You just need to distinguish yourself from the rest of the ants somehow. It's the purest expression of the principle behind Delta Green's Ritual Activation rules. You have to be willing to break away from the dull reality of the herd, and those with the lowest SAN and highest Unnatural scores are the best at that.

The operator must follow the etiquette of the Court (of Azathoth). Messages to the Herald were once written on wax or clay tablets. Over the centuries, concessions have been made. The operator must obtain a blank book or notebook of some kind (binding and size at their discretion) and remove all but one page from between its covers¹. Then they write their name, slowly and deliberately. If the writing system of their mother tongue allows for it, they may even write the letters or characters in any order, so long as all of them are present. If anything else is written, the operator has failed to observe Court Etiquette and their petition is dismissed without being heard. Repeated violations therein may carry consequences.

The more familiar the operator is with Nyarlathotep and his relationship to Azathoth, the greater their chances of attracting his attention; apply their Unnatural as a bonus to their Ritual Activation rating. If that isn't representative of their knowledge, the Handler can assign a +10% or +20% bonus in place of or in addition to their Unnatural skill bonus.

If the operator somehow finds a genuine copy of the Black Book, no activation roll is required. They simply pay the costs of the ritual as they write their name on the first page they open to.

SAN Loss Flavor

1-2 points: Nyarlathotep comes to collect the book, stepping from behind a corner, costing any witnesses besides the operator 0/1 SAN from unnatural. His form is mundane and dapper, though his mannerisms may be strange and unsettling.

3-4 points: His arrival is more dramatic. Perhaps he appears in plain view, with a puff of smoke or pop of air. His form may be more unnatural: a man with jet-black skin, starry voids in his eyes and mouth, flayed down to the muscles, or concealing something inhuman behind a waxen mask and pair of silken gloves. Whatever the fact of the matter is, any bystanders lose 0/1D4 SAN from unnatural.

5+ points: Nyarlathotep conjures horrifying visions of the future: cities burning with electric fire, highways of fungus and bone stretched between planets, glowing smoke billowing from rifts in the earth, a spiral staircase reaching for a green moon, swarms of flesh and metal choking out the sun. This costs 1/1D4 SAN from unnatural for everyone besides the operator.

Boon

The operator can Study the Unnatural as a personal pursuit to sift through the Herald's visions of the future in a Home scene². They roll a D4, reduce a Bond by that many points, and lose that much SAN from unnatural. For each point of SAN lost (before projection), the operator can declare one test an automatic critical success. If it was part of an opposed roll, they win the contest automatically. This costs 1D4 SAN from unnatural. Additionally, after using this ability, all the operator's critical successes become fumbles until their next Home scene, or until they successfully activate this ritual again.

If the operator attempts to use this ability again before their next Home scene, they must roll INTx5 to avoid getting caught in a paradox and automatically fumbling instead. This only 'uses up' one of their premonitions if the INTx5 test was a critical failure. At Handler discretion, a critical success may negate the ongoing "crits into fumbles" conversion effect.

If the operator is adapted to helplessness, a successful SAN roll negates the SAN cost when predicting or confirming the future. This does not change the number of Bond points lost nor the number of premonitions gathered.

Blessing

The operator is a messenger of the Mighty Messenger. Anyone who wishes to attack them must succeed on a SAN test³. Failing with Unnatural 9% or less means temporary insanity: Flee or Submit. The attacker is overwhelmed by the operator's air of authority and panics. Or maybe they see the cackling visage of Nyarlathotep as the operator's face seems to peel away. However, they're not hapless victims. Attacking a frozen character or cornering a fleeing one may result in their temporary insanity response switching to Struggle. Don't get cocky.

Attackers with at least 10% in Unnatural do not go insane if they fail the SAN roll. Instead, they become unable to directly harm the operator. They can only attack or fight back to disarm the operator or push them away. Actions like lighting an oil slick, dropping a heavy object, or grappling them and jumping off a ledge are all fair game. 'Indirect attacks' using Kill Radii are allowed, but are not amusing to Nyarlathotep. Thus, the attacker may suffer a penalty to the attack roll as they feel his imposing gaze staring down, daring them to toe the letter of the law. The higher their Unnatural score, the greater the penalty. Additionally, they cannot benefit from the Aim action or the blast-zone bonus for explosive attacks⁴.

Seeing someone freak out for 'no reason' or repeatedly hesitate despite their clear killing intent costs 0/1 SAN from unnatural. If the attacker is an Agent not adapted to helplessness and fails the SAN roll, they lose 1D6 SAN and clear their checkmarks. If they are adapted, they lose 1D4 SAN from unnatural instead. At the Handler's discretion, Agents may attempt to repress the temporary insanity, as per the rules on page 75 of the Agent's Handbook.

Curse

The operator hears a faint chuckle, fading in and out, and feels a cold sense of foreboding.

Every time the operator critically succeeds on a skill or stat test, they fumble instead. This may incur SAN losses from helplessness. This continues until the operator "gets used to it." Then it's not fun for Nyarlathotep anymore. This could mean adapting to helplessness or developing a Disorder. Closing of the Breach (Nyarlathotep) can end the curse early, as would scarring, branding, tattooing, etc the operator with the Elder Sign. That requires a successful activation of the titular ritual and 20% in Surgery or an appropriate Art or Craft skill. 

If the operator doesn't know either of those rituals, they can always beg the Crawling Chaos to end their torment by successfully activating Whispers of the Dead (Nyarlathotep).

Side Effects

• The gift of foresight can be upsetting, even if you're benefiting from it. If the operator crosses a Breaking Point, they will likely develop Anxiety or Depression.
• Megalomania may be more appropriate for someone with Nyarlathotep's Blessing.
  
• If someone views the operator through the Voorish Sign, they see one of Nyarlathotep's masks. It's a different one each time.
  
• The operator is subject to strange and unnerving coincidences: birds stare at them and then fly away in unison, they look up to discover a crowded space has emptied itself while they weren't paying attention, mirrors reflect different worlds, etc.
  

If you're confused as to what this is about, check out this post.

1 Some claim the operator must leave the book intact and write their name on the first page leaving the rest of it untouched. ^↩
2 If the operator activates the ritual in a Home scene, it counts for this purpose.^↩
3 Yes, this means the operator is basically untouchable by 0 SAN NPCs.^↩
4 Aiming is too close to a direct attack, and they unconsciously roll or toss grenades away from the operator.^↩