Delta Green: The Diary of Augustus Castaigne 1855-1857

 Here's a little tome I cooked up when helping someone brainstorm for items to put in a green box during their run of Impossible Landscapes. I based a lot of this on previously held historical knowledge and information from Brett Kramer's free pdf Notes on the Turner Codex, as published by Sentinel Hill Press. I highly recommend you go check them out. 

You can access the Google Documents version here:

The Diary of Augustus Castaigne 1855-1857

A slim leather bound book with yellowing paper, the diary shows signs of water damage but is, for the most part, legible. Beginning on April 12, 1855, the journal identifies the author as one Augustus Castaigne of Natchez, Mississippi, a southern gentleman, member of the Knights of the Golden Circle, and self-described adventurer. The first few passages consist of Augustus detailing his early life as a scion of a slave holding plantation family, his passionate belief in the “Southern Cause” and “Southern Rights,” in Manifest Destiny, and his own destiny to be an integral part for the furtherance of all three. The description is immensely self aggrandizing, but what concrete facts that can be gleaned from it are that his family was in massive debt to creditors, his first and only marriage ended with the death of his wife Camilla of Yellow Fever in 1844, and that in 1855 he has traveled to San Francisco with his 12 year old daughter Cassandra to meet with the filibuster William Walker with the intention of joining his private military invasion of Nicaragua.  

The entries from May 3, 1855 to April of 1857 detail the travel of himself and roughly 60 other mercenaries to Nicaragua, the subsequent battles, the establishment of Walker’s Republic of Nicaragua, and finally the losing war with the Central American Alliance. Augusts spares no effort in vividly describing his role in the battles and the subsequent administration, much of which to anyone with a History or Military Science (Land) of 40% will find highly unlikely. However, the reader will also note an increasing sort of mania in Augustus’s writing, as well as his notably lurid descriptions of battlefield violence. 

The diary takes a notable turn after the fall of San Juan del Sur on April 17, 1857 to Central American troops. Castaigne elects to flee into the jungle with his daughter. The entries from this point onwards get increasingly fantastical, and a reader with Medicine of 60% or a Psychotherapy of 40% can conclude he is rapidly entering delirium, likely from malaria induced fever. He eventually describes finding an ancient temple complex, with several pages dedicated to his sketches of the temple as well as the strange glyphs he finds hammered onto “plates of a alloy forgotten to men of this darkling era.” Any skill rating of Archaeology, Anthropology, or History above base will note all of these are reminiscent of the ancient Maya, but an Archeaology of 40, Anthropology of 60, or a History of 70 will recognize substantial divergences from the norm of Mayan architecture and that the glyphs match no know form of Mayan writing. An Occult of 70 will instead recognize these glyphs to be similar to that of Muvian High-Naacal as described in the much derided Otto Dostmann’s Remnants of Lost Empires. Agents who have read Rites of the Ancient Maya Revealed (aka the Turner Codex) by Maplethorpe Turner will provide the same information about the glyphs, as well as confirming the temple to be consistent with his descriptions of the worship of Kaiwan,  “The Invisible One”, “The Unspeakable”, “Lord of the Great Sign”, and  “Whisperer of Truth”.

Augusts final entries are dominated by him decrying the folly of the Founding Fathers in abandoning monarchy, saying that the “Golden Empire of America is a throne upon which a king anointed by the Lord of the Great Sign must sit.” He then meticulously details his ambitious plan for conquering Nicaragua from his redoubt, and then from there the entire continent, upon which with his daughter he will “found the purest dynasty the earth has ever seen, one that shall produce history as others produce plays."

Agents reading this diary in full with a Military Science of 60% and sufficiently enough King in Yellow corruption as decided by the keeper will see the utter brilliance of Augustus’s strategy as well as be able to deduce how to get to his “temple redoubt”, all it would need to start are a handful of armed men and the right leader…

The PC (or more likely at this point, NPC) trying to enact this plan get a +20% to all military related rolls (artillery, navigate land, military science, etc.) while operating out of the temple redoubt. GMs can either choose to use this as a scenario hook (someone who read the diary operating as a KiY Colonel Kurtz in the jungles of Central America) or as a poignant conclusion to a King in Yellow focused campaign (like Impossible Landscapes).

The Diary of Augustus Castaigne 1855-1857

By Augusts Castaigne 

In English, study time: 2 weeks. Artillery +2%, Firearms +1%, Military Science (Land) +3%, Occult +4%, Survival 1%, Unnatural +3%, Muvian Hieretical Naacal +1%; SAN loss 1D4+1 

Session 15 Play Report: Weaponized STDs and You

 

Syphilis Can Be Cured! 1922

Center-left: "Syphilis can be cured quickly at the onset of the disease."

Center-right: "Neglected syphilis can be cured by a long neat treatment"
Center-bottom: "Consequences of untreated syphilis; Insanity, Paralysis, deformation , stillborn children, idiotic children

The party reconvenes after having successfully secured and cured the werebull Dr Peter Jordanson, and proceed to discuss the political implications there in. Governor Yevseyev personally tied himself to Jordanson in order to show he can bring "influential" people to Arkheologorodok, while also using him to appeal to his conservative base and as a symbol of increased medical tourism. With the beginning of the election, and the Cheech's antipathy towards Yevseyev for that little GSS ambush in the sewers, there's much that can be done with Jordanson. 

After much discussion of strategies, goals, and the political parties, the Archaeology Dorks were torn between backing the Saburov aligned Faith & Works Party and the New National Bolshevik Party of Eurasia. Self-interest took prime position over ideology in their calculus, and they ultimately decided to back the New National Bolshevik Party of Eurasia, as they had more connections and influence with the Nazbols and that the whole underground occult crime thing would probably get a lot easier. As for Jordanson, they've decided to hold onto him for now while they observe the progress of the election and learn more about the Refurbishment Party. 

Session 15 Prep

News

Good evening Arkheologorodok! It's time for democracy, as the three weeks of legal campaigning for city wide elections start today! We have a lot more candidates than usual, and it can be pretty confusing to know who to vote for. Well, I'm pleased to say that we here at Orbita News are going to help!

I'm voting for the first time!

Session 14 Prep

News

Good evening Arkheologorodok! This is Lara Kiseleva of Orbita News bring you this weeks news round up! Let's get to it!

Crowds flocked to the Central Train station today to greet the lawyer and human rights and anti-corruption activist Felix Stolypin as he returned from his four year exile. Before his departure, Mr. Stolypin was known for several landmark lawsuits against the Refurbishment Party and Governor Yevseyev himself, a track record which had landed him in prison several times for  "breach of trust" and "unethical use of evidence." Though his permit of residency was revoked for divisive sociocidal counterobeyance, Mr. Stolypin cited his reason for leaving as being due to death threats and harassment by the Gubernatorial Security Service. 

Addressing the crowd, Stolypin declared he's returned to observe the upcoming election. Though he's legally barred from holding office, Mr. Stolypin declared he believes this election has the potential to be the first real election in the history of Arkheologorodok, and that his Society for an Free Society will be working to help get people to the polls while looking out for any abuses of the democratic process.  

In response, the Office of the Governor released the following statement;
"Arkheologorodok is a strong and proud city that has stood firm in the face of great trails and endured. It has welcomed many American citizens to work, study, and live in its noble buildings and has not suffered for it, so what difference will it make to let some CIA whore come visit to see how a real democracy functions?" 

Session 13 Prep

News

Good evening Arkheologorodok, this is Lara Kiseleva with Orbita News. Here is this weeks news round up.

The city is still reeling from the bombing of Gastev, Elektrichsky, Zhdanov, and Glory of Industry Stations during the morning rush hour last week. Officials from D.I. Dankovskii Hospital mark the death toll at 421, but many people are still unaccounted for. In a video release, a jihadist organization calling itself the Bektashi-Wahabist Union has taken credit for the attack, citing it as a retaliation for the Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Extremism Operation in Abattoir Town. Governor Yevseyev and Commissioner Nikitan have announced that the man referring to himself as the Mursid Shangdi is now public enemy #1 and that every effort will be bent to his capture and the destruction of the Bektashi-Wahabist Union. 

Governor Yevseyev personally reopened the metro at a ceremony at Zhdanov Station, thanking the NOVOST Group for its donation of several high-end metro trains and announced a new effort to modernize and upgrade all aspects of public transit in Arkheologorodok. Governor Yevseyev also announced an overhauled security force for the metro, introducing Amerhan Ramazanov of Premier Security Systems as the new acting head of Metro Security. 

Critics worry that this move heralds the privatization of the metro, citing that both the donated trains and the new security guards are both from companies held by the NOVOST Group. The head of the Committee for Transit wrote a scathing resignation letter and announced his departure from the incumbent Refurbishment Party and his joining of the new Faith & Works Party. Although non official statement has been released by the City Militsiya, Commissioner Nikitan was notably not present at the re-opening ceremony.  

A special midnight mass was held by the Metropolitan Grigori the First at the Cathedral of the Holy Transfiguration on Sunday, where he made a joint statement with Rebbe Isiah Katzmann, Mullah Hamzat Kadyrhov, and Khenpo Lobsang about creating a "bulwark of faith against those that would despoil it in the name of violence" before announcing a coordinated relief fund organized through th Saburov Faith Foundation. Details on how to apply for aide can be found on the Saburov Faith Foundation's website or at participating churches, mosques, temples, or Arkheologorodok's only Synagogue.  

In other news, world famous Canadian benzodiazepine addict and transphobe Dr Peter Jordanson has arrived in Arkheologorodok by invitation of Governor Yevseyev to receive cutting edge treatment for his condition. The Governor personally welcomed Dr. Jordanson at the Central Train Station, praising him as one of the world's leading intellects. Although medical tourism has been a consistent presence in Arkheologorodok for years, this will be the most high profile case, with the city's medical community hoping to see an increase in foreign patients in the coming years. 

Finally, the weekend forecast indicates a continuation of the recent heatwave into the middle of next week. The City Utilities warn of increased stress on the city's electrical grid, and would like to remind citizens that breaking open fire-hydrants is illegal. The NOVOST Group has set up several cooling stations and the city government are offering vouchers to citizens to buy air conditioning units at reduced prices. To apply, go online to HotWar.ark

And that was this week's news round up, brought to you George Carlin's Hard R History Podcast. For Orbita News, this is Lara Kiseleva, reminding you to stay strong, Arkheologorodok Strong. 

The Ossendowski Dossier; An Examination of The Stepnoy Universitet

Dear Mr. Bergstroem,

Unfortunately, I cannot attend our weekly soujourn into the cthonic regions of Arkheologorodok due to professional matters I must attend to. My efforts to understand the powers limiting my excavation of the Homo Slavonis Colossius specimen seem to have run into institutional resistance, and must spend time on putting these matters in order. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, as I know the Club has seen some upsets in its membership recently.

I have enclosed in this letter a "photocopy" (I continue to be amazed at our ability to recreate the wonders of the Slavonics) of a dossier collated by Ossendowski, one of my graduate students. I know you have had recent involvements with the group known as the Materialists, which leads me to believe this document may contain information of interest to you. I hope the intelligence here will prove useful to your future efforts.

Sincerely,

Doctor Luka Semenov

Stepnoy Universitet
(The University of the Steppe)

The View of Stepnoy Universitet from the Professionals Quarter 

See the Sights of Scenic Arkheologorodok! A Primer for New Players

 

"We Have the Will and the Courage to Become Heroes of Our Time"

It has been a long road for Arkheologorodok, and the end is not even yet in sight, yet even now new beginnings bloom. As such, it is useful to take account of the state of Arkheologorodok as of writing, so that new comers may better acquaint themselves with their surroundings. 

Arkheologorodok is what one might call an unrecognized state, much like Transnistria, except unlike Transnistria, Arkheologorodok gained its independence through bureaucratic loop holes, institutional forgetfulness, and a seeming unwillingness of any of the former republics of the USSR to claim it. And so this former closed city of science sits on the Steppe, a magnet for seekers of all sorts. 

In the before time, it was a surprisingly bustling city of science and industry, a by-gone glory it endlessly attempts to reclaim. The city was kept alive through the efforts of its most prominent family, the Saburovs, a strange clan that seemed to materialize out of thin air in 1993 and re-opened the old Abattoir, a bizarre construction in the Southeastern portion of town that looks more like a mountain than a human construction. One would think this would draw comment, but people often find themselves never really thinking about it. With the foundation of their company, Steppak Meats, the establishment of several smaller abattoirs, and assistance to the ailing Stepment cement factory, the Saburovs in many ways came to rule this town.