Skipping class may have been the smartest thing you ever did, in this supernatural mathematical scenario
The Last Equation is the first proper Delta Green scenario I’ve run since Need to Know. Playing the introductory story with the quick-start rules was enough to sell me on the system – it’s so much fun.
This was a very easy scenario to run because there aren’t too many rails to manage. One need only remember the locations and overall plot – you can fill in everything else with flavour. Players often go off track, and this is one adventure where you can give them a long lead.
Setting
It starts as things often do, beneath the pen of a brilliant but quite mad scholar, centuries ago. Forgotten by most, his works still linger on a few dusty bookshelves. A perplexing equation written by this lunatic has been the subject of interest for many over the years – the latest being a mathematical student at Columbia University. Solving the equation leads to seeing patterns in the fabric of reality, and glimpses of the future. Naturally this was bad for the young fellow’s mind, and he kicked off the setting by introducing an entire family to the nasty end of a shotgun.
It’s a grim scene for the agents to investigate, but they have their orders – remove all traces of the equation and deal with anyone exposed if they have an advanced mathematical background.
You can run this knowing only the background of the student Michael Wei and the details of the main locations. That said, there are a couple of NPCs who can make things more interesting. You can deploy an FBI Mathematics specialist who rolls into town, becomes exposed to a piece of the solved equation, and gradually spirals out of control. There are also details for a potentially helpful park ranger, a suspicious lead agent, and a useless sheriff.
Plot and locations
The antics of the aforementioned NPCs are effectively the only scripted story. The locations and the investigators’ discoveries will take care of the rest.
Michael’s dorm and a couple of friends can paint the picture of a student who was serious about his work above all else. A copy of the cursed book can be found, along with scribblings and notes. His computer has evidence that he shared the equation’s solution with others online. A good angle for expanding the adventure or tying into the next.
A police station is the other key spot to investigate. Michael’s scribblings contain the lat/long of the station, along with a date and time. This is where the true power of the solved equation becomes clear.
That’s the general overview; one can’t rip off the author’s work and post too much detail!
Playthrough
My players went to Columbia University first, which was unexpected. They found the important information…. and mentioned the book to a maths professor.
Next was the crime scene, where agents nearly blew their cover by entertaining the questions of a reporter. One investigator was an asshole to the lead agent and came under suspicion. He followed them around for a bit, was confronted, and sped off.
They looked into the serial number of the gun and discovered it came from the police station. They called the station, spoke to the quartermaster, and suggested that he contact his union rep.
Digging through Michael’s laptop revealed that his uncle has put him onto the equation with a vague email. This is a divergence from the scenario as written. His uncle had been possessed by an evil spirit – the same spirit that featured in the free Last Things Last adventure. They also found that Michael had sent the equation and its solution to a maths and cryptography group.
They took a trip to the uncles house and found his corpse. It reanimated and did some serious damage. The team cleaned up and decided to call the lead agent to try and get some goodwill on the go. His arrival was far too prompt; he must have been in the area. Sure enough, the gang found a GPS tracker strapped in their car’s wheel arch.
The professor clearly decided to do a little homework after the investigators mentioned the book. A report came in that there has been a shooting at Columbia University. A packed lecture hall was the next grisly crime scene. The lecturer had put a string of numbers on the overhead projector before turning the gun on himself.
Local CSI had already taken photographic evidence, so the group trashed the number and took a trip to the police station. They convinced the quartermaster that they were on his side and would put in a good word – all it would cost is a bit of inter-agency cooperation.
The photographs destroyed and the police CCTV feed perused, thing looked like they might be coming to a close. There was just the matter of those pesky cryptography group members.
This went a bit off the rails. They invited the lead agent and all of the members to a meet and greet; the venue had been rigged to blow, and blow it did. In their defence, we were a couple of bottles of wine in at this point.
Thoughts
This adventure was very easy to run. There’s plenty of depth, but you don’t need to include much of what’s provided if the game is carving its own path. It took us two sessions to get through the material. I threw some extra in, but that merely replaced what I chose to skip. This is easily doable with one session of around four hours.
It’s also reasonably priced at only $4.99 on DriveThruRPG. So if you fancy a sandbox Delta Green game, check this out. I’ll be running Observer Effect next; that looks to be the polar opposite.