The men in black
Sometimes their clothes are ill-fitting and their demeanor is very weird. Sometimes they themselves are hunchbacked, crippled or grotesquely malformed. They can speak in a mechanical-like voice or appear to have trouble breathing. In many cases, they have visited isolated farms in hard-to-reach places without any car in sight and walking through mud and goo without dirtying their pristine shoes…they try to pump you for information or they make disquieting remarks about your past or your future. They also have a startling way of simply disappearing after they speak with you. – John Keel, Introduction to The UFO Silencers by Timothy Green Beckley
The Elder Gods lie. There was no war against the Great Old Ones that drove the terrible beings into their aeons-long slumber. When the Elder Gods ascended to their place in the cosmos, they found the Great Old Ones already in their tombs. Fearing the power of the vast, horrible beings, the Elder Gods constructed prisons over these tombs, forged the rites, sigils and seals to keep them dead-but-dreaming. And on each world they found the Great Old Ones, the Elder Gods placed one of their own to act as warden, to watch for and eliminate anything that would threaten their enemy’s resurrection.
In occult literature, the warden of Earth is known as the “Sentinel”. It has no solid form, manifesting as three balls of light high in the sky over supernatural occurrences. The Sentinel takes this shape whenever it chooses to observe events. When it decides action is necessary, the Sentinel manifests as three men. Though the men will share similar attributes – clad in outdated black suits, waxen skin, robotic voices – each man will be unique, sometimes misshapen, each time they form.
When a person has a supernatural encounter, they may draw the Sentinel’s attention. After such an encounter, the character makes a Luck roll. Characters with a Cthulhu Mythos rating must subtract it from their Luck attribute before making the roll. Failure means that in 1d6 days, the Men in Black will form and present themselves to the character. Events of great significance or threat will always attract the Sentinel, though many cults and sorcerers know spells to hide their activities from the being.
The Sentinel most often relies on silence and fear as tools. Most who encounter the Men in Black will be interrogated about the events they witnessed, and given unsettling threats – often making vague references to dark secrets the character holds or their family, especially children – to never speak of the experience. The Men in Black will also insist the witness turn over any evidence, resorting to the aforementioned threats if necessary. Why the Sentinel demands silence is unknown. Simply speaking about the Great Old Ones or the activities of their minions, even from a place of ignorance, seems worrisome to the being.
The Men in Black will eliminate anything they consider to be a threat, including investigators with Cthulhu Mythos knowledge. A character with a Cthulhu Mythos rating who encounters the Men in Black must make a Cthulhu Mythos roll. On a success, the Men in Black will attempt to kill the character by subtle means – such as burning a house down, turning a traffic light green when it should be red, or making it appear as if the character committed suicide.
Presented with a threat that cannot be eliminated by more subtle methods, the Men in Black will emit a white beam of light from their eyes. Anything hit by this beam will be disintegrated.
Men in Black, the Silencers
char – rolls – avg
STR 3d6 11-12
CON 3d6 11-12
SIZ 2d6+6 13
INT N/A 30
POW N/A 50
DEX 3d6 10-11
Mov 6 HP 13
Av. Damage Bonus: +1d4
Weapons: Punch 50%, damage 1d4 + db
Disintegration 50%, damage disintegration, instant death.
Armor: None, but normal weapons do only minimum damage. If reduced to 0 hit points, the Sentinel will reform a Man in Black at a later time to pursue whatever threat destroyed him. There is no escape from the Men in Black.
Spells: None
Skills: Intimidate 80%, Know Secrets 80%
Sanity Loss: 1/1d10 to encounter the Men in Black.
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
