Wednesday 10 August 2011

I-CROP



In 2001 the world changed. A complicated and well coordinated terrorist attack was pulled off right under the noses of the global intelligence community. As a direct result, billions of dollars were pumped into new programs, laws were passed, and agencies and organizations were restructured or created to deal with the new reality. Of course, in this climate of fear and secrecy, every single dollar was not accounted for. More than one agenda thrived in this new world of darkness.

I-CROP is only one of many intelligence contractors funded by the U.S. Government. As is often the case, few know of it's existence, and even fewer know what it is exactly that it does. It is listed as a think-tank, with offices in New York, Toronto, and London. Where it appears in official files, the group is described as doing "studies and analyses of extremist groups and counter-paradigmatic organizations."

The Toronto office is located on King Street, in the 17th floor of a modern glass-and-steel high rise. It is led by Dr. Christopher P. Hunter, a stern, pin-striped, middle-aged gentleman who divides his time between the office and various public functions. He has published several titles on counter insurgency, religious symbolism, and occult orders, both historical and contemporary. Apart from a number of analysts, the I-CROP employs a small number of field-agents -- usually independent contractors recruited from a wide variety of fields.

Storyteller's note: This is a preliminary draft for the friendly local conspiracy for Friday's game. I-CROP stands for International Committee for Research of Occult Phenomenons, and is a front for an as of yet undefined group of Mages and/or other supernaturals. I have a few thoughts on that, but for now I see no point in muddying the water with too many red herrings. Ladies, these are the guys who sign your pay-checks. Also, I am in need of a name for this game so that I can assign it a goddam tag.

[Picture source: Daily Dose of Imagery]

9 comments:

  1. Cool. It makes sense for mages to have a front organization. I'm interested in seeing more of your approach to "straight" Mage. A couple of years ago, I flirted with the idea of taking the original Mage background and tweaking more in a real-worlc occult direction (making some of the real world connections perhaps implicit in the material explicit), but I never got around to actually playing that game.

    At this time in the morning though, I'd prefer the IHOP (International House of Pancakes) to the i-CROP. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. this is the sort of game I adore ... so lush, in such a short description

    ReplyDelete
  3. @ Trey:
    When I started planning this game, I found I reverted to the good old days of playing Technocracy. A conspiracy-type game appeals to me a lot more than the local socio-drama of one-town politicking and Atlantean pseudo-mythical mumbo jumbo. I know, I know, I'm being negative again, but that's one of the perks of being an old grump ;)

    The front offers a whole lot of in-game advantages though. The three foremost being a mentor, a common denominator, and a base-line for intrigue. Not to mention that the girls can have access to a lot of neat stuff, without having to spend a whole session scrounging the streets for sub-par equipment and black-market deals. This way, when the black market comes into play, it can involve stolen military hardware, illegal codes, biological weapons, and cursed artifacts ;)

    @ Christian, Zaz & Loq:
    Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope Richard Cross shows his face during your sessions as a villain;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Villain? Surely, he's bound to be a paladin of reason and justice, no?

    There may be a few cameos from one or two old characters. Stay tuned ;)

    Btw, how're your blog-plans coming along?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess it would be hard to make him an evil villain, but idealists can be a pain in the butt too:)

    My blog-plans are going slowly as everything else, but I am still working on it. Trying to decide if I should go for Wordpress with a little help from GF. I find it hard to design a blog with blogger that looks good. I guess it has more to do with my design skills than anything else:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. There are certainly pros and cons for both platforms, although Blogger is easier to get in to, as far as I understand it. It is also more of a community-tool than WP. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

    ReplyDelete