the Shadow Department

Creating Organizations for RPG Campaigns Part 2

There are things that go bump in the night.  Then there are things that go bump in the night, and they howl and shriek, slash, tear, and maim, eat your flesh, and devour your soul.  That's if you're lucky.

The average person may never encounter the horrors of the paranormal.  Others may only catch a glimpse, a brief startling encounter that is soon forgotten, and if remembered, as only a figment of their imagination, or a nightmare.  Then there are those that have full blown supernatural encounters.  In the "business" these are referred to as Abnormal Events.  If you survive the first one, then you seek help, and anywhere you can.

Most people can eventually contact a Hunter, or a group of Hunters.  People whose sole purpose in life is to eradicate evil of supernatural origin.  However, sometimes the situation is bad, very bad, and the Hunters need someone they can call.  This is where the Shadow Department comes in, an ultra-secret faction of the Department of Homeland Security.  It's cover name is the Bureau of Statistical Support, or B.S.S.  The operatives in the field call it "bee ess".

The Shadow Department is fairly new, but not the first department that dealt with supernatural horrors.  The last such group to exist was in the early 1900s, but due to the conflicts in Korea and Viet Nam, funding was abolished.  A recent upsurge in the paranormal and several Abnormal Events,  certain members of the global elite decided that to maintain the status quo, there had to be a means to deal with the threat.  So to combat evil, the Shadow Department was created.

The B.S.S. has a research and technical branch, but it's main purpose is to put foot soldiers on the front line. If deep research is needed the Shadow Department will work with other groups, especially O.R.B.

When an armed response is needed, B.S.S. can send in a Quick Response Team, whose members have been recruited mainly from the special forces of the military  These are the best of the best, and receive even more rigorous training.  One such team is F.O.G., the Fist of God.  It was one of the first teams created, and to become a member the operative has to have Faith.

Fist of God is made of survivors of some of the first operations.  Many, many of the toughest, most well trained soldiers went from hero to zero when they had to face supernatural monsters.  Those with Faith in a Supreme Being, survived the early days, and decided to form F.O.G.  Since then other groups have been formed, each with it's own unusual requirements for membership.

When your community is threatened with the most evil of evils, you want F.O.G. to show up.