Raxacoricofallapatorius

My dad just died.

I'll be praying for you an your family Nat, so sorry about your dad.

PM me sometime, I'll read you creepypastas on Skype.

Mission: Earth

I'm loathe to drop out of an RP but the story seems to have come to a stop.

The Bureau of Unconventional Crime

FiroIV said
With regards to the skills shat kind of skills are we allowed to choose? Can it be something fairly normal such as being a computer genius or having and eidetic memory, or can be something fairly supernatural like the ability to see and hear things that aren't there, and maybe something even more superhuman?As for the background is it necessary to have had a life that is involved in criminal investigations? What I mean to say is that are we allowed to make a character that has not formal or any experience in criminal investigations, but have had experiences dealing with the unusual in an investigative way? Going beyond that is it necessary that their history is that on the side of criminal investigators or are we allowed to have a character that was on the side of making crimes, unusual or otherwise, that needed investigation?

All skills are those that any normal person could conceivably have, whether they have a natural knack for solving puzzles or they've worked very hard to develop their own investigative or observational skills. Super-human skills or abilities are not allowed.

As for the history, you do not need to have past experience in police work, or working with the law etc. to be applicable. Perhaps you're just an excellent problem-solver, or maybe a professional chess player with no history of investigative work or criminal justice at all.

Vulpes said
How much time we have to post our cheets? I'm considering submitting one, but I'm leaving for a holiday trip from Monday till Thursday. Also, how dark this RP is supposed to be? Is it Death Note style darkness, where manipulation and killing exist but there are also some funny moments? Or something lighter or darker?

There's no time limit right now, I'm waiting for more people to show interest at this point and I'm loathe to rush into things because haste makes waste after all. The IC will not start up for another week at least, and I'll be out of town Thursday through Sunday this week.

As for the style of RP, it will be pretty serious and dark, but there's always room for humor and lighthearted moments. The overall mood will be determined by all characters' reactions to the situation at hand, and so even if I say this is supposed to be dark you all might go off and be goofballs IC. I'm going for a fairly realistic approach on the whole.

So today...

HollywoodMole said
How do people not know about Star Wars?

Their parents don't love them.

Chik-fil-a just gave me a free meal

I guess they do that when you show up dressed as Spider-Man.

The Bureau of Unconventional Crime

Crya said
One question: Will this roleplay be actual magic realism or just feature crimes that "seem" supernatural but have actual explanations?

If I told you that then what's the fun of solving it?

In all seriousness though, it will vary. Some will appear to be supernatural but have a natural cause, some may be caused by supernatural phenomena. It all depends on the case.

So today...

That's cute.

I get sad these days when I meet kids (not even that much younger than me) who have never even heard of Star Wars.

And they say I'm the sheltered one.

The Bureau of Unconventional Crime

The moment you've all been waiting for.

The Bureau of Unconventional Crime

You have been asked to join a special task force working with the police but not directly under them. Because of your intelligence, maturity, and skills you have been singled out among your peers to join the Bureau of Unconventional Crime (or the BUC). The BUC has been in operation for more than a decade and is mostly unknown to the general public. As the name suggests, the investigators specialize in solving particularly unusual crimes, especially ones in which there appears to be supernatural or otherwise unexplained by logical means. This organization falls under the authority of no particular governing system, but rather acts as an independent agency that works with various nations globally in solving these cases.

The letter you received informed you of the location and time you were to report to the BUC Headquarters in Minneapolis, and included a plane ticket. You had 48 hours to put your affairs in order before departure. It is late at night when your plane lands, and a car is waiting to escort you to what will soon become your new home: a high-rise building with mirror-windows. Inside it appears to be no different from any other office building, with a from desk and the first few floors being composed of cubicle and computer lap workplaces, which you observed while traveling up the glass elevator. However, the top floors were much different and obviously were meant to be comfortable living spaces. You are shown to your room, a luxurious apartment that is perhaps drastically different from where you came from, or perhaps it’s a step down from your old home.

Whatever the case, you don’t have much time to settle in, because in a little less than an hour you will meet your employer and fellow recruits for the first time, so you’d better clean up and try to make a good first impression.

Mister Smith

Meet your employer, Nicolai J. Smith, a veteran British Intelligence Agent recognized as a genius in his field. With over three decades of police detective work under his belt and that awful outdated fedora, it would seem that he is as serious about the BUC as he is about his fashion sense. As zealous as he is for the cause, he doesn’t get out into the field as often as in his younger years. However, he is no less involved in any of the investigations.

Hope you don’t mind his fondness for Cuban cigars.

The Rules That You Must Read

1. All general RPG guidelines apply, you know what they are.
2. All character sheets will be submitted directly to me via PM, any character sheets posted in the OOC without my seeing them first is automatic disqualification. This rule is so I can be objective about which characters to accept and keep them in order. All accepted characters’ CSs will be posted in the OP of the OOC for quick reference.
3. All characters, prior to their acceptance, must pass a player-specific test administered by me via PM. This is to assess whether or not your role-playing style will be a good fit for the RP. Players who fail to pass the test may not re-apply to join.
4. Regarding post length I prefer quality over quantity. In your posts you must be able to respond to your environment and the people/events involved, remain in-character, and contribute to progressing the story. Players who cannot consistently post in this way will be disqualified.
5. Regarding time between posts, I can tell you now that it may vary greatly. I myself am often too busy to consistently write in-character posts every week, and sometimes I have spurts of free time and inspiration and can write non-stop all week. It comes and goes and so I am very understanding of people who struggle with making time to post, so there is no time limit for posting. However, I require that there be open and frequent communication by all players in the OOC, even if you don’t have time to write a post please come by the OOC to talk to us, I will not pressure you to post if you’re having trouble.
6. For infrequent posters, keep in mind that we may be forced to continue the story without a post from you, and you must be able to keep up with reading and compensate for lost time when you do post (responding to everything that happened between now and your last post). If you’re having difficulty with what to post, PM me and we will work it out. Don’t just post in the OOC with excuses, you can of course explain why you’re taking so long but please stay engaged with the story and other players even if you can’t post. Players who do not engage will be told they either have to work that in or leave the RP.
7. Regarding NPCs and other elements of the story, please use them as you think they are needed. I will be doing most of the work regarding plot development and it’s your job to have fun on this playground I’m building for you, so to speak. I do encourage you to voice your opinions and ideas in OOC chat. Communication between players is very important.

This is a psychological RP and as the GM I reserve the right to conspire with individual players for the purpose of plot devices.
I also reserve the right to kill any character without notice (but I will most likely give you a heads-up before it happens). For players who fail to post and engage in OOC participation for an inconvenient amount of time, your character’s murder will be the next one we investigate.

As a final note, I reserve to add to/change the rules as I see fit. As a sign that you have read them all, please include the phrase, “Elementary, my dear Watson” in your CS. Needless to say, if the phrase is not included, you will be disqualified. I don’t like people who jump into RPs without reading the rules first, it shows poor character (no pun intended).

Character Sheet:

(Remember, all CSs must be submitted to me directly via PM before they can be accepted)

Name: (First/last)
Appearance: (Preferably a picture, photographs and any art/style portrait is acceptable)
Age and Sex: (As young or old as you want, however if a character is younger than 16 please have a convincing explanation as to why they are qualified to investigate brutal or unusual crimes in an organization that supersedes the police)
Strengths and Weaknesses: (Everyone has them)
Brief Biography: (Just a quick background check, I don’t need your life story, only what kind of person your character is, and I prefer character development to happen IC, because that’s where we really get to know you. Include qualifications for being chosen e.g. education or experience in the field of criminal investigation)
Special Skills: (Why were you chosen for this organization? Keep in mind that skills must be demonstrated during the Test and may only be what a normal human could conceivably be able to do.)

Accepted Characters:

Nathan McCoy Sc.D.

Name: Dr. Nathan McCoy

Appearance:


Age and Sex: 36 and Male

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Weaknesses:

-In the event of an emergency (such as an imminent car crash) he locks up and his attempts at warnings become unintelligible gibberish.
-McCoy is a terrible shot.
-If he is overconfident about something, then he'll likely fail at that something.
-He has a minor case of red-green color blindness and a minor case of blue-yellow color blindness(it doesn't really hinder him, but I thought that this is the most appropriate place for it).

Strengths:

-Sc.D. in Psychology.
-Decent deductive skills. His skills are not comparable to that of Sherlock Holmes, elementary, my dear Watson. However, he is able to see through what most would discount as nothing or perhaps coincidence.

Brief Biography: (Personality then?) Nathan isn't the type of person to get involved in a situation, unless, of course, it affects him - his life, his job, or his general well being. The man isn't selfish, he simply wants to observe the actions another human takes in a stressful situation. He's a thinker, not a doer. However, if he finds that he is in danger, he acts to get himself out as soon as possible. He doesn't get along with others well, they usually find him to be boring, or too talkative and socially awkward. He has above average deductive skills and has made playing chess a hobby.

McCoy attended Johns Hopkins University where he earned his Sc.D. in Psychology. He has works in NYU as the director of the Department of Psychology, though he doesn't do as much directing as his associate director does, McCoy spends most of his day researching.

He has been asked to consult with the NYPD investigations division multiple times because of his understanding of the brain and how it functions. This is where his deductive skills come from, his knowledge of how the mind works.

Special Skills: McCoy was chosen for the BUC because he is one of the only psychologists in the United States who is a Doctor of Science rather than a Ph.D., a Psy.D., or an M.D. This is to say that he doesn't just think or teach about the brain or just acts as a medical doctor of psychology, but rather, he actively pursues and unlocks information, theorizes, and questions our knowledge of the brain. He's been asked to help the NYPD multiple times because of his deductive skills.

Stuart Front

Name: Stuart Front
Appearance:
Age: 30
Sex: Male
Strengths and Weaknesses: Stuart's strengths are those of the mind. He is fiercely intelligent, and not in what he considers a stuffy, old-fashioned way. He knows about current affairs, social demography and all the latest technology in addition to a slightly thinner grounding in more classical subjects. While he is more focussed on the social sciences, as both more interesting to him personally and far more useful than other subject, but he is a bright man that can turn his hand to any subject. He is very dedicated, and while he is not universally encyclopaedic, he will heavily research a topic where it is important to do so. He is extremely cautious in this regard. However, he is a physically lazy man, that does not, and never really has, done 'menial' – to the point of irritability when forced to do such things as collecting his own groceries or driving himself around. The divide in Stuart is largely dictated by this mental / physical dichotomy. While he has the confidence and the intellectual assets to threaten and coerce others in a social environment (ideally with the distance provided by telephones and emails) but he will not stand up to any physical countering, and will immediately surrender. He's used to domestic and office-type scenarios, where his particular brand of dirt-digging, bribery and blackmail are effective but isn't accustomed to a more varied environment where physical force and handiness may have their own weight too.
Brief Biography: Stuart grew up the youngest brother of three siblings to a middle-class family in middle England. He was the youngest by far, and always a little spoilt and unfriendly. Nevertheless, a private school got him good grades and secured him a place at Oxford University, studying PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics), the course every powerful figure going into politics takes. While disinterested in party politics themselves, Stuart ensured that his name was around as a powerful figure, and the Conservative Party took him under their wing. Over nine years, Stuart rocketed through the ranks, not as a politician per se, but an adviser, press liason officer and general enforcer, making sure that those in the party, and often those not, did as instructed. Unfortunately for Stuart, he got a little too enthusiastic in his job, using close, and strictly speaking illegal ties with powerful figures in the press to sweep one wing of the party into power, taking, naturally, him with them into almost the top dog. However, a miscalculation and a botched alliance had him caught out before he could make the right moves – immediately, his name was in every newspaper. While ultimately acquitted from those crimes of corruption, his name being mud made it impossible for him to get another position anywhere near his old level and certainly never trusted in the United Kingdom again, he finally turned his attention to those letters he'd been receiving from the BUC.
Special Skills: Nothing really. He's socially savvy, and can generally charm or threaten the average person.

Captain Daniel Crowley

Name: Daniel "Danny" Crowley

Appearance: (kindly ignore the nameplate)


Age: 33

Sex: Male

Strengths: Danny is a patient man who attempts to be calm, fair-minded, and reasonable at all times. He is committed to doing what he feels to be the right thing, even when it is not to his advantage, and generally living in the spirit of his faith. He is disciplined and methodical in his pursuits due to his Army career. In addition, he is deeply fascinated by the supernatural and approaches it with great energy and enthusiasm.

Weaknesses: Danny is highly skeptical of modern science and the implications thereof. He refuses to lie, cheat, or break a deal, even when it would be sensible or advantageous to do so. His attempts to offer moral and spiritual guidance may easily be preachy, trite, or self-righteous, alienating others in the process. Additionally, despite his military experience, he has not once seen combat.

Brief Biography: Born in Philadelphia to a Catholic family, Danny Crowley felt a longtime urge to serve both his country and his faith. He attended seminary in Pennsylvania, as well as a Vatican-approved class in the Rite of Exorcism (due to his personal interest in the occult). Upon being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, he enlisted in the United States Army as a chaplain. Volunteering for Ranger School and passing all tests given, he was attached to the 75th Rangers, being mostly rotated throughout rear-echelon staff positions.

It was during an otherwise uneventful posting in Germany that Danny's career took an abrupt turn. A young private in the Rangers was stricken by a bizarre affliction, speaking in languages he did not know and lashing out at others with inhuman strength. Base doctors could find no actual physical or mental illness. In desperation, the unit's CO turned to Crowley, their chaplain, who could think of nothing but to perform the Rite of Exorcism. Surprisingly, it seemed to work, and the private was able to return to normal duty with no recollection of the events.

Afterwards, Danny Crowley was suddenly transferred to the Criminal Investigation Command (CID), the detective wing of Military Police. Though still designated a chaplain, he was given training in basic investigation, he was told that the CID needed a dedicated specialist for investigating what was called "hoodoo cases"- cases that seemed to involve paranormal elements. The hoodoo cases often lacked a real resolution, no declaration of "Elementary, my dear Watson", but Crowley did his best to get results. Now, it seems he has been transferred yet again, ordered to report to Minneapolis indefinitely.

Special Skills: Crowley is an ordained Roman Catholic priest and trained in performing exorcisms. In addition, he has passed the basic requirements of Army Ranger School. He has basic policing skills and some experience in investigating occult phenomena.

Special Agent Alexandria Cooper

Name: Alexandria (Alex, Lexi) Cooper
Appearance:Elementary, my dear Watson.

Age: 28
Sex: Female
Strengths: Intelligent and quick thinking, Alex is a woman who can rely on both her gut and analytical skills. She’s great at finding people who do not want to be found. She’s exceptionally fit and can handle weapons with ease. Her bold, outgoing personality in conjunction with an eye for detail when it comes to people makes her fantastic at gaining information from others and becoming a social chameleon.

Weaknesses: Though she seems perfectly friendly and sociable most of the time Lexi doesn’t trust people, at all. Her entire career has been to manipulate people so she assumes everyone else is attempting to do the same to her. Her grasp on any kind of forensic or technological intelligence gathering is light at best. Several combat deployments have left with a mild to mid, undiagnosed case of PTSD (easily starts from loud noises, regular insomnia or nightmares, and can become uncomfortable or even slightly paranoid in large crowds on occasion) that she stubbornly refuses that she even has, let alone seeks treatment for. She has a tendency to recklessly put herself directly in harm’s way so long as it helps her complete her investigation/mission without regard to her own well-being.

Brief Biography: Alex enlisted in the US Army at the age of eighteen with aspirations of using the experience as a springboard into getting herself into her dream job, an agent in one of the alphabet soup agencies (FBI, CIA, DIA, NSA, etc.). She chose the military occupational specialty (MOS) Human Intelligence Collector, or more commonly known as an interrogator where she was taught both direct and indirect interrogation techniques, source operations, and analytical processes. Always having been street wise and sociable, Alex excelled at her job and was quickly recognized by her superiors and was commonly promoted above her peers.

After almost four years as an interrogator with a combat deployment to both Iraq and Afghanistan under her belt, Alex applied to become an army counterintelligence special agent to buff up her résumé even more. Her sterling military career meant that she was quickly accepted into the program and several months of training and a year of probation later she became a full-fledged, badge toting CI agent. She spent some time working as a liaison in Washington D.C. where she was required to become fluent in Russian and Iranian Farsi, but the vast majority of her CI career was spent in the field (both within and without of the United States) where her main objective was to detect, neutralize, and exploit counterintelligence targets as well as conduct investigation of crimes such as sabotage, sedition, espionage, and treason. Basically, she was a spy hunter… and a damned good one at that.

Alex recently came into the time period of her enlistment where she had to decide if she would like to continue to serve or leave the military and she had full intentions to keep with her army career until she was contacted by the Bureau of Unconventional Crime and offered a position. After time to do a little research on the matter and some soul searching, she made the leap and decided to start a new chapter in her life.

Special Skills:
Interrogations: her military career has given her ample opportunity to perfect her interrogation techniques. She is exceptionally skilled at covertly (or not so covertly) manipulating and questioning people to get the information she needs as well as reading peoples’ body language, intentions, feelings, and other subtle human behaviors.

Investigations: Though she has no experience in investigating with what might be considered ordinary crime (theft, homicide, fraud, etc.), Alex is very competent in taking a little bit of nothing and digging until she has something substantial as most CI related crimes are very subtle in nature. Pure tenacity, stubbornness, and a knack for finding those trying to stay hidden allow her to work virtually nonstop until she completes her mission.

Military training: In Alex's nearly ten years of military experience she has been on several deployments, become fluent in two languages, worked in both official and clandestine capacities, and has traveled around the world. She is proficient in firing just about any weapon in the US Army arsenal, tactics, close-quarter-combat (room clearing, urban warfare, and the like not hand-to-hand, though she wouldn’t balk at punching someone in the face who needed it), and retains exceptional physical fitness.

Alexander Biermann

"Elementary, my dear Watson."

Name: Alexander Biermann

Appearance: Biermann may wear more of a trench coat and perhaps a scarf.


Age: 49

Sex: Male

Strengths - Deductive reasoning skills. He’s more skilled than your average detective and sees through most things, he second guesses almost everything that is presented to him. He’s good with a pistole. He also has skill in bugging a home or building which is to say that he can pick a lock and is good at infiltrating.

Weaknesses - Patience. He has almost no patience in a combat sceneario and will likely run into action without thinking first if he is close by, however if he is far away from a conflict then he usually thinks over his next move.

Biography/Personality: Biermann is a private detective, he keeps most of his history a secret. Though he casually tells people he meets that he’s half German. As for personality: Biermann would risk his life for an ally, however he would do nothing that would cost him his life - he would not take a bullet for anyone. He would, however, infiltrate a building to rescue someone assuming that they've been captured. He usually gets along with people that he’s around, even if they annoy him greatly. He will not hesitate to take a life. If someone discovers him, he doesn't attempt to hide by denying it, but rather, he openly admits to being discovered in an attemp to bide time in order to find an escape.(It's a little jumbled).

Specialized Skills: I’ll rate his skills on a scale of ten.

Deductive reasoning - 6/10 (assuming that most people are a 1-2/10)

Handgun usage - 7.5/10

Infiltration - 8/10

Javier Mendez

Name: Javier Mendez

Appearance:

Age and Sex: 26 , Male
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths
- Loyal – Javier show’s loyalty to the department, one of the guy’s you would see working the dreaded night shift – Sgt. Hills
- Trustworthy – You can trust Javier with anything, he’s a pretty safe guy ya’know? – Detective Molson
- Smooth-Talker – Heh’ he gets out a mess pretty quick, the whole department know’s what happened with the trainee.. – Constable Jones
Weaknesses
- Greedy – He’s known to be those guys who would do whatever it takes to get that extra dollar bill in his pocket… - Chief Williams
- Brutal – In interrogations, Javier is a.. different kind of person – Constable Barnes
- Blunt – Javier say’s the honest truth.. right in your fucking face – Office Montana

Brief Biography:

Javier, born and raised in Miami has always had a intrest for the PD. Javier enrolled in 2008, in the Miami PD. He did his basic cop training and managed to pass on the first try. During his Constable years, he didn’t really have anything to big to talk about. Besides from a fast car chase to a robber running away, nothing really was “eye-opening”

Things changed, when Javier was promoted to Detective in the Miami PD, His first case, Double OD of a couple near to the beach, pretty easy at the sound of it huh? Well not really… The thing was during the investigation there wasn’t any cocaine or nothing. Not only that, but background checks revealed that both of the victums weren’t avid cocaine doers. Nothing fit in, until a probable cause suggested by Javier, Tainted Cocaine. Turns out, the assumption worked out, the pair did a line of cocaine at a nearby club which was apart of a witness interview. The cocaine was offered by a Spanish Male, who turns out was a member of a small time hustling group inside of the city.
With the Cocaine case in his back pocket, Javier recommended that he be given a spot on the Vice Sqaud, after a few months of waiting he managed to get a spot into Vice Sqaud. Since then, Javier has completed 5 Cases, solved 3 Cold Cases and brought down 2 Street Level Gangs and a branch of a Mexican Cartel that operated in Miami.

Special Skills:

Marksmen – Javier could hit a target from a mile away – Sgt. Miller
Great Driver – The way Javier drives reminds me of one of those street racers drifting, so quick and easily.. – Lt. Gibson
Resourceful – Javier tends to be resourceful when solving investigations, even if it’s a cold case – Chief Williams
Vice Specialty – Vice is where Javier Excels, his bread and butter you could call it heh’ – Lt. Castro

===

Elementary, my dear Watson

The B.U.C. Headquarters

Your New Home

The Minneapolis location is a mirror-sided high rise located in the downtown area among the other office buildings. Of the 44 floors, 1-5 consist of administration and offices and 6-7 are board, meeting, and presentation rooms.

8 is the center of security and only security staff are allowed to use that floor, the elevator requires a special key to let you off there. Floor 9 consists entirely of a traditional library and outfitted with computers to access the digital library database, it's a nice quiet comfortable place to research or read up on any subject, some publications are available in multiple languages.

Floors 10 & 11 are records, 12-16 are laboratories. 17-19 is a medical ward/clinic and pharmacy, employees must refer to BUC appointed physicians for all medical needs from the time they enter into employment to the time that they resign or are fired.

Floor 20/21 can be called the center of operations, it is where the members of the BUC will meet to work together and is fully equipped for all their needs. It's technically two floors but most of it is open with a high ceiling with a viewing platform and lounge above. Again only a few authorized individuals (this would be all of you) are permitted onto this floor.

22 is a kitchen, cafeteria, and cafe. Although the living arrangements are rather independent (more on that in a bit) the staff are free to purchase meals and/or snacks during certain times of day. Vending machines are available at all hours.

23-33 are employee apartments, the majority of which are one bedroom, one living room, a bathroom and kitchen, and a personal den/office. They are all furnished and very spacious.

34 to the roof, while it maintains the appearance of floors from the outside, is a helicopter hangar and landing pad as well as storage of special field equipment and a weapon locker, gymnasium, and specialized training ground.

There are 3 sub-level floors storing emergency equipment and laundry facilities.

The Bureau of Unconventional Crime

Polyphemus said
I'd be willing to give this a shot. PCs are just normal human beings, yes?

Yes. I had toyed with the idea of giving characters supernatural abilities but thought that might get too complicated.

Iota said
You have my attention. Also, I noticed your signature and avatar, I see what's influenced the idea.

Hah, yes I have to say Death Note was one of the influences, along with specific plot elements I used in another long-running RP on another site that so far has been very successful and probably other more subtle contributions from other sources. I'm trying to work more on plot devices and character development to keep players interested, since many RPs I've started and/or joined in the past eventually ran out of the "brand-new and exciting" phase and withered away because players lost interest. It's still a work in progress so I appreciate suggestions and criticism.

I'll be posting the OOC later today, so stay tuned.