Mark Rand Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I often see rivalries between intelligence and law enforcement agencies in novels, movies, television programs, and comic books. This rivalry is what led me to have more than one federal agency liaison assigned to a four-color superhero team. One liaison, from the DOSPA, is the government's official liaison. The others, actually agency representatives, have no real authority. They, or their agencies, just think they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Excellent idea. Don't forget state and city police and emergency agencies--they're usually the first on the scene of any emergency, super or otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Excellent idea. Don't forget state and city police and emergency agencies--they're usually the first on the scene of any emergency' date=' super or otherwise.[/quote'] I won't forget them. Unlike the state and local agencies, who keep in touch with the team by phone or visiting, the federal people live at the base. Fortunately, I'm using the X-Mansion and grounds as the basis for the base. That way, there's lots of room. Although I haven't created all of the representatives, I have a few rattling around in my brain. One is basically Ralph Drabble from the comic strip. Another is either married to a former cat burglar or has a lover who was one. Either way, they have a five year old daughter who is under a nurse's care, and on a respirator, because her lungs can't fully inflate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison One liaison' date=' from the DOSPA, is the government's [u']official[/u] liaison. The others, actually agency representatives, have no real authority. They, or their agencies, just think they do. Neat idea. I might go one step further, and give each agency rep different authorities, which often conflict or overlap. So the FBI rep is supposed to be "primary" on, say, kidnappings, but the DEA rep is primary on drug cases. So what happens when the drug dealers kidnap someone's DNPCs? (Conflict, that's what!) Or the local police rep is supposed to be primary for local crimes, but it's not clear if a certain crime has interstate elements or not. On top of that, you have the informal relationships, which may bear little relationship to the "official" roles & responsibilities. So the DOSPA rep is supposed to be the primary contact, but in practice the PCs trust the FBI rep so they rely on his judgment more. Or the CIA rep is sleeping with Captain Libido, giving her more influence than she has on paper. Can you tell I've worked for government bureaucracies most of my life? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison just as a theoretical question, if you had two liaisons and both they and you were invited to the same party, how would you keep them apart? Also, what if one of them found the credit card slip from the birthday present for the other? Hoo boy, it's those kind of problems that learn ya to settle for just one. Or five. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison With multiple liasons you can generate a whole host of plot complications. The two (or more) organizations that these guys work for could compete for your attention (the Small Child ploy), giving more or bigger toys and gadgets. Or they could get both get miffed (you like them more than us!) and both remove all the toys & gadgets they've given you (the Hormonal Teenager ploy). It's barely possible that they'll both help your group on a case (the Buddy Cop Movie ploy), but I'd doubt it. Then there's all teh things they won't tell your group because the other agency rep is in the same room/building/country/planet... Oh yes, true fun can be had. Especially if you build them as having exactly the same abilities, but being exact opposites in looks, style, social skills etc. Example; one agent uses deductive reasoning about the villains characters to figure out where the next attack will be. The other uses amazing technical search skills to narrow the possible targets down to only one. The reasult is teh same, but it'll give your PC's some choices to make in which NPC they go to for information. And that'll help both you and them get better handles on thier characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison The DOSPA representative is John Masters, a middle-aged African-American man who was a high-level Justice Department lawyer before transferring to the DOSPA. He played hockey in high school and college and still watches it. (His wife is a trauma surgeon and their daughter is a medical student at Johns Hopkins.) The team has two sources for toys and gadgets. One is the federal government. The other is Firebird International, the campaign's version of Stark International. The company also funds the Firebird Foundation, which is the team's sponsor. Mariko Yamashiro, the team's technical manager, is the daughter of the company's president and chief operating officer. Since the estate that serves as the team's base is two miles wide by five long, Mariko has to deal with the fact that the equipment from the various agencies is not always compatible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison One campaign I'm in (a pulp era campaign, but this could be done anytime post 1920s) ends up playing off the interservice rivalry and jurisdiction conflicts between the FBI and the Treasury Department (ATF, Secret Service, etc.). Now, in the campaign, there is an agent of each among the PCs, rather than their liaisons, but the same friction could be introduced at the NPC level. Of course, if Treasury suspects your Firebird International of, e.g., importation irregularities, now you get real complications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Weapon Posted October 17, 2007 Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Don't forget the conflict that comes from agencies wanting to push politically useful if unconfirmed evidence. The fact that the CIA says something doesn't neccesarily mean the FBI believes it. So who do you believe? And is your liason ready to stick his neck out to tell you the truth? If so will he do it again if you let it be known he did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mestopheles Posted October 17, 2007 Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison This thread made me think of the campaign I'm getting ready to run... I've seen the value of having police contacts in the past, but in my campaign most "police" are corporate security acting as law enforcement in the corporate sectors of the city. Quick background: Imagine Norfolk, VA has been divided between 4 or 5 corporations and most of the real estate is the direct property of one of these corps. In a given region, if the area belongs to say, FORGE, Inc., any cop you see is going to be wearing a FORGE badge. Two questions about this... 1) If you wanted to have a finger on the pulse of significant events on the area, would you just take multiple liasons and/or contacts? That's the only solution I see since there's no "main office" for law enforcement of the whole city. 2a) What complications can you see in having multiple contacts from competing corps providing you information (I can think of a few, but I'd love to see if you guys can think of more and make me look smarter later). 2b) What are some examples of good info sources you can think of in a heavily urbanized environment that could provide info on the whole city, when almost all the law enforcement, public works, and utility functions are run by sector by different organizations? Sorry for the derail, and thanks in advance for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison The Secret Service has a liaison with the team. Why? Simple. The Vice-President's daughter is one of the city's three Slayers. Additionally, one of her fellow Slayers is team technical manager Mariko's cousin. They'll probably come to her when they need equipment repaired or forensic help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Here's what I have on the liaisons now. John Masters (DOSPA): PS & KS lawyer, 16-; license to practice law; PS & KS hockey, 14-; access to superhero base; various contacts. "Ralph Drabble" (unidentified agency): INT 8; EGO 8; access to superhero base; physical lim, overweight, unable to cope with modern technology. The former lady burglar, the Secret Service agent, and others are going to be taken from Dark Champions, which I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison It occurs to me that, in books and on television, law enforcement types, private eyes, and intelligence agents have some lock picking, security systems, and stealth skills. The team will have representatives from the CIA, DEA, DHS, FBI, PRIMUS, the Secret Service, and an unnamed intelligence agency. The FBI agent is based on Bill Maxwell from The Greatest American Hero, and the guy from the unnamed intelligence agency is Ralph Fox, our Ralph Drabble clone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Zahra Maxwell, no relation to Bill, represents the CIA. She has a thread on this board. It's title is "Black Widow". I'll post the URL later. The representative from the Department of Homeland Security has a former cat burglar as either his wife or lover. He's a stocky, nearsighted, klutzy accountant. She's a classy blue-eyed blonde that's always cool under pressure. They're madly in love. (The inspiration for the lady is Sydney Bristow from Alias.) They also have a five year old daughter that's hooked to a respirator, or medical ventilator, and under a nurse's care, because her lungs can't fully inflate. (Inspired by a photo in a nursing agency brochure.) Zahra and the DHS liaison's lady have a professional rivalry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Here is the URL for the thread "Black Widow": http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60446. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Re: Thoughts on having more than one liaison Something else just occurred to me. Agencies restrict information using the excuse that someone doesn't have the "need to know". To them, it would be logical for the sanctioning agency to do the same thing. Therefore, they have people on hand to make sure they have the information they think they need to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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