On A Liar's Orders (Night's Black Agents)

This week’s post is inspired by a news article floating round the net recently about a pair of German ex-soldiers who tried to form a paramilitary outfit on the urging of a psychic. 

Achim Allweyer, 52, and Arend-Adolf Graess, 60, tried to set up a group of 100-150 ex-special forces to fight in Yemen. Their stated goal was to bring peace to the region, but they accepted there would have to be bloodshed and civilian deaths. All this because of ‘messages from a fortune teller that they understood as binding instructions for action.’ 

Which …  

I mean … 

Even accepting people are weird, how does this come up in any kind of conversation, polite or otherwise? 

You should have the benefit of remarkable energy; learn how to concentrate your efforts on a specified objective and pursue it through to the end. Be cooperative but not too easy-going with your family circle. Don't let anyone meddle in your private life, oh, and by the way, Yemen. 

They tried to peddle this scheme to the Saudis, thinking that if they had the Saudi bankroll they could afford to pay the troopers 40000 Euro a month. The Saudi government did not respond. 

The plan didn’t get very far and the two were arrested last year. This is hitting the news now because they’re going on trial.  

Which brings me round to Night’s Black Agents. 

If ever there was a setting where a psychic could somehow persuade ex-soldiers to form a paramilitary outfit, and be in any way successful, it’s Night’s Black Agents. If this were Dracula Dossier there’s even a handy-dandy candidate: Singleton, the Psychic. 

Imagine if you will a situation in which Singleton persuades former members of Edom’s E-Squadron that now’s the time to form a paramilitary squad ostensibly to help out in [insert war-torn hellhole here] but actually to hunt vampires. If you figure these ex-members are in their 60s now, then they were active in the 1980s, which is a good excuse to use some of the Edom Files scenarios as a kind of flashback moment. 

Edom must keep at least one eye on its former associates, not least because they might be going coo-coo for Coco-Puffs thanks to not getting regular supplies of serum any more. However, Edom’s alertness level probably depends on how powerful Edom is right now. If it’s just a handful of ageing spooks operating out of a decayed Ring, then maybe Edom’s eagle eye is just some geezer watching the obit columns. On the other hand if Edom is a power player then there’s probably a section of an office somewhere with half-a-dozen luckless saps watching every news feed they can get their hands on, praying for the day when the Boffin finally pops his clogs so they’ll have something interesting to report. 

In fact, it might be cool plot action if this was a punishment detail for spooks who got a bit too hands-on with the subject material. Like your player characters, for instance. ‘Until you learn how to conduct yourself in the field, you’re on the graveyard shift.’ 

Then the graveyard shift gets interesting … 

The Eagle has Landed And Is A Gooney Bird 

Through diligent Data Recovery/Human Terrain/Military Science/Research/something else, your agents discover that a pair of holdovers from Edom’s past are putting together a mercenary company. These two were among Edom’s finest back in the day; they’re Edom’s creakiest warriors now. Yet they’re not alone; someone’s giving them marching orders, but who? Does this new player have a supply of serum, and is that how this mysterious Mr. X is persuading these two soldiers back into the field? To which government are they appealing for funds, and why? 

Options: 

• It’s the Psychic, working on his own. He thinks he has solid intel on a new, dangerous Conspiracy threat which nobody’s paying attention to. He’s managed to persuade the ex-soldiers to follow his lead by posing as a genuine psychic – or perhaps he really is a genuine psychic. Who can say? 
• It’s the Conspiracy, working through a handy go-between. It might be the Psychic or it might be someone else, but the point from the Conspiracy’s perspective is to set up a bunch of useful throwaways that the Conspiracy can send on a one-time-only job. Perhaps the idea is to embarrass Edom, or the British Government, or whichever Government the mercs are reaching out to for funding. Or perhaps there’s a more specific target in mind. In this version the mercs have access to serum; no prizes for guessing how. 
• It’s a rogue faction of Edom, or one of the other vampire-hunting organizations out there. They have intel on a specific and very real threat, and they want Government assistance to deal with it. However they can’t afford to be seen to be involved themselves, as it would embarrass their own Government. As luck would have it there are two useful stooges willing to suit up for one last rodeo if it means plunging a stake in Dracula’s heart. If this is rogue faction of Edom then whoever it is doesn’t agree with the direction mainstream Edom is taking, and want to throw a monkey-wrench in the works before things get out of hand. In this version the two ex-soldiers may become mentors for the PC agents, assuming the PCs are the sort who like derring-do, adventure, and things that go off bang! in the night. After all, who doesn’t love explosions?

That's it for this week. Enjoy!