The Bureau:Main Page

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Welcome to the Main Page for The Bureau.

Introduction

The Bureau is a Superheroic campaign setting where all superhumans are required to register with government, and if they wish to act as heroes they must operate under the auspices of the Bureau of Metahuman Affairs.

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Campaign Concept

Players portray super-powered recruits into a government agency resposible for investigation and response to super-powered threats.

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Formula

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Themes

Where the main theme of PWNSHG was X-Files -style conspiracy, The Bureau will focus more on traditional superheroics. As agents of the government's superhuman threat-response team, the player characters will be responsible for tracking and apprehending metahuman criminal offenders.

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Inspirations

PWNSHG

Darren Hansen's Delta Squad campaign setting.

Civil War:Marvel Comics - ISBN 078512179X

Avengers:The Initiative vol. 1 - ISBN 0785121609

Avengers:The Initiative vol. 2 - ISBN 0785128611

Avengers:The Initiative vol. 3 - ISBN 0785131507

Stormwatch:Team Achilles vol. 1- ISBN 1401201032

Stormwatch:Team Achilles vol. 2- ISBN 1401201237

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Campaign Elements

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Metahumanity

Metahumans, or mutants are people who exhibit traits that surpass the limits of human potential. Although metahuman traits vary greatly, the most common include un-assisted flight, the ability to generate or manipulate energy, accelerated or augmented metabolic processes, and enhanced strength, durability, agility or senses.

The prefix meta- in this context simply means "beyond"; As in metastable, which is beyond regular stability and ready to collapse at the slightest disruption, or metamorphosis, which is the state of going beyond a single shape.

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The Metagene

Most metahuman powers, (as they generally referred to) manifest during puberty. For most metahumans several years of self-discipline are needed before they can control their powers, while some metahumans never gain full control of them. Children of metahumans are more likely to be metahumans themselves than children born of human or mixed human/metahuman parents, and metahuman children tend to have similar powers to those of their parents. There are also humans who, while not metahumans themselves, are genetically predisposed towards having metahuman descendents.

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Registration

Following the development of reliable test for the presense of the metagene, Congressman Milo Dean of Maryland drafted a bill with the intention addressing the growing threats of metahuman terrorism and costumed vigilantism. The Metahuman Registration Act or Dean Act is a United States federal statute that makes it a Federal criminal offense for anyone to

Knowingly or willfully utilize a metahuman ability in persuance to the commission or attempted comission of any criminal act.

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Details

Under the provisions of the Metahuman Registration Act,

All metahumans are required to register their identities and the extent of their abilities with the government. The government is responsible for keeping this information classified and secure.
The government is responsible for setting

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Case Law

Hoke v. United States. The Court held that Congress could not regulate metahuman crime per se, as that was strictly the province of the states. Congress could, however, regulate registration of metahuman identities and abilities.
Cleveland v. United States. The Court decided that a person can be prosecuted under the Metahuman Registration Act for use of metahuman abilities in the commission of a crime as defined in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred.
Gebardi v. United States. The Court held that the statutory intent was not to punish latent metahumans; therefore, the presense of metahuman abilities without foreknowledge or intent to conceal them does not expose the metahuman to punative liability.
Bell v. United States. The Supreme Court decided that simultaneous use of multiple metahuman abilities constituted only one violation of the MRA, not two violations.

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The Bureau of Metahuman Affairs

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History

The Bureau of Mutant Affairs (BOMA) was established in 1988, the culmination of several research projects established in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA's) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) on the subject of paranormal phenomena. DSO began researching the "paranormal issue" in the early 1970's, in response to the worldwide emergence of humans possessing paranormal abilities. BOMA has inherited DSO's vast body of paranormal research and expertise, placing them among the world's foremost bodies of experience on paranormal issues.

BOMA's primary function, however, is to support the government's fully-sanctioned team of paranormal operatives, currently known as the Justifiers. Composed entirely of young American men and women possessing paranormal abilities, the Justifiers act as BOMA's high threat action/response team.

Some of the organization's more important founding characteristics are listed below. Over the years, BOMA has continued to adhere to these founding principles:

Small and flexible;
Substantial autonomy and freedom from bureaucratic impediments;
Support staff drawn from world-class scientists and engineers with representation from military R&D groups, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, etc.;
Management is focused on good stewardship of taxpayer funds but imposes little else in terms of rules. Management's job is to enable the Paranormal Operatives;
A complete acceptance of failure if the payoff of success was high enough.

Today, BOMA is an organization of 200 personnel (approximately 120 of which are technical) directly managing a budget of about $300 million.

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Mission

(DoD Directive 5105.31)

The Bureau of Mutant Affairs, under the authority, direction, and control of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Mutant Affairs), supports the DoD and other Federal Agencies on matters concerning paranormal beings and events; by tracking and apprehending paranormal fugitives from justice; by forming strategic paranormal defense initiatives; and by managing and directing the conduct of basic and applied research and development in the field of paranormal science. During wartime and international crisis, in accordance with national priorities and, as directed by the ATSD (MA), the BOMA shall redirect its resources to support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands in analyzing paranormal planning and action options, and reconstituting paranormal forces.

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Organization

BOMA is headed by the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Mutant Affairs), who also reports directly to the Secretary of Defense, and acts as liason to all three branches of the Federal government.

BOMA has approximately 120 research scientists and 80 other employees who perform professional, administrative, technical, clerical, craft, trade, or maintenance operations. In addition, BOMA fields an action/response response team composed of paranormal operatives, which counts approximately 5 members at any given time.

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Headquarters

BOMA operations are based out of Fort Pickett, a decommissioned Army National Guard base approximately 40 miles outside of Petersburg in central Virginia. In addition to BOMA staff, Fort Pickett is manned by a small complement of regular army personnel.

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