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Welcome User, please enter in your username and password.
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>Username: ***************
>Password: **************
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Welcome Operator, to Task Force Vanguard

The Containment Box is fully online in a secure facility with two companies of Marines, a platoon of SF qualified personnel, and a nearby National Guard base on standby. Nothing gets into the underground facility and nothing gets out. The landing spots around the C Box are filled with trained killers, ready to pacify or slaughter anything that lands from other timelines or dimensions.

As long as the Box is running, humming along, our goverment is sale from an assassination team popping into existence in the Capitol. As long we do our jobs, spies and saboteurs can't sneak into our world.

However, you are members of an Expedition Team. Your job is to go to other timelines, figure out what is different or the same, locate the enemy, and obtain intel or hamper the enemy. As far as the DSCC Council is concerned, the United States is in a state of war with one or more governments in alternate timelines. These governments have their own Expedition Teams.

The situation is similar to the Cold War, with both sides sending in special forces and spies to undermine the influence of the other.

>The character creation process will happen shortly.

Meanwhile
Location Unknown

"What is the status of the Expedition Teams?" A commanding, aged voice says.

"Uhhhh........." lots of frantic typing and trying not to sweat all over her face. "Expedition Team's 1 and 2 had non combat losses and were merged, Expedition Team is drawing manpower from Expedition Team 2, and Expedition Team was rushed out into the field because the Containment Base is on Lockdown

"There is an Expedition Team 4?" He goes silent. "There...." Another silence. "Where is ********* and ********* "

"He's dead, and he's gone insane, respectfully Sir."

"Bastion?" he says.

"Bastion is still in touch with Task Force Vanguard, but they have been promoted to replace *********."

"And what about Expedition Team Leader 1 or 2? Their second in commands?" he says.

"Kendra Clark has been promoted to Inspector, from second in command of Team 2," she says. "Her former team leader is still in her position."

"They're both women?" He raises an eyebrow and looks at her.

She looks back at him and gives him a sort of knowing look. A look that would get her reprimanded in most sections of the military.

He lets out a deep, heavy sigh. "What is the expected kill loss ratio and how much intel have they extracted?"

"Dozens, if not over a hundred enemy KIA or forcibly taken prisoner,"

There is a silence, but shorter this time. His sigh isn't as deep. "This formation is made from some of the finest weirdos, killers, rejects, and nutjobs we can get." Silence. "I look unfavorably at the casualties we are taking, but we're doing serious damage on not much budget... The Founding Father's and all of the philosophers would be proud... We're just like the foreign legion... We recruit from the alleyways, slums, and institutions... And we get results."

"I'd like to think..."

"Everyone deserves some kind of bonus or raise," he says, with a sweep of his arm. "Send out a memo to all subordinates one level down to keep up the good work, and carefully and respectfully shower praise onto Task Force Vanguard when apt."

"And what about the lack of leadership and direction?"

"I want people brought in," he says. "And I want natural leaders in the organization to be motivated and enabled to take command."

He clenches his fist. "We're going to crush our enemies, ALL of them. The dimension hopping nazis, the aliens... This is our dimension, our responsibility to protect."

"And what about the enemies within? The domestic terrorism? The cabal?"

"We're in the middle of a purge as we speak. Six infiltrators were caught and executed last week."
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Sometime later during the debriefing

"Standby" she says. "We're getting reports that there is an incoming invasion."

"Are we the targets?"

"They're targeting the confusingly named Arizona timeline... Reports say after they put down a beacon, we're next."

"I will start making calls."

This is a play by post RPG game, but there will be more hand holding than per usual for that format.

I think we will start play with simplified character creation and some semi-"session zero" stuff.

>Step One

Can you confirm which Branches you are from, and which subsection you were in?

>1. Department of Defense
1.1, United States Army
1.2, Marine Corps
1.3, Air Force
1.4, National Guard

>2. Department of Justice
2.1, FBI
2.2, Federal Marshals

>3. Department of Homeland Security
3.1, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
3.2, NBC Disaster Prevention

>4. Contracted Civilian Personnel
4.1.2, Engineering/Technical/Mechanical Contractors
4.1.3, Logistics/Support Contractors

4.2, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
4.2.1, Scientific Researchers (e.g., Biologists, Physicists, Chemists)
4.2.2, Data Analysts/Statisticians
4.2.3, Linguistic Specialists

4.3, Essential Support Staff
4.3.1, Medical/Paramedical Staff

>Step 2

You will fill this out in character and it will allow you to causally pick your class and some stuff about your character. Sorta like the old questions you were asked in Elder Scrolls, but simpler and faster.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd33NJr1yLn6A3fpKsy8s-GirM0T633XrXJQ6f4KSglmxP9OA/viewform?usp=header

After people make these choices, I'll be able to give people an example character sheet, a blank, and then give people their placeholder character sheets. They will be simplified for now.

You can ask questions about this process. Also, for the first... Two weeks? I am going to let you retcon minor things about your characters or test things.

I've been advised to give some genre information and some foreshadowing or priming.

>What is the system?
Everything is resolved with a D20. System generally is simpler than 5e, but there is complexity for when people want to do backflips (Just as an example) or buy things with XP without having to wait for a level up.

Combat is the simplest system I know, mostly because of this format. The two systems port stats back and forth easily.

>Setting
Just in case it wasn't clear. The players are all from 2003 United States. As far as they knew before joining TFV, everything was exactly the same as IRL. There are some minor differences that aren't important, caused by previous players, that affected the Middle East and Russia.

>Genre / Inspiration / Tone
Basically, we're Stargate Command or a US only XCOM, only we're operating on a shoe string budget because of X-files secret cabal shenanigans.

Setting and mechanics are a gritty, tense tone/feel where survival is often on the line, people can die easily or go insane, and we're underdogs facing whatever horrors the universe has to offer.


>Lore?
There is a Senior Expedition Team, who has struggled and poked around in the dark to get as much information as they can. However, that information right now would be very complicated.

Also you're clearance doesn't cover it just yet.
>What do we understand about timelines?

Way less than we want to know. We're like Ben Frank discovering electricity here. We have someone who is on the level of Stephen Hawking on staff, but we need WAY MORE data to even understand this stuff.

Our level of understanding is like Medieval peasants doing a bunch of jumping around and hocus pocus, and accidently doing like chemistry or something.

Like we're washing our hands and we know it keeps us from getting sick, but we don't know why.

That's the metaphor.

>>6279024
You want us to fill out this form if we've already got characters?

>>6279023
4.1.2, Engineering
The Engineer, is Engi-here!

Some of these options really give me a good laugh.

You don't have to, but it would help if you want to flesh things out more or opt into allegiances or such.

Or make it clearer what exactly your class is.

We're going to have a time skip shortly and have some introduction stuff.

Rolled 4, 4 = 8 (2d20)

Another Timeline
Nine Weeks Later

"I don't understand" Special Forces Medic, ''Doc'' says "You keep good pace and sprint well... And you seem to recover cardio just fine..." He then shakes his head. "But you ruck terribly... Jesus Christ Jack... What is your problem?"

"I spoke to you," A gruff, no nonsense tall, stoic, suspiciously Soviet looking soldier says. "And I told you that he was doing the carrying, very poorly...." The man has his face in his hand, head being spoken side to side. "Where is dangerous Amerikanski spirit that almost kill me four times?"

"I can't give you Ibuprofen," Doc says. "As in a proper combat situation you might bleed to death... So... Here is some Tylenol extra strength.... Don't be a dumb ass and drink anything alcoholic for the next day. Your liver will be fucked." He then stands up and looks over at the other man. "Stárshiy leytenánt Konstantine... How is his progress?"

Konstantine grumbles. "We skipped discipline steps like your government asked..." He starts counting on his fingers and sometimes pointing. "He do reasonable for marksmanship, first aid, grenade throwing, gas mask use, and natural camouflage..... Fitness standards... Meh... Pass conscript standards... Pass Amerikanski Air Force Standards... So just declare the man to be in Air Force and call it done."
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At Jack Price's naturalization ceremony, he is promoted to Airman first class, which is like an Army Corporal.

"Okay Airman Price," Doc says. "I'm not sure if you'll be debriefed by Inspector Clark here or back in the Arizona timeline, but something has come up."

"And make sure they do paperwork in non fuckfuck style!" Konstantine says. "I did not get self blown up over and over and over... and over... and also over... To let you do paperwork wrong and lose everything and all die in horrible fire."

"We managed to capture and move over a large 2.5 ton cargo truck," Doc says. "It should be able to carry your kit and also both your stills."

"And don't use them as stupid little experiment rats who die and are replaced!" Konstantine says. "Give the people their cold weather clothing and check all the warehouses, proper style."

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[I don't know where Captain Grand is. I will be providing a compressed version of Jack Price's character sheet soon.]