Calibre/Calibre RP

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Contents 1 Environment 2 Postulates 3 Jargon 4 Example RP seeds

Environment

Calibre operate out of the Sun Tzu, a military supertech submarine parked in Independence port. Capable of getting to international waters in a single hour from a standing start, the Sun Tzu is a mighty piece of hardware that officially only exists as a few scattered blueprints for a number of unfeasibly expensive devices across various military research outposts. Calibre operate with funding that usually involves field testing and prototyping hardware that normal operations can't. Some of the tech is very clearly US Military in theoretical application, but some, particularly their medical tech and hazardous material handling devices, obviously connects to other nations. The Sun Tzu is just another element of that - technology unviable to be put into general use, but still worth the development, at least once.

Postulates

• Calibre Members Know What They're Doing. If you overhear a Calibre agent talking about supposedly sensitive topics, chances are that's because it's a safe zone, or the information is devalued - or they want you to hear it. This isn't supposed to devalue enemy spy groups. It's just that if the alternative is that an Agent is incompetent, you should always assume there's a better reason.
• Calibre Is Not A Large Organisation. Calibre is small enough that most everyone in Calibre knows everyone else, to some extent or another. This is why they value flexibility - because people can wind up working with odd combinations.
  • Longbow Are Dicks. The UN-driven organisation Longbow only even recognises that Calibre exists at the very high level. Longbow are visible, which Calibre recognises as useful, but finds too many philosophical problems with Longbow. Information between the two is very rarely exchanged - it's much more likely that Calibre will use infiltrators or moles to steal information from Longbow, not trusting the Longbow chain of command to operate in a timely fashion.
  • The Rogue Isles Are Their Own Problem. While Calibre are happy to use contracted work within the Rogue Isles, and don't actively seek to make the situation in the Isles any worse than they currently are, they view the Rogue Isles as a different sovereign nation. Therefore, the problems within that Isle are best dealt with by the people who live there. Calibre have been known to exchange weaponry and information with individuals in the Etoile who need it, but their only official policy in the Rogue Isles is disinvolvement. This is another source of tension with Longbow - Calibre feels that Longbow are diong more harm than good with their attempts to occupy Etoile territory like a police force.
• Calibre Is Not Paranoid. In the end, Calibre knows that when Calibre is disbanded, the assets will be distributed, and the individuals themselves will probably be alright. There is a consequence to their actions, and danger fills their lives, but they do not need to spend every waking moment in a constant state of terror.
• Calibre Engages In Disproportionate Response. If a terrorist group blows up a school, Calibre's response is not to blow up one of theirs - Calibre retaliates at least twofold over. As they are not officially sanctioned, Calibre's options are much wider, and they can seek to retaliate through killing large groups of opposition.
• Calibre are The Good Guys. In the somewhat simplified world of City of Heroes, it's okay to stab a hellion in the face with a sword because he's doing graffiti. Obviously, this is a world with much more simplified, comic-book style morality, and in that context, Calibre can always hold out the idea that their intent is positive. They're nastier than normal heroes - they kill terrorists, they beat contacts for information, and they steal information and hardware from networks and businesses - but they are, on the whole, doing it for the betterment of others and the protection of their own.

Jargon

Calibre operatives use a variety of terms - some gleaned from other military sources, most their own - to distinguish certain types of operatives and missions. Following are some common terms that have come up so far.

• Alpha Wolf, Big Bad Wolf, Papa Wolf: Somewhat affectionate code-speak for Martel. From Wolf.
• Black: An entity which is scarcely known or poorly accessable. Covert missions, stealthy operatives and undercover agents are Black entities. Contrast White.
• Black Tie: An operation where the agents are to remain unknown, even after the mission has been completed. The targets should remain unaware of Calibre's involvement. Usually calls for Black operatives.
• C&O: Communications And Observations. A type of duty that involves staying in a wireless telegraphic-able area with a large throughput of crowds. Sometimes during manhunts or surveys, multiple agents will be on C&O at a time. With Pocket D being a common location, sometimes agents will socialise and dissuade suspicion as one of their number is operating on C&O.
• Captain Nemo: One who habitually or obsessively wastes time on Non-Essential Mission Objectives.
• FD: Forced Downtime. If an operative insists on doing multiple shifts with minimal downtime, they may be forcibly put out of contact of the network.
• Finding Nemo: Wasting undue time on Non-Essential Mission Objectives.
• Horse: An operative whose role is to be chased or noticed, one whose capabilities ensure their own survival. Most commonly a White entity. Contrast Raven.
• NEMO: Non-essential Mission Objective. Often a mission will include objectives that are useful but not crucial to success. Thorough agents will seek to achieve them in the interest of making life easier in future - or to gain extra credit.
• Raven: Typically a support agent - a sniper, a medic, someone who ideally wants the enemy to focus on another. Contrast Horse.
• Wedding Crasher: An individual - usually a Horse - who is sent into a trap for another Calibre member, deliberately springing and ruining it. From White Wedding.
• White: An entity which is supposed to be highly visible and readily accessed. An operative who spearheads an offense, or a mission which seeks to create a distraction, would be a White entity. Contrast Black.
• White Noise: A distraction caused by Calibre.
• White Wedding: Deliberately walking into a trap. The target knows Calibre is coming, and Calibre knows that a trap has been set; the goal is to spring the trap on their terms, rather than the target's.
• Wolf: An operative who coordinates other operatives, directing a 'pack'. Outside of their leadership capacity, they might be similar to either a Horse or a Raven.
• UTP: Unaligned Third Party. An individual who is neither Calibre nor their current adversary. It often refers to civilians, but can also be used for other metahumans who are not aligned with either group.

Example RP seeds

• Your character has found or recovered a particularly obscure bit of technology that they don't understand, and Calibre approach them to acquire it from them.
• Your character has information about the inner workings of Arachnos, Longbow, or similar, and wishes to exchange it.
• Your character is an expert on some topic or other of weaponry or smuggling. Calibre take an interest in illegal weapons or property entering the United States.
• Your character has unwittingly been associated with a high-level threat, and is therefore being investigated as part of the periphery.
• Your character is a former MeSCOp member who was presumed "inoperative". They probably - like those who founded the renewed Calibre - feel remorse for what MeSCOp did, but maybe they instead wish the reborn organisation was more like its predecessor.