Clients of Monoc?

[Shaft]

I am running a Dresden RPG where the PCs are all agents of Monoc.  The team is based out of the regional North American office in New Orleans.  Their case officer is Magdelena Hvid, a Valkyie. 

The city has a contract with them to act as a Supernatural SWAT team (the chief of Police came up from Special Investigations, and the mayor belongs to an official recognition that mixes Voudoun with Christianity; more people are in the know thanks to the Voudoun influences than you might expect in a more typical game). 

There is also a very small cell of FBI agents who are in the know (less than a dozen) who are using off book funding to finance the war on the cartels that are controlled by the Red Court* (the official cover is the War on Drugs).  Given the small number of agents that they have, with limited strength since they are mortals, occasionally they hire Monoc for some of these missions (plus Monoc operatives are deniable if they get caught operating in Mexico or Central America).

*

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obviously this is an alternate timeline where the events of Changes didn't happen

The characters have 11 Refresh and 40 skill points.  The characters so far are:
-a British SAS Commando from World War II who died and was brought back from the dead by Anubis as his emissary (military skills, Sponsored Magic, Marked By Power, Ghost Talker)
-an archaeologist who deciphered a StarGate-like device that opened a gate to part of the NeverNever inhabited by the descendants of an ancient Egyptian culture. He was trapped there for several years and taught himself Thaumaturgy by deciphering Egyptian runes.
-a Native American scion of a skinwalker that can adopt the shape of any animal that she touches, as long as it's dead. The reason they have to be dead is if the animal is alive, she absorbs their mind as well.  She did this with a mountain lion that was still alive early on in her career, and the mountain lion is permanently etched into her psyche; she occasionally has to battle for control with the beast for control, but she can also borrow its traits with out fully transforming, such as Echoes of the Beast and it's speed or even its claws.
-A cambion (half-incubus) with inhuman strength/toughness, retractable bat wings/claws, epic seduction skills and a feeding dependency on lust.
-A mortal that was granted the ability to shapeshift into a cat, a seal or a hawk because of a bet made between three fey who wanted to see whether land, sea or air was the most advantageous
-a Pure Mortal soldier, inspired by Hannibal Smith, with strong tactical skills that was disavowed by his agency after learning about the supernatural

There are also three Einhenjar NPCs which have a suspicious resemblance to the Warriors Three from the Thor comics, but with guns.

I'm trying to think who else might hire Monoc.  Any suggestions from the board?

[Griffyn612]

It sounds like they're straddling the line between contractors and mercenaries. 

• Local Wamps - The Wamps are fond of using cats paws to do their work.  If the Ramps have control of the city, the Wamps might contract out to avoid direct conflict with a more powerful faction.
• Local Weres - Like the Alphas, the city might have were-packs.  And since it's been established that three are many types of weres, you could have different kinds fighting over Street territory.
• Local practitioners - With a large hoodoo/vodun contingent in town, there's surely someone that needs help because they pissed off another faction, summoned something they can't handle, or need patsies to take the fall for them.
• Out-of-town factions - Anyone without a local presence might want to hire them to act in their interest in a matter.  Maybe the svartalves or another faction aren't present, or smaller factions like the Jade Court, one of the other unknown vampire courts, or any number of non-regional deities that are restricted where they can go.
• The White Council - After Dead Beat, Wouncil Warden numbers are down.  Harry's often busy, and there are some that don't trust him or the younger guard.  I'm currently working on a short story where solutions hires a mercenary to handle something because there aren't enough Wardens to take care of things.

As for the Ramps, does it have to be them?  The Fomor are a sea-based pantheon, and New Orleans is a port town.  Since the Fomor are taking over Ramp territories, you might be able to swap them.  Or, if not, then you could have the Fomor trying to horn in on Ramp territory.

[blackstaff67]

My campaign is set just after the event in Death Masks.  Potential clients may also include local power financial and political power brokers (not necessarily the Mob/Mafia/Outfit/whatever--but it can lead that way if they want to hire them away from Monoc).  I Actually have two characters directly involved with Monoc--both mortal.  I've made

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the Kensington Stone an almost direct link to Monoc's front door--with the requisite Guard, to boot

.

[Haru]

Local Wamps - The Wamps are fond of using cats paws to do their work.  If the Ramps have control of the city, the Wamps might contract out to avoid direct conflict with a more powerful faction.

If you want to make it a bit strange, you could have a Wamp who kind of lost track of his cats paws and he's hired Monoc to take care of what he thinks is an intruder into his territory but is in fact just one of his cats paws who, in return, is hiring Monoc to deal with the situation.

Other clients might also be
- retired gods (any old friend of Odin who he might still owe a favor)
- faerie Queens with a hidden agenda
- Warlocks looking for someone to do their dirty work
- A rich star who is extremely into the supernatural and is afraid that some supernatural threat is after her, only that isn't the case

[Taran]

A security team could be hired to protect a VIP.  Maybe someone important is going to a meeting or visiting he city.  They hire monoc to plan out safe travelling g routes through the city, provide body guards and assess and preemptively Suss out potential threats. 

Someone like a dignitary (supernatural or mortal). 

[RonLugge]

Also, the team may be occasionally subjected to direct, personal threats.  Maybe a former client they didn't do a good job for has a grudge -- or maybe one of them just managed to really piss of a passing fairy in a bar brawl.

[Shaft]

I've made

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the Kensington Stone an almost direct link to Monoc's front door--with the requisite Guard, to boot

.

I never heard of this item until now. Thanks for sharing.  I will use it.

Other clients might also be
- retired gods (any old friend of Odin who he might still owe a favor)
- faerie Queens with a hidden agenda
- Warlocks looking for someone to do their dirty work
- A rich star who is extremely into the supernatural and is afraid that some supernatural threat is after her, only that isn't the case

I'm rereading American Gods and seeing which gods might be a good client. I'm also thinking that

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it might be a cool mission for them to track down Mr Wednesday

A security team could be hired to protect a VIP.  Maybe someone important is going to a meeting or visiting he city.  They hire monoc to plan out safe travelling g routes through the city, provide body guards and assess and preemptively Suss out potential threats. 

Someone like a dignitary (supernatural or mortal).

This sounds like the ideas I was looking for.  It occurs to me that Monoc might take clients that aren't in the Know (or aren't in the Know yet).

I recall that there was a cool adventure from Shadowrun

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featuring Maria Mercurial, an A-list singer with a mysterious past where the players did a bodyguard assignment for her. 

It might be fun to adapt that module.

Lots of great ideas here.  Thanks.

[Haru]

I'm rereading American Gods and seeing which gods might be a good client. I'm also thinking that

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it might be a cool mission for them to track down Mr Wednesday

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Isn't Mr. Wednesday and Odin aka Donar Vadderung the exact same person? It might be rather weird if he sends the players on a mission to find himself.

[Sanctaphrax]

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If I recall correctly, one of the conceits of American Gods is that the Odin of America and the Odin of Norway can be different people.

[Griffyn612]

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If I recall correctly, one of the conceits of American Gods is that the Odin of America and the Odin of Norway can be different people.

Yup.

[Shaft]

Yup.  Pretty much what Sanctaphrax said.