Back(It was the original title of the game and, frankly, I like it better.)
| Before Men in Black was a movie. . . . | ||
| Before X-Files was a t.v. show. . . . | ||
| There was Bureau 13. |
What is Bureau 13? It is the 13th bureau of the Justice Department, commissioned originally by President Lincoln. Its job is to investigate paranormal phenomena and deal with it appropriately; whether it is natural or supernatural, native, extraterrestrial or extradimensional.
Bureau 13 is a modern-set game that is part fantasy, part horror and part science fiction. The characters, agents of B13, will encounter and attempt to deal with strange and fantastic phenomena. Sometimes it is an evil to be destroyed. Sometimes it is a victim that must be protected. Sometimes it can be tough to tell the good NPCs from the bad ones, and the players have to sort out what's happening and what to do about it. For my money, that's where the fun begins. . . .
"Protecting mankind from the supernatural and protecting the supernatural from mankind!"
Here is a timeline from the rulebook to give you some idea. . . .
| 1862 | Bureau 13 is created in the utmost secrecy by President Lincoln and a very small number of high ranking officials. This highly secret 13th Bureau of the U.S. Justice Department begins its covert function to track down and destroy supernatural evil. | ||
| 1869 | Destruction of the Windwillow Witch House ends four very bloody decades of hell for a small Vermont town. | ||
| 1875 | European immigration brings a host of the "wee folk" to New York. Many of the old world's paranormal creatures begin immigrating to America. | ||
| 1878 | The Western States become a hotbed of paranormal activity. Bureau 13 establishes a Western branch in Carson City, Nevada. | ||
| 1884 | Nest of Goblins makes a war zone out of a small town in Idaho before its removal. | ||
| 1886 | Bureau negotiates treaty with Indian spirits in Michigan. | ||
| 1889 | An outlaw named Morrow is shot in Kansas. Material found in his hideout begins a technical revolution for the world. | ||
| 1895 | Unusual murders in London and New York are investigated by Bureau teams. | ||
| 1910 | First 'On the Road' agents begin to travel across the US and Canada. | ||
| 1929 | A High minister of Hell is banished from Wall Street with disastrous results. | ||
| 1941 | Golem released from a German submarine causes havoc in Norfolk until captured. | ||
| 1942 | Japanese water demons (Kappa) attack a merchant ship in San Francisco and the Bureau is there. The fight begins to stop the supernatural sabotage of America's entry into World War II. | ||
| 1943 | With French help the Bureau destroys the German 'OVERMAN' experiments to create a superior human race. | ||
| 1944 | Bureau 13 battles Nazi Germany's last attempts to unleash paranormal horrors in America and England. | ||
| 1948 | Elves return to the Appalachian Mountains and raise havoc until the Bureau arrives. | ||
| 1950 | The new followers and spawn of Goshnar are liquidated by Bureau 13. | ||
| 1951 | Unicorn captured in Cleveland and shipped to Yellowstone National Park. | ||
| 1954 | Nest of Giant Ants exterminated in New Mexico. | ||
| 1957 | Hitler's clone captured in Skokie, Ill. | ||
| 1958 | Scientist named Morrow, claiming the world will end in 31 years, escapes Bureau 13 investigation team. | ||
| 1959 | Mutant monster from crashed Soviet satellite terrorizes Louisiana backwoods. | ||
| 1961 | A quiet, uneventful year is climaxed by the discovery of flying reindeer. | ||
| 1962 | Vampire surrenders in New York City after raiding five blood banks. Bureau is faced with new problem of what to do with prisoners. | ||
| 1963 | Psychic mind shifter neutralized in Texas. | ||
| 1965 | North Vietnam unleashes supernatural horrors in Saigon that find their way to Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit. | ||
| 1967 | Gateway to Hell sealed by Bureau in Alexandria, Indiana. | ||
| 1968 | Demon of hatred banished back to hell. | ||
| 1974 | Agents sink the yacht of religious leader Sun Yen Yen off the coast of Florida. | ||
| 1975 | Spawn of Goshnar infest zoo in Iowa. The bureau, having other problems, disposes of them quickly. | ||
| 1977 | All out attack on Bureau 13, by unknown forces, leaves the Washington Office in flames and 61 of the 86 operating agents missing or dead. This dark event became known as the "Massacre of '77." (GM note, B13 legend J.P. Withers is known to have survived the Massacre.) | ||
| 1980 | A new and reorganized Bureau 13 is born and begins operations in the US, Canada and Europe. |
Four Winds Bar