The Anarchy Matrix

^{80's Stylized Military-Espionage-Action-Scifi-Thriller}

At ease recruits. Welcome to The Pit. My name is General Hawk. I am the commander of Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta. Code Name: G.I. Joe.

I’m sure that name sounds familiar to some of you. I know I also recognize a few of your faces from the Greenshirt program. Welcome back. I can also tell that a few of you are wondering if you heard me right.

Let me assure you, G.I. Joe is not a myth. G.I. Joe is not propaganda. G.I. Joe is real. And G.I. Joe wants you. For any of you who don’t know, G.I. Joe is the code name for an international, highly trained special missions force. It’s purpose: To defend human freedom against multiple terrorist organizations determined to topple global stability and insight anarchy.

I understand that’s a lot to take in. Whether you were aware of it or not, there’s a war going on right now, one we can’t afford to lose.

Some of you may already be acquainted with Staff Sergeant Sneeden. Some of you make know him already as Beachhead from the earlier mentioned Greenshirt program. Once we're done here, he will be prepping you all for your run through "The Meatgrinder" obstacle course. Keep in mind beating the obstacle course is the main objective but isn't a guarantee for moving forward. The course is a means for us to observe how you handle things not just physically but also mentally. Problem solving under pressure and out-of-the-box thinking.

If you survive the Meatgrinder, you'll be given a more in-depth briefing on the threats you'll be facing. Keep in mind a majority of this information is highly classified and why you'll not be getting that until you've moved on to the next phase.

Just remember that G.I. Joe isn’t a secret rank you get for being the best soldier. Or marine, or sailor, or pilot. Every member of G.I. Joe earned their spot on the team. Including you. You may not have known it, but not too long ago you made a choice. Maybe you took initiative at the right time, in the right way, and saved the day. Maybe you stood up for someone else who was being treated unfairly even if that wasn’t a smart move for your career. Maybe you disobeyed an order you felt was wrong and you were right. Or maybe you are just the best. And I don’t just mean the best America has to offer.

These threats we face are a global threat. They require a global solution. Trusted allies in the United Nations were secretly approached about signing a limited resource share treaty in the name of working together to eliminate them. Most of us are American, and most of our funding comes from the United States. That just means our international recruits had to work that much harder to qualify for their position, and you better give them the respect they earned.

For those of you looking nervous, you didn’t end up in the wrong secret military base. On rare occasions -and I mean rare- someone with no military service gets a field commission. These exceptional recruits were lucky enough to have a skill that’s not commonly found in the military -firefighter, veterinarian- and they just happen to have come to our attention.

We are still soldiers. We have skills, not super powers. Our job is to do the impossible and make it look easy.

For now, I look forward to watching you all on the obstacle course. Good luck, and Yo Joe.

Game Information

The game will be using the G.I. Joe Roleplaying game by Renegade Game Studios and utilizing the Essence 20 system within. The game will be starting at level 1 with new recruits into the G.I. Joe Special Mission Force. The core book at this point will be the only book I will be allowing for characters and creation rules. The Cobra Codex, Ferocious Fighters, and other Essence 20 books such as Transformers and the Power Rangers are currently off-limits for player usage.

This will be my first go with the system, and while I have enough time as a GM I don't foresee to many snags, I'd prefer to keep the options limited in one place until I get a firm grasp on the system's unique quirks and potential hang-ups. Should the game find its legs, and the group sees itself in a longer potential campaign, we can see about opening up the books to allow some other options.

Setting and Lore

The G.I. Joe universe has seen a fair number of reboots over the years. Be it through multiple different comic book publishers (Marvel, DDP, IDW, Skybound, etc.), numerous cartoon series (RAH, Sigma 6, Renegades, etc.) and movies. I will not lie, and claim that this game will not be any different. I will not be using any specific series as canon through it will be leaning heavier in the comics as its main source of inspiration and tone. While the cartoons were a primary source of my childhood, the highly cheesy nature and red vs blue laser gun approach is not the feel that I want the game to have. Yes, this is a crazy sci-fi military world where ninjas exist. Mad scientist make clones of dead warlords. Soldiers are treated to DNA therapy that turns them into mutated zombie like creatures. But characters can also be killed. The lasers aren't always going to conventionally miss the PCs because they are the main characters.

For now though, consider the game as a reboot. The Joes are a new organization just getting off the ground. The players are on the ground floor and set to establish themselves as heroes and founding leaders in the new war on terror.

There many also be some other outside sources that the game pulls from in the military spectrum and 80s - 90s action/espionage genres such as, but not limited to - Metal Gear, Rainbow 6, Aliens, Agents of Shield, Street Fighter, Rambo, Predator, Suicide Squad, James Bond, Ninja Turtles, Robocop, Terminator, True Lies, Clear and Present Danger, Hunt for Red October, Broken Arrow, The Saint, Top Gun, Platoon, Navy Seals, Crimson Tide, etc.

Players Expectations

*Maturity. I expect the game to potentially hit on some mature themes. The site rules will clearly limit the degree on which things can be discussed by default. However it's a fantasy game set in the real world, so things like sex, drug use, bigotry, religious conflict, assault on minors, etc. all can come up. Bad people do bad things. That's why the heroes exist to stop them. These things also exist within the realm of comics/manga, video games, television, etc. As such. they may be implied within the game. If anyone has a personal problem with a specific topic. Let me know. Things can be glossed over, faded to black, etc, where appropriate. Some things can just be avoided ahead of it. Some things may be unavoidable based on a plot point. If that situation arises I'll do are best to approach the topic in the most healthy manner as possible with the group and move forward to a point where everyone is comfortable again. No one should feel unsafe in a game. But remember it is also just a game.

*Patience. Its not my first rodeo by far when it comes to running a game. I've been doing this "Forever-GM" thing almost 25+ years now. This is my first run with Essence 20 and the G.I. Joe game though. I am by no means perfect. I expect to be a dummy from time to time when it comes to things just because I can't remember every detail of every book, class, perk, statistic, etc. at every waking moment. Add in a new system in general with its own little quirks. It's the internet and things can be reference a lot easier, but mistakes will still likely occur. The main point however is we all have fun though and get to make a good story together. I am a firm believer in both Rule 0, and the Rule of Cool.

*Teamwork. This applies both in-game and out. You'll be playing as a military special ops team. Keyword - "Team". You'll need to have one another's backs. Going solo it isn't going to cut it very well. It'll probably get you killed. I know this can be tempting in PbP where you might otherwise be stuck waiting on the rest of the party. There might be some narratives that going solo works but generally as a whole it'll likely be discouraged. Out of character I expect everyone to be understanding of each other and their feelings. Sometimes disagreements happen. Let's all act like sensible adults.

*Commitment. Posting rate is expected to fairly steady paced for this game. The use of Discord is also partly to help ensure that, as well as help communicate when people may be absent for a period of time. If you don't think you can handle several posts a week, I would probably ask that you don't apply. Life happens. Work happens. Vacation happens. I don't expect people to make the game their life by any means. Five seconds of advising you need a day or two off for mental health though on the Discord to everyone can save five other people waiting for five days on a post that never comes, causing the game to stall. And when a PbP game stalls, well, most of us know what comes next for the game... ☠️ ☠️ ☠️