Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry (NPC Organization)

by **The Nekromonga** January 31st 2023, 9:36 pm

OVERVIEW:

The Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry: while there are many organizations that deal with super powered beings and freak attacks, the Institute stands out as the group most focused on the most esoteric and paranormal, and phenomena that threaten the fabric of reality and overlap with adjacent dimensions. They also deal with ancient history and lost super civilizations, and have helped other governments create a clear picture of the world's hidden history.

The Institute had long served a supporting role in the paranormal and temporal dimensional anomalies encountered over the years since the late 1800s. Dealing with such anomalies would explain the Institute's pre-disposition towards cultural stasis of the early 1900s to 1950s, as well as its divergence from mainstream technological development.

The Institute is a society of scientists, occultists, historians, scholars, explorers and sometimes guardians and caretakers of sensitive information and dangerous artefacts. They can’t handle big threats well, hence the Associates system- Usually super powered beings from outside the Institute. They have knowledge but little power, and are more observers, chroniclers, and guides.

LOCATION(S):

The Institute itself is Headquartered in the Northern portion of Maine, on the border with Quebec. Large portions of wilderness were also given in guardianship for the housing of supernatural but harmless entities. Due to the Institute's dealing with anomalies, especially of those with effect on time-space, their main building and the surrounding town had, over the years, become somewhat displaced from mainstream reality. The American and Canadian Governments cooperate with the Institute to isolate the affected zone as a restricted access area, and the access points are carefully guarded. Add to the fact the difficulty of regularly re-supplying and replacing equipment, the Institute's overall infrastructure and equipment tend to be built to last.

The Institute has outposts scattered throughout the world to serve as staging grounds to receive and transmit information relevant to the current case. Anachronism Engines that take on the appearance of unusually large grandfather clocks dominate each outpost, allowing the outpost to access the otherwise inaccessible records of the Institute, while simultaneously providing a camouflage defense for the outpost and its minimal staff. These Engines dampen paranormal anomalies and slightly cap the upper limits of super powers in an area, while also creating a hypno-amnestic effect that makes the experience of passing through an easily forgettable experience.

PERSONNEL:

True Institute Men and Women are those who deal directly with paranormal events and beings. The supernatural nature of the Institute are most apparent among them, as members have been around since the early 1900s but seem no older than 50 and are exceptionally athletic for unpowered humans. The Institute is divided into: Leadership, Technical, Research, Security and Menial.

Leadership - this group covers Supervisors, Managers, Legal Dept, HR, PR, Finance and the enigmatic Board of Directors. Leadership guides the Institute and keeps the organization true to its goals. Leadership is also responsible for keeping Institute staff motivated, and to address any issues the staff may have in their pursuit of work.

Research: The thinkers of the Institute. Scientists, Scholars, even occultists and shamans. All Medical personnel fall under Research, as experimentation and dealing with anomalies is a hazardous activity.

Technical: What Research thinks, the Technical Division executes. Engineers, technicians, construction workers and other skilled labor, they build and keep the machines running, the air conditioning cool and the coffee machines from dispensing the wrong order.

Security Division - Agents spend as much time in research and paperwork as in the field, and are the ones who establish final containment or termination actions against the paranormal or anomalies. Given the increasing frequency of events or entities of power levels beyond what Agents can handle, they are more and more taking on the role of mission control and critical intelligence for external Associates. Security Division also handles all internal safety and security matters within the Institute.

Menials and Miscellaneous - support staff such as cooks, janitors, non-agent clerks, accountants and barristers, who've worked with the Institute or its field agents. Support Staff are frequently rotated in and out, typical serving five or ten year contracts that seem to blur into the background fairly quickly. All people know is that their resumes are padded out, and they've barely aged a day. On a darker note, this Division also includes the criminals the Institute has appropriated to serve as expendable resources when undertaking dangerous investigations.

Associates - As having existed before the meteoric rise of supers, the Institute lacks the sheer power to overcome some of the more dangerous missions and anomalies they might encounter. Thus, the Institute has need of capable Super Powered Associates. Metahuman OC's are the most common, and this explains how the Institute ties in with ongoing stories of existing Characters.

The Institute has a peculiar way in which Associates are chosen- due to either a quirk of temporal tampering or their ability to manipulate memory, even new Associates can be brought up to speed very quickly with the institute's needs, or when services are no longer required, knowledge of the Institute slips away into the unconscious, like a fleeting dream or a forgettable day from one's childhood.

RESOURCES:

Institute HQ - The Institute HQ is a large, classical neo-gothic building at the heart of an old campus town. The town itself is wholly in the employ of the HQ, serving as a support network and residence for the employees in their off time.

The HQ building extends downward into a massive underground complex, complete with underground warehouses, parking garages, vast storage areas for paper records, laboratories, a hospital, living quarters, and even a reactor. The HQ building itself is anomalous, as its dimensions far exceed its physical footprint on the surface, and special maps and guides are required to not get lost in the records areas, as these overlap with the Institutes of parallel dimensions.

Containment Cells - Underneath the HQ building, with a single, highly secured access point, are the holding cells of the Institute. Built into a much older cave network, adjacent to the reactor, the cells hold anomalous objects and beings alike.

Institute Outpost - Any building on earth can become an outpost, with the aid of an Anachronism Engine. This converts the building into a typical office space having elements derived from the 30s-60s, and even staff attire changes to match the environment. Damage to the Engine quickly causes the area to revert to its normal state.

Wilderness Reserves – large tracts of Canadian wilderness given over to the Institute for their purpose of handling Anomalies, be it as a living area or for experiments.

by **Zonkes** January 31st 2023, 10:08 pm

Seems fine. Approved.

Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry (NPC Organization)

Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry (NPC Organization)

Re: Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry (NPC Organization)