Chadius: TOA manual

Introduction

Welcome to The Other Agency, Agent _______. This booklet should help introduce you to the ins and outs of the Agency.

Our mission at TOA is to make the world safe for people of all races. No matter what you are, you should feel comfortable living here.

...I'm terrible at introductions.

-Chief Zii

Foreword

A reminder: History is very mutable. Things that we call "facts" can change instantly.

When enough people believe in something, it becomes true. We do not understand the mechanics fully, but it is in heavy effect. Please understand this issue.

History

The Other Agency's origins are a bit unstable. The earliest story we have recorded says TOA was founded about 500 years ago by Marcus Drake. He was an anthropologist who first encountered Others and decided to help them.

TOA has gone through several revisions, base moves, and major resructurings. The Agency has been in several large-scale conflicts and public-awareness drives.

Basic duties

Here are your basic duties in the Agency. This list is not complete, but should get your basic duties out of the way. And I don't want to bury you in jargon, anyway.

Dealing with the Public

It is vital that the public, humans especially, do not know about the existence of Others. If people learned of Others without learning how to tolerate them, a mass panic could perversely alter history. It could eliminate Others, alter cultures permanently, or outright destroy the world. This is why it's important to convince people that Others do not exist.

People are susceptible to false truths. They don't want to believe in the incredible. Make something up. A shopping cart flew by. She was 'really' pretty. Rocks fell. Something, anything! Most will believe you.

Keep the Peace

Not everyone is hunky-dory, you know. Some like to abuse their powers. Some don't like to play fair. And others think it's their right to step on everyone else. That's where you come in. Shut them down, cut off their funding, arrest them, whatever. Just remember to tell the cops that you're special. (and flash your false CIA ID, of course.)

Races

This is a list of the many major races in the world. This list is by no way complete, and there are certainly races we don't know about.

Most Others tend to stand upright. Most have two arms, two legs, and one head. These types find it easy to blend in with Humans.

Humans

Humans are the majority race on this planet. Relatively short lifespans and an amazingly fast learning curve allow them to learn a flurry of techniques and practices.

Humans are also very capable at altering history. A single human's potential is stronger than almost all Others. Add their vast number and they have the single biggest impact on history. Many major events have involved mass human historic influence at some point.

Luckily, most humans are unaware of their powers, and don't know of their potential. Let's keep it that way until they are ready to accept Others, alright?

Fate Weavers

Fate Weavers are the only race to have more history-changing properties than humans. Many of them have decided not to, however.

Fate Weavers can locally alter an area's outcome. The stronger they are, the larger an area they can affect. We have ways of tracking alterations, mind you, but we'd rather not have things affected in the first place. If you ever feel that things are a bit different, please come to TOA HQ and we'll see what we can do.

Most Fate Weavers have agreed not to tamper with history; heck, some even work with us to hunt those who do alter history. Why do they do this? I don't know. Many have moral beliefs about altering someone's future. Some are religious, and it goes against their code. And some talk about an alternate history here or there that had disastrous results and yadda yadda yadda, I just smile and nod. The point is: they don't alter history, that's good.

Drakk

These fellas are strong, scaled, and have superiority complexes. For those who believe in dragons, this is it.

Many Drakks feel they are the strongest and therefore best race. Even the kindest and most reserved of the Drakks can't help but feel they could have done something better. Geez, just put up with it OK?

Most of them aren't as big as a barn, though. But they do have a tail that most humans won't understand. Yeah yeah, they breath different elements. Fire's a classic, some spit thunder, others acid. Rumors say there are a few who can shoot alpha waves, fungal spores, napalm and petrification.

Kwizaan

Kwizaan are acrobatic light-level psychics. Not too many Others have mental prowess, so they make good interrogators. It's quite a responsibility though, so most Kwizaan practice restraint.

They are thin humanoids with short orange fur, a tail (like a monkey's) and a stinger on their head. The tail is strong enough for them to hang off of pipes and controlled enough that they can use it like another hand. The stinger isn't terribly offensive, mainly used for *ahem* mating rituals and the like.

Their real strength comes from their mental powers. As young children they can innately read surface thoughts. Most adult Kwizaan can force people to perceive them differently, like a good friend, or a member of another race. A lot of this is subconsciously done, mind you, and often on accident.

Because so few races have resistance to this, Kwizaan tend to interrupt people by mind reading what they're going to say. Some force people to talk by looking like an old friend, a lost love, or a bitter enemy. Some feel terribly guilty about this, since mental powers are disturbing to the normal person. Expect a lot of restraint and guilt from Kwizaan you talk to.

How the world works

The universe works in mysterious ways. And, depending on your upbringing, you may or may not know how the world works.

Magic vs Technology

Energy is energy, no matter how you generate it. Doesn't matter if you put a magnet through a coil or you tap the essence of lightning, electricity is electricity. Doesn't matter if you pull out a laser pistol or cast an energy blast at someone, same effect.

Magic came out first, and Others are used to it. Humans got a bit jealous, wished they had an alternate magical source, and WHAM! Human innovation rapidly catches up.

When you start on one side, it's a bit hard to understand the other. Most mages can't wrap their heads around tech, and techies find it difficult to understand magic.