What to do before the Suits show up?

[Trevortni]

I'm planning a modern game in which the players will eventually run afoul of the FBI/MIB/Illuminati/whatever - the Suits. However, I want to give them a few low-level challenges before the Suits do show up. I have one idea that I've already posted about (I'm not going to post it in this thread, lest it distract creative juices), and I was wondering if there are any really good ideas I've overlooked.

Any suggestions on some low-level challenges before the Suits show up?

[prufock]

It would be much easier to suggest encounters if you explain what the setting, level, main plot, characters, etc are all about. Going in blind it could be anything from clearing rats out of the cellar to making contact with aliens.

Also, are you looking for a plot hook that brings the Suits into the game, or just one-off encounters that don't matter in the grand scheme of things? If the former, you'll want the PCs uncovering something they shouldn't, X-Files style. Could be aliens, government experiments, conspiracy theories, intelligent mice, portals to another dimension....

Also maybe link to your other post about the idea you already have to give us some more insight on the tone of the game.

[LibraryOgre]

A lot depends on the angles you're going, and what the party's goals are. You might have them run some clean-up jobs, for example.

[Yora]

Leveling yourself up to become more powerful and able to deal with bigger threats is generally not something that works well for modern games. In fantasy dungeon crawling it has it's place, but characters in modern settings usually don't go on a heroes journey.
Unless the plot absolutly demands it, I would suggest letting the characters start at a higher power level and go straight to the interesting part of the campaign. No need to have them grind rats in the basement until they are able to actually do their job.

[Trevortni]

Sorry, I've been thinking about making this post for a few days, and then as soon as I went to actually post it, everything I wanted to say fell right out of my head.

The overall destination is first contact and war with the Evil Galactic Empire that they don't know exists until they discover it, and how the decisions the players make up until the endpoint affect the outcome of this standoff.

The concept deals with the players' decisions at various different levels, with a different Big Bad at each level/arc: personal->local, local->national, national->global, global->insterstellar/galactic. The players actions will be allowed to have a definite impact on the world around them at each level, aside from their struggles against the various Big Bads - and how they deal with the various Big Bads can have an impact on what tools they have available for the next arc. They will be encouraged to invent in the downtime, and some superpowers will even become an option at some point; but that will be in later arcs than the beginning.

Anyway, the Big Bads for the local->national arc are the Suits; the Big Bads for the national->global arc are being held very close to my chest, even on the forum, sorry; and obviously the Big Bads at the galactic level are the Evil Galactic Empire. I just don't have a definite Big Bad for the local level, while they're discovering the effects of the meteorites that start imbuing them with super-intelligence (the one idea I do have is in here), but I'm not certain whether there's something better I can do at that level.

Incidentally, I am also thinking about breaking the global->interstellar/galactic into two parts; if I do that, I would want to come up with some kind of local (on the interstellar level) Big Bad as a precursor to the Evil Galactic Empire, but that's another matter.

[prufock]

Anyway, the Big Bads for the local->national arc are the Suits; the Big Bads for the national->global arc are being held very close to my chest, even on the forum, sorry; and obviously the Big Bads at the galactic level are the Evil Galactic Empire. I just don't have a definite Big Bad for the local level, while they're discovering the effects of the meteorites that start imbuing them with super-intelligence (the one idea I do have is in here), but I'm not certain whether there's something better I can do at that level.

Are the PCs the only ones who discover or are affected by the meteorites? I could see a group of UFO nuts being a nuisance, or a group of doomsday cultists - heck, combine the two. The Big Bad at this local level would be the charismatic cult leader, who has been affected by the meteorites and gifted with extreme intelligence. Of course that doesn't make him any less greedy, manipulative, and narcissistic. This gives you plenty of minion cannon fodder (the regular folks who are taken in by his words), some intermediate enemies (his "inner circle" that he allows glimpses of the meteorite), and the big bad.

[Trevortni]

The PCs aren't the only people affected, though I was intending to hold off the (in-character) explanation of what's going on until they're wondering why the Suits are targeting them. Also, the meteorites have a perception filter on them, akin to the Doctor's watch. Though that's mostly because I like the idea, rather than any necessary story reasons - if there's a compelling reason to change that, I might consider it. Might. And thirdly, the meteorites tend to be small enough to fit on a necklace. Though I suppose it could be possible that a cult leader could have been hit by a section of the ship's hull something slightly larger. What? Nothing to see here. Stop looking at me like that.

Ummm.... yeah, that could provide a meteorite to focus on without overtly drawing the characters' attention that, hey, they're also lugging around otherworldly objects everywhere they go....

Hmmmm, maybe a piece of Sickbay could have some interesting effects a cult leader could misu-Hey! Stop reading this!