O p e ra t i o n : M a r s h a l L a w

Over the past few decades, the United States Gov-ernment has necessarily grown accustomed to having to deal with metahuman villains. Such criminals, although comprising only a small percentage of the justice sys-tem’s overall workload, are nonetheless responsible for a disproportionately high amount of crime, not to men-tion the incredible peripheral costs that result from their illegal activity. Creating sanctioned groups of super-heroes was a first step in bringing this problem under control, but these teams cannot be everywhere at once, and most local law enforcement agencies are woefully under-equipped to deal with metahuman offenders.

To reduce the public’s dependence on vigilantes and to help existing sanctioned super-heroes combat, con-tain, and capture metahuman criminals who may be wanted on pending charges or who are fugitives, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) has recently green lit a project they’ve codenamed Operation: Marshal Law. Marshal Law’s intention is to recruit and train its own metahumans into the USMS for the specific purpose of dealing with empowered criminals. The project is still in its infancy, but is slowly spreading across the country after a successful year of trial opera-tions in Texas, New York, and Washington.

All recruits must go through the standard US Mar-shal training program (although a separate facility has been set aside for them due to their special needs and circumstances), are given a Marshal’s office from which their team will work, and administrative staff to keep things running smoothly while the metahumans are in the field.

All such super-beings are given the rank of Deputy Marshal, and must abide by the laws and regulations pertaining to the USMS, including those of jurisdiction. These empowered Deputy Marshals may call upon oth-er Deputy Marshals for aid, whether they are also mem-bers of the project or normal humans, including the Spe-cial Operations Group (SOG), the USMS’s equivalent of a SWAT team.

Author, Colors & Design: Steven Trustrum

Original Artwork: Scott Harshbarger

With the exception of the US Marshal Service Seal and Badge provided, and additional previously indicated exceptions, all content is Copyright 2014, Misfit Studios. All Rights Reserved.

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle En-tertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for

purpose of this product.

Visit Misfit Studios at http://www.misfit-studios.comMIS7009

Uses the Super Powers Companion(Second Edition)

Super-Powered

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Besides the capturing and transportation of metahu-man fugitives, Operation: Marshal Law agents also pro-vide protection for witnesses and members of the fed-eral judiciary when reprisals from metahuman criminal elements are expected.

If the Gamemaster is finding it difficult to come up with a reason for the player characters to join together, or if the group is looking for a new approach to their cam-paign, becoming members of this experimental project is a workable answer. Not only are the player character sanctioned heroes―meaning they have the force of the law behind them and no longer have to worry about be-ing arrested as vigilantes after subduing a villain―but they are also given the benefit of government funding and public support.

On the other hand, the characters must themselves obey the laws of the land and be careful when it comes to civil boundaries, such as exces-sive force and illegal acquisition of evi-dence. Becoming Deputy Marshals means the characters resign some of their personal freedom and their secret identities, and have a greater authority to answer to, but these limita-tions open the game up to countless campaign ideas and misadventures.

New Professional Edges

US MarshalRequirements: Seasoned,

Agility d8+, Vigor d6+, Driv-ing d4+, Fighting d4+, Investigation d8+, Knowledge (Law) d6+, Knowledge (Streetwise) d6+, Notice d4+, Shooting d6+

A marshal of the USMS is trained to hunt, detain, and transport fugitives, and protect witnesses and members of the judiciary. As such, they must possess a wide range of abilities and be highly adaptable.

US marshals possess legal standing that grants +2 Charisma during instances where their authority comes into play, or where their jurisdiction must be obeyed, and enjoy a +2 bonus during a test of wills against crimi-nals, fugitives, and their ilk. They may also attempt a Knowledge (Streetwise) roll with a –2 penalty when trying to get in contact with someone belonging to a criminal organization or law enforcement agency the character does not have the Connections Edge for. If the roll succeeds, consider the character to possess the appropriate Edge for that instance (requiring the usual

Persuasion roll.) This does not work for Connections un-affiliated with law enforcement or criminals.

Local US Marshal’s OfficeA typical local US marshal’s field office will be lo-

cated in an unassuming business plaza, building, or the like, and contains much of what is needed for long-term, sustained operations. The offices will not have facilities for holding prisoners, however―local law enforcement facilities are relied upon for this purpose on a temporary basis until any prisoners are ready to be moved. The of-fice’s size depends upon the importance of the area and, consequently, the amount of assigned marshals.

Each US marshal’s office is commanded by a senior marshal who is responsible for coordinating all activities

in that location’s assigned area. All deputy marshals in the office take their march-

ing orders from the senior marshal, and US marshals passing through

the area are able to utilize the office’s resources if necessary.

Like many law enforce-ment agencies, each lo-cation and its assigned marshals will make use of street-level informants and moles to gather infor-mation on fugitives and other relevant activities.

Marshals are also often able to tap into the intelligence

gathered by other agencies if it relates to a priority fugi-

tive (and the information is not considered classified because its se-

crecy is necessary to the source agency’s operations.)

Office EquipmentA typical USMC field office will be equipped with

a light armory (e.g., shotguns, pistols, perhaps an as-sault rifle or two, ammunition, spare bulletproof vests, a sniper rifle), small kitchenette, workout area, person-nel office space, reception area, radio, computers, and small forensic laboratory. All of this will be protected by a standard, commercial security system that includes camera surveillance and a metal detector at the door.

US Marshal Training RequirementsA character wishing to join the US Marshals Service

must obtain the US Marshal Professional Edge, repre-senting the training they have gone through and experi-ence they have gained in order to join the USMS.

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Deputy Marshal GearAll Operation: Marshal Law members are given a

Glock automatic pistol, a dress uniform and badge, tac-tical outfit and kevlar vest, helmet and harness, under-cover shirt, two sets of normal handcuffs and one set of CrimePrev IC-S10 handcuffs, gas mask, flashlight, a late model sedan, cell phone, PDA, and a hand-held radio.

This equipment is “free” so long as the character is a deputy marshal. Nullifier guns may also be assigned.

Team-Up IdeasThe following may give Gamemasters ideas on how

to incorporate Operation: Marshal Law into their game.

Breakout!As agents of Operation: Marshal Law, the player

characters are summoned to the nation’s largest me-tahuman detention center after someone’s seemingly well-orchestrated plan results in most of the prisoners escaping. Not only will the Marshals need to lend their aid to the staggering task of tracking down and bringing in so many dangerous, super-powered fugitives (some-thing that will certainly take months—if not years—to complete), but they’ll also be called upon to help investi-gate who was responsible for the breakout.

This lends itself well to a long-term campaign, allow-ing the Gamemaster to interject clues and incidents with fugitives, as needed amongst any other plans he has for the game. The breakout’s perpetrator can also be as cen-tral to the game or operate in the periphery as much as is needed, possibly turning out to be nothing more than a few lucky coincidences providing just the right sort of opportunity, or it could be as frightening as a con-spiracy of corruption that reaches all the way to the top levels of power in the government.

Judicial TargetA higher-up within a notorious villain organiza-

tion is finally going to trial after months of hiding him in seclusion to prevent his minions from conducting a rescue. Refusing to be dissuaded, however, the organi-zation has opted for another strategy and has killed the first two judges assigned to the case, and a third has re-signed out of fear for his life. Now a hard-line judge has been given the case and it is up to the heroes, members of Operation: Marshal Law, to keep her safe until the trial’s completion.

Protecting this latest judge means keeping her in total seclusion and fighting against her dominating, type-A personality; she is used to being in control and having to hide does not sit well with her, making her difficult to manage and very bossy. This will make protecting her all the more difficult, and may create opportunities for

those who want to see her dead to strike while she is in transit or at the safehouse should she slip up and give away her location at any time.

Either way, just being around their ward means the heroes will be standing at ground zero when things in-evitably go wrong.

Rounding up a PosseWhen a special convoy covertly transporting an in-

credibly dangerous metahuman is attacked nearby, re-sulting in the prisoner escaping and all the escorts killed, the US Marshals’ office needs to enact a quick response and they currently have no Operation: Marshal Law agents at hand. As such, the USMS contacts and tempo-rarily deputizes some local vigilantes who are (largely) accepted by local law enforcement as on the up-and-up and working on the right side of the law.

Once deputized, the player character heroes are told the extent of their legal authority and are sent after the fugitive as the US Marshal who approached them leads the way. This will provide unsanctioned characters an opportunity to see what sort of power comes from gov-ernment authority and may interest them in signing on for Operation: Marshal Law full time.

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