- Modern-ish setting. It's the information age, something relatable to us.
- First contact; alien civilizations are starting to talk to Earth.
- The RP starts around the time that the military, intelligence agencies and NASA are able to feed coherent information and analysis to the White House.
- The characters are the American government - vital roles include the President of the United States, the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Press Secretary, other cabinet members, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, the minorities in both chambers...and others as people make a consistent argument.
- The intent of the plot is how the organs of American government grapple with the facets of the potential crisis. Aliens, multiple types, are communicating with Earth.
- We are keeping this down to the American government, with other governments effectively NPC'ed as a matter of perspective. Characters are the organs of a government, grappling with the immense consequences of first contact with extraterrestrials.
- Inspirations; Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, the Cuban Missile Crisis and so many others. Ironically, we talked about "West Wing" in the brainstorm between co-GM's, but also referred to "The Best and the Brightest."
- Chat here.

For most people, first contact is something seen on TV, or argued about on the internet. And while society has a huge argument and speculates, there are people who have greater access to information on the inside, but are still fallible, mortal, and capable of making mistakes. Nonetheless, on their shoulders ride the decisions, though not always the consequences.

Multiple alien civilizations have reached out to the governments of Earth, at first, and while a lid is on the information, it's starting to leak out. The clock is ticking, and decisions have to be made. Unilateral negotiation with the ET factions, or consult with allies? Bring in the Russians? The Chinese? Put it to the Security Council? What about the General Assembly? How much information gets released? What are the aliens doing? What are their intentions? Do we brief the press, stonewall or go fully public?

These are only some of the questions. The decisions shape the events, though they do not fully control them. The unexpected happens. Decisions matter, but consequences aren't always apparent. You inhabit the world as it is.

Hoo dangy, it's a big RP idea, which is why I brought in two Co-GM's, guys that I brainstormed with. The idea is to create an RP that is more about sweating bullets and trying to get it right, the sort of cabal/factional infighting that can occur within a government and how dicey these pressure situations can get.

When thinking of this RP, we talked about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Desert One, the Manhattan Project and other major decision points that had a huge influence on events to follow. The RP isn't about tanks and bullets, but it is about strategic position, trying to glean out the intention of multiple alien factions and other human ones in the delicate business of figuring out how Humanity enters into the wider interstellar civilization and on what terms.

If you have a yen for playing this sort of situation room/political thriller/sci-fi juxtaposition of an RP, come and get us! We'll be in the Discord for the RP and we're looking for creative partners!