The Bureau of Mysteries
I’ll tell you this much: most folk around here would trade in ten of the town guard for a single one of them. They’re clever, relentless, incorruptible, and even ruthless at times. If you think you can pull the wool over their eyes, think again. They’re already one step ahead of you. Hell, they were more than one ahead of me. — Amis Oakrun, imprisoned crime lordThose familiar with the Bureau of Mysteries know that the guild walks on the edge of a razor. Committed to justice and truth, its members will investigate any crime and uncover any secret, no matter the danger to their lives. This, of course, means that the guild makes enemies of the most ruthless, deadly, and influential people in the world—corrupt nobles, merciless crime lords, cunning spies, and sometimes worse. Assassinations, kidnappings, heists, and bribery are all investigated by the guild, usually after being commissioned to do so by a patron. However, it’s rumoured that the guild’s agents will open their own investigations if no one else is willing to dig up the truth… Most guild members have access to incredible psionic powers, providing them an ability to read thoughts, enter people’s memories, spot lies, and protect themselves against intimidation, charm, enchantments, and mind control. These psionic disciplines are referred to as “the Iron Mind,” which gives its practitioners a cold and emotionless effect. In addition to these psionic abilities, most members of the Bureau are masters of disguise, code-breaking, and interrogation. Members of the Bureau employ these skills to solve crimes ranging from murder to corruption, but the guild’s most famous cases have to do with fighting crime syndicates and gangs. Built on years of quiet research, the Bureau has clandestine files on nearly every major player in the criminal underworld and beyond. Though the Bureau is relatively small, its agents have learned to strike criminals where it hurts the most: they’ll break into vaults to empty a syndicate’s coffers, scry gang leaders during secret meetings, and even infiltrate a prince’s entourage to gain access to his private dungeons, where prisoners may rot for decades without justice. The Bureau has become the premier guild for rooting out spies, uncovering plots and coups, and even incriminating nobles for crimes against their subjects, but the guild’s reputation for being comprised of elite investigators is built on its work for the common people. Mysterious serial murders, bizarre disappearances, and insidious cults have all been uncovered by the guild, as well as ruthless crime lords and far-reaching criminal organizations.
The primary goal of the Bureau of Mysteries is to see justice done, whether that means imprisoning a corrupt magistrate or returning stolen funds to a caravan merchant. Some members of the guild believe that punishing criminals is enough, but others see protecting and aiding the innocent as being more important than securing retribution. This divide has led some members to use vigilantism to solve cases, especially in places where the courts or government are rife with corruption, while others issue ultimatums to crime bosses in order to discourage crime in the first place. Though the guild does not seek to replace town or city guards, it recognizes that sometimes its members are the only ones left who uphold the law. When the guild sees crime run rampant and there is no one brave or wealthy enough to commission it, then the Bureau will sometimes undertake secret missions using its elite agents to root out the corruption at its source. Many politicians, crime lords, and nobles have spread rumours that the Bureau is made up of unnatural, inhuman beings whose minds have been warped by their training, making it hard for the guild to get support from some cities and settlements. Indeed, some common people look upon the Whitecoats with fear and mistrust, privately fearing that their own thoughts and indiscretions can be read by a guild member with a single glance. In reality, guild members obey strict rules against using their powers against the innocent, and the dark rumours spread about the guild are meant to discredit the Bureau’s work and dissuade people from hiring, trusting, or cooperating with its agents.
| Rank | Responsibilities |
| Constable | Accompanying other members as backup, guarding witnesses, conducting surveillance |
| Examiner | Examining crime scenes, collecting clues, interviewing witnesses |
| Visor | Assigning cases, advising Sentinels and Examiners, overseeing investigations |
| Mentalist | Psions only. Using powers to reconstruct crime scenes, interviewing persons of interest |
| Interrogator | Interrogating witnesses, accomplices, and criminals, usually aided by psionic talents |
| Inspector | Psions only. Leading small teams to investigate complex and dangerous cases |
| Inquisitor | Protecting witnesses and other Whitecoats, maintaining safe houses |
| Managing threats to the guild, negotiating with allies, overseeing major operations | |
Call for the Whitecoats
The Bureau of Mysteries is an elite crime-fighting force of trained investigators far above the run-of-the-mill town guard or even most royal spies. The members of the Bureau gained the moniker of Whitecoats because, as one might expect, each wears a long white duster or trench coat emblazoned with a golden insignia to mark themself as a member of the Bureau. Each team has at least one skilled psionic adept it, as well as a broad range of skills on both the investigation and the interrogation side of the guild’s business
Type
Guild, Professional
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