Game Description
Urban Nightmare - Roles Guide
Here is a general guide for the available roles in the game. Some advice is given to help you establish a preference for one or more roles. You do not need to sign up for a specific role- if you aren't sure or don't have a preference then we will try and assign you the best available role!
You can also sign up with a team of friends (just be sure to let us know who else you want to be on a team with!) - or by yourself. Either way we'll try and fit you in to the right role!
City Hall
Team size: Up To 3 Players
Each of the cities in the state is governed by an elected Mayor. Technically the boss of the Chief and Police and the Head of the Emergency Services, the Mayor is responsible for everything that happens in the city and is expected to lead and coordinate during any crisis, on behalf of the people. The City Hall team may also find itself juggling its priorities with protecting key political areas and dealing with potential bureaucratic or partisan concerns.
As well as the Mayor, the City Hall team includes a Liaison Officer, responsible for coordinating and communicating with other teams, and a Press Officer, who is also focused on communication, with an added responsibility for being the official spokesperson and go-between with the Press.
City Police
Team size: Up to 4 Players (One team with up to 5 Players)
Led by the elected Chief of Police, the City Police team are responsible for law and order, and the protection of the property and citizens of the city. But the Police team is still a political team, and the Chief needs to be considering how events may affect their chances of re-election.
The Chief of Police coordinates their team and liaises with other teams. They are assisted in this by their Press Officer, who is also responsible for Press relations. The other members of the team are the Operations Officers, who will be focused on assessing the situation on the map, and planning the response with their units and any other resources they get - which includes interacting with other players at the maps in order to coordinate their actions.
City Emergency Services
Team size: Up to 3 Players
Crime isn't the only threat in the cities. The Emergency Services department work tirelessly manning its hospitals and fighting fires, saving lives and limiting property damage. Failure to succeed in their responsibilities also creates political concerns, as much like the other city teams, the Head of the Emergency services is also elected, and needs to be considering their public image.
The Head of Emergency Services is responsible for coordinating their own team and liaising with other teams. They are accompanied (and often assisted) by the Fire Chief - who is responsible for assessing the map, ensuring roads are clear, and likely coordinating with other players - and the Medical Chief, who must keep the hospitals working, and effectively assign their stretched medical resources as the crisis unfolds.
The State House
Team size: Up to 7 Players
The cities of the state do not exist in isolation. The Governor and their team are always keeping track of the wider issues and holding the City Halls to account. However, they are not immune to public opinion, and must keep a close eye on the attitude of the population across the state in order to manage their chances of re-election. The relationship between state and city government is a subtle one - cities hold a great deal of autonomy, and the state's ability to directly intervene is limited until City Hall declares a formal 'State of Emergency'. As such, much of the state's activities are information gathering, planning, and coordinating inter-city matters across the state - likely with a good deal of political manoeuvring thrown in too.
The State House team is made up of the Governor, as well as several liaisons, including the City Liaisons (communicating with the City Halls and keeping an eye on the situation in the cities); Police Liaison (keeping track of State Police and all City Police forces, helping with coordination and information gathering); Emergency Services Liaison (assessing the medical and firefighting situations and co-coordinating inter-city efforts); Military Liaison (communicating with the National Guard and, if it comes to it, any Federal military assets operating within the state); and the Press Officer, acting as the spokesperson for the team and focusing on the state's public image.
In addition, the state government reports to the federal government (see below) and is responsible for keeping them informed. Should the state government fail, then the federal government may hold them to account.
State Police
Team size: Up to 6 Players
The State Police are under the state government's authority and are responsible for policing the state outside of the big cities - though they can sometimes assist with city policing if explicitly called in by the city, typically for extreme situations.
The Chief of State Police is also an elected official, and in addition to their responsibility coordinating their team, they must consider their chances of re-election and how the team's actions may impact that. Much like the City Police, the State Police have a Press Officer responsible for their relationship with the news media, and they also have a Liaison Officer to help them coordinate with other teams and keep on top of the situation. They also have Operations Officers, deploying to the State Map (and possibly City Maps) to deal with any issues, and coordinating with other players at the map.
National Guard
Team size: Up to 4 Players
The National Guard are the state's primary armed forces, and are under the political control of the State House. However, deployment of the National Guard is a very significant decision, and as such, troops can't be activated without the relevant State of Emergency. In addition, the National Guard are a part-time, reserve force, and their units can't all be called up at a moment's notice. As such, much of the National Guard's time is contingency planning and information gathering, whilst also tactically selecting which troops to mobilise first in order to provide the most effective response when the time comes.
The National Guard Commander leads and coordinates the team, with the assistance of the National Guard Pentagon Liaison (who is responsible for communicating with federal military forces) and up to two Staff Officers (who are responsible for gathering information from around the state, and directly commanding National Guard units when they need to be deployed in the field).
Badger News
Team size: Up to 5 Players
The Badger News Corporation is the main media outlet in the state, having offices in all the major cities. As the primary source of news media, they will be challenging, investigating, questioning, and generally reporting on, the activities of the politicians, authorities and corporations - and all the other important participants - during the game's events.
Badger News' output will be a mix of posting headlines in the Badger News text channel, organising press conferences with players, and making 1-2 minute audio/video broadcasts to the rest of the players. Given the power they have over both information flow and political support, it's a good idea for other players to work to keep them on side - and as such Badger News will be filtering other players' news and press releases, as well as doing their own investigations and constructing reports.
The team consists of an Editor In Chief, who is responsible for leading and coordinating the team. They also have a Political Correspondent (reporting on the State House and City Halls); a Crime Correspondent (reporting on police actions and leadership); a Science Correspondent (reporting on medical developments and the Corporations' activity); and a Military Correspondent (reporting on security activities, the National Guard, and any federal military forces active in the state).
Tech Corporations
Team size: Up to 4 Players
There are three major technology corporations active in the state, and they are all considerable contributors to the economy and also a valuable source of high-tech equipment and bio-medical technology. They also happen to be a major source of political support for many of the elected players.
The corporation teams must allocate their resources to balance out important research and production projects, as well as keeping an eye on their financial situation, public reputations and political connections.
The team is led and coordinated by the Chief Executive Officer. They are assisted in representing the corporation by the Head of Marketing, who is the public face of the organisation and key spokesperson for interactions with the media. The Head of Production and Head of Research are in charge of investigating new avenues for technological and bio-medical projects, and assigning resources to design and ready them for manufacture.
Federal Government
Team size: Up to 7 Players
Though the state has a great deal of independence from federal authority, the Federal Government still has agents on the ground representing its various agencies, operating as its 'eyes and ears', and ready to deploy and command assets if necessary. Players on the federal team represent these local representatives, gathering intelligence, making plans, and reporting the situation back to their relative higher ups. These reports will heavily influence the thoughts and decisions of the President, Pentagon, DHS and FBI (as simulated by Control), which will then feed back into what is happening in the state and the major cities.
The Federal Government team is made up of the following representatives. Presidential Advisor - The eyes and ears for the president and her cabinet. Federal Science Advisor - Responsible for keeping the President advised of any medical and technological developments, and updates on corporate research. FBI Liaison - Identifies how and where the FBI can support local law-enforcement. FEMA Advisor - The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates disaster response nationwide, and can call on all sorts of firefighting and medical resources from neighbouring states and federal reserves. The Pentagon Advisor and the 101 Airborne Division Liaison Officer work together to keep the Pentagon informed, gather local intelligence and plan for deployment of the advance elements of the nation's strategic rapid response unit. The Federal Government also has a small number of discreet Special Forces operatives, which would definitely 'never' operate unconstitutionally within the state.
Control
Several players will be helping to run the game and manage certain parts of the experience. The Control Team are effectively a team of GMs ensuring that the rules are applied properly, and allowing players to interact with parts of the game that aren't established by existing mechanics.
Though the role is best suited to people who have attended a megagame before or who are familiar with this sort of responsibility, the Control team is open to anyone who is interested, and those new to the role will receive guidance and briefings on what they need to know. Many people enjoy taking on a Control role, as it allows you to see the game from another side, learning more about its systems and events from a more open and neutral perspective.