¶ ECHO
Themes: Artifact containment, paranormal investigation, documenting the unknown
You can apply to join ECHO as a player after working with them in game and roleplaying interest
ECHO is a small government group responsible for the containment and study of anomalous artifacts. It is led by Director Dr. Woe Barebone. ECHO members can be identified by their black and orange uniforms, or by their Department of Defense identification cards.
ECHO has a facility south-east of the Mega Cavern Mall, and you can work with them as a volunteer by reporting artifacts and sharing information about paranormal occurences. The ECHO facility is semi-open to the public, with a lobby and cafeteria without any restrictions on access.
Anyone can join ECHO by roleplaying with players in the group and then submitting an in-character résumé to a high ranking officer. There will be an interview involved and restrictions placed on your character, such as not being able to earn pay in a workplace. In Character actions can involve you being fired from ECHO, or promoted to a higher rank with more responsibilities.
¶ Background
ECHO is a niche government group that would only have been heard of by pre-apocalypse civilians who were conspiracy nuts, historians and documentary enthusiasts. Those within the government would have taken note of it as a dumping ground for agents who were unwanted from other departments.
Post-apocalypse, ECHO is one of the few surviving government organisations left in Knox. With the concept of the paranormal becoming less of a joke and a day to day reality, ECHO too has suddenly been thrust into a position of higher responsibility.
¶ NPCs
¶ Dr. Woe Barebone
Credit: @ghaiuz
Dr. Woe Barebone is a tenured medical professional who was contracted to work for ECHO nearly a decade ago. She is in charge of ECHO overall, having gone from a Lead Researcher in the Science Division to Director of ECHO after Nolan Wright stepped down in 1994. She can be best described as 'distant, yet caring', and has a systematic approach to solving problems.
Storyteller: Jay
¶ Emily Grant
Deputy Director of ECHO and Head of Containment. She was previously assigned to Security. She is often described as a 'No nonsense woman' and is never seen with a smile, always thinking of a problem that has yet to be solved.
Storyteller: Kriese
¶ Elson Willsey
Colonel Willsey is head of the Field Operations at ECHO. A traditional no-nonsense military man, he is known for treating agents under him like soldiers and favors those with a military background.
Storyteller: Zoomies
¶ Miles Rourke
Miles is a Manager in Security, a department that prioritises protecting ECHO's facility and those within it, as well as providing bodyguard details to key personnel. He frequently acts as a hiring manager and removes those he sees as security risks from ECHO.
Storyteller: VeryGoodFish
¶ Ranking System
| Level | Field Operations | Security | Containment | Science | Janitorial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junior Operative | Junior Agent | Junior Curator | Lab Assistant | Facilities Assistant |
| 2 | Operative | Agent | Curator | Scientist | Custodian |
| 3 | Senior Operative | Senior Agent | Senior Curator | Senior Scientist | Senior Custodian |
| 4 | Lead Operative | Lead Agent | Vault Warden | Researcher | Maintenance Lead |
| 5 | Field Supervisor | Security Supervisor | Senior Vault Warden | Senior Researcher | Infrastructure Supervisor |
| 6 | Field Commander | Security Commander | Vaultkeeper | Lead Researcher | Infrastructure Manager |
| Head | Elson Willsey (NPC) | Emily Grant (NPC) | Emily Grant (NPC) | Dr. Woe Barebone (NPC) | Dr. Woe Barebone (NPC) |