Welcome. This is a one-shot game being organized for early 2011. The setting is modern day, the world is generally as you expect it to be as a player. Everything that exists in today's real world exists in the world for this game.
There is, to your knowledge, no such thing as ghosts, aliens, magic, psychic powers, etc. (Well, pursuant to your own beliefs, of course.)
What is Unit 19?
You are part of Unit 19, attached to the Diplomatic Security Service, part of the U.S. Department of State. You are the elite of the elite of the diplomatic corps. When there's a sticky situation, you know that you're on the line to sort it out. Some of the past missions Unit 19 has been responsible for:
The US Ambassador to Sudan, Cleo A. Noel, Jr., was taken hostage in 1973. President Nixon refused to negotiate as per US policy, but a squad from Unit 19 along with a group from the US Army Special Forces was urgently deployed to try to retrieve the hostages before the situation resolved unfavorably. Unfortunately, there was not enough time, and the diplomats were killed.
After the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in East Africa, various groups from Unit 19 were dispatched to each of the affected locations to provide on-site assistance to the local embassy and to ensure relations with the host countries were maintained. The squads were also assigned to assist various other US organizations in determining who was responsible and ensuring the continued safety of the diplomatic missions.
In 2006 when the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan was recalled, the public story was that his tenure was over. Privately, the FBI was investigating a prostitution scandal involving the issuing of visas and assisting girls in travelling to the US to join the sex trade. Due to the potentially explosive nature of the issue, a squad from Unit 19 was dispatched to maintain relations with the government of Azerbaijan.
In most situations where there is an element of hostility or potential flammability, Unit 19 is often mobilized. You're trained for these sorts of situations -- hostage extraction, negotiations that are expected to go hostile, unofficial diplomacy with agencies the US won't officially speak to, etc.
Unofficially, Unit 19 calls itself the Golden Eagles. They have access to military supplies as needed, but typically borrow transportation and specialized assistance from the Green Beret. After all, Unit 19 is a diplomatic group at its core. They're damn good in a fight if needed, but their overall goal is to support the Foreign Service and American interests abroad.
Composition of a Squad
Typically, squads are structured such that they contain at least a fully trained and educated diplomat. The rest of the roles are varied, however, as squads tend to be assembled for a particular mission and have very little time to prepare to work together. Everyone has some amount of skill with a gun, however, and is trained in the basics of combat and other urban scenarios.
Some of the previous members of Unit 19 have included demolitions experts, electronics experts with a focus in communications and hardware cryptography, an ex-NASCAR driver who enlisted to do more for his country, soldiers who used to be in the Marines or Army and transferred over to the DSS, administrative types who don't flinch from a tough situation, language/culture experts, etc. There is a wide range of skills found in Unit 19, and that's the way they want it.
At least one player should have skills that would allow them to effectively negotiate with foreign entities. Everybody else should build characters that would reasonably be found on a squad of this caliber. You don't have to be combat oriented, but you will be trained to proficiency on your sidearms and the use of emergency gear.
The particular mission you are being assigned to will fit the skills of the characters you choose. I have a few ideas in mind for the mission, but I'm going to tailor it enough to the composition of the players that it will work however it comes down.
Character Creation
For now, all you need to do is come up with a very short concept -- one or two sentences about what your role is and what you are called. Do not spend more time than that thinking about your character -- you will get plenty of time when you get the list of questions.
The next step, once you send me your brief role and name, is that you will get back a list of questions to answer. These will be questions about your character that will help you to define yourself, but also will help me to weave a story around using the particulars of your character, leading to a more involved and interesting story.
Once you finish and return the questions to me, then we schedule the game and get together and play.