The first Hot War Preview ^[1] was the smallest of teasers, introducing readers to the overall concepts of the new game and debuting a couple of images by some very talented folks.

This time we are going to take a closer look at the Special Situations Group. The SSG is made up of military, police and civilian personnel and have the unenviable task of hunting down monsters, those who created monsters, power crazed madmen, terrorists, traitors, infiltrators and all sorts of nests of enemies. Player Characters in Hot War are members of the SSG.

The Special Situations Group

For some tasks in post-war London, the armed forces are considered too unsubtle, the police not suitably supported, civilians lacking in training. Some of these tasks are things like the sensitive matter of collating information on twisted technology, tracking down infiltrators and spies, hunting notable creatures and finding out betters ways to kill them, investigating ‘unusual occurrences’ and so forth. To cover all these eventualities, and more, the Special Situations Group (SSG) was organised.

The SSG came into existence, by Government decree, a few months after the outbreak of war, when the situation in London and the south stabilised to a certain extent and the authorities could turn their eyes towards something more than the very basic fundamentals of survival. The nature of the apocalypse that has, seemingly, befallen the world was brought into sharper relief for many people and it was decided that, in the short-term at least, specialist units should be set up to deal with the situations arising out of the horrors.

Thus was born the SSG, which at its core had a cadre of Metropolitan and City of London police officers Reinforced with the addition of scientists, military personnel and other specialists, the group became one of the key units fighting monsters that had infiltrated London. The first encounters indicated that many times, there would be human involvement, so the remit of the SSG was expand to include hunting for spies, terrorists, traitors and seeking out and capturing technology and monsters for experimentation.

The actual scope of SSG operations remains relatively vague and cross-jurisdictional flare-ups often occur between them, the armed forces and the police forces. Some of the areas that the SSG are tasked to investigate are distinctly ephemeral, such as the hunting down of ‘terrorists’, a group described in very vague terms: “any individual or group of persons who are engaged in, or conspiring to engage in , activities detrimental to the good order and running of the state.” Needless to say, many SSG personnel find the ‘terrorism’ mandate particularly hard to deal with.

The Personnel of the SSG

Those who now find themselves working in the dangerous environment of the SSG are drawn from many walks of life. The attraction of better rations and a secure place to sleep proved to be an irresistible draw for some, others did it out of a sense of duty, others because they were ordered to by superiors.

In the main, the agents of the SSG can be group into three backgrounds: military, police and civilian. Military personnel are seconded from the army, navy and even the RAF and retain their rank and privileges. The armed forces have a deep and abiding interest in the work of the SSG, seeing any discoveries that they might make in the light of combat and war experience. Police personnel, in a similar way to there military counterparts, are seconded and retain their previous ranks. They come from all branches of the constabulary, some having volunteered, others being forced in against their will. Finally, the most diverse group are the civilians. Included in this group are individuals who work for the government (which also means those who work for the secret intelligence agencies), scientists and medical professionals, tradesmen (such as carpenters, welders, fitters and so forth), former sewer and Tube maintenance personnel (who’s knowledge of subterranean London is highly valued) and even former taxi drivers (who have a detailed, encyclopaedic knowledge of the streets of London).

Hot War RPG by Contested Ground Studios

Stay tuned for more Hot War previews here on Flames Rising. Check out some Actual Play Threads ^[2] of ongoing playtest games. Look for Hot War this summer…