Project: Safeguard

Project: Safeguard

Project: Safeguard or simply the Safeguard is an American superhero team operating domestically as a part of the Air Force. Its membership is drawn from members of all branches of the armed forces along with select individuals recruited specifically for the initiative. The government sanctioned and funded team arguably takes inspiration from Canada's True North or the National Gendarmerie of France, though with a mission statement born of current events more so than either of those venerable organizations. In contrast to the international - even interplanetary - focus of the Freedom League, the Safeguard operates solely within the borders of the United States apart from rare exceptions where a foreign government has specifically requested their assistance. An outgrowth of pararescue units, the team's focus is on search and rescue, natural disaster intervention and combatting acts of domestic terrorism, particularly where it involves metahumans or sufficiently advanced hardware.

The Safeguard somewhat pointedly does not fall under the purview of AEGIS which can lead to occasional disagreements over jurisdiction but it maintains a good working relationship with that organization as well as UNIQUE of the United Nations. Given their overlapping areas of focus the Safeguard works alongside the Freedom League semi-regularly but between natural rivalry and differing viewpoints individual interactions between members of the two teams can be strained. Spokespeople have stressed repeatedly that Project: Safeguard was not conceived as a replacement for independent good samaritans such as the League nor as part of any plan to draft metahumans into the armed forces. With any understandable skepticism in mind the team's members have been instructed to keep public relations always in mind but ultimately the good work they do is all the explanation necessary for their growing popularity.

GM Notes: There is no government conspiracy or ulterior motive behind the Safeguard; they are as they seem, civic minded heroes with a desire to serve brought together with the best of goals. That doesn't mean they're easy to work with, however. Player characters are likely to find their self-imposed restrictions and bureaucracy and concern over public image frustrating in the middle of a crisis. By the same token members of the Safeguard tend to take a dim view of untrained, undisciplined vigilantes, particularly those who are underage or insist on operating in the shadows without any sort of oversight.

That friction allows the Safeguard to serve as rivals and non-villainous antagonists for player characters, operating from a position of some authority and respect. They may just as easily fill the role of mentors or introductions into plots for player characters. Remember thought that they should be used mostly when another player character such as members of the Freedom League are unavailable or a poor fit for one reason or another. As NPCs the bulk of their adventures happen off-panel and they should never pull focus from the player characters.