Sword and SHIELD: An MCU AU

[molemole]

Sword and Shield:

The Barents Sea is always cold. The winds howl around the aircraft as they probe the Norwegian radar screen, and Yevgeniy Popov can almost feel the chill in the Tupolev's cockpit. There's little alive down there, and the man in the plane with them insists on low-level sweeps of the Arctic seas in winter.

The Tu-16 shakes and groans from the winds and from its own transonic passage, the bomb bay modified to store devices that should not be. The man in the plain jacket hums and nods to himself as readouts come in alien symbols, and the crew in the bomber's cockpit stay the hell away. The tension is thick in the air, the stench of fear and frustration from the crew thicker than maggots on meat.

"Lower, I think. Comrade Captain, we need to make one more sweep before return." The plainclothes man in the engineer's chair smiles politely as he asks - and it isn't really a request.

"Comrade, we are running out of fuel and the Americans will be here soon. The picket aircraft have them on radar already. I protest this." Popov knows that it'll get him nowhere, but losing a bomber to fuel shortage isn't going to be his fault.

"Then I'll make that an order, comrade captain. Perhaps that makes things better?" The man's tone is now acidly polite, eyes cold as he watches the pilot stammer an acceptance. The big bomber banks sharply as it comes about, once more overlying the northern Norwegian coast.

Oddly enough, less than two minutes of flight later the order is rescinded. "I have my data, comrade captain. Take us back to Murmansk, the Kremlin will want this." Popov doesn't protest, and the Badger turns east to Russia. Back to Soviet airspace just in time to avoid a flight of F-4s out of Bodo.
It appears that NATO is on alert today.

Two days later the plainclothes officer is standing at attention before:
Pick one agency:
[X]General Alexei Lavochkin: Head of GRU 'P' Division, the good general is a smiling, friendly man whose laughter never reaches his eyes. To most people, 'P' division handles accounts and externalities. To the men in the know, it's the front line against the CIA and SHIELD. Begin commanding GRU-P Special Ops, Northern Europe.

[X]Comrade Academician Grigoriy Rasputin: A quiet intellectual, Rasputin has managed to rise in the ranks of the KGB through planning and ruthlessness. The KGB's Special Weapons Units are the spear that probe the guts and deep waters of capitalism - the black vaults of SHIELD and US Intelligence's mutant projects one such example. Begin commanding KGB Department M Special Ops, Baltic Europe.

[X]Ambassador Wilhelm Fischer: The man who heads a 'joint committee on economic cooperation', Wilhelm Fischer is more than meets the eye. East German Intelligence would heartily agree - if they could speak about him. Begin commanding GRU/Stasi joint 'preternatural' ops, Southern/Eastern Europe.

He hands over his report and speaks briefly, the figure before him asking little. Instead there is a thick file passed to the officer, and he glances through it before leaving with it tucked under his arm. In the meantime, the man in the chair leans back to relax, it's been a long time. Now that there's been a find in northern Europe, the action begins.
What was found? Pick one starting find/artifact
[X]An American strike team: Wearing odd gear and carrying highly advanced weapons, this team seems to be a SHIELD special ops team. At least, that's what you originally thought. Begin with Captured HYDRA Equipment -> Potential Research action.

[X]Sigils and Signs: There is something under the Barents ice, something near the graves of hundreds of dead English sailors from World War II. Something that the Kremlin is hellishly skittish about. Begin with Project: Undersea Sigil research.

[X]An ancient spear, harder than titanium yet with some odd gun on the side: It isn't of Earth origin. Not if the dating places it at more than four thousand years old. Yet it seems in excellent condition...Begin with Project: Alien Materials Research.

You can expect the Americans to probe your perimeter and try to tap their sources, and you can expect SHIELD to do the same. Of the two, it's your old enemy Nick Fury that is the greater threat. you smile to yourself as you remember that you're technically dead and your 'greatest enemy' doesn't know you exist.
That's as it should be.

Even so, this is an excellent start to:
Pick a year:
[X]1970: The economy is slowing, and matching the Americans is taking its toll. There is still a way out, though. A technological breakthrough from you or from the finds that you make - perhaps that will help? Begin in 1970, ++funding, high expectations, hardliners in the Kremlin. Okay situation for Russia overall.

[X]1979: The situation is bleak, and the recent attack on Afghanistan means that money goes from preternatural ops to warfare. Begin in 1979, +funding, moderate expectations, moderate-poor situation for Russia overall.

[X]1986: The army has bogged down in Afghanistan, and the Americans are feeding missiles and gear to the mujahideen. On the other fronts, things look worse long-term. Begin in 1986, -funding, low expectations thanks to low funding, poor situation for Russia overall.

Welcome to Sword and SHIELD, an MCU alternate-universe quest where you play the Soviet side of the Cold War against Nick Fury.
Votes open for 48 hours or till I get more than three, whichever's later.

 

[molemole]

Mechanics:
This will be a rather basic quest run as follows: You are a Soviet spymaster in the Cold War, and must retain the Politburo's favor to remain in position.

Resources:
These are a way to model cash and requisitions, and is a single quantity.
You are allotted a set amount of resources per turn as your budget, and have a set amount that you can stockpile, for example you may have +500 resources per turn, and a maximum capacity of 1000. Repeated lack of use of the full budget can lead to cuts from the high command, as is often the case in government budgeting.
More resources and independent supply can be gained by criminal activity outside the USSR, smuggling, illegal activities inside the USSR, and once the Union collapses (if it does), seizure of assets.
Resources are used to build bases and fortifications, recruit troops and maintain them, and finally to run operations.

Favor:
The Politburo's favor can be earned by completion of objectives, successful operations, visible successes (e.g. assassinations), and by taking the right side in the internecine conflict in government. Low favor with the Politburo can lead to budget cuts, transfer of assets away from your control, and personal consequences such as the gulag - which is pretty much game over. High favor can mean more resources, more and better recruits, and chances to push policy ideas of your own to the directors of the USSR.
Maintaining favor is key to keeping your post, and must be a priority. Each turn the Politburo's attitude and Favor will be displayed, and you start with 20 Favor (Neutral opinion). Below 10 means that your position is actively under threat, and below 5 is a chance of gulag.

Operations:
Each turn you have three actions that can be taken from a list of options. They are divided into Infrastructure, Active Ops, and Materiel. Infrastructure actions are the bones and muscle of your agency - building bases, research, logistics and so on. Active Operations are missions that are undertaken to attain objectives set by the Politburo. Each operation can be expensive and complex - so be careful to pace yourself. Finally, Materiel actions cover recruitment, arms acquisition, and intelligence acquisition. The last can be either through infiltration or through use of more esoteric means - mutants, metahumans and so on.
Every few turns the Politburo will issue a strategic objective - usually a broad one like 'Acquisition of Military Intelligence', 'Acquisition of Scientific Personnel', or 'Infiltration - England'. There will be a number of turns within which you're expected to show results, and failure results in loss of Favor.
Bases:
You begin with one operational base, based on what you choose in the first update. As you expand into different theaters, you'll have to assign personnel to oversee those areas and your responsibilities will grow. But for now, there is one base and one central mustering point - defend it well. Should the USSR collapse, this will be the center of your power, so best to make it robust and well-stocked.

Defense:
SHIELD will not be idle while you launch raids and infiltrate Western society. Each turn I will roll for SHIELD to detect you and take action, and once detected there will be attacks both political and physical on your forces and powerbase. Expect to be taking one defensive action every few turns once Nick Fury hits his stride.

Occultism and Magic:
Magic here is far more fickle than the vanilla MCU, and I'll be using a modified Lovecraftian feel for most of it. This quest starts well before Doctor Strange, and I'm not familiar enough to work with the earlier characters, so expect modified canon to show up.
Similarly the dimensional planes and so on are far more sinister in nature than in the MCU, and there are far more hazards than the Asgardians out there.

Stats:
Your character has three major stats: Political Acumen,Combat Skill, and Science . The first influences politics rolls, interpersonal rolls and rolls involving administration. The second influences combat, command and tactical planning - including active operations. The last influences research, magic and occultism.
All three stats can affect the relations with characters who value them highly - for instance high Science makes interaction with Ivan Vanko easier, and high Political Skill makes interaction with the Red Room agents easier.
Besides these three there are the subsidiary stats of Resources and Favor, which have been described above.

 

[molemole]

Character Creation:
You are:
[X]Write In Name (based on name I'll make male or female char)
a member of the KGB's Department M. Your job is the investigation of extranormal events and prevention of enemy use of such assets. Trust me, it isn't an easy one.

What was your background? What great events have you seen, that drove you to the shadows and the unknown branches of Soviet Intelligence?
[X]The War: You were one of the troops that fought from Moscow to Berlin, step by bloody step. You're one of few left standing from your unit, and you've seen everything from German troops to the exotic forces of HYDRA. All fell, to artillery, air and to you. Pick one service arm:
-[X]VVS: Soviet Frontal Aviation rose like a phoenix after 1941, and you rose with it. Contacted after the war by the intelligence service, you've specialized in the more...esoteric...scouting and reconaissance missions. Begin with scout squadron (Tu-16), begin with better relations with Red Air Force.
-[X]Red Army: The mailed fist of the Revolution was gutted in '41, and you'd managed to stay alive in those desperate months until winter. Your reward was combat, combat and more combat - all the way to Berlin. Begin with 1xInfantry Battalion, begin with better relations with Red Army.
-[X]NKVD: The war in the shadows was scarcely less bloody than the battles in the open fields. You survived, rose and endured - and at the end of it never saw your enemy dead. Johan Schmidt and HYDRA are still out there - you can feel it in your bones. Begin with Informant Network (Europe & Britain), begin with better relations (KGB).

[X]The Hideous Artifices: There are wonders and terrors in the science cities that Stalin ordered built in the Siberian tundra. Sciences that man was not mean to know so soon, magics and arts that left our predecessors dead. There are runes below the waters of the Arctic, and they speak. Begin with 1xParanormal Research Team, begin with magical ability.

[X]The Outsider: You aren't Russian. You're like Rokossovsky and countless others - a useful implement for the USSR and an alien in your homeland. Nonetheless, you command significant political power in your own right thanks to that very use of your skills. Begin with +1000 Resources, begin with better Foreign Ministry relations and support.

Where are you located? What forces can you draw on? Pick one starting location/loadout:
[X]Leningrad Military District: Far from the front, the city of Leningrad is a hub of manufacturing and research - not to mention heavily defended. A perfect point from which to plan out your strikes on the enemy, and to conduct long-term research of the loot. ++Research, malus to defensive response time, more scrutiny from Politburo, +Production.

[X]Baltic Special Military District: The frontline on the Baltic, the cities of Riga and Kaliningrad are home to interceptors, missile defense, radar systems and the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. That kind of force concentration means that when you need support and arms, you get it. Fast. ++Arms and troops, less scrutiny from Politburo, must cooperate with Red Army/Navy/Air Force.

[X]Szczecin, Poland: The city on the Oder was once a German fortress, and fell to the Red Army in 1945. It's one of the many cities in Europe that have been demolished by the bombers, rezoned by the Red Army, and rebuilt by looted funds from the corpse of Nazi Germany. There's little here but old Nazi bunkers and proximity to NATO operations in Europe. A damned good advance post, in other words. Bonus to response time on defense, bonus to Infiltration thanks to shorter distances, must cooperate with Poles. Less scrutiny from Politburo.

Lastly, what forces can you bring? What has the high command granted you? You have 10 points, pick assets from below:
[X]Infrastructure: Base construction is expensive, and the Soviet Union can pay for only so much: Pick up to two, each can be picked once, four points each:
-[X]Research Labs I: Basic laboratories, dorms, and facilities. Enough to examine captured assets but not enough to fundamental scientific breakthroughs. For that, you have to send things back to Moscow. Allows basic research of captured specimens. Your starting research project is doable even without taking this option.
-[X]Barracks and Armory: Enough to keep a company of infantry in rations and guns. Not enough for major operations. Allows recruitment of Red Army Infantry (Roles: Airborne, Engineers, Riflemen)
-[X]Submarine Docks: Keeping these secret is just a matter of having Polish Navy subs use them. They're a NATO missile target, but that's the price you pay for having a submarine under your command. Gain 1x Submarine, support facilities.

[X]Troops: You aren't an army commander, but nonetheless there's a good deal of killing to be done. Who do you have to do it? Pick up to two, can be picked once each:
-[X]Red Room Agents: Perfect for spying and assassination, they're not meant for heavy combat. That's what the supersoldier program was for. Add 2 Red Room Agents, can be assigned to infiltration/espionage missions. 4 points.
-[X]KGB Spetsnaz: Your own department's specialists in dealing with things that aren't normal. From Murmansk to Vladivostok, they've killed all sorts of crap. They're just not very stealthy. Adds 1xSpetsnaz Team, can be assigned to assassination/infiltration/covert ops. 3 points.
-[X]KGB Security Battalion: Better to fortify what you have than call attention early. Hence the reinforced battalion of Interior Ministry guards that man the perimeter and watch the coast. Adds Base Security II trait to base: +10 to base defense rolls. 3 points.

[X]Assets: Can be picked multiple times each:
-[X]Funds and Resources: Adds +500 Resources each time chosen, max resource capacity is 2500. You start with 500. For reference, recruiting a platoon of conscripts costs you 100. 1 point.
-[X]Reputation: Pick factions to improve relations with: 1 point each, +1 level each time.
--[X]Red Army: Currently Distrustful (3/10)
--[X]Red Air Force: Currently Distrustful (3/10)
--[X]Red Navy: Currently Distrustful (3/10)
--[X]KGB: Currently Tolerated: (6/10)
--[X]Economics Ministry and GOSPLAN: Currently Apathetic (5/10)

Votes open till Tuesday night US Eastern Time