They say a “picture is worth a thousand words,” but no one ever says what those words are. Pain, torture, agony… screaming? Only 996 to go… After being personally invited to model at a private casting call, hosted by charismatic photographer, Adrian Scuro, you and a handful of other hopefuls find yourselves in a posh studio surrounded by white walls and displays of hauntingly beautiful photos. Maybe a glass of water will help you calm your anxiety. He really should look at filtered water… this stuff tastes weird. You begin to have second thoughts as your nerves get the better of you… you try the door but it is locked firmly in place. You remember hearing about mysterious disappearances and murders in the area over the past few months… but this can’t be… it’s not… oh my god… it’s him… You know you don’t have much time to get out before he gets back, but how?! The clock is ticking and you are starting to feel dizzy. Really dizzy… The water. No, no, no no, NO! This is not happening! A voice in your head screams “GET OUT NOW!” You don’t have much time… none of you do…
Esteemed professor of modern world history, David Morgan D.A., has been called upon numerous times by the FBI, as both a consultant and expert witness, in a string of recent historical document theft cases. A new link has been established between each of these cases, and given the historical significance of the stolen items, it is now believed that Professor Morgan, himself, has been the mastermind behind the entire network of thefts. You and your team have been sent in undercover to bring him down. As a flight risk, you will be required to work quickly to gather the necessary evidence and get out before Morgan returns from class and you are found out. Consequently, should you fail, the US Government will disavow all information regarding this assignment and your team will be issues burn notices.
It was all a setup. The dealer was in on it… the other high rollers at the table were in on it… even the waitress played her part. They took you for everything you had. Unfortunately for them, you have a plan to take it back… with interest. You call up a few “business associates” and explain the job. They all think you’re certifiably insane… and they all want in.
Your team is ready. Stacked up in the hallway right outside the door. The order is given… you move on 3. You have been waiting months to get to this point… take down the brains behind the largest drug trafficking ring in the state. One. It shouldn’t take you long to search this tiny apartment and find the stash. Two. You have the warrant and everyone is geared to take down a small army. Three. Your team pushes the door open and everyone files in… the main room is clear… until the front door closes. Your heart drops. As you stare at the wires and explosives connected to a countdown timer and you quickly realize that everyone in this room is going to have a very bad day if you’re still here when the timer reaches zero. Just another day at the office… better get to work…
The only thing more incredible than how fast the money came was how quickly it was gone. All of it. Gone. You’re left with nothing more than the clothes on your back and the wedding ring on your finger. Against your better judgment, you head to a nearby pawn shop. All you need is enough money to place the minimum bet… just one more chance to win your money back. You can buy back the ring and catch your flight home with your spouse being none-the-wiser. You lay your single chip on black and wait. It hits! You let it ride. It hits, again! Before you know it, you’re walking away from the cage with more money than before! Heading to the pawn shop, you see the sign in the window and your heart plummets. “Closed.” Unless you find a way to get that ring back AND make your flight, all of your winnings will end up financing a big, shiny, divorce.
In less than one week, you and your significant other will say your vows in front of a multitude of friends and family. You know the ceremony will be beautiful and you can’t wait to start your lives as a married couple. You came to see Vegas with your friends for one last hurrah before the big day, but that day may never come. You see there’s a problem… a BIG problem. Somewhere during the festivities of the night before, you managed to wind up with a ring on your finger with a brand new spouse. It’s safe to assume that your fiancé back home may have an issue with this. After a moment of panic, you compose yourself and round up your crew. If ever you needed their help, it’s now. It isn’t enough to just have the marriage annulled… you need it to disappear altogether. You and your friends only have an hour to get into the chapel, find the paperwork, and get out before the state of Nevada makes it official and your marriage ends before it begins…
Thousands of newlyweds register for bridal show contests and raffles every year. Who knows… maybe you’ll win a free tux rental or a celebrity-status reception. Then again, you might just win an entire honeymoon! It was a dream come true when you received the call congratulating the two of you on winning an all-inclusive paid honeymoon to Las Vegas! Friends and family send you off expecting little communication from you and your brand new spouse while on your trip. You’re finally going to get some quality “alone time”. Or so you thought… For a honeymoon to die for, you might just have to…
When you were asked to be a member of your friend’s wedding party, you had no idea it would be like this. As you start to clean yourself up from the night before, only blurry fragments of incomplete memories come to mind. The wedding is only a couple hours away, as everyone starts getting ready. Somethings missing though… something incredibly important… THE RING!!! Somewhere amongst the drinking, gambling, “taxi-surfing”, foot races with various security guards, and the montage of blackjack dealers, you must have lost them. The last memory any of you have is from the VIP lounge in Club Escape. One of your newly-acquired friends from last night said he can call in a favor to let you search the club for any sign of the ring. He also warns you to not get your hopes up. He can only get you in for about an hour, so work fast, find the ring, and get to the church before the ceremony.
Hanzo Jiro runs the largest illegal gambling racket in all of Las Vegas. As the Oyubun, the “father”, of one of the oldest and largest Yakuza clans in the country, the Inagawa-Kai, the family’s presence is notorious. Many Yaukuza of Kyushu Seido-Kai want to shift the balance of power. Short of all-out war, which would result in heavy losses for the Seido-Kai, there is only one option. Jiro’s daughter is that option. Marriage in the family would forcibly link the two clans and give Kyushu Seido-Kai respect and status. The only way a marriage will be formally recognized by Inagawa-Kai, is if bride and groom engage in sakazuki, the ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This cup has been passed down to each successive Oybun for 13 generations. You and select members of the Seido-Kai must infiltrade Hanzo Jiro’s compound, gain entry to his office, and retrieve the cup. Should you fail to acquire the cup before his guards return, the streets will be painted red with the blood of the Kyushu Seido-Kai. You have 60 minutes
“Stingray, do you copy? Please advise. Over” “Affirmative, Viper Team… Warthogs inbound. Wheels up in 60. Over.” “Copy that Stingray. Ground troops have diverted all hostile fire away from the bunker… awaiting clearance.” “Clearance granted Viper Team… hold position until NICO finds out… well whatever the hell it is they are trying to find.” “Roger that Stingray… Viper Team out.”
The lines between worlds have become blurred. Hidden behind a veil of spells and enchantments exists a society of witches and wizards, balanced against the rest of the natural world… hidden, that is, until now. Recently, non-magical individuals have been falling ill and dying over the past few months. A nefarious wizard, known only as Xerath, has placed a number of cursed paintings around the globe, draining the life force of those unfortunate enough to gaze upon them. It is believed that this energy is then siphoned into a “host” painting. The “host” is the key to preventing further deaths and, hopefully, reversing the effects of those still fighting to stay alive. We have a reason to believe that the “host” is being held in a private underground vault, inside of a secured facility operated by a powerful goblin race proficient in “technomancy”. Using a dangerous mixture of ancient magical defenses and cutting edge high tech security, you and your team must navigate through the vault, find the “host”, and escape before the cloaking spell wears off and you find yourself face-to-face with a dark wizard of unmatched power. You have 60 minutes.
Always looking for new ways to entertain his friends, Simon, a lifelong enthusiast of puzzles, riddles, and the like, has gathered all of you together today, for a party at EC Tactical. As you expected, you know this will be anything but ordinary. As the last guest arrives, the door to the party room locks and a countdown timer appears: 60 min. The timer starts counting down. Simon says: “Escape”. Can you make it out in 60 minutes?
Flickering fluorescent lighting is the first thing you notice as you open your eyes. Groggy and confused, you try to take in your surroundings, as you struggle to fight this hangover from hell. It doesn’t take long for the scene in front of you, to render itself in wide-eyed resolution. Unless you, and all the other people here, can find a way out of this godforsaken place before “He” gets back… you are all going to end up like those poor bastards hanging from the ceiling. You have to focus… whatever you do, don’t panic. Panic and you’re dead. As you say, to no one in particular, “Don’t let me die… not here… not today… not like this…”
Congratulations. You and your fellow agents have been hand-picked by the top-brass to take part in the final selection for a “Blacklist” division of the CIA, known as NICO (North American Intelligence and Counterterrorism Operatives.) You will be evaluated across a spectrum of mental exercises & stress-induced problem solving scenarios. You will be pushed to your limits, providing your instructions with information necessary to determine which among you are deserving to become NICO. As this is a division that does not exist, operated by people who do not exist, housed in a facility that does not exist… should you fail, any memories of the experiences related to your time here will, likewise, cease to exist. If you succeed, however, you will become a ghost in the system and will operate behind the scenes, shaping the future of the entire world while leaving behind nothing but dust and echoes.
The TR-18 virus was created by your team of top military scientists… not as a weapon, but rather as a research tool. Its conception would have allowed decades’ worth of raw data to be observed and recorded, resulting in the ability to combat and neutralize within a matter of days’ countless unknown biological, chemical, or radiation-based weapons. But something went wrong… so very wrong… An underground group of animal rights activists managed to infiltrate the facility and liberate all of the test subjects… and the virus they’re carrying. They have no idea what they have just done. Knowing that the facility has been compromised, automated security measures have been enacted to contain any potential outbreak. It’s too late for that. If Operation: Clean Sweep does its job, it will eradicate any possibility of saving the human population, as it will destroy all 60 samples of genetic material that is resistant to the virus, as well as the 3 necessary binding solutions. Without all of the components, there is no hope in synthesizing an anti-virus in time to save humanity from its impending fate.
You’re halfway done. You lifted the diamonds, successfully managed to hide them inside a small wooden sculpture, and got of France without any issues. Good thing U.S. Customs doesn’t check traveling pieces of art near as carefully as other goods entering the country. All you have left to do is break into the gallery and get them out of the sculpture. Why did things have to become so complicated? The heist was supposed to begin tomorrow night… fortunately, Donovan, your team leader, read between the lines. The brains behind the whole thing were never going to let us walk free with their goods. They need a scapegoat and your team fits the bill. Solution? Take it back before they have a chance to set you up. Donovan left the briefcase with the tools in the adjacent retail space, next to the gallery. You don’t have time for some elaborate plan, so you’re going to have to do a lot, with a little. Get the goods and get out… or spend the rest of your lives in prison. Seems like an easy choice?
Esteemed professor of modern world history, David Morgan D.A., has been called upon numerous times by the FBI, as both a consultant and expert witness, in a string of recent historical document theft cases. A new link has been established between each of these cases, and given the historical significance of the stolen items, it is now believed that Professor Morgan, himself, has been the mastermind behind the entire network of thefts. You and your team have been sent in undercover to bring him down. As a flight risk, you will be required to work quickly to gather the necessary evidence and get out before Morgan returns from class and you are found out. Consequently, should you fail, the US Government will disavow all information regarding this assignment and your team will be issues burn notices.
They say a “picture is worth a thousand words,” but no one ever says what those words are. Pain, torture, agony… screaming? Only 996 to go… After being personally invited to model at a private casting call, hosted by charismatic photographer, Adrian Scuro, you and a handful of other hopefuls find yourselves in a posh studio surrounded by white walls and displays of hauntingly beautiful photos. Maybe a glass of water will help you calm your anxiety. He really should look at filtered water… this stuff tastes weird. You begin to have second thoughts as your nerves get the better of you… you try the door but it is locked firmly in place. You remember hearing about mysterious disappearances and murders in the area over the past few months… but this can’t be… it’s not… oh my god… it’s him… You know you don’t have much time to get out before he gets back, but how?! The clock is ticking and you are starting to feel dizzy. Really dizzy… The water. No, no, no no, NO! This is not happening! A voice in your head screams “GET OUT NOW!” You don’t have much time… none of you do…
It was all a setup. The dealer was in on it… the other high rollers at the table were in on it… even the waitress played her part. They took you for everything you had. Unfortunately for them, you have a plan to take it back… with interest. You call up a few “business associates” and explain the job. They all think you’re certifiably insane… and they all want in.