Bureau of Time and Plane#
Watchers of the Eternal#
🏛️ About This Organization#
The Bureau of Time and Plane is a multiversal organization tasked with maintaining the stability of reality itself. Operating from their headquarters in the Grand Library, they monitor planar disturbances, investigate temporal anomalies, and intervene when the fabric of existence threatens to unravel.
Type: Multiversal Organization
Headquarters: Grand Library (Extradimensional Space)
Authority: Answers only to Ao, the Overgod
Known For: Recruiting “contractors” for dangerous missions, bureaucratic efficiency, knowing more than they tell
🎯 What Players Will Encounter#
The Atmosphere#
When dealing with the Bureau, players experience:
📋 Overwhelming Bureaucracy
- Everything requires forms, contracts, and signatures
- Nothing is simple, even the simple things
- The paperwork is somehow both mundane and cosmic
👁️ Constant Surveillance
- They know more about you than you know about yourself
- Your actions are being recorded, filed, and analyzed
- Privacy is a quaint concept here
⏳ Time Manipulation
- The Grand Library exists outside normal time
- A moment here could be hours elsewhere
- Or vice versa. Time is… flexible
Current Situation#
The Bureau is facing its greatest crisis:
- The multiverse is destabilizing at an unprecedented rate
- Agents are being lost to planar disturbances
- Ancient enemies are cooperating in ways that should be impossible
- Something is coming that even the Bureau fears
**💀 Critical**: The Bureau knows the end is coming. They're recruiting anyone capable of helping, regardless of moral alignment or past crimes. That should tell you how desperate things are.
👥 Key Personnel#
Awanama#
Title: Grand Adjudicator of Time and Plane
Role: Leader of the Bureau
The enigmatic leader who sees futures that may never come to pass. He knows more than he reveals, which is saying something.
What Players Should Know:
- He recruited you personally (probably)
- His foresight is both gift and burden
- Trust him, but verify everything
- He’s playing a longer game than anyone realizes
Pustakawan (Collete von Daisies)#
Title: Second-in-Command & Chief Archivist
Role: Contract Administrator & Records Keeper
If Awanama is the vision, Pustakawan is the execution. She makes the Bureau function through sheer organizational will.
What Players Should Know:
- She handles your contracts and assignments
- Knows every regulation (and how to bend them)
- More powerful than she appears
- Values competence and professionalism
Shaperite (Sebats)#
Title: Field Agent & Intelligence Specialist
Role: The Bureau’s Wildcard
The agent who works in the gray areas where bureaucracy can’t reach. Unpredictable, effective, and possibly insane.
What Players Should Know:
- Breaks rules the Bureau pretends don’t exist
- Invaluable source of information
- May or may not be entirely trustworthy
- Definitely knows more than he’s telling
Damian - The Squeaky Devil#
Title: Contractor #666
Role: Cambion Agent with Questionable Loyalties
A devil-blooded agent whose contract with the Bureau is… complicated. His presence raises questions about who else might be working here.
What Players Should Know:
- Contractor like you, but he’s been here longer
- Has his own agenda (probably several)
- Useful ally when your interests align
- Never fully trust a cambion
Grand Library#
Type: Sentient Location & Information Repository
Role: The Bureau’s Heart
Yes, the building itself is an NPC. It’s that kind of place.
What Players Should Know:
- Contains knowledge from across the multiverse
- Reorganizes itself based on who’s looking
- Some sections are forbidden for good reason
- It remembers everyone who enters
🗺️ Key Locations Within the Bureau#
The Contract Hall#
Where deals are made and fates are sealed. Your signature in blood is optional but recommended.
The Temporal Observatory#
Where agents monitor planar disturbances and temporal anomalies. The view is breathtaking and terrifying.
The Archives#
Infinite shelves containing every report ever filed. Getting lost here is a real possibility.
The Holding Cells#
For when contractors need to be contained. Escape is theoretically possible. No one has managed it yet.
The Debriefing Rooms#
Where you report back after missions. The chairs are surprisingly comfortable for interrogation furniture.
📜 What Your Party Needs to Know#
As Bureau Contractors#
You are Contractor #777 (or whatever number Awanama assigned you). This means:
Your Rights:
- Access to Bureau resources and intelligence
- Protection under multiversal law (mostly)
- Compensation for completed contracts
- Right to refuse suicide missions (theoretically)
Your Obligations:
- Complete assigned contracts
- Submit detailed reports
- Maintain discretion about Bureau operations
- Don’t ask too many questions
Your Reality:
- You’re expendable (but valuable)
- Every mission is a test
- The Bureau knows your secrets
- Failure has consequences beyond death
Survival Tips#
- Read Your Contract: Especially the fine print written in languages you don’t speak
- Trust But Verify: The Bureau won’t lie to you, but they won’t tell you everything
- Make Allies: Other contractors can be valuable resources
- Know Your Worth: You were recruited for a reason
- Keep Records: Of everything. The Bureau respects documentation.
Campaign Connections#
The Bureau is your primary quest-giver and information source:
- Main Storyline: All major plot developments come through Bureau intel
- Side Quests: Individual agents may have personal requests
- Resources: Access to multiversal knowledge and artifacts
- Consequences: Your actions affect Bureau standing and future opportunities
🎲 Running Bureau Sessions#
Tone & Atmosphere#
Themes: Bureaucracy, cosmic horror, moral ambiguity, desperation
Mood: Professional with undertones of existential dread
Feel: Like working for the universe’s most efficient doomsday cult
Encounter Types#
- Briefings: Receiving new contracts and intelligence
- Research: Digging through the Archives for crucial information
- Politics: Navigating inter-agency rivalries and power plays
- Revelations: Discovering truths the Bureau “forgot” to mention
🔮 Hidden Depths#
What the Bureau Knows (But Won’t Tell You)#
The Bureau operates on levels players aren’t cleared for:
- They know Ao’s plan (or think they do)
- They’re aware of threats beyond the current crisis
- Some contractors are more important than others
- The multiverse has ended before
What the Bureau Doesn’t Know (But Should)#
Even cosmic bureaucracies have blind spots:
- Who (or what) is actually causing the instability
- Why ancient enemies are cooperating
- What happens if they fail
- Whether they’re part of the problem
**🎭 For Players**: The Bureau is your employer, information source, and safety net. They'll send you into danger, but they want you to succeed. Usually. Probably. Build relationships with individual agents—you'll need allies when things get truly desperate.
**⚠️ For DMs**: The Bureau should feel powerful but not omnipotent, organized but not infallible, mysterious but not incomprehensible. They're doing their best to save reality—it's just that their best might not be good enough.
“We stand between the multiverse and oblivion. Fill out Form 27-B in triplicate.”
— Bureau motto (unofficial)
“Time and Plane wait for no one. Except possibly Awanama.”
— Bureau motto (actual)