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External Containment Bureau

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External Containment Bureau is a game of paranormal investigation and bureaucracy using a lightweight, hackable version of the Forged in the Dark design framework. You play as trained agents of the External Containment Bureau, an organization tasked with the study, identification, and containment of paranormal phenomena. The Bureau authorizes agents to make use of these phenomena to give yourself incredible powers (so long as the proper forms are in order). But take care: using paranormal energies inches you ever closer to joining the ranks of the paranormal yourself. Will you transcend humanity in the line of duty? Play to find out.

If you enjoy media like Control, Fringe, The Magnus Archives, Men in Black, SCP Foundation, or X-Files... you'll love External Containment Bureau!

  • Written by Eric Brunsell and Michael Elliott
  • Edited by Lexi Antoku
  • Art Direction by Justin Ford
  • Art by Julianne Griepp
  • Production and Layout by Eli Kurtz
  • ePub formatting by eskur

Your Purchase Includes

  • Screen-friendly, hyperlinked PDF
  • Print-ready PDF
  • ePub format for e-readers
  • Fillable and print-friendly character sheet PDF
  • REDACTED MATERIALS: An abbreviated guide to hacking with the ECB license

Pick up a FREE form-fillable and print-friendly character sheet at this link.

Thank you for visiting The Mythic Gazetteer... your guide to bright new worlds!

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Reviews (0)
Discussions (4)
Customer avatar
Neil S February 03, 2022 10:47 pm UTC
POD
Reply
Customer avatar
William L June 12, 2022 12:46 am UTC
You can get print + PDF for $25 @ Exalted Funeral site ..
Customer avatar
Chris H August 18, 2021 1:59 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'm definitely interested, but that's a hefty price-tag for a 54 page game. Could you elaborate a little more on what we get for that? The preview doesn't tell us much.
Reply
Customer avatar
Eli K August 23, 2021 6:43 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
ECB includes everything you need to play (and run) indefinite campaigns of paranormal investigation, including three sample missions and guidance for creating your own afterward. Page count is a poor marker of a game's value, and in this case the reason why is that we took great care to present information concisely. From the ground up, ECB is designed to be easy to learn and easy to run.

If you want to try the game before buying, I recommend checking out our free Quickstart Kit powered by google sheets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1O_LNk3pV1qVn__n1l1TAVbLkf-ZYK__t4DQTFkRlx8U/copy
Customer avatar
Patrick B August 09, 2021 1:44 pm UTC
PURCHASER
"The Bureau authorizes agents to make use of these phenomena to give yourself incredible powers (so long as the proper forms are in order)."

So is this a serious paranormal investigation RPG or is this a comedy RPG? Designed to be played for scares or played for laughs?
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Customer avatar
Eli K August 09, 2021 4:09 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Could be either! There's a section in the book about setting theme and tone during your first session of play. We drew a lot of inspiration from Control (which is definitely serious and horrific even though the bureaucracy is fully intact) but you could just as easily model your game after something more lighthearted, like Men in Black.
Reply
Customer avatar
David S August 15, 2021 7:01 am UTC
How would you position ECB relative to something like Delta Green? I'm wondering how central the 'use paranormal energies to become empowered' element is. It sounds like it could be fairly central (and it's pretty central to Control, of course)!
Reply
Customer avatar
Eli K August 23, 2021 6:48 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for your patience, David! Just noticed this. Delta Green is heavier on action than the default setup for ECB. We have 16 paranormal powers in the base game, most of which are geared more toward investigation than combat (although many of them could certainly be used in a violent situation). The powers system is the closest thing we have to an advancement mechanic in ECB: when you gain your fourth power, you become too powerful to exist in our mundane reality and transcend to some other form. We took a lot of inspiration here from the lore found in Control's various letters, reports, and documents. Does that answer your question?
Reply
Customer avatar
David S December 07, 2021 10:05 pm UTC
Sorry! I moved at the end of August and totally forgot to keep checking back here. That is helpful, thank you!
Customer avatar
thomas G August 06, 2021 5:36 pm UTC
Preview with TOC if possible?
Reply
Customer avatar
Eli K August 06, 2021 8:29 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Done! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We thought it was set up when we put the product page together but something [REDACTED] must have happened.
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Product Information
Silver seller
Pages
54
Publisher Stock #
MGC004
File Size:
60.02 MB
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File Last Updated:
February 16, 2023
This title was added to our catalog on August 06, 2021.