How can you make MJ-12 the "Bad Guys"?

* As a side mission, send them to clean up the home and work areas of a dead agent. The agent committed suicide after his children were taken from him by the local social services after kiddy pr0n was found on his work computer. His wife has left him and he's about to be fired. He got too close to a MJ-12 operation and this is how they're keeping him out. Use whatever works in your campaign for the operation. Rules of Engagement aside, the message should be "thou shalt not frak with us".

* If your players are looking into MJ-12 operations, send the internal affairs / Inspector Generals office of their parent agency after their day job. Specifically have them investigate sick leave requests, travel expenses and inventory management ( what do you mean you used 800 rounds of ammo for training? The course of fire requires 52 rounds! ). Use lots of questions to hassle the agents, even if they've only been resupplying from green boxes.

* As a side mission, have some mythos activity crop up near an MJ-12 facility. Say, hanger 18 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The mythos activity isn't related to MJ-12, but in the vicinity. Let the agents see that MJ-12 doesn't care. Ghouls feasting on corpses ( or a young ghoul going after something a little more squishy), Y'golonac cultists having a combination feast/orgy... something like that. When the agents investigate, they see MJ-12 operativesaround... but they're only watching.

* OUTLOOK from Countdown is a good alternative. MJ-12 tries to recruit the agents and tests them with various OUTLOOK simulations. When they escape from the facility, they run afoul of a NRO Delta squad sent to retrieve them.

* MJ12 isn't exactly *all* bad, just as DG isn't all-good. Shades of gray are an important part of the modern-conspiracy/horror genre.Maybe letting the players continue to see MJ12 as OK will lead to some interesting places. And it'll probably get them to mistrust Alphonse, which could also be "interesting". Coffey and the BLUE FLY team, General Bell, Ross and Bostick could all be rather unreliable allies in certain situations - even teaming up with Lepus might in some cases be better than the alternatives.

* Alphose warns the Agents, probably by sending them the Fairfield letter. After all, DG post-1994 is about sharing information so that all cell are equipped as best as possible to deal with the Mythos nastiness ("possible" being the operating word here). Of course, the players might be sceptic about Alphonse's and Fairfield's alarm - the latter especially doesn't seem like the most reliable of sources.

* The agents might stumble upon the aftermath of the Groverville situation - the death of a town covered up, Phenomenon-X used and discarded etc. Saucerwatch might also have some nice tales about the methods of the "MiB".

* Have your PCs put under surveillance (have MJ-12 give them the full MIB treatment). If they spot the surveillance they will contact A Cell.

* The personnel the agents would most likely encounter would be the NRO Delta agents. It wouldn't take much for them to appear as bad guys. C'mon, these are hand-picked snake-eaters chosen for their ruthless efficiency and sociopathic dedication to the mission. They have nothing but contempt for your PCs as a bunch of amateurs that cause problems. Let the Speedwagon be themselves and in no time your players will hate them. Then they will be looking for more things about them to dislike.

* If a PC spots a NRO Delta tail and confronts them, just have those MIBs act as arrogant and contemptuous and threatening as, oh, some Blackwater troops dealing with locals that don't get out of the way fast enough. Having them work a little DG culture into their putdowns hits below the belt, so have them end every encounter by flashing the Village handsign with a smirk and saying "We'll be seeing *you*, asshole." Sure, there are rules of engagement - but talkin' smack is de rigeur.


Credits: Fallorn, Russel Rayburn, Ross Payton, David Farnell, Matthias Hunger, Mark McFadden