Royal College of Plague Prevention Studies

## Description:

The Royal College of Plague Prevention Studies, also known as the Royal College Against Pestilence ("Red Caps" is a common slang term) or simply "Plague Doctors," is a large force of the best doctors, scientists, surgeons, herbalists, and alchemists in the Union of Birmingham dedicated to the investigation and prevention of plagues, diseases, and other widespread ailments; the College investigates plagues of all kind from around the world, and has extended their charter to include the study of Mutants and mutations, as well as the development of superior mechanical prosthetics.

In reality, the RCPPS is a corrupt lobbying group of rich aristocratic medical professionals who abuse their position and personal influence to accrue large fortunes, kill, arrest, or enslave potential rivals, and expunge anyone even potentially infected with any one of the myriad illnesses which the College seeks to eradicate. The RCPPS is also often considered a form of secret society within Birmingham's high-life, running experiments with dangerous elements and attempting to uncover the possibility of the existence of magic. The public of Birmingham fear the RCPPS for their incredible influence and unchecked power, excessive resources and lack of oversight, and their sheer brutality.

### Organization:

#### Headquarters: The Clean Estate; located in Bosterton

The Royal College of Plague Prevention Studies is comprised of 4 major divisions: Healthcare, Academia, Enforcement, and Militant. Each division has its own rules, tasks, and internal hierarchy, with its own subdivisions dedicated to specific fields. The organization is led by the Plague Prevention Committee (PPC), a committee of the 4 division heads, all of whom must be simultaneously the highest-ranking members of their respective divisions and also Members of Parliament.

#### Healthcare:

The Healthcare division, officially the "Royal Defenders of the Empire's Health" (RDEH), is in charge of maintaining Birmingham's national healthcare system. They maintain hospitals, handle the logistics of the day-to-day health of the nation, and conduct preventative operations to avoid outbreaks of disease; Healthcare is the largest division within the RCPPS. It is led by a "Minister of Health," who oversees the entire nation's healthcare legislation and procedures, as well as advises the Royal Family and Parliament on matters of national health. Below the Minister are a council of Vice Ministers, each of whom manages the healthcare facilities and logistics of a different region of the empire; beneath them, are the [REDACTED]

#### Academia:

Academia, officially the "Royal College of Medical Sciences" (RCMS), operates like a University, and is led by a President who manages the division's global operations and, along with his advisors and executive assistants, directs regional Chancellors/Vice Chancellors in how to run their individual campuses. Directly below the President sits the Chancellor General, who manages regional operations and filters out the issues that need to be handled by the President directly. Below the President and Chancellor General sit the normal Chancellors and their Vice Chancellors, who manage individual campuses of the RCPPS and therefore manage the group's operations in the region. Below the Chancellors sit their underlings, the professors and guards and other faculty; the RCQE operates according to a military-style structure, while the rest of the organization does not. Below the faculty sit the students of medical science, who attend the universities in the hope of one day becoming a so-called "Plague Doctor."

#### Enforcement:

The Enforcement division is officially called the "Royal Commission of Quarantine Enforcement (RCQE; often referred to as "Rick" and members "Rickies" as a derogatory slang term); the RCQE enforces the RCPPS's plague-prevention protocols within Birmingham's settlements at the end of a baton or rifle bayonet and has the unmitigated authority to beat, detain, and summarily execute any non-noble citizen of the Union of Birmingham if the individual is found guilty of breaking quarantine legislation. The RCQE is also in charge of managing Birmingham's census information regarding population demographics, population density, etc. The RCQE also provides the staff for the RCPPS's Quarantine Centers; during times of considerable internal conflict, the RCQE can also be used as a form of special police to help break up riots or enforce martial law. The RCQE is led by a Commissioner of Health, chosen for their seniority in the organization, that answers to the RCPPS's higher staff and Birmingham's Parliament, and is responsible for communicating with Birmingham's Constabulary and Dalton Yard to improve efficacy and manage outbreaks. Below the Commissioner are the Chiefs of the Quarantine (or just "Chiefs"), who are responsible for either entire regions of Birmingham or for large urban centers (like Bosterton or Fog Haven); the Chiefs pf the Quarantine direct regional resources and enforce legislation from higher up the chain of command. Below the Chiefs of the Quarantine are the Quarantine Enforcement Commanders, who are in command of a single Enforcement Base, equivalent to a Constabulary building; these Bases are present in most areas of Birmingham, with multiple across most major cities, and house the local RCQE Enforcers and other staff. Quarantine Enforcement Commanders are also the ones in charge of Quarantine Centers. Below the QEC's sit the Lieutenants, who manage multiple squads of Enforcers that might cover an entire community or district, then Sergeants, who lead individual squads, and then finally the individual Quarantine Enforcers, who serve as foot soldiers for the RCQE.

#### Militant:

And finally, the Militant division, known as the "Royal Army for Plague Prevention" (RAPP), is tasked with the enforcement of the RCPPS's legislation at the higher levels and during times of great internal instability or war; RAPP is also the division which serves alongside other soldiers within the Union of Birmingham's armed forces during times of war, and is responsible for the development, production, storage, transport, and use of biological and chemical weapons. RAPP is led by the Chirurgeon General, who oversees the division's armed forces at the highest level, managing where entire armies are sent and where the division's resources are most needed. Below the Chirurgeon General sits the Chirurgeon Majors, who manage regional operations across a continent or colonial holding, directing troop movements and overseeing logistics. Next down the line are the Surgeon Colonels, who manage County- or city-wide operations. [REDACTED]

#### Recruitment:

The RCPPS recruits in a wide variety of ways, depending primarily on the type of person the group is attempting to attract to their ranks. Most commonly, the RCPPS recruits from the most promising students attending other universities or secondary schools across the Union of Birmingham, poaching the best and brightest medical minds; similarly, the RCPPS also has a wealth and land requirement for admission into the normal medical wing of the school, which greatly limits who can and cannot attend. Academic requirements are rigorous, and while the school has a high tuition fee, its members are rich enough to afford it; scholarships and tuition breaks are rare, and the school only recruits from outside Birmingham's aristocracy if it absolutely has to. Additionally, the academic side of the organization maintains the use of generational admission; if a parent, brother, or son attended the school and graduated to become a member of the RCPPS, then the other male members of the family who meet the standard requirements are guaranteed entry; this creates a powerful atmosphere of corruption and nepotism within the organization at large, as fathers and brothers work to get their relatives cushy positions and grease the wheels of the group's bureaucracy with their extreme wealth; this also causes insider trading and abuses of power, as members levy their personal influence to sabotage rivals, frame rivals for crimes or sickness, and remove opposition from whatever business in which the individual is involved. Members are allowed to own and operate businesses outside of their work with the RCPPS, as the standard Plague Doctors are not always on-call, and so its members can abuse their powerful positions to remove obstacles to their success and accrue massive fortunes of ill-gotten gains.

The Royal Commission of Quarantine Enforcement recruits in a manner entirely separate from that of the academic wing. The RCQE recruits from the peasantry, taking in any thug and criminal and thief that signs up, and maintains very few barriers to entry; as long as the individual has not been convicted of a felony crime and passes a basic intelligence test, they are almost guaranteed acceptance. These thugs are then trained by the RCQE in hand-to-hand combat with batons, given basic firearms training, and assigned to a part of the Birming Empire with which the individual is unfamiliar; by assigning soldiers in this way, the RCQE ensures that none of the thugs maintain any previous relationships, diminishing the likelihood of corruption and eliminating any sense of guilt for the thugs' actions. Enforcers are housed in dedicated barracks structures adjacent to RCPPS campuses, and are expected to live there until their assignments are over. The proper soldiers of the organization are poached from veterans and active-duty soldiers in the Birming Royal Army, although the normal enforcers can eventually be promoted to this military force; the proper soldiers maintain a strict code of conduct, a proper training regimen, live on special sites adjacent to the normal RCPPS campuses, etc.

The RCPPS spends an overwhelming majority of its resources fighting, containing, and preventing the spread of infectious diseases within the Union of Birmingham. The rest of the organization's efforts are directed towards the advancement of medical science, especially in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, anatomy, and genetics/mutations. The group's resources can and will be used by its members to further their personal goals within Birmingham, and give the RCPPS an incredible amount of influence within the country; the RCPPS has legal authority to interfere with the lives of all Birmingham citizens, influence the media, sway votes and impact elections, and even determine Birmingham's foreign relations with neighboring states and in matters of trade. RCPPS diplomats and specialized Plague Doctors can also serve as advisors to other nobles, politicians, businessmen, and people of importance. The RCPPS does not have direct sway over the Crown or The Ministry, and conflicts with those groups frequently.

#### Ranking System(s):

##### Healthcare:

1. Miniter of Health
2. Vice Minister of Health
3. [REDACTED]

##### Academia:

1. President
2. Chancellor General
3. Chancellor
4. Herbalist/Poisoner
5. Plague Prevention Officer (Plague Doctor)

##### Enforcement:

1. Commissioner of Health
2. Chief of the Quarantine
3. Quarantine Enforcement Commander
4. Enforcer Lieutenant
5. Enforcer Sergeant
6. Quarantine Enforcer

##### Militant:

1. Chirurgeon General
2. Chirurgeon Major

### Equipment:

The RCPPS is recognized primarily by its equipment and uniform. All members of the RCPPS are issued a modernized version of the Plague Doctor's Mask; while all members must wear the masks while on-duty, many officials and radicals within the organization prefer to wear them all the time whilst in public or with non-members to prevent mingling with the "lesser masses" and to limit the risk of catching an illness. In reality, this practice is done to hide the identities of higher-ranking RCPPS members, all of whom are wealthy aristocrats with more public offices or lives to hold when off-duty, and to conceal the identities of the RCPPS's guards and soldiers. This has given the RCPPS a very distinctive appearance, as their members and soldiers alike sport differing styles of the same classical birdlike mask; soldiers' masks are reinforced, doctors' masks have better respirators, and most have upgrades to their lenses which provide additional utility. More than their infamous masks, the RCPPS Plague Prevention Officers carry sword-canes as badges of their office. RCPPS members wear special uniforms depending on their job and rank, but higher officials are allowed greater leniency in their dress.

The RCPPS and RCQE maintain a very modern level of technological understanding, serving as one of the world's most advanced medical organizations worldwide. While their medical knowledge is at the top of its field, the rest of the group's technology is not falling far behind; their vehicles and weapons are often at the pinnacle of modern development.

The RCPPS is also known to dabble quite heavily in the Adjacent Sciences, focusing primarily on the Academic types, especially [REDACTED], Hypnotism, and Deduction.

#### List of Studied Plagues:

##### Illnesses:

1. Black Fever
2. Phantom Plague
3. Yeast Flu
	1. Scarecrow Blight

##### Mutations:

1. Lupine Cancer
2. Nosferatism
3. Aetherbark Plague
4. Gold Rush
5. Wendigo Psychosis