Something like the Men-In-Black of the supernatural world, the Exchange are the people who hold the line between the supernatural and the mundane. As a group, they are capable, competent, and intimately in the know about the supernatural. With a long, storied history, they operate primarily in Western Europe and North America, with a few offshoots or reformed groups in the British Commonwealth of Nations and former British colonies. Their purpose in this modern day and age is that of an agile and stealthy force. They do patrol at street level, but many agents make use of stealth tactics to stay out of sight and out of mind. It is generally accepted wisdom that you want the upper hand when fighting the supernatural; if you can hit a demon before it even sees you, your chances of survival greatly increase.

The attitude towards the Exchange in the local supernatural community in Easthaven is generally positive, as they're viewed as a necessary line of defence against out of control supernatural entities and dangerous individuals putting the community at risk. However, on an individual basis this opinion does vary, based on personal perspective and experience. Many Agents are locals drawn from the supernatural community, with intimate knowledge of both the community and magic, but this also adds to the level of trust the community has for them, as they know the agents as one of their own.

For supernaturals who are troubled or in need of housing or other support, the Exchange run the Lethe Hostel, a place to stay and their primary office for social outreach in the supernatural community in Easthaven. They also offer a space for human witches, wizards, and ritualists to do their practice, called the Sewing Circle or just the Circle, providing support through resources and their expertise at the low price of agents being able to commission pro bono work.

Please take note: Players who do things to catch the Exchange's attention will have to contend with the consequences of their actions, although the way those consequences manifest can be discussed. Carefully consider what you will or will not do in a plot where your character is in trouble and talk it out with staff and other Exchange players. Crossing the line can be anything from bothering the locals enough to get reported, attacking an agent, or causing a magical disaster that harms someone or threatens the secrecy that the Exchange work to maintain.

Today's Exchange

The Exchange accepts both humans and metahumans into their ranks, having seen the tactical misstep of limiting their recruitment pool. Magic-users, half-bloods, shifters, and the undead are not viewed much differently than mundane humans. It isn't unheard of that the agents themselves have their personal prejudices, of course, but the organisation has a merit-based hiring approach. In that same vein, morality varies within their ranks, from the pinnacle of goodness to the sort of person who will do whatever it takes for the greater good. In essence, these men and women of the Exchange stand on the edge of the void and scream back, lending to a whole variety of personalities that may or may not clash. The job takes a lot out of the agents, as it is a high-risk, low-reward job that leaves little room for anyone simply seeking status. Summed up, they're a collectivistic group that rates cooperation highly but also requires the sort of person who can operate independently and make choices in tough situations.

Every agent who joins the Exchange signs a magical contract that serves as an oath to the organisation and their cohort, a product of an arcanists work. This magic goes beyond simple spoken oaths, as breaking this written contract marks the agent with a visible sign of their betrayal: Their hands turn black, as if they have been dipped in ink. The agent cannot scrub away or otherwise remove or magically hide these markings until they seek out the sitting Inquisitor and state their case. On a case by case basis, this either results in the agent being tied by the tongue tyers, kicked out of the organisation, or killed. To break the oath, a serious transgression must happen. Examples of this can be: sharing information to the detriment of the Exchange, the cohort, and the supernatural community; misusing magic or magical objects for personal gain; recklessly endangering fellow agents, mundanes, or members of the supernatural community; misappropriate Exchange property.

Explore the Exchange

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Easthaven's Cohort

The dynamic of the Exchange in Easthaven is that of a small investigative division in the mundane world. They tend to be somewhat insular and defend their own, as is typical in a group regularly facing the weird, dangerous, and deadly. They're small in number, especially compared to the community they police. The larger cities like New York or Los Angeles have more bodies to throw around, while Easthaven has learned to get the most out of their available agents.

While they hold no power in the mundane world, being nothing more than a fully licensed PI firm in the eyes of the law, they work to maintain the secrecy of the supernatural and protect the supernatural community. They work to eliminate risks to that secrecy, and neatly fill in the role as the men in black of the supernatural world. These risks can be rampaging creatures of all sorts: the bay creatures looking for a snack, unauthorised spiritual activity, people getting lost in the subway and ending up in the underworld, flesh-eating possessed scarecrows, and many more. The more unfortunate cases, such as shifters gone amok or ritualists pushing the envelope too far, are also handled by the Exchange, often to deadly effect.

Although small in number, the Easthaven cohort has recently established their very own Sewing Circle. With an experience Arcanist coming up from Boston to spearhead an organised group for enchantment and charm work for the Easthaven cohort, their small cohort has reinforced their position and supply lines. This, along with their favourable reputation in the community, means they are generally respected and taken seriously. Despite their losses and inability to expand as rapidly as the community they protect, the Easthaven Exchange cohort is intent on using their resources as effectively as they can to fulfill their charter.

At best, the Easthaven police department would consider them vigilantes if they knew what the Exchange got up to. However, there is still the vestiges of a working relationship between the two organisations. Should a mundane case start looking supernatural, higher-ups in the know are known to tap the Exchange PI for the work, to the bafflement of some officers.

Quick Summary
The Easthaven Exchange operates as a fully licensed and legal private detective firm.

They're small in number after some rough years and low recruitment, but as a result they ferociously defend their own.

Their charter is to maintain the secrecy and protect the supernatural world and protect the mundane from supernatural threats.

The Easthaven Exchange has an active Sewing Circle, headed by an experienced Exchange Arcanist from Boston.

The community they protect generally views them favourably and cooperates willingly when problems crop up.

The Easthaven Police Department as a whole are unaware of their presence as supernatural experts, but some individuals know and willingly cooperate with them.

The Exchange Offices

This brownstone building is the pleasant face of the organisation, unassuming and hard to find. There is no marker on google maps showing you where they are. Most in the supernatural community know it through word of mouth. Often the building seems to have a mind of its own, and no one seems clear on whether or not they've hired a janitor, but things get fixed when they break, eventually.

The Exchange offices are warded against divination and other scrying magics.

Ranks and the Chain of Command

The sole authority in an Exchange office is the Inquisitor, a formal title left over from the European roots of the organisation. There are differences in leadership styles between Inquisitors, but there is a common goal of protecting everyone from supernatural threats. The other ranks, senior to junior agent, represent the level of experience of the agents under the Inquisitor's command. Senior agents can lead bigger teams on cases that need more manpower, but usually, agents handle cases with their partners, calling in back-up when needed.

A player may place their character in any of the agent ranks at their discretion. The only qualification is that the history of the character reflects their chosen rank.

Inquisitor for Easthaven

Theo Crowhurst

Ranks

Senior Agent
Agent
Junior Agent

Exchange Training

There is no single recipe for how to train an Exchange agent. The training model used across America is an apprenticeship approach, focused on learning on the job with another agent. Most seek out to join them and purposefully develop skills that will make them useful to the Exchange. Therefore, rookies are often already familiar with the Exchange and the community. In the case of a skilled individual showing promise, an Exchange cohort in a city may actively pursue recruiting them, but this is not as common as those joining through their own initiative.

The variety of training depends on senior agents available in each Exchange office. If a rookie or agent is interested in pursuing a magic or ritual focus, seeking an apprenticeship with another agent with expertise in that area is the natural progression of their training. Most senior agents are expected to offer their expertise, especially if they're experts in any magical field or theory. Generally, all agents know how rituals and magic work, especially the Codes of Conduct. Agents learn counter-magic tactics through a mix of on-the-job training and course work, specifically the quirks of magic, identifying ritual circles and breaking them safely, and the weaknesses and strengths of metahumans.

Depending on an agent's training, they employ a variety of abilities and tools to counteract the magics they encounter on the job. Many agents carry objects of silver and iron, with the cleverer agents, with access to good arcanists, carrying around little bottles of sunlight for an emergency. They know how to outfit themselves for a problem they anticipate and how to make it up as they go along if they run into something unexpected. Independence and initiative is highly prized within the Exchange, the agents that show the most promise being given more responsibility than others.

While retirement is an option within the Exchange, most do not choose to leave the organization. It is difficult to go back to normal life at the end of it all. So they remain on board, often serving as archivists or researchers once they age out of active field duty. Alternatively, an agent may go rogue, but depending on the situation around their desertion, they may be hunted by the Tongue-Tyers and more often than not meet a swift end.

Cohort Equipment

List of equipment the Easthaven Exchange would provide to their agents. Any mechanical bonuses provided to the Exchange are tied to the keyword called The Knack unless otherwise stated, which players must either pick on creation or fulfil the requirements to gain. Characters who are agents can still gain other Mundane Keywords and use the skill bonuses in addition to the Knack. Keep in mind that the bonuses from the Knack also only applies to humans and half-bloods. More information can be found in the Mundane Keywords section of the Guidebook.

WAYFINDER BADGE

A palm-sized coin with mysterious geometric circles and runes etched into the metal, bronze with silver detailing. Its look is reminiscent of an astrolabe, but it is in truth the intricate enchantments carved into it. The enchantments need occasional recharging by Exchange Arcanists, as sun can depreciate the magical effect.

The Wayfinder Badge senses other Wayfinder Badges
It can pinpoint specific badges since each has a personalised enchantment.
It can also sense the closest badge to you, without needing to specify a person.
The way of triggering it is up to player favour, based on their personal magic or whatever they want.
Walls and buildings do not get in the way of the badge tracking other badges.
It is accurate, taking you directly to the target badge.
Its range is within a few hundred miles, designed to be used within Essex County, but is functional outside of it.
It can only track Easthaven badges as it is their unique enchantment.
The badge also carries a protection enchantment, making it all the more vital that all agents carry their badge.

Silver for Monsters

All Exchange Agents will be given an object of silver, to help them against rampaging shifters. Sky Iron for Magic All Exchange Agents will be given an object of sky iron, to help reduce the impact of blood magic should they encounter it in the field. Call to Arms: All Exchange Agents also receive a weapon based on the agent's preference (if they don't already have a personal weapon). This weapon is functional, lacking any embellishments. Protective Enchantments Exchange Agents can commission enchanted clothing and other protective garbs from the Sewing Circle. Enchantments are still subject to wear and tear as well as sun exposure, so every agent is responsible for maintaining their own kit.