Beneath the everyday surface of the world, hidden wars are being fought. The unseen hands of governments, capable of so much more than petty armies, battle groups of men and women bound together by powerful ideologies and high-minded goals. Others are drawn by mere profit. All do things ordinary men can only dream of.
Many are drawn to this hidden world, by sense of duty, or dreams of greatness, or the thrill of adventure and espionage, while some are caught in it against their wishes. The general public sees only glimpses. Some begin to seek and see the true scale of the battle. Once it is reached, it's difficult to let go.
Spies, agents, infiltrators, assassins, mercenaries, analysts and technicians, scientists and the mysterious directors and leaders, all have their place and purpose in these wars. Everywhere on the planet these shadow-men do their work, and everywhere they are brought into conflict with eachother.
A forum game, my friend, where you take charge of an intelligence agency in a world of espionage! Think James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer (sorry, I just wanted to get the three JBs), all sort of games like Alpha Protocol or military shooters where you play as an elite team (Rainbow Six, even Call of Duties, etc.), every bit of spy fiction, thrillers and everything else applicable you can think of. I will be playing all those lovely related tropes to full effect.
One person actually takes charge, while the others are his or her underlings who handle all the actual shadowy business. I am looking for 4 players, to be increased if it seems more fun. Will to RP and make an interesting character are very much appreciated.
It's your basic dice-rollin', plannin' and doin' stupid actions kind of deal. The Director's job is a bit more complex, requiring some organization, leadership and a bit of maths in exchange for ultimate powaaaah. The three or more Operatives, meanwhile, get to live the glamorous and thrilling life of a secret agent, enjoying all the perks of the job.
Oh, well. The Director player handles all the running of the Agency, distributing Funding and making the budget. They'll also choose and make missions and operations, suggest stupid plans for their underlings to fix, guide overall strategy and grossly misabuse their power. This doesn't mean that the Operatives will not do anything - the best Director listens to his underlings, yes?
The Operatives, aside from advising and drawing up plans and suggestions for their boss, get to live the thrilling life of a secret agent. A more detailed look into Dagger and Hammer Operatives awaits below, but Daggers are more likely to plan and control missions, support Hammers on the field in hacking or intel duty, or execute deep-cover infiltrations and information gathering over lenghty periods, possibly all at the same time. Hammers do more of the punching, shooting, car chasing, interrogation (though that is a shared fun activity), causing trouble and generally acting like the blunt instrument they are. Daggers are precise and deadly. Hammers are hard-hitting and destructive.
Operatives can also spend their salaries and other sources of money as they see fit, like using their Acquisitions to acquire expensive hookers and coke practical and useful things for men and women of their profession. They also amass Retinue Members and assets around the world to gain that final edge over their opponents.
Mechanically, Operatives have a number of d6 dice according to their level, skills and circumstances. These are rolled against action difficulty levels and against the enemy roll in combat. Damage is dealt in combat according to the damage and other stats of the used weapon, or the skills of the Operative. Each level, an Operative gains +1 die of their speciality (Hammer or Dagger) and every three levels +1 to their nonspeciality dice.
As said, the Director player has to budget the Agency's Funding, directing it to whatever he wants. For example, an Agency with 12 Funding/Resources could direct 4 to Acquisitions, 2 to Training and Recruitment, 2 to Research and Development, 1 to Intelligence and 3 to be used by the Operatives as they see fit, their salary of sorts.
Acquisitions are purchases made with abstracted resources and influence. The Funding put to Acquisitions determines the number of dice used in Acquisition rolls, the more the merrier. Acquisitions can be one-time, like a single transport helicopter, or a steady supply of something, in which case the purchase also binds Tied Acquisition into being. If your Acquisition Funding isn't above the amount of Tied Acquisition, the supply will stop. You can make an unlimited amount of Acquisitions in a turn as long as the rolls succeed and you have the Funding to retain a supply.
Training and Recruitment is an automated process that seeks out and recruits new Agents for your organization. Agents are mooks that can accompany Operatives on missions (or do missions on their own, even) but lack the skill and flexibility of real Operatives. The size of your base determines how many Agents and Operatives you can maintain.
Research and Development is for when you just can't afford those black market purchases. R&D can be directed towards specific projects that will proceed every turn depending on the amount of Funding. Researched equipment and Acquisitions can be then supplied and mass-produced, usually without tying up Acquisitions. R&D can also get you equipment and means the market just cannot.
Intelligence provides the Agency with knowledge about other organizations, mission parameters and the world situation. They provide the raw data when planning missions and may suggest plans of their own.
Operative salaries allow them to make their own Acquisitions for many of the same things, or even totally useless stuff.
Everything is mostly automated unless the Director so wishes. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Before any characters can be made, however, I need your secret Agency from you! There are three types of Agencies with different perks and weaknesses.
Government Agencies are organizations formed and overseen (to an extent) by the government of a nation to use for whatever purpose it wishes. Though a Government Agency can be very secretive, there is always someone, usually the highest echelons of government, who know who they are and what they do. Government Agencies receive steady Funding from their nations and are assigned missions and goals by them. They are also subject to government oversight and lack of freedom. Government Agencies are often formed against specific types of enemies or to counter specific threats, such as particular political movements, another foreign agency or even a single dangerous leader, but can be more generic, too.
Rogue Groups are cells of larger organizations that have gone rogue and cut all ties with their former masters. This may have happened violently and quickly, or over time, unsatisfied members drifting away, but they have set up their own Agency and fully forsaken the parent organization or government. Rogue Groups are formed usually because of some real or imagined fault in their previous masters – whether they were politically too hardline, or not enough, or that they had become corrupt, and lost sight of their goals – and formed out of a cadre of devoted believers of the Group's purpose and goals. Rogue Groups receive Funding from varied sources but may be struggling for cash and manpower. They have the freedom to do as they wish with no government oversight, however, as long as they follow their new goals and battle their new enemies, whoever they might be.
Merc Outfits are simply existing for profit. Groups of freelancers, mercs and ex-agents, they hire out their services to governments and private persons and organizations. Merc Outfits lack a driving goal aside from making money and are mistrusted by their employers and unprotected against their former targets.
Hammer Operatives are hard-hitting, destructive and as unsubtle as possible. They have a terrifying skill for violence and chaos, but are not simple thugs. Hammers can also get into hidden and protected places with impressive speed and alacrity, smooth-talk even the most wary foes into submission and inspire loyalty and trust, even if it's terribly misplaced.
Dagger Operatives work from the shadows, the true secret agents. They are precise and cutting like their namesakes, often leaving no trace they were there. Daggers possess brilliant minds and quick wits and are the planners, deep-cover infiltrators, field support and information gatherers. Daggers can pinpoint the location of the hidden base of even the most secretive organizations without much effort, gather more information in an hour than a blundering Hammer could in a year, fool their way into the closest entourages of their enemies and plan and execute operations that leave their targets stunned and misdirected.
Both kinds of Operatives also draw others into their entourages. These Retinue Members are a far cry from Operatives, but have specialist abilities and skillsets to fill in where the Operative is lacking. They may also be simple thugs and agents loyal more to the Operative than their Agency. Operatives will also produce enemies, allies, lovers, informants and influential friends with frightening pace even if they try to avoid it.
Agency Name: The name or designation of your Agency.
Agency Type: Government Agency, Rogue Group or Merc Outfit. See the relevant spoiler.
HQ Location: Country and city/general region. For Government Agency, this determines served country as well.
Agency Background: Reason for creation, goals, ideology, etc. You won't start off too strong, so don't go too wild – though your Agency can be a successor organization for something or a totally reformed existing one. For Rogue Group, describe parent organization or government as well.
Name: The name of your character. Do keep in mind the location and background of your Agency.
Gender: Again, obvious.
Character Type: The Director, Hammer Operative, or Dagger Operative. See the relevant spoilers.
Description: Appearance and personality.
Background: How and why you ended up in your position and what did you do before that. Skills mentioned here may become actual in-game Skills.
(
Not first-come first-serve.)
1. LordBucket - Kristopher Kundert, the Director
2. Micelus - Mikail Bisharid, Dagger Operative
3. Dragor - Rober Graufreund, Dagger Operative
4. Zako - Alex Graves, Hammer Operative
5. Taricus - Laura 'Sledge' Williams, Hammer Operative
Waiting List1. Terenos - Doppleganger, Dagger Operative
2. Riccto - Alfonso 'El Cid' Adafuns, Hammer Operative.
3. Gamerlord - Derek Shaft, Dagger Operative
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Playing the game isn't quite as complex as these vast spoilers might make it seem, I just like writing them.
I'll be happy to answer any questions, and am looking for 4-5 players – one Director, the rest Operatives of (hopefully) both types. First, Agency Creation! No need to make characters before you know what you're going to be doing.
Author
Topic: The Agency [Taskforce #11] - Week I, Turn 3 (Read 12394 times)