We are based on Chicago, is there a sense of the focus (geographically) of our operations?  Will it be useful to have Asian languages (Japanese, Chinese, etc) or Spanish or Swahili?  Or is this more European focused so Russian, French, German?  NATO suggests a European focus.

I have a personal affinity for Japan, but if we are unlikely to ever go there I don't feel right using a language on Japanese.

For the 1960's can we swap out some gear?  Con Artist background gives her laptop, can I exchange it for a Forgery Kit, for example?

Are there suggestions/guidelines for "Double Life", "Secret" and "Bond?"

Thanks.

Global missions.  Though I think it's safe to say a majority will be in Europe.  HQ is just a building.



I'll be sure to have at least one mission in Japan.  It always bugged me when I'd pick things that never get used in games.



Yeah, that's reasonable..



Yes!  Thanks for reminding me!  I completely forgot to mention that there are secrets, bonds, etc listed for each background and that I'm happy to type those up.  I wanted to get the mechanical aspects posted so that part of char gen could get completed.  I'll circle back to backgrounds and get that typed up too.

Is there a specific one you want to know the suggestions for now?

I was going to focus on Chinese and Russian as alternative languages. I feel they might be the most useful for the time period

I took the Con Artist background, so if I can see the suggestions there it would be very helpful.

I decided that Virtue will be played by Yvonne Craig, photo in her description.  Do you guys think she could pass for half-Japanese?  I was thinking of building her first cover identity around that.

Is Vixen cool as a codename?  Was thinking Lady Koi for her cover codename (a famous kitsune)

Thank you for the answers!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:58, Sat 24 Apr 2021.

I'll have the con artist informed for you today.

Sure, why not?

And yes.  It's a very "on the nose" codename but there's nothing wrong with that.

For the cover identity it says I get the equipment of the cover’s background.  So I pick one of the other backgrounds and use that?  If so was thinking Diplomat.  So she is a former con artist turned spy under cover as a diplomat.

Is there such a thing as "masterwork" equipment in this game?  My character assembly has Gin ending up with a taser and a smartphone, neither of which seem exactly setting-appropriate.  :)  Can she trade those in to bump the thieves' tools she already has up to "really good thieves' tools," whatever that might be?

Alright, so I think I have everything done correctly. Should be good to go on my sheet anyway. So, if anything is out of order let me know haha.

I think I'm going to go with a soldier for Aliyah, Martial Artist is always tempting, but I like the soldier class as well. As for background, the soldier one seems best too. So that'll be Aliyah as soon as I can get her put together.

Great pic of Yvonne Craig! I've never seen her like that before! Makes me want to go back to the Sixties!

If Yvonne was playing your character it a Sixties spy movie, I'm sure Hollywood make-up artists could make her look a bit more Oriental if it was needed.

As it is, she doesn't have to necessarily look Japanese so much as she acts and sounds Japanese.


I don't see anything in the Quick Start rules that puts Properties on equipment other than weapons, but I don't see why there can't be an Advanced or Superior property for equipment. I know the Stargate SG-1 RPG went into a lot of properties for equipment, things like rugged or waterproof, so those should at least be available.

Also, we don't know yet what 'gadgets' the Agency is going to provide, such as an advanced communication device a la Dick Tracy's wrist radio/TV, so we may have an era-equivalent Smartphone.


In the Quick Start rules, there's no indication that there are skills for vehicles or explosives, but it does say there are vehicle Proficiencies.

My only complaint about the rules is that you can't get GOOD at a skill outside of your class/level/ability scores. Just because you have an 18 Dex, for example, it doesn't make you a concert pianist! For that matter, is there a skill for Perform?


As for Ideals, Bonds, Flaws, etc... if you don't have the rules, I don't see why you couldn't pull them from the standard 5e rules and just tweak them for modern times.

So, here's what we've got so far:


A few blanks to fill in. Do we need a Technician? NPC like maybe Q?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Sun 25 Apr 2021.

I'll get these posts in the char gen thread but for my own sake I'm posting them here for now.


Con Artist

Double Life

• I subscribe a homeopathic medical lifestyle to the rich and stupid. They have no idea my new age cures are fake.
• I advertise several tropical holiday homes online, only when the guests arrive they find an inhospitable environment and no amenities.
• I fence the most expensive stolen treasures around the world, but only the fakes I make of the real treasures that I keep.
• I’ve convinced a large bank that I’m the dynastic owners’ long lost heir, standing to inherit billions.

Secret

• I know of a placebo medicine on the open market that generates huge profits but helps no one.
• Insider trading is rife within the financial sectors of the world, and I know who stands to benefit the most.
• My ‘charitable prince’ scam has infected accounts throughout the world, and I have the account details of hundreds of thousands of people.
• I’ve managed to convince someone to give me the president’s login details to their personal accounts.

Ideal

• If you’re dumb enough to be duped, you don’t deserve the wealth you’ve built up.
• What I do is a victimless crime—the only people that stand to lose out are the insurance companies that exploit people.
• All of this is a game and a test, and I haven’t found my limits yet.
• Everyone can be played if you set up the right circum- stances.

Bond

• I need to keep in contact with a victim regularly to see my con come through.
• As more people begin to know my fake persona, the more attached I get to it.
• I’m caught between the love of two partners, but I actually care for them both.
• I’ve played the con all my life, and have forgotten who are my victims and who aren’t.

Diplomat

Double Life

• I am a member of a royal family.
• I am my country’s chief international hostage negotiator.
• I am an aide to my country’s foreign minister.
• I lead an NGO in their mission of peace and protection.

Secret

• I know who is responsible for a high profile assassination.
• I know of an unauthorized military training facility in foreign soil.
• I bribed government officials in order to see a trade deal through.
• I am the corruption at the heart of my government.

Ideal

• My position allows me to enjoy the finer things in life, and so I shall.
• I work to further the goals of my political outlook and support leaders around the world who share those views.
• We need to bring people of different ideals together to build a stronger world.
• Diplomacy is the velvet glove that disguises the fist of power.

Bond

• I will make good on the peace negotiations that broke down.
• I will bring a war criminal to justice.
• I can ease the tensions between sworn enemies.
• I must repay the business interests that have donated to our cause.

Scientist

Double Life

• I lead a team of nano-technicians, and we’re looking at a breakthrough any day now.
• I’m a technician at a robotics lab, and can’t help but take my work home with me.
• I’ve dedicated my life to finding a cure for a disease, but it eludes me to this day.
• I engage in industrial espionage, paid for by the largest tech firms.

Secret

• I know the codes to disable experimental military technology.
• My research led me to human experimentation, not ethically cleared by the scientific community.
• A material I developed is in lots of manufactured products, but it’s properties can be dangerous.
• A government minister is a deep fake persona, never seen out in public.

Ideal

• Nothing is more exciting than the moment of a new discovery.
• I seek fame and fortune from the results of my re- search and development projects.
• I work hard to further human knowledge for the betterment of people’s lives everywhere.
• Without questioning why, we stagnate as a civilization.

Bond

• A discovery I made haunts me everywhere. “The patients I’ve cured are lifelong friends.
• I will prove my peers in the scientific community wrong about their flawed conclusions.
• I am obliged to continue my research for my government.

Military

Double Life

• I’m a leading figure in my country’s military.
• I’m trained in a specialist role and take pride in my work.
• I’m a private contractor, I work for whoever I please.
• I take green recruits and train them, turning them into elite soldiers.

Secret

• I was involved in a secret black-bag operation for my government.
• I found evidence of dangerous weapons and was told to cover it up.
• I know the location of operations personnel.
• My unit was witness to my government performing crimes against civilians, but we have been warned against speaking out.

Ideal

• I am willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect good people.
• I will be a sibling to everyone that fights alongside me.
• I keep my cool, whatever the situation.
• Surviving in hostile environments is what I’m trained for.

Bond

• I must preserve the memory of fallen comrades in arms.
• I must rescue my commanding officer from the captivity of our enemy.
• I serve to make my family proud.
• I owe everything to my unit leader.

There is no soldier background so I listed military.  There is also no thief background but con artist kinda fits that.

We can make up our own, too, or lift from 5e and modify them to fit this game.

Yeah, I meant military so it's all good. Thanks.

That's my take on it.




No such thing as masterwork.

I'm fine with some swapping of gear due to period differences in tech but it's also completely fine (and perhaps game appropriate?) to modify the gear a bit.

I think you could have a handheld two-way radio.  The first palm-size one was invented in the USSR in the late 50s.  Maybe you stole one and it was copied for use by The Division?

As for a taser, it could be reimagined as a knock-out gas device that does a puff of some gas that knocks a person out for a little bit.  The overall function in game terms can be the same but it's just re-flavored.  Alternatively, I don't see why an electric shock device couldn't be a gadget you would have.  Certainly the idea of using electricity to disable a person was considered at the time

There is some very ingenious stuff that was created for spies during the cold war.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:56, Sat 24 Apr 2021.

Sorry, background is Soldier as well. It just made sense for what I have.

The background is military, not soldier. And Aliyah's code name is the Blue Gazelle.

If your plan requires a role you don't have and can't reasonably fill, a competent NPC will be assigned for that specific part of the mission.  Mind you there may be limitations.  A tech NPC is not going to do things solo for example, one of you would have to sneak it into an office if you need it to gain access to that office.

Oh, and they won't be effective in combat and are unlikely to even engage in it.

What year is it?

So you mean we don't get a level 20 Super Soldier to carry us in Combat?

1964.  March.



Why not?  They'll just fight the enemy level 20 super soldier each mission.  :)

Apologies for not getting to review character sheets yet.  It's on my list for tomorrow.

...tomorrow!  For real this time.  :)

Ended up staying quite late at work due to multiple projects getting dropped on me so that left me no time today for reviewing your sheets.  My apologies.