Spycraft: Project Duct Tape [OOC][Vacancy]

[Tanstaafl]

Project Duct Tape

The Alpha Beta Foundation was established in the 1950s, when a small group of military men and government agents obtained irrefutable proof of extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Early in the Foundation’s history it was decided that the US government was too large and unwieldy to pull off something so clandestine and far-reaching (MIB: Agent J, “Which government agency do we report to?” Agent K, “None, they ask too many questions.”).

An ‘Alphabet’ agency was created, using agents and resources from several existing agencies to create a shadow agency. It takes advantage of information, intelligence, technology, resources, and personnel in a hundred agencies spanning dozens of countries. It recognizes no jurisdictional boundaries.

The Foundation established the Alphabet Agency that investigates crimes perpetrated by and against alien life forms on the planet Earth. This job is complicated slightly by the fact that the vast majority of people on said planet do not believe in the existence of alien life forms; and the Foundation has to keep it that way. The prime objective is the preservation of the myth that humans are the sole sentient life form on the planet Earth. All other objectives are subject to change without notice.

A vast majority of the extra-terrestrial life forms on Earth are here for benign reasons. The Earth has become a fashionable vacation spot, the thrill of hiding from the natives adds spice to any honeymoon; a convenient neutral ground for meetings; and an unloading zone for those with no where else to go, homeless, exiles, gypsies…

The Foundation strives keep the mundanes safe from the knowledge of the existence of aliens and from the actions of those aliens who would hurt them. To keep friendly aliens safe from random violence and from rogue humans who would make them the victims of organized violence. The main tools for these tasks are the agents of the Alphabet Agency: they are like duct tape; the agency throws them at any problem it faces and they cover it up while fixing it.


This campaign setting started as a table-top game & I’ve written several adventures for it… my gaming group has tried a few of them & now I’d like to test some of them out here.

 

[GWolf]

I am in. Save me a spot charatcer concept up tonight.

Whats the rules for character creation?

 

[Tanstaafl]

Whats the rules for character creation?

I want backgrounds first; stats later.

Please read through the "Where to Start" section of the Spycraft CRB (pages 10-11) and answer at least 6 of those questions from your agent's point of view.

Characters will start at 4th level, so think about classes & starting occupations you'd like to use.

I'd prefer you to start with classes from the CRB, but will make exceptions for very interesting/original character concepts.

Not all of the players need to be working for the Alphabet Agency at the start of the game. For agents who are part of the agency, their 'first contact' story should be included in their background. Also, the denzions of Alpha Beta use code names in the form of Mr. or Ms. X; where X is a color.

I'm looking for a total of 4-6 players...

Please Note: This game is very investigative in nature & relatively light on combat.

 

[Snowtiger]

I'd like to participate. The class I'd like to play is either the
Sleuth or Snoop.

Answers for the character I'd like to play:

Traits for my agent.
1) Curious, perceptive and funny.

Traits my agent dislikes.
2) Lazy, dishonest and insensitive.

When and where was my agent born.
3) Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Age 32.

Agent specialty.
4) Investigation and computing.

Agent appearance.
5) "Everyday joe" looks except for his eyes. They seem
to be able to peer into the heart of any person.

Agent quirks.
6) Has a tendency act like a "white knight" for those in need.

What does my agent love.
7) He loves his family and sees that his work provides security for them.

Favorite things.
8) Music of all sorts, books, impressionist art, classic sports cars of the 60's, gardening.

 

[GWolf]

Ok, The Ideas The Briany Strategist but, violent guy with a tormented past.

1) Three Traits found in Agent
Calculating, Clam, Depressed

2)Three Traits Agent doesnt like to see
Weakness, Hypocrisy, Obession with Relgion.

3) Where Born and When?
Castlebay Scotland, 1976 Age: 27

4) Agents Specialty
In the Field: Strategy, Deception, Confusion,
Otherwise: World History, Particualry World War II

5) Looks
Barely 6ft, Dark brown hair, Dark brown eyes, Slender face, sharp nose. Slight Built, Pushing being just overweight.

6) What the agent Loves
In General Challenges, and Questions, those that seem impossible. Formulating Plans and History are also among his favorites.

7)Agent's Favorite Things
Books: History Texts, Some fiction.
Movie: The Magnificent Seven
TV Show: History Channel.
Color: Unresolved.
Free Time Activity: Reading, Movies.
Weapon: Colt Detective Special, Lee-Enfield Mk. IV.
Food: Swiss Cheese (mainly on sandwhiches etc.)
Drink: Whiskey
Clothing: Beige Trenchcoat.

8) Important Events
Death of Mother, 1987 (Natural Causes)
Death of Father 1990 (Hollow Point Wound Trauma)
Meeting Angelica Trelie 1995
Engagment to Angelica Trelie 1996
Dissaparence of Angelica Trelie 1996
Older Brother Ron Publishes best seller 1997
Works at Laundry Mat 1998-2001
Hit by a bus 2001
Recovers and is Given the Chance to become an Agent, small bits of a few past mysteries revealed by agency, Accepts. 2002
Brother murdered by unkown subject 2003 (Just Prior to game start)

9) Opinions on Espionage
Loves it. All he considers he has left. Out to find answers, and kick ass.

10) Why live a life of lies?
He doesnt consider it so. Its all a game, a book, a challenge.

11) Family
Mother Very Nice, Dead
Father Supportive and Hard Working, Pushed his sons to do thier best, Dead
Brother, Distant to everyone but Close to him, Older, Dead
Fiance Angelica, Studious, Attractive, Missing

12) Views on the Misc.
Relgion: Dislikes it, views it as sign of insecruity.
Politics: At one time thought Communism was good idea.

13) Values
Knowledge
Winning
Love
Power
Reputation
(Those are the important ones)

14)Greatest Fears
Losing anyone else
The Mystery of Death
The Dark (In a way)
Getting hit by buses.

15)Nation
Doesnt care much

16) What would the agent change about himself
He always feels like his knowledge (however good it is) could always be better, and wishes he could've saved everyone he lost.

 

[Tanstaafl]

Some of the House Rules I’ll be using for this game:

1. Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting are a single feat as in the D20:Modern source book.
2. You may use any material from the Spycraft CRB or the Modern Arms Guide. I am willing to consider material from other sources (including feats from other gaming platforms – provided they work within the Spycraft system) and will make decisions on a case-by-case basis. {I think that the Sleuth and Cleaner classes are particulary apt for this setting and will allow them as well.}
3. If you are playing a human, apply all of the ‘human’ racial modifiers (from the Player’s Handbook) to your agent; do this in addition to selecting Department training. If you are interested in playing a non-human, let me know & we’ll work something out.
4. Armor: if you are proficient with the armor type, you may choose to apply the armor bonus or you class bonus to your defense (instead of substituting the armor bonus for class bonus). If you are not proficient with the armor type, you have to use the armor bonus.
5. You may spend an action die to increase your defense by 1dx for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your agent level (rounded up) + your Constitution modifier (if positive). With x being the die type of your current action die.
6. Because of the nature of the play-by-post game I'll be re-evaluating class features with #/session qualifier; any ideas on how to do this would be helpful. Also because of the pbp game style I will not be allowing agents to purchase backgrounds with skill points - write a good background & RP it well & you'll get plenty of bonus XP.
7. More house rules will appear as I think of them or one of you talks me into them…


The code names Cerulean, Cinzento, Saphire, and Verdant will not be available to PCs.

I'll be posting agent creation guidelines sometime in the next two days.


Snowtiger - I really like the Sleuth class and think that it is particularly suited to this game. Would your agent belong to the Alphabet Agency at the start of the campaign or be working for some other gov't or law enforcement agency (preferably in the USA; the game is set up to begin in San Fransisco)?

GWolf - All your agent needs is for his dog to run away & his truck to crash... and he'll be a walking country-western song. It looks like he'll be fun to have in the group. Did you have a class or combination of classes in mind?

 

[GWolf]

I Was thinking Fixer/ Soldier

 

[Hurricain]

need some one else?

 

[Snowtiger]

Snowtiger - I really like the Sleuth class and think that it is particularly suited to this game. Would your agent belong to the Alphabet Agency at the start of the campaign or be working for some other gov't or law enforcement agency (preferably in the USA; the game is set up to begin in San Fransisco)?

Lets say that he is working for the Secret Service training center in Brunswick, GA and that's where he's living but his permanant residency is in Atlanta, GA. Currently he is a trainer in forensic methodologies as well as surveillance.

 

[Tanstaafl]

Hurricain - Yes... I'm looking for at least four players & will accept up to six.

Snowtiger - Looks good.

GWolf - A Fixer/Soldier will be very useful for the party.

Character Creation Guidelines

I would like personality/description information before stats… if there is information from your agent’s background that you’d like to remain secret from the other players, please feel free to e-mail it to me (with ‘Project Duct Tape’ in the subject line). I would like to make perfectly clear from the beginning that secret backgrounds and secondary objectives are allowed only as long as they do not harm or hinder any of the other team members or the team's primary objectives for a particular mission.

Characters will begin with 8,000 experience points (4th level, halfway to 5th).

Ability scores determined by 90 point allocation (allocation, not point buy, if you want a score of 18 you spend 18 points to acquire it… if you want a score of 8 you spend 8 points to acquire it). You may purchase ability scores equal to or less than 20 at agent creation.

If you are playing a human, apply the Human Racial Modifiers (from the Player’s Handbook) in addition to bonuses from Department Training. Non-human characters are possible, let me know if you’re interested.

There will be a GC determined benefit to having a well-thought-out background and/or a creative character history.

It would be helpful if at least one (pref. two) characters are current employees of the Alphabet Agency. This agency is currently unfashionable and highly secretive but very well funded. For characters that begin play working for this agency, code names should be in the form of Mr. or Ms. X, where X is a color.