Want to help me run a Spycraft game?
- Thread starter Nareau
- Start date
Mirth
Explorer
Spider said:Is that a subtle hint, Mirth?Swannanowhere isn't too far away. And if you hadn't already read all the notes for the entire campaign, I'd invite you to play. Maybe for another game, or a one-shot.
Spider
Just joking with ya
I've already talked with Daniel a couple of times about joining your group, but I get the idea that you meet more frequently than I'm able to. I'm ideally looking for a game that meets once every 3-4 weeks. If you know of anything that fits, give me a shout.To get this thread back on track, your spycraft game concept looks great. I'll try to post some more specific comments later today.
See ya,
Jay
Henry
Autoexreginated
Plot Holes/Questions that need to be answered:
Why didn't the slaves burn Khaemhat and smash his artifacts?
--They did, and scattered his ashes in the desert. (That was the acient Egyptian method of ensuring their ka never found peace. It's also why he can be resurrected.)
What is the relationship between Franklin and Cortex?
How about instead of Franklin being under Cortex's thumb, they could be old college friends or military buddies? Maybe Cortex used to work in intelligence?
Why on earth would the Agency be doing the mission in the first place?
Instead of them pulling a covert on Franklin's behalf, maybe Franklin doesn't necessarily trust his old friend, and wants to keep it secret BECAUSE of said weapon contracts? Above the superiors finding out, he doesn't want Cortex finding out, and cutting them off, especially because he's developing a new communications technology that's only WEEKS away from the first prototypes being delivered...
Why on earth would Cortex even ask the Agency to do this (instead of sending his own security forces)?
If the Agency isn't doing his work, then Cortex's security IS doing the work, and the PC's are investigating (and therefore giving you one MORE minion to pit against them)
Why are the PC's flying low enough to be attacked from the ground? Why should the PC's get a plane from an illegal weapons-dealer? Aren't there legitimate plane-rental places?
Yes, and have that one sabotaged by unknown forces. How about: They get to rent a small plane, and find out that the only one they like is due to be rented by the obvious cover name of a rival agent of their branch - A guy they CAN'T stand. If they PC's take the bait, a criminal mastermind, BUT ONE THAT HAS nothing to do with the PC's current story, has sabotaged the plane, forcing them to crash land in a godforsaken desert town, and the ONLY guy running something other than a camel or a jeep is a tour-runner with a Sopwith Camel.
Later, in the debriefing, when the adventure is all over, they receive thanks from the rival spy after he gleefully informs them that he nabbed the mastermind he was going after, and how the mastermind was taken off guard that his booby trap didn't work.
If the Mesah were charged with protecting the tomb, why don't they know where it is?
Sorry, brain malfunction here. I'll weigh in later.
Sudden sandstorm looms on the horizon, which still doesn't deter the Mesah, who are used to the conditions? They are weatherproofed (goggles, filters, caseless ammo weaponry with mesh screens on the exhaust ports) and they attack anyway. Cover percentages (20% if prepared and 50% if unprepared) will make the fight dramatic as bullets and rpg's whiz out of nowhere, and probably force the PC's to hide or flee unless they are lucky.
Good luck, and I hope some of these are useful. Above all, my strongest advice is don't plan so tightly that the PC's MUST take a plane instead of a camel or a car. PC's are sneaky devils.
Why didn't the slaves burn Khaemhat and smash his artifacts?
--They did, and scattered his ashes in the desert. (That was the acient Egyptian method of ensuring their ka never found peace. It's also why he can be resurrected.)
What is the relationship between Franklin and Cortex?
How about instead of Franklin being under Cortex's thumb, they could be old college friends or military buddies? Maybe Cortex used to work in intelligence?
Why on earth would the Agency be doing the mission in the first place?
Instead of them pulling a covert on Franklin's behalf, maybe Franklin doesn't necessarily trust his old friend, and wants to keep it secret BECAUSE of said weapon contracts? Above the superiors finding out, he doesn't want Cortex finding out, and cutting them off, especially because he's developing a new communications technology that's only WEEKS away from the first prototypes being delivered...
Why on earth would Cortex even ask the Agency to do this (instead of sending his own security forces)?
If the Agency isn't doing his work, then Cortex's security IS doing the work, and the PC's are investigating (and therefore giving you one MORE minion to pit against them)
Why are the PC's flying low enough to be attacked from the ground? Why should the PC's get a plane from an illegal weapons-dealer? Aren't there legitimate plane-rental places?
Yes, and have that one sabotaged by unknown forces. How about: They get to rent a small plane, and find out that the only one they like is due to be rented by the obvious cover name of a rival agent of their branch - A guy they CAN'T stand. If they PC's take the bait, a criminal mastermind, BUT ONE THAT HAS nothing to do with the PC's current story, has sabotaged the plane, forcing them to crash land in a godforsaken desert town, and the ONLY guy running something other than a camel or a jeep is a tour-runner with a Sopwith Camel.
Later, in the debriefing, when the adventure is all over, they receive thanks from the rival spy after he gleefully informs them that he nabbed the mastermind he was going after, and how the mastermind was taken off guard that his booby trap didn't work.
If the Mesah were charged with protecting the tomb, why don't they know where it is?
Sorry, brain malfunction here. I'll weigh in later.
Sudden sandstorm looms on the horizon, which still doesn't deter the Mesah, who are used to the conditions? They are weatherproofed (goggles, filters, caseless ammo weaponry with mesh screens on the exhaust ports) and they attack anyway. Cover percentages (20% if prepared and 50% if unprepared) will make the fight dramatic as bullets and rpg's whiz out of nowhere, and probably force the PC's to hide or flee unless they are lucky.
Good luck, and I hope some of these are useful. Above all, my strongest advice is don't plan so tightly that the PC's MUST take a plane instead of a camel or a car. PC's are sneaky devils.
Nareau
Explorer
OK, I'm back after 2 long months of silence. More ideas:
First off, I'm going to run a "Prelude" session before the campaign starts. It'll be a one-shot, hopefully enough to get us all used to the system.
Synopsis:
San Diego, January 26, 2003
The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization has organized an attack on the Superbowl. One of their agents, Ahmad Sami, has hijacked the Budweiser Blimp (Air-Bud 2). He and his team of 8-16 mooks have attached 200 kilos of a deadly chemical agent to the bottom of the blimp's carriage. He has made a call to the FBI stating that he will release the toxin at the end of half-time, unless a Korean agent named Yoon-jin Kim (AKA "Shiri") is released from a military prison in Saudi Arabia and delivered to MKO custody immediately. His time-frame is such that the Feds have virtually no time to argue...so they've already gotten Shiri out of prison, and are flying her to Iran in order to deliver her on time.
Enter the Agency.
The PC's are called to action by Control to organize an assault on the blimp. They'll need to commandeer a helicopter, board the blimp, rescue the hostages, disarm the chemical weapon, and capture the enemy agent.
Ahmad - He's fairly new to the game. He has been assigned this mission (one of his first) because he is scared, loyal, and unquestioning. He is certainly willing to follow through with this attack, though he is less willing to die while he does so.
Shiri - She's an old-school cryptography/computer/engineering expert. Probably at least a 10th level fixer or snoop. She was the child of a Korean spy who was interred during WWII, having been mistaken as Japanese by ignorant officials; although her parents were actually spies, they were never found out. Anyways, Shiri has a big grudge against the West. She has spent the past 10+ years working as a "hacker for hire" for various governments. Her capture was crucial for the success of the Gulf War (more on that later), as she had been using her skills to disrupt communications and tech. The MKO wants to hire her (in exchange for her freedom) to take over T.H.U.M.P.E.R.
T.H.U.M.P.E.R. - Terrestrial High-altitude Unamplified Magneto-Positronic Echo Recorder. It is an experimental satellite deployed by White Sun Aaeronautics. It uses MP pulses as a type of radar. It can determine landscape, terrain, and subterranean anomalies up to 10 miles under the surface. Its primary purpose was to aid in the discovery of untapped oil fields in Iraq. The military was granted use of it during the second Gulf War to find Saddam Hussein. In exchange, they have agreed to allow White Sun Petrol access to any new oil fields discovered after the war.
After Hussein's capture (12/14/03), White Sun CEO Anthony Cortex used Thumper to probe the Egyptian deserts to find Khotan's tomb. They succeeded on 01/26/04 (exactly one year after the Omega Team prevented THUMPER from falling to the hands of the MKO).
Mission Priorities:
Prevent the poisoning of the Superbowl
Save the hostages on the blimp
Capture the enemy
Find out the enemy's plan
January 26, 2003
Scene 1: A Call to Action
Everyone gets a call on their cell-phone giving them the run-down
"Good evening agent. You have a goal...
We have just received a report that MKO is about to deploy a deadly chemical weapons over the Qualcomm stadium in San Diego; The Superbowl is under attack.
A man calling himself "Ahmad" has hijacked the Budweiser Blimp, and is threatening to launch 24 canisters of IHO-40 against the 70,000 fans attending the event. He is demanding that mercenary intelligence agent Yoon-jin Kim, AKA "Shiri," be freed from her imprisonment by US officials in Saudi Arabia. We have received reports that the US is complying with the demands, and that this act is being kept at a top secret level.
Your primary advantages in this mission will be stealth and surprise. The US government has a standing public policy of never "dealing" with terrorists. The MKO knows that they could not succeed if their demands were made public. For one, the US would be forced (by various oversight committies and public opinion) to resist the threat. Also, the stadium would degenerate into a chaotic stampede if anyone got wind of the impending attack. Therefore, Ahmad has demanded that no one outside of his military contacts be notified of the transaction.
This is an advantage because it allows us potential access. There are currently 6 news helicopters over and near the stadium. Two of those choppers will be re-fueling at a nearby airstrip during halftime. You will need to intercept and commandeer one of those helicopters; we can provide you with a pilot who can get you close enough to the blimp that you may board it.
Scene 2: Flight of the Raven
They rendezvous with the LA contact/pilot at the airstrip to get equipped and load up. Fly to Blimp, board using grappling hooks or other landing equipment. The blimp's carriage will be much larger than it is in real life--probably the size of a 30' yacht.
Scene 3a: Belly of the Beast
Discover and disarm chemical weapons
The Fixer or the Snoop will need to use ropes/climbing gear to gain access to the canisters. Disarming the system will require 3 or 4 checks, as there are many components (electronic release system; electronic detonators; pressure-sensitive arming system); climb checks will only be necessary if the blimp flies erratically. These checks will take less than the standard 1-minute, so as to keep the action going. Ideally, I'd love to see a situation where one of the canisters is deployed, and the disarming agent has to dive after it, catch it, and disarm the detonation system in mid-air. If the PC's decide to do this first (keeping the group together), there's a good chance that the patrolling guards will discover them.
Scene 3b: Fire and Rescue
Firefight against the mooks, try to save the hostages (some of whom will show up later as important NPC's). Alison Cortex, heir to the White Sun empire, is on the Blimp.
Scene 4: Inside the Blimp
Fight agains the Henchman; he will try to arm and release the canisters (which hopefully will be disarmed by now). He'll make his escape by blowing a hole in the side of the blimp. All of the mooks will be wearing personal air-foils, which they plan on using to escape to a boat waiting offshore (a 2-mile gliding fall from the stadium).
Scene 5a: Free Falling
Chase the Henchman through the air as he free-falls away from the Superbowl. The PC's will all have parachutes, or possibly picked up airfoils from downed mooks.
Scene 5b: Burning Bud
Someone will need to pilot the collapsing blimp away from the stadium. While the canisters' detonation mechanisms will probably be disarmed by now, it would still be disasterous to have them be crushed by the blimp in the middle of the stadium.
Scene 6: The Omega Team
Once the threat is resolved, the agents will be recalled to the NYC office. There they will meet Capt. Franklin in person, and be appointed as the Agency's newest team: Omega. The next adventure will start over a year later...
Future tie-ins:
THUMPER is modified to be an "earthquake weapon"
Khotan's discovery will lead to his resurrection, and future mayham
The MKO attack will be revealed as an attempt to discredit Capt. Franklin (by an unknown enemy...)
Capt. Franklin will be revealed to have been part of the original Omega Team, who were blamed for the Three Mile Island disaster.
One of the hostages, Alison Cortex, will be a recurring villain
I'm running this prelude on Wednesday. Any feedback is much appreciated. I've already come up with ideas for the next 4 sessions (they involve my previous posts about Prof. Ashe and the Khotan dig; he'll later be kidnapped. The PC's will end up on a gambling cruiseship off the coast of Italy. There will be a jet-ski chase through the streets of Venice). I'll post more later.
Spider
First off, I'm going to run a "Prelude" session before the campaign starts. It'll be a one-shot, hopefully enough to get us all used to the system.
Synopsis:
San Diego, January 26, 2003
The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization has organized an attack on the Superbowl. One of their agents, Ahmad Sami, has hijacked the Budweiser Blimp (Air-Bud 2). He and his team of 8-16 mooks have attached 200 kilos of a deadly chemical agent to the bottom of the blimp's carriage. He has made a call to the FBI stating that he will release the toxin at the end of half-time, unless a Korean agent named Yoon-jin Kim (AKA "Shiri") is released from a military prison in Saudi Arabia and delivered to MKO custody immediately. His time-frame is such that the Feds have virtually no time to argue...so they've already gotten Shiri out of prison, and are flying her to Iran in order to deliver her on time.
Enter the Agency.
The PC's are called to action by Control to organize an assault on the blimp. They'll need to commandeer a helicopter, board the blimp, rescue the hostages, disarm the chemical weapon, and capture the enemy agent.
Ahmad - He's fairly new to the game. He has been assigned this mission (one of his first) because he is scared, loyal, and unquestioning. He is certainly willing to follow through with this attack, though he is less willing to die while he does so.
Shiri - She's an old-school cryptography/computer/engineering expert. Probably at least a 10th level fixer or snoop. She was the child of a Korean spy who was interred during WWII, having been mistaken as Japanese by ignorant officials; although her parents were actually spies, they were never found out. Anyways, Shiri has a big grudge against the West. She has spent the past 10+ years working as a "hacker for hire" for various governments. Her capture was crucial for the success of the Gulf War (more on that later), as she had been using her skills to disrupt communications and tech. The MKO wants to hire her (in exchange for her freedom) to take over T.H.U.M.P.E.R.
T.H.U.M.P.E.R. - Terrestrial High-altitude Unamplified Magneto-Positronic Echo Recorder. It is an experimental satellite deployed by White Sun Aaeronautics. It uses MP pulses as a type of radar. It can determine landscape, terrain, and subterranean anomalies up to 10 miles under the surface. Its primary purpose was to aid in the discovery of untapped oil fields in Iraq. The military was granted use of it during the second Gulf War to find Saddam Hussein. In exchange, they have agreed to allow White Sun Petrol access to any new oil fields discovered after the war.
After Hussein's capture (12/14/03), White Sun CEO Anthony Cortex used Thumper to probe the Egyptian deserts to find Khotan's tomb. They succeeded on 01/26/04 (exactly one year after the Omega Team prevented THUMPER from falling to the hands of the MKO).
Mission Priorities:
Prevent the poisoning of the Superbowl
Save the hostages on the blimp
Capture the enemy
Find out the enemy's plan
January 26, 2003
Scene 1: A Call to Action
Everyone gets a call on their cell-phone giving them the run-down
"Good evening agent. You have a goal...
We have just received a report that MKO is about to deploy a deadly chemical weapons over the Qualcomm stadium in San Diego; The Superbowl is under attack.
A man calling himself "Ahmad" has hijacked the Budweiser Blimp, and is threatening to launch 24 canisters of IHO-40 against the 70,000 fans attending the event. He is demanding that mercenary intelligence agent Yoon-jin Kim, AKA "Shiri," be freed from her imprisonment by US officials in Saudi Arabia. We have received reports that the US is complying with the demands, and that this act is being kept at a top secret level.
Your primary advantages in this mission will be stealth and surprise. The US government has a standing public policy of never "dealing" with terrorists. The MKO knows that they could not succeed if their demands were made public. For one, the US would be forced (by various oversight committies and public opinion) to resist the threat. Also, the stadium would degenerate into a chaotic stampede if anyone got wind of the impending attack. Therefore, Ahmad has demanded that no one outside of his military contacts be notified of the transaction.
This is an advantage because it allows us potential access. There are currently 6 news helicopters over and near the stadium. Two of those choppers will be re-fueling at a nearby airstrip during halftime. You will need to intercept and commandeer one of those helicopters; we can provide you with a pilot who can get you close enough to the blimp that you may board it.
Scene 2: Flight of the Raven
They rendezvous with the LA contact/pilot at the airstrip to get equipped and load up. Fly to Blimp, board using grappling hooks or other landing equipment. The blimp's carriage will be much larger than it is in real life--probably the size of a 30' yacht.
Scene 3a: Belly of the Beast
Discover and disarm chemical weapons
The Fixer or the Snoop will need to use ropes/climbing gear to gain access to the canisters. Disarming the system will require 3 or 4 checks, as there are many components (electronic release system; electronic detonators; pressure-sensitive arming system); climb checks will only be necessary if the blimp flies erratically. These checks will take less than the standard 1-minute, so as to keep the action going. Ideally, I'd love to see a situation where one of the canisters is deployed, and the disarming agent has to dive after it, catch it, and disarm the detonation system in mid-air. If the PC's decide to do this first (keeping the group together), there's a good chance that the patrolling guards will discover them.
Scene 3b: Fire and Rescue
Firefight against the mooks, try to save the hostages (some of whom will show up later as important NPC's). Alison Cortex, heir to the White Sun empire, is on the Blimp.
Scene 4: Inside the Blimp
Fight agains the Henchman; he will try to arm and release the canisters (which hopefully will be disarmed by now). He'll make his escape by blowing a hole in the side of the blimp. All of the mooks will be wearing personal air-foils, which they plan on using to escape to a boat waiting offshore (a 2-mile gliding fall from the stadium).
Scene 5a: Free Falling
Chase the Henchman through the air as he free-falls away from the Superbowl. The PC's will all have parachutes, or possibly picked up airfoils from downed mooks.
Scene 5b: Burning Bud
Someone will need to pilot the collapsing blimp away from the stadium. While the canisters' detonation mechanisms will probably be disarmed by now, it would still be disasterous to have them be crushed by the blimp in the middle of the stadium.
Scene 6: The Omega Team
Once the threat is resolved, the agents will be recalled to the NYC office. There they will meet Capt. Franklin in person, and be appointed as the Agency's newest team: Omega. The next adventure will start over a year later...
Future tie-ins:
THUMPER is modified to be an "earthquake weapon"
Khotan's discovery will lead to his resurrection, and future mayham
The MKO attack will be revealed as an attempt to discredit Capt. Franklin (by an unknown enemy...)
Capt. Franklin will be revealed to have been part of the original Omega Team, who were blamed for the Three Mile Island disaster.
One of the hostages, Alison Cortex, will be a recurring villain
I'm running this prelude on Wednesday. Any feedback is much appreciated. I've already come up with ideas for the next 4 sessions (they involve my previous posts about Prof. Ashe and the Khotan dig; he'll later be kidnapped. The PC's will end up on a gambling cruiseship off the coast of Italy. There will be a jet-ski chase through the streets of Venice). I'll post more later.
Spider
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