Nights Black Agents Sketch

8/19/2019 Nights Black Agents Sketch

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Night's Black Agents

1: Character Generation

General History

• Pick a name, and a common “handle”.

• Pick age and nationaliy.

• What did you do before being recruited?

• Previous Patron- what agency did you work for?

• Why did you leave?

Abilities

• Health , !tability , "over #$, %etwork &, !treetwise #, 'radecraft #

• "hoose a background ()age #* to #+. %ote abilities.• !)end #& )oints in nvestigative bilities. /a0imum level is *.

• !)end 12 )oints in 3eneral bilities. %ote “s)ecials” if an ability is & or more. %ote thatHealth and !tability can be increased at this stage. 'he second highest ability must be at leasthalf the highest ability.

• Pick your /ilitary 4ccu)ational !)ecialty (/4!. 'his is a general skill that you canautomatically succeed at once )er session.

• character with a Wea)ons or !hooting ability of & or more can s)end 5 )oints on !)ecial Wea)ons 'raining. 'his grants 6# damage with a )articular wea)on (eg7 a s)ecific model of)istol.

• character with a Hand to Hand ability of & or more can s)end 5 )oints on /artial rts 'raining. 'his grants 6# unarmed damage.

Further Background

• Pick a 8rive ()ages *+ to *9.

• Pick your sources of stability7 !ymbol (an ob:ect indicating something of value, !olace (ahuman contact, !afety (a )lace you value and feel safe.

Cover and Network

Put some "over )oints into a )ool (any number desired to re)resent one alternate identity. Pickdetails7 a name and a )hrase.

Put some %etwork )oints into a )ool (any number desired to re)resent a contact. Pick details7 a nameand a )hrase.


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2: sing Abilities

!nvestigative Abilitiesnvestigative bilities are not rolled. f a )layer uses a relevant ability to look for clues, success isautomatic. )layer can also spend a )oint from an ability )ool to get a bonus- usually e0tra information

that will be useful later on.

s)end might also be re;uired if using an nvestigative ability is more than usual effort for somereason.


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that identity=s )ool against 8". 4nly one such identity needs to be established in charactergenerationA others can be generated in )lay.

'he )ool of the %etwork ability is s)lit between various contacts in the same way. gain, only onecontact needs to be established in character generation.

%either "over nor %etwork are tested directly. 'he )ools do not refresh, and can only be increased with >0)erience Points. 4nce a cover or network contact has its )ool reduced to Bero, it iscom)romised.


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%: "e&reshing #ools and ($erience

"e&reshing #ools t the end of an o)eration, all bility )ools a)art from %etwork and "over fully refresh, assuming theagents have time to rela0 before another :ob. 'his is the only time nvestigative abilities refresh.

4ther refresh o))ortunities are7

• !)end time rela0ing at a )lace of safety to fully refresh three general abilities (but not Health or!tability.

• Pools for thletics, 8riving, Hand to Hand, Piloting, !hooting and Wea)ons refresh when it is2 hours since these abilities were last used.

• @ollowing a 8rive into danger or story com)lications refreshes 2 )oints of any general ability.

• Health refreshes at 2 )oints )er day of restful activity.

• 4nce )er session, if you gain some benefit from a source of !tability, refresh 2 )oints of

!tability.

'($erience t the end of an o)eration, each )artici)ant gets 2 e0)erience )oints )er session they took )art in. 'his e0)erience can be s)ent on all abilities, or s)ecial wea)ons training, in the same way as )oints incharacter generation.


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): *ui$+ent character=s e0act resources are not tracked. Normal items are always available, and can be assumed tobe at hand if they=re the sort of thing its likely an agent would have on an o)eration. !tranger orbulkier normal items, or restricted items re;uire a difficulty Pre)aredness ability test to have at hand.

'hey can also be obtained with an a))ro)riate investigative ability (eg7 Streetwise to find an arms dealeror use of a network contact. !ome could be manufactured using a difficulty check in a relevant

ability.

Special items re;uire either a difficulty 5 ability check, a s)end from an nvestigation ability to get holdof, if available. 'hey might also come u) in the story. @inally, Rare items cannot be sim)ly obtainedthrough abilities- ac;uiring them must come u) in the story.

Caches 8ifficulty 5 Pre)aredness ability test can be made to locate a cache- something )re)ared earlier eitherby an agent or his former agency. 'his cache can contain a vehicle. 'he agent finding the cache canname two items it contains. >very other agent can s)end a )oint of the Pre)aredness ability to nameanother item. ny normal or restricted items are availableA rare items re;uire 3/ )ermission. 3/

may also s)ecify other things in the cache, if a))ro)riate.

'*ui$+ent and ,kills 'y)ically, skills will have a -2 )enalty (or are im)ossible if a))ro)riate e;ui)ment is not available, fore0am)le, using >ngineering for re)airs without a toolkit and )ossibly )ower tools. @or investigationabilities, a s)end might be needed to use the ability at all. >0ce)tional e;ui)ment, such as somerestricted s)yware might give a skill a 62 bonus. 'his should certainly be the case if a hard to get holdof item is used. @or investigation abilities, such e;ui)ment might grant the e;uivalent of a free s)end.

'veryday !te+s

!te+ Availability Notes

0)ensive


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Fniform %ormal

Eight Gideo "amera %ormal

"harter @light estricted

%ice )artment or House estricted

Eocal


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'($losivesegular e0)losives annihilate a target at )oint blank range, does *d5 damage at close range (#$m. n

thletics check at 8"9 is made to avoid 856* damage at near range (*$m. !maller e0)losives are alsoavailable. When detonated, they annihilate what they are touching, and do 2d5 damage to everyone inPoint


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3: Co+bat "ombat is divided into rounds of a few seconds each. >ach round, a character can act once, usually tomake an attack.

!nitiative t the start of a fight, each character says what ability they are using in the first round. 'his decides

Initiative - the order in which )eo)le act. "haracters with guns go before characters using melee attacks."haracters who have wea)ons ready (or are using Hand to Hand go before those who don=t.4therwise, )roceed in order of the ability score, from highest to lowest. 'ies go to the )layercharacters.

nitiative is fi0ed for the fight=s duration.

Attack n attack is an ability test with a combat ability against a 8" called the o))onent=s Hit 'hreshold. 'hose with some combat training (including the )layer characters have a Hit 'hreshold of *, or iftheir thletics ability is & or more. 4rdinary )eo)le have a Hit 'hreshold of 2A monsters might have a

higher Hit 'hreshold still.

1a+agef an attack succeeds it does d5 damage, )lus a wea)on=s damage modifier (to a minimum of #.

rmour might absorb some of this damage. 'he rest is subtracted from a character=s Health.

4rdinary %P"s die at $ Health. P"s have more of a chance, as do ma:or %P"s at the 3/=s o)tion.

t Health $ to -1, a character is HurtA they need a test each round at a 8" e;ual to the amount Healthis below $ to stay conscious. @urther, all actions have a -# )enalty.

t Health -5 to -##, a character is seriously in:ured. 'hey still need a Health check to stay conscious,but even if they succeed, they can=t fight or move ;uickly. 'he above -# )enalty remains to otheractions, and use of nvestigative abilities always re;uires a s)end in this state. @urther, unless theyreceive medical treatment, they lose # Health every *$ minutes.

t Health -#2 or lower, a character is dead.

character can e0ert themselves, reducing their Health further (to a deadly -#2 minimum for a bonusto their test made to stay "onscious.

,$ecial "ules

Auto&ire When using a wea)on with autofire, such as a submachine gun, after a successful attack, a character cans)end * )oints from the !hooting )ool to do an e0tra d5 damage to the victim or nearby target. 'his isallowed any number of times.

Called ,hots@or a called shot to do e0tra damage, add 62 to the Hit 'hresholdA if the attack succeeds, do 62damage.

called shot at 6* to the Hit 'hreshold can also be used to disarm with Hand to Hand or Wea)ons.

Covern a firefight, )artici)ants are assumed to be taking some cover. f a character is fully e0)osed, they


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have -# to their Hit 'hreshold.

f full cover is available, a character can only be attacked when they )o) u) to shoot. n this case add6# to their Hit 'hreshold.

Critical Hits

f an attack e0ceeds the Hit 'hreshold by 1 or more, and the die roll is a 5, do an e0tra d5 damage.

'(tra Attacks n e0tra attack can be made after a successful hit. t re;uires a relevant combat ability of & or more. With Hand to Hand or Wea)ons, s)end* from Hand to Hand or Wea)ons, and 2 from Health to makea second attack immediately. With 3uns, s)end )oints from !hooting and # from !tability.

f a different target is chosen for the e0tra attack, add 62 to the Hit 'hreshold.

Healing 'o deal first aid, s)end )oints from the /edic abilityA one )oint from /edic restores two Health for a

character who is not seriously in:ured. Without s)ending )oints, first aid can heal one Health )oint.Health also regenerates at a rate of 2 )er day of restful activity.

8" * /edic test (8" 1 for self-treatment stabilises a seriously in:ured character, )reventing furtherHealth loss. seriously in:ured character needs hos)ital treatmentA one day )er )oint of Health belowBero. 4n release, they are fully healed.

Held at Gun$ointf one character holds another at gun)oint, and decides to shoot (for e0am)le through being charged,they make one attack that automatically hits for tri)le damage. successful distraction reduces this tonormal combatA the gunman will still get to act first.

2ooks/ook combatants have a Hit 'hreshold of * and a Health of *. 'hey may or may not have furthercombat ability )ools.

4u+$ !n 'o Dum) in, s)end thletics )ool )oints, or * !hooting, Hand to Hand, or Wea)ons. 'his lets acharacter act immediately, regardless of initiative. fterwards, that character stays where they acted inthe initiative order (unless they use !mp In a second time.

"ange

'here are five abstract ranges7

#oint Blank n arm=s reach.

Close #$m or so.

Near F) to *$m.

.ong "ange F) to #$$m.

'(tended F) to 1$$m

/oving between )oint blank and close range is automatic at the end of the round if desired. /oving

between two other neighbouring ranges....

character can s)end 2 !hooting )ool )oints to e0tend the range of a gun by one range category for a


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single attack.

"unning Away 'o run away from a fight, instead of attacking, roll an thletics check at 8"* )lus the number ofenemies. 4n a failure get automatic damage from the o))onent with the highest damage value.

n o))onent who is directly engaged can s)end * from the thletics )ool to block instead of takinganother action.

,ni$ing character with a !hooting bility of & or higher can take a round to aim with a rifle to get a 6#bonus to the ne0t attack, or 62 if a target is unaware.

,ur$rise!omeone taken by sur)rise in combat acts last in initiative, and has 628" to their first action.

sing !nvestigative Abilities

Fse of nvestigative bilities during a fight must be narrated and )lausible, but is allowed by any )layercharacter, whether or not they are directly involved. n nvestigative bility can only be used once )erfight by any characterA two characters cannot use the same one.

'his use of the ability re;uires a s)end, but refreshes * )oints to the )ool of a combat ability.


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5: Chases chase consists of a P!rs!er and a R!nner . t the start of a chase, there is a "ead of 1 between them. fthe Eead increases to #$, the unner gets away. f the Eead is reduced to $, the unner is caught.

chase consists of a series of rounds, in which both unner and Pursuer make checks in a relevantgeneral bility against 8". f one side has an bility of & or more, and the other doesn=t, add 6# to

all their rolls. f one side is faster than the other (but not so much faster a chases makes no sense add6# to all their rolls.

• f the unner succeeds in a check, and the Pursuer fails, increase the Eead by 2.

• f the Pursuer succeeds in a check, and the unner fails, decrease the Eead by 2.

• f both sides succeed or fail in a check, and the unner has a better result, increase the Eead by#.

• f both sides succeed or fail in a check, and the Pursuer has a better result, decrease the Eead by#.

'he o))osition in a chase will have a )ool in the relevant ability as follows.

6$$osition Ability in Chase

/ilitia or thugs 2 to *

'rained )rofessionalsA co)s or soldiers to 1

>lite )rofessionals, s)ecial forces 5 to &

,$ecial -ricks and Notes

Attacking in a Chase@or a vehicle )assenger in a chase, attacking with ranged wea)ons is )ossibleA add 6# to the Hit

'hreshold. ange is close at Eead # to 2, near at Eead * to 5, and long at Eead + to 9.

f the )erson making the bility checks in the chase (ie7 the one driving, or shooting if running onfoot wants to attack, they must s)end * )oints from !hooting or their chase ability, and suffer 6# tothe 8" of a chase test that round.

!hooting out tires on a car is )ossible on a called shot. car with one )unctured tire has 6# to the 8"of all "hase tests. car with two )unctured tires crashes.

2ulti$le #ursuers@or multi)le )layer characters )ursuing (and not :ust because they are in the same vehicle, in which casethe driver is in charge, treat as "oo)eration. @or multi)le o))onents, sim)ly combine their ability)ools, with a total s)end from the )ool e;uivalent to one o))onent meaning they dro) out.

,werve swerve is a dangerous trick. t can be used by either side. aise the 8" by # for the check. 'heresult of the check has double the usual effects in modifying the Eead. f the Eead goes to $ or #$, thechase ends s)ectacularly.

sing !nvestigative AbilitiesFse of nvestigative bilities during a chase must be narrated and )lausible, but is allowed by any)layer character, whether or not they are directly involved. n nvestigative bility can only be used


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once )er chase by any characterA two characters cannot use the same one.

'his use of the ability re;uires a s)end, but refreshes * )oints to the )ool of the ability used in thechase.


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7: ,tability @or an instant challenging mental e;uilibrium, make a 8" !tability check. @ailure results in !tabilityloss as follows7

27 'y)ical shockA base level of !tability loss.6#7 >0ce)tionally grisly.

627 Earge !cale627 !u)ernatural627 nvolves %etwork "ontact6*7 nvolves Eoved 4ne6*7 "ommit trocity ourself

f !tability is reduced to $ or below, a character is shaken. 'hey can=t make nvestigation s)ends, andhave 6#8" for all general abilities.

f !tability is reduced to -5 or below, a character is shattered, suffering from a mental illness. Eose #!tability )ermanently.

f !tability is reduced to -#2, the character is incurably insane, but is allowed one last lucid act.

"ecovering ,tability

• 4nce )er session, if you gain some benefit from a source of !tability, refresh 2 )oints of!tability.

• t the end of an o)eration, recover all !tability if you have time to rela0.

• !)end )oints from the !hrink abilityA one )oint from !hrink restores two !tability.

• !)end two )oints of !tability to have a character suffering from !tability loss or mental illnessact normally for a scene.

2ental !llness 'he first time a character is shattered, the mental illness is Post 'raumatic !tress 8isorder (P'!8 or ddictive 8isorder. 'he second time it is 4bsession or Paranoia.

>ach subse;uent incident raises the 8" of !tability checks to resist the effects of the mental illness by#.

• #-,1: /ake a 8" !tability test when something occurs reminding you of the incident thatcaused the )roblem. 4n failure, freeBe u) for ne0t #1 minutes.

• Addictive 1isorder: "hoose a fi0. When it is not available, a 8" !tability check is needed toavoid dro))ing everything to )ursue the fi0.

• 6bsession (>0am)les on )age &7 'ake 5 )oints from general abilitiesA )ut them into a newability, 4bsession, which can only be used to indulge that obsession (this may actuallysometimes be useful. When )resented with an o))ortunity to indulge the obsession, a 8"!tability check must be made to resist.

• #aranoia: 8" !tability test is needed to avoid ridiculous and time-consuming )recautions. dd # to the cost of any nter)ersonal or cademic investigative s)ends. "an s)end !tability)ool on !urveillance.


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8: Heat 'he grou) of agents begin with # Heat. Heat can be gained as follows.

6# Heat7 'y)ical crimes that will eventually be noticed. Cee)ing a high )rofile. @ailed cover.62 Heat7 "ons)icuous crimes, immediately noticable crimes.6* Heat7 "rime attracting ma:or media attention. Cilling someone influential.

6 Heat7 Cilling a )olice officer or government agent (of country you=re in.61 Heat7 ssassination of ma:or )olitical figure.

Heat can also be lost.

'la$sed -i+e: -# Heat after +2 hours without )olice sightings or contact. nother -# after a week. final -# after * months. %ote that anything that gains Heat sto)s the clock here.

Changing 4urisdiction: -# Heat when moving to a closely associated country. -2 Heat if fellow >Fmember but no closer connection. -* Heat otherwise, or - if e0tremely remote.

2ake a 1eal with an 6&&icial9 Fra+e ,o+eone 'lse: 'his might remove all or almost all Heat, butneeds to be )layed out.

'&&ects o& HeatHeat level is the 8" of checks to avoid official notice- or even mundane things like get through 8checks.

4nce )er session, roll d5. f the result is Heat or less, the agents have attracted additional )oliceattentionA a s;uad is likely to a))ear, armed (and with numbers according to the )erceived danger theagents re)resent.

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Nights Black Agents Sketch