Help with New Spycraft Campaign

[Aldus Vertten]

its late in the progress, i know but i would like to know why nobody suggested the Pointman as an usable class.
I think it's one of the most interesting classes in the game, and really good for team games. The share of action dice is one of the most compelling CCA of the game...

[Psion]

its late in the progress, i know but i would like to know why nobody suggested the Pointman as an usable class.

Pointman is okay if you see it through to high levels, but I sort of feel like their versatility ability isn't quite good enough to take just one level for (if you are looking for certain skills, take a class with those skills AND another ability), and this is sort of a detriment when taking just a few levels as well.

[snake]

Hi. Sorry about the radio silence. Been deeply immersed in Skills, Feats, Gear and other sections of the book. Great stuff.

Stats for PCs on the way and I've greatly expanded their concepts. Will post them soon and would still appretiate any comments.

Just a quick question though. If I want to include an Event as a scripted part of a Mission (eg PCs travelling through a desert encounter a Natures Fury/Sandstorm) do I as the GC have to pay Action Dice for the Event ?

 

[Bill Whitmore]

Just a quick question though. If I want to include an Event as a scripted part of a Mission (eg PCs travelling through a desert encounter a Natures Fury/Sandstorm) do I as the GC have to pay Action Dice for the Event ?

You actually have quite a bit of leeway in setting this up:

A) You could just write it up as another scene or attach it to an existing one, and assign xp accordingly.  This method would not use action dice.

B) You can know you want the event to occur and then just make sure to save enough action dice to spring it.  This method would use action dice.

Option A is harder on the players as it not only gives them an additional hazard to deal with, the GC keeps his action dice while doing it, so they get more xp for it.  Option B gives them the additional hazard but at the cost of the GCs action dice making future activities easier.

In effect, challenges in Spycraft are paid for using action dice or by awarding experience.

[snake]

Thanks Bill,

That makes it clearer to me. I'll probably use option A. I like the way SC balances things for the PCs.

[Desertpuma]

Always been a member of Team Pointman since SC 1.0!

[snake]

Ok, PCs details to follow but here is a draft version of the Mission or part one of it anyway 

Snowblind 
A Scenario for Spycraft  (Threat Level 3, Faction Caliber 2)

Background (For the GM Only – Do not read to Players)
The PCs are sent to investigate the death of a fellow agent. The trail leads to a madman intent on conquering the world.
 
The Adventure
The adventure consists of a number of encounters.  Each encounter contains a description of the scene (in Italics) to be read to the players and some notes (in normal text) for the GM on how to handle the encounter.

1. A Death in the Family (Intel Phase)
Read the following aloud to the players:
You sit in a large plush meeting room.  At the top of the table is the man known as Control, the head of your department. In front of each of you is a flat screen monitor on which information is displayed.
“Good Morning, gentlemen. I believe you know each other. You’ll be working together on this mission. So lets begin”.
Click. A photo appears on your screens. It shows  two men talking by the side of a swimming pool. You notice they are surrounded by armed bodyguards in plain clothes. 
“The photo was taken by one of our agents, Stephen Barnes, codename Falcon, in Sydney, Australia. Take a good look. Can you identify the two men talking ?”
Make Knowledge Rolls vs DC 10 for each . If successful, read out “The older man with dark hair is William Hammond, billionaire head of the Hammond Corporation, a company with interests in shipping, mining and electronics. The younger man is Colonel Michael Stone, an professional mercenary and supplier of military expertise to a number of terrorist groups.”
“The photo was taken at Hammonds private estate outside Sydney.”
“Now, the question is, why would these two different characters be meeting? Only Barnes knew. He had been on Stones trail for a while. Unfortunately, Barnes can’t tell us, as he is dead. Shortly after emailing us this photo, he fell from his hotel window and was killed.”   
“The Sydney police found no evidence of foul play. However, its pretty clear he was silenced. Your mission is to travel to Sydney, find out why he was killed and the link between Hammond and Stone.”

Mission Objective: Investigate 3 (75 XP)

“You’ll be contacted there by an agent from ASIS, the Australian Secret Service, who are helping us.” “The password phrase is Going to Red River ?, to which they reply Went once but fish not biting.”
“You’re booked into same hotel, The Royale, as Barnes. Barnes was in Room 112. You might want to check it out for clues. Flight leaves in 4 hours.”
“You can collect any special equipment you require from the armourer in the basement. Good Luck, Gentlemen.”
You head to the basement. Here, technicians develop the equipment you need in the field. The armourer, a small man with glasses welcomes you. “Ah, Gentlemen, have I got somethings for you. Here. Forget your C4 explosive, get a load of this. Looks like Chewing Gum. Red light, green light. Crush it together, slap it on the target, stand well back, boom. 3 sticks of it”
“This too. Looks like wrist watch. But press this button and it turns into a bug detector. Beep, Beep. Finds any electronic listening devices in a 12 m radius. Good for sweeping your hotel room to see if anyone spying on you.”
“Last, but not least, this beauty. Looks like a mobile phone. But press the Menu and 2 key together and it turns into a Radio Frequency jammer. It interferes with any video signal in a 20m radius, jamming any tv camera that might have been watching you. Good if you are sneaking into a building somewhere.”
“Anyway, any other equipment you need?  Good Luck and please try to bring some of it back intact.”

Mission Bundle

Fully equipped, you hurry to catch your flight. …………

TO BE CONTINUED

Feel free to dive in and make comments, suggestions etc

[snake]

Heres part 2:

2. Danger Down Under.

Read the following aloud to the players:

The temperature in Sydney is a scorching 30 degrees, as Australia basks in the middle of its summer. When no one met you at the airport, you took a taxi to the hotel, a tall building in the historic Rocks district.
Each of your rooms has an excellent view of Sydney harbour and the food and wine list is first class. Shame you are here on business……..

If PCs investigate Barnes room , read aloud:
Barnes room is locked.  
Make Notice or Search rolls vs DC 10  to see that the doors are normal locks and not alarmed. Make Security rolls vs DC 10 to open lock. 
Inside, the room has been tidied up after the Police investigation.There is a bed and a bathroom and a window with balcony  The balcony is on the side of the hotel overlooking the swimming pool. This was where Barnes fell to his death.
To search the room, make Search roll vs DC15. As they search, make a Notice roll. If successful, hear key at lock and see door opening. An old woman, a chambermaid  enters carrying some towels.
“Oh, sorry, she says, I thought the room was empty.”
She turns to leave. If PCs try to question her, he draws a gun from the towels.
“Ok” she says, “Who are you and what are you doing In this room?”
If the PCs say the passphrase or make a Negotiation Roll vs DC14, they can convince her they mean no harm. She enters the room and removes an old woman mask. Underneath is an attractive woman in her late twenties
“G’day. I’m Gillian Johnson. I work for ASIS and you must be the guys from MI6. Hi”“

ASIS Agent/Faceman level 3 (Special NPC)

If questioned, she says the last contact she had with Barnes was an email containing just one word “Narcissus”.
Make a Knowledge Roll vs DC10 if they do not recognise the name.
If Search, the PCs find Behind the bathroon mirror - a computer printout, a shipping manifest for items of cargo, delivered to an address in Sydney and “Lot 429” written on it. Gillian offers to take you there in her car.
 
As heading  to car, make a Spot roll vs DC10. Down street, see big thug in car, tattoo on side of face. He is watching you in side mirror. He hold something in his hand.

Suddenly, your car explodes and other car moves off. Reflex roll vs DC 10 to avoid damage. Blast Damage 24HP, range inc 2 squares = ½ damage.
    
Thugs (Treat as Standard NPCs)

Address is warehouse near airport.  Gillian says “I’ve checked and the warehouse is owned by the Hammond Corporation. We better wait till it gets dark so we can have a closer look.”

Hand out Action Dice   

To Be continued .................

[snake]

3. The Warehouse

A chain-link fence with barbed wire surrounds Hammonds warehouse. It is not electrified. Beyond the fence is 200yrds of tarmac and the warehouse itself. There are lights on the sides of the building every 100yrds. There is locked main entrance and loading bay and two side doors.

At the side doors, make Notice or Search rolls vs DC 14  to see that the doors have deadlocks and are alarmed. Make Security rolls vs DC 14 to disable alarm/open lock. 

Moving Inside, you notice CCTV cameras on the ceiling, used by the guards to watch the warehouse stock. Can use jammer or make Hide Rolls.

Security Guards (Use Standard NPC) 

Finding Lot429 you see it consists of crates containing Russian made weapons – AKM and Kalishnikov Rifles, probably bought on black market from Russian mafia.
Destination on side of crate is Christchurch, NZ, departure tomorrow.............

4.  The Chase

Gillian says she has contacted ahead and ASIS agents will watch the crate when arrives at CC airport. She books you on a commercial flight.

Arriving at CC, she takes hire car and her agengy says the cargo has been taken to another warehouse.
At warehouse, when they approach the agents, they turn out to be imposters and try to kidnap her. They leap into a car and fire guns at the PCS.  The PCs give chase in car. Other car attacks and tries to lose them.

PCs contacted by real agents who confirm crate now loaded onto cargo plane to Antacrtica. The Royal Air Force  gives PCs a lift and tracks the cargo plane. .
Agent explains Australian Navy marines are standing by, travelling by helicopter. Cargo plane lands at an Arctic Research Station. RAF drops PCs off 20 miles away. PCs meet marines, give PCs snowmobiles and head start.    

4.  The Ice Station.

Arctic Warriors (Standard NPCs)
 
Crevasse

Moving on, you come to a flat plain containing a number of white buildings. Inside, there is an entrance hall with few guards.

Station Command Level 1.   
Station Command Level 2 (Control Room).

Lift opens. Men with guns and Hammond.

“Ah, welcome gentlemen. I’m William Hammond, nice to meet you at last. You are just in time. I believe you already know Ms Johnson. Let me show you around.”
 Camera shows labs below. “The world is in chaos, don’t you think ?. Global warming , war, terrorism  etc etc. So I have come up with a plan to sort things out. You see, In my labs, we have developed a deadly superflu virus and sent it to my agents around the world. In 15 minutes time, I will send a signal and they will release it, killing oh 90 % of the worlds pop. “
“Then, when it is safe, my agents (trained and supplied by Colonel Stone here) will emerge from their safe hiding places and establish a new order amongst the survivors. The world will be a safer place then, under my control.”
“You have been very persistant tracking me down, so it is only right that you should see the end result of my brilliant plan, before you too are killed. Please take a seat. Ha, Ha””
 .

Hammond, Tycoon (Special NPC). Silver haired madman. Still in good physical condition.
 
Mako, Henchman (Special NPC) A giant Mauri warrior. 

Colonel Mike stone (Special NPC) Scarred veteran mercenary.    

Explosions outside. Marines in white snow gear attack.  Hammond says  “Stone, have your men hold them off till after the countdown. ”

Its up to the PCs to stop the countdown. Hammond flees to labs below. Throws flask of acid.
PC blow up Station ? 

Award XP and Reputation
inc Car Chase (added Dramatic Scene)    100XP

I'll use the NPCs stats from the excellent downloads on the Spycraft website.

[snake]

Wow. Thanks again for your help guys. Much time has now passed. My players have taken to SC like ducks to water and our espionage season is rolling on. (as well as seasons of other genres)

The PCs current mission is to discover the whereabouts of a kidnapped computer scientist. It is believed that he was seized by men in the employ of a French Businessman with underworld connections, Henri LeChevailer.

LeChevailer has a villa at Monte Carlo and a weakness for gambling. My PCs plan is for one of them to keep LeChevailer (and his Henchman) distracted at the tables whilst the other PCs infiltrate the villa.

I'll obviously use the Infiltration dramatic conflict for the activity at the villa, but I can't deceide what Dram Con  to use to play out the intense head to head card or roulette game between my PC, Dominic Rook, and LeChevailer -  both skilled gamblers.

Anyone have any suggestions ? As always ideas gratefully received.