Starting the Game
This game has the rather traditional role of GameMaster assigned to one player, usually “C”.
The player will be provided with missions in one of two ways.
TOP-DOWN
Requests which come from GOVERNMENT and are passed to CONTROL via “C”. These will be in the form of mission dossiers. These can be pre-prepared dossiers or a verbal briefing, CONTROL will begin to plan their activity, allocate their Operatives and Assets and arrange timing.
BOTTOM-UP
Incidents caused by ENEMY and after information-gathering, CONTROL must present their findings to “C”. CONTROL must decide the appropriate response whether that be “No Further Action” or whether there is a need for a mission response.
CONTROL
There should be one member of CONTROL for each player in the game. One Player Character will be assigned the role of “C” and in control of a large percentage of the background of the game, two will be assigned the roles of “DC” (Deputy Chiefs) and the remainder will be “D” (Directors). At the start of the game, all that is needed for each member of CONTROL are three facts:
The characters name
The characters previous job
The name of the person in Government who helped them get the job.
As the game continues, members of CONTROL need to keep records of the Operatives and Assets on their books. They can do this using the Operative Profile sheets and the Assets Roster sheet.
Previous Job suggestions: Diplomatic Attache; Ministry of Defence; Security Operative (5, 6); Major or higher, Army Intelligence Corps; Commander or higher, Naval Intelligence; RAF Operations Support (Intelligence) personnel.
OPERATIVES
Operatives are both vital and expendable. They represent years of experience and training, a temperament for precision and detail.
Operative Generation
TRAITS
You create a character description consisting of up to 10 facts (maybe related to Quirks, Drive, Flaws) and underline 5 of them. These 5 things are your most descriptive traits which may be objects, skills, contacts, background items and can, in theory, be called into play at any time. If the timing seems inappropriate, the Narrator may require the sacrifice of a Story Point or a card of a significant value from the hand. This really only needs to be one paragraph.
Operatives are required to describe TWO of the following in their underlined traits:
Tradecraft – cryptography, surveillance, interrogation, concealment, espionage skills
Military Science – demolitions, tactics, morale, technology, command, control
Combat skills – use of weapons, unarmed combat, sniper
DRIVE
Choose one more to be your Drive – the most fundamental ambition for your character. This is commonly related to the reason why the character is working as an Operative.
FLAW
Choose one flaw. This can be physical, mental, spiritual or emotional. It may be how the character perceives the world or how the world perceives the character.
The description of an Operative need not describe their age, origin or birthplace. It should provide a physical description and a brief of their abilities and experience.
ASSETS
Assets are characters who have little or no access to Classified information and a low security clearance. They may be highly skilled or highly experienced in their fields, but they are commonly ignorant of the intelligence community.
specialists (scientists, pilots, assassins)
bodies (drivers, henchmen)
To create an Asset, three facts are needed.
The Assets name
The Assets reason for being used: skills, contacts, position, background
The Assets personal reason for working with the Operatives
SYSTEM
The system I’m using at the moment is SixSimple (derived from the GameSystem designed for SeaFarers). The system will be posted in a couple of days.