Domestic Spies

<Advice to collaborator 3: 

Hey there!  So this is where we are.  I hope you’re familiar with Night Witches, but if not, hopefully you have enough familiarity with Apocalypse World hacks to build off of what’s here.  I think the moves should more or less cover the important things, but you might want to consider adding a generic “Tempt Fate” or “Defy Danger” type move.  Additionally, there’s not really an equivalent to Night Witches’ Eyeball or Dungeon World’s Discern Realities, which it probably needs.  Finally, I have no idea if the cover / relationship mechanics are balanced with the moves.  They seem ok, just looking it over, but who knows.  Good luck!>

WHAT YOU DO IN THIS GAME
In this game you play Soviet spies in deep cover in America in the 1980s. You carry out espionage missions for your mother country while maintaining your cover as the perfect all-American family. This game is heavily influenced by the TV show The Americans and Jason Morningstar’s Night Witches. 

WHAT THIS GAME IS ABOUT
This game is about the tension between opposing forces. The largest and most obvious tension is the tension between the Soviet Union and America, but this might be the least important tension during play. The game focuses on the tension between your life as a spy and your life as a person.  Every parent misses Little League games, but not every parent misses them because they’re changing the tape on the Secretary of the Interior’s bug.

This tension spins out into a tension between loyalty to state, loyalty to family and loyalty to self. You need to have some decadent American luxuries in order to further your cover, but you don’t need to enjoy them; at least not as much as you might be tempted to. You’re loyal to the Soviet Union, but sometimes doesn’t it feel nicer - no, that’s not the word - just more… comfortable… to be in the United States?

SET-UP

Characters 

Each player will create a young soviet man or woman, ideally ending up with an even number of each.  Once each player decides the name and gender of their character, the GM will assign them to couples, cross out their Soviet name, and replace it with an American one.  If there is an odd number of players, just tell them the American name of their spouse.  From this point on, characters are forbidden from using their true names, even with their assigned partners.  Ask each player how their character feels about the mission. 

The game will pick up in the future, after these couples have been together for many years and have had one or more children.  Each couple should decide how many children they have, how old they are, and what their names are.  They must have at least one child; it’s part of their orders.  If you had an odd number of players, ask the unpaired player how their spouse died.  They will still have at least one child that they will be raising alone.

Relationships

As part of their cover, each character must be an active participant in American society.  They should know their neighbors, have friends, and generally blend in.  How well they are maintaining this facade will be represented by their relationships.  Each player begins with several relationships.  The first is a character's relationship with their spouse.  Every player should roll a die and compare their result with that of their spouse’s.  If both players rolled odd or both rolled even, their relationship will start with a value of +1.  If they rolled differently, their relationship will start with a value of -1.

Next, each player should create a relationship with each of their children by rolling 2d6 for each.  If both numbers are odd or even, create a relationship with a value of +1, otherwise, -1.

Each player should also create two additional characters they have a relationship with.  One should be primarily a friend or neighbor and another should be an asset that they are actively exploiting for information or material support.  Both of these relationships start with a value of +1.

Finally, each player should pick another agent who isn’t their spouse and give themselves a relationship with that character at +1.

In general, relationships with positive values will be loving, supportive, and friendly, while negative relationships are the opposite.  Any relationship with an NPC that reaches -2 will cost an agent 1 point of cover immediately and one point of cover at the conclusion of every mission.

Final Touches

When everyone has finished creating their characters, the GM should ask each of them the following questions:

“How do you feel about your spouse? What do you like the most about them? The least?”
“Have you considered defecting to the US? Why or why not?”

Stats

Each character has 3 stats that are inherent to them (hard, soft, and skill) and 1 stat that reflects their current mission status (cover).

Basic Stats

The basic stats that define each agent are:

Hard - A general measure of how scary an agent is.  It’s used to get your way through violence, threats, or pure force of will
Soft - A general measure of how diplomatic an agent is.  It’s used to get your way through lies, obfuscation, or seduction
Skill - A general measure of how well trained an agent is.  It’s used any time you need to use spy gadgets or when setting an ambush or escaping in a hurry

Each player will assign a bonus from +2 to -2 to each stat such that the total value of all of their bonuses equals +1.  In other words, any of the following sets of bonuses are valid: (+1, +0, +0), (+1, +1, -1), (+2, +0, -1), and (+2, +1, -2)

Cover

Cover always starts at +2.  It is a variable stat that ranges anywhere from +3 to -3.  It represents an amalgamation of an agent’s dedication to the mission, the Center’s confidence in the agent, and how well the agent blends into American society.  Generally, the higher an agent’s cover, the easier it is to explain away any strange behavior and get support from the Center.  On the other hand, cover is subtracted from attempts to connect with non-agents, so agents with high cover scores will likely have a hard time keeping their relationships in good shape.

Harm

Each character can take 3 points of harm before dying.  The fourth point of harm will result in death.  A single point of harm represents a temporary injury that will go away within a day.  Two point of harm are more serious injuries that typically require a week to get over.  Three points of harm will require hospitalization (or equivalent medical care) for an extended period of time to recover from.  

PLAYING THE GAME

GM Principles

Play should alternate between missions and mission prep where the agents are setting things up for the upcoming mission.  Both missions and mission prep should interfere with the agent’s obligations to their children and friends.  When obligations are missed, people will get upset and / or suspicious.  Once they become suspicious enough, they should start investigating and really turn up the heat on the players.  

Missions should start off more or less benign.  Maybe some theft of information or industrial sabotage, but they should eventually escalate to things that should make the characters hesitate.  The missions should require multiple parts and the mission moves should make the players want to burn mission pool dice to avoid setbacks, injuries, or complete failure.  Of course, since adding to the mission pool inevitably requires putting stress on relationships.  There should be a strong tension between what the characters need to do to meet the requirements of their job and what they need to do to keep their cover intact.  If missions don’t go perfectly, which they most likely won’t, give the players more loose ends to tie up that will eat into their time to fulfill their obligations.  If things go really poorly, skip straight to a follow-up mission without giving them a chance to fill their mission pool and make them choose between their relationships and their mission directly.

Don’t be afraid to put their friends and family at risk if they make mistakes that could lead their enemies to them.  There’s nothing like getting yelled at for neglecting your family obligations because you can’t tell them that you’re desperately trying to make sure no one murders them.

Marks
As the game goes on, the stress of the agents’ double lives will begin to wear at them.  How they respond to this stress will be determined by the marks they choose.  Any time a move tells an agent to take a mark, they choose something from the list on the character sheet and work it into the fiction.  It doesn’t have to occur immediately, though it may.  Each mark can only be chosen once so if an agent is marked too many times, they will have no choice but to choose to sacrifice themselves for the mission or abandon the mission.  When either of these things happen, that agent’s role in the story is over and the player should create a new agent. [*This is tricky, since they won’t have a partner! Maybe they come in as a widow(er) or marry an existing widow(er) if one already exists]

Mission Moves

Manipulate
When you attempt to persuade someone to do something you want using…
...your charm or sexuality, roll +soft
...threats or intimidation, roll +hard
On a 10+, it goes according to plan and you gain 1 cover.  On a 7-9, choose 1:
They do what you want (If you are seducing another PC, they may choose not to, in which case both of you become marked)
There are no consequences for your actions

Spill Blood
When you try to incapacitate or kill someone…
...directly, roll +hard
...discreetly, roll +skill
On a 10+, you succeed and pick one.  On a 7-9, you succeed and pick two.
You or another agent present takes 2 harm (you choose who)
You and another agent present are marked (you choose who)
You leave a loose end (Tell the GM what it is and lose 1 cover)

Spy Tech
When you use your spy gear to accomplish a goal, roll +skill.  On a 10+ you are successful, but choose one.  On a 7-9, you are successful, but choose 2.
It’s not as fast as you thought it would be
It doesn’t work quite as well as you thought it would (the GM will tell you how)
It’s more noticeable than you thought it would be.  (lose 1 cover)

Getaway
When you need to get out of a place or situation... 
...by making a break for it, roll +skill
...by blending into a crowd, roll +cover
On a 10+, you get away clean.  On a 7-9, the GM will give you a worse outcome or offer you a hard bargain. 

Signal
When you need support from the Center (whether material support or information), roll +cover.  On a 10+, you can arrange a meeting and the Center will try to help.  On a 7-9, you can arrange a meeting, but it will be inconvenient for you to attend or the Center will require something from you in exchange for your help (the GM will tell you which).  On a miss, you lose 1 cover in addition to whatever else the GM decides.

Domestic Moves

Flake out
When you miss an obligation, decrease your relationship and roll +cover. On a 10+ you may add 1 to the mission pool and pick 1.  On a 7-9 pick one or add to 1 to the mission pool and pick both:
They are upset (decrease your relationship)
They are suspicious (decrease your cover by 1)

Shut Down
When someone asks you a question you’d rather not answer and you shut them down...
...with hostility or detachment, roll +hard
...with lies or obfuscation, roll +soft
On a 10+ pick two, on a 7-9 pick one:
They stop asking questions, at least for now (increase your cover by 1)
Add 1 to the mission pool

Heart to Heart
When you attempt to create an honest emotional connection with…
...another agent, roll the dice
...anyone else, roll -cover
On a 10+ choose two, on a 7-9, choose 1:
Increase the strength of your relationship (if you are attempting to have a heart to heart with another agent, they may refuse to increase the relationship, in which case you both are marked)
Both of you heal 1 point of harm
Add 1 to the mission pool
Gain or lose 1 point of cover (your choice)
On a miss, your attempt is ignored or misunderstood.

Character Sheet Sketch

Name:
Sex:
Spouse’s Name:

Stats
Hard:
Soft:
Skill:
Cover (can vary from +3 to -3):

Relationships (can vary from +2 to -2):
Spouse:

Children:

Friends:

Assets:

Harm

o Minor Injury
o Moderate Injury
o Major Injury
o Death

Marks

o Tell another agent your true name
o Tell another agent a story about your life before you moved to America
o Tell another agent something that you like about America
o Discover a new reason to hate America
o Unfairly lash out at a character you have a positive relationship with (-1 to the relationship)
o Repair a fractured relationship (change the value of a negative relationship to +1)
o Create a new relationship with an inquisitive NPC
o Refuse a mission from the Center
o Sacrifice yourself for the cause
o Abandon the mission and go into hiding