Working Title: The Agency

Overview

This is a game about spies. Think the BBC MI-5 (née Spooks) or Queen & Country. It's also a game about people doing the best they can and still screwing each other over.  There’s intrigue, espionage, and double agents.  People may die and leaders may fall.  It’s all in a day’s work.

Player Knowledge vs. Character Knowledge

It’s important to remember the difference between player knowledge (information that players gain as the game unfolds) and character knowledge (information that a character gains during their scenes).  During the game conversations between a few characters will take place in front of all players.  Players will have knowledge of that conversation, even though characters they play in the game may not. Remember when you are playing a character to only “know” what the character knows.

Contexts

This is a troupe-style game; every player will have multiple characters in different contexts.

Play proceeds in cycles of progression through different contexts beginning at Agency headquarters, developing into an Operation, completing a number of Missions, and concluding with a Debrief. While there's mechanical component to each, they're all played out in a usual roleplaying kind of a way.

Agency Context

The first context is the Agency: this is the organization everyone in the game ostensibly works for.  Real-world agency examples include:
•	MI5 (UK): domestic counterterrorism and intelligence gathering.
•	CIA (USA): gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence.
•	Mossad (Israel): responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations, and counterterrorism.

There are also many well-known defunct intelligence agencies to draw inspiration from, many with sinister reputations:
•	KGB (Soviet Union): the main Soviet security agency from 1954 through 1991.

You may choose to play a real or fictional agency.  Your agency acts on behalf of its country either through conventional means (i.e. espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other agencies, counter-intelligence) or more unsavory methods (i.e. assassination, arms trafficking, coups d’état, propaganda). 

One player is the Agency GM.  The rest are Officers in charge of a Section within the service, representing some aspect of the Agency's remit. That might be a particular activity like counterintelligence, liaison with other agencies, a theatre of operations (i.e. region of the world, segment of industry), or a single large-scale operation (e.g. nuclear monitoring).

Officers generally interact only with each other in the Agency context. A single Officer also interacts with (their) Agents in the Operation context.

Operation Context

When play enters the Operation context the player acting as the Officer in charge of the relevant Section also acts as GM.  Everyone else plays the Agents within the Section. Not everyone needs to have an Agent character in every Section.  Agents meet with their Officer, are assigned Missions within the Operation, and strive to complete them without being killed, blown, compromised, or corrupted. 

Agents interact with their Officer and each other in the Operation context.  

Mission Context

When play enters the Mission context the player acting as the Section Officer in charge of the Operation also acts as GM.  The other players can act as Agents or Assets.

To assist them in their probably impossible Missions, Agents cultivate Assets.  Assets may be “normal” people (housewives, executives, doctors, vets, veterans) or criminals, who might have any degree of understanding of who they're working for or their relationship to the Agent or their Agency.  They may hold valuable information, may belong to groups who are under surveillance, or may be in a position to action on behalf of the Agency. 

Agents interact with their Assets, and potentially other Agents or their Officer, in the Mission context.  

Assets interact with their Agent, and potentially other Agents or Assets, in the Mission context. 

Double Agents

The shadowy world of espionage is full of conflicting agendas and multiple allegiances.  Within an Agency, in every context, there is the potential for Double Agents.  These are individuals who appear to work for the Agency, but actually (or also) work for “the enemy”.  

During character creation, write a series of numbers (1-6) on the back of the character sheet corresponding to the number of dice given below for that character type.  The GM then rolls the dice.  If a character’s numbers match those rolled, in any order, they are a Double Agent.  

Double Agents may lie, deliberately compromise missions, and betray other characters (see below).

Regardless of the character’s Double Agent status, write something on the back of your character sheet describing your Double Agent status and allegiance.  Do not let other players see what you’ve written.

Officers are least likely to be Double Agents.  They are profiled, carefully screened, have been in the agency for ages, and are the easiest to watch.  Roll 4d6. 

Agents are most likely to be Double Agents.  They are hard to monitor in the field, are exposed to many corrupting influences, and may have been selected more for a particular skill or trait than for their patriotism. Roll 2d6. 

Assets are unlikely to be Double Agents.  They are usually “normal” people with some useful knowledge, and that’s all.  They do, however, sometimes have their own motives. Roll 3d6. 

Character Creation

Characters may have “real-life” names, but should also have “codenames” for use within the game.

Officers

The weaknesses of Officers are profound: their positions depend on respectability. They often cannot be associated with the very operations they orchestrate. If an Asset knowingly meets an Officer, it spells the end.

As strengths, Officers have the resources they command. Officers have certain appropriate resources at their disposal: embassy fronts, safe houses, military support, data, raw cash, “special relationships” between countries or agencies, and most importantly a small group of Agents.

Whenever a new Officer character is required, complete an Officer Character Sheet and check for Double Agent status. 

Agents

The weaknesses of Agents are manifold: their identities are secret. They are acting outside of any law.  If discovered they are likely to be killed in action.

As strengths Agents have access to Officers, and their own talent and training to rely on. They also have their covers. Finally: a good Agent isn't expendable.

Whenever a new Agent character is required, complete an Agent Character Sheet and check for Double Agent status. 

Assets

The weaknesses of Assets are simple: they have very little power in the game they're playing. They often don't know the game they're playing, and when they discover danger it's completely out of scale to their normal expectations.  Assets are also, quite simply, expendable.

As strengths Assets have their unique position and abilities (e.g. a smuggler has her network of contacts and transportation).

Whenever a new Asset character is required, complete an Asset Character Sheet and check for Double Agent status. 

Commitments

Any character can commit to something at any time by writing the object of the commitment on the front of their character sheet, and the specifics of the commitment on the back. They may not initially reveal the specifics, or the commitment is void. The "object" serves as a cue for other players to remind you to reveal the commitment. 

Commitments have three parts: "If ___ happens to ___ then ___".  Write the object (the second part) on the front of your character sheet, and the entire commitment on the back.

Officers can have 3 commitments at a time; Agents can have 2; Assets can have 1.

During gameplay, if events would reveal a commitment, you can reveal the specifics of the commitment.  The effects of a commitment revealed gets preference - they aren't magic, but they're definitely "good planning." They can provide about as much effect as a Mamet twist, in terms of interrupting and preventing other actions and events.

Gameplay

At the start of a scene, after character creation, the GM asks all players to close their eyes.  She then tells any Double Agents they may open their eyes, if they wish, and see each other.  After a short pause she tells the Double Agents to close their eyes, then has all players open their eyes again.

One player should not play two characters interacting with each other.  No player should play both an Officer and one of their Agents, or an Agent and one of their Assets. If this happens the player should hand one of the two characters off to another player.  That player has full knowledge of the character they are now playing, including their Double Agent status and commitments.

Whenever a character tries to do something which is difficult, and where the outcome is not assured, the player rolls 2d6.  If the result is:
•	6 or less:  The action fails.  
•	7-9:  The action succeeds, barely.  There may be unintended consequences.
•	10 or above: The action succeeds decisively.

Trust and Suspicion

During the game characters may ask other characters to do something for them (i.e. gather information, make a delivery), or they may share privileged information.  Doing so can be considered an act of trust.  Characters may volunteer trust, by saying “I trust you to do this” or “I’m trusting you with this information”.  Or, a character may request Trust from someone and ask “Do you trust me?”  Perhaps an Agent would seek the trust of an Asset they are placing in danger. The character receiving trust should mark one Trust point on their character sheet, noting which character gave it.  A character can only receive Trust from another specific character once per scene.

If a character refuses to give trust, the player who was denied trust instead adds one to their Suspicion counter.  Each character has only one Suspicion counter – Suspicion is not listed separately according to each character that contributed to it.

After a character that gave you Trust rolls, you can use their Trust to:
•	Increase the results: add 1 to the dice roll per Trust point spent. Deduct the amount spent from your character sheet and narrate how their Trust has paid off and helped them in their action.
•	Reduce the results: subtract 1 from the dice role per Trust point spent. Deduct the amount spent from your character sheet and narrate how you have betrayed their Trust and thwarted their action.

Betrayal may expose a Double Agent.  Once revealed a Double Agent will be in danger, and other characters will surely act against them.

Suspicion can be used to modify your own rolls: add 1 to your roll per Suspicion point spent.  This can be done after the dice are rolled.  Deduct the total spent from your character sheet and narrate how your Suspicion has helped with this action – perhaps by making you more cautious or alert.

At Headquarters

When beginning a game, start at Headquarters in the Agency context.  

Officers collectively perform a sort of GM-prep task.  The Agency GM should look at existing consequences and present them to Officers in a pointed kind of a way.  In the course of play they discuss and identify problems that arise which impinge on their various responsibilities, and in the course of determining how best to address these problems they flesh out enough of a situation for Agents to get embroiled in.

Operations and Missions

When an Officer determines that they don't know something that's important to their responsibilities, or that something must be done in the world, that creates the opportunity and the demand for an Operation.  To find out or make the change, Agent(s) must go into the field and take action as part of a Mission.

The player of the Officer in charge of an Operation takes over as GM. Give the Operation a whimsical name, like "Jade Helm" or "Whirling Raven" - they're all chosen by a computer anyway.  Work with your Agents to complete the Operation through a series of assigned Missions.

An Officer may exhaust their resources as appropriate to conclude a Mission - which, as an adequate result, might still be possible. For example, rather than send an Agent to determine the position of Iraqi missile trucks, you might immediately exhaust “Sigint” or “Keyhole”, or even a “Special Relationship”, to determine where most of them are.

If things are going very badly for an Agent, an Officer (made aware of the situation on the ground) can exhaust Assets (e.g. SAS strike teams or a reliable safe house) to get them out.

Debrief

Every Operation has consequences in every Context, in three kinds: natural, unexpected, and compensatory.

Natural consequences are "what comes next" - Assets may face criminal prosecution, or promotion; characters may gain statuses (e.g. injuries); Agents might face internal sanction. Friends and enemies might be made, or the enemies of your cover might become your enemies for real. Record these things.

Unexpected consequences always happen. There's at least one result no one expected; sometimes after the fact these seem natural. Those are perhaps the best consequences. But sometimes events overtake us - a new treaty is signed and everything is upended.

Compensatory consequences are (one of) the reasons people keep doing all this. They're only sometimes in recognition for the work done, but lump sums in Swiss accounts are certainly traditional. New romances, extra training, and good fortune of all kinds fall under this heading.

Discuss and assign natural consequences as a group, with the Officer in charge as arbiter. Everyone adds an unexpected consequence on a slip of paper to a cup, with the Mission name on it. Draw some, one at a time, until everyone is satisfied. Don't discard old ones too lightly!

Finally, nominate and vote on compensation as a table. Ties break for Assets over Agents over Officers.

Officer Character Sheet

Name:							Suspicion:

Section:						Cover:

About:						Status(es):

Resources:

Commitments:

Trust:

Consequences:

Agent Character Sheet

Name:							Suspicion:

Section:						Cover:

About:						Status(es):

Assets:

Commitments:

Trust:

Consequences:

Asset Character Sheet

Name:								Suspicion:

About:							Status(es):

Agent(s):

Commitments:

Trust:

Consequences: