Spies like us?

Just a brief concept I had.
I thought it would be kind of cool…

[color=blue][i]ATTENTION ALL AGENTS

Due to the results of an Internal Investigation, Evidence has come to light that this organisation has been compromised by outside Agencies.

As a result of the aforementioned security beach, we must assume such agencies are hostile toward us and that there is clear and present danger to all personnel.

As of this minute, all agents are on Full Alert, and are expected to give any and all assistance to resolving this threat.

Protocol of Engagement:

  1. No Agent may apprehend an Enemy Agent without proper Clearance from HQ

  2. We are running a Complete Covert Operation. Public awareness is to be kept at absolute Zero. Any Agent causing public disturbance is entirely responsible and accountable for their actions. If this occurs, the Organisation will use the Total Deniability Policy, and will claim no employment of affiliation.

  3. Due to the delicate situation of the breach, Agents are ordered to restrict themselves to the Designated weaponry for each assignment.

  4. Agents are required to carry a form of Synchronically capable time device. Once Synchronised for a mission, this time is –-not- to be altered, As Agents are expected to report in hourly with information of Location and current Status.

  5. At Briefing, Agents will be supplied with a map of the Mission Zone. Agents travelling outside of the Mission Zone for extended time periods will be assumed as collaborators, and should be considered dismissed from the mission.

Good Luck.

-HQ[/i][/color]

The concept of the larp is that of two opposing spy organisations, one of which has acquired the other’s Agent directory, and is now seeking to ‘remove the competition.’ The PC’s will play one organisation; the NPC’s the other. The game is initially set in full view of the public over parts of Auckland city, so no conventional weapons will be allowed in that setting, for safety reasons.

Players will be using their own brains, wits and guile to find ‘drop points’ ‘rendezvous’ and other Spy-like scenarios, while at the same time, trying to find clues to reveal the identity of the Spy (/Spies) in the Opposing organisation who has one of their number in mind for an Early ‘Retirement.’

Yes? No? Maybe? :astonished:

I had an idea like this once before, a larp based on the show 24.

no one seemed interested

hope you have better luck

I think theres plenty of potential for quite a bit of fun to be had with this idea, its certainly not any weirder than anything a hens night or stag do might be up to & certainly a whole lot more covert than either of those 2 functions. With a little effort I’m sure even bar staff could be encouraged to participate on some level, to make it a little Carmen Sandiego-esque as well. Certainly rules light, I forsee a relatively high need for some good logistics in terms of clues, maps, locations etc etc.
I’d probably want to carry a card with me with a little detail of what I’m doing in case my potentially shifty behaviour earns me a tap on the shoulder by a man/woman wearing blue.

Jared

Sound’s a bit like K.A.O.S.

kaos.org.nz/

It does have tones of that doesn’t it?
Still no conventional weapons makes it a whole bunch more challenging in my mind. Toy guns, even water pistols & rubber knives will get you arrested or worse pretty quickly if this is done in general public.

Jared

[quote=“Derek”]Sound’s a bit like K.A.O.S.

kaos.org.nz/[/quote]

Well, a little bit in it’s setting, I agree. It’s certainly a fun-looking game. I was intending to expand this more to make it more colorful, and the aim of this game is to use your brains, and keep the public unaware, not create new and unusual ways to kill off your fellow man, in full veiw of the populace.

Because it’s a “wouldn’t it be cool if” which is why i posted in this forum, there is certainly enough time for it to grow wings of it’s own, but your observation is noted.

[quote=“Jared”]I think theres plenty of potential for quite a bit of fun to be had with this idea, its certainly not any weirder than anything a hens night or stag do might be up to & certainly a whole lot more covert than either of those 2 functions. With a little effort I’m sure even bar staff could be encouraged to participate on some level, to make it a little Carmen Sandiego-esque as well. Certainly rules light, I forsee a relatively high need for some good logistics in terms of clues, maps, locations etc etc.
I’d probably want to carry a card with me with a little detail of what I’m doing in case my potentially shifty behaviour earns me a tap on the shoulder by a man/woman wearing blue.

Jared[/quote]

Heheh. If you managed to do that, Jared, obviously you’ve not been discreet enough in your endevours. :stuck_out_tongue:

Why do you need NPCs? Couldn’t you have two player groups out to get each other?

We live in New Zealand, the actual land of the free. You’d be hard pressed to get arrested doing stuff like this.

Unless you’re rude rude to the police when they turn up to talk to you.

It would probably work quite nicely with a GM type who is the director, whom each group has to report to and take instruction from. But apart form that it would be simple enough to run with just two groups of players. And how would those characters feel if they one day found out that they were both taking their orders from the same person. spooky.

R

Well we might be trying to be discreet but some of us (like myself) lie on the brick through a window side of subtle.
As for my toy guns comment… well yes we probably wouldn’t get in too much strife with them depending on how discreet we are.
Still the police are getting less and less happy with the whole replica gun thing these days so I guess my comment was more for the “handle this carefully or we could get bit in the ass” side of things.

Jared

When in doubt, notify, is probably a good plan of action, like actually calling the police before hand. And if you use toy guns, make sure that they’re obviously something harmless like brightly coloured water pistols, because random passerby might not think that they’re innocuous if they only catch glimpses.

Instead of guns, we could use laser points. Paint your target and then yell to them something like “Got you in the chest” or whatever. Not sure if there is a need for melee weapons.

You may want to consider 3 rather than 2 spy agencies.

ie Agency A is after Agency B who is after Agency C who is after Agency A. Agency A can’t win by taking out Agency C, and doing so would assist Agency B, so A would attack B on sight and evade C whenever possible.

As long as you don’t introduce a Chocolate Fish rule, the similarities with KAOS ought to be minimal.

Another thought, how about having the head of each Agency as a player ? The GMs would instruct the Head to perform certain actions (have this Brightly Coloured Box taken from location X to Y, escort this VIP from X to Y etc). Achieving objectives would earn Agency Points which could be spent on recruiting new agents (bring dead characters back into play) or on intelligence (finding out what the other Agencies objectives currently are when/where/what etc so they can thwart them)

The Heads would be doing their best to get all the intel together (both from GMs and from their agents) and alert their agents as to what needs to be done next. So it’s a role that has different stresses from the field operatives.

Game ends when one side gets x kills or achieves a specified objective.

NB: these are just suggestions; discard, integrate or modify as you see fit.

Or if it’s going to be in public, make the, er, ‘kill method’ very token, like handing them a playing card with your team’s logo on it.

I think the point is not to use guns, andnot notify the police. As in, like real-life spies might not do?

Sounds like a heap of fun :smiley: I’m so in

If someone watching can see what you’ve done then I think the intention is that this is mission fail.
Ie. You’re looking around for X person who you now suspect is after you. After several minutes you head to the door to your next contact when something brushes your arm. You look across your shoulder to see someone you know heading through a mass of people & then realise that your shoulder has a smear of glitter across it. Oh poo I’m poisoned. Game over.

Jared

Contacts, etc. Those person-types types that have small-time parts, and aren’t nessesarily in danger, things like that. Also, the possibility of being killed becomes more suspenceful when the NPC team could contain anyone…
:smiling_imp:

[quote=“Raoul”]It would probably work quite nicely with a GM type who is the director, whom each group has to report to and take instruction from. But apart form that it would be simple enough to run with just two groups of players. And how would those characters feel if they one day found out that they were both taking their orders from the same person. spooky.

R[/quote]

Exactly. :slight_smile:
Though I would probably not direct both teams… too obvious for me. They’d suspect instantly :slight_smile:

Thanks for Suggestions, guys, :slight_smile: I appreciate your input.

[quote=“Mike Curtis”]
Another thought, how about having the head of each Agency as a player ? [/quote]
I’d prefer not to.
Characterfully, if the head of the Agency is knocked off, it’s disasterous for a spy organisation… Therefore the leader must be concidered virtually untouchable unless disasterous conditions occur.

Out of character, it cuts this little Status game Players seem to like to play right in the bud, and lets everyone get back to the business of avoiding the threat, or trying to kill each other, Depending on sides.

[quote=“Mike Curtis”]
Instead of guns, we could use laser points. Paint your target and then yell to them something like “Got you in the chest” or whatever. Not sure if there is a need for melee weapons. [/quote]

Good Idea. However, If players were ‘working’ in crowded areas, such as Nightclubs or markets, if might be a bit difficult to pull off. I shall keep this in mind as Weaponry for weekend games or more enclosed senarios in future, however. :slight_smile:

Like this idea too. Will also keep in mind. :slight_smile:

[quote=“Jared”]If someone watching can see what you’ve done then I think the intention is that this is mission fail.
Ie. You’re looking around for X person who you now suspect is after you. After several minutes you head to the door to your next contact when something brushes your arm. You look across your shoulder to see someone you know heading through a mass of people & then realise that your shoulder has a smear of glitter across it. Oh poo I’m poisoned. Game over.

Jared[/quote]

:mrgreen:
Nods

That’s the idea, yes.

All spy-like and covert, and you can make a new character next game. :stuck_out_tongue: