# Nights Black Agents - Interest check



## mudbunny (Mar 28, 2013)

I recently purchased Nights Black Agents and, given that my face to face group starts making warding gestures at anything that is not 3.5, I figured I would give running in via these forums a shot. Would anybody be interested in playing in it?

Some notes:
1 - I have never DMed anything before face to face, let alone pbp. So keep that in mind as I am likely to make mistakes. Players who accept that *and* are willing to offer suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
2 - I have yet to receive the book (deliver faster Mr Mailman!!). As soon as I get it, there will be some time required for me to read it and digest it. Probably a couple of weeks.
3 - It would be one of the pre-made adventures that are available.


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## mudbunny (Mar 28, 2013)

FOr those who want to know what it is about, here is the description from the publisher about this game, which runs the GUMSHOE system:



> The Cold War is over. Bush’s War is winding down.
> 
> You were a shadowy soldier in those fights, trained to move through the secret world: deniable and deadly.
> 
> ...


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## Walking Dad (Mar 30, 2013)

I would be interested. I only heard good things about the setting and system. Is complete access to the rules on the players side are required? I would be fine with a pre-made character, as long as I'm able to individualize a bit.


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## tunafish (Mar 31, 2013)

Interested. I've run this for my RL group. They didn't like the dynamic of humans vs. vampires, but maybe we can find a few players who do. Introducing a "Cthulhu-like" element without slaying the PCs seems to work best. Horror, without the foul end. 

I'm in as long as the game makes sense.


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## Piratecat (Mar 31, 2013)

Shoot me an email, O great and wise GM; I have resources for you. 

I don't have the time to play right now, but I'll volunteer to make PCs for anyone who doesn't want to dive into the rules! I'm familiar enough that it only takes me 15 min or so.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 1, 2013)

Hell to the yes, although I have read the big adventure.


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## Piratecat (Apr 1, 2013)

Here's the page for Pelgrane's NBA resources. Please don't read my 20 minute demo, in case Mudbunny wants to run it, but the six pre-gens were written by me and made beautiful by Hypersmurf. The appendices, cheat sheets and blank agent dossiers are all useful.


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## mudbunny (Apr 1, 2013)

I will probably start out with the 20 minute adventure penned by Piratecat, so that I can get my feet wet. After that, I will see. 20 minutes face to face will probably take a fair bit longer via the forums.So by that time, I should have a better feel for the system and what else is out there.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 2, 2013)

Do you want us to use the pregens?


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## mudbunny (Apr 2, 2013)

There is probably a good chance.


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## Walking Dad (Apr 2, 2013)

Sounds good. The French assassin looks interesting


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## Piratecat (Apr 2, 2013)

The pre-gens I made hold up really well; I've used them now in over 20 games. I've found a few things I'd tweak, however. If you use them, consider the following changes to the General Ability distribution:

Gabriella (thief): Remove 1 point from driving and explosive devices. Add 1 point to Preparedness and Weapons.
Dr. DuBois (assassin): Remove 1 point from Hand to Hand and 2 points from weapons. Add 1 point to Preparedness and 2 points to Sense Trouble.
Hung-Ke (hacker): Remove 1 point from Weapons, add 1 point to Preparedness.
Mace Hunter (con man): Remove 2 points from Disguise, 1 point from Filch and 1 point from Sense Trouble. Add 2 points to Hand-to-Hand and 2 points to Preparedness.
"Ashcan" (wheelman/explosives guy): Remove 2 points from Network. Add 2 points to Weapons.
Persephone (analyst/mastermind): good as is.

I originally made more niche protection than I needed to, limiting the PCs a bit. The above changes make them a little more flexible and balanced without limiting any of their cool stuff.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm happy to do whatever is easiest.


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## mudbunny (Apr 3, 2013)

Probably best to use the pregens. That way they are all built with the same level of skill.


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## mudbunny (Apr 4, 2013)

I has the book. Delivered today. And now, to spend some time reading.


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## Piratecat (Apr 4, 2013)

The pregens now have the above changes included on them.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 22, 2013)

Are you still thinking of running something mudb?


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## Piratecat (Apr 22, 2013)

I was wondering the same thing!


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## mudbunny (Apr 26, 2013)

Yup, I am still interested in running this, but a combination of real-life getting busy all of a sudden, plus me being unfamiliar with pool-based games (and if you read unfamiliar as never ever played one, much less run one, you would be right) means it is taking me a bit longer than I hoped to get through the book and grok it.


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## Piratecat (Apr 27, 2013)

Hey [MENTION=56746]mudbunny[/MENTION], any interest in actually playing for a week or so? While I don't have time to run a full and ongoing game, I'm delighted to run what in real life would be a half-hour demo in order to show folks how the game works. If so, I'd love it if you played.

If not, no worries. You have dibs on it, and I don't want to tromp on your turf.


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## mudbunny (Apr 27, 2013)

Sure, [MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION]. if you want to run it, I would be more than willing to play.


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## Piratecat (Apr 27, 2013)

Cool. Who else is in?


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## Kaodi (Apr 27, 2013)

If you find you have less than a full house, I am in. Assuming that the demonstration game can be played without knowledge of the system...


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## Committed Hero (Apr 27, 2013)

That would be great.


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## Walking Dad (Apr 27, 2013)

Very interested, but not very rules competent.


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## Piratecat (Apr 28, 2013)

Rules knowledge: not needed! I'll take up to 6 folks. And as I said, we'll just run an encounter, but it's a fun one.  

Mudbunny -- Ashcan Quinn (explosives/wheelman)
Walking Dad -- Dr. DuBois (assassin)
Committed Hero - Hung Ke Lee (hacker)
Kaodi -- Mace Hunter (con man)
Possibly tunafish?

We can take one more.

Folks, please take a look at the character sheets located here: http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=9504

Choose one! Walking Dad has dibs on Dr DuBois if he wants him.


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## mudbunny (Apr 28, 2013)

I'll grab Oliver Quinn.


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## Piratecat (Apr 28, 2013)

Go look at a character sheet, and here's the basic way to play the game.

[sblock=General Abilities are how you get stuff done]Sneaking, fighting, running... all these are done with General Abilities. If you have a General Ability rating of *8 or higher, you're incredibly talented* at that activity (and may get access to cool bonus stuff when using it, depending on which GUMSHOE game you're playing). If you don't have any rating at all in a General Ability, you stink at it and won't generally succeed at non-trivial tasks. A 0 Driving, for instance, lets you drive to the store and back but you'd fail at any driving maneuvers difficult enough to require a die roll. In comparison, an 8 Driving makes you an expert wheelman. A 0 Shooting means you're no good whatsoever at using firearms, while an 8 or higher Shooting makes you an expert marksman. You get the idea.

It's traumatic for your dicebag, but *in GUMSHOE you'll only need one die: a d6.* Roll it. *Your Target Number is usually 4; remember that*. If you roll a 4 or higher with a General Ability like Athletics, you probably succeed. 

Obviously, that would mean you only succeed half the time. *You raise these odds by spending points from your General Ability pools and adding them to your d6 roll. *Want to shoot someone? Spend 2 points from your shooting pool, add it to your d6, and you usually only fail if you roll a 1. Spend 3 points and you're guaranteed to hit even on a d6 roll of 1 (as 1 + 3 = the target number of 4). When your pool drops to 0, you're stuck just rolling a d6 until you get a rest and the GM says your pool refreshes. 

Don't be shy about spending these points. Dropping enemies quickly is a great idea, and you'll have chances to refresh your pools.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Investigative Abilities are how you learn stuff]
They're what makes GUMSHOE games unique. Ignore your General Abilities for a second and look over at your Investigative Abilities. These are broken into three sections to make things easier to find - academic, interpersonal and technical knowledge - but they all work pretty much the same way. *If you have 1 or more points in any of these, you're an expert at it. *This matters because during the game, all you need to do is *tell the GM that you're using an appropriate ability and you'll automatically get the clue *if there is one. Yes, automatically, no roll required. The fun here is in what you do with that information, not how you get it.

So let's say you're searching a private library for vital information. The GM asks, "Do you have any points in Research?" Say yes and she'll tell you everything you can find out. No roll is required. Same thing with Interpersonal Abilities; if you have Flattery, tell the GM you're flattering someone (or better yet, roleplay it) and it will pay off.

*Spend these points to get cool in-game advantages.* Take the interpersonal ability Flirting, for example. You meet the evil mastermind's stunningly attractive protégé. Tell the GM you're Flirting with the NPC, and he or she will let slip important clues during the banter. Tell the GM you're spending 1 or more Flirting points to get cool stuff, though, and you'll get a special benefit; in this case, the protégé may become infatuated with you and double-cross his or her boss at the best possible time. If you describe it cleverly,* spending an Investigative point as a special benefit can also get you a +3 bonus on a General Ability roll*. For instance, in Night's Black Agents you can spend a point of Electronic Surveillance, describe how you're using local security cameras to track a suspect's movement through the city, and your Surveillance roll to follow them will be at +3.

Just remember, spending a point from an Investigative Ability doesn't stop you from knowing that topic. It just limits how many times in a game you can ask for special cool stuff.
[/sblock]

And really? We'll want to discuss some specifics, but that's just about it. Questions?


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## Kaodi (Apr 28, 2013)

Mace Hunter might be my best choice of those remaining, but I can take whoever is left over at the end if others have specific preferences.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 28, 2013)

I will take Hung-Ke Lee if that works.


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## Piratecat (Apr 28, 2013)

That leaves you without a Sneak Thief or Analyst. For the purpose of this, that's not a real problem. We'll start tomorrow unless someone else weighs in! Please leave a quick note in this thread if that's cool with you. Hey [MENTION=1656]Hypersmurf[/MENTION], you want in on this action?

Stuff to know: 

As my post above indicated, you use investigative abilities to find clues and general abilities to kick ass. You guys are super-spies, and you're incredibly competent. You also get bonus-cool-stuff for every General Ability over 8; these are listed on the second page.

You have a Target Number that people need to hit you; I think it's in the lower left. It's probably 4 for all of you. 
You have Health, along the bottom and marked by a heart. You don't die at 0, but that's when you start taking real damage. You keel over dead at -12.
Take a glance at your abilities. Which ones aren't self-explanatory? I'll give you a quick idea of what they do.


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## mudbunny (Apr 29, 2013)

All good with me here.


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## Committed Hero (Apr 29, 2013)

Is Digital Intrusion Lee's MOS?


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## Piratecat (Apr 29, 2013)

Committed Hero said:


> Is Digital Intrusion Lee's MOS?



It is. That's what the Bold means.


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## Piratecat (Apr 29, 2013)

Thread posted! Hung-Ke, Quinn -- we'll get to you in a minute.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...ntdown-(demo-encounter)&p=6125319#post6125319


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## mudbunny (Apr 29, 2013)

Stupid question, what do the chat-bubbles next to some of the General Abilities signify?

The triangle is (I assume) another way of signifying their MOS.

(On hindsight, I am pretty sure that if I go back into the character creation section of the rules, it will be indicated.)


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## Piratecat (Apr 29, 2013)

The chat bubbles indicate that those skills can be used to trigger a pool refresh mid-scene. Don't sweat it for now.


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## 71gamer (Apr 29, 2013)

Is there any room in this? I'd be very interested in joining.


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## Piratecat (Apr 29, 2013)

71gamer said:


> Is there any room in this? I'd be very interested in joining.



 Hell yes. Gabriella is in free-fall with Mace and Dr. DuBois; Persephone is handling business in the Russian launch facility. Pick your agent and jump in.


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## 71gamer (Apr 29, 2013)

Massive edit. Sorry, I misunderstood. I will take Persephone.


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## Piratecat (Apr 29, 2013)

Cool. Just to reiterate, the bubbles mark Abilities that you may be able to refresh (ie get more points back) during play. Don't worry about that too much right now, but holler if you start to run out of points.

The triangle marks your MOS. This is a skill that you're better at than anyone else. Once per game, you can choose to succeed in this with no roll required, and you'll probably succeed spectacularly. If something is too important to fail at, use your MOS!

And I haven't done any PbP gaming in about 5 years, so no worries. It's one of the reasons this is a single, discrete encounter.


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## Walking Dad (Apr 30, 2013)

Still interested in the assassin and ready


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## Piratecat (Apr 30, 2013)

The other thread awaits you! Jump in and tell me what you want to do. I also think Hypersmurf is taking Gabriella.


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## Hypersmurf (Apr 30, 2013)

Piratecat said:


> The triangle marks your MOS. This is a skill that you're better at than anyone else. Once per game, you can choose to succeed in this with no roll required, and you'll probably succeed spectacularly.




Right - the purpose of the triangle is to draw a checkmark in when you've used your once-per-session success.  That it helps identify the MOS is a fortuitous bonus.



Piratecat said:


> The other thread awaits you! Jump in and tell me what you want to do. I also think Hypersmurf is taking Gabriella.




Hell yeah 

-Hyp.


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## Piratecat (May 1, 2013)

Walking Dad said:


> Still interested in the assassin and ready



We are only waiting for you! The thread's two pages of concentrated fun. Head on over and update; if you don't have the chance to by tomorrow am, just let me know when you can.


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## Walking Dad (May 1, 2013)

Sorry, I missed the link/star of the IC thread. I will jump right in.


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## Committed Hero (May 3, 2013)

Modesty probably prevents piratecat for mentioning his timely article about GUMSHOE, but I am not burdened by such trivialities.

http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=11024


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## Hypersmurf (May 3, 2013)

From the IC thread:


			
				Piratecat said:
			
		

> If you had decided to shoot anyways, you'd just roll a d6 and add nothing. If someone has Trust in you, and is in touch with you, they can also give you 1 point of Trust on a roll.




We had a chat about this the other day - I think it's still backwards.

It's not if someone trusts duBois that duBois can benefit from their assistance on his roll; it's if _duBois_ trusts _them_.

Let's take the extreme hypothetical examples, Aaron the fickle, backstabbing, evil assassin, whose allegiance shifts any time he senses advantage; and Bob the steadfast, principled, loyal (but savvy) Defender of the Right.

Somehow, these two have wound up working a job together.

Aaron has 3 points of Trust in Bob - he knows that Bob will absolutely be there if he's in trouble, that he will stick to his word, etc, etc.  Bob, however, has no points of Trust in Aaron.  He wouldn't believe Aaron if he said the sun was going to rise in the east, without confirmation from an independent source.

In the course of the mission, they end up pinned down by bad guys behind some cover.  One of them needs to move to a flanking position to set up a crossfire.


Scenario 1:
"You go," Aaron says to Bob, slyly.  "I'll cover you.  _It's okay, I Trust you!_"

Question 1: _Is Bob reassured by that statement?_

Scenario 2:
"You go," Bob says to Aaron, frankly.  "I'll cover you.  _You Trust me, right?_"

Question 2: _Is Aaron reassured by that statement?_

------

My read of the rules indicates that Scenario 2 is how it works mechanically - Aaron has allocated three points of Trust in Bob, and Bob can spend _Aaron's Trust in him_ to add to one of Aaron's rolls.

Bob has no trust in Aaron, so even though Aaron trusts Bob completely, Aaron cannot spend any of Bob's Trust to assist Bob, because there isn't any to spend.

-Hyp.


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## Piratecat (May 4, 2013)

Committed Hero said:


> Modesty probably prevents piratecat for mentioning his timely article about GUMSHOE, but I am not burdened by such trivialities.
> 
> http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=11024



Hey, looky there! Thanks. I hadn't seen the link.


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## Piratecat (May 4, 2013)

Incidentally, Hyp is right about how trust works -- but it's completely unintuitive to me, so I don't run it that way. It works anyway, is I figure is a sign of a robust game system.


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## Kaodi (May 11, 2013)

So, were you still planning on getting an actual campaign going at some point, [MENTION=56746]mudbunny[/MENTION] , or have you been sated for the time being?


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## Piratecat (May 11, 2013)

What he asked!


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## mudbunny (May 12, 2013)

Yup. I will be starting up a campaign in the next week or two, once my wife's Mother's Day Honey Do list has been whittled down some. Tomorrow I will open up a recruiting thread once I get a chance to dig through this thread and grab the usernames of those who have already expressed an interest and/or reserved a spot.


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## Hypersmurf (May 12, 2013)

mudbunny said:


> Yup. I will be starting up a campaign in the next week or two, once my wife's Mother's Day Honey Do list has been whittled down some. Tomorrow I will open up a recruiting thread once I get a chance to dig through this thread and grab the usernames of those who have already expressed an interest and/or reserved a spot.




Are you thinking to carry on using Piratecat's pregens, or start with fresh PCs?

-Hyp.


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## mudbunny (May 12, 2013)

Probably with PCats pregens, but I will allow people to reskin them as long as they keep the basics and the connections/trust.


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## Hypersmurf (May 12, 2013)

mudbunny said:


> Probably with PCats pregens, but I will allow people to reskin them as long as they keep the basics and the connections/trust.




If you're looking for confirmations of interest, I'll put a hand up - happy to carry on with Gabriella, although I note that you're vacating Ashcan for the GM's chair, and he's another I'd be interested in giving a whirl...

-Hyp.


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## Committed Hero (May 13, 2013)

Confirm.


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## Piratecat (May 13, 2013)

I'd love to jump in as well. I <3 all of them equally, so I'll take whichever PC is free.


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## mudbunny (May 14, 2013)

Recruitment thread

People who have expressed interest in this thread have had spots reserved. Head on over to confirm you want a spot.


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