Espionage Tasks
Bluffing
A Social Reward: Mention in Dispatches
When the PCs perform a service "for the good of the Imperium" (or whatever their government is called) they may be rewarded with a Mention in Dispatches. These are short reports provided by planetary officials to the Imperial government at the subsector/sector level. The Mention confers no cash or other direct benefit, but characters whose names appear a few times will be noticed by the powerful and connected. This can translate into an improved SOC score, or new and more important Patrons seeking out the PCs to hire them.
Book 2 starship combat does not have an initiative mechanic, so Ship Tactics can be applied to other combat mechanics. Allow a character in a command position with ship tactics skill to add a +1 per level of skill to the effect of the ship's computer programs: Predict, Maneuver/Evade, Select, Multi-Target or ECM can be improved in the PC ship's favor. Referee can dictate that only one function can be so improved, or allow the PC to spread the bonus around. Referee will also determine whether ship tactics can provide a bonus in the absence of the necessary program.
The character with Ship Tactics skill has to be on the bridge of the ship to utilize the skill, and if the character is filling another standard position, such as Pilot or Navigator, the rule (TTB,p.61) about filling two positions applies.
I acknowledge that most of these are based upon the Dragon Magazine articles
"Space Age Espionage" (April 1987) and "Rogues of the Galaxy" (May 1985) I have altered them to suit my taste.
Surveillance
Surveillance
is the action of a character observing someone's actions at great
length without the subject's notice, or it is an individual detecting
if he is being observed.
Dms
for Surveillance
+1/lvl
of Recon skill, if in a wilderness setting
+1/lvl
of Streetwise or Liaison skill in an urban setting
+1
for INT 9+
+1
for vision devices (binoculars, etc.)
+1
for successful Disguise
Winning
gets the observer information about the target. Losing means getting
no information. Losing by 3+ means the agent is 'made' by the target.
Dms
for Counter-surveillance
+1
for EDU 9+
+1
- +3 for electronic surveillance equipment
+1/lvl
of Recon skill, if in a wilderness setting
+1/lvl
of Streetwise or Liaison skill in an urban setting
Winning
means the surveillant got no information. Winning by 3+ means the
target has 'made' the observer and can retaliate, or present the
observer with false information. Losing means the surveillance went
undetected by the subject.
Stealth
Stealth
represents the ability to move and act quietly, without attracting
unwanted attention. A stealthy character can perform many maneuvers
requiring high dexterity, such as climbing vertical surfaces or
walking across narrow ones. The Referee will determine the target
number for any attempted action. The stealthy character should get
+DMs for high levels of DEX.
Example:
to cross a room without activating motion-detecting alarms- 10+, DM
+1 for Dex 11+
To
climb a large tree: 4+, DM +1 for Dex 7+
To
climb a drain pipe: 8+, DM +1 for Str 8+ or Dex 9+
To
walk on a narrow path without falling:9+, DM +1 for Dex 9+
Stealth
can be applied to such sleight-of-hand tricks as picking pockets or
planting items on a person. The referee sets a target number, and one of three things results:
Roll >target, action succeeds
Roll=target to (target-2), action fails but goes unnoticed
Roll<(target-2), action fails and is noticed by subject
Roll >target, action succeeds
Roll=target to (target-2), action fails but goes unnoticed
Roll<(target-2), action fails and is noticed by subject
Concealment
Concealment
represents the ability of a searched person to conceal items on his
person or in his immediate area. While the base chance of success
varies according to the intensity of the search, compare the INT
score of searcher and searched, apply the difference as a DM towards
a successful concealment. The Referee will assign other modifiers
based on object size and number of potential places to hide the item.
If the searcher is experienced at searching (such as spaceport
security checkpoints) the searcher may gain additional DMs favorable
to finding the item.
Disguise
Disguise
allows an individual to change his outward appearance to conceal that
person's identity. Use of a disguise kit is required. The disguise
kit is significantly different from a regular make-up kit; it costs
CR 1500 and is illegal on planets with law levels of 10 or higher.
To
make ones self unrecognizable to visual inspection: 6+
DM
+1 if Int 8+, DM +1 if EDU 8+
To
impersonate another person to that person's acquaintences: 11+ DM +1 if INT
10+, DM +1 if EDU 10+
Lock-Picking
The
ability to spring locks with simple tools. Each character who
attempts this must have a base TL of familiarity, equal to the TL of
their home world. Locks with a higher TL than the base apply a DM of
-1 per TL of difference. With a lock-pick set, an individual with
this skill can open simple locks of their base TL or less on a roll
of 7+, with a DM +l for a Dexterity of 9+. More complex locks should
be shown as negative DMs in addition to the TL difference. Locks of
2+ TL higher than the character's base TL cannot be picked.
This
ability also covers the disarming or bypassing of physical security
measures (traps, alarms) DM +1 if Int 9+, if Dex 8+; plus TL
difference DMs. At TL 8-, apply Mechanical skill, if any as a +DM. At
TL 8+, apply Electronics skill, if any, as a +DM.
Area
Knowledge
Use
the agent's Education or Social Standing stat (whichever is higher)
any time an agent needs to know some in-character bit of knowledge
such as historical information, the names of leading social or
political figures, government or corporate data. Roll stat or less
on 2d for common knowledge, or on 3d for restricted information.
Success means the agent recalled the needed information, failure
indicates the agent's information was wrong.
Bluffing
A
successful bluff will be determined by a characteristic roll of
[SOC+INT]/2 (for social bluffing) or [SOC+EDU]/2 (for technical
bluffing). Social bluffing can get you into a private party, convince
someone you are someone that you're not, or get you in to see the CEO
without an appointment. Technical bluffing can convince someone you
know more about a subject than you do.
Other
Spy Activities
Demolitions
– see Book 4, Mercenary
Interrogation
– see Book 4, Mercenary
Lying/Detect
Lying – INT
Intelligence
Analysis – EDU
Tailing/pursuit/shadowing
– Streetwise or SOC
Knowledge
of criminal behavior – Streetwise
Political
Knowledge – EDU or SOC
A Social Reward: Mention in Dispatches
When the PCs perform a service "for the good of the Imperium" (or whatever their government is called) they may be rewarded with a Mention in Dispatches. These are short reports provided by planetary officials to the Imperial government at the subsector/sector level. The Mention confers no cash or other direct benefit, but characters whose names appear a few times will be noticed by the powerful and connected. This can translate into an improved SOC score, or new and more important Patrons seeking out the PCs to hire them.
Retrofitting a Skill: Ship Tactics
Ship Tactics appears as a skill in Book 5: High Guard. It is an
abstracted skill, used only for determining initiative in High Guard
combat. It can be retrofitted into basic chargen and Book 2 combat with a
few simple tweaks. Either replace the Navy Captain 'Rank and Service
Skill' (+1 Soc) with Ship Tactics, or replace a skill in the Navy skill
tables if you want the skill more widely available. The referee can
substitute Ship Tactics for a particular skill slot, or allow the player
to request a substitution. Book 2 starship combat does not have an initiative mechanic, so Ship Tactics can be applied to other combat mechanics. Allow a character in a command position with ship tactics skill to add a +1 per level of skill to the effect of the ship's computer programs: Predict, Maneuver/Evade, Select, Multi-Target or ECM can be improved in the PC ship's favor. Referee can dictate that only one function can be so improved, or allow the PC to spread the bonus around. Referee will also determine whether ship tactics can provide a bonus in the absence of the necessary program.
The character with Ship Tactics skill has to be on the bridge of the ship to utilize the skill, and if the character is filling another standard position, such as Pilot or Navigator, the rule (TTB,p.61) about filling two positions applies.
Retirement Pay
It has been noted in a Murphy's Rules comic panel that Traveller's
basic character generation rules about retirement pay are very
democratic. A non-commissioned character who serves 5 terms gets the
same pay as a rank-6 officer with 5 terms. To make higher rank a little
better recompensed, use this change:Multiply the final rank number by 2,000 Cr and add that to the annual retirement pay figure given in the chart. e.g. an army Major (rank 3) with 6 terms of service gets Cr 12,000 per year (6,000 base plus 3 x 2,000).
The Church at the Starport
In my Traveller universe, Christian chapels are a common sight at most class A & B starports. Priests, monks and nuns serve at these chapels to minister to the spiritual needs of travellers, and to serve as conduits of communication between the planetary diocese and the parent jurisdiction. The referee must determine based on government code and cultural factors how much autonomy the Church has on a world.
Startport Chapel Present (2d)
A 3+
B 4+
C 7+
D 8+
E 9+
If world is on the 'positive' side of the Religion index, DM+1
if world is passively to mildly anti-religious, DM -2
if world is actively anti-religious, DM-3
if world is militantly anti-religious, DM-5
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