Operation Espionage: A Game of Spies - Agent Handbook
The world of Operation Espionage: A Game of Spies is a complex tapestry of diplomacy¸ intrigue¸ mistrust and violence. Many nations¸ organizations and factions use both covert and overt actions in attempts show dominance over a region or a population. Amid this political turmoil¸ agents and spies secretly guide the thread that weaves the worlds' political tapestry. As the availability and level of technology increases¸ so too does the need for gathering intelligence and finding protection against those same technologies. The priority for most agents is the acquisition of information and intelligence on the technologies in play or on rival agents attempting to acquire these technologies for themselves. Myriad machinations and motives could arise from these encounters ranging from wresting control of resources and territories to uncovering the locations of covert facilities or even unveiling a terrorist plot. Operation Espionage: A Game of Spies is a tabletop role-playing game where the players take on the persona of spies who are associated with several possible countries throughout the modern world. Those countries work together in larger treaty or agreement driven global organizations that offer a variety spy affiliation options. Based in the modern day with a slightly altered history¸ the game uses a unique Roll versus Roll mechanic that puts the fate of the agent characters completely into the luck of the dice rolls. Agents¸ the in-game persona of the player¸ is created from a list of skills. Each of those skills have a value that represents a dice pool-a number of twelve-sided dice. When a skill is used¸ whether for a task like computer hacking or stealth or for combat¸ both aggressive and defensive¸ the player rolls the dice pool looking for a level-based target. The number of dice above that target count as successes. The Spymaster¸ the game master in the Game of Spies¸ uses a skill in the same way to counter the player attempt. Whichever side has the most successes wins the confrontation or the skill attempt failed. This Roll versus Roll mechanic removes the need for difficulty checks that other tabletop games target in lieu of a truly luck of the dice situation that can even keep the Spymaster on the edge of their seat. This is the Agent Handbook -the Operation Espionage: A Game of Spies core rulebook offering the information for the Players and the Spymaster to play the Game of Spies. Included in the book is information to create new agents¸ how to use the Roll versus Roll mechanic¸ information for the Spymaster to run a Manhunt including unique mechanics and villain minions¸ and an Introductory Manhunt so the agent team can enter the action immediately. Agent Dossiers and other record keeping sheets are also included in the book¸ as well as in separate files to be downloaded for convenience.