Night's Black Agents (role playing game)

Description

Night's Black Agents is one of the games to use the GUMSHOE System. In this vampire spy thriller, the characters are secret agents who discover and confront a vampiric conspiracy.

The rules are a different flavor than straight GUMSHOE to better fit the genres involved. There are special combat and chase rules to reflect the action-adventure espionage techno-thriller genre that provides its backdrop. There are also trust and betrayal rules to reflect the "black mindset" of covert operations.

Background

The NBA worldbook has no fixed gameworld. The Director generates the origin of the vampires, which vampire tropes work and which do not, the extent of their conspiracy, and how much pull they have over the mortal world. The players have to discover these details within each unique campaign without any pre-conceived knowledge or perceptions carried over from previous campaigns.

The genres of espionage in play in the gameworld are also customizable. They are divided into Dust (gritty techno-thriller), Mirrors (paranoid bluffing, double-crosses, and manipulation), Burn (pushing the characters to their mental and emotional limits until they crack), and Stakes (monster-hunting action-adventure). The Director can use one or more of them to flavor their campaign.

There is also a mechanism called the "Conspiramid". The vampire conspiracy's hierarchy and organization (the "Vampirimid") is initially unknown to the characters. They uncover nodes of the conspiracy through investigating it, gradually giving them an outside-in view of its workings. However, just like a mortal government or organization, the vampire conspiracy can use propaganda, deception, and manipulation to mislead or misdirect the characters.

Abilities and Backgrounds

Character creation is point-based. There are no character Attributes like Intelligence or Strength in NBA - characters are based on Abilities and Backgrounds.

Abilities are narrow skills that cost a point a level and are split into Investigative and General ability points. Having at least one point in an ability makes the character proficient in it. Having 8 or more points in an ability grants access to advantages called "cherries" that grant bonuses to the character's actions when using that ability.

Backgrounds are ability packages that are made up of 6 points of Investigative abilities and 18 points of General abilities each. The Bang and Burn Background makes the character an expert in demolitions while the Wet-Work Background makes the character an expert assassin. They provide character guidelines for new players or quick templates for a pickup game. This speeds character creation and allows the campaign to get up and running faster.

Investigative vs General abilities

Investigative Points are calculated based on the number of characters in the party and can only be used to buy investigative abilities. Investigative Abilities (like Ballistics, Forensic Pathology, and Streetwise) automatically uncover clues related to that skill. The levels in the skill form a point pool that can be spent to expand upon the basic information revealed. Beginning characters can only have a maximum pool of 3 in each Investigative skill to prevent over-specialization. The character begins play with the Streetwise and Tradecraft Investigative skills at a pool of 1 to represent their training and experience.

The character starts with 70 General Points, which can only be used to buy general-purpose abilities. General abilities are pass-fail (like Athletics, Driving, or Shooting). The levels in the skill form a point pool that can be spent to meet or exceed a success threshold. The success threshold is known by the Director, but is unknown to the player. This encourages a player to sometimes put extra exertion or effort into their character's actions without knowing if it will pay off.

Characters with a pool of 8 or more in Weapons or Shooting can spend 6 points to take Special Weapons Training - which grants the character a +1 to damage when using a specific weapon (e.g., a K-Bar knife or Walther PPK pistol). Characters with a pool of 8 or more in Hand-to-Hand skill can spend 6 points to take Martial Arts Training, which grants a +1 to damage in hand-to-hand combat.

The Cover and Network general abilities

The Cover ability is the alternate identity or identities used by the character. Characters start with a pool of 10, but additional levels can be bought with general character points. The character can choose to have a few really solid identities (with large point pools) or many flimsy ones (with small point pools). The pool does not refresh and restored or additional levels have to be bought with experience points. If the Cover's pool is reduced to 0, the Cover is compromised and cannot be used again.

The Network ability is the character's organization of Contacts, which can be used to provide information and support. Characters start with a pool of 6, but additional levels can be bought with general character points. Each Contact has a pool rating. The pool does not refresh and restored or additional levels have to be bought with experience points. If the Contact's pool is reduced to 0, the Contact is compromised and cannot be used again.

The character's point pools regenerate differently. General Purpose combat ability pools regenerate after 24 hours if the character sleeps or rests. Investigative ability pools regenerate at the end of a break in the campaign (like at the end of an adventure or during a character's recovery-time spent in a hospital).

Secondary attributes

These are the character's gameplay-dependent qualities.

A Military Occupational Specialty, the character's main General skill, grants the character one automatic success per session.

Health is the character's physical well-being. It has a base score of 4, but players can spend a general character point per level to raise it. If the character suffers wounds and their current Health score is above 0, he can heal back a few Health points per day of rest. A negative Health level requires surgery and intensive medical care (requiring use of the Diagnosis, Medic, and Pharmacy abilities).

Stability, the character's mental wellbeing, has a base score of 4 but players can spend a general character point per level to raise it. A Stability score of -12 or lower means the character is incurably insane and must leave play.

Sources of Stability are three things that calm and center the character - Symbol is an item, Solace is a person, and Safety is a place. They raise or restore the character's Stability score.

Drive is the motivation that keeps the character going.

Heat is the amount of attention the character or group is getting from the mundane authorities. Lying low and use of tradecraft and evasion skills lowers Heat. Drawing attention to themselves through committing crimes or acts of violence that can be linked to them (or being framed for committing them) increases Heat. This also affects the character's Cover identities and Network contacts, which lose points until they are compromised.

Trust is the confidence you have in the reliability of certain members of your group. The player gets 5 Trust points at the beginning of play. Awarding a Trust Point to a group member makes it easier for the player's character to aid and assist them. However, the trusted character can "burn" a Trust Point to Betray the trusting character and gain a short-term advantage over them (like blocking use of an Investigative Skill or subtracting a penalty from the result of a General Skill die roll).

Publication history

Night's Black Agents was written by Ken Hite, and published by Pelgrane Press in 2012. The "-D" suffix indicates that the product is the watermarked digital download version available from download sites; some books are only available as digital downloads.

PELGN01 Night's Black Agents by Kenneth Hite.
The core rulebook. PELGN01DEMO Excess Baggage by Kevin Kulp & Kenneth Hite.
An introductory adventure for NBA. PELGN02 The Zalozhniy Quartet by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan.
A campaign arc of four adventures that begins in Eastern Europe - the former playground of Communism, the Cold War ... and vampires. From the Ukraine, through Vienna and Baghdad, the player characters must fight their way to the top of the conspiracy, past Soviet spies, con men and supernatural horrors. The Lisky Bratva, a Russian mafiya gang, will do anything to stop them.
The Zalozhniy Sanction: The agents are sent to uncover a gun-smuggling operation in Odessa, Ukraine. However, something sinister is packed away amongst the contraband... Out of the House of Ashes: Soviet spies, Old World elegance, covert operations... and vampires. This mission is the subtle, baroque portion of the quartet. If the agents pull a gun in this operation, they're already in trouble. The Boxmen: In this operation, the agents' target is a safe-deposit box inside a Swiss bank. A rival team of crooks also have their sights on the box. The agents must either join forces with the criminals, or beat them at their own game. Treason in the Blood: This operation pits the agents against more supernatural horrors than any other. They've got to deal with the legacy of St John Philby, the Conspiracy's machinations, and the interference of other, even more mysterious factions who have an interest in the Rubedo. PELGN03 Double Tap by Kenneth Hite, John Adamus, Will Hindmarch, Kevin Kulp, Christian Lindke, James Palmer, Will Plant & Rob Wieland.
Rules expansion for the core rulebook. Adds the "Suspyramid" conspiracy dynamic - in which the NPC members of the vampire conspiracy act according to their own understanding of the hierarchy and their role in it. PELGN05 The Dracula Dossier: Director`s Handbook by Kenneth Hite, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Heather Albano, Paul Baldowski, Kennon Bauman, Walt Ciechenowski, Justin Farquhar, Elsa S. Henry, Carol Johnson, Marissa Kelly, Shoshana Kessock, Shawn Merwin, James Palmer, Nathan Paoletta, Will Plant, Wes Schneider, Christopher Sniezak, & Phil Vecchione.
The premise of this sourcebook is that the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is actually based on true events. In the 1880s and 1890s Her Majesty's Government ran Operation EDOM - an attempt to contact, recruit and control Count Dracula as the ultimate asset. Stoker leaked documents about it, but did so in the form of a fanciful penny dreadful to avoid being hunted by one or both sides. The characters are present-day British secret agents who must discover what has happened since then. PELGN06 The Dracula Dossier: Dracula Unredacted by Bram Stoker, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, & Kenneth Hite.
The declassified, unedited, unredacted, fully uncensored text of the collected agents' field reports that formed the basis for Bram Stoker's "novel" Dracula. Includes notations and any associated files. (N.B. A combination of novel / gamer fiction and sourcebook that contains the full text of Bram Stoker's Dracula with added content by Ryder-Hanrahan and Hite). PELGN08 The Dracula Dossier: The EDOM Field Manual by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
The basic field manual for new members of Britain's Operation EDOM. Adds the "OpPyramid" conspiracy dynamic - describing how Operation EDOM (and similar organizations) will respond to the characters' actions. PELGN09 The Dracula Dossier: The EDOM Files by John Adamus, Stephanie Bryant, Dennis Detwiller, Kenneth Hite, Emma Marlow, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Ruth Tillman, & Bill White.
Eight Operation EDOM adventures set in a variety of periods from the 1870s to the Modern Day. PELGN10D The Dracula Dossier: The Hawkins Papers by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan & Kenneth Hite.
A collection of 30 handouts to help point the players in the right direction. PENGN11 The Thrill of Dracula: Two lifetimes of playing with the Dracula origin story by Kenneth Hite.
A sourcebook about the telling of Dracula's story in their many mediums, from medieval propaganda to Bram Stoker's novel to modern day movies and television. It also contains hooks for Night's Black Agents campaigns and backgrounds for vampire-based campaigns. PELGN12D The Dubai Reckoning John Adamus & Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan.
An adventure for NBA that can be played with or without vampire conspiracy elements.

Other media

PELGN04D Dust and Mirrors by James Semple, Marie-Anne Fischer, Thery Ehrlich, & Chris J. Nairn. The Night's Black Agents Original Sound Track. Incidental and mood music pieces for use during NBA sessions.

Reception

The core rulebook won Best Game (Silver Award) and Best Writing (Silver Award) at the 2013 ENnie Awards. The Zalozhniy Quartet (2013) was nominated for Best Adventure, but did not win.

Translations

The core rulebook Night's Black Agents and The Zalozhniy Quartet (under the name "Le Quatuor Zalozhniy") has been translated into French by the publisher Septième Cercle.