The Agency

[Lighthearter]

***INCOMING MESSAGE***
SOURCE: HEADQUARTERS
ID: 071317
CLEARANCE LEVEL_FIVE

BEGIN TRANSMISSION:

Good morning, Agent. I realize this will interrupt the standard operations of your team, but we have a situation. At 2144 Zulu last night, Agent Griswold and Team Nine were caught in an ambush by elements of a secret society we know only as SCARAB. Agent Griswold's fate is unknown, though he is presumed KIA, or at least captured. Of the rest of Team Nine, only one agent survived. Team Nine has, as a result, been decommissioned, and we are assembling a new team to deal with the threat of SCARAB.

You have been Selected to join this team. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to uncover Agent Griswold's fate, dig up the truth of how SCARAB knew where to ambush Team Nine, as well as their plans for global domination, and put a stop to their machinations before it's too late. The task will not be easy, but that's why we selected you.

Welcome to Team Thirteen, Agent.

***THIS MESSAGE WILL SELF DESTRUCT***
***HAVE A NICE DAY***

*************

Hello, everyone. Let's make some mistakes! This is my latest AC, played here in my AC chat.

First things first: the general concept is that you are agents of a spy organization known simply as The Agency. It is an international group of super spies dedicated to preserving world peace in secrecy, and thus even knowledge THAT it exists is classified(except for a few conspiracy theorists it was purposely leaked to just to discredit the idea to the general public if real information ever DID leak). You were a member of a team operating on another project - feel free to name this team(Team Number is the convention), provide NPCs from it, antagonists, concepts...whatever detail you want. I don't promise to include any of that, but if I see something I like, I may well do so. Anyway, you were an agent of another Team who was pulled unceremoniously to form the nucleus of Team Thirteen. You can either know your fellow PCs or not, or have read OF them but not know them...whatever you'd like.

Most but not all missions will feature at least two pre-planned methods of completion, which generally boil down to a violent vs nonviolent approach. I'm totally down for PC modification to those methods, or even fusing the two and making things up on the fly, but the point is the effort has been put in on this end to ensure that the HOW of defeating SCARAB is entirely up to you.

This game will feature a Companion system very similar to the one from Behind The Lines. At game start, you only have one Companion, who is preassigned, but fairly early in the game you'll have the chance to select from a list of additional teammates. More on that when the time comes.

Let's talk character sheet:

Here it is:

Spoiler :

Name:
Description:
Bio:
Level: 1
XP: 0
HP: 10
Stats:
-STR:
-DEX:
-CON:
-INT:
-WIS:
-CHA:
-AIM:
Skills:
Hacking:
Medical:
Charisma:
Demolitions:
Analysis:
Perception:
Tumble:
Agility:
Leadership:
Athletic:
Stealth:
Fortitude:
Feats:

Inventory:
Handgun

...and here's what to do with it:

Spoiler :

Name: Character name.
Description: Describe your agent. Looks, personality, age...any outward details.
Bio: Give us the run-down on who you are. You don't have to write down everything here, and it's fine to have secret backstories, but here is where you put down what the other PCs should know about your character.
Level: 1 (Your character's level. Update when you level up.)
XP: 0 (Your character's total XP. When you earn enough XP, you level up. There is an XP/Level chart below for details)
HP: 10 (You start with 10 hit points. When they are exhausted, you are knocked out or killed, depending on context. Every point of CON up to 5 provides 2HP, and every point thereafter provides 1. You gain HP when you level up, or from Feats.)
Stats: These are the stats that define your character. You start with 49 points to customize. Prior to Feats, you cannot go over 10 in any one stat. You must have at least 1 in each...sorry.
-STR: Strength governs physical strength and melee damage.
-DEX: Dexterity governs agility and melee hit chance.
-CON: Constitution governs HP and melee defense.
-INT: Intelligence governs computer technology and ranged defense.
-WIS: Wisdom governs street smarts and ranged damage.
-CHA: Charisma governs leadership and bluffing.
-AIM: Aim governs ranged hit chance and perception.
Skills: (Skills represent most actions you can take in the game. To calculate your skill modifier, put in your modifier from the relevant stat - your modifier being the difference from 5. IE, 6 is +1, 4 is -1, 5 is +0, etc - and then add any bonuses from Feats. Later in the game, you'll unlock Skill Points which can be spent directly on Skills as well. You cannot increase a skill past a modifier of +12.)
Hacking: (INT) Hacking is useful for breaching computer systems and disabling gear.
Medical: (WIS) Medical is exactly what it sounds like.
Charisma: (CHA) Charisma is highly useful for bluffing and lying.
Demolitions: (INT) This is the skill you want when you need to hit backspace on a SCARAB installation.
Analysis: (WIS) Analysis is used for decoding non-computer items, or reconstructing past events.
Perception: (AIM) Perception is used for noticing things you don't want to miss.
Tumble: (DEX) Tumble is used to recover from falls without taking damage.
Agility: (DEX) Agility is used for jumping, balancing, and flexibility.
Leadership: (CHA) Leadership can be used to create buffs and debuffs on friendly and enemy targets.
Athletic: (STR) Athletic governs swimming, climbing, sprinting, and other such things.
Stealth: (DEX) The ability to disappear is a critical component in any spy's arsenal.
Fortitude: (CON) Fortitude is what you rely on to resist stun effects and poisons.
Feats: (You start the game with 3 Feats of your choice. You will unlock more as you level up.)

Spoiler :

Training Montage: +1 to a Stat of your choice. May be taken multiple times.
Skill Boost: +3 to a Skill of your choice. May be taken multiple times, but only once per Skill.
Tough As Nails: +10HP.
CQE Training: +3 to all Melee Combat rolls.
Range Training: +3 to all Ranged Combat rolls.
Rough and Ready: +2 Each to Tumble and Athletic
Bedside Manner: +2 Each to Medical and Charisma
Vigilant Officer: +2 Each to Leadership and Perception
From the Inside: +2 Each to Demolitions and Stealth
Forensic Mind: +2 Each to Analysis and Hacking
Gym Rat: +2 Each to Agility and Fortitude
Crazy Prepared: Gain three gadgets, pending GM approval. May be taken twice.
Deadeye: Once per encounter, you may launch a ranged attack that ignores all enemy cover bonuses AND halves their INT modifier for ranged defense. Requires AIM 8 and Level Two Shipley.
Sneak Attack: When launching a melee attack from stealth, you are guaranteed to score a critical hit. Requires DEX 8 and Level Two Pax.
Intimate Knowledge: Once per mission, you may use your studies of SCARAB's inner workings to gain a +50% bonus to any roll made with the intent to deceive SCARAB personnel or technology. Requires WIS 8 and Level Two Penny.
In The Blood: Once per mission, you may take a guaranteed success on any roll that is not a combat attack.(GM reserves the right to deny certain rolls on sheer logic). Requires Character Level Five and Level Two Jessie.

Inventory: (Your inventory contains the items your character has in his or her possession. You may add anything that has only an RP function, or a VERY minor practical function - I.E., a lighter or book of matches - but if you want anything more, run it by me or take the Crazy Prepared Feat.)
Handgun

XP/Leveling Table:

Spoiler :

Level One: 0XP/Character Creation
Level Two: 1000XP/+5HP, +1 Skill Point
Level Three: 2000XP/+5HP, +1 Feat
Level Four: 3500XP/+5HP, +1 Skill Point
Level Five: 5000XP/+5HP, +1 Feat
Level Six: 7000XP/+5HP, +1 Skill Point
Level Seven: 9000XP//+5HP, +1 Feat
Level Eight: 12000XP/+5HP, +1 Skill Point
Level Nine: 15000XP/+5HP, +1 Feat
Level Ten: 20000XP/+5HP, +1 Skill Point

Next post is reserved for character listing. Tentative time for the game is Thursdays at 5PM EST, today excepted.

 

[Lighthearter]

Database:

Spoiler :

The Agency:

Spoiler :

The Agency is a secret government organization run by a multinational board of sponsors. Even the identities of the nations involved is a closely-held secret, almost as close as the Agency's very existence - the worst nightmare of libertarians and conspiracy theorists the world over. While the Agency attempts to use its powers for good, and has since its inception in the hallowed days just after World War Two, the battles never seem to end. This is good, as this is the purpose of the Agency: to save the world, even if it doesn't know it's being saved and will never laud us for it.

The Agency has many methods of recruiting its agents. Most come through the ranks of a more conventional national intelligence agency, and if flagged by their superiors are then sent on to the Agency for advanced training. Others who know of its existence can directly join under proper circumstances, and there are yet more who are brought in as needed for specialist purposes - although in most cases, if the Agency needs to contact an external party they will operate through a more well-known intelligence agency, such as the FBI, to provide cover.

The Agency has bases around the globe, but most all of their operations trace back to Headquarters, a highly protected underground installation in the Orkney Islands. The compound is virtually impenetrable to assault, as the only way to enter is via the hangar bay, which requires knowledge of Agency codes, and is therefore only accessible by Agency operatives.

SCARAB:

Spoiler :

Very little is known about SCARAB. The organization seems to trace its roots into the late 20th Century, and appears to have an equal mix of under-the-radar spy operations and larger-than-life corporate fronts, including some of the world's most well-known brands and franchises. They first crossed the Agency's radar due to a peripheral role they played in the incident in Japan, and Agent Griswold assembled Team Nine to track, study and potentially defeat them.

They are known to field operatives of varying skill, and have a large number of secret installations around the globe. Their leader is the enigmatic Silas Kline, a German arms dealer we all thought dead after a transaction in the Gulf War went wrong. He's assisted by skilled ex-KGB operatives, mercenaries, and even a surprising core of one-time Agency recruits whose loyalty was bought or...coerced.

However, until the ambush on Team Nine, SCARAB was considered a back-burner priority compared to some of the other threats the Agency faces. Having eliminated Griswold and his team, they abruptly seem a lot more dangerous now, prompting the creation of Team Thirteen.

Team Thirteen Personnel:

Spoiler :

Agent Shipley:

Spoiler :

Agent Shipley, July 2015​

Anne Shipley(12/12/1989) joined the Agency at a young age after impressing her original teachers at Langley. A recommendation from the CIA means a lot here, and Shipley rapidly gained attention as a rising star, eventually attracting the notice of Senior Agent Markus Griswold, who hand-picked her for Team Nine and the rapid response to SCARAB's developing threat. She barely survived the ambush that destroyed the team, and is the only known member to do so. What lengths she will go to in order to find, rescue or recover Griswold remain to be seen.

Shipley has top marks as a markswoman, and her hand to hand skills, while not top mark, are certainly formidable. However, she lacks discretion and her notion of a stealth approach is to shoot from behind. She is inadvisable for deployment on operations that are not expected to go loud, especially given her current disposition to shoot SCARAB on sight in vengeance for her friends and mentor.

Ability: Deadeye - Shipley can, once per encounter, make a ranged attack that ignores all enemy cover bonuses and halves their INT modifier for ranged defense. However, this is a full-round action without further training.

Statblock:

Spoiler :

Name: Anne Michelle Shipley
Companion Level: 1
HP: 22
Stats:
-STR: 6/+1
-DEX: 6/+1
-CON: 7/+2
-INT: 8/+3
-WIS: 9/+4
-CHA: 2/-3
-AIM: 10/+5
Melee: Attack+4/Defense+5/Damage+4
Ranged: Attack+8/Defense+6/Damage+7
Skills:
Hacking: +3
Medical: +4
Charisma: -3
Demolitions: +3
Analysis: +4
Perception: +5
Tumble: +1
Agility: +1
Leadership: -3
Athletic: +1
Stealth: +1
Fortitude: +1
Feats:
CQE Training
Range Training
Training Montage: AIM
Inventory:
Handgun
Sniper Rifle

Jessie:

Spoiler :

Jessie Bane, May 2017​

Jessica Rivers Bane(3/13/1998) is the daughter - and only child - of John Bane himself, the legendary agent who defined the Agency during the latter half of the Cold War. Jessie was raised on her mother's stories of her distant father's heroics, and that combined with his globetrotting lifestyle - leaving her and her mother on their own for months at a time in Sheffield while he met with his old friends and built a private sector empire in the wake of his service - led her to develop a keen need for his approval. She joined the Agency eagerly, literally the day she turned eighteen: one of the few occasions her father made sure he was present for. When she was admitted as a Trainee Agent, he gave her two things: his old watch, and an injunction to "not do anything stupid." Jessie considers this more of a guideline than a rule, especially if "doing something stupid" could well lead her to living up to her father's name and earning a sign of his pride.

Jessie is a fresh-faced new agent, and as such is less experienced and skilled than most. However, her father's blood runs in her, and he was the greatest agent to ever live in his time. Given hers, Jessie might well match or even eclipse any other agent you could ask for.

Ability: In The Blood - Jessie starts with lower stats than other Companions, cannot score critical hits, and is more likely to score critical failures(1-3, 19). However, she is more customizable at game start, and instead of gaining +1 Feat, +1 Stat Point and +1 Skill Point when she levels up, Jessie gains +2 Stat Points, +3 Skill Points, +1 Feat when reaching Level Two(and can crit and her crit fail modifier is reduced[1, 19]), and +2 Stat Points, +1 Skill Point, +2 Feats when reaching Level Three(and now has no crit fail modifier and can take a guaranteed success on any action that is not an attack.).

Statblock:

Spoiler :

Name: Jessica Rivers Bane
Companion Level: 2
HP: 34
Stats:
-STR: 8/+3
-DEX: 8/+3
-CON: 7/+2
-INT: 6/+1
-WIS: 6/+1
-CHA: 6/+1
-AIM: 6/+1
Melee: Attack+6/Defense+5/Damage+6
Ranged: Attack+1/Defense+1/Damage+1
Skills:
Hacking: +1
Medical: +1
Charisma: +1
Demolitions: +1
Analysis: +1
Perception: +1
Tumble: +9
Agility: +3
Leadership: +1
Athletic: +6
Stealth: +7
Fortitude: +2
Feats:
CQE Training
Skill Boost: Stealth
Rough and Ready
Skill Boost: Tumble
Inventory:
Handgun
John Bane's Watch

Penny:

Spoiler :

Penny Paxton, July 2017​

Penelope Garcia Paxton(7/18/1988) was born the second child of a Mexican mother and an American father, and the former won custody by virtue of being deported when Penny's father moved on to another woman. Penny grew up in Chihuahua with her mother and big sister looking after her, until their mother's death and the two girls' efforts to uplift themselves. While Carol slowly became involved with cartels and other things she probably shouldn't have in the interest of supporting her little sister, Penelope educated herself, in the hard-fought old-fashioned way, until she caught the attention of a professor in Mexico City. This man took her under his wing, and eventually he introduced both Paxton girls to associates of his in an underground group that promised them education, affluence, and status, as well as the chance to change the world for the better. Neither could resist. Recently, Penny's been having second thoughts about working for SCARAB, and being captured in Naples gave her the push she needed to formally defect. At least...that's what she claims...

Penny is a trained surgeon and scientist, capable of immense feats of analysis and medicine. She's also intimately familiar with SCARAB, a potentially invaluable boon. However, she has no self-defense skills, and it's always possible that her defection is really a cover for another SCARAB operation...be careful.

Ability: Intimate Knowledge - Penny's familiarity with SCARAB provides her a passive +50% bonus when attempting to deceive SCARAB personnel or technology. With leveling, she can provide this bonus to her allies on a per-mission basis.

Statblock:

Spoiler :

Name: Penelope Garcia Paxton
Companion Level: 1
HP: 31
Stats:
-STR: 5/+0
-DEX: 5/+0
-CON: 5/+0
-INT: 10/+5
-WIS: 13/+8
-CHA: 7/+2
-AIM: 3/-2
Melee: Attack+0/Defense+0/Damage+0
Ranged: Attack-2/Defense+5/Damage+8
Skills:
Hacking: +7
Medical: +12
Charisma: +7
Demolitions: +5
Analysis: +10
Perception: -2
Tumble: +0
Agility: +0
Leadership: +2
Athletic: +0
Stealth: +0
Fortitude: +0
Feats:
Bedside Manner
Skill Boost: Medical
Forensic Mind
Skill Boost: Charisma
Inventory:
Medical Supplies
Locket

Pax:

Spoiler :

Pax O'Conner, January 2014​

The man, the myth, the legend. Pax O'Conner was one of John Bane's contemporaries, and in fact a personal friend of his. The Irish Hellion retired at the turn of the millennium, but you try telling a lifelong saboteur and spy to spend the rest of his days drinking and watching YouTube videos. When he heard about the loss of Team Nine, Pax fairly well demanded to come back for one last hurrah. While no one quite believes he's entirely operating out of altruism - Pax has always had a habit of combining the personal with the professional - his support would certainly be of great benefit to any operation that intends to raze SCARAB facilities or get "stuck in" with enemy agents in close quarters. Just don't expect him to make friends: he's lost six Teams around him. Why should he bother getting invested in any of you, when you'll most likely be dead in days?

While Pax has inordinate capabilities at Selection due to his lifetime of service and experience, he is old and set in his ways, and newer agents rising through the ranks will all surpass him by the time they reach the peak of their careers.

Ability: Sneak Attack - Pax is guaranteed a critical hit when launching a melee attack from stealth.
Trait: Old Veteran - Pax is old and set in his ways. He only gains an HP increase from his first level up, and reaching Level Three only provides +1 Stat Point and +1 Skill Point, rather than a full level up. He also cannot be customized at game start.

Statblock:

Spoiler :

Name: Pax O'Conner
Companion Level: 1
HP: 24
Stats:
-STR: 10/+5
-DEX: 10/+5
-CON: 9/+4
-INT: 10/+5
-WIS: 4/-1
-CHA: 3/-2
-AIM: 4/-1
Melee: Attack+8/Defense+7/Damage+8
Ranged: Attack-1/Defense+5/Damage-1
Skills:
Hacking: +5
Medical: -1
Charisma: -2
Demolitions: +10
Analysis: -1
Perception: -1
Tumble: +5
Agility: +5
Leadership: -2
Athletic: +5
Stealth: +10
Fortitude: +4
Feats:
CQE Training
Skill Boost: Stealth
Skill Boost: Demolitions
From The Inside
Inventory:
Handgun
Knife
Training Manual(with pictures of former students)

Friendlies:

Spoiler :

Director Haplis:

Spoiler :

Director Haplis, June 2012​

June Haplis(4/14/1950) has been an agent since her early years. Though her field days working for MI6 are long behind her, she was a natural choice to be the Sixth Director of the Agency, and has taken a personal interest in the operation versus SCARAB, likely due to her personal friendship with Agent Griswold. She is a very small woman, but she can still throw all but the best of the agents around on the practice mat if she particularly feels like it - many dread being drafted as her sparring partner of the day - and she holds the current record on the shooting range, and updates it by a few points every month or so, rain or shine.​

Agent Griswold: (MIA)

Spoiler :

Agent Griswold, May 2013, pre-facial scarring​

Agent Griswold is the best of the best, simply put: not since the days of John Bane and Pax O'Conner has the Agency seen such a brilliant leader and agent, equally adept in hand-to-hand and ranged combat, yet adroitly suave in personal conversation and almost impossible to notice when he doesn't want to be seen. He took many agents under his wing(among them: Anne Shipley) and served as their mentor in the arts of subterfuge and Agency work. Prior to Team Nine, there was a growing consensus that he would be the Seventh Director in time...but the SCARAB ambush that destroyed his team and left him MIA, presumed dead, has put a damper on that thought.

Known Hostiles:

Spoiler :

Kline:

Spoiler :

Silas Kline​

Silas Kline(7/21/1961) is a mystery and an enigma. Almost nothing is known about his early life or his future goals, save that SCARAB seems to answer to him above all others. He worked as an arms dealer through the Middle East and Southeast Asia for ten years before being caught in a deal gone bad: evidently it wasn't as bad as everyone thought.

Kline's threat level one-on-one is unknown, though he is doubtless a charismatic individual with strong command abilities and extremely good awareness. He is likely to be surrounded by the elite Tech Team at all times as well.

Tanya:

Spoiler :

Tanya Vorobyova, October 2010​

Tanya(1/1/1989) was once a Russian agent after the downfall of the Soviet Union. With no further need to propagate the illusion of the Cold War, her teachers flagged her quickly for transfer to the Agency, where she flourished in company with fellow recruits and under the tutelage of one of the best instructors in Agency history. Unfortunately, she was kidnapped in Milan on a stakeout, and her partner was found dead. This was 2011, and it was the last that was heard of her until 2016 when she reappeared as not only a member of SCARAB's elite Tech Team, but its leader. In hindsight, her kidnapping was obviously a cover for SCARAB's retrieving her. What role she played in the destruction of Team Nine is currently unknown, but likely substantial, given her knowledge of the Agency.

Tanya was always a gifted hand-to-hand combatant and a good shot alike. She has very few weaknesses, and should be treated with extreme caution: she knows all our tricks, so the utmost care must be taken if one wishes to deceive her.

Carol Paxton:

Spoiler :

Carol Garcia Paxton, May 2015
​

Carol Paxton is Penny's older sister, and a member of SCARAB since she was a mid-teen. She did what she had to do to take care of her little sister, and at first that involved running with Mexican cartels she probably shouldn't have been involved with and gradually transitioned to involvement in a world-spanning secret society. Carol is a dangerous combatant, like all members of the Tech Team, an a close friend of Tanya Vorobyova.

How the team chooses to deal with Carol will have repercussions for Penny's development.

SCARAB Agents:

Spoiler :

The majority of SCARAB's ranks are staffed by men and women likely pulled from criminal enterprises or front companies for the organization: in short, they are mediocre in terms of danger, though there are a good number of them, and some show quite good tactical initiative. They are also quite well-equipped.

Most SCARAB teams tend to deploy with at least one "support" agent, trained in medicine, computer technology, and leadership. These agents are armed with gadgets of surprising capability, and make all regular foes around them better.
Known Support Capabilities:
Recoil System(Gadget) - A grapple line that can be fired to haul objects or people into melee with the Support, or to haul the Support to a new position.
Leadership(Skill) - Supports are trained in Leadership, and can utilize it to boost their teammates' actions.
Glue Grenade(Gadget) - A grenade that explodes in a cloud of glue, locking the target in place for one turn. 2 per Support.

Tech Team Agents:

Spoiler :

The Tech Team is the elite of SCARAB's forces, and its operatives are much stronger than the basic operatives, likely being Agency defectors, or at least trained by them. Treat with caution.

Archive:
Mission One: Team Thirteen
Mission Two: The Deep End
Interlude One: Selection
Mission Three: Stakeout
Mission Four: Conflict of Interest
Mission Five: Rumble in the Jungle
Interlude Two: Turmoil
Mission Six: TBD
Mission Seven: TBD
Mission Eight: Griswold
Interlude Three: TBD
Mission Nine: Getting Ahead
Mission Ten: TBD
Mission Eleven: TBD
Interlude Four: TBD
Mission Twelve: TBD
Mission Thirteen: Ashes and Temples
Mission Fourteen: Counterattack
Mission Fifteen: The Greatest Story Never Told

 

[Celticfury]

Name: Pierce Anderson (Age 23)
Description: A young man with a decent athletic build and a light, but tanned complexion. He is somewhat below average in height. His dark hair is kept short, yet always seems to be in a perpetual state of chaos. Rarely seems to smile, and has a near constant look of annoyance.
Bio: Since birth, Pierce Anderson's life has revolved around the noble art/science/hobby of cyber hacking. His parents, Mary Louise Emerson and Rodrick Anderson, were members of the Australian criminal cyber gang known as the Sydney Outcast Syndicate. A radical group of misfits and malcontents rebelling against any and all organized institutions was not the healthiest of environments a young child could find themselves in. Pierce grew up with a general disregard for authority, a severe lack of tact, and though he made up for it with a sharp mind, a sharper wit, and the virtues instilled in him by his father. Out of everyone in the SOS, Pierce adored his father more than anyone. This proved beneficial, because when Pierce was just 7 years old, the Agency raided the SOS compounds, revealing his father to be an Agency mole, send to gather information on the group. After the SOS collapsed (and his mother disappeared without a trace), Rodrick took Pierce to an Agency safe zone, where he could be raised and given a proper education, safe from his father's enemies.

Pierce did not do well with the Agency. His years growing up with the SOS made him contemptuous of any major power, and the Agency was no exception. In between his few ill attempts at running away, he proved an obstinate youth, constantly getting into trouble and poking his nose where he did not belong. Despite his intellect, his refusal to do any work meant he was likely to be on a fast track to being a drain on society, rather than the productive citizen his father hoped he could be. At least, that was the case until he met Annabelle Young. The daughter of another agent, she took a liking to Pierce and stuck to him with relentless optimism and genuine compassion. Over time, the two of them grew closer, even to the point where they began dating. As Pierce's attitude and education steadily improved, the Agency took notice of both of their abilities and assigned them to their new teams.

Pierce was placed in Team Four, colloquially known as "The Testing Ground". The highly skilled team of technically adapt agents were often the first to get to field test new equipment, and often found themselves cooperating with other teams. Though his teamwork left much to be desired, his technical skills made him an important asset. Annabelle found herself assigned to Team Nine, excelling at her duties, all the way up until the point which sh was struck down by SCARAB.

Annabelle's death took a drastic toll on Pierce. He became increasingly despondent, even more prone to lashing out than before, and becoming increasingly frustrated with his work. So when the formation of Team Thirteen was announced, Pierce's father recommended him for the group, believing it might prove better for his energy to be targeted at SCARAB, rather than his teammates. Only time will tell it this prove a mistake, or a success.

Level: 1
XP: 0
HP: 40

Stats:
-STR: 7
-DEX: 8
-CON: 5
-INT: 10
-WIS: 9
-CHA: 3
-AIM: 7

Skills:
-Hacking: 12
-Medical: 4
-Charisma: -2
-Demolitions: 5
-Analysis: 6
-Perception: 2
-Tumble: 3
-Agility: 3
-Leadership: -2
-Athletic: 2
-Stealth: 3
-Fortitude: 0

Feats:
-Forensic Mind: +2 Each to Analysis and Hacking
-Skill Boost: +3 to Hacking
-Crazy Prepared: Gain three gadgets, pending GM approval. May be taken twice.
-Intimate Knowledge: Once per mission, you may use your studies of SCARAB's inner workings to gain a +50% bonus to any roll made with the intent to deceive SCARAB personnel or technology.

Inventory:
-Handgun
-Smartphone
-Wrist mount for smartphone
-Stolen Zune and earbuds
-Tim Tams
-A small, engraved, ornamental bell (not functional)
-Portable Matter Reconstituters (Kanga and Roo): Two spherical devices containing thousands of nanomachines, wirelessly connected to a specialized glove. When one sphere is activated and placed or thrown onto a surface, the nanites will deconstruct up to a 1 ft by 1 ft cubic area of the surface, and reconstruct the materials into a simple object (manacles, crowbar, knife, ect...) of the same material. Using both spheres will allow for the construction of more complex items. Cannot be used on living, organic matter.
-Portable Expansive Barrier (The Reef): A 1 ft by 1 ft metallic device that, when activated, expands using nanofibers into a 4 ft high, 3 ft wide shield, capable of deflecting projectiles and melee weapons. Can be used to defend the user or an ally. Can be affixed to the floor or another surface to provide stationary cover.
-Mobile Miniaturized Reconnaissance Platform (Steve Irwin): A small, fist sized robotic drone that can be controlled wirelessly. The drone is capable of climbing sheer and inverted surfaces, and may initiate hacking attempts on devices it can physically access. It also comes equipped with remote sensors that feed data back to the users.

 

[Patchy]

Name: Misao "Missy" Elliott
Description: Dusky skin over an athlete's frame, with dark eyes and a flat nose. A little on the short side for her age, she sports callouses on her fists and legs. Hair style generally tends to alternate between letting her kinky hair grow out until it becomes unmanageable followed by cutting it to half an inch short and letting it grow back from there.

Spoiler :

Thanks L

Bio: Born into the reclusive Woo Tang, a clan of ninjas who have served the Emperor of Japan since the time of the Mongol Invasions. Ms. Elliott can more directly trace her lineage to the Clan Matriarch ████████ who held the position during American Occupation of Japan, and the quartermaster of the CV-9 Essex Thomas Elliott. While known to the Agency, the Woo Tang did not contribute to them until after the incident ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ thereafter the media was told that the Emperor of Japan's plane had merely suffered a common disconnection in its GPS tracking signal. The incident, however, resulted in the Emperor pledging his support to the Agency and with that the support of the Woo Tang.

Trained from birth to turn her body into a weapon through a combination of near death training and ████████████████████████████████████████████ although even the Agency discards these rituals as superstition. Having turned 16 shortly after the incident and graduated into a ninja of her own right, Ms. Elliott was sent as a part of the detachment from the Woo Tang to the Agency. Having served a full year with the Agency Ms. Elliott has proven to be a peerless hand to hand combatant, if more than a little emotionally stunted and easily confused by any technology created since the seventeenth century.
Level: 2
XP: 1300
HP: 50
Stats:
-STR: 11
-DEX: 10
-CON: 10
-INT: 2
-WIS: 5
-CHA: 2
-AIM: 10
Skills:
Hacking: (INT) -3
Medical: (WIS) 0
Charisma: (CHA) -3
Demolitions: (INT) -3
Analysis: (WIS) 0
Perception: (AIM) 7
Tumble: (DEX) 5
Agility: (DEX) 5
Leadership: (CHA) -2
Athletic: (STR) 6
Stealth: (DEX) 5
Fortitude: (CON) 5
Feats:
-CQE Training: +3 to all Melee Combat rolls.
-Tough As Nails: +10HP.
-Training Montage: Str
-Crazy Prepared (x1)

• Potion of Fury- Only usable by Missy lasting two actions, when drunk as a free action (+3/+2 damage for Missy/damage done to Missy), when drunk as a full round action (+6/+4).
• Smoke Bomb - A traditional tool for blinding the enemy, Missy's training allows her to stay unhindered by it. One use, large radius, imparts big penalty.
  
• Shuriken - Allows melee attacks to be made at not-quite-long range, equipped with enough for three attacks.

Inventory:
Handgun

 

[Kinich-Ahau]

Name: Richard Fitzintite
Description: Tall & suave with an unidentifiable but attractive accent, Richard has a smooth bass voice and an active imagination. His ‘default’ look includes a soul patch, a pencil moustache, and a pageboy cut, all in his natural black color, but, being a spy, he can and will alter both color and style as the mission demands. His skin is dark and unweathered, and when the mission doesn’t require otherwise he tends to dress in loose, almost robe-like clothing.

Spoiler Biography :

The eldest son of the Kenyan doctor Dwana Fuk & a Russian asylum seeker by the name of Ivan Vankenhoff, Richard was born after Dwana & Ivan had been married for four years. The couple went into witness protection shortly after Richard’s birth to escape the ire of a Russian mobster who was contracted to silence Ivan for his aggressively anti-authoritarian views, becoming the Fitzintites. They had three children after Richard, all girls, which they named Tara, Connie, and Kenya. Richard was thus exposed to secrecy and intrigue from a young age, his parents always working closely with law enforcement to befuddle and stay one step ahead of their pursuers. Lies and bluffs became second nature to him; far from being a shameful act, they were facts of life and he grew to be proud of his skill at misdirection.

He always wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps, and so studied at Oxford, gaining his medical degree quickly; he became fast friends with Buster Hymen- a student of international relations- and Annie Lingus- a pilot who was there for officer science training. It was through him that Buster met his (ex)wife Tara, and Annie her wife Connie. After graduation he got a job at the CDC, working to study and cure the rarest, most horrifically & pointlessly dangerous diseases known to man. One summer when working with TDR-TB he was contacted by Buster, who desperately needed someone of his expertise that he could trust utterly. Buster turned out to an operative of The Agency, and his team had just uncovered a plot to develop a bioengineered superplague for sale to the highest bidder.

Richard was brought in to assist Team i8 100 0 10, serving as a resident doctor & pathogen expert as the others followed whatever leads they could and gradually narrowed down the base of operations of the enemy bioterrorists. After a vital sample was destroyed in transit, it was decided that Richard & whatever lab gear was light enough to carry would be taken with them for future missions to ensure that any other potentially vital clues would not be lost in such a way, and during a shootout outside Samarkand one cold October night Richard was forced to pick up a gun. He turned out to be a half-decent shot.

Eventually, Team i8 100 0 10 tracked down the terrorists’ base of operations to a remote location in the outback, but their helicopter was shot down en route and the team was scattered during the crash. There Richard- by this time an official member of The Agency- was found and nursed back to health by the rugged survivalist Jebediah Oswald Emerson, AKA Joe. Unable to contact any of his team and forced to assume the worst, Richard recruited the tough Aussie and they went about tracking down the enemy base on foot.

Joe’s skills & experience proved quite useful, and after a series of adventures in the desert the duo was ready to infiltrate the hostile lab/military camp. Using the photoglobe to great effect, they were almost at the core when the base computers finally managed to break through the stealth effect, triggering the floor beneath them to retract, dropping the pair into a crocodile pit.

Joe heroically held back the crocodiles, putting them in their place & stopping the two of them from becoming lunch. He tied those crocs in knots and formed a makeshift ladder, allowing Richard to escape the pit. Racing against time & dodging bullets left and right, Richard managed to shoot his way into the heart of the lab, and was forced to push his medical and computer knowledge to the limits when it turned out that the codes Team i8 100 0 10 had acquired from the terrorists had changed, and the bioweapon strain in the base was subtly different from the one they had managed to reconstruct in Richard’s lab. It was difficult, but Richard managed to do it, rendering the virus inert & setting the base to self-destruct. He took as much data as he could and returned to Joe, helping his new friend out of the pit. The duo raced out of the base, just barely clearing the blast radius before the whole thing was blown to kingdom come.

When Richard & Joe returned to The Agency, they found that the other members of Team i8 100 0 10 had managed to survive the outback; they found each other in the desert and made their way back to civilization, and were stunned when their preparations for a second assault on the terrorist base were interrupted by the return of Richard.

The Agency’s top operatives pored over the data Richard had managed to bring back, and though they were able to learn much about the terrorists' medical & research techniques, the only information about the organization itself they were able to pull were a few broken references to something called SCARAB...

Level: 2
XP: 1300
HP: 25
Stats:

• STR: 1
• DEX: 5
• CON: 5
• INT: 10
• WIS: 10
• CHA: 10
• AIM: 8

Skills:

• Hacking: 5
• Medical: 10
• Charisma: 8
• Demolitions: 5
• Analysis: 5
• Perception: 3
• Tumble: 0
• Agility: 0
• Leadership: 5
• Athletic: -4
• Stealth: 0
• Fortitude: 0

Feats:

• Bedside Manner
• Skill Boost: Medical
• Crazy Prepared (x1)

Gadgets:

• Photoglobe: Useable once per mission; fires a metallic pellet at a target, resonating with their innate optic frequencies to synthesize an antagonistic hyperoptical field and other masculine bovoid undigested food smart-sounding nonsense phrases to massively increase the stealth of the target and all friendlies near the target. Targets gain no stealth boost against each other.
• Ramscoop Shoe Jets: Miniature jet engines which operate quietly and can be seamlessly & nigh-undetectably attached to the undersides of damn-near every shoe imaginable, allowing the user to soar through the air at incredible speeds and with great maneuverability. Unlimited fuel/uses for now, may change if deemed unbalanced.
• Biohack Retrovirus: Once per mission fire a microscopic painless dart at a target, initiating an immediate opposed roll, Richard's Medical vs. the target's Fortitude. Upon my success treat the targeted character as a camera & audio recorder that only I can access. Upon success I can choose to forego the camera option and perform a hacking roll against the target as a free action, the DC dependent on the rank of the target (mook, boss, etc.); success in the hacking roll allows me to order the target to perform any action which the target must carry out to the best of its ability.

Inventory:

• Handgun
• Tablet (off the shelf)
• Medical Marijuana
• Rolling Paper
• Lighter
• Magnifying Glass
• Condoms
• English-French Dictionary
• English-Italian Dictionary

 

[Red_Spy]

Name: Jebediah Oswald Emerson or Joe
Description: A large muscular man. Sports blonde hair, blue eyes, and a scraggly beard on his weathered face. His hair is long and unkempt from years of cutting it himself and his body tanned from his time outdoors. Boasts several scars from animals he fought and hunted in the Outback.
List of Accomplishments:

Spoiler :

Age 1: Celebrated his first of many birthdays.
Age 3: Got a pet dog.
Age 6: Became a scout.
Age 8: Led his scout troup when they got lost for a week.
Age 14: Wrestled a croc for the first time.
Age 15: After the death of his first dog, Joe, died, got a second by the name of Buffalo.
Age 17: Spent the school dance camping.
Age 25: Reluctantly married the lovely Alexandra when she asked.
Age 27: Buffalo died.
Age 28: Divorced Alexandra.
Age 28: Picked up smoking.
Age 29: Began living in a cabin the middle of the Australian Outback. Mostly providing for himself, he only returned to the nearest town to buy cigarettes and jugs of water.
Age 35: Rescued an agent by the name of Richard Fitzintite who got wounded on a mission.
Age 35: Assisted Richard on a number of missions while they were in the Australian Outback.
Age 35: Wrestled pit of crocs while his companion and tied them into a ladder to allow Richard to climb out.
Age 36: Became a member of the Agency.
Age 38: Assigned to Team 13.

Level: 3
XP: 2100
HP: 50

Stats:
STR: 6
DEX: 6
CON: 10
INT: 3
WIS: 7
CHA: 10
AIM: 7

Skills:
Hacking: -2
Medical: 2
Charisma: 5
Demolitions: -2
Analysis: 2
Perception: 4
Tumble: 1
Agility: 1
Leadership: 10
Athletic: 2
Stealth: 1
Fortitude: 6

Feats:
Tough As Nails
Vigilant Officer
Skill Boost (Leadership)
CQE Training

Inventory:
Handgun

 

[Dem Taqat]

Name: Elias Blanc
Description: In Disguise. Because they're watching, they're always watching. You know that, why else are you wondering if you aren't one of them?
Bio: Growing up in the EU, Elias and his siblings led relatively simple early lives, before scattering out across the globe to attend higher education. Upon returning to Europe, Elias was shocked to discover his sister Luna had embraced the conspiracies that they had once laughed off as superstitious nonsense, and set out to prove her wrong in her beliefs. This path took him into contact with DARE, a group of similarly-persuaded theorists out to obtain documentation of The Agency's existence, and presumably use it for their own nefarious purposes. Elias soon found himself in too deep amongst their ranks, and was picked up by The Agency attempting to break into DGSI headquarters in Paris disguised as a postman delivering a sealed parcel.

The fact that such a laughably incompetent scheme was able to breach two layers of security before The Agency intervened shocked and horrified the agents on the scene, and once it became apparent that Elias was amenable to recruitment an offer was quickly extended. Using his 'insider knowledge' of DARE, Team Twenty-Seven was able to feed them a number of false leads, operations during which Elias ridiculous abilities were reported further up The Agency's chain of command. When the time came to quickly scrape together a new team to deal with the loss of Team Nine, with his knowledge of DARE increasingly outdated and being already off-assignment in the staging area, Elias found himself transferred into the new team on short notice as a stopgap measure.

Level: 4
XP: 3550
HP: 33

Stats:
STR: 5
DEX: 10
CON: 4
INT: 5
WIS: 8
CHA: 10
AIM: 7

Skills:
Hacking: 0
Medical: 5
Charisma: 7
Demolitions: 2
Analysis: 3
Perception: 6
Tumble: 5
Agility: 5
Leadership: 7
Athletic: 0
Stealth: 7
Fortitude: -1

Feats:
Range Training
Bedside Manner
Vigilant Officer
From the Inside

Inventory:
Disguise Kit
Handgun
Multiple False ID's

DT

 

[arya126]

Hello.

Will missions always be scheduled for Thursday 5 PM?

 

[Lighthearter]

Yes. I can theoretically sometimes run weekend missions but Thursday is the regular time. Good to see you again

 

[arya126]

Name: Eli Shamron
Description: Average height, gray hair and trimmed beard, tan face. Narrow profile, skinny with the appearance of wiry muscles. Early sixties, age not publicly known.
Bio: Grew up without a father because of the six days war. Immediately joined the army from high school. Quickly rose through the ranks of army intelligence despite his frail frame. Was recruited by Mossad and they financed his return to school to study intelligence related subjects. He went on to complete dissertations in asymmetrical warfare as well as psychology while also working full time for Mossad. Around the completion of his second dissertation he became truly sick. Despite the best efforts of Israeli physicians Shamron was well on the road to death. However an experimental cure involving nano medicine was used at a secret Mossad base in the desert, which temporarily cured Shamron. However it is closer to being in remission than "cured". Soon after his recovery he was recruited by the agency.
Level: 1
XP: 0
HP: 10
Stats:
-STR: 1
-DEX: 7
-CON: 1
-INT: 10
-WIS: 10
-CHA: 10
-AIM: 10
Skills:
Hacking: 5
Medical: 5 (7)
Charisma: 5 (10)
Demolitions: 5
Analysis: 5
Perception: 5
Tumble: 2
Agility: 2
Leadership: 5
Athletic: -4
Stealth: 2
Fortitude: -4
Feats:
Bedside Manner: +2 Each to Medical and Charisma
Skill Boost: +3 to Charisma
Crazy Prepared: Gain three gadgets, pending GM approval. May be taken twice.


Inventory:
Handgun
Smokes
Fancy Lighter

 

[Lighthearter]

Mission One: Team Thirteen
​

+650XP

Team Thirteen formed in the aftermath of Team Nine's elimination, and was quickly briefed on what little is known about SCARAB. They also met Agent Shipley, the one survivor of Team Nine, who seems like a...charming individual.

After being formed, the team was dispatched to raid a gala in Naples and recover a socialite by the name of Zetta who is also a known SCARAB operative. The violent approach was eventually selected of the options available, and Elias led her off into a darkened room where the rest of the team was waiting for her and her guards. A vicious brawl ensued, and half of her guards were eliminated while the others were knocked unconscious. Zetta herself, and her personal assistant Penelope, were both taken to the jet, and then off to HQ. In the aftermath, Richard examined some documents found on Penelope and discovered the location of a SCARAB command facility in Malaysia where the product of the bioweapons lab in Australia was being shipped.

Time for a house call.

**INCOMING TRANSMISSION**
**SOURCE: HEADQUARTERS**

Zetta is proving most uncooperative to interrogation. However, it appears that Penelope is also a SCARAB agent, specifically one from the labs department. We're still working to verify some of her claims before we can fully trust her information, but she might well turn out to be a gold mine of intelligence before all's said and done.

It is of the utmost importance that we crush SCARAB quickly. If this base in Malaysia is the centre of their operations, I want to find out and I want the place levelled. I leave it to you to weigh your chances in a head-on assault versus a quiet infiltration, but we need information and we need to set the enemy back.

Good luck, Team Thirteen.

~Director Haplis

**THIS MESSAGE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT**
**HAVE A NICE DAY**

**SCARAB Agents Database Entry updated: Support Capabilities**
Next mission Thursday, July 6th, at 5PM EST.

 

[Kinich-Ahau]

I will either have to drop out of begin leaving late.

 

[Lighthearter]

We'd love to have you stay, and I'm willing to work with anything scheduling-wise. Come an you can, or not, or we can talk about what I can do to make it easier...let me know what you want.

 

[Lighthearter]

Mission Two: The Deep End
​

Operating on information gained from the gala raid last week, the team launched an assault on a SCARAB command facility in Malaysia. The information gleaned was hardly appetizing: SCARAB is more organized and dangerous than thought, and they have created a chimera virus bio-weapon drawing on smallpox and many other diseases. Though Team Thirteen successfully eliminated the facility, it is likely that this is one of many, and the true war against SCARAB has but begun.

In response to the escalation in SCARAB's threat level, the Director has decided to expand Team Thirteen. She has provided a list of five candidates for consideration:

Spoiler :

Jessie:

Spoiler :

Jessie Bane, May 2017​

Jessica Rivers Bane(3/13/1998) is the daughter - and only child - of John Bane himself, the legendary agent who defined the Agency during the latter half of the Cold War. Jessie was raised on her mother's stories of her distant father's heroics, and that combined with his globetrotting lifestyle - leaving her and her mother on their own for months at a time in Sheffield while he met with his old friends and built a private sector empire in the wake of his service - led her to develop a keen need for his approval. She joined the Agency eagerly, literally the day she turned eighteen: one of the few occasions her father made sure he was present for. When she was admitted as a Trainee Agent, he gave her two things: his old watch, and an injunction to "not do anything stupid." Jessie considers this more of a guideline than a rule, especially if "doing something stupid" could well lead her to living up to her father's name and earning a sign of his pride.

Jessie is a fresh-faced new agent, and as such is less experienced and skilled than most. However, her father's blood runs in her, and he was the greatest agent to ever live in his time. Given hers, Jessie might well match or even eclipse any other agent you could ask for.

Penny:

Spoiler :

Penny Paxton, July 2017​

Penelope Garcia Paxton(7/18/1988) was born the second child of a Mexican mother and an American father, and the former won custody by virtue of being deported when Penny's father moved on to another woman. Penny grew up in Chihuahua with her mother and big sister looking after her, until their mother's death and the two girls' efforts to uplift themselves. While Carol slowly became involved with cartels and other things she probably shouldn't have in the interest of supporting her little sister, Penelope educated herself, in the hard-fought old-fashioned way, until she caught the attention of a professor in Mexico City. This man took her under his wing, and eventually he introduced both Paxton girls to associates of his in an underground group that promised them education, affluence, and status, as well as the chance to change the world for the better. Neither could resist. Recently, Penny's been having second thoughts about working for SCARAB, and being captured in Naples gave her the push she needed to formally defect. At least...that's what she claims...

Penny is a trained surgeon and scientist, capable of immense feats of analysis and medicine. She's also intimately familiar with SCARAB, a potentially invaluable boon. However, she has no self-defense skills, and it's always possible that her defection is really a cover for another SCARAB operation...be careful.

Pax:

Spoiler :

Pax O'Conner, January 2014​

The man, the myth, the legend. Pax O'Conner was one of John Bane's contemporaries, and in fact a personal friend of his. The Irish Hellion retired at the turn of the millennium, but you try telling a lifelong saboteur and spy to spend the rest of his days drinking and watching YouTube videos. When he heard about the loss of Team Nine, Pax fairly well demanded to come back for one last hurrah. While no one quite believes he's entirely operating out of altruism - Pax has always had a habit of combining the personal with the professional - his support would certainly be of great benefit to any operation that intends to raze SCARAB facilities or get "stuck in" with enemy agents in close quarters. Just don't expect him to make friends: he's lost six Teams around him. Why should he bother getting invested in any of you, when you'll most likely be dead in days?

While Pax has inordinate capabilities at Selection due to his lifetime of service and experience, he is old and set in his ways, and newer agents rising through the ranks will all surpass him by the time they reach the peak of their careers.

Beckett:

Spoiler :

Beckett Riley, December 2016​

Beckett Riley(10/31/1997) has very few records to examine. Most appear to have been edited by a very talented computer mind, and Beckett is nothing if not the above. What information can be pieced together paints the picture of a young man born to wealthy parents who never had time for his needs, who took to the internet as an escape route and discovered a gift for its intricacies that at first landed him excellent grades, victory in a fighting game tournament, and a good job working for a tech firm...and just as quickly landed him in a prison cell, when he used his skills on a lark to hack a government organization that didn't take kindly to being hacked. Unfortunately, even though Agency security is top of the line, Beckett was able to breach it and learn of our existence before he was caught and stopped, and we shortly had to pull him from prison in San Francisco to prevent information from spilling. In the interest of rehabilitation and putting those talents to work for good, we offered him a deal: Beckett works for us, and we don't put him in a prison so secret the President of the United States doesn't know about it. Beckett was thrilled to accept our generous offer, by which we mean he is certainly plotting his escape at this very moment.

Beckett is a hacker extraordinaire, whose knowledge of technology and computer systems is unrivaled. He's also a fair enough hand with a sidearm, even if we don't trust him enough to give him his own. Whereas it's a question of when he will attempt to escape, rather than if, it's possible his internet contacts and tech skills will make up for his constant sarcastic witticisms and insults.

Beau:

Spoiler :

Beau LeBlanc, October 2015​

Beau LeBlanc(8/16/1991) was born to a diplomat mother and a special forces father in Marseilles, and both had a vested interest in a small African country struggling with internal strife. While his mother worked the diplomatic angle, Beau got to experience up-close some of his father's activities as a freelance security contractor. Having seen the results of military solutions to social problems first-hand, Beau grew closer to his mother and her outlook: that the problems of the world could only be solved by sweet reason and diplomacy. It didn't hurt that he inherited her silver tongue and gift for smooth-talking even the sternest of comers. We'd love to say we found him, but it's rather the other way around: after Beau impressed SCARAB enough that they recruited his services as a recruiter and negotiator, he located Agent Griswold and enlisted as a double agent. Recently, he was dispatched to spy on the Agency by his handlers, making him a triple agent...but who knows if that's as far as the back-and-forth really goes?

Beau is a cunning negotiator, excellent at bluffing and charming, and fluent in a truly gobsmacking number of languages. However, he has no combat skills whatsoever, and in fact finds combat utterly distasteful, believing the peaceful solution is always superior. His contacts in SCARAB and the Agency world alike mean he's surprisingly useful as an intel-collector, but it also makes him very recognizable to the other side, and there's a chance that his loyalties are even murkier than they appear.

During the first RP Interlude, you'll get the chance to meet them all and interact with them, judge them, and even set them to tests of your own design. You may only choose three of the available Companions, so consider wisely.

Missy, Elias, Pierce and Richard gain 650XP, and are now at 1300 and Level Two. They gain +5HP and +1 Skill Point to be assigned as they see fit.

The Selection Interlude will take place tonight at 5PM EST, barring major scheduling conflicts. I apologize for not getting this up earlier, but my week's been consumed with wedding prep. I hope to see you all there.

Database Entry Updated: SCARAB Support

 

[Lighthearter]

Interlude One: Selection
​

The team spent most of a day meeting with all five potential candidates for Team Thirteen. After some back-and-forth, three candidates were eventually settled upon: Penny, Pax, and Jessie.

It's time to assign these Companions their initial level-ups.

Jessie:

Spoiler :

Jessie Bane, May 2017​

Jessica Rivers Bane(3/13/1998) is the daughter - and only child - of John Bane himself, the legendary agent who defined the Agency during the latter half of the Cold War. Jessie was raised on her mother's stories of her distant father's heroics, and that combined with his globetrotting lifestyle - leaving her and her mother on their own for months at a time in Sheffield while he met with his old friends and built a private sector empire in the wake of his service - led her to develop a keen need for his approval. She joined the Agency eagerly, literally the day she turned eighteen: one of the few occasions her father made sure he was present for. When she was admitted as a Trainee Agent, he gave her two things: his old watch, and an injunction to "not do anything stupid." Jessie considers this more of a guideline than a rule, especially if "doing something stupid" could well lead her to living up to her father's name and earning a sign of his pride.

Jessie is a fresh-faced new agent, and as such is less experienced and skilled than most. However, her father's blood runs in her, and he was the greatest agent to ever live in his time. Given hers, Jessie might well match or even eclipse any other agent you could ask for.

Ability: In The Blood - Jessie starts with lower stats than other Companions, cannot score critical hits, and is more likely to score critical failures(1-3, 19). However, she is more customizable at game start, and instead of gaining +1 Feat, +1 Stat Point and +1 Skill Point when she levels up, Jessie gains +2 Stat Points, +3 Skill Points, +1 Feat when reaching Level Two(and can crit and her crit fail modifier is reduced[1, 19]), and +2 Stat Points, +1 Skill Point, +2 Feats when reaching Level Three(and now has no crit fail modifier and can take a guaranteed success on any action that is not an attack.).

Spoiler :

Name: Jessica Rivers Bane
Companion Level: 1
HP: 21
Stats:
-STR: 6/+1
-DEX: 6/+1
-CON: 6/+1
-INT: 6/+1
-WIS: 6/+1
-CHA: 6/+1
-AIM: 6/+1
Melee: Attack+4/Defense+4/Damage+4
Ranged: Attack+1/Defense+1/Damage+1
Skills:
Hacking: +1
Medical: +1
Charisma: +1
Demolitions: +1
Analysis: +1
Perception: +1
Tumble: +1
Agility: +1
Leadership: +1
Athletic: +1
Stealth: +1
Fortitude: +1
Feats:
CQE Training
Inventory:
Handgun
John Bane's Watch

Pax:

Spoiler :

Pax O'Conner, January 2014​

The man, the myth, the legend. Pax O'Conner was one of John Bane's contemporaries, and in fact a personal friend of his. The Irish Hellion retired at the turn of the millennium, but you try telling a lifelong saboteur and spy to spend the rest of his days drinking and watching YouTube videos. When he heard about the loss of Team Nine, Pax fairly well demanded to come back for one last hurrah. While no one quite believes he's entirely operating out of altruism - Pax has always had a habit of combining the personal with the professional - his support would certainly be of great benefit to any operation that intends to raze SCARAB facilities or get "stuck in" with enemy agents in close quarters. Just don't expect him to make friends: he's lost six Teams around him. Why should he bother getting invested in any of you, when you'll most likely be dead in days?

While Pax has inordinate capabilities at Selection due to his lifetime of service and experience, he is old and set in his ways, and newer agents rising through the ranks will all surpass him by the time they reach the peak of their careers.

Ability: Sneak Attack - Pax is guaranteed a critical hit when launching a melee attack from stealth.
Trait: Old Veteran - Pax is old and set in his ways. He only gains an HP increase from his first level up, and reaching Level Three only provides +1 Stat Point and +1 Skill Point, rather than a full level up. He also cannot be customized at game start.

Spoiler :

Name: Pax O'Conner
Companion Level: 1
HP: 24
Stats:
-STR: 10/+5
-DEX: 10/+5
-CON: 9/+4
-INT: 10/+5
-WIS: 4/-1
-CHA: 3/-2
-AIM: 4/-1
Melee: Attack+8/Defense+7/Damage+8
Ranged: Attack-1/Defense+5/Damage-1
Skills:
Hacking: +5
Medical: -1
Charisma: -2
Demolitions: +10
Analysis: -1
Perception: -1
Tumble: +5
Agility: +5
Leadership: -2
Athletic: +5
Stealth: +10
Fortitude: +4
Feats:
CQE Training
Skill Boost: Stealth
Skill Boost: Demolitions
From The Inside
Inventory:
Handgun
Knife
Training Manual(with pictures of former students)

Penny:

Spoiler :

Penny Paxton, July 2017​

Penelope Garcia Paxton(7/18/1988) was born the second child of a Mexican mother and an American father, and the former won custody by virtue of being deported when Penny's father moved on to another woman. Penny grew up in Chihuahua with her mother and big sister looking after her, until their mother's death and the two girls' efforts to uplift themselves. While Carol slowly became involved with cartels and other things she probably shouldn't have in the interest of supporting her little sister, Penelope educated herself, in the hard-fought old-fashioned way, until she caught the attention of a professor in Mexico City. This man took her under his wing, and eventually he introduced both Paxton girls to associates of his in an underground group that promised them education, affluence, and status, as well as the chance to change the world for the better. Neither could resist. Recently, Penny's been having second thoughts about working for SCARAB, and being captured in Naples gave her the push she needed to formally defect. At least...that's what she claims...

Penny is a trained surgeon and scientist, capable of immense feats of analysis and medicine. She's also intimately familiar with SCARAB, a potentially invaluable boon. However, she has no self-defense skills, and it's always possible that her defection is really a cover for another SCARAB operation...be careful.

Ability: Intimate Knowledge - Penny's familiarity with SCARAB provides her a passive +50% bonus when attempting to deceive SCARAB personnel or technology. With leveling, she can provide this bonus to her allies on a per-mission basis.

Spoiler :

Name:
Companion Level: 1
HP: 20
Stats:
-STR: 5/+0
-DEX: 5/+0
-CON: 5/+0
-INT: 10/+5
-WIS: 10/+5
-CHA: 7/+2
-AIM: 3/-2
Melee: Attack+0/Defense+0/Damage+0
Ranged: Attack-2/Defense+5/Damage+5
Skills:
Hacking: +5
Medical: +10
Charisma: +4
Demolitions: +5
Analysis: +5
Perception: -2
Tumble: +0
Agility: +0
Leadership: +2
Athletic: +0
Stealth: +0
Fortitude: +0
Feats:
Bedside Manner
Skill Boost: Medical
Inventory:
Medical Supplies
Locket

Now that they have been Selected, it's time for the team to vote on their initial training.

Shipley has: 2 Stat Points, 1 Feat.
Jessie has: 3 Stat Points, 1 Feat, 1 "Skill Boost" Feat.
Penny has: 2 Stat Points, 1 Feat.
Pax cannot be customized at game start.

Please input your votes on how to customize over the week. Again, since Thursday is my wedding night, we will not be running then, and instead I will plan on running next Sunday(July 16) at 5PM EST. The present players last night voted that we should undertake first Jessie's first mission(Stakeout) and then Penny's(Conflict of Interest). After the requisite plot mission that follows, the next choice will be in which order to play Shipley's and Pax's first missions, before we can move to the second missions.

All four Companions are available for RP at any time, but when performing a mission, you must choose two to take with you. When performing a mission from one Companion's chain, you must take that Companion, however for main plot missions you are free to mix whatever pair you would like. All Companions have multiple endings for their subplots, so be careful in how you interact with them depending on what you want them to get out of things.

I'll see you Sunday for Stakeout.

 

[Dem Taqat]

Good Job on not needing to be yelled at LH! Additional Note: Both Gym Rat and Rough and Ready boost Athletics, and I'm pretty sure one of those is meant to be Agility. And as a random question: can we give NPCs the feats unlocked by other companions missions?

Now In no particular order, let me go over my thoughts on statting our companions. Penny is fairly simple, as her combat capacities are non-existent, and she has one stat that can boost four different support abilities. We give her +2 INT and Forensic Mind, putting her at +9 in Analysis and Hacking, and +12 in Medical, as well as being decent at Demolitions. Boosting her Analysis is the most important thing here to my mind, since none of the rest of our team specialise in this skill much. We should also boost her Charisma in the next upgrade, as it is already halfway-decent and benefits from her special ability, but this is a secondary priority to her INT-based skills.

Shipley is slightly more complicated, but her build priority seems just as clear: our ranged specialist. She has decent secondary melee capacity, but we already have two specialists there, and none of us really stand out in ranged combat other than her. Hence, we boost her AIM and/or WIS (I can see an argument for +2WIS to get damage now and adding AIM as we reach more difficult to hit foes), and spend her feat on Training Montage to boost those stats further. Alternately, we could throw her feat at skill boost to give her secondary capacity in a non-combat skill, but none of those jump out at me much. To make anything other than her +3 skills (Hacking, Medical, Demolition, Perception, Analysis) viable would require multiple feats or otherwise-wasted stat points, and I don't feel she would get enough out of these skills to be worth the investment. Its a potentially workable option though, if we want to make her more than a blunt instrument.

Then we get Jessie. Our blank slate. We're pretty much building her template from scratch, so we might have a lot to talk about here. In general principles, I think we can probably give her 2-4 skills (depending on which they are) and still keep her with decent secondary melee capacities. With both Missy and Pax available, we probably don't need her specialised in that way, and the only feats we can spend on boosting that are Montages anyway, which aren't of great value. I'll start with stats: STR, DEX, and CON for this level, since I'm not quite happy with her current combat levels, and we have other ways to boost her skills. As to what skills we give her: I'd like to give her Stealth or Charisma so we have 2 companions who can do quiet missions in some form, which would make Demolitions or Medical logical expansions considering those are boosted by the same feat respectively. And I mean, more medics; what's not to like? I am fairly sure if we go one of those routes we can benefit from giving her Pax/Penny's unlocked feat, but that is obviously rules dependant. The other general build that tempts me is going a pure physical build and boosting agility/fortitude/tumble/athletics, and putting her on teams that deal with those kind of obstacles. Or we could go minimal on skills and instead pack her full of gadgets; the possibilities are endless! We should also be aware that we will be giving her another level next week, so planning that out now is a good idea if we can agree on a build.

But Brass Tacks time. My suggestion is ultimately that we give her Bedside Manner and Skill Boost Charisma now, and use her next level to get +2 INT,and 2 skill points in Medical with 1 in Charisma to get those both to +7. Finally we throw her feat at either Forensic Mind, a demo boost, or gadgets if we have good ideas for those. Admittedly these are all skills we already have somewhere, but unlike the others, Jessie doesn't have a clear hole in our roster to fill.

Well, writing that took me longer than I expected, and I'm hungry enough to say 'screw proof reading', so there are probably some mistakes. Still, let me know what you think.

DT
Typing Unnecessarily

 

[Lighthearter]

Rough and Ready/Gym Rat fixed. Gym Rat boosts Agility. Yes, you can give Companions the Feats unlocked by other Companions' missions, but again only if their stats hit the minimum requirements. Since Companions do not level up like PCs, the requirement for giving Shipley/Pax/Penny In The Blood would be max-level.

 

[Kinich-Ahau]

I would like to point out that unless LH has made rule changes that were not written down in the thread, medical is reliant on WIS, not INT; boosting Penny's INT would not do anything to increase her medical score. We can boost her INT skills & make her a skill generalist, or we can make her a better medic. We can't do both.

Totally agree with DT re: Shipley.

I'm fine with boosting STR, DEX, & CON for Jesse, but I would prefer we outfit her with gadgets and boost one of stealth, athletic, or fortitude. We have more than enough medics, and unless we split the party or a character deliberately screws things up, we really only need 1 Charisma guy to get through things. We might as well have taken Beau if we're going to turn Jesse into a charisma girl. As for gadgets, I have a number of ideas. These can of course be tweaked, and items not on the list could be chosen, but I feel these are good starting points:

• Some sort of buffing gadget: Medical doesn't let us buff teammates. So a gadget that buffs either a stat or- more likely- a skill, either for one character or the whole party, would be useful, especially if, like the photoglobe, it allows characters who wouldn't normally be able to perform a skill or assist in some plan to do so.
• A stat or skill 'borrowing' gadget: I am reminded of the old villain AC where I came up with a feat that let me borrow stats in exchange for crits. A watered-down, crit-less version of that could be very interesting. Jesse is close to a hacking target that Pierce can't get to? She uses the gadget and 'borrows' his hacking for a while. Medics all busy or out of commission and the team is dying? Jesse can 'borrow' my Medical and save the day. Need more explosives? She can 'borrow' demolitions from Pax or Elias. Etc, etc, etc.
• Some generic mobility enhancing gadget, like the jetboots. Perhaps something that lets her squeeze through tight spaces, move without penalty through harsh terrain, walk on walls or something. Lots of possibilities here.
• A really interesting idea could be a gadget that resets once per mission feats or gadgets. Need another Deadeye from Shipley? No problem, Jesse has it covered. Want to infiltrate some place without shooting or charismaing out way in or out? Easy as pie, I can photoglobe us in, Jesse resets it when I'm done, and then I photoglobe us out. This gadget would obviously be most useful if lots of team members are going to take the special once-per-mission feats.

 

[Patchy]

They gain +5HP and +1 Skill Point to be assigned as they see fit.

Placed Skill Point into perception bringing it up to 6.

As for everything else, lets just say I agree with DT with one exception: Penny needs +2 WIS for maxed healing skill. Getting Forensic Mind is fine though.

 

[Celticfury]

I agree with DT regarding Penny and Shipley, save for the obvious fact that Penny's WIS should be boosted by 2. With Jessie, boosting STR, CON, and DEX seems in order, though I think boosting Stealth might be in order. As for her feat, I really don't know, some of kinich's ideas sound interesting, but skill boosts could work as well.

As for my own leveling, I will boost my Hacking to 11.