[Genres]

          Crime and Espionage

The crime and espionage setting is a specific section of the modern genre. A crime and espionage game enjoys many of the same benefits and has some of the same challenges that other modern games face. On the plus side, players can easily understand the context. They know what the internet is, the utility of a smartphone, what they can expect from law enforcement, and much more. This familiarity allows players to get into character more easily, in some ways. For the same reason, the GM has it easier-unless players and GMs let themselves get bogged down in checking facts, because everyone knows that information about how long it takes authorities to arrive after 911 is called is out there, just one more internet search away. Verisimilitude is key.

The particular subgenre of crime and espionage is one where most if not all the PCs are involved in some capacity with law enforcement, crime forensics, espionage, and (or) international spying. This means that for most players, personal familiarity fails to bridge this gap. That is unless you're talking entertainment, which is replete with examples.

CREATING A CRIME AND ESPIONAGE SETTING

Since you're placing your crime and espionage game in the real world the only worldbuilding you need to do is to come up with-or elaborate on–the particular special agencies that will feature in your game.

Thus, if you're creating a game where PCs will be solving a series of potentially connected crimes, maybe you want them to be detectives, forensic specialists, and consultants associated with a particular police precinct. Alternatively, the PCs might be associated with an institute that is made up entirely of specialized consultants. On the other hand, maybe the PCs might own a detective agency.

Alternatively, if you want an espionage game, and spies are in the mix, the infiltrating characters might be agents of a special department of a national government intelligence agency such as the FBI, FSB, CIA, DIA, NSA. Of course, remember that not all spying is sponsored by nation states. A lot of it is corporate spying, too, and many semi-secret organizations exist that sell their services to said corporate organizations.

As important as it is to determine the nature of the game you want and the agency or organization that your player characters will be part of, it's even more important to determine the central mystery or crime-or series of related mysteries and crimes-that will occupy your PC detectives, consultants, and spies. There are a few ways you can go, and they're not mutually exclusive.

As is popular on many crime drama shows, such as Bones, Law & Order, Castle, and Person of Interest, you could provide a series of crimes that the PCs must investigate and solve over the course of just two or three game sessions. However, some aspect of at least one of these crimes might be tied to an overarching story arc that reveals itself a little at a time over the course of several adventures. A criminal mastermind, like Sherlock's Moriarty, or True Detective's Yellow King. The campaign arc finale is likely one where the PCs finally discover their true nemesis, and hopefully bring that person or organization to justice.

If you're creating an espionage game, watch shows like Leverage, Burn Notice, Alias, and Blacklist. Lots of great movies come to mind, too. Too many to list, but consider many shows from the James Bond franchise, the Mission Impossible movies (and older shows), the Jason Bourne movies, the recent Man from U.N.C.L.E. (and older shows), and so on.

There's quite a bit of crossover when it comes to the kinds of individual games and connected campaign arcs. You might want to mix it up a bit by having one of the central game plots revolve around the PCs secretly having been double agents in their past, having the agency the PCs work for disavow them right in the middle of their mission, or have a war start that no one saw coming, complete with a deadly explosion. Maybe a nuclear explosion, if you're feeling

RUNNING A CRIME AND ESPIONAGE SETTING

One way to start a crime or espionage game is with a bang: introduce the PC investigators or spies to the problem immediately.

In a crime game, that probably means going to the scene of the crime, sometimes even a murder. Depending on the weapon used in a murder, the body itself becomes a clue. Gunshot wounds are easy-someone used a gun. But what about a body found with no blood? A corpse with crushed bones? A cadaver covered in mold? One with no skin? In addition to being shocking, figuring out the cause of death puts the PCs on their first steps toward solving the crime. Of course, the body may have been moved or damaged after death to hide the actual method of killing, but that's something for the PCs to discover with additional In an espionage game, PCs might get a mission briefing from their handler or patron to get things rolling. Mission briefings tend to be slightly more useful than visiting a fresh crime scene, because some lower level investigators have presumably already compiled a list of clues, motives, photos of intended targets of assassination, and so on, and put all that in the briefing. The job of a PC spy is to follow up on the information provided, take out the enemy intelligence agent, and do so while retaining their cover.

In both cases, PCs should expect red PCs either try to figure out who did the crime or stop the enemy secret mission before it can succeed. But smart criminals and clever spies try to throw off investigators and counterintelligence. As the GM, it's up to you to figure out what the criminals and spies do to accomplish that goal. They may actively set up a distraction, try to plant evidence on an otherwise innocent bystander, or just rely on the typical red herrings that often occur when investigators with imperfect knowledge try to piece together clues.

Crafting a good red herring involves making sure there is some truth to the evidence of something being not quite right with an innocent so that PCs feel like they're on the right track. For instance, the dead body may be known for sleeping around. If it turns out the spouse has no alibi for the time of the murder, motive and opportunity are established. The spouse's obvious desire to not provide an alibi is the red herring. But further investigation shows that the spouse was up to something else slightly illegal or at least embarrassing (perhaps they were also involved in an out-of-wedlock coupling), and they just didn't want to say.

Creating a good red herring-especially in a game centered around solving crime- requires that an innocent NPC has a strong motive making them a good suspect as the murderer or the enemy spy. Simultaneously, make sure the PCs have the opportunity to meet another NPC who seems completely innocent because there's no apparent motive, opportunity, or other immediately obvious connection. But tiny clues here and there should eventually point to this NPC being the true person of interest, allowing the PCs to make the collar.

INTERVIEWING SUSPECTS/INFORMANTS

Either the PCs themselves identify a set of suspects, or they are given a likely set of suspects or informants in a mission briefing. For a game, you probably don't want to include more than three or at most four, since time is limited. Coming up with details of manner, personality, and interest for the suspects is your job, and you might find that easy enough. But to help you along your way, you can roll on the above table to quickly generate an NPC the PCs want to question. One of the suspects or informants the PCs end up talking to might be someone that helps them break the case or is the actual villain or at least the link that points the PCs to who they need to talk with next.

SUSPECT/INFORMANT TRAITS

1	Nervous tic. Pick one: Drums fingers, bites nails, cheek twitch, stammers, abdominal tensing, throat clearing.
2	Obsequious. Overly polite, rushes to comply with every request.
3	Crude. In language and metaphor, this person is crude, maybe on purpose, maybe naturally.
4	Perfectly polite. Seems like a normal, well-rounded person.
5	Dressed to the nines. This person looks amazing in their fashionable clothing and perfect haircut.
6	Arrogant. Can’t believe the PCs would suspect them. “Do you know who I am?” No time to waste.
7	Dead inside. No apparent empathy for the victim of the crime or consequences of others’ bad actions.
8	Gossips constantly. At first it seems like this person might have more leads, but nope. They’re a gossip.
9	Holier-than-thou. Asks PCs if they’ve accepted the savior, doesn’t trust PCs that don’t share faith.
10	Curious. Constant questions about what else the PCs know related to the topic.
11	Careful. Thinks about answers, talks in measured tones, seems careful not to say too much.
12	Fatalistic. What’s any of it matter? Seems fed up with life and permanently broken.
13	Fixated. Obsessed with some unrelated activity or hobby. Possibly fixated on conspiracy theories.
14	Guilty, but of something else. This person was involved in some previous illegal activity that no one ever found out about, but one unrelated to any the PCs may be investigating. Pick one: bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, insider trading, robbery, assault, spousal abuse, murder.
15	Greedy. Might be willing to talk, but only for some kind of consideration, financial in nature.
16	Celebrity, minor. Pick one: YouTube personality, mid-list novel author, d-list comedian/actor, game designer.
17	Overly skeptical. Not willing to believe what the PCs are telling them without overwhelming evidence, if then.
18	Detached, possibly high. Just kind of drifting through the interview, and life. Drugs possibly involved.
19	Dying. In chemotherapy, indicates (if asked) that doctors give them only two months to live.
20	Slow. Just not that bright, needs things spelled out, might not get it even then.

CAMPAIGN ARC

While a crime game may include one or two short mysteries to clear up, and a spy game some relatively quick intelligence gathering runs to conclude, keep in mind the larger story, or campaign arc. And even if the PCs manage to jail a criminal mastermind or catch the master spy, that criminal could be out on bail in a few months or traded to a foreign power in return for spies being held there. Juan Escobar may have been captured, but he might be back on the streets or working as a double agent again sooner than the PCs realize. Here are some other tips to consider.

Detective and spy PCs run the risk of becoming entirely reactive. They wait for criminals to do something and then try to stop them. Indeed, the genre is set up that way; it's self-reinforcing. So, if you can occasionally find ways for the heroes to take actions that are more proactive, that's a nice change of pace. Maybe introduce elements to the game that are not entirely crime or spy-related, like personal business that must be dealt with, or opportunities to create their own department, agency, or organization.

TRADECRAFT

"Tradecraft" came to be a term associated with working as a spy during World War II. However, that association was cemented during the Cold War. Tradecraft includes several skills such as deception, infiltration, the ability to maintain a false cover identity, skills in ferreting information out of files or computer networks, and methods of hiding one's intrusion after the fact. Sometimes detectives (whether working for the police, or as private investigators) must also employ tradecraft when trying to solve cases.

Of course, it wouldn't be necessary to go to such lengths if criminals and enemy operatives weren't constantly working against characters trying to accomplish their goals. During the investigation, PCs face many challenges, such as those described in the Tradecraft Challenge Table. Use it when you need inspiration. Most of the elements noted on the table should be presented as GM Intrusions.

d20	Challenge
1	Poisoned (level 4): Inflicts 3 points of Speed damage for four rounds on a failed Might defense task.
2	Polonium poisoning (level 6): Inflicts 5 points of Speed damage for six rounds on a failed Might defense task.
3	Double agent: An NPC ally has been turned by an enemy criminal or foreign organization.
4	Interoffice politics: Someone who seems unfit for the position replaces the PC’s handler.
5	Falsely accused: The characters are brought in for questioning; a serious offense was leveled against them.
6	Equipment failure: The radio, vehicle, microphone, GPS tracker, or other piece of equipment important to the mission fails and requires repair or replacement.
7	Cover questioned: The character’s cover identity comes into doubt, and hard questions must be answered to assure those asking that the PCs are who they pretend to be.
8	Media exposure: The character is photographed or shown in a video that gets wide distribution, risking their investigation should anyone recognize them.
9	Hit squad: An elite team of former military soldiers turned mercenaries is hired to eliminate the characters.
10	Unexploded ordnance (level 5): Explosive inflicts 5 points of damage to everyone within short range.
11	Secret agent: An enemy secret agent tracks down the PCs and tries to subvert their goals.
12	Random police stop: The local police force doing sobriety checks randomly selects the PCs (if they’re driving) for questions. If characters are not driving, the police patrol encounters them accidentally.
13	Network compromised (level 6): An enemy hacker has broken into a PC’s encrypted network and is in the process of learning their secrets. Do the characters odd realize it?
14	Forged papers: A forged arrest warrant threatens to put the PCs on ice unless they can prove they did no wrong (at least, not in this case).
15	Witness attacked: A witness, informant, or other NPC with valuable information is brutally attacked, and winds up either dead or severely hurt and in a coma.
16	Serial killer: An NPC who the characters interact with in some capacity is secretly a psychotic killer, but is also a master at keeping their homicidal activities secret, odd as they begin to taunt the PCs via anonymous texts, emails, and social media posts.
17	Cover blown: The PC’s cover story is blown, and there’s nothing for it but to deal with the aftermath.
18	In the wind: A suspect the PCs were investigating becomes aware of the surveillance and goes to ground.
19	Body part found: Either the PCs find the body part of an NPC they were hoping to question, or authorities find a body part the PCs attempted to dispose of.
20	Captured: The criminal gang or enemy operatives ambush the PCs at their base using sleep gas (level 6) and other tricks, hoping to knock them out and bring them to the enemy headquarters for questioning.

SUGGESTED TYPES FOR A CRIME AND ESPIONAGE GAME

SUGGESTED FOCI FOR A CRIME AND ESPIONAGE GAME

SUGGESTED CREATURES AND NPCS FOR A CRIME AND ESPIONAGE GAME

ADDITIONAL CRIME AND ESPIONAGE EQUIPMENT

In addition to all the equipment available to PCs described under Additional Modern Equipment in the Cypher System Rulebook, the following items are available. When items are used in a counter-surveillance capacity, assign a level from 1d6 to items to compare their efficacy, unless a PC user is involved directly.

EXPENSIVE ITEMS
Hidden camera finder	Detects wired and wireless cameras in immediate range
Fingerprint kit	Opens to create fingerprint taking station
Sound amplifier	Captures sound up to 300 feet (91 m) away
Multichannel bug detector	Detects wired and wireless concealed microphones
Mini GPS tracker	Self-powered, encrypted beacon
Telephoto lens x 100	Comes with mount
Pen video camera	Provides asset to stealth tasks relate to making a secret recording
Concealed microphone	Self-powered, encrypted channel, record or transmit
Concealed camera	Self-powered, encrypted channel, stationary
Motion sensor	Creates audible or silent alarm
Cellular jammer	Jams cell and other radio traffic in short range
Card spoofer	Allows entry into many electronic locks requiring cards
Portfolio with hidden sleeve	Nearly impossible to find without knowing the secret of opening
Wireless keyboard detector	Reveals what’s being typed on wireless keyboards within short range
SMS cracking package	Turn others’ cell phones into bugs by application of known bugs
Rubber ducky	USB stick that allows hacker to input keystrokes on target computer
Keylogger	USB stick that allows all keystrokes on computer to be recorded
Mini-document scanner	Looks like a ballpoint pen
Drone	Transmits video and allows control within 300 feet (91 m)
Spy coin	Apparently normal coins with secret cavities for messages, poison, etc.
VERY EXPENSIVE ITEMS
Nightvision goggles	See in darkness as if in dim light
Spectrum analyzer	Gadget for detecting if a data connection is bugged