TEXT: the night’s black agents  
  expansion book
  by kenneth hite, john adamus, will hindmarch, 
  kevin kulp, christian lindke, james palmer, will plant, & rob wieland
  
  night's black 
  agents
  written by  adamus 
  hindmarch 
  hite 
  kulp 
  lindke 
  palmer 
  plant 
  and wieland
  expansion book 
  developed by  kenneth hite
  
  ©2013 Pelgrane Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Night’s Black Agents is a trademark of Pelgrane Press Ltd. 
  Publisher: Simon Rogers
  Developer and Editor: Kenneth Hite
  Authors: John Adamus, Will Hindmarch, Kenneth Hite,  
  Kevin Kulp, Christian Lindke, James Palmer, Will Plant, Rob Wieland
  Additional Material: John Adamus, Gareth ryder-Hanrahan, Kenneth Hite
  GUMSHOE System: Robin D. Laws
  Artists: Stefano Azzalin, David Lewis Johnson, Phil Reeves, chris hüth
  Art Direction: Cathriona Tobin
  INDEX: JANICE SELLERS
  Cover Art: Alessandro Alaia
  Interior Design & Layout: Chris Hüth
  
  introduction 
  6
  Agents' compAnion 
  7
  Abilities 
  8
  Investigative Abilities 
  8
  Accounting 
  8
  Ability Focus: Money Laundering 
  8
  TFFB: Locating the Stash of Guns 
  9
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  9
  Sample Clues 
  9
  Archaeology  
  9
  Ancient Vampire Artifacts 
  9
  TFFB: That’s Not a Knife 
  9
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  9
  Sample Clues 
  9
  Architecture  
  10
  Houses of the Dead 
  10
  TFFB: Getting Into the Castle 
  10
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  11
  Sample Clues 
  11
  Art History 
  11
  TFFB: Attacking the  
  Private Gallery Show 
  11
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  11
  Sample Clues 
  11
  Astronomy 
  11
  Ability Focus: Fermi’s Paradox 
  11
  TFFB: The Stars Are Right 
  12
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  12
  Sample Clues 
  12
  Bullshit Detector 
  12
  Ability Focus: Common Tells 
  12
  TFFB: Flipping an Unsuspecting Mole 12
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  12
  Sample Clues 
  12
  Bureaucracy 
  12
  TFFB: The Mile High Clubbing 
  13
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  13
  Sample Clues 
  13
  Chemistry 
  13
  Ability Focus: Handling  
  Radioactive Material 
  13
  TFFB: Montezuma’s Revenge 
  13
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  13
  Sample Clues 
  13
  Cop Talk 
  13
  British Police Jargon 
  13
  TFFB: Quietly Calling the Cavalry 
  14
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  14
  Sample Clues 
  14
  Criminology 
  14
  Ability Focus: Vampire Murders 
  14
  TFFB: Extracting the Consigliere 
  14
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  15
  Sample Clues 
  15
  Cryptography 
  15
  TFFB: Glad Handing 
  15
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  15
  Sample Clues 
  15
  Diagnosis 
  15
  Ability Focus: Hematology  
  15
  TFFB: Developing Tainted Blood 
  16
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  16
  Sample Clues 
  16
  Data Recovery 
  16
  TFFB: The Forgotten  
  Safety Deposit Box 
  16
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  16
  Sample Clues 
  16
  Electronic Surveillance 
  17
  Ability Focus: Cloning a Mobile Phone 17
  TFFB: Intercepting the Courier 
  17
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  17
  Sample Clues 
  17
  Flattery 
  17
  TFFB: Borrowing  
  High-Performance Cars 
  17
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  18
  Sample Clues 
  18
  Flirting 
  18
  TFFB: Route Ambush 
  18
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  18
  Sample Clues 
  18
  Forensic Pathology 
  18
  Ability Focus: Time of Death 
  18
  TFFB: Protecting Your Neck 
  19
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  19
  Sample Clues 
  19
  Forgery 
  19
  Ability Focus: Identity  
  Document Forgery 
  19
  TFFB: Stocking Up on Semtex 
  19
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  19
  Sample Clues 
  19
  High Society 
  19
  The Most Expensive Hotels in Europe 19
  TFFB: The Birthday Party Extraction 20
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  20
  Sample Clues 
  20
  History 
  20
  Ability Focus: Usual Suspects 
  20
  TFFB: Tracking a Feeding Vampire 
  21
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  21
  Sample Clues 
  21
  Human Terrain 
  21
  TFFB: Finding the Archbishop 
  21
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  22
  Sample Clues 
  22
  Interrogation 
  22
  Conducting A Police Interview 
  22
  TFFB: Stopping the Train Bombing 
  22
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  22
  Sample Clues 
  23
  Intimidation 
  23
  TFFB: Shock and Awe 
  23
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  23
  Sample Clues 
  23
  Law 
  23
  Ability Focus: European Firearms Laws 23
  TFFB: Moving a Firearms Cache 
  24
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  24
  Sample Clues 
  24
  Military Science 
  24
  Ability Focus: Special Operations Forces 24
  TFFB: Raid the  
  Abandoned Military Base 
  25
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  25
  Sample Clues 
  25
  Negotiation  
  25
  TFFB: Scratching Their Back 
  26
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  26
  Sample Clues 
  26
  Notice  
  26
  TFFB: Fight With Your Eyes Open 
  26
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  26
  Sample Clues 
  26
  Occult Studies 
  26
  Ability Focus: Leading A Séance 
  26
  TFFB: Surprising Satanists 
  27
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  27
  Sample Clues 
  27
  Outdoor Survival 
  28
  TFFB: Set Traps Around the  
  Remote Safe House 
  28
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  28
  Sample Clues 
  28
  
  Pharmacy 
  28
  Ability Focus: The 10 Biggest Street Drugs 28
  TFFB: Party Like It’s 1999 
  29
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  30
  Sample Clues 
  30
  Photography 
  30
  TFFB: Now Give Me Suspicious 
  30
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  30
  Sample Clues 
  30
  Reassurance 
  30
  Ability Focus: Ten Steps of a Classic Grift 30
  TFFB: Getting Inside  
  the Executive Boardroom 
  31
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  31
  Sample Clues 
  31
  Research 
  31
  Ability Focus: Secret Archives 
  31
  TFFB: It’s Too Dark to Read 
  31
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  31
  Sample Clues 
  31
  Streetwise 
  32
  A Glossary of Criminal Slang 
  32
  TFFB: The Bump and Run 
  32
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  32
  Sample Clues 
  32
  Tradecraft 
  33
  A Glossary of Espionage Jargon 
  33
  TFFB: Slipping the Noose 
  33
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  33
  Sample Clues 
  33
  Traffic Analysis 
  34
  Ability Focus: Dumpster Diving 
  34
  TFFB: Killing the Kraken 
  34
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  34
  Sample Clues 
  34
  Urban Survival 
  34
  Ability Focus: The Bug-Out Bag 
  34
  TFFB: Safe House Raid 
  35
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  35
  Sample Clues 
  35
  Vampirology 
  35
  Ability Focus: The Vampire Subculture 35
  TFFB: The Remington Allergist 
  36
  Sample Spend Benefits 
  36
  Sample Clues 
  36
  general abilities 
  36
  Athletics 
  38
  Ability Focus: Parkour 
  38
  Investigative Sample Clues 
  38
  New Cherries 
  38
  Conceal 
  38
  Ability Focus: Stash Spots 
  38
  Investigative Sample Clues 
  39
  New Cherry 
  39
  Digital Intrusion 
  39
  Investigative Sample Clues 
  39
  New Cherries 
  39
  Disguise 
  39
  Investigative Sample Clues 
  40
  New Cherries 
  40
  Driving 
  40
  Ability Focus:  
  Aggressive Driving Maneuvers 
  40
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  40
  New Cherry 
  40
  Explosive Devices 
  40
  Ability Focus: Plastic Explosives 
  40
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  41
  New Cherry 
  41
  Filch 
  41
  Ability Focus: Pickpocket Teams 
  41
  New Cherry 
  41
  Gambling 
  42
  Ability Focus: European  
  Casino Table Games 
  42
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  42
  New Cherries 
  42
  Hand-to-Hand 
  42
  Ability Focus:  
  Martial Arts Mixer 
  42
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  43
  New Cherry 
  43
  Infiltration 
  43
  New Cherries 
  43
  Mechanics 
  44
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  44
  New Cherries 
  44
  Medic 
  44
  New Cherry 
  45
  Piloting 
  45
  Ability Focus:  
  Surviving A Plane Crash 
  45
  Investigative Sample Clues 
  45
  New Cherry 
  45
  Preparedness 
  45
  New Cherries 
  45
  Sense Trouble 
  45
  Ability Focus:  
  The Cooper Color Code 
  45
  New Cherry 
  46
  Shooting 
  46
  Investigative Sample Clues  
  46
  Shrink 
  47
  New Cherries 
  47
  Surveillance 
  47
  New Cherries 
  47
  Weapons 
  47
  Ability Focus: Knife Grips 
  47
  New Cherry 
  48
  tricks of the trAde 
  49
  new thriller maneuvers 
  49
  Non-Combat Maneuvers 
  49
  Alibi 
  49
  Blending Agent 
  50
  Calculated Risk 
  50
  Card Up The Sleeve 
  50
  Danger Zone 
  50
  Digital Judo 
  50
  For Your Eyes Only 
  50
  Grease Monkey 
  51
  Like Smoke 
  51
  m4d sk1llz 
  51
  Quick Change 
  51
  Run and Hide 
  51
  Safety’s On 
  51
  Signature Wheels 
  52
  Verbal Trauma Unit 
  52
  Watching the Watchers 
  53
  Combat Maneuvers 
  53
  Mark and Strike 
  53
  One-Two Punch 
  53
  Perfect Drop 
  53
  Thrown Clear by the Blast 
  53
  Achievement Refreshes 
  54
  Achievements 
  54
  Ad Hoc Achievements 
  56
  adaptive tradecraft 
  56
  Determine when the Car Leaves 
  56
  Suggested Benefits 
  56
  Fake an Injury 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  57
  Conceal Liquids on your Person 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  57
  Monitor a Negotiation 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  57
  Make a Convenient Wall Safe 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  57
  Pwn a Webcam 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  57
  See in Darkness Quickly 
  57
  Suggested Benefits 
  58
  Get in Without a Ticket 
  58
  Suggested Benefits 
  58
  Write in Invisible Ink 
  58
  Suggested Benefits 
  58
  Communicate Despite Monitoring 
  58
  Suggested Benefits 
  58
  Hide Documents 
  58
  Suggested Benefits 
  58
  Build a Bulletproof Briefcase 
  59
  Suggested Benefits 
  59
  Pretend to Drink 
  59
  Suggested Benefits 
  59
  Take Fingerprints in the Field 
  59
  Suggested Benefits 
  59
  standard operating 
  procedures 
  60
  The Cartagena Rules 
  60
  night’'s black agents - double tap
  
  Commander’s Intent 
  60
  You’re Already Prepared 
  60
  Nobody Does It Better 
  60
  Choose the 
  Most Awesome Alternative 
  60
  Get the Lay of the Land 
  60
  Hack the Exposition 
  61
  Wheat from Chaff 
  61
  Ask About Red Herrings 
  61
  Follow the Clear Lead 
  61
  Never Turtle Up 
  61
  Phone a Friend 
  61
  Support Other Players 
  62
  What’s the Worst  
  that Can Happen? 
  62
  Retreat is an Option 
  62
  There Are Different  
  Kinds of Pressure 
  62
  mAteriel  
  63
  more gear 
  63
  The Q Rule 
  63
  Communications 
  63
  Disguise 
  64
  Explosive Devices 
  64
  Infiltration 
  66
  Car Hacking 
  67
  Mechanics 
  67
  3D Printers 
  67
  Surveillance 
  68
  Vehicles 
  68
  Vehicle-Based Equipment 
  69
  firearms 
  72
  Users and Missions 
  72
  Gun Cherries 
  74
  Accessories and Ammunition 
  75
  Special Ammunition 
  76
  Grenade Launchers 
  76
  thriller contests & mAnhunts 78
  digital intrusion 
  78
  Speed and Maneuver 
  78
  The Lead 
  79
  Thriller Contest Results 
  79
  Thrilling Elements 
  79
  Special Thriller Hacking Rules 
  80
  Investigative Ability Uses 
  80
  Swerve 
  80
  Digital Judo 
  81
  Sudden Escape 
  81
  Infiltration 
  81
  The Lead 
  81
  Thriller Contest Results 
  82
  Thrilling Elements 
  82
  Special Thriller Sneaking Rules 
  83
  Investigative Ability Uses 
  83
  A Note About Disguises 
  83
  Watching the Watchers 
  83
  Swerve 
  83
  Attacking Guards 
  83
  Run and Hide 
  84
  Sudden Escape 
  84
  surveillance 
  84
  Speed and Maneuver 
  84
  The Lead 
  85
  Thriller Contest Results 
  85
  Thrilling Elements 
  85
  Surveillance Raises 
  86
  Special Thriller Trailing Rules 
  86
  Investigative Ability Uses 
  86
  Attacking Watchers 
  86
  Other General Abilities 
  86
  Swerve 
  86
  Sudden Escape 
  87
  manhunts 
  87
  Hot Lead 
  87
  Starting Hot Lead 
  87
  Changing Hot Lead 
  87
  Earning Hot Lead 
  88
  Multiple Hot Leads 
  88
  Putting Out The Net 
  88
  Gambits 
  89
  Roosting and Elimination 
  90
  director's compAnion 
  91
  elements 
  92
  cameos 
  92
  establishing shots 
  98
  monsters 
  106
  Bloodworking 
  106
  Curse 
  106
  Chupa 
  106
  Ekimmu 
  107
  Homunculus 
  108
  Penanggalan 
  109
  nosferatu 
  110
  stories 
  112
  pulling them apart 
  112
  Mechanisms of Faction 
  112
  Frayed, Stressed, and Broken 
  112
  The Suitors and the Beloved 
  113
  The Suspyramid 
  114
  Tier One: Intrigue 
  114
  Tier Two: Strife 
  114
  Tier Three: Paranoia 
  115
  Tier Four: Vengeance 
  115
  Tier Five: Slaughter 
  116
  Tier Six: Collapse 
  116
  solitary heroes 
  116
  variant eras 
  117
  Victorian Era 
  117
  Investigative Ability Changes 
  118
  Social Class 
  118
  General Ability Changes 
  118
  World War II 
  119
  Cold War 
  119
  Investigative Ability Changes 
  119
  General Ability Changes 
  119
  AddendA 
  121
  Cherry Summary Sheet 
  122
  New Thriller Combat Options 
  124
  Suspyramid Diagram 
  125
  Vampire Powers Summary Sheet 
  126
  indeX 
  129
  table of contents
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  6
  With all the ConspiraCies, the intrigue, 
  the danger, it’s hard to know what exactly 
  is and isn’t on your side. When every 
  shadow from the back alleys of Bucharest 
  to the back benches of the parliament 
  could hide an inhuman enemy, it’s hard to 
  tell what solid ground you can stand on. 
  What can you depend on? Can you make 
  a difference? Trust no one and nothing 
  except the silver bullets in your Glock. 
  To make a difference, aim true.
  Even then, sometimes that first shot 
  isn’t a killer. Sometimes you need a 
  double tap.
  Burned once, and trying to avoid 
  the firelight, the resourceful, well-
  connected, well-informed agent is the 
  one who lives to die another day, while 
  the unsure, the weak, and the ill-equipped 
  find themselves on the wrong side of 
  something with fangs. They run for the 
  sunlight and if they’re lucky they can take 
  a brief moment to die warm and human. 
  A worse fate may be in store for the agent 
  who isn’t smart enough to die ... 
  The Night’s Black Agents corebook 
  (NBA) presented a lot of information 
  to help agents uncover and succeed 
  against Conspiracies of all sizes, against 
  all manner of twisted machinations. 
  And while there’s plenty of ammunition 
  there, sometimes you need more. More 
  gear. More abilities. More options. All 
  that is in here. 
  You may have heard this project leaked 
  back when it was called the “Agent’s 
  Companion,” a name that went by the 
  boards for two reasons. First, we’ve 
  added some material to the outline for 
  the use of Directors as well: inspirational 
  NPCs, more vampiric monsters, and 
  some notes about running one-on-one 
  single-player games, just for starters. 
  Thus it’s not an “Agent’s Companion” 
  per se any more.
  The second reason is we wanted a 
  general name for this type of book, a 
  name that could potentially span the 
  Pelgrane lines: a book that you’d come 
  to expect for any Pelgrane game, a book 
  of extras and twists, not needed for core 
  game play but informative and inspiring 
  nonetheless. That’s why the full name of 
  this book is Double Tap: The Night’s 
  Black Agents Expansion Book. An 
  expansion book gives you more room 
  to play in, expanding possibilities and 
  illustrating potentialities we didn’t 
  have room for in the core book, new 
  mechanics that the core book sparked 
  in other designers (like Will Plant’s 
  Achievements, or James Palmer’s 
  internal conflict Suspyramid algorithm, 
  both of which are here) plus ideas that 
  the first rush of players and playtesters 
  have requested.
  So consider this the next level, a higher 
  pay grade and higher-than-double-0 
  clearance. It’s time to take the fight to 
  the Conspiracy.
  This time, it’s not just a headshot. 
  Better go for the double tap. 
  introduction
  6
  
  abilities  n  subsections
  7
  agents'
  companion
  You’ve been in the foxholes. You’ve been 
  in deep cover. You’ve seen the fight up 
  close and personal, earning more than a 
  fair share of wounds and scars along the 
  way. This portion of the book will help 
  you empower and develop agents able to 
  stand against any opposition, providing 
  them tools, tricks, and know-how so 
  that in any situation, the agent comes 
  out alive.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  8
  this seCtion expands on the Coverage 
  of abilities in the Night’s Black Agents 
  corebook. Every ability is addressed, 
  with a few exceptions. Some abilities 
  receive detailed treatment in the 
  corebook already, while others cover 
  such a very broad field that providing 
  useful information at random is unlikely. 
  Health and Stability are sui generis pools 
  the other abilities preserve or, if things 
  go south, endanger.
  abilities 
  8
  Investigative Abilities
  Each entry lists a few important 
  aspects of the ability as used in thriller 
  fiction and sometimes in real-world 
  espionage. Some specific details of some 
  abilities receive close-up treatment as 
  Ability Foci; some entries also include 
  characteristic equipment associated with 
  the ability. For each ability, we provide 
  one example Tactical Fact-Finding Bonus 
  (TFFB) (NBA, pp. 108-109), three 
  sample benefits from a spend (NBA, p. 
  46), and three vampiric traces or clues 
  the Director can use or the agents can 
  seek out in the course of an operation.
  Pools gained as the result of a spend 
  last either for the remainder of the scene 
  or the remainder of the operation, at the 
  Director’s discretion.
  Where applicable, glyphs indicate the 
  vampire type most likely to have left 
  such a clue.
  Accounting  
  Accounting is, famously, how they 
  got Capone. And, pace Deep Throat, 
  it’s how they got Nixon: “Follow the 
  money.” Less famously, it’s how the 
  federal authorities in many countries 
  track organized criminal conspiracies 
  and terror groups. Illegal activity costs 
  money and (usually) makes money. That 
  money leaves footprints, and sometimes 
  it leaves fingerprints, even if vampires 
  leave neither.
  Ability focus:  
  money laundering
  placement: The money earned from 
  illegitimate activities is placed in a 
  legitimate 
  institution. 
  Large 
  cash 
  deposits in banks are common at this 
  stage, which makes it the riskiest part. 
  Either the bank must be fooled into 
  thinking the money is legit, or the bank 
  must be willing to deal with criminals. 
  Both approaches have their faults.
  layering: Moving the money from 
  institution to institution. This includes 
  wire transfers, dummy withdrawals and 
  anything that can be done to make the 
  account seem real, as well as make the 
  money harder to track. Hard assets are 
  often purchased at this stage like houses, 
  luxury vehicles, and art.
  integration: The money is withdrawn 
  looking like it was part of a legal 
  transaction. The yacht is sold, materials 
  are purchased for a legitimate business 
  or money is invested in the stock market. 
  Often, the legitimate business gets a 
  larger than normal cut of the money for 
  their silence.
  Additional Laundering Techniques
  black market currency exchanges: 
  Trading one stockpile of blood money 
  for another is a grand criminal tradition. 
  The facilitator of such an exchange 
  can be anyone from a fellow shadow 
  organization to a rich individual looking 
  to dodge taxes on their income. 
  smurfing deposits: Many legitimate 
  banks work under laws that red flag 
  transactions over a certain amount. In 
  the U.S., for example, transactions over 
  $10,000 are reported to the government. 
  Smurfing breaks down large cash deposits 
  into smaller, manageable amounts that 
  don’t trigger these alarms. 
  overseas accounts: An oldie but 
  a goodie. Bouncing money through 
  countries with powerful secrecy laws 
  allows for anonymous withdrawals 
  and deposits. It also makes following 
  the money nearly impossible. Popular 
  offshore destinations include the Bahamas, 
  Bahrain, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, 
  Turkish Cyprus, and Singapore.
  underground banks: Certain banks in 
  the Middle East and Asia went paperless 
  thousands of years ago. They use 
  something of an honor system to monitor 
  transactions as well as being older than 
  most of the governments they operate in. 
  The hawala system of Pakistan and fie chen 
  Chinese system provide a heady mix of 
  ancient conspiracy and personal banking.
  legitimate business: There are always 
  struggling business people looking for 
  cash infusions to build a better life for 
  themselves. Often the line between 
  legitimate 
  investment 
  and 
  front 
  company is razor thin. Construction, 
  waste management, and entertainment 
  venues are all popular choices thanks to 
  the many off-book expenses that occur, 
  as well as the fact that they can “lose 
  money” but manage to stay in business.
  
  9
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : accounting to archaeology
  shell companies: A company that 
  exists in name only solely for the purpose 
  of layering money: e.g., LaunderCo 
  purchases an office building and then turns 
  around and sells it without ever moving 
  one bit of furniture inside. Popular shell 
  companies include investment funds, 
  service providers, and anything that can 
  move money with a minimum of physical 
  assets or employees.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  locating the stash of guns
  Accounting tracks down the payments 
  to the warehouse. The team can choose 
  to either destroy the guns (Explosive 
  Devices, Difficulty 3) or move them 
  (Piloting/Driving, Difficulty 5). If the 
  agents destroyed the guns, all the thugs 
  have Shooting reduced by 3 due to a lack 
  of ammo and confidence in whatever 
  weapons they scrounge up. If the agents 
  stole the guns, they get a team pool in 
  Shooting equal to 4 times the margin of 
  success on their Piloting or Driving roll 
  (minimum 4).
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You can siphon a little from the 
  shell company’s slush fund for 
  your own devices. Gain 2 points 
  for your next Network spend to 
  acquire gear on the black market.
   
  n You’ve used the same money 
  launderer as the bratva. You don’t 
  have to spend time acquiring a 
  contact, but try to be careful 
  in your inquiries so as not to 
  disrupt your friend’s business. 
  Or, burn your friend to pull 
  the bratva into the open.
   
  n The money spent on medical 
  expenses is almost as good as 
  busting into the doctor’s office for 
  a look at the file. Gain a 2-point 
  Diagnosis pool to figure out the 
  ailments the mark suffers from.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The amount of money being 
  donated to St. Florian’s Church 
  should have the priests wearing 
  handmade Italian shoes, but 
  the receipts show the money is 
  going to security for the crypt.
   
  n
   The ship’s cargo manifest doesn’t 
  match up with the surveillance 
  photos. The object under the tarp 
  looked like a craft of unknown 
  origin, not five tons of iron ore.
   
  n Why are the payments to Dr. 
  Bergmann’s office continuing 
  even though the treatments 
  stopped two years ago?
  Archaeology  
  Archaeology and espionage have been 
  blood brothers since the days when T.E. 
  Lawrence and Max von Oppenheim 
  dueled in the fading Ottoman Empire 
  to uncover lost cities and map Turkish 
  military positions. In this century, 
  archaeologists still go to remote 
  backwaters with expensive sensor gear 
  and satellite phones: are they digging up 
  Ubar, or stirring up rebels?
  Ancient Vampire Artifacts
  Espionage tales often center around the 
  acquisition of an item. Nuclear launch 
  codes, a missing scientist or a computer 
  virus all serve the purpose of putting 
  the heroes in danger and setting them 
  against memorable bad guys. Some 
  items are older than others.
  These artifacts add a dash of pulp 
  archaeologist flair to your game, which 
  isn’t too surprising. The old pulps that 
  inspired the man in the fedora contained 
  plenty of spy tales. 
  pandora’s box: This is the box that 
  supposedly released monsters upon the 
  world when opened. The box could be 
  what transforms humans into vampires, 
  or pieces of the box could detect when 
  a vampire is present. It could also be 
  a crashed alien menagerie ship from 
  thousands of years ago.
  the fourth nail: Most versions of 
  this story claim that Jesus was meant 
  to be crucified with four nails instead 
  of three. Somehow the fourth nail went 
  missing thanks to a Gypsy and Jesus gave 
  special dispensation to them for easing 
  his suffering. This could mean anything 
  from knowing ancient lore on how to 
  deal with vampires to keeping ancient 
  weapons hidden in their wagons that are 
  brutally effective against the undead. 
  the grail: The cup that Christ used 
  at the Last Supper is soaked in so much 
  blood mythology that it could work as 
  anything from an ancient alien cure for 
  vampirism to the ultimate purification 
  vessel for infected mutant blood. The 
  Grail as a living, human bloodline vessel 
  has also come into vogue recently -- 
  what if the agents learn the Grail is one 
  of their own?
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  that's not a knife
  Archaeology identifies the Dagger 
  of Freyr as the one the blood cult 
  needs. Once inside the storage facility, 
  the agents can switch the dagger in 
  the crate out for a dummy (Conceal, 
  Difficulty 4) or lift it off one of the 
  restoration workers (Filch, Difficulty 
  5). Without the right component, the 
  Rite of Sanguine Empowerment doesn’t 
  work. The cult, still waiting for its leader 
  to assume the title of vampire lord, is 
  surprised for two rounds if the team 
  attacks during the ceremony.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Identifying the true nature of St. 
  Stephen’s fingerbone bolstered 
  the padre’s spirits. Gain a 
  3-point Shrink pool to keep 
  him in good mental shape long 
  enough to finish the exorcism.
   
  n There’s one place she could sell 
  the statue: Marrakesh. If you 
  tip off Yusuf, he can delay her 
  long enough for your team to 
  hop a redeye and get it back.
   
  n Don Julio is a collector of nudes 
  and ancient pornographic art. 
  Gain a 2-point Negotiation pool 
  with him thanks to the pieces 
  your connections can provide.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Dr. Whitman’s published 
  work is little more than “ancient 
  astronaut” drivel. This unpublished 
  manuscript, however, makes 
  some connections between 
  certain digs that disturb you.
   
  n
   Explanations for the curse 
  of King Tut’s Tomb included 
  bacterial agents sealed inside 
  the tomb. What if Professor 
  Grimaldi unleashed a similar 
  effect on her excavation team?
   
  n The chamber below the office block 
  is a Roman mithraeum. Spaces like 
  these were used to initiate members 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  10
  into the cult of Mithras with a 
  meal. Though you don’t recall ones 
  with restraints on the benches.
   
  n The museum bought some of the 
  pieces for pennies on the dollar. 
  Nichols must have been on the 
  move and just wanted enough 
  money to go on the run.
  Architecture  
  When you studied it in the military, you 
  may have called it “civil engineering,” or 
  just “engineering.”
  houses of the dead
  crypt: A stone chamber beneath the main 
  altar of a church. Relics, sarcophagi, 
  and important members of the church 
  are often buried in crypts. Crypts are 
  features in churches built before the 11th 
  century, after which point relics could 
  be displayed on the main floor of the 
  church. After that time, most cathedrals 
  built burial vaults for major patrons.
  megalithic tomb: Above ground 
  burial spaces built with large stones 
  covered with dirt or smaller stones. 
  Many of these tombs also feature ritual 
  spaces and evidence that ceremonies 
  took place before the bodies were put 
  inside the tomb.
  catacomb: Tunnels beneath ancient 
  cities built for religious burial practices. 
  Originally referred to the Roman 
  catacombs (primarily Christian) located 
  under roads leading to the capital city, 
  since it was illegal to bury the dead 
  inside the city. The term was expanded 
  to other tunnel systems in 1836 such as 
  the ones built beneath Paris.
  mausoleum: A free-standing building 
  erected to hold human remains. Often 
  built as testaments to the power and 
  wealth of the dead resting within. They 
  may be as simple as the ones found in 
  a cemetery or as ostentatious as the 
  Taj Majal, which was built for Mumtaz 
  Mahal, the Shah Jehan’s third wife. She 
  died giving birth to their 14th child.
  ossuary: A collection of skeletal 
  remains. Remains are buried elsewhere 
  temporarily and then moved to the 
  ossuary once only the bones remain. 
  Some feature carefully stacked bones. 
  Others compact the remains into smaller 
  containers to make room for fresh dead.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  getting into the castle
  Architecture allows you to map 
  an efficient route into the dungeons. 
  Taking the tour during the day allows 
  the team to check out blind spots in the 
  video coverage (Surveillance, Difficulty 
  4). Coming back at night when you can 
  extract the artifact, those blind spots 
  let you get in and out quicker. Gain a 
  team pool of 8 points that can be used 
  for Infiltration (to get into the castle) or 
  Conceal (to stash the artifact onsite for 
  later retrieval).
  
  11
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : architecture to astronomy
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Pre-fab housing like this all 
  has the same weaknesses. Gain 
  a 3-point Infiltration pool 
  while sneaking around.
   
  n The Contessa loves your 
  suggestions for her mansion’s 
  decor. Gain a 2-point High 
  Society pool to represent how 
  long you stay in her favor.
   
  n You’ve done work for the firm 
  that built Kammerer’s corporate 
  HQ. The construction shortcuts 
  and code violations can be had 
  for a few pints at the pub.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The skulls in the thirteenth 
  row of the ossuary all have pointed 
  incisors that don’t look filed.
   
  n This air shaft is designed so 
  that it never gets any direct 
  sunlight – an unusual feature 
  in an apartment block.
   
  n
   
   The arrangement of the 
  stones in the forecourt of this 
  megalithic tomb reminds you of 
  the logo you saw on the truck 
  parked outside your safe house.
  Art history  
  Everybody knows the greats of the past, 
  from Sandro Botticelli to Francis Bacon. 
  But who are the gallery set talking about 
  now? Drop these names at happenings, 
  openings, or auctions.
  abel abdessemed: Conceptual artist, 
  film, sculpture, painted objects. His 
  repeated use of videotaped cruelty 
  to animals as a motif has sparked 
  controversy and riots.
  olafur 
  eliasson: 
  Immersive 
  environments using light and color, water 
  sculpture, optical illusions, monotone 
  painting, modern Dada installations.
  tracey emin: Installations, monoprints, 
  paintings, neon sculpture, fabric work. 
  Collected by Elton John and other 
  celebrity glitterati.
  llyn foulkes: Surrealist painting, 
  iconography, 
  music, 
  tableaux 
  incorporating 
  found 
  objects 
  and 
  photographs.
  rashid johnson: Photography, music, 
  spoken word, video, sculpture. His work 
  often combines African-American history 
  and culture with alchemy, divination, 
  astrology, and other occult sciences.
  edward ruscha: Word paintings, 
  murals, art books, art with food. A 
  founding father of Pop Art.
  jim shaw: Ink on canvas, paintings, 
  dream drawings, punk rock. Has curated 
  controversial shows of art found at 
  amateur sales and thrift shops.
  luc 
  tuymans: 
  Paints 
  imagistic 
  versions in oil of photographs, movie 
  and TV stills, and other quasi-historical 
  works. “Sickness should appear in the 
  way a painting is made.”
  jeff wall: Meticulously posed and 
  composed photographic transparencies 
  creating the illusion of spontaneity, 
  photographs commenting on paintings 
  and literary works. Blends multiple 
  digital images into a single work.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  Attacking the private  
  gallery show
  Art History identifies which paintings 
  are worth stealing. Walking the floor 
  (Surveillance, Difficulty 4) or hacking 
  the security feed (Digital Intrusion, 
  Difficulty 5) locates them in the gallery. 
  The agents plan a daring attack that 
  triggers multiple alarms on purpose as 
  they keep close to valuable paintings. 
  The chaos (and desire to not damage 
  priceless artwork) increases agent Hit 
  Thresholds by 1.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You get a flashback to remember 
  where you saw this sculpture for the 
  first time, and meeting the beautiful 
  woman who watched you look at 
  it. You suddenly remember that 
  she left no reflection in the glass.
   
  n His Lordship was very happy that 
  you prevented him from purchasing 
  the forgery. His influence gains 
  you a 2-point High Society pool 
  while in the United Kingdom.
   
  n You met Bishop Latrava at a 
  Vatican Museum charity 
  function. If he doesn’t surface 
  on the rumor of an uncatalogued 
  Modigliani, you’ll eat your hat.
  sample clues
   
  n It’s definitely a forgery. But telling 
  Mel the forger who did this has 
  been alive for two hundred years 
  will get you laughed out of Venice.
   
  n
   The orange sun above the 
  landscape doesn’t come from a 
  faded pigment. In light of the vessel 
  you discovered two nights ago, 
  you realize now that it represents 
  the craft’s star of origin.
   
  n
   You thought the rumors of 
  Monnink’s use of blood as media 
  were ridiculous. That was before 
  you saw Blood Countess’ rich, deep 
  reds. Standing in the vault’s silence, 
  you swear you hear a heartbeat.
  Astronomy  
  Ability focus: fermi's paradox
  In 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi wondered 
  why, if there is intelligent life in the 
  universe, we haven’t seen any evidence. 
  In 1975, Michael Hart explored this 
  question more deeply in writing.
  The logical progression of Fermi’s 
  Question, aka the Great Silence:
   
  n Our sun is relatively young in a 
  galactic sense. There should be 
  billions of stars that are older.
   
  n If there are billions of stars like ours, 
  there should be billions of worlds 
  that can develop life like Earth.
   
  n If those Earth-like planets 
  develop life like us, some of 
  them should have developed 
  interstellar travel by now.
   
  n A galaxy the size of our own 
  should be colonized within 
  tens of millions of years
   
  n The short version: Where 
  is everybody?
  Theories and solutions:
  There aren’t any civilizations 
  there yet. Intelligent life is a rarity 
  even in the billion to one odds of the 
  universe. Earth is not a typical planet. 
  It’s a rare mix of the proper conditions. 
  The rise of intelligence is a jewel we 
  should treasure.
  The clock is ticking. Intelligent 
  races have to deal with their own 
  civilization-ending 
  events. 
  Their 
  influence is cyclical and the same 
  technology that could take them to the 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  12
  stars factor into their destruction. We 
  just haven’t pushed The Button yet.
  Extinction events. It happened to 
  the dinosaurs. It probably happened to 
  other worlds. It could still happen to us. 
  One day, a meteor hits the planet and all 
  our forward progress means little.
  Humans can’t or won’t hear. 
  White noise written off by radio 
  telescopes and SETI officials are actually 
  highly compressed data streams we are 
  unable to process.
  Aliens are here, but They cover it 
  up. This is the lip of the rabbit hole that 
  goes from astronomy to UFO conspiracy.
  While this information is obviously 
  useful for a game with alien vampires, 
  the question can inspire solutions to 
  any conspiracy questions, like “Why 
  isn’t everyone who gets bit turned into 
  a vampire?” and “If the conspiracy is so 
  powerful, why is it still in hiding?”
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the stars Are right
  Astronomy pinpoints the night and 
  location of the ritual from the star chart. 
  Scouting out the location requires either 
  sneaking in before the ritual starts and 
  finding a hiding spot (Surveillance, 
  Difficulty 4) or swiping a set of robes and 
  milling about as the cult arrives (Disguise, 
  Difficulty 3). Go weapons free while 
  all eyes are on the Master of the Void 
  Drinkers, and the team gets one round 
  of surprise for every agent in place.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n These astrophysics seminars are 
  such meat markets. Gain a 2-point 
  Flirting pool with any attendee.
   
  n Running silent at night before 
  moonrise means they can’t see you 
  coming. Gain a 3-point Piloting 
  pool under cover of darkness.
   
  n You’ve had some interesting 
  discussions with the professor 
  on the MUFON forum. Let him 
  know your handle and scullybear64 
  should be more than happy to 
  discuss the missing students.
  sample clues
   
  n The starry sky in the painting is 
  carefully rendered. You can use it 
  to determine the location of the 
  castle you need to infiltrate.
   
  n The drops of blood were deliberately 
  placed. It’s the constellation Orion 
  the hunter. Looks like some other 
  vampire killers got here first.
   
  n
   
   The vampire’s strength 
  is somehow linked to the moon. 
  It feeds on the full moon, and 
  hides during the new moon.
  bullshit detector  
  Ability focus: common tells
  body language: Eye contact is a big one. 
  Most untrained liars will look away when 
  they lie. Hands move to the mouth, face 
  or throat. Physical movement becomes 
  stiff or non-existent. The body turns 
  away from the questioner. The liar puts 
  an object between themselves and the 
  interviewer, like a book or a coffee cup.
  emotional gestures: Lying often 
  involves a clash of verbal intent against 
  emotional truth. Smiles go on a little too 
  long. Slight delays between emotional 
  reaction and verbal answers make 
  answers sound forced. Expressions are 
  often limited to the mouth. Someone 
  genuinely surprised, for example, shows 
  it with their whole face: jaw, cheek, eye, 
  and brow movement. 
  verbal context: A guilty person 
  often goes on the defensive. Liars often 
  use distancing language. This includes 
  euphemisms like “rubbed out,” clinical 
  terminology like “exsanguinated,” or 
  even telling an alibi in the third person, 
  like a story. Answering questions with 
  the interviewer’s own words buys the 
  liar time to work on a good answer. These 
  answers may not answer the question 
  directly. Pronouns in untrue statements 
  are garbled or monotone, but pronouns 
  in truthful statements are emphasized.
  microexpressions: A recent field of 
  study categorizing how the face shows 
  emotion. Microexpressions fall into 
  seven areas: anger, disgust, fear, sadness, 
  happiness, surprise, and contempt. 
  These expressions cross cultural and 
  linguistic lines. They can’t show if 
  someone is lying, but careful study can 
  point to such conclusions. Someone 
  unsurprised by the mention of the death 
  of a loved one, for example, may have 
  already known about it.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  flipping an unsuspecting mole
  Bullshit Detector shows your contact 
  is lying to you about contact with the 
  Crimson Patriots. Feeding the mole 
  false information requires recognizing 
  information the mole finds valuable 
  (Shrink, Difficulty 5) and making sure he 
  gets back to the opposition to deliver the 
  story (Surveillance, Difficulty 4). The 
  false information convinces the Crimson 
  Patriots you are vulnerable on a certain 
  date and time. Instead, you now have a 
  10-point team pool for Preparedness or 
  Shooting on their attack, since they are 
  playing right into your hands.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n He’s trying to convince you he’s a 
  big fish in the organization. Take a 
  2-point Human Terrain pool to use 
  as you remember all the names, 
  dates, and places he’s spouting.
   
  n Knowing how to impersonate 
  someone means knowing how to 
  lie like they do. Take a dedicated 
  3-point Disguise pool when 
  portraying this individual. 
   
  n You’ve caught the executive 
  in a lie. Perhaps her husband 
  will be interested in talking 
  to you now that you can tell 
  him what she’s lying about.
  sample clues
   
  n
   
   Often, liars blink excessively 
  when they tell a falsehood. This 
  guy’s not blinking. At all.
   
  n
   
   The polygraph is showing 
  abnormal readings. Questions about 
  what happened in Nice send the 
  cab driver’s vitals into very low 
  areas, like he’s been conditioned.
   
  n She’s not serious about 
  detonating the device.
  bureaucracy  
  european firearms pass: Papers that 
  allow a person to carry one or more 
  firearms listed between member states. 
  Issued to hunters, target shooters, 
  firearms dealers and specialist collectors 
  for museums. 
  dual nationality: An EU resident 
  lives and works in the EU. An EU citizen 
  
  13
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : bullshit detector to cop talk
  has a passport from one of the countries 
  in the union. Becoming a citizen requires 
  filing for dual citizenship. This can be 
  done through tracing lineage, marriage, 
  or residency.
  foreign investor passports: Countries 
  hit hard by the recent financial crisis have 
  turned to foreign investors to help them 
  out of their jam. Hungary has a law that 
  offers citizenship to anyone that buys a 
  certain amount of special government 
  bonds. Spain is considering offering 
  citizenship to anyone that buys a home.
  schengen area: Twenty-six European 
  countries passed a law in 1985 that 
  loosened the requirement on passports 
  when travelling between them. The 
  European Union grandfathered this rule in 
  upon its formation. If you hold a passport 
  from the EU, you don’t have to show it 
  when travelling between these countries. 
  The 26 countries in the Schengen Area 
  were Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, 
  Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, 
  Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, 
  Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, 
  Luxembourg, 
  Malta, 
  Netherlands, 
  Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, 
  Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. 
  The UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and Romania 
  still require presentation of an EU 
  passport at the border.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the mile high clubbing
  Bureaucracy tells you who to drop a 
  dime to in order to flag a passport and 
  delay the flight’s boarding. Hacking the 
  booking computers makes sure that your 
  team are the only passengers on the flight 
  (Digital Intrusion, Difficulty 4) and the 
  team makes it on board unrecognized 
  (Disguise, Difficulty 4). When the pawn of 
  the Conspiracy boards, the agents have the 
  flight time to work him over. The agents 
  get a 10-point Hand-to-Hand group pool 
  to exact their revenge -- or to capture him 
  and set up an Interrogation spend.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Your meticulousness in filling 
  out forms makes you an expert 
  in forging them. Gain a 2-point 
  Forgery pool for these papers.
   
  n You make sure the team is 
  always restocked. Refresh your 
  Preparedness by 3 points.
   
  n If you tip off the border guard 
  to the smugglers, she’ll let your 
  harmless group of tourists through.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The girls’ academic records show 
  they all have similar nationalities 
  and traits. Looks like His Dark 
  Lordship has a certain taste.
   
  n
   The reassignment of 
  church officials coincides 
  with the failed exorcisms.
   
  n The same customs agent was 
  working every night a container 
  went through. He’s either very 
  bent or very incompetent.
  chemistry  
  Ability focus: handling 
  radioactive material
  First, know the intensity of the radioactive 
  hazard. A white label denotes a Level I 
  threat, enough to set off a Geiger counter 
  but not pose an immediate health 
  risk. A yellow Level II label indicates 
  significant radioactive emission outside 
  the packaging. A yellow Level III label 
  applies to the most dangerous material, 
  including fissile material.
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  common-sense 
  precautions (don’t eat lunch near 
  radioactive material), utilize the three 
  defenses: time, distance, and shielding. 
  Plan your activities to minimize time 
  near radioactives. Where at all possible 
  use tongs, clamps, tweezers, or other 
  tools to extend your distance from the 
  material. Similarly, use a cart if possible 
  to avoid carrying material by hand. For 
  Level II and above, use at least two pairs of 
  disposable gloves (replacing the outer pair 
  frequently), as well as coats, goggles or 
  full-face protectors, and (in the lab) fume 
  hoods or other protective equipment.
  Shielding depends on the specific type 
  of radiation: high-Z (atomic number) 
  materials are better against gamma 
  radiation but can actually become 
  irradiated by neutron radiation. A 
  centimeter of lead halves the amount 
  of gamma radiation received; bismuth 
  oxide works almost as well, is much 
  lighter, resists neutron radiation better, 
  and can be applied as a cream to exposed 
  skin or under gloves.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  montezuma's revenge
  Chemistry mixes up an odorless, 
  tasteless compound that causes stomach 
  cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea. Getting 
  it into the food supply requires either 
  dressing up like food preparation staff 
  (Disguise, Difficulty 3) or intercepting 
  the food before it reaches the mess hall 
  and sprinkling the chemicals on it (Filch, 
  Difficulty 4). The guards suffer flu-like 
  symptoms for the next 24 hours. The 
  team gains a 10-point team Infiltration 
  pool as patrol routes are interrupted and 
  guards are distracted.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You know how to improve the purity 
  of the product with no impact to 
  the cartel’s bottom line. Gain a 
  2-point Streetwise spend when 
  dealing with the Colombians.
   
  n You can improvise explosives or 
  incendiaries from the stuff in the lab. 
  You’re so good at it, in fact, that you 
  roll two dice for the damage from 
  the blast and use the higher result.
   
  n You know a shortcut that can 
  complete this test in an hour 
  instead of waiting two days for 
  the results to come back.
  sample clues
   
  n
   
   The blood sample contains 
  enough foreign elements that the 
  person it came from should be lying 
  here dead right next to the victim.
   
  n
   The lipstick on the dead 
  man’s collar left an unusual 
  chemical for cosmetics: sulfur.
   
  n Someone cut this cocaine with an 
  organic substance. You’d guess blood, 
  but you don’t know why human 
  blood would be used that way.
  cop talk  
  british police Jargon
  ABH: Actual Bodily Harm.
  ASP: Extensible metal baton, named 
  for a baton manufacturer, Armament 
  Systems and Procedures.
  Banged up: Locked up in a cell.
  Black rat: Traffic patrol officer.
  Blag: Robbery.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  14
  Blues and Twos: The lights and (two-
  tone) siren on a police car, ergo, a 
  police car.
  Brains Department: CID (Criminal 
  Investigation Division), used (often 
  sarcastically) by Uniform Branch.
  Button Mob: Uniform Branch, used by 
  CID. Also woodentops.
  Caution: Formal police warning, 
  roughly equivalent to U.S. Miranda 
  reading. A suspect “under caution” 
  may have his statements given in 
  evidence at trial.
  Corres: Paperwork, correspondence.
  Dancers: To run away; “He was on his 
  dancers.”
  Drum: Residence; “We’ll give his drum 
  a spin.”
  Factory: Police station. Also the Nick.
  Filth: Derogatory term used for police 
  by criminals.
  Going Equipped: In possession of 
  materials used in committing a crime, 
  i.e., possessing burglar’s tools.
  Grass: An informant, or to inform.  
  Also snout.
  IC6: Of Arabic appearance, an Arab; 
  IC4 is Pakistani; IC1 is white 
  European. After the Identification 
  Codes in criminal databases.
  Job, in the: Working for the police; “Her 
  man’s in the Job, as well.”
  Lag: Prison inmate.
  NCPA: No Cause for Police Action.
  Nicked: Arrested.
  Nondy: Surveillance or stakeout 
  vehicle, from “nondescript.”
  Panda: Non-pursuit police vehicle.
  Run in: Yard for stolen or impounded 
  vehicles.
  Shout: Incident called in on the radio; 
  “Were you at that shout in Coventry 
  Street?”
  Spin: Search.
  T Call: Urgent call to police requiring 
  immediate response.
  Tooled up: Armed, used of criminals.
  TWOC: Taken Without Owner’s 
  Consent; theft, usually of a car or 
  boat. TWOCking connotes joyriding. 
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  Quietly calling the cavalry
  With judicious Cop Talk, you find 
  out which CI (confidential informant) 
  is wearing a wire tonight. Tuning your 
  radio equipment to broadcast on that 
  wire’s frequency requires swiping 
  a police radio (Filch, Difficulty 4) 
  or hacking their wireless network 
  (Digital Intrusion, Difficulty 5). If the 
  negotiations don’t go well and you need 
  a distraction to get away, you can bring 
  the cops “accidentally” to the scene with a 
  few well-chosen words. Gain a 10-point 
  team Athletics pool while escaping the 
  meet as police cars swarm the area.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Sprinkling in the right lingo gets 
  you into places when you’ve “left 
  your badge on the desk.” Gain a 
  3-point Infiltration pool to get 
  around inside police headquarters.
   
  n You finger the bent cop by what his 
  fellow officers won’t say about him. 
  Now you pump him: Good cop? 
  2-point pool to Reassurance. Bad 
  cop? 2-point pool to Intimidation.
   
  n The lieutenant might not believe 
  your story about the Red Fungus, 
  but she knows she’s unable to handle 
  whatever is killing the working girls. 
  As long as you promise to never 
  come back to her city after you kill 
  that thing, she won’t arrest you.
  sample clues
   
  n
   All the witnesses described 
  the scene exactly the same. 
  Word for word, like they 
  were each given a script.
   
  n
   You’ve been around enough Feds 
  to recognize their cheap suits. Those 
  two guys in black aren’t wearing 
  government issue poly blend.
   
  n Every precinct has some poor 
  schmuck they give the unsolvables. 
  Look for the detective with the 
  lowest clearance rate and he’ll 
  have any vampire murders.
  criminology  
  Ability focus: Vampire murders
  béla 
  kiss: Amateur astrologer and 
  occultist who killed at least 17 women 
  in Cinkota, Hungary from 1903 to 1914. 
  Investigators found the bodies stuffed 
  into metal barrels, drained of blood, with 
  wounds on their necks. He was sighted 
  in Budapest, but vanished during WWI.
  fritz 
  haarmann: Between 1918 
  and 1924, the “Butcher of Hanover” 
  murdered over 20 young men and boys by 
  biting through their necks, and possibly 
  sold their flesh on the black market. 
  Guillotined in 1925, his head is preserved 
  at the Gottingen medical school.
  peter 
  kürten: The “Vampire of 
  Düsseldorf” killed at least 9 women in 
  1929 and drank their blood; his first victim 
  was a girl in 1913. He was beheaded in 
  1931 for his crimes, which also included 
  a number of hammer assaults.
  john haigh: The “Acid Bath Vampire” 
  killed 9 people in London and Sussex 
  between 1944 and 1949. He drank his 
  victims’ blood, sold their possessions 
  and property, and dissolved their bodies 
  in acid to avoid conviction for murder. 
  That last precaution was in vain; Haigh 
  was hanged in 1949.
  magdalena solis: Former prostitute 
  hired by cult leaders in Yerba Buena, 
  Mexico, to impersonate the “Blood 
  Goddess.” She turned out to be a 
  psychopath, orchestrating at least six 
  vampiric human sacrifices in April and 
  May of 1963. After the Federales broke 
  up the cult, she was sentenced to life 
  in prison.
  tsutomu miyazaki: Obsessive horror 
  and anime fan killed, vampirized, and 
  molested the corpses of four little girls 
  in Tokyo in 1988-89, while persecuting 
  their families with postcards and phone 
  calls. He claimed a “Rat Man” told him 
  to kill; he was hanged in 2008.
  joshua rudiger: Believing he was 
  a 2,000 year old vampire, he attacked 
  at least four homeless people in San 
  Francisco, slashing their throats and 
  drinking their blood. One woman died, 
  and in 1998 Rudiger was sentenced to 
  23 years to life in prison.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  extracting the consigliere
  Criminology identifies the advisor 
  to the well-connected but not well-
  prepared Don, the consigliere who 
  makes key decisions in a crisis. Tracking 
  him until he’s vulnerable can be done 
  through buddying up to him at the poker 
  table (Gambling, Difficulty 4) or the 
  old fashioned van across the street from 
  the club (Surveillance, Difficulty 5). 
  Then it’s just a snatch-and-grab. For 48 
  
  15
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : criminology to diagnosis
  hours after the consigliere is taken out 
  of the picture, the Don thrashes about 
  aimlessly, and the agents get a 20-point 
  pool for any General ability use against 
  the mafia. This adds to any bonuses from 
  the adversary map (NBA, p. 113).
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You did a few years undercover 
  work. Gain a 3-point Sense Trouble 
  pool during the money handoff.
   
  n You recognize the vehicle from 
  an Interpol cable as a known 
  smuggler’s craft. Gain a 3-point 
  Conceal pool to identify secret 
  hatches and holding areas on it.
   
  n They call it the Ripper Room. 
  Scotland Yard keeps it quiet, but 
  they have every letter, confession, 
  and scrap from every nutcase 
  claiming responsibility for the 
  Whitechapel murders. You got to use 
  it for your last true crime novel.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Meth addicts might bite 
  someone, but drinking blood 
  afterward doesn’t fit the profile.
   
  n
   You know what Interpol agents 
  dress like, and it certainly isn’t 
  a black suit and mirrorshades.
   
  n Gaspar let your team have these 
  guns for a song. They might 
  be hot or in bad shape.
  cryptography  
  cipher: A cipher replaces letters with 
  other symbols. Letters, numbers, or 
  symbols can all be used. Substitutions 
  range from swapping a letter with 
  another to setting one letter to a symbol 
  of some significance to the encrypter.
  code: A code replaces words with 
  other words. This can be anything from 
  a euphemism or jargon in speech to an 
  innocuous page to tip employees off to 
  a dangerous situation. Hospitals page 
  fictitious doctors to areas all the time, such 
  as “Dr. Firestone” for a fire in the building.
  “etaoin srhldcu”: The most common 
  letters in the English language according 
  to a Google analysis of website and 
  search data. 
  frequency 
  analysis: One of the 
  bedrocks of cryptography. The amount 
  of times something appears in a message, 
  the more likely it is a common letter 
  or word. A simple substitution cipher 
  will usually feature the letter “e” most 
  commonly. Once the e is discovered, the 
  word “the” is usually close behind. That 
  word offers context clues as well as other 
  words using the letters of that word.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  glad handing
  Cryptography deduces that the 
  code phrase “Ulster Shield” means 
  that personnel are forbidden to carry 
  weapons on that operation or in that 
  location. Scouring Conspiracy traffic 
  for “Ulster Shield” mentions (Digital 
  Intrusion, Difficulty 5) gives you a time 
  and place where the Conspiracy assets 
  on site will be unarmed. The agents get 
  a 10-point group pool for any combat 
  abilities, since they don’t have to worry 
  about snipers.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You cracked the encryption 
  perfectly. Refresh your Forgery 
  pool by 3 points when faking 
  communications from the leader.
   
  n That symbol is clearly important to 
  them. Gain a 2-point Notice pool 
  when looking for it in the archives.
   
  n You’d be surprised at the people 
  who subscribe to a Times 
  crossword forum. Obsessive 
  detail-oriented people, with an 
  interest in hidden meanings. In 
  other words, analyst central -- an 
  impressive post or six gins up some 
  real crowdsourcing potential.
  sample clues
   
  n
   It looks like the file is a 
  partial translation of an Invader 
  message. It’s a good place to 
  start decoding their language.
   
  n
   Project SALIGIA takes its name 
  from the first Latin letters of the 
  seven deadly sins: superbia, avaritia, 
  luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, acedia.
   
  n
   “Dr. Strong” is a call for a 
  patient to be restrained. East 
  Ward C is probably where 
  the victim was taken.
  data recovery  
  system failure: The most common 
  reason for recovering data is an 
  operating system failure. The easiest 
  way around this is by hiding data in a 
  disk partition. The partition is a chunk of 
  drive memory that is independent from 
  any operation system. It’s a good place 
  to hide data that’s either too important 
  to lose or be found.
  undeletion: Data that is deleted 
  normally 
  does 
  not 
  disappear 
  immediately. It waits in a segment of 
  memory freed up to be overwritten 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  16
  as needed. Connections through the 
  directory structure are severed, but big 
  pieces of the data remain if one knows 
  where to look.
  hardware damage: Spies are rough 
  on computers. Bullet holes, blood, and 
  being fought over while skiing down the 
  Swiss Alps are generally not covered by 
  an extended warranty. A hard disk failure 
  can be recovered but it’s usually only a 
  one-time affair, recovering as much data 
  as possible before sending it off to the 
  scrap heap.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the forgotten  
  safety deposit box
  Data Recovery from the trashed 
  smart phone pulls the location of a bank 
  with a long-lost asset, as well as plenty 
  of pictures of the courier. Checking 
  the bank record (Digital Intrusion, 
  Difficulty 4) shows the box is still there 
  with contents undisturbed. Dressing up 
  as the courier (Disguise, Difficulty 5) 
  allows the agents to check out the box. 
  The item inside the box was something 
  important to the Vampire Queen during 
  her mortal life. Brandishing it gives the 
  agents one round of surprise against her.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n This paparazzo followed the lead 
  singer of Firethorn everywhere. 
  Lots of enlarged JPEGs later, 
  and you have a nice collection of 
  images of his entourage – even the 
  ones who don’t have shadows.
   
  n You got what you needed from the 
  laptop. You left a little surprise in 
  the partition just in case any more 
  “undocumented flu cases” break out. 
  Gain a 3-point Digital Intrusion 
  refresh after Dr. Wolscomb uses her 
  laptop in the hospital’s system.
   
  n You can pull up a great satellite 
  image of the whole complex, 
  down to the tracks left in the 
  grass by the guards. Get a 3-point 
  Infiltration pool to break in.
  sample clues
   
  n
   You thought the blood ruined the 
  hard drive. The blood IS the hard drive.
   
  n
   You’ve seen a lot of weird things 
  end up inside tower cases, but you 
  never thought you’d see grave dirt.
   
  n
   The band’s demo has instructions 
  from their Satanic masters 
  backmasked into the seventh track.
   
  n Fuqua should take the shot, 
  even if the bagman drops the 
  laptop in the canal. You’re sure 
  you can pull the code names 
  from the drive after some time 
  with a bank of hair dryers.
  diagnosis  
  Ability focus: hematology 
  hemochromatosis: 
  Toxic 
  condition 
  brought on by too much iron, produced 
  by drinking or transfusing blood to excess. 
  Symptoms include cirrhosis (spidery 
  veins, spotting on palms, red fingernail 
  tips, rotten breath), breast growth and 
  testicular contraction in males, chest and 
  joint pain, and tanning of skin.
  hemophilia: A hereditary disease that 
  keeps blood from clotting or coagulating. 
  It is more likely to be found in males. 
  Scabs form but don’t stay in place. 
  Severe cases can bleed for days or weeks.
  idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura 
  (itp): A lack of platelets in the blood, 
  causing abnormal bruising or skin 
  discoloration. Patients suffering from 
  ITP run the risk of dying from internal 
  bleeding upon suffering blunt trauma.
  lymphoma: A blood cancer caused 
  by white blood cells acting abnormally. 
  They live longer and multiply faster and 
  damage internal organs in addition to 
  the body’s immune system.
  leukemia: A cancer that overproduces 
  white blood cells. Too many white blood 
  cells weaken the other important parts 
  of the blood.
  polycythemia 
  vera: A disorder 
  characterized by an oversupply of red 
  blood cells. It can present as itching, 
  angina, or in extreme cases, swollen and 
  bluish extremities.
  porphyria: A genetic condition 
  characterized by overproduction of 
  porphyrins, the building blocks of heme 
  (a main component of hemoglobin). 
  Symptoms include dark red urine, 
  extreme photosensitivity, withdrawn 
  gums, sensitivity to garlic and other 
  strong odors, and aberrant hair growth, 
  along with hallucinations, paranoia, 
  and other mental disorders. In 1985, 
  Canadian biochemist David Dolphin 
  proposed porphyria as an explanation 
  for vampire legends; his theory remains 
  highly controversial.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  developing tainted blood
  Studying vampire blood samples with 
  Diagnosis suggests ways to counteract 
  its strengths. Getting vampire blood 
  requires a subtle jab with a syringe (Filch, 
  Difficulty 4 plus Alertness Modifier) or 
  unwilling donors (successful Weapons 
  attack for no damage, against vampire’s 
  Hit Threshold). Once you’ve tainted the 
  sample, it takes another successful attack 
  to re-infect the vampire (Weapons with 
  a syringe, or Shooting with a tranq 
  gun). Exposed bloodsuckers lose 4 
  points from their Aberrance pool. Each 
  successful Filch or attack roll acquires 
  enough blood to create one dose.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Your license may no longer be 
  valid, but sounding like a doctor 
  never changes. You can get into 
  the secure wing of the hospital. 
   
  n The bite doesn’t transfer the 
  condition. Gain a 2-point 
  Reassurance pool while treating 
  the policemen’s wounds.
   
  n Dr. Rogan’s come a long way 
  from breast implants in Beverly 
  Hills. Maybe you’ll ask him 
  why a vampire needs a plastic 
  surgeon when you show up in his 
  foursome at the country club.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Results from a standard blood 
  test come back meaningless; to the 
  untrained eye, this blood sample 
  is contaminated. You recognize 
  that the sample is synthesizing all 
  the blood types it consumed.
   
  n
   The cruet inside the 
  tabernacle was emptied of wine 
  and filled with human blood. 
  Great way to defile a church.
   
  n The equipment stolen from 
  the container matches up 
  with what you’d need to turn 
  a van into a bloodmobile.
  
  17
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : data recovery to flattery
  electronic 
  surveillance  
  Ability focus:  
  cloning a mobile phone
  Mobile networks have two basic 
  structures. 
  CDMA2000 
  networks 
  identify phones by their unique number 
  – depending on the network, this might 
  be an Electronic Serial Number (ESN), 
  Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), 
  or 
  Mobile 
  Identification 
  Number 
  (MIN). Changing your phone’s ESN, 
  MEID, or MIN to match the target 
  phone makes your phone a clone – 
  capable of sending and receiving calls as 
  if it were the target phone. Finding the 
  target phone’s identifier requires only a 
  few minutes with that phone, or Digital 
  Intrusion into the cellular network’s 
  computers. Some phones can be hacked 
  into essentially broadband receivers, 
  picking up all calls through a given 
  CDMA2000 network relayed by the 
  nearest cell tower. This rapidly becomes 
  a Traffic Analysis problem.
  The more common UTMS (built on 
  the older GSM platform) depends on a 
  specific piece of hardware in each phone, 
  its Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) 
  card. This card holds an integrated circuit 
  that stores not just details of the cellular 
  service but as many as 250 contact 
  numbers “memorized” by the phone. 
  Cloning a SIM card requires access to that 
  specific SIM card and some specialized 
  equipment (see SIM Card Copier/Reader, 
  p. 68). In a Dust-mode game, cloning 
  a SIM card usually takes hours or days; 
  cinematic SIM card copiers take only one 
  or two minutes. It might be possible, with 
  Digital Intrusion into the cellular phone 
  network database and a Cryptography 
  spend, to decode the Ki (authentication 
  key) of a SIM card you do not have access 
  to – then, it’s just Mechanics to build and 
  code a duplicate SIM card.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  intercepting the courier
  Electronic Surveillance picks up 
  on an exchange between an agent of 
  the Conspiracy and another party; in 
  between football talk, the agents get 
  word of a shipment underway. The agents 
  pick up on the courier by his Juventus 
  cap (Surveillance, Difficulty 4) and plant 
  a tracker on him (Filch, Difficulty 5). 
  Tracking his movements over the next 
  week fills in three more boxes on the 
  adversary map, with the associated 
  benefits. Any ambush of a Conspiracy 
  asset along the courier’s route adds an 
  extra round of surprise.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The password to get into the the 
  Crimson Club is “Ice skate.”
   
  n Of course you already installed 
  cameras in the safe house. Gain 
  a 3-point Shrink refresh when 
  talking with a teammate.
   
  n You’ve finally watched all the 
  video you recovered from the 
  cameras; the dead drop has to be 
  under the acanthus tree, and the 
  signal is a pink flyer stapled to the 
  kiosk across the roundabout.
  sample clues
   
  n
   You thought that strange 
  feedback was a white noise 
  generator. It’s the actual conversation 
  going on between the Void Eaters.
   
  n
   The interference coincides with 
  the reported times that Verhoeven’s 
  astral form visits with his minions.
   
  n Yep, that’s definitely bat sonar in the 
  background of the board meeting.
  flattery  
  specific praise: Pay attention to your 
  target’s deeds. Point out specific 
  accomplishments you find noteworthy. 
  Show you were paying attention while 
  they were talking. Use their name often.
  cultivate inside connections: Express 
  shared interests. Ask specific questions 
  of likes. Tie stories back to previous 
  things your target mentioned. Illustrate 
  connections and shared experiences.
  be 
  impressed: 
  Point 
  out 
  accomplishments and express positive 
  attitudes. Doctors want to show off their 
  medical school. Authors want to be told 
  of their creativity. Parents want to be 
  told how adorable their kids are.
  emphasize non-physical strengths: 
  It’s easy to compliment someone on 
  their looks. Laughing at their jokes 
  or reacting to their stories goes much 
  farther in making a connection.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  borrowing high-performance cars
  Flattery shows how impressed you are 
  with Diaz’ collection of exotic autos. Let 
  the experts pick the cars that will serve your 
  purpose (Mechanics or Driving, Difficulty 
  4) so that rather than hitting the bank, you 
  can hit the armored truck transporting the 
  statue. Gain a 5-point team Driving pool 
  for every point of Flattery you spent; each 
  such pool is one more car you get to use.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  18
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Grimbaldi appreciates how much 
  you enjoy the girls in his club. Gain 
  a 2-point Streetwise pool for asking 
  him about Naples’s underworld.
   
  n You congratulate Marion on 
  her first gallery show since her 
  attack. Gain a 3-point Shrink 
  pool to help her recover.
   
  n You let Detective Buchert make 
  the collar and even wrote up a 
  fake letter from Interpol praising 
  him. The next time you’re in 
  Vienna, he’ll owe you one.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Telling Dr. Kirskov how 
  much you loved her dissertation 
  on pandemic management 
  makes her happy to look at 
  your viral spread algorithm.
   
  n
   You put just enough 
  camaraderie in your voice that 
  the Air Force major leaves one of 
  17 cubes from the safe deposit 
  box behind for you to study.
   
  n The overworked video library 
  technician appreciates the fact you 
  got him lunch. You have full access 
  to the archives while he takes 
  fifteen for a sub and a smoke.
  flirting  
  longing looks: Let your eyes linger on 
  your target for just a fraction longer than 
  they should. Long eye contact triggers 
  the “flight or fight” reaction. Triggering 
  reactions is what flirting is all about.
  take in the view: Subtly check out as 
  much of your target as possible. Start 
  in non-sexual areas like the face, neck 
  and shoulders. Subtle glances to more 
  exciting areas can tip off a target to your 
  intentions. If you get caught staring, 
  laugh it off and admit you were looking 
  where you shouldn’t.
  first impressions: Picking the right 
  venue for a first date makes a good 
  impression. A clever or expensive date 
  can transfer your target’s impressions 
  of the area onto you. Pick a place that 
  confers the idea you want to get across, 
  be it arty, hip, elegant, or sophisticated.
  dress to impress: Men want to look 
  coordinated and slightly concerned with 
  their appearance. Women want to look 
  alluring without showing off too much. 
  There’s some truth to the idea that a first 
  date is like a job interview. 
  share an experience: A little bit of 
  danger goes a lot want to get hearts 
  pumping. Skydiving or a running gun 
  battle might be a bit much, but spending 
  time ice skating or hitting a vampire film 
  festival for research works. Connecting 
  over an intense experience is an easy way 
  to get inside someone’s defenses.
  second that emotion: Mirror your 
  target’s reaction to stimuli. If they laugh, 
  you laugh. If they show compassion, 
  you 
  show 
  compassion. 
  Emotional 
  compatibility is one of the keys to physical 
  compatibility. If you laugh at the same 
  jokes, you’re on your way to connecting.
  laugh first: It breaks the ice. 
  Everyone thinks they have a good sense 
  of humor. Laughing right away makes 
  things more casual and relaxed.
  smile: It seems like a simple technique. 
  Smiling while the target is talking lets 
  them know you’re enjoying yourself and 
  want to hear what they have to say. The 
  subtler the smile, the better the reaction.
  how do they feel: If you’re running 
  out of things to say, let the other person 
  lead the conversation. Ask them how 
  they feel about a subject. Women will 
  talk about their feelings more. Men will 
  talk about their experiences.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  route Ambush
  Checking out the club with Flirting tells 
  you which girl the enforcer is really into. 
  It’s a lot easier to follow her (Surveillance, 
  Difficulty 3) than it is him (Difficulty 6), 
  and she’s a lot easier to grab without too 
  much of a struggle. A judicious call to 
  him from her cell phone, and he’s walking 
  into a meet where you’ve mapped out 
  all the angles: a team 10-point Shooting 
  pool waits for him and his boys.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You can tell how much she likes you 
  by how she laughs. Gain a 3-point 
  Filch pool to lift anything out of her 
  purse, or, lucky dog, her apartment.
   
  n Hans likes a girl in a short 
  skirt and a long jacket. Dress 
  to impress, and gain a 2-point 
  Bureaucracy pool when you ask 
  him to look up bank records.
   
  n You recognize the CIA agent 
  sitting across from you. Maybe 
  he’ll unlock your handcuffs if you 
  crack a joke about the night you 
  spent in that hotel in Vienna.
  sample clues
   
  n
   That ten would never leave with 
  the three. When he spilled his drink 
  on her, he doused her in pheromones.
   
  n
   The recordings of the confessions 
  make it clear exactly at what point 
  Father Marco lost his soul.
   
  n While he’s off calling his wife 
  with an excuse about working 
  late, you can rifle his office 
  unobserved – or plant a camera 
  to give your trap some teeth.
  forensic pathology  
  Ability focus: time of death
  algor mortis: Bodies cool after death. 
  Corpses lose 2°C in the first hour and 
  about 1°C per hour after that, reaching 
  the ambient temperature in 16 hours. 
  A body under water loses around 3°C 
  per hour and reaches water temperature 
  in about 5 or 6 hours. These times are 
  wide estimates: blood loss, body type, 
  and other factors can alter them.
  livor mortis: Gravity pulls blood 
  downward in a corpse, discoloring the 
  skin. These “bruises” set in from 30 
  minutes to 2 hours after death; moving 
  the body later doesn’t change the livor 
  pattern. Corpses drained of blood, of 
  course, don’t show any livor.
  gastric analysis: A small meal digests 
  in about an hour; a large meal takes up 
  to 5 hours. By analyzing the amount of 
  digested matter and its progress through 
  the intestines, if you know the time of 
  the victim’s last meal you can estimate 
  the time of death.
  rigor 
  mortis: 
  Unmetabolized 
  calcium ions in the muscles stiffen them 
  within 2 to 4 hours of death, beginning 
  with the muscles of the face and neck. By 
  12 hours, the whole body is at maximum 
  rigor, which begins dissipating at 36 
  hours after death. By 60 hours, unless 
  the temperature is extremely cold, rigor 
  has entirely disappeared. The victim’s 
  fitness and biochemistry can alter these 
  times, as well.
  
  19
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : flirting to high society
  vitreous humor test: The chemistry 
  of the eyeball breaks down after death, 
  becoming contaminated with potassium, 
  urea, and hypoxantine. With careful 
  sampling (at up to 120 hours post-
  mortem) and software analysis, these 
  contamination curves can give a time of 
  death accurate within 5 hours.
  decomposition: Putrefaction begins 
  at death, becoming odoriferous within 
  24 hours and visible within 36. Bloating 
  lasts about a week after that. Insects 
  begin to infest the body in swarms after 
  two weeks. A body left in the open can be 
  skeletonized in 10 to 30 days. A buried 
  body’s fat and muscle tissue begins 
  decomposing into waxy adipocere in 
  about 3 months, completing the process 
  in 18 months or so. Calcium eventually 
  leaches out of bones within 50 years; 
  older bones don’t stick to moist surfaces.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  protecting Your neck
  An analysis of the victims’ Forensic 
  Pathology indicates the upior’s neck 
  bite rendered the victim passive. Building 
  combat-capable Lexan collars requires 
  multiple 
  prototypes 
  (Mechanics, 
  Difficulty 3) and rigorous field testing 
  (Athletics, Difficulty 5 or Weapons, 
  Difficulty 4). In a close combat, the 
  armored collars raise the agents’ Hit 
  Threshold by 1 when facing the upiorny, 
  who have to recalibrate their instinctive 
  attack pattern.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The DNA results are back faster 
  than normal -- it’s a match.
   
  n It gets lonely in the Munich morgue. 
  Gain a 2-point Cop Talk pool when 
  you talk shop with Herr Reiff.
   
  n You once did make-up for a zombie 
  movie. Gain a 3-point Disguise 
  refresh to make your “death 
  wound” look very convincing.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The lack of blood in the 
  pentagram carved on the victim’s 
  chest indicates it was done after 
  she was dead. That may mean 
  the vampire wanted to prevent 
  others from taking her blood.
   
  n
   The fingerprints weren’t a 
  match. But then, they also didn’t 
  register as fingerprints at all, due to 
  subtle deviations in the patterns.
   
  n
   Though there were several 
  cuts and bites on the victim, there 
  was only mutated saliva in the 
  bite near the femoral artery.
  forgery  
  Ability focus: identity 
  document forgery
  biometrics: 
  The 
  distinguishable 
  characteristics that identify a human 
  being. A photo, fingerprint, voiceprint, 
  and DNA sample are all biometrics. 
  The more secure a document, the more 
  biometrics it uses.
  simple id: Most ID cards feature 
  data of the individual and a photo ID. 
  Making one of these IDs up is as simple 
  as scanning a real document, altering 
  it with a photo editor on a computer, 
  printing out the fake on an inkjet printer, 
  and then laminating the card. These work 
  best for quick flashes or one-time uses.
  complex id: More secure facilities 
  have IDs that use coded magnetic 
  strips or holograms to make forging 
  IDs difficult. Newer cards also include 
  hidden chips or RFID tags that can be 
  read by a transmitter. 
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  stocking up on semtex
  Forgery gets the team badges for a 
  rail foundry in Brno that uses plastic 
  explosives to shock-harden manganese-
  steel rails. Getting a stash of Semtex 
  might involve dressing up in steelworker 
  jumpsuits or engineer lab coats (Disguise, 
  Difficulty 4) or re-routing a shipment 
  in the dispatch computer (Digital 
  Intrusion, Difficulty 5). The agents gain 
  two full refreshes of Explosive Devices 
  during the next operation, to reflect the 
  plentiful supplies on hand.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Brentson knows it’s a fake -- he 
  asked you for two more to sell 
  to some frenemies. You’ll know 
  who has bad ID, and Brentson 
  will owe you one to boot.
   
  n You must study the master if 
  you are to replicate him. Gain 
  a 2-point Art History spend to 
  reflect your time when you lived 
  and breathed Rembrandt.
   
  n Nobody’s going to question 
  the General’s papers. Gain a 
  3-point Disguise refresh when 
  you hit the checkpoint.
  sample clues
   
  n The royal blue paint on this alleged 
  Monet didn’t exist before 1990.
   
  n
  The signature on these release 
  documents is printed by an 
  autopen, or something similar. 
  The letters are too flat and 
  regular to be human-made.
   
  n
   The letter is in Aleister 
  Crowley’s hand, except it’s 
  dated five years after he died.
  high society  
  the most expensive hotels in europe
  Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Moscow
  suite: Ritz-Carlton Suite ($16,400 per night)
  amenities: 237 square meters, rain 
  shower and two baths with sauna
  tactical advantage: Proximity to Red Square, 
  the Kremlin, and St. Basil’s Cathedral.
  Westin Excelsior, Rome
  suite: Suite Cupola ($23,153 per night)
  amenities: Hand-painted ceilings, 
  dining room seats 10
  tactical advantage: Excellent angle on the 
  Via Veneto below, private exercise 
  room keeps agents from going soft.
  Ciragan Palace  
  Kempinski, Istanbul
  suite: Sultan Suite ($27,704 per night)
  amenities: 180-degree view of the 
  Bosphorus Strait, multiple LCD screens
  tactical advantage: 24-hour butler service 
  means backup is a phone call away.
  Le Richemond, Geneva
  suite: Royal Armleder Suite ($28,894 per night)
  location: Geneva, Switzerland
  amenities: Three large bedrooms, 
  marble bathroom
  tactical advantage: Bulletproof windows 
  offer sniper-free relaxation.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  20
  Grand Resort Lagonissi, Athens
  suite: Royal Villa ($47,645 per night)
  amenities: Personal butler, two 
  large indoor pools, barbecue 
  facilities, pianist (upon request)
  tactical advantage: A private beach lets 
  you come and go as you please.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the birthday party extraction
  High Society gets an invitation to 
  DeSilva’s private island. The rest of the 
  team can get in as the agent’s entourage 
  (boyfriend, bodyguard, etc.) and sabotage 
  the 
  fireworks 
  (Explosive 
  Devices, 
  difficulty 5). When the fireworks display 
  starts, the actual explosions distract 
  security enough to give the agents one 
  round of surprise for each point by 
  which the Explosive Devices test result 
  exceeded 4. Good timing and planning 
  (Preparedness, Difficulty 4) has a boat 
  ready and the doctor near the dock.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Regale everyone with a flashback 
  about your time in the Monaco 
  driving circuit before you gain a 
  3-point Driving pool refresh.
   
  n The Laurent family is notorious 
  in Paris, but their mistresses and 
  bastards are almost as interesting if 
  you know the dirt. Gain a 2-point 
  History pool to track their influence.
   
  n That fellow’s tuxedo is off the rack, 
  not Savile Row at all. Looks like 
  we’re not the only professionals here.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The stories about the Black 
  Mass orgies the Villanovas held on 
  their island take on a new meaning 
  now you know that vampires exist.
   
  n
   The royal family married into 
  itself one too many times. The 
  vampires are related to some very 
  twisted branches on that tree.
   
  n Sergio never used to drink red wine.
  history  
  One of the best things about games with 
  immortal creatures of the night is being 
  able to turn a famous (or infamous) 
  figure into one so the players can interact 
  with them.
  Ability focus: usual suspects
  vlad iii dracula: Born in 1431. “Died” in 
  1476. Dubbed Vlad Tepes (“the Impaler”) 
  posthumously because of his fondness for 
  impaling enemies and criminals on pikes. 
  He was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia, 
  not Count of Transylvania, and mighty 
  foe of the Turks. The name “Dracula” 
  comes from his father, Vlad II Dracul, 
  who received the name upon induction 
  into the Hungarian Order of the Dragon 
  in 1431. Dracula means “little dragon.”
  elizabeth 
  bathory: The “Blood 
  Countess” lived in Hungary from 1560-
  1614. Accused of collaborating with four 
  others on the murder of 650 victims, 
  though only convicted of 80 murders. 
  Bricked into Cachtice Castle in 1610, 
  she “died” four years later. The legend 
  of her bathing in the blood of virgins to 
  retain her youth originated in the first 
  published account of her trial, written 
  by a Jesuit in 1729.
  lord byron: The main character of 
  the novel The Vamypre was named Lord 
  Ruthven but based on the famous poet 
  George Gordon, Lord Byron. There is 
  some confusion over who wrote the 
  story, as it was published under Byron’s 
  name but attributed to his doctor, 
  John Polidori. Byron was known for 
  his excesses: financial, romantic, and 
  aesthetic. He died in Missolonghi, Greece, 
  while assisting rebels against the Turks.
  jack the ripper: Jack the Ripper 
  is to conspiracy theories what Kevin 
  Bacon is to modern American cinema. 
  He stalked the Whitechapel district of 
  London in 1888. The name comes from 
  one of the letters to the press, which 
  
  21
  abilities  n  Investigative abilities : history to human terrain
  may have been created by reporters 
  trying to sell newspapers. Jack has five 
  dead prostitutes officially attributed to 
  him, but his body count could include 
  six more in Whitechapel and another six 
  in Managua in 1889.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  tracking a feeding Vampire
  History narrows down the area where 
  a similar clutch of killings has happened 
  every century. Throwing a net over the 
  area finds this century’s feeding ground 
  (Surveillance, Difficulty 25). Treat this 
  as a continuing challenge (NBA, p. 50); 
  each agent can make one test per night. 
  Once found, the agents’ Difficulties 
  for Infiltration, Sense Trouble, and 
  Surveillance of the site are reduced by 
  1 – as is the vampire’s Hit Threshold 
  against a sniper.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Your poetry professor at Cambridge 
  wrote more books on Byron than 
  you have passports – if anyone 
  knows the name of the surgeon who 
  bled him in Greece, it’s old Wakeley.
   
  n You read an account of an assault on 
  this castle during the Thirty Years’ 
  War. Gain a 2-point Architecture 
  pool to take advantages of the 
  castle’s secret passages and features.
   
  n You’ve studied the Swiss Guard 
  extensively. Gain a 3-point 
  Disguise pool to when wearing 
  their ceremonial dress.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Five cities. Five murders 
  each. He’s mimicking the Ripper 
  killings on purpose, drawing a 
  pentagram between the five cities.
   
  n He wears the sigil ring that 
  was supposedly buried with 
  the Marquis 150 years ago.
   
  n
   The spread of the vampire 
  virus – Sevastopol, Istanbul, 
  Genoa -- follows the same path 
  as the Black Death in 1347. 
  Perhaps some outbreaks then 
  weren’t just the disease.
  human terrain  
  Organizational culture is not just the 
  feel of an organization. It’s also how 
  the organization hangs together when 
  it faces hardships. It’s the difference in 
  the company culture of a web company 
  like Google versus a traditional company 
  like Renault. It also applies to religions, 
  crime families, blood cults, and hospitals.
  There are many elements common 
  to large organizations. These elements 
  overlap, often causing friction that an 
  outsider can use to their advantage.
  the paradigm: The public core values 
  of the organization. What it does, why 
  it does it, and how it does it. A charity 
  organization exists to collect money 
  from wealthy patrons to distribute to 
  individuals or organizations who need 
  that money to survive. A church offers 
  a safe place of worship and some feeling 
  of spiritual succor. Exposing activities 
  that go against the paradigm -- such as 
  the charity putting a large amount of the 
  funds collected up the board’s nose -- 
  destabilizes the work.
  control 
  systems: 
  How 
  the 
  organization monitors itself and makes 
  sure it’s doing what it sets out to do. This 
  could be anything from a corporation’s 
  mission statement to the enforcers 
  in a criminal gang making sure the 
  street dealers aren’t skimming off the 
  top. Organizations that use positive 
  reinforcement are vulnerable to attacks 
  that remove the cool bennies for their 
  members while groups that use negative 
  reinforcement often harbor turncoats 
  looking to start a revolution.
  organizational structures: These 
  structures are how information flows up 
  through the hierarchy and work flows 
  down to the cogs. Everybody’s serving 
  somebody, be it the mailroom sorter 
  and his supervisor or the CEO and her 
  shareholders. Interrupting this flow 
  makes the organization more vulnerable 
  to outside interference. Remove the 
  consigliere that knows all the passwords for 
  the mob family accounts and they have to 
  spend resources re-securing those assets.
  power structures: Someone has to 
  make the decisions on how to move 
  resources to achieve goals. A central 
  power structure means one individual 
  has a clear picture of what’s going on, 
  which means removing that individual 
  brings everything to a grinding halt. 
  More decision makers means more 
  stability if one goes down, but increases 
  factionalization. Kill the head of the 
  vampire’s blood cult and watch the 
  bloodsucker make a hard decision 
  -- come out of the shadows and risk 
  exposure or wait until the squabbles 
  wrack the cult die down and a new 
  leader takes hold?
  symbols: Obvious symbols include 
  corporate logos or religious symbols. 
  Subtle ones -- an executive parking 
  space or a reserved table at a restaurant 
  -- can indicate prestige within the 
  organization. Recognizing such symbols 
  makes mapping out who’s who in a 
  crime family, for example, much easier.
  rituals: Religious rites are an obvious 
  element, but mundane routines are 
  important to identify. If management 
  meets every Wednesday and someone 
  is missing, that tells a story. It’s also 
  a great bit of info to sell to an enemy 
  organization to let them spend time and 
  money on a raid that benefits you.
  mythology: 
  Organizations 
  value 
  stories because shared experiences 
  strengthen bonds between members. 
  Loyal members feel like family and love 
  sharing positive experiences. The value 
  of these stories illustrate behaviors to 
  emulate and warnings of ones the group 
  does not want. The colorful nickname a 
  mobster gets is not just a fun story to tell 
  at the strip club. 
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  finding the Archbishop
  Observing the congregation, studying 
  the cathedral’s iconography, and listening 
  to the sermons with Human Terrain 
  detects the undercurrent of fear, heresy, 
  and dominance in the parish. A little 
  subtle interaction (any Interpersonal 
  spend) or a little longer spent in discreet 
  observation (Surveillance, Difficulty 4) 
  notes the patterns of avoidance centered 
  on the name of the late Archbishop Tomas, 
  and on the old shrine to St. Thomas the 
  Twin in the hills. If you get there just after 
  sunrise, you’ll have a whole day to explore 
  it without too much risk, and with a team 
  pool of 12 points in any General ability.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  22
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The MP here will be happy to find 
  you a safe house. After all, you made 
  sure she won the election. Reduce 
  your Heat by 1 while in town.
   
  n If you’ve infiltrated one NGO, 
  you’ve infiltrated them all. 
  Gain a 2-point pool in any 
  Interpersonal ability used among 
  Guardian-reading do-gooders.
   
  n This branch of the Camorra used 
  the same anti-spyware in all of its 
  hideouts. Gain a 3-point Digital 
  Intrusion pool to teach them the 
  dangers of lazy software piracy.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The term Black Mass might 
  be a little old fashioned, but 
  the similarities between the 
  Catholic Mass and the ceremony 
  here are unmistakable.
   
  n
   These bodies were hastily 
  stripped after being executed. 
  Looks like a couple members of the 
  DelGenX cleanup team got sloppy 
  and contaminated themselves.
   
  n The squalor of the lab’s flat means 
  most of the money gets kicked 
  up the chain. Flipping one of the 
  dealers shouldn’t be too hard if you 
  flash him a little folding money.
  interrogation  
  conducting A police interview
  assume everyone’s lying to you. The 
  truth will come out after a check and 
  double check of alibis and statements. 
  Even people completely innocent of 
  crimes have things they don’t want the 
  police to know. The guard comes up 
  when the badge comes out.
  find and exploit your angle. Getting 
  cooperation means using leverage against 
  a witness. Previous records are an easy 
  one, but talking about friends, family and 
  other things important to an interviewee 
  opens doors. 
  never undercut your partner. There’s 
  a reason Good Cop, Bad Cop is a classic. 
  Each interrogator pulls in a different way. 
  One uses the carrot and the other uses 
  the stick. Switching interrogators also 
  can open up a new avenue of questioning. 
  People don’t like to ask the same questions 
  over and over; subjects lose the advantage 
  of rehearsed responses.
  if he’s talking, you’re winning. The 
  longer the witness is talking, the more 
  likely they’ll let an important detail slip. 
  The longer they lie, the more likely it is 
  they’ll slip up. 
  when in doubt, let the line go slack. 
  Guilty parties often overwrite their 
  alibis. The more complicated the story 
  becomes, the more difficult it is to 
  keep it straight. Talking to police rattles 
  people. Silence after a meeting with 
  the cops sets the interviewee on edge. 
  People on edge do rash things that can 
  break open cases.
  For 
  more 
  information 
  about 
  integrating police procedural style 
  into the GUMSHOE engine, check out 
  Mutant City Blues.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  stopping the train bombing
  However you work it, Interrogation 
  gets the locations of the explosives from 
  the bomber. Disarming the bombs on the 
  train (Explosive Devices, Difficulty 3) is 
  a no-brainer, but the covert approach 
  (Disguise or Infiltration, both Difficulty 
  5) keeps the cult from knowing their 
  sacrifice is aborted. Expecting the train 
  to explode as it pulls into Belgrade, the 
  cultists are caught off-guard: the agents’ 
  Surveillance Difficulty to identify the 
  cult watchers decreases by 2 in that scene.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The IT guy gives up the network 
  access codes. You can take a one-
  time 3-point Digital Intrusion 
  
  23
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : interrogation to law
  pool to hack the system, or flip 
  him into an asset (NBA, p. 112) 
  and get in any time you want.
   
  n The terrorist reveals the origin 
  of the strain. Gain a 3-point 
  Medic refresh to treat any 
  agents felled by the disease.
   
  n Once you get your information, your 
  friends in the GSG9 will be happy 
  to rendition him. It’s always nice 
  when German snipers owe you one.
  sample clues
   
  n
   You get the demon’s true 
  name from his Renfield. 
   
  n
   The farmer finally admits 
  the craft was moved from the 
  crash site to the local airbase.
   
  n Dr. Mandel gave up that 
  information too easily. It’s a trap.
  intimidation  
  battle trance: Psychological warfare 
  is a grand tradition that stretches back 
  thousands of years. The fearsome masks 
  and warpaint of old are mirrored in gas 
  masks and camo face paint of today. This 
  transformation might mean that, in the 
  heat of battle, someone might not feel 
  the pain of a wound. This lack of pain has 
  a demoralizing effect on the opposition.
  coercion: Getting someone to do 
  something they don’t want to through 
  threats of violence. People often are 
  willing to endure violence against 
  themselves to protect information. 
  Threatening someone like a relative or 
  friend with the same can make a target 
  cooperative. Demonstrating a violent 
  nature as an example can also get a target 
  to do something out of fear.
  gaslighting: Psychological abuse 
  involving the presentation of false 
  evidence for the purpose of altering a 
  target’s perceptions. This often included 
  denying evidence of physical abuse or 
  telling a target what they see isn’t real. 
  The term comes from the play and film 
  Gaslight, which involved the antagonist 
  convincing the main character she is 
  going insane.
  scare tactics: Not every intimidation 
  tactic 
  requires 
  violence. 
  Openly 
  displaying weapons can cause an aura 
  of fear, or persuade people to move 
  through an area quickly. Persons aware 
  of an agent’s background might find 
  spending time with someone trained 
  to kill to be uncomfortable. Showing 
  up unexpectedly can put a target off 
  guard. If they want an agent to leave an 
  uncomfortable situation, they might be 
  willing to do something in exchange.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  shock and Awe
  You time your entrance into the fight 
  for maximum psychological effect 
  (Explosive Devices or Preparedness, 
  Difficulty 4 and Shrink, Difficulty 5) to 
  make the most of your Intimidation. 
  The enemy all lose 4 points from their 
  Shooting pools as they fire off their 
  weapons in a panic.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n
   You quote just enough of the 
  Roman Rite of exorcism to get 
  the thing’s attention. Your fellow 
  agents can attack it at a lower Hit 
  Threshold: -1 for each point of 
  Intimidation you just spent.
   
  n The lieutenant is more afraid of 
  you than he is of his vor. Gain 
  a 2-point Human Terrain pool 
  to use his intel to ferret out the 
  important members of his bratva.
   
  n Semper fi, Marine. He may be 
  20 years older than you, but 
  your fighting spirit inspires the 
  old sergeant to join in the battle. 
  Gain a full Stability refresh if he 
  survives until dawn … and make 
  a 5-point test if he doesn’t.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The Renfield keeps licking the 
  cut on his hand. He’s looking for 
  strength from his master – and 
  that tell will likely unconsciously 
  warn you of its approach.
   
  n
   
   When you face down that 
  kidnapper, he actually exposes his 
  throat and belly to you – are his 
  reactions those of a dog, not a man?
   
  n The DGSE agent squares off with 
  you in the doorway for just a second 
  and then relents to let you see 
  her boss. He’s embarrassed at her 
  attitude, and attempts to be extra 
  cooperative to make up for it.
  law  
  Ability focus:  
  european firearms laws
  czech republic: One of the least 
  restrictive regimes in Europe. Handguns 
  are available to anyone over 21 with a 
  clean criminal record who passes the 
  proper tests. Concealed carry is also 
  allowed without a permit.
  finland: Outside of police, only specially 
  licensed security are allowed to carry guns 
  in public. Tighter laws passed in 2010 after 
  some high profile school shootings.
  france: A license for hunting or sport 
  shooting is required to own a weapon. 
  Guns are classified into eight categories 
  with some limits within, such as fully 
  automatic weapons. France limits 
  the amounts of cartridges that can be 
  purchased for a weapon per year.
  germany: The two-tier Federal 
  Weapons Act is considered one of the 
  strictest laws in the world. A firearms 
  ownership license allows a citizen to 
  own a gun for a specific purpose if they 
  qualify. A separate license is required for 
  every weapon. A firearms carry permit is 
  issued to those who need to carry a gun in 
  public. Several special weapons, ranging 
  from switchblades to automatic weapons, 
  are completely illegal to possess.
  hungary: Automatic rifles are banned. 
  Other weapons require the permission 
  of the Hungarian Police. Gun violence 
  is rare here. Their first and only school 
  shooting took place in 2009. 
  ireland: Licensure is required. Each 
  license requires a medical check, two 
  character references and the installation 
  of secure storage in the home.
  italy: Three different types of license 
  are available; hunting, sport shooting, and 
  concealed carry. Obtaining a concealed 
  carry license requires proving a threat to 
  the applicant’s life. Having been shot in 
  the past is one such example of proof.
  poland: Poland’s strict controls 
  result in one of the European Union’s 
  lowest gun ownership rates. Owning a 
  gun requires submitting a psychological 
  evaluation, resume, clean criminal 
  record, a weapons handling exam 
  and a reason to own the weapon. 
  The psychological evaluation must be 
  retaken every five years.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  24
  sweden: Specific weapons aren’t 
  banned – collectors can own machine 
  guns, if they have a license. Licenses, 
  however, require a purpose and the 
  permission of the police.
  united kingdom: Tightening laws ban 
  most automatic or self-loading firearms. 
  Ownership of most firearms is regulated 
  either by a Shotgun Certificate (SGC) 
  or Firearms Certificate (FAC). The SGC 
  requires secure storage, no criminal 
  history, and no medical or psychological 
  problems, after which all shotguns can be 
  purchased on a single license. The FAC 
  requires conditions for ownership to be 
  set by the police, in practice a strict limit.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  moving a firearms cache
  Knowledge of the Law provides a 
  way to certify the agents as collectors 
  and licensed antique firearms dealers. 
  Getting the weapons across the border 
  requires inserting the proper licensure 
  onto a cover identity (Digital Intrusion, 
  Difficulty 4) and disguising the broken-
  down modern arms as collector rifles 
  (Conceal, Difficulty 5; Difficulty 4 with 
  Shooting 8+). In addition to any other 
  benefits a stash of assault rifles might 
  convey, the agents get two full refreshes 
  of Shooting during the operation to 
  reflect their superior firepower.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n It’s amazing how quickly people get 
  rattled when you throw some legal 
  terms at them. The secretary folds 
  and lets you past just as if you’d used 
  Intimidation – but the security guard 
  just sees a polite conversation.
   
  n Getting into the courthouse without 
  proper ID means looking the part. 
  Gain a 3-point Disguise pool to dress 
  like you belong to a white-shoe firm.
   
  n You helped McKenzie out of 
  a wee legal jam when he was 
  smuggling for the IRA. Reminisce 
  in a flashback that in retrospect 
  uncovers Conspiracy activity in 
  Ireland or London or both.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The priest claims to be an 
  exorcist, but he’s remarkably 
  uninformed on canon law. He’s either 
  an impostor, or a freelancer, or both.
   
  n
   The wiretap records include not 
  just the observatory, but also the 
  houses of three local UFO witnesses.
   
  n Captain Prokovich has no 
  jurisdiction here. If you reveal his 
  presence to the local authorities, 
  that should keep him occupied while 
  you look for the Count’s painting.
  military science  
  Ability focus:  
  special operations forces
  Alpha Group (Russia)
  aka: Alfa Group, Spetsgruppa A
  selection process: A modern descendant 
  of Soviet Spetsnaz training, Alpha 
  began as KGB special forces and are 
  still FSB troops. They train similarly 
  to the SAS, but with an emphasis on 
  absorbing pain rather than operational 
  endurance. The Special Purpose 
  Service, rumored protectors of high 
  level government officials, often 
  draws from the ranks of this group.
  primary purpose: Counter-terrorism.
  notable action: Moscow Theater Hostage 
  Crisis (2002). Alpha Group pumped 
  weaponized fentanyl gas into the 
  Dubrovka theater to disable the 
  50 Chechen rebels that took 850 
  hostages there. The operation was 
  successful, but 130 hostages died, 
  mostly from inhaling the gas.
  Army Compartmented Elements 
  (United States)
  aka: Delta Force, 1st Special Forces 
  Operational Detachment-
  Delta (1 SFOD-D), Combat 
  Applications Group, ACE
  selection process: Standard physical 
  tests that turn into a series of 
  marches featuring increased 
  loads and decreased times. The 
  psychological portion of the exam 
  includes a barrage of questions 
  where the recruit’s answers are 
  dissected directly in front of them.
  primary purpose: Intelligence gathering.
  notable action: Operation Heavy 
  Shadow (1993). A Delta Force 
  sniper is believed to have been 
  responsible for the death of 
  cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar.
  GROM (Poland)
  aka: Thunderbolt, Jednostka Wojskowa 
  2305 (Military Unit 2305)
  selection process: The truth test pushes 
  recruits to physical and psychological 
  limits. 75% of recruits are trained 
  medics or paramedics. Proficiency 
  in at least two languages required.
  primary purpose: Anti-terrorist 
  and commando duties.
  notable action: Operation Little 
  Flower (1997). GROM captured 
  the war criminal Slavko 
  Dokmanovic in Slavonia.
  GSG 9 (Germany)
  aka: Grenzschutzgruppe 9 
  (Border Police Group 9)
  selection process: Minimum physical 
  requirements include running 
  5,000 meters in 23 minutes, 100 
  meters sprint and jumping a 
  distance of at least 4.75 meters. 
  GSG 9 members cross-train with 
  several units across the world.
  primary purpose: Counter-terrorist 
  strikes, special police action.
  notable action: Operation Feuerzauber 
  (1977). Terrorists hijacked a Lufthansa 
  plane and landed in several Middle 
  Eastern cities. During negotiations to 
  release German Red Army Faction 
  prisoners, the unit infiltrated the 
  aircraft on the tarmac in Mogadishu 
  and killed three of the four 
  terrorists with no loss of hostages.
  Pontifical Swiss Guard 
  (Vatican City)
  aka: Cohors Pedestris Helvetiorum 
  a Sacra Custodia Pontificis
  selection process: Males between 19 
  and 30 years of age, at least 174 
  cm tall, with a high school diploma 
  or professional degree. Recruits 
  must be Catholic, single, and 
  have Swiss military training with 
  certificates of good conduct.
  primary purpose: High level 
  target protection.
  notable action: Last Stand of the Guard 
  (1527). 147 Guardsmen died 
  defending St. Peter’s from German 
  invaders during the Sack of Rome, 
  buying the Pope time to escape.
  
  25
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : military science to negotiation
  Special Air Service (Great Britain)
  aka: 22nd Special Air Service Regiment 
  of the Regular Army, 21st (Artists) 
  and 23rd Special Air Service 
  Regiments of the Territorial Army
  selection process: 200 armed forces 
  members are chosen twice yearly 
  to try out for the SAS and SBS. The 
  final exam includes two endurance 
  exercises known as the Fan Dance 
  (a 24 km march up a mountain 
  twice) and Endurance (a 64 km 
  march). Thirty remain at the end 
  of the gruelling selection process.
  primary purpose: Counter-terrorism 
  and commando operations.
  notable action: Iranian Embassy Siege 
  (1980). In the first mission that 
  brought SAS into the public eye, 
  the unit staged a daring 17-minute 
  raid resulting in the death of one 
  hostage and five of the six terrorists.
  Sayeret Matkal (Israel)
  aka: The Unit
  selection process: Gibbush is the twice 
  yearly recruitment process where 
  interested members of the already 
  hardened Israeli Defense Forces 
  are run through many sleepless 
  nights to prove their physical 
  toughness and mental dedication. 
  Recruits must complete a 150 km 
  march to receive their red beret.
  primary purpose: Long-range 
  reconnaissance, airborne operations.
  notable action: Operation Orchard (2006). 
  Though not officially confirmed, 
  Sayeret Matkal played an essential 
  role in the identification of the 
  Syrian nuclear facility destroyed by 
  Israeli F-16s during this operation.
  Special Warfare Development 
  Group (United States)
  aka: DEVGRU, SEAL Team Six
  selection process: All applicants are drawn 
  from United States Navy SEAL teams. 
  Candidates are in their mid-30s, in 
  peak physical condition, with multiple 
  operations in a SEAL capacity. Serious 
  injury and death may occur during 
  training. According to one source, 
  16 highly trained Navy SEAL soldiers 
  applied and only two were accepted. 
  primary purpose: Intelligence 
  gathering, counter-terrorism.
  notable action: Operation Neptune Spear 
  (2011). DEVGRU engaged and killed 
  Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind 
  behind the New York terrorist 
  attacks on September 11th, 2001.
  tactical fact-finding benefit:  
  raid the Abandoned military base
  Once you’ve penetrated the perimeter 
  (Infiltration, Difficulty 5), Military 
  Science identifies the most secure 
  location for the vampire’s crypt based 
  on the pattern of fortifications and guard 
  patrols (Surveillance, Difficulty 4). By 
  striking directly for the crypt, you keep 
  the guards off balance and channelized 
  into predictable attack patterns: their 
  Hit Thresholds all decrease by 1.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You spot a telling tattoo on the 
  paramedic’s arm. He’ll patch up a 
  fellow Ranger with no questions asked.
   
  n You casually mention a few of the 
  operations you were on. Gain a 
  2-point Intimidation pool when 
  dealing with this information broker.
   
  n The strategy of these gang rumbles 
  is strongly reminiscent of Vlad 
  Tepes’ 1462 campaign against the 
  Ottoman Empire: infiltration, 
  ambush, night attacks, and “scorched 
  earth” campaigns against the dealer 
  network. Thanks to this insight 
  into their likely vampire master, 
  you can predict their next action 
  and their likely line of retreat.
  sample clues
   
  n
   For some reason, none of the 
  Croatian gangbangers retreated 
  through the park, even though it 
  was by far their best chance to 
  avoid a crossfire. Could that bank 
  of rose bushes have anything to do 
  with their odd tactical choice?
   
  n The tattoo on the severed arm is of 
  a stylized bat over a cross: the mark 
  of Spetsnaz, Soviet special forces.
   
  n This Israeli Army major has no 
  unit insignia – and Sayeret Matkal 
  personnel are not allowed to wear 
  their unit insignia off base.
  negotiation  
  leave them at the altar: Backing out of a 
  deal at the last minute can get a concession 
  or two. It can also lead to feelings of 
  betrayal and a larger chance the other side 
  will try to get one over on the back end.
  the 
  call-girl 
  principle: 
  Most 
  services are more valuable before they 
  are performed. Satisfying a need is more 
  important than already having done a 
  favor. Offering new services is usually 
  easier than trying to convince someone 
  to go with a new provider.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  26
  getting authorization: A common 
  delaying tactic is claiming to wait 
  for a higher power to approve a deal. 
  Appealing directly to that source speeds 
  things up at the cost of upsetting the 
  original broker of the deal. Let the higher 
  power smooth over any hurt feelings.
  bring in the dancer: This ranges 
  from small talk before negotiations to 
  turning to enjoy whatever show the 
  meet provides. It’s an attempt to control 
  the situation and flow of information. 
  Whoever does it wants to seem like they 
  are in charge when they may actually be 
  at a disadvantage.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  scratching their back
  Negotiation allows for a little side 
  work to prove your usefulness to 
  the bratva underboss. Sneaking in to 
  Evenk’s club requires a night approach 
  (Infiltration or Disguise, Difficulty 4) 
  and sending a quiet message to other 
  rival gangs (Weapons or Hand-to-Hand; 
  you get one round of surprise per point 
  above 4 on the previous test). Once the 
  Turk is eliminated, the underboss agrees 
  to hit the cycle gang. When you hit the 
  Angels, choose between: bringing allied 
  bratva soldiers (one Thug per agent) 
  along on your hit, or using the bratva hit 
  as a diversion, giving you a team pool (4 
  points per agent) in any combat ability.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You let Kellan think she got one 
  over on you. While gloating, 
  she inadvertently reveals who 
  she’s really working for.
   
  n Nicolae “Boom-Boom” threw in 
  some extras he had lying around the 
  warehouse. Treat his stash as a Cache 
  (NBA, p. 94) and get one item per 
  agent for 1 point of Preparedness 
  apiece. If you want a rocket 
  launcher, helicopter, or similarly 
  dangerous, exotic gear, it counts as 
  everyone’s item and costs 1 point 
  of Preparedness from each agent.
   
  n The Libyans owe you for getting 
  them their weapons. They can keep 
  an eye on things here while you 
  follow the clues back to Egypt.
  sample clues
   
  n The selling price was far 
  too low. Chavez’ demeanor 
  changed completely after 
  you said the word sangre.
   
  n
   You can’t understand 
  what it’s saying, but it really 
  seems to want that dingus you 
  took from the warehouse.
   
  n
   A quick bribe to the 
  morgue attendant gets you the 
  name and office number of an 
  endocrinologist who spends way 
  more time with dead bodies than 
  her specialty would indicate.
  notice  
  awareness: Make use of the three main 
  senses: sight, smell, and sound. These most 
  common senses often are taken for granted. 
  Training them well means being able to 
  locate and focus on important details. Did 
  that Audi have diplomatic plates? Is that 
  the same perfume? Where do the echoes 
  indicate an exit? Good awareness allows 
  for quick processing of information as well 
  as a rapid switching of focus.
  observation: Watching a scene too 
  often lets the mind wander. Agents 
  looking to hone their observation skills 
  can use anything from the arrangement 
  of junk on a shelf to a day at the art 
  museum. Catching on to what’s unusual 
  in a scene opens up the possibility for 
  clues. Who’s not looking in the same 
  direction as the other pedestrians? 
  Who’s not reflecting in the surveillance 
  camera mirror?
  deduction: Once the difference 
  becomes clear, the reason for that 
  difference needs to be discovered. This 
  often means asking why until the answer 
  is satisfactory. Change the theory to fit 
  the facts, not the other way around.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  fight With Your eyes open
  In the busy hotel kitchen, there are almost 
  too many possibilities for improvised 
  weapons and sudden distraction. Using 
  Notice lets you pinpoint the most 
  useful and surprising items: a pot of 
  boiling bouillabaisse, a hot meat skewer, 
  the door of the immense stainless steel 
  freezer, the sous-chef who’s obviously 
  tweaking on meth. Every spend of a 
  Notice point in this fight lets that agent 
  refresh 3 points in one General ability: 
  hurling the pot or grabbing the skewer 
  refreshes your Weapons, opening the 
  freezer door into a thug refreshes 
  your Hand-to-Hand, diving behind the 
  suddenly manic sous-chef refreshes your 
  Shooting as you have time to slap in a 
  new magazine. The player has to narrate 
  the suddenly surprising action – Notice 
  means it’s timely and effective.
  This option doesn’t hold for every fight 
  scene, but every few operations, it can be 
  fun to throw the improv door open – and 
  let a Bulgarian mobster run into it.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n One of the men in the restaurant 
  has a gun in his jacket – it’s a setup. 
  You can plot an exit from the room 
  that keeps civilians between you 
  and him, or you can try a quick 
  Filch and leave with a gun.
   
  n The crime scene was carefully 
  faked. Gain a 2-point Criminology 
  or Forensic Pathology pool to 
  use solving the real murder.
   
  n You’ve deliberately lost a 
  few hands to get a sense of 
  everyone’s tells. Gain a 3-point 
  Gambling pool at this table.
  sample clues
   
  n
   It’s -5°C in Moscow, and 
  yet his breath doesn’t show up 
  in the subzero temperatures.
   
  n
   The policeman’s 
  eyebrows haven’t moved 
  once while he’s talked.
   
  n The dead man’s pockets are 
  missing one thing: his cell phone.
  occult studies  
  Ability focus: leading A séance
  gather the supplicants: Three is the 
  minimum number of people in a séance. 
  More people means more spiritual power 
  but also means a higher likelihood of a 
  non-believer dampening the energy. The 
  group involved in the séance is the circle.
  choose the medium: The best choice 
  is someone with psychic abilities or great 
  knowledge of the occult. Even someone 
  whose knowledge of the séance is merely 
  
  27
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : notice to occult studies
  academic is more useful than an amateur 
  harassing the spirits for love advice.
  decide on the target spirit: Spirits 
  are usually connected to a place or a 
  person. If the spirit is connected to a 
  person, someone important to it should 
  be part of the séance circle. If the spirit is 
  connected to a place, the séance should 
  take place near the important location.
  set the table: Set candles on a table in 
  sets of three. The number should equal 
  or exceed the participants in the circle. 
  An offering should be set in the middle 
  of the table. Food is a common choice; 
  spirits don’t see much home cooking on 
  the other side. 
  dim the lights: Make the candles the 
  focus of everyone’s attention. Gather the 
  circle around the table. Hold hands to 
  connect everyone’s summoning power. 
  summon the spirit: The medium 
  leads a chant to summon the spirit. 
  Something along the lines of “(Spirit 
  name), we gather here to summon you 
  for guidance and wisdom from unseen 
  worlds.” Repeat the chant until the spirit 
  makes itself known, such as by a sound 
  or visual cue.
  ask questions: The spirits may answer 
  simple yes or no questions or speak 
  through the medium.  Begin with simple 
  questions and proceed to complex ones. 
  Spirits unable to answer questions may 
  get frustrated and take it out on the 
  séance group.
  end the contact: If the spirit is 
  amicable, thank it for its answers before 
  ending the séance. If things get out of 
  hand, end the séance immediately. Either 
  way, breaking the circle, extinguishing 
  the candles and turning on the lights end 
  the ceremony.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  surprising satanists
  The blood cult’s liturgies and rituals 
  follow the Satanism of the Abbé Boullan, 
  a degenerate 19th century French priest, 
  with additions based on the narcotic 
  mysticism of Boullan’s rival Stanislas 
  de Guaïta. With Occult Studies, you 
  predict when their next ritual takes 
  place, what time it begins, and how 
  long it will last. You can also predict 
  when they’ll be completely blitzed on 
  hashish. Once you find their dark fane 
  (Surveillance, Difficulty 4) you can 
  burst in at the most psychologically 
  and pharmacologically destabilizing 
  moment. Receive one round of surprise 
  and 3 points in a team General ability 
  pool for every point of Occult Studies 
  you spend to pick just the right moment.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The séance was a sham, but 
  Gordon bought it. You can 
  use his dead daughter to 
  manipulate him from now on.
   
  n While telling the colonel’s fortune 
  with Tarot cards, your cold-reading 
  and leading questions uncover 
  three things the colonel is worried 
  about. (Ask the Director up to 
  three questions, or plant up to 
  three suggestions such as “You 
  will meet a man in a white jacket. 
  He is a trustworthy guide.”)
   
  n You claim to have an incunabular 
  copy of Hypnerotomachia 
  Poliphili from the 15th century. 
  An old book-hound like Dyson 
  can’t resist a chance to see it.
  sample clues
   
  n
   All the terminology on the 
  hard drive is alchemical, used in 
  the “Chemical Marriage” to create 
  the Red Elixir of immortality.
   
  n
   The body is staked to the 
  pentagram in a way that brings 
  to mind exorcism rituals 
  practiced in southern Nigeria.
   
  n
   The chant the lead singer 
  is leading the audience in is an 
  authentic goëtic spell for summoning 
  demons: she is far deeper into 
  the scene than you thought.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  28
  outdoor survival  
  Contents of a basic survival kit:
   
  n Bandana or any other similar cloth
   
  n Compass LED flashlight  
   
  n Two 20-kilo garbage bags 
   
  n Butane lighter 
   
  n Matches in a waterproof metal case 
   
  n Magnesium flint striker (it’s good to 
  have multiple ways to start a fire)
   
  n Folding metal cup 
   
  n Multi-tool knife 
   
  n Over-the-counter painkillers 
   
  n 9 meters of parachute cord or rope 
   
  n Protein bar 
   
  n Sharp belt (hunting or combat) knife 
   
  n Small solar blanket 
   
  n Whistle or other signal device
   
  n Ziploc bag 
   
  n Sealable durable container 
  in which everything fits
  Essential Activities for 
  Outdoor Survival
  start a fire: Fire is essential to survival. 
  Bodies need warmth, food needs to be 
  cooked, and if signal rescue equipment 
  doesn’t work, signal fires might.
  boil water: The quickest way to purify 
  water. Having multiple hard containers 
  means a larger amount of water can be 
  boiled and stored.
  prepare wood: A good fuel for fire as 
  well as important for building a shelter. 
  create a shelter: Either build one 
  from gathered wood or secure a natural 
  shelter. Keep your supplies dry.
  gather 
  food: Hunt or gather 
  additional supplies. Cook and dress 
  game and make sure to store it out of 
  the reach of predators.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  set traps Around the  
  remote safe house
  Using Outdoor Survival to get the 
  “lay of the land,” you find all the trails 
  that any enemies could use to approach 
  the remote safe house. On those trails, 
  you rig snares, dig deadfall pits, and 
  otherwise set booby traps (NBA, p. 
  98). Roll your Mechanics and Conceal 
  “attacks” for those traps normally 
  and deal out damage based on the 
  fiendishness of your descriptions and 
  the degree of success of your tests. When 
  the Conspiracy strike team reaches the 
  safe house, they are shocky, nervous, 
  and inclined to fire at shadows – their 
  carelessness increases all agents’ Hit 
  Threshold by 1.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n It doesn’t take long to find a good 
  spot to set up your sniper rifle. 
  Reminisce about your hunting 
  days in a flashback, and take a 
  3-point Stability refresh as you 
  reconnect with the great outdoors.
   
  n You’ve dealt with exposure 
  before. Gain a 3-point Medic 
  pool to treat the symptoms.
   
  n You know just the place in the 
  woods to dump a body where 
  nobody will find it for months.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The plants look like whatever 
  came through here was putting 
  out serious radioactivity.
   
  n
   
   These horses are 
  spooked by that thing’s presence 
  and are ready to bolt.
   
  n
   
   That’s weird – bats 
  aren’t native to this area.
  pharmacy  
  Ability focus:  
  the 10 biggest street drugs
  cannabis: The most popular illegal 
  drug in the world; mostly consumed 
  as hashish in Europe and marijuana in 
  America. Most hash enters Europe 
  from Morocco; hashish, of course, 
  was the sacrament and etymology of 
  the original Assassins, the Hashashin of 
  Alamut in Iran. Marijuana growers in 
  America use sophisticated hydroponics 
  and aggressive cross-breeding to derive 
  ever-more powerful strains.
  cocaine: The Sinaloa cartel in 
  Mexico, run by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, 
  a.k.a. “El Chapo,” dominates the global 
  traffic in coke. Smokable cocaine, or 
  crack, acts much faster than snortable 
  or even injected coke. Cocaine stays 
  in the bloodstream for up to 72 hours, 
  although its byproduct benzoylecgonine 
  stays in the liver (and thus, the urine) for 
  eight days (after a single use) and as long 
  as 12 weeks for habitual users.
  heroin: If you include opiate painkillers 
  like oxycodone, possibly more popular 
  even than coke or hash. Over 90% of 
  the global heroin trade originates with 
  poppies grown in Afghanistan; most of 
  the rest comes from Burma. Licensed 
  poppy growers in Europe sometimes 
  find their plants drained of sap by 
  “opium vampires,” implying that even 
  the staggering amount of Afghan and 
  Burmese heroin available still leaves 
  demand unfulfilled.
  methamphetamine: Meth requires 
  labs (or trailers) full of toxic, flammable 
  chemicals to make, but the profit 
  margin is huge, even at the relatively 
  low prices it sells for (€40 per gram, 
  on average). Meth, or crank, or piko 
  (in Slavic-language countries), is a 
  massive stimulant that pushes the body 
  from increased awareness into full-
  blown mania, hooking users by creating 
  a cascading release of dopamine. It’s 
  replaced cocaine as the stimulant of 
  choice for all-nighters that turn into 
  two-weekers. 95% of the meth in 
  Europe comes from the Czech Republic, 
  where it is called pervitin. Known as 
  “Panzerschokolade” to German forces 
  in WWII (who used it to keep alert), its 
  military use has dwindled in favor of the 
  less-dangerous Dexedrine.
  amphetamine: Speaking of which, dex, 
  bennies, and speed became staples of the 
  European club scene in the 1990s and 
  continue to be a major European street 
  drug of choice. Manufactured mostly in 
  the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and 
  Belgium, speed is increasingly popular 
  in the Middle East, usually in tablet form 
  as “Captagon.” 
  the next five: Ecstasy is the sixth-most 
  used street drug, followed by LSD. The 
  horse tranquilizer ketamine, or “special 
  K,” is an increasingly popular club drug 
  (especially in Hungary and Hong Kong) 
  despite (or because of) its tendency 
  to produce out-of-body near-death 
  experiences (“the k-hole”) in overdose. 
  The ninth-biggest drug is temazepam, 
  a prescription anti-anxiety drug that 
  produces a sort of super-drunkenness 
  if taken to excess. “Jellie labs” in Russia 
  and Eastern Europe produce “vitamin 
  T” for a growing global market. Tenth 
  on the list is qat, a plant chewed for 
  the euphoric and stimulant effect of its 
  
  29
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : outdoor survival to pharmacy
  active ingredient cathione. Common 
  in Ethiopia, Yemen, and other Indian 
  Ocean nations, it has followed those 
  populations to immigrant and refugee 
  communities in Europe and America.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  party like it's 1999
  Using Pharmacy whips up a mild 
  hallucinogen that can be inhaled. Half the 
  team installs the concoction in the fog 
  machines at the club (Mechanics, Difficulty 
  4) while the other half gets into position 
  as clubgoers (Disguise, Difficulty 3). 
  When the executives of Orion Industries 
  show up in the VIP area, release the gas. 
  Once they’re rolling, the team (wearing 
  breathing filters) gains a 10-point Filch 
  pool to get any sensitive information they 
  can in the next few hours: smartphones, 
  tablets, briefcases, laptops, and wallets.
  More Toxins  
  These writeups use the toxin format 
  from p. 81 of the Night’s Black 
  Agents corebook.
  Atropine
  Atropine serves as an antidote against 
  a wide variety of nerve agents, but an 
  overdose of the chemical can prove fatal. 
  onset: injected or taken orally; 1 round
  test: Difficulty 5 Health
  minor: Refresh one die +4 Health 
  lost to a nerve agent; reduce Major 
  effect of nerve agent to Minor
  major: Roll one die +4, apply 
  margin between that roll and 
  damage lost to nerve agent as 
  further damage, Hurt; must make 
  another test in 10 minutes
  BZ
  The 
  U.S. Army 
  weaponized 
  this 
  hallucinogenic nerve agent in 1959. 
  U.S. stocks were officially destroyed 
  in 1989; stocks supposedly remain in 
  some Middle Eastern arsenals under 
  the name “Key 15.” Doses of BZ cause 
  muscle weakness and ataxia, vivid 
  hallucinations (including folies à deux 
  with other users), memory loss, and 
  extreme emotional variability (paranoia, 
  crying jags, panic, euphoria, laughter).
  onset: inhaled or ingested; 
  30 minutes to 4 hours
  test: Difficulty 6 Health (higher 
  for increased doses)
  minor: -3 Athletics, Shaken; 
  lasts 10 minutes (or three 
  rounds in combat time)
  major: Totally incapacitated 
  by hallucinations, Shaken, 
  Hurt; lasts 1-4 days
  DMSO
  This chemical, dimethyl sulfoxide, allows 
  other toxins to be transmitted by skin 
  contact instead of through injection 
  or other means. An agent must make a 
  successful Filch or Hand-to-Hand test 
  against the target’s Hit Threshold to 
  apply the DMSO and piggybacking toxin. 
  The target then makes a standard Health 
  test against the toxin.
  LSD
  Famously used in the CIA’s MKULTRA 
  mind control program from 1953-1973, 
  in rules terms LSD can stand in for other 
  hallucinogens such as ketamine, PCP, 
  mescaline, lamia venom, and so forth. 
  Each will have widely varying effects 
  (and rules effects) depending on dosage, 
  setting, purity, and other factors.
  onset: usually injected or 
  taken orally; 30-90 minutes
  test: Difficulty 6 Health (higher 
  for increased doses)
  minor: -3 Athletics, Shaken; 
  lasts 10 minutes (or three 
  rounds in combat time)
  major: Severely incapacitated 
  (Shaken, +3 to all Difficulties) 
  by sensory distortion and 
  distraction; lasts 6-11 hours
  VX
  The U.S., U.K., and U.S.S.R. built up 
  stocks of this nerve gas until it was 
  banned by treaty in 1997. Some stocks 
  remain, as bureaucratic and safety 
  delays hamper rapid destruction. 
  Japanese terror cult Aum Shinrikyo 
  synthesized VX in 1994 and sprinkled 
  it on the necks of chosen victims.
  Use this writeup for other nerve 
  agents such as sarin gas with less 
  deadly effects (Minor: +4; Major: +9). 
  onset: usually inhaled; 1d6 rounds
  test: Difficulty 7 Health
  minor: +6 damage, Hurt
  major: +13 damage; +6 every 
  hour until dead or treated
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  30
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You’ve been undercover enough 
  times to know how to fake 
  taking a hit ... or keep sharp 
  and roll with the effects.
   
  n Anything can be a painkiller 
  if you balance out the ratios 
  correctly. Gain a 3-point Medic 
  pool after raiding the pharmacy.
   
  n Give him about fifteen minutes before 
  the Xanax kicks in. Gain a 2-point 
  Reassurance pool when it does. 
  sample clues
   
  n
   The incense was laced with PCP 
  to produce some vivid visions, but 
  some of the survivors’ descriptions 
  stand out as uncharacteristic of 
  drug-induced hallucinations.
   
  n
   The marks on her neck remind 
  you of the scratches that meth 
  users give themselves. Except 
  this one is far, far worse.
   
  n
   The poor bastard was turned 
  in the ‘70s or ‘80s; that’s not a 
  talon, but an eternal coke nail.
  photography  
  Fake photography has been around as 
  long as photography. Pictures of august 
  leaders’ heads on trimmer bodies fill 
  archives. Dictators’ photographs feature 
  men and women airbrushed out of the 
  frame when they fell out of favor. Even 
  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was convinced 
  by photographic images of faeries. 
  Detecting fake photographs is still 
  very much an art. Human perception is 
  still easily fooled.  Each digital camera 
  manufacturer’s code is unique. Analyzing 
  the data from a raw photo can trace the 
  picture back to the device that took it. 
  But most published photos aren’t raw. 
  Even genuine photos are still run through 
  editing software to remove imperfections 
  and reflections and edited for clarity. 
  Once a photo hits software, it remains 
  up to the expert to determine if a given 
  change constitutes editing or deception.
  Incorrect shadows can give away 
  a fake. The shadows thrown by a light 
  source are usually of a uniform length. 
  Making sure they match is painstaking 
  work. Perspective projection is another 
  tip-off. Usually a faked photograph 
  requires another photo for the original 
  image. If the perspective of a picture is 
  off by a few pixels, that indicates fakery. 
  The compression of a photo is usually 
  linear. If a picture is bigger than it should 
  be on a hard drive, there’s a chance it’s 
  been manipulated.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  now give me suspicious
  Working a miniaturized camera is an 
  art in itself. Your Photography is 
  up to it, however, as you mingle with 
  the swells and beautiful people at the 
  reception. When your teammate stages 
  the distraction (secrete and detonate 
  simulators with Conceal and Explosive 
  Devices, both Difficulty 3) you get clear 
  shots of Tibor’s bodyguards responding. 
  Knowing which guards react fastest, and 
  how they’re armed, gives your team a 
  10-point General ability pool when you 
  ambush Tibor’s motorcade the next week.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Your photos capture someone 
  cheating in the casino. You 
  can use this to put pressure 
  on the cheater, or as an edge 
  when gambling against her.
   
  n The infrared lens detected some 
  odd heat areas. Gain a 3-point 
  Conceal pool to discover hidden 
  spots in the manor house.
   
  n You always keep backups of 
  your photos. And backups of 
  your backups. Treat this spend 
  as a successful Preparedness 
  test resolving the question: “Do 
  we have a photo of that?”
  sample clues
   
  n
   Why are the MP’s eyes 
  flashing like they are emitting 
  an infrared signal?
   
  n
   You took 37 pictures; each 
  time, her face is somehow 
  blurred or obscured.
   
  n In the lower left corner of the 
  image, you see the reflection of 
  the shooter in the cracked glass.
  reassurance  
  Ability focus:  
  ten steps of a classic grift
  The golden rule of the con artist is that 
  you can’t cheat an honest man. This 
  isn’t some Robin Hood pablum; the 
  best scams make the target complicit in 
  illegal activities. By doing so, the mark 
  is far less likely to bring heat from the 
  authorities to the grifter’s doorstep.
  put up the mark: Research a well-to-do 
  individual, and finding weaknesses to exploit.
  play the con: Gain the mark’s 
  confidence through the use of the 
  roper’s interpersonal skills. Meet the 
  mark where their defenses are down, 
  like at the club or a party.
  roping the mark: Introduce another 
  grifter as the “inside man” component 
  of a profitable scheme. Often, the roper 
  becomes the “outside man” and plays 
  against the mark to make him trust the 
  inside man more.
  tell him the tale: The inside man 
  shows the mark his method for making 
  a lot of money in a dishonest manner: 
  e.g., inside knowledge of a fixed bet, or 
  a program that buys stocks a millisecond 
  before the prices rise.
  the convincer: Show the mark that 
  the method works and let him have a 
  taste of the profits. This is the riskiest 
  part of the con, since the mark could 
  walk after getting a taste. If properly 
  played, the marks rarely do.
  the breakdown: Figure out how 
  much the mark can afford to lose. Add a 
  ticking clock element; tell the mark they 
  can only use the method a few times.
  put him on the send: Send the mark 
  away to secure the funding determined in 
  the previous step. Sometimes, sending a 
  grifter with him (or after him) to make 
  sure he doesn’t stray is the smart play here.
  take the touch: The bait and switch of 
  the con -- the bet is too late, the program 
  doesn’t work. The mark loses the money.
  the blowoff: Get the mark out of the 
  way as quietly as possible. The “cops” bust 
  in; the grifters kill each other (or the mark 
  kills a grifter) in a fake double shooting.
  put in the fix. If need be, make sure 
  the authorities are compensated, either 
  by a bribe or a tip-off on the mark’s 
  criminal activities.
  
  31
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : photography to research
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  getting inside  
  the executive boardroom
  Reassurance convinces the receptionist 
  that Giacomo is sick and you’ll be 
  substituting for him today. Letting in 
  other agents via the back door, the team 
  plants tear gas in the ventilation system 
  (Explosive Devices, Difficulty 3) and 
  the boardroom (Infiltration, Difficulty 
  4). Whenever the inevitable gunfight 
  breaks out in the building, you can push 
  the detonator at any time to reduce all 
  the guards’ Shooting pools by 4.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Even after decades of drinking 
  blood, the idea of absolution 
  strikes her in a way that bullets 
  could not. She promises one final 
  confession, to you alone, as you 
  watch the sunrise together.
   
  n Few people could make someone 
  covered in blood laugh. The sound of 
  his hearty laughter calms the whole 
  room down and gets them paying 
  attention to your plan to escape.
   
  n You strike up a conversation 
  about fishing with the customs 
  agent after you notice a picture 
  of him holding a rod and reel on 
  his desk. Gain a 3-point Conceal 
  refresh to distract him from 
  finding weapons in your luggage.
  sample clues
   
  n
   
   You’re the first person who 
  hasn’t told him he’s crazy. He asks 
  for a cigarette to smoke to calm 
  his jittery hands. He seems happy 
  to tell you about what he saw.
   
  n Your soothing voice calms the child. 
  In a clear voice, Piotr describes 
  the monster that took his papa.
   
  n Your calm demeanor lets Giorghiou 
  believe he has nothing to fear from 
  the Gendarmerie. He tells you 
  which officers are taking bribes 
  from the human traffickers.
  research  
  Ability focus: secret Archives
  vatican 
  secret 
  archives 
  (rome): 
  Documents date back to the eighth 
  century. Famous documents inside 
  include letters from Michelangelo and 
  Henry VIII’s annulment request. Only 
  qualified individuals make it inside, 
  requiring a letter of introduction from 
  a recognized institute or well-known 
  scholar. Applicants must also specify 
  what they are researching and why.
  the arcadian library (london): 
   A privately owned library with several 
  rare volumes valuable for both Christian 
  and Islamic studies. The owner keeps his 
  or her identity private even as exhibitions 
  in the British Museum raise the profile 
  of the collection. Studies are available 
  through Oxford Press Publications. The 
  library also sponsors a professorship at 
  London University’s Warburg Institute.
  stasi archives (berlin): Contains 
  over 50 miles of shelved information 
  accumulated by informers and agents of 
  the East German Stasi during the Cold 
  War. The archivists redact all personal 
  information before letting visitors see 
  items; anyone may see their own file. 
  No former Stasi personnel are allowed 
  unsupervised access. Many photos are of 
  home and apartments the secret police 
  searched while the occupants were 
  away at work. Around 15,000 sacks of 
  shredded documents remain unfiled.
  bibliotheque 
  d’arsenal 
  (paris): 
  Since 1936 a part of the Bibliotheque 
  Nationale, the Arsenal library has been 
  in continuous existence since 1757. 
  Beginning as a collection of medieval 
  manuscripts, over the centuries it has 
  accumulated documents looted by 
  Napoleon from other European archives, 
  periodicals and plays, books seized from 
  French noble houses and from the Bastille 
  during the Revolution, the Imperial 
  Archives, maps and plans, and a massive 
  collection of occult works. Legendarily 
  confusing and unorganized, it might 
  hold any secret document produced in 
  Europe since medieval times.
  post 
  secret: A modern archive 
  testifying to the anonymity of the 
  Internet. People from around the world 
  send in postcards with secrets that are 
  posted at www.postsecret.com on a regular 
  basis. Hiding a vital clue or hint on how to 
  take down a vampire in plain sight could 
  be the desperate move of a dying ally or 
  the insurance of a treacherous lieutenant.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  it's too dark to read
  During the gunfight, reveal that you took 
  time earlier to Research the building’s 
  electrical blueprints. You can short out 
  the main power junction on this floor 
  (Mechanics, Difficulty 3) if you can get 
  to it – or you can try blowing it to hell 
  with your H-K (Shooting, Hit Threshold 
  5) from across the room. When you take 
  out the power, you not only get a round 
  of surprise, but your teammates’ night 
  vision optics give you the advantage, 
  raising your team’s Hit Thresholds by 1.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You know just the expert to call: 
  Ilona Gilbring knows more about 
  Swedish political corruption 
  than anyone else alive. Treat her 
  as an investigative Networking 
  (NBA, p. 32) contact with a 
  pool as large as your spend.
   
  n This horrendous Soviet-era 
  microfiche reader might stump 
  someone who hadn’t spent the 
  prime of their life hunched over 
  microfilm spools in a red-brick 
  Midlands university. Not only can 
  you operate it, but you can figure 
  out how to snap an image of the 
  relevant pages with your phone.
   
  n You know just the books to skim to 
  make yourself an instant expert on 
  porcelain. When you “accidentally” 
  meet Mr. Lee at the auction, take 
  a 2-point pool in Art History 
  to impress him with your vast 
  knowledge and to cement your 
  false identity as a fellow collector.
  sample clues
   
  n
   Faerie legends share many 
  traits with UFO sightings and 
  abductions; your research in those 
  musty folklore journals indicates 
  a “fairy mound” near where the 
  saucers were sighted. Now, you’ve 
  narrowed your search down from 
  a whole county to a hilltop.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  32
   
  n
   Well, now, isn’t that interesting. 
  According to the records in the 
  archepiscopal library, the Baron’s 
  great-great-grandfather was 
  excommunicated for making a 
  pact with the Devil. And there’s 
  no record here that anyone in 
  that family was ever legitimately 
  baptized thereafter. Did the family 
  fake those baptismal records – or 
  did they fake the descendants?
   
  n The Rosenbach Library record 
  shows that Haughton looked at 
  the handwritten Dracula pages 
  two days before she died.
  streetwise  
  A glossary of criminal slang
  Akademiya: Literally “academy,” used by 
  Russian mobsters to mean learning 
  new criminal trades while in prison.
  Associate: Someone who works for 
  or with a Mafia family but is not 
  considered part of the organization.
  Bratva: “Brotherhood.” The generic 
  word for a gang within, or subgroup 
  of, the Russian Mafiya.
  Class: When an outlaw biker shows 
  “class,” it’s usually an act of extreme 
  violence or shock to the general 
  public.
  Crash Truck: The large cargo vehicle, 
  such as a van, truck, or bus that 
  follows a motorcycle gang’s trip 
  route to collect broken down and 
  wrecked bikes. It often doubles as a 
  mobile headquarters.
  Earner: A member of an organization 
  that runs a business to funnel money 
  to the don.
  Ghost Payroll: Non-existent employees 
  that funnel money to a Mafia family 
  or allow members to appear to have 
  legitimate jobs.
  Krysha: Literally “roof,” used by Russian 
  gangs to mean protection money.
  Omerta: The code of silence, more 
  directly translated “manliness,” 
  attributed to the Sicilian Mafia. A 
  member swears to not sell out the 
  organization, to take punishments 
  for senior members, and to repay 
  bad behavior in kind. Similar 
  codes have been adopted by other 
  organizations.
  One-percenter: In 1947, the American 
  Motorcycle Association asserted 
  that 99% of motorcyclists are law-
  abiding individuals. Outlaw gang 
  members call themselves “the one 
  percent” or “one-percenters.”
  Suka: In the Russian Mafiya, a snitch, 
  literally “bitch.” Applied to any 
  mafiya member who works with the 
  authorities in any way.
  Vor v zakone: In Ukrainian or Belarussian, 
  zlodiy u zakoni; in Georgian, kanonieri 
  kurdi; in Armenian, orenk’ov godj; in 
  Azerbaijani, qanuni ogru. Literally, 
  “thief-in-law,” perhaps better 
  translated as “legitimate” or “lawful” 
  thief, meaning one who has taken the 
  oath and follows the Russian Mafiya 
  honor code. The rough equivalent in 
  the Russian Mafiya of the American 
  Cosa Nostra “made man.”
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the bump and run
  When you use Streetwise to call up your 
  old friend Marko who runs one of the 
  biggest chop shops in town, he is willing 
  to let you into the garage to work on your 
  own cars. While there, you can “assist” 
  with some of the repairs on the capo’s 
  fleet. When you hit the convoy in transit, 
  the capo’s pursuit vehicles just don’t 
  perform like they should; each driver on 
  your team gains a 4-point Driving pool to 
  outrun the damaged vehicles.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You would ordinarily have to take 
  weeks to search all over Naples for 
  the “salesman.” But since you and 
  Luigi go way back, he can have his 
  soldiers keep an eye out and report 
  back to you tomorrow night.
   
  n You notice the girl at the party 
  is running a long con on Herr 
  Dorstmann. You can back the girl’s 
  play and hijack the con for your 
  own benefit, warn Dorstmann and 
  collect his gratitude, or tip the cops 
  and get them to owe you one.
   
  n Your use of criminal patter convinces 
  Raul that you’re connected. You can 
  use his back room to lay low tonight.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The tattoo of the dagger running 
  through the neck from shoulder 
  to shoulder means the victim was 
  a sex offender who served some 
  time. Perhaps Waldemar tries to 
  feed off only those whom he feels 
  have sinned, those humanity can 
  lose with few repercussions.
   
  n
   You’ve seen plenty of drug 
  labs, but the piece of equipment 
  on the table is far too sophisticated 
  to be simply refining cocaine.
   
  n If the 39 Crew and the 8-Jack-
  8 are fighting on the same side, 
  they must both be desperate.
  
  33
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : streetwise to tradecraft
  tradecraft  
  A glossary of  
  espionage Jargon
  Acorn: Asset, sometimes only a 
  potential asset.
  Barium Meal: Easily traced 
  “chicken feed” intel (or outright 
  disinformation) provided to a 
  possible leaker or mole.
  Black-boxed: Refused information on 
  sources of intel or the reason for an 
  assignment. “You have no need to 
  know” is a classic black-boxing.
  Cannon: The black-bagger who steals 
  back the bribe, bait, or nugget (q.v.) 
  from an asset or target.
  Clancy: Someone who has read too 
  many Tom Clancy novels; an 
  unrealistic wannabe.
  Dry Clean: To lose a tail; to escape (or 
  avoid) surveillance.
  Dubok: Russian for dead drop  
  (NBA, p. 111).
  False Flag: To recruit an asset ostensibly 
  for an organization not your own: 
  e.g., the Russian SVR agent claims 
  to be a CIA agent when approaching 
  the American businessman in France.
  Floater: Asset to be used only one 
  time, possibly entirely without their 
  knowledge.
  Ghoul: Analyst who searches graveyards 
  and death records for suitable false 
  identities.
  Jarking: British slang for bugging, 
  tracking, or subtly sabotaging 
  weapons.
  Legend: Fictitious history and 
  documentation of your cover 
  identity.
  Litter: Seemingly innocuous material 
  (theater tickets, ATM receipts, 
  American nickels, etc.) carried in 
  your pockets or baggage to support 
  your legend. Also, pocket litter.
  Nugget: Bait or reward offered to a 
  potential defector or asset.
  Parole: Password or countersign.
  Playback: To reverse the flow of 
  information, usually after turning an 
  opposition asset: the opposition gets 
  bad intel, you get good intel.
  Reactive Target: Someone who expects 
  your approach and responds with 
  violence.
  Sleeper: An asset left alone in place, 
  ready to be activated for a high-value 
  operation.
  Svinya: Literally, “swine.” Russian 
  intelligence slang for “traitor.”
  Trail Your Coat: Attempt to attract the 
  attention of an asset or enemy agent.
  Uncle: Headquarters.
  Walk-in: Classically, a foreign national 
  who “walks in” to the embassy (or 
  CIA station), delivers intel, and 
  sometimes (more often in the Cold 
  War) wishes to defect.
  Walking Back the Cat: Retracing or 
  replaying an operation in reverse to 
  find out what went wrong.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  slipping the noose
  Your Tradecraft identified the gray-
  haired man as former KGB from his 
  counter-surveillance techniques, which 
  means his dozen goons are probably former 
  Spetsnaz. You likewise know that Spetsnaz 
  wet-workers are trained to hit a location 
  from all sides, through all entrances 
  simultaneously. You can’t possibly take on 
  twelve hard-frozen badasses, but if you 
  abandon the warehouse right now, you 
  can roll over one fire team and escape. 
  Not only does your whole team now face 
  only three Spetsnaz, you get a team pool 
  of 12 General ability points to reflect 
  your tactical offensive surprise.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You set the rose in the window 
  overlooking the MI6 station. 
  Your old station chief will 
  remember the signal and meet 
  you at the café without informing 
  the Circus – for now.
   
  n Moscow Rule No. 2: “Never 
  go against your gut. It is your 
  operational antenna.” Reminisce 
  about your Cold War experiences. 
  Then, when you head down to 
  the waterfront, gain a 3-point 
  Sense Trouble refresh.
   
  n You call Bogdan and tell him that 
  he’d better have more information 
  tomorrow morning, and that you 
  want him to get imagery from 
  the SBU’s surveillance cameras 
  to confirm it. However, since you 
  spoke in elliptical terms about 
  “the flowers” and “fresh oranges,” 
  Bogdan got the message but whoever 
  is tapping his phone didn’t.
  sample clues
   
  n LeGrange used an old trick of 
  setting a hair across the threshold of 
  a closed drawer to see if someone 
  opens it. The hair is dislodged.
   
  n
   These faked vampire killings in 
  Zagreb remind you of something you 
  heard at the Agency. An Air Force 
  colonel named Edward Lansdale ran 
   The Moscow Rules  
  As befits their origin in the deepest 
  freeze of the Cold War, the Moscow 
  Rules have no official version, no 
  canonical authority. They were simply 
  what Western agents had to do in order 
  to operate in the capital of a totalitarian 
  police state. They are a little too LeCarré 
  for a default Night’s Black Agents 
  campaign, because they tend to tamp 
  down the action. But if you like things 
  cold and dusty, you’ll like playing by the 
  Moscow Rules.
  1. 
  Assume nothing.
  2. 
  Never go against your gut. It is 
  your operational antenna.
  3. 
  Everyone is potentially under 
  opposition control.
  4. 
  You are always in enemy 
  territory. Keep your head down.
  5. 
  Never look back. You are never 
  completely alone.
  6. 
  Go with the flow. Blend in.
  7. 
  Vary your pattern and live your 
  cover.
  8. 
  Any operation can be aborted. If 
  it feels wrong, it is wrong.
  9. 
  Lull them into a sense of 
  complacency.
  10. Build an opportunity. Use it 
  sparingly.
  11. Don’t harass the opposition.
  12. Carry nothing that cannot be 
  discarded or destroyed.
  13. Keep your options open.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  34
  psychological warfare campaigns 
  in the Philippines and Vietnam for 
  the CIA in the 1950s and 1960s. 
  One of Lansdale’s specialties was 
  faking vampire killings to demoralize 
  the Communist guerrillas – and 
  his protégé Paul Kelly vanished in 
  Croatia during the Bosnia war. 
   
  n
   It’s very strange to put a dead 
  drop right under the holy water 
  font, especially the way this one 
  leaks. Unless that’s the whole point.
  traffic Analysis  
  Ability focus: dumpster diving
  One of the most least glamorous but most 
  useful ways of gathering intelligence on 
  a source is rooting through their trash. 
  In most jurisdictions, when something 
  hits the curb, it becomes public property 
  unless a local law has been passed. If 
  an agent picks up the trash before the 
  garbage truck gets there, she can find 
  out plenty of information.
  reconstructing shredded documents: 
  All that’s truly needed is time, patience 
  and clear tape. Even documents run 
  through a cross cut shredder can 
  be put back together eventually. 
  Wear cotton gloves while sorting to 
  avoid transferring fluids. Keep bags 
  meticulously tagged. Often, shredded 
  bags are specially marked. Separate the 
  strips by bag location, paper size, paper 
  texture, paper color, and computer font. 
  Weigh the strips down and when they 
  are assembled, affix them in place with 
  tape. Make photocopies or scans – new 
  imaging software can match torn ends 
  and broken letters much faster than you 
  can sort through them.
  a feast of information: Take-out 
  containers suggest where poisons can be 
  applied and delivery guys impersonated. 
  Plastic spoons, forks, and knives hold 
  employee DNA. The absence of these 
  items suggests meals prepared at home. 
  A run of used tissues suggests a cold 
  working its way through the office. Old 
  training information offers names and 
  titles of employees. Insights like this can 
  help an infiltration, choose an extraction 
  target, or locate the real facility the team 
  needs to hit.
  identity theft: Agents looking for 
  cover identities can find them in the 
  nearest apartment refuse bin. Pre-paid 
  credit cards can still be activated and 
  used for a short period of time. Bills 
  have all kinds of personal information 
  listed including ID numbers. Even junk 
  mail for someone that no longer lives at 
  the address can inspire an agent to build 
  a legend off of a discarded mailing label.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  killing the kraken
  Traffic Analysis identifies the central 
  hub of the ketamine smuggling operation 
  as a secure, well-guarded warehouse. 
  The black-baggers get inside the port by 
  mixing in with the laborers (Disguise, 
  Difficulty 4) while the hacker changes 
  the manifest and RFID on a barrel full of 
  explosives (Digital Intrusion, Difficulty 
  4). The barrel they inserted gets routed 
  into the warehouse as a normal shipment 
  of bromine and then “erases itself” from 
  the shipping computers. At your team’s 
  discretion, you can press a button and 
  make the warehouse far, far less secure.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n The guard gets up to use the 
  bathroom 7 out of the 10 days he 
  works that shift at 11:30. Gain a 
  3-point Infiltration refresh if you hit 
  the secure door around that time.
   
  n After analyzing the recordings, you’ve 
  got a pretty good idea who is who 
  in the bratva. Add two new names 
  or connections to the adversary 
  map for each point you spent.
   
  n Your stash of flight log anomalies 
  makes you a smash hit on the 
  planespotters.com forums. When 
  you need to track that CIA black 
  flight, you’ve got a global network 
  of folks to keep an eye out for 
  the tail number YR-DRQ.
  sample clues
   
  n
   There are four parishes 
  named after St. Peter in the area, 
  but only one currently without 
  a cross (it’s being restored 
  by a local woodworker).
   
  n
   The outbreak isn’t following 
  standard infection patterns. It 
  seems to be connected to the lunar 
  cycle in its peaks and valleys.
   
  n There’s only one place in 100 
  kilometers that rents hearses.
  urban survival  
  Ability focus: the bug-out bag
  Hunting vampires is a dangerous game, 
  even for trained field agents. Agents 
  are advised to keep a bag packed with 
  essentials for three days on the run. The 
  bug-out bag is for cases where a safe 
  house is compromised and a new base of 
  operations is not immediately available.
  water and a water container: 
  Staying hydrated on the run is 
  important, and a solid bottle is useful 
  for holding other fluids.
  non-perishable 
  food: 
  Even 
  in 
  an urban environment, stopping at 
  a restaurant leaves a paper trail for 
  pursuers to follow.
  a lightweight blanket: Useful for 
  warmth or as a makeshift shelter.
  solar powered or battery-powered 
  lighting and radios: Flashlights light the 
  way in out of the way hiding spots and a 
  radio keeps you up to date on your levels 
  of Heat. Unlike a smartphone, nobody 
  can track or hack a transistor radio.
  personal medications: Multivitamins, 
  anti-diarrhea medications, and the pills 
  the nice doc prescribed to keep the 
  nightmares away.
  a first aid kit: Soft-sided kits are the 
  most flexible.
  multinational cash: Euros or dollars. 
  Keep cash in a waterproof container. 
  ATMs and plastic leave a paper trail. 
  If you plan on crossing borders don’t 
  forget a passport.
  warm clothes and comfortable 
  shoes: Reversible jacket, sunglasses and 
  ball cap to conceal your face, jeans or 
  work trousers, and spare underwear. 
  Rolling clothes optimizes space the best, 
  so no tuxedos.
  tools: Multipurpose tools save space 
  and have a variety of uses. 
  protection and self-defense: Take 
  a weapon of choice with you, ideally 
  something that won’t trigger suspicion 
  if you’re found with it: a claw hammer, 
  for example. A good space-saving choice 
  is a nice, heavy metal flashlight.
  
  35
  abilities  n  investigative abilities : traffic analysis to vampirology
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  safe house raid
  Urban Survival illuminates a route 
  across the rooftops the gang overlooked. 
  Getting on the roof involves a jump from 
  the nearby roof (Athletics, Difficulty 
  4), or a silent shinny down a fire escape 
  on the building across the air shaft 
  (Infiltration, Difficulty 5). Anyone 
  shooting down through the skylights in 
  the roof gains +1 to their Hit Threshold 
  and a round of surprise.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n You know how to cut through 
  the red tape in Athens: swear in 
  French, and hint that helping you 
  will annoy the Germans. Gain a 
  2-point Bureaucracy pool to speed 
  up any essential licensures.
   
  n You’re in Kiev again! This will be just 
  like old times. Reminisce about the 
  good old days while chowing down 
  on the best salo and onions in the 
  world at Spotykach in Volodymyrska 
  Street. God, you love this town. 
  Refresh your Stability with a 
  confidence die roll (NBA, p. 92).
   
  n You know of an abandoned school 
  where you can lay low for a few days.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The graffiti is clear -- this 
  tenement used to be gang housing, 
  but their tags are painted over 
  with the red eye-L. The building 
  is a nest of the infected.
   
  n
   The look in the old woman’s 
  eyes tells you what the locals know. 
  She faced these things when she 
  was your age and she lived. You 
  give her a packet of Gauloises and 
  an unused Metro card and she tells 
  you all about the infestation of ‘58.
   
  n From the wrappers and trash in 
  the corners, you’d say the killer 
  was here for about two weeks 
  waiting for a call from the smashed 
  cell phone in the corner.
  Vampirology  
  Ability focus:  
  the Vampire subculture
  Beginning in the late 1970s, a subculture 
  of self-identified “vampires” emerged 
  within the Goth and BDSM communities 
  and grew along with its two parent 
  cultures. It blew up in the 1990s with 
  the publication and popularity of 
  the roleplaying game Vampire: the 
  Masquerade and even moreso its live-
  action ruleset. Other influences include 
  the Thelemite and neopagan religions; 
  many vampires practice magickal rituals 
  or “energy workings,” and most New 
  Age publishers have vampire grimoires 
  and liturgies in their catalog. The 
  modern “vampire community” (perhaps 
  10,000 people, and as many hangers-
  on) remains closely linked to its origins, 
  with “vampire nights” common at some 
  Goth and industrial clubs in America, 
  Asia, and Europe, and dedicated 
  “vampire clubs” in cities such as Toronto, 
  Hamburg, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and New 
  York. (Shanghai got its first vampire club 
  in 2011.) Some vampires drink blood, 
  usually consensually within a fetish 
  or BDSM scene; a larger group self-
  identifies as energy vampires or psychic 
  vampires. Many vampires, especially psi-
  vamps, avoid the scene and practice their 
  habit secretively. Many self-identified 
  vampires also avoid mirrors, sunlight, 
  garlic, and other taboo items drawn 
  from broader vampire pop culture. 
  Other dedicated lifestylers wear tinted 
  FX contacts or even special denture fangs 
  – all potentially confusing to dedicated 
  hunters of the true Conspiracy.
  A Glossary of Vampspeak
  Ambient feeding: Taking energy from a 
  crowd or group.
  Beacon: The energy signature given off 
  by fellow vampires, especially latent 
  or potential ones. You spot a beacon 
  with your vampdar.
  Black hole: An energy vampire unable to 
  stop feeding.
  Black swan: A non-vampire familiar 
  with, and accepting of, the vampire 
  community.
  Black Veil: The generally accepted code 
  of conduct and ethics followed 
  by conscientious members of the 
  subculture.
  Combo: A vampire capable of feeding 
  on blood or energy: “I’m a psi/sang 
  combo.”
  Donor: Someone who gives or sells 
  their blood or energy to a vampire. 
  Also source.
  Fashion vamp: Someone who just likes 
  to dress up as a vampire.
  Grazing: Feeding indiscriminately; 
  vampspeak for “slutting around.”
  Haven: “Vampire-safe” hangout space; 
  usually a club, but it might be a 
  coffee shop, apartment, bookstore, 
  or the like.
  House: A smaller social group within 
  the subculture. A house might be a 
  few roommates or a global “tribe.” 
  Major Houses include Kheperu, 
  Sahjaza, Quinotaur, and Eclipse.
  Human: A person who doesn’t identify 
  as a vampire. Also mundane, mortal.
  Invisible: Someone expelled from the 
  subculture. Also sin nomine.
  Leech: Derogatory term for a blood 
  vampire.
  Lifestyler: Someone who lives the 
  vampire lifestyle but who may or 
  may not believe they need to drink 
  blood or energy. Also vampyre.
  Long Night: Vampire holiday, on the 
  winter solstice.
  Neo: Someone who “converted” to 
  vampirism, rather than being born a 
  (latent) vampire.
  OSV: The Ordo Strigoii Vii is a large 
  House of psi vampires; they disavow 
  blood vampires.
  Otherkin: A person who identifies as 
  some other sort of supernatural 
  being, usually a fae or lycanthrope. 
  Therians are reincarnated animals, 
  not supernatural creatures.
  Parasite: Derogatory term for an energy 
  vampire. Also soul sucker.
  Psi-vamp: Energy vampire. Also prana-
  vamp, pranic.
  Real vampire: A person who believes he 
  needs blood or energy for his health. 
  Also HLV (human living vampire).
  Sanguinarian: A person who believes 
  he needs to drink blood; a blood 
  vampire. Also sang, sang vamp.
  Sanguinarium: The loosely affiliated 
  clubs, organizations, Houses, 
  businesses, authors, bands, etc. 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  36
  who predominate in the vampire 
  subculture. Some vampires avoid the 
  Sanguinarium as too full of posers, 
  fashion vamps, and wannabes.
  Subs: What you drink or eat when you 
  can’t get blood: e.g., rare steak, hot 
  sauce, chocolate syrup.
  Twoofing: Suffering from a sudden attack 
  of vampiric thirst or withdrawal 
  symptoms. Also vamping out.
  White swan: Someone familiar with, but 
  hostile to, the vampire community.
  tactical fact-finding benefit: 
  the remington Allergist
  Knowledge of Vampirology gives you 
  a wide variety of possible banes to try 
  out. Cleverly, before tracking the thing 
  to its lair, you spent a night hand-loading 
  shotgun shells (Shooting or Mechanics, 
  Difficulty 2) with rock salt, aloe vera, 
  minced garlic, hawthorns, rose oil, 
  silver shot, holy medals, and splinters 
  from nine different kinds of wood. When 
  you start blasting away in a memorized 
  sequence, you do only -2 damage with 
  most of the hits – but the first 6 you 
  roll on your damage die is the shot with 
  the true bane in it. It does damage as a 
  normal shotgun shell, plus any damage 
  from the bane itself (NBA, p. 139), plus 
  giving the team one round of surprise 
  while the creature reacts with impotent 
  rage. To remember which load had the 
  effect (“was it ten shots, or only nine?”), 
  make a Preparedness test at a Difficulty 
  of 3, adding +1 to the Difficulty for 
  every 3 points of Health or Stability lost 
  by the shotgun wielder during the fight. If 
  you succeed, you know something that 
  can kill vampires, or at least royally tick 
  them off. (The team may not get that 
  round of surprise in future combats, 
  now that the fiends know the agents 
  know their weakness.)
  Obviously, if the vampires in your 
  campaign don’t actually have a true 
  shotgun-usable bane that Vampirology 
  might suggest, this TFFB provides 
  nothing but a false sense of confidence: 
  everybody on the team gets a 3-point 
  Stability refresh before the battle or 
  retroactively if they activate this TFFB 
  during the scrap.
  sample spend benefits
   
  n Learning about vampires means 
  learning about blood. Gain a 
  2-point Criminology pool to read 
  the blood spatter evidence.
   
  n Checking over the CCTV feed from 
  the park, you see a white carriage 
  horse shy and rear in the bridle 
  path, near that statue. In Albanian 
  folklore, a white horse refuses to 
  pass a vampire’s resting place.
   
  n There are others out there who 
  know the truth. They are just 
  as deadly and paranoid as your 
  team, but by revealing a few select 
  secrets of the undead, you can 
  convince one of them to meet you 
  one on one and compare notes.
  sample clues
   
  n
   The aliens come from a 
  red dwarf star – maybe they, 
  like fictional vampires, are 
  sensitive to ultraviolet light, the 
  kind our sun emits in greater 
  quantities than their home star.
   
  n
   
   This man’s throat was 
  simply torn out. The vampire that 
  did this must have been starving, 
  or rabid. It will almost certainly 
  strike again tomorrow night.
   
  n Rumors persist of an annotated 
  copy of Dracula that’s been 
  passed down through intelligence 
  channels when government agents 
  run afoul of real vampires.
  general abilities
  For each General ability, this section 
  provides specific uses, information, and 
  techniques to increase both the seeming 
  plausibility and the technothriller flavor 
  of your agent’s badassery. If the ability 
  can be used investigatively (which most 
  General abilities can, if you try hard 
  enough) each writeup includes some 
  sample clues similar to those in the 
  Investigative abilities section.
  Each of the General Abilities includes 
  one or more new cherries for agents 
  to choose if they so desire. Players who 
  want to switch cherries should discuss 
  the change with their Director the next 
  time an opportunity to spend experience 
  arises. Cherries that never found use 
  can be easily wiped away. Ones that 
  came into play can be switched once 
  the Director and the player arrange 
  a mutually agreeable fiction. Perhaps 
  Mr. Blanc’s devilish luck ran out after 
  that close scrape in Budapest. Now, 
  he throws himself back into games of 
  chance, honing his abilities to detect lies.
  Some Directors may also allow more 
  than one cherry in a skill. High-octane 
  series featuring supercompetent agents 
  suit this possibility best, but any game 
  can benefit at the discretion of the 
  Director. Multiple cherries in a single 
  skill follow this rule:
   
  n When a General ability reaches 8 
  rating points, pick the cherry you 
  want to use. It does not change.
   
  n You can add a second cherry 
  (if available) when you have 14 
  rating points in that ability.
   
  n You can add a third cherry (if 
  available) when you have 20 rating 
  points in that ability, and so forth.
   As in the corebook, in a Dust mode 
  game only the cherries marked with the 
  Dust icon are available.
  Finally, all Directors interested in 
  increasing the success rate of their 
  players’ actions should see the optional 
  Mastery rule in the nearby box.
  
  abilities  n  subsections
  37
  abilities  n  general abilities
  37
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  38
  Optional: Mastery  
  This rule radically reduces the chance 
  of total failure on ability tests.
  It may be used for tests of any 
  General ability in which your rating is 
  8 or above. When you spend from that 
  pool to add to an ability test, you may 
  spend 1 point to instead get an extra 
  die. As with all other spends, you must 
  choose to take the extra die or the 
  extra point before you roll any dice. 
  Roll both dice and keep the larger of 
  the two results; add any other spent 
  points to get your total result.
  Beatrice has Shooting 9. She takes 
  a careful bead on the Renfield with 
  her Glock and squeezes the trigger. 
  Her player spends 3 points: the first 
  to get an extra die, and the next 2 to 
  add to her result. She rolls a 1 and 
  a 4 on the dice, so she dumps the 
  low die (the 1) and adds 2 to her 
  higher result (the 4) for a total of 6. That 
  beats the Renfield’s Hit Threshold of 5, 
  so Beatrice’s shot hits the blood-fiend.
  You may only get one extra die per roll. 
  You never add both dice. Rolling a 6 on 
  either die is a “natural” or “unmodified” 
  6 for the purposes of other rules, 
  maneuvers, and cherries.
   This option is not available in Dust 
  mode.
   This option cannot be used for 
  Stability tests in Burn mode.
  This optional rule can be used in any 
  GUMSHOE game modeling cinematically 
  competent characters (such as Ashen 
  Stars or Pulp-mode Trail of Cthulhu), 
  or in campaigns or play groups where 
  failure is more than usually annoying.
  That said, it should never be used for 
  Stability tests in Trail of Cthulhu.
  Athletics  
  Ability focus: parkour
  Derived from parcours, French for 
  “journey.” The “art of displacement” was 
  developed by the Belle family as a way 
  to make the most efficient movements in 
  dangerous situations. Parkour is actually a 
  conservation of movement, making sure 
  every move propels the traceur (runner) 
  forward. Speed, focus, and intent are the 
  keys to parkour. Freerunning, a similar 
  modern movement technique, is more 
  acrobatic in its expression.
  Some Parkour Techniques
  body roll: By landing and rolling to 
  dispense the momentum of a jump, 
  a traceur can make longer jumps and 
  farther falls without injury.
  cat jump: Jump with your arms 
  extended, to land with your arms or 
  hands on the top of the obstacle and 
  feet touching the obstacle. Also called 
  the arm jump and saut de bras.
  climb up: To climb a wall from the 
  cat jump, use your legs to propel you, 
  not your arms to pull you. Push in, not 
  up, with your feet. Move explosively and 
  smoothly; don’t struggle with the wall. 
  Hop your hands forward, then lean over 
  the wall.
  demi tour: Hit a rail or wall with both 
  hands, pull up, pivot on your left hand 
  and drop over the wall into a hang. Also 
  turn vault.
  monkey: Vaulting an obstacle with 
  your legs between your arms, an 
  excellent way to get more distance or 
  clear large objects. Also called the Kong 
  vault and the cat pass.
  passement: A vault over an obstacle 
  featuring minimal contact with the 
  object. One or two hands at the most.
  tic tac: To gain height and change 
  direction by pushing one foot off an 
  object or obstacle.
  top out: Swinging your legs over 
  an edge after a wall climb rather than 
  setting foot on the wall.
  underbar: Jump feet first through an 
  opening, grabbing onto the bar or lintel 
  above you to propel your torso through.
  wall pass: Running toward the wall, 
  converting your momentum to height 
  by running up the wall, catching the top 
  of the wall with your hands, and pulling 
  yourself over the wall. Also passe muraille.
  investigative sample clues
   
  n
   This descender was 
  never actually engaged. This guy 
  didn’t rappel down the walls at 
  all, he floated down them.
   
  n The world record for the long jump 
  is under 9 meters. It’s ten meters to 
  that roof. And yet she jumped it.
   
  n The man in the khakis has gym 
  muscles, not combat muscles. 
  He’s not a real mercenary.
  new cherries
  These cherries are available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Athletics.
  Roll Through The Pain
  After a failed Athletics roll, you may 
  spend points from your Health pool to 
  turn the failure into a success. You may 
  spend Health for Athletics on a one 
  for one basis. You may not spend your 
  Health below 0 in this manner.
   Runner’s Intuition
  Spend 1 pool point of Athletics to size 
  up another character’s athletic ability, 
  constitution, or degree of fitness. The 
  Director will tell you if your opponent’s 
  Athletics rating is greater than, lesser 
  than, or within 1 point of your rating.
  conceal  
  Ability focus: stash spots
  the false stash: Consider splitting 
  whatever valuables you have into two 
  spots. Leave a smaller stash in an obvious 
  place. Make sure the fake stash is large 
  enough to convince any thief that there’s 
  no reason to continue searching. 
  frozen assets: Anything unaffected by 
  the cold can be wrapped in aluminum 
  foil -- or ground beef! -- and put in the 
  freezer. Thieves are unlikely to raid the 
  fridge while ransacking the safehouse.
  frame job: Searching often leads to 
  take a picture off the wall, but only 
  trained investigations search the picture 
  itself. Thin documents fit between the 
  matte and the picture.
  the plant: Fake plants don’t need 
  water, but they can have important items 
  buried in the soil.
  
  39
  abilities  n  general abilities : athletics to disguise
  the toy box: Burglars rarely toss kids’ 
  rooms since they are cluttered and rarely 
  hold valuable items. Stashing important 
  items inside a toy, especially if there are 
  a lot of toys to provide cover, will keep 
  it hidden in plain sight.
  the library: Bibliophiles can stash 
  documents in the pages of a book. 
  Shelves might be cleared looking for 
  safes or stashboxes, but few have the time 
  or energy to leaf through every book.
  common containers: Aspirin bottles, 
  coffee cans, or anything else common in 
  a household. Cereal boxes are a favorite 
  of drug users.
  investigative sample clues
   
  n
   There is garlic powder all 
  over this car trunk. That wouldn’t 
  work to mask smells from drug-
  sniffing dogs … but it might 
  hide something from a vampire 
  shapeshifted into a dog or a wolf.
   
  n
   You catch a look at the screen 
  of the airport baggage X-ray. You’ve 
  seen everything imaginable go 
  through one of those, but you’ve 
  never seen this kind of moiré 
  pattern, even from radioactive metal.
   
  n The narcotic was pressed into 
  potato chip form and hidden 
  in the Pringles tube.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Conceal.
  Bug Stasher
  When you plant an electronic listening 
  device and spend 1 Conceal pool point, 
  it won’t be found without specialized 
  equipment and a major SIGINT-agency 
  level sweep unless someone who knows 
  it’s there reveals its existence.
  digital intrusion  
  It’s more than just defeating their code 
  with yours. Other methods include:
  wiretapping: The Internet makes 
  extensive use of phone lines. Phone 
  lines are vulnerable to wiretapping. This 
  includes both diverting data and copying 
  it and listening in on VoIP electronic phone 
  calls. Wireless networks are also vulnerable 
  if the WPA or WEP key is cracked.
  phishing: 
  Masquerading 
  as 
  a 
  trustworthy entity to acquire user names, 
  passwords or important numbers like 
  credit cards or social security. Phishers 
  send out emails pretending to be an ISP 
  looking to update contact information, 
  or banks asking to verify a large purchase 
  the target didn’t make. Vishing is voice-
  phishing, using VoIP to fake calls from 
  seemingly trusted numbers.
  keystroke logging: More commonly 
  known as keylogging. Keylogging tracks 
  the strokes on a keyboard through 
  various methods. Knowing which keys 
  are pressed when makes discovering 
  passwords, 
  browser 
  contents, 
  or 
  anything else easy. Multiple software 
  keyloggers exist that can be installed or 
  even “infected” onto a target computer. 
  Hardware keyloggers can be plugged 
  into the back of a tower or installed 
  inside the casing of a laptop. Acoustic 
  keyloggers detect the subtle differences 
  in the sounds of keys being struck.
  warwalking: Moving your location 
  in search of an open WiFi network. The 
  better your antenna and the better your 
  sniffing software, the less you have to 
  move, but you should stay on the move 
  anyway. One tip: Kids who play Pokemon 
  have their controllers on all the time. Find 
  a family with a kid who plays Pokemon 
  and you have an always-open door.
  social engineering: One of the 
  biggest jokes in IT departments around 
  the world is the computer problem 
  classified as PEBKAC: Problem Exists 
  Between Keyboard and Chair. The 
  human element is the weakest link in 
  most systems, because humans forget 
  security procedures, use lazy passwords 
  like “password” on secure systems, or pay 
  bills on unsecured wireless networks.
  investigative sample clues
   
  n By analyzing the code and the 
  shortcuts the hacker used, you can 
  identify him as a Chinese hacker who 
  wants you to think he’s Ukrainian. 
  That means Chinese MID most likely 
  – you know the names of the four 
  men most likely to use that dodge.
   
  n This so-called Swiss bank account 
  interface is a mockup, running 
  over a keylogger most likely. 
  They’re faking the transfer to get 
  the mark’s account number.
   
  n
   They left all these obsolete 
  drives and machines in place, 
  but they replaced the CRT 
  monitors with brand-new LCD 
  screens. Is it because CRT 
  monitors emit ultraviolet light, 
  and LCD monitors don’t?
  new cherries
  These 
  cherries 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  characters with 8 or more rating points 
  in Digital Intrusion.
  The Head of a PIN
  You are constantly aware of people 
  when they enter their passwords, PINs, 
  or other safeguards near you. If you can 
  see a target type in their password, you 
  can use it later. It doesn’t matter what 
  precautions they take to protect it -- you 
  can guess it from finger position, or a 
  reflection from the window, or a picture 
  of their wife on the desk, or whatever 
  amazing deduction sounds plausible.
   Mr. Clean
  You make a point to wipe all electronic 
  traces of your contacts. Any digital 
  devices you create can’t be traced back 
  to you. You spend your off-camera time 
  deleting hard drives and cracking cell 
  phone carrier databases for fun. An 
  agent may leave a device in the field that 
  can give up information, but only from 
  the last time you handled it for a wipe.
  disguise  
  The 
  principles 
  of 
  altering 
  your 
  appearance are fundamental, regardless 
  of the specific technology or techniques 
  you use to attain them.
  figure 
  out 
  what 
  stands 
  out: 
  Decide upon your most noteworthy 
  characteristics. Ask two fellow agents 
  what they think they are. Ask two complete 
  strangers, one man and woman, what 
  stands out. Compare the lists. The top five 
  are things that need to be changed.
  go the other way: If you have short 
  hair, wear a wig. If you have a penchant 
  for color, wear dark clothes. Wear 
  bulky, padded clothes to look heavier. 
  Make yourself taller with lifts. Make 
  yourself shorter by slouching. Wear 
  square or boxy glasses to mess with facial 
  recognition, both software and human.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  40
  a distracting detail: Draw attention 
  toward something. It can be anything 
  from a fake scar to a larger bust line. 
  People looking at your diversion aren’t 
  looking at your face.
  quick change: If there isn’t enough 
  time for a full disguise, you can change 
  a few things to throw off pursuit. Wear 
  a wig with different colored hair from 
  yours, and junk it as soon as you’re out 
  of sight. Wear a ball cap pulled over 
  your eyes, and toss it or walk through a 
  stadium-bound crowd. Wear a reversible 
  jacket, light under dark. Ideally, wear 
  layers: colored shirt over gray t-shirt. 
  Every time you leave your watchers’ 
  sight, you should be able to change your 
  profile. Pull a ball cap or a work shirt out 
  of your jacket to make yourself thinner, 
  and then put it on or throw it away.
  investigative sample clues
   
  n You stand around outside the club in 
  a red vest, and Yuri’s mistress tosses 
  you the keys to her Lamborghini. 
  One planted tracker later, and you 
  know where he spends his off hours.
   
  n
   That dye job is decent, but 
  the hair under it is broken and 
  white – which is weird for such 
  a youthful looking face.
   
  n
   The cosmetic dentures 
  left behind are designed to 
  conceal two extra teeth.
  new cherries
  These cherries are available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Disguise.
   Innocent Bystander
  If you are in disguise, you may also spend 
  Disguise pool points on any Surveillance 
  test to observe, follow, or surprise (NBA, 
  p. 60) an enemy, or to unexpectedly 
  Jump In (NBA, p. 75) to combat.
   Just The Help
  You specialize in looking nondescript. 
  If you’re wearing a service uniform, 
  jumpsuit, rented-looking tux, or the 
  like, your Difficulty on any Disguise test 
  is reduced by 1.
  driving  
  Ability focus:  
  Aggressive driving maneuvers
  bootlegger’s turn: Vehicles with a 
  handbrake allow for a quick 180-degree 
  turn. Invented by Prohibition-era 
  smugglers who used it to spin around 
  and zip past pursuers on the other side 
  of the highway.
  drafting: Two vehicles moving 
  quickly together move slightly faster 
  than one vehicle alone. The lead vehicle 
  disrupts the air as it speeds, leaving less 
  air resistance for the trailing vehicle. The 
  trailing vehicle forces high-pressure air 
  into the lead vehicle to push it forward.
  drifting: Intentionally oversteering 
  into a corner causing the rear wheels 
  to lose traction while controlling the 
  angle of exiting the curve with the front 
  wheels. Drifting allows a car to take a 
  turn while losing a minimum of speed. 
  Common in European racing and street 
  racing everywhere.
  pit 
  maneuver: 
  The 
  Precision 
  Immobilization Technique was adapted 
  from the dangerous bump and run 
  technique of dirty stock-car racers. 
  The pursuit vehicle pulls parallel to the 
  quarry vehicle being chased. The pursuit 
  vehicle steers into the back quarter 
  panel of the quarry vehicle, causing the 
  quarry to spin and come to a stop. This 
  maneuver is best used with two pursuit 
  vehicles so one can watch over the quarry 
  while the vehicle that performed the PIT 
  has time to recover.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   Celine is still angry at getting 
  fired from his driver’s gig by the 
  ambulance service. A little gearhead 
  bonding and he spills all the gory 
  details about his passenger on 
  the fateful night in question.
   
  n The trunk on that model isn’t big 
  enough to hold a body. Makarov’s lying.
   
  n
   The route programmed into 
  the BMW’s GPS isn’t nearly 
  the fastest, but it does avoid 
  every church in Wroclaw.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Driving.
   Defensive Driving
  While you’re at the wheel, you and your 
  passengers add 1 to your and their Hit 
  Threshold against attacks from outside 
  the vehicle; foes throwing objects (such 
  as grenades) at your vehicle add 1 to their 
  Difficulty to hit it. Opponents in a chase or 
  contest of Driving add 1 to their Difficulty 
  on attempts to ram your vehicle, run it off 
  the road, or similar direct attacks.
  explosive devices  
  Ability focus:  
  plastic explosives
  Plastic explosives have been around 
  since 1875. They played a part in World 
  War II, often used in British commando 
  raids. The simplest plastic explosive 
  from the period was Nobel’s 808, also 
  known as Explosive 808. The famous 
  von Stauffenberg plot to blow up 
  Adolf Hitler involved a briefcase filled 
  with Nobel 808 captured from British 
  SOE agents. Another WWII-vintage 
  explosive called HMX could be mixed 
  with flour: pancakes made with the 
  mixture were edible, but could also be 
  used as demolitions.
  Most plastic explosive (or plastique) is 
  very stable and cannot be set off through 
  physical shocks. Gunshots won’t trigger 
  it, nor will it explode if set on fire. The 
  only way to set it off is when a detonator 
  set into the explosive is triggered, 
  usually by det cord, or by an electric or 
  electronic detonator. (Some plastique can 
  be triggered with a blasting cap.) Plastic 
  explosive is useful in demolition because 
  it can be fit into cracks, gaps, and holes 
  inside important structural points.
  C-4 (or C4) is the most common 
  plastic explosive used by the U.S. military, 
  especially for making shaped charges. 
  It is plasticized RDX, and off-white in 
  color. Developed for use in Vietnam in 
  the 1960s, it replaced Explosive 808 in 
  Western arsenals. Supplied to American 
  client states for decades, including Iran 
  and Saudi Arabia, it is omnipresent in 
  terrorist arsenals. Britain and China use 
  a slightly more volatile (and thus more 
  reliably explosive) formulation of the same 
  mixture, called PE4 in Europe; Pakistan 
  also manufactures the Chinese version.
  
  41
  abilities  n  general abilities : driving to filch
  Semtex is the most common plastic 
  explosive used by contractors and 
  construction companies. Known for its 
  distinctive orange color, it is a blend of 
  PETN and RDX. It was developed in 
  Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, and has 
  been manufactured there since 1964. 
  The Czechs supplied it to Communist 
  states, 
  terrorist 
  movements, 
  and 
  rogue governments for 25 years, most 
  famously shipping 700 tons to Khadafi’s 
  Libya between 1975 and 1981. It is 
  waterproof, highly malleable, and has a 
  stable shelf life of about five years.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   This bomb is a WWII-
  vintage design, although it uses 
  modern explosives. The builder 
  must be very old, and very 
  set in his – or its – ways.
   
  n
   There is absolutely no trace 
  of any accelerant in this arson 
  scene, except for a vague scent 
  of sulfur. It’s as though the 
  fire came out of nowhere.
   
  n
   This blood spray isn’t from 
  the victims – it’s from the 
  bomb casing. The bomb was a 
  delivery system, to aerosolize 
  whatever was in that blood.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters with 8 
  or more rating points in Explosive Devices.
  Maestro of Destruction
  Your wiring diagrams belong in the 
  Louvre. The only way one of your 
  bombs can be deactivated without your 
  cooperation is if the EOD man also 
  possesses this cherry.
  filch  
  Ability focus: pickpocket teams
  Whether it’s a neo-Fagin using children 
  in Singapore to soak up loose tourist 
  cash, or a precisely timed lift to get the 
  thumb drive off the capo at his birthday 
  party, a coordinated wire mob can get 
  sensitive material into important hands 
  with nobody the wiser. The working 
  parts of a wire mob are:
  The mark: The target of the 
  pickpocket team.
  The steer: The person that chooses the 
  mark and runs the operation.
  The stall: The person who distracts 
  the mark. Popular choices include 
  mistaken identity, a seemingly 
  innocent bump, asking for directions, 
  or the always classic spilled drink. 
  The shade: The person who prevents 
  the mark from noticing the lift. The 
  shade might use their own body or 
  an object like a newspaper or a coat.
  The dip: The person performing the 
  actual lift.
  The duke man: The person who takes the 
  item the dip lifts to keep the rest of 
  the team clean.
  A one man wire mob is known as a 
  cannon, a title of high esteem amongst 
  pickpockets. For those cannons who 
  prefer to work solo, here are a few tips 
  for good lifts:
   
  n Let the mark’s momentum 
  help you. Instead of pulling the 
  item, grab the item and get the 
  mark to move on her own. It 
  will slip out into your hand.
   
  n Wait for (or create) a diversion. 
  If the mark is watching something 
  else, he’s not watching his wallet. 
  Another person interacting with the 
  mark is the best diversion possible.
   
  n Brush against the mark once 
  to locate a wallet, passport, or 
  other specific target. It’s harder 
  to detect two brief touches 
  than one lengthy pass.
   
  n Get an accomplice to shout “My 
  wallet’s gone!” Most people 
  will instinctively flinch to check 
  their valuables and give their 
  location away for a later lift.
   
  n Approach the mark in a peripheral 
  manner. Coming at someone 
  from directly in front or behind 
  puts them on the defensive.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Filch.
  A Lift in Time Saves Nine
  You may retroactively declare that you 
  lifted a palm-sized or smaller item from 
  a scene or character encountered in this 
  session. You must still succeed at the 
  Filch test against what would have been 
  its normal Difficulty; the item must not 
  have been visible “on screen” or used 
  after your ostensible Filch opportunity. 
  This is the Filch-specific equivalent of In 
  the Nick of Time (NBA, p. 33).
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  42
  gambling  
  Ability focus:  
  european casino table games
  baccarat: Baccarat is the game of choice 
  for anyone with a license to kill. Baccarat 
  is played between the player and the 
  banker. There are three outcomes: the 
  player wins, the banker wins, or there’s 
  a tie. Players choose to bet on either the 
  player or the bank. Chemin-de-fer is the 
  original version created in France.
  kalooki: A relative of gin rummy. 
  Popular in the United Kingdom. Cards 
  can be played as sets (3 or more of the 
  same value) and runs (3 or more of the 
  same suit in order). Payouts occur after 
  every hand, though if a player lays out 
  a run of an entire suit, which gives the 
  game its name, they get a special payout.
  pai gow: A Chinese game that mixes 
  dice and tiles. Bets are laid out and then 
  the dice are rolled to see how tiles are 
  dealt. Each player, up to 6 gets four 
  tiles. The tiles must be assembled in the 
  strongest possible combination of pairs. 
  Each pair is compared to the dealers pair. 
  If the player loses both hands, the bet is 
  taken. If one pair wins and one loses, 
  the bet is a push and the player keeps 
  the money. If both hands win, the player 
  receives a payout equal to the bet less a 
  5% house commission.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   There have been persistent 
  rumors that Krytshchkyn has 
  been doping, but no examination 
  has ever found steroids or other 
  PEDs in his blood. Which in itself 
  is unusual for a boxer who began 
  in the Soviet Olympic program.
   
  n
   Every machine the Stranger 
  sat down to play paid out a big 
  jackpot. Electromagnetic fields 
  affect slot machines. Maybe it’s 
  time to build us a Faraday cage.
   
  n That’s the third big pot she’s folded 
  out of with decent cards. She 
  doesn’t have the killer instinct to 
  be a killer, and her poker face isn’t 
  good enough for a long bluff. If 
  she’s involved, it’s peripheral, and 
  she might not even like the smell 
  on the periphery. We can flip her.
  new cherries
  These cherries are available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Gambling.
  All In
  You’re not just lucky, you play fast and 
  loose with everything, scoring adrenaline 
  on a win. You drive faster, bet your last 
  dollar, and push the physical envelope a 
  little more than most.
  Once per session, you can take a 
  3-point refresh of any General ability, 
  including Gambling. You must have 
  a rating in that ability, and its current 
  current pool must be 0. If your refresh 
  takes you above your normal rating for 
  that ability, you lose the excess points.
  Desmond has Explosive Devices 10, but 
  has spent all those points burning avgas 
  and setting off claymores to disrupt a 
  ghoul attack, giving him a current pool 
  of 0. Fortunately, he has the All In cherry; 
  when he really needs to disarm that fuel-
  air explosive, he can refresh 3 points in 
  Explosive Devices before making the test.
  The Director may ask you to justify the 
  ridiculous turn of luck that gives you 
  that boost.
   Everybody’s Got A Tell
  Your lengthy study of faces across the 
  green baize pays off in more than one 
  fashion. You receive 1 free rating point 
  in Bullshit Detector.
  hand-to-hand  
  Ability focus:  
  martial Arts mixer
  Hundreds of styles of unarmed fighting 
  exist around the world. Most practically 
  trained fighters don’t stick to one style. 
  Mixed martial arts allow for maximum 
  flexibility. Cross-training makes every 
  agent unique and able to adapt to the 
  techniques any opponent might use 
  in the field. The following list is not 
  exhaustive by any means, but highlights 
  mixed martial arts that combine styles 
  in new, deadly ways.
  For more detailed rules for martial arts 
  use in GUMSHOE, see the GUMSHOE 
  Zoom: Martial Arts.
  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Brazil)
  offensive techniques: Submissions, 
  joint locks, chokeholds
  defensive techniques: Grounding, 
  positional strength, sweeps
  famous master: BJJ founder Hélio 
  Gracie famously battled the judoka 
  Masahiro Kimura in 1951. He 
  fought until Kimura dislocated his 
  elbow and broke his arm in two 
  places. Even then, Gracie did not 
  tap out; his corner threw in the 
  towel. That lock is now commonly 
  known as the Kimura lock.
  Jeet Kune Do (U.S.)
  offensive techniques: Hand strikes, 
  foot strikes, grapples
  defensive techniques: Movement, 
  blocks, trapping
  famous master: Bruce Lee developed 
  these techniques in 1969 after 
  feeling that other martial arts 
  made practitioners too rigid. He 
  built JKD as a way to attack by 
  defending, or to strike while an 
  opponent was preparing to attack.
  Krav Maga (Israel)
  offensive techniques: Targeting vital 
  areas, ending fights quickly, 
  integrating knife attacks
  defensive techniques: Counterattacks, 
  situational awareness, 
  preemptive attacks
  famous master: Imi Lichtenfeld developed 
  the system in the late 1930s to 
  protect Jews in Bratislava. Following 
  his emigration to Israel, he taught 
  the techniques to what would soon 
  become the Israeli Defense Force.
  Modern Army Combatives (U.S.)
  offensive techniques: Hand strikes, 
  knee strikes, submissions
  defensive techniques: Ground 
  fighting, takedowns, disengaging 
  into firearm range
  famous master: Matt Larsen received 
  an induction into the Order of 
  Saint Maurice for his mixture 
  of Muay Thai, sambo, and judo 
  techniques taught since 2007 to 
  all Army Infantry personnel.
  
  43
  abilities  n  general abilities : gambling to infiltration
  Muay Thai (Thailand)
  offensive techniques: Knee strikes, foot 
  strikes, elbow strikes, grapples
  defensive techniques: Clinches, 
  neck wrestling, redirection
  famous master: The Art of Eight 
  Limbs’ most famous master, Nai 
  Khanomtom, defeated ten Burmese 
  champions in 1774, winning his 
  freedom and two wives. Thai 
  fighters celebrate March 17 as 
  Boxer’s Day in his honor.
  Systema (USSR)
  offensive techniques: Rib slaps, bone 
  and joint strikes, joint locks
  defensive techniques: Ground 
  fighting, leg locks, takedowns
  famous master: Mikhail Ryabko learned 
  “the Spetsnaz martial art” from one 
  of Stalin’s former bodyguards in 1961. 
  The term Systema has been used 
  for many different martial arts and 
  training styles; as used in the Spetsnaz 
  it has much in common with Vasili 
  Oshchepkov’s Combat Sambo style.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   When that guy grabbed 
  you, you were sure of two things: 
  you were dead meat if you didn’t 
  break that lock in the next two 
  seconds; and you’ve never felt 
  any muscles that move like that.
   
  n
   The sumo purify their ring with 
  salt before a match. It looks like 
  the yokozuna kept the vampires 
  out of his bedroom the same way.
   
  n Look at the calluses on the 
  corpse’s hands. He’s spent serious 
  time breaking boards at a dojo 
  somewhere – ask around and 
  we might find out who he was 
  and who he sparred with.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters with 
  8 or more rating points in Hand-to-Hand.
  Haymaker
  You may roll two dice when doing 
  unarmed damage and choose either die. 
  If you choose the higher of the two dice 
  rolled, you must spend Hand-to-Hand 
  points equal to the difference between 
  the rolls.
  infiltration  
  defeating cctv cameras: A security 
  camera becomes much less useful if it is 
  unable to record the face of an intruder. 
  A head lamp with an IR bulb defeats 
  most cameras without a IR lens. The 
  light reduces a face to a glowing blob. In 
  a pinch, a laser dot pointer or laser pen 
  pointed at the camera will also scramble 
  the visual.
  surviving a guard dog attack: 
  Freeze. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t 
  smile – the dog may misinterpret this as 
  baring of teeth. If the dog bites, push into 
  the mouth rather than pull; pulling just 
  makes the teeth tear more flesh. Strike 
  the dog in its most vulnerable parts.
  cut the power: Most home security 
  alarms have a 24 to 48 hour backup 
  battery. Checking out lost household 
  power is a low priority if nobody is home. 
  Flip the breakers to the house, wait 48 
  hours, then come back and take your 
  time while the targets are on vacation.
  bump key: Most modern locks can 
  be opened with this item. A bump key 
  features peaks that are all cut to the 
  lowest groove. When struck with a 
  hammer while inside a lock, the force 
  causes the top pins to jump into place. 
  Top line locks have protection against 
  bump keys.
  new cherries
  These 
  cherries 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  characters with 8 or more rating points 
  in Infiltration.
  Bono Cane
  For whatever reason, dogs just love you, 
  and you like them. Spend 1 pool point 
  of Infiltration to bypass guard dogs, 
  either by stealth or by pure charisma. 
  This cherry has no effect on transformed 
  vampires, ghouls, Renfielded hounds, or 
  the like.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  44
  tools as Weapons table  
  tool
  damage 
  modifier
  notes
  Box cutter, oil spray*
  -2
  box cutter: Doesn’t do much damage, but draws blood
  oil spray: Forces Athletics test against Difficulty 
  equal to your Shooting total; succeed or fall 
  down for -2 damage, lose next two attacks
  Auger, chisel, flashlight, hacksaw, hammer, 
  hatchet, hedge clippers, nail gun*, 
  pliers, rake, screwdriver, shears, socket 
  wrench, soldering iron, tire iron, trowel
  -1
  nail gun: Close range maximum, can use Autofire
  soldering iron: Add another -2 for burning damage
  Crowbar, hand power saw, heavy wrench, 
  mattock, maul, oxyacetylene torch, 
  plasma cutter, post-hole digger, pick, 
  power drill, sand blaster*, shovel, 
  sledgehammer, tree limb loppers
  +0
  loppers: +2 damage if used to sever a limb (Called Shot)
  oxy torch, plasma cutter: Does 
  double normal fire damage
  sand blaster: Close range maximum
  Axe, chainsaw, large power saw, 
  lawnmower, scythe, table saw
  +1
  Arc welder
  +2
  arc welder: Only at Point-Blank, emits strong UV 
  and blinds unprotected onlookers as flash-bang
  Escape Artist
  You missed your calling by not playing 
  Vegas. No matter how you are bound, 
  locked, tied up, given enough time 
  unobserved you will get free. This 
  doesn’t mean you can’t be captured. In 
  fact, that may become a viable plan for 
  your team to get you on the inside of a 
  secure facility.
  mechanics  
  Using tools as weapons still calls for tests 
  of Weapons or Shooting, but it’s the grease 
  monkey or the wire rat who actually 
  carries this arsenal around with her.
  Attacking using a tool with an asterisk 
  (*) takes Shooting instead of Weapons.
  For a mounted tool like a table saw, 
  use Smashes or Throws (NBA, p. 76) 
  to shove or force opponents into the 
  spinning blades of death. Combine them 
  with Feints (NBA, p. 74) for extra effect.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   Maybe you can’t read the Korean 
  writing on the control panel, but 
  a ground-penetrating radar is a 
  ground-penetrating radar, right? This 
  one certainly seems to show a lot 
  of tunnels centered on that tomb.
   
  n The aircon compressor feeds were 
  cut. They were done in a way to 
  look like an accidental break caused 
  by wear or metal fatigue, but it was 
  intentional and professional. That’s 
  how the bratva got access: they 
  must have walked right in wearing 
  air-conditioner repairman outfits.
   
  n
   That’s weird – MacLean’s flask has 
  a second compartment underneath the 
  bourbon. Since when does he drink 
  water? And why did he spot-weld that 
  crucifix to the bottom of the flask?
  new cherries
  These 
  cherries 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  characters with 8 or more rating points 
  in Mechanics.
  Demolition Man
  You may spend your Mechanics pool for 
  Explosive Devices tests when rigging a 
  vehicle or other large machine to explode.
  Trapmaster
  When you build a non-explosive booby 
  trap (NBA, p. 98) you may spend 2 
  points of Mechanics to ensure it does two 
  instances of damage (roll twice) instead 
  of one when it successfully catches an 
  opponent. You only need to spend after 
  the trap is triggered.
  medic  
  A good first aid kit that can serve four 
  agents should contain the following:
   
  n 2 absorbent compress 
  dressings (13 x 23 cm)
   
  n 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
   
  n 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 meters x 2.5 cm)
   
  n 5 antibiotic ointment packets 
  (approximately 1 gram)
   
  n 5 antiseptic wipe packets
   
  n 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
   
  n 1 blanket (space blanket)
   
  n 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
   
  n 1 instant cold compress
   
  n 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
   
  n 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets 
  (approximately 1 gram each)
   
  n Scissors
   
  n 1 roller bandage (8 cm wide)
   
  n 1 roller bandage (11 cm wide)
   
  n 5 sterile gauze pads (8 x 8 cm)
   
  n 5 sterile gauze pads (11 x 11 cm)
   
  n Oral thermometer (non-
  mercury/nonglass)
   
  n 2 triangular bandages
   
  n Tweezers
   
  n First aid instruction booklet
  Before going into gunfights, adding extra 
  dressings, bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic, 
  and painkillers is probably indicated.
  
  45
  abilities  n  general abilities : mechanics to sense trouble
  Syringes, ammonia inhalants, salt 
  tablets, hand sanitizer, anti-malarials, 
  hemostatic bandages, military morphia 
  syrettes, and other exotic items might be 
  in an agent’s first aid kit as well, depending 
  on the kindness of the Director and the 
  vagaries of Preparedness.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Medic.
  On Your Feet
  You may take one round to give an 
  unconscious agent a chance to get back 
  in the fight. She receives a bonus to her 
  Consciousness roll equal to any points 
  you spend in Medic.
  piloting  
  Ability focus:  
  surviving A plane crash
  planning to fail: Make sure your seat 
  belt is securely fastened. Wear long 
  sleeves and long pants on a flight to 
  protect from glass, metal, and the 
  elements. Keep anything important on 
  your person at all times. If it’s too large 
  to carry that way, be prepared to lose it 
  or to spend time recovering it later.
  get secure: Extend your arms, cross 
  your hands, and place them on the seat 
  in front of you. Place your head against 
  the back of your hands. Tuck your feet 
  under your seat as far as you can. If you 
  have no seat in front of you, bend your 
  upper body over with your head down 
  and wrap your arms behind your knees.
  get out: Fire is a likely danger thanks 
  to the mix of leaking fuel and flammable 
  objects. The toxic fumes from burning 
  pieces of the plane are more likely to 
  kill you than the flames. Stay low and 
  keep moving. Don’t attempt to recover 
  any luggage. Anything sensitive can be 
  recovered at a later time. Infiltrate a crash 
  investigation site instead of hunting around 
  a burning, poisonous time bomb for that 
  briefcase four men died for in Stuttgart.
  get away: The first 90 seconds after a 
  crash are called “golden time.” If you can 
  get out of the plane, stay calm and get 
  away in that time frame, your chances 
  for survival are significantly better. The 
  farther away from the plane you can get, 
  the less likely you’ll be killed if it explodes. 
  Seek cover behind a large rock or other 
  solid formation to protect yourself.
  investigative sample clues
   
  n
   A sudden fog descended 
  over the tower that night. No 
  flights were able to land, but 
  the air traffic controller on 
  duty said that the Alucardia 
  executive jet took off anyway.
   
  n
   No known aircraft can make 
  sudden high-speed, right-angle 
  course changes like that.
   
  n You used to fly the Sheik’s jet 
  to the Riviera for him. You 
  know just which terminal Abu 
  Anfal is likely to use at NCE.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Piloting.
   Move Around The Cabin
  You really know your way around cramped 
  quarters, even when they’re moving 
  up and down unpredictably. When on 
  a plane or boat, your Difficulty for all 
  Athletics feats, and the Hit Threshold of 
  anyone you attack with Hand-To-Hand 
  or Weapons, is decreased by 1.
  preparedness  
  brass knuckles: Slipping a solid item 
  in your fist can give you an advantage 
  (damage -1 instead of -2) in a Hand-
  to-Hand contest. If a roll of coins is not 
  available, make a fist around a set of keys. 
  Make sure the sharp edges of the keys 
  protrude out from between your fingers.
  burglar alarm: Wedge rubber door 
  stops under a hotel room door. Set up 
  the office chair in front of the door. Stack 
  the room glasses on the chair so that 
  any motion from the door will dislodge 
  them. This way, even if someone attempts 
  a quiet entry into the room, the glasses 
  fall and alert the occupants.
  cover 
  identity: Collect business 
  cards wherever you go. Take them from 
  desks. Pick them up from the flyer-
  choked lobbies of coffee shops. Scoop 
  out handfuls from those fishbowl “get 
  a free meal” drawings at restaurants. 
  While an ID like this won’t survive much 
  scrutiny after the fact, having a business 
  card to whip out on an introduction can 
  lower the defenses of a witness faster 
  than an hour of well-spun story.
  silencer: A thick towel wrapped 
  around the gun can muffle the sound (for 
  effects see NBA, p. 103). A 2-liter plastic 
  bottle taped to the barrel also works. 
  Improvised silencers like these greatly 
  lower accuracy and stopping power (-1 
  to damage, +1 to foe’s Hit Threshold).
  new cherries
  These 
  cherries 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  characters with 8 or more rating points 
  in Preparedness.
  Check Your Other Left Pocket
  You may spend Preparedness on behalf 
  of other agents in the field. The Director 
  may require a brief flashback scene 
  where you give your teammate the 
  piece of equipment along with an eerily 
  prescient explanation of why he or she 
  will need it.
   Hoarder
  You learned long ago the virtues of stay-
  behind equipment. The Difficulty of all 
  your Cache rolls is lowered by 1.
  sense trouble  
  Ability focus:  
  the cooper color code
  Developed by firearms instructor and 
  former U.S. Marine Lt. Col. “Jeff” 
  Cooper, the Color Code describes 
  various levels of situational awareness. 
  By knowing these levels exist and giving 
  them names, an agent can perform 
  useful analysis of his own mental state 
  and the state of his surroundings. Even 
  asking the question “what Color am I in 
  right now?” helps focus the mind away 
  from distraction and toward any possible 
  dangers. The colors don’t refer to the 
  level of danger in the environment, but 
  to the mindset of the agent.
  white: Unaware of danger, unprepared 
  for combat, and unready to take 
  action. Usually caused by exhaustion, 
  distraction, or the false sense of security 
  that comes from being a normal civilian. 
  Analysts thinking about the deeper 
  problem and unused to fieldwork might 
  walk around in Condition White.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  46
  yellow: Relaxed alert status, aware of 
  the potential for danger in a situation or 
  location. You know that you might have to 
  fight or take other sudden action. Watch 
  your six and pay attention to possible 
  anomalies – less traffic than normal, two 
  men in identical sunglasses, a glint from 
  a rooftop, a missing reflection in a shop 
  window, and so on (see NBA, p. 141). 
  Model the scene as a predator; think “if 
  I were ambushing someone here, who 
  and where would I be?” Listen to your 
  “hunches,” your “Spidey sense,” your 
  gut instinct. Good agents are always in 
  at least Condition Yellow in the field, in 
  strange cities – anywhere except their 
  place of Safety, in fact.
  orange: Specific alert status, aware 
  of a specific possibly dangerous person, 
  object, or anomaly. While keeping up 
  your general awareness, you focus on the 
  potential immediate danger and set an 
  invisible line that, if crossed, must result 
  in action. “If that car turns off on this dirt 
  road, I’m being tailed.” “If that shadow is 
  a gun barrel, I need to duck and return 
  fire.” “If that woman doesn’t pass the 
  cathedral doors, she’s a vampire.” Your 
  mindset shifts to “if I have to take that 
  opponent out, how can I do so?”
  red: Aware of an immediate threat 
  and ready to take action. The invisible 
  line in your mind is crossed, and you are 
  putting the tactics you devised to use on 
  a specific target. Perhaps you’re calling 
  for backup. Perhaps you’re drawing 
  your gun. Perhaps you’re unscrewing 
  the flask of holy water. If you don’t 
  plan to attack the target, you should be 
  running away now.
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Sense 
  Trouble.
   Hawkeye
  Always looking for threats means you’re 
  always looking. You receive 1 free rating 
  point in Notice.
  shooting  
  australian peel: A firing retreat from 
  overwhelming force. The point shooter 
  fires repeatedly to suppress the enemy, 
  then “peels off” and runs back down the 
  line, tapping the second shooter, who 
  now becomes point and immediately 
  continues the suppressing fire. This 
  continues until the fire team is out of 
  ammunition or out of range of the foe.
  biathlete 
  breathing: Take three 
  long, controlled breaths before taking 
  an aimed shot. Breathe in through the 
  nose and out through the mouth to 
  settle heart rate and steady aim. Take the 
  shot at the end of the breathing cycle. 
  There are seven seconds before lack of 
  oxygen affects vision and induces muscle 
  tremors. If the shot can’t be lined up, 
  start the cycle over again.
  crossing the border: Throwing a gun 
  from your off-hand to your dominant 
  hand, usually after drawing two pistols 
  and emptying the first.
  double tap: Firing two rounds in quick 
  succession. The controlled pair uses the 
  natural recoil of the first shot to put the 
  second shot higher up on the target. 
  isosceles stance: Proper pistol firing 
  stance. Both feet parallel slightly wider 
  than shoulder distance apart, pistol held 
  with both hands in front of the body. This 
  stance allows for maximum absorption 
  of pistol recoil for a faster reset between 
  shots. The Harries stance is similar, with a 
  flashlight in the weak hand, supporting 
  the strong hand.
  mozambique 
  drill: A shooting 
  technique where the shooter puts two 
  shots center mass, takes a moment to 
  assess the hits, and then finishes off the 
  target with a third shot to the head. 
  “Two to the chest, one to the head, 
  leaves anybody dead.” Also known as the 
  Failure to Stop Drill.
  new york reload: Replacing an 
  empty gun with a second, fully loaded 
  gun instead of reloading the primary 
  weapon.
  push/pull dialing: Adjusting the 
  dial on a scope while keeping the shot 
  lined up is tricky. For a standard right 
  handed shooter, pushing forward will 
  move the point of impact down or to 
  the left. Pulling back on the dials moves 
  the impact up or to the right.
  road-agent spin: Present the gun 
  butt-first to a foe as if surrendering it. 
  Then open your hand, and as the gun 
  barrel falls and rotates along your finger, 
  fire the gun upside-down. Good for only 
  a single shot, and in Dust mode only 
  effective with single-action revolvers.
  investigative sample clues 
   
  n
   These silver bullets aren’t 
  hand-loads, they were machined 
  industrially, most likely in 
  Austria. Someone with serious 
  resources sent this dhampir.
   
  n
   I tell you, I saw the muzzle 
  flash. That bullet curved in mid-
  air. Bullets don’t curve in mid-air 
  unless something moves them.
  
  47
  abilities  n  general abilities : shooting to weapons
   
  n The shot had to have come from 
  that tenth-floor window, three 
  buildings back. All the roofs slope 
  here, so it’s the only decent sniper’s 
  nest along the angle of incidence, 
  and even then the shooter must 
  have been very, very good.
  shrink  
  post-traumatic stress disorder: A 
  severe anxiety disorder that stems 
  from psychological trauma. Victims re-
  experience the traumatic events through 
  nightmares and flashbacks. They often 
  avoid things that remind them of the 
  events, like locations, objects, or sounds. 
  Some victims can’t or won’t sleep to out 
  of a fear of triggering a flashback. These 
  symptoms often occur up to a month after 
  severe psychological trauma as severe 
  anxiety disorder. (See NBA, p. 84.)
  self-medication: The use of drugs 
  to treat self-diagnosed disorders or 
  symptoms, or the intermittent or 
  continued use of a prescribed drug 
  for chronic or recurrent disease or 
  symptoms. The choice of a drug often 
  reflects the lack of coping mechanism 
  the victim needs to feel whole. It is not 
  a random selection.
  stockholm 
  syndrome: 
  Traumatic 
  bonding in which hostages express 
  sympathy for their captors. Extreme 
  cases involve the prisoner defending the 
  hostage taker, or informing on other 
  captives. According to the FBI, one 
  out of four hostages display evidence 
  of the syndrome. Some evolutionary 
  psychologists believe the roots of capture-
  bonding underlie sociological phenomena 
  including battered wife syndrome, cult 
  behavior, 
  military/fraternity 
  hazing, 
  BDSM, and vampiric dominance.
  trauma 
  trigger: An experience 
  that triggers a reminder of a traumatic 
  event. Triggers themselves need not be 
  intense experiences. Visual experiences 
  are commonly trauma stressors, thanks 
  to the realistic portrayal of violence in 
  film and television. Eliminating a trauma 
  stimulus involves experiencing it in a 
  safe environment to reconnect it to 
  everyday life.
  new cherries
  These cherries are available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Shrink.
  Anger Management
  After talking with someone (or reading 
  a complete psychological workup on 
  them), you know how to push their 
  buttons. You may make a Shrink test to 
  incite them to anger – to distract them, 
  to goad them into attacking, to make 
  a spectacle of them, or for any other 
  reason. Your basic Difficulty for this 
  test is 4; to get them angry at someone 
  besides you (to urge them to attack some 
  other foe, for example) your Difficulty 
  is 6. The Director may alter these values 
  depending on the target’s specific 
  psychological hangups, the likelihood 
  of your desired reaction, the amount of 
  time you spend poisoning their mind, 
  and the quality of your roleplayed taunt.
  This cherry does not work on 
  supernatural, vampire-controlled, alien, 
  or other nonhuman creatures.
  Talking Cure
  You are incredibly skilled in managing 
  other agents’ mental health, particularly 
  after shared trauma. Your Difficulty for 
  all tests to treat fellow agents’ mental 
  illness (see Head Games, NBA, p. 85) is 
  one lower than normal. 
  When you spend 2 points of Shrink 
  on psychological triage (NBA, p. 85), 
  the recipient gains 3 points of Stability.
  After a brief scene of roleplayed 
  therapy 
  (hypnosis, 
  psychoanalysis, 
  etc.), you can increase another agent’s 
  Stability pool by 2 and refresh your own 
  Shrink or Stability by the same amount.
   This cherry is not available in Burn 
  mode games.
  surveillance  
  determine 
  a 
  choke 
  point: Most 
  buildings feature an area everyone must 
  pass through to exit. An elevator, a lobby, 
  or the entrance to the parking garage 
  make good choices for choke points.
  alter 
  your 
  appearance: 
  Often, 
  following a target requires multiple 
  attempts to get from the place of origin 
  to the new location. A distinct hat or color 
  distracts from the face. If the target doesn’t 
  remember your face, subsequent attempts 
  to shadow will be easier. (See p. 40.)
  let the rabbit come to you: Set up at 
  the choke point. Waiting there makes it 
  less likely the target will think they are 
  being followed. Normal targets fearing 
  surveillance expect to be followed from 
  the beginning of their journey and take 
  precautions when they leave. Only those 
  with counter-surveillance training stay 
  vigilant all along the route.
  follow the rabbit: If the rabbit is 
  driving, follow in your own vehicle at 
  least three car lengths behind. If the 
  rabbit is on foot, follow on foot. If the 
  rabbit takes a cab, note the cab number. 
  If you lose the rabbit, you can get the 
  location of the drop-off by contacting 
  the cab company.
  use a three-man team: The shadower 
  closest to the rabbit has the eye. The 
  second team member follows behind 
  the first member so the eye can pass 
  between them as necessary. The third 
  member follows in a parallel course 
  along the street. If the rabbit turns or 
  doubles back, the team passes the eye and 
  readjusts. In addition, the rabbit doesn’t 
  keep seeing the same face behind him.
  avoid 
  eye 
  contact: Making eye 
  contact is the surest way to let the rabbit 
  know you are watching. If that occurs, 
  immediately break off the shadowing, 
  either by passing on to another team 
  member or trying again another time.
  new cherries
  These 
  cherries 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  characters with 8 or more rating points 
  in Surveillance.
  Face in the Crowd
  Though you may lose your quarry, you 
  are never blown. You may start over at 
  another time.
   Tail Lights
  You may also spend from your Driving 
  pool for Surveillance tests while in a 
  vehicle following a target.
  Weapons  
  Ability focus: knife grips
  fencer’s grip: Grip the handle between 
  forefinger and thumb, pointing the blade 
  at the foe. This allows for the greatest 
  movement of the blade, especially in 
  slashing attacks or keeping the fight 
  open. A solid block, or a swing that hits 
  some nearby scenery, can break this grip 
  and potentially disarm the wielder.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  48
  hammer grip: Grip the handle using 
  all fingers in a fist, pointing the blade 
  upward out of the fist, like holding 
  a hammer. Tilt the wrist to point 
  the blade at the foe. The most basic, 
  versatile grip, allowing for thrusting, 
  cutting and parrying, but vulnerable to 
  attacks to the hand.
  icepick grip: Grip the handle using 
  all fingers in a fist, pointing the blade 
  downward out of the fist. This grip is 
  most useful for penetrating thick coats 
  or soft armor. This grip can’t be used 
  to parry or block. It also opens up the 
  attacker for a counterstrike to the chest.
  modified saber grip: As the hammer 
  grip, but the thumb rests on the flat of the 
  knife. This puts the blade in a horizontal 
  slashing posture by default, and unlike 
  the hammer, allows the wielder to lock 
  his wrist for a strike.
  reverse grip: Similar to the icepick 
  grip, though the blade is laid along the 
  forearm of the attacker. Most useful for 
  concealed attacks and close up work. 
  It also has some use for blocks and 
  defense, but most knife fighters don’t 
  use knives to parry. 
  new cherry
  This cherry is available to characters 
  with 8 or more rating points in Weapons.
  Riposte
  If an attacker rolls an unmodified 1 on a 
  Weapons roll and misses when attacking 
  you, you may take advantage of his 
  weakness by immediately striking back 
  at him. Without rolling an attack test, 
  spend Weapons pool points. The attacker 
  loses 1 point of Health for every point 
  you spend, up to the maximum normal 
  damage possible for your weapon.
  
  tricks of the trade  n  subsections
  49
  a resourCeful spY masters a varietY of 
  techniques to handle various threats in 
  addition to the more straightforward 
  approach of repeated punches and kicks 
  punctuated by gunplay.
  This section lays out more options for 
  agents in the form of new maneuvers, 
  and for Directors in the form of 
  customizable achievements. Adaptive 
  tradecraft expands the universe of 
  covert action to some really off-the-
  hook uses of off-the-shelf technology. 
  And the “Cartagena Rules” accompany, 
  adapt, and expand upon the “Bucharest 
  Rules” from the corebook (NBA, pp. 
  116-117) for even more high-energy, 
  proactive play.
  Players love to wring every possible 
  advantage out of the rules. When you’re 
  fighting vampires and playing badass 
  secret agents, that’s just good thinking. 
  The new thriller manuevers here play 
  up that fantasy of competence, and add 
  more potential action for non-combat 
  activities as well. Like the maneuvers in 
  the book, they add to and expand the 
  agents’ resources, their options, and 
  their resilience.
  Directors should be ready for that, 
  either by adding another few Renfields 
  to the node or by keeping an eye on 
  refresh rates and pool levels as these 
  maneuvers come on line.
  Like Gear Devil, Martial Arts, 
  Parkour, and Technothriller Monologue 
  in the corebook, maneuvers that provide 
  a refresh can normally only be used once 
  during a scene, chase, or combat. The 
  specific maneuver writeup will give 
  details, but the Director can always 
  restrict them further: from once per 
  fight, say, to once per session or once 
  per operation.
  And as always, all these maneuvers 
  are completely optional. The Director 
  can reject any of them as she sees fit, to 
  preserve the flavor of her game or her 
  sense of even cinematic realism.
   Most of these maneuvers are not 
  available in Dust mode games. Look for 
  the Dust icon for maneuvers generally 
  compatible with low-fi spy-fi.
  non-combat 
  maneuvers  
  Alibi
  prereq: Disguise 8+
  You are so skilled at appearing like 
  someone else, so capable of mimicking 
  another person’s mannerisms and 
  appearance that you can, in character, 
  convince a mark or his associates that 
  something plausible did or didn’t 
  happen as needed. “In character” means 
  “while pretending to be someone else,” 
  whether short-term (flashing a phony 
  badge and using Cop Talk) or long-term, 
  as with a Connected Cover.
  Once per session, you can spend 1 
  point of any Interpersonal ability (if 
  you can’t think of the right one, use 
  Reassurance) and 3 points of Disguise 
  to convince your target.
   
  n “Mickey, don’t you remember? I was 
  just down in the vault. I came up 
  here to ask you if the combination 
  was 22-34-5 or 16-4-33.”
   
  n “Was he sweating a lot? Because 
  rabies victims sweat a lot. It 
  was probably just rabies.”
   
  n “What do you mean you saw 
  me in the parking lot? How the 
  hell could I be in there if I was 
  downstairs with Carlos?”
  This maneuver doesn’t implant false 
  memories or erase true ones. It solidifies 
  a doubt one way or the other. You can’t 
  use it to say “Johnnie shot you, I was in 
  the loo” if the crew boss saw you shoot 
  tricks 
  new thriller maneuvers
  of the trade 
  49
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  50
  him, but you can use it to convince him 
  that “Johnnie shot you, I was in the loo” 
  if you shot him in the back but Johnnie 
  might ‘ave dunnit.
  blending Agent
  prereq: Surveillance 8+
  A character with a Surveillance rating 
  of 8 or higher can earn a 3-point 
  Surveillance refresh, once per session, 
  when you describe the details she picks 
  up on in the crowd around her that tell 
  her what the surveillance on her trail 
  is doing or when you describe how she 
  stays unnoticed. That gives her the edge 
  to outmaneuver them. For example:
   
  n “The CCTVs offer good picture but 
  a crap turning radius, so if I keep 
  moving laterally, I’ll stay a vague blur 
  until I reach the edge of its POV, 
  then I can stroll underneath it.”
   
  n “Once I’m on a line toward the east 
  exit, I slow down but do not deviate 
  from that line. I’m a traveller, 
  scrolling through tweets on my 
  phone. I chuckle and shake my head 
  but I do not look up. I’m a traveller.”
   
  n “When I see the mobile units on 
  approach, I set down my coffee and tie 
  my shoe for eight seconds. Then I drop 
  my pen, fumble after it like an idiot for 
  six seconds, and come up elsewhere 
  in the crowd, back on the move.”
  At the Director’s discretion, such 
  surveillance talk may grant a 4-point 
  refresh instead if it adds such detail 
  and nuance to the sequence that others 
  players marvel.
  Pre-write such descriptions, if you like, 
  to give your character the savvy ability to 
  vanish in a crowd at a moment’s notice.
  calculated risk
  prereq: Preparedness 8+
  Your ability to plan is unmatched, going 
  so far as to even account for remote 
  possibilities in response to responses from 
  responses. While the plan is being executed, 
  when a new element arises seemingly 
  not accounted for in the plan, once per 
  operation (or per Infiltration thriller 
  contest; see p. 81) you can counter the 
  new element with an ad hoc narration:
  director: “Because of Sergei’s visit, the 
  guards have upped their timetable by 
  ten minutes.”
  you: “I planned for this. The playoff game 
  will be on in the office, and during 
  that distraction, we can still disable the 
  motion sensors.”
  You receive a 3-point Preparedness refresh 
  representing your resourcefulness. If 
  your counter was especially inspired or 
  effective, the Director may give you a 
  4-point refresh.
  Don’t use this maneuver when you 
  could use In the Nick of Time (NBA, p. 
  33), unless you really need the refresh.
  card up the sleeve
  prereq: Gambling 8+
  Once per session, you may spend 
  3 points of Gambling to reroll one 
  Gambling test. If you do, your character 
  cheats to succeed. You may take either of 
  the two rolls. If your second roll is a 1, 
  someone noticed you cheating, but you 
  automatically succeed.
  danger Zone
  prereq: Sense Trouble 8+
  Your sense of danger borders on the 
  supernatural. Your every sense paints a 
  picture of your surroundings whether 
  you’re “in country” or in a country club. 
  Once per session, you can try to explain 
  to your blundering colleagues how you 
  know what you know, and gain a 3-point 
  refresh to Sense Trouble:
   
  n “My time spent with the Chiricahua 
  shamans expanded my awareness 
  to see beyond seeing.”
   
  n “We had days like this in Afghanistan, 
  days when every rock shone 
  with a premonition of danger.”
   
  n “The bullet hole in my 
  shoulder hurt like hell this 
  morning. Death is coming.”
  If 
  your 
  borderline 
  four-color 
  explanation 
  sufficiently 
  illuminates 
  your surroundings or sparks your fellow 
  players’ paranoia, the Director may 
  grant you a 4-point refresh.
  Feel free to scout ahead and write 
  down especially revelatory ideas on 
  index cards if need be. However, once 
  you’ve established your agent’s past, 
  evocatively riffing on the dangers you 
  evaded back then should be fairly simple.
   This maneuver might not fit the 
  tone of Mirror mode games, in which 
  death often comes as an unpleasant 
  surprise.
  digital Judo
  See p. 81.
  for Your eyes only
  prereq:  Surveillance 8+ 
  When you get eyes on a target, you 
  hunt him until you know him. The 
  intel you provide is an analyst’s dream: 
  reliable, actionable, and insightful. After 
  succeeding in a test of Surveillance against 
  a target, you can compose a deep-level 
  dossier on the target by spending 3 pool 
  points of Surveillance and 1 pool point 
  of an appropriate Investigative ability: 
  Human Terrain, Notice, Photography, 
  Streetwise, or Tradecraft. The time 
  needed for the initial surveillance and 
  dossier prep will vary depending on the 
  nature of the target and the Director’s 
  sense of dramatic timing, but likely 
  averages out to 1-3 days.
   All those who read the dossier gain 
  access to a team 1-point dedicated pool 
  usable as any Investigative ability against 
  the target (it points up promising leads 
  for Research, notes target interests 
  for Flirting, hints at shady activities to 
  spark Cop Talk, whatever) and to a team 
  2-point pool for any General ability use 
  against the target. If the target is not on 
  the adversary map (NBA, p. 113), the 
  team can add him to it.
  You may invent ad hoc and then 
  highlight crucial details about your target 
  that you turned up in your surveillance:
   
  n Zlatan doesn’t like to be touched.
   
  n Clarissa Meyer spent three 
  hours in the British Museum 
  looking at Hittite sculptures.
   
  n Quways al-Ubar always sits in the 
  same booth at the falafel shop, back 
  to the wall, four bodyguards.
  
  51
  tricks of the trade  n  new thriller maneuvers : non-combat : blending agent to safety's on 
  If the Director accepts a detail, you can 
  add 1 point to each pool per detail, up to 
  a total of 3 Investigative pool points and 4 
  General pool points. Yes, this means that 
  last detail has hit the point of diminishing 
  returns. It’s unwise to add details that 
  conclusively demonstrate (in your own 
  mind, at least) that your target is or is 
  not a vampire. Such details often turn 
  out to be mistaken or misinterpreted. 
  The Director will reject details that 
  make future hits too easy (“for a terrorist 
  mastermind, he sure does trust street 
  vendors”), so it’s best to err on the side 
  of drama and excitement.
  grease monkey
  prereq:  Mechanics 8+ 
  Once per session, you can gain a 3-point 
  refresh of your Mechanics pool by narrating 
  in precision-ratcheted detail what you’re 
  doing and how you’re doing it:
   
  n “If I adjust the timing belt and clear 
  the spark channel, we can get an 
  extra 50 rpm out of the motor.”
   
  n “Just loop another few turns of 
  wire around that rheostat and pop 
  it in there, and we can crank up the 
  power as much as we need to.”
   
  n “I can pry off the governor and 
  drill an extra hole in the manifold 
  to turbocharge the bus, seeing 
  as it’s pulling a straight eight 
  instead of a four-stroke diesel.”
  At the Director’s discretion, descriptions 
  that should come with their own Allen 
  wrench may merit a 4-point refresh.
  Feel free to blueprint your description 
  ahead of time, on index cards perhaps, if 
  it helps sort out your narrative tool box.
  like smoke
  prereq: Athletics 8+ or Infiltration 8+
  Infiltrators with either Athletics or 
  Infiltration ratings of 8+ can earn a 
  3-point Infiltration refresh once during 
  any sneak when they describe some move 
  or stunt that would astonish onlookers if 
  it weren’t so stealthy:
   
  n “Once the guard is past, I slide a vent 
  cover away and unfold myself from 
  the shadowy compartment beyond, 
  which should be too small for 
  anyone my size to fit inside, and yet.”
   
  n “I’m pinned to the ceiling by 
  leg strength at the corners of 
  the corridor and a grip I’ve 
  got on the Exit sign. The patrol 
  strides by beneath me.”
   
  n “The flashlight beam cuts across 
  my face, shadows playing on my 
  features. Double take. When 
  the guard flashes the beam 
  back in that spot, I’m gone.”
  Especially chilling or clever descriptions 
  that captivate or delight the other 
  players earn a 4-point refresh, at the 
  Director’s discretion.
  Players are free to write out such 
  descriptions in advance; it’s only their 
  characters that have to be so quick on 
  their feet.
  m4d sk1llz
  prereq: Digital Intrusion 8+
  Once per contest (not per test) of 
  Digital Intrusion, you can earn a 3-point 
  refresh of that ability by dropping some 
  cybernetic leetspeak expounding upon 
  the awesomeness of your digital kung 
  fu or the dramatically impenetrable 
  behavior of the tiny green letters on 
  your screen.
   
  n “These guys are good enough to use 
  a 5585-X as their base firewall, but 
  I’m good enough to reconstruct 
  their password cache while their 
  WHOIS query is resolving.”
   
  n “The Steranko system uses a 
  rotating blowfish encryption 
  algorithm and heuristic AI to map 
  the intruders in real-time.”
   
  n “Start slow, probing a few low-
  level systems for a few hours, and 
  plant the key-logger and signal-
  monitoring spyware. When I kick 
  the attack into overdrive and their 
  security staff starts logging in 
  from home to see what the hell’s 
  going on, they show me passwords 
  and authorization keys. It’s like 
  perching on their shoulder as 
  they walk right in the door.”
  At the Director’s discretion, jargon 
  more impenetrable than an overclocked 
  tower nest running Fortinet NG5000-
  series ware in parallel might be worth a 
  4-point refresh.
  Obviously, you’re going to store 
  your best hacker monologues on your 
  jailbroken phone, but the point is go 
  ahead and code them ahead of time.
  Quick change
  prereq: Disguise 8+
  Once per chase, you can earn a 3-point 
  refresh of Disguise by describing how 
  you gather the necessary components 
  for the next disguise or what details you 
  steal from nearby people to alter your 
  own body language for a short time. The 
  actual donning of a disguise may not be 
  necessary to use these 3 points; simply 
  blending in with passersby is enough for 
  now.
   
  n “As we pass, I slip a ball cap out 
  of a stranger’s open duffel and 
  hide it under my jacket, ready 
  to deploy in a moment.”
   
  n “I fall in alongside a trio of chums 
  talking about their college days, 
  just far enough from them to be 
  one of them from the outside, 
  buying myself a good twenty 
  paces toward the washrooms.”
   
  n “At the café patio, I pick up a 
  few dirtied plates, toss a napkin 
  over my shoulder, and bus those 
  dishes inside the building to buy 
  myself some time off camera and 
  maybe seek out a back door.”
  If the Director feels the detail evoked 
  by this description is particularly sly or 
  convincing, she may award a 4-point 
  refresh instead.
  Go ahead and write Disguise 
  descriptions in advance, if you can. Your 
  prep is your character’s improvisation.
  run and hide
  See p. 84.
  safety's on
  If you discover or notice a firearm on a 
  person (not in hand) and succeed in a 
  Filch test against him, you can spend 1 
  point from either your Shooting or Filch 
  pool to deactivate the weapon without 
  letting its owner realize you’ve done so. 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  52
  The Difficulty of the Filch test, as normal, 
  depends on circumstances including the 
  owner’s Alertness modifier, if any. The 
  usual result of a successful deactivation 
  (e.g., switching the safety to “on”) is one 
  round in which the opponent is unable 
  to fire his weapon. For weapons without 
  safeties (such as most revolvers and all 
  Glocks), you must spend 3 points, but 
  you unload the weapon completely.
  This is not a combat maneuver – 
  flicking safety switches is too delicate for 
  that! To grab a foe’s weapon in combat is 
  a Disarm move (NBA, p. 73).
  signature Wheels
  prereq:  Driving 8+
  If you have a Driving rating of 8 or 
  more, you may spend 5 build points to 
  grant yourself Signature Wheels: one 
  make and model (or just a make for 
  boutique marques) of car from which 
  you can pull top performance. You 
  might make anything from an Aston-
  Martin to an Audi S8 to a Ford Focus 
  your Signature Wheels, although the 
  Director and other players may mock 
  you if you pick something like a Trabant. 
  Luxury cars may be harder to come by 
  on the run, requiring higher Network 
  Difficulties or Streetwise spends to find 
  reliable chop shops: just something else 
  to keep in mind. To “stumble upon” a 
  car matching your Signature Wheels in 
  a position to be stolen may require an 
  Urban Survival spend, depending on 
  your car and the city.
  While driving your Signature Wheels, 
  every full 2 points of Driving you spend 
  count as a 3-point spend.
  This applies not only to the particular 
  car you own, but to all other cars of that 
  exact make. If a Mini Cooper is your 
  Signature Wheels, and you crash yours 
  into a tank barrier in Ankara, the new 
  Mini Cooper you steal in Swindon still 
  provides you the enhanced spend. 
  You may take Signature Wheels in 
  one sports car and one other make of 
  ground vehicle. 
  Verbal trauma unit
  prereq: Medic 8+
  Once per session, you can gain a 3-point 
  refresh of your Medic pool by uttering a 
  brief narrative description of your actions 
  surgically sliced from medical drama:
   
  n “He’s tach-ing! Very thready pulse, 
  shocky, eyes dilated … flesh cold 
  and moist … Damn it to hell, I 
  won’t lose another one. Not today!”
   
  n “I pop the top from the syrette 
  and smoothly insert it into her 
  armpit, right where the axillary 
  vein goes over the trapezius.”
   
  n “My hands greasy with blood, 
  I tear the duct tape with my 
  teeth and then whip it around 
  Jensen’s thigh. My eyes are far 
  away, however, seeing only the 
  basement in Sarajevo where I first 
  felt life slip through my fingers.”
  At the Director’s discretion, descriptions 
  so bloodily graphic or antiseptically 
  detached as to amount to vampiric porn 
  may earn a 4-point refresh.
  Optional Rule: Familiar Foe  
  You have done battle with a particular 
  enemy before. Not a generic mook, not 
  just one class of opposition, no matter 
  how distinctive. A Familiar Foe is a 
  named opponent, be they the “Wizard of 
  Waziristan” or the “second Lieutenant 
  of the Death’s Sword Brigade, Johannes 
  Klonsveldt.” Each agent gets a maximum 
  of one Familiar Foe per campaign. 
  The agent can pick a suitably badass-
  appearing NPC during play, or construct 
  her nemesis in collaboration with the 
  Director during character creation.
  The agent is free to declare their 
  pre-existing history, pending Director 
  approval, so long as their invented fiction 
  does not conflict with or otherwise 
  alter the power(s) of the foe, if any.
  “I know this guy, the Killer of Kuala 
  Lampur. We met in Jakarta in 2004. He 
  doesn’t like me very much since I gave 
  him that scar on his chest from when I 
  used the flagpole to pin him to the table.”
  A Familiar Foe might tie into an agent’s 
  personal arc (NBA, p. 37) or her Drive 
  in some fashion.
  A Familiar Foe, because of the history 
  between the characters, is both more 
  and less of a challenge.
  The agent gets a 3-point dedicated 
  pool for use with any Investigative ability, 
  when that ability is used to uncover 
  something about the Foe. This pool 
  refreshes between operations, like other 
  Investigative abilities.
  The Director should similarly keep 
  the Familiar Foe’s knowledge of the 
  agent in mind when plotting Conspiracy 
  responses using the Vampyramid.
  When in a direct contest with a 
  Familiar Foe: 
  Both the Foe and the agent reduce 
  their Hit Threshold or other 
  contest Difficulty by 1, indicating that 
  both know the styles and tactics of 
  the other.
  Both Foe and the agent minimize 
  the first instance of damage 
  done by their opposite number in any 
  combat directly between them. Hand-
  to-Hand or Weapons hits do only 1 
  point of damage maximum; Shooting 
  hits do damage as fists (-2) with 1 
  point the minimum.
  Jack and his Familiar Foe Roman 
  Szabo are in a gunfight, blazing 
  away with their Glocks at each other. 
  Szabo’s first shot hits Jack, and the 
  Director rolls a 4, subtracts 2, and 
  Jack loses 2 Health. “Is that all you 
  got?” rasps Jack. His return fire misses, 
  however. In the second round, Szabo’s 
  shot at Jack does normal damage, but 
  Jack shoots a mook (doing normal 
  damage) who threatened to flank 
  his team mates. On the third round, 
  Jack finally hits Szabo, but rolls a 2. 
  Subtracting 2 makes the total 0, so 
  Szabo loses the minimum, 1 Health. 
  “You never could kill when it counted, 
  Jack,” Szabo taunts.
  This models an intense fight, allows 
  utterance of lines like “You’ve slowed 
  down since Beirut,” and prevents 
  anticlimactic one-and-done potshots or 
  sniping ambushes from ruining the arc.
  
  53
  tricks of the trade  n  new thriller maneuvers : non-combat maneuvers / combat maneuvers
  These 
  utterances 
  needn’t 
  be 
  improvised; you can crib from Gray’s 
  Anatomy (book or show) in advance, 
  then adapt your medical doubletalk to 
  the injury.
  Watching the Watchers
  See p. 83.
  combat maneuvers  
  These maneuvers, like other Thriller 
  Combat 
  Maneuvers, 
  are 
  entirely 
  optional. None of them are compatible 
  with Dust mode games, although Mark 
  and Execute is the closest to realistic.
  mark and strike
  prereq: Infiltration 8+
  When you succeed in an Infiltration test 
  to surprise or ambush an unaware target 
  (NBA, p. 60), you may spend Infiltration 
  as well as combat ability points on your 
  first attack.
  Beatrice has an Infiltration pool of 
  8, spends 4 on the Infiltration test to 
  surprise a skulking Renfield, rolls a 3 
  and beats the Difficulty of 6 (4 plus the 
  Renfield’s Alertness Modifier of +2). On 
  her first round of combat, she can spend 
  2 from her remaining 4 pool points of 
  Infiltration, plus 2 from Weapons, for a 
  total spend of 4 on the Weapons test to 
  drive home the teak bayonet she lovingly 
  lathed the day before.
  You may use Mark and Strike throughout 
  Player-Facing Combat (NBA, p. 64).
  one-two punch
  prereq: Hand-to-Hand 8+  
  or Weapons 8+
  You are fond of the brutal one-two 
  combination, the coup de grace. After 
  the preparatory jab or slash comes the 
  blow at full strength: the jaw-aimed 
  uppercut, the elbow strike to the temple, 
  the leg sweep – or the plunge of a stiletto 
  or stake into the heart.
  After two successful blows in a row 
  (either in successive rounds or with 
  Extra Attacks, Jump In, etc.) against the 
  same target, you can:
   
  n spend 3 Athletics pool points
   
  n narrate your most recent blow (“I 
  wrench his arm all the way around” 
  “I straight-arm him in the throat”)
   
  n increase your rolled damage by +2
   
  n refresh 1 point in the combat ability 
  you used for the second blow
  You cannot use One-Two Punch against 
  the same foe twice in a row. You must 
  either attack someone else, spend a 
  round doing something else, or miss to 
  “restart the count” for a One-Two Punch.
  perfect drop
  prereq: Sense Trouble 8+
  A character with a Sense Trouble rating 
  of 8 or more is so attuned to danger 
  that she can act in a combat before the 
  fighting has really even broken out. This 
  option interacts with the Sense Trouble 
  cherry Combat Intuition (NBA, p. 
  34) like this: Once per session, when 
  determining initiative, you can spend 3 
  points from your Sense Trouble pool to 
  treat your rating as if it were 3 points 
  higher than it is, thereby getting the drop 
  on your foes.
  Jack has Sense Trouble 9 and Shooting 
  8. He makes a Sense Trouble test to notice 
  the Renfield wetworker Carmen coming 
  into the hotel, spending 2 points from 
  his pool for a Sense Trouble pool of 7. 
  Jack suspects (rightly) that her Shooting 
  is higher than his. Ordinarily, she would 
  win the initiative and get to fire first. But 
  Jack spends 3 more Sense Trouble points 
  (lowering his pool to 4) to raise his rating 
  to 12, beating her Shooting of 10, and 
  thus beating her to the draw.
  To do this, describe how your character 
  knew things were about to turn ugly. If 
  you act fast enough, you might even end 
  a fight or an alarm before it can begin.
   
  n “It’s the snap on the holster 
  before the gun comes out, 
  that’s what gives him away.”
   
  n “I know what he’s up to as soon as he 
  holds his breath for that half-second. 
  Before he can choose between 
  baton and radio, I’m on him.”
   
  n “I hear his stomach rumble 
  before he comes around the 
  corner, so I’m ready for him.”
  It’s fair game to write sample details 
  before you use them and then see if they 
  work in the moment.
  thrown clear by the blast
  Any explosion you can fly away from is a 
  good explosion. You can spend Athletics 
  points to “roll with the shock” or “dive 
  behind the cement mixer” or “be thrown 
  clear of the blast” or whatever excuse 
  you wish to make for your palpable 
  violation of the laws of physics. When 
  you spend points, you can move your 
  agent’s damage up a row or over a 
  column on the Explosion Damage table 
  (NBA, p. 67).
  If you spend 4 points of Athletics, 
  your damage moves up a row. You take 
  damage as if the blast were one explosive 
  class smaller: from class 4 (truck bomb) 
  to class 3 (land mine), for example. If 
  you wind up in the “Annihilation range” 
  of a class 1 or 2 explosion as a result, 
  treat it as Damage range with a further 
  +2 damage modifier.
  If you spend 6 points of Athletics, your 
  damage moves over a column. You take 
  damage as if the blast were one range 
  rank farther away: from Annihilation 
  range to Damage range, for example.
  In very, very cinematic games, you 
  may spend as many Athletics points as 
  you’d like, as long as you spend them in 
  whole increments as above.
  Even in those games, the Director 
  is very unlikely to let you escape the 
  effects of a class 5 or 6 explosion with 
  such antics.
  You 
  can 
  never 
  spend 
  yourself 
  completely “out” of a blast: you will 
  always take damage at least as if you were 
  in a class 1 explosion or the Debris range 
  or both.
  After the dust clears, the Director 
  may rule that your agent was hurled 
  (or lies curled) anywhere she wishes, 
  regardless of the range of damage you 
  took. Kindly Directors will allow you to 
  suggest a likely outcome.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  54
  Modeled on the achievements, trophies, 
  badges, medals, etc. available in many 
  computer games, this optional rule can 
  amp up the badass quotient – and the 
  thriller genre quotient – of your game 
  even further. They are meant as hot 
  rewards in play for following genre into 
  danger and fun.
  The basic rule of an Achievement is this:
   
  n when an agent meets the 
  criteria for an achievement
   
  n and the player provides a colorful 
  bit of roleplaying or hot-dogging
   
  n the agent gets a 3-point refresh 
  of whichever General ability 
  seems most appropriate. 
  This may be the ability used to reach 
  the achievement, or the dominant 
  ability in a scene: a player who scores 
  with a Dead Man Walking during a chase 
  might refresh Athletics instead of Sense 
  Trouble, for example.
  Some achievements, such as Armchair 
  Sportsman, can be fulfilled by Investigative 
  abilities. To receive a refresh for such an 
  achievement, the player must spend 1 
  pool point from a relevant ability.
  Many of the achievements have fairly 
  loose criteria, or criteria potentially 
  entirely up to the players – “the last 
  match in the box” for Prometheus, for 
  example. For these achievements, 
  players should aim to really bring it on 
  the roleplaying, showboating, or colossal 
  explosion. Directors should only negate 
  an achievement if the player is being 
  abusive, if the achievement seems 
  completely pointless or shoehorned into 
  the story, or if the achievement would 
  badly damage the dramatic or horrific 
  tone of the scene. Don’t spend forever 
  arguing about an achievement; when in 
  doubt, just grant the refresh, add two 
  more mooks to the next combat or 6 
  more Health points to the bad guys in 
  this one, and move on.
  The Director can make as many or as 
  few of these achievements available as 
  she wishes. She may also customize her 
  own, either to reflect beloved clichés and 
  genre moments from favorite films, or 
  to reinforce the modes or themes of her 
  campaign. She should write up a list of 
  the approved achievements, or print them 
  out on index cards and keep them handy.
  In any case, any given achievement can 
  only be triggered once per operation. 
  Achievements exist to provide a wide 
  menu of thematic genre moments, not 
  an endless button-mashing sequence.
  Some of the achievements suggest 
  potential plot elements, clues, tactics, 
  or scenes for the time-pressed Director 
  or one who is seeking a few twists for 
  her game. For players, this list includes 
  plenty of cool stunts, heroic actions, and 
  otherwise idiotic escapades that you could 
  aim for and, of course, improve upon.
   Achievement refreshes are almost 
  never suitable for Dust mode games, 
  although awarding 1 extra experience 
  build point at the end of the operation 
  for a suitably Dusty achievement 
  (Janus, for example), won’t completely 
  overbalance the game.
  Achievements  
  a good vintage: Find incontrovertible 
  proof that your target has been “alive” 
  for more than a hundred years.
  amateur hour: Use the local rent-a-
  cops to distract the enemy from your 
  true operation.
  angel falls: Swan dive into water from a 
  height that most would consider fatal.
  armchair sportsman: Identify 
  key information about a target’s 
  background purely from their fighting 
  style, e.g., “That throat strike is a 
  favored technique of French Foreign 
  Legion paratroopers.”
  baracus: Fit armor plating to a civilian 
  vehicle.
  big-ba-da-boom: Overestimate the 
  amount of C-4 required for your 
  Explosive Devices test by at least a 
  factor of two. (The Director almost 
  certainly awards this achievement after 
  the fact and after the damage roll.)
  birdman: Infiltrate an enemy compound 
  via parachute or hang glider.
  boothroyd: Custom-build a gadget that 
  is used to turn a final showdown in 
  your favor, e.g., a silver-tipped TASER.
  chef de partie: Have a shootout in 
  or foot chase through a working 
  commercial kitchen.
  cornering on rails: Complete a 
  successful driving maneuver despite 
  having four blown tires.
  das trunk: Escape a submerged road 
  vehicle.
  dead man walking: Encounter the bad 
  guy you iced on the previous op.
  dead man’s hand: Use a severed hand 
  to open a palm lock. Also available in 
  the I’ve Got My Eye on You variant.
  everyone’s a critic: Break into 
  Interpol’s Ten Most Wanted as a 
  result of your activities.
  fakin’ bacon: Impersonate a cop.
  full fathom five: Survive an underwater 
  fight without SCUBA gear.
  goin’ underground: Infiltrate a fortified 
  target location by using long forgotten 
  sewers, tunnels, or catacombs.
  gordon ramsay: Mix easily available 
  household chemicals into something 
  that explodes.
  guava half: Kill a bad guy with a 
  weapon improvised from something 
  innocuous.
  hard landing: Jump from a bridge 
  onto a moving truck/train below.
  heisenberg: Get trapped in a situation 
  where you are forced to run two 
  simultaneous false identities in the 
  same city.
  The Camorra know you as Scialfione but 
  the Colombians who happen to be in Naples 
  for the drug summit at the same time know 
  you as Ortiz. Try not to get both Scialfione 
  and Ortiz invited to the same meeting!
  hermès holdout: Get out of a 
  situation using a weapon concealed 
  on your person in an unusual place: 
  stiletto in your stiletto heel, Kel-Tec 
  P32 in your garter belt or inseam, 
  piano wire in your bikini strap or 
  necktie. No points for shoulder, 
  ankle, or small-of-back holsters.
  achievement refreshes
  
  55
  tricks of the trade  n  achievement refreshes
  hi ho silver: Escape your pursuers on 
  horseback – in a city.
  hush puppy: Clear an area of mooks 
  using a silenced gun – before any can 
  react. Double your Shooting refresh 
  if you are not using the Player-Facing 
  Combat rules to accomplish this.
  i’ve got a bridge to sell you: 
  Successfully pass off tractor parts, 
  talcum powder, or blocks of 
  newspaper when your mark thinks he 
  is buying arms, drugs, or dirty money.
  inside job: Plant evidence that fatally 
  compromises the position of a node 
  leader on Level 3 or higher of the 
  Conspyramid.
  it is a present from my country: Meet 
  a native of the obscure town/village/
  nation used in your current Cover at 
  the most inopportune moment.
  it’s all in the reflexes: Catch a 
  thrown weapon and return it to 
  its origin. (Difficulty equals 2 plus 
  the total Weapons result (roll plus 
  spend) of your foe; roll damage 
  after making this test.) Successful 
  completion almost certainly 
  surprises your opponent, giving you 
  a free action.
  janus: Confront the mole in your org 
  with incontrovertible proof of his guilt.
  kreskin: Establish a Cover as a psychic 
  or spirit medium, and back it up 
  with a mentalist stunt. This could use 
  excellent psychological techniques 
  (Shrink or Bullshit Detector can 
  provide a “cold reading”) or it could 
  be based on in-depth Research (with 
  or without Digital Intrusion) of your 
  mark’s family, medical, and hidden 
  personal history.  (“No one could 
  know that about me!”)
  little black dress: Gatecrash an 
  embassy ball.
  le mans: Radically improve the 
  performance characteristics of a 
  standard car, e.g., adding twin turbos 
  to a Smart ForTwo.
  le pique-nique: Destroy an open-air 
  restaurant during a chase by driving 
  a vehicle through it at high speed. 
  (Preferably an establishment with 
  few elderly customers.)
  lifeline: Climb to safety from a high 
  window using knotted sheets, a fire 
  hose, or other improvised line.
  look no hands: Drive a vehicle 
  with your knees or feet (Driving 
  Difficulty +3) because you are 
  otherwise engaged fighting another 
  occupant of said vehicle, or shooting 
  at pursuers or your quarry.
  lucky punk: You have exactly the 
  same number of rounds left as you 
  do bad guys.
  lucky seven: Fleece a casino to fund 
  your ongoing fight against evil.
  max schreck: Successfully impersonate 
  a vampire.
  mincemeat: Provide entirely 
  convincing false data to a mark that 
  completely throws them off your 
  plans or leads them in a direction of 
  your choice. This is likely entirely 
  the Director’s call.
  mother superior: Impersonate a 
  religious figure of any sort.
  night shift:  Steal human remains 
  from a mortuary, morgue, funeral 
  parlor, or graveyard.
  not so very different, you and i: Go 
  up against an opponent who has had 
  exactly the same training/martial 
  arts master/service background.
  on the couch: Psychologically 
  manipulate an enemy agent and turn 
  him to your control.
  one-armed man: Complete your 
  theft/intrusion/termination while 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  56
  leaving cast-iron evidence that 
  implicates someone else.
  prometheus: Use the last match in the 
  box to do something epic.
  radio free europe: Gain total access 
  to and control over your enemies’ 
  communications system.
  ramming speed: Use a speedboat to 
  take out a target on land.
  ready player one: Use an RPG to 
  destroy a moving helicopter.
  red or blue: Stop a countdown clock 
  with less than 10 seconds left.
  reichenbach gambit: Fake your/your 
  group’s death to throw pursuers off 
  your tail.
  rockefeller: Acquire enough cash that 
  it requires more than one person to 
  carry. (10,000 bills weighs 10 kg.)
  smooth operator: Lift, clone, and 
  return a target’s ID/credit card/cell 
  phone without them noticing.
  surf’s up: Traverse the entire exterior 
  of a moving train or tram; this 
  achievement is upgraded (double 
  refresh) to Hang Ten if you are 
  fighting as you do so.
  the regiment: When challenged, you 
  know the color of the boathouse.
  torino: Engineer a massive traffic jam 
  to your benefit.
  walking on air: Use the air-
  conditioning ducts to move around a 
  building without anyone remarking 
  on how very unrealistic that is.
  watch the birdie: Replace the live 
  footage of a security camera with 
  your own footage either by hacking, 
  physically “looping the tape,” or using 
  mirrors or a picture in front of camera.
  weissmuller: Swing between buildings, 
  ledges, or the like using improvised 
  material like power cables, comms 
  cables, or washing lines.
  wild geese: Take “one last job” for 
  someone who is not (or does not 
  appear at the time) part of the 
  Conspiracy.
  yojimbo: Engineer a violent showdown 
  between two competing criminal 
  factions.
  Ad hoc Achievements  
  If an agent does (and ideally survives!) 
  something really impressive, heroic, 
  superhumanly skillful, or just plain 
  lucky and the play group can come up 
  with a name that describes it succinctly 
  whilst nodding towards the genre 
  source material then it becomes a new 
  achievement, complete with a refresh.
  Julia’s character Anika van der Waals, 
  previously of Dutch Military Intelligence 
  Service (MIVD), has just decoupled a 
  freight car from a moving goods train. 
  She brakes the slowing tank car (which 
  contains thousands of liters of highly 
  flammable liquid) to bring it to rest 
  in path of the on-coming private train 
  being used by the vampire lord. Anika 
  just manages to scramble to safety as the 
  fireball engulfs the viaduct.
  Julia reckons this is worthy of an 
  achievement – mounting a moving train, 
  decoupling a freight car, braking in the 
  right spot, and escaping – so she calls 
  it Chemin de Fer, a lovely nod both to 
  the railway and to a certain Mr. Bond’s 
  preferred type of baccarat.
  Her Director agrees, and she takes a 
  3-point refresh in the Mechanics ability 
  she used to decouple and brake the freight 
  car. If Julia had used Driving to brake 
  the freight car and Mechanics to decouple 
  it, she might refresh either. Although she 
  used Athletics to dive free, everyone agrees 
  the freight car is the key element of this 
  achievement.
  adaptive tradecraft
  Good spies are great at thinking on 
  their feet. Spies sucked into the blood-
  soaked world of Night’s Black Agents 
  must adapt even further. Tradecraft is 
  the name given to the tips, tricks, and 
  improvised equipment that keep agents 
  alive to fight another day. Changing these 
  techniques to hunt vampires requires 
  lateral thinking, the right equipment 
  and the devil’s own luck. When you’re 
  a spy who becomes a vampire hunter, 
  you use every advantage you get. 
  This section discusses how to adapt 
  Tradecraft techniques for the silent war 
  against vampires and their minions. Each 
  entry also includes alternate General 
  and Investigative abilities that you can 
  use to this end besides Tradecraft.
  You can use the abilities as noted, or 
  you can spend points to get more intel. 
  Examples of suggested benefits from 
  spends incorporating those actions are 
  also included to stoke the imagination 
  … or give the Director ideas on how to 
  fight back.
  determine when  
  the car leaves  
  tradecraft: If the enemy is wise to 
  watchers and sweeps for spy eyes, 
  purchase a cheap analog watch. Remove 
  the wristband. Make sure it is set to the 
  correct time and working. Wrap the 
  watch in duct tape to protect the face. 
  Locate the subject’s vehicle in the parking 
  lot or garage. Put the watch underneath 
  one of the car’s tires, to be crushed when 
  the car moves. Return the next day to 
  retrieve the watch. It will display the 
  time the target left in their car.
  alternate abilities: Mechanics, 
  Urban Survival
  suggested benefits
   
  n You retroactively set the watch 
  during an earlier visit. “Yeah, while 
  you were flirting with that security 
  guard, I found Stavros’ Lexus and 
  wedged this under the tire.”
   
  n Confirm the target leaves when it 
  works best for the brilliant plan. 
  
  57
  tricks of the trade  n  adaptive tradecraft
  “Natalia leaves 30 minutes before 
  sunset. If we want to get the hostile 
  before sunrise, that’s our window.”
   
  n Put together the vampire’s 
  itinerary for the evening. “Thursday 
  nights he … it feeds at the 
  discotheque. Creature of habit.”
  fake an injury  
  tradecraft: Skewer a few pieces of 
  cardboard on a thumbtack. Put the 
  tack in your shoe for a small nagging 
  reminder of pain of an ankle injury. Tape 
  a flexible metal ruler on the back of your 
  knee to alter how you walk for a knee 
  injury. Simulate a back injury by wearing 
  a back brace reversed to give yourself a 
  stooped over look.
  alternate abilities: Disguise, Diagnosis
  suggested benefits
   
  n Convince an opponent to 
  underestimate your condition. 
  “Go easy on me? I’m still feeling 
  the effect from last night’s bout.”
   
  n Mislead potential followers. “No, the 
  guy we’re looking for has a limp.”
   
  n Lure a predatory vampire into 
  thinking you’re a weak victim. 
  “The old fake limp gets them 
  everytime. Get the pliers 
  and the cloves of garlic.”
  conceal liquids  
  on your person  
  tradecraft: Go into any drug store 
  and pick up cheap sample bottles. 
  Alternately, raid the hotel mini bar and 
  empty the small liquor bottles by your 
  preferred method. Refill the bottles with 
  more volatile liquids like acid, gasoline, 
  or holy water. Small bottles such as these 
  can get into otherwise secure locations 
  such as airplanes. Plastic bottles can also 
  be squeezed for a limited squirt effect.
  alternate abilities: Conceal, Chemistry
  suggested benefits
   
  n You can walk into a secure 
  room with gasoline. “Just 
  hand sanitizer, boss.”
   
  n Burn your way through a 
  lock. “When they said extra 
  strength formula, they probably 
  didn’t have this in mind.”
   
  n Combined with a Hand-to-
  Hand Called Shot (+3 to Hit 
  Threshold), jam your bottle full 
  of holy water (or garlic oil, etc.) 
  into a vampire’s mouth. “Here’s 
  a juicy treat for you, sucker!”
  monitor a negotiation  
  tradecraft: Acquire two cell phones. 
  Call one phone and leave the connection 
  in place. Hide one phone on your person 
  and carry one into the negotiation. At 
  some point during the negotiation, 
  leave to go to the bathroom, leaving 
  your phone on the table. While out of 
  the room, use the phone still on you to 
  listen to the conversation going on in the 
  room, since the negotiators will think 
  you left your phone with them.
  alternate abilities: Conceal, 
  Electronic Surveillance
  suggested benefits
   
  n Reveal a bit of info they thought 
  you didn’t know. “Marceau is 
  going to be quite upset you 
  lowballed him to cover my costs.”
   
  n Get the location of the stash. “Go 
  to the warehouse and bring him 
  his cut from the diamonds.”
   
  n Detect who in the meeting is a 
  vampire, if they don’t register on 
  electronic recording devices.
  make a  
  convenient Wall safe  
  tradecraft: Shut off the electricity in 
  the location. Unscrew the plate covering 
  a wall socket. Disconnect the wiring. 
  Stash the items of value in the wall behind 
  the socket. Replace the socket and screw 
  it in for security. Items roughly the size 
  of a deck of cards can be hidden this way, 
  as well as small firearms.
  alternate abilities: Conceal, 
  Mechanics, Preparedness
  suggested benefits
   
  n Pull a weapon from the wall of the 
  safe house. “I couldn’t find a cookie 
  jar I liked so I keep the guns here.”
   
  n Stash something on another 
  site for later. (This will require 
  insulated gloves, since you 
  usually can’t cut off the power.) 
  “These night vision goggles don’t 
  fit in this tuxedo pocket.”
   
  n Booby-trap something valuable by 
  reconnecting the wires. “Okay, it’s 
  behind the wall socket. You got 
  what you wanted, now leave.”
  pwn a Webcam  
  tradecraft: Many laptops, tablets, and 
  phones come complete with webcams. 
  Multiple programs exist to allow remote 
  control of webcams. Loading these 
  programs can be as easy as popping in a 
  thumb drive for a few seconds or visiting 
  a website for a few moments while 
  the laptop’s user is away. With devices 
  like tablets and phones being carried 
  everywhere, you can monitor a subject 
  much more consistently.
  alternate abilities: Electronic Surveillance, 
  Digital Intrusion, Filch
  suggested benefits
   
  n Turn the laptop into a motion 
  sensor. “Target leaves at 8 
  AM, returns at 4 PM”
   
  n Record a sensitive meeting. 
  “Now, that’s an internship.”
   
  n Get the layout of the vampire’s 
  lair. “Looks like the coffin 
  is hidden in the closet.”
  see in darkness  
  Quickly  
  tradecraft: Eyes normally adjust to 
  darkness over a 20-30 minute period. 
  Wearing red-tinted glasses helps your 
  eyes adjust ahead of time. Wear the 
  glasses and remove them when you enter 
  the dark area.
  alternate abilities: Outdoor Survival, 
  Surveillance ival,Su
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  58
  suggested benefits
   
  n Eliminate or reduce darkness 
  penalties. “They can’t see? 
  They can’t shoot back!”
   
  n Track a subject in the evening 
  without needing lights. 
  “Keep the headlights off.”
   
  n Attack a vampire using red-
  filtered flashlights to reduce 
  glare. “He can’t target us.”
  get in  
  Without a ticket  
  tradecraft: Trade shows, sports venues, 
  hotel functions, and concerts generally 
  require most smokers to pursue their 
  habit outside the building. (Yes, even in 
  France, since 2008.) Scope out the exit 
  the smokers use. Wait until the event is 
  underway; most security is concerned 
  with people sneaking in at the start of 
  an event rather than the middle. As new 
  smokers cycle out, chat them up, offer 
  and light cigarettes. When your new 
  friends head back inside, join them. If 
  security hassles you, tell them you left 
  your badge or ticket in your seat. If 
  security looks extremely tight, use the 
  smoking huddle to lift a badge or ticket.
  alternate abilities: Infiltration, 
  Flattery, Filch
  suggested benefits
   
  n Shock a public figure by your 
  appearance at the gala. “No 
  further questions, Senator?”
   
  n Scope out a building before a heist 
  in two days. “Nice ceilings. We 
  can probably mount a rappelling 
  rig and not scratch the marble.”
   
  n Pocket some internal documents 
  from a conspiracy front. 
  “The Red Phoenix Initiative 
  sounds harmless enough.”
  Write in invisible ink  
  tradecraft: Write a short message 
  using a medium that becomes invisible 
  when dry, get the message to the 
  recipient, who then uses an activator to 
  reveal the message. Writing the message 
  on a blank piece of paper makes it more 
  notable. Better to write the message 
  on something else, like a receipt or 
  junk mail, to hide its true purpose. A 
  recognition code (e.g., three tack holes 
  in one corner, or a code word in the 
  cover text) indicates the presence of an 
  invisible message to the recipient.
  Classic 
  medium / activator 
  combinations include:
   
  n eye drops/UV light
   
  n lemon juice/iodine solution
   
  n baking soda in water/
  purple grape juice
   
  n crushed laxative in rubbing alcohol/
  ammonia-based glass cleaner
   
  n diluted urine/hair dryer
  Long-time 
  deep-cover 
  agents 
  or 
  asset handlers may have a specific or 
  specialized 
  chemical 
  ink/activator 
  combination they use.
  alternate abilities: Cryptography, Notice
  suggested benefits
   
  n Send important messages hidden on 
  mundane paperwork. “Kerensky always 
  files his expense reports on time.”
   
  n Discover the name of a vampire 
  written on the back of a receipt. 
  “If he was bleeding so badly, 
  why did he go to a pharmacy 
  and buy eye drops?”
   
  n Entrust a message to be held until 
  other agents arrive. “Miss, I want 
  you to hold onto this 100 euro 
  note until someone asks to see 
  it. Let them look at it, and then 
  it’s yours to keep. Can I get more 
  coffee when you get the chance?”
  communicate  
  despite monitoring  
  tradecraft: Prisoners of war in Vietnam 
  developed a tap code in which they laid out 
  the alphabet on a 5 x 5 grid (merging c and 
  k into one letter). By tapping out a rhythm 
  of two sets of taps, one determining 
  the row and the other determining the 
  column of the letter, they sent messages 
  to other prisoners without the guards 
  catching on. They later refined the system 
  to use coughs, hacks, sniffs, sneezes, and 
  clearing the throat to get the messages 
  out in a more natural manner.
  alternate abilities: Cryptography, Notice
  suggested benefits
   
  n Leave a mundane voicemail 
  with a hidden message. “Must 
  be cold season in Minsk.”
   
  n Hide a password in the beats of 
  an unfinished backing track, or a 
  techno song on an iPod. “And here 
  I thought he just had no rhythm.”
   
  n Communicate to a fellow agent 
  while under the domination 
  of a vampire. “She couldn’t say 
  her master’s name, but she kept 
  clicking her pen in a certain way.”
  hide documents  
  tradecraft: Most thieves and operatives 
  look under the bed or in your luggage. 
  Hotel safes are also very easy for a 
  professional to open because the locks 
  are standardized and rarely changed. 
  Take a large plastic freezer bag, put the 
  documents (or other light item like a 
  thumb drive) inside, and safety pin it to 
  the top of the drapes. Make sure the bag 
  can’t be seen from either inside the room 
  or through the window. A determined 
  investigator given enough time will find 
  anything in a hotel room, but someone 
  on the clock will only hit the obvious 
  places and move on.
  alternate abilities: Conceal
  suggested benefits
   
  n Feed the conspiracy false information 
  by hiding it in easier-to-find places.
   
  n Present evidence of burglary and 
  other crimes. “I took the liberty of 
  coating the inside of the safe with 
  a paint only visible in UV light. 
  Gentlemen, present your hands.”
   
  n Monitor your room and catch 
  the thief red-handed. “Hey, as 
  long as you’re looking under the 
  bed can you see if the remote 
  for the TV is down there?”
  
  59
  tricks of the trade  n  adaptive tradecraft
  build a bulletproof 
  briefcase  
  tradecraft: “Bulletproof” is something 
  of a flexible term. Attach armor plates 
  (like those in a ballistic vest) to the inside 
  of a briefcase with adhesive Velcro strips. 
  The heaviest plates (ESAPI, weighing 
  3.25 kg apiece) can stop a .30-06 rifle 
  firing armor piercing rounds. The real 
  trick is getting the case up to protect 
  your torso or head in time.
  alternate abilities: Military Science, 
  Mechanics, Preparedness
  suggested benefits
   
  n You switched cases before the 
  meet. “You think I’d really bring 
  the cash to the underground 
  Albanian fight club?”
   
  n The weight of the case pulls an 
  opponent off guard. “Here, catch!”
   
  n The documents inside were 
  protected from the blast. “A 
  sniper and a bomber? Were the 
  Chechens having a sale?”
  pretend to drink  
  tradecraft: In a public situation, order 
  a drink with a Coke or other non-
  transparent chaser. Appear to swallow 
  the tainted drink and then spit it into the 
  chaser. Bartenders often have a chaser 
  like this handy at the bar so they can 
  appear to do a shot with a patron but not 
  get drunk. If a chaser is not handy, seek 
  out the nearest glass of water or potted 
  plant to spit the drink into. Use a flask 
  or sample bottle if you have one on your 
  person. If another vessel is unavailable, 
  keep a sponge taped to your wrist and 
  spit it out there. Drinking from a bottle? 
  Put your thumb over its mouth.
  alternate abilities: Filch, Reassurance
  suggested benefits
   
  n You never drank the vampire’s blood. 
  “I kept it in my mouth until I went 
  into the bathroom to freshen up.”
   
  n Pretend you are passed out to listen 
  in on a sensitive conversation.
   
  n Keep a sample to take back to the lab. 
  “There were enough tranquilizers in 
  that vodka to knock out an elephant.”
  take fingerprints  
  in the field  
  tradecraft: Common substances can 
  be used to lift fingerprints. Use talcum 
  powder on dark surfaces. Use copier 
  toner on light surfaces. Remove the 
  fingerprint using clear adhesive tape. 
  Matching the fingerprints to a database 
  usually requires a bit more legwork, but 
  most spies have ways (such as Cop Talk 
  or Digital Intrusion) of getting into a 
  database easily. Even without access to 
  a criminal database, building their own 
  database of fingerprints can help the 
  team keep track of the members of the 
  conspiracy.
  alternate abilities: Criminology, Filch
  suggested benefits
   
  n Get into a secure location using 
  the lifted prints. “We can construct 
  some fake fingertips out of latex 
  to complete your disguise.”
   
  n Blow a cover identity. “Or, should 
  I say, Alexandria Andretti?”
   
  n Prove someone is a member of a 
  vampire cult. “The next time you 
  drink the Eternal Ocean from a 
  chalice, you should wear gloves.”
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  60
  There are times in every operation 
  when you just get stuck. You may be out 
  of obvious options, you may be over-
  planning, you may be suffering from 
  analysis paralysis, or you may be at a loss 
  as to the best strategy for confronting 
  your vampiric nemeses. If your Director 
  is particularly sadistic, you may even be 
  hesitant to move because the stakes are 
  too high and you’re afraid that any move 
  might be the wrong move.
  the cartagena rules  
  When play slows down, you should fall 
  back on the Bucharest Rules (NBA, pp. 
  116-117), and you should consider the 
  following guidelines. They’re named 
  the Cartagena Rules after a particularly 
  spectacular playtest mission that left 
  Cartagena in Colombia on fire and in 
  the midst of a murderous drug war, with 
  car chases and exploding helicopters 
  drawing the unwanted attention of the 
  authorities, but we’ll say this: play never 
  bogged down once.
  commander's intent
  A common problem with any team of 
  agents is over-planning. Players become 
  obsessed with gathering as much 
  intelligence as possible and with mapping 
  out each stage of their anticipated 
  assault, despite the fact that no plan 
  ever survives contact with the enemy. 
  In fact, it’s remarkable if a plan is still 
  on track ten minutes into its execution; 
  there are just too many contingencies 
  to take into account, especially when a 
  good Director is experienced at keeping 
  agents on their toes. 
  The result? Hours of relatively tedious 
  planning immediately thrown out the 
  window in exchange for an adrenaline-
  fueled scramble. The scramble’s usually 
  much more fun, but it’s hard for most 
  players to forego preparing at least a 
  minimal plan. 
  This happens with real-world military 
  commanders as well. The U.S. military 
  now uses a concept called “Commander’s 
  Intent” (CI). It’s a simple, clearly-worded 
  statement of intent that appears on the 
  top of every order, stating the plan’s goal 
  and the operation’s desired result.
  This is true both for high-level and 
  tactical level operations. For a short-
  term operation it may be “clear the 
  warehouse of enemy combatants and 
  empty their vault.” For a longer-term 
  strategy, it may be “capture a vampiric-
  tainted creature and keep it alive long 
  enough to question.”
  In 
  a 
  complex 
  operation, 
  the 
  Commander’s 
  Intent 
  helps 
  keep 
  combatants focused on the end goal. 
  How you reach your goal matters less 
  than remembering what the goal itself is. 
  To develop a CI, fill in two blanks: “If the 
  mission accomplishes nothing else, it must...” 
  and “The single most important thing we 
  must do during this mission is ...” Think 
  of the first as the end state: what does 
  victory look like? The second is the core 
  activity: what key thing will bring about 
  that victorious end state? Then write it 
  down, keep it visible for all players, and 
  use it as a touchstone.
  You're Already prepared
  It is worth noting that Night’s Black 
  Agents is a game that makes over-
  planning unnecessary. The Preparedness 
  ability (and high levels of Mechanics), 
  the Nick of Time (NBA, p. 33) and A Lift 
  in Time Saves Nine (p. 41) cherries, 
  the Calculated Risk maneuver (p. 50), 
  and TFFB spends from Investigative 
  pools (NBA, pp. 107-109) mean that 
  an agent can smoothly adapt to new 
  situations without bother or fuss. Trust 
  your creativity and use your abilities; 
  you’ll have a more exciting game than 
  if you’d spent hours working out a plan. 
  nobody does it better
  Don’t forget your MOS. The nice thing 
  about a MOS is that it still succeeds, 
  often spectacularly, even when you’ve 
  completely expended all your points in 
  that pool. There’s some logic to saving 
  your MOS for the most dramatically 
  appropriate moment; when you’re out 
  of Shooting and your foe has you on the 
  ropes, it’s reassuring to know that you can 
  still manage to slide your pistol into his 
  open mouth before pulling the trigger.
  In addition, every player treasures 
  the look on a GM’s face when they use 
  their MOS to accomplish something 
  completely 
  unexpected. 
  In 
  one 
  playtest adventure, a player used their 
  Preparedness MOS and their entire 
  Shooting pool to use a rocket-propelled 
  grenade at the best possible time; in 
  another, a well-timed Weapons MOS 
  allowed an agent to throw a wooden stake 
  with spectacular results. Do likewise.
  choose the  
  most Awesome Alternative
  If you have an array of equally good 
  (or equally bad) choices in front of you 
  and can’t come to a decision, pick the 
  most awesome alternative. Sometimes it 
  helps to say “in an action movie, which 
  would the hero pick? What’s the most 
  cinematic approach?” Then follow that 
  path. (In a Dust mode game, ask “What 
  would George Smiley do?” instead.) 
  Even if it ends up being somewhat sub-
  optimal tactics, it gets you moving and 
  usually gets the Director on your side. 
  Regardless of how it develops, you’re 
  likely to end up with a memorable and 
  spectacular dénouement.
  get the lay of the land
  You hit a new location, touching down 
  at the airport without any illegal 
  equipment. What’s the process for 
  establishing yourself in a new city?
  It depends on how long you’ll be there and 
  what your goal is, but a few procedures 
  always make sense. Consider establishing 
  a safe house using your Network, or with 
  other Abilities (NBA, p.112). Head 
  there once you re-equip yourselves 
  with standard weapons (NBA, p. 94). 
  Call local contacts if needed and gain 
  local intel beyond what a newspaper or 
  the internet can provide. Using Human 
  Terrain, ask the Director which local 
  movers and shakers might interfere with 
  your operation. If appropriate, you may 
  standard operating procedures
  
  61
  tricks of the trade  n  standard operating procedures
  even want to glance at a real-world map 
  to get a quick lay of the land.
  Once established, dig up clues on your 
  target. Hacking skills are useful here, 
  as you can use Research and Digital 
  Intrusion to dismantle and display your 
  enemy’s online life. Accounting lets you 
  trace their money trail, Architecture 
  gives you floor plans of the buildings 
  they’re living in, and Electronic 
  Surveillance allows you to tap into 
  their supposedly secure internal video 
  cameras. Expect that they’ll have secrets 
  you won’t be able to find right away, but 
  you’ll have a fine start to your operation. 
  Knowing where to strike is always a 
  good first step.
  hack the exposition
  Interpreting clues is more fun than the 
  process of gaining them. Sometimes 
  you want many clues quickly in order 
  to keep the plot moving. An agent with 
  Digital Intrusion, as well as Research, 
  Accounting, and other computer-related 
  Investigative skills, is the Director’s best 
  friend. This skill set allows the Director 
  to say, “You identify her image on the 
  airport security cameras. You trace her 
  flight to Vienna, re-identify her on the 
  Viennese security cameras, track her 
  on the traffic cameras out of the city, 
  and know roughly what country town 
  she must be hiding in.” It also allows the 
  Director to efficiently say, “You trace 
  the wire transfer through five shell 
  companies. Most people would never 
  have been able to track it back to Drocas 
  Industries, but you’re not most people.”
  Basically, some clues are best found 
  quickly in order to move the action 
  forward. Don’t be afraid to try using 
  several of your Investigative abilities at 
  once to make this possible.
  Wheat from chaff
  There will be times when you find an 
  abundance of possible clues, so many 
  that your possible options become 
  overwhelming. 
  Don’t 
  panic. 
  An 
  advantage of GUMSHOE is that you can 
  take each clue in turn, following it to 
  see where it leads, and if it peters out 
  or heads in the wrong direction you can 
  always come back to it later. Best of all, 
  good Directors give several different 
  paths to the same end. You only need to 
  find one set of clues that gets you to your 
  objective, not all of them.
  Ask About red herrings
  There will be times when you suspect that 
  a clue is a red herring, and you worry that  
  your team is about to go down a rabbit 
  warren of wasted effort as you follow the 
  trail of someone who turns out to be a shoe 
  salesman in New Jersey. Don’t be afraid 
  to ask the Director, “Are we safe putting 
  this clue aside for now, under the theory 
  that it isn’t relevant?” Many Directors 
  will tell you flat-out that you’re on the 
  wrong track. Even in a Mirror game, a red 
  herring wastes time that could be spent 
  luring you into trusting traitors. They 
  want to see the game move forward as 
  much as you do, so take advantage of this 
  when you’re otherwise stuck.
  follow the clear lead
  You will occasionally discover a single, 
  miraculously clear lead. It may be that 
  the bad guy has slipped up, it may be that 
  you’re so good you tracked down the 
  real trail, it may be that you’re running 
  short on time in the game session and 
  the Director wants to skip to the action.
  When this happens, don’t dither. 
  Keep moving forward, and keep an eye 
  open to make sure your targets haven’t 
  laid a trap for you.
  never turtle up
  The most important advice is to keep 
  moving forward. GUMSHOE gives you 
  clues for free if you’re asking for them 
  with the right ability. If you can’t gain 
  any intelligence from the thug you’re 
  questioning, he isn’t going to give 
  you any information; if you don’t find 
  pertinent information in the assassin’s 
  financial records, it isn’t there to find. 
  Keep moving, keep checking possible 
  data and interpersonal trails, and you’ll 
  track down the next link in the chain.
  phone a friend
  When in doubt, use your Network. 
  It’s particularly useful if you need 
  information that’s best obtained with an 
  unavailable Investigative Ability. If you 
  need a quick and accurate information 
  dump, there’s nothing like being able 
  to call your old colleague in a local 
  government agency who happens to 
  be an expert on the matter. Likewise, 
  if you need a massive garbage truck to 
  block the road and stop a fleeing suspect, 
  but you don’t have the manpower (or 
  Preparedness) to arrange it, calling 
  your mobbed-up Network contact who 
  happens to know some guys who own a 
  local waste management firm will solve 
  the problem neatly.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  62
  support other players
  Some players are more comfortable 
  pulling out spy genre conventions at 
  the drop of a hat, and levels of player 
  expertise varies. Always be thinking 
  about how to make the game more fun 
  for the other people at the table. That may 
  mean considering cool questions that 
  could be answered with their abilities, or 
  engineering ways for them to use their 
  specializations in unexpected ways. If 
  you’re the player who manages to keep 
  your wheelman involved and useful in an 
  operation with no driving, you’re going 
  to make the game more fun for everyone. 
  What's the Worst  
  that can happen?
  You may be paralyzed with inaction 
  because you can’t move on your enemy 
  without drawing attention by local 
  authorities. It’s bad tradecraft, but some 
  operations are worth risking exposure. 
  There will be times when the best course 
  of action is to do something entirely 
  unexpected. Blowing up an unhallowed 
  church in downtown Budapest, for 
  instance. You’ll draw Heat, likely lots of 
  it, but it’s always an option when you 
  can’t find a more subtle approach.
  When it occurs you have a few options. 
  You can find a real group to blame your 
  activities on, create a fictitious group’s 
  electronic history using Forgery and 
  blame your public mayhem on them, or 
  just leave town for a while. Just always 
  know where the exit is.
  retreat is an option
  Sometimes the only legitimate course 
  of action is to retreat. Perhaps your 
  vampiric foe has you outflanked or 
  is threatening to expose your cover. 
  Sometimes the only tactic that kills 
  your enemy involves too many innocent 
  deaths. When that happens there’s no 
  shame in dropping back and regrouping, 
  if for no other reason than it lures your 
  enemy into a false sense of security.
  there Are different  
  kinds of pressure
  Shadowy conspiracies thrive on the 
  darkness. If you’re unable to take down 
  your target with physical action, either 
  because you can’t get to them or you 
  don’t know what they’re vulnerable to, 
  consider a political or social takedown 
  instead. Glaring public exposure, 
  political blackmail, sudden bankruptcy, 
  massive inconvenience ... these are all 
  other methods to achieve goals against 
  a foe. If your enemy isn’t flying because 
  you hacked the U.S. government’s 
  do-not-fly list, she becomes more 
  vulnerable when travelling by train. If 
  your target has spent decades building 
  up a popular and well-known public 
  persona, dismantling it and ruining 
  their reputation will send them into 
  paroxysms of rage. Angry people – 
  and angry vampires -- make mistakes. 
  Leverage that to achieve your goals. 
  
  materiel  n  subsections
  a good agent never goes into the field 
  unequipped. And while resourcefulness 
  can provide gear and tactical advantages 
  on the fly, preparation is the key to 
  victory. Preparation produces positive 
  results, as the saying goes, and behind 
  every good spy is a gadget-savvy sidekick, 
  a well-endowed quartermaster branch, 
  and government wonks with a passel of 
  collegiate degrees and sixty-million-
  dollar grants to burn.
  Here the materialistic spy will find 
  more spytech, rules for tricking out 
  vehicles, and even more types of bullets 
  and bombs and things that go “bang” in 
  the night.
  materiel 
  more gear
  The following section lays out yet more 
  wonderful toys for the postmodern 
  agent. It follows the organizational 
  pattern of the corebook Spytech section, 
  breaking gear down by the general task 
  (and usually the General ability) for 
  which it is designed.
  Whether this equipment is “standard,” 
  or available in a Cache or with 
  Preparedness, is up to the Director. 
  Likewise, the Director can move 
  Difficulties, provided ability pools, or 
  any other value in this section up or 
  down to match her campaign’s “realism” 
  level. By default, most of it is at the 
  very least exotic – some of this gear is 
  downright cinematic.
  Fortunately, there’s a rule for that.
  the Q rule  
  This rule covers only devices and gadgets 
  that you or the Director strongly believe 
  don’t actually exist outside the fevered 
  imagination of scriptwriters and thriller 
  novelists. If you can find something like it 
  with a real-life price tag on the Internet 
  somewhere, it’s just a Preparedness test. 
  Also, the Director has to be willing to 
  allow it in her campaign. Some gadgets 
  are simply impossible, or too campy, or 
  violate the game’s tone.
  Describe, ideally in the form of a 
  flashback, the implausible gadget you 
  claim to have been issued (or built, or 
  found in an abandoned weapons lab, or 
  whatever). Spend 12 total points from 
  Preparedness and whatever ability the 
  concealed gadget uses (e.g., a bomb 
  in a pen would cost 12 points from 
  Preparedness and Explosive Devices). 
  You now have, on your person, a 
  gadget meeting your specs. For wilder 
  games, lower the cost to have a gadget: 
  Daniel Craig has a laser-watch for 12 
  points (Preparedness and Shooting); 
  Sean Connery has a laser-watch for 9 
  points; Roger Moore has a laser-watch 
  for 6 points.
  communications  
  Communications equipment overlaps 
  with Surveillance equipment in many 
  cases. As a general rule, if you’re using 
  it to penetrate enemy communications 
  networks, it probably requires a test 
  of Digital Intrusion or Surveillance, 
  or a spend of Electronic Surveillance. 
  If you’re using it to protect your own 
  network, or to communicate with your 
  own team, it may require a one-time, 
  1- or 2-point spend (of Mechanics or 
  Electronic Surveillance) to set up, but is 
  presumed to work until blown up, shot 
  to pieces, or hastily abandoned in a Varna 
  safe house.
  Audio Jammer
  This black box, about the size of a 
  wallet, produces either white noise 
  or low-level interference to disrupt 
  bugs and focused microphones. With a 
  Difficulty 3 Mechanics test, it can be 
  rigged into a bug detector, perfect for 
  sweeping potential safehouses or hotel 
  rooms, wherever agents find themselves 
  needing privacy.  
  Scrambler
  This device alters a radio signal at the 
  point of transmission in order to make 
  it unintelligible to receivers that lack the 
  appropriate descrambling technology, 
  ensuring the privacy of a communication 
  between parties. The method of 
  encryption can be cryptographic, 
  digital, or incorporate the use of spread 
  spectrum signal generation. An agent 
  must possess the Electronic Surveillance 
  ability to set up a scrambler; activating a 
  scrambler is just flicking a switch.
  Overcoming a target’s scrambler 
  depends on the means of encryption, 
  but always requires a lengthy sample 
  of scrambled communications, or 
  just gaining access to an enemy’s 
  receiver. A transmission that has been 
  cryptographically 
  altered 
  requires 
  dedicated cracking software, and a 1- or 
  2-point Cryptography spend. A digitally 
  scrambled transmission or spread 
  spectrum signal transmission requires a 
  Difficulty 5 to 7 Digital Intrusion test 
  to defeat; building a descrambler is a 
  Mechanics test with a similar difficulty. 
  Commercial shortwave and digital 
  descramblers are available, but don’t 
  63
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  64
  necessarily defeat anything more robust 
  than police scanners. Really, it’s much 
  simpler to steal a walkie-talkie.
  Spread spectrum signal generators 
  provide 
  a 
  Digital 
  Intrusion 
  or 
  Surveillance contest advantage against 
  an opposing signal jammer when sending 
  out a transmission.
  Time-Limited Message Discs
  Useful for recording messages, dead 
  drops, or other sensitive materials, 
  these self-playing minidiscs are one-use 
  only, consuming themselves in a hiss of 
  smoke (or flame, Director-depending) 
  once the message is played through once. 
  The messages may be of any length or 
  complexity, perfect for disposable “burn 
  after reading” briefings.
  disguise  
  Wearing a disguise always requires a 
  Disguise test to bring off confidently, 
  although piggybacking is allowed for 
  groups of disguised agents. Also, if a 
  superior disguise artist succeeds in 
  making you up after a suitably difficult 
  Disguise test, you might only have to 
  spend 1 or 2 points of Disguise to keep 
  your cool and avoid touching the fake 
  moustache all the time.
  Acquiring a fake ID badge usually 
  devolves to Forgery or Filch; passing a 
  fake ID is usually a fairly easy Disguise test 
  or even a 1-point spend if the ID is good.
  Standard Equipment: Baseball cap, 
  blank badges and ID cards, bronzer, 
  brushes, contact lenses, costume 
  jewelry, eyeglasses, eye pencil, false 
  mustache and brows, gloves (latex, 
  leather, and thinfilm), glue, hair color, 
  hair extensions, heel lifts, insignia and 
  patches, jewelry, makeup, neckties, 
  paint, plastic inserts, putty, reversible 
  jacket, spirit gum, sunglasses, talcum 
  powder, temporary tattoos, throat 
  spray, wigs.
  Facial Masking Technology
  This unit is roughly the size of small 
  suitcase, and requires an external 
  power supply. Starting with a set of 
  source photos (a 1- or 2-point spend 
  of Photography or Research), the self-
  contained latex spray and prosthetic 
  apparatus produces a three-dimensional 
  mask of the target. The machine takes 
  anywhere from five to thirty minutes to 
  produce an individual mask, but using the 
  mask (and assuming you have the proper 
  wig or dental implants) subtracts 3 from 
  the Difficulty of specific impersonations.
  Although the above is cinematic tech 
  at its finest, the CIA does reputedly 
  have a technology called “Dagger” that 
  creates a paper-thin mask wearable for 
  specific missions. Most likely, Dagger 
  masks create “generic” faces to allow 
  an agent to escape surveillance, but you 
  never know – Hollywood makeup and 
  SFX artists have been working with the 
  CIA for at least 40 years. Barring that, 
  a Dagger mask is one-use, and cannot 
  stand up to rain, heavy physical activity, 
  or being punched in the face. It provides 
  5 pool points of Disguise or Surveillance 
  to escape enemy searchers; when the 
  pool is empty, the mask is too badly 
  degraded or sweaty to keep using.
  Voice Synthesizer
  A thin collar of carbon with a round disc 
  wraps around the throat, most often worn 
  with a facial mask (see above) to mimic the 
  voice. Accompanying software (usually 
  running on a smartphone or nearby 
  transmitting computer) mirrors speech 
  pattern and inflection, ensuring that 
  whatever the agent says sounds like the 
  original voice. Using a voice synthesizer 
  subtracts 1 from the Difficulty of specific 
  impersonations (4 from the Difficulty of 
  voice-only impersonations). A 1-point 
  Mechanics spend allows you to rewire 
  the device to “throw” the voice, making 
  it seem as though it comes from some 
  other location.
  Again, this is fairly cinematic 
  technology, but basic voice-changing 
  technology is decades old. Simply 
  altering speech into unrecognizability is 
  an app available on most smartphones; 
  a small disk that does the same thing 
  can be screwed into telephone receivers 
  for devotedly retro agents (or agents 
  in devotedly retro Balkan nations). 
  Applying computer software to change 
  an agent’s voice to a specific voice print 
  may still be on the edge of possibility, but 
  off-the-shelf programs exist to change 
  male voices to female, old voices to 
  young, and make almost any other 
  alteration you can imagine. The illusion 
  still breaks down face to face in the real 
  world, of course.
  explosive devices  
  See the corebook for:
   
  n rules for the Explosive Devices 
  ability (NBA, p. 29)
   
  n explosive classes and damage 
  effects (NBA, pp. 67-68)
   
  n booby trap construction 
  (NBA, p. 98)
  
  65
  materiel  n  more gear : disguise to explosive devices
  Binary Explosives
  Tannerite, H2, and other binary 
  explosives usually blend ammonium 
  nitrate and ammonium perchlorate 
  with other compounds. Until mixed, 
  they are inert; once mixed, they become 
  explosive (class 1). They can be left in 
  powder form, but are more useful mixed 
  into clay or thick paint. Such explosives 
  are great for taking out doors, hinges, 
  and small barriers to entry, and in 
  emergency combat situations.
  They usually require impact (such as 
  a bullet strike) to set them off, but an 
  Explosive Devices test (lower Difficulty 
  with a Chemistry spend) can create 
  binary explosives that detonate on an 
  electrical spark, flame, or after five 
  seconds of evaporation exposes a trigger 
  chemical such as sodium to air. A higher 
  Difficulty test increases the mixture to 
  a class 2 explosive. 
  Grenades
  Hand-loading grenades with anti-
  vampire payloads such as holy water, 
  garlic oil, silver nitrate, wood fragments, 
  etc. is an Explosive Devices test at 
  Difficulty 4. You can modify one grenade 
  per hour at that Difficulty; adding one 
  additional grenade per hour increases 
  the Difficulty of the test by 1. On a 
  failed test, the best possible outcome is 
  a whole bunch of inert grenades.
  Grenades modified to deliver a non-
  explosive, non-shrapnel payload do class 
  1 damage, not class 2 damage. Grenades 
  that simply replace their normal 
  fragmentation payload with silver or 
  other metallic shards do normal damage.
  Some other examples include:
   bell grenade: This grenade is 
  about the size of a bell pepper. Detonating 
  it produces not a concussive force, 
  but rather a loud clanging, jangling, or 
  tinkling sound. It can best be compared 
  to a sound-only flashbang (agents refer 
  to it as a “jinglebang”), projecting a 
  ringing tone of silver bells – perfect 
  for disorienting foes (who must make a 
  Difficulty 5 Health test or be deafened 
  and surprised for a number of rounds 
  equal to their margin of failure) and 
  demoralizing those things sensitive to the 
  ringing of bells. It does no other damage.
   bone grenade: This grenade 
  is a canister, lined with blessed bone 
  fragments. Once detonated it produces 
  a hail of razor sharp bone shards, which 
  EMP Weapons  
  components. Flux compression bombs 
  are one-shots, but do have the virtue of 
  being vehicle-portable. Other ways to 
  generate a pulse, like a Marx generator, 
  can be reused but need an awful lot of 
  juice to run. 
  When using a NNEMP (non-nuclear 
  electromagnetic pulse) weapon, the trick 
  is calibration. (This may require a Physics 
  spend.) Generate too weak a pulse, 
  and you only fry the electrical systems 
  closest to you. Too strong a pulse can 
  cause a lot of collateral damage – the 
  power spike might fry systems across 
  the city. Also, remember that the pulse 
  expands in all directions – unless you 
  stick your own gadgets in a Faraday cage 
  to shield them, they’ll also be destroyed. 
  off a sizeable EMP is also going to be 
  treated as a terror attack (+4 Heat at 
  least), as the authorities are twitchy 
  about infrastructure these days. Also, 
  remember that switching off electronics 
  may suit older vampires perfectly 
  -- they come from an era before 
  telecommunications and blinkenlights, 
  and would be quite happy to return to 
  the Dark Ages. A city without street 
  lighting is a vampire hot buffet.
  Finally, the new non-lethal hotness is 
  directed-EMP (more technically HERF: 
  High-Energy Radio Frequency) weapons 
  – a gun that zaps the electrical systems 
  of whatever it’s pointed at. Aim at 
  a car, fry the ignition and control 
  systems. Aim it at a phone, disable it. 
  Aim it at a laptop, fry it.  Theoretically, 
  you can make one of these with the 
  guts of a microwave oven and a few 
  big capacitors (Difficulty 5 and about 
  an hour’s work), but the effectiveness 
  varies wildly depending on the target. 
  Directed-EMP 
  weapons 
  are 
  less 
  power-hungry than their big brothers, 
  but still require several minutes to 
  recharge between firings. They are 
  human-portable, but not remotely 
  concealable: think of a radar gun with 
  a microwave oven on it.
  While man-portable, reliable HERF 
  weapons remain on the edge of 
  reality for now, larger EMP weapons 
  already exist. The U.S. Army has tested 
  broader-focus vehicle-mounted HERF 
  weapons. When fired at a crowd, the 
  targets feel feverish and hot (effective 
  temperature 54°C), imposing a -3 
  penalty to Athletics and forcing a 
  Difficulty 5 Health test to remain 
  downrange of the HERF. (Targets 
  who fail also become Shaken.) That 
  particular weapon has a 500-meter 
  range, but in theory such weapons 
  could focus their effect anywhere 
  within line of sight from a parabolic or 
  planar array.
  Philb
  EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) weapons 
  kill any electrical devices within 
  range by generating an intense and 
  fluctuating magnetic field. This field 
  induces a powerful electric current 
  in any conductive object. So, wires, 
  power cables, antennae, electronics, 
  even metal pipes within the field get 
  supercharged, and they’ll pass the 
  power spike onto anything connected 
  to them. A powerful EMP weapon can 
  permanently fry all electrical systems 
  in a whole city. Powering down an 
  electrical device protects it from a 
  low-level EMP, but not a big blast.
  Now, the classic way to generate 
  a big EMP effect is to detonate a 
  nuclear bomb, ideally high in the air to 
  maximize the area of effect. Back in the 
  good old days of the Cold War, the U.S. 
  feared the Soviets might try to knock 
  out the whole eastern seaboard with a 
  single high-altitude nuke.
  Of course, nukes are overkill in 
  most situations, and there are other 
  ways to generate a smaller EMP burst. 
  A flux compression bomb – a finicky 
  combination of bomb and an electrical 
  armature – can kick out a strong enough 
  pulse to fry a city block. Building such a 
  device requires both Explosive Devices 
  and Mechanics (both at Difficulty 5), not 
  to mention some expensive and exotic 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  66
  do full damage against unarmored open 
  targets, but class 1 damage against targets 
  under cover or wearing armor. Ideally, 
  of course, the blessed bone shards are 
  also the target’s bane and do damage as 
  other banes.
  See the list of rifle grenade ammunition 
  on p. 77 for more inspiration.
  Land Mines
  You think modifying grenades to deliver 
  a different payload is hard? The parallel 
  test for land mines (or Claymores) 
  is Explosive Devices at Difficulty 6 
  with working or black-market mines; 
  Difficulty 5 with decommissioned or safe-
  stored mines from a military stockpile. 
  (Increase all Difficulties by 1 for cluster 
  mines or similarly tricky munitions.) 
  You can modify one land mine per two 
  hours at that Difficulty; adding one 
  additional mine per two hours increases 
  the Difficulty of the test by 1.
  Land mines modified to deliver non-
  explosive, non-shrapnel payloads do class 
  2 damage, not class 3 damage. Mines that 
  simply replace their normal fragmentation 
  or canister payload with silver or other 
  metallic shards do normal damage.
  infiltration  
  Anti-Infrared Clothing
  When attempting to infiltrate a location, 
  hide from snipers, or sneak behind a 
  hideous creature of the night that can 
  see into the infrared spectrum, anti-
  IR clothing can be of great benefit. 
  This clothing absorbs or masks infrared 
  radiation and gives a contest advantage to 
  Infiltration checks where the opponent is 
  using night-vision technology or can see 
  naturally at night. In some cases, it might 
  negate a foe’s entire Alertness modifier.
  This technology goes back to WWII; in 
  modern use, it might involve metallized 
  fibers in the weave or chemical 
  treatments for the cloth.
  Anti-Surveillance Attire
  An unrecognized agent is a living agent. 
  Remaining hidden and anonymous is 
  necessary for covert operations. Sadly, 
  cameras are ubiquitous in modern 
  society. From surveillance devices 
  placed throughout the city to random 
  citizens capturing cell phone images, it is 
  increasingly probable that an agent might 
  leave evidence that can be run through 
  facial 
  recognition 
  software. Anti-
  surveillance attire, typically in the form 
  of casual wear like T-shirts, hoodies, or 
  jackets, contains imagery and patterns 
  that interfere with pattern recognition 
  software, effectively concealing the 
  identity of the agent from passive 
  computer searches. Anti-surveillance 
  attire grants the wearer a 3-point 
  pool that can be used for Infiltration, 
  Surveillance, or Disguise spends against 
  computerized visual surveillance.
  While the specific notion of clothing 
  designs to thwart surveillance software 
  remains cinematic, carefully applied 
  makeup can bollix at least current facial 
  recognition software. Applying such 
  makeup is a Difficulty 7 Disguise test.
  EMMV Climbing Gloves
  These gloves, similar in construction 
  to weightlifter’s gloves, are covered in 
  adhesive pads wired with tiny coils that 
  create electromagnetic micro-vacuums 
  with other surfaces creating adhesion 
  on any solid surface or texture. Using a 
  rolling/rocking motion of the hands the 
  wearer is able to climb or scale surfaces 
  otherwise impossible. One warning, 
  though: It is possible that given extreme 
  temperatures or stress (say, supporting 
  your entire weight by your fingertips) 
  that the gloves may fail to adhere. Check 
  with your Director often while climbing.
  Magnetic gloves that work on steel-
  frame buildings already exist; for glass 
  surfaces such as, say, the Burj Khalifa in 
  Dubai, the cinematic gloves above or 
  human fly cups (NBA, p. 98) remain the 
  only option. Using these supertech gloves 
  lowers the Difficulty of a climb by 2 versus 
  human fly cups: from Difficulty 9 to 7, say.
  Frequency Scanner
  This remote control device scans along 
  the 315-430 mhz bands to deactivate 
  whatever car alarms are within a 
  10-meter radius. With a 1-point 
  Mechanics (or 2-point Digital Intrusion 
  or Driving) spend; it can be set to 
  activate the alarms instead.
  Most garage doors, gates, and other 
  automatic barriers work on fairly 
  sophisticated signal spreading systems 
  with a rolling code. Cinematic spies can 
  use frequency scanners to sniff and hack 
  these codes (with a Digital Intrusion 
  test), but an Infiltration test can usually 
  defeat the keypad more simply.
  RFID Sniffer
  RFID tags are in everything from 
  cars to ID badges to phones to credit 
  cards to pets to electronic keys to 
  anything inventoried in a big box 
  store or warehouse. They listen for an 
  interrogation signal and transmit their 
  coded number in response.
  This device, about the size of a 
  coffee-table book (easily concealed in 
  a backpack or briefcase), sends out a 
  series of interrogation signals, then scans 
  for 13.56 MHz outputs characteristic of 
  RFID tags, records the tag’s specifics, 
  displays them on a screen, and writes 
  them to a memory card.  From there, 
  making a cloned tag is simple, and 
  creating a perfect duplicate ID or credit 
  card, for example, is just a Forgery 
  spend away.
  Available commercially over the 
  Internet, it takes a Difficulty 5 Mechanics 
  test, a 1-point spend of Data Recovery, 
  and one day to build an RFID sniffer from 
  relatively common electronics. Such a 
  sniffer works only within 2 meters of the 
  tag. An even smaller sniffer, about the 
  size of a trade paperback, works within 
  35 cm of the tag.
  Wrist Laser
  As noted, this is the sort of thing the Q 
  Rule (see p. 63) covers.
  Designed to look like a wristwatch, this 
  cutting tool can be used to slice through 
  nearly anything, given enough time. As a 
  weapon, it works only up to Close range. 
  Its limited damage (-1) makes it at best a 
  quick close-quarters distraction.
  Need it be said, the most powerful 
  handheld cutting lasers are still only 5 
  watts, compared with the standard cutting 
  laser output of 1500-6000 watts. Using a 
  big cutting laser to open a vault or burn 
  through a steel coffin is completely (well, 
  mostly) realistic, but such devices weigh 
  80 kg or more and require mains power 
  and heavy duty cooling or heat sinks. 
  That said, you can build a 5 watt cutting 
  laser with the DVD burner, heat sink, 
  and power supply of a desktop computer, 
  
  67
  materiel  n  more gear : infiltration to mechanics
  which is enough to burn through plastic, 
  set fires, and blind aircraft.
  car hacking
  If you’re in some little podunk former 
  Soviet satellite or Third World country, 
  then you can steal a car using the time-
  honored methods passed down from the 
  ancestors. Pop the door lock by sliding 
  a coat-hook down the window, hotwire 
  the ignition, drive off. There are eight-
  year old kids who can do all that in thirty 
  seconds; you can do it with a Difficulty 
  2 Infiltration test (or the Open Sesame 
  or Grand Theft Auto cherries). 
  In the West, though, we’re not driving 
  cars any more. We’re driving computer 
  networks with wheels. To steal one of 
  those means you’ve got to get a bit 
  technical – unless you take the easy 
  approach, and steal the owner’s keys 
  first. You don’t even have to keep the 
  keys. Modern cars have a data port, the 
  On-Board Diagnostics port, located 
  under the dashboard. If you can get 
  access to that port for five minutes 
  with a laptop, some specialist software 
  and a Difficulty 4 Digital Intrusion 
  test, you can hack the car and upload 
  whatever malware you like. You could, 
  for example, program the brakes to lock 
  at a certain speed, or alter the readout 
  on the fuel display so the driver runs out 
  of gas without realizing it, or override 
  the door locks so the driver gets trapped 
  inside. You could even insert your own 
  subroutine allowing you to override the 
  driver and take remote control of the car 
  like an RPV. Or, more prosaically, you 
  could gain access to the door-locking 
  mechanism and inject your own code 
  so you can open the car with your own 
  keyfob later on.
  Things get trickier if you can’t get 
  physical access to the owner’s dashboard 
  or his keys. Spoofing the unlock code 
  is doable, but it isn’t easy. The best 
  approach is to build a small RFID sniffer 
  (see facing page). Pop this gadget in your 
  coat pocket, put it near the keyfob (say, 
  by standing next to the owner for a few 
  minutes at a party), and the decoder 
  keeps demanding the keys respond with 
  the unlock code. It’ll take some time for 
  the decoder to find the right challenge, 
  but once it does, you’ve got the secret 
  code to unlock and start the car.
  You can also use two antennae – put 
  one near the keys, and the other near 
  the car, and the car thinks the keys are 
  nearby. On some models, you can then 
  just pull the handle to open the car; on 
  others, it just disables the alarm so you 
  can finish the job with Infiltration.
  With social engineering, you can talk 
  a car open. If the owner’s signed up to 
  OnStar or a similar service, then with a 
  basic knowledge of the owner’s personal 
  data and a convincing (Reassurance 
  spend) story, you can claim you locked 
  your keys in the car and need the nice 
  operator to send the unlock code.
  You can also use GPS systems to 
  track a car’s location (Digital Intrusion, 
  Difficulty 4), but you need the car’s VIN 
  (Vehicle ID Number), which can also 
  be obtained with a short-range RFID 
  sniffer. Some cars also boast a remote-
  shutdown feature. If your car gets stolen, 
  the car company can send a signal that 
  automatically slows the car to a stop, 
  then freezes the engine. Hacking the car 
  company network to override a specific 
  car requires a Digital Intrusion test at 
  Difficulty 6, but remember that anyone 
  who’s remotely paranoid will certainly 
  have disabled this feature already.
  mechanics  
  Unlike most of the other General 
  abilities, “standard equipment” for 
  Mechanics varies too widely to be 
  handwaved. A full machine shop doesn’t 
  just materialize wherever an agent 
  happens to be, after all – and different 
  machine shops are required for different 
  sorts of construction and repair.
  That said, a commercial (or criminal) 
  auto garage holds most of what an agent 
  needs for most missions, and a quick 
  trip to the hardware and home supply 
  superstore will finish the inventory 
  nicely. For more electronically focused 
  Mechanics work, a TV or computer 
  repair shop supplies the (minimal) heavy 
  or specialized tools.
  Regardless of the above, an agent with 
  a decent rating in Mechanics can have 
  an Arduino, batteries, a crimping tool, 
  driver set, multi-tool, pliers, power 
  drill, screwdrivers, soldering iron, 
  spudger, tape measure, tweezers, wire 
  cutters, wire stripper, wrench set, and 
  assorted minor hardware (bolts, diodes, 
  nails, nuts, screws, wires, etc.) in his go-
  bag for most missions without needing 
  to invoke Preparedness.
  3d printers
  While not quite the magic build-anything 
  device of futurist legend, 3D printing 
  technology can make the creative agent’s 
  life much easier. The primary use for 3D 
  printing in the field is manufacturing 
  specialized parts that would otherwise 
  have to be stolen (leaving traces) or 
  sourced (leaving different traces). 
  Using a 3D printer is fairly simple. 
  Designing a printed object from scratch 
  is a Mechanics test; wire rats or helpful 
  assistants with Chemistry, Research 
  (to pull up pre-existing programs and 
  blueprints), or similar abilities can lower 
  the Difficulty.
  Consumer Grade 3D Printer
  This desk-sized unit (perfect for 
  safehouses and forger’s dens) can create 
  a reasonable facsimile of most three-
  dimensional objects and prototypes.
  cinematic rules: Using a 3D printer 
  with a 2-point Forgery spend creates 
  duplicate 
  items 
  (diamonds, 
  guns, 
  antiquities) that can reasonably bypass 
  cursory inspections. They cannot pass 
  specialist examination.
  Professional Grade 3D Printer
  Most consumer grade 3D printers use 
  ABS plastic or similar agents for the 
  manufacture of small objects by an 
  extrusion process. More sophisticated 
  printers use selective laser sintering and 
  other techniques to create more useful 
  objects from a broader array of materials. 
  A professional grade 3D printer can 
  be set up to manufacture objects out 
  of carbon fiber, thermoplastics, paper, 
  plasters, titanium, and other metals. 
  Such a printer requires a permanent 
  home, ventilated work space, and 
  industrial power, and is at least twice 
  the size of a desk-sized unit.
  cinematic rules: Professional grade 3D 
  printers can be used for forgeries in the 
  same manner as consumer grade printers. 
  Additionally, a professional grade printer 
  may be used to manufacture readily 
  usable equipment: bullets (including 
  silver, hollow-point, etc.), knives, and 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  68
  so forth. Even in the non-cinematic 
  world, 3D blueprints for a single-use 
  plastic .380 caliber pistol exist; material 
  strength is the only real barrier to printed 
  submachine guns, for example.
  Building an object requires a spend 
  from a related ability and a test of 
  Mechanics. The more complicated 
  the object, the higher the spend or 
  the higher the Difficulty. In general, 
  a 1-point Investigative spend equals a 
  3-point General spend.
  For a 3-point Piloting spend and a 
  Difficulty 4 Mechanics test, Ivan could 
  print a working UAV that could be used 
  for surveillance. Or, he could spend 1 point 
  of Piloting but increase the Mechanics 
  test Difficulty to 6. Or, he could make a 
  1-point Physics or Military Science spend 
  to design the UAV and manufacture it with 
  the original Difficulty 4 Mechanics test.
  Abilities such as Chemistry, Vampirology, 
  Shooting, Occult Studies, or Diagnosis 
  could allow for the manufacture of 
  a wide array of equipment. The only 
  obstacle is the acquisition of ingredients; 
  Network is usually more reliable than 
  Streetwise. The metals and organic 
  compounds used in professional grade 
  printers are in granular form and quite 
  expensive: agents with steady funds will 
  drop to insufficient funds for the next 
  few missions.
  surveillance  
  ’Bluejacking’ Software
  This software can be installed on an 
  agent’s smartphone or laptop computer 
  and allows agents to hijack a target’s 
  Bluetooth capable device. An agent can 
  make a Difficulty 5 Digital Intrusion 
  test to remotely implant phone cloning, 
  data mining, and buglike surveillance 
  software into the target’s Bluetooth 
  capable device. For remote implantation, 
  the agent must be within 15 meters 
  when using a handheld device and 100 
  meters with a laptop computer. The 
  software can also be physically installed 
  by flash drive into the target’s device, 
  which may be done with a Difficulty 4 
  Filch test or an Infiltration test into the 
  location where the device is kept.
  SIM Card Copier/Reader
  This USB stick can duplicate a cell 
  phone’s SIM card, cloning all information 
  and making it possible to create multiple 
  phones with the same number and 
  contacts. It’s also useful for overhearing 
  phone conversations. It requires access 
  to the phone to be cloned; the phone 
  should use UTMS architecture (see 
  Cloning a Mobile Phone, p. 17).
  A 1-point Electronic Surveillance 
  spend allows an agent to clone an existing 
  phone and overhear the calls it makes and 
  receives, as well as its browser history and 
  text messages, both sent and received.
  If the agent has this device, access 
  to the phone in question, and a rating 
  in the Electronic Surveillance ability, 
  the Director should provide any core 
  clues accessible from the target phone 
  without a spend.
  Vehicles  
  Jetpack
  On the cusp of practicality since the 
  1950s, a typical jetpack allows an agent 
  to fly 200 meters, with a maximum 
  ceiling of 35 meters, before it runs out of 
  hydrogen peroxide fuel. The absolutely 
  best (powered by jet fuel) test models 
  promise 9 minutes of flight time and a 
  ceiling of 75 m, for a potential range of 
  15 km. You begin to see why jetpacks 
  have fallen out of favor as secret agent 
  vehicles this century.
  Jetpacks 
  have 
  Speed 
  -1, 
  Maneuverability -1. They fall between a 
  speedboat and a Humvee on the Vehicles 
  table (NBA, p. 101).
  In 2004, the Swiss pilot Yves Rossy 
  invented an avgas-burning four-engine 
  jetpack mounted on a carbon-fiber wing 
  (2.4 meter wingspan). Rossy’s jetwing 
  requires the pilot to wear a fireproof suit 
  and a parachute for braking, but it can 
  cross the English Channel at Calais (6 
  km) in 9 minutes, reaching a top speed 
  of almost 300 kph. In an extremely 
  cinematic game, the agents might be able 
  to build a jetwing (Difficulty 6 Mechanics 
  test) given the necessary components. 
  (The wing, at least, can be 3D printed.) 
  In which case, of course, the Conspiracy 
  has had production milspec jetwings all 
  along – plus a squadron of camazotz.
  Jetwings 
  have 
  Speed 
  +1, 
  Maneuverability +1. They fall between 
  a racing motorcycle and a sports car on 
  the Vehicles table (NBA, p. 101).
  Personal Inflatable  
  Protection Sphere
  This translucent nylon and Kevlar shell, 
  worn uninflated as a thick belt, expands 
  at the pull of a tethered cord to encase 
  the wearer in an inflated bubble (2 meter 
  diameter) of body armor. Designed to 
  protect the wearer and her possessions 
  while in hostile territory, the bubble 
  provides 360-degree protection from 
  most small arms fire and projectiles 
  (armor -2). It is not rated to withstand 
  explosive or concussive forces, or slow 
  cutting (armor 0). From inside the 
  sphere, the wearer can “roll the ball” at 
  a slow walking pace – or much faster on 
  a steep slope! An inflated sphere reduces 
  the wearer’s damage from falls by half. 
  The wearer cannot fire a weapon out 
  of the sphere without deflating it and 
  trapping herself.
  Believe it or not, something very similar 
  to this device was actually patented in 
  1988. It is based on the avalanche airbags 
  worn by some climbers: at the tug of a 
  ripcord the airbag inflates and uses the 
  fluid dynamics of the avalanche to “sift” 
  the wearer to the top of the snow.
  Paraglider
  Great for those moments when you need 
  to bail out of a speeding vehicle, cross a 
  ravine or escape from a window, this one-
  agent ripstop polyester or nylon wing 
  folds up small enough to be harnessed 
  under a tearaway jacket (with a 2-point 
  Conceal spend) and used during dramatic 
  escapes. (In the real world, make your 
  dramatic escape at least 150 meters from 
  the ground, or 60 m if you’re using a 
  static line tethered to the building.) 
  It uses a “ram air” airfoil inflated by 
  the onrushing wind to maintain lift 
  and steerability; a paraglider can stay 
  aloft for hours and cover hundreds of 
  kilometers. A successful Preparedness 
  test to have a paraglider includes a vario-
  altimeter (or a vario-altimeter app on 
  your smartphone) for finding altitude 
  and detecting air temperature.
  Someone with a slot of Piloting 
  assigned to paragliders has a contest 
  
  69
  materiel  n  more gear : surveillance to vehicles
  advantage against a flier using only 
  Athletics to direct their sail. Such 
  a slot also applies to BASE jumping 
  parachutes, which have a similar design 
  but less maneuverability, lift, and range. 
  Apply a contest advantage to the airfoil 
  most suited to the immediate task.
  Paragliders have Speed -1, Manuever 
  +1. Small, cinematically concealable 
  paragliders fall between a cabin cruiser 
  and an APC on the Vehicles table. 
  Larger paragliders and steerable airfoil 
  parachutes (such as those used by various 
  special forces) fall between a scooter and 
  a horse on the same table, but lower the 
  Difficulty by 1 for safe landing tests. 
  Such paragliders cannot be concealed 
  under clothes, but can be carried in a 
  large duffel bag.
  Remotely Piloted Vehicles
  RPVs and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial 
  Vehicles) have become major tools of 
  espionage, military reconnaissance, and 
  surveillance. They can be as complex as 
  a Predator drone (500 kg payload, 150 
  kph cruising speed, 14 hour hover time 
  on station, $4.03 million) or as simple as 
  a really nice remote-control helicopter 
  with an onboard camera (500 g payload, 
  200 m range, 10 minute flight time, 
  $400). Ground RPVs vary similarly: a 
  remote-controlled truck makes a fine 
  bed for a camera, garlic tear-gas bomb, 
  or anything else under about 5 kg. U.S. 
  forces in Afghanistan and Iraq regularly 
  used $300 toy trucks as C-4 delivery 
  devices for EOD work, for example.
  Mastering an RPV or UAV takes 
  up a slot in Piloting; you can also use 
  a Driving slot for remote-operated 
  ground vehicles.
  Rigging a normal vehicle to operate 
  by remote control is a Difficulty 4 
  Mechanics test for most vehicles; for 
  larger or more complex vehicles, 
  Difficulty increases to 5; for large and 
  complex vehicles, the Difficulty for 
  remote wiring is 6. If the operator of 
  the vehicle has a Driving/Piloting slot 
  both for RPVs and for the vehicle being 
  “driven” or “piloted,” the Difficulty of 
  the Driving or Piloting test is lowered 
  by 1 as compared to tests using an RPV/
  UAV slot alone.
  Wingsuit
  A wingsuit comprises three small ram-
  air airfoils under the arms and between 
  the legs, to provide extra lift to a falling 
  human body. It allows an agent to fly at 
  a rate of 2.5 meters forward for every 
  1 meter that she falls, but requires an 
  Athletics test to land without injury as 
  from a fall at 50 kph. Assuming plenty 
  of vertical falling room, a wingsuit can 
  carry an agent over 20 km (the world 
  record is just short of 30 km).
  Wingsuits have Speed -1, Maneuver 
  +1. Their speed falls between a dirt bike 
  and a speedboat on the Vehicles table.
  In the default Night’s Black Agents 
  world 
  of 
  well-rounded 
  badasses, 
  wingsuits combine with paragliders, 
  BASE jumping chutes, etc. to take up a 
  single Piloting slot.
   In the real world, the skills are 
  not that easily transferrable. Wingsuit 
  is its own vehicle for Piloting purposes. 
  A compromise solution is to increase 
  all Difficulties for wingsuit ability tests 
  (Athletics or Piloting) by 2.
  Vehicle-based equipment
  Installing equipment into a vehicle 
  requires a test of Mechanics and some 
  amount of time. Time to install drops 
  by one day or by half (whichever is less) 
  as the Difficulty of the installation test 
  increases by 1.
  Desmond wants to install the anti-
  blast sheeting in two days instead of 
  three, so he increases the Difficulty of his 
  Mechanics test to 5 instead of 4. To install 
  the plates in half a day would increase 
  his Difficulty to 7 (two days is Difficulty 
  5, one day is Difficulty 6, half that is 
  Difficulty 7).
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  70
  item
  location
  difficulty
  time
  anti-blast sheeting
  underside of car
  4
  3 days
  automated  
  steel plating
  windshield, rear windshield, door windows
  5 (6 with CCTV)
  4 days
  caltrop dispenser
  rear bumper
  4
  1 day
  disposable car skin
  exterior of car
  3 (lamination)
  6 (electroplating)
  2 hours
  2 days
  electroshock system
  exterior of car
  5
  3 or 5 days (see text)
  EMP cannon
  front grille and engine compartment
  5 
  3 days
  fog dispenser
  rear exhaust, front wheel well and bumper
  4 (rear), 5 (front)
  1 day
  machine guns
  headlights or front grille, tail 
  lights or rear bumper 
  4 (front tracer), 6 (rear 
  tracer with CCTV), 
  7 (targeting system)
  2 days (tracer)
  4 days (targeting system)
  magnetic  
  license plates
  rear or front bumper
  2
  1 hour
  nitrous oxide 
  injector
  engine
  4 (single-port)
  6 (multiple-port)
  1 day
  6 days
  oil slick dispenser
  rear wheel well and bumper
  4
  2 days
  winch
  trunk, bed of truck
  4
  2 days
  vehicle-based equipment table  
  The above table includes the item, 
  the locations available for installation, 
  the time needed, and the Difficulty of 
  installing it. This does not include the 
  Difficulty and time needed to build the 
  more complex systems from scratch: 
  installing machine guns implies having 
  working machine guns to cut away 
  and spot-weld to the car frame, for 
  example. Simpler systems, such as oil 
  slick dispensers, can clearly be built on 
  the spot during the install: the Director 
  will decide borderline cases depending 
  on her game’s pace and plausibility.
  Note: The “base” car for these 
  installations is assumed to be a relatively 
  roomy sedan, van, or truck. Installing 
  them into a smaller or more tightly 
  engineered vehicle (such as a sports 
  car, boat, aircraft, or military vehicle) 
  increases the Difficulty.
   Most of this gadgetry is purely 
  cinematic, if technically possible. Icons 
  indicate equipment that might be 
  installed in a vehicle without disturbing 
  the Dust mode. 
   Anti-Blast Sheeting
  This 5-cm thick metal plate protects the 
  cabin of the vehicle from explosives both 
  external (land mines or IEDs driven 
  over) and installed (bombs wired to 
  the underside of the car). The sheeting 
  prevents the blast from spreading 
  upward into the cabin, as well as protects 
  the car’s innards (oil pan, gas tank, etc.) 
  from possible rupture and inevitable 
  explosion. Against such explosives 
  only, it moves the car’s occupants from 
  effective Annihilation range to Debris 
  range on the Explosion Damage table 
  (NBA, p. 67). A successful Driving 
  test (Difficulty equal to the explosive 
  class +3) allows the vehicle to continue 
  moving after the blast.
  The sheeting also lowers the vehicle’s 
  Maneuver by -1.
  Automated Steel Plating
  Also called “dinosaur plating,” these 2.5-
  cm thick steel plates rise up to cover 
  the exposed glass surfaces in the car. 
  The driver raises and lowers the plates 
  with switches, like power windows. A 
  car so armored cannot see to continue 
  driving except at a substantial penalty 
  (+2 to Difficulty, or +1 if the mechanic 
  also installed a CCTV system inside the 
  cabin). The plating provides armor -3 for 
  the windows only, or for the doors when 
  the system is down.
  Caltrop Dispenser
  Metal shrapnel of various and jagged 
  dimensions are ejected behind the car 
  from a reservoir in the rear of the car. 
  Pursuing cars must make a Driving test 
  at Difficulty 6 or either slow down (their 
  Driving spends restricted to 1 point for 
  the next two rounds) or blow out their 
  tires (NBA, p. 56). Cars that make the 
  test exactly only blow out one tire.
  In a thriller chase, pursuing cars that 
  fail their Driving test lose 2 Lead.
  Disposable Car ’Skin’
  Change the color of your car to aid your 
  escapes. Entirely cosmetic, this paint job 
  comes in two varieties – a laminate layer 
  to be peeled off by hand (a Difficulty 5 
  Driving test while the car is moving) 
  or an electroplated coating shed via 
  electrical charge triggered from within 
  
  71
  materiel  n  more gear : vehicles
  the car. While the car wears the skin, 
  the agents’ Difficulties of Surveillance, 
  Disguise, or other tests to evade hostile 
  identification decrease by 1.
   Laminated skins are completely 
  realistic, even if removing them during 
  a car chase isn’t.
  Electroshock System
  A system of relays routes a potent taser-
  like sting to anyone who makes contact 
  with the surface of the car. The system 
  is powered by supplementary batteries, 
  most often stored in the car’s trunk. 
  It delivers a Moderate shock (NBA, 
  p. 83). The system works on the car 
  alarm circuit, and must be activated or 
  deactivated remotely.
  With two extra days’ work, you can 
  insulate the ignition and interior of the 
  vehicle to allow normal operation with 
  the electroshock system active. Agents 
  can activate the sting while inside, or 
  even while the car is in motion.
  EMP Cannon
  The size of a large motion picture camera, 
  this weapon emits a single EMP pulse 
  up to a range of 60 meters, perfect for 
  disabling a single vehicular target, with a 
  Shooting test (base Difficulty 5). It runs 
  off a capacitor that fills the trunk, and 
  must be recharged after 1-3 shots (roll 
  after each shot). See EMP Weapons, p. 65.
  Fog Dispenser
  Projects a cloud of thick, cohesive smoke 
  either in front of or behind the vehicle, 
  intended to obfuscate and aid in escape. 
  It increases the Difficulty of opponents’ 
  Driving tests (to follow or pursue) and 
  Shooting tests to hit the vehicle by 1. 
  In a thriller chase, pursuing cars that 
  fail their next Driving test after the fog 
  deploys lose 1 Lead.
  Machine Guns
  Modified MP5s (or similar 9mm 
  submachine guns) are trimmed down and 
  housed within the chassis of the vehicle, 
  water-cooled by a supplemental radiator 
  and activated at the push of a button by 
  the car’s operator. Aiming is either by 
  tracer fire or by a laser-optical range 
  finder similar to the targeting system on 
  helicopter gunships. Acquiring the latter 
  is likely very difficult.
   Magnetic License Plates
  Escaping detection has never been easier 
  now that a resourceful agent can slap on 
  this new license plate. Combine this 
  tech with 2-point Forgery or 1-point 
  Mechanics and 1-point Driving spend 
  and all that stands between an agent and 
  a pesky border patrol that may ask too 
  many questions is how fast they can push 
  down the accelerator.
  The Difficulty and time in the table 
  refer to plates the driver can demagnetize 
  and jettison by closing a contact on the 
  dashboard.
   Nitrous Oxide Injector
  This system is usually as simple as a tank 
  of nitrous oxide (N2O or NOS) attached 
  to the vehicle’s fuel injector or manifold; 
  the hyperoxygenated N2O increases the 
  combustion temperature of the fuel, 
  ideally translating into increased power. 
  More complex systems attach to each 
  intake port, with multiple cylinders 
  of NOS controlled by solenoids and 
  computerized flow valves.
  Activating a single-port NOS injector 
  gives you a 3-point Driving pool that 
  must be spent within two rounds or be 
  lost; a multiple-port NOS system gives 
  you a 6-point Driving pool that must be 
  spent during the chase.
  A failed Driving test while a NOS 
  system is active results in damage to the 
  vehicle’s engine: all Driving Difficulties 
  immediately increase by 2 for that 
  vehicle until it can be repaired. On any 
  unmodified Driving roll of 1 for the rest 
  of the chase, the vehicle either crashes 
  or flames out.
  Oil Slick Dispenser
  This device sprays a pressurized jet of 
  motor oil in a car-wide mist behind the car. 
  Pursuing cars must make a Driving 
  test at Difficulty 5 (plus that vehicle’s 
  Maneuver) or spin out. Cars that make 
  the test exactly slide badly; their Driving 
  spend for the next round is restricted 
  to 1 point.
  In a thriller chase, pursuing cars that 
  fail their Driving test lose 1 Lead.
   Winch
  This powered unit attaches to either the 
  front or rear bumper of your vehicle and 
  spools out 50 meters of cable, useful for 
  dragging vampires out of holes and into 
  sunlight or pulling your teammates up 
  the side of a cliff they may have fallen 
  down. A larger winch spool, mounted in 
  the trunk, van interior, or truck bed, can 
  hold up to 1,800 meters of cable. Winch 
  motors are reversible: they can pay out 
  line or reel it in.
  Harpoon: A specialty head for a 
  winch cable, a harpoon can be fired 
  with a compressed-air (or gunpowder) 
  charge or carried into a vampire den 
  and hooked into a suspicious coffin. It 
  is armor-piercing, doing +1 damage 
  if wielded or thrown by hand using 
  Weapons or +3 if fired with Shooting. (A 
  full-sized whaling harpoon is a 2-meter 
  long, 55-kilo hunk of steel fired by a 
  75mm cannon. In other words, unlikely 
  to appear in operations outside Norway.)
  For the driver to fire a winch-harpoon 
  from inside the vehicle requires a 
  Shooting or Driving test at a Difficulty 
  2 higher than normal, in addition to the 
  penalties for attacking during chases 
  (NBA, p. 56).
  A small harpoon gun or similar installed 
  in the back of a van or truck does not 
  impose a targeting Difficulty penalty, but 
  must be fired by hand using Shooting. The 
  Director may still impose extra penalties 
  for speed, range, or obstructions.
  Harpooning another vehicle during 
  a chase not only does damage, it also 
  prevents the Lead from widening past 
  2 while the cable holds. (A harpoon can 
  only hit another vehicle at Lead 5 or less; 
  a hit immediately reduces the Lead to 2.) 
  The driver of the harpooning car can also 
  spend his own Driving pool points at 3 
  for 1 to affect the harpooned vehicle’s 
  Driving tests while the cable holds. This 
  represents deliberately whipsawing the 
  target car with the harpoon cable.
  The metal harpoon cable has on average 
  3 Health (-1 armor), and will shear if cut, 
  clawed, lasered, or otherwise wrecked.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  72
  can also mount any number of tactical 
  options from suppressors to laser sights 
  depending on the user and the mission.
  users and missions  
  Which is where we could, almost, 
  justify putting a big list of guns back in. 
  Deciding, in a hurry, what the opposing 
  force is armed with, or what’s available 
  on the black market in Bratislava, can be 
  tricky for the less gun-happy Director. 
  The weapons loadout listed for the 
  various Opposing Forces pregens (NBA, 
  pp. 66-67) provides the basic armament 
  for the type of force (e.g., pistol and 
  shotgun for the police; an assault rifle 
  for a soldier) but the specific models are 
  there primarily to illustrate the rules.
  Hence, the Firearms by User table below. 
  For each of the countries, and many of the 
  organizations, listed on pp. 164-166 of 
  the Night’s Black Agents corebook, this 
  table gives a first-order approximation of 
  the weapons they field as standard issue. 
  Standard issue is, however, not necessarily 
  standard. Older weapons hang on; units 
  involved in cross-training or special 
  exercises with other armies may arm 
  themselves differently. Border or interior 
  troops may have slightly older weapons; 
  elite troops slightly newer or better or 
  imported models. You can always find 
  an excuse to put a semiautomatic Glock 
  9mm pistol in someone’s hand shooting 
  at the agents: there are over 5 million 
  Glocks in production, “standard issue” 
  for some military or police force in over 
  50 countries.
  And it can always get more complex. 
  Special operations forces have access 
  to, and use in the field, an even wider 
  range of weapons. Delta Force and 
  DEVGRU operators can and do literally 
  arm themselves with any weapon in 
  the world; Spetsnaz and other first-
  tier special forces likewise. Spies or 
  covert operatives often use weapons 
  associated with the host country or 
  with a third party they intend to frame. 
  Weapons selected for the table are thus 
  “characteristic,” not definitive.
  The Colt M1911 .45 ACP, for example, 
  is no longer standard U.S. military issue, 
  but many (perhaps most) Delta operators 
  much prefer it to the smaller, lighter (and 
  double-action) Beretta M9 9mm official 
  sidearm. U.S. Marine Corps Recon units 
  still use it, rebranded as the M45A1. In the 
  final analysis, the weapon is characteristic 
  enough of American forces and American 
  heroes in thrillers (such as, again, Robert 
  de Niro in Ronin) that it deserves its 
  nonregulation place in the table.
  Where no damage modifier is listed, 
  assume the weapon does standard 
  damage for its type and caliber. A 
  “carbine” is just a short-barreled assault 
  rifle, usually configured for use in 
  tight quarters such as jungle or urban 
  warfare, or by vehicle mounted troops. 
  A Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) is, 
  essentially, a submachine gun (usually) 
  firing armor-piercing rifle ammunition 
  instead of the SMG’s pistol ammunition.
  The “special” column is especially 
  not exclusive, representing weapons 
  neat enough or characteristic enough to 
  warrant a shout-out. For example, only 
  The ARES Shrike 5.56 AMG  
  I know I just said I didn’t want to get 
  into just listing a bunch of guns, but did 
  you know there’s a light machine gun 
  that actually fits into a briefcase? The 
  ARES Shrike belt-fed light machine 
  gun uses the receiver, grip, magazine 
  well, stock, and other lower body of 
  an M4A1 carbine plus a belt-feeder, 
  bipod, quick-change barrel, collimating 
  sight, and baffle suppressor. It fires 
  5.56mm ammunition from either 
  conventional M16 or M4 magazines or 
  200-round disintegrating belts. It still 
  only does +0 damage, but thanks to 
  that bipod, the cost of Autofire drops 
  to 2 Shooting points for each extra 
  instance of damage.
  A skilled shooter can have the Shrike 
  out of its attaché case, assembled, and 
  ready to fire in 20 seconds with a 
  Difficulty 3 Shooting test.
  Many Night’s Black Agents playtesters 
  requested a big list of guns. I was 
  sympathetic to their request, but I just 
  couldn’t justify taking up a lot of space in 
  the corebook with such a thing. Why not?
  First and foremost, because with the 
  advent of Wikipedia a big list of guns is just 
  a mouse-click away. I mean, a really big list.
  Even better than Wikipedia, for us 
  anyhow, is the Internet Movie Firearms 
  Database 
  (http://www.imfdb.org/
  wiki/Main_Page).
  Look up the movie, and bang, there’s 
  all the guns in it. What was that amazing 
  grenade pistol Robert de Niro uses at 
  the beginning of the ambush in Ronin? 
  Why, it’s a Heckler & Koch HK69A1 
  40mm Granatpistole. What does Sarah 
  Connor use to take down the T2000? 
  Just a little old Remington 870 12-gauge 
  shotgun with a folding stock and a high-
  capacity magazine tube full of solid 
  slugs. What’s that machine pistol Kate 
  Beckinsale shoots through the floor with 
  in Underworld? A (very unlikely) fully 
  automatic mod of the Beretta 92FS, with 
  “compensators” to lengthen the barrel 
  and counter the (imaginary) recoil.
  Secondarily, damage modifiers and 
  type of weapon (pistol, rifle, shotgun, 
  SMG, assault rifle) aside, there is no rules-
  mechanical difference between guns in 
  Night’s Black Agents. A big weapons 
  table would therefore contain almost no 
  useful information, being merely a way to 
  show off the fact that I know how to use 
  the Internet Movie Firearms Database.
  Compounding this lack of difference 
  between different makes and models of 
  guns, various makes and models of guns 
  can be (and often are) rechambered in 
  different calibers, redesigned to hold 
  larger or smaller capacity magazines, 
  and so on. James Bond’s famous Walther 
  PPK can be chambered in 7.65x17mm 
  (.32 ACP), .22 Long Rifle, or 
  6.35x15mm SR (.25 ACP), all of which 
  do +0 damage. Or in two different kinds 
  of 9mm (Short, or .380 ACP, and Ultra, 
  or PP-Super), both of which do +1 
  damage. It holds 7, 8, or 9 rounds (the 
  PP in .22LR can hold 11). The same gun 
  firearms
  
  73
  materiel  n  firearms : users and missions
  unit or agency
  pistol
  assault rifle
  special
  NIS (Bulgaria)
  SIG Sauer Pro SP 
  2022 9mm
  AR-M4 SF 5.56mm 
  carbine
  Blaser R93 Tactical .308 sniper rifle 
  People’s Liberation 
  Army (China)
  QSZ-92 9mm 
  or 5.8x21mm 
  armor-piercing
  QBZ-95-1 5.8x42mm
  QCW-05 5.8mm suppressed SMG
  GIGN (France)
  Manurhin MR 73 .357 
  Magnum revolver
  SIG SG 550 5.56mm
  H&K 417 7.62mm Designated 
  Marksman Rifle
  2eme REP (French 
  Foreign Legion 
  paratroopers)
  PAMAS-G1 9mm 
  (licensed copy of 
  Beretta 92G)
  FN P90 5.7x28mm 
  Personal Defense 
  Weapon (+0 damage)
  LGI Mle F1 51mm personal 
  grenade launcher (Class 
  3 explosion)
  Police Nationale 
  (France)
  SIG Sauer Pro SP 
  2022 9mm
  SIG SG 550 5.56mm  
  (RAID elite police only)
  H&K MP5 9mm hollow-point 
  SMG (RAID elite police only)
  GSG 9 (Germany)
  H&K USP 9mm
  SIG SG 550 5.56mm
  H&K MP7A1 4.6mm armor-piercing 
  machine pistol (+0 damage)
  SAS (Great Britain)
  Browning Hi-
  Power 9mm
  Colt Canada C7A2 
  5.56mm
  H&K P11 underwater pistol (fires 
  underwater at no penalty)
  Special Branch 
  (Great Britain)
  Glock 17 9mm
  H&K MP5 9mm 
  hollow-point SMG 
  (single shot only)
  Benelli M3 dual-mode (pump 
  or semiauto) 12g shotgun
  Qods Force (Iran)
  PC-9 ZOAF 9mm 
  (Iranian clone of 
  SIG Sauer P226)
  KH2002 “Khaybar” 
  5.56mm
  Nakhjir 7.62x54mm sniper rifle 
  (Iranian clone of Dragunov SVD)
  Sayeret Matkal (Israel)
  SIG Sauer P226 9mm
  Colt M4A1 5.56mm 
  carbine
  Uzi-Pro 9mm SMG (weighs 
  2.3kg, 30cm long)
  Carabinieri (Italy)
  Beretta 92F 9mm
  Beretta AR70/90 5.56mm
  Beretta 93R 9mm machine 
  pistol (3-round burst 
  or single shot only)
  GROM (Poland)
  FN Five-seveN 
  5.7x28mm 
  armor-piercing
  H&K HK416 5.56mm 
  carbine
  Barrett M107A1 .50 anti-materiel 
  sniper rifle (armor-piercing)
  Vulturii (1st Romanian 
  Special Forces Bn)
  Glock 17 9mm
  H&K G36K 5.56mm 
  carbine
  H&K UMP 9mm SMG
  Spetsnaz (Russian 
  special forces)
  Izmekh PB 9mm 
  silenced
  TsNIITochMash AS Val 
  9mm (+1 damage) 
  suppressed
  TsNIITochMash Vintorez 
  “Thread-Cutter” VSS armor-
  piercing 9mm suppressed 
  sniper rifle (can be broken 
  down and fit in a briefcase)
  OMON  
  (Russian Interior 
  Ministry militia)
  GSh-18 9mm 
  armor-piercing
  AKS-74U 5.45mm carbine
  Stechkin APB 9mm silenced 
  machine pistol 
  Swedish Army
  Pistol 88 9mm 
  (licensed copy 
  of Glock 17)
  Bofors Ak 5C 5.56mm 
  Accuracy International 
  Arctic Warfare Psg 90 
  7.62mm sniper rifle
  firearms by user  
  [continued overleaf]
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  74
  Hand-Loading  
  Your Own Gun Cherry  
  Assuming the Director lets you get 
  away with it, feel free to design your 
  own gun cherries to suit your own 
  notion of firearm behavior. No cherry 
  can have more than one effect; try to 
  keep them in line with the options 
  provided here.
  When designing your own cherries, 
  avoid “extra damage” as such. Extra 
  damage, even on a 6, is an expensive 
  bonus in the game economy: see, for 
  instance, the Critical Hits and Special 
  Weapons Training options (NBA, 
  pp. 73 and 76). That said, note the 
  Precision Accuracy cherry, which 
  grants a damage bonus on the back 
  end, as it were.
  unit or agency
  pistol
  assault rifle
  special
  Çevik Kuvvet (Turkish 
  National Police “Agile 
  Force” anti-riot unit) 
  Yavuz 16 9mm 
  (licensed copy of 
  Beretta 92G)
  H&K MP5 9mm 
  hollow-point SMG
  Akdal MKA 1919 12g shotgun
  Ukrainian Army
  Makarov PM 9mm
  AK-74 5.45mm
  RPG-29 “Vampir”
  Delta Force (U.S.)
  Colt M1911 .45 ACP
  H&K HK416 5.56mm 
  carbine
  Milkor Mk 14 MGL-140 (six-shot 
  40mm grenade launcher)
  DEVGRU (U.S.)
  SIG Sauer P239 9mm
  FN SCAR M17 7.62mm 
  H&K MP7A1 4.6mm armor-piercing 
  machine pistol (+0 damage)
  DSS (U.S.)
  SIG Sauer P229 9mm
  Colt M4A1 5.56mm 
  carbine
  Remington 870 pump-
  action 12g shotgun
  Swiss Guard (Vatican)
  Glock 19 9mm
  SIG SG 550 5.56mm
  Halberd (+1 damage)
  firearms by user, continued  
  one man on any squad in the French 
  Foreign Legion 2nd Parachute Regiment 
  carries the LGI Mle F1 51mm personal 
  grenade launcher. But the fact that the 
  Legion uses them at all as standard 
  infantry weapons is noteworthy and 
  evocative, and well worth listing here 
  instead of yet another Designated 
  Marksman Rifle or submachine gun.
  gun cherries  
  This section can also add some difference 
  back in in the form of gun cherries.
  A gun cherry is a special feature of the 
  weapon that provides a bonus of some 
  kind when the user rolls an unmodified 
  6 on a Shooting test and hits a foe. 
  (This also addresses another common 
  playtest concern: players who rolled a 
  6 after spending a lot of points felt their 
  good roll was “wasted.”) More than one 
  weapon can have the same gun cherry; 
  no weapon should have more than one.
  When you select your weapon, if 
  your campaign uses gun cherries, you 
  can assign it any one gun cherry. The 
  “suitable for” line in the cherry listing 
  is drawn either from a weapon’s real-
  life performance characteristics or its 
  military legend, but again – any weapon 
  can be optimized for any sort of result 
  given enough time and attention. The 
  legendarily clunky, jam-prone WWII 
  Sten gun, made of stamped metal by toy 
  manufacturers, became the SAS’ weapon 
  of choice – if they got to keep the Stens 
  they hand-modified between fights.
  BFG
  effect: If a foe wishes to fire at you, 
  he must first spend 1 Shooting point 
  to nerve himself to the task. For 
  each Intimidation point you spend 
  on a single foe, that foe must spend 
  3 Shooting points to target you. This 
  effect lasts until your next action.
  suitable for: Any gun chambered 
  for Magnum ammunition, any gun 
  over .45 caliber (11.7mm), Vintorez 
  VSS 9mm sniper rifle, Remington 870 
  pump-action 12g shotgun, Milkor 
  Mk 14 MGL, any anti-materiel rifle
  Handy
  effect: You may make an immediate 
  Extra Attack at half Shooting 
  cost as your weapon responds 
  effortlessly to your aim.
  suitable for: FN Five-seveN pistol, 
  any Glock, GSh-18 9mm pistol, SIG 
  Sauer P239 9mm pistol, SIG Sauer 
  Pro SP 2022 pistol, FN P90 PDW, 
  FN SCAR M17 7.62mm assault 
  rifle, any carbine, any PDW, H&K 
  MP7A1 4.6mm machine pistol, Uzi-
  Pro 9mm SMG, Akdal MKA 1919 
  12g shotgun, Milkor Mk 14 MGL.
  High Cyclic
  effect: The cost of each further instance 
  of damage using Autofire (NBA, p. 71) is 
  reduced to 2 additional Shooting points.
  suitable for: Colt Canada C7A2 
  5.56mm assault rifle, KH2002 
  “Khaybar” 5.56mm assault rifle, 
  QBZ-95-1 assault rifle, AS Val 9mm 
  assault rifle, any PDW, QCW-
  05 5.8mm SMG, Glock 18 9mm 
  machine pistol, H&K MP7A1 4.6mm 
  machine pistol, Uzi-Pro 9mm SMG
  Mobile
  effect: Multiple targets of your Extra 
  Attacks in the next round only do not 
  have their Hit Threshold increased.
  suitable for: SIG Sauer P239 9mm 
  pistol, SIG Sauer Pro SP 2022 pistol, 
  FN Five-seveN pistol, any Glock, 
  FN SCAR M17 7.62mm assault rifle, 
  KH2002 “Khaybar” 5.56mm assault 
  
  75
  materiel  n  firearms : users and missions / accessories and ammunition
  rifle, any carbine, any PDW, FN P90 
  PDW, Blaser R93 Tactical sniper rifle, 
  H&K MP7A1 4.6mm machine pistol, 
  H&K UMP 9mm SMG, Uzi-Pro 9mm 
  SMG, Akdal MKA 1919 12g shotgun
  Precision Accuracy
  effect: If you spent any points 
  on a Called Shot, refresh 2 
  Shooting points immediately.
  suitable for: H&K USP 9mm 
  pistol, FN SCAR M17 7.62mm 
  assault rifle, any sniper rifle or 
  Designated Marksman Rifle, 
  Akdal MKA 1919 12g shotgun
  Rugged Reliability
  effect: The solid reliability of your 
  weapon lets you concentrate on 
  other matters; refresh either 1 
  Mechanics or 1 Preparedness point.
  suitable for: Colt .45 ACP pistol, 
  any Glock, GSh-18 9mm pistol, 
  Makarov PM 9mm pistol, Manurhin 
  MR 73 .357 revolver, Bofors Ak 
  5C 5.56mm assault rifle, AS Val 
  9mm assault rifle, H&K G36K 
  5.56mm assault rifle, Dragunov SVD 
  7.62x54mm sniper rifle, Uzi-Pro 
  9mm SMG, Milkor Mk 14 MGL, 
  RPGs; all Kalashnikovs and AK-clone 
  weapons including AR-M4 SF 5.56mm 
  carbine, AK-74 5.45mm assault 
  rifle, AKS-74U 5.45mm carbine, 
  AK-47 7.62mm assault rifle, etc.
  Smooth Action
  effect: If you Jump In next 
  round, you need only spend 1 
  point of Shooting to do so.
  suitable for: SIG Sauer P239 9mm 
  pistol, M16A2 assault rifle, Colt 
  Canada C7A2 5.56mm assault rifle, 
  any carbine, any Glock, Uzi-Pro 9mm 
  SMG, Akdal MKA 1919 12g shotgun
  Stopping Power
  effect: The foe’s action moves to the 
  end of the ranking order in combat.
  suitable for: Colt .45 ACP semi-
  automatic pistol, QBZ-95-1 assault 
  rifle chambered for 5.8x42mm, 
  any gun chambered for Magnum 
  ammunition, any shotgun firing slugs 
  Accessories and 
  Ammunition  
  There is literally no end to the “tacticool” 
  stuff you can hang onto or fire out of a 
  gun. Entire periodical series, reference 
  manuals, trade shows, genres of fiction, 
  and GURPS supplements exist to 
  celebrate firearm gadgetry. Here are 
  a few such things in a slightly more 
  technothriller vein.
  Collimating Sight
  This sight projects a red dot coinciding 
  with the weapon’s aim point onto a lens 
  inside the scope (or sometimes, onto a 
  small screen such as a visor’s HUD). The 
  dot, generated by a tritium illuminator 
  or by a battery, is not visible outside the 
  gun – this is not a laser sight (NBA, p. 
  103). A collimating sight can be (and 
  often is) combined with a scope; it not 
  only improves accuracy but situational 
  awareness, as aiming is faster and can be 
  done with both eyes open.
  The Hit Threshold of a target inside 
  your gun’s normal range (Near for 
  pistols, shotguns, and submachine 
  guns; Long for rifles and assault rifles) 
  decreases by 1 if you aim through a 
  collimating sight. Like a laser sight, 
  using a collimating sight lets you target 
  a foe as if the level of darkness (NBA, 
  p. 52) were one lighter: Dark becomes 
  Night, and Night becomes normal. 
  These sights cannot compensate for 
  Pitch Black darkness, however.
  The sight is not collimated for Extended 
  Range attacks (NBA, p. 67) and provides 
  no benefit for them. You cannot get the 
  benefit of a collimated sight for Extra 
  Attacks, Jump In, Reckless Attack, or 
  any other maneuver that implies quick 
  action at the expense of aiming.
  Compensator
  A compensator attaches to a firearm’s 
  muzzle, venting some firing gases upward 
  and thus compensating for barrel climb 
  and recoil. Using a compensator reduces 
  the cost of Autofire, Extra Attacks, and 
  other maneuvers involving multiple 
  shots in a round by 1 Shooting point each.
  It cannot be combined with a flash 
  suppressor or silencer: it increases 
  both muzzle flash and noise! Using a 
  compensator is officially announcing 
  that you don’t care who finds you: 
  Sense Trouble automatically succeeds, 
  Infiltration fails.
  CornerShot
  This almost meter-long mechanism has 
  a 60° hinge in the middle. It mounts a 
  video camera and a port for a sidearm 
  on the muzzle end; a screen and an 
  interlocked trigger remain on the butt 
  end. The user inserts her pistol into 
  the port and voila! The user can see, 
  and shoot, around corners. The basic 
  mechanism can accommodate most 
  common Western-made 9mm pistols 
  (Glock, SIG Sauer, Beretta 92, CZ); 
  another model comes with an integral 
  40mm grenade launcher. Versions 
  in design now will take NATO 5.56 
  assault rifles such as the M16. It takes a 
  Difficulty 4 test of Mechanics (Difficulty 
  5 Shooting) to alter one CornerShot 
  frame for a different make of pistol.
  Although the trade name refers to 
  the Israeli-American version of the 
  device, China, Iran, Pakistan, and South 
  Korea have demonstrated their own 
  CornerShot equivalents optimized for 
  their own preferred 9mm sidearms.
  This attachment cancels the effects of 
  the Handy and Mobile gun cherries.
  Sleeve Holster
  Made famous by Secret Service agent 
  James West in the TV show Wild, Wild 
  West, the sleeve holster was apparently 
  invented by that show’s prop designer 
  Tim Smyth. (The WWII SOE “sleeve 
  gun” was a one-shot silenced barrel-
  block Welrod gun with no grip.) A 
  sliding rail holds a very small pistol kept 
  up the inside of the user’s forearm with 
  a spring. The agent presses his elbow 
  against his side, triggers the spring, 
  and the gun slides down the rail into 
  his waiting hand. (Unless the trigger, 
  hammer, or sights catch on his sleeve, 
  but that never happens to badass types 
  like Night’s Black Agents heroes.) 
  In normal circumstances, the agent 
  spends 2 Conceal or Shooting points to 
  produce her “gun from nowhere.” She 
  automatically goes first in a gunfight – 
  or gains surprise when the other side 
  suddenly discovers they’re in a gunfight. 
  In a quick-draw contest against a worthy 
  foe like a vampire-speed Renfield or a 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  76
  U.S. Marshal, the agent gains a 2 point 
  bonus on her first Shooting test only.
  The gun for a sleeve holster is usually 
  a .22, but West’s famous Colt derringer 
  was a .38 Special, and the most common 
  derringer, the Remington 95, was 
  .41 caliber. Loading a .41 derringer 
  with a .410 shotgun shell is far from 
  uncommon. James Bond’s original gun, 
  the Beretta M418 .25 ACP “pocket 
  pistol,” also makes an admirable sleeve 
  gun choice.
  Agents cannot buy, source, or otherwise 
  scrounge up a sleeve holster; it must be 
  custom built, Taxi Driver style, with a 
  Difficulty 4 Mechanics test. (Whether 
  the Director allows a sleeve holster to 
  materialize with a Preparedness test is 
  up to her.) With a Difficulty 2 Mechanics 
  test, you can modify the sleeve holster to 
  deliver a wooden stake, crucifix, minibar 
  bottle of holy water, or other handy 
  vampire surprise.
  special Ammunition
  Sometimes traditional cartridges don’t 
  cut it. Sure they’ll stop your average 
  goon or make a mugger think twice about 
  breaking down your door, but there exist 
  creatures that can shake off bullets that 
  way a good agent can shake off snowflakes. 
  To that end, a resourceful agent makes 
  use of non-standard ammunition.
  bone: Blessed bone (such as saints’ 
  relics) is another strong possibility 
  for vampire killing rounds, although 
  the supply is both limited and 
  nigh-impossible to authenticate 
  beforehand. Treat them as 
  wooden bullets (NBA, p. 107).
  breaching rounds: Fired from 
  a shotgun, these destroy hinges, 
  lockplates, chains, and other obstacles 
  to entry and then disintegrate 
  without penetration or ricochets. 
  Designed for law-enforcement 
  forced entry, breaching rounds are 
  made of sintered metal powder in 
  a wax binder. With a magazine of 
  “master keys” and a 1-point spend 
  of Shooting, an agent (or other 
  skilled shooter) can go through any 
  door in one round except those 
  with explicitly armored hinges 
  and locks. Breaching rounds are 
  most common in 12-gauge. Fired 
  directly at a human target, they 
  do -1 damage with no positive 
  modifiers for range or shot spread.
  ceramic: Most “ceramic” bullets are 
  merely frangible rounds, intended to 
  come apart when striking a surface 
  harder than flesh (such as the cabin 
  wall of an aircraft). Recently, German 
  ammunition manufacturers have 
  experimented with hollow bullets 
  made with a ceramic shell and a 
  disintegrating plastic nose. Unlike 
  conventional hollow-point bullets 
  (NBA, p. 104), they do no extra 
  damage; in fact, damage drops by 1 
  point. Armor ratings increase by two: 
  -1 armor becomes -3, for example. 
  Why use them at all? Their potential 
  payload of liquid cargo triples or 
  quadruples. You can, for example, fit an 
  entire clove of garlic inside a ceramic 
  9mm shell. The Director may rule that 
  a “killing amount” of, e.g.,  holy water 
  requires a ceramic Magnum round.
  discarding sabot: Usually used 
  in artillery rounds, a discarding 
  sabot (usually a light alloy and nylon 
  construct) protects the real round 
  (traditionally a faster, denser, shaped 
  round) from the firing process, then 
  falls away in flight. DS rounds are 
  a great way to fling blessed bones, 
  silver flechettes, pieces of hawthorn, 
  or other penetrative banes toward 
  an undead target. In technothriller 
  theory, a DS round could also encase 
  holy water ice bullets, protecting 
  them from melting during firing. 
  So far, small arms DS ammunition 
  only exists in 7.62mm calibers.
  match-grade: Propellant 
  formulations, projectile weights, case 
  alloys -- every aspect of the round 
  changes its performance. Ammunition 
  precisely calibrated for maximum 
  accuracy and velocity is needed in 
  shooting matches – hence, “match-
  grade” rounds. Commonly associated 
  with snipers and usually hand-loaded 
  (Difficulty 4 Shooting test hand-loads 
  20 rounds per hour), match-grade 
  ammunition can only be used in one 
  specific weapon. However, it lowers 
  the Difficulty of a Called Shot by 1.
  uv-emitter: The hard part of 
  replicating the “liquid sunlight” 
  rounds in Underworld is not the 
  ultraviolet. A Japanese team has 
  developed organic light-emitting 
  materials, while ammonia and 
  hypobromite in solution cause near-
  UV chemiluminescence; a 2-point 
  Chemistry spend can surely tweak 
  these formulae to produce a true 
  UV-emitting binary. Alternately, LEDs 
  measure only about 2 mm, meaning 
  plenty of aluminum nitride UV LEDs 
  could fit into a 9mm cartridge filled 
  with a conductive gel transmitting 
  the firing pin’s impact as electrical 
  energy to power them. No, the hard 
  part is a transparent jacket to get 
  the neat glowy effect. If you use 
  transparent carbon fiber or some 
  other doubletalk, treat UV-emitter 
  bullets as tracers: your Hit Threshold 
  drops by 1 against incoming fire 
  for the next two rounds, but so 
  does your target’s. Ceramic bullets 
  filled with UV-emitting liquid don’t 
  glow in flight, but release their glow 
  onto or even inside the target! 
  Regardless of the delivery system, 
  UV bullets continue to glow (and 
  potentially do damage to the 
  undead) for 3-5 rounds after firing.
  grenade launchers
  Pioneered during the Vietnam War, 
  grenade launchers that attach to a rail 
  underneath a rifle are standard issue in 
  most major militaries. They have their 
  own trigger and action separate from 
  that of the rifle. Specialized grenade 
  launchers remain in the arsenal, however: 
  outmoded Vietnam-era launchers such as 
  the shoulder-fired M79 “wombat gun” or 
  “Thumper” are more readily available on 
  the black market than modern underbarrel 
  grenade launchers such as the M203.
  Most modern grenade launchers 
  fire 40x46mm grenades; some fire 
  37mm “civilian” grenades, and the now-
  abandoned M29 advanced assault rifle 
  had an integral 20mm grenade launcher. 
  Some grenades are “long” and don’t fit 
  all launchers. As with all conventional 
  ammunition decisions, grenade minutiae 
  are as relevant as you choose to make 
  them in your game.
  An underbarrel grenade launcher 
  attachment cancels the effects of the 
  Handy and Mobile gun cherries.
  
  77
  materiel  n  firearms : accessories and ammunition
  Rifle Grenades
  The term “rifle grenades” is something 
  of a misnomer, now that the majority 
  of them aren’t fired from the barrel of 
  a rifle but from a dedicated launcher, 
  but we use it to differentiate weapon-
  launched grenades from hand grenades. 
  Rifle grenades have a maximum range 
  of Long; Extended Range applies (NBA, 
  p. 67). No rifle grenade works at Point-
  Blank range; improved modern fuses 
  and technothriller convention allow 
  them to work at Close range.
  The most advanced grenades work 
  integrally with the laser sight and 
  computer-assisted 
  launcher: 
  such 
  complex systems require a 2 higher 
  Difficulty to source with Network 
  and/or a 3-point Streetwise spend and 
  excessive funds. They can be fired in any 
  of four fuse modes set just before firing, 
  and programmed by a computer chip 
  inside the grenade:
  airburst: Using a laser designator, 
  the user can select the exact 
  range at which the grenade bursts. 
  This usually negates Cover, as the 
  grenade airbursts exactly behind 
  and over the obstruction.
  impact: The grenade detonates 
  on impact. Simple enough.
  delayed impact: The grenade 
  explodes immediately after the first 
  impact, making it ideal for firing 
  through thin walls, light doors, drop 
  ceilings, and so forth. This doesn’t 
  so much negate Cover as turn 
  everywhere in a modern office building 
  or tenement into Partial Cover.
  window: The grenade detonates 
  a standard 1.5 meters behind 
  the impact point, a distance 
  optimized for room-clearing shots 
  through windows from outside.
  In addition to, you know, 
  fragmentation grenades (class 2 
  explosives, +6/+4 damage in damage/
  debris range), grenade launchers can 
  fire all manner of special ammunition. 
  Most of this ammo is very difficult 
  to source (similar to the multi-mode 
  grenades above), but relatively easy 
  to cobble together with Mechanics  
  (Difficulty 4). Another tempting 
  option is to replace a grenade 
  payload with a specialized anti-
  vampire bane: see Grenades, 
  p. 65, for guidelines.
  Some specialized grenades 
  are low-velocity; this lowers 
  the launcher’s range.
  armor-piercing: The most advanced 
  U.S. AP grenades can penetrate 76 
  mm of steel plate. Treat any amount 
  of armor below a main battle tank or 
  a Presidential limousine as negligible.
  baton: Normally a rubber anti-
  riot baton (+0 damage, no damage 
  against armor, not usually fatal), 
  this round can be replaced with a 
  wooden stake lathed to fit (NBA, 
  p. 107). Range is Near, not Long.
  camera: Fires a miniature digital 
  camcorder on a parachute. The 
  camera films and transmits imagery 
  directly below it for up to 5 minutes; 
  transmission range is 1.5 km.
  flash-bang: Just like in the 
  corebook (NBA, p. 97), only 
  fired from a grenade launcher.
  grapnel: U.S. Rangers have been 
  messing around with rifle-grenade-
  propelled grapnels since D-Day. 
  The M688/GLP is the latest 
  version; it definitely works in 
  technothrillers. See the climbing 
  hoist (NBA, p. 98) for details.
  hellhound: A supercharged HE 
  grenade developed in 2006 by MEI. 
  Treat it as a class 3 explosive, with 
  a fragmentation effect giving +6 
  damage in the debris range. Its metal 
  core turns molten on detonation and 
  gives it armor-piercing capabilities; it 
  can shoot through a concrete wall, 
  blow doors off their hinges, and 
  ignore any vehicle armor lighter than 
  -4. Replacing the metal core with 
  silver is tricky, but might be worth it 
  (see p. 65). Range is Near, not Long.
  illumination: Effects similar to a 
  flare gun (NBA, p. 104). The M992 
  illuminates the area in only infrared, 
  for use with night-vision optics.
  net: No, seriously. This round bursts 
  and out comes a weighted 3m x 3m 
  aramid-fiber net. Targets must make 
  a Difficulty 9 Athletics test or be 
  entangled for a number of rounds 
  equal to their margin of failure on 
  the test. Even if they succeed, all 
  targets take +0 damage from the 
  airburst shock. Entangled targets’ 
  Hit Threshold drops by 2, and they 
  must spend 2 extra pool points for 
  any physical action. This spend has 
  no effect on the die result. (The 
  Athletics test Difficulty to dodge 
  a net that doesn’t explode out of a 
  freaking grenade is obviously much 
  lower.) Range is Close, not Long.
  shot: Turns the grenade launcher into 
  an enormous shotgun: +4 damage at 
  Close; +2 at Near; cannot be used 
  at Long. Mentioned here primarily 
  as a round that can be repurposed 
  to hold silver links, holy bone 
  fragments, pieces of ash-wood, or 
  any other vampire-killing material.
  smoke: Just what it says: colored or 
  black smoke that lasts 4-6 rounds and 
  covers an 8-meter radius. Completely 
  blocks optical, IR, and laser sights; 
  targets on either side are effectively 
  concealed (+3 to Hit Threshold 
  and to attempts to locate). Again, 
  replacing the smoke charge with 
  atomized garlic, holy water, silver 
  nitrate, etc. is the real opportunity 
  here for vampire hunters.
  silent: Not the explosion, but the 
  shot: the M463 “shoots itself” out 
  of the barrel without smoke or 
  flash. Range is Near, not Long.
  tear gas: Cloud of tear gas lasts 4-6 
  rounds and covers an 8-meter radius.
  thermobaric: This is why the U.S. 
  military doesn’t use flamethrowers 
  any more. In addition to setting 
  pretty much everything in the 
  blast radius on fire, the M1060 
  thermobaric grenade collapses 
  buildings and kills targets with its 
  blast overpressure. Treat it as a 
  class 3 explosive; all targets in its 
  damage range also receive extensive 
  exposure to fire; all targets in its 
  debris range also receive partial 
  exposure to fire if they fail the 
  Athletics test. At the Director’s 
  discretion, the collapsing building 
  may do yet more damage to those 
  inside. Requires a Difficulty 7 
  Explosive Devices test and access to 
  military explosives to hand-build.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  78
  this seCtion adapts the thriller Chase 
  Rules (NBA, pp. 53-60) to other 
  abilities besides Athletics, Driving, 
  or Piloting, and to tension-building 
  sequences other than pure chase scenes. 
  Like thriller chases, thriller contests 
  should be major set-pieces, not routine 
  scenes during an operation. Not every 
  hack is a thriller hack; not every stealthy 
  insertion needs to take up half the game 
  session. But when you want to change up 
  the rhythm of the game, or insert some 
  spotlight tension for a non-wetworker, 
  think about putting in a thriller contest.
  The last entry in this section, 
  Manhunts, adapts the Extended Chase 
  rules (NBA, pp. 90-91) and turns them 
  around to face the players. How do the 
  agents hunt a deadly foe without the 
  resources of their old firm?
  thriller 
  contests  
  & manhunts
  digital intrusion
  These options model contests between 
  a hacker and a system’s programmed 
  defenses or security professionals. 
  Use this style of contest to pit data-
  hackers against a defended, encrypted 
  mainframe or network while security-
  agent counter-hackers (or advanced 
  automated programs) try to locate and 
  thwart them.
  Both hacker and defender use Digital 
  Intrusion as their chase ability.
  speed and maneuver  
  Digital Intrusion chases are almost always 
  normal chases because the speed 
  and ability ratings of the participants 
  matter more than any pseudo-techno-
  maneuverability of their rigs.
  Even as fast computers get smaller, 
  big machines with redundant support 
  elements and superior heat management 
  often have the edge in raw speed. Rather 
  than concoct a list of hardware specs for 
  the occasional hacking sequence, use this 
  simple rule: The bigger machine is faster 
  unless the smaller machine has been 
  tricked out (see box). If both machines 
  have been tricked out, the advantages 
  cancel each other out and you’re back 
  to the importance of size.
  This is meant to describe the advantage 
  (and purpose) of having big data centers. 
  It gives the agents a target to reach 
  physically and hijack for the purpose 
  of outstripping a tricked-out digital-
  intrusion target. (E.g., “To get inside 
  their system we’d need one of the data-
  processing machines the NSA keeps out 
  in their Utah desert facilities!” “Then 
  let’s get one of those.”) Many digital-
  intrusion sequences may not involve 
  giant networked machines, of course, so 
  78
  
  79
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  digital intrusion
  a tricked-out laptop is often enough to 
  outpace the portable, secret blackmail 
  hardware of a low-level enemy agent. 
  Digital “maneuverability” isn’t a 
  factor in digital intrusion or, rather, it 
  falls under the purview of the players 
  to describe how their software is better 
  or better employed when making rolls 
  during the chase.
  the lead  
  In these contests, digital intruders 
  hunt down vulnerabilities in computer 
  systems that rush to protect themselves. 
  Thus, in chase terms, the intruder is 
  the pursuer and the system security is 
  the runner. Lead represents how close 
  the intruder is to exploiting a gap in 
  the security or how close the security 
  is to locking itself down. A Digital 
  Intrusion contest is a chase the runner 
  might not even realize is happening until 
  the pursuer gains access or the runner 
  decides to take full countermeasures.
  Real digital intrusion can take hours 
  that turn into days. Such contests are as 
  doable using the rules as any rapid-fire 
  minutes-long hacking contest. Frame 
  and cut together the style of scene that’s 
  right for your mode of play, whether 
  it’s a ponderous test of cunning and 
  endurance or a quick strike of powerful 
  attack programs and gall. Describe each 
  action as an hour or as a minute and the 
  mechanics continue to do their part. You 
  can even blend the pacing so that rolls 
  made at a long Lead represent hours and 
  rolls at near or shorter Leads represent 
  minutes. As the intruders close in, every 
  moment counts.
  At the beginning Lead, no one has the 
  advantage and the intruder’s actions might 
  seem like feeble pranks. Every roll in the 
  contest matters, though, even if you want 
  to describe how the intruders cleverly 
  disguise their pursuit of weaknesses 
  as something less sinister that security 
  doesn’t fully recognize at first.
  When the Lead reaches 0, the 
  intruders hounding the system get in 
  and can investigate or manipulate the 
  computers in question.
  When the Lead reaches 10 (or the 
  Director’s modified goal describing a 
  system that’s more vulnerable or more 
  secure than normal), the system’s 
  security goes into lockdown. Before a 
  lockdown, security probably reacts to 
  each roll in the contest with a certain 
  degree of playfulness, obliviousness, 
  or arrogance, thinking something like 
  “I can handle this.” It’s when the Lead 
  reaches either target number that things 
  get finally settled.
  thriller contest results
  What happens after the contest varies by 
  computer system. The Director knows 
  what clues are to be found within a hacked 
  system (and what other mechanisms that 
  system can manipulate) and the Director 
  decides what enemy security does in 
  response to a failed intrusion attempt.
  A lockdown might mean the system 
  becomes inaccessible from the outside 
  (or from anywhere, in some cases) 
  or that security operatives begin an 
  investigation of the intruders. If the PCs 
  are the digital intruders, they might now 
  be the targets of a real-world manhunt 
  or, if they had to get close to the target 
  system to cut in, a flesh-and-blood 
  thriller chase. Losing this contest means 
  the intruders revealed something about 
  their positioning or identity; that’s the 
  consequence for that kind of failure.
  If the agents were manning the system 
  under attack, they get to decide how to 
  respond to an intrusion attempt that 
  triggers their lockdown protocols. 
  Again, it might mean a chase or an 
  investigation, depending on how close 
  the intruders are. If they want to carry 
  out a manhunt of their own, see p. 87.
  thrilling elements  
  Digital Intrusion is such an inward-
  facing contest, taking place inside 
  minds and hard drives, that evoking 
  the maximum of visceral thrills can be 
  a challenge. The variety of locales is at 
  once wide (because agents may be able 
  to hack distant targets from laptops in 
  any Internet-capable site) and narrow 
  (because contests might focus more 
  on secure digital-storage facilities than 
  on backroom stacks of dirty servers). 
  That the two sides of the chase may be 
  miles apart, racing around in cyberspace 
  rather than meatspace, can make things 
  more challenging to describe. 
  To give Digital Intrusion contests the 
  kind of thrilling elements you’d find in a 
  high-octane suspense film, try describing 
  a montage combining what’s happening 
  at the keyboard and what’s happening in 
  the real world. Let the level of realism 
  suit your players’ tastes, remembering, 
  too, that the game is a thriller about 
  vampires, not a documentary about 
  programmers. This is an area where you 
  once again have great freedom from 
  your ability to describe what vignettes 
  in a montage mean, in a way that moving 
  images and sounds alone cannot. 
  For example:
   
  n Sweating hackers, out of water and 
  soda, find themselves unable or 
  unwilling to step away from their 
  keyboards for even a moment.
   
  n Lights flicker on and off as intruders 
  tamper with power systems.
   
  n LEDs on electronic lights blink 
  from red to green to red as 
  systems get overridden and then 
  corrected by automated programs.
   
  n The fans come on in a server 
  room somewhere as the struggling 
  systems start to overheat.
  Tricked-Out Hardware  
  Tricked-out hardware is functionally 
  like a souped-up vehicle (NBA, p. 102): 
  the tricked-out hardware is considered 
  faster than other hardware of the same 
  make. Tricking-out hardware requires a 
  Difficulty 4 test of Mechanics and up to 
  24 hours of work to acquire and install 
  necessary components. The Director 
  can increase the Difficulty to 5 or the 
  time up to 48 hours to represent tough 
  markets or remote locations. (Use 
  of Preparedness or Network might 
  reduce the Difficulty or the timeframe.)
  Machines get tricked out for specific 
  jobs. Once one intrusion job is over, 
  a computer needs to be tricked out 
  again for the next job. This is meant to 
  keep the players from holding on to a 
  computer just because it’s tricked out. 
  The information stored in a computer 
  should probably be a more compelling 
  value than its hardware specs.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  80
   
  n Racks of computer hardware in a 
  dark room come alive with red and 
  yellow lights as firewalls come down.
   
  n A late-night security guard notices 
  Internet traffic spike in a report 
  on his desktop monitor and he 
  picks up the phone to call it in.
   
  n A senior programmer’s phone 
  vibrates on a nightstand, over 
  and over again, as warnings 
  of suspicious activity get 
  automatically texted to him.
  A Digital Intrusion attempt might even 
  occur in tandem with a vehicular chase 
  as the hacker in the back of the van tries 
  to finish the hacking job on a laptop 
  while fellow agents drive and shoot at 
  pursuing sedans.
  special thriller 
  hacking rules  
  These parallel the special rules for 
  Thriller Chases (NBA, pp. 56-60).
  investigative Ability uses
  As described on p. 57 of Night’s Black 
  Agents, Investigative abilities (and 
  General abilities used Investigatively) can 
  influence the flow of a thriller contest, 
  including Digital Intrusion. For example:
   
  n Accounting: “I go after financial 
  data that I don’t need — slush 
  monies, account records, that sort 
  of thing — to see how they defend 
  that sort of thing and get them on 
  a goose chase.” “That makes them 
  reveal their spend first this round.”
   
  n Architecture: “They’re running 
  TX-990 generators, for sure, which 
  are great hardware that ramps up to 
  meet energy consumption — but 
  they don’t spike so well and can’t 
  be turned off without a security 
  key, normally. Cutting power to the 
  building will buy a few seconds as the 
  generators ramp up and if we get in 
  while they’re coming on, they won’t 
  be able to easily cut power to keep us 
  out of their systems.” “Somebody near 
  the site want to make a Difficulty 
  3 Mechanics test to cut out the 
  power? That lowers their pool by 
  the success margin of your test.”
   
  n Bureaucracy: “I know who’s who 
  and why; I start probing around 
  the kind of files that’ll get them 
  in trouble with the bosses if they 
  get cracked: personnel files and 
  the like. Nobody wants to have 
  to make that phone call.” “They’ll 
  blow some points protecting 
  that stuff, sure. Let’s drop their 
  chase pool by 2 points.”
   
  n Bureaucracy: “The circuits that 
  cannot be cut are cut automatically 
  in response to a digital intrusion 
  incident. You asked for miracles, 
  I give you Operations Protocol 
  9, sub-section E, paragraph two.” 
  “Awesome red-taping. They lose 1 
  point of Lead trying a workaround.”
   
  n Cryptography: “I spend some 
  time breaking their encryption 
  on the side and then feeding them 
  totally valid passwords and credit-
  card data. Maybe they won’t 
  notice it’s me.” “That opens up a 
  Swerve next round or this round 
  if you spend Cryptography.”
   
  n Data Recovery: “I dig some files 
  out of low-security areas and glean 
  information out of them I can use to 
  help winnow password possibilities 
  and the like.” “That should help you 
  keep going; refresh 1 point of Digital 
  Intrusion for the intruder, 3 if you 
  spend a point of Data Recovery.” 
   
  n Human Terrain: “I’m on 
  the phone, doing some social 
  engineering to keep calls going 
  through to the security desk this 
  whole time.” “That’ll distract them 
  and keep them from trying a Sudden 
  Escape until the Lead is 2 or less.”
   
  n Law: “Local ordinance demands 
  that power get reduced in the event 
  of an electrical fire on the same 
  grid, so I’ve put a power tap on the 
  edge of the neighboring property 
  and fed the juice out to a dummy 
  circuit box that can’t handle the 
  load. That ought to burn pretty 
  good.” “That’s either a Mechanics 
  or a Preparedness test, Difficulty 
  5 either way. If you guys make it, 
  their Difficulty goes up by 1.”
   
  n Traffic Analysis: “I’m watching 
  this all go down and figuring out 
  which employees are on duty 
  tonight, from the revealed duty 
  rosters. Let’s target their personal 
  data in the system to keep them 
  harried.” “They’ll definitely spend 
  2 points each round to protect 
  that stuff, so I’ll deduct that from 
  their pool as long as you’re there, 
  reading the traffic for the intruder.”
  swerve
  Swerves are viable maneuvers in a 
  digital-intrusion sequence. As the 
  pursuer changes up the attack pattern 
  or the runner deploys the next-gen 
  security software, or whatever other 
  sudden change to the cyberscape is 
  revealed, either can declare a Swerve.
  Since computers don’t have Maneuver 
  ratings, anyone with 3 Digital Intrusion 
  points to spend can declare a Swerve 
  starting in the third round of the conflict. 
  Lead changes are doubled as a result of a 
  Swerve, as normal (NBA, p. 59).
  Swerves depend on descriptions 
  and riskiness, which can be hard to 
  get across in a digital-intrusion chase. 
  The changing Lead is usually its own 
  risk, though, so keep in mind that the 
  intruder/pursuer’s risk usually involves 
  getting detected or tracked while the 
  defender/runner’s risk involves leaving 
  themselves open to intrusion. 
  The result of a Swerve might not be 
  obvious to the participant who loses 
  the contest. Swerving into a successful 
  intrusion might leave the intruder inside 
  the system with the defender thinking, 
  “That was close! I’m glad that’s over.”
  Here are some examples of digital 
  Swerves:
   
  n “While the virus does its thing, I 
  start posting captured data on their 
  own forums for all the world to see.”
   
  n “Let them chip away at the 
  firewall. I start a system-wide 
  trace of all addresses in contact 
  with the system for the past 48 
  hours and look for patterns.”
   
  n “I broadcast the login data and 
  keystrokes we’re getting. See if I 
  can’t lure some random help in 
  here to overload their system.”
  
  81
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  infiltration
  digital Judo
  prereq: Digital Intrusion 8+
  Finesse and power are important when 
  battling for control of a computer system 
  but never forget that all warfare is based 
  on deception. Get your opponent to 
  waste time and effort protecting things 
  that you’re not after, then strike with 
  hidden reserves at your true target. Do 
  it with this rule to give cunning digital 
  intruders an edge.
  Once per digital intrusion contest, a 
  hacker with a Digital Intrusion rating of 
  8 or more can spend Digital Intrusion 
  pool points to force the opposition 
  off balance. Each point spent requires 
  security to roll one additional die for 
  their Digital Intrusion test during the 
  next round. Security must use the lowest 
  of the dice rolled as their result.
  Ivan spends 3 points of Digital 
  Intrusion during a hacking contest. The 
  Director, representing the Turkish air 
  traffic control system, spends 2 points 
  from the Turks’ Digital Intrusion pool, but 
  must roll four dice: 4, 5, 2, 1. The next 
  round, the Turks’ result is a 3 (2 spent + 
  1 on the lowest die).
  sudden escape
  Sudden Escapes are the business of the 
  runner in a chase, which means this 
  option is enjoyed by the defending 
  security in a digital-intrusion sequence. A 
  Sudden Escape represents the desperate 
  attempt to close down vital systems or 
  access vectors in an attempt to keep the 
  intruder out. This works the inverse of 
  the way it works in a normal chase.
  If the defender just wanted to end a 
  digital-intrusion attempt outright, he or 
  she could take their system completely 
  offline or unplug the damn thing. That 
  option doesn’t become viable until the 
  Lead is down to 3 or lower and the 
  defender decides they’d rather lose 
  functionality or operational capability 
  than risk enemy intrusion. (Maybe 
  getting the target to shut down their 
  system was the point the whole time, 
  though, and the Sudden Escape plays 
  right into the intruder’s hands…)
  This Sudden Escape still involves a 
  test to pull the boards, the cables, or 
  the plug before the intruders can plant 
  malware or viruses inside that’ll do their 
  dirty work when the system comes back 
  online. The Difficulty for this test is 
  always at least 1 higher than the previous 
  Difficulty in the chase. Digital Intrusion 
  or Mechanics are usually the relevant 
  abilities, though Preparedness could 
  reveal a pre-rigged kill switch for the 
  system, too.
  infiltration
  These following options model contests 
  between infiltrators in physical space, 
  avoiding physical security (like you 
  might find in stealth-focused video 
  games or heist movies). If stealthy 
  intruders are slinking personally into a 
  forbidden site, this is the contest for you. 
  If agents under cover of everyday garb 
  are trying to blend into a crowd, use the 
  Surveillance contest options on p. 84.
  An infiltration sequence is a chase 
  between vigilant security (the pursuers, 
  using Sense Trouble as their chase ability, 
  usually) and one or more infiltrators 
  (the runners, with Infiltration their 
  chase ability). These thriller rules are 
  apt for a level of suspicion and alertness 
  between two extremes: oblivious 
  security doesn’t warrant a sequence like 
  this while guards in active, immediate 
  pursuit of a spotted or tracked infiltrator 
  warrant a full-on “standard” Athletics-
  driven thriller chase. This model is for 
  guards who suspect an intruder but have 
  only leads — properly, the Lead — to 
  go on to find that intruder. Some places 
  are always on this level of alert.
  Infiltration often comes down to a few 
  agents on foot inside a building where 
  they are unwelcome, but that’s not an 
  essential criterion. The conditions of 
  the sequence reveal some of the variety 
  possible:
  An open infiltration describes 
  an intruder on open ground, crossing 
  a plain or desert or tundra to reach a 
  target. Hiding spaces are few and tough 
  to exploit but public traffic may provide 
  cover for a disguise. This kind of sequence 
  favors the guards roving around in jeeps 
  or SUVs with searchlights and shotguns.
  A normal infiltration is one with 
  corridors or alleyways, sufficient hiding 
  spaces for trained infiltrators, and a fairly 
  stable environment where it may be 
  difficult to judge who belongs and who 
  doesn’t. This kind of sequence favors 
  fast, skilled infiltrators and includes 
  most camps, bases, and buildings meant 
  for comfortable or functional human 
  movement, like office buildings, hotels, 
  hospitals, etc.
  A cramped infiltration is one with 
  narrow access routes, hiding spaces that 
  are small or confined or easy to search, 
  and easily identified local traffic such that 
  each guard knows each other guard. This 
  kind of sequence pits the infiltrator’s 
  skill against the alertness of the guards, 
  making it more about maneuverability 
  and surprise than speed. Use this for 
  tightly controlled areas with guards 
  who expect to report or detain or shoot 
  trespassers on sight.
  A single infiltration sequence might 
  cover all three conditions over multiple 
  rounds as an intruder crosses a patch of 
  icy ground, sneaks through a makeshift 
  camp, and then infiltrates an enemy 
  bunker. How long that takes depends 
  on the Lead.
  the lead  
  In an infiltration sequence, the intruder 
  tries to reach a specific target, like a 
  computer or a file room or a hostage, in 
  a patrolled or secure environment. The 
  Lead describes how close the intruder is 
  to the target and how close security is to 
  the intruder, and it does both with one 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  82
  Lead track. The intruder is the runner, 
  whose job it is not only to reach the 
  target but to do so with time enough 
  to get some job done (like hack the 
  mainframe or free the hostage). Thus it’s 
  not enough to simply reach the goal — 
  you must have the necessary Lead time 
  on your pursuers.
  The rules for beginning Lead and 
  targets follow the standard thriller 
  chase system, with the pursuers trying 
  to capture the intruder at Lead 0 and the 
  intruder trying to shake pursuit at Lead 
  10. Reduce the Lead goal to 6 or so to 
  describe guards with no radio capability 
  or a site with terrible sightlines and 
  visibility. Raise the Lead goal to 14 or 
  so if the site has electronic surveillance, 
  RFID scanners, and other formidable 
  security systems.
  thriller contest results
  When the Lead becomes 0, things 
  either escalate to combat or a chase 
  contest (perhaps even a thriller chase), 
  or the intruder is cornered and caught 
  automatically. 
  Directors, 
  let 
  the 
  circumstances of the scene inspire your 
  adjudication. Some agents may fight to 
  the death rather than be captured. If they 
  knew what was at stake going in, that 
  may be the way that goes.
  When the Lead reaches the goal 
  (usually 10), the intruder can access the 
  target with a few minutes to spare for 
  investigation, interrogation, sabotage, 
  or other antics. Unlike a foot chase, 
  where the character is in the clear for the 
  rest of the scene, an intruder in hostile 
  territory might easily and accidentally 
  draw further attention. Be wary.
  Getting back out, from the target to 
  freedom, may require either another 
  sequence (possibly a thriller chase on 
  foot) or the Director’s call to end the 
  scene. Running two thriller chase scenes 
  back to back can drain tension (and will 
  certainly drain ability pools); a full 
  contest or even a player-facing contest 
  against an Alertness Modifier reflecting 
  the amount of ruckus stirred up on the 
  way in may be the way to go. Again, 
  let the story circumstances inform the 
  decision; if the PCs were infiltrating a 
  paramilitary airfield to secure a flight 
  out, their escape flight might be an 
  airplane chase or might go uncontested.
  thrilling elements  
  Thrilling elements in an intrusion 
  sequence include both obstacles to 
  overcome 
  (thereby 
  showing 
  how 
  remarkable your character is) and details 
  to use when describing hiding places and 
  stealthy movement. A panning camera is 
  as much a chance to demonstrate your 
  ingenious or acrobatic dodging as it is a 
  threat of detection.
  Stylishly Garish Mansion
   
  n Giant vase, big enough to fit inside
   
  n Banners blowing in the wind or AC
   
  n Poorly trained dogs 
  barking at nothing
   
  n Security camera unplugged 
  for a private tryst
   
  n Pool with a layer of dirty leaves
   
  n Lavish architecture with 
  ample hand-holds
   
  n Echoing great hall with marble tiles
   
  n Art gallery brimming 
  with invisible lasers
   
  n Guest house out on the 
  edge of the property
   
  n Plastic sheeting in a wing of 
  unfinished renovations
  Grimy Industrial Complex
   
  n Wet floor with footprints 
  from patrolling guards
   
  n Crum/bling walls
   
  n Rattling, rickety catwalk
   
  n Giant, rusted ductwork
   
  n Spinning fan, bigger than you are tall
   
  n Flickering lights
   
  n Stray cat
   
  n Steam escaping an underground pipe
  
  83
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  infiltration
   
  n Plastic cleanroom setup 
  in a dingy workspace
   
  n Power-carrying cables snaking 
  across wooden pallets
  special thriller 
  sneaking rules  
  These parallel the special rules for 
  Thriller Chases (NBA, pp. 56-60).
  investigative Ability uses
  Investigative abilities can influence the 
  flow of an infiltration, whether they’re 
  used by the infiltrator directly or by 
  agents in a support role. For example:
   
  n Architecture: “That’s one of 
  the old standard Russian bunkers 
  with the original venting, it 
  should support a person’s weight. 
  The guards won’t think of that 
  as a possible short cut.” “Good 
  call; that lowers your Infiltration 
  Difficulty by 2 for a round.”
   
  n Electronic Surveillance: “I’ve cut 
  into the camera feeds from the roof 
  and am feeding guidance down to 
  her on the ground.” “The opposition 
  reveals its spend first for the next 
  two rounds, or more if you spend.”
   
  n Human Terrain: “I spent last night 
  reading up on the power dynamics 
  of this group from my contact’s 
  deep-cover analysis. I figure I can 
  help her figure out who to threaten 
  on the ground to throw the group 
  into disarray for a bit.” “We’ll call 
  that a Swerve with a Difficulty 
  two points easier for your side.”
   
  n Intimidation: “Can I get on 
  their com channel and get them 
  riled up, acting sloppy, by pushing 
  their buttons?” “That’ll get 
  them to waste some energy and 
  time if it works; spend and I’ll 
  lower their pool by 2 points.”
   
  n Notice: “Did you see that? The 
  guard who just came out of the 
  holding area left a wet footprint. 
  Water’s getting in there somehow. 
  Is there another way in?” “There 
  sure is and you can make a 
  Sudden Escape to get in there at 
  an earlier Lead, if you want.”
  A note About disguises
  The Disguise ability offers a temporary 
  assistance in these kinds of sequences but 
  not a free pass. The trick is to have a great 
  disguise that gets scrutinized for just a 
  few moments, before anyone catches 
  on. A security guard’s outfit helps an 
  intruder stroll past a grainy camera or 
  wave to a distant guard but it’s only a 
  matter of time until someone realizes 
  you don’t work there. Points in Disguise 
  are their own reward, but a generous 
  Director might allow an ongoing +1 to 
  Infiltration die rolls for a well-disguised 
  sneaker until their cover is blown (“He’s 
  wearing a guard’s uniform. I say again, 
  the tango is dressed like one of us.”).
  The Difficulty for a Disguise test can be 
  estimated based on the conditions of the 
  sequence, though specific circumstances 
  always trump these estimates:
   
  n An open infiltration is Difficulty 
  3 or 4 when the disguise is only 
  visible at a distance or lots of 
  people are milling around. 
   
  n A normal infiltration is Difficulty 
  4 or 5, since a disguise might come 
  under scrutiny for a few minutes at a 
  checkpoint or via security cameras. 
   
  n A cramped infiltration calls 
  for Difficulty 6 or 7 because 
  everyone knows who belongs 
  on site and an intruder is likely 
  to be scrutinized in person.
  More than anything, Disguise is a great 
  ability for a Sudden Escape.
  Watching the Watchers
  prereq: Surveillance 8+
  Surveillance helps an intruder listen 
  in on radio chatter, overhear a guard 
  chewing gum from around the corner, 
  or detect patterns in patrol routes. Thus 
  the infiltrator knows when to move 
  and to where. Once per infiltration 
  sequence, a character with a Surveillance 
  rating of 8 or more can earn a 3-point 
  refresh of Infiltration or Surveillance 
  by describing some detail or clue they 
  glean out of the environment:
   
  n “Every time that one guy with the 
  haircut comes down here, he stops 
  at that vending machine and eyeballs 
  the honey-roasted peanuts. That’s 
  my cue to cut down the corridor.”
   
  n “I put a tiny radio in my ear and 
  tune into the guard’s channel 
  for a few seconds to make sure 
  they’re all still investigating the 
  hole I cut in the fence. Satisfied, 
  I move into the IT building.”
   
  n “Seems pretty clear that Vladimir 
  can’t stand Reuben, so I wait 
  until their patrols take them near 
  each other. That way, if I screw 
  up, they’ll argue with each other 
  about whose fault it is that I’m 
  there before they coordinate.”
  If the detail is so evocative or so revealing 
  that other players smile and nod, the 
  Director may increase the award to a 
  4-point refresh.
  Players, feel free to write out such 
  details in advance and then see if they 
  make sense to the chase in question.
  swerve
  Swerves are risky because they might 
  give away the infiltrator’s position. When 
  a Swerve works, guards go looking in 
  the wrong direction, defend the wrong 
  position, or have a hole punched in 
  their ranks. A Swerve might be to drop 
  a grenade into the air shaft and let it 
  explode three floors below, take out 
  a guard and double back behind the 
  security line, or spoof the alarm system 
  to ring on another door.  
  What really matters is that the Swerve 
  has a big result off a single roll and that you 
  describe the risks and rewards to match.
  Attacking guards
  One good Swerve is to attack a guard, 
  either to take him out or to draw guards 
  away from your true goal. E.g., “I drop 
  from the ceiling, trying to knock him out 
  in one swoop.” Or: “I get my arms around 
  him from the shadows and put him into 
  a sleeper hold.” This could be modeled 
  as a special contest of Infiltration versus 
  the guard’s Hand-to-Hand, or a player-
  facing test of Infiltration against the 
  guard’s Alertness Modifier.
  If the fight lasts two or more rounds, 
  the guard has shouted, signaled, or been 
  missed; the Lead drops by 1 for each 
  extra round the fight lasts. If the sneaker 
  kills or otherwise silences the guard in 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  84
  one round, the security team’s chase 
  pool drops by 4 and the chase continues.
  Fortunately, guards are almost always 
  mooks; the Director may apply the 
  Player-Facing Combat rules (NBA, 
  p. 64) to a Swerve. In these cases, 
  Infiltration is always the “surprise” 
  ability; if the attack fails, the Swerve 
  also fails. An attack might also be just 
  a very specific Infiltration challenge, or 
  the player might decide to attack a guard 
  for other reasons: to get his radio so she 
  can listen in on the security channel, say.
  A guard can go down to describe a 
  Lead change in the infiltrator’s favor. 
  A guard can radio in cogent, precise 
  descriptions of the infiltrator and her 
  position to indicate a Lead change in the 
  pursuer’s favor.
  run and hide
  prereq: Infiltration 8+
  Depending on the conditions of the 
  infiltration sequence, your maneuver 
  rating can be vital. For any thriller foot 
  chase or contest during or immediately 
  resulting from your  intrusion, you may 
  substitute your Infiltration rating for 
  Athletics to determine your Maneuver 
  value on foot (NBA, p. 101) for that 
  chase contest only.
  sudden escape
  In an intrusion sequence, a Sudden 
  Escape is actually an escape only when 
  the Lead goal of the sequence stands 
  for the escape for the infiltrator (like 
  when the infiltrator is sneaking out 
  of somewhere). When the goal is to 
  get inside an area, to reach an item or 
  a specific location, a Sudden Escape 
  represents a final, brilliant or daring 
  push that confounds the pursuers and 
  delivers the infiltrator unto the target.
  This kind of action behaves like a 
  Sudden Escape in every other way, 
  though, by involving a test that might even 
  short-circuit the abilities normally being 
  tested. For example: Use Infiltration to 
  hotwire the security overrides on the 
  mainframe room’s pressure door in 
  mere seconds. Use Athletics to sprint, 
  dive, and roll past cameras and lasers in a 
  perfectly timed ballet. Use Surveillance 
  to make sense of all the patrols’ patterns 
  at once and facilitate a simple, cool walk 
  right through the rest of the compound 
  and to the target.  The risks remain 
  high. Success means the infiltrator has 
  reached her target. Failure likely ends 
  in immediate detection and escalation to 
  combat, chase, or capture.
  surveillance
  The following options model contests 
  between watchers and the watched, 
  especially in a monitored public venue 
  like Alexanderplatz or Waterloo Station. 
  If someone’s dressed like an ultramodern 
  ninja to steal into a guarded fortress, 
  use the Infiltration contest options. If 
  everyone’s trying to act casually and not 
  disrupt the everyday throngs, this is the 
  apt contest.
  The watchers are the pursuers; the 
  watched is the runner. Surveillance is 
  the chase ability of both in the contest 
  to corner, capture, or kill the runner 
  without escalating things to an outright 
  thriller chase on feet or wheels.
  speed and maneuver  
  First, let’s understand what Speed and 
  Maneuver ratings mean in this kind of 
  thriller sequence:
  Speed represents the fluidity of a 
  character’s movements without raising 
  suspicion. If a crowd makes room for 
  someone without anyone wanting 
  to watch and see why, that’s Speed. 
  Uniformed police and obvious security 
  agents may be able to cut through a 
  crowd, but they are evidence that the 
  sequence has come to a close and a 
  chase, combat, or investigation is about 
  to begin. What you’re looking for is 
  more subtle: a bin man at the train 
  station or someone in a crew T-shirt at a 
  musical venue might have greater Speed 
  than background people. This means a 
  Disguise test with a Difficulty of 4 or 
  higher and requires suitable costuming, 
  like a reflective jacket or the appropriate 
  tee. Regular rules for disguises apply for 
  actual social contact (NBA, p. 28).
  The Maneuver rating, meanwhile, 
  represents actual physical maneuvering, 
  which is a function of both Athletics and 
  Surveillance, on foot. A character with 
  Surveillance 8+ and Athletics 8+ enjoys 
  a Maneuver of +3, rather than +2, on 
  foot (NBA, p. 101) because she knows 
  when to be quick and when not to be 
  quick to avoid giving herself away.
  Note that this section assumes 
  surveillance sequences will be played 
  out on foot, but that’s not a rule. Simply 
  incorporate vehicles’ Maneuver ratings 
  for those sequences set on busy roadways 
  and waterways.
  When the sequence begins, the 
  Director should determine conditions 
  of the chase:
  An open surveillance sequence 
  covers the occasions where Speed comes 
  into play, where one side is slower than 
  the other. This is rare because moving 
  at the ambient speed of the surrounding 
  crowds is often important. Still, this 
  might come up in a situation where 
  the runners devise a way to move more 
  quickly than the background folk without 
  catching attention of their surveillance. 
  Gaps in the surveillance contribute to 
  this kind of sequence. Adjust the starting 
  Lead by 1 in favor of the side with the 
  higher Speed.
  A normal surveillance sequence 
  describes a situation with CCTVs and a 
  few eyes on the ground but also plenty 
  of background folk and distractions. This 
  is the default condition, useful for most 
  surveillance sequences in places like public 
  plazas, sporting events, and festivals.
  
  85
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  surveillance
  A cramped surveillance sequence 
  covers situations with either teeming 
  masses of people, staggeringly good 
  surveillance coverage in the form of 
  mobile units with cameras and CCTV 
  support, or both.
  Note that a surveillance sequence 
  requires active surveillance, usually but 
  not necessarily searching for a specific 
  target (like a particular journalist or 
  escapee) or a general category of target 
  (like red-headed men). The passive 
  surveillance that goes on in any watched 
  site through the day-to-day application 
  of CCTVs can simply describe a place’s 
  Alertness Modifier for non-thriller tests.
  the lead  
  A surveillance chase is still a chase. The 
  goal of the runners is to escape without 
  anyone realizing when and where they 
  did. The goal of the pursuers is to catch 
  the runners without the public realizing 
  what exactly has happened. 
  Use the standard methods for setting 
  the escape Lead and the beginning Lead. 
  A good-sized crowd with ill-defined 
  edges (like a street fair, maybe) might 
  have a lower escape Lead, like 6, if it 
  is being watched only by operatives on 
  the ground or a few rooftop surveyors. 
  A good-sized crowd with limited and 
  monitored entrances and exits (like 
  a stadium, for example) can raise the 
  escape Lead to 14 or so, especially when 
  security guards, cameras, helicopters, 
  or the like are watching.
  thriller contest results
  Reaching Lead 0 indicates that the 
  watchers have caught the runners. This 
  might trigger a fight, a foot chase, or 
  a straightforward capture, depending 
  on how the agents and the Director 
  respond to the stimuli. For example, 
  triggering a fight might result in the 
  defeat of the pursuers and the restart 
  of the surveillance chase at a low Lead, 
  like 2 or 3. If caught, runners might, you 
  know, run for real. (If so, their beginning 
  Lead for a thriller chase is also low.) 
  What outcomes are available depends on 
  what’s happening in the story and what 
  decisions the characters make. Maybe 
  there’s nowhere to run, just yet.
  Reaching the escape Lead of 10 (or 
  other preset goal) gets the runners out 
  of the surveillance area safely, leaving 
  the pursuers confounded. If the PCs are 
  the pursuers, the Director can go ahead 
  and end the scene when the runners 
  have escaped. Maybe she reveals this 
  with a 0-point spend followed by no 
  roll of the die. “You’re confident,” says 
  the Director, “that they’ve slipped away.” 
  thrilling elements  
  The thrilling element lists for a 
  surveillance chase can seem pretty 
  pedestrian since the whole idea is to 
  blend into the background. Use these 
  to inspire clever obfuscations of your 
  character’s actions or to describe the 
  sorts of challenges you overcome along 
  your way to freedom.
  Lively Street Festival
   
  n A balloon vendor unknowingly 
  provides cover
   
  n A balloon pops
   
  n A clown goes by on stilts
   
  n A child throws a tantrum
   
  n Applause erupts through the crowd
   
  n A spot opens on a bench 
  full of strangers
   
  n Crowds gather around 
  a street magician
   
  n EMTs part the crowd
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  86
   
  n A car alarm goes off by accident
   
  n People dance and play in a fountain
   
  n Random drunks start fighting
  Bustling Train Terminal
   
  n The crowd murmurs and 
  laments as the boards change
   
  n A train-load of people come 
  through in a wave
   
  n Lovers reunite with 
  hugs and applause
   
  n Someone drops an iPad, breaking it
   
  n Someone spills a beverage 
  on someone else
   
  n A loudmouth rants into a cellphone
   
  n A busker startles the crowd 
  with a loud bit of music
   
  n Protesters come through, 
  waving signs
   
  n Kids sell cookies out of a wagon
   
  n A soldier in uniform steps forward 
  – but he’s just a passenger
  surveillance raises
  As a general rule, a Raise (NBA, p. 55) 
  in a surveillance chase represents not 
  an increase in danger, but an increase in 
  confusion. The classic is “getting on then 
  off a bus,” or “heading into a crowded 
  department store,” but there are many 
  more that will occur to the thriller fan. 
  This increases the Difficulty for the chase 
  for both parties if successful. Not only 
  do the watchers (usually briefly) lose the 
  runner, but the runner also has to spot 
  his (usually new) watchers all over again.
  In a surveillance chase, you can 
  also make a Disguise test instead of 
  a Surveillance test for a Raise. This 
  is the “drop your red bag on the bus” 
  or “shoplift a blue jacket” option. A 
  successful Disguise test at the raised 
  chase Difficulty means you’ve cleverly 
  altered your look. You’ve either lost 
  your pursuers (if you’re the watched), 
  or your quarry hasn’t made you (if 
  you’re the watcher).
  special thriller 
  trailing rules  
  These parallel the special rules for 
  Thriller Chases (NBA, pp. 56-60).
  investigative Ability uses
  Investigative abilities can influence a 
  surveillance chase even if the character 
  using the Investigative ability isn’t 
  technically 
  under 
  surveillance 
  or 
  otherwise in the chase. Maybe the 
  Investigative assist comes from someone 
  on a nearby rooftop or helicopter, or 
  someone in the crowd with expert skills 
  but who isn’t under direct surveillance 
  (yet). For example:
   
  n Architecture: “I’ve seen plans of 
  this building from the op we ran 
  here in 2007 and I remember how 
  the utility corridors connect to the 
  alley. Can I guide them through?” 
  “Sure, let’s call that a tactical 
  advantage and give your side a lower 
  Difficulty for a couple of rolls.”
   
  n Electronic Surveillance: “I 
  used to do this kind of work. 
  What’s the standard equipment 
  for this kind of operation? We 
  should be able to spot them by the 
  kinds of phones they use.” “Nice. 
  That’ll increase their Difficulty 
  by 1 for the next two tests.”
   
  n Human Terrain: “Local ordnance 
  won’t allow municipal cameras 
  in a religious site. Is there a 
  chapel on site?” “Sure. If you 
  go in there, you can Swerve on 
  any turn you want. They’ll have 
  to go investigate on foot.”
   
  n Languages: “Until they get a 
  translator who speaks Basque into 
  their command center, we can 
  talk freely for a little while.” “Let’s 
  give you a +1 Lead bonus if you 
  win the roll this round, then.”
   
  n Reassurance: “I’m trying to keep 
  him calm while we talk him through 
  this sequence. ‘You’re doing great; 
  not far now,’ that sort of thing.” 
  “That helps. He can refresh three 
  points of Surveillance for that if 
  you’re willing to make a spend.”
   
  n Traffic Analysis: “I’m curious if 
  the CCTV coverage or movements 
  of the mobile units tells me 
  anything.” “It does! They’re giving up 
  their search and are going to cover 
  the exits, but they probably don’t 
  want that known yet. I’ll reveal their 
  spends first for the next two rounds.”
  Attacking Watchers
  Like Infiltration contests, Surveillance 
  contests have a human element. The 
  runner may surprise one of her watchers 
  in an isolated corridor or blind spot 
  and choose to take him out quickly. 
  (Watchers only catch the runner by 
  surprise when the chase is over.) Use 
  Player-Facing Combat (NBA, p. 64) to 
  model this encounter, or run a single-
  round quick combat. If the fight lasts 
  two or more rounds, the watcher has 
  shouted, signaled, or been missed; the 
  Lead drops by 1 for each extra round 
  the fight lasts. If the runner kills or 
  otherwise silences the watcher in one 
  round, the watchers’ chase pool drops 
  by 4 and the chase continues.
  other general Abilities
  General abilities like Conceal, Filch, and 
  Infiltration (and their cherries) are great 
  aids during a surveillance chase, too. 
  Use Filch to pluck a knife from a café 
  table, Conceal to hide it on your person, 
  and Infiltration to unlock (and relock) 
  the door to freedom, for example. 
  These abilities do not require special 
  maneuvers to describe and each comes 
  with its own built-in benefits.
  At the Director’s discretion, a great 
  description of one of these abilities 
  can be used to grant 3 or 4 temporary 
  points in Disguise or Surveillance. This 
  counts as the once-per-chase refresh for 
  the ability gaining temporary points but 
  doesn’t require 8+ points in the relevant 
  ability, which can be helpful.
  Also, see Blending Agent (p. 50), 
  Quick Change (p. 51), and Watching 
  the Watchers (p. 83) for more 
  refreshing possibilities.
  swerve
  A Swerve in a surveillance chase is a big 
  move that absolutely draws attention; 
  the trick is to draw it on someone 
  else. For example: tripping a passerby, 
  swatting a hot beverage onto someone, or 
  knocking over a rack of magazines might 
  all attract attention but they’re difficult 
  to accomplish without being right there. 
  Planting a phone and then calling it so 
  it blares a ringtone somewhere else 
  might work. Letting yourself get almost 
  detected to buy everyone else a chance 
  to grow their Lead with the surveillance 
  
  87
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  manhunts
  is another option. Dropping a simulator 
  into a potted palm to provide a 
  distracting “gunshot,” or using a delayed-
  action smoke canister to trigger a fire 
  alarm are standards for a reason.  
  A successful Swerve is a distraction, 
  getting the enemy to move the wrong 
  way, look the wrong way, or act the 
  wrong way. 
  A failed Swerve raises suspicion and 
  keeps surveillance not only on the 
  Swerver but on heightened alert overall.
  sudden escape
  A Sudden Escape always involves risk. 
  Maybe the cameras capture your face for 
  a recognition database. Maybe a waiting 
  sniper puts a bullet through you. A failed 
  Sudden Escape can result in immediate 
  detection (and its consequences) or an 
  increase in the escape Lead’s value by 2 
  or 3 points (for everyone in the area). 
  It might even call for a total security 
  lockdown of the area, ending the 
  surveillance chase and triggering either 
  a Difficulty 7 (at least) Disguise test for 
  each agent to talk their way past the 
  area’s security guards or a straight-up 
  foot chase starting at a very short Lead.
  manhunts
  He must have escaped the blast; they 
  never found his body. She wasn’t there 
  when the heat fell on her safe house and 
  arrested everyone else. It killed your 
  cohort and now it’s on the run back to 
  its home soil. Don’t let them get away.
  These sorts of manhunts worked very 
  differently when you had a command 
  center and satellite support and CCTV 
  access through official channels. Now 
  you hunt off your hunches and your 
  instincts, chasing your quarry across 
  borders by reading between the lines in 
  the international news and, sometimes, 
  by flushing them out.
  You might be harried by the Heat on 
  your trail but that won’t stop you from 
  hounding your quarry, too.
  A manhunt is an extended chase 
  carried out by the agents in pursuit of 
  an NPC quarry. This system builds on 
  the Extended Chase rules (NBA, p. 90-
  91), turning them around to face the 
  players a bit more and testing them to 
  see if they can catch their target before 
  it does too much more damage. Players 
  might conduct a manhunt even when 
  their agents are in an extended chase 
  as someone else’s target. Such is life on 
  the lam.
  This system doesn’t use Heat as 
  something the players can put on their 
  enemies because the players decide when 
  they relax their investigation based on 
  their interest and resources, not on the 
  clock and maybe not on the evidence that 
  convinces even the local jurisdiction. 
  The players call their characters’ shots. 
  Still, Heat is an important part of this 
  system, so check the Heat table (NBA, 
  p. 88) to recall what sort of Heat and 
  attention certain actions generate.
  hot lead  
  Hot Lead, however, is still a useful 
  measurement for the actionable trail the 
  agents have leading them to their quarry, 
  so we still use Hot Lead to measure the 
  distance between the agents and their 
  target. Players want the quarry to spend 
  and lose its Hot Lead; the quarry wants 
  to slip past the agents’ investigative net. 
  When Hot Lead reaches 0, the agents 
  have a chance to strike. When Hot 
  Lead reaches 10, the trail is so cold or 
  the target is so far underground that 
  hunches and instinct aren’t enough to 
  close the gap.
  The agents aren’t the law, they 
  aren’t official operatives, they don’t 
  have official jurisdiction. No matter 
  how good the evidence, they cannot 
  guarantee the local authorities will act 
  on their anonymous tip. They certainly 
  can’t trust the local authorities to have 
  anti-vampire precautions in hand, and 
  they probably can’t trust the locals not to 
  have Conspiracy ties or leaks. The agents 
  have to act for themselves.
  As a player-facing experience, a 
  manhunt calls on the players to make 
  the key choices. The Director doesn’t 
  simply play the harried foe, though. 
  She still must sometimes phrase the 
  foe’s actions in the form of a scenario 
  or a scene to play out, clues to uncover, 
  actions to take. This system, in other 
  words, is only part of the process; the 
  quarry can turn up in an op near its last 
  known position and take actions that 
  change its Hot Lead as described on p. 
  88. What this system does is describe 
  the middle of the extended chase — the 
  rolls the agents make once per op to stay 
  on the trail or flush out their foe.
  starting hot lead
  The quarry’s Hot Lead starts at 7, minus 
  the highest Heat that brought the target 
  to the agents’ attention before it escaped. 
  If the subject escaped after a grandiose, 
  excessive car chase (Heat +3), then its 
  starting Hot Lead is 4 (7 – 3 = 4).
  changing hot lead
  A quarry’s Hot Lead doesn’t go up and 
  down quite like the agents’ Hot Lead 
  does. An NPC (or even a group of NPCs) 
  can’t hope to engage with the heroes in 
  thriller sequences, combats, and so forth 
  without risking death or capture. Such 
  encounters are the agents’ reward for 
  driving the Hot Lead down to 0, after all.
  Instead, it’s on the players to push 
  their quarry into actions that’ll cause 
  it to reveal itself. The agents are the 
  pursuers. They are the ones with the net.
  The quarry’s goal is to get somewhere 
  safe, somewhere that a more powerful 
  force in the Conspyramid can protect it, 
  and to do so without revealing much of 
  the Conspyramid along the way (so that 
  its nefarious accomplices don’t slay it to 
  protect themselves).
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  88
  earning hot lead
  There are three main things a quarry can 
  do to earn Hot Lead:
   
  n Crossing Borders: Crossing 
  a border increases Hot Lead by 
  1 for normal transit and by 2 if 
  accomplished via smuggling, hiking, 
  shipping, or other surprising means. 
  As a rule of thumb, if the players 
  can describe in three tries how their 
  quarry got across the border, it’s not 
  surprising. Regular transit is never 
  surprising because it leaves too much 
  data for the agents to track, even 
  if it does help increase Hot Lead.
   
  n Roosting: When a superior on 
  the Conspyramid takes in and 
  protects a subject, that’s “roosting.” 
  Roosting increases Hot Lead by an 
  amount equal to the protector’s 
  Conspyramid Level minus 1. (So 
  when someone at Level 4, the 
  national level, takes the quarry 
  in, that adds 3 to the Hot Lead.) 
  This is risky, though, because it 
  doesn’t necessarily end the chase 
  and it almost certainly leads the 
  agents toward the protector. 
  Roosting happens at the beginning 
  of an op, before the Gambit roll, 
  and often comes shortly before 
  elimination (see p. 90). 
   
  n Shaking the Net: When the quarry 
  takes action to survive or escape, 
  it must attempt to traverse the 
  net the agents put out to detect it. 
  If the quarry is successful, it may 
  slip through the net undetected. 
  If not, it shakes the net as it passes 
  through, giving the agents a trail 
  to follow. This is the heart of the 
  manhunt chase (see facing page).
  multiple hot leads
  High-level, well-connected foes on the 
  Conspyramid have the resources and 
  lackeys necessary to attempt to vanish 
  in multiple directions, leaving the agents 
  chasing mists that turn out not to be 
  vampires at all. This option manifests 
  as multiple Hot Lead numbers to keep 
  track of, which can be a pain if you 
  have just a few players. Therefore, use 
  this option only as a means of keeping 
  several plays engaged, if necessary. The 
  maximum number of Hot Lead trails a 
  subject can have going at once is listed 
  on the following table, but you probably 
  don’t want more than one trail per three 
  players (or even three agents), either.
  Decide in advance which Hot Lead trail 
  (A or B or C) leads to the actual quarry. 
  The others lead to lackeys from the 
  lowest-surviving Conspyramid Level. 
  The agents may get lucky and pursue just 
  the true Hot Lead or they may attempt 
  to pursue all leads, somehow, and not 
  rest until the chase is done.
  Once per operation, the agents can 
  put out the net that they’ll monitor 
  “in the background” for the duration 
  of that mission. They’re assumed to 
  be operating locally, but what’s local 
  depends on how the agents get their 
  intelligence and how the Director 
  decides information travels. Getting 
  Canadian news in the U.S. is easy but 
  getting real-time police reports from 
  other countries may be more difficult. 
  Agents on a manhunt should expect to 
  stay close to their quarry if they want 
  the best chance of catching it. That 
  means going where it goes, which can 
  sometimes mean following it into a trap.
  To do this, the agents set the Difficulty 
  the quarry must achieve to traverse their 
  net without alerting them. This is called 
  the Gambit Difficulty. The Gambit 
  Difficulty starts at 0 and goes up through 
  the following actions to a maximum 
  Difficulty of 7:
   
  n Investigative ability spends: 
  Any player can spend 1 or 2 points 
  from any number of Investigative 
  abilities to add that many points to 
  the Gambit Difficulty. The precise 
  ability doing the spending isn’t of 
  utmost importance, yet, though the 
  player must describe to the Director 
  how their spend helps them stay 
  alert and on the trail. If the Director 
  is unconvinced, the expenditure 
  Quarry's 
  Conspyramid Level
  Hot Lead 
  trails
  1: Neighborhood
  1
  2: City
  1
  3: Provincial
  1
  4: National
  2
  5: Supranational
  2
  6: Core Leadership
  3
  putting out the net  
  To track their foe without jurisdictional 
  authority and the full resources of the 
  law, the agents must gather intelligence, 
  follow their hunches, and lure their 
  quarry into making mistakes. Sharp 
  wits, gut checks, and danger — that’s 
  what it takes.
  
  89
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  manhunts
  can be denied and the player can 
  try again with another ability. The 
  real cost here is that these points 
  are not available to the agents 
  during the “foreground” operation.
   
  n Network ability spends: Up to 
  2 points can be spent by a Network 
  contact to help spread the net. 
  These points also add to the Gambit 
  Difficulty. This is essentially an 
  investigative use of the ability; the 
  contact doesn’t take any action 
  except to observe and report 
  until the player spends additional 
  Network points to persuade the 
  contact to take further action.
   
  n Make a Digital Intrusion or 
  Infiltration test: One agent per 
  op can make a Digital Intrusion 
  or Infiltration test to set up signal 
  taps and relays on official channels 
  to alert the agents if their quarry 
  pops up on the grid in some secret 
  capacity that might be protected by, 
  say, Conspirators. The Difficulty of 
  this test varies by the sophistication 
  of the local governmental computers 
  and failure may draw Heat onto 
  the agents. If this roll is a success, 
  the Gambit Difficulty increases by 
  1. Both a Digital Intrusion and an 
  Infiltration test may be made per op.
  All agents cooperate to add to the same 
  Gambit Difficulty value or values.
  Although the team needs to clean up 
  this nest in Palermo, they don’t want 
  to stop their hunt for the vampiric 
  necromancer Aleksandr Vikramsson. So 
  they put out the net in the background 
  of the Palermo op. Luc spends 1 point 
  of Occult Studies: “I put the word out 
  amongst the local streghe that a Black 
  Prince has come among them – I’ll hear 
  what the rivals and wannabes find out.” 
  Desmond spends 1 point of Criminology 
  to listen to the police scanner in the 
  background. Jack pulls strings and gets 
  Captain Corceri of the Italian Navy to 
  put out a BOLO on Vikramsson’s allies in 
  the merchant marine, spending 2 points 
  from Corceri’s Network pool. Beatrice 
  breaks into the cathedral with Infiltration 
  (adds 1) to see if any unusual reports hit 
  the archbishop’s desk; Ivan hacks into the 
  ROS computers with Digital Intrusion 
  (adds 1) on much the same mission. 
  The total Gambit Difficulty during the 
  Palermo op is 6.
  If they are pursuing multiple Hot Lead 
  trails at once, each trail requires its own 
  Gambit Difficulty. Agents may contribute 
  to as many Gambit Difficulties as they 
  can afford.
  gambits  
  The longer a quarry has been on the run, 
  the greater the likelihood that it screws 
  up somehow. At the beginning of the next 
  op, or after a number of days equal to the 
  quarry’s level on the Conspyramid, the 
  target feels the pressure and seeks out 
  food, money, sex, blood, or something 
  else it needs (or feels it needs).
  In short, it tries a Gambit.
  The Difficulty for the Gambit roll 
  depends on the agents’ expenditures to 
  put out the net and monitor the area. 
  Rather than spending points from its own 
  pools, however, the subject takes actions 
  that threaten to reveal its whereabouts 
  or heading. The bonus to this roll is equal 
  to the quarry’s Conspyramid Level or 
  the Heat that the quarry’s actions would 
  generate on the Heat table (whichever is 
  higher). If the subject takes action that 
  warrants Heat to earn a bonus to its roll, its 
  Hot Lead decreases by the same amount. 
  In other words, the cost in Hot Lead to 
  add a bonus to the Gambit roll equals 
  an action’s Heat value. The maximum 
  Hot Lead that can be spent on a roll is 
  4; anything more than that draws such 
  Heat that the quarry is almost certainly 
  revealed by local investigations anyway.
  These actions may represent the 
  quarry doing favors for allies in 
  exchange for cover or succor or the 
  quarry eliminating targets that could 
  reveal it to the agents. More desperate 
  subjects take more dangerous actions. 
  Directors, use your judgment; while a 
  subject on the run could take the most 
  dangerous path to escape, lots of variety 
  exists within the various levels of Heat 
  gain. It’s more likely the quarry hijacks 
  a car and kidnaps someone (+3 Heat) 
  to escape the local area than it is for the 
  quarry to coordinate a prison escape for 
  the same purpose.
  Vikramsson has to beat a Difficulty of 6. 
  He’s a major enforcer for the Conspiracy, a 
  Level 3 force all by himself, so he begins 
  with +3 to the die. To beat that, he has 
  to do something big: fortunately, the 
  local ‘Ndrangheta would love to have 
  a vampire kill a pesky judge for them. 
  After devouring the judge, Vikramsson has 
  earned +4 Heat, and lost 4 Hot Lead, but 
  he has a +4 bonus on his Gambit roll. 
  If he had wanted to taunt the agents, he 
  could have sent insect-demons to devour 
  the judge on television, for a +5 to his 
  roll and guaranteed success, but he didn’t 
  want to lose quite that much Hot Lead. 
  And he was in the mood for Italian food.
  If the quarry’s roll is a success, the Hot 
  Lead goes up by 2 for success, plus 1 or 
  2 if the quarry is able to cross a border 
  as part of that action. Crossing such a 
  border might allow the target to enter 
  a territory where it can roost, as well. 
  Note that these increases occur after 
  the Hot Lead expenditure made on the 
  Gambit roll. Sometimes a quarry may 
  lose Hot Lead for the sake of getting 
  closer to a roost.
  If the quarry’s roll is a failure, it gains 
  no Hot Lead at all and must suffer the 
  loss of Hot Lead it spent on the roll as 
  news of its crime spreads. A quarry that 
  doesn’t attract Heat at all (rolling only 
  on his Conspiracy level bonus) loses 1 
  Hot Lead anyway and is still potentially 
  detectable by the agents.
  The Director rolls a 5 for Vikramsson’s 
  Gambit: a big success. The ‘Ndrangheta 
  respect and fear him and happily smuggle 
  him to Albania in their next human 
  trafficking run. Vikramsson began the 
  operation with Hot Lead 6 and spent 4 for 
  his bonus; he gains 2 back for success, and 
  adds 2 more because he not only crossed 
  a border, he was smuggled into Dürres.
  If the Director decrees that the quarry’s 
  action could reasonably be detected by 
  one of the Investigative abilities spent 
  by the agents to build the Gambit 
  Difficulty, the agents automatically tie 
  the crime to their quarry. The evidence 
  that they get may not be admissible, of 
  course, but it’s enough for the agents’ 
  purposes. Otherwise, use the Manhunt 
  table to determine what spend, if any, is 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  90
  necessary for an agent to tie an action to 
  the quarry for the sake of their unofficial 
  manhunt. (“See this report of a car chase 
  in Bucharest? I know that’s our monster. 
  I just know it.”)
  Tying a crime to their quarry is especially 
  useful when multiple Hot Leads are in 
  play at once.
  The agents had three possible leads 
  to tie the judge’s bloody murder to 
  Vikramsson: the police scanner, Captain 
  Corceri’s watch list on ships, and the 
  ROS files. They know he did it. Even if 
  they didn’t have those leads, an anti-
  Mafia judge missing most of his major 
  organs and all of his blood (a +4 Heat 
  atrocity) is pretty easy to spot as vampire 
  handiwork.
  The Director should reveal the current 
  Hot Lead at the end of the op. In addition, 
  the Director reveals the following details 
  as circumstances warrant:
   
  n If the quarry crossed a border, 
  say this: “[The quarry] must have 
  crossed out of the jurisdiction.”
   
  n If the quarry’s crimes are 
  linked to it by the agents, say 
  this: “[The quarry] has left the area 
  and turned up across the border in 
  [the new area].” Directors, elaborate 
  as you like on the details gleaned 
  from the Investigative abilities.
   
  n If the quarry roosts, the 
  players can figure that out 
  after the next Gambit by the 
  increase in the Hot Lead.
  roosting and 
  elimination  
  The quarry roosts at the beginning of 
  the next op if it is in an area (province, 
  nation, etc.) controlled by superiors on 
  the Conspyramid. If this doesn’t push 
  the Hot Lead to 10 or above, the quarry 
  still feels hunted and makes a Gambit 
  roll during that op to protect itself. 
  Thus there is often one final Gambit 
  roll that may lead the agents higher up 
  the Conspyramid if their quarry makes 
  a mistake and is caught in the vicinity of 
  superiors. Being led toward a roost may 
  help the agents track the Conspiracy to 
  a potentially new location.
  Vikramsson seeks sanctuary with 
  the Conspiracy’s node in Albania, 
  a human trafficking gang/refugee 
  NGO run by a slimy British 
  expatriate obsessed with Byron. 
  “Lady Augusta,” as she styles herself, 
  is on the Conspyramid at Level 4, so 
  Vikramsson’s Hot Lead climbs from 6 
  to 9 (Hot Lead 6 + Roost level 4 -1 
  = 9). Vikramsson is not quite home 
  free. He has to make one last Gambit 
  check to close off the loose end: kill the 
  ‘Ndrangheta cell that unloaded him 
  here. Since he doesn’t need to earn 
  more Heat than his Conspiracy level, 
  he just adds +3 to his Gambit die.
  For this reason, the conspiracy may 
  choose to eliminate a roosting or fleeing 
  quarry — or its protector. Elimination 
  raises the Hot Lead by a value equal to 
  the Conspyramid level of the conspirator 
  that does the eliminating (usually the 
  level above the roosting subject or the 
  protector, but it can be an even higher-
  level operative if helps secure the end 
  of the manhunt). If this doesn’t push 
  the Hot Lead over 10, it still ends the 
  manhunt since the quarry is off the 
  board, but the dead quarry’s Hot Lead 
  decreases by 1 every 24 hours. When it 
  finally reaches 0, the agents are able to 
  home in on the body or the elimination 
  scene or simply a trail cold enough to 
  inspire the right conclusion: the quarry’s 
  gone for good.
  Level of  
  Heat Gained
  Minimum  
  Spend to Tie 
  Crime to Quarry
  +1
  2-point  
  Investigative spend
  +2
  1-point  
  Investigative spend
  +3
  Investigative 
  ability use
  +4
  “I read the 
  newspaper.”
  +5
  Obviously linked 
  headline blares 
  on Sky News
  
  thriller contests & manhunts  n  subsections
  91
  91
  director's
  companion
  risking life and limb is sop for agents. 
  They may be called to HALO jump onto a 
  moving train, provide security for a yacht, 
  intercept an armed convoy on a dusty 
  desert road, or anything else a Director 
  can provide as they develop the story of 
  a Conspiracy and all the players therein.
  It’s that “anything else a Director can 
  provide” that often turns out to be the 
  roadblock. Directors have to juggle six 
  layers of Conspiracy, a dozen dangerous 
  nodes, a clutch of vampire monsters, 
  and all the while decide what the well-
  dressed NPC is wearing in Copenhagen 
  this year. Like contract killers, the 
  Director’s Companion is here to help 
  out in deniable fashion.
  It outlines a new set of tools for 
  Directors, giving them more capabilities, 
  more resources, and more options both 
  for developing an ongoing narrative, and 
  for creating a single-instance operation.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  92
  elements
  versatilitY defines a good direCtor. 
  And an arsenal of pre-generated NPCs, 
  Cameos, makes that versatility seem 
  second nature. Dropping in one of 
  the Cameos below jump-starts the 
  Director’s crafting of a formal NPC.
   A Cameo can save valuable time, and 
  provide another hook the players can 
  latch onto to better immerse themselves 
  in the shadowy world of espionage and 
  to deepen the Director’s world.
  Establishing Shots allow for a Director 
  to insert a particular setting element into 
  play, either to inspire a new operation, 
  or to enhance an existing operation with 
  shiny, camera-friendly set pieces.
  cameos
  Cameos are instant NPCs suited to 
  the spy thriller genre. Each writeup 
  includes: important abilities, a physical 
  description, a story hint in the text, and 
  the preferred Interpersonal method to 
  win their cooperation. Then come three 
  things they can provide as an asset (for 
  the vampires or for the agents), three 
  clues they possess, and three handles for 
  roleplaying them.
  Remember: the Health ability values 
  for NPCs (just like for player characters) 
  are a factor of drama, not biology. Want 
  Yuri to last a while? Health 6+. Want 
  Yuri to drop fast? He’s a Health 1 or 2 
  mook, or an “infodump kill.” Change the 
  ability ratings listed likewise.
  Arms Dealer
  Athletics 4, Hand-to-Hand 4, Shooting 7
  At the height of the Cold War Yuri moved 
  fifty shipments a week through customs, 
  and a hundred more no one knew about. 
  Arms to Africa, South America, the 
  Middle East – it didn’t matter, the money 
  flowed in and war was a possibility. Now 
  though? It’s all missiles and remote 
  controls and the “art” of war is gone. And 
  he’s enjoying retirement, as you can tell 
  from his silk guayabera, straw trilby, and 
  white linen trousers. You couldn’t afford 
  what he’d charge to handle it personally. 
  What, exactly do you need? (Explosive 
  Devices and Shooting as Interpersonal 
  skills, Negotiate)
  as 
  asset: Access to firearms and 
  explosives; able to bypass customs; 
  access to cargo containers.
  as clue: Smuggled some unmarked 
  containers of “artifacts” out of Saudi 
  Arabia in the 70s; knows where the 
  Russians are meeting down by the 
  docks; knows which customs officials 
  are on the take.
  in play: Out-going, gregarious to the 
  point of manic, you’re always happy 
  to see everyone … and make a deal; 
  everything is big, broad gestures and 
  wide smiles, like everyone is an old 
  friend or relative; your accent has all 
  but vanished, thanks to too many trips 
  to the States.
  Auto Mechanic
  Hand-to-Hand 3, Mechanics 8, 
  Preparedness 2, Weapons 3
  Oil-stained and always reeking of 
  cigarette smoke, Robbie wears blue, 
  constantly dirty coveralls. He denies that 
  he’s getting too old for the job, that his 
  knees don’t ache every morning and that 
  the cough he’s developing isn’t getting 
  worse. But there’s no one better with 
  a socket wrench, and he’ll tell you all 
  about it if you offer him a light. Somehow, 
  some way, he’s always got room at the 
  shop for the car and always knows which 
  part to replace without any of them fancy 
  computers. A real gearhead and the last 
  of the hard-smoking, hard-living man’s 
  men. (Mechanics or Driving used as an 
  Interpersonal ability)
  as asset: Cars available at his shop; 
  access to registration and repair 
  databases; full supply of tools for 
  Mechanics and Preparedness.
  as clue: Has modified cars to tint their 
  windows for an “anonymous” client; 
  is on friendly terms with the local 
  mafia toughs; has been doing a lot of 
  repairs on hearses lately.
  in play: Make a face like you’re always 
  going to spit; constantly wring your 
  hands; deliberately nod and cant 
  your head.
  Bookie
  Filch 2, Gambling 6, Hand-to-
  Hand 5, Weapons 3
  alertness modifier: +1
  Alexey doesn’t care if you’re betting 
  on the big game or the outcome of fifty 
  coin tosses; he’s got your action. And if 
  you win, sure he’ll pay. But if you lose, 
  you willpay, one way or another; all those 
  thick rings on his hand aren’t just for 
  decoration. With one eye always on the 
  phone or the game, he’s got more than 
  enough attention to pay to you, shifty. 
  He’s not above throwing down, but calm 
  down, you’re interrupting the game. 
  (Gambling, Intimidation, Streetwise)
  
  93
  elements  n  cameos
  as asset: Access to money laundering; 
  leads on other people’s gambling 
  habits; knows a guy who knows a guy 
  who can get you a handgun or two, no 
  questions asked.
  as clue: Saw a guy like the one you 
  described down at the track last week; 
  has the address of that guy’s girlfriend; 
  got that phone number you wanted.
  in play: Crack your knuckles when 
  comfortable or when uncomfortable; 
  never let them know you’re a pent-
  up spring just waiting for a reason to 
  strike; keep an eye on whatever game 
  is going on at the time – it’s more 
  important.
  Building Superintendent
  Conceal 3, Infiltration 2, Mechanics 2
  It’s not that Branko is a bad man, he’s 
  just apathetic. Always wearing a stained 
  sweat suit, unshaven, and reeking of 
  Gitanes and cheap slivovitz, his building 
  slowly falls apart around him. But he’s 
  been super in this building for a while, 
  and he’s seen the neighborhood change 
  … and not for the better. (Cop Talk, 
  Intimidation, Negotiation)
  as asset: Has plans to his and several 
  other apartment buildings in the 
  neighborhood; can bypass a variety 
  of non-electronic locks; keeps an 
  apartment unrented for “emergencies.”
  as clue: Just rented a pair of rooms to 
  some very pale people; knows which 
  moving company comes at night; gets 
  his slivovitz from an Albanian informant.
  in play: Look blearily between the players 
  without focusing; ask them to repeat 
  things; take apart an imaginary cigarette 
  between your fingers; drink often.
  Bureaucrat
  Athletics 4 (gym membership)
  Lara didn’t expect this job when she 
  graduated from college, but it’s better 
  than living at home with her mother. She 
  epitomizes paper-pusher, working in a 
  basement office that time forgot. Neat, 
  thin, blonde, and pretty, she is officious 
  and far too serious for her age. She still 
  dresses for the job she wants: a little too 
  much personality in the scarf and belt. 
  (Bureaucracy, Flattery, Reassurance)
  as asset: Access to government forms 
  and blanks for forgeries; friends in 
  other departments who can do favors 
  and bury reports; can wave people 
  past security checkpoints in the 
  government complex.
  as clue: Stamped some questionable 
  documents for the Somalis three days 
  ago on instructions from way upstairs; 
  knows which security guard is a drunk; 
  someone in the department receives 
  weird phone calls weekly.
  in play: There’s a place for everything, 
  and everything in its place; pick lint 
  off your knees and lap; explain in a 
  patient voice why that can’t happen.
  Car Thief
  Athletics 8, Driving 4, Infiltration 
  4, Mechanics 4
  alertness modifier: +1,
  stealth modifier: +1
  No car is an obstacle for you, Marco. 
  You get paid in cash every night and every 
  night is just the right amount of thrills and 
  laughs. Sure you have to kick ten percent 
  up to the manager when your shift is over, 
  but that’s a small price to pay for having 
  this much fun and getting to dress this 
  flash. (Intimidation, Streetwise, Driving 
  as an Interpersonal ability)
  as asset: Access to cars and motorcycles; 
  able to duplicate keys and alarm codes 
  for cars; connections with chop shops 
  and fences.
  as clue: Saw some mooks loading a truck 
  with a coffin the other night; heard 
  some Serbians talking about renting 
  some 
  construction 
  equipment; 
  knows where the Jamaicans are 
  stashing their weapons.
  in play: Relax, this is all a game; you 
  look older than fifteen if you flex; 
  keep that hat straight, nobody’ll treat 
  you right if you don’t look cool.
  Chop Shop ’Manager’
  Athletics 5, Driving 4, 
  Infiltration 5, Hand-to-Hand 
  4, Shooting 4, Weapons 4
  There’s not a car around he or his boys 
  haven’t boosted, gotten into or sold for 
  scrap. Stefano has seen the imports 
  before you have, and he knows exactly 
  how many horses the new Italian model 
  sports under the hood. Don’t confuse 
  him for a gangbanger though, he’s a man 
  of ambition – after all he “manages” a 
  pack (maybe 6 -10, who knows really) 
  of car “aficionados.” That’s why he 
  wears a Hugo Boss suit. (Bureaucracy, 
  Negotiation)
  as asset: Access to cars and motorcycles; 
  access to car shipping manifests; access 
  to the pier where the cars come in.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  94
  as clue: Boosted a car the other night 
  that had something in the trunk; sold 
  some heavy trucks to some yakuza 
  last night; dropped off an SUV to a 
  cemetery early this morning.
  in play: Confident and mature, every 
  day is a chance to remind people that 
  you’re a businessman first and a car 
  thief second; square your shoulders, 
  make a fist; the bravado in your voice 
  isn’t all false.
  Cold War Veteran
  Athletics 5, Driving 4, Hand-to-Hand 4, 
  Shooting 4, Surveillance 8, Weapons 3
  alertness modifier: +1
  To hear Chad tell it, he personally 
  knocked down the Berlin Wall. Of 
  course, Chad has to know you’re the 
  right kind of people before he tells it; 
  operational security is still the name 
  of the game, amirite? Three decades 
  in Europe hasn’t washed the Yale out 
  of his accent, but he dresses Armani 
  not Brooks Brothers. Money stuck to 
  him somehow (along with about thirty 
  extra pounds), and he’s always happy to 
  help it stick to friends. Or Americans. 
  Or friends of Americans. Have another 
  bourbon, why don’t you? (Flattery, High 
  Society, Tradecraft)
  as asset: Old friends in the Company 
  and the Cousins who take his calls; a 
  surprisingly non-bullshit take on the 
  real power structure in Europe now; 
  secret bank accounts and an obliging 
  friend in Andorra who handles the cash.
  as clue: Knows which Stasi officials 
  vanished 
  completely 
  in 
  1989; 
  heard the real scoop on the coup in 
  Bucharest; handled a handshake just 
  the other week between an old MI6 
  colleague and a real up-and-comer in 
  multinational pharmaceuticals.
  in play: Call people “pal” and “friend”; 
  smile too much; set your shoulders 
  and upper arms expansively, you 
  command here.
  Conspiracy Theorist 
  Digital Intrusion 2, Preparedness 2,  
  Sense Trouble 3
  Thierry might live in a basement 
  apartment. He might be thought of as 
  a loser. But no one knows the ins-and-
  outs of secret government labs and 
  who-shot-who-when the way he does. 
  He wears collared shirts and creased 
  pants, both too tight. Pale, overweight, 
  and a little gross in his habits, he’s got his 
  finger on the pulse of the shadow world 
  … or does he? (Flattery, Reassurance, 
  Tradecraft talk used to impress)
  as asset: Lifetime of research into 
  conspiracies (2-point pool in any of 
  Bureaucracy, Criminology, History, 
  Research, or Traffic Analysis for 
  purposes of mapping Conspyramid or 
  tracing Conspiracy); online network 
  of similarly obsessed weirdos all 
  over the world; hoards old discarded 
  government files.
  as clue: Believes he has found a war-
  criminal Serbian colonel who knows 
  something; found a link on the 
  Adversary Map that you haven’t; 
  believes he found the connection 
  between smuggled guns and an art 
  dealer downtown.
  in play: Talk constantly; jerk your head 
  around or thrust it forward urgently; 
  wet your lips just before saying 
  anything of value.
  Customs Agent
  Athletics 4, Digital Intrusion 
  3, Infiltration 2
  alertness modifier: +1
  Gianna is a thin, tanned woman who 
  looks more like a tennis coach than 
  a customs agent. She walks like she’s 
  always going into a stiff wind, and always 
  makes a face like she’s disbelieving a 
  surprise party. She’s crafty, thinks she’s 
  smarter than you, and always wants facts. 
  Even out of uniform, she’s in uniform. 
  (Bureaucracy, Law)
  as asset: Access to shipping manifests; 
  access to bonded warehouses, 
  docks, and shipping containers; can 
  bury paperwork.
  as clue: Knows where the Turkish 
  cargo containers are; knows who the 
  corrupt longshoremen and stevedores 
  are; heard about a weird shipment 
  coming in tonight at midnight.
  in play: Move slightly hunched over; 
  never crack a smile, this is serious work, 
  damnit; keep your gestures small like 
  your arms are tied to your chest.
  Disgraced Doctor
  Athletics 6, Conceal 2, Medic 6
  Rielle knew her days were numbered 
  during med school. The Oxycontin 
  addiction was getting out of hand, even 
  for her standards, and she really didn’t 
  want to put out a shingle and spend fifty 
  years wiping snotty noses and listening 
  to old people complain about lumbago or 
  gout. So she just never “applied herself” 
  and after she graduated, she never went 
  on interviews. Which is fine, interviews 
  are for suckers. She dresses down; jeans 
  and sweat shirts, just like residency. 
  (Intimidation, Streetwise)
  as 
  asset: Access to narcotics and 
  tranquilizers; able to patch you up, no 
  questions asked; can perform autopsies 
  and determine causes of death.
  as clue: Saw a body leave a morgue after 
  the autopsy; stitched up a few Serbians 
  after a gun fight a week ago; prescribed 
  some – okay, a lot -- of painkillers to a 
  ranking Russian gangster.
  in play: Nervous and high strung, you’re 
  forever waiting for the other shoe to 
  drop; keep looking around the corner 
  for the unpleasant surprise; sniffle, 
  scratch, and tic your way through 
  most conversations.
  Ex-Con Forger
  Athletics 8, Disguise 3, Forgery 
  4, Sense Trouble 4
  alertness modifier: +1
  Tim is seven months out of prison after 
  three years in lockdown for selling fake 
  passports online. His track suit is new, 
  as are his gold teeth. He swears he’s 
  clean, but you know better. No one 
  that good can stay out of the game for 
  long. He’s skinnier than a crackhead, and 
  prison made him strong and lean. And 
  paranoid. (Reassurance, Streetwise)
  
  95
  elements  n  cameos
  as asset: Access to forged documents 
  and forging equipment; can help with 
  cover identities; still wired in with the 
  prisoner hierarchy. 
  as clue: Sold a batch of passports to 
  a Congolese death squad; forged 
  customs documents to ferry a shipment 
  of dirt into the U.K.; changed the 
  timestamps on surveillance photos to 
  get some Sicilians an alibi.
  in play: Be nervous, high-strung, and 
  jumpy; subconsciously “write” with 
  a pen or scriber; avoid making big 
  gestures as they can be threatening.
  Gym Rat
  Athletics 9, Hand-to-Hand 8, Medic 
  2, Sense Trouble 3, Weapons 5
  alertness modifier: +1
  Still in great shape, Willem is toned and 
  strong. It was just a misunderstanding 
  that got him fired from that bodyguarding 
  gig; another will come along if he keeps 
  himself ready for it. He carries himself as 
  though still on the job and that’s usually 
  enough of a deterrent for most folk. He’s 
  often found in a track suit or workout 
  clothes lately, always on his way to or 
  from the gym. (Flattery, Negotiation)
  as asset: Access to intimate client details; 
  good knowledge of security protocols 
  and plans; good man in a fight.
  as clue: Overheard two guys at the 
  gym talk about a drug shipment; 
  knows where the weak spot is in the 
  local bank security system; stopped 
  a strange mugging by the waterfront 
  just before he got fired from his 
  bodyguarding gig.
  in play: Try not to be too menacing; flex 
  often, drink water if you have any; 
  mention how many reps you did in 
  random conversations.
  Hacker
  Digital Intrusion 6, Disguise 3, 
  Infiltration 2, Mechanics 4
  alertness modifier: +1 
  (non-visual only)
  Isaiah wasn’t always blind, but he also 
  wasn’t always a criminal. He dresses in 
  all black; he can’t coordinate colors, and 
  doesn’t want to look like a clown. When 
  his eyesight went, he turned to hacking 
  as a way to cover his medical costs. 
  And his love of travel. And his dislike 
  for insurance companies. (Negotiation, 
  Reassurance)
  as asset: Can build and check wiretaps; 
  keeps up-to-date accounts of latest 
  intrusion gear; can help create false 
  online identities.
  as clue: Was harassed by a Conspiracy 
  enforcer; overheard a conversation he 
  shouldn’t have; has found a node on 
  the dark net with a lot of weird traffic 
  in and out.
  in play: Pick a direction and look only 
  there; keenly focus on what’s around 
  you; move your head with every 
  sound; keep your voice even and flat.
  High-End Escort
  Athletics 3, Filch 3, Weapons 2
  Britney (née Bridget) does not care 
  who knows what she does for a living. 
  For a reasonably large fee, she provides 
  men (and women) with companionship 
  for the evening. What started off as a way 
  to make money after uni bloomed into 
  a career that has seen her on the arms 
  of CEOs, footballers, and celebrities. 
  Tall, brunette and exotic, she is used to 
  having all eyes on her. A little red dress 
  trumps a little black dress any time. 
  (Cop Talk, High Society)
  as asset: Able to get into embassy 
  functions; has access to clients’ 
  intimate details; access to cash quickly.
  as clue: Knows the security details 
  for some respected Italians’ security 
  detail; talked to a Saudi prince about 
  ancient artifacts last night; you would 
  not believe the kind of weird shit this 
  reclusive Romanian billionaire is into.
  in play: Cool, polite, superficially 
  interested; flick eyes up and down, 
  find nothing particularly appealing; 
  regularly check your nails and hair.
  Local Law Enforcement
  Athletics 4, Driving 4, Preparedness 2, 
  Shooting 4, Surveillance 4, Weapons 4
  alertness modifier: +1
  Not much gets past Werner. Sure, he’s 
  only a local cop, but he’s savvy and he’s 
  a careful observer of things around him. 
  His nondescript taupe-grey suit keeps 
  him in the background until he wants 
  to emerge. He’s not out of his depth in 
  a fight, and he’s a pretty good defender 
  of the law. (Cop Talk, Law)
  as asset: Access to police reports, cold 
  cases, evidence lockers; can run 
  background checks on people or 
  vehicles; can put out a BOLO.
  as clue: Has an informant who’s on the 
  fringe of the Russian Mafiya; has seen 
  an awful lot of hearses driving around 
  lately; heard about the big Moroccan 
  “deal” going down tonight.
  in play: Move with a purpose; keep 
  every answer short and direct; nod 
  over your shoulder to see what could 
  be coming up behind you.
  Longshoreman
  Athletics 9, Conceal 5, Hand-to-
  Hand 6, Mechanics 2, Weapons 2
  Tanned by the weather, grizzled Erik 
  wears a slick vinyl parka over dull clothes. 
  He holds himself ready, a bit hunched 
  over. His eyes size you up behind his 
  cigarette smoke; he’s done enough off-
  the-books deals and seen enough strange 
  cargo come in to know you’re not here 
  by coincidence. He’s had to cover for too 
  many weaklings to have patience with 
  them at his age; only if you seem tough 
  will he pay attention, but not if you try 
  to bully him (Athletics or Hand-to-Hand 
  used as an Interpersonal ability).
  as asset: Access to cargo before inspection; 
  access to ships; use of heavy cranes.
  as clue: Saw a coffin unloaded; knows who 
  the mafiya stooge in the union is; knows 
  which warehouse the Chechens use.
  in play: Squint against the sunlight off 
  the water; hunch your shoulders like 
  you’re about to pick up a heavy object; 
  steal a quick look over the player’s 
  shoulder to see who’s backing him up.
  Occult Bookstore Owner
  Conceal 2, Surveillance 2
  Brendan’s shop is small, tucked back 
  down a side street next to a dry cleaner 
  and an appliance repair shop. He likes it 
  that way – he knows his usual customers 
  and they don’t mind the fact that he always 
  looks like he’s been asleep in the back. His 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  96
  cardigans are thirty years out of date, and 
  he’s got a bad comb-over, but there’s no 
  better researcher outside the University. 
  (Flattery, Negotiation, Occult Studies 
  used as Interpersonal ability)
  as asset: Has access to rare and old books 
  (2-point pool in any of Occult Studies, 
  History, Vampirology); knows local 
  (and online) occult and weirdo scene; 
  shop sits near a ley line or place of 
  power.
  as clue: Knows who bought up that 
  trove 
  of 
  17th-century 
  Dracula 
  pamphlets that surfaced in Hanover; 
  sold a series of old texts to a coven of 
  witches last week; his is the only shop 
  in his neighborhood not yet robbed in 
  the dead of night.
  in play: Your hands ache from holding 
  books all day; your eyesight is starting 
  to wane, so peer nearsightedly; sigh, 
  take off your glasses, and rub the sides 
  of your nose.
  Public Defender
  Athletics 4, Hand-to-Hand 2, 
  Weapons 2 (mace)
  Danielle is a hungry lawyer, determined 
  to change the world, one case at a time. 
  Her expensive shoes might look good, 
  but they’re murder on her feet. She’s 
  active, exhausted and more determined 
  than a hungry dog with a bone. (Cop 
  Talk, Law)
  as asset: access to court dockets, 
  prisoners, and courthouse rooms; on 
  good terms with several judges; can 
  get writs and stays.
  as clue: Got a Belgian off on a charge 
  of art fraud, but he disappeared 
  soon after; knows who really killed 
  Ivor Korbuyshev but can’t prove it; 
  attends a church where the priest was 
  attacked during a baptism.
  in play: Your hair is in your face; square 
  your shoulders; don’t snap at people, 
  no be patient, they can’t help it, don’t 
  snap at people.
  Retired Cop turned Enforcer
  Hand-to-Hand 4, Sense Trouble 
  6, Shooting 4, Weapons 6
  alertness modifier: +1
  Michel has lived a hard life. He walked 
  a beat for twenty years and finally made 
  detective. Then he took a bullet in the 
  knee. Now thanks to three operations 
  and his age, he’s on the outside looking 
  in, so why not do a little moonlighting 
  as a legbreaker? It beats going to the 
  gym. He dresses like a cop: cheap poly-
  blend suits. (Cop Talk, Negotiation, 
  Streetwise)
  as asset: Can call off the cops to buy 
  you some time; can help you clean up 
  a crime scene; knows the best way to 
  avoid underworld entanglements.
  as clue: Heard about the Russians on 
  the police scanner this morning; 
  remembers a cold case involving 
  something stolen; knew a guy on the 
  force who went toe-to-toe with a 
  “monster” and lived.
  in play: Gruff, weathered and weary, 
  you’re always looking for the path of 
  least resistance; sitting is a premium, 
  lower yourself into the chair with a 
  thud; look down your nose at people 
  who just talk the talk.
  Retired Secretary
  Digital Intrusion 2, Sense Trouble 4,  
  Preparedness 2
  For years, Elena served her employer 
  faithfully, working long hours doing 
  administrative and secretarial tasks. Now 
  she’s retired, into her “golden years” 
  someone told her, but she’s still crack-
  whip sharp and smart and remembers 
  far more than she lets on. She may look 
  like someone’s kind grandmother, but 
  there’s a twinkle to her eye that suggests 
  she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve. 
  (Flattery, Negotiation)
  as asset: Can dig back through old files 
  to find information; has access to old 
  rolodexes and schedules; knows how 
  to handle red tape and bureaucracy.
  as clue: Remembers a strange meeting 
  your old employer took at the embassy; 
  overheard the other secretaries gossiping 
  once about a meeting with the Japanese; 
  was once told to make a whole set of 
  files “disappear” … she didn’t.
  in play: You’re sweet as punch and twice 
  as nice; every quaver in the voice comes 
  with a twinkle in the eye; smile nearly 
  constantly; call everyone “dearie.”
  Second-Story Man
  Athletics 6, Conceal 3, Filch 
  4, Infiltration 4
  stealth modifier: +1
  Narciso worked Monte Carlo as a 
  dealer for years, until the robbery. He 
  didn’t plan it, mind you, but he wasn’t 
  exactly as innocent as he let on. He 
  wears a clean suit and dark shirt, always. 
  There’s something calculating behind his 
  eyes. He’s observant and always one step 
  ahead. (Reassurance, Negotiation)
  as asset: Can provide codes for security 
  systems; knows the best way to break 
  into any vault or system; has access to 
  B&E equipment.
  as clue: Saw a coffin get loaded into a 
  hotel freight elevator; overheard the 
  Polish cleaning staff talking about 
  avoiding the twelfth floor; knows the 
  Corsicans just installed a J-Master 
  6000 security system.
  in play: Be smoother than good whiskey, 
  you’re no thug; play with the cuffs on 
  your shirt as you talk; always make 
  strong eye contact when you talk 
  about Infiltration.
  Street Thug
  Athletics 4, Driving 2, 
  Shooting 4, Weapons 2
  Jamal grew up on some hard streets. 
  Escaped from foster care, he’s always in 
  secondhand clothes that are either too 
  big or too small. When he got his first 
  gun and robbed his first liquor store, he 
  knew he found his calling. Now Jamal’s 
  an “entrepreneur” dabbling in boosting 
  cars and drive-bys. (Flattery, Flirting, 
  Intimidation, Streetwise)
  as asset: Access to untraceable guns; 
  access to safehouse; keeps a small 
  circle of street informants.
  as clue: Got chased off a corner by some 
  tatted-up Russians; knows an old 
  building with blacked-out windows 
  
  97
  elements  n  cameos
  but no drugs; saw some ghul (like 
  from grandfather’s stories) leave a 
  cemetery last night.
  in play: Trust no one, especially not 
  an authority figure; touch your coat 
  pocket or under your shirt for the 
  gun you always keep there; be ready 
  to run, because it can always be a trap.
  Television Reporter
  Athletics 2, Driving 3, Surveillance 3
  Tod covers local stories, going on 
  remote after remote to the back end of 
  the market. He hates it. He wants to be 
  the lead anchor, and he’s always looking 
  for the big story to break. His teeth are 
  bleached too white, his neckties are 
  always a little too ugly, and he always 
  sounds like he’s “on camera.” (Flattery, 
  Flirting, Intimidation)
  as asset: Access to news reports; 
  access to television and recording 
  equipment; growing list of sources 
  for stories.
  as clue: Researched a story two months 
  ago about a rash of robberies at 
  walk-in clinics; has notes about the 
  rise of bloody crimes down by the 
  docks; filmed hilarious “filler” story 
  about drunks seeing bloody ghosts 
  downtown.
  in play: Smile a lot, as if there’s a lens 
  flare off your front teeth; you’re not 
  easily impressed but you’re willing 
  to gladhand; assume everyone knows 
  and loves you.
  Truck Driver
  Conceal 2, Driving 5, Weapons 2
  Oguz is used to long hours and big 
  stretches of alone time. Always in dusty 
  jeans and a beat-up flat cap, he roams 
  the motorways of Europe, working 
  irregular hours delivering whatever’s 
  given to him, no questions asked. As 
  a Turk, he knows the cops don’t plan 
  to help him any time soon; he returns 
  the favor with interest. (Intimidation, 
  Negotiation, Reassurance)
  as asset: Can transport personnel and 
  equipment without detection; knows 
  off-the-path motels and safehouses; 
  access to trucks and trailers.
  as clue: Has hauled some strange 
  containers out of the Balkans lately; 
  knows which trucks the Triads use 
  for smuggling; overheard a rumor 
  about some “connected” Georgians 
  muscling into the docks.
  in play: Spit often, and wipe your brow 
  when you disbelieve what you hear; 
  always look a little surprised; shrug 
  and look away.
  Vampire-Enthralled Goth
  Conceal 2, Filch 2, Notice 2
  When Kristina met Her, the world 
  seemed to stop. She was mesmerizing, and 
  Kristina never stood a chance. From the 
  first kiss to the first weekend in bed, to last 
  week, Kristina has been little more than a 
  meal and a cheap fling to the One who she 
  knows so little about. But she wouldn’t 
  have it any other way. (Vampirology used 
  as Interpersonal ability, Intimidation, 
  really anything violent)
  as asset: Has a direct line to a vampire; 
  connections to club scene; doesn’t 
  look like a spy.
  as clue: Knows habits and perhaps 
  weaknesses of vampires; knows 
  identity or can describe a vampire; 
  overheard conversation with Renfield 
  security about future deployments.
  in play: Shift in your seat to the beat you 
  hear; twitch your leg back and forth; 
  keep tone of voice over-serious to 
  convince people that you’re like for real.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  98
  The Director can set scenes in these 
  instant locations, run the thriller action 
  montage right through them, or just 
  sprinkle them into her subconscious. 
  Each Establishing Shot includes a quick 
  “stock footage” description, followed 
  by the extras (and any Cameos) you 
  might run into there, three clues, and 
  any sensible rules effects. Then three 
  elements of the location to use in a fight, 
  and three elements of the location to use 
  in a chase. (The type of Thriller Chase 
  appears in parentheses: Open, Normal, 
  Cramped.)
  24-Hour Seedy Diner
  “More coffee, hon?” You push your 
  chipped porcelain mug towards the 
  middle-aged waitress. It’s 3 a.m. and 
  she looks tired, her face lined and her 
  eyes heavy. The nametag pinned to her 
  apron reads “Elizaveta.” The only other 
  employee visible is an overweight fry 
  cook muttering to himself back behind 
  the counter, ranting self-obsessively 
  about political conspiracies as he tosses 
  another two burgers onto the grill. Say 
  what you want, he makes delicious food. 
  He drags on his cigarette, pulls fries out 
  of the deep fat fryer, ducks into the 
  walk-in fridge for some supplies, and 
  reflexively spins his spatula in one hand 
  before checking the rare, rare burgers.
  The bench-style booths here are 
  covered with torn and soiled vinyl. 
  Metal chairs are scattered around each 
  of the smaller tables. Old and faded 
  photographs of long-time patrons are 
  taped to the walls, lit up by the flickering 
  neon from the sign outside. The diner 
  isn’t large; it’s T-shaped, with stools at a 
  long counter in front of the front door 
  and a side dining room with more seating. 
  There are bathrooms back there around 
  to the side, but it’s not recommended 
  that you spend a lot of time in them. 
  They have a certain distinct odor that 
  may stick with you for a while. There’s 
  a pay phone back there too, and a utility 
  closet containing a mop and a whole lot 
  of bleach. No security cameras, though.
  extras and cameos: Exhausted 
  or exhilarated late-nighters, 
  insane fry cook, sarcastic 
  waitress; Longshoreman (on 
  his way to work), Truck Driver, 
  Vampire-Enthralled Goth.
  clues: Secrets scrawled on napkins; 
  a late-night private meeting over 
  coffee; a distinct lack of mirrors.
  rules effects: There’s something 
  about an old diner that feels like 
  home. All agents with lost Stability 
  points gain 2 back, as if an ally 
  had spent 1 point of Shrink.
  in a fight: Pots of hot coffee, 
  flung into faces; deep fat 
  fryer; buckets of bleach.
  in a chase: Slide down the counter; 
  leap through plate glass window 
  into parking lot; many convenient 
  vehicles for car-jacking. (Cramped)
  Big-Box Hardware Store
  They’re in almost every town in the 
  nation. Flat and sprawling, carrying 
  nearly any construction tool or device 
  you could think of, along with quite a 
  few that you’ve never heard of. The 
  employees are usually retired craftsmen 
  themselves, working under a high 
  ceiling that allows space for a multitude 
  of massive shelves.
  extras and cameos: Newly 
  returned combat veteran is a brand 
  new employee-in-training, cheerful 
  homeowners shop for kitchen 
  cabinets, burned spy seeks tools to 
  use with his Mechanics ability; Auto 
  Mechanic, Local Law Enforcement 
  (off duty), Longshoreman.
  clues: Terrorists buy components 
  for improvised weapons; blood-
  drained corpse secreted in a 
  large pot in the Garden Center; 
  window shades bought out by 
  someone needing to block sunlight 
  from every room in a house.
  rules effects: The Difficulty of 
  Preparedness and Mechanics checks 
  is lower by 1 while inside the store. 
  in a fight: Wooden fence pickets 
  double as stakes; hatchets and 
  hammers and chainsaws in abundance; 
  nail-guns make impromptu weapons. 
  (See Tools as Weapons, p. 44)
  in a chase: Drive a forklift 
  through the aisles; thrown 
  paint can briefly blind; climb 
  shelves to hide. (Cramped)
  Carnival
  The smell of fried food and cotton candy 
  fills the air, and carnival barkers call out 
  to you as you stride past their booths. It’s 
  a warm summer night and the carnival is 
  packed to the edges. Children scream on 
  half-sized roller coasters and teenagers 
  pause in the shadows, exchanging 
  hurried kisses while their parents hunt 
  for them in exasperation. This carnival 
  tours where the tourists don’t, and 
  wherever it goes children vanish in its 
  wake. None are ever found.
  extras and cameos: Screaming 
  children, sleazy carnies, disguised 
  clowns; Building Superintendent (as 
  ride mechanic), Car Thief (as teen 
  troublemaker/joyrider), Retired 
  Secretary (with her grandnephews).
  clues: A carnival booth’s prize is 
  more than it appears; disappearing 
  teenagers mark this as a vampire’s 
  hunting ground; the mannequins 
  in the haunted house ride (or wax 
  museum show) are eerily realistic.
  rules effects: It’s easy to hide in 
  the crowd. If you have any points in 
  Surveillance, gain a free 3-point pool 
  refresh at any point in the scene.
  in a fight: Off-duty cops struggle 
  to draw their sidearms; whirling 
  machinery makes short work 
  of mooks; carnival booths with 
  huge throwing darts provide 
  impromptu weaponry.
  in a chase: Clamber up the 
  Ferris wheel; lurk in ambush in 
  the tunnel of love; disappear into 
  the hall of mirrors. (Normal)
  establishing shots
  
  99
  elements  n  establishing shots
  Casino
  The jangling crash of slot machines fills 
  the air. You’re surrounded by mass-
  market elegance, a vast honey trap 
  designed to separate tourists from 
  their money in a thousand little ways. 
  Gorgeous couples saunter past towards 
  the high-stakes tables, and tourists 
  wearing Hawaiian shirts sit at slot 
  machines and mechanically press the 
  buttons to the sound of bells and chimes. 
  Gossip in a dozen languages hangs as 
  thick as the cigarette smoke.
  extras and cameos: Musclebound 
  pit security, cheerful cocktail 
  waitress, watchful dealer; Arms 
  Dealer, Cold War Veteran, High-
  End Escort, Retired Cop turned 
  Enforcer, Second-Story Man.
  clues: A personal marker signed 
  by a person of interest; the 
  best bodyguard (or hit man) in 
  Montenegro is here; eye contact 
  between a dealer, a guard, and a 
  gambler indicates a grift in process.
  rules effects: Omnipresent mirrors 
  lower Surveillance Difficulties by 
  1. Omnipresent cameras raise 
  Infiltration and Filch Difficulties by 
  1; also raise Heat of anything you 
  pull here by +1. Agents with the 
  Gambling ability can roll a die: on 
  a 1, lose 2 points from Gambling; 
  on a 2-5, gain 1 on even and lose 1 
  on odd; on a 6, refresh 3 points.
  in a fight: Spare gun as close as the 
  nearest tuxedoed goon; handfuls of 
  chips make a fine distraction; there’s 
  alcohol and fire everywhere, really.
  in a chase: Steal the prominent 
  “You could win this car!” sports 
  car; run across the tables to make 
  a stir and kick over piles of chips 
  to tangle your wake; push through 
  massive kitchens, cleverly connected 
  to one another. (Normal)
  Catacombs
  Stone walls press in from all sides. The 
  old metal gate led underneath the city, 
  where the bones from seven graveyards 
  were brought after reconstruction 
  uprooted one cemetery after another. 
  City renewal didn’t allow time for 
  niceties like keeping corpses in one piece. 
  The reverent monks took pity on the 
  scattered bones, and now catacombs lead 
  from room to room, tunnel to tunnel, 
  each a masterpiece of carefully stacked 
  femurs and skulls and pelvis bones. This 
  is morbid art, and tourists shuffle along 
  beside you through the carefully marked 
  tunnels, surreptitiously taking photos in 
  the cold damp air and wishing they were 
  someplace else. Tunnels that are marked 
  as “off limits” fire the imagination. Are 
  they unsafe? A staircase leads down into 
  a flooded level, equally full of bones now 
  inaccessible to anyone without diving 
  apparatus and strong intestinal fortitude.
  extras and cameos: A vampire 
  visiting the remains of old prey, 
  disquieted tourists, a solitary priest, 
  rebellious teenaged explorers; 
  Bureaucrat (as officious tour 
  guide), Occult Bookstore Owner, 
  Vampire-Enthralled Goth.
  clues: Surreptitious graffiti leading 
  to off-limits rooms; secret door 
  behind a wall of skulls; fresh bones 
  mixed in with the ancient.
  rules effects: Forensic Pathology 
  indicates the approximate age 
  of a bone, revealing whether 
  vampires are stashing inconvenient 
  corpses in plain sight. Occult 
  Studies indicates whether they’re 
  being stashed in a pattern.
  in a fight: Femurs used as clubs; 
  gunshot or grenade triggers sudden 
  collapses of floor or ceiling; undead 
  rising from flooded tunnels.
  in a chase: Closed iron grates block 
  your path; duck into hidden rooms 
  long forgotten by the catacombs’ 
  administrators; hide underneath 
  a pile of thousands of bones in 
  the sorting rooms. (Cramped)
  Cornfield
  The field must stretch for miles. The 
  stalks of ripe corn grow from rich 
  brown dirt and rise above your head. 
  It’s impossible to see anything beyond 
  the row of corn that you’re currently 
  standing in. There’s a farmhouse and 
  barn nearby, but getting lost is as simple 
  as walking for a few rows in a random 
  direction and forgetting which way you 
  came in. You can hear, though: the crop 
  duster overhead, the buzzing of insects, 
  your own labored breathing, and the 
  crashing shouts of the assassins fanning 
  out to find you.
  Note that rye and wheat both grow 
  below head height: outside North 
  America, considerable maize crops grow 
  in China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, France, 
  and the Ukraine, among other places.
  extras and cameos: Local know-
  it-all, naive thug, kind-hearted 
  stranger; Conspiracy Theorist (rural 
  version, add Shooting 5 and shotgun), 
  Disgraced Doctor (as off-the-books 
  plant geneticist), Truck Driver.
  clues: Someone or something is 
  buried out here; fertilizer contains 
  unsavory chemicals; crop circles.
  rules effects: It’s easy to hide 
  when you can’t be seen; add 2 to 
  visual Difficulties, and Infiltration 
  tests to escape notice (except 
  by air) have 1 lower Difficulty. If 
  you have Outdoor Survival, get 1 
  free pool point to spend here.
  in a fight: Attack from hiding; 
  deadly farm implements; confused 
  farmers with shotguns.
  in a chase: Hide between rows; 
  catch a ride on a tractor; stay 
  silent and escape. (Open)
  Data Center
  This nerve center for the local high-
  speed Internet concern (or something 
  of that sort) is a series of massive server 
  banks, rows of network engineers 
  solving problems behind workstations, 
  and darkened control rooms where 
  technicians monitor network traffic. 
  Security guards the entrances and the 
  hallways, but the data access it promises 
  is tantalizing. 
  extras and cameos: Brilliant and 
  eccentric computer genius, harried 
  middle managers, government 
  agent arranging for a wiretap; 
  Customs Agent, Hacker, Vampire-
  Enthralled Goth (at hated day job).
  clues: Racks of servers in a frigid 
  room, with a single panel slightly 
  out of place; security programs 
  constantly sniffing out intrusion; a 
  bribed technician working more 
  independently than expected.
  rules effects: Any hacking 
  done here becomes much easier. 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  100
  Difficulties for Digital Intrusion 
  become 2 lower while in this 
  facility, assuming you have an 
  access code from an employee.
  in a fight: Monitors explode in 
  sparks; Nerf gun distraction; lengths 
  of cables can strangle or trip.
  in a chase: Topple the monitor 
  and the tower; monitor her 
  flight with extensive electronic 
  surveillance; run between a maze 
  of server banks. (Normal)
  Glass Skyscraper
  It rises from the flat office park around it 
  like a glass spear thrust up from the earth. 
  Something this large has to be multi-
  purpose, and unsurprisingly it includes 
  banks, restaurants, a high-end hotel, 
  gyms, and endless offices. Sixteen high-
  speed elevators in four main elevator 
  banks give access to every floor, assuming 
  you can slide past the moderately bored 
  officers at the security desk.
  extras and cameos: Office 
  workers, cautious window washers, 
  obsequious hotel receptionists; 
  Building Superintendent (as janitor), 
  Hacker, Retired Cop turned 
  Enforcer (as security guard).
  clues: Penthouse hotel suites 
  with blackened windows and no 
  mirrors; office complexes with 
  high-tech document safes; world-
  class rotating restaurant with a 
  select menu that prominently 
  features the blood of living prey.
  rules effects: It’s hard to guard 
  this large a structure; Infiltration 
  Target Numbers to enter and move 
  about are 1 lower than normal. 
  The outer glass can be climbed 
  with suction gear at Difficulty 5, 
  or without it at Difficulty 9. 
  in a fight: Glass walls shatter, 
  allowing inadvertent falls; helicopters 
  or snipers outside the building can 
  target enemies inside, particularly 
  with rocket launchers; regularly 
  placed fire extinguishers make 
  good improvised weapons.
  in a chase: Climb the side of a 
  high-speed elevator shaft with deadly 
  elevators shooting back and forth; 
  jump and run down seemingly endless 
  stairwells; evade the armed building 
  security tasked with arresting all 
  troublemakers nearby. (Normal)
  Gondola
  The small gondola dangles more than 
  a hundred feet above the mountainside 
  below, swaying in the wind as it passes 
  support pylons on its way up the slope 
  of the extinct volcano. From here you 
  can see the popular tourist hotel at the 
  summit; look down, and you can see 
  cruise ships at anchor in the harbor 
  below. Other cable cars are strung out 
  along the cable like pearls on a necklace. 
  extras and cameos: Outspoken 
  tourist, mysterious contact, acrobatic 
  gunman; Arms Dealer, Retired 
  Secretary, Second-Story Man.
  clues: Secrets whispered amidst 
  mid-air privacy; packages secreted 
  beneath a specific car’s seats; the 
  site of an impossible assassination.
  rules effects: The gondola’s cable 
  is sharp and frayed; Athletics rolls 
  to slide down the cable have their 
  Target number lowered by 1 if a 
  belt or wire is used as the slide, and 
  raised by 1 if the agent is trying to 
  only use his hands. Targets hidden 
  by a cable car’s walls have Cover.
  in a fight: Gondolas can be used as 
  sniping platforms, especially against 
  enemies in other cars going the 
  other way; dangle half out a car while 
  struggling; throw foes to their death.
  in a chase: Leap onto a 
  support pylon; cling to the 
  outside of a gondola; slide 
  down a cable. (Cramped)
  High-Speed Train
  The bustling, modern station is rapidly 
  left behind as your streamlined bullet 
  train pulls away. Only six carriages 
  long, it is a marvel of gleaming steel 
  and tapered aerodynamics that routinely 
  travels over 350 kph. The government 
  has conducted multiple campaigns to 
  increase speed, and it shows; the verdant 
  countryside shoots past you as you 
  lounge in a comfortable, reclining seat. 
  Somewhere on this train is the quarry 
  you need to find; hopefully, she isn’t 
  clinging to the outside roof.
  extras and cameos: Introverted 
  businessperson, eager backpackers, 
  honeymooning couple; Cold 
  War Veteran, Conspiracy 
  Theorist, High-End Escort.
  clues: A fast escape without an 
  airline’s scrutiny; a private train 
  carriage filled with coffins; a 
  ticket that doesn’t match the 
  monogrammed Vuitton luggage.
  rules effects: Explosives detonated 
  on a high-speed train can be 
  utterly lethal, and not just due to 
  the confined nature and passenger 
  density of the train cars. Any class 
  4 or higher explosion effectively 
  damages everyone (debris range 
  damage plus crash) on a rapidly 
  moving train by causing it to derail.
  in a fight: Unusual luggage provides 
  improvised weapons; screaming 
  mook shields; tunnels plunge the 
  train into momentary darkness.
  in a chase: Watch out for the 
  low-hanging bridge in that 
  rooftop chase; disconnect a train 
  car; long narrow cars limit your 
  options for running. (Cramped)
  Masquerade Ball
  The ballroom of the manor house 
  glitters with crystal and glass. The 
  string orchestra plays on a small stage 
  across from the bar and hors d’oeuvres, 
  and a beautiful and elegantly masked 
  crowd dances and mingles late into the 
  night. The wait staff are in tuxedoes and 
  domino masks, the guests are in (and out 
  of) everything imaginable.
  extras and cameos: Debauched 
  foreign royalty, debonair old 
  world vampires, undercover 
  investigative reporter; Bureaucrat 
  (redirected an invitation for 
  herself), Cold War Veteran, High-
  End Escort, Second-Story Man.
  clues: Masks and costumes that 
  reveal as much as they hide; truths 
  whispered behind fluttering fans 
  by mistake to the wrong mask; 
  darkened rooms that hide terrible 
  secrets or deniable rendezvous.
  rules effects: All agents, whether 
  they have points in Disguise or 
  not, gain 3 free pool points of 
  Disguise for use while at the 
  
  101
  elements  n  establishing shots
  party. Tests (Surveillance, Sense 
  Trouble, etc.) to spot disguised 
  foes are at 2 higher Difficulty.
  in a fight: Confused identity 
  and slow knives; drugged wine or 
  clubbed wine bottles; prop weapons 
  that turn out to not be props.
  in a chase: Stand still and hide 
  in plain sight; climb to the rafters 
  and chandeliers; sprint through 
  the catering kitchen. (Normal)
  Megalomaniac’s Secret Lair
  The mansion is perched at the western 
  edge of the island of the Mediterranean 
  tourist island, so ostentatious you 
  wouldn’t expect it would belong to 
  anyone other than an eccentric multi-
  millionaire. Massive buildings look out 
  onto an active surf and a sea of pristine 
  blue. The main house catches the eye 
  first: a great room large enough to hold 
  a formal ball, a hotel-style kitchen, 
  gorgeous 
  bedrooms 
  with 
  private 
  balconies overlooking the pool and front 
  veranda. The architecture is 19th century 
  designed to look 16th century, with dark 
  wood and wrought iron setting off the 
  numerous paintings of famous pirate 
  ships from throughout history.
  The guest houses are out back, as is 
  the staff housing, security center and 
  small power plant. Garages hold cars and 
  trucks, SCUBA gear, enough food for 
  weeks of isolation. Cameras and locked 
  gates line the property, and employees 
  carry plastic badges that get them 
  through subtle security checkpoints. 
  The interesting rooms are hidden 
  underground. A stone tower on the 
  eastern cliff face may be designed to 
  look like it was built hundreds of years 
  ago, but the circular stairs in the tower 
  drop farther than anyone could guess. 
  They open up to laboratories and 
  libraries and discreet prisons dozens 
  of feet underground. Villainy happens 
  here, hidden by sea breezes and the best 
  security money can buy.
  extras and cameos: Evil and 
  wealthy mastermind, lethal right-
  hand-man, bored and pleasure-
  seeking spouse; Arms Dealer, 
  Cold War Veteran, High-End 
  Escort (in a bikini by the pool).
  clues: A sloppy gate guard lets it slip 
  that people who come in don’t always 
  leave by car; power consumption 
  on the estate is far from normal; 
  construction workers from the 
  estate died mysteriously in their 
  sleep weeks after the job finishes.
  rules effects: Disguise and 
  Infiltration Difficulties to infiltrate 
  the estate are 1 higher than normal, 
  due to the close-knit staff and 
  focus on security. (Might be either a 
  normal or cramped sneak; see p. 81.)
  in a fight: Guards have machine 
  pistols and combat knives; 
  laboratories are full of chemicals 
  and half-human monstrosities; 
  mastermind has a charismatic 
  manner, winning smile, and no 
  combat skill whatsoever.
  in a chase: Notice a speedboat 
  docked on the pier down the 
  cliff path; leap off the cliff into 
  the ocean; jump from the balcony 
  into the pool. (Normal)
  Meth Lab
  The windows to the house are boarded 
  up, but there are definitely inhabitants; 
  discarded bottles and stained coffee 
  filters in the overflowing garbage smell 
  like a mixture of cat urine and rotten 
  eggs. The grass in the back yard is 
  mostly dead. A “Beware of Dog” sign 
  warns people away, but no barking can 
  be heard.
  The inside of the house is filthy, as are 
  the meth-heads whose heads snap up 
  as you come in the door. The chemical 
  smell is worse here. Bottles, canisters, 
  jugs, tubes, and burners line the main 
  workroom, crowded onto small work 
  tables. A large refrigerator is pushed 
  against one wall, and a cooler full of 
  small packets sits near the corner of 
  the room. More than a dozen firearms 
  lie around the house, placed near 
  convenient hiding spots or within easy 
  reach, and the addicts grab for them as 
  soon as they hear you.
  extras and cameos: Strung-
  out meth addict, professional 
  cartel representative, angry and 
  brilliant chemistry teacher; Chop 
  Shop “Manager” (as drug ring 
  “manager”), Disgraced Doctor, 
  Retired Cop turned Enforcer (to 
  collect or to protect), Street Thug.
  clues: Weirdly alert guards; 
  visitors at all hours of the night; 
  non-standard additives slipped 
  in by vampiric chemists.
  rules effects: The lab is one errant 
  cigarette away from exploding. 
  Explosive Devices Difficulties are 
  2 higher here, and any explosion 
  automatically becomes class 4.
  in a fight: Multiple loaded 
  firearms; caustic chemicals thrown 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  102
  in haste; panicked attempts to 
  save the finished drugs. Oh, 
  and a class 4 explosion.
  in a chase: Tip over tables and 
  spill dangerous chemicals; hide 
  (don’t breathe!) in rooms filled with 
  hoarder-level piles of refuse; stay low, 
  boarded windows stop sight lines 
  outside of the house. (Cramped)
  Morgue
  You wonder why morgues always seem 
  to be in the basement. The elevator doors 
  ding open to show you an empty gurney 
  rolled up next to the wall, awaiting its 
  next passenger. A sheet is folded neatly 
  atop it. The smell of formaldehyde fills 
  the air, and the air is chill. The tables in the 
  autopsy room are currently unoccupied, 
  standing vacant with medical equipment 
  and scales nearby, but the drawers in 
  the cold storage room are filled with 
  unidentified corpses. 
  extras and cameos: Creepy 
  forensic scientist, corpse that’s 
  not as dead as you’d hoped, wise-
  cracking medical intern; Disgraced 
  Doctor (perhaps not yet disgraced), 
  Local Law Enforcement, Vampire-
  Enthralled Goth (at beloved day job).
  clues: Bite marks on a corpse’s 
  neck; a knocking coming from 
  inside a closed drawer; a locked 
  drawer in the autopsy file cabinet.
  rules effects: Morgues are 
  difficult places to fight the undead, 
  even when you know to expect 
  trouble. The Difficulty for all Sense 
  Trouble tests is raised by 1 here.
  in a fight: Bone saw (+1); 
  distracting spray of stored blood; 
  sheets to bind and blind.
  in a chase: Roll a gurney into 
  pursuers or ride them past; 
  hammer fruitlessly on the panel 
  for the slow elevators; open 
  oversized air ducts. (Normal)
  Museum
  Statuary, paintings, and the wonders 
  of antiquity surround you on every 
  side. (Or, alternately, weird and garish 
  splashes of color and insane constructions 
  attract chattering wannabes and languid 
  aesthetes alike.) You move along with 
  other tourists, past bored museum 
  guards and sophisticated alarm systems 
  you could easily hack. The museum has 
  high ceilings, a maze of large rooms 
  filled with the detritus of history, and 
  enough museum visitors to make action 
  somewhat problematic.
  extras and cameos: 
  Knowledgeable historian, pretentious 
  art student, clump of foreign tourists; 
  Ex-con Forger, Hacker, Occult 
  Bookstore Owner, Second-Story Man.
  clues: Mysterious carved tablet 
  recently put on display; obscure 
  17th century portrait that looks 
  identical to a well-known billionaire; 
  ancient weapon thick with legends.
  rules effects: Spending a point 
  of Art History allows the agent to 
  befriend a museum administrator 
  or art historian, giving them inside 
  information about how the museum 
  is run. Alarm systems range from 
  Difficulty 2 to 6 against Infiltration 
  tests, depending on the museum 
  and the exhibit. Cinematic jewels 
  or the main prize of the operation, 
  of course, have multiple layers 
  of security and a final, laser-
  filled Difficulty 8 chamber.
  in a fight: Ancient weapons and 
  armor can still be used in combat; 
  priceless statues too easily toppled; 
  poles with velvet ropes still 
  attached, used as crude bludgeons.
  in a chase: Dive through interactive 
  exhibits of video and holograms; 
  lift disguises from the museum gift 
  shop; slow and mingle with the 
  crowd as a maze of room displays 
  blend into one another. (Normal)
  Nightclub
  After you get through the metal detector, 
  your eyes adjust. Multiple levels break 
  up the enormous warehouse-like space. 
  Sound is deafening, lights dazzling or dim. 
  Two brilliantly lit big bars dominate the 
  ends of the room, the middle is a dance 
  floor broken geometrically by tables 
  occupied by lounging douchebags and 
  their parasitic girlfriends. VIP spaces up 
  on the balcony and in a raised dais on one 
  end provide architectural reinforcement 
  of social status. The bathrooms are down 
  the hallway; no, farther down than that.
  extras and cameos: Drug 
  dealers and clientele, 24-hour party 
  children of the rich and beautiful, 
  dedicated fans of the sound; Car 
  Thief (spending his take), Gym Rat 
  or Retired Cop turned Enforcer 
  (on the door), High-End Escort.
  clues: Traffickers talk while high or 
  boasting; cold spots or missing mirror 
  images; infrasound creates mesmeric 
  trance in susceptible patrons
  rules effects: People are here to 
  be seduced; if you have Flirting, get 
  1 free pool point to spend here. 
  Noise, motion, and darkness add 1 
  to visual and auditory Difficulties.
  in a fight: Bouncers and thugs 
  have guns; bottles in the bar; 
  cute hostages aplenty.
  in a chase: Slide down the bar; 
  foam drops down obstructing 
  vision; jump off VIP area balcony 
  onto dance floor. (Cramped)
  Overcrowded Tenement Block
  You’re in one of the most densely packed 
  urban blocks in the world. More than 
  30,000 people are crammed into this 
  7-acre block, a labyrinth of fire hazards, 
  tiny apartments, insufficient plumbing, 
  makeshift storefronts, and organized 
  crime. Somewhere in this unmappable 
  series of buildings is the key to untangling 
  out your conspiracy. Now you just have 
  to find it.
  Although this writeup is based on 
  Hong Kong locales like Chungking 
  Mansions and Kowloon Walled City, 
  similar (though not quite so crowded) 
  districts exist in Mumbai, Istanbul, 
  Cairo, and many other megalopoleis 
  around the world.
  extras and cameos: Street 
  children, suspicious elderly, tattooed 
  young punks; Building Superintendent, 
  Ex-Con Forger (rent is cheap 
  and nobody talks), Street Thug.
  clues: Graffiti and gang signs; an 
  under-aged guide who likes to 
  gossip; the local community boss 
  who must approve of outsiders.
  rules effects: Everyone who 
  matters knows someone here: agents 
  with 1 or more point in Streetwise 
  gain 1 extra point to spend while 
  in the overcrowded block.
  
  103
  elements  n  establishing shots
  in a fight: Wrench a steam 
  pipe away from the wall; dangling 
  electrical cables invite electrocution; 
  locals protect their own.
  in a chase: Burst through flimsy 
  walls from one home to another; 
  leap from one trash-crowded roof 
  to another; squirm through crowded 
  corridors and stairwells. (Cramped)
  Political Rally
  The square is packed shoulder-to-
  shoulder with people. They chant 
  slogans and hold hastily scrawled signs 
  over their heads. A stage is set up at one 
  end of the plaza, huge amplified speakers 
  and a high-end microphone waiting for 
  someone to take the stage. In the nearby 
  park, protestors scream their objections, 
  and the surging crowd around you 
  screams back. Riot police around the 
  edge of the square look uncomfortable, 
  and stand nervously at the ready.
  A woman takes the stage, and the 
  cheering of the crowd rises to the heavens.
  extras and cameos: 
  Charismatic politician, riot 
  police, racist hate-mongers; Gym 
  Rat (as bodyguard), Local Law 
  Enforcement, Television Reporter.
  clues: Security detail doesn’t appear 
  on video; electronic subsonics incite 
  the crowd to fear and violence; 
  a protestor slips to the ground, 
  mysteriously drained of blood.
  rules effects: Pick-pocketing 
  becomes easy with this many 
  people. Difficulties for Filch 
  checks are lowered by 1.
  in a fight: Rioting crowd around 
  you adds +1 to Hand-to-Hand 
  damage; riot police use non-lethal 
  attacks such as pepper spray 
  (model after tear gas; NBA, p. 
  81) to quell violence; smuggled-in 
  beer bottles used as clubs (-1).
  in a chase: Intimidation spend 
  to clear people from your path 
  adds +2 to chase results for two 
  rounds; Notice spend stops a 
  quarry from losing himself in the 
  surging crowd; run across the 
  shoulders of the packed crowd, 
  it could be the only way to 
  quickly gain ground. (Cramped)
  Rainforest
  The air has wrapped you in a sauna-hot 
  blanket of humidity. The sky overhead 
  is a brilliant blue with bands of clouds, 
  and the tropical sun bears down through 
  the canopy in a dappled green pattern of 
  shadow. Insects hum in the near-liquid 
  air. Birds sing out, as do monkeys and 
  less identifiable beasts of the jungle. The 
  trees press in on every side, and if you 
  lose the trail you will be inextricably 
  lost. 
  extras and cameos: Local guide, 
  traditional native shaman, jungle 
  hunter; Arms Dealer (setting 
  up a meet), Disgraced Doctor 
  (with an NGO in the field), 
  Longshoreman (as lumberjack).
  Clues: A dart with curare; an 
  unexpected patch of coca 
  fields; riverside huts on tall 
  stilts, windowless and thick 
  enough to keep out the sun.
  rules effects: Strenuous activity 
  during the midday heat requires 
  a Difficulty 4 Health test, failure 
  leaves you Hurt until the next day; 
  omnipresent parasites and fungi 
  reduce by 1 the Health restored by 
  any Medic test. For every week in 
  the jungle, non-natives and those 
  without jungle warfare experience 
  must make a 3-point Stability test 
  against the oppressive isolation.
  in a fight: Guides with machetes; 
  poison frogs (use snake venom; NBA, 
  p. 81) peeping from swampy pools; 
  massive anthills contain stinging ants 
  (-1 damage per round) for anyone 
  foolish enough to blunder into them.
  in a chase: Thorny trees slash at 
  skin if brushed past (-2 damage); 
  quicksand glistens across the path 
  (Difficulty 4 Sense Trouble to avoid 
  or be trapped, start drowning after 
  three rounds instead of five); listen 
  to birds and pinpoint fleeing prey 
  (Outdoor Survival spends count 
  double for chases or TFFBs). (Open)
  Red Light Street
  In this part of town, people cruise slowly 
  down the street with only two things on 
  their mind. Drugs and prostitution are 
  rife here, out in the open without even a 
  show of enforcement by the heavily bribed 
  cops. This street has its own enforcers, 
  and they aren’t the local police.
  extras and cameos: Hooker 
  with a heart of gold, dangerous 
  pimp, corrupt vice cop; Bookie (as 
  pimp), High-End Escort (before or 
  after she hit the big time), Street 
  Thug, Vampire-Enthralled Goth 
  (on her way to a club, or not).
  clues: A massage parlor’s clients 
  don’t always exit; clients leave 
  a red light apartment dazed 
  and compliant; private parties 
  for important underworld 
  figures are easily arranged.
  rules effects: This is a street 
  where people come and go and 
  no one knows your name. Gain 
  2 free pool points to set up a 
  safe house here (NBA, p. 112).
  in a fight: Club-wielding enforcers 
  pour forth from nearby stoops; 
  women pull viciously sharp knives 
  on a possible attacker; marital 
  aids used as embarrassingly 
  improvised weapons.
  in a chase: Unexpectedly 
  interrupted patrons join a chase; 
  accidentally (?) disrupt a poker game 
  of local criminals; carjack a BMW 
  from a cruising john. (Normal)
  Ski Resort
  The popular mountain’s snow-covered 
  parking lot is crowded with cars and 
  trucks. Wide doors lead into the 
  fashionable lodge, ski boots clumping 
  on scarred wooden floors, teenagers 
  giggling and small kids running after 
  their parents. The lodge has multiple 
  levels linked by wide and low stairs, 
  large gas fireplaces and a surprisingly 
  sophisticated snack bar and restaurant. 
  This resort is known for its singles 
  population, and the lodge is peppered 
  with dim and comfortable nooks where 
  strangers can sit and talk to each other 
  while maintaining the illusion of privacy.
  The mountains loom up overhead, 
  jagged and snowy, dominating sightlines. 
  Carefully groomed, well-marked ski 
  trails snake through the thick forest 
  on the mountain slope. The line for lift 
  tickets is long, but with seven ski lifts, 
  chairlifts, and rope tows and even a 
  gondola (see p. 100) for the summit 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  104
  trails, it’s hardly surprising there are so 
  many people.
  extras and cameos: Attractive 
  ski instructors, precocious child, 
  diligent ski patrol; Auto Mechanic 
  (snowmobile and SUV mechanic), 
  High-End Escort, Second-Story Man.
  clues: Ski chalets with improbably 
  sophisticated alarm systems; 
  secrets whispered on the ski 
  lift; bodyguard teams sizing each 
  other up – Conspiracy summit 
  or Davos working group?
  rules effects: Skiing and 
  snowboarding use Athletics; 
  snowmobiling requires a Driving slot. 
  Give a contest advantage in skiing 
  contests to any agent with arctic 
  or mountain training (all special 
  forces; all Canadian, Scandinavian, 
  and Russian ex-military) or who 
  spends a High Society pool point 
  to flashback to Gstaad or Aspen.
  in a fight: Explosions trigger 
  lethal avalanches; armed thugs 
  on snowmobiles; convenient 
  cliffs from which to deploy BASE 
  jumping chutes (see p. 68).
  in a chase: Make a massive ski 
  jump; wipe out on inconvenient 
  moguls; slip on melting snow 
  on the lodge floors. (Open)
  Slaughterhouse
  The smell hits you first. All the cold 
  air keeps it down, but there’s a certain 
  coppery reek to spilled blood and raw 
  flesh that even refrigeration doesn’t 
  cover. The herds are culled on the far 
  side of the building, an unpleasant job 
  for any but the most sadistic. Here in 
  the refrigeration rooms, massive sides of 
  beef hang silently on razor-sharp hooks.
  extras and cameos: Dead-eyed 
  and undocumented immigrant 
  worker herds beasts with an electric 
  prod, murderous butcher with a 
  cleaver and bloody apron, savvy 
  restaurateur seeking the freshest 
  cuts of meat; Customs Agent (as 
  meat inspector), Longshoreman 
  (as meat packer), Truck Driver 
  (delivering undocumented 
  workers or picking up meat).
  clues: More than dead cows hanging 
  from hooks; unusual collection and 
  storage of blood; hidden elevator 
  leading to secret underground rooms.
  rules effects: An animal stampede 
  would disrupt the operation and 
  draw all available personnel to solve 
  the problem. If it can be somehow 
  engineered, each agent gains a 
  temporary pool of 3 Infiltration 
  points to spend on entering or 
  moving through the facility.
  in a fight: Electric prods 
  (moderate shock; NBA, p. 79); buzz 
  saws to mechanically separate 
  meat (+1); ceiling hooks (+1).
  in a chase: Hide behind swinging 
  animal carcasses; look out for visible 
  breath, it gives away locations in 
  the cold; baffle the Renfield’s keen 
  sense of smell in the overwhelming 
  odor of blood. (Normal)
  State or Provincial Capitol 
  Building
  The corridors of power turn out to be tiled 
  with polished marble and rich carpets. 
  The main entrance has well-manned 
  metal detectors, but service entrances 
  may be less well guarded. Bored security 
  stands around as lawmakers hurry past; 
  tour guides herd packs of tourists past 
  earnest young interns, politicians-in-
  training, and local reporters. 
  extras and cameos: Corrupt 
  politicians, tour guide, knowledgeable 
  lobbyist; Bureaucrat, Public 
  Defender, Television Reporter.
  clues: Fodder for bribery, blackmail, 
  and brainwashing; hidden occult 
  secrets in archived historical 
  documents; the dome is known as 
  a site for inexplicable suicides.
  rules effects: This is where 
  back-room deals are made; if 
  you have Negotiation, gain 1 free 
  pool point to spend here. 
  in a fight: Well-armed police 
  and anti-terrorism experts; 
  politically-connected hostages 
  aplenty; bored news media 
  hunting for an interesting story.
  in a chase: Force passage 
  through the metal detector; 
  history-steeped chamber echoes 
  impossibly loud as you run through 
  it; a multitude of poorly marked 
  offices to duck into. (Normal)
  Steel Foundry
  The first things that hit you are the heat 
  and the noise. It’s loud in here even if you 
  wear earplugs, and deafening if not. The 
  cherry red glow of molten steel pouring 
  out of blast furnaces dries the sweat on 
  your face as soon as it forms. Huge vats 
  and a welter of pipes rise up around you, 
  and you can glimpse the control room 
  upstairs through a large and filthy glass 
  window on its front. The workers keep 
  a sharp eye out for people who don’t 
  belong here; such folk are potential 
  safety hazards.
  extras and cameos: Suspicious 
  union organizer, indolent manager, 
  whistle-blowing mole trying to 
  keep her identity secret; Chop 
  Shop “Manager” (as “union 
  liaison”), Longshoreman (as 
  steelworker), Truck Driver.
  clues: Stolen merchandise hidden 
  somewhere in the foundry, and 
  someone wants to protect it; 
  human teeth in a pile of ash; 
  steel baron’s ancient secrets 
  hidden in the plant he built.
  rules effects: Mechanics can be 
  used to spill, redirect, or operate 
  the trough of molten steel and the 
  blast furnaces that keep it molten.
  in a fight: Troughs of molten 
  steel; fire hoses; heavy ingots, 
  dropped from the floors above.
  in a chase: Lose him in a confusing 
  tangle of vats, machinery and pipes; 
  shout warnings so plant workers 
  try to stop the intruders; slam 
  into locked fire doors. (Normal)
  Street Festival
  Hundreds of people brush up against 
  you as you force your way through 
  crowded streets. The crowd is laughing, 
  drunk, thrilled with the warm summer 
  night and the delight of being young and 
  beautiful. Your prey could be anywhere. 
  Stores are open late tonight, muted neon 
  competing with street lamps to light 
  the surging crowd. Music surges from 
  every bar, every open bandstand, from 
  the mouths of the people around you. 
  A massive puppet in search of a parade 
  
  105
  elements  n  establishing shots
  stumbles by, carried by three people late 
  to an appointment. 
  The shoes of the second person, the 
  one wholly inside of the papier-mâché 
  puppet, are hand-made Russian loafers. 
  Just like the shoes of your prey. Silently, 
  you wheel around and follow.
  extras and cameos: Young 
  performance artist, beautiful tourist, 
  drunken lout; Car Thief, Street 
  Thug, Vampire-Enthralled Goth.
  clues: Firecrackers cover the 
  assassination in a back alley; 
  knowledgeable street vendors 
  with information to sell; vampires 
  gather to easily thin the herd.
  rules effects: Spending a point of 
  Urban Survival allows characters 
  to easily navigate the surging 
  crowds, moving in the direction 
  that the drunken masses are not.
  in a fight: Mook shields aplenty; 
  huge dragon puppets actually breathe 
  fire; packed crowds accidentally 
  provide cover from Shooting attacks.
  in a chase: Local folk dancers 
  grab the quarry for a brief dance; 
  dodge into a crowded bar; 
  topple a food cart. (Cramped)
  Urban Traffic Jam
  Smog hangs in sheets and exasperated 
  drivers inch forward, bumper to 
  bumper. It’s still impossible to see what’s 
  holding up traffic, but that doesn’t stop 
  frustrated commuters from leaning 
  on their horns to try and push traffic 
  forward through sound alone. You’d have 
  to be a spectacularly talented driver to 
  chase someone through this tangle; it 
  would be faster to get out of your car 
  and just run.
  extras and cameos: Road-
  rage-filled suburban parents, rich 
  jerk in an ironically immobile 
  sports car, vindictive cop; Arms 
  Dealer (in the back of a limo), 
  Car Thief, Truck Driver.
  clues: Car sideswiped in your 
  quarry’s carelessness; a package 
  idly tossed from one car into 
  another; the reflective glint off a 
  rifle scope from a bridge ahead.
  rules effects: In a thriller chase, 
  the more maneuverable opponent 
  adds an additional +1 to the 
  difference between his Maneuver 
  rating on the Vehicle Table and 
  that of his opponents, raising 
  the minimum bonus to +2. 
  in a fight: Start a chain-reaction 
  crash; use vehicles as cover; open 
  a door suddenly into a foe.
  in a chase: Abandon a car to 
  flee on foot; weave a motorcycle 
  through the tangle of cars; run 
  across the tops of stalled cars. 
  (Cramped in a car, Normal on foot)
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  106
  monsters
  this seCtion adds tWo more monstrous 
  powers, and four more monsters from 
  the world’s store of vampiric and quasi-
  vampiric horrors. Modern Brazil, ancient 
  Iraq, medieval Germany, and traditional 
  Malaya staff our tour of terror.
  It closes with another pre-built 
  vampire, the nosferatu. The name comes 
  from Bram Stoker’s notes and seemingly 
  nowhere else; the image comes from F.W. 
  Murnau’s film and from our archetypal 
  nightmares of plague. This familiar 
  fear lurks on the boundary between 
  the supernatural and the unnatural, 
  remaining uncanny as it does so.
  bloodworking
  Some vampires can manipulate blood 
  itself, either their own or that of someone 
  else. This can be as simple as boiling a 
  foe’s blood in his veins (treat such an 
  attack as a telekinetic blast attack; NBA, 
  p. 132) or spraying her own blood as a 
  blinding stream (see spit Venom; NBA, 
  p. 138) or concealing fog (+2 to visual 
  Difficulties, including Hit Thresholds). 
  More baroque (and disgusting) vampires 
  build poppets, weapons, or whole 
  buildings out of blood, constructs kept 
  in being by their will. A badly distracted 
  vampire (one attacked with a Bane while 
  at negative Health, for example) might 
  involuntarily liquefy these projections; 
  vampiric controls for such things might 
  not extend across Blocks. A vampiric 
  poppet has whatever stats seem right; 
  use the homunculus or the animals on 
  p. 154-155 of NBA as guidelines. It 
  usually grants the vampire a clairvoyant 
  connection (NBA, p. 128) to its “senses.”
  In general, a vampire must spend his 
  Health to manipulate his own blood, the 
  amount depending on the size of the 
  manifestation (the Health of the poppet, 
  for example), as well as spending the 
  standard 2 points of Aberrance (3 
  points for blood-castles or the like). 
  A bloodworking vampire might enter 
  combat with two or three “blood bags,” 
  Renfields bulked up with victims’ Health 
  points to be turned into hovering, 
  spinning blades or entangling webs.
  curse
  Depending on your chosen cosmology, 
  this power might be supernatural or 
  psionic. Whether it’s the “evil eye” or 
  an “entropy focus,” the result is the 
  same: bad luck for the vampire’s target. 
  Against NPCs, this power can do almost 
  anything up to the full Final Destination-
  style Rube Goldberg death: change the 
  cards in a deck, make a gun misfire or 
  shoot allies, send a helicopter spiraling 
  into power lines, or turn the edge of 
  the roof slippery. Like Magic, it costs 2 
  Aberrance pool points per use. For 3 pool 
  points, it affects all the NPCs in a scene, 
  lasts for weeks or months (permanently 
  cursing an agent’s Network contact 
  is really cruel), or has an enormous 
  effect on the agents’ whereabouts: the 
  night watchman “accidentally” drops his 
  cigarette and blows up the entire fuel 
  dump, for example.
  Against the agents, it has a more 
  specific effect: for 2 Aberrance pool 
  points, the vampire may change any one 
  die roll made by a player to any other 
  result (usually, but not always, a 1). 
  This result counts as “unmodified” for 
  the purpose of other rules effects. For 3 
  points, the vampire can make the effect 
  “permanent” in the scene – jamming 
  the gun (Shooting), breaking a leg 
  (Athletics), etc.
  The Luck of the Devil cherry (NBA, 
  p. 30) supersedes this power; a Curse 
  cannot change a Luck of the Devil die. 
  Curses have no effect on MOS usage: a 
  MOS automatically succeeds without a roll.
  chupa  
  Beginning in the late 1960s, farmers and 
  hunters in remote sections of northern 
  Brazil reported “chupa lights” or “chupa-
  chupas” that somehow shone on them and 
  sucked their blood. (Chupa means “suck” 
  in Portuguese and Spanish; it’s where the 
  chupacabra or “goat sucker” gets its 
  name. To make a chupacabra, add Drain 
  and Vampiric Speed or Apportation to 
  the dog stat block on p. 69 of NBA.) The 
  chupa flap peaked in 1977-1982, and has 
  since faded into the background noise 
  of UFO incidents not easily explicable 
  as alien saucers or government aircraft.
  A 
  standard 
  chupa 
  (although 
  descriptions varied) is a beam or ball of 
  red light that shoots at or illuminates the 
  victim. Sometimes the light emanates 
  from a point in the sky, which might 
  be moving or stationary; other times it 
  simply appears nearby. It may be silent, 
  or emit a hum, purr, or whirring sound. 
  Those struck by chupa light develop 
  strange puncture marks on their bodies 
  and severe, sometimes terminal, anemia. 
  (Other reported symptoms include 
  vomiting, leprosy, burns, and fatal blue 
  spots.) Occasionally the chupa begins 
  as a green light and becomes red while 
  “feeding.” The light winks out or zooms 
  away after completing its meal.
  Despite its UFOlogical context, the 
  chupa does not have to be an alien vampire 
  or a saucer’s microwave-beam weapon. 
  Medieval demons are conventionally 
  “powers of the air” that need not take 
  physical form. It might be the Brazilian 
  equivalent of the murony (NBA, p. 152), 
  one without a buried or living vampire 
  nearby. The chupa’s description matches 
  some European fairy legends such as 
  the corpse-candle, and its vampirism 
  recalls the feu-follet of Cajun and 
  hoodoo lore. Unlike the reported 
  chupa, both these will-o-the-wisps have 
  the ability to lure victims into following 
  them; add the Mesmerism power Lure 
  Into Following as a mental attack. They 
  use Hand-to-Hand instead of Shooting 
  to envelop victims in a glow.
  For a chupa that beams its light at 
  a victim, use Shooting; for one that 
  appears on or floats onto a target, use 
  Hand-to-Hand. Treat foes of the chupa 
  as illuminated by its beam or glow; their 
  Hit Threshold goes down by 1. Some 
  
  107
  monsters  n  chupa to ekimmu
  survivors describe the chupa as crushing 
  them in the night as they slept; if your 
  chupa do that, model this power using the 
  crush attack of the mara (NBA, p. 151).
  general abilities: Aberrance 5,  
  Health 6, Shooting 11
  hit threshold: 3 (glowing) 
  alertness modifier: +0
  stealth modifier: -1 (-2 if it makes 
  a humming or purring sound)
  damage modifier: +0 (blood 
  drain); +0 (crush attack)
  armor: physical weapons do 
  no damage; electricity does 
  1 point (Immaterial)
  free powers: Distortion, 
  Drain, Infravision, Plague, 
  Remote Drain, Unfeeling
  other powers: Apportation, 
  Infrasound, Levitation
  banes: none
  blocks: grounded knife blade 
  jammed in the earth
  compulsions: none
  dreads: electricity, lightning
  requirements: drink blood
  ekimmu  
  The ancient Mesopotamian cultures had 
  a number of ghosts, specters, revenants, 
  and demons that over the millennia 
  changed names and roles. Beginning 
  about 2500 B.C. the Utukku Lemnutu, 
  a demonological text, describes “the 
  seven demons” who “suck the veins” of 
  humans and “ceaselessly devour blood.” 
  The vampirologist Montague Summers 
  applied the Babylonian word ekimmu 
  (“grasper”) to those demons, a usage 
  that continues despite its technical 
  inaccuracy. The ekimmu was a spirit 
  of an unburied (or improperly buried) 
  man that wanders the earth (or the 
  underworld) bringing bad luck, disease, 
  or a supernatural curse to its victims. 
  Most often, the ekimmu possesses or 
  attaches itself to a living victim, but 
  some ekimmu animate corpses.
  This writeup describes the “post-
  Summers” vampiric Babylonian demon 
  that possesses a man or corpse and carries 
  a cloud of supernatural evil with it. It 
  sucks the life out of mortals like a “swift 
  wind.” Unlike the bhuta or the murony, the 
  ekimmu spends most of its time attached 
  to or possessing a human or corpse, not 
  least because (barring necromancy) it 
  requires a human voice to interact with its 
  Conspiracy colleagues. If it remains in the 
  corpse too long, the skin shrinks over the 
  bones and becomes pale or gray. Depict 
  this corpse (often called or conflated with 
  the alu) with the ghoul writeup (NBA, p. 
  150), adding ekimmu powers and blocks 
  to suit. Without the Blood Phantoms or 
  Curse powers, this writeup also works 
  for other possessing spirits such as the 
  dybbuk. For the dybbuk specifically, 
  add a compulsion to eat candy, and garlic 
  as a block. Like ekimmu, the dybbuk 
  dreads red cloth; its exorcism is no longer 
  Sumerian but rabbinical, of course.
  In 
  a 
  non-supernatural 
  vampire 
  campaign, ekimmu might be incorporeal 
  aliens, perhaps left behind at the “ancient 
  astronaut” crash sites in Iraq. Or they 
  might be a post-hypnotic program 
  implanted by a secret mind control 
  project, specific syndromes resulting 
  from 
  experimental 
  injections 
  or 
  genetically modified spores, or any other 
  mind-altering effect of black science.
  Even more than usual, stats and powers 
  vary widely for ekimmu. The value 
  before the slash is the ekimmu’s rating as 
  a specter; the value after the slash is the 
  amount it adds to its possessed victim’s 
  relevant score. Powers, banes, etc. apply 
  in both forms unless specifically noted. 
  Most of the dreads and blocks come from 
  the Utukku Lemnutu, and were likely lists 
  of possible anti-ekimmu materia rather 
  than definitive counter-measures. Gold 
  harms or confines ekimmu (if it does) 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  108
  because it is the sacred metal of Marduk, 
  lord of the sun in late Babylonian myth.
  The ekimmu uses points taken from 
  victims by its Drain and/or Psychic 
  Vampirism to refresh its Health, up to 
  double the ekimmu’s rating.
  blood phantoms: A wounded ekimmu 
  bleeds in an atomized spray that takes 
  the shape of a predatory bird or storm 
  cloud. Similar to a bloodworking 
  poppet, it attacks any un-possessed 
  humans in the vicinity. Its Health is 
  equivalent to the Health lost in the 
  wound; its Aberrance and combat 
  abilities are equal to the ekimmu’s 
  current pools. Its Hit Threshold is 
  4; it does +1 damage with its talon 
  or tendril attack, adding its foe’s lost 
  Health to its own. It is Immaterial, 
  and suffers the same banes, blocks, 
  and dreads as the ekimmu.
  eclipse power: During a partial or 
  annular eclipse (lunar or solar), 
  ekimmu double their Aberrance and 
  Health pool; during a total eclipse, 
  they quadruple it.
  general abilities: Aberrance 10/+5,  
  Hand-to-Hand 9/+4, Health 9/-2,  
  Weapons 0/+4
  hit threshold: 6 
  (invisible specter)/+1
  alertness modifier: +0
  stealth modifier: +3 
  (invisible specter)/+0
  damage modifier: +1 (life drain 
  as specter); -1 (savage bite)
  armor: physical weapons do 
  no damage, fire does 1 point 
  (Immaterial); possessed body takes 
  half damage from all injuries
  free powers: Drain, Psychic 
  Vampirism (drain either Health 
  or Stability), Unfeeling
  other powers: Blood Phantoms 
  (embodied only), Curse, Levitation 
  (specter only), Magic, Plague, 
  Possession, Telekinesis
  banes: hawthorn, gold, Sumerian 
  ritual of exorcism
  blocks: bitumen and gypsum, gold, 
  hanged mouse, hawthorn, multicolored 
  wool cord, Sumerian magic circle
  compulsions: kill infants or children
  dreads: bright red clothing, drumming 
  on copper, images of wrestlers, tamarisk
  requirements: drink 
  blood (embodied only)
  homunculus  
  The alchemist Paracelsus invented the 
  homunculus, or “little human,” in the 
  16th century, working from references 
  by the 8th-century Arabic alchemist 
  Geber. His formula for homunculus 
  creation (in De Natura Rerum (1537)) 
  begins with the alchemist ejaculating into 
  a flask and ends with the requirement to 
  feed the thing “wisely with the Arcanum 
  of human blood” for forty weeks while 
  it steeps in a dunghill or decomposing 
  horse corpse. The result is a miniature 
  man or woman, usually between 9 and 
  30 cm tall, with an appetite for human 
  blood and the knowledge of alchemy 
  literally baked into its brain.
  Vampires with the Bloodworking 
  power (see p. 106) can make homunculi 
  out of their, or anybody’s, blood. However 
  they’re made, if they’re made with 
  vampire blood (or sperm), homunculi 
  might manifest other vampiric powers, 
  along with vampiric banes, blocks, and so 
  forth. On the supernatural end of things, 
  you can use this template for redcaps or 
  other small blood-drinking faerie (who 
  traditionally have immense Strength 
  and often Mimicry or Shapeshifting), 
  or for witches’ familiars (although 
  adding Drain and Magic to a cat, rat, 
  or other suitable animal can also work). 
  The vampiric Lord William de Soulis 
  (1285?-1321) of Hermitage Castle on 
  the Scots border split the difference 
  and had a redcap familiar. Homunculi 
  don’t require magic or the supernatural: 
  they might be alien servitor beings 
  (or even miniature robots or psychic 
  projections), or the projects of some 
  black bioweapons laboratory in Korea, 
  Kamchatka, or Kansas.
  If the Conspiracy needs instruction 
  in alchemy, it might create homunculi 
  for such purposes, but more likely uses 
  them as infiltrators, planters of bugs, 
  and poison-needle assassins. Without 
  vampiric Strength, a homunculus can 
  lift approximately 5 kg; they are not 
  made for slugfests, but for subtlety. That 
  said, the Conspiracy could arm its tiny 
  minions. The Swiss MiniGun company 
  manufactures the C1ST: a revolver 55 
  mm long, weighing 20g, and firing a 
  2.34mm (.09 caliber) round, which does 
  -4 damage at Point Blank range. Special 
  loads with titanium jackets and PETN 
  instead of gunpowder could increase 
  that damage to -2, and extend the range 
  to Close. A similarly tiny rail gun could 
  shoot a poisoned needle up to Close 
  range (Near by spending 2 Shooting 
  points for Extended Range; NBA, p. 
  67). For such mini-mooks, provide a 
  Shooting ability pool.
  Sorcerous homunculi and familiars 
  can traditionally transmit visions and 
  thoughts to their creator or summoner; 
  this might also be true of alien pods or 
  
  109
  monsters  n  homunculus to penanggalan
  spore-creatures. Such homunculi make 
  even better hidden scouts and sentries.
  general abilities: Aberrance 8, 
  Hand-to-Hand 6, Health 7, Weapons 8
  hit threshold: 5 (small)
  alertness modifier: +1
  stealth modifier: +3 (small, 
  very good at hiding)
  damage modifier: -2 (bite or kick 
  or needle), toxin (from needle)
  armor: -2 vs. melee weapons; firearms 
  and projectiles do half damage; 
  crashes and falls do 1 point of 
  damage (Rubbery; NBA, p. 126).
  free powers: Drain, Unfeeling
  other powers: Clairvoyance, Hive 
  Mind, Magic, Necromancy, Regeneration, 
  Spider Climb, Strength (tests mandatory 
  for feats of strength; NBA, p. 137), 
  Summoning, Vampiric Speed, Venom.
  banes: acid, fire, fatal damage 
  done to homunculus deals its full 
  Health in damage to its creator
  blocks: moving more than 1 km (or 
  some other distance) from creator, 
  standard vampiric blocks for campaign 
  (if made from vampire blood or semen)
  compulsions: obey creator
  dreads: standard vampiric dreads 
  for campaign (if made from 
  vampire blood or semen); cats
  requirements: drink blood
  penanggalan  
  This blood-drinking monster is called the 
  penanggalan or penangglan in Malaysia, 
  the kuyang in Borneo, the ma lai in 
  Vietnam, and the krasue in Thailand. The 
  Malay word penanggal means “detach,” 
  referring to the creature’s habit of 
  detaching its head from its body. The 
  head floats around at night, dragging its 
  internal organs behind it sparkling like 
  a cloud of fireflies. Bile from its entrails 
  leaves smoldering patches where it drips 
  in the head’s wake. The leyak of Bali is 
  similar, but can also shapeshift into a 
  tiger, a rat, a large bird, a ball of light (as 
  the chupa or murony), or a motorcycle! 
  The Filipino manananggal severs her 
  whole upper torso and sprouts wings; 
  the Japanese nukekubi can send her head 
  off without her entrails to fly about on 
  vampiric (or cannibalistic) hunts.
  By day a beautiful woman, at night the 
  penanggalan leaves her body behind and 
  goes hunting. The penanggalan prefers 
  the blood of infants and new mothers, 
  but will drink any blood it can get if need 
  be. Some stories say she floats in through 
  the window; others say she roosts on the 
  roof and sends her long tongue snaking 
  down to suck blood. The thing may be 
  able to use her entrails as tentacles to 
  manipulate objects or pick locks. The 
  versions of the legend that feature the 
  penanggalan somehow oozing up through 
  the floorboards or funneling itself through 
  the keyhole contradict the most common 
  block for the creature: thorns (usually 
  of the jeruju plant) strung along every 
  opening to catch the thing’s dragging 
  entrails. Such a trapped penanggalan may 
  be vulnerable to machetes or other edged 
  weapons, especially wielded against her 
  soft lungs and stomach.
  Once the creature has fed, she returns 
  to her house and must soak her engorged 
  organs in vinegar to shrink them. (Thus 
  the odor of vinegar that a good Sense 
  Trouble might pick up from a nearby 
  penanggalan.) Only then can she fit back 
  into her body and resume human form. 
  The body is quite vulnerable; even turning 
  it over might result in the penanggalan 
  awakening with its head facing backward!
  While most penanggalan are likely 
  supernatural creatures or damned 
  sorceresses, they might also be alien 
  parasites nesting in human host bodies. 
  Building a biotech mutant penanggalan 
  strains credibility, although this could 
  serve as the template for a living 
  disembodied head, possibly the 
  preserved cranium of a Nazi or Japanese 
  war criminal. Change Flight to Levitation 
  with Telekinesis, and remove Magic 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  110
  (Plague can be a biotoxin gland implant) 
  and the intestine squeeze attack. If the 
  living head has a cloned body to draw 
  on, so much the better. Replace banes, 
  compulsions, etc. with those suitable for 
  biotech vampires in your campaign.
  The listed abilities, powers, banes, and 
  so forth only apply when the head and 
  body are separate. Joined, the penanggalan 
  becomes a normal woman; if killed, she 
  rises again the next night. Burning the 
  woman’s body prevents her resurrection.
  general abilities: Aberrance 16,  
  Hand-to-Hand 6, Health 9
  hit threshold: 4
  alertness modifier: +0
  stealth modifier: +2
  damage modifier: +0 (saw-
  like bite) or +0 (sucking tongue, 
  extensible at Close range); +2 
  (intestine squeeze; plus bile as acid 
  (NBA, p. 78)) or -2 (bile spatter, up 
  to Close range, lasts 2 rounds)
  armor: none
  free powers: Darkvision, Drain, Flight, 
  Regeneration (full Health refresh when 
  rejoined), Remote Drain, Unfeeling
  other powers: Create Fog, Howl, 
  Magic, Plague, Send to Sleep, Turn 
  to Mist (not against thorns)
  banes: bladed weapons, broken 
  glass poured into the body 
  cavity, sunlight, wooden stake
  blocks: pineapples, salt, sticky rice, 
  thorns (becomes entangled if its foes 
  succeeded at both a Conceal and 
  Mechanics roll to trap it), turmeric
  compulsions: kill children 
  and pregnant women
  dreads: garlic, scissors, tamarind
  requirements: drink blood, soak 
  organs in vinegar after hunting
  One of the most recognizable vampire 
  images, the fanged and taloned nosferatu 
  resembles a pallid, humanoid rat. Its 
  sunken cheeks, emaciated frame, chalky 
  skin, red staring eyes, bloody fangs, 
  and stiff fingers replicate the features 
  of a tuberculosis sufferer. A spurious 
  etymology traces the word “nosferatu” 
  to the Greek nosophoros, or “plague 
  carrier” – it more likely derives from 
  a mistransliteration of the Romanian 
  necuratu, or “the unclean one.” In both 
  cases, the word conveys the true power 
  of the nosferatu: the power of disease to 
  drain and kill the living.
  This vampire similarly exists on the 
  boundary layer between occult predation 
  and biotech mutation. It might be an 
  “elder species” driven into the shadows 
  by torch-wielding Neanderthals, a 
  demonic strain unleashed during the 
  Great Balkan Plague of 1738, or an 
  apex predator built by a forgotten Soviet 
  bioweapons program or secret Nazi 
  super-soldier project. Or, of course, 
  the nosferatu might be a demon drawn 
  to experiments in pain and degradation. 
  Maybe even the Soviet surgeons who 
  built the nosferatu don’t know they’ve 
  opened the human doorway to hell! This 
  writeup preserves as best it can that 
  sense of the uncanny and unknowable 
  so central to horror.
   nosferatu
  
  111
  monsters  n  nosferatu
  None of its powers are clearly 
  “impossible” – no flying, dissolving 
  into mist, or transforming into a bat. 
  But normal humans jacked up on PCP 
  shrug off bullets and react with lightning 
  speed, and creative gene-splicing might 
  provide the equivalent of batlike hearing, 
  chimpanzee 
  strength, 
  bloodhound 
  smell, and even gecko hairs on palms 
  and feet for clinging to walls.
  Nosferatu do not circulate blood 
  as such. Human blood, infused with 
  certain hormones by the nosferatu’s 
  overclocked lymphatic system, becomes 
  the fundamental fuel and oxygenator 
  of all the body’s organs and muscles, 
  percolating between cells along a thin 
  network of capillaries. That lymphatic 
  cocktail feeds on complex viruses 
  and bacteria very similar to those 
  present in human decomposition: by 
  sleeping in grave earth, the nosferatu 
  restores expended energy faster. Those 
  same microorganisms burgeon in the 
  nosferatu’s saliva and sweat, spreading 
  disease by bite or contact. Many of the 
  mutations in the nosferatu gene line 
  piggyback on the sex drive; like the 
  revenant vampire of the pre-Stoker 
  Balkans, the nosferatu roils with lust. 
  Thanks either to a chained mutation 
  or demonic curse, the nosferatu’s skin 
  reddens and burns in sunlight, garlic 
  makes its capillaries sieze up, and salt 
  badly desiccates its muscle tissue.
  Its Mesmerism might be advanced 
  hypnotic or neurolinguistic training 
  (either provided to super-soldiers or 
  learned as part of its tribal lore), or 
  simply powerful pheromone emissions 
  to arouse and distract victims. Similar 
  pheromone emissions attract rats – and 
  nosferatu generally dwell in rat-infested 
  buildings or graveyards.
  Directors who want to play just a little 
  bit closer to the realm of the plausible can 
  require tests for feats of nosferatu Strength 
  (NBA, p. 137), and possibly remove Spider 
  Climb along with the requirement to sleep 
  in graves. For not definitively demonic 
  but slightly more supernatural nosferatu, 
  add Apportation (“slasher movement”), 
  Dominance, Heat Drain, Stifling Air, and 
  Tunneling as other powers, and increase 
  Regeneration to 2 Health per round. 
  Whether demonic or designed, a nosferatu 
  may well have a strong psychological 
  aversion (treat as a dread, with the Difficulty 
  of the Aberrance roll at -2) to mirrors or 
  crosses to further muddy the issue.
  general abilities: Aberrance 13, 
  Hand-to-Hand 13, Health 13
  hit threshold: 6 (cunning 
  and superhuman reflexes)
  alertness modifier: +2
  stealth modifier: +1
  damage modifier: +2 (fangs), 
  +2 (talons), -1 (acidic spit)
  armor: -2 (leathery hide); all weapons 
  do half damage (rounded down) after 
  armor; car crashes and falls do 1 
  point of damage (reduced blood flow)
  free powers: Darkvision, Drain, 
  Tracking by Smell (further +2 to 
  Difficulty to evade), Unfeeling
  other powers: Cannot Drown, Extra 
  Attacks (first extra attack is free, further 
  attacks in a round cost 2 Aberrance or 
  Hand-to-Hand points each), Infrasound, 
  Mesmerism, Plague, Regeneration (full 
  Health refresh each day), Spider Climb, 
  Spit Venom (digestive acid), Strength, 
  Summoning (rats), Vampiric Speed
  banes: beheading or otherwise 
  completely severing spine, direct 
  sunlight or ultraviolet light (does 
  damage like weak acid, -2 to normal 
  acid damage from exposure; nosferatu 
  is Hurt if in direct sunlight), fire, garlic 
  (strong allergy; treat exposure as 
  tear gas), salt (treat as acid damage)
  blocks: direct sunlight
  compulsions: attack sexually 
  attractive target, kill and 
  drain a fallen enemy
  dreads: direct sunlight, garlic
  requirements: drink blood, 
  sleep in grave earth
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  112
  at its heart (before getting staked, of 
  course) a Conspiracy is a story, often 
  one with dramatic and bitter twists, and 
  more than the sum of its parts. It is the 
  confluence of the relationships not only 
  of Conspiracy elements to players, but 
  also the Conspiracy elements amongst 
  themselves. 
  While complicated story development 
  techniques are not critical for building 
  an intense story, always recognize the 
  push-pull atmosphere at the heart of 
  a thriller. The urgency of discovery, 
  misdirection, and tension inherent in the 
  question “Will this be found out?” drives 
  the story forward.
  Adding a Conspiracy at war with 
  itself changes the “default” Night’s 
  Black Agents story in one way. What 
  about subtraction? Taking away the 
  other agents for one-on-one roleplaying 
  amps up the isolation that lives at the 
  heart of the genre. Finally, changing the 
  background era throws the core story 
  into relief, whether it’s for one session 
  or for a whole campaign.
  stories
  pulling them apart
  What do vampires and organized crime 
  have in common, besides murder, 
  conspiracy, and Eastern Europe? When 
  under pressure, they turn on each other. 
  Criminal conspiracy breeds mistrust, 
  while the nature of vampires is endless, 
  unheeding consumption, like Saturn 
  eating his children or Duncan’s horses 
  that “did turn and eat each other.”
  The heroes of vampire fiction often 
  triumph by exploiting these betrayals 
  and vendettas between creatures far more 
  powerful than them. Alternatively, think 
  of stories of vengeance against organized 
  crime, like the Punisher, where the 
  protagonists’ progress is often intercut 
  with the battles within the organization 
  itself, V’s actions against the Norsefire 
  Party in V for Vendetta, or the self-
  immolation of Shakespearian villains.
  mechanisms  
  of faction  
  To represent these kind of stories, as 
  the agents move up the hierarchy of 
  the Conspyramid, as well as prompting 
  reactions against them from the 
  vampires, they will also prompt stresses, 
  suspicions, and conflicts within the 
  Conspyramid itself. This is represented 
  by the Suspyramid, detailed below, a 
  veritable hurricane of suspicion and 
  self-destruction.
  frayed, stressed, and broken
  As the Conspiracy turns on itself, the 
  connections between groups crumble 
  and snap, in a process known as fraying. 
  Various reactions on the Suspyramid 
  cause different connections to be frayed, 
  but the Director may also directly fray 
  connection as the result of agents’ 
  actions and operations designed to 
  spread dissent, mistrust, and chaos 
  within the Conspyramid.
  When the connection between two 
  nodes is frayed, the two groups aren’t 
  getting along. If the connection is horizontal 
  (on the same level of the Conspyramid), 
  they may see each other as competitors, 
  or there may simply be personal tensions 
  or ideological differences. If vertical, 
  the higher-level node may see the lower 
  one as overly ambitious or incompetent, 
  while the lower-level node may see its 
  superior as undeserving of its position, 
  have moral qualms about working with 
  them, or simply want their post. When 
  agents exploit a frayed connection on 
  the adversary map appropriately, they 
  receive +3, rather than +2, to their pool 
  (NBA, p. 113).
  Suspyramid?  
  Yes, I know “suspire” means “to 
  sigh,” and the word has no direct 
  connection (aside from the common 
  prefix) to “suspicion.” But it sure 
  sounds like it could, right? And 
  besides, the allusion to sighs nicely 
  plays off the Shakespearean conceit of 
  the Suitors and Beloved that can drive 
  the algorithm in the Suspyramid.
  This section’s author, James Palmer, 
  originally used the term “Vampyremid,” 
  alluding to the sparks of suspicion 
  blowing up into the flames of civil war. 
  The Conspyramid becomes a pyre, 
  glowing with lovely funerary imagery. 
  It’s a beautiful term, but the trouble 
  is that differentiating the Vampyremid 
  from the Vampyramid is just a lost 
  cause from the get-go. It’s enough to 
  make one sigh.
  A frayed connection that’s frayed 
  again becomes stressed. When the 
  relationship between two nodes is 
  stressed, the two are openly quarrelling. 
  If the connection is horizontal, they 
  stop cooperating with each other on 
  all but critical matters, refuse to share 
  
  113
  stories  n  pulling them apart
  information, and complain bitterly to 
  their superiors. If vertical, the higher-
  ranked party treats those below with 
  open contempt, bossing them about 
  and putting them at grave risk, while 
  the lower-ranked either scheme to 
  usurp their bosses, avoid contact where 
  possible, or begin openly ignoring 
  orders. When agents exploit a stressed 
  connection on the adversary map 
  appropriately, they receive +4, rather 
  than +2, to their pool.
  If a stressed connection is frayed, it is 
  broken. When this occurs horizontally, 
  either the two groups cut off all 
  connection with each other, or they are 
  at open odds. The second is more likely if 
  they have no mutual superior, or if their 
  ties with their superior are also frayed. 
  Conflict can range from bureaucratic 
  maneuvering to all-out warfare.
  If a break occurs vertically, the reaction 
  depends on the initiator. If the higher-
  level node is the instigator, they may 
  simply move to destroy their inferior. 
  They may also consume them, either 
  literally, in the case of the most bloody-
  mouthed creatures, or  metaphorically, 
  by destroying their leadership and 
  merging the remains of the node with 
  themselves, or with another group. If all 
  the node’s connections are broken, they 
  may instead be burnt, isolated from all 
  contact with the Conspiracy in order to 
  forestall investigation or prevent their 
  problems from spreading.
  If the lower-level node is the main 
  actor, they may rebel, moving directly 
  against their superior. This could be 
  anything from a boardroom coup to 
  a group of mafiosi ambushing their 
  vampiric master with garlic and stakes. 
  If the rebellion succeeds, the node may 
  establish a frayed connection with a new 
  superior, or may find itself burnt or 
  consumed by far more powerful beings. 
  If the rebellion fails, the group will 
  almost certainly be destroyed.
  Lower-level nodes may also switch 
  allegiance, looking for a new, higher-
  level protector. This is especially likely 
  if they already have a connection with 
  such. In this case, fray any connection 
  between the former superior and the 
  new one. They may flip, attempting to 
  leave the conspiracy entirely and striking 
  a deal with either a rival organization or 
  the authorities; this is especially likely 
  for bottom-tier groups that have little 
  inkling of the power of their masters. 
  Finally, they may flee, breaking off all 
  connections and running for cover, 
  preferably in another country entirely.
  Broken nodes give no bonus for using 
  the mapped connection, but are likely 
  to present numerous opportunities to 
  cunning agents.
  the suitors and the beloved
  One common dynamic, reproducible in 
  almost any conspiracy, is the Suitors and 
  the Beloved. The Suitors are two high-
  level members of the Conspyramid who 
  compete for the favors (or influence) 
  of another, the Beloved. The Beloved 
  manipulates and exploits the Suitors for 
  its own benefit; love (or more abstractly, 
  loyalty), for the Beloved, barely enters 
  into it. The Suitors may be a crime boss 
  and a company president competing for 
  the attention of a vampiric mistress, two 
  ancient resurrected Egyptian princesses 
  fighting over the Pharaoh they both 
  served in life, or the anxious head of 
  the secret police convinced his wife 
  is sleeping with the head of another 
  intelligence agency.
  The Beloved is not necessarily on 
  a higher level than the Suitors: in the 
  Linea Dracula conspiracy (NBA, pp. 
  143-144), John Dracula and Vlad Tepes 
  may be Suitors competing for the 
  loyalty of lower-level vampires such as 
  Radu the Bloody. Radu, meanwhile, is 
  also the Beloved competed over by his 
  subordinates Corvino and Kurusets in 
  Marseilles (NBA, p. 176). It all depends 
  on the Director’s sense of theater, and 
  on how complex she feels like making 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  114
  the intrigue. Remember, however, 
  that players get confused by too many 
  threads, and react to confusion by 
  withdrawal. One big, sprawling rivalry 
  is probably best for the Conspiracy 
  at large, although lesser rivalries can 
  inform specific cities or operations.
  Picking a triad of Suitors and the 
  Beloved is not necessary for the 
  Suspyramid to function. That “story line” 
  follows the right side of the Suspyramid 
  up to its destruction, while the left side 
  mirrors less romantic espionage and 
  intrigue narratives.
  the suspyramid  
  The Suspyramid maps a dramatic 
  algorithm for stories of disintegrating 
  or factionalized conspiracies, which is to 
  say, most of them. Like the Vampyramid 
  (NBA, pp. 189-193),  it is a guideline 
  for drama, not an iron law of political 
  science. If the Director has a better or 
  more personalized idea, or one that 
  sets up a glorious Yojimbo opportunity 
  for the agents, she should go ahead and 
  play that one. The Conspiracy can always 
  enforce a brief truce or respite after 
  such an operation; civil wars and faction 
  fights don’t follow timetables.
  The Suspyramid is best suited for 
  conspiracies where the nodes are 
  relatively small-scale and personal. 
  Directors in longer campaigns might 
  use it to represent the conflicts within 
  a group, like, say, the Armenian mafia in 
  Odessa, one that is itself merely a node 
  within the wider Conspyramid. But the 
  possibility of “The CIA” and “The Russian 
  Mafiya” turning viciously on each other 
  or competing for the favor of “The Black 
  Alchemists” also exists.
  As the agents penetrate the Conspiracy, 
  they uncover (or trigger, or cause) 
  further dysfunction and factionalization 
  within it. When the agents penetrate a 
  level of the Conspiracy, choose a reaction 
  from the corresponding tier of the 
  Suspyramid. Note that these reactions 
  are not necessarily caused by the agents’ 
  actions 
  themselves, 
  but 
  represent 
  existing tensions, hatreds, and fears. But 
  the pressure of the agents’ attacks and 
  investigations exacerbates such fractures; 
  the Director can easily aim the agents at 
  promising vulnerabilities if she feels the 
  Conspiracy’s self-destruction requires an 
  outside stimulus. The Director may even 
  hold off on advancing the Suspyramid 
  “story” until the agents take some action 
  designed to force further stress and 
  damage on the Conspiracy – the new 
  Suspyramid reaction becomes a reward 
  for a proactive, killer-instinct operation.
  Some of the actions within the 
  Suspyramid may not even directly 
  affect the agents initially. Instead, the 
  agents can get word of them through 
  rumor, 
  surveillance, 
  interrogation, 
  or documentation. Alternatively, an 
  ambitious 
  Director 
  concentrating 
  on personal intrigues within the 
  Conspyramid may wish to run cut 
  scenes, temporarily assigning the players 
  the roles of the vampire lords and their 
  minions themselves.
   A real high-wire Director can 
  run the Suspyramid on the agents’ own 
  patron organization: the CIA tears itself 
  apart in political infighting and paralyzes 
  the hunt for terrorist vampires, or rival 
  cardinals’ agendas roil the Vatican’s 
  secret undead-slaying order. If the 
  players are open to it, the Suspyramid 
  works amazingly well (perhaps too well) 
  even on the small group level inside 
  the party, with each agent being his or 
  her own node. Each fray costs 1 Trust 
  between the agents affected.
  tier one: intrigue
  insult: Members of one node insult 
  another, whether unintentionally, such 
  as by arriving late and unprepared to a 
  critical meeting, covertly, like cracking 
  a joke at someone else’s expense that’s 
  deliberately passed on, or overtly, like 
  calling attention to their failing in front 
  of a mutual boss. Fray the connection 
  between the two.
  the wench is dead: Evidence of a 
  past sin reemerges, or is remembered. 
  Perhaps a dead girlfriend’s body is 
  found, marked money shows up, or a 
  past affiliation with the police revealed. 
  Fray any one connection.
  disrespect: A higher-ranking minion 
  treats a lower-ranking one in a poor 
  fashion, or a lower-ranking one fails to 
  treat his superior with the respect he 
  feels he deserves. Fray the connection 
  between the two.
  i could take care of you: A lower 
  level node feels unhappy or unprotected 
  by its superior, and so looks for new 
  protection 
  elsewhere. 
  Stress 
  the 
  connection with the superior, but draw 
  another connection to a node on the same 
  tier as or one tier above the superior.
  other business: One node becomes 
  intensely involved in its own affairs, 
  ignoring its work for the conspiracy 
  in favor of drug-smuggling, hunting 
  children, murder for hire, or other 
  unpleasant pastimes. Fray one connection 
  between the node and its superiors.
  rivals: The competition between the 
  Suitors intensifies. Fray any connection 
  between the Suitors.
  tier two: strife
  confrontation: A meeting between 
  two nodes becomes heated, though not 
  physically violent. Tensions between 
  the two worsen, and the strife spreads 
  elsewhere. Fray the link between the 
  two, and two additional links.
  secret murder: A member of one 
  node kills another in a private meeting, 
  and then conceals the evidence of the 
  slaying as best they can.  Fray any two 
  links from the node that suffered the 
  death, depending on whom they suspect.
  leak: One node deliberately passes 
  on information to the agents, whether 
  out of stirrings of conscience, or, more 
  likely, in order to frustrate an operation 
  by one of their rivals. Fray the link 
  between that node and another.
  you’re with me now: A node changes 
  allegiance 
  entirely, 
  breaking 
  any 
  connection with their former superior 
  and drawing a new connection, if one 
  doesn’t exist, to a higher-level node. 
  The former master is likely to be 
  extremely unhappy about this; fray one 
  link anywhere between the former and 
  current master.
  favorite: The Beloved picks one of the 
  Suitors to favor, bestowing previously 
  withheld 
  powers, 
  blessings, 
  or 
  attentions. The favored Suitor receives 
  +2 to all pools, and the disfavored +2 
  to all Difficulties. (This is a general 
  guideline intended to represent the 
  increased assets and more robust 
  connections of the newly favored node, 
  and vice versa for the node out in the 
  cold. The Director should take this status 
  
  115
  stories  n  stories  n  pulling them apart : the suspyramid
  annihilation
  civil war
  palace coup
  i did it 
  for you
  blood will 
  have blood
  mole
  enemy of 
  my enemy
  obsession
  showdown
  leak
  you're with 
  me now
  secret 
  murder
  favorite
  confrontation
  disrespect
  i could take 
  care of you
  the wench 
  is dead
  other 
  business
  insult
  rivals
  betrayal
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  collapse
  slaughter
  vengeance
  paranoia
  strife
  intrigue
  suspyramid diagram  
  into consideration, even if she alters or 
  limits the specific additions.) Fray the 
  links between the disfavored Suitor and 
  two other nodes.
  tier three: paranoia
  showdown: A meeting between two 
  nodes erupts into violence. The agents 
  may well be watching events as they occur, 
  may trigger the shootout intentionally, 
  or may come upon the aftermath. Stress 
  the link between the two nodes, and fray 
  one additional link from each.
  mole: The conspiracy becomes 
  convinced, correctly or otherwise, that 
  a mole exists within the organization. 
  A witch-hunt begins for the suspected 
  mole.  Fray any six connections.
  enemy of my enemy: One node 
  provides information for the agents to 
  fatally strike at another node, seeking 
  to use this new force to do down their 
  rivals. Stress the connection between 
  the two nodes.
  obsession: One Suitor (or both) 
  becomes obsessed with the other or with 
  the Beloved, following and watching 
  them (or employing their minions to do 
  so) constantly. They receive +4 to the 
  Difficulty of any roll that doesn’t involve 
  the other lover or the beloved, save for 
  direct physical confrontations. (As above, 
  the Director may alter this modifier to 
  suit specific game conditions, but she 
  should remember that the other node’s 
  operatives are almost certainly always on 
  the scene.) Fray the connection between 
  the two Suitors again.
  tier four: Vengeance
  blood will have blood: In vengeance 
  for earlier killings or slights, a 
  prominent member of one node openly 
  murders a member of another. The 
  victim’s colleagues, in turn, vow further 
  vengeance, while his masters may try to 
  keep the violence under wraps, perhaps 
  by killing him themselves. Break the 
  connection between the two nodes, and 
  fray every other connection they have.
  betrayal: A node, out of vengeance, 
  envy, or ambition, openly contacts the 
  agents, offering them everything they 
  know. Will the agents be betrayed in turn? 
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  116
  Stress every connection from the node.
  i did it for you: One of the Suitors 
  murders the other as a token for their 
  beloved, but then dies themselves, either 
  fatally wounded by the other Suitor or 
  committing suicide after being spurned by 
  the beloved. Think, for instance, Goneril 
  poisoning Regan over Edmund, or Heyer 
  murdering Harper, then being left to 
  bleed to death, in V for Vendetta. In larger 
  groups, this is a major hit or other death-
  blow to the rival node, followed by a mini-
  coup within the rogue node that paralyzes 
  it and exposes its activities. Stress all the 
  connections from the Suitors’ nodes.
  tier five: slaughter
  civil war: The conspiracy splits into two 
  factions, now at open war against each 
  other. The lords seek haven and direct 
  their pawns against each other, preparing 
  for grand battle. One side may actively 
  offer to enlist the agents in their grand 
  crusade against their rivals. Pick a side 
  for each node, and break all connections 
  between members of opposing sides.
  palace coup: An envious Level 5 
  node moves to seize power, attempting 
  to eliminate the Level 6 lords of the 
  conspiracy in one grand strike. The 
  vampire lords themselves may be well 
  aware of the coup, and use it as an 
  opportunity to eliminate the underling. 
  Whatever the outcome, fray every 
  connection in the Conspyramid.
  tier six: collapse
  annihilation: All bonds and alliances 
  are destroyed. The conspiracy becomes 
  a savage war of all against all. It might 
  seem as if the agents’ work is done, but 
  if the war is left to play out, one vampire 
  lord will emerge triumphant, bloated 
  with the blood of his rivals. But a lord 
  who might otherwise be unstoppable 
  may also be fatally weakened at his 
  moment of victory …
  solitary heroes
  The lone agent out in the cold is a classic 
  setup for spy fiction. James Bond, Jason 
  Bourne, and Tara Chace all have the 
  world resting on their shoulders as they 
  doggedly track down leads, infiltrate 
  enemy compounds, and cut the right 
  wire with seconds to spare. On the 
  other side of the hill, a George Smiley 
  or a Paul Christopher can trust no one 
  as he pages through files alone in his flat. 
  Tabletop gaming, however, is usually a 
  social activity with a group. Night’s 
  Black Agents is built toward this group 
  dynamic. For fans unwilling or unable to 
  pull together multiple agents for a little 
  night work, the game works just as well 
  with a few slight modifications. Here 
  are some notes for those Directors who 
  want to set up a table of intrigue for two.
  Solo games arise out of many different 
  circumstances. Selling a new system to a 
  group is challenging and only one player 
  might be willing to take time off from 
  beheading goblins to try something new. 
  Solo games also often come about when 
  a spouse or significant other wants to 
  give gaming a try but feels self-conscious 
  about doing it in front of other people. 
  A smaller game has plenty of advantages. 
  There’s no need to sweat spotlight time 
  because one player has the spotlight. The 
  Director only has one member of the 
  audience to engage which makes coming 
  up with plots easier as the story unfolds.
  When creating the agent, use the 
  preferred point totals for a two-player 
  game. Any Investigative ability the agent 
  doesn’t choose still has a nominal one-
  point rating. This rating represents other 
  contacts who stay off-screen until the 
  agent needs to use them. This represents 
  the web of allies a lone agent has, both 
  as active support and people who might 
  owe him a favor. Core clues should 
  not depend on any unselected ability; 
  where possible, use a named contact 
  as a possible lead. To turn the contact 
  into a recurring character, let the agent 
  spend Network to breathe life into the 
  formerly faceless friend. For Network 
  spent during a session, let it refresh 
  normally afterward like any other 
  General ability. The single agent has to 
  cover more bases on her own, so large 
  spends take a bigger toll. (On the other 
  hand, solo Burn mode games will really 
  feel like the source material if Network 
  points still dwindle; one compromise is 
  to start with non-Burn levels of Network 
  that don’t refresh.)
  The Director should take a moment 
  to study the ability selection of the 
  agent. The character sheet is often a 
  menu for the player. Someone who 
  takes Flirting wants to seduce beautiful 
  people. Someone with a high Infiltration 
  expects to be able to sneak into most 
  fortresses unobserved. Cherries are of 
  particular note. Players pick big toys 
  like that to use them and show off. The 
  MOS is much the same. Directors who 
  leave it in for solo play will have most 
  episodes center around that clutch use. 
  Directors who leave it out will force 
  more varied solutions to the problems 
  the Conspiracy presents.
  If the abilities selected are a menu, the 
  Sources of Stability are the wine list. The 
  Director should involve at least one of 
  them in every session. They don’t have 
  to be directly hit every time -- poor 
  Maria shouldn’t be kidnapped every 
  time the vampires want to make a point 
  -- but something in each session should 
  remind the player why he picked it. If 
  the Symbol is the American flag, take a 
  moment to describe the baseball game 
  playing silently on the TV behind the 
  bartender. An agent who seeks Solace 
  with a Sicilian firebrand might take a 
  moment to watch a dark-haired beauty 
  cross the street. There are plenty of 
  times to hit the Sources directly for a 
  hard choice, but moments like this keep 
  the thriller machine humming in the 
  background.
  
  117
  stories  n  solitary heroes / variant eras : victorian era
  Communication 
  between 
  player 
  and Director is the key to mutual 
  satisfaction. This is a change to get in 
  deep with backgrounds and themes from 
  the beginning. Sometimes it takes a few 
  sessions for a group to find its footing. 
  Talking about what each side desires out 
  of a game is a good idea. Both “spies” and 
  “vampires” are a lot of ground to cover. 
  The Director might want a big-budget 
  Bond with high-collared Draculas and 
  stake-launching Aston Martins. The 
  player might want a gritty, shabby game 
  where a lone, thankless bureaucrat 
  uncovers ancient aliens in the halls of a 
  forgotten CIA station. Talking about a 
  game beforehand offers a better chance 
  to discover a middle ground both sides 
  will enjoy.
  One of the most fun parts of being a 
  Director is thinking up a conspiracy for 
  the players to uncover piece by piece. 
  With two contributors to the story, why 
  only let one have the fun? Take turns 
  filling out the slots on a Conspyramid. 
  Bounce ideas about cool set pieces, neat 
  villains, and staunch allies. There will 
  still be plenty of mystery to discover 
  through play. Some of those ideas will 
  get used; some won’t fit after the story 
  plays out for a few sessions. Think of 
  the process like assembling a trailer for 
  your vampire spy thriller. Some of the 
  scenes might be recognizable, but they 
  become much cooler when they fit into 
  the context of a narrative.
  Daring Directors could take this one 
  step further. Why not swap control of 
  the agent between sessions, or between 
  missions? Or have two solo agents – one 
  American and one Russian would be the 
  classic choice – both investigating the 
  same Conspiracy. Alternating between 
  Director and player keeps things fresh 
  and keeps everyone guessing. This takes 
  the game in more of a shared narrative 
  direction. It may feel less like an RPG 
  and more like a writing exercise. That 
  doesn’t make it any less valid. Two 
  people telling the story together is the 
  important thing. Sharing the power 
  pushes both sides to be active in how 
  it all turns out. Caring about the story 
  and the agent equally makes things more 
  thrilling.
  The death of the agent need not be 
  the end. In a group setting, carrying 
  on to avenge a common foe is a classic 
  motivation for the surviving agents. If 
  the Conspiracy kills the agent, discuss 
  which contact might take up the fight. 
  The new main character might also be 
  an old adversary, a rescued innocent, 
  or even a member of the conspiracy 
  disillusioned by the death of the old 
  agent. For a real head turner, let the 
  player get used to the new character 
  and work the Conspyramid for a few 
  sessions. Then bring the original agent 
  back into the fold as a vampire working 
  for the Conspiracy as new opposition. 
  Spies fake their deaths all the time. 
  Taking advantage of a setting where 
  death is not the end is a natural fit.
  variant eras
  After war and prostitution, espionage 
  may be the third-oldest profession, 
  closely combining as it does aspects of 
  the first two. Vampires, of course, are 
  immortal and eternal. Thus, Directors 
  can set Night’s Black Agents campaigns 
  (or single “flashback” operations or 
  episodes) in any period of history.
  Key here is the idea that just as the 
  setting for the story is variable, so too 
  are the mechanics. Scale and tailor yours 
  appropriately and you could easily hunt 
  a brainwashed super-soldier through the 
  middle of World War II, or bring a spy in 
  from the cold during Ulysses S. Grant’s 
  first term in office.
  The three eras in this section are all loci 
  of spy thriller fiction and film, as well as 
  being times when real-world espionage 
  took unaccustomed center stage.
  Victorian era  
  This build assumes agents playing in the 
  Great Game of the later Victorian era 
  (c. 1880-1901). Many of the abilities 
  on the GUMSHOE character sheet 
  are somewhat anachronistic in the 
  earlier Victorian period. Archaeology 
  should probably be considered mere 
  Antiquarianism until Layard publishes 
  his excavation of Nineveh in 1848, or 
  possibly until Schliemann pioneers the 
  stratigraphic dig in 1871. Cop Talk 
  really only comes into its own with the 
  creation of modern police departments 
  in Glasgow and Paris (1800), London 
  (1829), and Boston (1838); before that, 
  getting along with the town watch or 
  prefects is Bureaucracy or uses other 
  Interpersonal 
  skills. 
  Photography 
  remains experimental Chemistry until 
  Talbot’s calotype process perfects the 
  negative (circa 1840). See the specific 
  ability writeups and changes below, also.
  investigative Ability changes
  The following two abilities are not yet 
  available:
   
  n Data Recovery
   
  n Electronic Surveillance
  Outdoor Survival no longer incorporates 
  horsemanship, which falls under Riding 
  (see below).
  Add one new Technical ability:
  Telegraphy
  Although precursor devices had existed 
  since 1804, it was Samuel F.B. Morse’s 
  electrical telegraph of 1837 that rapidly 
  revolutionized communication in the 
  industrialized world. You can:
   
  n use a telegraph sending key 
  and apparatus to send and 
  receive telegraphic signals
   
  n decipher and encipher Morse and 
  other major telegraphic codes
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  118
   
  n perform minor repairs on 
  telegraphic equipment, wires, etc.
   
  n detect and recognize the “fist” 
  of another telegrapher
  Tapping a telegraph wire to intercept 
  messages is an Investigative use of 
  Mechanics.
  social class
  Interpersonal relations are defined by 
  class during the Victorian era. To High 
  Society (NBA, p. 21), this build adds 
  three complementary abilities: Middle 
  Class (including small landholders, clerks, 
  and the urban bourgeoisie), Working 
  Class (which includes the urban poor and 
  immiserated farmers alike), and Below 
  Stairs (for domestic servants). These 
  new Social Class abilities cover the same 
  sorts of skills and knowledges that High 
  Society does, for their own class level. 
  This grossly simplifies the actual arcana 
  of Victorian class structures, but it’s 
  already inconvenient enough to model the 
  resulting social and communication gaps.
  Remember 
  that 
  many 
  other 
  Investigative 
  abilities 
  provide 
  the 
  equivalent of social-style Interpersonal 
  connections to the various professions 
  (Bureaucracy, Cop Talk, Diagnosis, Law, 
  Streetwise, etc.).
  At character creation, you receive 1 
  rating point in one of these four Social 
  Class abilities for free. This represents 
  the social class you were born into and 
  brought up in. If you buy ratings in 
  another social class than your native one, 
  you must provide the Director with a 
  plausible explanation: a High Society born 
  agent with Working Class knowledge 
  might simply be devoted to slumming it, 
  while the reverse indicates a rogue and 
  impersonator of the worst possible color.
   
   In Burn or Dust games, it costs 
  2 build points to buy 1 rating point in a 
  different Social Class ability than your 
  native class.
  You must spend 1 point from the 
  Interpersonal 
  ability 
  in 
  question 
  to use Bullshit Detector, Flattery, 
  Flirting, Intimidation, Negotiation, or 
  Reassurance at all on targets “outside” 
  your native social class, even if you have 
  a rating in more than one, unless you 
  are successfully Disguised as a member 
  of the class you are interacting with and 
  you have the relevant Social Class ability.
  The Difficulty of a Disguise test 
  increases by 1 if the disguise also shifts 
  a social class: e.g., for a working class 
  agent to disguise himself as a butler in 
  a gentleman’s club. If it is intended to 
  fool members of that social class, the 
  Difficulty of the Disguise increases by 2: 
  e.g., for a working class agent to disguise 
  himself as a butler below stairs or in a 
  tavern catering to those in service.
  If the players don’t want to build agents 
  covering all social class bases, remember 
  that you can use Network to build a 
  trusted servant, working-class lackey, or 
  aristocratic patron encountered during 
  military service, at a Masonic meeting, 
  or on one of those slumming excursions.
  general Ability changes
  Digital Intrusion is not yet available.
  Driving
  Driving primarily refers to carriages, 
  wagons, hansom cabs, and other horse-
  drawn vehicles, not motorcars. Outside 
  major urban areas, automobiles are the 
  playthings of the rich, and their controls are 
  far from standardized. Driving a motorcar 
  is a Mechanics test, and it requires a one-
  time 1-point spend of either Urban Survival 
  or High Society to be able to do so at all.
  Driving a railroad locomotive is also 
  a Mechanics test; it requires a one-
  time 1-point spend of Working Class to 
  have experience driving a train. With 
  such experience, the Difficulty of the 
  Mechanics test decreases by 2.
  Piloting
  Piloting refers to boats, ships, and 
  balloons. There are no heavier-than-
  air aircraft, and almost no gliders or 
  dirigibles until 1900. The first rating 
  point in Piloting is always refers to small 
  boats (sailboats, rowboats, dories, etc.). 
  Additional points can provide mastery of 
  barges and tugs, sloops and schooners, 
  steamships, clippers, balloons, etc.
  Riding
  This new General ability deals with 
  riding animals, primarily horses. You are 
  a skilled rider of horses, able to keep your 
  saddle and control your animal under the 
  most adverse conditions. You can:
   
  n evade or conduct pursuit
   
  n avoid being thrown
   
  n successfully ride across 
  country or steeplechase
   
  n keep your mount as fresh as 
  possible while maximizing speed
   
  n jump your mount over obstacles
   
  n gentle or calm a mount
   
  n manage your mount 
  despite distractions such as 
  monsters or gunplay
   
  n feed and care for the animal
   
  n maintain and adjust saddles, 
  tack, bridles, etc.
  Riding doubles as an Investigative ability 
  when used to:
   
  n estimate the age, breeding stock, sale 
  value, or condition of a riding animal
   
  n pick winners on the race 
  course or spot nobbling
   
  n interact with grooms, horsemen, 
  and other equestrians as 
  a professional equal
  For every rating point in Riding, you may 
  add another animal to your string. These 
  might include: donkey, mule, camel, 
  or elephant. In most campaigns, you 
  likely won’t need to bother, unless the 
  Director is madly in love with Kipling 
  or T.E. Lawrence.
  World War ii  
  This build covers agents active during the 
  1930s and 1940s. The advent of concealed 
  microphones and wire recording means 
  Electronic Surveillance is available. The 
  following changes from the corebook 
  Night’s Black Agents build apply:
   
  n Data Recovery is not available. 
  Recovering information from 
  invisible ink or soaked paper is 
  Tradecraft or Chemistry; aerial 
  photo interpretation is part of 
  Photography or driven by subject 
  matter (fortifications are Military 
  Science, ruins are Archaeology, 
  buildings are Architecture, etc.)
   
  n Add Radiotelegraphy as a Technical 
  ability to represent the huge amount 
  of radio traffic sent as Morse or 
  other code signals. This ability 
  covers Telegraphy as in the Victorian 
  build above (see facing page), as 
  well as the use of voice or keyed 
  
  119
  stories  n  variant eras : world war ii to cold war
  Errata: Martini, Straight Up  
  As for Cover, in any mode the agency 
  supplies that for most missions. The 
  Director should provide a mission-
  specific Cover pool of (usually) 3 to 
  5 points per player, the Agency Cover 
  pool. Agents can spend “normal” 
  Cover points on Agency Cover tests, 
  and vice versa. But anything the agents 
  do using Agency Cover can be tracked 
  by their agency.
   In Mirror mode, any time an 
  agent uses his Agency Cover pool, he 
  gives his agency 1 Trust point.
  Agents during World War II and the 
  depths of the Cold War are more likely 
  to remain part of a larger organization, 
  as covered in the “Martini, Straight Up” 
  build (NBA, p. 195). This is an official 
  erratum for that build. Apply it to any 
  Martini, Straight Up campaign regardless 
  of setting or time frame.
  Unless you’re playing in Mirror mode, 
  you can put experience into Network. 
  Like Bureaucracy, you cannot put 
  experience into the Network ability if 
  you gained Heat during the operation 
  -- because the people you met “off the 
  books” in this adventure won’t respect 
  your tradecraft if you made the papers.
  radio equipment. Repairing or 
  constructing radio equipment still 
  falls under Mechanics; intercepting 
  radio signals is Electronic 
  Surveillance. Sending messages in 
  adverse atmospheric conditions 
  may require a spend; gathering 
  core clues by radio never does.
   
  n Digital Intrusion is not available; 
  tapping telex, telephone, or 
  telegraph cables is Electronic 
  Surveillance and Mechanics.
   
  n Add the General ability Riding 
  as above. By this time, driving 
  carriages or other horse-drawn 
  vehicles falls under Riding, mostly 
  to prevent skill bloat. A 1 point 
  rating in Riding can represent great 
  skill either in riding a horse or 
  driving a buckboard or wagon.
  For campaigns set during the active 
  period of World War II (1937-1945 for 
  East Asia, 1939-1945 for Europe, 1941-
  1945 for the U.S.), all agents receive 
  1 free rating point in each of Hand-to-
  Hand, Shooting, and Weapons, and 3 
  more General build points to distribute 
  between those abilities as they desire. 
  This represents the basic military training 
  all active agents of the era underwent.
   In Dust mode games, reduce the 
  General build points budget accordingly, 
  from 55 to 49 build points.
  cold War  
  This build primarily covers agents in 
  the 1960s and 1970s. Agents in the 
  1950s transition from the World War 
  II build to this one, and agents in the 
  1980s use the standard Night’s Black 
  Agents corebook build with hilariously 
  clunky tech and skinny neckties.
  investigative Ability changes
  Data Recovery is renamed Data 
  Retrieval. This ability now also includes 
  getting information off of computer 
  tapes, punch cards, etc. at all. Data 
  Retrieval still includes air and satellite 
  photo interpretation.
  Add Radiotelegraphy as in the World 
  War II build above. Communications 
  equipment 
  isn’t 
  quite 
  idiot-proof 
  enough yet to be not even an ability, 
  and radiotelegraphy is still prevalent 
  enough that it’s not just a minor filip on 
  Electronic Surveillance or Mechanics as 
  it becomes by the 1990s or so.
  general Ability changes
  Digital Intrusion is not yet available: 
  remote hacking of computer systems 
  begins in the early 1980s as computer 
  interlinkages grow. (Phone phreaking, 
  the art of getting free phone calls and 
  tracking unlisted numbers, falls under 
  Mechanics and “social engineering” 
  Reassurance.) Instead, add this new 
  General ability:
  Computer Use
  You can program, maintain, build, 
  and repair computers, those big boxes 
  with whirring tape spools on their 
  front, slots for punch card input, and 
  blinking lights throughout. You can 
  program computers to control machines 
  such as industrial robots or security 
  alarms. You can program computers 
  for specialized types of information 
  analysis, but you still need to enter 
  the data; programming a computer for 
  traffic analysis, for example, requires 
  taped or punched input data in specific 
  formats. Data entry takes 1 minute 
  per item (one personnel record, one 
  surveillance report, etc.); programming 
  can take hours or days depending on 
  the difficulty or sophistication of the 
  analysis to be performed. You can also 
  deliberately mis-program computers to 
  overlook data or to perform actions at 
  the wrong time.
  If digital intrusion is nevertheless 
  possible, with a telex cable and remote 
  terminal somehow slipped into the 
  facility perhaps, this ability covers it.
  Agents with Computer Use ratings of 
  8+ receive 1 free point in Data Retrieval.
  
  night's black agents - double tap
  120
  Aging  
  Mirren in Red is a newly built agent; Helen 
  Mirren in The Debt is an agent to whom 
  these rules have been applied. These 
  rules begin at whatever arbitrary point 
  (40 years old? 50? 60?) the Director and 
  player agree that “aging” begins.
  For each five years past the beginning 
  of aging:
    add 1 rating point to any 
  Investigative ability
    add 2 rating points to Network
    add 1 rating point to Sense Trouble
    remove 3 rating points 
  from any General ability or 
  abilities except your MOS
  Whenever (65 years old? 75? 80?) the 
  Director and player agree the agent is 
  officially “old” or “creaky” or “a fossil” 
  who is “just coming back in for one last 
  mission,” the following rules also apply:
    you must spend on all 
  Technical abilities
    your Athletics rating is capped at 7
  If you wish, you might want to play a 
  multi-generational campaign, in which 
  young 1940s OSS operatives become 
  cynical 1960s CIA men become 
  venerable 1980s think-tank elder 
  statesmen. You might want to play a 
  flashback scene in the 1980s and then 
  have those agents appear in a special 
  episode of the modern campaign. For 
  such temporally extended play, here 
  are some aging rules. As always, they 
  tend toward the cinematic: people 
  age at wildly different rates in the real 
  world, and in the movies a gray-haired 
  geezer can still beat up a half-dozen 
  young punks. The Director should feel 
  free to alter them in any direction to 
  suit her notion of cinematic reality or 
  the campaign’s theme.
  Regardless of your agent’s age 
  at creation, she is assumed to be in 
  top technothriller condition. These 
  guidelines do not modify character 
  creation. They kick in as decades pass 
  for your agent off screen, during the 
  “Twenty Years Later” intertitle. Helen 
    Difficulties for Digital Intrusion 
  and (thanks to arthritis) for 
  all fine manipulation tests 
  (some tests of Filch, Infiltration, 
  Mechanics, etc.) increase by 2.
    Difficulties increase by 1 for 
  Disguise tests when attempting 
  to disguise your age
    Difficulties for Surveillance 
  tests decrease by 1 or by 2 for 
  “static surveillance” – nobody 
  looks at or even notices old 
  people in most settings
    you gain a mental illness, if you 
  did not already have one, when 
  Shaken, not just when Shattered
  Senile characters (most likely former 
  player characters turned NPCs) always 
  act as if Shaken: they cannot spend 
  points from Investigative ability pools 
  (except on Technical abilities, where 
  a spend is mandatory but conveys no 
  effect), and Difficulty numbers for all 
  General ability tests increase by 1.
  
  121
  night's black agents
  addenda 
  
  122
  night's black agents
  athletics
   Hard to Hit (NBA, p. 27)
  +1 to your Hit Threshold in combat
  Roll Through the Pain (p. 38)
  Spend Health to succeed at failed Athletics tests
   Runner’s Intuition (p. 38)
  Spend 1 Athletics to judge opponent’s Athletics rating level compared to yours
  8+ also allows Breakfall (NBA, p. 80), Like Smoke (p. 51), Parkour (NBA, 
  p. 58), and Support Moves (NBA, p. 76) maneuvers.
  conceal
  Bug Stasher (p. 39)
  Hide a bug against all but SIGINT-agency search or specialized equipment
  Perfect Holdout (NBA, p. 27)
  Hide a small object on your person against all but X-ray or strip search
  digital 
  intrusion
  Cracker’s Crypto (NBA, p. 28)
  1 free rating point in Cryptography
  Head of a PIN (p. 39)
  Given any chance, if you see others input passwords you can guess them
   Mr. Clean (p. 39)
  Your smartphones and other devices are untraceable 
  8+ also allows Digital Judo (p. 81) and m4d sk1llz (p. 51) maneuvers.
  disguise
  Connected Cover (NBA, p. 28)
  Can use Cover to create identity already known to an NPC
   Innocent Bystander (p. 40)
  May spend Disguise pool points on Surveillance tests
   Just the Help (p. 40)
  If in servants’ or workman’s uniform, lower Difficulties on Disguise tests by 1
  8+ also allows Alibi (p. 49) and Quick Change (p. 51).
  driving
   Defensive Driving (p. 40)
  +1 to Hit Threshold and to Difficulty of ramming, etc. for you, passengers, and vehicle
  Grand Theft Auto (NBA, p. 29)
  Spend 1 Driving point to steal any standard civilian or police vehicle you can drive
  8+ also allows Gear Devil (NBA, p. 56) and Signature Wheels (p. 52) maneuvers.
  explosive 
  devices
  Bigger Bang (NBA, p. 29)
  Spend 3 Explosive Devices points to add a die of damage to an explosive charge you set
  Maestro of Destruction (p. 41)
  Your bombs cannot be disarmed without your aid, 
  your wiring diagram, or this cherry
  filch
  A Lift in Time Saves Nine (p. 41)
  May retroactively declare you lifted a small object during a previous scene
  No Slipups (NBA, p. 29)
  May spend 2 points after failing a Filch test to increase the result by 1
  gambling
  All In (p. 42)
  Once per session, refresh any General pool at 0 by 3
   Everybody’s Got a Tell (p. 42)
  1 free rating point in Bullshit Detector
  Luck of the Devil (NBA, p. 30)
  Roll one die at the beginning of the session; you may replace 
  any one die result during that session with your roll
  8+ also allows Card Up the Sleeve (p. 50) maneuver.
  hand-to-
  hand
   Eye of the Tiger (NBA, p. 31)
  Spend 1 Hand-to-Hand to judge opponent’s  Hand-
  to-Hand rating level compared to yours
  Haymaker (p. 43)
  Roll two dice for damage; if you pick the higher, spend 1 point 
  of Hand-to-Hand for each extra point of damage done
  8+ also allows Breakfall (NBA, p. 80), Extra Attacks (NBA, p. 74), Martial Arts (NBA, 
  p. 75), Mook Shield (NBA, p. 76), and One-Two Punch (p. 53) maneuvers.
  infiltration Bono Cane (p. 43)
  Spend 1 Infiltration to bypass guard dogs
  Escape Artist (p. 44)
  Given enough time unobserved, you will get free of any restraint
  Open Sesame (NBA, p. 31)
  Open or bypass any normal, commercial lock or alarm without a test
  8+ also allows Like Smoke (p. 51), Mark and Strike (p. 53), and Run and Hide (p. 84) maneuvers.
  cherry summary sheet 1
  
  123
  night's black agents
  mechanics
  Demolition Man (p. 44)
  May spend Mechanics points on Explosive Devices tests 
  to rig vehicles or machinery to explode
  Swiss Army Prep (NBA, p. 31)
  May spend Mechanics points on Preparedness tests with jaunty narration
  Trapmaster (p. 44)
  Spend 2 Mechanics to do two instances of damage with a non-explosive booby trap
  8+ also allows Grease Monkey (p. 51) maneuvers.
  medic
   Medical School of Hard 
  Knocks (NBA, p. 31).
  1 free rating point in Diagnosis
  On Your Feet (p. 45)
  Give another agent a 1 for 1 bonus to her Consciousness 
  roll by spending Medic points
  8+ also allows Verbal Trauma Unit (p. 52) maneuver.
  piloting
  Grand Theft Aero or 
  Aqua (NBA, p. 33)
  Spend 1 Piloting point to steal any standard civilian or police vehicle 
  you can operate; can create bogus flight plans or port documents
   Move Around the 
  Cabin (p. 45)
  While on a boat or aircraft, -1 to Difficulty of all Athletics feats, and to 
  Hit Threshold of foes you attack with Hand-to-Hand or Weapons
  8+ also allows Gear Devil (NBA, p. 56) maneuver.
  preparedness Check Your Other Left Pocket (p. 45)
  May spend Preparedness on behalf of other players
   Hoarder (p. 45)
  Lower all Cache test (NBA, p. 94) Difficulties by 1
  In the Nick of Time (NBA, p. 33)
  Retroactively plan for actions as needed; rolls still necessary
  8+ also allows Calculated Risk (p. 50) maneuver.
  sense 
  trouble
  Combat Intuition (NBA, p. 34)
  May use Sense Trouble rating instead of other ability rating 
  to determine order of action in contest or combat
   Hawkeye (p. 46)
  1 free rating point in Notice
  8+ also allows Danger Zone (p. 50) and Perfect Drop (p. 53) maneuvers
  shooting
  No cherries, but 8+ allows Extra Attacks (NBA, p. 74), Sniping (NBA, p. 76), Special Weapons Training 
  (NBA, p. 76), Suppressive Fire (NBA, p. 77), and Technothriller Monologue (NBA, p. 77) maneuvers.
  shrink
  Anger Management (p. 47)
  May make a Shrink test to anger or enrage a subject known to you
   Talk it Out (NBA, p. 34)
  1 free rating point in one of: Bullshit Detector, Flattery, Interrogation, or Reassurance
  Talking Cure (p. 47)
  Mental illness cure tests are at -1 Difficulty; restore 3 Stability for 
  2 Shrink spent with psychological triage; refresh 2 Shrink or 
  Stability for you and a subject after an emotional scene
  surveillance Face in the Crowd (p. 47)
  Losing your quarry doesn’t blow your cover
  Tail Lights (p. 47)
  May spend Driving on Surveillance tests while in a moving vehicle
  The Wire (NBA, p. 35)
  1 free rating point in Electronic Surveillance
  8+ also allows Blending Agent (p. 50), For Your Eyes Only (p. 50), and Watching the Watchers (p. 83) maneuvers.
  weapons
  Quincey Morris’ Bowie 
  Knife (NBA, p. 35)
  May throw balanced hand weapons within Near range at no penalty
  Riposte (p. 48)
  After an attacker rolls a 1 and misses, you may do 1 point of damage 
  per Weapons point you spend up to your weapon maximum
  8+ also allows Extra Attacks (NBA, p. 74), Martial Arts (NBA, p. 75), One-Two Punch (p. 53),  
  and Special Weapons Training (NBA, p. 76) maneuvers.
  cherry summary sheet 2
  
  124
  night's black agents
  mark and strike
    Requires Infiltration 8+ and 
  successful surprise test
    May spend Infiltration points 
  on first combat test
    May use this maneuver throughout 
  Player-Facing Combat
  one-two punch
    Requires Hand-to-Hand 8+ or 
  Weapons 8+ and two successful 
  blows in a row to the same foe
    Spend 3 Athletics, narrate action
    +2 to damage, refresh 1 point of 
  combat ability used for second blow
  perfect drop
    Requires Sense Trouble 8+ and 
  Combat Intuition cherry
    Spend 3 Sense Trouble
    Consider Sense Trouble rating 3 
  higher for purposes of Combat 
  Intuition once per session
  thrown clear by the blast
    Spend 4 points of Athletics to move 
  explosion effect on you up one 
  row on Explosion Damage table
    Spend 6 points of Athletics to move 
  explosion effect on you over one 
  column on Explosion Damage table
    Can never move you completely out 
  of blast radius; may be ineffective 
  against class 5 or 6 explosions
  gun cherries
    All require an unmodified Shooting 
  die roll of 6 that hits the target
    One cherry per weapon
  BFG
    Foe must spend 3 Shooting 
  points to target you for every 
  1 Intimidation you spend
    If you spend 0 Intimidation, foe must 
  spend 1 Shooting point to target you
    Lasts until your next action
  Handy
    May make immediate Extra 
  Attack at half Shooting cost
  High Cyclic
    Reduces cost of Autofire to 2 
  Shooting per extra damage die
  Mobile
    Multiple targets do not 
  increase Hit Thresholds
    Lasts for next round only
  Precision Accuracy
    If you spent points on a Called 
  Shot, refresh 2 Shooting
  Rugged Reliability
    Refresh either 1 Mechanics 
  or 1 Preparedness
  Smooth Action
    Spend only 1 Shooting point 
  to Jump In next round
  Stopping Power
    Foe’s action moves to end of 
  ranking order in combat
  new thriller combat options
  
  125
  night's black agents
  annihilation
  civil war
  palace coup
  i did it 
  for you
  blood will 
  have blood
  mole
  enemy of 
  my enemy
  obsession
  showdown
  leak
  you're with 
  me now
  secret 
  murder
  favorite
  confrontation
  disrespect
  i could take 
  care of you
  the wench 
  is dead
  other 
  business
  insult
  rivals
  betrayal
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  collapse
  slaughter
  vengeance
  paranoia
  strife
  intrigue
  suspyramid diagram
  
  126
  night's black agents
  addictive bite
  Treat bite as heroin (NBA, p. 81)
  NBA, p. 128
  anaesthetic bite
  Bite might erase memory, knock out victim, act as truth serum, etc.; 
  use Mental Attacks for bites to induce emotional state 
  NBA, p. 138
  animal senses
  Adds to Alertness Modifier or allows vampire to spend Aberrance on tests 
  or contests of Infiltration and Surveillance; see Track by Smell
  NBA, p. 128
  apportation
  Appear within Near range at a location fulfilling a condition 
  (coffin, blood, etc.); see also “Slasher Movement”
  NBA, p. 132
  astral projection
  Send spirit out of body; equivalent to Clairvoyance in most cases
  blood phantoms
  Lost Health fights on your side as phantom monster
  p. 108
  blood will tell
  Wounds in vampire’s vicinity never stop bleeding; lose 1 Health every 2 rounds
  NBA, p. 129
  bloodworking
  Construct objects, agents out of blood; manipulate blood of yourself or others
  p. 106
  body jumping
  Move from body to body through spirit possession
  NBA, p. 134
  boneless flexibility
  Can fit through any space a large snake can fit through
  NBA, p. 149
  clairvoyance
  Can see at a distance; e.g., through eyes of familiars or victims
  NBA, p. 128
  cloak of darkness
  Increase local Darkness by two levels
  NBA, p. 130
  cloud men’s minds
  Convince witnesses they see nothing; Difficulty 6 Stability test to see
  NBA, p. 130
  corpse
  Weapons do half damage; firearms do only 1 point of damage; shotguns 
  firing shot do only 2 points of damage; Called Shots only effective on 
  weak points (eyes, brain); crashes and falls do half minimum damage
  NBA, p. 126
  create fog
  Call fog into being; +2 to visual Difficulties
  curse
  Against NPCs, as Magic; against agents, change one die for 2 
  Aberrance, for 3 Aberrance effect is permanent
  p. 106
  darkvision 
  Take no penalties from Darkness
  NBA, p. 128
  distortion
  +1 or +2 to Hit Threshold
  NBA, p. 135
  dominance
  Infected victims become servile; 7-point Stability test (Difficulty 8) to avoid Obsession 
  with serving vampire; Difficulty 6 Stability test to act against master vampire
  NBA, p. 129
  drain
  Transfer victim’s Health to vampire’s Health pool; requires willing 
  or helpless victim, or successful Hand-to-Hand bite attack; 
  damage transfers, further attacks automatically succeed
  NBA, p. 128
  eclipse power
  Double Aberrance and Health pool during partial or annular 
  eclipse; quadruple pools during total eclipse
  NBA, p. 143
  enter dreams
  A Mental Attack; includes influencing, shaping, and reading dreams of victim
  NBA, p. 132
  fluid 
  All physical wounds flow closed; fire, electricity, and acid do normal damage
  NBA, p. 126
  heat drain
  Prolonged touch (with or without Hand-to-Hand) does +0 damage to 
  victim’s Athletics; once drained to 0, takes damage from Health
  NBA, p. 128
  hive mind
  Gestalt consciousness with other vampires; for each extra hive 
  mind in combat, one foe’s Hit Threshold decreases by 1
  NBA, p. 134
  howl
  Causes fear as Mental Attack or does damage as Telekinesis
  NBA, p. 138
  illusory shape
  Take shape chosen by you or plucked from foe’s mind; as Mental Attack
  NBA, p. 131
  immaterial
  Physical attacks do no damage; fire does 1 point of damage; may 
  be disrupted or damaged by specialized attacks
  NBA, p. 126
  vampire powers summary sheet 1
  
  127
  night's black agents
  indescribable
  Cannot be perceived or remembered by human eyes or mind; applies automatically 
  to anyone with Stability pool lower than vampire’s Aberrance pool.
  NBA, p. 130
  infection
  Turn others into vampires
  NBA, p. 129
  infrasound
  Act as suicidal/depressive Mental Attack; triggers Borderline 
  Personality Disorder and Depressive Disorder
  NBA, p. 138
  infravision
  Take no penalties from Darkness to see warm or heated objects
  NBA, p. 128
  invisibility
  +1 to +5 to Hit Threshold and to Difficulties to see
  NBA, p. 129
  levitation
  Hover in mid-air; move either at slow walking speed or flickering near-instantaneity
  NBA, p. 133
  magic
  Any effect; 2 Aberrance for minor or traditionally vampiric magics; 3 
  Aberrance for major or non-traditionally vampiric magics
  NBA, p. 131
  memory haze
  Vampire image disappears from mirrors, photographs, and memory
  NBA, p. 129
  memory wipe
  As Mental Attack
  NBA, p. 132
  mental attack
  Spend at least 2 Aberrance on roll; if total >4, victim must 
  succeed in Stability test against total roll+spend
  NBA, p. 131
  mesmerism
  Resolve as Mental Attacks; includes Command, Deepen 
  Slumber, Entrance, Send to Sleep, Sway Emotions
  NBA, p. 131
  mimic ability
  Mimic any ability seen; spend Aberrance on any General test
  NBA, p. 136
  mimic form
  Take on victim’s form
  NBA, p. 136
  mimicry
  Imitate voices; Difficulty 4 Stability test to disbelieve
  NBA, p. 138
  mind reading
  As Mental Attack
  NBA, p. 132
  necromancy
  Speak with or gain information from the dead
  NBA, p. 134
  no reflection
  Vampire casts no image in mirrors or reflective surfaces; may 
  spend 2 Aberrance to deliberately cast image
  NBA, p. 129
  no shadow
  Vampire casts no shadow; may spend 2 Aberrance to deliberately cast shadow
  NBA, p. 129
  pack attack
  Foe’s Hit Threshold drops by 1 against third attacker in pack
  NBA, p. 150
  pheromone control
  Simulates some or all of Mesmerism
  plague
  Spread disease with Hand-to-Hand attack; use anthrax (NBA, p. 81)
  NBA, p. 129
  possession
  Control a person remotely or by spirit possession; as 
  Mental Attack at +2 to resistance roll
  NBA, p. 134
  psychic vampirism
  May drain Stability, Athletics, or Health; victim may not regain 
  Stability or use Drive until the next operation
  NBA, p. 128
  regeneration
  Refresh Health damage (exact rate and cycle varies; see NBA, p. 135)
  NBA, p. 134
  remote drain
  Drain without physical contact
  NBA, p. 128
  resurrection
  Return to life after being killed
  NBA, p. 142
  rubbery
  -2 armor vs. melee weapons; firearms and projectiles do half damage; Called 
  Shots effective on eyes, head; crashes and falls do 1 point of damage
  NBA, p. 126
  send to sleep
  A Mental Attack, part of Mesmerism; against a roomful of foes, 
  use Cloud Men’s Minds rules (NBA, p. 130)
  NBA, p. 132
  shadow attack
  Remotely damage or Drain from a foe’s shadow; -1 to 
  enemy Hit Threshold except in Pitch Black
  NBA, p. 153
  “slasher movement”
  Can enter or escape a room undetectably if any possible entrance or exit is unlocked 
  NBA, p. 133
  vampire powers summary sheet 2
  
  128
  night's black agents
  spider climb
  Climb sheer walls, walk on ceilings, etc.
  NBA, p. 133
  spit venom
  Range is Close; venom may blind (+2 to all Difficulties), act as acid, etc.
  NBA, p. 138
  stealth
  Spend Aberrance on feats of Stealth, or to raise Difficulty 
  for agents’ Sense Trouble or Surveillance tests
  NBA, p. 137
  stifling air
  People within Close range start suffocating (NBA, p. 79)
  NBA, p. 129
  stony
  Immune to any weapon doing less than +1 damage normally; all 
  other weapons do -2; -5 armor vs. crashes and falls
  NBA, p. 126
  strangling grasp
  With successful Hand-to-Hand attack (Called Shot at +3 or spend 2 Aberrance), 
  can grab and squeeze for +0; automatic squeeze damage +0 per round 
  thereafter; foe must make two Athletics tests in a row to escape; Hit 
  Threshold -2 against strangled foe; compare Grab (NBA, p. 149)
  NBA, p. 151
  strength
  +1 or +2 to Hand-to-Hand damage, +1 more for 2 Aberrance; either any feat costs 
  2-3 Aberrance or feats require Aberrance tests using Difficulties from table
  NBA, p. 137
  summoning
  Summon allies, vermin, demons, etc.
  NBA, p. 137
  telekinesis
  Uses Weapons ability to throw items (damage by weapon type, plus 1 per 2 
  additional Aberrance spent); Shooting for telekinetic blasts (damage +0, plus 1 
  per 2 additional Aberrance spent); as Vampiric Strength for lifting, bending, etc.
  NBA, p. 131
  temporal 
  distortion
  +1 to Hit Threshold; ignore laser sights; weird time effects; 
  possible damage to computers or distortion of data
  NBA, p. 129
  track by smell
  +2 to agents’ Difficulties to evade
  tracking
  Can follow any blood tasted or smelled over any distance; 
  oceans and air travel interrupt the trail
  NBA, p. 149
  tunneling
  Dig or ooze through soil with unnatural speed and stealth
  NBA, p. 133
  turn invisible
  +1 to +5 to Hit Threshold and to Difficulties to see
  NBA, p. 131
  turn to creature
  Take animal shape: rat, wolf, etc.
  NBA, p. 136
  turn to mist
  Become a mist or fog; Immaterial; +2 Stealth Modifier
  NBA, p. 136
  turn to 
  monstrous form
  Take monstrous shape: camazotz, bhole, etc.
  NBA, p. 136
  ultrasonics
  Shatter glass, harass guard dogs, communicate without being overheard
  NBA, p. 138
  unfeeling
  Never becomes Hurt by physical attacks, automatically makes 
  Consciousness rolls; can still fight while Seriously Wounded
  NBA, p. 126
  vampiric speed
  +1 or +2 to Hit Threshold; various speed stunts and maneuvers (NBA, p. 134)
  NBA, p. 133
  venom
  Bite is poisonous; use snake venom (NBA, p. 81)
  NBA, p. 138
  voice
  As Mesmerism
  NBA, p. 138
  wave of madness
  Shooting attack against Hit Threshold of foe; damage +0 to Stability, 
  increased by 1 per 2 additional Aberrance spent
  NBA, p. 132
  wings
  Winged flight capability
  NBA, p. 133
  worrying bite
  If two bites succeed in a row, second bite does double damage; all bites thereafter 
  automatically succeed; Hit Threshold -1 against foe clamped in your jaws
  NBA, p. 150
  vampire powers summary sheet 3
  
  129
  night's black agents
  Index
  Symbols
  1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-
  Delta (1 SFOD-D). See Army 
  Compartmented Elements
  3D Printers  67
  21st (Artists) and 23rd Special Air Service 
  Regiments of the Territorial Army. 
  See Special Air Service (SAS)
  22nd Special Air Service Regiment of the 
  Regular Army. See Special Air Service 
  (SAS)
  A
  Abilities
  General Abilities  36–48
  Investigative Abilities  8–36
  Psychic  26
  Accounting (Academic)  8
  ACE. See Army Compartmented Elements
  Achievements  54
  Ad Hoc  56
  Adaptive Tradecraft  56
  Aggressive Driving Maneuvers  40
  Aging  120
  Alibi (Maneuver)  49, 122
  All In (Cherry)  42, 122
  Alpha Group (Russia)  24
  Ambush  18
  Ammunition  75
  Special  76
  Amphetamine  28
  Analysis
  Frequency  15
  Gastric  18
  Anger Management (Cherry)  47, 123
  Anti-Infrared Clothing  66
  Anti-Surveillance Attire  66
  Archaeology (Academic)  9
  Architecture (Academic)  10
  ARES Shrike  72
  Arms Dealer (NPC)  92
  Army Compartmented Elements  24
  Art History (Academic)  11
  Astronomy (Technical)  11
  Athletics (General)  38, 51, 122
  Atropine  29
  Audio Jammer  63
  Auto Mechanic (NPC)  92
  Awareness. See Notice (Technical)
  B
  Banks, Underground  8
  Battle Trance  23
  Bennies. See Amphetamine
  BFG (Gun Cherry)  74, 124
  Bigger Bang (Cherry)  122
  Binary Explosives  65
  Biometrics  19
  Black Market
  Currency Exchange  8
  Blending Agent (Maneuver)  50, 123
  Blood
  Bloodworking  106
  Diseases. See Hematology
  Bloodworking  106
  Bluejacking Software  68
  Body Language  12
  Bono Cane (Cherry)  43, 122
  Bookie (NPC)  92
  Bootlegger’s Turn  40
  Brass Knuckles  45
  Breakfall (Maneuver)  122
  British Police Jargon  13
  Bug-Out Bag  34
  Bug Stasher (Cherry)  39, 122
  Building Superintendent (NPC)  93
  Bulletproof Briefcase  59
  Bullets. See Ammunition
  Bullshit Detector (Interpersonal)  12
  Bump and Run  32
  Bureaucracy (Interpersonal)  12
  Bureaucrat (NPC)  93
  Burglar Alarm  45
  Businesses. See Companies
  C
  C4  40
  Calculated Risk (Maneuver)  50, 123
  Caltrop Dispenser  70
  Cameos  92
  Cannabis  28
  Capitol Building (Location)  104
  Card Up The Sleeve (Maneuver)  50, 122
  Car Hacking  67
  Carnival (Location)  98
  Cartagena Rules  60
  Car Thief (NPC)  93
  Casino (Location)  99
  Casino Table Games  42
  Catacomb  10, 99
  Cellphone. See Mobile Phone
  Check Your Other Left Pocket (Cherry)  45, 
  123
  Chemistry (Technical)  13, 57
  Cherries  122. See also Gun Cherries
  Chop Shop Manager (NPC)  93
  Chupa  106
  Cipher  15
  Classic Grift  30
  Cocaine  28
  Code  15
  Coercion  23
  Cohors Pedestris Helvetiorum a Sacra 
  Custodia Pontificis. See Pontifical Swiss 
  Guard
  Cold War  119
  Cold War Veteran (NPC)  94
  Collimating Sight  75
  Combat Applications Group. See Army 
  Compartmented Elements
  Combat Intuition (Cherry)  123
  Combat Maneuvers  53
  Common Tells  12
  Communicate Despite Monitoring  58
  Communications
  Gear  63–64
  Communications contest  63
  Companies
  Control Systems  21
  Core Values  21
  Legitimate  8
  Organizational Structure  21
  Power Structures  21
  Shell Companies  9
  Compensator  75
  Computers
  Data Recovery  15
  Failures  16
  Tricked-Out Hardware  79
  Computer Use (General)  119
  Conceal (General)  38, 57, 58, 122
  Connected Cover (Cherry)  122
  Conspiracy Theorist (NPC)  94
  Context, Verbal  12
  Cooper Color Code  45
  Cop Talk (Interpersonal)  13
  CornerShot  75
  Cornfield (Location)  99
  Cover Identity  45
  Crack. See Cocaine
  Cracker’s Crypto (Cherry)  122
  Criminal Slang  32
  Criminology (Academic)  14
  Crypt  10
  Cryptography (Technical)  15, 58
  Curse  106
  Customs Agent (NPC)  94
  D
  Danger Zone (Maneuver)  50, 123
  Data Center (Location)  99
  Data Recovery (Technical)  15
  Decomposition  19
  Defensive Driving (Cherry)  40, 122
  Delta Force. See Army Compartmented 
  Elements
  Demolition Man (Cherry)  44, 123
  Determine when the Car Leaves  56
  DEVGRU. See Special Warfare Development 
  Group
  Dexedrine  28
  Diagnosis (Academic)  16, 57
  Digital Intrusion  39, 51, 57, 81, 122
  Contests  78
  Digital Judo (Maneuver)  50, 81, 122
  Disgraced Doctor (NPC)  94
  Disguise
  Gear  64
  Disguise (General)  39, 49, 51, 57, 64, 83, 122
  DMSO  29
  INDEX
  
  130
  night's black agents
  Document Forgery  19
  Dracula. See Vlad III Dracula
  Driving (General)  40, 52, 118, 122
  Drugs  28
  Dumpster Diving  34
  E
  Ecstasy  28
  Ekimmu  107
  Electronic Surveillance (Technical)  17, 57
  EMMV Climbing Gloves  66
  EMP Cannon  71
  EMP Weapons  65
  Equipment. See Gear
  Errata: Martini, Straight Up  119
  Escape Artist (Cherry)  44, 122
  Espionage Jargon  33
  Establishing Shots  98–105
  Europe
  British Police Jargon  13
  EU citizenship  12
  European Firearms Pass  12
  Foreign Investor Passports  13
  Most Expensive Hotels  19
  Schengen Area  13
  Special Operations Forces  24
  Everybody’s Got A Tell (Cherry)  42, 122
  Ex-Con Forger (NPC)  94
  Explosive Devices (General)  40, 64–66, 122
  Extra Attacks (Maneuver)  122, 123
  Eye of the Tiger (Cherry)  122
  F
  Face in the Crowd (Cherry)  47, 123
  Facial Masking Technology  64
  Fake an Injury  57
  Familiar Foe  52
  Federal Security Service of the Russian 
  Federation (FSB)  24
  Fermi’s Paradox  11
  Filch (General)  41, 57, 58, 59, 122
  Firearms  72–77
  By User  73–74
  European Laws  23
  European Pass  12
  Moving A Cache  24
  First Aid Kit  44
  Flattery (Interpersonal)  17, 58
  Flirting (Interpersonal)  18
  Fog Dispenser  71
  Forensic Pathology (Technical)  18
  Forgery (Technical)  19
  For Your Eyes Only (Maneuver)  50, 123
  Fourth Nail, The  9
  Frequency Scanner  66
  G
  Gadgets. See Gear
  Gambits  89
  Gambling (General)  42, 50, 122
  Gaslighting  23
  Gear  63–71
  Tricked-Out Hardware  79
  Vehicle-Based  69–71
  Gear Devil (Maneuver)  122, 123
  Geiger Counter  13
  General Abilities  36–48
  Gestures, Emotional  12
  Get in Without a Ticket  58
  Glad Handing  15
  Gondola (Location)  100
  Good Cop, Bad Cop  22
  Grail, The  9
  Grand Theft Aero (Cherry)  123
  Grand Theft Auto (Cherry)  122
  Grease Monkey (Maneuver)  51, 123
  Grenade Launchers  76
  Grenades  65
  Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (Border Police Group 
  9). See GSG 9
  GROM  24
  GSG 9  24
  Gun Cherries  74–77, 124
  Guns. See Firearms
  Gym Rat (NPC)  95
  H
  Hacker (NPC)  95
  Hand-to-Hand (General)  42, 53, 122. See 
  also Martial Arts (Maneuver)
  Handy (Gun Cherry)  74, 124
  Hard to Hit (Cherry)  122
  Hardware Store (Location)  98
  Hawkeye (Cherry)  46, 123
  Haymaker (Cherry)  43, 122
  Head of a PIN (Cherry)  39, 122
  Hematology  16. See also individual entries
  Heroin  28
  Hide Documents  58
  High Cyclic (Gun Cherry)  74, 124
  High-End Escort (NPC)  95
  High-Performance Cars  17
  High Society (Interpersonal)  19
  High-Speed Train (Location)  100
  High-Z Materials  13
  History (Academic)  20
  Hoarder (Cherry)  45, 123
  Holy Grail, The. See Grail, The
  Homunculus  108
  Hotels, Most Expensive in Europe  19
  Hot Lead  87, 88
  Houses of the Dead  10. See also Individual 
  Entries
  Human Terrain (Academic)  21
  I
  Identity Theft  19, 34
  Infiltration (General)  43, 51, 53, 58, 81–84, 
  122
  Contests  81
  Gear  66
  Innocent Bystander (Cherry)  40, 122
  Insects. See also Forensic Pathology (Technical)
  Interrogation (Interpersonal)  22
  In the Nick of Time (Cherry)  123
  Intimidation (Interpersonal)  23
  Investigative Abilities  8–36
  Iranian Embassy Siege  25
  J
  Jack the Ripper  20
  Jednostka Wojskowa 2305 (Military Unit 
  2305). See GROM
  Jetpack  68
  Just the Help (Cherry)  40, 122
  K
  Ketamine  28
  KGB  24
  Knife Grips  47–48
  L
  Land Mines  66
  Laser  66
  Law (Academic)  23
  License Plates  71
  A Lift in Time Saves Nine (Cherry)  41, 122
  Like Smoke (Maneuver)  51, 122
  Local Law Enforcement (NPC)  95
  Locations  98–105
  Longshoreman (NPC)  95
  LSD (Drug)  28, 29
  Luck of the Devil (Cherry)  122
  M
  m4d sk1llz (Maneuver)  51, 122
  Machine Guns  71
  Maestro of Destruction (Cherry)  41, 122
  Make a Convenient Wall Safe  57
  Manhunts  87
  Marijuana. See Cannabis
  Mark and Strike (Maneuver)  53, 122, 124
  Martial Arts (Maneuver)  42–43, 122, 123
  Mixer  42
  Martini, Straight Up  119
  Masquerade Ball (Location)  100
  Mastery  38
  materiel  63
  Mausoleum  10
  Mechanics (General)  44, 51, 56, 57, 59, 123
  Gear  67
  Medical School of Hard Knocks (Cherry)  123
  Medic (General)  44, 52, 123
  Megalomaniac’s Secret Lair (Location)  101
  Mescaline  29
  Methamphetamine  28
  Meth Lab (Location)  101
  Microexpressions  12
  Military  24
  Military Base  25
  Military Science (Academic)  24, 59
  Mobile (Gun Cherry)  74, 124
  INDEX
  
  131
  night's black agents
  Mobile Phone  17
  Cloning  17
  Mole  12
  Money Laundering  8
  Monitor a Negotiation  57
  Monsters  106–111
  Montezuma’s Revenge  13
  Mook Shield (Maneuver)  122
  Morgue (Location)  102
  Moscow Rules  33
  Move Around The Cabin (Cherry)  45, 123
  Mr. Clean (Cherry)  39, 122
  Museum (Location)  102
  N
  Nationality, Dual  12
  Navy SEAL. See United States Navy SEAL
  Negotiation (Interpersonal)  25
  Nerve Agents  29
  Networks
  Mobile Phone  17
  Nightclub (Location)  102
  Nitrous Oxide Injector  71
  Non-Combat Maneuvers  49
  Nosferatu  110–111
  No Slipups (Cherry)  122
  Notice (Technical)  26, 58
  NPCs  92–97
  O
  Observation. See Notice (Technical)
  Occult Bookstore Owner (NPC)  95
  Occult Studies (Academic)  26
  Oil Slick Dispenser  71
  One-Two Punch (Maneuver)  53, 122, 123, 
  124
  On Your Feet (Cherry)  45, 123
  Open Sesame (Cherry)  122
  Operation Feuerzauber  24
  Operation Heavy Shadow  24
  Operation Little Flower  24
  Operation Neptune Spear  25
  Operation Orchard  25
  Order of the Dragon  20
  Organizational Culture  21
  Ossuary  10
  Outdoor Survival (Technical)  28, 57
  Overseas Accounts  8
  P
  Pandora’s Box  9
  Paraglider  68
  Parkour (Maneuver)  38, 122
  Passports
  Foreign Investor  13
  Forging  19
  PCP  29
  Penanggalan  109
  Perfect Drop (Maneuver)  53, 123, 124
  Perfect Holdout (Cherry)  122
  Personal Inflatable Protection Sphere  68
  Pharmacy (Technical)  28
  Photography (Technical)  30
  Pickpocket  41
  Piloting (General)  45, 118, 123
  Plane Crash  45
  Plastic Explosives  40
  Platelets. See Hematology
  Police
  Interviews  22
  Jargon, British  13
  Political Rally (Location)  103
  Pontifical Swiss Guard  24
  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  47
  Precision Accuracy (Gun Cherry)  75, 124
  Preparedness (General)  45, 50, 57, 59, 123
  Pretend to Drink  59
  Public Defender (NPC)  96
  Pwn a Webcam  57
  Q
  Qat  28
  Q Rule  63
  Quick Change (Maneuver)  51, 122
  Quincey Morris’ Bowie Knife (Cherry)  123
  R
  Radiation  13
  Radioactive Material  13
  Radiotelegraphy (General)  118, 119
  Rainforest (Location)  103
  Reassurance (Interpersonal)  30, 59
  Red Light Street (Location)  103
  Refreshment. See also General Abilities, 
  Investigative Abilities
  Achievements  54
  Regeneration  127
  Remotely Piloted Vehicles  69
  Research (Academic)  31
  Retired Cop (NPC)  96
  Retired Secretary (NPC)  96
  RFID Sniffer  66
  Riding (General)  118
  Rifle Grenades  77
  Riposte (Cherry)  48, 123
  Roll Through the Pain (Cherry)  38, 122
  Roosting  90
  Rudiger, Joshua  14
  Rugged Reliability (Gun Cherry)  75, 124
  Run and Hide (Maneuver)  51, 84, 122
  Runner’s Intuition (Cherry)  38, 122
  S
  Safe House  28, 35
  Safety’s On  51
  Satanists  27
  Sayeret Matkal  25
  Scare Tactics  23
  Schengen Area  13
  Scrambler  63
  SEAL. See United States Navy SEAL
  SEAL Team Six. See Special Warfare 
  Development Group
  Séance  26
  Second-Story Man (NPC)  96
  Secret Archives  31
  24-Hour Seedy Diner (Location)  98
  See in Darkness  57
  Semtex  19, 41
  Sense Trouble (General)  45, 50, 53, 123
  Shock and Awe  23
  Shooting (General)  46, 123
  Shredded Documents, Reconstructing  34
  Shrink (General)  47, 123
  Signature Wheels (Maneuver)  52, 122
  Silencer  45
  SIM Card Copier/Reader  68
  Ski Resort (Location)  103
  Skyscraper, Glass (Location)  100
  Slang
  Cop Talk  13
  Criminal  32
  Vampspeak  35
  Slaughterhouse (Location)  104
  Sleeve Holster  75
  Smooth Action (Gun Cherry)  75, 124
  Sneaking Rules  83
  Sniping (Maneuver)  123
  Social Class  118
  Special Air Service (SAS)  25
  Special Ammunition  76
  Special K. See Ketamine
  Special Operations Forces  24–25
  Special Warfare Development Group  25
  Special Weapons Training (Maneuver)  123
  Speed (Drug). See Amphetamine
  Spends. See Under Each Investigative Heading
  Spetsnaz  24
  Spytech. See Gear
  Standard Operating Procedures  60
  Stars Are Right  12
  Stash Spots  38
  Steel Foundry (Location)  104
  Stockholm Syndrome  47
  Stopping Power (Gun Cherry)  75, 124
  Stories, Developing  112
  Street Drugs  28
  Street Festival (Location)  104
  Street Thug (NPC)  96
  Streetwise (Interpersonal)  32
  Support Moves (Maneuver)  122
  Suppressive Fire (Maneuver)  123
  Surveillance  47, 50, 83, 123
  Contests  84
  Gear  68
  Survival Kit  28
  Suspyramid  112, 114–116, 125
  Swiss Army Prep (Cherry)  123
  Swiss Guard. See Pontifical Swiss Guard
  T
  Tactical Fact Finding Benefit. See Under Each 
  Investigative Ability
  Tail Lights (Cherry)  47, 123
  INDEX
  
  132
  night's black agents
  Tainted Blood  16
  Take Fingerprints in the Field  59
  Talking Cure (Cherry)  47, 123
  Talk it Out (Cherry)  123
  Technology. See Gear
  Technothriller Monologue (Maneuver)  123
  Telegraphy  117
  Television Reporter (NPC)  97
  Tells  12
  Temazepam  28
  Tenement Block, Overcrowded (Location)  
  102
  Thriller Combat Options  124
  Thriller Contests  78
  Chase Rules  78
  Digital Intrusion  78–79
  Hacking Rules  80
  Infiltration  81
  Sneaking Rules  83
  Trailing Rules  86
  Thriller Maneuvers  49
  Thrown Clear by the Blast (Maneuver)  53, 
  124
  Thunderbolt. See GROM
  Time-Limited Message Discs  64
  Time of Death  18
  Tools as Weapons  44
  Toxins  29
  Tradecraft (Interpersonal)  33
  Traffic Analysis (Technical)  34
  Traffic Jam (Location)  105
  Trapmaster (Cherry)  44, 123
  Traps
  Setting  28
  Tricked-Out Hardware  79
  Tricks of the Trade  49
  Truck Driver (NPC)  97
  U
  United States Navy SEAL  25
  Unit, The. See Sayeret Matkal
  Urban Survival (Technical)  34, 56
  V
  Vampire  21. See also Monsters
  Artifacts  9
  Murders  14
  Powers  126–127
  Subculture  35
  Vampspeak  35
  Vampire-Enthralled Goth (NPC)  97
  Vampirology (Academic)  35
  Vampspeak  35
  Variant Eras  117–119
  Vehicle-Based Equipment  69–71
  Vehicles  68
  Verbal Trauma Unit (Maneuver)  52, 123
  Victorian Era  117–118
  Vitamin T. See Temazepam
  Vlad III Dracula  20
  Voice Synthesizer  64
  W
  Watching the Watchers (Maneuver)  53, 83, 
  123
  Weapons  53, 123. See also Firearms, Shooting
  Winch  71
  Wingsuit  69
  Wire, The (Cherry)  123
  World War II  118–119
  Write in Invisible Ink  58
  INDEX
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Nights Black Agents/Double Tap.pdf