May - The King's Man - Roleplaying Tips
may-the-king’s-man

May – The King’s Man

Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0793

Hola %FIRSTNAME%

I watched a crime show last night. Turns out the thug who was busted on suspicion of capping the victim is an undercover federal agent.

A King’s Man.

Today I want you to add a spy in your game.

Step 1. Which Faction?

Which side does the spy work for? Pick a faction. Pick two if you dare.

Step 2. What Mission?

What’s the main thing the spy needs to learn? Got a d12?

  1. Report on party whereabouts so the villain can stay one step ahead
  2. Learn the location and details (traps, etc.) of the artefact the PCs quest for so the faction gets there first
  3. Find out which PC is also a spy
  4. Discover the identity another faction’s spy
  5. Report on whether a PC meets criteria for an invitation to join the faction
  6. Hand off vital documents to an agent in the 5 Room Dungeon the PCs plan to explore
  7. Find the secret room in the 5 Room Dungeon the PCs plan to explore and return with its contents
  8. Bring back a rare monster part for a secret cure the King needs
  9. Bring back all information about a mysterious ancient enemy who’s become active again
  10. Learn how the ancient dwarven traps work so the King can build similar defences against a new threat
  11. Harvest dead PC organs for experiments back at the lab
  12. Bring an offer to another faction that operates out of an extreme location

Step 3. Who’s the Spy?

With faction and function chosen, decide on race, class, features, and other details of your NPC.

Then add a personality.

Then add at least one disguise.

Note that an awesome disguise includes a new personality. And if you use Campaign Logger, you’ve got an amazing disguise creator at your finger tips — the 3 Line NPC Generator!

Just generate a 3 Line NPC whenever you need a new appearance, personality, and undercover motive and hook.

The Challenge

Here’s what I want you to do today. Pick A or B:

A) Create a new spy and plan how you’ll add them into the party.

B) Take an existing NPC and turn them into a spy.

B is MUCH more interesting. And it’s less complicated than you think.

I would not retroactively make them a spy. You risk Logic Bombs that way.

Instead, I would roll up a mission from the table above and assign it to them right now.

Perhaps a faction “turns” the NPC via extortion, kidnapped family, or some other leverage. Maybe the NPC joins the faction and this is their right-of-passage or first mission. Either way, think up a quick backstory of how this came to be in the last day or two in the campaign, and then launch your spy.

Plant a King’s Man in the PC party and let me know how it goes!