d20 Devil's Workshop Espionage Genre Toolkit Cold War Games.pdf
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Esponiage Genre Toolkit:
Cold War Games
Cold War Games
A conflict so deadly that it could never be fought openly,
a Cold War is the perfect environment for a campaign.
Spies, technological innovation, arms races, veiled
hostility and proxy warfare dominate the stage as the Great
Powers struggle for dominance – and the players must
keep their wits about them to survive.
Any characters retain their own, regular wealth, but
the party also gains access to a ‘buying pool’ which is
intended to cover costs as they go about the mission.
This buying pool is set at the outset of the mission, to be
determined by material necessities. Generally, the buying
pool varies by the difficulty of the mission, and is shared
between all party members undertaking a mission. The
bonus remains the same for larger or smaller parties, as
individual items that would be purchased with it (
plane
tickets, etc
) only occasionally impact the buying pool’s
wealth bonus.
In this book, an enterprising GM will find suggestions,
mechanics, and tools to help them create their own cold
war, whether that be based upon the real-world event, or a
conflict of their own design.
Buying Pool Guidelines
Mission CR average Buying pool wealth bonus
1-4
Core Design of the
Cold War Games
Allegiance Option: Great
Powers
All players in a Cold War Games campaign must either
choose to have an allegiance to a Great Power, or can
choose to be active freelancers. A freelancer cannot
choose to take a Great Power Allegiance until they have
worked for that power consistently for 3 levels of experi-
ence.
15
5-8
18
9-12
21
13-16
25
17-20
30
As a rule, vehicles, gear, and other large-cost necessities
that are needed for a given mission will be requisitioned
and not paid for from this pool. Note that money in the
Buying Pool is considered separate from each character’s
own wealth bonus, and the two may not be combined in
any way (
the bookkeeping is a nightmare, both real world
and in-game
). At the end of the mission, the characters
will likely have to hand over any items purchased with
their Buying Pool.
A character who chooses an Allegiance to a Great Power
gains certain benefits and restrictions.
Benefit:
All diplomacy checks made when dealing with
members of the same Great Power allegiance as the PC
gain a +3 situational bonus.
Leaving a Power
A player character who wishes to cancel his Allegiance
to a Great Power is not in the best shape. He must make
a WILL save (
DC equal to his character level +10
) to
prevent being labeled as a criminal by the Great Power
he previously served. However, leaving a Great Power
has a chance of attracting some positive attention from an
Opposition Power – the character may roll a D20, adding
his character level and charisma modifier. If this result
exceeds 25, the PC can immediately switch his Allegiance
to the Opposition Power.
Restriction:
All diplomacy checks made when dealing
with members of the Opposition Power suffer a -2 situ-
ational penalty.
Benefit:
When within the Great Power’s Sphere of
Influence, a Player Character gains a +1 morale bonus to
all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
Restriction:
When within the Opposition Power’s Sphere
of Influence, a Player Character suffers a -1 morale penalty
to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
Designing the Great
Powers
In order for a Cold War to brew, you need at least two
powerful groups to act in opposition to one another. They
will be central to the campaign. But what are the natures
of these powers?
Wealth Benefits from an
Allegiance
The lifestyle of a Great Power agent is a lavish one.
Player characters who are sent on missions by Great
Powers can expect to have a lot of money thrown their
way to help pay for incidental charges which crop up over
the course of their assignment.
page 2
Cold War Games
Roles
A Cold War setting naturally takes on the aspects of the
Great Powers featured in the campaign, as they define the
setting. Because of this, the details of the Great Powers
should be hammered out – geography, government, and
agenda. Here, we provide a number of example basic
frameworks for states and political organizations to get
those creative juices flowing.
State Name: The Ideologue
State
Description:
A nation founded on a selection of prin-
ciples, the Ideologue is interested in spreading its way of
life, while at the same time naturally expanding its polit-
ical influence and wealth. The Ideologue State actively
interacts on many fields, and encourages others to adopt its
model, as such it has the most politically skilled populace.
Example Powers
State Name: The Isolate
Description:
From a geographically isolated region, such
as a mountain pass or island. The Isolate is highly tech-
nologically advanced as a consequence of developing
methods of dealing with their difficult environment. Their
physical isolation has fostered a somewhat xenophobic
culture. The Isolate’s goals surround acquiring additional
resources, as their own are limited by geographical factors.
Advantages:
PCs hailing from the Ideologue State gain
a +1 situational bonus to all hit and damage rolls when
fighting to defend or advance their national cause.
The Conflict
There are several different options as to how to structure
the Great Powers, but the most important aspect of a Cold
War game is the nature of the conflict between them. In
essence, there are two different types of struggle which
are most effective for a Cold War setting – a Black and
White conflict, and a Shades of Grey one. These differing
methods have alternate rules particular to them.
Advantages:
PCs hailing from the Isolate can access
mastercraft items for a purchase DC increase of only +1.
State Name: The Bloc
Description:
A conglomerate of smaller states arranged
together in some form of political alliance or federa-
tion. The government has cracked down in order to exert
control over a highly diverse populace. The Bloc will
have uneven technical development, but will have massive
amounts of resources at their disposal. The Bloc is most
interested in regional stability and expansion.
Black and White
Having clearly defined roles such as a good/evil
dichotomy will likely push the campaign more towards
action. Why would this happen? Simply put, if the
players interpret their opposition as being basically evil,
then that opposition is a force to be fought as opposed
to an organization to parlay with. Dealing with such an
opponent through violence is more acceptable. This is
great for high-octane, battling spies and cinematic type
campaigns.
Description:
PCs hailing from the Bloc begin play with
2 additional languages, representing the diversity of their
homeland.
Game Elements for a
Black and White Campaign
In a campaign run in the black and white style, taking
action against the Opposition Power should be more
greatly rewarded than otherwise. High action should be
encouraged, which has the effect of allowing the PCs to
survive some spectacular events, and cause some them-
selves.
State Name: The Old Empire
Description:
The Old Empire has its roots in an ancient
civilization which has been naturally dominant in a region
for a long time. Tradition and technical development are
encouraged. The Old Empire is in a state of decline, and
is attempting to hold onto satellite states which are its
main source of resources.
Description:
PCs hailing from the Old Empire gain a +2
competence bonus to diplomacy, intimidate, sense motive,
and bluff checks in highly formal or legalistic situation.
This reflects their knowledge of tradition.
Character action or event:
Critical hit scored against a
member of the opposition power
Effect/Modification:
Character gains 1 action point
Character action or event:
Player Character struck by a
potential critical hit
page 3
Cold War Games
Effect/Modification:
Confirming the critical must hit an
AC 2 higher than normal
Effect/Modification:
All such checks gain a +2 compe-
tence bonus. All characters in a Shades of Grey Campaign
are assumed to be trained and briefed for any situations
they may find themselves in.
Character action or event:
Player Character takes
massive damage
Character action or Event:
A Character resolves a major
tension or smoothes over a hostility
Effect/Modification:
Check to avoid death by massive
damage gains a +4 bonus
Effect/Modification:
That character gains 2 action points.
Character action or event:
Face off versus weaker oppo-
nents (ie ‘mooks’)
Character action or Event:
Character needs to speak a
different language
Effect/Modification:
Mooks gain only 2 hps per die as
opposed to regular hit point advancement
Effect/Modification:
All PCs in a Shades of Grey
Campaign are assumed to be fluent in the primary
languages of all great powers unless otherwise noted by
the GM.
Character action or event:
Player Character scores a
critical hit
Effect/Modification:
The regular damage multiplier for
the critical is increased by 1.
Elements of the
Cold War Struggle
Spies and Espionage
As the stakes of a cold war are very high (
utter destruc-
tion
), open conflict is limited and tightly controlled.
Instead of conventional warfare, key battles are fought
through access to information and proxies, with each side
attempting to outmaneuver the other while at the same
time protecting themselves. Under these conditions, the
rules for Gather Information checks are greatly expanded
and vary by circumstance.
Shades of Grey
Here we have the polar opposite of the Black and White
campaign. In Shades of Grey, the Great Powers have more
blurry distinctions - each is a massive entity, but neither is
wholly right nor wrong. Blurring the roles and allowing
nuance in a Cold War games setting will allow for more
political maneuvering and exploration of motives. As the
Powers in Shades of Grey are more complicated and often
motivated by multiple purposes, the goals and desires of
the individual players and NPCs become more prominent
in determining a plot, so pick this option if you’re into
complex political machinations.
Note:
All character in a Cold War Campaign should auto-
matically have Gather Information as a class skill. If they
would regularly have gather information as a class skill,
they gain a +2 profession bonus to all checks when using
the skill. When making gather info checks. characters
may also opt to substitute a different ability score over
charisma in certain situations.
Game Elements for a
Shades of Grey Campaign
Diplomacy and consensus building are to be rewarded in a
Shades of Grey campaign. In this environment, the resolu-
tion of tension and conflict is essential.
The Doomsday Device
What Cold War would be complete without it? A key
feature of the development of a Cold War is that all the
Great Powers must have access to some type of weapon
or device which largely ensures the destruction of their
opposition, if they dare to use it. All of the powers must
possess these arms – they are essential for keeping the
struggle from boiling up into a “Hot” war. Plots centered
around Doomsday Devices are especially suited for a high-
action, high stakes Black and White Campaign, where the
Opposition Power is just evil enough to use them.
Character action or Event:
A Character is dealing with a
member of an opposed power in a diplomatic capacity
Effect/Modification:
For each time dealing with that
particular NPC past the first, the PC gains a +1 cumula-
tive situational bonus to all diplomacy and sense motive
checks. This reflects an understanding being reached with
that NPC. The maximum bonus is +6.
Character action or Event:
A Character makes a knowl-
edge check pertaining to history, politics, or local informa-
tion
page 4
Cold War Games
Alternately, Gather
Information Check can use
Circumstance
(
at the PC’s discretion
):
Modifiers
In enemy territory
Charisma
-4 to all checks
In friendly territory
Charisma
+4 to all checks
Contacting a known enemy
Wisdom
All requests are
operative for the info
considered protected
Contacting a known friendly
Wisdom
Beating the DC by 5 or more provides
operative for the info
additional information
Gathering Information and
Intelligence
Both checks gain a +2 synergy bonus
Researching simultaneously
when used in tandem
Operating as a mole or plant
Charisma
+2 to all checks, but a failure requires a
bluff check at the same DC or your cover
is blown
At a formal social function
Intelligence
The character may substitute a
Knowledge: Current Events check as
opposed to a regular gather information
check (making small talk)
When Captive
Charisma
-2 to checks, stacks with ‘in enemy terri-
tory’
The nature of a doomsday device can vary, following is a
basic selection of devices to use in your own campaign,
and a few hooks to get a GM thinking.
discovery of an Opposition spy who had been passing
information on the device. But in the middle of the
night, the PCs are approached by informants who
reveal that the spy was a plant by the hawkish faction
– will they be able to avert open war?
• A proxy state is in danger of developing a doomsday
device of their own, and has broken from its alliance
to the Opposition. Everything spirals out of control
when the device goes haywire. Now is the PCs’
chance to establish friendly relations, nip the project
in the bud or bring it under control – and deal with the
planned takeover or sabotage by opposition spies.
Example Doomsday Devices
• Nuclear weapons (
a classic!
)
• Bio-engineered viruses
• Legions of indestructible super soldiers
• A Brutally efficient artificial intelligence
• A weapon which creates horrific natural disasters
• Weapons which destroy the air or atmosphere
• Weapons which permanently destroy the food supply
Doomsday Device Hooks
• The PCs must find and board a commuter train that is
secretly carrying the device to an Opposition facility
located within a proxy state. The government of the
proxy state is in turmoil over hosting the device in the
first place, with some factions favoring the Opposition,
and some favoring the PCs and their patrons. The PCs
will face resistance from unexpected places and ex-
officials who no longer want any part of the goings-
on, and must prepare for a wild rumble on a crowded
train.
• The PCs’ patron has developed a newer, deadlier
weapon, and the more hawkish members of the orga-
nization want to use it. However, there is significant
debate as to whether it is ethical and what the conse-
quences will be. The situation is accelerated by the
Conflict types and
Warfare
Warfare, and warfare by proxy, is an important part of any
Cold War campaign. In essence, a proxy war uses smaller
powers under the influence of the Great Powers to fight
regional battles with one another. Proxy Warfare takes
several different forms, often focusing on the destabiliza-
tion of smaller nations. A few example types of warfare
one may see in a Cold War are supplied below, with a scat-
tering of plot hooks provided.
page 5
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