Campaign devices may be used to enrich the overall plot of a particular series of adventures. Such devices often tie seemingly disparate missions into a coherent whole. These overarching themes are by no means an exhaustive list, but are offered to assist the Game Master in determining a mood or setting for the characters to encounter within their secret organization. These themes are designed to have distinct advantages and drawbacks, with which the group members must contend.
Another Cog in the System:
The group sees the player characters as just another asset, and uses them as it sees fit, even if that means sending them on suicide mis-sions without informing them. While this attitude gives the party a fair amount of free rein, it leads to a certain amount of distrust toward others in the organization.Extensive Archives:
Members have access to a huge amount of information; however, this information is difficult to access. This difficulty may be because of restric-tions placed on its use, the deteriorating state of the mate-rials, or the simple fact that no one has taken the time to organize the information into any semblance of order.Good Relations:
The organization has a solid rela-tionship with another group, and they may exchange favors from time to time. The nature of the relationship is such that they maintain tenuous contacts: information is shared and joint operations are possible, but closely guard-ed secrets and extensive help are not volunteerguard-ed.Guard My Back:
Through some dramatic occasion in the past, the group has a deep, trusting relationship with another group. This group can be trusted implicitly to pro-vide assistance and to give accurate information. Granted, the trusted group may not always be available or have the information requested, but when it does something, the work is reliable and prompt.Guardian Angel:
Unbeknownst to the characters, a member of their own organization has taken an interest in their continued welfare and may arrive once in a while to assist them. While this has an advantage of providing unasked-for help, it may also make players a bit paranoid.Hidden Agenda:
Either the group’s leaders or a very strong branch of the group has a secret agenda that they are interested in pursuing, above and beyond the stated goals of the group. It is possible for the players to stumble across this information and use it to their advantage, but in the meantime, it may make it difficult for them to under-stand some of the orders they receive.Hunted:
The secret group has gone beyond simply being watched by another group; they are actively being hunted down. This means that any actions that may be connected with the organization will almost certainly be noticed and tracked to their source. The reason for being hunted may be fairly benevolent, perhaps even to offer assistance, but the hunted organization has no knowledge of the intentions of the group that is hunting it.Infiltrated:
The organization has been infiltrated by another group, to the extent that a large portion of the members also holds membership in the other organiza-tion. The second organization may be another secret orga-nization, such as Aegis or the Black Book. The secondary group has its own agenda, which it will almost certainly begin to carry out within the infiltrated organization if it has not done so already.Keystone:
The agents are considered irreplaceable spe-cialists to the organization, and as such, they will not be sent on just any mission. Their skills are considered highly valuable, and they are given the best resources the organi-zation can muster. Unfortunately, they are also protected like fragile china dolls, and the organization will pull them out of dangerous situations, even if they are a hand-span from gaining vital information or completing a mission.Machinations:
Within the group, there is a compli-cated game that is played, consisting of name-dropping, elusive references, and facades. Players who are new to the organization find this frustrating and confusing, but once they’ve found a way to “crack the code,” they will be in positions of power relative to other members. Members may approach characters with requests for help, which are often laden with ulterior motives.Watched:
Somehow, the secret organization has drawn the attention of another group, such as the federal govern-ment, Aegis, or the Black Book. The group that is watching them is content to simply observe their actions for now, but there is always the fear that they will take things a step further, which would almost certainly be detrimental to the watched organization.Welcome to the Family:
One or more of the char-acters has family or close friends in the organization. They may not be aware of their affiliate’s association with the group, but once they discover the connection, there is a likelihood that this mutual bond will result in an exchange of favors, information, and help. Note that this association is a two-way street; unlike Guardian Angel, the character is also expected to render aid and to offer information.Summary
This chapter gives the directions for creating organizations that can be used in tandem with other Conspiracy X prod-ucts or in a stand-alone campaign. The first two parts are generally created with both the players and Game Masters, and the third part is usually reserved for the Game Master to use as she sees fit.
The next two chapters focus on personnel. In Chapter Four: Organs, a range of Professions is discussed. In Chapter Five: Capacities, Influence, traits and pulling strings are presented.
Introduction
Individuals who are active in secret societies have a wide variety of backgrounds, and many are recruited from positions new to the Conspiracy X game system. These new Professions are not necessarily affiliated with the federal government, and have varying types of skills, traits, and pulling strings. Individuals from these new Professions are potential recruits for secret societies in any campaign. Of course, secret societies are not averse to recruiting the tried and true government operatives that are familiar in any Conspiracy X campaign.
This chapter and the next detail a slightly modified character creation process which accounts for the varying choices and personnel involved in secret societies. New Conspiracy X players will find this material covers almost any Profession imaginable. Veteran Conspiracy X players will notice parallels between some of the information in this chapter and that in the Aegis Handbook. The Professions described in the Aegis Handbook are repeated here as modified by the Sub Rosa character creation system (the Aegis Handbook still provides a wealth of background material to flesh out these charac-ters; only some of the game mechanics have changed).
The chapter commences with an overview of the character creation process. An exhaustive list of possible Professions, from Activist to UFOlogist, is then presented. Finally, a list of Infrastructures (formerly Departments) is given. The sub-jects covered take players through the first two steps of character generation. Chapter Five: Capacities covers the remain-ing portions of character creation.
Character Creation
The manner and methods of creating Sub Rosa Conspiracy X characters vary as widely as individual tastes and prefer-ences range. There are several basic steps that must be taken, however. A particular order is suggested, but by no means are players required to follow it.
Character Concept
This step is discussed in the main rulebook and remains unchanged in Sub Rosa.
Character Creation Chart
1. Choose a character concept 2. Choose a Profession and Infrastructure 3. Spend Character Points on the following character
aspects: Attributes, Luck, Influence, skills, trainings, traits and pulling strings.
4. Fill in details and personal history
Choose Profession and Infrastructure
One of the main reasons the character is part of a secret organization, beyond his devotion to the cause, is his “day job,” or his Profession. A player may choose from a variety of Professions that fit the type of character to be played.
Read over the Professions List below, and give some thought to the kind of skills and traits the character is likely to have, and how this would fit in with the secret organization he belongs to. It may be useful to brainstorm answers to questions about what kind of a job the character has, how he feels about his job, and what kind of work environment he has. Also, it is helpful to consider how his job will interact with his membership in the secret society. For example, is his continued employment a key piece to the group? Does he work with other individuals who are also members?
How would his employers react if they found out he was a member? Each Profession brings a set of probable skills/traits, a Sphere of Influence, and a few pulling strings. The player may want to consult the details of these pulling strings (see Chapter Five: Capacities) to get a better feel for the Profession.
After choosing a Profession, a player must select an Infrastructure. An Infrastructure is basically a segment of the employment sector. Each Infrastructure provides a character with a Sphere of Influence and some pulling strings that are specific to the field in which the Infrastructure operates. For example, a corporation that specializes in pharma-ceutical research would employ a wide range of Professions such as scientists, technicians, administrators, and engi-neers. The corporation would give these employees access to contacts and resources in the science and research field as well as a few pulling strings specific to the corporation, but the individual employee, for example, an administra-tor, might have her own series of civilian-related pulling strings. Some Professions are naturally matched with spe-cific Infrastructures, especially those within federal jurisdiction, while others are more flexible. Each Profession lists the possible Infrastructures that may be chosen. The Spheres of Influence and pulling strings provided by the chosen Infrastructure are detailed in the Infrastructure List later in this chapter.
Spend Character Points (CPs)
In this step, the player spends 100 Character Points on the attributes, luck, influence, skills, trainings, traits, and pulling strings which all make up who the character is. In many respects, spending CPs is the same when generating a Sub Rosa character as when generating a character from the Conspiracy X main rulebook or the Aegis Handbook.
Chapter Five: Capacities provides more detail on how spending CPs differs in this book. Further, a new look at Influence, new skills, new traits and an extensive list of pulling strings are located in that chapter.
Details and Personal History
As discussed briefly in the main rulebook, a character’s details include name, age, height, weight, eye/hair/skin color, demeanor, style and speech patterns. These items are crucial to playing the character and his interaction with the story personalities encountered. Some are heavily dependent on attributes or traits. For example, if a character is Size 5, there is little chance he will be under five feet tall. On the other hand, these features could be settled first and the character built around them.
Personal history is your character’s life experiences. Details on birth, childhood, schooling, home environment all help define a character and make her more alive. Did the character have a happy home life, was she abused, did her parents die when she was young? Did she go to an elite school, did she drop out when she was 15? Did she have brushes with the law as a youth or was she a model citizen? These questions and more can be sketched out in broad terms now, and settled in detail later. Alternatively, they can be answered as the game progresses, depending on sto-ryline developments.
Sphere of Influence
The Sub Rosa character generation system uses the term Sphere of Influence rather than Influence Icon as was used in the Conspiracy X main rulebook and the Aegis Handbook.
This change was made because Sphere of Influence better reflects the concept of an area of expertise and networking. Also, an overarching category in which Infrastructures and Professions fit, Sphere was a better descriptor. Seven Spheres of Influence exist: Military, Intelligence, Science and Research, Criminal, Law Enforcement, Paranormal, Civilian. Further
information about Spheres of Influence may be found in Chapter Five: Capacities.
Professions List
The Professions listed follow the same basic profile.
Profession Name: A short descrption of the Profession.
Trainings (normal, psi, ritual, and alchemy): The train-ings the character can purchase at professional cost; other trainings must be purchased at non-professional cost.
Skills: All skills that can start at professional level (level 3) or higher at the beginning of the game are listed here, unless a comment says otherwise.
Sphere of Influence: This is what type of Influence is pro-vided by the Profession. The Sphere of Influence deter-mines what pulling strings can be purchased, what resources can be acquired, how much they will cost, and so on. Characters have access to one or two Spheres of Influence depending on what Profession they choose, and will probably get an additional one from their Infrastructure. If the Spheres of Influence are identical in the Profession and Infrastructure descriptions, the charac-ter gains nothing special from the second one.
Pulling Strings (PS): This is a list of starting pulling strings that are granted without CP expenditure by the Profession. Further, most of the Professions include addi-tional CPs that can be spent on pulling strings from a specifically stated Sphere of Influence. These additional CPs allow a player to customize her character, ensuring that those in identical Professions have varied abilities.
Infrastructure: This is a list of broad societal groups that provide certain Sphere of Influences and pulling strings.
Each member of the Profession should chose one of the listed Infrastructures.
Comments: These are special rules for that Profession.
Activist
These individuals speak out against legitimate organiza-tions, including the government, in order to point out what they feel are abuses or inconsistencies. Activists may lobby through official channels, or they may use other techniques to draw the attention of the public to the activ-ities of the organization they are observing. Examples of activists include lobbyists and peaceful demonstrators.
Trainings: Awareness, Investigation, Politics, Savoir Faire Skills: Breaking & Entering, Computer Programming, Computer Use, Diplomacy, Disguise, Drive, Engineering, Forgery, Humanities, Meditation, Photography, Pilot, Repair/Build, Research, Science, Stealth, Teaching, Video Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Fanatical Support (perk), Front Page News, Support (perk), 5CPs of Civilian PS
Infrastructures: Business - Civilian, Independent, Religious Institution, University
Air Force Intelligence Officer
Intelligence Officers are responsible for gathering infor-mation, both domestic and abroad, relevant to the techno-logical advances, security measures, and personnel assign-ments within the USAF. The data gathered are used for threat assessment and for mission planning, as well as more mundane issues, such as efficient use of resources and budgeting.
Trainings: Assassination, Awareness, Communications, Investigation, Navigation, Surveillance, Survival
Skills: Athletics, Cartography, Computer Use, Computer Programming, Cryptology, Diplomacy, Engineering, Humanities, Martial Arts, Melee Weapon, Photography, Research, Science, Shadow, Small Arms, Stealth, Tracking, Video
Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), 10CPs of Intelligence PS
Infrastructures: Department of Defense
Air Force Pilot
Pilots are the backbone of the USAF, and most pilots are proficient with a handful of aircraft. Many pilots choose to specialize, either in terms of mission types or aircraft. They generally keep themselves in top physical condition so they maintain optimal performance under adverse condi-tions.
Trainings: Awareness, Communication, Navigation, Parachutist, Survival, Vehicle Kill, Zero-Gravity Movement
Skills: Athletics, Autofire, Brawling, Cartography, Computer Use, Engineering, Gunnery, Pilot, Repair/Build, Small Arms: Pistol
Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), No Trace, 6CPs of Military PS
Infrastructures: Department of Defense
Comment: Access to the SR-71 Blackbird Restricted Resource.
Pulling strings are fully explained in Chapter Five:
Capacities. For quick reference, pulling strings that have the "perk" tag are more inherently tied to that job and are more easily used and maintained. Pulling strings with
the "shaky" tag are less related to the Profession and are harder to use and maintain.
United States Air Force (USAF)
The field units of the Air Force are organized into eight major commands, 37 field operating units, three direct reporting units and subordinate elements. The eight major commands are Air Combat, Air Education and Training, Air Force Materiel, Air Force Space, Air Force Special Operations, Air Mobility, Pacific Air Forces and United States Air Forces in Europe. These commands are formed in descending order by numbered air forces, wings, groups, squadrons and flights. The field operating
units include such diverse sections as the Air Force Command, Control, Communications and Computer Agency, Air Intelligence Agency, Air Force Medical Operations Agency. The direct reporting units are highly specialized operations like the Air Force Academy. These operations, logistics and support groups supply Aegis
with combat and technical personnel.
Air Force Scientist/Technician
USAF Technicians perform a wide range of tasks, not only specifically related to aircraft, but also for communications systems, data retrieval and analysis, weapons targeting, and mission specifications. Technicians are almost always enlisted personnel. In a few cases, civilians may be hired to provide specialty expertise.
Trainings: Awareness, Communication, Survival, Vehicle Kill, Zero-Gravity Movement
Skills: Athletics, Brawling, Cartography, Computer Programming, Computer Use, Engineering, First Aid, Forensics, Humanities, Medical, Photography, Repair/Build, Research, Science, Small Arms: Pistol, Teaching, Video
Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), 10CPs of Science & Research PS Infrastructures: Department of Defense
Air Force Secretariat Officer
Individuals on the Secretariat staff not only take responsi-bility for the training and operations of the Air Force, but also for establishing liaison relationships with the President and her staff. Congressional members and other governmental officials also access the Air Force through the Secretariat.
Trainings: Awareness, Communication, Politics, Savoir Faire
Skills: Athletics, Cartography, Computer Use, Cryptology, Diplomacy, Engineering, Humanities, Research, Science, Small Arms: Pistol, Teaching
Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), 10CPs of Military PS
Infrastructures: Department of Defense
Air Force Staff Officer
The Air Staff is responsible for Air Force preparedness, personnel and support. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force serves on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and advises the President and Congress on military plans and operations. They hold direct influence on Air Force unit organization, planning and supply.
Trainings: Awareness, Communication, Politics
Skills: Athletics, Cartography, Computer Use, Cryptology, Diplomacy, Engineering, Humanities, Research, Small Arms: Pistol, Teaching
Sphere of Influence:
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), 10CPs of Military PS
Pulling Strings: Boot Camp, Cheaper Aircraft, Mobility over World (perk), 10CPs of Military PS