Nights Black Agents: Fan After Images

[Tadanori Oyama]

As is my usual method, I am emulating RPPR. In this case, however, I am doing it prior to the public release of a series.

Last night I ran the first Nights Black Agents game in a new chronicle. I took characters from thriller media to recreate in an effort to give the players some material to go off of. To that effect, I present to you their daring team:

Dean Winchester, from Supernatural

Nicholas Angel, from Hot Fuzz

Michael Weston, from Burn Notice

Zack Addy, from Bones

Their rampage is truly a sight to behold and is likely to quickly end with him being ripped apart by vampires if they don't tone it down in the very near future.

Current body count:

Human: 11

• Killed by cocaine overdose: 1
• Shot: 2
• Killed by others as a result of PC actions: 2
• Run over: 4
• Car crash: 1
• Executed: 1

Not Human: 1

• Bhuta: Stuck to a tree by a blessed crossbow bolt and left for the sun to rise.

[joe]

Not Human: 1
Bhuta: Stuck to a tree by a blessed crossbow bolt and left for the sun to rise.

Did they watch that guy die? If not, that dude should totally come back for revenge further into the campaign.

[Tadanori Oyama]

They specifically did not wait around to watch it die as other guys with guns were in the area. So who knows for sure what actually happened to the bhuta? If another one shows up it might be the same one or a different one; they'll have to try to figure out for themselves.

[Jason]

I might enjoy the system slightly more if Ross let me play Dean Winchester again. But he's such a horrible monster.

[Timtombimbomb]

I find that spy games are particularly hard to play for your typical muderhobo playing gamer. They (including myself, when I play) never seem to realize that patience, subtlety and stealth are the order of the day in these games. I find that reminding players that this is the case before we start the game helps, especially when combined with being absolutely honest in playing out the consequences of the PCs actions when their plans are missing one of the above.

On the other hand, its pretty hilarious to watch them fumble about after some pretty atrociously planed and executed black op, so maybe you leave that bit out.

Jason, I'm pretty sure Dean's a little overpowered when facing just vampires...

[Tadanori Oyama]

Not Night's Black Agents vampires. They will fuck you up.

[Timtombimbomb]

I see. In which case, ROSS YOU HORRIBLE MONSTER.

[Jason]

Yeah, Night's Black Agents vampires are annoyingly hard to kill and overpowered. It's like going up against a Methuselah or Antediluvian in World of Darkness. While the vampires in WoD you encounter would typically be neonates and Dean could easily dispatch, all the vampires we've encountered in NBA, no matter how new, are scarily powerful and would shrug off Dean's knife or the Colt as if it were nothing.

[Tadanori Oyama]

The goal with Night's Blade Agents is to try and revive the vampire as a real monster; as a tool of proper horror and terror. And wow do the rules reflect that.

We're speaking of ones specifically from Ross's game or some of the more powerful options for vampires. The whole concept of Night's Black Agents is to create your own vampires so the system allows for plenty of variation.

You can have extremely powerful vampires, which force the players to act like spies because they simply cannot take the monster in a straight up fight. You can also have much weaker vampires, al la Blade were even a normal person could potentially kill one due to their pronounced weaknesses (they aren't much tougher than normal people) but you still have to be a badass to survive the conspiracy because there's hundreds or thousands of the things.

[Flawless P]

I've always enjoyed BtVS vampires.

Caught off guard and alone, a single vampire is terrifing to a normal person. However you can train to be capable of taking on the more run of the mill threats to your life if you try really hard.

Unless the Vampire is really old in which case the older they are the stronger they get, which is something I also enjoy thematically.

If I try Nights Black Agents I might go for a more pulp spy BtVS vampire theme. Sure you can kill a few vampires but if you run into a 300+ year old vampire your whole team is in for a big fight.

Probably go for something like "The Master" he is so old he's gone all Nosferatu mosterous looking and has the power to match.

I dunno this has turned into a bit of a ramble.

[Tadanori Oyama]

We were down a number of players this time which apparently translates to lower body count.

The group consolidated it's core clues and tried to decide which way to take their investigation. So far they have:

1) Weird blood samples (read unnatural) from two unknowns; both members of a fake labor union in Germany.

2) The ethnic data from the human slaves they discovered, as well as papers found in the organizer's car, reveals the operation is based around the borders of Ukraine, Hungary, and Slovakia.

3) The organizers had special papers from the Greek Historical Minister at the European Union's ational Historical Ministry allowing them special access to cultural treasures and protected cultural sites.

They decided, after some debate and having a little pressure applied in the form of strange men in a German sedan snooping around their motel, to clean the blood off of the special access papers and head for Greece.

Near the border with Austria they stopped to get their fake IDs in order (everybody spent Cover points) and do the careful cleaning work. Last session ended with them getting an epilog scene of one of the higher ups calling in a clearer and this session they got to meet the cleaner when a huge, darkness cloaked monster broke in through their window.

Guns didn't work so Zach went for the UV lights in the car, so did Dean. Dean go grabbed by the thing (which flies) but shot it in the face to 'escape' and ended up horribly failing his Athletics to drop safely and dislocated his shoulder. Zach got cut in a second pass and then got the car while Molly 'helped' Dean by popping his shoulder back in. Zach started the car but then got attacked through the wind-shield by the creature's blood sucking tube and took nearly lethal damage, barely remaining conscious. Dean fired several shotgun blasts into the thing at point blank range, which chased it off, and they ran for safety at a local clinic were Zach had a research pin-pal (Network for the win).

We ended the session shortly after with the PCs trying to figure out some way to try and fight the horrible air monster.