Espionage - Social

Espionage - Social is the art of deception, intimidation and manipulation, the ability to charm, lie and manipulate others to get what you want. It's not about being likeable, it's about being persuasive and knowing how to use every tool at your disposal, whether it's flattery, intimidation, or playing on someone's insecurities. You know how to read people, identify their weaknesses, and use them to your advantage. You can get information out of even the most tight-lipped target, and get them to do what you want without even realizing it.

The Espionage - Social skill is not for the faint of heart, it takes cunning, confidence and a complete disregard for other people's feelings to be truly effective.

Each social interaction you attempt will have a difficulty rating based on the target's resistance, the plausibility of your approach, and the stakes involved. The more suspicious or strong-willed the target, the higher the difficulty.

When you attempt to deceive, intimidate, persuade, or manipulate someone, you will make an Espionage - Social skill check against their resistance or the situation's difficulty rating. The GM may apply Boons or Banes based on various factors, such as your reputation, the target's disposition, context clues, or how well your approach fits the situation.

A Critical Success produces exceptional results that exceed your expectations. Your target not only believes your deception completely but may volunteer additional useful information. Your intimidation leaves them thoroughly cowed and compliant. Your persuasion wins them over so completely they become an ally. You may also gain insight into deeper motivations or secrets they inadvertently reveal.
A Regular Success allows you to achieve your social objective. Your lie is believed, your intimidation works, your persuasion convinces them, or your manipulation achieves the desired behavior change. The target responds as you intended.
A Failure means your social approach didn't work. The target is unconvinced by your deception, unmoved by your intimidation, unpersuaded by your arguments, or resistant to your manipulation. They may become suspicious or hostile, though they haven't necessarily caught you in a lie yet.
A Critical Failure results in spectacular social disaster: your deception is exposed as an obvious lie, your intimidation backfires and they become enraged or call for backup, your persuasion offends them deeply, or your manipulation is detected and they turn the tables on you. Your reputation may suffer, security may be alerted, or you've made a dangerous enemy.

Rather than spending skill points to move up skill levels, You may instead spend skill points to purchase any of the following tricks.

Fast Talk:

Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You can talk your way out of almost any situation, no matter how dire. When caught in a compromising position or confronted by security, you can immediately make a Social check to create a believable excuse or distraction that allows you to avoid immediate consequences. Guards let you go, suspicions are temporarily allayed.

Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You can use social engineering techniques to bypass security measures or gain access to restricted areas. By convincingly impersonating authorized personnel, claiming to be maintenance, or manipulating sympathetic employees, you can gain entry where electronic hacking fails. Grants +1d6 Boon to bypass human security.

Intimidation Specialist:

Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Frequency: Once per Lockdown
Effect: You can use fear to bend others to your will, even if you lack physical strength. Your reputation, tone, and implied threats are enough to make targets compliant. When interrogating, threatening, or demanding cooperation, you gain a +1d4 Boon and targets must make a Will check or comply with reasonable demands.

Master Impersonator:

Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You can convincingly impersonate someone else, mimicking their mannerisms, voice, speech patterns, and behavior. Given time to study a target (minimum 1 hour of observation), you can pass as them to casual acquaintances. With their credentials or uniform, even close associates may be fooled temporarily.

Interrogation Expert:

Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You know how to extract information from people, even if they don't want to talk. Using a combination of psychology, pressure, and manipulation, you can break down resistance over time. Spend 30 minutes interrogating a subject - they must reveal one significant truth you're seeking or suffer mental stress (GM discretion).

Diplomatic Resolution:

Cost: 6 Skill points
Requires: Expert Training
Frequency: Once per Op
Effect: You have an extraordinary knack for diffusing tense situations and getting hostile parties to cooperate. When violence seems imminent or negotiations have broken down, you can make a Social check - on success, all parties agree to at least temporarily stand down and hear you out. You gain +1d8 Boon to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

Master Manipulator:

Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: You can use advanced psychological techniques to control the behavior of others over time. By identifying psychological vulnerabilities and applying subtle influence, you can fundamentally change someone's beliefs, loyalties, or actions. This takes days or weeks of manipulation, but the subject genuinely believes their new perspective is their own idea.

Deep Cover Artist:

Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: You are a master of the long con, able to convincingly play a role for months or even years. When establishing a cover identity, you become that person completely - passing polygraphs, fooling telepaths, and maintaining cover even under extreme pressure. Your cover is so deep that even you sometimes forget it's false. Once per mission, automatically succeed on any check to maintain your cover identity.

Reputation Architect:

Cost: 10 Skill points
Requires: Master Training
Frequency: Once per Mission
Effect: You can carefully manage not just your own image, but craft entirely fabricated reputations that precede you. For one operation, you can establish a powerful reputation (feared assassin, respected expert, trusted ally, etc.) that grants you social authority. NPCs react to your reputation, giving you +1d10 Boon to Social checks with those who've "heard of you."

Crafting

Two-Stage Creation Process

Stage 1: Recruit and Plan (Blueprint)

Requires: Espionage - Social Networking check (DC varies by operative quality and organization difficulty)
- Basic Operative (DC Easy): Low-level employee, service worker
- Valuable Operative (DC Medium): Mid-level employee, security personnel
- Elite Operative (DC Hard): Executive, high-security clearance, inner circle
Time: 1-4 weeks of identifying, vetting, and recruiting
Resources:
- Background checks and vetting
- Creating cover identity and backstory
- Assessing target's motivations (money, ideology, revenge, etc.)

Stage 2: Train and Embed (Crafting)

Requires: Training + cover identity establishment + placement
Time: 2-8 weeks depending on depth of cover
Materials:
- Training: Safe house, espionage techniques, communication protocols
- Cover Identity: Forged documents, backstory, references (Moderate to Expensive)
- Ongoing Payment: Moderate to Expensive per month depending on risk level
Workshop: Safe houses, training facilities, social situations for embedding

Benefits: Stacking Boons and Material Assistance

Each deep cover operative grants a stacking Boon to intelligence gathering in their area of operation:

1 Operative: +1d4 Boon
2 Operatives: +1d6 Boon
3 Operatives: +1d8 Boon
4 Operatives: +1d10 Boon
5+ Operatives: +1d12 Boon (then +1d4 for each additional)

Boons apply when:

Gathering intelligence about their organization
Learning about security procedures and vulnerabilities
Identifying key personnel and relationships
Accessing restricted information
Planning infiltration or operations

Material Assistance (GM Discretion)

Deep cover operatives can also provide material assistance during missions:

Access: Provide security codes, keycards, or clearance
Equipment: Smuggle weapons, tools, or gear into facilities
Safe Houses: Provide hiding places within the organization
Distraction: Create diversions or false emergencies
Extraction: Help the team escape when compromised
Intel Drops: Regular reports on activities and movements

GM Note: Material assistance should be limited to prevent abuse. Operatives won't risk their cover for trivial matters.

Maintenance Requirements

Deep cover operatives require constant management:

Monthly Payment: Moderate to Expensive (higher for dangerous positions)
Handler Contact: Weekly check-ins via secure channels
Risk Management: If compromised, operative may be imprisoned, killed, or turned
Loyalty: Requires ongoing trust-building; neglect may lead to defection
Cover Maintenance: Periodic support to maintain their false identity

Example: Corporate Spy Network

Agent Nova recruits deep cover operatives inside MegaCorp:

Identify Targets (DC Medium): Nova spends 3 weeks identifying disgruntled employees, rolls Espionage - Social Networking (success)
Recruit: She successfully recruits 2 operatives:
- Junior security officer (inner frustration with corporation)
- IT administrator (motivated by credits)
Train & Embed: 4 weeks training in espionage, establishing cover stories, providing equipment
Cost: Moderate monthly maintenance per operative
Benefit: When gathering MegaCorp intelligence, Nova rolls with +1d6 Boon (2 sources)
Material Assistance: Security officer can provide access codes; IT admin can disable cameras for 30-second windows
Duration: As long as cover holds and Nova maintains contact

Operational Security

Managing deep cover operatives requires strict operational security:

Communication: Use dead drops, encrypted channels, coded messages
Compartmentalization: Operatives shouldn't know about each other
Extraction Plans: Always have a plan to get them out if compromised
Burn Notice: Be prepared to abandon operatives if necessary
Blowback: Compromised operatives can reveal your identity

GM Notes

Cap at 3-4 per organization to prevent abuse
Real Risks: Operatives can be discovered, turned, or killed
Story Gold: Deep cover ops create dramatic tension and plot twists
Moral Questions: Recruiting operatives has ethical implications
Time Investment: This isn't quick—building a network takes sessions