Downtimes

Downtime
Each institution and nation in the world and Vienna has access to a number of secrets, you want these and you want to protect your own.

To get at them you have to identify who has access to them, then you have to get access to those people, then you have to find out if they can be turned. The better your stats or blag the higher up in the network you will get access to and the better the secret you can learn. If you are subtle you can operate an asset for a long time before it is noticed by counter intel. Every time you interact with an asset they will become more suspicious.

Counter intelligence operatives also have a lot of options to investigate the nodes in their networks for leaks. Counter intelligence agents will can run surveillance on nodes, and work out who is acting suspiciously in those networks, if they can amass enough information against the accused, they can close down the mole. Counter intelligence agents can also set up double agents, if you can catch a mole and turn him before his handlers find out he will start feeding false information at your discretion.

The actual mechanics of the downtime system are secret(ish) but this gives you a rough idea of what can be done. Every character will receive £5,000 for a downtime and can spend it on learning new things, operating assets, or buying and training with gadgets.

Everyone has access to one “Surveillance Net” giving them a summary of nodes, and an idea of the secrets the nodes have access to. Your free net will be decided by the faction you join. You can buy access to other nets during character creation. Access to other nets can be gained during play.

It takes money to operate intelligence assets, to identify, then bribe or otherwise extort your informants. To operate an asset or gain access to a new one is likely to cost more money than you can afford in a downtime, for example to gain a surveillance net in a specific area is likely to cost around £3,000 pounds to set up, to get a downtimes worth of intelligence is going to take up a significant part of your year, around £5,000. Therefore working with others is likely to garner the best results, as anyone putting resources into the asset will gain access to its information for a downtime.

This is the form I would like to see a downtime submitted in;

Mission: Infiltrate soviet air defences
Objective: Identify and bribe missile command assets
Money spent: £5000 from me and £3000 from agent thorn(player X) and £2000 from agent Claridge (player Y).
Mission plan: Using Agent Claridges forging techniques me and agent thorn will sneak into russia and start identifying possible agents in Soviet air defences. Using Agents thorn wily and seductive ways she will bed a likely candidate and begin “milking” him for information, once he is madly in love we will spring the blackmail trap and i will set up a front to smuggle his information out of the Soviet Union.
Contingencies: While agent Claridge is going about her business I will keep a close eye on her to heck if we are being followed or snooped on. If I think we are we shall travel to Moscow and get into the English embassy where we will use diplomatic cover to flee. I also have my concealed pistol and some gold bars and rouble to bribe our way out of trouble.

Mission: Meet the movers and shaker
Objective: To increase my suave
Cost: £1000
Mission Plan: I will be attempting to wrangle my way into some embassy functions in order to carouse with the higher ups in my department, i will make an effort to be witty and charming.
Contingencies: I have a number of inoffensive jokes to break the ice at the party.

How many missions can we (Feasibly) do during a downtime?

I assume no more than 12 (Giving each one a month worth of attention acroess the whole year) or is it just limited by financial spend?

The more money you put in the more likely it is to succeed, the more specific you are about where the money goes, the more likely you are to succeed.

As a general rule of thumb it probably takes around £3,000-£4,000 to operate a successful mission that gets you actionable intelligence. Sharing money with other players will help you get more done and will often be more successful.

thanks tom, (looks at cash pool )