hollowpoint.

bad people killing bad people for bad reasons.

B. Murray
C.W. Marshall

VSCA Publishing
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Toronto, ON, Canada
 VSCA Publishing authorizes any owner of this digital book to
print and bind the document for their own use. This includes the
right to print and bind the book in whole or in part for personal use
or for the use of the other players at your table. So if youre a clerk
at some place where someone might want to do this, and have a
policy about printing material in copyright, please be advised that
the owners of the copyright do not consider you making three or
four copies at any one time an infringement.

VSCA Publishing does not grant rights to redistribute the file

to other people or make copies for resale; that would be wrong.
Hollowpoint is the property of the authors and VSCA Publishing.

Copyright 2011 by VSCA Publishing

All rights reserved.
Digital release ISBN 978-0-9811710-7-4
Revision 1.1
VSCA Publishing
http://www.vsca.ca
 Contents
1. Introduction 7
1.1. The Game 8
1.2. The Setting 11
1.3. Examples from fiction 13
1.4. Thanks 14
1.5. Reference material 15

2. Agency 17
2.1. The Charge 18
2.2. The Enemy 19
2.3. The Era 20

3. Characters 21
3.1. Step one: Rank 21
3.2. Step two: Skills 22
3.3. Step three: Name 24
3.4. Step four: Traits 25
3.4.1. Traits by Q and A 27
3.4.2. Traits On the Fly 28
3.4.3. Company Traits 28
3.5. Step five: Complications 30
3.6. Experience 32

4. Conflict 35
4.1. Dice Pools 37
4.2. The Fight 40
4.2.1. Skill 41
4.2.2. Teamwork 42
4.2.3. Fan Mail 43
4.2.4. Go to the dice 43
4.2.5. Effects 46
4.2.6. Moving on 47
4.2.7. Wash 48
4.2.8. Special Abilities 48
4.3. The Catch 49
4.4. Skill Checks 50
 4.5. Narration 50
4.6. Ending a Conflict 52
4.7. Tactics 54
4.8. Sample Conflict 55
4.9. Conflict, with a Catch 59

5. Mission 65
5.1. Objectives 65
5.2. Exploding into action 67
5.3. Mission Building 68
5.4. Sample Adventures 71
5.4.1. Arena 71
5.4.2. Magnificent 74
5.4.3. Callisto 77
5.5. Pacing 81

Appendix: Stories 83
A.1. Enzos Ambition 83
A.2. Behold A New Creation 90

Field Guide 95
Personal Weapons 96
Grenades 97
Shotguns 98
Cons 100
The Fight 101
Knives 102
Pistols 103
Ammunition 104
The Sub-machinegun 106
First Aid 107

Index 109
 The windshield of your Cadillac explodes and Joel hits the
gas. Its exactly the wrong thing to do, but you trust Joel
because he has that special kind of aggression that makes

One
everything work out even when its a bad, bad idea.
This is no exception. The heavy sedan fishtails as the
right rear bursts and the tick tick tick of small caliber
ammunition flicking through the dash, your seat,
and your suit is just another countdown to zero.
As the car stops, Joel ducks down with expert timing
and you bring your custom .40 Smith & Wessons
to bear through the drivers side window at your
assailantshalf a dozen punks with foreign sub-
machineguns taking cover behind the dumpsters.
Those dumpsters will come in handy in a bit.
You grin. Joel laughs. It gets loud.

1. Introduction
Hollowpoint is a role-playing game about hyper-competent,
unpleasant, violent people doing what they do best. They work
in a team, even if that isnt their natural inclination. The game
at once tries to capture the essence of modern-day competence
mythology and bind these super-individuals into a functioning
unit. This is the essential strain: these are people who like to be
the best, and working together is stressful. Cooperation makes
them less effective as individuals. Each knows his or her plan is
the right one.
Disclaimer: This is a game that deals with torture, execution,
terrorism, and other illegal and immoral activities. It is a form of make
believe that some people will find offensive or unpleasant. But its just
a game: its safe and no one gets hurt as long as everything stays at the
table. Do not do these things in real life, please. Play games instead.
1.1. THE GAME
So, this is an RPG, a role-playing game. If you arent already
comfortable with terms like NPC, ref (or referee) and
GM, the player/character distinction, and what we mean
by dice or an abbreviation like 4d6, then this text may seem
a bit arcane. The target audience for Hollowpoint is a group of
established role-players who are interested in exploring a new
system, that focuses on violence and storytelling.
We will, however, pause for a moment on one concept that
might be new, and thats the table. When we talk about the
table, we mean everyone sitting down where the game is taking
place, regardless of their experience, regardless of whos the
ref, regardless of whose place it is. Were giving authority to
the group that trumps that of the ref or of any individual player.
The table is the final arbiter of what goes on, and it is assumed
that the table wants to have fun. Youve come together to
enjoy yourselves. Maybe youve just had a pizza, or you have
snacks and drinks. The gaming experience is collaborative
storytelling, and everyone is there for a good time. Hollowpoint
needs at least three people at the table to play: one to ref, and
two players. It can handle five or six without needing any
further modifications.
Hollowpoint uses a dice pool system, so everyone will want
to have a whole mess of six-sided dice. We like to color-code
them so each player has his own, but thats not needed. Youll
also want a bowl of some kind in the middle of the table to
keep the teamwork dice. Players might roll anywhere from
three dice to as many as ten. The ref needs twice that. The
math isnt transparent, and the system doesnt always reward a
more-is-better approach.
Players offer narration: they relate what their character is
doing, how they are doing it and what is happening. The
world and everybody that the players encounter are run by
the ref, who also provides narration. Everyone at the table is
working together to tell a story, but this isnt a story just about
some characters: they come and go, and players will make
replacements on the fly. The story ends up being about a group
of bad people doing bad things, and the reasons they do them.
Life and death are only parts of that. The story offered by the
players is at times constrained by the game mechanics, and
particularly by dice rollsonce dice hit the table, players have
to explain what the dice mean, seeing a story emerge from the
numbers, and using this to create more story.
Each session begins with a mission. The players narrate their
characters addressing objectives, completing the mission and
dealing with any fallout. And this is a rough world. Players
shouldnt become too attached to their characters. You
should feel free to provide glorious over-the-top deaths for
your character if the dice roll demands it. These are fictional
characters, and they only have as much life as the players give
them. Embrace that: an awesome few hours of ultraviolent
role-play from invested players working together to tell an
unforgettable story is better than making your way through the
next few 30x30 rooms in a dungeon somewhere.
Hollowpoint makes a great pick-up game and can be played in
a single session. An hours prep for the ref is all thats required
in advance. Just write the mission, make characters, and go.
Each session is a series of scenes which may or may not have a
conflict. If dice are rolled, thats a conflict and players can lose
and characters can die. It may be that the mission has several
stages, and that each stage gets resolved in a conflict scene.
It may be that the mission is resolved in the first conflict, and
everything else is fallout.
The emphasis is on teamwork, on group dynamics and not on
guy-versus-guy action. Theres a bank robbery scene in Michael
Manns movie Heat (1995): the crew has robbed a bank and
in the course of exiting they are bounced by the police. The
crew has automatic weapons, great training, and willingness
to cause harm and hurt others, but they are also professionals:
their objective is to escape with the money.
Now in most guy-versus-guy gaming, this would be a really
hard scene to model, because the system will focus on which
cop your character is trying to kill each time-slice. The player
is focused on the wrong thing with distinctly uncomfortable
effects:
First, I (the player) have to plan how most effectively to
kill police officers because what the system primarily lets
me do with my assault rifle is kill people. I am not enjoying
that in this context.
Second, I (the character) am not explicitly interested in
killing police officers. I am interested in escaping with the
money and dont care if I kill police officers. But the system
only models me defeating police officers with my rifle.
Finally I (both player and character) have sophisticated,
staged objectives that involve violence against a large
opposing force with full knowledge that I cannot just kill
all of them.
The police are a surrounding force and the robbers objective
is to create a weak point in their line, penetrate it, defend
their egress, and escape. People are going to get killed, but the
action is not about killing people. You dont create a weak point
in a defensive line by killing everyoneyou create it by making
a zone where no one is willing to oppose you. One solution
is to kill them all, but, since the objective is breaking out, you
dont actually care about the body count. And pros know its
not an efficient step in the plan.
Thats what we want. You advance constantly and aggressively
on the exit and when the line folds, you exit, secure transport,
and depart. The bank robbers are using several important tools
in this process: they are making people feel too afraid to be
effective by shooting the shit out of them. Terror is the tool.
They are identifying and neutralizing core sources of resistance
(vehicles, commanders). Killing is the tool. They are leveraging
the fact that they do not care about innocent bystanders and
they know that the police do, giving the robbers vastly more
free mobility and fields of fire. Again, Terror.
 And so, Hollowpoint isnt about a series of guy-versus-guy
incidents. Its about effective use of ammunition, mobility,
aggression, planning, knowledge of the space, sustaining fire
(rapid reload!), and effective fire (shooting at the targeta
notoriously hard thing for non-sociopaths to do). But all that
is story, and it comes from the players. The richness of this
sceneand all of its energywould be missed by focusing on
who shot whom. The chief issue resolving this scene is how
afraid everyone is, and how willing they are to do harm. The
ability to hit a target accurately is a tertiary factor at best.
So Hollowpoint, being interested in this sort of scene, is about
the individuals in the crew and their contribution to an
action against an opposing force with a common objective.
An assassination, for example, is not killing a guy. An
assassination is a sophisticated preparation of a space in which
an effective killing blow can be struck while still allowing
the assassin to escape. An ambush is not killing six guys.
Its a preparation of space in order to destroy a unit of men
(as a unit, not each man) and then exit the location safely (or
otherwise manage the objective: you ambushed them for a
reason).

1.2. THE SETTING

There are many settings that will work but they all need a few
shared touchstones.
The Agency a team of agents works for some organization,
but their interaction with that organization is minimal: they
get a mission, and then they go execute the mission. They
get no help from the agency and they dont need any. They
may not even know who they work for and, if thats true,
they probably dont care. The cheques always clear and
thats the bottom line. If the agency provides equipment and
information, thats all part of the players interaction with her
characterits not in the referees interest to play the agency as
an NPC.
The Mission the team has a mission. It might be specific
or vague, but its handed down to them from the top. It might
specify techniques or leave everything to the team. But before
anything kicks off, the team gets a statement about what they
need to do. It is part of the premise that the players will engage
with and address the assigned mission, and not go looking for a
dungeon to explore. The mission is why were here.
This can be a nice place for handouts from the refereesitting
down to the table and handing out the evenings mission as a
one-page, coffee-stained formal command to action, complete
with company logo, can set the tone as well as provide a tool
for players to take notes and refresh their sense of purpose. Pull
out a city map if that will help, or an architectural drawing of
the targets apartment.
While they are given a mission, how they do this is up to
them. If they think burning down the Chicago City Hall gets
them ahead, then thats the way it goes down. The only time
agents get any guff about their choices is when a new agent
has to come in to help them fix a bad situation. And that only
happens because another agent has been taken out of the
picture. Buildings can be replaced; agents are expensive.
Agents agents dress well and like nice things. They drive
powerful automobiles, wear matching dark suits, use state-
of-the-art firepower, and take everything in stride. They drink
tequila straight, smoke and never get cancer, wear sunglasses at
night, and walk among the sheep with impunity. They are the
ultimate in bad-ass cool.
Agents kill as part of their job and do not hesitate over their
victims. They barely notice innocent bystanders. Agents are
bad people and they move through town like heavy weather.
Agents are good at what they do. Skills are ranked from zero
through five. Most people live their lives with all skills at zero.
If you are really good at one of these bad things (youre a Navy
SEAL or a paid killer), you might have a one or two in a skill.
But dont think you are in the same league as an agent.
 Agents are so far beyond everyone else that they hardly notice
us. So the opposition for agents are either other agentstheir
equals or superiorsor whole organizations. There are no
mook rules: the world is filled with mooks, and an agent can
take them without needing to break a sweat or roll dice.
Unless something goes horribly wrong, agents are above the
law. Agents do not have trouble with the police. If the police
are a problem its because someone much more powerful than
the police are using cops as pawns to make life hard on the
agents. If detained, an agent knows the number to call and
whatever is said at the other end of the line is always enough to
get an agent released with an apology. A bullet from an agent is
not just untraceable; it stops investigations.
Scenes are never about shopping, counting ammunition,
getting a passport, or renting a car any more than we need
scenes about them going to the bathroom: times too
important to worry about everyday needs. If an agent shows
up to the scene and describes her arrival in a brand new
Mercedes, thats fine: she has a Mercedes. Howd she get it?
Who cares? Unless she makes a point of narrating how it was
obtained, its just a fact. Move on.

1.3. EXAMPLES FROM FICTION

In Azzarello and Rissos comic series, 100 Bullets, the
Minutemen are the epitome of the agents in Hollowpoint. They
work for a shadowy organization whose sole purpose is to keep
another criminal organization in check by wielding extreme
and unflinching violence. Ian Flemings James Bond usually
works alone, but if he had to work with a team, this would be
his team. The agency Bond works for is more prominent in the
fiction than would be played here, but if Bonds player wants to
narrate where he got his laser watch, thats all cool. The same
is true of Jason Bourne, whose missions are directed against
the agency that produced him. If theres an action movie or
a comic you like, and it involves some agent going rogue or
being called a ronin, it could probably be played in Hollowpoint.
 The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in Tarrantinos Kill Bill
worked as a team of agents before things went wrong. And, for
ultra-competence in noir grit, its hard to beat Frank Millers Sin
City.
You can also use Hollowpoint for more supernatural or even sf
stories. Think of Highlander: they walk among us, fighting their
own battles. They have done so since the dawn of time. Some
of them barely even register our presence. When they do, we
dont last long. Maybe they remember us. Or Terminator: a
technologically advanced super-killer from the future has to be
stopped, and the heroes must use anything they can to destroy
it, whatever the cost. The slightly supernatural tone of Mark
Millars comic Wanted plays into the extreme competence of
Hollowpoint characters, and generally this is exactly the gang of
assassins you want.
You could even amp up the stories where extreme competence
isnt on display: there is a significant cock-up factor in Pulp
Fiction that might not fit, insofar as the characters competence
is mostly in their heads, but it still maintains a coolness
that cant be denied, and there is no question that its about
bad people. Oceans 11 are a little too goody-two-shoes, but
Danny Oceans gang is still a great model for agents. Imagine
if they also shot up the place when things went south.
Probably anything with the Rat Pack in it could be adapted to
Hollowpoint.

1.4. THANKS
A lot of people need to be thanked for getting Hollowpoint to
this stage, and they are all bad, bad men. Certainly the gang
at our tableJ B Bell, Tim Dyke, and Byron Kerr. Also some
special thanks are in order to Jake Reisenbichler, who really
tore into an early playtest draft. If there are still problems,
theres one person whos not at fault, and thats Jake.
J B also took time at the end of the process to read through and
help us editwere really grateful for that.
 Other playtesters include the undetectable Jonah Marshall,
the unforgiving Joel Schabas, the unstoppable Dylan Le,
the unflinching Gerald Ling, and Paul Jones and his group at
Plymouth.
We also need to thank someone who prefers to be known
only as A Terrible Idea, as he granted the VSCA some very
powerful and valuable software that has made producing this
game a lot easier (and a lot more fun) than it would have been
otherwise. Finally, we need to thank everyone who plays
Diaspora, because if that game hadnt been the success it is,
we probably wouldnt have tried to make any more. So thats
almost 3000 people we need to thank.
Thank you.

1.5. REFERENCE MATERIAL

The following books might also provide useful material for
adding detail and realism to a Hollowpoint game. Were not
professional trauma veterans, toxicologists, or homicide
detectives, but it always helps to know a little more.
Dave Grossman, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to
Kill in War and Society, Second Edition (Back Bay Books, 2009).
Serita Stevens and Anne Bannon, The Book of Poisons (Writers
Digest Books, 2007).
Vernon J. Geberth, Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics,
Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, Fourth Edition (CRC, 2006).
William Barry Gault, Some Remarks on Slaughter, American
Journal of Psychiatry 128.4 (1971) 450-454.
 All his biometrics matched the details in the system.
He answered the questions right, and even had four
years of blog posts and party pics on the Internet: a

Two
fully falsified life on the web. But the fucker was bent,
and I knew it even if no one else did. He was traveling
under one of my names, the one on my Canadian
passport. He was being set up to be found by me. He
was indistinguishable to everyone else even his retinas
matched. Someone, though, wants me to notice.
Well, the man with my name now has my attention.

2. Agency
The first step in a game of Hollowpoint is creating the agency
that all player characters work for. This agency becomes a
defining element of the setting itself, and so designing the
agency requires a few steps, building from the ground up:
1. What kind of agency is providing the missions? What does it
protect? This choice is the Charge.
2. What does the agency destroy? This choice is the Enemy.
3. When is the game set? Is it our real world or some close
variation or are we going further afield? This choice is the
Era.
This information should be sufficient for players to create
characters (see 3. Characters on page 21) and for the ref
to provide missions (see 5. Mission on page 65).
 Make sure the players are on board with everything: this is a
table decision. The agency is going to come from the players;
the ref should stick to playing the opposition. The agency can
be created mutually if you intend to run a campaignall players
can come up with a novel situation in which to be bad people.
Thats cool. For a pickup game, you probably want the referee
to create this as pre-game preparation. Its short work, really,
especially if you aim to emulate some existing fiction.
All agents are members of this agency. Their devotion to it is
unexaminedwhen a player character becomes disloyal, that
character goes out of play by moving on (see 4.2.6. Moving
on on page 47). This focuses the players on teamwork
and on mission objectives without any essential controversy
that might steal focus from the action. This does not prevent
interesting twistsa player bringing a new character in after
moving on gets to change objectives, and that new objective
might oppose the agency! If this happens, a new agency has
formed with the player characters as its membership.

2.1. THE CHARGE

The Charge is a one-liner that captures the purpose of the
agency and therefore the core goal of every agent. What does
the agency do? For example, Maintain the balance of power
between mega-corporations, Protect the integrity of the
worlds art museums, Defend America from Communists.
Whatever the agency protects, this is what every mission is
about. The Charge can even be the integrity of the agency
itself, though this can limit opportunities for mission variety.
Agents complete missions that accomplish the charge.
Examples.
James Bond: Protect England from those who would harm
her.
100 Bullets: Perpetuate the balance of power between the
criminal families in the Trust.
G.I. Joe: Defend freedom, democracy, and free-market
capitalism. Fight COBRA!
2.2. THE ENEMY
The Enemy is what threatens
the Charge of the agency.
Note that (as in 100 Bullets)
this could easily include the
Charge itself. Organized crime,
enemy governments, thieves,
vandals, aliens, time travellers,
SPECTRE, whatever. Having a
consistent organized opposition
will keep a thread of common
purpose throughout multiple
sessions despite changes in
characters. The players embody
their organization through their
characters. If the opposition is
effectively a polar opposite to
the agency, then it should also
be possible to flip a session and
(say) play COBRA against G.I.
Joe.
Examples.
James Bond: Super villains and
global terrorist organizations
with international political
aspirations.
100 Bullets: Inter-family strife in
the crime syndicate.
G.I. Joe: Super villains and
organizations intent on evil for
no clear purpose other than that
they can.
2.3. THE ERA
The Era describes in a brief phrase in what time period the
game takes place. By default the setting is a modern world
that is very close to our own, any time in the last sixty years
or so. But there is nothing essential to the game that requires
that this be sothis could as easily be a medieval or futuristic
society. Any time and place where there is a structured society
outside of which one may operate, this game should work.
Examples.
James Bond: 1950s eraeveryone smokes, dresses well, and
the cold war colours everything.
100 Bullets: Late 90s to present daya more street feel than
Bond, a cheap black suit favoured over a tux, and crime is the
international intrigue.
G.I. Joe: Near futureno one smokes, even the tough guys are
clean. Military colour rather than civilian.

As a default, you can always use the Agency: this should

empower a gang of thugs that most people can get a handle
on right away. The Agency has the Charge: Keep the balance
of power between the East and West Coast criminal families
stable. The Agency has the Enemy: Any threat, internal or
external, to the cartel. The Agency that the game implies by
default has the Era: Modern, gritty and realistic.
 The game changed radically soon after Sandalwood entered
the business. It was back in 81, when Reagan signed EO

Three
12333. That gave Sandalwood his first government contract.
No need to go private any more; he can work strictly for
the pros. When the government wants poison (anything
from neurotoxins to hallucinogens to isotopes), they
come to Sandalwood. Ive gone to him myself, back when
I was still with the Firm. And Sandalwood has a house in
the Hamptons and a nice 401K waiting for him anytime he
wants it. But he didnt retire and now I have this designer
virus in Johannesburg thats obviously his work.
I guess hes retiring now.

3. Characters
Characters are made at the start of the session and should take
no more than 30 minutes, even with joking, talking, and other
non-game communication. There are five steps in character
generation, during which the ref will distribute the Mission
to the players. Depending on how traits are generated, the
Mission is distributed before, after, or during step 4.

3.1. STEP ONE: RANK

Characters start the game with the rank of Agent. Later a
player might create a character with the rank of Operative
or Handler. It may be that the story will use other terms for
these (see the alternative setting A.2. Behold A New Creation
on page 90) but regardless the players start with no choice
all characters begin at entry-level. They are agents.
 Each rank also has a special ability:
Agent an agent can take one for the team. Any time the
referee announces a hit on a character (whether knocking out
a die or causing an effect), any agent may volunteer to take the
hit instead on her dice (if she has sets to knock out) or on her
character.
Operative the operative is here to teach. When anyone calls
for help and is denied (even if denied by the operative), the
operative can take two dice from the teamwork pool.
Handler the handler is in charge. When an operative or
agent is getting squeamish about helping others, the Handler
forces the issue.
Dont worry about these abilities for now; they are explained in
4.2.8. Special Abilities on page 48. For the moment, just
know that they exist.

3.2. STEP TWO: SKILLS

All characters have six skills. Players rank them, assigning a
value from zero (no special skill, about the competence of an
average citizen) to five (zen masters might work for decades
to achieve this level of competence, if zen masters were in this
line of work).
The ref presents a skill list to the players. It will have at least
six skill names on it, nouns or verbs that represent what the
characters will be able to do during the mission. Depending
on the mission, the ref, and the table, there might be eight or
so possibilities to allow a certain type of story to be told. Each
skill is very broadly defined, and over the course of play serves
as a hook onto which players will to hang narrative. Skills
measure things that an agent does to other people. An agent
may be a Ph.D. in Chemistry or a concert pianist, but that isnt
a skill in Hollowpoint.
Players go through the skill for the session and assign their
numbers, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, and theyre done. The basic six skills
are these:
KILL killing people by shooting them, stabbing them, or
driving them over with a tank.
TAKE stealing things that do not belong to you.
TERROR causing terror and making people afraid of you
by acting very badly indeed.
CON tricking people into giving you what you want.
DIG finding out things that others do not want you to
know, or otherwise investigating or getting information.
COOL being just that awesome. This is what you roll
to lead a team, to smile in the face of danger, or disarm a
bomb on pure instinct and grit. Being cool allows player
descriptions to shine, and provides an objective measure of
awesomeness if ever one is needed.
If more than six skills are being used, all unclaimed skills will
be at level zero. There shouldnt be too many skills in the game,
though, since effects do not stack, and too many skills in play
allow too many hits to be soaked up by the players.
Expand the list to taste. For example, making two or three of
the following available to players changes the sorts of stories
they might produce, but does not change the game mechanics:
SEDUC E In a game focusing on social interactions, this
could be a complement to CON. While CON allows you to
get what you want from someone, SEDUCE makes them
want to give it to you. In a game that focuses on the ethics
of ultra-violence, TEMPT (leading people to make a bad
moral choice) might be a better option than SEDUCE.
WATC H While it is somewhat passive, WATCH can
be introduced as a complement to DIG. DIG is the
investigative skill, gathering information in advance of a
conflict. WATCH is the ability to observe within the scene:
call out help to shooters, coordinate communications, etc.
 HURT Not enough violence in the game for you? Add
HURT to the skill set, to model the inflicting of pain.
HURT might be substituted for TERROR, when long-
term psychological damage isnt as interesting as seeing
suffering. Because sometimes you need a special skill just
to blow out someones kneecaps.
BOSS The pressure of narrating COOL can be
overwhelming for players. BOSS is a nice replacement
that is for telling people to do things, and having them
get done. It gives you a knowledge of tactics and strategy,
the confidence of a true leader, and a Stentorian voice to
ensure you are heard over gunfire.
A supernatural game will need different skills: in a game of
high-powered wizards hunting Nazi super-soldiers, skills such
as ILLUSION and NECROMANCY could model different
schools of magic. These are just CON and TERROR with a
mystical paint job.

3.3. STEP THREE: NAME

If your character doesnt have a name by now, give him one.
Dont worry about this too much: its not a real name anyway.
Example: At the end of step 3, this is what we might have:
Amber Sparks, Agent
KILL 5 Amber deals death; shes a pro.
COOL 4 Amber is the woman youll think about in the ear-
ly morning half-light as you awaken, every morn-
ing for the rest of your life.
CON 3 What Amber wants, Amber (usually) gets.
TAKE 2 Remember when the Louvre lost those paintings
last summer? That was Amber.
DIG 1 Sure, Amber can hack, and find out what she
needs to know about you.
TERROR 0 Amber has no interest in causing fear. Thats a
waste of her time. Only assholes deal in fear.
 Players may want to add more than this, to write a paragraph
about what the character looks like, or what his background is.
Thats fine, but its not necessary. Ideally, these are all details
that would emerge over play as the players provide narration.
None of the skills necessarily implies anything about character
appearance, either. Someone with a high KILL score might
be seven feet tall with fists the size of steamer trunks, or she
might be a hundred pounds with throwing stars and a katana.
Its all in the story.

3.4. STEP FOUR: TRAITS

Characters begin the game with five traits. This number might
increase if the character survives a session and goes on to play
in another one, but that doesnt happen a lot. The purpose
of traits is twofold: traits offer a mechanical advantage in
a conflict, and they provide a hook on which to hang player-
generated narrative. Traits are also a means for declarations
by the player for what he or she wants to happen in the game.
The mechanical advantage is straightforward: in a conflict a
player may burn one or more of their characters traits and
immediately roll two more dice for each trait expended.
The player puts an X beside that trait and it is of no further
mechanical benefit for the session. For any given roll, any
number of traits may be brought to bear.
Where the trait is an object, burning it usually represents
the physical loss of the object. The narration includes the
incidental loss of an object important to the character. A
distinguishing feature of the character has been stripped away.
Example: Yuri has a trait, a ceramic hula girl that he picked up
that one time in Utah. She sits in his windowsill, a focus for
him as he prepares to take a KILL shot. The player burns the
trait to roll an extra two dice. It then helps shape the story.
 Yuri loved his G3. It made a great sniper rifle and when things
went wrong you could flip the switch and go to full auto. At
600 rounds a minute, a full box disappears in two seconds,
and makes a lot of chaos. So when the shot on Anducci went
all wrong and his pal Joseph took the money, Yuri flipped
the switch and emptied the magazine. The G3 jumped and
bucked and the bar below exploded in glass and splinters and
screams. As the G3 danced, it knocked the Hula Girl off the
sill to shatter on the pavement below. When the glass and
dust settled and the sirens began, Yuri left Joey and Anducci
dead on the ground, lying in a pool of blood and bourbon.

Where the trait is a permanent souvenir, like a memory or a

scar, burning it represents telling the story (whether to another
character or to the table as an audience in a flashback). It is
gone forever because, frankly, no one wants to hear the scar
story twice.
Example: Tor has a trait, a gunshot wound over my heart.
But this time, hes brought a knife to a gunfight, and the dice
on his TERROR roll just didnt cut it. Hes been shot, but
the player wants to minimize damage. Tor does, too. So the
gunshot wound is burned, and that story gets told.
Hah, the bullet entered right beside the old scar, right below
the clavicle. Sure Im leaking, but like the last time, its the guy
shooting thats in trouble. I laugh and bleed, just like last time,
and I aim and throw my blade, like the last time. Ive survived
this wound before. He hasnt.

As players describe their actions, they use the traits and

integrate them into the story being told. Table consensus will
determine the relevance of whats being offered, but there
arent many traits available, and its easier to be generous.
Traits may be generated in one of three ways, as
determined by the ref and the nature of the story. Players
should all use the same mechanism for determining traits.
With the first method, Traits by Q and A, traits are chosen
before the mission is assigned. With the second, Traits On the
Fly, traits are chosen after the mission is assigned, during play.
Finally, with Company Traits, traits are chosen both before
(gimmicks) and after (gadgets and sidekicks) the mission is
assigned.
 3.4.1. Traits by Q and A
Initial traits are the answers to the following questions (or
questions like them), replacing the words in quotes:
1. You wear a black suit over a clean white shirt and a skinny
black tie. No hat and well groomed. Nothing to make you
stand out, except this.
2. You dont have a lot of scruples, but you would never do
this.
3. That one time in Utah you took a souvenir; it was this.
4. This is a hard job, but you love it because you get to do
this.
5. Youre a pro and you know youre a pro because you always
do this.
Other trait-generating questions could be made to reflect the
specific features or tone of the tables game. The narrative link
between traits and the mechanical effect can be fairly loose:
these are components of the characters cool, and come into
effect in unexpected ways.
Example: the player for Amber Sparks answers these
questions, and writes down the resulting five traits:
1. steel toed boots.
2. never hurt a pet.
3. an emerald pendant.
4. I like surprises.
5. remember the details.

The mission is then assigned.

Replenishment: When traits by Q&A get burned they are
replaced at the beginning of the next session, usually with
something completely new. Every character begins with five
traits.
 3.4.2. Traits On the Fly
Sometimes a characters past is a mystery even to the players
themselves. Nothing is defined in advance. Everyone still has
5 traits, and they get defined and used in play, with players
providing elaborate back-story as traits are needed. If you want
two dice, you tell the table a story. When players decide to
burn a trait, they write it then and there. They provide some
background story that is relevant to the current situation,
describe it in four or five words, write it down on their
character sheet, and then put a big X beside it.
Though no traits are chosen in this step, the mission is assigned
before proceeding to step 5.
Replenishment: Traits on the fly are never replaced or
restored, but at the beginning of a new session players get three
new trait slots, which can put them above their initial five.

3.4.3. Company Traits

With this method, there are three types of traits available
(gimmicks, gadgets, and sidekicks), and players may choose
any combination of the three types to make up their five traits.
Gimmicks remain constant from one mission to the next;
gadgets and sidekicks can be changed between missions. As
characters survive into new sessions, more Gimmicks become
available. See 3.6. Experience on page 32.
Gimmicks. There are some abilities that are not skills. Skill
rolls are always opposedwhat you do when you roll the
dice, you do against someone else. Nevertheless, in the realm
of human activity, sometimes someone doesnt have to lose.
These are abilities that one might want and not every hyper-
competent killer should be able to do them equally:
Driving Languages Survival
Gambling Demolitions Medical
Stealth Water vehicle
Repair Wilderness
Now of course everyone has a drivers license and can drive
a vehicle competently. Choosing Driving as a gimmick,
though, gives the player a bonus that demands a driving story.
Gimmicks dont burn, but are only usable once per session.
This doesnt mean you forget your gimmick, but it cant be
used again this session. Each member of the A-Team had one
gimmick: Drive, Gamble, Repair, and Smoke a Cool Cigar.
You use your gimmick to make someone hurt more. It might
be why you were brought on to this mission. It might just be
what makes you special. Your gimmick makes it personal.
Gadgets. Agents can be assigned specific pieces of equipment
that pertain to the mission at hand. This can function as a Q
Branch for players: once the mission is handed out, players
may assign any remaining traits as equipment. You want a
giant crane with a wrecking ball that you can bring in on your
assassination attempt? Write it down, and then when you burn
it, you can take two dice. It might be a box of explosive bullets,
a gun that shoots backwards, a laser watch, a portable nuclear
device, or anything else that the player imagines might be
useful and suits the tables tone.
Using gadgets in your game requires some planning, and is
spelling out the mechanic/narrative links much more clearly
before play. The mechanic is the same, but this refines and
defines the traits to tie them closer to the narrative.
In play, a gadget can be kept, gifted to another agent, or traded
for another agents gadget. The player defines what this gadget
is and where it came from, but generally it is an object with
some obvious function special to the work that agents do.
Sidekicks. Players may also invest in sidekicks, whose
mechanical function is exactly the same as if they were
gadgets. A sidekick might be a Sniper in the Hills, a Hot
Nuclear Physicist in a Tank Top, an Insider at the Casino,
a Double Agent, or simply Backupwhatever the story
demands. They have a single mechanical use until they are
discarded like yesterdays newspaper. Sidekicks too can be
selected by players after the mission briefing.
 Example: Jack is using Method 3, and she wants her character
to be all James-Bond-y.
She chooses three gimmicks up front: Drive (so that
whatever vehicle is around, whether its a tank or a hydrofoil
or a space shuttle, she can use it to hurt someone), Gamble
(which shell save for a CON or a COOL roll), and Leisure
Sports (so she can kill people equally effectively on the
slopes with her ski poles or underwater with a harpoon gun).
She also chooses one gadget and one sidekick, which gives
her five traits. Once she receives the mission objectives, she
chooses the remaining two: a Portable Satellite Uplink for her
gadget, and Pierre, a Parisian taxi driver and Beat poet, as a
sidekick.

The mission is then assigned.

Replenishment: Company traits refresh themselves at
the start of a new session. Their type does not change but
the identities of gadgets and sidekicks can change between
sessions (and usually d0).

3.5. STEP FIVE: COMPLICATIONS

Finally, each player may choose to create a complication. A
complication makes this mission personal in a way
unknown to the other characters. It is not something
mentioned in the mission statement but is created by the
player. It is a personal complicationusually a conflict of
interest. It should be big and interesting and relevant and bad.
Complications are things like this chick we need to assassinate
is my girlfriend or I stole that stash and already spent it on
blow. Write it down and show it to the ref. The ref might
veto it if it doesnt work for the story, but generally she should
want to make it happen. No one else needs to know, but they
canplayers are not characters and they are allowed to know
things characters dont. If there is a high degree of trust and
confidence at your table, complications can be kept secret from
the referee, so that she too can be surprised by the big reveal.
Choose a complication either when the mission is given or
when a new character enters the game.
Having a complication is optional, but if done right it is
something that will make the mission especially difficult or
unpleasant for the character. Its also a pre-requisite for victory.
Yeah, winning isnt normally an achievable goal in RPGs, and
its not that important here, either, but your awesomeness does
increase if your character is taken out with a complication.
Example: Tor and his team are given a
mission, to spy on Margaret Rhys-Davies to
determine if she has betrayed the Agency.
Tors player writes down a complication: Tor
has been screwing around with Margaret for
months now. Her husband doesnt know. Tor
would like to keep it a secret from everyone.
Hed be hesitant about killing Margaret. Not
her husband, though.

Youre done:
Amber Sparks, Agent.
KILL 5
COOL 4
CON 3
TAKE 2
DIG 1
TERROR 0

Traits:
1. steel toed boots.
2. never hurt a pet.
3. an emerald pendant.
4. I like surprises.
5. remember the details.

Complication: Years ago, Margaret interrupted

Ambers wedding and ran off with her
husband-to-be, Sir Lionel Rhys-Davies.
Ambers still angry.

Character sheets dont need to be complicated, and all the

information should fit on a 3x5 card or a single piece of paper.
Feel free to draw a picture if you like.
3.6. EXPERIENCE
Sometimes characters survive a session. Hollowpoint asks
players to adopt a particular perspective on their characters:
that the story is ultimately more important than the survival
of the character. This requires a certain view of the player/
character relationship, and it often means that games last a
short timea session or two, rather than a campaign.
Life is cheap for agents, and that includes their own.
Nonetheless, there should be some reward for the player who
gets through a session. Reward isnt necessarily the right word,
of course: the game does not encourage strong engagement
between player and character. Players are rewarded with
promotion if a character moves on, and with that comes the
opportunity to add more dice to the teamwork pool.
If a team does proceed to a second mission, characters can
persist from one session to the next. That means that at the
beginning of the next session, there will be a combination
of experienced characters (ones that have seen play) and
inexperienced characters (since it is probable at least one
character will have moved on at the end of the mission).
New characters are always made from scratch: five traits,
rank agents, made the same way as anyone else. Experienced
characters can carry over, however:
1. Damage is healed. All primary and secondary effects from
injuries are removed.
2. Traits are replenished. Depending on the method used for
determining traits at character generation, how the traits
replenish will vary as described in 3.4. Step four: Traits
on page 25. New traits might also derive from damage
taken in a previous session: for example, a character
built with Traits by Q and A who was Bleeding out in the
session but who did not move on might choose as a new
trait My insides are all messed up or Metal plate in my skull.
 3. Any character that survives an entire sessionwas
there at the beginning and never moved onreceives
an additional Trait (a sixth in the second session, and
conceivably a seventh or an eighth; though getting that
far suggests some aspect of the game system is not being
pushed). The player may choose anything she likes: a
Gimmick is often appropriate, and may be used for the
sixth and subsequent Traits regardless of how the original
traits were generated.
Optional: The ref may choose to allocate a sixth trait to
any character continuing from one session to the next, not
just those that lasted the entire session. Traits are powerful
resources and should be in high demand.
 As soon as I could get away, I planned to skip town: went
to my deposit box and found it empty. The bank had my
signature, saying I had removed everything yesterday.

Four
Of course, I hadnt planned on being in this alley, either,
with pink foam bubbling out of a hole in my chest. I can
hear it, the sucking chest wound. Im short of breath
and I cant feel my legs. I try and hold my bank receipt
over the hole, which makes breathing a bit easier. Foam
still bubbles through my fingers. Its getting dark, and
I hate that my last thought might be recognizing the
irony that earlier I was haemorrhaging only money.

4. Conflict
There will be several scenes in a session. A player character
could be logically absent from a scene sometimes, but the
game works best if everyone is there. Youre pros. You may not
like being part of a team, but you do what needs doing.
While the mission declares what characters will be
trying to accomplish in a session, a scene is a period
of role-playing that centers around a specific
topic or location. It can be completely free-form, with
players narrating their actions and riffing off each others
improvisation, but whenever its clear that resolution is
needed, the scene moves to a conflict. This is a mechanical
way to generate more scene narration while resolving an issue
using dice. Usually this means violence. A scene might have up
to a half-hours discussion about the plan for a heist and then
go to conflict in order to find out how well that plan worked.
Typically the first scene has players begin by talking about their
mission: they should try to set the tone for all that follows,
though the ref is there to steer things if the players are at a loss
or lack initiative. Each mission has two objectives, and
is played out in scenes. For each scene, there is the possibility
of conflict, and for each scene with conflict, it is possible there
is a principal involved. A principal is a named NPC that
the ref has prepared to be a key part of the story. The
scene after any conflict with a principal is always a retaliation.
Each conflict is played out in rounds, and each player
that is part of the scene has the ability to roll dice once per
round. Only rarely do conflicts last more than a few rounds.
Hollowpoint is built on a premise of escalation: regardless
of what is happening in the scene, each conflict is a bit
harder for the players than the one before. Players
therefore have incentives not to go to the dice. But when a
conflict happens, everyone in the scene is able to contribute.
A typical session might break down like this:
Mission (Objective 1)
Scene
Scene with Conflict
Scene with Conflict with Principal
Scene with Conflict (Retaliation)
Mission (Objective 2)
Scene
Scene with Conflict with Principal
Scene with Conflict (Retaliation)
Scene
Scene with Conflict

This example presents two planned conflicts for each

Objective, one with a principal and one without. Players may
be able to accomplish mission objectives without ever meeting
a principal. It might take three conflicts to achieve the goal, or
it might only take one. Player ingenuity matters.
 Every time anything complicated starts to go down, whether
its investigation detail or a gunfight or even just an important
bargaining session, go to the dice. Keep in mind that its
possibleeven likelythat in any conflict someone could
decide to move on and have the character leave the game
through death or some other means, so dont bother if its not
a big deal. We dont roll to pick locks, but rather start rolling
for the whole damned burglary (which is resolved as a single
scene).
Each scene with a conflict is determined to be a
success or a failure. A conflict is over when the opposition
takes a second stage effect (success) or when there are no
agents left in action (failure). An agent leaves the action in one
of three ways: she takes a second stage effect and can no longer
act, she moves on (see below), or she flees the scene.

4.1. DICE POOLS

Hollowpoint uses a dice pool system to resolve conflicts, so it
works best if everyone each has a handful of dice that they can
use. Each round, every player involved in a conflict
rolls a number of dice equal to the rank of the skill
they have chosen for the round. Teamwork negotiation,
burning Traits, and some rank benefits might add more to that
handful.
When rolling, players are looking for matching sets, which
are two or more dice with the same value. A set can be
described by its length (the number of dice in the
set) and its value (the number on the face of the dice
in the set), always in that order.
Example. Constan has declared COOL, which is rank 4, and
has 2 dice from burning a Trait, so he rolls six dice. He rolls
2, 3, 3, 3, 5, and 5. Thats two sets: three threes and a pair of
fives, or 3x3, 2x5. The 2 isnt part of a set. In the case of 2x5,
the length is 2, the value is 5; in the case of 3x3, both the
length and the value are 3.
Sets can be compared: 3x3 is longer and lower than 2x5; 2x5 is
shorter and higher than 3x3. Often sets will be ranked. In each
round of a conflict, for example, all the sets rolled are ranked,
and longest, highest sets go first.
Example. Anne rolls three sets, 2x2, 2x4, 2x5; Brandon rolls
2x4; Constan 3x1, and the ref rolls 4x2, 2x6, and 2x1. If we
rank all eight sets with the longest, highest sets first, we have
this: 4x2 (ref); 3x1 (Constan); 2x6 (ref), 2x5 (Anne), 2x4 (both
Anne and Brandon), 2x2 (Anne); 2x1 (ref). In the event of a tie
players always act first. In this case, since Anne and Brandon
both have 2x4 and both are players, they would decide
between themselves who acts first.

The referee describes the conflict and the opposition, making

clear what everyone stands to gain. If success in this
conflict will resolve a mission objective this must be
declared clearly before anything further happens. The referee
will take dice according to the current level of escalation
and must also establish whether or not a mission principal is
involved. Characters that are not relevant to a scene do not
participate in it (for example, a scene with one guy talking to
one other guy does not necessarily need more people, and
need not be a conflict). Characters who have a second stage
effect may not continue to participate in conflicts.
For the Referee. For the first conflict in a session the referee
takes two dice for every player at the table, including herself.
So for a table with one referee and three players, the ref takes
eight dice to run the opposition in the first conflict. Every time
a conflict ends with the agents succeeding, the ref amps it up
the next conflict gets two more dice. This base number of dice
is the level of escalation. So if the agents win three conflicts
in a row, the fourth will have the ref starting at an escalation
level of fourteen dice (4x2 for the players; 3x2 for previous
successes; 8+6=14).
The ref also gets two dice added for escalation if the players
have all fled the scene; that shouldnt happen though; see 4.6.
Ending a Conflict on page 52.
The ref will choose what skill the opposition is using (that is,
what effect she hopes to achieve against the players) before
the dice are rolled. Because the opposition may represent a
body of people, an organization, or something else entirely,
the ref may use any skill and all rolls that round will generate
the associated effects. It might be the same skill over and over
again or the ref might choose to switch things up, depending
on the way the conflict evolves.
Whenever a principal is involved in a conflict, two
dice are added to the referees pool and the pool
must be split into two. The split doesnt need to be even
(indeed, it can be with whatever balance the referee likes,
but equal pools are usually the most effective) but one of
the two pools is identified as belonging to the principal, and
the referees narration will reflect that. The two pools are
rolled separately just like player pools. It may be easier to
use different coloured dice in each pool, so that one colour
is used for the principals dice, and another for the rest of the
oppositions dice. The extra two dice do not add to the
escalation value for the purpose of calculating the
number of dice for the next scene. The introduction of
a principal into a conflict will typically create more sets for
the players to face, but they wont be as long and so easier to
spoil. It also makes the opposition more resistant to damage,
since the principal also needs to take a second stage
effect to be removed from active play in a conflict (so
the players need to get four successful hits instead of two). It
is possible for a principal to be taken out, leaving the ref with a
reduced pool for the remainder of the combat; with a principal,
the opposition is treated as two separate characters, each of
which make sets and take effects.
Further, when a conflict involves a principal, the ref
has the option to invoke two skills, one for each group of
dice rolled (one for the principal itself, and one for the rest of
the opposition).
 Example: In a conflict against three players, the referee has
14 dice to roll each round, including two for a principal. One
character was Bleeding out in the last conflict, but the player
decided not to move on: she therefore carries a first-stage
effect, Shot, into this conflict, which is a face-off between the
players and a rogue hit team led by Madame Defarges. The
ref decides that while the hit team is using KILL. Madame
Defarges is using her COOL. Since the two dice pools are kept
separate anyway, this is not problematic.

For the Player. In any conflict during the mission, the

players will narrate what they want their characters to do and
suggest a skill that matches it. Each player declares the
skill to use in the conflict this round, and the rank of
that skill is the number of dice in the players pool.
This determines their effectwhat will happen to people that
cannot resist them. Players will need to sell their choice
describe how their skill bears on the problemand it better be
good. The table should mock weak choices.
When everyone involved has declared, each gets her pool
ready. Bids are made for teamwork dice, which are resolved
(how to do this is described below).

4.2. THE FIGHT

Conflict happens in rounds, follow this sequence:
1. Each player picks the skill their character will use for the
round and takes one die per rank in the skill they have
selected.
2. Once per conflict, players may bid for teamwork support.
See 4.2.2. Teamwork on page 42.
3. Go to the dice. All players with dice roll them and rank
sets by length and value.
4. At any time, players may burn one or more traits to get
two extra dice (per trait) to add to their roll right away,
and adjust sets accordingly. If you burn a character trait, it
is gone until the end of the session.
 5. Knock out sets and determine effects.
6. Narrate as you go.
If anyone is still standing, repeat!
This is not a rigorous sequence: in particular step six (narrate)
is happening all the time.

4.2.1. Skill
Choosing a skill thats appropriate but low can be mitigated by
teamworkyour participation might be more useful by offering
(or receiving) a willing assist. So pick a skill that fits the scene
regardless of proficiency. A character always has the option to
flee the scene: tail between the legs, they can leave the conflict
to the other agents. Everyone at the table may make clucking
noises at them, but at least they are alive.
 4.2.2. Teamwork
At the start of the session, the ref builds a teamwork pool:
five dice for every character are placed in a bowl in
the middle of the table. Whenever a character moves
on and a new character is introduced, the ref adds five more
dice to this pool. These dice represent support from the team
and the agency and are a limited resource that is available to
enhance the performance of the agents.
Once per conflict players may ask for support from the team.
The request must be made before dice are rolled. The player
asking for support narrates why he deserves help and who he
is leaning on to get it done. The helper cannot have a second
stage effect and must already be part of the scene. Perhaps he
suggests, I am raining lead on the bad guys and using Bobby
here as a human shield. Bobbys player now has a choice. He
can say okay or he can say, Fuck That.
If he says yes, then the player requesting support takes the
dice from the hand of the helping player, who now is out of the
conflict for the round (this means that, whatever the story is,
the agent helping cannot be harmed this round). The helpers
dice are added to the pool of the player who has asked for help.
If the player says Fuck That, he takes two dice from the hand
of the person who had asked for help. Calling for help makes
you look small and people dont want to help someone whos
always whining. Asking for help risks making you weaker.
A player who has been rejected may choose to take dice from
the teamwork pool. Theres no limit to the number of dice that
can be taken in this way, though taking too many will bite you
in unexpected places, and the only way to replace these dice is
by introducing a new character.
So ask if you need help, but you risk hurting the team long-
term because youre weak. The ref shouldnt allow players
to negotiate these things. Players find out what the
characters do when they ask for the dice.
The player receiving help is obliged to explain the nature of the
assistance received as part of his narration. It may still come
from his teammates (they get to do their own action as well
as provide the needed assistance to the weak link), or it may
come from the agency though the introduction of an NPC or
some other story element.
The ability to say Fuck That puts real pressures on teamwork.
Thats a good thing. Do you help if asked? Do you ask,
thinking youll be rejected so you can raid the teamwork
pool? How long can characters work together under extreme
circumstances as a team?

4.2.3. Fan Mail

Optionally, the teamwork pool can also be used to reward
awesome narration. If you tell a story that just rocks, other
players at the table can reach into the teamwork pool and
hand you a die. You can hang onto the die (or dice, if you tell
really good stories) and use it, once, in any future roll. If you
hang on to the dice you can save them for super awesome final
confrontations. But theres a risk: too much fan mail makes
you cocky and you could end up with dangerously long sets.
Hilarity ensues.

4.2.4. Go to the dice

Determine the order of the sets, knock them out, and
inflict effects. Narrate as you go. Repeat until the
conflict is determined to be a success or failure. An
objective can only be considered accomplished if the
conflict is a success.
Each player, including the ref, rolls her pool. Once the players
see the dice, they sort them into sets: each set has a length and
a value. So if you roll three fours, we notate it 3x4; the sets
length is three and its value is four. Organize your final pool
result into sets, putting longest sets at the top. Order sets of
the same length by the number (length by value). For example,
4x3 3x1 2x6 2x4 2x2. This determines the order of action.
At any time, players may burn traits to add dice: cross off any
trait, narrating the loss, and roll two more dice for your pool.
That ceramic hula doll you got in Utah (wasnt that a time?)
falls to the pavement as you knock it from the ledge trying to
bring your rifle to bear on a moving target. Using up the trait
doesnt need logically to confer an advantageyou are getting
an advantage by ignoring, destroying, or losing things that you
thought mattered. In play, the loss must enter the scene. There
is no other requirement on the narration for burning a trait.
The longest, highest set remaining is the next hit that
is processed. Long sets go before shorter ones. The longest,
highest value set goes first. In the event of a tie, players go
first. The owner selects a target and narrates how her declared
skill is being brought to bear on the target in the context of the
conflict. If the target has any sets, the target must remove one
die from one of those setsthe narration should reflect the fact
that the opponent is suppressed in some fashion, but nothing
further. When facing down a lone gunman, this may involve
him seeking cover. When facing down a dozen street thugs,
it might well be an injury or a death, but the gang is only
inconvenienced.
When a hit is scored it removes a die from the
shortest, highest set on the target with the fewest
sets. A set with length two is reduced to a singleton. It
remains in play (in case the player chooses to burn a trait) but
it falls out of the action sequence. Losing a die may force the
player to reorder her sets (if, for example, a set three long is
reduced to only two long). If the target has no sets, she gets an
effect determined by the skill the attacker is using. Narrate the
result. Once resolved, the narrator removes the set that was
just used.
Example: Late in a fight, the Last Samurai (played by the ref)
rolls 6x3, 4x6, 2x5. The Nice Old Man rolls no sets, and has
no aspects left to burn. Shadowfoot rolls 2x6, 2x5. 6x3 goes
first, and hits the Nice Old Man (who has the fewest sets),
who is now hesitant. 4x6 goes next, and the Nice Old Man
is babbling and out of the conflict. Shadowfoots 2x6 takes
the oppositions last set (2x5), leaving Shadowfoots final set
inflicting a hit on the oppositionthe Last Samurai is now
shot. Seeing his last ally fall beside him, Shadowfoot flees the
scene rather than be hit himself in the next round.

The narrator with the best set may not passgetting a great
(long) result forces you to act, and maybe prematurely. A 5x6
might mean you jump out from behind cover, guns blazing,
only to discover the safety is on. You spoil one die in your
opponents sets, but thats come at a cost of many of the dice in
your pool; you have basically blown your wad. When bidding
for teamwork dice, this is one reason not to be too greedy:
taking too much can hurt you in the long term.
When the opposition hits the players, it is the ref s
responsibility to hit hard. Have no qualms about picking
on the player with the fewest sets, as long as the story allows
that comfortably. Every combat is unique, but the referee
should generally level the same skill offensively against a
player already on the ropes. Because character death is a
choice that resides entirely with the player, this is not picking
on an individual unfairly (if thats something you care about).
Repeat for each set on the table in order.
 4.2.5. Effects
When you get hit in Hollowpoint you take effects from the
damage. If you cannot stop a hit from an KILL roll, you are
Shot (a first stage effect). If you are already Shot then you are
Bleeding out (a second stage effect). Following is a list of effects
associated with each skill. Feel free to invent alternate names
for effects to suit the scene: Stabbed might better serve the
story sometimes. Whats important, though, is that the next
time the character is hit with a KILL shot, he is Bleeding out.
Similarly, if someone has been successfully framed by a CON
roll, Wanted might be more suitable.
KILL CON
First: Shot (or Cut). First: Marked.
Second: Bleeding out. Second: Suckered.

TERROR DIG
First: Hesitant. First: Exposed
Second: Babbling. Second: Hunted.

TAKE COOL
First: Missing something. First: Dazzled.
Second: Emptied out. Second: Outclassed.

If other skills are in play, other effects need to be determined:

SEDUC E KUNG FU
First: Charmed. First: Bloodied.
Second: Fucked. Second: Defeated.

TEMPT WATC H
First: Compromised. First: Observed.
Second: Broken. Second: Spotlit.
HURT BOSS
First: Screaming. First: Cowed.
Second: Damaged. Second: Chastened.

Even the magic skills work this way:

ILLUSION NEC ROMANCY

First: Confused. First: Disensouled.
Second: Hallucinating. Second: Undead.

Players can take damage from all sorts of skills, but they are
only in danger if they take two hits from the same skill in a
conflict. Characters who take a second effect from the
same skill can no longer participate in the conflict:
they remain in the scene until it is over or they choose to move
on, but they are unable to participate in a conflict in any active
way.
Character death is always a player choice.

4.2.6. Moving on
Once all sets are gone anyone with a second stage effect may
choose to move on. This character will be taken out of play,
either by being dead or in jail or whatever is appropriate to
the effect. If a complication is relevant to the context of the
conflict, the player of any character with that complication
that moves on, wins. Moving on doesnt need to mean
death, and players are encouraged to find an exit story that
is thematically appropriate. Moving on is a choice you
make to retire the character and start a new one. You
are never forced to move on.
If a character has moved on, the conflict continues, but with
the reduced number of characters. More than one character
may move on in a given round or a given conflict.
 4.2.7. Wash
If no one has taken an effect and no traits have been burned,
this round was a wash. On a wash all characters receive
an effect from their own attacking skill and players
narrate the resultswhat went wrong that led to this disaster:
the assassin is shot; the femme fatale falls for her mark. A wash
inverts the expected result and has the character impacted by
the skill she was using and not by the oppositions skill. The
only way to avoid this is for someone, player or opposition,
to take an effect every round. This puts further pressure on to
burn traits in order to achieve hits: nobody wants a wash.

4.2.8. Special Abilities

Back when we were making characters and you first wrote
Agent in stage one, we told you each rank also has a special
ability. How these work should make sense now:
Agent an agent can take one for the team. Any time the
referee announces a hit on a character (whether knocking out
a die or causing an effect), any agent may volunteer to take the
hit instead on her dice (if she has sets to knock out) or on her
character. The agent can do this even if he has not rolled dice
this round, because he was helping a teammate.
Operative the operative is here to teach. When anyone calls
for help and is denied (even if denied by the operative), the
operative can take two dice from the teamwork pool.
Handler the Handler leads from behind. Any time a player
refuses to help another, the Handler can help instead. They
can force their help on others, and stay safe in the bargain.
Players should use their special ability as often as they are able.
4.3. THE CATCH
When establishing the parameters of a scene, the referee
may choose to set a catch to reflect a separate goal that the
players need to achieve. Some conflicts may require special
circumstances to resolvea thing needs to be stolen (TAKE) or
a fact needs to be discovered (DIG) or something like thatas
well as there being a narrative victory. In these cases, the ref
takes three dice from his pool and sets a catch on the scene: a
certain skill must be used to take the three dice over the course
of the conflict. The dice are rolled and set in the middle of the
table. Each number rolled in the catch is the value of
the set needed to remove that die. One die is removed
with any set from the specified skill at the appropriate value or
higher. These dice serve as a clock:
Example: the ref rolls the catch dice and sets a 2, 4, 4 in the
middle of the table (on a book maybe, where they wont
interfere with other dice rolled), stipulating that they can
only be removed with TAKE. So while much of the team is
blasting away, Jonah rolls his TAKE skill, and gets 2x3 and 2x2.
Either set is enough to knock out the 2, but at the end of the
round the two fours remain on the clock. Jonah can use the
remaining set to knock out some of the opposition, if he can
produce a story that sells it.

If the opposition suffers a second stage effect before all of the

catch dice are taken, no matter what the other results, the
conflict is a failure.
The referee should declare the specific purpose of the catch
(whats to be taken, etc.). The referee may always choose to
knock out a set that is attacking the catch dice.
4.4. SKILL CHECKS
Sometimes in a scene without a conflict the players will still
want a means to determine whether or not some action is
successful. Do this with a skill check: one player (only)
rolls an appropriate skill and sees if he can make
a set. If a set is not made on the initial roll, it can only be
accomplished by that player burning traits. Skill checks are at
the discretion of the referee and requires that there is no clear
opposition (which would demand a conflict). The referee must
state clearly what the stakes of the roll are: what, exactly, is
accomplished with a success. There is no teamwork here, and
the process has advantages and disadvantages for the players.
Players can move the plot forward in a clear, discrete way: a
specific piece of information can be gathered (DIG), or a small
private army can be assembled (BOSS), etc. If a skill check
fails, however, it is established categorically that the stakes
sought are not available to the players for the session. This
then puts considerable pressure on the player to burn traits to
achieve a success. Further, if the skill check is at all related to
either of the mission objectives, a successful skill check
counts as a success in terms of escalation, adding two
dice to the next opposed conflict.

4.5. NARRATION
While all this is happening, everyone at the table is offering
narration. When you use a set from your pool to knock out
a die from your opposition or to inflict some harm, you
are invited to narrate what happens. Sometimes this isnt
necessaryits obvious that bullets are flying and people are
ducking, getting hit, or fleeing the scene. But a little colour
can liven up the exchange, especially if it involves a trait you
burned to get your sets.
There are clues in your dice. Very long sets, for example, go
first and so imply extremely fast reflex action. When that sucks
(and it often will), make sure thats in your narrationif all
you have is 5x5 and your opponent has four sets of pairs, you
get to go first and knock one pair out. Then he pummels you
to death with his three remaining sets. Obviously you were
brash (leaping from hiding to discover ten assailants instead of
two) or unprepared (stepping into the open and switching to
full-auto only to discover your magazine is empty). When you
get a lot of short sets, the opposite is happeningyou are being
methodical and effective and taking your time.
Make sure your narration addresses the skill youre using.
When youre killing, talk about your tools. When youre
terrorizing, talk about your victim. When youre using
your cool, talk about your clothes, your cigarillo, and your
asymmetric smile.
The referee should pad out narration where its thin and
summarize the scene every now and then. Bring in collateral
damage (the soda machine full of holes, the screams of the
innocent patrons, the omnipresent shattered glass) and
reaction shots. Keep it fast and violent and hand it back to the
players right away.
The referee must facilitate a good storya violent story that
allows for individuals to be in the spotlight frequently enough
for them to shine. Or get hurt, as it happens. Because the
oppositions dice pool is undifferentiated (it represents a
group of characters, who might not all be performing the
same action), the referee has a lot of freedom to interpret the
effect of sets. Not all of it must be offensive, or even tied to
the specific skill that has been declared: if the effect of one
of the oppositions sets is to spoil a players set, the narration
provided by the referee may be indirect: Youre unable to get a
clear shot; there are too many shadows (spoiling a KILL shot)
or: The file has been corrupted, and wont be able to be used
as evidence (spoiling an DIG set) or: Spinning your knife on
your fingertip reminds Lt. Thorpe vaguely of a circus clown he
saw in his youth (spoiling a COOL set).
 Despite all of the rules for running a conflict, all that is
dependent on the tables ability to produce a satisfactory story.
If it just doesnt work (e.g. a thug waggling his sword gets a
TERROR hit on someone who is not in the room, but across
the street sitting at a computer keyboard), then the table has
the right to adjust the outcome accordingly. Sure, youre going
to do this anyway, but here it is in black and white: the table
should feel free to adjust any of the rules if it helps
to produce a more memorable story. So for example,
one table might decide that they want to choose what set their
hits take out from their opponents, instead of always hitting
the shortest, highest set of the person with the fewest. No
sweat. As long as both sides get the same ability, theres no
problem; the shortest, highest set is likely to be the optimal
choice in any case, but beholdyou now have free will.
If each player is using a different colour of dice and another
colour again being used for the teamwork pool, then there is
an additional level of information available as the table works
together to tell the story.
Example: Donald rolls his five blue dice in CON and convinces
Corin not to use his four yellow dice on his KILL roll but to
help in a teamwork bid, so hes got more dice now. Donald
rolls and gets 3x5, 2x6, 2x2. Looking at the colours, though,
Donald finds that theres a yellow in every set, suggesting
Corin offers enthusiastic support for Donalds lying schemes.

4.6. ENDING A CONFLICT

A conflict is over when the opposition takes a second stage
effect (in which case it is a success) or when there are no agents
left in action (in which case it is a failure). Agents may flee the
scene and choose to leave the action at the start of any round.
If all the agents flee, though, the referee adds two dice for
escalation. Agents shouldnt be chickenshit and need to just
suck it up. This rule shouldnt need to come into play if the
players have a sense of who agents are.
At the end of a conflict, the results need to be determined.
 1. Was the conflict a success for the players (or did everyone
flee the scene)? If it was, the next conflict will escalate.
2. Was an objective resolved? An objective is met by a
conflict when one of two things happens; either the
stakes established that a player victory would fulfill
an objective or someone in the conflict moved on
while revealing a complication that resolves or renders
irrelevant an objective.
Example: Ephram is pursuing the objective, Identify the
turncoat and his complication is I am the turncoat. In a
shoot-out he winds up bleeding out and gasps out a con-
fession with his dying breath and moves on. The objec-
tive is resolved regardless of whether or not the conflict
was otherwise a success.
3. Does anyone want to move on? Any character with a
second stage effect may choose to move on. This might
involve more narration from the player. Make it good.
4. Fix effects. After any conflict, second stage effects
become first stage effects. First stage effects remain
through an entire session. A brief narration of the
transition is nice: Bah, its really not that bad; Ive broken
that wrist before or I didnt need all that shit anyway
Im more free with less stuff.
5. Did the conflict involve a principal? If so, the next scene
will be a retaliation, regardless of whether or not the
players succeeded.
6. Does anyone win? If a character has moved on and
worked in a complication, that player wins. Pour a drink.
7. Replace lost characters. A character that has moved on
is replaced with a new character. Put the old character
sheet to the side, and make a new one.
A player that wins by moving on may create a new character at
the next rank. Agents are replaced with Operatives; Operatives
are replaced with Handlers. A player that wins with a Handler
has won the whole game and totally rules. Stop playing,
everyone take a drink, slap backs, light cigars. You are done.
 When the new character comes on the scene, she has been sent
to get the team on track, and so is in a position of authority
(regardless of rank). The ref should have her start by taking
over a scene in which she tells the team what went wrong, why
she was sent to fix it, and what they are going to do next. The
dressing down is a major perk of moving on.
Part of the authority the player has during this scene is the
authority to change a mission objective. If any objective
has not yet been met, or if the story so far suggests
an amusing way in which an achieved objective might
have been a Bad Idea, the player doing this dressing-
down may propose a change of objective to the
referee. If the referee accepts (and she might offer
some ideas too) then the objective is changed.
Example: The mission had begun with two objectives:
Objective 1: kill the royal family
Objective 2: maintain chaos until parliament can assert itself
In the course of fulfilling Objective 1, the players invent
a means to blast away most of their targets. During the
course of a duel with the cyborg Lord Chamberlain, one
player moves on, revealing that he himself was fifth in line
for the throne (a complication the player had written for the
character once the mission was assigned).
When the new character comes in, as part of the dressing
down the player changes objectives: in part due to her loyalty
to her old character, the second objective is changed from
random urban terror to, Insert an Agent as a lone surviving
royal family member.

4.7. TACTICS
The dice system is not obvious. There is no simple progression
from crappy to awesome by adding dice. Consider:
no matter how many dice are in a pool, there can never
be more than six sets, so the only way to get more than
six sets is to have more than one pool. Thats the players
advantage.
 long sets are inefficient but fast (they go off early but they
expend a lot of dice for the same effect as fewer dice), and
more dice means longer sets. That is to the refs advantage
and is why going up against a principal can really hurt.
As a consequence, it is rarely a straightforward calculation to
take teamwork dice or to accept a request for help. To a large
degree it depends on the opposition.
It is possible to wind up in a position where the players
have won every conflict but failed their objectives. This will
make subsequent conflicts increasingly difficult to win: the
characters may have no traits or teamwork dice left and yet the
opposition will have tons of dice to bring to bear (two extra
for every player character victory so far, thanks to escalation).
There are a few courses of action open to the players now:
Go out in a blaze of glory. Confront that final conflict
head on, knowing you are almost certainly going to lose.
This is your Butch Cassidy moment. You are all fucked.
Approach the next conflict with the goal
of resolving the objective by revealing a
complication and moving on. When a character is
replaced, five new dice get added to the teamwork pool.
Slink away. You blew your wad and failed. The enemy is
now entrenched and unassailable. Roll up new characters
because these ones are too attached to their lives to
adequately perform their duties. They survive by harassing
citizens for smokes and spare change. They are losers.

4.8. SAMPLE CONFLICT

Ref: Youve reached the warehouse and its the dead of night.
No moon, no clouds, and no noise. You pull up in your black
SUV and check gear. Your objective here is simpleyou need
to get Annalise out of the warehouse alive. How you do that
is your business. Im taking 12 dice for thislast conflict was 10
dice and you won it, so we escalate. What are your skills to be
used in this first round?
Belle: KILLIm setting up in the trees with my PSG-1 sniper
rifle. Ive got four dice.
Cabe: TERRORI am going to bust in and wreak havoc and
take Annalise from them with my five dice.
Dern: CONIll leverage all that violence to convince them to
let her go.
Ref: You all need to bid for teamwork dice.
Dern: Everyone done? Okay, I bid for none.
Belle: I want Dern helping me. Lets kill em all.
Cabe: I want Dern frightening the shit out of them.
Dern: Nobody wants me talking much do they?
Ref: Its your call, Dern. Help Belle KILL or Cabe cause
TERROR, or stick with your CON of three.
Dern: If I say Fuck That to them both, do I get four dice?
Ref: Sure two from each.
Dern: Thats pretty awesome. So thatd give me seven, but
hobble the rest of you. Cool, but probably not worth it. Ill
help Cabe. Cabe gets all three dice in my hand. Is that right?
Ref: Exactly.
Cabe (grins, eyeing the Refs 12 dice): Cool. Ive got Dern
helping me. Hes getting out his bullhorn or whatever and
I tell him to put that shit away and back me up when I start
smashing heads.
Ref: I kinda like the scene where you both call for help and
Dern ignores Belle to go work up close in person with Cabe.
Belle: I scowl and climb my tree.
Ref: Okay, gimme your rolls.
Cabe: Okay I got TERROR at 5 and three more from Dern. So
8 dice. 4x4 2x6 and a 5. Do I throw that away?
Ref: Keep it for now. In case you decide to burn something.
Belle: I have KILL at 4 and I got...2,3,4,6...crap. Im going to
burn Still human right away to get a bead on the leader and
drop him right away. Im just that cold now. And get...a pair of
3s. So thats a 3x3 and thats it.
Ref: The opposition is rolling KILLthey just want to you all
dead, and maybe Annalise too. Here we have 5x1, 2x6, 2x3.
Ill discard my singles cause I dont have any traits. So the
5x1 goes firstas Cabe and Dern and heading to the front
door, the rattle of automatic fire rings outthey are shooting
through the door at you. Ponk ponk ponk, it fills with holes.
That takes one of Cabes sixes, spoiling that set.
Belle: It doesnt hit me? I have the fewest sets.
Ref: I thought you were off hiding up a tree. Cabes right in
front of them, and has Dern at his side. Hes the target. OK?
Cabe: No sweat. I still have 4x4.
Ref: And it goes next.
Cabe: BOOM! Me and Dern barrel through the door straight
into the gunfire and while he shoots at them I wade in and
punch one to death with a big dangerous grin on my face.
Dern: Yow.
Ref: Okay, my shortest, highest set is the 2x6, so Ill remove
one of the sixes, leaving me with 2x3.
Belle: Doesnt matter. My 3x3 is nextas they bust through
the door I pop the guy holding Annalise. That takes their last
set.
Cabe: Damn. Im going to burn something. I want some
damage done. Im Unshaven and dont care. I figure I
resemble every wildman in the woods that pop culture
has put into their heads since childhood, and the fear were
causing is pulling up childhood nightmares for these guys.
Ref: Alright, thats fair. Cross it off and roll two more.
Cabe (rolling): A one and a five. Woo! Thats a pair with my
fives now. That makes them Hesitant. The terror has taken
effect.
Ref: Okay amidst the gunfire and the howling and the
cursing, Cabe looms large. People are dying with no known
reason and Annalise is free from her captor. She rushes
towards Dern.
(Ref raises his eyebrows.)
Dern: What?
(Ref raises his eyebrows again.)
Dern: What!? Oh alright. The girl rushes towards me with
open arms and cries Daddy!
Cabe: Daddy?
Belle: Daddy?
Dern: Later.
Cabe: As in Whos your...?, I hope.
Dern: Later!
Ref: Okay, round two. Full dice again. Dern, youre the only
one who qualifies for teamwork dice because Belle and Cabe
have both bid for them this scene. Want any?
Dern: Nah, with Hesitant already on I need to give support.
Belle: Cabe and I dont want to overshadow Dern. This is
obviously all about him.
Ref (rolling): Okay, the bad guys get 3x3 3x2 2x6 and 2x5.
They are still using KILL.
Cabe: I only have five dice now but Ill burn my Black leather
hat for two more. Still using TERROR. I stuff it down one of
the guys throat. So seven dice and I got 2x5 and 2x3 and a
bunch of singles. Crap.
Belle: I keep shooting into the crowd there. Maybe we can get
a break. Only four dice on KILL, though. I got...2x2.
Dern: Hey guys, guys, it doesnt have to go down this way.
Cabe, rein it in, man, we dont want to kill all of them. Not
like the last...unpleasantness. My CON is good for five dice.
And I got...uh, a straight. Nothin. Guess they aint in a talking
mood.
Ref: Okay, the 3x3 goes first. As Dern is trying to talk down
the situation, one of the goons lets off a blast of double-
ought into his leg. Dern, you are Shot. Thats a KILL hit.
Dern: Aigh! Motherf....
Ref: Hmm, still me. The 3x2 is up next and I think this guy just
keeps blasting. Dern, you are now Bleeding out.
Dern: Cough.
Ref: Still me. These guys are just not buckling. The 2x6 goes
next and takes Belles 2. Someone has spotted your muzzle
flash and is returning fire with a sub-machinegun. Little flecks
of leaves spatter around you.
 Cabe: Your 2x5 matches mine. Who goes first?
Ref: You do.
Cabe: Okay, Im stuffing this hat down the throat of the
bastard that shot Dern. I take his 5.
Ref: Im out then. Your 2x3?
Cabe: Thats it, they fold. Whats the second stage of
TERROR?
Ref: Babbling.
Cabe: Cool. Okay, then, they are now Babbling, wetting
themselves from my show of extreme anger and force. They
drop their guns and I line them up and start breaking fingers.
Ref: Good. Thats a success for you guys. Annalise runs to
Dern. Daddy! Oh Daddy, youre hurt. Dern thats your
complicationhow do you want to deal with your Bleeding
out?
Dern: Annalise, baby, Im so sorry. Cough cough. Im so sorry
to get you involved in this. Cough cough.
Cabe: Im cryin.
Dern: Dern is moving on. I think he expires there, coughing
up blood on his daughters gingham dress.
Ref: Okay, you get to build an Operative then. Cabe and
Belle, you round up these thugs and get Annalise to the car.
Then haul in Derns body. Theres going to be hell to pay for
this fuck up. Derns dead, man. Annalise is in tears but maybe
not so much as youd expect from watching daddy bleed out
on her picnic outfit....

4.9. CONFLICT, WITH A CATCH

Ref: Okay, youve arrived in Los Angeles and located Harpers
home. You know the safe is in there and the documents are
in the safe. But the villa he lives in is a maze and a fortress.
You need to act fast and get a team in that house right away.
I have 12 dice for this scene but Im taking out three for the
catch: you need to DIG to find the location of the safe before
the agents in the house can complete their mission.
Amy: Oh crap, so we need to TAKE, obviously, to succeed at
the objective, but the catch only gets eroded with DIG?.
Ref: Yes, I think thats right.
Boris: My DIG is pretty good. Im setting up at the cafe down
the street with the team on my headset while I try and hack
the city archives for the blueprints to Harpers villa.
Ref: (takes 12 dice and rolls three of them right away. 1, 2, 6:
these are placed in the middle of the table.) This is the clock.
Ill roll 9 dice for the rest of the conflict.
Amy: Im setting up a distraction with my shotgun. KILL 5.
(She grabs five dice and starts shaking them in her fist, ready
to roll.)
Carrie: Okay I am dressed in my all-black cat suit with nothing
but a rope that makes a nice garotte and my little Walther
.380 in an ankle holster. Ill be using TAKE, I expect, with Amy
helping me. Amy, I want you backing me up with GPS and
calling out targets. (Carrie takes three dice in her hand for her
TAKE and holds out her hand asking for Amys dice).
Amy: Fuck That! I am in this. My KILL is 5! You want me!
Carrie: (glares at Amy and and hands her two of her own
dice.) Well, Im down to just one die now. Im taking the last
three from the teamwork pool.
Amy: You gotta have balls of steel in this game, sister. I have
my shotgun for busting doors and scaring the shit out of
people. But emotionally Im behind Carrie every step of the
way.
Ref: Okay, dice out, folks. Initially the opposition is using DIG,
attempting to find you out. (Rolls his nine dice.)
Amy: Using KILL to start, taking out any guards with my
knife. seven dice...3x2 and four useless dice.
Boris: DIG, as I hack into the city archives. I have 4 dice...2x1
and 2x6! Woo! Hey, wait: Im a Operative, and Amy said Fuck
That. Im here to teach. Can I have two more dice?
Ref: Sure, its not too late. Roll em.
Boris: 3, 2. Oh well. I still have two sets.
Carrie: I should have used DIG to start, sneaking in from the
second storey and eyeballing the place for a likely safe. But
Im committed to my TAKE roll, right?
Ref: Yep.
Carrie: Okay, I have my one die plus three from the
teamwork pool. 2x2, a 4, and a 1.
Ref: 3x6, 2x4, 2x3, 2x2. So my 4x6 goes first and Ill chose
to knock out one of Boris sets. The 2x6 is gone. The city
archives are easy to get into but the Harper house just isnt in
there. As far as the city is concerned, this is an empty lot.
Amy: My 3x2, then, takes out one of your 4s. One guard
down with a knife in the brain. My smile glints in the starlight.
(Ref discards a 4, leaving his 2x3 and 2x2. The 2x3 is up next.)
Carrie: Hey, before you go, Im burning my Bum knee for two
dice. I got that in Utah, you all recall, when we got caught on
the third floor of a hotel we had to torch. Wasnt the job, but it
seemed the best way to get at the hotel safe was to burn the
hotel and sift through the ashes. Who knew thermite would
go off by accident like that? Anyway, its not everyone who
survives a thirty-foot fall with just a limp. Now it throbs and
I stumble against the wall, so I get two new dice... (she rolls
them.) ...and get 6 and 3. Great, no new sets. The wall is solid.
Ref: My 2x3 then. Amy has the fewest sets.
Amy: None.
Ref: None. A guard hears you, Amy. You are exposed.
Carrie: My 2x2 goes before your set, Boris. Stumbling, I
knock aside an oil painting of some hunting dogs, and theres
the safe. Harpers home is now missing something... I found
their secret stash.
Boris: My 2x1 is clear then and I get one of the clock dice! Ive
found that the tax records point to a dummy corporation
that has the house in its database. Im sifting through that
now.
Ref: Okay nice round. This time my 9 dice are set to KILL the
intruders...3x2, 2x5, 2x4, and two wastes.
Boris: I keep using DIG, safe in the internet cafe across the
street. I think the barista has just refilled my mochaccino.
Amy: Mochaccino? What a lame drink for an agent. Youre
sure not using COOL.
Boris: Anyway, I roll...2x5, a 4 and a 1.
Amy: I aim to KILL that guard that noticed Carrie. Ugh...6, 5,
4, 3, 1. Somebody get me some new dice.
Carrie: Im dealing with this guard too, hoping to get lucky.
My KILL is only 2, but you know the drill: no witnesses...4, 3.
Crap.
Ref: First the 3x2. Amy you are surprised by another guard,
who blasts at you with a little Czech sub-machinegun. Plaster
and glass chips fly all around you as it ripsaws through where
you just were a minute ago, but you catch a .32 round in the
thigh. You have no sets so you are shot.
Amy: Ow, dammit. I am burning my gold-plated .25the
round hits my hold-out gun, ricocheting into my thigh and
ruining the piece...I get a 4 and a 2 so I have a 2x4 now. Im
also burning my Icy demeanorI am pissed and I howl, raising
the shotgun...1 and 1. Okay, thats better. I should have done
that right away. Now I also have a 3x1!
Ref: And its next up.
Amy: Boom boom boom. Three quick doses of double-ought
at my sneaky adversary.
Ref: Hes dead as hell and my 2x5 is ruined. Boris, your 2x5 is
up.
Boris: Ill take another die off the clock. One left! This
company database is a gold mine...it may have the
combination to the safe as well as the location!
Carrie: Ive found the location. We just need the combination,
I think loudly to myself.
Ref: Okay we have a tie hereAmy has a 2x4 and so do I. Ties
go to the players, so Amy youre up.
Amy: I spin and take out Carries assailant with the rest of my
ammo, then throw the shotgun aside. Arent you glad I was
here, Carrie?
Ref: Boom, hes blasted ruining my 2x4. Round three. I am
again using KILL as the guards start to swarm in...5x5, 2x1 and
garbage.
Boris: Stick with the DIG of coursewe are almost there! 2x6,
5, 4.
Carrie: Back to TAKE now. I think well have the safe this
round, and I want to be there. I have 3 in TAKE...2x3, 4.
Amy: I am KILL killing these guys while Carrie gets the
goods...2x5, 2x1, 6. Im ripping into them with my bare hands.
Boris: Fine, Im burning my detectives badge. Oh yeah, I
used to do this for a living and Ive always kept the badge.
Now it dont mean nothing. I am the bad guy now. My two
new dice are...4,5. Hah! Now I have 2x6, 2x5, and 2x4.
Ref: Holy crap! Well, no point in me spoiling your sets, so I
think the 5x5 will KILL Amy...another pair of guards emerge
from the library firing at you while you reload. You have to
cower behind a marble copy of the Venus de Milo and your
2x5 is ruined.
Amy: Hah, that wont be enough!
Boris: My 2x6 is next. I have the safe located and transmit the
location. Its behind the painting, Carrie!
Ref: Your shiny new 2x5 is next, Boris.
Boris: Oh sweet! Well it seems I also have the location of the
panic room switch and you guys are in it. Hit the switch and
the room seals, opening an escape tunnel to the outside!
Ref: That kills my last set, the 2x1. All your sets are now
causing effects.
Boris: Oh yeah, my 2x4 now too. Heres the combination,
guys! Thats an effect from DIG so....
Ref: Ugh! Harper is exposed!
Carrie: I spring the safe and grab the goods with my 2x3.
Ref: That was a TAKE effect? Okay. Harper is now missing
everything. Thats it!
Amy: Wait! As the panic room door is slamming shut, I pull
one of the guards halfway in with my 2x1....
All: Ewww.
Ref: Slam! Harpers men are now also shot I think we could
call that bisected maybe. Okay, the clock is gone and I have
three different kinds of effect on Harpers crew, including a
double hit from Carries TAKE. Nice work. Thats a success for
you guys: Harper is fucked. You have all of his secrets.
 He finds a long fork, like the kind used in fondues, and

Five
takes it in the wrong hand so he can reach the gash in his
right shoulder. He makes the initial probes as he leaves
the kitchen. Theres a dappled pattern on the carpet,
and he adds to it. He angles the fork up, and shoves
it in. He starts rooting around, twisting his neck so he
can see the reflection now in the bathroom mirror.
He bites his lip until it starts to bleed, and the memories of
the evenings mistakes roll over him like the tide coming
in at dusk: waves of darkness, each a little bit bigger than
the last. As a lightning flash of pain courses through his
body to the back of his eyes, he knows that he has found
the bullet. His body goes cold, and he starts to sweat, and
he thinks that lying on the bathroom floor for just a few
minutes will cool him down. But that thought, tempting as
it is, is always a mistake. He spends the next ten minutes
prying the slug out with a tool ill-designed for the purpose
and sits back on the tiled floor to admire his handiwork.

5. Mission
This chapter is focused on building a session, exploring issues
such as structure and pacing that will be of concern mainly to
referees. There are no new rules, just discussion, variants, and
some more examples. Some of it has been said before and is
said again with new context to give you ideas, clarity, or just to
hammer it home.
This is the refs chapter, but any player can benefit from a look
through it.

5.1. OBJECTIVES
A mission is composed of two clearly stated and connected
objectives. These objectives must be stated such that it will be
absolutely clear when they have been achieved.
For example:
OPERATION TURNCOAT
1. Identify the agent that has been recruited by house
Vermeer to act as warlord.
2. Punish house Vermeer.

This is given to the players up front.

Each mission has at least one principal; someone who can be
directly involved in conflicts and make things nastier. They are
secrets that the referee holds until circumstances reveal them.
They may get revised in play. For example:
Principal: agent Odessa, a Agency Handler being recruited by
house Vermeer.
Principal: Ricco Vermeer, son of the head of house Vermeer,
who is recruiting Odessa without his fathers knowledge.

Once the mission has been declared players may create a

complication for themselves. Continuing the example:
Complication: I am being recruited by house Vermeer.

Once the players have shown their complications to the

referee, the referee may want to revise her plans, but maybe
notthe Vermeer mission might be more interesting now that
there are apparently two agents being recruited! Or this might
make one character agent Odessa: the player would then get
to discover that he is the target of his own investigation.
A great mission starts with a clear objective and some bad
people as NPCs. Not every NPC is a principal, and players need
people to talk to in the game world.
It also starts with a team leader. So hand one member of the
crew a piece of paper with a terse mission description and tell
her that shes in charge of this operation. This will give the
players something to start hanging narration on right away and
will also give one person the initiative to start narrating.
The mission statement should indicate exactly what the
players are going to start talking about right off the bat, as well
as what they are going to plan.
5.2. EXPLODING INTO ACTION
As soon as the mission narration implies a conflict, go to
the dice. The tip-off is that the players are starting to narrate
actions relating to their skillsthey are sneaking around or
investigating or breaking fingers. That doesnt necessarily
mean its time to get the dice out right away, though; its just
a flag. The other factor is the opposition. Once theres clear
opposition as well, then dice hit the table.
A conflict should emerge from player action, but if a principal
is involved in a conflict, win or lose, the next conflict is always
a retaliation and the referee sets the stage for the opposition
to react. This is important because throughout the game
the players are planning how to succeed at their objectives
with the limited resources they have, so its a wrench in their
resource calculations. It may force a player to move a character
on deliberately in order to preserve or refresh team resources
(and get a death scene out of the deal). Thats fun.
Sometimes, shit happens to the agents rather than the other
way around. This is best set up as the next scene, and the next
conflictthe oppositions reaction to whatever the agents
stirred up in the first conflict. This happens with retaliation
after a conflict with a principal, but the ref can put pressure
on the players by having the opposition stay aggressive. So
surprise thembefore the players can get into a pattern of
narration towards where they want the action to go, hit them
with something. The windows shatter on their safe house. The
windscreen on the car explodes. They spot their picture in the
newspaper on the front page. All their cell phones ring at once.
If youre ad-libbing this stage (and thats not unusual), start by
looking down the list of skills and pick one. That should give
you a hook to set the stage, by knowing that the opposition is
kicking things off with DIG or TERROR or whatever.
5.3. MISSION BUILDING
Making a mission often begins with the agency itself. Once
the referee knows the charge, the enemy, and the era (as
determined in 2. Agency on page 17), the creation of an
assigned mission should be a straightforward task: create some
entities that have codified relationships and attributes, decide
which are part of the charge and which the enemy, create a
couple of principals, and the mission will often jump right out.
The ref needs five pieces of information to start. The first two
are developed with the creation of the agency itself providing
an overview and a continuing context. The mission asks:
What is the Charge? What does the players agency care
about? The name might not matter, because what matters is its
agenda. Knowing that the agency is the FBI, the Puppetmasters
of Cologne, or the last untainted samurai house in Japan
already starts to generate ideas. The answer to this is usually
enough to determine how traits will be generatedby which of
the three methods.
Who is the Enemy? Whether named or not, there is
some force that needs to be stopped. Like the FBI, or the
Puppetmasters of Cologne, or the last untainted samurai house
in Japan. Once these first two questions are answered, it is
likely that the ref is also able to identify the era in which the
game will be set.
What are the two Objectives? It usually helps to start
with the primary objective. The ref should have a sense of
what the major encounter of the evening will be about. One
way to do this is to look at the skill list: what specific action
do you want to see played? Is it a hit (KILL)? Or a frame
(CON)? Or information-gathering (DIG)? When the players
have read the mission objectives and are building their
teamwork pool, there should be some indication of one skill
that will be called upon during the conflict. Once the primary
objective has been written, the ref has to decide how it is to
fit within the larger context
of the session: is it the end of
the evening (and therefore
the second objective), or the
midpoint (and therefore the
first)? For the ref, it is usually
easiest for the main objective
to be (intended as) the climax,
and then to decide on some
preliminary step on the road
towards that as the secondary
objective. More exciting for the
players, though, might be the
sense of uncertainty entailed
in answering what happens
next?: if the primary objective
is accomplished first, the follow
up (or clean up) then occupies
the rest of the evening. Keep in
mind that whenever a character
moves on the player has the
opportunity to re-state one of
the mission objectives. This can
put a spanner in your works,
but theres a silver lining for the
ref: the players will be doing it
in reaction to some actual play
that demands it. They wont
likely just make something up
for no reason (because they
arent required to change the
missionthey just are able to do
so) and so it represents a logical
branch in the flow of the game
that happens because of the
collision between your idea and
their actions. And that can only
be cool.
Who are the Principals? Not every NPC is a principal, but
there should be two or three (maybe more if the group is big
enough) who are going to change the nature of the refs attacks.
It is possible that not every principal created gets used, but if
the ref has an idea who these people are they can be introduced
when convenient. Because principles split dice into two pools,
there will be more sets when going against a principal. A
traitor in the midst, or the Big Bad that exerts a significant
measure of control over the opposition forces are both good
choices. It also makes sense to mix it up and use a principal to
cross genres, or present real unexpected surprises: the serpent
demon that is representing France on the UN Security Council,
or the Golem the RCMP found in the Arctic ice. Introducing a
principal amps up the story one way or another.
What indelible image to you want to leave your
players with? This is the hardest of the questions to answer,
but sometimes this is what comes first. The ref should have an
image of something really cool that she wants to share with
the players. It might be the opening image of the evening,
against which the players will be responding: a terrorist act so
ruthless that a team of agents is needed. It might be the Big
Reveal at the end of the night: who really pulls the strings in
House Vermeer. Or it might be a single act of violence that will
motivate the transition from the first objective to the second:
what the body of the President looks like when its found that
makes rescuing him impossible. Or it might just be a passing
image of mystery: how the silhouette of an 18th century ship
looks when seen through the mist off two separate coastlines,
luring the agents to investigate even if it seems to have nothing
to do with the mission. If the ref has an image like this,
something she is excited to share, that enthusiasm will infect.
The ref may wish to customize a skill list, produce maps and
handouts, etc. But if a ref can answer these questions, its
usually enough to start a powerful, dynamic session. Not
everything will run smoothly. Players will write complications
antithetical to what the ref intends, and that is fine: that sort of
unpredictability gives Hollowpoint its edge.
 Over the course of the session, the referee must regularly
reassess the state of the opposition: is it aware of the agents
actions? How much does it care? The ref should consider
any effects that the opposition has taken in the aftermath
of a player success so that the skill with which the players
have taken out the opposition in a conflict has an impact on
the enemys subsequent actions. For example, if the players
achieve success through KILL, then there are bodies to be
found or disposed of. If the victory was through HURT or
TERROR then, emphatically, the opponents are still alive, and
have information about the agents to report back. If the victory
was through DIG, then the players have information about the
enemy that they can report back to the agency, or release to
the press. In any case, when the opposition has lost a conflict,
the referee must deal with it based on the specific effect taken.

5.4. SAMPLE ADVENTURES

Here are three examples of the process, written over the
course of thirty minutes each. They are offered not as pre-
generated scenarios (though they can be used for that), but to
demonstrate some of the thought processes that can help a
referee create a mission.

5.4.1. Arena
The players are going to stumble upon a modern-day
gladiatorial ring where kidnapped celebrities duel each other
to the death to the delight of criminal under-bosses. Thats the
Image he wants the players to discover near the end of the first
objective: finding the teenage singing celebrity in fear for her
life stabbing the US Vice President. From that, he extrapolates
the two Objectives: (a) find and rescue the Vice President;
(b) stop those who have kidnapped him. The ref might hope
that the first objective will be botched: that the Vice President
is going to be martyred (to the story) when Alana Alabama
impales him with her trident. But thats not a given!
From this, we start to have a sense of the Charge: an agency
that works for the US or the UN, operating internationally and
without sanctions. Theyre used to killing, but this mission
isnt necessarily going to be about that.
The Opposition is a gambling consortium catering to extreme
criminals: lets call it The Arena. Its run by agent-level
individuals who receive a fraction of a percent of the global
crime take in exchange for a weekly video and audio feed of
gladiatorial combat. The ref will need details on this: perhaps
the Arena is in the belly of a Mediterranean tanker; the crew
of the ship might not even know what goes on within its hull;
theres a row of a dozen cells, half of which might be filled at
any time. The operation itself may be mostly automated, with a
voice remotely instructing prisoners to eat, fight, or whatever,
without any actual contact. And of course there are cameras,
with a subscriber feed that goes through satellites and is sent
globally, every Friday night. Finally, there are the Principals:
lets call them the Voice and the Hand. The Voice controls the
activities on the ship, providing calm, measured instructions
in a rich baritone as the wills of the prisoners are worn down.
Stopping him will be the second objective. The Hand is the
operative that gets the prisoners to the tanker: a master of
terror that moves like a shadow, and can spirit would-be
gladiators away unexpectedly.
Its not the most subtle or complex mission, granted, but is
an example of what thirty-minutes thought can produce,
and its certainly enough to fill an evening entertainingly.
The players will start the session knowing the Vice-President
has been abducted on his way to broker a Middle East peace.
Investigation will eventually lead to the ship (any criminal
organization they encounter will be paying the subscription for
the feed) where players will discover the teen singing sensation
on hiatus from her TV show stabbing the V-P. There can be
some fun for the players, as other celebrities in the cells get
discovered, and it is revealed that a certain action star is not in
fact in rehab.
There isnt much opportunity for the players to declare
complications: none of them is necessarily going to become
over-invested in the life of the VP. Maybe it makes more
sense to give them an anticlimactic mission of rescuing the
teenybopper: something so far beneath them that it doesnt
deserve their skills. But thats something for which the players
might be more willing to introduce a dirty secret.
The ref might even draft an outline to describe the expected
action for each objective:
(a) Find and rescue the Vice-President
1. encounter with criminal organization
2. discover the Arena
3. rescue of starving trident-wielding teen sensation.
At this point the players will have a choice: do they shut down
the whole operation? Do they rescue others? Any violence on
the ship will already have been broadcast, enriching criminal
coffers. Whatever the players decide, they will eventually need
to discover The Voice:
(b) Stop the kidnappers
1. conflict with the Hand
2. conflict with the Voice.
Each captive will have the same story to tell of their abduction;
that is one route to the Hand. So are the signals from the
cameras. But the exact routing of the signal presumably
cannot be determined in advance.
Most importantly, this is about mission-structured action, the
referee needs to lay out the mission objectives clearly so that
the players will know what they have to get done by the end of
the session in order to have succeeded.
The primary objective (if you do it, you win) as far as the
players know is this: save the VP. (The referee is prepared to
have this mission fail: in fact, the objective is really to discover
where the VP is, but it is not phrased that way for the players.)
The secondary objective (if you do it, you win with accolades)
is: shut down the kidnappers and whoever gives them orders.
The players will discover that this means shut down the
Arena, but they have to discover the existence of the Arena
first. The wording, though, points to the existence of the two
principals for the players: this helps them without revealing the
mystery. The secondary can be done by eliminating both the
Hand and the Voice, even without the first being successful.
Players will be motivated to create scenes that clearly progress
towards these objectives, which limits the need for plot flow-
charting on the part of the referee or, more accurately, makes
these flow-charts more informative and less prescriptive.

5.4.2. Magnificent
Inspiration for the ref can come from anywhere, and often it
will not be obvious to the players what the source material
is until well into the session. Heres another example, the
inspiration for which is from a movie weve all seen, and which
allows a number of variations. Again, we start with a list of
whats needed: charge, enemy, objectives, principals, and an
image. We can deal with these in order this time.
The Charge. The agents have been hired to protect a village
from raiders. The village can be in Mexico, feudal Japan,
ancient Greece; anywhere. The village has no defenses of its
own, but theyve pooled what they can to hire the agency to
drive back the raiders. The era in this case is immaterial though
it affects the type of story that will be told.
The Enemy. Since the premise is that the agents will drive
back some external threat, the possibilities are wide open. It
could be a natural force (ravenous wolves), a supernatural one
(ravenous werewolves...), or a human one. Lets stick with
the predictable: a band of outlaws that operate nearby are
terrorizing the village. They want the wealth of the village: its
money, its women, the economic leverage it can exert at the
fork of the river. The Mayor has lost his wife and daughter, and
is inconsolable. The raiders seek complete surrender.
Objectives. The purpose of the mission is to stop the raiders.
Lets set up the first objective at the village, and the second at
the raiders secret hideout in the mountains. The first objective
is to discover the raiders base. The villagers offer nothing,
and so that means waiting for a raiding party, stopping it, and
following it back to its base. That means that success cannot
be achieved through a KILL hit: that would mean the raiders
are dead, and not able to lead them back. The second objective
is to destroy the raiders permanently. Here KILL is an option,
but it requires being sure that all of them are captured or
destroyed. The principals need to be identified and be certain
to be removed from any position of power. There are other
ways the second objective could be accomplished, however:
the agents could aim to draw all the bandits to the village, and
stop them there. Much more innocent blood that way, but the
players maintain the home field advantage.
Principals. The rebel leader is the target for the second
objective: he does not go on raids (usually), but has singled out
this village in particular. He does not use his real name (he uses
whatever the local languages equivalent of John Smith isan
obviously generic and fake name), but does have a connection
with the village: he is the brother of the Mayor. Heck, lets pull
out the clichs and make him the twin brother. The Mayor,
an NPC but not a principal, may or may not know this, but
Smiths aim is to depose the Mayor (one way or another)
and establish the village as his own. A second principal leads
most of the raiding parties: the Crocodile always attacks with
HURT: his victims stay alive, but are left in traction. The agents
see the effects of his cruel brutality when they first arrive in
the village. A third principal is available: Colonel Santos is a
corrupt military officer who allows Smith to continue his raids.
He takes a sizable cut, but in exchange ensures that there is
never any official investigation. If the final conflict is against
Smith and leads to his death, the retaliation will come from
the military, who will have orders to surround and destroy the
agents.
Image. Given the above, the big reveal is that Smith is the
Mayors brother. The players work hard to discover the source
of the rebel incursions, trace them to their mountain lair,
where there is a carved stone throne at the head of a large
wooden banquet table. The carved stone throne fits regardless
of the era, evoking the warlords of history and fantasy stories.
In the throne sits (as far as they can tell) the Mayor himselfthe
man who hired them to kill the Rebel leader. Do they hesitate,
doubting their intelligence and the information they have
received? (It did, they might consider, come rather easily...).
An alternate image is possible if the players never go to the
lair. If they find a way to draw the rebel leader down, it may be
that they each have to protect one of the villages hastily built
defensive gates. Each is stationed at one gate, with the Mayor
and other village leaders offering support. Smith himself
attacks at the gate where his brother stands, and the two of
them duel it out. The threat of brother-killing-brother at the
gate of the village both seek to control, offers an alternative
image that might invite the players to pick sides, or simply to
stand back and watch. Since Smith is a principal, hes not going
to die unless the players intervene, leaving their own gate
undefended.
This setup might demand we think about skill set changes that
would be appropriate. KILL, DIG, and TAKE should always
be options, and weve identified HURT as the Crocodiles
specialty, so it should be available to players as well. Since
double identities are in play, CON should be available. Given
the emphasis on leadership, the ref might decide that BOSS
should be a skill available (and, once hes done so, it is clear
that Smith is going to use BOSS and CON as his attacks when
hes involved in a conflict). So thats six skills. If the ref wants,
TERROR and COOL could be added to round out the choices
for the players, but its not clear they are needed. Traits could
be generated by any of the three methods.
 5.4.3. Callisto
Heres another scenario, this time with a SF twist, inspired
by the 1981 film Outland, but with an element of 1982s Blade
Runner thrown in for good measure. The setting (era) is the
start of this mission: on Callisto, one of Jupiters moons, in the
early twenty-second century. In the ocean that exists 100 km
below the moon surface, microscopic multicellular organisms
have been found. A base of several hundred scientists has been
here for almost twenty years, with staff rotating on staggered
two-year shifts. A series of supply ships come annually
(Jupiters synodic period in relation to earth is just over a year,
and that allows optimal efficiencies for fuel use and travel
time), but the last supply run, due more than a month ago,
did not come, and tensions are high as the base knows that
rationing will be in effect for the next many months.
With this as a starting point, the other elements emerge.
Charge. The agents represent the law on Callisto, and,
indeed, the law on all of Jupiters moons, which are less
inhabited but have small mining communities. They are also
clones, and appear physically different to all the scientists:
they have enhanced reflexes, enhanced strength, etc. The
clones are not aware of everything about their nature: they
dont know there are replacements for them if they move on.
There arethey are sealed in jars in a room somewhere, ready
to be activated, but that process is automated and not part of
the scientists or the agents awareness. This leads also to a
special rule, that the players will discover if an agent moves on:
their replacement will have the same skill set and traits as the
iteration that moved on. The uncertainty over the possibility
of replacements should change player behavior somewhat.
The agents are the law; they have no citizen rights themselves
(they are owned by the Earth corporation that is funding this
research station) but are the final word on legalities at the
station.
The referee should also implement a version of Asimovs
Laws of Robotics, and allow the players to choose KILL in
their skill set but forbid them from using it against humans.
This exerts narrative pressures, because while they may still
be allowed to carry weapons, they cannot use them against
human opponents. Players will then be forced to describe
HURT and TERROR actions, which
ensure that they do not lead to
human death. Rather than make
it an impossibility, this makes it
a prod for player creativity and
imagination.
Enemy. Scientists are dying.
There have been four murders in
the past week, the only four in the
bases history. The agents must
stop the killers. The possibility
that the killers are aliens should
always be kept presentits not
true, but it should be a looming
possibility. Similarly, the dwindling
supplies for the scientists, some
of whom are overdue for shore
leave, is meant to keep tensions
high. Everyone is suspicious,
and everyone is starting to take
shortcuts to help themselves
and their friends. The murders
have been committed by some
miners, who want to destabilize
the base and discourage further
research. They are seeking to assert
independence from Earth, but
can only do so if the corporation
abandons the base from its
commercial interests.
Principals. Tommy Lefarge is the physical trainer who
monitors the health of the scientists on this low-gravity
world. Since the base has many scientists deep within the
moons surface for long periods of time, it is often he who
first discovers a one is missing: they fail to show up for an
appointment. Lefarge is an insurrectionist and has been
working with the mining companies to destabilize the base.
He will falsify reports and biometrics, using CON to throw the
agents off. The leader of the mining faction is not on Callisto,
but is based on Io: Hermione OToole sees herself as the future
first president of the Jovian Moons. Her main instrument is
TERRORshe does not want the facility or the access to the
subsurface chambers damaged. She works from afar and will
only be encountered if the players leave Callisto.
There are some non-principal NPCs to meet, too. Asham
Basral runs the stations bar, The Caliphs Eye. He is good
natured, knows everybody, and runs a black market on the
station. Sonja Lu is the senior corporate representative on
Callisto. Some time after the completion of the first objective,
she will be the fifth murder victim. Imogen Starkie is the
geomorphologist who monitors the integrity of the shafts
down to the ocean. Thor Thorvaldson is the chief electrician
and engineer. His son, one of the few children on the moons,
was the first murder victim. The mining faction also has a
troop of clones that can be deployed on short notice (and
against a clone, the agents can use KILL!). The clones are not
in the base but outside, hiding at an outpost on the edge of the
underground sea.
Objectives. (1) Find who is responsible for the murders,
and (2) stop them. Sympathizers with the mining faction are
everywhere, and the players should be regularly challenged
to go to the dice. Their problem is that there are too many
suspects and red herrings: the black market, the shortages,
the multi-cellular life (space plankton, some of the scientists
have started calling it). Stopping the miners does not require
capturing or killing OToole, but it does mean removing the
presence of any insurrectionists from the base on Callisto.
Image. The first time the agents show up at the subsurface
ocean, the chamber can be described. Having left the cold,
antiseptic corridors at the surface that are composed entirely
of identical prefabricated modules, and having descended on
the rickety elevator (that is electric with a manual override)
for several hours, observing the stratigraphy as they descend,
feeling the cold and the dank through their suits (which are
required for scientists whenever they leave the base), the
chamber they enter is filled with an eerie glow: the Callistan
life is bioluminescent. The violet hue fills the low roofed
chamber that extends for miles in each direction as the salty
and ammonia-filled water churns under the pressures of
Jupiters gravity. A conflict here can involve splashing, pontoon
boats, and subterranean explosions as the miners continue
with their terrorism.
Given the limits on KILL for the players, they should be
allowed the standard skill deployment as well as HURT. They
can choose to take KILL but it must be made clear that they
cant use it against humans. Players should be encouraged
to be creative in their narration, and use the setting (low
gravity, oxygen tanks, spacesuits, etc.) aggressively in their
contributions to the story. Traits can be generated using
method 2 (3.4.2. Traits On the Fly on page 28), or method
1 (3.4.1. Traits by Q and A on page 27) with the following
five questions:
How do people looking at you know you are a clone?
What human object do you keep secretly?
What childhood event do you remember even though it
never happened?
What special equipment do you have to help you do your
job?
With what enhanced skills have you been programmed?
5.5. PACING
One of the biggest challenges for the ref is modulating the
session to ensure missions get done and fun is had.
A scene with a conflict takes about twenty minutes. That,
combined with character generation and transition scenes,
means that a typical session will involve four or five conflicts.
Too many conflicts in a session and the escalation gets beyond
the players and their ever-dwindling teamwork pool, so
expect two conflicts per objective. If one of those involves a
principal, the retaliation will make three. Now players may
very well find their own conflicts along the way and sometimes
this shortcuts the mission objectives, allowing them to be
accomplished faster than the ref expects. Sometimes it is
needless conflict and slows the plot progression.
Players should be allowed to make these choices, but it is up to
the ref to ensure that everyone is participating, and everyone
is on-board with the plan. Thats one of the consequences of
enforced teamwork.
Keep the band together, if you can. This might involve
starting a new scene by turning to another player, and asking,
Okay, while Chris is punching innocent drunks down at the
docks, what are you doing? Switching focus is crucial, to
ensure all are participating. During a conflict, you can just go
around the table to ensure everyone has a chance to narrate
something in a given rounds action. Exactly how this is
accomplished, though, depends on the dynamics of the table.
Adult diapers. What motivates players is not always
obvious, but part of the refs responsibility in terms of
maintaining the pace of the session is to push the players into
interesting areas. Sometimes player choices appear irrational
in terms of game mechanics: they should move on, but want
to persist doggedly with their character, even though it means
repeated failures.
Offer incentives within the story. Gushing praise from
an attractive NPC can have a surprisingly positive effect.
Inventing someone just to say how badass the agent is and buy
them a drink can offer psychological reinforcement for the
player. Conversely, presenting the need for the character to
wear adult diapers as an undesired alternative can push some
players towards actions they otherwise might not consider,
simply because the phrase adult diapers has been established
as the worst that can happen to a shit-hot ultra-cool killing
action hero.
Coda. If everything seems wrapped up but there is still half an
hour left and everyone wants to play, add a final coda: a scene
with a conflict that provides narrative completion or closural
depth. Think of James Bond in On Her Majestys Secret Service:
the allergy clinic is destroyed, and Bond is about to move on
by marrying Tracy. He has given that terrible, awkward wave to
Moneypenny, proving convincingly that marriage will remove
any suave, cool sophistication Bond ever had. But as they
are driving away Blofeld makes one final, desperate attack.
The result denies Bond happiness, but it also means that he
doesnt move on (James Bond will return...). This final attack
radically changes the outcome of the story.
Example: While completing a Missions first objective, Jonah
has his character Telluride move on when it was revealed that
he had been corrupted and was selling agent identities to the
De Falco Syndicate. The next character was an Operative,
who got things done, and by the end of the session, as
ordered, the De Falco Syndicate was dismantled. If there is
time, though, it might be worth going back, and allowing the
current Team to execute Telluride. No loose ends, right?

A coda is an opportunity to spotlight someone, turning a

success tragic or putting a twist on a relationship that the
players think they figured out. It can happen to a completely
different character: it might even concern an agent that has
moved on. Sometimes a coda might be forced on the players,
if the final conflict had been against a principal (as it often is),
though of course the table can always just decide that things
are done and crack open the scotch.
 Appendi
Since the Beginning, we have been at war. Both sides receive
orders from a source that is omniscient and inscrutable, and

x
so we fight. For a long time we fought with silver swords, but
in seventy-ninth century since the Beginning there was great
innovation, and guns proved superior. So we adapt to our
new environments. It is ordained that we do so: whatever we
may think, or feel, free choice is simply not in our nature.
We walk among them, and when they notice us they see
what they want to see: people like themselves, usually,
though some see us as monsters, people who can change
into beasts. If our side has little crosses on our bullets,
carved into the silver tip with our indestructible thumbnails,
well, thats just a symbol, a way of showing team loyalty.
If I had doubts about the Plan, if I could have doubts, I
would wonder what purpose any of the conflict can serve.
We cant dieangels retire when the Story would have us
retire. But its wrong that we dont feel pain. My vocation
is to hurt the enemy. I do it well, and will continue to do it
until I retire. Life hurts, and I am an instrument of its pain.

Appendix: Stories
To give a sense of how a session might go, here are a couple
of overviews from Hollowpoint playtests, played with a ref and
three players. Smaller, narration-only scenes are omitted to
help maintain clarity.

A.1. ENZOS AMBITION

In this session the players accomplish both their stated
objectives in four scenes of conflict, one of which is retaliation.
Three scenes represent a success for the players, but two
player characters have to move on before the job is done. This
scenario is a very basic Agency tale: agents are sent to manage
mis-behaving criminal families and keep order amongst the
rich, powerful, and evil.
Objectives. The agents are called and told to discover what
Enzo Medici is planning against his own family. If hes working
with the Gonzales family, retribution will be required. So,
the stated objectives are (1) investigate Enzo Medici, and (2)
punish Enzo and whoever he works for.
The ref has two principals, Enzo Medici and Old Gonzales,
but the players dont know this. Gonzales is the head of a rival
house, and has a daughter, Angela, who is not a principal.
The ref also decides to modify the skill list slightly: COOL
is not a skill (all agents ave cool oozing out of their pores
anyway), but WATCH is. So theres still six skills available. As it
turns out, one agent, Amy, uses WATCH to powerful effect.
First Conflict: Check out Enzo. The three agents (Yuri,
Ed, and Amy) begin by trying to find out whether or not Enzo
intends to kill his father and take over the family. They head to
Chicago and stir up shit: players make rolls on TERROR, KILL,
and TAKE. No DIG, despite the purpose of the stated objective.
The ref takes ten dice (4x2 for the players, +2 for a Principal;
the pool is split into two groups, five and five).
Round 1. Yuri, Ed, and Amy get in the car and drive from
Mississauga to check out what exactly is happening in Chicago
after being asked to investigate chicanery inside the Medici
and Gonzales households. Ed hits the bars in Chicago looking
to harass friends of Enzo Medici, while Yuri sets up with a
sniper rifle across the street at each stop. Amy, meanwhile,
is pushing the bits and looking for facts in the Medici family
computer system. Ed tries to enlist Yuris help by staking out
one of Enzos favourite clubs in a purely observational role for
a couple of days non-stop. That means adult diapers, though,
and Yuri is not interested. He says, Fuck That and Eds player
chooses not to hit the teamwork pool. Meanwhile Amys
investigation goes sour as she finds someone is downloading
data from her laptop. She dumps it and flees. Ed enters the bar
and discovers Enzo. They chat. Enzo says the whole thing is his
fathers gamedad is setting him up to be killed by the Agency.
Enzo offers Ed a fat wad of cash, which Ed takes.
The player decides to have Ed move onhes an enemy agent
working for Enzo nowand so we lose his perspective.
Round 2. So now we see Yuri, rifle over a window-sill, with his
souvenir from Utah, a ceramic hula girl. Through his scope he
sees Enzo and Ed get friendly and then some money changes
hands. Then he sees Enzo give Ed a handgun and Yuri knows
Ed has been turned. He opens fire, killing Enzo, Ed, and people
they dont even know. As his rifle bucks on full auto, we
pan briefly to his grin behind the scope and then back to the
hula girl which, falls to the street and shatters. Pan up to the
wrecked bar, the screaming and the sirens. Fade to black.
Result: Yuri has been asked to help but has said Fuck That. The
computer is fucked up, Enzo is dead, one agent is turned and
then killed in the crossfire. Its a success for the players, and
the first objective is accomplished.
Next Scene. We are in a wrecked and overgrown lot on
the outskirts of Chicago. Distant music is playing. In the
foreground, Yuri and Amy are trying to figure out how
to proceed, when a black Mercedes pulls up and Joel (an
Operative, worked by the same player who had played
Ed) steps out. More dice fall into the Teamwork pool. Joel
demands to know how things got so fucked up and explains
how they are going to improve. He tells them they are heading
to Vegas by private plane.
Second Conflict, a retaliation: Enzo was a Principal, and
so there is a retaliation. Arriving in Vegas: Angela Gonzales
takes revenge for the killing of Enzo and hires an ambush on
the agents car. The ref gets ten dice again (4x2 for the players,
+2 for the last success).
The Lear jet touches down in Vegas on a side strip with a
tumbleweed shooting by. Winds are high, as are teenagers in
the parking lot, and the sun in the sky. The agents debark and
walk to their car, right by the strip, ready for them, and ride
into town. As they head down the strip, Yuri gets a call. Go
ahead. Fuck you, Yuri. Yuri looks back at Amy in the back
seat who shrugs.
Then the windshield explodes.
Action: Yuri helps by getting out of the way. Amy calls out
targets over Yuris head (WATCH). Joel rains death (KILL).
Amy shouts at Yuri. Get the fuck down out of the way!
Joel, driving, draws his weapon and opens fire out the ruined
windshield. The car fishtails and Yuri dives down to the floor in
the passenger seat, laughing.
Call out targets, Amy! shouts Joel, as his cigarette falls from
his lips.
Amy starts shouting precise instructions over the sounds of
smashing steel, bullet impacts, yelling, and gunfire. She pauses
once when a bullet rips through Yuris seat and into her arm.
Bullets slap through door handles, the hood, a side mirror, the
steering wheel, as Joel calmly picks off the attackers. The car
skids and slows, coming to a stop against a lamp post. A bullet
tears through Joels jacket pocket, smashing his expensive
lighter (that he got that one time in Utah) in a quiet little flash
of igniting butane.
Soon enough everything stops. The car, the gunfire, and the
breathing of six hired thugs half a block away. Yuri is still
laughing from the floor of the car, and Joel lets out a snort as
well, his badass facade broken for a moment.
Im okay, guys, says Amy from the back seat. Dont worry
about me. Im fine.
Yuri laughs again. Man, your car is fucked, Joel.
Result: Dead ambushers, and Amy is shot but will be okay.
Only two players are rolling dice because the third chooses not
to be part of the conflict. Success for the players.
Third Conflict: Go kill Angela. The agents decide to kill
Angela Gonzales at her home. Action: Joel and Yuri KILL. Amy
calls Old Gonzales to negotiate, using her CON. The ref takes
twelve dice (4x2 for the players, +4 since there have been two
successes already).
Obviously we cant have the daughters of powerful men trying
to kill agents, even if those agents did drop a mag of 7.62
into her boyfriend. Hell, a lot of other people died in that bar
too, and none of their girlfriends shot up anyones car. So the
agents decide to pay a visit to the Gonzales mansion outside
Las Vegas and kill little Angela. Joel and Yuri head to the estate
with guns ready while Amy gets on the phone to Angelas
father. Joel tells Yuri to cover him while he tries to break into
the main house. Yuri pops up from behind a hedge and some
elegant statuary and starts picking off well-dressed guards
carrying sub-machineguns. Joel heads in the back door amidst
the yelling and the smashing.
This is Gonzales. How can I help you?
Amy says, Gonzales. I hear gunfire. Is everything okay?
Old Gonzales coughs. You tell me.
Joels making no progress and Yuri is getting impatient. Joel,
how about YOU cover ME? And I just kill everything?
Joel nods. Yuri grins and walks out into the open, helped by
Joel, and calmly picks off targets who are now under fire from
two angles. Until the slides on his twin Sig pistols both lock
open at the same time and the guards gather their wits. Yuri
goes down, bleeding out, under a hail of gunfire and Joel bolts
for the car.
Amy, you still there? Youre in trouble, girl. Oh, and someone
wants to talk to you.
What the fuck, Gonzales? You and your daughter are both
going down, now!
A new voice comes on the line. Hello Amy, this is Medici. The
elder. You are in in way over your head, girl.
Amy drops the phone and, without another word, gets into
Old Gonzaless car. She hot-wires it and zooms off into the
desert night and away from the gun toting adrenaline jobs of
Joel and Yuri. She is never heard from again. Rumour has it she
now runs a greasy spoon near Barstow.
Result: While Joels trying to get in, Yuri is shooting guards but
overplays his hand, leaping from cover with an empty mag.
Hes shot down and bleeding out, but he will recover because
the player isnt ready to move him on. In the meantime, Amy
discovers that Gonzales and Medici are working together and
so she is screwed. She gets in the car and flees, moving on.
Failure for the players.
Moving On. Amys player writes up Betty, and she throws
some dice into the Teamwork pool.
Fourth Conflict: Hurting Gonzales. Shutting down
the Gonzales casino: Betty shows up and explains that they
are going to hurt Gonzales by destroying his casino interest.
Action: Joel DIGS while Betty and Yuri use TERROR on the big
Fish thats set up to finance Gonzales Big Deal. Twelve dice for
the ref (4x2 for the players, and still only two successes).
Round 1. Its a wash. With no successful hits on the dice,
everything goes sour. Joel becomes a person of interesthis
investigation turns on him and the Casino calls the cops.
Bettys assisted TERROR roll went weird on them and the Fish
turned out to be conning Old Gonzales. Yuri was helping Betty,
so hes bulletproof. The Casino has three hits on itits in the
newspapers, its hesitant, and its paying too much (an ad hoc first
stage effect from a CON hit).
Round 2. Betty switches to DIG, trying to leverage in the
newspapers and expose the Gonzales shell game. Yuri enlists
Joels help as he continues to use TERROR on the Fish.
Result: Casino goes under when the Fish is exposed. Gonzales
is screwed and Medici, disgusted, lets him twist. Success for
the players.
Recap. The players had been given two objectives, and in the
end both were accomplished. The route taken was mostly at
the players devising, however:
Conflict 1: a non-standard investigation leads to success.
Objective achieved; one player moves on.
 Conflict 2: retaliation since the first conflict involved a
principal.
Conflict 3: players respond to the retaliation, and hit
Angela Gonzales. No objectives involved; one player
moves on. Failure.
Conflict 4: its not possible to punish Enzo (hes dead, and
so free from suffering), but the second objective is still not
met. The hit on the Gonzales casino will accomplish the
second objective, though. Player success.
We only meet Old Gonzales over a phone line, and so his
character never adds the principal dice. Obviously, the ref
could have made his daughter Angela a principal on the fly, but
that wasnt necessary and would have then required another
retaliation scene. The same is true of the Fish: he is introduced
as someone who Old Gonzales is setting up a deal with, but
hes an outsider, and not part of this story.
House Medici has accomplished its goals: the treacherous
Enzo has been uprooted, and there will be no alliance with
house Gonzales. Old Gonzales is damaged, but not ruined, and
the family has lost its casino. The balance between Chicago
and Vegas is re-asserted, and the agents can make their way
back to Southwestern Ontario.
A.2. BEHOLD A NEW CREATION
Player characters are angels hunting down the Fallenangels
and other immortals that were on the wrong side in the war on
Heaven. They dress like humans but they are unbearably cool
and can manifest wings when they like. They are uninterested
in humans.
Mission: A fabrication has been detecteda constructed
being. It is immortal and it is assumed that the fabricator is
one of the Fallen: the angels are instructed (1) to find out who
is making things and (2) to neutralize them. The ref has four
principals ready, but the players are only going to meet two of
them, Laeos and Hite. We use standard skills, but the concept
of Angels as agents presumes KILL and COOL are the focus.
Initial Scene: Not a conflict, but the players want to find a
place to start, and so one character makes a skill check, rolling
a skill and seeing if a set is made. One players angel has 4
dice in DIG, and rolls that. Theres no set, so he burns a trait,
which gives him two more dice. When they are rolled, a set is
made, and the players have a lead. With this success, they also
circumvent a big part of what the ref has planned, but everyone
just rolls with it. Who knows where this will take them.
First Conflict: 12 dice (four players this time, plus the ref:
5x2, plus two for the successful skill check). The team arrives
in Las Vegas, Nevada (where would you start a search for
a source of Evil in this world?) and enters the residence of
a small outpost of the Hostagents lesser than full angels,
but who are also involved in hunting the Fallen. They live
in the penthouse suite of the MGM Grand. They are hiding
something and the conflict is to determine what. The team
wins the conflict (with DIG, the investigation skill) although
one angel is also shot in the process. We discover that the
outpost knows not only where the creation is but who made
ita fallen angel named Hite.
Second Conflict: 16 dice (5x2 for the players, plus four for
two successes on the skill check and the first conflict, and two
more for a principal). The creation, Laeos, is a principal and
the pool is split, ten and four. Laeos is of indeterminate sex and
appears to be made from strips of old clothes binding shards of
glass and steel. The cloth strips each bear a unique name and
many are familiarall are angels. Laeos is loathe to surrender
the location of Hite and so our angels begin the persuasion.
Ultimately COOL hits mean that Laeos is awed by their beauty
and her ugliness and so she gives up that Hite is in the Nevada
desert, but not before she rips one angels heart out. The player
chooses to move on and a complication is revealed by the
player indicating that Laeos is not actually an immortalshe
has a soul, and in fact it is the soul of a mortal woman that the
angel once loved. The hesitation at this recognition cost him
his manifestation.
Dressing down: The player whose angel moved on brings
in an archangel who is kind of soft on the team who just got
a pal killed, but gives the instructionsno more dallying in
the wilderness. Its time to head to civilization (if Vegas can
be considered civilization) and remove Hite once and for all.
Zoom!
Third Conflict: 16 dice (5x2 for the players, plus six because
of three previous successes). This scene is a retaliation,
because of the principal in the last conflict). En route the team
is ambushed by the group of Fallen that run operations in Las
Vegas. The Fallen forces are organized and think the team is
after them (theyre not). They are also over-confident and blow
most of their dice in a huge 6-wide set, which leads to another
player success. The Fallen forces feel fear (TERROR), and the
demons are now fleeing Vegas.
Fourth Conflict: 20 dice (5x2 for the players, plus eight for
four previous successes and two more dice because a principal
is involved). The dice are split evenly (ten and ten). Our heroes
have Hite come down to a poker room in the Sahara casino
where he is interrogated. Hite arrives with a friend, Arman
another angel who wears a suit made from souls. Arman
appears to be quietly insane. Hite is less quiet. In the process of
assessing the situation, Arman is shot, damaging his suit, and
one of the angels rips Hites wings off. The table agrees that this
does not resolve the mission, but it is a success and so we move
immediately to a reaction from Arman.
Fifth Conflict: 20 dice (5x2 for the players, plus ten for five
previous successes). Arman lays out his argument for the Fall.
He describes the necessity of free will. He is convincing. He
notes that you cannot be judged without free will and you want
to be judged. You crave legitimate judgment, in fact: that is the
only way that one can be assured of Supreme approval, of some
external validation for any and every thing one has ever done.
The teamwork pool is pretty empty at this point, and so the
players respond to Armans transcendent theologic with their
strongest skills. And so guns blaze, wings flourish, and, despite
a large number of sets on both sides, Arman is defeated. Hites
bleeding body is taken forcibly from Arman to be destroyed by
the Radiance itself. We note, however, that the window is open
and one angel is missing, having moved on. He has made a free
choice. Arman smiles.
 Field Guide
Memorandum
To: All field operatives
From: Number Seven
Re: Operational information
The following pages are intended as a field guide for new agents.
Many of you are already familiar with this material. Those of you
who are not will want to make yourself aware of the weapons and
tactics at your disposal. Even if they dont suit your particular
idiom, your opponents will not be shy about knifing you, shooting
you, or blowing you to pieces with grenades.
There will be no exam. I leave you with some words to live by:

I suspect that, unofficially at least, the image of a degraded enemy

is essential to the psychology of any robustly homicidal combat
team (Gault 1971: 451).
Trust, decency, restraint, and gentleness are of little use in
the face of relentless pressure to kill or be killed. In such an
atmosphere, the man of blunted sensibilities and ready violence,
unburdened by empathy or compassion and seeing others merely
as objects; the man of restless, aggressively stimulus-seeking
disposition; the enthusiastic advocate of wanton destructionin
short, the psychopathfinds himself at last in a world suited to his
character (Gault 1971: 452).
 Personal Weapons
It has come to our attention that many field agents are using their
own weaponry rather than the provided service pistol. While
we recognize that often an agent must improvise, the selection
of the .40 calibre hollowpoint ammunition in your service pistol
was arrived at scientifically. The lighter .22 and .25 calibre
ammunition some of you prefer for assassination is indeed well-
suited to executions, but the bulk of your work will be at greater
distances, and the .40 will still serve admirably in the execution
context. The massive .50 AE ammunition that you Desert Eagle
fanatics use is simply ridiculousyes, it will penetrate enormous
amounts of intervening obstacle (cars, bricks, trees, other people)
but the recoil and the noise make it a poor trade for simple
damage. The .38 is adequate but really you are just clinging
to tradition when you bring that old police service revolver to
a mission. The .40 does everything it does but better, and the
autoloader is much handier than that fat revolver. Finally, those of
you who carry a 10mm are displaying far too close a commitment
to your old job in the FBI. Lets face it, its practically the same
load but in metric. Unless youre pretending to be an FBI agent, the
difference is uninteresting, so just stick with the company firearm
please. Finally, no one watches Dirty Harry any more. The .44
magnum is completely unnecessary.
 Grenades
Grenades are tetchy businessyoure going to throw a high-
explosive device, after all. Remember all those bad bounces
when throwing a baseball? Remember dropping it, slipping with
it, fumbling it? With a grenade, youre now probably dead. Not a
huge margin for error with a grenade. On the upside, as the saying
implies, you dont have to get one all that close to your opponents
in order to cause them a great deal of hurt.
Grenades are simple. They are little bombsa steel case (or
sometimes a lighter case with an internal layer of steel wire or
a notched steel sheath) with striker held under spring tension,
a fusing material that ignites under percussion, and some high
explosive. A pin with a ring attached to it holds a lever in place and
the lever holds the striker up against the spring tension.
So, you pull the pin and now the only thing holding the lever on
(the spoon sometimes its called) is your grip on the whole
assembly. When you throw it, the lever springs away and the
striker is released, traveling down under spring tension until
it strikes the fusing material. In older grenades, this could be a
percussion cap and a column of black powder.
In some modern grenades its a glass capsule with a chemical in it
that eats through a material until it reaches an ignition material
that reacts violently enough with the chemical to set of the high
explosive. Sometimes its a pair of chemicals that mix when the
capsule is ruptured and, when mixed, slowly heat up until they
are energetic enough to set off the high explosive. At any rate,
some time-delayed fuse is started that takes a well known amount
of time to set of the high explosive. When the HE goes off, the
steel casing is ruptured into thousands of tiny shards, propelled
outward at speeds usually exceeding that of a bullet. Hilarity and
bleeding ensue.
Theres lots of ways a grenade can go wrongthe fuse could be
short or long, the capsule could rupture in handling, the fuse
might be a dud, the pin could get pulled out by a tree branch, and
on and on. But the most common way they go wrong is the thrower
doesnt get behind some cover but instead wants to watch.
 Shotguns
Shotguns are great fun. They are simple, cheap, reliable, make an
enormous amount of noise, take a wide variety of loads, dont get
a second glance anywhere a gun rack is common, and are scary as
hell from the wrong side. Just hearing the action on a pump gun
cycle is enough to get compliance from practically anyone. If you
saw the end off it you can hide it under a big coat or in a gym bag.
You cant saw a pump-gun down very far (only as far as the pump,
basically) but a nice simple double-barrel will go down to the size
of a very fat pistol. Youre only sawing it off to get some surprise in
your gig anyway, so having two shots before going to knife or pistol
is not a big deal. Its a focused decision, lets say. Part of a plan.
Your shotgun can come in a range of bore sizes. All of them are
smooth as opposed to rifling of a rifle, and that means what comes
out is not stabilized in any interesting way. That means your
accurate range is pretty short. The bore size determines how much
of what can come out the dangerous end.
The .410 is a fun boys-first-boomstick but not for serious work.
The bore is about the size of a .45 pistol round (and in fact most
.45 revolvers can fire .410 shotgun cartridges, but check your
owners manual before listening to me) and are good for dumping a
fair charge of birdshot downrange. You can hurt someone with this
but its a weapon youd find not a weapon youd choose. Anything
bigger is referenced by gauge and the smaller the number the
bigger the bore. The term gauge comes from cannons and its the
mass of a ball of lead that fits the barrel of the shotgun. So a 1/12
pound lead ball fits snugly in a 12 gauge bore. Youll find 28, 20, 16,
and weirder gauge shotguns, but there are two you might buy on
purpose for a job.
The 12 gauge is the household shotgun. If you say, shotgun,
its the 12 that youll send an image of. The hole on the bad end
is almost 3/4 of an inch across. There are a million kinds of
ammunition for this bore size and there are magnum variants
with bigger charges behind them for more boom.
The 10 gauge is a much heftier weapon and rarely found in
anything other than double or single shot forms. They are handy
for killing rhinos, but they also kick up a shitstorm on vehicles,
buildings, and armoured bad guys. The range of ammunition you
can get is a little narrower (and a little harder to find) but still fun.
In addition to picking a size, you also need to select an action.
Single and double-barreled shotguns usually are single actionyou
thumb back the hammer, pull the trigger (or triggers) and BOOM
youre empty. Pump shotguns have a sliding grip below the barrel
that ejects the spent cartridge and loads a new one when you
slide it back and forth. They hold between three and seven or so
cartridges. Semi-autos (autoloaders to some folks) use recoil or
gas pressure to automatically eject the spent cartridge and load
a new one. These are fast to empty, which can be pretty handy.
They can be finicky too, thoughthe shape of the average shotgun
load is not really well-suited to that kind of precise mechanical
operation. There are some fully-automatic shotguns out there the
are basically machineguns with shotgun loads. These are not very
practical weapons, but you can create a lot of havoc and confusion
with one.
Finally you have to pick your ammunition. The fattest, heaviest
load is a single grooved deer slug, which is one big fat cylinder
of lead grooved in a spiral so that it will spin as it comes out
of the barrel, giving it some stability. It arrives on target with
enormous energy and is scary as hell. Generally, though, youll get
a cartridge thats loaded with shotsteel or lead spheres behind
a little plastic or paper cap called the shot cup. This ranges
from bird shot, which will sting like hell and bleed a lot but not
really penetrate at any interesting range, to triple-ought, which
is a small cluster of balls about the same size as some handgun
ammunition. The bigger the shot the more penetration it will have
but the narrower the spread will be, and part of the reason you
chose a shotgun is that the unstable projectiles tend to fan out a
bit at range, increasing your chance of at least one hit. So you will
develop a taste for the cartridge that best suits your style. Then
there are specialty rounds and they do practically anything you
can dream of. Explosive, illuminating, smoke-generating, laser-
guided, shrieking, or flame-throwing cartridges are all popular.
If you can make up a function for a shotgun projectile over your
sixth beer with pals, odds are someone will sell it to you before you
can sober up.
 Cons
Confidence games are means of getting something the con artist
wants and the mark is unwilling to provide (usually money or
information). Cons work because the mark is emotionally invested:
fear, greed, or even benevolence. Cons work not because the mark
trusts the con artist, but because the con artist appears to trust
the mark.
Short cons are defined by a single contact with the mark. Long
cons require repeated contacts: they provide opportunities for
a bigger haul, but carry greater risk. The best short cons are
those where the mark does not know he has been taken. In the
Honey Trap (or Badger Game), a man is caught in a compromising
position, and then is allowed to pay to keep it quiet. The situation
need not be sexual or illegal, if the mark has some cultural or
religious vice he wishes to remain secret. One payment (as much
as the mark can stand) and life goes on: the mark is happy to stay
silent for fear of outing himself. Variations include the promise of
easy money at an illegal card game where all of the other players
are in on the con, or the Three Card Monte where the dealer and
the shills convince the mark that winning is possible. Subsequent
contacts with the mark in other contexts are possible.
With the Pigeon Drop, the mark soon discovers they have been
duped: repeated contacts with the mark are not possible. The mark
is asked to invest for long-term gains: buying a lottery ticket or an
uncashable paycheck from an illegal immigrant. Variations include
the Fiddle Game, where an object is ascribed a false inflated value
by an apparent third party, preying on the greed of the mark to
dupe the apparent owner of the object, and the Thai Gem scam,
where marks are duped into large quick purchases of falsely
appraised objects.
Long cons offer an object to be rescued, ransomed, or bought with
multiple payments. Characteristic is the Spanish Prisoner, in
which the con artist offers the mark a large payout but requires
multiple, small payments to accomplish this. The con may prey on
greed or benevolence, or a mixture of the two. The Nigerian bank
scams (aka 419 Fraud) work the same way: money is extracted by
a sympathetic victim for bribes, etc., with the promise of a large
payout. The unstable growth of pyramid schemes requires multiple
marks and long exposure, and are not practicable for agents.
Keep your eye on the prize, and engage the marks emotions. Cons
succeed because they dont look like cons. Marks are hit because
they think they are smarter than they are.
 The Fight
There are many weapons with varying degrees of effectiveness
under different circumstances, but there is one thing that is the
solution to every fight: aggression.
The trained professional knows her objective and if the objective
is satisfied by leaving, she leaves. If it means staying, then she
advances on her objective wielding violence as necessary, achieves
her objective, and then leaves. This requires a lot of simple
aggression.
The key here is that you will need to advance into danger. If you
sit still, you will be surrounded and killed. Nothing will save you
if you stay in one place, no matter how good a position you have.
Staying still is just practice for being dead. And besides, your
objective is not where you are, even if you are in a defensive role:
your objective is out there. Either its a thing you need to take
or a person you need to kill or a place you need to be. If your
objective is to hold ground, then your REAL objective is to get
rid of everyone who is trying to prevent that. And that means
aggression: advance and kill. People hate that.
Serious aggression is constant steady motion towards the objective
coupled with sustained accurate fire. Your opponent sees you
approaching remorselessly and killing his friends. He sees you
not scared. He sees you not running away or hiding. You are using
cover as it becomes available, but only to send out high volumes
of fire to make it safe for your friend to sneak around the enemys
cover. Or to duck behind while you reload, because sometimes you
have to reload.
When you get shot you keep moving. Even if you are shot dead, you
should still be moving towards your target. You can fall lifeless on
your objective, your enemy fled or mortally wounded, and you still
win. You never stop and you never hesitate. Every move towards
the objective. Every shot to kill.
 Knives
Most people carry weapons to discourage other people attacking
them. If you pull out a knife, you have chosen to escalate the
conflict and threaten the use of deadly force. In the United States,
that means your opponent now may shoot you in self-defense. If
you are going to use a knife instead of a firearm (because you want
the quiet, or because you like being close), you are not looking to
avoid conflict, or keep a lid on escalating violence. You have amped
it up as high as it can go and done so with suboptimal weaponry.
Your obligation now is to kill. Quickly, and preferably before your
opponent has a chance to defend himself. The faster the better: if
your opponent is bleeding from three or four stab wounds before
they know a fight has started, you might survive this time. But
only this time.
Avoid getting cut, at all costs, because thats just one step this side
of being dead. There are no fair duels, no rules in a knife fight. If
your opponent is not down in the first ten seconds after you have
drawn your knife, you have failed. Get the fuck out. If you dont
youll both be bleeding everywhere and someone smarter than
you will shoot you. If you know you control the room, a knife can
torture an innocent effectively, and leave brutal scars.
A guy with a knife can take you. You may think youre the shit at
unarmed combat, but your hand cant make multiple four-inch
chest wounds inside of seconds. If someone draws a knife on you,
shoot him and carry on with your job.
 Pistols
Pistols are lousy weapons. They do less harm than a longarm like
a rifle or a shotgun, they are inaccurate, they are clumsy, they
are prone to failure, they are often highly illegal, and they are
expensive. They are, however, scary and fun and they are about
the best weapon you can hide under a suit jacket all day.
A well-made pistol designed for fighting (rather than desperation)
and wielded by a well-trained individual will hit targets out past
a hundred feet all day. In combat, however, they wont hit shit
because your enemy is moving, shooting back, and human. Most
people (not agents, usually) dont really want to hurt anyone and
generally wonttheyll shoot high or not at all, hoping to scare
the bad guy off. Usually this will be effectiveguns work in part
because they are loud and scary. Once you get going and scared,
youll probably shoot all your ammunition really fast without
watching where youre shooting (and if its darkand dammit it
always seems to be dark when the shit goes downnow your night
vision is blown so youre blind). So now youre out of ammunition
as well as scared, maybe blind, and odds are the bad guy is fine.
Again, most of the time hes also gone, so thats okay.
So the pro learns several things. Get close, shoot to kill, and shoot
two or three times then pause and assess. Also, ignore the other
guyodds are he doesnt want to hurt you so hes not actually
shooting at you.
 Ammunition
The single most important element determining the effectiveness
of a firearm is its ammunition. There are several factors.
Mass. Kinetic Energy is one half of mass times velocity squared.
Momentum is mass times velocity, and momentum determines
things like stopping power. The mass of a bullet is usually
measured in grains but the precise mass is not so important
when someone talks about a 178 grain hollowpoint they are
talking about a specific cartridge with various characteristics as
well as the mass.
Velocity. The velocity of a bullet is a huge factor in the kinetic
energy it applies to a target, but its also a big factor in penetration,
and a bullet that passes through its target wastes energy. The
perfect bullet uses all its energy inside the target. Velocity is a
factor of the charge in the cartridge (how much powder) and how
long the barrel of the weapon is (which determines the period of
time over which the pressure from the charge is applied to the
bulled). Rifles use very high velocity bullets to achieve great range
and penetration, causing enormous harm. Handguns and sub-
machineguns use lower velocity ammunition (compensating with
higher mass bullets) to reduce recoil and cause enough damage.
Composition and form. Bullets come in many shapes, designed for
different purposes. The most common is a steel or copper jacketed
lead bullet designed to keep its shape through impact with minor
obstacles but still fragment or otherwise deform against the target,
increasing the amount of KE spent. Some have a cavity at the tip
(a hollow point) or other mechanism to cause them to expand on
impact, again to increase the KE spent on target. This hollowpoint
design is a refinement of the dum dum bullet of yesteryear,
which can be accomplished with a plain lead bullet and a knife to
incise a cross in the tip.
There are a few special kinds of ammunition that you should be
aware of.
Glaser. The Glaser round is a hard gelatin bullet packed with shot.
It is designed to expend all energy on the first thing it hits, causing
enormous damage to a relatively short depth. It kills or maims
people, but will not pass through a wall with sufficient force to kill.
It is out of favour as its penetration against leather and denim is
questionable.
Subsonic. Most ammunition has a velocity exceeding the speed of
sound, causing a sonic boom in addition to the sound of the weapon
discharge. In weapons that actively suppress noise, therefore,
a bullet that travels below the speed of sound is desirable. This
ammunition has low penetration and so often used by field
marshals in commercial aircraft, but it is still more than sufficient
to cause lethal damage against unarmoured targets.
Tracer. Weapons that discharge large amounts of ammunition
in short order at long range can be difficult to aim once they get
going. Tracer ammunition is tipped with an incendiary compound
that ignites from barrel friction, creating a streak of illumination.
These bullets are inferior to regular ammunition for inflicting
harm and consequently are interspersed with regular ammunition
at a 1:3 or 1:5 ratio. They can cause fires when deployed carefully
in that role.
 The Sub-machinegun
Any weapon that fires pistol ammunition such that depressing the
trigger causes the weapon to fire continuously until released is a
submachine-gun (SMG). These weapons are designed to fire a large
amount of cheap, low-recoil ammunition at once, overwhelming
targets with firepower to allow other units to maneuver and flank
the target. In the hands of an expert, the submachine-gun delivers
multiple hits on a target, compensating for any deficiencies in the
lighter ammunition, whether real or imagined.
There are two basic types of SMG: the open bolt and the closed bolt
design. Each have advantages and disadvantages.
The open bolt design is seen in cheap and durable weapons like
the World War II Sten gun and the more modern Israeli Uzi. In
these weapons a bolt containing the firing pin is held back, under
pressure of a spring, by a latch attached to the trigger. This design
is simple and light, but reduces accuracy. An open bolt SMG is
prepared for firing by pulling back the bolt using the bolt handle
until it latches with the trigger. At this time there is no cartridge in
the breech.
The closed bolt design is seen in more expensive and complex
weapons like the Heckler & Koch MP5. In this design, the bolt
is still compressed against the breech by a heavy spring, but it
is the firing pin inside the bolt that is latched to the trigger. This
mechanism addresses the major drawbacks of the open bolt
system at the expense of a more complex design. A closed bolt
SMG is prepared for firing by releasing the bolt from the main
spring so that it closes and locks with the breech, loaded. At this
time there is a cartridge in the breech.
 First Aid

Occasionally mission parameters will require you to keep someone

alive long enough to testify or squeal or be tortured or (if its an
agent) to get yelled at for fucking up. The principles are always the
same. Activate emergency services, and then, in order:
A establish an Airway. Clear out the vomit and blood.
B determine if the person is Breathing. If not, work on that.
Artificial respiration, mouth to mouth.
C check the pulse and determine if the heart is working, if theres
Circulation. If not, work on that too. CPR. You will crack ribs, and it
generally doesnt work, but it is better than nothing.
D if you have ABC, arterial cuts or other Deadly bleeding must be
stopped. Direct pressure is probably all you can provide.
E dealing with a sucking chest wound is beyond your ability. But
if theres pink foam on the victims chest, a piece of plastic over
that can help you deal with Escaping air.
If this is your situation, you need emergency medical services,
now. Theres no time to wait. If you dont need the victim, activate
EMS by dialing 911 or whatever and get out of there. If you do,
then maintain ABCs and get to a safe house where someone who
knows about something other than killing can deal with them.
 DIG 23, 46
disarm a bomb 23
dressing down 54
Index drink 53

E
effects 46
A enemy 17, 19, 68
era 17, 20
adult diapers 82
escalation 36, 38, 39, 50
agency 17, 20
experience 32
Agent (rank) 48
agents 12 F
B failure 37
fan mail 43
beginning of the next session 32
fight 40
BOSS 24, 47
first conflict 38
Bourne 13
first stage effect 46
burn 25
fuck that 42, 56
burn traits 44
G
C
gadgets 29
catch 49
gimmicks 28
change of objective 54
go to the dice 37
character death 47
character, example 31 H
character sheets 31
charge 17, 18, 68 handler 48
chickenshit 52 handouts 12
coda 82 healing 53
colour of dice 52 hit 45
complication 30, 47 HURT 24, 47
CON 23, 46
conflict 35, 40 I
COOL 23, 46 ILLUSION 24, 47
image 70
D incentives 82
damage 45, 46 inspirations
death 47 100 Bullets 13, 18
declares 40 James Bond 13, 18, 29, 82
dice pool 8, 37
K S
KILL 23, 46 scene 35, 37
KUNG FU 46 second stage effect 39, 46
SEDUCE 23, 46
L sequence 40
length 37 set 37, 45
losers 55 sets 43
sidekicks 29
M skill 12, 22, 39, 40, 41
skill check 50
magic 24, 47 special ability 22, 48
matching sets 37 success 37, 38, 43, 50, 53
mission 12, 36, 68 supernatural 24
mooks 13
move on 47, 53 T
N table 8, 52
TAKE 23, 46
narration 50 team leader 66
NECROMANCY 24, 47 teamwork 40, 42
NPC 36 TEMPT 46
TERROR 23, 46
O tie 44
objective 36, 38, 43, 54, 65 traits 25, 80
operative 48 traits, replenishment of 27, 28, 30

P V
pool 39 value 37
principal 36, 39, 53, 70
promotion 53 W
wash 48
R WATCH 23, 46
rank 21, 48 winning 53
rejected 42
resolution 35
resolved 53
retaliation 53
rounds 36, 40
running away 52