Special Agency

The role-playing game for agents and criminals

Short rulesJuancho Duma Dragunov

2nd Ed.
Short Rules
Short rules
Introduction
What is Special Agency?
Special Agency is a tabletop role-
playing game that allows you to participate
with your imagination (and some rules) in
contemporary action and adventure movies,
series, books, comics and video games.
Players take on the role of police agents in
any of their multiple facets: federal, local or
international; or get into the skin of
terrorists, thieves and criminals in general,
with the aim of having a good time of fun,
investigation and tactical action.
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Special Agency
The world of Special Agency
Special Agency World is the same
as the one we find ourselves in. The Agents
and the Overseer are players in a living
environment, which works by the same rules
as our own. Special Agency gets you right
into conspiracies, adventures and
exploration, political intrigues, criminal
actions or police investigations. In the style of
action series and movies, players can be at
any level of an organization or be lone
wolves; control the judicial apparatus of a
Special Agency Short Rules

city or become vigilantes with their own
agenda. They can also choose a date between
1850 and 2099 for their Cases and Actions
and a tone for their adventures: comedy,
suspense, action, horror, adventure or
tragedy. Although the game is centered in
North America, it can be set anywhere in the
world.
Agents and Criminals
Special Agency players will be
able to choose between being a group of
police agents - federal, local, spies or
vigilantes... - or becoming criminals -
terrorists, thieves, mercenaries, assassins or
simply gangsters. The choice they make at
the beginning will include them in one group
or another, but it is possible that they can
change sides in the middle of a story,
although this is not very common. In Special
Agency all Player Characters are called
Agents in this and other documents,
regardless of whether they are Police Agents
or criminals.
who come across a theft case that they must
investigate Hercule Poirot-style. They can
also be unscrupulous mercenaries in the
1990s, transgressing Prohibition in interwar
Chicago, searching for a psychopathic killer
in the U.S. or provoking the armed forces of
a foreign country in a false flag attack.
Your gaming group may prefer
the action to resemble a particular series,
novel or movie. Go ahead, any action and
adventure can be emulated with Special
Agency. Just keep in mind that in this world,
Agents can suffer serious injuries that will
eventually retire them, or worse: they can die
quite easily if exposed to danger.

Cases and Actions

Agents will propose solutions to
common cases: robberies, murders or
kidnappings. If they are criminals they will
perform criminal actions from the other
spectrum. The possibilities are endless. A
look at a crime series or movie can help to
find a common thread, but they don't have to
limit themselves to that. Agents can be part
of a special operations team overseas,
conducting paramilitary activities in the
jungle or desert; or they can be local agents

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Short Rules Special Agency

Basic Mechanics Hits and Misses

To work on their missions, Not all failures and not all
Agents have skills and characteristics. In a successes are equal. The further away from
Case or Action, players will use their skills the target number the failure is, the worse the
and characteristics, ideally with synergy consequences will be; the further away from
between them. The Overseer is in charge of the target number the success is, the better
deciding when and which skill or the action will have been performed. Thus,
characteristic tests are performed during the an Agent who is very good at the particular
game. skill is unlikely to do things extremely badly;
more often than not, even his failures are not
Rolling d100 disastrous and his successes can be seen as
To determine the success or failure commonplace. On the other hand, an Agent
of an action on the medium, players possess not very skilled in a particular action may get
characteristics and skills, with values usually it right by pure luck, and even his successes
defined between 0 and 100.
may be considered as coincidences. This is of
This value, modified if necessary, is
narrative interest, but also in the mechanics
the objective value of the skill or characteristic
in the form of critical and failure rules.
test.
When an action is likely to fail,
a roll is made with two ten-sided dice,
specifying before the roll which of the two will
point to the units and which to the tens. The
player in charge of rolling the dice narrates
what he intends to do and waits for the
Overseer to indicate which skill is the
appropriate one and if he has any modifier on
it. A result equal to or less than the target
number will succeed. A higher result will fail.
Once the result is known, the Overseer
specifies what happened.

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Special Agency
Critical and 01
When an Agent is very skilled, it
will not only be difficult for him to fail and
do things very well; there is also the
possibility that his actions are so spectacular
that they seem to be pure magic. If in a skill
or characteristic test the result is equal to or
less than 10% of the basic percentage, the
action will be successful, regardless of the
modifiers applied. In addition, the narration
will produce additional spectacular effects
that allow the Agent to show off.
Mechanically, a critical success may have
major effects, such as performing double
damage, taking half the time to perform the
action, the action not counting towards the
action limit, or any other consideration that
seems appropriate. Regardless of the base
percentage for the test, a result of 01 is always
critical and produces the best possible effect
on the action.
Example: McFry must throw himself
from the bridge to reach the ship. It
is an Athletics roll (48%) with a
mountain of penalties (-60%), but if
he fails, Simon will take off with his
loot. The Overseer warns him that
the fall damage could kill him, but
McFry doesn't give up easily. The
player rolls the dice and rolls 04.
Since the result is less than 10% of
his base percentage, the action
succeeds. McFry grabs onto a ship's
antenna in his fall and miraculously
makes it to the deck alive.
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Short Rules
Fumble and 00
No matter how skilled an Agent
is, there is always the possibility that he will
fail in his actions. If in a skill or characteristic
test the result is equal to or higher than the
negative decimal of the basic percentage, the
action will fail miserably, regardless of the
modifiers applied. In addition, during the
narration, additional peculiar effects will
occur that may range from hilarious to lethal,
at the Overseer's discretion and depending
on the mood of the scene or campaign.
Mechanically, a fumble may result in
dropping a weapon, losing a turn, forgetting
a fundamental issue, or any other
consideration that seems appropriate.
Regardless of the base percentage for the test,
a result of 00 is always a Fail and produces
the worst possible effect on the action.
Example: McFry is in a bind
and decides to throw explosives
down the elevator to discourage
his pursuers. The Overseer
warns him of the risk involved,
but McFry does not have time.
He must take a Demolitions
skill test with 18%. He rolls
the dice and rolls 94. The
explosion generates a chimney
effect in the elevator shaft. He
is covered in debris and his
eyebrows are scorched. He has
destroyed another floor in the
process and provoked the wrath
of the police, as well as
alerting his enemies to his
location.
Short Rules Special Agency

Crital and fumble table

Resolve an action without
% Critical Fumble rolling dice
01-10% 01% 90-00% During the game it is common for
11-20% 01-02% 92-00% a player to want to perform an action that
21-30% 01-03% 93-00% seems complicated but has no conflict. Dice
31-40% 01-04% 94-00% are rolled when there is conflict with the
41-50% 01-05% 95-00% environment, with other Agents or with
51-60% 01-06% 96-00% secondaries. If an Agent wants to perform a
61-70% 01-07% 97-00% task and the conditions are suitable, there is
71-80% 01-08% 98-00% plenty of time to perform it and the related
81-90% 01-09% 99-00% skill or characteristic has a suitable level, the
91-100% 01-10% 00% action will automatically succeed. There is no
>101% +1% per 10% 00%
need to roll dice to drive a car, just a basic
knowledge check. The higher the level of the
Resolving an action by skill or characteristic involved, the more
rolling the dice often an Agent can perform actions without
rolling dice. The Overseer examines the skill
When the outcome of any action
table by percentage and determines if the
is in doubt, or when there is a conflict with
action can be performed in the absence of
the environment, other Agents or
conflict.
secondaries, the dice must be rolled. The
Overseer decides in each case which skill is Percentage skill table.
required and directs the action of the turn. 01-04% Almost total uselessness. If it does
anything, it will be by chance.
05-20% He has seen how it is done
but has never trained.
21-40% He has trained and dedicated
himself to it for a while.
41-60% Professional competence, he
could dedicate himself to it.
61-80% Trained to teach and earn
a living.
81-100% A lifetime of practice,
doctor in the field.
>100% Great master, probably
famous in his field.

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Special Agency
The Turn
To manage the game time, the
game is divided into turns. The Agents and
secondaries perform their actions in this
turn, establishing the time it takes for each
action to be performed. As long as there is no
combat or the tactical action has not been
initiated, the turn can last an indeterminate
time, depending on the actions performed. A
turn in combat lasts between three and five
seconds, but a turn in which quiet activities
are performed, such as repairing an engine or
investigating a room, may last a few hours.
To establish order during a turn, it is only
necessary that everyone involved has the
opportunity to act. When the action and
combat begins, turns are determined by
Initiatives, as described in chapter 4-The
Action.
How long does each
action take?
Outside of combat, each action
can last an indeterminate time, to be defined
by the Overseer. An Alert action, for
example, is relatively quick on the ground,
but can last for hours on board a ship, while
the lookout examines the fog and the
horizon. It is wise to be cautious with timing
and consistent with the rolls and skill levels
of the Agents. Unlocking a car can be an
almost automatic task for someone with 80%
Locksmithing; but even with a success,
someone with 20% in Locksmithing will take
quite a long time.
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Short Rules
What if I don't have the
necessary skill?
This question will be answered by
the Overseer, depending on the realism
sought, how close to the rules of the group
and the tone of the game. Someone without a
good percentage of Locksmithing could use
Manual: Mechanics or even Driving to open
a car, although the modifiers will be
atrocious. Perhaps he can even afford a
Knowledge roll, hoping to roll a critical,
perhaps representing that that particular
model of car was possessed by the Agent and
knows how to open it.
Bonuses and penalties
All actions have a modifier that
represents the ease or difficulty of what you
want to do. Once the Agent has decided
which action to perform and the Overseer
has indicated which skill is the most
appropriate and how long it will take, a
difficulty is determined. Performing more
than one action during a turn penalizes -20%
for both actions. A routine task should not
even have to be rolled. A simple task will
have a +20% bonus. A difficult task will have
a -20% penalty. If the situation is very
complicated, requires much less time or you
do not have the right skill, the final penalty
should be -40% or higher. Additional
complications, such as not having proper
tools, working in the dark or communicating
in another language may have similar
penalties. If the penalty is higher than the
Short Rules Special Agency

basic percentage, any critical will be a simple

hit; but it is more appropriate for the Overseer
to indicate to the Agent that his action has very
little chance of success and that he should think
of an alternative way of dealing with the
problem.
Action modifiers
+20% Simple task.
-20% Minor complication.
-20% In half the time.
-20% Skill is not adequate.
-20% More than one action.
-20% Additional complication.

Overwhelming difficulty
Some circumstances overcome
Agents far beyond a simple modifier. If the
roll has a penalty that would lead the
character to have less than 10% of his skill,
that is, if he could only hit by a critical, the
Overseer may choose to add greater difficulty
without penalizing with a negative modifier.
To do so, the action is declared to have a
Overwhelming difficulty. When rolling the
d10 dice to establish a result between 01 and
100, choose the higher result for the tens. A
character who was to make a roll with Special
Training is immune to the crushing difficulty
of a roll and would always follow the Special
Training rule.

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Special Agency
Confronting tests and chases
When two or more contestants
compete to see who is the best at a particular
skill or characteristic, they will make one or
more opposed rolls. The classic example
might be an arm wrestle (with Strength) or a
race (with Athletics). It can be established that
the winner will be decided in the first round,
best of three, best of five, whoever wins two or
three in a row first... it is open to the
Overseer's decision. A failure always loses,
even against another failure. If both
contestants make a critical, compare the base
value with the result; the one who has
succeeded by the greatest distance with
respect to his base percentage will be the
winner. In the same way, between two
contestants who hit their rolls, the winner will
be the one who has done it with the greater
distance with respect to his base percentage. If
both contestants fail, the winner will be the
one who failed by less %. A critical will always
win over a simple success, just as a simple
failure will always win over a failure.
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Short Rules
Example: McFry has made a bet
with a mobster that if he wins a race
with his Pontiac Firebird he will
receive valuable information. It is
determined that the winner of three
head-to-head rounds of Driving will
win the race. McFry has 68%, while
Mark Slater, in his Corvette, has
70%. The bets are even.
The first roll results in 80 for Mcfry
and 55 for Slater, so Slater wins.
The second round is 25 for McFry
and 32 for Slater; although both are
correct, the greater distance to their
base percentage goes to McFry. The
third round is 02 for McFry and 07
for Slater; both are critical, but
McFry's is better and wins on a tight
turn.
The fourth round is 98 for McFry
and 99 for Slater. Both cars collide
and puncture their tires; therefore
both lose, no one adds up and the
score remains 2-1 for McFry. In the
fifth round both cars accelerate
breaking axles. McFry scores a 52
and Slater a 65. The result favors
McFry, who stands victorious and
sets out to get the information he
came for from Slater.
Short Rules
Combined tests
There are times when the most
appropriate skill to perform an action is
neither one nor the other; an Agent may try
to fit a heavy gun found on his way to install
it on a vehicle. The most appropriate skills to
perform a correct installation of a cannon
and its ammunition would involve the use of
a Mechanics skill and a Firearms skill. The
Overseer may decide that a single roll is most
appropriate: the percentage for a combined
test will be the average between the required
skills or characteristics.
Shared tests
and Support Action
When two or more characters
decide to act and their actions are identical or
affect the environment in the same way, it can
be decided that their actions are shared. The
skill test is performed on the average
percentage of the skill values of the characters
involved.
Example: McFry wants to escape
with his partner from an ambush
set by thugs. It is decided that both
would make a Stealth roll, but the
Overseer believes that a shared test
is more appropriate. McFry has
18% in Stealth and his partner
42%. Either can roll the dice with a
percentage of 30%.
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Special Agency
At other times the action in
coherence should not be an average, if what
the characters do is to help each other. In that
case, choose a leader, who will use his basic
percentage; the rest of the characters will
contribute with 10% of their skill or
characteristic being used. If the % reaches
100, the action needs no test and succeeds.
Use consistency to set the maximum number
of people that can help in an action.
Example: McFry and his
companions search a subway car
for evidence of a vigilante who has
killed several people. It is decided
that a Forensics roll should be
made. McFry will be the leader
with 59% in Forensics and the rest
will contribute with their 40% (4%)
and 32% (3%). The roll is made by
McFry with 59+7=66%.
Who rolls?
It is very appropriate for Agents
to know each other's skills. One specialist
may be able to do a task very well, but
another could get ahead of him, and
eliminate his chance, if they did not know
who is the best for each task. Keep in mind
that there are tasks that require time: two
people cannot try to open a door at the same
time, but fail or succeed, the time will be
wasted - and a failure could destroy the
mechanism.
Special Agency Short Rules

choice to limit the draggable weight,

The characteristics depending on the action and the
As we have seen, characteristics
environment. Strength modifies the damage
are the innate numbers that define a
done by physical attacks.
character. In the game, characteristics have a
normal base value; a x5 value, on which the Example: Whitaker has Strength 15,
rolls corresponding to the characteristic tests and adds +1 to his attacks. He
are made; a trait if applicable; a characteristic decides to carry the HK417, a 7.62
maximum (20 by default), which may be with an M320 grenade launcher, as
reduced due to serious wounds and other much ammunition as he can, and
ailments; and the current value of the his pistol. The Overseer counts the
characteristic, as this could be momentarily instruments Whitaker is carrying in
modified. his bandolier and determines it to be
about 25Kg. As he has exceeded the
load limit, he suffers a -20% to all
Strength his actions. In any case, Whitaker
A character's Strength determines could carry 90Kg (FUE15x6),
the pure physical power he is able to although the penalties would be too
generate. Strength is linked to several derived great to be able to work on anything
values, such as the load the Agent is able to else (-100%) and he could only walk,
carry and the added damage his melee attacks without performing any other
can do. It also influences the Agent's Health action.
Points. As with other characteristics, when
Strength Damage
performing a Strength test, the value
1-4 -2
corresponding to the FUEx5 is used as if it
5-8 -1
were a percentage. If you want to increase
9-12 0
realism, consider that a character can
13-16 +1
normally carry the equivalent of his Strength
17-18 +2
in kg, not counting any clothing or
19-20 +d4
accessories he might be wearing. The weight
limit a character can carry is set to his FUEx6
in kg, with a -20% modifier to all his actions Strength Load
for every fraction over the maximum. To STR-STRx2Kg -20%
push or pull heavier weights, the Agent must STRx3-STRx4 -40%
make a Strength test, pulling or pushing only STRx4-STRx5 -60%
3 meters per turn. It is up to the Overseer's STRx5-STRx6 -80%
Up to STRx6 Kg -100%

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Short Rules Special Agency

Endurance
The Endurance of a character Personality
exposes the purely physical toughness
Is the character a true leader or is he/
against the environment it presents. It is the
she unable to speak in public? It could be that
ability to walk without fainting, to overcome
the character with a low Personality suffers
a poison or a disease, to climb a mountain
from a speech defect, has a serious hygiene
or to endure twelve rounds of boxing.
problem or is simply socially useless. A high
Endurance includes only the most physical
attribute will indicate that he/she knows how
characteristic, but not the mental or spiritual
to communicate, understands others and
strength. Endurance influences an Agent's
empathizes with them, and may be better
Life Points - like Strength, which represents
considered for a position (even if another is
muscular strength - and is essential to his
more suitable). Personality influences the
Endurance. The physical elements of the
way an Agent takes things around him:
environment have Endurance as a basic
whether he is nervous or calm, attentive or
characteristic: a door, a rock or a car have
inconsiderate, cowardly or courageous. In
Endurance, which will be equal to the
this case we refer to the character's attitude
Damage Points they can resist until they are
and coolness. A high attribute will indicate
destroyed. In addition, a resistance greater
that the character knows how to get out of
than 20 will add a natural Armor.
uncomfortable situations, withstand the
Coordination adrenaline pumping in his heart in a hurry,
tolerates the ways of others and has the
Coordination represents the
ability to abstract and cope with situations
Agent's ability to move and react in his
that would otherwise put him in danger. A
environment with ease. It is the base value
low attribute can indicate anything from a
for determining Initiative and Movement. It
mania such as nail biting or nervous laughter
also influences a good part of the action
in extreme situations, to being unable to see a
skills. In a game of action and investigation,
corpse without shitting his pants. Personality
Coordination is a very important
is a basic attribute in Determination and
characteristic. Together with Intuition, it
fundamental to social relationships.
represents a fundamental binomial to start
with a well-established Agent in the most
important issues. Coordination can be
affected by objects such as large weapons;
this will reduce a character's Initiative and
speed if he wants to use the object in hand
that turn. See the Action chapter for more
information on this.
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Special Agency Short Rules

Intuition situation, where no suitable skill exists for a

It is the measure of how
perceptive the character is of the world
around him. It can be considered as a "sixth
sense", but also common senses. The higher
this value, the better the character will be at
unraveling riddles, counting the number of
bullets left in his opponent's hand, hearing the
deer he wants to kill or smelling an enemy
buried under the mud.
particular action, in which case the percentage
roll may be altered by modifiers.
Most often an Agent will invoke
the Trait of a characteristic in order to
perform an extra effort in an action. This is
called Invoking the Trait of a characteristic,
and is explained below, and suffers no
modifiers of any kind.

Will
Will defines the ability of
characters to overcome situations that could
break them emotionally, the intensity with
which they perform any job, the ability not to
fall asleep, the resistance to interrogation or
torture, and above all, the long-term
psychological strength of a character. A high
Will indicates that the Agent is well-balanced
and emotionally strong, and that it will be
difficult to get on their nerves, bore them or
tire them out. Will has a derived
characteristic, Willpower, which represents
how the ability to stay alert and attentive
varies throughout a day and how long the
character can stay awake.

Using a characteristic
Usually, it will be the Overseer
who will ask for a characteristic x5 roll in
situations that require it, or will ask for its
values to be temporarily or permanently
modified. Percentage rolls for a characteristic
should only occur in response to a very rare

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Short Rules Special Agency

derived
characteristics
The derived characteristics are Health Points
related to the main characteristics. They
Health Points represent the
represent the physical and mental state of the
damage absorbing capacity of a character.
Agent. None are affected by modifiers of any
Twice the Life Points represent the
kind and their checks are always free actions.
maximum damage the character's body is
able to take before dying. Half of the Life
Will Points
Points indicate the limit of an Disabling
Willpower, or Will point (WP), is
Injury and indicate the limit of a serious
the physical and mental energy that allows
wound. For more information about Life
the Agent to work, and is measured in points.
Points, check the Damage rules in the next
Willpower is necessary to resist physical and
chapter. Life Points can be recovered
mental work.
according to the Death and Healing rules in
Each point of Willpower allows
the next chapter.
you to stay awake and alert for two hours.
When more than half of the VF points have
been lost, a -20% penalty is applied to all Stamina
actions. If an Agent wants to remain up and Stamina is the character's ability
alert when his VF points have reached zero, to physically cope with situations that can
he adds a crushing difficulty penalty, and knock him out of combat. Stamina is usually
requires a Determination roll for every action checked due to pain and accumulation of
he takes, even free ones. If the roll fails, he wounds, some poisons, suffocation, stun,
can still act by spending 1 point of Mental Concussion, unconsciousness, disabling
Health. wounds, Permanent Damage effects and
Very intense combat or strenuous healing.
physical or mental activity quickly reduces
Willpower. In this case, 1 point is lost for
each minute of activity (about twelve turns)
Determination
or for each strenuous activity. Determination is the character's
Willpower is recovered by mental toughness that allows him to
sleeping or total rest. Each full hour of sleep overcome his environment, face dangers and
recovers one point of Willpower. Some show himself to the world according to his
stimulants, such as coffee or tobacco, allow to personality. Determination allows us to know
recover d4 points. The WP can never exceed how brave a character is, how he copes with
its maximum value. setbacks and how he shows it to others.

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Special Agency
Determination is checked when suffering or
inflicting violence or when an event that
triggers the test occurs around it. When a
Determination test fails, the character
continues forward losing Mental Health. Not
all events are equally painful and failing
Determination will have different effects on
Agents.
Life threatening
-In case of being threatened with death (the
first time you are shot in a scene, attacked by
a carnivore or other large animal, strangled)
or seeing your way of life threatened (being d20
fired, being sentenced to jail) a
Determination test is performed. Failing it Catastrophic events
results in a loss of 1d4 points of Mental -Other events may require additional rolls
Health.
Serious damage
-Any time you suffer a permanent wound,
end up with negative Health Points, kill or
seriously wound an acquaintance, prisoner or
link, torture or see a fellow human being
tortured, or generally suffer significant harm
or cause such harm to someone close to you,
roll Determination. Failing the roll means
losing 1d6 points of Mental Health.
Deaths
-Murdering an innocent, bonded or friend,
relative, being guilty of the death of a friend
or relative, murdering in cold blood and face
to face any other person who cannot defend
themselves, or generally being responsible
for the death of an innocent person requires
a Determination roll. Failing it reduces
Mental Health by d8 or d10. Even if you
succeed, you lose 1 point of Mental Health.
Short Rules
Loss of Cause
Mental Health
d4 In case you are threatened with death
or your livelihood is threatened.
d6 You suffer a permanent wound, end up
with negative Life Points, kill or
seriously injure an acquaintance, a
prisoner or a bond, torture or see a
fellow human being tortured, or in
general suffer significant damage or
cause such damage to someone close to
you.
d8/d10 Murdering an innocent person, a bond
or a friend, relative, being guilty of the
death of a friend or relative or generally
being responsible for the death of an
innocent person.
Special.
and effects at the discretion of the Overseer.
A failure in the Determination or
Mental Health roll results in the maximum
possible loss in each case.
Immunization
A critical does not produce any
type of loss and depending on the tone could
immunize the subject against the event that
triggered the roll. This is known as
"Immunize to". The particular type of event
that triggered the Determination roll will no
longer trigger further rolls from now on.
Others
-Grotesque or strong activities in appropriate
contexts, such as body manipulation,
mutilation or organ removal, or autopsies
may produce Determination rolls, at the
Overseer's discretion.
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Short Rules
Mental Health
At the end of a particularly violent
or unpleasant scene, when the Agent's drama
is internal, and the emotional response is
very strong, the Overseer may request a
Mental Health roll. Mental Health rolls
should be limited to one or two, at most,
throughout a Case or Game Session and
should be interpreted appropriately. They
represent moments of introspection that may
delve into guilt or feelings, with the Agent
mentally reviewing the negative events he or
she has experienced. Failing a Mental Health
roll reduces one's Mental Health by 1d6.
Mental Health failed roll
Loss of Mental Health Cause
d6 Introspection about the
events suffered.
0/d6 Encountering a
psychokinetic, time traveler,
zombie, alien, ghost, witch,
vampire, werewolf, mutant
or similar, or clearly
supernatural magical effects.
1/d10 Being in contact with a
supernatural entity, being
psychically assaulted,
observing a supernatural
event that causes harm or
kills a fellow human being.
2/d20 Complete abduction,
discovery of a parallel world,
encounter with a
primogenitor, infernal
possession.
15
Special Agency
Mental Breakdowns
If during an action scene a
character loses more than 5 points of Mental
Health, he must break in action. Usually the
Overseer is spoken to to see what kind of
crisis it entails: he might flee from combat; he
might surrender or submit; or he might be
affected by a murderous rage, with disregard
for his own safety. A broken character
suffering a Mental Crisis is handled by the
Overseer until the scene ends. A companion
could make a Persuasion or Psychotherapy
roll on the affected character, and if
successful, bring him out of the crisis.
Flight. The character flees the
scene in panic with no regard for anything
but his own safety.
Submission. The Agent stays
where the crisis occurred, crying and
surrendering immediately to circumstances
or enemies.
Murderous Rage. The Agent goes
on a frenzied rampage against anyone nearby
who appears to be even the slightest bit
hostile, regardless of the circumstances and
regardless of the safety of himself or others.
Mental Breakdowns (loss > 5 MH/Scene)
Flight. The character flees the scene in terror with
no regard for anything but his own safety.
Submis The Agent stays where the crisis occurred,
sion. crying and surrendering immediately to
circumstances or enemies.
Murder The Agent goes berserk and launches an
ous attack on anyone nearby who appears to be
Rage. even the slightest bit hostile, regardless of
the circumstances and regardless of the
safety of himself or others.
Recovering from a breakdown: A successful
Psychology (sum of d6 SM) or Persuasion roll is made.
Special Agency
Mental disorder
Losing an equivalent to Willpower
in Mental Health points in the same game
session leads to acquiring a mental disorder or
psychosis, which is similar to Permanent
Damage but only affects psychological
characteristics. Choose Personality, Intuition or
Will at random and reduce it by 1d6.
Appropriately reduces all abilities and
maximums of derived characteristics, as well as
the maximum value of the affected
characteristic. If any characteristic reaches zero
due to this, the character becomes unplayable
and suffers the same effect as if he had died: he
is unrecoverable and must retire. Perhaps he
has become catatonic, unable to interact with
others or to react, or he has committed suicide,
unable to recover.
16
Short Rules
Recovering Mental Health
There are a few ways in which a
character can improve their Mental Health.
One is to spend character development
points, representing taking a vacation,
acquiring entertainment, playing sports, or
meeting certain life goals. The other way is to
have another character make a successful
Psychotherapy roll on us. This is a time-
extended action and can only be performed
once during a game session. A success allows
you to recover 1d6 Mental Health Points. A
critical doubles the amount. A failure reduces
Mental Health by 1d6.
Adaptation to violence
A character without Mental
Health is adapted to violence and must not
make any more Mental Health rolls. He
cannot break in action or acquire disorders.
However, to get here it is possible that he
may have been psychologically very touched.
The Agent will still be affected by issues that
force the loss of Mental Health and may still
suffer additional disorders. He will not be
able to invoke Trait Traits or voluntarily lose
Mental Health. If forced to make Mental
Health rolls, these are always considered
failed, although the dramatic effect must be
agreed upon.
A character does not "go insane"
by losing his Mental Health points and
should not be discarded if the player does not
want him to. The character is still able to
participate, although the difficulty to perform
most tasks will be much higher.
Short Rules Special Agency

The supernatural element Traits

During adventures and Cases Traits define uncommon
presented for Agents it is possible to characteristics, either high or low. Traits can
encounter some types of supernatural be invoked during the game to reroll an
elements. Although this is not usual, it will inadequate result.
affect the characters in a similar way as other
violent or unpleasant events do. When a Invoking a Trait
supernatural event occurs a Mental Health To invoke the Trait of a
test is made instead of Determination. characteristic, an Agent must ask for it
Depending on the event and the roll, more or immediately after making a roll whose result
less Mental Health will be lost, represented does not convince him. The Trait can be
by a value if the roll is hit or miss (x/dx). At
positive or negative, it does not matter. The
the Overseer's discretion and depending on player crosses the Trait off the character's
the tone, repeated events could come to be sheet. This Trait cannot be used again during
considered purely natural and become that game session or adventure. He then loses
regular phenomena to be dealt with by 1 point of Mental Health to represent the
Determination alone. effort, and roles appropriately how the Trait
helps him in the action. Finally, he makes a
Minor event roll on the Trait's percentage, unmodified. If
-Encountering a psychokinetic, time traveler, the roll succeeds, there is a single success on
zombie, alien, ghost, witch, vampire, the action for which the roll was repeated.
werewolf, mutant or similar, or clearly Caution: if the roll fails, a worse effect than
supernatural magical effects 0/d6. the original one will be produced.
Complex event Example: McFry has to jump from
-Stay in contact with a supernatural entity, be the Kayatomi building to the one
psychically assaulted, observe a supernatural next to it before it explodes. He
event that causes harm or kills a fellow needs to pass an Athletics test. His
human 1/d10. percentage is 48% with -20%. He
rolls 81. McFry would fall hopelessly,
Major event so the player invokes his Feline
-Complete abduction, discovery of a parallel Reflexes Trait. Cross out the Trait,
world, encounter with a primordial, infernal reduce one point of Mental Health
possession 2/d20. and roll the dice with the percentage
of the unmodified characteristic of
90%. In case of failure, the fall
would be much worse than the
original one...

17
Special Agency Short Rules

LINKS AND Motivations

Motivations involve the Agent in
MOTIVATIONS an intimate and personal way. In case a
Bonds and Motivations can be
Motivation becomes present, the Agent must
positive or negative, depending on how the
roll for Determination. In case of failure, he
player has decided to propose his character.
will lose 1d4 points of Determination,
Bonds and Motivations can be an important
ignoring that Motivation in the scene. In case
element in the Agent's role-playing and
of passing it, he will be forced to act
interpretation, but they can also be used by
according to his motivation. The Agent will
the Overseer to force an Agent to follow the
be bound to that activity; if he ignores it, he
path of his morality.
will immediately lose 1d4 points of
Determination.
Links
Agent Links allow you to call for
help from your connection to the real world.
Damaging a Link by omission - ignoring
family, not supporting a friend in trouble -
requires a Mental Health roll. In case of
failure, you lose 1d4 points of Mental Health
immediately. Taking care of the Bonds,
acting actively for their benefit, produces a
1d4 increase in Mental Health, although the
Overseer must check and agree that the help
was effective. If a Link is damaged by an
external factor or by the Agent's continued
omission, he must roll Mental Health. If he
succeeds, he will lose 1 point of Mental
Health. In case of failure, he will lose 1d10
points of Mental Health. If the link is
destroyed, the Agent will immediately lose
1d20 points of Mental Health, which can
unleash immediate trauma.

18
Short Rules Special Agency

3-Advanced. Can speak and write (the latter

LANGUAGES and if you have Knowledge of at least 30%),
communication although you lose tonality, idioms, irony,
Languages are simulated by subtle and complex concepts, and cannot
ranges, where each range allows you to write more than short passages subject to
express or understand more or less. misunderstanding. You have a -20% in the
transmission and understanding of concepts
0-None. You don't know that language and requiring rolls.
probably have never heard of it.
4- Complete. The understanding of the
1-Basic. Can communicate simple ideas: language is complete according to its
Enemy, hunger, friend. Has a -60% in the
Knowledge, but still has an accent and may
expression of complex ideas and can neither
resist intrinsic or exclusive cultural concepts.
read nor write.
This is the maximum of a non-native
language. It can be written with Knowledge
2-Colloquial. Allows for very simple
of 30% or more.
conversation with simple sentences, if
participants are attentive and careful
5-Mother language. The character has a
speaking and listening. Some words can be
complete command of the concepts,
read with a Knowledge of 30% or more. You
according to his condition and Knowledge. It
have -40% in the transmission and
can be written with Knowledge of 30% or
understanding of concepts that require rolls.
more.

Example: McFry has a Survival of

9%. It is clear that he does not know
how to pull his chestnuts out of the
fire almost anywhere and has to rely
on his contacts.

Examples of specialization: Desert,

Jungle, Jungle, Savannah, Steppe,
Tundra, Arctic, High Mountain,
City of... Region of... Underworld,
High society, Sewers, The
Wasteland.

19
Special Agency Short Rules

Special trainings
An Agent's special trainings
represent things he is used to doing and will
rarely fail at. Specializations are earned with -Internal Compass (Navigation).
Development Points, as specified in the -Resist Order 99 (Persuasion).
Character Upgrade. -Photography (Journalism).
A specialization is a very specific -Strangle (Unarmed).
concept. It is not a type of skill, nor a -Karate (Unarmed).
-Ninja (Stealth).
variation of a skill. It is confined to a defined
-In the Shadow (Dodge).
object, place, situation or concept related to a
-Parachuting (Athletics).
governing skill. For example, Sniper can only
-A10 Thunderbolt II (Pilot).
be used with a sniper rifle and as long as the
-Shameless Lying (Faking).
action is used to aim with the telephoto lens; -Lethal Poisons (Pharmacy).
Rock Climbing will only work if climbing on -Jiu-Jitsu (Unarmed).
natural rock, and so on. -Duel (Firearms).
Whenever the circumstances for -Large Cylinder (Drive).
the use of specialization are given, the player -Emergency Truck (Drive).
decides after rolling the dice which of them -Unlikely Contact (Bureaucracy).
designates the units and which of them -Equipment Control (Bureaucracy).
designates the tens. All other rules remain the -Code breaking (Computer).
same. -Short Wave Radio (Computer).
Specializations can be a multitude and -Military Drones (Pilot).
it is difficult for them to be the same in two -Artistic Photography (Art: Photography).
-I Don't Speak Your Language (Faking).
different characters. There is no limit to the
-Internal Affairs (Bureaucracy).
number of specializations a character can
-Last Question (Forensic).
have, nor is there a limit to the number of
-In the Neighborhood (Survival).
times they can be used. Specializations are
-Bacterial Genetics (Science: Biology).
used automatically, although the table must -In the desert (Survival).
know that they are being used. -Carterista (Stealth).
Overseer and Agent must agree -The Favors of the Street (Bureaucracy).
on the use of the specialization. If it is too -Trust Me (Persuade).
unspecific and powerful, the Overseer is free -Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Pilot).
to include rules limiting the use. For -Photography (Forensics).
example, he could force not to fail any roll
related to the specialization under penalty of
unleashing Determination tests.

20
Short Rules
The action turn
Combat in Special Agency is
divided into action turns that last between 3
and 5 seconds, these being dynamic and
approximate. When a tactical combat begins,
the Overseer announces it out loud so that all
players understand that a combat has begun
and must wait for the Overseer to give them a
turn in order of Initiative to perform their
actions.
The Initiative
During a turn, all those involved
in a combat act in order of Initiative,
announcing first and then performing as
many actions as they want/can. Initiative is
calculated by adding d10 to the Coordination
and subtracting the result according to the
modifier (MD) of the weapon being used. In
case of a tie the actions happen at the same
time, but the one with the highest
Coordination will act first. The Initiative is
established at the beginning of a combat, as
long as no Stealth or Alertness rolls have
been made that modify it. Initiative remains
in the same order throughout the scene. If
you prefer to speed up the process, you can
eliminate the d10 roll.
21
Special Agency
The actions
Actions are the things a character
does during his turn. Each additional action
in a turn after the first one penalizes -20% to
all actions of the turn: if he jumps a fence and
shoots that's two actions; that's a -20%
penalty to Athletics and Firearms. If you
jump a fence, shoot and look for cover, it is
two actions after the first one: it will be a
-40% to Athletics, Firearms and Dodge. If at
any time the penalty exceeds -100% due to
performing too many actions, you cannot act
anymore. See the Maximum Penalty section
below. This avoids that someone may
attempt against the spirit of the game by
doing a multitude of actions in which he has
little chance of success.
Actions are divided into simple,
singular, free, one-time and special actions.
>>Simple actions can be performed as many
times as desired/possible during a turn.
>>Singular actions can only be performed
once in a turn, but can be performed in
conjunction with other single actions.
>>A single action is one that does not allow
further actions to be taken during the turn.
>>Free and special actions are those that do not
disturb the action and can be performed
without penalty, at the discretion of the
Overseer.
Special Agency Short Rules

from disfigurement (reduced Personality) to

The Damage neurological damage (reduced Coordination,
A wound that produces at least
etc.). Seeing Life Points reduced to less than
one point of damage is immediately
zero generates the same Permanent Damage
accompanied by the associated negative
effects as a Disabling Injury and Endurance
penalties. A wounded character has a -20%
must be rolled to check for these effects.
penalty to his actions. As long as the wounds
do not exceed half of his health points, the
character is lightly wounded.
When, as a result of the damage, Health Points. Slightly injured Serious injury
-20%. -40%.
the health points are reduced to less than
20 19-10 9-2
half, the character is seriously wounded and
19 18-10 9-2
suffers an additional -20% penalty to his
18 17-9 8-2
actions (-40%). All penalties are cumulative.
17 16-9 8-2
16 15-8 7-2
Disabling Injuries and 15 14-8 7-2

Permanent Damage 14
13
13-7
12-7
6-2
6-2
Taking damage equivalent to half 12 11-6 5-2
or more of the original hit health points 11 10-6 5-2
results in a Disabling Injury. A Disabling 10 9-5 4-2
Injury is a very great trauma for the affected 9 8-5 4-2
person. A Determination roll is made 8 7-4 3-2
immediately. On failure, the victim falls to 7 6-4 3-2
the ground and is concussed until he passes 6 5-3 2
an Endurance roll. 5 4-3 2
When the scene is over, and if the 4 3 2

affected person is still alive, check the Concussion 2-0. Concussion and roll Stamina or
unconsciousness with negative HP. Disabling
possible Permanent Damage of the Disabling Injuries (>PV/2) and negative HP, also loses 1PV/
Wound. To do so, roll Stamina. If the roll is minute until death.

successful, there is no trace left but an ugly

scar. If the roll fails, randomly choose a Stun
characteristic and reduce it by 1d6. If, as a Due to specific situations, an
result of this, the Resistance is reduced to less Agent may be Stunned. While stunned an
than 3 points, the victim falls into a coma and additional -20% penalty is suffered, until an
is irrecoverable. The Overseer and the Agent Endurance roll is passed.
must find a coherent story to explain the
reduction of the characteristic:
22
Short Rules Special Agency

Concussion and Combat modifiers

unconsciousness Action. Type Modifier

Additional action. Simple -20%
Being concussed means that only
Prepare/Aim. Single +20%
free actions can be performed. Certain faults
Draw. Simple -
or states of the character can lead to this,
Shoot 2-3-4... times Simple 20-30-40%...
such as Disabling Injury. A character whose per action.
Life Points are reduced to less than 3 is Point-blank shot. Simple +20% +1HP
immediately concussed. If the Life Points are Sneak Attack Simple +20%, attack first.
reduced to less than 0, the Agent will remain (Stealth vs). Hit is critical.

concussed and, if he suffered a Disabling

Bulk attack. Simple +20%
Injury, he will lose another point per minute
Unarm Single Disarms the target.
until he dies. While in this situation, he must (Unarmed vs).
make Stamina rolls to avoid being Neutralize/seize. Single Neutralizes the
unconscious, also every minute. An target. Special.

unconscious character cannot act in any way. Parry/Avoid Simple Prevents damage
from a c. c. attack.
Throwing Simple 1/2STR<STR metres -
20%
Example: McFry suffers a shot to Localized attack Simple -40%
the abdomen that causes 8 points Slightly wounded - -20%
of damage, which is a disabling HP>1/2
wound that leaves him in serious Very fast target - -40%
condition. He rolls Determination, Immobile target - +20%
fails and falls to the ground in Large Target - +20%
shock. McFry rolls Stamina each Moving target - -20%
turn to be able to act. As he lies Severely wounded PV<1/2 - -40%
helpless on the ground, his enemy Disabling injury -20%
kicks him until his hit points are
Concussed Single Free actions only
exceeded and he is left for dead.
McFry is again concussed with -4 Stun - -20%
hit points. He must now roll Critical Mortality - +% variable.
Stamina to avoid being Instantaneous death
unconscious, and will remain Light cover - -20%
concussed until his hit points Medium cover - -40%
return to positive. Heavy cover - -60%
Total cover - -80%

23
 Special Agency Short Rules

Damage Penalty to actions

Critical Mortality
Slightly wounded HP>1/2 -20%
Critical Mortality is a value
Severely wounded HP<1/2 -40%
associated with some weapons, damage and
Disabling Injury -20%
types of shots. Some weapons are so
Stunned -20% Stamina eliminates.
powerful, or there are such powerful
Concussed 0-2PV Only free actions
explosions, falls or blows, that it doesn't
Concussed <0PV Pass Stamina or
unconsciousness. With
matter how tough a human is: the chance of
Disabling Injury, -1 HP dying is simply too great. The Critical
per minute until death.
Mortality value is added to the critical
percentage of the attack roll and to the base
Special effects percentage as a bonus when automatic fire is
performed. If there is no attack roll, as in the
Some of the rules presented below
case of a fall from a great height, the Critical
may be difficult for beginners. If the Overseer
Mortality will be the value of the applicable
deems it appropriate, he may introduce these
critical +0. If a hit occurs with a value
rules gradually in his games to improve the
between 01 and the summed value of Critical
players' understanding of the special effects.
Mortality and the normal critical, the targets
suffer the automatic reduction of their Life
Points to the negative minimum; that is,
automatic death occurs, regardless of the
protections that were being used.

Example: McFry has had enough of

good manners and has pulled out
his M27. He fires at four mobsters
threatening to kill him from the
other sidewalk and uses a burst of
10 projectiles to cover them all.
McFry's Critical % with Firearms is
8 (78% base) and the M27
increases the Critical and base Kill
value by +10%. He rolls the dice
and rolls 15. The four mobsters fall,
knocked out by the automatic rifle
burst.

24
Short Rules Special Agency

Critical Mortality
and covers
Critical Mortality is nullified by Some weapons only have Critical
any cover that may be in the way. If the roll is Kill when fired in automatic bursts. Others
simply a hit or the target has cover (and even are so powerful that a single hit gains the
if Critical Mortality was hit) the dice values ability to produce Critical Mortality with the
of the units and tens (a 49=4+9=13 Health indicated %, such as a missile, an explosion
Points) are added together to find out the or artillery.
damage done. If a failure occurs, the target(s)
must make a Determination roll in order to Damage with
act, according to the Suppression rules. In
addition, the cover may be pierced and hit
automatic weapons
anyway. If the result is equal to or less than An automatic weapon can fire
10% of the basic percentage, the impact will semi-automatically or automatically. In the
occur even if the penalties exceed the basic second case, it gains the Critical Mortality
percentage. In that case Critical Mortality rule and starts doing damage according to
does not work either and only the dice are those rules. Remember that the Critical
added for damage. Mortality value is added to the critical
percentage of the attack roll and to the basic
Example: McFry continues shooting,
percentage as a bonus when automatic fire is
this time at five other gangsters at 30
performed. Automatic weapons can fire in
meters. He groups them into two in
bursts that count as a single action. On
the open and three under cover
behind a car. Both actions penalize impact, all targets in the area of effect suffer
him with -20%. M27's automatic fire the damage.
grants +10% to hit and Critical
Mortality for a total of 68% and 18
Critical Mortality. He gets a 32
against the group in the open and
wounds them both with 3+2 hit
points. The group in cover penalizes Shots Radius
him with -40%. He gets a 14 against 3 projectiles. One target.
the group in cover and they receive 1 5 projectiles. 1 metre.
+4 hit points, as the cover negates the
10 projectiles. 2 metres.
Critical Mortality, but it is not
20 projectiles. 3 metres.
enough to protect from the weapon.
30-50 projectiles. 5 metres.
Any result below 08 would have been
Critical and produced the weapon's
maximum damage (d12+1=13).
25
 Physical Inspection Name and nickname
Special Agency Works in

Characteristic Value x5 Trait MAX Current

Description Date and place

STRENGTH 0 20 of birth

ENDURANCE 0 20 History & Notes Equipment

COORDINATION 0 20

PERSONALITY 0 20

INTUITION 0 20

WILL 0 20
Photo
Psychological Inspection 0
Value Status MAX Min

Health Points 0 20 0

Will Points 0 20 00

Determination 0 0 00

Stamina 0 100 00
Links
Mental Health 0 0 00

Skills Other Skills Languages Rank

Alert (INT) % Dodge (COO) % %

Motivations
Anthropology (INT) % Pharmacy (INT) % %

C. C. Weapons (COO) % Faking (PER) % %

Firearms (COO) % Forensics (INT) % % Special trainings

Art (PER) % Law (INT) % %

Athletics (COO) % Manual (COO) % %

Bureaucracy (PER) % Heavy Machinery (COO) % %

Search (INT) % Medicine (INT) % %

Locksmith (COO) % Ride (COO) % Armor: + Damage:

Science (INT) % Swimming (COO) %
Weapons % Damage Bullets/Clips/CM DM Perfora Distances Caliber
Computers (INT) % Navigation (INT) %

Drive (COO) % Insight (INT) % Unarmed % - - - - -

Knowledge (INT) % Persuasion (PER) % %

Conspiracies (INT) % Pilot (COO) %
%
Account (INT) % First Aid (COO) %

Criminology (INT) % Psychotherapy (PER) % %

Demolitions (COO) % Stealth (COO) % %

Unarmed (COO) % Survival (INT) %
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