Buried Secrets

Crew Creation

Choose a crew type

Your crew type determines the kinds of missions you’ll focus on, as well as a selection of abilities, specialists, and upgrades that support that kind of work. It isn’t meant to be restrictive – but will definitely give your group a core competency you can always count on.

Choosing a crew type is one of the most important decision you’ll make! It’s a way for the group to say, “These are the sorts of missions we want to do.” It organizes game play from “mystery-solving teens” to “negotiating interstellar treaties”—which helps the GM focus on the parts of the setting that matter most, rather than having to juggle every possibility at once. The group should choose a crew type that everyone is excited about. As a player, be vocal about your preferences. You’re about to spend many hours doing this, so if you’re feeling lukewarm about one of the options, speak up.

Your crew begins with 2 intel in its databanks (existing leads and contacts). This will be tracked by the Director.

Choose an initial reputation & headquarters

• Ambitious
• Brutal
• Daring
• Honorable
• Professional
• Savvy
• Subtle
• Strange

Given this group of characters and their previous escapades, what initial reputation would you have within intelligence agencies? Choose one from the list at right (or create your own).

You earn xp when you bolster your crew’s reputation, so think of this as another cue to indicate what sorts of action you want in the game. Will you be recklessly ambitious, targeting powerful factions? Will you take on daring missions that others deem too risky? Are you interested in the strange and the weird?

Also, talk about where the crew makes its headquarters.

Choose a special ability

Take a look at the special abilities for your crew and choose one. If you can’t decide which one to pick, go with the first one on the list—it’s placed there as a good default choice. It’s important to pick a special ability that everyone is excited about. The Quartermaster can purchase more special abilities in the future by spending supply.

Just like picking the crew type, reputation, and headquarters, choosing a special ability is another chance to focus the game down to a more specific range of possibilities. That’s a lot to work with, and it helps get the game going in a strong direction from the very beginning.

Assign crew upgrades

An upgrade is a valuable asset that helps the crew in some way, like a boat or a squad. Each crew type has two pre-selected upgrades that suit that crew (like Prowess Training and a squad of Muscle for the SpecOps crew).

The Quartermaster will be able to purchase more upgrades with supply, which can be gained from missions or filling up the crew xp bar.

Choose a favorite contact

Take a look at your list of potential contacts on the crew sheet. Choose one contact who is a close friend, long-time ally, or partner in crime.

Standard crew upgrades

• Aircraft: You have a private aircraft (a light plane or helicopter) and a hangar to store it. A second upgrade replaces it with a private jet.

  You can easily replace this with the seagoing or spacegoing equivalents if that makes more sense for your setting. For example, a science-fiction campaign might have a small shuttle that uses the second upgrade to replace it with a hyperspace-capable freighter.

• Hidden: Your headquarters has a secret location and is disguised to hide it from view. If your HQ is discovered, use two downtime activities and use intel equal to your threat level to relocate it and hide it once again.
• Quality: Each upgrade improves the quality rating of all the PCs’ items of that type. Standard items of that type become fine items, while fine items become exceptional. You can improve the quality of Documents, Gear (covers Burglary Gear and Climbing Gear), Arcane Implements, Subterfuge Supplies, Tools (covers Demolitions Tools and Tinkering Tools), and Weapons.

  So, if you have fine lockpicks and the Quality upgrade for gear, you could contend equally with an exceptional lock.

• Quarters: Your headquarters includes living quarters for the crew. Without this upgrade, each PC sleeps elsewhere, and is vulnerable when they do so.
• Safehouse: You have a safehouse which you can access in an emergency without drawing the attention of the conspiracy. A second upgrade gives you another safehouse in a different city or location.

  Once you have two safehouses, the Quartermaster can spend a supply to move, restock, rebuild, or refurbish both safehouses as needed.

• Training: If you have a Training upgrade, you earn 2 xp (instead of 1) when you train a given xp track during downtime (Insight, Prowess, Resolve, or Playbook xp). This upgrade essentially helps you advance more quickly. See Advancement.

  If you have Insight Training, when you train Insight during downtime, you mark 2 xp on the Insight track (instead of just 1). If you have Playbook Training, you mark 2 xp on your playbook xp track when you train.

• Vault: Your headquarters has a secure vault, increasing your storage capacity for INTEL to 8. A second upgrade increases your capacity to 16. A separate part of your vault can be used as a holding cell.
• Workshop: Your headquarters has a workshop appointed with tools for tinkering and crafting, as well as a small library of books, documents, and maps. You may pursue long-term projects with these assets without having to leave your headquarters.

Crew creation summary

1. Choose a crew type. The crew type determines the group’s purpose, their special abilities, and how they advance.

   You start with 2 intel. (This is tracked by the Director)

2. Choose an initial reputation and headquarters. Choose how other factions see you: Ambitious—Brutal—Daring—Honorable—Professional—Savvy—Subtle—Strange. Work with your GM to choose a location for your headquarters. Describe the building.

3. Choose a special ability. If you can’t decide, choose the first ability on the list. It’s placed there as a good first option.

4. Assign crew upgrades. Your crew has two upgrades pre-selected. If your crew has a cohort, follow the procedure to create it. The Quartermaster starts with 2 supply.

5. Choose a favorite contact. Mark the one who is a close friend, long-time ally, or partner in crime.