When I write for FIST and I have a clear idea of setting and story, I make it a mission. If I feel like there’s multiple interpretations and ideas that could fit the framework, I make it a toolkit instead. I just wrote a template for tense exchanges and deals – and since I think it works for whatever setting or system, I figured I’d elaborate here!
Check out the FIST interpretation here, or keep reading for the system-setting-neutral core idea!
One of the most tense scenes in crime and espionage fiction is The Deal – two parties meeting to exchange valuable items, each side watching the other for signs of betrayal. These scenes work because they’re pressure cookers of dramatic tension. Everyone is armed, no one trusts each other, and one wrong move means everything explodes into violence.
I think this idea can work just as well in modern spy-fi as well as elfgames and the like; it’s about the dynamics, not about the setting.
I approached this in the following way:
- Two factions have agreed to meet and conduct an exchange. This information is known to the players.
- FACTION A (the sellers) has something valuable – a McGuffin, or something the players need or want.
- FACTION A’s location is unknown or far too heavily fortified to be able to get to.
- FACTION B (the buyers) has brought substantial payment of valuable goods.
- While the deal’s time is set, the EXCHANGE LOCATION is typically kept secret until the last moment for security reasons.
- However, the players can gather intelligence on the upcoming exchange because FACTION B is known to be temporarily staying at a TEMPORARY BASE ahead of the deal. This base offers opportunities for infiltration, allowing the players to
- potentially discover the exchange location ahead of time
- infiltrate or replace the buyers
- or gather other crucial intel
- When preparing the EXCHANGE LOCATION, consider tactical advantages: multiple approaches, escape routes, and the delicate balance between privacy and witnesses.
- The players can be acting on their own accord, or has been hired for a SPECIFIC TASK. Example tasks:
- Replace the McGuffin with a fake
- Ensure the deal succeeds
- Steal both the McGuffin and the money
- Document the deal for a third party
- Prevent the deal
- Protect one party, eliminate the other
- Cause chaos, slip away with McGuffin
- Finally, throw a wrench into the works with a COMPLICATION to add extra layers of intrigue and danger to the situation.
- Both parties are being manipulated by a third party
- Money is counterfeit
- McGuffin is fake
- Both are fake
- Rival team hired to hinder players