TL;DR: Karla vs. Smiley is a realistic spy RPG where players will need to find clues, solve puzzles and deceive each other.
Smiley vs. Karla is an espionage role-playing game for 3 to 5 players set in the world of John Le Carré's cold war spy novels.
The game is a bit different than other role playing game in that there is far less focus on chaotic fantastical combat and far more focus on investigation, intrigue and deception.
Unlike most pen and paper role playing games, Smiley vs. Karla is not a strictly collaborative game. Each player has a private objective which may conflict with the objectives of other players.
The other primary difference is that consequences in the game story are not the result of character sheet statistics and dice rolls, but on the intentional decisions made by players based on privately held information.
Table of Contents
- Requirements
- Basic Overview
- Personas and Mission Assignments 👤📋
- Rules
- Spy Mastering
- TODO
- Miscellaneous Notes
- 3-4 players + 1 Spy Master 🕵️🕵️🕵️🕵️
- Pen and paper for each player 📝📝📝📝
- 1 Mission Assignment for each player ✉️
- 1 privacy screen for each player
- 1-3 cocktails per player, preferably Gin or Scotch. 🍸🍸🍸
- Some speakers to set the tone. I recommend doom jazz. 🔈
- A set of game dice for each player 🎲🎲🎲🎲
Smiley vs. Karla is an espionage role playing game. The game is played by 3-4 player characters, who play as spies employed by the British intelligence services ("The Circus"), and one Spy Master, who controls the context of the adventure and plays as the non-player characters, some of whom will be assets of the Russian intelligence services ("Moscow Centre").
Collectively, players are trying to achieve the assignments ordered by Smiley, the British spymaster and to foil the objectives of Karla, the Russian spymaster.
However, each player also has a private goal that only they know about. These goals may conflict with and supersede the collective goal, particularly if their role is as a double-agent for Karla.
The group wins if they successfully complete Smiley's mission and an individual wins if they complete their own.
TL;DR: Players are given Personas and a Mission Assignment. Their advantages come not from statistics, but from the information which is only available to them.
At the beginning of the campaign, each player chooses a Persona and is given a Mission Assignment.
The Persona gives a description of the character to role play with, but will not affect the result of a players actions - ie, there are no "stats" in this game - though the Spy Master may provide the player with easier dice roll checks based on how well the player is integrating the Persona in the game world.
Personas are just masks which allow players to enter the game world - they are still themselves. This means that they should make decisions based on what they think they should do to achieve their objectives, not what they think their character would do. Similarily, during dialog with any other character, there is no need to say "I say..", they can simply say it as if it were a normal conversation.
The Mission Assignment will contain private goals for that player, and any necessary information and inventory items to achieve that goal.
The contents of a player's Mission Assignments is unknown to the Spy Master (though they will know which what Mission Assignments are possible).
Note: Since Mission Assignments are intertwined, players who begin a campaign must always be present to continue that campaign, unless the campaign is a "one-shot."
All new players are given a player sheet. Player sheets are permanent. It allows players to track all of their mission results and to earn commendations for performing various achievements during play.
There are very few rules limiting what a player can or cannot do. Players take turns in order, starting from the left of the Spy Master. Players declare their action, and then the Spy Master tells them the result of that action. Occasionally, skilled actions may require a succesful dice roll, as declared by the Spy Master. The majority of actions ("I search the pockets of the dead body") are automatic successes.
Although there are very few rules, the world is not a forgiving one. This is the world of George Smiley, not James Bond. The players are simple men, not gods. Injuries are swift and permanent. Players should try to act realistically and logically, or the world will not be kind to them.
Players should try to "play it straight" in the game-world but can be as boisterous and political as they want in the table-world.
At any given time, there will be a number of current assignments given to them by the Spy Master.
This will usually mean things like investigating murders, recruiting foreign assets, stealing and smuggling information, interrogations and even assasinations. Practically speaking, this will mean gathering clues, acquiring information and mapping out networks.
When objectives are completed, players are given cash rewards and new equipment.
The group will have an open inventory of collected information and clue items.
Each player also has their own private inventory of items and information. When new inventory items and information are acquired through an invdividual action, that information is given to the player privately by the Spy Master. The player may or may not reveal that information to the group as part of that same turn. (ex., "I search the pockets of the dead body." (The SM writes down a telephone number and hands it to the player, who looks at it). "Okay, I'll add this to the group inventory").
The group will also have some cash, which any player can spend any amount of at any time. Some players may also have private amounts of cash.
Skilled actions require dice rolls, as declared by the Spy Master. If the player rolls less than the amount needed for success, a player can use cash to buy increases (or decreases) to the rolled value for the price of £100 per 1 point, unless the Spy Master declares otherwise.
Cash can also be used directly for bribes and purchasing information from assets without the need for dice rolls.
Once per scene, a player may perform a covert action. The player writes down their action on a piece of paper and hands it to the Spy Master, who will accept or reject the action. The action succeeds if it's accepted and the Spy Master doesn't announce the action, only visible results of the action.
If it's a skilled covert action then it may require a dice roll. If the action is rejected outright, the player may perform a different action.
(ex., A player states, "I wish to perform this covert action." (Hands Spy Master paper with "I Put The Poison in the Tea" written on it.) The Spy Master says "accepted, roll." The player rolls a six. The Spy Master says, "The action succeeds.")
On any turn, players may send a whisper to another player. The player writes their message, places it in an envelope and passes it to another player. The receiving player may then write a reply and pass it back to them.
(ex., Dave writes, "I think Sara is the mole! She lied when she said she had the codex, because I have it!" (Hands James the message in an envelope.) James writes, "I think so too! Let's put her under suspicion!" and hands it back.)
Very occasionally, players may need to engage in combat. Gun shots and knife attacks will always require a 6 (1d6) to land on target, and kicks and punches require a 5 (1d6). Injuries are realistic.
Players have no hit points, but can be seriously injured or captured, resulting in a failed mission. If too many players are captured, a mission is over. Players can continue in the next chapter of a campaign after a prisoner exchange, though this will deplete all of their cash reserves.
If players get stuck, they can usually go and visit The Circus' top Soviet researcher, Connie Sachs. She can help the players identif the suspects and piece together the clues they have gathered, though she may take a bit of social lubrication first. Use her too much, however, and Smiley will dock your pay for not doing your own jobs.
On their turn, a player may use their action to try to place another player "under suspicion".
First, they nominate the other player they wish to place under suspicion. Then, a second player must support the nomination by saying "seconded." The nominating player then presents their case to the Spy Master. If the Spy Master agrees that their evidence is plausible, the motion passes. If not, the player loses their action.
If the motion is approved, the suspect is then placed under suspcion. That player will still get their turn on the next action, but they will not be able to spend money from the group's public funds or use items from the group's public inventory, and all of their covert actions will require a roll of a 5 or a 6 to perform. They may still spend their private money and use items from their private inventory.
Only a single player can be placed under suspicion at a time, and placing a new player under suspicion will replace the old one.
In the final scene of a campaign, the players will have an opportunity to expose the traitors of the group. The Spy Master will announce that it's time for the debrief, and every player will have an opportunity to state their case about who they think the traitor is.
There will then be a vote. Each player gets one vote for any of the nominated traitors. The person with the most votes is then nominated as the traitor (if there is a tie, then the Spy Master casts the deciding vote). The Spy Master then asks - "So, are you the traitor?" If so, they must reveal themself and are captured, and the group completes the campaign successfully and is given a bonus. If not, then the group fails the campaign and is given no reward.
The only real restrictions on player actions are related to actions against other players. Specifically:
- Players cannot see or modify the private inventories of other players.
- Players cannot use violence or permanently hindering actions against other players without their permission.
Since the drama of the game comes from the imbalance of information, allowing players to see or modify the private inventories of other players would spoil the fun.
Similarly, if players were allowed to use violence against other players, they could simply try to kill the other players in order to accomplish their goals, which isn't very sporting.
There may be situations where players want to use violence against other players in order to further a ruse, which is allowed as long as the other player agrees.
A campaign is a collection of scenes. It may take information or actions to reach a scene, or they may happen as the result of the passage of time.
Non-player actions in scenes happens after a number of action counters (one per player-turn). For instance, after five actions in an an intrusion scene, a new security guard character may enter and discover the players.
Action counters may apply to certain player actions as well, such as those involving certain gadgets, such as wiretaps, which may reveal information after 20 actions, though the number of actions it may take may be unknown to the player.
Some missions may have global action counters, which start at the beginning and carry across scenes. (ex, "The kidnapped prisoner will be executed in 50 actions unless he is released before then.")
- Devise a quarantine-specific set of rule modifications
- Come up with a "One Shot" (Prelude in London)
- Write up the "Five Shot" (The Swiss Fiasco, Smiley's Gambit, Centre of the Centre, Boss of all Bosses, The Crystal Tower)
- Player Sheets, Achievements
- Intercepts, Interrupt Mechanics, Bonus Actions, Seat Shuffle, Counter Actions
- Koby Sharp
- Henry Cooper
- Magnus White
- Elliot Brooks
- Rock Hunter (no)
- Arnold Crane
- Samantha Sartour
- Gambler, Trick Dice
- Goon
- Dandy
- Drunk
- Old Boy
- Soldier
- Jackie O gets kidnapped, reemerges as a Patti Hearst type
- Supporting a Defection (Misdirection!) ala Funeral in Berlin
- Assemble a Crew
- Pull a Job
- Nazi Hunting! (Of course, the Nazi is an American asset).
- Counterintelligence - Finding a moving target around locations
- Maybe: Single-use game-breaking items. Intercept whispers, see covert actions, view private clues of other players.
- Maybe: Overnight actions, all players write in. Calling for votes.
- Betrayal for money by a middleman or agency employ. (Non-mole PC)
- Inverse 'Funeral in Berlin'
- Tailing a suspect
- Hunting down a witness
- Breaking, entering and exfiltration
- Assasination
- Kidnapping
- Interrogation
- Escape
- Framing and Extortion
- Finding a Bomb (100 turns)
- Locating a Kidnapped Agent (50 turns)
- Hotel
- Bar
- Casino
- House
- Apartment
- Office
- Restaurant
- Gentleman's Club
- Night Club
- Sex Club
- Eyes Wide Shut-esque Orgy
- Pool Hall
- Archives
- Opera
- Plane
- Submarine
- Court Room (Trial)
- Prison (Visitation)
- Mansion
- Posh Party
- Opium Den
- Sauna
- Cabin
- Cathederal
- Train
- Train Station
- London Underground
- Cafe
- Alley
- Dockyard
- Train yard
- Forest
- Trailer Park
- Mountain Chalet
- Castle
- Little Saint James
- Poloroid
- Microfilm Camera
- Wiretap
- Microcasette Recorder
- Truth Serum
- Poison
- Cypher
- Poison Lipstick
- Spy Camera Glasses
- Microphone Lapel
- Rope
- Cufflink Garatte
- Shoe Knives
- Pollonium Dart
- Lock Pick
- Silencer
- Tuxedo
- Micropistol
- Radio
- Tracker
- Document Copier/Printer
- Safe Cracker
- Heroin, Cocaine
- Flask
- Knife
- Duck Tape
- Rappelling Grappel
- Bludgeon