[Basic] Advantage of the Week (#30): Contact Group, Contacts

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The base cost should be for a Contact that answers the phone, receives and answers mail, can be found by the king's messengers, isn't immune to communication spells, whatever. People already complain that Contacts are overpriced!

Yes, as I've already said before, I agree that Contacts should be reasonably contacted. However, being contacted isn't the issue here. What is the issue is that some Contacts can provide assistance over a wider area than others, and that it's not really fair for those that cover more area to be equally priced to those that can't.

I feel that the feeling that Contacts are too expensive stems much more from people simply treating them as skill-replacements, and discounting their value for doing favours. Consider this example: a low-level CIA analyst, one who can't reliably do things across the world, but is limited to acting more or less in Washington DC. Let's make them Skill 15 in Intelligence Analysis, frequency of appearance 9, and Somewhat Reliable (keeps the math simple). That has a base cost of 2 points. Besides rolling Intelligence Analysis on behalf of the player, I'd also allow this person to do the following favours:

• Provide entry to CIA facilities in the city, that they had clearance to access themselves.
• Give access to certain CIA tools like drones, supercomputers, etc. physically located in Washington.
• Grant access to CIA files physically stored in Washington offices.
• Provide introductions to other CIA members in Washington.
• Arrange invitations to CIA-related social or media functions in the city.

Now admittedly, several of these will fail at least one of the "Easy, Cheap, Safe" list for the Contact, so would be more difficult to get. But they'd still be possible. I think that's well-worth 2 points, even if the campaign only visits Washington every 5 sessions or something. I don't feel that someone should be able to get the same level of favors anywhere in the world for the same two points, just because they've defined their Contact as a higher-level CIA analyst.

[sir_pudding]

All of those favors are still useful regardless of where the character is located relative to Washington. Especially access to Classified information, which is probably mostly why you want an Agency contact in the first place.

GMs should probably be pretty lenient about making what unmodified Contacts can affect relevant to the game, just like contacts in most adventure fiction. If your man at Langley really would need to have the ear of the chair of the Intelligence committee to get thing done you need, well might as well assume he does, at least this once. Maybe he runs into the Senator at a function, or his niece is an aide or whatever.

[ericthered]

The CIA contact is an example of the sort of things contacts are priced for. He might have decent skills, but you didn't really pay for his skills. You paid for his security clearance and access to information.

These sorts of contacts are just fine. Its the other sorts of contacts that cause trouble: having a contact who you primarily use for skills, like the village blacksmith. And this is compounded by making you choose a "Skill" that the contact has.

I wonder if some of this can be relieved by focusing on the organization and access that the contact has. You're not paying for Information analysis, you're paying for the CIA.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by ericthered

These sorts of contacts are just fine. Its the other sorts of contacts that cause trouble: having a contact who you primarily use for skills, like the village blacksmith. And this is compounded by making you choose a "Skill" that the contact has.

Presumably that blacksmith has a shop, tools, suppliers, ect. So it is still more than just having the skill yourself.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Presumably that blacksmith has a shop, tools, suppliers, ect. So it is still more than just having the skill yourself.

It is, but are you going to claim that having a working shop is worth as many points as having inside information to the CIA in most campaigns?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by ericthered

It is, but are you going to claim that having a working shop is worth as many points as having inside information to the CIA in most campaigns?

Knowing a blacksmith in a game with the CIA is probably a perk.

In fact it is probably a Supplier perk in nearly any game.

I guess the exception would be Hatori Hanzo, but in that case getting a sword was a huge part of the film, so he probably isn't a Contact for Beatrice but rather an NPC she needed to seek out and interact with.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by ericthered

It is, but are you going to claim that having a working shop is worth as many points as having inside information to the CIA in most campaigns?

Depends on the game's genre conventions.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Knowing a blacksmith in a game with the CIA is probably a perk.

In fact it is probably a Supplier perk in nearly any game.

I guess the exception would be Hatori Hanzo, but in that case getting a sword was a huge part of the film, so he probably isn't a Contact for Beatrice but rather an NPC she needed to seek out and interact with.

Which is my point: efficiently purchased contacts aren't primarily bought for their skill. They're bought for in world benefits the character otherwise would struggle to access. I'm going to guess that the blacksmith in the film isn't just a blacksmith, but a legendary cinematic maker of impossibly sharp blades.

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Depends on the game's genre conventions.

I said most games for that very reason

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I said most games for that very reason

In most games I've run, CIA Analyst isn't even an option for a Contact.

Realign your assumptions.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

In most games I've run, CIA Analyst isn't even an option for a Contact.

Realign your assumptions.

Most games where both are an option. Or their equivalents.