[Social Engineering] Find a specific person in a foreign city (Known Individuals)

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

I think a big part of it is the type of target, and whether they're consciously trying to hide. David mentions the teenager, and it sounds right. If we're talking about an opponent "agent" of some kind, I think you're pretty much screwed without a lucky break.

We're talking about a person who generally lays low (as in, participates in neither public-flashy nor criminal activity, but still holds a mid/low-Status job, and walks about various business in free time), and while has some evasion-handy skills (notably Acting, Disguise and Streetwise), is neither on alert nor has reason to actively avoid detection.

In short, the NPC will only go into all-out 'evasive agent mode' if convinced the party is out to get the NPC, which requires a major screw up.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

We're talking about a person who generally lays low (as in, participates in neither public-flashy nor criminal activity, but still holds a mid/low-Status job, and walks about various business in free time), and while has some evasion-handy skills (notably Acting, Disguise and Streetwise), is neither on alert nor has reason to actively avoid detection.

You have neglected the most important information. Why is he worth looking for?

[Figleaf23]

And why does s/he not want to be found?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Yes, the guidelines are for looking for a type of person, not a specific person. To find a specific person who isn't in the phone book, you have to actually investigate. If it's a runaway teenager then you check their communications, talk to their friends, look at their credit card activity, and then move on to flashing their picture in the hooker strolls and checking the morgues.

That is in fact not true in Social Engineering. There are guidelines there for adapting the mechanic to looking for a specific individual rather than a type. One of them is that you make the modifier negative for bigger communities and positive for smaller ones, for reasons that I hope are obvious.

For all sorts of GURPS things, there is both a quick one-roll mechanic and playing it out in detail. For example, you could play out a job day by day, or allow a monthly job success roll, depending on how interesting it is to roleplay the job. Single search rolls for finding a specific person are the same sort of thing. In some games you're going to want to fast forward to what happens when the person is found.

Bill Stoddard

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

You have neglected the most important information. Why is he worth looking for?

Long story short, because there is evidence of said NPC possessing unique skills. Okay, not unique, but remarkable, and with evidence that said NPC will not demand an outrageous price for the services.

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

And why does s/he not want to be found?

Moved away from a location where things got too hot (essentially avoiding a shady war between two illegal factions). Not exactly hiding, since there is little reason for the potentially hostile faction to bother going all the way after the NPC. I think this sort of half-hearted evasion is the level of difficulty that is reasonable for a quest.

[kdtipa]

You said the guy is holding a low key mid level job? So he has known whereabouts. Unless he's getting paid under the table, there will be a money trail. An account that gets used, or at least a location where checks are cashed. If the employer requires a residential address for a simple employment record check, the employer has a home address. If the person has a job, there are people the person has contact with in order to perform their job. If all you're looking to do is get in touch, leaving a note at the employer might even prompt the guy to get in touch with you if what you're offering is tempting enough.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

You said the guy is holding a low key mid level job? So he has known whereabouts. Unless he's getting paid under the table, there will be a money trail. An account that gets used, or at least a location where checks are cashed. If the employer requires a residential address for a simple employment record check, the employer has a home address. If the person has a job, there are people the person has contact with in order to perform their job. If all you're looking to do is get in touch, leaving a note at the employer might even prompt the guy to get in touch with you if what you're offering is tempting enough.

Oh, of course the employer knows where the target lives. (Actually, this need not always be the case, but in a low-suspicion mode, it is the case.) But that's only useful if the PCs already know who the employer is (and the fact that the target is employed at all). I'm not sure just walking around asking all possible employment places with a composite is picture going to produce anything better than a random roll at -5 or so every cycle.
Hmm. Is my number of clues too scarce?

[Refplace]

Depends on the skills hes known for, if he still practices them in the new area then that is a lead. If the job he now holds is known or the kind of work he is also known for that is another lead.

[vicky_molokh]

Well, the skill set is Chemistry!, which, in the setting, includes TL^ stuff like bits of alchemy and rather customisable pharmacy.
But I see that sort of skill set as requiring a bit too much in the way of credentials (which the character lacks), thus I'm thinking of something less impressive than a pharmacist.

I'm considering the option of the NPC becoming a salesperson/consultant in a joint over-the-counter-drugs-and-assorted-cosmetic-and-household-stuff chain*, i.e. a job that could benefit from said skill set, but does not require having any actual special licenses. On one hand, searching for a jack-of-all-trades chemist in apothecaries/drug stores seems like a reasonable direction of search. On the other, the fact that the drug store section personnel and the other stuff section personnel typically are in separate rooms, and don't talk during work hours much, will prevent the walk-in-and-instantly-figure-the-NPC-looks-familiar resolution.
Thoughts?
(I'm preferring to make several different paths of investigation possible, as most RPG players are notorious for their randomly interchangeable absolute cluelessness and Holmsian insight.)

* == We have such a chain around here, so one is certainly reasonable in a fictional setting.

[vicky_molokh]

I'm resurrecting this thread, likely for the last time, since the very issue I'm asking about is going to arise real soon - either next weekend, or perhaps even touched in the session that is planned for today (if things go according to plan and the PCs act in a hurried manner.

Originally Posted by whswhs

For an extended search, find informants. Seek to gain favorable relationships with local organizations (not necessarily legal!). If you can provide evidence of Status, use that to gain favors through Benefits of Status.

Bill Stoddard

A question on informants: what sort of person would be a suitable informant - one that is both well enough informed about any newcomers to the city (most importantly, those who aren't registered in any official records*), as well as sufficiently non-covert that such an informant can be found by the party faster than the NPC in question? Oh, and one that would actually willing to sell the information to the PCs?


* == The locale has very loose border controls, and it is considered totally normal to go by train from one city-state to another without showing anyone a personal identification document. OTOH, luggage customs are serious business, and import of large amounts of valuables is taxed.
The town in question has a sufficient level of corruption that finding a job that is off the record is quite doable.