SPY vs. SPY

In Car Wars games without referees, the following tables can help resolve espionage activities. These rules work best in a corporate campaign where each player has a limited number of team members for a dueling season. Only one spy attempt is allowed each week by any single character. A character on a spy mission may do nothing else that week (except perhaps participate in the duel at the end of the week).

Remember a character who does not even have a skill at base level gets -4 on their roll to succeed when making a skill roll (Car Wars Compendium, p39). Rolls made on the Spy vs. Spy table depend upon espionage skill and rolls made on the Blow Up table depend upon explosives skill. Other useful spy skills include bodybuilding, martial arts, running, stealth, blade and handgunner.

On a mission, each spy may only carry personal equipment (typically 6 grenade equivalents). Be sure to note what equipment your spy carries because he could ambush (or be ambushed by) an enemy spy while on a mission.

If any roll results in an ambush: Spy vs. Spy situation, resolve the conflict as follows. If the ambush occurs while a spy is on a Blow Up mission, use the Truck Stop map. Otherwise use any one section of the Midville maps (every spy's hometown), the ambushing player deciding which one. If these maps are unavailable (or if all players agree) different maps can be chosen prior to the start of the game. The player doing the ambushing places two pedestrian counters on the map, one representing his spy and one representing his opponent's spy. The ambushing player has the initiative and a duel between these two pedestrians should now get played out with each player controlling his own spy. Pedestrians who make it off of the edge of the map have escaped and the duel ends. If a pedestrian stays out of the line of sight of his opponent for two or more full turns (that is, out of line of sight at the beginning of a turn and still out of line of sight at the end of phase 5 of the following turn), he may attempt a stealth skill roll. When using stealth (p42), assume poor lighting and no camouflage gear. A successful stealth skill roll of 7+ means the character has escaped.

USING THE SPY vs. SPY TABLE

1) Each player secretly lists his spies by name and indicates which one action each spy will perform (infiltrate, assassinate, blow up, counterspy). The order of the list is important. Spies perform their actions one at a time and if a spy blunders, the rest that follow will be affected. Counterspy activity happens only in response to enemy actions, so place counterspies at the bottom of the list.

2) All spy activities should get resolved just prior to the next autoduel (once per week in most Car Wars groups). Roll dice to see which player goes first.

3a) The first player states his first spy's general action. (e.g. "My first spy will attempt to Assassinate Skidmark the Mechanic.")

3b) The second player may declare an attempt to counterspy (if he has a counterspy available).

3c) The first player then rolls 2 dice on the appropriate column and adds his spy's espionage skill. If he blunders (rolls 2 or less), all of his opponent's counterspy rolls hereafter will get a +4 bonus. If he rolls 12+ and decides to infiltrate, all of his opponent's counterspy rolls hereafter will get a -4 penalty. These adjustments are cumulative. If the second player declared an attempt to counterspy, do not apply the results of the first player's roll until after the counterspy roll has been resolved (3d, below).

3d) If the second player is trying to counterspy, he rolls on the counterspy column now. If the enemy spy has not been stopped or there is no counterspy, apply the results of enemy spy's roll (3c, above), otherwise apply the results of the counterspy table.

4) The second player then applies step 3 to his first spy and the players take turns until all spies' actions have been resolved.

INFILTRATE

Your spy(s) attempt to discover the types of vehicles your opponent will use for the upcoming duel. On a roll <7, no info is gained. On a roll <3, you have blundered and your opponent will have a better chance to thwart all of your spy activities this week (including this one).

ASSASSINATE

Your spy sneaks into the local hangout of an enemy team and attempts to kill one of the members. On a roll <7, no target is reached. On a roll <3, you have blundered and your opponent will have a better chance to thwart all of your spy activities this week (including this one).

BLOW UP

Your spy has brought plastic explosives into the garage of your enemy. Success indicates that the explosion has damaged a vehicle. Note, your spy must also have explosives skill for this to work. If successful and no counterspy has thwarted the action, make an explosives skill roll on the following table:

COUNTERSPY

If a spy performs no other actions this week, he may defend your team against the spying of your enemies by choosing to counterspy. For each enemy attempt to spy on you, you get one roll on the counterspy column if you have at least one spy on counterspy duty. Having more than one spy has no effect other than ensuring that if your first spy is ambushed and wounded or killed, another spy will still be on the lookout. You may choose freely which counterspy is on duty before each roll.

EARNING SKILL POINTS

Each spy who attempts a spy action or attempts to counterspy an action gets one skill point towards espionage. A successful infiltrate, assassinate, or blow up (roll 7+) that does not get stopped by a counter spy also earns one skill point towards espionage. A successful counterspy (roll 9+) is also worth one skill point towards espionage. Involvement in an ambush is worth one general skill point (same as entering combat as a pedestrian, p39). Escaping an ambush alive is also worth one general skill point (p39). Killing or knocking out your opponent in an ambush is worth one point towards whatever skill (blade, handgunner, or martial arts) was used (p39). Successfully placed explosives are worth 1 skill point towards explosives skill. Successful use of stealth to escape an ambush is worth one point towards stealth.

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