No, not the adventures of Carl Larson, but real real spies

Espionage is defined as the gathering of information in one country by another country, utilizing people (spies), remote intelligence gathering equipment, and any other means necessary. Usually, the actions of the spy are illegal, and thus must be performed secretly. Also, other facets of covert warfare are considered part of espionage, particularly sabotage and assassination.

Espionage in Real Life

Real espionage is a lot more boring and unfulfilling than in roleplaying -- much of it involves research, number crunching, and the collection of vast quantities of esoteric information. For every agent in the field, there are a hundred analysts and administrators sitting behind desks. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of valuable information and insight to be gained by understanding how real intelligence organizations operate.

Glossary

The jargon of the espionage business is probably already familiar to the average reader, learned from spy movies and books. However, here are a few tidbits of information and less common terms:

Activate: To order a dormant agent to begin actively searching for and obtaining vital information.

Brush Contact: When spy wishes to pass over documents to his or her contact, a meeting is set up where the two casually brush against each other, and the contact is given the information. Another way of doing it is where the spy drops the package into a garbage can or leaves it on a park bench, and a contact, walking some distance behind the spy, picks it up within a few seconds.

Cell: This is a small group of operatives working in enemy territory, frequently with little or no contact with other cells (in order to keep the whole operation safe if one cell is betrayed).

Desk: The department in an intelligence agency devoted to a specific country or portion of a country; the section devoted to Mexico would be the Mexican Desk, and so on.

HUMINT - Human Intelligence, or information gathered by agents in the field. This is probably the most important source of intelligence, but is also the most vulnerable to double agents and betrayals.

Insertion: Dropping a disguised agent into enemy territory.

Intelligence: Raw information gathered. At times, little if any of it is of critical importance on its own. Military intelligence is information on troop movements, battalion sizes, equipment, and so on. Operational intelligence regards what officers will be in charge of what units, and when senior commanders will be away from their posts; during the preparations for D- Day, it was discovered that General Rommel, the commander of the German forces in Normandy, would be in Berlin for his wife's birthday and thus unable to command his troops.

Strategic intelligence regard s whether a country will go to war over one issue but not another, and how friendly it is with its neighbors. Geographical intelligence is the compiling of accurate maps of every country in the world, including ordinary road maps as well as diagrams of military bases. Before the advent of satellite photography, the Soviets would routinely misdraw the maps they supplied other countries, so that a city would appear on the map several miles from its actual location.

Political intelligence is data surrounding a country's politics, giving the agency an opportunity to manipulate elections and so forth. Industrial intelligence is information on a country's economic output, what raw materials it can produce, and what it needs to import.

PHOTINT: Information gathered from photographs, whether they be taken by ordinary cameras, spy planes, or satellites.

Propaganda: Information, whether true or false, used to damage the enemy's morale. Propaganda comes in three flavors: black propaganda, which is made to look like it actually originated from the enemy itself (like a radio message supposedly from Headquarters telling men on the front that their President or other leader has fled the country, expecting imminent defeat).

White Propaganda is information clearly coming from the enemy, but that still attempts to convince enemy soldiers and civilians to give up; in World War II, the Japanese employed Tokyo Rose, an English speaking woman who would daily extol the G.Ls to give up their cause. Finally, there is gray propaganda, which is were the source is not apparent, but where the information, as anonymous as it is, causes a loss of heart among the populace. An example of gray propaganda would be rumors started by agents in the enemy country that their soldiers were performing dastardly atrocities overseas.

Security Check: When an agent reports in by radio, a code word is normally spoken to let headquarters know that all is well and that he or she has not been captured and forced to transmit false information. Such a check is a security check. However, the system only works as long as the agent always remembers to insert the code word and the home base knows when to give up the agent for lost and not just assume he or she forgot the code word. In World War 11, when British spies were captured and ordered to report back that they were safe, they were often chastised by their superiors for "forgetting" their code word.

SIGINT: Intelligence gathered from intercepted radio transmissions.

Types Of Spies

For the purpose of this section, the word spy will be used to refer to any employee of an intelligence agency, even those who do not actually participate in the covert gathering of intelligence. The following are the most common sorts of spies:

Advisor: Agents, many of them with military backgrounds, who are sent into enemy territory to covertly train and equip rebel forces. The U.S. has long favored this tactic, and during the Cold War sent many teams of advisors into third word Communist countries. It was Cuban military advisors who facilitated a Communist coup in Grenada which prompted the U.S. invasion in 1983.

Assassin: Hired guns, neither as common nor as heavily utilized as depicted in movies an spy novels. Simply put, to kill an enemy leader is an invitation to have your own leader assassinated in revenge. Most often, the target of an assassination is a traitor or exiled dissident from the country ordering the hit. Even rarer than the typical assassin is the triggerman who actually assassinates more than one target; many assassins are captured or killed at the scene of the crime.

Condemned Spy: This is a ploy utilized successfully by Sun Tzu, one of the earliest military geniuses in history. A spy deemed useless was fed large quantities of false information, then sent into enemy territory and allowed to be captured. When interrogated, the hapless spy would divulge reams of false and misleading information, leading the enemy into critical mistakes.

Counterintelligence: Operatives whose sole mission is to seek out and neutralize enemy spies. One or more counterintelligence officers serve at each embassy, searching through visa applications for discrepancies or the faces of known spies. They are trained in every possible technique for preventing critical information from getting into enemy hands. The FBI is the primary counterintelligence agency in the U.S.

Cryptanalyst: Code breakers. Every military and embassy in the world uses codes to prevent unauthorized personnel from reading the messages. Every intelligence agency has people hard at work cracking those codes. This is an extremely important job; in World War 1, the intercepted and decoded Zimmermann Telegram, which suggested an alliance between Germany and Mexico to attack the U.S., paved the way for American participation in the war.

Thirty years later, during World War II, U.S. cryptanalysts broke the sophisticated Japanese code called Purple, allowing American forces to ambush the Japanese fleet at Midway and destroy it and further facilitated the assassination of the senior- most Japanese naval officer after information on his flight itinerary was intercepted.

Data Analyst: The gathering of huge reams of raw data. Much of it is not in itself valuable, such as stock market listings or information that could be found in an almanac, but it gives an agency a clearer idea of the conditions in the other country; data analysts are needed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Forward Observer: A spy, perhaps a soldier, who infiltrates past enemy lines during times of war to locate targets, such as fuel dumps and armories, for future attack. Sometimes, the location of the target is radioed back to an artillery unit and an attack takes place immediately, tinder the eyes of the observer.

Hacker: Undoubtedly the newest addition to intelligence agencies, the hacker's job is to break into enemy databases, tap into computerized networks, and create paralyzing computer viruses.

Industrial Espionage: The theft of critical technology like nuclear weapons by countries which lack it. Also, private companies steal trade secrets from each other by infiltrating the competition.

Infiltrator: A parachuted or otherwise inserted agent expected to perform missions while disguised as a travelling salesman or tourist (as opposed to a native of the country recruited for espionage). Sometimes the spy is expected to be able to pass as a native, or as a citizen of an allied nation. In times of war, it is often easier to use female or older male infiltrators because the sight of a healthy young man not in uniform might arouse suspicion.

Mata Hari: An agent, usually female, who seduces important officials and listens to their pillow talk, convinces them to turn traitor, or otherwise acquires whatever information they have. Mata Hari was a notorious courtesan and a lousy spy who worked for whatever government would give her money. Though not the best example of this type of agent, she is certainly the most wellknown.

Mole: A spy, usually fanatically loyal to his or her country, who gets a job in the enemy's intell1igence agency and works his or her way up the ranks to a position where false information, propaganda, and sabotage can wreak havoc. Often the mole must play the role of an ordinary citizen for many years, so it takes an agent of exceptional loyalty and fortitude to hold such a position.

Political Spy: An agent who manipulates enemy politics by supporting some leaders and harming others. Every dirty trick in the book is used to fulfill this goal, including scandals, propa. ganda, blackmail, even assassination.

Propaganda Specialist: Using information to affect the enemy's morale has been a factor in war since the first rock was chucked. The propaganda officer's job is to disseminate information in such a way that the enemy civilians, soldiers and leaders lose heart. See the Glossary section for more information on propaganda.

Recruiter: An agent, usually a member of the staff of an embassy, who is constantly on the lookout for new turncoats. The agent is often assigned a target, possibly a diplomat, and attempts to find out whether he or she is having any financial difficulties, disagrees with his or her country's policies, or has any personal habits that would make him or her susceptible to blackmail. The recruiter is also on the lookout for the occasional yahoo who finds espionage exciting and would be willing to sell out his country for the fun of it.

Rogue: The most dangerous type of spy, either a double agent or a spy-for-hire. These agents are considered extremely risky and difficult to control, and often end up getting liquidated once the risk outweighs the profit.

Saboteur: An agent inserted into an enemy country, usually during time of war. Much the same as an infiltrator, the saboteur attempts to blend in with the populace and find a likely target to blow up - an ammunition dump, for instance. In countries where there is strong dissident movement that the agency has contacted, the saboteur is often met at the infiltration site by the rebels and given a hiding place - perhaps even a native identity. The most notable recent instance of trained saboteurs performing a mission would be the sinking of the Greenpeace flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, by French agents.

Satellite Ops: An important job, though one not conducive to exciting roleplaying. The satellite technician pores over photos to discover how many tanks are in division A, how many missile launchers are in brigade B, etc.

Scout: A soldier in a unit like the SEALs or Green Berets, whose job is to scout out enemy territory in preparation for an invasion. This role is only mentioned here because its primary mission is to gather intelligence, much like that of a "real" SPY.

Sleeper: An agent who is, by all intents and purposes, an ordinary citizen - with has a spouse, 2.5 kids, a dog, and a house with a white picket fence. However, he or she is really a spy whose purpose is to stay hidden until needed. The sleeper could become activated in order to get critical information out of the country, or to provide sanctuary to a spy. Often a sleeper performs light intelligence work like watching ships enter and leave port and writing their names down, or reporting when large bodies of troops leave an army base for a military exercise. However, most often they do nothing but wait for the day when they will be activated.

Sneaker: Essentially a burglar. Rather than turning traitor, or working his or her way into an intelligence agency to spy on it, the sneaker simply breaks into a building and photographs or steals critical documents.

Support Agent: A person living in the enemy country whose role is to help other spies with money, shelter, and other assistance. The support agent never does anything illegal, or handles classified information, or does any spying on his own. Thus, he or she is rarely convicted of anything espionage-related except in the most ruthless and totalitarian societies.

Surveillance Agent: This iob involves remotely monitoring important personages, buildings, and so on. Techniques for this include laser microphones, tiny bugs, the monitoring of cordless phone, cellular phone, and radio messages, and even installing cameras and other gadgets.

Technical Specialist: An agent in charge for deciding what the spy needs and finding the right stuff for the job. All of the fun gadgets popularize in James Bond films probably don't exist, but quite a few of the less flashy ones do, like surveillance and communications equipment disguised as ordinary items. The technical specialist arranges for the dispensation of such equipment.

Traitor: Simply put, a person with access to secrets who has decided for whatever reason to sell or give them to the enemy.

Types Of People Who Become Spies

Not everyone is the right sort of person for this line of work, and even fewer of those qualified have any interest in such a position. Usually, the people sincerely interested in being a spy will seek out an agency and offer their services. The basic types can be broken down as follows:

Adventurers: People who do it for the excitement. They realize that they have the opportunity and skill to steal information for their own or another country, and do so for the fun and excitement they think they will have. Adventurers are notoriously hard to control because they often don't care about money or status, and spy only as long as it amuses them. They are also frequently difficult to detect, because their lifestyles change very little (no sudden influx of cash to explain) and seldom show any outward signs of anti- establishment sentiment. An example of this sort of spy would be the "Hanover Hackers", a West German ring of hackers who offered their services to the Soviets once they realized they could access U.S. military databases via modem.

Blackmail Victims: A good way to force a diplomat or government worker to become a spy - photograph him (or her) doing something he doesn't want anyone to find out about. For example, if the target is having an affair, photos could be taken of the rendezvous and used to force him to deliver secrets. If he is living a clean life, a liaison can be staged by slipping him a drugged drink and photographing him with a prostitute or "mistress". The victim would be contacted, showed the photograph, and ordered to deliver a certain number of documents or the pictures would be delivered to family members, friends, employers, and so on.

Once an individual makes his first delivery of classified information, the meeting is usually photographed, and the picture used to force the spy to continue - the alternative is to surrender and hope for total disgrace and a short prison term. Once the blackmail victim keeps on delivering, more photos are taken, until the spy is hopelessly entrapped.

Dissidents: A person who secretly hates the country he or she serves. Some want to see another sort of government take power, and others simply want to harm those in authority. Dissidents along with those who simply did it for the money - made tip most of the native Russians working for the CIA.

Ideologues Some of the most successful and dangerous spies around. Ideologues can seldom be bought of suborned, require no payment beyond seeing "their" side benefit, and can stay under cover for long periods of time with little or no contact from their employers. A spy- for-pay would seldom wait 20 years to begin making money the way an Ideologue would.

The most devastating use of ideological spies came during the Cold War, when devotees of Communism would remain in the West for years - even decades - before making their move. The Rosenbergs are the most significant example of this sort of spy. On the down side, true ideo, logues are hard to come by. Not every society or philosophy engenders the right sort of fanaticism. You're unlikely to see someone so enamored with free-market capitalism that they would be willing to devote their whole life to infiltrating and spying on the enemy.

Communism, on the other hand, has produced this sort of sentiment because its manifesto is one of improving mankind and making the world into a utopia. Stich idealism is the perfect fulcrum for ideologue spies. Enough people in the right places believed the communist message so that many, Many secrets were passed on to the Soviets. Hc;wever, with the bankruptcy of communism so apparent, the governments of the West probably don't need to worry too much about the KGB as such these days.

Losers: People in the defense or intelligence communities who have hit on hard times or run into debt. Sometimes they are recruited by enemy intelligence agencies, but often they knock on an embassy door and volunteer whatever secrets they have access to. The rationalization for their betrayal is simple: desperation for money. Sometimes, the person is financially sound, but has had other difficulties, like being passed over for a promotion or chastised by their supervisor once too often. This category of spy almost never has any real success at stealing secrets, and is considered extremely undependable.

Mercenaries: Perhaps the most untrustworthy sort of spy, an operative whose only interest is money, and who changes allegiance to wherever the pay is best. The most successful spy-for-hire in recent memory was John Walker, who knocked on the front door of the Soviet embassy and offered his services. Over a period of seventeen years, Walker provided enough intelligence for the Soviets to decipher an estimated one million US military messages.

The easiest way to detect this sort of spy is to look for unusual spending activity. In fact, a law was recently proposed where CIA employees would have to allow their finances (bank accounts, investments, and so on) to be monitored so that a large influx of money could be observed.

Spies in in Roleplaying

As in all RPGs, the primary ingredient in espionage games is fun. If it's no fun, don't do it realism at some point must play second fiddle to pure enjoyment. Thus, role-played espionage missions may not necessarily resemble "real" ones, and these tips should not be treated so fastidiously as to overwhelm everyone's good time.

The first thing the game master must determine is what genre to set his or her espionage campaign in. You can have espionage adventures in any genre you can name - imagine a devilish plot with spies and derring-do set in the France of the Three Musketeers, or in ancient Egypt, or outer space in the far future, or Victorian London - the possibilities are limitless. Most often, however, espionage RPGs ate set in the present day, since the bulk of spy fiction (books as well as movies) are located there.

The characters will have to select the sort of role they would like to play in the team. Obviously, the skills should be evenly balanced so there are not too many or too few of any one sort of character. The most exciting types of spies would probably be the assassin, infiltrator, rogue, saboteur, sneaker, and surveillance agent, simply because these spies actually get to do interesting stuff. However, any of the others would do fine, depending on what ratio of roleplaying to combat the players desire. The reasons for the PCs becoming agents will probably be limited to patriotism, money, and/or excitement.

The following are some exciting elements of espionage fiction (and real life) that could add flavor to spy campaigns:

Infiltration: The party will have to be insetted into enemy territory. This can be accomplished by submarine, hang glider, SCUBA gear, helicopter, parachuting from a high4lying plane (perhaps a Stealth bomber), or through normal commercial transportation, using forged documents. The flashier and more dramatic, the better. Furthermore, there should always be a danger involved, with the GM playing up the suspense and tension of setting foot on enemy soil without any sort of backup.

"Roleplaying": Once the party has been inserted into enemy territory, they must blend in with the populace and assume some sort of role which will not draw too much attention. The idea is to accomplish the mission's objectives, not get arrested or engage in a blazing firefight with the local police. The GM should carefully note any PC slip-ups in this department and judge whether his or her cover has been blown.

One fun way to get the players involved in roleplaying would be to have them infiltrate an American organization whose people have a distinct accent like surfers or hillbillies. This lets the players draw on their own mimicking abilities rather than just assuming that their character would know how to talk.

The Raid: In campaigns where roleplaying is heavily stressed and combat is minimal, it might be satisfactory for a group of PC spies to stride into a large dinner party, chat with the guests, then sneak upstairs and photograph the secret missile plans. However, many gainers find the deadly danger of a battle more enjoyable. Consequently, the best opportunity for a little gunplay would be when the party has reached their objective and must get past sentries, guard dogs, minefields, and, of course, the arch-villain and his or her henchmen. If the party's primary goal is sabotage or some other form of covert warfare, then the GM will have ample opportunity to fit in a little combat.

Extraction: Even once the mission has been completed, there is the little matter of getting out of enemy territory before the police and army arrest the party - or worse. This should always be an exciting, dangerous journey: imagine a group of saboteurs dashing for the rendezvous location, wind swirling through the night, helicopters buzzing overhead, searchers crashing through the forests with dogs and flashlights. For extra effect make the party's ride be late, or have a personal enemy of the PCs pursue them past the border, intent on destroying them no matter what.

Conclusion

The spy genre has always had a great popularity, because the characters use different qualities than conventional warriors; guile, acting ability, subtlety, suave repartee. Imagine John Rambo striding into an embassy reception wearing a tux, with orders to find out from a diplomat whether General A is going to take command of Unit B. He may able to mow down a whole squad of soldiers, but he would be helpless in this situation.

Avid roleplayers particularly enjoy the genre because in effect they are playing the part of roleplayers - people whose survival depends on the ability to play a character that would blend into the enemy. That's a job that no musclebound hulk could accomplish.

Bibliography

Lloyd, Mark. The Guinness Book of Espionage, De Capo Press, New York, 1994.
Kurland, Michael. The Spymaster's Handbook, Facts on File Publications, New York, 1988.
O'Toole, G.J.A. The Encyclopedia of American Intelligence and Espionage, Facts on File Publications, New York, 1991. &