For my regular group I’ve been running Night’s Black Agents, a TTRPG in which players are cinematic hyper-competent agents who are fighting a terrible conspiracy which happens to be… vampires. Think Bourne, with vampires. Or Bond, with vampires. Or Mission Impossible, with etc.

Specifically, we’re playing the Dracula Dossier campaign, which supposes that Bram Stoker’s classic novel is actually an after-action report on an ill-fated attempt by British naval intelligence to recruit Dracula. In the game’s present-day setting, Dracula is still around and causing havoc that the agents must foil, once and for all. The book is incredible: 350 pages of Dracula supposition and imagination drenched in contemporary spy paranoia.

It’s a lot of fun and its system, Gumshoe, has been interesting to learn. Gumshoe’s USP is about investigation: whenever a player tries to find a clue with an owned ability, they succeed. No roll, no uncertainty: the info is theirs. This gives investigations real forward motion, never getting stuck behind a failed skill-check. Another great feature is Night’s Black Agents’ campaign design, which gives the players freedom to follow any lead that interests them, and gives GMs a suite of tools to maintain pressure from the vampire conspiracy and to ensure the players are constantly progressing towards the centre of that conspiracy.

One thing that hasn’t been working, however, is Night’s Black Agents’ somewhat crunchy old-style combat, in which players and enemies take turns to roll attacks against each other, chipping health away. There’s nothing wrong with it — it delivers some clever thriller genre nuances and it’s a lot simpler than, say, D&D — but as a group we typically play Blades in the Dark and other expressionistic Powered by the Apocalypse-derived indie TTRPGs, and we weren’t investing ourselves in it.

Then I came across QuickShock, which Gumshoe’s original designer, Robin Laws, developed for the most recent Gumshoe game, The Yellow King RPG. QuickShock completely upends fighting, health and other systems, replacing them with a single round of player-facing Gumshoe-style rolls and a huge set of cards that give players physical and mental injuries that affect play. The cards are very flavourful and rich, in their names (“Existence is a Meat-Grinder”, “It’s a Miracle You’re Alive”); in their effects on the character; and in how the character recovers from them — so much more so than losing health points and asking for a Medic check to restore them.

And amazingly, publisher Pelgrane added the The Yellow King RPG’s rules, including its cards, to Gumshoe’s SRD, which allows anyone to share and adapt them. So I did. Here’s my attempt for Night’s Black Agents.

If you’ve done a similar adaptation, or if you use mine, I’d love to hear about your experiences — contact details below!

Pools and Points

A big challenge was tweaking the number of points each character has, because QuickShock handles a few things differently.

Investigative abilities

One issue was Investigative abilities, because QuickShock removes Investigative point pools. Instead, twice per session a player can “push” a use of an Investigative ability to gain extra effect. We’re finding this provides more tension and interesting choice, but how many abilities should each player have?

I settled for making sure someone has every ability plus overlaps, certainly for the abilities players get for free — Tradecraft, Network and Cover — and also for Notice, plus a couple more for choice. So across all 40 Investigative abilities, my three players have 16 each.

General abilities

Here I had to account for the way QuickShock has a single combat ability, Fighting. This replaces Night’s Black Agents’ Shooting, Hand-to-Hand and Weapons. Because each fight only requires one spend from Fighting per player, I think ratings should be kept relatively low — the character in our group with the most only has 6.

I also had to account for the way Stability and Health pools are no longer soaks for damage, so their ratings should be lower than in the original game. Honestly, I did this by feel, giving the three players 66 points to spend across the General abilities. Seems to work?

Then, because injury and shock cards sometimes affect a bracket of General abilities (Focus, Physical and Presence) I had to divide Night’s Black Agents’ into those brackets, using The Yellow King RPG as a base:

Spending XP

The SRD includes rules for how XP is spent, but I had to account for how Nights Black Agents uses XP to restore Cover and Network pools. Here’s my adaptation:

• A new Investigative or General ability: 2 XP
• Add to rating of existing General ability: 1 XP per point
• Refresh Contacts and Network: 1 XP restores two points

Shock and Injury Cards

A big job was to figure out which cards to actually use for Nights Black Agents. The hundreds of cards listed in the SRD are specifically for The Yellow King RPG and many relate to its setting and situations. The tables below set out the titles of all the cards I chose. Note that I tweaked some of the titles.

Hazard table

The hazards are picked out from the SRD based on the kinds of trouble that Night’s Black Agents would get into.

Shock table

The difficulty number is based on the stability loss value from the original table, with some tweaking.

Enemies

This is a cut-down list of The Yellow King RPG’s enemies, with the removal of some bits and pieces that aren’t relevant for Night’s Black Agents and the addition of vampire types. I could add more and probably will when the time comes. Each enemy also needs other stats, primarily:

• Alertness modifier
• Stealth modifier
• Aberrance / General abilities for use outside full combat

Basic weapons

Use these for fighting a group of mismatched enemies. (First card Minor; second Major.)

• Unarmed: Bruised / Battered
• Knife: Nicked / Stabbed
• Blunt Instrument: Seeing Stars / Dented Skull
• Sword/Other Large Blade: Superficial Laceration / Run Through
• Gun: Barely a Scratch / Bullet Wound

Civilians

With a Gun

A seemingly innocuous person suddenly draws a pistol from the desk drawer and fires it. The gun-wielding civilian probably won’t try this when facing more than two opponents, as the prospect of being eventually overwhelmed, disarmed, and arrested becomes a certainty.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Weak (Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 3)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 for each PC present after the first (penalties for fighting at less than full strength do not apply)
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Not a Significant Bullet / Shot

With a Knife

As above, but less bang bang, more stab stab.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Weak (Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 3)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if character is not surprised by the attack; -1 for each PC present after the first (penalties for fighting at less than full strength do not apply)
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Laceration / Flesh Wound

Hoodlums

Full of fight and low on brains, untrained brawlers like these infest decaying neighborhoods in any timeframe or reality you care to name.

• Numbers: Number of characters, plus 2
• Difficulty: Weak (Escape 1, Other 3, Kill 4)
• Adjust to Other Sequences: Drop Escape by 1; increase Kill by 1
• Difficulty Adjustments: +1 if agents are drunk
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: You Should See the Other Fellow / Concussion

Police

These trained police officers outnumber the player character combatants and are more than ready to show that they’ve always deserved their reputation for toughness.

• Numbers: Number of characters × 2
• Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 6)
• Difficulty Adjustments: +1 if agents are drunk,
• Toll: 1
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Basic weapons

Enemy Soldiers and Operatives

For small-scale engagements where the individual skills of combatants determine whether the battlin’ agents live or die, use these foe profiles.

Hapless

• Numbers: Less than party
• Difficulty: Weak (Escape 2, Other 2, Kill 2)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if surprised; +1 if attacking with surprise
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Laceration / Flesh Wound

Outnumbered but Determined

• Numbers: Less than party
• Difficulty: Tough but Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 3)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if surprised; +1 if attacking with surprise
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Barely a Scratch / Bullet Wound

Equally Capable

• Numbers: Same as party
• Difficulty: Evenly Matched (Escape 3, Other 5, Kill 4)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if surprised; +1 if attacking with surprise
• Toll: 1
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Barely a Scratch / Bullet Wound

Elite

• Numbers: Party + 50% (round up)
• Difficulty: Superior (Escape 4, Other 5, Kill 4)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if surprised; +1 if attacking with surprise
• Toll: 2/4
• Tags: Mundane
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Gash / Bullet Wound

Vampires

Jack

Use this for humans using the Seward’s Serum.

• Numbers: Half the number of characters, or 1, whichever is higher
• Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 6)
• Difficulty Adjustments: Sunlight -1
• Toll: 1
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Basic weapons

Ferals

Use these as your flock of recently turned, ferocious but inexperienced bloodsuckers. Their supernatural nature only becomes apparent if provoked to bare their teeth.

• Numbers: 2 fewer than the group (unless this results in 0 vampires, in which case it’s 1 vampire)
• Difficulty: Evenly Matched (Escape 3, Other 5, Kill 4)
• Difficulty Adjustments: Choose one or two standard vampire vulnerabilities (crosses, garlic, fire) and one oddball one; -1 for PCs using at least one of these measures
• Toll: 1
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Scratched / Throat Punctures

Legendary

AKA Dracula. If it makes eye contact with a character, it can issue a simple verbal instruction which must be obeyed if the character fails a Stability test. Commands that clearly threaten the life of the victim test against a Difficulty of 8. A command that clearly threatens the life of another PC or an innocent the victim has reason to sympathize with faces a Difficulty of 6. Otherwise the Difficulty is 4. Each time a character succeeds in resisting a vampire’s command, the Difficulty of resisting further commands from any vampire during that scenario decreases by 1, for the duration of the scenario. Legendary vampires didn’t get that way by being stupid and will generally tailor their commands so that they are likely to be obeyed.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Overwhelming (Escape 4, Other 7, Kill 8)
• Difficulty Adjustments: +5 if agents are fighting to Kill or Render Helpless but have not investigated sufficiently to know the special means required to dispatch it (stake through the heart, silver bullets, decapitation, or what have you; otherwise, on a kill result, it appears to have been destroyed but then reforms, angry and ready for vengeance. +2 if agents have tried to kill it before and failed.
• Toll: 3
• Shocks, Minor and Major: Enrapturing Bite / Vampiric Death Strike

Solitary

Use this vampire when you need a single, moderately powerful example of the breed.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Vastly Superior (Escape 3, Other 6, Kill 7)
• Difficulty Adjustments: Choose one or two standard vampire vulnerabilities (crosses, garlic, fire) and one oddball one; +1 for PCs failing to use at least one of these precautions
• Toll: 2
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Intoxicating Bite / Throat Punctures

Mesmerist Vampire

A vampire with strong Mesmerist powers.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Vastly Superior (Escape 3, Other 5, Kill 6)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if you previously succeeded at a Stability test to resist its mental influence.
• Toll: 2
• Shocks, Minor and Major: Brain Fever / Shown Your Own Horrific Death
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Scratched / Throat Punctures

Renfield

A human with will broken and abilities raised by a powerful vampire.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Evenly Matched (Escape 3, Other 4, Kill 5)
• Toll: 1
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Basic weapons

Animals

Dogs

Use this foe profile either for trained guard dogs or fierce feral dogs willing to attack humans.

• Numbers: Two to three times the number of PCs
• Difficulty: Weak (Escape 1, Other 3, Kill 4)
• Difficulty Adjustments: -2 on an Outdoor Survival Push
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: The Atavistic Terror of an Animal Attack / Bitten

Swarm

When countless vermin animals die together, they form a swarm, a rolling carpet or cloud of distorted, quasi-substantial fur, claws, and teeth. May include rats, snakes, weasels, dogs, centipedes, birds, and bats.

• Numbers: 1
• Difficulty: Tough but Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 3)
• Difficulty Adjustments: +1 if anyone dismissed the possibility of a few tiny creatures doing any real harm
• Toll: 0
• Injuries, Minor and Major: Microscopic Wounds / Cell Damage

QuickShock and Foundry VTT

We’re using the virtual tabletop Foundry to run the game. Foundry’s Gumshoe system already supports QuickShock, which is FANTASTIC, and an existing game can just be converted to it by tweaking a few settings using the instructions here. This was pretty smooth, but had to remake all the player characters and tweaked the NPC settings because most stats are not longer needed.

Then I set to the biggest task: creating all the shock and injury cards, which meant copying (and slightly adapting) the SRD text into Foundry.

Special bonus! Here are Foundry compendium JSON files for all the cards I’ve added to Foundry that you can import into your own game.