Spy mission RP and planning thread

[Sun Xin]

"this is true sticking to plan without room for change and chance is a bad idea, But also we should not jump at the chance of any officer for we may go through the trouble of kidnapping one without any useful information, So I do believe we need a higher ranking officer"

[ShadInquis]

Li Sheng appreciated that this newly formed team was thinking about ways to get the most out the mission, even if some were overly optimistic.

I agree we should try to aim for a higher target. That's where this thing comes in. Li Sheng pointed at the sealed box. To any rebel officer, this would appear to be an authentic scroll from the main halls of Wan. That's what it is after all.

If we pretend to bee refugees from Wan, you could offer to sell this thing to an officer an though doing this gain the possibility to bait someone important. The story we will go with is that "this is just one of many scrolls our friend stole from the main hall before fleeing. He does not want to go into Xiang Yang out of fear of them being taken by force. He wants to negotiate their sale on equal terms.". Using that story, we can draw the target (or targets), with few bodyguards, out of the city.

Your role would be to do the negotiation and convincing of the target. But be careful not to aim too high. Some high ranking officers would never go out of the city with no guard, and would send an lieutenant in their place. We could end up with less, if we do that.

[Sun Xin]

xin took in his words for a moment the responded with careful thought behind his words this is also very true, so the real trick with be doing the actual spying to figure out who is an appropriate target. We need someone with key intelligence such as troop numbers, officer names, positions, possible plans most important would be if they have any officers here in this city xin paused to take a breath for his last words came out heavy I fear though the last piece of information would be reserved to a high rank then we can lure out

[Rebel]

"Aww..no fun."

Sun Xiang refilled his cup, with a sly grin on his face.

"Alright. Let's do it the flexible way. We could pretend to be merchants instead of refugees? I am a scribe by profession. In fact I was trying to set up shop here before all the trouble began with the magistrate taking flight."

He looked at the ornate box.

"Is there an actual scroll in there? Won't they open the box and find out there's nothing useful in there?"

He cupped his chin thoughtfully.

"And ....what happens if no one takes the bait. Or the officer that comes out to buy it is a low ranking officer?"

[ShadInquis]

"Alright. Let's do it the flexible way. We could pretend to be merchants instead of refugees? I am a scribe by profession. In fact I was trying to set up shop here before all the trouble began with the magistrate taking flight."

Li Sheng pondered,

Hmm. That's an interesting idea. That would make it easier to bring some guards with us. It does however have some problems. We may be asked about how we passed through the border, or why we are choosing to travel in a combat zone. Maybe we could somehow combine the merchant story and refugee story?..

"Is there an actual scroll in there? Won't they open the box and find out there's nothing useful in there?"

Oh, absolutely! There is an actual scroll, and it really was written by Cai Bin himself. The message is seemingly important but ambiguous enough to allow room for different interpretations. The rebels would not know it is a ruse for quite some time. And we should only need a few days for our entire mission.

"And ....what happens if no one takes the bait. Or the officer that comes out to buy it is a low ranking officer?"

Li Sheng though for some time before answering,

I had considered that but thought it would be unlikely. We could always try and buy our way to an audience or bribe some local family to introduce us to a high ranking officer "who can truly appreciate this item's value". Worst case scenario, a low-ranking officer is better than none at all.

And let's not forget the second aspect of our mission, which is to see if we could infiltrate and steal plans from rebel planning rooms.

[Rebel]

Li Sheng pondered,

Hmm. That's an interesting idea. That would make it easier to bring some guards with us. It does however have some problems. We may be asked about how we passed through the border, or why we are choosing to travel in a combat zone. Maybe we could somehow combine the merchant story and refugee story?..

Xiang nodded along.

"That's easy. Wherever there is war, there is profit to be made. We could tell them we are high-risk, high-reward kind of merchants? The roads are always infested with bandits anyway. But traders keep trading."

Oh, absolutely! There is an actual scroll, and it really was written by Cai Bin himself. The message is seemingly important but ambiguous enough to allow room for different interpretations. The rebels would not know it is a ruse for quite some time. And we should only need a few days for our entire mission.

"Fair enough. I think a scroll would work. Personally I can work with that more than I would be able to work with a special weapon of some sort."

"And ....what happens if no one takes the bait. Or the officer that comes out to buy it is a low ranking officer?"

Li Sheng though for some time before answering,

I had considered that but thought it would be unlikely. We could always try and buy our way to an audience or bribe some local family to introduce us to a high ranking officer "who can truly appreciate this item's value". Worst case scenario, a low-ranking officer is better than none at all.

And let's not forget the second aspect of our mission, which is to see if we could infiltrate and steal plans from rebel planning rooms.

Xiang cupped his chin.

"We will need to get an audience. Petition their civil administration or one of the military generals. A convincing negotiator with good charisma would work, I think?"

"My guess it the barracks would be the place where they would have records of soldiers, arms and provisions assigned for the campaign."

He took a few sips.

"This is exciting. I can't wait to get started. So...when do we depart?"

[Bradums]

Liang nodded along with the verbal back-and-forth developing between the men gathered, trying to think through the potential scenarios and road blocks that might arise. It was tough to say what might happen. The plan was mostly hypotheticals, with anything being possible.

"Well, I could say I would present myself as a high-ranking defector to try to fast track this and ensure a high-ranking target, but...that would be disastrous. More likely than not, it would achieve the opposite effect. If they knew who I am, I'd either be killed for the glory and symbolism of it, or taken hostage," the noble admitted with a chuckle, "Better I wear rags and play the part of the disenfranchised refugee. If danger arises, I've got my wits, words, and strength to lend aid. I'm no spy or diplomat, so my role will likely be to support those more valuable to this mission."

With a nonchalant shrug, he concluded, "Perhaps the bulk of us could act as the thieves of the official scroll, sympathetic to the rebel cause and angry at the 'Han overlords'. Our chosen diplomats could present it in an attempt to draw out an officer for a meeting. As glorious as it would be to steal a high-ranking officer, I believe someone more along the lines of middle-management might be more susceptible. More willing to risk a secretive meeting in a chance to attain the means of rising through the ranks with our fake missive. A balance between quality and manageability, in my opinion. Meanwhile, one of us could attempt to spy the area, blend in, and obtain any information or documents possible."

The common-looking gentleman rubbed his stubble-laden chin for a moment in thought. If there was ever a noble who felt at home in common clothing and appearance, it was Zhou Liang.

"The key will be, as was said, our ability to remain fluid and adapt to any situation. We can only plan so well with no guarantees or assurances in place. We are a small group of men with specific talents putting ourselves in a dangerous situation and hoping we can make the best of it. So...let's make the best of it," he admitted, subconsciously suppressing the misgivings he felt in the lack of guarantee. He knew, of course, that there was never any possibility of assurance on this sort of thing...

[ShadInquis]

OOC POST
Part 2: The Plot
Stats, goals etc are here

The Plan

1.Getting into the city. In general, pose as a merchant caravan. Some members of the caravan will be "refugees from Wan" as appropriate. The caravan will include 20 guards in addition to the 4 officers. Most of the caravan will stay outside the city to "protect the wares". Only the 4 officers and 4 guards will go in "to secure trade deals". Negotiations to allow the team in are handled by Xin (90 Cha, Charming(e))
Contingency: Bribe the guards (10 gold) if necessary to allow the team inside.

2. Preparing for the mission. Xin and Sun Xiang try to find an officer to "sell" the scroll to. Petition (failing that, bribe) a minor official go get a short audience (skills: networking, Charming(e)). Xin spins a tale about a minor scribe having run from Wan's main hall with some scrolls and giving these scrolls to the caravan in exchange for a cut from the sales. Sun Xiang uses Cai Bin's box a "sample" and uses his expertise to highlight the quality of the item and its authenticity (skill: scribe). Note that Sun Xiang plays the merchant does NOT pretend to be the defector to avoid being questioned. The team continue with the story that the defector is outside of town to avoid his items being taken by force, but he is happy to sell them in a fair negotiation and thus a suitable official need to meet him at a designated location outside the city, without bringing more than a few guards.

Meanwhile, Li Sheng and Zhou Liang scout the city for a building which is contains records of the city military or political value, but isn't too heavily guarded and thus could be infiltrated. (skills: spy, scout, acumen). Zhou Liang handles any conversations during that time. This mission is a backup if the officer kidnap is not arranged or if it's executed perfectly with no alarm or injury.

3.Prepare for the meeting The meeting place he meeting time should be early evening. The meeting place should be a house on the outskirts of a hamlet close to Xiang Yang. The caravan will rent both the meeting house and those adjacent to it (up to 30 gold allocated). The number of visible guards will match the number of guards the rebel official is bringing and the guards will be led by Zhou Liang and tactically positioned by Sun Xiang. The remaining guards will remain concealed with Li Sheng (skill: stealth).

For the infiltration mission (only if a suitable building is found). Xin to arrange a "party" in the nearest inn to the building on the starting on the same evening. Pay for drinks on the house for "whoever toasts to Li Shixian" (40 gold). Have some of revellers offer a drink to any nearby guards. After the party gets going, Xin leaves and rejoins the meeting with the officer.

4. Execute the missions. Officer capture. Once the officer arrives and the negotiations will start, Xin and Sun Xiang "negotiate" to wait for it to get dark. Just after sunset, Li Sheng will begin to quietly take out enemy guards one by one (92 War, Stealth, Duelist, Weaponmaster (e), Sleeve Darts special weapons). If the rebel guards manage to become alerted, the rest of the hidden caravan guard spring in from the shadows (half open fire with bows, half join in the melee). When all the rebel guards outside have been dispatched quietly (or if open fighting breaks out), Zhou Liang and the guards inside the building draw their weapons and capture the enemy officer.

If at this point no alarm was raised, and no officer was injured, the team moves into the city to infiltrate the building. Zhou Liang remains with the captured officer and begins preparations to leave. Infiltration to be done by Sun Xiang and Li Sheng (stealth, spy), while Xin rejoins the party and tries to distract guards and get them even more drunk (90 Cha, Charming(e)). Sun Xiang tries to identify valuable intel (scribe) and then both Li Sheng and Sun Xiang take several scrolls each. The priority is to stay unseen and get out quickly to catch up with the caravan just as it leaves.

5. Getting back to Wan. Caravan to move by the shortest path north to cross as quickly as possible. A boat from the north shore with friendly soldiers will be waiting for a signal at here. Sun Xiang will try to spread rumors to confuse any pursuit (skill: rumor)

If for any reasons the team is separated, the rally point would be at here.

[Sun Xin]

OOC: ok im all caught up sorry for being mia a few days work went a little crazy with hours lol but I like the directions we are heading and in order to assist in getting the guards drunk I dont mind using some more of my coin...... the more guards I can get drawn and drunk the better so if I go past the allocated mission gold I can just use some from my own purse also because the way I see it

1. if fighting or noise does happen it might not be heard by drunk guards/loud party goers

2. drunk people are less observent making it easier to steal some scrolls

[Bradums]

OOC:

I like it. It looks like we've got as many avenues covered as possible. Situationals, conditionals, etc. And backup plans/rally points.

Looks good to me.

[ShadInquis]

OOC: OK, I will call it done.

Part 1: The mission setup, overall goal, team members, gear, troops etc.
Part 2: The actual plot

If anyone has any stat updates or any other changes before the plot is executed, please post so it is updated.

[ShadInquis]

IC:
On the night before setting off...

Li Sheng observed the team around him. Over the past few days they have schemed and carefully considered the various aspects of the mission. Various goods were now gathered, weapons cleaned, the 20 most reliable men from Li Sheng's scouts gathered. Li Sheng looked around to see if anyone had some words before they would finally begin their mission.

[Rebel]

IC:
On the night before setting off...

Li Sheng observed the team around him. Over the past few days they have schemed and carefully considered the various aspects of the mission. Various goods were now gathered, weapons cleaned, the 20 most reliable men from Li Sheng's scouts gathered. Li Sheng looked around to see if anyone had some words before they would finally begin their mission.

"The plan is perfect and I have a good feeling about the whole thing."

Said Sun Xiang cheerfully. He couldn't wait to get started. Traveling the countryside and visiting a new city had a certain appeal to the scholarly man. New things to record. New people to meet.

He carefully tucks his scrolls and pen in his pocket before raising a toast.

"To adventure and glory! Let's roll."

((All this kinda reminds me of D&D. A party of four adventurers. I claim the mage spot ))

[ShadInquis]

OOC: I guess I am a rogue then? Man, haven't played D&D in ages. Would love to get back into it sometime.

[Sun Xin]

OOC: I guess that would make me the bard, pretty much useless in combat but makes people like you in the before combat moments and great for distractions LOL yea I would love to get back into some kinda DND/RTK/ or even star wars RP with game master and a group

My friends, Xin said joining the others standing, We have plotted and planned as much as possible now the only course of action is to actually set forth. I personally would can not imagine trying this mission with a better group. NOW is our time to make a real difference for this city.

Xin smiled confidently he could not let the other see his nerves because one of the best possible things he could do for this group is to keep the moral high for if everyone believes it this just may work