Can you identify and destroy a global vampire conspiracy? 🧛🏻‍♀️ Night’s Black Agents RPG Review

[@primusinterpares5767]

This game should be 3x more famous than it is.

[@KhairulHisham]

Our GM created a vampire conspiracy where vampirism seemed to originated from canine hemovirus. After meeting the human Renfields, it became obvious their masters were the pack of intelligent stray dogs in Eastern European cities. It was a fun campaign.

[@josephfreistuhler2200]

The Dracula Dossier is probably the best rpg campaign I’ve ever run. It is an absolute masterpiece. I can’t recommend it highly enough. NBA should be much more popular than it is.

[@MrNhoj509]

So good. It’s take on organized improvisation is masterful.

[@talhoyle]

The rules are an instrument. The Dracula Dossier is the symphony. The best campaign aid ever written, right up there with Hot Springs Island

[@leandronc]

Dracula Dossier and Hot Springs Island? I see you're a fellow gentleman of cultured taste! Seriously, Pelgrane Press knocks it out of the park with their published adventures.

[@talhoyle]

@@leandronc For me personally, I ran the Alexandrian remix of Eternal Lies and it was the greatest campaign I ever ran. Better than the Dossier, Pirates of Drinax, Enemy Within, and the Masks of Nyarlathotep. I still think that Dracula Unredacted is a masterpiece. What are the best campaigns you ever ran?

[@leandronc]

​@@talhoyle I hear you! I have read and downloaded the whole package from The Alexandrian (fantastic stuff), but still haven't gotten to run my copy of Eternal Lies. I'm thinking it will be a tough call between EL and Masks for my next Cthulhu campaign. What I did run was The Final Revelation, which I loved for the 1) ending (it landed perfectly at my table), and 2) variety of characters and scenarios, changing every couple sessions. So that's my favorite so far as a GM. As for fantasy, the campaigns I've stuck relatively close to and had a lot of fun doing so were D&D 5e's Curse of Strahd (the tarot reading at the start is a stroke of genius) and Razor Coast (great setting book/adventure hybrid format).

[@Ronni0]

This book is great because it gives you lots of system agnostic information. Like the Conspyramid which you can use in pretty much anything. Also like that it encourages you that you don't have to make the standard vampire and you can get really weird with how you do vampires if you game.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Agreed. It’s really useful.

[@Will45_]

Agnostic? Huh?

[@Ronni0]

@@Will45_ meaning you can use it regardless of the mechanics.

[@georgee4810]

I strongly recommend the Double Tap sourcebook, especially for people looking to run this as a straight spy story. It'll blow your mind. The first movie I thought of when I first saw this game is an obscure indie film called 'Razorblade Smile'. Delightfully campy and lots of fun, and it's on Ytube. Anyway, that was another great review. Nobody does them better.

[@himurogentoku7117]

Dave! The timing couldn't be more impecable! I have been interested in Night Black Agents and Gumshoe system for a few weeks. Thanks a lot for the insight and breakdown, Dave!

[@DaveThaumavore]

Glad to be of some help!

[@mirbeaugaming]

I ended up buying this after watching, looks like a fantastic addition to the collection!

[@rorymacleod4520]

An excellent and concise overview of the game. I've recommended this video to friends who are interested in trying this out.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Thank you for your appreciation and recs!

[@DaveThaumavore]

Support the channel by joining my Patreon! www.patreon.com/thaumavore Sign up for my newsletter! bit.ly/ThaumavoreNewsletter ERRATA: the Gumshoe rules were not ever published standalone.

[@Wraithing]

Thanks for the review, Dave. Can I recommend (if you can find it to watch) a British TV show called Ultraviolet. It's a perfect fit for Night's Black Agents - including a very young Idris Elba!

[@shadowtheory7500]

Knights Black agents is an incredible game. I will always recommend it highly1

[@KyleMaxwell]

I don’t currently play a lot of GUMSHOE but this game looks like I could yoink a bunch of stuff into the systems I do play!

[@leandronc]

Glad that you're doing Gumshoe! I love the system and its many implementations, and Pelgrane Press always delivers high quality stuff (their published adventures are unrivaled in my book). I really dig that you use a single d6 for absolutely everything, it's perfect simplicity.

[@sourcespores2]

I always hear people mention how great the gumshoe system is when talking about investigation in TTRPGs and I never really checked it out. Now I understand what they mean! The vampires do seem a little tacked on though. Great review!

[@TabletopTiger]

I didn't realize I missed this one-- this is cool! I'm a fan of the combination of genres and options to change up the campaign. I always feel weird when games let you come down with mental illnesses like temporary statuses as that isn't really how things like BPD works. I wonder how GURPs manuals might help with the source material for espionage accuracy. I would love to roll a vampire character here because it might be really cool to do undercover for all its drawbacks and tension. I would love to see more about Gumshoe since I'm not super familiar with the system. Cool game! Thanks for reviewing it, especially around ENNIES season. I wish I could get this sort of review for all of the nominees.

[@paxiros4428]

This sounds awesome, like playing as the Second Inquisition in Vampire the Masquerade instead of the Kindred.

[@DaveThaumavore]

That’s sounds bad ass.

[@tomryan3768]

I've been wanting to crib this for a Tiny (D6) Spies campaign.

[@daved.8483]

I asked you about it and you didn't disappointed!

[@dangarthemighty0980]

I really love the video even though I am not a fan of the gumshoe system the game is still usable in a system of my choice.

[@Ehnberg]

Great as Always topdog!

[@DaveThaumavore]

Thanks, Magnus my man!

[@MalaklypsetheElder]

The whole concept is pretty close to Brian Lumley's Necroscope series from which was also converted into a RPG called The World of Necroscope by West End Games on 95. The concepts are very close. Then they're was the Chill RPG back in the 80s. Most of this even predates WW, at least Chill does. White Wolf airways pretended they invented the vampire as a playable character concept. They did not.

[@HenryAndersen]

Thank you 🎉

[@dane3038]

Sounds like a good game to supplement CoC, Delta Green or Monster of The Week. I might have to pick this up to Level Up my GURPS Delta Green Style Campaign. 300xp.

[@simian5805]

Where can you buy a hard copy?

[@DaveThaumavore]

pelgranepress.com/product/nights-black-agents/

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

makes you wonder why even have more then one Detective ablity or any at all if clues are always meant to be found with out a roll/ Player input... That said I love the crucnh of realism you've discribed the book having and seems extremly well researched.

[@BloodRedRook]

In addition to finding clues, points can be spent from investigative abilities to trigger various benefits.

[@kalleendo7577]

Awesome!

[@MrRourk]

You should review Good Guys Finish Last.

[@kurga9790]

Great review, thank you. It seems a lot of work has been put into making this game, it looks very thorough and has a realistic, almost simmulationist approach to gaming but with a very simple core mechanic which is great design. I, however, have the impression there's little chance and thus little tension associated to die rolls. The game seems to run like chess in a way, on one hand it suits perfectly the spy/conspiracy genre, but on the other hand GM will have to build suspense outside of the dice roll itself and dedicate a lot of prep time before a game cession.

[@guinotrool]

this RPG sounds boring as fuck. If i wanted to play a spy drama I would play paranoia. And the system doesn't seem too fleshed out. Gumshoe streamline the investigation too much. iT WAS A GOOD VIDEO. thank you

[@TheddunTOSS]

It’s VERY fleshed out. As is shown in the video.

[@DK-jp3kx]

Gumeshoe was one of the worst systems I have ever experienced. Just remember a situation where my character, a spetsnaz elite sniper, tried to take out a hostile sniper at a cemetary. I had a military grade sniper rifle, something huge, and caught the other guy by surprise. I aimed and shot but the damage was ridiculous low. I did two more shots with a similar outcome. The scene had something unintentionally comical. At the end the a-team effect kicked in: the mafia guy fled in fear of more shooting - only slightly injured. What a bullshit!

[@DaveThaumavore]

Cool. I would have just let you have the kill if I were GMing. But that’s just me.

[@DK-jp3kx]

@@DaveThaumavore But this is also not satisfactory. Even a system that puts focus on story telling must be able to resolve such situations in a realistic way. If success is always ensured, tension is gone and the whole story becomes boring and meaningless.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@DK-jp3kx Nah, you’re conflating my judgment call as a GM in this case with being a complete pushover who would hand out victories every time. Sorry that you had a bad experience with the system, bud. Hope you find a game that works for you.

[@rwentfordable]

Every system out there has weird outcomes at times, find a system that doesn't use dice then you can beat every situation to inflate your gaming ego.

[@TheddunTOSS]

@@DK-jp3kx which TTRPG is realistic?