[PBEM News] Gideon's Sword - modern-day espionage PBeM

From: anarchy_inc88@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (godmachine)

Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 05:05:05 +0000

The following is a running concept for an open-ended role-playing game
about the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Mossad, loosely
inspired by, but not limited too, the non-fiction works of Gordon
Thomas (Gideon�s Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad) and George
Jonas (Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist
Team). The game would take place in the modern day, using real-life
events as inspiration for the various missions the game would
feature.

The goal is to assemble a small tight-knit group of detailed and
interested players (4-7 people) at the beginning, featuring a diverse
roster of player-created characters, each with his/her own unique
skill (forging documents, languages, bomb making, logistics, ect.),
in the hopes of creating a genuine modern-day espionage PBeM. I wish
to avoid to �super-spy� paradigm completely, so there will be no
James Bond/Bourne Identity/Mission Impossible-style scenarios.
Realism is the primary objective, and as such I must put an emphasis
on my desire for strong writers. The caliber of scenarios I have
thought of is to be morally-problematic, not just the Tom
Clancy-style �killing bad guys� missions of popular media; these will
involve dark storylines: threats of double-agents,
counter-intelligence, competition and betrayal with other agencies,
hopefully even periodic deaths within the team. I don�t wish to
sugar-coat or give anything too much of a Hollywoodish glamour,
although minimal amounts of both will of course be inevitable.

Now obviously the Israeli element is a politically raw nerve, so this
concept will not be for everyone. I will of course attempt to keep
politics out of the game as much as possible, referring to
non-fictional accounts of Mossad�s past activities instead of just my
own imagination to generate a storyline for the game, however I shall
always intend to take suggestions from the game�s players as to what
direction they�d like to see the game go in, as they�re the ones
who�ll have to end up playing it in the end anyways.

If you are at all interested in such a game, or have any ideas for the
development of this as-of-yet unrefined concept, please do not
hesitate to email me at anarchy_inc88@hotmail.com, which also doubles
as my MSN instant-messenger account.
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