Here's another thought from me.
The sign/countersign process is used by the USA. I have NO clue how any other nation would handle the issue of on-base security. Aside from shooting suspects on the spot.
And I certainly haven't been trained by the CIA on how
THEY
handle clandestine meetings . . .
.
14 minutes ago, Mark Caliber said:And I certainly haven't been trained by the CIA on how THEY handle clandestine meetings . . .
And, what I wrote was based on how the CIA handled things sixty to seventy years ago .
Cold War tradecraft is an antecessor to modern tradecraft techniques, but everything we know about it is from declassified documents.
All of that information 100% OUT OF DATE.
Edited by VondyMaybe just give them something simple, aka "It's a long way to Alderaan" and watch them make fools of themselves for a couple hours walking up to random people and saying "It's a long way to Alderaan." *Shudder* I hated that scene. Far too much vicarious embarrassment.
One I've used, I think it came from an adventure in Star Wars Gamer Magazine, good for urban or casino
Sign: "Can you help a girl/guy out? I lost 2,000 credits on an Idiot's Array."
Counter: "That's why I always carry a skifter."
I don't know why this exchange got stuck in my head...
"You are using Bonetti’s Defense against me, ah?"
"I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain."
"Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Ferro?"
"Naturally, but I find that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro. Don’t you?"
"Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa… which I have."
12 hours ago, penpenpen said:I don't know why this exchange got stuck in my head...
"You are using Bonetti’s Defense against me, ah?"
"I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain."
"Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Ferro?"
"Naturally, but I find that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro. Don’t you?"
"Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa… which I have."
...because it's one of the most beloved films of all time, possibly the single most quoted film, and that exchange is from one of the best scenes, in a film made of best scenes, second possibly only to the dual of wits? Burned into your brain due to the fun combat, amazing actor chemistry, fairly realistic (for Hollywood), use of terms and stances? Yeah, no clue why that exchange would get stuck in your head.
I mean I could explain in more detail but...no, there is too much. Lemme sum up.
On 12/18/2019 at 8:11 PM, KungFuFerret said:...because it's one of the most beloved films of all time, possibly the single most quoted film, and that exchange is from one of the best scenes, in a film made of best scenes, second possibly only to the dual of wits? Burned into your brain due to the fun combat, amazing actor chemistry, fairly realistic (for Hollywood), use of terms and stances? Yeah, no clue why that exchange would get stuck in your head.
Darn right! And if the players can't, unprompted or not, answer such a challenge directly and verbatim, their PCs don't deserve to be successful spies!
My geiger counter is in the shop.
I used a system where different Rebel cells used the name of a ship or person that doesn't actually exist. For example, when a player was looking for his contact on Nar Shaddaa, he entered the cantina and spoke of his time working on a freighter called the Flower of Ithor . There isn't actually a ship with that name in my universe, so anyone looking for it won't ever find it, and anyone who asks about it gives themselves away, but the Rebels on Nar Shaddaa speak of it as though they all served on its crew at some point.
I did it again using a Mass Effect reference. When my players were on Onderon, they were told to introduce themselves as friends of Garrus Vakarian.
I just remembered this episode of The Expanse, and stole it for my own purposes:
(recap from
https://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/expanse-107-recap/ )As feared, a Martian Navy vessel flags the Rocinante for inspection and sends a shuttle with a boarding party. Kenzo begs to be let out of the airlock and insists that he can help. He warns Holden that as soon as the Martians set foot inside the ship, they’ll recognize the interior as one of their own vessels, but says he knows a way to convince them to turn around before boarding. After much pleading, Holden agrees to let him come back to the bridge.
Kenzo’s plan is this: Rather than continue pretending to be a simple gas freighter, the crew should pretend to be a Martian black ops unit pretending to be a simple gas freighter. Apparently, Martians send undercover vessels like that all through the system. Each ship has a code book that contains a secret pass phrase that will identify it to other Martian ships. This jibes with something Alex remembers about his time as a Martian Navy pilot. During one mission, his ship was set to board another vessel until hearing the phrase “donkey balls,” at which point his captain immediately backed off without explanation.
Holden and crew search the bridge until they find a locked safe that must contain the code book. As the Martian shuttle approaches, they race against time to break into the safe while Alex jabbers on the comms to stall the boarding party with friendly patter.
Expecting that plan to fail, Amos grabs a rifle and heads down to the airlock for a “Plan B,” which will be to shoot the **** out of any Martians who try to board. Holden says that’s a terrible idea that will only get them all killed and orders him to stand down, but Amos doesn’t recognize his authority to make him do anything.
Finally, just as the Martians are on the verge of entering the ship, Naomi gets the safe open and gives Alex the code book. The pass phrase contains three words: “ubiquitous,” “mendacious” and “polyglottal.” Alex struggles for a moment to figure out how to work those words into a sentence, but then just blurts them out. He throws in a “donkey balls” too for good measure. After pausing for a beat, the Martians withdraw.