Leverage

[Tearstone]

Has anybody here watched the show Leverage?

The more I watch it, the more I'm sitting here saying "This would be sooo perfect for Ninjas and Superspies, but less spying and more con games and stealing."

This was only heightened in Season 4: Episode 9, The Cross My Heart Job, when Elliot Spencer was giving hs read on a goon he took out. "He's got no real combat training and his Zanshin is lousy."

I wonder if anybody's tried to run a game like it, based off a crew that's similar. Hitter/Retrieval Specailist, Hacker, Grifter/Con/Social Engineer, Thief/Cat Burgler, and then Mastermind. Make it action-y, but also a thinking person's game.

I think the idea would work well. A lot of people want to run a James Bond kind of flavor. Jason Bourne works well too, as does the Leverage Inc. crew, as well as Micheal Weston's crew (Burn Notice). Then there's Covert Affairs, La Femme Nikita, Nikita, MI-5, Alias, and perhaps even Dollhouse. I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff, groups, movies, stories I'm leaving out.

Still, how many of us watched the show, and who has thought about something similar?

[say652]

Love the show actually.
We need a hitter.
A thief.
A hacker.
A grifter.
And a mastermind.

Since concepts are quite allowable for discussion lets form a five person team.
I am a heroes unlimited player.
Is a mac pc thing or are we compatible. Lol

[Tearstone]

Well, if we were to use HU/HU2 one would have to consider the playing field. If you made a hitter, are they going up against super/meta humans, or are we still playing at relatively human levels?

Hitter - Hardware: Weapons, Bionics, Robotics, Super Soldier, Physical Training, Ancient Master, Spy/Super Spy, Mutant, Eugenics (maybe), Ancient Weapon Master

Thief - Stage Magician, Secret Operative/Spy/Super Spy, empowered, minor hero,
Hacker - Analytical, Electronics Genius, perhaps Minor Hero with telemechanics, Bionics/cybernetics (focused on cyberjacking)
Grifter - Psionic, Spy/Super Spy, Alien (human-looking), Mystic Study, Mutant, Stage Magician, empowered, Minor hero
Mastermind - Natural Genius, Stage Magician, empowered, Psionic, Minor Hero.

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The show itself is based a lot on skills of the team so powers aren't something that really show up. Using NSS, I'd say the following work for the types...

Hitter - Worldly Martial Artist, Stick Fighter, Mercenary, Veteran Grunt, Wandering Agent, Professional Free Agent, Operative Agent
Hacker - Giziod, Tinker, Dreamer, Operative (focused on computer skills), Wandering Agent (computer skills), Pro Free agent (computer skills)
Grifter - Operative Agent, Wandering Agent, Professional Free Agent
Thief - Thief. Operative Agent, Gadgeteer Agent,
Mastermind - Operative Agent, Private Eye, Wandering Agent, Professoinal Free Agent

[Regularguy]

Given what you just wrote -- an all-Operative team?

(I'd be more interested in an all-Wired-Agent team, but, y'know, still.)

[Regularguy]

Just to build on my previous remarks about Wired Agents:

1) GRIFTER: I'm thinking Tai Chi for the Calm Minds zenjoriki and Dragon-Chi-fueled Body Chi for boosting MA up to 98% on invoking trust in others. And I'm thinking a retinal eyeball plus a larynx manipulator plus silicon in the face and fingerprints to pose as whoever (a) would be reassuring, or (b) needs to be framed. And I'm thinking the Deep Cover skill program, obviously.

2) HITTER: again with Chi Mastery, but I'm thinking Yu-Sool for simultaneous attacks (you hit him while he hits you back for paralysis, and maybe he's got Hard Chi up and running so your hit didn't leave a bruise) or for wrapping attackers into automatic flip/throws (with air pressure detectors, so he can't be attacked from behind) or automatic arm locks (which ain't a stalemate, but an opening for him to deliver electro-stun fingertips). Figure he's got the oxygen storage cell if there's gas being pumped in or whatever.

3) THIEF: maybe Snake Style, to start play with no-need-to-make-a-check stealth and climbing skills (Pi Mi Hsing Tung and Karumi-Jutsu), plus fingertip electrical probes and the built-in-phone for wiretapping and finding the right wire to cut and et cetera, plus Vibrating Palm if safecracking skills ever fail; it'd maybe bring folks running, but Karumi-Jutsu does double duty by allowing safe falls from a ridiculous height for a getaway.

4) HACKER: jawbone microphone for communicating with his tricked-out on-body computer, of course, with hacker-and-programmer gizmoteering. Plus I'm thinking Drunken or Monkey Style (with the Drunken kata) so he can, if pressed into a fight, appear to be dropping folks by accident.

5) MASTERMIND: anyone can come up with a plan for 1-4 ahead of time; the trick to it will be someone who can adapt on the fly when things go south. So figure he winds up dipping a toe into the aforementioned specialties with the aforementioned jawbone implant and a molecular analyzer (to tell the hitter when to start holding his breath), and the phone implant and larynx manipulator to place calls and hold conversations (as an impersonator) without any observers having the slightest hint of what's going on (for calling in backup as if planned ahead of time). Figure he's got Moo Gi Gong to play combat improviser, complete with Zanshin for realizing when the unexpected is about to happen.

Cover identities all over the place, of course.

[Tearstone]

RegularGuy, I want to like this post so hard.