Snakes on a Train

Currently a Work in Progress!

This is an adventure designed for any RPG system. GMs can adapt the plot points in the adventure to a system of their choice, but the Genesys system is recommended. Combat is not recommended in this adventure, but is possible. Player characters are expected to know each other and have no qualms against conducting illegal corporate espionage.

This adventure takes place onboard the Paris-Istanbul High Speed Rail. It is a social-themed adventure, with the players trying to find a spy onboard a train before it can reach its destination. Despite the adventure being focused on social encounters, it can be played in a variety of ways, such as stealth-focused. GMs should be sure to allow the party to "fail forward" - allow them to succeed with complications, even if the dice aren't going their way.

This adventure primarily provides a framework for a GM to conduct their own adventure. GMs are encouraged to add their own NPCs, twists, and opportunities to the adventure aside from what is presented in this article.

Outline

1. The players receive instructions from "Aquila" in Paris and accept the job.
2. The party boards the Paris-Istanbul High Speed Rail, either through purchasing a ticket or sneaking on board.
3. They must find the spy onboard the train and recover the documents before they reach Istanbul in eight hours, at which time the spy departs.

Background

"Aquila" returns from the last adventure, One Night in Petropavlovsk. He is an Italian agent of the European Union's EURINTEL intelligence agency. He has recruited the party (perhaps again, if you have played the previous adventure) in order to find a spy leaking classified European documents to an unknown foreign power. As the theft of these documents was highly embarrassing to EURINTEL, "Aquila" would like to keep it a secret by bringing onboard people out of the loop. He won't say what the documents are specifically, but will say they're of the utmost importance.

The spy in question is Isabella Black, a British national and freelancer that works for the highest bidder. She managed to steal a list of hundreds of European spies and their cover identities. This information will go for tens or hundreds of millions on the black market, and cause massive damage to EURINTEL worldwide.