The Operative (1.

6)
“I used to be part of a secret Monster Hunting Bureau that doesn’t exist so I could make things that
shouldn’t exist disappear. Now someone or thing in “the Company” has decided to make me disappear
and I intend to find out why and return the favor.”

Back Story

You used to work for a clandestine Monster Hunting Bureau, but for mysterious reasons you were…

Retired or Fired. The Bureau no longer requires your services. This is the default for this playbook. The
Keeper and you determine your operative’s back story: your career with the Monster Hunting Bureau,
unfair termination and subsequent events.

You may also add one or more of the following:

Burned. The Bureau and the entire intelligence community now view you for some reason as a
dangerous, amoral mercenary and will not, in general, extend you help or protection as you have been
framed as having become a mercenary thug the criminal underworld will treat you with respect and law
enforcement will harass you. The Keeper and you determine your operative’s back story: your career
with the Monster Hunting Bureau, betrayal and subsequent events. You have learned to be a Forger. You
may forge or create successfully any high quality false documents, data, evidence or qualifications that
you require once you are burned.

Lost. You suffer from Cinematic Amnesia and can no longer recall your career with agency which has also
retired you. This entitles you the ability to recall a useful clue or location of a fortunate hidden item
from your damaged mind (provided by the Keeper) once per mystery; but the Keeper now determines
your full back story. It may not be pleasant.

Kill Order. The agency that burned you is also now actively seeking you to terminate you. If you are
identified publicly a Bureau Death Squad (or “cleaners”) of either humans or monsters will be sent to kill
you and any known associates. If you are apphrended by at the authorities (You are now wanted as a
material witness or on a fabricated felony charge) you will be transferred to such a death squad via
forged documents and eliminated promptly. You are also burned (and gain the Forger move) but may or
may not be Lost. If you lose or spend all your luck and become Doomed a Kill Order is automatically
imposed on your operative. If the operative regains some luck somehow the Kill Order is somehow
revoked. Any operative with luck and a Kill Order gains the ability to reroll any single roll once per
mystery. This move is called You Only Live Twice.

Moves

You get all the basic moves, and three additional Operative moves.

You get this move:

Wilderness of Mirrors: There’s a dark secret about the Bureau you must discover. Work out the details
with your Keeper, based on the choices you made in your back story. You cannot die until you uncover
this dark secret. If you die in play, then you must spend a Luck point. You will then, somehow, recover or
be returned to life. Once you know the dark secret (or you use up all your luck), all bets are off. When
you spend luck, someone or something related to the dark secret will re-appear in your life very soon.
Your characters eventual fate depends on resolving this dark secret.

Then pick two of these:

The Bourne Agenda: You may kill any person or minion (not a monster) without suffering any damage. If
you use this move, hold 1 Exposure. When you gain your second Exposure, roll 2d6+Exposure, and every
time afterwards.
On a 10+, you have been spotted, and a Bureau death squad is on their way to kill you.
On a 7-9, some alarms have been triggered. Choose two:
- you don't remove one exposure
- you cannot use the move that gave you that exposure again for the rest of the session/mystery.
- Your Bureau has begun investigating you again, but aren't close to you yet. If you choose this again,
treat as 10+.
On a 6-, you're fine. Remove one exposure.

Equalizer: You and your party may escape any monster combat encounter without further damage when
invoked. If you use this move, hold 1 Exposure. When you gain your second Exposure, roll
2d6+Exposure, and every time afterwards.
On a 10+, you have been spotted, and a Bureau death squad is on their way to kill you.
On a 7-9, some alarms have been triggered. Choose two:
- you don't remove one exposure
- you cannot use the move that gave you that exposure again for the rest of the session/mystery.
- Your Bureau has begun investigating you again, but aren't close to you yet. If you choose this again,
treat as 10+.
On a 6-, you're fine. Remove one exposure.

Mission Impossible Mask: You may successfully disguise yourself as any person or humanoid monster
you are able to observe closely. This disguise may fail upon close inspection.

Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Monster: You always know who or what a shape shifting monster is really and if
someone human is lying to you.

Safe House: Once per mystery you can find a place to lay low only until you and your group recovers
safely from their wounds and/or shakes off any pursuit.

Dangle: You may trick any minion or monster to answer a single question once truthfully. The one
exception is the monster will not directly state its weakness.
Black Bag Research: Once per mystery you may use covert means to do a complete background check on
a single person, minion, monster or organization. It may be incomplete but all the information provided
will be truthful.

Getting Started

To make your operative, first pick a name. Then follow the instructions in this playbook to decide your
look, ratings, your back story agency burn story, moves, and gear. Finally, introduce yourself and pick
history.

Look, pick one from each List:

• Man, woman, concealed.

• Sorrowful eyes, icy eyes, watchful eyes, penetrating eyes, hunter’s eyes, laughing eyes, calculating
eyes.

• Nondescript clothes, expensive suit, professional clothes, hunting gear, business casual clothes, tropical
shirt and shorts, tuxedo or little black dress.

Ratings

• Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird=0

•Charm+1, Cool+1, Sharp=0, Tough+2, Weird-1

•Charm=0, Cool+2, Sharp-1, Tough+2, Weird-1

•Charm+1, Cool=0, Sharp+1, Tough+2, Weird-1

•Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp=0, Tough+2, Weird+1

Gear

You get either a flak vest (1-armour hidden) or combat

armor (2-armor heavy) for protection.

Pick one Bureau weapon and one Military weapon.

Bureau weapons (pick one):

Fighting sticks (1-harm hand quick)

Nunchuks (2-harm hand area)
Mallet & wooden stakes (3-harm intimate slow
wooden)
Blessed knife (2-harm hand holy)
Magical dagger (2-harm hand magic)
Antique sword (2-harm hand messy)
Military weapons (pick one):

Magnum (3-harm close reload loud)

Shotgun (3-harm close messy loud)
Assault rifle (3-harm far area loud reload)
Flamethrower (3-harm close fire heavy volatile)
Grenade launcher (4-harm far area messy loud
reload)
Sniper rifle (4-harm far)

Introductions

When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your introductions together. Go around
the group. On your turn, introduce your operative by name and look, and tell the group what they know
about you.

History

Go around the group again. When it’s your turn, pick one for each of the other hunters:
• They helped you at a critical point in a covert mission for your former employer. Let them tell you what
you needed help with.
• They stood between you and what the Bureau needed to find out; but somehow survived despite you
and your former group’s usually lethal tactics. Have them explain.
• They lost a friend or relative due to ruthless actions by you or your “Company”. Ask them who it was
and how.
• You robbed a bank together for desperately needed funds after you were burned. Expand on the
successful heist.
• You saved their life. Ask them what you saved them from.
• They saved your life. Ask them from what and why.
• They risked sheltering you after you were burned. Explain.
• They were an asset when you were learning how to first fight the supernatural again on your own after
leaving the Bureau. Expand.

Leveling Up

When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Pick an improvement from the following list:

Improvements

Get +1 Tough, max +3

Get +1 Cool, max +2
Get +1 Sharp, max +2
Get +1 Weird, max +2
Take another Operative move
Take another Operative move
Gain a haven, like the Expert has, with two options (It may also act as your Safe House)
Add one more option to your haven
Add another harm box to your track, before Dying.
Your monster hunting has won you friends in the local community. Local law enforcement will cease to
harass you (if they you were Burned) and you will be tipped off if governmental forces or a death squad
plan actions against you.

After you have leveled up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements in addition to these.
They’re below.

Advanced Improvements

Get +1 to any rating, max +3.

Change this hunter to a new type.
Create a second hunter to play as well as this one.
Mark two of the basic moves as advanced.
Mark another two of the basic moves as advanced.
Regain a single Luck point
Add another harm box to your track, before Dying.
You track down the specific dark secret responsible for your former employer’s betrayal. The Keeper
must make the next mystery’s plot about these circumstances and give you an opportunity to destroy
the evil that “the Company” has become. Alternately you may retire from play as the new head of a
reformed Bureau after you have destroyed the secret evil within it. If lost you regain your memory.
These events will end, retire or change your character to a new type.