How do you Roleplay a Spy?

I’ve been thinking of developments for some of my characters. Perhaps some details for their pasts that could hint at a certain mystery, and it got me thinking. How does one roleplay a Spy-type character? Someone who has a network of information or a history of covert operations? And most importantly of all, how does one do it without making it seem overpowered or unlikely to be possible?

Naturally, this would typically be a Rogue’s job, i’m I’m interested to hear what people have come up with for their characters in terms of their intelligence gathering abilities. Any ideas or suggestions?

Okay think Skyrim Thieves Guild, Stormwind’s SI7, or Khajiit from Skyrim, they are all spies or spy like and what do they have in common? Being Sly.

Intelligence, quick hands, and soft footed feet

make friends

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Are all spies are assassins? No. Perhaps they are an emissary or teacher, service worker or professional. So here are some thoughts I have . . .

  1. Disguise: Maybe they are a warrior, then collect yourself a cloth set that screams priest, take on a holy persona and infiltrate the church under the guise of shunning the divine magics until you have “payed your penance for a recent failure”.

  2. Know your Lore: If an emissary of sorts, make sure you are fluent with that culture’s in game story line. That shows dedication and sincerity to your affiliation with them. Perhaps you frequent the town hall and are seen speaking with the local mayor often.

  3. Fake a profession: Say you are an Alchemist, then portray a Blacksmith! Get yourself a costume that screams “BS” (see what I did there) and stock yourself with general crafted items to hand out to show “quality of your work”.

Now, all these are fine and dandy, but do not forget the most crucial aspect of all . . . Make it questionable! Your character has already fooled and infiltrated the NPCs, but the Player is a step above; the “Hero” of their story. So leave subtle hints in your TRP profile perhaps, or clue them in on certain mannerisms that not all things seem to add up. “You notice the Priest’s sash is inside out”, “Though knowledgeable in a culture’s history, you seem uncomfortable with their traditions” and lastly, "The blacksmith’s hands are rather smooth, and this bracer has another blacksmith’s stamp on it (made by: not this guy!).

The point there is to make the other player question your character’s persona and offer them a more engaging RP experience if/when they put all the clues together.

Just my 2 cents worth.

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I mean, that depends on you. If a spy is doing their job really well, no one else would know they’re a spy. That would mean your spy would have to have a cover identity separate from their real one. That essentially means you’re playing two separate characters, one that interacts with people under a cover identity and one that’s “on the job” collecting information. That leaves plenty of room for character development as your character possibly chafes under the pressure of having to live a double life and lie to everyone they meet.

How does your spy go about collecting information? Does she have the capacity to insert herself directly into a situation where she can be privy to sensitive information? Does she set up a ring of informants using blackmail and/or financial incentives?

The common perspective of spies as martial arts masters in skin tight leather body suits breaking into government facilities and stealing the precious documents isn’t exactly accurate. You can certainly go that route (you’d be in good company with Hollywood), but generally speaking spies go out of their way to appear completely anonymous and innocuous. It’s not exactly a job for someone whose ego needs recognition for their actions.

There are plenty of ways to do it, but again, it’s ultimately up to you. Are you thinking James Bond or are you basing your character on how actual spies engage in espionage?

-cracks open a cold one with the boys-
The way I do it is just put on some normal clothing on for Mike, just an ordinary farmer-lad here. nothing suspicious about a dim whited funny talkin’ man thats for sure. ask incredibly dumb questions and just hang around. you have any idea how many people just straight up dont notice you or just dont care and explain there grand scheams outloud when your just standing there? alot, all the time, everytime. An soon as you dont look at this dopey old man that looked like he crawled straight out of the dirt to wander around like some garden zombie looking for some fresh vegetable brains, about all your secrets are ruined as he tells all to the good guys. Tarquin up there has it right about the innocuous thing. :ok_hand:

The best way to roleplay being a spy is to roleplay NOT being a spy, but, and here’s the kicker, you ARE a spy. They’ll never see it coming.

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Do it the same way you would any good disguise character. For all intents and purposes, your character is what they outwardly appear to be. Are they a mercenary? A crafter? Do they spend their time drinking, fighting, eating?
Usually there’s an entire duality, and a shift in personality. Kind of think of it like putting on a mask for social events - you pretend things are fine and dandy, you ask how people are, and all that pedestrian things.
The real business always kept under the surface.

There is always…the other type of spy :stuck_out_tongue: Dres has business contacts and partial membership in like 15 various business, academic, military, medical or political organizations which she fosters contacts in and as such despite being a socially awkward Gnomey shut in, finds herself surprisingly in the know on alot of things.

Remember that in RL, there are few spies as effective as diplomats and lobbyist, if you are looking for that route.

As a certified player of roles, allow me to clear up the obvious confusion in this thread and display the bestest, greatestest and most goodest way to RP a spy.
1.) Make sure everyone knows you are a spy. It should be the first thing people know about you. Tattoo the word spy on your forehead, paint it all over your clothes. Even if the conversation has, in no way, anything to do with your profession, force it into your dialogue regardless. The best agents of deceit are ones who everyone knows about.

2.) All spies ARE assassins. And voidblades. And thieves. And marksmen. And archers. And everything. You must have ever skill imaginable, even ones that your character would realistically have no way of getting. You should be an archmage in arcane magic and the world’s greatest fencer, along with a master-tier blacksmith and the owner of your own personal harbor.

3.) All spies are incredibly handsome or beautiful, no exceptions. To qualify as a spy, you can have no physical character flaws or disabilities. If you do feel oddly compelled to give your character a flaw, make it a sexy flaw, like having tragically lost your parents or being an alcoholic. A casual, fun alcoholic though. Which brings me to the next point, actually.

4.) Your entire family must have died in horrific fashions while you, yourself, have lived. This will give you plenty of ammunition to get pity points when you do something bad, or need to excuse your psychotic behavior. It is optional but encouraged to have at least one sibling who is as powerful as you to use as an antagonistic in your personal plot. Bonus points if you-yourself murdered your family.

5.) You must be part of the SI:7, a Shadow in the Uncrowned, and a secret member of the Shattered Hand to boot. On top of this, be sure to have your own secret cadre of elite spies that outclass all of the aforementioned agencies.

6.) Act like an alien pretending to know what human emotion is. Your facial expressions should range from a smirk or a grin, nothing in-between, save a threatening glare to those fools who get in your way. Say curse words as often as possible, including some slang you took off of urban dictionary. If someone you find hot turns in your direction, flirt with them until they ignore you or give you attention. If anyone else tries to interact with you, immediately attempt to kill them. If anyone attempts to intervene in your justified bloodshed, threaten them with jailtime because you are an agent of [AGENCY], even if these individuals are members of the local law enforcement.

6.) You can’t just be the race you’re playing. You must secretly be something else. A spy isn’t exotic enough to warrant attention nowadays. Be a Pit Lord disguised as a spy, or a void-corrupted blue dragon who is secretly part of the Horde. Don’t try to hide these things, by the way. Make sure everyone knows them too. It makes you stand out more. Make sure to chug as many growth pots as humanly possible to boot. Spies are always monstrously large and should stand out.

I think my hamburger is finally done unthawing, so I’m going to go start making dinner now. Feel free to share this fool proof guide on how to play an amazing spy character from me, well known community figure, Male Human Paladin#5245292-F.

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your a rlly good spy, any tips one running my own under ground crime guild?

That depends on what spy you want to be? Do you want to play someone in the field? Are they on official cover or non-official cover? Depending on that then you might need to have a cover and nobody should really know you’re a spy, unless you work at an embassy, everyone who works at an embassy is a spy. Don’t trust them.

Having a network to maintain would be more akin to being a handler or a case officer. I mean, what kind of agency did your character work for? SI:7? The layout is likely more akin to the CIA or MI6, setting up clandestine actions in places and being an all around trouble maker for local forces, but never in your own destructive abilities and more so through others. It’s not like James Bond where you go breaking through dry wall on a hot chase through a construction site to catch bombmakers.

For a field agent? Good covers are typically anything, but some common ones you see are: journalism, transportation, bartending, even “escorting” to lay honey traps; good ole’ sexpionage.

There’s a lot of danger and risk for agents caught spying, especially the threat of death and those who seek that kind of lifestyle have a little hint of charming psychopathy about them.

EDIT: OH I forgot the most important part too: Always enter the room and address the crowd as “Gentlemen” even if there’s a lady.

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Don’t forget to stuff your entire mouth full of cigarettes.

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By not telling anyone you’re a spy.

Well, these are just my two coppers.

(Step One): Inform Those Who Need To Know.
OOC communication is an important part of RP, and its important to make sure the people who need to know, or have a right to know this about your character are informed. I would say this typically applies to guild leaders and officers, but also to players you intend to interact with in your role as a spy, as opposed to your undercover role.

(Step Two): Keep Your Identity as Secret as Possible.
So, you’ve told your guild leader/officers your character is a spy. You’ve had a lengthy chat about the sorts of things you’d like to bring to the guild with that. Now, tell no one else OOCly that your character is a spy. If there is someone you meet who you think it would be interesting to involve in your character’s storyline as a spy, contact them OOC, of course, but there’s no need to advertise to the entire guild or server that you’re a Spy.

(Step Three): Build a Network of Consenting Informants.
You are a spy, and the name of your game is Information. When you find people to involve in your storyline, get them to agree to keep it secret, you begin building a network of people who can both supply you with information, and disseminate that information as you decide it needs to be. Naturally OOC communication is going to be a big thing there too. Its important to know what information is accurate or a trap on an OOC level, but on an IC level, you need to make sure to act on it regardless of that knowledge. Risk and reward is all part of the game.

(Step Four): Establish and Grow your Cover.
So your character is a spy, but that is only a part of their identity in RP. What else are they? A merchant? A noble? A priest? A soldier? Whatever this other identity is, develop it, focus on it. Use it as a tool as a means to acquire more contacts for your information network, or as a means of establishing connections to ease covert missions. Need to sneak into the Pig and Whistle after hours to receive a drop-off left beneath a loose floorboard? Well, if you’re friends with the Night Patrol or head of the guards, you can either get information on the rounds so you can avoid being detected, or perhaps even influence them to reduce coverage in that area.

(Step Five): Exit Strategy.
Always, always, always have an exit strategy. Failure might not be an option but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. There will always be someone out there looking into every tiny detail that might lead to a conspiracy theory that could lead to you. So, when these protagonists begin narrowing down on you, it’s time to enact your exit strategy. Your network of informants? Expendable. Obviously on an OOC level player consent is important, so if someone doesn’t want to lose a character, consider other options such as mind wipes. Or maybe that informant wants to betray you; accept that, because its part of the whole thing. Regardless, make sure to burn the house down; lead the sheep to slaughter before the authorities can shear them. Last but not least, get that identity change by whatever magical or alchemical means are available. With your new identity, you can start over, or retire.

Also, good spies do not go around telling people what they do for a living. They generally have some sort of backstory and emote out a stealth escape rather than just going lolnope.

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