Adam Chance, Secret Agent

An NPC for Heroes Unlimited/Ninjas and Superspies

By: Manuel Haendler (aka Ghoull)

Ghoull's Eylor Netbook is currently spending some time at this location.

If the intelligence business was like a family, then H.A.R.M. would be like the crazy aunt whom your parents keep locked up in the cellar. The agency, founded by the US government in the early 1970s as a counter to Russian espionage and biological warfare agencies, was doomed from the start. Its funding was terrible, its chief of operations was a drunk, and it lost agents hand over fist. Fortunately, the US had some good spies in the CIA and other organizations, to pick up the messes which H.A.R.M. left behind.

Without a doubt, H.A.R.M.'s worst agent was Adam Chance. He had a few useable skills and talents, but his bad points outnumbered his good. Chance was extremely overconfidant, believing that good looks, his spy equipment, and his cardigan were all one needed to be an espionage agent. Throughout the Cold War, Chance's fumbling caused the deaths of well over a dozen of his fellow agents and the men he was supposed to be protecting. For the most part, he was relegated to training duties, teaching H.A.R.M.'s new recruits at the Judo range and the Karate rink, and endlessly flirting with the agency's female employees (and sometimes his alcoholic boss).

To this day, it is a mystery why Chance survived when so many other agents of H.A.R.M. died. Part of his success was due to his skills and training, but mostly it was luck. The fact of the matter is, the Russian spies who Chance met up with were mostly the KGB's B-squad. His luck with women is primarily due to the fact that laser eye correction surgery had not been invented yet.

When the Cold War finally ended and America's intelligence agencies lost much of their relevancy, H.A.R.M. was the first to be axed. Adam Chance was thrown out of work. This did not bother him much, though, as he felt very confidant that every spy agency and secret conspiracy in the world would be dying to snatch up an operative of his stature. After nine months of collecting welfare checks and living in low-income housing, Chance realized that he could not just sit around and wait for his future employers to come to him. He had to type out his resume, and search for a job. Anything that involved assassination, reconnaisance, or cutting-edge infiltration techniques would be right up his alley.

After being laughed out of the offices of Evilco, S.P.E.C.T.R.E., and Kids 'R' Us, Chance decided that he would have to start up his own agency if others were too incompetent to realize the high caliber of his work. Adam Chance used what little savings he had left to found H.A.R.M. II, a newer, more state of the art spy agency based out of an old storefront in Duluth, Minnesota. He convinced his old boss to work there for liquor, and hired a few fresh-faced graduates right out of spy school to be his expendable backup. Despite his best attempts to find a nubile secretary to flirt with, the best receptionist whom Chance could come up with for H.A.R.M. II was a 78 year old grandmother of four.

H.A.R.M. II is considered by most to be a "welfare" spy agency. If you really need some spying or sabotage done, but don't have the cash to pay professionals, they'll point you in the direction of Adam Chance. The organization is most often hired by corporations who want dirt on their competitors, such as the recipe for secret sauce or the ingredients of Tripolodine. Once in a while, Adamn Chance and his agents will get caught up in the midst of some massive inter-agency war or other such crisis. These catastrophes usually end waist-deep in the corpses of H.A.R.M. II agents and unfortunate passerby.

Despite the fact that he's saddled with such a low-rent agency, despite the fact that he's over 50 and has a paunch to prove it, Adam Chance remains smug and confidant. He's positive that he's the greatest spy in the history of espionage, and that women are unable to resist his primal sexuality. He's also positive that cardigans are a powerful fashion statement.

Name: Adam Chance.
Alignment: Scrupulous (yet smug and egocentric).
OCC: 4th Level Operative Agent.
Attributes: PS 10, PE 11, PP 13, PB 9, IQ 11, MA 9, ME 14, Spd 11.
Hit Points: 35. S.D.C.: 15. Chi: 11.
Height: 5 ft 7 in (170 cm). Weight: 166 lbs (75.3 kg). Age: 54.
Special Abilities/Cybernetics: None.
Hand-to-Hand Form: Judo.
Attacks per Melee: 3.
Bonuses/Manuevers: +2 to pull punch, +2 to roll with punch/fall/impact, +2 to parry/dodge, +1 to strike, Body Flip/Throw, Body Block, +4 to strike on aimed shot.
Weapon Proficiencies:
Automatic Pistol, Bolt-Action Rifle, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Grenade, Machinegun, Chain, Archery, Knife.
Skills:
Basic Math 98%, Climbing 82%, Russian 80%, Literacy 98%, Demolitions 77%, German 80%, Detect Ambush 70%, Demolitions Disposal 77%, French 80%, Detect Concealment 65%, Read Sensory Equipment 65%, Spanish 80%, Escape Artist 55%, Swimming 82%, Japanese 80%, Optic Systems 75%, Detect Concealment 65%, Surveillance Systems 70%, Land Navigation 66%, Tracking 60%, Wilderness Survival 50%, Electronic Jamming 80%, Cryptography 55%, Pilot Automobile 88%, Radio: Basic 85%, Electrical Engineer 75%, Pilot Motorcycle 66%, Radio: Scramblers 80%, Imitate Voices 80%, First Aid 60%, Telephone Networks 80%, Laser Communications 65%, Athletics, TV/Video 70%, Microwave Communications 65%, Sew 60%, Advanced Math 80%, Dance 56%.
Weapons:

  1. Spore Gun: The Spore Gun, a relic from one Adam's most successful adventure, is also his most powerful weapon. It fires a Russian bio-weapon into the victim's body. The spores render the victim unable to heal from wounds, and do 1D6 damage per day, in addition to the initial damage. No mundane cure is known for spore infection, but any competent doctor or mystical healer ought to be able to whip up an antidote in a day or two. Adam doesn't have any reloads, so he only uses the Spore Gun in time of trouble. 2D6 SDC, 4 shots, 50 ft range.
  2. Pocket .45 Automatic: 3D6 SDC per round, 5 rounds per clip. Adam usually carries this gun strapped to his arm.
  3. Adam has access to some other small arms at H.A.R.M. II headquarters, mostly pistols and hunting rifles.

Armor: Kevlar-lined Yellow Cardigan (AR 10, 40 SDC).
Other Equipment: Phone Bugs, Miniature Electronics Kit, Handheld Communicator, Tracking Devices, Tape Player Disguised as Electric Razor, Armored Briefcase (AR 14, 100 SDC), Lockpicks, Mini-Camera, Binoculars.

HLS Adventure Ideas Involving Adam Chance and H.A.R.M. II

So You're Looking for a War?


Hook: The characters are hired by a sizeable spy agency (or ordered, if they already work for such an agency) to kill Adam Chance and everyone who works at H.A.R.M. II. They say that he attacked and killed one of their couriers, and stole the dead man's briefcase, which contained some important documents. The organization is more concerned with erasing the shame involved with losing to Adam Chance than with recovering the documents, but would be happy to get the papers back.
Line: When the characters encounter Adam Chance, he gives them proof that he had nothing to do with the killing. He merely picked up the briefcase, thinking it to be empty, when the courier keeled over from a heart attack. Now, he's in real trouble, because the characters are not the only agents sent to kill him, and because a rival organization is sending its own men to recover the plans.
Sinker: The characters will want to get the plans back to their organization as quickly as possible, but will be hard pressed to do so. Bullets are flying all over the place, H.A.R.M. II agents are dying faster than the cemetaries can cope, and Adam Chance keeps on nearly getting himself killed. Trying to keep the putz alive will be harder than surviving the attacks!

Chinatown Inferno!


Hook: Mysterious Infernal attacks are popping up all over Chinatown! Demonic forces are appearing all over the place, laying waste to whatever they spy, and then returning to hell. Something is very, very wrong.
Line: H.A.R.M. II agents are being found dead at or near every one of the Infernal attacks. A little bit of research will lead a clear trail to Adam Chance.
Sinker: Adam Chance was hired by a mysterious Asian woman to recover the missing pieces of an ancient artifact, and that's just what he intends to do! He has no knowledge of the supernatural, and thinks that the demons are just bizarrely costumed enemy agents out to stop him! He will think that the characters are members of this conspiracy, and will try to stop them from interfering, even attempting to kill them a few times. The exact nature of the artifact and the woman are up to the individual GM.