🕶️ Dive into the shadows where espionage meets the supernatural.
ENDLESS CUSTOMIZATION - Build unique vampires, minions, and conspiracies to fit your personal storytelling style.
JOIN A CULT FOLLOWING - Be part of a vibrant community redefining RPG spy thrillers with a dark twist.
MASTER THE SPY THRILLER GENRE - Harness the GUMSHOE engine tailored for intense espionage narratives.
IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING TOOLKIT - Designed for GMs who crave deep narrative control and player engagement.
ONE CORE BOOK INFINITE ADVENTURES - Everything you need in a single volume to launch your vampire spy campaigns.
Night’s Black Agents is a core RPG book using the GUMSHOE system to deliver a unique blend of spy thriller and vampire horror, empowering GMs to create custom conspiracies and characters for immersive, narrative-driven gameplay.
Reviews
4.8
All from verified purchases
J**S
This is awesome
This system is beautifully simple. Perfect for groups that like the role play but are not crazy about remembering tons of rules and modifiers. The world building is fantastic, providing framework to build not only a one-shot adventure but an entire saga. Highly recommend!
A**R
My favorite iteration of GUMSHOE
My favorite iteration of GUMSHOE. It uses the automatic elements of Investigation to propel the cinematic and action oriented scenes, and let's you do more role-playing and less roll playing with it's resource management system. Also highly fluid, so you can just as easily do other action oriented agent related games (Such as modeling James Rollins Sigma Force or even the old Spycraft world).
K**D
Nice take on the espionage genre
I don't know much about Vampires or really have an interest in them, I bought this to use more or less as a modern espionage RPG. Very impressed with the lore and lengths that the author has gone to to present the themes (both espionage and vampires).The book is well laid out. My only negative comment is that the intro to GUMSHOE isn't entirely clear to me. I think spending more time upfront on how that differs from normal systems would help someone knew to the system. I think it makes a few assumptions as to your experience level that I wish it didn't.That element aside, I feel like this is a strong and interesting system, even for those without an interest in the vampire aspect of it, though I've come to appreciate why that was chosen as the setting.
C**.
This game book is great and lots of fun
This game book is great and lots of fun. I was not thrilled that it arrived with the front cover scratched. It was supposed to be "new" and it was a present. I won't lower the star score for the condition of the book though.
M**I
Great game. The Gumshoe system in general is really ...
Great game. The Gumshoe system in general is really a fun style and Night's Black Agents in particular is an awesome setting!
R**E
Really interesting, well-thought-out RPG.
Really interesting, well-thought-out RPG. Haven't had a chance to play yet, but looks like it should be fun.
D**S
"Spy thriller genre with supernatural horror"? - Cool, I'm in!
Expectation:The same author and press of the acclaimed Trail of Cthulhu? I could only expect a very professional layout, solid writing, and the same Gumshoe system, that some love and others can't stand.But what caught my eye was certainly the premise: a spy thriller in the Bourne Trilogy tradition mixed with vampire masters in the shadows. I fell for that... hard!Touching & Seeing it:Cool and dark cover. Very nice binding, gorgeous page quality and very clear layout. My measure of quality has increased a lot since Eclipse Phase's release, and Night's Black Agents is right there, at THAT level.The art could be better if it were more realistic and somber; but it doesn't interfere with the general mood.Reading it:In Trail of Cthulhu there were Purist and Pulp "modes", rules add-ons to fine tune the general mood of the game. In Night's Black Agents we have 4 of these modes, and their interactions and ideas will certainly satisfy a very wide range of groups and stories. Through the book you will find so many references to Spy and Vampire fiction tropes to send your ideas racing at an almost overwhelming pace.The scenario is also highly customizable - you can, for instance, replace the Vampire element altogether for a realistic conspiracy, werewolves or (naturally) Cthulhu Mythos antagonists. In short: great and imaginative premise carried with good research and nice examples.Playing it:Night's Black Agents added so many options and it seems much less railroading-prone than previous Gumshoe system games. Still, some players chafe under the "narrative resources management" take of the rules.The rules options are great! I liked a lot the Burn mode, where your agent will be taken to the limits of his psychological resistance. But every narrator will mix elements of other modes to reach their own style. The same goes for the options to develop the antagonists... players that came to expect the same old vampire style are in for a rough awakening.ConclusionI expect this book to shine in 2013 ENNie Awards and I will be rooting for its success. You can read my other reviews and see that I am not easily satisfied with a rpg book... well, It has been a while since I have been this impressed.Great work. Excellent purchase!
B**T
Great game with some challenges.
An excellent game with a bit of genre mix problem. Vampire stories thrive on helplessness and fear. Super spies thrive on paranoia and betrayal, but not helplessness or fear. Getting these two genres to balance out in a fun game looks to be a challenge for the GM, that said the core system is great. The backgrounds are filled with great color and flavor. The vampires come in all types and look challenging and the scenarios they have published including the huge Dracula Dossier are filled with so much good stuff they are hard to resist. The genres may not mesh perfectly, but they game is so good I think it is worth trying to get them in sync anyhow.
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TrustScore 4.5 | 7,300+ reviews
Ayesha M.
The product exactly matches the description. Very satisfied with my purchase.
5 days ago
Sneha T.
Received my product in pristine condition. Great service overall.
Kenneth Hite is an author and role-playing game designer. He has written the award-winning investigative RPGTrail of Cthulhu and the post-apocalyptic, just-post-WWII setting Day After Ragnarok (for the Hero System and Savage Worlds), as well as authoring such core GURPS sourcebooks as the latest editions of GURPS Horror and GURPS Infinite Worlds (and writing or contributing to several others). He wrote the horror/spy thriller game Night's Black Agents (GUMSHOW system), and the campaign setting The Dracula Dossier for ot. He has also written material for Mage: The Ascension, Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Requiem, Call of Cthulhu, Deadlands, and Last Unicorn Games' version of the Star Trek RPG (for which he was also line editor).
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Highly recommend!"},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"A***R"},"datePublished":"May 19, 2016","name":"My favorite iteration of GUMSHOE","reviewBody":"My favorite iteration of GUMSHOE. It uses the automatic elements of Investigation to propel the cinematic and action oriented scenes, and let's you do more role-playing and less roll playing with it's resource management system. Also highly fluid, so you can just as easily do other action oriented agent related games (Such as modeling James Rollins Sigma Force or even the old Spycraft world)."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"4.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"K***D"},"datePublished":"December 30, 2014","name":"Nice take on the espionage genre","reviewBody":"I don't know much about Vampires or really have an interest in them, I bought this to use more or less as a modern espionage RPG. Very impressed with the lore and lengths that the author has gone to to present the themes (both espionage and vampires).The book is well laid out. My only negative comment is that the intro to GUMSHOE isn't entirely clear to me. I think spending more time upfront on how that differs from normal systems would help someone knew to the system. I think it makes a few assumptions as to your experience level that I wish it didn't.That element aside, I feel like this is a strong and interesting system, even for those without an interest in the vampire aspect of it, though I've come to appreciate why that was chosen as the setting."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"C***."},"datePublished":"February 8, 2016","name":"This game book is great and lots of fun","reviewBody":"This game book is great and lots of fun. I was not thrilled that it arrived with the front cover scratched. It was supposed to be \"new\" and it was a present. I won't lower the star score for the condition of the book though."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"M***I"},"datePublished":"December 14, 2016","name":"Great game. The Gumshoe system in general is really ...","reviewBody":"Great game. The Gumshoe system in general is really a fun style and Night's Black Agents in particular is an awesome setting!"},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"R***E"},"datePublished":"December 18, 2016","name":"Really interesting, well-thought-out RPG.","reviewBody":"Really interesting, well-thought-out RPG. Haven't had a chance to play yet, but looks like it should be fun."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"D***S"},"datePublished":"October 23, 2012","name":"\"Spy thriller genre with supernatural horror\"? - Cool, I'm in!","reviewBody":"Expectation:The same author and press of the acclaimed Trail of Cthulhu? I could only expect a very professional layout, solid writing, and the same Gumshoe system, that some love and others can't stand.But what caught my eye was certainly the premise: a spy thriller in the Bourne Trilogy tradition mixed with vampire masters in the shadows. I fell for that... hard!Touching & Seeing it:Cool and dark cover. Very nice binding, gorgeous page quality and very clear layout. My measure of quality has increased a lot since Eclipse Phase's release, and Night's Black Agents is right there, at THAT level.The art could be better if it were more realistic and somber; but it doesn't interfere with the general mood.Reading it:In Trail of Cthulhu there were Purist and Pulp \"modes\", rules add-ons to fine tune the general mood of the game. In Night's Black Agents we have 4 of these modes, and their interactions and ideas will certainly satisfy a very wide range of groups and stories. Through the book you will find so many references to Spy and Vampire fiction tropes to send your ideas racing at an almost overwhelming pace.The scenario is also highly customizable - you can, for instance, replace the Vampire element altogether for a realistic conspiracy, werewolves or (naturally) Cthulhu Mythos antagonists. In short: great and imaginative premise carried with good research and nice examples.Playing it:Night's Black Agents added so many options and it seems much less railroading-prone than previous Gumshoe system games. Still, some players chafe under the \"narrative resources management\" take of the rules.The rules options are great! I liked a lot the Burn mode, where your agent will be taken to the limits of his psychological resistance. But every narrator will mix elements of other modes to reach their own style. The same goes for the options to develop the antagonists... players that came to expect the same old vampire style are in for a rough awakening.ConclusionI expect this book to shine in 2013 ENNie Awards and I will be rooting for its success. You can read my other reviews and see that I am not easily satisfied with a rpg book... well, It has been a while since I have been this impressed.Great work. Excellent purchase!"},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"4.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"B***T"},"datePublished":"June 3, 2015","name":"Great game with some challenges.","reviewBody":"An excellent game with a bit of genre mix problem. Vampire stories thrive on helplessness and fear. Super spies thrive on paranoia and betrayal, but not helplessness or fear. Getting these two genres to balance out in a fun game looks to be a challenge for the GM, that said the core system is great. The backgrounds are filled with great color and flavor. The vampires come in all types and look challenging and the scenarios they have published including the huge Dracula Dossier are filled with so much good stuff they are hard to resist. The genres may not mesh perfectly, but they game is so good I think it is worth trying to get them in sync anyhow."}],"aggregateRating":{"@type":"AggregateRating","ratingValue":4.75,"bestRating":5,"ratingCount":8}}
