Trust Breaks the Game in a Good Way
Most roleplaying games reward teamwork. You fight together, solve puzzles together, survive together. But espionage roleplaying doesn't work that way. In spy fiction, trust is a currency, a tactic, a weapon, and it always runs out. That's not a problem to fix. That's the story you're telling.
In Guillotine Protocol, the mission might require collaboration, but the characters never stop calculating. Who's watching them? Who already knows? Who's holding back? When someone on the team lies, the story opens up. Now you've got tension, conflict, and something at stake. Trust isn't just a bond between characters. It's a moving part of the plot.
Letting characters break trust doesn't derail the game. It deepens it. Players learn more about each other when they disagree than when they align. An agent going off script isn't a disruption. It's a reveal. What matters is that the group understands the tone. This is a game about secrets, fractures, and the pressure of always pretending. Trust is a story choice, not a moral obligation.
You can't build suspense if nothing's at risk. And there's no risk without doubt. That's why betrayal works in espionage roleplaying. It isn't a twist. It's a natural outcome of working in the shadows. The lie was always there. It's just now that someone's looking directly at it.
In most genres, you're supposed to hold the party together. In spy stories, you're supposed to ask why it's still together at all. Why are these characters risking everything, and how long can that last? The tension between loyalty and survival is what gives Guillotine Protocol its edge.
If your group is used to playing with perfect coordination, espionage roleplaying might feel uncomfortable at first. That's a good thing. Let the discomfort shape the narrative. Let the story live where trust frays.
540 pages. PDF and epub files included.
ISBN 9798315962601
