Publisher Fan Support - [Hell 4 Leather] Come In From The Cold

Posted by: Malcolm Craig On: Jul 2nd 2010 edited

One thing I'd like to do with Hell 4 Leather is play it as an espionage-influenced Cold War game. The Fool would be a spy, betrayed by his own side, killed, and left for dead. Now she is back to take revenge on those who sold her out to the the Other Side.

And, it's not the Devil you come back from for vengeance, but from the Cold, that space in the Cold War that spies and double agents operated in. Your death has taken you far into into the Cold, into some sort of liminal space where neither side recognises or needs you, hence your betrayal and supposed death.

The game could have supernatural overtones, but I'd prefer to keep that kind of thing to a minimum.

Playing H4L with an espionage background would require a few changes to the Leathers. Instead of Leathers, you have Operators.

The Emperor - Control, your boss back in London, Moscow, Washington, or Berlin, the spymaster. 'Control' in the works of John Le Carre, or the likes of Markus Wolf or Reinhard Gehlen in real life.

The Empress - The Chief of Staff or head assistant of Control. This could be an influential figure, or simply someone who knows everything that goes on. This could even be the secretary of Control: someone with little actual power, but a lot of knowledge, perhaps acting as a gatekeeper for the Emperor.

The Hierophant - A government figure who is involved in the intelligence community. There are many figures to choose from, such as the British Foreign or Home Secretaries.

The High Priestess - A former lover or confident, maybe a double agent? The person who has always been there for the Fool. But why? Think of Irina in Gorky Park
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The Magician** - The top operative, the one who has been out in the Cold many times, yet always come back. Knows the enemy like no one else. Or perhaps the Head of Counter-intelligence? In real life, someone like James Jesus Angleton would fit in here.
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The Hermit** - The defector who came over from the Other Side. Now he finds himself less well regarded than he feels he should be. One of the best real life examples of this would be Kim Philby.

Classic locations would be the spy centres of the world, somewhere within the heart of a power bloc when information flows in from the Cold. London, Berlin (East or West), Moscow, Washington, Paris.

I'd really like to play this game, and I'd doubly like to see a whole bunch of different takes on Hell 4 Leather.

Cheers
Malcolm

Posted by: Joe Prince On: Jul 4th 2010

Thanks Malc

This is really really cool.

We should play it on Monday!