Minor Agent

A Minor Agent is one of the role archtypes that a participant in a plot can have. Once activated by an Organizer, the Minor Agent will perform a Minor Crime - usually to acquire an Item relevant to the plot - but not the Primary Crime of the plot.
==Definition==
A Minor Agent is defined as any participant in the plot whose job it is to commit a Minor Crime. This can be as simple as tailing the victim of an Assassination or Kidnapping, or as serious as the theft of sensitive equipment. However, this is not the actual crime the plot is meant to perpetrate - it is only meant to facilitate that crime. This distinguishes Minor Agents from Major Agents.
Minor Agents may or may not be in possession of an Item at any point in the mission - depending on the Crime they are supposed to perpetrate.
==Appearance in Plots==
At least one Minor Agent appears in each plot. Some plots require two or possibly even three Minor Agents to commit Minor Crimes before the main crime can be carried out.
Minor Agents begin the plot "deactivated". They will do nothing until contacted by another participant - most likely an Organizer - who will fill them in on the task at hand.
After this, they will commit the minor crime. During this crime they may come into possession of an Item. Also, InterPol will generate a bulletin describing the crime and possibly its location or the Organization involved.
Once the crime has been committed, the Minor Agent will deliver the Item or information acquired in the Crime to the next Agent in the chain (probably the Major Agent of the plot).
Once the item/message has been sent on its way, the Minor Agent's task is completed, and they will go into hiding. The only way to prevent this is to confiscate the item, if there is one, before the Minor Agent can hide. This will cause the agent to commit his minor crime again. This can go on as long as the item is confiscated, and usually only works if the intended recipient of that item is not yet arrested nor in hiding. Naturally, it only works if the minor crime produces an item at all.
==Rank and Scoring==
Minor Agents are generally of lower Rank. Arresting them will reward you with a small number of points. If their crime acquires them an item, Confiscating this item at least once will grant you 50 extra points. You do not receive another 50 points for confiscating the same item more than once.
There is no way to stop a Minor Crime from being perpetrated short of arresting the Minor Agent. However, you receive no score penalty from allowing it to happen, and may actually get points if you can confiscate the item involved (if any).
==Strategy==
You can usually track down a Minor Agent by following the message trail from Organizers. You might also get their location once they perpetrate the minor crime, and that will also tip you off to the fact that they may be in possession of an item now.
Minor Agents are usually worth a low number of points. If their crime involves acquiring an Item, that item will usually be worth more points than the Agent himself!
Arresting a Minor Agent can send the plot into chaos. Middlemen might go into hiding, or the Major Agent of the plot may be unable to complete his mission if the Minor Agent hasn't had the time to deliver an item or message to him yet.
If there is no item involved, the best point to arrest a Minor Agent is right after they report back to their Organizer or to the Major Agent. This way you can get the content of the message (probably along with the location and affiliation of the recipient), and the arrest will not disrupt the rest of the plot.
If the Minor Crime does involve an item though, your best bet would be to try to confiscate the item without arresting the Minor Agent. This is because, once the item is confiscates, the Minor Agent will try to acquire it a second time, delaying the progress of the plot by one or more days. This gives you time to locate and possibly arrest more participants. You can confiscate the item wherever it may be, as long as the Minor Agent has not gone into hiding yet. You can also do this as many times as required to delay the plot for as long as you need.
It helps if the Minor Agent is located in a place on the map that's close to where the other participants are: When you get the bulletin from InterPol reporting the minor crime, just hop over to where the Minor Agent is, confiscate the item, and continue on your mission.
If you're short on information, it might be a good idea to let the item pass to the next recipient at least once, so you can perhaps get the location and affiliation of the recipient. That way, in case you can't reach the Minor Agent in time to confiscate the item, you already know where it's supposed to be and can confiscate it there. Remember: as long as the Minor Agent hasn't gone into hiding, they will commit the minor crime again and again every time their item is confiscated anywhere - unless the Major Crime has already been perpetrated.
Category:Role Archtypes