Hands-On Usage
When you want to force a specific operative into hiding status in an event or national focus effect (for example, after being detected by enemy intelligence agencies and temporarily halting their mission), you can invoke this effect under the CHARACTER scope. The larger the value, the longer the operative remains in hiding (subject to relevant modifiers). Common scenarios include the penalty branch of "expose operative" in intelligence warfare event chains, or counter-intelligence effects triggered by hostile national focuses.
# Example: An event forces the target operative into hiding
country_event = {
id = my_intel.5
...
option = {
name = my_intel.5.a
# Switch to the current operative character scope
FROM = {
force_operative_leader_into_hiding = 12
}
}
}
Synergy
[is_operative](/wiki/trigger/is_operative): Used before execution to verify that the current scope is indeed an operative, preventing erroneous calls to non-operative characters that could cause script errors.
[operative_leader_mission](/wiki/trigger/operative_leader_mission): Used to determine what type of mission the operative is currently executing, allowing you to decide whether to trigger the hiding effect and make the logic more precise.
[harm_operative_leader](/wiki/effect/harm_operative_leader): Often paired with the hiding effect—in exposure events, simultaneously inflict damage on the operative to simulate the real cost of being exposed.
[capture_operative](/wiki/effect/capture_operative): Serves as an "alternative branch" to hiding—the narrative can branch into either hiding or capture, with both commonly appearing in different options of the same event.
Common Pitfalls
- Scope Error: This effect must be executed within the
CHARACTER scope. If written directly in a country scope (such as GER = { force_operative_leader_into_hiding = 12 }) without first switching into the character scope, the game will silently ignore it or throw an error. Beginners often mistakenly assume the effect is non-functional because of this.
- Misinterpreting the Value as Fixed Days: Beginners often assume the number entered represents the exact number of hiding days. In reality, this value is affected by in-game intelligence-related modifiers, so the final duration may differ significantly from the original value. Simple one-to-one conversion during debugging is not reliable.