I have Spycraft 2.0 in my possession

[Ghostwind]

Yes, true believers, it is real. I have a copy of Spycraft 2.0 in my hands and it is a huge book. 496 pages to be exact. So ask away, but be patient. I managed to break my wrist and hand last night and type slower than a turtle now.

It is OGL with everything you need in this one book. Lots of changes from 1.0 mostly streamlining and making action go smoother from the looks. I'm still reading and digesting it as I go...

 

[Northern Guard]

You lucky guy! Other than chases, what other kinds of "Dramatic Conflicts" are included in the book?

 

[Henry]

What would you say are the biggest changes to individual characters, in four word sentences or less?

We already know about the talent and background replacement for departments, so what else?

 

[Teflon Billy]

Have they done away with the inaptly named "Departments" and replaced them with somehting else?

 

[CSB046]

I am so beyond jealous right now.

 

[Henry]

Have they done away with the inaptly named "Departments" and replaced them with somehting else?

From their web preview, they replaced Departments with a combo of "Talent" and "Specialty". Talent is what you're like, Specialty is what your background is before agency work.

e.g. Agile, Caustic, Gonzo, etc. are combined with Doctor, Operative, Playboy, etc.

So you get Agile Playboys, Gonzo Test Subjects, Caustic Doctors, etc.

 

[Tonguez]

How transferable is it to Non-Spy modern games (is it a viable alternative to Modern D20)

ie could I for instance play Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Paranoia or Superheroes using this ruleset?

whats the time span? ie can I play 30s Pulp, Victorian, Western, Logans Run, Star Wars?

 

[Ghostwind]

You lucky guy! Other than chases, what other kinds of "Dramatic Conflicts" are included in the book?

Dramatic Conflicts p. 362-389
Besides chases, they also include brainwashing, hacking, infiltration, interrogation, manhunts, seduction, and organizations. Conflicts are broken into 4 basic steps: choosing strategies, making opposing skill checks, resolution, and outside actions.

What would you say are the biggest changes to individual characters, in four word sentences or less? We already know about the talent and background replacement for departments, so what else?

More class choices. Most of the base classes from Dark Inheritance are now in the book. No multiclass XP penalties. Expert classed have a prerequisite set that require you to be at least Level 5 before taking.

How transferable is it to Non-Spy modern games (is it a viable alternative to Modern D20)? (I.E. could I for instance play Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Paranoia or Superheroes using this ruleset?) Whats the time span? (i.e. can I play 30s Pulp, Victorian, Western, Logans Run, Star Wars?)

It's certainly designed to be modern so playing a 30's pulp, Victorian, or futuristic era would be difficult (but not impossible if you willing to put some work into it). Is it viable for alt-d20 Modern? I'd say so with a little bit of work.

 

[jaerdaph]

Is there any FX in the book, or the FX material from the defunct Shadowforce Archer campaign?

Thanks in advance.

 

[AscentStudios]

How transferable is it to Non-Spy modern games (is it a viable alternative to Modern D20)

ie could I for instance play Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Paranoia or Superheroes using this ruleset?

whats the time span? ie can I play 30s Pulp, Victorian, Western, Logans Run, Star Wars?

The book is designed for modern-era (ie late 19th to early 21st century) gaming in the main book since that's what was expected of us I was the lucky ducky who got to write the dozen or so different ways you can tweak the platform to run in different periods across this time - from Westerns to chop sockey to military and near-future. On the whole, the game is much more deliberately a platform for modern-styled games than the previous version, so non-spy games are not just a possibility - they're an intention

As for questions re: weirdness like psionics or space opera - that's not "core" at this time, but we certainly plan to address these things in the future. Speaking from experience, I have written a rather successful (at least, in playtest) 2.0 Star Wars conversion with only a little work. Those of you with the Shadowforce Archer stuff already on hand will be pleased to know there's a conversion appendix so you can bring some "fx" (what's that, again? ) over to the new version while we get a chance to do it up right.