Dark Inherentance goes Spycraft

[Psion]

I see nobody has discussed this, so I though I'd repost it here:

Today, at the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas we at Mythic Dreams Studios announced the upcoming release of a new and official Spycraft Family setting - Dark Inheritance - to be released at Origins this year. Dark Inheritance is a 2003 ENnie Award Nominee for Best Campaign Setting. It is a modern world of mythic horror and this book is the first in a line of products that explores this world of terrifying action. This is not a stand alone game; rather it is a part of the Spycraft Family, a new world setting powered by the wildly popular Spycraft d20 engine. While Spycraft was originally designed to emulate fast and flashy superspy action, the Spycraft engine is eminently capable of portraying the terrifying and cinematically mystical action that is mythic horror. An official press release will follow soon with more information about this exciting new world setting.

As a teaser, check back tomorrow for a look at the fantastic cover created by Veronica Jones for the Dark Inheritance setting book! And guess what color the background will be!?

Initially I was not excited; I didn't care too much about DI the first time around. But then, one of the authors said something that intrigued me:

I'm thinking two Spycraft-style base classes with spell casting ability. None of the fire-and-forget stuff, but still able to neatly import spells from other products. There are a LOT of good and interesting spells out there, so drawing upon that versitility can add a lot to the Dark Inheritance experience.

Adepts master the powers of magic through knowledge, discipline, and foci (objects with connections to the Ethereal - the source of all magic power). As foci have been all but forgotten on Earth (lost to age and accidents), this is a very old style of magic nearly vanished from the world, and now renewed by the Rip. Adepts have a very limited numer of spells at their disposal (limited to those 'imbedded' in their focus), but have surprising flexibility. They also can perform a number of tricks by manipulating raw Etherial energy (a process wich causes temporary Constitution drain in mortals).

Gnostics also tap the Ethereal, but through intense, focused belief. Like adepts, gnostics have been denied the full extent of their powers for millenia, but as the world rings like a bell after the hammer-blow of the Rip, the Ethereal is slowly moving back into conjunction with the visible world, and some of the faithful are finding their dedication rewarded in unexpected ways...

Beyond these two styles of etherial magic, the Dark Inheritance world also further explores the power of evocations. Lurking in shadows deeper than ever before, the Daemonhost train their worshipers in occult arts, reviving rituals long forgotten - or more often stamped out - in their quest to anihilate the inheritors of their ancient jailors.

See this thread on the Spycraft boards for more info:
http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6009&start=0

So what do you think? Good? Bad?

 

[King of Old School]

Mixed bag. On one hand, I love D20 Modern and intensely dislike Spycraft's "collectible rules" product design, so seeing anything go from D20M to SC feels like losing one to the "bad guys" when D20M could desperately use all the setting product it can get. Also, I thought DI had a huge amount of unrealized potential in its first incarnation. OTOH, a second edition would allow the setting to realize some of that potential and iron out some of the (considerable) bugs, plus it seems that they are very comfortable with Spycraft as a rules engine. The new DI could be fantastic, and add value to my SC purchase. Also, the death of SFA means that my major bugaboo with SC is dead and gone.

On a totally incidental note, the cover for DI2e rocks -- a big improvement on the first edition cover and, I think, more likely to grab attention on the shelves.

KoOS

 

[Von Ether]

Mixed bag. On one hand, I love D20 Modern and intensely dislike Spycraft's "collectible rules" product design, ....
KoOS

While I agree that I am not a fan of the "collectable rules" as SC offers them, d20 M wasn't much better depending on what you wanted from the system. Until recently, if you want to really do a FX game in d20 M then you still had to spit out your $70-$80 to do it. Now that UA is in the SRD, it can be cheaper.

And while I could be wrong, I still feel that if Urban Arcana sold like WotC wanted to then they would have put off slipping it in the SRD for a while longer. In fact, the company avoided putting in the FX classes in the core book into the SRD becuse they were "IP." Some how the FX classes lost their "IP" status when it became obvious that WotC wasn't going to stick to their orginal plan of putting out a d20 Modern world book out once a year, i.e., Urban Arcana (done), Shadow Chasers (now SRD), Agents of Psi (now SRD), and Genetech (cut out of the core book and made into a Polyhedron article.)

 

[King of Old School]

While I agree that I am not a fan of the "collectable rules" as SC offers them, d20 M wasn't much better depending on what you wanted from the system. Until recently, if you want to really do a FX game in d20 M then you still had to spit out your $70-$80 to do it. Now that UA is in the SRD, it can be cheaper.

I think there's a big difference between farming out rules to a lengthy series of supplements (a hardback plus 6 softcovers) that bundles the crunch with strongly-flavoured, setting-specific content, and farming out rules to a single setting-specific (but largely toolkit-oriented) hardback. The costs and product design are not really comparable IMO, and I'm not bringing the "generic" supplements into play (like the SC class guides or the D20M books like Menace Manual and Weapons Locker). I do acknowledge your point, though.

On a semi-related note: does anyone know if Mythic Dreams is still planning to release Modern Spellcraft for D20M?

KoOS

 

[Krieg]

OK why have I never heard of this product before?!

Hmm, just read the reviews here on ENW & over on Mortality....

...and ordered a copy of the original edition from Overstock.com (after not being able to find a copy on eBay) for $20.89. Will no doubt pick up the new version when it is available as well.

Nothing quite like an impulse buy initiated by a message board! lol

 

[Von Ether]

I think there's a big difference between farming out rules to a lengthy series of supplements (a hardback plus 6 softcovers) that bundles the crunch with strongly-flavoured, setting-specific content, and farming out rules to a single setting-specific (but largely toolkit-oriented) hardback. ....
KoOS

... depends on what you needs are.

For my psionics/power armor setting, Spycraft's core book, SFA and Shop book give me what I need for $95, right now. For d20 Modern, I'd need the Corebook, d20 Future and Urban Arcana for $115 and I am still waiting.

For a purely magic game (ignoring the completely different game mechanics/style) d20 Modern offers me more for less.

I also have to agree that some of it is the "attitude" of the companies and fellow customers. If you ask for more SF on a WotC board, the answers are slower coming and your fellow posters are not so sympathetic. You talk about magic, though and you are right in the buzz.

On a Spycraft board, the chatter leans more towards SF.

 

[Von Ether]

Thank you Mongoose!

Oh wait! There is another third alternative ...Thanks to Mongoose and Green Ronin

After Mongoose's OGL d20 Modern book (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/core/detail.php?qsID=383&qsSeries=Core), and Green Ronin's Psychic Hand book, you could grab d20 Future and it would be $70.

But that in essence is the use of other 3rd party publishers to get around the marketing schemes of both AEG and WotC. LOL!

 

[King of Old School]

For my psionics/power armor setting, Spycraft's core book, SFA and Shop book give me what I need for $95, right now. For d20 Modern, I'd need the Corebook, d20 Future and Urban Arcana for $115 and I am still waiting.

Isn't powered armor in the PAC book? Tack on another $24.95. Besides, for that money I'd be paying for a lot of setting and metaplot that I have zero interest in or use for; the D20M corebook and D20 Future are toolkit books largely devoid of inherent setting or ongoing metaplot, and the setting in UrbArc is very generic. And I'm not sure why you'd need UrbArc, since it has minimal psionics content and what it does have will be repeated or supplanted by D20 Future.

While I'm not crazy about the proliferation of crunch and rules bloat across umpteen supplements in general, my specific complaint with Spycraft is that the crunch is integrated in a setting that I really don't want. If the content (esp. the PAC stuff) had been included in a silver-cover book instead of a black-cover one, I'd be a lot less down on SC.

KoOS

 

[Davelozzi]

Shadow Chasers (now SRD), Agents of Psi (now SRD)

I hadn't realized that the class info for those setting had made it into the SRD. thanks!

 

[Von Ether]

Isn't powered armor in the PAC book? Tack on another $24.95. Besides, for that money I'd be paying for a lot of setting and metaplot that I have zero interest in or use for; the D20M corebook and D20 Future are toolkit books largely devoid of inherent setting or ongoing metaplot, and the setting in UrbArc is very generic. And I'm not sure why you'd need UrbArc, since it has minimal psionics content and what it does have will be repeated or supplanted by D20 Future.

KoOS

* The shop book mentioned earlier includes advanced psionics, advanced gadgeteer rules, and power armor. And most of the setting that's left is easily stolen for Hard SF plots.

*The possible repeat of material in UA is a catch 22 for WotC. If the company repeats the info in UA, then the psionics is UA (basicaly a bone to thrown to the psionics crowd) is now wasted space. If they don't repeat it, then a person may feel like they were treated like an AEG customer.

* SFA's psionics, several full classes in the core books, and PrCs in suppliments. d20 Modern, two AdCs in the core, one PrC in UA. ouch.

* Timeliness: All of SFA's psionics stuff is out. d20 Modern, stilll waiting almost two years later.

Then again, a LOT of d20 Modern customers I have chatted with really don't care, it's the magic they want.

So long story short, for my needs AEG's marketing machine and focus has worked for me and my pocket book(yeah), WotC's marketing and focus hasn't (shrug).

Can't fault either company for doing things they felt made them a profit.

Again, thank you for Mongoose and GR.