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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DM_Jeff" data-source="post: 2009143" data-attributes="member: 3687">Shadowforce Archer is the first full-fledged campaign setting for AEG's Spycraft espionage d20 roleplaying game.Shadowforce Archer Campaign SettingBy Patrick Kapera and Kevin WilsonCover art: Veronica V. Jones$34.95 256-page campaign settingISBN: 1-887953-50-7Introduction: It certainly looks like AEG got a sneak peek at the d20 modern rules when over a month ago they released their hardcover spy d20 roleplaying hardcover. The game was touted by reviewers as complete, solid, and well designed. Shadowforce Archer offers an alternate current day setting for high-end espionage games. While the core rules were left somewhat vague on background to allow creation freedom for players, Shadowforce Archer is a pre-made setting with god guys, bad guys, history and lots of new Spycraft rules for players and GM's alike.Review: Shadowforce Archer is a 256-page hardcover campaign setting for the Spycraft espionage game. It is to that RPG as Greyhawk is to D&D; it's Alderac's flagship setting to base their interactive adventures off of (more on that later). Text density is excellent, border size very good. Layout is crisp and clean, identical to the Spycraft game with glossy pages, B&W artwork, nine full-color pages, silver headers and bars, and a very polished, slick overall feel. The hardcover itself feels very durable. Artwork ranges from Good to very good.An interesting note mentioned above, this campaign setting will be an interactive one, meaning that as well as playing your own version of the story hooks within, you can embellish your game with official lore in the form of fiction and updates from the Shadowforce Archer Website (http://www.shadowforcearcher.com/). Apparently you'll also be able to participate by sending in mission reports and the like helping to shape the setting in the future. This isn't the major draw of the game, however, and GMs who wish to create their own stories from the material presented shouldn't feel restricted or obligated to consult this stuff.The book has a big setup. The basis for the setting is the Archer Foundation, a private group whose self-imposed mission is to protect the world from itself, even if it doesn't know or want it. This Australian-based organization has different Chambers, divisions that each take a section of the world as their "domain", and so each one represents not only a slightly different style of spies, but a different style of play. Conveniently, members from various chambers frequently work together to better combat the forces of evil, thus PCs from different chambers have immediate game help in banding together. Each on of these Chambers has a different feel and background, the Archer foundation, the African Alliance, The Company (North & South Americas, Canada, etc.), European Commonwealth, Guardians of the Whispering Knife (Middle East), Pan-Asian Collective, Room 39 (England, Ireland, Scotland), and the Russian Confederacy. Each is given an overview section so players can get basic information on them all before selecting a Chamber for their agent. For ease of use, Shadowforce Archer uses our own earth and history as a basis, and then quickly but carefully embellishes it and changes key points to explain off some important points in history with it's own conspiracy theory and villainous organizations. This helps give GMs stuff to work with. One of the largest portions of the book takes each of the Chambers or "Shadow Communities" mentioned above and delves into them in great detail. Once a PC decides on which to belong to, they should get into the real meant and drink descriptions of the various factions. Not only is the book simply filled with text, here's a nod to the editors and writers: it's USEFUL text, the type of stuff that either inspired PCs and GMs or gives useful details and information, not fluff or dwelling paragraphs on irrelevant stuff. Each section tells you who's in charge, what their modes of operation are, lots of plot hooks and complications, NPCs (who get stat blocks in low, medium and high-level so you can introduce them at nearly any point in your game for balance). So you really get a feel for the differences in the Chambers, they eventually boil down the basic idea into a single paragraph for each, provide archetypes from fact and fiction to give you an idea of the style, offer Inspirations in the form of comics, books, and movies to set the mood for that Chamber, and even appropriate soundtrack music! Very good work.Players also get treated to a bunch of new rules options and crunchy bits. You are brought step-by-step through the PC creation rules with notes on making a Spycraft PC a Shadowforce Archer PC, Introduce new prestige classes (the Cat burglar, Counter-Terrorist, Hacker and Sniper. Each one offers a very unique (i.e. not borrowed abilities from elsewhere, but TRULY unique) powers and abilities as they progress, well tuned to the themes they sport. There are also rules for Chemical Monsters (special scientific modifications you can make to agents to boost their abilities to superhuman capacity. This has lots of great storytelling hooks built in…once an agent start treatment he forever requires boosters to keep it up. Overdosing is possible and each one also has a side effect.In its own section, psionics are now part of the Spycraft game with full, complete d20 "modern psion" classes, powers, and rules. The Mentalist, Physical Adept and Telepath are offered as new core classes each with their own range of feats, powers, and skills, largely mirroring and embellishing the base d20 psionics rules (so most concepts will be immediately familiar). A whole bunch of psionic gadgets make the rules complete. There is a lot of work put into these, which is perfect as The Archer Foundations newest enemy is known as The Shop, the division that concentrated on psi-experimentation and development which has gone rogue.Psionics not enough? The push the boundaries with "The Mystic World" full rules for playing characters that can focus the power within them to such potent level to create nearly supernatural effects. These are called Mystic Agents.There's a new prestige class to highlight their use (called the Shadespeaker) and a new set of feats and mystic rites are detailed in game mechanics. These are not spells, but mirror some of their flashier effects through new rules for complex skill checks (simple DC checks tailored to the flavor the system is trying to evoke). This helps you add all those bizarre "Indiana Jones"-like relics and 'magic' items. Got villains? What's a good spy without great villains? And so using the exceptional design principals from Spycraft, AEG offers a host of new criminal organizations set for specific types of campaigns (by length and style) and PC suggested levels. Each gets the breakdown of rules from Spycraft as well as a bunch of specific villains (complete with detailed backgrounds to firmly set them in the game world), plot hooks, and specific missions. The Circle of Hate, Dr. Fu and the Lung Triad, P.E.R.I.L, The Shop, and The Hand of Glory are all offered up thus and not only have cool names but provide all sorts of variety and inspiration for the GM. In the rear of the bopok we get a full glossary of terms (very useful and friendly design), and a gigantic INDEX referencing very carefully everything in the book. Conclusion: After their base rules set, Alderac has taken the next step in creating a cohesive campaign setting for commonality in storytelling, convention games and online support. Shadowforce Archer takes many familiar themes and blends them into a setting that can be played out with different genres under a common setting. Gamemasters who are looking for great help in creating a world for their Spycraft games can't do better than this. -Jeff Ibach</blockquote>

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