Spy-genre Poll

[Committed Hero]

Finally, it's made it so that all advanced classes are accessible to all characters by level 6, and most are accessible by level 3 or 4. It always bugged me that a level 4 Fast hero could be a Soldier or Martial Artist but that a Strong hero had to be level 9 before he could be a Gunslinger or Bodyguard.

You should know that I would have paid serious money for an idea as well thought out as this.

 

[ValhallaGH]

You should know that I would have paid serious money for an idea as well thought out as this.

That's just about the biggest compliment you could give me.

Thank you.

 

[AscentStudios]

Depends on the licensing requirements. I'm not sure if True20 or Spycraft allow "shared" products, since they're supposed to be branded for the system.

IIRC, we do. And there's a demand for adventures...it's something that thus far we have not had the resources to put together (aside those for the Living Spycraft campaign).

Fire off an email to scott@crafty-games.com and he'll be able to sort you out. The license is free, at the very least

Alex

 

[EditorBFG]

That's just about the biggest compliment you could give me.

Thank you.

Do I gather that it is your own House Rules page you were linking to, then? If so, well done.

 

[Jim Hague]

Yes.

I went with the design philosophy of a group being balanced if it had three good skills, and that two Craft, Knowledge or Perform skills were equal to one good skill.

Not all the groups follow this idea. For example, Educated gives all but one knowledge skill. This was due to a desire to make it possible for a character to invest into all knowledge areas without having to choose eight different groups that completely overlap except in knowledge skills. A few groups, such as Perception, are also more powerful due to thematic reasons (all four of those skills are directly involved with perceiving things) but on the whole they stick to the 'three good skills' philosophy.
Honestly, the only group I have had any issues with is Educated. I haven't seen any abuse yet but it's possible. Then again, Knowledge skills are generally sub-par (hence the two for one equation above).


With regards to actual game play, I've been using these with my Modern game for several months now, and though characters are generally more powerful (they come up with cool ideas for their skills and I usually approve them), it's not an increase that has unbalanced the game nor made it less fun; quite the opposite, it's allowed the team to split up successfully during investigation phases, as they have the skills to do the legwork. Even though the martial artist can now act as a face, the negotiator is still head and shoulders better at it. Both players are happy, the Martial Artist with his ability to interact successfully and the Negotiator with her ability to socially dominate when she desires.

Finally, it's made it so that all advanced classes are accessible to all characters by level 6, and most are accessible by level 3 or 4. It always bugged me that a level 4 Fast hero could be a Soldier or Martial Artist but that a Strong hero had to be level 9 before he could be a Gunslinger or Bodyguard.

Y'know, just for interest's sake, you really ought to write this up - it's already pretty well done, and with a bit of polish, you could likely shop it to an existing PDF publisher for a bit of cash off sales. Seriously - I told HeapThaumaturgist the same thing, and IIRC, he's gotten on with a publisher. No reason to not make a bit of money, since you've obviously put some work in on this.

 

[WargamerX]

Two words...Top Secret.

 

[Greg K]

Two words...Top Secret.

Add S.I. to the end of that and I would add it to my list of suggestions. Good System. Unfortunately, my copy was stolen years ago.

 

[jdrakeh]

Wow! Those poll results definitely surprised me. I voted True20, though I would have voted Spycraft if the line's future weren't currently in Limbo pending negotiations with Mongoose. The support for Spycraft has been very spotty for several years and, for me, it makes more sense to play (and design for) a system with a clearly defined future in terms of ongoing publisher support. Sometimes, though, it looks like Fandom may win out over Conservative Business Practice. Right now, the latter seems to be down for the count.

 

[Pbartender]

...I would have voted Spycraft if the line's future weren't currently in Limbo pending negotiations with Mongoose. The support for Spycraft has been very spotty for several years and, for me, it makes more sense to play (and design for) a system with a clearly defined future in terms of ongoing publisher support...

You need to catch up on the news, then... http://crafty-games.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Crafty Games Update! World on Fire Complete! New PDFs Coming Soon! - Tuesday, November 14, 2006
World on Fire is complete and has been sent to Mongoose for review before it goes off to the printers! Huzzah!

World on Fire Release Date and Forums! - Monday, November 27, 2006 - Monday, November 27, 2006
We have another big holiday announcement on the horizon, but until then we thought you might like the low-down on our first print release! World on Fire will street March 19, 2007!

Alderac Entertain's Spycraft support was spotty.

Now that Spycraft is under the aegis of Crafty Games, things are looking good... Right now, it's just taking them a little bit of time to catch up on all the projects they have planned: World On Fire, Shatterpunk, Spellbound, Origin Of Species, Farthest Star, 10 Thousand Bullets, The Crucible, C:S, Bag Full Of Guns, Shadowforce Archer 2.0, Throwdown and Vow Of Silence, to name a few.

 

[marcoasalazarm]

I vote (again) for a D20 Modern system.

I mean, understandably everybody has their beliefs about rules and Spycraft and all (and defend them with a lot of zeal).
But I'm a poorly-resourced guy who might never see the god-damned book beyond ordering it on Amazon (which I can't-for now), so I'd prefer it to be accesible to us who only have access to the so-called 'meagerness' of Modern.