[SPYCRAFT 2.0] How does it play?

[Henry]

Do you find that you always have your nose in the book because you have to constantly look things up?

If I only had one big complaint about Spycraft 2, it was the extra conditions and statuses (stati?) in the book. For example, there's no freaking way you could put all the rules for fire damage on one reference card (unless it was in 4-point-type). Which adding to verisimilitude, they really didn't add to playability for me. Also, the difference between sprawled and prone, etc. really didn't make a lot of difference in combat, and to me seems to slow things down than speed them up.

I love their reference cards for the dramatic comflicts: I'd consider them almost essential to running the game with drama conflicts (and I can't consider running a chase with them, much less the other options for brainwashing, seduction, etc.)

 

[Psion]

Another question to the GM's out there: Have you made any cards or handouts for the various conditions, options, rules, etc to speed up play?

Someone already made one; it's in the download section of the Crafty site. Or you can just click here:
http://www.crafty-games.com/downloads/Spycraft_2.0_GC_Handout.pdf

Do you find that you always have your nose in the book because you have to constantly look things up?

For combat actions, page 4 of the above sheets take care of most of my problems.

The biggest issue in this vein for me is skill checks. The way two modifiers apply to every skill and differently in different situations often throws me for a loop. If it's a roll I am making on the fly instead of pulling it from the book, and the use isn't obvious, I'll just let the player use the best modifier.

 

[Gundark]

The biggest issue in this vein for me is skill checks. The way two modifiers apply to every skill and differently in different situations often throws me for a loop. If it's a roll I am making on the fly instead of pulling it from the book, and the use isn't obvious, I'll just let the player use the best modifier.

I have to say that skills are the biggest annoyance. I'm thinking of using the Saga edition version of skills. Having two possible modifiers to a skills means looking it up at times. I do think the skills need cleaning up (two possible skills for the same thing, etc).

 

[Psion]

I have to say that skills are the biggest annoyance. I'm thinking of using the Saga edition version of skills.

To each their own I guess. The skills are the part I like the least about SW SE.


Anyways, having just got back from a game, one thing I found myself referring to a lot was the critical miss results.