Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2011824" data-attributes="member: 18387">By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine RackInitiative RoundSpycraft: Dark Inheritance is a Spycraft campaign setting from Mythic Dreams Studios and Alderac Entertainment Group. This 256-page black-and-white hardcover is penned by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, Chad Justice, and Jason Olsan. The cover art by Veronica V. Jones depicts a lone figure showing off his ability, and Marko Djurdjevic, Marcio Fiorito, Santiago Iborra, Lief Jones, Socar Myles, Gabe Pena, Kevin Porter, Scott Purdy, Hian Rodriguez, Mattias Snygg, Alek Sheikman, and David Wong provide the interior artwork. Spycraft: Dark Inheritance retails for $34.99.It took me a moment to realize why this music was so familiar. That’s because I’ve danced this dance before. The tune is a little livelier, but I definitely recognize it. Back in October of last year, I reviewed a d20 Modern supplement called Dark Inheritance that described an Earth on which had opened a dimensional gateway that not only permitted all manner of nastiness to invade our world. Fortunately, the PCs, descendents of gods and their progeny, were there to protect us from what would surely destroy us all.Spycraft: Dark Inheritance is that self-same campaign setting, except this time it’s been developed as an official Spycraft setting. The basic premise is the same, but a few other things have changed, so I’ll treat this as a brand-new review, rather than an update to an existing product. Dark Inheritance describes a world transformed by disaster and wonder; a horrifying alternate version of our own Earth. It is a world ruled by silicon and steel, populated by the genetic descendents of gods and monsters who struggle against forces that wish nothing more than to twist the world to their own nightmarish vision. Welcome to the nightmare.On February 9, 2004, at exactly 6:31 am (local time), the sky over Jerusalem peeled back and exploded. Because of this description, provided by several eyewitnesses, the event would become dubbed the Rip. Almost immediately, a state of emergency was declared and troops were sent in to rescue as many government leaders as possible. Forced into retreat, they described a world gone mad; buildings toppling everywhere, spars and beams appearing from nowhere to impale the unwary, and blocks of stone falling from great heights, even over what had formerly been open plazas. To the helicopters that flew overhead, it was as though the city had disappeared in a cloud of dust.In the aftermath, the world came to a grinding, screeching halt as national monuments across the globe were evacuated, stock markets shut down, and world leaders pledged the aid of their governments in helping Israel find those responsible. Earth was poised on the brink of war. As the world slowly began to start up again, attendance at religious events has skyrocketed, and reports have begun to come in of wild animal attacks and monstrous creature sightings.Within Jerusalem itself, it is apparent that the ruins of another, more ancient city from some other place merged with the existing one, creating a permanent rift between our world and someplace else. Someone trying to leave Jerusalem might suddenly find themselves in this other place. The media began calling it the Otherworld, and the name quickly caught on. Now, with safe roadways marked, exploration of the Otherworld has begun in earnest. Strange relics have already been recovered, that are completely unlike anything known on Earth.Fortunately for us mere mortals, each of us carries within our genetic code a secret. It’s a tiny secret, and most will never even realize they have it. It is a gene passed down through millions of years, of which most of us have only a trace, the smallest fragment of a particular sequence. But there are those who have more; a genetic code within their bodies that, under the right circumstances, overlap and form what is called a Godgene.Even those with a full sequence may never know their full potential, but fortunately for the rest of us, some do. These beings, collectively known as Inheritors or “titans,” can be categorized into one of five Lineages, with each Lineage sharing common traits, abilities, and weaknesses. The Godgenes grant these individuals powers once attributed to the gods of old. These groups of powers are collectively known as Legacies. Birthrights, in turn, are specific Legacy powers that each individual manifests. But Legacies and Birthrights come with a price. With each manifestation, a titan is threatened by a slow transformation that will eventually make them into something of immense power, but removed from humanity.To add flavor to the world of Dark Inheritance, seven agencies have been detailed that represent some of the major players on the scene. They are: The Brotherhood of the Iron Rose (a clandestine Catholic order that exists solely to protect the Church, Christianity, and the world from evil), the Eight Heavenly Dragons (a Chinese crime syndicate operating out of Hong Kong and New York City), First Team (a band of mercenaries based in South America that will work for whomever can pay them, no matter what the job entails or why the client wants it done), Fugo A Watu (a cadre of ancient conspirators struggling to keep secret what must be kept hidden from the eyes of man), the International Geographic Society (a name synonymous with science and exploration, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and understanding), Project T.I.T.A.N. (a black program within the NSA whose mission is to control information about the Godgene and to identify, then either recruit or destroy, titans all over the world), and the Promethean Order (a secret society of sorcerers and sages devoted to containing dark secrets from the Otherworld). Each agency is fully-fleshed out and ready to add to your game, with history, goals and methods, organization, how the characters fit in, headquarters, plot hooks, enemies, and the genre (style of play) that the organization best fits into. There are also rules for using each organization as a threat.The very nature of the campaign necessitates a few changes from the standard Spycraft rules. One of these is that each player must choose an allegiance for their character. It is recommended that a player choose to ally his character with one of the seven agencies, and certain benefits are provided for doing so. If, for example, a character is allied with the Project: T.I.T.A.N., he gains a +3 bonus to clearance favor checks and may requisition gadgets at the normal cost (as opposed to the +2 RP that other characters must pay). Allegiances are so important to the game, that an entire system of mechanics has been created around the concept.A Dark Inheritance campaign also introduces several new classes, four of which are revised from other Spycraft products, to stand alongside the base classes from the standard Spycraft campaign. The new classes are the advocate, the explorer, the martial artist, the scientist, and the sleuth. These represent unique character options available in the action, mystery, and conspiracy genres.Dark Inheritance also introduces new backgrounds, departments, new skill uses, 31 new feats, and a brand-new option, the hybrid macro-species (a blend of human and animal DNA). New prestige classes are the edgemaster (a martial artist who has mastered melee weapons), the genesoldier (given super-human abilities through gene alteration), and the witness (overseeing the development of bloodlines for the Fugo a Watu). Other, more minor changes include the substitution of resource points (RP) for gadget points and the increased cost of gadgets and favors.One of the two biggest changes to the system however, is the addition of Arcane Crafts; in layman’s terms, magic. Any agent may become a Craft-user, either by choosing a feat that permits the use of magic or by taking levels in an arcane base class. All Craft-users have a focus that helps them link to the Ethereal, which they manipulate to cast spells. Arcanists use physical devices to form this link, while gnostics are innately linked to the Ethereal and are in essence living foci. Craft-users gain ethereal points (EP), representing the amount of ethereal energy the Craft-user can manipulate safely. With experience, a Craft-user learns to cast more powerful spells safely. A Craft-user can spend EP equal to the level of the spell to cast any spell up to her safe casting level with no risks. Sometimes, however, a caster will want to use a spell that is beyond their means or will not have the necessary EP available. In this case, they can attempt an Incantation skill check. Using an Incantation costs no EP, but is very taxing, and often dangerous. A caster will almost always suffer subdual damage, and actual wound damage is a distinct possibility.Craft-users come in two types—arcanist and gnostics. The primary difference between the two is in the way that their spells are handled. Arcanists imbue special items called foci (sing.: focus) with mystical energies, effectively “writing” spells to the focus. Each focus can hold a certain number of spell levels, determined by its size and power (a rating from 1 to 5). Without a focus, an arcanist is unable to cast even the weakest spell. Gnostics on the other hand, are living foci. Instead of having a broad selection of spells to add to foci, they cast from domains. At first level, a gnostic possesses knowledge of one domain. At 4th level, and every 4th level thereafter, a new domain is gained.Besides the two new base classes, Dark Inheritance also has arcane prestige classes. The two-fisted god of guns is a direct descendent of the mystic warriors of ancient China, replacing flashing swords with a sleek pistol. The watcher is a member of the Promethean Order that specializes in ingratiating himself to titans, particularly those that know little or nothing or their powers. The section on Arcane Crafts finishes with a few new skills and feats unique to that calling.It has already been explained that every person in Dark Inheritance has a fragment of a genetic code that links them to ancient powers. It has also been pointed out that only a select few possess enough code to make anything of it. Those lucky few are called inheritors or, more colloquially, titans. Titans are divided into lineages, distinct bloodlines, of which there are five known to have survived into the modern era. Each lineage has, in turn, three legacies, which bestow specific supernatural powers on inheritors called birthrights.“Titan” is a new macro-species, but the species is surprisingly well-balanced and should fit into a campaign alongside more mundane characters without causing too much disruption. Though the titans are very powerful beings, each also has an inherent weakness that can be easily exploited by those who know of it (and these weaknesses aren’t exactly a well-kept secret). Furthermore, their great powers are tempered by a mechanic called strain. Manifesting a birthright is a difficult proposition, and it subjects the titan to a struggle to maintain his human qualities. Each time a titan manifests a birthright, he gains strain points as the birthright stresses his body beyond human limitations. Strain leaves agents fatigued and exhausted. In addition, there is always a possibility that the character will undergo a legendary transformation, receiving a penalty of some potentially harmful, debilitating, or dangerous effect.A chapter on the Rip focuses on Jerusalem, including changes to the landscape, means of getting in and out, and the Otherworld. Though relatively little is known about this other dimension, what information has been uncovered is provided here. This section also contains a short bestiary of some of the more dangerous creatures that have been discovered on forays into the Otherworld.The final chapter, Abyssal Terrors, introduces the GC to the nightmares that plague the world of Dark Inheritance. The spiteful creatures from the Abyss known as the Daemonhost are chief among these, and this chapter provides plenty of detail on them. A magic system similar to the one used by Craft-users (but subtly different) is outlined here, by which cultists can draw power through deals with beings from other realities. Rites and rituals are an entirely new kind of magic system that do not require levels in a Craft-using class, but rely instead on the arcane knowledge of the invoker.In many ways, the Spycraft version of Dark Inheritance is similar to its d20 Modern predecessor, but somehow it just seems to fit so much better as a Spycraft campaign than it did as a d20 Modern campaign. I can’t really explain why this is; it just seems to work better here. If I was excited to run a Dark Inheritance campaign previously, now I’m ecstatic! Critical HitOne thing that stands out is the magic system. Spells from nearly any d20 System product can be easily adapted to Dark Inheritance through a simple conversion system. A few sample spells have been included, and some official conversions can be found on the Dark Inheritance website. Rather than waste space printing what is already available through the SRD, Dark Inheritance simply provides you the means to utilize it; a masterful stroke.Critical FumbleI’d really like to have seen more prestige classes. Of the five prestige classes described herein, four require allegiance to a particular organization. There’s nothing wrong with this, but why not offer prestige classes for all seven power groups, as well as some prestige classes that don’t have to be aligned with a particular group? I just felt that there’s far more here that could have been done, but wasn’t.I didn’t spot too many errors in spelling or grammar, but one stands out. A title in the chapter on the Rip spells Fotherworld Creatures, where I’m fairly certain that they meant to say Otherworld Creatures. I zeroed in on this one only because the title is several font sizes larger than the surrounding text, and it seems like something that the proofreaders would have spotted right off.The big miss, so far as I’m concerned is that none of the rules for relics made it into the Spycraft version. Relics were one of the things that most impressed me about Dark Inheritance in the first place, and the fact that they were omitted from this printing doesn’t sit well with me at all. Relics made a great Magoffin for Dark Inheritance games that gave the PCs something to look for and their enemies something to come after. I also found myself missing some of the more interesting modern elementals that had been included in the original campaign.Coup de GraceOn the whole, Mythic Dreams Studios has taken what was a great concept for d20 Modern and morphed it into a really great concept for Spycraft. I’d like to have seen a little more detail put into certain areas, but it’s still not a bad work at all. The campaign is very playable and offers a wealth of options, no matter what your style is.The majority of the book, with the exception of key campaign elements such as the various agencies, birthrights, and most thematic story elements is declared as Open Game Content. That leaves a rather vague impression of what exactly you can or can’t use, but the mechanics seem to be opted for OGC, at any rate. As far as the artwork goes, some of it has been lifted from the original campaign setting for d20 Modern, but there’s as much new as there is old here, and most of it is well-done. I found a few of the drawings too cartoonish for my personal tastes, but little of the art seemed out-of-place with regards to the surrounding text. I was particularly impressed with the index, a well-referenced piece that makes finding what you need much less a chore.Final Grade: A-</blockquote>

Verification