Thoughts on Shadowforce Archer?

[Horacio]

I have a question: How are the prestige classes? Is the Sniper cool?

And another related question, is he similar to Pinnacle's Weird War II Sniper?

 

[Gaius]

The Archer Conspiracy is on the ropes.

By minimizing the various national intelligence agencies to puppet status, I think you lose a lot of scenario potential. There is just too much cooperation going on for my tastes. I like the idea of an independent, multinational agency with the same kinds of goals, but it needs to be smaller, and therefore more challenged by individual government actions as well as vast criminal conspiracies. As it is, it just feels too powerful and organized.

In my estimation, few of the major intelligence agencies are puppets of the Archer Conspiracy. While it seems to be true that Archer syphons resources from a wide number of them, I didn't really get the impression that they were running the show in most of them. For instance, the CIA seems to be a thorn in Archer's side, more often than not. An agency with roguish tendencies despite Archer's manipulations. And I liked the idea of MI5 as being on to the Archer Conspiracy (and thus a potential enemy, despite being on the same side).

At first read, I would have agreed with you about the Archer Conspiracy being too far ranging and all-powerful. However, the more I began to get into the setting, the more I realized what a precarious position the Conspiracy is in. The Shop has broken away, leaving behind moles and saboteurs. The Pan-Asian Collective may be breeding infiltrators into the Archer Foundation. PERIL is in control of the Russian Confederacy. The Guardians of the Whispering Knife seem to be pursuing their own agenda as much as Archer's. The Company seems to have a hard time with the CIA and Room 39 is up against a wall with MI5. Add to this the various criminal syndicates that seem to be just as powerful as Archer, and you have a pretty beleagured agency.

The way I'm playing it, agents from different Chambers are inherently distrusting of one another, for one of any number of reasons. With all the bad mojo floating around the Conspiracy, most people are retreating to known ground and not exposing themselves to the dangers from within. The Archer Foundation is working to get things back together, but there's a lot that's quickly spinning out of control. It's a perfect setting; a vast, multi-national, all-powerful conspiracy on the brink of an internal breakdown in the face of growing threats from without. Great stuff.

Gaius