Dieter
Yup.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS - Comments on previous/current Spycraft ca
Dieter
Dieter
Anyone else? I'll give the regulars until Monday to post otherwise there will be room for at least one new character for the current campaign.
fanchergw
Quote:Ready to kill if the opportunity presents itself.Quote: from Dieter on 11:36 am on Nov. 24, 2004
Anyone else? I'll give the regulars until Monday to post otherwise there will be room for at least one new character for the current campaign.
threadbare
aye. I'm just a little less than high-activity, but I'm still on it.
Dieter
Team Artis, we'll be picking up your end of the story if/when we get this heinous combat situation resolved. Sit back and be glad you're not getting your arse kicked by Russians...yet.
Gatac
Something in general...I notice we've always had a bit of trouble getting to where we wanted to go and having some cover to work with. So I thought about that, and came to the conclusion that a travelling band has an excuse to lug around a truck full of equipment and be on the road pretty much anywhere.
Then I noticed nobody on the current team had a rank in Perform. Not a single lousy one.
Damn you for shattering my dream.
Gatac
Then I noticed nobody on the current team had a rank in Perform. Not a single lousy one.
Damn you for shattering my dream.
Gatac
Dieter
I also find it funny that Carla and Ayumi are alone on a train in the middle of Siberia and neither one of 'em has Russian as a language.
threadbare
Yeah, but we have "knife" as a language, and that's just as good in most situations.
Dieter
Quote:Indeed. Knife-to-the-throat is much better than small-talk. More to the point...get it? Point?Quote: from Threadbare on 2:31 pm on Dec. 16, 2004
Yeah, but we have "knife" as a language, and that's just as good in most situations.
Nevermind.
Gatac
That pun didn't cut it, Dieter.
Gatac
Gatac
Gatac
I have mentioned it to Dieter and Punkey already, but more stuff on Spycraft 2.0 has been released, primarily the names of the 12 (!) base classes in the 2.0 core release. This looks to be a giant whammy of gaming goodness. Look here.
Just sayin'.
Also, Peter and Moten know each other, but have yet to realise that. Gonna be a heck of a first meeting.
Gatac
Just sayin'.
Also, Peter and Moten know each other, but have yet to realise that. Gonna be a heck of a first meeting.
Gatac
Dieter
I'll still be running my game off of SEH ver 1.0
Need I mention the irritation that is the publishing of new editions of games. Four years is too short of a timespan for a full update. I don't understand why they can't just .pdf the revised portions and issue it that way.
I'm not plunking down another 35 bucks.
Need I mention the irritation that is the publishing of new editions of games. Four years is too short of a timespan for a full update. I don't understand why they can't just .pdf the revised portions and issue it that way.
I'm not plunking down another 35 bucks.
Gatac
Apparently, the SEH 2.0 is a lot of folding errata and corrections as well as rule changes from later books into one.
And no worries about buying blind, I'll take care of that when it comes out and give a short review.
Gatac
And no worries about buying blind, I'll take care of that when it comes out and give a short review.
Gatac
Dieter
I know the pacing of this mission is a bit spotty, but dealing with three seperate plotlines and six (make that seven) characters is quite an undertaking.
IP and Threadbare...you guys still around?
IP and Threadbare...you guys still around?
threadbare
aye. Just finished up my last final. Damn weird ass colleges that schedule finals after the break...
Gatac
New Spycraft Books: World Militaries and Battlegrounds.
I guess I should start with US Militaries, which is the first one in this little line of "military" books (and which I technically bought much earlier, but hey). As it stands, it's a damned good overview of armed forces in the US, covering Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce and Coast Guard. Unlike, say, the class guides that I assume you folks are familiar with, this book is almost all flavor, though there's a sizeable section of crunch in the back, with a few feats, a promotion system and new training programs, as well as sample vehicles. The main attraction remains text; if you want to play an agent who has worked within one of the described forces (or still does), you'll probably find it quite interesting in a quick, concise description of what you need to know about a particular branch to roleplay it. There's tons of litle details and tidbits thrown in, too. Another highlight are the modular departments for each branch, so you can serve the same rough function in, say, the Air Force and Navy and still have a graspable mechanical difference. The promotion system is a very fringe-ey ruleset - unless you're in a heavily military campaign, you'll probably never see it.
World Militaries goes even further into the flavour section, with the rules chapter almost alarmingly short, but sweet. The modular department idea from USM is not followed upon, but then I guess you could apply the departments there to most any military following a similar structure. Here, the specific departments shine; Ghurkas, French Foreign Legion or the Franco-German brigade? You got it. There's a grand total of five feats in it; one of which looks a bit unimpressive at first glance, but could probably put some smack down in the right kind of game, another one that's just a must for the training program monkeys, and a three-feat chain for Close Quarter Combat, which I daresay is damn fucking sweet and probably worth a serious look by everyone who uses firearms up close.
Battlegrounds, I found to be the most interesting one of the bunch; basically, it gives you overviews of different historical conflicts (Bosnia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Central/South America) and then sets you up with most anything you need to run a quick mission set there...NPC and minion stats, maps for sample missions, and such. Also noteable is the postapocalyptic scenario, which gets a lot of love ruleswise and makes a compelling setting, with various parts of the world in various states of chaos instead of simple all-around devastation. The rules section is heavy; a sidebar on ricochetting bullets in caves, weapons of mass destruction (somewhat updated from The Shop) and generic deadly environment rules, gear abuse and field repair, long-term gearing up for when you don't resupply every mission, nasty wounding effects (and I mean nasty - punctured lungs, limb loss, lasting nerve damage) and mass combat rules, which is not a wargame at all but rather concerns what dangers a small team of agents faces with a big battle roaring around them. If you're in favor of nasty shit happening to your players, you're going to enjoy this section very, very much. Noteably, the book has no new feats whatsoever - a first, I believe.
Detractions? Well, the books are not immideatly useful to most players. Battlegrounds is almost entirely GC, the two militaries books mostly useful in specific campaigns.
So, are the books good? Yes. Can a superspy game do without them? Definately. These three are probably the most "out there" supplements, so if you don't care about military games, you can save the money.
Gatac
I guess I should start with US Militaries, which is the first one in this little line of "military" books (and which I technically bought much earlier, but hey). As it stands, it's a damned good overview of armed forces in the US, covering Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce and Coast Guard. Unlike, say, the class guides that I assume you folks are familiar with, this book is almost all flavor, though there's a sizeable section of crunch in the back, with a few feats, a promotion system and new training programs, as well as sample vehicles. The main attraction remains text; if you want to play an agent who has worked within one of the described forces (or still does), you'll probably find it quite interesting in a quick, concise description of what you need to know about a particular branch to roleplay it. There's tons of litle details and tidbits thrown in, too. Another highlight are the modular departments for each branch, so you can serve the same rough function in, say, the Air Force and Navy and still have a graspable mechanical difference. The promotion system is a very fringe-ey ruleset - unless you're in a heavily military campaign, you'll probably never see it.
World Militaries goes even further into the flavour section, with the rules chapter almost alarmingly short, but sweet. The modular department idea from USM is not followed upon, but then I guess you could apply the departments there to most any military following a similar structure. Here, the specific departments shine; Ghurkas, French Foreign Legion or the Franco-German brigade? You got it. There's a grand total of five feats in it; one of which looks a bit unimpressive at first glance, but could probably put some smack down in the right kind of game, another one that's just a must for the training program monkeys, and a three-feat chain for Close Quarter Combat, which I daresay is damn fucking sweet and probably worth a serious look by everyone who uses firearms up close.
Battlegrounds, I found to be the most interesting one of the bunch; basically, it gives you overviews of different historical conflicts (Bosnia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Central/South America) and then sets you up with most anything you need to run a quick mission set there...NPC and minion stats, maps for sample missions, and such. Also noteable is the postapocalyptic scenario, which gets a lot of love ruleswise and makes a compelling setting, with various parts of the world in various states of chaos instead of simple all-around devastation. The rules section is heavy; a sidebar on ricochetting bullets in caves, weapons of mass destruction (somewhat updated from The Shop) and generic deadly environment rules, gear abuse and field repair, long-term gearing up for when you don't resupply every mission, nasty wounding effects (and I mean nasty - punctured lungs, limb loss, lasting nerve damage) and mass combat rules, which is not a wargame at all but rather concerns what dangers a small team of agents faces with a big battle roaring around them. If you're in favor of nasty shit happening to your players, you're going to enjoy this section very, very much. Noteably, the book has no new feats whatsoever - a first, I believe.
Detractions? Well, the books are not immideatly useful to most players. Battlegrounds is almost entirely GC, the two militaries books mostly useful in specific campaigns.
So, are the books good? Yes. Can a superspy game do without them? Definately. These three are probably the most "out there" supplements, so if you don't care about military games, you can save the money.
Gatac
Gatac
They sound almost like a contemporary version of the old Commandos supplement for Top Secret SI. Are they useful for portraying the military and military situations beyond the scope of covert operations? I might get one or both simply if the info's good.
Gatac
Oh heck yes. Spycraft is almost a tactical wargame anyway, and the books are chock full of firepower. US Militaries, for example, has gear bundles for standard soldier equipment, rules for requisitioning artilerry strikes and such, and the afore-mentioned promotion system. World Militaries has a lot of smaller stuff you might not find very useful most of the time (aside from the CQB feat chain, which r0x0rs), but it adds a sprinkling of diversity and rules for when you just have to use military hand signals, establish a field camp or declare martial law in a region. Every military force has a description of it's ranks, tactics, standard weapons and training regime. Plus, tons of military vehicles with stats and many, many training programs. (Which are, in itself, a pretty nifty rule option...)
Battlegrounds I see as the "Oh shit, I don't have a mission, my players are going to kill me" supplement crossed with tactical overkill in most every way. If your players are walking through bullets because they know they'll be fine by the end of the debriefing, throw the wounding rules at them. Mass combat does hostile zones of all kinds...it's random, but somewhat controllable by the players in that they designate a team leader, who can warn them of dangers and even shift encounter rolls so a hidden sniper becomes a crashing helicopter or such, within certain limits. Or maybe you want them to have beatup guns, scavenging parts and supplies from dead cities? Also there. If you want to do Fallout in Spycraft, this is your supplement.
In terms of info, it's nothing you wouldn't find out with a bit of research yourself, but it's all in one place. If you don't care about that, you're probably paying too much for rather short rules sections - now, I'm not saying it's bad, but it's unlikely you're going to be thumbing through them a lot like, say, the MAG or Fixer/Pointman. Well, except Battlegrounds, which - as said - can save you some headaches in creating a mission by simply using some of the stats in there.
Oh, what the heck, here's the CQB feats:
CQB Basics (BAB 3+, Point Blank Shot)
Whenever you hold a readied firearm and fail a Threaten action against an enemy within 1 range increment, you may make a single attack on that enemy as free action. 1/round, when an opponent within 1 range increment fails a morale check, you may Threaten as free action.
CQB Mastery (BAB 9+, CQB Basics)
When you make a ranged attack with a firearm within one range increment, the attack gains the Takedown quality. If it already has TD, the save DC is increased by 4. Also, if you have a firearm in hand when you make an inititative roll, you gain a +4 bonus. If your first action is anything but a ranged attack within 1 increment, you loose that bonus (AFTER your first half action is resolved).
CQB Supremacy (BAB 15+, CQB Mastery, Precise Shot)
When you make a ranged attack with a firearm within 1 increment, enemy cover/concealment is reduced by one step (1/4 minimum), which stacks with other cover-reducing feats and abilities. Also, the initiative check bonus from Mastery becomes +8, under the same conditions.
Almost Rainbow Six feats there, for the discriminating counterterrorist.
Gatac
Battlegrounds I see as the "Oh shit, I don't have a mission, my players are going to kill me" supplement crossed with tactical overkill in most every way. If your players are walking through bullets because they know they'll be fine by the end of the debriefing, throw the wounding rules at them. Mass combat does hostile zones of all kinds...it's random, but somewhat controllable by the players in that they designate a team leader, who can warn them of dangers and even shift encounter rolls so a hidden sniper becomes a crashing helicopter or such, within certain limits. Or maybe you want them to have beatup guns, scavenging parts and supplies from dead cities? Also there. If you want to do Fallout in Spycraft, this is your supplement.
In terms of info, it's nothing you wouldn't find out with a bit of research yourself, but it's all in one place. If you don't care about that, you're probably paying too much for rather short rules sections - now, I'm not saying it's bad, but it's unlikely you're going to be thumbing through them a lot like, say, the MAG or Fixer/Pointman. Well, except Battlegrounds, which - as said - can save you some headaches in creating a mission by simply using some of the stats in there.
Oh, what the heck, here's the CQB feats:
CQB Basics (BAB 3+, Point Blank Shot)
Whenever you hold a readied firearm and fail a Threaten action against an enemy within 1 range increment, you may make a single attack on that enemy as free action. 1/round, when an opponent within 1 range increment fails a morale check, you may Threaten as free action.
CQB Mastery (BAB 9+, CQB Basics)
When you make a ranged attack with a firearm within one range increment, the attack gains the Takedown quality. If it already has TD, the save DC is increased by 4. Also, if you have a firearm in hand when you make an inititative roll, you gain a +4 bonus. If your first action is anything but a ranged attack within 1 increment, you loose that bonus (AFTER your first half action is resolved).
CQB Supremacy (BAB 15+, CQB Mastery, Precise Shot)
When you make a ranged attack with a firearm within 1 increment, enemy cover/concealment is reduced by one step (1/4 minimum), which stacks with other cover-reducing feats and abilities. Also, the initiative check bonus from Mastery becomes +8, under the same conditions.
Almost Rainbow Six feats there, for the discriminating counterterrorist.
Gatac
Dieter
Anyone recollect what Samantha Illiavic looks like? I'm having the damndest time trying to find a description in any storyline.
I'd really like to have her pic up on the Wiki.
P.S. The SnS Wiki is coming along. Take a look.
I'd really like to have her pic up on the Wiki.
P.S. The SnS Wiki is coming along. Take a look.
Dieter
Wiki-tastic updates.
I'm about halfway through the Sweden Mission.
I'm about halfway through the Sweden Mission.