Fantasy Craft - It's Like This!

[Crafty_Pat]

Well, not really, but this is fun too.

Stumbled across it while researching some stuff for GenCon Indy. It's an amusing little distraction.

[ahzad]

argh!!! i hate you for this 

i've spent all day playing this!!!

[Rhishisikk]

Actually, one of the things I like about Spycraft over the traditional fantasy RPGs is that the gear system tends to de-emphasize the 'kill things and take their stuff' motif.  I don't need a bag of holding to carry around things that might be worth money - if I can only find the right buyer.

OTOH, one of the highlights of a past campaign was when the bard pulled a mummified cat out of her backpack and offered it to a dragon (who collected taxidermy).  Incidentally, said cat was found three months (real time) and one month (game time) prior to the time it was useful.  I didn't plant it, I didn't plan it, and the glaring APPROPRIATENESS of the offer left me stunned.  If I were using action points, I'd have given a full one for that.

Sadly, it was a DnD campaign, and was GROSSLY combat intensive, due to the actions of other players.  'Oh, look, there are guards at the gate wanting to know our names.  We can't be known to be in the city.  Let's kill them...'  The campaign drug on for a LONG time, and the players enjoyed themselves immensely.  But the fact that it devolved into a charnel house has been a point of discontent between myself and the DnD system.

But I realize my ramble has gotten off topic, I'll cut it while I'm behind.  Sorry (again).

I don't want ANOTHER system that gets on the kill things for stuff and XP to fight bigger things spiral.  I've seen Spycraft games that were resolved where the only reason the PCs drew their guns were to clean them.  (I've also HEARD of a minion massacre, where the PCs had to retreat from wave after wave of minions, not for fear of losing, but because they were running out of ammo.  I understand they had to complete the mission with weapons taken from minions.)  But before I get sidetracked again... Spycraft has several things going for it:

1)  You gain XP for what you accomplish, not for what you kill.  Going around cleaning out EVERY SINGLE ROOM is actually discouraged in Spycraft.
2)  Each class has its strength, but no class is weak to the point of ineptness in other areas.  In other words, there is NEVER a time when any PC is FORCED to be a wallflower.
3)  I really, really like the action points system.  Dynamically awarded XP and AP are a useful tool (if easy to over-reward) for showing the players that you notice HOW they are playing the game.
4)  Progression is slow enough that players aren't spending more time worrying about what their next feat should be than how they can solve the current mission with what they have.
5)  Each level gives the PCs SOMETHING.  There is no 'dud level' tempting the player to take a prestige class since their main class gives them nothing.
6)  There was more stuff, but the main point is the play style of Spycraft is completely different, leading to a different feel in Spycraft games.  I'd hate to lose that to 'kill things and take their stuff'.

[MilitiaJim]

Different strokes for different folks.  I like killing everything and taking their stuff.  The only reason I ever wanted to play a caster is learn polymorph so I could find out what is under the Queen's dress.

That said, I do like the ability to design encounters that are not garuanteed to break out into violence, and sometimes it is satisfying to "defeat" an encounter without shooting someone in the face.

[Krensky]

Actually... to be honest... what I want is less a kill things and take their stuff system and more of a wholly wealth based system. I'd like something that represents a very late middle ages through 19th century financial model as seen in adventure novels. I don't want ot bolt d20 Modern's on though.

Or, to be more specific to what I envision, the gear system without a mission structure or caliber. Which I suppose I could do just by setting all adventures at Cal III or whatever and let the players swap gear picks when it seems appropriate to the narrative, but I somehow think I'll be either missing some nuance or nerfing some character abilities there.

[spinningdice]

Not really, you have to divide stuff into missions under the core system, but a mission doesn't really need to be seperately defined as such.

[MilitiaJim]

I recall from Lspy ( ) there was a mission where we started with just personal gear.  That was an interesting one.  And a cool mission that was added to by restricting the gear.

I did like the d20 Modern Wealth system.  'Bout all I really liked about the system, but that's neither here nor there.

As it is now, Spycraft can be used with the barest amount of filing around the edges for a no-magic campaign.  Wealth can just be the old D&D keep everything way, and you will have to work out with your GM/players what to do about the Intruder's skill.  (Or not, Intruders are pretty groovy as it is.)  If you're doing missions, just in 1300s Europe instead of 2000s all over, then the gear system still works fine.

[Krensky]

Other then the weights.