The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Spycraft Lite: Tastes Great! More Filling!

Synopsis: In this review, I cover the details of the game system, noting problems where they occur and covering the designer in praise and glory where appropriate. My conclusion is that this game is well-designed and the PDF is a rewarding download for anyone interested in modern-era espionage games. I, for one, am looking forward to the release of the full game.

This week, AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group) released a downloadable PDF document, entitled Spycraft Lite as a preview of their forthcoming modern espionage d20 RPG called naturally enough Spycraft. The core rulebook, the Spycraft Espionage Handbook, and the first campaign setting for the game, The Shadowforce Archer Campaign Setting are scheduled for a late March and April release, respectively. The Spycraft Lite PDF download is available from the Shadowforce Archer website. The website also contains some sample background information, sample NPCs, and extensive descriptions and rules for the various classes. A more general Spycraft site is apparently in the works. (Note: Since the PDF was released two days ago, the name of the official campaign setting has undergone a change from Series Archer to Shadowforce Archer.)

This is not a gameplay review, since I have not had time to actually play the game with anyone. Instead, I will give my impressions of the game based on my experiences with d20 RPGs and my long-time interest in modern military and espionage RPGs, going back to my days playing and mastering games like Top Secret, Twilight 2000, Alternity and, more recently, GURPS.

Caveat and Terminology

First, we should keep in mind that this is a "lite" version of the rules and, much like in the case of GURPS Lite, we should be aware that some rules will have been altered or removed for the purposes of "easier play." Some of the nitpicks I have with the rules undoubtedly reflects that this is both a simplified version of what is to come, as well as being a public beta of sorts.

Second, there is some terminology used in Spycraft which will be used throughout this review. I think it is useful to present it here, as a sort of primer. Many of these elements have D&D equivalents, which I have I indicated in parentheses.

Agent (PC) = the player character
Team (Group) = a group of Agents controlled by players
GC (DM/GM) = stands for Game Control and is the game master
Serial/Mission (Adventure) = at the beginning, the PDF states that "serials" are equivalent to adventures in other RPGs, but the term "mission" is generally used in the rest of the document
Season (Campaign) = a series of connected missions aimed at defeating a particular threat
Agency = the group you work for
Control = your boss at the Agency (not to be confused with Game Control!)
Threats = enemy agencies opposed to your agency. Villain NPCs are divided into three categories: Minions who are weak underlings; Henchmen who are skilled operatives; and Masterminds who are top-level enemy agents and whose plans or person are often the object of a given mission.
Departments (Races) = your Agent's department determines which part of the agency s/he works for and defines the abilities of your character in important ways, just as races do in D&D. There are 8 departments to choose from.
Classes (Classes) = there are 6 classes to choose from and they server to further define an Agent's role, just as classes do in D&D
Vitality Points/Wound Points = Vitality points are like hit points in D&D and each class has "vitality die" ranging from d8 to d12 per level. Wound points are equal to an character's Constitution. When vitality points reach zero, characters begin to lose wound points. When wound points reach zero, a character dying. Critical hits cause damage to wound points regardless of the number of vitality points a character has.
Defense (AC) = a measure of how difficult it is to hit a target, modified by dexterity, feats, actions and somewhat by armor
Skills & Feats = the same as in D&D; Spycraft Lite claims to present all the skills which will be in the full game, but only some of the feats.
Budget Points and Gadget Points = the ability of your Agents to equip themselves before and during a mission; advances with level and modified by Department and Class. Gadgets are kind of like magic items in D&D campaigns, except that the Agency expects you to return them at the end of a mission.
Action Dice = at the beginning of a mission, each agent receives three action dice, which can be used to modify important die rolls, or to convert a natural 20 success into a Critical Success; see Game Mechanics section of the review for more uses of the action dice.

Departments (Races)

Agent creation in Spycraft Lite is very similar to creating characters in 3e D&D. The same ability scores exist (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha) and are defined in the same way. No rules are given for rolling ability scores, but presumably you are therefore expected to use the method described in the Player's Handbook. Ability modifiers are the same as in D&D, as well.

After rolling ability scores, players must choose a Department for their agent. Departments function very much like races do in D&D, and different departments provide different modifiers to ability scores, as well as feat bonuses and various gameplay bonuses. Below is a brief description of each of the 8 departments, along with the respective ability modifiers and Feat bonuses (see descriptions of Feat categories under Skills and Feats below).

Department 0: The Home Office
Described as the "prototypical spy" this is somewhat analogous to choosing "human" in D&D, since it provides no bonuses or penalties to ability scores, but does receive some extra skills, a bonus Covert or Chase feat and an action die roll bonus.
Department 1: The Power Brokerage
These agents are diplomats and manipulators, who specialize in influencing others. They adjust their abilities by 2 Cha and -2 Str, gain additional gadget points, a couple of skill check bonuses and a bonus Style feat.
Department 2: Military Operations
These guys specialize in combat but can vary widely in what kind of combat they specialize in. Ability adjustments of 2 in any one ability and -2 in any one ability. Bonuses on Fortitude saving throws and a skill check for a class skill of choice, as well as a bonus Basic Combat feat.
Department 3: Computer Espionage
Hackers and tech guys for the team. 2 Int, -2 Wis. Get a free laptop (where do I sign up?), couple of skill check bonuses, and a bonus Gear feat.
Department 4: Urban Assault
Kinda like Department 2, but they specialize in infiltration and counter-infiltration. 2 Dex, -2 Int. Bonuses to some skill checks, 1 to attack rolls (!), bonus Ranged Combat feat.
Department 5: Black Ops
Down and dirty close combat specialists, tough as nails. 2 Con, -2 Dex. Gain extra 4 vitality points and 1 wound point (see Combat, below), as well as a bonus Melee Combat feat.
Department 6: Wetworks
Unarmed combat specialists (I am not sure what ties unarmed combat especially to "wetwork" which is a term usually referring to assassination ops). 2 Str, -2 Con. Bonus to initiative check, Reflex saves, and a bonus Unarmed Combat feat.
"The Basement"
These guys work for the Agency, but no department wants to claim them, apparently. They are supposed to be Fox Mulder types, I guess, stuck away in the basement as an embarrassment. Anyway, they specialize in research. 2 Wis, -2 Cha. Gain extra skill points, bonus to Will saves, and bonus of any Skill feat.

I think the Departments represent an intriguing group of ideas. Without playtesting, it is hard to say how this would play out in an actual game, but the different departments appear to be well-balanced and provide a distinctive approach for agents to choose from. The only quibbles I have is that on the surface the Department 0 Agents seem to have weaker bonuses than the other agents and the last department seems something of an afterthought, though an important addition to certain types of Seasons (Campaigns).

Classes

The game also has 6 different classes to choose from. The rules state that multiclassing is unrestricted, regardless of Department. The Spycraft Lite rules do not explain the mechanics of gaining levels, and only describe the class abilities associated with level 1 of each class. The website, however, does provide class-related abilities and modifiers for the first 20 levels of all classes except for the Snoop class (which is inexplicably referred to on the website as the "Spook" class; "spook" being an Cold War-era term for a spy; perhaps it was changed for sensitivity reasons), though it does not provide information about level advancement.

Below is a description of the classes (with the in-game abbreviation in parentheses). When I say that a class gains an extra action die for certain checks, I mean that when that class expends one of its action die, for those checks they get to roll two dice.

Faceman (FAC)
Disguise artist and intelligence gatherer. Most of this classes class skills are influenced by Cha and Wis scores. This class is a solid combat class, gaining d10 vitality points per level and some combat bonuses. Class abilities include extra action dice for Wis and Cha based skill checks and extra language ability.
Fixer (FIX)
Scrounger and burglar rolled into one. This class is somewhat weak in combat, gaining d8 vitality points per level, but has many skills associated with a D&D Thief and gains extra gadget points and extra action dice for Dex based skill checks and is better able to procure equipment in the field.
Pointman (PTM)
Generalist class which is highly modifiable. They gain d10 vitality points and relatively few class skills, but can designate 6 other skills as class skills and can loan out his action dice to other members of the team by giving advice and encouragement.
Snoop (SNP)
This class is both an electronics expert and an information gatherer. Mixed bag in combat, with only d8 for vitality points, but 1 to defense and initiative. The Snoop gains extra action dice in Int based skill checks and the ability to always partially succeed in Search and Spot checks.
Soldier (SOL)
You know what this guy does! He provides the muscle for the team, being better in combat (d12 vitality points, 1 to attack and initiative) than the others. Gains an extra action die for attack rolls and Str and Con based skill checks. In addition, they get a bonus Combat feat. (It's the lot of the grunt, to be SOL, I suppose.)
Wheelman (WHL)
This class specializes in driving and piloting all vehicles known to man. They are actually quite tough in combat, as well, with a d12 vitality die per level and a bonus to defense and initiative. In addition, they gain an extra action die on vehicle-related skill checks, gain extra gadget points for customizing vehicles, and may perform daredevil maneuvers during chases (see Chases, below)

Again, my preliminary verdict on the classes is much like that for Departments. The classes seem well-balanced and well-considered. You can see a purpose for each and find good reason for multiclassing at some point in your agent's career. Some of the class benefits might seem redundant with some of the departments, but if you try combining some different classes with the same department, you will find that it makes some sense. A good example would be to combine a Department 3: Computer Espionage with a Snoop class, and then combine the same department with a Fixer class and you get very different types of Agents. In the same way, you could decide you want to be a Wheelman, but the different Departments allow you to greatly individualize your Wheelman. Try thinking about the different types of agent you get if you create an "Urban Assault" Wheelman (drives a "Hummvee"), a "Home Office" Wheelman (drives an Aston Martin), or a "Computer Espionage" Wheelman (pilots remote-controlled helicopters).

Skills and Feats

The skills and feats section will be familiar to anyone who has played 3e D&D. In fact, the skill list provided, with some exceptions like "Mechanics" or "Demolitions," has many of the same skills you will find in the Player's Handbook. Spycraft Lite claims to have the complete set of skills that will be included included in the full version of the game.

The feats list is apparently not a complete list, which is not surprising since those who love the d20 system get especially excited about feats. Nonetheless, the list of feats provided gives an excellent overview of what can be expected in the full game. The feats are divided into several groups, and I will say something about each.

Basic Combat
Many of these are building blocks for other combat feats, but some provide simple combat advantages. For example, Confident Charge allows you to make a number of 90 degree turns equal to your Dex modifier during a charge, instead of only being able to charge in a straight line. Others, like Expertise, are very similar to feats listed in the Player's Handbook.
Melee Combat
There are only three listed but, as you would expect, this category makes your Agent a better fighter with hand weapons. Weapon Finesse is even included, allowing Agents with high Dexterity to be especially deadly with the melee weapon of choice.
Ranged Combat
Hopefully there are more of these coming in the full version of the game, because this is the one area where 3e D&D feats are lacking and an espionage game would have to thrive on ranged combat. As it is, there are only three listed here: Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, and Speed Trigger.
Unarmed Combat
The game has what I consider a very clever unarmed combat system, based around feats. Again, this section really whet my appetite for more such feats, so hopefully the full game will expand upon this (actually, almost assured since all the feats are referred to as "Basics"). Here is how it works, though. An agent takes an unarmed combat feat, and it grants him two unarmed combat abilities. A good example is Punching Basics, which grants the agent the abilities "Knuckle Punch" and "Palm Strike." "Knuckle Punch" increases the damage done by an unarmed attack, and "Palm Strike" causes normal damage but pushes your opponent back 5 feet. Included are Blocking, Dodging, Holding, Kicking, Punching and Throwing Basics.
Chase Feats
As will be further explained below, chases are an important part of any espionage game and Spycraft has a well-designed chase system, which makes sense when one of the six character classes is called Wheelman. This set of feats applies to chase situations. Instant Hotwire is my favorite of the four provided, as it not only gives you a bonus for beating car security systems, but makes starting a car without the keys a free action for your agent! Another feat, "One hand on the wheel...", allows your agent to perform half actions without taking a penalty to Maneuver checks while driving, and "Riding Shotgun" reduces the penalty for shooting from a moving vehicle.
Covert
Covert feats are feats which assist the mobility and general all-around sneakiness of your agent. Those provided are fairly pedestrian feats, but naturally quite useful. For example, "Traceless" makes it more difficult for others to track you or discover that you were present somewhere (you cover your tracks, wipe your fingerprints, etc.).
Gear
Gear feats seem the weakest of the categories, though only two are provided. One gives your agent extra budget points for each mission, allowing him to procure extra equipment. The other provides extra gadget points, giving you access to more "magic items" in each mission.
Skill
Skill Feats simply improve the chances of success when making skill checks with various skills. It's all about mad skillz, after all. Nevertheless, the design of the Skill Feats adds a great deal to the flavor of the game, bringing out the espionage aspect. For example, "Field Operative" gives your agent a 2 on all Innuendo, Read Lips and Sense Motive skill checks, while "Police Training" gives your agent a 2 on all Bureaucracy, Demolitions and Surveillance skill checks.
Style
The last group of feats is one of those intriguing aspects of this game. Style feats are feats which enhance some personal aspect of your agent. I will give three of the four as examples. "Fortunate" gives your agent an extra action die for each game session. "The Look" gives your agent an extra 1 on all charisma-based skill checks. "Mark" allows your agent to size up NPCs, getting the GC to rank their relative abilities in three skills of your choosing (not absolute, but relative, so the GC will not say they have 5 ranks in Bluff and 4 in Intimidate, but that they are more skilled at Bluff than at Intimidate). These types of feats really add spice to an espionage game, and I am sure the final game will have several of these feats.

The feats seem very well done, even if many of them are merely adaptations of D&D feats. But those that aren't are quite clever and only increase my anticipation for the full game. One thing that troubled me was that the Ranged Combat feats were not at all weapon specific. So, if your Agent takes the Far Shot feat, s/he is equally proficient at long-range combat with a thrown knife, a hand grenade, a .38 special, a SMG, an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, etc. This doesn't seem right to me and should probably be divided into different weapon classes (i.e., Far Shot: Thrown Weapons, Far Shot: Pistols, etc.).

Another issue I have with the feats is with the skill feats. Perhaps this is a misunderstanding or a typo in the rules, but the Skill Feats have a prerequisite problem, in my opinion. The feats section defines "prerequisites" as what you have to meet in order to take a feat for your agent. However, the prereqs seem to great. For example, "Speed Demon" (page 14) gives a 2 to all Boating, Driver and Pilot checks, but the prerequisites are Boating Skill 1 , Driver Skill 1 , Pilot Skill 1 . This means that if you create a Wheelman and load up on the Boating and Driver Skills, you cannot take the Speed Demon Skill until you have taken flying lessons (have take 1 point of Pilot Skill). My first order of business as a GC would be to make the prerequisites on such a feat to have at least one of the skills (or maybe at least 2 points total in those three skills).

Gear

In D&D, your characters start out with some basic equipment and gradually accumulate better armor, weapons, money and even magic items over the course of their adventures, so that by the time they reach high levels, they are well stocked. This model does not work very well for modern-era games and especially espionage games. Spycraft has put together a pretty good system to deal with the issue of equipment and character advancement in their setting.

At the beginning of each mission, each character is provided with budget points, gadget points, and field expenses. All three of these are modified by the agent's Department, Class and level and can be modified by feats and the "level of threat" your superiors have assigned to the mission at hand. By linking these numbers with a character's level, the game insures that higher level agents have access to better equipment, just as in D&D. The trick in Spycraft is that the agents have to return their equipment at the end of each mission, and requisition new equipment at the beginning of the next. Which has its advantages when you don't have to worry about how many rounds of ammo you used, or that the speedboat you had in the last mission now lies at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Budget points are used to purchase weapons and fairly mundane items. For example, a knife costs 3 budget points, while a .357 Magnum costs 14, while an AK47 costs 22, a Kevlar vest costs 30 and C4 explosives cost 20 points per block. Miniature cameras ring up at 4 budget points, while handcuffs cost 1 and silencers cost 2. That free laptop that members of Department 3 get would cost agents in any other department a whopping 7 budget points! Gadget points are used to buy the really cool stuff, whether they be expensive items, such as vehicles, or high-tech gadgets. Needless to say, gadget points are much rarer than budget points, but the team can pool their points to get the really big toys. Nonetheless, the 9 gadget point helicopter might be only for teams composed of higher-level agents. A beginning team might be better off spending their few gadget points on a Business Card/Tracking Device (1 pt), a Cigarette Pistol (1 pt), or that ever-useful Shoe Blade (1 pt). Field expenses is an amount of cash (listed as US$, but probably also available as Euros). Gadget and budget points not used during the "gearing up" phase a the beginning of a mission can still be used to procure items in the field, but the cost of said items doubles (and there is a time delay before the items are delivered).

This system appears to work very well, though playtesting is the only way to know for sure. By my calculations, however, a low-level team of agents on a low-priority mission, would likely have very basic transportation, pistols and little else for the mission. As it should be.

Game Mechanics

Game mechanics are, naturally, very similar to other d20 games, including D&D. In particular saving throws, divided into Fortitude, Reflex, and Will, work the same way. Skill checks are also the same, with one notable exception (see next paragraph). The addition of action dice, however, adds an extra "pulp" element to the game. Combat is covered in the next section of the review.

Skill checks work the same way they do in 3e D&D, except that there is also a critical failure, as well as a critical success element. In Spycraft, a natural 20 on a d20 is called an automatic success and is called a "Threat" because you can opt to spend one of your action dice in order to turn it into a critical success. Likewise, a roll of 1 on a d20 is an automatic failure and is called an "Error" because the GC can opt to spend one of his action dice to turn your failure into a critical failure (see the explanation of action dice below). Some weapons and items have critical success ranges of 19-20 and critical failure ranges of 1-2.

The action dice are an interesting addition to the game, somewhat reminiscent of the mechanics from Alternity, combined with Fate points from WHFRP. Action dice are d4 dice which players can use for a number of purposes. In some cases, it appears that the dice are not rolled at all, but one of your dice is simply spent. What is somewhat strange about them is that the GC also gets action dice, which he can use to help out the NPCs. (Note: This whole issue implies that GCs will be rolling their dice in the open so that players can witness them and that the GC will be happy to bind himself to the results of dice rolls. Most DMs I know would prefer to have the power to fudge things in appropriate ways, whether it is to save an important NPC or the life of a PC. I suspect this is something that will be modified according to GC taste, but the implications are large, especially in light of the critical failure rules.) Strangely, though it is not explained, and there is only one reference to it, the GC apparently gets to roll a d12 instead of a d4 for his action dice. Action dice can be used in the following ways:

Add to a specific skill check, attack roll, or saving throw; so an agent can improve his chances to accomplish an important task, and the rules state s/he can even do so after the initial roll, provided it is before the GC describes the result of the role and the agent can use as many of his action dice as s/he desires for a given roll. It would be handy when performing life or death maneuvers and you roll a 12. "I think I will use a couple action dice, now..."
Add to a character's defense score for one round.
Turn a threat into a critical success/hit, or activate an error, making it a critical error. Here is one of those rules that requires GCs to roll in the open. If the character rolls a 20 and wants to turn it into a critical success, s/he uses an action die and it becomes a critical. Fine, but the flip side is that if the character rolls a 1, the GC can use one of his own action die to cause that character to suffer a critical failure. Likewise, if the GC rolls a 20 for an NPC, s/he can turn it into a critical and if s/he rolls a 1, one of the players can use an action die to turn the NPC's roll into a critical failure. This could easily cause some serious tension during a gaming session, I think. Mind you, it seems like a good idea, but leaves a GC open to frustration (his super Mastermind gets killed in the first encounter because the players jumped all over the GC's roll of 1) or accusations of favoritism ("You always convert my Errors to criticals!").
Healing. Expending one action die can regain either 1-4 vitality points (roll for it) or 2 wound points.
Inspiration check. This allows players who are unsure of what to do next to expend an action die to get a hint from the GC.
Favor check. This allows players to call upon the resources of the Agency to accomplish some task during a mission, whether they need air transport to Madagascar, to bypass Singapore customs, or a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Aside from the concerns already mentioned, I think the game mechanics are very solid, though if you hate skill- and feat-based systems, I suppose you might not like it. But if you are used to such systems, and especially if you are familiar with 3e D&D, you will have no problem coping with this system.

Combat

Combat is remarkably similar to 3e D&D, as well, but thoughtfully modified to reflect the different combat environment. There are no Attacks of Opportunity (praise the Almighty) in the game, which simplifies things quite a bit. Also, like in many modern and sci-fi games, armor does not greatly affect an agent's defense (which is like AC in D&D), but does absorb some damage when a hit occurs. Naturally, the rules provide for various attacks made possible by automatic weapons, including a Burst Fire action, which allows for multiple attacks on one target in a round, and a Strafe action which allows for attacking several enemies in the same round. In addition, there are actions for covering fire and pinning fire. I have already mentioned the damage system, which is divided into vitality points (determined by class, level and Con modifier) and wound points (determined by Con score). Essentially, when an agent is damaged, s/he loses vitality points first. When vitality points reach zero, then further damage is applied to wound points. When wound points reach zero, the character is unconscious and when they reach -10, s/he is dead. The catch is that a critical hit applies damage directly to wound points, even if the character has vitality points remaining, making life a little less certain for even high level characters than is the case in D&D. Another important distance in this system is that while wound points are recovered slowly (1-3 per day of rest, depending on conditions), vitality points are recovered quickly (1 per level per hour of rest).

I am looking forward to testing out the combat model in the near future. I just have to get some people to agree to sit down and try it out with me, but it looks to me like this is a nice adaptation of the d20 combat for the modern era and one that does not get too complex, maintaining the rapid flow of the game.

(I should also mention that Spycraft Lite provides no combat examples, but does have a number of excellent graphics which clear up any misunderstandings from reading the text.)

Chases: A Sample of Things to Come?

There is a special section at the end of the Spycraft Lite rules that deals exclusively with high-speed chases in automobiles. Clearly, it could be adapted quite easily to boats, submarines, helicopters or airplanes and it says here that the full rules will contain an expanded version of the automobile chase rules as well as rules for air, water, foot "and other types of chases as well." This is probably my favorite part of the rules. The system for chases is simple and abstract, yet elegant and can easily lead to tension-filled, exciting car chases. I will try to do the system justice here.

To start with, there are clear rules for determining the circumstances at the beginning of a chase, including the important characteristics of "Initial Lead" and "Chase Speed." The Prey are those being chased and the Predator are those doing the chasing. The two drivers choose their maneuvers, which are divided into Predator Maneuvers and Prey Maneuvers. Some maneuvers can only be performed by Wheelman characters, because they require the Daredevil ability. Some maneuvers are aimed at closing the Lead Distance in the chase (for Predators), or increasing the Lead Distance (for Prey), for altering the speed of the chase (handy if you have a faster vehicle), or for making it easier for you or your passengers to shoot at the other vehicle. In addition, some maneuvers are called Finishing maneuvers which, if successful, bring the chase to an end. Some maneuvers can only be performed if the lead is large enough or small enough. A good example is the Predator Maneuver called "Box In", which requires the Daredevil ability and is a Finishing maneuver. The lead must be 2 lengths or less (and the lead in a Chase can be between 0 and 30) and, if successful, the prey is forced to stop, ending the chase. After both sides have chosen maneuvers, they reveal the choices and compare their choices on a table to check for skill check modifiers (for example, the Predator chooses Box In and the Prey chooses Zig-Zag, resulting in a -2 penalty to the Predator's skill check, while the Prey has a 0 modifier). Each driver then makes an opposed check (basically, they roll against each other's driving skill) to see if they succeed. If only one succeeds, then the results of that maneuver are applied. If neither succeeds, then nothing happens. If both succeed, then the driver with the highest check result succeeds. Meanwhile, combat and other actions can be taken during the round as well, which can cause damage and critical hits to the vehicles and the passengers, affecting the outcomes of future chase rounds. The last step before a chase ends or begins a new round is to check to see if automobile damage, driver injuries, or maneuver check results have led to one or both parties crashing their cars.

The system is simple to use, but provides for complex results even with the limited number of maneuvers provided here. If you are playing ANY kind of d20 game in which chases can occur, I suggest you look at this as a model for conducting ground-based chases in your game.

Man, I wish our Top Secret chases had been so simple to resolve...

Conclusions and Nitpicking

Overall, I was very pleased with this game. Naturally, the lite version would only be good for one or two gaming sessions, but given that it is a lite version there is more than enough here to keep a group of players happily occupied for several hours. I anticipate that the design of the full version of the game will meet the standards of this excellent preview AEG has given out for free. You can do no wrong by going to their site to download this PDF. The only warning is that it will leave you eager to purchase the Spycraft Espionage Handbook when it hits stores.

The biggest problem with this "lite" version of the rules is that there really is no help for the GC here. No sample missions, threats or NPCs (though you can certainly use your imagination and the Agent-creation rules provided to create an introductory adventure). Luckily, the Shadowforce Archer website does have some sample information already available (no missions, however). One thing that is briefly mentioned (on page 4 of the PDF), however, suggests that the full version of Spycraft will make an serious effort to assist GCs in their planning. The so-called "Mastermind System" is briefly described, which sounds like a template to help a GC design a mission catered to a particular team of agents "all balanced point-for-point." I'm intrigued!

If this is a good example of what is to come, I would say AEG has a real winner on their hands. I used to be skeptical that the d20 system could be as versatile as GURPS, but Spycraft Lite has convinced me that d20, in the hands of a skillful game designer, can be successfully adapted to non-fantasy settings. All you fans of Top Secret, it's time to get off your butts and get ready to go into action again. Spycraft looks to be one of the better d20 products to hit the market and one that fill an important niche in the RPG market.