Remember the Generation X? They were cynical loners full of angst, but they finally sold themselves to the great corporations. Now the world is ruled by them, and it's a much worse world indeed. They control a sleeping population through drugs, violence, media monopolies and even franchise coffee shops.

Only people young enough to have escaped their influence is able to oppose them. They have between 10 and 17 years, they call themselves the Agents, and their goal is to fight the X whenever it's possible.

Covert Generation follows a long tradition in American entertainment: kids and teenagers doing dangerous and exciting jobs which are exclusive to adults. For example, Spy Kids, Veronica Mars... I can't recall any RPG dealing with the same topic, and this is a good thing.

Before reviewing the book contents, I have to point to two core concepts. First, Agents Don't Kill, so this is a high-action low-violence game (A-Team?). Second, Agents are also kids, so it's important to play this part of their lives: parental control, horrible teachers, first loves...

Contents

Section 1. Classified documents

The introduction chapter outlines perfectly the game's theme and mood, and it's written in a nice “we're talking to you!” style.

Section 2. Theatre of operations

The second chapter describes the world in which the game takes place.

It starts with the major corporations controlled by the X, from More's Pharmaceuticals to Techsystems and the Star·Mart coffee franchise. Well, I'm sure 90% of the players will substitute these companies for the real ones... after all the authors couldn't use their names, isn't it? The book then moves into the society pillars, all also corrupted by the X: land developers, politicians, police officers, gangs and mobs... There is even an Ultra Secret Federal Agency.

And finally the happy few, the Agents. How they started, how they meet (illicit parties and raves), how they smuggle the information (though independent DJs!) and so on.

Section 3. Agent training

Time for character creation. Covert Generation uses a narrative system, without any numbers. The central idea is quite simple: you always roll three core dice. If you have a component related to the task you are attempting, you get more. If you have a descriptor that goes against the task, you'll have less.

There are four Core Components, which are the ones influencing the core dice.

The Core Value is the single most important descriptor, although it will change during the game. It's the character's central characteristic, related to why he became an agent. Some examples: Anarchy, Family, Loyalty, Revenge and Truth.

The Attributes are similar to the ones in other games, but here you simply pick two. They're: Flash (reflexes), Guts (resistance), Heart (charisma and will), Style (nuance and personal image) and Wits (intelligence). Remember that they have no value.

The Specialities are areas in which the character excel. Each Agent has one of them, related to the possible roles in a group. The book provides twelve examples, including Brawn (the strong guy), Pop (the hacker) or Wheel (the driver).

Finally, all agents have also a Cover Identity, their role as a teenager. They can be the highschool's Princess, the Geek, the Loner, the Clown... The thirteen examples included give a good overview of the most usual archetypes.

But the character has other things beyond the Core Values.

First, he has three Skills, which describe what he can do. If you have the proper skill then you get a bonus dice. This doesn't mean you get an extra core dice, because bonus dice are something different (more about this in Chapter 4).

The character also has some Gear, an important piece of equipment. All Agents have three, and one of them must be high-tech. The game provides a brief but complete list, and again, if you have the proper gear then you get one bonus dice.

And, finally, all Agents have to choose three Connections, which can provide information or help.

This character creation system reminds me the one in Abstract Nova's Heaven & Earth, which derives from the seminal Over The Edge. It's a very good way to describe a character, but maybe seven different components are too many. I think the skills can be redundant with the speciality, and the core value is not clear enough. But, on the other hand, I love the idea behind the Cover Identity.

Section 4. Operations manual

Until now we had a very nice core concept and a good character creation system.

Unfortunately the game collapses in the rules chapter, and everything becomes a terrible mess.

There are many ways to review a rules system, but there's a prerequisite: you have to understand it. And believe me, I have read this chapter many times and I'm still very confused. This is the first time that happens to me, so I concluded that it's not me: it's the game.

And I don't understand what went terribly wrong in the designer's mind, because the start is really promising. When there's a task to do you first set a goal. Then you roll three core dice. Core values can add or subtract dice, and only the three highest dice are considered.

I know what you are all expecting: you add the three dice and you have to beat a difficulty value. But heck no, this would have been too easy!

The players must also roll bonus and penalty dice. The first come from the character sheet, the second are assigned by the GM. You subtract the former from the later, so you only roll bonus or penalty dice. Then you keep track of how many 1s, 5s and 6s the player rolls, and you have to roll again (one dice for every point). If you have a positive count you check the Experience Chart, if it's negative you check the Complication Chart. There are two further tables expanding several results in the Complication one.

One result is specially painful:

Exit the Scene: On this result, the Agent is taken out of play for the rest of the current game. They are badly injured, captured or otherwise incapacitated. That player’s Agent has special narration rights at this point. They can spend any remaining Edge just as if they had won the Conflict, but the scene must end with them no longer able to take part.

(And what does the player who gets this result? Stay bored in one corner? I don't like it.)

You have noticed that the description talks about Edge. This is a very important concept in the game, and the rules mention it many times before describing it (one of the most important mistakes you can make in a rulebook).

At this point I gave up. Too many rolls, tables and dice. I know the goal was to create a narrative system, where the players can influence the action, but everything is very confusing. The chapter finishes with the combat system, which I didn't read although I hinted a nice idea: combat scenes are divided in Brawling, Non-Lethal, Lethal and Guns.

Section 5. Missions briefings

The GM chapter. It starts with a great list of antagonists (with statistics): guard dogs, riot cops, lawyers, seductive spies, hackers... An then there are five nice example missions, one of them involving a dentist who poison kids and another subliminal messages in textbooks. Ouch!

Section 6. Debriefing

Just five pages also written for the GM, with advice about storytelling and the designer's notes. Fortunately the author only talks about the setting and not the rules...

Style

Here is where the game really shines. The interior artwork is simply perfect, no other illustrations could be more adequate for Covert Generation's mood and setting. And I love the way it's written (except the rules chapter, of course), showing the furious and exciting pace all game sessions must have.

Conclusions

While I was reading Covert Generation I had one enormous doubt: which is the game's target audience? Teenagers or more mature players taking their roles? If the answer is the former, then going for a narrative system was a mistake. I'm sure 99% of the gamers start with more traditional rules (not necessarily D&D), and then are able to grasp other ways of playing.

Obviously this is specially painful since the system is needlessly complicated and quite incomprehensible. A real shame, because the setting is original, well done and perfectly presented.