This is but another in a line of RPGA sponsored campaigns. Each RPGA campaign has their own uniquenesses, some in the setting, some in the style of play. Some in both. Living Spycraft falls into this last category.
Living Spycraft in unique among the current crop of RPGA campaigns in that it is the only one that allows roleplaying in the present day. It is also the only one that is regionally defined and allows you to play the adventures from other regions without having to travel to those regions. (If you're familiar with Living Greyhawk, you'll know that you cannot play the adventures from another region without physically travelling to that region).
The world of Living Spycraft is divided up into six regions (with a seventh on the way):
Australia
Canada
France
Germany
Spain (coming soon)
United Kingdom
United States of America
Each region is headed up by a Regional Branch Director. Each region is encouraged to create their own flavour, even to the point of adapting the core (all-region) serials for play in their area. For instance, the Canadian adaptation of "Agent Down" places the action in Windsor, Ontario. As well, the Canadian adaptation makes a small plot change to "The Tengu Conspiracy", introducing a major Canadian threat: The Northern Shield. And the Canadian adaptation of "A Routine Operation" puts the action smack dab in the middle of Vancouver BC.
(If you haven't realized it yet, I'm the Regional Branch Director for the Canadian region.)
At the Living Spycraft, the Regional Branch Directors have defined their regions through a regionally-specific spy organization. Canada has the "Royal Canadian Intelligence Service". Australia has "The Security Intelligence Enforcement Group (M09)". France has " 6ème Régiment de Renseignement et d'Intervention (Le Secret)".
There are currently six adventures out for Living Spycraft (with a couple more on the way):
Agent Down
The Tengu Conspiracy
Black Tie Formal
A Routine Operation
Outback Interlude
The Condemned
Beast of Dunvegan (to be released)
There is also a single adventure out for the Canadian region (with another on the way):
North by South-East
Dust of Snow (to be released)
(The regional serials are freely downloadable from the Living Spycraft website.)
Some, of course, are better or more exciting than others, relative to each other. But in terms of consistency, they've all been very strong additions to the campaigns. There's not been a single serial that I've GM'd that I've walked away from thinking I'd just wasted four hours of my time. They've all been enjoyable in their own right, just some have been a little more enjoyable than others.
(My favourites have been (in order): The Tengu Conspiracy, The Condemned, and Outback Interlude).
If you're looking for something a little different than the norm, in terms of what the RPGA has to offer (which is mainly fantasy), then it might serve you well to check out Living Spycraft.
Here are some links:
Official Living Spycraft Website
Canadian Regional Yahoo Group
List of Available RPGA Living Spycraft Serials
It's a very well done campaign, organized and headed up by the creator of Living Spycraft itself, Patrick Kapera; and helped along by one of the current designers, Scott Gearin. The quality of the campaign has been greatly enhanced by these two individuals.
So, is Living Spycraft worth trying? Absolutely. Even if you're not a fan of the RPGA, Living Spycraft is a good enough reason to shrug off old prejudices and give it another shot (so to speak).
(Why only scores of 4? Well, I would reserve scores of 5 for home campaigns. But as such, a score of 4 is an awesome score for a globally-run RPGA campaign. The highest possible scores I can give such a campaign. Living Spycraft is almost as good as a great home campaign).
