Post originally by Preston Poulter at 2004-07-15 08:12:04
Converted from Phorums BB System

"To delineate other areas smacks of overkill.

Um, then what exactly are you expecting out of a sourcebook? Why did you pick this up, if you didn't want villainous organizations delineated?"

Perhaps my misspellings caused you to miss the point of my review: that more rules does not a better story or game make. There are more to Masterminds in espionage than a bunch of rules to delineate them, as I said.

"Er, no. I haven't picked up Mastermind personally yet, but I'm pretty sure it mentions that it's going to reference Fix/Ptm pretty heavily. If you've already expanded on a core rules set in one place, why should you ignore that expansion in another? /That/, more than the sheer number of sourcebooks, makes for a chaotic and inconsistent line. And, aside from pretty constant references to the Modern Arms Guide throughout the line, I believe that this is the first time this level of reliance on another sourcebook has really come up. "

It does not make any mention of this on the cover of the book. Secondly, it is uncommon for an optional rules supplement to require the use of another optional rules supplement. To use D&D terms, if I pick up the splat book for Wizards and Sorcerers, it would be uncommon and downright annoying if it were to assume that I had already purchased the splat book for FIghters and Monks. If you can't see that, I'm sorry.

"All in all, this review tells me two things. One, you don't like Spycraft. Two, you don't like rules-heavy systems. So, in short, I don't think this supplement was likely to be your cup of tea. I do thank you for explaining a number of your problems with the system in general, as it gave readers an excellent grounding in your attitude coming into the review. But, given your prejudices and preferences, I'm not sure you gave the product a thoroughly fair consideration."

Actually, I do like Spycraft the game. I do not like the direction of the brand. In my mind these are two entirely separate things. Why on Earth would I go pay $20 for a game I don't like?