By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman, d20 Magazine Rack

This review is for Shadowforce Archer by Patrick Kapera and Kevin Wilson. Shadowforce Archer is the official campaign setting for Spycraft. Published by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), this 256-page hardcover retials for $34.95. You will need the Spycraft Espionage Handbook to utilize most of this book.

After a short fiction story that kicks things off, readers get an introduction to the setting. The Archer Foundation is a super secret agency operating outside the bounds of any government agency. In a way, it represents the final defense in the perpetual use of espionage, terrorism, and the game of world domination by evil forces. Agents of the Archer Foundation exist beyond the grasp and corruption that normal government agencies are plagues with. The compartments that make up this worldwide organization are each detailed immediately after the introduction of the Archer Foundation.

Following the introduction of the "players", the reader gets a history lesson in shadow warfare dating back to the 1900's. The tour jumps decade by decade highlighting significant events of that period as they relate to the Archer Foundation. Real world events are masterfully interwoven giving a "legitimate" feel about the existence of such a shadowy operation.

Immediately after this, comes a chapter providing GMs with the players, movers and shakers along with plotlines to use in their campaign. NPCs are presented at three different levels so they can be used in any campaign with little modification. This is a full chapter in terms of the sheer amount of information given. There are enough ideas to keep GMs busy for some time.

Chapter three moves beyond the covert organizations and its cast of colorful characters to the outside world and the organizations that oppose the Foundation. The Middle East and South America represent two of the largest and hottest spots of espionage activity in the world. Organized groups bent on global domination include The Eyes of Argus (the enemy of the Foundation) and The Hand of Glory (a well-funded terrorist organization).

Shadowforce Archer also includes new options such as variant agent creation rules, prestige classes, and chemical monsters - humans augmented beyond the limits of the flesh (think Bane from Batman) gaining near superhuman physical abilities. The prestige classes include: cat burglar, counter-terrorist, hacker, and sniper. All of the classes add good flavor to the setting with the sniper being my favorite (I enjoy long distance target shooting).

Chapter five is all about psionics in the Shadowforce setting. Rules for creating a psion agent are given along with an explanation of the new core class that uses psionics, the mentalist. A cornucopia of new feats and slills are covered, most of which are balanced and appropriate. The psychic warrior version of Spycraft/Shadowforce, the physical adept, is addressed next and includes even more skills and feats. Rounding out the chapter is the telepath class and all manner of equipment and gadgets to use in the setting.

Mystic agents is the topic of the next chapter. Here are your spellcasters (well, kinda). A mystic agent uses rituals to generate a very limited number of spells. The shadespeaker PrC may speak with the dead and do other things that taps into the spirit realm. The feats for this class are specific and laid out in the same manner as other feats in this book (feat tree). The descriptions of mystic rites and rituals follow. The number of choices is small compared to your fantasy spell list, but they fit the concepts of this game genre and system quite well.

The final chapter is filled with "threats" or short encounter situations that are appropriate for a wide range of character levels. They are mostly designed to be run an average of 4-6 serials. There are some great ideas here, but all will require a GM to have done some strong prep work ahead of time.

In conclusion, Shadowforce Archer is an invaluable resource for the Spycraft game. All of the tools a GM needs to make his world come alive are here. If you like Spycraft or play in that setting, then this is a good book to have. If Spycraft could be considered to be Core Rules I of that series, then Shadowforce Archer is Core Rules II. It's a good buy for the genre.

The Critic's Rating: (maximum 5 pts for each category)

• Amount of Open Game Content: 4.0
• d20 Compliance: 5.0
• Originality: 5.0
• Playability: 3.5 (Spycraft only or another modern day setting.)
• Value for the dollar: 5.0

Overall Rating: 4.50

Final Grade: A