Agents of Swing: review
Agents of Swing
by
James “Grim” Desborough
a review
by
Sean “Nix” McConkey
Agents of Swing brings the players and game master to the hey-day of espionage and secret agent adventure. In this recent addition to his gaming credits, James “Grim” Desborough brings to life such vaunted and idolized British serials as the Avengers and Man from UNCLE. It is a world of super-agents defending the world against super villains, where panache and style are almost as important as skill. It is a world bursting with the jet, rocket, transistor radios, and social revolutions, even though it is a world besmirched by several bloody and unpopular wars it remains a hopeful time. Agents of Swing takes us back to the good nature and joyful ambiance that many of the current secret agent inundated shows lack as they tend to be relatively gritty. Using a form of the FUDGE system called the FATE system, the game mechanics are delightfully easy and form no barrier when you submerse yourself into the persona of a World Super Agent.
The Supreme World Intelligence Network Group, or SWING for short, is an eclectic mix of world adventurers gathered together for their skills and talents, rather than their station in life, breeding, or home nation. With that in mind, agents are recruited from the United States, Russia, Britain, and many other countries crossing many borders both ideological and political. SWING is headed by an individual that goes by the name Auntie, with agents receiving their orders from a rather new fangled contraption called a 'computer'. This 'computer' is called ERIC2, or Electronic Random Integer Calculator by the techs that operate on it, will assign agents to tasks often in surprising mixtures basing its conclusions on thousands of variables too numerous for a human to contemplate. SWING is made up of twelve sections, each with a clear frame of responsibility. Command, Administration, Uncanny Affairs, and Espionage are but a few on the list, though there is a fabled 'Section 13' whispered in the halls and to new agents. It is up to SWING to battle against the various secret wars the world is faced with, from global groups like the Mafia or Yakuza, to unhinged scientists ready to loose terror on a populace unless their demands are met. The agents of SWING are kept quite busy by Auntie and ERIC2.
After the duties and responsibilities are written out, the book naturally moves on to to character creation. The player selects a concept, name, and then various aspects. The player will need to choose aspects for his or her section, past, cover I.D., and then five to round the character. Once those are chosen, more on that in the next paragraph, twenty points worth of skills are picked along with stunts and various details including equipment normally carried, appearance, clothing, and vehicles that might be owned. As it is set in the 1960's, style is extremely important. Saving the world from a cataclysmic destruction is one thing, but to save it while looking dapper is simply the proper way to do it. There is a heavy emphasis on the character and interaction with other individuals in the game, rather than relying upon a die roll. Agents of Swing is clearly meant to be a fun game, that just happens to have the capability of looking into deeper issues that continue to plague us.
Let us take a closer look at this 'aspect' notion. Aspects are more than just power, they help define who and what the character is. They can be anything from 'good with the ladies' to 'death before dishonor' and even 'smelly hippie'. They do provide a mechanical benefit in game, but aspects are more about who you are than what you can do. They are your relationships, your religious or philosophical beliefs, or just trinkets and special items. Aspects also prove additional FATE points. This portion of character creation is one I would carry over to other games as it provides a small benefit to a decently thought out background.
Agents of Swing uses the FATE system. All one needs are 3d6 of three different colors, the author suggests Red, White, and Blue to match the British flag (or the American flag for that matter) but any colors will suffice. If you happen to have a color scheme that is groovier, by then all means use those dice. Two of these dice are rolled, and their results are subtracted from one another. Thus, if the positive die is a 4 and the negative die is a 6, the end result would be -2. Any applicable skills are added as well, and if a player wishes for it, a FATE point can also modify the roll. Skills range from -3, which is a Bummer skill level, to +8, which is an Out of Sight skill level. The end results are measured in shifts and this can determine how much damage something takes when an agent takes a shot at something or how big of a splat an agent makes when he or she fails a climbing roll.
Also included in the Agents of Swing book is probably one of the better primers on how to run a game. How a game master, called the Controller in this game, runs a session is quite similar throughout the many genre's of role-playing, and many books try and help new game masters with their new found powers. Yet few excel as well as James did here. Agents of Swing will also be an extremely easy game to improvise with if a Controller happens to either run out of time to prepare, or has to come up with a scenario on the fly.
Various organizations, from small to global, are listed as are the details to flesh them out. Both good and vile major non-player characters are listed after that, as is a time line that runs from 1960 to 1979. The time line is followed by tables and handouts, with an unexpected bonus.. a glossary! I am surprised by how many role-playing books actually leave this highly beneficial item off. Agents of Swing did have several spelling errors, though I wrote those off as idiosyncrasies between American English and actual English. But, I found this game to be fun and easy with more than enough playability for long term campaigns or recurring side-treks. It is well worth the purchase price, and for true fans of the game I have heard rumors of a hardback version.
Playability: 5 out 5- this looks to be a very fun game
Writing: 3.5 out 5- extremely minor issues that can easily be overlooked, but each rule is well explained
Artwork: 2 out 5- minimal stock art by all appearances
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