Pelgrane Press PELGN01 Night's Black Agents RPG - Core Book

This system is beautifully simple. Perfect for groups that like the role play but are not crazy about remembering tons of rules and modifiers. The world building is fantastic, providing framework to build not only a one-shot adventure but an entire saga. Highly recommend!

My favorite iteration of GUMSHOE. It uses the automatic elements of Investigation to propel the cinematic and action oriented scenes, and let's you do more role-playing and less roll playing with it's resource management system. Also highly fluid, so you can just as easily do other action oriented agent related games (Such as modeling James Rollins Sigma Force or even the old Spycraft world).

I don't know much about Vampires or really have an interest in them, I bought this to use more or less as a modern espionage RPG. Very impressed with the lore and lengths that the author has gone to to present the themes (both espionage and vampires).The book is well laid out. My only negative comment is that the intro to GUMSHOE isn't entirely clear to me. I think spending more time upfront on how that differs from normal systems would help someone knew to the system. I think it makes a few assumptions as to your experience level that I wish it didn't.That element aside, I feel like this is a strong and interesting system, even for those without an interest in the vampire aspect of it, though I've come to appreciate why that was chosen as the setting.

This game book is great and lots of fun. I was not thrilled that it arrived with the front cover scratched. It was supposed to be "new" and it was a present. I won't lower the star score for the condition of the book though.

Great game. The Gumshoe system in general is really a fun style and Night's Black Agents in particular is an awesome setting!

Really interesting, well-thought-out RPG. Haven't had a chance to play yet, but looks like it should be fun.

Expectation:The same author and press of the acclaimed Trail of Cthulhu? I could only expect a very professional layout, solid writing, and the same Gumshoe system, that some love and others can't stand.But what caught my eye was certainly the premise: a spy thriller in the Bourne Trilogy tradition mixed with vampire masters in the shadows. I fell for that... hard!Touching & Seeing it:Cool and dark cover. Very nice binding, gorgeous page quality and very clear layout. My measure of quality has increased a lot since Eclipse Phase's release, and Night's Black Agents is right there, at THAT level.The art could be better if it were more realistic and somber; but it doesn't interfere with the general mood.Reading it:In Trail of Cthulhu there were Purist and Pulp "modes", rules add-ons to fine tune the general mood of the game. In Night's Black Agents we have 4 of these modes, and their interactions and ideas will certainly satisfy a very wide range of groups and stories. Through the book you will find so many references to Spy and Vampire fiction tropes to send your ideas racing at an almost overwhelming pace.The scenario is also highly customizable - you can, for instance, replace the Vampire element altogether for a realistic conspiracy, werewolves or (naturally) Cthulhu Mythos antagonists. In short: great and imaginative premise carried with good research and nice examples.Playing it:Night's Black Agents added so many options and it seems much less railroading-prone than previous Gumshoe system games. Still, some players chafe under the "narrative resources management" take of the rules.The rules options are great! I liked a lot the Burn mode, where your agent will be taken to the limits of his psychological resistance. But every narrator will mix elements of other modes to reach their own style. The same goes for the options to develop the antagonists... players that came to expect the same old vampire style are in for a rough awakening.ConclusionI expect this book to shine in 2013 ENNie Awards and I will be rooting for its success. You can read my other reviews and see that I am not easily satisfied with a rpg book... well, It has been a while since I have been this impressed.Great work. Excellent purchase!

An excellent game with a bit of genre mix problem. Vampire stories thrive on helplessness and fear. Super spies thrive on paranoia and betrayal, but not helplessness or fear. Getting these two genres to balance out in a fun game looks to be a challenge for the GM, that said the core system is great. The backgrounds are filled with great color and flavor. The vampires come in all types and look challenging and the scenarios they have published including the huge Dracula Dossier are filled with so much good stuff they are hard to resist. The genres may not mesh perfectly, but they game is so good I think it is worth trying to get them in sync anyhow.