- Crafty Games
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Crafty Games Type Limited Liability Company Industry Role-Playing Games Founded 2005 Founder(s) Alex Flagg, Patrick Kapera, and Scott Gearin Headquarters Portland, Oregon, USA Products Spycraft, Mastercraft, and Mistborn RPGs Website http://www.crafty-games.com/ Crafty Games is an American publisher of role-playing games based on espionage and fantasy themes, particularly Spycraft. The company was founded by the creative team behind the Spycraft and Spycraft 2.0 RPGs, shortly after both lines were shut down by then-publisher Alderac Entertainment Group.[1] Since its inception, Crafty Games has published over 50 products in print and PDF format, both through Mongoose Publishing's Flaming Cobra imprint and e-book vendor OneBookShelf. Crafty Games' work on Spycraft 2.0 has won nominations for the Diana Jones Award[2] and 4 ENnie Awards[3] in 2006.
Contents
Founders
The founders of Crafty Games were affiliated with Alderac Entertainment Group in various capacities. When the Spycraft line was cut in the summer of 2005, they jointly formed Crafty Games.[4]
Patrick Kapera
A ten-year veteran of the hobby gaming industry, Patrick Kapera was the co-creator of the award-winning Spycraft roleplaying game and its many offshoots, including the Stargate SG-1 RPG while working as a staff writer, editor, developer, and brand manager for AEG. Additionally he has worked on many acclaimed games, including Legend of the Five Rings, 7th Sea, Doomtown, When Darkness Comes, and the Battlestar Galactica RPG.
Alex Flagg
Once an organizer for the Oregon-based gaming convention Dairyland, Alex was recruited as an AEG freelancer to work on Spycraft 1.0 in 2002 based on the strength of his homebrewed setting Ten Thousand Bullets. Over the subsequent 5 years, he worked on nearly 2 dozen books for a number of publishers, including AEG, Privateer Press, Fantasy Flight Games, Paradigm Concepts, and Mythic Dreams Studios, and was a core designer of the critically acclaimed Spycraft 2.0 RPG.
Games and products
Main article: SpycraftBeyond Spycraft, Crafty Games has recently begun to branch into other games, including Mastercraft, a new system developed as part of their Fantasy Craft RPG. On 7 September 2008, the company also announced its first licensed property, based on Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series of novels.[5]
This game system is notable for its modular, mix-and-match approach to equipment and gear, which allows it to function across genres from classic fantasy to science fiction. Instead of offering a specific set of choices, players can choose from a large set of "effects" and then its "housing," before paying the associated cost. For example, an ice effect combined with a sword produces a magical blade, while combining an EMP effect with a wristwatch comes straight out of James Bond's Q Branch.
In addition, creating NPC adversaries is as simple as assigning a "caliber" to their attack, defense, and so on. The actual numerical value scales to the level of the party, so you can run the same mission for new or experienced players without batting an eye. One build fits all.
Spycraft 1.0 products
- Spycraft Espionage Handbook
- Faceman/Snoop Class Guide
- Fixer/Pointman Class Guide
- Soldier/Wheelman Class Guide
- Modern Arms Guide
- 1960s Decade Book
- Agency
- Battlegrounds
- Mastermind
- World Militaries
- Gentleman's Agreement (mission module)
- Shadowforce Archer Worldbook
- African Alliance
- Archer Foundation Chamber Book
- European Commonwealth Chamber Book
- Hand of Glory Threat Book
- Pan-Asian Collective Chamber Book
- The Shop Threat Book
Spycraft 2.0 products
- Agent X: Firebrand
- Agent X: One-Man Army
- Agent X: The Runner
- Back to Basics: Modern SRD Classes for Spycraft 2.0
- Bag Full of Guns: Dragon's Fury
- Bag Full of Guns: Red Heat
- Bag Full of Guns: This is My Gun
- Bag Full of Guns: This is My Rifle
- Conspiracies
- Fragile Minds
- Origin of the Species: Classic Fantasy
- Origin of the Species: Light of Olympus
- Origin of the Species: Transmechs
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Spellbound: The Channeler (revised)
- Spellbound: The Seer
- Spycraft 2.0 Core Book, Second Printing (Errata v3)
- The Big Score
- World On Fire
Associates and freelance talent
A number of freelance writers and artists have worked with the Crafty partners in their assorted game lines.
Loren Dean
Loren's work has appeared in multiple books for Alderac Entertainment's 7th Sea game, and he wrote a regular review column for AEG's SHADIS magazine. Under the Crafty banner he has written for Signs & Portents magazine, and is a principal contributor on the Vow of Silence project.
Third party support
Fan and Organized Play clubs have begun several sites in support of Crafty Games' product lines. Additionally, other companies have produced material under the Powered by Spycraft/Powered by Mastercraft License.
Several introductory and convention-ready (4 hour) modules are available for download on the Crafty Games website.
Wyrmstone
An Organized Play offering going live shortly after the release of Fantasy Craft, featuring flying ships and adventure opportunities spanning multiple worlds.[6]
Media mentions
Products published by Crafty Games have been mentioned in the following media sources:
Atomic Array
- Featured on Episode 32.[7]
RPG Countdown
- Agent X: Firebrand: highest rank 3;[8] also ranked 10.[9]
- Origin of the Species: Transmechs: highest rank 2;[10] also ranked 3.[11]
References
- ^ Crafty Games website. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ Diana Jones Awards 2006 nominees page. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ ENnie Awards 2006 nominees page. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ "Interview: Crafty Games, Publisher of Spycraft 2.0, Fantasycraft and Mistborn Role-Playing Games Part 1". Retrieved 17 July 2009 and "Spycraft product listing on RPG Resource". Retrieved 18 July 2009
- ^ "'Mistborn RPG' on the Way," ICv2 website. Retrieved 09 December 2008.
- ^ "Wyrmstone OP main site".
- ^ Atomic Array. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
- ^ RPG Countdown. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ RPG Countdown. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- ^ RPG Countdown. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ RPG Countdown. Retrieved 01 July 2009.
Categories:- Companies based in Portland, Oregon
- Companies established in 2005
- Privately held companies based in Oregon
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