OSR Review & Commentary on The Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets rpg by Michael Brown

" “Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

As long as there have been people, there have been secrets. And as long as there have been secrets, there have been those whose mission is to discover those secrets. Espionage is the practice of gaining information without the consent — or preferably knowledge — of the information’s owner. Thanks to popular media, intelligence agents (also known as operatives or spies) are presented as dashing, resourceful, hypercharged superheroes, capable of breathtaking feats of derring-do and seduction in the pursuit of information or larger-than-life villains. In reality, the life of an agent is rarely one of guns, tuxedos and car chases; most real-life spies report that the tradecraft (the practices and tools of espionage) is actually one of patience, lots of talking to various people, and above all not being noticed.

Now 2D6 players can operate in the shadowy world of intelligence gathering and espionage. "

What can you do in twenty one pages of a 2d6 espionage rpg of spies, super spies, and then the folks in the trenches?! You can learn that you can't trust anything or believe the world around you. There are times when you can't trust anyone  or anything and this is the basis for  the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets by Michael Brown. There is one PC type in Violation and that is agent. There is a salad bar of  PC options with career paths, character choices, skills, and more all a part of the world of the spies in the trenches in the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets. 

Michael Brown brings the world of agents, spies, and counter spies to life in the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets. He spins the world of spies and agents as one of patience, observation, and finally action. The center of this rpg is the options that can brought in with career generation; additional skills; expanded equipment and vehicle lists; and a discussion of integrating martial arts into the game. Brown strips back the whole affair so that the game mechanics work very well and do the job that the players & the dungeon master need them to do. And if your going to run the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets then grab the Martial Arts add on. You'll need it because of the nature of Brown's rules set & set up. 

Brown brings a sweet & simple spies & agents game in the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets. And over the years there are number of 2d6 adventures that he's written that can easily fit the double dealing  nature of the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets.  And these include his The Polaris Procedure which follows the  a fight between manufacturers for possession of innovative toys…that could also become bringers of destruction rather than joy. This adventure has an almost but not quite classic Avengers TV show quality about it. 

Part of Michael Brown's strength of writing & design is how modular his works are. You can easily add in 2d6 magic or psionics to your the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets campaign! And it will fit because of the nature of the Cepheus Engine rpg itself. And this ethos is also a part of the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets because the moving parts, & pieces of the system are made to be worked over & with. This is a user friendly game that a player can pick up in 20 minutes & have a PC ready to play after that time! The game is compact, easy to understand, & handles the spy & agent business as it should. The Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets rpg doesn't talk down the reader but in 21 pages give the reader the tools to create a PC agent ready to tear it up with his fellow PC's. Is it perfect?! No, the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets has many of the failings of other 2d6 rpg's and that's fine. For the Violation of Truth: 2D6 Adventure in a World of Spies and Secrets rpg this game has everything a DM needs to set up a campaign, grab a mission, and begin running the game today.