Agents of S.W.I.N.G. — Hardcover Edition

Save the world. Punish evildoers. Prevent nuclear catastrophe. Do it with STYLE.

Agents of S.W.I.N.G. is a complete, FATE-powered game of international Spy-Fi adventure, set across the 1960s and ’70s.

Players take the roles of secret agents working throughout the world to avert catastrophe, confront dangerous organisations and prevent the two superpowers from annihilating one another.

The Cold War provides the danger.

Classic adventure serials provide the style.

S.W.I.N.G. provides the agents expected to keep the whole thing from ending in disaster.

The Supreme World Intelligence Network Group

S.W.I.N.G.—the Supreme World Intelligence Network Group—stands against the nefarious organisations seeking to destabilise the world or bring about a Third World War.

The game is an affectionate homage to the adventure and Spy-Fi serials of the 1960s and ’70s, drawing upon the tradition represented by:

• The Avengers

• The Persuaders!

• The Protectors

• Sapphire & Steel

• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

• The James Bond films

It brings those varied influences together in a single roleplaying game built around capable agents, unusual threats and worldwide adventure.

A Slimmed-Down FATE System

Agents of S.W.I.N.G. uses a streamlined and accelerated version of FATE, derived from Cubicle 7’s Starblazer Adventures.

The system has been simplified to get players into the action quickly while retaining FATE’s character-driven approach.

The rules cover:

• Agents.

• Villains.

• Henchmen.

• Goons.

• Nefarious organisations.

• Adventure construction.

• Advice for running the game.

The book also includes Plot Stress, a structure designed to help Control organise and pace adventures.

Ready to Play

The core book contains a large selection of starting-level player characters, allowing a group to select agents and begin playing without first creating an entire team.

These characters also provide worked examples of how the game’s character rules and Aspects can be used.

One published reader review particularly praised the quantity of examples, noting that the book helped them understand FATE after they had struggled with the system elsewhere. The same reviewer highlighted the extensive selection of non-player characters as practical demonstrations of different character concepts.

Create the Opposition

Control is not limited to a single pre-written enemy.

The game provides rules for devising original nefarious organisations, giving each campaign its own opponents and threats.

These may then be populated with:

• Major villains.

• Henchmen.

• Groups of goons.

• Other characters required by the campaign.

Together with the game’s advice and Plot Stress structure, this gives Control the tools to construct continuing Spy-Fi adventures rather than relying exclusively upon prepared scenarios.

Style Over Espionage Administration

Agents of S.W.I.N.G. is designed to reproduce the heightened world of televised and cinematic Spy-Fi rather than the paperwork and waiting involved in real intelligence work.

A positive reader review described it as the best spy roleplaying game they had read, particularly praising its emphasis on style rather than realism. That reviewer also noted that the game could support modern cinematic espionage as well as its intended 1960s and ’70s inspirations.

Another contemporary review praised the game’s streamlined treatment of FATE and its clear focus on the genre it sets out to emulate.

Tested at the Table

The game was developed and playtested through regular gaming groups and at UK conventions, including Dragonmeet and Indiecon.

The official release describes it as a hit during convention playtesting, where its streamlined system and ready-made agents allowed groups to begin playing quickly.

Inside the Book

Agents of S.W.I.N.G. includes:

• A complete FATE-powered Spy-Fi roleplaying game.

• A worldwide setting based upon adventure serials of the 1960s and ’70s.

• The Supreme World Intelligence Network Group.

• Streamlined rules derived from Starblazer Adventures.

• Rules for agents, villains, henchmen and goons.

• Rules for creating nefarious organisations.

• Advice and guidance for Control.

• The Plot Stress adventure structure.

• A substantial collection of starting-level player characters.

• Numerous examples demonstrating the game’s rules and character options.

• Everything needed to begin a S.W.I.N.G. campaign.

The Hardcover Edition

This edition presents the complete Agents of S.W.I.N.G. core game as a durable case-wrap hardcover.

The book contains 340 black-and-white pages in a US Trade, 6 × 9 inch format.

The rules and contents are the same core game found in the standard edition; this listing is distinguished by its larger page dimensions and hardback binding.

Your Mission Begins Here

The world is divided between two superpowers.

Hostile organisations are working to turn that division into catastrophe.

Control has assembled the agents.

The opposition is already moving.

Start laying into the enemies of humanity—and do it with STYLE.

This listing is for the physical hardcover edition of Agents of S.W.I.N.G., written by James Desborough. It is a 340-page, black-and-white, US Trade case-wrap hardcover measuring 6 × 9 inches. Dice and other ordinary gaming materials are not included.