Field Agent Handbook Press Kit

Written as an in-world artefact from the 1920s, the Field Agent Handbooks are a set of five always-on solo RPG/LARPs to play with when out and about.

In the first handbook Field Agents suspect the animal kingdom of revolutionary activity so watch for signs of suspicious behaviour, use pendulum dowsing to divine their motives & log their observations.

Summary

Get outside with this collection of four employee handbooks, a solo RPG/LARP that may be the world's first pendulum dowsing RPG (at least, I've not come across another yet).

Written as in-world artefacts from the 1920s, they invite players to join the Ætherial Corporation's covert Observancy Department as Field Agents & observe their world from a slightly different angle.

The Department spent their time observing the world around them while going about their normal everyday activities, noting down suspicious activity and tapping into their extra-sensory perception (ESP) by using their standard issue pendulum (a key on a string) & dowsing board.

Three yellow handbooks with key on a string and pencil on a rock looking over the sea

Each year they refocused their efforts on a new object of suspicion (such as animals, clouds, plants and landscapes) while capturing their observations in these A6-sized workbooks.

Each handbook includes:

Once complete, dossiers can be sent back to Head Office to be signed & stamped in order to chart the Agent’s rise through the four ranks from Operative to Field Agent (Second & First Class) to Special Agent.

...I find there might be something to their suspicions so I’ve made the executive decision to reopen the Observancy Department, release the handbooks to the public, and invite YOU to join the Ætherial Corporation’s most covert operation, its Field Agents.

Originally created as part of a one-page game jam, the first Field Agent handbook has been slightly reworked and then heavily expanded into this set.

If you'd like a review copy (digital or physical) or talk or whatever, please get in touch!

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Dates & Links

Creator

Designed, developed, written, edited, & illustrated by Luke Earl, the sole worker at interstellar mega-corporation, Æther Corp.

Kickstarter Launch Date

6 February 2024

Links

Rewards

All physical levels will include a PDF download code, a standard issue pendulum chain (15” length of red string) and a 1” promo button badge.

Add-ons

Availability

The Kickstarter will run for 14 days from 6–20 February 2024 and the handbooks will be released to the public throughout the year:

All digital rewards will be sent ahead of those public release dates and backers at physical tiers should get theirs around June.

Features

Game Play

  1. Spot anomalous activity or suspicious occurence
  2. Note down the observation along with additional information — eg weather, location, wind speed, size, shape, etc
  3. Use the dowsing board to discern an aspect of the observation — eg motive
  4. Draw conclusions based on the observations

Agents can also use their standard issue pendulum (a key on a string) and their extra-sensory perception to seek out suspicious activities.

The Handbooks

Each handbook follows a similar format with these common pages:

Cover of each book in yellow, blue, green and brown with its unique worksheet

For each year the detail on those pages are amended & updated and additional pages are added as needed.

1924 Revolution

We suspect the animal kingdom of plotting a revolution & you are here to help us understand their devices.

Our mission in the Observancy Department is to spot any such behaviour or signs of suspicious activity, note them down, and draw our conclusions.

Additional pages include:

1925 Leviathan

The age of flight is still in its infancy and we have heard worrying reports from our aeroplane & dirigible pilots of giant beasts that roam the aether.

Our fresh mission is to observe the clouds, look for unusual signs & cloud formations, and attempt to discern the activity & anatomy of these sky-bound leviathan.

Additional pages include:

1926 Communication

While we were looking upward, we didn't think to concern ourselves with the growing cacophony in our very own gardens, forests, and fields.

Our mission turns to our leafy neighbours to see if we can understand their speech and intuit their meaning throughout each season.

Additional pages include:

1928 Giants

From the landscape sprung the flowers, but who formed the landscape? Newly discovered texts indicate the folklore might be true and giants may have indeed existed.

Our mission is to lower our gaze to the ground to identify oddly shaped mounds, mimetoliths (rocks resembling faces), gouged earth, and suspicious urban planning decisions. Under the hills there may be sleeping colossus.

Additional pages include:

Media

Images