System for a gritty Cold War espionage campaign?

[CarlZog]

I'm trying to choose a system for a gritty, LeCarre-style Cold War espionage campaign with these features:


-- Pretty realistic action and combat.
-- Significant political intrigue with complex PC interaction.
-- Opportunity for PCs to develop down multiple career paths and allegiances.


I'm split between GURPS and Spycraft. I have less experience with GURPS than Spycraft, but I like its open-ended character development possibilities. On the other hand, Spycraft's dramatic conflict rules could work well with a lot of what I'm considering.


Any thoughts or experiences using either of these systems for this kind of setting?

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I played a couple of SpyCraft 2.0 campaigns and ours did not feel gritty at all to me. I'm sure our plot made it not realistic and gritty but I think the system had a strong hand in it as well.

I have (but haven't had a chance to play) Hot War but my friend did and his group enjoyed it. You would have to change the setting but it could work for you if your group like a more narrative and less crunchy game.

Here are some reviews of it!
http://rpgsystems.wikidot.com/hot-war
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14140.phtml

 

[Umbran]

It depends upon what you think feels gritty, to be honest.

GURPS is probably a decent choice - but with all the switches turned on, it is gritty, but it is also, in my experience, cumbersome and slow to resolve action.

I might actually suggest FATE, though the Core rules aren't published yet. If "gritty" is "characters walk around carrying the consequences of conflict", then FATE has that capacity, as well as social conflict resolution that is as mechanically rich as normal combat (in fact, it is the exact same mechanic, just based on other skills) and significant mechanics to allow things to happen because they are in-genre, as opposed to because the physics are baked into the mechanics. Carve off the high weirdness of another FATE game, and it can probably be used for this pretty well.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Carve off the high weirdness of another FATE game, and it can probably be used for this pretty well.

I concur!

 

[CarlZog]

I backed the FATE kickstarter, just based on the system's good rep, but I haven't looked very closely at the draft version yet. Thanks for the suggestion! I imagined FATE as a much looser, cinematic, pulpy kind of system.

 

[SethDrebitko]

I'd go GURPS over FATE for "realistic" combat. Also if you happen to have a copy of it Alternity rpg might be a nice fit.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My first choice would be HERO, using the Dark Champions rules...but that's because HERO is my favorite system.

My second choice would be something like Spycraft or D20 Modern because of my familiarity with them and the sheer amount of stuff I have to support them, like loads of weapon & gear books.

GURPS would be my most "realistic" choice, though, and I say that even though it is one of my least favorite systems. Respectfully, few systems do "gritty" as well as it does. (IMHO, of course.)

 

[Hand of Evil]

Gumshoe by Pelgrane Press comes to mind, the rules are used in Trail of Cthulhu