Where are all the great spy RPGs?

[corwyn77]

Gumshoe RPG has the Preparedness skill that helps minimize planning and maximize execution. I'm fuzzy on the details though. I don't remember if it just gives you access to equipment in hindsight or if it gives you more freedom on what you planned. Dusk City Outlaws and I think Blades in the Dark have a similar planning mechanic to address this issue.

I wish that had made it into Trail of Cthulhu.

 

[Henry]

As mentioned above, the Gumshoe RPG system and its settings (e.g. Night's Black Agents) are perfect for spy vs. spy type games. You could run a more A-Team style game with something like Savage Worlds. I don't want to discount Spycraft 2.0 here, it has some wonderful rules and extremely entertaining class features and feats, but it wasn't my cup of tea because some aspects, such as equipment rules and status conditions, were RIDICULOUSLY complex compared to other d20 games. (There are like two different conditions to describe bejng prone, and four levels of shaken, for instance!) It just turned out to mot my cup of tea.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

...but it wasn't my cup of tea because some aspects, such as equipment rules and status conditions, were RIDICULOUSLY complex compared to other d20 games.

Seconded. The primary thing I recall about my group's attempt at Spycraft was it felt like we spent more time gearing up than spying.

 

[JediSoth]

I have played the new Top Secret game (Top Secret: New World Order by TSR (the new TSR, not the old one bought by WotC in the late '90s) twice now. The system reminds me of a mix between Savage Worlds and a dice pool system. It runs smoothly and gives you fairly detailed characters, but doesn't get in the way of the action (contrasted to a play test I played in last year where it was fairly clunky and confusing). The people working on it all have a good grasp of the genre and were big fans of the original, to boot. It doesn't hurt that the original creator is back (with whom I've also played the original Top Secret).

Espionage games were always a niche RPG (IMO), but this looks like it'll be a good one and I hope it's successful enough they can support it for years to come. I know I'll be picking it up (even though spy games are about the bottom of my comfort zone GMing).

 

[Randomthoughts]

I have played the new Top Secret game (Top Secret: New World Order by TSR (the new TSR, not the old one bought by WotC in the late '90s) twice now. The system reminds me....

I'm excited to hear about this new game (which I believe is done but not mass produced). Are you allowed to talk more about it? From your comment, it seems like the dropped rolling percentile?


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[JediSoth]

I'm excited to hear about this new game (which I believe is done but not mass produced). Are you allowed to talk more about it? From your comment, it seems like the dropped rolling percentile?


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

I didn't sign an NDA; anyone could sign up for the games at Gary Con this year.

That's correct, it dropped the percentile. Dice are assigned to your attributes (like in Savage Worlds), your skills, and the assets you select for the your mission also have a die assigned. When you perform an action, you take the appropriate Attribute Die + Your Skill Die + Your Asset and roll to beat Lucky 13 (w/situational modifiers that the GM has). There are also fortune points you can use to re-roll, but the PC doesn't know when their fortune will run out (so from just playing, I'm not sure how those are determined).

Assets are things like Spy gear, contacts, etc, and are chosen on a per-mission basis. Of course, the game isn't totally finalized, so something may be changed, but it felt pretty polished to me.

 

[Randomthoughts]

Interesting. Does sound like Savage Worlds or Cortex Plus. I would miss rolling percentiles though. They distinguished the system from games like D&D back in the day

Does the game have a developed setting?

Back to the OP: my favorite spy games were Top Secret (preference for the SI version) and James Bond. I remember doing crazy stuff (like throwing grenades on some train mission), but I'm not sure if that would fly with modern sensibilities of spycraft.


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[JediSoth]

Does the game have a developed setting?

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The play test games I played in weren't in-depth enough for me to get a sense of the setting other than "modern." Our adversary was a group known as Osiris which the GM described as his homebrew version of Cobra from G.I. Joe. I did not get the sense that it was part of the official setting they're developing

 

[Woodchuck]

Back in the day I had a ton of fun with the Spookshow RPG by Clockworks - game where you play ghosts working for the CIA. A quick glance online tells me that the game can be had for a steal these days.

 

[johndesmarais]

Back in the 1980's, TSR put out a great game called Top Secret. It had everything you needed to run great spy adventures. What happened to Top Secret, and why is it no longer sold in stores? And where are the other great spy RPGs? I know there are "modern" RPGs, but nothing I know of is dedicated to spy adventures, with all the specialized information that would require: like information about spy equipment, spy terminology, spy methods, spy organizations, etc.

Is there any interest in running a spy campaign?

Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes just hit DrivethruRPG. It uses a variant of the Tunnels & Trolls rules with a beefed up skill system.