Back to the 80s

[Marc_C]

If you did a modern campaign set in the 80s what would be your take on it and which system would you use?

 

[Sithlord]

I would probably focus on movies like nightmare on elm street and hellraiser. Even though it’s a little later I may also borrow ideas from Dresden files. If I wanted to use a different magic system i would use the classes and magic system out of the hellboy 5E game. But I like the full on spellcasters like d&d 5E. I hate playing in games where they nerf magic.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

If you did a modern campaign set in the 80s what would be your take on it and which system would you use?

My first instinct would be to do something with Miami Vice.
My second instinct would be to something for ridiculous 80s action movies (Schwarzenegger/Stallone- Commando as a template).

But do you know what? I think I'd merge function and form, and dredge up the old TSR-era Top Secret for some cold-war era highjinx. Or, maybe for a twist, merge the 80s TSR-era ruleset and use aspects of the 80s spoof-era movie, Top Secret!

Listen to me, Hillary. I'm not the first guy who fell in love with a woman that he met at a restaurant who turned out to be the daughter of a kidnapped scientist, only to lose her to her childhood lover who she last saw on a deserted island, who then turned out fifteen years later to be the leader of the French underground.

Yeah, that's what I would do. Top Secret to Top Secret! There is sauerkraut in my lederhosen.

 

[payn]

I'd use Kung Fury as my inspiration for starters. And The Eliminators for seconds.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, I'd second Top Secret, though I might use the more recent NWO ruleset, which is super-elegant and so easy to learn.

I've been on a Miami Vice kick lately, too - they're all on STARZ, so I could get behind that. I also might want to do something inspired by Roger Moore-era Bond and Schwarzenegger action movies - which pretty much describes how I ran Top Secret at the time.

Yeah, that's what I would do. Top Secret to Top Secret! There is sauerkraut in my lederhosen.

Alternately, if I wanted to do something that inserted more hi-tech/fantastical elements into the 80s, I'd use Fantasy AGE + Titansgrave or Shadowrun Anarchy.

 

[Marc_C]

I'd go with a cheesy signature vehicle (car, van, truck) as one of the characters.

 

[D1Tremere]

I would go with Dark Places and Demogorgons as the system. A mash-up version of the Buffyverse and Stranger Things. Possibly a meta 5E D&D campaign thrown in. Monster of the week meets teen slice of life, lots of mysteries to unravel.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Yeah, I'd second Top Secret, though I might use the more recent NWO ruleset, which is super-elegant and so easy to learn.

I've been on a Miami Vice kick lately, too - they're all on STARZ, so I could get behind that. I also might want to do something inspired by Roger Moore-era Bond and Schwarzenegger action movies - which pretty much describes how I ran Top Secret at the time.



Alternately, if I wanted to do something that inserted more hi-tech/fantastical elements into the 80s, I'd use Fantasy AGE + Titansgrave or Shadowrun Anarchy.

So the other thing is if you were going Miami Vice (or even Top Secret), you could start with the Jan Hammer, but then play some more modern bands that are so 80s. Desire/Chromatics, or Mitch Murder would work great in the background.

 

[Mallus]

I'd use Spirit of '77 and adjust the playbooks for maximum 80s satire. Arguably I already ran this campaign a few years ago, with our "Spirit of the TV of Our Youth: 1976 - 1986" campaign.

 

[MGibster]

I've thought of running campaigns set in the 80s for Vampire and Delta Green. Honestly, I'd probably play things straight rather than create a 1980s parody pastiche. Actually, that part about not creating a 1980s parody pastiche is partly a lie. In my Deadlands Hell on Earth campaign I had the players travel from the 2080s to the 1980s in a hot tub time machine. But other than that I pretty much played the 1980s straight. I mean, if you can count getting into a gunfight with muscle bound mooks at Muscle Beach to be playing things straight.