Role Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service

Art by James Talbot

In the early 80s, TSR issued a loan to Simulations Publications, Inc.  However, in less than a month, TSR called in the note, thereby dooming SPI.  TSR acquired SPI's assets, but not its people.  Some SPI alumni were hired by Avalon Hill and a subsidiary (or “sister”) company was formed – Victory Games.  Rather than in Avalon Hill's Baltimore, Victory Games was based in New York (just as SPI had been).   Victory Games published a variety of games in the vein of SPI; they also obtained the RPG license for the James Bond franchise.

James Bond 007 was published in 1983 and it won that year's H. G. Wells Award for best role-playing rules.  It also won the Strategist's Club Award in 1984.  In his Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick recommended James Bond 007 as the top espionage system.  He described the game as having “a smooth, fast-playing style and was well supported with scenarios for one, two, or several players.”

Interestingly, the last three digits of the ISBN are 007.  The game is dedicated to (Aaron) Eric Dott, chairman of Avalon Hill's parent company.  (Dott passed away earlier this year.)  Gerald Christopher Klug is credited with “game design, development and project coordination.”  Klug's other role-playing credits include work on SPI's Dragonquest and Universe.

Klug discusses the creation of the game in the third issue of Heroes, Avalon Hill's RPG magazine.  In the early 80s, Klug felt that an “area of role-play which...hadn't been adequately covered was the world of espionage.”  His gaming group wasn't satisfied with the “only game available at the time.”  Although Klug avoids mentioning the name of this unsatisfying game, it could be none other than TSR's Top Secret.  (Even Schick describes Top Secret as “competent but unimpressive.”)  “I knew I could design a better game,” Klug reminisces, “going so far as to start tinkering with a game system.”  Klug's rules were generic – not geared toward any licensed property.  The newly created Victory Games wanted to enter into the RPG market but decided against a fantasy game given the crowded field.  Klug proposed his espionage game, but instead of a generic setting, Victory Games “decided to base a game on the only spy character really worth doing – James Bond.”  I can appreciate that James Bond was the only spy character with a currently active franchise, but surely not the only spy character really worth doing.  Mission: Impossible and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. are worthwhile possibilities; even The Avengers would make a decent basis for an RPG.

The Bond license required Victory Games “to support the James Bond movies, so the characters, backgrounds, and plot lines made [in] the game would be drawn from the movies.”  According to Klug:

This would please some Bond fans and displease others, so the latter would have to be appeased by having the game system designed to support both the books and the movies...Since I was designing the game systems to emulate the books while giving the players information from the movies, that would satisfy fans of both genres.  And, as long as I made the game essentially simple to play, the young fans would by it and be happy with it.

As mentioned previously, scenarios for James Bond 007 were based upon the various Bond films, but the details were altered so that the plots were not predictable.  Even 'original' adventures were marketed as a type of sequel (for instance, Goldfinger II and You Only Live Twice II).  Not all of the Bond films were given a scenario treatment, although there seems to have been an intent to do so.  An early James Bond 007 advertisement included the following:

A 'playtest' version of From Russia With Love appeared in electronic form in 2003, but Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, and The Spy Who Loved Me never appeared.

I find it interesting to compare and contrast The Adventures of Indiana Jones with James Bond 007.  One was celebrated and the other scorned.  Yet both were released within a year of one another and both were based on the films of pop culture icons.  Even the basic game mechanics of the two games are similar.  The Indiana Jones game compares the results of a percentile roll against some multiple of an Attribute Rating for purposes of task resolution.  In James Bond 007, a character has a Primary Chance associated with some task.  The Primary Chance is multiplied by an Ease Factor to establish a number to which a percentile roll is compared for determining success.  (There are eleven Ease Factors:  one through ten as well as ½.  Lower numbers represent more difficult tasks.)  There are four “levels” of success with regard to checks in the Indiana Jones game and, in James Bond 007, there are four Quality Ratings that represent different levels of success – from 1 (excellent) to 4 (acceptable).  I'm not suggesting that either game copied the other, but both games used a similar mechanic to appeal to entry-level players.

Although Indiana Jones was developed into another role-playing game, James Bond has not returned in RPG form.  However, an approximate simulacrum of the Victory Games rules system has been produced under the name Classified.  The name leaves much to be desired; I would have gone with something like 'Agents & Assassins'.  (You can't go wrong with alliteration and ampersands.)

Chases in The Adventures of Indiana Jones

In a pursuit, there are the chased and the chaser; in The Adventures of Indiana Jones, the terms are Leader and Follower, respectively.  Distance is measured in units of 25 feet called Areas.  The Referee's Screen presents a table that converts miles-per-hour into areas-per-turn in increments of 10 mph.  (A Turn is five seconds.)

In any given turn, the distance of the Leader from the Follower equals the Follower's Chase Rate subtracted from the Leader's Chase Rate.  The Leader has a number of Areas as a Head Start.  The sum of the Leader's speed and Head Start is his or her Chase Rate for the first turn of the chase; the Follower's Chase Rate equals his or speed.  To determine Chase Rate on subsequent turns, for both Leader and Follower, speed is added to the prior turn's Chase Rate.

According to the rules:

It doesn't matter if your characters are using cars, horses, or their own feet in a chase.  You run chases the same way for all three.

Despite this assertion, the rules primarily address vehicle chases.  Vehicles have the following specifications:  Acceleration, Breaking, Maximum Speed, Redline Speed, Turn Speed, and Vehicle Rating.  If a vehicle tries to turn when in excess of its Turn Speed, the driver must make a Movement Check.  If successful, the turn is accomplished without incident; if unsuccessful, “your character loses control and has an accident.”  The vehicle's speed is added to an accident roll.  Results on the Accident Table range from 'skid' to 'flip and roll'.  When a vehicle travels faster than its Redline Speed, the driver's Movement Rating is halved.  Vehicle Rating “is a measure of a vehicle's durability.”

If light damage is inflicted upon a vehicle, its “Maximum Speed is reduced by 10 mph.”  If a vehicle suffers medium damage, “The vehicle's speed is cut to half of its normal Maximum Speed.”  When a vehicle takes serious damage, it “stalls out and [slows] to a complete stop.”

The Adventures of Indiana Jones has a Chase Flow Chart (presented above).  It consists of twenty-five circles identified by letters A through Z (with the exception of O).  Twenty-one of the circles represent intersections, three represent Hazards, and one is a dead end.  The Hazard Table is shown below; however, the rules state, “The Referee may also create his own Hazards.”

Ten of the circles are numbered, permitting a 'starting' circle to be determined by rolling 1d10.  If the Leader is attempting to reach a specific location, that location is also determined by rolling 1d10 (rerolling if the starting circle number results).  The Chase Flow Chart is not shown to the players.  When a player character is the Leader and he (or she) is attempting to reach a specific location, the Referee should announce which direction the character should take at a given intersection if the character “is pretty familiar with the area...”  If the character “is only slightly familiar with the area,” then an Instinct Check must be made at each intersection.  Of course, this is dependent upon the Referee realizing the ideal route.  What's the best way to get from 9(X) to 2(C)?  A random direction is rolled for an NPC Leader not headed for a specific location.  If the difference in Areas between the Leader and Follower exceeds the number listed between two linked circles, then the Follower loses sight of the Leader.

The Judge's Survival Pack includes additional rules and material regarding chases.

First, there are five more Chase Flow Charts:  one for “citystreets,” one for countryside, and three for buildings (“mainfloor,” “midfloor,” and rooftop).  Additionally, there are Hazard tables for “countryroad” (with results like blow out, cloud of dust, and bridge out!) and buildings (with results like loose carpet, cleaning lady, and “laundry in hall”).  (Incidentally, The Fourth Nail Adventure Pack includes several Chase Flow Charts, including charts that represent Barcelona.)

Second, chase participants can attempt “shortcuts.”  With a successful Movement Check, the character gains “spaces” (either 2, 4, or 6).  Although unstated, I suspect that for vehicle chases, “space” means Area and for foot chases, “space” refers to Square (i.e., five feet).

Lastly, the Judge's Survival Pack provides rules for stunting.  For “wild car chases,” characters can do things like attempt “skid turns and bootleg 180 degree turns” (succeed with a Movement Check or else roll on the Accident Table) or jump an obstacle (“there must be a ramp in front of the obstacle, the driver must be going Redline speed, and he must make a Movement check at × ½”).  Rules are also supplied “for overcoming obstacles in a foot race.”  For instance, actions such as “Sliding, Swinging, Vaulting, and Tackling require a Movement check at × ½ to maintain control and not get hurt.”  Another rule helpfully explains, “Walking a ledge, Jumping High, and Controlling a fall may require a normal Movement check or one at ×½ or ×¼ depending on how difficult the situation is.”  So, in short, engaging in a Movement 'stunt' may require a (possibly modified) Movement Check.

Wahoo!

Measuring Success in The Adventures of Indiana Jones

Art by Rafael DeSoto

One of the enjoyable aspects of role-playing games is watching your character develop through continued play.  Experience points are often the means through which such development is represented in game terms.  The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game (hereinafter Adventures) does not have an experience point system; characters are essentially static.  Adventures, however, does have rules for earning Player Points.  Such points – like the name suggests – are assigned to the player and not the character.  Since players can “trade off” the characters they play, it is appropriate for 'points' to be player-centric.  Player Points are also earned by the Referee.  They are generally obtained in two ways:  meeting objectives and receiving awards.

Each 'episode' in an adventure lists objectives for the player characters and for the non-player characters.  Players are not informed as to what the objectives are.  Point values for the objectives are also listed.  As an example, here are the objectives for the second episode in the Raiders of the Lost Ark Adventure Pack.  (This is the episode that includes the scene in Nepal.)

PC (PLAYER) OBJECTIVES
     Re-establish the relationship between Indy and Marion (worth 1 Player Point).
     Escape the Nazis who attack the PCs in The Raven (worth 2 Player Points).
     Keep the headpiece to the Staff of Ra out of the Nazis' hands (worth 2 Player Points).
NPC (REFEREE) OBJECTIVES
     Bring Indy and Marion together (worth 1 Player Point).
     Bring the Nazis into The Raven (worth 1 Player Point).
     Have both the PCs and NPCs gain a copy to the Staff of Ra (worth 2 Player Points).

Each player receives the same number of 'objective' Player Points per episode.  Evaluation of the player as an individual happens with 'award' Player Points. When 'award' Player Points are determined, three questions are asked of of each player by the Referee.  “Then the players, as a group,” according to page 43, “apply the same questions to the Referee.”  The questions are:

1. Did the person make the game fun to play?
2. Did the person play the part of his player character (or his NPCs) well?
3. Did the person have good ideas?

For each question to which the answer is “yes,” the player (or Referee) receives one Player Point.  These questions clearly establish the goals of the game:  fun, role-playing, and imagination.  This concept of 'award' Player Points is important for two reasons.  First, for beginning players, it can be beneficial to have the purpose of Adventures (or any role-playing game) stated so succinctly.  Second, distribution of 'award' Player Points represents a feedback mechanism.  In other RPGs, feedback from a gamemaster to his or her players is common enough, but Adventures facilitates feedback from players to the Referee.

'Objective' Player Points are determined and distributed at the end of an adventure; specifically, “When the adventure is over, the Referee should decide which objectives the player characters met, and which objectives his NPCs met.”  Unfortunately, the rules are unclear as to when 'award' Player Points are provided.  According to the rules, “The players and Referee also award Player Points to each other at the end of an adventure (or episode).”  Which is it, adventure or episode?  Given that the average number of episodes per adventure is six, whether Player Point awards are provided per adventure or per episode makes a significant difference in the potential amount of Player Points that the players and Referee may have.  The rules state that “the Referee should try to keep from awarding more than 5 Player Points to each player in an adventure or episode.”  Players can accumulate up to five 'objective' Player Points as a result of what happens in an episode.  If we assume that 'award' Player Points are also determined per episode, players could be prevented from gaining 'award' Player Points due to the five point limit.  Since this is contrary to the point of having 'award' Player Points, then those points should be determined per adventure.  However, as we shall see below, this is also problematic.

“Player Points are a good measure of how well you play the game,” say the rules, “but they do serve one other, very special purpose.”  Player Points can be spent to reduce damage effects by one level – “making a Serious wound a Medium wound, for example.”  This costs five Player Points which must be spent at the time the damage is inflicted.

“You can accumulate Player Points from adventure to adventure,” the rules also state, “but you can't have more than 15 Player Points at any one time.”  To emphasize the point, “If you earn Player Points that would put you over your limit, you lose the extra points.”  If the episodic 'objective' Player Points and the 'award' Player Points are calculated at only at the end of an adventure, it's quite possible for more than fifteen points to accumulate for any given player.  I would suggest that 'objective' Player Points be dispensed at the conclusion of each episode.  This would allow players, and the Referee, to use those points during the adventure in which they are earned.  This would also reduce the possibility of exceeding the fifteen point limit if all points are calculated at the end of an adventure.

Also, “If a player sacrifices his character's life to save another character (PC or NPC), he automatically earns 15 Player Points to use for his next character.”  Presumably, this means “earns up to 15 Player Points,” since a player may not have more than fifteen points at any given time.

The Adventures of The Adventures of Indiana Jones (spoilers)

Art by John Byrne & Terry Austin

To supplement its The Adventures of Indiana Jones role-playing game, TSR produced “Adventure Packs” for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – the two films of the franchise extant at the time.  All other Indiana Jones adventures – including the introductory adventure, The Ikons of Ikammanen – were derived from story arcs from the Marvel Comics series The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones.  While John Byrne gets credit for Ikons, credit is not extended to Marvel writers responsible for other stories adapted for Adventure Packs.  Perhaps this is because the copyright for the Marvel material belongs to Lucasfilm.  Since TSR had access to Lucasfilm properties, one would think that the Adventure Packs would incorporate art from the comics; however, this is not the case.

The Ikons of Ikammanen contains various ingredients one would expect in an Indiana Jones story:  exotic locales, legends that turn out to be true, treasure, an overconfident villain, a chase scene, narrow escapes from traps, etc.  (Even Nazis make the scene.)  The adventure is something of a railroad, which is to be expected of an introductory adventure.  At first, Ikons serves well in educating a new player about the game; eventually, however, there are aspects of the story that are ill-suited for an introductory adventure.

The true villain of Ikons is Edith Dunne, who arranged the murder of her brother.  In the story, Indy realizes this when – not having informed her of the circumstances of her brother's death – Edith reveals she knows her bother died in Indy's office.  Unfortunately, the reader doesn't know that Indy didn't tell her, so the 'reveal' comes as a surprise.  Somehow, the player in the Ikons adventure is supposed to figure out that Edith is the villain.  The Referee is instructed, “Your object...is to arouse suspicions in your player's mind about Edith's motives.”  Suggested lines of dialogue make it clear that Edith is claiming credit for the archaeological discovery of the titular ikons.  This might make her a bad person, but it's not indicative of fratricide.  If the player doesn't figure it out, Edith eventually admits her complicity.

Earlier in the adventure, Indy chases a “goon.”  This episode of the adventure immediately follows the rules about conducting chases.  Rather than providing an example of how the chase rules work, the adventure has the player determine Indy's movement rate.  As it turns out, Indy's movement rate is irrelevant because Indy successfully follows the goon regardless.

At one point in Ikons, a villain named Solomon Black announces his intent to kill Indy.  “Your player must now persuade Black to let Indy and Edith live,” states the adventure, “Indy must bluff Black.”  However, prompting the player as to what he or she “must” do is not something the adventure does well.  “If Indy can't come up with a good bluff,” the adventure lists three things Black could say.  One of the statements is:  “Perhaps I should keep you for the time being as...insurance.”  The adventure text continues, “Then allow Indy time to come up with another bluff...If he still can't, Black”  The episode ends in mid-sentence; the contingency is not explained.  I think a more efficient means of handling this would be to have Edith whisper, “Maybe we should try to bluff him.”  The onus of the actual bluff would remain with the player.

If you think this is an instance of Chekhov's dynamite, you're right.

For its James Bond 007 role-playing game, Victory Games published adventures based on the Bond films.  However, those adventures did not adhere precisely to the plots of the films.  The adventures were familiar, but there was sufficient uncertainty so that the players participated in a game and not merely followed a script.  Regrettably, TSR did not take a similar course with Indiana Jones.

The Raiders of the Lost Ark Adventure Pack “recreates the action from the famous film – but YOU decide how it all ends.”  This assumes that YOU decide it “all ends” just like the film.  A “recreation” of the film allows one to see how the film's action is translated into the game's rules, but it does not make for an entertaining gaming experience. It negates the suspense which is essential to the Indiana Jones oeuvre.

In the Adventure Pack, there are some (potential) variations from the film, but they are quite minor.  For instance, in the film, when Indy and Sallah visit Imam, the dates are poisoned.  The chance of this happening in the Adventure Pack is 40%.  Other options include a cobra being released in Imam's dwelling (30%) and a knife being thrown at Indy (30%).

Of course, if a Referee runs more than one player through the Raiders of the Lost Ark adventure, one player gets to be Indy, any other players...do not.  “It's OK for the players to trade off playing Indy during the course of the adventure,” the Introduction states.  In 'Episode 1', non-Indy players can be Satipo or Barranca.  Starting with 'Episode 2', one non-Indy player can be Marion.  A third player can be Mohan (the bartender) in the second episode, Sallah in Episodes 3 through 5, and Katanga in Episodes 6 and 7.

If any player characters remain on the Bantu Wind after the Nazis remove the Ark, the ship can follow the submarine:

Since the U-boat must travel very slowly, the freighter can easily stay with it.  In fact, if the Bantu Wind stays on the same course the sub has set, it gets to the island before the sub does.

No explanation is given why the Nazis wouldn't just sink the pursuing freighter.

Want to know what happens if you don't close your eyes after the Ark is opened?  “Any PC who has insisted on keeping his eyes open is blinded (the blindness is temporary, but he shouldn't realize this for quite a while).”

Original Characters in The Adventures of Indiana Jones

Art by Rafael DeSoto

Something of an afterthought, character generation rules for The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game (hereinafter Adventures) were provided in the Judge's Survival Pack.  The eight steps for “generating characters for adventures” appear on a single page (with enough space left to display a sizeable publicity still of Harrison Ford).

The first step is to make a percentile roll for each of the six Attribute Ratings.  The second step involves allocating “30 points” among the Attribute Ratings; however, “no Rating can be raised higher than 70.”  In a previous post, we noted that the Attribute Ratings of the seven characters supplied with Adventures ranged from 44 to 92.  Also, each Rating was divisible by four in order to accommodate ×½ and ×¼ values for purposes for Modified Checks.  In fact, the third step is to record the Modified Columns.  “Round all fractions to the nearest even number,” the rules state.

The fourth step in generating a character involves the player choosing “what [the character's] background was before he got caught up in wild adventures.”  There are three “categories” of background.  Each background has a list of skills associated with it.  The rules use the terms “skill” and “Knowledge” interchangeably.

Characters with an Education background choose one Education skill.  Then 1d10 is rolled, modified by +1 for each ten points of Instinct the character possesses.  If the result of the roll is at least ten, the character has an undergraduate degree and another Education skill.  With an undergraduate degree, a character can attempt to attain a doctorate and a third Education skill.  Another d10 is rolled, “but only add 1 point for every 20 points of Instinct greater than 70.”  A result of at least ten is necessary to receive a doctorate.

Characters with a Soldiering background receive +10 Prowess and a percentile roll is made on the “Soldiering Knowledge list.”  There is also “a 10% chance that [the] character has an additional knowledge” chosen from the Soldiering and Real World lists.  The result of “91 – 00” when rolling on the Soldiering list reads “Choose 1 and roll again.”  Therefore, it is possible for a character with the Soldiering background to have three skills in addition to the bonus to Prowess.

The only other available background is the Real World.  This indicates “a variety of jobs.”  Characters with this background have a choice of two skills from the Real World list.

The actual choice of skills (or random determination of skills in the case of the Soldiering background) is the fifth step in generating a character.  The Education Knowledge list includes Archaeology, Medical, Photography, and Surveying.  Three other items appear on the list:  +10 Appeal, +10 Instinct, and “Any language.”  None of these options appear on the Soldiering or Real World lists.  Soldiering skills include:  Driving, Explosives, First Aid, Heavy Weapons, Karate, Mechanical, Parachuting, Piloting, and Sailing.  (Medical and First Aid are distinct Knowledges; however, First Aid is subsumed into Medical.)  The Real World can confer Driving, Entertainment, First Aid, Hotwiring, Lockpicking, Mechanical, Picking Pockets, and Sailing.   Adventures describes five Knowledges that none of the seven provided characters possess:  Explosives, Heavy Weapons, Medical, Photography, and Sailing.  Presumably, the designer (i.e., David Cook) thought that likely non-player characters would have these skills Knowledges.

The sixth step is called “Select Your Languages.”  However, “first you should decide what nationality your character is.”  A character knows his or her native language.  Additional languages – aside from those acquired as Education Knowledges – can be gained with each successful Instinct Check.  The first Check is made at ×1, the second at ×½, and any others at ×¼.  When an Instinct Check fails, no further attempts may be made.  Only languages “of the known world” may be chosen.

The seventh step regards obtaining equipment.  Each character “has a reasonable wardrobe of clothing and a place to live.”  The amount of  funds available to a character is determined by the formula:

(1d10 + # of skills + [1 per 10 points of Appeal over 70] ) × $100

After acquiring equipment, “you are ready to adventure.”  The eighth step – “Final Details” –  is evidently optional; the exact terms are, “you could do a few other things.”  These optional, other things include:  “give your character a name, decide whether it is male or female, decide what he looks like, and how old he is.”

Two of the seven provided characters have “Irrational Fears,” the mechanics of which are described on pages 40 and 41 of the rules.  The character generation rules do not address the possibility of contracting such a fear.

While it is not reasonable to expect Adventures to have a background system as extensive as that of Daredevils, three background options seems rather meager.  With the availability of skills such as Hotwiring, Lockpicking, and Picking Pockets, I can easily imagine a 'Criminal' or 'Illicit' background.  Other possible backgrounds may not be feasible given the paucity of skills, but “Your referee can create additional knowledge areas if he desires.”   If the Soldiering background offers a bonus to Prowess and the Education background offers bonuses to Instinct and Appeal, why can't other bonuses be available?  Should there be minimum Attribute Rating requirements for certain backgrounds?  Would a character with a Strength or Backbone of 01 be admitted to the military?  Would a character with an Instinct of 01 be accepted into academia?

Combat and Damage in The Adventures of Indiana Jones

In The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game (hereinafter Adventures), combat turns last five seconds each.  During a combat turn, a character can either attack, move, or do something else.  An attack – whether firing a rifle, using a whip, or throwing a punch – entails a Prowess check.  Various modifiers can apply to these checks.  Firing a weapon at medium range imposes a ×½ modifier; long range exacts a ×¼ modifier.  Attempting a “specific action,” like shooting “the knife out of a goon's hand,” imposes a ×½ modifier.  There are no weapon skills.  The only combat skill is karate.  With karate, a character engaged in bare-handed fighting can attempt special actions without the ×½ modifier.  Also, rolling a 'Lucky Break' when using karate means “your character automatically knocks his opponent unconscious, and he may attack another opponent in the same turn.”

Damage can be either Light, Medium, or Serious depending upon the degree of success of the check.  In Adventures, there are two forms of combat damage:  injuries and wounds.  Injuries (or brawling damage) “can lead to unconsciousness, but never to death...Injuries are always temporary.”  Wounds (or shooting damage) “can lead to unconsciousness and death...Also, your character must take time to recover from wounds.”  This damage distinction is similar to that in Crimefighters.

To determine hit location, the Action Results Table is consulted using the reverse of the Prowess check result.  (e.g., A '48' on the Prowess check indicates a result of '84' on the Action Results Table.)  Warhammer, published in 1986, employs the same concept.  The Action Results Table shows results for “shooting,” “wrestling,” “punching,” and “kicking.”  Brawling does not require determination of hit location but punching and kicking results are provided to “add color to your game.”

The Action Results Table also indicates what happens when a wrestling attack is successful.  The possibilities are grapple, hold, trip, and throw.  The effect of a 'grapple' is that “both characters fall to the floor and struggle with each other.”  A 'hold' means that one's opponent is prevented from using his or her hands (except to break the hold).  A 'trip' causes the opponent to fall to the floor while a 'throw' result means the opponent is thrown five feet in a direction of the attacker's choice

Rather than indicating if a weapon causes wounds (necessitating hit location) or injuries (hit location irrelevant), Adventures lists weapons as either brawling or shooting.  This results in the rather confusing classification of swords as shooting weapons.  Incidentally, a sword does the same amount of damage as a broken bottle.  The 'severity' of weapon may increase or reduce injuries or wounds.  Blackjacks – which cause injury damage – have a severity of +2; as such, they only cause Serious injuries, not Light or Medium.

Adventures characters do not have hit points; instead, wounds and injuries have effects.  For instance, a Medium injury requires that the victim must attempt a Strength check; failure means unconsciousness while success means that the victim's Attributes are at ×½ through the next combat turn.  A Medium wound on either leg causes a ×½ modifier to Movement Rating.  Multiple wounds can can increase the severity of damage.  Two Light wounds in the same location have the effect of a Medium wound (but heal as two Light wounds).  Two Medium wounds to a specific location have the effect of a Serious wound.  If a character suffers two Serious wounds regardless of location, a Strength check is attempted; failure means unconsciousness.  Three Serious wounds regardless of location causes unconscious and a failed Strength check means death.  Four Serious wounds causes death.

Should a character fall unconscious due to damage, every combat turn a Backbone check (at no greater than ×½) is attempted; success means that the character recovers consciousness.  Until the character rests for six hours, all Attributes of the character are at ×½.

Wounds heal in stages; a Serious wound 'heals' to a Medium wound and a Medium wound 'heals' to a Light wound.  To recover from a Serious wound, the character attempts a Backbone check three weeks after the damage is inflicted.  A successful check reduces the wound to Medium; otherwise, other checks may be attempted on a weekly basis (but the wound automatically becomes Medium after six weeks).  Medium wounds are handled similarly, except the initial waiting period is one week, other Backbone checks can be attempted every three days thereafter, and the wound automatically becomes Light after three weeks.  For Light wounds, the initial waiting time is three days, other checks can be attempted daily thereafter, but the wound automatically heals after a week.  A Lucky Break on a Backbone check for healing could mean that a Serious wound becomes Light or that a Medium wound becomes completely healed.  A Bad Break on a Backbone check for healing could mean the severity of the wound increases due to infection “or it could mean that [the wound] leaves a scar.”   Successful medical attention can reduce healing times.

Of course, characters can suffer damage outside of combat, like from fires or falling.  Such events have “Danger Ratings” which are the equivalent of Prowess with regard to determining damage.  For instance, a sixty foot fall has a Danger Rating of 120; this means a character who falls sixty feet is targeted by one attack at a Prowess of 100 and an additional attack at a Prowess of 20.

Indiana Jones and the Attribute Checks of Peril

Modified Check Table

It's most important to me that a game be fun and simple to play.

– David “Zeb” Cook

Characters in The Adventures of Indiana Jones role-playing game (hereinafter Adventures) have six Attributes:

• Strength – A measure of “muscle power.”
• Movement –  A character's movement rate.  This Attribute is also used for determining initiative, whenever a “character tries for that extra boost of speed...tries to do something acrobatic, or when he drives a vehicle.”
• Prowess – Represents a “character's coordination in a fight.”  Any attempt to hit an opponent uses Prowess.
• Backbone – Represents a “character's determination and guts.”  This Attribute is used “whenever he encounters something that tests his willpower – torture, drugs, or some terrifying sight.”
• Instinct – Perception, including “gut” feelings.  In certain sections of the rules, Instinct is used for intelligence and memory.
• Appeal – This Attribute indicates a character's personality; specifically, “how non-player characters react to” the character.  This is specifically a human concept; animals do not have this Attribute.

Among the seven provided characters, Attribute Ratings range from 44 (the Instinct Rating for both Short Round and Wu Han, as well as the Strength Rating for Willie Scott) to 92 (the Appeal Rating for both Willie Scott and Marion).  (Digression:  Is there a tendency in role-playing games to assign higher 'charisma' values to women characters?)  All of the ratings are divisible by four (for reasons soon to be explained).

The basic mechanic of Adventures involves rolling percentile dice against some multiple of an Attribute Rating.  Rolling equal to or under the specified multiple indicates success.  Regardless, a roll of 96 - 100 represents failure and a Bad Break – some complication to the situation.  A roll of 01 - 05 is not only a success, but also a Lucky Break – “something good has unexpectedly happened.”

Aside from Lucky Breaks, there are degrees of success; the better the roll, the more successful the character is.  The Modified Check Table shown above demonstrates four 'colors' of success (including Lucky Breaks).  We see similar concepts implemented in contemporaneous TSR products such as the Marvel Super Heroes RPG and the Star Frontiers adjunct, Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space.  Unlike these examples, the 'degrees of success' in Adventures are formulaic – they are based on multiples of the Attribute Rating being checked.

In other games, there can be a plethora of numeric modifiers to a roll (e.g., +x for aiming, -y for darkness, etc.).  The Modified Check Table for Adventures has only four columns because there are only four possible 'states' in which an Attribute can be checked:  the normal Rating of the Attribute, a less difficult circumstance (×2 Attribute Rating), a more difficult circumstance (×½ Attribute Rating), and a much more difficult circumstance (×¼ Attribute Rating).  “Using ropes or levers” would be a ×2 modifier for a Strength check and “Shooting at a moving target” would be a ×½ modifier for a Prowess check.  Modifiers are cumulative (two ×½ modifiers would result in a ×¼ modifier; a ×½ modifier would cancel out a ×2 modifier).  A check cannot be greater than ×2 nor can a check be less than ×¼ (and still be possible).

The Character Dossiers list the ×2, ×½, and ×¼ values for each of a character's Attribute Ratings.  As such, it is a relatively simple matter to determine success for any check as well as the degree of success.  Evidently, some concern was expressed that the system was not sufficiently efficient.  The Judge's Survival Pack includes a “combat computer you assemble, to speed your adventures along.”  This contraption is shown below.  A sleeve is positioned along a narrow sheet to a selected Rating; values exposed by the sleeve indicate the percentile ranges of various degrees of success.  The so-called computer is not limited to combat (i.e., Prowess checks), but is usable for any of the Attributes; results for Instinct and Appeal checks are clearly listed.  It “works,” but it's hardly an aid to simplicity.  If this is an improvement, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

The ×¼, ×½, ×1, ×2 progression is a workable system, but I would use the terminology of “levels” (Level 1 = ×¼, Level 2 = ×½, etc.).  Modifiers would then be -2, -1, and +1.  With “Level 3” being the default Rating, everything would work like it should, but we forgo fractions and the non-intuitive ×1, ×2, ×½, ×¼ Character Dossier display.

DVD shown for purposes of scale

Playing the Heroes of Pulp Fiction

Art by Jeff Dee

Game design for The Adventures of Indiana Jones is credited to David “Zeb” Cook, who is perhaps best known as the lead designer for the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.  Other RPGs for which Cook did design work include Bullwinkle and Rocky, Star Frontiers, Conan the Barbarian, and Amazing Engine.  According to the TSR Profiles of Dragon #104 (December, 1985)*, “Zeb is perhaps the most versatile game designer at TSR, having created role-playing games, modules, family board games, card games, rulebooks, and party mystery games.”  After more than fifteen years at TSR, he left for the more lucrative field of computer games.  However, according to RPGGeek, he seems to have kept a hand in writing for table-top RPGs.  When Cook applied for a game designer position at TSR, “He completed the designer test that the company then used.”  I would be interested in finding out what comprised that test.

Anyway, while still at TSR, Cook said, “Whenever there's a licensed game or project in trouble, they throw it on my desk.”  This would account for his association with The Adventures of Indiana Jones.  Regardless, Cook was an appropriate choice for Adventures because he had previously designed a pulp-era adventure RPG.  Crimefighters was included in Dragon #43 (March, 1981), published a few months prior to the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  In this post, we examine Crimefighters in anticipation of comparing it to The Adventures of Indiana Jones.

Excluding flavor text and the sample adventure, Crimefighters has sixteen pages of rules (including illustrations).  Much was excluded from the version provided in Dragon.  According to the Afterword, “Many sections were dropped from the original outline, including rules for airplanes, swimming, more weapons, security devices, special gadgets, exotic adventures, and more detailed contacts.”

Crimefighters characters have seven attributes:  Physical Power, Mental Aptitude, Willpower, Accuracy Left, Accuracy Right, Agility, and Presence.  Scores are determined by rolling percentile dice.  The die rolls for four of the attributes (Physical Power, Mental Aptitude, Accuracy Right, and Agility) are modified to prevent dismal results.

An attribute can be increased by one point for every five experience points spent.  Interestingly, “The use of Presence requires an exertion of the character's Willpower.”  Sleep allows recovery of Willpower expended in this way.

Crimefighters is a skill-based system.  Skills are 'purchased' via pools of points.  A character's Mental Aptitude score represents the number of points available for Mental Skills while Agility represents the number of points available for Agility Skills.  In increments of (at least) ten points, skills cost from ten to sixty points.  Examples of Mental Skills include:  Language (10 pts each), Lockpicking (20 pts), Stage Magic (30 pts), Engineer (40 pts), and Legal (60 pts).  Examples of Agility Skills include:  Juggling (10 pts), Stealth (20 pts), Tightrope (30 pts), and Judo (40 pts).

Starting Crimefighters characters have a 5% of having a randomly determined mysterious power.  With experience points, a character can 'study' to obtain a mysterious power (perhaps chosen by the player with the GM's approval).  For every ten experience points, a character has a 1% chance of acquiring a power.

A character with the mysterious power of 'foresight' gets a +1 modifier to initiative.  Additionally, the character may...

...ask 3 yes-or-no questions of the GM per adventure.  These questions must deal with some action that the character plans to take, or be based upon information that the character might realistically know or suspect...The questions have a 10% chance of being answered incorrectly; this is secretly determined by the GM.

For any given adventure, a character with the mysterious power of 'luck' has a 50% chance of having 'good' luck, a 40% of having 'normal' luck, and a 10% chance for having 'bad' luck.  (The GM rolls for this in secret.)  Good luck grants a +10 modifier in combat while bad luck causes a -10 modifier.  “Furthermore,” the rules state, “the character is allowed a die roll to see if he or she succeeds in doing anything that would be feasible or remotely possible, even in situations where such success would normally be considered nearly impossible.”

In combat, ranged attacks are resolved by a roll based on the appropriate Accuracy of the attacker; hand-to-hand attacks are resolved by a roll based on the average of the attacker's Physical Power and Agility.  The formula for determining Hit Points is:  1d8 + ( [Physical Power + Willpower] / 10).  There are two types of wounds in Crimefighters :  (1) missile/edged weapon and (2) hand-to-hand.  If a character suffers missile/edged weapon damage in excess of his or her Hit Points, death ensues.  Otherwise, “missile/edged weapon wounds in Crimefighters can become more serious if they are not tended to.”  Hit Points lost due to missile/edged weapons “are recovered at the rate of 1 hit point for every two days of rest.”  If a character suffers hand-to-hand damage in excess of his or her Hit Points, he or she falls unconscious. Hit Points lost because of hand-to-hand damage “may be recovered at the rate of 1 hit point per hour of rest.”

All Crimefighters characters have three contacts determined randomly.  For each contact, the GM secretly determines an Effectiveness Rating.  Crimefighters goes into detail about what sort of information each type of contact is able to provide.

Each Crimefighters character has an 'Experience Type'.  (In order to distinguish the concept from experience points, I would have called it 'Style' – or in a more pretentious mood – 'Paradigm'.)

• The Defender “attempts to uphold and protect the society he or she belongs to.”  Defenders do not intentionally kill or torture.  They receive no experience points “for criminals he or she might kill, but is given double the amount of points for those whom he or she captures without assistance.”  Defenders have an extra police contact.
• The Avenger “only believes in the system when it works to his or her best interests.”  They receive no experience if they have “notable assistance in bringing villains to justice” nor do they receive “experience for criminals captured unless that person confesses (to witnesses) his or her guilt of a serious crime.”  Avengers can have, at most, one police contact.
• The Pragmatist “will normally attempt to abide by the laws of society and operate within this framework.”  They “receive normal experience for criminals captured and half normal experience for criminals who meet their demise.”  Pragmatists have an extra underworld contact.

There are also two optional Experience Type 'modifiers'.

• Technological characters receive additional experience when they use “a device to create a significant result.”
• Anti-technological characters “receive no experience for a result if [unusual technology] items are used to aid his or her efforts.”  However, if an anti-technological character “manages to destroy an opponent’s technological device, he or she will receive experience points as if a criminal of similar power had been overcome.”

A GM can assign 'negative' experience points when “the motives of the character...are generally evil or selfish.”  However, a player can have his or her character 'turn bad' permanently.  If so, negative experience is thereafter treated as positive and positive experience treated as negative.

* All quotes about Cook in this post come from this source.

This Is Serious?

™ and © and $ Lucasfilm Ltd

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again.  (OK, I'm typing it but you get the point.)  A role-playing game can be judged on three aspects:  setting, rules system, and presentation.  The setting for The Adventures of Indiana Jones (hereinafter Adventures) is a “pulp” interpretation of world of the 1930s – it is what it is, there's nothing to add.  The rules...well, we'll address the rules eventually.  Thus, for this post, we have presentation to discuss.

Adventures was sold as a boxed set.  The back of the box listed the contents, as is usually the case for this kind of product.  However, the box copy did not use a term so prosaic as 'contents'.  Instead, the game came with “special features.”  Why the “features” were “special” was not explained.  I suppose they were special in the sense of “Designed or organized for a particular...purpose.”  Of course, in that sense, the “features” of just about every game are “special.”  Yes, this was merely marketing hyperbole, but such hyperbole raised expectations and failure to meet these expectations contributed to the unenviable legacy of the game.  Anyway, the listed “special features” were:

• 3-D figures that you cut out and stand up to show walls, doors, traps, and characters
• a 64-page rules booklet
• an 8-page Evidence File, which features adventure clues
• a World of INDIANA JONES Map
• a Referee's Screen, which features tables and Adventure Backdrops

Surprisingly, the included percentile dice were not mentioned; perhaps they weren't “special” enough.

Let's start with the Referee's Screen and work backwards.  “Referee” is the Adventures equivalent of “game master.”  In 1985, the year after Adventures was released, TSR published an “official game accessory” which addressed some of the inadequacies of the base set.  This product was called Judge's Survival Pack – not Referee's Survival Pack...but Judge's.  Inconsistent use of basic game terminology in product titles signaled an utter lack of concern for quality.  I mention this as a glaring example of the insouciance to be found in the product line.  TSR might as well have broadcast the sentiment, “We know people are going to buy this because of the license, so let's just produce crap out product with minimum necessary effort.”  Anyway, the Referee's Screen had three panels.  On the player side, each panel was an 'Adventure Backdrop' – a jungle, an exotic marketplace, and the scene of the climax of the introductory adventure.  The Referee side displayed information that the Referee would likely consult during the course of an adventure (such as an equipment list, scatter diagram, turn sequence summary, et al.).  The screen also displayed information not present in the rules booklet (such as a list of attribute modifiers, the action results table, et al.).  I would have preferred a weapons chart and a summary of damage results instead of the equipment list and the vehicle movement table, but this is a minor complaint.

The World of INDIANA JONES Map shows the world with national boundaries circa the 1930s.  Also, “Dotted lines represent major commercial air routes.”  I have a fondness for maps.  The reader may have divined this given that “maps” is this blog's most commonly used tag.  As such, I may have a low tolerance for cartographic errors.  Among such errors, Ascension Island was spelled Anscension Island and Estonia somehow occupied Lake Ladoga.  The map had three scales:  one each for sea, air, and rail travel.  Specifically, the scales showed distance in terms of travel time and cost.  Although the accuracy with regard to cost is equivocal, I like the idea.  Printed on the reverse side of the map was a “Combat Grid.”

The Evidence File consisted of eight pages or – more accurately – sixteen half-pages.  The first half-page explained the contents of the Evidence File.  Otherwise, the Evidence File contained seven character dossiers, a blank character dossier with the name “NPC” (because original PCs weren't possible), blank stationery “From the Desk of MARCUS BRODY,” a blank telegram, a blank “treasure map” (see below), generic maps for a flophouse room and a sleazy dive, a map of a native village (for use with the introductory adventure), an aid for the introductory adventure (which is the only thing that could remotely be considered an “adventure clue”).

I have no idea why the term booklet was used for the rules book.  Other than the title, two statements were placed on the front cover:  (1) “Featuring an Introductory Adventure – The Ikons of Ikammanen,” and (2) “Also, How to Play the Game!”  Was the second statement really necessary?  It's position on the cover and the word “Also” suggest that the rules were ancillary to the adventure.  The ten episodes of the introductory adventure take up 14 of the book(let)'s 64 pages.  The first five episodes are interspersed among the rules, while the remaining five are grouped at the end.  Since Adventurers was a boxed set, the introductory adventure ought to have been a book(let) separate from the rules.  Perhaps it was thought that having the introductory adventure among the rules might make the adventure easier to run and/or help people learn the rules.  Even if it did either (or both) things, afterward those pages lose any utility and serve only to distract. There are also two pages of the rules book(let) that explain “How to Cut-Out and Assemble the 3-D Figures.”  Seriously, this information should have been on a loose sheet of paper.  By excluding the introductory adventure and the 'How To' pages, they could have reduced the page count to 48.  Alternately, they could have included sixteen pages of other material.  (The page count of the Judge's Survival Pack happens to be 16.)

The book(let) was illustrated with scenes from the first two Indiana Jones films.  This was to be expected; however, the photos were varying quality and were often displayed as though they had ripped edges.  If they were trying for an effect other than “crappy,” they failed.  Some instances – such as the image at the beginning of this post – have cartoon word balloons.  I have nothing against carton word balloons in the right context; the Adventures rule book(let) is not the right context.  This particular image has speed lines next to the page number at the bottom, as if it is trying to get out of the way.  All in all, the art did not possess a serious tone.

Finally, we come to the cardboard figures.  Some might find the notion of the 3-D figures to be childish.  Certainly, they are not necessary, but I believe they provide a visual and tactile component that can only enhance the gaming experience.  (TSR also produced metal Indiana Jones figures.)  I would be remiss if I did not mention the infamous, trademarked Nazi (shown below).  A copyright for the illustration of the Nazi is quite understandable; however, trying to trademark a character having “Nazi” as its sole descriptive attribute strains the notion of intellectual property beyond rationality.  Possibly, TSR was attempting to comply with Lucasfilm's licensing requirements and someone decided to be overly cautious.  However, since the other Nazi figure included with the boxed set did not have the trademark symbol, we might assume that this is another instance of carelessness.

If Adventure Has A Game...

from Dragon #89 (September, 1984)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a wonderful film.  Part of that wonder – at least for me – stems from the genuine suspense an initial viewing conveys.  For instance, after all the excitement of the temple scene, a guy takes the idol from Indy – a French guy.  Sure, Indy gets away, but he loses the idol.  Here's a protagonist who doesn't always win...maybe he won't prevail.  Marion dies...or does she?  Indy finds Marion but leaves her tied up so as not to alert Belloq and the Nazis.  Indy threatens to blow-up the Ark.  Is this the end?  Does he destroy it to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis?  Spirits or angels or whatever come out of the Ark.  DON'T LOOK AT IT!  KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT!  Finally, hiding the Ark in a warehouse.  The melting Nazi is the cherry on a sundae of awesomeness.

This sounds like the basis of a terrific role-playing game.  Certainly, there were games that could tie into the élan of the movie, but an official, licensed game did not appear until 1984, the same year as the release of the second film.  As the advertisement above indicates, the game is from “the producers of the world-famous DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Fantasy Role Playing Game.”  (Not the creators of course, but the producers. Does “producers” sound better than “publishers”?) Wow, those guys must know what they're doing; surely, they're not going to drop the ball when dealing with a prominent franchise...Alas, the game was not received well.  This is an understatement; The Adventures of Indiana Jones is one of the “most unloved and least-mourned” role-playing games.  Ouch.  How could such a promising prospect be so disappointing?  Thoul's Paradise shall examine the reasons in this and subsequent posts.

One of the ways the game is disappointing is the lack of rules (in the base set) for generating original characters.  As shown on the box depicted above, the game is intended “for 2 or more.”  Usually, TSR promoted its role-playing games as “for 3 or more.”  For Indiana Jones, the “2” would be a referee and someone to play the character of Indiana Jones – it is assumed that Indiana Jones will be a player character.  For games based on intellectual properties such as Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, it is possible to to play the lead characters but the setting is usually the feature of the game.  Players want to play original characters in a well known setting; they can't with Indiana Jones.  Not even George Lucas can trademark “the pulp era” or “the thirties,” so the setting of Indiana Jones cannot be licensed.  The game is called The Adventures of Indiana Jones (instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark or Artifacts & Archaeologists) because the character of Indiana Jones is the feature.  So, one person is the referee and another person plays Indiana Jones.  What about the “or more” part of “for 2 or more”?  The rule book pragmatically notes, “The world simply isn't big enough for two Indiana Joneses.”  This means that additional players are stuck with the six other characters that the game provides:

• Marion Ravenwood, romantic interest from the first film; feisty, and she can out-drink an Australian climber.  (To the game's credit, it does include rules on losing consciousness due to imbibing alcohol.)
• Willie Scott, romantic interest from the second installment; useless.
• Sallah, the beloved character played by John Rhys-Davies.  I would have thought that his geographic range of activity would be limited, but whatever.
• Jock Lindsey, a character who has a minute (or less) of screen time in the first film; at least he can fly a plane.
• Wu Han (Yeah, I know...Who Han?).  This is another guy who spends – maybe – a minute on screen AND THEN HE PROMPTLY DIES.  Aside from his death scene, all he does is (ineffectively) cover Lao Che with a gun.  Who thought anyone would want to play this character?  Who thought anyone would remember this character?
• Last and least, Short Round.  It's not that I hate Short Round, but he doesn't bring anything worthwhile to the table.  I'd rather play Katanga or Marcus Brody; you know, characters who are interesting.

Of course, Indiana Jones is the most capable character – the others are merely supporting entities.  Not only must other players be confined to supporting roles, “Each specific Indiana Jones adventure will outline which player characters will participate in that adventure.”  So, players may not even be allowed to choose which supporting character to play.

Meet the Daredevils

The Daredevil Adventures book includes six 'sample player characters' to be used when a new player is introduced to a pre-existing campaign or – as was the case with your humble host and his pals – when players “wish to play immediately.”  Although “[o]nly very broad sketches are given as to characterization” and “[n]o information as to background is given,” the sample characters are clearly based upon certain characters from fiction.  Subtlety was not a consideration when fashioning these knockoffs...er, 'homages.'

Mike Mattock

Take Sam Spade but name a different digging tool and apply alliteration.  The result is Mike Mattock, “a private investigator of the 'hard-boiled' school.”  Mike is first on this list by virtue of having the best illustration; the fact that he was played by your humble host did not factor into this decision.  He is the smartest of the sample characters.  “Often surly and short with men, he will fall all over himself with a dame.”  His Pistol and Driving skills are at maximum value.

Paddy Dugan

The inspiration for Paddy was none other than Marvel Comics' “Dum Dum” Dugan even though the Marvel character did not begin his adventuring career until WWII.  “A big-boned, tall lad who likes a good brawl.”  In fact, his Brawling skill has the highest possible score.  Dugan has the highest Health attribute among the sample characters and he is almost as strong as Grendith (see below).  “He is loyal to his friends and makes an excellent companion either in a tight spot or celebrating victory later.”

John 'Indiana Slim' Ford

They didn't even bother to come up with a different state for this dude.  “When 'off-duty,' he appears as a simple museum curator but, when in the thick of things, he is a hard-as-nails tough guy.”  Of course, he has a whip and his Whip skill cannot be exceeded (neither can his Swimming skill).  “Ford is a tough adventurer who is as much in love with danger as he is with the rewards of the game.”

Dominic Fortunato

Fortunato is a ringer for Howard Chaykin's Dominic Fortune.  (Personally, I have a preference for Chaykin's earlier version of the character – The Scorpion, alias Moro Frost.)  “He is, by his own admission, an adventurer who is 'only in it for the money.'”  Fortunato is the fastest of the sample characters.  Also, his 'Deftness' (manual dexterity) is on par with that of 'Indiana Ford' and is slightly less than that of Grendith (see next).  “He is persistent if not overly sharp.”

Earl Grendith

Replace the “ndith” in Grendith with “ystoke” and – viola – Tarzan.  In fact, the Captain Ersatz Tarzan in Philip José Farmer's A Feast Unknown is called “Lord Grandrith.”  Among the sample characters, he has the highest scores in Will, Strength, and Deftness.  In terms of Speed, he is just behind Fortunato.  “He is only at home in the wilderness” and there he “will wear only the lightest clothing.”  Grendith has the following skills at their highest possible value:  Knife, Brawling, Throwing, Tracking, Hunting, and Stealth.

Eagle Renwick

Last (and possibly least) we have Eagle Renwick who is based on the character of Col. John “Renny” Renwick, one of Doc Savage's five aides.  Like the 'real' Renwick, he is a civil engineer, but the Daredevils write-up emphasizes his abilities as a pilot.  “A very tall man of somewhat gangling appearance.  He is of a taciturn disposition, but will really enjoy himself in a good fight.”  He's not 'maxed out' on any of his skills and none of his attributes rank among the highest of his fellow sample characters.

Sample characters – in any game – provide a useful perspective as to how the game's designer envisioned player characters.  Of course, it is through their characters that players 'experience' a game.  Therefore, sample characters provide a window into the player experience that the creator intends.  With the characters above, Charrette and Hume show that Daredevils can accommodate a PC party that includes the likes of Tarzan, Sam Spade, Indiana Jones, and a couple of Marvel Comics C-listers (D-listers?).  Some people will like the concept and some won't.  If you don't like the concept, Daredevils can be played in a more subdued manner, but the game allows for – if not encourages – a diverse, flamboyant combination.