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.)

Being a Supervillain for Fun and Profit

So, you think you’re ready to be a supervillain?  Let’s go over the checklist:

□     Strange powers “beyond those of mortal men”
□     Evil disposition
□     Maniacal laugh
□     Appropriate moniker (such as Doctor Boom, the Mauve
              Marauder, Opossum-Man, or the Human Zamboni)
□     A costume that would put a Mexican wrestler to shame

OK, now what? Sure, you can rob a bank or two but that gets old fast (trust me). You need to think long term…assemble an organization…obtain some real estate…generate consistent revenue streams.

Regarding Supervillains, “The object of the Advanced game is...to control as many of the 20 sections of New York City as possible... ”  It's not like world domination or controlling an international diamond syndicate, but at least it's interesting.  Each section represents one-fourth of a borough as indicated on the above map.  The geographic logic (if any) of these sections escapes me; for instance, I would have divided Manhattan into uptown, midtown, and downtown.

For a given section, a supervillain can control either the officials or the criminal element, but not both.  It's possible for one supervillain to control the criminal element of a section and another supervillain to control the officials of the same section.  For that matter, a single supervillain can control the officials in some sections while controlling the criminal element in others.

Controlling the officials of a section can be accomplished through bribery, extortion, blackmail, or a combination of these.  Rules are provided for bribery.  Non-player characters are assigned an 'integrity level' from one to six.  When attempting a bribe, a player rolls a number of dice based upon the amount of money spent and the integrity level of the character being bribed (as detailed in the chart below).

If the total of the 'bribery dice' is at least six, the bribe will be accepted and “the character the player is attempting to bribe will fulfill his end of the bargain.”  So, for any bribable target, one die may be sufficient for sucess.  If the total is exactly five, “the character the player is attempting to bribe desires more money.”  If the total is less than five, the bribe is unsuccessful.  An unsuccessful bribe might result in the character attacking the would-be briber or calling for help.  (I am uncertain as to what 'help' a stoolie could summon.)

Controlling the criminal element requires a supervillain “to force the resident punk gang into servitude.”  According to page 15:

A supervillain which [sic] attempts to take over a street gang's turf must either kill or beat to unconsciousness at least 30% of the total “51-150” members of the gang.  If this takes places, the punks will “see the light” and will swear their allegiance to the supervillain.  Once the punks have sworn allegiance to a supervillain, they will fight for him (allowing every member to be killed if necessary) to resist any attempt by another supervillain to gain control of that particular section of the city.

However, there is a 1% cumulative chance per day that half of the gang will rebel against the supervillain (with the other half remaining neutral).  Apparently, gangs don't care about money and bribing a gang leader is not feasible.  Given that a mutiny is almost guaranteed within three months time, controlling a gang doesn't seem worthwhile.

Other than its use as a 'victory point', the benefits of controlling a section of the city are not evident.  At the very least, gaining control of a section ought to make it easier to control additional sections.  I suppose it's unreasonable to expect fulsome rules for controlling a city when the entire game is presented in a twenty-four page booklet.  Yet the meager rules Supervillains does provide seem rather odd – control of “punks” through brute force, but no mention of organized crime.

An Exciting Game of Super-Human Role Playing

cover art by Alvin J. Belflower

Villains hold a certain allure; they appeal to our baser desires.  A game where players assume the roles of evil-doers would seem to have a great deal of potential.  Supervillains was an attempt to capitalize on the 'bad boy' mystique in terms of the comic book super-being genre.  According to the back of the box:

SUPERVILLAINS includes scenarios which may be played as board games, and complete rules for setting up and running a role playing campaign game.  The game contains a strategic map, a tactical map, die cut playing pieces, and all the dice, charts, and rules required for play.

In fact, Supervillains presents itself as three games:  a basic game (“...the same as virtually any Adventure board game”), an intermediate game, and an advanced game (with “as much freedom of character play as any other role-playing game”).  The role-playing nature of Supervillains is often ignored.  Lawrence Schick neglected to list it in Heroic Worlds, even though he catalogues Masters of the Universe – a product with less of a claim to being a role-playing game.

The cover indicates Supervillains was a Task Force game.  Task Force was a company in the 80s perhaps best known as the (then) publisher of Star Fleet Battles.  It also produced a variety of 'pocket games'.  Apparently, Supervillains is Rick Register's only design credit.

One bygone summer, when he was a kid, your humble host purchased this game.  It was money well spent as he derived extensive use of the product those halcyon months so long ago.  Nowadays, kids have detailed HeroClix figures for games of super-being combat.  Back then, all we had were cardboard counters and we were grateful.  Nostalgia notwithstanding, Supervillains is not without its faults.

Part of the trouble with Supervillains is the premise; it's not easy being evil.  All a superhero has to do is stumble across a villainous plot and thwart it.  A supervillain must formulate and advance plots.  Also, the motivations of supervillains are myriad.  Among the various sorts of supervillain there are:  a misunderstood alien who steals electronic components to repair his spaceship, an operative of a hostile foreign power, a mad scientist seeking revenge against the civilization that spurned him, a megalomaniac attempting to conquer the world, a thug who has no aspiration beyond robbing a bank.  Supervillains does nothing to address character motivations or the need for players to create plots.

The RPG aspect of Supervillains includes what I call a 'schedule' game – a type of game I have discussed previously.  “In the Advanced game,” the rules state, “the players will inform the Gamemaster what actions their characters are taking during each segment.”  (A 'segment' is a half-hour of game time.)  Continuing, the rules state that “encounters between player-characters...will be played out...”  This suggests that player characters are not grouped as a party, they engage the setting separate from one another.

Here is the complete introduction to the game:

          The fiendish Dr. DuNos was running wild through the city terrorizing the populace and creating havoc.  As public enemy #1, the master of sound, had managed to evade both DAGGER and The Sentinels.  The mayor of New York City was so distraught over the matter that he had been ready to resign over the furor, when the Controllers volunteered their services to track down and arrest DuNos.  The intangible Null-Man, the Living Vacuum, Electro-Thing, The Battery, Soundwave, and the Gyro-Changer all had long criminal records; but the mayor had little choice.  He gave the Controllers permission to attempt what no one else had been able to do.
          Given their own headquarters, the Controllers soon proved their loyalty to the mayor by doing their best to track down the infamous DuNos.  Although DuNos managed to evade them time after time, they were soon given another assignment in addition; to capture the notorious Holy Crusader and Company.  The Holy Crusader, the Giver of Light, Perihelion, and The Crab were all wanted for numerous and various crimes against the state, one of the most ruthless of which included the brutal massacre of an entire squadron of DAGGER agents.
          Laboring night and day with little sleep, The Controllers were finally able, through luck, to locate the Crusaders' hideout.  They prepared to engage in combat with the fiendish foursome.  Both sides tensed, as each was waiting for the other side to make the first move.  As these Superbeings stood poised for action, suddenly a whining sound filled the air and the sky grew darker as two DAGGER air cruisers passed overhead, containing forty agents, who were authorized to eliminate both the Crusaders and The Controllers, each for their various crimes.  It would be a long and bloody battle and many Superbeings and DAGGER agents would lie dead before the day was over, but perhaps the city, for a time, would be free of the supervillains.

'Kill Bill' Meets 'Escape from New York'

The third and last adventure in the Year of the Phoenix Adventure Guide has the title 'Beneath the City.'  In the prior adventures, the player characters learned of an impending Zoviet attack against the Nonnewaug Tribe of rebels.  This adventure is predicated on the PCs attempting to find and warn the rebels.  New York City was abandoned during the cataclysm and the Zoviets do not consider it cost effective to reclaim.  Thus, New York has become a city of ruins occupied by various small groups that are (normally) beyond the reach of Zoviet authority.  Because of increased rebel activity, the Zoviets have chosen “to make an example of the Nonnewaug rebels.”  As a result of “newly discovered discovered electronic detection methods,” the Zoviets know that the Nonnewaug are based on State's Island (formerly Staten Island).

The Nonnewaug stage a “test of loyalty” for the PCs.  Assuming they pass, the PCs are brought to State's Island where they attend a rebel War Council.  The Nonnewaug don't have time to evacuate before the Zoviet onslaught and – although they are “masters of guerilla warfare” – the rebels cannot hope to survive a direct attack from the assembled Zoviet forces.  While discussing options, the war council receives a report that the Zoviets “have set up a command center on the roof” of the Trade Tower.  Dietrick's illustration above notwithstanding, in Wixted's version of 2197, only one tower remains.

Anyway, the rebels devise a plan wherein the PCs journey – primarily via subway tunnels – through the wasteland of New York and destroy the Trade Tower with explosives they are to plant in the subway beneath.  The rebels will mount a diversionary attack to coincide with the collapse of the tower; therefore, timing is very important.

To get to the tower, the PCs must travel through the territory of someone Wixted has unfortunately named “Mac the Knife.”  Wixted doesn't provide much information about Mac – he's friendly with the Zoviets and he killed another NYC 'leader' in order to annex his territory.  The PCs don't encounter Mac during the adventure (at least there is no provision for meeting him); however, the PCs are ambushed by Mac's bevy of assassins.

          The Mac prefers using female assassins as they are, on the whole, more nimble and they are smaller so that they can fit through places that men would have difficulty going.
          The Mac also expresses a personal preference for female beauty, and his assassins are indeed beautiful.
          They are not stupid, and prefer flight to dying.  If outnumbered or losing, they fade back into the shadows, into the crawlspaces, and into the darkness, never to be seen or heard again.  The subway tunnels, especially, are their private domain.
          The assassin hides along the path of her intended victim.  At the appropriate moment (i.e., the target is within range, but hasn't yet reached the assassin's perch) a crossbow bolt is loosed.  Immediately afterwards, the assassin silently drops her crossbow and draws her knife, prefering [sic] the element of surprise.

Although only four assassins are present when they ambush the PCs, apparently there are a total of six – all of them represented by a single write-up.  Wixted does not provide them with names; the PCs are unlikely to learn their names.  For 'gamemastered characters' of this sort, Wixted recommends assigning a descriptive word for each.  “This reduces the tendency for the players to think of their opponents as numbers on a piece of paper,” Wixted notes on page 40 of the Adventure Guide.  The six assassins are identified as:  Silent, Tall, Blonde, Nimble, Deadly-looking, and Slender.

One of the ways Wixted tries to have Phoenix characters “come to life” is by means of a 'Personality Profile.'  A detailed examination of this concept is reserved for a future post; however, since they have the same write-up, Mac's assassins share an identical Personality Profile.  Their profile is:  Always Silent, Always Proud, Sometimes Sadistic, Never Cowardly, and Always Thorough.  They also share a passion for killing.