RPG A Day 1: What Published RPG Do I Wish I was Playing Right Now?

Well, I am late to the important RPG A Day date – so I will try to catch up and then remain steady.  I play a lot of RPG’s but the key to this one question is what do I wish I was playing right now.  There are two contenders and one of those contenders I am reading at the moment for the reason of doing a review.  I also played it a lot recently so I will give Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of a very honorary mention.  It is a really good game – keep an eye out for the review.

What game do I wish I was playing right now?

It is an old, out of print game printed by Victory Games.  It is of course the James Bond Role Playing Game.  A solid game released in the eighties that really shaped the games I enjoyed in the future.  It cemented in me the idea that everyone is just as easy to kill as the next person – it is just how smart you are when being shot at that can save you.

Also, this game has the absolute best system for running any kind of chase (boat, foot, car, plane etc.).  It branches out from the system itself that works in a percentile manner with a skill rating being multiplied by an ease factor (between 0.5 and 10) for a target number.  Beneath that target number there are then qualities of success.  The chase sequences utilise a system of a bidding war on the ease factor meaning you can go for the insane moves but you really have to push yourself to get an edge.

Solo Play

The game does lend itself to a one GM and one player situation.  I grew up in this kind of situation with group games being a treat.  I like the intimacy of a solo player and it also tends to break down the nervous joke telling in tense scenes.  It is a game that can be played with multiple players but multiple spies undercover becomes hard for a GM to juggle.

Setting

James Bond has loads of history and loads of atmosphere.  The game sets it up nicely and it is pretty simple to come up with a plot suitable for play!

So there you have it – the first of many RPG A Day entries and a nice place to start.  Check it out, James Bond RPG often appears on eBay for sale so keep an eye out 🙂