James Bond RPG Thread

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James Bond RPG Thread

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James Bond RPG Thread 

 by WaterBob » Thu Nov 18, 2021 10:21 pm
This thread is for discussion of the absolutely excellent game that came out back in the 80's, the James Bond Roleplaying Game by Victory Games.
I could of sword there was an RPG thread for this that I started, but I can't find it.
WaterBob
Elder Deity of Dragonsfoot
Oh, well. This bright, new, shiny thread will do!
Posts: 16114
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
Last edited by WaterBob on Thu Nov 18, 2021 10:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

-- Khalar Zym

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

I'm reading Raymond Benson's first Bond novel, Zero Minus Ten, and it brings to mind a few things a GM could use in a game.
Benson wrote one of the Bond RPG's adventures, You Only Live Twice II: Back of Beyond.
WaterBob
These are just some ideas for your game, taken from Zero Minus Ten.
Posts: 16114
First off, agents often fly commercial. If so, weapons and other equipment can be shipped in the diplomatic pouch to an embassy close to the destination.
Standard Issue: If I recall correctly, most written Bond adventures provided the PCs with one or a few gadgets to use on the adventure. If the PCs has
something different and specific in mind, they had to convince Q to give it to them by rolling a persuasion check. If successful, the wanted item still cost
them some precious experience points that are normally used to improve the character's skills and attributes in between missions.
It's a brilliant game. That's just one of the neat aspects of it.
In Zero Minus Ten, it is mentioned that standard issue for all MI-6 field agents is a belt that has hidden and secured within it a set of fiberglass lock picks--
fiberglass so that they won't be detected by metal detectors.
I supposed this day and age, with so many X-Ray machines around, you could hand wave that the belt also is lined with some X-Ray proof material.
Q-Shoes: The heel comes off of these shoes, and there is a compartment to hide things. In the Zero Minus Ten mission, Bond carries a very small first aid
kit--really just a bandage, small tube of disinfectant. A needle and special thread to stitch up a wound.
The other shoe has microfilm and a reader (which would be moot today, with smart phones), miniature wire clippers that can be used to cut a link fence,
etc. Maybe some clay explosive and a detonator. Just don't put more in there than could actually fit.
You can put whatever you want into these compartments, or even use them to hide secret information to take out of a villain's lair.
There's a prying tool secreted in the tongue of the shoe. You use it to pry off the heel. I suppose you could secret the tool in the back part of the shoe,
above the heel--the stiff part, if you needed to.
In the novel, Bond uses the code name "Predator". It was taken from the John Gardner novels--those that proceeded Raymond Benson's run.
"Ling, ling, chat," is "007" in Chinese.

-- Khalar Zym


Dynamite James Bond Comics.
WaterBob
The new James Bond comics, published by dynamite, are, well, dynamite! They're excellent Bond adventures!
Posts: 16114
If you're a Bond GM looking for missions for your players (the James Bond RPG suits a single or two players extremely well), try one of the Dynamite Bond Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
adventure arcs--usually about six comics, where all of them have been published in a "trade", meaning one book containing the entire adventure story arc.
You can do a lot worse than using these comics for inspiration. Heck, you can even just steal the story for your game wholesale!

-- Khalar Zym

Re: James Bond RPG by Victory Games 

 by WaterBob » Fri Nov 26, 2021 9:35 pm
I found the original Thread.
Moddies, would you kindly tack this onto the bottom of the new thread that I started. Thank you!
WaterBob
Just add it to this thread, please: CLICK HERE.
Posts: 16114
There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god. Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
-- Khalar Zym


 by Kano666 » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:05 am
I've had the Thrilling Locations book and one adventure at my parents' place for ages. I'd see them once or twice a year when I visited and dug around in
the basement through my older gaming stuff, but I didn't bring them home as I seemed to have lost the game box. Then a week or two ago I saw a friend
who had moved to another city and he gave me the box set! He said I'd lent it to him years ago with advice to check out the car chase rules, and he'd
Kano666
recently found it in a box of stuff. Greater Associate of the Drakon
The box had the Q Manual in it. I think Thrilling Locations came with the game but I switched it out for the Q Manual when I lent it to him so he could check Posts: 113
that out too. Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:06 am
Location: Bone March
Anyway, cool to check out the game again. The graphics and layout are pretty dated, and these table-oriented systems are of a time, but it's got lots of
neat little things about it. I never managed a campaign, though I played a little Top Secret and Top Secret S.I.
Roast Beef: This is not magical, but is tender, tasty and pink in the center.


 by WaterBob » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:29 am
It's not really a table game, though it does use a table. Only the Game Master uses it. He sees the roll the player makes and then checks the chart for the
Quality Rating. If you play the game a bit, you start to memorize what it takes to roll certain QRs without using the chart.
And, your friend was correct. The Chase rules are amazing. I love the way they did them. I sometimes copy the concept in my d20 Conan game. WaterBob

Posts: 16114
-- Khalar Zym
Re: James Bond RPG Thread  quetzalcoatl

Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:36 pm
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there is a newer rule set that basically emulates this game. Anyone know what it’s called? Posts: 1588
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Location: North Port, Florida

 by WaterBob » Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:59 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:36 pm

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there is a newer rule set that basically emulates this game. Anyone know what it’s called?
WaterBob
Yes, there is. I think it was called Double Zero. I believe I posted a link in one of the Top Secret threads.
Posts: 16114
There may be more than one, IIRC. Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am

-- Khalar Zym


Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:29 am
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:59 pm Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:36 pm

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there is a newer rule set that basically emulates this game. Anyone know what it’s called?
Yes, there is. I think it was called Double Zero. I believe I posted a link in one of the Top Secret threads.
There may be more than one, IIRC.
Thanks, I’ll check it out! I used to have both James Bond and Top Secret back in the day, but both were in a box that disappeared during a move. TS was a
little too group focused like D&D, but 007 was great for one-on-one play which is what I’m looking for right now, and had some great ideas such as the
chase rules you mentioned that I may try to steal for my D6 game.


 by WaterBob » Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:43 am
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:29 am
Thanks, I’ll check it out! I used to have both James Bond and Top Secret back in the day, but both were in a box that disappeared during a move. TS was a WaterBob
little too group focused like D&D, but 007 was great for one-on-one play which is what I’m looking for right now, and had some great ideas such as the chase
rules you mentioned that I may try to steal for my D6 game.
Posts: 16114
It's a fantastic game for one or three players. One player runs a 00, or he runs the 00 and the one or two sidekicks. Or, either the GM runs the sidekicks--or
given 'em to one or two other players.
Which Top Secret are you referring to? First Edition or TSS/I? If the latter, I agree the game tends to want to be played by, say, four players in a Mission
Impossible type set up, but I think it could be adapted for single player play pretty easily.

-- Khalar Zym


quetzalcoatl
Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:08 pm
I managed to find the retro-clone reference I had seen previously: Posts: 1588
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Classified
One of the most influential game designs of the 1980s came out of a licensed RPG featuring the world’s most famous secret agent. James Bond 007: Role-
Playing In Her Majesty’s Secret Service was one of the first RPGs to feature things like hero points, success beyond pass/fail and give experience out for
things beyond killing bad guys and taking their stuff. Classified is a retro-clone that strips out the dead license and allows players to keep the game going if
they can’t find an old copy of the original on eBay or a used bookstore. The missions are also rated for different agent levels, so it’s a great choice for
small playgroups or even one-on-one sessions.


 by WaterBob » Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:02 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:08 pm

I managed to find the retro-clone reference I had seen previously:
WaterBob
Classified
Posts: 16114
One of the most influential game designs of the 1980s came out of a licensed RPG featuring the world’s most famous secret agent. James Bond 007: Role- Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
Playing In Her Majesty’s Secret Service was one of the first RPGs to feature things like hero points, success beyond pass/fail and give experience out for
things beyond killing bad guys and taking their stuff. Classified is a retro-clone that strips out the dead license and allows players to keep the game going if
they can’t find an old copy of the original on eBay or a used bookstore. The missions are also rated for different agent levels, so it’s a great choice for small
playgroups or even one-on-one sessions.
Classified is one of the ones I was trying to remember when you asked me about this earlier. I believe there are at least one, maybe two, other clones of
the Bond RPG.
Fantastic game. Loved the rules.
There's a neat House Rule I devised that simulates gritty, movie style hand to hand fights like what we see in the Bond films. It's been a while, and I'm going
from pure memory, but it went something like this:
Sam makes a HTH attack on Bond.
The Quality Rating of the attack becomes the Ease Factor for a Block of that attack. A block is an HTH attack where the goal is to block an incoming attack
instead of damage the foe.
So, the fighting goes back and forth until the Block is missed, in which case the attack is a success.
Now, this works exceptionally well if you've got a good GM who can describe the harrowing, movie-scene action. It works with melee weapons, and the GM
should throw in grand drama with holes in the wall, a head being shoved into and breaking a bathroom sink.
The system is mean to generate combats like this in your games: (watch at 1:47) https://youtu.be/Gvr6uRvESvM

-- Khalar Zym


The other thing I'll say for the JB RPG is that it is made for the GM who really likes to ham it up with his NPCs. There are such colorful NPCs in the game, as
there are in the JB universe. A GM that knows the Bond universe well and can really make Bond's villians come alive really enhances the enjoyment of this
game. The game provides lots of info on NPCs to help the GM out in this regard.
WaterBob
-- Khalar Zym
Posts: 16114

 by WaterBob » Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:02 am

WaterBob
Classified
Posts: 16114
So, what are your thoughts? Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
I'm wondering about the differences between Classified and original JB.

-- Khalar Zym


 by WaterBob » Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am
Here's a page with several home grown James Bond adventures: http://4eyes.code66.se/?page_id=11
WaterBob
-- Khalar Zym
Posts: 16114

quetzalcoatl
Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:37 pm
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:02 am Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm

Classified
So, what are your thoughts?
I'm wondering about the differences between Classified and original JB.
Actually, I haven’t bought it yet. I drop to 3 days/wk at work starting next week, so hoping to have a little more time. Plus, not sure how much I remember
about JB. I remember thinking the overall mechanics were a bit clunky, but there were some pretty cool parts mixed in. Will be interesting to see how my
thoughts hold up with a good read through!


Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:39 pm
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Awesome!! Thanks!! I’ll definitely give these a good read, and maybe try to work one or two into my game.


 by WaterBob » Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:55 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:39 pm
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am WaterBob

Posts: 16114
Awesome!! Thanks!! I’ll definitely give these a good read, and maybe try to work one or two into my game. Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:57 am
There's another, older, thread on the JB game: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=83659&hilit=from+russia+with+love
The other clone of the JB RPG is called Double Zero.

-- Khalar Zym


Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:20 pm
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:55 pm Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:39 pm
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am

Awesome!! Thanks!! I’ll definitely give these a good read, and maybe try to work one or two into my game.
There's another, older, thread on the JB game: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=83659&hilit=from+russia+with+love
The other clone of the JB RPG is called Double Zero.
Yep, that’s the one you mentioned first. Thanks again!
Now that I’ve got the main kinks worked out of the D6 system (the last piece of the puzzle was limiting new characters to +1D skills to start - MUCH, MUCH
better), I’ve been paying more attention to how my wife plays and what she likes. It seems like she prefers the detective parts - finding clues, solving
mysteries - over the super spy action. I know she’s a Sherlock Holmes fan, so I’m thinking about getting Cthulhu by Gaslight and running more mundane
detective adventures in that era but using D6. I’m going to suggest it to her at some point and see what she thinks. If she wants to stay with our current
modern times campaign I’ll definitely be exploring the James Bond materials more in depth.


 by WaterBob » Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:14 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:20 pm

I’ve been paying more attention to how my wife plays and what she likes. It seems like she prefers the detective parts - finding clues, solving mysteries -
over the super spy action. I know she’s a Sherlock Holmes fan, so I’m thinking about getting Cthulhu by Gaslight and running more mundane detective WaterBob
adventures in that era but using D6.
Posts: 16114
There's a game that I really like that I've never played, called Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes, published by Flying Buffalo. Michael Stackpole wrote it, I
believe.
It's a nice, generic, 2d6 system that I've considered porting over to Classic Traveller in the past.
There's only a handful of adventures for MSPE, and those run the gamut from 1930's Cthulhu-like adventures, to 1980's mercenaries-in-the-Congo type
adventures, to Humphrey Bogart as Sam Space detective stories, to John LeCarre hard-core, realisitic spy stories, to Mission Impossible, Jason Bourne, and
James Bond.
It might be exactly what you're looking for. First, it's a generic system. Second, like older game systems, the GM is expected to create his own adventures
(though, as I said, there are some out there--very few), so you can create exactly the type of mission you need. Third, you can tweak-away on the system
as its designed for that.
It used to be hard to find, but there was a Kickstarter not too long ago to bring it back, and you can find the pdf for a very reasonable price.
You might want to check it out!
Also check out THIS SITE: https://www.modus-operandi.co.uk/
I love the art!
Image
Image

-- Khalar Zym


quetzalcoatl
Hero of Dragonsfoot
 by quetzalcoatl » Sat Mar 19, 2022 1:15 am
Thanks for the suggestions! I’m definitely not interested in running a detective type game in the computer age. Just no interest in my part. Considering Posts: 1588
1890’s England, 1930’s Europe or post-WWII USA. Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 19, 2022 1:15 am

Thanks for the suggestions! I’m definitely not interested in running a detective type game in the computer age. Just no interest in my part. Considering
1890’s England, 1930’s Europe or post-WWII USA. WaterBob
What about Gumshoe, since you're interested in Cthulhu, too?

Posts: 16114
Some info about it: https://zoargamegeek.com/the-gumshoe-rp ... explained/

-- Khalar Zym


I understand about the computers. Decting would be much more fun in a game set before their use. I used to wonder how a Bond game would go when a
chip could be implanted into the agent, or a device held, so that HQ had GPS on the agent almost all the time--knew where he was and a lot about his
circumstances. I thought this might kill a good Bond game because much of those adventures are about isolating the agent so that he has to work on his
own--not with HQ able to mobilize a squad of marines to airlift to the agent's location in 15 minutes. WaterBob
I guess Caino Royale showed us how to deal with the tracking.

Posts: 16114
Running a game during modern times has its advantages, too, though. If you had a safehouse in Venice, you could actually go online and Google the actual
house used in the game. The streets around it would be real. You'd hand a real picture to the players--of the safe house, of real equipment, of NPCs. If you
had a street chase, you could print out real maps.
Back in the 90's, I captured some footage on a documentary about a Japanese space vehicle on VHS. I was running the You Only Live Twice Bond game, and
when the players found the goods, I flipped on the TV and showed them what they had found.
The Bond RPG, if you've ever seen one of their adventure modules, is all about players handouts. This video really added to the verisimilitude in the game.

-- Khalar Zym


quetzalcoatl
Hero of Dragonsfoot
We had a good conversation over lunch today, and we’re going with the game being set in the period from 1880 to pre WWI, starting in London. We’ll start Posts: 1588
in 1880 as a simple entry level detective and work up to national and international level adventures, sort of a mash-up of Sherlock Holmes/Hercule Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Poirot/Indiana Jones/James Bond (maybe even a little Scooby Doo!) working in both historical and historical fiction events.
Possible culmination might be the opportunity to prevent the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and stop (or just delay?) the outbreak of WWI. Along the
way we might cover Jack the Ripper, the Orient Express, Freemasons, Illuminati and cults, Dracula, The Mummy, colonialism, etc.
Any suggestions on good source material for that period would be most welcome. We’re going to stick with D6 Adventure as the base game, though. I
already have Cthulhu by Gaslight and a book called The Age of Empire: 1875-1914 that I had read previously. It’s a good macro level overview of Europe
during that period.


Hero of Dragonsfoot
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 19, 2022 2:43 pm Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
Running a game during modern times has its advantages, too, though. If you had a safehouse in Venice, you could actually go online and Google the actual
house used in the game. The streets around it would be real. You'd hand a real picture to the players--of the safe house, of real equipment, of NPCs. If you
had a street chase, you could print out real maps.
Back in the 90's, I captured some footage on a documentary about a Japanese space vehicle on VHS. I was running the You Only Live Twice Bond game, and
when the players found the goods, I flipped on the TV and showed them what they had found.
The Bond RPG, if you've ever seen one of their adventure modules, is all about players handouts. This video really added to the verisimilitude in the game.
That’s a great point. Fortunately, having access to the internet these days makes GMing much easier in that regard.


Hero of Dragonsfoot
Posts: 1588
 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 19, 2022 12:55 pm Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:43 pm
 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 19, 2022 1:15 am

Thanks for the suggestions! I’m definitely not interested in running a detective type game in the computer age. Just no interest in my part. Considering
1890’s England, 1930’s Europe or post-WWII USA.
What about Gumshoe, since you're interested in Cthulhu, too?
Some info about it: https://zoargamegeek.com/the-gumshoe-rp ... explained/
It wasn’t so much an interest in Cthulhu as it was the Cthulhu by Gaslight book being recommended as a great sourcebook for that era regardless of gaming
intent.

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Post Reply      26 posts • Page 1 of 1

James Bond RPG Thread 

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

"Ling, ling, chat," is "007" in Chinese.

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

Dynamite James Bond Comics.

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG by Victory Games 

I found the original Thread.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread  quetzalcoatl

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:36 pm

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread  quetzalcoatl

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:36 pm

There may be more than one, IIRC.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:29 am

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:08 pm

Fantastic game. Loved the rules.

Sam makes a HTH attack on Bond.

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:08 pm

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Sat Mar 12, 2022 2:08 pm

So, what are your thoughts?

Re: James Bond RPG Thread  quetzalcoatl

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:39 pm

 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am WaterBob

There's another, older, thread on the JB game: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=83659&hilit=from+russia+with+love

The other clone of the JB RPG is called Double Zero.

There is no shame in kneeling before me for I will one day be a god.

Re: James Bond RPG Thread  quetzalcoatl

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:39 pm

 WaterBob wrote: ↑ Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:13 am

There's another, older, thread on the JB game: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=83659&hilit=from+russia+with+love

The other clone of the JB RPG is called Double Zero.

Yep, that’s the one you mentioned first. Thanks again!

Re: James Bond RPG Thread 

 quetzalcoatl wrote: ↑ Wed Mar 16, 2022 3:20 pm

You might want to check it out!

Also check out THIS SITE: https://www.modus-operandi.co.uk/