What makes a "Spy" RPG to you? Certain mechanics? Fluff? Attitude? Setting? As you may or may not know i've been working on a Spy game, more for myself than anything else. But I'm curious as to you folks thoughts, and ideas of what make s a good one.

I like intrigue, so pretty much everything I run turns into a spy caper at some point.

I tend to like intrigue in all genres as well, but 'Spy' to me screams 'James Bond'

I notice "Funeral in Berlin" is in your sig file. I kind like the other kind of spies for gaming. So Bond but perhaps even more Mission:Impossible or Man From Uncle, just less retro. So basically low level superhero action with a sprinkle of sci-fi and crazy conspiracies.

In fact a rules light spy game that captures the tone of 'Chuck' (but not necessarily the specific trappings) is something I would dearly like to play.

One part James Bond, one part Mission: Impossible and one part G.I. Joe.

For me, you have to have a gadgeteer aspect to the game, like 007 had Q to provide him with nifty toys.  Heroic, but not necessarily pulp type, feel to the game doesn't hurt either.  A really gritty spy and/or intrigue game doesn't hold my interest.

Mood.  The system is almost immaterial.

I think that spy games are like detective games, in that there ought to be some sort of puzzle to solve or mystery to unravel. Except that if it's too easy or too hard it's not much fun. That makes this genre hard to run, in my opinion.

The "Gumshoe" (Pelgrane) game tries to avoid this by having all of the skills divided up among the characters, so they automatically should be able to find clues. Unfortunately, this is a character thing and not a player thing.

"Top Secret" (TSR) was a decent game for spy adventures. Also "Mercenaries Spies & Private Eyes" (Flying Buffalo) and "James Bond 007" (Victory Games) were pretty good. Still looking for one that is awesome instead of just "decent."

Intrigue. Secret agendas. Backstabbing.

A game that I think does it more or less well is Cold City.

But I agree with fynarvin that there is not an "awesome" stance of the genre, only "decent" ones.

I don't think I ever ran one.

For me it is more about the setting and resource material, but also having the right equipment and such. In terms of what spy encompasses, for me it is anything from Bond to Bourne or even more grounded and realistic procedurals. Spy to me involves intelligence agencies, state secrets, Special ops, intrigue and that sort of thing.

The Spy Genre for me is usually of the Bond/ Action aspects or the Supernatural/ Action Aspect (Nobody I know has ever wanted to play realistic spies doing real spycraft).  

So my spy games need to handle "semi-realilstic" action in a modern (or near modern) setting.  

For me, the spy game is all about the secrecy trope.  Nobody knows about what they do. Nobody knows all the pieces.  There are wheels inside the wheels.

I like the Conspiracy Trope, but that is related to the Secrecy Trope.

I like the Gadget Trope as well.  The fun gear is always the best part of things in the spy genre for me.  Even if it is somewhat realistic gear, it is still interesting additions.

Inspector Gadget?



No. Just No.

Spies have been around for hundreds even thousands of years: The Harpers in D&D are often spy characters, and secret codes and such come to us from the Elizabethan era. The key for me would be that the player character is essentially alone -- they may have been supplied with gadgets and such, but they are acting in secret and all of the people around them are the enemy. No trust. No help. Drop your guard and you're dead. Eat with your fork the wrong way and you'll get arrested.

Plus there's usually a specific mission: Find this out, get this back, deliver this. Not much employment for the wandering spy.

For me the very coolest spy (or secret agent) was the man with no name in the Prisoner (the original series). He was always on his guard. He never stopped trying to escape and he accepted no compromise. They had odd futuristic tech in places, but mostly it was very personal struggles and always being one step ahead of the other guy.

Another cool take on the spy genre would be corporate espionage and Shadowrun style incursions into data systems.

Plus I think a big part of any spy story would be the question of loyalty. Bond was never betrayed by M (at least in the books), but Harry Palmer worked for an agency that would sell you down the river in a second. And if you were an agent for a repressive regime and you got somewhere much more free and open, that would start to erode your determination.

Just my two cents.

Quote from: teagan;692544Spies have been around for hundreds even thousands of years: The Harpers in D&D are often spy characters, and secret codes and such come to us from the Elizabethan era. The key for me would be that the player character is essentially alone -- they may have been supplied with gadgets and such, but they are acting in secret and all of the people around them are the enemy. No trust. No help. Drop your guard and you're dead. Eat with your fork the wrong way and you'll get arrested.

Plus there's usually a specific mission: Find this out, get this back, deliver this. Not much employment for the wandering spy.

For me the very coolest spy (or secret agent) was the man with no name in the Prisoner (the original series). He was always on his guard. He never stopped trying to escape and he accepted no compromise. They had odd futuristic tech in places, but mostly it was very personal struggles and always being one step ahead of the other guy.

Another cool take on the spy genre would be corporate espionage and Shadowrun style incursions into data systems.

Plus I think a big part of any spy story would be the question of loyalty. Bond was never betrayed by M (at least in the books), but Harry Palmer worked for an agency that would sell you down the river in a second. And if you were an agent for a repressive regime and you got somewhere much more free and open, that would start to erode your determination.

Just my two cents.

Speaking of Harpers, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern had the Harpers not only act as, well, Bards, but also as spies for the Masterharper.