EdOWar
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 315
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Post by EdOWar on May 2, 2010 10:19:34 GMT -6
This is one that I've always really liked. Ran a couple of cold war scenarios back in the early '80s (during one of which my pcs ended up destroying about a quarter of Bad Homburg!). I would really like to give it another try, but in an historic setting. The spy genre just hasn't been the same since the wall came down IMO. I agree. And going up against secret organizations, like SPECTRE, doesn't seem to cut it anymore in this age of instant communication and universal access to information, not too mention in the face of real world threats like al Queda.
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Post by jcstephens on May 2, 2010 12:31:11 GMT -6
This is one that I've always really liked. Ran a couple of cold war scenarios back in the early '80s (during one of which my pcs ended up destroying about a quarter of Bad Homburg!). I would really like to give it another try, but in an historic setting. The spy genre just hasn't been the same since the wall came down IMO. I agree. And going up against secret organizations, like SPECTRE, doesn't seem to cut it anymore in this age of instant communication and universal access to information, not too mention in the face of real world threats like al Queda. Plenty of information, yes. But how much of it is accurate? Who do you listen to, and more importantly believe? What's REALLY going on, and how do you know for sure? Creating a spy scenario is no more difficult now than it was back then. Just take something you KNOW to be true, make it false, and go from there.
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Post by pineappleleader on May 2, 2010 21:13:40 GMT -6
Top Secret was designed to capture the feel of the spy movies, TV shows and books of the 1960s and 1970s...James Bond, Danger Man/Secret Agent, I Spy, It Takes A Thief, even Get Smart!. You could do Cold War Realistic, but it was not designed for it. Later, when the Technical Bureau was added, you could do Mission Impossible or still farther out The Man From UNCLE, Girl From UNCLE. As the Missions continued to appear, especially in the Dragon Magazine, they slowly grew more "fantastical". But many of the Articles were real world oriented. The game kind of had a split-personality. In Sprechenhaltestelte (spelling?) each agent had his own mission, in most of the other modules, it was "party of four" and the party size kept growing. TS was very much a TV/Movie Spy game. Working for "The Agency" and "The Bureau", gadgets, mysterious contacts, fantastical traps, underground hideouts. TS just does not feel right for doing...La Fem Nikita or Alias. The Agency, whoever they were, and your Bureau, may of had you do questionable things. But there was no question, They Were The Good Guys and you were saving the Civilized World. Also the rules were not really designed for small scale infantry combat (a la LFN and its Section Assault Squads). I just can't see TS rules being used to game a paramilitary squad hit on a terrorist base. On another note, I always thought that some of the weapons choices were very odd: Johnson Automatic Rifles? Nothing like an easily traced, very distinctive, one of a kind weapon for a covert organization.
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Post by castiglione on May 31, 2010 9:08:42 GMT -6
On another note, I always thought that some of the weapons choices were very odd: Johnson Automatic Rifles? Nothing like an easily traced, very distinctive, one of a kind weapon for a covert organization. I think the weapons choices made sense for the type of game that TS seemed to be designed for; they basically went for the exotic rather than the "standard issue" when it came to a lot of things. I guess they wanted the heroes and villains to have distinctive fire-arms instead of everyone having the same standard issue weapons. Just like Bond had his .25 Beretta (and later, his .32 PPK), your hero can have his Johnson Automatic Rifle. And if you found some poor soul who'd been eviscerated by a round from a gyro-jet pistol, you could say: "Ahhh...it's my old arch-nemesis, Dr. Stromheim. He's been known to use a gyro-jet pistol when attempting to further his plans for world domination."
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Post by Finarvyn on Jun 1, 2010 10:36:42 GMT -6
If I was to run a modern-TS campaign, I'd be tempted to somehow blend today's world with those Nicholas Cage National Treasure movies. Assume some sort of conspiracy groups operating under cover and the good guys having to work against them. It might not be attached to any specific country (so no "Cold War Has Ended" angst) but more to some ideal or global cause. It could eventually turn into an X-Files or Fringe kind of game...
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EdOWar
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 315
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Post by EdOWar on Jun 1, 2010 18:46:00 GMT -6
Top Secret was designed to capture the feel of the spy movies, TV shows and books of the 1960s and 1970s...James Bond, Danger Man/Secret Agent, I Spy, It Takes A Thief, even Get Smart!. You could do Cold War Realistic, but it was not designed for it. Later, when the Technical Bureau was added, you could do Mission Impossible or still farther out The Man From UNCLE, Girl From UNCLE. As the Missions continued to appear, especially in the Dragon Magazine, they slowly grew more "fantastical". But many of the Articles were real world oriented. The game kind of had a split-personality. In Sprechenhaltestelte (spelling?) each agent had his own mission, in most of the other modules, it was "party of four" and the party size kept growing. TS was very much a TV/Movie Spy game. Working for "The Agency" and "The Bureau", gadgets, mysterious contacts, fantastical traps, underground hideouts. TS just does not feel right for doing...La Fem Nikita or Alias. The Agency, whoever they were, and your Bureau, may of had you do questionable things. But there was no question, They Were The Good Guys and you were saving the Civilized World. Also the rules were not really designed for small scale infantry combat (a la LFN and its Section Assault Squads). I just can't see TS rules being used to game a paramilitary squad hit on a terrorist base. On another note, I always thought that some of the weapons choices were very odd: Johnson Automatic Rifles? Nothing like an easily traced, very distinctive, one of a kind weapon for a covert organization. I think Top Secret SI does a better job of capturing the feel of spy movies and James Bond stuff. The original TS, imo, was closer to real world espionage. There was even a Cold War expansion book for it. That's not to say you can't have over-the-top stuff in a TS game; it is an RPG after all.
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Post by castiglione on Jun 1, 2010 22:25:49 GMT -6
I think Top Secret SI does a better job of capturing the feel of spy movies and James Bond stuff. The original TS, imo, was closer to real world espionage. There was even a Cold War expansion book for it. That's not to say you can't have over-the-top stuff in a TS game; it is an RPG after all. The original TS may have been a bit schizoid in what it was trying to emulate. Some parts of it felt like real world espionage (or at least some person's idea of real world espionage)...but then you had stuff like a really elaborate hand-to-hand combat system that sort of felt cinematic in what it portrayed and then there was the assortment of exotic fire-arms which felt like something out of the pulps.
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Post by coffee on Jun 2, 2010 0:46:04 GMT -6
At one point in a Spy's Advice column in the dragon, either Allan Hammack or Merle Rasmussen said that TS could be played in either of two ways, detectives or commandos.
(In my original group, I preferred detectives but everybody else wanted commandos...)
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Post by castiglione on Jun 26, 2010 23:26:31 GMT -6
At one point in a Spy's Advice column in the dragon, either Allan Hammack or Merle Rasmussen said that TS could be played in either of two ways, detectives or commandos. (In my original group, I preferred detectives but everybody else wanted commandos...) The commandos or detectives option does seem to make sense given the early TS modules; the one that came with the boxed set was definitely in the detectives vein while the other ones up until Fastpass all seem to be commando missions.
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Post by Mike on Jul 6, 2010 9:05:53 GMT -6
Cripes! I used to own this game back in 1980 and found it too complex for my still-forming malnourished brain; but from reading this thread I made a huge mistake getting rid of my copy! I'm hunting one down now...
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Post by castiglione on Jul 22, 2010 22:32:49 GMT -6
One idea I had once was that the rules for Top Secret would be ideal for a Braunstein style type of game, i.e. having multiple groups of spies of different nations with missions at cross-purposes all in one city or town. Might be too cumbersome for face-to-face play but may work well on-line.
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Post by coffee on Jul 23, 2010 0:58:31 GMT -6
That could work especially well if the referee had a separate account for each of his NPCs. The players wouldn't necessarily know who was who...
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Post by Ronin84 on Dec 29, 2010 9:54:09 GMT -6
We played the crap out of the original rules back in the day BUT I had gotten a hold of a copy of FASA's book of MARS and we used that combat system...which really worked well with the original TS rules.
Top Secret SI never took hold for us, I own most of the stuff for it still and would never THINK of getting rid of it. There was a few times when the expected players didn't show and we grabbed Top Secret or SI and played a one shot!
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arcadayn
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 236
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Post by arcadayn on Feb 28, 2011 23:55:09 GMT -6
I ran TS back in '83 as an alternating game with Classic Traveller, Boot Hill, Gamma World, and Gangbusters. There were only two of us and we alternated GM duties. I ran TS, GB, and CT. Oh yeah, we played almost exclusively over the phone for our several hour sessions.
TS was probably the crunchiest of the old school TSR games. The combat was a lot of fun - especially the hand to hand! I only owned Operation Rapid Strike and the Administrator's Screen, so I can't really comment on the modules. Most of the time, we played totally off the cuff. We did a lot of commando style scenarios.
I bought TS:SI right when it came out. Unfortunately, I started college soon after, and had to seriously trim down my RPG time. I have never got to play it. It's definitely a completely different game. After EdOWar reminded me of it, I do remember disliking the built in to hit system because it DIDN'T require a separate roll. I also remember not liking the way TS:SI treated weapons. I may feel differently about it these days.
Now I guess I'm going to have to break out my books and refresh my memory. Dang. ;D
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Post by Mike on Aug 28, 2011 3:58:29 GMT -6
Just picked up a copy of Operation Rapidstrike on eBay for $3.13.
Awesome!
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arcadayn
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 236
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Post by arcadayn on Sept 5, 2011 5:48:06 GMT -6
Good score! Most of the TS modules can be found pretty cheap. Ace of Clubs and Orient Express seem to be the most expensive.
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Post by Sean Michael Kelly on Sept 5, 2011 9:31:02 GMT -6
I have an original TSR Top Secret box that's mostly complete (I think) as I've never played it, but bought it used (no dice). I also have the James Bond 007 box set and at least one Top Secret SI book. If anybody's interested in more info or making an offer, just PM me!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2012 19:40:49 GMT -6
I remember being fascinated with it because it was the first rpg game I saw after D&D. Up until that moment it never occurred to me that role playing could go beyond monsters and wizards! We made characters and played, but the DM was a shy guy who was a regular player in our D&D group. He just wasn't any good, poor guy. But I asked him if I could borrow the boxed set and I made characters for days until he insisted on me giving the set back. I remember going to his house after dark and handing it to him on his doorstep because he had called my house in a panic.... Okay, soooo many flashbacks. Gotta stop for a bit...
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Post by Fireangel on Oct 15, 2012 14:58:08 GMT -6
I have found the TS ranged combat system to be one of the most realistic and deadly combat systems of the period; it quickly taught players to avoid combat... and it combat was unavoidable, get to cover.
The actual firearms/calibers used need a little tweaking (but then, I have a shooting background), but that is a very minor gripe.
When the TS companion came out and had the integrated hit location table, we (my group) were in evil hog heaven! a single d1000 roll consolidated three d10 or d100 rolls AND put at a glance the results of that used to be three separate tables, putting at your fingertips how much Knowledge, Coordination, Strength or whatever was lost, the % for unconsciousness, blindness, deafness or whatever and the raw damage received... not adjusted for caliber or bullet type.
Dang... to this day I still remember the grimaces around the gaming table when 085-090 was rolled: Serious internal damage to head/neck region, 75% chance of unconsciousness, 50% loss of coordination... chance from blindness, deafness and definite knowledge loss... not that it made much of a difference: 15 points of damage was more hp than most characters even had!
Ranged combat aside, TS works best in lower tech levels, from around the mid 1800's (with the introduction of practical revolvers and metallic self-contained cartridges) and the early 1980's, before the celphone and computer revolution.
We used the rules to play old west (aka "Boot Hill"), Victorian England (Cthulhu by gaslight), roaring 20's (aka Gangbusters... this was really interesting, since to shooting enthusiasts, GB's combat system sucks), interbellum (Raiders of the Lost Ark), WWII espionage, cold war and tropical insurgents.
For a while, the basic TS rulebook was the ONLY rpg I had available (for almost a year), so it was used even for sci-fi games like Aliens ripoffs and Dune.
SI, IMHO, was terrible; a dumbed-down, simplistic game of superheroes with guns n'gadgets. Considering that Marvel Super Heroes RPG was available at the time, I had no interest in SI.
Recently I was invited to play an SI game: I did... and my opinion has not changed.
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randyb
Level 3 Conjurer
Posts: 92
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Post by randyb on Apr 17, 2014 6:13:06 GMT -6
Thread necro...
I am going to be using TS to run an Agents of SHIELD PBeM. (Be careful what comments you post to a friend's Facebook entry...)
The tech curve will be a bit interesting, but I will be able to handwave some of that due to the PBeM format.
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Post by ritt on Jul 8, 2014 20:25:04 GMT -6
Back in the early 80's I was in junior high school and was around thirteen years old. This new kid showed up one day: His dad was some kind of corporate troubleshooter who had been called in to get a local factory back on track and his family moved around a lot. In his short life he had been to like eight different school districts or something insane like that. He only wound up staying here for six months or so.
My friends and I had played and loved D&D, and I think we had played Star Frontiers, and we had heard about but could not find a copy of Gamma World (Much to our frustration). But this new kid brought with him from far-off Seattle a new game, Top Secret. He ran a game of it at lunch in the English room.
The incredibly tasteless premise of his campaign (And I don't remember if this was his idea or ours. Probably ours, because we were sick little @&*#s.) was that our characters were all actual real-world killers and terrorists whose captures or deaths had been faked by the government so the CIA could use us as a kill squad. One kid played Charles Manson, one was Ted Bundy, and my character was Claude Dallas (A now-obscure but then in-the-news cop killer). Anyway, we lived under Berlin in a secret underground City of Assassins. This city was basically a giant dungeon: It had miles of labyrinthine tunnels, traps, and when we got bored we could just wander the tunnels looking for trouble. He had even made up wandering monster tables that included punks, bikers, hookers, gangs, Russians, ninja, and rival serial killers. I recall fighting a lot of punks in those tunnels. By any standards of good taste, game balance, story, or common sense it was BadWrongFun and "Problematic" and Doing It All Totally Wrong.
Needless to say, we had a complete blast.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 12, 2017 16:43:22 GMT -6
It was this game that showed me that; when surrounded by ninjas and your only weapon is an Uzi, you can't just fire in a sweeping circle and take them all out like in the movies. I maybe hit one or two before my magazine ran dry and was then skewered by half a dozen swords and unceremoniously killed
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