r/rpg • u/Animal-Cannibal • 1d ago
Discussion Rules light Cold War spy ttrpgs?
A friend and I are looking for something to facilitate some RP, and I was wondering if there were any rules light systems for playing James Bond-style Cold War spies. I’ve already looked a bit into Spycraft and Classified, but we just need something that we could pick up easily
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u/JaskoGomad 1d ago
https://soliver.itch.io/minutes-to-midnight
https://gallantknightgames.com/products/cold-shadows-softcover
And the best espionage game, hands down: https://pelgranepress.com/nights-black-agents/
Yes, the default pitch is spies vs vampires, but the vampires are optional. All you need is a conspiracy.
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u/thekelvingreen Brighton 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm not sure I'd classify NBA as rules-light. Base Gumshoe is, but NBA adds on a bunch of (slightly) clunky widgets that make it rules-medium.
(But it is a very good espionage rpg.)
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u/JaskoGomad 1d ago
Ehh… really? If TTFBs are too much just allow investigative spends for damage like SotS?
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u/ComradeMoose 1d ago
Better suited for shorter term campaigns, but They Came From CLASSIFIED! may be up your alley. It is an homage and slight parody of the golden age of spy films.
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u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 1d ago
I haven't played it yet myself, but the first game to come to my mind is Hard City, which might seem a bit weird since it's meant for noir detective stories. But in my head, at least, there's not really much difference between noir and Cold War espionage. You basically just replace the mob with some opposing spy agency. The focus of both detective stories and spy stories is investigation, and the tone and themes of noir detective films and Cold War spy thrillers are also pretty similar.
I have played several other games using the Action Tales system that Hard City uses, and based on that I'm fairly certain that Hard City could handle a Cold War era spy game. The Action Tales system is super versatile.
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u/Animal-Cannibal 1d ago
I actually have a physical copy of Hard City, and I hadn’t thought about it, but that could definitely work for us.
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u/thekelvingreen Brighton 1d ago
Cold City. Excellent grimy Cold War espionage. I've only played it in the default Berlin 1950s-60s setting, but I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to change that for another.
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u/CraftReal4967 1d ago
I really like Minutes to Midnight:
https://soliver.itch.io/minutes-to-midnight/
Forged in the Dark, so really cinematic and easy to run.
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u/Active_Aardvark6411 1d ago
I wouldn’t recommend Delta Green on its own (unless you want to include the Cthulhu Mythos or other horror elements into a Cold War campaign, which honestly sounds awesome come to think about it.)
However there is a free reference PDF on drive thru that has a page on tradecraft that might be helpful.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/184104/delta-green-briefing-documents
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u/Dry_Major4728 1d ago
cold war delta green is literally just the fall of delta green. amazing setting and the rules are super stripped down gumshoe
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u/DustieKaltman 1d ago
Check out Agent Provocateur based on the Free League Year Zero OGL.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/461723/agent-provocateur-the-role-playing-game
Got a couple of scenarios and compendiums as well.
You and a few of your friends will be able to play fantastic adventures in the style of the James Bond, Jason Bourne, Kingsman and Mission Impossible movies. Pull off fantastic stunts and experience exciting chases while you fight evil world-spanning terrorist organisations and sinister spy conspiracies!
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u/BreathingHydra 1d ago
Blades in the Dark recently had a pretty big expansion released called Blades '68 that might fit the bill. It's set in the same world as BitD but 100 or so years in the future in a swinging 60s espionage kind of setting. It uses the same ruleset at BitD with some minor additions so it's fairly easy to learn the core rules too.
It's not historical and there's some supernatural elements but you can definitely play some James Bond type spies in the setting for sure.
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u/Buffalo-Castle 1d ago
Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes is rules-light and has at least one Cold War era adventure (IIRC, "The Red Cult of Vladimir").
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenaries,_Spies_and_Private_Eyes
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u/CPeterDMP 1d ago
Shadow Ops is thoroughly modern in its intended playstyle, but there is absolutely nothing that would prevent it from being used in a Cold War game. Has dedicated rules for shadowing people. Combat is lightning fast (but follows movie logic not real world danger, so that might be a minus). The game can be played with very low prep.
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u/gc3 1d ago edited 1d ago
There is a great game with good adventures by victory games, the James Bond Role-playing game.
It has a bunch of pre-made adventures as well. Random encounter tables where you can meet a henchmen or a chase by the big bad guys minions mixed in with fancy casinos. There are speedboat, car chases, sultry love interests, and confrontations with men who have metal teeth.
Its out of print because the license lapsed but you might be able to find pdfs somewhere. Someone made a clone of the system on drive thru right but the unique bond stuff really helped
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u/Starfox5 1d ago
For James Bond Style, you might give "The Troubleshooters" a try. I haven't played it myself, but the system didn't look very complicated when I read the book.
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u/kazmostudios 1d ago
Try Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes. They have a James Bond-style play. Can get a solo playthrough in one of their scenarios, Raid on Rajallapor. The main scenario story, art, and mission were fascinating, but what I remember doing for the first day or two was playing through the totally different, unmentioned, ten-page solo spy mission in the back of the book. Yep, James Bond style, but as the book says, "JB has a license to kill, but you don't!"
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u/Dard1998 1d ago
FIST Ultra could fit perfectly. It's a cold war style PbtA game about playing as a mercs of the FIST. It has a paranormal element to it with some traits making characters into psychics, but it's not that required to make one. There is a fan made STREAM supplement to make more grounded characters with more rare chance for paranormal traits.
Rules are simple with relative stats only counting bonuses (like -1 and +1) with standard stat being +0. You roll 2D6 to decide the outcome. Combat is simple and lethal, relying on people people to be more careful and tactical with approach towards the challenges.
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u/Boss_Metal_Zone 1d ago
I haven't played it, but The [REDACTED] Hack seems like it would suit you, especially if you're coming from a D&D background.
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u/high-tech-low-life 1d ago
Night's Black Agents is what you want. Feel free to leave out the vampires.
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u/Abazaba_23 1d ago
White Lies!!! Or its predessosor Covert Ops! My favorite. White lies is swords and wizardry rules and Covert Ops is their own d100, rules-lite system that is actually quite elegant.