RPG Spirit of '77

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IceBear
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RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Based off Dungeon World I think this will be what I will run after we finish the D&D starter set.

http://spiritof77game.com/
Spirit of 77 is a role-playing game based on 70’s pop culture – glam music, grindhouse action films, kung-fu, weird science and revved up race-cars on lone highways, outracing Smokey and the Man!

“But why the 70’s?”

Because the 70’s were cool! Stop thinking about disco and bell-bottoms, do you realize the stuff that came out the 70’s?? The Six Million Dollar Man! Dukes of Hazzard! Shaft! And the music was cooler – you had Aerosmith at their sleaziest, James Brown at his funkiest and David Bowie at his weirdest. This was the time of revved up muscle cars with massive engines, full leaded gas and painted red, white and blue! These were some groovy times!
Everything you need to run a one shot game can be found here:

http://spiritof77game.com/downloads-and-extras/
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Brian
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Brian »

So...kinda like Interstate '76 as a P&PG? Groovy.
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

It can be, but also it could be "The Warriors", or "Six Million Dollar Man". I think the adventure at the url I linked above is essentially a zombie outbreak on "The Love Boat"
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

I'm intrigued. I'm going to have to give this a read.
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

One of my players asked if he could run this as a one-off this weekend, so I gave the rules a read and set up a character. This looks fantastic, and I'm looking forward to playing it. My character:

Jerry "Bull" Booker, a fun-loving Hollywood stuntman from Muskogee, Oklahoma. He started OU on a football scholarship in '66, but was drafted in '69. When he was discharged in 1972 he made his way to California and got into the stunt business, hiding in endless thrill-seeking. He'll do damned near anything if it sounds fun. If it's dangerous? Well, that just makes it a little more fun. His hair is messy, but his moustache makes Burt Reynolds jealous. Lee jeans, boots, and a fringed leather coat make him stand out in a crowd. He can take one hell of a hit and walk away, and nothing helps with bruises like the case of Jim Beam he has stashed in the trunk.

He actually started with two cars. I traded one in for a palette of Jim Beam. The case in the trunk is all that's left. The other car is Beauty, a black 1968 GTO with yellow trim. It is his Sweet Ride, which is his Thang. That means that he'll always have it. Even if it gets rolled or explodes, it will be back for the next episode.

When the game was suggested I immediately thought of a stuntman character. I love that the books specifically reference both of my inspirations for it - Hooper and The Fall Guy.
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

Now I just need to figure out my character's theme song. Searching through country music from the 70s.
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Let me know how it goes. I haven't had a chance to run anything as one friend is running a 2nd Ed Greyhawk campaign and another is running a Shadowrun campaign so no time for me to run anything
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

They wanted the 70s. I've got the colored light bulbs on, the lava lamp is going, and I've broken out the Nag Champa and patchouli oil. Add in a few 70s stations on Pandora - I hope they knew what they were asking for!
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by hentzau »

Blackhawk wrote:Now I just need to figure out my character's theme song. Searching through country music from the 70s.
Mississippi Queen by Mountain?

Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynrd?
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

I went with the obvious: Nothin' Like the Life
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Holman »

Incidentally, I just saw that the creators of Apocalypse World have Kickstarted a second edition.
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Yeah...already backed :)

On a Kickstarter note I am happy I kickstarted Shadow of the Demon Lord
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Any details on the session Blackhawk?
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

IceBear wrote:Any details on the session Blackhawk?
I keep meaning to update, but I keep remembering when I'm knee-deep in something else.

First off, understand that we have a diverse, but utterly irreverent group. Parcheesi with this group plays like Cards Against Humanity, so things got a little... out there.

~We had Angelique, a cross between Foxy Brown (the film, not the rapper) and The Bionic Woman, who also happened to be a mafia moll on the run.
~Fro Lee, an Asian martial artist with an inexplicable hairstyle,
~[Character Name], a hard-boiled female detective,
~[Character Name], a country girl turned hardcore mercenary,
~And me, Jerry "Bull" Booker, a Hollywood stunt man from Muskogee, appearing with his car, Beauty, a customized '68 GTO. I based the character largely on Burt Reynolds' Hooper character from the film of the same name.

A picture of Fro Lee:
Spoiler:
Image
Character creation was a snap. With none of us knowing the system, it took about an hour, including all of our bullshitting, which is a lot. Choose one background and one job, assign five stats from an array, then pick one or two skills and write down the equipment. After that, make a background connection with the other characters and you're done (for example, Bull (me) had been in New York shooting a film and ended up helping Angelique escape the mob, went to high school with the country girl, picked up extra cash freelancing for the detective, and had butted heads with Fro Lee while serving as a stunt coordinator in a film he was in.)

The feel is very much 70s action films, exploitation films, and serial TV shows. It covers (and mentions by name or reference) stuff like Shaft, Hooper, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Rockford Files, The Six-Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, The Fall Guy, Starsky and Hutch, Foxy Brown, Enter the Dragon, The Warriors, Dirty Harry, Death Wish, and Velvet Goldmine.

Gameplay is fast. I haven't played Apocalypse World of any of its progeny, but I'm guessing that it is similar. You describe whatever action you want to take, then roll 2d6 and add your stat bonus (which is from -1 to +4 - a standard character would have 0, 0, +1, +1, +2, for instance.) 10+ and it goes off like you described. 7-9 and you succeed with a penalty. 6 or below and you fail. The only modifiers are 'Something Extra' and 'Something Less' (roll 3d6 and take the best/worst two dice, respectively.)

The only other thing is that you have a few (probably 3-4) 'Moves' that let you do special things. My stuntman had, I believe, one that toughened any car he drove (stunt driver), one that increased the armor value of any armor he wore (extra padding), and one that let him do automatic minor damage when a melee attacker missed him (sneaky fighter.) That was just about the whole character.

There aren't a lot of stats. As I recall, armor ranged from 0 to 3 or 4, cars had three stats, there were four or five levels of damage, and just a few ranges (hugging distance, arm's length, in a room, shouting distance, long ways away.)

Beyond that, everything is narrative. The story is king, and if the player thinks his character would do something, what he needs to do it is simply there. If you start a bar fight and imagine your character would be grabbing a guy and running him head first into a jukebox, then the jukebox is there, right where you need it to be. The DJ (GM) doesn't say anything about pool tables in the bar, but you can still grab a pool stick off of one - the table is there because you put it there. It shifts the events away from what the DJ describes/plans and into collaborative storytelling.

It is an absolute blast, but would take the right group. If you have a group that likes detailed rules and tactical gameplay, but avoids actually roleplaying their characters, they'd likely just stare at their character sheet in Spirit of '77 looking for the rule that tells them what to do.

I loved the game. I'd play it regularly if I could (or something using the rule system), but I don't know that my second group could grasp the narrative gameplay.
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Good to hear. Yeah I am familiar with the Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) engine as I have run Dungeon World but while I have Spirit of 77 I haven't had a chance to run it yet so was curious how it played for you.

I like the narrative style games as a break from the more crunchy rule systems (though I like those too). I have a couple of players that seem to more be roll players than roleplayers, and I find that I tend to over prep as a GM so I have been trying to get my group to play more PbtA type games just to help everyone find their improv groove and worry less about rules and more about roleplaying and the story.
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Blackhawk
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by Blackhawk »

IceBear wrote:I have a couple of players that seem to more be roll players than roleplayers, and I find that I tend to over prep as a GM so I have been trying to get my group to play more PbtA type games just to help everyone find their improv groove and worry less about rules and more about roleplaying and the story.
So much this! If it wasn't for the fact that my first group only gets together once per month, I'd do the same thing for the same reason. A few of them would really benefit from learning to improv.

So, is there any system you know of using these mechanics that could power a super hero game? I think I could wrangle my kids into such a game fairly easily, perhaps on an off weekend without the rest of the group.
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Yeah...there is but the name escapes me right now. Let me find it again
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IceBear
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Re: RPG Spirit of '77

Post by IceBear »

Just after I posted that it came to me...Worlds in Peril.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150 ... s-in-Peril

There's even a wrestling one...Wide World of Wrestling
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