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Post by shelleycm on Jan 21, 2014 19:21:51 GMT
In ye olde days, running super agent campaigns was second nature--but since 9/11, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the war on terror, I struggle with creating a modern (e.g., 2014ish) campaign. Every time I find myself thinking of running another agent campaign, the temptation is to set it back in the "good old days" of the Cold War.
Anyone else have this problem?
Shelley
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Celt
Double Digit Master
Decrying the system since 2013.
Posts: 34 
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Post by Celt on Jan 21, 2014 19:27:45 GMT
I wonder if that's part of the reason Agents of SHIELD doesn't seem to be getting traction.
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Post by Sketchpad on Jan 21, 2014 19:35:50 GMT
I find myself creating an even more fictionalized world when dealing with espionage in post 9/11, especially in a superhero setting. Taking a page from Marvel and DC, I use terrorist cells that have access to amazing technology and are as vile as they come. Some have agents in the government, while others are more bold and make massive strikes against the free world. The agents/PCs are usually part of an agency that hunts down these vile villains and make sure the world is safe. However, while superheroic, while running agents, it tends to be a splash grittier and requires a little less CVK and more deductive thinking.
Actually, thinking on the subject a bit more. There was no 9/11 in my campaign, but rather something devastating that happened on the San Andres Fault Line.
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Post by Chris Goodwin on Jan 21, 2014 19:54:52 GMT
My wife and I have been more or less binging on Alias the past couple of weeks. It was set after the Cold War and I thought does it pretty well. Lots of paranoia around international criminal conspiracies that are effectively intelligence agencies unto themselves.
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Post by Tasha on Jan 21, 2014 22:27:00 GMT
Covert Affairs is actually a pretty good Espionage show. Don't be put off by it's evocative name.
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Post by jamesgillen on Jan 22, 2014 2:31:16 GMT
I wonder if that's part of the reason Agents of SHIELD doesn't seem to be getting traction. I think that's mainly because they aren't using all of the plot elements they have access to from the movie AVENGERS universe. In terms of the main question, it's a matter of the black-and-white breaking down into murky grey. Old-time super agent stuff like Nick Fury's SHIELD or GI JOE is very superhero-like in style even if most characters aren't superheroes. Post 911 you get into some truly evil deeds by the terrorists combined with some questionable responses by authorities. Which could work if one wants to run "George Smiley HERO" but there's probably a reason why that hasn't been done yet. JG |
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Post by shelleycm on Jan 22, 2014 2:42:23 GMT
Well, I never ran PRIMUS as goody-goody (and when I ran VIPER campaigns, there were rogue good guys). I don't know if the world changed and it just didn't seem to fit for me, or my views of super agents as protagonists changed as the government reorganized. I never had a difficult time envisioning PRIMUS in the existing government, pre-9/11. After (especially after the PATRIOT Act), I couldn't imagine wanting to run/play in the existing structure. If that makes sense? If I ran now, it would be to go back in time or it would be a radically different setting. I am like 10 years behind on TV (seven of which I will punt and blame having a kid for). Someday I will see these shows you are mentioning!  |
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Rex
Double Digit Master
Posts: 33
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Post by Rex on Jan 22, 2014 6:11:54 GMT
Interesting thought.....I'd really like to see an updated PRIMUS with repercussion orientated changes. That all being said, I was feeling like mining for a "agent" orientated Dark Champions idea so I went an watched Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Now those familiar with the old Jack Ryan stuff, it's pretty much all Cold War or Cold War spin offs at it's foundation. I thought This flick though, did a really good job at "updating" the entire core, without losing the good stuff.... Stands to reason that similar could be done with PRIMUS......
OR....that all being said....I could see a scenario where PRIMUS decides to go Fix issues by fixing the Time Stream. Super Agents and Time Travel would raise a few eyebrows....
~Rex
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Post by tomd1969 on Jan 23, 2014 18:56:58 GMT
Well, in a superhero world, would what happened on 9/11 necessarily have the same impact? They may just consider 9/11 as any other Tuesday.
“Pssh... You knocked down two buildings? In Detroit, we call that Tuesday.”
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Post by Kharis2000 on Feb 1, 2014 17:40:07 GMT
I haven't run or played in a true supers or super agents game, since forever, Shelley, but I've mulled it over a few times and had similar issues. I managed about five sessions of an 'emerging supers in post-911' game as a player several years back, but it collapsed over the failure of most players to really 'get' the setting idea, and one players need to game the system with his gadget pool.
If I were going to do it now, I think that I'd look at some shows on television now/in the past for inspiration. Agents of SHIELD has a lot of good ideas even if they've struggled to find their footing. Person of Interest is a sort of 'back door' approach to the super agents idea with a group of individuals helping individuals without really knowing what they're supposed to help with/protect them from at the start of each episode. Arrow started out as really a 'super agents/street-level supers' approach, but they're ramping to full-on heroic levels slowly. Intelligence is actually a super agents game given the abilities of one of the two leads, and so far has navigated the post-911 world of US intelligence service rivalries and lack of communication. Older shows that have similar feels and could be updated/used without much effort would be The Six Million Dollar Man, It Takes a Thief, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and The Avengers (60's Steed and Peel, accept no substitutes). For a more mystical-oriented super-agents game, Angel isn't a bad choice to draw inspiration from. If you wanted to go for an earlier time setting, the best example I can think of is The Wild Wild West.
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Post by Silverhawk on May 24, 2014 4:21:11 GMT
OR....that all being said....I could see a scenario where PRIMUS decides to go Fix issues by fixing the Time Stream. Super Agents and Time Travel would raise a few eyebrows.... ~Rex Something that I had used as a plot device in a couple of superheroic scenarios was "borrowed" from FASA's Doctor Who. In that game they mentioned the Continuum Intervention Agency (CIA). As I used them they were super agents. Have somewhere in my voluminous scraps of ideas pile the idea of running a campaign where the PC's were CIA. But I don't think I ever got beyond the that might be a good idea stage. |
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Post by tikiman on Jun 13, 2014 1:15:50 GMT
My wife and I have been more or less binging on Alias the past couple of weeks. It was set after the Cold War and I thought does it pretty well. Lots of paranoia around international criminal conspiracies that are effectively intelligence agencies unto themselves. Jennifer Garner, Mia Maestro, and Melissa George all in top condition, takin' names, and beating a**: what's not to love? Plus up until the last season it was pretty good stuff! Good grist for the RPG mill. Personally I would use Victory Games' James Bond 007 game for that type of stuff. |
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Post by Jazzidemus on Feb 18, 2015 20:57:01 GMT
I think in a world with PRIMUS and UNTIL wouldn't they take the place of Homeland Security? Depending on what the backdrop would look like, are there capes? Take What happened to Detroit, or the many attacks by Demon or Viper. The minute a major attack happens be it from Cape or Organization that would be viewed as a terrorist attack on American soil, the Government would look to & task Until, Primus, or even SAT to step in and prevent this from happening again. Which of course it would. This could even lead to a backlash to friendly Masks, registration even. Something akin to Civil War, but I digress. The Agents could be apart of a Homeland style/ counter-terrorist taskforce that battles the the good fight. The report to one of the Bigger Agencies
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tkdguy
Double Digit Master
Posts: 47
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Post by tkdguy on Feb 19, 2015 1:26:21 GMT
Nothing wrong with a campaign set during the Cold War era. You can have a bunch of "what if?" scenarios there. Also, you can have an alternate history where the USSR never fell, and the Cold War is still on.
If a post-9/11 world works for you, maybe VIPER is secretly funding various terrorist groups. That way, various military forces, as well as PRIMUS and UNTIL concentrate on those groups, leaving VIPER to covertly achieve its goals.
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Post by CRTaylor on Feb 19, 2015 5:05:52 GMT
Yeah there's plenty of options post-Cold War, its just not the same sort of primary enemy with counterespionage. Its more undercover cop work than spies.
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