Let’s Roll: James Bond 007

Siskoid and special guest Ryan Blake take on Victory Games' James Bond 007 RPG, a true classic that proved a precursor to such games as DC Heroes and Torg, very cutting edge for its day and with a relatively modern feel even today. So brush off your "00" license, pick up a few things from Q, and give us a listen! Plus: In the GameMaster's Advice segment, Siskoid introduces the concept of an RPG-related Movie Night!

Relevant images and credits in the Let's Roll Supplemental.

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8 responses to “Let’s Roll: James Bond 007

  1. Hello!
    a few thoughts
    1 Yes this game was a total pain in the butt to play as a team
    2. Though in fairness top secet was too no one is suposed to team up with spies
    3 How old is Traveler? eVEN THOUGH you REALLY NEED a team there does not seem to be a lot of leveling up

    1
    1. Traveler is older, mid-70s. You “level up” but it’s all done in character generation instead of during the game. A number of 70s games, trying to get away from D&D, eschewed not just levels but character advancement and told you to grow the character by collecting equipment instead.

      JB007 still has XP and improvement through point-buy.

  2. I am not proud of this, but–

    When I was a young kid (12-13 ish) I had a friend who was into geeky stuff like me. But it was hard being his friend because his Dad would buy him anything he wanted–comics, toys, games–no matter the price. Despite my rep as Richie Rich, I had to scrape together a few bucks every week to go to the comics store, while my friend’s Dad thought nothing of pointing to some valuable back issue in a glass case and say “We’ll take that.” It made going to the LCS with him really difficult. I was so consumed with jealousy (it also didn’t help that my friend didn’t seem to appreciate any of this, and talked to his parents with a tone I could have NEVER gotten away with).

    Anyway, one week my friend showed me one of his newest possessions–this 007 game. I loved James Bond as a kid, and even though I was not a gamer, I drooled over this thing, it looked so cool. My friend tossed it aside, it was just another thing to him. The whole afternoon, I poured over the game, trying to soak up all the details. I tried to get my friend to play it with me, but he was uninterested.

    At the end of the day, it was time for me to go home. And in a moment of weakness, I took the game and put it in the book bag I brought with me. I walked out.

    When I opened the game at home, my Mom asked where I got it. I told her my friend lent it to me to learn it. Unbeknownst to me, she immediately called my friend’s parents and told them what I said, was this true? They checked with my friend, who backed me up. I learned about all this the next time we got together. I apologized and returned the game.

    After high school. we lost touch. Flash forward to around 2010, and we reconnected over FB and had lunch. When the bill came, I reminded him of this story, and paid the bill. I felt like I still owed him for bailing my ass out of trouble, a quarter century earlier.

    I have still never played this game.

  3. I was completely unaware that this game existed, so it was great to learn about it. The various mechanics (e.g., the chase mechanics) sound really interesting. I also like that this game is primarily meant to be played one-on-one between a GM and single player. On those rare occasions that I play D&D with my daughter, I often struggle to rescale adventures designed for 4 or 5 players to suit a single player. It’s too bad that she doesn’t care for James Bond.

    Thanks for another incredible episode.

  4. Well done, everyone on a fun episode! It was interesting to hear how this was mostly meant to be played by 2 people.

    But the main reason I’m here is to bring up that image of Bond on the back with a puffy windbreaker and pleated slacks! Pleated slacks!?!? I want Bond to be cool, not look like my dad going to work on a Thursday……

    I’m looking forward to the next adventure! Keep up the great work!

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