If you recall my goals for 2026, you will have seen that I had been working on a game called Super, Sexy Swingin' Spies. This is an RPG that came about after a lazy day watching Matt Helm movies on TUBI. Who and what is Matt Helm? Well, he is a photographer/super-spy played by Dean Martin in a series of not very serious Bond knock-offs. I watched The Silencers, The Ambushers, The Wrecking Crew, and Murder's Row over the course of a few days. About half-way through the third one I thought, "Self, this could make some fun and light-hearted rules-lite RPG action!"
As an added bonus, most of these movies are now old enough to be in the Public Domain! That meant movie posters, screen caps, and similar media would be accessible to populate my game rules! Photos and images are always a problem, so this made it much easier and helped this game jump the queue to actually get worked on and done!
So, before I get ahead of myself let's start by laying out the design goals, and then we can take a closer look at how I went about making the game. The Design Goals were:
1. Simple opposed dice rolling mechanic built into the design
2. Ease of Character Creation that intuitively creates role-play opportunities
3. Make Gadgets relevant but avoid equipment lists
4. Lean harder into the narrative than the crunch
5. Create space for various levels of "Groovy", play it straight or as wacky as you want with space to tell 1960-esque spy stories
Those were my design goals going into this project. You can find these rules on my Drive-Thru RPG page. Also, a special shout-out to my Patrons who got early access to these rules! Let's take a closer look at how I did it!
Simple, Opposed Dice Rolling Mechanic
Typically, when I create a rules-lite RPG I do not like the GM rolling any dice. I prefer the players to do all the dice-rolling and the GM simply interpreting the results. The GM all ready has enough on his plate with everything else going on, so no need to burden him with dice rolls too.
For this game, I slightly diverge from my normal method. However, I still want any dice-rolling to be simple with the Players doing most of the heavy-lifting mechanically. In this game, the Players use their Attributes and other aspects of their characters to create a pool of dice called Agency Dice when they are asked to resolve a challenge.
The Handler (or GM) determines how hard the Challenge is and that difficulty is between a 1 and 7. This number is the number of dice in their pool called a Danger Dice. Both groups roll their Agency Dice and Danger Dice at the same time. Any Danger Dice and Agency Dice that match are removed. If any Agency Dice remain with a 4+ the Challenge is passed, if more than one Agency Dice with a 4+ remains it is Critical Success. All other options are a Failure. If all Agency Dice are removed and a Danger Dice remains with a 4+ it is a Critical Failure.
Therefore, the higher the Difficulty the more Agency Dice you will want to make that roll. The Handler (GM) tells players the Difficulty before rolling. That way, the Player can choose a different course of action if they wish.
This mechanic is harder to put in writing than to actually use. Therefore, it is a very simple opposed dice pool mechanic. This mechanic is very simple and intuitive during game play.
Easy Character Creation
All of my games focus on easy Character Creation. The reason is so that players can get into the action quickly and start playing. In addition, if your character is knocked out of the game it is easy to get a new one worked up and back in!
This one is not an exception, with character creation taking about 10 minutes. There is a minimal amount of record keeping and very little math. However, it still encourages players to round-out what makes a character a character beyond the basic profile. It includes guidelines for new role-players about personality traits, quirks, and other things that make it easier to bring a character to life in game. A character fits completely on 1 page with no long lists of equipment, gear, or other mundanity.
Make Gadgets Relevant
This is a rules-lite game. Therefore, I did not want a detailed list of 1960's specific surveillance gear, technology, weaponry, and other details. That is too cumbersome and ties the Players down. Super Spies always seem to have the right gadget for the job when they need it. Therefore, in this game the Characters will always have the right gadget for the job too!
A Character can trigger the use of a Gadget at anytime! However, there is a cost to do so. Doing so reduces your overall ability to manipulate scenes by expending a resource called Plot Armor. Plot Armor can be used to use a Gadget, add Agency Dice, re-roll Agency Dice, or Reduce Danger Dice. Instead of managing a long list of complicated and variable 1960's gear, you only need to manage your Plot Armor.
However, Plot Armor is also your "health" meter. Once it is expended, your Agent is out of the Scene. Get knocked out of too many Scenes, and you fail the Mission.
Therefore, you can use a Gadget to get a Character past a sticky situation BUT to do so reduces your ability to interact with scenes later. It is up to players to decided when a Gadget will benefit them versus hinder their overall mission.
If you need access to a cool car for a car chase? No problem, spend a Plot Armor and it is there. Do you need a grappling watch? You got it. A parachute with the Union Jack on it? It is yours...... if you have the Plot Armor that is.
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| Yes, THAT Tina Lousie was in it! |
Lean Harder into Narrative Than Crunch
As a Rules-Lite game, the focus of the game is helping the Handler set-up a scene so Players can take actions during those scenes. The core of the game is about how to create the Core Gameplay Loop of Inciting Incident--> Player Action ---> New Situation. In addition, the rules discuss the most common types of scenes in the game and what Challenge Checks fit into these scene types. Therefore, the players and Handler have a great structure for what a game of Super, Sexy Swingin' Spies looks like.
To help all players understand, the game also comes with an introductory Mission called; The Jet-Set. There is also one pre-made character, a blank character sheet, quick reference sheets for both players and Handlers, and an Index to give you everything you need to have a great game.
Creating 1960's Spy Stories
Spy stories in the 1960's ran a wide range of themes and tones. They ranged from the very serious espionage thrillers like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to the adventure and action oriented From Russia With Love to the tongue-firmly in cheek stories of Get Smart. Therefore, no two Spy-Fi films or shows were the same. Each had their own mix of serious spying, action adventure, and comedy. The rules written in Super, Sexy Swingin' Spies is designed to give you what you need to go from James Bond to Maxwell Smart and everything in between. If you want to center a story around a defector from East Berlin no problem, if you want a madman with a Bikini Bomb, you got it. You are encouraged to decide how much "Groovy" you want in any given Mission or Season.
Final Thoughts
If you have liked my other Rules-Lite RPGs than you will enjoy what I am presenting here as well. The focus is on working as a table to tell the story and find out what happens. The rules are enough to help you build and overcome compelling challenges. These rules are great for experienced RPGers looking for something quick and light for a short campaign, people new to RPGs who know the Spy-fi film/TV genre, or folks who want to have a low-intensity story-telling experience.
You can find these rules on my Drive-Thru RPG page. Also, a special shout-out to my Patrons who got early access to these rules!
I look forward to hearing about how you saved the world in the 1960's!
Until next time!
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