Boxes of retro

I decided to get my hands on some properly old school RPGs. The highly non-scientific decision process finally led to me ordering FGU's Year of the Phoenix and Task Force Games' Crime Fighter from Noble Knight Games, whose service was nice and fast, by the way. Both games come in a boxed set, which I kind of miss these days.

Phoenix is about American astronauts in the year 1997 (the near future when the game was written), who encounter something and end up 200 years into the future in a world where Zoviets control most of America. Yeah, one of those games. :) The rules and layout are very much 1980s, but the color poster map of the occupied USA is nice, and I like the idea of presenting one view of the game in the player's book and then turning everything upside down in the GM's book. The latter includes a series of short scenarios that form the start of a campaign. And there's a sheet of colorful counters featuring futuristic vehicles that you can cut out.

Crime Fighter is the only dedicated police RPG I know of. It's written by the renowned Aaron Allston, and while the combat rules seem a little clunky, the unified base system is oddly reminiscent of d20. The six stats are immediately familiar (Wisdom is called Willpower here) and you always roll 3D6, trying to beat a target number of 11. The stats give you plusses to the roll (in fact, they do not have a numerical score besides those plusses). Skills are bought with points, and they include things that are called advantages or edges in other systems, such as Attractiveness and Ally. There are chase rules, information on police procedures, guidance on writing police scenarios in both realistic and melodramatic TV style, two scenarios, and various other tidbits - all of which fits in 64 pages. There are also map tiles and punch-out vehicle and person counters. Cops and perps get their own colors!

Year of the Phoenix is entertaining to read, and the rules are not as terrifying as some other old systems (they even devote some space for your character's personality and history), but I don't know if I'd want to run the game as such. Gotta love the cover, though. Crime Fighter, on the other hand, might be fun to play. It is pretty much Hill Street Blues: The RPG, but could probably handle Miami Vice as well, and NYPD Blue if you updated the technology a bit.

All in all, a successful blind purchase.