Like it says really, the game Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes gets a lot of love here.  Arguably it's an rpgsite darling.

So, if you're a fan, what makes you like it so much?

I don't remember anymore, but as I said before, when I was a kid it was the first game that I found that really wasn't locked into a specific setting.  It was just modern times.  You could be a reporter, a cop, a detective, a spy, whatever.  That idea seemed so liberating to me (though at the age of 13 or whatever it just manifested itself as a feeling of creative excitement).  It also (in my vague memory) had none of the arbitrary restrictions that you can't do this and that that all the other games I'd played up until then had.  Finally, the book itself seemed kind of "mature", just a single book.  You put it on your bookshelf.  I was into Michael Gilbert, Desmond Bagley, Dick Francis at that time and this game told me that I could play these kinds of situations.

I haven't looked at it in years, but it's in my basement at my parent's where I will try and go dig it out this xmas to let you know if any of the above is valid.  I even wrote a module for it and sent the author a letter and got a personal response, which was really exciting for me.

There are a lot of things to like about MSPE. On one level, it's nothing more than Tunnels and Trolls, with enough of a skill system to make modern characters believeabe and enough of a gunfight system to make firearms believeable. And that all by itself is pretty cool. The system is a quick, easy way to handle whatever comes up with little fuss or bother. NPCs are easy to generate at the level you need them. The system doesn't support a lot of detail--verisimillitude is largely on the gm.

For me, it's the first game I played that seemed to model adventure the way I came up wth it in my head. Before MSPE, I had played D&D, T&T, D&D/Arduin, Traveller, Top Secret, and Gamma World. Maybe a couple others, but those were the main ones. MSPE was the first one that attemted to cover multiple genres. MSPE had a simple, reasonably universal mechanic that suited most situations, and with a little thought, could be made to jump through a lot of hoops. When I watched Kolchak or the Avengers or the Wild Wild West, or whatever--a little heads-up display in my head superimposed character stats, difficulty levels, weapon notes, specialized skills, and whatnot right onto the show. No other game has done that. I could watch Conan or Beastmaster or Wizards and D&D/Arduin numbers never popped up like that. So I guess it's the first game for which I fully internalized the rules.

It never has had any expansions or revisions. Whatever houserules, specifications, or interpretations I've made are as official as anything else. So I've never been disappointed by an official release differing from my personal vision of the game.

It's short, light, inexpensive, and still in print. That's just pretty cool stuff.

Since it's come out, I've played dozens and dozens of rpgs, and I like most of them. But I still catch myself comaring them to MSPE, as though that's some permanent measure to me--the bar of the minimal rules needed to be satisfying to me. When I look at games like GURPS or Hero, each rule I run into that doesn't have an analog in MSPE is vetted with a little internal interview regarding how I would use the rule and what extra fun it would bring to the game. I've played those games a lot, because most of their rules bring something Ilike to the game. But MSPE is the standard--the game I don't have to ask myself any questions about.

Until I started posting here, I never heard a lot of web chatter about MSPE, and I thought it had been forgotten. I was happy to see the love. But my reasons for liking it are pretty personal, and I'm also curious to see why others like it so much.

is it available online?

Not that I know of.
Rick Loomis has said that he would consider posting it online once he sells all the paper books. It's only $9.95.
http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/mercen.htm

Quote from: stu2000Rick Loomis has said that he would consider posting it online once he sells all the paper books. It's only $9.95.
http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/mercen.htm

And I got my copy just days after ordering it online.  Not quite as fast as a download, but not much of a wait at all.

Oh, and I like MSPE for exactly the same reason I like Tunnels & Trolls -- dead simple.  Like T&T, it seldom inspired adventure by mere virtue of its simplicity, but it certainly facilitated it when we got going.

!i!

MS&PE was my go-to generic game before there WERE generic games.  That's why I have a love for it.  I used to use the simple rules for everything that was "modern" or near future becasue it was such a simple easy to use system (although a bit dated now).

Eventually I started using the Mayfair CHILL for this type of stuff, and now I generally go to Savage Worlds...so MS&PE doesn't see much use anymore, but my copy (the Blade copy (not the crappy Slueth copy) signed by Mike Stackpole...before he got "famous") will always have a place of honor in my "collection").

Pretty much everyone has covered it. Solid design, dead simple, makes combats workable for interpersonal stuff even better than T&T, plus it has dead solid advice on well, running itself. That is things from using it for spies, to some basic mixed genre notes, as well as how to do "live clues" what more could you ask for?

Maybe better layout, modern art, so it get more love. That's about it.

(Of course to me, I take T&T's magic, drop it in, and I've the perfect Bureau 13 game over that obtuse too crunchy Tri Tac mess.)

Great for private eyes - best generic PI system I ever played, bar none.

Seems too lethal for Mercs. OK for Spies. Really good for offbeat modern characters like journalists, agent provocateurs, etc.

I only remember two things about it:

1. Awesome cover, really stood out in its time.

2. I made it through the solo Curse of the Jade Jaguar on first attempt.

Thus, it rocks.

Quote from: Silverlion(Of course to me, I take T&T's magic, drop it in, and I've the perfect Bureau 13 game...)

I want you to know that, thanks to this statement, I dug out my copy of T&T last night to read it side-by-side with MSPE.

!i!

Kolchak, baby. A dstinctly non-superpowered reporter against sorcery and supernatural creatures--the lure is just too strong.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI want you to know that, thanks to this statement, I dug out my copy of T&T last night to read it side-by-side with MSPE.

!i!

Yeah, I got me a new copy of 5.5 for the spells (since my Corgi edition has disappeared.)

Sure I rename the spells to more modern ones, but it fits the novels--WAY WAY more than the Tri Tac game (both how magic works, and the feel of investigation, tactical thinking.)

I love the novels. But I like pulp (even if its modern pulp..)

I wish someone could convince the owners of each property to write and publish that.

Quote from: BalbinusLike it says really, the game Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes gets a lot of love here.  Arguably it's an rpgsite darling.

Really? I never cared for MSPE; my game of choice in this genre is Ninjas and Superspies, which is absolutely excellent, especially with the Mystic China sourcebook.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditReally? I never cared for MSPE; my game of choice in this genre is Ninjas and Superspies, which is absolutely excellent, especially with the Mystic China sourcebook.

RPGPundit

It does get a lot of love here, compared to elsewhere anyway.

To be honest, I think the darling phenomenon is pure rpg.net, I don't really think it happens at any other fora.

What was cool about Ninjas and Superspies?  I don't think I've ever seen it.