TheRPGSite

Well?

The Young Ones.

Shoot me now.

Most gamers talk out of character as if they are in an '80s setting no matter what RPG they are playing.

The A-Team.

If I have a small group of players:  The Equalizer.

Because I was a kid in the 80's:

Bionic Six.

M.A.S.K.

He-Man and Masters of The Universe

Thundarr

Thundercats

Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors

Blackstar

I'm actually serious about The Young Ones - playing scumbag students, living in their own squalid, surreal, comedic fantasy world is actually a game I'd like to play in.

It's somewhat similar to my interest in seeing or creating a RPG version of Trainspotting. The 80s Thatcher's Britain backdrop is also perfect too, particularly if you combine it with Scooby Doo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPYFsTlp4Y (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPYFsTlp4Y)

Off the top of my head: Captain Zep, Red Dwarf, Quantum Leap

I've always wanted to write a Cthulhu scenario set in a certain café in Wartime France - Cthulo-allo. It would go with my Dad's army scenario :-)

Quote from: spon;989455Off the top of my head: Captain Zep, Red Dwarf, Quantum Leap

Red Dwarf has actually been done before, and technically it's a 90s show for most of it's run. It would actually make a good game though - it's actually similar in set up to The Young Ones, in that it is 'students-in-space' in terms of it's style of humour.

Robin of Sherwood

I would really love to play Miami Vice (blame GTA Vice City), but I think The A Team might be more feasible.

Quote from: estar;989460Robin of Sherwood

Ooo, I forgot about this one..

Quote from: Christopher Brady;989466Ooo, I forgot about this one..

How could you especially with dialogue like this ;)

QuoteSir Guy of Gisburne: My Lord, I thought...

Robert de Rainault (The Sheriff of Nottingham): You thought, did you Gisburne? What a pity I wasn't here. When did you have this thought of yours? While I was in London? Or was it perhaps more recent? Surely such an earth-shattering event would linger in the memory? Or was it this morning perhaps, while I was being attacked?

Sir Guy of Gisburne: Attacked, My Lord?

Robert de Rainault: Ten Miles from Nottingham, by Robin Hood's men! That was when I had my thought, Gisburne. And do you know what it was? A simple, uncomplicated thought: Where is Gisburne? Where is the escort that I asked for in my letter?

Sir Guy of Gisburne: Your letter? Your letter says that you will be back in four days, dated the 8th!

Robert de Rainault: The 7th, Gisburne. The 7th! Don't try to get out of it!

Sir Guy of Gisburne: But My Lord...

Robert de Rainault: But! But! You're the butt of everyone in Nottingham, aren't you?

Sir Guy of Gisburne: You insult me!

Robert de Rainault: I do! And will, as long as you continue to give me cause."

I know that the movie was 1980's, but did the Highlander show start in the late 80's?  Because that would be really easy to make into an urban fantasy campaign.

I mean - PCs are 'special' and fight mostly 'special' NPCs and basically levelling up off of their deaths.  It might even work better with a system which promotes wary allies rather than a standard party.

Fraggle  Rock...a whole subterranean realm of adventure and wonder with the occasional excursion into the dangerous and mysterious surface world as well!

Also, Black Adder! I could even use Dark Albion as a resource for the first season...

Quote from: Charon's Little Helper;989476I know that the movie was 1980's, but did the Highlander show start in the late 80's?  Because that would be really easy to make into an urban fantasy campaign.

I mean - PCs are 'special' and fight mostly 'special' NPCs and basically levelling up off of their deaths.  It might even work better with a system which promotes wary allies rather than a standard party.

There was a pretty popular (for 1993-4 internet) hack/port (http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Rules/Highlander/) of Highlander to WoD (who would have guessed that trenchcoats and katanas would be popular amongst that crowd?). It's a fan project, but pretty well done, considering (and considering your opinion of WoD).

Quote from: Dumarest;989484Also, Black Adder! I could even use Dark Albion as a resource for the first season...

Assuming that you don't happen to have genius improv comics at your table (and if you do, congrats), what is it that one gets out of playing The Black Adder/Blackadder as opposed to playing 'character in each of the four settings of the four series?' In other words, what makes Blackadder Blackadder, beyond the witty repartee?

Like, if you asked me right now, I'd have to say The Master. You know, the one where Lee Van Cleef is a Ninja.

Not because it's a good show (it's not), but because "Ninjas travelling around America in a righteous van, helping folks in small towns, fighting corrupt local authorities, and occasionally fighting a Ninja Bad Guy of the Week" is the most 80's thing I can think of. I think my group could come up with much better storylines than the actual show did.

And instead of a hamster, we'd have a fox. The season finale would be that the fox reveals that she's actually a Kitsune, and was hiding it this whole time.


That, or a Transformers thing. The setup suggests an interesting game structure to me--basically, you're a Decepticon or Autobot soldier who finds himself in an unfamiliar solar system after a starship malfunction. You don't know how many thousands of years you've been lying dormant. First thing--find out how many other Decepticons (or Autobots) are in the immediate area, gather them up, compare ranks, decide on a leadership hierarchy, and establish a headquarters. Second thing--find out how many of the enemy is nearby and are doing the same thing. Then settle into your own little corner of the Autobot/Decepticon war, until one side gathers enough Energon that they can repair their ship and leave for another system. Once you get there, repeat, with a different cast of allies and enemies.  

This suggests all kinds of complications. What if their highest-ranked guy turns out to be Soundwave, and your highest-ranked guy turns out to be Bumblebee? Heck, what if this time around, their leader is Laserbeak, and your commander is Ultra Magnus? You might get better comrades and win quickly, but as soon as you do, you move on to a completely different situation, and the setup changes again. Keep doing it long enough, and you're bound to run into Megatron eventually.  

It ain't easy being a million-year-old sapient war robot.

Wizards and Warriors

Quote from: TrippyHippy;989450I'm actually serious about The Young Ones - playing scumbag students, living in their own squalid, surreal, comedic fantasy world is actually a game I'd like to play in.

Over the Edge might be a good system for that.

QuoteIt's somewhat similar to my interest in seeing or creating a RPG version of Trainspotting. The 80s Thatcher's Britain backdrop is also perfect too, particularly if you combine it with Scooby Doo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPYFsTlp4Y (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPYFsTlp4Y)

If it is the '80s and you combine it with Scooby Doo, you are going to get Scrappy Doo in there as well.

Quote from: ArrozConLeche;989465I would really love to play Miami Vice (blame GTA Vice City), but I think The A Team might be more feasible.

The hardest part of an A Team game is finding players that don't want to kill people

Quote from: Charon's Little Helper;989476I know that the movie was 1980's, but did the Highlander show start in the late 80's?  Because that would be really easy to make into an urban fantasy campaign.

While the show is '90s, I think the movie lets it get grandfathered in.

If you wanted to run a time travel game with a concept the prevented you from having to worry about all the related shenanigans, then Voyagers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP6ET-fYg2M) would work. Conceptually, it's a lot like Quantum Leap but with more emphasis on action than on emotions.

[video=youtube;sP6ET-fYg2M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP6ET-fYg2M[/youtube]

Tales of the Gold Monkey would be a great game.

Tales of the Gold Monkey would be a pretty easy one to do with any pulp ruleset.

Tales of the Gold Monkey, Lovejoy, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (cheating, I know...)

Young Ones: I can see a D&D campaign with Vyvyan the dwarf barbarian, Neil the elf druid, Rick the human bard and Mike - well, no-one liked Mike anyway, SPG the awakened hampster.

Well the obvious choice is Kid Video. Then I can load any pairing of 80s Top 40 goodness in a blender and run a nostalgic fantasia (we can blame the fae afterwards).

Oooh, and the Facts of Life. Especially run it with "moral lesson of the show," and side-comedy sub-plot. That'd be the lighthearted fair. If we wanted to do a crapsack world gritty comedy we'd play Good Times. Gotta cue up some studio audience laughtrack for both.

If all my players want to do is hardcore combat (and catty backbiting) we'd all play Dynasty. It might even fill in any lingering desire to play anything White Wolf ever again.

Quote from: estar;989460Robin of Sherwood

That'd be a good one! That was a pretty dark show considering...

Probably the same one I've already run several campaigns about...  Robotech.

Logan's Run!

Quote from: The Exploited.;989526Logan's Run!

I'd want the Sandman's gun from the books though: a selectable 6 shooter with tangler (a net), nitro (explosive), vapor (gas), ripper (AP), needler (dart), and Homer (heat seeking nerve-killer).

Dukes of Hazard - Customizeable muscle-cars. Moonshine running. Corrupt cops. This could be blown out to running all kinds of "stuff" and the PC's are part of a crew. Counties would be territories with different conceits with crews/authorities/independent allies "Cooters!". So you'd have instant politics of varying levels. Auto-Duel like customization. You could take straight on the nose, or go full post-apocalyptic.

Quantum Leap/Sliders - PC's are caught in a quantum field that causes them to go back/forwards AND/OR sideways in time. They will leap them moment they discover the "macguffin" and fix it. You could have a bunch of random tables for GM's to create the "episode" of the session. Including fast-character creation where you have only physical stats, but the backgrounds and such are generated procedurally OR in the case of Sliders you keep your body.

It was revived for TV in the 80s, so Mission: Impossible.

Thundarr the Barbarian, natch. I've run several games in this setting at cons and such and even put together a loose Mutant Future supplement (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx4gJKAyO5ALcUhURTVhLWxOclE/view) with all of my notes and creatures and setting materials and adventures and what-not. That said...

Automan -- The Tron-meets-police procedural TV show starring Desi Arnez Jr.

Pirates of Dark Water -- An amazing setting. I don't think the series ever got a proper ending.

G.I. Joe or Transformers could be fun, too.

Quote from: The Exploited.;989526Logan's Run!

There was a novel, a movie, and a comic book...all in the '70s...what TV show?

The first thing that came to mind was Knight Rider.  A little difficult to do as a team - mostly it's the guy and the car, but it could work out for a very small party, where you just have one or two players.

The second thing that came to mind was the A-Team.

Wasn't there a Starman tv show in the 80's, based on the movie?  That could work - one alien, his half-alien son, and a collection of badass normals travelling across the country together being pursued by the government or something.

Yep. Starring  Robert Hays (Ted Striker in the film Airplane! ) and Christopher Daniel Barnes (Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid). Lasted one season.

I probably wouldn't run any of them.

I could see running GURPS A-Team just as another variant of my "use the deadly realistic tactical rules to demonstrate how wrong the combat choreography was" one-off combat scenarios.

Galaxy Rangers
Silverhawks
Centurions
Starcom
Misfits of Science

Quote from: sniderman;989557Pirates of Dark Water -- An amazing setting. I don't think the series ever got a proper ending.

There actually was an RPG sourcebook for this.  This blog (http://malcadon.blogspot.com/2011/10/pirates-of-dark-water-rpg.html) has a link to some of the material.

Quote from: Dumarest;989561There was a novel, a movie, and a comic book...all in the '70s...what TV show?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(TV_series) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(TV_series))

:D

Quote from: Tod13;989604https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(TV_series) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(TV_series))

:D

Q: What 80s TV Show Would you Run an RPG Campaign About?

A: Logan's Run is a 1977 American television series, a spin-off from the 1976 film of the same name.

Hmm...never knew this show existed...or that 1977 was considered the 1980s! :confused:

In that case, I'm starting up my Saturday Night Fever campaign! I figure a 1977 movie is as much an '80s TV show as anything else...! :p

The one real thing holding back from running a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe game is the concern of finding people whom I could trust to play it straight.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;989727The one real thing holding back from running a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe game is the concern of finding people whom I could trust to play it straight.

I hear ya.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;989727The one real thing holding back from running a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe game is the concern of finding people whom I could trust to play it straight.

I'd volunteer but I only have a bare familiarity with the cartoon. Otherwise I'd play She-Ra.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;989448The A-Team.
Because I was a kid in the 80's:

Bionic Six.
M.A.S.K.
He-Man and Masters of The Universe
Thundarr
Thundercats
Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors
Blackstar

  ...wow, all of these would be on my list.  I'd add The Visionaries, Tales from the Gold Monkey and Star Trek:TNG Season One.  Why?  Because Season One had a completely different setting than the rest of TNG.  The Ferengi were supposed to be sinister and scary.  The Enterprise herself was often questioned as a new ship that might just have hidden flaws.  Things like the T'Kon Empire existed that were never again explored.  Tons of neat little points of trivia that were retconned, forgotten, or never again explored.  What about those parasite creatures?  Remember when Holodecks were new and not overdone?  Remember when the ship was meant to separate any time the civilians aboard were in trouble?

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;989727The one real thing holding back from running a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe game is the concern of finding people whom I could trust to play it straight.

Eternia could be an AMAZING setting, it's got ancient tech, ancient magic, tons of things to weave into a great game.  I've even thought about doing a game 2,000 years or so after He-Man, where a 21st Century-tech Eternian archaeological team comes across artifacts of the MotU time period, inadvertently unleashing Skeletor and his minions into the modern world along with magic.  The team must use other artifacts to grant them the Power of Grayskull.

Tops for me would be Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or, hands down

Hmm..not a big fan of most 80s TV despite growing up in that decade. Quantum Leap is a good choice.

To me something like The Changes, The Prisoner or The Avengers seem more promising.

Quote from: Voros;989883Hmm..not a big fan of most 80s TV despite growing up in that decade. Quantum Leap is a good choice.

To me something like The Changes, The Prisoner or The Avengers seem more promising.

There was a GURPS supplement released for The Prisoner, sometime I recall.

Quote from: Dumarest;989631Hmm...never knew this show existed...or that 1977 was considered the 1980s! :confused:

Well, if we're going to be picky little shits about it, Pirates of Dark Water debuted in 1991...

Robotech, I've done using Mekton II (because Palladium Robotech sucks for genre emulation).

I really want to do Max Headroom and tried with Cyberpunk and Cyberpunk 2020, but both times just had players who didn't get Max Headroom.

Quote from: colwebbsfmc;989750Eternia could be an AMAZING setting, it's got ancient tech, ancient magic, tons of things to weave into a great game.  I've even thought about doing a game 2,000 years or so after He-Man, where a 21st Century-tech Eternian archaeological team comes across artifacts of the MotU time period, inadvertently unleashing Skeletor and his minions into the modern world along with magic.  The team must use other artifacts to grant them the Power of Grayskull.

 Skeletor and his minions were already unleashed into the modern world in the live-action movie, and we don't talk about it. ;)

Quote from: Dumarest;989631Q: What 80s TV Show Would you Run an RPG Campaign About?

A: Logan's Run is a 1977 American television series, a spin-off from the 1976 film of the same name.

Hmm...never knew this show existed...or that 1977 was considered the 1980s! :confused:

Based on a 1967 book. :p

I usually associate Logan's Run more with the books, which I read in the 80s. :D

Quote from: Dumarest;989631In that case, I'm starting up my Saturday Night Fever campaign! I figure a 1977 movie is as much an '80s TV show as anything else...! :p

LOL I'm good with that.

Well, we do live in the building where part of Urban Cowboy was filmed. So that at least puts us into 1980. (Of course, the building was built the year after Logan's Run was published.) :)

Riptide and Magnum P.I. were fun (and I'd definitely want to have "Mustache" as a prestige class). Tales of the Gold Monkey has already been named. Otherworld and V were ones I enjoyed too. I could actually see Night Court being a popular RPG with my players.

Aside from the ones already mentioned....

Knight Rider
Alf
Gummi Bears
Voltron

and while not 80's, probably gotta throw Captain Planet on this too.

V (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085106/?ref_=tt_rec_tt) is the only show that comes to mind, that I think would make for an entertaining Rpg campaign.

Quote from: Dumarest;989631In that case, I'm starting up my Saturday Night Fever campaign! I figure a 1977 movie is as much an '80s TV show as anything else...! :p

You know what would be the hardest thing about this campaign? Stayin' alive! Stay'in alive! Aye, aye, aye. Stayin' Alive!

Quote from: TrippyHippy;989921There was a GURPS supplement released for The Prisoner, sometime I recall.

Yep! I've got it - pretty well done. Of course, The Prisoner is not an 80's show, nor is The Avengers, except as re-runs.

If shows from previous decades re-run during the 80's are on-topic, then there are some I would potentially consider running:
The Prisoner
The Avengers
Mission Impossible
Space: 1999
Star Trek
Battlestar Galactica (minus the stupid parts)
Combat!
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The Twilight Zone

Maybe some others.

Quote from: jeff37923;989936Robotech, I've done using Mekton II (because Palladium Robotech sucks for genre emulation).

Yes, Palladium Robotech does indeed suck at... well... playing Robotech.  Alas, I've yet to find any really better RPG for it.  I was hoping to use Mekton Zero, but... yeah.  That whole Kickstarter campaign fiasco has soured me on R. Talsorian Games in general.

Most likely:
Le Retour d'Arsene Lupin
Noires sont les galaxies
Navarro

Less likely:
Les Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret
Messieurs les Jurés
La Princesse insensible (mostly inspired by, though, not straight using the setting).

Why the question?

Everything I'd pick has already been mentioned so I'll just add my voice to the choir.

A-Team
V (would make a great espionage/sabotage/resistance cell game)
The Equalizer (would work for a single player, single GM campaign)
Bring Em' Back Alive/Tales of the Golden Monkey
M.A.S.K.
Blackstar
Flash Gordon
Galaxy Rangers (Players making their own Ranger team would work really well I think)
Thundercats
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (A bit more gritty/real twist to it would make it great I think as a campaign)
Bionic Six
Mighty Orbots

And especially these two
Pirates of Darkwater (early 90's)
Thunder the Barbarian

Some of them already have fan supplements available, and the "Cartoon Action Hour" RPG claims to support any sort of 80's Cartoon setting (I've not played it)

Quote from: sniderman;989557Thundarr the Barbarian, natch. I've run several games in this setting at cons and such and even put together a loose Mutant Future supplement (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx4gJKAyO5ALcUhURTVhLWxOclE/view) with all of my notes and creatures and setting materials and adventures and what-not.

WOW you're the one who put that PDF together? It's one of my all time favourite Netbooks/Fan Supplements!

Quote from: Skarg;990007If shows from previous decades re-run during the 80's are on-topic, then there are some I would potentially consider running:


Maybe some others.

What about the Muppets?

Quote from: Gwarh;990021Everything I'd pick has already been mentioned so I'll just add my voice to the choir.

A-Team
V (would make a great espionage/sabotage/resistance cell game)
The Equalizer (would work for a single player, single GM campaign)
Bring Em' Back Alive/Tales of the Golden Monkey
M.A.S.K.
Blackstar
Flash Gordon
Galaxy Rangers (Players making their own Ranger team would work really well I think)
Thundercats
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (A bit more gritty/real twist to it would make it great I think as a campaign)
Bionic Six
Mighty Orbots

And especially these two
Pirates of Darkwater (early 90's)
Thunder the Barbarian

Some of them already have fan supplements available, and the "Cartoon Action Hour" RPG claims to support any sort of 80's Cartoon setting (I've not played it)

Orbots was 80's?  I thought they were 90's, but my memory sucks in general, so I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying it's my memory that is more likely is.

I wonder if a loose adaptation of a 60's show counts?  I almost forgot Thunderbirds 2086.

And D&D.  The cartoon's setting at the very least.

Quote from: Celestial;990010Yes, Palladium Robotech does indeed suck at... well... playing Robotech.  Alas, I've yet to find any really better RPG for it.  I was hoping to use Mekton Zero, but... yeah.  That whole Kickstarter campaign fiasco has soured me on R. Talsorian Games in general.

PM me your address, I've got an extra Mekton II/Mekton Zeta rulebook lying around I can send you.

Thundercats or Blackadder.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;990066Thundercats or Blackadder.

What would be different about playing The Black Adder/Blackadder as opposed to playing 'character in each of the four settings of the four series?' In other words, what makes Blackadder Blackadder, beyond the witty repartee?

Quote from: Willie the Duck;990071What would be different about playing The Black Adder/Blackadder as opposed to playing 'character in each of the four settings of the four series?' In other words, what makes Blackadder Blackadder, beyond the witty repartee?

I would have to think about it a bit to give you a solid answer. Its one I've wanted to run for a while but I haven't settled 100% on how I would do it. I think it would be a format you could apply to any historical period with an evil party. Preferably playing the major characters from the show. I occasionally run sitcom style games as one shots to break things up. This is one I've always wanted to do. Run like a series of Clash Bowley style situational adventures, I think it would work well. Just take black adder-like complications and characters to throw in as situations.

Quote from: Charon's Little Helper;989476I know that the movie was 1980's, but did the Highlander show start in the late 80's?  Because that would be really easy to make into an urban fantasy campaign.

I mean - PCs are 'special' and fight mostly 'special' NPCs and basically levelling up off of their deaths.  It might even work better with a system which promotes wary allies rather than a standard party.

"Highlander" the TV show started in late 1992 or early 1993.

- Ed C.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;989921There was a GURPS supplement released for The Prisoner, sometime I recall.

Interesting, not a Gurps fan but I've heard the supplements are good for setting material.

Blake's 7.

Quote from: Batman;989964Aside from the ones already mentioned....

Knight Rider
Alf
Gummi Bears
Voltron

and while not 80's, probably gotta throw Captain Planet on this too.

Okay, I have to ask--what's the pitch for a game based on ALF? Does everyone play Melmacians back on Melmac, like in the saturday morning cartoon?

Robotech has already been mentioned...

I second Blake's 7. (Gods I wish that show would get a remake, it would work so well in today's world.)

How about: The Day After - The world is nuked, society falls. Go!

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Quote from: sniderman;989557Thundarr the Barbarian, natch. I've run several games in this setting at cons and such and even put together a loose Mutant Future supplement (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx4gJKAyO5ALcUhURTVhLWxOclE/view) with all of my notes and creatures and setting materials and adventures and what-not. That said...

I LOVE this!  The only thing I'll be adding is statting out Mindok - he was always my favorite of the sorcerers.  Great job!

Quote from: K Peterson;989968V (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085106/?ref_=tt_rec_tt) is the only show that comes to mind, that I think would make for an entertaining Rpg campaign.

I can't believe I forgot about this one. Also Battlestar Galactica.

If no one has mentioned it yet, I think G-Force would be awesome and doable with a group. Maybe Mazinger-Z, though I'm not sure if that's a 70's show that lived into the 80's as re-runs.

Also, any of these except Iron Jeeg:

[video=youtube;y23vtOF0bxw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y23vtOF0bxw[/youtube]

All these answers outside of the '80s says a lot about '80s TV.

Friday the 13th: The Series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th:_The_Series) ran from 1987 and is totally doable as an RPG.

Quote from: Lynn;991113All these answers outside of the '80s says a lot about '80s TV.

I think it says more about the apathetic carelessness of a random selection of gamers...

Quote from: spon;989455Off the top of my head: Captain Zep,

Ken St.Andre's Starfaring RPG would fit that.

Quote from: nightlamp;989513Tales of the Gold Monkey would be a pretty easy one to do with any pulp ruleset.

That was an interesting series. TSR's Indianna Jones could do that. Or the later Adventure! From WW. Or Ninja's Spies and Private Eyes?

Quote from: Barbatruc;989798Tops for me would be Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or, hands down

That was a pretty good animated show. One of the French/Japanese collabs?. You could almost do it with something like Call of Cthulhu.

Quote from: Willie the Duck;989941Skeletor and his minions were already unleashed into the modern world in the live-action movie, and we don't talk about it. ;)

The movie was pretty good, until they came to earth.

First one that came to mind is the 87 BBC hard SF series Star Cops. I'd do it with either Star Frontiers with most of the odd SF stripped out. Or more likely use Albedo with humans and set around Earth instead.

Airwolf from 84. We actually added into Star Frontiers using the vehicle rules from Dragon.

Quote from: estar;989460Robin of Sherwood

Graham Staplehurst beat you to it. The Sherwood Forest setting in Robin Hood the RPG (ICE Rolemaster/Fantasy Hero supplement) is heavily inspired by Robin of Sherwood. The author went on to write a couple of Robin of Sherwood gamebooks as well.

Quote from: Willie the Duck;989941Skeletor and his minions were already unleashed into the modern world in the live-action movie, and we don't talk about it. ;)

Off topic, but did you know why they did that?  And why it was called Masters of The Universe?  They didn't actually have the rights to the characters or settings.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;991188Off topic, but did you know why they did that?  And why it was called Masters of The Universe?  They didn't actually have the rights to the characters or settings.

   The movie was done largely on Earth for budgetary reasons--indeed, the budget was so tight and mishandled that a) Mattel had to kick in a bunch of extra money at the last minute, and b) they had to do the final battle last-minute on a shoestring or else they were going to shut down production without doing it.

   The name was Masters of the Universe because it was licensed from Mattel and based purely on the toyline. The rights to various MotU characters and elements have been a tangle over the years. But He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the title of the Filmation cartoon, and I think preproduction had started on the movie by the time the cartoon launched.

Quote from: ArrozConLeche;989465I would really love to play Miami Vice (blame GTA Vice City), but I think The A Team might be more feasible.

Precis Intermedia has it: Precis Intermedia :: Vice Squad Bundle (http://www.pigames.net/store/product_info.php?products_id=374).
The A-team can be done perfectly using Dogs of W*A*R: Dogs Of War - Beyond Belief Games | DriveThruRPG.com (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/78447/Dogs-Of-War).

Quote from: Dumarest;989560G.I. Joe or Transformers could be fun, too.

There's a couple of GI Joe-type ("military fantasy") games out there. The thing is, I don't recall anyone ever dying in the TV-show.

In fact, in a lot of 80's TV-shows no one ever died.

Quote from: 3rik;991202Precis Intermedia has it: Precis Intermedia :: Vice Squad Bundle (http://www.pigames.net/store/product_info.php?products_id=374).
The A-team can be done perfectly using Dogs of W*A*R: Dogs Of War - Beyond Belief Games | DriveThruRPG.com (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/78447/Dogs-Of-War).


There's a couple of GI Joe-type ("military fantasy") games out there. The thing is, I don't recall anyone ever dying in the TV-show.

In fact, in a lot of 80's TV-shows no one ever died.

Most TV shows, no one ever dies unless an actor dies or leaves the show.

Quote from: Dumarest;991210Most TV shows, no one ever dies unless an actor dies or leaves the show.

Which is contrary to assumptions about the consequences of combat in most RPGs. Now, I don't mean there shouldn't be any risk of severe injury or death, but in order to play a proper Masters of the Universe game, Skeletor really shouldn't ever die, no matter what happens, and it's not because he is immortal.

Quote from: Robyo;989495Wizards and Warriors

Beaten to the punch.

http://www.wizardsandwarriors.org/

I didn't watch much TV in the 80's, ...well, except for movies on cable, ...HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax, and MTV. Public TV was like a cesspool, everyone was flocking away in droves ponying up $10 a month for cable, just so no one would have to watch commercials anymore, ...ever. The only fantasy show I even remember being a stupid, stupid show, Wizards & Warriors where the TV people just got busy making fun of geeks. It was pathetic, lame, and didn't survive after the pilot episode. CBS actually did let the it run through its inaugural eight episodes, but I watched less than ten minutes of the pilot and switched channels for anything better.

You want to talk about good gameworthy fantasy and sci-fi from TV, you need to get into the nineties, because by then, the TV folk finally figured out that quality Sci-fi and Fantasy was bankable. Then we started seeing (and I started watching) some of these really good shows like Hercules, Xena, Buffy, Highlander, Beastmaster, the Adventures of Sinbad, Conan, Roar, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World (A hidden gem this one), X-files, Babylon 5, Stargate, Space: Above & Beyond, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Lexx, Quantum Leap, Seaquest: DSV, Earth 2, Aoen Flux. just to name a few.

Quote from: 3rik;991216Which is contrary to assumptions about the consequences of combat in most RPGs. Now, I don't mean there shouldn't be any risk of severe injury or death, but in order to play a proper Masters of the Universe game, Skeletor really shouldn't ever die, no matter what happens, and it's not because he is immortal.

Just adapt DC Heroes and give him lots of Hero Points for last ditch defenses and such. Also, get players who understand the setting and aren't just running around killing. No problem.

Generally, I would not be comfortable running anything in Middle-Earth, but if someone said that they would like to play a 4th age Hobbit/Shire campaign, Darling Buds of May would be perfek for a lark.

How about robotech with a good system?  Honestly HERO or gurps wow be better.  Rtg's Melton zeta would be better.

Quote from: Barghest;991114I think it says more about the apathetic carelessness of a random selection of gamers...

No science applied, but so far the suggestions seem to favor those decades before and after (or neither began or ended in it). There were some programs that established long term story arcs (or like MASH, establishing and end point at the end of the war), but not many.

Quote from: Omega;991127That was a pretty good animated show. One of the French/Japanese collabs?. You could almost do it with something like Call of Cthulhu.

Yep. It's conquistadors plus techno-magic in service of a coming-of-age adventure. A good sourcebook for the Americas is all you'd really need. Borrow selectively from the AD&D 2e historical sourcebook A Mighty Fortress, which is about more or less the right era.

However! It turns out that a (French) rpg based on this series was actually made. Or at least an excellent mock-up of the cover of one: I'm having a hard time finding out anything about it. EDIT ha ha I am a silly-billy. The whole thing was an April Fools joke, fml.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;991188Off topic, but did you know why they did that?  And why it was called Masters of The Universe?  They didn't actually have the rights to the characters or settings.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;991201The movie was done largely on Earth for budgetary reasons--indeed, the budget was so tight and mishandled that a) Mattel had to kick in a bunch of extra money at the last minute, and b) they had to do the final battle last-minute on a shoestring or else they were going to shut down production without doing it.

   The name was Masters of the Universe because it was licensed from Mattel and based purely on the toyline. The rights to various MotU characters and elements have been a tangle over the years. But He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the title of the Filmation cartoon, and I think preproduction had started on the movie by the time the cartoon launched.

The How Did This Get Made podcast  (http://www.earwolf.com/show/how-did-this-get-made/)did a wonderful episode one the making of this film.

The Greatest American Hero, believe it or not. :D But it would require players who are okay playing civilians alongside the hero. They'd get just as much screen time, as it were, doing their own thing, though.

Xabungle: Post-apocalyptic survival, manipulative high-tech caste, pseudo-realistic giant robots. My favourite "I wish this were an RPG" anime.

[video=youtube;tpoIiK8gk8c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpoIiK8gk8c[/youtube]

Force Five.
Here is the intro to one of the five featured anthologies: Starvengers

[video=youtube;OR1P8VdISj0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR1P8VdISj0&list=PLC5BECF68FD805079[/youtube]

That 1981 American re-make of The Avengers that starred Tom Selleck and Morgan Fairchild.

OK, I just made that up. But it would be really sexy and fun, right? My "Serious" answer: Cliffhangers! But then, that show was so short-lived and is now so utterly forgotten that I might as well have made it up. Also, it was technically 1979 and it's very brief run never actually hit the eighties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhangers_(TV_series)

If I had to pick something that was 1) Real, and 2) that people have actually heard of, and 3) was from the 1980's, it would be Otherworld, which actually had some great trippy world-building. Long live the Church of Artificial Intelligence!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqepZMzXWvE&list=PL7v_3mQVKgmjzhmkGZ_7JVzB56b7_UuH4

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;991712My "Serious" answer: Cliffhangers! But then, that show was so short-lived and is now so utterly forgotten that I might as well have made it up. Also, it was technically 1979 and it's less-than-one-season run never actually hit the eighties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhangers_(TV_series)

What an oddball idea. I never heard of that. The Susan Anton one doesn't sound too exciting but I could see playing The Secret Empire or Dracula ones.

Or how about "Makin' It: The Roleplaying Game"...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makin%27_It_(TV_series)

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;991712That 1981 American re-make of The Avengers that starred Tom Selleck and Morgan Fairchild.

OK, I just made that up. But it would be really sexy and fun, right? My "Serious" answer: Cliffhangers! But then, that show was so short-lived and is now so utterly forgotten that I might as well have made it up. Also, it was technically 1979 and it's very brief run never actually hit the eighties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffhangers_(TV_series)

If I had to pick something that was 1) Real, and 2) that people have actually heard of, and 3) was from the 1980's, it would be Otherworld, which actually had some great trippy world-building. Long live the Church of Artificial Intelligence!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqepZMzXWvE&list=PL7v_3mQVKgmjzhmkGZ_7JVzB56b7_UuH4

Cliffhangers was a great little series. I liked the Secret Empire, effectively a remake of Roy Rogers Phantom Empire serial, and Stop Susan Williams was an interesting investigative/girl reporter adventure. The Dracula one was fairly well done too.

Fox Force Five

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I did Tales of the Gold monkey adapted to Mutant Future. It went over well. I want to do a Space Battleship Yamato (released in America as Star Blazers and kiddified) mixed in with some Warhammer 40K  adapted to White Star. The one that I have had the most requests for is Scooby do Shadowrun. My answer has been umm.

Quote from: Omega;991752Cliffhangers was a great little series. I liked the Secret Empire, effectively a remake of Roy Rogers Phantom Empire serial, and Stop Susan Williams was an interesting investigative/girl reporter adventure. The Dracula one was fairly well done too.

It's always good to meet someone who even remembers Cliffhangers!, let alone another fan of it.

If it had come out after Raiders of the Lost Ark it would have been a hit.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;991854It's always good to meet someone who even remembers Cliffhangers!, let alone another fan of it.

If it had come out after Raiders of the Lost Ark it would have been a hit.

Or not...Gold Monkey and Bring 'Em Back Alive sure didn't last.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;991712That 1981 American re-make of The Avengers that starred Tom Selleck and Morgan Fairchild.

OK, I just made that up.

Damn, I was just going to google that.

Quote from: Dumarest;991861Bring 'Em Back Alive

Oh man, that was the 80s as well! Almost forgot about that. Even as a kid I found it kind of repetitive and lame.

Quote from: 3rik;992102Oh man, that was the 80s as well! Almost forgot about that. Even as a kid I found it kind of repetitive and lame.

I never saw an episode.  I didn't think Gold Monkey was all that great, either.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;989448The A-Team.

If I have a small group of players:  The Equalizer.

Because I was a kid in the 80's:

Bionic Six.

M.A.S.K.

He-Man and Masters of The Universe

Thundarr

Thundercats

Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors

Blackstar

This.

Quote from: Dumarest;991773Fox Force Five

I remember that when the Pilot was called Foxfire.

Quote from: Dumarest;991861Or not...Gold Monkey and Bring 'Em Back Alive sure didn't last.

Gold Monkey was an expensive show apparently. That tends to shorten a shows life span unless it does really well.

Quote from: Omega;992228Gold Monkey was an expensive show apparently. That tends to shorten a shows life span unless it does really well.

Breaking out of the 80s, Fastlane (2002-3) and Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-9) were Fox shows that would have absolutely survived given their ratings, but didn't because they were 2-3x as expensive to make as similar shows (the first because they kept destroying fancy cars in car chases, and the second because of the special effects).

As mentioned before, V (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_(1984_TV_series)). War of the Worlds is another possibility.

If I include cartoons, then probably GI Joe, though I much preferred the story line from the comic book. I'd consider running it in reverse with players being Cobra operatives. I could call that one "Everyone is Fred." :D

Quote from: Krimson;992609As mentioned before, V (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_(1984_TV_series)). War of the Worlds is another possibility.

If I include cartoons, then probably GI Joe, though I much preferred the story line from the comic book. I'd consider running it in reverse with players being Cobra operatives. I could call that one "Everyone is Fred." :D

The GI Joe comics were good, at least the first few years. I haven't seen the later issues so can't comment as to whether the quality held up. That would not be a bad RPG at all as long as the players are cool with a hierarchy and understand they can't just go do whatever they want whenever they want.

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Quote from: Dumarest;992624The GI Joe comics were good, at least the first few years. I haven't seen the later issues so can't comment as to whether the quality held up. That would not be a bad RPG at all as long as the players are cool with a hierarchy and understand they can't just go do whatever they want whenever they want.

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That's one of the Larry Hama run, isn't it? I actually had that issue.  Man, that brings back memories.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;992627That's one of the Larry Hama run, isn't it? I actually had that issue.  Man, that brings back memories.

Yeah, Larry Hama by all accounts is why the comic book was so good. He had military background and tried to make sure it felt and looked as real as it could.


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In case anyone wants to make their own GI Joe file cards for fun or for a PC: http://www.joecustoms.com/filecards/filecards.php

G. I. Joe (the version with the whole team of different people, not the 60s male Barbie equivalent) is one of those things that came out right when I was 11-12 and had to prove that I was 'too old for toys and afternoon cartoons,' whereas someone younger would have watched for themselves and someone older would have seen their kids watching it. Thus I never have quite gotten into it. I know basics like the ninja is snake eyes and that they are fight Cobra and Cobra commander and for some reason the wrestler Sergeant Slaughter is a character in it and so on. But, short of playing as the actual personalities from the show/comic/action figures,  what would make a G. I. Joe RPG a G. I. Joe RPG, rather than just a Military RPG?

Quote from: Willie the Duck;992640G. I. Joe (the version with the whole team of different people, not the 60s male Barbie equivalent) is one of those things that came out right when I was 11-12 and had to prove that I was 'too old for toys and afternoon cartoons,' whereas someone younger would have watched for themselves and someone older would have seen their kids watching it. Thus I never have quite gotten into it. I know basics like the ninja is snake eyes and that they are fight Cobra and Cobra commander and for some reason the wrestler Sergeant Slaughter is a character in it and so on. But, short of playing as the actual personalities from the show/comic/action figures,  what would make a G. I. Joe RPG a G. I. Joe RPG, rather than just a Military RPG?

Bad ass code names and secret missions by a team of special forces superstars each worth 100 normal grunts against crazy over-the-top schemes by an international terrorist organization! Also, neat customized military outfits instead of boring olive drab! Mind control! Masters of disguise! Hypnosis! Hyperintelligent animal companions!

Quote from: TrippyHippy;989921There was a GURPS supplement released for The Prisoner, sometime I recall.

There was indeed, and it was absolutely spectacular.