German Democratic Republic is an RPG (I like to imagine a possible dialogue between players, "What RPGs are we playing at tonight?","To GDЯ!","Which of the many RPGs?","To GDЯ!","Yes, but which RPG?","I told you: GDЯ!") published by Fumble RPG, famous for their podcasts (over 1200 hours divided into several episodes) of role-playing games (and more), conceived by Claudio Serena and illustrated by Alessandro Manzella.
We have already spoken (here) of another game written by Claudio Serena and, like that time, we are also pleasantly impressed by the product created.
German Democratic Republic speaks of clashes between spy agencies which, on that day of 198X, sent their best agents to Berlin.
Go with the intro!
“There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrowSecret agent man, secret agent man
Secret Agent Man,… And I Know You Wanna Dance, 1966, Johnny Rivers (PF Sloan and Steve Barri)
They've given you a number and taken away your name
... "
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - GDЯ
YEAR
It's 198X: the “Cold War” is raging across the globe.
PLACE
Berlin.
East Germany (GDR) and the West one (FRG) are still opposed and divided, the Wall separates the city into two blocks. Here, the Secret Services of the most important (and not) countries in the world have sent their best agents to infiltrate the nerve centers of the system.
EQUIPMENT
We will have been mailed the equipment to fulfill our mission. Once the GDЯ PAPER DOSSIER has been opened, we will find:
- A yellow dossier with the German Democratic Republic stamp, containing the Rules of ten pages in color, not bound, just like the old secret service folders. The dossier also presents an extensive filmography to be inspired by
- Five ready-to-play cards of as many Secret Service Agents [KGB, CIA, MFS (Stasi), Mossad, MI6)]
- Blank tab to create new agents
- Map of Berlin
- Domino set with the German Democratic Republic stamp (more on that later)
DIRECTOR & MISSIONS
In German Democratic Republic, one of the players will play the role of the Director, his will be the task of preparing the missions, also thanks to the system CRYPTO, present on the last page of the folder, with which, by extracting a few dominoes, it allows you to create the most disparate tasks on the spot.
The Director will also have to give life to the Berlin of the 80s, a cold city, whose walls are covered with propaganda posters and the scene of intrigues, where informers, enemy spies or unexpected allies dance in the shadows.
Last, but not least, is the triggering, in the final stages of the story, the inevitable plot twist (twist) typical of spy story, to cause some confusion in the Agents' plans.
AGENTS
In German Democratic Republic there are five agents, belonging to the major Secret Services, ready to take action, but you can design your own in just a few steps.
Each presents their own CODE NAME, ALIAS known, NATIONALITY, AFFILIATION to an espionage agency, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (height, weight, eyes, hair, particular signs), three SPECIALTIES (e.g. stalking), three CONTACTS, three RESOURCES (e.g. false documents) and STATUS [wounded, discovered, captured, helpless and MIA (missing in action)], which will change as the story unfolds.
Final feature is the TOP SECRET CARD, which identifies the real affiliation of the Agent (TWO SAME NUMBERS, double agent; TWO DIFFERENT NUMBERS, faithful; AT LEAST ONE EMPTY SPACE, the choice is yours!).
German Democratic Republic it is not strictly a collaborative role-playing game. Yes, the Agents, although from different Agencies, will collaborate in the development of the plot, but will it be possible to fully trust each other? Will there be double agents? And if so, who are they?
DOMINO & DOMINO EFFECT
In German Democratic Republic to solve the tests inherent in the risky situations that the Agents will face, the Domino tiles will be drawn, chosen and used based on the specialties, contacts and resources actually put into play:
- TWO EQUAL NUMBERS, full success
- TWO DIFFERENT NUMBERS, successful, but with some complications
- AT LEAST ONE EMPTY SPACE, total bankruptcy, resulting in a change in the Agent's STATUS
If the situation is really critical, the player can reveal his TOP SECRET CARD, thus revealing his true affiliation, to achieve complete success, but this will trigger the inevitable DOMINO EFFECT! Each other player will then be able to reveal their own in turn, adding details to the action… needless to say, the Domino effect can bring down entire operations in an instant!
THU you can find the playtest play of German Democratic Republic.
OUTPOST 42
It was also published (here) OUTPOST 42, a free form with rule changes for German Democratic Republic, inspired by the film "The thing” (“The Thing", 1982, J. Carpenter).
It's 1982. The players will play members of an international scientific expedition, theIce breaker, designed to investigate the ice substrates of Antarctica. Isolated from a powerful snow storm inside theOutpost 42, they will have to fight against a mysterious infection that is killing the members of the expedition. Will they be able to find Patient Zero or will they fall prey to paranoia?
THU you can find the bet for OUTPOST 42.
PROJECTED IMPACT
Like Fumble's other RPG products, also with German Democratic Republic we are faced with a game that tells something specific and new and does so in a minimalist, fast and modular manner and mechanics. Fumble GDR tells worlds and gives us the tools to play with the system we think is best (for example, I am carrying out a campaign of "The Legend of the Five Rings"Using Monogatari, hack to the regulation of Klothos), thus bringing the "role" back to the center of the game and the mechanics to their "role" as an instrument.
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