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I don't think that I will ever be able to figure out how decisions are/were made at TSR. Once again I find myself reviewing one of their out of print games and wondering why it left print. A total overhaul of the Top Secret espionage rpg, this game would appear to have been great for beginners as well as experienced role-players. Mostly unexplored, it is also a fairly generic system, capable of supporting nearly any genre to player and GM satisfaction.

The boxed set comes with a players' and an administrator's (GM) guide, administrator's screen, sample adventure and a weapons pamphlet (my used copy did not include this). The game simulates global espionage in a near current world environment. Behind all the politics of our real world lurks a struggle between the WEB, international organization dedicated to world domination, and ORION, protectors of freedom and self determination.

None of the rules systems are particularly innovative nor original, but this is part of their strength. Regardless of what game you've come from, you are on familiar ground here and the concepts are clean enough for brand new players to feel comfortable with the idea of role-playing. The five primary attributes (the standards) have an initial range of 20-79, and are used to save versus percentile dice and to calculate secondary attributes as well as bonuses to skills. Players can choose from appropriate backgrounds (professional, military, worker or entertainer), purchase advantages, disadvantages and skills (somewhat based on their background profession). Players earn Fame & Fortune points which they can then spend on improving skills, or attributes, or on luck points. Luck points are used to protect characters from disaster, players never know how many they have, even when purchased they are received 1d4 in quantity.

Combat is handled like any skill, roll versus skill level (rolls lower than skill hit/succeed), but damage and hit location are determined by a unique twist. On the combat roll, the tens digit equals the damage (making higher skill level characters capable of higher damage) and hit location is determined by the ones digit (referencing a body outline location chart). Of course there are also rules for car chases, specifically aimed combat and non-standard attacks/weapons. All in all an easy to learn and use, cohesive and logical system.

The generic capabilities of these rules are hinted at in the Administrators Guide, suggesting W.W.II, future, Victorian and other settings. Sourcebooks published for TS/SI include Commando (military operations), Agent 13 (pulp adventures, including magic and scifi) and F.R.E.E.Lancers (future superhero, dystopia). The system is so close to StarChilde's Justifiers game, that it could be used as sourcebook for TS/SI for anyone wishing to explore anthropomorphic scifi space exploration.

I can only wonder why this was not the Amazing Engine used to run the multiple game universes released under that banner years later. It is far superior to the published Amazing Engine system and capable of much better play than most others published since. This is a safe purchase for any gamer.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Top Secret/S.I.
Author: Douglas Niles Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: Top Secret/S.I. Page count: 96 & 64 pg. Capsule Review by Papyrus on 10/20/99. Genre tags: Modern_day Espionage Conspiracy Generic	I don't think that I will ever be able to figure out how decisions are/were made at TSR. Once again I find myself reviewing one of their out of print games and wondering why it left print. A total overhaul of the Top Secret espionage rpg, this game would appear to have been great for beginners as well as experienced role-players. Mostly unexplored, it is also a fairly generic system, capable of supporting nearly any genre to player and GM satisfaction. The boxed set comes with a players' and an administrator's (GM) guide, administrator's screen, sample adventure and a weapons pamphlet (my used copy did not include this). The game simulates global espionage in a near current world environment. Behind all the politics of our real world lurks a struggle between the WEB, international organization dedicated to world domination, and ORION, protectors of freedom and self determination. None of the rules systems are particularly innovative nor original, but this is part of their strength. Regardless of what game you've come from, you are on familiar ground here and the concepts are clean enough for brand new players to feel comfortable with the idea of role-playing. The five primary attributes (the standards) have an initial range of 20-79, and are used to save versus percentile dice and to calculate secondary attributes as well as bonuses to skills. Players can choose from appropriate backgrounds (professional, military, worker or entertainer), purchase advantages, disadvantages and skills (somewhat based on their background profession). Players earn Fame & Fortune points which they can then spend on improving skills, or attributes, or on luck points. Luck points are used to protect characters from disaster, players never know how many they have, even when purchased they are received 1d4 in quantity. Combat is handled like any skill, roll versus skill level (rolls lower than skill hit/succeed), but damage and hit location are determined by a unique twist. On the combat roll, the tens digit equals the damage (making higher skill level characters capable of higher damage) and hit location is determined by the ones digit (referencing a body outline location chart). Of course there are also rules for car chases, specifically aimed combat and non-standard attacks/weapons. All in all an easy to learn and use, cohesive and logical system. The generic capabilities of these rules are hinted at in the Administrators Guide, suggesting W.W.II, future, Victorian and other settings. Sourcebooks published for TS/SI include Commando (military operations), Agent 13 (pulp adventures, including magic and scifi) and F.R.E.E.Lancers (future superhero, dystopia). The system is so close to StarChilde's Justifiers game, that it could be used as sourcebook for TS/SI for anyone wishing to explore anthropomorphic scifi space exploration. I can only wonder why this was not the Amazing Engine used to run the multiple game universes released under that banner years later. It is far superior to the published Amazing Engine system and capable of much better play than most others published since. This is a safe purchase for any gamer. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Top Secret/S.I.