RPGaDay5: Most Old-School RPG owned

That, is a tough question.

Considering the first purchase I have made in approximately a full decade was the D&D 5th edition Starter Set, you could almost consider my entire collection "Old School."

The Bookshelf of Doom

In order to actually answer the question, I took time to sort my bookshelf by game.  Some books are currently missing.  In my car I have the SLA Industries HC MRB, Karma, Mort, Contract Directory and Cannibal Sector 1 books; along with the 4th edition Talislanta MRB.  Also included in the books currently in my car is Asylum, from Clockwork games.

The shelf is also devoid of any World of Darkness books.  First edition Vampire is in a 3 ring binder, along with Werewolf; the Werewolf Players Guide is in a box of stuff to get rid of.

Also missing is my Tales of the Jedi Companion, it was downstairs when the pictures were taken, and my 2nd edition Revised and Expanded Star Wars MRB is missing, that actually worries me.

There is also a box of boxed sets in my closet that I did not take the time to remove, because they will not fit on the shelves.

The oldest bits of my collection include: Space Opera (vol I and II), D&D red boxed set and Star Frontiers; all dated 1980.

A conundrum has produced itself...did I purchase Star Frontiers before James Bond?

The world may never know...

RPGaDay3 2014: First RPG Purchased

As stated in a previous post, Dungeons and Dragons was given to me, so does not count as first RPG purchased in my book.

That brings up the grand possibility that the first one actually purchased was, again, James Bond 007!

Yes, the first game I game mastered was the first game I actually purchased.  Up until that point, I was merely a player.

I must have enjoyed it immensely, as I seldom play, most of my RPG experience from the time this game was purchased has been 'behind the screen.'

It needs to be said, at this point in history, the early 1980's, the Cold War was very real.  With my father being in the military at the time, we were painfully aware that if missiles were launched, we were a target.

This may have something to do with all of the kids on the military bases being huge James Bond fans.  We watched the movies, he was a hero to us the same as John Wayne.

We understood the need for people like James Bond in our reality, they kept the bad guys at bay.  But it was not some kind of Rambo kill them all setup.  Spies were classy, and smart, not to mention they had toys that made even Batman jealous.

In my mind, there has probably never been a more real RPG than the Victory Games James Bond 007.

RPGaDay2 2014: First RPG GameMastered

I am not 100% sure about this, but the first game I actually remember GMing was James Bond 007.

Talk about a cool game!  Who does not want to be a secret agent with cool toys and a license to kill?

The introductory adventure is actually the Island of Dr No!  Rules for ranged combat, SCUBA diving, gambling and just all around being cool and sophisticated.

Looking back, there were definitely some strange things going on, system-wise, but the game really was fun.

Now, even though I still love the game, I cannot fathom running this for a group of people the way it sits.  As per the James Bond universe, there are only ever nine "00" agents.  These agents are usually solo, or working with SAS agents.  For a long time, there were only 2 or 3 of us playing at a time, so it was no big deal.  As I grew older, and found more gamers, running a game of JB007 became something of a problem.  Everyone wanted to be a "00" agent, but who can blame them?

I still have the same boxed set from way back when, and the Q Manual.  In the 90s I was able to pick up a copy of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Thrilling Locations and For Your Information.

I still absolutely love this game.