If you were in Indianapolis in the summer of 2002 and were watching either the Scifi Channel or Comedy Central during a commercial break, you might have been confused to see a grainy 16mm black and white film commercial. A deep voiced super spy said, “We live in dangerous times, with threats coming from all sides to destroy our American way of life. That’s why you’re damned lucky to have me, Adam Harm, the six million dollar man built for twelve grand after budget cuts. A machine of superior intellect, built for two purposes: to protect America from all threats, and second… to do it with the ultimate panache.”
Adam Harm was the villain of the feature film I released in theaters between 2001 and 2002. Played by the muscular actor whose face could contort like a cartoon character, Brad Potts, Harm connived to prevent NASA from selling an old Apollo rocket to new billionaire Phil, the film’s protagonist. Armed with one-liners (”I just got back from Istanbul, baby; there are a lot of Turks over there”), a cardigan sweater and an intimidating physique, Harm stood in the way of the changing society and needs of a modern government. He was a relic from the past, not properly maintained, but truly believing in his mission to preserve the status quo no matter what.
Years after the movie Death of a Barefoot Tour Guide ran its course, I’ve found myself thinking about the character of Adam Harm, enjoying his cockiness and bravado. I started Choose Your Own Adventure games featuring Harm. The stories were appropriately kooky, but what amused me the most was the running gag that the secret agent kept getting tangled up with celebrities. Sometimes, he’d be battling baddies alongside Laura Prepon of That 70’s Show. Other times the bad guys were celebs like Natalie Portman or Matthew McConaughey. The stories took a backseat to the shenanigans Harm and his celebrity retinue got into.
I think it would be fun to run a game based on the world of Adam Harm. Play a six million dollar man built for twelve grand after budget cuts and his spy team as they infiltrate the crooked exploits of the biggest celebrities. Let style, a sharp tongue and a bag full of gadgets carry the day.
This game’s obviously slathered in pulp, so I’d turn to the best pulp rpg engine: Savage Worlds. What I would add is the celebrity engine. At the start of each session, every player writes on note cards the name of a celebrity they’d like to randomly show up in the game. Those cards are shuffled and kept by the Gamemaster. Whenever a player rolls multiple raises on a Trait, the bonus raises can be used to draw a card from the celebrity pile, summoning that celebrity to the scene as an allied extra. What can that celebrity do? It depends on how many bonus raises the player rolled. Two raises, the celebrity gets a single Trait at a d4. Three raises, one Trait at a d6, and so on. The player chooses what Trait the celebrity gets the skill in. The celebrity stays with the group for the next scene, like a celebrity cameo in Scooby Doo.
Of course, the opposite is also true. If the GM scores multiple raises, he can spend those bonus raises to draw from the pile and create a new minion for the BBEG. Perhaps the group will find martial arts expert Howie Mandel, getaway driver Lindsay Lohan or flamethrower-wielding Lucille Ball.
The plot and the motives for the celebs to be evil or crime fighters doesn’t matter. This is a tongue-in-cheek game, along the lines of Toon and Paranoia that makes the heroes feel like cocky super spies surrounded by bad-ass celebrities who can do way more than act or sing.
