The year is 1979. The world is dancing to the tune of Boogie Wonderland, Alien and Moonraker are showing in every cinema, and bell-bottoms are still all the rage. In France, a modern and dynamic president is courageously leading the nation into the 1980s: that man is Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. In our beautiful country, we prefer to watch Buffet froid, starring Depardieu, and dance to the frenzied rhythms of Born To Be Alive. But already, the threat of globalisation looms large.
But this ‘sweet France’ of yours – you’ll have to leave it behind to travel through Italy, California, China, Tibet and Iraq. You’ll be Frenchmen abroad, on a secret mission for France. (Well, for Jacques Chirac, but that’s almost the same thing, isn’t it?) It’s therefore impossible not to mention OSS 117 or Jean-François Halin’s Au Service de la France when playing 1979.
The similarities between these works go beyond the setting; they also extend to what they condemn. Society is changing. The sexist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic prejudices that could still be trivialised in 1979 are today rightly regarded as toxic, unfounded, offensive, unjust and cruel.
What you’ll be playing:
Your mission will take you all over the world and, as you’ve no doubt already guessed, you’ll certainly discover that France isn’t the only power coveting the Seal of the Kingdom’s Heritage.
Car chases, duels between secret agents, infiltration, diplomacy and espionage are naturally on the menu, but so too are seduction, fine dining, honour and elegance – for, after all, it is France that you will embody through your every word and deed.
We’ve designed this book to be ‘ready to play’, meaning it contains everything you need to run a complete campaign for your players (over thirty hours of adventures). 1979 – *Sceau dans l’inconnu* therefore contains a description of the setting, an explanation of the rules, detailed instructions for creating your characters, and all the scenarios needed to play the campaign, set in Rome, Los Angeles, China, Tibet, Pakistan and Iraq (yes, you’ll be seeing the world!).
The game system is very easy to get to grips with and has been specifically designed to allow for fluid storytelling. There is also an appendix included in the book with a more elaborate version of the rules for those who like well-oiled mechanics, particularly during combat.
