Pulp archtypes.

[Rage]

So, let us create a list of the archtypes featured within the Pulp genre (and its sub genres) so as to help us (and by us I actually mean me, I'm thinking of running a pulp game.)

So, let us go:
Costumed/gimmick Detectives, e.g the spider, the Spirit, Grey Shirt, The Sandman
Costumed Adventurers: e.g The Phantom, The Terror
Adventurers: e.g Indiana Jones, the gang from The Mummy.
More than mere men: e.g Doc Savage
Dames, Damsels, Love interests: e.g The woman in Red
Jungle Kings: Tarzan, The Phantom, Jill of the Jungle
Ethnic stereotype characters: e.g Fu Man Chu, almost every minority.
Better than average guys: Doc Savage's league, the gang from the mummy.

I've got to be missing some archtypes...

[Emerald Mask]

Two fisted tough guy
Two gunned avenger
Mad Scientist- evil
Forgetful , goofy scientist - good
Damsel in distress
Femme Fatale
earnest youg side kick- cannon fodder
Hulking , impervious to pain enforcer
sleazy informant
Nosy rewporter
Ace pilot
intrepid explorer
Suave, charming cat burglar - jewel thief
These just of the top of my head - and what they were doing balanced ther I do not know.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Only two I can think of off the top of my head are...
The Great White Hunter
& The Noble Savage

[Rage]

hey, it all adds up guys!

[gewing]

How about the Old "codger" who lived through the bad old days and is still tough as nails

Big Jake, a couple characters in Louis LAmour stories...

The unusual background as an explanation
Former sailor who learned martial arts in the Orient, etc...

[Lamrok]

How about the Old "codger" who lived through the bad old days and is still tough as nails

I think it is cool that in pulp stories, the really old codgers are Civil War vets.

Butch Cassidy might be an old codger in a pulp game.

[gewing]

I think it is cool that in pulp stories, the really old codgers are Civil War vets.

Butch Cassidy might be an old codger in a pulp game.


In one of the Louis LAmour stories, the bad guys made the BIG mistake of killing the old Trapper/prospector's mule when it wandered too close to their hideout.

The body of the one who did was found near the old corpse when all the shooting was done a couple weeks later.



In the 80s I shot at Camp Perry with a guy who was a marine in the Pacific in WWII. He had fun talking about surprising the British troops who were practicing throwing their commando knives.

He went back to his tent and brought back a hatchet. :) Much more effective.

The longest distance Kill by a thrown knife seems to have happened in WWII.

A Ranger (iirc) who had performed knife and lasso tricks during the Depression took out a sentry who walked out the back of the bunker at the wrong time. The bowie(iirc) knife was thrown down hill, but still!!!


70 yards!

[st barbara]

I have always liked the "Occult Detective" (think of "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" or a "Call of Cthulu" character) myself. Someone who investigates "things man was not meant to know about" ! Another character type that could work is the "Stage magician/Escapologist". Harry Houdini made at least one movie serial after all. Or what about a stuntman from Hollywood with all those riding, acting, breakfall and fighting skills !

[st barbara]

Then again there is the "tough as nails" Private Detective (like Sam Spade) and the "Great White Hunter" (Lord John Roxton, Alan Quartermain). Another that could be considered is the "Ex-Pro Fighter " (or wrestler)

[st barbara]

oops ! Sorry "Amadan Na Bionna" I see that you had already mentioned "Great White Hunters". The "Dashing Aviator/Aviatrix" (think Charles Lindbergh or Amy Johnson) works well in a pulp setting too !

[ZootSoot]

I don't know if this qualifies as an archetype but I have used him in a few games: The Fraudulent Psychic/Spiritualist

[gewing]

I have always liked the "Occult Detective" (think of "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" or a "Call of Cthulu" character) myself. Someone who investigates "things man was not meant to know about" ! Another character type that could work is the "Stage magician/Escapologist". Harry Houdini made at least one movie serial after all. Or what about a stuntman from Hollywood with all those riding, acting, breakfall and fighting skills !


Imagine what WIll Rogers could have done with a lariat?


My wife and I both miss "Kolchak, the night stalker." now with modern fx and decent writers... :)

[st barbara]

To "ZootSoot" Do you mean as a heroic P C or as someone that the PC's are involved with ? A character who is a fraud/con man might be fun to play (not sure that I could do it justice myself however !)

[The Monster]

Mad scientists aren't just evil - though good scientists aren't usually rederred to as "mad!" Two types of pulp-hero brains:
Dr. Zarkov(sp?) from Flash Gordon
Evie(?) from The Mummy (I just love her line "I...am a Librarian!")

In other words, techies and walking reference books.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Mad scientists aren't just evil - though good scientists aren't usually rederred to as "mad!" Two types of pulp-hero brains:
Dr. Zarkov(sp?) from Flash Gordon
Evie(?) from The Mummy (I just love her line "I...am a Librarian!")

In other words, techies and walking reference books.

This is the Archtype I like to call The Eccentric Genius

(EDIT):
Also... I noticed that there was no specific mention of the Professional Solider Archtype, a subcategory of the Strong Jawed Hero.
Examples off the top of my head include Brendan Fraizer's character from the Mummy (whose name I can't recall) and John Carter, gentleman of Virginia.

[ThothAmon]

Honourable Oriental good guy - samurai equivalent for the Pulp era

Honourable ethnic bad guy - motivated by patriotism to oppose the heroes

Clever, quirky ethnic minority detective - Charle Chan, Hercule Poirot

Hard man criminal - trying to go straight but weaving back and forth across the line

Con man / grifter - an expert in urban survival

Pulp serial author - doing a little research for his next tale

Archaeologist / anthropologist - getting out amongst the natives to bring back the goods

Sports star hero - good looks imperative, shoelace tying skills optional e.g. USA football (Flash Gordon / Buck Rogers), boxing (the stories of Robert E Howard)

Bored war hero - often with a dark secret or two (Bulldog Drummond, Lord Peter Wimsey, Biggles)

Last of the cowboys - free spirited, two fisted and ready to dish out Western justice

[ZootSoot]

To "ZootSoot" Do you mean as a heroic P C or as someone that the PC's are involved with ? A character who is a fraud/con man might be fun to play (not sure that I could do it justice myself however !)


As a heroic PC, actually. The way it works is my guy claims vast expertise in the supernatural (but is a complete skeptic in reality) and sets out to use that "expertise" to bilk some victim (and probably bamboozle the other characters). Then if the campaign doesn't involve the real supernatural he/she becomes a resource for spotting frauds and becomes the teams resident debunker, occasionally conning an opponent as well. If the campaign involves the actual supernatural the character gets in far over his/her head and most cooperate with the other PCs to deal with the problem. The most fun I ever had with this character was when he was hired to perform an exorcism against a real monster in CoC game. That got hairy fast . . .

[Rage]

too cool, thanks guys.

[st barbara]

To "Zoot Suit" Sounds like a fun character. As I said before I doubt that I could do it justice in a game, but with the right player it'd be fun !

[st barbara]

To "The Monster" Evie's name is Carnahan (at least until she marries the hero). In the Pulp novel that I attempt to write from time to time I have a character who is a specialist Occult Librarian !

[ldorn]

Anthony "Buck" Rogers as best my memory can recall was never a refered to as a sports star. In the original "Armagedon 2419" by Philip Francis Nowland, and published by Hugo Gernsback, Tony was a WW I vet and working for an company that checked for radioactivity.

[Doc Democracy]

My favourite pulp character was one played by my friend (who in other genres was a confirmed mad slasher).

The character was a society gal who was looking for thrills (an archetype I don't think has been mentioned yet).

Catherine DuPont was a stunner and highly intelligent (so made a great investigative type, specially when there was high society stuff going on) armed with only a derringer in the stocking top and who had a physical limitation that the first action in any combat situation was to stand and scream...

Class character.


Doc

[Basil]

The incredibly smart PI who never leaves his house; he just sits and thinks through to the solution. Of course, he needs...

The wise-cracking leg-man, who goes out and gets all the info (and the gal, usually), brings it back, and the genius figures everything out.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin is the pre-eminent example; less well known is The Dead Man and Garrett (from Glen Cook's excellent Garrett Files series---pulp fantasy done right!)

Of course, the first "immobile genius" is Mycroft Holmes; the whole Foreign Office is his "leg-man". ;)

[SKJAM!]

In one of the Supernatural Detective series Manley Wade Wellman wrote, the detective had a con artist medium as a reluctant contact. She had actual powers, but preferred not to use them because they were creepy, and conning the customers was more profitable.

[st barbara]

"The Men In Room 19" would fit a similar archetype to Nero Wolfe. I gues that Wolfe, or Mycroft would be most useful as "contacts" for the P Cs rather than having someone play that type of character.

[The Mad GM]

In one of the Supernatural Detective series Manley Wade Wellman wrote, the detective had a con artist medium as a reluctant contact. She had actual powers, but preferred not to use them because they were creepy, and conning the customers was more profitable.

Do you remember the title? I've read all the John the Balladeer stories, and would love to find more.

[SKJAM!]

Do you remember the title? I've read all the John the Balladeer stories, and would love to find more.

Took a bit to find on Amazon...I can't seem to find my copy. The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations : The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Vol. 1) from Night Shade Books is the name of the collection. The detective himself is John Thunstone; the medium appears in two of the stories. The Shonokin, a race that appears in several of the Thunstone tales, might be suitable as adversaries in a mystically inclined campaign.

[The Mad GM]

Hmm... looks like a whole series of books of his I haven't read.

Time to warm up the credit card.

Thanks!

[Basil]

"The Men In Room 19" would fit a similar archetype to Nero Wolfe.
Never heard of that. Is that a book title, a short-story title, or what a series is usually referred to as?

I gues that Wolfe, or Mycroft would be most useful as "contacts" for the P Cs rather than having someone play that type of character.
Point; though it might be fun playing the wise-cracking legman. ;)

[st barbara]

To "Basil" Oops ! 'St B's" quirky memory is playing tricks again !
http://www.action-tv.org.uk/guides/manroom17.htm
This is the linkfor the show "The Man In Room 17" that I was trying to think of. It was British and ran for two seasons (1965-66)

[CSgeekHero]

Thinking back to the origins of Superman and Howard Hawks films, how aobut the plucky ace girl reporter and the gosh golly sidekick.

Jimmy Olsen originally was the gosh golly sidekick.

Lois Lane and His Girl Friday were the plucky ace girl reporters.

[FenrisUlf]

Took a bit to find on Amazon...I can't seem to find my copy. The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations : The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Vol. 1) from Night Shade Books is the name of the collection. The detective himself is John Thunstone; the medium appears in two of the stories. The Shonokin, a race that appears in several of the Thunstone tales, might be suitable as adversaries in a mystically inclined campaign.

I have that book and several others. Great stuff for pulp horror.

More of his pulp horror tales (mainly featurng Judge Pursuivant, who is an old friend of Thunstone) are in another of the books (I'm blanking on the title like an idiot, but it should be second in the series). Mainly short novels, such as the excellent _The Hairy Ones Shall Dance_, about ectoplasmic werewolves conjured by mediums.

[Steve Long]

another of the books (I'm blanking on the title like an idiot, but it should be second in the series)

That's Fearful Rock, the third volume in the series.

[FenrisUlf]

Thanks.

[Cancer]

There's also the "Ethnic Mystic", who can be either good or bad guy. Ethnicity seems usually to be from somewhere in Asia, but Egyptian is also common. Tends to compliment, and sometimes contradict, the Professor archetype. In a jungle situation this can merge with the "Noble Savage" archetype. Depending on how strong the weirdness level is in the campaign, the mysticism may range from being no more effective than distracting coincidence up to save-the-world deus ex machina.

[Basil]

To "Basil" Oops ! 'St B's" quirky memory is playing tricks again !
http://www.action-tv.org.uk/guides/manroom17.htm
This is the linkfor the show "The Man In Room 17" that I was trying to think of. It was British and ran for two seasons (1965-66)
Ah.

OK, thanks. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have it. http://herogame.dans.cust.servlets.net/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

The site's synopsises make it clear what it was like, though.

[J. Chamberlin]

I dunno how well these would work for a Pulp Campaign, but I've seen them worked pretty well in 1920s CoC games;

The Dilitente - super rich, quasi-interested in whatever the party is up to. Maybe he has useful skills, maybe not, but he/his family owns shipping firms, rail lines, steel factories, maybe sells weapons to the military, whatever would be useful to the group and entertaining to the player.

Sports Star - Already done on this thread, but hey, why not rehash it? Boxers and wrestlers are good hero types. Baseball players can be really strong or fit, not to mention skilled with clubs and throwing. How about a race car driver?

The Hobo - This was always my favourite CoC guy. He can know whatever he needs to know, having learned it all in crazy adventures of his life that may or may not be true. He's probably able to deal with just about any weirdness that happens, having either drank most of his senses away or either having seen weirder things in his youth. He probably knows all sorts of other Hobos, who may or may not have useful abilities or safehouses. His most important ability (which doesn't really come up often) is the ability to read Hobo marks; graffiti in certain places that will warn him about dangerous parts of town, friendly addresses, things like that.

j

[st barbara]

To "J Chamberlain" I always liked the "Dilitente" as a character type. Who knows what odd skills such a person might have ? Fencing, pilot, driving cars, boxing or a more exotic martial art, not to mention knowledge of High Society, lots of money and contacts in all sorts or unlikely places !

[dbsousa]

Did we miss these?

The "Mercenary" with a soft heart.
The Affable Corrupt Official (I am shocked, I say, to find Gambling in this establishment...")
The Sadistic Corrupt Official
The Weasel ("You don't respect me, do you?")
The White Hat (Too good for this world, he would be a dead martyr if not for the help of his less than noble allies.)
The Dame with a Secret Past
The Villain that is a Dark Reflection of the Hero ("You and I are not so different, after all...")

and that's just Casablanca...

[Steve Long]

While we're on the subject, as a quick update for those keeping score at home there are by my count 30 Package Deals in the Pulp Hero manuscript (including options that involve an extra text box, excluding many, many options that don't) plus an additional seven background packages (like "grew up in the circus" or "fought in the Great War"). I think that covers most of what's been mentioned in this thread that would qualify as a good option for PCs, in one way or another. :hex:

[st barbara]

To "Steve Long" Are most of the ones that we have suggested here included ?

[AnotherSkip]

Here is a pair of Era types to play with

Labor Spy: One of the loyal company men trying to keep the unions from breaking the company
Labor Organiser: One of the altruistic men trying to keep the common man from being exploited.

Of course both guys had extremists, and actually the Spys were pretty patriotic if you consider the reps of some of the Labor Organisers was that they were Commies. (Putting such companies as JP Morgan's CF&I [Colorado Fuel and Iron] on the front lines fighting for Capitalism and the USA)

All of this is from just one article in the best kept secret in Colorado, Colorado History Now.

I tried to sell Steve on reading the relevant article from one of the State of Colorado real life articles if he could let me loan it to him rather than trying to copy it. Sadly it didn't work.

One of these days I'll have the time to post my Character: Clayton Rivers AKA: X-10, Labor Spy

[Steve Long]

Are most of the ones that we have suggested here included ?

I'll answer that with a qualified "yes." By "qualified," I mean (a) I haven't reviewed the thread and tallied the suggestions, and (b) I recall a lot of suggestions that were more villain or NPC archetypes, not ideas appropriate for PCs' Package Deals.

And I believe that are a good many that you haven't suggested -- but as I say, I don't exactly remember every single post. ;)

[loraxxx]

the sleazy, womanizing, gigolo;
the dim-witted giant;
the wild-beast-turned-to-evil-purposes;
the wonder-dog/horse;
the girl-friday (not the heroine/ingenue--the gumshoe's plucky secretary);
the dare-devil pilot;
the evil enemy agent (usually ethnic, and oily);
the heroic secret agent (square-jawed, and two-fisted);
the master-of-disguise;
the noble canadian mounty;
the master-slueth;
the three 'musketeers' (range riders, college chums, war-buddies, etc....)
cheap-laughs the cowboy sidekick
the meddling 'kid(s)' (they need to be rescued A LOT)
the crimeboss
the stilleto/ice pick killer (prefers silent kills, enjoys killing)
the brutal thug/silent, ugly, giant/huge-handed strangler
the wise-cracking cabbie

[Trencher]

The plucky kid who sell news papers on the corner.

[jblittlefield]

Depends on the genre of pulp you're talking about...

Academic
Ace Reporter
Acrobat
Actor/Actress
Amateur Detective
Animal Handler
Antique Dealer
Architect
Artist
Athlete
Bail Bondsman
Bartender
Beat Cop
Big Game Hunter
Bon Vivant
Book Dealer
Bookie
Bootlegger
Bored Civil Servant
Bounty Hunter
Buccaneer
Burglar
Burly Swede
Bus Driver
Businessman
Callow Youth
Career Criminal
Charter Boat Captain
Child Prodigy
Clergyman
Clerk
Coach
Con Man
Coot
Counterfeiter
Cowboy
Crackpot Inventor
Crook on the Lam
Crusading Journalist
Daredevil
Dedicated Physician
Deep-Sea Diver
Diplomat
Driver
Egghead Researcher
Ethnic Sidekick
Femme Fatale
Fence
Fireman
Flying Ace
Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Legionnaire
Forensic Specialist
Forger
Gambler
Gangster
Gentleman Spy
Golf Pro
Great White Hunter
Grifter
Hardboiled Gumshoe
Hit Man
Informant
Judge
Jungle Doctor
Lawyer
Librarian
Loan Shark
Magician
Medical Technician
Mercenary
Merchant Marine Sailor
Military Veteran
Miner
Missionary
Moneyman
Musician
Mystic Guardian
Native Guide
Newspaper Editor
Occultist
Orderly
Pharmacist
Photojournalist
Politician
Psychiatrist
Psychologist
Punk
Rabbi
Race Car Driver
Radical Radio Announcer
Researcher
Salesman
Secretary
Servant
Shady Character
Ship's Captain
Shopkeeper
Skilled Tradesman
Smuggler
Soldier of Fortune
Spunky Kid
Stage Actor
Stalwart Lieutenant
Stockbroker
Stunt Man
Surveyor
Swimmer
Switchboard Operator
Talent Agent
Taxi Driver
Teacher
Tennis Pro
Thug Torpedo
Troubleshooter
Trusty Grease-Monkey
Undertaker
Union Activist
Vagrant
Venerable Sage
Vigilante
Western Lawman
Wildman
Winsome Stowaway
Working-Class Hero
Wrestler
Writer
Zookeeper

[MisterBaldy]

Science Fiction: John Carter of Mars, Sky Captain (and the World of Tomorrow), Captain Nemo
More Than Just Men: Alan Quartermain, Tarzan, Doc Savage
Gimmicks: The Shadow, Agent 13