What Other Pulp Hero Books Would You Like To See?

[Steve Long]

Since Pulp Hero is at long last off my desk entirely (the proofs having just been FedEx'd back to the printer), I thought I'd keep the ball rolling by discussing what supplements people would like to see. We're hearing a lot of enthusiasm for the book, which will hopefully translate into sales, which in turn will lead to supplements selling well. So, it can't hurt to listen to what people would like to see in supplements.

Before you post, PLEASE READ WHAT I'VE WRITTEN BELOW REGARDING THE SUPPLEMENTS WE ALREADY HAVE PLANNED. It's a waste of your time and mine to suggest something we already have on the schedule or in mind. :hex:

For the rest of this year, we have on tap: Masterminds And Madmen (a book of Pulp Hero enemies and bad guys) and Astounding Hero Tales (a short story collection).

For next year (2006), we've scheduled Thrilling Places (a collection of cool, amazing, and fun locations where you can send PCs, have adventures, or work into a PC's background) and The Pulp Resource Guide (more weapons, vehicles, and Weird Science gadgets; a full rundown on the Empire Club; other useful stuff for players and GMs that couldn't be crammed into PH itself).

For 2007 we haven't planned anything yet, though as has been discussed in several other threads, one possibility is getting Aaron Allston to re-do Lands Of Mystery for us.

So -- with all that in mind -- what sort of Pulp Hero supplements would interest you?

[the Evil DM]

An organizations book showing not only good and bad organizations but other groups that have mysterious agendas.

a city book. giving details of a north american city in a pulp style world. maybe a mythical island city-state similar to Hong-kong or Monaco.

a book dedicated to supernatural threats

[TheImperialKhan]

Well to start off with I'd say definately make Lands of Mystery a go. The original was one of the best supplements HERO has ever put out and I'm sure that Aaron has come up with more stuff to cram into the new edition.

In addition I'd really like to see a setting book, either the Hudson City 1935 you were talking about a while back or something else. And sub-genre books, lots of sub-genre books: Pulp Sci-Fi, Pulp Occult, Pulp Espionage, etc. A book of short adventures or just adventure ideas would be very useful as well.

As I recall Aaron had a good half a dozen or so product ideas in mind for JI which never went forward. If he has no time for them I'm sure they could be handed off to other writers. I recall one of them was an Undersea setting/supplement that involved a Captain Nemo type setting up an Empire beneath the Sea of some kind. I, myself, had been in talks with Bruce Harlick to write a Flash Gordonesque Pulp Sci-Fi setting book called Zarkon: the Planet of Peril about 5 or 6 years ago. Nothing ever came of it at the time, but the idea is even more viable now that Pulp Hero is coming out. If not done by me then by someone else.

I think you're off to a good start with what you have on the schedule but I would suggest moving the setting book up if you can. I really believe the Genre, Enemies and Setting books should be released as close together as possible as these give the Players and GM what they need to dive right into the game with a minimum of fuss.

Just my $0.02

[Curufea]

Actually - I could see steampunk being a supplement to Pulp Hero.

[TheQuestionMan]

Actually - I could see steampunk being a supplement to Pulp Hero.

Funny, I though Steampunk/Tech was more Victorian Hero material?

[Herolover]

I want to definantly second the idea of the Flash Gordon-esq tyep campaign-supplement book.

Also, as a sorta supplement to PULP how about a supplement detailing playing a game in the early 1900's up to WWI and maybe even some on WWI.

A nice supplement detailing a sorta generic group that the heroes could belong to. To get an idea of what I am taliking about there is a current supplement out for FUDGE called Terra Incognita. You can find info about it here: http://www.nagssociety.com/index.htm

I will probably end up using this in my campaign, but would like to see something like it in HERO terms.

[tal]

I would definately buy a Lands of Mystery book. I have the original and the only problem with it is it is too SHORT. I would also buy a John Carter of Mars type setting book and a pulp space flash gordon type setting.

[Steve Long]

I actually have something in mind that will sort of "test the waters" for a Carter/Gordon/Rogers sort of setting. Stay tuned. :eg:

[Sketchpad]

I'd love to see some sub-genre books come out for Pulp Hero. Pulp Sci-Fi would be neat, as would an Occult Investigations book (especially after the release of Horror Hero). I'd have to agree that Steampunk seems more Victorian, though I am looking foward to seeing the weird goodness in store for the Resource book. How about a setting like Urban Arcana or Bloodshadows?

[Super Squirrel]

I don't know how to word what I'd call it, but the DH series I'm writing is called "You Gotta Have Culture". In it, I'm basically going from spot to spot over the world and taking small groups of people that are, well, perfect for a pulp campaign and writing up about them. So far my goal is to simply do 10 for Digital Hero. But based on my research for future articles, it could clearly fill an entire book and I think it would make a great aid for players.

There are countless cultures across the world. You could use seven chapters to cover the seven regions (North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Oceania). Throw in an introduction, a chapter on GM Secrets, and an appendix with some tables for quick reference (Tech Level Access, Aggressiveness, Population Size, Region, Page Reference, etc...) and you probably have a book of at least Hero Bestiary in size.

But I'm not going to let Hero Games stop me from writing those DH articles. :winkgrin:
*grabs a shotgun and some moonshine*

[BigJackBrass]

Pulp Amok would certainly work for me, taking the stereotypical Pulp scenarios and set pieces and twisting them the way Villainy Amok did for Champions. Since Pulp is primarily made up of these sorts of things it would be nice to see some unusual variations on the standard themes.

And certainly anything new by Aaron Allston. Beg if you have to.

[fredrik_nilsson]

It sounds like the Pulp Hero line could be very interesting indeed! Before I begin with my wish list, I’d just want to say a few things about the books already planned.

Masterminds And Madmen: I guess you’ve read White Wolf’s Adventure. In that book there’s an appendix with generic bad guys (cultists, pulp ninjas, and so on), which would be nice if you could copy. You did the same in Dark Champions, so you might already have thought about doing it here to. It would also be nice if you could add a chapter with pulp heroes that don’t fit into your Empire Club setting (or whatever it’s called), like a Ming homage and some proto-supers (like Dr. Primoris from Adventure!). In general take a good look at Adventure since it’s a really good book.
Astounding Hero Tales: Will this book contain new stories, collections of old stories, or a mix of both?
Thrilling Places: It would be nice if you could add something like a habitable Mars or Venus (think Carter or Flash Gordon), as part of the other places. I’ve said it before, Iron lords of Jupiter rocks. That setting (naturally I mean an equal setting) should easily fit inside that book (say 5-10 pages).
The Pulp Resource Guide: I guess this would be a good place to put Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations (provided you want to use it).
Lands Of Mystery: For someone who was new to Hero with the arrival of 5th ed., how similar are Lands of Mystery and Hidden Lands? In my ears they seem to overlap.
I agree with the Evil DM that pulp organizations books would be nice, but since Masterminds And Madmen hopefully will touch on the subject (and at least the VIPER book did too) I don’t see it as first priority. A city book (besides pulp update on Hudson) isn’t first priority for me either. I’d rather see some kind of world (or region book). A book about the dark Africa would be nice, talking about the old gods of Egypt, mummies, the cosmopolitan Casablanca, the elephants’ cemetery and fiendish lions. Super Squirrel’s culture books seem to generally be based on a similar idea.

In addition I'd really like to see a setting book, either the Hudson City 1935 you were talking about a while back or something else. And sub-genre books, lots of sub-genre books: Pulp Sci-Fi, Pulp Occult, Pulp Espionage, etc. A book of short adventures or just adventure ideas would be very useful as well.
Initially there might not be a need for several sub-genre books, but I fully agree in that at least one sub-genre book should be produced (with one sub-genre per chapter). I would even go to such lengths that I think it should be one of the first books to be produced (on the next free spot in the schedule).

It would be nice to see your take on Pulp Sci-Fi, Pulp Fantasy, Pulp Espionage, and even your take on Pulp Supers (didn’t supers exist before the Golden Age).

Actually - I could see steampunk being a supplement to Pulp Hero.
Funny, I though Steampunk/Tech was more Victorian Hero material?
Yes, you’re right about steampunk being Victorian. In Curfea’s defense, similar things existed in the pulp era.

I actually have something in mind that will sort of "test the waters" for a Carter/Gordon/Rogers sort of setting. Stay tuned. :eg:
If that’s your attitude then I won’t show you my furry version of Sound of Music, with Chewbacca in the role of Captain von Trapp. :p

…, but if you show me yours I’ll show you mine… :ugly:

Pulp Amok would certainly work for me, taking the stereotypical Pulp scenarios and set pieces and twisting them the way Villainy Amok did for Champions. Since Pulp is primarily made up of these sorts of things it would be nice to see some unusual variations on the standard themes.
I second that! :thumbup:

[Steve Long]

Masterminds And Madmen: I guess you’ve read White Wolf’s Adventure. In that book there’s an appendix with generic bad guys (cultists, pulp ninjas, and so on), which would be nice if you could copy. You did the same in Dark Champions, so you might already have thought about doing it here to. It would also be nice if you could add a chapter with pulp heroes that don’t fit into your Empire Club setting (or whatever it’s called), like a Ming homage and some proto-supers (like Dr. Primoris from Adventure!). In general take a good look at Adventure since it’s a really good book.

PH already has a section of generic adversaries.

Astounding Hero Tales: Will this book contain new stories, collections of old stories, or a mix of both?

I think the description on the "Our Products" page for 2005 answers this and provides additional details.

Thrilling Places: It would be nice if you could add something like a habitable Mars or Venus (think Carter or Flash Gordon), as part of the other places. I’ve said it before, Iron lords of Jupiter rocks. That setting (naturally I mean an equal setting) should easily fit inside that book (say 5-10 pages).

We're not going to do that; Pulp SF and its settings are an entirely separate subject, one worthy of its own book if there's enough interest (see my post above). TP will remain confined to Earth, though obviously it's going to include some places that don't actually exist on the real Earth (sadly... we really need an island full of dinosaurs!). ;)

Lands Of Mystery: For someone who was new to Hero with the arrival of 5th ed., how similar are Lands of Mystery and Hidden Lands? In my ears they seem to overlap.

To the extent there's any overlap, I think you'd need a magnifying glass to find it. HL is a supplement about Jack Kirby-like secret enclaves of superpowered people for Champions. LoM is a subgenre book about "lost civilizations/worlds" stories for Pulp Hero. It has no superhumans at all, and no connections to the Champions Universe. I'm sure clever GMs out there could find a way to use LoM for Champions, but it's not written for Champions.

Thanx for the suggestions, everyone! Keep 'em coming.

[ArmlessTigerMan]

Pulp Amok .
I'm likin' this idea too.
anything new by Aaron Allston.
I vote for this one also, although it would seem less likely.

I also like the idea of a setting/city book. Maybe Allston's idea of the Pulp Apple book he never got to write. Any similarly iconic city would do though, Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong... or pulpified versions thereof. In my mind, Hudson City 1935 wouldn't work. It doesn't have the same larger-than-life quality.

[tal]

I definatley like BigJackBrass' idea of Pulp Amok.
You can never go wrong with more dinosaurs, especially a whole island full of them.
I will be waiting impaitently for the news about the Carter/Gordon/Rodgers something.
How about a book or section of a book full of mysterous items for the Indiana Jones types to look for? Or better yet how about an Ultimate Pulp Adventurer book focusing on the Challenger/Jones types?

[Mister E]

I actually have something in mind that will sort of "test the waters" for a Carter/Gordon/Rogers sort of setting. Stay tuned. :eg:Or maybe we should tune in next week, for another thrilling instalment... ;)

A Carter/Gordon/Rogers setting is what I want.

I find the idea of you "testing the waters" titillating and pleasurable; but for me... wholly unnecessary. As a matter of fact, it would make me giddy with joy if you were to dedicate the next year of your life to writing a "Barsoom-esque Moons of Mongo in the 25th century" sword and planet/adventure fantasy/space-cowboy setting book; that ended up being bigger than the 5er... needed wheels.. and required me to get a loan from the bank to pay for.

The high I would receive in owning such a personally significant and life-fulfilling book, would last until I die... and when I did die, I would request that the book be buried with me, and your name be put on the tombstone.

(Well, to be honest... I'd rather have a viking funeral, or have my ashes turned into a diamond, and shot into space... so maybe I'll just bury the book under the tombstone... but you get my drift...)

~ Mister E

[L. Marcus]

I just had a vision of a Hollow Earth Pulp Hero campaign setting . . . Roald Amundssen and Robert F. Scott's South Pole expeditions are both very overdue for return. A rescue/relief/investigatory effort is being assembled, and guess who's being hand-picked for the job . . .

Or is 1913 too early to be pulp?

[Flames]

"I wanted the ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said, 'What are the attributes of an ideal quarry?' And the answer was, of course, 'It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason."'
"But no animal can reason," objected Rainsford.
"My dear fellow," said the general, "there is one that can."
"But you can't mean--" gasped Rainsford.
"And why not?"
"I can't believe you are serious, General Zaroff. This is a grisly joke."
"Why should I not be serious? I am speaking of hunting."
"Hunting? Great Guns, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder."

There are a lot of adventure and detective tales from the mid-1920s and earlier that are public domain (not to mention a few from the 1930s whose copyrights were never renewed) and could be written up and mapped out in Pulp Hero format.

An example that comes to mind is the deadly island of General Zaroff in Richard Connell's short story The Most Dangerous Game, a classic many of us read in English class, excerpted above. The story could be presented in its entirety, followed by a hex map of the island, a layout of Zaroff's castle, and writeups of Zaroff himself, his sinister henchman Ivan (and one or more other henchmen if need be), and his hunting dogs and weapons.

This idea might be better suited to a series in Digital Hero, of course.

[L. Marcus]

. . . Argh! Got a flashback from The Pest! Must . . . Exoscise . . . John Leguizamo . . . !

[gojira]

Yeah, one more vote for an SF Pulp setting.

Pulp Hero: 2130-2139 as it were.

Art Deco spaceships. Earth, Mars and Venus are all spacefaring empires. (Mars and Venus are not human, obviously.) Smugglers ply the asteroid belt. The moons Jupiter and Saturn are full of primative, barbaric races barely capable of spaceflight, and there are Things from Beyond further out on Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. (Remember Pluto is probably a captured planet from outside solar system, something reflected in it's eccentric orbit.)

* * *

If you can swing it, Thrilling Places sounds more useful that Madmen and Masterminds. I dunno what's in PH, but TP sounds like a better compliment for a new release.

And a sub-genre book on things that didn't make it into PH might be cool too. 1920's prohibition, 1940's noir, 1920's Cthulhu by gaslight, WWII pulp, etc. If you can come up with five concepts and devote a long chapter to each, people might buy the whole book just to get one or two things they are interested in. Maybe put this in a PDF first and see how it does.

[st barbara]

Seems a sif you have a lot of good stuff planned ! What about something on the "science" of pulp S F ? Maybe not a supplement but it could be PART of a general S F supplement for a pulp game. After all, this is the era of spaceships powered by a 100 lb bar of copper slowly being dissolve by "element X" ("Skylark of Space" E E (Doc) Smith)

[Spence]

Yeah, one more vote for an SF Pulp setting.

Pulp Hero: 2130-2139 as it were.

Art Deco spaceships.

With sails, plying the mighty currents of Aether. :D

[fredrik_nilsson]

There are a lot of adventure and detective tales from the mid-1920s and earlier that are public domain (not to mention a few from the 1930s whose copyrights were never renewed) and could be written up and mapped out in Pulp Hero format.
I second that idea!

[TheImperialKhan]

Although the Pulp-era is traditionally the 20s and 30s there were many pulp stories that take place earlier in the century. Perhaps a sub-genre book on the 1900, or even 1890, through the end of The Great War would be a good idea. Sort of a bridge between the Victorian and Pulp eras.

[Spence]

While I totally agree with TheImperialKhan's last statement about the traditional Pulp years. I have always looked at Pulp being more of a "feel" rather than a timeline. By that reasoning the line between traditional Pulp and Victorian SciFi is very blurred. I hope that is taken into consideration in future suppliments.

[Mentor]

As many in our group have always liked the turn of the century era for story lines; Holmes and Dracula, Teddy Roosevelt vs. Fu Manchu, Tarzan takes on the Mole people, we decided to use 1905 as the basis of our campaign.

The Pulp Hero source book will still be invaluable, but we are just doing a lot of our own research which we did for our 1935 pulp hero game in the 1980s.

[Fazhoul]

Yeah, one more vote for an SF Pulp setting.

Pulp Hero: 2130-2139 as it were.

Art Deco spaceships. Earth, Mars and Venus are all spacefaring empires. (Mars and Venus are not human, obviously.) Smugglers ply the asteroid belt. The moons Jupiter and Saturn are full of primative, barbaric races barely capable of spaceflight, and there are Things from Beyond further out on Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. (Remember Pluto is probably a captured planet from outside solar system, something reflected in it's eccentric orbit.)

* * *

If you can swing it, Thrilling Places sounds more useful that Madmen and Masterminds. I dunno what's in PH, but TP sounds like a better compliment for a new release.

And a sub-genre book on things that didn't make it into PH might be cool too. 1920's prohibition, 1940's noir, 1920's Cthulhu by gaslight, WWII pulp, etc. If you can come up with five concepts and devote a long chapter to each, people might buy the whole book just to get one or two things they are interested in. Maybe put this in a PDF first and see how it does.
You had me at "Art Deco Spaceships". :)

If the legal and financial hurdles weren't such a problem I would love to see a Doc Savage Sourcebook, a Shadow Sourcebook, an Avenger Sourcebook, a... well, I think you get the idea. From what I've read and heard though, the owners of the copyrights on these characters are difficult to deal with and want an exhorbitant amount of money to do anything with the characters.

[BobGreenwade]

So -- with all that in mind -- what sort of Pulp Hero supplements would interest you?For starters, I'll second the following comments:Well to start off with I'd say definately make Lands of Mystery a go. The original was one of the best supplements HERO has ever put out and I'm sure that Aaron has come up with more stuff to cram into the new edition.

In addition I'd really like to see a setting book, either the Hudson City 1935 you were talking about a while back or something else.I'd like to add that the Hudson City book could easily include pulp-era characters and background stories based on public-domain characters, as suggested by someone else.Pulp Amok would certainly work for me, taking the stereotypical Pulp scenarios and set pieces and twisting them the way Villainy Amok did for Champions. Since Pulp is primarily made up of these sorts of things it would be nice to see some unusual variations on the standard themes.

And certainly anything new by Aaron Allston. Beg if you have to.Just to drive home the point, I would definitely use Pulp Amok for my Star Hero game -- Villainy Amok, not so much (though a Dark Champions version of the book would be even more useful for my particular campaign than a Star Hero one -- so go figure).

A book nobody else has mentioned would be The Prehistoric Bestiary[i]. Whether to go with it or not would depend, of course, on how well the Asian and Celtic ones work out, but the dinosaurs and other prehistoric critters in [i]The Hero System Bestiary barely touch the tip of the tip of the iceberg. This would be just the thing for those "Lost World" adventures, with plenty of usability for most other genres as well. It could even include an Appendix for "Caveman Hero." (Also, FWIW this is the one Pulp book that I most would want to write myself, if you'd let me. [please please please])

[Captain Obvious]

Dinosaurs are also good for populating Pulp Sci-Fi planets.

So here's the part where the spinning newspapers come up, and we read:

"Slavering Fan-Boys Demand Rocketships, Dinosaurs"

"Defenders of Justice Quiet on Estimated Release Dates"

"Captain Obvious Uses Yet Another Cliche"

[fredrik_nilsson]

You had me at "Art Deco Spaceships". :)

If the legal and financial hurdles weren't such a problem I would love to see a Doc Savage Sourcebook, a Shadow Sourcebook, an Avenger Sourcebook, a... well, I think you get the idea. From what I've read and heard though, the owners of the copyrights on these characters are difficult to deal with and want an exhorbitant amount of money to do anything with the characters.
Art Deco Spaceships rock!

The "whatever" Sourcebooks should be that impossible. Many of there licenses should have ended by now. Besides, the idea has alreay been mentioned earlier in the thread. :thumbup:

[Beetle]

I'll go along with the requests for prehistoric/hollow earth type stuff, but I can sum it up in two words:

Sleestak Hero! :D

[fredrik_nilsson]

A book nobody else has mentioned would be The Prehistoric Bestiary. Whether to go with it or not would depend, of course, on how well the Asian and Celtic ones work out, but the dinosaurs and other prehistoric critters in The Hero System Bestiary barely touch the tip of the tip of the iceberg. This would be just the thing for those "Lost World" adventures, with plenty of usability for most other genres as well. It could even include an Appendix for "Caveman Hero." (Also, FWIW this is the one Pulp book that I most would want to write myself, if you'd let me. [please please please])Steve wrote the following earlier in the thread:

TP will remain confined to Earth, though obviously it's going to include some places that don't actually exist on the real Earth (sadly... we really need an island full of dinosaurs!).

It's not that I don't want a pre-historic bestiary, I just think it might be better to write it less pulpish. I would buy the book as you describe it, but I think it might be of more general use if it were a cross-genre book.

[Curufea]

Hmm, so we should expect to see Mu, Leng, Shangri-La and Atlantis as well as the Plateau of the Lost World :)
I'm also wondering if time travel will be involved - I can definitely see a Morloc invasion being a nice Pulp adventure.

[Steve Long]

There will be no time travel in Thrilling Places, except insofar as this wondrous book transports you via your imagination to days past and places fantastic. :hex:

[TheImperialKhan]

You know, Steve, I'm getting the impression that, like Aaron 20 years ago, you're really enthusiastic about the Pulps and are really hoping that this will go big. Not just because of the financial considerations but also because you have a lot of ideas for supplements and sourcebooks that you really want to bring out.

This thread is mainly to help you decide what to bring out first.

So...


Did I make my Deduction roll or blow it?

[Steve Long]

Yes and no. ;) Yes, I have a great deal of enthusiasm and hope PH will do well enough to support a long line of strong supplements. But since we've already announced the books we're doing for the next 18 months or so, I'm not looking to re-arrange the schedule or anything like that. I'm just genuinely interested in what people might want to see. Usually in threads like this I get a useful idea or three, and it's a fun topic to discuss. :hex:

As always, though, ultimately to some degree it comes down to sales -- so if you want to see lots of PH supplements, be sure to buy PH itself and whatever else we concoct! ;) I like Science Fiction, too, but SH supplements don't sell well enough for us to do very many of them. I'm hoping the Pulp Hero line won't suffer the same fate. It's common "wisdom" among some parts of the gaming industry that Pulp games can't succeed, and I'm counting on Hero fans to help us prove that particular chestnut wrong. ;)

[TheImperialKhan]

Well you know I'll do my part. :)

I didn't mean that you would re-arrange the shedule through 2006 btw. I meant that you'll know what to put on the schedule for 2007. ;)

[BobGreenwade]

Steve wrote the following earlier in the thread:

TP will remain confined to Earth, though obviously it's going to include some places that don't actually exist on the real Earth (sadly... we really need an island full of dinosaurs!).

It's not that I don't want a pre-historic bestiary, I just think it might be better to write it less pulpish. I would buy the book as you describe it, but I think it might be of more general use if it were a cross-genre book.My intent would be that, like the current general bestiary and the upcoming Asian and Celtic ones, it would be a "general HERO System" product. I, too, would strongly prefer it as a "genre-neutral" product (other than the "Caveman Hero" appendix I mentioned). I brought it up here mainly because its most likely use would be in a Pulp Hero context. It definitely would be also appropriate for Champions, possibly for Fantasy Primeval, and for certain Star Hero games, among others.

[fredrik_nilsson]

My intent would be that, like the current general bestiary and the upcoming Asian and Celtic ones, it would be a "general HERO System" product. I, too, would strongly prefer it as a "genre-neutral" product (other than the "Caveman Hero" appendix I mentioned). I brought it up here mainly because its most likely use would be in a Pulp Hero context. It definitely would be also appropriate for Champions, possibly for Fantasy Primeval, and for certain Star Hero games, among others.
I guessed so, but I wanted to double-check. :)

[Derek Hiemforth]

I have an idea for a possible book. However, I readily acknowledge that it might only be feasible/desirable if the Pulp HERO line does fairly well, but not too well. (How's that for a weird intro?) :hex:

If the Pulp HERO line already slated is doing quite well, then it could probably support sub-genre books (Pulp SF, Pulp Horror, etc.) and setting/campaign books for them. In the unfortunate event that the Pulp HERO line already slated doesn't do well at all, then adding any books beyond those already planned might be impractical.

But if it does "in-the-middle" well, (well enough to justify a little more support, but not a lot more), then I'd love to see a good sized (256+) book with several compact setting/campaign frameworks, covering different Pulp sub-genres.

For example, If the line isn't selling gangbusters, it might not be practical to publish a setting book aimed at Globetrotting Adventurers Seeking The Strange And Wonderful, and a setting book aimed at Ray-Gun Sci-Fi, and a setting book aimed at Things-Man-Was-Not-Meant-To-Know Horror, and a setting book aimed at Mob Ganglands And Crimebusters, and a setting book aimed at Monsters, Maidens, And Mad Scientists, and a setting book aimed at Spy-Vs-Spy Intrigue, and a setting book aimed at Chandleresque Gumshoe Whodunnits, and so on and so on. Some of these overlap enough to be covered in a single setting book, of course. But some (say, Ray-Gun Sci-Fi, TMWNMTK Horror, and Mob Ganglands & Crimebusters) really don't.

So if it should happen that it doesn't look like the line will support campaign materials for several different sub-genre setting books, maybe a single combined book could include several, more compact settings. It wouldn't be able to provide the Pulp GM with an out-of-the-box campaign solution for every Pulp genre, but it could provide useful campaign "cores" for several Pulp genres, upon which the enterprising GM could build more easily than starting from absolute scratch.

[BobGreenwade]

Well, yeah, Derek... but what do you think of what's been suggested so far? ;)

[Derek Hiemforth]

Well, yeah, Derek... but what do you think of what's been suggested so far? ;)Just answering the original question. :)

[Old Man]

Pulp Battlegrounds (really just another excuse to do another battlegrounds book):

King Solomon's Mines
The Sarcophagus Room Deep Beneath the Sphinx
A High, Rocky Cliff with a Waterfall
A Remote Tibetan Monastery
A Remote Tibetan Tavern
A Seedy Bar in Hudson City
The Hudson City Docks
The Steps of City Hall
Hudson City Rooftops
Evil Ming's Sinister Death Ray Control Room
...

[Steve Long]

Evil Ming's Sinister Death Ray Control Room

Come now! This is a gross mischaracterization! Poor Ming may be grumpy at times, and perhaps misunderstood, but surely "Evil" goes too far.

And we don't like to think of his Death Ray as "Sinister." We prefer the more accurate term "Practical."


;)

[Curufea]

I'm wondering if screen captures of base layouts from Evil Genius might suffice :)
(one of my favourite games)

[Sketchpad]

Come now! This is a gross mischaracterization! Poor Ming may be grumpy at times, and perhaps misunderstood, but surely "Evil" goes too far.

And we don't like to think of his Death Ray as "Sinister." We prefer the more accurate term "Practical."


;)
Steve ... I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything at the time ... I would've lost it! ;)

[Derek Hiemforth]

I'd love to see a good sized (256+) book with several compact setting/campaign frameworks, covering different Pulp sub-genres.(Yeah, I know quoting myself is weird. So sue me. ;) )

After reading about the Cool Stuff(tm) Steve has in mind as stated in the Dime Hero Adventures thread, I just wanted to note that the kind of thing he's describing for Aetherial Earth is exactly the sort of "campaign nugget" I had in mind for collecting in a multiple-sub-genres setting book. Maybe if the Aetherial Earth PDF is well-received, and if other "mini-campaigns" are done and also well-received, it might be feasible to gather them up (possibly expanding them slightly) and publish them in a collected "Worlds Of Pulp Hero" of some such thing... :hex:

[Steve Long]

Certainly if the DHAs do well enough, maybe we'll collect 'em up and print 'em in book form. Heck, maybe we'll print 'em on newsprint to keep the price low and simulate that Pulp feel. ;)

While I don't have any other ideas for mini-settings like Solar Smith in mind at present, I'll let the concept rattle around in my noggin for a while. Maybe something will pop out. :hex:

[Captain Obvious]

Certainly if the DHAs do well enough, maybe we'll collect 'em up and print 'em in book form. Heck, maybe we'll print 'em on newsprint to keep the price low and simulate that Pulp feel. ;)


YES! :rockon:

[Curufea]

And preferrably using few colours too :)

[BobGreenwade]

Certainly if the DHAs do well enough, maybe we'll collect 'em up and print 'em in book form. Heck, maybe we'll print 'em on newsprint to keep the price low and simulate that Pulp feel. ;)Hey'd I'd sure buy that! :thumbup:While I don't have any other ideas for mini-settings like Solar Smith in mind at present, I'll let the concept rattle around in my noggin for a while. Maybe something will pop out. :hex:Once I have PH and a couple of supplements in hand I probably could at least come up with some ideas for you to flesh out (if not cook up the fleshing myself... I'm very often thought of as a flesh in the pan). ;)

[Duke Bushido]

Okay; I'm late to get in on this thread, but it was dear enough to me that I quit lurking and joined just to post here.

Any support at all for Pulp HERO would be great, no doubt, but I have a fear that the 'supers' angle will ultimately drown out Heroic level support. Granted, it made the company-- and I certainly won't mind seeing it dominate the support, but I'd like to see continued support for 'normals' campaigns if the genre is a success.

In particular, I am drawn to realistic (in a relative sense, of course) type campaigns, taking place in American cities, with a down-play on the ray-gun stuff (funny, consdering how much I love steampunk).

Though I am so in love with the idea of the art deco spaceship that I can't stop thinking about it! I've alread laid out deck plans for the ballroom, dining room, and wheelhouse.... Hmmmm...... I don't care to risk the name _Titanic_, however.....


Duke

(Oh, and a warm "hello again" to Derrick H, a few years overdue)

[st barbara]

Yeah ! Poor Ming , he gets all the bad publicity ! Just 'cos that damned Flah Gordon got a better agent ! I could have told Ming that no good would come of him signing on with the agent used by Professor Moriarty !

[stu2000]

I'll go along with the requests for prehistoric/hollow earth type stuff, but I can sum it up in two words:

Sleestak Hero! :D

Oh, you know I'd love that one.

I'd also throw another vote on for a couple very serious location books--detailing someplace like San Francisco, or like the Maravella Islands--a nice South Pacific, or South China Sea island chain. Some gun runners, a mysterious island shrouded in fog, with a skull-shaped moutain, Nazi volcano bases--the works.

[Captain Obvious]

Oh, you know I'd love that one.

I'd also throw another vote on for a couple very serious location books--detailing someplace like San Francisco, or like the Maravella Islands--a nice South Pacific, or South China Sea island chain. Some gun runners, a mysterious island shrouded in fog, with a skull-shaped moutain, Nazi volcano bases--the works.

In other words, Pulp Hero Battlegrounds!

This is a must-have.

[Steve Long]

Keep in mind we already have Thrilling Locations on the schedule for next year. It's sort of a "Pulp Hero Battlegrounds," I suppose, though equally useful for players in some ways. It's not likely to focus on real-world locations per se; that would be a different book (or series of books) that would require a lot of research.

[BobGreenwade]

So far the big winners seem to be Pulp Amok, Hudson City 1935, and an unnamed "Pulp Sci-Fi" book (and, in a distant runner-up position, The Prehistoric Bestiary).

What else? :D

[CSgeekHero]

I'm also in for a city book like Hudson City 1935.

[stu2000]

Hudson City's on the coast. I'm sure it would have a well-developed Chinatown. Yeah, I'd go for a HC'35 book, also.

[JakSpade]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but what about a Weird Science version of Gadgets and Gear, or a Mystic or Psychic Powers add-on like the UTIL Superpowers Database...

Jak

[Captain Obvious]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but what about a Weird Science version of Gadgets and Gear, or a Mystic or Psychic Powers add-on like the UTIL Superpowers Database...

Jak

This would be a great idea, even if they were combined into one book of Pulp weirdness. Psychics, Sorcerors, and Steam Engines maybe....

[FenrisUlf]

What about a Steampunk subgenre book?

I'd also like seeing some of the basic work we've sene done with the other genres, i.e., a villains book, a location/Hero Universe setting book, and something about Pulp gadgets and/or talents would be cool. That aside, I'm willing to wait and see what HG comes up with.

[Mentor]

I guess I keep leaning toward Victorian Hero as our campaign appears to fall just before Pulp but just after Victorian, ie 1905. Given how much research I have been doing myself, however, I could just as well take some of the excellent Pulp Hero book concepts (timelines, maps, archtypes, etc) and just back up the dates covered for our campaign.

[Mutant for Hire]

I'll back the folks who want a Mars/Venus/Hollow Earth supplement, outside of the Champions Universe, but then I've never been a fan of the concept that everything has to fit into the CU.

Mars has an ancient if decaying civilization, using technology they've forgotten how to produce. Venus is more or less in the stone age, with dinosaur like creatures all over. Oh yes, and Mars destroyed what used to be the fifth planet to produce our asteroid belt.

[BobGreenwade]

This would be a great idea, even if they were combined into one book of Pulp weirdness. Psychics, Sorcerors, and Steam Engines maybe....That title's more of an Enemies book title (though not a bad one, at that). Personally I like Pulp Weirdness or maybe From the Mystic Vaults.

[Susano]

We're not going to do that; Pulp SF and its settings are an entirely separate subject, one worthy of its own book if there's enough interest (see my post above). TP will remain confined to Earth, though obviously it's going to include some places that don't actually exist on the real Earth (sadly... we really need an island full of dinosaurs!). ;.

Hmm... in all seriousness, take a look at GURPS Places of Mystery. It (to me) was an excellent book and showed how the subject should be done (a little history, maps, adventure seeds, and so on).

Actually, something just came to me -- a HERO version of GURPS Atomic Horror. Granted, that was 1950s, and Pulp is circa 1910 to 1940, but a "strange invaders and 'things man was not meant to know'" sourebook would nice. Although that might be hitting the domain of Horror Hero.

[George Kirby]

I just had a vision of a Hollow Earth Pulp Hero campaign setting . . . Roald Amundssen and Robert F. Scott's South Pole expeditions are both very overdue for return. A rescue/relief/investigatory effort is being assembled, and guess who's being hand-picked for the job . . .

Or is 1913 too early to be pulp?


I'll second this, if it hasn't already been seconded (I admit I haven't read the entire thread before replying). A good Hollow Earth setting can fit your "island full of dinosaurs" need, plus give you the "hidden empire full of tribesman worshipping alien gods" quotient. It can also be the hiding place of Doctor Bizarro, from which he strikes vengeance on a surface world too ignorant and foolish to immediately declare him ruler!

And the best bit is this: not only could you use such a setting for your pulp adventures, you can use it as a setting for adventures in pretty much any other genre/time period!

[stu2000]

I'd like to see a book--or perhaps a folder--of replica train tickets, hotel menus, business cards, advertisements, packaging, matchbooks, sheet music, betting slips, driver's licenses, bills of sale, manifests--all that kind of detrius and marginalia. You can find just a little on the web. You can find some in collections. But it would be nice to have enough excellent reproductions in one place at one time to get a feel for what everyday life looked like.

[Susano]

I'd like to see a book--or perhaps a folder--of replica train tickets, hotel menus, business cards, advertisements, packaging, matchbooks, sheet music, betting slips, driver's licenses, bills of sale, manifests--all that kind of detrius and marginalia. You can find just a little on the web. You can find some in collections. But it would be nice to have enough excellent reproductions in one place at one time to get a feel for what everyday life looked like.

One of the things I liked about Chaosium CoC adventures was the replica items they included. Made for great props.

[Steve Long]

If you want props like train tickets, passports, luggage tags, etc., just buy the Props collection from the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They're all PDF so you can print out and make your own. They even give some away for free on their website.

[stu2000]

If you want props like train tickets, passports, luggage tags, etc., just buy the Props collection from the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They're all PDF so you can print out and make your own. They even give some away for free on their website.

Those are great. But y'know . . . if you look at the level of detail represented in Hudson City or Pulp Hero, it's an order of magnitude greater than similar products. I would love to see that eye for detail in a kind of one-stop shop for that kind of material. Is that cheating? I mean . . . I'd hate to be accused of trying to exploit your expertise and research. I'm just not that kind of guy . . . ;)

[gojira]

Those are great. But y'know . . . if you look at the level of detail represented in Hudson City or Pulp Hero, it's an order of magnitude greater than similar products. I would love to see that eye for detail in a kind of one-stop shop for that kind of material. Is that cheating? I mean . . . I'd hate to be accused of trying to exploit your expertise and research. I'm just not that kind of guy . . . ;)

Neat idea. Maybe Steve would like to scan some of his stuff in and make it available in various Dime Hero PDFs.

Hint hint.

:D

[ahnen]

Thrilling Places sounds like a great place to include the Ahnenerbe (Steve correctly named it). It was a group the Nazis put together to gather information and relics to "prove" their superiority and gain occult power.

Yes, and as Steve noted, it shares a root word with my German family name. Best regards.

Mark

[Steve Long]

Thanx for the kind words! Truthfully, though, I don't think I could easily out-research the HPLHS on this particular subject; they seem to be absolute nuts for historical accuracy. I mean, geez, their PDF telegram form comes with instructions on how to fold it so that it looks like a proper telegram! The amount of time, effort, and research expense I'd have to put in to out-do them would result in a product so expensive that we wouldn't sell many of 'em. ;)

[stu2000]

OK. I get it. Admittedly, a lot of what I want to see isn't as immediately practical as he HPLHS stuff. What I'd love to find is a big coffee table book of train memorabilia. But it's not as easy to scare that stuff up as I thought. Some marginalia on over-the-road trucking from the 30s and 40s would be nice. But really, it's more for my benefit, to get the mindset. I don't typically belumber my players with more that just a couple cute handouts here and there. Iguess what I want is more like the gamer equivolent of Depression glass.

[FenrisUlf]

Thrilling Places sounds like a great place to include the Ahnenerbe (Steve correctly named it). It was a group the Nazis put together to gather information and relics to "prove" their superiority and gain occult power.

Mark

It might also be fun to make up a subgroup of the Ahnenerbe to use as 'the real occultist Nazis', or for whatever other reason. There were so many little groups within the Ahenerbe it's hard to tell what some of them were up to -- you had everything from Sonderkommando Hexen, Special Action Group Witchcraft, a group of a dozen scholars who did nothing but research German witch trials, to the Lanzritters, Knights of the Lance, an SS order of chivalry for the most efficient and productive death camp commanders. They received anatomically correct statues of human skeletons, worked in gold and abasing themselves, as a sign of membership. Supposedly Eisenhower ordered they be all killed without trial when he learned what they were.

I also seem to recall an expedition to Tibet to prove the Tibetans were Aryans (and contact the King of the World in Agharti?). They did some trips to South America too, under Edmund Kiss, to research the Weltislehre of Horbiger, as well as to find some sort of city of the lost Aryan space-gods in the jungle.

Really, I could go on for way too long. Just find copies of Peter Levenda's Unholy Alliance for all the Occult Nazi paranoia you can take. And Trevor Ravenscroft's Spear of Destiny is even better for sheer barking lunacy -- Hollow Earth kingdoms and Tibetan black magicians help Hitler seize the Spear of Destiny! Can your valiant pulp heroes stop the madness?

[arosslaw]

I'd love to see Hero get Aaron Allston to do a sourcebook for his Doc Sidhe series.

That would be awesome.

[BobGreenwade]

I'd like to see a book--or perhaps a folder--of replica train tickets, hotel menus, business cards, advertisements, packaging, matchbooks, sheet music, betting slips, driver's licenses, bills of sale, manifests--all that kind of detrius and marginalia. You can find just a little on the web. You can find some in collections. But it would be nice to have enough excellent reproductions in one place at one time to get a feel for what everyday life looked like.Maybe something like this could be done after a Hudson City 1935 sourcebook has come out, using the Lovecraft Society's resources as a starting point but with Hudson City and its establishments in place of real-world places and institutions. It could be a PDF product (cheap or free), or even done as an appendix within HC1935 itself.

[Koshka]

I also seem to recall an expedition to Tibet to prove the Tibetans were Aryans (and contact the King of the World in Agharti?).

There was a show on the History Channel a week or two ago about that expedition. Or was it something a friend had taped earlier and we finally got around to watching it a week or two ago? Whichever, History Channel tends to rerun programs a lot, especially WWII programs, so it may pop up again soon.

[James Gillen]

I actually have something in mind that will sort of "test the waters" for a Carter/Gordon/Rogers sort of setting. Stay tuned. :eg:

Spaceman Spiff: The RPG

[L. Marcus]

I'd buy it. I always wanted a ray gun with a Deep Fry setting.

[st barbara]

With regard to nazi expeditions to Tibet. People might be interested in having a look at the book "Himmler's Crusade" by Christopher Hale (Bantam Press, 2001) which deals specifically with the German expedition to Tibet in 1938. but mentions (as do some works on the Nazis and the Occult) some of the earlier expeditions. Of course many of the Occult Histories of the Nazis mention these expeditions as well. What were they REALLY looking for ? Shamballa, perhaps ? Enterprising referees can doubtless come up with many scenarios to take their intrepid heros to Tibet in the 1930's !

[JakSpade]

Martians, Mole-Men and Outlanders...

Couldn't come up with another 'M'... :ugly:

Jak

[L. Marcus]

Miscreants?

[JakSpade]

Miscreants?
Yeah!

Martians, Mole-Men and Miscreants

(Thanks, L. Marcus)
Jak

[L. Marcus]

Not at all! :) It's got a beat and you can dance to it . . .

. . . Well, not really, but almost! :D

[JakSpade]

Not at all! :) It's got a beat and you can dance to it . . .

. . . Well, not really, but almost! :D Well, maybe...

Martians, Mole-Men and Miscreants
A malign manifest of masterful migrants from Mars or meager macrocosms.

:ugly:

Jak

[Basil]

Spaceman Spiff: The RPG :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Now that is funny!
Repped.
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[JakSpade]

Has anyone discussed a book or PDF on pulp villainous organizations, much like Viper or DEMON? OOoooooOOOO.... maybe a source book UPDATE on how these two organizations might be used in the pulps... with equipment, characters, etc.

Another idea... what about minion rules? Combat maneuvers that groups of minions can do to perform certain cinematic effects? Something like the cinematic actions that the Hercules or Xena minions would perform... coordinated attacks, intimidation, etc...

Just an idea...

Jak

[James Gillen]

Another idea... what about minion rules? Combat maneuvers that groups of minions can do to perform certain cinematic effects? Something like the cinematic actions that the Hercules or Xena minions would perform... coordinated attacks, intimidation, etc...

OhWEEoh
WHOOAoh
OhWEEoh
WHOOAoh

[JakSpade]

For instance:

Example Minion Abilities

PUSH: With a successful Teamwork roll, or the spending of X Hero Points, a group of minions can force a hero to go all defensive on his next action. This could entail the minions grabbing a long pipe and pinning the character against a wall, surrounding him close to a cliff, or even all grabbing him at once.

STYMIE: A group of minions can force a Stunned-like condition out of a hero if they perform simultaneous attacks that all succeed, and the GM spends X Hero Points. The hero will not be able to perform an action on his next phase, but may recover if he so chooses.

How 'bout that? :hush:
Jak

[James Gillen]

Great idea, but I assume this means the villains get HAPs (or rather, VAPs) too. If so, how many?

JG

[Basil]

OhWEEoh
WHOOAoh
OhWEEoh
WHOOAoh
And the last one in line keeps waving his tail. ;)

[JakSpade]

Great idea, but I assume this means the villains get HAPs (or rather, VAPs) too. If so, how many?

JG
I would give HAPs based on groups of villains, but not more than any one player character. In other words, all the minions, the leutenants(sp?), and the main villain each get HAPs as if they were a separate player character. Once those points are spent, they can't gain any more, unless (for instance) the minions have special abilities that allow them to steal HAPs. And that's another story alltogether... :eg:

Jak

[Silverbullet]

Ok, jumping on the bandwagon a little late but hey…

But what about Justice Inc? Yes, it’s a cheese way to re-visit Pulp Hero’s original title from way back, but this would be a book about the “Pulp age of Champions.” This would be the book of the Shadow, G-Men, the Green Hornet (yeah, I know that really came later but it fits the genre), Super Hero teams from the 1920-1930's ect...

Oh, and...

Put me down for Pulp Amok, Hudson City 1935, Pulp Sci-Fi and The Prehistoric Bestiary—and anything else for that matter…:drink:

[Mad_Ernie]

Ok, jumping on the bandwagon a little late but hey…

But what about Justice Inc? Yes, it’s a cheese way to re-visit Pulp Hero’s original title from way back, but this would be a book about the “Pulp age of Champions.” This would be the book of the Shadow, G-Men, the Green Hornet (yeah, I know that really came later but it fits the genre), Super Hero teams from the 1920-1930's ect... :


I second that motion. :thumbup:

ME
:cool:

[Peregrine]

Ok, jumping on the bandwagon a little late but hey…

But what about Justice Inc? Yes, it’s a cheese way to re-visit Pulp Hero’s original title from way back, but this would be a book about the “Pulp age of Champions.” This would be the book of the Shadow, G-Men, the Green Hornet (yeah, I know that really came later but it fits the genre), Super Hero teams from the 1920-1930's ect...



THIRDED

[Werehawk]

How about a book on Aviation Heros. This adventure genre was very popular in the interwar years. This would include characters like the realistic pilots(Tailspin Tommy,Buz Sawyer,Terry and the Pirates) to the tech based(Blackhawk and Airboy).to the fantastic(Sky Captain). You have the age of the Zeppelins, the development of carrier warfare, and the reign of the barnstormers.

Just my two small copper disks worth

[Sketchpad]

Ok, jumping on the bandwagon a little late but hey…

But what about Justice Inc? Yes, it’s a cheese way to re-visit Pulp Hero’s original title from way back, but this would be a book about the “Pulp age of Champions.” This would be the book of the Shadow, G-Men, the Green Hornet (yeah, I know that really came later but it fits the genre), Super Hero teams from the 1920-1930's ect...

Oh, and...

Put me down for Pulp Amok, Hudson City 1935, Pulp Sci-Fi and The Prehistoric Bestiary—and anything else for that matter…:drink:
FOURTHED ;)