PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

[Steve Long]

All right, it's that time again -- time to give us your thoughts on our upcoming RPG opus! We'd like to get your input on what you want to see in Pulp Hero.

 

Before you comment, PLEASE READ THE OUTLINE AND DESCRIPTION I'VE POSTED BELOW. Every time I do one of these posts, I get a lot of suggestions for things that I've already explicitly stated are going to be in the book. Please, save yourself some time by checking out the description first.

 

Along the same lines, please limit your comments to textual content only. I don't want to talk about art at this time; we'll get to that later if necessary.

 

Please also keep in mind that I don't have time to do immense amounts of research on every conceivable pulp-related topic. I'm fast and skilled, but there are limits to what I can accomplish, so asking for more-more-more isn't helpful or productive. This is going to be the best, most thorough gaming book for the pulp genre ever published, but even at that there's only so much I can do. So yes, I'll be telling you something about what London's like in the pulp era... but I won't be giving you in-depth details or street maps. Those will simply have to wait for supplements.

 

So, with all that aside, here's a short outline of what I think the book's going to look like as of today:

 

Chapter 1 -- The Genre: similar to the first chapters in our other genre books. It will discuss the history of the pulps (briefly), what the "pulp genre" is, the various subgenres (crimebusting, weird menace, air adventure, etc.), pulp and metagenres/other genres, important elements of the genre, and so on.

 

Chapter 2 -- History of the Pulp Era: This is mostly a big-ass timeline arranged in columns by topic (War & Politics, Science & Technology, and so on). It will also have sections discussing important organizations, people, daily life, travel, and so on (unless I decide to move that stuff to Chap. 3).

 

Chapter 3 -- The World of the Pulp Era: You, too, can learn what the Transjordan and French Equatorial Africa are. It's a fine and glorious world where women are women, men wear hats, vast chunks of the world remain essentially unexplored by Westerners, and adventure lurks around every corner! Expect copious sidebars with nuggets of useful information.

 

Chapter 4 -- Pulp Character Creation: A big honkin' pile of Package Deals, discussion of how various game elements work in PH (e.g., how to change technology-oriented Skills to reflect the tech of the times; what the standards for Money are in the pulp era), a bunch of nifty pulp abilities/super-skills/whatever I call 'em, and so on.

 

Chapter 5 -- Pulp Equipment: Weapons, vehicles, weird science gadgetry, price lists, and so on, along with discussion of the tech standards of the era, what's common/rare/yet to be invented, etc.

 

Chapter 7 -- Pulp GMing: Similar to our other GMing chapters. Will probably include some sort of rules for "dramatic editing" and suchlike. Part of this chapter is being written by SJohn Ross, whose excellent work I'm sure many of you are familiar with.

 

Chapter 8 -- Sample Characters: Randall Irons, Hamilton Cross, and their friends... as well as a few sample adversaries.

 

And of course there'll be a big ol' Bibliography and Filmography at the end. (I've started another thread on this topic, if you're interested.)

 

So, with all that in mind -- what would you like to see in the book?

[Tim]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

A bit about the differences and similarities between the Pulps and Low level supers. (The Shadow is a pulp hero not a super)

[Starwolf]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

1) Orgaizations in the pulp era like organized crime groups, law enforcement groups, bad guy gangs/clubs, gentlemens/adventurers clubs, etc.

 

2) Maps approriate to the era along with geographic/political nuggets of info.

 

3) A primer on the lingo/jargon of the time.

 

4) Oh yeah and did I mention MAPS.

[specks]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Perhaps a detailed look into the Yengtao Temple as well as the martial art training (which include super abilities and stunts) for the PCs. It would be nice if it were included in Chapter 3.

 

How about some deathtraps for the PCs to encounter and tackle.

 

A set of rules and mechanics to run a pulplike setting (to be included in Chapter 7).

[Lord Liaden]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

3) A primer on the lingo/jargon of the time.

 

Strongly agree with this. The pulp-era slang dictionary from Justice Inc. was wonderful for adding period color to character interactions. I know of a couple of good online sources for this sort of thing, in addition to JI.

 

For the weapon listings in the book, it would be enormously helpful if you could include a brief text description of the appearance of each firearm, in addition to the game stats. (Illustrations would be even better, but I'd understand if that was impractical.) A few notes on the background origin and use of the gun would also help. This kind of thing adds a lot to descriptions of the visuals of a scene in-game, especially for period weapons that are harder to look up info about.

[Steve Long]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Trust me, folx, there'll be a generous selection of lingo and slang.

 

Sorry, LL, but textual descriptions of guns is generally something I regard as a waste of space in time in a project already cramped on both. I'll include as many illos as I can, believe me, but that's the best I can do.

[Old Man]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Dare I suggest--a sample adventure? One that includes a lot of globetrotting, as opposed to being a dungeon crawl with more guns and less armor?

 

Illustrate everything--equipment, characters, jungles, The Forgotten Temple of the White Ape.

 

Might want to touch on voodoo, hypnotism, poisons, and other low-level magic.

 

Quit using cookie-cutter layouts. Give Pulp Hero an interior layout that looks like Pulp Hero and not like Champions. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

[Sketchpad]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Lingo would be quite cool I wouldn't mind seeing some expanded rules for the Inventor skill during the period ... maybe even some sample "weird science" gadgets Any chance that we could have a few clubs briefly detailed in the book? I'd also like to throw my chips in for maps

[Super Squirrel]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

For your resources section, I recommending including the site: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

 

My friend Ted gave that me two nights ago. It is really useful for getting a feel for the currency value for the different time periods one might play in.

 

 

For the Pulp Character Creation, I really think some time needs to be spent on Contacts. Contacts are, IMHO, one of the most important elements of Pulp. I've already set the character creation guideline for my campaign that at least 30 points must be spent on contacts.

 

Along that lines, I think both the GM section and the Character Creation section could use some emphasis on Hunteds. I noticed this when I was reading the Lost World. The group has three people assisting them until they get to the actual Lost World when one of the assistances reveals himself to be a vengeful enemy of one of the characters. I don't know what to call it, maybe the "Oh yeah! I remember him!" Hunted. No matter how many "Oh yeah! I remember him!" Hunteds you dispatch and defeat, you always will encounter others. It would also be nice to have a GM section on ways to bring this up.

 

Information on the structure of a Pulp trap would be nice. (e.g. Indiana Jones tosses up the relic to his assistant and asks him to toss him down the rope. The rope is tossed down, but still coiled. Then the assistant closes off the exit leaving him to his impending doom.)

 

Pulp poisons, from my experience are also more lethal than normal and convieniently based on verbal triggers instead of delayed onset.

 

Okay, that's a good start for me. I'm going to let someone else post what they would like to see now.

[BishopofB&W]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Suggestions on how to deal with the unfortunate realities of race relations in the period. For example, WW's Adventure! pointed out that if you have a black man and a white woman as PCs and they are traveling cross-country together, they're going to get hassled. People assumed that The Avenger's mechanical engineer was just dumb muscle, but how do you get the guy some respect if you don't want to play him that way?

 

Lots of Mcguffins. What do you call your valuable artifact when the Maltese Falcon name is already taken? What were common names for people, places, and things back then, meaning how do you take something from now and fix it in the pulp style?

[BishopofB&W]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Trust me, folx, there'll be a generous selection of lingo and slang.

 

Sorry, LL, but textual descriptions of guns is generally something I regard as a waste of space in time in a project already cramped on both. I'll include as many illos as I can, believe me, but that's the best I can do.

 

Just give me names, general stats, and a few illos, please.

[starblaze]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

This is just an aside, maybe just one page, but how about a conversion page in case we want to convert characters and/or adventure from other game systems? Call of Cthulu comes to mind as well as Adventure! and Daredevils.

[Tim]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

I'd like to see

A write-up of your average Mob Thug

A write-up of your average Nazi soldier of the 30s.

A write-up of the standard cutist.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Key points on the differences between Pulp and Other Genres.

 

At least 5 different Sub Genres Adventures, but all within the Pulp Genre. Make sure the Writting style fits the Genre. Creating that feeling of authenticity.

 

The differences between Pulp and Noir.

 

I really really like the work you folks have done so far and look foreward to buying your quality products in the future.

 

Chow

 

QM

[Barton]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

I'd like to see

A write-up of your average Mob Thug

A write-up of your average Nazi soldier of the 30s.

A write-up of the standard cutist.

 

I second this, and add Italian soldier, British soldier from the 1930's also.

 

Steve Long: I already have a write up of the Italian solider/officer if you are interested?

[Starwolf]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Evil Cults and samples of Artifacts as plot hooks like the Spear of Destiny, the Philosophers Stone, Arc of the Covenant, Holy Grail, etc...

 

OOH OH and Lost Cities.

 

And have I mentioned MAPS

[Lamrok]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

I think the most important thing a book like this could cover would be the various forms of travel avalable. In a typical globe-travelling pulp game, the players spend a lot of time lookiung for airplane rides, riding in zepplins, and being cooped up on luxury liners. All of these factors are great adventure opportunities.

 

It would be nice to have a sidebar on the state of zepplin travel at the time, on what it would be like to travel aboard a zepplin, and any special things a GM should consider when setting an advanture there.

 

A section on appropriate airplanes of the time almost goes without mentioning. Some of the larger planes of the time were slow-moving behemoths that make for excellent opportunites to scramble out on to the wing in order to do mid-flight repairs.

 

Many groups will likely spend some amount of time cooped up on passenger liners, and these make truely excellent places to set adventures. Some discussion of the limitations of communications with shore and about typical resources found aboard such ships would be nice.

 

It would be very good to see a detailed table with travel times to major cities of the world based on mode of travel. It would be even better to discuss how exceptionally skilled characters might alter these.

 

I like the inclusion of Tech differences. I think the biggest, most unfamiliar difference to modern players is the way telephones worked (operators, switchboards, having to wait to have calls "put through" etc.) A sidebar about telegraphs (and perhaps telegraph codes) might also be nice.

[Agemegos]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

As always, technology is very important to genre, and the four aspects of technology that impinge most on the progress of RPG adventures are personal weapons, personal armour, transportation, and communications. I'm sure you will cover weapons and armour as always. I'd just like to suggest that it might be worth half a page or even a page to explain to the folk of this age of jet planes and cell phones how different the world was in the '20s and '30s, and how different adventures where when:

 

* cars, and especially fast cars, were rare, so 'most everyone travelled by scheduled transport;

 

* telephones were rare and fixed, so people were usually out of touch, especially if they were doing anything out of the way;

 

* low telephonic fidelity made it easy to impersonate someone on the phone, and a wide reliance on leaving messages at home or the office, or on sending cables or telegrams made it very easy to forge a message;

 

* telephone and telegraph cables could easily be cut and spliced to cut off a house or outpost, or to send a false signal;

 

* Morse code was in wide use for long-distance radio and telegraph signals.

[Agemegos]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

I'd like to add that one of the things I used to love about Justice, Inc was the rules for weapon size and carry affecting concealment. I said before that I wanted them back, and you said to remind you when you were doing Pulp HERO. You're doing Pulp HERO, so I'm reminding you.

[Agemegos]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

By the way, I am suddenly reminded that it is an outrage that anyone on these boards should have more rep than Steve Long. I've done my bit for today. I suggest that on the occasion of Pulp HERO being adumbrated it behoves anyone else who loves pulp adventuring to make a similar gesture of appreciation and esteem.

 

We don't get to vote with our wallets until the book comes out.

[Super Squirrel]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

I'm going to second Starwolf and say that it would be nice to see a write-up of a Mcguffin Artifact such as the Holy Grail.

 

Hmm, is there such a thing as a Femme Fatal Martial Art?

[Lamrok]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Suggestions on how to deal with the unfortunate realities of race relations in the period. For example, WW's Adventure! pointed out that if you have a black man and a white woman as PCs and they are traveling cross-country together, they're going to get hassled. People assumed that The Avenger's mechanical engineer was just dumb muscle, but how do you get the guy some respect if you don't want to play him that way?

 

I agree that some attention should be paid to ways of dealing with the issues of racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Things in the pulp era were a lot different than they are today, and you can approach it in different ways, whether fighting against it, acting purposely anachronistic, or in bowlderizing the past to make it a bit more acceptable to modern players. This is a potentially ugly issue for anyone who wants to use a lot of original sources, and I think it would be nice if the book could deal with it in a classy way.

[Super Squirrel]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

It could just be covered under Social Limitations.

[Old Man]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Well, it should also be optional. Pulp is supposed to be heroic and fictional; I don't know if including real-life hot button topics like racism is absolutely necessary. Now, if you have an evil proto-Nazi mad scientist type who's developing a private army of ape-men, that's something else entirely.

[FenrisUlf]

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See?

 

Under sample villains, will we get to see a Fiendish Oriental mastermind like Doctor Yin Wu? (A lower-powered version of him would fit in perfectly, I think; and the Champs Universe /did/ have a 'Pulp Age'.)

 

Some ideas on how to handle high-powered Pulp characters/low-powered 'supers' like the Spider and Doc Savage would also be nice.

 

I am eagerly awaiting this book!