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Question about Justice Inc.


Retro Rush

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I know that Pulp Hero is the current resource book for the Hero System but was there ever a time that both Justice Inc. and Pulp Hero overlaped, or did Pulp start getting distributed only after Pulp Hero was discontinued?

 

And what were the differences between the two, originally? Did one contain the core rules while the other was simply a resource book?

 

And does the current Pulp Hero resource book pretty much have everything that was in Justice Inc.? In other words, if I bought Pulp 5e, would there be any reason to track down an edition of Justice Inc. other than  it's a hard copy?

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

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Justic Incorporated was many years out of print, and long obsolete from a HERO System game-mechanics perspective, before Pulp Hero was first published. In terms of resources -- world history to use as background, pre-generated weapons/vehicles, etc., -- Pulp Hero has pretty much everything Justice Inc. had, only an order of magnitude more of it. JI does contain Hero System rules allowing you to play the game, but it came from an era in which each genre of book published by Hero Games used its own unique variation of the HERO System, tailored for that genre. The rules in JI, although they have many mechanical similarities to other versions of HERO, are unique and would require conversion to use. They're also much more limited in what they cover than any subsequent version of the game; the Powers system is completely absent, for example.

 

JI is a classic, quality pulp-era game, and if you didn't have any of the later Hero books it would be sufficient for most pulp campaigns. If you have PH and one of the core HERO System rule books, there'd be no advantage to buying JI.

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I own both games/ supplements and I still think that Justice Inc., while outdated ruleswise, has more of a pulp flavour to it. And they have nice scenarios and the Adventures Club as a meeting place for world-travelling pulp-heroes with locations in New York, London, Hudson City etc.

 

If you by only one, buy Pulp Hero and the supplements for it because of the rules et al. But if you can spare a dollar take a look at Justice Inc. - the whole piece is a piece of art and breaths pulp.

 

And if you just want to play pulp and nothing else - Justice Inc! Everything you need in one gorgeous box with a front cover so "pulp" that they stole it for a Savage Worlds pul supplement!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Justice Inc was published around the same time as 2nd Edition Champions. It's around the same vintage as Espionage and has the exact production values as the other two games (2nd Ed Champions and Espionage). There wasn't a proper replacement for Justice Inc. until Pulp Hero was published near the end of the Hero System 5th Edition Revised period.

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Justice Inc was published around the same time as 2nd Edition Champions. It's around the same vintage as Espionage and has the exact production values as the other two games (2nd Ed Champions and Espionage). There wasn't a proper replacement for Justice Inc. until Pulp Hero was published near the end of the Hero System 5th Edition Revised period.

 

I realize this is probably being a bit pedantic, so apologies for that up front :)  I've recently finished re-reading both Espionage! and Justice Inc., and I have to say that the production values of JI far exceed those of either 2nd ed. Champions or Espionage!Champs 2E came out in 1982, Espionage! in 1983, and JI in 1984, and the evolution of Hero Games' design and presentation approach is clear to see.  JI is certainly a game of the 2E era, but I would consider it a proto-3rd edition game given not only its superior - although certainly not perfect - production values (by which I mean graphic design, layout, and editing), but also in the changes made to the presentation of the game, which foreshadow the approach taken in Champs 3E: Sample character presented early, solo (programmed) mini-adventure to give new players a quick feel for the game, improved game mechanic descriptions, etc.

 

I can't comment on how JI compares to Pulp Hero, but taken as a product of its time, Justice Inc. was definitely a favorable milestone for Hero Games.

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I know that Pulp Hero is the current resource book for the Hero System but was there ever a time that both Justice Inc. and Pulp Hero overlaped, or did Pulp start getting distributed only after Pulp Hero was discontinued?

 

And what were the differences between the two, originally? Did one contain the core rules while the other was simply a resource book?

 

And does the current Pulp Hero resource book pretty much have everything that was in Justice Inc.? In other words, if I bought Pulp 5e, would there be any reason to track down an edition of Justice Inc. other than  it's a hard copy?

 

Thank you.

Justice Inc. was a complete game. I understand Pulp Hero is merely a sourcebook for Hero System. Justice Inc. had lots of genre stuff in it, although "pulp" was never a genre. JI is pretty darn good. Can't comment on Pulp Hero as I never saw a copy.

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As I recall, there were a couple of pretty decent adventures included with Justice Inc.  It would be nice to see official, updated versions of those...

 

 

What was that Aaron Allston campaign/sourcebook called, Lands of Mystery? That was a great book.

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  • 11 months later...

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