The Mad GM Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. In one of the Supernatural Detective series Manley Wade Wellman wrote' date=' 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.[/quote'] Do you remember the title? I've read all the John the Balladeer stories, and would love to find more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKJAM! Posted May 26, 2005 Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. Do you remember the title? I've read all the John the Balladeer stories' date=' and would love to find more.[/quote'] 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mad GM Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. Hmm... looks like a whole series of books of his I haven't read. Time to warm up the credit card. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. "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' date=' or Mycroft would be most useful as "contacts" for the P Cs rather than having someone play that type of character.[/quote'] Point; though it might be fun playing the wise-cracking legman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSgeekHero Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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' date=' a race that appears in several of the Thunstone tales, might be suitable as adversaries in a mystically inclined campaign.[/quote'] 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenrisUlf Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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. The site's synopsises make it clear what it was like, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Chamberlin Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbsousa Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. To "Steve Long" Are most of the ones that we have suggested here included ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherSkip Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 ( 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. The plucky kid who sell news papers on the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblittlefield Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBaldy Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 Re: Pulp archtypes. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.