I'll Never Play Pulp

[Curufea]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

I don't really view Pulp as an era. More a genre.

 

For example - Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Star Wars, Farscape, Baron Munchausen, The Shadow, Errol-Flynesque pirates and Robin Hood I'd class as Pulp.

 

A mixture of fantasy and melodrama.

 

Actually - any other genre, with a higher content of melodrama and fantasy.

[AnotherSkip]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

And If you are a player bring the Pulp Heroes to them.

 

Right now I'm playing an Archeologist/Daredevil in a Mage (White Wolf) Campaign.

And I just pulled off : Swinging down a zipline and landing on a roof it was close to (but not the target zone the line was aimed for) Seconds before the Evil Punk Vampires roasted the Watertower I was in.

 

Gosh, victory was sweet that day. And I was playing pulp all by myself.

 

Boy was I embarassed when i realised that I had to doctor up a wounded female character shot twice in the chest..... :Blushes:

Good thing she was my GF IRL and her character seems to be taking a liking to me....

[BigJackBrass]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Now we know this can't be true... Gamers DON'T HAVE girlfriends...

 

...or real lives...

[The Monster]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

From your description, it sounds to me like part of the problem is that your players don't want to deal with anything that isn't clearly either guns or swords. The claim that they don't understand the weapons of the era is smoke (whether they know it or not); they play Star Hero and Champions, and those all have weapons they understand? Feh! Tell me they've never read/seen Westerns, Sherlock Holmes, Zorro, Doc Savage, Scarlet Pimpernel, Three Musketeers, etc., etc. Frankly, muzzle-loading firearms are little different game-mechanic-wise than crossbows, and they probably don't have any problem with those in FH

[The Monster]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

(ahem) clicked on the wrong thing - darn cat leaping about!

 

Anyway, what I was aiming at (pun intended) is that it isn't the weaponry that has them, it's probably the culture. THey don't think they know how to act or what to expect in a 20's pulp or victorian game (or, in the case of Victorian, they probably associate it more with Jane Austen drama and farce than solid adventure). I bet they use much the same kind of action and character in FH/SH/CH that would be appropriate to pulp, they just don't know it.

[austenandrews]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

That's true, and hopefully will be enough. But I've met people for whom the "pulp era" simply has no romantic appeal. They understand & enjoy Indiana Jones well enough, but have no special desire to play an entire campaign in such a setting. I can sympathize somewhat - I love Zorro movies and I enjoy the classic westerns as much as the next guy, but I have no particular interest in playing campaigns in either setting.

 

I suggest trying a short-run game first, like 3-5 sessions. Players with little interest in the setting may be willing to commit to that. Once they're in the thick of the game, their attitude may just change.

[Eosin]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

As a player in said game, who is WELL aware of the pulp genre despite the many suggestions to the contrary, I can say with some certianty that Edsel is doomed (with this group at least). I am not the most vocal member of our little gang that has gamed together for some time (more than 2 decades in some cases) but I am one of those who have no desire to play a pulp game. I don't like Hackmaster, Deadlands, Exalted, or Blue Rose either but that does not make me ignorant of the game style... it means that I have tastes that don't run into those areas in gaming. I love movies like Bubba Ho-Tep, Indiana Jones, and just about anything Western but I never read in those generes just like I never read romances or biographies. I also don't game in those eras. I have little enough time for gaming as is so when I can squeeze time to play or run, it will be something I like. It has little to due with ignorance and everything to do with taste.

 

Having said that, we only get togheter every other week (and I am in the midst of missing 2 months of gaming due to vacation and work) so I would suggest something like the Hackmaster compromise. Get a game going on the opposite week. I think you would need to curb the DC game or the Star Fire game to make the time available. And I think only one member would actively discourage you from getting a game going but then he generally actively discourages anything not to his express liking.

 

PS - I like Cuthulu and would love to play a game of Dealta Green, I just don't like to game from the 1500's forwards. I have found that I like to game in pseudo-real modern worlds griped in darkness like Dark Champions but the closer they cleave to the real world the less I enjoy them. I am pretty much a fantasy gamer through and through but with modern claims on my time *every game faces the decision of "is this worth the time away from my family" and non-fantasy games already have one strike against them.

 

*Our Dark Champions games have set a standard of enjoyment that daunts everyone at the table including Edsel. We all aim to play, run, or enjoy a game as good as the 5-6 year campaign that became a table legend. Like Edsel, when I run, I sometimes feel the shadow of that game breathing down my neck, so in a way it is ironic that Dark Champions has become my favored game to play in but I generally meet disaster when running it.

 

PPS - I also dislike Zombie games also but I am willing to play them as filler episodes when needed. I would likewise be willing to play Pulp as a filler game but if it became a regular game then as usual, I would beg off gaming and return when the group returned to a game that I enjoyed. I have gamed with Edsel long enough that this pattern should be apparent. I don't like to discourage others from playing a game that they enjoy but that doesn't mean that I have to go along for the ride.

[Sketchpad]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

I'll buy the book and probably enjoy reading it and wishing to play a game of Pulp Hero but I doubt that I will ever get a chance to play it. Our RPG group plays Hero System most of the time. DC and FH are our usual fare but we also venture into Champions, SH and other genre from time to time.

 

The problem is that I am the only one of us that seem to have any interest in that particular era. The group seems to have a dead-spot in history that none of them are interested in. This seems to extend from the dawn of firearms until the modern era. Anything before or after this time period is pretty much enjoyed by the whole group. Alas I majored in history in college and would love to play a Victorian-era or Pulp-era game someday.

 

Oh well, perhaps I can use some of the stuff from PH to run some non-traditional, modern-era, pulp-style games.

 

Well ... if worse comes to worse Edsel ... you could always come to the in-charcater chat that I'm working on for Pulp Hero

[st barbara]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

To "Sketchpad" In character chat ? Hmm ! Please tell me more. I can see Honeydew Holliday, my NPC Occult Librarian being part of that, no sweat !

[Sketchpad]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

To "Sketchpad" In character chat ? Hmm ! Please tell me more. I can see Honeydew Holliday' date=' my NPC Occult Librarian being part of that, no sweat ![/quote']

I'll be making an entire thread about it as soon as I can get my copy of Pulp Hero Stay tuned for more details

[Edsel]

Pulp Campaign DOA

 

As I feared my plans for a Pulp Hero campaign are DOA. I did some work in setting up the campaign but after a long conversation with the two most diehard members of our RPG group it became obvious that I was the only member interested in the era. It looks like I am back to running street-level Dark Champions. I will still collect all the Pulp Hero stuff as it is released because of my interest and there is always a slim chance that sometime in the future I may get a chance to run or play in a campaign.

 

Our (6 person) group only gets to meet once every two-weeks, and with three of the seven of us wanting to run games, there just isn't enough interest to try and shoehorn in another campaign setting. For now our group will remain with our Fantasy Hero campaign (by Eosin), our Star Wars Hero (by a non-board member) and my Dark Champions campaign.

 

Oh well, we all still have a great time.

[Agent X]

Re: Pulp Campaign DOA

 

As I feared my plans for a Pulp Hero campaign are DOA. I did some work in setting up the campaign but after a long conversation with the two most diehard members of our RPG group it became obvious that I was the only member interested in the era. It looks like I am back to running street-level Dark Champions. I will still collect all the Pulp Hero stuff as it is released because of my interest and there is always a slim chance that sometime in the future I may get a chance to run or play in a campaign.

 

Our (6 person) group only gets to meet once every two-weeks, and with three of the seven of us wanting to run games, there just isn't enough interest to try and shoehorn in another campaign setting. For now our group will remain with our Fantasy Hero campaign (by Eosin), our Star Wars Hero (by a non-board member) and my Dark Champions campaign.

 

Oh well, we all still have a great time.

Well, you never know, I live on the other side of town and very much like the idea of playing in a pulp game. If you ever get desperate enough to want to game with "strangers" I can ask my cohorts in crime what they think of pulp. We seem to be edging into the direction of a pulp sci fi game a la Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon but I don't know if the guy thinking about it is serious yet.

[Basil]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

I'll be making an entire thread about {in-character chat for Pulp Hero} as soon as I can get my copy of Pulp Hero Stay tuned for more details

Anything happening with this?

[rayoman]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

And if that don't work' date=' pummel 'em into submission with the hand crank from a Ford Model T. [/quote']

 

OR...Pummel them with the Pulp Hero Book or 5ER.

[Sketchpad]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Anything happening with this?

Just got the PH book a bit ago ... still absorbing it and will be posting some info soon

[Basil]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Just got the PH book a bit ago ... still absorbing it and will be posting some info soon

 

Thankee kindly. Will be waiting to hear.

 

BTW, you are talking about an IRC channel, or other "chat" thingy, right?

[ParitySoul]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

A crosstime Dark Champions/Pulp Hero game would be a nice introduction. Must make sure to show them that the Pulp world is VERY different from their own.

 

Or pull a Star HERO trick from Star Trek. "A Piece of the Action." A world stuck in the 1920/30s.

[Sketchpad]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Thankee kindly. Will be waiting to hear.

 

BTW, you are talking about an IRC channel, or other "chat" thingy, right?

Kinda ... I plan on running it in Hero's chat room

[ghost-angel]

Re: Pulp Campaign DOA

 

As I feared my plans for a Pulp Hero campaign are DOA. I did some work in setting up the campaign but after a long conversation with the two most diehard members of our RPG group it became obvious that I was the only member interested in the era. It looks like I am back to running street-level Dark Champions. I will still collect all the Pulp Hero stuff as it is released because of my interest and there is always a slim chance that sometime in the future I may get a chance to run or play in a campaign.

 

Our (6 person) group only gets to meet once every two-weeks, and with three of the seven of us wanting to run games, there just isn't enough interest to try and shoehorn in another campaign setting. For now our group will remain with our Fantasy Hero campaign (by Eosin), our Star Wars Hero (by a non-board member) and my Dark Champions campaign.

 

Oh well, we all still have a great time.

You know ... Dark Champions is but a few plot twists away from Dark Pulp Champions. Sneak it in on them - use elements from the movies Sin City and Dark City (a theme...?). Both are very pulp in style and feel while not completely entrenched in Classic Pulp.

 

It's something at least. Even if it's just a few sessions long plot line.

[Eosin]

Re: Pulp Campaign DOA

 

Sneak it in on them

 

Yep, sneak in on me Edsel... I'm sure I won't notice.

 

PS - I said I would give it a try. But next time I want to run a Mercedes Lackey - Harlequin romance novel crossover with Fabio as the main NPC, I want the nod in return

[Edsel]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Relax, you know how my mind works. I'm already on to the next thing. (My next crack at modern DC). I still want to run Shades of Black.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Pulp Campaign DOA

 

Yep' date=' sneak in on me Edsel... I'm sure I won't notice. [/quote']

This is not the game you are looking for :handwavything:

 

PS - I said I would give it a try. But next time I want to run a Mercedes Lackey - Harlequin romance novel crossover with Fabio as the main NPC' date=' I want the nod in return [/quote']

Dude!! hurting the brain here! some people....

[Basil]

Re: I'll Never Play Pulp

 

Sketchpad: thanks for the info. I'll be waiting.