[Hooks] News articles that could be Pulp Adventures

[AlHazred]

Re: [Hooks] News articles that could be Pulp Adventures

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/22/pharaoh.curse.reut/index.html

 

Man returns 'cursed' Pharaoh piece

 

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- A German has handed in a package containing part of a Pharaonic carving to Egypt's embassy in Berlin, with a note saying his stepfather had suffered a "curse of the Pharaohs" for stealing it, Egypt said on Wednesday.

 

The note said the man felt obliged to return the carving to make amends for his late stepfather and enable his soul to rest in peace, Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities said.

 

The stepfather had stolen the piece while on a visit to Egypt in 2004 and on his return to Germany suffered paralysis, nausea, unexplained fevers and cancer before dying recently, the anonymous man said in the note.

 

The Egyptian embassy in Berlin had sent the fragment back to Egypt by diplomatic pouch and it had been handed over to the Supreme Council for Antiquities, where a committee of experts was trying to ascertain its authenticity, the statement said.

 

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Let's turn the clock back on this one:

What if the carving does contain power and thieves want to steal it in order to resurrect an ancient evil high priest? The PCs are requested/hired to bring the carving back to Egypt by the embassy in Berlin and must dodge an obsessed collector's hired goons and Nazi agents of the Ahnenerbe to succeed.

 

The item does not seem to come from any recognized period in Egyptian history, but is clearly ancient Egyptian in style and of great antiquity. Now, Dr. Hazi Wahass, expert on antiquities, has come to believe the carving actually hails from an Egyptian civilization in the Hollow Earth and wants to mount an expedition to the tomb in the Valley of the Pharaohs where the item supposedly was stolen from.

 

The man wants revenge for the death of his stepfather, which was caused by a modern Egyptian sorcerer who despises thieves. The man is part of the Ahnenerbe and has worked a sorcerous enchantment on the item which will make it the focus of an enormous amount of "bad luck," and now needs to deliver it to the target. Under the guise of wanting to return the stolen antiquity and under an assumed identity, he hires the PCs to bring the item back (assuming the PCs have made themselves a thorn in the Nazi's side, this kills two birds with one stone). Hijinks ensue.

[JakSpade]

Re: [Hooks] News articles that could be Pulp Adventures

 

I don't know if this will fit more as inspiration, or as an adventure... Enjoy!

 

Most successful pirate was beautiful and tough

 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/08/27/woman.pirate/index.html

 

You can keep your Bluebeards and your Blackbeards. The most successful pirate of all time controlled a fleet of more than 1,500 ships and upwards of 80,000 sailors -- and she did it all without the help of facial hair.

art.tall.ship.afp.gi.jpg

 

Tall ships like the La Boudeuse used to face threats from pirates as they sailed around the world.

 

When a Chinese pirate captain named Cheng married a beautiful prostitute in 1801, he wasn't just getting the girl of his dreams; he was making the best financial investment of his career. His new bride, known to history as Cheng I Sao, or "Wife of Cheng," agreed to the marriage on one condition -- that she would share equally in his power and would be given the opportunity to help him secure more wealth.

 

Sounded like a deal to Cheng, and for the next six years, the husband and wife teamed up to grow their piracy business along the coast of the South China Sea, as far south as Malaysia. But then, in 1807, Cheng passed away. Instead of stepping aside like a "proper" widow, Cheng I Sao promptly took the reins.

 

Thinking outside the treasure box

 

Although clearly ahead of her time, Cheng I Sao was shrewd enough to realize that the pirate masses weren't likely as enlightened. So, her first act as leader was to make her husband's second-in-command, Chang Pao, official captain of the fleet.

 

While Chang Pao led the men into battle, Cheng I Sao focused her attention on business, military strategy, and the enormous task of governing a growing body of ruffians. In the years following her husband's death, she steadily brought more and more outlaws under the banner of her Red Flag Fleet.

 

In fact, Cheng I Sao was eventually responsible for nearly all the piracy in the region and her fleet exceeded the size of many countries' navies. She also expanded the scope of the business, branching out from simple attack-and-pillage jobs to protection schemes, blackmail, and extortion. Cheng I Sao's reach also extended to the mainland, where she set up an extensive spy network and developed economic ties with farmers who would supply her men with food.

 

If Cheng I Sao's business practices were exemplary, then her system of pirate law was nothing short of revolutionary. The code of conduct she wrote for her men prescribed much harsher punishments than previous pirate laws had. A disobeyed order was cause for beheading (as was stealing from the common plunder), and deserters stood to lose their ears.

 

Ironically, Cheng I Sao's most famous laws applied to the taking of female prisoners. Ugly women were returned to shore, free of charge. Attractive captives were auctioned off to the crew, unless a pirate personally purchased the captive, in which case they were considered married. Of course, if that pirate cheated on his new bride, Cheng I Sao had him killed.

 

The not-so-bitter end

 

Murder, thievery, and intricate crime syndicates will eventually garner the full attention of the law, and Cheng I Sao certainly had the authorities on her tail. But, here again, she proved more successful than her male counterparts.

 

Cheng I Sao repelled attack after attack by both the Chinese navy and the many Portuguese and British bounty hunters brought in to help capture her. Then, in 1810, the Chinese government tried a different tactic -- they offered her universal pirate amnesty in exchange for peace.

 

Cheng I Sao jumped at the opportunity and headed for the negotiating table. There, the pirate queen arranged what was, all told, a killer deal. Fewer than 400 of her men received any punishment, and a mere 126 were executed. The remaining pirates got to keep their booty and were offered military jobs.

 

As for Cheng I Sao, she retired with her loot and her new husband (former righthand man, Chang Pao) and opened a gambling house. She died peacefully in 1844, a 69-year-old grandmother.

[Basil]

Re: [Hooks] News articles that could be Pulp Adventures

 

http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9803857.html

 

Scientists investigate mystery moss in pristine Crater Lake

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, Ore. (AP) - Call it the mystery of the moss.

 

After all, it sounds like science fiction: Thick patches of moss that grow in large, dense mats 100 feet below the surface of crystalline Crater Lake. Mysterious cylindrical holes spiral deep into sections of the mats. Core samples of the moss ooze pungent odors from unknown millennia of growth and decay.

 

"It's certainly like no other environment I've seen," says Mark Buktenica, Crater Lake National Park's aquatic ecologist.

 

 

Read the whole article. It's interesting, and a bit of a twist could make it a great pulp adventure.