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[Review] Masterminds & Madmen

TheQuestionMan

By TheQuestionMan
in Pulp Hero

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TheQuestionMan Grand Master

TheQuestionMan

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Greetings Herophiles, I picked up Masterminds & Madmen about 1730hrs and have only stopped now to give you a quick review.

 

Dear Ladies & Gentlemen, I do not have the words to express how... well... It is just so totally freaking awesome!!!

 

Art: (4 out of 5) Wow, nice work and totally appropriate in every case. From Ned "The Corpse" Madden [p.96] to Jimmy "Bats" Seldon [p.172] Looks great and the characters expressions really make them come alive in my imagination. The Sky Fortess Cumulus [p.35 to 40] is certainly drool worthy.

 

Layout: (4 out of 5) A lot of empty borders, but over all really easy to use and follow.

 

Writing: (4.999 out of 5) Wow! Rob Hudson can write. The character stories are extremely well done and are going to mined for ideas for years to come. The Character Write Ups are phenominal . They are well thought out, easy to modify according to campaign, and too damn cool for words. You out did yourself here dude.

 

The Organizations are really thought out and again are going to get mined for many years to come. The Frankenstein Mob, The Cult of Nine Degrees, & Doctor Fang Shen ROCK!!!

 

Content: (4 out of 5) You do not need to run a Pulp Hero Campaign to enjoy this book, but it wouldn't hurt.

 

Summary: (4.899 out of 5) This book is absolutely BRILLIANT!!!. If you have not checked it out them do it NOW!!! I have been wanting to play in a Victorian Hero Campaign forever and a day, but now I am totally pumped up for PULP HERO. Damn now I gotta find some more Pulp Historical Comics hmmm... Let's start with a little Arrowsmith, and some Indiana Jones, and maybe.. oh boy.

 

 

Thank you Sir!

 

 

QM

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Steve Long Grand Master

Steve Long

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

Just asking -- do they have any 'Weird Menace' stye villains? I.e., deformed, depraved, and basically disgusting bad guys with something of the weird/occult about them?

 

Absolutely. ;) In addition to the groups that QM mentioned, several of the solos, such as Eppie Curran, Anezka Mrazovic, Caroline Madison, Viktor Petrov, and even the Terrormonger could easily fit the "Weird Menace" bill. We tried to provide a little something for everyone, no matter to what particular style of Pulp their tastes run. ;)

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mraley Explorer

mraley

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

In addition to the groups that QM mentioned' date=' several of the solos, such as Eppie Curran, Anezka Mrazovic, Caroline Madison, Viktor Petrov, and even the Terrormonger could easily fit the "Weird Menace" bill. [/quote']

 

Speaking as at least part of the inspiration behind Anezka, Caroline and Viktor, thankyouverymuch.

 

Mary Ann

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TheQuestionMan Grand Master

TheQuestionMan

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

How does the book compare to Predators, or the champions villains book (name escaping me) with regards to story, art, variety, etc?

 

Also, you should flesh out your review a little more and post it on rpg.net and the other review sites.

Dude, this was my Review after going through it once over an hour and a half. It will get bigger. Please keep in mind that it is slightly biased as Hero System is my game of choice.

 

DAMNNNNNN!!! That Dude can write.

 

QM

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mraley Explorer

mraley

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

DAMNNNNNN!!! That Dude can write.

 

QM

 

The house will no longer be large enough to hold his ego. :)

 

I've been lucky enough to play in his Pulp Hero campaign for thirteen years (I came in on the second scenario - in fact, it's how we met). He GM's as well as he writes.

 

Mary Ann

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Fazhoul Enthusiast

Fazhoul

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

I picked up my copy of it just yesterday (2/16) and have only just started to delve into it. When I pick up a roleplaying supplement I usually skim though it and get an idea of what's in the book and then go back and start reading through the book. With M&M I opened it up and was immediately sucked into the histories of first Dr. Fang Shen and then Skymaster. Between trying to read this AND watch Snowboard Cross on the Olympics I ended up staying up WAAAAY too late. :)

 

I can't wait to use Skymaster in my campaign. There's a certain hotshot pilot in the group who's in need of an archnemesis and Skymaster fits the bill perfectly. And the plans for the Skyfortress Cumulus are outstanding. Excellent work.

 

So far I would give this book an A. The only thing keeping it from an A+ is no full color art in the interiors. Yeah, I know, none of Hero's books have color interior art but I'm picky that way. :)

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OddHat Grand Master

OddHat

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Re: [Review] Masterminds & Madmen

 

Is someone going to post one of these reviews?

 

 

My review, as submitted to RPG.net:

 

Rob Hudson’s “Masterminds and Madmen†provides a remarkable rogues gallery for Pulp Hero games. Weighing in at 192 pages, this book is stuffed with tributes to classic Pulp characters, often with a few twists. Traditional crime lords and yellow peril foes are here, suave Japanese spies and beautiful, dutiful daughters of would be world conquerors. To that traditional mix, add a cool new take on evil side show entertainers, a haunted robot, Pulp Heroes re-conceived as sometimes sympathetic villains, and one heck of an Air Ship. The only thing I’d have liked to have seen a bit more of would have been Pulp Space type foes. Enemies books have always been one of the Strengths of Hero System, and Hudson has knocked this one out of the park.

 

The presentation is professional, well indexed, and cleanly laid out. The art is generally well done, but it does sometimes have more of a Superhero-ish than a Pulp feeling to it. Hudson’s writing is engaging, and I found myself reading the characters as much for their back stories as for their possible use in my games.

 

Speaking of use in games, this book is ideal for Pulp Hero GMs looking for a quick foe to build an adventure around. Many of these characters will become regulars in my own campaign. It’s also a handy resource for players or GMs trying to get ideas for Pulp characters. For Champions GM’s, most of these characters can be dropped into a Champions campaign with minimal adjustment. Players of other game systems will find “Masterminds and Madmen†to be a great source for ideas and inspiration when planning out Pulp era adventures.

 

So, epic bad guys, conspiracies, pirates, ninjas (sort of), jungle girls, robots, and that very cool Air Ship. Go buy this. Highly recommended.

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