Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

[KA.]

Off a dingy street in the bad part of town, you can find a small office.

That is, if you don't mind walking up six flights of creaking stairs.

The guy inside doesn't look like your average gumshoe, even though he seems to be trying to.

Under the battered fedora, inside the threadbare trenchcoat, he looks a lot more fit than you expected.

Maybe an ex-boxer?

No, his features are a little too perfect for that.

And he never has five-o'clock shadow, even when you know he was up all night.

He won't talk much about his past.

The most anyone has ever heard is that he got involved with his best friend's wife, and things went really sour from there.

After that he hooked up with a real witch that told him he'd wish he was dead before she was through with him.

Maybe he does have a death wish, he sure seems to take some crazy chances.

But so far, no matter how bad he gets hurt, he never quite seems to get killed.

His rates are cheap, and he always seems to give his clients a fair shake.

Just don't ask him to do any divorce work, he won't even discuss it.

 

 

KA.

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Maybe a tad ironic for the Pulp era...but the concept can't be beat.

[KA.]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Wow!

I didn't expect uncontrolled adulation for this character concept, but enough people have viewed it without comment that I am beginning to think it must not be nearly as cool as I think it is.

 

I was cooking dinner when it came to me, maybe the heat addled my brain or something.

 

I just started thinking about the whole Sir Launcelot concept, and then thought about a hard-boiled detective, and something clicked.

 

If he somehow had managed to survive, perhaps through a curse, what would he be like?

 

Eventually, he would probably want to leave Europe behind and get a fresh start in America.

 

He would also have the typical, hard-boiled, "Dames are nothing but trouble, but I will risk my life to defend them" thing going on, based on his past history.

 

For some reason it just seemed right for the wierder edges of the pulp genre.

 

You could even build him on the Pulp points.

 

LS: Does Not Age, and a tiny bit of Regeneration (so that he would heal back wounds over time) and he would be effectively immortal.

 

Oh well.

 

KA.

[Midas]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Wow!

I didn't expect uncontrolled adulation for this character concept, but enough people have viewed it without comment that I am beginning to think it must not be nearly as cool as I think it is.

 

I was cooking dinner when it came to me, maybe the heat addled my brain or something.

 

I just started thinking about the whole Sir Launcelot concept, and then thought about a hard-boiled detective, and something clicked.

 

If he somehow had managed to survive, perhaps through a curse, what would he be like?

 

Eventually, he would probably want to leave Europe behind and get a fresh start in America.

 

He would also have the typical, hard-boiled, "Dames are nothing but trouble, but I will risk my life to defend them" thing going on, based on his past history.

 

For some reason it just seemed right for the wierder edges of the pulp genre.

 

KA.

 

Actually, this is an excellent character concept. The only change I would make is to give him a little more obscure of a name. OK, the usual lowlifes that a noir PI run into won't know any classic lit. But what happens when he runs into a Doc Savage, Holmes, or Moriarity clone? A little bit of digging (think of the girl in Highlander 1) and his secret is loose.

 

Midas

[KA.]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Actually, this is an excellent character concept. The only change I would make is to give him a little more obscure of a name. OK, the usual lowlifes that a noir PI run into won't know any classic lit. But what happens when he runs into a Doc Savage, Holmes, or Moriarity clone? A little bit of digging (think of the girl in Highlander 1) and his secret is loose.

 

Midas

 

Thanks for the support.

 

Since I didn't provide that much background in the first post, I didn't want it to be so obscure that no one would get it.

 

When I was batting around the concept in my mind, I first thought of Lance Lake.

 

I was afraid that the memory of a certain 'Secret Chimp' might lead to too many puns from fellow gamers.

 

However, if anyone has another name suggestion, I would be happy to hear it.

 

One thing, I do want to keep the first name Lance, because it actually sounds like the name of a Pulp Detective, to me.

 

KA.

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Actually' date=' this is an excellent character concept. The only change I would make is to give him a little more obscure of a name. OK, the usual lowlifes that a noir PI run into won't know any classic lit. But what happens when he runs into a Doc Savage, Holmes, or Moriarity clone? A little bit of digging (think of the girl in Highlander 1) and his secret is loose.[/quote']

 

I would put this into the category of "script immunity," unless there's some likely reason for the NPC to do that digging. This is pulp, darn it, not a Nitpicker's Guide.

[rjcurrie]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

I like the name -- I saw it and wondered how you were going to turn Sir Lancelot into a pulp detective. Personally, I think that it's just something that no one ever questions.

[fwcain]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

...if anyone has another name suggestion' date=' I would be happy to hear it. One thing, I do want to keep the first name Lance, because it actually sounds like the name of a Pulp Detective, to me. [/quote']How about "Lance Lakermann"?

 

Franklin

[Midas]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Lance Link, wasn't it?

 

I would put this into the category of "script immunity' date='" unless there's some likely reason for the NPC to do that digging. This is [i']pulp,[/i] darn it, not a Nitpicker's Guide.

 

Oh, I agree. The outstanding example is Dogged Reporter Chick, who somehow never noticed that when Testerone Dude showed up, Nerdboy at the next desk was missing.

 

OTOH, we are really talking about a SI here. What would happen if someone does the Holmesian detailism: "Walks like he is wearing a suit of armor, moves of a fencer, with that name...hmnnn..." Of course, in the Holmsian universe there was no magic, so he'd have to spot something intriguing (the famous MacLeod "Oh, the wound wasn't as serious as it looked" comes to mind).

 

On the third hand, this could be an example of hiding in plain sight. Most people even spotting the name would shrug it off as coincidence. What famous person in hiding is going to go around introducing himself by name, after all?

 

Then again, it could be a coincidence. Suppose someone familiar with the Arthurian cycle got involved in a messy divorce, then tangled with a Rhymes-ith-witch who totally soured him on romance. He takes the name of a classical hero with a similar past, and goes to The City to start his life over.

 

Anybody who did a background check would find this out, and drop it.

 

The kicker is that he really is Lance D'lake. He was ready to start a new "younger" life, and he pulled a Doc Savage a few years ago to background it. He found an unhappy couple who were looking to end the marriage, and made a deal with them to follow a certain script in return for his help in ending the marriage. He then found a carny fortune teller who was looking for a bit of "image" and set her up as being able to cast real curses. That's just a thought stream. I leave it to more capable hands to figure out why a love triangle is a better divorce than whatever the couple's real problem was, for instance.

 

Midas

[Lemurion]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

I actually like the concept a lot. I'm planning on running a 1938 supers game and this will fit in nicely. I'll just keep the mystery of whether he's Dulac or not

[gewing]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Thanks for the support.

 

Since I didn't provide that much background in the first post, I didn't want it to be so obscure that no one would get it.

 

When I was batting around the concept in my mind, I first thought of Lance Lake.

 

I was afraid that the memory of a certain 'Secret Chimp' might lead to too many puns from fellow gamers.

 

However, if anyone has another name suggestion, I would be happy to hear it.

 

One thing, I do want to keep the first name Lance, because it actually sounds like the name of a Pulp Detective, to me.

 

KA.

 

 

When I was a kid I really liked "Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp"

 

[gewing]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Lance Link, wasn't it?

 

 

 

Oh, I agree. The outstanding example is Dogged Reporter Chick, who somehow never noticed that when Testerone Dude showed up, Nerdboy at the next desk was missing.

 

OTOH, we are really talking about a SI here. What would happen if someone does the Holmesian detailism: "Walks like he is wearing a suit of armor, moves of a fencer, with that name...hmnnn..." Of course, in the Holmsian universe there was no magic, so he'd have to spot something intriguing (the famous MacLeod "Oh, the wound wasn't as serious as it looked" comes to mind).

 

On the third hand, this could be an example of hiding in plain sight. Most people even spotting the name would shrug it off as coincidence. What famous person in hiding is going to go around introducing himself by name, after all?

 

Then again, it could be a coincidence. Suppose someone familiar with the Arthurian cycle got involved in a messy divorce, then tangled with a Rhymes-ith-witch who totally soured him on romance. He takes the name of a classical hero with a similar past, and goes to The City to start his life over.

 

Anybody who did a background check would find this out, and drop it.

 

The kicker is that he really is Lance D'lake. He was ready to start a new "younger" life, and he pulled a Doc Savage a few years ago to background it. He found an unhappy couple who were looking to end the marriage, and made a deal with them to follow a certain script in return for his help in ending the marriage. He then found a carny fortune teller who was looking for a bit of "image" and set her up as being able to cast real curses. That's just a thought stream. I leave it to more capable hands to figure out why a love triangle is a better divorce than whatever the couple's real problem was, for instance.

 

Midas

 

 

 

I knew a Hawaiian named Galahad, his brother was named Lancelot.

[Basil]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Wow!

I didn't expect uncontrolled adulation for this character concept, but enough people have viewed it without comment that I am beginning to think it must not be nearly as cool as I think it is.

I didn't comment before now because "Dulak" looked (and still looks) vaguely Eastern European to me.

 

Sorry.

 

I'll rep you as an apology.

[Narratio]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Most people consider lancelot to have been "English" (hah!) but the various stories and legends, plus more recent revisionism show a western european character, probably French. So a simple change of spelling like 'D'Laque' might work as a cover. Possibly Spanish? What's Spanish for "of or near a lake"?

 

That would also emphasis the 'nobility' aspect. The Hidalgoes of the late medieval period were noted for thier fierce codes of honor.

 

Overall, a very nice idea which I will, in the fullness of time, steal, file off the serial numbers and proclaim to be a product of my own genius.

[Vondy]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Neat idea.

[Basil]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Most people consider lancelot to have been "English" (hah!) but the various stories and legends' date=' plus more recent revisionism show a western european character, probably French. So a simple change of spelling like 'D'Laque' might work as a cover. Possibly Spanish? What's Spanish for "of or near a lake"?[/quote']

Del Lago.

 

Hm.... Lance del Lago. Could work.

 

 

Overall, a very nice idea which I will, in the fullness of time, steal, file off the serial numbers and proclaim to be a product of my own genius.

 

"Only be sure, always, to call it, please, research"

[Lemurion]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Most people consider lancelot to have been "English" (hah!) but the various stories and legends, plus more recent revisionism show a western european character, probably French. So a simple change of spelling like 'D'Laque' might work as a cover. Possibly Spanish? What's Spanish for "of or near a lake"?

 

That would also emphasis the 'nobility' aspect. The Hidalgoes of the late medieval period were noted for thier fierce codes of honor.

 

Overall, a very nice idea which I will, in the fullness of time, steal, file off the serial numbers and proclaim to be a product of my own genius.

 

Lancelot was neither English nor original to the Matter of Britain. As best as can be told the character, who was most definitely French, entered the story with Chretien de Troyes in the eleventh century.

 

(Yes there was revisionism involved, no it wasn't anywhere near recent-- though Norma Lorre Goodrich does make a case for a Scottish Lancelot)

 

Still the character here is a great idea.

[Ephelides]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

And he never has five-o'clock shadow, even when you know he was up all night.

 

Why does he have no need to shave?

[Teflon Billy]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Lance Pond, springs to mind as an apropo name.

 

TB

[KA.]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Why does he have no need to shave?

 

Well, to be alive that long, I was thinking of some sort of Life Support : Doesn't Age combined with a little Regeneration.

Usually, when I do something like that in a non-Super genre, I like there to be some kind of clue that something is a little odd about the character.

So something like "never has five-o'clock shadow, even when you know he was up all night." would fit the bill, without being a dead giveaway.

 

But in this case I just threw it into the description for a bit of color.

 

KA.

[Narratio]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

No shaving? A small piece of character colour, costs nothing in points yet adds some possibilities for character dialog. I like it.

 

(This is always one of those questions about Superman that gets explained, re-explained, revised and explained away, over and over by new generations of comic readers, writers and artists.)

[Ephelides]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Well, to be alive that long, I was thinking of some sort of Life Support : Doesn't Age combined with a little Regeneration.

Usually, when I do something like that in a non-Super genre, I like there to be some kind of clue that something is a little odd about the character.

So something like "never has five-o'clock shadow, even when you know he was up all night." would fit the bill, without being a dead giveaway.

 

But in this case I just threw it into the description for a bit of color.

 

KA.

 

Works for me. As either a clue or as "color."

[input.jack]

Re: Character: Lance Dulak, Private Eye

 

Awesome character. I love it

[Franklin W. Cain]

Don't think I ever got around to letting you know that I "appropriated" your character concept, and posted a version of him (using a different games system) here: 

 

https://fcain.tripod.com/pdq/Lance_Lakermann.html

 

Thanks for the montage and the NPC.  😉  

Franklin

 

[DeleteThisAccount]

Well, you know, the name Lance is a new and interesting name now, I suppose, but you have to think of way back when...

Cause people used to be called Lance, *a lot*.

😆