Talon65 Posted November 11, 2007 Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Just got back from one of my Pulp Hero games and we started talking about coming up with a group name but no one really had any suggestions so I turn to you, gentle readers.... We have 6 heroes in the group brought together by the "Phantom Detective" to fight crime. We actually seem to spend more time in our secret I.D.'s investigating as we do our crime fighting personas. We have: The Shadow, yeah, that Shadow, pretty much as he appears in the movie. The Wraith, a rip...eeer homage to Adam Hughes' "Ghost". Returned from the dead with no memory of her past, to seek vengeance for those innocence that have died a violent death. The Red Falcon, two-fisted vigilante that can change into a Peregrine Falcon with the power from an Egyptian amulet. Dresses like "The Spirit" but in a dark red or maroon suit. The Ace, gambler and disguise artist extraordinaire. Can make himself look like anyone and always leaves an ace as his calling card. Madam Majestic, famous stage magician that uses her "magic" to fight crime. Appearance is the same as DC's "Zantana". Tom Raven, Hard boiled detective born in the 1700's and immortal. An American-Indian Sam Spade. So, any suggestions other then "The League of Extraordinary Misfits"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowsoul Posted November 11, 2007 Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Here's the results of my brainstorm. Phantom League. The Hidden Court. Souls of Justice/Shades of Justice. The Kindly Ones. Revenants. Omega Directive. Guardians of the Underworld. Innocent Furies. Inquisitors. The Order of Horus. Truth-Hunters/Lie-Breakers/Secret-Slayers. The Secret Serenade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon65 Posted November 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Here's the results of my brainstorm. Phantom League. Shades of Justice. Inquisitors. Thanks, I think one of these will do it and a homerun on the first pitch. I especially like The Phantom League! I think the GM will like it too since he's using the Phantom Detective as the NPC "sponsor" for the group. Though nothing is decided so feel free to continue with the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psybolt Posted November 11, 2007 Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? The Lost Society The Sensational Society The Valiants Comeupance Bazaar The Foundation of Justice Nemesis Upshot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyrm Ouroboros Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? I'm surprised nobody's recommended 'The Mystery Men'. Pulp Hero crimefighters -- ordinary/trained humans with gizmos who run around wearing masks and stopping bank robberies and bomb threats -- are actually called Mystery Men. So ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? "The Kindly Ones" ! Geez "Shadowsoul", why not call them "The Endless" ! (Can I play "Delerium" ?) Seriously, some interesting names there, or how about taking a leaf from the book of modern day conspirators and calling it "The Club of Paris" or giving it a "front", say a nightclub from which it operates and name it after that ? ("The Cobalt Club" perhaps ?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roter Baron Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? The Pulperinos ... ehm .. okay. I shut up. Seriously - is there any danger that the PCs steal each others "thunder" so to speak? My group had that problem a couple of years when we started a Mystery Men campaign with low-powered pulpish superheroes. Included a Shadow-rip-off and my character, "The Spectre", a guy with Desolidification powers. I certainly stole the Shadow's thunder when he tried to impress people with a reasonable high PRE and failed while I scared their boots of with surprising them, gun in hand and walking through walls and just a PRE of 15 (gimme those extra PRE-Attack-dice!!!). So, how do you handle that problem of a bunch of super-scary, two-fisted, gun-toting crime-bashers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon65 Posted November 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? The Pulperinos ... ehm .. okay. I shut up. Seriously - is there any danger that the PCs steal each others "thunder" so to speak? My group had that problem a couple of years when we started a Mystery Men campaign with low-powered pulpish superheroes. Included a Shadow-rip-off and my character, "The Spectre", a guy with Desolidification powers. I certainly stole the Shadow's thunder when he tried to impress people with a reasonable high PRE and failed while I scared their boots of with surprising them, gun in hand and walking through walls and just a PRE of 15 (gimme those extra PRE-Attack-dice!!!). So, how do you handle that problem of a bunch of super-scary, two-fisted, gun-toting crime-bashers? Hmmm...well, Tom Raven is absent more often then not and The Ace and Madam Majestic just started playing. The player that plays the Shadow is absent more often than I (I'm playing the Wraith), but when we are both there we don't seem to have that problem. Also, The Wraith and The Shadow are the only two "scary" types in the group. We do seem to play out of Hero ID quite a bit so that helps and our two gun toting abilities are built different. He has a three shot auto fire were as I have the Two Weapon fighting and Rapid Fire skills, so we do things a little different in combat I guess. We have had the same thing happen to both of us tho'. I've scared the crap out of people and his scary laugh did nothing and vis-a-verse. Bad rolls happen to everyone. I guess it also depends on the players. I haven't asked him if he feels over shadowed (pardon the pun) by my character but I think I will ask him how he feels. We seem to be pretty good about just stepping back and letting the other player have their moment. I know on several occasions I've gone though an entire combat without firing a shot and just let the others go to town and they've done the same for me when Wraith needs to get her vengence on. A good example was our last game. It was a filler episode put together at the last minute so don't be to harsh. Three of the heroes in secret ID (The Wraith, The Shadow and Red Falcon) and two gov't pilots crash land their plane into the middle of "The Most Dangerous Game". The hunter sets off after the two pilots thinking we are tucked away in our rooms. We figure out what's going on (I find the "trophy room" full of human heads ) and go after the hunting party. The Shadow takes out the three mooks and the Red Falcon takes out two of the hunters in the first round or so and I just floated around being scary. We then let the hunter run for it and they let me hunt him down and finish him off (I did mention that she's the spirit of vengence didn't I? ) which he had done to so many others. Does that help at all or am I just rambling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? The name I use for my "Pulp" campaign is "The Adventurers' Club" . The theory behind it is that the P C's are members of an exclusive club in New York run by a certain "Doc Storm" and including such luminaries as "Professor Dare","The Relic Hunter" (Lady Cassandra Finch), "Snake River "Roberts, and a few "pulp" type characters that are a little more obscure or of my own devising.(Daredevil pilot, "Jimmy Braddock", Amerasian martial artist "Melanie Chen",and wealthy dilletante and occultist "Amber Sinclair" for example). The P C's have the adventures but the NPC's are used as catalysts and sources of information and skills that the P C's might not possess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon65 Posted November 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? The name I use for my "Pulp" campaign is "The Adventurers' Club" . The theory behind it is that the P C's are members of an exclusive club in New York run by a certain "Doc Storm" and including such luminaries as "Professor Dare"' date='"The Relic Hunter" (Lady Cassandra Finch), "Snake River "Roberts, and a few "pulp" type characters that are a little more obscure or of my own devising.(Daredevil pilot, "Jimmy Braddock", Amerasian martial artist "Melanie Chen",and wealthy dilletante and occultist "Amber Sinclair" for example). The P C's have the adventures but the NPC's are used as catalysts and sources of information and skills that the P C's might not possess.[/quote'] We talked about using "The Adventurers' Club" for our other pulp game as we have a similiar set up. Yes, I'm in TWO pulp games! It sounds more like your game, an "Adventure Pulp" vs. our "Crime Fighting Pulp" game I've already mentioned. We have Betty Lou the root'nest, toot'nest, pistol shoot'nest cowgirl ever, Veronica Dare (funny that name) the debutante/big game hunter and gun bunny who's father is a famous adventurer (John Dare and his Daredevils), Dr. Marion Alexander Grey, a proper, old English MD that can heal any malady and fight any evil with his "Umbrella of Marvels!" and soon to be joined by an intrepid National Geographic photographer (who's name I don't know yet) that is replacing a former colleague, an archaeologist of questionable morals, Dr. Rene Belloq. Maybe we should start a "Tell me about you pulp game" thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? My two cents? A group name is comic book, not pulp. Something more pulp like would be: Mary Smith was desperate. She had to be desperate, or she never would have come to a part of town that was known more for kicking people to the curb than helping those in need. She looked again at the now grimy business card she clutched in her hand like a straw of hope. K. Night Detective Agency 1313 Wrongsideoftracks Ave. Unique Problems, Uniquely Solved It was a grubby building with a grimy flight of stairs that led to a door that hadn't been washed since it was painted. Judging by the peeling paint, that had been a long time indeed. But everyone Mary knew only said she was a candidate for the funny farm, and she had to know. She had to know! So she climbed the stairs, opened the door, and stepped into the incredible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon65 Posted November 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? My two cents? A group name is comic book, not pulp. Something more pulp like would be: Mary Smith was desperate. She had to be desperate, or she never would have come to a part of town that was known more for kicking people to the curb than helping those in need. She looked again at the now grimy business card she clutched in her hand like a straw of hope. K. Night Detective Agency 1313 Wrongsideoftracks Ave. Unique Problems, Uniquely Solved It was a grubby building with a grimy flight of stairs that led to a door that hadn't been washed since it was painted. Judging by the peeling paint, that had been a long time indeed. But everyone Mary knew only said she was a candidate for the funny farm, and she had to know. She had to know! So she climbed the stairs, opened the door, and stepped into the incredible... Hmmm, thanks for the reply and I see your point but I don't think it's entirely true. They guys running both our pulp games are big pulp fans. The one running our crime fighters pulp game is old enough to remember the pulps, radio shows and serials. Both of them recall the Shadow, Phantom Detective, The Mandrake, The Spider and Flash Gordon of all things coming together and they had some sorta group name. Can't remember what the name was and it was seldom all of them at the same time but it was like the Justice League. Also, as you can see from the OP, everyone does have some sort of power so it is very Champions lite. I was referring to the game as "Pulp Champions" for a while until the GM suggested that it was crime fighting pulp. Your description sounds much more to me like a Sam Spade/Mike Hammer type pulp detective game. While we do a bit of "detecting" and a couple of us are in a detective agency it's not the focus of the game per se. It's much more "The Shadow" or the "The Phantom" type crime busting pulp. Taking on weird threats, cults and conspiracies. And lastly, I'm not even sure we're looking for a name to call the group of characters in game but more something to call the game itself, instead of "Bill's pulp game", etc. As I mentioned, the group has a cover office so to speak, "Universal Imports & Exports Ltd.". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Here's another one, historical and ironic (particularly if your heros are vigilante types) "The Committee Of Public Safety". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 13 Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Hmmm' date=' thanks for the reply and I see your point but I don't think it's entirely true. They guys running both our pulp games are big pulp fans. The one running our crime fighters pulp game is old enough to remember the pulps, radio shows and serials. Both of them recall the Shadow, Phantom Detective, The Mandrake, The Spider and Flash Gordon of all things coming together and they had some sorta group name. Can't remember what the name was and it was seldom all of them at the same time but it was like the Justice League. [/quote'] Indeed. The group consisted of the Phantom, Mandrake, Lothar, Flash Gordon, and assorted children and hangers on and was called the Defenders of the Earth. Set in the year 2015, it debuted in 1986 as a syndicated cartoon that lasted one season, and a Marvel comic that lasted four issues. It's link to it's pulp roots is tenuous, to say the least. That said, if you want a suitably pulpy name, I'd go with something like "The Six Fingers of the Phantom" or "The Phantom's Secret Six". You're all Mystery Men (Women); be mysterious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Hmmm, thanks for the reply and I see your point but I don't think it's entirely true. They guys running both our pulp games are big pulp fans. The one running our crime fighters pulp game is old enough to remember the pulps, radio shows and serials. Both of them recall the Shadow, Phantom Detective, The Mandrake, The Spider and Flash Gordon of all things coming together and they had some sorta group name. Can't remember what the name was and it was seldom all of them at the same time but it was like the Justice League. Also, as you can see from the OP, everyone does have some sort of power so it is very Champions lite. I was referring to the game as "Pulp Champions" for a while until the GM suggested that it was crime fighting pulp. Your description sounds much more to me like a Sam Spade/Mike Hammer type pulp detective game. While we do a bit of "detecting" and a couple of us are in a detective agency it's not the focus of the game per se. It's much more "The Shadow" or the "The Phantom" type crime busting pulp. Taking on weird threats, cults and conspiracies. And lastly, I'm not even sure we're looking for a name to call the group of characters in game but more something to call the game itself, instead of "Bill's pulp game", etc. As I mentioned, the group has a cover office so to speak, "Universal Imports & Exports Ltd.". Perhaps name it after the "cover"and call the game "Universal Exports" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon65 Posted December 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 Re: Name for a Pulp Hero group? Thanks for the reply. Yeah, we thought of that as kind of a default but we decided to use "The Phantom League". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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