Steve Long Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 While attempting to drift off to sleep last night, I was thinking about the concept of more HPAs devoted to expanding, or offering something for, specific Pulp archetypes. One idea that I had was to expand on the Wild Man archetype by offering multiple Package Deals based on the character's native environment. Thus, a jungle-based Wild Man would be a little different from one who lives in the Arctic, or on a desert island, or whatever. That's a good start, but it seems like it might be a bit thin. I suppose I could add some character sheets for Faithful Animal Companions, but that seems like "fluff" to me when it would probably be easier to just create a Faithful Animal Companion template. I've got a few other ideas noodling around in my noggin, but I thought I'd ask what else y'all might like to see in a look at the Wild Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Man Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Cross-reference from the Great White Hunter Bestiary for starts - one man's game is another man's friend plus those beasts could easily be a Wild Man's adversaries too. I figure that one can easily work their way down the Survival list for Package Deals with Animal Companion suggestions for each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild I was about to suggest some expansions on Skills like Navigation and Survival, but you probably have all that needs to be said in TUSk. (Though on the other hand, you might not. For example, in some "wild" cultures, such as the Ongees of Little Andaman Island, smell is an important sense for navigation; an Ongee melame can get around the island, even in areas he's never been to before, better than a Westerner with a map. Someone who grew up among such a people could use Smell PER as a Complementary Skill to Navigation.) Since it's a Pulp Hero HPA, a few paragraphs on several specific cultures of interest in the world where a Wild Man might grow up would be in order. Besides inner Africa (Tarzan) and wild India (Mowgli), you could include Little Andaman Island, Madagascar, the Amazon, Mongolia, the Arabian desert, and possibly even the Apache lands. And I do think that a few Faithful Animal Companions would be a good idea; maybe a horse, a big cat, an avian raptor, a little monkey, and a riding dino (triceratops seems ideal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Makeshift weapons for a region, animal companions specific for region, variants on origins, ideas on how to play one in the "civilized" world, super-skills to reflect the wild-life, possibly even some animal-like abilities that they've learned in the wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild How about exploration of role-playing a Wild Man? There are lots of elements from classic depictions of the archetype that would be fun to play out, particularly in their interactions with civilized men: their observations on the habits and lifestyle of urban civilization; dealing with the many unfamiliar customs and artifacts; an animal's "fight or flight" reaction to perceived threats; the need to learn new skills and even languages. Wild Men are traditionally depicted as more "noble" than their civilized cousins -- strangers to deceit or selfishness, immune to vice, loyal to their friends, protective of the innocent -- but also more prone to violent action to solve their problems, sometimes instinctively. In game-mechanic terms, these would be reflected by various Psychological and Social Limitations and perhaps Enraged. Wild Men would lack some of the campaign's Everyman Skills; perhaps one could substitute "Every WildMan Skills" for those. One could also look at the archetype from the other direction, the civilized person who chooses or is forced into a savage lifestyle, and learns to think and act like an animal to survive. Examples include Tarzan's son Korak, Marvel Comics' Shanna the She-Devil, Esau Cairn the protagonist of Robert E. Howard's novel Almuric, or Sir Anthony Hopkins' character Dr. Ethan Powell in the film Instinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild There are lots of elements from classic depictions of the archetype that would be fun to play out' date=' particularly in their interactions with civilized men: dealing with the many unfamiliar customs and artifacts [/quote'] Specifically the cargo cult, in which prmitive societies practice magic rituals to receive the goods and technology of civilized men, which they believe are gifts from the gods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Specifically the cargo cult' date=' in which prmitive societies practice magic rituals to receive the goods and technology of civilized men, which they believe are gifts from the gods.[/quote'] http://www.strategypage.com/military_photos/2008122625224.aspx then click on followup link to the article Cargo Cults are still around.... sort of.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrito Boy Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild http://www.strategypage.com/military_photos/2008122625224.aspx then click on followup link to the article Cargo Cults are still around.... sort of.... Great link. The article explains cargo cults so much better than my one-liner. Thanks. I'd rep you if I had any rep power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild I have to ask, how narrowly defined is the Wild Man? Tarzan and Mowgli can be fine-tuned with packages like Noble Savage or Wild Child respectively, but could the Wild Man also include the Outsider Gone Native (mentioned above), or the Territorial Vigilante (the Phantom!)? And for the GM, a template for the Queen (and the character is invariably a woman) of the Hidden Land, ala La of Opar and Hero's own Spider Queen. A word or two on how to integrate them into a game would be great. If the Boy-Raised-By-Monkeys is being run as someone who can't speak any human languages, is perpetually trying to establish dominance over the female NPCs, and spends combat flinging unmentionable materials at his opponents, then there has been a disconnect with the genre. Something else to consider might be some pulp powers- environmental movement, immunities, or abilities learned from animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild ala La of Opar Say that five times fast! I think y'all are trying to make this too much work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Why not present it in a manner similar to the Ultimate Series - Backgrounds, Personalities, and Archetypes. Some pertinent Skills/Perks/Talents/Disads, and then the Package Deals as examples of putting all the above together. I could imagine that filling out a short (10 pages or so) PDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild I think y'all are trying to make this too much work for me. You ask us for less thin, you're surprised if we give you fat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild I think y'all are trying to make this too much work for me. Uh huh ... I see that grin at the end of the sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Lest I sound curmudgeonly , I definitely like the idea of adding an "Outsider Gone Native" (I suppose Robinson Crusoe would be just one of many examples) and a "Territorial Defender" (i.e., the Phantom) Package Deals. I think I can also expand on the "Colonial" options for Diplomat and make them full Packages. Maybe some of the primitive weapons someone mentioned, though I'm a bit leery of that since creating tables in InDesign is not exactly something I'm good at. Anyhoo, maybe I'll work on this a bit this weekend, after I do some more work on the Mechanon book. We'll see how the shoulder holds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild If you need help with InDesign, Steve, let me know. I'd be happy to lend a hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Lest I sound curmudgeonly ' date=' I definitely like the idea of adding an "Outsider Gone Native" (I suppose Robinson Crusoe would be just one of many examples)[/quote'] Could you do a Teen Campions adventure based on Lord of the Flies??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Hmmm... no, I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild It seems to me that the easiest way to expand it is to include more material, for instance I can see a real link between the wild man archtype and the great hunter archtype, maybe if you combine 2 or 3 related archtypes it would work out well for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Lest I sound curmudgeonly , I definitely like the idea of adding an "Outsider Gone Native" (I suppose Robinson Crusoe would be just one of many examples) and a "Territorial Defender" (i.e., the Phantom) Package Deals. I think I can also expand on the "Colonial" options for Diplomat and make them full Packages. Maybe some of the primitive weapons someone mentioned, though I'm a bit leery of that since creating tables in InDesign is not exactly something I'm good at. Anyhoo, maybe I'll work on this a bit this weekend, after I do some more work on the Mechanon book. We'll see how the shoulder holds up. i'm for anthing that helps pulp hero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Could you do a Teen Campions adventure based on Lord of the Flies??? pulp teen champions? that souns like fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild pulp teen champions? that souns like fun Weren't there "The Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes" and "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" on TV at some point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Weren't there "The Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes" and "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" on TV at some point? indy was a series of tv moviessherlock was a theatrical film shown on tv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild YIJC eventually sort of morphed into a series of TV movies, but it did in fact start out as a regular weekly TV series. Unfortunately it didn't do well enough in the ratings to last. Personally I'd attribute a good bit of that to the writing; there were stretches of the show, particularly the "Indy fights in the Great War" bits, that were just plain dull. They had none of the expected Indy adventure and panache, and never even came close to an archaeology site. The ones with Indy involved in espionage, or the ones with the younger Indy focusing a bit more on traditional Indy matters, were better IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild One other thing I'd like to see in this, and I think it'd fit here better than probably anywhere else: A Neanderthal Racial Package Deal. They've appeared as character sheets in a couple of places (a printed book and an HPA as I recall), but what if I want a Neanderthal PC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Re: Another Possible HPA In The Works: Born To Be Wild Hmmm, that's worth considering... if I can come up with something without having to spend a lot of time on research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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