ldorn

"A Romani woman who left Portugal when WWI hit Europe, moving with the circus to Brazil, and then eventually to the U.S. where she became a silent film star. Now that the talkies have taken over, her accent won't let her continue in that career, so she is a bit of an embittered diva. A life of adventure seems like an interesting option. (She is a bit jealous of the younger Russian woman below)" You might want to look up the Hollywood Star package deal from Adventures Club #13 in the bonus issue section.

Your Welcome

A well writen adaptaion of the epsiode "The Creeper" from the syndicated 1938 Shadow summer series staring Orson Wells sponsered by Goodrich Tires. It hits all the major points while adding a twist that wasn't in the original story.

As far as roles go you might consider: Great White Hunter: Lion/tiger tamer Athlete: Trapeze artist/wire walker Cowboy: Trick rider/lasso stunts Psychic Detective: Side show fortune teller (possibly instead of the magician) Aviator: Barnstormer (Shadow of the Egale serial) Sailor: Ship Crew

Re: Golden Age Superheroes as Pulp Heroes Elongated Man: I can see him and his wife Sue modeled after Nick and Nora Charles ("The Thin Man") and other husband and wife slueth teams from the pulps and slicks of the era. The Sandman: That was the point behind the "Sandman Mystery Theater" title from Vertigo The Specter: Detective Jim Corrigan (killed in the line of duty), dons the hooded cloak of the Specter to bring justice to the deceased. Captain America: The Ultimate version (Ultimate Avengers animated movie) is probably the best version for pulp conversion. Also see the Republic serial "Captian America". Black Hood (MJL/Archie Comics): If memory serves actually had a two issue pulp run, but they are hard to find. Captain Marvel/Spysmasher: These Fawcett/DC stalwarts had serials done that could be spring boards for a series of pulp games.

Re: Hey Rube! Circuses in Pulp Hero. based on previous posts this is list might be a typical PC group Athlete: trapeze artist or high wire walker (or both if a small outfit) Cowboy: Trick riding and sharpshooting Gadgeteer/Grease Monkey: Keeps things running Great White Hunter: Lion (tigers, bears, etc) tamer Psychic Detective: Side show fortune teller Two-fisted Hero: The strongman Wild man: Side show attraction/Animial trainer (if no Great White Hunter) I beleve the serial Daredevils of the Red Circle (unsure if that is the correct or complete title) featured circus perfomers as the lead characters out after a villian who destroyed their circus (not sure as I am working only from memory. The villain was Charles Mittleton (Ming the Merciless, Flash Gordon) though) The suburban version is the vaudville troupe

Re: Nothing says "Pulp" like a flying wing...or five. The four motor job reminds me of the wing used by Republic in some of their serials (I saw it in "Dick Tracy" but I know it was used in serveral others). Very interesting over all, thanks for the find.

Re: The Empire Club: recruiting drive! Lowell Thomas (Journalist/Explorer) Frank Buck (Explorer/Hunter) Clyde Beatty (Explorer/Hunter) On a more western note: Roy Rogers Tom Mix Gene Autrey William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy) an elderly Wyatt Earp (just remind them that their horse have to stay outside)

Re: Golden Age Champions The best way to get the speech patterns down for the period you what is to find a collection of old radio shows based around the years you want. You should find these among the audio books in places like Borders.

Re: Bigoted Archetypes The best African-American character of the era is the character of Rochester Van Jones (played by Eddie Anderson) from the Jack Benny Show. Rochester was Benny's fictional butler, but was able to verbally get the better of his boss on occasion. The only other major African-American radio characters from that period was Amos and Andy. They were voiced by two white actors.

Re: Real world Pulp characters Mentioning Heinlein and "Doc" Smith got me thinking. Lester Dent (Doc Savage's creator) was reported to be a gadgeteer in his own right. Walter B. Gibson was a magician and ghostwriter for Blackstone (I believe, I'm doing this from memory).

Re: Real world Pulp characters Clyde Beatie (probably misspelled) Frank Buck's "rival". Edward R. Murrow, Reporter. Could be met at any point as he tries to build up the his CBS news team. His real claim to fame came during WW II. But could be met prior to that. Jack Benny, Fred Allen, or any radio show host. The characters could make a guest apperance on a popular comedy or quiz show in New York or Hollywood. David O. Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock, Cecil B. DeMills, or any other Hollywood producer, director or star. Guarding the filming of a new movie on location (haunted mansion, mystical ruins) while mingling with famous celebrities.

Re: Looking for an example of a Dragon Lady character from TV/Movies for a Pulp campaign. You also might want to track down copies of Terry and the Pirates reprints. They had a character called the Dragon Lady who was the basis for that character type. I also beleve that there was a Terry and the Pirates serial, but do not remember if the Dragon Lady was one of the characters.

Re: Looking for an example of a Dragon Lady character from TV/Movies for a Pulp campaign. You also might want to track down copies of Terry and the Pirates reprints. They had a character called the Dragon Lady who was the basis for that character type.

Re: Pulp archtypes. Anthony "Buck" Rogers as best my memory can recall was never a refered to as a sports star. In the original "Armagedon 2419" by Philip Francis Nowland, and published by Hugo Gernsback, Tony was a WW I vet and working for an company that checked for radioactivity.

Re: Pulp TV Shows "Bring 'em Back Alive" was a fictionalized account of the life of Frank Buck. The show's title was based on his motto and reputation of bringing in alive the most ferocious and dangerous of animals. Some good WWII based shows would be Combat, Twelve O'clock High, and the Rat Patrol (from the 1960's), also the Black Sheep Squadron.

Re: PULP HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? The following Adventurers Club articles updated for 5th Edition: #5: The Hawkes Phantom (Town Map) #7: Gadgets and Treasures (The Mercy Gun) #9: Darko Fon-Jager, The Empire Club (Package Deals) #10: Hands of the Strangler (Map of San Francisco) #11: Care and Feeding of Deathtraps (Expand Justice Inc. section), Exotic Weapons for Justice, Inc. #13 (Bonus Issue): New JI Package Deals #14: Autogiris and Airships #15: Empire Club (Black and White Movie Monsters) #18: Empire Club (Ham-Hand's (The Black Peral)) #21: Carolina Caldwell and the Quest for the Gold Idol, "Curse You, You Fiend" Non Justice, Inc articles that should be considered: #3: Terror in the Treasures (Museum Map, adventure could be adapted as a horror scenario) #8: Sound the Alarm, Part One #9: Sound the Alarm, Part Two (foucsing on Pulp Hero era devices) Expanding the timeline to cover WW I and after WW II. Some Pulp Hero characters will be veterans of World War I, and possibly continue to adventure after WW II (as did Doc Savage, The Shadow and the Phantom Detective).

The Location Shoot While most films were shot on a back lot. It is quite possible for a film crew to go on location (ala King Kong) to shoot a movie and ask a famous explorer (a PC) to act as a guide or to have a small role in the picture. The PC's could have a mystery of some sort to solve (a mysterious temple to explore, a string of mysterious deaths to solve, etc.) while protecting the film crew and/or participating in the film.

Have You Considered? After reading the posts and doing a lot of thinking on the subjects of Pulp Hero NPCs, I have come up with a list of possibly overlooked historical personages for GMs to stat out for use in their campaigns. I also include a quick idea for using them. They could be used as suggested or worked into a larger scenario. Frank Buck, Clyde Beaty – Explorer/Animal Tamer Known for his reputation of “bringing them back alive”, any characters exploring “darkest Africa” might run across him at work, or be asked to join him in collecting a “rare and unusual” specimen. And bringing it back to civilization alive. Or you could put Buck’s reputation on the line and have an animal he caught escape, and then have Buck ask the PCs to help him recapture it with out harming or killing it. Clyde Beaty was Buck's "rival". While there were no contests that I know of pitting the two men against each other it could be possible in-game, with the PC's caught in the middle. Edward R. Murrow, Lowell Thomas – various reporters/news hawks “Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all ships at sea! Lets go to press…” Edward R. Murrow is considered to be the father of modern journalism. He became noticed during the Second World War reporting on the Blitz. His stable of CBS reporters would set the standard in broadcast journalism during the next several decades. Lowell Thomas was a globetrotter looking for stories. On the radio for NBC and narrating newsreels, Thomas is the only reporter I know of to interview Laurence of Arabia. Thomas might join an expedition he found interesting. Brining a newsreel crew, he would report on the expedition and the peoples he found along the way. Heroes operating in the war zone during WW II might find themselves with a member of “Murrow’s Boys” or Murrow himself along for the ride. Those campaigns surviving beyond WW II might find Winchell a good source to sell information about Communist activities that your PC comes across, or to be interviewed by Winchell about their commie busting activities. Cecil B. DeMille, Sam and Jack Warner, Samuel Goldwyn, David O. Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock – various movie moguls/directors A recent adventure has caught the imagination of one of these Hollywood titans. A tale of epic adventure and romance (even if it was not) has been scripted and the parts cast, all you have to do is show up, sign away your rights to the story, and act as an “advisor” agreeing to what ever the production crew says. Easy right? Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Edgar Bergen (with or without Charlie McCarthy), Abbot and Costello, Bing Crosby – various entertainers You have become famous enough through your exploits that, during a trip to either New York or Hollywood, you are asked to do a guest spot on one of these or some other top rated show of the day. A good test to see if the PCs can make fun of themselves.