Which Ruleset for Pulp/WWII era

[Gwaihir]

I'm thinking about running a game for my 3e D&D group set in the late 1930s, just as WWII breaks out, about a group protecting or questing for religious objects. I'm gonna try for sort of an Indiana Jones meets the Davinci Code feel. What ruleset would work well for this? I've heard good things about Spirit of the Century. Simple would be positive I think.

Edit - apology = seems I left one of the "I"s of WWII off.

Thanks

 

[coyote6]

Spirit of the Century or Savage Worlds would be my suggestions. Both can easily be very pulpy in feel. SW has a free test drive you can download here, and there's an SRD of the SoTC rules online, so you can maybe check those out and get a feel for 'em.

I might consider GURPS, but my group played GURPS for a long time, so we were very familiar with it (though we haven't had a regular GURPS game in years though, so much of that familiarity is probably gone). I imagine Hero or any other fairly universal game could be used, too, if you were familiar with it.

(BTW, you should be able to edit the thread title to add the extra 'I' back on.)

 

[Ariosto]

Here's a link to a list:
http://project1557.wetpaint.com/page/Pulp+RPG's

Some ideas that come to my mind:

Terra Incognita is a roleplaying games of exploration, intrigue, and mystery, featuring adventurer-scholars whose exploits span the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. Armed with extensive training, unpredictable technology, and unimpeachable discretion, NAGS Society Members travel to the Four Corners of the globe — exploring unknown lands, investigating mysteries, and uncovering ancient knowledge.

It's derived from FUDGE (as, via FATE, is Spirit of the Century, which coyote6 mentioned).
Terra Incognita: The NAGS Society Website
http://www.evilhat.com/home/sotc/

Hollow Earth Expedition is, I gather, especially concerned with what its title indicates. However, it might be worth learning more.
http://www.exilegames.com/games/hex.html


Not so specifically focused:

Call of Cthulhu is set by default in the 1920s, but is easily adaptable. I seem to recall supplements or scenarios set in the 1930s.

(There may even be a more specifically applicable work with similar rules, perhaps as supplement to Chaosium's deluxe Basic Role Playing book.)

Call of Cthulhu d20, D20 Modern, True 20, Mutants & Masterminds, or something similar, might work well while keeping closer to 3e D&D.


Old RPGs set more or less in the period include:

Two Indiana Jones games. The one from TSR was poorly received. (As an ironic touch, the burnt remains of a copy form part of the Diana Jones Award for excellence in game design.) All I know of the one from West End Games is that it is at least not so 'infamous'.

The Nile Empire in West End's Torg is, as I recall, evocative of pulp magazines and movie serials.

Daredevils (FGU) is, I have heard, on the complicated side.

Justice, Inc. uses the Hero System.

Crimefighters, from an early-1980s issue of The Dragon, is geared to the exploits of figures along the lines of the Shadow and Doc Savage, but could handle less fantastic characters as well. It is very brief (20-some pages).

Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes is not period specific, but might be of special interest if you're a fan of Tunnels & Trolls.

Gangbusters was for 1920s cops and crooks, private dicks and journalists. With the "character class" system, it would take a bit of work to add more types. However, I recall it as an excellent game system.

 

[Crothian]

Hollow Earth Expidition is my favorite for games like these. Savage worlds actually works best for this type of game since it seems that was what it was designed for. Adventure (Storyteller version not d20) is also a fun game for pulp. Two fisted Tales is good as well.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

The original Adventure! would work. Get ahold of the 2nd Edition Vampire Player's Guide and the Trinity Technology Manual and modify them a bit for WWII equipment. Or the Adventure d20 book with the Polyhedron copy of V is for Victory (or Weird War II).

 

[amerigoV]

Savage Worlds does this well. If you want to really Pulp it up, Triple Ace Games has a few modest adjustments to the SW rules. They also have a whole bunch of Pulp adventures, many of which are 1930s vs. the Nazis.

Here is the link to the Triple Ace Games stuff

Triple Ace - Daring Tales

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

1. Any toolbox system could handle it well- HERO, GURPS and M&M spring immediately to mind.
2. Godlike would work, and it has lots of WWII stuff in it already.
3. D20 Modern or Spycraft could handle this with ease. If you wanted to go more mystical, setting supplements like Urban Arcana, Dark*Matter, Second World, Modern Magic and Ultramodern Firearms could all be handy.
4. Depending upon your ultimate plotline goals, you might have fun with games from White Wolf's WoD. Mages would work well as Nazi occultists. Scions would work well as "super soldiers" or "übermensch." Other sourcebooks like Vampire, etc. could explain why the Nazi leadership was so depraved.

 

[Thanee]

Savage Worlds would be my first bet for such a game. Especially if you are looking for simple.

You could probably use the Weird War II sourcebook, too. Even if you do not use the weird, it has a lot of information on the era, too.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Doug McCrae]

Spirit of the Century is the clear frontrunner. Savage Worlds if you want to stick with d20.

 

[Derulbaskul]

I think Savage Worlds is perfect for this (and do follow the link above to Triple Ace Games).