[Adamant Entertainment] THRILLING TALES - Pulp for D20 Modern

[jaerdaph]

More Links

Free Pulp Fiction PDFs at Blackmask Online:

http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/page.cgi?g=Pulp_Fiction/index.html&d=1

Doc Savage
http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/page.cgi?g=Pulp_Fiction/Doc_Savage/index.html&d=1

The Shadow:
http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/page.cgi?g=Pulp_Fiction/The_Shadow/index.html&d=1

 

[VorpalBunny]

Quick question: The Thin Man - Nick and Nora Charles and their dog Asta - are they considered Pulp, Noir or something else?

IMO, definitely not pulp, maybe noir. I'd say "mystery" or "whodunnit" and leave it at that.

 

[GMSkarka]

Mmmm. Tesla.

Dude was crazy, and a genius.

And those are the BEST kinds of people, because whole mythos can be built around them.

We'll be covering this very subject in the Mad Scientist advanced class, which should be out before the end of the month.

 

[GMSkarka]

IMO, definitely not pulp, maybe noir. I'd say "mystery" or "whodunnit" and leave it at that.

Yeah, I'd call it a straight mystery, since it doesn't feature the trademark nihilism and cynicism that marks noir, and wasn't originally published in any pulp magazines. (It was a novel--Hammett's early work, like the various adventures of The Continental Op, appeared in Black Mask, but by the time 1934 came around, he was a fairly established novelist and didn't write for the pulps any longer.)

 

[JPL]

I guess I'd like to see something like Polyhedron's "Pulp Heroes" d20 Modern remix [for the mechanics] plus GURPS Cliffhangers [for the history and gazetteer] plus Agent 13 [very good discussion of different pulp genres] plus some sort of a default campaign [of a crossover nature...heroes fight Nameless Evils, then Nazis, then robots, then Nameless Evil Nazi Robots, etc. --- all of the pulp genres coexisting] with a good intro adventure to kick things off.

And yeah, I'd like to see this as a single product. I wouldn't mind an OGL product, actually --- Sidewinder: Recoiled is how it's done.

So...assuming an OGL product with a default level of pulp something like Indiana Jones [I have a theory that that's the most gameable style of pulp]....then you do a series of followups. Each one is a setting book / rules supplement / adventure that can be plugged right in to the default campaign, or be a campaign unto itself. F'rinstance...

1. The Curse of the Jade Serpent. Details on the "Yellow Menace" genre. All about Shanghai. Expanded martial arts options. And an adventure.

2. Warlords of Mars. Details on pulp-style space operas --- John Carter, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon. A sample setting. An adventure. New prestige classes.

Oh, and some decent art. Using some appropriate public domain line art from the old pulps [assuming there is such a thing] is fine. A nice new painted cover would be real nice.

I still hope that Blaize and Chuck Rice are secretly doing this project, and "Blood and Fedoras" is on its way...

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Tell you what, let ME do something now. What's your favorite charity, Daniel? I'll make a $25 donation to them.

Now, THAT is very generous of you. Please email me at daniel@highmoonmedia.com and we'll talk.

Thanks.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, Mad Science is already slated...

The Mentalist or Hypnotist with the abilties to cloud men's minds, or to sway them to his will.

The Contact - a guy who knows everybody, and how to pull their strings. (Fixer, Political, Johnson, Suit, Sideman, what have you.)

The Augmented Hero whether with equipment, a can of spinach, or through chemical means this fellow relies on something to boost his abilities, but the method has its limits.

The Dead Man Walking though he is no longer among the living this vigilante has not given up his search for justice.

The Secret Agent - able to infiltrate an enemy installation and leave before anyone knows that he was there...

The PI, there must be a thousand stories in this naked city, why do I keep getting stuck with the ones about people shooting at me?

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* GMSkarka please tell me that the Mad Scientist supplement is coming out before Christmas Eve. I almost have enough for an order, and a coupon that runs out then. (Yes the one in Philip J Reeds Sig.)

 

[GMSkarka]

*EDIT* GMSkarka please tell me that the Mad Scientist supplement is coming out before Christmas Eve. I almost have enough for an order, and a coupon that runs out then. (Yes the one in Philip J Reeds Sig.)

I'll do my best. I was pretty sure that we'd get it out before 12/31, but I can shuffle the order around a bit on the second wave of Advanced Classes (since I haven't announced those release dates yet), and put it on the top of the pile.

 

[Razuur]

I have no problem with your pricing model. If it is making you money, I say do it! I can see that people would rather spend $2 multiple times, but balk at a $15.00 purchase. It is that old movie paradigm. Gamers will spend 25 bucks on a movie and corn, but balk at the $25 buck book that they can enjoy over and over. As for the cost per page comparison - i'd rather have a really good thing for a little more, than a lot I won't use. You method has the advantage of giving me directly what I want.

That said, I tend to prefer meatier (and larger PDFs), and am perfectly willing to spend such money on PDFs (and books). Of all of the PDFs that I have purchased, I am extremely happy with 99% of them, so I believe I am pretty good at getting my money's worth and spotting the stinkers. For me, the $2 books don't give me enough "pop". Not saying that they aren't worth it, I just like my RPG products to be bigger and meatier and am far more likely to spend on bigger than smaller. I am likley the minority in this!

And as for pulp, I have never figured out why it didn't sell as well. This PDF model could actually be a way to make pulp RPGing successful, and if that is the case, I am all for it. I love pulp. Your stuff looks good, and I was a big fan of Skull and Bones, so I am convinced that you guys do good stuff (although losing the dark elizabethan fantasy product was a blow!). I look forward to your pulp stuff being released in a "pack" format.

Now all of this said, your small PDFs have tempted me where others have not. They look real good. And they have tempted me something fierce. Right now my PDF budget is locking in on Rocketship Empires, but next month I may seriously consider some of them!

Now on to suggestions for little (or big!) products.

I second the Nazis (in fact a series of products on them might be in order)

Then:

Pulpy vehicles: Zepplins Battleships, Pulpy rocket ships, Batmobiles (exotic vehicles) etc.

Pulpy aliens: Martian overlords, Hawkmen, Mole men, Robots, etc

Pulpy Gadgets: Disintigrator rays, Mind control Devices, Tesla Coils, etc

Groups: Ancient cults (pulpy not freaky), Ancient Orders, etc

My best product would be Plot Hooks and campaign sketches, because while I love pulp, I have trouble deciding what I want to do sometimes...

How's that?

Razuur

 

[GMSkarka]

I second the Nazis

Yeah, I've had a few emails on this as well. We'll probably end up doing it.

Pulpy vehicles: Zepplins Battleships, Pulpy rocket ships, Batmobiles (exotic vehicles) etc.

Actually, we've got a freelancer who is working on this project for us.

Pulpy Gadgets: Disintigrator rays, Mind control Devices, Tesla Coils, etc

Some of this (rules for inventing) will be covered in the Advanced Class books for the Paragon and the Mad Scientist---but I assume that you're meaning more of a "magic item book" that gives you a bunch of pre-designed gadgets?

Groups: Ancient cults (pulpy not freaky), Ancient Orders, etc

It occurs to me that this would make a good second book in a "Villains" series, behind the Nazi book mentioned above. Perhaps the Aliens book you recommended could be Volume 3. Hmmm.....

My best product would be Plot Hooks and campaign sketches, because while I love pulp, I have trouble deciding what I want to do sometimes...

Then you're going to love THE GAMEMASTER'S GUIDE TO PULP ADVENTURE, which comes out next week, and features an adventure construction kit.