Flash Gordon

[teitan]

Hello kiddies,

I was looking through my polys last night and a great idea hit me... a FLash Gordon like game using D20 Modern (DUH), Pulp Heroes, and Iron Lords of Jupiter... what other sources do you think would be great to bring something like that together, just a cool golden age of sci fi kind of game...?

Jason

 

[d4]

I was looking through my polys last night and a great idea hit me... a FLash Gordon like game using D20 Modern (DUH), Pulp Heroes, and Iron Lords of Jupiter... what other sources do you think would be great to bring something like that together, just a cool golden age of sci fi kind of game...?

it would take some conversion work, but Star Wars d20 might provide you with some good ideas. (equipment, aliens, etc.)

 

[HarryFlashman]

Space 1889 ( and its supplements by Heliograph games) and the website for Barsoom D20, which I cannot find but here is an intersting link to Edgar Rice Burrough's novels about Mars http://www.members.tripod.com/~TDimitry/barsoom.html

 

[Capellan]

Spaceship Zero. Without a doubt, your one-stop RPG for Flash Gordon goodness.


Hah! Beat Piratecat to it!

 

[Lizard]

Hello kiddies,

I was looking through my polys last night and a great idea hit me... a FLash Gordon like game using D20 Modern (DUH), Pulp Heroes, and Iron Lords of Jupiter... what other sources do you think would be great to bring something like that together, just a cool golden age of sci fi kind of game...?

Jason

ILJ was definitely influenced by Flash Gordon as much as by Burroughs and others; the world of Mongo epitimizes the 'Sword&Blaster' style of adventuring. It would, indeed, be very cool.

As for other sources -- check out GURPS Planet of Adventure, the Space 1889 series of games, and the writings of Lin Carter as well as Edgar Rice Burroughs.

 

[Gospog]

Hey, cool idea!

Someone already mentioned Spaceship 0, and excellent game.

Also, look in an older issue of Polyhedron for Pulp Heroes (recently converted to "real" D20 Modern). Pulp Heroes would be ideal for providing classes and occupations for the "strange visitors" from Earth.

Dr. Zharkov (sp?), for example, would be a classic Pulp Scientist. Similarly, Flash himslef would have multiple class level from "Earth classes" before picking up some new tricks (Feats, Skills and Classes) on Mongo.

Please, if you run this, let us know how it goes. I love this sort of stuff!

 

[HarryFlashman]

Not sure how helpful this will be but I did find the Barsoom website ( in Enworld's links section)

http://www.hyboria.net/web/barsoom/

 

[teitan]

I have 100% intention of running this game, I just need to work out the details a bit like if I want it in modern day and what not. Thanks to all who posted on the thread by the way as it has been helpful.

I will be looking for Planet of Adventure when I get a chance and I already have the Pulp Heroes stuff as it is why I got Poly in the first place.

Are there any other good resources on what kinds of equipment were available in the era (1930ish)?

Jason

 

[HarryFlashman]

Original Call of Cthulhu series are the definitive Roleplaying sourcebooks for the time period (though it is off by ten years). Other good sources are Gurps: Cliffhangers, their Pulp genre book and ICE's Rolemaster: Pulp Adventures. I heartily recomend Gurps as it has allof the crunchy bits one could ever hope for.

Pertinent pages in the GURPS book are : 5-23, 88-94.

Rolemaster: 9-20, 72-87 and several blurbs on the sides of pages.

For an actual non-roleplaying book there are Historical Timeline books that detail inventions, the arts, politics etc
I believe this is the book I am familiar with

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-2581527-8855804?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Otherworld Press has its "Forbidden Kingdoms" book but it delves too far into fantasy to be that useful as a reference book.

How campy are you making this? Is this "Mom and Dad Save the Universe" type stuff? Or do the characters in your universe take themselves and their plights seriously?

There are a few websites that have to do with the original Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon material:

http://www.fantasylibrary.com/lounge/pulp.htm

http://www.pulpzone.com/

For minis

http://www.pulpfigures.com/

 

[takyris]

I'm currently looking at using the d20 Modern ruleset for a Pulp-type game. It looks like it can handle it, although you'll want to be somewhat flexible to allow more cinematic combat maneuvers.

Depending on what level of lethality you're looking for, though, you might want to consider a game that is, well, less lethal. Or you might want to consider demanding that every character get "Improved Massive Damage Threshold", or making sure that you send easily swattable goons at them when Lord Lecton unleashes his Electricity Ray at Earth. In d20 Modern, a bunch of Strong1/Fast1 guys are a nice fun fight for mid- to high-level folks. A critical from a pistol (or space trident, or ray gun, in this case) can still kill somebody, so nobody gets that bored "He's making me fight goblins" feeling, but the party can dash around and knock people off balconies and fight off four or five guys apiece, and it feels cool.

Otherwise, if you were playing a well-equipped pulp game, where the hero always had his rocket pack and pistol, you could use the Mutants and Masterminds ruleset... Flight (Flawevice), Energy Blast (Flawevice), and so forth...