[Pulp Heroes] Thrilling Adventures Update

[Ace]

Nice website!

I do think the damage is a little off for a nightstick. I 1.5 foot club shouldn't do more damage than a longsword

JMO a wood weapon like a club shifts damage down 1 die type from its sword equvilant and rduces crit to 20/x2

Therefore

club=longsword Longsword 1d8, club does 1d6

nightstick=shortsword Shortsword 1d6 nightstick 1d4

greatclub=greatsword Greatsword 2d6 (aka 1d12) greatclub 1d10

and as an extrapolation yawara stick=dagger dagger does 1d4 yawara does 1d3

 

[Turgenev]

Happy New Year Everyone!

Nice website!

Thanks. Pulp Heroes is fast becoming one of my top three favourite RPGs of all time (it has beat D&D out of the top three position).

I do think the damage is a little off for a nightstick. I 1.5 foot club shouldn't do more damage than a longsword

The damage for a club/nightstick is copied straight from the Pulp Heroes mini-game. Considering the number of typos in the orginal article, this might be one also. I agree that a club shouldn't do more damage than a longsword -- I'll probably change it in the next update.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Johnny Wilson]

I just hit Erik Mona, our famous Polyhedron editor, and Dave Noonan, the author of the Pulp Heroes rules, with a nightstick and they have agreed that the damage is too high. <grin>

Seriously, it is tremendously exciting to see Tim's website and realize that I'm not the only one who thought the Pulp Heroes game was something special. I actually ended up subscribing to a magazine called High Adventure that reprints pulp magazines from the '30s and '40s on a quarterly basis. That's how jazzed I was by the game.

As for whether PH and FK blend together, I should think they would. FK has four chapters with tons of flavor from all kinds of pulps before you even get to the character classes. It offers different character classes from PH with only 3-4 duplicate classes. As Game Master, you'll need to determine which rules supercede the other for those duplicate classes.

Instead of AC, FK uses a progression in Base Defense where one's AC automatically goes up as the character levels. Most of the skills are complementary to those in PH. Feats? Well, one can't have enough feats, can one? As for me, I REALLY like the automobile and equipment lists in FK. They really make it easy to populate an environment.

I'm proud of PH, but FK has a lot to offer.

 

[VorpalBunny]

...I actually ended up subscribing to a magazine called High Adventure that reprints pulp magazines from the '30s and '40s on a quarterly basis...

Is there a link or phone # for subscriptions?

Additionally, will we be seeing any more Pulp Heroes support in your esteemed publications Mr. Wilson? I hit Tim's Thrilling Adventures site regularly (BTW great work, man!), and I just picked up White Wolf's Adventure! to supplement my pulp game (I think it's better than FK) - but it would be real nice to have some more "official" stuff.

 

[Turgenev]

Seriously, it is tremendously exciting to see Tim's website and realize that I'm not the only one who thought the Pulp Heroes game was something special. I actually ended up subscribing to a magazine called High Adventure that reprints pulp magazines from the '30s and '40s on a quarterly basis. That's how jazzed I was by the game.

Thanks for the kind words, Johnny. I'm a huge pulp fan (a Pulpaholic? ) so naturallly I would be attracted to a game that allows me to have lost civilizations, masked heroes, villainous masterminds, weird science... you get the idea.

If it is a pulp fix that you need, then here is a cool website that people might want to check out:

http://www.blackmask.com/page.php?do=page&cat_id=212

As for whether PH and FK blend together, I should think they would. FK has four chapters with tons of flavor from all kinds of pulps before you even get to the character classes. It offers different character classes from PH with only 3-4 duplicate classes. As Game Master, you'll need to determine which rules supercede the other for those duplicate classes.

The period Call of Cthulhu books by Chaosium have lots of info about the 20s-30s. Such books as the main CoC rulebook (extensive equipment & weapons listings and a timeline of the 20s-30s) and the various place books (i.e. the Arkham Unveiled & Return to Dunwich books) are great references and a source of ideas for any Pulp Heroes mini-game.

Course I would recommend the d20 CoC book if you wish to include some mythos elements in your Pulp campaign, but since that book was written with a modern setting in mind (I know it does have the option of rpging in the 30s) - it just doesn't have the same amount of flavour text that the Chaosium books have.

Here is a link to a Japanese site (its their English page - don't worry ) that sells vintage posters from 1930s Shanghai:

http://www.apl-japan.com/china/e-index.shtml

These images would add some great atmosphere to any Pulp game set in the Orient.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Johnny Wilson]

The URL for High Adventure, as well as reprints of the G-8 and His Battle Aces and The Spider pulps, is www.adventurehouse.com, but you have to click on High Adventure magazine to get the subscription of which I speak. The site isn't easy to navigate.

Yes, Vorpal Bunny, you will be seeing support for Pulp Heroes in the upcoming monthly Dungeon/Polyhedron magazines. I don't know what the editorial schedule calls for right now, but I know I'm working on something and Tim is planning to submit something for Pulp Heroes.

And [blatant commercial message] there are still back issues available with Pulp Heroes rules (#90) for those who missed out. Of course, this is probably wasted information on this board. I'm thrilled with the number of Dungeon/Polyhedron readers who post here.

 

[VorpalBunny]

A semi-monthly pulp magazine and more d20 Pulp Heroes? Oh yeah, it's going to be a very good year.

A million and one thank-you's for the link (and for the continuing greatness of Dungeon/Polyhedron)!!!

 

[Voneth]

Dino Hunter?

Would that make much sense in a regular game, probably not.

Would I care? Probably not!

I know we are on Mars, but I am Tim Jackson, Dino Hunter! So tell that army to move over, it's just gotten big enough for me to mistake it for a Bronto!

 

[Turgenev]

Dino Hunter?

Would that make much sense in a regular game, probably not.

It would if your regular game is a Lost World styled campaign. After all, in a Pulp campaign just about anything is possible.

So Jack, you say that you hunt dinosaurs. Big deal. Amazonia over there is an exiled Venusian Princess whose only crime is to love an earthman. Oh, and watchout for Jungar the Terrible - he was raised by wild dingos in the Australian outback. Don't even ask about Mindar the Mystic.

Would I care? Probably not!

I know we are on Mars, but I am Tim Jackson, Dino Hunter! So tell that army to move over, it's just gotten big enough for me to mistake it for a Bronto!

Hey, everyone knows there aren't any dinosaurs on Mars. You have to go to the lush jungles of Venus to find dinosaurs!*

* Sorry, obscure Space 1889 reference.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Turgenev]

Slight Site Revamp

Just a quick note letting people know that I gave the Thrilling Adventures site a slight revamp. I hope to have a *real* update soon.

All feedback is welcomed.

Cheers,
Tim