What traditional pulp adventure RPGs are out there?

[Crothian]

Yes, you can ignore the game's central premise and use it to run non-supers Pulp. This, however, does not make non-supers Pulp the game's central premise as-written

Who cares what the central premise is? You are not hand cuffed to the RAW and unless one really wants to play it as the precursor to Aberrant and Trinity then do whatever you want with the game.

 

[jdrakeh]

Who cares what the central premise is?

I do. If I want a pure genre Pulp Adventure game, I want a pure genre Pulp Adventure game, not a Supers game that I can use to play pure pulp adventures by ignoring large swaths of the rule book. These are not the same thing. A pure genre Pulp Adventure game doesn't require that I ignore any portion of the rule book to play pure genre Pulp Adventure. I do not like paying for a book full of rules when I will not use most of them. Especially when I can pay, instead, for a book full of rules that I will use in their entirety.

 

[DanMcS]

A. Must be 'traditional' RPGs .
Exception A discounts stuff such Spirit of the Century (sharing the traditional duties of the GM is. . . er. . . not traditional),

What "traditional duties" would you describe as "shared" in that game?

Edit: I ask because it's a terrifically fun game, and I'd hate to see you exclude it needlessly.

 

[Doug Sundseth]

First, you probably need to define what you want a bit better. Pulp includes fantasy (Conan was originally published in pulp), horror (Cthulhu), noir and detective (they overlap, but they're not synonymous), romance, adventure, SF, ....

If what you want is tone, though, I'll mention:

Bloodshadows (WEG, d6 RPG)

John Carter, Warlord of Mars (SPI) -- Intended as a board game, it's actually better as an RPG.

Crimson Skies (FASA)

Space Quest (Tyr)

Space Opera (FGU)

GURPS Lensman (SJG)

Seventh Sea (AEG)

Nearly any western game

 

[Ayrk]

I think that Pulp Adventures for Rolemaster (ICE) does a pretty good in capturing "historic" pulp feel. There are rules for magic but it comes in three flavors (none, low, and high). It does require Rolemaster to play but is full of non-game specific info.

*DISCLAIMER*
Now having said all of that I did co-write the thing, but since the ICE bankruptcy I no longer receive any royalties for it so buying copy still moldering in a game shop doesn't benefit me financially.

 

[jdrakeh]

What "traditional duties" would you describe as "shared" in that game?

Edit: I ask because it's a terrifically fun game, and I'd hate to see you exclude it needlessly.

I already own it, but (like many Indie games) it allows for a great deal of shared narrative control which is not, in any way, traditional. When I get my Dirty Hippy Pulp Adventure on, SotC is my game of choice. It's just not right for my current group of interested players.

 

[jdrakeh]

First, you probably need to define what you want a bit better. Pulp includes fantasy (Conan was originally published in pulp), horror (Cthulhu), noir and detective (they overlap, but they're not synonymous), romance, adventure, SF, ....

Right-o. I guess I want Pulp Adventure (e.g., Indiana Jones, Doc Savage, etc).

 

[Umbran]

A little less pulpy, a little more historical, and you have Gangbusters

 

[Wombat]

Spirit of the Century

http://www.evilhat.com/home/?page_id=103

May not be "traditional" by your standards, but it is far and away the best (broad) Pulp game I have seen to date.

 

[Ghostwind]

There's also Hollow Earth Expedition from Exile Games.