Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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The Second Edition Incorporating
SPICY HORROR STORIES and DIME MYSTERY MAGAZINE MINIATURES RULES for FRANTIC ADVENTURE in the manner of PULP MAGAZINES, RADIO SERIALS and SATURDAY MORNING MATINEES
By Howard “Masked Avenger” Whitehouse (Torn Apart by Giant Apes, 1932) .‖..The first man he met with his bare hands was catapulted back against the wall by a straight left that packed all the fiendish power of a sledgehammer gone mad, a blow that shattered teeth in their sockets and smithereened a jawbone as if it had been made of glass." Leslie Charteris, The Last Hero, 1929 ―I relived those ages of horror and torment in the green-gold room: I saw again the malignant dwarf – A hashashin‖ Weymouth had told me. ―They belong to the Old Man of the Mountain – Sheikh Ismail.‖ I heard the creature‘s dying shrieks; I saw the dacoit return, carrying his bloody knife. Sax Rohmer, The Daughter of Fu Manchu, 1931 ―Send Lawyers, guns and money, the s$%# has hit the fan.‖ Warren Zevon, Lawyers, Guns and Money, 1978
Astounding Tales! — Second Edition By Howard Whitehouse Layout, Covers, Editing, & Light Housekeeping by Patrick R. Wilson Copyright © 2006 By The (Virtual) Armchair General 10208 Haverhill Place, Oklahoma City, OK 73120-3922 USA Voice/Fax: (405) 752-2420 For other products and publications, visit www.thevirtualarmchairgeneral.com Adventurously Printed by 360 Digital Books (
[email protected]) Please address rules questions to
[email protected] Third Printing, February, 2010 Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
Contents
Pages
2
Contents
Pages
Bar Stool Ramblings to the Second Edition
3
Bound And Gagged, Traps
45
An Introduction To The World of Pulp
4
Snappy Dialogue
46
Gaming The World of ―Pulp‖
6
SECTION III : Screaming Wheels
47
Emergency Braking Table, Swerving Table
48
Automobile Crash Table
49
SECTION IV : It Came From The Sky!, Rules For Airships,
50
Shooting Aboard An Airship Table
51
Aircraft—Knights Of The Air, Aircraft Crash Table
52
SECTION I : ―So How Do Ya Play Astounding Tales!?‖
13
―What‘ll I Need?‖— Sets, Props, Cast, & Villains
14
Characters —Attributes
17
Making Up Characters —Rolling Up Characters
18
Buying Attributes
19
―Off The Rack‖
20
Shooting At Planes Table
54
Skills— Table
22
55
Female Characters— ‖Good‖/‖Bad‖ Girl Skills Tables
24
Rocketmen, ―Untrained Rocketman‖ Table, Bullet Hits on ―Rocket Belt‖ Table, SECTION V: Weird Science Zombies
Comic Characters— Skills List
25
56
Examples Of Character Creation
27
Lovecraftian Horror
57
Setting Up The Game
28
Robots
58
The Opening Scene
29
Bullet Hits on Robots Table, Nazi Science
59
SECTION II : ―Camera! Action!” The Rules of Play
30
Creatures!
60 62
Movement— ―Legging It‖
32
What There Are No Rules For, Ending a Scene
―Pounding Hooves‖— Horseback Riding, Weaponry
33
―The End‖— The Big Finale, Cheap Talk & Lies
63
Special Weapons, Exotic Skills
34
SECTION VI : Sample Characters
64
Snipers
35
SECTION VII : Scenarios, 1) The Bride of the Yeti
76
Shooting
36
2) Biggles Defies The Swastika
79
Wounds— ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table
37
82
Optional Wound Location Table, ―Fists‖: Close Combat
38
SECTION VIII : Notes, Appendices, And Other Body Parts, Astounding Titles!, Title Generator
83
Fighting Styles Tables, BRAWLING TABLE
40
Designer‘s Notes
83
―SERIOUS BUSINESS‖ TABLE, ―Guts‖: Bravery
41
Alternative ―Pulp‖ Ideas
84
Guts & Supporting Cast, Get a Grip!
42
A Word On Genre—Read, Watch, Websites
85
―Cut!‖—The ―Do Over Rule‖, The Interrupt Rule
43
Figures And Stuff
87
Frequently Asked Questions
Orders & Communication, ―Drop That Piece, Marlowe!‖
44
91
Roll of Honor
93
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Barstool Ramblings For The Second Edition It‘s been a couple of years since the first edition of Astounding Tales! hit the newsstands, two exciting years of slugging burly hoodlums, stealing one-eyed idols from eastern temples, and a few too many mornings waking up in Mexican jails. In that time I‘ve played the game more, and had people I‘ve never met send me letters, telegrams and occasional hired goons to let me know what they think. Since I‘m always interested in positive criticism (especially from men with automatics in their mitts) I‘ve made some changes. First off, some folks said that AT is really a role-playing game, and I should quit being so coy about it. Sure, it‘s light on some of the complexities of back story, plotline and character development that Role Playing Games (RPG‘s) typically have, but if you want to play it that way, go right ahead. I‘ve made some clarifications to the character types. Second, some folks who are primarily miniatures gamers and want to play a straightforward shoot ‗em up and knock ‗em down were a little put off by the need for a Director with God-like powers and an outrageous ego. After all, if it‘s just you and Jim playing on the dining room table, maybe you just want to take turns moving model figures and rolling some dice. So I‘ve developed a card sequence system which enables all players to actually play. The Director becomes more a genial host than a megalomaniac creator in this version. Third, I‘ve made some of the rules cleaner and clearer. Specifically, I‘ve made shooting a two-die-roll rather than three-die-roll process, which makes it even bloodier. Hell, most of the casualties are only extras. Fourth, I‘ve added some rules for things like traps, zombies, robots and snipers, airships, planes, etc. Gotta have ‗em. And enough people said that, while they understand my dislike of points systems, they wanted some way of valuing the different grades of character, and their equipment, so that Doc Savage wasn‘t overpowered by a busload of school kids and a stray dog. And fifth (which is what I‘m swigging from right now) I‘ve added some extra ―Skills‖ to the list, especially for our daring/cunning Heroines. And some new characters. I guess that‘s six. I‘ve added some ideas for playing pulp sub-genres, like Sword and Sorcery and comic-book WWII. I‘d write whole sets for them if I wasn‘t so busy drinking in the daytime. I‘ve put in some scenarios you can play straight out of the book. And some odd little devices for making up titles, and even whole stories, as if you have no imagination yourself. Finally, in this Third Printing—already!—some errors and omissions (bad Bourbon scented) have been corrected in more sober moments since. The ―Scenario Generator‖ rules and tables have been ―deep sixed‖ from this printing as they are destined for a more suitable project soon to come. That‘s all for now. Astounding Tales! rides again. Go play --Howard Whitehouse, January, 2010 Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
4 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF PULP I was looking at the cover of a magazine from my grandfather‘s time. Aircraft of the First World War swirled around the sky. The Allied flyers were clean-limbed and determined. The Germans employed a considerable number of skeletons to man the basket of a barrage balloon. The owner of the magazine and I agreed that there was much about WWI that had been hushed up, and he showed me similar covers in which Oriental Panther Men, monstrous creatures, and a small man dressed like a banker all threatened an American pilot known as "G-8." This was not your everyday hero of the air. I was at something called "The Fantastic Pulps Show,‖ money was leaping out of my pocket, and a stack of cheap novelettes written in the thirties went home with me. Pulp. High Adventure. Men in snappy fedoras and dangerous dames, with blazing .45 automatics in one hand and a knife in their shoe. Chinese criminal masterminds and their minions. Men of Bronze who carry small explosive charges hidden in their back teeth. Beings who wish to destroy the Earth, or at least New York City, or subdue the populace with mind-numbing drugs to do their fiendish bidding. What on earth can it all mean? It‘s the world as seen in cheap magazines and low budget movies from the 1920's to sometime in the 50‘s, when television and comic books took over. Film Noir, hard-boiled novels, Pulp magazines with Charles Atlas advertisements in the back, that sort of thing. A world where most of Africa, Asia and South America are covered by impenetrable jungles, where Southern California is inexplicably dark and rainy, and where most of Canada is under an ice-cap year round. A world where down-at-heel private eyes fight vulgar, flashy hoodlums, but also where heroes—often cunningly disguised by wearing a tiny silk mask, which fools even their closest friends—save the world from ambitious mad scientists, laughably inept aliens and, quite often, the Germans. A world with garish posters featuring a lot of Colt automatics, green gripping monster hands, and women in far too much mascara and far too little clothing for respectable tastes. "Pulp" requires that you see the world through the eyes of a certain sort of audience. Often it‘s a fifteen year old American kid in 1934; at least, that was who Lester Dent—the writer of the Doc Savage books—was aiming at. What you need are simple heroes, evil opponents, and a good deal of gee-whiz science. Geography can be vague, history ludicrous, but as long as it moves fast and good wins out, that‘s all fine. If you were a hard boiled writer—Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, for example—the audience was older, less innocent, but still looking for a world where good people stood against evil, even if you couldn‘t find a doctor who wouldn‘t drug you and lock you up at his private sanatorium. This style demanded strongly defined heroes and villains, although the more sophisticated heroes might be fairly jaded, and have their own bad habits. Actually, everyone has bad habits, as well as regrets, debts and losing bets. In many ways the Pulp genre began after WWI (succeeding the Dime Novels and ―Penny-Dreadfuls‖ of an earlier time) in a world that was different in many ways from the Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
5 one that had gone before. Popular entertainment focussed on the new movie industry, and film stars became a new royalty. Writing styles became brief, slangy, action-oriented. Pulp sounded like Jimmy Cagney. It was flashy, garish, neon-lit. It didn‘t have a lot of class, but it had nerve. And Pulp Adventure Gaming is based on those premises. It‘s wild, frantic stuff, without a lot of concern for realism. Its only demand is to be true to the conventions of the genre. So fire eight times with your revolver, and pass the popcorn. We may not live to see the credits. Astounding Tales! is a short, simple and deliberately incomplete set of rules for mayhem, murder and Weird Horror set in the period between WWI and the end of the black -and-white ―B‖ Movie era in the 1950‘s. The game depends on a very fast pace, not worrying about details too much, and an attitude that says that heroes (and their sidekicks, dames and others in white hats) should have an advantage over thugs, punks, zombies and other minions of the Evil Overlords. It‘s more about creating scenes of frenetic action where Right Prevails than about a fair game in which the villains—though they may have already reduced cities to ashes, etc—might actually win. You can make it fantastical, with lost cities and sinister emperors, or grittily realistic with mobsters, cops and jaded private investigators. And yes, history buffs, you can play the Russian Revolution or the Spanish Civil War if you want, as long as you are more interested in ranting drunken commissars and strutting-but-incompetent fascists in shiny boots than the details of armoured trains or the organisation of the Falange in 1936. Because that‘s what I am interested in, and it‘s my game. So there. I‘d like to thank a whole bunch of people if I could remember their names. Matt Fritz, Nigel Clarke, Walt O‘Hara, C.B. Stevens, Ross Maker and Dave Markley for their assistant directorial skills in our big games at HistoriCon. Kim Caron for her portrayal of ―Roxy‖ and Jeff Wasileski for his German movie director. Bob Murch and Mark Copplestone for their amazing metal figures and general enthusiasm. Bruce Pettipas and Howard Fielding for actual testing. Ed Dillon for his unnerving knowledge of things that blow up or spray hot lead. Rich Johnson, Legion McRae, Roderick Robertson, Peter McDonald, Harry Morris, Alvin Stuckenborg and Paddy Griffith for new ideas that I‘ve seized on gleefully. Ed Bielcik for quotes and characterization on The Shadow and The Spider. Bill McGinnis for his Doc Savage knowledge. Mark Mintz, Scott Crane and Mike Creek for their suggestions on comic sidekicks. Dash Hammett and Raymond Chandler for putting crime back on the streets. Most of all, my wife, Lori, for putting up with all this nonsense for twenty years and more. Frankly, that part still astounds me! H.J.W., Big Jim's Speakeasy, 1930 All Pulp Magazine covers, photos, and any other derivative graphics appearing on the covers and in the text are intended as a tribute to those thrilling days of yesteryear when adventure could be had for a dime. No infringement of copyright or claim to ownership of the original images is intended. And no Pulps were injured in the writing of these rules or their publication.
—The (Virtual) Armchair General Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
6 GAMING THE WORLD OF "PULP" "Sir, I fear we shall have to sacrifice the gin." Jeeves (Busily fashioning a Molotov Cocktail while being menaced by a large animated wooden Tiki statue in the jungles of the Amazon.) ―Jeeves, tell me again why we're in the Amazon." Bertie Wooster From The Crystal Skulls of Atlantis, HistoriCon 2003 Pulp can be approached from more than one direction. You can treat it as a historical period, with sensational overtones. You can treat it in the same way you‘d approach a fantasy game, with expected stereotypes, and a consistency that comes from the rules and conventions of the genre: Private Eye, Jungle Adventure, Sword-and-Sorcery, Spicy, or whatever. You can play it as a role-playing game, a miniatures skirmish system or any other way that suits you. Real Life in the inter-war period was not good for most people. There was revolution and civil war in Russia, more of the same in China, Spain, and elsewhere. Germany‘s fragile democracy collapsed in Nazism. Mussolini‘s fascists took over Italy, and made war in Libya and Ethiopia. Iraq and Palestine rebelled against British administration. Most of Europe was dirt poor after the Great War, and what little prosperity there was— mostly in the USA— was undermined by corruption and organised crime. Then the Depression came, and everyone was in trouble. It‘s not a fertile period for heroic, two-fisted gaming, you‘d have thought. In fact, our sources in film, books and magazine chose largely to ignore reality completely. You can wargame the Russian Civil War, Franco‘s attack on Madrid or the Italians in Libya, but it‘s not likely to be Pulp. It‘s likely to be grim and gritty, which is fine, but, well, not Pulp. There are some real events that offer fertile ground, however. The North West Frontier of India was still ablaze with tribal risings, and the addition of aircraft and armoured cars on one side, and magazine rifles on the other, actually gave an advantage to the tribesmen. The French were fighting in Morocco and Syria. The US fought a lot of little wars in the Caribbean, mostly supporting their own fruit companies against the local peasants; of course, the spin doctors turned that around! Sensationalism was almost the watchword of the brash 1920's when it came to what people were interested in. Indeed, it almost surpassed itself in the dreary, hopeless 1930's. It was a time of much publicized heroes, like Lindberg, or the traveller (it was hard to be an Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
7 explorer anymore) Richard Halliburton. Flyers were intent on establishing records of any and every kind. Gangsters hung out with film stars, and vice versa. They wore $1000 suits in yellow silk, and courted the press. Colonel Fawcett managed to get himself lost (permanently) in the Amazon. The discovery of Tut-ankhamun‘s tomb—and the "curse" associated with it—caused a wave of fascination with all things ancient Egyptian. Rudolph Valentino finished T.E. Lawrence‘s work of making Bedouin Arabs fascinating to Westerners, in an exotic, unreal sort of way. The dinosaur hunter, Roy Chapman Andrews, managed to parlay his genuinely scientific expeditions into Mongolia into a money-making, highly publicized enterprise. There were cameras everywhere. There were movies everywhere too, and the fifteen year old kid from Iowa could be excused if he wasn‘t sure why Tarzan of the Apes was not out there looking for the missing Colonel Fawcett. Now, this is "Pulp reality,‖ where celebrity heroes and villains engage in things that are dangerous—often pointlessly so—for public voyeurism. Everyone is bigger than life. Some Pulp reality games might involve: 1) Sidney Reilly, the "Ace of Spies" on his expeditions into Red Russia to contact White agents, and possibly making some dodgy deals of his own. There‘ll be sinister Cheka agents in black leather, closed trains, and beautiful countesses who are silk-stockingdeep in intrigue. 2) Paul Dukes, more romantic than Reilly, rescuing the same Countesses at snowy border-crossings, pursued by villainous Bolshevik guards who shoot badly. 3) Tough-but-decent Anglos (all heroes are Anglos; we‘ll get to that later) tackle Latin American bandits, dictators and their minions, using only fists, forty-fives, and maybe a battered seaplane. 4) An Egyptian tomb is protected against invaders by ancient sorcery. 5) Flashy gangsters shoot it out with the cops and G-men, using Tommy Guns and fast sedans. They don‘t run laundry businesses and numbers rackets like real hoods, because that‘s too boring. 6) Roy Chapman Andrews fights Chinese warlords, bandits, sandstorms and possibly plagues of insects as he does his bit for science, and brings back crates of dinosaur bones. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
8 7 ) Decent, clean-living heroes find themselves embroiled with Nazi agents and their sinister schemes. (It‘s really difficult to imagine Nazis having any other kind.) 8) A pilot crashes his experimental plane in some wilderness backwater, and must overcome rough country, unfriendly locals, fierce animals and at least one broken leg to reach safety. Pure Entertainment. The next step on from "Pulp reality" is to add those elements that, well, any fifteen year old would endorse. Take a plot item from the list we‘ve just looked at. Let‘s go with Roy Chapman Andrews, who many have identified as "the real Indiana Jones.‖ Reading the excellent biography, Dragon Hunter, it becomes clear that Andrews used neither whips nor dynamite as key tools in excavation. He only shot one person, himself, accidentally, in the foot. His problems with the Chinese warlords were mostly about having the right papers, and were solved with negotiations rather than gunfire. He was looking for fossils of many kinds, most of which were not nearly as sensational as the newspapers made out. So, we ask ourselves … 1) Why is there no gunfire? Shouldn‘t there be? What sort of bandits and warlords are these, anyway? 2) Why only fossilized dinosaurs? Aren‘t there any live ones? This is Mongolia, for Pete‘s sake. 3) The expedition had been provided with expensive Dodge automobiles by the manufacturer. Would it have hurt them to put some armour on the vehicles? And mount a machine gun? 4) The Mad Baron—the insane Baron Von Ungern-Sternberg—isn‘t involved. Why not? Probably because he‘s already dead. Revise this awkward detail. 5) The Tomb of Genghis Khan—―Big Genghis K‖ himself. He ought to be involved. Revived, possibly. He added great charm to the 1994 movie of The Shadow. 6) Russian agents. Gotta have ‗em. Red ones, White ones. Probably one of them countesses, too! 7) Rival parties of archaeologists/palaeontologists (who can tell them apart, anyway?). Possibly Germans. Probably involved in that occult stuff, for Hitler. I don‘t care if it‘s only 1922. Great! So you can see, we‘ve really improved this whole "researchers from a museum" thing into something you‘d want to read about in a 25 cent magazine with a lurid cover. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
9 Pulp Heroes are the next step away from dreary reality. Ordinary heroes with powerful fists and Colt .45's are excellent in their own way, of course, but disguised vigilantes with secret identities, and possibly secret hideouts are better still! Think of them as being the forebears of superheroes, with capes and masks but without the spandex and the underpants worn outside. 1) The Shadow, hero of print, radio, and later on, the silver screen. Black fedora and cape, blazing automatics, dead criminals. He has a vague but immensely powerful ability to "cloud men‘s minds‖ so that they can‘t see him. 2) The Spider is the next step on from the Shadow, a man whose personal demons have pretty much taken over his crime fighting efforts. Bob Murch suggests that he be regarded like a random artillery round; he arrives through the skylight, blasts everyone around him, then leaves again. In one issue of his magazine, he leads a hobo army against the evil forces that have taken over the USA. 3) The Phantom Detective is an urbane, society man who (donning the little black mask) fights criminals. A bit dull, really, but he remained in print for two decades. Gaming any of these really just involves taking a gangster game and adding a spectacularly effective hero figure, who can arrive and leave with incredible speed, shoots absurdly well, and apparently receives no wounds, ever. No problem there. 4) Doc Savage—the Man of Bronze—does without the disguise, but (through training, exercise and really good genetics) has a mixture of superhuman skills and fantastic, self-invented gizmos. Doc also has a crack team of five genius side kicks, whose main function is to need rescuing. They communicate in "Ancient Mayan"—wouldn't you? Doc operates world-wide, so he is an adventure hero in every possible setting. On a scale of 1-6, Doc rates a "9" or so in most skills, so once again, he is disproportionately powerful. However, he seldom kills anyone, preferring to knock them out and send them to—get this!—his private reform institution in upstate New York. It has been pointed out, however, that Doc‘s enemies frequently end up dead in fortuitous accidents, so it‘s not all trips to rehab. 5) "Operator 5" is Jimmy Christopher, an American secret agent who is the key to defending the republic against the massive invasion of "The Purple Emperor,‖ ruler of a strangely multi-ethnic, but savage, empire bent on world domination. Managing to combine "Yellow Peril" paranoia, grand strategy and stupid headgear, while out in the real world were enemies that were far more interesting than the Purple Empire. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
10 What little I have read in this series is more like a military/resistance theme than the usual crime-fighting or defeating mad villains. If you like the idea of America being overrun by Asian Fascists (I mean "playing a game,‖ not actually in real life) with a ridiculously effective hero leading the resistance, this might work as a spin-off variant of WWII skirmish gaming. 6) Heroes of the Air included G-8 (a fighter pilot/spy who, with his two buddies, defeated the Germans in 1918), Dusty Ayres, and the really bizarre Terrence X. O‘Leary and his War Birds. If you think that air pulps should be relatively straight forward, with machine guns and Immelman turns providing the excitement, you‘d be wrong. In short order, there were the Kaiser‘s zombies, leaping Chinese villains, and incredibly hokey horror and Sci-Fi elements. What you need here is a workable set of WWI dogfight rules, with an addition of quite absurd horror and fantasy elements. Once you have decided that Eastern assassins can, in fact, jump from plane to plane with knives in their teeth, it‘s just a question of adding some extra rules. To counter this extra detail, you can ignore many of the real differences between plane types, as Pulp authors had little concept of actual technical performance. Pulp Fantastic! Beyond the realm of the masked and unmasked heroes, who fight for good in the same world that we inhabit (as long as we inhabit it in 1933), there is what will come to be called "Science Fiction" and "Fantasy.‖ This is Buck Rogers (first seen in Amazing Stories in 1928, before he hit the comic books), and Captain Future, who intersected with the present day to save America (a lot) when a president who seems very like Roosevelt calls on him. Pulp-era science fiction is wonderful in its naiveté, all bubble-helmet spacemen, babes in brass bikinis, and monsters with huge staring eyes. Most of us are familiar with various science fiction wargames, usually set in ―techy‖ worlds of "Hard SF‘ or dystopian universes like Warhammer 40K. Pulp SF games—and I‘m only imagining here— ought to have a playful, golly-wow feel to them, with amazing (read "completely unconvincing") scientific discoveries, aliens that we of a later time would simply laugh at, and a good deal of fist-fighting inside glass bubbles. You have to like that. The other direction that the wonder pulps took was fantasy, a very mixed bag of Robert E. Howard‘s Conan and others, Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ various worlds, oriental tales and anything both horrific and too big to crawl out of a crypt (we‘ll get to that next). Fantasy wargaming flirted with the Conan-type of world in the 1970's, but somehow the savage worlds of brawny barbarians were overwhelmed by the sub-Tolkien legions of elves and Orcs. Time for a revival, by Crom! Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
11 The "Shudder Pulps" were horror tales. At the literary end, we have H.P. Lovecraft and his followers, with the welldeveloped world of the Cthulhu mythos. These have survived and been built upon to form almost a genre in itself. At the other end, it‘s the grasping giant hands and bottle-blondes in baby-doll nighties. (Not that there‘s anything wrong with that....) Horror is quite hard to game because ...er... we aren‘t frightened. We all saw that monster come out of a box, and we remember buying it at a toyshop and repainting it from the nasty green plastic thing it was. My most successful horror games have been "double blind" affairs where the players only saw things when they jumped on their characters. "Hard-Boiled" is pretty much the opposite to the "wonder" pulps with their proto-SF stories. These are gritty crime stories, aimed at an older audience, without zombies or gripping green hands, and a fairly tight hand on the young women in lingerie. Magazines such as Black Mask defined the private eye/detective genre that we all immediately connect with Bogart, trench coats and rainy nights in L.A. Games in this genre will have a strong role-playing component, require few figures but lots of cars, small scenes of city streets and deserted roads through canyons. Visibility is shockingly poor at all times, and the protagonists may well be drunk at any time of day. Snappy repartee is crucial. I love this stuff! Gaming Hard-Boiled Action is essentially a variant on the historical gangster and cop sort of game. Obviously, the Private Eye is essentially a lone wolf, and will need a certain amount of unfair advantage to stay alive. He should be beaten up and left in alleys rather than killed. There will be femmes fatale, occasional friendly cops, and villains who decide they like to have him around. We don‘t know why. The Yellow Peril and other Threats to Civilisation were tremendously popular. The Victorian fear of Chinese domination (at a time when China was as weak as it has ever been) extended into a world of "Oriental" super villains, and their Chinatown minions. Fu Manchu was copied as Wu Fang and Dr. Yen Sing. The Shadow and The Spider found Eastern adversaries in many stories. Even Hammett had to feature an Asian villain in The House on Turk St. In response, there came a few Asian good guys like Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto. For gaming purposes, the Yellow Peril offers not only traditional Chinoiserie, with sorcerers and assassins and men with Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
12 really big fireworks, but a whole new generation of Tong gangsters, Eastern Science and a real new enemy, Imperial Japan. Western Adventure was a staple of the Pulps. This was a West that somehow segued strangely between the 1870's and the present, so that the whole USA west of the Mississippi featured cars, and radios, and cowboys with six guns and Indians on the warpath. Many of the cowboys sang, as well, and orchestras played from behind a large cactus. My Editor, Patrick Wilson, of Oklahoma City, thinks this is remarkable, as he recalls no rampaging Redskins during his 1950‘s childhood, but I suspect he‘s just a few years too young. A variant of the western is the North-West Romance, which features lone redcoated Mounties taking on mixed breed villains with bad French accents. Apparently biracial parentage was a cause for criminal behaviour in itself. There‘s all kinds of Western gunfight rules out there. A Pulp version should simply feature more heroes shooting guns out of villain‘s hands, and sudden "Modernisms" like a car full of gangsters taking on Sitting Bull‘s feather-bonneted hordes (who may appear Italian or Mexican, as movie extras might). The Un-Dead Arisen! Zombies, mummies and skeletons are really central to the world of Pulp Horror. They were really ideal for the silent cinema, of course. So, Pulp is an ideal opportunity to get the ―skellies‖ out. You really don‘t need an excuse. Weird Science is at the core of so much Pulp. The period after WWI provides us with a great deal of what we think of as the ordinary devices of the modern world—cars, radios, working aircraft—so, unlike the world of Victorian Adventure, you can buy a Ford rather than rely on your crazy inventor uncle to build something wacky. However, the very ordinariness of these things means that it takes an extra level of scientific effort to impress us. When it‘s the heroes doing it, it‘s "super science,‖ with Doc Savage‘s submarine, and the Spider‘s planes, which are somehow better than normal. There‘s not much of the Tom Clancy tech-speak in Pulp; the writers don‘t (can‘t?) explain very much in the way of engineering detail. Villains, of course, rely on a more malign spirit of massive devices designed to inflict death, and, of course, conquer the world. There‘s almost no limit to the scope of these machines.
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
13 SECTION I : ‚SO, HOW ‘D YA PLAY ASTOUNDING TALES?‛ ―Who knows what evil lurks within the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!‖ ―The Shadow‖ Voice-over We pretend that we are making a movie. We aren‘t, of course, but it‘s a good way of staging the event rather than saying ―It‘s like chess, but with toy soldiers and complicated rules‖ or ―It‘s an exact simulation of real events‖—you know, the guff that has caused so many miniatures games to reek of sheer dullness. The game is played with a Director—a Games Master—who sets up the Scene and decides who goes when, according to whatever seems right at the time. There are suggestions for doing this. Everyone will, however, get equal amounts of time on camera. The players are normally all on the same side—at least notionally—though equally they may play opponents, in the traditional wargaming fashion. The Director will operate various minions, underlings, walk-on parts and others; he‘ll will try to make sure that these bit-part actors don‘t steal the limelight from the stars, unless he is annoyed with their egos. Most of the game mechanisms are based on rolling an ordinary six-sided die to score equal-to-or-less-than a particular number; sometimes the idea is that one player has to roll ―to hit‖ and then his opponent rolls ―to save‖ and so avoid the hit‘s effect—an oldie-butgoody rules system from the distant past of wargaming that keeps everyone involved. The Director will give a voice-over of what‘s going on, asking the players ―So what do you do now?‖ and demanding instant reaction and movement. The Director will dictate that you roll against STUNTS or SMARTS or whatever, and you‘d best do it and no arguing, Buddy! It‘s all about breathless, non-stop action, so we don‘t care for incidentals. Legendary detective writer Raymond Chandler—who began in Black Mask and Dime Detective— believed that plots move along by introducing more dead bodies, no apology or explanation needed. EXAMPLE: Director Bob decides that he wants to run a game called ―The Curse of the Lost Golden Monkey‖ (or, TCOTLGM, as you might). His friends Bill, Joe and Sue volunteer to play, because, ―Dammit, it’s the right thing to do.‖ They gather at Bob’s crummy apartment in a seedy part of town, bringing pints of cheap liquor and unfiltered cigarettes, dressed in fedoras and shabby suits (well, maybe not Sue). They understand the deal; Bob will provide an evening’s entertainment, allowing their Characters to wade through other people’s blood to an exciting climax of gunplay and smart quips, and they’ll go along with it, for right now. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
14
―WHAT‘LL I NEED?‖ ―I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. Raymond Chandler, Farewell My Lovely, 1940
First off, aside from the Director and players—anything from one poor sap to maybe a dozen willing victims—you are going to need Sets, Props, Characters, Villains and Supporting Cast. Sets: A game table or board, with scenery, for each Scene you intend to play out. For this kind of game you don‘t always need whole big tables wide enough to see for miles across the Arizona desert or African veldt; a city scene might need a foot-square board with a seedy alley behind a dingy diner and the back of two warehouses, while a jungle path is really just a track with a screen of trees on either side of it. A loan shark‘s office requires just an office—maybe only 2‖ x 3‖ big—with a hallway and the hint that there might be stairs or an elevator to leave by; you don‘t need to show the bookstore on the ground floor, the laundry across the street, or the small-time accounting business upstairs that shares the washroom. Think about how movie sets are constructed! You can build several quite small sets and place them on the table as separate pieces; in the first reel the Scene is at the hero‘s hotel in New York, when the agents of Dr, Fu Manchu try to drug him and steal the diamonds. This set is the size of a shoebox, and might, indeed, be converted from a shoebox. In the second Scene we are in a Cairo market (2‖ x 2‖ square), and in the final reel we are in the ruins of an ancient temple. All three sets are separate, but share space on the dining room table this evening! Props: These are exactly what you‘d expect, but in a world of miniature figures the emphasis is on things that can be used by small people—cars, boats, aircraft—and fixtures and fittings like furniture, crates and barrels, that sort of thing. We may have to imagine diamond necklaces and letters in invisible ink, since they‘d be smaller than a pinhead in this scale. I have collected die cast cars, plastic planes, boats that cover a wide period, and various other bits and bobs. Many of these are fairly generic—a kitchen table is a kitchen table—and serve in different times and places. Likewise a 1927 Ford, a rowing boat or a small brown dog—but a butcher‘s van advertising a shop in South London serves to show a pretty exact time and place, along with the doubledecker bus full of un-dead Egyptians on its way to Marble Arch…. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
15 EXAMPLE: Director Bob looks through his collection of models, deciding that he wants three sets for ―TCOTLGM.‖ He selects buildings, trees and other scenics that will allow him to portray a New York office, a beach in Hawaii and a jungle path in some imaginary China Seas locale. For props he decides he needs some period cars, taxis, boats and a Ford Tri-motor prop plane. The Lost Golden Monkey is a small statuette, which may appear, or may simply remain, well, lost. The players will be allowed, within reason, to pick their own cast, but Director Bob decides that the villains will be a cosmopolitan art dealer, a gangster and a chief of stone-age head hunters.
Cast: These are the actual characters of the drama—heroes, heroines, trusty sidekicks, dangerous dames, everyone who counts as a real person. For each character, you‘ll need a figure to portray them (to really impress, have several matching figures in evening wear, tropical garb and regular clothes!). Again, I have gathered a group of 28mm scale figures that can be used in different locales, because men in fedoras and women in period day dress fit (more or less) across the globe. Each player will have at least one character to call their own, possibly with some others as friends, assistants, lieutenants, etc. Also included are any lesser characters that the Director may either operate himself or hand over to the players—you know, the amiable doorman, the drunken reporter, the mechanic who sees things he shouldn‘t, the cop who never believes what anyone tells him. The four basic Character Types are as follows: Leading Roles (LR‘s)—Since we are going with a movie motif, these are the player‘s own characters. Leading Roles are treated with special respect, and it is understood that they cannot be killed unless it‘s an integral—and previously agreed—part of the plot. They can, of course, be taken prisoner, beaten up and slung in the trunks of Buicks. They can make two Interruptions per scene (see the ―Interrupt‖ Rules, pg 43). They can re-roll when a GUTS check goes wrong. They always do exactly what the player wants, although they take tests against Attributes as usual, and cannot be assumed to get absolutely everything right. Secondary Roles (SR‘s)—The Leading Roles‘ companions and ―sidekicks‖ (the humorous, more inept types) operated by the players. They may have ratings as high or higher than some LRs, but may not always do exactly as the player wishes. They take GUTS checks, and—most importantly—can be killed off in the course of a game. Bit Parts (BP)—These are often simply promoted members of the Supporting Cast—drivers, beat cops, newsboys, etc—but they have the advantage of counting as charSecond Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
16 acters in combat, and enough HITS that they don‘t just fall over when a bullet wings ‗em. In a smaller scenario it‘s likely that you‘ll need these BP‘s rather than the masses of nameless, one-hit-to-kill Supporting Cast who populate the grand epic affairs. The Supporting Cast (SC) are the lesser mortals of limited abilities, whose individual fates are of minimal interest to us. Call ‗em extras, minions, underlings, whatever. They can serve either as devoted servants to the Characters—in the guise of cops, soldiers, rebels against tyranny—or as hoods, heavies, and black-hats, the henchmen of evil. They have one life to lose, which they do, easily, and simpler rules and fewer abilities than the Characters. They tend to run around in bunches, and may represent quite a few more than are actually portrayed, because the union scale for extras means the producers can only afford ten guys where the script calls for a regiment of Mexican soldiers. A player can control a fair number (10? 50?) of these figures, as we aren‘t really concerned about what happens to them individually. EXAMPLE: Director Bob decides that he needs figures for his Characters and villains; often it’s good to let players select from several models to pick their own personal figure. For extras he will provide New York cops, gangsters, some hokey Chinese and Japanese types for the Hawaiian set, faced off with a U.S, naval shore party, and a collection of head hunters for ―The Jungle Scene.― He will have boxes of figures available for that surprise moment when it becomes clear that the jungle island has a convention of castaway tourists/Nazi archaeologists/vile creatures from the deepest chasms (etc, etc) which somehow never featured in the original plans.
Villains are those cast members who are—gasp—enemies of all that is decent; as such they are controlled by the Director or by a player serving as Assistant Director. This is not the same thing as when players compete against one another, since the players are trying to ―win‖ in a much more straightforward manner; we might think that Colonel Rommel is a villain by virtue of his being a German officer, but that‘s not necessarily the case in the mind of the player controlling him. Besides, everyone knows that Rommel is a ―Good German.‖ Now, the Gestapo operative watching over Rommel‘s shoulder is clearly a villain! The key thing about the villains in Astounding Tales! is that they serve to further the plot, provide dramatic tension, etc, but they are not intended to win at the end of the day. They can have their moments of triumph, with much gloating, etc, but in the final Scene, they must lose. If the Director cannot manage to make them lose—if the players are either grotesquely unlucky or incompetent—then a sequel must occur. Note that, though defeated, a good villain can often make a cunning exit to appear again in another place and time! That‘s why there are so many Fu Manchu books. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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CHARACTERS ―Meet the sinister and mysterious Dr. Satan—-the world‘s weirdest criminal.‖ Cover blurb from Weird Tales, August 1935
Astounding Tales! is all about characters. Well, that and unlikely plot twists, irresponsible behaviour with weapons and talking in a terse, snappy sort of way. Characters have 6 Attributes: FISTS, GATS, GUTS, STUNTS, SMARTS, and HITS. This list is known in AT! as a Profile. Each of these Attributes is rated between 2 (poor) and 5 (very good)—possibly 6 for Pulp Hero types, maybe even 7 for Doc Savage, who is just one step short of the guy with the cape and the phone booth. An ―average‖ Character would be rated 3 for most things, understanding as we do that Pulp Era Characters are seldom average. For almost everything, roll 1 D6, modify if needed, and equal-or-less succeeds. So 5‘s do very well, 2‘s fail constantly, which isn‘t very heroic, I know. Six‘s can fail by rolling a six, then rolling 4-6 on a second roll. Seven‘s can fail by rolling a ―6‖, then rolling a ―5-6‖ on a second roll. (That Savage, boy howdy….) FISTS—Close combat, with or without weapons. Socking ‗em in the jaw, slapping ‗em with a pistol, poking them with the Sword of Nemedis, secretly buried lo these thousand years. GATS—Shooting with any weapon, including knives, rocks, bottles as well as the blazing .45s we expect for this genre. GUTS—Intestinal fortitude when faced with hideous bug-eyed monsters or ugly men with Thompson Submachine Guns. STUNTS—Because a chandelier is not simply a lighting fixture. All kinds of leaping, diving, dodging, driving around flaming tankers. SMARTS—Getting wise to the game, figuring out clues and not playing the sap for anyone. This includes most kinds of charisma, observation, and anything where having a brain might be helpful. HITS—Being the amount of damage you can take, between ―3‖ and ―6‖ for a human, more for robots, horrific beasts, and possibly the larger sort of German. You collect wounds until you have no more, in which case you are out of the game, and possibly out of everything. Some wounds are worse than others, and take away points from other Attributes at the same time as they take Hits. In addition, some Characters will have SKILLS, like inventing amazing explosive devices out of common kitchen items, or having really nice table manners—that‘s mostly the 1920‘s English detectives, who have no access to proto-atomic weaponry and the like, and have to fall back on the martial art of Etiquette. Being unusually ugly, or lucky or whatever are included as ―SKILL‖ as well, for convenience sake. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
18
MAKING UP CHARACTERS Sergeant Burt Moran was a tall man with hard flat features and eyes that were cold and dull, like those of a snake. He was that comparatively rare thing among cops, a man equally hated by crooks and his fellow officers. Operators on both sides of the law forgot their differences and came to agreement on one point at least: that Moran was a heel by any or all standards. William P. McGivern, Death Comes Gift-Wrapped, 1948
More often than not, you will be able to take a basic character concept and work out some reasonable Attributes and skills for them—for instance, a private detective should be good with fists and guns, fairly smart and able to take a few blows, whereas a Mad Scientist might well be weak in everything but SMARTS, but have amazing SKILLS, and possibly a collection of loyal minions to supply the muscle, etc. The following section features the ideas of Roderick Robertson of California, who gives us examples from the gangster genre. These are taken from a developing AT! Variant known as ―Gangsters: Mad Dogs With Guns.‖ To create a cast, you may either A) roll up characters, B) buy characters ―off the rack.‖ or C) purchase ―basic‖ low level people—recruits, assorted minions, or punks—and improve them (or any combination). A player may combine these methods to create his cast (see the example, below). Supporting Cast can simply have a single rating for all Attributes to keep it easy. A 3 would be an average gangster, Tong member, German soldier, etc. Punks would be 2, enforcers, hard men, elite soldiers, 4. You can mix up ratings if you like, though. For instance, sailors brawl well, Gurkhas have tremendous STUNTS skills, and all nameless henchmen are pretty stupid, as is well known. Since any hit takes them out of the game, they effectively have a HITS of 1 because most serious wounds would cause several HITS, enough to make them stop harassing the characters, at any rate. You can make it more detailed if you want, but why? Only automatons, hash-crazed Eastern assassins, giant apes, etc, would be higher. And they‘d have their own special rules. Naturally. The ―Budget‖ concept is based on a gangland setting, where income from nefarious activities balances the costs of keeping a criminal organisation together. You can also think of it as a points system, but without the dweeb factor (as Little Caesar would no doubt put it).
1) Rolling Up A Character If you want to just make up a character randomly, roll 8 D6. For every set of ―1‖ and ―6‖ that come up—that‘s both a ―1‖ and a ―6‖—read them as ―2‖ and ―5.― Take the best six of the eight dice results and assign them to the Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
19 Attributes you wish, depending on the kind of character you have in mind. For every ―6‖ rolled (whether you modified it or not), roll on the SKILLS Table. The only thing to ensure is that HITS is at least 3, and should generally be close to FISTS in level, because people with tuberculosis seldom hit like Joe Louis. Female characters cannot have FISTS above 4 (although Amazon Queens or other characters approved by the Director might). Indeed, Female characters can use their own SKILLS Tables (below).
2) Buying Attributes A basic character has all stats of 2. From this base, you may purchase higher Attributes and SKILLS. Bit Parts and Supporting Cast (punks, conscripts, civilians, etc) cost $25 and all Attributes set at 2.
Basic Character Costs By Type Character Basic Cost Plus For Each Attribute of ―3‖ Plus For Each Attribute of ―4‖ Plus For Each Attribute of ―5‖ Plus For Each Attribute of ―6‖
Leading Role $400 $20
Secondary Role $200 $10
Bit Part $100 $10
Supporting Cast $50 $5
$50
$25
$20
$10
$100
$50
$40
N/A
$200
$100
N/A
N/A
Only Leading and Secondary Roles may use the SKILLS Table. Leading Roles pay $50 for each roll made on the SKILLS it, and Secondary Roles pay $25 per roll. These characters may choose specific SKILLS from the Table, but must pay twice the ―random‖ rate. If a player rolls a SKILL he doesn‘t want, he may roll 1 D6: 1-3= He must keep the skill rolled; 46= He may roll again, but pay an additional $25. The player may continue to roll until he gets what he likes, but must pay every time, like it or not! Example: Bob rolls GUN SHY for his torpedo. Not wanting to have one of his best figures flinching every time he’s shot at, Bob rolls to see if he can get another chance—he rolls a ―5,‖ and pays an additional $25. He rolls GIMPY, and doesn’t like the ―improvement.‖ He opts to roll again, and comes up a ―4‖, so he pays $25 more, and rolls up NOT IN THE FACE! At this point, he decides to give up and keep this one. The character figure has cost an additional $50 and not got any better! Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
20
3) ―Off The Rack‖ To buy a gangster off the rack, just purchase one of the gangster templates below. You may purchase additional stats or abilities as above in ―Buying Attributes.‖ Type Mob Boss
Cost $225
Fists 4
Gats Guts 4 4
Stunts 2
Smarts 4
Hits 5
Skills 2 Chosen Skills
Accountant
$110
2
2
2
2
5
3
Required to make payoffs
Gun Moll
$140
3
3
3
3
4
2
Hell Cat or Nice Girl
Torpedo
$325
5
5
5
4
4
4
3 Rolls on the Skills Table*
Enforcer
$225
4
4
4
4
4
4
2 Rolls on the Skills Table*
Hoodlum
$100
3
3
3
3
3
3
1 Roll on the Skill Table*
Slugger
$45
3
2
3
3
2
3
No special skills
Punk
$25
2
2
2
2
2
2
No special skills
* May choose (instead of roll) SKILLS for an additional $25 each. All characters are assumed to possess equipment suited to their role (knives, pistols, nightsticks, decoder rings, etc) though the Director may allow each player to select one extra item suited to this adventure. This has to make sense. (Why would the perky platinum blonde secretary have a death-ray next to her Smith-Corona typewriter?) Given the genre, we accept that she carries a .32 revolver in her purse at all times. That‘s only sensible, and Roderick has permitted anyone with a GATS of 3 or better to have a gun for free. Note that soldiers (Bit Player or Supporting Cast) are allowed to have rifles, bayonets, etc, and even the most unwilling conscript has a GATS of 2, yet is issued military equipment at no extra cost. Roderick Robertson gives an example of creating a gang.
Equipment Costs Item Tommy Gun Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) Pump Action Shotgun
Cost $200 $300
Item Fancy automobile Grenades
$75
Pistol
Double barrelled Shotgun Automobile or truck
$50 $200
Hand-to-hand weapon
Cost $500 $25 each One free to GATS 3+ figures; others $20 Free
EXAMPLE: Bob’s Gang start with a $1000 budget. First he rolls up his Boss. He rolls a ―4,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖5,‖ ‖6,‖ ‖6,‖ ―1,‖ & ‖2.‖ The ―1‖ and one of the ―6‖s modify to a ―2‖ and a ―5‖, so the dice read, in order ―2,‖ ‖2,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖3,‖ ―4,‖ ‖5,‖ ‖5,‖ & ‖6.‖ Bill needs six Attributes, so he ditches the twos. The two sixes rolled mean two rolls on the SKILLS Table. He also gets an additional $25 to spend on a SKILL or Attribute.
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
21 He decides that his Boss Jimmy ―The Nose‖ O’Donnell is a scrapper, so allocates his dice as follows. He chooses REAL SCARY and BRUTAL CHAMP, spends his extra $25 on a rolled skill, and gets SHOTGUNNER.
Name
Cost Fists Gats Guts Stunts Smarts Hits
Jimmy ―The Nose‖ O‘Donnell
Free
Double-barrelled Shotgun
$50
6
5
4
2
3
5
Skills Real Scary Brutal Champ Shotgunner
He buys an accountant ―Off the Rack‖
Name
Cost Fists Gats Guts Stunts Smarts Hits
Accountant
$110
2
2
2
2
5
3
Skills Accountancy
Every Mob Boss worth his salt needs a Gun Moll, so Sally Mae is bought ―off the rack‖ and upgraded. He specifically chooses CRACK SHOT and selects HELL CAT from the two choices given to Gun Molls.
Name
Cost Fists Gats Guts Stunts Smarts Hits
Sally Mae
$240
Pistol
Free
3
3
4
3
4
3
Skills Hell Cat Crack Shot
He’d like to buy a Torpedo for his gang, but he’s already spent $400 on his command structure. Instead he buys an Enforcer as his ―heavy.‖ He rolls well on his skills!
Name
Cost
Fists
Gats
Guts
Saul ―The Gat‖
$225
4
4
4
Pistol 2nd pistol Tommy Gun
Free $20 $100
Stunts Smarts 4
4
Hits
Skills
4
Two Gun Kid Tommy Gunner
He picks up some basic hoodlums for soldiers.
Name Giorgio ―The Shiv‖ Pistol Knife Guido ―Fists‖ Pistol Brass knuckles
Cost Fists Gats Guts Stunts Smarts Hits $100 Free Free $100 Free Free
3
3
3
3
3
3
Mack the Knife
3
3
3
3
3
3
Brutal Champ
Finally, he rounds out the gang with some expendable punks.
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Skills
22
Name
Cost Fists Gats Guts Stunts Smarts Hits
―Tommy‖ Baseball bat ―Billy‖ Switchblade knife
$25 Free $25 Free
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Skills
Bob has spent a grand total of $995, and is ready to control his part of town.
SKILLS ―I learned much of the secrets of make-up from a clown named Ricki. To the graveeyed man with the long black burnsides who traveled with the show under the name of Don Avigne, I am indebted for knowledge that has made the knife one of the deadliest weapons in my hands. Then there was Professor Gabby, who taught me the principles of ventriloquism---while I was hanging around the circus I won the confidence of Marko the Magician ----‖ Calling the Ghost, The Ghost Super-Detective, 1940 As we‘ve said, for every ―6‖ rolled in creating your character, you get to roll on the SKILLS Table. You may want to pick these skills, but it‘s more fun to roll 2 D6, reading one as tens and the other as units.
Skills Table 2 D6 Roll
Skill
11
Bomber
Can take a second ―Flick‖ when throwing Grenades (page 34) if the first lands off target. (Must ―Re-flick‖ from original starting point.)
12
Pick Pocket
+1 to STUNTS when trying to sneak anything off another character. Failure means the ―Dip‖ is caught in the act.
13
Description
Brutal Champ +1 FISTS when he‘s in a public place and people are watching.
14
Acrobat
+2 STUNTS for all climbing feats.
15
Cold Blooded
COLD BLOODED--Always fires an extra round to ensure that an opponent is down for good. If adjacent to a downed figure for a full round that figure automatically takes an additional ―6‖ wound on the appropriate table. Character is not influenced by FEMMES FATALE, REAL CHARMERS, SCARY, and rolls again if another SKILL would be NOT IN THE FACE!
16
Crazy Inventor
+2 SMARTS when contriving device from whatever is handy (―A tin can, box of matches, bottle of Moxie, ball of string, ---Yes! It will work!‖)
21
Drunk/ Addict
At beginning of each Scene, roll 1 D6: 1-4=―-1‖ each from GATS, SMARTS, & STUNTS; 5,6=―+1‖ to GUTS. Astounding Tales!
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23 22
Fast
23
Flashing Blade
24
Call Me Sherlock
+2 SMARTS in connection with evidence, etc.
25
Gullible
If told anything during a Scene by a Friend, he will believe it after failing a SMARTS -1 test. As soon as the truth is demonstrated--anytime, anywhere--he cannot be fooled again by the same character for the rest of the scenario.
26
Gun Shy
All rolls of ―1‖ on the Lead Poisoning Table are treated as ―2.‖
31
Hothead
Must attack nearest enemy in running range in hand-to-hand combat.
32
Just Nuts
+1 STUNTS when escaping from opponents by leaping / diving / etc.
33
Lucky Cuss
34
Mack The Knife
35
Mean Drunk
+1 to FISTS and GUTS, but -2 to GATS when he‘s got a skin full (Director‘s call).
36
Tongue Tied
Character can communicate normally, but when involved in an Action Scene (fighting, shooting, plane crash, man-eating gerbil stampede, etc) he can only say two words each turn to the other players.
41
Not In The Face!
42
Cracksman
Can attempt to open any safe/strong box/door/gate or anything with a lock on it by passing a STUNTS +1 test.
43
Martial Arts
+1 STUNTS in close combat situation.
44
Pineapple Man
45
Exquisite Manners
46
A Real Charmer
51
Scary
52
Shotgunner
53
Snappy Dresser
54
Spunky Kid
Can re-roll 1 GUTS once per scene.
55
Squeamish
-1 GUTS when rolling if you or a friend wound have been struck/ wounded.
56
Tommy Gunner
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May add up to 3‖ when Running. +1 to SERIOUS BUSINESS using a sword.
2 re-rolls per scene, but only for actions by or against himself directly. +1 to SERIOUS BUSINESS when using a knife, and +1 GATS when throwing a knife.
All BRAWLING wounds require an extra round to recover from.
+1 GATS when throwing explosives such as grenades or dynamite. If a non-Leading Role enemy is about to start a fight, the character can say just the right thing to put him off (prior to shots being fired or punches thrown). The character tests his SMARTS +1 each turn until he fails--then the fun begins! Character can get any non-Leading Role character to do anything he asks this turn (Director's call). He must first pass a SMARTS +1 test in order to do so. Opponents roll GUTS-2 when facing him. +1 to LEAD POISONING when using a shotgun. Character cuts a fine figure and when talking to characters other than Leading Roles may add "1" to his SMARTS when telling a lie. If he passes the test, the listener believes him--until the opposite is proved. Costs an additional +$25 (hey, good suits don‘t come cheap!)
+1 to LEAD POISONING using any Sub-Machine Gun. Second Edition
24 61
Tough SOB/Broad
62
Two-Gun Kid
63
Wheel Man
64
Boxer
65
Crack Shot
66
Gimpy
-1 from wounds against him for first two wounds. May fire with a pistol in each hand per round without penalty. +2 to STUNTS for driving feats. Accelerate/decelerate two speeds per action instead of one. (Applies to a Pilot as ―Flyin‘ Fool.‖) +1 to BRAWLING die rolls. +1 to LEAD POISONING when using a pistol, rifle or carbine. -1‖ from all Movement, but -2‖ from Running.
Female Characters Some of the standard Special Skills don‘t work too well with female characters, or at the very least some need rewording. TOUGH SOB becomes TOUGH BROAD, for instance. Females also have a variety of qualities specific to their gender. In the Pulp world, women are either ―Good‖ Girls or ―Bad‖ Girls. Decide which your character is. For the character‘s first SKILL, roll a D6, either as a ―Good‖ or ―Bad‖ Girl. For the second and subsequent SKILL, you may choose whether to roll on the same chart, or on the standard SKILLS Table. If the result seems absurd, try again.
―Feminine Wiles‖ Table Bad Girls D6 Roll
Skill
Description
1
Femme Fatale
Character may make three attempts to control one or more male characters per scenario. The intended victim tests SMARTS. If he passes, he cannot be tested again. If he fails, he must do what she wants him to do (subject to Director‘s approval). Femmes Fatale are automatically COLD BLOODED and REAL CHARMERS.
2
Hell Cat
+2 to LEAD POISONING and BRAWLING Tables.
3
Two Faced
Shows all the attributes of NICE GIRL (see other table) and lasts until she commits some obviously wicked act when he will test SMARTS to see if the fooled party finds her out.
4
Mimic
Can impersonate any voice on the phone or otherwise when out of sight. Hearer must test against SMARTS to recognize being tricked.
5
Vamp
She can attempt to make any one man become A SUCKER FOR A DAME. This will work on a roll of 1-3, and if it works, it lasts until she is found to commit some wicked act when he will test SMARTS to see through her deception.
6
Sweet Talker
SWEET TALKER--Can make any man test to be GULLIBLE whenever she wants, but only three times during a scenario. Astounding Tales!
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
25 NOTE: Some SKILLS referred to below are found under rules for COMIC CHARACTERS (below).
―Feminine Wiles‖ Table Good Girls D6 Roll
Skill
1
Feminine Intuition
Once per scene the character may have a free ―Interrupt‖ by making any male character back up and repeat an Action—but she gets to Act first!
2
Doll Face
All men become TONGUE TIED and CLUMSY in her presence until actual violence breaks out. She is also a REAL CHARMER.
3
Nice Girl
4
Description
Friendly characters must always tell the truth and cannot break any laws, promises, or confidences in her presence. Opponents –1 to GATS and FISTS against her.
Packs A Punch +2 to BRAWLING die roll.
5
Ingénue
-1 to her SMARTS when being persuaded or conned until deception becomes clear, the +1 on any roll that helps her get revenge.
6
Heroine Scream
Can choose to scream at times of crisis, summoning friendly male characters within 24‖ who must make a free RUNNING move to reach her side, and will continue until reaching her in as few turns as possible.
COMIC CHARACTERS These can be either Leading Roles or Secondary Roles. The Director may assign one or more to any characters, or one may be claimed by any player with the Director‘s approval. These are SKILLS (and nowhere is that term more out of place) primarily for ―Sidekicks.‖ Since they are all negative to some degree, whenever the player rolls a ―6‖ while creating this character, he must pick from the list below. Note that the Director reserves the right to assign one Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
26 or more of these SKILLS as part of his scenario. Braggart—Claims skills he may not actually have. "Sure I can fly a plane/drive a car/ operate a submarine/ make a fire without matches/etc." Players may believe him or not-they haven‘t seen his Profile. ―Wrong-way Corrigan‖—No sense of direction. If he goes to get help (for example), or does anything relating to direction, test his SMARTS -2. If he fails, randomly determine the direction he will take or indicate—so long as it‘s wrong! "Errant Knight"—The character will accept such challenges as to "Throw down your gun and fight like a man!," or similar acts of ill-considered chivalry if challenged. Test versus SMARTS -2. Totally Oblivious--Subtract 2 from the character's SMARTS whenever his observation skills are needed. "Stutters"--Can't relay information for a turn after any exciting activity or narrow escape (Director‘s call). Unlucky--Director or opponent may demand this character re-roll one successful (but nonfatal) die roll per scene in the hope of failure. Baffled—Confused character must spend an Action simply reacting whenever a new element appears in a scenario. Clumsy (Character must have STUNTS of 3 or less)—Director or opponent may demand STUNTS test once a scene for tripping, dropping things, etc. Technically Inept—When working with any sort of technology, a failed roll leads to the worst possible (non-fatal) outcome (―What do you mean the bomb's timer sped up?!‖) ―Absentminded Professor‖--Curious about everything to the point of ignoring the business at hand. Always wandering off chasing a rare butterfly, poking around the mysterious but very dangerous equipment to see how it works, always touching the "Wet Paint" sign to see if it is, etc. ―A Sucker For A Dame‖—Will let any woman talk her way out of the room, get him to put down his weapon, remove her handcuffs, etc, if he fails a SMARTS -1 test. Ugly Mug—Women and children test GUTS on first sight. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
27
EXAMPLES OF CHARACTER CREATION
Director Bill now starts to provide his players with their characters for his scenario. He chooses not to ―buy‖ his characters, but to roll them up, so he rolls the necessary dice before he decides what sort of characters he has. For the first, he rolls ―4,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖5,‖ ‖6,‖ ‖6,‖ ―1,‖ ‖2.― The ―1‖ and one of the ―6’s‖ modify to a ―2‖ and a ―5,‖ as per the rules, so the dice read, in order, ‖2,‖ ‖2,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖3,‖ ‖4,‖ ‖5,‖ ‖5,‖ ‖6.‖ Since only six Attributes are necessary, he can ditch both of the low ―2’s.‖ The pair of sixes means two rolls on the SKILLS TABLE. These result in CALL ME SHERLOCK and LUCKY CUSS, leading him to create as a Primary Character Private Eye ―Pug Roscoe.‖ Thus, he decides being able to fight and to figure things out are both necessary, so this is the resulting Profile. FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 5
3
5
3
6
4
Call Me Sherlock, Lucky Cuss
He is armed with a .45 automatic and a lead-filled sap. He asks for a seaplane, which would be useful but not the sort of thing that a PI can expect to have. The Director denies this, but allows him a roadster for the New York Scene. In contrast, Sue decides that she will be the ―Countess D’Ordonza‖ (born Millie Schwarz), an adventuress desired by millionaires and wanted by authorities from Kowloon to Kansas City—decidedly a ―Bad Girl.‖ So she’ll be looking to place her dice to fit this Primary Role. She rolls ‖2,‖ ‖3, ‖2,‖ ‖6,‖ ‖5,‖ ―4,‖ ―4,‖ & ‖6‖ giving her two SKILLS. She rolls up FEMME FATALE and HELL CAT and ditches her pair of twos. She then sets up her list as follows: FISTS
GATS
GUTS
STUNTS
SMARTS
HITS
SKILLS
3
5
4
4
6
3
Femme Fatale, Hell Cat
She tells Director Bob that she carries a small automatic pistol and a stiletto, which he accepts, and a vial of arsenic, which he denies. You can’t allow just anyone to have a convenient poison in her purse! The third player, Joe, decides on an international playboy Character, ―Race Kennedy.‖ His profile sets up this way: He claims a silver-plated revolver, a Duesenberg touring car, and the seaplane that Bill was refused. All this seems reasonable to Director Bob. FISTS
GATS
GUTS
5
3
4
STUNTS SMARTS 6
3
HITS
SKILLS
4
Wheel Man
The Director also decides that each player will get an additional Character for the game—a secretary for the PI, a manservant/bodyguard for the Countess, and an old pal from the Lafayette Escadrille for Kennedy. The players then create them by rolling them up, or ―buying them‖ as they may prefer.
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
28
SETTING UP THE GAME A valley of life in a land of frozen death. A golden-haired goddess in an Eden of a savage, lost race. Through screaming blizzards Corporal Peters sought them—-his only signposts a madman‘s ravings and a skeleton‘s longstilled boast! Roger Daniels, Spoilers of the Lost World, 1938
So, we‘ve got sets, we‘ve got figures, we‘ve got players equipped with heroes, sidekicks and underlings. We‘re ready to shoot that first reel—but wait! Where‘s the script? What‘s the storyline? This is up to the Director to provide. Now, since this isn‘t a complicated Role Playing Game (or ―RPG‖), and we don‘t need to know the name, charisma rating or armour class of the dishwater-blonde waitress at that crummy all-night juke joint where Phillip Marlowe is nursing his hangover. This can be pretty loose. Hell, if we don‘t like where it‘s going, we can always cut and re-shoot. But it is a good idea to have some unifying theme to an adventure, even if it does move locations between San Francisco, Istanbul and the Upper Amazon as the tale unfolds. Kidnapped heiresses, stolen gems, Nazi plots to control the world, The Purple Emperor‘s wish to destroy it, these are classics of their type. For instance, in my ―Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu‖ adventure, which has several unconvincing-yet-appealing story lines tied together in an unlikely (yet appealing) stream of cuts, clumsy changes of location, failures of continuity, snappy dialogue, there is a running thread of a mad archaeologist‘s kidnapped daughter and the exciting, though generally incompetent (in all games played so far) efforts of her father and her fiancé to rescue her from a fate worse than—well, no actually, just death. She always escapes by her own efforts, you‘ll be happy to know. There‘s a starlet called Roxy who chews up the scenery when she‘s on camera, too. EXAMPLE: Director Bob decides that the plot involves the theft of an idol known as the Golden Monkey by an international art dealer with mob connections. The PI is hired by a briefly-appearing client who wishes him to regain the Monkey and return it to the shrine on the island of Pongo-Pongo where it rightfully belongs. The Countess appears with offers of help—but secretly wishes to steal the idol herself—while the international playboy is simply looking for an adventure in the tropics while the winter weather closes in around his palatial Manhattan home. There will be a Scene in New York where the Duchess steals the idol from the art dealer, Lardache, one in Hawaii where the dealer’s minions try to wrest it back, with some Opium smugglers and Charlie Chan involved, and one in the jungles of Pongo-Pongo where the head-hunters (enemies of the gentle and peaceful villagers of Pongo-Pongo) try to prevent our Characters returning the idol. Is this corny or what? Of course, this plot will not survive contact with the players! Director Bob remembers that the word ―Curse‖ appears in the title, but he’ll figure that one out later…. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
29
THE OPENING SCENE Over New York fell the murderous spell of Death‘s burning stare—-and men died in the throes of some terrible, secret, inner fire! Richard Wentworth, alone as THE SPIDER, dared challenge the astounding attack by a modern Genghis Khan gone mad. ―Blight of the Blazing Eye,‖ The Spider Magazine, April 1939
Here are some classic, not to say corny, places to start: 1. In a darkened alleyway, three thugs attack our hero as he makes his way through the shadowy world of the city at night. 2. Inside an Egyptian tomb, a party of explorers is shocked by mummies rising from sarcophagi, skeletal bodyguards and a beautiful woman in the diaphanous robes of a priestess of Isis…. 3. A nightclub, a torch singer, a backroom gambling game, illegal drugs and prostitution—and then the lights go out.… 4. A closed train, guarded by brooding men in uniforms, steams across the open desert. Suddenly there is an explosion as the tracks ahead are blown, and the cry of mounted tribesmen galloping forward pierces the air! 5. The jungle path, the creaking bridge, the howling of monkeys ceases and the silence tells of some unknown peril. EXAMPLE: If this were a traditional RPG we’d have a lot of scene-setting stuff, or at least an elaborate review of the penthouse suite where Lardache keeps his stolen loot. However, since we’ve determined that stealing the Monkey back is the key to starting the plot, we’ll begin with asking the players to come up with a scheme to do this. They decide that the duchess will persuade Lardache to show her the idol, that Roscoe should come in to show some muscle, and that Kennedy will have the Duesenberg ready at the back door for a getaway. But we need to get the thing started. Director Bob decides that this is a workable scene, and decides that the Action begins when the duchess saps Lardache with a genteel bag of lead shot and grabs the monkey. So… ―In the penthouse suite of a five-star hotel in Manhattan, a crooked art dealer shows his latest ill -gotten treasure to a beautiful woman. He plans to impress her: her plans are rather different.‖
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
30 SECTION II : ‚CAMERA! ACTION!‛
THE RULES OF PLAY ―It is written,‖ Wu Fang cooed through his thin, cruel lips, ―that defeat is often nearest when victory appears to come. ―The Case Of The Hidden Scourge,‖ The Mysterious Wu Fang, 1936
There isn‘t much you need to know! Deliberately so. A. If you are playing in RPG style, with the players acting as a group: First of all, decide the sequence of action. The Director will ask the players what they want to do (‖What‘s my motivation?‖) either as a group or individually, starting with the character in most immediate danger of something bad happening real soon. If the group is fussy about who acts when, get each to roll a D6 and add the score to either SMARTS or STUNTS, depending on whether it‘s a ―Spot that poisonous snake‖ moment, or time for leaping across a gorge. The Director may choose to move the villains and their minions at whatever time seems appropriate in the turn. Since we instinctively know that the higher grade of evildoer likes to explain at some length what act of devilry he‘s about to perform next, it‘s not a bad idea to let him talk first but act last. Most of the time, anyway. Each turn each figure can perform two Actions: These include moving, shooting, fighting hand to hand, and the various swinging-from-ropes, leaping-from-cliffs, using-theexplosive-charge-hidden-in-the-signet-ring sorts of things that you‘d expect. These can be done in any order you like. You can shoot while moving—even running—but not well. If things get tight—and they will—the Director can cut the play down to one Action at a time, but (to even things out) let the heroes have an extra Action when they need one. If it‘s not your turn, you still don‘t have to stand like a dummy. If someone shoots at you, you can shoot at them. If he swings at you and misses, you get to hit back. If you are waiting to jump out of a dark alley, you get to do that at the right moment rather than after they move 4‖ past your hiding place. Likewise, you can shoot at an enemy when his silhouette moves past the neon-lit sign, not when his movement takes him into the shadows. You do this by means of the Interrupt mechanism, which we‘ll get to. B. If you are playing in the orthodox miniatures game manner: This will vary a little depending on whether the Director is actively playing God, controlling hidden traps, stray dogs and sudden arrivals on the board, or if he is simply playing the affable host and letting the players know all that is to be known. Traditionally, most miniatures games have been like this, and often players are most comfortable in this context. It does, however, pose problems in that everything is clearly set out on the tabletop, and so the level of secrecy and surprise is low. I‘d suggest that players take a collaborative, ―story-telling‖ approach to this, rather than view the games as a desperately Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
31 competitive exercise. The simplest way is to alternate turns on the ―I-go-U-go‖ principle. If there are several players, simply go round. A variant on this that I like in multi-player games is for the current player to decide who will go next, until all have gone (and they‘re not likely to pick anyone they are actually fighting themselves). Then the nominated player can begin moving while the current player finishes his turn. A more interesting method is The AMAZING WIZZO CARD SEQUENCE
How It Works: Each player is dealt seven cards of the same suit—the ace, two and three (which permit one figure to act), the Jack, Queen and King (which permit all your figures to act) and the ten—which we‘ll get to later. Each player‘s cards are shuffled together into a single deck, and both Jokers inserted. Use Hearts and Spades for two sided games, with diamonds and clubs for multi-faction affairs. All the other cards in the pack are discarded. The cards are turned over one at a time, and whenever it's your turn, your band of banditos, zombies or Chicago cops get to move, shoot, hit each other with chairs and talk big—possibly all at the same time. If you have more than four factions, you can simply give each player seven plain index cards, to mark each one with his identifying name and either one figure (3 cards) all figures (3 cards) and civilians (1 card). Shuffle all the players‘ cards into a deck, with two additional index cards as jokers. However, I‘d say that multi-faction games using a card sequence and interrupts can slow down a lot; it may be better to put extra players into teams rather than allow them independent commands. When a card only allows one figure to act, we‘ll allow any of his friends within 2‖ to act as well. That way he can drive a car, or bust in a door. So, effectively, it‘s a one small unit move. Each card allows the figure(s) to take two actions if used right away, but only one if used as a ―Hold Card.‖ The actions allowed are: · Move—Either creeping, walking or running. You can shoot, but not well · Shoot—Either with a single shot, or blasting away pretty wildly · Aim (in case you really want to hit somebody in particular) · Slug somebody hard, with fists, furniture, gats or bats. · Recover from your natural reaction to a near-miss shot. · Test vs. SMARTS to spot hidden enemies. · STUNT—Leap through a window, climb into a car, draw a gun, that sort of thing. · Talk big, crack wise, make threats. Real tough guys can give The Look (see GUTS) You can do these things in any order you like, as long as it makes sense—you can‘t slug someone with a bat and aim a pistol at the same time. And if you run into somebody on Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
32 your second Action, we‘ll let you hit him for free—we‘re swell guys that way. If you don‘t want to act right now, you can HOLD up to two cards, to play when you need. You use a Hold Card to interrupt another player‘s turn with one Action of your own. If he has a Hold Card, he can interrupt your interrupt. If you play a second Hold Card, you trump him and go first! Hot Damn! The first joker‘s just a warning; when the second joker comes up, the turn ends and all Hold Cards are thrown in unused. This means that no players can ever estimate exactly how the cards will fall. The deck is reshuffled and a new turn begins. If the second joker comes straight after the first, sirens are sounded. In the next turn all figures must be off the board before the first joker comes up, and hordes of cops arrest everyone without a badge. Civlians: When your ―10‖ comes up, make one Action for all civilian figures. You cannot use them to help criminals, but you can order them to ―Hand over the money‖ or get in the way of other criminal groups. Optionally, you can roll vs. GUTS once for the bravest citizen to see if they try to fight back, and if they do, for all the other Civilians. From then on, they will attack the villains in question, although most will be unarmed. Hidden Characters: These will be revealed if they move out of cover, make loud noises, or are spotted by enemies listening and watching for them. Use common sense about this. Note that if you are playing with a Director, you can use the Amazing Wizzo Card Sequence but that it makes sense to let him run all civilians, hidden traps and tomcats knocking over garbage cans. Keep it loose, keep it fast, don‘t sweat the details. MOVEMENT Sprawled on my belly, one of Gooseneck‘s guns in each hand, I wormed my head over the edge. On all fours, the Englishman was scrambling out of the way of the car. Dashiell Hammett, The Golden Horseshoe 1924
―Legging It‖— On Foot Characters moving on foot can do one of these things in any given Action: 1. Creep up to 2‖; they may not be detected by nearby opponents who fail SMARTS (modify for darkness, etc) 2. Walk 4‖; they can shoot at same time, possibly well. 3. Run 4 + 1 D6‖; they can shoot but don‘t expect to score any hits. 4. Lose ½ distance for crossing rough ground or significant obstacles. More minor stuff we won‘t worry about. EXAMPLE: Pug Roscoe is creeping up the stairs to Lardache’s penthouse at 2‖ per Action. At one point there is a mop and bucket cunningly placed on the stairs, counting as an obstacle (1/2 speed that Action). There is a gangster standing guard at the top of the stairway, who may not notice the PI (test vs SMARTS). Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
33 ―Pounding Hooves‖— Horseback Riding 1. 6‖ per Action at the walk 2. 9‖ at the trot, lose 1D6‖ for rough ground 3. 12‖ at the gallop, no movement over rough ground—if you do, lose 1 D6‖ and test vs STUNTS to see if you take a fall. If you do, count it as if you were wounded in the usual way (see ―Wounded Characters‖). 4. You can make up rules for dog-sleds, pack camels and amazing zippy inventions as suits your taste. 5. Supporting Cast move as groups, so where there is a die roll, it counts for the whole group rather than roll for each figure. We really aren‘t much concerned about them. WEAPONRY (―… For the fully dressed man.‖) Roscoe. Chopper. Barking Iron. Betsy. Bean Shooter. Cannon. Heater. Rod. Chicago Piano. Almost as many monikers as there were types, Firearms are the one indispensable item in the hands of any Pulp character. But Astounding Tales! won‘t give you a lecture on their history or design—just a down and dirty means to find out if the Mug at the business end of your piece will be around for the next chapter after you drop the hammer. The following table lists all you really need to know about the types of weapons you‘ll most commonly meet up with, or carry under that topcoat. Weapons Data WEAPON
RANGES
Number Of Dice Per Shot
SPECIAL MODIFIERS
Short
Long
Pistol
8‖
24‖
1
None
Pistol (blazing way)
4‖
12‖
3
-2 to GATS at more than 3‖ *
Broom Handle Mauser
4‖
12‖
4
-2 to GATS at more than 3‖ *
Shotgun
6‖
18‖
3 per barrel
-1 to GATS at more than 3‖ *
Tommy Gun
8‖
24‖
6
-2 to GATS at more than 3‖ *
Carbine
12‖
36‖
1
None
Rifle
12‖
48‖
1
None
BAR*
12‖
48‖
5
-2 to GATS, -1 to GATS if on Tripod
Light Machine Gun*
12‖
48‖
9
-3 to GATS (-1 if on Tripod)
Heavy Machine Gun*
12‖
48‖
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
15 -4 to GATS (no modifier if on Tripod) Second Edition
34 Grenade
3‖
12‖
—
See Special Weapons, below
Bow
8‖
12‖
1
(Arrows may be poisoned)
Javelin/Rock/etc
4‖
12‖
1
None
Amazing ―Scientific‖ Weapons
Details Vary Wildly (Director Will Provide or collaborate on Stats)
*= Inaccurate, but scary as all hell. If you score a miss, but still equal to or less than your basic GATS, the target must react as if hit but not wounded—ducking for cover, hitting the dirt—and misses one Action next turn recovering. JAMS: Any Automatic Weapon that scores more ―6‘s‖ than ―1‘s‖ and ―2‘s‖in one burst Jams. Roll of 1-3 in the next turn clears it. If twice as many ―6‘s rolled as ―1‘s‖ and ―2‘s,‖ it‘s Jammed for the rest of the Action.
Special Weapons/Exotic Skills Grenades are weapons usually thrown for effect. This is best depicted by having the player flick a wad of paper or piece of chewed gum (etc) at his target from the position of the throwing figure. If he flicks more than 12‖ it‘s a dud, less than 3‖ and he‘s in trouble. Place a beer mug, large coffee cup or similar (about 3‖ radius is good) over the site of the explosion. Everyone beneath the cup will roll three times vs. STUNTS starting with the highest rated character, and will take a HIT for each failure—characters will roll for each wound, others will just die. If—however—the highest rates character passes all three STUNTS tests, he will pick up the grenade and throw it back, using the same ―flicking‖ rules. Dynamite uses the grenade rules, but increasing the radius of effect by ―2‖ per stick after the first one. A bundle of dynamite has a radius the size of a large pizza on your table top. For each throw, roll a D6—on a ―6‖ it blows up in the thrower‘s hand. I wouldn‘t let players use dynamite promiscuously. (Alternatively, the ―Dynamite Deck‖ is available from the Publisher, TVAG.) Smoke Bombs are like grenades, but issue a cloud of choking smoke the radius of the mug, rising about 20-30 feet. Everything behind is invisible for the rest of the scene, and anyone inside the smoke must flee, choking (counting as -3 from FISTS and GATS next turn). Gas Pellets can be fired from a special gun, like bullets from a pistol, and a hit releases the gas, which will affect anyone within a 2‖ radius. Alternatively, larger gas canisters can be thrown using the grenade rules, with a 4‖ radius. Anyone within must roll against STUNTS to dive out of the gas cloud, or will be knocked out (or paralysed like statues) until next turn. Ray Guns are dangerous experimental weapons used by mad scientist, their minions, and perhaps the odd Martian. Count them as shotguns that don‘t require reloading, and +2 on the Lead Poisoning chart (they seem very dangerous indeed). The flip side is that when rolling 4 D6 to hit, if the roll comes up ―trebles‖ of any sort (i.e, 3 of the 4 dice are the same number), the gun explodes, inflicting a +2 wound on the firer. Heroes don‘t use ray guns except against their original owners! (Except in Pulp Sci-Fi future worlds, where ray guns are just normal things to possess.) Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
35 Bullwhip is essentially a short-range missile weapon with special properties. Range is 3‖. Roll versus GATS to hit. Prior to attacking, the ―Whip-master‖ must indicated if he purpose is to Injure, Disarm or Entangle the victim. If he hits, use the appropriate rule, below.
Bullwhip Attack Table D6 Roll Result Effect 1, 2 CRACK! Target dodges back 3‖, and takes an action on his next turn to recover. Roll vs. GUTS. If he fails he‘s scared, ducks for cover or dives. Move 6‖ backwards or to safety. 3, 4 Light Lose 1 HITS, 1 FISTS, and takes an action on his next turn to recover. Roll vs. Wound GUTS. If he fails he‘s scared, ducks for cover or dives. Move 6‖ backwards or to safety. 5 Gashed! Lose 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS. Victim falls down. Recover on next 2 Actions. Roll vs GUTS as above. 6 Blinded! Out of the game. Possible permanent loss of one eye. Lose 2 HITS, 1 FISTS, 3 GATS, 2 GUTS.
Disarm—The victim‘s weapon is thrown 3‖ in a random direction (you can decide if it hits anyone). He has to recover as if shot at. Entangle—Victim rolls against STUNTS. If he fails, the whip is wrapped around his legs, and he can be dragged around for a turn or pulled over at the whip-master‘s choice. Hypnotism is a special skill which cannot simply be claimed but must be allowed or pointedly included by the Director as part of his scenario. This SKILL allows the practitioner to hypnotise a victim at a range of 12‖ or less. The victim must look at the hypnotist to allow this to work, of course. To avoid being hypnotised, roll vs SMARTS -2. If unsuccessful, the victim is either hypnotised immediately OR at an pre-arranged signal, and will do whatever the hypnotist wants until a) the effect is broken by a blow, fall etc, b) the counter signal goes into effect, or c) the hypnotist is killed or wounded, thus breaking mental contact. Clearly, hypnotism is a difficult area, and much of what occurs is left to the Director.
Snipers
"Legionnaire McNair's eye gleamed along the barrel of his rifle. This was the only game that he loved, the game of war; and he almost smiled despite his cracked lips, as he looked into the face of a white burnoosed Arab as it appeared over the front sight". Walter Lindsay Stewart, ―C'est La Legion,― Short Stories Magazine, July 1931 The thing about snipers is that they are specialist hunters. They shoot to kill with a single bullet, and will usually not pull the trigger unless they are certain of a hit in the exact body part they‘ve selected. This makes them different from most shooters in the Pulp genre, who mainly want to plaster an area with lead and hope that some of the shots hit flesh and bone. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
36 Snipers must have the CRACK SHOT skill. They must take an aiming position for a full turn before pulling the trigger. They then roll to hit and roll to find out whether the target has been hit. If the sniper fails to hit, he can declare that he isn‘t pulling the trigger, and no shot is fired. He remains in position, and can try again on a second or subsequent action. If he scores a hit, he then rolls on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table, adding ―1‖ CRACK SHOT and another ―1‖ for the Aimed shot. This means he‘s got a gosh-darned good chance of killing his victim. Which is what we‘d expect!
SHOOTING I don‘t like twenty-twos. When I put a hole in a guy I don‘t embarrass half a dozen doctors who try to find it. My motto is: There isn‘t much sense in shooting the same guy over and over. Carroll John Daly, Just Another Stiff, 1936
Firing pistols, rifles, shotguns, etc, is a very straightforward affair. Each firing character rolls one die (sometimes more) versus his or her GATS, with an occasional modifier for range, cover—that kind of thing. If the die score is less than or equal to the firing character‘s GATS, he may have scored a hit. If so, the
Shooting Modifiers Aimed Fire (took a full Action first) for single pistol, rifle, carbine, and bow shots ONLY. +1 to GATS Firing while moving / long range / poor light / target in light cover or lying down -1 to GATS Firing while running / bad light / hard cover/ shooter drunk / running or flying target
-2 to GATS
target rolls on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table to see if he is either killed, wounded, scared away, or simply dodges out of the line of fire. In other words, ―I roll to hit you, you roll and hope the bullet went through your hat.‖ You get one shot per Action with revolvers and rifles, more if you are ―Blazing Away‖ with a pistol, or spraying lead with a Tommy Gun, shotgun, etc. For each D6 indicated by ―Dice-per-Shot‖ on the Weapons Data Table, roll against the shooter‘s GATS, applying the appropriate Shooting Modifiers. If he passes, the target will roll on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table for effect. If modifiers take the shooter‘s GATS to ―0,‖ the shooter can roll again, but this time he must get a ―1.‖ If so, he will roll a straight D6 against his original GATS, and if this roll is successful, the target is still in trouble. Any modified GATS below ―0‖ and ya got no chance at all. Fair ‗nuff? EXAMPLE: Kennedy shoots at a gangster who tries to block his car. The Director rules that he counts –1 for firing while moving, and another –1 because the gangster just emerged from the shadows. So Kennedy rolls against his GATS of 3 with a -2, so he needs a ―1‖ to hit. Damn! Who’d a thunk that shooting while driving at breakneck speed would be so hard? Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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WOUNDS (―Lead Poisoning‖) ―Figure I‘m carryin‘ eight slugs now, not--not countin‘ ‗em as went straight t‘rough. Purty—purty tough f‘r a man t‘ carry eight slugs, Sarge, not – not countin‘ ‗em as went straight t‘rough. Y‘understand.‖ ―You‘ll be all right,‖ Quinlin said, and he knew in his own heart he was lying. Frederick Nebel, The Valley of Wanted Men 1940
For each hit, roll 1 D6 and apply the appropriate modifiers (if any).
―Lead Poisoning‖ Modifiers Bows and little ―Sissy‖ guns (.22‘s, etc), but natural rolls of ―6‖ always count as listed. Aimed shot w/pistol, rifle, or carbine Shotguns at short range, large calibre rifles, or heavy machine guns (etc) at any range.
-1 +1 +2
―Stopping Power‖—I‘m not terribly interested in ballistics and muzzle velocity, but it‘s obvious that blazing .45‘s are more effective than the little pistol you keep in your sock. A wide group of firearms from adult-sized pistols through bolt action military rifles are counted as the base, ―standard‖ type. Small calibre weapons and bows cause less actual damage than standard weapons, and big honkin‘ guns are more likely to blow huge holes in the victim—as you‘d expect. Wounds add up. Of course, rolling more than a character‘s HITS means he‘s killed—or at least badly hurt and facing months in bandages at a secret clinic in Switzerland. Supporting Cast having HITS of only 1 are assumed killed or otherwise out of action on a roll of 4-6. EXAMPLE: Back to Kennedy’s shooting. He scores a lucky ―1‖, and his target, a nameless palooka rated as a Bit Part at 3 for all Attributes, rolls on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table. He gets a ―4‖,and is lightly wounded. If he were Supporting Cast instead, he’d have been killed off, no questions asked.
―Lead Poisoning‖ Table 1
Try Harder!
2, 3
Near Miss!
4
Light Wound
5
Wound
Lose 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS. Take a dive. Recover on next 2 actions.
6
Blam!
If you ain‘t dead, buddy, you‘re close: Lose 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS. Move at 1/2 speed if you have 2 HITS left, otherwise you are prone on the pavement. OPTIONAL RULE for shooting at large and powerful targets: Roll 1 D6, and a ―5‖ or ―6‖ is an automatic kill. Even on a Tyrannosaurus rex. Second Edition
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He‘s fine, likes to be shot at. Laughs in the teeth of danger. He dodges out of the line of fire, and takes an action on his next turn to recover. Test GUTS. Lose 1 HITS, 1 FISTS. Hit the deck. Recover on next action.
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Optional Wound Location Some people like to know that a bullet scraped the tibia while passing through the left ventricle on its way to the frontal lobe. Me, not so much. But if you want a little extra detail, roll a D6 for hit location, and see what the wound level means for that part of the body.
Optional Wound Location Table D6 Roll
Location
Light Wound (Previous roll of 4 On Lead Poisoning Table) 1 HITS, 1 FISTS, No running
Serious Wound (Previous roll of 5 On Lead Poisoning Table) 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS, ½ speed
1
Left leg
2
Right leg
1 HITS, 1 FISTS, no running
2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS, ½ speed
3
Left arm
1 HITS, 2 FISTS 1 GATS w/ long arm
2 HITS, 3 FISTS, 1 GATS
4
Right arm
1 HITS, 2 FISTS 1 GATS
2 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS
5
Body
1 HITS, 1FISTS
2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS
6
Head
1 HITS, 1FISTS
2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS
Bad News (Previous roll of 6 On Lead Poisoning Table) 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS No movement 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS, No movement 3 HITS, 4 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS, ½ speed 3 HITS, 4 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS, ½ speed 4 HITS, 4 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS, ½ speed 5 HITS, 5 FISTS, 3 GATS, 3 GUTS, No movement
Body Armour, by which I mean bullet proof vests, and tin helmets of the military sort. This can only be used with the optional Wound Location Chart. A hit on a protected area is reduced by 2 points on the die roll (e.g. a ―5‖ becomes ―3‖) but a natural ―6‖ remains a ―6.‖ If you want to count padded leathers of the pilot/motorbike variety as armour, it reduces hits by 1 point, but only in hand to hand combat. Guns shoot right through leather.
―FISTS‖: Close Combat ―How about half a dozen of these?,‖ I asked him and hit him as hard as I could in the middle of his belly. He doubled up mewling. The cigarette case fell to the floor. He backed against the wall and his hands jerked back and forth convulsively–finally he worked a smile onto his brown face. ‖I didn‘t think you had it in you,‖ he said. Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, 1953 Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
39 First off, although you may get two or three Actions per turn, once you are in a fight, it takes up the rest of the turn. Second, there are two Fighting Styles with important differences, each with its own Results Table (below). When a fight begins, the players must tell the Director which Table they mean to use. Frequently, the Bad Guys will not give you the choice and you‘ll have to face ‗em on their terms. Once you‘ve chosen your Fighting Style, you can‘t go to another in the same battle. There are also three general fight circumstances: 1) Leading & Secondary Roles versus Each Other: Match figures one-on-one. The attacker can add extra figures to outnumber his opponent where possible. You can have up to 4-1 odds, but only when all other opponents have at least 2:1 to keep them busy—you can‘t just leave enemies hanging around! An attacker rolls vs. FISTS to hit his opponent. If he succeeds, the opponent attempts to parry/dodge by testing against his own FISTS. NOTE: A roll of ―5‖ or ―6‖ on the parry attempt is always a failure—even if your FISTS is 6. That‘s because you‘d never get hit at all, otherwise. Results: Pass—He dodges the blow. Laughs at his opponent‘s ineptitude. Fail—Hit! Roll for effect on the Fighting Results Table in use. 2) Leading & Secondary Roles versus Supporting Cast: This is exactly the same, except that if a character fails to hit his opponent, the other guy doesn‘t hit back. Once hit, Supporting Cast are assumed killed, knocked out, or otherwise out of the scene. A character who lays out one minion can try to hit the next one right now, and then, if he‘s lucky, the one after that. In theory, Pug Roscoe can beat up a whole café full of thugs in one round of combat. 3) Supporting Cast versus Supporting Cast: Yeah, the minions of both sides Brawling. Just roll for both groups at the same time, 1 D6 per figure involved. Let‘s say we have 12 Americans vs.12 minions of the Purple Emperor. If the Purple Minions get 4 hits vs. FISTS, and the brave American resistance get 6, then roll 6 saves for the minions and 4 for the Yankees. Loser checks GUTS as a group (look this up in the next section, Ok, Buddy?). If they pass, fight goes on. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Fighting Styles Tables Brawling is the good natured bashing of faces as you might meet in a friendly tavern ―misunderstanding.‖ The purpose here is not to kill each other, but just to get a decision. This is ―Pulp,‖ after all, and people fight all the time. Normally, we don‘t care about specific weapons when Brawling, since heroes are two-fisted and tough, while only cheap thugs carry shivs and brass knuckles. Brawling Modifiers: +1 to FISTS for Brawling Weapons (brass knucks, ball bat, iron pipe, bottle, etc), +1 to FISTS for anyone with a positional advantage, such as being higher up or behind a wall, etc.
Brawling Table D6 Roll 1.2 3.4 5 6
Result Effect Ouch! ―You‘ll pay for that, Buddy!‖ (No real effect) Knocked Down Lose 1 HITS, 1 FISTS—Get up and fight next turn Decked! Down for all of next turn, get up the turn after. Lose 2 FISTS & 2 HITS Knocked Cold! Lose 3 FISTS, 3 HITS, and wake up in Jail/Hospital/Alley next day. Will recover fully, don‘t worry. It‘s a rule.
Only villains of the worst kind fight women, unless to slap them into a swoon, so rolls of ―5‖ or ―6‖ count as a ―Knocked Down,‖ though they can instantly be tied up. This happens a lot. I‘m not for it myself, you comprehend, I‘m just sayin‘…. EXAMPLE: The Countess finds herself faced with an ugly gunsel who wants to seize her by the wrists. It’s her Action, so she rolls vs. FISTS (3‖, but being a HELL CAT, she can add 2, raising her FISTS to a ferocious 5. She rolls a ―4‖—and her fist is hurtling home! Probably wishing he’d listened to Dad about not hitting a girl, the ugly gunsel rolls against FISTS (he’s a 4) and fails with a ―6.‖ Because the Director made him a Bit Part rather than a lowly Supporting Cast minion, he rolls again: A ―3,‖ and he’s ―Knocked Down‖ and loses 1 HITS & 1 FISTS.
Serious Business is just that—lethal intent is involved. If the villains are really trying to kill the good guys—or vice versa—characters roll 1 D6 on this table. Serious Business Modifiers: +1 to FISTS for long bladed weapons (fixed bayonets, swords, spears, etc) in first round against opponents without them. If they survive, it‘s an even fight after that. +1 to FISTS for anyone with a positional advantage, such as being higher up or behind a wall, etc. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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―Serious Business‖ Table D6 Roll 1
Result Scratched
2, 3 4,5
Light Wound Serious Wound
6
Critical Wound (―If you ain‘t dead, you‘re damned lucky!‖)
Effect Got a blood stain on your hand painted silk tie (no effect) Lose 1 HITS and 1 FISTS Lose 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, and 1 GATS Lose 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, & 2 GUTS. Move at 1/2 speed if you have 2 HITS left, otherwise you are prone on the pavement. Again, rolling more than your HITS score means you are killed – or at least badly hurt (―If he‘s not in action, he‘s in traction‖).
1) If the attacker fails when he tries to hit a Leading Role, the LR immediately makes his own attack. 2) If a character faces up to four opponents, all can roll to hit. This is pretty subjective. This is fisticuffs and dirty fighting, after all, not Roman Legionaries facing a Macedonian Phalanx! Likewise, people who are used to fighting on horseback count as ―Cavalry‖ and get a +1 (+2 if they charged into the fight this turn), but you or I would get no advantage from being on board a horse. Well, I wouldn‘t.
―GUTS‖— Bravery ―No, Operator ―5‖! Don‘t kill me. I can give you anything you want. I can give you a thousand – a million slaves. I can make you a prince in Europe or Asia, or even a king. I will give you anything –― His voice died away before the implacable coldness in Operator ―5‖‘s eyes. He gurgled and a low moan escaped his lips. Curtis Steele, The Siege That Brought The Black Death, 1938
Heroes are supposed to be brave. Punks are supposed to break down when the going gets tough. How do we know when these things happen? Roll vs. GUTS when the Director says so—when things look bad one way or another. This doesn‘t have to be a frequent thing; Pulp-era heroes are supposed to be brave, possibly because they‘ve been drinking since dawn. Particularly terrifying things can be stated as ―GUTS -1‖, ―GUTS 2,‖ etc, these being as often in the line of Oriental demons, wailing banshees or giant robotic killing machines as merely ―Surrounded by the FBI‖ or other minor problems. Leading Roles may choose to re-roll a failed GUTS check. If the second roll is a failure as well, it stands. Tough. Pass – Carry on smiling. Possibly light a cigarette or pour a Martini. Fail – Gasp in horror, can‘t move forward, but continue at -2 from all ratings until you roll and pass GUTS as an Action on the next turn and ―Get a grip, Man.‖ Maybe. Fail by 3+ Points—Run screaming out of the Scene. Director may replace this by fainting (if female) or dying of fright with a terrible Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
42 expression fixed on your face (people with no future in this story!) Many ―Weird Horror‖ monsters use Fear as a primary weapon. Nazi officers, too! EXAMPLE: Pug Roscoe has already been wounded, and is attacked by three gangsters and a very large German Shepherd! Roll for GUTS? I think so! He’s a 5. Director Bob thinks the dog is worth a –2 because this one ain’t Rin Tin Tin! Pug rolls a ―6‖ and fails—badly. He’s a Leading Roll, so he can roll again—and gets another ―6.‖ He runs down the street, leaps a trashcan, and falls white-faced into McGinnis’ Speakeasy.
The Evil Eye—Known among gangsters as ―The Look,‖ this is a simple intimidation device. A character with this ability can stare as his or her victim, causing it to take a GUTS-2 test, so terrifying is the effect. Of course, the user must be standing still and doing nothing else. Range is 6‖, possibly less for short-sighted targets without their glasses on.
GUTS And Supporting Cast Supporting Cast have their own Attributes given in the Character Lists, mostly fairly simple, and often low (see ―Section VII—Sample Characters‖). Supporting Cast will follow the example of any characters they accompany, with the exception that should they fail a GUTS test, the SC‘s must test their own. Do this either as a group or individually, as you prefer. Pass and they will stand stalwartly with their character until he ―Gets A Grip‖ again—perhaps withdrawing with him to safety if things look dicey, possibly passing him the flask of whiskey, as you‘d expect. Fail, and they will bolt for cover/safety/home. Supporting Cast who are not accompanied by a character must roll against their own GUTS factor. Since they are not subject to wounds, etc (because they just drop dead), there are a few situational modifiers for those moments when they feel panic coming over them: +1: In cover, weak enemy—things look good! -1: Lost 25% casualties, enemy outflanking them, significant odds—things looking bad. -2: Lost 50% casualties, enemy behind them, overwhelming odds—things looking terrible!
GET A GRIP! The man looked around him and shuddered his face drenched with sweat, eyes wide with pure terror. He opened the cabinet door and peered into the murky interior. Finally, still sobbing, he snapped out the light and walked out of the office. Hugh B. Cave, The Lady Who Left Her Coffin, 1936
Those that have failed a GUTS test can try to regain their manhood by testing vs. GUTS -2 as an Action on their next turn. If they Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
43 pass, return to normal GUTS rating. Leading Roles can volunteer to do this, though on subsequent turns they will have to be slapped by another Character in order to make the roll. Continued failure leads to sanatoriums, cheap whisky and a bad end…. EXAMPLE: Having just failed GUTS, Roscoe staggers into the speakeasy, orders a rye with, beer chaser, and throws them back. He rolls against his GUTS 5, minus 2 for his panic. Rolling a ―2,‖ he ―Gets a Grip,‖ and runs back into the street, rod at the ready….
―CUT!‖: The ―Do-Over‖ Rule ―I don‘t know. I‘m making it up as I go along” Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
In each Scene the player may call ―Cut!‖ once—with the Director‘s approval. This means that the immediate preceding Action turn is played over. If the new turn is clearly more successful for the player, the Director may even allow it to be done again. EXAMPLE: Player Bill decides that the whole ―Roscoe runs away from a yapping pooch‖ scene is not what he wants at all—so he asks the Director to ―Cut!‖ and play it again. He wants the dog edited out completely! The unfortunate ―savage dog‖ scene occurred on the Director’s turn, rather than Bill’s. The Director has to decide whether going back will cause too much extra footage to be re-shot, and other events altered. If the cut would involve a lot of changes, the Director could refuse to do it, or simply say that Bill had to play the scene as it was, but re-roll the unfortunate GUTS check that caused him to run. In this case he agrees with Bill, and the game returns to the moment where Pug Roscoe faces the gangsters, but no dog.
THE INTERRUPT RULE His hand whipped up inside his jacket, but Spaulding had been waiting for that. His own clenched fist was even faster. It caught Miller on the chin, and toppled him over backwards as the half-drawn gun flew from his fingers and went sailing away. Robert Sidney Bowen, Rats Don’t Live Long, 1944
A character may demand to interrupt the opponent‘s turn to, say, shoot a pistol at a man attacking himself or a friend, or jump in to punch a goon, or even to run from the vast mobs of henchmen running up the fire escape. A Leading Role is allowed two interrupts per scene, a Secondary Role only one. He is then permitted a single Action (shoot, run, hide or whatever seems right at the moment). The only time this isn‘t allowed is when he is somehow not as alert as he should be—when he is recovering from a near-miss shot, or has just been hit by bullets, fists, etc, and taken a wound, or if—say it ain‘t so—he‘s failed a GUTS test and is having a yellow moment. Bit Parts and Supporting Cast may not interrupt with the same devil-may-care panache, but if the player Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
44 gives up an Action on his previous turn to prepare an ambush, lay in wait, or ―Cover the alley,‖ the Director may allow him to take one Action to interrupt another player‘s turn at the requisite point, though it has to fit the plot. Again, men who have failed GUTS, just dodged a bullet. or been punched in the kisser aren‘t ready for their big moment. If you have a couple of pugs stationed waiting outside Moose Malone‘s apartment for him to come out, you can‘t use the interrupt function to have them run down a flight of stairs when Moose‘s girlfriend toots the horn of her De Soto outside. Make sense? EXAMPLE: As the gangsters and the huge—did I say it was huge?—dog rush towards Pug Roscoe, the Countess chooses to interrupt by firing her small, silver-plated automatic at the gangsters. She fires three times (―Blazing Away‖) at –2 to her GATS of 5. She hits two of them and causes a third to dive for cover. She doesn’t shoot at the dog, because that would be wrong. However, Race Kennedy also interrupts, swerving his Duesenberg into the alley, throwing open the door, and allowing Roscoe to dive into the back seat. Phew!
ORDERS AND COMMUNICATION Doc Savage continued to speak Mayan. The lingo sounded like gibberish to the listeners in the shabby room. To homely Monk in the uptown skyscraper, however, it carried a lot of meaning. All of Doc‘s men could speak Mayan. Kenneth Robeson, The Polar Treasure, 1933
―Oh come on!,‖ we yell out to one another. We use payphones in diners. We have radios in signet rings. We keep carrier pigeons. If we are friends of Doc Savage, we speak in ―Ancient Mayan‖—which features words for ―airport‖ and ―sedan.‖ Our underlings follow us blindly. Our friends appear in the nick of time. There are NO rules for orders and communication.
―DROP THAT PIECE, MARLOWE!‖ ―Poot up de han‘s! Queek-fast, or I keel you, by gar, weeth two bullets – one for each!‖ Jim laughed harshly as he spread his mittened hands apart, palms outward to show he was unarmed. ―Big talk, Paulie,‖ he jeered at the squat, swarthy leader. Ryerson Johnson, The Dangerous Dan McGrew, 1931
Pulp heroes are always being disarmed, or disarming others. It saves them from being simply shot at short range and allows them to get through the rest of the book or movie. Make sure, then, that you allow the player who is being stuck up to drop guns, knives, infernal devices on the sticker-upper‘s own turn rather than saying they have to wait ‗til theirs—because, of course, if it‘s your turn, you will shoot the gun rather than drop it. You can use the Interrupt Rule to shoot on the other guy‘s turn if that‘s what you want. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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BOUND AND GAGGED! Then he came round behind me, and tied me securely to the high backed chair; my arms to the chairs arms, my legs to the chair‘s legs, my body to the chair‘s back and seat; and he wound up by gagging me with the corner of a cushion that was too well-stuffed. Dashiell Hammett, The House on Turk Street, 1930
Everyone gets tied up at some time. Villains tie heroes up and take them to bizarre underground hideouts. Heroes tie minor villains up because you can‘t gun down everyone you meet and still be a hero. Attractive women can expect constant rope burns on their wrists and ankles. I‘m not saying this is OK, you understand, far from it; I‘m just telling you how the genre operates. So…. 1) Tying a victim loosely, so they can free themselves easily, takes one Action. They can free themselves in two Actions, or for their whole turn. 2) Tying a victim properly takes two whole turns. It‘s a real job. But then, they won‘t escape and hit you with a chair leg when you are quietly reading the Racing News. Only cops can have handcuffs—apparently the underworld doesn‘t know where to buy them—but villains can use manacles and chains of various kinds. If you have any of these, they can be put on in one Action and cannot simply be untied. Unless you are Harry Houdini.
TRAPS ‖Step into my laboratory—go on in. I think I know just the thing for you.‖ (SLAM!) ―Let me out of here!‖ Sgt. Preston of the Mounties, Episode One Bean Too Many. 1956
We are all familiar with the many sorts of trap strewn around Pulp stories to keep the wary adventurer occupied (or at least for his half-wit sidekick to fall for them). While writing the first edition of Astounding Tales!, I was too drunk to design any rules for traps, but Rich Johnson came up with some for his excellent .45 Adventure rules set. So, with his gracious permission, I stole ‗em—Thanks, Rich! The basic rule for spotting traps is to roll vs. SMARTS to observe their presence in the first place. In general, deduct ―1‖ from your roll if sneaking along and looking out, add ―1‖ if running. The Director can add modifiers if the trap is unusually well hidden (of course it‘s hidden, fool!), or if it sticks out like a sore thumb. If you detect the trap, the Director will normally let the characters simply bypass it. If you fail, and sudden disaster looms, roll vs. STUNTS to see if our bold hero can leap aside/dive forward or whatever fits the bill. If he fails, well, he becomes the victim, which means different things for different sorts of trap. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
46 Some examples of Traps and how they work include: Pit: Roll for injuries on the BRAWLING Table. Climb out on a STUNTS roll next turn (takes an entire turn). Deep Pit (10-20 feet deep): Roll for injuries on the BRAWLING table, and add ―1‖ to the roll. Climb out on a STUNTS -1 roll on your next turn (takes entire turn). Pits with Pungi Sticks: Roll for injuries as if hit on the SERIOUS BUSINESS Table. Climb out on a STUNTS roll on your next turn (takes whole turn). Bear Trap: This is a bad one. Unless you have a friend to help, you are pretty much stuck. Heroes may free themselves by rolling vs. both SMARTS and STUNTS for three successive turns to escape. Otherwise, I suppose you can gnaw your own foot off. Snare: You are hauled into the air upside down! Huh! If you have a knife, you may cut yourself free by doing one STUNTS roll to perform an act of gymnastics, and then a second to stop from falling on your head. If you fail the second, roll for injuries on the BRAWLING table. Darts: These count as shooting with a GATS of 3. If hit, roll on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table. Gas: If you detect, leave this place. If you fail first SMARTS test, the Director may permit a second test on your next turn at -2 to SMARTS. This is a final warning! However, while the character that passes may be groggy, he can pull D6 other characters along with him out of the affected area. Otherwise, everyone passes out, and they‘d better hope it‘s simply a knockout gas rather than something permanent.
SNAPPY DIALOGUE “The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.‖ Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon, 1929
Talking big is important. Of course it is. They wouldn‘t have had all those wisecracks and neat slangy phrases if you weren‘t supposed to use ‗em, would they? But here‘s the thing. In most games there is no real point in even telling anyone to stick ‗em up, though, because if you don‘t plug him now, he‘ll shoot you on his next Action despite the fact that you are aiming a .45 at him and he has to reach into top coat to find his own. So, that‘s what the Interrupt Rule is all about—among other things. You can talk before shooting, talk while driving, talk while running up and down stairs if you want to. Villains must explain their evil plans to captured Characters. Strong and silent has no place in the modern era—it‘s 1933 and we got Talkies now!
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47 SECTION III : SCREAMING WHEELS!
I got to the door in time to see a cerise convertible hurtling down the driveway. The top was down, and a yellow-haired girl was small and intent at the wheel. She swerved around Nick‘s body and got through the gate somehow, with her tires screaming. Ross Macdonald, Guilt-Edged Blonde, 1954
Cars are important. They are for racing, shooting out of, climbing onto the roof of, and generally contributing to the mayhem. You can also use them as transport. Who can drive? All Americans between 7 and 70, about half of Europeans, most trained chimps, some others, but not many. And most of those who can, shouldn‘t. We understand that there are three speeds available: Cruising: All vehicles can move up to 10‖ per Action. Corners and curves slow it down by D6‖. This is ―Sensible‖ motoring, such as you might need while tailing a suspect, driving out to a little bar in Bay City, or other everyday moving about. We‘ll assume that, as long as nobody else does anything crazy, this is always accomplished safely. Speeding: Gotta get there fast! Move 5 D6‖, corners and curves slow it by the highest D6 of the roll. Corners count as 2 Hazards, curves as 1 Hazard. Racing: Pedal to the metal and go! Move 7 D6‖, corners and curves slow it by the two highest D6. Corners count as 4 hazards, curves as 2 Hazards. Cars can accelerate from stopped to ―Cruising‖ to ―Speeding‖ to ―Racing‖ (and vice versa) at one speed per Action, although a ―Wheel Man‖ can manage two. Other Hazards—besides corners and curves—consist of, well, everyone else on the road. Even if the Director wants to show little old ladies on their way to church, they‘ll still be in the way. If the Director gives us speeding fire-engines, prowl cars looking for emergency doughnut stops, and men walking across the street carrying huge panes of glass, they are all Hazards. And that‘s ignoring active participants in mayhem at hand. You have a choice when faced with a Hazard: Either try to Emergency Brake, or try to Swerve around the obstacle—e.g. when going around a corner you‘ll try to do it without hitting the newsboy standing there. (Damn newsies!) EXAMPLE: Roscoe and the Countess run out the back door and into Kennedy’s car. Starting from the halt, it can accelerate to Cruising speed, 10‖ per Action. However, since Kennedy is a Wheel Man, he can take it to Speeding right away. He rolls ―3,‖ ―5,‖ ―2,‖ ―3,‖ & 4, and the big car roars away 17‖. On the next Action, he moves up to Racing, rolling 7 D6 for a total of 28‖. However, he makes a sharp turn (a Hazard, test vs. STUNTS) which loses the two highest dice, reducing the distance to 17‖, and runs a red light in the process (another test vs. STUNTS).
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
48 For each Hazard, roll against either STUNTS or SMARTS, whichever is higher. One Hazard : Basic roll vs. STUNTS or SMARTS Two Hazards: Roll vs. STUNTS or SMARTS -1 Three Hazards: Roll vs. STUNTS or SMARTS -2 Four Hazards: Roll vs. STUNTS or SMARTS –3 Pass and you succeed. Fail—roll again on the appropriate manoeuvre table below.
Emergency Braking Table D6 Roll 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6
Result Skids 45 degrees left for 1 D6.‖ If you hit anything, roll on Crash Table. Skids 45 degrees right for 1 D6.‖ If you hit anything, roll on Crash Table. Go directly to Automobile Crash Table (do not collect $200).
Swerving Table D6 Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6
Result Loses a wing mirror and some paint, but no real damage to anyone Skids 45 degrees left for 2 D6.‖ If you hit anything, roll on Crash Table. Skids 45 degrees right for 2 D6.‖ If you hit anything, roll on Crash Table. Loses Control—Opposing player moves you up to 3 D6‖ into anything he likes! Counts +1 on Auto Crash Table, plus any other modifiers. Rolls over opposing player moves you up to 3 D6‖ into anything he likes—upside down! Counts +2 on Automobile Crash Table, plus any other modifiers. Flies, rolls over, goes off cliff, etc. Counts +4 on Auto Crash Table, plus any other modifiers.
EXAMPLE: Race Kennedy passes his test for the turn, but comes unstuck when he runs the red light as a Macy’s van comes through. He tries to evade but the Director says it’s a STUNTS –3 because of the speed he’s going and the fact that it’s a damn big truck. Rolling a ―6,‖ Kennedy fails as he tries to swerve around the vehicle. He rolls a ―2,‖ skidding left for 2 D6‖—and hits a parked Buick. A nice one, belonging to a little old lady, who went into a store to get a birthday card for her grandson.
CRASH! 1. Roll a D6. Do a little arithmetic, just so everyone understands that hitting an oncoming truck at 120 MPH is likely to be more painful than clipping a street sign at 20. 2. Deduct 1 if you are Cruising and you hit a stationary object, or something going the same direction as you are. Pedestrians and bikes count, since you‘re bigger than they are. 3. Add 1 if you are Speeding and you hit a stationary object or something going the same direction as you are. 4. Add 2 if you are Racing and you hit a stationary object or something going the same direction as you are. 5. If you hit oncoming traffic, add 1 if it is Cruising, 2 if Speeding, 3 if Racing. 6. If you are on a motorbike, add 2 anyway, dead man. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Automobile Crash Table D6 Roll 1, 2 3, 4 5 6
Result Fender Bender—no damage to anyone. Collision—car damaged but drivable. Crash!—car wrecked—roll on Wounds Table for all passengers. Horrific Crash!—car blows up, as they do. Roll vs. STUNTS to escape from blazing inferno, with a roll on wounds table for injury. Fail, and you are trapped inside. Sorry ‗bout that!
EXAMPLE: Kennedy skids into the parked Buick while Racing. He rolls a ―1,‖ adding 2 for his speed, and comes up with a 3, which means the car is damaged but still serviceable for madcap adventure. The Buick isn’t really in the game, so we’ll assume the insurance company takes care of it, and move on.
Riding on roofs, running boards, etc, is safe while Cruising. Roll vs. STUNTS when Speeding, with a –1 when Racing. Test the same when climbing between cars, dragging people into the rumble seat, etc. Shooting from cars cost -1 from GATS when Cruising, -2 if Speeding, and -3 if Racing. An extra -1 if actually steering at the same time. (Just because there‘s no way to hit anyone, doesn‘t mean you shouldn‘t try.) Shooting at cars—If you get a hit; roll 1 D6: 1-3=Hit the car; 4-6=A passenger, roll for who it is, then again vs. GUTS as per usual. If it‘s the car, roll another D6.
Hits On Automobiles Table D6 Roll
Result
1, 2 3
Struck the bodywork. Nothing to worry about. Engine hit! If moving faster than ―Cruising,‖ car moves at half speed from now on. Roll each turn and it stops completely on a ―5‖ or ―6.‖ Cut a brake line. Cannot slow from current speed except going uphill! All hazards doubled in difficulty. (Damn, this is dangerous!) Tire hit! Skid 2 D6‖ (random left or right). Car out of commission, even if no crash. The fuel tank! Explosion! Roll STUNTS ―–2‖ to escape (roll for wounds), otherwise incinerated!
4 5 6
EXAMPLE: Race Kennedy and his pals now pursued by gangsters, continue to drive far too fast while Pug Roscoe and the Countess shoot through the rear windows, as you would. They are racing (-3 from GATS) so Roscoe (GATS 3) is simply making a noise, but the Countess (GATS 5) scores a ―1‖ and a ―2‖ with successive shots. The first hits a gangster, a minion who drops lifeless to the floorboards. The second hits the car. She rolls again and gets a ―3,‖ which hits the lower flangewidget crucial to the differential thingummy, slowing their pursuers to a permanent halt.
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
50 SECTION IV : IT CAME OUT OF THE SKY! ―… In this Hell-Busting novel of Whirling, Diving Crates and Roaring Motors Bellowing their Savage Thirst for Battle...‖ From The Lone Eagle, September 1934 Astounding Tales! is mostly about people running around on the ground, but there‘s no reason they can‘t run about inside Zeppelins or on the wings of airplanes. Here are some ideas for doing these things. Feel free to make aircraft noises as you do so.
RULES FOR AIRSHIPS (―Oh, The Humanity!‖) by Legion McRae, our special lighter-than-air-correspondent. "They were thinking only of getting away from that flaming mass of wreckage. Those who weren't caught in the deadly fire ran headlong in every direction." Robert J. Hogan, The Dragon Patrol 1934
Pulp and airships go together like mad science and robots, and in the Pulp era, Rigid Airships (Zeppelins/Dirigibles) were the principal form of lighter-than-air transportation. Their massive hulls were treated fabric covering an aluminum frame which held the lifting gasbags and enough space for passengers and freight, with access to the propelling aircraft engines. The airship was conned from the Gondola mounted on the underside, towards the bows. These airships could be equal parts luxury liner, grand hotel, and cordon bleu restaurant, except they were also the size of a Dreadnought. They derived their lift from hydrogen or helium, the latter being inert and safe—and where‘s the fun in that? By far, the majority of the worlds lighter-than-air vessels used easily obtained—if more explosively flammable—hydrogen. Helium was used exclusively in the United States which had a monopoly on its production. We choose to selectively ignore this detail in favour of greater danger and excitement. In Astounding Tales!, an airship can be both a set and a prop, changing from one to the other, and back. An example of using one in a game might go like this: 1) It starts the game as a prop in a set, say for the "Danger! Flammable!" scene. During the scene, characters board the airship and take off, en route to another set; 2) While airborne, it becomes the set of the scene-in-transit ("Hindenburg Redux‖). The action continues aloft; then, 3) It arrives at a new set, offloads the characters, and reverts to being a prop, for the new "Pursuit to the Temple" scene. Take a playing area from as small as a few inches to maybe a foot or so, add a dozen or so character figures with guns, plus a similar number of villain, crew, and passenger figures—also with guns—and you get the idea that things will happen pretty fast and furious on the set. Right up there with a knife fight in a phone booth. Game time aboard an airship is intentionally vague. So, Director, in your alternate role as pilot of the airship—and once all are aboard that are gettin' aboard—take off! Play Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
51 out one, maybe two, complete turns. Any more than a couple of turns airborne and you could start running low on cast members for the next scene if the body count is rising. The airship should then arrive at the next set and offload the cast and crew. By ―arrive‖ I mean, of course, either a serene landing, or a spectacular crash, depending on what happened during those turns aloft. Surviving characters then resume the story and continue the Action. Of Gats And Gasbags Gunfights aboard airships are a really, really bad idea. But, since we all know what kind of a game this is… 1) Shooting at the Gondola (from outside): If you get a hit, roll 1 D6: 1-5=You hit the structure (roll once on the ―Shooting Aboard An Airship Table‖); 6=You plugged somebody inside. Roll for who, and then on the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table, as usual. 2) Shooting while aboard the airship: Roll once on the ―Shooting Aboard An Airship Table‖ for every shot that misses the original target. 3) Shooting at airships (from outside): Virtually impossible to miss within a rifle or machine gun‘s long range; always an ―Easy Shot.‖ For each hit scored, roll 1 D6: 1-5= No Effect; 6=Shot ignites a gasbag!. The Airship crashes in flames at the beginning of next turn. For all aboard, roll STUNTS –1 to escape, but roll for a wound anyway. Each character failing to escape is lost in the conflagration.
Shooting Aboard An Airship Table D6 Roll 1, 2, 3 4 5
6
Result No Effect. You got lucky! Cut a Rudder line. Roll 1 D6: 6=The airship goes out of control and crashes at beginning of next turn. Roll STUNTS to escape unharmed, otherwise roll a wound for injury during crash. Engine Hit! Roll 1 D6: 6=Engine bursts into flames, threatening to ignite the gasbags! Roll 1 D6 next turn: 1=Fire goes out; 2-5=Roll again next turn; 6=Airship crashes at beginning of next turn. In case of Crash, roll STUNTS -1 to escape, but roll for wounds if successful. Characters failing STUNTS are incinerated. A Gasbag! Roll 1 D6: 6=Explosion! Gondola and envelope catch fire and airship crashes at beginning of next turn. In case of Crash, roll STUNTS -1 to escape, but roll for wounds if successful. Characters failing STUNTS are incinerated.
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
52 AIRCRAFT—Knights Of The Air! ―A burst of Spandau slugs leapt out front with yellow-orange tracers cutting a path through the night—the plane ahead fairly blew up in G8’s lap, and G-8’s plane was thrown back as easily as though it were a sheet of paper.‖ G-8 and his Battle Aces, Bombs from the Murder Wolves, 1933 Aircraft are amazing things. Especially in Pulp, where they can land in an alley, take off from a roof, and will only stop when their wings come off after contact with a skyscraper. So, I have a choice. Write a lot of rules, possibly even come up with a variant on the ―aerial dogfight‖ theme. But there are a lot of dogfight rules in print, many of them excellent, and it would be easy to add Pulp elements to your favourite set. Anyway, I‘m not going to do that. I‘m going to give you less. Much less. Aircraft can take off and land in any clear space three times the length of the plane. Sure they can. They need ¼‖ clearance on either side of the wings. Clipping trees is the mark of a good pilot. Landings at airports or properly laid out airfields almost always go fine. Roll a D6: 6=Danger! Roll against pilot‘s STUNTS to bring ‗er in safely. On a failure, go to Airplane Crash Table. Landings on rough ground are more unreliable. Roll a D6: 4-6=Danger! Roll against pilot‘s STUNTS for a safe, if bumpy landing. On a failure, go to Airplane Crash Table PLANE CRASH! Since the pilot has failed his STUNTS, roll for a crash landing, but before doing so, all characters aboard may choose one of three options: 1) Bail out (with or without a parachute) A) With Parachute—Test versus STUNTS to land safely. Fail=Roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS Table. B) Without Parachute—Test versus STUNTS -3 to land safely. Fail=Roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS Table. Add 2 to the roll. On a natural ―1‖ the jumper is freakishly saved by a hay stack/store awning/or whatever absurdity might apply. 2) Seize the controls and try to wrestle the plane to safety (or a least to miss that orphanage). The pilot may roll against SMARTS to bring the Airplane Crash Table die roll down by 1, as his professional brain works to minimise the damage. Anyone else on the plane may roll vs STUNTS to grab the steering column. If they are a trained pilot, it‘s STUNTS -1. If they aren‘t a trained pilot, it‘s STUNTS -3. Chimps can try, dogs can‘t. Fail and you go straight to the Crash Landing Table. 3) Panic, pray, and otherwise prepare to ―Buy The Farm.‖ (All Supporting cast will do this. The director will decide if any unusually moral characters on board serve to bring down the die roll number on the Airplane Crash Table.) Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Airplane Crash Table D6 Roll Result 1 Incredibly, the aircraft lands safely, although the landing gear is destroyed in the process. 2 3 4 5 6
The wings come off, but the plane crash lands in a series of bumps. Everyone is safe, but shaken. The aircraft is badly damaged but passengers and crew roll on the BRAWLING Table for injuries. The plane crumples and is completely wrecked. Roll vs STUNTS to escape from the wreckage, with a roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS table for injury. Fail and you are killed in the crash. The plane blows up. Roll vs STUNTS to escape from blazing inferno, with a roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS table for injury. Fail, and you are trapped inside, and die. A fiery ball and a huge explosion destroy the aircraft, killing everyone aboard. (And that‘s not good a thing, Martha….)
Barn Storming In the course of a game a player may find himself needing to perform daring and dangerous manoeuvres, in the air or on the ground. To do so, the player must first describe to the Director just what stunt he wishes to perform, then the Director will adjust the difficulty using the following guidelines: 1) Landing and taking off at night, bad weather, dead stick landings or landing on a dime. Roll the pilot's STUNTS check at -1. 2) Flying under bridges, between buildings, through train tunnels, etc) Roll the pilot's STUNTS check at -3. 3) If the pilot fails his STUNTS check, go to Airplane Crash Table. Directors should insist the pilot act out the results of a crash as dramatically as possible. 4) Characters wishing to board or jump off at the last moment from a plane already rolling down a runway must test STUNTS. Changing Planes—Jumping from plane-to-plane is pretty much normal in Pulp adventure. A figure can leap his STUNTS distance to a plane on the same level, twice that to one lower (we don‘t understand the physics here) but must pass a STUNTS test to avoid falling to his death. Brawling on the wings or upper fuselage is always exciting, and anyone knocked down or out has a 50% chance of falling. This would be a good time to demand STUNTS rolls for someone to save himself by grabbing the tail fin or wing strut (or if all else fails, calling ―Cut!‖). Shooting From Aircraft—Counts as –1 for fuselage mounted machine guns (light or heavy), -3 for weapons simply pointed out of the cockpit, etc. (Just because there‘s no way to hit anyone, doesn‘t mean you shouldn‘t try.) Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
54 Shooting At Aircraft— Completely ridiculous and absolutely to be encouraged. However, we‘ll say that only rifles and machine guns can shoot at planes in the air. Gotta be authentic, after all! Shooting at Planes counts as -3 from GATS if the plane is taxiing or taking off/ landing. It‘s -4 if flying (but, hey, standing planes are just like parked cars). If you get a hit, roll a D6: 1-3=Hit the plane!; 4-6=Hit someone aboard. Roll for who it is, then again for wounds as per usual. Bad luck if it‘s the pilot. If it‘s the plane, roll another D6 on the following table.
Shooting At Planes Table D6 Roll 1, 2 Struck the fuselage. Nothing to worry about. 3 Tire shot/landing gear damaged. If the plane has fixed wheels tire is blown. If the plane has retractable landing gear it is unable to open or close them properly and they will collapse on landing. Roll on Aircraft Crash Table, but deduct ―2‖ from score. 4 Engine hit! If it has more than one engine, it moves at half speed from now on. Roll each turn and stop completely on a ―5‖ or ―6.‖ Go to Aircraft Crash Table. 5 Rudder cable hit. The plane continues on its present course for 48‖, then dives towards a crash. Plenty of time to bail out…. 6 The fuel tank! Explosion! Roll STUNTS –2 to escape (roll for wounds) , otherwise incinerated!
ROCKETMEN ― --Here I am in a big leather jacket, with an aluminum helmet, rocket packs on my back, and woollen slacks. It seemed interesting to me that they would costume this character in regular woollen slacks--which could have caught fire in the first take-off-rather than devise some special fireproof pants for their hero.― George Wallace, the original ―Commando Cody‖ actor, recalling his uniform for Radar Men From The Moon, 1952 It‘s understood that men—steely eyed, firm jawed men—can fly around with incredible ease as long as they have a potentially lethal, barely tested rocket pack strapped to their backs. I certainly have no problem with the idea, anyway. Officially trained Rocketmen (as they all are) require one Action to take off, and another to reach the sort of height one would require for aerial high jinks. Exact altitude is unimportant since the ―Rocket Belt‖ seems to work pretty much as the Rocketman wants. The horizontal distance he can fly is whatever he wishes, in any direction, though Minimum Flight Speed is 8‖ per Action, and Maximum Thrust is 12+1 D6.‖ Rocketmen are assumed to have ballet-like skills, and can perform ludicrously dangerous manoeuvres simply by rolling successfully vs. STUNTS. Likewise, landing and turning off the rocket engine each takes one Action. There are, of course, a couple of minor wrinkles. 1) Untrained Flyer—If anyone other than an actual Rocketman attempts to use the equipment, he is a danger to himself and others—which makes more fun! After strapping on the Rocket Belt for flight (one Action), roll vs SMARTS to figure out ignition. Once Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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―Untrained‖ Rocketman Table D6 Roll Results 1, 2 Pilot flies straight up for next turn, then rolls 1 D6: 1,2= Straight up again next turn; 3=Right 12+1 D6‖ next turn; 4=Left 12 +1 D6‖ next turn; 5,6=Gains control (see ―5,6‖ below). 3, 4 Pilot flies 12+1 D6‖ this turn in a random direction at tree-top height. Roll against STUNTS to avoid hitting anything. Fail, and crash with a roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS Table as if on Motorbike at RACING Speed. Pass, and see ―5,6‖ (below). 5,6 Pilot may fly or manoeuvres as he wishes at permitted speed of choice, or land.
he‘s ―Lit the candle,‖ roll on this table every turn his is aloft. Once flying, an untrained pilot rolling for Maximum Thrust will experience ―Flame Out‖ (below) on a D6 roll of ―1.‖ I did say this was dangerous, didn‘t I? 2) Flame Out: Any roll of ―1‖ when at Maximum Thrust means the engine has died. Roll vs. SMARTS to restart the rocket. If he fails, the Rocketeer will move forward 3‖ and then test STUNTS. If this fails, he falls to the ground, and must roll on the SERIOUS BUSINESS Table for injuries. Shooting At A Rocketman A flyer hit by gunfire has a chance of going down in flames—or just down! The shooting character(s) must score a hit first (GATS –2 for this target). If so, roll again: 1-4=Rocketman Hit! (see ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table); 5,6=Roll on the following table.
Bullet Hits On ―Rocket Belt‖ Table D6 Roll 1, 2 The shot ricochets off the rocket casing. 3, 4 5 6
Results
The shot damages the engine, causing a Flame Out (see above). Pilot flies 12+1 D6‖ this turn in a random direction at tree-top height. Roll against STUNTS to avoid hitting anything. Fail, and crash with a roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS Table as if on Motorbike at RACING Speed. Pass, and he regains control. The engine goes up in a ball of flame, inflicting 4 HITS, 4 FISTS, 4 GATS. If he‘s still alive, he drops according to the stalls rule. If he survives, this is truly an Iron Man ---
SECTION V : WEIRD SCIENCE It was impossible, absurd and utterly preposterous. Such a thing could not have happened—- but there it was. In the upper chamber of my house I had seen a woman called back from the grave. Sealed in a tomb of ice for twenty years, this woman lived and breathed and looked at me! Seabury Quinn, ―Frozen Beauty,‖ Weird Tales, February 1938
The Pulp Era can rely on lots of pretty impressive real-life technology; this is the Inter-war period of aircraft, telephones, cars that go really fast, radio—most of the things we have today with the possible exception of computers—and in reliable form. It isn‘t like the period of Verne and Wells where the writer pretty much had to make up anything more futuristic than a Hansom cab or a steam locomotive. Still, our heroes do need expensive roadsters that outpace a Ford Model A, pocket-sized radios, and canoes that become tents Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
56 and yet still fit inside your sock. Villains require devilish creations that destroy whole cities, rather than simply renting the Luftwaffe for the afternoon. Writing rules for amazing devices and strange procedures, nifty gadgets and Fiendish Plans to Conquer All is, frankly, a tough thing to do. I could give you long lists of Doc Savage‘s gizmos with rules for each and every one (alright, I couldn‘t, because there‘s loads of them, but somebody could). I could create rules that enabled you to research, fund, test and deliver incredible new tools of science. But I‘m not going to. You are. Whenever you need to. Using the ratings for SMARTS, possibly STUNTS and—if things go wrong, GUTS—just make up whatever you need. Let‘s say you have an inventor with an autogyro-hat, as you might (as I do). Let‘s say that simple up/down and across flying is at the same speed as horses. (It might be! Do you know otherwise?) But let‘s say that any fancy flying requires a STUNTS test, and that if you fail, the thing is in danger of crashing. Take another STUNTS test to pull out at the last moment? Crash, counting as 3 wound rolls, if you fail? The Director is primarily the guy to do this, but hey, if you—as a player—say ―I have explosive charges concealed in my tooth-fillings,‖ and the Director goes for it, you are in business. I am wary of explosive dental work myself, but perhaps I have thought this one through a little too far. Think...too...much….
ZOMBIES ―They’re alive!‖ George A. Romero‘s The Night of the Living Dead, 1968 Who doesn‘t like Zombies? Pulp era un-dead persons are of the shambling, slow variety rather than more modern versions. They have low abilities but appear in overwhelming numbers, and are hard to kill (owing to being pre-killed). The association of zombies with their Haitian voodoo roots is strong at the period, and most will be controlled by a priest/priestess of Voodoun, or someone of similar powers. They eat brains, but you knew that! Any time they get a character down on the Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Zombies Type Zombie
FISTS
GATS
GUTS
STUNTS SMARTS
3
-
6
2
Zombie Master
5
2
4
3
HITS
SKILLS
2
3(1)
-
4
3
Various
ground he‘s done for unless rescued within a turn. And then he‘ll just return for the other side.... Zombies move 3‖ per Action, speeding up to 4‖ when they get the scent of a kill. Since zombies try to tear you apart with claws and teeth, roll for wounds on the SERIOUS BUSINESS table. Note that zombies, when treated as Supporting Cast, only take one hit to kill. And who wants to keep track of wounds on a horde of un-dead? Not me. So let‘s assume that instead of being out of Action on a roll of ―4-6‖ like a living victim, only ―5,6‖ counts for most weapons. Big weapons like machine guns, shotguns, etc, get the usual ―4-6,‖ as even a zombie recognizes that being torn to shreds will put a crimp in his day. And .22‘s, rocks, arrows and knives (or 78 RPM wax records) only succeed on a ―6.‖ LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR. ―Eh-ya-ya-ya-yahaah –e’yayayayaaa ---- ngh’aaa ---ngh’aaa ---h’yuh ---h’yuh --HELP! HELP! ----ff --- ff --- FATHER! FATHER! YOG-SOGOTH! ----― H.P. Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror
The works of Howard Philip Lovecraft at first appear quite unsuited to gaming, since they feature a lot of eccentric humans (who simply go insane and die) coming into contact with demonic books, terrifying old buildings, and eventually the sort of creatures from other planes whose powers are immensely stronger than that of their human opponents. Surprising, then, that the RPG The Call of Cthulhu has been a popular game for three decades. So, what do I know? Leaving aside Great Cthulhu hisself and most of the Elder Gods and Great Old Ones (because they‘ll crush even your finest adventurer like a June Bug), here are a few of the lesser sort of Lovecraftian nasties that a bold man with a loaded Colt might deal with to his advantage.
Examples of ―Lovecraftian‖ Monsters Monsters
FISTS GATS GUT STUNTS SMART HITS S S
Deep Ones Shambler Demon Huge Demon
3 (2x) 4 (6x) 4 (12x) 4
2 -
3 4 6 6
2/5 2 2 3
2 2 4 3
1 3 15 30
NOTES A: 4/8‖ Move B: 4‖ Move C,T: 4‖ Move C,T
NOTES: Definitions A: These creatures have some characteristics marked ―x/y,‖ which means ―On land/ Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
58 in water.‖ B: These creatures want to pick you up and drag or carry you away—roll on the BRAWLING table. C: These creatures are so ridiculously powerful in the attack that you can't protect against them. Roll vs. STUNTS to dodge rather than FISTS to fight. You can attack them on your own turn. T: Tossing—may hurl victim 6" in random direction. Roll on the BRAWLING table. ROBOTS "Metal hands, claw-like and sharp, clutched for The Shadow’s throat. The black form twisted in the lower grip. The hands ripped away The Shadow's cloak. Then as The Shadow vainly sought to catch a rising arm, a steel rod pounded toward his skull! Maxwell Grant, ―Charg, Monster,‖ The Shadow Magazine, 1934 Robots are still novelty items, based on Victorian automatons rather than the active and sentient Space Age robots we see from the 1950‘s onward. Pulp robots should clank slowly and mechanically, and I certainly prefer them to fall over a lot, spin around crazily, and have easily accessible ―off‖ switches.
Robots TYPE Robot Servant Small Battle‘bot Large Battle‘bot Giant ‗Bot
FISTS 3 4 4 (x 3) 5 (x 6)
GATS 2 3 3 3
GUTS 2 -
STUNTS 3 3 2 2
SMARTS 2 2 2 2
The Robot Servant is a butler-type, very fastidious in his duties, and oddly programmed to be a little cowardly. He is armed with a bottle opener, seltzer bottle, and silver tray. Small Battle‘bot is essentially human sized, and armed with one weapon, usually akin to a BAR or Tommy Gun, only more scientific. Large Battle‘bot is 7-10 feet high and armed with 3 or 4 large weapons, of the Heavy Machine Gun /Rocket Launcher/ Ray Gun variety, and close combat claws/cutters of a very unpleasant kind. The Giant Robot is, well, pretty darn big and can have the sort of weaponry that makes generals call in the Heavy Bombers. At this point, unless we have a plan involving high explosives in industrial quantities, the game is over. HITS on Robots. The Robot Servants and Small Battle‘bots are susceptible to normal small arms fire. Large Battle‘bots ignore small arms, while Giant Robots only take notice of artillery. Honestly, unless you‘ve got the Big Guns, just get outta their way—they‘re comin‘ through! Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
HITS 3 6 10 25
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Bullet Hits On Robots Table D6 Roll
1 2 3 4 5 6
Result Robot takes 3 HITS: Turns in random direction for the next turn Robot takes 3 HITS: Begins shooting wildly across 90 Degree frontal arc. Robot takes 4 HITS: Spins and moves backwards next turn, firing if previously doing so. Robot takes 4 HITS: Spins and moves backwards next turn, firing if previously doing so. Robot takes 6 HITS: Legs collapse under him, but can still fire Robot takes all remaining HITS: Explodes in wild celebration of electrical effects
Use the GATS rules as usual for shooting at these guys. On the ―Lead Poisoning‖ Table, Rolls of ―4‖ or ―5‖ inflict wounds against their HITS totals normally, but the ―fatal‖ roll of ‖6‖ requires a second roll on this new table.
NAZI SCIENCE ―We are only interested in one thing--to project into the dim and distant past the picture of our nation as we envisage it for the future.‖ Heinrich Himmler, 1943 Nobody did evil like the Nazis. That‘s why they get their own section here. Aside from their actual atrocities, secret weapons, advanced engineering and deranged racial theories, Pulp Nazis are involved in many scientific programmes that Must Be Stopped. We‘ll list a few.
Nazi Science Projects ―Project‖ Giant Werewolf Standard Werewolf Jugend Zombies Constructs Vampires
FISTS (5x) 4 (3x) 4
GATS 2 2
GUTS 5 5
STUNTS 4 4
SMARTS 2 2
HITS 9 Special 6 Special
(1x) 4 3 (3x) 4 5
2 2 -
5 6 6 6
4 2 2 5
2 2 2 4
3 Special 3 (1) 8 6 Special
Mechanical Men—see the section of that name. Nazi robots are not for peaceful purposes. Werewolves—The good thing about werewolves is that they are fierce, terrifying, and can only be killed by silver bullets. The bad thing about them is that they are unpredictable, and only work at the full moon. But what if we develop a control collar, and what if we found a way of creating a false full moon effect...? They come in three sizes: Giant (around 8-10 feet tall, rare and unreliable), Standard Issue (human sized and hairy), and Jugend—keen Hitler Youth anxious to be experimented on. Zombies—Scientists have synthesised the procedure that has made Haiti such a popular vacation destination. Just like the original—slow, fairly useless, but scary and hard to kill. See the ―Zombies‖ Rules (pg 56 ). Constructs—In the tradition of Baron Frankenstein. Large, a bit clumsy, but very effective in a scuffle. Damn scary too. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
60 Vampires—Hard to kill, terrifying, the best forces for a night attack. If it wasn‘t for the ―mobile crypts‖ necessary for their daytime preservation, Nazi vampires would be an unbeatable value! Women in tight leather jodhpurs—The Nazis like ‗em (see ―Evil Germans‖ list in the Character Examples, below). CREATURES! As the Thing passed the third floor, a snakily prehensile arm whirled a net from a window, trapped the creature that had been Mrs. Purvis and pulled her back inside the hospital. ―The City Condemned To Hell,‖ The Octopus Vol I No 4
Dinosaurs are swell. Giant apes too. Nothing wrong with a grizzly bear, or a man-eating lion, or a tentacled horror from the cursed city sunk beneath the Pacific, either. Let‘s have a look at them. First off, they all work for the Director. You may own a dog, and you may have a gorilla in a cage ready for release; the difference is, that only the dog does what you want (and then, not always). Some Creatures can hurt you; some will kill you. Most don‘t throw things, or think too clearly, but on the other hand, they can usually rip a man to pieces. Let‘s look at some, with the special rules that go with ‗em.
Dangerous Creatures Beast
FISTS
GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS
HITS MOVE NOTES
Guard Dog
(1 D6)—4
—
5
5
3
3
6/12‖
A
Grizzly Bear
(3 D6)—4
—
5
4
3
6
4/8‖
A
Polar Bear
(4 D6)—4
—
5
4
3
7
4/8‖
A
Giant Ape
(5 D6)—4
2
4
4
2
10-20
4/10‖
BT
Gorilla
(3 D6)—4
2
4
4
2
6
4/8‖
B
Chimpanzee
(1 D6)—3
4
3
5
4
3
6/10‖
B
Lion/Tiger
(3 D6)—4
—
5
4
4
6
6/15‖
A
Elephant
(6 D6)—4
—
3
2
4
15
4/12‖
CT
FISTS: Creatures roll one (or often more) dice per attack; (3 x) 4 means three dice, looking for ―4‖ or less on each die to hit. Characters do not get to fight back on missed rolls, unless all the die rolls fail to hit. So, a grizzly may bite, tear and claw you three times in one attack. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
61 Beast
FISTS
GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS
HITS MOVE NOTES
Velociraptor (etc)
(4 D6)—4
—
5
4
5
1-8
6/12‖
A
T-Rex
(12 D6)—4
—
5
3
3
30
6/10‖
C
Pterodactyl
(2 D6)—4
—
5
4
3
3
8/15‖
F
―Terror Bird‖
(3 D6)—4
—
4
3
3
6
6/12‖
A
Rhino (All types)
(5 D6)—4
—
5
2
2
12
4/12‖
CT
Yeti
(3 D6)—4
3
4
2
2
6
4/8‖
B
Penguins (You never know...)
(1 D6)—1
—
2
2
2
1
2/5‖
D
GATS: Uh... the things that apes throw. Mostly faecal material, I understand. Range ―6.‖ No wounds, but check vs. GUTS if hit. No other figures will come within 3‖ of you after that. STUNTS and SMARTS are required when the director says so. Smarts are about instinct and cunning, not intellect in the human sense. MOVE is shown as walk/run in inches. Apes may be swinging. No penalties for rough terrain. Director can judge whether elephants can climb (no) and raptors swim (?) NOTES: Definitions A: These creatures try to tear you apart with claws and teeth—roll for wounds on the SERIOUS BUSINESS Table. B: These creatures want to pick you up and drag or carry you away—roll on the BRAWLING Table. C: These creatures are so ridiculously powerful in the attack that you can‘t protect against them. Roll vs. STUNTS to dodge rather than FISTS to fight. You can attack them on your own turn. D: Penguins will flap at you mercilessly—counts as BRAWLING. F: Flying—will try to seize and fly off with victim. Roll on SERIOUS BUSINESS Table. T: Tossing—may hurl victim 6‖ in random direction. Roll as if wounded in BRAWLING. You‘ll want to add more, of course. What about my pet jaguar? Just how big is that giant ape? Can I get a bigger one? There must be carnosaurs that fit between the Jurassic Park velociraptors and the big T-Rex! What about the huge things that crush you accidentally? Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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WHAT THERE ARE NO RULES FOR
―Two weeks from today, on August 24th, unless I see that steps have been taken to carry out my commands, I strike again. The national capital will be crumpled into dust and the dust scattered to the four winds of heaven.‖ ―Twelve Must Die,‖ Doctor Death, Feb 1935
You‘ll have noticed there are no rules for some of the big things. Hell, no rules for all kinds of stuff. Tanks. Alien spacecraft. Destroying whole cities. Not that I have a beef with any of those things, but for right now the rules will have to wait. I think you‘ll figure out how to make up rules as you need ‗em. I have confidence in you. Send me the ones you like best!
ENDING A SCENE The gun barked, and a pile driver hit my leg. I went down. Another gun spoke and he went down beside me. Then there was Jack, the drunk‘s gun in his hand, stepping in close to make sure. I blacked out. James M. Cain, Cigarette Girl, 1953
Most wargames end when the result is clear, or one player can‘t see achieving his victory conditions, or somebody has to go home. Last stands are not common. Often it‘s all a bit of an anticlimax. This won‘t do for Astounding Tales! Nosirree Bob! Keeping the excitement pulsing and the popcorn falling under the seats requires a Director who knows when to cut a Scene and call it a wrap for the episode. Since he also controls the villains, this shouldn‘t be too difficult. Cut the Scene when there has been a clear result. If there isn‘t one, make one up. The villains can get into a car and roar away. The heroine can be suddenly kidnapped while standing behind the wall where her player has placed her for safety from pesky gunshots— wargamers do that sort of dull, careful thing to protect their Characters sometimes—or the hero can be sapped from behind. This is a traditionally useful trick, as the lights go out and he awakens for the next Scene tied down for the Chinese Rat Torture, or locked in the hold of a South Seas freighter, or somewhere else suitably disconnected from the original Scene. He can simply wake up in the same alley with a headache, but there‘s no Scene to work with in that.
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―THE END‖: The Big Finale “You‘ve done a good night‘s work, Marge. You killed Rudy just as much as you did Flavin, or Hank. Rudy had decent stuff in him. You forced him into the game, but Hank was turning him soft. You killed Hank.‖ ―I wish I‘d killed you, too,‖ she whispered. ―By God I wish I‘d killed you too!‖ Leigh Brackett, I Feel Bad Killing You, 1944
This is where it all comes together, whether it makes much sense or not. This isn‘t a country manor mystery where everyone sits down at a table to review the clues and reveal the killer; it‘s a chance for the final piece of explosive mayhem, with as many parties, people, planes and cars and express trains as you can manage involved. It‘s also the moment when you have to wrap things up in a thrilling-yet-still-satisfactory way, which means that it cannot merely collapse into a mass brawl or huge firefight that goes on and on until everyone is maimed. Not that I am against those things—that‘s crazy talk! But you have to sort out the winners from the losers, the good from the bad, the villain who falls in a hail of gunfire from the G-men from the Evil Overlord who escapes through a secret passageway to threaten us all again. So it may be useful to have a deus-ex-machina (that‘s Latin—ask Big Luigi what it means) to help finish things nicely. Could be a wagon full of Chicago cops, could be a company of Gurkhas, could be one of those San Francisco earthquakes you hear about. But it has to end BIG!
CHEAP TALK AND LIES ―You see, my dear Red Finger, we know your methods. We knew you were spying on our plans. So very openly we talked, that you would feel sure that we did not suspect your presence. Your caution lulled, you have revealed yourself. But, all the time, little Yamikoto in the closet was concealed, awaiting you.‖ ―In other words,‖ Ciano put in,‖ we baited a trap for you, and you walked in quite blithely. Too bad.‖ Arthur Leo Zagat, Red Finger’s Murder Messenger, 1938
When I run a game with a bunch of players, I like to have a final moment—like the last page of a story—where each one gets to tell what they did, what they were actually trying to do, what actually did happen, stuff like that. Keeping the role straight is part of this, and a good liar can tell a version of the story that beats the pants off what you saw actually happen. Give out prizes, cheap cigars, drinks all round. My friend Matt Fritz came up with some kind of plastic bowling trophy tops that look like Oscars, sorta. It all adds to the fun. You‘ll be glad you did. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
64 SECTION VI : SAMPLE CHARACTERS This list features a very random mixture of fictional character Profiles, of real people, generic Pulp archetypes and stereotypes. They may be used ―as is‖ when in the heat of Action, or adapted when creating scenarios. I‘ve included some well known characters from Pulp Culture, and intend no infraction of trademarks, copyrights or intellectual property—I just want to offer the chance to use well-loved characters in what amounts to ―fan fiction‖ gaming. Feel free to use them as you want. The specific SKILLS, especially, are open to change. Some types will come in military, or paramilitary units, with officers, NCO‘s, etc, though you can organise these anyway you like. Me, I think people come in six‘s and twelve‘s, but somebody else might disagree. Where a Profile has a mark under HITS, such as ―3 (1),‖ it means that, if played as a Leading, Secondary, or ―Bit Part‖ character, the 3 HITS applies, but as a Supporting Cast extra, they fall over on 1—the first hit. The Director is free to make photocopies of this section of the rules, so as to provide easy character sheets for each player. It may be a good idea to fix these copies to index cards, and to copy also the definitions of the relevant Skills to the same sheet for easy reference.
PULP HEROES Sam Spade P.I. FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Sam Spade Effie Perrine
5 3
4 3
5 5
4 4
4 4
4 4
SKILLS Tough SOB, Call Me Sherlock Nice Girl
Spade is the hero of The Maltese Falcon, memorably played by Bogart in the film version of Hammett’s book. Effie is his chipper Girl Friday. Armed with a pocket full of pistols taken from punks, dames and others, Spade is a San Francisco PI whose client list is full of suspect characters.
Philip Marlowe FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 5
4
5
4
4
5
SKILLS Tough SOB, Mean Drunk
The classic ―White knight‖ private investigator, who drinks too much and whose principles bother him.
The Shadow The Shadow Margot Lane Harry Vincent Cliff Marsland "Shrevie"
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 3 4 4 4 4
5 4 3
4 5 3
4 5 4
4 4 5
4 5 3
4 5 4
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SKILLS Two Gun Kid, Hypnotist Nice Girl Call Me Sherlock Tommy Gunner Wheel Man
65 Star of Radio and Magazines, "The Shadow," as remarkable a hero as he was, couldn't be everywhere at once, so he enlisted several agents to help him to battle crime. "Harry Vincent" was his most capable and indispensable operative and "Cliff Marsland" was recruited from the "underworld" to work on cases where Harry Vincent couldn't go. "Moe "Shrevie" Shrevnitz" owned a cab and was a skilled driver. He appeared in both the Pulp magazine and on the radio show." The Shadow is probably too strange and powerful to be played by a mere actor, and should probably be controlled in small doses by the Director.
Doc Savage FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Doc Savage Monk Ham Renny Johnny Long Tom Pat
7 5 4 6 4 3 4
5 5 4 4 4 4 6
7 5 4 5 4 4 6
6 4 4 5 4 4 5
7 5 5 5 6 6 5
8 5 4 5 4 4 5
SKILLS See note! Tough SOB Flashing Blade (cane sword) Crazy Inventor, Boxer — Crazy Inventor Crack Shot, Packs a Punch
Doc has absurdly high scores in every department. What this means is that he counts as a 6, and when he takes negative modifiers or receives wounds they merely bring him down to a mortal level: i.e if he had to take a GUTS-2 Test, he’d count as 7 – 2 =5, and roll for ―5‖ or less. Doc’s Skills include Crazy Inventor, Tough SOB, Acrobat and Real Charmer. Doc Savage is the ultimate Pulp hero—only a step shy of his successor, Superman in many ways— and has so many skills it’s hard to know where to begin. So I won’t. Read the books! Doc is at the peak of human intellectual and physical abilities, Monk is an expert chemist despite looking like an ape, Ham is a dapper attorney, and Renny is a talented engineer with really big fists. Johnny is a tall, skinny archaeologist, Long Tom a short, pallid electrical genius. Patricia Savage is Doc’s beautiful, dangerous cousin who is clearly the one you’d least want to tangle with!
The Spider FISTS 5
GATS 6
GUTS 5
STUNTS 6
SMARTS 6
HITS 6
SKILLS See below
NOTE: The Spider CANNOT fire at the police. Richard Wentworth, millionaire criminologist, is the ultimate enemy of the underworld. Though considered a dangerous vigilante by the authorities, he is sworn to uphold the law. Assisted by Jackson, Ram Singh, and Nita Van Sloan, he stays one step ahead of the police while hunting the criminals he has sworn to destroy! Spider‘s FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Team Nita Van 3 5 4 4 5 5 Crack Shot Sloan Jackson 4 5 5 4 3 5 Crack Shot, Tommy Gunner Ram Singh 6 4 4 5 3 6 Wheel Man, Mack the Knife, Martial Arts, Tough SOB Nita is tough as nails, VERY brave, VERY smart, and can shoot the eyes out of a gnat at 100 yards! She's as much a right hand "man" to The Spider as Tonto is to the Lone Ranger. Jackson was Sgt. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
66 to Capt. Richard Wentworth (AKA ―The Spider‖) during the First World War. He's capable and obviously a good man with weapons. Ram Singh is the Spider's giant Hindu Servant. He's the team's driver, expert with a knife, big and tough, and a formidable "hand to hand" combat opponent.
The Phantom The Phantom is really a comic-book rather than authentic Pulp period figure, but the movie was set in the thirties, and I like him. Not to be confused with… FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS The Phantom 5 5 6 6 5 5 Tough SOB, Fast Devil (wolf) 5 6 5 4 4 Fast
The Phantom Detective Socially prominent, superbly dressed crime-fighter in evening clothes and a little mask! ―The Phantom‖ FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 5 5 5 5 5 5 Exquisite Manners, Call Me Sherlock
Lord of the Jungle Jungle Lord Skills Set: Tough SOB, Fast, Mack The Knife, Acrobat, Crack Shot (bows, not guns) Swings through trees. Speaks to animals. ERB Inc. will sue me if I say any more. Add native followers and helpful apes, lions, etc. The Pulp Era was full of ―near-Tarzan’s, male and female, young and old. You can rename them ―Ki-Gor,‖ ―Bomba,‖ or ―Sheena,‖ if you like – they have no vigilant IP owners! The Ape Man The Beauty The Jungle Queen Ape Man Jr. The Funny Chimp The Big Elephant
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS 6 5 6 6 4 3 5 5 4 4 5 6 4 4 5 6 3 3 6 (3x) 5 4 2
SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 6 See SKILLS list 5 5 Fast, Nice Girl 4 6 Fast 4 6 Fast 3 3 Lucky Cuss, Acrobat 2 12 Bloody Great Elephant
Indiana Jones The best 1930’s hero of the last thirty years. I often dress like Indy, though we are seldom mistaken for one another. This is a mix of the cast of three films. FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Dr. Jones 5 4 5 6 5 5 Bullwhip, A Real Charmer Dr. Jones, Sr. 4 4 5 4 5 4 Crazy Inventor Marion 4 3 5 5 4 4 Nice Girl, Packs a Punch Willie 3 3 3 4 4 4 Heroine Scream, Hell Cat ―Short Round‖ 2 2 4 5 4 3 Spunky Kid, Acrobat Prof. Marcus Brody 2 1 2 2 3 3 Baffled, Absentminded Professor Dr. Elsa Schneider 4 3 5 4 5 4 Femme Fatale, Two Faced Sallah
5
2
4
3
4
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
4
Tough SOB
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THE LAW The FBI FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Special Agent 5 5 5 4 5 5 Crack Shot, Call Me Sherlock Field Agent 4 4 4 3 4 4 Tommy Gunner or Wheel Man J. Edgar Hoover 2 2 2 2 6 4 ―Errant Knight‖ It’s the G-men. Mr. Hoover’s finest. Melvin Purvis and company.
American Cops FISTS Precinct Captain 4 Keen Detective 4 Jaded Detective 4 Crusader 4 Tough Irish Cop 5 Beat Cop 4 Rookie 3
GATS 3 4 3 3 3 3 3
GUTS 4 5 3 5 5 4 3
STUNTS 3 4 3 3 2 3 2
SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 4 Call Me Sherlock 4 4 A Real Charmer 4 4 Mean Drunk 4 5 But Nuts, Boxer 3 4 Tough SOB or Boxer 2 3 (1) — 2 3 (1) —
They are fat, corrupt, and eat a lot of doughnuts. Except for the honest ones and crusading cops.
British Bobbies Note: that British policemen only carry guns when specially issued, which is almost never. FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Superintendent 4 2 4 3 4 5 Call Me Sherlock Ambitious Detective Tired old Detective Veteran Sergeant Patrol Constable Young Copper
4 4 5 4 3
3 2 3 2 2
5 4 5 4 3
4 3 2 3 2
4 4 3 2 2
4 A Real Charmer 4 Mean Drunk 4 Tough SOB or Boxer 3 (1) — 3 (1) —
Devotees of British crime fiction understand that these men almost never solve a crime, but may offer some support in the ―cuffing and carrying away‖ department.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Mounties only shoot in the last resort. There is (evidently) never more than one of them per province. Sgt Preston is a Canadian Radio and TV hero, able to mush his dog team (led by Yukon King) FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Sergeant Preston 5 5 6 5 5 5 Call Me Sherlock Yukon King 5 5 4 4 4 Real Scary, Fast The Silver Corporal 4 5 6 4 5 5 Fast Other Mounties 4 3 4 3 3 3 Wheel Man across oceans and deserts. Other dogs are simply, well, dogs. I am told that the original scripts were taken from the Lone Ranger, with the names changed. The Silver Corporal is a bantam-weight Montana cowboy, prone to fits of the ―Code of the West‖ when it comes to ladies, whose specialization seems to have been—bizarrely—to use his sleeping bag for escapology. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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ARMIES AND NAVIES The Navy‘s Here! FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Salty Old Captain 4 3 4 3 4 5 Keen Young Ensign 4 3 4 3 3 4 Petty Officer 5 3 5 4 4 4 Sailor 4 2 4 3 3 3 (1) Marine 4 4 4 3 2 3 (1)
SKILLS Naval Skill Set Naval Skill Set Tough SOB — —
Naval Skill Set: Choose From--Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead It’s the Navy. Any Navy. The Royal Navy, the USN, German Seebattalion, whichever. The Yangtse Patrol. Wooden men and Iron ships. Steve McQueen (although he comes later).
French Foreign Legion FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Martinet Colonel 4 3 4 3 4 5 Gallant Young Officer 4 3 4 3 3 4 Brutal Sergeant 5 3 5 4 4 4 Legionnaire 4 3 4 3 3 3 (1) Spahi or Chasseur 3 2 4 3 2 3 (1)
SKILLS Military Skill Set Military Skill Set Brutal Champ or Boxer — Cavalry
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +‖2‖ if charging into contact this turn. The best regiment of Germans in the French Army. Romanticised out of all proportion after WW I, the Legion was the subject of films, novels and comic books. Et pourquoi pas?
Soldiers of the Empire FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS
SKILLS
Gruff Commanding Officer
4
3
4
3
4
5
Military Skill Set
Heroic Young Officer Sergeant Major
4 5
3 3
4 5
3 4
3 4
4 4
Military Skill Set Tough SOB or Boxer
Highlander
4
3
4
3
3
3 (1)
—
Guardsman
4
4
4
3
2
3 (1)
—
British Line infantry
3
4
4
3
3
3 (1)
—
Sikh Line infantry
4
3
4
3
3
3 (1)
—
Ghurka Infantry Cavalry Trooper
4 3
3 2
4 4
5 3
3 2
3 (1) 3 (1)
— Cavalry
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Cold Blooded, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +‖2‖ if charging into contact this turn. For King and Country, what? Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
69 The US Marine Corps Tough CO Heroic Young Officer ―Gunny‖ Leatherneck
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 3 4 3 4 5 Military Skill Set 4 3 4 3 3 4 Military Skill Set 5 3 5 4 4 4 Tough SOB or Boxer 4 3 4 3 3 3 (1) —
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Invading a beach near you, for freedom, apple pie and the United Fruit Company.
The US Army Gruff Commanding Officer Heroic Young Officer Drill Sergeant Doughboy Rocket Corps Cavalry Trooper
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 3 4 3 4 5 Military Skill Set 4 3 4 3 3 4 Military Skill Set 5 3 5 4 4 4 Tough SOB or Boxer 3 4 4 3 3 3 (1) — 4 3 4 4 3 3 (1) — 3 2 4 3 2 3 (1) Cavalry
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. Uncle Sam wants these guys.
Evil Germans! FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Herr General 3 3 4 2 4 4 Officer 4 4 5 3 5 5 Feldwebel (Sergeant) 5 5 5 3 3 5 Elite Troops 4 4 4 4 3 3 (1) Garrison Troops 3 3 3 3 3 3 (1) Cavalry 3 2 4 3 3 3 (1) Hitler Youth 2 3 4 3 3 2 (1) Zeppelin Truppen 4 4 4 4 3 3 (1) Gestapo Agent 3 3 3 3 5 5 Ilse (―The She 4 4 5 4 5 5 Wolf‖) She Wolf Trooper 3 4 4 4 3 3 (1) Scientist/Occultist 3 3 3 2 5 3
SKILLS Military Skill Set Military Skill Set Brutal Champ — — Cavalry — — Cold Blooded Femme Fatale — Absentminded Professor
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. What can I say? Movie Nazis, all jackboots and monocles. And that’s just the children.
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THE BORDERS OF TARTARY Red Russians! FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS Kommissar 3 3 3 3 5 Evil Russian Officer 4 4 5 3 3 Thuggish NCO 5 3 5 3 3 Pathetic Conscript 3 2 3 3 2 Elite Russian Soldier 4 3 5 3 3 Chekist 3 3 3 3 5 Cossack Trooper 2 2 4 3 2 Heroine of the USSR 3 4 5 4 4
HITS 4 5 4 3 (1) 3 (1) 5 3 (1) 4
SKILLS Real Scary Military Skill Set Brutal Champ — — Real Scary Cavalry Tough Broad, Femme Fatale
Military Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. These are wicked Bolsheviks, both brutal and intoxicated most of the time. Early in this period they are opposed by Heroic White Russians, who are just as drunken and brutal, sometimes more so.
White Russians! FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS Mad Priest 3 3 3 3 Cruel Officer 4 4 5 3 Thuggish NCO 5 3 5 3 Pathetic Conscript 3 2 3 3 Elite White Soldier 4 3 5 3 Cossack Trooper 2 2 4 3 Kalmuck Tribesman 2 2 3 3
SMARTS 5 3 3 2 3 2 2
HITS 4 5 4 3(1) 3(1) 3(1) 3(1)
SKILLS Real Scary Military Skill Set Brutal Champ — — Cavalry Fast, Cavalry
Military Skill Set: Choose From-Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. Heroic White Russians, paragons of tradition and virtue. Actually, they are hard-bitten, drowning in vodka, and as vicious as the Reds. You can have whole units of the officers, desperate nobles with nowhere else to go.
―The Mad Baron of Mongolia‖ Baron UngernSternberg White Russian Officer Mongol Shaman Disaffected Japanese Levies/POWs Tibetan Bodyguard Mongol Tribesman Cossack Trooper
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 5 3 7 3 2 7 Lucky Cuss, Drunk/Addict 4 2 3 2 3 2 2
3 2 3 2 3 3 2
6 2 3 2 5 3 4
5 2 3 2 3 3 3
4 3 3 2 3 3 2
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
3 2 3 (1) 2 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 (1)
Military Skill Set Braggart — — Fast, Cavalry Fast, Cavalry Cavalry
71 Military Skill Set: Choose From--Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. Baron Ungern-Sternberg was a psychotic Russian aristocrat, whose devil-may-care courage and murderous charisma led him to a brief career of conquest and massacre in the 1920’s. He relied heavily on the fortune-telling of his shaman, and his own ability to take damage without caring. His army consists of some loyal Tibetan guards, a lot of unhappy Russian levies and Austrian POWs, and some Japanese regulars who regret the whole thing.
Chinese Warlord FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Warlord Himself 3 3 3 3 5 3 Cold Blooded Brave Officer 4 3 6 5 4 3 Military Skill Set, Martial Arts Useless Officer 2 2 2 2 3 2 Drunk/Addict Brutal NCO 4 3 4 3 3 3 Brutal Champ ―Big Sword‖ Man 4 2 5 4 2 3 (1) Unpaid Conscript 2 2 2 2 2 2 (1) Mongol Tribesman 2 3 3 3 3 3 (1) Fast, Cavalry Regular Cavalry 3 2 3 3 2 3 (1) Cavalry
Military Skill Set: Choose From--Crack Shot, Tough SOB, Flashing Blade, Exquisite Manners, Hothead Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. Chinese armies consisted of 80% useless, unwilling men and 20% crazed fanatics with executioner swords. More or less. Mongols are superb irregular horsemen (as are Tibetans, etc).
Dinosaur Hunters Roy Chapman Andrews Tough Palaeontologist Elderly Palaeontologist Chinese Escort Troops Chinese Labour Corps Mongol Tribesman
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 4 5 3 5 4 Real Charmer, Tough SOB 4 4 5 4 4 3 Tough SOB, Wheel Man 2 2 2 2 5 2 Crazy Inventor 2 3 2 2 2 2 (1) — 2 2 2 2 2 2 (1) — 2 3 3 3 3 3 (1) Fast, Cavalry
The American ―Dragon Hunters‖ of the New York Museum of Natural History made several expeditions into Mongolia in the 1920’s, facing bandits, communists and warlords. They were seeking fossils, rather than living dinosaurs, but still…
Veddy British Heroes, What? Biggles & Friends FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS Biggles 5 4 5 4 5 5 Flyin‘ Fool, Lucky Cuss Algy 4 4 6 4 3 4 Just Nuts Ginger 4 4 5 4 4 4 Flyin‘ Fool Bertie 4 3 5 4 2 4 A Real Charmer Biggles was the heroic pilot invented by Captain W.E. Johns, and entertained British boys through several decades. He and his chums are brave, resourceful and can fly anything. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
72 Jeeves and Wooster FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 3 5 4 7 5 Exquisite Manners 2 1 2 3 2 3 Lucky Cuss, Errant Knight, Sucker For A Dame
Jeeves Wooster
These are PG Wodehouse’s best known creations. PGW was the funniest writer of the twentieth century bar none, and his 1920’s world of ferocious aunts and upper-class twits, though not Pulp at all, is too much fun to ignore. Wooster is the idiotic young man with too much cash, Jeeves is the brilliant valet who ensures that all is resolved in the end. It’s difficult to conceive of anyone less suited for action adventure than Bertie Wooster. Fortunately his valet is a man of many talents.
Smith & Co. Nayland Smith Dr. Petrie Karamanieh
FISTS 5 4 3
GATS 4 3 3
GUTS 5 4 5
STUNTS 4 3 3
Sir Lionel Barton
5
3
5
2
SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 6 Call Me Sherlock 3 4 — 4 4 Doll Face 3
5
—
Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu was opposed by Smith and Petrie, rather a cut-rate Holmes and Watson. Karamanieh is a beautiful middle Eastern woman, the escaped slave of the devil doctor, who marries the dim-witted Petrie.
Hercules Poirot FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS M. Poirot 2 2 3 2 6 4 Real Charmer, Call Me Sherlock Capt. 4 3 4 3 2 4 Sucker For A Dame, Hastings ―Errant Knight‖ Miss Lemmon 3 4 5 4 5 4 Feminine Intuition Agatha Christie’s small, dapper Belgian detective and his friends. They are not really Pulp characters, and Poirot has no discernable action hero skills. Hastings is a likeable idiot. Miss Lemmon, the secretary, is the most capable of the three in most respects. I like to play this up.
The Saint Socially prominent, superbly dressed crime-fighter with pencil-thin moustache and Saville Row
Simon Templar
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 5 5 5 5 5 5
SKILLS Exquisite Manners, Call Me Sherlock, Real Charmer
suits—a popular character originated by Leslie Charteris.
THE VILLAINS (From The Maltese Falcon) Dashiell Hammett’s ―full house‖ of classic Villains. Miss Wonderley, AKA Bridget O’Shaughnessy, is a much hotter tomato in the novel than the movie version, where she is merely pleasant-looking. Joel Cairo is feeble yet sinister, and Gutman’s good manners conceal little of his menace. Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
Kasper Gutman Miss Wonderley Joel Cairo Wilmer Cook
FISTS 2 3 2 2
73
GATS 2 4 2 2
GUTS 4 4 2 2
STUNTS 1 4 3 3
SMARTS 5 4 3 2
HITS 4 3 3 3
SKILLS Snappy Dresser Femme Fatale Squeamish Cold-blooded
Dr. Fu Manchu FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS Dr. Fu Manchu 5 5 7 6 6 Fa-Lo-Sueh 4 4 6 5 5 Bodyguard 4 3 5 5 3 Brave 3 2 3 3 3 Minion 2 2 2 2 2 Tong Gangster 3 3 4 4 3
HITS 6 5 4 (1) 3 (1) 2 1) 3 (1)
SKILLS Hypnotist Vamp Brutal Champ, Martial Arts — — —
The Devil Doctor disappears suddenly and inexplicably when death or arrest seem the only choices. All other Oriental Overlords (Wu Fang, etc) follow his model.
Assorted Gangsters The Mob Mob boss Accountant Torpedo Enforcer Gun Moll Hoodlum Slugger Punk
FISTS 4 2 5 4 3 3 4 2
GATS 4 2 5 4 3 3 2 2
GUTS 4 2 5 4 3 3 3 2
STUNTS 2 2 4 4 3 3 3 2
SMARTS 4 5 3 3 4 3 2 2
HITS SKILLS 5 Real Scary 3 Gun Shy, Squeamish 4 Gangster Skill Set 4 Gangster Skill Set 3 Hell Cat 3 (1) — 3 (1) — 2 (1) —
Gangster Skill Set: Choose From-- Crack Shot, Wheel Man, Tough SOB, Shotgunner, Cold Blooded, Tommy Gunner, Bomber, Boxer, Pick Pocket, Mack the Knife, Real Scary, Hell Cat. Crime syndicate gangsters in the classic Capone/Luciano/Jimmy Cagney mould. The more dangerous hoodlums can pick from a wider variety of SKILLS than shown here.
A Selection of Other Pulp Villains of a Lesser Sort French-Canadian Villain Eskimo Swarthy Foreigner Cannibal Cannibal Chief Pirate Pirate King Hired Assassin (gun) Hired Assassin (knife)
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS SKILLS 4 3 3 3 4 4 (1) Mean Drunk 3 3 4 3 3 3 (1) — 2 4 3 3 3 3 (1) — 3 3 3 3 3 3 (1) Fast 4 3 4 3 3 4 Fast 3 3 3 3 3 3 (1) — 4 3 4 3 3 4 Flashing Blade 3 5 4 3 4 3 Crack Shot 4 4 5 4 3 Mack the Knife, Acrobat
Generic villains from central casting. The cannibals could also be head hunters, or African tribesmen, it’s hard to tell. And who can tell if ―swarthy foreigners‖ are Turks, Arabs or Italian guys from Jersey working at union scale? Pirates? Long John Silver pirates? Can they pass for Mexican banditos? Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
74 HOLLYWOOD ESSENTIALS The Movie Crew FISTS 3 4 4 3 2
Von Schnitzel Roxy Smothers Zelda (Script Girl) Joe (Camera Man) Herman (Clapper)
GATS 1 4 5 2 1
GUTS 2 4 5 3 2
STUNTS 2 3 5 3 2
SMARTS 3 5 5 3 3
HITS 3 5 5 3 3
SKILLS Real Scary Vamp Nice Girl Fast Gullible
This group is our invented Hollywood crew consisting of a mad German director with a huge ego, his suicide blonde starlet, and the crew. Zelda is actually a US treasury agent when she takes her glasses off, and has ratings to match. Roxy’s a STAR, dahling….
Romantic Arabs Handsome Sheikh Villainous Relative Huge Henchman Heroic Princess Bedouin Tribesman
FISTS 4 4 5 3 3
GATS 4 3 3 4 2
GUTS 5 3 5 5 3
STUNTS 5 3 3 4 3
SMARTS 3 3 2 4 3
HITS SKILLS 5 Flashing Blade 4 Mack the Knife 5 Brutal Champ 4 Heroine Scream 3 (1) Cavalry
Cavalry: +1 FISTS on horseback, +2 if charging into contact this turn. All are rated as Cavalry, and FAST on horseback. They may also ride camels, at the normal ―Pounding Hooves‖ speeds. ―Huge Henchman‖ does not get these advantages, as he‘s already a FISTS 5, and doesn‘t ride very well. These are the sort of Hollywood Arabs associated with Rudolf Valentino in The Sheikh. He has to have a treacherous uncle or cousin, who employs a huge bodyguard. The princess can be either innocent yet feisty or more sophisticated. The tribesmen enjoy massive charges across the desert, or shooting from ambush. They can be Mongols or Afghans, if the script calls for it.
The Cavemen Chief Shaman Champions Angry CaveMom Warriors Women & Kids Cave Babe
FISTS 4 2 4 5
GATS 4 2 4 4
GUTS 5 2 4 5
3 2 2
3 3 3
3 3 4
STUNTS SMARTS HITS 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 4
2 3 3
3 (1) 3 (1) 4
SKILLS Real Scary Native Magic Brutal Champ Tough Broad — — Doll Face
Cavemen move 6‖ basic move, no penalties. They are armed with spears and clubs, and can push rocks down from high places. Native Magic is about anything the Director wants it to be, with a lot of chanting and dancing, and possibly ritual sacrifice of captured outsiders. I can‘t say if it works – you decide! These are classic Hollywood/Robert E Howard cavemen, either Neanderthaloid or just ―Extra in bad wig.‖ There should be a Leader, a Shaman, 2 or 3 big Warriors/Hunters as ―Champions,‖ and a lot of ugly men, women and children. Additions include ―Angry Cave Mother,‖ who resents all this nonsense Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
75 (whatever it is) and one or more genetically improbable young women of unsurpassed beauty.
The Troglodytes Archers Spear/swords
FISTS 2 3
GATS 3 -
GUTS 3 3
STUNTS 5 5
SMARTS 3 3
HITS 1 1
Move 6‖, no penalties. The Troglodytes are small, nimble and hostile to everyone. They can move up and down cavern walls without penalty. Individually puny, they make up for this by ganging up on opponents, and there are lots of them when they band together. Mine look suspiciously like plastic goblins.
The Cimmerians Barbarian Queen Muscled Hero Champions High Priest High Priestess Savage Princess Warriors Women/Children
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 5 3 5 3 3 5 5 4 5 5 3 6 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 3 4 4 3 4 2 5 4 4 4 4 4 6 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 3 (1) 2 3 3 3 3 3 (1)
SKILLS Femme Fatale, Hell Cat Tough SOB, Flashing Blade Flashing Blade, Crack Shot Native Magic Native Magic Packs a Punch, Doll Face — —
Native Magic is about anything the Director wants it to be, with a lot of chanting and dancing, and possibly ritual sacrifice of captured outsiders. I can‘t say if it works – you decide! Can you say Conan? (If you are a lawyer, I can’t) Blond, Bronze-Age people with muscles and nice teeth, the Cimmerians are classic fantasy barbarians with axes, spears, swords and maybe wristwatches. THE INNOCENT PASSERS-BY (etc, etc...) FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Old alcoholic 2 1 3 2 2 2 Ex-Army Doorman 4 3 4 3 3 4 Bartender 4 2 3 3 3 3 Torch Singer 2 2 3 4 4 4 Chinese Laundryman 2 1 2 3 4 2 Street Kid/Newsie 2 2 4 4 3 3 Bad Girl 3 3 3 3 4 3 Nasty Punk 3 3 2 3 2 3 Reporter 2 2 3 3 3 3
SKILLS Mean Drunk Tough SOB Director‘s Choice Director‘s Choice Director‘s Choice Director‘s Choice Director‘s Choice Brutal Champ Director‘s Choice
And what else? More Pulp heroes? The Black Bat? More P.I.s like the psychotic Race Williams, or Spillane‘s Mike Hammer? Ancient Ones from the Cthulhu mythos, and their Batrachian allies? Your call!
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76 SECTION VII : SCENARIOS "That obelisk has stood for a thousand years, surviving earthquakes, storms, and civil war." (Matt Fritz, Director of the Jungle Scene.) "I run up and knock it over." (The Phantom ) "Okay, down it goes." (The Director) The Crystal Skulls of Atlantis, HistoriCon, 2003
Scenario #1 This is a multi-sided affair between competing players, in which the Director controls at least the Yeti, and possibly the Cavemen as well, and players take one each of the contending parties. The Background: South East Asia, 1937. Those occultists/anthropologists of the SS seek out a lost tribe of blond, Aryan cavemen in the jungles where China and French Tonkin merge. The French Foreign Legion send a patrol to rescue a young and beautiful woman from the clutches of unknown tribes. The Chinese warlord wonders who encroaches on his territory, and whether he can get spare tires for his Rolls Royce. The cavemen seek to propitiate the divine Yeti with a human bride. What else ya want? American archaeologists with dynamite? Okay…. The Set Up: The map is mostly jungle, although a stream winds through part of it, allowing one party to enter by steam launch. The centre of the board is the home of the cavemen, and if you can manage 2 or 3 rock formations, complete with caves, all the better. There are three areas of tall grass, high enough to hide in. All parties except the cavemen start at the edge of the board, wherever seems appropriate, although the Chinese and French ought to be opposite one another, as the imaginary border runs across the board in some highly debateable manner. The table can be any size, although a board large enough to have terrain beyond the central cave area is to be preferred—although since it‘s mostly jungle and long grass, this does not have to be massive. The sketch map is only a general guide, but is proportioned for a 4‘ x 6‘ table. The Yeti is ―Somewhere in hiding,‖ as per the Director‘s wishes, and will appear when he deems the moment right.
The Cast The Yeti, who expects a nubile young maiden to be delivered for his matrimonial delight. The Yeti
FISTS 4 (x 3 dice)
GATS 2
GUTS 5
STUNTS 5
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
SMARTS 1
HITS 10
77
A Tribe of Cavemen, consisting of a Chief, a Shaman, 3 Hunter/Warrior Champions, 10-12 other cavemen, an ―Angry Cave-Mom,‖ and a number of women and children—and one of the women looks remarkably like Raquel Welch. (See the lot among Sample Characters, above). Cavemen move 6‖ basic move, no penalties. They are armed with spears and clubs, and can push rocks down from high places. A Captive French Woman, Mlle. Mireille Mondieu, of considerable allure to Yeti‘s, cavemen, and other male hominids. Mireille is 22, tres charmant, and tougher than she looks. SKILLS Mireille FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 2
2
4
3
4
4
Nice Girl, Packs A Punch
A Party of German ―Scientists‖ from the Reich Occult Bureau, accompanied by an escort of 10 burly Soldaten in 1-3 vehicles. Von Skarr
FISTS 3
GATS 3
Scientists (2) Officer Ilse, The She Wolf Gestapo Agent
3 4 4 3
3 4 4 3
3 3 4 3
5 4 5 5
3 4 5 5
Gun Shy Tough SOB Femme Fatale Cold Blooded
Feldwebel (Sergeant) Soldaten
5 4
5 5 3 4 4 4 Second Edition
3 3
5 3 (1)
Brutal Champ —
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
GUTS STUNTS 3 3 3 5 5 3
SMARTS HITS 5 5
SKILLS Real Scary
78 This party consists of Von Skarr and 2 other scientists, Ilse, the leather-clad She-Wolf of the SS, a classic Gestapo Agent, an Officer, a Sergeant, and 6-10 soldiers. NCOs and other ranks have rifles or SMGs. Others have pistols, although Ilse might have an SMG. Patrol of French Foreign Legionnaires, made up of an Officer, a Brutal Sergeant, and 12 soldiers, plus the captive woman‘s sister, Yvette. They arrive on foot or by river launch. (Director‘s call, depending on what his ―budget‖ will allow!) FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Officer 4 3 4 3 3 4 Brutal Sergeant 5 3 5 4 4 4 Legionnaires (12) 4 3 4 3 3 3 (1) Yvette 2 2 4 3 4 4
SKILLS Exquisite Manners Brutal Champ or Boxer — Nice Girl
A Column of Chinese Warlord Wu-Hu‘s Soldiers, including the Warlord himself (in a Rolls Royce, Packard or similar outrageously out-of-place automobile), a bodyguard of 6 ―Big Sword‖ Society fanatics, and as many useless unwilling Conscripts as you can muster (10-100!). For character Profiles, see the ―Warlord‘s Soldiers‖ among the Sample Characters, above. An American Archaeologist in a fedora, and his Father, the boy, Short Round, his Egyptian friend, Sallah, and a ―Dame‖ in a beat-up old truck. See the ―Indiana Jones‖ list among the Sample Characters, and make your own choice from Marion or Willie for ―The Dame‖—or make up your own. Plot Points This is a ―Put them in together and see what happens‖ scenario. 1) The Germans have been sent, as part of Himmler‘s Mad Science programme, to seek out a mysterious tribe of blonde primitives, make contact, and bring a breeding pair back to Berlin for further study. They are led by the evil Doktor Von Skarr, supported by the SS She-Wolf known only as ―Ilse.‖ They are ruthless in the extreme. 2) The Foreign Legion are led by the gallant Capitaine Galante, who—as soon as the beautiful Yvette came to him with news that her sister Mireille had been abducted by apelike primitives, knew that he must immediately lead a patrol out and bring her to safety. 3) The Chinese are under the command of the infamous Warlord, Wu-Hu. This is his land, and he does not want foreigners to invade it—unless they have money, in which case, he might be their friend. 4) The Cave people are an astonishing survival from Neolithic times, and it is amazing that they live on in this wild land. They credit the magic of their Shaman, together with regular provision of brides for their local Yeti, who is ―As a God‖ to them. Unfortunately, they are almost out of potential brides. Rather than give up his beautiful daughter Neeeeeeeela, the Chief, Urrrrrrrrga, has sent warriors to bring in an outsider woman. She is strangely attractive, and yet the sacrifice must be made. 5) Indiana Jones (or ―Oregon Brown,‖ or whichever non-IP-infringing name you prefer) is here upon discovering that his arch-nemesis, Von Skarr, has a dastardly scheme afoot, Involving… well, whatever it is, it can‘t be good! Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
79 6) The Yeti is a simple soul, and appreciates that every so often the little apes bring him one of their females, who smell nice but break easily. This scenario will more or less play itself, although if the Cavemen are controlled by a player, he needs to be someone who wants to role play for fun rather than ―victory!‖
Scenario #2 The Background: Norway, 1942. The Germans are working on the atomic bomb, using the heavy water production plant at Vemork. Glider borne Commandos have landed and attacked the facility with the help of Norwegian Resistance Fighters, and both groups are trying to outrun their German pursuers. Heroic British aviator Biggles is working undercover with a pass from the Gestapo (Damn! What were they thinking?) Colonel Von Stahlhein, his nemesis, is after him. Algy, Ginger and Bertie fly in an unmarked plane to save their chum, but crash. Two are taken prisoner, but Ginger escapes to find Biggles. Leni Riefenstahl is making a propaganda film, Snows of the Teutons. Dozy Austrian Garrison Troops perform their duties, while Elite German Soldiers sneer at their slovenly Allies. Meanwhile, Jeeves and Wooster have definitely made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. All this and more! The Set Up: This scenario needs a fjord. If you have one, you are in business. If not, you need a 2‘ x 4‘ or larger table featuring enough water surface for a boat and perhaps a seaplane, plenty of rough terrain with steep rocks and some cliffs, and lots of conifers. The entire fjord is rimmed by high cliffs. There is a German camp, where Algy and Bertie are being held captive. Leni has set up her camera on a particularly high spot with good observation all around. At the far end of the board, the returning Commandos will appear at one corner, while the Norwegian resistance fighters will come in at the other. A turn later they will each be followed onto the board by pursuing Germans. The following map is proportioned to represent anything up to a 4‘ x 6‘ table top. The Cast Leni Riefenstahl and her film crew. Leni Riefenstahl Eva Blond (The Star) Grauben (Script Girl) Hans (Camera Man) Herman (Clapper)
FISTS 4 2 2 3 2
GATS 4 2 2 2 1
GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 5 4 5 4 3 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3
SKILLS Real Scary Femme Fatale Nice Girl — —
SPECIAL RULE: Grauben is actually an MI 5 agent when she takes her glasses off, and has ratings to match. The Director will remove her from Leni’s list and hand her over to an Allied player, who will use this profile: Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
80
―Grauben‖ (as MI 5 Agent)
FISTS 4
GATS 5
GUTS 5
STUNTS 5
SMARTS 5
HITS 5
SKILLS Nice Girl
British Commandos—1 or 2 parties, each with an Officer, NCO and 6 soldiers. Stealthy elite Royal Marines in woolly hats, with Sykes-Fairbairn knives, ready to stalk sentries for the sheer fun of it. The officer may wear a kilt, or carry a longbow, a claymore or otherwise indicate British eccentricity. Officer
FISTS 4
NCO Commandos
5 4
GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 4 5 4 5 5 5 4
5 4
4 4
4 3
4 3 (1)
SKILLS Exquisite Manners or Mack The Knife Tough SOB or Boxer Tommy Gunner
Norwegian Resistance Fighters, 1 or 2 parties of 4-6 each, under one Leader. Blond, Nordic, heroic. Must speak in a strange accent possibly learned from ―Abba‖ (who were neither Norwegian nor connected with WW II). FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS Cell Leader Fighter Female Fighter
4 3 2
4 3 3
4 4 4
4 4 4
4 3 4
SKILLS
4 Moves 6‖ (Skis), Bomber 3 (1) Moves 6‖ (Skis), Tommy Gunner 3 Moves 6‖ Skis), Hell Cat
Jeeves and Wooster, whose Profiles appear in the Sample Character lists, above. Biggles, and his friends Algy, Ginger and Bertie (see the ―Biggles‖ Sample Characters list). The Nazis Austrian Garrison Troops, a squad of 10-12 who are holding Bertie and Algy Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
81 prisoner at the Nazi Camp. A German General in a staff car or similar, with driver and orderly. Von Stalhein, the ―Smart German,‖ in a staff car with a driver and two SS men. One squad (10—12 men) of German Soldaten per Allied party (i.e 2-4 total). You may substitute motor cycle patrols, or even a half-track or armoured car, for a squad of infantry. The terrain doesn’t favour vehicles, but they look threatening, and can career off cliffs for entertainment’s sake. The General Officer NCO Soldaten Garrison Troops Gestapo Agent Von Stalhein
FISTS GATS GUTS STUNTS SMARTS HITS 3 3 4 2 4 4 4 4 5 3 5 5 5 4 3 3 4
5 4 3 3 4
5 4 3 3 5
3 4 3 3 4
4 3 3 5 5
4 3 (1) 3 (1) 5 5
SKILLS Exquisite Manners Tough SOB Brutal Champ Baffled Cold Blooded Real Scary
Starting Positions 1) Algy and Bertie have been captured when their plane crash-landed beside the Hamspanner Fjord. Biggles and Ginger come to rescue them, equipped with any of the following: a sea plane (either on or off the board), flare guns, Gestapo ID, Webley revolvers, and nun outfits for themselves and their comrades. At the same time, the survivors of a Commando raiding party—with their Norwegian resistance chums—are escaping after damaging the Nazi heavy water plant above the fjord, with crack German troops in pursuit. 2) Meanwhile, sinister-yet-beautiful Nazi film documentarian, Leni Riefenstahl, is shooting film for her epic Snows of the Teutons in the region, and is excited to have the chance to film British Commandos receiving their just punishment at the hands of heroic German soldiers. Leni is up on the cliffs, filming. 3) Jeeves and Wooster, comic characters from PG Wodehouse (who was himself interned by the Huns) are simply lost, Bertie still insisting that they are in Sweden, or perhaps Switzerland. Driving a totally unsuitable sports car, they can appear at any edge that isn‘t mostly ―The North Sea.‖ 4) The Austrians are at their camp, drinking beer, eating sausages and sort-ofguarding the two Allied flyers. 5) Biggles (in German uniform, with RAF uniform underneath) can be anywhere on the board at the start. He is seeking Ginger, who the Director will place in concealment, and role-play him until Biggles comes within ―Psst!‖ distance. 6) Von Stalhein, is in a staff car with a driver and two SS men. He will arrive on any turn after the first. Plot Points 1) Biggles must try to rescue his pals, despite the efforts of the Germans. However, since Biggles is the hero, they should not succeed in this aim! Von Stalhein, in particular, has been following Biggles through several books now. 2) Leni will shoot film, but intervene to aid the Third Reich by means of her Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
82 Triumphant Will and trusty Luger. 3) The Commandos and Resistance Fighters enter on Turn 2, making for the fjord where a British vessel disguised as a local fishing boat will arrive on Turn 6 (or whenever seems right to the Director). Both groups need to be on that boat! 4) The Germans want to stop them, as well as Biggles! Roll for each party of German pursuers on Turn 3. Roll 1 D6: 1-3=The Jerries arrive now; 4-6=They arrive next turn. One group will start at Entry Point 1, the other at 2. 5) Jeeves will try to persuade Wooster that they ought to take that fishing boat to England, despite the probably poor restaurant facilities aboard. SECTION VIII : NOTES, APPENDICES, AND OTHER BODY PARTS Astounding Titles! Alright, you‘re thinking about creating a scenario. Maybe it‘s your first, and maybe you‘ve already done enough times that you need new inspiration. Where to begin? Well, why not with the title? When you have a Pulp title, you‘ve already got a lot of to work with! Below is the Title Generator which can help you get a name for your adventure. It doesn‘t have to be a sensible name. It just has to be ―Pulpy.‖ First, roll a D6, reading ―1‖ as ‖2.‖ This is the number of words (2-6) in your title. Now, roll 2 D10 (0-9) reading one as the tens place, the other the units, and do this once for each number of words in your titles. If you don‘t own Percentage Dice, or even regular D6
PULP ADVENTURE TITLE GENERATOR 1. voodoo 6. eye 11. monkey 16. black 21. gold 26. mystery 31. slave 36. mummy 41. shrine 46. spider 51. snake 56. secret 61. gypsy 66. ruby 71. machine 76. castle 81.t emple 86. road 91. madness 96. massacre
2. curse 7. queen 12. terror 17. white 22. child 27. horror 32. mask 37. monster 42. gangster 47. shadow 52. mob 57. lost 62. ape 67. emerald 72. tomb 77. mountain 82. desert 87. tide 92. scream 97. skull
3. blood 8. savage 13. gun 18. swamp 23. fear 28. adventure 33. king 38. dungeon 43. lion 48. scorpion 53. hawk 58. revenge 63. enemy 68. death 73. phantom 78. jungle 83. storm 88. blaze 93. corpse 98. fool Astounding Tales!
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
4. return 9. god 14. blade 19. a colour 24. flame 29. master 34. day 39. robot 44. tiger 49. woman 54. plane 59. bandit 64. golem 69. damned 74. island 79. prison 84. hurricane 89. fire 94. ring 99. sinister
5. ride 10. emperor 15. kiss 20. silver 25. fortune 30. treasure 35. night 40. zombie 45. falcon 50. doom 55. ship 60. raider 65. diamond 70. murder 75. tower 80. ghost 85. key 90. water 95. crime 100. steel
83 dice, hell, just point at random. It‘s not like I care. Consult the table, and find the word you‘ve rolled up. You may change words into plurals, adjectives or similar, or replace the word with a synonym (e.g. ―pit‖ for ―tomb,‖ ―dagger‖ for ―knife‖, etc). Where it says ―A colour,‖ you can use any you like. You may discard one word and roll again. You don‘t have to use all your words. You are allowed as many conjunctions and minor words as you like to make the phrase sound like something you might see on a billboard, or on the front cover of Dime Jungle Detective or Spicy G-Man Tales. Example: I roll a ‖3,‖ and so roll my percentage dice three times. I get ―68-death,‖ ―34-day,‖ and ―78- jungle.‖ Huh? So I put them together as ―Jungle Days of Death‖ (rather than ―Day of the Jungle Death‖ or ―Death Day in the Jungle.‖ But it‘s still weak. So I decide to discard ―Day‖ and roll again. I roll ―67-emerald,‖ and this gives me ―The Emerald Jungle of Death!,‖ which sounds exactly like the sort of thing I‘d plunk my quarter down for. You can play this for your own amusement, or with friends, voting for best name, until you fall out in bitter acrimony and never speak again. Fun times! Now that you have a title, all you have to do is make sure all the elements in it appear in some fashion in your scenario outline. So, in this case, check your props box for enough of a Jungle to be intimidating, and populate it with dangerous people, creatures, and mystery. What intrepid heroes do you want to visit your ―Emerald Jungle of Death?‖ Why should they go there? Are they actually going to look for Emeralds, or just be let loose in Green Hell? Who is the Villain? The Jungle must be related to his nefarious schemes, so what are those? Conflict is the source of all drama and action, so make sure there‘s plenty of it built right in to the situation! Naturally, you can concoct anything you like, so long as it‘s fun, fast, and furious! Remember, it‘s YOUR movie, so roll those cameras! DESIGNER’S NOTES Typing this up on a battered Smith-Corona portable, taking alternative swigs of black coffee and cheap Rye, I figured I‘d make a few comments. First off, as miniatures games go, this is very loose and unstructured. I don‘t care about time scale or ground scale or union scale or anything like that. I‘m not interested in the difference between Thompson machine guns and the snazzy Bergmann types used by ugly men in Europe and Asia. I don‘t want to explain at length that a truck full of oranges cannot usually catch a speeding Stutz Bearcat, but if it does, it can probably push the roadster off the edge of a convenient cliff. I just want a fast game that‘s fun to play and lets you use your imagination. It requires a Director, which is just an excuse for Von Stroheim-type megalomania, but since the actors aren‘t being paid, well, he has to behave. At least, a little. The rules are kept simple. Dead simple. I could go into more detail (although I have at least indicated that being shot with a .45 is more likely to get you dead than a .22), but what the hell. Maybe I‘ll write some optional rules. Maybe you‘ll throw that in yourself. Maybe a pony will come in first with my money riding on it. Simple rules mean fast play. Fast is good. You want slow, the door is over there. Don‘t let it hit you... on the way out. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
84 ALTERNATIVE PULP IDEAS VICTORIAN ADVENTURE has a great deal in common with Pulp in that it features a lot of humans with period technology facing Martians, cavemen and monsters of wondrous types. I feel that the key differences are largely of tone (Victorian adventure sounds like Basil Rathbone speaking for Conan Doyle, Pulp sounds like Humphrey Bogart talking for Raymond Chandler), and the fact that the Bellbuckle Steam Carriage Mk III doesn‘t work, while the 1934 Chevrolet usually does. My own Victorian alterations largely consist of using more appropriate terms—my stat line reads FISTS-GUNS-GUTS-FEATS-WITSHITS—and in having a lot of improvised devices employing steam, clockwork and brass thingummybobs that often prove unreliable. Aside from that, it‘s all about the scenarios. And, if pressed, we can‘t be shooting a movie, so we must be putting on a stage melodrama. COMIC BOOK WORLD WAR TWO is the war that I grew up with, based on films where the Germans used M1948 Patton tanks (painted grey with huge crosses on the side), and screamed ―Achtung! Spitfire! ― when attacked by British planes, where Captain Hurricane (a giant British officer in The Valiant who dealt with enemy artillery by bending the barrels, and where AFV‘s were easily dealt with by dropping grenades into the nonlocking hatches. For my American friends it‘s the Sergeants Rock and Fury, and episodes of Combat. Everyone‘s a hero (at least on the Allied side) and the enemy consist of jackbooted Nazis and nameless cannon fodder. SIXTIES SPY ROMPS of the Bond/Matt Helm/Man From UNCLE variety—the breezy adventures with evil geniuses and young women in bikinis and high boots rather than the gritty Le Carré sort of espionage tale—are well suited to Astounding Tales! Really, the cars are faster and sleeker, and amazing devices can be miniaturized to fit in one‘s hand-made Chelsea boot-heel. But how different is that from the stuff Doc Savage was doing in the 1930‘s? Doc never met anyone called Pussy Galore, that‘s all…. ―FUTURE PULP‖ is my term for modern day or near future adventure of the comic book or cinematic variety. This can be anything from alien invasion, and post apocalyptic struggles, to those well developed females who steal archaeological treasures in massive quantities. My own special field of interest is the little-known banana republic of Santa Ebola, where all negative images of Latin American jungle dictatorships combine with frequent extra terrestrial intervention. I‘ve felt little need to add a lot of extra rules, since I regard all modern firearms in a general, fuzzy way as being light plastic versions of older models. It‘s not like these people hit anything, anyway. ―CHAINMAIL BIKINI‖ is my working title for a cheesy sword and sorcery variant of AT!, based—in a non-IP-infringement sort of way—on the works of Robert Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Leiber, C.L. Moore and their followers and copiers from the 1930‘s through the present day. The essence of this sort of fantastic fiction is quite distinct compared with the post-Tolkien school that has generally come to dominate the fantasy field. It‘s short on elves and dwarves, long on mighty thew‘d barbarians, barely clad dancing girls, evil sorcerers and astonishingly stilted dialogue declaimed in a sub-medieval Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
85 manner. And that‘s what‘s great about it! The real changes required to play sword and sorcery are partly in terms of having at least a framework for dealing with magic (which is mostly the purview of the bad guys) and emphasising close combat of a limb-lopping, massive-blows style rather than missile shooting. Heroes may get 2 or 3 FISTS dice rather than the usual single die. This is a project that I‘d like at some time—but not this week—to develop into a game of it‘s own, Crom willing.
A WORD ON ‚GENRE‛ That‘s a French word, and Mickey Spillane hates it. Me, I don‘t care. Noir (―nwarh‖) is also French—it means black if you didn‘t know—and stems from a school of cinema where, despite having high-faluting colour technology available, everything was shot in very stark black and white, with deep shadows; have a look at classic movies like The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity or Touch of Evil. Recently the Coen Brothers‘ work—Miller’s Crossing and The Man Who Wasn’t There—recreate the style exactly. This film noir style extends to storylines that feature tough talk, bad faith and twotiming anyone who can be two-timed. No back left un-stabbed. Sometimes there‘s a hero, a white knight on the Chandler model, sometimes everyone is mired in moral quicksand. Some people call the written stuff noir also, though everyone doing in the inter-war years just called it ―hard-boiled‖—any French they knew was from the Western front in 1918 and had to do with Mademoiselles from Armentiéres. ―Pulp‖ simply refers to the cheap pulpwood paper that popular low-end magazines were printed on up until the 1950‘s—as opposed to the ―slicks‖ that went for a more prosperous audience. Pulps were done on the cheap, with fantastic, gaudy cover art and a lot of short stories and brief novels in tiny print inside. There were all sorts of Pulp magazines— westerns, detectives, jungle adventure, gangsters, ―spicy,‖ sports, ―tales of the Orient,‖ love -story, aviation, war, ―fantastic,‖ ―shudder,‖ with names like ―Black Mask‖ and ―Dime Detective.‖ Writers like Dash Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ray Bradbury and E.E. ―Doc‖ Smith began their careers as Pulp writers—almost everyone with a typewriter in North America tried to get published in the pulps, often under many names and in different genres than you‘d expect; what‘s a baseball story by Robert E. Howard like? Is Conan at the plate yet? Will anyone collect the western stories of L. Ron Hubbard? Are there any unpublished H.P. Lovecraft ranch romances? Most Pulp writers used aliases, and many authors named on the cover were actually several different people taking turns to knock out ―The Spider‖ or ―The Shadow.‖ There‘s a British school of thrillers from the same period that have pretty much got lost under the genteel murders of Agatha Christie and the wonderful Dorothy L Sayers. Leslie Charteris‘ ―The Saint‖ was urbane, yet deadly. John Buchan (The Thirty Nine Steps) was a master of chase scenes, while towards WWII Eric Ambler began to write dark, brooding spy novels. But the popular stuff, written at amazing speed—which shows, badly—is by Edgar Wallace, Dornford Yates, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Sax Rohmer and ―Sapper.‖ It‘s more on left hooks than bullets, fast sports cars and railway carriages, and often has a nasty streak that sits badly on the polite manners of the heroes. Somehow, to modern eyes, a Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
86 tough PI in Los Angeles can get away with a mean streak of what we‘d call anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism and sexism better than a man with an Oxford education. But that‘s just the modern world looking back, and there‘s no percentage in playing critic. It‘s better to poke holes in everyone equally. As Dr Fu Manchu would tell you. And there‘s adventure stories aimed at a juvenile audience, which is sometimes deliberately stated—―Boy‘s Own Paper,‖ etc—and sometimes not. Tarzan and Doc Savage almost certainly had a younger audience than The Continental Op, and you can usually tell from the tone of the writing what‘s what. Biggles, intrepid British aviator over four or more decades, he was always the boy for me. So, what‘s all this got to do with Astounding Tales? First off, it‘s OK to paint all your figures and scenery in black and white. Just use a pearlescent white for the neon signs. That was a wise-crack. Wise-cracks are important. Though actually, it‘s not such a terrible idea. Astounding Tales! is more to do with the Private eye/jungle tales/Yellow Peril/high adventure end of this spectrum than it is to do with bug-eyed monsters from the planet Mongo. There‘s no reason why Earth should not be invaded by strange and malign creatures using these rules, but you‘ll have to work on it. I suppose you could do Robert E. Howard-style swords-and-sorcery, or wild west, or Saturday serial science fiction, but there are a lot of games out there that cover those topics. But, do what you like. READ any old Pulps you can find, in original or reprint form. There are plenty of cheap reprints of Doc Savage and the Shadow, at the very least. Look for Chandler, Hammett and a few others in the mystery aisle of your bookstore—or Buchan, Wallace or Charteris if you like the English style. Second-hand bookshops are often the best for this stuff, as it is considered dated by the publishing industry—fools!! In recent years the Fu Manchu novels have been collected in four omnibus volumes, while several anthologies of mostly crime stories have appeared (e.g. Pulp Action and A Century of Noir). Modern novels in the Pulp style vary from Barbara Hambly’s Bride of the Rat God (which has a pure Pulp plot) to Max Allan Collins superb Nathan Heller, PI series, which starts with True Crime and deals with actual people and events from the 1930‘s onwards. Tom Bradby‘s The Master of Rain is a thriller set amongst the corruption of 1925 Shanghai, as is Bartle Bull‘s The White Russian (AKA Shanghai Station). Paul Malmont‘s The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril features actual period Pulp writers in the midst of the adventure. Pulp Culture, by Frank M. Robinson and Lawrence Davidson (1998), is a big, glossy book of magazine cover art, with a fascinating linking text. It has a back cover illustration showing two Chinese assassins landing on G-8‘s biplane in mid air, which is just what we like to see. Don Hutchison, a Toronto enthusiast, wrote The Great Pulp Heroes, a survey of characters from Doc Savage and the Spider, through ―Operator 5‖ and flyer Dusty Ayres, to obscurities like Tarzan knock-off, Ki-gor. Highly recommended. Hutchison also compiled two books of Yellow Peril tales (It’s Raining Corpses in Chinatown and More Corpses) and Scarlet Riders, Canadian Mountie stories. There are, of course, all sorts of non-fiction books about gangsters, cars, weapons, Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
87 historical events and such-like. WATCH classic (good or bad) movies on Channel 109 at 4 in the morning. Go to the video store and look for anything with Cagney, Bogart or Edward G. Robinson. The Big Sleep (1946) is one of my favourite films of any genre. You‘ll probably have to seek out a specialist mail order dealer for Saturday morning serials and B-movies. More recent films that I‘d recommend are – The Indiana Jones trilogy. The ―Young Indy‖ movies were made for TV and are too darned educational for their own good, but still worth a look. Other more recent films include The Mummy, it‘s sequel, and The Scorpion King (which is hokum of the highest order), The Phantom, and The Shadow, from the 1990‘s, and 2003‘s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Mobsters, Hoodlum, Miller’s Crossing, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Chinatown, The Newton Boys are excellent period pieces. See Big Trouble in Little China for Pulp feel in the present day, and O Brother Where Art Thou? for the fun of it. Anything with zombies. WEBSITES to peek at – The Pulp Net will find pretty much anything Pulp-related. http://thepulp.net/ The Pulp Gallery is all about garish covers, like the ones on the this fine publication. http://www.tupics.com/member/pulpgallery/welcome.html. Another such site is ―Pulp Magazines‖ at http://www.mogozuzu.com/pulps.htm Jess Nevin‘s ―Pulp and Adventure Heroes of the Pre-War Years‖ will tell you all about the characters themselves. http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/pulpsintro.html FIGURES AND STUFF I use 25/28mm figures, so I know about them best. I‘m not saying you can‘t use anything else. I just can‘t comment on anything else. PULP FIGURES are the work of ace two-fisted sculptor Bob Murch. So far he has made a variety of excellent figures for his ―China Station‖ locale—US navy, tong members, German marines, Chinese warlord soldiers—plus sets of ―Sinister Spies,‖ ―Dangerous Dames,‖ gangsters, Neanderthals, adventurers, rocketeers and Pulp heroes whose names have been changed. Visit http://www.pulpfigures.com/ COPPLESTONE CASTINGS by the excellent Mark Copplestone feature three lines that you might want to look at. ―Back of Beyond‖ is mostly about Central Asia in the 1920s, with Bolsheviks, Chinese, savage archaeologists and the always-popular Yeti‘s. A new range as I write, known as High Adventure, adds things like dogsleds, Amazon explorers, bears and—wait for it—penguins. Damn, that curdles the blood! Lastly, ―Return to Darkest Africa‖ adds to the huge range he began with The Foundry. And watch for Mad Dogs With Guns written by… well, … ME (with major contributions by Roderick Robertson.) Visit http://www.gisby.org/copplestone.htm Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
88 CASTAWAY ARTS are an Australian company, who come to our notice for their excellent French Foreign Legion and opponents, and also the only known 28mm model of the Ark of the Covenant, carried by priests (although Gerry speaks of making a party of Germans in carrying poses). Visit http://www.castawayarts.com.au/ STEVE BARBER MODELS have a line of 25mm gangsters and G-men, which are a little smaller than the present style—I mount ‗em on a penny, then glue that to my usual steel washer base, to add height, like elevator shoes. They also have a range of cavemen. Visit http://www.sbarber-models.clara.net/main.html IRON WIND METALS are the current incarnation of venerable US fantasy figure maker, Ral Partha. For our purposes, look at the twenty figures of cops, gangsters and adventurers that my catalogue lists as ―DM 01-20 (miscellaneous), which are presently available at shows but not on the IWM website. RAFM are a long established Canadian company whose Call of Cthulhu range (from the sinewy hands of Bob Murch) feature not only nameless creatures from other worlds—as you‘d expect—but useful 1920s humans from cops to escaped lunatics. The character sets are usually variants on the same persona in the three stages of beginning character, experienced, and completely insane. Visit www.RAFM.com THE FOUNDRY have huge and vast ranges from ancient times to cyberpunk, but most useful for our purposes are the Darkest Africa range, Colonial India (for Pathans and Indian troops) WW2 for those pesky Nazis and—this may just be me—Trojan Wars and European Bronze Age for Atlantis and Conan types. Visit http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/ EUREKA, also from Australia, specialize in the unusual—the weird. If you want 20‘s flappers, cultists in robes (my favourites—what‘s a game without cultists?) and all sorts of mostly Victorian oddities of steam and bicycularity, this is the place to go. Visit http://www.eurekamin.com.au/ BRIGADE GAMES are the US importers for several fine lines, but are especially noteworthy for their own ranges of WWII Pulp Horror, gangsters and adventurers, as well as WWI figures and vehicles for Europe, Africa and the Middle East fronts. Uniquely, Lon Weiss offers a Pulp era ―Caribbean Empires‖ line with US Marines, Nicaraguan Rebels, Haitian zombies and Jivaro head hunters. Brigade are strong on all sorts of zombies, various experiments by Nazi scientists, and vampire-fighting nuns. Visit http://www.brigadegames.com/ OLD GLORY also have massive ranges. Probably for our purposes the WW1 range (with downed pilots of several nations!) and the deliberately Hollywood ―natives‖ from the pirate Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
89 and Africa lines are of most interest. Visit http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/ The related WEST WIND company makes an excellent range called ―Gothic Horror‖— mostly Victorian-ish—with zombies and werewolves, Yeti‘s, mummies and cultists. Visit http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/index.asp RLBPS is Bob and Ann Bowling, US dealers in British miniatures, who carry Copplestone, Steve Barber, Honourable Lead Boiler Suit and others. Good people. Visit http://www.rlbps.com/ North Bay Games and Hobbies, the finest game store in the frozen Arctic, supplies Canadians with Copplestone, West Wind, Old Glory and others. Recommended service. Visit http://www.nbgamesandhobbies.com/ In a larger scale (35mm) GRAVEN IMAGES has interesting ranges including Cliffhanger, Götterdämerung and Disturbia miniatures. The Cliffhanger line includes Emperor Ming and Flash Gordon, Mongo trooper, Officer of Ming's Guard, Frankenstein's Monster and a Large Rearing Deep One. Götterdämerung offers lots of WWII Russian and German zombies as well as an SS Officer levitating with the Spear of Destiny! Disturbia has nightmarish Nazis and several interesting figures of a voodoo persuasion. NORTH STAR's Project X range is 1/48th scale, but offers more WW II zombies and figures in power armour that, given the size of some 28mm ranges, might still fit in with the others. WARGAMES FACTORY produces multi-part hard plastic figures in 28mm size. Pulp enthusiasts will find bargain priced zombie hordes, Zulu warriors suited for all sorts of jungle warriors, Roman legionaries to garrison lost cities, and strange retro-future shock troops in suitably Germanic style. Visit www.wargamesfactory.com AUTOMOBILES for this period can be found as die cast models, ranging from very cheap to collector grade expensive. I try to compare potential purchases to a 28mm figure, since scale is often a bit questionable. While 1:64 is closest to most 28mm figures, the issue is whether it looks acceptable. I have a lot of vehicles by Lledo (―Days Gone By‖ line) which are 1:64—more vans with advertising than anything else, which I usually paint over, and some cheap toys bought second-hand. Replacing the ugly wheels with better ones (RAFM‘ll sell you a pack) and a paint job does the trick. Matchbox ―Models of Yesteryear‖ vary in scale from around 1/40th to 1/55th, and I use them as I see fit (because the boss‘s Packard ought to be big). Recently, Sloppy Jalopy has made some metal trucks in kit form in 1/48 scale, slightly over scale, but useable. AIRCRAFT are easily found in 1/48th scale plastic kits, and are often a little under scale Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
90 to fit the boxes (this is how the toy industry works). More sturdy and substantial are the die cast metal planes; I thank Dave Markley for the Grumman Goose he let me have. Occasionally die cast planes in 1/60th scale can be found. Again, scale is largely in the eye of the beholder. Toy planes from WWII are available—mostly fighters but with a P-38 that screams ―Experimental plane from 1938‖—under the brand name New Ray. These are cheap and made in what amounts to a plastic die cast style. Perhaps the least expensive alternative, but with the widest possible choice, are the beautifully designed card stock Aircraft models sold on line by Fiddler‘s Green (https:// www.fiddlersgreen.net/shop/category/name/Between+the+Wars.html). While a wide assortment from every era is offered, the ―Between the Wars‖ line is especially useful for Pulp Gaming. Models are very inexpensive, easy to assemble, and look great. Each comes in three scales, any of which can be adjusted to perfectly match your miniatures. Boats, buildings, and very much more are also available and are well worth a visit! BUILDINGS often have to be scratch built, although ―O‖ Gauge model railway items can be found that work—the doors are usually a bit massive, but otherwise they look good. I‘ve seen whole 1920‘s period American skyscrapers in this scale, which look impressive indeed. The rarer ―S‖ Gauge is ideal to use with 28mm figures, but, … well, rare. Steve Barber Models has a resin cast speakeasy over a hardware store. The largest range of selfassembly card stock Buildings for the first half of the 20th Century, ―Mean Streets,‖ and ―Mean Sets‖ (interiors), are available from The (Virtual) Armchair General. RULES So why would we discuss other sets of rules? Because there are some good ones, and it‘s not as if you were committed to one set for every game forever. There‘s not as much in the way of rules for Pulp as there is for Victorian Adventure. In the 1970's there was some interest in the fantasy end of Pulp. Royal Armies of the Hyborean Age, by Lin Carter and Scott Bizar was published by FGU in 1975. John Carter, Warlord of Mars Adventure Gaming Handbook was released by Heritage Models, Inc. in 1978 with the copyright held by ERB's estate. Primarily a miniatures rules set, it had RPG elements as well, as did SPI's 1979 board game ―John Carter. Warlord of Mars.‖ TSR's Warriors of Mars; The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature was strictly a miniatures set of rules and the first of the lot in 1974. These are, sadly, now found only in the collections of older gamers. My thanks to Joe Gepfert for this information. Chris Peers‘ Contemptible Little Armies rules for WWI have been followed by his lists and variations for 1920's Central Asia, Back of Beyond. These provide for a fairly traditional wargame between units, together with some character-oriented material. Chris knows his period very well, as always. The rules are fast, enjoyable, and fairly bloody. Savage Worlds by Pinnacle Entertainment is a broad-era set that covers everything from pure fantasy to two-fisted adventure. I‘ve not played them, but what I have seen looks good. Rugged Adventures, available as a download from the Pulp Figures website, is an in-development set from Bob Murch and Kurt Hummitzsch. I‘ve played with the designers a number of times, and recommend it for fast-paced action with a number of units per Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
91 player. Their "China Station" games are a marvel to behold and play in. To Be Continued… By G.A.S.L.IG.H.T. is from the creators of the popular G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T, and requires those rules. Oriented towards creating an ongoing 12episode serial, the writers, Chris Palmer and Buck Surdu, show an evident love for the B-movie genre. .45 Adventure by Rich Johnson of Rattrap Productions is a fairly detailed set of small -scale skirmish rules supported by Rich‘s enormous enthusiasm. The basic rules have been followed up by two supplements so far (Dragon Bones and Amazing War Stories) and a growing range of character figures. Thumbs up! ―What‘s the difference between ‗Pulp‘ and ‗High Adventure?‘‖ Pulp wears a sharp snap-brim fedora. High Adventure wears a battered fedora.
20¢
―Why are there no points values in Astounding Tales!?‖ Points values are for sissies. But, I have put in some prices in good old greenbacks so you can buy a machine gun, or balance twenty eight pygmies against a twofisted pilot with a joke on his lips.
―What about tournaments? Competitions? Championships? ― Tournaments are for lawyers and accountants. „Scuse me while I spit.
―Do you really think that a Thompson sub-machine gun should count the same as the Bergmann MP 1918 Machine Pistol?‖ I don‟t really think about it at all.
―You don‘t put much emphasis on sizes of units, either. Why is that?‖ Two Packards pull up, each with a driver and three gunsels. That‟s eight men, if you park the cars, six if you don‟t. But maybe they have friends out there in the dark city—friends who might show up at any time. And how many head-hunters are out there in the jungle as our expedition advances along the creeper-infested trail? And how many zombies arise from the graveyard as the moon eerily shines across the stones and crosses? Ya got me. Only the Director can tell, and only then as the plot demands. You don‟t want your ace detective and his Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
92 dangerous dame bumped off by a swarm of bees/rats/Bolsheviki/honest-yet -un-dead citizens of Smalltown, USA simply because you put out too many of them, do you?
―My Character shot at a figure that popped out from cover just a few feet away. So that should have been roll vs. GATS, right? But the Director said that the target was in shadow (-1), that he‘d just appeared (-1) and that he was giving an extra –1 because the figure had the face of my dead brother and I was shocked at that. Is that right?‖ Don‟t get on your high-horse, Mr Smarty-pants. He’s the Director this time round. You‟ll get him when you take the chair and the oh-sopretentious beret he was wearing. Still, I think he has a nerve assuming your aim‟d be off when you saw the face of your long-deceased brother. How‟d he know even if you liked your brother?
―If a figure is tied ‗properly,‘ how long does it take for him to escape (Bound & Gagged, pg. 45), assuming that ‗tying a victim properly‘ uses ropes, as opposed to handcuffs?‖ They don't. That's if they aren't genuine heroes. In that case I'd say that after an hour's hard work they can escape on a STUNTS roll. Fail three times (one per hour) and it's clear that it's not going to happen ….
―GATS modifiers—are these cumulative? Or do I simply take the worst situation listed in that row (Shooting, pg. 36)? E.g. if I am running, and my target is flying, am I at -2 or -4?‖ It's cumulative. The example below the modifier list shows how it works.
―Once you choose your Fighting Style, how long does it last (Close Combat, pg. 39)? It says you can't change it for the same battle. Is a ‗battle‘ one scene? Or is a ‗battle‘ one close combat fight with another figure?‖ Good question! I think it should mean that if you start out simply punching people—as one does in a bar fight—you can't suddenly start trying to kill them. So, it's for the whole scene unless the bad guys (being bad guys) start cheating and trying to really hurt our heroes. Does that make sense?
―In ‗Serious Business‘ (pg. 41), under result 6, it says ‗Again, rolling more than your HITS score means you are killed." What rolling again is this talking about?‖ It means that if you don't have four hits left, you are dead when you get this result. My use of "Again" before the word "rolling" may have led you to think there was another roll— sorry! (Author‟s Note to self: Absinthe only after the day‟s writing.)
―What is a Penguin's STUNT value (Dangerous Creatures, pg. 61)? It is missing from the chart. For the record, I merely noticed the blank space.‖ Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
93 I had to look this up in my original manuscript. It's '2.‟ We'll blame Patrick for that one! (Editor‟s note to self:
Opium now before breakfast, and before work.)
―What were you drinking when you thought up all this stuff?‖ Don‟t rightly recall.
Pour me another one.
Oh, and if you want to ask more damn fool questions, share your own ideas, or just join the hub-bub of discussion and snappy repartee, visit the Official Astounding Tales! Yahoo! Group at http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/astounding-tales/ and tell them you want to see man about a black bird….
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Scott “Wolf” Larson Robert “The Shiv” Minadeo Chris “The Razor” Vaughn James “Jungle Jim” Stuht Patrick “Ripping Yarns” Connor Joseph “Joey The Juice” McGuire Richard “Dick The Ink” Brooks (Editor The Heliograph, Savage & Soldier) Matt “The Mongoose” Kelland James “The Mouser” Ferich James “Old Blighty” Cockburn Stacy & Michael “Ham & Eggs” Weaver Charles “Ol’ Heathen” Decker Allan “The Deer Hunter” Finney Glenn “The Goodies” Bianchi David “The Iron Mammoth” Drage Jeff “The Warsaw Strangler” Wasileski Jamie “The Gent” Mathews Ross “Check’s In The Mail” Maker Rupert “Mystery Street” Cullum
David “The Producer” Merrick John “Stool Pigeon” Kantor Joseph “The Joeverfiend” Gepfert Chuck “The Sleeper” Couch Tom “The Tolono Terror” Reed Mitch “The Pitch” Mitchell Otto “The Enforcer” Schmidt David “Mad” Musser Bill “Gunga Din” Johnson Jeff “Last Stand” Baumel John “The OFM” Carroll Mike “The Flyer” Fliger Clif “Crusader” Castle Randy “The Snipe” Giesick Steve “Dum-Dums” Moeller Bob “No Hoper” Hart Niels “The Dane” Kragh Matthew ”The Kid” Slade David “Never Forgets” MacRae Randy “Genghis” Fung
Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Feeling Dissatisfied? Empty Headed? Suffering From “Irregular Gaming?” Then Read
Astounding Adventures Magazine!
Have you played the Scenarios in AT2 so many times you don’t need to roll the dice—you already know the outcomes of all 2.7 Zillion permutations? Are you sicker of the same Characters than you are of two week-old post Thanksgiving turkey? Do you find yourself uninspired, out of sorts, and that one eye is getting unaccountably bigger than the other? Then you need the fast, fast, fast relief that can be found only in the pages of “AA!” In every issue are whole new, ready-to-play Scenarios, full of pulpy goodness, written by a host of certifiables from around the world who live to write this stuff! Every issue contains new ideas, characters, and even new rules to keep your Astounding Tales! as exciting and inspiring as that first jolt of absinthe at breakfast! Scenarios include pre-generated Character lists, suggestions for miniatures to use, sets to make, resources, and even full color maps. Laid out in Pulp Magazine form, each issue also comes with period advertising (though some may worth a closer examination), full color covers and period art, freely looted and combined from the archives, and rules “patches” that allow use of the same Scenarios by players of “.45 Adventure,” “To Be Continued... by GASLIGHT,” and “Rugged Adventures.” And every issue comes fully inspected and approved by AT2 author Howard Whitehouse, himself. So don’t be just another pretty face, be a Director bringing intrigue, plot, action and thrills to your regular AT2 gaming group, old friends, or just your fellow inmates at the Asylum. And, remember that new authors are actively invited to submit their own Scenarios for possible publication in subsequent Issues. Fame, honors, and the attention of Super-Models await! So, when you’re starved for new ideas and inspiration, don’t forget
Astounding Adventures Magazine Issues #1 and #2, plus future supplements, are all available from www.thevirtualarmchairgeneral.com No Subscriptions, No Publishing Schedule! (Just printed when we need the money!) Each Print Edition of Astounding Adventures! Is priced at $20.00, All PDF Editions on CD: $15.00 each. Domestic Postage: $7.00 Overseas, Canada & Mexico: $14.00 Buy AA#1 along with AA#2 as PDF’s at the same time and subtract $5.00 from total cost! PDF Editions without CD directly from TVAG via E-mail are postage free. (Postage charges for PDF E-Mail Editions added by TVAG’s Shopping Cart are fully Refunded) And while waiting in your Fortress of Solitude for your books to arrive, activate your Difference Machine and visit us at http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/astounding-tales/ To learn the latest developments, and share your own adventures!
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Available From TVAG Publishing! SCIENCE VERSUS PLUCK, or ―TOO MUCH FOR THE MAHDI‖ The Sudan Campaigns 1881-99: A Victorian Wargame By Howard Whitehouse, Esq. At last, after almost 20 years, the long anticipated Second Edition of this classic Wargame is ready to order from TVAG—and it has never looked better! Professionally printed in two volumes, an Umpire’s Manual and an Officer’s Manual, each measuring 8.5‖ x 11‖, with full color covers and spiral bound, SvP comes complete with 4 card stock ―Cheat Sheets‖ and a page of full color printed game markers. But not only are the rules in the best physical form yet, so are the contents! With many major and minor changes and improvements, SvP shows the benefit of years of play testing and continuing development by the Author. Together, both volumes total over 150 pages of rules, tables, and period illustrations, with extensive historical background information, timeline, and more. The Umpire’s Manual contains the complete rules, plus Designer‘s Notes explaining ―The Gentle Art of Umpiring‖ and with tips on ―Free Kriegspiel‖ to make even new players at home with the innovative procedures and something of the ―spirit‖ of the game. There is also an extensive example of play illustrating the Battle of Abu Klea, plus sections on Uniform information for painters, and complete organizational data for all Mahdist forces and their British/Egyptian opponents. The Officer’s Manual contains only those portions of the actual rules that Players will need to command, plus the actual writings by many of the famous Soldiers who fought there giving their advice on how to ―Fight the Fuzzy-Wuzzy!‖ Science vs Pluck is available at choice Conventions from RLBPS, and directly from TVAG in its Print Edition for $35.00, plus U.S. Domestic Postage of $7.00, $10.00 to Canada and Mexico, and $14.00 for Overseas via Global Priority Mail. The rules are also available as PDF‘s on CD for self-printing at $15.00, plus $6.00 Postage (Domestic), and $8 (Overseas), or Postage free if requested by direct E-mail to the buyer. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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The perfect accessory for Pulp Gaming—your own city! Recently redesigned and improved in many ways, Mean Streets is still growing and will soon fill an entire 8‘ x 5‘ table top without a single repetition. Designed for 28mm figures and proper scale trucks and autos, there is enough here to keep your Characters jumping from one adventure to another indefinitely. Each of the 17 current different Mean Streets Sets is a 10‖ square, full color card stock model for self assembly which combined with others will make a Full Block 47" long and 14" wide. The line is complete with the eponymous Streets, Alleys, and Sidewalks in a wide variety of styles using photographic textures. A collection of authentic period advertising, recruiting, political, movie, burlesque, and other posters and more, from 1920 to 1950 are also available. Mean Streets may be bought in printed form at $15.00 to $20.00 each, with accessory sets from $2.00 to $12.00. PDF‘s of all are available from $10.00 to as little as $1.00 and sold on CD for self printing, or delivered by E-mail to save postage. Special discounted Sets of Buildings, Streets, Sidewalks and Alleys are available to create approximately 30‖ x 30‖ playing areas, just the ticket for an evening‘s Bank robbery, ―Untouchables‖ style Warehouse raid, or just a little rub-out between friends. For full details and many more photos, please visit the Mean Streets pages at TVAG. Second Edition Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
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From the outside to the inside, Mean Sets completes the 28mm environment for Pulp Fiction gaming. Inexpensive but highly practical room and building interiors for Gangster/Detective, Horror, and ―Pulp‖ roleplaying games from TVAG. Each Mean Set is a full color, card stock model for self assembly and is modeled after the classic Hollywood movie "sets"-rooms without ceilings and one or more walls so that figures may be easily moved and players can actually see the action at eye-level! Extra features include a mix of printed rugs, tile and hardwood floors, period art, posters, advertising, and self-assembly furniture. Fifteen Sets include The Private Investigator‘s (P.I.‘s) Office, The Cheap Hotel, The Italian Restaurant, The Garage, the Speakeasy/Bar, the P.I.‘s Apartment, The Illegal Brewery, The Small Town Bank, Night Club, Casino, Warehouse, Drug Store/Barber Shop, The Old Farm House, and the Big Shot‘s Entry Hall, as well as a Set of ―build-it-yourself‖ furniture in card stock. Many more designs are in the works, from a sunken wrecked Freighter, to a Haunted House, Egyptian Tomb, and even a Zeppelin! Mean Sets may be bought in printed form at $12.00 to $18.00 each, or as PDF‘s for just $10.00 each, no matter what size. Available on CD for self printing, or delivered by E-mail, to save postage. For full details and many more photos, please visit the Mean Streets pages at TVAG.
Astounding Tales! Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
ASTOUNDING TALES! 2nd Edition Quick Reference Sheet Decide sequence of play as The Director orders. Each figure gets two Actions per turn. MOVEMENT: Lose ½ for crossing rough ground or major obstacles (detected by passing SMARTS). “Legs” Creeping— 2” (opponents must pass SMARTS to detect; modify for darkness, etc.) Walking— 4” (can shoot) Running— 4” + 1 D6 (can shoot)
“Wheels” Cruising: All vehicles can move 10” per Action, slower if necessary. Corners and curves reduce speed by 1 D6”. Speeding: Move 5 D6”, corners and curves slow it by the highest D6” of the roll. Corners count as 2 Hazards, curves as 1. Racing: Move 7 D6”, corners and curves slow it by the two highest D6”. Corners count as 4 Hazards, curves as 2. )
“Horseback”—Walk– 6”, Trot– 9” (lose 1 D6” on rough ground), Gallop-12” (not over rough ground) FISTS (Man-To-Man Combat) Match figures one-on-one. Attacker can add extra figures to outnumber an opponent where possible with up to 4-1 odds. Attacker strikes first, and rolls vs FISTS. If he succeeds, opponent rolls vs FISTS to parry (a roll of 5 or 6 is always a hit). If attacker misses, opponent (not Supporting Cast) strikes back immediately. Supporting Cast are out of the game if they fail their “To parry” FISTS roll. Supporting Cast fighting one another simply roll vs FISTS to hit en mass, and roll saves vs FISTS en masse. PASS=Dodge the blow. FAIL=Hit! Roll 1 D6 per success and check the appropriate table below. Brawling Modifiers +1 to FISTS for Brawling Weapons (brass knucks, ball bat, iron pipe, bottle, etc), +1 to FISTS for anyone with a positional advantage, such as being higher up or behind a wall, etc.
D6 Roll 1, 2 3. 4 5 6
Brawling Table
Result Effect Ouch! “You’ll pay for that, Buddy!” (No real effect) Knocked Down Lose 1 HITS, 1 FISTS—Get up and fight next turn Decked! Down for all of next turn, get up the turn after. Lose 2 FISTS & 2 HITS Knocked Cold! Lose 3 FISTS, 3 HITS, and wake up in Jail/Hospital/Alley next day.
“Serious Business” Modifiers +1 to FISTS for long bladed weapons (fixed bayonets, swords, spears, etc) in first round against opponents without them. If they survive, it’s an even fight after that. +1 to FISTS for anyone with a positional advantage, such as being higher up or behind a wall, etc.
D6 Roll 1 2, 3 4, 5
Result Scratched Light Wound Serious Wound
6
Critical Wound (“If you ain’t dead, you’re damned lucky!”)
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
“Serious Business” Table Effect Got a blood stain on your hand painted silk tie (no effect) Lose 1 HITS and 1 FISTS Lose 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, and 1 GATS Lose 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, & 2 GUTS. Move at 1/2 speed if you have 2 HITS left, otherwise you are prone on the pavement. Again, rolling more than your HITS score means you are killed – or at least badly hurt (“If he’s not in action, he’s in traction”).
WEAPONS DATA WEAPON
RANGES Short Long
WEAPONS DATA
# Of Dice Per Shot
SPECIAL MODIFIERS
WEAPON
RANGES Shor t
Long
# Of Dice Per Shot
SPECIAL MODIFIERS
Pistol
8”
24”
1
None
BAR*
12”
48”
5
-2 to GATS, -1 if on Bipod
Pistol (blazing way)
4”
12”
3
-2 to GATS at more than 3”*
12”
48”
9
-3 to GATS (-1 if on Tripod)
Broom Handle Mauser
4”
12”
4
-2 to GATS at more than 3”*
Light Machine Gun*
12”
48”
15
Shotgun
6”
18”
3 per barrel
-1 to GATS at more than 3”*
Heavy Machine Gun*
-4 to GATS (no modifier on Tripod)
Grenade
3”
12”
—
See Special Weapons Rules
Tommy Gun
8”
24”
6
-2 to GATS at more than 3”*
Carbine
12”
36”
1
None
Bow
8”
12”
1
Arrows may be poisoned
Rifle
12”
48”
1
None
Javelin/Rock/etc
4”
12”
1
None
* Inaccurate, but scary. If you miss, but still roll equal to or less than your basic GATS, the target must react as if hit but not wounded—ducking for cover, hitting the dirt—and recovers next turn, missing one Action. Jams: Any Auto-
matic Weapon that scores more “6’s” than “1’s” and “2’s”in one burst Jams. Roll of 1-3 in the next turn clears it. If twice as many “6’s rolled as “1’s” and “2’s,” it’s Jammed for the rest of the Action.
SHOOTING: One shot per Action. Roll against MODIFIED GATS. If the D6 is less than or equal to the modified GATS, there’s a chance for a hit. If GATS falls to “0,” roll for a “1,” allowing another roll each vs original
Shooting Modifiers
Aimed Fire (took a full Action first) for single pistol, rifle, carbine, and bows ONLY Firing while moving / long range / poor light / target in light cover or lying down Firing while running / bad light / hard cover/ shooter drunk / running or flying target 1 2,3 4 5 6
Try Harder! Near Miss! Light Wound Wound Blam!
+1 to GATS -1 to GATS -2 to GATS
“Lead Poisoning” Table
He’s fine, likes to be shot at. Laughs in the teeth of danger. No Effect. Take an action on his next turn to recover. Test GUTS. Lose 1 HITS, 1 FISTS. Hit the deck. Recover on next action. Lose 2 HITS, 2 FISTS, 1 GATS. Take a dive. Recover on next 2 actions. Lose 4 HITS, 3 FISTS, 2 GATS, 2 GUTS. Move at 1/2 speed if you have 2 HITS left, otherwise you are prone on the pavement. Optional Powerful Target Rule: Roll 1 D6: 5,6=Automatic Kill.
“Lead Poisoning” Table Modifiers Bows and small guns (.22’s, etc), but natural rolls of “6” always count as listed Aimed shot w/pistol, rifle, carbine or shotgun Shotguns at short range, large calibre rifles, or heavy machine guns (etc) at any range
-1 +1 +2
GATS to confirm the hit. Below “0,” no chance of a hit. Pass
No Problem. Carry on.
Fail
Nervous: Can’t move forward, drop back to any cover within 3”. Deduct –2 from all ratings until you “Get a grip, Man.” Maybe. Terrified: Run screaming from the scene. Females may resort to fainting
Fail by 3+ points
GUTS: Test vs GUTS when wounded, when a friend is hit, when Director says so. GET A GRIP! Those that have failed a GUTS test can try to regain their manhood by testing vs GUTS –2. Takes one action. PASS=Return to usual GUTS. One try only. FAIL=You leave for good. INTERRUPTS/DO OVER Once per Scene at Director’s discretion (may allow “wait in ambush,” etc).
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
Iván de la Osa Navarro (order #6361768)
