Credits

Writing: Chris Halliday, Christopher Helton, Jonathan Nichols and Jonathan M. Thompson
Additional Development: John Snead, DM Elliot, Anna Dobritt, Stephen J. Miller, Ramsey Lundock,
Neale Davidson, José Porfírio, Timothy Brannon, Eric Pavlat, J. Thomas Pavlat and Luke Green
Proofreading: T. R. Knight
Graphic Design, Typography and Digitial Pre-Press: Richard Iorio II
Playtesters: Jonathan M. Thompson, Adam R. Thompson, Terrece Thompson, Clay Weeks, Chris-
topher Helton, Ramsey Lundock, Mark Vorwerk and José Porfírio
Cover Art: Robert Hack
Nemo Diary by Shawn Hilton

Pulp Fantastic Copyright © 2015 Christopher Helton and Jonathan M. Thompson. Pulp Fantastic is published by Battlefield Press,
Inc., PO Box 861 Ringgold, Louisiana 71068 First printing. ISBN 0-9721419-8-7. Game system based on Doctor Who: Adventures in Time
and Space, DESIGNED AND WRITTEN by David F. Chapman. Copyright © 2009 by Cubicle 7. Fantastic Universe, Pulp Fantastic, Fan-
tastic World, Steel and Swords, Savage Adventures and Mystic East are all Trademarks of Christopher Helton and Jonathan M.
Thompson. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be duplicated without permission of the publisher or the copyright holder.
Errata and other feedback can be sent to [email protected]. Attention: The bearer of this PDF has the permission of the
publisher and the copyright owners to have one (1) copy printed for personal use via any commercial printer. If you are a clerk in a
copy print center and you are reading this notices please do not treat our customers or yours as if they were a criminal — print this
file. We are allowing it and you should also.
FA N TA S T I C
Introduction 11 Fighting 40
What is Pulp Fantastic? 11 Knowledge 40
What’s a Role-playing Game? 12 Marksman 40
The Basics 12 Medicine 42
How To Use This Book 12 Science 42
Playing the Game 12 Subterfuge 42
PULP! 13 Survival 42
Chapter 1 27 Technology 42
Characters 27 Transport 43
Attributes 27 Traits 43
Skills 27 Affecting your Character 43
Traits 27 Buying Traits 43
Story Points 28 Traits List 44
Rules 28 List of Traits in order 44
A Note On Dice 28 Good Traits 44
Setting 29 Bad Traits 44
Example of Play 29 Special Traits 45
Chapter 2 33 Psychic Traits 45
Creating a Group 33 Creature Traits 45
The Premise 33 Good Traits 46
Who are the Characters? 33 Bad Traits 52
Who’s the Supporting Cast? 35 Special Traits 57
What Resources Do You Have? 35 Psychic Traits 59
Who Opposes You? 35 Story Points 62
Connect It All Up 36 Finishing Touches 62
Creating your Character 36 Name 62
Attributes 36 Background 62
The Six Attributes 36 Connections 62
Awareness 36 Appearance 62
Coordination 37 Equipment 62
Ingenuity 37 Personal Goals 62
Presence 37 Groups & Bases 62
Resolve 37 Story Point Traits 63
Strength 37 Good Group Traits 63
Skills 38 Bad Group Traits 65
Areas of Expertise 38 Chapter 3 67
Trappings 38 The Colonial World 67
Assigning Skill Points 38 Travel in the Colonies 67
Skills List 39 Regions of the Era 67
Animal Handling 39 The United States 67
Athletics 39 England and Europe 68
Convince 40 North America 73
Craft 40 South and Central America 74
 Africa 76 Chapter 5 99
Asia 78 Division 4 99
Australia 81 French Foreign Legion 100
Antarctica 81 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 100
Chapter 4 83 The Invisible College 100
Interesting Times 83 Knights of the Round Table 101
The Great War 83 MI7 102
The Roaring 20’s 83 The Air Cavalry 103
Timeline 1901 – 1939 84 Pinkerton Detective Agency 103
1901 84 Scotland Yard 104
1902 84 International Criminal Police Organization 105
1903 85 Red Headed League 105
1904 85 The Tong of 106
1905 85 the Black Scorpion 106
1906 85 The Tsang-Chan 106
1907 85 The Mafia 107
1908 86 The Nazis 108
1909 86 The Gestapo 110
1910 86 The SS 110
1911 86 The Ahnenerbe 111
1912 87 The Mara Brotherhood 111
1913 87 Chapter 6 113
1914 87 Why Roleplay? 113
1915 88 Why Use Rules? 113
1916 88 Rules are meant to be broken 113
1917 88 Don’t Cheat 113
1918 88 Creating Your Character 114
1919 89 Playing Your Character 114
1920 89 Advanced Techniques 114
1921 89 Research & Investigation 114
1922 89 Action 115
1923 89 Working as a group 115
1924 89 Character Plots 115
1925 90 Downtime 115
1926 90 Conspiracies 116
1927 90 Chapter 7 117
1928 91 The Basic Rule 117
1930 91 Unskilled Attempts 118
1931 92 How a roll works 118
1932 92 Intent 118
1933 94 Difficulty 119
1934 94 How well have you done? 120
1935 94 Cooperation 120
1936 95 Taking Time 121
1937 95 Contested Rolls 122
1938 96 Complications 122
1939 96 Multiple Opponents 122
Combat & Extended Conflicts 123
 Intent 123 Skills 138
Action Phases 123 Traits 138
Exceptions 123 Story Points 138
Characters roll and perform their actions 123 Leaving the Game 138
Reactions - Resisting the roll 123 Getting Killed 138
Ongoing Reactions 124 Forced to Leave 138
Combat Complications 124 Choosing to Leave 138
Getting Hit 126 Chapter 8 139
Chases 126 Trappings vs Group Traits 139
Terrain 127 Obtaining Equipment 139
Pursuit! 127 General Equipment 139
Combat in Chases 127 Equipment That’s Not Listed 140
Doing Something Crazy 127 You Have It Until You Need It… 140
Cooperating in a Chase 127 Improvising Equipment 140
Losing a Physical Conflict: Getting Hurt 128 Weapons 141
Levels of Injury 128 Guns 141
Fighting Damage 129 Pistols 141
Marksman Damage 129 Shotguns and Rifles 143
Other Sources of Injury 130 Machine guns 143
Mental or Social Conflicts 133 Sub-machine Guns 144
Bluffing & Deception 133 Beam Weapons 144
Arguments 133 Sniper Rifles 144
Getting scared 133 Telescopic Sight 145
Losing a Mental or Social Conflict 134 Other Ranged Weapons 145
Loss of Attributes 134 Melee Weapons 146
Temporary Bad Trait 134 Explosives 146
Forced To Comply 134 Armor 147
Healing 134 Lifestyle 148
Natural Healing 134 Vehicles 149
Medic! 134 Attributes 149
Multiple Injuries and Reduced Attributes 134 Traits 149
Story Points 135 Sample Vehicles 149
Clues 136 Motorcycles 149
Bonus Dice 136 Cars 150
Avoiding Failure 136 Military Vehicles 150
Ignore Damage 136 Airplanes 150
Ignoring Bad Traits 136 Zeppelins 152
Inspiring Others 136 Technology Levels 152
Altering the Plot 136 TL 1: Stone Age 152
Gaining Story Points 137 TL 2: Bronze/Iron Age – Middle Ages 152
Good Role-playing 137 TL 3: Age of Reason 153
Embracing Bad Traits 137 TL 4: Industrial Age 153
Completing Goals 137 TL 5: Space Faring/Information Age 153
Accepting Plot Twists 137 TL 6: Star Faring Age 154
Helping Out 137 Purchasing Items of Lower or Higher Technology
Maximum Story Points 137 Level 154
Learning and Improvement 137 Chapter 9 155
Attributes 138 Owning a Invention 155
 Creating Inventions 156 Bringing the Game to Life 167
Behold! I call it the… 156 Playing Non-Player Characters 168
Building Inventions 156 Atmosphere 168
Invention Traits 157 Experience and Gain 168
Augment 157 The Gamesmaster Is Always Right 169
Bulky 157 Players 169
Control 158 Chapter 11 171
Convert 158 Building a Better Villain 171
Delete 158 Motive 171
Detect 158 The Patriot 171
Disable 158 The Thrill-Seeker 171
Feedback 158 The Quester 171
Force-field 158 The Empire-Builder 172
Fragile 158 The Glory Hunter 172
Hungry 158 Just Plain Bad 172
Innocuous 159 Villain Archetypes 172
One Shot 159 The Foreign Mastermind 172
Open/Close 159 Siwang Lung – The Death Dragon 173
Restriction 159 The Mad Scientist 175
Scan 159 Doktor Todeskopf 176
Simple Controls 159 Radium Man 178
Simple Mechanism 159 The Cult Leader 178
Slow 159 The Black Lama 178
Transmit 160 The Anti-Villain 180
Travel 160 The Pulp Nazi 180
Unreliable 160 The Corrupt Corporate 181
Weld 160 Rex Monday 181
Zap 160 The Dragon Lady 183
Invention Story Points 160 Du Kai Hua – Poison Blossom 183
Some Example Inventions 160 The Baroness 183
Gas Gun 160 Baroness Veronique Devereaux 183
Hypno-Disc 160 The Masked Terror 184
Rocket Pack 160 The Crimson Claw 184
Sub-Etheric Electrosender 161 The Master Spy 185
Chapter 10 163 The Great Dictator 186
Storyteller 163 General Vladic Kazan, Premier of Berezkia 186
Director 163 The Mob Boss 187
Referee 163 Bruno Sposato 187
What do you need to play? 164 The Man-Made Monster 188
Basic Gamemastering 164 Die Schreck 189
Taking Charge 164 The Mangler 190
Be Prepared! 165 The Hoxton Creeper 190
Make The Players Do The Work 165 Chapter 12 193
Relax & Have Fun 165 Creature Rules 193
Hints & Tips 165 Size 193
Rules & When To Bend Them 165 Speed 194
Death is not the end… 166 Creature Skills 194
What To Do When Players Are Absent 167 Athletics 194
 Fighting 194 Trample 203
Marksman 194 Warning 203
Subterfuge 194 Chapter 13 205
Survival 194 Animals 205
Creature Creation 195 Alligator 205
Traits 195 Bat 206
Additional Limbs* 196 Bear 206
Aggressive 196 Big Cat 206
Amphibious 196 Bird, Large 206
Armor 196 Boar (Wild Pig) 207
Aquatic 196 Chimpanzee 207
Bite 196 Gorilla 207
Burrowing 196 Monitor Lizard 207
Claw 197 Octopus 208
Constrict 197 Rat 208
Climbing 197 Scorpion 208
Enhanced Senses 197 Shark 209
Environmental 197 Snake, Constrictor 209
Fast-Moving 197 Snake, Venomous 209
Fear Factor* 197 Wolf 209
Flight 198 Cryptids 210
Frenzy 198 Ape, Giant 210
Grab 198 Ape Man 210
Immaterial 198 Kraken 210
Immortal 198 Stinging Bell Plant 211
Immunity* 199 Mongolian Death Worm 212
Infection 199 Spider, Giant 212
Invisible 199 Spider, Monstrous 213
Leap 200 Vampire Bat, Giant 213
Lurker 200 White Ape 214
Natural Weapons 200 Yeti 214
Networked 200 Meh-Teh 214
Nocturnal 200 Migoi 215
Passive 200 Fantastic Creatures 215
Poison 200 Eldritch Abomination 215
Possess 201 Minor Eldritch Abomination 216
Replication 201 Martian 217
Savage Roar 201 Martian War Machine 218
Screamer! 202 Undead 218
Shapeshift 202 Mummy 218
Slow-Moving 202 Skeleton 219
Snap 202 Vampire 219
Special 202 New Vampire 219
Stalker 202 Master Vampire 220
Stinger 202 Werewolf 220
Stomp 202 Zombie 221
Strange Appearance 203 The Enslaved Dead 221
Teleport 203 The Hungry Dead 222
 Dinosaurs 222 Grease Monkey 244
Pterosaur 222 Gumshoe 245
Raptor 223 Jungle King 245
Tyrannosaur 224 Law Enforcer 246
Chapter 14 225 Mob Moll 246
The Black Tie Affair 225 Martial Artist 247
Robin and His Unmerry Men 225 Masked Avenger 247
Merry Men 226 Mystic 248
Robin Hood 226 Mystery Man 248
Aftermath 226 News Hound 249
Lady Lilliamont 227 Operator 250
Mr Haberdrant of 227 Personality 250
22 Arcadia Avenue 227 Relic Hunter 251
Mr. Haberdrant 228 Rocket Man 251
Underground Auction 228 Science Hero 252
Thug 229 Scientist 252
Light Lance 230 Sea Dog 253
Aftermath 231 Soldier 253
All Seeing Eye 231 Weird Inventor 254
Bibliography 233
References 233
Movies and TV 233
Comics 234
The Genre 234
The Pulp Magazines 234
Reprints 234
Crimefighting/Superhero 234
Aviation/War 235
Horror/Weird Menace 235
Spy/Espionage 235
Adventure/Exploration 235
Detective Stories 235
Science Fiction 236
General 236
Comtemporary Pulp 236
The Era 236
Places 236
Appendix 239
Academic 239
Air Ace 240
Big Game Hunter 240
Brawler 241
Escape Artist 241
Explorer 242
Femme Fatale 242
Gangster 243
Gentleman Crook 243
G-Man 244
 Introduction

T
he characters in a pulp fantastic campaign are of millions of readers, the magazines provided a financial
like the heroes from the pulp magazines of long ago. foothold for numerous writers who went on to create
They let the Players be faster, stronger and smarter, stories and books that are the great works that the pulps
in a by-gone era where truth and justice could change the were (for the most part) not.
world for the better, even if only on a smaller scale.
Ray Bradbury, Max Brand, Jack London, Sinclair Lewis,
They are the technological knights who sweep from the Stephen Crane, H.P. Lovecraft, Walter Gibson, Lester Dent
tops of their gleaming high-technology towers with their — the list of writers whose works appeared in the pulps
wonders from the world of tomorrow. They are the shadowy is long. The list of styles and genres that flourished in
avengers who step out of the darkness of back alleys to those magazines is just as long, they promised fantastic
strike against the criminals who are choking their city. fantasy and thrilling thrillers: from the whodunnit to the
They are the garishly dressed masked mystery men who horror story, from the Wild West to the moons of Mars,
use the loudness of their anonymity to work against the the pulps helped establish science fiction and fantasy in
forces of evil. They are the heroes of pulp fantastic. the literary experience of the early 20th Century.
Back in the Pulp Era, the lines between those who were heroes The pulp publishers were in it, of course, for the money
and those who were villains were clearly demarcated in the (some things never change). Fortunes flowed from the
stark contrast of black and white. The heroes were giants in promises of the sensational and the sleazy. With literally
their world, towering over even the colossal skyscrapers going hundreds of competitors on the news-stands, the publish-
up in the gleaming metropolis that they would safeguard. ers constantly searched for the type of story that would
sell. And, in the 1930s, they struck gold with tales of
In the chapters that follow you will find the rules that are
modern knights battling evil —the tales that provided the
the backbone of character creation in pulp fantastic.
fodder for pulp fantastic.
But, these rules are only a part of the process of creating
characters. Pulp heroes are stories, modern day mythol- The publishers could hardly help but notice that their
ogies that reflected the time period in which they were largest-selling issues were ones featuring heroes — or
created, as well as amplifying that world. Those stories villains — familiar to their audience, main characters
should be the most important element of the character developed in earlier editions. From that formula, it was a
creation process, and those stories should take precedence short alley-vault to continuing series based upon the daring
over the rules. The rules of character creation should help exploits of a Pulp hero. And it is the exploits of the hero
to simulate the stories of the character, stories yet to be that pulp fantastic and almost all other rpgs are
told, not limit them. influenced by.
If at times pulp fantastic sounds too corny to be true, The first of these pulp heroes was The Shadow; the nemesis
remember this: The pulp heroes that inspire this game of the night, born from the runaway typewriter of Walter
were not life-sized characters when they were created in Gibson in the early 1930s. The pulp business was no more
the 1930s, and the decades have done little to make them imaginative then than television or Hollywood is today;
appear any more realistic. They were larger than life colossi soon, a host of heroes was spawned to capitalize on the
who stood astride the mighty metropolitan cities in which success of The Shadow, from The Spider and The Octopus
they were based, while their adventures spanned the to Doc Savage and countless others.
globe…and sometimes beneath the Earth’s surface or far
into outer space. These mythic figures were never intend-
ed to reflect their contemporary world. What is Pulp Fantastic?
The pulp heroes were the last burst of those mass-pro- Well, that is an easy answer. It is an alternate history set
duced, formula-fiction factories known as the pulp mag- during what was called the “pulp era,” or the period in
azines. Born about the turn of the century, the pulps — they history existing between the wars. This game is designed
took their name from the inexpensive paper on which to emulate the adventure stories from that period, this
they originally were printed — were usually of suspect also includes radio dramas and modern movies set in the
literary quality, but besides inflaming the imaginations period.
 Pulp Fantastic

What’s a Role-playing Game? How To Use This Book

You’re probably familiar with computer role-playing The first part of this book (once you get past this introduc-
games, where you play a character in some fantasy setting. tion) is all about set-up – how to come up with a framework
You wander around doing quests, levelling up, talking to for your group, and how to roll up your individual char-
other characters and getting new gear. Tabletop role-play- acters. A framework explains why all your characters are
ing games are similar, but there’s one key difference. working together, and what it is they’re trying to achieve
Instead of a computer running the game, there’s a human as a group. Are they fearless explorers of the unknown,
Gamemaster – and that changes everything. uncovering the secret history of mankind? Are they the
SETUP

agents of a reclusive millionaire, searching for the secret

Instead of being limited to what the game allows you to
of eternal youth? Are they a band of bored war-buddies,
do, you can do anything you can imagine. Let’s say you
putting their battle-forged skills to use promoting truth
need to get past a guarded door. A computer game might
and justice? Are they relic hunters in the employ of a major
only give you the option of fighting the guard or stealing
university museum, braving untold dangers for fortune
a pass. In a tabletop game, you can try anything – maybe
and glory? Or have they all lost loved ones to the machi-
you can persuade the guard to let you past, or bribe him,
nations of a nefarious evil mastermind, and are bound
or sneak through the sewers, or forge a fake pass, or even
together in the cause of justice by grief and a thirst for
convince the guard that he should be on your side. The
vengeance? There are some suggested group frameworks
Gamemaster (or gm) describes the world, the players
on page 36.
decide what they want to do, and then the gm decides
whether or not they succeed. Next, there’s the rules section. This covers everything
hazardous and nasty that your characters might come

The Basics across – what happens when you try to shoot a gangster,
what happens when the gangster tries to shoot you, sneak-
ing around, investigating mysteries and gaining new skill
Firstly, you need a few friends to play the pulp fantas-
and traits.
tic rpg. One of you will be the Gamemaster, and the rest
of you will be the players. The game works with as few as The Gazeteer describes the world of pulp fantastic,
two people (one gm, one player), but it’s best with 3-5 and players are encouraged to read that to help immerse
players. (By the way, if you haven’t decided who’s going to themselves in the Pulp Era. The Organizations section
be the gm, then the owner of the book should take on that describes the various groups – both good and bad – your
responsibility.) heroes might encounter.
Secondly, you’ll need to be familiar with the contents of Finally, there’s the Gamemasters section and the Pulp
this book. You don’t need to memorise the whole thing, Archetypes chapter. The former is full of advice and tips
but you should understand how the basic rules (chapter for running the game, suggestions for series outlines,
7 – the basics) work, and how to make characters (chapter along with a sample adventure to get you started, and the
2 – genesis). latter describes the many notable individuals the charac-
ters may encounter.
Thirdly, you’ll need a few dice (the normal, six-sided ones).
When an outcome is in doubt, you’ll be rolling dice to see Players are allowed to read everything apart from the gm’s
whether or not your character succeeds. Let’s say you want section and the Pulp Archetypes chapter – if you spoil the
to scramble over a fence to escape the gang of thugs that’s secrets in there, the game might not be as much fun for you.
on your heels. You’d add your character’s Coordination
Gamemasters, of course, can read the whole book.
and Athletics scores together, and then roll two dice. If
the total of the dice plus your Coordination and Athletics
is higher than a difficulty number set by the gm, you make
it over the fence in time. If you roll badly... well, looks like
Playing the Game
you’ve a fight on your hands, unless you spend a Story pulp fantastic is designed to be played in a series of
Point. game sessions. Each game session takes up an evening.
Think of each game session as an episode of your own tv
Fourth, you’ll need a way to keep track of Story Points.
series. Most of the events in a game session will be mostly
Story points are a way for you to change a bad roll or alter
self-contained – you’ll fight the threat-of-the-week and
the story in your favour. You’ll be getting – and spending
deal with the problems surrounding the current crisis – but
– a lot of story points, so you’ll need a pile of tokens.
there will be plot elements and mysteries and conspiracies
Pennies, glass beads, jelly beans, cardboard chits, anything
that continue from episode to episode. Keep the metaphor
like that will do.
of the television series in mind as you play the game – it’s
Got all that? Good. Let’s get moving. a good guide for both players and Gamemasters.

12
 PULP!
By Jonathan Nichols

new york city, 1937 television set that Veronica had ever seen was placed in
the lounge area near the bar. She thought momentarily

T
he stake sank into the crumbled wall with a shunk
that she might get to see “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but then
and Veronica Pentecost sent the vampire back to Hell.
realized that it most likely would not air due to the tragedy
As the last pockets of air wheezed out of the skeletal
and the moderate damage sustained by the show’s studio
remains of the undead thing of the night, Veronica lit a
theatre) as well as many a strange and ancient archeolog-
cigarette and blew smoke into the fanged skull of her prey.
ical relic.
Her client would be pleased. Satisfied with her victory,
Veronica pulled her trench coat around herself and turned As was instinctive to the detective, Veronica automatical-
to exit the abandoned Brownstone. ly surveyed the penthouse in a flash, finding it full of the
usual suspects:
But before the detective could even reach the doorway, a
most terrific upheaval of the earth occurred! Debris fell Dr. Washington “Wash” Stuttz, archeologist and worldwide
from the ceiling and came crashing to the floor. The walls adventurer. He was a man’s man if there ever was one.
buckled and began to give way as well. Veronica was going Perhaps that is why Veronica disliked him so.
to be trapped in seconds!
Chase Danner, former agent of the O.S.S. Although he was
Or rather she would have been, had she not vaulted through a skilled pilot and renowned man of action, Chase was yet
the doorway and into the street. It was perhaps not the to turn thirty and still had a brash and impulsive nature.
safest of moves, but a resident of New York seldom is Perhaps that was why Veronica was so drawn to him.
taught earthquake safety. And indeed that is exactly what
Dr. Campbell Fleming, theoretical physicist and inventor.
appeared to be happening that very day in the nation’s
With a balding head surrounded by long, white wisps of
largest city: an earthquake.
hair, “The Doc” as he was known looked every bit the part
Asphalt streets were cracked and split open, building of the prototypical mad scientist. Perhaps that is why he
foundations had slouched and dozens wandered in the disturbed Veronica so.
dust-filled air of the aftermath. As the tremors subsided,
And finally there was Sterling Westinghouse, millionaire
fire trucks and nypd arrived on the scene, eager to put out
Wall Street man and philanthropist (how rare those two titles
the blazes instigated by broken gas mains and fallen flam-
were seen together). Whenever the world was in danger,
mable materials. Residents turned out to help one another
Westinghouse would call upon Veronica and the three men
out from under the rubble and to rush those who were
mentioned previously. Together, they would confront the
wounded to waiting ambulances.
threat and always they would emerge victorious. Perhaps
In still other pockets of the neighborhood, plumbing had that is what gave Veronica hope when all seemed lost.
ruptured, spewing forth water and lowering the water
“Ms. Pentecost,” Sterling Westinghouse said as he ap-
pressure to a dangerously low level, a hazardous develop-
proached her in one of his custom-tailored suits. He took
ment for the firemen.
Veronica’s hand and lightly kissed it. “We were worried.
What could have caused such a disaster to occur in this When you hadn’t arrived we feared you to be a casualty
part of the world? Veronica did not know, but as her wrist- of the quake.”
watch began to blink red, she knew that she would be on
“As you might imagine, it’s nearly impossible to make it
journey towards the answer soon.
across the city right now,” Veronica explained.
Hours later in the midtown Manhattan penthouse of mil-
“I’ve had a late supper brought up and placed on the bar.
lionaire philanthropist Sterling Westinghouse, Veronica
If you’d care for any food or drink, please feel free.”
Pentecost brought her sleek and silky form to what would
otherwise be an all-boys club. “Rather get straight to work if you don’t mind,” Veronica
said while taking a seat dangerously close to Chase.
And what a posh and expensive tree house that this boys
club held their meetings in. Overlooking the city and out “Very well. Obviously, New York City has suffered a terri-
onto the Atlantic Ocean, the penthouse was furnished ble natural disaster this day,” Sterling said, taking center
with every modern convenience conceivable (the largest stage as it were on a rise overlooking the lounge.
 Pulp Fantastic
“But how?” Wash protested. “The city isn’t anywhere near “I will telephone the airport and have your plane fuelled
a fault line?” and furnished,” Westinghouse announced. “You will leave
presently for the sands of Egypt.”
“Precisely, muchacho!” bellowed Dr. Fleming while his
body quivered with nervous twitches and jerks of excite- “Hot dog!” Chase slapped his hands on the machine,
ment. “Something is indeed rotten in the Big Apple and causing no small amount of consternation from Fleming.
it’s not the garbage scows!” “I’ve been achin’ something awful to get back into the
skies, Daddy-O!”
“It is beginning to look conspicuously as if this disaster
was not natural in any respect. For as you might not be “Pack few personal effects, but make absolutely certain
SETUP

aware, Moscow, London, and Paris have all suffered similar that you have your wrist communicators. Dr. Fleming and
fates this day. Someone is orchestrating these earthquakes I will remain in constant contact with you,” ordered West-
and I have been authorized to put an end to them. Doctor?” inghouse. “With you lies the hope of humanity, democra-
cy, and most importantly…America itself! Godspeed!”
With that, Doctor Fleming stood up and snorted. He then
motioned for the others to follow him as he walked away Moments later, a C-47 lifted off from a municipal airport
from the lounge. They proceeded to follow him to an open on Long Island. Chase Danner, one of the world’s top pilots,
area of the hardwood floor where some sort of mechanical sat smiling in the captain’s seat as he nudged the plane
device stood. It was replete with tubes, wires, coils, and higher and higher into the sky.
components hitherto unseen before by anyone in the room
But perhaps he would not have been smiling so had he
save for Jonathan. Excitedly, Doctor Fleming rubbed his
seen the mysterious man in the gray suit who stood at the
hands together and then flipped a switch.
airport, watching their every move before going to make
“Walla rutabaga!” the eccentric old man exclaimed as the a phone call…a call uttered entirely in German.
electric device buzzed to life. CAN OUR BAND OF HEROES LOCATE AND STOP THE SOURCE
“It’s a doozy, Doc,” Chase said with a whistle. “What is it?” OF THESE EARTHQUAKES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE?? AND WHAT
OF THE MYSTERIOUS MAN IN GRAY FROM THE AIRPORT?
“In the aftermath of today’s quake, inspiration struck me!
I became host to a grand idea that I hope will one day take
root in the rest of the scientific community as well. Behold cairo, egypt
my fantastic device! The siesmo-locater!” Dr. Fleming said,
pressing another button and causing his device to utter a The wailing of street vendors and beggars assaulted the
series of beeping noises. eardrums of the three as they made their way through the
marketplace. To Veronica Pentecost, the entire display felt
“Congratulations, Doc,” Wash grunted. “You’ve invented dirty and untouchable as she continuously yanked her
the seismograph…an instrument that’s been around for flowing robes away from grabbing hands.
years.”
“Want to explain to me again why the hell I have to wear
“Oh no…” Dr. Fleming said with all seriousness. “This is this again?” Veronica cursed from behind her veil.
far beyond any seismograph. It is meant to trace energy
and force of an entirely different order.” “Because doll, that’s how women are supposed to dress
round these parts.” Washington Stuttz explained. “Me and
“You were correct earlier, Dr. Stuttz,” Westinghouse inter- Chase here just look like a couple of white men. But if the
rupted. “Each of today’s catastrophic earthquakes occurred locals got a good look at your gams, we’d be in the soup
in proximity to no known geological fault lines. Therefore, for sure.”
they would have to be caused by a construct made by man
that emanates powerful waves of force.” “How many times have you been here, Stuttz?” Veronica
asked as she squeezed herself between denizens of the
“Force that I have called ‘epsilon waves.’ And now for the densely packed bazaar.
first time, you are about to witness my device track these
epsilon waves to their point of origin,” Dr. Fleming said “I’m an archeologist,” Wash said blithely. “Can’t really call
excitedly. yourself that until you’ve been on at least a couple of digs
in Egypt, toots.”
Without another word, his machine clicked and whirred
and beeped in rapid succession. Within the center of the Veronica Pentecost took hold of Wash by the shoulder and
device was a globe of the world, a globe that turned slowly spun him around to face her glare.
as a metal pointer dragged across the surface. “One day you’re going to call me ‘toots’ or ‘doll’…and the
“It’s moving…it’s moving…” Fleming said with bated breath, next words out of your mouth will be ‘my crotch! She
anxiously awaiting the discovery of the location. stabbed me in my crotch!’” threatened Veronica.

The metal needle drew a slow but deliberate line from “That’s right,” Wash replied with a dirty smile. “I like ‘em
New York City across the Atlantic Ocean, over the coast rough!”
of North Africa, and finally came to rest in the center of Mercifully, Chase arrived in their midst and broke the
the nation known as Egypt. confrontation apart. He was wearing a turban and robes.

14
 INTRODUCTION
“So what are you supposed to be?” Wash asked incredu- Wash groggily came to after being jarred awake by the
lously. impact of the sweat drop. His open eyes saw the assassins
above him and immediately he gasped. This shocked gasp
“One of the first rules of espionage. Blend in with the
continued as the cloaked men jerked and jolted from the
populace and don’t call attention to yourself,” the young
multiple gunshots that suddenly tore through their bodies.
secret agent stated. “Got these from a vendor for a swell
Once they had fallen to the floor, Wash could see Chase
price.”
Danner standing in the doorway, holding a smoking au-
“Friends! Friends!” shouted a just-arrived stranger. tomatic handgun in each hand and smiling inexplicably.
The approaching stranger was a portly Arab man in an “Sorry to disturb you’re sheep countin’, Daddy-O. But it
ill-fitting and equally ill-fashioned suit. A scraggly black appears our hotel is surrounded by some mean hombres,”
beard surround his lips and chin, contrasting against the Chase said.
pale teeth of his smile.
Washington Stuttz was not happy. They were in danger,
“Welcome to Cairo, City of the Pharaohs! I am to be your he had just come within a sweat drop of being a shiskabob, I
guide here, Re-Zal Evad,” the man said with arms wide and his rest was disrupted…meaning he would be well
open. beneath his required 7 hours of sleep for the day. Wash
reached into his leather travel bag and pulled from it an
“Sterling Westinghouse sends his compliments,” Wash
iron mace that dated to medieval times
said to him in response.
“Sons of bitches must pay!” he sneered before following
“You know this cat?” asked Chase.
Danner into the hallway.
“Westinghouse called me just after we took off and said
Veronica was already in the hotel hall when Chase and
he’d found us a local contact,” Wash said.
Wash arrived. She slapped a clip into her pistol as bullets
“And when were you going to let us in on that? I nearly ricocheted from all directions. The other attackers were
blew this guy’s head off!” Veronica growled. now pelting the building with rifle and machine gun fire,
indiscriminately shooting at the windows in hopes of
“Come! Come! I have hotel waiting for you!” beckoned
hitting their prey. Boldly, Veronica charged to one such
Re-Zal Evad as he moved off into the sea of humanity that
window and began to blazingly return fire.
was the streets of Cairo.
“I could stand some help here!” she yelled to her cohorts.
A warm bath and a change of clothes later, our heroes
found themselves in their modest hotel rooms, sitting and “You got it!” Chase said, taking a stance at another window
letting a ceiling fan attempt to push back the desert heat. where he let the attackers have it with both of his barrels.
Washington Stuttz sat on the bed and tuned the knobs of His reply came in the form of machine gun fire being raked
his wrist communicator until the vision of Sterlington across the face of the hotel.
Westinghouse came into view in vivid black and white.
Meanwhile, Washington Stuttz had entered the hotel lobby
“We’ve checked into the hotel,” Wash reported to the boss. where guests were fleeing their rooms in droves and the
“Our expedition leaves tomorrow morning. Anything new?” night manager had ducked behind the front desk. Stuttz
hid himself behind the potted palm trees near the stairs
“No new quakes just yet, thank God. Be careful…and
and watched as a group of men clothed exactly like the
contact me when you’ve reached the target,” Westinghouse
ones who had attempted to commit his murder ran into
ordered.
the lobby. As they approached the stairs, these men were
“Got it, boss,” Wash said before cutting the channel and met with the mace of Washington Stuttz.
lying back on his bed where he promptly fell asleep.
The leading man got the mace in his stomach, the one
Engulfed by the dense fog of exhaustion, Washington was who followed across his jaw, and another a pile driver to
oblivious that night to the cloaked figures that surround- the top of the head. Over and over, swing after swing, bash
ed the hotel and even made their way inside and up the after bash, Wash left the veiled attackers in a mess that
stairs. Unaware was he that three of these cloaked ones was unfit to be viewed by any decent American.
in fact had arrived inside his room while he slumbered
Upstairs, Re-Zal Evad came out of his room, still wearing
and snored. So light were their steps that not even the
the soft, cotton cabana pajamas that he had bought in
squeaky floorboard beside Wash’s bed uttered the smallest
London. He was just in time to see Chase climb out of the
creak as it was pressed upon. The lead would-be-assassin
window that was his firing position and take up a stance
drew the length of his scimitar blade from the cloth belt
on the ledge.
that was around his waist. Directly and with sinister intent,
the assassin pointed his sword downward, raised high “They’re splittin’!” Chase reported of their attackers, firing
above the midsection of Dr. Stuttz. If performed correctly, off a few rounds in their direction for good measure.
Stuttz would never even utter a sound during his own
“Friends! Friends!” Re-Zal chirped with great alarm. “Of
murder. Were it not for a single, solitary bead of sweat
what is this?”
fallen from the sword wielder to Wash’s nose, that is exactly
what would have happened. “Being from out of town,” Veronica began as she dragged

15
 Pulp Fantastic
an attacker’s corpse from Wash’s room. “We were going suggested as he brought a shovel over to the rock-hewn
to ask you the same thing. Any idea who these jamokes door. “It’s a the grave of a commoner. Shouldn’t have to
might be?” worry about any traps.”
“I have no idea who these could be!” Evad replied, per- But nothing could have been further from the truth. As
plexed. Wash Stuttz led his crew through the tunnel that led into
the ancient Egyptian grave, a set of heavy, wooden spears
“Not a scrap of traceable evidence,” Veronica spat as if
tipped with bronze launched out of the walls, seeking to
what she had said were a curse. Her hands continued to
skewer whomever they could and then block the way for
scour the body beneath her. “This fellow’s face is nonde-
the rest. It was only because of Wash’s quick reflexes that
SETUP

script, he’s got nothing personal on his body. All I can tell
he was able knock the rest of the party backward and spare
is that he smells like goat.”
them the fate of certain impalement. Wash then immedi-
“Yeah, but that’s everybody around here,” Chase said ig- ately set about to smash the crisscross of spears with his
norantly. “No offense, Re-Zal.” mace while Evad went back to the camels for a change of
pants.
“Oh none taken!” Evad said through a forced smile.
After the spears came the fire. Some form of flammable
“That one seems a little cold for your tastes, Veronica,”
substance had been released through holes in the sandy
Danner chided, as Veronica could not give up the search.
floor of the antechamber ahead and lit by a torch fallen
“Should try to find one a little hotter.”
from the hieroglyphic-laden walls. Stuttz fell backward
“I don’t try anything, I just do it,” Veronica Pentecost stated into the others from the blast of heat cast forward by the
as she stood to look Chase in the eye. “Want to try me?” crackling flames
With bloody mace in hand, Washington Stuttz came up “Stand back!” Chase shouted, forcing his way past Stuttz
the stairs just as Re-Zal Evad was growing very uncom- and leaping through the fire. His feet found their mark
fortable. on the modest sarcophagus that was in the center of the
chamber. “Just tell me what I’m looking for!”
“Well, that was a lovely way to spend the evening,” joked
Wash. “How the hell should we know what an earthquake
machine looks like?” Wash hollered back at Chase, hands
It was a two-day journey into the desert to reach the target
to his head in order to deflect the heat.
location. In a convoy consisting of two old Ford pickup
trucks and the many camels brought by the local diggers “Boss? Are you there?” Veronica said into her wrist com-
and workers that Re-Zal Evad had hired, the three from municator, wasting no time in taking matters to the top.
America moved at a snail’s pace to their destination. On
“Yes, Ms. Pentecost,” a black and white image of Sterling
the morning of the second day, the expedition awoke to
Westinghouse said. “I am here.”
find that the tires on the trucks had been slashed during
the night, along with many of the water skins they had “Get Doc Fleming on the line,” she asked, the heat oppress-
brought along. The local help they had hired ran from the ing her succulent form.
scene even as Evad begged them to stay on until they had
“I need a few answers here!” Chase shouted as he did a
reached their destination. To that, the workers only replied,
veritable tap dance upon a grave, dodging the tongues of
“mesh mumken!” <impossible!> Evad then had to break
fire licking at his boot heels.
the news that he and Stuttz, Danner, and Pentecost were
on their own. Elsewhere, the image of Dr. Campbell Fleming had replaced
that of Westinghouse on Veronica’s wristwatch. His white
With the shapes of the great pyramids rising in the distance
hair seemed even more out of place than usual, his lab
before them, the desert travelers finally arrived at the
coat more stained, and his demeanor more harried than
coordinates provided by Dr. Campbell’s invention. The
typical.
destination itself was unremarkable, but as they dismount-
ed from their camels while Washington rubbed his chin “What’s going on? What’s wrong?” he asked in rapid suc-
and gazed upon the rock with great scrutiny, he rapidly cession. “I don’t have much time because I’ve got to get
determined the object’s true nature. back to the lab! One of my atomic experiments is not going
at all the way I had expected and I’ve left Miss Akimoto
“It’s a tomb,” Stuttz stated glumly.
and my monkey in charge of things and I really shouldn’t
“I thought those were the tombs,” Chase said, pointing to even have departed because an isotope of this nature can
the pyramids in the distance. be so readily…”
“Not all the ancient Egyptians were buried in pyramids,” “The earthquake device!” Veronica cut him off. “What
Re-Zal pointed out politely before waddling across the does it look like?!”
sand to join Wash at the carved rock.
“The earthquake device?” Doc Fleming repeated the ques-
“Maybe your next question will be better,” Veronica sug- tion. He then shrugged and gave Veronica a dumb look.
gested in a hot whisper directly into Danner’s ear. “Heck if I know. Uhhh, it would have to be a massive me-
chanical construct. Power cables and conduit should be
“Well let’s get started clearing the entry way,” Washington
16
 INTRODUCTION
stretching out from it, it should be radiating a great deal half a globe away. It still astounded Stuttz how Doc Fleming
of power…can’t miss it,” Fleming explained. could arrive at such marvelous inventions.
“There’s nothing even close to that in here!” Veronica “Have Doc take a look at what we’ve found,” Wash said as
screamed. he pointed his wrist towards the machine so that the two
men in New York could see it for themselves. “It’s cone
“Huh, no foolin’?” replied Fleming, perplexed.
shaped, kinda bent at the ends, there are wires hanging
“Might it be underground?” Evad suggested. out at the bottom from where Danner ripped it free…”
Then Chase pointed. In the direction of his extended finger “Mazoomba! It’s not the earthquake device,” the voice of
was a conical wedge of metal, camouflaged in the corner Campbell Fleming said.
of the antechamber amidst a few pottery urns. Stuttz
“You better be joking,” Veronica Pentecost said with no
looked it over skeptically. Could Chase reach it through
expression.
the flames? As he looked around at the burning room,
Wash decided that Chase Danner would have to and tossed “As near as I can tell, it’s an amplifier…a mechanism that I
a heavy cloth bag to him. magnifies the quake waves as they move outward from
their point of origin. There could be many of these hidden
“Grab it and get out!” Wash ordered and then turned to
all over the world,” Doc explained.
Veronica and Evad. “The rest of you get out, too! I think
this fire is a self-destruct mechanism!” “So what is it that we do now?” Evad said, asking the
question that was now on everyone’s minds.
As his compatriots evacuated the tomb, Chase leaped upon
the odd metal object in question. Rapidly he wrapped it “We can only move on down the line,” Dr. Fleming replied
in the heavy cloth as to protect his hands from what was through the wrist communicator. “I’ll use the seismo-lo-
now undoubtedly metal that had been heated to a most cater to run a trace.”
scorching temperature. Lifting it he felt resistance. With
“It’s probably going to be a while,” Wash announced to the
time running increasingly short, Chase Danner gave the
others. “If you want, Veronica, maybe you can go find a
object a mighty tug and felt it rip free. Beneath it stood
mirror somewhere and you can pretty up.”
now severed electrical wires and cables…leading to where
Chase did not know. “I think I’ll toss you back into the fire instead,” Veronica
replied with complete sincerity.
Nor did he have time to investigate the matter. With smoke
now beginning to fill the entire underground chamber, “I’ve got it!” Dr. Fleming’s voice mercifully declared, break-
Chase took two more determined leaps and bounded his ing the ugly silence between the bitter rivals. “Your next
way past the ring of fire. Though fleet of feet, he was not stop is…Zanzibar!”
fast enough to prevent the flames from licking across his
All that Dr. Fleming’s audience of four could then think
legs and igniting his pants on fire.
about is the hot, sandy, windy journey back to the C-47
Finally Chase emerged on the desert surface as the fire parked at Cairo’s airport.
consumed the entire underground tomb. Immediately he WHAT AWAITS OUR HEROES IN ZANZIBAR? WILL THEY EVER
fell to the sands, rolling about in order to extinguish the ARRIVE AT THE SOURCE OF THE TERRIBLE EARTHQUAKES?
burning of his pants. Naturally, Veronica Pentecost im- WILL VERONICA FINALLY SNAP AND JUST KILL WASH?
mediately went to his side in order to determine just how
much of his pants had in fact disappeared.
“Here it his,” a coughing and smoky Chase announced as zanzibar
he unwrapped the machine that he had carried forth from Where was Washington Stuttz? That was the single ques-
the inferno. tion on the collective minds of Chase Danner and Veron-
“You were lucky,” Veronica told him. “You could’ve ica Pentecost as they raced through the streets of the island
gotten yourself burned alive by charging into the of Zanzibar, the two of them again finding themselves in
chamber that way.” a crowded and exotic locality. Shortly after Chase landed
the plane on the island, the four of them dispersed in
“I tell you, lady. There’s the safe way, there’s the dangerous search of the earthquake machine. That was 8 hours ago.
way…and then there’s the Chase Danner way,” Chase said Wash had not been heard from since.
as he lit a cigarette that had mercifully not been ignited
by the flames. The streets were clogged with bicyclists, pedestrians, and
a handful of cars that seemed antique by American stan-
“A most tiny machine to cause such large earthquakes,” dards, and even a healthy amount of oxen driven carts
Re-Zal Evad said aloud as he inspected the salvaged device were thrown into the mix. Amidst the teaming throngs
that was now sitting in the sands before he and Wash. At of humanity, how could they hope to locate Stuttz…let
a loss, Wash activated his wrist communicator. alone the quake device?
“You there, boss?” he asked aloud. “Zanzibar!” Chase hissed. “I’m back in Zanzibar!”
“I am here, Dr. Stuttz,” came Westinghouse’s voice from “Not fond of ‘Africa’s Jewel?’” Veronica asked as she dodged

17
 Pulp Fantastic
a bicyclist and made the charge through traffic in order After looking about to make certain that the café patrons
to get to the marketplace across the street. were far more engrossed in their own business than in
his, Re-Zal leaned across the table and divulged his secrets.
“Was here about a year or two ago,” Chase explained as he
tried not to bump into a table that was covered with a pile “All is ready and in place. Dr. Stuttz already has been taken
of green vegetables that he could not recognize. “We knew care of,” Re-Zal reported. “One of the natives here who is
that the Reds were real interested in Africa. I went here on on my payroll is leading him to a substation of the earth-
the sly-like to discourage what the Commies had in mind.” quake device that is located deep in the jungle...but he
will never find it. There are a good many things in that
“You wouldn’t have been involved in a certain Soviet
jungle that will have their way with him and very soon, I
SETUP

freighter explosion from around that time, would you?”

will bring the others there for the same purpose!”
wondered Veronica, again squeezing between pedestrians,
some carrying heavy loads atop their heads. “And they are unaware of your involvement?” Leermeister
questioned.
“All I remember is how this damned humidity made me
constantly sweaty,” Chase complained. Veronica stopped “They suspect nothing!” a giddy Re-Zal replied.
dead in her tracks, and then turned to face Danner direct-
“Stupid Americans,” the Colonel breathed through a toothy
ly in the eyes.
grin. “You have done well, Evad. Your payment will be
“And what’s wrong with being sweaty?” she asked in her wired to your account.”
typically sultry way. Though known for his cool, smooth,
“Oh one more thing if I may ask?” Re-Zal questioned
hipster repartee, even this spy could be left speechless by
timidly, the question bordering on ingratitude and causing
the withering and unbridled eyes of Veronica Pentecost.
a raised eyebrow from Leermeister. “I wish to go to America
Truth to tell, she loved every moment of reducing the
and see…movie stars! And listen to this jazz!”
young agent to a befuddled schoolboy.
Leermeister pushed his chair back and stood away from
“We…we’d better find Wash. Hey!” Chase shouted, grabbing
the table, never once removing his narrow, predator’s eyes
the shoulder of a young, bare-chested boy who happened
from Re-Zal. Grabbing the edge of the table and the table-
to be passing by. He displayed an old photograph of Wash
cloth, Leermeister flipped the table over, spilling the drink
to the boy, perplexing him even further. “Have you seen
onto his sniveling conspirator. Without saying another
this guy?”
word, the Colonel turned and exited the café.
The young African boy shook his head negatively and then
“So…I suppose that was the infamous German temper,”
scurried off for fear of being further accosted.
Re-Zal said very very glumly as the contents of the table
“Well, that didn’t work. Time to try something else,” Chase saturated him.
said.
Once in an alleyway beside the café and off of the bustling
“WASH!” he screamed into the bustling crowd. “wash! streets, Leermeister removed what appeared as a small
where the hell are you?!” It was the best that Chase black and white television set from his suit coat pocket.
could come up with. At his urging, the two of them resumed He manipulated the contraption much as one would the
their hurried pace of walking. “Let’s hope that Re-Zal is wrist communicators invented by Dr. Campbell, turning
doing better than we are.” small knobs to tune in a fuzzy black and white image and
coaxing it into a clear form. A bald man with pointed ears,
Elsewhere, Re-Zal Evad was seated in a café, fanning
a slender goatee and vaguely Oriental features stared
himself with his hat as the ceiling fans did little to reduce
menacingly back at Leermeister from the screen.
the heat in the room. He looked about tautly and nervous-
ly; worried that someone would see him there, even though “We have success, Your Excellency,” Col. Leermeister told
there were only three other people in Zanzibar at that the sinister figure.
moment that might question his presence in a café. The
Despite the language barrier between he and his native
waiter brought Re-Zal his drink, unknowingly bringing
guide, Stuttz felt confident that at the end of the hike he
with it at least a small degree of distraction and comfort.
would be staring at two things: the earthquake device and
And then the man in the gray suit sat down at the table whoever had built it. The native guide seemed every bit
and Re-Zal jumped agitatedly. as adept at finding his way through a foliage-ridden jungle
as Wash, for Wash had certainly done his share of explor-
“Colonel Leermeister!” Re-Zal said in surprise.
ing in rough terrain. Along the way, Washington had
“You have information for me?” the German asked hu- spoken with several villagers who had reported strange,
morlessly. He was bald, craggily faced, and seemed gen- mechanical sounds and strange, electrical glows emanat-
uinely disdainful of life in general. ing from what used to be a temple of worship deep in the
jungle, confirming the rumors that the guide had report-
“Please sir!” Re-Zal begged in a hushed tone. “Do not call
ed to him.
attention to me! There are ears and eyes about us!”
And now as the guided jabbered in a tongue incompre-
“I am not concerned with that. I wish only to know what
hensible to Wash, he pointed past enormous, green leaves
you have planned.”
the size of elephant ears and directed Stuttz’s attention to
18
 INTRODUCTION
what lie ahead. It was indeed a temple, centuries old by In time the proper instructions were conveyed and the
Stuttz’s reckon. But by catching sight of the gleaming machine was indeed deactivated. Wash tromped wearily
metal tube that was at the temple’s center, appearing out of the ancient Zanzibarian temple and met his native
entirely as an anachronism juxtaposed against the ancient guide. Though his intellectual curiosity implored him to
stonework, Wash knew that his archaeological curiosities return to the structure in order to study it and discern its
would have to take a back seat to the dangers that the social and historical implications, physical exhaustion
world faced. He was, however, entirely oblivious of the eventually won out in the argument.
dangers that lurked just around the corner for him.
“Let’s go,” the archaeologist said to the native. “I’ve had
Wary of booby traps placed in the temple from ages for- enough for one day.”
gotten, Stuttz entered the structure that was overwhelmed
After they had been underway for a few moments, Stuttz
by vines and other foliage. The metal of the device shined
looked back and noticed that his guide was no longer
before him, looking most distinctly out of place amidst
behind him, thus not fulfilling the obligations of a native
the ruins. He looked it over for a bit, studying all of its I
guide. Where could he have gone?
lights, wires and panels. All told, the entire thing was no
longer than three or four barrels placed end to end. Raising Wash got his answer as the guide came running out of the
his wrist to his mouth, he made what was to Stuttz, the dense trees, hollering in his native language. Though
only sensible decision. Stuttz attempted to steady the man and calm him down
from hysterics, it was of no use. Instead, the native merely
“Doc, you there?” Wash said into the communicator. “I
pointed behind them in the direction that he had just come
found the machine, but I’m a little out of my depth here.”
running from…so that they could both watch the largest
“Well done Washington! Well done!” Dr. Fleming exalted crocodile either of them had ever seen come rising out of
from all the way in New York. “Now move over to the the jungle!
bottom of the device where you’ll see a nodule protruding.
“Oh great,” Washington sighed in exasperation.
It should be the power coupling.”
Ominously it crawled, low to the ground and slithering
Wash complied. He removed his fedora and ground himself
its tail. Its powerful, beak-like snout opened ever so slight-
through the dirt until he was underneath the rear com-
ly and allowed a reptilian hiss to escape. In a desperate
partment of the technological cylinder just as if he were
panic, the native guide charged the croc, causing it to
about to change the oil on a car.
open its ever-gaping maw. The guide moved swiftly to jam
“What am I looking for again?” Wash asked while strug- his walking stick between the upper and lower jaw of the
gling with the gizmo. great lizard, rendering the beast unable to bite. Infuriated
by this, the crocodile mustered all the strength in its jaw
“A power coupling,” the Doc replied.
and snapped the obfuscating walking stick as if it were a
“What’s it look like?” dry twig. The native guide then proceeded to be swallowed
whole, down into the gullet of the animal.
“A black cable.”
Stuttz did not believe the croc to be sated, despite the
“Is it bigger than a bread box?”
human outline now in the belly of the beast. It eyed him
“Of course it is! Don’t be ridiculous!” with eyes cold and devoid of emotion. They appeared as
two black pools, darkened voids which stared back at
“I don’t see anything like that.”
Wash. The giant reptile was rattled and it knew that he
“Really? Are you sure you’re in the right place?” was there, making Stuttz a potential threat. Steeling
himself, Wash drew his mace and prepared for the worst.
“Pretty sure, yeah.”
First came its tail with a broad slash just slightly over his
“I don’t understand. Why don’t you see the power cou-
head. Stuttz jumped back a good six feet, narrowly avoid-
pling?”
ing connection with the spiny appendage. The second
“Look Doc, if I knew that we’d be able to skip this conver- time around he was not so lucky. The tail swung back and
sation altogether.” slapped into Wash’s hand with surprising force. He watched
helplessly as the mace rolled away and into the green,
“Now where are you on the device again?”
bushy, undergrowth of Zanzibar. The lizard moved swiftly
“Just where you told me to go! Under the gizmo where the towards him, mouth agape just as it had done with its
nodule protrudes!” previous victim. Empty-handed combat between a Harvard
professor and a giant crocodile; sounded fair to Wash.
“Oh,” Fleming said with realization followed by a brief
silence. “That’s not it then. Let’s start over.” With fight-or-flight instincts fully in place, Washington
Stuttz leaped onto the crocodile’s head. The head was
Dr. Fleming is indeed fortunate not have been in the jungle
essentially flat and made for a perfect springboard. Wash
temple with Dr. Stuttz, as the latter would most certainly
was able to propel himself to the animal’s rear flank in
have shown the former just where he could place the
order to grab hold of its tail. A wrestling match of evolu-
device’s protruding nodule.
tionary proportions commenced. Reptile versus mammal.

19
 Pulp Fantastic
Cold, indifferent blood versus hot, American blood. and bearing the red and black emblem of the swastika
upon their lapels. On their backs were metal gizmos the
As expected, the crocodile put up a fierce fight. It flipped.
likes of which neither Veronica nor Chase had ever seen
It snapped. But Wash eventually was able to twist its tail
before. Standing amidst these troops was a triumphant
enough to render it completely upon its back. Now came
Col. Leermeister, smiling like a fisherman who had just
the most harrowing and treacherous part. Could he re-
caught a prize trout. Bitterly resigned, both Chase and
member how to do it? He had seen it done once before at
Veronica raised their hands in surrender as the barrels of
the World’s Fair in New York. You pin a gator down and
each rifle pointed towards them.
then gently rub its abdomen until it falls asleep. Of course
this was a crocodile…and a big one at that. Still, there was “My name is Leermeister and I am Colonel in the Fourth
SETUP

little choice. Reich. I have pursued you halfway across the globe, mein
fruends. At last, I may stop chasing,” Leermeister said
As a mother would to a child with a tummy ache, Wash-
calmly. “You have done well, Evad.”
ington Stuttz brushed, rubbed, smoothed, and even ca-
ressed the stomach of the croc. He fought the urge to twitch With that Re-Zal Evad took his place at Leermeister’s side,
and wretch as his hand moved over the outline of the stunning the ones who were once in his charge.
native guide, being slowly digested within the animal’s
“Money is in my account now, yes?” Evad asked. Col. Leer-
stomach. Eventually, the reptile massage paid its benefits
meister nodded affirmatively.
and the crocodile collapsed, fast asleep.
“There’s two things in the world I hate, Daddy-O,” Chase
Wash followed suit. He fell backward into the grass as a
said to Re-Zal. “Nazis and traitors…and you gone and done
spent shell casing on the battlefield of the wild.
did both of ‘em.”
Through the tropical foliage and across the flimsiest of
“Enough!” the Colonel hushed. “It is time for us to depart.”
rope and plank board bridges, Re-Zal Evad led Danner and
Pentecost on a most precarious trail that they could only Having said that, Col. Leermeister removed a flashlight
hope would end in finding their colleague, Dr. Stuttz. from his belt and pointed it into the darkening sky. After
flashing as series of timed pulses from the hand-held light
“Hurry! Hurry!” Evad encouraged them, even as the rope
into the sky, a response of similar flashing occurred. Then
bridge began to give and buckle under their weight. “This
came a low, rumbling sound, as if the sky were about to
way!”
become filled with large airplanes. But no such thing
“And how exactly did you find out that he was here?” occurred. Instead, a large blimp came into view over-
Veronica asked as she fought to keep her footing. head…a blimp that bore the swastika emblazoned upon
its canvas side.
“I bribed one of the local officials!” Re-Zal said as if he
simply wanted the line of questioning to end. “Now we “Come!” Leermeister barked. “We depart for New Berlin!”
must hurry!”
Despite Veronica’s obvious repulsion to their hands, the
The end of bridge reached, the shores of Indian Ocean soldiers took hold of her and Chase and Wash, just before
could be seen ahead with the sun setting in the distance. demonstrating that the contraptions on their backs were
As fast as his stubby legs could carry his rotund body, in reality rocket packs that would hoist them into the air
Re-Zal ran to what appeared to be a log in the brush upon and into the gondola of the Nazi Zeppelin. Where they
which a figure was splayed in exhaustion. would go to from there…none could say.
“Wash!” Chase exclaimed as soon as he recognized the
figure and then joined Re-Zal in the beach foot race.
new york city
Much to everyone’s surprise, it was not a log that Wash
“Dr. Fleming!” Westinghouse said sharply as he entered
was upon, but rather a sleeping African crocodile. Stuttz
the wood-paneled room that had once been another study
was barely conscious, his mumbled and barely audible
of his but was now an impromptu laboratory for Dr. Camp-
babble were made all the more incoherent by the proxim-
bell Fleming, who was waving his hands defensively in
ity of the jungle noises. Chase urged him to keep still and
response to his name being called.
quiet while he administered a canteen of water to him and
cautiously dragged him away from the deadly reptile. “Not now, Westy!” Fleming pleaded in a manner resem-
bling an epileptic seizure. “I’m up to my ass in alligators!”
“What the hell happened to him?” Veronica asked as she
With that, Jonathan returned his full attention to the
arrived on the scene, observing Wash’s torn clothes and
tuning knob of one of his devices.
bloody scrapes. “Is he going to live?”
“As is the rest of the world, Doctor. I’ve just received word
“He will live as long as the rest of you, fraulein, which I’m
that Bombay, India has just been toppled by a severe earth-
afraid is not very long,” came a sneering voice on the beach
quake. What is the status of our adventurers?” Westing-
behind them.
house asked.
Veronica spun on her feet, her handgun drawn and at the
“That’s just it!” Fleming explained. “I don’t know! Maybe
ready, only to find that they were surrounded by soldiers
they’re alive…maybe they’ve met an ill-fate. I don’t know…
holding rifles who were dressed in entirely gray uniforms
20
 INTRODUCTION
because I can no longer get into contact with their wrist be! They were rocketships, on launch pads placed beneath
communicators!” silo doors in the rocky ceiling and pointing towards outer
space!
Sterling Westinghouse paused briefly and allowed his gaze
to drift while he mentally measured what his chief scien- “Damn,” Chase said with a long whistle. “I’d give my right
tist had just told him. If the expedition of the three was nut to fly one of those babies.”
indeed lost, then whoever was responsible for these in-
“When exactly did your people invade Antarctica, Colonel?”
sidious earthquakes had already won.
asked Veronica Pentecost as they were ushered into warmer
“You may have just written the world’s epitaph, Dr. parts of the hangar. Technicians and mechanics still moved
Fleming,” Westinghouse said somberly. about, shouting at each other in German.
HOW LONG CAN THE WORLD HOLD OUT AGAINST THE EARTH- “We’ve been here for a very long time, frauline,” laughed
QUAKE DEVICE? WHAT WILL BE THE FATE OF OUR CAPTURED Leermeister.
HEROES? HAVE THE NAZIS RISEN FROM THE ASHES TO AGAIN
TORMENT THE WORLD? SS troopers on guard snapped to attention and raised a I
flat palm upward as Leermeister approached victoriously
with the prisoners. The guards stood as aside and allowed
antarctica heavy doors to move away, revealing an entryway over
which hung a swastika-bearing flag.
Silently and effortlessly, the Nazi blimp glided above the
frozen wastes. Securely fastened to a chair in the gondola, “Quite an igloo you got here, Colonel,” Wash remarked as
Washington Stuttz looked down at the mountains of ice his eyes wandered about. “Like something out of Buck
and swirling snows. Below him was the coldest continent Rogers.”
on earth. Temperatures were regularly well into the hun- “This is all from technology invented by the Reich years
dreds below zero, any exposed human skin would freeze ago,” boasted Leermeister as he led them through metal-
on contact with the frigid air, and with nothing but white lic hallways, dotted occasionally with electronic access
in all directions, it would be so simple to become lost. panels and glorious portraits of Hitler. “Once you had
There would be no means of escape for Stuttz and his crew invaded France in 1944, we knew that we were kaput in
this time. Europe. So into U-boats went our most secret technologies,
“Don’t be so glum, Jack. I hear it’s nice down there, this our most brilliant scientists, and our most elite troops.
time of year,” came the voice of Chase Danner, the man All of them brought here to the South Pole to build this
who was chained next to him and reading the creased Neuschwabenland that you see here today.
copy of On The Road that he carried with him. “And while you stupid Americans occupied yourselves
“Sure…if you call over a hundred degrees below zero ‘nice,’” with your ridiculous victory parades, we were building
Wash said with a sullen tenor. rockets,” Leermeister said with a sly sneer. “And jet-pow-
ered aircraft that far surpass any of the ‘kites’ in your
“Sounds cold,” remarked Veronica Pentecost who was arsenal.”
likewise chained to a nearby chair. “We’ll just have to keep
each other warm, won’t we Chase?” “This guy’s startin’ to bug me, Wash,” Chase said in anger
as he attempted to wriggle loose of his captors. Stuttz
The Nazis dispersed parkas to the prisoners and soon the cautioned him to remain as he was and allow for time to
blimp descended and attached itself to a gantry tower born formulate a proper escape plan.
skyward out of the snow and anchored in a metal platform.
The entire area around the tower was bustling with activ- “I think you’ll find that the wings of liberty haven’t lost a
ity as the Germans had apparently carved an airbase out feather, Herr Jack,” Stuttz bragged with all confidence.
of the ice of the Antarctic shelf. Snow crawlers and tanks “America and her allies stopped you once before and we
scurried about with mechanics as Leermeister brought can do it again.”
his captives down to the metal platform via elevator. “Ja? How interesting…” the Colonel smiled menacingly as
At the edge of the apron platform was a gaping black he brought the prisoners to a halt by a closed door. “This
mouth that formed the entrance to a cave. As the troops time, Deutschland has allies of her own…and we’ve re-
plodded them along in a hurry to get out of the cold air, cently made an arrangement that will have most dire
Chase could see that the cave stretched deeply into the consequences indeed for America.”
recess of the ground. But what’s more, the cave served as With that, the Nazi opened the door. On the other side
an improvisational aircraft hangar. And what aircraft it was a chamber that resembled a dining room, complete
housed! Chase’s jaw dropped as his eyes fell upon them with a long and grandiose table with chairs and place
for never before had he seen their level of sophistication. settings all around. At the head of the table was a man in
Some were jets shaped as batwings, others as saucers purple robes, a bald man with a sharp goatee and pointed
(explaining to him the source of what people had been ears. Slowly, the sinister being began to clap his hands…a
calling UFO’s. Little did the world know they weren’t from considerable feat given his sickeningly long fingernails.
little green men, but from men more evil even than the
Commies), and others were…yes they were! They had to “Welcome, Americans,” he said with an accent that was

21
 Pulp Fantastic
vaguely Oriental. “I am Xan, an emissary from the kingdom “Very well then,” a contemplative Xan replied before press-
of Hyperborea.” ing a button on his ornate belt. “I shall have you now meet
a few of our other creations who escort you to your cells…
This announcement was met with only an exchange of
where you will await whatever form of execution we deem
dumb looks and disaffected silence from our heroes.
most amusing.”
“Of course, I should not expect you to know of where I’m
At that, the door to the dining hall slid open…and six killer
from,” Xan said smugly. “Please sit. Our mid-day meal will
penguins entered the room.
be served shortly.”
Yes! Killer penguins! Ordinary Emperor penguins of the
The Nazi troopers shoved the prisoners to their places at
SETUP

Antarctic now had rows of razor-sharp, piranha-like teeth

the table. Resigned, Wash, Chase, and Veronica each sat
in their beaks and heavy weapons held in their modified
down and unfolded their napkins.
flippers. Around their waists were belts laden with am-
“Hyperborea is a civilization which exists many miles munition clips and grenades. The penguin in the lead of
beneath the Earth’s crust,” Xan explained. “Unbeknownst the formation leveled his heavy rifle at the three captives
to your pitiful scholars, an entrance to this kingdom lies and opened his beak for the first time and spoke:
below the ice of this continent. We recently encountered
“Eep!”
Nazi scouting parties and though our rapport was tenuous
at first, we eventually came to find that we have…mutual After being herded and corralled by the killer penguins
aspirations.” into a frigid jail cell, Stuttz, Pentecost, and Danner had no
course of action but to sit and wait…and wait…and wait.
“Namely, world domination,” Leermeister said as he raised
his recently filled flute of champagne. “This is driving me crazy!” Wash exclaimed as he stood
up to pace, frustration finally getting the better of him. “I
As if on cue, the sound of thunder rocked the dining room
can’t just sit here! We’ve got to do something!”
and rattled all glasses and dinner plates on the table. For
Veronica, the telltale shockwaves were far too akin to those “You’re flippin’ out, man!” Chase hollered back. “There’s
she had felt in New York. nothing we can do right now, so let’s use our marbles to
come up with a plan!” And all the while, Veronica sat si-
“Earthquake!” she cried as she attempted to crawl under
lently, seemingly oblivious to their rant.
the table, but was denied by Nazi guards.
“Oh yoo-hoo!” a girly voice called from down the hallway.
“No, no, silly frau,” Leermeister cackled. “That is a squad-
Re-Zal Evad entered the brig to stand before their cell and
ron of our X-Jets, returning from patrol, no doubt.”
taunt sadistically. His corpulent form had been squeezed
“Man, I ain’t never heard engines like those on a plane before,” into the accoutrements of an American teenager.
Chase marveled in awe to the sound of the Nazi jets.
“Re-Zal! You’re lucky I don’t tear through these bars and
“I would wager that there are a great many things here stomp on your head while cryin’ cocka-li-doodle-lee-doo!”
that you have never seen before,” Xan mused. Chase said with his hands firmly planted on the steel bars
of their cell.
“Yeah, like an earthquake device,” interjected Wash, at-
tempting to bring the matter to a head. “What exactly do “Oh but sir! I was wanting to tell you that soon I leave for
you hope to accomplish by bringing that kind of destruc- America! I am going to hear live jazz for first time! And I
tion to the world’s cities?” could not have done it without money gained from your
imprisonment! Shukran! Shukran!” with that, he cackled
“Oh certainly I have now made our goals most clear, Dr.
and departed in same direction that he came.
Stuttz,” the sinister man from beneath the earth pomp-
ously stated. “Unless the nations of the world turn total “Oh yeah?” Chase called after him, barely able to stick his
control over to Hyperborea…and of course the Fourth head through the bars. “I hope your jazz show gets can-
Reich…we will level every major city on the surface world celled…and they announce the a puppet show instead!”
in less than two days.”
“I like puppet shows,” Veronica spoke for the first time
“You fiend!” cursed Stuttz as he stood to vault over the since they had been forced from the dining room and into
table and wring Xan’s olive-toned neck. He was impeded the brig.
however by Chase’s outstretched arm. This prompted only
“Yeah? Well I like not being locked up in a cell by Nazis!”
laughter from Xan and Leermeister.
Washington complained. “Now you want to actually con-
“A pity, this aggression of yours, Dr. Stuttz. You all could tribute something to our planning here, or are you going
become part of the genesis of the new world order,” offered to continued to just sit and stare like you have been?”
Xan with a fingernail thoughtfully poised at his lips.
Without saying anything else, Veronica placed her hand
“Hey I might not be a church-going, cookie-baking, Donna down her cleavage and removed a lock pick in the same
Reed kinda gal,” Veronica began, incensed. “But this girl manner that a magician might extricate a rabbit from a
stands for only the good ol’ red, white, and blue!” hat. She brandished it about in the air pompously for the
men to see.
“No dice, square,” Chase concurred.

22
 INTRODUCTION
“Where’d you get that?” Chase asked, surprised yet de- “A steamy sort of warm?”
lighted.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I’m a private investigator,” she replied plainly. “How else
“If they’re working with the Hyperboreans, then I assume
do you think I get into buildings and rooms that I’m not
that the Nazis must now have the ability to tap geothermic
supposed to be in?”
energy sources. Listen, you must detonate the reserves of
Leaving that question to hang in the air, Veronica reached jet and rocket fuel that they have in storage. Once you do,
her hands through the bars and around to the lock mech- the heat from the blast will ignite the geothermic gases…
anism that she began to pick with all deftness and skillful and that entire hall of nightmares you’re in will go up like
tenacity. After what seemed like endless seconds of rattling a second sun. If we’re lucky, the blast might even be severe
and clanking of metal, the lock popped and the door swung enough to shut off the tunnel entrance to Hyperborea. At
free. Before they were trapped and desperate, now thanks any rate, we must make certain that the Nazis not reach
to Veronica’s crafty handling of the situation, the fight into space! Just make sure that you’re all plenty far away
was again theirs to be had. Overwhelmed by enthusiasm from there when it happens, okay, Chase? Chase?” I
for this prospect, Wash took Veronica in his arms and
“Dammit! Doc! I gotta go!”
kissed her…before promptly dropping her.
And with that final, pleading statement from Chase, the
“Sorry,” he said wiping his mouth. “Got a little excited.”
airwaves fell silent.
“S-seems I underestimated you, Stuttz,” stammered an
“Hold steady, boy! I’ll send help!” but Fleming had abso-
uncharacteristically doe-eyed Veronica.
lutely no idea how he would make good on that promise.
“Chase, you get to a radio transmitter…or whatever kind
“You’ve found them?” asked Westinghouse as he re-did
of Flash Gordon gizmo they have around here…and get
his cufflinks and walked into the room behind Dr. Fleming.
word to the boys back in New York. Veronica and I will
find the earthquake device and see how we can blow it up. Rapidly, Campbell Fleming recounted everything that the
Now let’s move like we’ve never moved before!” secret agent man had reported to him over the radio and
watched, as the face of Sterling Westinghouse grew grimmer
With those final instructions from Washington Stuttz, the
by the moment. Though he momentarily raised his eyebrows
three moved out.
in optimism as Dr. Fleming explained the physics behind
Back in New York City, the experiments of one Dr. Camp- the explosion that he had just ordered them to create, West-
bell Fleming were suddenly interrupted by the sound of inghouse was still greatly troubled as to how to get his three
an incoming transmission on the radio receiver. operatives quickly out of harm’s way.
“Uhh, hello?” Fleming spoke into the microphone quizzi- “I will call President Truman,” a determined Westinghouse
cally. His reply was a voice garbled through static. “Hello? finally announced, and then promptly turned for the tele-
Who is this? What do you want?” phone that sat on the edge of Fleming’s cluttered desk.
“And tell him that a rapid strike force is needed in Antarc-
“Doc! It’s Chase!”
tica.”
“Chase?” a startled Fleming hooted. “Chase Danner?”
“But Boss! Won’t he think we’ve failed in our mission?
“The one and only, Daddy-O.” Won’t he think…”
“Where in blazes have you people been? I’ve been trying “Truman will think what I tell him to think!” snapped the
to reach you for…” multi-millionaire as he picked up the phone and dialed.
“Cut out the hubbub, bub. We’ve been Shanghaied to Well, that’s a radio that’ll never work again, Chase thought
Antarctica by a bunch of Nazis. They’re in cahoots with to himself as he looked over the shattered and smoldering
this other strange guy who claims to be from a kingdom radio console with the legs of a Nazi trooper sticking out
inside the Earth and together they’re causin’ the quakes of it. Far more serious than the state of communications
with an earthquake device.” though, this trooper would eventually be missed and it
would be discovered that Chase and his compatriots had
“Great Scott!” Campbell exclaimed after slapping his fore-
effected escape and were on the loose.
head and jerking about.
With those facts squarely in his mind, Chase Danner drew
“That ain’t all, Doc,” Chase cautioned. “These Nazis we got
upon all of his learned instincts as a special agent in order
here in the South Pole? They’re building up for an attack.
to skulk stealthily through the corridors of the Nazi base.
I seen a lot of military installations in my time and I should
Deeper and deeper into what he was sure was the recess-
know. I got a look at the hangars on base and I saw they’ve
es of the Earth beneath the Antarctic ice and snow, Chase’s
been building super attack jets, rocketships, and they’ve
heart leaped when he came across Veronica and Wash as
been breeding an army of killer penguins.”
they were crammed into a confine space that overlooked
“All right! All right!” Dr. Fleming interrupted. “Listen, an open expanse of the building that held storage tanks
Chase? How warm is it in that base?” of fuel and housed generators to power the hidden Nazi
fortress.
“You mean other than the brig? It’s actually very warm.”
23
 Pulp Fantastic
“Here,” Veronica winked before tossing a handgun to him. form of flammable material and causing a raucous explo-
“I got our guns and communicators out of hoc. Got Wash’s sion in the main hangar.
mace, too.”
“Keep ‘em pinned down!” Stuttz shouted. “I’m going to
“Cool, man, cool. But I got to the radio and chewed the fat secure a plane!” Chase nodded in understanding to Wash
with the Doc. Here’s what we gotta do,” Chase began as and then went back to drawing a bead on the enemy sol-
re-told the plan to the others. diers.
“Theoretically sound,” Stuttz ruminated to himself. “All Scurrying about and stopping to take cover behind what-
we have to do is find a way to blow this dump without ever equipment had been left strewn about the aircraft
SETUP

getting ourselves killed in the process.” hangar, Wash made his way over to his plane of choice: a
bat-winged Nazi super jet. Not only did it appear large
“Plenty of planes up top in the hangar,” Chase remarked.
enough to him to accommodate all three of them and not
“Just get me to any of ‘em and I can fly us out of here.”
only did it look speedy enough to carry them safely away
“Great, pretty boy. But outside of that we’re stumped,” form the blast, but it just looked cool as all get out. Crouch-
confessed Veronica. With no better ideas coming, the three ing low, Wash made his play for the plane.
gave in and contacted Dr. Fleming on their wrist commu-
It was then that his head bumped into the firmest set of
nicators.
abdominal muscles he had ever seen. A large, bald Nazi
“Great day in the morning!” came Dr. Fleming’s exclam- guard had emerged from behind the plane, carrying a
atory expression, transmitted from thousands of miles workmen’s wrench and batting it menacingly into his left
away. “None of you ever studied science? Oh for the love hand. Every muscle in the giant’s torso rippled in a show
of… Break the piping of the geothermal gases near one of of pure testosterone and his face sneered in challenge to
the large fuel tanks. The metal of the storage tank will Washington Stuttz.
slowly rise in temperature and then ignite the liquid fuel,
That’s the biggest damned German I’ve ever seen! Stuttz
causing a domino effect throughout the area!”
thought to himself. Oh well, no sense dragging this out
And with the help of Wash’s mace, that is exactly what the any further. With that, Stuttz thrust himself forward and
three accomplished, despite the fact that all three of them slammed into the man’s mid-section. Though tiny by
were very nearly sent to a scalding death by the ensuing comparison, Wash was a brawler by nature and was not
rush of gases that came straight from the inferno that was going to go down without swinging a few. But then again,
the Earth’s core. Veronica Pentecost shrugged off the neither was his opponent.
matter, claiming that dodging death was what they did
With a shove on the shoulders, the giant Nazi flung Stuttz
best and that the steaming gases had actually been a benefit
from on top of him, sending him flying into yet another
to her by curling her hair. Less concerned with ladies
series of steel drums. After quickly picking himself back
fashion and more with escaping the Nazi’s Antarctic lair,
up, Wash drew his mace and closed to engage the
the men of the three rushed for the surface to where the
wrench-wielding menace.
aircraft…and their escape…awaited.
Their metal weapons clashed and clanked, connecting
“Fools!” Xan cursed after the S.S. lieutenant informed him
with each swing like swords in a duel. Wash could feel the
that the cells containing Wash, Chase, and Veronica were
Nazi’s superior strength battering away at him and did not
empty. “Find them! You have 30 minutes to do so…before
know just how much longer he could hold out against
I begin to find new ways of motivating you and your men!”
him. Suddenly, the bald Nazi had found an opening and
Not wanting to waste a precious minute of that 30, the gave Wash a haymaker of a right hook to the jaw. Wash
lieutenant gave a Nazi salute and bolted out of the door. immediately crumpled to the floor, seeing stars and very
Xan then turned to the table next to him and ran his fright- nearly blacking out, an action that would surely have
eningly long fingernails over the scale model of the lunar doomed them all. The Nazi stood over him, giving him
base that was planned. On the wall behind him were bio- insidious prodding kicks to the stomach and jeering at
logical diagrams showing the level of genetic intricacy him in German.
that went into breeding a killer penguin. Too much was
That was all it took for Wash to fight back the falling curtain
on the line. Too much stood to be accomplished and con-
of unconsciousness. No way was this man going to take a
quered to have it all in ruins because these insignificant
fall for a Nazi! Thinking his prey had been sufficiently
three. Leermeister stood in the corner smoking a cigarette,
disabled, the guard leaned his face downward to inspect
seemingly without sharing these concerns of Xan’s.
and ridicule his fallen foe. It was a perfect opportunity for
“They must not be permitted to disable the earthquake Wash to give a massive swing of his mace and cave in the
device,” Xan told Leermeister, his Hyperborean confidence side of the Nazi’s head entirely.
breaking.
Elsewhere in the hangar, Veronica and Chase had com-
pow! pow! Gunfire filled the entire hangar as Nazi troop- mandeered a tug cart. Veering and careening between the
ers took cover behind aircraft and equipment from the parked jets, Veronica drove the tug while Chase’s handgun
pistols of Veronica and Chase. Rapidly they returned fire, spat hot, leaded death at their enemies. A few Nazis fled,
their stray bullets hitting a drum that contained some fearing that if a bullet didn’t kill them, Veronica’s wild

24
 INTRODUCTION
driving would run them over. Other’s still met one of the but another soon waddled into its place. Chase Danner
previously mentioned fates. joined in on the action, blazing his handgun towards the
deadly beasts.
“Hold on!” Veronica ordered as she found herself unable
to brake in time to avoid hitting a wheeled tool chest. “Uh-oh,” Danner said as his pistol began making a tattle-
tale clicking sound. “I’m out…completely out.”
Chase ducked and wrapped his arms around his head just
before there was a prodigious crash and metal went flying. “Probably should have saved a few bullets for ourselves,”
The tug went into a skid. The world began to spin. And Stuttz remarked, grimly assessing the tide of oncoming
though Wash stood by the flying wing, frantically attempt- killer penguins.
ing to wave Veronica off, the heavy vehicle clipped straight
It was not in the nature of Chase Danner to give up quite
through the nose gear of the jet, snapping it clean from
so easily. With all the foolish recklessness of youth, he
the fuselage. The front end of the aircraft dropped to the
dove from the edge of the snow crawler and into the mass
floor with a heavy crash, shattering the canopy and frag-
of penguins. He punched. He kicked. He wrestled. He had I
menting the nose into cracks with a small electric fire
a decent-sized chunk bitten out of the flesh of his back.
beginning to burn. The tug came to a stop after it veered
out of control into the side of the hangar, jolting its occu- “Crazy kid,” Dr. Stuttz muttered while shaking his head
pants free. in disbelief.
“It’s ruined,” Stuttz said sadly. “We fought our way here Mace at the ready, Wash followed Chase and jumped swing-
for nothing.” ing into the fray. Through fisticuffs and a mace, as well as
the last remaining shots from Veronica Pentecost, many
“We don’t have much time left,” Veronica said somberly.
a killer penguin fell that day in the Antarctic snow. But
“Come on!” Stuttz said, shaking loose any self-pity for the situation grew bleaker by the moment. For every avian
their situation. “There’s a snow crawler outside. Grab a adversary that was killed, two more seemed to follow in
parka from the mechanic’s rack and let’s go!” its place. The three fought as Sisyphus against the stone.
“This is a drag, Daddy-O!” Chase called out as he held on It did indeed look like the end for our heroes.
to the side of the snow crawler. “I think I just saw a turtle
That is until the blast of a laser beam incinerated the
race pass us!”
penguin nearest Chase. Ray after ray of red lasers shot
Even Stuttz had to quietly agree with him. The vehicle was down from the sky, reducing the mass of penguins to a
already at top speed in the snow and they had made only wide pile of smoldering ash and cutting an arc of safety
a modest amount of distance from the base. The ground around the snow crawler.
shook from the shockwaves of the initial detonation in
And as the three looked to the sky to determine the source
the lower levels of the base. Soon, the entire area would
of their salvation, they found it in the form of a group of
go up in a gigantic paroxysm of fire. They weren’t going
men flying through the clear Antarctic sky by way of rocket
to make it.
packs strapped to their backs. Their copper helmets
Fissures began to develop in the ice as the tremors from gleamed in the sunlight and shone as justice before the
the blast flowed outward from the center. As these cracks spawn of the Nazi menace. It was the United States Rocket
in the ice gaped open wide, a moving mass of black and Corps…The Fightin’ Rocketmen.
white began to spill forth from them…the Killer Penguins.
Three of the Rocketmen landed on the snow crawler,
Their incubation chambers had broken apart and the
causing Veronica, Chase, and Wash to avert their faces
penguins had been set free…massing their way straight
from the brief burst of heat that radiated from the rocket
for the snow crawler.
pack.
“Man, those things are going to devour every scrap of flesh
“We’re The Rocketmen. We’re here to get you out,” the
on our bodies,” Chase said in soft awe, catatonic in the
lead Rocketman said plainly to Veronica. “Let me get a
face of the oncoming tidal wave of penguins that emitted
hold on you, Ma’am.”
and endless chorus of “Eep! Eep! Eep!”
“Oh you betcha!” Veronica turned around with a grin and
“Devouring my flesh has been tried on me before. But I
allowed her to be enveloped in the arms of the Rocketman.
somehow doubt it’s going to be as fun this time,” said
Veronica as she lit a cigarette in preparation for an ugly Wash and Chase also allowed themselves to be held by the
fight. other two rescuers (by the underarms only) and soon they
were soaring up into the sky…just as a fireball of immense
The region around the snow crawler had turned from an
proportions erupted forth into the air from beneath the
endless field of white to a sea teeming of black and white.
polar ice.
Stuttz turned the beam of the snow crawler’s rotary search-
light directly upon the encroaching killer birds. Their Soaring away from the blast like an insect spat forth from
beaks squawked out at the light as they became blinded an inferno was one of the Nazi super jets. It desperately
from the glare reflected by the snow and ice. That is when made its attempt at escape, desperately for it contained
Veronica took the first shot. The rapport of the gun made Re-Zal Evad.
a sharp crack in the cold air. A killer penguin fell dead…
25
 Pulp Fantastic
“Hurry my friends!” Re-Zal whimpered to the Nazi pilot
and co-pilot. “If you can get us to Argentina in an hour, I
will pay you double!”
Before the pilots could answer the sniveling coward, three
Rocketmen appeared in front of the plane, causing the
pilots to point out of the cockpit window and shout nerv-
ously in German. The Rocketmen aimed their laser guns
at the plane, motioning for the pilot to ditch the jet in the
icy waters below so that he and his passengers might be
SETUP

apprehended.
“I would have liked to have met Betty Grable,” Evad sniffled
pathetically in defeat.
The other remaining Rocketmen delivered their rescuees
to the deck of a U.S. submarine that awaited them in the
waters off of Antarctica. Veronica promptly commanded
her Rocketman to remove his helmet so that she might
give him a deep kiss of gratitude. Chase and Wash told
their rescuers that a hearty handshake was all they were
getting from them.
“How is that for a rescue with style?” came the voice of
Sterling Westinghouse on their wrist communicators.
“It’ll do, Boss,” Chase said with false indifference.
“And the entrance?” interrupted a frantic Doc Fleming.
“Did the explosion seal the entrance to Hyperborea?”
Chase and Wash exchanged dumb looks while Veronica
continued to make out with her Rocketman.
“Doc, there’s no way we can know that. We had to high-tail
it out of there before we went up with the place, too,” Wash
replied.
“Yes, I understand,” Fleming sagged with dejection. “But
I fear we may get our answer to that question someday
soon.”
Xan continuously lost his footing on the loose rock of the
tunnel, mainly due to the fact that he was only wearing
slippers on his feet. He fell yet one more time onto his
posterior and uttered a curse in Hyperborean.
“Have you no decent footwear?” chided Colonel Leer-
meister who was ahead of him in the tunnel.
“Royalty seldom travel this way,” Xan growled. “Besides,
what time had I to change shoes before our work went up
into flames?”
Leermeister could feel the heat from the intense fire that
burned above them and would probably continue to burn
for another week.
“They shall all pay dearly for this,” Xan swore aloud as he
once more started down the path that led into the Earth.
“Hyperborea shall again rise to the surface and when it
does…I shall first go looking for Veronica Pentecost, Chase
Danner…and Washington Stuttz.”
the end?

26
 Chapter 1
Basics

T Skills
his chapter covers the basic concepts and rules of the
pulp fantastic role-playing game. Everything
gets explained in more detail in the appropriate chap- Skills cover the character’s specialist knowledge and learn-
ters later on in the book, but here’s the glossary and quick ing, everything from shooting a gun or moving stealthily
reference. to being an expert on Occult History or safe-cracking.
Skills are rated from 1-6, where 1 means passing familiar-
ity with the topic, while a Skill of 6 means that the char-
Characters acter is a world-renowned expert in that field. Skills above
6 are theoretically possible, but represent a nigh-super-
Player characters (pcs) are the avatars controlled by the
human level of expertise.
players. They’re the heroes of the series, the protagonists,
and the starring cast. Non-player characters (npcs) are The skills used in pulp fantastic are:
controlled by the Gamemaster; they’re villains, extras,
• Animal Handling: Caring for animals,
and the supporting cast.
calming down ferocious monsters, command-
In terms of rules, characters are defined by Attributes, ing animals.
Traits and Skills. They also have Story Points. • Athletics: Climbing over obstacles, running,
fitness
Attributes • Convince: Persuading people, lying with con-
viction
All characters (pcs, npcs, even monsters and creatures) • Craft: Making or repairing items
have six Attributes. These attributes are: • Fighting: Brawling, punching, using melee
weapons
• Awareness: spotting dangers, noticing things
• Knowledge: History, geography, cultural in-
out of place, avoiding surprises
formation, folklore, humanities.
• Coordination: dexterity, agility, dodging,
• Marksman: Using firearms, from bows to
climbing, accuracy
assault rifles and pistols to electro-blasters.
• Ingenuity: IQ, inventiveness, cleverness. Not
• Medicine: Everything from first aid to brain
necessarily a measure of education. A charac-
surgery
ter might be very clever, but poorly educated.
• Science: Research, experimentation, scientif-
• Presence: personal charisma, likeability, charm
ic knowledge
• Resolve: determination, courage, willpower.
• Subterfuge: Sneaking, sleight of hand, hiding
• Strength: physical strength, toughness.
from monsters
Everyone has at least 1 point in every Attribute. • Survival: Outdoor survival, navigation, living
rough
For humans, all Attributes are rated from 1 to 6. For
• Technology: Weird science, using gadgets,
example, a Strength of 1 means the character is noticeably
• Transport: Driving, flying, operating vehicles
weak, small or physically challenged. A character with a
Strength of 6 might be a weightlifting athlete or a really All skills have associated Areas of Expertise. A character
tough soldier. Particularly strange villains, creatures and can pick up Areas of Expertise if they have the related Skill
monsters can have Attributes well beyond human maxi- at 3 or more. Areas of Expertise give a bonus to rolls related
mums—a love-struck giant ape from a lost South Sea to that area.
island might have a Strength of 16, while a Kraken might
See page 40 for a full description of all the skills.
have a Strength of 40 or more!

Traits
Traits are special talents, quirks or foibles possessed by a
character. Traits can be Good or Bad. Good Traits help out
in certain situations – for example, a character with the
 Pulp Fantastic
Sense of Direction trait gets a bonus when trying to nav- the Difficulty and the Result. You don’t have to follow
igate unfamiliar terrain or avoid getting lost. Bad Traits this step for every roll, but it adds detail to important,
hinder a character in certain situations, but provide bonus dramatic rolls.
Story Points in recompense. For more on the various Traits
you can get, see page 46. DIFFERENCE SUCCESS EFFECT
Yes, And…You not only succeeded,
Story Points 9+ Fantastic you get an extra benefit on top
of succeeding
Story Points are a character’s edge, that little spark of luck
Yes! You managed to do exactly
SETUP

or genius that makes him special. All player characters 4-8 Good
have a few Story Points, and can earn more from Bad Traits what you were trying to do
or role-playing. Story Points can be spent to re-roll the Yes, But…You succeeded, but at a
0-3 OK
dice, change events in the game, or activate special traits. cost.
No, But…You didn’t do what you

Rules −1 to −3 Failed set out to do, but you managed

to accomplish something…
There are all sorts of special-case rules for unusual situa- −4 to −8 Bad No! You failed. It didn’t work.
tions like combat or investigation, but the basic system in
No, And…Not only did you fail,
pulp fantastic is very simple indeed. Here’s the catch- −9+ Disastrous
you’ve made things worse!
all rule:
ATTRIBUTE + SKILL (+TRAIT) + TWO SIX-SIDED DICE =
RESULT.
A Note On Dice
Sometimes, we’ll say something like an attack does 1 - 6
Then, compare the Result to a Difficulty set by the GM. If the damage, or an event happens after 1 - 6 minutes. Just roll
Result is greater than or equal to the Difficulty, you succeed. a dice to find the actual number. You’ll also run into more
If the Result is less than the Difficulty, the attempt fails. complex formula, like “2 dice +6”. Roll the listed number
Finally (and optionally), determine how well you suc- of dice, add them up, and then apply any modifiers.
ceeded or failed by working out the difference between

TASK DIFFICULTY EXAMPLE

Really simple, automatic success. Opening a bottle of drink, using a phone, walking down
Really Really Easy 3
the street, eating chips. (So simple, you shouldn’t even need to roll!)

Really Easy 6 Doing basic research in the library

Easy 9 Winding a clock, operating a radio, jumping a low fence,
Driving a car in traffic, shooting at someone, swimming in the sea, uncovering a useful but
Normal 12
not secret fact.
Tricky 15 Driving at speed, shooting a moving target, climbing a building
Hard 18 Picking a lock, lift twice your own weight, treat a gunshot wound
Climb a sheer cliff without ropes, charm your way into a government facility, escape from
Difficult 21
rope bonds.
Recall a whole speech from a Shakespeare play, fix a broken piece of gadgetry, fly a plane
Very Difficult 24
in turbulence
Hit a very small target with a slingshot, break into the Division 4 offices, slide down an
Improbable! 27
elevator cable using only your boots and your pistols.

Nearly
30 Climb a skyscraper in the rain, shoot a small target in an adjacent room without looking.
Impossible!

28
 Basics

Setting Terri: I got 8.

Adam: 10 here.
The world of pulp fantastic is the world of the popular
fiction of the 1920’s and 1930’s. It’s the past of our world, gm: Right. Runt looks around, but doesn’t see much of
but idealised, simplified, and greatly exaggerated. anything – he’s too busy watching the shadows. Wild Bill
notices a manhole cover in the rain-slicked alley that isn’t
First, the bright spots were brighter. Scientific achieve- sitting right, as if it’s been moved recently. Charlie notices
ments really could deliver on its many promises. Heroes the manhole cover, but his attention is drawn by a faint
were generally the noble and strong characters in stories, scuffing sound as if there is someone on the rooftop above
even if they had a flaw or two. The question wasn’t if the you.
good guys would win. The question was usually ‘how’.
Clay: I Look up quickly. Can I see anything?
On the other hand, the darker spots were dark. Crime and
corruption in the cities was even worse than what the gm: No. It’s night, it’s raining and the glow of the street
papers were reporting. Nefarious schemes hatched by lights barely reaches down this dingy alleyway. You do,
masterminds both criminal and political were everything. however, get the creeping feeling that you’re being watched.
1
But this all just gave the heroes something to fight against. Clay: Riiiiight. Charlie unholsters his automatic, just in
The reason for this more ‘idealistic’ view of the world was case.
simple. The Great Depression was a recent, ugly memory. gm: Cool. What are the rest of you doing?
Not too long ago, there’d been a brutal war in Europe, and
it looked like another was on the way. In 1918 Spanish Flu Adam: Wild Bill moves over to the manhole cover to check
had suddenly, swiftly and inexplicably killed nearly five it out.
per cent of the world’s population. Times were hard, and Terri: Runt is sticking close to Wild Bill.
people wanted to escape their lives with light reading.
They wanted stories in which the good guys were stalwart, Adam: (In a gruff British accent) That’s right lad, you stick
true and victorious, and life’s problems could be solved with me.
with a solid right hook. So the pulps weren’t about realism, gm: Can I have Awareness + Survival Rolls from Wild Bill
they were simply about entertainment, about stirring and Runt please.
stories of adventure, intrigue, action and horror.
Adam: Can I add my Tracker Trait bonus?
This world – a world of square-jawed heroes and villainous
masterminds, of weird science and lost worlds, of mystery gm: Sure.
men and two-fisted justice – is the world of pulp fantastic. Adam: Cool. Awareness 3, Survival 4, +2 from Tracker…
I rolled 4. That’s a total of 13.
Example of Play Terri: I got 10.
In this example of play, there’s a gm and three players; gm: Excellent. Wild Bill, as you’re examining the manhole
Clay, Terri and Adam. Each player has a different charac- cover, you notice a thin smear of something dark on the
ter. “Quick Draw” Charlie McCoy, a soldier for hire, is edge, partially washed away by the rain. Moving the
played by Clay. Runt, a boy rogue is played by Terri and manhole cover slightly, you can see the top rung of a metal
Lord William “Wild Bill” McGommery, big game hunter, ladder, on which you clearly see a bloody handprint.
is played by Adam. The group have thwarted an attempt-
ed kidnapping on the streets of Hong Kong and tracked Terri: (as Runt) Gee Wild Bill, looks like that shot you got
one of the kidnappers to the docks. off connected after all!

gm: You follow the scurrying figure of the would-be kid- Adam: I call Charlie over.
napper down alleyways and between buildings, always Clay: I head over, but I’m trying to keep an eye on the
staying just out of sight. Pausing to let the figure get far rooftops.
enough ahead that you won’t be seen, you round a corner
to find that he has completely vanished. Ahead you can Terri: Looks like our boy went to ground, Mr McCoy!
see an old, crumbling brick-built warehouse set right on Clay: Charlie looks at Wild Bill and Runt. (As Charlie)
the waterfront. Don’t tell me you’re going down there after him!
Clay: Is there anywhere else he could have gone? Adam: Wild Bill just grunts and starts to climb down the
gm: Is that in character as Charlie, or are you asking me? manhole.

Clay: That’s Charlie. (Clay adopts a lazy drawl) Anyone Clay: Charlie looks at Runt. (As Charlie) Are you as crazy
see anywhere else he could have gone? as he is?

gm: Roll Awareness + Ingenuity, everyone. Terri: Runt grins at Charlie and clambers down after Wild
Bills. (As Runt) Last one down’s a sissy!
Clay: Awareness 4, Ingenuity 3, plus a roll of 5. That’s a
total of 12. Clay: I’m going to regret this. Okay, Charlie heads down

29
 Pulp Fantastic
after them. (As Charlie) Someone’s got to keep you yahoos Clay: Are they coming closer?
outta trouble…
gm: Awareness + Ingenuity, please. Adam, Wild Bill rolls
gm: At the bottom of the ladder is the tunnel, maybe a Awareness + Survival, plus his Tracker bonus.
sewer or a storm drain. With all the rain you’ve been having
Adam: I got 10.
it doesn’t smell too bad, but you don’t feel like setting up
home just yet. It’s very dark. Did anyone bring a light? Clay: I got 12
Adam: Uh… Adam: Again? I’m using your dice next time.
Terri: Oops. gm: You’re both pretty certain that the voices aren’t getting
SETUP

closer. In addition, you can’t hear any of the splashing that

Clay: Nope.
would indicate footsteps in the tunnel.
gm: If one of you spends a Story Point, I’ll let you remem-
Terri: Runt is going to sneak closer to the sound to see
ber that you’ve packed a torch.
what he can see.
Adam: I’ll do it.
Clay: Charlie follows.
gm: Cool. Mark a Story Point off your character sheet.
Adam: And me!
Adam: Done. Wild Bill pats his jacket pockets for a moment
gm: Coordination + Subterfuge rolls, please.
before finding and extracting an electric flashlight.
Terri: Er, 10.
gm: The yellow glow of the torch illuminates an ancient
tunnel of brick extending ahead and behind. Which way Adam: 9.
to you go?
Clay: 12.
Terri: Does it go toward the warehouse?
Adam: C’mon!
gm: Roughly, yes.
gm: (With an evil grin) He can’t keep rolling like that
Terri: Then lets go that way! forever. Right, the three of you steal up to the bend in the
tunnel and peer around. Ahead of you it opens out into a
gm: Does everyone agree?
large cavern or grotto, dimly lit by several oil lanterns hung
Clay & Adam: Sure. on beams and pit-props. Several men seem to be working
in the semi-darkness, moving heavy wooden crates.
gm: Okay. You move slowly along the tunnel, taking care
not to make too much noise. With every step you take the Terri: (As Runt, whispering) What are they doing?
ankle-deep water stirs and ripples ahead of you. Who’s
Clay: No idea. Can you see what’s in those crates?
going first?
gm: (To gm) Can we?
Clay, Adam & Terri: (All looking at each other) Errr…
gm: Not from here; they’re too far away and the light is
gm: Tick tock, time’s a wasting. I’ll need a decision or I’ll
too dim.
have to pick one of you at random in 5…4…3…2…
Adam: Can we get any closer without being seen?
Terri: I’ll go first.
gm: Maybe. Are you going to try?
gm: Well done, Terri. Have a Story Point for volunteering.
(To Clay and Adam) For shame, boys! So, with Runt taking Terri: I’ll go.
the lead, you proceed down the tunnel. (To Terri) Runt,
gm: Coordination + Subterfuge roll, please.
make an Awareness + Ingenuity Roll, please.
Terri: I got 12!
Terri: Awareness 3, Ingenuity 3 (Rolls die) I rolled 5. That’s
a total of 11! gm: Excellent. Pressing yourself into the brick wall of the
tunnel, you slither closer to the entrance of the cavern. At
gm: You see that the tunnel curves slightly to the left
the lip of the tunnel you pause and peer into the space
ahead of you, and you can faintly hear the sound of voices
beyond. About two metres away you can see one of the
muttering in the distance. If you squint in the darkness
crates. Stamped onto the side is a crest you recognise from
you can see a faint glow playing on the tunnel walls.
your adventure in Europe; the horned eagle of Berezkia!
Terri: Runt turns to the others and whispers “Douse the light!”
Terri: Oh, no…
Adam: Wild Bill flicks off the flashlight.
gm: Before you can head back to the others there’s a
gm: You wait in the darkness as your eyes become accus- metallic rattling above your head, and a heavy iron grat-
tomed to the gloom. Faintly ahead, you can see light and ings clangs down across the entrance to the tunnel and
shadows moving on the walls of the tunnel, and dimly you locks in place. At the same time bright lights snap on
become aware of the sounds of men, talking and mutter- inside the cavern, dazzling you all. As you struggle to
ing amongst themselves. regain your sight, a familiar voice chills you to the bone.

30
 Basics
“So gentlemen, we meet again, as I predicted!” It’s your
arch-nemesis, the Death Dragon, Siwang Lung!
Adam: Wild Bill rushes down to Runt’s side and snarls at
Siwang Lung through the grating. “Curse you, Siwang
Lung! Whatever fiendish plot you’re engaged in, you won’t
get away with it!”
gm: Siwang Lung smiles grimly. “But I have gotten away
with it, gentlemen. These are the last of the crates, but
even without these I have stockpiled enough Berezkian
weaponry to set the whole of the East afire.”
Clay: Charlie joins Runt and Wild Bill. “But we’ve foiled
your kidnapping plot!”
gm: Siwang Lung’s twisted smile grows wider. “You have
foiled nothing! I knew you would track me down eventu- 1
ally, so I engineered a fake kidnapping to draw you here
on my terms. Now you are here…” Siwang Lung extracts
a small whistle from his pocket and blows upon it. No
sound emerges from it. “Now you are here I will dispose
of you.”
Terri: (As Runt) “Tough talk from a man on the other side
of an iron grate!”
gm: Siwang Lung bows very slightly. “True. It pains me
to leave the execution of such worthy foes to lesser
minions, but I am a man on a schedule after all.”
Adam: Wild Bill draws his pistol.
gm: Siwang Lung wags an admonishing finger. “No, no,
Lord McGommery! That will not do. You should save your
ammunition. You’re going to need it.” Make Awareness +
Ingenuity rolls, please.
Terri: 9.
Adam: 11
Clay: 8.
gm: Wild Bill hears it first, then Runt, and finally Charlie.
It’s behind you, in the tunnel, getting closer. Much closer.
Terri: What is it?
gm: Rats. The squealing of rats. Thousands of them. And
they sound hungry…
Just what is Siwang Lung’s dreadful plan? Can our heroes stop him,
or will they be devoured by a tide of scurrying death? Find out in our
next thrilling episode of pulp fantastic!!

31
 Chapter 2
Genesis

T
his chapter covers the rules for creating your player striving to crush the home-grown disease that is organized
character. If you’re using the characters from the crime? Are they the agents of an ancient mystical broth-
templates, you’ll still need to refer to this chapter to erhood, fighting to push back the forces of supernatural
learn about Attributes, Skills, Traits and the other char- darkness? Are they explorers and hunters, trekking off
acter-centric rules. the edge of the map in search of fame, glory and a dinosaur
head to mount over the club fireplace? Are they a combi-

Creating a Group nation of the above, or something entirely different?

With the above examples, many different types of char-
Before you start making your character, you should get acter can be brought together by similar experiences.
together with the other players and the Gamemaster and Perhaps the agents of the mystical brotherhood all en-
discuss how the game is going to work. What sort of char- countered some foul supernatural threat at some point in
acters is everyone going to play? What brings all the char- their lives, and are now bound together by a sacred vow
acters together? Is there an overall theme or goal to the to protect the innocent from Eldritch Abominations.
game? Everyone needs to have an idea of what the game Maybe the wise-cracking, whip-wielding adventurer and
is going to be like before anyone moves onto character the stuttering, bookish scholar both lecture at the same
generation. university, and maybe the grim government agent has
been assigned because the artifacts they dig up have a
That doesn’t mean you can’t play the character you want
tendency to be… dangerous. Perhaps the gum-chewing
– but you need to find a reason to integrate everyone into
news hound follows them around because the scrapes
the group. If you come up with an English Big Game hunter
they get into make the best copy!
traipsing through the wastes of Antarctica, you have to
have a reason why.
We call the structure you come up with for your game
Who are the Characters?
your Group Framework, and Pulp stories are a good place Pulp characters tended to break into two wide archetypes:
to start. Protector and Avenger.
The Protector is a bulwark against evil; defending the
The Premise “common man,” society, the American government, Truth
and Justice. While the Protector is willing to bend rules
The first step is coming up with the premise for the
and laws in the pursuit of higher goals, ultimately he is
Group Framework. Think of it as the ‘elevator pitch’, the
about upholding the law. Regardless of what evil and
quick thirty-second summary of what your game’s going
heinous acts occur, the Protector will work within the
to be about.
system to prevent those acts from happening. The Protec-
For example, the Doc Savage stories were about an altru- tor is a role-model, as well as a model citizen. He is the
istic scientific genius surrounded by men who were experts one given the public plaudits, the honorary police badge,
in their fields, who teamed up to help people and make the one handed the key to the city.
the world a better place. While Doc was undoubtedly the
The Avenger acts from the shadows and embraces them
powerhouse of the group and the reason they stayed to-
as a part of his way of life. While the Avenger may hold
gether, each member was a capable adventurer in his (or
the Protector in high esteem and respect, he knows that
in the case of Pat Savage, her) own right. The Shadow and
having high morals can get in the way when trying to break
the Spider stories featured a vengeful crime-buster with
a crime ring. The Avenger is about practicalities and
a cadre of assistants and operatives who frequently went
getting the job done, even when it means breaking the
off on adventures of their own, often coming to their
law…or the occasional bone.
leader’s rescue at the last moment.
Remember that regardless of which of these two general
What about your group? Are they a team of treasure
archetypes is used as a theme for your character, that
hunters and archaeologists, working for a major museum?
character is supposed to be a hero. The world of the Pulp
Are they government agents, bent on cracking down on
Era can be brutal at times, but the characters are the heroes
Nazi spies and threats from the Orient? Are they G-men,
 Pulp Fantastic
SETUP

SAMPLE CAMPAIGN FRAMEWORKS

BRING ‘EM BACK ALIVE!
The characters are a group of naturalists, guides, hunters and reporters who travel the world in search of the biggest, most elusive
and mysterious game for study in a major metropolitan zoo. Funded by a mysterious benefactor, their mission is to investigate
reports of strange and unusual wildlife, and retrieve live specimens if possible. So far they’ve not had a lot of success, mainly because
the Nazis keep getting there first. But what does the Fuhrer want with these animals, some of which seem as if they shouldn’t be
native to the Earth at all?

KNIGHTS OF THE ELECTRIC TABLE!

Nikola Tesla, the “wizard of the 20th Century”, has created a new technological Camelot in upstate New York. Playing both Arthur
and Merlin, the quiet genius has recruited some of the worlds most extraordinary men and women to serve as his “knights”;
guardians who serve to advance the boundaries of human knowledge, and protect the people from the willful abuse of that
knowledge. Together the characters investigate abuses of the new technology, fighting to stop the fruits of Tesla’s genius from
ushering in a new Dark Age. But how are dictators and mad men getting hold of Tesla’s designs? Is there a traitor in Camelot? And
what of Thomas Alva Edison and his insatiable desire to make Tesla’s discoveries his own?

TALES OF THE AIR CAVALRY!

From their super-secret floating island, the brave airmen and women of the visionary Air Cavalry protect the skies of the world from
the machinations of science villains, dictators and criminal masterminds. Beholden to no nation, the Air Cavalry has vowed that the
skies shall remain free from war. But as the nations of the world move closer to conflict, and Herr Hitler’s scientists experiment with
new and faster aircraft, and newer and more terrible technologies, can the Air Cavalry really hold back the tide and keep the skies
open for Freedom?

TWO-FISTED ACTION TALES!

The publishing industry in the pulp-era is a cut-throat business, and these days a magazine has to have a gimmick to stay in print.
Say, wouldn’t it be a great idea if, instead of paying hack writers to churn out unbelievable stories month after month, the magazine
had it’s very own real-life adventurers and chronicled the scrapes they got into? Sure it would! If that’s not a sure-fire hit idea, then
my names not J. Montgomery. Cruickshank III. Get to it boys! And where’s that copy-boy with my danish?!

FIGHT THE FUTURE!

You’ll always remember the night the time traveler appeared. Grim, determined and weighed down with terrible knowledge, he
first convinced you of his veracity with information about your life; information that no-one alive could possess. Then he told you
a little about the terrible future he had seen, on his voyages astride his chronovelocipede. Finally, he told you that you, and others
like you, were the key to stopping that awful, empty future from coming to be. Shortly after the traveler introduced you to his
other recruits, he vanished, leaving behind a tattered journal brimming with notes concealed in a complex cipher. The brightest guy
you know is decoding it, and lets you know whenever he uncovers something useful. The trouble is, you don’t know how that
dreadful barren world will come about. You hope you’re doing the right thing, but what if you’re just making it happen, or even
making it worse?! And who are the dark-suited strangers you seem to be running into more and more often? Are they time travel-
ers too? Or do they serve an even murkier, more fantastic purpose?

34
 Genesis
who are striving for a better world – even when their • Try also to become familiar with the historical
motives may appear vague and mysterious to others. period that is the basis for the campaign. The
Source-book included with this game, the Pulps
The Pulp Era was before the time of the anti-hero. When-
themselves, and many readily-available books
ever the pulp magazines tried to create a magazine with a
on history will supply you with most everything
villain as a main character within a few issues that magazine
you need to know. (You don’t need to be as
would fail in the market place. The readers wanted to know
relentless as this game’s designers and purchase
that there were heroes out there in the world, leading by
mountains of books, magazines, almanacs,
example and deed, making the hard choices and who could
encyclopedias, and gazetteers from the period
not live an easy life. They wanted heroes, and at its roots it
for your research…but it helps).
is heroes that pulp fantastic is actually about.
• Lastly, get inside your character’s head. You
Character conception is also the most important idea to should essentially have done this already, when
remember when actually playing your character. The basic, conceiving your character. How does he respond
all-important basis of role-playing games is that the players to danger? To prolonged stress? Is he cynical or
role-play. Players put together their characters according romantic? Curious or indifferent? Outgoing or
to their character conceptions, and in all subsequent ad- introverted? Absentminded or fiercely intent?
ventures react to situations as would their characters. Comprehend your character, and react to the
adventure’s situations as he would. 2
This means that if a player has put together a character
That is role-playing. It is the most important part of a
who is a fearless-unto-self-destruction hero of heroes,
role-playing game. The characters react to dangers, clues,
when playing this character he should react as this strap-
and each other and without those interactions, a game
ping hero, even if the real player is a skinny and pacifistic
becomes nothing more than a tactical exercise in mayhem.
scholar. On the other hand, a strapping player may wish
to portray a near-sighted and indolent coward – and should,
in spite of any real-life inclinations, respond to most threats Who’s the Supporting Cast?
by running away and using his wits. Who are the key non-player characters? Do the characters
Of course, the situations the gm creates will not merely be have a mysterious benefactor who bankrolls their adven-
threats and danger. Role-playing games should not consist tures in return for whatever scientific knowledge they
of a series of incidents of random violence and combat. So, acquire along the way? Do they know a long-suffering
our strapping hero may have the fighting ability of a squad- Chief of Police, a dry-witted University Dean or a particu-
ron and the social awareness of an orangutan, while the larly feisty lady reporter with a knack for finding trouble?
sniveling yet scholarly coward may not be able to out-wres- A good Premise gives the Gamemaster a few fun recurring
tle an over-stuffed armchair but may be able to read hiero- characters to play. The gm characters are the supporting
glyphics by touch and operate every known mode of trans- cast, not the stars of the show—even if they tag along on
port in the world. And all this, of course, is at the choice of adventures, it’s up to the player characters to actually solve
the individual player and his gm. the mysteries and save the day.
In order to role-play more effectively—providing for more
depth, enjoyment, and color in the campaign— you should; What Resources Do You Have?
• Talk to your GM and understand the nature and How well funded is your group? What sort of support do
scope of the campaign he is creating. You’ll want you have? Are you amateur sleuths or secret government
to create your character to fit comfortably within agents? Have you got a luxurious headquarters in one of
the nature of the campaign. A chivalrous adven- New York’s tallest buildings, or are you operating out of
turer or a genius inventor/ scholar will fit in well the back room of a disreputable bar on the docks of Shang-
in practically any campaign; however, a hard- hai? Do you have the legal authority to go stomping around
boiled detective may feel a little foolish within the country looking for spies, cultists and madmen, or do
the pyramids of Egypt, a devout monster-slayer you have to sneak around and bluff your way in?
may feel useless in a campaign where creatures Look at the rules for Group Traits on page 65 for ideas.
of the night do not appear (or worse, do not exist!),
and a whip-cracking and boisterous adventurer
may be of little use tracking delicate sets of clues Who Opposes You?
through the social strata of Boston. Adventure and drama requires conflict—who’s the antag-
• Become familiar with the genre—understand onist? Who opposes your group? Who’s your Evil Master-
the very feel of the pulp adventures from which mind? In Sax Rohmer’s classic Fu Manchu stories the epon-
this game is derived. Heroes were a trifle more ymous “Devil Doctor” was the main antagonist throughout
single-minded than those today; happily, dis- the series, but there were also lesser villains like his daugh-
tinctions between good and evil were also ter, the beautiful and venomous Fah Lo Suee and other
clearer. Think in black and white, and remem- senior agents. There’ll be disposable bad guys and enemies
ber that your characters should be portrayed in each adventure, but you’ll also want some ongoing op-
as larger than life. position, the quirkier and more memorable the better.

35
 Pulp Fantastic
Connect It All Up Attributes of the character, limited to a maximum of six
in each. Six is the human maximum, and no character
Finally, take a look at everything you’ve come up with so may have an attribute above six. It is very rare for a char-
far, and see if you can find any interesting connections. acter to start with an Attribute at six. At the other extreme,
The stunning Femme Fatale is much more interesting as you must put at least one point into each attribute. You
a character’s ex-wife or lover than if she was just a random can’t have an Attribute of zero - when Attributes reach
spy, and the twisted Mad Scientist’s grudge could be made zero due to injury or other effects, the character becomes
even more personal if he was once the lab partner of one incapacitated - so you can’t start in that state!
of the heroes, and blames him for being laughed out of
You could put more points into the character’s Strength,
SETUP

University. Throw in a few unexpected links between

and less into their Ingenuity, meaning that they’re more
different elements of the Group Framework.
of an athlete. Or you could make all of the Attributes the
What if your resources come from the wealthy industri- same, making them equally good (or bad) at everything,
alist father of one of the player characters? What if evidence though that may not be very realistic - nobody is equally
comes forward that he was a war profiteer? What if the good at everything.
opposition are a secret faction of the US Government, run
by a Shadow President? What could tear your group apart?
The Six Attributes
There are six attributes that define the capabilities of the
Creating your Character character. They are Awareness, Coordination, Ingenuity,
Presence, Resolve and Strength. Attributes are ranked
Now that you’ve got an idea of what sort of characters fit
from one to six, with six being the human maximum. A
within your group framework, it’s time to create your own
description of what the Attributes are follows, each cov-
character.
ering the various levels so you know what having a Strength
Characters are defined by Attributes, Skills and Traits. 2 or Resolve 3 actually means.
Attributes are what the character is like – how strong they
are, how clever they are, how perceptive, and so on. Skills
are what the character knows – can they drive a car, strip ASSIGNING ATTRIBUTE POINTS
down an engine, know first aid, know how to ski, how to
fight or how to bluff their way out of a situation? Finally, You can spend up to 24 points on Attributes, but you don’t
Traits detail what your character can do, or in some cases have to spend that many. Most people have only 2s and 3s
cannot do – are they ambidextrous, have a particular knack and maybe a single 4 in their Attributes. People with an
for fixing things, do they heal surprisingly quickly, are Attribute of 5 are pretty exceptional – people with a 6 are
they rich, famous, or have a family that keeps getting them incredibly talented. There’s no need to make your character
into trouble? superhuman. Unless you have a specific character concept in
mind, limit yourself to 3s, 4s and maybe one 5. You will have
Attributes and Skills have numerical ratings. The higher more fun if your character’s exceptional qualities are balanced
the rating the better they are at something. Each charac- by his weaknesses.
ter is given a number of points to purchase Attributes,
Skills and Traits, but these points are limited, so the players Be careful of putting a 1 into an Attribute – that’s a significant
should think things through before assigning numbers. weak spot in your character that any good GM will exploit.
They’ll have to decide if the character is stronger than they
are smart, wittier than they are agile, and what their par-
ticular areas of expertise are. Awareness
You’ve got 42 Character Points to spend. Each point spent Awareness is used for your sense of your surroundings.
buys you a single point of an Attribute or Skill. You can It’s what you use to see a native sneaking up on you or to
also buy Traits – Good Traits cost a variable number of explore ancient ruins. Awareness covers all five senses
points, while Bad Traits give you points back! equally – if you want your character to be especially keen-
eyed, that’s a Good Trait.
Left-over Character Points become unspent Experience
Points at the end. Importantly, Awareness determines whether or not you’re
surprised when combat starts.
You’re limited to spending a maximum of 24 points on
Attributes. Awareness 1: Rather oblivious or absent-minded; you’re
the sort of person who’d walk out in front of traffic, or miss
Attributes a clue that’s right in front of your nose.
Awareness 2: Below average; easily distracted, preoccu-
Attributes are a measure of a man (or woman) and give
pied or never needed to hone your senses.
you an indication as to what the character is capable of.
How strong they are, how smart, how charming, how Awareness 3: About average; moderately aware of your
clever, all these are defined by Attributes ranked from one surroundings, somewhat perceptive, but nothing out of
to six. Using the Character Points given, you purchase the the ordinary.
36
 Genesis
Awareness 4: Quite perceptive, quick to notice something Presence
out of place. People trained in observation, such as police
officers, fall into this range. This covers charm and charisma. People want to trust you,
to like you, and to impress you. It’s very useful when trying
Awareness 5: Extremely aware of your surroundings. to persuade or command people.
You’ve probably spent time in a dangerous environment,
like a jungle, where a single careless misstep could cost Presence 1: You’re actively anti-social, rude, or just clueless.
your life. Presence 2: You’re forgettable, bland, or put your foot in
Awareness 6: The finely honed senses of a predator; you your mouth regularly.
could be a legendary detective who spots every clue, or a Presence 3: About average. You’ve got a few close friends,
brilliant hunter who can spot the most cleverly camou- and can speak in public without embarrassing yourself.
flaged prey.
Presence 4: You’re the life of the party, with above-aver-
Coordination age charisma and charm.

This Attribute covers hand-eye coordination and dexter- Presence 5: You’re extremely convincing. You could be
ity. It also plays into who goes first when combat starts. an inspiring leader, a wonderful entertainer, or a talented
Coordination’s a very important attribute if you’re playing con artist.
2
a combat-focused character. Athletes and martial artists Presence 6: Your charisma borders on the superhuman;
have high Coordination. you exude animal magnetism, and people flock to you.
Coordination 1: You’re clumsy or uncoordinated; you Your force of personality can steamroll most opposition.
might even suffer from some ailment or physical problem.
Resolve
Coordination 2: Below average; you were always picked
last for football, and walk into doors a bit more than most Resolve measures your willpower, determination, and self-con-
people. trol. Low Resolve means you’re nervous or fearful; high Resolve
means you’re cool and collected. Resolve is related to courage,
Coordination 3: Average; you can handle yourself mod- but it’s not directly correlated – a character with low Resolve
erately well. could still be brave enough to creep into a cannibal’s village,
Coordination 4: The level of someone quite athletic or but he’d be shaking in his boots as he did so.
dexterous. Resolve 1: You don’t handle danger well at all. You’re the
Coordination 5: Exceptionally well-coordinated; you sort who faints at the sight of blood! You’re also a pushover,
might be a sharp-shooter, contortionist or gymnast. and rarely stand up for yourself.

Coordination 6: Incredible hand-eye coordination and Resolve 2: You’re nervous and fearful. The thought of violence
agility. makes your knees start knocking and your mouth go dry.
Resolve 3: About average. You wouldn’t consider yourself
Ingenuity especially brave or tough, but you can be relied on when
This Attribute is how clever you are. It doesn’t necessari- the chips are down.
ly reflect intelligence – you may be highly intelligent in Resolve 4: You’re stronger-willed than average. You know
one field, but unable to apply your knowledge in other your own mind, and don’t let other people boss you around.
areas. It also doesn’t quite measure education. Think of
it as reflecting how quickly you think on your feet. Resolve 5: You’re extremely strong-willed. People call you
driven, stubborn, or a maverick. When you set your mind
Ingenuity 1: You’re noticeably slow on the uptake and on something, it gets done. When you’re surrounded by
don’t improvise well. a gang of thugs, you don’t even flinch.
Ingenuity 2: Below average; you can get by in everyday life, Resolve 6: Your conviction borders on obsession. Your self-con-
but you’ll lose arguments more often than you win them. trol is astonishing. You could stare down a charging bull.
Ingenuity 3: About average; you can adapt when chal-
lenged and solve most problems you encounter. Strength
Ingenuity 4: Above average; you’ve gone to university Strength, obviously enough, is your physical strength. The
(or could have, if it weren’t for circumstances), and can higher your strength, the more you can lift and the more
solve a crossword quicker than most people. damage you do when you punch or kick someone. A high
Strength score is needed to use some heavy weapons
Ingenuity 5: Very smart; you could have got a scholarship. properly, or to carry lots of gear. When you have to, you
Your intellect impresses people. can lift twice as much as you can comfortably carry.
Ingenuity 6: A genuine genius; your mind is frighten- Strength 1: You’re very weak; most likely, you’re either
ingly quick. very young, very old, or sick. You do one point of damage
with a punch, and can carry 15kg of gear.

37
 Pulp Fantastic
Strength 2: Your strength is below average; maybe you’re on Assigning Skill Points
the small side, or just unfit. Your attacks inflict 2 points of
damage, and you can carry around 30kg of gear without strain. You don’t have to allocate points to every Skill; after all,
most people aren’t good at everything. Pick one or two
Strength 3: Average strength. You can pitch in to do a bit Skills that reflect the character’s occupation or pastimes
of physical labor when you have to, and you go the gym a and put three or even four points into those, and pick a
few times a month. Your attacks inflict 3 damage; you can Skill or two that you’ll think will be handy for the coming
carry 45kg. adventures and put a couple of points in them. The re-
Strength 4: You’re fit; maybe you exercise regularly, or maining points can be distributed as you see fit, bearing
SETUP

your daily job is a physically demanding one. Your attacks the concept of the character in mind.
inflict 4 damage, and you can carry 60kg with ease. While the character can advance and have Skills above
Strength 5: You’re very strong indeed; people remark on five, it is rare for a starting character to have a skill above
how muscular or toned you are. Your attacks inflict 5 that. During character creation, no Skill can be above level
damage, and you can carry 75kg without a problem. five unless this has been discussed in detail with the Gam-
emaster and authorized. If you want to play, for example,
Strength 6: You’re a monster. You could wrestle a gorilla. a university professor or a limping medical diagnostician
Punching someone inflicts 6 damage, and you can carry you may be allowed to put more than five points in a Skill,
90kg or more. but then it should only be in the Skill that reflects the
character’s profession. Besides, you don’t want to pile all
Skills those points into one place and become too much of a
specialist to be of any use, do you? If you’ve got lots of
Skills are learned abilities. Your character may have been points left over, put them into Areas of Expertise.
blessed by genetics with a high Ingenuity and good Strength,
but what he learned in life makes all the difference.
There are thirteen skills in pulp fantastic, which cover
all the threats and dangers you’re likely to encounter… on
this side of Maple White Land, anyway. Like Attributes,
skills are rated from 1-6. 1 indicates a passing familiarity
with the topic, 6 means you’re a world-class expert in the
field. Unlike Attributes, you don’t have to have a point in
every skill. Your skills can go over 6 if you improve them
through experience.

Areas of Expertise
Skills are very broad; but just because you know Science,
it doesn’t mean you’re an expert in biology, chemistry and
astrophysics. As you learn something, you get to a level
where you may focus your studies or interests, getting
better at something in particular. This is an Area of Ex-
pertise. For example, the Transport skill covers all forms ADDING NEW SKILLS
of mechanical vehicles, from automobiles to auto-gyros
If your players are just itching to have a Skill that is not on the
to locomotives. Normally, you’d just roll Coordination +
list, first of all think whether one of the Skills listed below
Transport when driving a car – but if you had an Area of
covers it already. Want a skilled grease monkey? No problem,
Expertise in Automobiles, you could add +2 to your roll.
they have a good Technology Skill. Adventuring archaeologist?
Areas of Expertise can only be purchased once you have They’d probably have a high Knowledge to cover that history,
three points in a skill; they cost 1 point each. maybe some Athletics to take the active nature into account.
You don’t need to be too specific, but if you feel that you want
Trappings a specific Skill that isn’t covered by these broad Skills listed,
you can apply your Gamemastering skills and create it!
If you’ve got a skill, then you’ve also – probably – got the
tools to use it. The trappings entry for each skill describes
the equipment and contacts that are customarily associ-
ated with it. For example, if you’re a trained sharpshooter,
then you either have your own gun collection or are a
member of a gun club. Trappings don’t always apply: if
your character has been exploring the jungles of Borneo
for the last five years, she probably doesn’t have a working
motorcycle even if she has Transport (motorcycles) 4.

38
 Genesis

SKILLS
Suggested Areas of Expertise are in brackets, but players should come up with their own specialties that reflect the character’s
personality and background.
Animal Handling (Dogs, Fish, Horses, Insects, Primates, Reptiles)
Athletics (Acrobatics, Climbing, Jumping, Parachuting, Running, Scuba, Swimming)
Convince (Bluff, Charm, Fast Talk, Interrogation, Leadership, Lie, Seduction, Talk Down)
Craft (Building, Painting, Farming, Singing, Guitar, Woodwork, Metalwork, Dancing)
Fighting (Block, Club, Feints, Knife, Parry, Sword, Throws, Unarmed Combat)
Knowledge (Anthropology, History, Language, Law, Literature, Psychology, Sociology)
Marksman (Automatic Weapons, Bow, Mounted Weapons, Pistol, Rifle, Thrown Weapons, Tranquillizer Gun)
Medicine (Disease, Forensics, Poisons, Psychological Trauma, Surgery, Veterinary Medicine, Wounds)
Science (Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Mathematics, Parapsychology, Physics) 2
Subterfuge (Camouflage, Lock-picking, Pickpocketing, Safe-cracking, Sleight of Hand, Sneaking)
Survival (Arctic, Desert, Jungle, Mountain, Swamp, Wilderness)
Technology (Electrics, Gadgetry, Repair, Robotics)
Transport (Aircraft, Auto-gyros, Boats, Cars, Motorcycles, Submersibles, Trucks, Zeppelins)

Skills List Athletics

Above is a list of the Skills in pulp fantastic. Each The Athletics skill covers fitness, physical training and
Skill describes the areas it covers and how it is used. For agility. It often complements Strength and Coordination
details on actual Skill rolls, see p. 128 of Chapter 7: Action. – a character with a high Coordination but a low Athletics
Within each Skill there are suggestions for how they are is naturally dextrous but isn’t trained in using their talents
used, as well as a list of possible Trappings and Areas of properly.
Expertise. Remember, this is not exhaustive, and the Gam- Any physical or straining activity the character may have
emaster and players should feel free to add Areas of Ex- to perform may be covered by Athletics. However, block-
pertise (or even whole Skills) if it best suits their game. ing a swung fist may be accomplished with the Fighting
Skill (paired with Coordination), whichever is more ap-
Animal Handling
The Animal Handling skill is used when dealing with
animals of all shapes and sizes, from riding a horse to
RIDING?
calming a rampaging bull-elephant. It covers body lan- You could make a good argument for riding being an Area of
guage (how to appear non-threatening or dominant), an Expertise for Animal Handling – it’s all about working with
understanding of animal behavior, basic veterinary med- the animal, establishing a rapport, and learning to read the
icine, and how to tame and train an animal. animal’s body language. You could also say riding comes
under Athletics – it’s about balance, pulling on reins, move-
When trying to calm an animal down or convince it to do
ment and so on. Therefore, you can take Riding as an Area of
something, you use Presence. When trying to work some-
Expertise under either skill. The two different forms of riding
thing out about an animal, like trying to guess what made
are slightly different – it’s the difference between, say, the
those tracks, you’d use Ingenuity. At higher skill levels,
Horse Whisperer and a champion jockey – but are close enough
Animal Handling crosses over with Science (zoology or
to be interchangeable.
biology) and Survival.
Also you could make a case for Weird Science this way as well,
Areas of Expertise: Dogs, Horses, Reptiles, Insects, Fish,
due to its very nature it could be an Area of Expertise for
Primates.
Science, but it could also be one for Technology. If you wanted
Trappings: You’ve probably got a pet or two – or ten. You’ve to apply it to the theoretical aspects of the topic, then it
also got all-weather clothing and any special equipment would be an Area of Expertise for Science, but if its applied
you need to care for animals. to new gadgets and equipment, then it would be an Area of
Expertise for Technology.

39
 Pulp Fantastic
propriate to the situation. As a basic rule of thumb, if it’s their Area of Expertise, weaving for example, the players
physical, it’s Athletics. If it’s combat, it’s the Fighting Skill. can expect some penalties to be imposed by the Game-
master. (If you don’t have the Skill needed for an Area of
Areas of Expertise: Running, Jumping, Acrobatics, Climb-
Expertise, you should still decide what sort of Craft you
ing, Parachuting, Diving, Swimming.
have.)
Trappings: If you’ve got an Area of Expertise, then you’ve
If you’re building something like a barricade to keep the
got whatever specialized equipment is associated with
Radium Men out, you use Craft. Coupled with Technology,
that field. For example, if you’re a deep sea diver, then you
you can use Craft to assemble devices like Herr Doktor
have your own diving suit, helmet and weights, and you
Todeskopf’s clock-work Assassin Spiders.
SETUP

may have your own oxygen pump and boat.

Areas of Expertise: Building, Painting, Farming, Singing,
Convince Guitar, Woodwork, Metalwork, Dancing, Literature.
The best used-car salesperson in the world has high levels Trappings: If you make things, you’ve got a studio or
of the Convince Skill. As you may have guessed, Convince workshop, along with the tools you need. If you’re a per-
is all about getting people to do what you want. You can former, then you’ve got instruments. Either way, you also
use this to win an argument, to sway people to your way have contacts related to your field.
of thinking, to bluff that you’re meant to be in this cultist
temple or that you’re perfectly entitled to have pitched a Fighting
Nazi out of a zeppelin because he had no ticket. It can
Fighting as a Skill covers all forms of close combat.
mean you’re a convincing liar, or just the most command-
Whether this is with fists, feet, swords, axes or cat claws,
ing military leader. Most of the time, Convince rolls are
Fighting is the Skill used (usually paired with Strength,
resisted. After all, you’re trying to change someone’s mind.
but some martial arts use Coordination instead). Any
Convince is usually paired with, and resisted by, Presence
combat that involves weapons that fire (like rifles, dart
or Resolve.
guns or even the trusty bow and arrow) uses the Marksman
Areas of Expertise: Fast Talk, Bluff, Leadership, Seduc- Skill. This is purely for when it gets up close and person-
tion, Interrogation, Charm, Lie, Talk Down. al. Fighting can be used with Strength to not only land a
punch, but also to block that nasty jab.
Trappings: Clothes make the man – a high Convince
means you’ve got a good wardrobe, while someone who Areas of Expertise: Unarmed Combat, Parry, Block,
specializes in lying and deceit might have a selection of Throws, Feints, Sword, Club, Knife.
disguises.
Trappings: Martial arts gear, possibly a collection of
weapons.

ROLE-PLAY VS ROLL-PLAY Knowledge

Convince is used for many types of social interaction, from This is a broad and almost all-encompassing Skill that
convincing someone that the lies you are telling are the truth, covers most areas of knowledge. The exceptions are those
to convincing them you are a sincere and trustworthy person. covered specifically by other Skills such as Medicine,
Many social interactions will rely on the Convince Skill, but Technology or Science. Knowledge usually covers what
it shouldn’t be as simple as rolling dice and getting what you those in education usually call the humanities, such as
want. The Gamemaster should encourage players to act out law, sociology, psychology, archeology, history, literature,
the dialogue, the amusing lines and the attempts at bluffing. or languages. The Skill is most often paired with the In-
If their lines at the game table are good enough, the Game- genuity Attribute. (If you don’t have the Skill needed for
master may apply bonuses to the roll or reward the players an Area of Expertise, you should still decide what sort of
with Story Points. The same can also be said, however, for Knowledge you have.)
being less than convincing, and penalties may be imposed if
your story is patently ridiculous. Penalties should not be Areas of Expertise: History (choose an era), Anthropol-
given for simply being unable to come up with cool and witty ogy, Law, Psychology, Language (select a specific language),
lines or being unable to fast talk their way out of a situation. Literature, Sociology.
Trappings: If your skill is only 3 or less, you’ve got a few
books related to your Area of Expertise, if any. With a skill
of 4 or more, you know experts in the field personally, and
Craft have a small library of reference works at home. You might
Craft is an all-encompassing Skill that covers all manners even have a job in that field.
of talents. Whether the character is good with their hands
and can carve an ornate chess set from wood, or maybe Marksman
just great at playing the guitar or singing, all of these are
Violence isn’t the answer to every situation, but firepower
covered by the Craft Skill. However, if the character is a
is often the best fallback position and when you speak
blacksmith, their metalworking may be great but if they
softly it often pays to carry a big stick. The Marksman Skill
try to use their Craft Skill for something very different to
40
 Genesis

LEARNED SKILLS AND INSTINCT

While we’re talking of parrying and blocking, let’s just mention the difference between a learned skill and a reaction or instinctual
act. There are a couple of areas where the difference between a Skill roll or an Attribute roll can be a little confusing. One is block-
ing/parrying and dodging. The other is noticing something.
Blocking and Parrying is a learned skill. Anyone who has done martial arts or fencing will know that learning to block or parry an
attack takes knowledge and skill. When blocking or parrying in the game, you’ll be using Strength and Fighting.
Dodging is another matter - a lot of it depends upon natural reactions and instinct. When it comes to dodging gunfire or moving
out of the way of a rockfall, you’ll use Attributes only, usually Coordination and Awareness. If you’re a skilled Fighter or martial
artist, you’ll be able to bend out of the way of a punch or kick, so you can use Coordination and Fighting to dodge in this case, but
you’ll still be using Attributes only when dodging that gunfire or rockfall! It’s tricky, as Gamemaster, which Skill or Attribute com-
bination to be used is down to you.
As a guide:
Punching or Kicking (or any physical attack): Strength + Fighting 2
Blocking or Parrying a physical attack: Strength + Fighting
Dodging a physical attack: Coordination + Fighting
Dodging gunfire or environmental hazards (if they have chance to see it coming): Awareness + Coordination
Dodging gunfire or environmental hazards (if they cannot see it coming): No chance to dodge.
Of course, the character has to be aware of the attack to begin with in order to block or dodge. If the character is taken by surprise,
or if the attacker is hidden (for example, sniping from a distance), they will be unable to react to it first time. The attack will just
be rolled as an unresisted task, against a fixed difficulty to hit defined by the Gamemaster.
Noticing or spotting something important is another tricky one that can be used in multiple ways. If the character is not actively
looking for something and you want to give the player a chance to see the trained hawk before it attacks, they will have to make
an Attribute only roll, usually Awareness and Ingenuity. However, if they’re searching old books for a clue, looking into medical
records for information or something like that, if the character’s skills or knowledge comes into play, then it’s Awareness paired
with the Skill.
As a rough guide:
Passively noticing something (not actively looking, but there’s a chance of seeing it): Awareness + Ingenuity
Actively looking for something: Awareness + Skill (related to the subject, Knowledge, Medicine, Technology, etc)

COMMON KNOWLEDGE
Keeping things simple, and having a lower number of Skills, does mean that some of them, especially Craft, Knowledge, Medicine
and Science, require a little bit of adjudication on behalf of the Gamemaster. For example, if the character is a lawyer, their Knowl-
edge Skill will have an Area of Expertise that refer to their knowledge of all things legal, and an archaeologist’s Areas of Expertise
will reflect their years of education in history, geology and archeology. If your character is trying to use their Skill for something
that is obviously not their Area of Expertise – a classical guitarist trying to craft a bow, for example – the roll will incur some
penalties to reflect this. (Even if a character doesn’t have an Area of Expertise, the player should still have some idea of the sort of
Knowledge or Science or Craft or Medicine his character knows.)
Think of how far removed from the actual knowledge they have is the knowledge they want to use. If it’s fairly similar to something
they’d know, whether they have the Area of Expertise or not, but not something they’d obviously know, then a penalty of around
-1 or -2 would be apt. If it’s something they’d know nothing about, then the penalty could be a high as -4, the usual penalty for
being unskilled. Of course, if it’s something really technical, the Difficulty of the task is going to be suitably high making it hard
for them to succeed.
A good Gamemaster will put opportunities into the game for characters to use their skills, and avoid making key plot points depend
on skills that no-one possesses.

41
 Pulp Fantastic
is used for any weapon that fires a projectile or shoots at Science
a target that is outside of close combat range. For weapons
that require physical aiming, such as a gun or manual Science! There are always new and exciting things on the
weapon system, pair Coordination with the Marksman horizon, new aircraft, new war machines, and new ways
Skill. For other more technical weaponry pair Ingenuity to entertain people by transmitting through the airwaves.
with Marksman, to reflect the more intellectual approach There’s a little crossover with the Medicine and Technol-
to operating the weapon. ogy Skills, but if the task requires less repairing either
people or gadgets, and more contemplating the wild pseu-
Areas of Expertise: Bow, Pistol, Rifle, Automatic Weapons, doscience or in-depth theory, then Science is going to be
Sniper, Thrown Weapons, Dart Gun, Mounted Weapons
SETUP

the Skill of choice.

Trappings: At Skill 2 or 3, you may possess a weapon or Weird Science is also an Area of Expertise, but characters
two of your own, depending on local laws. At Skill 4 or can only take that area with the Gamemaster’s permission.
more, you definitely have access to your own weapon, and
may be part of a gun club, reserve military unit or other Areas of Expertise: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry,
group. Botany, Biology, Parapsychology.
Trappings: At lower skill levels, you’ve got a few books
Medicine and some basic equipment like a microscope. At Skill 3 or
The Medicine Skill, at low levels, reflects the character’s more, you either own or have access to a laboratory.
ability to perform basic first aid, resuscitation or stabilize
wounds. At higher levels, they may be medical students, Subterfuge
or fully fledged doctors or nurses, even surgeons. Medicine Sneaking around, hiding, and sleight of hand are all
is usually paired with Ingenuity, though if the medical covered by Subterfuge. Subterfuge is usually paired with
procedure is particularly tricky or requires delicate work, Coordination, or if the task is of a more intellectual nature,
then Coordination can be used. Medicine also reflects Ingenuity can be used, especially for tasks like safe-crack-
other Areas of Expertise, depending upon the background ing or devising a suitably effective bit of camouflage.
of the character, such as forensic, veterinary medicine or
alternative therapies. Areas of Expertise: Sneaking, Lock-picking, Sleight of
Hand, Pickpocketing, Safe-cracking, Camouflage.
Areas of Expertise: Disease, Wounds, Poisons, Psycho-
logical Trauma, Surgery, Forensics, Veterinary Medicine, Trappings: Dark or camouflage-pattern clothing, lock-
Alternative Remedies. picks, maybe even safe-cracking gear and thermite.

Trappings: You’ve got a first aid kit at least. Higher skill Survival
levels mean you’ve got a much more extensive kit; at Skill
4 or more, you could be a doctor or surgeon with your own This is one Skill that has been lost by the vast majority of
practice. modern city-dwellers, who live in a comfortable environ-
ment with few natural dangers. The closest we come to
hunting and foraging is walking to the neighborhood
WHAT DO SKILL RANKS MEAN? grocery. The Survival skill was vital to our ancestors. It
covers navigation in the wilderness, finding food and
What do those skill numbers actual mean? For academic skills water, building shelters, hunting and other ‘primitive’
like Knowledge, Medicine or Science, it breaks down like this: skills.
1. You’re broadly familiar with the topic. For Medicine, Areas of Expertise: Desert, Jungle, Swamp, Mountain,
you’ve done a first aid course and maybe dated a Arctic, Wilderness.
nurse. For Knowledge or Science, you’ve read a few
books on the topic. Trappings: Camping gear, maps, all-weather clothing,
hiking boots.
2. You’ve had some training in the topic, such as a
night course or diploma. Technology
3. You have a graduate degree in the field. Some people are a whiz with gizmos, gadgets and all kinds
4. You’ve got a masters in the field, or you’ve got of new-fangled devices, while others have difficulty tuning
extensive practical experience. You’re an expert in the radio in to Fibber McGee and Molly. Technology as a
the topic. Skill represents the character’s know-how when it comes
to all of these things. Whether it is repairing an automo-
5. You’ve got a PhD and have a lot of experience. If bile, disarming a bomb, understanding weird technology
you’re not a university professor or a researcher, or just mending a fuse, Technology, paired with Ingenui-
then you’re almost certainly working in the field. ty, is the Skill to use.
6. You’re a household name – or could be. Your name Areas of Expertise: Electrics, Gadgetry, Hacking, Repair,
is synonymous with the skill. Robotics.

42
 Genesis
Weird Technology is also an Area of Expertise, but characters Some Good Traits are very powerful and require the ex-
can only take that area with the Gamemaster’s permission. penditure of a Story Point (or more) to “activate”, whereas
some Bad Traits are so dangerous that they give Story
Trappings: If you’ve got an Area of Expertise, then you’ve
Points back when they come up.
got a garage or a spare room crammed with spare parts,
unfinished projects and reference books related to your
hobby.
Buying Traits
Traits are purchased with Character Points. If you don’t
Transport have any Character Points left after buying Attributes and
Skills, don’t worry. You can ;
The Transport skill deals with piloting or driving all sorts
of vehicle. Like other broad Skills, knowing how to drive Go back and reduce an Attribute or Skill to get Char-
a car doesn’t mean you can pilot a zeppelin, but when it acter Points back
comes to vehicles many are similar enough to give you a
or
good place to start. Steering, accelerator, brakes, what
more do you need? If the technology is similar enough, Take a Bad Trait
you can probably allow the players to use the Skill without
or
penalty. The only method of transport that isn’t covered
by the Transport Skill is riding an animal, such as a horse. Take the Experienced Trait (see the sidebar) 2
Areas of Expertise: Cars, Trucks, Aircraft, Motorcycles, Minor Traits cost a single Character Point to purchase (or
Submersibles, Zeppelins. provide you with a point if they’re Bad).
Trappings: If your skill is 2 or more, you have your own Major Traits cost two Character Points to purchase, (or
vehicle. With a Skill of 3 or more and the appropriate Area provide two points if they’re bad for your character).
of Expertise, you’ve got the license to operate the match-
Giving yourself a Bad Trait will give you more points that
ing vehicle if it’s an unusual one like a Zeppelin.
can either be spent on your Attributes, or even spent on
your Skills if you think the character is lacking in any area.
Traits Taking a lot of Bad Traits may give you lots of points to
Traits are quirks of personality, significant episodes in spend elsewhere, but it can be very limiting to a character.
your past, or unusual talents. They’re special advantages We’d suggest that the Gamemaster limits the number of
or drawbacks that make your character unique. When the Bad Traits that may be taken to 6 points worth.
characters are in a situation where a Trait may come into
play, it can aid (or hinder) with what they’re doing. Knowing Traits can only be purchased once, unless the Gamemas-
when a Trait comes into play is a tricky one, but basically ter approves. In these rare cases, it is only with Traits that
if you think that the situation could involve a character’s can mean multiple things - for example you can have a
Trait, it should be factored into the game, even if it’s a Bad phobia of rats and spiders (two different Phobia Traits - woe
Trait and will make things harder for the character. If the betide anyone with these who meets a rat-spider hybrid!).
player is honest, keeping in character for the game and You cannot purchase a Trait twice that isn’t specific like
mentioning the Trait, if they bring a Bad Trait into play this - for example you cannot purchase Tough twice
that you may have forgotten, the player should be reward- because you want to be “super tough”. As a guide, Traits
ed with Story Points. More on those later. that can be purchased multiple times are marked with an
asterisk (*), but multiple purchases must be approved by
Traits are divided by how important they are: a Minor Trait the Gamemaster.
might only come into play once every few weeks, while a
Major Trait affects your character constantly. Traits can Also, opposing Traits shouldn’t be purchased as they simply
also be Good or Bad. A Good Trait gives you a bonus to cancel each other out. You cannot be both Attractive and
your rolls or some other positive benefit, while a Bad Trait Unattractive (though this is fairly subjective), and you
gives a penalty or carries with it some other problem. cannot be Distinctive and have Face in the Crowd. Some
opposing Traits may be purchased if the Gamemaster
Affecting your Character allows - for example, you could have both Lucky and
Unlucky, meaning that your luck is extreme in both cases.
Sometimes, a Trait can effect game-play without you Brave can be purchased with Phobia, as you can be brave
having to roll any dice. Some Traits simply help or hinder in the face of everything except the thing you’re secretly
the character all of the time. For example, Phobia can scared of. If you can rationalize it, and it makes sense, and
hinder their actions if they face the object of their fears, the Gamemaster approves, you can purchase almost any
or Code of Conduct can limit their choices in any given Trait you wish. We’ll point out some of these restrictions
situation, just as Tough can save their life in a fight without in the Trait’s descriptive text.
any dice needing to be rolled. The Trait’s description will
give you an idea of how each of the specific Traits work,
but if you and the players think the Trait is apt to the sit-
uation, then it comes into play.

43
 Pulp Fantastic
Traits List Minions* (Major), page 49

Below is a list of Traits that can be purchased or taken by Never Gives Up (Major), page 50
the character. Each Trait describes its effects upon the Owed Favor (Minor or Major), page 50
character or how it can be used, along with the Trait’s value
(whether it is a Minor or Major Trait), either Good or Bad. Pet* (Minor or Major), page 50
The list is by no means exhaustive. If there’s something new Photographic Memory (Major), page 50
you wish to see, as the Gamemaster you have the power to Psychic Training (Minor), page 50
create new Traits from scratch. You will have to assign the
SETUP

new Trait a value (Minor or Major, Good or Bad) and define Quick Reflexes (Major), page 50
any features, working with the players to create something Resourceful Pockets (Minor), page 50
cool and interesting. Use the existing Traits as a guide.
Rumor Mill (Minor), page 50
We’ve split the following list into Good Traits (first), Bad
Traits and then Special Traits. Sense of Direction (Minor), page 51
Sharpshooter (Minor), page 51
List of Traits in order
Super Amalgamated (Minor), page 51
For easy reference, the Traits are listed below with page
references. Technically Adept (Minor), page 51

Good Traits Tracker (Minor), page 51

Animal Friendship (Minor), page 46 Tough (Minor or Major), page 51
Attractive (Minor), page 46 Voice of Authority (Minor), page 51
Authority (Minor or Major), page 46 Wealthy (Minor or Major), page 51
Boxing or Bashing (Minor), page 46 Weapon Encyclopedia (Minor), page 51
Brand (Major), page 46 Weird Tech (Minor or Major), page 51
Brave (Minor), page 46 Well Traveled (Minor), page 51
Breaking & Entering (Major) , page 46 Bad Traits
Charming (Minor), page 47 Adversary* (Minor or Major), page 52
Crack Shot (Minor), page 47 Amnesia (Minor or Major), page 52
Easily Underestimated (Minor), page 47 Animal Lover (Minor), page 52
Empathic (Minor), page 47 By the Book (Minor), page 52
Face in the Crowd (Minor), page 47 Clumsy (Minor), page 52
Fast Healer (Major), page 47 Code of Conduct (Minor or Major), page 53
Fast Runner (Minor), page 47 Cowardly (Minor), page 53
Favorite Gun/Gadget (Minor), page 47 Dark Secret (Minor or Major), page 53
Friends* (Minor or Major), page 47 Dependents (Minor or Major), page 53
Gadgeteer (Major), page 48 Dependency (Minor or Major), page 53
Hobby (Minor), page 48 Distinctive (Minor), page 53
Hot Shot (Minor), page 48 Dogsbody (Minor) , page 54
Hypnosis (Minor or Major), page 48 Doomed (Major), page 54
Instinct (Minor)*, page 49 Eccentric (Minor or Major), page 54
Indomitable (Major), page 49 Emotional Complication (Minor or Major), page 54
Keen Senses* (Minor or Major), page 49 Forgetful (Minor), page 54
Linguist (Minor Trait), page 49 Fresh Meat (Minor), page 54
Lucky (Minor or Major), page 49 Good Samaritan (Minor), page 54
Martial Artist (Major), page 49 Hell on Wheels (Minor), page 55

44
 Genesis
Impaired Senses* (Minor or Major), page 55 Creature Traits
Impoverished (Minor), page 55 Additional Limbs (Minor Good) , page 196
Impulsive (Minor), page 55 Aggressive (Major Good) , page 196
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor), page 55 Amphibious (Minor Good) , page 196
Maverick (Minor), page 55 Aquatic (Minor Bad), page 196
Obligation (Minor or Major), page 55 Armor (Minor, Major or Special Good) , page 196
Obsession (Minor or Major), page 55 Bite (Minor or Major Good), page 196
Outcast (Minor), page 56 Burrowing (Minor Good), page 196

Owes Favor (Minor or Major), page 56 Claw (Minor Good), page 197

Phobia* (Minor), page 56 Climbing (Minor or Major Good), page 197

Racial Minority (Minor), page 56 Constrict (Minor Good), page 197

Slow Reflexes (Major), page 56 Enhanced Senses (Minor Good), page 197
2
Slow Runner (Minor), page 56 Environmental (Minor or Major Good), page 197

Strange Visitor (Minor or Major), page 56 Fast-Moving (Minor or Major Good), page 197

Technically Inept (Minor), page 57 Fear Factor (Special Good), page 197

Unattractive (Minor) , page 57 Flight (Minor or Major Good), page 198

Unlucky (Minor or Major), page 57 Frenzy (Minor Bad) , page 198

Weakness (Minor or Major), page 57 Grab (Minor Good) , page 198

Immaterial (Special Bad) , page 198
Special Traits
Immortal (Major or Special Good) , page 198
Experienced, page 57
Immunity (Major Good Trait) , page 199
Fast Healer, page 57
Infection (Major Good), page 199
Inexperienced, page 57
Invisible (Special Good), page 199
Machine Man, page 57
Leap (Special Good), page 200
More Than Human, page 58
Lurker (Minor Good), page 200
Psychic, page 58
Natural Weapons (Minor or Major Good), page 200
Robot, page 58
Networked (Minor or Major Good), page 200
Team Player, page 58
Nocturnal (Minor Bad), page 200
Unusual Background, page 59
Passive (Minor Bad), page 200
Psychic Traits Poison (Special Good), page 201
Astral Travel, page 59
Possess (Special Good), page 201
Clairvoyance, page 59
Replication (Major Good), page 201
Cloud Men’s Minds, page 60
Savage Roar (Major Good), page 201
Empathic Aura, page 60
Screamer! (Minor Good), page 202
Enlightened, page 60
Shapeshift (Minor, Major or Special Good), page 202
Possess, page 60
Slow-Moving (Minor or Major Good), page 202
Precognition , page 60
Snap (Major Good), page 202
Telekinesis, page 60
Special (Special Good), page 202
Telepathy, page 62
Stalker (Major Good), page 202
Stinger (Minor Good), page 202

45
 Pulp Fantastic
Stomp (Minor Good), page 202 of intensive training, the love of fighting, the rush of en-
hanced adreal glands or just experience fighting. In combat
Strange Appearance (Special Bad), page 203
the character acts faster and with a greater degree of de-
Teleport (Major Good), page 203 termination than others.
Trample (Major Good), page 203 Effect: This Trait allows the character to take a free action
or reaction in the Combat phase of an Action Round. 
Warning (Major Good), page 203
This free action does not suffer the normal penalty for
taking more than one action per Action Round, and can
Good Traits be an attack, parry, or any other combat related action. 
SETUP

Animal Friendship At the GM’s discretion, the character can spend a Story
Point to use their ‘free’ action in a different phase, but
(Minor Good Trait) this must also be somehow related to the combat cur-
Animals like and trust you. rently being fought.

Effects: When encountering an animal for the first time, Brand

the character may attempt to show it that they mean no
(Major Good Trait)
harm and distill any aggressive tendencies, giving a +2
bonus to any Animal Handling rolls when trying to tame The character can imprint his/her brand on someone else’s
or calm a creature. flesh, or perhaps on an item.  This is often done through
a ring, a glove, or an arrow.  This mark either “seals” its
Note: You may also want to pick up the Pet trait (see page 52).
victim permanently for all to see as an enemy of the pro-
Attractive tagonist or marks them as being under their special pro-
tection (requiring the Minor Bad Trait “Obligation”).  Brands
(Minor Good Trait) are usually given on the face, giving the recipient the Minor
You’re physically attractive, even beautiful. Bad Trait “Distinctive.”

Effects: The Attractive Trait comes into play whenever Effect: A character who has been branded cannot be seen
you’re doing something that your looks can influence. by anyone who is “Friends” with the protagonist (or indeed,
You get a +2 bonus to any rolls that involve your stunning allied with the protagonist in any way) without the inter-
good looks, from charming your way past guards to getting action immediately turning quite negative for the victim,
information out of someone. perhaps forcefully so--though of course, someone might
hide their reaction.  In such cases, the victim will also
Note: Cannot be taken with the Unattractive Bad Trait. receive a -3 penalty to all rolls involving Convince.
Authority Brave
(Minor or Major Good Trait) (Minor Good Trait)
You’re in a position of authority and power. You’re steadfast and courageous.
Effects: The Minor version of this trait means you’re a Effects: The Brave Trait provides a +2 bonus to any Resolve
police officer, doctor, important public servant, G-man, roll to resist the effects of fear. You can also spend a Story
high-flying magnate or in some other position that lets Point to automatically resist fear (you can spend this Story
you order people around in certain circumstances – and Point after you fail a Resolve roll).
if they disobey you, they’ll be in serious trouble.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Cowardly Bad Trait, though
The Major version means you’ve got political influence in individual Phobia Bad Traits can still be purchased.
all sorts of areas. You can pick up the phone and call the
Police Commissioner or the President, and they’ll answer. Breaking & Entering
The gm may require you to spend a story point or two if
(Major Good Trait)
you’re pushing the boundaries of your authority.
You’ve got a talent for bypassing security and sneaking
Note: There’s also a Group Trait, Official Sanction, that
past guards.
works like this Trait. The difference is that the Group Trait
only applies when you’ll pulling rank on behalf of your Effects: Firstly, this Trait gives a +2 bonus to Subterfuge
group’s officially sanctioned activities, whereas the per- rolls when trying to get into a guarded building or com-
sonal version means you’ve got your own political pull pound. Secondly, you get to know the difficulty of the test
outside the group. before you roll the dice. For example, if you come to a
locked, alarmed door, the gm must tell you the difficulty
Boxing or Bashing of disabling the alarm before you roll, so you know whether
(Minor Good Trait) to make the attempt or back off.

There are people in this world that have a natural affinity

for the fighting arts, and they like to fight. This is the result
46
 Genesis
Charming Effects: As long as you’re not dressing like a clown or
anything else too weird, and not doing anything that will
(Minor Good Trait)
attract their attention, people will leave you to go about
You’ve got a way with words and a devilish sparkle in your what you’re doing. If the Gamemaster asks for a roll to
eye. People want to trust you. “blend in”, the Trait provides a bonus of +2 to any Subter-
fuge Skill roll when you’re trying to sneak about and not
Effects: You’ve got a +2 bonus to rolls when you’re trying
get noticed.
to convince people to do something they probably shouldn’t.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Distinctive Bad Trait.
Crack Shot
Fast Healer
(Minor Good Trait)
(Major or Special Good Trait)
You’ve a special knack for hitting things from distance.
Perhaps you grew up hunting in the backwoods with your You heal a lot faster than most people. You can recover
pappy, fired weapons for sport or just have a particular gift from injuries that would hospitalize another person with
for accuracy, but it means that you rarely miss and can a few night’s rest, and you hardly ever get sick.
literally shoot the wings off a fly.
Effects: You heal 1d6 points of Attributes lost to injury
Effect: Crack Shot is a Minor Good Trait, and characters with a night’s rest. The Special Good version of this Trait 2
with this gain +2 to their roll when using Marksman for allows the character to recover 1 Attribute point per minute
trick shots, like shooting a gun out of an enemy’s hand or and costs 3 Character Points.
firing at a weak spot.
Fast Runner
Easily Underestimated (Minor Good Trait)
(Minor Good)
You’re fleet of foot (always useful when you might come
No one takes you seriously.  Maybe it’s a carefully cultivated face to…well…whatever with an Eldritch Abomination).
fiction you’ve created over time, falsely acting like a mild-man-
Effects: Increase your movement speed by 1 when sprint-
nered reporter or a ditzy socialite.  Maybe you’re a minority,
ing or fleeing.
or a woman, or you just look young, and nobody expects you
to be intelligent and capable.  Whatever the reason, there are Favorite Gun/Gadget
actually advantages to being underestimated sometimes...
(Minor Good Trait)
Effect: You receive a +2 bonus to all social conflicts with
someone underestimating you.  Additionally, you may You’ve got a favorite weapon or item.
end a social conflict dramatically by suddenly confronting Effects: Once per game session, this trait gives you a free
another character, replacing the +2 with a free upgrade of Story Point that must be spent on a roll or action related
one degree of success to your roll; however, the other to your favorite item. You can’t stockpile these Story Points;
character will never underestimate you again.  In a phys- you get one and only one per game.
ical conflict with someone who still underestimates you,
you receive a free upgrade of one degree of success to your Friends*
roll, but only in your first Action Round. (Minor or Major Good Trait)
Empathic The Friends Trait can mean a variety of things, but essen-
(Minor Good Trait) tially the character has people they can call upon for in-
formation or help. Friends can be either a Minor or a Major
You can read people’s body language and subtle emotional Trait, depending upon how informative or helpful the
cues very well, giving you an insight into what they’re feeling. friend(s) in question are!
Effects: Empathic allows the character a +2 bonus on any When you take this trait, you’ve got to specify what sort
rolls when they are trying to empathize or read another of information that these friends have access to. You could
person. This could be a simple Presence and Convince roll have ‘Friends in High Places’, giving you information about
to reassure someone who’s panicking in the middle of a the government, or ‘Friends in the University’, who could
battle, or an Awareness and Ingenuity roll to try to read pass on scientific research and help you analyze something,
the actions and speech of another to see if they’re lying. or ‘Friends in the Underworld’, meaning you know crim-
inals and thieves. You don’t need to pin down exactly who
Face in the Crowd these friends are yet – you can do that during play.
(Minor Good Trait)
Above all, the Trait will not replace investigating some-
When you want them to people tend to overlook you. This thing yourself. After all, where’s the fun if you get other
could be because you’re very nondescript and a bit bland, people to do all the sneaking around and research for you?
or because you’re simply very adept at looking like you However, these Friends are a great source of information
belong somewhere. researching the background of a place or person that may

47
 Pulp Fantastic
take a while to uncover, while your character is busy doing vehicles, jumping over barriers, or crashing through walls.
something else. This can also be an excellent instigator You can also apply the bonus to the speed of the vehicle,
of fresh and new adventures as the friend tips them off as you can get the best performance from it.
when something is happening.
Hypnosis
Effects: As a Minor Trait, Friends means that they know
someone who knows someone - a “friend of a friend”, but (Minor or Major Good Trait)
the source (and their information) is usually reliable. It As a Minor Good Trait the character can put people into
may be that they know a friend who works in the city room a mild hypnotic state. As a Major Good Trait, the character
of a local newspaper or the mayor’s office who hears things
SETUP

can control minds…not the sort of thing a hero would do.

as they’re reported and can steer the character in the di-
rection of strange events. Hypnosis can be a useful therapeutic tool or an insidious
means of mind control. As a Minor Good Trait, hypnosis
As a Major Trait, the person in the know is far more reliable, allows the character to place a subject in a trance state in
and can do more than give information – they can put which they are highly suggestible and easy to influence.
their influence to good use for you, at the cost of a Story As a Major Good Trait, the character can implant complex
Point. If you’ve got Friends in the Military, for example, commands and specifically influence behavior. Characters
you could ‘borrow’ a plane. Friends in Government could with the Major Good version of the Trait can also implant
intercede on your behalf and get you out of prison. post-hypnotic suggestions that activate at a specific time
or in response to specific events, triggers or circumstances.
Gadgeteer
Effect: As a Minor Trait, the character gets a +2 bonus to any
(Major Good Trait)
social interaction to either calm someone down, or to get them
You’re a genius when it comes to tweaking spare parts, to do what they’d like. The character can implant a short term
wiring and machinery to cobble together the most useful suggestion, such as helping a subject resist the effects of shock
gadgets and gizmos. or fear, regain their sanity for a short while or defend them-
selves against possession or resist psychic attack. The subject
Effects: This Trait allows the character to create Inventions
cannot be influenced into any dangerous action or behavior
through the fine art of jury-rigging and weird science. Your
contrary to their nature. Suggestions at this level only last for
average Joe can try to open their household appliances and
a number of minutes equal to the character’s Resolve.
wire them together to try to make something – though they’ll
probably only gain an electric shock, a house-fire or worse. As a Major Trait, hypnosis works the same way, except the
Only a Gadgeteer can do this and create a useful device that character can make the subject do anything he wants if
can open up safes, crack enemy strongholds and zap the bad he succeeds in hypnotizing them, unless it’s something
guy. More details on creating such gizmos can found in the intrinsically against their nature or suicidal (in which case
section called Inventions on p. 159. the target can make another roll to resist with a +3 bonus).
At this level, suggestions last a number of
Note: Cannot be taken with the Technically Inept Bad
days equal to the hypnotist’s Resolve.
Trait.
For the mechanics of resisting hyp-
Hobby nosis, see ‘Being Possessed’, p.133.

(Minor Good Trait) For full possession and mind

control, see the Possess Creature
You’ve got a hobby or interest in a particular narrow field. Trait, p. 201.
Effects: This trait gives you an Area of Expertise in a
skill without having to have three points in that skill. For
example, a character with Science 1 but the hobby ‘Radio
Ham’ would have an effective Science of 3 (1+2) when
making a roll to identify a call-sign or frequency. You can
only take Areas of Expertise related to Athletics, Craft,
Knowledge, Science, Technology or Transport as hobbies.

Hot Shot
(Minor Good Trait)
Some people are naturals when it comes to most forms of
transport. They can fly a plane through the harshest of thun-
derstorms or drive an auto at high speeds without crashing.
They are the best of the best when it comes to transportation.
Put them in the driving seat and they’re unstoppable.
Effects: While operating a vehicle, you get a +2 bonus to
Transport rolls when doing difficult stunts like ramming

48
 Genesis
Instinct* Lucky
(Minor Good Trait) (Minor/Major Good Trait)
You’ve got a habit or trained response that happens Lady Luck is on your side. Call it a fluke, call it chance, but
before you even think about it. fortune is smiling on you.
Effects: State your Instinct when you pick this trait. Your Effect: Characters with the Lucky Trait get a second chance
instinct has to be a short habit or response, like ‘I always when double “1”s are rolled, and you can re-roll both dice,
look for the nearest exit’ or ‘I draw my gun and shoot trying for something better. If you get double “1”s again,
whenever anything leaps out at me’ or ‘I hit the floor well, your luck obviously doesn’t run that far. It doesn’t
whenever I hear gunfire’. This has two benefits – firstly, guarantee a success on your second roll, but there’s a better
you always follow your Instinct. If your Instinct is to keep chance that fate may shine upon you.
to the shadows, then you’re always making Coordination
As a Major Trait, your good luck means that every so often,
+ Subterfuge rolls to stay hidden. Secondly, your Instinct
someone else has really bad luck. Once per game session,
happens at Fast speed (see Combat, page 125).
you can spend a story point to force the gm to re-roll a
Indomitable skill check or attack roll that’s going to hurt you in some
way. Say you’re caught in the headlights of a speeding
(Major Good Trait) Duesenberg as the Syndicate tries to rub you out! The gm 2
The character has a determination and an iron will. rolls, and the automobile is about to grind you into a fine
paste. You invoke your luck, the gm re-rolls – and this time
Effect: You have a +4 bonus to any rolls to resist being the vehicle is just slow enough for you to fling yourself
possessed or hypnotized, psychically controlled or similar. aside at the last moment!
Keen Senses* Martial Artist
(Minor/Major Good Trait) (Major Good Trait)
The character is very aware of their surroundings, whether You’ve got a black belt in one or more martial arts. You
they have a keen eye for detail and noticing when some- can kick ass with the best of them.
thing is wrong, or a nose for a particular scent, they are
particularly perceptive and this is always a good thing Effects: You’ve got to have a Fighting score of 3 or more,
when tracking a foe or expecting trouble. and take an Area of Expertise in a martial art before you
can buy this trait. You inflict +2 damage when you punch
Effects: The Keen Senses Trait awards a +2 bonus to Aware- or kick someone, and you can use your Coordination instead
ness rolls. As a Minor Trait the player should specify which of your Strength score to work out your unarmed damage.
of the character’s senses is particularly keen. In this case
the bonus only applies to the use of that one sense, whether Minions*
it is sight, hearing, sense of smell or taste. Only one sense
(Major Good Trait)
can be chosen - more than one, and it’s the Major Trait.
You’ve got henchmen! You command a squad of loyal sol-
As a Major Trait, the +2 bonus applies in any instance
diers, or have a staff, or even a number of cloned minions.
when using Awareness to notice or spot something, no
matter what sense is being used. Effect: Pick the sort of minions you want (soldiers, sci-
entists, researchers, workers) when you take this trait. If
Note: Cannot be taken with the Impaired Senses Bad Trait
you take the trait multiple times, you can choose to have
in the same sense, although different ones can be taken.
multiple different types of minions, or at the gm’s discre-
For example, you could have Keen vision, but be slightly
tion you could have a higher quality of minion. These
hard of hearing.
minions will follow your orders and perform tasks for you.
Linguist* You’re the one in charge, though – you can’t send minions
off to do the adventuring and investigating for you. They’re
(Minor Good Trait) best suited to guarding key locations, doing background
Characters with this Trait have a talent for language and research, or standing around looking menacing.
communication. This may be due to education, a natural Minions have 25 character points to buy Attributes, Skills
affinity or just the result of a life of travel and adventure. and Traits per level of the Trait assigned to them.
Effect: Characters with this Trait know two languages in If one or two of your Minions get killed, you’ll be able to
addition to their native language. This Trait can be taken pick up replacements before the next adventure. If all your
multiple times, bestowing two additional languages to Minions get killed because of a bad decision you made,
the character each time. then you don’t get replacements.
A character with this Trait can also understand a new lan- (There’s also a Group Trait that gives Minions. Those
guage by spending a Story Point and succeeding on a Inge- Minions work the same way, but they’re not personally
nuity + Knowledge roll (Difficulty set by the gm based on loyal to you.)
the language’s similarity to those known by the character).
49
 Pulp Fantastic
Never Gives Up mation in and commit it to memory. If you want to recall
the information, you can without having to roll, but you
(Major Good Trait)
must have declared that you’ve taken the time to concen-
You’ve got true grit. When the chips are down and it seems trate and remember it at the time.
like all hope is lost, you somehow keep going.
Similarly, if you want to remember something that you
Effect: You aren’t knocked out or incapacitated when one of haven’t actively committed to memory, there’s a chance it
your Attributes reaches zero. You can still act with one or two may be stored in there somewhere along with last week’s
Attributes at zero, but you’ll be groggy and slow. If three Attri- shopping list or the phone number of that sassy waitress
butes are reduced to zero, then you’re probably going to die. from the diner down the street. To recall something vital
SETUP

that you may have glanced at or possibly missed altogeth-

Owed Favor* er, you can spend a Story Point to remember the important
(Minor or Major Good Trait) clue you may have seen out of the corner of your eye.

Someone owes you a favor. Note: Cannot be taken with the Forgetful Bad Trait.

Effect: As a Minor Trait, this means they owe you a small Psychic Training
favor – a few thousand dollars, an introduction to someone
(Minor Good Trait)
important, a loan of their car when you need it. You can
get help from the person who owes you the favor a few The technique allows the character to resist psychic ma-
times before it’s repaid. Alternatively, you can turn the nipulation or trickery.
Minor Favor into another Minor Trait as repayment in the
Effect: The character has a +2 bonus to Resolve rolls when
course of play.
trying to resist psychic attack or deception.
The Major Trait version means someone owes you their
life, their health, their career or something equally im- Quick Reflexes
portant. This means that they’ll always be willing to do (Major Good Trait)
you minor favors in return, for the rest of their life. Alter-
natively, you can call in your big favor to get something You’re fast to act when things happen, reacting to situations
equally important in exchange, turning it into another almost instinctively. It doesn’t mean you cannot be sur-
Major Trait in the course of play. For example, if you save prised - if you don’t know something’s coming you can’t
a millionaire’s life, she’d owe you a big favor. You could react to it - but when something attacks or falls towards
then trade this favor for the Wealthy Major Good Trait. you, you’re often the first to react to it.
Effects: Your Co-Ordination counts as being two higher
Pet* for the purposes of working out who goes first. Better yet,
(Minor or Major Good Trait) if you spend a Story Point, you can act as though you were
a Fast creature for one round.
You’ve got a trained pet!
Note: Cannot be taken with the Slow Reflexes Bad Trait.
Effect: This trait gives you a faithful, loyal animal com-
panion. At the Minor level you have a small, harmless Resourceful Pockets
creature like a trained rat that isn’t much good in a fight,
but it could distract a bad guy at the right moment, squeak (Minor Good Trait)
a warning or track a mobster. At the Major level your pet There’s a chance that you’ve got something useful on your
could be a bigger creature – a guard dog, a war horse, a person that could get you out of a sticky situation.
mountain gorilla – that can attack people on command
or carry a rider. The downside of a big pet is that it’s hard Effect: Either spend a Story Point and find the thing you
to bring it with you to most places. Few restaurants admit need or roll two dice. If you get a ‘double’ then you find
wolfhounds, let alone great apes. something helpful.

Photographic Memory Rumor Mill

(Major Good Trait) (Minor Good Trait)

With just a few seconds of concentration, the character You’ve got your ear to the grapevine, or you’ve got contacts
can commit something to memory to be instantly recalled in the media, or you spend all your time eavesdropping
when the time is important. People with the Photograph- on shady conversations in criminal hangouts. Either way,
ic Memory Trait rarely have problems passing exams, and when something odd happens, you hear about it.
can remember exact lines from books. Effects: With this trait, you can get a hint once per ad-
Effect: The Photographic Memory Trait can be used in a venture, as if you’d spent a Story Point for help from the
couple of different ways. If you know you’re going to have gm (see page 137). This hint comes from the press and
to remember something at a later time, such as the com- your knowledge of the weird, so it may only be indirectly
bination to a lock or the instructions to program a calcu- helpful. The gm may also give you plot hooks and rumors
lating engine, you can spend a moment to take the infor- that you pick up from your contacts.
50
 Genesis
Sense of Direction The Minor version of Tough reduces the amount of damage
that would normally be deducted from the character’s
(Minor Good Trait)
Attributes by 2. Having Major Toughness reduces damage
You always know which way is north, even without a by 3. This is after any other effects, such as armor, are
compass. You rarely get lost. taken into account.
Effects: You get a +2 bonus to any rolls (usually Awareness, Tracker
Ingenuity or Survival) related to finding your way in un-
familiar terrain. (Minor Good Trait)
You’re accomplished at following animal tracks and sur-
Sharpshooter viving outdoors.
(Minor Good Trait)
Effects: This Trait gives you a +2 bonus to any rolls to
If you’ve got time to line up a shot, you make it count. follow tracks and animal trails.
Effects: You can make an extra Aiming action, as per the Voice of Authority
rules on page 124. So, if you aim for two rounds and fire
on the third round, you get to add the bonuses from both (Minor Good Trait)
your Aiming actions to your shot. When you talk, people listen to you. It may be because you 2
were once part of the services or a figure of authority - a doctor,
Super Amalgamated a politician, a military commander or in the police force for
(Minor Good Trait) example. Thanks to this, people will pay more attention to you
when you talk to them. This is especially handy when you’re
You read a lot, and have a tendency to use large words.
trying to clear an area because of some approaching danger,
You live by the philosophy of why use a fifty cent word,
to order people about or simply try to gain their trust.
when a two-dollar word will do. In the event of your reading
you pick up several tidbits of information, about subjects Effect: This is a Minor Trait and provides you with a +2
across the board…from Archeology to Law. bonus to Presence and Convince rolls to try to get people
to do as you like or to gain their trust. The Gamemaster
Effects: This Trait gives the character a +2 bonus to any
may modify this to suit the situation.
roll (usually Intelligence and Knowledge) to determine
the result of any Knowledge roll. Wealthy
Technically Adept (Minor or Major Good Trait)
(Minor Good Trait) Put simply, you’ve got money.
You have an innate connection to technology, and tech- Effects: The Minor version of this trait just means you’re
nology is your friend. Your guesses usually turn out to be comfortably wealthy – you’ve got a nicer place to live, a
correct and you can fix things just by hitting them! You’re flash car, an expensive wristwatch and so on. You can pick
skilled enough to operate and repair most things with up Uncommon items without any problems.
limited tools, taking half the time it normally takes. Often,
The Major version means you’re stinking rich. You never
if the device stopped working within thirty minutes, you
need to worry about money for most activities, can buy Rare
can restart it just by thumping it. It may not last long, but
items, and can throw huge bribes around by spending Story
long enough…
Points. This trait works like the Wealthy Base Trait.
Effect: The Technically Adept Trait provides you with +2
Note: This trait cannot be taken with the Impoverished Trait.
to any Technology roll to fix a broken or faulty device, and
to use complex gadgets or equipment. It also gives you a Weapons Encyclopedia
bonus of +1 Progress every time you roll to build a new
gadget (see page 159). (Minor Good Trait)

Note: Cannot be taken with the Technically Inept Bad Trait. A character has the ability to recall the vital statistics and
important quirks of practically all known commercially
Tough available weapons. This includes, but is not limited to, its
general level of reliability as well as all vital statistics —
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
material composition, ammunition capacity, caliber, pos-
Not everyone can take a punch on the nose and brush it off as sible outfitted accessories, etc.
if nothing had happened. Few people can take getting shot or
Effect: Weapons Encyclopedia also includes knowledge
stabbed, tortured or wounded in the course of their everyday
on acquiring weapons, so characters will have a +2 to any
lives. However, people with the Tough Trait are just that. They’re
checks needed to determine the weapon type, locate or
used to the adventure, can takes the knocks and brush it off.
buy weapons.
Effect: The Tough Trait reduces the amount of injury a char-
acter sustains if wounded during the course of the adventure. Weird Tech*

51
 Pulp Fantastic
(Minor or Major Good Trait) those with the proper technology, or accidental, but the
memories are gone and the character has “holes” in their
You’ve found a piece of working weird technology, either
past. They may return in time, with the right triggers, but
from the arsenal of a mad genius, the depths of a ruined
for the time being there are holes in their past that they
temple or from some other obscure source.
know nothing about.
Effects: Consult with the gm about what sort of weird
Effect: As a Minor Bad Trait, Amnesia means that the
technology you’ve found. Something that’s basically the
character has lost a portion of their memory. It could be
same as a present-day device, only smaller and more effi-
as small as a couple of days, weeks or even a couple of
cient (like a miniature calculating engine, a ring-mount-
years, but the character (and the player) will have no idea
SETUP

ed gas gun or a jet-turbine you can wear on your back) is

of what happened to them in that time.
a Minor Trait. An item that does something that’s impos-
sible, like a matter transmitter or a pocket watch that stops As a Major Bad Trait, this Amnesia is total, the character
time, is a Major item. This trait means you just possess having no memory of their past, or even who they really
the item – it doesn’t mean you know exactly how to control are. Events, sights, sounds or even smells can trigger
it or how it works. memories of their lost time, and this is a great source of
adventure ideas for the Gamemaster - over many adven-
Well Traveled* tures the character can uncover more and more of their
(Minor Good Trait) “lost time”. Of course, this adds to the work the Gamemas-
ter has to do, coming up with the character’s lost memories,
The character is an experienced traveler and is familiar so the Amnesia Trait should be approved by the Game-
with the society and technology of cultures different to master before purchasing it.
their own. The Well Traveled Trait reflects how much
actual traveling the character has done. Animal Lover
Effect: Select the general area to which the character has (Minor Bad Trait)
traveled (Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, etc). The
You can’t stand to see animals hurt.
character has a +2 bonus to any knowledge rolls involving
this area. The Gamemaster may award this Trait during Effect: If you do nothing when an animal is being injured
play if you become particularly familiar with a certain or in pain, you lose Story Points. How many is up to the
area, era or Tech Level. gm. If attacked by an animal you can still fight back to
save your life, or the lives of innocents, but you must always
Bad Traits try to find non-harmful solutions first.

Adversary* By the Book

(Minor/Major Bad Trait) (Minor Bad Trait)
You’ve got an enemy – either a single resourceful individ- You follow the rules, even when it’s against your best in-
ual, like Herr Doktor Todeskopf, or a whole organization terest.
like the Tong of the Black Scorpion. Your enemy is active-
Effect: You follow proper protocols at all times. This has
ly trying to thwart your plans or even kill you. This time,
good and bad points – on the plus side, you’ve got a +2
it’s personal.
bonus to Resolve rolls to resist influences that might dis-
Effect: Adversary can be a Minor or a Major Bad Trait tract you from your duties. The downside is that you’re a
depending upon the power and frequency of the Adver- stickler for following written instructions and official
sary’s appearance. Todeskopf on his own would be a policy – if you disobey the orders of a superior officer,
Minor enemy – he can cause trouble, but he’s just one breach the rules of your organization, or even skip the
mad old man and isn’t that dangerous. Todeskopf with boring paperwork, it costs you Story Points.
the backing of his army of Radium Men would definite-
Note: Cannot be taken with the Maverick Bad Trait.
ly count as Major.
If you take this Bad Trait, you’re basically putting a big Clumsy
‘Kick Me’ sign on your character. The gm is encouraged (Minor Bad Trait)
to go out of his way to have your Adversary cause trouble
for you. They know who you are, they know your weak- Sometimes, it seems as if you’re unable to keep hold of
nesses, and they know how to hurt you. things and you keep tripping over the smallest hazard.
Effect: In times of stress, especially when being chased,
Amnesia you’ll have to make additional Awareness and Coordina-
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) tion rolls to avoid knocking vital things over, dropping
the vial of toxic chemicals or tripping up and landing on
Memory is a fragile thing that can easily be manipulated
their face when being chased by villains.
or lost entirely. The Amnesia Trait means that some or
even all of the character’s memories have gone. This could
be a deliberate thing, with the memories being erased by
52
 Genesis
Code of Conduct Dependents
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
The Code of Conduct Trait means that your character You’ve got responsibilities outside the fight for truth and
adheres to a strict moral standing or self imposed set of justice, or you’re trying to maintain a normal life despite
rules they follow at all times. While this is listed as a Bad the weirdness and secret conspiracies you continually
Trait, it doesn’t mean that having a Code is Bad; just that stumble into. Maybe you’ve got a boyfriend or girlfriend
it can restrict your actions and limit your choices. Being who doesn’t know your secret identity, or maybe you’ve
a good person is often the harder option, but it means even got kids or an aged parent to take care of.
you’re a better person for it.
Effect: As a Minor Trait, your dependent shows up once
Effect: As a Minor Trait, Code of Conduct means that the every few stories, and you’ve got to take steps to protect
character tries to do good at most times, and are unable them or conceal the truth from them. A little-seen fiancee
to harm another being unless it is absolutely necessary in another state is a Minor Dependent; by contrast, a nosy
and for the greater good. kid-brother could cause enough bother to be a Major
Dependent. Major Dependents get themselves into trouble
As a Major Trait, their code of limits their actions dramat-
regularly, or force you to take constant precautions to
ically, meaning they strive to do their best at every moment,
preserve your secrets. 2
almost verging on the saintly!
The player should discuss the character’s own unique Code Dependency
of Conduct with the Gamemaster when they take this Trait, (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
as breaking it may be very costly resulting in the loss of
some or all of their Story Points! It is usually not this Sometimes you just rely on others. Having the Dependen-
drastic, but breaking a serious Code of Conduct is not cy Trait means they are dependent upon something or
something to be done lightly and players who purchase someone to survive. The level of the trait determines how
the Trait and then do not adhere to it will have to learn desperate they will get, and how bad the effects will be, if
their costly mistake. they can’t get their fix. Dependency is a Bad Trait and gives
the character more points at character creation, but players
Cowardly should be careful not to take such a high Dependency that
their character becomes too difficult to play.
(Minor Bad Trait)
Effect: As a Minor Bad Trait, the Dependency isn’t too
Running away is an instinctive response for you. When
debilitating. They can go for extended periods without
danger threatens, you head for the hills!
their needs getting in the way. If the Gamemaster decides
Effect: The Cowardly Trait reduces the character’s chance it’s appropriate, the character may suffer a -2 penalty to
to resist getting scared, suffering a -2 penalty to any Resolve their actions. However, as a Major Trait, they are unable
rolls against fear. to survive without their dependency. If they go without it
for any period of time (defined by the Gamemaster and
Note: Cannot be taken with the Brave Good Trait.
the player) they suffer a -4 penalty to every action. This
Dark Secret could be because they’re unable to think of anything else,
or because they’re unable to act properly without help.
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Distinctive
You’ve got a skeleton in your closet and if it’s revealed it
could change the way people think about you. (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Effect: Dark Secret can be either a Minor or a Major Bad There is something very striking or obvious about the
Trait, depending upon the severity of the reaction should character that makes them stand out in the crowd. Whether
the secret be revealed. Something that would negatively they are just tall, short, have colored hair, bronze skin or
affect people’s relations with you is only a Minor trait (for are just striking in their appearance, they get noticed and
example, you had an affair with a notorious femme fatale), people seem to remember them. Maybe they have a mem-
but something that would completely change your status orable habit; perhaps they constantly play with a lucky
in the game is Major (say, if it was discovered that you were coin, or make a peculiar trilling sound when concentrat-
still seeing the femme fatale and passing her information ing. They’re not going to provoke people pointing and
about the group, or perhaps that you and the femme fatale staring, but they’ll certainly be remembered and recog-
have a child). nized if encountered again.
It’s probably best for the player to discuss what the Dark Effect: If the character is trying to “blend in” or go unno-
Secret actually is with the Gamemaster, possibly before ticed in a crowd, if a roll is required they will receive a -2
they start creating their character, just so the player really penalty to the result. It’s also easier for other people to
does have to keep the secret from the other players – they remember them after the event.
may not want to write it on the character sheet, so they
With the Major version of this Trait the character isn’t just
can’t look at it and see what they’ve been hiding!
memorable, but is famous and is recognizable even to
53
 Pulp Fantastic
people who have only heard of him or her. Their where- Emotional Complication
abouts are regularly covered by the press and they receive
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
a -4 penalty to attempts to go unnoticed.
You’ve got baggage of some sort that may complicate your
Note: Cannot be taken with the Face in the Crowd Trait.
life. Maybe you bear a grudge against someone. Maybe
Dogsbody you suffer from depression. Maybe you’re secretly in love
with another player character. Whatever your emotional
(Minor Bad Trait) complication is, it’s hard to ignore feelings when they’re
You’re at the bottom of the totem pole. You might be this strong.
SETUP

low-ranking in your organization or just eternally unlucky Effect: As a Minor Trait, your emotions get in the way but
when it comes to work. Every boring or menial job gets don’t stop you doing your job. Every so often, you have to
palmed off on you. You’re always the one mucking out the deal with issues arising from them (or pay a Story Point
yeti cage, and yetis smell bad! to override your emotional drives).
Effect: You have a -2 penalty to any attempts to order As a Major Trait, then the emotion dominates your life. It
people around in your organization. You’ll also always be consumes you, fills you, and may be your downfall. You can’t
given the worst jobs. act rationally when something triggers your complication.
Note: You can get this Trait temporarily as a punishment
for disobedience or screwing up.
Forgetful
(Minor Bad Trait)
Doomed
Rather than the lack of memory that Amnesia brings,
(Major Bad Trait) Forgetful means that your memory is less than reliable.
All things end, but some Pulp heroes know that it is going You tend to forget things if you’re distracted or focused
to end badly elsewhere, like the classic absent-minded professor.
Effect: In some way, your character’s end is sealed. It may Effect: When you’ve got to recall something important,
be the result of a terminal diagnosis, a terrible curse, some like how to disarm a bomb, you’ve got to pay a Story Point
form of hereditary affliction or the result of an inescapable to remember it in time.
prophecy, but your character has a limited shelf-life and Note: Cannot be taken with the Photographic Memory
time is running out. The nature of the Doom that awaits Trait.
the character should be worked out broadly with the Gam-
emaster, and can be invoked at any time. Fresh Meat
Note: This Trait is better suited for barbarian warriors, (Minor Bad Trait)
jungle kings, mystics and other fantastical characters.
Something about you smells good to meat-eating preda-
gms who invoke a character’s Doom should take care to
tors, thugs and things that bite. Lions, tigers, bears, sharks,
ensure that it is never meaningless (unless that is in itself
piranhas, wolves, yetis and dinosaurs all want to eat you.
the meaning of the Doom). Players who take this Bad Trait
Mosquitoes swarm around you. Bullies and thugs just
are signing the ultimate death warrant for their character,
want to beat the tar out of you. Even carnivorous plants
but should gain role-playing opportunities as a result.
think you’re delicious.
Eccentric Effect: Firstly, any attempts to use Subterfuge to hide from
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) predators suffer a -2 penalty if they can smell you. Sec-
ondly, given a choice, any hungry flesh-eater is going to
You’re just a bit odd. Your personality is off-putting or snack on you instead of anyone else nearby. In a bar fight,
strange, and that can make you hard to work with. you’re the first one to get punched. You’re always target
Effect: The Minor version of this trait means you’ve got number one.
an oddity that crops up every so often – you get tongue-tied
around women, you refuse to get mud on your shoes even
Good Samaritan
when chasing a gangster through a swamp, you hum loudly (Minor Bad Trait)
when nervous. It’s inconvenient or annoying, but doesn’t
You can’t stand to see people hurt, oppressed or mistreated.
happen often.
Effects: If you stand by and do nothing when someone is
The Major version means that your eccentricity interferes
being injured or in pain, you lose Story Points. The number
with your life on a regular basis – you might be extreme-
of Story Points is up to the gm.
ly paranoid, insufferably rude, addicted to alcohol, or have
some other trait that puts you at odds with everyone else.
Maybe you’re just a jerk.

54
 Genesis
Hell on Wheels Insatiable Curiosity
(Minor Bad Trait) (Minor Bad Trait)
You’re hard on vehicles. Things break around you. A little like the Impulsive Trait, this really just means that
the character doesn’t know when to stop themselves when
Effect: Vehicles tend to crash, explode or break down
it comes to their curiosity. This is a good Trait for news-
around you. If you’re in a vehicle that’s hit by another,
hounds, cops and other professional busybodies.
crashes into an obstacle, or is involved in a failed skill check,
the vehicle is more likely to break down, run out of fuel, Effect: This is another Minor Bad Trait that rewards
smash a key component or otherwise become unusable. playing in character and remembering your curious
The exact effects of this trait are decided on a case-by-case nature. It is usually unhelpful, but you simply have to
basis by the gm, but get used to walking home. know where or what is going on, why something is hap-
pening or how it works. It may put your life at risk, but
Impaired Senses* it doesn’t make you suicidal. You just take a few chances
(Minor/Major Bad Trait) to find things out.

The Impaired Senses Trait means that the character is Maverick

lacking in one of their senses. Whether this is the need for
(Minor Bad Trait) 2
glasses, a hearing aid or being color blind, their use of the
sense is less than your average person. When selecting this You’ve got a problem with authority. Anyone ordering you
Trait, the player should choose which sense is affected. around puts your hackles up.
Effect: Discussing with the Gamemaster, the player should Effect: Again, this Bad Trait affects your behavior. If you’re
choose which sense is effected, as well as the severity of told to do things one way by a superior, you instinctively
the impairment. Minor Bad Traits would be: no sense of want to do the opposite. You’ve got to pay a story point to
smell, colorblind, no sense of taste, needing to wear glasses resist the compulsion to disobey orders even when it’s in
or needing a hearing aid. Without their glasses or hearing your best interest to comply.
aid, Awareness rolls using these senses suffer a -2 penalty.
Obligation
Major Bad Traits would be losing a sense that impacts on
their everyday actions, such as blindness or deafness. (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Though this may make difficult to get involved in major You’ve got a duty to an organization, or a debt to a friend,
action scenes and may be best suited for NPCs, or experi- or a sense of responsibility towards a cause. Whatever the
enced players. nature of the obligation, it affects you deeply.
Note: Cannot be taken with with Keen Senses, unless the Effect: As a Minor Trait, Obligation means you have a
Keen Sense is Minor and then in a Sense that isn’t Impaired. regular job, or are obliged to help a friend when they need
it. It won’t affect your ability to run around chasing bad
Impoverished guys that often, but conflicts will crop up every few weeks.
(Minor Bad Trait) Failing to honor your obligation costs you a story point
You’re strapped for cash. Either you’re unemployed or As a Major Trait, Obligation means the organization is
underpaid, or you’ve got debts, or maybe you just waste more important than the character, or you owe your life
your money on slow horses. to someone. If the other person says jump, you jump.
Breaking this obligation will cost you dearly.
Effect: You’ve got very little money. You may be living in
poverty, or sleeping on a friend’s couch. If you spend more Obsession
than a trivial money during the game, it costs you a Story
Point. For example, you can buy a cup of coffee without (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
any problem, but hiring that boat to chase after a kidnap- Your obsession consumes your life. It could be as small as
per? That’ll cost a Story Point. a compulsion for cleanliness, order or justice, or it could
Note: Cannot be taken with the Wealthy Trait. be as grand as an insane scheme to wipe out humankind
by igniting the atmosphere and then reseeding the Earth
Impulsive with your private menagerie of “improved” plant and
animal species. Either way, it drives everything you do.
(Minor Bad Trait)
Effect: As a Minor Bad Trait, it means you’ve got a com-
“Why worry, it’ll be fine, let’s go!” The impulsive sort do
pulsion of some sort, a nervous habit or obsessive tic like
not think things through very well before acting and are
always washing your hands or always worrying about
likely to leap before they look. It doesn’t mean they have
disease or demanding that you be the driver of any vehicle
a death wish, far from it, it’s just that they do things on a
you travel in. It’s annoying, but not especially hard to
whim and usually regret it.
handle. The gm might demand a Story Point off you if
Effect: If an opportunity arises to charge in without you’re forced to overcome your compulsion.
looking, and you don’t take it, it costs you a Story Point.
55
 Pulp Fantastic
As a Major Trait, your obsession drives everything you do. Racial Minority
You’ve a +2 to Resolve for any skill rolls related to accom-
(Minor Bad)
plishing your obsession, but you find it hard to do anything
that doesn’t further your crazy goal. This trait is really You are a racial minority in the country where you nor-
only suitable for NPCs and villains. mally reside.  This causes you several inconveniences, and
you likely face daily discrimination, from jobs to housing,
Outcast from shopping to transportation.
(Minor Bad Trait) Effect: You receive a −2 to all social interactions with
people of the majority race, except when dealing with
SETUP

The character has done something that means that a group,

race, or nation has shunned them or views them with fear, particularly enlightened people (GM’s discretion).  You
dread or loathing. may also be completely barred from access to certain lo-
cations, and the legal system may not work in your favor.
Effect: The player should discuss with the Gamemaster
what the character has done and who regards them with Slow Reflexes
such dislike or dismissal. Anyone that could react nega-
(Major Bad Trait)
tively to their presence should make an Awareness and
Ingenuity roll initially to recognize them. If the character Some people are incredibly quick when it comes to react-
is recognized, they’ll suffer a -2 penalty on all social rolls ing to a situation. You can throw a ball at them when
(such as trying to Convince or to even share their knowl- they’re not looking and they’ll notice at the last minute
edge). If the ‘something’ they’ve done is more severe than spinning around and catching the ball. People with the
this, they should take a Major Dark Secret Bad Trait instead. Slow Reflexes Trait are not these kinds of people. You can
throw a ball at their face and it’ll hit them in the forehead
Owes Favor before they have chance to put their hands up to catch it.
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) Effect: You act as a Slow creature in combat, which means
You owe someone a favor. It can be as simple as owing money everyone else gets to go first.
to someone, or as big as owing someone your life. You want Note: Cannot be taken with the Quick Reflexes Good Trait.
to repay the favor, but that may not be as easy as it sounds.
Effect: As a Minor Trait, you only owe a relatively small
Slow Runner
favor – you might do something small every so often for (Minor Bad Trait)
whomever you’re indebted to, like lending them money People don’t have to outrun the bad guy. They just have to
or helping them out when they’re in trouble. outrun you.
As a Major Trait, you owe someone a lot. They have a huge Effect: Reduces your speed by 1 when running. You can’t
hold over you, and it is impossible for you to say no to take this Trait if your Coordination is already only 1, or if
whatever they ask of you. As long as this favor hangs over you’ve got the Fast Runner trait.
you, you’ll never be free.
If you pay off the favor without buying off this Trait with Strange Visitor
Experience Points, then you should replace it with another (Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Bad Trait. For example, you might pay off a Major Favor
Maybe you grew up in the jungles of the African Congo,
by agreeing to be a double agent, replacing Owes Favor
or on an isolated plateau populated with dinosaurs, or in
with Dark Secret.
a vast cavern beneath the Earth’s crust colonized by the
Phobia* last survivors of fabled Mu. Maybe you’re from another
time, or another world entirely. Whatever your origin,
(Minor Bad Trait) you’re not from around here. You’re a strange visitor in a
Some people just don’t like spiders. Others, it’s cats. Or different world to the one you knew.
snakes, or heights, or darkness, or sharks chewing your Effect: As a Minor Trait, you come from some other
leg off. Having a Phobia Trait means that there is some- country or province with a very different culture, but not
thing (that the player will define, usually with the Game- too alien. Your Skills are unaffected by these differences,
master’s help) that they are afraid of. but it’s unnerving and you occasionally run into more
Effect: You’ve a -2 penalty to Resolve checks to resist fear changes that you weren’t expecting.
when you encounter your phobia. You’ve got to roll even The Major version of the Trait is only available with the
when the object of the phobia isn’t a real threat to you – gm’s permission; wherever you come from, it’s a very
anyone would have to roll against fear when they meet a different place. You suffer a -2 penalty to any rolls depen-
scorpion, but if you’ve got a phobia of insects, you’ve also dent on familiarity with modern day cultures and tech-
got to roll when you spot a harmless beetle crawling up nologies, and this penalty may be increased when trying
your leg. to do anything dependent on advanced scientific knowl-
edge or specialist training at the gm’s discretion.

56
 Genesis
Technically Inept Weakness as a Major Trait is best suited for villains and
(Minor Bad Trait) creatures who need a definite exploitable weakness to
give the characters a chance against them. When the
Technology is the wonder of the age, but it is not your weakness is affected it inflicts 4 levels of damage, reducing
friend. Either you’re very unfamiliar with the workings of their Attributes (see Injuries, on p.128).
modern technology, or you are just extremely unlucky
when it comes to gadgets and gizmos, but either way, you Note: This cannot be taken with the Immunity Trait if
have trouble using any complex equipment. both cover the same substance.

Effect: You’ve a -2 penalty to any Technology-based rolls. Special Traits

Furthermore, you have to spend a Story Point if you’re trying
to do anything beyond the most basic operation of a tech- Experienced*
nological device – for example, you could poke around and (Special Good Trait)
maybe roll to turn on a generator, but you’ve got to pay a
Story Point levy to do anything more complex than just In return for additional Character Points, the character
hitting the power switch and hoping the lights come on. will have fewer Story Points. This reduction in Story Points
not only applies at character creation, it also reduces the
Unattractive number of Story Points your character can carry over
between adventures.
2
(Minor Bad Trait)
You’re not necessarily ugly or hideous, but…well, you’re Effect: Experienced is a Special Trait that costs Story
not going to be winning any personality or beauty contests Points rather than Character Points. The Story Points spent
anytime soon. You’re just unappealing. to purchase this Trait reduce the maximum Story Point
pool for the character. Experienced costs 3 Story Points to
Effect: The Unattractive Trait comes into play whenever purchase, and provides the character with an additional
the character is doing something that their looks can in- 4 Character points.
fluence. As a Bad Trait, the character will get a -2 penalty
to any rolls that involve their less-than-good look This Trait can be purchased additional times for more
experienced characters, though no character can have
Note: Cannot be taken with the Attractive Good Trait. zero Story Points. That’s far too dangerous!
Unlucky Not every character should be as experienced as this, and
their lower Story Points should help to balance the char-
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) acter with their less experienced companions.
Luck’s not on your side. Whenever things can go wrong
for you, they do. Fast Healer
Effect: As a Minor Trait, you’re just unlucky. Whenever (See Fast Healer Good Trait, p.49)
you succeed really well by rolling double-six on the dice, Inexperienced*
you’ve got to roll them again and take the second result.
(Special Bad Trait)
As a Major Trait, you’re really unlucky. Normally, when
the gm does something unexpectedly nasty to your char- The character is inexperienced.
acter, he’s obliged to recompense you with a Story Point Effect: Costs 2 Character Points and 2 Skill Points. In return,
or two – but this doesn’t apply to you. The gm gets to the character’s maximum Story Point pool is increased by 3.
torment you for free.
This Trait can be purchased additional times for less and
Weakness* less experienced characters, though this will have to be
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) approved by the Gamemaster. If, however, through expe-
rience during the game the character’s Skills and total
The character has a weakness; something that can either Character Points increase to compensate for the cost and
cause him harm where it would not hurt other characters, reduction from this Trait, the character’s maximum Story
or causes aggravated damage where it might not be as Points are reduced to the normal level.
severe for someone else. It may be an allergic reactions to
certain foods or pollens, an intolerance to certain kinds Machine Man
of medication, a tendency to cave in to certain kinds of (Special Good Trait)
arguments or persuasion, or a vulnerability to the radia-
tions of certain green glowing rocks from space. In years to come, the character would be referred to as a
cyborg, but in the Pulp era, he’s a Machine Man. A char-
Effect: Agree on chosen weakness with the player. As a acter with this Trait has some mechanical body parts.
Minor Bad Trait, the character gets -2 to all rolls when the
Gamemaster decides the weakness applies. When the Effect: Costs either 1 or 3 Character Points. At the lowest
character encounters the thing that affects them, any rolls level, the mechanical prostheses of the character are
suffer a -2 penalty. obvious but possibly concealable.

57
 Pulp Fantastic
At the higher level, the mechanical elements are com- Robot
pletely disguised under artificial, but fairly realistic
(Special Good Trait)
looking, skin. The Machine Man Trait allows the character
to have a permanent Invention (which must be purchased Characters built with the Robot Trait aren’t human.
separately) that will not run out of power or get lost (see Though self-aware robots were rare in the Pulp Era, they
Inventions, on p.159). Whole body mechanical replace- were not unheard of. No longer the mindless automata of
ments are not really suitable for a player character in the the Victorian Age, robots came to represent the fear that
game, except at the Gamemaster’s discretion. we would be overwhelmed by technology. Though villain-
ous robots were numerous, constructed by mad geniuses
Note: Cannot be taken with the Robot Trait.
SETUP

or sent from outer space, but heroic robots like Adam Link
More Than Human did exist.
(Special Good Trait) Instead of flesh and bone they are made of steel, wires and
valves, and instead of an organic brain their mind is made
The character is something truly special. Perhaps they’re of circuitry and sparks. When a robot takes a physical injury,
the direct descendant of a Greek god, or a bizarre animal/ it loses Attributes just like a person, though it will not heal
human hybrid, or were raised by scientists to be the next itself over time – either itself or another suitably skilled
stage of human development. Perhaps they’re from technician will need to conduct repairs (using Ingenuity
another world, or are a modern homunculus, rescued from and Technology), with a level of injury repaired equal to the
a glass tube found in the lair of a mad scientist. Whatever level of success. Robots normally learn over time, and can
their origin, the character is not quite human, and may increase their mental Skills just as a human, however phys-
be quite a bit more. ical Skills and Attributes will require some form of re-fit to
Effect: The More Than Human Trait is a ‘Gateway’, opening take into account the increased ability. Of course, in most
a selection of additional Creature Traits that are normally cases, a robot does have the disadvantage of standing out
unavailable to player characters and allowing Attributes over in a crowd and scaring primitive civilisations! The Robot
level 6. It is a Good Trait, and costs just 2 Character Points to Trait also acts as a ‘Gateway’, like the More Than Human
purchase. The Gamemaster should approve this Trait. Trait, allowing the character to purchase Invention Traits.
These are Traits normally used only in Inventions (see In-
Unless the character has the Strange Appearance Trait, ventions, p.159). Gadget abilities such as Forcefield or Scan,
they look pretty much the same as everyone else on Earth. can be built into the robot character!
As a downside, if it is discovered that they are special, they
may suffer severe consequences (such as being captured Effect: Robot is a Special Good Trait that costs 2 points as
by the government and experimented upon, ostracised a robot of normal appearance – that is, they look like a
by the Church or pursued forever-more by the press). Pulp Era robot; boxy, metallic and very obviously non-or-
ganic. At this level the Trait includes the effects of the
Note: The More Than Human Trait is only required when Strange Appearance Trait.
creating player characters. Non-human NPCs and crea-
tures do not require this Trait. The Trait can be purchased at a higher level, costing 4 points,
that means externally you look convincingly human – most
Psychic of the time people will assume you are human unless you’re
(Special Good Trait) injured or display inhuman abilities. Robot also means that
you do not die from old age (though your power supply may
There are times when you need to discover what is really need replacing), you can raise your Attributes over level 6
going on in someone’s mind. Psychic is a Special Good and can purchase Gadget Traits. A robot character can be
Trait, costing 2 points to purchase (or 1 point if the char- ‘killed’ and repaired, returning to full operational level,
acter already has the Psychic Training Trait). The Game- though if the damage is severe enough (such as being
master should approve selection of this Trait. crushed flat or dropped into a furnace or molten metal) the
Effect: Make a Resolve and Awareness roll to try and see robot is unlikely to be salvageable.
into the target’s mind. The target must be within visual Team Player
range (with the naked eye). The Trait provides the charac-
ter with a +4 bonus on the roll. However, the target, if they (Special Good Trait)
are unwilling, can resist such a mental intrusion with a You work best as part of a team.
Resolve and Ingenuity roll. Both sides can spend Story
Points if they’re concentrating intently. Psychic also gives Effect: This is a special good trait costing 3 Story Points.
a +4 bonus when the character attempts to resist having It gives an extra Group Point to be spent on Group Traits
their mind read, or even to resist getting possessed. (see page 66). You may only take the Trait once per player
character.
The Psychic Trait is a ‘Gateway’, opening a selection of
additional Psychic Traits (see page 62) to the character
that are otherwise only available to villains and creatures.

58
 Genesis
Unusual Background astral voyage is equal to their Resolve in hours. While
traveling, the characters physical body is completely co-
(Special Good Trait)
matose and cannot move, act or respond to stimuli in any
You were raised by apes or wolves, born into a noble family way. If the physical body dies while the character is astral-
or something equally amazing and interesting. ly projecting, the character must either find a new body
to inhabit or fade away in a number of hours equal to half
Effect: For the cost of 3 Story Points a character can gain
the characters Resolve.
a Major and a Minor Good Trait that doesn’t affect your
character building costs. Astral characters gain the Immaterial Trait for the duration
of the astral voyage. While they can perceive the physical
world they are generally unaffected by it. While astral they
do not need to eat, sleep or breathe, and can pass through
HEY, WHERE’S THE MAGIC TRAIT? non-living matter as if it were smoke. Astral characters
So, you’re asking where the Magic Trait is? Short answer: can move instantaneously to any location they are per-
There isn’t one. sonally familiar with by spending a Story Point, or can
drift at a speed equal to three times their Resolve in feet.
A slightly longer answer is that magic-wielding heroes aren’t
really in keeping with the spirit of the Pulps. Though there Clairvoyance
were arcane heroes in the pulps, for the most part they used
2
(Special Good Psychic Trait)
psychic powers. The Pulp Era is an age dominated by science
and the promise of the future it could bring. Magic and the The ability to see distant locations through intense con-
supernatural, if it exists at all in your campaign world, is a centration as if they were actually there.
power that thrives on darkness, ignorance and fear – every-
Effect: The character can see into other locations without
thing that the heroes stand against.
actually being there or having to rely on technology. It will
If you really want to include magic in a Pulp Fantastic cam- cost a Story Point to activate this ability and the range is
paign, it should be rare, dangerous and unpredictable. One limited to the character’s Resolve – the higher their Resolve,
option more in keeping with the Pulps is that preferred by the further away they can see (see table below).
pulp author H.P. Lovecraft, who posited in his stories that
what we think of as magic is in fact the imperfectly under- RESOLVE DURATION RANGE
stood remnants of extra-dimensional alien super-science, 1 The briefest flash Adjacent room, up to 15ft away
passed down through the ages couched in terms of myth
2 A few seconds Up to 30ft away
and superstition.
3 30 Seconds Up to 650ft away
4 A minute Up to half a mile away
5 3 Minutes Up to 6 miles away
Psychic Traits 6 5 Minutes Up to 62 miles away
Heroes and villains with the strange powers of the mind 7 10 Minutes Up to 310 miles away
are a staple of the Pulp genre. The radio version of the
Shadow, Chandu the Mystic, the Green Llama and others 8 20 Minutes Up to 621 miles away
all used mesmerism, telepathy and other forms of psychic 9+ 30 Minutes Anywhere on the planet!
mastery to further the cause of justice.
Often these ‘visions’ will be flashes or mere glimpses into
Astral Travel another place, but with practice, concentration and a high
Resolve, the experience can be prolonged and immersive.
(Major Good Psychic Trait)
Clairvoyance uses the character’s innate abilities, rather
The character has the ability to separate their “astral body” than a Skill, so Awareness and Resolve are used to view
(their soul, spirit or consciousness) from their physical distant locations. People at the spied location with psychic
body and travel far beyond their physical limits. While training can sense they are being watched or observed
astrally traveling, the character’s body remains in a coma- and may try to resist. Clairvoyance is a Special Trait, re-
tose state and is utterly defenseless. quiring the character already have the Psychic Trait. Clair-
The character’s astral body appears to be ethereal and voyance costs 2 points.
insubstantial, and is shaped by the character’s self-image.
Characters with low self-esteem might appear shrunken
Cloud Men’s Minds
and ugly, while noble or heroic characters might appear (Major Good Psychic Trait)
as beautiful, idealized versions of themselves. Particular-
Characters with this ability can psychically or hypnotical-
ly cruel or villainous characters might even appear as
ly cloud the perceptions of an observer so they cannot be
horrific monsters or demons.
seen. This is not invisibility, but the ability to create and
Effect: The character must spend a Story Point in order occupy a personal blind spot. Provided the character does
to use this Trait. The maximum duration of the character’s not do anything to attract attention, they can pass unseen,
59
 Pulp Fantastic
undetected by all except animals and mechanical or elec- Possess
trical means of detection (photo-electric cells, pressure
(Special Good Psychic Trait)
sensors and the like). Characters cloaked in this fashion
can till be photographed and captured on film. This is technically the highest possible level of the Hyp-
nosis Trait (see p.50). Possess allows the character to take
Effect: The character is effectively invisible and cannot
over another person and control their actions. While
be seen by other intelligent beings without a resisted
controlling the host body, the character can make it do or
Resolve and Awareness roll (against the Resolve and
say almost anything (though they cannot make the host
Awareness of the unseen character, though the character
kill themselves, the survival instinct is too strong for even
gains a +2 bonus on this roll). This roll can only be made
SETUP

that). Possessing someone is an exhausting affair, and if

if it is suspected the character is present. The Trait also
the character has a normal body that it has left behind
prevents the detection of minor movement noise, but not
somewhere, it will need protecting (and may die of star-
speech or particularly loud and noticeable sounds. The
vation if they’re out of their body too long).
character’s footsteps on carpet or tile will not be noticed,
but their crunching across broken glass probably will, and Effect: This Trait is not recommended for player charac-
their voice definitely will. ters. Just as the Hypnosis Trait, the target will have the
opportunity to resist becoming possessed (with a Resolve
Empathic Aura and Strength roll, or Ingenuity in some cases). The pos-
(Minor Good Psychic Trait) sessing character receives a +4 bonus on their first roll to
possess someone, though if they fail this every attempt
With the Aura Trait, the character gives off a strange feeling that follows loses this bonus. As a good guide, the pos-
that affects those near to it. Unlike the Fear Factor Trait, sessing character can inhabit the body for as many hours
the feeling is not always that of danger. The aura could be as they have Resolve, though very powerful villains could
a feeling of peace and calm, used as a defence, or perhaps inhabit a body indefinitely. If they force the host to do
to lull people into a false sense of security. something very against their nature (such as attack one
Effect: The Empathic Aura Trait is a Minor Good Trait of their friends) they will have a chance to resist (and on
that costs 1 point and effects the feelings of people in the a Fantastic result, the possessing character may be reject-
near vicinity. The actual effects should be defined at cre- ed from the host completely!). For additional information,
ation of the alien. Multiple effects can be employed but see ‘Being Possessed’ on p.133.
the Trait will have to be purchased multiple times, one for
each effect. The character can choose whether or not to
Precognition
engage the Aura. When active, the Aura reaches to every- (Special Good Psychic Trait)
one within normal senses range (sight, smell or hearing).
Some people have the ability to see the future.
Anyone who could be affected will have to make a resist-
ed Resolve and Strength roll (against the Resolve and Effect: Costs 1 point to purchase and can only by taken
Strength of the character producing the aura, though the by characters already with the Psychic Trait. The Game-
character gains a +2 bonus on this roll). If the target fails master will give the character flashes of information that
the roll, they immediately feel the effects of the aura, may help or encourage them to pursue a particular course
becoming calm, frightened, sleepy, hungry, in awe or in of action to aid the adventure. If the player wants the
love, or whatever emotion the character’s aura produces. character to actively try to sense what is to come, they
They will not be able to resist again until they leave the should spend a Story Point, and the Gamemaster will
area of effect (where the effect usually wears off instantly) supply as much useful information is they see fit (without
or unless they spend a Story Point. ruining the story!).
Enlightened Exactly how seeing the future works may vary from Gam-
emaster to Gamemaster, but we recommend that Precog-
(Special Good Psychic Trait) nition allows the character to see what would have taken
The character - whether through mystical training, intense place if he had not gained an insight into the future, al-
meditation or just a finely balanced sense of justice - has lowing the possibility that his prescience will allow him
experienced the clarity and the wonder that is an aware- to change events to come.
ness of a greater truth. Enlightened is a Special Good Trait,
costing 1 point to purchase.
Telekinesis
(Special Good Psychic Trait)
Effect: Gives the character an innate ability to sense when
something is amiss or unnatural and what needs to be Telekinesis, sometimes called psychokinesis, is the power
done to set the world right. They may not know exactly to move something with thought alone. Telekinesis is a
what it is, but they’ll know something isn’t right. Special Trait that costs 2 points to purchase, and should
only be picked with the approval of the Gamemaster. Also,
The character will sense something wrong with an Aware-
they can only purchase this Trait if they already have the
ness and Ingenuity roll with a +2 bonus – the more suc-
Psychic Trait (see p.52).
cessful it is, the more likely they are to know what is wrong
and how to start to fix it. Effect: The Telekinesis Trait has a ‘strength’ equal to the
60
 Genesis
CREATING A CHARACTER: EXAMPLE
Let’s create a new character for Pulp Fantastic. We’re playing in the Two-Fisted Action Tales! campaign framework. The players
agree that all the characters are working for the magazine. They’re a bunch of second-rate adventurers and rogues, down on their
luck and offered a chance at some great PR – and maybe the chance to become real heroes – by the publisher. So, our sample
character is going to be the sort of person who would fit right into this slightly shabby band.
So, who’s our character? The idea of a news hound appeals. Maybe J. Montgomery Cruickshank III has sent his daughter’s favorite
up and coming journalist along to chronicle the adventures of his comrades, and incidentally keep him where he can cause the least
trouble! Maybe each adventure is a chapter in his (possibly posthumous) memoirs!
We’ve got 42 Character Points to spend, starting with the Attributes—Strength, Coordination, Awareness, Ingenuity, Resolve and
Presence. We’re limited to a maximum of spending 24 points on Attributes. The rest of the group are rough, tough sinewy types,
so it’d be nice to have a character who is a contrast to that. Our news hound is going to be clever and quick, both physically and
mentally (4 in Coordination and 5 in Ingenuity). Unlike his comrades he’s not particularly muscular or athletic (2 in Strength), but
he’s gutsy and determined (4 in Resolve). A reporter needs to be observant (4 in Awareness), but not stand out too much (3 in
Presence). That’s 22 points spent on Attributes, leaving us with 20 Character Points.
So, our roving reporter (lets call him Jake for now) has the following Attributes; Awareness 4, Coordination 4, Ingenuity 5, Presence 2
3, Resolve 4, Strength 2. He’s not very strong, but what he lacks in brawn, he certainly makes up for in brains and moves.
Skills come next, but we take a quick peek at Traits first, to make sure we have enough points for any important ones. Empathic
sounds appropriate, as does Photographic Memory and maybe Face in the Crowd. Or Attractive, if the publisher’s daughter thinks
he’s cute. Anyway, keeping 6 points or so for Good Traits sounds like a plan. Let’s spend 14 points on Skills and see how far that gets
us. If we run out of points, we can always take some more Bad Traits or become Experienced.
So, let’s look at the Skills. Convince is a must; 4 points in there. Another 4 in Knowledge; Jake’s a smart young man. That’s 8 points
so far. His job entails a little sneaking around, so lets put 2 points in Subterfuge. He’s a writer, and a good one at that, so we’ll put
3 points in Craft and spend a further 1 to give him the Writing Area of Expertise. 1 point each in Technology and Transport make
sense, for 16. Really, though, we have to put some points in Fighting just so he’s not totally defenseless—2 points at least. That eats
into the points we’ve put aside for Good Traits, so we’ll definitely have to take some Bad Traits to compensate. That’s 18 points
spent on Skills.
Back to Traits. We’ll take Empathic (Minor) and Face in the Crowd (Minor), costing us 2 points. We’ll also give him Attractive (Minor)
and Fast Runner (Minor), as he’s not a fighter, for another 2. While we’re at it, let’s give him Friends (Minor) to represent his Press
contacts and Lucky (Minor)...because he’s probably going to need it!
We’ve spent a total of 22+18+6=46 Character Points, out of our budget of 42! We need to take at least 4 points worth of Bad Traits
to compensate.
Jake’s a reporter, so let’s give him Obligation (Major) to his boss—this sets up a conflict of loyalties between the group and the
publisher that could be really fun to play! Finally, let’s take another two Minor Bad Traits, like Insatiable Curiosity and Dependent.
Maybe the publisher’s daughter doesn’t want to stay home when her dear, brave Jake is traveling the world!
Next, Story Points. A starting character normally has 12 Story Points.
We also need to work out his Trappings. The notable ones are his high Convince, which gives him a steamer trunk full of dapper
clothing, and his knowledge of 4; Jake’s a reader and accumulates books wherever he goes. His Craft skill means he has his own
typewriter and transcribing pads.
That’s more than enough to get playing. We can fill in more about Jake’s personality and background during the game!

character’s Resolve. They are lifting an item with the power RESOLVE RANGE
of their mind, and use their Resolve in exactly the same way
as they’d use their Strength for physically lifting an object. 1 Touch only
2 Line of Sight
For example, if the character has Resolve 1, they can lift
something with their Telekinesis as if they were physical- 3 Adjacent Room
ly lifting it with a Strength of 1. The only difference is, 4 Adjacent Building
they’re not using their hands – they’re using their mind.
To actually use the ability, a roll is necessary. There is no 5 Within the same city / area
Skill for Telekinesis, it relies entirely on the character’s 6 Within the same country
innate ability, so uses Ingenuity and Resolve. 7 Anywhere on the same planet
8 Within the planet’s system
9+ Across the Universe!
61
 Pulp Fantastic
Telepathy Finishing Touches
(Special Good Psychic Trait) You’re nearly done with your character – just a few finish-
Telepathy is the ability to communicate with others through ing touches to go.
the power of the mind. Telepaths can project their thoughts
directly into someone else’s head and they’ll hear it as if Name
they’re speaking to them. Usually, the person isn’t too far What’s your character’s name? Do people commonly
away, but if the character’s Resolve is high, they could address him by his first name, or his last one? Or does he
communicate to someone up to half a mile away or even go by a title or a nickname?
SETUP

further. Very handy if you’re a prisoner somewhere and

need to call for help! Background
Once a link has been established, they can hold a short Think about how your character’s Skills and Traits fit to-
conversation as long as they are not distracted or under gether. Where did you pick up all those ranks in Fighting?
stress. The moment they are distracted (for example being If you’ve got the Brave trait, what brave things have you
surprised by a loud noise or a sudden attack) the link is done in the past? Do you have any family?
lost and the character will have to try again at a calmer
moment when they can concentrate. You don’t need to come up with a full biography at this
point, but do come up with a little background for your
Telepathy is a Special Trait and costs 1 point to purchase. character. If you can drop in some plot hooks (like, say, a
Approval from the Gamemaster will be required before se- missing sibling, a family secret, or a burning ambition) so
lecting this Trait. In addition to this, the character must also much the better. Is there anything he regrets in his past?
have the Psychic Trait before they can purchase Telepathy. Are there big decisions that could have gone another way?
Effect: Telepathy uses the character’s innate abilities,
rather than any Skill, so Ingenuity and Resolve are used Connections
for the roll to establish communication. If the target How do you know the other characters? What brought
doesn’t want to be contacted, they can resist with a similar you into their world? Why do you do what you do? Are
roll. The distance over which the character can commu- you motivated by tragedy, inspiration, obligation or
nicate with the Telepathy Trait depends upon their Resolve. revenge? Were you recruited, or did you blunder in? Who
do you trust? Who’s your best friend in the group? Who
Story Points do you always find yourself disagreeing with?
You start the game with 12 Story Points.
Appearance
That’s also your maximum number of Story Points at the
What does your character look like? How does he dress, what
start of each adventure. If you end an adventure with more
sort of accent does he have? Does he have any quirks or man-
or fewer than 12, you reset back to 12. (Unless, of course,
nerisms? Empty his pockets – what does he keep in there?
you took the Experienced Trait, in which case you’ve got
9 or 6 Story Points instead of 12, and reset back to your Who’d play your character in the movie of your game?
lower limit after each adventure). Playing with a dream cast list is a good way to pin down
your character’s appearance and demeanor.
Story Points are very, very useful things. You can spend
them to:
Equipment
Get extra dice to roll for a critical test
Note down any trappings you get from your skills, as well
Boost your level of success, or reduce your level of failure as any other equipment your character might reasonably
carry with him. Have a think about where your character
Ignore the effects of damage
lives. Describe his home.
Activate certain traits
Pay off the cost of ignoring other traits
Personal Goals
What does your character want right now? What does he
Get a clue when you’re stuck
need? What is he searching for? What’s his big problem?
Give them to other player characters In short, what will push him into the adventure?
or even tweak the events of the story.
The rules for Story Points are on pages 135-137. For now, you’ll
need a way of keeping track of your Story Points. Tokens or
Groups & Bases
Doc Savage had the 86th Floor of the Empire State Building
glass beads work best, but you can just use dice or coins, or
and his arctic Fortress of Solitude – what’s your group’s
just write your total down on your character sheet.
center of operations? Are you working out of a custom-built
secret fortress filled with technological wonders, or are you
hunting criminals from the sub-basement of an abandoned
62
 Genesis
theater? Do you belong to a government institution, a secret Armory
military unit, or are you just a gang of amateur investigators
You’ve got an arsenal of weapons and other equipment. If
who’ve discovered the thrill of fighting evildoers?
you need a dart gun, or a sniper rifle, or a steel cable capable
Just like characters, Groups and Bases have Traits. All the of restraining an angry rhino, then you can just get it from
players have to decide collectively what Group & Base your handy armory. Your armory might be an actual armory
Traits to buy. You start with Three Good Traits and One room, with lockers full of weapons, or it might be a cellar
Bad Trait.. You can get extra Group Points by taking Bad full of black-market weapons and old military-surplus gear,
Group Traits (or with the Team Player Good Trait). but either way, you’ve got the firepower.
Effect: You can get any Common or Uncommon Weapons,
Story Point Traits Armor or other equipment you need without any prob-
Some of these Group Traits say ‘this trait gives 3 Story lems, and can spend a Story Point to obtain any Rare items
Points that can only be spent on…’ some particular type you need from the Armory.
of skill check. These points can be spent by anyone in the Archives
organization, including non-player characters.
You’ve got records and files going back years. You might
GOOD GROUP TRAITS BAD GROUP TRAITS have a really extensive library, or access to government
2
files, or maybe your organization has just been around for
Advanced Technology* Boss from Hell a very long time. Either way, you’ve got information at
Armory Code your fingertips.
Archives Criminal Effect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
session that can only be spent on research and related
Computing Power Dangerous Experiments activities. You could spend the Story Points to get extra
Considerate Superiors Dark Secret dice to succeed at a really difficult Knowledge roll, or spend
them to declare you’ve got a copy of some vital document
Fortified Demands Results or map in the archives.
Holding Cells Harsh Conditions
Computing Power
Laboratory Isolated
You’ve got access to a powerful calculating engine.
Landing Facility* Traitor
Effect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
Lockdown Unreliable Resource* session that can only be spent on Technology-related rolls
Medic Underfunded and related activities, like performing some complex cal-
culations to solve a problem.
Minions* Wandering Civilians
Considerate Superiors
Mobile base
Your boss in the organization (if you have one) cares for you
Official Sanction and the other members of the group. He’ll go out of his way
Secret Base to make your life easier and give you every possible support
on the mission, and he’ll forgive you if things go wrong.
Secure Base
Effect: The Gamemaster should try to play the characters’
Training superior as considerate, thoughtful and inspiring.
Troops* Note: You can’t take the Boss from Hell Bad Trait if you
Vehicle Pool have Considerate Superiors.

Wealthy Fortified
This place is tough – the walls are made of reinforced
Good Group Traits concrete, the doors are forged from a hardened steel, and
Advanced Technology the whole base is surrounded by fences and defensive
earthworks. Taking it won’t be easy.
Your group has access to high technology and unusual
gadgets related to its purpose. Effect: Your base gives a +6 bonus to Defense when it’s
directly attacked.
Effect: Discuss with the gm what sort of Advanced Tech-
nology the base has. You’ve got two options – either it’s a 1 Holding Cells
point Invention that everyone in the team is assigned (one
You’ve got the facilities to hold prisoners. Having Holding
per person), or a 4-point Invention that’s built into the base.
Cells means that any prisoners you’ve captured are certain
Note: You can take this Trait more than once. Each time, not to break free. In fact, your cells may even come with
it gives you a different form of advanced technology. a few inmates captured in previous adventures…
63
 Pulp Fantastic
Effect: Any captured prisoners cannot escape without Minions
outside help (or really cunning plans – not even a sturdy
Your Group has a research staff, a security force or other
holding cell can hold an Evil Mastermind for long…)
assistants.
Laboratory Effect: This trait works just like the Personal Good Trait,
Your base is equipped with a laboratory and research staff. Minions (see page 51). You pick the type of Minions when
These backroom boys aren’t any good in a fight, but they you take this trait, and you can take different kinds of
can analyze samples, identify toxins, find cures to diseas- Minions each time.
es and provide other such technical support.
SETUP

Mobile Base
Effect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
The whole base can move under its own power.
session that can only be spent on Science-related rolls and
related activities, like analyzing biological materials or Effect: The base is a giant vehicle. Some mobile bases are
building inventions. small enough to fit into the cargo hold of an aircraft. Other
bases might be on board a ship, or consist of a fleet of road
Landing Facilities* vehicles. At the top end of the scale, you’ve got bases like
The base has an airstrip or a Zeppelin dock and a hangar the Zeppelin Patrol’s airborne Cloud Palace.
containing either a few auto-gyros or biplanes.
Official Sanction
Effect: The base has landing facilities and a number of
You’ve got the backing of the Powers That Be – the govern-
aircraft. Pick one sort of aircraft:
ment, the military, the secret service, the League of Nations,
• Auto-gyros or some other group with the authority to run around the
• Small planes country investigating rumors of criminal activity, spies,
• Zeppelins monsters, or whatever it is that your group is into.
• Armed Biplanes
Effect: While performing your duties, you’ve got the
Note: You can take this Trait more than once; each time Minor Good Trait Authority (see page 48).
you take it, pick another kind of aircraft.
Note: This Trait is incompatible with the Criminal Bad
Lockdown Trait.
Your base has an emergency lockdown procedure. Pulling Secret Base
a lever drops heavy doors throughout the base, sealing it
Your base is cleverly concealed from outsiders. Either it
off from the outside world. Nothing, not even bacteria,
looks like a perfectly ordinary building, is hidden under-
can escape from a locked-down base.
ground, or is concealed by some sort of advanced camou-
Effect: If lockdown is activated, nothing can escape the flage or technology.
base using conventional means. Lockdown also means
Effect: Finding the base if you do not know it is there is
that the base has its own internal air supply, which can
almost impossible. Even if an enemy is hunting for the
come in handy if the Death Dragon’s minions are attempt-
base, the characters have time to prepare before they are
ing another gas attack.
discovered.
Medic
Secure Base
You’ve got a state-of-the-art infirmary (or maybe just a
Your base is protected by alarms, thick walls, locked doors,
friendly doctor who’s really good at first aid), letting you
barbed-wire fences and other security measures. No-one’s
bounce back quickly from injuries.
getting in here without you knowing about it.
Effect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
Effect: It’s very hard to sneak into your base. It’s not im-
session that can only be spent on Medicine-related rolls
possible, but if someone gets past your security, the gm
and related activities. You can also spend these Story Points
should throw the group a Story Point each.
to restore Attribute points lost by damage – each point
spent restores half the lost points (rounding up). The player Training
can decide how these points are allocated between the
damaged Attributes. Your base includes a gym, a firing range, and other training
facilities. Between adventures, you’re busy honing your skills.
Menagerie
Effect: As a group, you receive 3 bonus experience points
You have a large holding facility for keeping exotic crea- every game session. No one character can get all three
tures. points, but you can split the points among three different
characters, or give one character two points and another
Effect: You can safely store creatures that you are unable
character one point.
to return to their natural habitat. What is it with Evil
Masterminds and their venomous pets, anyway?

64
 Genesis
Vehicle Pool secrets. They might have once accidentally created a deadly
bacillus, drilled into the Earth’s core and released poison-
Your base has an extensive garage, and you’ve got access
ous gas, attracted the attention of Eldritch Abominations
to lots of vehicles.
by reading the wrong book aloud, or accidentally created
Effect: You can get any Common or Uncommon Vehicles dangerous animal-human hybrids. These experiments
you need automatically; you may also get the use of one can – and will – cause problems for your base.
Rare Vehicle per adventure for free, and can get more with
Effects: Side effects of the experiments make life on the
Story Points.
base difficult or dangerous all the time, and sometimes
Wealthy they cause added problems.

Your group is rich or well funded. You’ve all got extensive Dark Secret
lines of credit.
Your organization has a dark secret, and you don’t know
Effect: You have easy access to money. You can get any what it is.
Common items automatically, and get either six Uncom-
Effect: The nature of the dark secret is up to the gm. It
mon Items or one Rare item per game session. You can
could be another Bad Trait (maybe your mysterious bene-
also throw money at problems by spending Story Points.
factor is actually a Nazi spymaster or a notorious crime
lord, not the government, so you’re actually Criminals;
2
Note: You can’t take the Underfunded Trait if you’re Wealthy.
maybe the organization was set up to atone for a dreadful
Bad Group Traits crime, or to correct the effects of an experiment that went
Every pulp fantastic group faces terrible dangers – horribly wrong) or something even worse.
bloodthirsty assassins, Evil Masterminds, Mad Scientists, Demands Results
spies, gangsters, Things That Should Not Be – but your
group faces them with a handicap. You’re expected to do the impossible every week. You’ve
got to keep the underworld under control, keep the public
Boss from Hell from finding out, and keep your superiors happy. They
Your superior in the organization loathes you. He might demand results.
go out of his way to make your life hell, or keep secrets Effect: Failure isn’t an option for you. Your superiors keep
from you, or expect the impossible from you. interfering with your decisions and pressuring you to
Effects: Taking this Trait means you want the gm to make come up with solutions. The gm has license to torment
your characters’ lives hell. (gm’s – enjoy!) your characters with micromanaging bosses who call you
up every ten minutes to shout at you about why you haven’t
Code captured the Crimson Claw yet.
If you’re working for this organization, you need to obey
Harsh Conditions
a certain code of conduct. You might be part of a military
chain of command, or be bound by civil service bureau- Life in this base is hard. No luxuries. No molly-coddling.
cracy. You’ve got to keep to the code, or there’ll be trouble. The base is cramped, cold (or hot) and unpleasant. Outside
is worse – the base is located somewhere like Siberia or
Effects: When you’re working for this organization, all
the middle of the Sahara. Or maybe it’s on the bottom of
characters get either the Code of Conduct or Obligation
the sea.
Minor Bad Trait. If a character already has one of those
Minor Traits, it gets upgraded to a Major Trait. (On the Effects: Harsh Conditions has no direct game effects, but
off-chance that you’ve got both Code of Conduct and Ob- being caught without proper survival gear can be hazard-
ligation as Major Traits, you’ve got enough trouble…) ous to the characters’ health.

Criminal Isolated
Your group’s activities are illegal. Either you’re doing some- The base is in the middle of nowhere, miles away from
thing that’s genuinely illegal, like smuggling fugitives anywhere. Getting here requires a long flight or a very,
across state lines, or the government doesn’t want anyone very, very long drive.
else fighting crime. If you’re caught, you’ll be arrested.
Effect: It takes a very long time for help to arrive if some-
Effect: In addition to dealing with your enemies, you also thing goes wrong. It may take days or even weeks before
have to hide from the government. anyone responds to a distress call from your base. As long
Note: You can’t have the Official Sanction Group Trait if as nothing goes wrong, you’ll be fine…
your organization is Criminal. Traitor
Dangerous Experiments There’s an enemy among you. Someone in the group is a
Your organization uses (or has used) your base for a trou- traitor, working for an opposed organization (like the
blesome experiment involving weird technology or arcane Syndicate or the Tong of the Black Scorpion) or an enemy
(Like Herr Doktor Todeskopf or the Crimson Claw).
65
Effect: The gm determines who the traitor is. It could be
your superior in the organization, or a trusted underling.
It could even be one of the player characters!

Unreliable Resource*
Some aspect of your base or group is unreliable. Perhaps
your vehicles are prone to break down, or your commu-
nications are regularly disrupted by electrical storms.
Effect: Pick one of your Good Group Traits. That Trait is
now unreliable. Sometimes, it just isn’t available. For
example, you’ve an Unreliable Considerate Superior, then
your boss might be called away to meetings, leaving his
second-in-command in charge – and the second in
command despises you. If you’ve an Unreliable Vehicle
Pool, then either your source of transport is unreliable
(sometimes, your pal in the military base can’t get you
anything) or the vehicles themselves tend to break down.

Underfunded
Your group is chronically short of cash. You can’t afford
to maintain what you’ve got, let alone buy new equipment.
You’ve a shoestring budget.
Effect: You can’t buy equipment, not even Common items,
without finding an extra source of funding. You’re poor
(at least, the organization is. Individual characters may
be wealthy, but do they want to give their money to the
group?)

Wandering Civilians
Your base is not in a secure environment. It might be
located in a very public place, or have a lot of visitors. In
an emergency, you will have to deal with numerous civil-
ians right in the line of fire.
Effect: Any crisis or attack on the base will endanger lots
of civilians. The characters have to protect these civilians
while dealing with the bigger problem.
 Chapter 3
The Pulp World Gazetteer

The Colonial World Regions of the Era

A
dventurers in some countries will find themselves The world of the 1930’s is still dominated by European
dealing not with a local government, but a represen- interests, though times are changing rapidly. At the be-
tative of a colonial power. Several nations (e.g. Great ginning of the pulp era, Great Britain and France were the
Britain, Holland, Portugal, and France) had colonies dominant powers of the world. The United States, for its
around the world. The relationship between the ruling part, was emerging as a potential super-power and had
nation and the colony ranged from peaceful submission gained enormous respect very quickly.
to guarded acceptance to violent opposition. Europe, though, was beginning to lose hold of her assets.
A list of 1930s colonies can be found in the box on p. 70. The Great War had cost the old powers dearly, and insur-
Each nation keeps a representative in the colony who is gents were popping up everywhere. The times became
responsible for its welfare. This representative (often called more and more turbulent, and a smart adventurer could
a Governor-General) may have complete authority - the find fortune and glory just about anywhere.
ability to create or remove any laws - or he may act as a
counselor/ambassador, allowing the colony a fair amount The United States
of political freedom. America, in the 1930’s, would be considered a simpler
Regardless of the authority of the representative, the ruling place than it is today. The Federalism ushered in by Frank-
nation almost always reserves the right to veto any deci- lin Roosevelt and the Second World War had not yet hap-
sions, policies and laws that the colony wishes to enact. pened. States and communities largely tended to their
This rule often led to rebellion, and foreigners may find own affairs.
opportunity to work for either side (though most pulp Police power was held in the city or state police. Federal
heroes supported the colonial empires, especially Britain agents were called in for the ‘big’ criminals, such as the
and France). Rebel armies tended to be ill-led, atroci- mob, but there were only a handful of such agents, and they
ty-prone, and Communist-infiltrated. European and Eu- were usually busy enough in the largest American cities.
ropean-officered armies were the ultimate authority.
Service with these armies (such as the French Foreign Internationally, the United States did its best to distance
Legion) is a common background for pulp heroes and itself from the rest of the world. Though the States had
villains. Colonial armies and colonial police forces also significant colonial interests in the Pacific, and some in-
make colorful backgrounds and adventure seeds. terventionist policies in Central America, isolationism
was exceedingly popular.

Travel in the Colonies

Travel through Africa and Asia was, for the most part, GOLD AND SILVER
travel through European-controlled countries with Euro- After the passage of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, possession
pean officials, courts, customs, papers and currencies. It of gold in the United States was now illegal. Citizens were
was possible to tour these areas and never see anyone but allowed to keep gold in its natural state, gold jewelry, gold
Europeans (except at a distance or in subservient capaci- dental work or coins of numismatic interest. All other forms
ties). Americans visiting any colonial nation will usually of gold were to be taken to the nearest depository and ex-
be dealing with its governing nation -- rarely (if ever) with changed for paper money. Anyone finding golden treasure
a native government. or coin should be very careful what they do with it. At any
Racial intolerance and social stigmas are rampant in these time prior to the Gold Reserve Act, gold was worth about
areas and extend from European to native and vice-versa. $20/ounce. After that time, the legal price was fixed at $35/
Discrimination is the order of the day; travel, lodging and ounce. Possession of silver was still legal. The traditional cost
eating establishments use first, second and third class of silver was about $1.25/ounce, but during the Depression
accommodations to keep American and European visitors years it could be bought and sold for around half that. (Gold
segregated from the native patrons. and silver are weighed in troy ounces, each 1/12 of a pound.)
 Pulp Fantastic
COLONIES AROUND THE WORLD
Aden: Great Britain. Korea: Japan.
Algeria: France. Madagascar: France.
Angola: Portugal. Morocco: France.
Annam: France. Mozambique: Portugal.
Australia: Great Britain. New Guinea: The Netherlands and Australia.
Bechuanaland: Great Britain. New Zealand: Great Britain.
Belgian Congo: Belgium. Nigeria: Great Britain.
Bissao: Portugal. Nyasaland: Great Britain.
Borneo: The Netherlands. Palestine: Great Britain.
British Guiana: Great Britain. Philippine Islands: United States.
Burma: Great Britain. Puerto Rico: United States.
Cambodia: France. Rhodesia: Great Britain.
Cameroon: France. Sardinia: Italy.
Celebis: The Netherlands. Sicily: Italy.
Ceylon: Great Britain. Sierre Leone: Great Britain.
Cyprus: Great Britain. Somaliland: Italy, Great Britain and France (separate regions).
Dahomy: France. Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan): Great Britain/Egypt.
Dominion of Canada: Great Britain. Sumatra: The Netherlands.
Egypt: Great Britain. Syria: France.
Federated Malay States: Great Britain. Tanganyika Territory: Great Britain.
Formosa: Japan. Trans-Jordan: Great Britain.
French Equatorial Africa: France. Uganda: Great Britain.
French Guiana: France. Union of South Africa: Great Britain.
GAZETEER

Gambia: Great Britain. West Africa: France.

Gold Coast: Great Britain. Zanzibar: Great Britain.
Greenland: Denmark.
Hawaii (Sandwich Islands): United States.
India: Great Britain.
Iraq: Great Britain.
Jamaica: Great Britain.
Java: The Netherlands.
Kenya: Great Britain.

This wasn’t entirely unjustified. Though America emerged England and Europe
as a potential super-power with the closing of the Great
War, Europe seemed more resentful than thankful of Great Britain
American ‘interference’, refusing to pay debts, and often
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, during
belittling the United States’ pivotal role in ending the Great
the time of Victoria, consisted of four different and
War. Most Americans simply considered the rest of the
interdependent countries. Wales, by far the most
world not worth worrying about. An attitude that helped
subjugated of the lot, was the center for the mining of
keep the United States from entering the ill-fated League
iron and coal. Ireland, the center of unrest in the Empire,
of Nations.
was fighting for independence and freedom from
On the other hand, having apparently beaten Europe at repressive absentee landlords. Scotland, the center of
it’s own game, Americans had seemed to many to become philosophy and science, flourished in its Union with
‘swaggeringly arrogant’, a not-entirely inaccurate percep- England more than it ever could as a free state. England,
tion that endures nearly a century later. the true center and heart of the British Empire, was the

68
 The Pulp World Gazetteer
Republicans, and the general citizenry of France clash and
THE BRITISH EMPIRE work together in alteration, much to the confusion of all.
“The sun never sets on the British Empire” was more than a Following all that come the Third Republic. This era
cliché. British colonies, possessions and self-governing do- sees great urbanization, industrialization, and econom-
minions circled the world. Britain controlled most of Africa, ic growth unheard of before in France. Many wonders
large parts of Asia and Oceania and a substantial fraction of and innovations come from France at this time, which
North America and the Caribbean. Even South America (Guiana were highlighted in the Exposition Universelle of 1889.
and the Falkland Islands) and Europe (Gibraltar) had land There the people of the world came to marvel at the
under the Union Jack. recreation of the Bastille, and the wondrous tower
created by Gustave Eiffel.
jewel of the Empire. England was for many the height of The French colonial system suffered greatly during the
fashion, style, and culture. turmoil in France itself, but it was still quite diverse. Most
of North, West, and Central Africa were under French
“If one does not live in London, one simply does not live,”
control, with the protectorate of Tunisia as one of the
was how any “true Englishman” felt. London was the social,
centers of power. Morocco, Algeria, French Somoliland,
political, and moral center of the Empire. The home of the
and French West Africa, were all under French control. In
English Parliament, the West End theater district, the
the South Pacific, France established joint control with
British Museum, and a host of gentleman’s clubs to meet
Great Britain of the New Hebrides. Also in the region,
any man’s tastes, London truly seemed to be the center of 3
France wielded control of New Caledonia and various
the universe.
island groups which made up French Polynesia. French
Great Britain brought the train to the world, making many colonies even existed in the Far East in French Indochina
places accessible that were truly out of touch with the time. and a French concession in Shanghai. France's influence
Scottish inventors and doctors managed to bring civilization in the Western Hemisphere was also quite broad. Their
to the world, improving the quality of life everywhere. Great support of the reign of Maximilian in Mexico leads to great
Britain was the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution, which turmoil in a country already fraught with political prob-
brought about the development of steam powered railways, lems. In the South American colony of French Guiana was
ships, electrical power generation, and machinery meant the notorious penal colony Île du Diable, or Devil's Island,
to make life easier. the most feared prison in the entire French domain.
For two hundred years, Great Britain had been the Throughout the varied and diverse French colonial system
dominant force in the world. The Great War changed that, one could be assured of one constant: the French Foreign
and had been a humiliating experience. Colonies broke Legion. This near legendary military unit is the source of
away, and even Ireland had achieved its independence.
Britain could no longer be complacent.
The Great War had hurt British pride substantially. By the
1930’s, Parliament had fallen under control of a disturbing
type of isolationism. Many believed the lesson of the Great
War was that peace was desirable at any cost.
This policy of appeasement was designed to ‘keep the beast
at bay’, though many worried that this policy only
encouraged Britain’s enemies to even more audacious
demands. Divisions between the ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’ in
Parliament were exceptionally bitter.
Despite this conflict, the Empire was still a powerful force
with colonies and governance over much of the world.
Africa, Asia, and even pieces of the Americas and Europe
had fealty to the Union Jack. Truly, the sun will never
completely set on the British Empire.

France
France can really be seen as the land of anarchy and change
during the 1800s. Throughout the stable reign of Queen
Elizabeth in England, France sees the rise and fall of King
Louis Philippe and the Bourbon Restoration; the rise and
fall of the French Second Republic; the reign of Louis
Napoleon Bonaparte, first as President for Life and later
as Emperor Napoleon III; and the beginnings of the long
standing French Third Republic. Royalists, anarchists,

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 Pulp Fantastic
many stories, a grand mixture of myth, hard fact, and war saw Spain lose the majority of her colonies, including
mystery that garners respect no matter where they go. Cuba and the Philippines.
France had been devastated by the Great War, and was Spain suffered through the depression as did any other
struggling to recover. The Great Depression had demor- nation, but political unrest would plague the democracy
alized the battered Republic. Constant effort had to be of the nation through the middle 1930’s. Communist,
placed on maintaining France’s empire. Fascist, and even religious uprisings occurred sporadical-
ly throughout the era as each group promised a return to
The French Empire remained present in Africa, Asia, the
better times and citing the elected governments as failures.
Pacific, and a bit still in the Americas. It was maintained
with a web of governmental control, military power, and The situation took a more dramatic downturn in 1936 as
a substantial dose of espionage. General Francisco led an uprising that turned into a full
scale civil war. The two largest camps, the Communist
France had begun to rearm itself, though it was heavily
Republicans, and the Fascist Nationalists, vied for control
reliant on expatriates serving as mercenaries, irregulars,
of the nations. Russia and Germany took the obvious sides,
or within the Foreign Legion. A large number of these
but most of Europe wanted no part in the conflict, fearing
were Americans, aiding a loyal ally against Communist
that the violence would spread throughout Europe.
and Fascist insurgencies.
The emphasis on espionage within the French government Italy
had one major drawback. Corruption took hard root within At the beginning of the 1800s, the Italian peninsula was
all echelons of the government. Illicit deals were not un- a fractured political landscape. Various principalities,
common, particularly in the Empire’s overseas holdings. grand duchies, and the Papal States made the area look
At this time, even weakened, France has had many decades more like a puzzle than at any other time since the fall of
of relative stability compared to many times in French Rome. After the Crimean War, King Victor Emmanuel II
history. of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia, managed to unite the
many fractured states into the Kingdom of Italy. He was
Spain crowned King of Italy in 1861. The beginning of his reign
Once a major power in world politics, by the mid-1800s was full of turmoil, but this all ended when his forces
Spain was but a hollow shell of its former self. Queen Isa- entered Rome in 1871, and all of Italy was under one king.
bella II, who was crowned at the age of 3, was not popular The remainder of his reign was quite peaceful, and many
among the people of Spain, who felt that she was easily visitors came to admire the aged splendor of the Italian
influenced by those around her and did not care for her cities. King Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878, succeeded
people. The turmoil within her court led to revolts among by his son Umberto I.
GAZETEER

the far flung Spanish colonies. Her attempts to unify her

King Umberto was deeply despised by the left-wing polit-
country only served to alienate her even more. Under great
ical circles, and suffered several assassination attempts.
pressure from forces both political and military, Queen
Alliances with former enemies Austria-Hungary and
Isabella II went into exile in France in 1868, leaving the
Germany did not gain him favor at home, and his attempts
country in chaos. After two years of unsuccessful rule by a
at imperial colonization in northern Africa, and the di-
coalition government, it was decided that Spain would have
sastrous massacre in Milan, made the reign of Umberto a
a new king, from a new line, and a search was made to find
troubled one. By the end of the pulp fantastic Era,
a king that would satisfy the government. King Amadeo I
the atmosphere in Italy was volatile, and it is only a matter
was crowned in 1870. He swore to uphold Spain's constitu-
of time before one the many attempts on King Umberto's
tion, and with great ambition began his reign. King Amadeo
life succeeds.
had to deal with the unstable political atmosphere in Spain,
constant attempts at assassinations, and a revolution in During the 1930’s, Italy was becoming a power once more.
Cuba, among many other problems. After two years, faced Mussolini's Fascism had taken the nation forward, becom-
with reigning without popular support, King Amadeo ab- ing a strong military power and a leader in science and
dicated. That same day, the first Spanish Republic was born. technology. It had appeared to many that Italy would be
This lasted for another two years, during which a great deal a strong power for the next few decades.
of turmoil and unrest ruled the country. Since none of the
Italy itself, however, was far from unified under their
political parties wished the return of Isabella, they pro-
leader. Communists, other fascists, nationalists, and other
nounced her son Alphonso as King.
groups were demanding their share of power. The old
Alphonso XII was a young and inexperienced king, but troubles of the mafia still remained. By the mid 1930’s,
he ruled with natural tact and grace, and the people of Italy had been notably outstripped in pace by the Germans.
Spain grew to love and respect him. His rule saw the
Early on, Italy had not sided with Germany, even deploy-
country rise up from plagues of cholera, devastating earth-
ing troops against Hitler to warn against the annexation
quakes, and the stabilization of the rule of Spain. After
of Austria. However, once Italy invaded Abyssinia, Italy
his death in 1885 his son, ruling as Alphonso XIII, dealt
found itself short of friends. This lead Mussolini to take a
with a humiliating defeat by the United States in the Span-
more firm alliance with Germany, even aiding the Nazis
ish-American War. Agreements signed after this six-month
in the Spanish Civil War.

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 The Pulp World Gazetteer
Portugal spread all over the world, becoming a welcome site in
times of strife and disaster.
Once a mighty colonial empire known for its explorers,
by the mid-19th century Portugal had become almost a Since the middle 1900s Switzerland has maintained a
footnote in European history. The War of the Two Brothers, strict neutrality, making it an excellent place for business
also known as the Portuguese Civil War, dominated the and for meetings needing to be kept from prying eyes or
lives of all of Portugal from 1828 to 1834. With this upheav- governments.
al came a breakdown of the fragile civil and social im-
provements that had started to bring Portugal into the Austria
modern era. Queen Maria II made great strides in the effort The Empire of Austria, founded in the early 1800s, was
of restoring her country to its role as a dominant force in created on the heels of the abolition of the Holy Roman
European affairs by her policies of improving medical and Empire. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the wake of
education standards in the country. Queen Maria, often the defeat of his military coalition against Napoleon, was
referred to as "The Good Mother", raised her large royal forced to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, but
brood to work hard to improve the nation and its people. prior to that in 1804 he declared his personal holdings to
In 1853, following her death, that task fell to her son King be the Empire of Austria. This allowed him to retain rule
Pedro V. over this smaller realm after the dissolution of the Holy
Among the many improvements during the reign of Roman Empire. Emperor Francis I, a greatly suspicious
Pedro I were advances in the field of public medicine. man, set up a vast network of spies, censors, and secret
Cholera was a persistent plague upon Portugal, causing police. This vast network of informants was used through- 3
the economy to fall even further behind the rest of Europe out his reign to keep the emperor informed about the
as their population dwindled. The "Curse of Portugal" actions of many people he did not trust, including his own
even touched the royal family, killing King Pedro, his brothers.
brother Ferdinand, and a number of other members of The Emperor's death in 1835 was sudden and greatly
the royal family. This sudden and tragic loss isolated the mourned. His funeral was a spectacle unto itself, with
country, causing domestic stagnation which seemed to people filing past his casket for three days. His successor,
have forever locked Portugal into its role as second class Emperor Ferdinand I, was an epileptic, and most consid-
citizen of Europe. Following a Democratic Revolution in ered him to be not terribly intelligent. Emperor Ferdinand
1910 Portugal has seen continued progress, along with I had a mostly uneventful reign, with the government run
civil and military unrest. Time will tell what will happen mostly by his regents. In 1848 revolutionaries took over
to this nation. the empire, entered the emperor's palace, and convinced
him to abdicate in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph.
Switzerland
During the era of Napoleon, Switzerland was occupied by
forces from Russian and Austria during their battles with
France. After Swiss autonomy was restored in 1815 the
country suffered a period of political and civil unrest,
which culminated in a month long civil war in 1849. The
war produced few casualties, but made the people realize
they needed to be united and strong in order to fend off
all external troops. A federation of all the cantons of Swit-
zerland formed a united and stable federal state, which
gave the country a level a peace not seen in most of Europe.
Since medieval times, Switzerland had been known as a
stable, safe, and private banking community. One could have
money in a private account in Switzerland, and they be
assured that nobody would be told that you had money there,
or where the money came from. The many treasures and
secrets hidden away in the vaults of Zurich and Geneva stagger
the imagination and could produce a host of adventures for
a pulp fantastic Victorian Fantasy Role Playing Game.
In 1863 in Geneva, the International Committee of the Red
Cross was founded. This humanitarian organization was
created to set guidelines for the handling of wounded
people in battles and how war casualties should be handled.
Many of the countries of Europe, and later the United
States and Brazil, accepted the guidelines, allowing more
people to survive a battle, and their care was ensured to
be complete and helpful. Over the years the Red Cross
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 Pulp Fantastic

ELEMENT X
Element X is a curious radioactive metal of extraterrestrial (and possibly extra-dimensional) origin, that is known to behave in a
number of ways contrary to the established laws of physics. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Element X is the Wold Cottage
meteor of 1795; the largest observed meteor landing in Britain. However, since Element X has been identified, traces and small
deposits of it have been discovered all over the world. Of particular interest is the relatively high quantity of Element X in the K-Pg
Boundary, the layer of sediment deposited by the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The exact composition of Element X remains a mystery, and there is much debate as to whether it is an element at all. While under
normal circumstances it behaves like a stable transuranic element, it displays no radioactive decay unless placed within a mild
electrical field, whereupon it becomes a source of remarkable power. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the Element is capable
of warping probability around it in some way, making it susceptible to unusual coincidences and unlikely events.
While Element X displays no detectable radioactive decay under normal circumstances, it has been known to act as a mutagen.
Continued exposure to the element over long periods produces stable, beneficial mutations in higher organisms. Certain less rep-
utable scientists have theorized that Element X was used in the creation of many “occult artifacts” - really examples of ancient
high technology – and may be responsible for incidences of apparent supernatural or magical events.
In its natural form, Element X appears as a translucent green crystalline substance, similar to jade. When subjected to an electrical
field, the crystal glows faintly with a viridian luminescence. If subject to intense heat in this “excited” state, the crystalline element
melts, becoming a dark green vitrious material that can be cast, smelted and shaped like steel.
Conventional science has yet to fully explore the exceptional properties and structure of Element X, possibly because of its great
scarcity (in 1910 it is estimated that less than five tons exists on Earth, though this figure is later revised upward after the reported
discovery of large deposits in Berezkia), but also because of the high number of bizarre and unpleasant accidents that seem to befall
researchers involved in its study. Many scientific authorities prefer to deny the material even exists, rather than try and incorporate
its anomalous behavior into their model of the universe.

SO, JUST WHAT IS ELEMENT X?

Like any good MacGuffin, it’s whatever the Gamemaster wants it to be. There is no game information associated with it as its
properties and effects will vary according to the needs of the plot. As a mutagen it may be responsible for the extinction of the
dinosaurs (as well as their survival in isolated parts of the globe) and the presence of psychic powers in a small percentage of the
human population. Traces of it released into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions or meteor impacts may be the cause of “magical”
phenomena or those brief periods when the gods seemed to have walked the Earth. Perhaps the strange skies caused by the
GAZETEER

Tunguska Impact of 1908 were caused by Element X contamination, heralding the start of a new age of heroes and monsters.
As to where it comes from, nobody knows. It could be the radioactive remnants of a distant world, preceding the arrival of a strange
visitor with strange powers. Perhaps it is all that remains of magic in the universe, awaiting the birth of a new age of miracles. It
could be ur-stuff from the beginning of time itself, or a relic of the reality before this one. Maybe it’s not even matter at all, but
concentrated chunks of pure probability, falling to Earth from some higher Platonic dimension.
Whatever Element X really is, and wherever it comes from; it’s rare, unpredictable and in the wrong hands, very dangerous indeed.

Emperor Franz Joseph, in an attempt to increase the power Germany

and influence of the Empire of Austria, negotiated an
In 1871, following their victory in the Franco-Prussian War,
agreement with the nobility of Hungary. In 1867 the Aus-
the Kingdom of Prussia allied the many small German states
tro-Hungarian Empire was formed. While the government
into a single empire, with the king of Prussia, Wilhelm I, as
and the economy both expanded and improved during
Emperor. The Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck,
the early years of the new empire, it was also a hotbed of
was the true force behind the unification, and as Prime
anarchist activity.
Minister and later Chancellor of the Empire, much of the
The Empire of Austria-Hungary was a land of great pros- power of the empire lay in his hands. Under the hands of the
perity, an ever increasing industrialized nation that is a German Empire, the constituent states flourished and became
multi-cultural region of prosperity and intrigue. While the an industrial power unrivaled in Europe. The manufacturing
emperor’s spies and secret police were ever present, so were of steel, the exporting of coal and the industrial works of
spies from other countries and anarchists bent on ending companies such as Krupp, all resulted in the German dom-
the Emperor's grip of power over the vast Empire's domain. inance in industry in the latter part of the 1800s.
In the end of the First World War an Austrian republic was Germany was also the home of several semi-autonomous
formed, moving the nation into the modern times and away regions, such as Bavaria, ruled by King Ludwig II until his
from a monarchy. Times of change have come to the Hapsburgs mysterious death in 1886 Often called "Mad King Ludwig",
and along with the times and change, comes opportunities. he was a man of peculiar vision. He loved to build lavish
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 The Pulp World Gazetteer
fairy tale castles and buildings of elaborate design. Besides
his masterpiece New Hohenschwangau Castle, later FORBIDDEN VALLEY
renamed Neuschwanstein Castle after his death, King Mentioned in legend for hundreds of years but first explored
Ludwig oversaw the construction of the Winter Garden by modern man in 1904, Forbidden Valley is an anomalous
in Munich. The garden, complete with a lake and a tech- region located in the deserts of Mexico and bounded by high
nologically advanced glass and steel roof design, included rocky walls. Despite being located in an arid desert with little
a grotto, a Moorish kiosk, an Indian royal tent, an artifi- water, the valley apparently maintains a Jurassic ecology
cially illuminated rainbow and intermittent moonlight. including a thriving dinosaur population. Like many anoma-
When the Great War ended, Germany had lost the war lous regions, there appears to be only one entrance to the
that they had ‘officially’ started. The other European powers valley, and attempts to locate it through other routes have
wanted their revenge, and imposed a harsh ‘peace treaty’ failed repeatedly. Even more curiously, a 1908 follow-up
on Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was so harsh that expedition reported penetrating 12 miles into the valley and
Germany’s Great Depression nearly drove the nation back uncovering a dense jungle before turning back in the face of
to a feudal state. increasing losses to dinosaur predation.

This fostered the rise of radical political groups, particu-

larly the National Socialist and Communist parties. Both ANOMALOUS REGIONS
groups promised to terminate the punishing treaty and The term “anomalous region” is one that is applied to geo-
rebuild Germany into a modern nation once more. graphical areas where the normal laws of nature – and
3
The National Socialist party, led by Hitler, offered these sometimes physics – are suspended or behave in ways con-
promises without sacrificing religion or personal liberties trary to the predictions of science. These regions often appear
as the Communists demanded. Using popular sentiment, to be in some way hidden, concealed from the rest of the
a promise of a greater nation, and some more devious world as if existing within a fold of space and time. Normal-
tactics, the Nazi party had become the dominant force ly these regions can only be accessed in a very limited and
within Germany by the 1930’s. specific way; through a certain cave, by following a concealed
valley or by navigating a specific course. Attempting to find
At first, the Nazi party seemed like a godsend to Germany. the region by any other way will usually fail, as if the region
Austria and other lands were ‘annexed’ back into the Fa- only exists when accessed by the specific path. Exactly what
therland. The Treaty of Versailles was terminated, and causes anomalous regions to exist is unknown, though it
Germany, under Hitler’s unyielding command, became a cannot be a coincidence that these areas often contain large
superpower. deposits of Element X. Anomalous regions are often called
But beneath the smooth skin, however, the darker heart “lost worlds” after the most well-known and well-document-
of Nazi Germany beats relentlessly. Jews, Gypsies, and ed example; Maple White Land in Venezuela.
Blacks are being rounded up and either ‘exported’, steril-
ized, or exterminated in camps. The master race doctrine
has been taken to its extremes, and the new Reich now of action, mystery, and danger in the western lands of
sees itself as being the eventual rightful rulers of Europe, the continent. With influences from all of the great and
if not the entire world. not so great powers of Europe, North America can be a
hotbed of activity.
Berezkia
Nestled in the heart of the Balkans is the tiny nation of The United States
Berezkia. Alternatively conquered, fought over and ignored The 19th century in the United States was a time of turmoil.
by the greater powers for centuries, her people are a mish- The whole century seemed to focus on the build up to and
mash of ethnicities and faiths, but are staunchly proud of recovery from the biggest change in American history --
their land and their history. Largely over-looked in the The Civil War. The tensions, both political and economic,
19th Century, Berezkia suddenly came to prominence with that lead up to the Civil War influence the direction of the
the discovery that enclosed within its borders was the country throughout the early years of the 1800s. The
largest deposit of Element X ever recorded. By cleverly upheaval caused by this great conflict had repercussions
exploiting historical treaties and alliances, the Berezkian that were felt up to the dawn of the new century. It was
leadership maintained their independence while using not, however, all doom and gloom. The Industrial
their new-found wealth to build up their defenses. Today Revolution was alive and well in the United States. The
Berezkia is a fortress nation, heavily guarded by the loyal country was a land of invention, with new technology
troops of General Kazan while her neighbors look envi- seeming to appear every day. The westward expansion
ously on. also brought adventure and new discoveries, making the
United States a land of opportunity, a dream of people
North America around the world.
A land of opportunity and growth, the countries of The Gold Rush of 1848 brought hundreds of thousands of
North America can be a focal point for adventure and people to California, with towns springing up literally
excitement. Penny-dreadfuls fill young minds with tales overnight. Once small communities became bustling cities
73
 Pulp Fantastic
full of life with the excitement of gold fever. The western Mexico
expansion brought many people to the west, not all of
Territorial disputes between the United States and the newly
them honest citizens. Card sharks, con men, snake oil
independent nation of Mexico led the countries to an
salesmen, cattle rustlers and bank robbers could all be
inevitable war in 1846. The war was short and, unfortunately
found scattered around the boom towns of the west.
for the fiercely proud Mexican people, unsuccessful. In 1848
Indians roamed, and fought for their very survival, clashing
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo was signed, ending the
with the teeming Americans spilling into their lands.
war. Mexico lost large pieces of territory, which were settled
Rail lines slowly made their way west, crisscrossing the by Americans and soon became the states of Texas,
newly claimed prairies. Men like John Henry helped to California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and most of the New
build the railroad, expanding the nation and bringing the Mexico and Arizona territories. A federal republic was
raw materials of the west to the industrial lands of the established after several internal wars, with Benito Juárez
east. Jesse James made the railroads famous by robbing finally installed as President. In the 1860s Mexico was under
the trains, making the lands seem wild and untamed. the military occupation of France. Napoleon III installed
Railroads were a vital link throughout the United States. Maximilian I as King of Mexico, under his control. The
Without trains, much of the growth of western towns largely conservative government of Mexico found the
would not have been possible, and the western United policies of Maximillian too conservative, and the liberals
States would have been a vastly different environment. refused to acknowledge the King as their monarch. This
lead to much political unrest. Forces loyal to President
The United States is a land of unique adventure. Part
Benito Juárez, who kept the federal government functioning
civilized nation, part savage wilderness, the country is rife
during the French intervention that put Maximilian in
with possibility. Great thriving cities like New York, Boston,
power, captured Maximilian and executed him in 1867.
and Baltimore provide centers of industry, intrigue, and
adventure. Booming towns like Denver and San Francisco Like much of Central and South America, Mexico was
are full of action, danger, and adventure. dotted with ancient ruins, lost Aztec cities, and enough
adventures to keep anyone busy for many years.
Canada
The British colonies of Canada were a battleground for South and Central America
the British and American governments during the War of This region was both an unexplored wilderness full of
1812. The treaties following the war sealed a low-level ancient ruins waiting to be discovered and a hotbed of
animosity between the Canadian colonies and the new military actions throughout the era. For adventurers
nation of the United States, slowing the migration between seeking ancient ruins and lost civilizations, the Incas and
the countries and increasing the American expansion to Aztecs had left behind more than enough to keep even
GAZETEER

the west. In 1867 the British North American Act took the the most active Adventurer or Explorer busy. During the
Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia and 1930s they were sitting between two worlds, and time will
formed the Dominion of Canada, the first and largest decide which way they will move.
self-governing colony of the British Empire. The majority
of Canada was a vast, forested, unexplored wilderness. The Argentina
great cattle herds of Alberta, the metropolis of Montreal,
The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata was formed in
and the growing wilderness town of Vancouver, were all
1816 from the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the
linked in 1886 with the completion of the transcontinental
last short lived Viceroyalty of the region. The United Provinces
railway by Canadian Pacific Railway. The opening of rail
comprised the area of present day Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay,
service, and the grand hotels built along the route, sped
and Argentina. Political turmoil in the region caused the
up the expansion of the Canadian west.
Provinces to split apart, forming the four separate countries.
While the expansion brought more people to the towns
Argentina is a largely agrarian country, with a smattering
and cities along the rail line, it still left great swaths of the
of farms and a large number of cattle ranches. This stable
country unexplored. Stories of Wendigo, the embodiment
economy helped to unite the mostly Spanish population.
of winter, isolation, and cannibalism spread throughout
Exporting of cattle, sheep, and wheat kept the nation from
the end of the 1800s. Some claim that Wendigo wander
suffering the effects of the worldwide depressions of the
the wildernesses of Canada, preying on hunters, trappers,
mid-1800s, but it did not make them wealthy either.
and explorers of the arctic regions. Others claim that the
spirit creatures have been encountered in towns like While the immigrants to Argentina were a united people,
Vancouver and the newly incorporated city of Winnipeg. they still suffered from attacks by the Indian tribes of the
Whether the tales of the Wendigo and related stories of region. Argentina inherited the problems of the Spanish
Sasquatch are true or just the myths and stories of the Viceroy when it came to dealing with the local tribes to
local Indians are unknown. Nobody who has gone hunting the south, and they did not handle this problem any better
for either creature has come back with one. Of course, a than the Spanish.
few expeditions have never come back.
Buenos Aires still had a colonial feel, even after its
independence. The influx of Spanish and Italian
immigrants, along with a healthy dose of financial backing
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 The Pulp World Gazetteer
from the banks of London, gave the capital city a definite the army of Napoleon caused great uproar in the Portuguese
European feel. The rich plains of the Pampas in northern court, with the King and his retinue fleeing to Brazil and
half of the country and the rolling plateau of the south, setting up in Rio de Janeiro. The capital of the Portuguese
contrast sharply with the rugged Andes along the western Empire lies in Rio for several years, with the colony formally
border. This gave the country a definitely exotic feel, with becoming the Kingdom of Brazil in 1815. The United
a certain air of mystery. Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, was ruled from
Rio until 182, when the King of Portugal went back to
Lisbon. A year later Brazil gained its independence, with
MAPLE WHITE LAND Dom Pedro the first Emperor of Brazil. Emperor Pedro I,
and later his son Pedro II, ruled the Brazilian Empire
Discovered by Professor George Edward Challenger in 1908 through the late part of the 19th century. Turmoil and
and first explored in 1910, Maple White Land is an enormous revolution resulted in the abdication of Emperor Pedro II
plateau that rises from the dense jungles of Venezuela, in in 1889 and the Republic of the United States of Brazil was
South America. An anomalous region like the Forbidden Valley formed. The land of Brazil was sparsely populated, with
in Mexico, the plateau is hard to find, despite being of con- heavy rainforests and the largest river system in the world.
siderable size, and supports a large population of dinosaurs The great and mysterious Amazon River is the heart of
and other anachronistic flora and fauna. Like the Forbidden Brazil. Many European expeditions went into the Amazon
Valley, the surface of the plateau appears to be far larger Basin to explore and bring back the natural treasures of
than its circumference would suggest, which may account the region. Some of them never returned.
for its ability to support such a large and thriving ecosystem. 3
Along with dinosaurs, giant insects and arachnids and a
variety of primitive plant life, the plateau is also home to
competing tribes of humans and so-called “ape-men”, and
has been found to contain large deposits of diamonds and
other precious stones.

Bolivia
Of all the countries of South America, Bolivia was the most
unstable politically, economically, and even geographically.
The European wars of Napoleon had their effects felt in
far off South America. The Spanish colonial territory
known as Upper Peru declared its independence in 1809.
Sixteen years of bitter war began, until finally the Spanish
were defeated and a new Republic was created. Calling
themselves the Republic of Bolivia, they joined forces with
neighboring Peru to form the Peru-Bolivian Confederation.
Wars with Chile and Argentina, while at first victorious, Chile
turned disastrous. By 1840 the Confederation had dissolved,
Peru had found its independence, and Bolivia entered a Like many of its neighbors, Chile was a colony of Spain
period of political and economic upheaval. Wars with until the forces of France's Napoleon invaded Spain in the
Peru, Chile, and Brazil over the next few decades saw early 1800s. This led the people of Chile to break away
Bolivia lose much of the land it once controlled, including from Spain. After a brief attempt by the Spanish to re-
access to the Pacific Ocean and the fertile lands of the west. -conquer Chile, the Republic of Chile proclaimed its
independence in 1818. This declaration did little to change
Rising silver prices around the world had brought about a the colonial lifestyle of Chile, where social stratification,
rise of prosperity in Bolivia near the end of this century. family politics, and the influence of the Roman Catholic
Prospecting, mining, and treasure seeking have all become Church strongly dictated the course of the Republic.
profitable forms of employment in Bolivia. With governments Chilean culture changed very little over most of the 19th
constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, Bolivia was a century, and the generally stable government was a change
land of adventure, intrigue, and danger. The Andean of pace in the otherwise turbulent history of South
Mountains of Bolivia hold many secrets and treasures. America. In the late 1870s, wars with the new countries
Perhaps even the remains of the Empire of the Inca. of Peru and Bolivia, culminating in the War of the Pacific,
brought great expansion to the lands of Chile. Territories
Brazil rich in nitrate deposits, which were part of their treaty
Once the colony of Portugal, the largest nation of South settlements with Bolivia and Peru, lead to an era of national
America has gone through many changes. For three affluence. In 1886, José Manuel Balmaceda was elected
centuries the colony of Brazil was a powerful, though often president. His economic policies were radically different
neglected, colony of Portugal. The invasion of Portugal by than those of previous presidents. He began to violate the
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 Pulp Fantastic
constitution and slowly began to establish a dictatorship. some heroes were ahead of their time regarding racial
These actions were not tolerated by the Congress, who equality and opposition to imperialism, only after the
voted on deposing him. Balmaceda's refusal to step down period represented in Pulp Fantastic did the empires gain
led to the beginning of the Chilean Civil War of 1891. The some degree of enlightenment and begin divesting them-
President's forces were quickly defeated, and Balmaceda selves of their colonies.
fled to refuge in the Argentinean Embassy. There he
committed suicide, ending his reign. Abyssinia
During the era of pulp fantastic Chile is a highly Abyssinia may surprise visitors by having a history trace-
regimented, tightly controlled, and predominately able to the fourth century. Throughout antiquity, it has
Catholic republic. While it may look calm and orderly, been a Christian nation with a notable Jewish population.
underneath is a hotbed of subterfuge. The mountains of Their religious leaders claim to have the fabled Ark of the
Chile are large, dangerous, and potentially full of raw Covenant under lock and key, though none may see it
gold, silver, and perhaps the lost treasures of the Inca or except the religious hierarchy and the Emperor—who
Aztecs. The "savage Indians" of Chile can also be a surprise claims to be descended from King Solomon.
to adventurers. They could seek revenge for wrongs done All of Abyssinia’s borders are mountainous, making it
to them by the Chilean government, or they could be out naturally defensible. In the late 19th century, Italy tried
to aid those hoping to find and "preserve" the treasures to take it as a colony, but it was humiliated in defeat, as
of the mountains. They may even know of the legendary had been all other nations who tried to conquer it. In 1935,
tunnels and caves under Drakes Passage that lead to a Italy tried again, and with the aid of mustard gas, they
legendary long lost kingdom below Antarctica. succeeded, Emperor Halie Selassie fleeing the country.
Abyssinia’s future is unclear, as the League of Nations has
turned a deaf ear to the emperor’s cries for aid.
SHAMBHALA AND AGHARTA
Visitors will find this country modernized in comparison
The twin kingdoms of Shambhala and Agharta exist on the with other African nations, but it still holds its enigmas. For
borders of Tibet, nestled within an anomalous region in the example, questions persist as to whether the title of emperor
Himalayas. is equivalent to the medieval “Prester John.” Likewise, the
city of Lalibela holds eleven eight-century-old churches,
Shambhala is a holy land in the Buddhist faith, and was long
hewn out of solid rock, supposedly with the aid of angelic
thought to be purely mythological. However, in recent years
beings. The nearby caves have never been fully explored.
a number of Western explorers and mountaineers have re-
turned home with tales of the beautiful warm valley hidden The Congo
amidst the snowy peaks, and of the curiously ageless and
GAZETEER

gentle people that live there. Many seem to have returned The Congo is foremost a site for human tragedy. The
home oddly rejuvenated, as if they have somehow become Belgians exploited it first for ivory, then for rubber, and
younger, while others appear to have undergone some form later for copper, gold, and diamonds, with brutal oppres-
of spiritual transformation. Like other anomalous regions, sion for Congolese who failed to meet their quotas (espe-
Shambhala is extremely difficult to locate, though in this cially in the first decade of the century, when millions lost
case whether or not the land can be found at all seems to their lives). Inhabitants of the eastern Congo faced danger
depend on the favor of the people within it. Legends says not only from the Belgians, but also from Zanzibar’s slave
that those who are destined to find Shambhala will do so, raiders, from whom they sometimes ransomed their family
while those with evil in their hearts never will. members. In the North, the Portuguese were slightly better
rulers, avoiding the genocidal violence of the Belgians
Agharta is a underground realm that exists somewhere and allowing a Kongolese king to serve as vassal until a
beneath the mountains of Tibet, and can be reached through 1914 revolt.
tunnels in Shambhala. Reputedly the home of the mystical
Meh-Teh, the realm is also said to be the site of the dread The pygmy survives as a small minority in the Congo,
Forbidden Lamasery of the Mara Brotherhood. Rumors persist living in small hunter-gatherer communities in various
that Agharta was once an Atlantean outpost, and that still climates or serving as slaves to the Bantu-speaking Con-
functioning examples of their transcendent technology can golese. Using traps, spears, and crossbows with poisoned
be found there, if one only knows where to look. bolts, they are a source of fascination for the public, one
having been displayed in a cage at the 1907 World’s Fair.
Safari hunters come to the Congo for its wild game, espe-
cially the increasingly hard-to-find elephants, prized for
Africa their rich ivory, and an elephant graveyard would make
In the early 1900s, Africa fell increasingly under Europe- any explorer wealthy beyond imagining, though none has
an control. The whites’ superior transportation and fire- been found yet. A 1909 volume by one hunter notes Con-
power enabled them to conquer vast swaths of land and golese locals’ tale of a creature whose description remind-
take the Africans’ natural resources. Most Europeans saw ed him of a brontosaurus, a tale widely reported in news-
it as the “white man’s burden” to control natives they papers. A 1919 Smithsonian expedition trying to ascertain
viewed as incapable of managing their own affairs. While the truth ended with a train derailment, resulting in four
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BLACK LOTUS POWDER

The Black Lotus is a rare parasitic plant which grows naturally only in the deepest jungles of Central Asia. The pollen of the plant,
when ground up and dried, forms a powerful psychoactive hallucinogen that its users believe can grant ecstatic visions of different
times and places. The priests of the barbaric Tsang-Chan peoples believe that inhaling the dust of the Black Lotus links them to the
spirits of everyone who has ever taken the drug or ever will.
Black Lotus powder is highly addictive, and regular use creates in the user a peculiar veneration for the Black Lotus itself, resulting
in the slow spread of the cultivated plant across the planet. Addicts manifest reduced willpower, a curious group mentality, low
empathy and a marked disregard for their own personal safety, making them easily dominated by a powerful personality.
The Black Lotus is the subject of a number of dark myths and legends. In some stories, it was carried to Earth as dust on the sandals
of the gods, sprouting in their footsteps in the sacred places of the world. In others it was sent from beyond as a sacrament, to
allow the faithful to commune with their brethren across time and space in worship of the Old Gods. Still others claim that the Black
Lotus is itself a god, sharing itself among its worshipers that it might live in them.
Botanists point out that the Black Lotus is misnamed. Though the bloom itself resembles a lotus flower, it is not aquatic and appears
unrelated to any of the lotus family (genus Nelumbo). In fact in many ways it is similar to mistletoe, though the two species are
unrelated.
The shamans of the Tsang-Chan and priests of the Black Scorpion Brotherhood believe that chewing the leaves of the Black Lotus 3
will give them strange powers and an extended life-span, though no scientific evidence has been gathered to support this. Burning
the dried leaves of the Black Lotus produces a dense soporific vapor, which if inhaled induces rapid loss of consciousness followed
by a period of delirium punctuated with horrific dreams. Some native shamans claim to be able to use the roots of the plant to
create a potion that induces a state of hypnotic suggestibility in those who drink it, but again there has been little scientific inves-
tigation to support this claim.
Regardless of the veracity of the many claims made about the plant, its rarity makes live specimens among the most valuable plants
in the world today. While the Black Lotus can be grown elsewhere in the world, it is extremely difficult and requires constant care.
Some even whisper that in order to grow outside of its natural environment, the plant must be watered in fresh blood, though this
is almost certainly a myth. Pound for pound, Black Lotus powder is more valuable on the black market than diamonds, and even
dead plants are highly sought after for their pharmacological properties.

deaths. Mysterious roars, not identifiable with any known The Nile River, economically priceless, became one of the
creature, had been heard earlier in the expedition. most explored in the world during this period, as adven-
turers tried to find its source, leading them south through
Even great men, faced with the full intensity of mystery and
the Sudan and beyond. The river, though many view it as
suffering the Congo has to offer, have lost their sanity here.
the source of life, is home to Nile crocodile, hippopotami,
Egypt and over ten varieties of venomous snakes, so it pays to
be careful while navigating. Malaria-carrying mosquitos
In 1904, Aleister Crowley, an Order of the Hermetic Dawn are ubiquitous, and if one goes far enough south, the rapids
member, claimed after visiting the Cairo Museum of An- become … problematic.
tiquities to have an encounter with a being named Aiwass,
in the voices of three Egyptian gods. The Book of the Law The Sahara Desert
was the result of this meeting, a book several members of
Travel through the Sahara is likely to be fatal. It’s simply
the Nazi party were known to possess in later years.
hot, arid, and impassibly large. Even if you’re prepared
Many visitors came to this museum, for the discovery of with a camel, proper dress, and several days of water,
the Valley of the Kings in the Victorian Era kicked off a violent Tuareg nomads could attack, as could Arab slavers.
mania for Egypt. From 1907-1922, archaeologist Howard Finally, there are natural dangers, such as poisonous snakes
Carter excavated in the Valley, less a three-year break and scorpions, sandstorms, and even the uneven ground,
during the Great War. In November of 1922, Howard Carter prone to injuries from sprains to broken bones. Even near
discovered the tomb of King Tut, still intact with all its the oases, one may find hyenas. So why would anyone go
treasures, reigniting the mania. Rumors of the tomb’s through the Sahara?
fatal curse have been exaggerated.
Wealth. There are lost cities to be found: Zerzura, the
Diplomacy, entanglements, and spies are of far more impor- white city, an oasis of precious gems and sleeping rulers,
tance than supposed sightings of walking mummies, as for example. It’s possible that this is a false lead, like
Egypt—Cairo in particular—served as the meeting place of Timbuktu, but that didn’t stop groups of explorers in the
Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Of particular importance early 1930s from trying to find Zerzura. (Of course, im-
there is the recent rise in anti-Semitism, exacerbated by the poverished Timbuktu’s real treasure subsists not in gold,
recent publication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. but in in its tomes of forgotten wisdom, its volumes of

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forbidden lore.) Other explorers may wish for bragging idea that lost cities could still exist somewhere in unex-
rights, surviving a trip to the top of Kaf Ajnoun, “the Devil’s plored corners of the world. Zerzura, Opar, Loo, and Kôr
Hill,” where the Djinn supposedly hold council. Alterna- are all examples of this trope. Often part and parcel with
tively, clandestine scientific expeditions could search for it, unfortunately, is the racist idea that Africans, unaided,
the secrets behind what would later be named the “Eye of could not build a city themselves—yet it was the Shona,
the Sahara,” a 25-mile-wide crystalline depression, looking a Bantu people, who built Great Zimbabwe!
from a zeppelin rather like a bulls-eye mark.
One never knows what one is going to find in a lost city.
The French Foreign Legion patrols the Sahara, albeit ir- Riches? New technologies? Natural wonders as yet
regularly, making it nominally safer than it was some years unseen? All that’s certain is that adventure and science
earlier. Still, you’re more likely to see bones in the desert mandate a complete mapping of the African continent,
than you are a fellow traveler … if you can discern anything so that all may benefit from their discoveries.
besides heat-based hallucinations and mirages.
The Walking Shade
Southern Africa The coast of East Africa is rife with tales of a man who
Circumnavigating the southern tip of Africa is still danger- never dies. For five centuries, observers have noted a
ous, given the storms around the Cape of Good Hope, and strange, small sign on certain buildings and individuals,
sailors still report seeing the ghostly Flying Dutchman there a sign locals call a “seal of protection.” In hushed breath,
on occasion. On land, the once-formidable Zulus have the indigenous people tell stories of a cave shaped like a
become, while not exactly docile, somewhat tractable in skull, a wolf and horse who respond only to the speech of
the face of the overwhelming technological superiority of the undying, and a stretch of coastland free from the piracy
the English and the Boers, and now face crushing poverty. that plagues so much of the Indian Ocean. But, like an
apparition, the origin of these legends … and the origin
The English defeated the Boers (descended from the Dutch)
of the skull-shaped wounds on some pirates’ faces …
during the early part of the pulp era, and soon after the
remains impossible to find.
start of the Great Depression, the nation of South Africa
declared its independence. At the end of the era, there is
still great tension between not only the black Africans and
Asia
the whites, but also among the whites themselves, divided Afghanistan
by heritage and language into winners and losers. Addi-
tionally, during the entire period, the indigenous people Afghanistan has been the battleground for the “Great
had virtually no economic or civil rights, despite their Game,” a conflict fought between Great Britain and Russia
actually comprising more than 80% of the population. over control of Central Asia. The First Afghan War (1838-
GAZETEER

Complicating the matter was South Africa’s third set of 1842) would end in a humiliating defeat for the British, and
rights for “colored” people: those of mixed race and those although guaranteed free passage, the British Army was
who came from India, looking for jobs. slaughtered during its retreat. Meanwhile, the Russian army
steadily advanced southward into Afghanistan. During the
The southern Zulu would rather keep a discreet silence Victorian Age, the British would try again, sparking the
about some mysteries, such as the Rain Queen of the Second Afghan War in 1878. After getting a good part of its
Karanga, or the carnivorous river god Inkanyamba. The army annihilated in Kabul, Britain managed to put an Emir
northern, central regions of southern Africa are less ex- on the throne with whom both Britain and Russia could
plored, giving rise to legends of lost cities—including one live. During the 1880s, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan would
confirmed discovery, the abandoned Great Zimbabwe—and consolidate his power in Afghanistan, strengthening mil-
of a completely different ethnic group of hunter-gatherers, itary control and modernizing the nation.
as yet unknown, using poisoned spears in the bush to
catch their prey. It has become a centerpoint of the intrigues going on between
two great World Powers, Russia and The British Empire.
Mami Wata Situated at a crossroads in a geographical context, it is riddled
with spies as well as those that follow such activities.
The Igbo people of West Africa sometimes report having
encountered a half-human, mermaid-like creature, a witch Bhutan
and a snake-charmer, who steals their children at night
or drowns their men in the river during the day. Oddly, Bhutan is a small country nestled in the Himalayas and
she is often seen with modern trinkets, such as watches was battered by civil war during the Victorian Age. Gov-
or lighters. She has been known to possess her followers ernors of different territories within Bhutan were vying
during ritual dances. Eyewitness reports of her appear- for power through skirmishes with the others. This came
ances have been surprisingly consistent, but no expedition to an end in 1885, when Britain backed Ugyan Wangchuck,
has turned up reliable evidence of any such being yet. the Governor of Trongsa. He would consolidate his power
through the rest of the Victorian Age (and was destined
Lost Cities to be crowned king in 1907).
Following the publicity surrounding the research about Ironically, although Bhutan was strengthening its ties with
Great Zimbabwe, Europe became very interested in the Britain, it conducted most of its trade with its northern

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 The Pulp World Gazetteer
neighbor Tibet. Tibet actually sided with a rival governor Rangoon
against Wangchuck. A treaty with Britain in 1865 allowed
The British annexed Rangoon in 1852. The British
Britain to control Bhutan’s southern border passes with India.
immediately went to work on modernizing the city,
It is a part of the British Empire, allowing for a presence building colleges and bringing western education to the
in this distant part of the world for the English. Burmese people. Rangoon primarily exported rice and
timber. This stood in stark contrast to the impoverished
Burma villages that surrounded it. Rangoon was made the capital
Although not part of the Indian subcontinent, Burma was of the Burmese Province in 1886.
slowly incorporated into British India during the Victorian
Age. Burma shared its northeast border with China, and
China
successfully repulsed four Chinese invasions in the 18th The Empire of China was, to many westerners, a complete
century before being absorbed into British India during mystery. The vast landscape of a country full of strange
the next century. The lowlands of Burma have a tropical customs, cryptic writings, and imperial intrigue is what
climate similar to neighboring Bengal, while the highlands kept many people fascinated and sometimes obsessed
can range all the way up to heavy snowfall and arctic with this great nation. What many did not realize is that
conditions depending on elevation. Like Bengal, Burma Imperial China was a nation in decline and was rushing
was also prone to floods and droughts. headlong into what surely would become the end of the
Manchu Dynasty.
It was Burma’s territorial expansion that concerned both
the Chinese and the British. Ill-defined borders were part
3
The latter half of the 19th century in China was a time of
of the problem, as military operations and refugees adventure and excitement. Contact with western cultures
challenged territorial assumptions. Britain fought Burma had been limited, but the expansion of trade around the
in a series of three wars during the 19th century, resulting world following the Napoleonic Wars caused the Manchu
in total control of Burma in 1886. Burma then became a government to have to deal with trade groups from Europe.
province of India. The most prominent of these groups came from Great Britain,
who had colonies in nearby India. The Emperor had declared
Burma would thrive economically in rice production, but
that China was not impressed with western manufacturing,
at great cost. When the opening of the Suez Canal increased
so they would only accept bars of silver as payment for the
demand for rice, Burmese farmers needed to borrow money
silks, teas, and ceramics that were in demand in Europe.
to meet it, but often defaulted on their high-interest loans.
Great Britain was concerned that their precious metal reserves
As a result, the beneficiaries of the Burmese rice trade
were being depleted, so they looked for alternative goods to
were British and Indian firms and migrant workers. Many
trade. Their most elaborate scheme involved addicting the
Burmese became unemployed, and neither the ICS nor
Chinese on opium. When the Emperor banned the opium
the British military would accept them into their ranks.
trade in 1838 Great Britain declared war on China, and the
first of the Opium Wars began.

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 Pulp Fantastic
Unfortunately for the Chinese, the First Opium War showed regions and the Deccan Plateau. The Deccan Plateau is
the outdated nature of the Chinese military. Many stunning separated from the coast by two mountain ranges known
defeats at the hands of the Royal Navy and by soldiers collectively as the Ghats. These mountain ranges keep the
armed with modern rifles and tactics forced the Manchu plateau hot all year long. The coastal regions, like northern
government to surrender in 1842. The Treaty of Nanking India, have rich soil. Coastal India usually has a mild winter,
forced China to open her ports and created the British then a short hot season, a rainy season, and then another
colony on the island of Hong Kong. This foothold in China, hot season before winter.
along with trade centers in Shanghai, finally allowed
Most of India is subject to the rainy season between June
western governments to have access to the great wealth
and September. This is the period of monsoons, a seasonal
of products and labor that they had long desired.
wind that brings heavy rains and flooding. While the
China, and the inscrutable china man, was for the most Indian people welcome the rains after a hot season, the
part a great mystery to most of the western world. The resultant flooding can cause loss of life and crop damage.
high quality of silk and porcelain, the exotic art and
The British Empire politically separated British-run India
treasures of the ancient land, and the strange forms of
into three Presidencies: Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. These
martial arts they used to protect them all drew large
three regions acted almost independently of each other,
numbers of adventurers to China. If one believed, half of
and up until the late 1870s. Civilians considered themselves
the rumors of what could be found within China, then
exclusively belonging to one of the Presidencies (e.g. the
fame and fortune awaits!
Bengal Civil Service), rather than India in general. Among
India these regions were also many autonomous “native states,”
the princes, Maharajas, which were left to run their own
The Indian subcontinent has a varied geography. While affairs, providing that they cooperated with British rule.
most people think of India as a jungle, the entire spectrum
of climates can be found on the subcontinent. The British Japan
typically divided the subcontinent into northern and
The Tokugawa (or Edo) period of Japan’s history began in
southern India, with the Vindhya and Satpura mountain
1603. This time was marked by a major decrease in the
ranges acting as a natural dividing line.
amount of violence that the Japanese people were
Northern India is bordered by mountain ranges along most accustomed to surviving. Except for common problems
of its borders. The largest of the northern ranges is the of the time such as the occasional peasant revolt or famine,
Himalayas, which India shares with Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet. life for the average citizen was greatly improved. However,
The highest peaks in the world are found here, including Mt.
Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. It is named for
GAZETEER

the British Surveyor General, Sir George Everest, who first

spotted it. To the west are the Hindu-Kush Mountains that
separate British India from Afghanistan. The Vindhya and
Saptura mountains, as mentioned, border the south.

THE ISLAND OF THE SKULL

For centuries sailors in the South Seas have told each other
blood-curdling tales of the “cursed isle” and the “cradle of
monsters”, also known as the Island of the Skull. Supposedly
an uncharted island located far from the shipping lanes and
wreathed in a permanent bank of curiously still fog, the Island
of the Skull is named for the numerous carvings of human
skulls found among the ruins that sprawl across the isles
southern coast. Few have landed there, and of those few
even fewer have lived to tell of it. Legend tells of an island
of lush jungle, swamp-land, deep crevasses and high moun-
tains, bearing flora and fauna both wild and monstrous.

Three major rivers dominate Northern India: the

Brahmaputra, the Ganges, and the Indus. These rivers
deposit rich, fertile soil during frequent flooding, and are
densely populated as a result (although the Indus is
threatened by the Thar Desert to the east).
Southern India is home to two environments, the coastal

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 The Pulp World Gazetteer
the country remained in almost total isolation from the lation and prosperity. During the gold rush, many people
outside world. from England, Ireland, China, and the United States came
to Australia to discover not only gold but creatures that
The first significant exhibit of Japanese items in the west
defied description. Kangaroos, koala, kookaburra, emu,
was during the London International Exhibition of 1862.
and platypus were just a few of the strange things they
These items were primarily collected and presented by
found. The strangest things encountered by the new in-
Rutherford Alcock, the British minister of Japan. It would
habitants of Australia were the old inhabitants, the ab-
be five more years (1867) before the Japanese government
originals of Australia.
presented their own cultural displays to the world. In 1868,
just one year later, the shogunate government was These strange people, living in "primitive" nomadic groups,
overthrown in a popular revolt and Meiji emperor was were a great puzzle to the newcomers. How did they get
returned to power. It was under this government that to the isolated continent? How did they develop their
Japan was opened to ‘westernization’. strange customs? And should they be given rights and
privileges of the "civilized" colonists? The aborigines’ oral
One group that did not benefit from the Tokugawa peace
history, their talk of the ancient era known as the Dream-
or the return of the Meiji reign was the little known Ainu
time, all seemed to be a collection of myths and legends
people, who by this time had been forced to live only on
to the English colonists. The boomerang and the strange
the northern most island of Hokkido. The members of
musical instruments used by the aborigines added further
this hunter/trapper/farmer culture appeared to have more
mystery to these already curious people.
in common with American Indians than they did with
their Asian overlords. The Ainu were systematically The vast deserts, crocodile filled mangrove swamps, thick 3
persecuted not only for their Caucasian racial stock but tropical jungles, and sweeping grasslands make Australia
also because of the strange animistic religion they a diverse environment for exploration. The largely unex-
practiced. The Ainu religion was one of the last ‘Bear plored desert regions could be host to ancient ruins, lost
Cults’ to survive into the 19th Century. cities, or even gateways to the aboriginal Dreamtime.
Despite the pulp image of Samurai and Ninja clans
operating in Japan in the 1930’s, the feudal age of Japan
Antarctica
really ended with the Meiji restoration of 1868. Japan of At the south end of the world is the frozen continent of
this new era was a nation struggling to become modern, Antarctica. Its snow- and ice-cover and high elevation
despite suffering economic disaster from both the Great combine to make it the coldest place on Earth. The sub-ze-
Depression and the powerful Kanto Earthquake of 1930. ro temperatures freeze the moisture out of the air, making
most of Antarctica drier than the Sahara Desert.
Though the land was ruled by Emperor Hirohito, it was
controlled by a network of political groups, secret societies, There are no native inhabitants on the continent, but
and cults. Power brokering was commonplace, but the various exploration teams may be encountered. Because
military, through assassination and persecution, amassed of the dangers of this most hostile environment, no per-
power through the decade. manent human settlements exist anywhere on the conti-
nent. Wildlife is restricted to seals, penguins, birds and
In 1931, China’s warring factions began to expand power
fish. There are no polar bears in Antarctica.
into Japanese-claimed Manchuria. This gave the military
an easy excuse to consolidate power, as well as reclaim Nearly all of Antarctica lies within the Antarctic Circle.
Manchuria by force. After heavy criticism for its actions, Along the coastline, snowfall averages 20 to 40 inches per
Japan pulled out of the already-weak League of Nations year, and temperatures range from 40 to -40 degrees. Most
in 1933. of the coastline is mountainous, and travel to the interior
is difficult.
By 1936 there are threats and rumors of war with China,
and even the most devout pulp heroes are reluctant to Rumors of a hole in the middle of the continent, leading
take but a few assignments into the heart of Japan. into the Earth's interior, have persisted for years. No one
has ever returned from an expedition with evidence of
Australia the legendary hole, or at least no one was ever believed.
Stories also persist of a lost world; a region of tropical
The Australian colonies of Great Britain covered the entire
environs surrounded by nearly impenetrable mountain.
continent and the surrounding islands. By the late 1800s,
the colonies were: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,
Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory,
New Zealand, and Tasmania. Many of the early British
immigrants to Australia were prisoners, sent to the far
outreaches of the empire as punishment for a variety of
crimes. By 1868 penal transportations officially ended,
though they had been sparse for several years before that.
The discovery of gold in New South Wales in 1851 and in
Victoria shortly after that brought a surge of both popu-

81
 Chapter 4
The Pulp Years

T
his chapter is not a complete history on the Pulp Era, a political body that was supposed to mediate disputes
it is an overview of the things that happened during between nations. It only had modest success, even at its
the period, a timeline and a general sense of what is inception.
what. There are many other books both in reference and
For better or worse, the Great War had accomplished
Role Playing that go into much more detail of the era than
bringing in the Pulp age. But it had done little to settle the
we have gone into here, and any of them can be used as
disputes in Europe, and have even invited more. Skirmish-
supplemental material to the pulp fantastic Role
es and government upheavals would last for the next
Playing Game.
twenty years, bringing rise to Fascism and Communism.
The old ‘class system’ was falling apart as the workers of
Interesting Times the world, who had suffered the most in the war, were no
longer content with their nobility. The ‘War to End All
The ’pulp era’ is a little difficult to pin down. Pulps them- Wars’ concluded with an even more unstable world largely
selves, in one form or another, existed since the late 1800’s in economic collapse, and seemed to ensure that more,
with fantastic tales and adventures drawn from the Old even more vicious wars would be coming.
West and far-away places being sold to readers in New
England and Britain. The Roaring 20’s
Tales of courage, daring, and science were popularized For the United States, the 1920’s seemed like a period of
through the turn of the century, the Great War, and well great promise. Though Prohibition had led to dramatic
beyond. But the pulps hit their stride in the 1930’s, as many increases in crime, they were considered to be good times.
people turned to cheaper entertainment to try and escape
the rigors of the Great Depression and the political up- The United States didn’t suffer as badly in the ‘Great War’
heavals happening all over the world. as Europe. Indeed, most of Europe owed the United States
great amounts of money. Cities hadn’t been brought to
For many, this decade between the wars would define the their knees and required rebuilding. Unlike the rest of the
Pulp genre. world, everything in the United States was up and running.
With enthusiasm bordering on delirium, Americans
The Great War charged to the future. Scientific achievement was often
celebrated without often being understood. Technology
The ‘War to End all Wars’ started with the assassination
promised cures for every disease, as a new convenient
of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, though it had been a long
gadget for any worldly inconvenience. Companies spent
time in coming. Tensions between various European
millions buying into the idea.
powers had been escalating and brewing for years. Skir-
mishes were a common occurrence as old nobilities vied Movies had changed entertainment as well, bringing the
for power over one-another. The assassination was simply glamor and glitz of a new age of celebrities, as well as some
a match in a room full of gas. Everything simply exploded. mindless fun over the weekends at the matinee. In the
homes, radio programs of music, comedy and sports
War was far from new in Europe, but this war would change
brought people together in a way that hadn’t happened
everything. New weapons were brought to the field, in-
before. It really seemed that the miracles of technology
cluding tanks, aircraft, and the horror of chemical weapons.
and ‘new science’ was reshaping the world.
Nearly twenty million people would die in the Great War’s
four years, devastating the European powers. The cost of But beneath the wood grain and brass gadgetry, however,
war was simply too high for the ‘old world’ mindset to lied a different image, even in the incredibly optimistic
continue. America. Crime and corruption were rampant. Labor
Unions had turned to organized crime for muscle, and
The end of the war found Germany as the defeated insti-
were easily infiltrated by Communist insurgents. Prohi-
gator, much of the rest of Europe in ruins, and the United
bition and dramatic corruption had destroyed public
States both victorious and relatively unscathed. The Treaty
confidence in the government and police. Everyone seemed
of Versailles ended the war, laying all of the blame on
to be drinking, and they were in much larger numbers
Germany’s feet. It also established the League of Nations,
 Pulp Fantastic

BLACK THURSDAY
Though most of Europe struggled in the 1920’s, America had enjoyed a tremendous financial boom. The Great War that had devas-
tated Europe barely touched the Americas, and all the new science and technology that the war brought was being applied to ci-
vilian life. New and greater uses of electricity promised a brighter and greater future for all. Banks and citizens invested millions
hoping to cash on the next new technological or medical innovation that promised to change the world.
And, for awhile, things were well and good. But the euphoria of the time was reckless. The first sign, for America, that trouble was
coming was the Dustbowls of the Midwest. Terrible farming habits and a windy drought had eroded the earth, devastating crops.
Precious, fertile land was literally blowing away in a choking wind. Farm after farm failed, destroying that aspect of the American
economy.
Technology, too, was floundering. Despite great achievements, the demands of the investors and the promises of the scientists,
just couldn’t possibly be met. Enthusiasm became frustration, and the sell-offs began. The decline started most severely on 24
October, 1929. Seeking to escape disappointing markets, investors began to cash out in large amounts. The ‘boom’ was going ‘bust’.
By 29 October, 1929, the infamous ‘Black Tuesday’, the bottom had dropped out of the market, despite J.P. Morgan’s last minute
attempt to shore it up.
Citizens that had invested heavily couldn’t manage to sell their now near-worthless stocks, and often lost their homes. Businesses
folded from their losses, causing dramatic unemployment. Even worse, many banks had overextended into the markets and were
unable to pay their member’s accounts, destroying the personal savings of millions.
Within a few months of Black Tuesday, the United States had joined in the Great Depression. Even worse, since the United States
was one of the few nations supporting the struggling nations within Europe, Europe’s already-destitute collapsed even farther
without its aid. The party that was the Roaring 20’s had left one heck of a hangover.

than before prohibition set in. Things got so bad in Chicago (August) President McKinley signs an Executive Order creat-
that the city is still known for its booze-smuggling gang- ing Division 4, the American version of the British MI7 group.
sters, a full eighty years later.
(September) President William McKinley of the United
On top of this, race relations were atrocious in the states, States is assassinated.
and not just for black men. Due to economic disaster in
Sam McCord strikes the largest gold strike in the Alaskan
the rest of the world, immigrants came to American shores
Territories.
by the millions. Trouble is, there weren’t that many jobs
GAZETEER

even in the land of prosperity. Small ethnic clashes over

work and older disputes erupted frequently. Creatures believed to be from the planet Mars invade London;
they are seemingly defeated by an unknown synthetic toxin;
Race relations in the south were even worse. Many sons the event is chronicled by H.G. Wells, but due to the efforts
of the Confederacy had power, and weren’t too fond of the of the Invisible College, the world regards his report as a work
black race that they blamed the Civil War upon. Segrega- of fiction.
tion was the law, and any man, regardless of color, often
had more to worry about than just getting arrested. Racial
tolerance was nearly unheard of.
The decade of American excess may have been good times
1902
for some. All that excess, however, came at a terrible cost, (January) 5 workers killed in explosion during IRT subway
and the worst of it was just around the corner. construction (New York City)
(March) American Automobile Association, AAA, founded

Timeline 1901 – 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio

(April) 1st motion picture theater opens in Los Angeles.
Denmark is 1st country to adopt fingerprinting to identi-
1901 fy criminals.
(January) Queen Victoria dies. Prince Albert Edward
becomes King Edward VII. (May) Sherlock Holmes investigates the “Adventure of Shos-
combe Old Place.”
The Boston Gun Club builds a large canon in Florida (United
States) which they say will be used for exploration of the
(May) Cuba gains independence from Spain.
Moon. The firing of this canon garners the attention of the
war-like, space faring Martians. (August) President Teddy Roosevelt became 1st U.S. chief
executive to ride in a car.
(December) Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US. Boers
and British army sign peace treaty
84
 The Pulp Years
1903 1905
(January) San Francisco - Hawaii telegraph cable opens (March) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an
for public use. Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt elected assembly (the Duma). U.S. President Theodore
Theater, Amsterdam. 1st regular transatlantic radio broad- Roosevelt begins a full term. Russian troops begin to retreat
cast between U.S. and England. Harry Houdini escapes from Mukden after losing 100,000 troops in 3 days. The
police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam. Japanese capture of Mukden (now Shenyang) completes
the rout of Russian armies in Manchuria.
(March) The killer known as “The Hoxton Creeper” resurfaces
(April) Albert Einstein works on the special theory of
in London after being presumed dead for over five years
relativity as well as the theory of Brownian motion.
following an encounter with Sherlock Holmes. By means
unknown the brutish back-breaker finds his way to America, (May) The Japanese fleet under Admiral Heihachiro Togo
apparently tracking the notorious Borgia Pearl after its sale destroys the Russian fleet under Admiral Zinovi Petrovich
to an unknown American millionaire. Over the next three Rozhdestvenski in a 2-day battle.
decades, for reasons unknown, he will find and murder every
(June) The Norwegian Parliament declares the union with
owner of the Pearl.
Sweden dissolved, and Norway achieves full independence.
(September) Russo-Japanese War end results in disastrous
(June) Ford Motor Corporation and Pepsi Cola Company
defeat for Russia; a treaty mediated by U.S. President
both form.
Theodore Roosevelt is signed by victor Japan and Russia.
(August) Joe Pulitzer donated $1 million to Columbia U Russia cedes the island of Sakhalin and port and rail rights
and begins Pulitzer Prizes in Manchuria to Japan, and major civil unrest at home for 4
Russia.
(December) First motorized flight performed at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina by two bicycle makers from Ohio, Wilber (October) The Wright Brothers’ third airplane (Wright
and Orville Wright. Fire at Chicago’s Iriquois Theater kills Flyer III) stays in the air for 39 minutes with Wilbur pilot-
602 ing. This is the first airplane flight lasting over 1/2 an hour.
Tsar Nicholas II is forced to grant Russia’s first constitution,
1904 conceding a national assembly (Duma) with limited
powers.
(February) Russo-Japanese War begins between Russia
and Japan, with Japan launching a surprise attack on Port (November) Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon
Arthur. The United States of America gains control of the VII of Norway.
Panama Canal Zone.
(March) Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first
1906
person to make a political recording of a document, using (February) British launch HMS Dreadnaught, first “dread-
Thomas Edison’s cylinder. Russian troops in Korea retreat nought” class battleship.
toward Manchuria, followed by 100,000 Japanese troops.
(March) Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
(April) The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair
(July) Alfred Dreyfus is exonerated. He is reinstalled in the
opens in St. Louis, Missouri. People claim that Government
French Army on July 21, thus ending the Dreyfus Affair.
agencies chased a “Beast Man” through the fair. The gov-
ernment flatly denies any such activity. (August) The first Victor Victrola, a phonographic record
player, is manufactured.
(May) U.S. Army engineers begin work on The Panama
Canal. Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first
(November) Thomas Carnacki, psychical researcher, is nearly
perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
killed during the “Black Veil” investigation. Dr Ronald Aster,
(July) The third Modern Olympic Games opens in St. Louis, a colleague, dies of fright after refusing to take protective
Missouri as part of the World’s Fair. The British expedition measures.
under Colonel Francis Younghusband takes Lhasa in Tibet.
(October) The Russian Baltic Fleet fires on British trawlers (December) The first German submarine, U-1, enters the
it mistakes for Japanese torpedo boats in the North Sea. German Imperial Navy.
The first underground line of the New York City Subway
opens. 1907
(November). Republican incumbent Theodore Roosevelt (March) Elections to the new Parliament of Finland are
defeats Democrat Alton B. Parker. The first successful the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as
caterpillar track is made (it later revolutionizes construc- the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage is
tion vehicles and land warfare). applied. Nineteen women are elected. The first taxicabs
with taxi meters begin operating in London.

85
 Pulp Fantastic
(July) Korea becomes a protectorate of Japan. (April) Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimo
explorers come within a few miles of the North Pole.
Parties led by T. W. Edgeworth David became the first to
climb Mount Erebus and to reach the South Magnetic Pole.
They discover a previously unknown Martian advance base,
what they discover inside is of particular interest.
1908
(January) A long-distance radio message is sent from the (July) Louis Bleriot is the first man to fly across the English
Eiffel Tower for the first time. Channel (thus a large open body of water) in a heavier-
(June) The Tunguska event, also known as the Russian than-air craft.
explosion, occurs near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (November) The U.S. Navy founds a navy base in Pearl
in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russian Empire. Harbor, Hawaii.
(December) King Albert I of Belgium succeeds his uncle,
The cause of the explosion is never determined, though
Leopold II, on the throne.
theories range from the explosion of an extraterrestrial craft
to the impact of cometary debris. Shortly after the explosion,
the first samples of Element X are discovered. 1910
(April) Comet Halley is visible from Earth.
(May) Edward VII of England dies from an unknown lung
(July) Robert Peary sets sail for the North Pole. Ordered by
condition. George V succeeds him as King of England.
his superiors in Division 4 to investigate the source of
strange radio signals.
History records the disease that kills Edward VII as bronchitis.
(September) At Ft. Myer, Virginia, U.S.A. Thomas Selfridge Privately, physicians suspect a pathogen left over from the
becomes the first person to die in an airplane crash. The Martian invasion of 1901.
pilot, Orville Wright, is severely injured in the crash but
recovers. Henry Ford produces his first Model T automo-
(June) The DELAG Zeppelin dirigible, Deutschland, makes
bile.
the first commercial passenger flight from Friedrichshafen
to Düsseldorf in Germany. The flight takes nine hours.
(October) Thomas Carnacki files a patent for his “Electric
Pentacle”. (July) A wireless telegraph sent from the SS Montrose
results in the identification, arrest and execution of mur-
GAZETEER

derer Dr. Hawley Crippen.

(November) Western bandits Butch Cassidy and The Sun-
dance Kid are supposedly killed in Bolivia, after being (October) Portugal becomes a republic; King Manuel II of
surrounded by a large group of soldiers. There are many Portugal flees to England.
rumors to the contrary however, and their grave sites are
unmarked. Professor Challenger mounts a second expedition to South
America, accompanied by Lord John Roxton, Edward Dunn
A 40,000-year-old Neanderthal boy skeleton is found at
Malone and Professor Arthur Summerlee, and discovers Maple
Le Moustier in southwest France.
White Land, the fabled “Lost World”. On their return, Chal-
lenger presents a live pterodactyl to the Royal Zoological
Professor George Edward Challenger mounts a solo expedition Institute. Despite the creature escaping, Challenger is vindi-
to South America, during which he claims to have discovered cated.
evidence that several dinosaur species have survived into
the modern day. His evidence is scoffed at by scientific au-
thorities, and the intense interest (and mockery) of the press
results in Challenger assaulting several journalists. 1911
(January) In London, in what becomes known as the Siege
1909 of Sidney Street, the Metropolitan Police and the Scots
Guards engage in a shootout with a criminal gang of
(March) William Howard Taft succeeds Theodore Roosevelt Latvian anarchists held up in a building in the East End.
to become the 27th President of the United States. Einar
Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the (March) The United States Army formally adopts the M1911
first radio broadcaster. Theodore Roosevelt leaves New pistol as its standard sidearm, thus giving the gun its 1911
York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is designation.
sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National (May) Pancho Villa launches an attack against government
Geographic Society. troops in Ciudad Juarez without Madero’s permission.
Government troops surrender May 10.

86
 The Pulp Years
(July) The 50th anniversary commemoration of the Battle
(June) Thomas Carnacki gains wide notoriety when an inves-
of Gettysburg draws thousands of American Civil War
tigation of an apparently haunted ship ends with the de-
veterans and their families to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
struction of the vessel under mysterious circumstances.
(December) The Federal Reserve is created by Woodrow
(September) The liner RMS Olympic, sister ship to the RMS Wilson.
Titanic, collides with the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke
The British steamship Calvadas disappears in the Marmara
outside Southampton, England. Sabotage to the Olympics
Sea with 200 hands on board.
steering mechanism by the Order of Victoria is suspected.
(December) George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of
Teck are crowned as Emperor of India and Empress Consort,
1914
respectively, in New Delhi. (January) Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, American editorial-
ist, journalist, short-story writer and satirist, disappears
1912 while traveling with Pancho Villa, documenting the
Mexican Civil War, and is never seen again.
(January) New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
(March) Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive in
British polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott and a team of
Easter Island to make the first true study of it (they depart
4 become the second expeditionary group to reach the
August 1915)
South Pole.
(June) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of
(February) Arizona is admitted as the 48th U.S. state.
the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassi-
(April) On April 10, the British ocean liner, RMS Titanic, nated in Sarajevo. 4
leaves on her maiden voyage for New York, three days later
(July) The Signal Corps of the United States Army is formed,
she will strike and iceberg and sink to the bottom of the
giving definite status to its air service for the first time.
ocean, taking with her the lives of more than 1,500 people.
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia orders a full mobilization against
Again the Order of Victoria is suspected.
Austria-Hungary.
(May) The 1912 Summer Olympics open in Stockholm,
(August) Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, declares
Sweden.
war on Russia and demands the neutrality of Russia’s ally
(October) While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, France; France refuses and mobilizes.
former President Theodore Roosevelt is shot by saloon-
keeper John Schrank. With a fresh flesh wound and the
bullet still in him, Roosevelt delivers his scheduled speech.
After finishing his speech, he went to the hospital, where
it was deduced that if he had not had his speech in his breast
pocket when he was shot, he most likely would have died.
(November) Woodrow Wilson wins a landslide victory
over Republican incumbent William Howard Taft. Taft’s
base is undercut by Progressive Party candidate (and
former Republican) Theodore Roosevelt, who finishes
second, ahead of Taft.

Edward Dunn Malone, assisted by Arthur Conan Doyle, pub-

lishes The Lost World, his account of the Maple White Land
expedition of 1910.

1913
(February) The United State Congress passes the Income
Tax amendment to the US Constitution.
(April) The United States Congress passes the Senatorial
Election amendment to the US Constitution.

(June) Thomas Carnacki publishes a paper detailing the work-

ings of his “Mentaphone”, a device for detecting and record-
ing mental impulses.

87
 Pulp Fantastic
(September) No member of the Triple Entente (Britain, Division is decimated in one of the most heavily concen-
France, or Russia) may seek a separate peace with the trated German gas attacks of the war.
Central Powers. First Battle of the Marne: Northeast of
(June) U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incor-
Paris, the French 6th Army under General Maunoury
porating the Boy Scouts of America.
attacks German forces nearing Paris. Over 2 million fight
(500,000 killed/wounded) in the Allied victory. China (August) Portugal joins the Allies.
declares neutrality.
(September) British pilot William Leefe-Robinson becomes
(December) British and German soldiers interrupt World the first to shoot down a German airship over Britain.
War I to celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce.
Charles Foster Kane runs for governor of New York State and
1915 loses.

(January)  The first use of poison gas in WW1, by Germany

at Bolimow in Poland. The United States House of Repre-
sentatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to
1917
vote. German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth (January) President Woodrow Wilson calls for “peace
and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom for the first time, without victory” in Europe.
killing more than 20.
(March) Professor Challenger and Lord Roxton take a second
(February) Germany declares a submarine blockade of expedition to Maple White Land, returning with dinosaur
Great Britain. Any ship approaching England is considered eggs and diamonds.
a legitimate target.
(February) The United States severs diplomatic relations
(May) The RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat, with Germany. Mata Hari is arrested for spying. United
killing 1,198. States ambassador to the United Kingdom, Walter H. Page,
(September) The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electrified is shown the intercepted Zimmermann Telegram, in which
commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia, Germany offers to give the American Southwest back to
Pennsylvania, using overhead AC trolley wires for power. Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
This type of system is later used in long-distance passen- Russian Tsar is over thrown, Provincial Government under
ger trains between New York City, Washington, D.C., and Alexander Kerensky now in place.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The first prototype tank is tested
for the British Army for the first time. Former cartoonist (April) U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress
for a declaration of war on Germany, and they grant it.
GAZETEER

John B. Gruelle is given a patent for his Raggedy Ann doll.

(October) The U.S. recognizes the Mexican government (November) The workers of Petrograd in Russia, led by the
of Venustiano Carranza de facto. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, attack the Kerensky
Provisional Government.
(November) The governments of Britain and France se-
cretly agree to overtake the Middle-Eastern regions of the
Ottoman Empire (mostly Syria and Iraq), and establish 1918
their own zones of influence. (January) President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points
as the path to permanent world peace.
1916 (March) Germany, Austria and Bolshevist Russia sign the
(January) Paris is bombed by German zeppelins for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia’s involvement in
first time. the war. Moscow becomes the capital of Soviet Russia.

(February) The Battle of Verdun begins in France. (April) Baron von Richthofen, “the Red Baron” is killed in
aerial dog-fight.
(March) Pancho Villa leads about 500 Mexican raiders in
an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. (June) Grand Duke Michael Romanov is murdered, thereby
soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights becoming the first of the Romanovs to be murdered by
back and drives them away. President Woodrow Wilson the Bolsheviks.
sends 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico (October) In the Argonne Forest in France, U.S. Corporal
border to pursue Pancho Villa; the 13th Cavalry regiment Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German
enters Mexican territory. The U.S. 7th and 10th Cavalry soldiers and captures 132.
regiments under John J. Pershing cross the border to join
the hunt for Villa; however Pershing’s real missing was to (November) At eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the
capture a Mayan crystal skull from Villa by any means eleventh month of 1918, the war ends as Germany and
necessary. Allies sign an Armistice.

(April) The light switch is invented by William J. Newton (December) President Woodrow Wilson departs by ship
and Morris Goldberg. The British 47th Brigade, 16th Irish to the Paris Peace Conference, becoming the first United

88
 The Pulp Years
States President to travel to any foreign country while
holding office.
1922
(February) President of the United States Warren G.
1919 Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
(March) United States commissions its first aircraft carrier,
(June) The United States Congress approves the 19th
the USS Langley.
Amendment to the United States Constitution, which
would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to the (April) Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the
U.S. states for ratification. Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party.
League of Nations formed, USA is not a member. The (June) U.S. President Warren G. Harding makes his first
United States fails to ratify a peace treaty with Germany speech on the radio.
and sues for a separate peace.
(August) United States and Germany sign the Treaty of
John Moses Browning finalizes the design for the M1919 Berlin, officially ending the state of war between the two
.30 (30-06) caliber medium machine gun, the first widely countries.
distributed and practical air cooled medium machine gun
(October) Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier
introduced to the US Military. It receives an official des-
in the history of Italy.
ignation and production is started in the same year, a very
uncommon happening. (November) British archaeologist Howard Carter discovers
the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
1920 When he enters the tomb on November 21, along with
Lord Carnarvon, he is the first person to step into the tomb 4
(January) Prohibition goes into effect in the United States in over 3,000 years.
as the “Law of the Land” by the passage of the 18th Amend-
ment to the Constitution the following year.
1923
(July) Pancho Villa takes over Sabina and contacts de la
(January) Juan de la Cierva invents the autogyro, a rota-
Huerta to offer his conditional surrender. He signs his
ry-winged aircraft with an unpowered rotor.
surrender on July 28.
(July) Poncho Villa is assassinated.
(August) The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution is passed, guaranteeing women’s suffrage. (September) In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first American
airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first
(September) A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front
time.
of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38
and injuring 400. The first domestic radio sets come to (October) Roy and Walt Disney Founded The Walt Disney
stores in the United States; a Westinghouse radio costs Company. Warren G. Harding dies in office and is succeed-
$10. ed by Calvin Coolidge, as President of the United States.
(October) The League of Nations moves its headquarters (November) In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an
to Geneva, Switzerland. unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German govern-
ment; police and troops crush the attempt the next day.
(November) In Geneva, the first assembly of the League
of Nations is held. (December) The crown prince of Japan survives an assas-
sination attempt in Tokyo.
(December) The Brussels Conference establishes a time-
table for German war reparations intended to extend for
over 42 years. 1924
(January) Following the death of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph
1921 Stalin immediately begins to purge his rivals to clear the
way for his leadership.
(March) Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th
President of the United States. (April) Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in jail for his
participation in the Beer Hall Putsch (he serves only 8
(April) The Allies of World War I reparations commission
months). Harry Grindell Matthews demonstrates his new
announces that Germany has to pay 132 billion gold marks
weapon, the death ray, in London but fails to convince the
($33 trillion) in annual installments of 2.5 billion.
British War Office of its importance; however he does gain
(November) During an Armistice Day ceremony at Arling- the attention of MI7.
ton National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknowns is
(May) J. Edgar Hoover is appointed head of the Federal
dedicated by U.S. President Warren G. Harding.
Bureau of Investigation.
Russian Civil War ends after three years with Bolsheviks,
(June) U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian
led by Lenin and Trotsky, in full control.
Citizenship Act of 1924 into law, granting citizenship to

89
 Pulp Fantastic
all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of York. Claims to get signals from outer space.
the United States.
Rudolph Valentino dies of perforated ulcer at age 31.
(October) Zeppelin LZ-126 makes a transatlantic delivery
Germany joins League of Nations; Spain resigns member-
flight from Friedrichshafen, Germany, to Lakehurst, New
ship.
Jersey.
(February) Discovery of Mayan city ruins in Mexico’s
U.S. bootleggers begin to use Thompson submachine guns.
Yucatan peninsula.

1925 (March) Robert Goddard launches liquid fuel rocket at

Auburn, Massachusetts.
General vaccine programs against tuberculosis begin in
the United States. Revenue from bootlegging in the U.S. reaches estimated
$3.6 billion.
Conference on International Arms Trade in Geneva pro-
duces the Geneva Protocol of 1925 against chemical and (May) U.S. Commander Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd
bacteriological warfare. The US and Japan refuse to ratify Bennett fly over the North Pole.
the agreement. (October) Harry Houdini dies in Detroit from peritonitis.
Arkansas passes a law making it unlawful to have sex The Kodak Co. produces the first 16 millimeter movie film.
before marriage.
Some 32,000 speakeasies operating in New York City;
An estimated 5% of liquor that is smuggled into the U.S. roughly double the number of taverns prior to Prohibition.
is intercepted by law enforcement officials.
American A.A. Michelson uses a series of mirrors set up
Adolph Hitler founds the Schutzstaffel or SS. They begin over 25 miles to measure the speed of light.
as his protective guard and eventually become the elite
police corps of the Nazi party. Rin Tin Tin, is biggest box office star of 1926.

Russia and Japan sign agreement to end rift left by the

1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war. Japan agrees to withdraw
1927
troops from Sakhalin Island in exchange for oil and coal New Years’ Day: Forty-one deaths at New York’s Bellevue
concessions Hospital due to bad booze. An estimated 50,000 deaths
thus far during Prohibition, plus hundreds of thousands
(April) German serial killer Fritz Haarmann,
of non-fatal blindness and paralysis cases.
“The Butcher of Hanover,” who murdered
GAZETEER

at least 26 young boys and sold the flesh Al Capone’s operations receive an estimated $60,000,000
of some as meat, is executed by decap- from bootlegging.
itation
The Stork Club on New York’s 53rd street
(May) John T. Scopes is arrested for opens.
teaching evolution in violation of Ten-
(January) Transatlantic tele-
nessee state law. Despite Clarence
phone service established
Darrow defense (against politician
between New York and London.
William Jennings Bryan), Scopes
is found guilty on July 21. He is (May) Charles Lindbergh flies solo from Curtis
fined $100 plus court costs, but Field, Long Island to Paris, France in his
the entire case is dismissed on monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis.
a technicality on appeal, in
U.S. Supreme Court finds Texas law barring
January 1927, to the Tennessee
blacks from voting in State Primaries uncon-
Supreme Court.
stitutional.
The hydrocarbon synthesis nec-
(March) American consulate in Nanking ransacked
essary for the development of
by Chinese troops. 
synthetic oil (the Fischer-Tropsch
reaction) is discovered in U.S. inventor Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrates electron-
Germany. ic television in San Francisco.
(April) Field Marshal Paul von New York Yankees baseball star Babe Ruth hits
Hindenburg elected president of his 60th home run for the season.
Germany
World’s largest vehicular tunnel, the
Holland Tunnel, opens to connect New
1926 York City and Jersey City.
Nikola Tesla erects radio Ford unveils the Model A to replace the
towers at the Waldorf in New antiquated Model T. Crowds flock to Ford’s
90
 The Pulp Years
Detroit and New York offices to see the new automobile Hans Geiger and Walther Muller make first feasible Geiger
counter to measure radiation. Geiger had invented the
Duke Ellington and his orchestra open for a four-year run
original device in 1912.
at The Cotton Club in New York City’s Harlem.
Show Boat opens on Broadway and becomes one of the Professor George Edward Challenger invents a drilling machine
biggest stage musical hits in history. and drills into the Earth in order to prove his theory that it
is a living being. Unsubstantiated claims are made that his
(December) Joseph Stalin’s control of Russia almost certain.
machine is destroyed by some kind of creature, contradicting
Communist party bans all opposition to Stalin’s policies.
the claims of previous deep geological explorers.
Leon Trotsky and others purged from the party.
Average annual income in U.S., $2,400.
Al Capone’s annual income estimated between $20 million 1929
and $100 million.
Professor Challenger and Edward Malone meet with Profes-
First tetanus shot administered to humans. sor Theodore Nemor who has built a machine that disinte-
grates and reintegrates objects and people. Nemor is never
1928 seen again and the device is seized by the Invisible College
just prior to agents from MI-7 arriving on the scene.
Federal Reserve withdraws $80 billion from the US Gov-
ernment. Admiral Byrd conducts expeditions to both poles. He and
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. his pilot Bernt Balchen are the first to fly over the South
Pole 4
Third International Congress of Eugenics. At the confer-
ence, a Dr. Robie calls for the sterilization of 14 million Construction on the Empire State Building begins.
Americans with low IQ scores. St. Valentine’s Day Massacre gangland hit, ordered by Al
Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith, becomes U.S. president Capone against North Side boss Bugs Moran, leaves 7
bullet-riddled corpses on the floor of a North Chicago
Stock market breaks and falls in June, but recovers quickly. garage. Moran was not one of them
Market breaks again December 7, but once again recovers.
Trading volume reaches almost seven million. New York Stock Exchange sets records throughout the
year, despite several sharp corrections and recoveries. On
Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to cross the Atlantic October 24, trading volume reaches a record 12,894,650
First television sets available to consumers; $75 each as stocks dive. Charles E. Mitchell, Albert H. Wiggin (Chase
National Bank), William Potter (Guaranty Trust Company)
Mickey Mouse premieres in Plane Crazy, a silent cartoon and Seward Prosser (Bankers Trust Company) meet with
parody of the Lindbergh craze. Thomas W. Lamont of J.P. Morgan on Wall Street and agree
General Electric begins first regularly scheduled television to invest $40 million each to ‘shore up the stock market.’
broadcasts, three days a weeks for two hours each, at Five days later, the market collapses
station WGY in Schenectady, N.Y . Charles Lindbergh starts Central American air-mail
(July) Women’s events are featured for the first time at the service.
summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam. First color television is demonstrated in the US and
The Dodge Brothers merge with Chrysler Corporation in England.
July. That month, the Plymouth model appears. The De Electroencephalograph invented by Hans Berger in
Soto follows in August. Germany.
(August) The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact is signed in Paris
by 65 nations, including the U.S. 1930
The Chrysler Corporation unveils plan for its new head- Dr Sir John Hamish Watson, former colleague of Sherlock
quarters, the Chrysler Building. Holmes, retires from practice at the age of 71 after the death
(October) Germany’s Graf Zeppelin dirigible arrives at of his second wife. He moves to a villa on the coast of Cali-
Lakehurst, N.J. fornia, north of San Francisco, in order to be close to his re-
maining family.
Albert Szent-Gyorgi discovers vitamin C.
Rickards and A.H. Refell build the first working robot
(February) The ninth planet is discovered by Clyde Tom-
(United Kingdom).
baugh after its existence is predicted by Percival Lowell.
Tombaugh spots the planet on 2/18 but holds announce-
ment until 3/13 (Lowell’s birthday) and names it Pluto
based on Lowell’s initials.

91
 Pulp Fantastic
By the end of the year, millions are unemployed. Apple
Reports that completion of the Empire State Building is
sellers fill New York City street corners.
delayed by sightings of strange robotic machines and pig-like
Chrysler Building is completed and becomes the tallest humanoid creatures in and around the building remain un-
building in the world. Manhattan’s 800-foot, 68-story, art supported.
deco Colossus. It will soon be relegated to second-tallest
by the Empire State Building. Gangster Al Capone is jailed for tax evasion.
Boston bans all works by Russian revolutionary Leon Amelia Earhart establishes the Pitcairn autogiro world’s
Trotsky. altitude record at 18,451 feet.
France begins building Maginot Line. After severe monsoon rains, the Yangtze River in China
Constantinople renamed Istanbul. floods; dikes and dams break, inundating over 35,000
square miles and leaving 40,000,000 homeless.
Turksib Railroad connecting Turkestan and Siberia opens.
Karl Jansky, an American Engineer, detects anomalous
Austria and Italy sign friendship treaty. Britain, France, signals while conducting experiments on radio wavelength
Italy, Japan and U.S. sign naval disarmament treaty. interference. These are the same signals detected by Tesla
U.S. Marines are stationed in Haiti and Nicaragua to assist 5 years earlier.
the local authorities and preserve U.S. interests.
Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly solo between
1932
England and Australia. She makes the trip in 19.5 days. (January) 70,000 Japanese troops storm Shanghai and
drive out the Chinese 19th Route Army; Japan establishes
(April) Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow set a trans-
a puppet empire, Manchukuo, under Emperor Pu-yi, in
continental speed record from Los Angeles to New York,
Manchuria in February; an agreement between China and
14 hours, 45 minutes.
Japan sets up a demilitarized zone and ends the boycott
(October) The British airship R101 crashes near Beauvais, against Japanese goods.
France while en route to India. Forty-six passengers and
U.S. unemployment reaches 13.7 million; worldwide un-
crew burn to death.
employment is approximately 30 million.

Rumors surround the crash of the R101. One has it that it was
carrying a newly discovered Tesla device. Its whereabouts, if (May) The SS Venture returns to New York from Skull Island
it existed, are unknown and is presumed to have been de- with a living specimen of a unknown species of ape, larger
GAZETEER

stroyed in the fire. A second, less wide-spread rumor, is that than any previously recorded. At the first public exhibition
the craft was engaged in secret diplomatic work with an of the creature it breaks free, causing chaos before it dies in
extraterrestrial visitor. Little evidence is found to support a fall from the top of the Empire State Building. The body is
either story. immediately confiscated by Division 4, along with all charts
and documentary evidence showing the location of Skull
Island.
1931
The Star Spangled Banner becomes U.S. anthem. Words Charles Lindbergh’s baby is kidnapped from his home on
by Francis Scott Key, music from Anacreon in Heaven. March 1. The kidnapper sends a ransom note and the
President Herbert Hoover suggests a one-year moratorium $50,000 ransom is paid. The baby is not returned.
for reparations and war debts.
(July) German banks close until August 5 following failure During the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a secret
of Danatbank. arm of the Nazi party attempts to disrupt the games by
killing athletes. They are thwarted by agents of Division 4.
German millionaire Hugenberg finances 800,000-member
Nazi party; Kirdof, Thyssen and Schroder follow suit.
Mukden Incident in September begins Japanese occupation Stimson Doctrine (Secretary of State Henry Stimson) pro-
of Manchuria. China boycotts Japanese goods (China is tests Japanese presence in Manchuria. The U.S. announces
Japan’s principal market). it will not recognize gains made through armed aggression.

Gandhi ends second civil disobedience campaign with Austrian-born Adolf Hitler receives German citizenship.
signing of Delhi Pact. Britain releases non-violent politi- Franklin D. Roosevelt wins the U.S. presidential election
cal prisoners. in an electoral landslide over Herbert Hoover, 472 to 59.
Empire State Building completed. Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic Ocean on May
20 -- the first woman to do so. Newfoundland to Lon-
donderry in 13.5 hours.

92
The Pulp Years

93
 Pulp Fantastic
1933 A British airplane flies over Mt. Everest.
(February) Malcolm Campbell sets a land speed record of
Unemployment in the U.S. reaches 17 million.
273 mph in the 2,450 horsepower Bluebird.
547 films are produced in the U.S.
(April) Dirigible Akron crashes into the Pacific Ocean near
The first rock paintings by the Sahara Desert’s prehistor- midnight; only 4 of 77 aboard are saved.
ic inhabitants are found at Tassili.
The United States repeals prohibition with the passage of
Albert Einstein settles in U.S. at the Institute for Advanced the 21st amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Studies in Princeton, N.J.
Chicago World’s Fair; A Century of Progress International
The Secret World Treaty of 1933 is signed by the nations of the
Exposition.
world, giving the Air Cavalry the offical role of “Protectors of
(February) An attempted assassination of President-elect the Skies” by World decree. Their role is often downplayed,
Roosevelt by Giuseppe Zangara passed off to the public as one of entertainment.
(March) Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes 32nd president
at age 51. He begins the “New Deal” economic plan start-
ing with a “bank holiday” closing all United States banks
for a week.
1934
Worldwide scheduled air service routes total 223,100 miles.
(March) The movie “King Kong” is released.
Over 100 million miles are actually flown during the year.
S.S. Queen Mary and France’s S.S. Normandie (the largest
The movie is based on events taking place in New York the ship of its time) are launched.
previous year. Despite protests from the families of some of
the dead, the movie is a major success. Many are convinced (May) Texas outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are
that the events of the previous year were a publicity stunt killed in Louisiana after an epic investigation by famed
that went badly wrong. Texas peace officer Frank Hamer.
Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the Lindbergh baby
kidnapping on September 20.
(April) America abandons the gold standard.
On July 21, John Dillinger is ambushed outside a movie
(May) Thomas Carnacki investigates an apparent haunting theater and shot to death at age 32.
GAZETEER

in the vault of a central London bank. He is sealed in the vault Heinrich Himmler becomes chief of Reich Police with
overnight inside his electric pentacle. When the vault is Reinhard Heydrich in charge of the Gestapo.
opened in the morning it is empty. Carnacki is never seen
again. “Night of the Long Knives.” On June 30, Hitler cleans out
his ranks by having dissidents and troublemakers assas-
sinated during the night.
(December) Prohibition repealed at 5:32 p.m. EST on De- (August) German president von Hindenburg dies at 88.
cember 5. Journalist H.L. Mencken (working for the Bal- Adolf Hitler becomes president.
timore Sun) reputedly drinks the first legal beer and pro-
Japan renounces the naval limitation treaties of 1922 and
claims it “good.”
1930.
U.S. Congress votes for independence of the Philippines.
Mao Tse-tung and 90,000 followers embark on a Long
Reichstag (Parliament Building) fire in Berlin; Adolf Hitler March of 8,000 miles.
named Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg
Charles William Beebe descends 3,028 feet into the ocean
and gets dictatorial powers.
off Bermuda.
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.
First practical test of radar is conducted by the German
U.S. Marines are withdrawn from Nicaragua. Navy.
Wiley Post (who is blind in one eye) lands his Lockheed
Vega, the Winnie Mae, in New York after circumnavigating 1935
the globe in 7 days, 19 hours.
The U.S. Congress passes a Neutrality Act prohibiting
Admiral Byrd begins his second Antarctic expedition. transportation of weapons to warring countries.
Huey Long, senator, former governor and major national
Byrd locates Captain Nemo’s hidden Antarctic Base. Byrd is
rival to FDR, barely survives an attempted assassination
debriefed by his superiors in Division 4 and upon his return
by Dr. Carl Weiss in the Louisiana Capitol Building. Huey
to the United States and all records of his discovery are seized.
Long then goes underground.

94
 The Pulp Years
(February) Bruno Hauptmann is convicted of Lindbergh
kidnapping and murder.
1937
Over 500,000 people in the U.S. are involved in sit-down
Germany defies the Versailles treaty and reinstates com-
strikes (from 9/36 to 5/37).
pulsory military service.
The Lincoln Tunnel becomes the second major vehicular
Russia signs treaties with the U.S., France, Czechoslovakia
tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
and Turkey.
The Golden Gate Bridge opens.
Charles F. Richter develops a scale for measuring earth-
quakes. Insulin is used to control diabetes.
A Pan American Clipper (a 19-ton flying boat) flies from Wallace H. Carothers patents nylon for du Pont.
San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 18 hours 39
Literature: Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not;
minutes, making it the first transpacific transport plane.
George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier; John Steinbeck’s
Of Mice and Men; J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
1936 London’s Daily Telegraph and Morning Post merge.
(January) King George V of England dies, Edward VIII
Popular Music: Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, The Lady Is a Tramp,
becomes King.
A Foggy Day in London Town, Whistle While You Work,
(November) King Edward VIII of England abdicates to It’s Nice Work If You Can Get It, I’ve Got My Love to Keep
marry an American divorcee, Wallis Warfield Simpson. Me Warm.
Following his abdication of the throne, rumors abound 4
Babes in Arms, a Rodgers and Hart musical comedy, opens
that he is a secret Nazi sympathizer. The reality is much
in New York.
worse.
Films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a Walt Disney
(November) President Roosevelt is re-elected in landslide
feature-length cartoon), Camille (starring Greta Garbo),
over Alfred M. Landon
and the Academy Award winner Life of Emile Zola (starring
The Spanish Civil War begins with an army revolt in Paul Muni).
Morocco
Joe Louis wins the heavyweight title, defeating James J.
German troops occupy the demilitarized Rhineland Braddock in the eighth round (Chicago, June 22).
Mussolini and Hitler form the Rome/Berlin Axis. New York Yankees (A.L.) beat New York Giants (N.L.) in
the World Series, 4 to 1.
Anti-Comintern Pact signed by Germany and Japan.
“War Admiral” wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and
Leon Trotsky, Stalin’s greatest rival for international com-
Belmont.
munist leadership, settles in Mexico.
U.S. Tennis team wins the Davis Cup from Britain.
Floods sweep Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The first shipment of gold arrives at the National Bullion
The dirigible Hindenburg makes her maiden voyage across
Depository, Fort Knox, Kentucky in mid-January.
the Atlantic on May 9.
The Hindenburg goes down in a massive fireball on May
J.A. Mollison flies from Newfoundland to London in 13
6.
hours, 17 minutes.
All-India Congress Party wins in the Indian elections.
Mrs. Amy Mollison (formerly Johnson) flies from Britain
to Cape Town in 3 days, 6 hours, 25 minutes. Aden becomes a British Crown Colony.
Jean Batten flies solo from Britain to New Zealand in 11 President Roosevelt signs the U.S. Neutrality Act.
days, 56minutes.
Following an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge near Peiping
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation builds the first pressurized (Peking), Japan launches an undeclared war on China.
cabin airplane.
Japanese atrocities outrage world opinion (July 7).
(August) An agent of Division 4, locates and captures what Japanese planes sink the U.S. gunboat Panay on the Yangtze
is believed to be the Ark of the Covenant from Nazi agents River (December 12).
in the deserts of Egypt. The device is stored in Division 4’s
Warehouse 51 for study. Japanese seize Peking, Tientsin, Shanghai, Nanking and
Hangchow. Italy withdraws from the League of Nations
and joins the Anti-Comintern Pact.
Guernica, the “Holy City” in Spain’s Basque region, is
bombed by German planes allied to the Spanish Nation-
alists.

95
 Pulp Fantastic
The Kuomintang (Nationalists) under Chiang Kai-shek
Professor Challenger dies at the age of 71, peacefully in his
unite with Communists led by Mao Tse-tung to fight Japan.
sleep. Shortly afterward, Enid Challenger, her husband Edward
President Roosevelt dedicates Bonneville Dam on the Malone and Lord John Roxton found the George Edward
Columbia River in Oregon. Challenger Centre for Exploration, Innovation and Research,
more commonly referred to simply as the Challenger Centre.
S.S. Normandie crosses Atlantic Ocean in 3 days, 23 hours,
The Centre’s annual Challenger Award for Scientific Reason
2 minutes.
becomes one of the most hotly sought after prizes in the
Amelia Earhart and co-pilot Frederick Noonan are lost science community.
over the Pacific Ocean in their Lockheed Electra. Scores
of search vessels fail to turn up the slightest trace (7/2). 1939
The World’s Fair opens in New York City on April 30,
1938 drawing record crowds.
40-hour work week established in the U.S. Nylon stockings are first offered for sale.
Lambeth Walk becomes the fashionable dance. Literature: Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in English; James
Literature: Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca; William Faulk- Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake; John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
ner’s The Unvanquished; Ernest Hemingway’s The Fifth Wrath; T.S. Eliot’s The Family Reunion; C.S. Forester’s
Column; Sinclair Lewis’ The Prodigal Parents. Captain Horatio Hornblower.

Pearl S. Buck wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. Pulp magazine The Avenger (issue #1) is released in Sep-
tember.
Popular Music: Flat Foot Floogie with a Floy Floy, Septem-
ber Song, Jeepers Creepers, You Must Have Been a Beau- Popular Music: God Bless America, Three Little Fishes,
tiful Baby, A Tisket, A Tasket. Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Beer Barrel Polka, I’ll Never
Smile Again.
Films: Pygmalion (starring Leslie Howard), The Lady Van-
ishes (directed by Alfred Hitchcock), Bank Holiday (Carol Films: The Wizard of Oz (in color; starring Judy Garland),
Reed), and the Academy Award winner You Can’t Take It Ninotchka (starring Greta Garbo), Pinocchio (a Walt Disney
With You. Feature-length cartoon), Good-Bye, Mr. Chips (starring
Robert Donat) and Academy Award winner Gone With
U.S. Tennis Team defeats Australia to retain the Davis Cup. The Wind (starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh).
New York Yankees defeat Chicago Cubs 4 to 0 in the World First televised baseball.
GAZETEER

Series.
New York Yankees shut out Cincinnati Reds 4 to 0 in the
Howard Hughes circumnavigates the globe by airplane in World Series.
3 days, 19 hours.
President Roosevelt asks $552 million for the defense
(October) On Halloween, Orson Welles broadcasts the budget.
Mercury Theatre on the Air’s adaptation of The War of the
Worlds, causing nationwide panic. The Spanish Civil War ends; Francisco Franco rules Spain
as Caudillo (3/28). Spain joins
Welles is coerced into making the broadcast by Division 4, as the Anti-Comintern Pact and leaves the League of Nations.
part of a cover-up after a second Martian expeditionary force Japan occupies Hainan and blockades the British conces-
lands near the town of Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. The invasion sion at Tientsin.
is swiftly halted by Division 4. Despite several casualties and
substantial property damage, the cover-up is successful and Germany occupies Bohemia and Moravia, places Slovakia
almost brings Welles’ career to a halt. under “protection,” annexes Memel and renounces most
military agreements. On 9/1 Germany invades Poland and
Japan installs a puppet government in Nanking (3/28), annexes Danzig. On 10/5 the last organized Polish resis-
takes Canton, Tsiangtao and Hankow. tance ends.

Germany seizes Austria (3/12-13) and Czechoslovakia France and England declare war on Germany on Septem-
(10/3). ber 3.

President Roosevelt sends Hitler and Mussolini a plea to A British Expeditionary Force is sent to France.
settle European difficulties amicably. Russia invades Poland in alliance with Germany (9/17).
Chinese troops divert the Yellow River to halt the Japanese Russia invades Finland (11/30) and is expelled from the
invasion. The resulting flood covers 20,000 square miles League of Nations.
and kills hundreds of thousands.
The United States announces neutrality on September 5,
A hurricane strikes New England, killing 700 and doing but orders from European countries for war supplies make
millions of dollars worth of damage (9/21). a vast improvement in U.S. economy.
96
 The Pulp Years
Radar is used in Britain to detect enemy aircraft; balloons
are used to protect against air attack.
Pan-American Airways begins regularly scheduled flights
between the U.S. and Europe on the Dixie Clipper. First
flight (from Long Island to Portugal) takes 20 hours, 16
minutes (5/20).
Pan-American Airways’ California Clipper lands at Auck-
land, New Zealand, completing the first flight of a regu-
larly scheduled fortnightly service from San Francisco,
California (8/30)
The Heinkel He-178 makes the first jet-powered flight
(8/24)
Chilean earthquake devastates 50,000 square miles and
kills estimated 30,000 (1/24).
Severe earthquakes in Northern Turkey destroy city of
Erzingan and kill 100,000 (12/27).

Sir John Hamish Watson begins a second career as a radio

broadcaster in America. He introduces a long-running series 4
of radio adaptations of his adventures with Sherlock Holmes,
with Holmes played by Basil Rathbone and the younger
Watson played by close friend Nigel Bruce. The introductions
to each series are recorded in Sir John’s California home, and
feature frequent interruptions from his two dogs. Watson
uses this public platform to campaign for War Bonds and
against the evils of racism and fascism. Rathbone eventual-
ly gives up the role of Holmes in 1946 when Sir John dies from
natural causes at the age of 87, and the role is taken over by
sound-alike actor and friend, Tom Conway.

97
 Chapter 5
Organizations & Secret Societies

O
rganizations are important to any setting, but most competing aims came into greater and greater conflict.
of those in the pulp fantastic campaign are
This competition ranged from political attacks to discred-
secret and hidden. They are active, and player char-
it opponents, to duels between proxies or actual masters,
acters are typically members of one of these organizations
to outright assassinations and religious denouncements.
and will do what they can in the best interest of the orga-
These led to instabilities in the world and politics as each
nization.
master would struggle against one and another.
From the dawn of the fantastic there has been a war raging
As centuries pass, the secret masters would name successors
outside the view of humanity. This so-called “Secret War”
and groom them to take over when their time would come.
is a symbol of the way humanity is viewed. Sides deter-
Naturally drift in ideology and methodology came about,
mined to release the new found knowledge into the world,
and when a master would have multiple heirs or would die
versus those who are determined to hide it, believing that
too soon, internal wars would take over, leading to several
the human race is not yet ready and there are things out
revolutions in nations, such as the Protestant Reformation
there that “man was not yet meant to know.”
and the American as well as French Civil Wars.
Across the centuries there have been wheels within wheels,
As time passed, the secret masters of the world worked
secret deals, and behind closed door meetings that have
with or against each other, these efforts gave rise to wars
resulted in the turmoil and conflict over last few centuries.
in the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Franco-Prussian
Intellectual powers in conflict with each other have had
War and with the assassination of the Secret Master of
their differences moved into the greater world and in so
Eastern Europe which led to the start of the First World
doing caused great strife across the planet.
War.
There is a secret war that rages across the class lines, na-
With the advent of advanced technologies as well as the
tional borders and even philosophy. There is a secret war
heroes of the modern age, these secret masters would
that has spilled out into open warfare that has taken the
recruit those bravos and adventurers to fuel or fulfill their
world by storm and destroyed nations as well as families.
goals and aims, often through intermediaries or by posing
The records are unclear, but sometime in the 15th or 16th as wealthy philanthropists funding these men of mystery
century a group of learned men got together to form a or stalwart adventurers.
secret society dedicated to controlling the world with
This then is the secret history of the world, a war that is being
political and economic force to ensure the safety and well
waged behind the scenes and now waged in distant jungles
being of the human species. A worthy and noble goal,
or crime ridden streets by the pulp heroes of the day.
which led to tragic consequences.
As the years then decades passed this nameless secret
society worked to influence kings and princes as well as
captains of industry with varied results based on who was
Division 4
In early October 1901, President William McKinley signed
doing the manipulation and how well their advice was
the executive order creating Division 4. This was done
received. However this unknown group amassed great
about a month prior to his assassination at the hands of
wealth for themselves along the way.
Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. Division 4 has one primary
As the years passed these secret masters, as they thought goal, to gather alien and secret technology and store them
of themselves, split off and each had their own nation or for the United States government to study and duplicate.
region of the world to guide as they saw fit. With this They are responsible for gaining technology from many
splintering of their core, they naturally came into more different places, including a piece of a Martian Tripod
and more conflict as each sought to guide their part of the from the 1901 invasion, which happens right after their
known world in a direction which they thought was best. inception.
This led to a rise in the struggles between nations as each
Division 4 is under the direct command of the President
master worked with a different methodology as well as
of the United States, and they are quite often mistaken for
 Pulp Fantastic
Secret Service agents, and quite often use that for cover, his notes on the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. Some
a notable amount of Secret Service agents were doing the claim that the Order was able to complete the work that
job of Division 4 prior to its inception. The President issues Newton was not able to finish, creating a Philosopher’s
all orders directly, but depending on the President they Stone and ensuring the Order’s means of wealth. Turning
are often left to their own devices. Division 4 agents have base metals into gold meant that the order was not depen-
been used in everything from stealing of tech developed dant on the generosity of their members, and meant that
by enemy nations to recovering “lost tech” from all over they could pursue even the most obscure and costly of
the globe. rituals in their quest for knowledge.

French Foreign Legion The Invisible College

The French Foreign Legion was a unique military unit set The Invisible College was born out of a dream…and a
up in 1831 by the French government to allow foreign nightmare.
nationalist to enlist in the French military. The Great War
Mary Shelley, wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and author of
saw the legion in many critical battles in 1917, and suffered
the gothic novel Frankenstein, found inspiration during
heavy casualties in 1918.
her stay in Switzerland. In the summer of 1816, she ac-
companied Byron and Shelley during their travels. The
Hermetic Order of the legend created by Byron and the Shelleys is that one night,
when a storm was raging over the lake, Mary Shelley and

Golden Dawn her husband spent the night at Lord Byron’s. Byron chal-
lenged them to think up ghost stories, but Mary Shelley
wrote nothing. Then, the night before Byron and Shelley’s
The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, later renamed the
boat trip on Lake Geneva, Mary Shelley had a nightmare.
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, is one of the largest
and most influential organizations of western occultism. That nightmare wasn’t what would become a popular book
Though relatively new, this organization has greatly ex- that would have a life longer than the original author
panded in both membership and power, and some claim herself. No, her nightmares would be of humanity destroy-
it has an impact on both the political and industrial fronts ing itself with sciences that it did not understand advanc-
that is without compare. es that it had neither the ethics nor morality to use as they
were intended to be used, or to ignore those things that
In 1886 Rev. A.F.A. Woodford was given a document called
were not meant for mankind.
the Cipher Manuscript. The Manuscript, written in English
GAZETEER

but encoded, did not interest the Reverend, so he passed it From this weekend in Switzerland came a seed that would
on to his friend Dr. William Wynn Westcott. Dr. Westcott bloom into the Invisible College. Percy Shelley would begin
managed to decode the Cipher Manuscript, discovering it to formulate some of the theories of this organization in
to be a detailed outline of the Grade Rituals of the Order, his 1819 essay In Defense of Poetry: “Poets are the hi-
and prescribed a curriculum of specifically graduated teach- erophants of an unapprehended inspiration; the mirrors
ings that encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, Astrology, of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the
Tarot, Geomancy, and Alchemy. Dr. Westcott brought in his present; the words which express what they understand
fellow Freemason Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers to not; the trumpets which sing to battle, and feel not what
confirm his deciphering of the manuscript and to assist in they inspire; the influence which is moved not, but moves.
turning the writings into a usable set of rules for a new Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”
lodge order. Mathers asked a third Freemason, Dr. William
It was a feeling that only the artistic could save the world,
Robert Woodman, to assist in this endeavor, and the core
and save humanity from itself. In this period between 1816
of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn was formed.
and 1819, the guiding lights behind the Invisible College
In 1887 the trio officially opened the Order to others, and began refining their processes. One of their primary
soon a great many Initiates were learning the esoteric arts. methods is to make actual events look fictional or so sen-
As the number of initiates grew, the influence of the Order sational that people would not believe that the events
also grew. The teachings outlined in the Cipher Manuscript could have possibly occurred. Hiding things in plain sight
were quite detailed, and those who followed the course of is the best tool of the Invisible College. It was Mary Shelley’s
study soon found their astrological readings were quite Frankenstein that tested this technique for the first time.
specific, and quite accurate. In 1891, new initiate Arthur
It is not coincidental that the period of the ascendancy of
Edward Waite began extensive teachings in the use of the
the Invisible College is parallel to the periods of the increase
Tarot, consolidating the knowledge scattered through the
of the popularity of Spiritualism and of the general inter-
ages on their use and meaning. Other young initiates, like
est in the fantastic in literature. These were all tools en-
Edward Alexander Crowley in 1897, showed a great deal
couraged by the Invisible College in order to create an
of talent in Alchemy and the Qabalah.
environment of belief in the unknown and strange, but
In 1890 it is rumored that the Order managed to acquire only amongst those who would be easy enough to discred-
the secret writings of Sir Isaac Newton, which contained it or mock. This created the fertile ground into which the

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 Organizations & Secret Societies
membership of the Invisible College could place ideas so
that they could be more easily disbelieved by the majori- Knights of the Round Table
ty of “right thinking” individuals in the world. The year 1837 saw not only the coronation of Queen Victo-
These methods also make it easy for a small, yet incredibly ria, but also the foundation of the Most Holy and Restored
dedicated group of individuals to be able to mold and form Order of the Knights of the Round Table. Joshua Griffyth-
public opinions on what is rational and what is irrational, Jones, a prominent New York banker and amateur histori-
what can and what cannot be believed as true and proper. an, began the fraternal organization because of his family’s
These methods have also had far-reaching repercussions fascination with the original knightly order. Family tradition
in the realms of politics and marketing, and have had an holds that the Griffyth-Jones family are direct descendants
incredible impact on the world as a whole. of Sir Girflet, one of the last of the original Knights of the
Round Table. Sir Girflet fought alongside King Arthur in
It is always important to remember that the Invisible the great final battle against Mordred. When Arthur fell, it
College has never had a large membership. While the was Sir Girflet who was there to fulfill Arthur’s last wish.
founders felt that artists and writers of all stripes were the Arthur commanded Girflet to cast Excalibur into a nearby
best suited to invisibly guide the world, they also knew lake. When he did so, a hand rose up from the lake, caught
that those very people were very often the ones who could the sword, and sank below the water. Sir Girflet alone knew
be the least trusted. This is, in part, what has lead to the the secret of the lake. Feeling as if he were the last defend-
existence of the Invisible College information being re- er of Camelot, Sir Girflet vowed that he would maintain the
vealed at all – the pettiness of individuals, particularly honor, the integrity, and the true goals of the Order of the
those of an artistic nature, often leads to secret information Round Table. He swore that one day, when the world was
being released. This can also lead to rival organizations, in need, his descendants would restore the order and prepare
fighting against the Invisible College…or some even claim- the way for the Arthur, the King Eternal. Over the centuries
ing to be the Invisible College! Just because players are the descendants of Sir Girflet is said to have kept this vow,
fighting against the Invisible College, or think that they 5
though no records of his family seem to exist anywhere.
are members of it, it does not mean that they actually are
doing what they think that they are doing. Joshua Griffyth-Jones was born in Hempstead Harbor,
New York in 1805, the son of David Michael Griffyth-Jones,
This is a problem in a world where there are too many a trader in gold and silver. Joshua grew up hearing stories
secrets. It is so much harder to get at the real truths of from his father about chivalry, knights in shining armor,
things, if that is what you desire to do. honor, fighting for the forces of good, and always, the story
This goes to demonstrate that there is no central dogma of the death of King Arthur. The Knights of the Round
to the Invisible College. As it has adapted, evolved, changed Table were a constant fascination to young Joshua, and
and grown with each successive set of leaders, so too does he promised himself that he would become a Knight of
each individual cell (called Universities by the organiza- the Round Table when he got older. 
tion) make its own rules and interpret the ideology of the
organization according to its own goals and plans. Often,
people working towards the goals of a University, or of its
leadership, will not realize that those goals do not com-
pletely match up with what the College itself is “teaching”
to its membership. All of this is intended to give a gm the
maximum flexibility with using the Invisible College in
their games. There is no one official Invisible College.
The role of the Invisible College in pulp fantastic can
be varied. However, the basic role of the organization will
fall into one of two distinct categories; the rest is just
further detail. The Invisible College is either the heroes
or the villains of the overall story. In addition to the role
of the Invisible College, the gm and the players would
probably need to determine whether or not the player
characters are employed by, or are acting against, the In-
visible College. These two do not have to impact each other
in the way that players would think though. The Invisible
College can be a force for good in the world of the cam-
paign, and the characters could still be working to active-
ly bring them down (either to free the secrets that they
have or because of the fact that the characters are misin-
formed about their goals and nature).

101
 Pulp Fantastic
As he grew up, Joshua remembered the stories and the Have the Knights found any of them? Are the relics genuine
rules of chivalry, honor, and loyalty his father had spun or clever forgeries? Only the Steward of the Round Table
when he was a child. These rules guided him as he attend- knows for sure.
ed Yale University, and continued to guide him as he made
The Most Holy and Restored Order of the Knights of the
his way through the intricate and cutthroat world of fi-
Round Table can take many different paths in your pulp
nancial banking. To the surprise of many, his personal
fantastic campaigns. They could truly be descendants
code of conduct was quite successful, and Joshua Griffyth-
of the original order. They could be a group founded on
Jones soon became a name to be reckoned with in the fi-
good meaning, but false assumptions. They could be know-
nancial world.
ingly founded on false pretense. Are they truly a force for
Griffyth-Jones conducted constant searches about the good and the last bastion of chivalry? Are they a once
original Knights of the Round Table, searching for new proud, but now corrupted fraternal organization? These
information about the knights and their descendants. He are just a few of the questions a Gamemaster will want to
felt sure that other descendants of the Knights could be ask himself about this group.
found among the upper classes of New York society, and
so in 1835 he began his own personal quest. In short order
a dozen members of the local aristocracy presented their
pedigree as knightly families, and the core of the new
MI7
Ask anyone working in Her Majesty’s government about
order was formed.
MI7 and you will likely get blank stares. Ask too many
In August of 1837, Griffyth-Jones gathered the gentlemen questions about MI7 and you might find yourself being
at his summer house in Montauk, on the tip of Long Island, questioned by members of MI7. Created by secret order of
and proposed the re-founding of the Knights of the Round Queen Victoria in 1850, the Secret Intelligence Bureau is
Table. Headquartered in offices above Griffyth-Jones’s under the exclusive purview of the Prime Minister. The
main Manhattan bank, the chosen men of power in New Bureau is divided into seven sections called Minister’s
York took on a most daunting task. The new Knights swore Intelligence Departments 1 through 7. Each department
an oath to Griffyth-Jones, who claimed the title of Steward is responsible for a specific type of information or for a
of the Order, to defend the code of chivalry, to right wrongs, different region of the world. Because of the politically
to not seek glory in their duties, and above all, to restore sensitive nature of the Bureau, and the extraterritorial
honor and prepare for the coming of King Arthur and the activities necessary to obtain its information, the very
recreation of his realm in America. The Knights worked existence of the Bureau is a secret. Only Her Majesty, The
both openly in charitable causes and more actively in Queen, and the Prime Minister know of the existence of
clandestine tasks. The Knights and their Squires -- trusted these departments.
GAZETEER

associates who cannot trace their lines to the original

Each of the first six departments is charged with reporting
knights -- strive to bring honesty to the business world,
information on a particular region of the world. MI7 is
true justice to the legal trade, and fair practices to the
unique, having a broader scope. They are the troubleshoot-
factories.
ers, the ones who work on problems all across the globe.
The altruistic goals of the Knights of the Round Table held They also make sure that the Secret Intelligence Bureau
strong until the death of their Steward in 1877. Rhys remains secret.
Griffyth-Jones, the eldest son of Joshua, assumed the role
What is the mission of MI7? They find the unfindable.
of Steward upon his father’s death. Rhys believed strong-
They discover the reason behind the unreasonable. Ev-
ly in the stories of the original Knights of the Round Table
erything MI7 is involved in has some curious or unusual
his father told him. He felt that the Restored Order needed
fact or twist of logic behind it. Of course, what the public
reminders of the original Knights, what they stood for,
knows about it and what the truth of the matter is can be
and what were their sources of power. His obsessions
two very different things. More often than not, the reason
became the objectives of the Knights. That is when their
behind those differences is MI7.
most clandestine of tasks became The Quest.
The original founder of MI7 was the quiet yet brilliant
The ultimate goal of The Quest is nothing short of recov-
Mycroft Holmes, elder brother of the noted detective. It
ering artifacts of the original order. The greatest honor
is the Department Head who reports directly to the Prime
for the knights is to be sent on a Quest mission, to look
Minister. Officially Mycroft was the only member of MI7,
for one of the ancient relics. The scabbard of Excalibur,
selected because of his excellent deductive skills, said to
the Holy Grail, the Staff of Merlin, and Sir Gawain’s Armor
exceed those of his brother, and because of his discrete
are just a few of the relics sought by the Knights of the
handling of information sensitive to the Crown while
Round Table. Because the Steward believes that the relics
working with his brother on the Queen’s behalf. The fact
can only belong to true descendants of the original Knights,
that he never seemed to leave the Diogenes Club while
and because the members of the Order can prove their
working on that particular case was truly amazing. Unof-
claims of heredity, Rhys Griffyth-Jones feels that no action
ficially Holmes maintained a network of highly capable
taken to recover them can violate their Code of Conduct.
and experienced agents.
This has led some members of the order to take actions
which could be considered to be morally questionable. The death of the Queen and the Martian attack on England

102
 Organizations & Secret Societies
left their marks on MI7. The destruction of many buildings Baron and Captain Roy Brown - were re-enacted for the
in and around London meant that most of the resources amusement of paying customers. Some of the pilots also
and archives of MI7 were destroyed as well. Director flew mail, or private passengers from city to city in order
Holmes assembled a team to rebuild MI7, picking up the to help pay for their expensive flying machines.
pieces of a shattered organization. Prime Minister Balfour,
In 1925, the Air Cavalry flew to the rescue for the first time.
unlike his predecessors, did not find the Director to be
On March 18th, the great Tri-State tornado to tore through
agreeable, or useful. The PM stymied the Director at every
Illinois, Missouri and Indiana, leaving hundreds dead and
turn, thinking the department was not necessary. The PM
dozens of towns and cities in ruin.
found the “stories” of the exploits of MI7 fanciful and
unbelievable. After two years of reduced funding, resched- The Air Cavalry took to the skies on a mission of mercy
uled or canceled meetings, and constant stonewalling, the and battled the treachery of the Storm Riders, a group of
situation came to a head. To the surprise of those who criminals who followed the path of the tornado to steal
knew the situation, in March of 1904 Mycroft Holmes and pillage those too weak to defend themselves.
retired as the Director of MI7. After 54 years, MI7 would
be under the guiding hand of someone other then its
founder. Prime Minister Balfour had different plans. THE CHARTER OF 1933
Instead of appointing a new Director, he left the position Charles Lindbergh was not the only one to recognize the
vacant and suspended funding. For all intents and pur- value of a free air force independent of national politics and
poses, the department was dissolved. able to work in areas where official presence was forbidden.
When Henry Campbell-Bannerman became PM in 1905 In the spring of 1933, and after months of work by the Cav-
he began a thorough review of the archives of No. 10 to alry’s best political minds (and careful work by agents of the
see what the Conservative PMs had been doing for the last Invisible College); the civilized nations of Italy, America, Russia
twenty years. The Archives Panel discovered references and Great Britain signed a secret charter with the Air Cavalry.
5
to a strange department of the Ministry of Intelligence Patterned after colonial Letters of Marque, the charter es-
that ended abruptly the year before. While no information tablished a protocol for allowing Air Cavalry planes and
could be found on the activities of the department, one personnel to cross the airspace of the participating countries,
name came up time and time again: Mycroft Holmes. to make use of certain military airbases and to act - in certain
Meeting with the aging Holmes at the Diogenes Club, the ways - almost as an independent country. In turn, Baron Ace
PM learned of the purpose of MI7 and of its shutdown. Franklin swore that his people would never attack any of the
Determined to restore the department to its intended participating members, would follow the honorable customs
purpose, the PM asked Holmes to return as its Director. of warfare and would come to the aid of embattled nations
Holmes refused, citing age and a desire to avoid further and peoples the world over. It was an ambitious promise
adventure in his life. He suggested one of his former junior but the Air Cavalry remains steadfast in its dedication to
aides, Edwin Masterson-Smythe. these ideals.
Masterson-Smythe reformed MI7, building upon the foun- The Charter was the final piece needed to bring the Air Cavalry
dation of Mycroft Holmes’s work. Some of the former agents into the world as a force for good.
of MI7 were found and recruited to join the new organiza-
tion, but most of the agency consisted of new agents.
The secretive nature of MI7 makes the organization an
excellent resource for the pulp fantastic gm. Is the
Pinkerton Detective Agency
Department a source of good information or a fountain The world of Private Eyes begins with the legendary Pink-
of propaganda? Does the Department work with the Player erton National Detective Agency. Their logo, with its big
Characters or against them? MI7 can also form a base from central eye and the motto “We Never Sleep”, spawned the
which Player Characters can launch their adventures. The nickname Private Eye, and the image of the tough guy
choice is up to the Gamemaster. determined to solve a case.
In 1850, Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward
The Air Cavalry Rucker formed the North-Western Police Agency, later to
be known as Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pink-
Baron Ace Franklin was born too late to fight in the Great erton became famous in February 1861, when he foiled an
War but the sky was in his blood. His father was a pilot of assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland, of Presi-
the Great War, an ace with thirty-eight German kills under dent-Elect Abraham Lincoln. His efforts in this case im-
his silk scarf. Raised in a traveling barnstormer show, Ace pressed Lincoln so much that Lincoln hired Pinkerton to
lived among planes and pilots from the day he could walk. provide his security during the American Civil War as well
It was the life he knew, the life he loved, and Ace might as performing as head of the Union Intelligence Service
have been content to live as a star of the barnstorming during the first years of the war. Pinkerton’s investigative
circuit but the Tri-State tornado of 1925 changed all that. techniques, created during his days in the North-Western
Police Agency and refined over the years, were an inno-
In its earliest years, the Air Cavalry was a show, famous
vation that lead the Pinkertons to be the most well known
war battles - including the final battle between the Red
103
 Pulp Fantastic
specialists in criminal investigations and undercover sition in 1893. Vandercamp’s company became experts in
operations. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency the esoteric investigation field, making him a wealthy
became a unit to be feared. man and a well-known socialite in Chicago.
After the end of the American Civil War, Pinkerton’s offices With the acquisition of the Vandercamp Agency, Pinker-
opened all across the United States. Their services were tons became the preeminent investigative service in the
used to track down outlaws such as Jesse James, The Wild western world. Some of the cases pursued by the Pinker-
Bunch, and the Reno Gang. Their services spread far and ton Agency include the Patterson possession case in 1922;
wide, even assisting Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes the New Orleans mafia crackdown of the late 1920s; the
in a number of cases involving crimes on both continents. Bassett-Sutton bank robbery of 1930; the Lindbergh Baby
kidnapping of 1932; and the Thule Society Conspiracy of
Starting in the 1870s, the Pinkerton Agency was hired by a
1936.
number of large companies to investigate efforts to union-
ize workers. Quite often this led to violent conflicts and a The Pinkerton National Detective Agency makes a great
bad reputation for the Agency. Pinkerton Men became resource in any pulp fantastic game taking place in
associated with “Corporate Thugs” and were known for the United States. Players can work for Pinkerton’s as in-
being union breakers. Pinkerton Agent John McParland vestigative agents, as undercover agents, or even as con-
managed to infiltrate the militant labor union of coal miners sultants to Pinkerton’s. The Agency can also be used as an
in Pennsylvania known as the Mollie Maguires. The Mollies adversary, bringing truth to claims that Pinkerton Agents
were a secret Irish organization that worked for labor union- were violent thugs with a badge of authority.
ization and were known for stirring up trouble throughout
Ireland. McParland, under the name of James McKenna,
became a member of the Mollie Maquires in Pennsylvania.
Using the knowledge he gain from them, a great many
Scotland Yard
In the eighteenth century came the beginnings of immense
members of the group were arrested, leading to the end of
social and economic changes with the consequent move-
the violent unionist efforts of the Mollie Maguires.
ment of the population of England to towns. The parish
constable and “Watch” systems used throughout the country
failed completely and the impotence of the law-enforcement
machinery was a serious menace. Conditions became in-
tolerable and led to the formation of the “New Police.”
In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act introduced by Sir Robert
Peel, was passed by Parliament. This Act replaced the nu-
GAZETEER

merous local constables with a single police force that

covered Greater London, excluding the City of London,
which had its own Police Force. The Marine, or River Police
as well as the Bow Street Patrols (both mounted and the
“Runners” on foot) were also outside the command of the
new London Metropolitan Police. The task of organizing
and designing the “New Police” was placed in the hands of
Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne (later Sir Richard
Mayne). These two Commissioners occupied a private house
As the 20th Century dawned, the reputation of the Pinker-
at 4 Whitehall Place, the back of which opened on to a
ton National Detective Agency was anything but sterling.
courtyard. The back premises of 4 Whitehall Place were
Hired by many large companies as union busters, Pinker-
used as a police station. This address led to the headquarters
ton agents were often thought of as little more than thugs,
of the Metropolitan Police being known as Scotland Yard.
and often that was not far from the truth. This changes in
1907 when Allen Pinkerton II, grandson of the founder, By 1890 the Metropolitan Police had taken over all of the
inherited the company. Slowly, over the course of the next buildings surrounding the original private house, as well
three decades, the Pinkerton Agency gradually moved as many buildings, stables, and storehouses in the sur-
away from union busting. Trying to improve its image, rounding area. Scotland Yard outgrew its origins. Head-
the Agency acquired the C. E. Vandercamp Aetheric In- quarters were moved in 1890 to premises on the Victoria
vestigations Agency in 1920. Embankment designed by Richard Norman Shaw and
became known as New Scotland Yard.
Christopher Vandercamp started his business in 1915 in
Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. Investigating crimes, Metropolitan police officers carried firearms only when
missing persons, and other occurrences with a mystical given special permission by a judge; normally they were
slant, Vandercamp became known for solving cases others only armed with a truncheon. Their jurisdiction was limited
thought to be unsolvable. His business grew from a one to the London Metropolitan area unless requested by outside
man, third storey walk-up to a 250 man office in their own authorities and given permission by the Home Secretary
building on Stony Island Avenue across from the famous (the cabinet officer who commands the police). The officers,
Jackson Park, home of the World’s Fair: Columbian Expo- often called “Bobbies,” after Sir Robert Peel, wore a unique

104
 Organizations & Secret Societies
and very sturdy hat. This officer could stand on his hat, the international response to crime and terrorism. The
allowing him to see over fences quite easily. They were ICPO helps track criminals and criminal activity around
charged with keeping order in public thoroughfares, en- the world.
suring that Public Houses follow strict hours and serving
laws, fining establishments that conducted bear baiting or
cock fighting, and ensuring that people going about their
lawful business were not menaced by “general riff-raff and
Red Headed League
There are some that will tell you that the Red Headed
ne’er-do-wells.”
League is nothing but a story. Others will tell you it was a
The Metropolitan Police Service Criminal Investigation “League” of two, thwarted by the crime solving duo of Mr.
Department, or CID, the first criminal investigation depart- Holmes and Dr. Watson. Only a truly rare person can tell
ment, was set up in April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent. the truth about the Red Headed League. 
Originally it was only responsible to the Home Secretary,
The real Red Headed League was founded in 1875 in Boston,
but since 1888 it had been under the authority of the Met-
Massachusetts. Patrick Michael Sullivan, David O’Hirllihy,
ropolitan Police Commissioner. CID officers did not wear
Peter Flynn, and Kevin Muldoon, all of them red headed
a uniform, instead they were plainclothes officers. CID
men, formed the League for what could only be called
officers were involved in the investigation of major crimes
nefarious reasons. This criminal syndicate, which over
such as rape, murder, serious assault, fraud, and any other
the years expanded across the ocean and into Europe, was
crimes that require complex detection. They were respon-
initially created as an act of revenge.
sible for acting upon intelligence received and then build-
ing a case; from analysis of the initial incident through the In 1872, Patrick Sullivan, an accountant of modest means
arrest and prosecution of any suspects. at the First Mercantile Bank of Boston, was accused of
improprieties in his work and promptly fired as a result.
The success of the men of Scotland Yard did not go unno-
Patrick was an innocent man set up by his superior, David 5
ticed. Throughout the world, police forces were modeled
Patterson, to cover up embezzlement and misconduct on
after the Metropolitan Police. By the end of the 1890s
his part. After spending a year in search of proof of his in-
uniformed and organized police forces could be found in
nocence, Patrick Sullivan’s efforts proved fruitless. Because
nearly every major city.
he could not prove his innocence, and felt his life was de-
Some of Scotland Yard’s most famous investigators include stroyed by the acts of David Patterson, Patrick turned his
Inspector George Lestrade, who consulted with Sherlock energies to destroying the life of his tormentor.
Holmes on a number of cases; Detective Inspector Fred-
Sullivan recruited his friends O’Hirllihy, Flynn, and Muldoon
erick Abberline, who headed up the dreadful Whitechapel
to help in bringing his revenge upon David Patterson, and
Murder investigations; Inspector Montgomery Pettiman,
so the Red Headed League was born. After quite a lot of
who broke the horrific case of Sweeney Todd, but was
discussion and planning, it was decided that Patterson
unable to capture him; and Lady Molly Robertson-Kirk,
should suffer a similar fate as did Sullivan -- to be found
the first female detective in the Metropolitan Police.
guilty of a crime he did not commit and to not be able to
prove his innocence. Over the span of several years, Flynn
International Criminal and Muldoon worked their way into the confidence of David
Patterson. Flynn began working as a clerk for Patterson

Police Organization under the name Thomas O’Hara. Muldoon, as Douglas

O’Toole, became part of Patterson’s social circle, meeting
him at clubs, the theater, and the opera. Douglas O’Toole
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) is
was soon the close confidant of David Patterson, and they
the worldwide, nongovernmental police agency that will
were often seen together about town.
in later years become known as Interpol. It is a clearing
house for information, furnishing member nations with With Flynn and Muldoon supplying them with informa-
data on criminals, unidentified bodies, stolen property, tion, Sullivan and O’Hirllihy crafted a subtle plan to destroy
etc. Founded in 1923 to reduce international crime, the David Patterson’s name and his life. In 1786, on the Monday
ICPO deals strictly with international crimes - most revolve after Easter, it was discovered that the First Mercantile
around smuggling, narcotics and counterfeiting - but is Bank of Boston had been robbed over the weekend.
strictly forbidden to meddle in political crimes such as Someone had entered the bank and absconded with nearly
espionage and terrorism. fifty pounds of coins and gold ingots valued at more than
$20,000. Careful investigation of the banking house re-
Original founder countries were France, Belgium, Germany,
vealed a muddied handkerchief belonging to David Pat-
Hungary, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands,
terson in the bank’s gold storage room. A search of Pat-
Yugoslavia and Switzerland. Great Britain doesn’t join until
terson’s home, much to his surprise, revealed detailed
1928, and the United States doesn’t join until 1938.
written plans of the break in, and a small handful of gold
Unlike most law-enforcement agencies, ICPO agents do coins. It was also shown that Thomas O’Hara was hired
not make arrests themselves, nor do they detain criminals. by Patterson and was working under an assumed name,
Instead the agency works as a liaison between the law-en- though his real name was not in the records.
forcement of member countries, helping to co-ordinate
105
 Pulp Fantastic
Patterson strongly professed his innocence, claiming he debased and cruel. In the intervening centuries, the Black
and Douglas O’Toole spent most of the weekend togeth- Scorpion Society became the Tong of the Black Scorpion,
er at O’Toole’s home. When the constables went to Mr. a by-word for ruthlessness and terror.
O’Toole’s home, they found it empty, and the owner’s
The Tong emerged from the shadows again in the 1890’s
whereabouts unknown. With the mountain of evidence
in London, England, where they were implicated in the
piled against him, David Patterson’s life and name were
kidnapping and murder of several young women. When
in ruins. His protestations of innocence fell on deaf ears.
that branch of the Tong was broken up by the actions of
In a fit of melancholy, David Patterson took his own life
an unconventional Scotland Yard detective, the survivors
rather than suffer the punishment of others.
relocated to the USA, where they built up the Tong again
Many would think that this would spell the end of the Red by hiring themselves out as muscle to masterminds.
Headed League, but that wasn’t the case. The members of
The Tong of the Black Scorpion is governed by a strict
the League, flush with their ill-gotten wealth, found they
code of secrecy and obedience, maintained through terror
rather enjoyed their more nefarious ways. They stayed
tactics and ruthless enforcement. Betraying the organi-
together, developing new means of acquiring wealth at
zation normally results in execution by the monstrous
the expense of others. Adding additional members as
“Death of a Thousand Cuts” or banishment to one of the
necessary, the League expanded until they numbered 500
Tongs “hell chambers” - subterranean cells where mis-
members. The “President” of the League, Patrick Sullivan,
creants are slowly and horribly tortured to death in a
grew truly wealthy during the next 15 years, and upon his
variety of diabolically creative ways.
death the leadership of the League went to the son of Peter
Flynn, Frederick Flynn. The Tong of the Black Scorpion is generally feared by other
Triads and Tongs, as their members are considered savages
Over time, the League expanded and continued their elab-
with no fear of death or injury. The traditional sign of
orate crimes of subterfuge and larceny. Flynn diversified
warning from the Tong – a dead scorpion pinned to ones
the League, getting them involved not only in complex bank
door with a slim dagger – is considered by most to be
robberies, but blackmail, extortion, and selling secrets to
tantamount to a death sentence, as the Tong has a repu-
the highest bidder. The true secret of the League is that
tation for being able to eliminate its enemies no matter
each member only knows a small number of members. You
how well protected they may be.
cant reveal a secret if you don’t know it. That’s what leads
the League to be so successful year after year. Tong members can usually be identified by a tattoo of a
scorpion somewhere on their body – most often on the
In pulp fantastic, the League is a great foil for a group
sole of the foot. While they prefer to use bladed weapons,
of adventurers. Secretive, moderately powerful, and spread
Tong assassins are proficient in the use of firearms, bows,
out enough to make them a hard target to eliminate. This
GAZETEER

thrown weapons and even explosives. While most crim-

is what a recurring villain is meant to be.
inal Tongs and Triads are business organizations that
prefer to use intimidation and bribery, the Tong of the
The Tong of Black Scorpion seems to enjoy violence and bloodshed for
its own sake. Most recently, the Tong of the Black Scorpi-
on seems to have fallen under the leadership of the dreaded
the Black Scorpion Siwang Lung – the so-called “Death Dragon” - and his
daughter, the lovely but deadly Du Kai Hua or “Poison
The first recorded mention of the Tong of the Black Scor- Blossom”.
pion – then simply the Black Scorpion Society – is in 14th
note: A “Tong” in Chinese can mean group, organization,
Century China, as an anti-Manchu resistance movement
association, club, etc. Most Tongs are perfectly legitimate
during the Qing Dynasty, while mythology places their
business organizations, rather like the Freemasons or the
origin after the burning of the southern Shaolin Temple by
Rotary Club. Assuming that every Tong they come across
one of the five survivors of the battle. Most likely a schis-
is a criminal gang or evil cult could land player characters
matic offshoot of the White Lotus Society, the Tong of the
in a lot of hot water.
Black Scorpion was originally a political and philosophical
society who espoused a form of nihilism and found solace
in the worship of the “Eternal Mother of Shadows”; a face-
less female deity who gathered her children to her beyond
The Tsang-Chan
death. The Society became a symbol of Chinese resistance The Tsang-Chan are a diminutive tribe of nomadic hunters
to the rule of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. Outlawed, the from the dense jungles of mountainous Central Asia.
Society went underground, funding its resistance activities Shunned and loathed by their neighbors, this secretive
through petty crime, extortion and terror. people are almost unheard of beyond the immediate area,
but since their introduction to Western explorers in the
Over the years, the acts of resistance became less and
mid-19th Century they have established small communi-
less important to the Society, who instead began to relish
ties in almost every corner of the globe.
the rewards of crime. As the Society transformed into a
fully criminal organization so the religious aspect turned Physically, the Tsang-Chan appear to be of East-Asian/
darker, twisting in on itself until it became something Mongol stock, with physiques and culture remarkably
106
 Organizations & Secret Societies
similar to the head-hunter tribes of the Amazonian basin. transport or sale of alcohol illegal. Designed to promote
In their native lands they are ferocious warriors and public health and morals, in truth Prohibition ushered in
stealthy hunters, who use body modification (ritual scar- a golden age for organized crime as the chief purveyors
ring and piercing) as symbols of rank and social position. of bootleg alcohol. In particular, then Mafia profited, with
Tsang-Chan society is apparently male-dominated, with the enormous financial boost transforming small crime
their women very rarely seen and out-numbered by the families into vast criminal empires based on the often
men by nearly ten to one. violent black market in alcohol.
The Tsang-Chan, despite being despised by other local The Mafia is divided into regional “families”, with each
tribes and attacked at every opportunity, seem to have family dominated by a Don or mob boss. The Don will
thrived during the early years of the 20th Century, spread- attempt to insulate himself from his soldato (soldiers) and
ing to Europe and North America and forming tightly-knit any criminal activity by passing orders through an under-
communities. It was their secretiveness and reluctance to boss, consigliere or capo. Initiation in to the family is
talk to strangers that caused the Providence-based pulp controlled by the boss, underboss or consigliere, while
author Howard Philips Lovecraft to base his fictional Tcho- the boss can promote or demote family members at will.
Tcho on them. Like their fictional counterparts, the Tsang-
Mafia crime families usually have the following structure;
Chan have been accused of cannibalism and of the worship
of dark gods, though there is little evidence to support Capo di tutti capi: The “Boss of All Bosses” or “Godfather”,
this. One particularly outlandish myth accuses them of this is the title given to the top Mafia boss, the head of the
being creatures only partly human, who must partake of most powerful crime family. In later years, this role will
human flesh to retain their human form. Another infers be replaced the the “Commission”.
that they are the servants of things beyond time, led by
inhuman magician-priests who come from a future dom-
inated by a savage empire in which humans are bred like 5
cattle for food.
What is known is that the Tsang-Chan, with their short
stature, high agility and traditional hunting skills, make
excellent assassins. As such they are frequently found in
the employ of villains and criminal organizations as en-
forcers and torturers. By the time World War II breaks out,
a large number of Tsang-Chan can be found working for
the notorious Japanese biological warfare organization,
Unit 731.

The Mafia
The Mafia is a name given to the many and various cul-
turally-based organized criminal societies, the most well-
known of which is the Sicilian Mafia or “Cosa Nostra”
(“Our Thing”). Mafias typically use the threat of violence
to practice a variety of crimes, including; extortion, coun-
terfeiting, fencing, murder, robbery, protection racketeer-
ing, fraud, loan-sharking, prostitution and illegal gam-
bling. Mafia crime families are normally bound together
by a code of silence (Omertà) to protect the organization
from outside interference and infiltration.
The American Mafia, also known simply as the Mob or
the Syndicate, is primarily an Italian-American crime
society. With roots in the Sicilian Mafia, the organization
emerged amongst Italian immigrants in the Lower East
Side of New York and other major port cities on the East
Coast of the US during the late 19th and early 20th Century.
During the early 1920’s, after Benito Mussolini and his
National Fascist Party took control of Italy, waves of fleeing
Italian immigrants arrived in the United States, including
members of the Sicilian Mafia fleeing Mussolini’s crack-
down on organized crime. Their arrival coincided with
Prohibition; the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amend-
ment to the US Constitution, which made the manufacture,

107
 Pulp Fantastic
Boss: Also known as the capofamiglia, capo crimini, rep- picture book about the Franco-Prussian War among his
resentante or Don, this is the title given to the leader of a father’s belongings. He began to develop German nation-
crime family. alist ideal at an very early age, and after losing most of his
siblings and his father in childhood, he drifted and tried
Underboss: Sometimes referred to as the “capo bastone”,
unsuccessfully to become an artist. Forced into a life of
this is the boss’s second-in-command. He oversees the
menial labor, Hitler left Austria and moved to Munich,
activities of the soldiers and ensures that the profits from
where he was living at the outbreak of the Great War.
the family’s criminal activities flow to the boss. In the
event of the boss’s death or incarceration, the underboss During the war Hitler served as a dispatch runner and
may take control of the family until a new boss is appoint- was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross in
ed. 1914 and 1918. He was wounded at the Somme and in 1918
was temporarily blinded in a Mustard Gas attack. While
Consigliere: The consigliere is a combination of advisor,
recovering in hospital, he learned of Germany’s defeat.
counselor and “right-hand man” to the boss of a crime
Embittered and believing the Germany had been defeat-
family. Though ranked third in the crime family, the con-
ed from within by Marxists, civilian leaders and subver-
sigliere has no capos or soldiers working for him.
sives. Wanting to stay in the army for as long as possible,
Capo: Also known as a caporegime, captain, skipper or Hitler volunteered to infiltrate the Deutsche Arbeiter-
“crew chief,” the capo usually oversees a crew or borgata partei in a bid to quell political unrest. While attending
of ten soldiers, though in recent years he may oversee as meetings he was attracted to their anti-Semitic, nation-
many soldiers as he can efficiently control. Each capo alist, anti-Marxist ideals and ended up joining the party
reports directly to the underboss, who gives him his au- for real.
thority. The capo is normally responsible for carrying out
In 1920, the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei changed its name to
murders on behalf of the family and runs the day-to-day
the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Na-
operations of his crew.
tional Socialist German Workers Party) or Nazi Party and
Soldato: The soldier, “button man,” “made man”, “wiseguy” adopted the symbol of a black swastika – formerly a symbol
or “goodfella” is the most frequently encountered level of of good in Indian religions – on a white circle against a
gangster. Each soldato must have taken an oath of silence red background, as designed by Hitler himself. Propelled
(and usually have killed someone) in order to be considered by his skills as an orator, Hitler was appointed Fuhrer
“made.” (leader) of the Party in 1921. Under Hitler’s leadership the
party membership swelled, and they recruited their own
Picciotto: A low-level soldier, this is little more than a
group of thugs, the Sturmabteilung or Brownshirts as
disposable thug used for the day-to-day work of threats,
protection from rival parties.
beatings and intimidation.
GAZETEER

In 1923, Hitler and his Brownshirts, along with other mil-

Associate: Sometimes known as a “giovane d’onore” or
itant reactionaries attempted to seize power from the
man of honor. An associate is an employee of a crime
Republic, but were unsuccessful. In 1929, Hitler was sen-
family that is not actually a member.
tenced to five years in prison, but was released after only
nine months. While imprisoned Hitler drafted the initial
The Nazis chapters of what would become his book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle), laying down the basic framework of what the
In the years following the Great War, Germany was a Nazi Party would become.
democratic Republic, suffering terrible political and
By proposing a society built on the principles of racial
economic instability. The reparations demanded by the
purity and strength, governed by an elite ruled by Hitler
victorious allies against Germany crippled the country,
himself, the Nazis created a political platform that ap-
leading to mass unemployment and a vast number of
pealed to deep-seated elements within the national psyche.
angry, disaffected veterans. One such veteran was Adolf
However, they still failed to make political headway, with
Hitler.
poor election results keeping them in a minority in the
Much of the political instability was caused by the infight- Reichstag. In times of economic prosperity, it was hard for
ing of groups of political extremists, one of which was the the people to take the Nazis seriously. Despite this, party
relatively minor Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the German membership grew steadily, and the party gained funding
Worker’s Party. In reality the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei was from industrialists who hoped to use the Nazis against
little more than the political arm of the Thule Society socialists and communists. Strengthening his hold on the
(Thule-Gesellschaft), a right-wing occult secret society party, Hitler formed a personal body-guard, the Schutz-
with a focus on racial purity, Aryan mythology and an- staffel, also known as the SS or Blackshirts.
ti-Semitism. Despite having a band of willing thugs to use
The Wall Street crash of 1929 gave the Nazis their oppor-
in battles against other extremists, the Deutsche Arbeit-
tunity, when desperate American investors recalled their
erpartei was sliding into obscurity by 1919 for the lack of
loans from Germany, crippling an economy that depend-
effective leadership.
ed on them. Banks collapsed, manufacturing and exports
Born in Austria in 1899, Adolf Hitler was the fourth of six dried up, and within three years over a quarter of the
children who became fixated on warfare after finding a German population was out of work. Losing faith in their
108
 Pulp Fantastic
government, the people turned to the extremist parties.
By 1930, the Nazis had become the second largest political
The Gestapo
party in the Reichstag, and by 1932 they had a majority, From 1933 onwards, within Nazi Germany dissent was
despite the Communists making tremendous gains. dealt with by agents of the state secret police, the Geheime
Staatspolizei or Gestapo, under the leadership of Heinrich
Alarmed at the prospect of a Communist revolution, busi-
Himmler, leader of the SS. The Gestapo began a steady
ness interests put their support in Hitler, encouraged by
program of sending Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and
his vocal condemnation of the Communists. In 1933, Hitler
anyone else they found politically, religiously or racially
was invited to become Chancellor of Germany, and fol-
“undesirable” to concentration camps under the control
lowing the death of President Von Hindenburg managed
of the SS, where they were subject to medical experimen-
to concentrate full legislative power in his hands. The oath
tation, starvation and execution. The Gestapo was con-
taken by army officers was changed to swear allegiance
sidered to be above the law. According to the principles
to Hitler personally, and Hitler himself took the title of
of the Reich, as long as they did the will of the Fuhrer,
Führer und Reichskangler (Leader and Reich Chancellor
anything that they did – up to and including murder and
and Supreme Commander-in-Chief), officially beginning
torture – was perfectly legal.
the Third Reich.
The Gestapo maintains a network of spies and informers
With the Nazi Party in complete control of Germany, the
to ensure compliance with the Nazi regime. School chil-
entire population was subject to Nazi indoctrination.
dren are encouraged to inform on their parents and neigh-
Citizens were encouraged to report those who they felt
bors, and almost every German citizen lives in terror of
were not adhering to the new state directives. Those found
being denounced to the Gestapo and being made to “dis-
to be insufficiently “patriotic” in their outlook and behav-
appear”.
ior were harassed, imprisoned or executed.
The Gestapo is responsible for overseeing internal secu-
Everything in the country, from education to manufactur-
rity and counterintelligence, and are the organization
ing, was geared to a war footing. Schools became centers
most involved with the detection and arrest of foreign
for the promotion of Nazi ideology. Membership in the
spies and other agents. Up until the start of World War II,
Hitler Youth became mandatory. Libraries were purged of
the Gestapo is a plain clothes force, able to walk unnoticed
“non-Aryan thought”, teachers and lecturers were required
amongst the people.
by law to wear the swastika and swear allegiance to Hitler.
During the 1930’s, the Nazis began a program of German
re-armament, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles that
The SS
had ended the Great War, in preparation for their conquest The Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron) is a major para-
GAZETEER

of Europe. Hitler planned to annexe all German-speaking military organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi
countries first and ally with other Fascist states, such as Party, originally formed in 1920 as a guard unit known as
Italy under Benito Mussolini. German industry was sub- the “Saal-Schutz” (Hall-Protection) for the purpose of
verted to produce aircraft and armor under a cloak of providing security for Nazi Party meetings in Munich.
secrecy, and in 1936 the German Army marched into the Later in 1925, under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler,
demilitarized Rhineland, shredding the Teary of Versailles it grew from a small paramilitary group into one of the
when Britain and France did nothing to stop them. In 1938, largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich,
Germany annexed Austria with the popular support of responsible for many of the Nazis crimes against human-
the Austrian people. France and Britain protested, but did ity. During World War II the SS fielded more than a million
little else other than begin re-arming their own forces. By men and wielded almost as much political and military
the end of the decade, the Nazis had invaded Czechoslo- power as the Wehrmacht.
vakia and were beginning the invasion of Poland, the act Under Himmler, the SS carefully select its members ac-
which finally began World War II and ended the Pulp Era. cording to Nazi ideology and racial “science”, with the
As seen in countless movies, books and games, virtually intention of creating an elite order of superior men as a
no other group in history is better suited for the role of model for the Nazi vision of the master race. By the final
villain in a pulp fantastic campaign. They are perhaps stages of World War II, the SS come to dominate the Weh-
the greatest example of human evil in the last hundred rmacht in order to eliminate potential threats to Adolf
years, and thanks to their uniforms and philosophy, the Hitler’s power.
most distinctive. Suitable for almost any kind of adventure, As the part of the Nazi seizure of political power in Germany,
from straight-up action to espionage or bizarre super-sci- functions such as law enforcement were taken over by the
ence and occult horror, the Nazis can be found anywhere SS, and many SS organizations became replaced government
on the globe from the 1930’s onward. Even before that, agencies. The SS established and ran the SD (Security
groups of “proto-Nazis”, perhaps under the control of the service) and took over the administration of the Gestapo,
secretive Thule-Gesellschaft can be encountered, a terri- the Kripo (the criminal investigative police), and the Orpo
ble omen of the calamitous conflict that is to come. (the regular uniformed police). Legal oversight of the SS
and its membership was given to courts run by the SS itself,
effectively putting the SS beyond the reach of the law.

110
 Organizations & Secret Societies
A special division of the SS, the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the Yaktavian Bell of Agharta among others. Esoteric
(Death’s Head Units) was made responsible for the running scholars also suspect the Ahnenerbe of acquiring, either
and administration of Germany’s concentration camps, by trade or coercion, a great deal of magical and occult
and was tasked with implementing Hitler’s Final Solution, knowledge from a variety of sources, possibly including
leading to the eventual extermination of nearly 21 million the mysterious subterranean Vril-ya people, the Tsang-
people, including 12 million Slavs, 6 million Jews, 3 million Chan and the faceless inhabitants of the forbidden Black
Soviet prisoners of war and over 2 million ethnic Poles. Lamasery in Tibet. The organization has mounted expe-
ditions to sites of occult importance across the world and
In the years leading to World War II, the SS were tasked by
seeks relics of vanished cultures and civilizations, all
Hitler with the control and monitoring of the Third Reich’s
suspected by the Nazis of harboring traces of the “true
scientific program and can be found running any number
Aryan history of the world”.
of classified projects, including human experimentation,
nuclear research and advanced weapons technology. Curiously, the Ahnenerbe have been heavily involved with
the renovation and reinforcement of Wewelsburg Castle,
The Ahnenerbe creating a center of occult study and gathering together
one of the largest arcane libraries in the history of the
Founded in 1935 by Heinrich Himmler, the Ahnenerbe world. Some highly speculative reports even go as far as
is a Nazi research institute whose official remit is to suggesting that the Ahnenerbe is seeking the ability to
research the archaeological and cultural roots of the field Hexensoldat [witch-soldiers] and supernatural beings
Aryan race, and later to experiment and mount expedi- in the coming war. Some operatives are already rumored
tions to gather evidence supporting the Nazi theory that to have supernatural powers and weird technology, and
prehistoric and mythological Nordic populations had are researching ways to combine the two for the greater
once ruled the world. The name is derived from the so- glory of the Reich.
ciety’s original designation, the German Ancestral Her- 5
itage Study Society for Primordial Intellectual History
(Deutsches Ahnenerbe—Studiengesellschaft für Geiste-
surgeschichte).
The Mara Brotherhood
Where there is light, shadows fall. This universal truth is
While the Ahnenerbe has sections for the study and re- never more clearly demonstrated than with the Shadow
cording of Germanic folksongs and mythology, its secret Monks of the Mara Brotherhood. From their headquarters
primary focus is the acquisition and study of occult knowl- in the dreaded Black Lamasery of Agharthi, the Shadow
edge and artifacts for the Reich. Over the years it has Monks subtly spread the cause and worship of Evil across
mounted expeditions with the intent of securing the Holy the world in the name of Enlightenment.
Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, the Spear of Longinius,
The history of the Mara Brotherhood is obscure and
shrouded in secrecy. To this day, most Buddhists deny
there is any such thing, though whether this is from shame
or ignorance is unknown.
What little is known of the Mara Brotherhood suggests
that their beliefs parallel some of the early Gnostic Chris-
tian sects, cults that rejected the physical world as the
imperfect creation of a false god or “demiurge” and en-
couraged the indulgence of their fleshly appetites. In a
similar way Mara Brotherhood reject the teachings of
Buddha as the path to Enlightenment, and instead embrace
the Mara or Buddhist principle of evil as the true light of
divinity. This curious twisting of belief has combined with
certain elements of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion of Tibet,
creating a hybrid faith that has little to do with either
parent religion.
Adherents of the Mara Brotherhood reject the illusion of
the world not by attempting to transcend it, as Buddhists
do, but by attempting to destroy it. They believe that once
the facade of reality is torn down, all of humanity will
liberate itself from the prison of flesh and ascend to a state
of oneness with a godhead that exists above and beyond
Nirvana. Paradoxically, the Mara Texts encourage follow-
ers to fully indulge their physical urges and appetites in
the belief that only by completely understanding the false
world around them can adepts fully grasp its unreality. To
one of the Mara Brotherhood, any act, no matter how vile,
111
is in some way holy. Evil in this world, as far as they are
concerned, does not exist. The murder of innocents simply
frees them from the flesh that much faster and gives them
another chance at life, in which they will surely see the
truth; that the world around them is a lie.
Members of the Mara Brotherhood practice many “magic
mantras”, cyclic humming chants that are said to help
re-shape the false world to match their desires – more
proof, say the Shadow Monks, of the unreality of the world
– and this practice is said to turn the tongues of the chant-
ers black or blue. Many practice forms of self-mutilation
and ritual scarification, harrowing the flesh to purify the
spirit within.
Though the Mara Brotherhood retains many of the trap-
pings of Buddhism, it is essentially a shamanistic religion,
with novices going on a vision quest while apparently
possessed by elemental spirits and ancestral shamans,
and experiencing an ordeal in the wilderness during which
they envision their repeated destruction at the hands of
spirits and daemons.
Members of the Mara Brotherhood (which consists of both
male and female acolytes) are characterized by their com-
plete lack of fear of death, their obvious enjoyment of the
pleasures of the flesh, and their contempt for the “unen-
lightened”. Though they indulge their appetites, they are
frequently expert martial artists, honing their bodies as
a way of increasing the depth of their understanding of
the illusory world they inhabit. Further, many of the senior
monks and abbots of the order have mastered a wide
variety of psychic powers, and some still practice what
can only be described as Tibetan black magic.
More disturbing is the Brotherhoods practice of using
the bodies of its enemies to create the entities they call
Kundalini Warriors. These creatures – whether they exist
or not – are reputed to be captured enemies whose inter-
nal Pranic energy flow is radically restructured through
an aggressive and unholy form of acupuncture. This
horribly painful, irreversible procedure is said to turn
the victims into mindless slaves, overflowing with bare-
ly-contained Pranic energy, effectively creating walking
psychic weapons of immense and terrifying power.
Like the Hindus and more orthodox Buddhist sects, the
Mara Brotherhood revere the swastika, though like the
Nazis they have inverted it, turning a symbol of life and
renewal into one of death and decay. It is perhaps this
shared symbolism that has led the Nazis and the Mara
Brotherhood to exchange information – by the 1930’s the
Fuhrer has authorized several expeditions to the forbidden
Black Lamasery of the Mara Brotherhood.
 Chapter 6
Playing The Game

I
f you’ve never played a role-playing game before, then one character is, or how dangerous a bomb is. It keeps
read this entire chapter. If you’re an experienced player, everyone on the same page, so to speak.
then you can skip the first half and go straight on to the
advanced techniques on page 123.
Rules are meant to be broken
Don’t let the rules slow things down. Everything in the
Why Roleplay? game can be accomplished with the same basic rule –
throw two dice, add Attribute + Skills. Most of the time,
You’ve probably played computer games that call them-
the Gamemaster will help you with these rules and how
selves ‘role-playing games’ before. The big difference
to use them, but don’t worry too much about following
between this game and those computer games is that we
everything to the letter. The rules are there to ensure
use imagination instead of glitzy graphics. The big ad-
everything runs smoothly, but if you pause in the middle
vantage is complete flexibility – you can do anything in
of a desperate chase to look something up, you’re going
a tabletop role-playing game. You create your own char-
to lose the flow and the suspension of disbelief.
acters and your own stories, and those stories can take
you anywhere. You play with your friends, sitting around Simply put, don’t worry about it. Run with it, and remem-
a table and using your imaginations, instead of relying ber, the Gamemaster is here to help and to keep things
on a computer game to do everything for you. You’re the running smooth.
ones who make and shape the story, and you’re limited
only by your own ingenuity and creativity. It’s collabo-
rative storytelling and open-ended adventure... and it’s
Don’t Cheat
immensely fun. On the other hand however, you shouldn’t cheat. Don’t
use out-of-character knowledge – just because you know
You don’t need to be an actor, or dress like your character, who John Sunlight is doesn’t mean your character does.
or be an expert on the Pulps to play this game. You just Don’t hide your dice rolls, or ‘forget’ to mark off a Story
need to stretch your imagination. Point. Cheating takes the fun out of the game. If it’s a really
crucial moment, and your character is looking like he’s
Why Use Rules? going to take a dip in the piranha tank, it’s not really your
place to cheat. Characters die, and you move on – you get
So, if this is ‘collaborative storytelling’, then why use rules a new character who may be even better than your last,
and dice? Can’t you just decide what happens? you never know. People die in the pulps – not often, but
they do. If you think you’re going to get killed, go out
The short answer is yes, you can just choose what happens, fighting or doing something suitably heroic. If you do
but the rules fulfill three very important purposes. something memorable and the odds were really against
Firstly, the rules give challenge and uncertainty. You can’t you, the Gamemaster will reward you with Story Points
just declare that your character outwits the minions, or other cool stuff for your next character.
defeats the mastermind and saves the day – you’ve got It doesn’t mean that cheating doesn’t go on in the game,
to do it within the rules of the game. You need to be lucky, but this is purely up to the Gamemaster. If a situation is
or else arrange events and gather resources so you’ll win dire, or if you’re about to uncover the villain’s plot way too
even if you’re unlucky. early in the story, the Gamemaster may fudge some rolls.
Secondly, the rules give structure. Collaborative storytell- He won’t tell you about it but any cheating done this way
ing sounds great, but it can fall apart into an argument or is for the benefit of the whole game. Having your charac-
get dominated by one person’s ideas. The rules provide a ters killed too early because you’ve done something silly,
framework for your story and make sure that all the char- or ruining the plot, will spoil the game for everyone, so
acters get an equal chance to shine. there may be some bending of the rules a little. It comes
with the territory. It won’t happen often, and the Game-
Thirdly, the rules work like a ‘physics engine’ for the game. master has the final say, but they’re the only ones who
They make sure that everyone can agree on how strong should be ‘cheating’.
 Pulp Fantastic

Creating Your Character Be imaginative. Don’t rely on the gm to come up with

everything. Instead of saying ‘I roll Science to work out
When making your character, think of how you’ll fit into what the gas is’, describe how you’re doing it; what sort
the group. Don’t hog the spotlight or come up with a of clues to do you find? What tools do you use? Come up
character who won’t play well with others. A big game with original approaches to problems instead of doing the
hunter who shoots every animal in sight might sound same thing over and over.
fun to play, but it will annoy the other players if your first Take the game seriously. By all means, make jokes, but
reaction to everything is to open fire. Moderate your ideas remember that your character is supposed to be a part of
to fit in with the other characters, toning them down if the game world. If you taunt the mobsters, expect to get
necessary. A big game hunter can be a fine character, and punched - lots. If you run down the street carrying an
you can get into fun arguments about whether or not a elephant gun, people will react to you in a very different
particular mutant creature from a villainous menagerie way to normal.
needs to be put down, as long as you’re willing to com-
promise and not always shoot first. Try to involve the other player characters in whatever
you’re doing. Unless it’s important, don’t keep secrets from
In most games, you should create your character after them or run off on your own all the time. Look for ways
talking with the other players, or even make creating to work together as a group, and find ways for the other
characters a group activity for the first game session. The player characters to use their skills and get spotlight time.
game works best if all the different player characters can
work together, but also play off each other in interesting Above all else – relax and have fun. Role-playing games
ways. are about exploring a mystery and telling a story with your
friends, and you can’t get that wrong.
Make sure your character is useful. Be specialized, but not
RULES

too specialized. For example, every group needs

TALK!
• Someone who’s good at fighting
• Someone who’s good at talking and bluffing If there’s one bit of advice we can give you, it’s to talk about
• Someone with science and research skills the game. Discuss it with the GM, tell him what you want
• Someone who can handle transport to see in the game. If you want more weird science, more
• Someone who can sneak around and spy on intrigue, more Eldritch Abominations or more Evil Master-
people minds, let the GM know. Talk to the other players, too –
(You can combine different roles, of course.) Don’t try to speculate on what’s going to happen next, make plans for
do everything yourself, but make sure you’re not com- future sessions, think about how your characters relate to
pletely focused on one thing. each other. Talk to people who are fans of the series – maybe
they’d like to join the game too. Good communication is
Come up with a back story and a personality for your vital to the health of a good game.
character. You don’t need to write a whole life story – just
one or two ideas is fine to start with. You can build on
that during play.

Playing Your Character Advanced Techniques

This section is aimed more at experienced players. Once
When playing the game, some people like to talk ‘in char- you’ve played a session or two, try putting some of these
acter’, while others just describe what their character says techniques into use.
and does. In practice, you’ll find yourself switching back
and forth depending on what’s happening in the game. If
you’re just dealing with a minor matter, like convincing Research & Investigation
some bystanders to clear the area before they get zapped A big part of any pulp fantastic game is investigation.
by Radium Men, then you can just give a vague outline of You’ve got to track down weird technology, the scientist
what your character says and roll the dice. If role-playing or the spy. That’s all research and investigation.
is the focus of the scene – say, you’re trying to persuade
another character from jumping into an raging river in Investigation games are all about finding and interpreting
pursuit of his nemesis – then it’s best to act out what your clues. You find clues by asking the right questions and/or
character says and does. using your skills. The gm may have a chain of clues set up
for you to follow, or he may expect you to piece together
Be dramatic, but not inappropriate. Big action scenes and what’s going on, but either way, the thing to do is to find clues.
dramatic confrontations are great, but build up to them. Ask questions, poke around and search for evidence and use
If you disagree with an non-player character, don’t jump your skills (especially Knowledge, Science and Technology)
straight to physical violence. Go from arguing to a shout- to analyze anything you find. Take risks to find clues – if
ing match to threats and then to physical violence. there’s a dangerous monster in a forest, then someone has
to go in after it, and that someone is you. If you’ve tracked
the Evil Mastermind to a secret base filled with fanatical
114
 Playing The Game
cultists, then the cultists are a challenge to be overcome, not character. If a player is sidelined by events, try to bring
a reason to give up. If you’re stuck, it’s because you haven’t them back into the game. For example, if a character is
found enough clues. (Remember, if you’re totally confused, severely wounded and doesn’t have the Story Points to
you can spend a Story Point to get a clue.) heal themselves, then either give them some of your Story
Points with an inspiring speech, or else find something
When questioning witnesses, remember that most of
for them to do that doesn’t rely on combat. A character
them will be confused, scared or angered by their expe-
with a broken leg could start researching the villain-of-
rience. Find out what they know by asking those ques-
the-week in the police file room.
tions, and then find a cover story to deflect further sus-
picion. Look for ways to approach non-player characters Disagreements and conflicts between player characters
and win their trust. are great and add drama, but don’t let inter-character strife
get out of hand. The main focus of the group should always
Some problems are to be solved in a single game session.
be on dealing with the problem at hand. Don’t go off on
Others are longer plot arcs that will take weeks or months
secret missions or sneak off on your own every session. If
to solve. The difference between the two will be clear in
your Group Framework is a military organization or some
play – if you’re making no progress on a mystery, and you’ve
other group with ranks, then those in charge shouldn’t
scoured the place for clues, then it’s probably a longer-term
abuse their authority, and subordinates shouldn’t always
plot that will take several sessions to unfold. The easiest
disobey. Lead, don’t dictate.
way to do this is to do some research about the area and
era in which you are playing.
Character Plots
Action Most game sessions are about the group, not individual
player characters. Character Plots are subplots that show
The fun parts of the story is getting to the place and dis-
off or develop some aspect of your character. The gm might
rupting the villains plan. In the pulps it rarely devolves
introduce some character plots for you based on your back
into a firefight, but this does happen sometimes.
story or personality, but you should also come up with 6
In most games, the player characters are fighting enemies your own ideas for character plots and suggest them to
that are roughly their equals. You might run into criminals, the gm.
terrorists, armed guards, insane cultists or other human
Character plot plots could include:
or human-like foes. But in pulp fantastic, that might
not always be the case. You might be investigating a mys- • Trouble with family members
terious island in the South Seas, populated by dinosaurs • Problems at home
and gigantic apes, or dealing with a mad scientist whose • Doubts about the group’s purpose
robot servants are 12 feet tall and weigh three tons each. • Conflicts that are best resolved between game
One punch or getting clipped by a bullet isn’t going to take sessions
your character out, but a snap of a dinosaur’s mighty jaws Your character plots may only get a short scene in each
or a blow from those wrecking-ball fists and you’re gone. game session, or only show up once every few games. The
If you try going toe-to-toe with something that’s much more you involve the other characters in your character’s
bigger, stronger, faster and nastier than you, you’re going plots, the more time your plots will get. Make interesting
to get badly beaten, if you’re lucky. complications for the group! Think of ways that your
character plots can bring in other characters or make
Guns help, but they don’t solve everything. Shooting
challenges for the whole team. Give your gm nasty ideas
someone – or some thing - attracts unwanted public and
– if you help the gm put your character through an emo-
official attention, and could potentially result in collat-
tional wringer, it’ll paradoxically be more fun for you.
eral damage.
Action scenes in pulp fantastic, then, aren’t about
hiding behind crates and taking pot-shots. You’ll need
Downtime
to get the bad guys away from the public and somewhere The game doesn’t have to stop just because you’ve finished
you can contain them. That means getting the minions, playing for the night. The game focuses on the exciting
robots, yetis, dinosaurs and great apes to chase you, it moments of your character’s life, when you’re out hunting
means using the environment, and treating powerful technology and materials for the Invisible College, MI7,
enemies as puzzles to be solved, not foes to be beaten or whatever organization to which you belong, but there’s
by force. more to the game than that. Between game sessions, you
can cover ‘downtime’ events with the gm. The usual
Working as a group method for doing this is via email. During downtime, you
briefly describe what your character is up when he’s not
Your characters are part of a team. Find ways to combine having adventures. We don’t mean ‘my character goes to
your skills and support each other. If you can, look for the shops, pays his rent, etc. – you can do interesting things
opportunities to bring other player characters in on the in downtime too, like research ongoing mysteries, pursue
action. Find ways to make them look cool. If you come up character plots, hone your skills or get into new sorts of
with a plan, make sure it relies on at least one other player trouble.
115
 Pulp Fantastic
Use Downtime to explore elements of your character that dominance. There are strange artifacts and weird tech-
haven’t come up in the game so far. For example, if you’ve nologies in the dark places of the world, things that make
got Friends in Academia, but none of the group’s adven- those who own them valuable, and your group isn’t the
tures have involved the university so far, then during only faction that knows about them. By investigating these
downtime you could visit your friends, establish their and the forces that want to exploit them, you’ve made
personalities for the gm, and maybe start a character plot enemies. Conspiracies are always long-term plots that will
that will bring them into the game. take weeks of game play to unravel. If you find a trace of
a conspiracy, investigate it as best you can, but remember
Downtime can also be used to advance character plots.
you’re not going to get to the bottom of it easily.

Conspiracies The best conspiracies are ones that intimately involve the
player characters. Give the gm plenty of juicy plot hooks
The world of pulp fantastic may be an exaggerated to use against you, and trust no-one…
and simplified version of our past, but that doesn’t make
it two-dimensional. It’s a complicated, complex place,
with myriad powerful forces and individuals working
behind the scenes, striving for resources, for power, for
RULES

116
 Chapter 7
Action!

T
his chapter covers all the rules you’ll need to play 4. Roll the Dice, Work Out The Result.
pulp fantastic. These rules are pretty simple – The player (or the gm) rolls the dice and
really, almost everything comes down to variations adds up the total of all the modifiers (At-
on the same basic formula. In every situation, you follow tribute + Skill + any applicable Traits +
these steps. the dice roll + anything else).
1. The gm describes what’s going on. The 5. Compare the Result to the Difficulty.
Gamemaster briefly describes where the If the result’s bigger than the Difficulty,
characters are, what they can see (and it’s a success; otherwise, it’s a failure.
hear, and smell) and what’s going on (as The player (or gm) uses the rules to in-
far as they know, anyway). terpret what happens next. In general,
the player can describe the results as
2. The players decide what they’re going
they wish, but everything’s subject to the
to do. The players choose what course of
gm’s approval.
action they’re going to try. Depending on
circumstances, the players may be able 6. Back to Step 1. The gm narrates the
to talk amongst themselves and careful- results of what the characters did (or failed
ly plan their next move (say, they’ve just to do), and the players get to react again.
found an entrance to the villain’s lair in Don’t ignore the rules – they exist for a reason. They’re
a building site and are discussing the best there to make the game more challenging and existing,
way to get to it without attracting atten- and to make sure that everyone’s on the same page. The
tion) or each player might have to make gm may decide to override the rules from time to time in
a snap decision on his or her own about unusual circumstances.
what their character does (a swarm of
clock-work bugs fly out of the lair! What
do you do!) The Basic Rule
3. Work out which (if any) rules apply. All the action in pulp fantastic is based around this
A lot of the time, there’s no need to resort basic system:
to the rules. If a character is just trying
to open a door, or talk to someone, or Attribute + Skill + Two Six Sided Dice = Result (try to
read some research notes, or drive safely match or beat the Difficulty of the task)
a murder scene, then there’s no need to Let’s break that down.
roll the dice. You only need to use the
rules if the action is tricky, dangerous, Attribute: Select the most appropriate Attribute for what
risky, under time pressure, or if some- the Character is trying to do. Trying to lift something?
one’s opposing the character. Then Strength is the one you need. Trying to work out a
scientific problem, or remember a key fact. That’s Inge-
If the gm decides the player does need nuity. Keeping your cool in the face of danger? Use Resolve.
to roll, then decide on the combination Skill: Next find the Skill best suited for the task. Are they
of Attribute and Skill that best applies. running for their lives? Having some Athletics Skill would
Traits and other bonuses may also come mean they could run faster and for longer. Having a good
into play. Animal Handling or Survival might help identify those
tracks, while shooting someone uses Marksman.
The gm sets the Difficulty for the roll. The
Difficulty is the target number that the It’s possible that no Skill applies in a situation, or that
roll needs to beat to succeed. the character doesn’t have the right skill. In that case,
the gm may permit the player to substitute another skill
at a penalty, or apply a penalty to the roll. See Unskilled
Attempts, below.
 Pulp Fantastic
The Result: Simply add up the value of the Attribute
EXAMPLES: BASIC ROLL you’ve selected, the Skill you have and any adjustments
Lord William “Wild Bill” McGommery is tracking a wounded from Traits, and the dice roll. If the total is equal to or
lion through the jungle. The GM asks Wild Bill’s player to roll higher than the Difficulty of the task, then the roll was a
to see if he can follow the trail. The GM decides that it’s Tricky success! Otherwise, it’s a failure.
to find the lion’s tracks amid the thick undergrowth, so the
Difficulty is 15. Wild Bill rolls Awareness + Survival + two Unskilled Attempts
six-sided dice and compares the total to the Difficulty. If his
Usually, attempting to do something that you have no Skill
total is higher, then he can follow the trail without any
in results in failure. You wouldn’t try to fix the wiring
problem. If his total is less than the Difficulty, he loses the
inside of a radio if you didn’t know what you were doing,
lion’s trail and cannot follow it.
and you wouldn’t try to perform surgery on someone with
Trait: Do any traits apply? If so, have a look at the Trait no medical training. However, in desperate times, you
description and see if it applies any modifiers to the roll. may have to try despite being untrained.

Dice: Roll two six-sided die, add them together and re- Even without a Skill you use the same formula as before.
member the number. Spending Story Points can add more Of course, without a Skill to add in there, the result is going
dice to this roll. to be lower, which reflects their lack of training, and in
most cases, trying to do something without any Skill could
actually make things worse.
WHICH ATTRIBUTE OR SKILL TO USE?
Any time you try to do something that you have absolutely no
In most cases, which Skill and Attribute to use are fairly Skill in, your roll suffers a -4 penalty. If you have a Skill that
RULES

obvious. However, in some cases, there may be two Attributes could help a little, but isn’t completely related, if the Game-
or Skills that could be used equally well. For example, let’s master approves you can try with a smaller penalty of -2.
say the group are trying to follow a wounded lion through
dense jungle. The lion has already mauled a couple of local Tricky tasks will have a high difficulty that will make
villagers, and our heroes want to capture it before it can do unskilled attempts almost impossible. Others, such as
more damage. Tracking is based on Awareness, but what’s firing a weapon without training, are possible though
the best skill? Survival, to follow the tracks and scrapes on without a Skill though the chance of actually succeeding
the ground? Animal Handling, to know that lions can climb will be slim.
trees? Science (Zoology) to recall that lions are pack animals,
and know that this injured animal will try to reach the safety EXAMPLE: UNSKILLED ROLL
of her pride? You could make an argument for all three.
Lord William McGommery is standing guard over an Evil
In this case, the player would choose whatever they’re better Mastermind’s earthquake device when it activates and starts
at, or the Gamemaster would choose whichever is more apt to pulse—it’s about to cause a quake and topple the city!
in their mind. If two Skills or Attributes are relevant, the Wild Bill’s player asks the GM if he can tell how much time
Gamemaster should keep the unused Skill or Attribute in he has before the device completes it’s warm-up and triggers
mind when deciding the outcome of the roll. You’ll see below the quake. The GM tells him to roll Ingenuity + Science. Wild
on the success tables (see page 120) that the results can Bill doesn’t have Science, so he’d normally be rolling Ingenu-
be interpreted in different ways depending upon the roll. If ity -4 (unSkilled penalty) + 2 dice. Wild Bill’s player points
the Gamemaster chooses, he can bring the unused Attribute out that he’s got Technology and a stethoscope, and the GM
or Skill into the result. agrees that Wild Bill can use the stethoscope to examine the
For example, if Runt is the one following the lion, his low device. Wild Bill rolls Ingenuity + Technology + 2 dice -2 to
Animal Handling score might mean he backs the wounded study the movement of the devices inner workings and es-
animal into a corner, causing it to become even more aggres- timate how long he has to deactivate it…
sive. If Wild Bill or Charlie McCoy had been the one pursuing
the lion, they’d have known better than to get too close.
The Gamemaster doesn’t need to bear this in mind all of the How a roll works
time, but it may be a great way to inspire cool additions to So you know how a roll adds up, but what do you need to
the action and plot. roll for, and what do the numbers mean? We’ll start at the
Using Two Attributes: Sometimes, two Attributes are equally beginning and decide what the character wants to do.
appropriate. Tremendous physical endurance could be mea-
sured by Strength + Resolve, for example. While most rolls Intent
should be Attribute+Skill+Trait, the GM can vary the compo- What are you trying to do? What are you trying to accomplish
sition of a roll on occasion. – and what risks are you willing to take to do so? What’s likely
to happen if you fail? Intent is simple to work out when a
character’s doing something specific and self-contained. If
a character’s intent is “I want to shoot the cultist guard before

118
 Action!
he sees that I am here,” then the consequence of failure is
that the guard will be able to attack the character freely. If EXAMPLE: DETAILED RESOLUTION
you say something like ‘I want to take a shot at the guard, Charlie McCoy is trying to persuade the manager of a night-
but I’m staying in cover and slamming the door before he club that he needs to evacuate immediately, but he has to
gets too close’, then you’re obviously unwilling to risk an convince him without telling him that there’s an earthquake
attack from the guard, so your chance of shooting him should machine upstairs. The GM decides that’s pretty tricky, and
be lower and the gm should set a higher difficulty. sets the difficulty at 21. Cliff’s player rolls Presence + Convince
Describe what you’re trying to do to the gm. Be descriptive against a Difficulty of 21.
and creative. Charlie has a Presence of 5 and a Convince of 4. If he fails the
roll by 9 or more (which will happen only if she rolls a 2 or 3,
Difficulty then he gets a Disastrous Failure, a ‘No, And...’ result. The
Whenever the characters have to do something that requires manager doesn’t evacuate the nightclub, feels that Charlie
a roll, the Gamemaster will determine the difficulty. This is a nut case and calls the cops.
is the number the player will have to beat to succeed with If he fails by 4-8, he gets a Bad Failure, a flat no. The manager
the task. The average human Attribute is 3, the average Skill refuses to listen to him.
is 2-3, and the average die roll is 7, so an average person
should be able to accomplish something with a difficulty If he fails by 1-3, then it’s a plain Failure, a ‘No, But’. The GM
of 12 most of the time. The table provides you with suggest- asks the players what the consequence should be. Charlie’s
ed difficulty levels, though the Gamemaster can adjust player suggests that maybe the manager doesn’t believe his
these to suit a particular situation. character, but has club’s bouncers check the exits.
If the player succeeds by 0-3, it’s a basic Success, a ‘Yes, But’
result. The manager agrees to shut down the club, but the
ODD NUMBERS evacuation will take almost an hour as everything is careful-
Don’t feel like you always have to use these numbers. If the ly switched off and locked down instead of being abandoned
task is harder than a Tricky, but not as difficult as a Hard, you in haste.
can set the Difficulty of the task at 16 or 17. The numbers on To get a result beyond a basic Success in this case, Charlie’s 7
the table are a guide, not set in stone. If you want your player needs to spend a Story Point for extra dice – the
characters to feel particularly heroic, you can reduce the highest result she can get without spending a point is a 21
Difficulty of their tasks to make it easier for them to succeed. (5+4+12).
If the result beats the difficulty by a 4-8, it’s a Good Success,
a ‘Yes’. The manager is convinced by Charlie’s story, and agrees
to immediately evacuate the club.
To get a Fantastic Success, Charlie’s player would need a total
of at least 30, which gives him a ‘Yes, And’ result.

TASK DIFFICULTY EXAMPLE

Really simple, automatic success. Opening a bottle of drink, using a telephone, walking down the
Really Really Easy 3
street, eating chips. (So simple, you shouldn’t even need to roll!)

Really Easy 6 Doing basic research in the library

Easy 9 Winding a clock, operating a radio, jumping a low fence,
Driving a car in traffic, shooting at someone, swimming in the sea, uncovering a useful but not secret
Normal 12
fact.
Tricky 15 Driving at speed, shooting a moving target, climbing a building
Hard 18 Picking a lock, lift twice your own weight, treat a gunshot wound
Climb a sheer cliff without ropes, charm your way into a government facility, escape from rope
Difficult 21
bonds.
Very Difficult 24 Recall a whole speech from a Shakespeare play, fix a broken gizmo, fly a plane in turbulence
Hit a very small target with a slingshot, break into the Division 4 offices, slide down an elevator
Improbable! 27
cable using only your boots and your pistols.

Nearly Impossible! 30 Climb a skyscraper in the rain, shoot a small target in an adjacent room without looking.

119
 Pulp Fantastic
How well have you done?
WHEN NOT TO ROLL Have a look at how far above (or below) the Difficulty the
Result was. The wider the difference between the Difficulty
There are times to pick up the dice, and times when you
and your Result, the better you’ve done. The easiest way to
should leave them sitting on the table. Don’t bother to
remember this is to think of the question “Did you Succeed?”
roll if...
As the result gets better and higher, you progress through
It’s a trivial task: Don’t call for Transport checks to drive down “Yes, But” to “Yes,” and finally “Yes, And.” Think again of
to the shop, or Technology checks to send an email. Roll the what your Intent was (see above, page 118) as this will help
dice only when a task is difficult or important. when it comes to seeing how well you’ve succeeded.
Success is vital: If the game can’t continue until the players Sound odd? Worry not. Check out the examples below
succeed at a task, then don’t make them roll for that task. and you’ll soon see what we mean and how this works.
Just say they succeed and move on. Don’t make the players
The same should also go for failures. Sometimes, if you’re
roll Awareness to spot some tracks in the forest if there is no
attempting something you’re really not skilled for, you could
other way for them to find the next part of the adventure.
make matters worse just by trying. Look to see how far under
Failure is boring: If you can’t think of a consequence for failure, the Difficulty you failed by. The lower your result, the worse
don’t roll. There’s no point in, say, making the players roll things could get. Again, think of what your initial Intent was,
Athletics to climb over a wall if they can keep trying until as this will give you ideas of how badly things went.
they succeed. Either make the wall a dangerous challenge (if
Note that attacks use a special variation on this table to
you fail, you take damage) or put a time limit on the task (if
work out damage.
you fail, the spy vanishes off over the rooftops).
RULES

You’ve Already Rolled: Don’t keep rolling for the same task Cooperation
unless the circumstances have changed. For example, if a
Sometimes a task is so tricky or complicated; the characters
character is trying to sneak around a pack of hungry wolves,
are going to have to call in some help. Many hands make
then the player only rolls Coordination + Subterfuge once,
light work and all that. Of course, some people can just get
instead of rolling to sneak past each wolf.
in the way and make a mess of things. However, if a group
of characters are working on something together, there’s a
good chance that they’ll be able to accomplish it.

AMOUNT
EFFECT
ABOVE DIFFI- RESULT
“DID YOU SUCCEED?”
CULTY
Yes, and... something unexpected happened as a result of your astounding success. You get what you
wanted, and something extra happens that you and the Gamemaster decides.
You shoot the rabid wolf, and its pack starts devouring it instead of chasing you
You crack the German Embassy safe, and hide your traces so well they’ll never know it was opened
9+ Fantastic
You convince the farmer not to ask questions, and he also lets you use his farmhouse as a base of op-
erations
You work out that the bacterial infection is spreading through the water supply, and find a way to treat
it.
Yes! You’ve managed to do what you wanted. If the character’s result is 4-8 above the difficulty, they’ve
certainly accomplished what they wanted, and pretty well.
You shoot the rabid wolf squarely in the chest
4-8 Good You crack the German Embassy safe
The farmer buys your story about an escaped tiger
You put the data together and notice that everyone who fell sick drank tap water from the office
building
Yes, but... something may not have gone as well as you’d hoped. You succeeded, but only just. It was a
close call, but you managed to scrape through. You’ve succeeded but the Gamemaster may add some
sort of complication or secondary problem.
You wing the rabid wolf, but your gun’s out of ammo
0-3 Success You crack the German Embassy safe, but trip an internal alarm
The farmer buys your story about an escaped tiger – but he told a friend down in the village pub, and
now you’ve got a news hound following you around
You work out that the bacterial infection is spreading through the water supply, but unfortunately, you
realize this five minutes after making yourself a cup of coffee from the office canteen...
120
 Action!
In such cases, there’s usually someone who’ll take the lead. could help with no Science Skill if they were a knowledge-
Hopefully, they should have some Skill in what’s being able veterinarian (Medicine skill). If, however, someone
attempted, and are usually the most up to the task. Every- insists on helping who doesn’t have a fitting Skill, it may
one else mucks in and tries to help this leader to accomplish be that their helping slows things down or even hinders.
their task. The helpers, if they have a suitable Skill that
could help, add +2 each to the leader’s attempt. The Gam- Taking Time
emaster may put a limit on how many people can help in
Another way to deal with incredibly hard tasks is to take
any given circumstance. For example, only two or three
your time and work at it over a period of time. Of course,
people could operate on someone in a hospital theater,
this isn’t possible in every instance, but usually when it
and only three or four people could physically grapple
comes to research, investigating something, or very
another person without getting in each other’s way.
complex scientific experiments or projects, taking your
As a general rule, limit the Cooperation rule to four helpers time and working at it can help.
maximum except in extreme circumstances (twelve people
The Gamemaster should have some sort of idea of how
are trying to lift an overturned truck off of a trapped sur-
long something would take to complete. Imagine the
vivor - this works as it’s physically possible for that many
character actually doing it, and try to guess how long
people to “muck in!”).
something would take. If it’s a very complex task, such as
Notice how we said “suitable” Skill, not necessarily the a series of experiments or building a complex device, it
same Skill. After all, if you’re working on a special tran- should take hours (if not days or longer for a really complex
quillizer formula that works only works on canines, you task that’s not vital to the story plot). If the character spends
could have a good Science (chemistry) Skill, but someone longer than necessary on a task, taking their time and
being extra careful, they are more likely to succeed. Taking
EXAMPLE: COOPERATION twice as long adds a +2 bonus to the roll, three times as
long adds +4, and so on up to a maximum bonus of +10.
Lord William McGommery is searching an abandoned
warehouse for an escaped spy. Normally, this would be a The gm may prefer to break up a long task into a series of
straight Awareness + Survival roll, but Wild Bill has a team skill checks, with each one adding new potential compli-
of three government agents with him. His player suggests cations. For example, if a character is working on decipher- 7
that the team can assist him in the search, and the GM ing the secrets of a piece of weird technology, the gm could
agrees, offering Wild Bill a +6 bonus to his roll because of have her make one Technology roll per game session, with
the three agent’ help. each one possibly affecting the next roll (‘You fail to work

AMOUNT RESULT EFFECT

UNDER DIFFICULTY “DID YOU SUCCEED?”
No, but... It could have been worse. You failed, and didn’t manage to achieve what you hoped,
but it wasn’t a horrible failure. The Gamemaster may allow you to gain something out of the
encounter, but it may not be what you’d expected.
You didn’t find the data on the German Archives, but you did manage to get out without
being detected.
1-3 Failure
The farmer obviously doesn’t believe your story about an escaped lion, but he takes one look
at your truck full of guns and decides to take an early lunch. He’s out of your way for a short
time.
You are not sure how the files are being stolen, but you do know they are being physically
taken.
No! You’ve certainly failed at the task, but it could have been worse.
You miss the rabid wolf, and it’s coming for you!
You failed to crack the German Embassy safe, and the guards may know you’re here.
4-8 Bad
The farmer refuses to believe that there’s an escaped lion on the loose. He keeps working on
his farm, complicating your efforts to track down the spy network.
You’ve no idea where this bacteria is coming from.

No, and... something else has gone wrong. Not only is the failure terrible, but things may have
worse consequences.
You miss the rabid wolf with your burst of fire, and you run out of ammo.
9+ Disastrous
You fail to sneak into the villain’s base, not only that but you have set off an alarm and you
have about five minutes before his minions come to find you.
The farmer suspects you’re actually trying to rob him, and threatens you with a shotgun.

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 Pulp Fantastic
TIME TAKEN MODIFIER TIME TAKEN PENALTY
×2 +2 1/2 -2
×3 +4 1/3 -4
×4 +6 1/4 -6
×5 +8 1/5 -8
×6 +10 1/6 -10
out how the gadget works, but you think it’s got something
to do with light’ See also the Invention rules on page 159.
Complications
If you wish to add more realism or detail into a Conflict,
Similarly, halving the time it would normally take to do
certain environmental factors can be taken into account.
something means the roll receives a -2 penalty, and so on,
If the task at hand is tricky or complicated, or there are
just like taking extra time.
conditions such as rain, darkness or being hurried, the
Gamemaster can have a look at the examples provided
EXAMPLE: TIMED ROLL below and apply a modifier that seems suitable. These are
Runt is trying to open a safe in the office of the German just a guideline, and Gamemasters should feel free to
Ambassador to retrieve information about a Nazi spy-ring. modify the rolls as they see fit, though it makes for a
He wants to stay undetected by the guards, so he takes his speedier and smoother game if these modifiers are used
time. It would normally take him two hours to crack a safe sparingly.
this complex; if he takes twelve hours, that’ll give him a +10 Of course, modifiers should only be taken into account in
RULES

bonus to his roll. So, he’ll pull an all-nighter and do the job a Conflict only if one side alone is effected by it. If both
right. are effected equally, you don’t need to worry about this
Before beginning this safe-cracking marathon, he learns that sort of thing.
Charlie McCoy is in trouble and they need the location of the
EXAMPLE MODIFIER
spy-ring’s headquarters now. Runt decides to take ¼ the
normal time, which means a -6 penalty to his roll. Time to Characters have the element of surprise, or a head
spend some Story Points! start, or have innate knowledge of the environment,
+2
area or time period. Opposition is distracted or
confused.
Nothing is affecting the situation, or is affecting
EXAMPLE: CONTESTED ROLL all sides equally.
0
In a fortified redoubt in the Himalayas, Charlie McCoy and Poor lighting, in a mild hurry, target more than
Siwang Lung debate free will versus the need for humanity -1
20m away.
to find a strong leader or destroy itself. Both are trying to
convince the other, so it’s a contest of Resolve + Convince on Characters surprised by enemy, trying to do two
-2
both sides. Both roll Resolve + Convince + two six-sided dice. things at once, target is moving at running speed.
The highest result wins the argument. Bad lighting (dark, no moonlight or streetlights)
and opponent can see in the dark, panicked, trying
The loser will be swayed by the argument of the winner, but -4
to to three things at once. Trying to shoot at a
the losing player can spend Story Points (see page 135) to
specific part of the target (head, a hand, etc.)
ignore this compulsion.
Target more than 200m away or is a fast moving
-6
vehicle, trying to do four things at once.
Contested Rolls
Fighting in pitch blackness against an opponent
If you’re directly opposing someone else – say, in an argu- who can see or against a target out of sight, re- -10
ment or a chess match or a wrestling contest or trying to sisting when only just waking up.
deceive someone – then the difficulty is determined by an
opposed Skill Check, not by the Difficulty table. Both sides Multiple Opponents
in the conflict make a roll, and the highest Result wins.
If there are multiple people involved in a conflict, it can
Sometimes, both sides use the same Attribute + Skill combo. be easier to divide the bad guys into groups and use the
If two characters are wrestling, then they’d both roll Strength Co-Operation rules.
+ Fighting. If they’re both playing chess, then it’s probably
Awareness + Ingenuity. At other times, each side might use You can also use the Multiple Opponents rules to model
a different combination. For example, if Charlie McCoy is gangs of minions or packs of animals in combat. Instead
trying to use false papers to get past a guard, then that might of making an attack roll for every G-man backing up “Wild
use his Presence + Convince against the guard’s Awareness Bill” McGommery, just have each agent aid Wild Bill, so
+ Subterfuge. he makes a single attack roll with a huge bonus.

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 Action!

Combat & Extended Conflicts Doing: If you’re not talking, running or fighting the
enemy, you’re probably planning on doing something
The usual action rules cover most of the scrapes and that’ll help the situation. Characters act in the Doing
unlikely situations that player characters get into when Phase when their action involves something
chasing anomalies, but what about gunfights, car chases not covered by one of the other three Phases. Doing covers
and other running action sequences. In a situation performing tasks like repairing an engine, reloading a
where you’ve got characters acting and reacting to each weapon, forcing a lock, grabbing the idol from the pedes-
other, you need to use Action Rounds and the Extended tal or anything else that involves making a roll to complete
Conflict rules. a task that doesn’t involve Talking, Moving, or Fighting.
Each Action Round is a few seconds of time, during which Fighters: Finally, the people who choose to fight or shoot
each character can perform one action (and may also react take their turn. Characters act in the Fighting Phase when
to someone else’s action if they have to). they are attempting to cause harm to someone or some-
thing, either with a weapon or with their bare hands.
Intent Within each Phase, characters act in order of Coordination.
Firstly, everyone declares what they’re going to do, as per (If two characters have the same Coordination, then the
the usual action rules. one with the highest Awareness moves first; if they’re still
tied, they act simultaneously).
Sometimes, a character’s intent may be rendered void by
the actions of others who went earlier in the round. For
example, if two characters both announce they’re going Exceptions
to shoot at a gangster, and the first character to act kills As with everything, there are always exceptions to a rule.
takes him down with his attack, the second character’s In this case, it is creatures or characters with the Fast or
attack is pointless. A character may change intent in such Slow Trait. (see page 197 and page 202). Fast creatures
a case, but takes a -2 penalty to his roll (in effect, he’s re- always get to act first. If there’s more than one Fast creature
acting to himself – see below). present, they move in order of Coordination. This means
that most predators get to act before the player characters. 7
Action Phases Once all the Fast creatures have acted, proceed with the
Phases as listed above.
Action Rounds are divided into four Phases; Talking, Moving,
Doing and Fighting, in that order (this may seem counter-in- After that, Slow creatures act. These are slow-moving
tuitive to some players, but it accurately reflects the dramat- animals like domesticated animals, as well as drugged
ically satisfying way things happen in the Pulps, rather than creatures and most vehicles and environmental features.
the way they happen in reality…whatever that may be).
Characters roll and perform their actions
Next, actions are resolved in the following order.
When it’s their turn to go in the Action Round, it’s time
Talking: For those who prefer talking to fighting. Even for the characters to do their thing. In many cases, their
in the tensest of situation, diplomacy and persuasion (and intended action will be resisted in some way by their
sometimes out-and-out lying) can often be more effective opponent, whether this is arguing, convincing, seducing,
than weapons. Note that you don’t need to wait for this bluffing, punching, shooting or trying to mentally control
Phase to shout out a brief warning or speak a word of someone. Other times it will be a simple roll against the
command, but you do need to wait for this Phase if you’re Difficulty of their action, if they are doing something
going to be speaking at length (explaining something, with no resistance, such as running, fixing a gadget or
making an inspirational speech, persuading a confused defusing a bomb or if the target is completely unaware
foe to put down his weapon, etc.) The place can be explod- of the first attack.
ing or you could be held at gunpoint, but before anyone
starts shooting or tying you up, you get to say your piece. If the character’s actions are resisted by someone, there
will be a “Reaction” to determine how hard it is for the
Moving: Motion is the most direct form of Action. Running player to act.
from a threat, charging an enemy, diving for cover, leaping
into combat, swinging from a rope; all these occur in the Reactions - Resisting the roll
Moving Phase. If the movement carries the character from
one area to another, changes his situation, moves him more Instead of both sides rolling with their own intentions, and
than a few metres or requires a roll – it counts as an Action. the most successful one determining the outcome of the
Even if you’re sneaking into the villains hidden lair as quietly Conflict, the Extended Conflict breaks things down even
as possible, trying to avoid alerting his guards, you’re further, with each person getting to try to do what they
moving from one place to the next, and this Phase is when intend, and being resisted with a suitable Skill. To determine
you do it. Note that, as with talking, you don’t have to wait the Difficulty of the character’s roll, you first look at the
until the Movement Phase for minor movement. A pace or person they’re acting against, giving them a chance to react
two, sitting down, changing your posture – these are minor and to defend themselves against the action.
movements and can be done at any time.
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 Pulp Fantastic

WHAT ARE YOU USING?

Depending upon the actions of the characters, both attacker and defender, there are many combinations of Attribute and Skill that
can be used. Here are some suggestions:

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO SKILLS USED RESISTED BY

Arguing Presence with Convince Resolve with Convince
Seduce Presence with Convince Resolve with Ingenuity
Punch Strength with Fighting Strength with Fighting (if actively blocking)
Shoot Coordination with Marksman Coordination with Athletics (if dodging about)
Hide Coordination with Subterfuge Awareness with Ingenuity

Reactions are technically a form of action. If you’ve already you’re being shot at. You roll Coordination + Athletics,
taken your Action this round, then the first Reaction you but you only get a 3 on your dice roll. You’ve dodged, but
make is at a -2 penalty. Alternatively, if you’ve already had not very well. It’s probably better in that situation to roll
to React before you took your Action, then your Action again when the next guy shoots at you, in the hopes of
suffers a -2 penalty. getting a better Resistance.
You can take any number of Reactions in a round, but
Combat Complications
RULES

there’s a cumulative -2 penalty. You can only take one

Action in a round. We’ve mentioned a bit about modifiers to rolls depend-
ing on how tricky things are in the heat of battle, but to
You don’t have to react, but if you don’t, then you’re con-
make things easier for Gamemasters, here’s a summary
sidered to roll snake-eyes (double 1) on the dice roll.
of Combat and some suggested modifiers.
For example, Lord William McGommery is trying to slam
Movement: Rather than fiddle with precise numbers,
a door shut on a horde of cultists (his intended Action
we’ll keep things simple, and use semi-abstract zones
for the round), when a clockwork assassin bug (a Fast
called Areas. Most of the time the actual size of an Area
creature) drops on his face. At the same time Runt tries
isn’t important – in open ground, an area might be 3m x
to convince him not to shoot it as they need it intact to
3m, but when you’re moving through cramped sewers,
find an antidote to its venom. In order, Wild Bill makes
Areas are a lot smaller. If you’re in an aerial chase with a
one Reaction (Strength + Fighting) to hold off the bug,
fast-moving target, then the Areas might be 100ft x 100ft
one Action (Strength + Athletics) to shut the door (at a
or more.
-2 penalty, because it’s the second time he’s acted) and
finally Resolve + Convince (at a -4 penalty, for the third The gm should break the scene of the combat into a number
roll) if he wants to resist Runt’s persuasion. of areas. Take the lobby of a large downtown office building;
let’s assume that the big central area just through the main
Ongoing Reactions doors is four Areas, the stairs up to the mezzanine is another
Area, the mezzanine itself is another four Areas long, and
A lot of Reactions work for an entire Action Round. If
each of the offices off the central area is another Area.
someone takes a shot at you, and you dodge (using your
Coordination and Athletics to duck), then it’s just as hard You can move as many Areas as your effective speed. On
for any other bad guys to shoot you that round. Your re- foot, your speed is equal to your Coordination. So if your
sistance applies to all their attacks, too. Similarly, if you’re Coordination is 3, you can move 3 Areas on foot. Some
hiding, your Coordination + Subterfuge applies to all the creatures can move faster than their Coordination would
people looking for you. indicate.
Other Reactions only work against a single attack. If the Range: As we mentioned, most of the time combat is fairly
gm makes you roll Strength + Athletics to stay on your close. Combatants are usually in the same room. This means
feet when you get side-swiped by a car, then that resistance we don’t really need to worry about complicated modifiers
only works against one swipe – if another vehicle clips for range. Pistols and other handguns are usually designed
you, you’ll have to roll again. for moderately close combat, so they can only hit targets
up to 50m away. Rifles, and other weapons like this designed
The Gamemaster decides whether or not a Reaction sticks
for longer range combat so their maximum range is around
around for a whole round. In general, if the Reaction in-
500 metres. You can fire at targets that are outside of these
volves dodging or evading, it lasts for the whole round. If
ranges, but your roll will suffer a -4 penalty.
you blocked or parried, it applies only to that one roll.
Aiming: You could take your time and aim, especially if
Even if a Reaction is ongoing, you can choose to roll it
you’re targeting a specific part. This takes your Action in
again (applying the usual cumulative -2 penalty for doing
Round to aim, and you can’t do anything else (no dodging
extra stuff in an Action Round. For example, let’s say
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 Action!
or any Reactions). If you aim, you get to make a roll as if severity of their failure. For example, a weapon that nor-
you’d attacked normally (so you roll Coordination + Marks- mally does 3/6/9 damage would do 6/12/18 damage to
man). If you succeed in this roll, you get a bonus to your someone who failed to get into cover in time.
next attack roll. A success on the Aiming roll gives you a Firing full auto takes the entire Round; targeting a 45° arc
+2 bonus, a Good result gets you +4, and Fantastic gets you uses half a clip of ammunition and affecting a 90-degree
a huge +6 bonus. However, if you are attacked or interrupt- arc uses the entire clip.
ed in any way before taking the shot, this bonus is lost.
Suppression Fire: You can also use an automatic weapon
The Sharpshooter Trait helps with aiming. to force the other side to keep their heads down. Roll your
Targeting a Specific Body Part: You can aim for a spe- attack as normal. Anyone who’s not in cover gets attacked
cific location, such as trying to hit a soldier in the arm so as per the normal rules on automatic fire. Everyone who
they drop their gun, the roll is harder and there is a -2 is in cover doesn’t get hit, but must make an Awareness
modifier on their roll to hit. If the location is very small, + Resolve roll to resist your attack. Those who fail suffer
for example shooting at the pistol in someone’s hand, this a -2 penalty to their next action on a normal failure, a -4
modifier is increased to -4. If the player hits, they can penalty on a Bad Failure, and are just frozen in terror and
choose the Attribute that is reduced from the damage and can’t move on a Disastrous result.
aim to hit one Attribute hard rather than reducing a little
off of a few.
Cover: Hiding behind things is probably the safest bet when
the guns are firing. Cover provides two advantages - one is
that it is harder to hit a target that’s smaller to see, the second
is that the cover provides protection against injury. USING AREAS
Imagine how much of the character is visible and how Areas are a handy way of including tactical decisions in combat
much is behind cover. The more of the character that is without getting bogged down in precise measurements and
hidden, the harder it is to hit them. maps. The trick is to come up with a few interesting Areas in
each combat zone, and then have the players choose where 7
HOW MUCH IS BEHIND COVER? MODIFIER TO HIT they want to go.
1/3 (Low boxes, or kneeling) -2 modifier to hit
For example, if the characters are making their way through
2/3 (head & shoulders visible, target laying a crowded warehouse, looking for the escaped Nazi spy that’s
on the floor) -4 modifier to hit lurking in there. The warehouse might be broken into:
Shooting at someone who is behind some form of protec- • The open area around the main door (no cover, but it’s
tion reduces the amount of damage that actually hits them. close to the way out)
It’s all dependent upon what it’s made out of and how thick
it is. Some objects can only take so much damage for you • The maze of big crates (probably where the spy is hiding)
before it is destroyed and useless. Here’s a rough guide. • The pile of smaller crates (the characters can easily climb
up on that to hide)
ARMOUR DAMAGE IT CAN TAKE
TYPE PROTECTION BEFORE DESTROYED • The stack of barrels filled with chemicals (knocked over,
they might start a fire)
Wood 1 5
Brick Wall 10 50 • The walkway overhead (pretty safe)

Concrete Wall 15 70 • The stairs up to the walkway (very exposed)

Steel Wall 30 250 • The office at the back (small and cramped)
Body armor works the same way. Now, turn all that into Areas.
Firing Multiple Shots: You can pump the trigger of a • The open area around the main door (4 areas)
handgun, firing it repeatedly in a round. Each attack after
• The maze of big crates (8 areas)
the first incurs a penalty, usually -2 per previous attack.
• The pile of smaller crates (2 areas)
Automatic Weapons: Some weapons are capable of au-
tomatic fire, shooting a hail of bullets. If you’re caught in • The stack of barrels filled with chemicals (2 areas)
the open by automatic weapons fire, you’re almost cer-
• The walkway overhead (4 areas)
tainly going to be hit. You simply selects an area of up to
a 90° arc in his line of vision and shower it with bullets. • The stairs up to the walkway (1 area)
You then make a standard attack roll. Everyone in the area
• The office at the back (1 area)
gets a chance to dive for cover with a +2 bonus to the roll.
If anyone fails to dodge into cover then they take twice as
much damage as they usually would, depending on the

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 Pulp Fantastic
Big Targets: Monster, dinosaurs, vehicles and other over- EXAMPLE: COMPLEX COMBAT
sized objects are divided into several different size cate- Charlie McCoy, Runt and Wild Bill are in trouble. They were
gories. Importantly, if there’s a difference of more than chasing an escaped gorilla – when they blundered into a
one size category, then the bigger creatures have to use warehouse and interrupted a confrontation between armed
Coordination when making attacks instead of Strength. gangsters. One of the criminals assumed it was a police raid,
and pulled a gun. Time for combat!
Getting Hit
Everyone declares their actions. The gorilla is going to attack.
If an attack hits, then the victim takes damage. See Losing Charlie declares he’s getting everyone into cover. Wild Bill
a Physical Conflict, page 130. has his rifle ready and loaded with mercy bullets; he wants
to take a shot at the gorilla. Runt has no gun, so he chooses
to throw a rock at the angry gorilla in the hope of distracting
EXAMPLE: SIMPLE COMBAT it. The gangsters are all firing at Charlie.
Note: You should read the damage rules on page 130 before Now, onto actions. The gorilla is the only Fast creature present,
trying to follow these examples! which means it goes first regardless of its Coordination. It
Charlie McCoy’s going to punch one of the Crimson Claw’s leaps into the middle of the gangsters and lashes out at one
minions. First, we work out who’s going first – it’s determined of them. The GM doesn’t even bother rolling – she just declares
by Coordination, and Charlie’s got the higher score (plus the that the gangster’s skull is crushed by the beast’s blow.
Quick Reflexes Trait). Charlie rolls Strength + Fighting to hit; Next, it’s the Average-speed characters. Charlie and Wild Bill
the minion reacts with Strength + Fighting to block. Charlie both have Coordination 4, but Charlie’s got a higher Awareness,
chooses to go for a called shot (-4 to hit) and spends a Story so he goes first. He pushes Wild Bill and Runt into cover. The
RULES

Point for an extra two dice. GM decides that’s a Strength + Athletics roll, and that it’ll
Charlie rolls his Strength (4) + his Fighting (3) + 4 dice, for a count as Wild Bill and Runt’s Reaction for the round too if
total of 22, -4 for his Called Shot. The minion rolls his Strength Charlie rolls well enough.
(5) + Fighting (4) + 2 dice, for a grand total of 11. Charlie gets Wild Bill’s the next to act. He fires a shot from his rifle rolling
a Fantastic Success, which means he does Strength x 1.5 against Coordination + Marksman. The gorilla can dodge,
damage right to the minion’s Resolve. That’s six points of rolling Coordination + Athletics, but is at a -2 penalty because
damage, knocking the minion’s Resolve right down to zero. this is its first Reaction in the round. Wild Bill hits, and the
He’s out like a light. drugged mercy bullet thuds into the gorilla’s hairy thigh. The
gorilla needs to make a Strength + Resolve test to resist the
tranquillizer (see page 131 for tranquillizer rules).
Next come the gangsters. Their declared action was to shoot
Chases at Charlie, but he’s in cover. The GM decides they’ll shoot at
the gorilla instead. They’re at a -2 penalty for changing their
Chases happen a lot in pulp fantastic. Chasing after intent; their Marksman attack is resisted by the gorilla’s
escaped spies, running from armed minions, fleeing angry Coordination + Athletics. The gorilla can use the same reaction
cops who are less than thrilled at you doing their job for as it used to resist Wild Bill’s shot. A hail of mostly inaccurate
them and want to arrest you – there’s a lot of running gunfire blasts around the warehouse. The enraged gorilla
around. The first important thing in any chase is the speed roars in pain as it is shot half a dozen times.
of everyone involved.
Finally, Runt acts. He pops up and throws a rock. He misses
On foot, your speed is equal to your Coordination. the gorilla, but gets a ‘No, But’ result – he doesn’t hit the
If you’re in a Vehicle, your speed is equal to the speed of ape, but he does hit one of the gangsters right between
the vehicle plus your Coordination. More details of vehi- the eyes.
cles and their speeds can be found with the equipment Everyone’s acted this round. The gorilla’s drugged and se-
(see page 152). verely wounded, but it still goes first next round. Unless the
If the way is without barriers, obstacles or other problems, team come up with something very clever, the enraged great
then moving is pretty easy and you don’t need to roll. ape is going to cause more havoc before the gangsters shoot
Simple obstacles, such as low pipes, slippery floor or the it to death…
sudden appearance of a cat jumping out in front of you
will need a normal roll, Coordination and a suitable Skill pushing yourself a little too far. You reduce the number of
– Athletics if you’re running, Transport if you’re in a vehicle. Areas you travel an equal amount for the failure (-1 for a
Failure, -2 for a Bad, or -3 for Disastrous). On top of that, a
You can go faster than your speed as well, but it’ll require a
Disastrous Result could mean that your vehicle, or yourself,
roll (again, Coordination and either Athletics or Transport).
takes some damage from crashing or tripping over.
If you succeed, you increase the number of Areas you move
depending upon the Result (+1 for a Success, +2 for a Good
or +3 for Fantastic!). If you fail, you’ve tripped or scraped the
vehicle and it’s slowed you down - that’s the risk you take for
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 Action!
Terrain Combat in Chases
Sometimes the way isn’t always clear, but often worrying Characters can shoot at each other while engaged in a
about the terrain can slow things down - literally. If the chase. Shooting at a target ahead while running or driving
way isn’t simply open roads or skies, the characters may is easier than shooting behind. Remember, they will have
have to make Coordination and Athletics or Transport used their Action running or driving, so will have a -2
rolls to see how the terrain effects the way ahead. The penalty before taking into account that the target will be
Difficulty of entering an Area with such a terrain can be moving (another -2 penalty, or more if they are in vehicles
determined using the guidelines below. Roll just as if you traveling at very different speeds, and another -2 if shoot-
were trying to go faster than your normal Speed (see above), ing behind them and then there’s the chance of crashing
only the Difficulty is determined by the terrain. Success into something). It’s not going to be easy to hit them (unless
means the character can travel through as normal, possi- the vehicle is huge, making it a little easier to hit), so the
bly even faster than their speed, failure means that the best bet is to try to catch up or force them to stop.
Terrain has slowed them down. A Disastrous Result, as
before, can mean they have crashed, bashed their head
on a pipe, slipped on ice or something similar.
Doing Something Crazy
There’s nothing like doing something crazy to make a
Pursuit! Chase more exciting. It can be anything that has a bit of
danger involved, from vaulting over a fence when running
Chases are a simple case of comparing how fast the two on foot to driving your motorcycle on the pavement, to
(or more) people are moving. Most chases will start with driving a car through a department store or the wrong
the various people 2 or 3 Areas away from each other, it’ll way down a highway. The crazier the stunt, the more
depend on the situation and how the chase starts. difficult it is going to be, however if you’re successful, it
could mean a quick escape. If you’re feeling daring you
In a chase, it is an Extended Conflict, just as any other. The
can opt to do a “Stunt”. The player can determine what it
winner gets away or catches up, depending on where they
is, and the Difficulty of stunt. The player will have to beat
are in the chase. If the way is tricky, there can be modifiers.
this Difficulty to perform the stunt - failing this and the
However, chases are meant to be played fast, quick and 7
stunt goes wrong and they risk crashing or tripping over.
exciting, so the rules are designed to be as simple as pos-
If they succeed, the NPC will have to repeat the stunt to
sible. If at any time, the Gamemaster decides this is slowing
keep up, at the same Difficulty. Any difference in success
things down, ignore the rules and run with it - literally.
levels (Fantastic, Good, Success, etc) between those per-
However, if it is important to resolve an outcome of a chase
forming the stunts can widen or shorten the distance
in detail, the following rules should break it down into a
between them by as many Areas as the difference.
simple, yet exciting series of Action Rounds.
Different characters and creatures can use different
Each Action Round, simply compare the Speeds of both
methods of doing stunts. If you’re being chased by a bull,
characters involved. Look at the Speed of the person
you might scramble over a fence by rolling Coordination
running away, and take away the Speed of the person
+ Athletics. That bull, though, is just going to try smashing
pursuing them.
through the fence with Strength + Athletics.
If the number of Areas between the characters is reduced
to Zero (0), then the pursuer has caught up with the
pursued. If the number of Areas between them increas-
Cooperating in a Chase
es over 6, then the pursued usually escapes. In some Of course, if there are multiple people involved in the
circumstances, where visibility is particularly poor, this chase each should roll separately. This way, if someone is
may be reduced (such as a busy city center). The same particularly slow, there’s a good chance that they’ll be
goes for the reverse, in open space or the countryside, caught. It’ll be up to the rest of the group to see if they
where you can see the target a long way off, the number hold back and wait for them. If someone is slow and
of Areas required to escape may be increased at the Gam- holding the group up, they can act as a whole, with the
emaster’s discretion. faster characters aiding the slower to escape. In this case,

DIFFICULTY TERRAIN
6 Open road
9 Open ground, field
12 Normal street, average traffic and pedestrians
15 Busy street, stairs, undergrowth
18 Loose rubble, dense forest, ladders, very crowded street during rush hour.
21 Swamp, mountainous

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 Pulp Fantastic
the characters all roll separately as before, but the slow Lethal). In most of these cases, the numerical value refers
character can be helped along with the other characters to the “middle” effect (a Good or Bad). This is halved for a
providing a bonus using the Cooperation rules (see above, Failure (or a Success if you’re trying to inflict the injury),
page 120). Remember though, when you’re being chased or multiplied by 1.5 for a Disastrous (or Fantastic if you’re
by an Eldritch Abomination, you don’t have to be faster doing the harming). Remember to round down to the
than the monster, you just need to be faster than your nearest whole number unless this is zero.
team-mates!
S or Stun results mean that the target is rendered uncon-
scious. At the Gamemasters discretion, the character may
Losing a Physical Conflict: be able to perform a last desperate act before passing out,
such as crying a warning or pressing a button. Normal

Getting Hurt Stun effects last around 30 minutes, but cause no actual
physical injury (aside from minor bruising when the char-
acter hits the floor). On a Disastrous result the character
Sometimes the injury is so small that there’s no heavy
is unconscious for 45 minutes, and on a Failure the char-
paperwork involved. The Gamemaster may just remember
acter is incapacitated for just 15 minutes. However, the
your injury and say that you may be walking slower due
Gamemaster may amend these durations according to the
to that twisted ankle, or that you can’t reach that item on
source of the damage and the needs of the story.
the top shelf cause of the pain in your arm.
On recovering consciousness, the character may feel
If injuries are severe enough, you may find that one or
queasy, aching and a little unwell, though this should
more of the character’s Attributes are reduced. Which
soon pass.
Attribute is down to the actual source of injury. It should
RULES

be logical to the story and to the event - for example, falling L or Lethal results mean that the attack is normally in-
a distance and failing to land safely may result in a loss of stantly fatal. In the Pulps such attacks were rare and were
Coordination from a leg injury, or possibly Strength. usually limited to the toxins and rare venoms employed
Getting shot could mean you’d lose Strength, Coordination by evil masterminds and their assassins. Lethal attacks
(if it’s in a limb), or Resolve. In most cases, the Gamemas- are included in the game as a reminder that there are some
ter will dictate which Attributes are affected. enemies the player characters really should stay away
from, and they also encourage planning and tactical think-
Most sources of injury will have a number or a letter next
ing when facing terrible danger.
to it to indicate the damage the character would take from
it. These are explained in the handy sidebar. A character on the wrong end of a Lethal attack can spend
Story Points to avoid it. If they cannot, then the character
Levels of Injury is killed on a Bad or Disastrous result. On a Failure, the
character manages to avoid death, but suffers a serious
All sources of injury, whether they are weapons, falls, injury as a result of diving out the way of the attack (at
poisons, or worse, will have a value attached to it. This is least 4 points of damage).
usually a number, or in some cases S (for Stun) or L (for

VEHICLE COLLISIONS
If a vehicle smashes into something like a person, a large creature or another vehicle, both the vehicle and the victim take damage.
The base damage equal to the average of the vehicle’s speed + Hit Capacity, rounding up. If the victim is one or more Size Catego-
ries bigger than the vehicle, the base damage is halved.
Next, work out the actual damage. This is resolved like an attack; the driver of the vehicle must make a Coordination + Transport
check to determine how much damage the collision does. (If the driver is trying to avoid a damaging collision, then use the same
roll, but damage is applied on a failure, not a success.)
The vehicle takes the same damage if the victim is the same size or bigger than the vehicle; half damage if the victim is one size
smaller, and no damage otherwise.
For example: After an expedition to an isolated South Seas island, there’s now an angry giant ape loose on Broadway. Charlie McCoy
commandeers a Ford V-8 and rams the beast at full speed. The Ford is moving at Speed 8 and has a Hit Capacity of 12, for an average
of 10. So, the collision is going to do 5/10/15 damage to the “8th Wonder of the World”. Charlie makes a Drive test; if he makes a
Fantastic success, he’ll do the higher value; if he merely gets a Good success, he’ll hit for the middle value and so on.
If Charlie was trying to avoid hitting the giant ape then the results would be reversed. He’d do maximum damage on a Dismal
failure, average damage on a Bad failure, and the lowest damage on a Marginal failure.
If Charlie was driving a smaller vehicle, the damage would be halved. The giant ape is bigger than the Ford, so the vehicle takes the
same damage as the beast (minus the vehicle’s armor).

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 Action!

WHICH ATTRIBUTE? RANDOM LOCATIONS

A lot of the time, the Attribute effected is determined by the If the action doesn’t instantly provide you with inspiration
source of the injury. For example, if the character is shot in for where an injury would happen, you can roll a location
the leg by an arrow, the Gamemaster will decide which At- randomly. Just roll two dice and look up on the table below.
tributes most suit the injury. In this case, he thinks that a If the location doesn’t work, or if the limb is behind cover,
point should come off of the character’s Resolve, as the injury you can either roll again, or decide that the cover absorbs
will effect his drive and determination. A point should also the damage.
be lost from Coordination, as they’re less able to move about
quite so easily. And finally, the Gamemaster decides that a CALLED
ROLL LOCATION SHOT ATTRIBUTE REDUCED
final point should be lost from Strength, due to his newly DIFFICULTY
weakened physical state.
2-4 Leg -2 Coordination, Strength, Resolve
If it’s a severe injury, the Gamemaster may apply all of the 5-8 Body -0 Strength, Resolve
damage to one Attribute, effectively incapacitating the 9-10 Arm (or Forearm) -2 Coordination, Strength, Resolve
character from using that Attribute until they can get medical
Coordination, Awareness, Pres-
attention. A less severe one (a Failure, rather than a Disastrous) 11-12 Head -4
ence, Resolve, Ingenuity
may take a little off of multiple Attributes.
Still unsure? Imagine where they’ve been hit - head, body,
arms or legs. What would the injury effect? A blow to the Success and 4 on a Fantastic). If they have a Strength of 5,
head would probably effect their Coordination, Awareness, they do 5 points of damage on a Good result (2 on a Success
Presence, and Resolve, even Ingenuity. A hit to the body and 7 on a Fantastic).
would effect their Strength and Resolve. Arms or Legs would If they are using a weapon, the damage is increased de-
lower their Coordination, Strength, or Resolve. If you’re still pending upon what sort of weapon it is that you’re swing-
stuck, just reduce their Resolve and then Strength when the ing around. Follow this simple checklist, and for every
Resolve is gone, but a little imagination with the injury can “yes” add +2 to your character’s Strength.
lead to great story effects and plot developments! 7
Is it sharp? (Does it have a cutting edge, sharp points or
something equally nasty designed to puncture or slash
Numerical value results indicate how many points of the target?)
Attributes will be reduced by the injury. The Gamemaster
will discuss this with the player to suit the story and the Is it heavy? (Does it need two hands to lift?)
source of the injury. After all, not all sources are the same. Is it dangerous? (Does it do damage without you having
We’ll cover the various sources of injury later and give you to do anything, like an electric cattle prod, a chainsaw or
and the Gamemaster guidelines for how this works. a red-hot poker?)
The number presented is the normal, for a Bad result or For every one of these, add +2 to the Strength of the char-
defeat. This number is halved (round down) for a Failure acter when working out damage. So if it’s something like
result, and multiplied by 1.5 for a Disastrous result. For a sword, it’s your character’s Strength +2. If it’s a big Scot-
example, a weapon that has a damage value of 6 will reduce tish claymore and you really need to use it two-handed,
one or more Attributes by a total of six levels on a Bad then it’s both heavy and sharp so it’s Strength +4. If it’s
result. A Failure would knock this figure down to 3, and something really nasty like a chainsaw, it’s both sharp and
a Disastrous result would be 9. dangerous, but it’s also heavy and two-handed, so it gets
Don’t worry, we’ll save all those maths - in most cases, the full +6 to the Strength.
when a source of injury is presented, we’ll present it with These damages also count if you’re throwing a weapon
the half and the 1.5 to speed things up, with the normal (such as a knife or rock) at someone. The stronger you are,
figure in the middle. A fairly nasty weapon that has a value the more force you can put behind the throw doing more
of 8 will be presented as 4/8/12, meaning it’s 4 for Failure, damage.
8 for Bad and 12 for a Disastrous.

RESISTANCE FAILED… DAMAGE

Marksman Damage
1-3 (Normal Failure) ½ damage Shooting something is a different case. It’s not about how
strong you are, it’s about how accurate you can shoot. In
4-8 (Bad Failure) Full Damage most cases, a bullet will do the same amount of damage
9+ (Disastrous Failure) 1 ½ damage if it hits, no matter who fires it. See individual weapon
descriptions starting on page 141 for how much damage
Fighting Damage a bullet does on a Normal/Good/Fantastic result.
When it comes to close, physical combat, it’s all about how
strong you are. If the character has a Strength of 3, they
will do 3 points of damage on a Good Roll (and 1 on a

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 Pulp Fantastic
this damage every ten seconds or so, so you’re going to
IT’S A KNOCKOUT! have to find a way out quick. The same rules apply to toxic
gases and unbreathable atmospheres (one of the hazards
Want to knock someone out? Then make a Called Shot (-2 to of secret volcano bases).
your roll) and choose to attack their Resolve. If you reduce
someone to Resolve 0, they’re knocked unconscious. Obvi- Fire: Fire’s a tricky one, as it can depend upon how big the
ously, you can’t do this with a lot of weapons – trying to fire is. The way we’ll handle it is actually avoiding catching
knock someone out with a chainsaw is impossible. on fire yourself. This way, you can run through a burning
building, fight back a blaze, try to put out a burning doc-
Damage taken from being knocked out is ignored when the ument that has been thrown into an open fireplace – it’s
character wakes, though they may have a headache and a all handled the same way. The Gamemaster will change
bad bruise. the difficulty if the fire is particularly intense, but a failure
means that you’ve caught fire in some way – an item of
IT’S A KNOCKBACK! clothing has caught alight, or worse. Roll Strength +
Resolve if you’re walking through flames, or Co-Ordination
If a character is hit by something big, the GM may rule that + Resolve if you’re trying to bat out flames or avoid touch-
he’s been knocked back instead of taking the full force of ing the flames in a burning house. A Disastrous result is
the blow. Knockback halves the damage, but the character Lethal, as it doesn’t take long for the flames to totally
is sent flying and is stunned for a few rounds. How long are engulf a person. A Bad or Failure result means that you’ve
you stunned for? That’s up to the GM, but the player can managed to put out the fire after suffering some burns,
always spend a Story Point to recover. reducing the damage to 8 or 4 respectively. Again, Story
Points are going to be the lifesaver in this situation.
Other Sources of Injury
RULES

If you’re in an environment where the oxygen content of

Falls: Falling can result from failing at climbing some- the atmosphere is higher, then fire does more damage.
thing, failing to jump over a gap or run around obstacles. Conversely, a lower O2 atmosphere makes fires burn less
The distance fallen determines how much damage taken intensely.
from hitting the ground. For every metre your character
falls, the value of the damage is 1. So if you fall 5 metres, Cold/Heat: Cold isn’t quite so instant in its danger, it is
the damage value is 5. This is from failing the initial climb, all about exposure. Depending upon how cold it is, the
jump or running roll and this is the value for a Bad result, Gamemaster will assign a damage level depending upon
it will be reduced (halved) if the result was a Failure or how extreme the temperature is. Characters will have to
increased (x 1.5) if you get a Disastrous. This reflects some- make rolls using their Strength and any suitable Skill
thing breaking your fall, managing to land on a ledge (usually Survival, modified by Traits) to avoid exposure.
(albeit a little painfully), catching yourself on the way down This may have to be repeated every hour (or more in
or landing particularly badly, making things worse. extreme conditions), the character gradually losing Attri-
butes until they freeze to death.
Crashes: Most vehicles are designed to protect the pas-
sengers (with the exception of bikes, and other forms of The same effect can be used for exposure to extreme heat,
transport where the driver is exposed). If the character like being caught in the open of the hot desert sun. Again,
hits something at speed, or is hit by something traveling the Gamemaster will assign a damage level depending
at speed, the damage is equal to number of Areas it traveled upon how hot it is, and Strength and Survival rolls are
in the last action. For example, getting hit by a car that required to avoid taking damage from the heat.
was traveling 8 Areas in its action does 8 points of damage
DAMAGE
(on a Bad result when trying to avoid it, halved for a Failure,
TEMPERATURE (NORMAL - BAD RESULT)
or ×1.5 for a Disastrous). Passengers in a vehicle that hits
something suffer the same damage, only reduced by the Above 55 Degrees Celsius 5 per 5mins
armor protection of the car. If the car that was traveling Above 45 Degrees Celsius 3 per hour
at 8 Areas then hits a brick wall, if the car provided 4 levels
Above 30 Degrees Celsius 1 per day
of armor protection (see vehicles, on page 149), each
passenger takes 4 levels of damage. Below -5 Degrees Celsius 1 per day

Drowning: Drowning, like falling, is the result of failing Below -20 Degrees Celsius 3 per hour
a roll. This time it comes from failing at swimming or Below -40 Degrees Celsius 5 per 5mins
holding your breath in a flooded area. A Bad result will
mean the character sustains 8 levels of damage (usually These figures are approximations based on exposure
to Strength and Resolve). A Failure reduces this to 4 which without the correct clothing or protective gear. The Gam-
would mean that you’ve swallowed a lungful of water, emaster should feel free to adjust these figures or make
choked a little and have hurt yourself but you’re okay to up their own to suit the situation.
try again. Disastrous result is Lethal, so let’s hope you have Oxygen Deprivation: Some environments have greater
some Story Points to knock it up to a level or two. If you’re or lesser percentages of oxygen in their atmospheric com-
trapped in a flooded room or location, you’re going to take position. A lower partial pressure of oxygen is like being

130
 Action!
on top of a very tall mountain – the air is thin and it’s harder such as a henchman who can’t stop sneezing or a charac-
to catch your breath. A lower percentage of oxygen isn’t ter who has to spend the day with his face in a steam bath),
actively dangerous, but you’ll get tired more quickly (the so these rules only concern themselves with diseases of
gm may choose to hit you with Resolve or Strength damage, the strange, unusual or dangerous variety. Remember that
or ask you to pay a Story Point to avoid becoming exhaust- at this point in history, antibiotics have not yet been dis-
ed after running or fighting.) covered, so that diseases that are easily treatable in the
modern era can be life threatening in the age of the Pulps.
Electricity: If a character touches a live electrical wire (or
a conductive object that’s connected to such a wire), they When exposed to the vector of a disease (for example, a
must make a Strength + Resolve roll. Even if they succeed, character is splashed with the blood of an infected person,
they’re stunned for one round. If the roll fails, they take or approaches someone affected by an airborne disease
4 damage on a Failure, 8 on a Bad Failure and are killed without wearing a mask) the character resists infection
on a Disastrous result. Again, the Difficulty depends on by rolling Strength + Resolve against the Difficulty of the
the strength of the current – zapping someone with the disease. Failure means the character is infected and suffers
current from a domestic supply is very different to pushing the damage and side-effects listed under the description
them into an industrial transformer. of the disease. Once infected, the character must make a
similar roll to fight the disease every day. To fully recover
Poison: Poison is a special form of damage. Each poison
from the illness (if it can be recovered from) the character
attack has a Difficulty Number and a damage associated
must make a number of successful resistance rolls as listed
with it. The poison takes effect 1d6 rounds after the initial
on the disease table. A Failure inflicts the diseases damage
bite. When it starts to take effect, the character must make
again and increases the number of successes required by
a Strength + Resolve roll against the poison. If the char-
1, a Bad result by 2 and a Disastrous result by 3. When the
acter fails, check the Poison Effect table below.
character has met or exceeded the required number of
RESISTANCE FAILED BY RESULT successes, he has beaten the disease and is considered
fully recovered and free from side-effects.
The character takes extra damage
1-3 (Normal) If medical care is provided while the character is sick, it
from the poison every ten minutes.
can add to the character’s success total and reduce his
The character takes extra damage 7
4-8 (Bad) recovery time. Characters providing medical aid must roll
from the poison every minutes.
Ingenuity + Medicine plus the number of recovery suc-
The character takes extra damage cesses already made by the patient against the Difficulty
9+ (Disastrous)
from the poison every round. of the disease. Should they wish to provide continuing
Medical treatment can give a bonus to the character’s Re- aid, they may make this roll once per day and speed the
sistance rolls against poison; the right antivenin can cure patients recovery still further. Should any of their rolls
the poison entirely. Some poisons attack a particular At- fail, however, the patient suffers the same penalties as if
tribute; a neurotoxin would primarily hit Awareness and they themselves had failed a recovery roll.
Ingenuity, while a paralytic mainly affects Coordination. Plague: Responsible for some of the deadliest pandemics
Disease: As the world shrinks due to easier, cheaper and in human history, plague (also known as the Black Death)
faster means of travel, so new and strange diseases come spread across Europe from Central Asia in the mid-14th
to light. Flesh-eating bacteria, horrible viruses and virulent Century, killing an estimated 75 million people, almost
fungal infections all lie in wait in the sweltering jungles half of them in Europe. Caused by the Yersina Pestis bac-
or lurk below the radar in isolated populations. As a rule, terium, the disease is spread by fleas carried by black rats
Pulp heroes rarely if ever come down with common illness- and other rodents and takes three form; Bubonic, Septi-
es such as colds or flu (unless it is used for comedy value, caemic and Pneumonic. Both the bubonic and septicaemic

DISEASE TABLE
NAME VECTOR DIFFICULTY DAMAGE RECOVERY SUCCESSES
Plague Infected flea bites 12 6 8
Smallpox Airborne, Body Fluids 12 3 8
Malaria Infected mosquitoes 12 4 10
Cholera Contaminated water 16 6 6
Typhoid Fever Contaminated food or water 10 5 5
Yellow Fever Infected mosquitoes 14 5 6
Necrotizing Fasciitis Septic wounds 8 4 10
Rabies Infected animal bites 20 6 Fatal
Spanish Flu Airborne, Body Fluids 15 6 10

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 Pulp Fantastic
forms are transmitted by flea bites, while the pneumonic acute kidney failure and potentially death. Once symptoms
form is airborne via the exhalations of infected carriers manifest the patient is too sick to move around and suffers
and is the only form of plague that can be spread from a -6 penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-
person to person. Due to the ease of transmission, plague rest and recovery. Prophylactic treatments are available
was used as one of the earliest forms of biological weapon, to prevent infection.
with infected corpses dumped in water supplies or cata-
Cholera: Caused by the ingestion of water contaminated
pulted over city walls to spread the disease.
by the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae. Onset of the disease is
Once a patent is infected, the bacterium multiplies rapidly, rapid with early symptoms including watery diarrhea
with an incubation period of 2-6 days (1-3 for the pneumon- (which is itself highly contagious), nausea and vomiting,
ic form) before the patient becomes ill. Symptoms include; rapid heart rate, dry eyes and mouth, loss of skin elastic-
ity, low blood pressure, thirst, muscle cramps and rest-
Bubonic Plague: Headache, alternating fever and chills,
lessness or irritability. If left untreated this can lead to
physical weakness and one or more painfully swollen
acute renal failure, circulatory collapse, coma, shock and
lymph nodes (buboes, usually closest to where the bacte-
– in about 50% of cases – death. Once symptoms manifest
rium entered the body).
the patient is too sick to move around and suffers a -6
Septicaemic Plague: Abdominal pain, alternating fever penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-rest
and chills, extreme physical weakness and – in extreme and recovery.
cases – subcutaneous bleeding. Gangrene of the extrem-
Typhoid Fever: Caused by the bacterium Salmonella
ities can occur.
Typhi, typhoid fever is a potentially deadly disease trans-
Pneumonic Plague: Headache, fever, physical weakness mitted by the consumption of contaminated food or water.
and shortness of breath, chest pains and a hacking cough. The disease has a short incubation period and a gradual
RULES

Patients develop a rapidly progressing pneumonia that onset. Symptoms include fever, headache, constipation,
can cause respiratory failure and shock. malaise, chills, and headache, making it hard to distin-
guish from other diseases. In severe cases confusion,
If left untreated, all three forms of plague can be fatal,
delirium, intestinal perforation, and death may occur. If
with a mortality rate of about 66%. Characters infected
untreated, death occurs in about 30% of all cases. Once
with plague suffer a -5 penalty to all rolls when attempting
symptoms fully manifest the patient is too sick to move
to do anything other than lie in bed and recover.
around and suffers a -7 penalty to all rolls involving any-
Smallpox: A serious, contagious and potentially fatal thing more than bed-rest and recovery.
disease, smallpox is spread by direct contact between
Yellow Fever: Caused by a virus transmitted by infected
people, and occasionally by contact with infected body
mosquitoes, Yellow Fever has an incubation period of 3 to
fluids or contaminated clothing or bedding. It is sometimes
7 days. Symptoms are sudden and include chills, fever,
airborne within enclosed spaces, but this is rare. After an
severe headache, back pain, general body aches, nausea
incubation period of between 7 and 17 days (during which
and vomiting, fatigue and physical weakness. The illness
the patient is not infectious), symptoms include a high
casts several days and usually improves by itself, though
fever, physical weakness and lassitude, head and body
weakness and fatigue may last several months. After a
aches and occasional vomiting. After 2 days the patient
brief period lasting from 6 to 24 hours, roughly 20% of
develops a dense rash across the body that develops over
patients develop a more severe form of the disease with
a period of days into hard pustules filled with infectious
symptoms including high fever, jaundice, bleeding, and
fluid. These eventually scab over and fall off, leaving pitted
eventually shock and multiple organ failures. Death
white scars. If treated, the disease usually lasts about 20
follows in about 50% of severe cases. Once symptoms
days, during which time the patient is too sick to move
manifest the patient is too sick to move around and suffers
around and suffers a -6 penalty to all rolls involving any-
a -4 penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-
thing more than bed-rest and recovery. Death occurs in
rest and recovery.
about 1% of cases.
Necrotizing Fasciitis: Caused when a common type of
Malaria: Caused by parasites carried in the gut of infect-
streptococcus bacterium carried without ill-effect by most
ed mosquito populations in hot, humid countries, the
people gets into muscle-tissue, the bloodstream or the
disease is a major health hazard in the third world. After
lungs, necrotizing fasciitis spreads rapidly and consumes
being bitten by an infected mosquito, the patient remains
flesh, fatty tissue and skin. Symptoms include severe rapid
symptom-free during an incubation period of between 7
swelling and intense pain at the site of infection, black-
and 30 days before suffering their first attack. Malaria
ening of the tissues, Treatment usually involves the exci-
attacks typically last between 6 and 10 hours and include
sion or amputation of infected tissue. Pus or fluids from
fever, chills, profuse sweating, body aches, nausea and
infected areas are highly infectious if brought into contact
vomiting, malaise and occasional delirium. These attacks
with open wounds or sores. If left untreated, death occurs
may reoccur months or even years after the patient has
in 25% of cases. The disease is excruciatingly painful and
recovered from the original illness, often corresponding
infected characters are unable to act once the disease sets
with periods of stress or ill health. In cases where the
in, which takes about 24 hours.
patient is already ill or is suffering from a pre-existing
condition, severe malaria may set in, resulting in seizures, Rabies: Rabies is a deadly virus transmitted by infected
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 Action!
saliva contained in the bite of an infected animal. The cutting verbal jab, bringing in someone’s dark secrets, or
incubation period from bite to the first symptoms can vary good role-playing can increase the damage from an attack
wildly, from 4 days to 12 weeks. Initial symptoms are similar just like using a tire iron or a sword or a chainsaw can
to the flu; headache, chills, fever and body ache, accom- improve a melee attack.
panied by a severe itching at the site of the bite. During
this period infected characters may still act, but suffer a
-2 penalty on all rolls not involving fighting the disease.
Getting scared
Within days these symptoms include delirium, confusion, Intimidating someone by threatening them physically is
hallucinations and erratic or abnormal behavior. Once a simple conflict – you could use Strength + Convince or
these symptoms arise, the disease is almost always fatal. Presence + Fighting (but not Strength + Fighting – that’s
Later symptoms include extreme terror, aggression and actually punching someone, as opposed to merely looking
hydrophobia. During this stage of the disease characters dangerous), and is resisted by Resolve + Convince or
can no longer act and any treatment involves reducing Resolve + Strength.
their pain and distress. Monsters, Eldritch Abominations and other creatures are
Spanish Flu: In the years immediately following the Great a different matter. Monsters terrify us out on an instinctive
War, Spanish Flu infected one-third of the human race level. Any creature with a Fear Factor can intimidate people
and killed over 100 million human beings in one of the by its presence alone. The creature rolls Presence + Resolve
deadliest disease outbreaks in history. With a very short + its Fear Factor. The characters can resist by rolling Resolve
incubation period (often as short as 24 hours), symptoms + Ingenuity.
include weakness, fever, muscle and joint pain, coughing If you fail a fear test, you’re frozen in terror for one round.
and loss of appetite. In severe cases the disease would Failing really badly might mean you instinctively flee, or
progress to severe pneumonia, with patients often drown- panic, or drop anything you’re holding. If you’ve got the
ing as their lungs filled with fluid. The disease is extreme- Brave trait, you can spend a Story Point to resist fear.
ly debilitating, and once symptoms have begun to manifest
characters suffer a -4 penalty to all rolls involving anything
more than bed-rest and recovery.
7
Mental or Social Conflicts BEING POSSESSED
Mental and Social Conflicts work in a similar way to Phys-
ical Conflicts. Being outwitted, tricked or out-maneuvered There are many beings and creatures capable of taking over
counts as losing a Mental Conflict, while being argued the character, controlling their every action and thought.
into a position, embarrassed or forced to obey an order is Defending yourself against an alien consciousness that is
losing a Social Conflict. trying to control your mind is a normal Conflict, with the
attacker’s Resolve + Convince against the character’s Resolve
Bluffing & Deception + Ingenuity (if a battle of wits) or Strength (if a battle of
pure mental power). Any applicable Traits can modify the
Lying and deceit is a vital skill when trying to keep the Attributes of each side. If the character wins, he retains his
existence of the Anomalies a secret. Usually, you’ll roll control and sanity. If the character fails, they can opt to spend
Presence + Convince against the other person’s resistance. Story Points to retain control. If they’re out of Story Points,
If you’re trying to fool someone, then he’d roll Awareness the attacker will take control, and the Gamemaster will dictate
+ Convince (if they’re trying to see through your bluff) or what they wish to do.
Resolve + Convince (if they’re trying to resist your blather).
There may be moments when the character can retain control
Most bluffing attempts can be resolved as a Simple Conflict for a couple of seconds – stopping themselves from pulling
– just roll once and check the result table. that trigger, trying to tell the others what the attacker’s evil
plans are or how to defeat it. It’s not easy, but the Game-
Arguments master may allow you to do this if it develops the story.
Knock-down, drag-out arguments and debates are basi- How to shake the thrall of possession? It’s going to cost Story
cally fist-fights, only with words instead of punches. Use Points, but if you’re already possessed it probably means
the standard combat rules, but instead of rolling Strength you’ve already run out of Story Points, so you’re going to
+ Fighting, the participants roll Presence + Convince, and have to get them from your friends. They can donate Story
the damage gets applied to the loser’s Resolve, Ingenuity, Points – a rousing speech of support, a meaningful dialogue
Presence or Awareness. to remind you of who you are – anything that might bring
you back to your senses may help.
Called shots can be used in arguments; trying to under-
mine someone’s confidence is a called shot to their Resolve,
while humiliating someone is an attack on their Presence.
You can have ‘weapons’ in an argument. An especially
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 Pulp Fantastic
Losing a Mental or Social Conflict or medic (someone with the Medicine Skill) can try to
patch you up. A successful Medicine roll will “heal” an
There are several ways to handle the consequences of a injury, restoring levels of Attributes that have been lost.
mental or social defeat. For a Success, 1 level is restored. 2 for a Good and 3 points
for a Fantastic respectively. The Gamemaster may apply
Loss of Attributes modifiers if the injuries are severe or if modern medical
supplies are unavailable, or in conditions where infection
Non-physical attributes like Ingenuity or Resolve can be
is a major threat. Getting injured beyond the reach of
damaged by conflicts. If Wild Bill and Charlie McCoy have
civilization is very dangerous.
a furious argument, then Wild Bill’s Resolve might be
damaged and his temper spills over into other situations. This sort of medical assistance can only be done once for
This works just like physical damage, but heals a lot faster. each injury. That is, if you are injured from a fall, reducing
your Coordination by 1, someone can try to patch you up
Most conflicts won’t inflict damage like this; save it for
and restore that missing level. If they fail, it cannot be
attacks that really hurt the character emotionally, forcing
attempted again until the character sustains another
him to make stupid decisions.
injury. However, if you receive another 2 points of injury
and your resident medic gets a Fantastic result, you will
Temporary Bad Trait have all 3 points of injury restored.
Another possible result of a lost Conflict is the acquisition
How hard is it to heal a character? The usual default Dif-
of a temporary Bad Trait, or the loss of an existing Good
ficulty is 12, but the Difficulty should be increased by one
Trait. This is especially appropriate for social conflicts that
for every Attribute the character has that is at zero. Severe
only affect a set group of people. For example, if a charac-
injuries are going to be harder to patch up, and sometimes
RULES

ter commits a massive social blunder at a high-class party,

the best thing for them is a trip to the nearest hospital.
then his Presence and Resolve are unaffected – he’s still
as commanding and determined as ever – but he may pick
up the Unattractive Trait when dealing with anyone who Multiple Injuries and Reduced
knows about his faux pas.
Attributes
Forced To Comply All this talk of losing Attribute points, there can be a time
The most likely result of a social or mental conflict that when the character has lost a lot of points. When an At-
the character is compelled to go along with some sugges- tribute reaches zero, the character is unable to do anything
tion. For non-player characters, this works perfectly well. related to that Attribute. So what does that mean for each
Attribute?
What happens if one player character gets into a Social
Conflict with another, or is on the losing side of a conflict Zero Awareness may mean that one or more of their senses
with an NPC? If your character loses a Social Conflict, have been temporarily impaired, leaving them unable to
you’ve got two options: move around on their own. They’re so dazed or unable to
tell what is going on around them that they will not know
Go along with it. People get talked into doing the wrong what is happening, or may be unable to communicate.
thing all the time, or make bad decisions. Letting your char-
acter act against his best and avoid the social compulsion. Zero Coordination, they’ll be flailing around as if they’d
had one too many at the local bar. They’ll keep falling over
or tripping over the slightest thing, over reaching for items,
Healing knocking everything over. Probably best just to sit down
and hope to recover.
Natural Healing Zero Ingenuity (not one that will drop often) will mean
the character is so tired or defeated they’re unable to think
Without medical aid, or after it has been administered,
sensibly or come up with any ideas. They may do foolish
natural healing is at a rate of 1 level of Attribute per day
things, like blindly following foolhardy orders or believe
of full rest. The ‘Fast Healer’ trait improves this rate.
what people say unquestioningly.
Normally, when one adventure ends, any injuries are
Zero Presence and the character will probably be uncon-
healed and Attributes are restored to the normal level.
scious, unable to talk or communicate until revived by
However, there are exceptions - if the Gamemaster is
medical means or given time to recover. If remaining
planning a two or three part adventure, where very little
conscious, they will refuse or be unable to communicate
time passes between, injuries will be kept, or healed slight-
with anyone, shunning contact with others as they seem
ly at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
threatening.

Medic! Zero Resolve means they’ve given up completely, admitted

defeat and will sit around not really wanting to do any-
However, if medical aid is at hand and you need to get thing. They become open to suggestion and likely to do
back into the action as quickly as possible, a trained doctor anything they’re told. If inundated with suggestions or
134
 Action!
orders they may react badly to the overwhelming instruc-
tions, striking out at everyone nearby. Story Points
Zero Strength, they’re likely to collapse to the floor, unable You’ve heard the term Story Points used many times so
to even stand. The character will have to be carried and far, and each player should already have some marked
will probably not have enough strength to defend or help down on their character sheet. Before everyone starts
themselves. playing, the Gamemaster will hand out a number of
tokens to each player equal to their Story Points. That
Hitting zero in an Attribute is pretty bad, and it may be way, when they spend a Story Point, they simply hand
that your character may develop a Bad Trait to reflect the the token back to the Gamemaster rather than having to
lasting effects of hitting zero. Reaching zero in more than rub out numbers constantly on the character sheet until
one Attribute and things get serious. If three or more you can see through it. If the Gamemaster rewards the
Attributes reach zero, not only will the character be almost players for good play or aiding the story, he’ll hand some
unable to do anything, they’re so badly injured that there back to you. Simple as that.
is a good chance that they’ll be killed. See Getting Killed,
page 139. But what do they do and how are they used?
Story Points are used to tweak the course of events in a
player’s favor. It’s not just the players that have Story Points
- some villains have a number of Story Points that the
Gamemaster can use to keep them alive longer, or so they
can escape to plan another escapade that the players will
have to thwart. During the game, you can expect Story
Points to be flowing freely back and forth across the table.

135
 Pulp Fantastic
Story Points can be used in many different ways. The succeed from a disastrous fail. One point per bump in
Gamemaster will advise if it’s a good or bad time to use levels means that you can move from a Disastrous to a
them, and as always, the Gamemaster will have final say. Success result with three Story Points.
The Gamemaster may also limit the number of Story Points
The only limit in doing this is that you cannot bump a roll
used in any particular adventure or session. Below we’ve
in your favor higher than a Success result. After all, you
presented some uses for Story Points, explaining how they
would have failed normally, so there’s no spending five
work in the game.
Story Points to get a Fantastic result.

Clues Of course, you can end up spending more points than

planned. Villains have Story Points as well, and it may be
If the players are really stuck and don’t know where to go that a pivotal Conflict becomes a match between who can
or what to do next, they can opt to spend a Story Point and spend the most Story Points to win. Spending Story Points
the Gamemaster can give them a subtle nudge in the right to succeed where you would have failed doesn’t mean that
direction. Just one of the players need spend the Story the villain cannot spend some of their Story Points to
Point, and it’ll be their character that suddenly realizes ensure your failure remains!
the way to go and makes a suggestion to the rest, or has a
lucky break that points in the direction of the plot.
Ignore Damage
Bonus Dice Getting hurt...hurts. As damage is applied straight to your
character’s Attributes, every injury you suffer means your
If the character knows beforehand that the outcome of chances of succeeding at related tasks are reduced. Once
a particular roll is vital to their success, that the fate of the jaguar starts clawing your leg off, reducing your
RULES

the universe may revolve around that one roll, then it Strength and Coordination, your future rolls to escape the
may be that the player will want to spend a Story Point jaguar are going to be severely penalized. Spending a Story
to add a little to the roll. The character steels themselves Point lets a character ignore any damage he’s suffered for
to prepare for the task, and takes a deep breath. In game one roll – you use your full Attribute instead of its current,
terms, the character spends a Story Point and can add reduced value. This represents your character gritting his
an additional two six-sided dice to the roll. This isn’t a teeth and pushing himself to the limit.
guaranteed success, after all you could roll two “1’s”, but
there is a chance you could succeed phenomenally well.
The player will have to judge if the task is worth spend-
Ignoring Bad Traits
ing those valuable Story Points. If you spend even more A lot of Bad Traits push you to act in a certain way – if
Story Points before you roll, you get one extra dice per you’re Forgetful or Impulsive, you’re prone to forgetting
Story Point. key facts or rushing in where the marines fear to tread. If
you don’t act in accordance with such Bad Traits, you’ve
You can also spend Story Points after you roll, but they’re
got to pay Story Points.
less effective – spending a Story Point after the roll gives
you one extra dice.
You can spend a maximum of 3 Story Points on any one
Inspiring Others
roll (so, 4 extra dice if you spend them all before you roll, Characters can donate Story Points to each other to help
or three points if you spend them afterward). them through a particularly major moment. This can be
done in many ways, a dramatic and rousing speech, a word
Avoiding Failure of encouragement or even a kiss. If it’s dramatic, moving,
rousing and encouraging, and the other player is willing
Failing at something can be disastrous. Worse, it can be to share their Story Points to keep you going, then this
fatal if the task was during a life threatening moment. sort of gaming should be encouraged.
Luckily, if you fail at a roll, you have the option to “tweak”
Players can also give Story Points to other players as a note
the results a little to succeed. This must be done straight
of appreciation. If another player comes out with a really
after the roll in question – there’s no jumping back in time
funny line, or saves your character’s life, or sets up a scene
to fix something an hour or a week later.
where you get to save the day, you can donate a Story Point
As soon as you know you’ve failed at something you have as a gesture of appreciation.
the option to spend Story Points to improve the result. A
single Story Point will bump the result up one in the char-
acter’s favor. For example, a Disastrous result – which can
Altering the Plot
often be fatal in a Conflict – can be bumped up one to a If you want to alter something in the game world indirect-
Bad result. A Bad becomes a Failure, a Failure becomes a ly, you may be able to buy your wish with Story Points. You
Success result, and so on. could spend a Story Point to have help arrive in the nick
of time, or to have something distract a hungry bear before
If it’s a truly essential roll and you simply have to make it, it eats you. You could have an NPC fall in love with your
you can spend more than one Story Point at a time to character, or be mistaken for a new recruit by the villains’

136
 Action!
guards. You could have a ship turn up when you’re strand- Completing Goals
ed on a remote island. The number of Story Points it takes
to change the story is up to the gm. If your team completes goals, like breaking up spy-rings
and recovering stolen treasures, that’s worth Story Points.
The one rule when it comes to altering the plot (apart from Solving puzzles and finding a key clue that leads you to
the usual rule about everything being ultimately up to the the next scene should also be rewarded.
Gamemaster) is that you can’t use Story Points to save the
day or solve a problem directly. For example, say you’re Accepting Plot Twists
being held hostage in a derelict factory by a deranged
madman. You couldn’t say ‘oh, a big piece of industrial Sometimes, the characters have very, very bad luck. The
machinery falls on top of him and squishes him before he weird invention malfunctions at exactly the wrong moment.
can shoot us.’ However, you could say ‘gm, how many A stupid cop panics and takes a pot-shot at the escaped
Story Points would it cost for there to be a big piece of gorilla you just calmed down. The backup you called for is
industrial machinery that balanced precariously on that stuck in traffic and never arrives. You run out of ammo at
upper walkway? Something that would fall on the madman just the wrong moment. The Femme Fatale slips away and
if I unexpectedly shove him into that supporting girder?’ escapes after saying something cryptic, even though you
arranged for there to be six armed guards watching her at
all times. If the Gamemaster screws the player characters
over despite their best-laid plans and preparations, that’s
STORY POINTS & NPCS worth a few Story Points in recompense.
Most non-player characters don’t have Story Points. They This doesn’t mean that the gm has to pay for every horri-
have to get by without the edge that comes with being the ble event and dangerous situation the characters encoun-
hero of the story. The exception are the villains. A ‘named’ ter – only when he pushes the characters into really nasty
bad guy gets a few Story Points at the GM’s discretion. situations and gives them no chance to back out. You don’t
“Bruiser” Malone, a known mob heavy, for example, has 3 get Story Points if you’re sent to capture a spy, but you
Story Points – not as many as most player characters, but might get a Story Point if the spy’s lethal girlfriend follows
enough to make him a threat. The Crimson Claw has fistfuls you home with mayhem in mind.
of Story Points to make him a match for the entire group. 7
You don’t need to be sentient to have Story Points, by the Helping Out
way. Recurring monsters and animals (like Saber, Siwang Players who help out should be rewarded. Buying snacks
Lung’s pet wolf) could have a stock of Story Points too… for the group, keeping a record of events in the game,
researching background details between game sessions,
setting up a website for the game, carpooling, cleaning up
afterward – throwing a few Story Points at players who go
Gaining Story Points above and beyond is good practice.
The players can regain Story Points in lots of ways, at the
whim of the Gamemaster. Maximum Story Points
Good Role-playing When the characters were created they were given a Story
Point total - this is their maximum Story Points between
Playing your character to the hilt, coming up with funny adventures. As the adventure progresses, the character can
or inspiring lines of dialogue or great stunts, getting into hold more Story Points than this, though usually this is
interesting situations – if you’re having fun and helping building up to a big expenditure at the story’s climax. When
everyone else at the table have fun too, then that should the adventure is over, the characters usually heal all their
be rewarded with a few Story Points. Try to give everyone wounds, and if their Story Points are above their maximum,
a chance to shine, keep everyone involved in the story, and they are reduced back to the maximum level. If they have
play off other people’s characters. If one of the other player less than that, the Gamemaster will just replenish what
characters is an ex-soldier who’s job is to protect your they think is fitting depending upon how well they play.
scientist, then give her a chance to show off her character’s
combat skills by bumbling into danger. Try to make the
other players the hero of the show. Learning and Improvement
Embracing Bad Traits While the Pulps weren’t known for character development,
characters in pulp fantastic aren’t static – they can
If your Bad Traits really impede you, you can claim a learn from their adventures and pick up new skills. Over
Story Point. Better, if you suggest ways your Bad Traits time, if the Gamemaster allows it, the players can improve
make your character’s life harder, that’s definitely worth their character’s abilities. After each game session, each
Story Points. character gains one Experience Point (an especially gen-
erous gm might grant extra experience points after espe-
cially important game sessions or at the end of a big plot
arc or season finale).
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 Pulp Fantastic
Attributes
Attributes can be changed, but it takes a long time and
plenty of hard work. Increasing an Attribute should be a
noteworthy event, and takes several months of training
and discipline. It costs (five + the Attribute’s current level)
THE STORY POINT ECONOMY
Experience Points to raise an Attribute.
The Gamemaster should keep an eye on the players’ Story
NEW ATTRIBUTE LEVEL COST Point stockpiles. If the players have lots of Story Points, then
they can handle big challenges and added complications. If
2 6 they’ve got few or no Story Points, they’re in danger of being
3 7 overwhelmed, and it’s a good idea to give them a breather
4 8 from the action. Use Story Points as a guide for pacing the
game. Build up to an extended action sequence where the
5 9 PCs spend most of their Story Points, then throw in a quiet
6 10 interlude where the characters find a place to hide, take stock
of their situation and role-play to earn some points back,
Skills and then hit them with the final threat.

Basic skills can be picked up easily – a character gains one

Experience Point after each game session. A new skill level
costs an equal number of Experience Points. So, buying a Getting Killed
RULES

new skill costs 1 point, raising a skill from level 1 to 2 costs

two points, from 2 to 3 costs three points and so on. This If a character is reduced to zero in three Attributes, he is
means that it costs a whopping 21 (1+2+3+4+5+6) Experi- in big trouble and is probably dead, especially if one of
ence Points to bring a skill up from scratch to 6. those Attributes is Strength. The Gamemaster has the
final word, of course. Characters can also be killed by other
New Areas of Expertise cost 1 point each. means – if someone’s holding a gun to your head, and they
pull the trigger, don’t bother arguing that the gun does a
Traits maximum of 10 damage and you’ve got Strength 6 and
Resolve 6. Some situations override the usual rules.
In general, Traits shouldn’t be bought with Experience –
they should be awarded based on events in game. However,
if the gm agrees, players can buy new Minor Good Traits Forced to Leave
for two points each, and new Major Good Traits for four Circumstances may force your character to give up ad-
points each. venturing. Maybe your superiors kick you out, or every-
Taking new Bad Traits doesn’t get you bonus Experience one suspects you of being in league with the enemy.
Points. The gm may allow you to buy off some existing Maybe you get trapped in a Lost World, or possessed by
Bad Traits with experience. a sentient parasite, or brainwashed by an Evil Master-
mind. If your character can’t be part of the Group Frame-
Story Points work any more, it’s time to go. It’s a bad idea to have two
‘groups’ of player characters for an indefinite period – if
You can raise your Maximum Story Points with experience, your character can’t work with the group, it’s time for
at the cost of 2 Experience Points per added Story Point. that character to leave and you to make up a new one.
(It’s okay to have the group split for a few sessions, but

Leaving the Game that does not work in the long term.)

Eventually, every character leaves the game. Sometimes, Choosing to Leave

it will be the best possible ending for the character – you’ve Your character may choose to leave the game, becoming
told their story, they have accomplished what they set out a non-player character. Give the character sheet to the gm
to do, they accomplish something wonderful and heroic – the character may come back as a special guest in a future
with their final action, or you just want to play something adventure! Talk to the gm if you want to bring an old
else. Other characters die when you really want them to character back to the game.
survive – you spend every Story Point, you fight every step
of the way, but it’s still not enough and the bad guys get
them. And that’s okay – if there wasn’t a risk of defeat,
victory wouldn’t mean anything in the game.

138
 Chapter 8
Equipment

T
he Pulp Era is an age of ingenuity and wild invention, the high street or order them by mail. You can get Common
where the fantastic dreams of the future seemed on items without any problems. Note that this doesn’t mean
the verge of becoming real. Pulp heroes equip them- they’re cheap, just that getting hold of one is easy. For
selves with a wide array of cunning technology, and the example, cars are Common. That doesn’t mean that they
villains do likewise. The miracles of modern science and don’t cost money; it means that a character can borrow a
the ancient wisdom of distant lands hold the promise of car off a friend or relative easily if he needs one.
great advances for humanity, and the threat of great power
Uncommon items are available, but only through spe-
for those with the will to seize it.
cialized dealers. If your character has an appropriate trait
This chapter details some of the equipment used by heroic (like the right Friends), or the necessary skills (an Area
adventurer and despicable mastermind alike, giving you of Expertise in the relevant field), or if you’ve got the
the tools to explore dangers as far away as lost lands and necessary backing through Group Traits (like, say, you’re
as close as the bad side of town. working for the government), then you can get Uncom-
mon items without too much difficulty. If you don’t have

Trappings vs Group Traits an appropriate way of getting the item, then you’re in
trouble. A lot of Uncommon items are dangerous and
restricted, so you may not be able to obtain them legally
There are three ways to obtain equipment in pulp fan-
if you’re a civilian.
tastic – through your Trappings, through Group Traits,
and getting it in the course of play. Rare items are either very expensive, cutting-edge gadgets,
or very hard to find. Getting a Rare item requires having
Trappings are things your character owns. You get them
the right Group Trait (Armory for weapons, Motor Pool
by having the appropriate skills – a character with a Trans-
for vehicles and so on) or finding a way to get one during
port skill of 3 or more has a car, a character with a Tech-
an adventure.
nology of 3 or more has a toolkit, a character with a Marks-
man skill of 3 or more has a gun and so on. They’re stuff All Weird Technology is at least Rare. Unless the gm spe-
you happen to have on you, or can easily lay your hands cifically allows it, you can’t get Weird Technology except
on. Trappings are limited to Uncommon items in general. by inventing it yourself or finding it in play.
If your Trapping is destroyed, it’s gone forever. Your car,
Unique items are literally one of a kind. Getting a Unique
for example, is a Trapping; you own it, but if it gets stepped
item means having the right Base Trait or finding it in play,
on by an over-sized gorilla during a rampage in New York,
or building it yourself.
it’s out of the game.
Group Traits like Armory or Vehicle Pool give you items
you can requisition. These items belong to your organi-
General Equipment
zation – you can only use them on an official mission, and This section covers the wide variety of general gear avail-
they’re not for personal use. If an item obtained through able to adventurers of all sorts.
a Group Trait is destroyed, you can get a replacement by General equipment mostly does not need any special rules.
returning to your base. Players are free to equip their characters with whatever
Finally, you can obtain items in the course of play by buying they think they are likely to need in the form of tools,
them, finding them, stealing them or being given them. clothes, personal effects, and other sundry items. Gener-
ally these do not affect Skill or Attribute rolls in any way,
though they may be necessary for the effective use of some
Obtaining Equipment skills. For example, repairing an engine without a proper
toolkit is difficult and should be performed at a penalty,
One thing you won’t find in this equipment chapter are and treating a wound without a first aid kit likewise. At-
prices. Instead, equipment is ranked as being Common, tempting a complex Skill without the proper tools should
Uncommon, Rare or Unique. be done with a -2 or more penalty applied to the roll.
Common items are easy to obtain. You can buy them on Certain items of equipment, such as any high (or Weird)
 Pulp Fantastic
technology or arcane artifacts, will have Traits. These are
usually obvious, but the Gamemaster makes the final
You Have It Until You Need It…
decision on the capabilities of any mundane equipment, For most items, there’s no need for a player to declare that
though the expenditure of Story Points to get minor things they have that particular piece of equipment in advance.
to work should be allowed. If it’s part of the Trappings from your skills, or you’ve got
the right Group Trait, or it’s the sort of thing your charac-
Note that any device that uses batteries comes with them.
ter would always carry with you thanks to an Instinct, then
As a general rule, ignore battery life—assume that heroes
you’re assumed to have it when you’re investigating Anom-
(and their antagonists) are smart enough to recharge or
alies. For example, the player of a big game hunter doesn’t
replace their batteries between adventures, and that the
need to tell the gm that he’s taking a hunting rifle with
batteries last as long as needed during adventures, only
him every time he leaves the country – it’s always assumed
running down when dramatically appropriate.
to be in his travel chest.

Equipment That’s Not Listed If an item is something you might have with you, but it’s
a stretch, you can spend Story Points to have it, as long as
pulp fantastic takes place in our world of the 1920’s you can justify it to the gm. If the big game hunter goes
and 1930’s...more or less (assuming you don’t decide to for a night at the Stork Club, he’s not going to bring a
create a truly fantastic pulp world). If you want a piece of hunting rifle with him – but he might have a derringer in
equipment that exists in the real world, but isn’t listed, his pocket, just in case!
talk to your gm.
Losing equipment is a bigger problem. A lot of Yes, But...
successes may involve losing key bits of gear. Some skills
BUYING USED cannot be used without the appropriate equipment.
RULES

For some objects, a character can try to go the cheaper route

and buy used. Used car lots, used book stores, second-hand OPTIONAL RULE: PLANNING
and refurbished electronic equipment shops, pawn shops—
Some GMs and players prefer a more traditional approach to
all these establishments and more offer deals on previously
equipment, where the player characters have only basic
owned goods. In general, only Uncommon items get a price
equipment on them by default. If a player wants to have an
break if you can find them used. Common items don’t receive
elephant gun and some Nitro Express cartridges, then he has
a price break if you find them in used condition.
to say he’s going down to the gun room to get them instead
Whether you can find an object to purchase used instead of of just assuming he got them ‘off-screen’. Using stricter
new is entirely up to the Gamemaster. Except for purchasing equipment rules puts more of an emphasis on planning and
a used car, finding other objects through a used market takes preparation instead of fast action.
time and a bit of luck.
Shopping for a used object takes twice as long as shopping
for the same object new. In addition, after spending the time
shopping, the GM can determine that the exact item you Improvising Equipment
were searching for isn’t available. You might find a similar
object, or you might not find anything like it at any of the If you’re stuck on a dinosaur-infested South American
used outlets you’ve checked out. plateau, of course, you’re unlikely to find a handy branch
of Sears. The Craft skill can be used to improvise basic
Buying used doesn’t negate the penalties and fees associat- equipment and to build shelter. To use the Craft skill, you
ed with buying restricted objects or objects that require a need the appropriate tools, but you can build improvised
license. tools out of basic materials in a pinch.
If you do find a used item, and the Gamemaster agrees that You can also improvise modern equipment, turning your
it qualifies for a price break, it is reduced by 1 rank (i.e. from radio receiver into an ad hoc tracking system. Improvising
Rare to Uncommon, and Uncommon to Common). modern gear uses the Technology skill.
Used objects are harder to repair if something breaks or is When using improvised equipment, any ‘Yes, But’, or
damaged. Whenever a used object requires a Repair check, ‘No, And’ results probably mean that your improvised
increase the Ingenuity + Technology roll Difficulty by 2. gear has broken.
Remember that buying something used is different from
buying something on the black market. While a hot object
might be used, it is sold as though it was new.

140
 Equipment

Weapons scoop the next round into the chamber. They are more
complex than revolvers, but nevertheless have become
It’s a dangerous world out there, especially for those who increasingly popular in the modern age.
make a living fighting criminals or enemy agents. Most Revolvers, such as the .38 Special side-arms carried by
heroes carry weapons, ranging from baseball bats to many police officers, are relatively simple firearms that
Thompson submachine guns. store several rounds (usually six) in a revolving cylinder.
The weapons covered here are grouped into three catego- As the trigger is pulled, the cylinder revolves to bring the
ries based on their general utility: ranged weapons, ex- next bullet in line with the barrel.
plosives, and melee weapons. Machine pistols are automatic weapons small enough to
In the pulp world, carrying a weapon openly—especially be fired with one hand. Some are autoloader pistols mod-
a firearm—is rarely acceptable, even in the rare cases when ified to fire a burst of bullets in a single pull of the trigger,
it’s legal. while others are modified submachine guns, cut down in
size and weight to allow one-handed use.

Guns Ranged weapons that use box magazines come with one
full magazine.
Since this is a cinematic-styled game designed for fast
play, we are not going to get into the nuts and bolts of
varying gun calibers. When one starts worrying about the
AMMUNITION
difference between 9mm and 9x18mm pistols, it is easy
It’s entirely up to you how strictly you want to keep tabs on
to lose sight of the more important aspects of play – action
how much ammunition characters have in their weapons.
and drama. Thus, we break guns down into general cate-
Some people prefer a light touch – maybe only running out
gories instead of specific calibers and loads.
of ammunition when it adds to the story or they make a
Guns have an additional statistic called a range increment. spectacularly bad roll. Others like to carefully manage their
This represents the weapon’s accuracy at different ranges, ammo expenditure, and it can add tension when they run
expressed in meters. Pistols, for example, have range in- low as the cultists close on their position...
crements of 5/10/20, meaning up to 5 meters is short range,
You don’t need to track individual shots. Results of ‘Yes, But’...
up to 10 is medium range, and up to 20 is long range.
or ‘No, And...’ could indicate that you’ve run out of ammo
Weapons can generally fire a maximum distance up to 8
and need to reload (‘Yes, you hit the robot with your first
twice their maximum range, after which it is difficult
shot, but the hammer clicks on an empty chamber when you
enough to hit that it is pointless to check for success.
try to fire again.’). Reloading a gun takes an action for most
For each range increment, a gun suffers a cumulative -2 weapons.
to hit its target, plus an additional -2 beyond its long range.
The ammunition that different weapons hold is presented
Thus, a pistol suffers no penalty up to 5 meters, -2 out to
here as an ‘average’ for a weapon of that type. If your players
10 meters, -4 to 20 meters, and -6 up to 40 meters away,
have done some homework on specific guns, by all means
after which it is impossible to hit a target.
use the information that they have found.
Some guns impose a penalty to your dice roll if you try to
fire more than once per round, due to recoil. This is in OPTION: MERCY BULLETS
addition to the penalty for making more than one action Many science heroes and adventurers prefer to use non-lethal
in a round (see page 123) weapons. One option is to use tranquilizing “mercy bullets”.
The categories and sub-categories of guns are as follows: Mercy bullets deliver an impact similar to a quick punch and
will leave a bruise, but inflict no actual physical damage.
Instead the damage for the weapon is applied to the target’s
Pistols Resolve. See page 131 to determine the difficulty to resist
Pistols are small, hand-held weapons that come in a variety the drug’s effect.
of shapes and sizes from tiny palm-sized derringers to
sleek semi-automatic jobs, to imposing revolvers with Range Increments: All pistols, regardless of their sub-
30-cm barrels. They have a shorter accuracy range than class, have range increments (in meters) of 5/10/20.
rifles, but are much faster to use, less unwieldy to carry, Holdout Pistol – tiny pistols that hold .22 calibre ammu-
and far easier to conceal. nition and do more shock than actual damage. While these
Handguns can be broken down into three smaller groups: guns do very little real damage, they also have no appre-
autoloaders, revolvers, and machine pistols. ciable recoil. These guns hold from one (single-shot der-
ringers) to seven (revolver) to fifteen (automatic pistol)
Autoloaders (sometimes called “automatics”), such as the shots, and are generally double-action, meaning the gun
Colt M1911 (the venerable .45 pistol), feature removable can be fired as many times as the trigger can be pulled.
box magazines, and some models hold quite a lot of am- The character can empty the weapon in a single Round if
munition. They work by using the energy of a shot fired he or she chooses. Examples include:
to throw back a slide, eject the shot’s shell casing, and

141
 Pulp Fantastic
Double Derringer - This pistol breaks open at the breech Colt M1911A1 - A slightly modified version of the pistol
like a double-barreled shotgun. The two-shot weapon has adopted by the American army in 1911, this weapon’s .45
one barrel atop the other and is barely 5 inches long, round gives it more stopping power than any other pistol
making it easy to conceal in a boot or garter. in service.
Pocket Revolver - Designed as a weapon of self-defense, Tokarev Model TT33 - Designed as a replacement for
this small revolver is a popular personal weapon, though the Nagant, the Tokarev is based on the Colt M1911. Because
never as popular as the Derringer. the Soviets favor mass produced submachine guns, the
Tokarev never becomes an especially common weapon in
Small Pistol – any snub-nose weapon, such as an Amer-
the Red Army. The same statistics can be used for similar
ican Saturday Night Special, or snub-nose police revolver,
weapons, such as the Polish Radom (a 9mm pistol) and
usually in .32 to .38 calibres. Most guns in this category
the German Walther P38 (also 9mm).
are small revolvers, limited to six or seven shots, and have
light recoil. These guns deal normal damage and can be Hand Cannon – guns in this category include .357
fired multiple times in a Round, with each additional shot Magnums (introduced in 1934) or .50 caliber pistols. They
imparting a -1 cumulative penalty from recoil. hold 6-7 rounds. They deal a lot of damage, with addition-
al shots imparting -4 cumulative penalties on top of the
Beretta M1934 - The standard side-arm of the Italian
usual multiple action penalty. The recoil from these enor-
army through the Italian-Abyssinian War (1935-36), the
mous pistols is enough to make you black out for a split
Beretta M1934 has a short barrel and underpowered am-
second. These guns may be fired a maximum of twice per
munition, resulting in its low damage capability.
Round. Examples include;
Walther Model PP - The Walther, designed as a replace-
Colt Peacemaker - The most famous weapon of the Old
ment for the Luger, is widely issued to German forces in
RULES

West, the Peacemaker is widely available, powerful, and

the 1930s. The Swedish army also purchases Walthers
rugged. The same characteristics could also
in 1939.
describe similar weapons of different
Medium Pistol – standard police and military side arms calibers, such as the .38 caliber Colt
in 9mm to .40 caliber size, holding 10-15 rounds. These Lightning or Thunder.
guns can be fired multiple times but each addi-
Tranter - This huge British sin-
tional shot after the first imparts a -2 cumula-
gle-action revolver, developed in
tive penalty from recoil.
1865, was designed to discourage
Nagant Model 1895 - This Russian revolver opponents from approaching for
is used in the time of the Russian Revolution close-quarters combat, turned up
and beyond. in all corners of the British Empire,
even though few were made.
Luger P08 Pistol - This is the famous weapon of
German officers in the Great War.
Large Pistol – guns like the U.S. Colt Army Revolver
or Russian Tokarov TT-33, from .45 to 7.62 caliber in
size and holding 6-10 rounds. Like a normal
Medium Pistol, but deals higher damage
with additional shots imparting -3 cumu-
lative penalties from the recoil. Period
examples include;
Browning High Power - Original-
ly manufactured in Belgium, the
Browning High Power is used by
military forces around the world:
Lithuania, Canada, Germany,
China, and Britain, among others.
Its large magazine capacity makes
it particularly popular.
Mauser “Broomhandle” - This
popular, if slightly awkward, pistol
has the magazine mounted in front
of the trigger, making it somewhat
nose-heavy. Its nickname comes
from the narrow grip. A stock can
be mounted to the grip, counter-
balancing the magazine.

142
 Equipment
Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum – Developed in response damage. Shotguns can be fired a maximum of twice per
to the Colt .38 Super Automatic, this famous revolver was round (except for semi-automatic models) and subse-
designed to be able to penetrate automobile cover and quent shots suffer a -3 penalty due to recoil. Double-bar-
early “bullet proof” vests. reled shotguns can fire both barrels simultaneously with
no penalty, adding an additional +1 to hit and an addi-
Smith & Wesson 38/200 - Called a .38, this revolver is
tional 2 points of damage, but require a full Round to
Smith & Wesson’s standard Military and Police .38, but
reload afterward. Standard shotguns hold 2 cartridges,
chambered to take the British .38 cartridge—which actu-
pump-action or automatic shotguns hold 2-10.
ally measures .357 inches. While technically this weapon
wasn’t available until 1940 (after the scope of this game) Assault Rifle – During the Pulp Era, assault rifles were
it could be possible that characters with access to advanced in their earliest stages of development and were Rare,
weaponry may have the pistol in their possession. though characters with access to advanced weapons tech-
nology may be able to find them. An example of an early
Shotguns and Rifles assault rifle is the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.

Rifles have a much longer accuracy range than pistols do, Assault rifles can fire in three modes. In semi-automatic
but are a lot more obvious, awkward, and less portable. mode, they fire a single aimed shot. In Burst mode, the
Unless the rifle is set and aimed already (as with a prepared gun fires three bullets in rapid succession. The wielder
sniper), a character with a pistol will always shoot before makes an attack roll as normal. A Success means they
a character with a rifle. Shotguns have much shorter have hit once, a Good means they have hit twice and a
ranges, but have the drawback of being large and awkward Fantastic result means they have hit with all three bullets
like rifles. – each doing the normal ‘Good’ level of damage. A second
or third burst can be attempted in the same round, but
Range Increments: Shotguns have pistol range incre- each suffers a cumulative -4 penalty in addition to the
ments. All other rifles have Range increments of 25/50/150. usual multiple action penalty. In fully automatic mode,
Rifle – These are hunting rifles of the bolt, pump, or le- the wielder cannot aim. He simply selects an area of up
ver-action variety. They hold 2-8 rounds, and can fire a to a 90° arc in his line of vision and showers it with bullets.
maximum of three times per round. Each attack after the He then makes a standard attack roll. Everyone in the area
first imparts a cumulative -3 penalty. Period examples gets a chance to dive for cover with a +2 bonus to the roll.
include the Winchester Models 1903 and 1910, and the If anyone fails to dodge into cover then they take damage
as usual depending on the severity of their failure. Firing 8
Remington Arms M1903 Springfield.
full auto takes the entire Round; affecting a 45° arc uses
Mannlicher-Parravicino-Carcano Carbine M1891 - The half a clip of ammunition and affecting a 90-degree arc
Italian army uses this weapon during the Great War. The uses the entire clip. A clip usually contains 10-100 rounds.
Japanese Arisaka Meiji 38 is almost identical, except for
its smaller magazine (5 rounds) and greater weight (10
pounds).
Machine guns
Machine guns are large, dangerous weapons used to inflict
Springfield M1903 - This American rifle is licensed from
mass carnage. They are always mounted on bipods or
an earlier Mauser bolt-action rifle. The same statistics can
tripods and cannot be fired on the move unless by char-
be used for later Mausers such as the Gewehr 43 or the
acters with Strength 6 or more. Using a machine gun is
Sturmgewehr 44.
identical to using an Assault Rifle on full auto, save that
Lee-Enfield SMLE MkIII – The British Army’s standard machine guns deal more damage, and smaller arcs of fire
rifle from 1895 to 1957. can be better controlled. A 45° arc uses one-half of an
ammo clip or belt, and a 90° arc uses an entire clip or belt.
Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 - The standard bolt-action
A clip holds up to 100 rounds; belts hold thousands of
rifle of the Soviet Red Army through the pulp era. Nearly
rounds, but aren’t very portable. Smaller or in-between
the same statistics can be used for modified versions of
arcs of fire may be possible at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
the M1930G, such as the M1938G.
Range Increments: Machine guns were actually used in
Big Game Rifle – This is an elephant gun or other big,
WWI and to a lesser extent in WWII as anti-aircraft
heavy rifle. Expensive, but very accurate and long-ranged,
weapons and thus have range increments equal to twice
plus it can stop a charging rhino. Guns like this are Un-
that of rifles.
common. Classic examples from the Pulp Era are the
Continental .600 and the Holland & Holland .500/450 Period examples include;
Nitro Express, both designed to stop a charging bull-ele-
Maxim Gun Mk 1 - The first automatic machine gun, the
phant.
Maxim gun is portable enough to see widespread military
Shotgun – be it a double-barrel 20-gauge or a pump-ac- use. A .450 caliber version of this gun was developed in
tion 12-gauge, all shotguns fall into this category. Shot- 1885, but the British army’s adoption of the weapon in
guns firing slugs deal high damage, but are -1 to hit due 1889 contributed to its great success. The Maxim gun is
to the difficulty aiming, while shotguns firing buckshot water-cooled.
(lots of little pellets) gain +1 to hit a target, but deals less
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 Pulp Fantastic
Colt-Browning M1895 - This early gas-operated machine Waffenfabrik Steyr Maschinenpistol 34 (MP34) –
gun is colloquially called the “potato digger,” because the Developed in 1934 from the MP18, which saw limited
movement of the gun’s levers sometimes kicks up loose service in the Great War, this exceptionally well-made
dirt from the ground. Its light weight and portability com- submachine gun was used by the Austrian police and by
pensate for its relatively slow rate of fire compared to its units of the Waffen SS during World War II.
main competitor, the Maxim.
Browning M1917 - This medium machine gun is used Beam Weapons
by the U.S. Army at the end of the Great War. It is wa- Beam weapons are weird technology devices that project
ter-cooled, though an air-cooled version is issued to in- an oscillating beam of directed energy. Usually derived
fantry (as the M1919A4) in the 1920s. The Browning M1918 from principles discovered from recovered Martian arma-
Automatic Rifle uses the same statistics, except that it has ment, beam weapons are extremely rare and qualify as
a small (20-round) magazine instead of using linked ammo. weird technology. They’re fragile, power-hungry, temper-
Browning M2HB - Originally designed as an aircraft amental, and incredibly expensive. So far, no-one has
weapon, the Browning is adopted by the U.S. Army in 1921. found a way to mass produce them, and knowledge of
them remains extremely limited.
Sub-machine Guns Tesla Pistol – Named after the noted inventor, the Tesla
pistol transmits a massive electrical charge to the target.
Sub-Machine guns are somewhere between pistols and
Most “Tesla Pistols” don’t pack enough punch to do much
machine guns. They look cool, but are not weapons of
damage, instead producing an effect similar to a modern
precision. Typically they can fire in two modes.
taser. They aren’t subtle weapons, producing a vivid blue
RULES

In Burst mode, the gun fires three bullets in rapid succes- flash of electricity and a loud crackle when fired.
sion. The wielder makes an attack roll as normal. A Success
Tesla Rifle – A bulkier version of the Tesla pistol, the Tesla
means they have hit once, a Good means they have hit
rifle has an extended range and battery life, but does no
twice and a Fantastic result means they have hit with all
more damage.
three bullets – each doing the normal ‘Good’ level of
damage. A second or third burst can be attempted in the Tesla Cannon – This large tripod-mounted weapon is the
same round, but each suffers a cumulative -4 penalty in only Tesla gun that does Lethal damage, with the effects
addition to the usual multiple action penalty. being described as being similar to being struck by a
massive bolt of lightning.
In fully automatic mode, the wielder cannot aim accurate-
ly. He simply selects an area of up to a 90° arc in his line Martian Heat Ray – The signature weapon of the Martian
of vision and showers it with bullets. He then makes a invader, the dreaded heat ray is still a potent weapon. With
standard attack roll. Everyone in the area gets a chance to a seemingly inexhaustible (and still unfathomed) energy
dive for cover with a +2 bonus to the roll. If anyone fails source, heat rays have been found in the possession of
to dodge into cover then they take damage as usual de- criminals and military forces all over the world. Still,
pending on the severity of their failure. Firing full auto functional heat rays are rare – many exploded with shat-
takes the entire Round; affecting a 45° arc uses half a clip tering force when being probed for their secrets. Martian
of ammunition and affecting a 90-degree arc uses the heat rays are bulky devices about the size of a man, de-
entire clip. A clip usually contains 10-100 rounds. Gener- signed to be mounted on the tripod walkers, and need to
ally, they can only fire fully automatic like assault rifles, be adapted for human use by the use of a tripod and a
but have the range of pistols. They hold clips of 10-50 man-usable trigger system.
rounds.
Generally submachine guns are Uncommon or Rare. Period Sniper Rifles
examples include; Sniper weapons allow the shooter to remain at a relative-
Thompson M1921 Submachine Gun - The famous ly safe distance, using high-powered telescopic sights and
“Tommy gun” of American gangsters is one of the first long-range weaponry. The sniper usually holes up in a
hand-held weapons capable of automatic fire. Its large-cal- location that gives him the best possible view over the
iber bullets give it greater damage potential than many proceedings, taking shots of opportunity when possible.
more modern submachine guns, although at a shorter At this point in history, most sniper rifles were simply
range. standard rifles fitted with a telescopic sight, rather than
the specialized sniper rifles of today. Modern sniper rifles
Beretta M1938A - Primarily an Italian weapon, the Model have a very long range, and can deliver very high amounts
1938A is also issued to some Rumanian and German troops. of damage but at this point in time qualify as Weird Tech.
The same statistics can be used for similar submachine
guns, such as the Erma MP38/40, the Sten Mark 2, the Period examples include;
Shpagin PPSh-41 (7.62mm), or the Sudarev PPS-42 (also Lee-Enfield SMLE MkIII – The British Army’s standard
7.62mm). rifle from 1895 to 1957, when modified with a heavy stock
and telescopic sight became a highly effective sniper rifle.

144
 RANGED WEAPON SUMMARY Equipment
RANGE
WEAPON INCREMENTS AMMUNITION DAMAGE RECOIL
(IN METRES)
Holdout Pistol 5/10/20 1-15 1/2/3 0
Small Pistol 5/10/20 6-7 2/4/6 -1
Medium Pistol 5/10/20 10-15 2/5/7 -2
Large Pistol 3/6/9 6-10 2/5/7 -3
Hand Cannon 3/7/9 6-7 3/6/9 -4
Shotgun (Slug) 4/8/12 2-10 3/7/10 -3
Shotgun (Shot) 3/6/12 2-10 3/6/9 -3
Rifle 24/48/146 2-8 3/6/9 -3
Big Game Rifle 65/130/390 2-8 4/8/12 -5
Assault Rifle 24/48/146 10-100 3/6/9 -4
Machine Gun 160/320/960 Belt Fed 3/7/10 -4
Submachine Gun 3/6/12 10-50 2/5/7 -4
Sniper Rifle (Period) 49/98/293 2-8 3/6/9 -3
Sniper Rifle (Modern) 198/396/793 1-5 4/8/12 NA
Tesla Pistol 5/10/20 10-15 S/S/S 0
Tesla Rifle 24/48/146 10-20 S/S/S 0
Tesla Cannon 49/98/293 10-20 4/L/L 0
Martian Heat Ray 200/400/800 NA 10/20/30 0

Springfield M1903 - This American rifle is licensed from 8

an earlier Mauser bolt-action rifle. The same statistics can
SNIPING AND AIMING be used for later Mausers such as the Gewehr 43 or the
Sturmgewehr 44.
Any character can choose to aim their weapon for longer to
try to be more accurate with their shooting. For a complete Mauser Gehwehr 98 – The main German infantry bolt-ac-
Action Round, the shooter does nothing else but aim. They tion combat rifle during the Great War. When modified
cannot dodge, move or take any other action without ne- with telescopic sights and a modified bolt, this became
gating the effects of trying to aim. If an enemy hits them, one of the most effective sniper weapons of the war.
they are distracted and lose their aim. If they manage to
spend an entire Action Round with uninterrupted aiming,
they make a normal Coordination and Marksman roll as if
Telescopic Sight
they had taken the shot, but instead they make a note of A telescopic sight is a device that makes it easier to hit
what they roll. The better they did this time, the bigger the targets at long range. However, although a scope magni-
bonus they get on their actual shot. A Success provides a +2 fies the image of the target, it has a very limited field of
bonus, a Good result a +4 bonus and a Fantastic a +6 bonus view, making it difficult to use.
to the actual roll to hit the next Round. They can shoot at
A scope increases the range increment for a ranged weapon
any time next Action Round and receive the respective bonus
by two (this is already built in for sniper rifles, below).
to their roll.
However, to use a scope you must spend an attack action
A character with the Sniper trait can aim for more than one acquiring your target. If you change targets or otherwise
Action Round. If they can remain uninterrupted, they can add lose sight of the target, you must reacquire the target to
an additional bonus from a second Round’s worth of aiming. gain the benefit of the scope.
They can continue to aim longer, but only the bonus from
the most recent two Rounds of aiming are added to the actual
shot – targets keep moving around, can disappear behind
Other Ranged Weapons
cover and the sniper’s advantage can be lost. Ranged weapons that are not firearms include such diverse
objects as bows, crossbows, javelins and shuriken.
Bow: This could be any form of self-powered bow, from
traditional longbows to modern compound designs. Bow
hunting remains popular with hunters, athletes, and other
recreationists. A bow does 2/4/6 damage. Common.

145
 Pulp Fantastic
Crossbow: The medieval crossbow was a devastatingly
effective weapon for its time, but a modern crossbow is
Melee Weapons
even more dangerous. Crossbows are slow to reload, but Melee weapons are used in close combat, and they are
have the advantage of being completely silent. Crossbows generally among the simplest types of weapons.
are Uncommon. They inflict 2/4/6 damage. A crossbow
Knife: A small boot-knife or straight-razor does Strength
requires two hands to use. Pulling a lever draws the bow.
+1 damage; a really nasty one like a cleaver does +2 or even
It takes two Action Rounds to reload a crossbow.
+3 damage. Knives are Common.
Flamethrower: A flamethrower consists of a pressurized
Cosh: A truncheon, or club; ideal for coshing or clubbing
backpack containing fuel, connected to a tube with a
people. Strength +2 damage; you can make Called Shots
nozzle. It shoots a 2m-wide, 10m-long line of flame that
to the head without a penalty if you take someone by
burns all creatures and objects in its path. Flamethrow-
surprise with a cosh. Coshes are Common.
ers aren’t exactly the most accurate weapon, but they’re
great for dealing with Swarms of small creatures or for Sap/Blackjack: A sap is a type of cosh, consisting of either
scaring creatures – including people - that are afraid of a flat, leather-covered lead rod fitted with a spring handle,
fire. They’re also good for setting yourself alight if you’re while a blackjack is a small, soft club made of an amount
not careful. A flamethrower attack does variable damage of lead shot wrapped in leather. Both are designed to deliver
(1 die/2 dice/3 dice), but combatants who dodge a flame- non-lethal clubbing damage by spreading the impact over
thrower attack have to dodge away from you, giving you a broad area, and are used when the intention is to stun the
a breathing space. If you dodge a flame attack with Co- target into unconsciousness rather than kill him outright.
ordination + Athletics, the only place to dodge is away Saps deliver Strength +2 Resolve damage. Saps and black-
from the flame so you can’t attack the flamethrower jacks are common.
RULES

operator without moving again.

Knuckledusters: Brass knuckledusters let you punch for
Javelin: This light, flexible spear built for throwing can Strength +1 damage. They’re Common.
be used in melee, but since it’s not designed for it, char-
Spear: This primitive device is a stabbing reach weapon
acters using it in this manner always suffer –2 to hit. Jav-
and does Strength – 2 damage. You can strike opponents
elins do Strength +3 damage. Uncommon.
3 metres away with it, but you can’t use it in close combat
Shuriken: A shuriken is a thrown, star-shaped projectile without a -2 penalty to hit. Rifle-fixed bayonets can also
with four to eight razor-sharp points and does Strength be classed as spears. Spears are Uncommon.
+2 damage. Uncommon.
Sword: Katanas, claymores, machetes, really big knives—
Whip: Whips do Strength + 1 damage. Although you don’t anything that lets you chop and slice for Strength +4
“fire” the weapon, treat a whip as a ranged weapon with damage. Real swords (as opposed to replicas and orna-
a maximum range of 4 metres. Uncommon. mental weapons) are Uncommon.
Because a whip can wrap around an enemy’s leg or other Axe: A chopping blade mounted on a handle to increase
limb, you can attempt to trip or entangle them with it. damage, axes start at Strength + 2 damage for hatchets
You declare this when making the attack. To avoid being and tomahawks, increasing to +3 for fire-axes and +4 for
tripped or entangled, the target must make a successful battle-axes. Common.
Coordination + Athletics reaction roll. Failure indicates
Chainsaw: Not exactly a conventional weapon; a chainsaw
the target has been either tripped or entangled and must
does Strength +6 damage, but there’s a -4 penalty to hit,
spend their next Action either untangling themselves or
and you run the risk of hurting yourself if you get a Disas-
getting to their feet. Either way, they lose an Action and
trous Failure. Chainsaws are large, unwieldy and Uncom-
cannot move until they have freed themselves.
mon during the Pulp Era.
Caltrops: Caltrops are four-pronged iron spikes designed
so that one prong is pointing up when the caltrop rests on
a surface. You scatter caltrops on the ground to injure
Explosives
opponents, or at least slow them down. One bag of twen- Mines, rockets, grenades and other explosives do
ty-five caltrops covers a single two metre square and can damage to an area. Anyone inside the listed radius
be thrown, bursting open on impact. Each time a creature takes full damage; anyone close by but not inside the
moves through a square containing caltrops at any rate radius takes ½ damage.
greater than half speed, or each round a creature spends Land Mine: Step on it, and it goes boom. Spotting a
fighting in such an area, they must make a Difficulty 12 land mine pits Awareness + Survival against Ingenuity
Coordination + Awareness check to avoid stepping on one. + Subterfuge on the part of whoever planted it, with big
Should they fail the roll, a caltrop deals 1 point of damage, penalties to those spotting it if time has passed and the
and the injury reduces foot speed to half normal (a suc- surface is now overgrown. If a mine goes off, it inflicts
cessful Difficultly 12 Awareness + Medicine check, or one 2 dice + 6 damage to everyone within about 2 metres.
day’s rest removes this penalty). A charging or running Mines are Rare.
creature must immediately stop if it steps on a caltrop.
Caltrops are Uncommon.

146
 Equipment
Rocket Launcher: Though the classic bazooka didn’t It’s possible to wire together several sticks of dynamite for
officially come into service until 1942, characters with even greater explosive effect. Doing so requires a Tricky
access to advanced weapons technology could come across (Difficulty 15) Ingenuity + Technology check (+ 1 Difficul-
a prototype shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapon. Rocket ty per stick). If you succeed on the check, both the damage
launchers inflict 20/40/60 damage, and are very, very and the radius of the explosion increases by 50%.
Rare. Characters should not be using rocket launchers in
Dynamite is sold in boxes of 12 sticks. It is considered to
public. Or in cramped spaces. Or at all. Maximum range
be a simple explosive for the purpose of using a Science
is around 365 metres, with an explosive radius of 3 metres.
check to manufacture it.
Panzerfaust: A hand-held, single-shot, shaped-charge
To set off dynamite using a fuse, the fuse must first be lit,
anti-tank weapon, easily manufactured and designed to
requiring an Action (and a lighter or other source of flame).
be cheap, one-use weapons to be used with little training.
The amount of time until the dynamite explodes depends
The Panzerfaust has an effective range of just over 60
on the length of the fuse—a fuse can be cut short enough
metres. When the Panzerfaust hits its target, it explodes
for the dynamite to detonate in the same round (allowing
like a grenade or other explosive, inflict 9/18/36 damage
it to be used much like a grenade), or long enough to take
within a 3 metre radius. Because its explosive is a shaped
several minutes to detonate. Cutting the fuse to the ap-
charge designed to penetrate the armor of tanks, the Pan-
propriate length requires an Action.
zerfaust ignores up to 10 points of armor protection if it
a vehicle, building or object. This applies only to the object
struck, not other objects within the burst radius. Rare in Armor
this era. Heavy armor is bulky and slows you down, and really won’t
Smoke Grenade: Throwing a grenade uses Coordination help if you’re run over by a tank. Still, a bit of protection
+ Athletics; a smoke grenade fills a room or a small building never goes amiss. Armor only protects against attacks
with thick smoke. Trying to do anything while blinded is that hit the part of the body it protects – wearing a helmet
worth a -4 penalty at least. Smoke grenades are Uncommon. gives you armor on your head, but obviously won’t help
if someone’s hacking your arm off.
Tear Gas Grenade: Like a smoke grenade, but also painful.
If you’re caught in a tear gas cloud without a gas mask, you Body armor comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, pro-
have to roll Resolve + Awareness each Round against Dif- viding varying degrees of coverage and varying heaviness
ficulty 18; if you fail, you take one point of damage to your of materials. Armor comes in four types: archaic, im- 8
Awareness or your Resolve. Resisting a tear gas grenade promptu, concealable, and tactical.
counts as a Reaction, so you’ll be at -2 to your next roll made Archaic armor is old-fashioned armor, such as medieval
that round. Tear gas grenades are Uncommon. chain-mail and plate mail.
Stun Grenade: Stun grenades don’t inflict much damage, Impromptu armor includes items that provide protection
but they knock their victims out briefly. If you’re hit by a even though they weren’t designed for that purpose, such
stun grenade, you must make a Strength + Resolve roll as leather biker’s jackets and football pads.
against a Difficulty of 12/18/24 (work out the difficulty like
you’d work out the damage for a normal attack). If you Tactical armor is modern body armor that fits over cloth-
fail, you’re knocked out for 1 round on a Normal Failure, ing and can’t be easily concealed. Its weight and bulk make
1 - 6 rounds on a Bad Failure, and 2 dice rounds on a Di- it impractical to wear all the time, and it’s generally only
sastrous Failure.) Stun grenades have an explosive radius donned when a specific dangerous confrontation is likely.
of three metres. Because it’s worn over clothing in tactical situations, tac-
tical armor often has pockets, clips, and Velcro attachment
Explosive Grenade: You throw them, they go boom, bad points for carrying weapons, grenades, ammunition,
guys fall down. Explosive grenades have an explosive flashlights, first aid kits, and other items.
radius of 3 metres, and inflict 8/16/24 damage if the targets
fail to dodge. Explosive grenades are Rare. Pulp era exam- Padded Armor: This archaic armor consists of a breast-
ples are the standard US Army fragmentation grenade plate made of layers of linen, which are then quilted to-
and the well-known German “potato-masher” Steilhand- gether to form rudimentary armor. Some types hang all
granate. the way to the knees.
Dynamite: Perhaps one of the most common and straight- Leather Jacket: This armor is represented by a heavy
forward explosives, dynamite is very stable under normal leather flying jacket, flying leathers or biker jacket. A
conditions. A stick of dynamite requires a fuse or detona- number of other impromptu armors, such as a football
tor to set it off. Additional sticks can be set off at the same pads and a baseball catcher’s pads, offer similar protection
time if they are within the burst radius of the first stick, and game statistics.
increasing the damage and burst radius of the explosion. Leather Armor: This archaic armor consists of a breast-
Dynamite does 2/5/7 per stick in a 2 metre radius. Each plate made of thick, lacquered leather, along with softer
additional stick multiplies the damage (i.e. 2 sticks deal leather coverings for other parts of the body.
2/5/7 x 2 damage, 3 sticks do 2/5/7 x 3 damage, and so on)
and increase the explosive radius by 2 metres.

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 Pulp Fantastic

ARMOR SUMMARY
COORDINATION
ARMOR VALUE WEIGHT NOTES PENALTY
Banded Armor 6 40lbs Archaic, Rare 2
Chain-mail Shirt 5 40lbs Archaic, Rare 1
Chemico Body Armor 3 6lbs Tactical, Uncommon 1
EOB Body Armor 4 10lbs Tactical, Uncommon 1
Half Plate Armor 7 50lbs Archaic, Rare 2
Hide 3 25lbs Archaic, Uncommon 1
Leather Armor 2 15lbs Archaic, Uncommon 1
Leather Jacket 1 4lbs Impromptu, Common 0
Padded Armor 1 10lbs Archaic, Uncommon 1
Plate Mail 8 50lbs Archaic, Rare 3
Scale-mail Armor 3 30lbs Archaic, Rare 2
Splint Mail 6 45lbs Archaic, Rare 2
Studded Leather Armor 3 20lbs Archaic, Uncommon 2
RULES

Studded Leather Armor: This medieval-era armor con- the current attack – if you use the same Reaction roll
sists of leather with metal studs riveted from the inside. against multiple attacks, the shield only works against
the first attack.
Chemico Body Armor: British armor worn during the
Great War. It is commonly made of kapok and fabric
making it lighter than similar armors that use metal. It is Lifestyle
effective against piercing attacks, but not so effective What sort of lifestyle does your character live? Does he
against bullets. drive an exotic car and own a speedboat, throwing lavish
Chain-mail Shirt: This medieval-era armor is a long shirt parties and flying off to Rio for the weekend? Or does he
made of interlocking metal rings, with a layer of padding subsist on pizza and pasta in a one-room apartment?
underneath. It’s heavy, making it uncomfortable to wear An average character (one without the Wealthy or Impov-
for long periods of time. Some science heroes wear chain- erished Traits) can afford a meal at a good restaurant, a
mail made of exotic alloys, making it easier to wear for ticket to a basketball game, or a new book pretty much
long periods, but this variant qualifies as Weird Tech. any time he wants.
Scale-mail Armor: This medieval-era armor consists of More expensive lifestyle options are always available, but
constructed of metal scales sewn or riveted onto a leather he can’t really live beyond his means for long without
garment. becoming temporarily Impoverished. Of course, if he
EOB Body Armor: British armor worn during the Great already owns a Bugatti, becoming Impoverished doesn’t
War. It is commonly made of metal plates covering the necessarily mean he has to give it up. He still drives an
front, back and groin. This armor was the most effective expensive car—he just can’t currently afford to do all the
of all armors used during the Great War. other things people associate with that kind of life.
Half Plate Armor: This medieval-era armor dispenses A character with the Impoverished Trait is nearly always
with the chain backing of plate mail to save weight. Instead, broke. A night at the movies might be a treat, but he can’t
a light suit of padding or akteon is worn beneath it. The regularly afford anything more expensive without spend-
considerable weight of this armor is distributed over the ing a Story Point.
wearer’s body, and a trained knight can lie down, stand Characters with Wealthy as a Minor Good trait are com-
up, or vault into a saddle while wearing this armor. fortably well-off. They can easily drop about $500 at a
Plate Mail: This medieval-era armor consists of metal time, meaning that they will fly, drink and eat first class
plates that cover the entire body. It’s heavy and cumber- more often than not. Having Wealthy as a Major Good
some compared to most modern armor, but it does provide Trait means that money is no longer something you have
a great deal of protection. to worry about.
Shield: A shield gives 4 or 8 points of Armor, depending
on what it is made out of. When using a shield, you only
get its protection if you use a Reaction to defend against

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 Equipment

Vehicles pushing or dragging cargo. Some vehicles have higher

levels of Powerful.
The essence of the Pulp Era is speed. As new technologies Off-road: The vehicle is designed to go off-road. If a vehicle
shrank the world, people became obsessed with travelling that lacks this Trait goes off-road, call for Transport checks
further and faster than ever before. Pulp characters in every few rounds.
general are always leaping on a plane or a boat (or zeppe-
lin!) and travelling across the globe in search of action and Fast: Some vehicles are really fast. If you push the speed
adventure. This section deals with the various vehicles of a Fast Vehicle, you move 2 extra zones on a Success, 4
the characters will rely on to get them from place to place. on a Good Success, and 6 on a Fantastic one.

Attributes Sample Vehicles

Vehicles have four special Attributes. Motorcycle: These statistics are for small Common mo-
torcycles. Something fancier like an Indian Hendee Special
Handling: The ease of manoeuvring the vehicle at speed. gets a higher Hit Capacity, Armour and Speed; such mo-
Speed: How fast they move, in terms of Areas per Round, torcycles are Uncommon. A really powerful motorcycle
which is what you need to know for chases. A vehicle can is Fast.
go faster than its listed speed, but if you push it like that, Small Car: Your average family car, like a Ford Model T.
you’ll have to make a Transport roll every round to keep Common.
control.
Big Car: This is a large, expensive car, like a Duesenberg
Armour: How tough the vehicle’s exterior is. This may Model J Phaeton; leather seats, walnut dashboard. Don’t
also reflect how much protection the vehicle gives to scratch the paintwork. Cars like this are Uncommon.
people inside it.
Sports Car: A top-of-the line sports car, like a BMW 328
Size: How big the vehicle is. or an Auburn 852 Speedster. Cars like this are rare.
Hit Capacity: How much damage the vehicle can take Utility: This covers military jeeps, pick-up trucks (like
before being immobilised. A vehicle that takes half its Hit the Ford Model A Pickup) and other utility vehicles (like
Capacity is damaged, and loses half its speed. A vehicle the Ford Model T Utility Truck). They’re Uncommon.
that takes twice its Hit Capacity in damage is torn apart 8
and is now a pile of junk. Truck: A cargo truck. A bus would have similar attributes,
but would replace its Powerful Trait with more space for
Aircraft and water craft work slightly differently. A boat passengers. Trucks are Uncommon.
that’s taken half its Hit Capacity is holed and is sinking.
It can still be used, but loses one Speed every round until Tank: A front-line battle tank like the Panzerkampfwagen
reduced to 0, at which point it sinks. III. A vehicle like that has a main gun that can make mince-
meat out of any hero as well as smaller anti-personnel
An aircraft reduced to half its starting Hit Capacity is out weapons. Battle tanks are Rare, and your gm shouldn’t let
of control. The pilot needs to land it immediately or it will you get one anyway.
crash.
Inflatable Dingy: An inflatable boat. Safe and reliable
unless a shark bites a chunk out of it. Inflatable dinghies
Traits are Uncommon.
There are also a few special Traits that vehicles can have. Speedboat: A fast sports boat. Rare.
Open: The vehicle offers next to no protection to people Autogyro: Invented in 1923, the autogyro is a predecessor
inside it. A motorcycle is open, as is a convertible. of the modern helicopter. Built from airplane components,
Enclosed: Your average car—the main compartment is an autogyro has the body of a light plane such as the
enclosed, but there are big windows that could be smashed Sopwith Camel, but with rotary blades mounted above the
open easily. If an Enclosed vehicle is attacked, then a big cockpit in place of wings (though it does have a pair of
attacker may be able to get at the people inside through light stabilizers extending to the sides where the wings
the windows with a Fantastic attack result. would be on a monoplane). A propeller on the front moves
the autogyro forward. Rare.
Fully Enclosed: This is for tanks and other vehicles that
are designed to withstand attacks from outside, like a Motorcycles
safari landrover. The windows are non-existent, or are
made with wire-hardened glass and are far enough away Unlike getting into a car, mounting a motorcycle is a free
from the passengers to ensure that attackers need to smash action. Motorcycles tend to perform better than automo-
or flip the vehicle to get at the characters inside (assuming biles, but they provide no cover to their occupants.
they don’t just open the door). BMW R12: A sturdy well-built motorcycle, available with
Powerful: This vehicle has a big engine and puts out lots or without a sidecar, used by the Third Reich as a vehicle
of horsepower. Double its speed for the purposes of for scouts or couriers.
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 Pulp Fantastic
Indian Hendee Special: The Indian Hendee Special is It is 3 squares long and 2 squares wide. With the convert-
the first electric start motorcycle. It is a powerful bike ible top up, it provides two-thirds cover to its occupants;
capable of high speed. It’s smaller than most vehicles with the roof down, this is reduced to one-third cover.
occupying only a single square. This bike is the favorite
Bugatti Type 57 Atalante: The Bugatti Type 57 is a sleek
of a lot of daredevils and speed freaks.
and elegant racer from 1937, and provides two-thirds cover
SdKfz 2: A treaded motorcycle half-track, the SdKfz 2 to its occupants.
Kettenkraftrad was originally conceived as a light support
Hispano-Suiza H6C Saoutchik Xenia Coupe: A mas-
towing vehicle for mountain troops, but found favor with
terpiece of artistic design, this is a successor to the classic
all Wehrmacht troops, especially those in the Eastern Front
Hispano-Suiza sedans of earlier years. Its art deco styling
where it’s excellent cross country ability allowed it to
and teardrop shape set it apart from any other car on the
maneuver in the mud-bogged roads and the mountainous
road at the time. It provides two-thirds cover to its occu-
Caucasus region.
pants.
Cars Military Vehicles
Several cars are covered here.
Several military vehicles are covered here.
Bentley-3 Litre: Known for both speed and reliability,
Panzerkampfwagen III: One of the Reich’s famed Panzer
the Bentley 3-Litre has been jokingly referred to as “The
tanks, the Panzerkampfwagen III was relatively lightly
fastest truck in the world.” With the convertible top up, it
armed and armored, with 15mm armor. This vehicle is
provides two-thirds cover to its driver and passengers;
armed with a single 37mm cannon and a MG34.
with the roof down, this is reduced to one-third cover.
RULES

SturmGeschuetz III: The SturmGeschütz (Assault Gun)

Mercedes-Benz SSK: A fine early sports car, the SSK
was designed using the main hull of the Panzer III. Orig-
pales in comparison to the Alfa Romeo that comes along
inally designed as support artillery weapon it was later up
a few years later.
gunned with a massive 75mm cannon and used as a
Model A Ford Roadster Pickup: This is a typical early tank-killer.
pickup truck, lacking the large capacity of more modern
Type VIIA U-boat: Another iconic Nazi vehicle, the U-boats
pickups. The driver has two-thirds cover, while the rear
traveled the Atlantic in predatory “wolf-packs”, harassed ship-
bed provides one-third cover.
ping, delivered Nazi spies onto unsuspecting enemy beaches,
Model A Ford Station Wagon: Later known as a “Woody” and carried secret archeo-
for its wooden sides, this kind of early station wagon is logical discoveries to hidden
intended for commercial use (replacing its passengers island fortresses! There were
with additional cargo capacity). It provides two-thirds many types of U-boat — this
cover to its occupants. vehicle is armed with a
75mm deck gun, 11 torpe-
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900: The Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 is a fast
does in 4 forward tubes.
two-seat racer. It provides one-third cover to its occupants.
Duesenberg Model J Phaeton: This luxury automobile
brought the term “duesy” (or “doozy”) into popular slang.
Airplanes
It has a separate windshield for the passengers in the rear In the 1920 and 30’s, the
seat! With the convertible top up, it provides two-thirds airplane was still a rela-
cover to its occupants; with the roof down, this is reduced tively new technology, and
to one-third cover. flight was seen as the
gateway to adventure.
Citroen Traction Avant: One of the first cars to use front-
wheel drive, the 1934 Citroen Traction Avant is a technol- Fokker Triplane: The
ogy leader. It provides two-thirds cover to its occupants. only fighter plane nearly
comparable to the Sopwith
Buick Series 90 Convertible Phaeton: A popular car in Camel during the Great
the early days of Hollywood, the Buick Series 90 Convertible War, the Fokker is just as
is elegant and often seen in light colors. With the convert- well known, as it was made
ible top up, it provides two-thirds cover to its occupants; famous by the exploits of
with the roof down, this is reduced to one-third cover. the legendary Red Baron.
Auburn 852 Speedster: Another speedy racing car. With It carries twin Spandau
the convertible top up, it provides two-thirds cover to its machine guns. (Use the
occupants; with the roof down, this is reduced to one- statistics for the Browning
third cover. M1917 machine gun.)
BMW 328: A lightweight and aerodynamic sports car, Sopwith Camel: One of
the BMW 328 is speedy (for its time) and maneuverable. the most famous fighter

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 Equipment

VEHICLE SUMMARY
TYPE ARMOR HIT CAPACITY SPEED HANDLING SIZE TRAITS
Motorcycle 2 6 8 4 Average Open
Motorcycle Half-Track 2 6 8 2 Average Open, Off-Road
Small Car 4 12 8 3 Large Enclosed
Big Car 5 16 8 2 Large Enclosed
Sports Car 4 12 12 4 Large Open, Fast
Utility 6 16 6 1 Large Enclosed, Off-Road, Powerful
Truck 4 24 5 1 Huge Enclosed, Powerful x 4
Tank 18 32 3 2 Huge Fully Enclosed, Off-Road, Powerful x 8
Dinghy 0 6 6 2 Large Open
Speedboat 4 10 8 3 Large Open, Fast
Autogyro 6 10 12 3 Large Open
Biplane 6 12 12 3 Large Open
Fighter Plane 8 18 14 4 Huge Enclosed, Fast
Fighter Bomber 8 24 14 2 Huge Enclosed, Fast
Cargo Plane 8 30 12 2 Huge Enclosed, Powerful x 2
Sea Plane 8 30 12 2 Huge Enclosed, Powerful
Airliner 10 30 12 0 Huge Enclosed, Powerful x 2
Zeppelin 10 50 10 -2 Huge Enclosed, Powerful x 4
U-Boat 10 120 10 -4 Huge Fully Enclosed, Powerful x 8
8

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 Pulp Fantastic
planes of The Great War, the Sopwith Camel is a highly
maneuverable biplane with twin Vickers machine guns Technology Levels
mounted in the nose. (Use the statistics for the Colt-Brown- Despite the fact that all of the technology of the Pulp Era
ing M1895 machine gun.) The breeches of the guns are ran on vacuum tubes, scientific endeavors are broken into
covered by a hump that gives the plane its name. Other various Technology Levels, for ease of use in these rules.
Great War-era biplanes have -1 maneuver modifiers but Bear in mind that these are not hard and fast guidelines
are otherwise comparable to the Camel. to any particular era, and that any historical epoch is a
Messerschmitt Bf109: One of the best air superiority blend of different Progress Levels for the different types
fighters ever built, the Messerschmitt was the predator of of sciences.
the skies. The Bf109 was the Luftwaffe’s standard sin- A Technology Level (tl) is an indication of the state of
gle-seat fighter since 1935 and was able to outfight or technology that exists in a particular society or civilization
outrun virtually all opposition. The fighter was used pri- (which, in a science fiction setting, may be located on a
marily for intercept and bomber escort duties. planet other than Earth). This state of technological de-
Junkers 87D Stuka: Stuka is the abbreviation of the velopment generally pervades all aspects of a culture,
German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, which designated all particularly at higher levels (tl 5 and beyond) when long-
dive bombers. The main fighter/bomber used by the range communication is virtually instantaneous. Even at
Luftwaffe, the Stuka would play a major role in the Blitz- lower levels, it’s unlikely—but not impossible—for a group
krieg that swept across Poland, northern Europe and of humans (or other sentient beings) to be at one Technol-
France. In the later years of the war, the Ju 87 had a suc- ogy Level in some respects and at another one in other
cessful second life as an antitank weapon, striking armor respects. Technology Level may vary wildly from place to
columns from above. place on the same world or even the same continent.
RULES

Sikorski S-42 (Seaplane): Before the extensive develop-

ment of airports, seaplanes such as the Sikorski S-42 (Sea- TL 1: Stone Age
plane) are popular passenger planes. They can carry nearly The major achievements of a Stone Age society are the
three dozen passengers in comfort. use of fire, the domestication of animals, and the invention
Curtis Condor: This was the ultimate airliner prior to the of agriculture. An individual living in a Stone Age society
1933 introduction of the Boeing 247. Despite its - at the is primitive, but he isn’t necessarily gullible, stupid, or
time luxurious cabin - the Condor was a beast to fly and a easily frightened by advanced technology. Common
nauseating ride for passengers. weapons in a tl 1 civilization include the club, the dagger,
the spear, and the bow. Armor made from hide or leather
Zeppelins is possible, as are wicker shields. Communication beyond
the local tribe or settlement doesn’t exist. Travel is accom-
One of the most visually distinctive and graceful means plished by foot or by simple rafts or canoes. Simple pottery,
of transportation, the zeppelin is also practically syn- stone working, and woodworking are possible.
onymous with the idea of Pulp in the minds of most
modern gamers.
TL 2: Bronze/Iron Age –
A zeppelin consists of a large hydrogen or helium filled
balloon that is steered by rudders on the aft and given Middle Ages
thrust by propellers. Rigid-bodied zeppelins usually have
Early human civilizations began to work metal toward the
a small control gondola beneath, with passenger accom-
end of the Stone Age. The malleability of copper led to its
modation and cargo holds within the body of the craft.
becoming the first metal to be “tamed.” Adding tin to
At over 100 metres long with a carrying capacity of up to copper created a much stronger alloy: bronze. This advance
72 passengers, a standard large passenger airship could allowed for the crafting of tools and weapons of great
cross the Atlantic in two and a half days. The world famous durability. In turn, those improved tools made possible
Hindenburg was over 240 metres long, the largest object the working of iron, which soon replaced bronze as the
ever to fly, while the Graf Zeppelin was the first aircraft to metal of choice for tools and weapons.
fly around the world.
In a Bronze/Iron Age society, advances in pottery, con-
While most zeppelins were filled with highly flammable struction, and agriculture allow for the concentration of
hydrogen, American airships used helium and therefore populations into larger and larger groups, with a corre-
weren’t exposed to the same risk from fire. sponding upswing in the accumulation and sharing of
knowledge. The rise of nations, city states, and empires
begins in the Bronze Age. Organized efforts to improve
communications allow regional societies to exist. Galleys
and small sailing vessels are capable of relatively long
voyages, and some cultures may build extensive road or
canal networks to link distant places.

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 Equipment
Improvements in agricultural efficiency permit the rise of the battlefield. Even the reliable bow vanishes, replaced by
artisans, craftsmen, professional soldiers, and other occu- the flintlock. Light melee weapons remain common.
pations that are not directly concerned with gathering food.
The sword replaces the club and the dagger as the preferred TL 4: Industrial Age
weapon of infantry. Chariots briefly dominate warfare In the fourth Technology Level, the theoretical knowledge
before cavalry (aided by the introduction of the stirrup) of the previous era matures into widespread practical
renders chariots obsolete. The first true military forces or application. This is the Technology Level of the world
tactical systems appear. Armor can now be made from detailed in the pulp fantastic rpg. Any Progress
sewn plates or scales, metal links, or even forged breast- Levels above 4 will belong to limited individuals. The
plates, and a variety of metal melee weapons dominate harnessing of hydraulic, steam, and electric power creates
the battlefield. an explosion of commerce and industry. Developments
Maturing civilizations experience a period of turmoil and such as the telegraph, the telephone, and the radio make
adjustment toward the end of this Technology Level. De- true global communication possible. Breakthroughs in
velopments continue in architecture, commerce, metallur- manufacturing techniques allow the construction of heavy
gy, and mathematics. Wider dissemination of information ironclad vessels, rail transportation, and architecture of
becomes possible thanks to more advanced printing tech- previously unimaginable size. Pioneers venture high into
niques. Sea communications dominate in the later part of the atmosphere and descend into the sea’s depths.
this stage of development, and sturdy seafaring carracks Urbanization is complete as individuals gather in smaller
and galleons open the door to the next Progress Level. environments where they can more easily exchange goods
As populations increase and knowledge of agriculture evolves, and information. Corporations expand in power, many
an increasing percentage of the population relocates into establishing themselves throughout the explored world.
growing cities and towns. Toward the end of this Progress Governments are based on political and economic factors.
Level, the feudal system, in which a small class of nobles ruled The means of war change swiftly through the period. Air-
a large population of agricultural workers, begins to collapse. craft and submersibles join the list of military assets. Reli-
Specialized crafts develop, universities appear, and the middle able and accurate rifles, pistols, and machine guns become
class is born. The first corporations emerge in the form of trade common. Mechanized war machines herald the first great
guilds. The evolution of strong systems of trade and finance change in the art of battle since the end of the knight.
tends to distribute a society’s wealth more evenly among its 8
members, diluting the power of the nobility.
Tools of warfare undergo a significant revolution. Sophisti-
TL 5: Space Faring/Information Age
cated chain and plate armors protect warriors from harm, The Industrial Age relied on chemical power, but in the
and elaborate fortifications become something of an art Space Faring/Information Age, computer technology and
form. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the introduction electronics rule supreme. Satellite information systems
of simple gunpowder weapons signals the imminent end of and the Internet connect the globe digitally. This Technol-
knights, heavy armor, and organized armies of swordsmen. ogy Level also sees the introduction of fission power and
weapons reducing the importance of fossil fuels. The
automobile replaces the locomotive as the common form
TL 3: Age of Reason of travel. The first steps toward space travel involve massive
The Age of Reason is an era in human history when the de- chemical rockets, unmanned probes and satellites, and
velopment of ideas and systems of thought takes precedence short-term manned missions.
over technological invention. The scientific method improves The technology of the era allows greater citizen participation
humankind’s understanding of the world. Experimentation in government. The emergence of international alliances
becomes the means by which the physical properties of begins to dissolve borders between nations. Corporations
nature are systematically examined. The study of the various gather power and begin to threaten government authority.
scientific disciplines—chemistry, electromagnetics, medi-
cine, biology, and astronomy—flourishes. Instruments such Technology has a greater effect on individual lifestyles than
as microscopes and telescopes enable scientists to greatly on society as a whole. Most weapons at this time are refined
extend the range of their observations and discoveries. versions of Industrial Age equipment. Rifles, machine guns,
and heavy howitzers are still used by the world’s soldiers.
The new reliance on science generates waves on all levels
of society. Superstition falls away, and exploration of the Computerized targeting systems and guided weapons
world reaches its apex. Society begins to experiment with make warfare much more precise and efficient. Strategic
new forms of organization, such as democracy. Corpora- weapons, tested but never used, exhibit the species’ power
tions and economic alliances continue to evolve. Econom- to exterminate itself in minutes.
ically, this Progress Level is a transition from the cottage Humanity experiences its Information Age as anxious
industries of the Middle Ages to industrialization. years full of minor crises. The tension gradually allevi-
The cannon becomes the dominant factor in naval warfare, ates through the age, and as the era ends new super-
while massed musket fire and horse-pulled field pieces rule powers form.

153
TL 6: Star Faring Age Lower-tlitems (with the exception of valuable antiques)
are similarly adjusted at the Gamemasters discretion. For
The development of fusion power provides an efficient, example, an actual 20th Century pocket calculator may
non-expendable energy source that almost obliterates the become a valuable antique by the late 22nd, going from
need for chemical fuel sources. Advanced space explora- being a Common item to a Rare one. However, the tech-
tion and colonization become possible. Computers become nology itself is ubiquitous and will never be anything more
even more accessible, reliable, and powerful, leading to than Common.
the development of virtual systems and widespread access
to the global Internet.
Slowly, society experiences another revolution as individ-
ual nations are replaced by world powers. Mega-corpora-
tions number among these new superpowers as the line
between the national citizen and corporate employee is
rendered indistinct.
Armed with the means to eradicate the entire species, the
world powers keep conflicts to the level of skirmishing
and posturing, and integration of the Information Age’s
improvements proceed peacefully.
Scientific advancements in genetic engineering lead to
artificial evolution and the first government- and corporate
sanctioned attempts to genetically manipulate human
beings. Early results are encouraging, with the manifes-
tation of positive and negative mutations in the species
toward the end of the age. Scientists also perfect cloning
technology, and the first human clones are created.
In the later years of this age, the first crude applications
of gravity induction technology appear, in the form of
civilian and military vehicles that can move through the
air without using physical propulsion or consumption
of fuel. Chemical-powered explosives and firearms
remain the weapons of choice; fusion technology can’t
be effectively miniaturized for personal combat. Never-
theless, advanced chemistry and superconducting tech-
nology change the materials and capabilities of many
weapons. True spaceships become possible, propelled
by powerful fusion drives, but still require a reaction
mass to traverse space.
The age sees the tenuous settlement of other planets and
asteroids within the same star system, with mankind
venturing out amongst the stars towards to end of the era.

Purchasing Items of Lower or

Higher Technology Level
Technology Levels are relative, and depending on the
economics of a campaign, a gm may choose to make
certain items of a higher or lower Technology Level un-
available, cheaper, or more expensive to purchase. For the
sake of game balance, gms who want to make higher-tl
items available to characters should adjust their availabil-
ity up or down by the twice the number of Technology
Levels between them.
For example, at tl5 a pocket calculator is a Common
item. At tl4 the same device should be Rare, an example
of cutting edge technology, while at tl3 and below it
becomes Unique.
 Chapter 9
Pulp Inventions

L Owning a Invention
ike the era in which the Pulps were created, technol-
ogy plays an important role in the stories of the Pulp
Era, and not just in those stories that deal with the Having an Invention isn’t free. These remarkable items
science fictional genres directly. The Pulps were filled with are rare to have at character creation and should be
“Lab Coats,” Weird Inventors for both good and evil who discussed and authorized by the Gamemaster. Inven-
were the precursors of the Atomic Age. tions come in various sizes, just like Traits: Minor, Major
Between the insanely cackling mad scientists with their and Special.
planet smashers and their death rays and the heroic sci- Minor Inventions cost 1 Story Point and can hold a single
entific adventurers with their auto-gyros, jet packs and Minor Trait. They may hold a Major Trait (or two Minor),
long range radio waves, the pulps were filled with high but would need to take a Bad Trait to ‘pay’ for the extra
technology and bristling with vacuum tubes. cost, such as Restriction or One Shot. They hold a single
In two words, “weird science” is what sets the pulp fan- Story Point, and this can be used so the Invention can do
tastic role-playing game apart from the real world something novel or different, though the effect of this will
of the early twentieth century. In the pulp fantastic be fairly small.
role-playing game, Weird Inventors are square-jawed Major Inventions cost 2 Story Points and can hold a Major
visionaries who volunteer to test their own rocket-packs or two Minor Traits. They may hold an additional Major
because they want to make sure it works before giving it to (or additional two Minor Traits, up to 4 points worth in
anyone else. To them the future holds limitless promise, and total) but will need to take a Bad Trait or two to ‘pay’ for
weird science is the means by which that promise will be the additional ability, such as Restriction or One Shot.
realized. The workshops and laboratories of the Weird In- They hold two Story Points, and these can be used so that
ventor are littered with prototypes for a variety of items from the Invention can do something that it is not normally
space rockets and flying cars to ray-guns and giant robots. designed for, the effect of which can be fairly significant.
However, not all inventors work for the forces of freedom Special Inventions cost 4 Story Points and can hold up
and liberty. There are sinister secret societies and tyrant to 4 points worth of Traits (2 Major, 4 Minor, etc). They
nations that have Weird Inventors of their own. The science may hold more than this, but will need to take Bad Traits
of the world is both promising and threatening. to pay for the additional abilities. They can hold four Story
To simulate these types of characters, both good and evil, Points to do odd or remarkable things, with some major
pulp fantastic uses the following system for handling effect on the story.
the weird science, regardless of how impossible it seems, For example, at character creation you can have an Inven-
of the Pulp Era. tion that is a Major Invention and has 4 Good Traits – Open/
Close, Scan, Transmit and Weld – and 2 Bad Traits – Re-
INVENTIONS VS EQUIPMENT striction (Living Flesh) and Restriction (Complex Controls).
It can hold 4 Story Points, which can be used to do things
Equipment is classed as items that can be acquired with little
that this device may have never done before. It costs 2
difficulty, or built and repaired by ordinary technicians and
Story Points from the characters’ Story Point pool if pur-
engineers. They may be rare, or expensive, but they’re out
chased at character creation. Inventions purchased in this
there in the world if you know where to look and have suf-
way reduce your maximum Story Point totals, but it does
ficient funds. Inventions are a whole different kettle of ionized
mean that the Invention is rarely lost. The good thing
plasma. They’re something really special, can do amazing
about getting a Invention this way is that if it goes missing
things and can’t be quickly built or repaired by anyone without
or is broken, the Invention is assumed to be fixed or re-
the Gadgeteer Trait. Most are one of a kind, and many push
placed at the beginning of the next adventure. This doesn’t
– or break! - the limits of what ordinary people consider
mean that the Invention can’t be removed permanently.
possible. A Gas Gun, a Man Portable Rocket Powered Device
If the Gamemaster thinks that the Invention is being over
or an Ether Flyer are Inventions, and they have a number of
used, or misused, it can be lost as part of the storyline, the
Traits that can help your rolls.
Invention being removed (with the character’s Story Point
maximum restored by the Invention’s cost). Who knows,
 Pulp Fantastic
the recovery of the item could be a whole story in itself,
and maybe the players will learn not to rely on such In-
Building Inventions
ventions all the time. Making a new Invention uses Ingenuity + Technology.
Creating a new Invention takes a lot of work—it’s not
something you can whip up overnight in most cases (there
Creating Inventions are exceptions, of course—it’s possible to jury-rig some-
thing in an emergency). When you’re creating an Invention
Weird inventors toil away in their secret laboratories
in the middle of an adventure, you need to make an Inge-
working on nucleonic beams to help them take over
nuity and Technology Skill check to ensure you have
the world; real-life inventors have in their minds the
tweaked the right bits and soldered the correct connec-
plans for inventions such as death rays and perpetual
tions. Then you spend enough Story Points to temporar-
motion machines.
ily purchase the Invention. Inventions created this way
All of these devices, real or imagined, fall under the cat- are temporary items, and the Story Points used to create
egory of weird science, and these weird items are usually them are not deducted from the character’s maximum
the creations of characters with the Gadgeteer Trait. Doctor total, just from their current points. They’ll get them back
Indiana frequently throws together a wild Invention with in time.
a little weird science. Characters without the Gadgeteer
Your progress towards completing the Invention is tracked
Trait can create strange Inventions, but it’s much harder
by a special bonus called, imaginatively, your Progress.
for them and it takes a lot longer. Most of the the really
This starts at 0, and rises as you get closer to finishing the
wild devices – the ones that push, bend and occasionally
device. You add your Progress to your Ingenuity + Tech-
ignore the laws of physics entirely - can only be created
nology rolls. You need to accumulate a certain amount of
by characters with the Gadgeteer Trait. Without it they’ll
RULES

Progress before the invention is completed. When making

just cobble together a non-functioning mess of Tesla coils,
a new Invention, you roll Ingenuity + Technology + Prog-
vacuum tubes and wires.
ress against a Difficulty set by the gm, and check the fol-
Weird science and weird inventions are the product of lowing table.
scientific prescience; devices and constructs that possess
capabilities beyond what is possible in the normal every- DIFFERENCE EFFECT
day world. Most items created by weird science are me- 9+ Almost there! Add +4 to your Progress.
chanical devices rather than the deliberate improvement
Progress! The Invention isn’t finished, but
of organisms or other such items.
4 to 8 you’re making good progress. Add +2 to your
Making gadgets that defy common sense is easier than Progress.
some might expect – for a Weird Inventor, at least. Note No progress…but you’ve got an idea. You
that more complicated items (Major, or Special Inventions) need more information before you can finish
can take a lot longer to create. Sometimes, Special Inven- your device. You might need to gather sam-
tions can require rare and difficult to find items that will 0 to 3
ples from the field, or conduct experiments,
be the focus of a whole adventure. The big question to ask or acquire a particular component. If you do
before going ahead with creating any of these Inventions so, add +1 to your Progress.
is ‘Why do they need it?’ If they’re just making something
because it’s cool, then that’s not really good enough to It works…At least, you think it does. Your
warrant the time spent creating it. There needs to be a character believes the Invention is ready for
dramatic need for the item. prime-time. If you take it with you into the
field, the device will appear to work for a
short while, then malfunction (usually in a
Behold! I call it the… −1 to −3
shower of sparks, with a loud bang, a pathet-
The first thing an inventor has to do is decide just what ic puff of smoke, or all of the above). You’ll
kind of weird item he’s trying to make. This means the learn from this experience, and gain +1 Progress
inventor’s player should write down the name of the and a Story Point. On the down side, your
device followed by a paragraph or two describing the malfunctioning device might get you killed.
dubious “scientific principles” the character employs to If you don’t take the Invention into the field,
make it work. It’s more fun to write the theory from the lose 1 Progress.
perspective of the character, by the way. Be sure to share −4 to −8 No Progress: You’re getting nowhere.
it with your group: for some reason inventors can never
Wrong Track: Lose 1 - 6 Progress as you head
stop cackling about their latest inventions and theories. under −9
down the wrong track.
A generous gm may choose to award a Story Point to a
player whose inventor comes up with a particularly en- An Invention takes about a week per point of Progress
tertaining crackpot theory. required to create, unless it is being jury-rigged (see
page 157).

156
 Pulp Inventions

DETERMINING INVENTION COMPLEXITY

PROGRESS
EXAMPLES DIFFICULTY
NEEDED
Repair of Weird Invention or state-of-the-art technology Easy (9) 1
Relatively simple but new use or upgrade of existing tech Normal (12) 2
New technology (Radio-controlled robot) Tricky (15) 3
Complex new technology (Hand-Held Detector, X-Ray Goggles) Hard (18) 5
Cutting edge new technology (Death Ray) Very Difficult (24) 10
Revolutionary new technology (Thinking Machine) Improbable (27) 15
Tech that defies the laws of science (Time Machine, Dimensional Portal) Impossible (30) 25

For example, Doctor Indiana is trying to build an Element X

detector that registers in the presence of the strange radioac- JURY-RIGGING
tive mineral. The GM decides that’s Tricky (15) and will take a Sometimes you need a gadget right now, and don’t have
total Progress of 3 to complete. time to wait. In emergencies only, you can spend Story Points
In week 1, Doctor Indiana rolls Ingenuity + Technology for a to accelerate the development of a gadget. The character
total of 17. That beats the difficulty by 2. Doctor Indiana needs can make up the difference between his current Progress and
to make a detailed observation of Element X’s eerie emissions the amount he requires with Story Points, and then make an
to make any progress. Ingenuity + Technology Skill check. If this is successful, he’s
got a working version of the gadget. It’s ugly, it’s improvised,
During week 2, Lucy La Roux, his beautiful lab assistant, it’s got wires hanging out—but it works. Jury-rigged Inven-
vanishes mysteriously and Doctor Indiana has to choose tions are hurriedly built prototypes, fragile, prone to mal-
between looking for her and finishing his measurements. He function and not meant for heavy use. They may even incor-
puts down his detector and goes to look for his colleague. No porate one-shot components or irreplaceable materials.
progress on his gadget.
Jury-rigging is only available to characters with the Gadge-
In week 3, he rolls a total of 20. That’s beating the target by 5. teer Trait.
He adds two to his Progress! 9
Let’s go back to the earlier example. Let’s say plucky Lucy La
During the next week, he rolls, adding a +2 bonus for his Prog- Roux was abducted by the dreaded Radium Men. Her com-
ress. He gets a 20 again, which means his Progress is 4. That’s rades want to rescue her, but don’t know how to track her
over the Progress total of 3 he needs. After four weeks the down. Doctor Indiana decides that he’ll get his prototype
Element X Detector is complete! Element X Detector working to save the day by tracking the
Radium Men’s Element X powered ray-blasters. He spends
Invention Traits three Story Points to make up the missing Progress, and
makes a Skill check. He fails, and spends more Story Points
Your Invention, as mentioned above, has Good Traits that
to bump his failure up to a Success. It’s cost him a lot of Story
affect your character’s rolls when they are used. These can
Points, but he’s got a working Element X Detector when he
be Traits you’ve seen already when it comes to creating
needs it.
characters (see page 114) or npcs (see page 171), or
something new. For example, a cool jet-pack would award
the user the Flight Trait. Invention-specific Traits are listed Bulky
below. Inventions can have Bad Traits, just like people. (Minor or Major Bad Invention Trait)
Usually these are restrictions on their use.
This Invention is bigger and heavier than it should be. The
Augment Minor version of this Trait means that the device can be
carried by a single person, but it’s the size of a heavy ruck-
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait) sack. The Major version of this Trait means that the In-
The Invention improves a character’s Attributes. A Minor vention fits on the back of a truck. This Bad Trait only
Augmentation gives a +1 to two Attributes, while a Major applies to items that you’d expect to be small. Trying to
Augmentation either gives a +2 to two Attributes or a +3 argue that your flying car is Bulky will just make the Gam-
to one Attribute. The benefits from an Invention can lift emaster laugh at you, but a ray gun the size of a tuba is a
a character’s Attributes to inhuman levels (7+). A teaching perfect example of Bulky.
helmet might boost Ingenuity, while a suit of hydraulic
armor could increase Strength.

157
 Pulp Fantastic
Control Disable
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait) (Minor or Major Good Invention Trait)
The Invention can control something else, like another The Invention stops another Invention from working. The
machine. It can even seize control of such devices. A “re- Minor version of this Trait means the Disable effect only
mote-control ray” that overrides the steering of an airplane works on one particular target – it might simply stop one
is a great example of a Minor Control gadget. sort of weapon from working within its area of effect. The
Major version is more likely to drain the power from every
The Minor version of this trait works on a particular sort of
device nearby.
machine or system, or a particular type of animal. The Major
version can control people, and works like the Special trait Disable effects are usually temporary, but a One-Shot
version of Hypnosis. Control only works over a very short Disable may destroy its targets at the Gamemaster’s whim.
distance. If you want to build a mind control machine to
rule the world, try adding Transmit. Feedback
(Minor/Major Bad Invention Trait)
Convert
The invention does 1 point of damage to the user each
(Major Good Invention Trait)
time it is used, with the Attribute affected chosen by the
The gadget turns something into something else. It might gm and the player when the device is created. The Major
turn rock into mud, lead into gold, poisonous gas into version of this trait inflicts 2 points of damage per use.
breathable air and so on. The size of the conversion field
is usually about three feet in diameter, although this can Force-field
RULES

be boosted with Story Points. Most Inventions with Convert

(Minor/Major Good Invention Trait)
are Restricted not to work on living flesh, and only work
on a particular kind of substance. The Invention can project a protective force field that
automatically knocks any damage sustained down by a
Delete level. Damage the character or item would receive due to
a Disastrous Result from the character (or a Fantastic Result
(Major Good Invention Trait)
from the attacker) would be knocked down to a Bad (or
The Invention can remove something from existence, Good), and a Bad to a Failure, etc. The Major equivalent
almost like a one-way teleporter. Perhaps it reduces an of this Trait knocks the damage down by two levels. Many
object into its component atoms and records it, or rotates repeated hits might deplete the item’s Story Points until
it into an immaterial dimension. However it works, the the force field is useless.
object is gone as if it never existed.
Objects deleted in this way can usually be restored by the Fragile
device up to an hour after its deletion, but the Invention (Major Bad Invention Trait)
can usually only restore the last object it deleted. Should
The Invention is very breakable. Any damage to it stops
the device be used to delete another object, the first object
it working. For that matter, dropping it, breathing on it or
is irretrievable, even if less than an hour has elapsed.
just speaking harshly to it usually stops it working. The
Inventions with this Trait can normally only delete objects gadget can be repaired with a good Technology roll, but
up to a meter in diameter, though this can be doubled if it may break again at a moment’s notice. If the character
a Story Point is spent. Items with this Trait usually have a holding the device is hit by an attack or has to make any
safety function built in to prevent their use on living tissue. vigorous or violent movement, then something just broke!

Detect Hungry
(Minor Good Invention Trait - can be purchased more than (Minor or Major Bad Invention Trait)
once, effects are cumulative)
This Invention is a fuel or battery hog, and runs through
The Detect Trait means that the Invention can sense some- its power reserves very quickly. The Minor version of
thing from a distance (no more than a mile or so) – usually this Trait means that any ‘Yes, But’ or ‘No, And’ results
something beyond the range of normal senses. What the (Average Successes or Dismal Failures) when using the
Invention senses is decided when it is invented and is quite gadget means that the battery just ran out. The Major
specific – radiation detectors cannot, under normal cir- version means that you need to hook the Invention up
cumstances, be used to detect life signs, for example. In to a really big power source (like a power plant, furnace,
most cases, the user will have to make an Awareness + big diesel generator or a whopping big lump of Element
Science roll to interpret the output of the machine and X) to get the thing working.
get a sense of direction and distance of the detected item,
with the Gamemaster deciding the Difficulty depending
upon the circumstances (is the target far away, very small,
moving or shielded somehow?).
158
 Pulp Inventions
Innocuous Goggles, then the Trait provides a +3 bonus when used for
medical purposes, and +1 when used for anything else –
(Minor Good Invention Trait) Medical X-Ray Goggles aren’t the best thing to look inside
This Trait means the Invention looks like something per- a bank vault locking mechanism, but it may help a little.
fectly ordinary. That radio communicator look just like a If the Invention’s designed for a specific purpose, this
wristwatch until you switch it on, and your Duesenberg should be discussed with the Gamemaster, and recorded
looks completely normal until you pull the lever that pops on the Invention’s sheet.
the wings out and it takes off. In fact, your Invention won’t
even show up as Weird Tech until you’re actually using it. Simple Controls
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
One Shot
Weird Inventions are complex beasts, normally so complex
(Minor Bad Invention Trait) that only their creator or another Weird Inventor can
The Invention has one use, and one use only, so you better operate them. The Simple Controls Trait means that the
make it count. One shot, and it’s history. Some items just Inventor has made an effort to simplify the device; label-
burn out or explode – others are designed to break after ing switches, numbering dials and reducing the number
doing what they’re supposed to. If the Gamemaster feels of delicate operations necessary to make the gosh-darned
the use of the Invention is dramatic enough, he may refund contraption work. Anyone can pick it up and, with a Hard
the Story Points used to build the item. Ingenuity roll, use it.

Open/Close Simple Mechanism

(Minor Good Invention Trait) (Minor Bad Invention Trait)

This Trait gives the Invention the power to open locks and The operating principles of the average Weird Invention
to seal things shut again if necessary. If used with the are so bizarre and revolutionary that even the brightest
Subterfuge Skill to pick a lock, it gives the character a +4 conventional scientists cannot hope to figure them out.
bonus to the roll. Locking a door is far easier than opening Not so with this device, which the Weird Inventor has
it, as most locks tend to lock when they are tampered with, refined and streamlined to the point that it can be un-
giving the character a +6 bonus if the Gamemaster decides derstood – even reproduced! – by ordinary science.
a roll to lock the door is necessary. Anyone with sufficient scientific and technological
know-how could open this thing up and deduce it’s
9
Restriction function and operating principles with a Difficult In-
genuity+Technology roll.
(Minor Bad Invention Trait)
Owners of a device with this Trait must work hard to ensure
Most Inventions have their limitations. This restriction it does not fall into the wrong hands – do you really want
applies when the normal functions of the device do not to face the assassins of the Tong of the Black Scorpion if
work in certain circumstances, not to a list of things the they’re all armed with cheap copies of the lethal Elec-
item doesn’t do. The Restriction should be discussed tro-blaster you lost in their temple a few months ago?
with the Gamemaster – it should be something relative- What happens if they decide to sell their stolen secret to
ly common, but not so common it makes the device the Nazis? Such Inventions could change the world...
useless. Does it not work through lead? Need a special
type of fuel to operate? Tricky controls so that only one Slow
person can use it?
(Minor or Major Bad Invention Trait)
Scan The Invention does what it’s designed to do, but it takes
(Minor Good Invention Trait - can be purchased more than its time about it. The Minor version means that the delay
once, effects are cumulative) between activating the device and something actually
happening is at least two minutes. A Majorly Slow Inven-
The Scan Trait means that the Invention can investigate tion can take hours or days to get going.
something from a range of a few feet and see what’s going
on inside it. Whether this is a medical function, checking Teleport
inside someone to see what’s wrong, or a technical function
(Major Good Invention Trait)
looking such as looking at the wiring and circuitry of a
device, it all works on the same basic principal. In most Teleport is a specific Trait that means the user can disap-
cases, the user will have to make an Awareness roll coupled pear from one location, and instantly appear in another.
with a suitable Skill (Medicine for a medical scan. Tech- This is usually very draining on the Invention and it will
nology for the workings of a device or Invention). The require refueling frequently. Teleporters, or “electrosend-
Scan Trait provides a +2 bonus to this roll if the device is ers” are usually specific devices as it takes a lot of power
designed for ‘general scanning’. If the Invention is used to not only transport the user, but also to check the exit
only for a specific purpose, for example Medical X-Ray location is clear and avoid any nasty mishaps on arrival.

159
 Pulp Fantastic
The distance traveled is usually limited to around 400km
(enough to get into orbit, or to the inner Earth). Unless
Invention Story Points
someone is boosting the range with special components Inventions are also really handy as they can hold Story
and ultra-rare materials… Points. The Invention can spend these if their use is par-
ticularly vital to the story. In most cases, these work a little
Transmit like characters’ Story Points. They can be spent to add an
extra two dice to an essential roll, or to do something
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
extraordinary. The Story Points the Invention spends can
Transmit is a general Invention Trait that means the device only be used when the Invention itself is actively being
works in some ways with signals, whether this is picking used. The Invention’s Story Points can be used, as long as
up, intercepting or blocking radio transmissions, or some- the Gamemaster approves, to allow the Invention to do
thing similar. It can be used anywhere that signals are something it’s not normally known for and isn’t on its
transmitted or received to block, listen in, or alter the Trait list. For example, Doctor Indiana’s ultra-violet flash-
message. To use the Invention like this will require an light doesn’t normally generate heat, but if he can change
Ingenuity and Technology roll, the Gamemaster deciding the light it produces to infra-red, he may just be able to
the Difficulty depending upon the signal being intercept- melt his way out of the ice-cavern those hostile yeti have
ed or received (how far away, encrypted, or faint it is). trapped him in…
When the Invention runs out of Story Points, it is essen-
Travel tially out of power, broken or otherwise out of action.
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait) Characters can donate Story Points to ‘fuel’ the Invention,
or dramatic use of the item can mean it is awarded Story
This Invention can transport all the player characters in
RULES

Points at the end of the adventure. This is also a great way

some way. The Minor version of this Trait moves in a way
of helping a character when they’re low on Story Points,
that looks cool, but can be replicated by present-day tech-
by entrusting them with an Invention.
nology. It might fly, or go underwater, or even travel into
space. The Major version can jump dimensions and maybe
even travel in time! Some Example Inventions
Unreliable Gas Gun
(Minor Bad Invention Trait) (Major Invention)
Each time the invention is used roll a d6 and on a roll of 1 Handy device that you can use to put your opponents
the Invention shuts down for d6X10 minutes. Cannot be to sleep.
taken with the One Shot or Fragile Traits. Traits: Hypnosis (Major), Restriction (Sleep Only)
Weld Story Points: 2
(Minor Good Invention Trait) Hypno-Disc
The Weld Trait covers all sorts of incendiary uses – the (Major Invention)
Invention can be used to burn something, cut through
thin substances or even solder and weld small items to- This small clockwork device fits in the palm of the users
gether. While the Trait doesn’t give the task any bonuses, hand, and spins with an eerie oscillation that can erase a
it works as a great multipurpose tool for all your sealing subject’s memory of the last few hours.
and cutting requirements! Traits: Delete, Psychic, Restriction (Delete function only
works on memories)
Zap
Story Points: 2
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
It goes zap and makes things explode! The Minor Version Rocket Pack
of this trait means that the Gadget works like your average (Major Invention)
death ray, inflicting 4/L/L damage on people. Alternative-
ly, it does 4/8/12 damage, but also makes things explode A man-portable rocket pack that allows a character to fly.
and burn. It’s a heck of a ride though, and take off is a real kick in
the pants!
The Major version of this trait can either hit multiple
targets, as long as they’re close together, or else is strong Traits: Feedback (Minor), Flight (Major), Restriction (Re-
enough to blast vehicles or low-flying zeppelins. quires Jet Fuel)
Story Points: 2

160
 Equipment
Sub-Etheric Electrosender A FINAL WORD ON INVENTIONS
(Major Invention)
Not all Inventions involve wires and vacuum tubes. You can
A large, bulky device capable of tuning in to a distant lo- use these rules for any sort of research or invention, not just
cation (perhaps even another world, with sufficient building technological doohickeys. A character could use
power!), and transmitting a character to it. Unfortunately, Medicine to research a cure for a virus, Knowledge to research
it’s a one-way trip, unless there’s another Sub-Etheric some obscure historical fact, Science to come up with a new
Electrosender at the other end. theory and so on. There are Mad Chemists, Mad Biologists,
Traits: Restriction (One-Way), Teleport, Unreliable (Minor) Mad Botanists, Mad Economists (quite a lot of those, actu-
ally), Mad Clockmakers...
Story Points: 2

161
 Chapter 10
Gamemastering

This chapter is the real heart of the game. Everything else movies) and in the exotic realms of lost worlds, steaming
is just suggestions and guidelines, but the game relies on jungles, isolated temples and secret volcano lairs. You
the Gamemaster to make it all work. It is tricky and chal- need to describe them all in an exciting and engaging way.
lenging, but it lets you play with wonderful ideas and
If the players take your description and run with it, inventing
create adventures with your friends.
further details as they describe what they are doing, then
In the role of Gamemaster you’re asked to be part story- great! It’s a sign that they are really getting into it, so encour-
teller, part director and part referee. age this and reward them for it by developing the story around
them and incorporate their ideas into your setting.

Storyteller It’s also up to you as director to make sure everyone’s in-

volved and having fun. If one of the players hasn’t done
Although you’re all making a great adventure together, anything in a while, then you need to put the spotlight on
the Gamemaster has an idea of where the plot will go, has that player character and give them a problem to tackle
certain scenes planned and some cool action worked out or a chance to shine.
and knows the story of the adventure. Well, more accu-
rately, he knows a possible story – the players could do
something completely unexpected that takes the story in
new directions, and the Gamemaster will often have to
Referee
While creating great stories and new adventures for the
improvise to stay ahead of the players. Run with what they
characters, pulp fantastic is a game and games need
throw at you!
rules. These books provide the rules, but in your role as
Before the game, you need to come up with an outline of Gamemaster you’ll be asked to make judgment calls and
the adventure – who the villain is, what they want and decide the outcome of rolls. Not only that, you’ll be expect-
why, how they plan to get it, what comes through, what ed to know the rules fairly well and so it may be up to you
complications the players face, what challenges they have to teach the rest of the gaming group exactly how to play!
to overcome, and what other characters are present. This
outline can be as simple as a few scribbled notes, or as WHO SHOULD BE GAMESMASTER?
detailed as a fully written adventure. We’ll talk about
designing adventures and series later on, but you can think Answer: You. If you’re reading this, try it out.
of an adventure as being equivalent to a television episode, Usually, it’s the person who has purchased the game as they
and a series being six or more episodes long. will have more access to the rules and adventures than the
players, giving them a chance to prepare between games.
Director Often, the Gamemaster acts as host for the game, and the
players gather at the Gamemaster’s place, but that’s not a
As a director it’s your job to bring the action to life. Instead rule. Anyone can be the Gamesmaster.
of saying ‘the robot attacks you’, be descriptive. Talk about Of course it doesn’t have to be just one person running the
the stench of hot metal and ozone, the light gleaming off game indefinitely. It could be that a new Gamemaster takes
its rivets, the buzz and crackle of it’s inner workings, the over with the start of a new series or adventure. A new
glowing of its photo-receptors, the way the ground shakes Gamemaster can change the feel and tone of the game. It
as it charges towards the players. also gives you all chance to give Gamemastering a go, and
When the characters go into a new area, it’ll be up to you gives everyone a chance at playing (and having a break from
to describe the location so the characters get a feel for the the Gamemastering duties).
place. The better the detail and description, the better the Running a game that everyone enjoys is a tremendously
players will be able to picture where they are and what satisfying experience. It is more challenging that ‘just’ being
they have to interact with. You’ll have to describe the place, a player, but it also more rewarding and a great chance to
the sounds, the smells and the weather. pulp fantastic indulge your creativity.
is set in world of the 1930’s and 40’s (familiar from the
 Pulp Fantastic
Why use rules, instead of just making up a story? Well,
the rules make sure everyone plays fair, and the dice give Basic Gamemastering
an element of uncertainty and danger. The game is always The Gamemaster is the glue that binds the game together.
best when unexpected stuff happens! They are the eyes and ears of the players, as well as the
voice behind the creatures and characters they meet. They

What do you need to play? are the narrator and the storyteller who brings the world
to life with descriptions, imagination and stories. The
Before you start actually playing, you’ll need a few things. Gamemaster is the arbiter of decisions and makes the final
call on disputes, questions and problems.
The Rulebook: This book, right here.
The Gamemaster does not have a character of their own.
Dice: Traditional six-sided dice. Raid an old copy of Mo- Instead the Gamemaster plays or ‘acts out’ the characters
nopoly if you have to. Ideally, every player should have at of everyone the players meet. The Gamemaster is the
least two six-sided dice each, but you can get by with only storyteller who knows all the secrets of the game, and it’s
one pair between the whole group. their job to be mysterious and dynamic, and to keep the
Somewhere to play: You really need somewhere to play. pace of the game as exciting as possible. They know what
This can be anywhere, though the most traditional place is going on behind the scenes and they act as referee in
is a decent sized dinner table. Make sure everyone’s com- battles and when a decision needs making on the rules.
fortable, you can see each other (and especially the Gam- The Gamemaster is the schemer who creates the fantastic
emaster), and everyone can hear each other. If you haven’t stories the players will experience, and it’s up to the Gam-
access to a dinner table, just find somewhere you can all emaster to keep the players on course during their adven-
sit together. tures by giving them sufficient clues and to make sure
These days, of course, you can also play online using chat they don’t lose their way or get bored.
programs or message boards. Online games usually go a The Gamemaster is impartial. They do not take sides and
lot more slowly than face-to-face games. should be fair at all times – or at least, make it look that
Paper, Pencils and Character Sheets: Everyone needs way. In practice, you should make things harder for the
a copy of the character sheet, plus some extra scratch paper players in the middle of the game, when things get out of
for notes, maps, doodles of ray guns and so on. Post-it control and it looks like they’re doomed, and then make
notes can also be very handy for keeping track of tempo- it slightly easier at the very end to come to a dramatically
rary traits, NPCs and so on. satisfying conclusion.

Beads or Tokens: Not strictly necessary, but it’s really

handy to have some physical way of representing the Taking Charge
players’ Story Points and the monster’s Threat Points. The Gamemaster might be in charge, and what he says
Added Extras: You have everything you need, but you goes in a game, but you don’t have to make up everything
can add to the experience with a few extras – snacks (just that happens. By listening to the players you can allow
some sweets, drinks or fruit or something – you don’t need them to create their own adventures. For example, they
a lot, after all it’s hard to game with a full plate of fish and might be talking about what they are going to do next and
chips in front of you and you don’t want to distract from by listening to their conversations you can plan ahead to
the actual game). However, a few nibbles can keep every- the future.
one’s attention fired up. A good Gamemaster is descriptive, creative, energetic,
You could also add a little mood music, with some and eager to listen to the players as they work with you
to create the story. The plot may not go exactly in the
GAMEMASTER

soundtrack CDs or moody classical music. Having a few

miniature figurines can be fun if your group likes tactical direction you had planned but, with a little improvisa-
play and combat. tion and quick thinking, the story will continue and can
easily come back to the plot. It’s important to give the
Players!: Without players, there’s no game. We’d probably players free reign to do as they please (without being
recommend a smaller group with three or four players pressured into going in a certain direction) and to give
and a Gamemaster, but you can easily play the game with them enough to do without being bored or so much that
more or fewer. A single player game is possible, but very they feel overwhelmed.
different to regular play. Beyond seven players, it’s close
to unmanageable – if you’re lucky enough to have eight Make notes and do your preparation. Being the Game-
or more players, we suggest splitting into two groups and master takes more work, but it’s very rewarding. A bit of
getting a second Gamemaster. You could even have char- preparation goes a long way and if you listen to your players
acters from one game appear in the other as a “special and look where they’re going to be for next week’s session,
guest stars” or as part of a special “crossover story”! you can prepare.

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 Gamemastering
Be Prepared! Hints & Tips
Just before the players assemble, or the night before, go Be creative. There are lots of ways to create atmosphere
through the adventure again and make a few notes to keep in a game. Give your NPCs distinct voices and mannerisms.
it fresh in your mind. Think of the various events in the Chew the scenery!
story, highlight them on the pages if you like, and think
Remember that the story is everything. You’re there to
of the sequence in which they occur. Remember, they
have fun and to entertain each other.
could happen out of sequence – you don’t know where the
players may go. There’s an old saying – no plan survives Don’t let the story you’re telling get bogged down in details.
contact with the players – but that doesn’t mean you Pay attention to the pace and keep things moving.
shouldn’t have a plan, it just means that you’ve got to adapt
Listen to the players – sometimes you can let them create
to circumstances.
the story for you.
If the players do go completely off your planned sequence
Don’t force them down a path just because you want them
of events, then you’ve got several choices. You can just have
to (or because you’ve worked hard on it) – simply use it at
their superior or benefactor order them to go back to the
a later date.
main mystery. You can run with what the players are inter-
ested in, or even just say to the players ‘guys, I thought you’d Challenge the players. Give them hard problems to solve,
be investigating X this week, not Y. I’ve nothing prepared force them to make difficult choices. Let them win, but
for Y. Let’s go back to X for the moment, and you can follow make them earn that victory.
up on Y next week once I’m ready for it.’
Use the dice rolls to tell the story. If something unexpect-
ed happens, don’t ignore it – work it into the game.
Make The Players Do The Work Don’t be afraid to improvise.
Where possible, get the players to handle parts of the game.
If the group visits the home of one of the player characters, Don’t randomly kill off the player characters, but don’t
let that player come up with the details. If a character goes pull your punches either. The players have Story Points to
off to meet a contact, have her describe where or even who keep their characters alive – make them use them!
the contact is. Harnessing the players’ creativity makes Remember to keep the pace of the game going. If the
your job easier and makes the players more invested in players are stuck, help them out (maybe at the cost of a
the game. Of course, you’ll have to exercise editorial control Story Point), but don’t let the story slow down with them
over some players (‘my character lives in a giant mansion wallowing in confusion.
with a vast headquarters in a cavern underneath!’)
Stay grounded. The world of pulp fantastic is wild,
You can even have a player play a minor non-player char- but part of the fun is keeping it rooted in an approximation 10
acter in scenes where his usual PCs is not present. If the of real history. You can make things up, but have a quick
players split up and half of them go to the National look at encyclopaedias and history books first. You’d be
Museum to do research, then one of the other players can amazed at what inspiration you can get from real life
play the snooty curator for a scene. events and concepts.
Make the game exciting. Be mysterious and secretive
Relax & Have Fun (without being vague or frustrating).
Some game sessions work perfectly. Others... don’t. There Be spontaneous, go with your gut instincts. If it feels right,
will be times when you can’t come up with an original plot do it!
to save your life, or the players figure out your big plot
twist two minutes into the game, or all your NPCs come Remember to have fun!
across as cardboard robots, or your big exciting set-piece
combat scene falls flat. Rules & When To Bend Them
Don’t worry about it. As long as the players have fun, it’s While the rules are there to allow you to play the game,
all fine – and players are remarkably easy to entertain they are not set in stone and a good Gamemaster should
sometimes. Just don’t let the game drag or have ‘dead air’ know when to bend them.
where nothing’s happening. If you can’t think of anything
else at all, then just have a gang of thugs with guns kick Firstly, only call for a dice roll if it’s going to mean some-
the door open and charge in, right now, no matter where thing. The pulp fantastic system, with its ‘Yes...And’s
the player characters are. and ‘No…But’s means that every dice roll is potentially
interesting, but you should still only roll if a) it’s dramat-
ic and b) you can think of a consequence for failure. Don’t
make the characters roll to find clues if you’re going to
give them those clues no matter what. Don’t make them
roll Transport if they’re going to get there anyway.

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 Pulp Fantastic
Changing the rules can confuse your players and create bitten, pounded, beaten, shot, zapped, poisoned, knocked
problems with your group. If there is a rule you’re unhappy out and battered over the course of the game. That said,
with in the game, make a new ruling and discuss it with player characters shouldn’t die pointlessly. When they do
the players before you start to play. Announce at the be- die, it should be an important part of the story.
ginning that you’re changing the rules and this will be the
So, let the bad guys hurt the player characters. Make the
way you’re playing. For example, you could say at the
game dangerous—but let the players use Story Points to
beginning of the game, ‘I want the game to be more cin-
avoid pointless, trivial deaths. (And if a character runs
ematic so I’m making everything easier. Instead of 12 being
into danger without a few Story Points to keep him alive,
the normal Difficulty for any task, I’m making it 9.’ Once
he deserves everything he gets.) Death should come only
you’ve announced the new ruling, stick to it. If it doesn’t
when either a player thinks it would be dramatically ap-
work, you can scrap it next time, but if you keep changing
propriate and cool if his character died (perhaps in a heroic
the rules every five minutes you’re going to frustrate and
moment of self-sacrifice) or if the player’s out of Story
confuse the players.
Points and the character has been beaten down to the point
Of course, it’s not just the rules that sometimes undergo of death, but is going down swinging.
some bending. Often, dice rolls can be tweaked to keep
It’s important to know when to protect the companions
the game going smoothly. As the Gamemaster, you could
from a senseless death. If a character is killed from a stray
roll your dice in the middle of the table, just like the players
bullet, it’s fine to put steps in place to protect them from
– that way everyone knows that you’re being fair and
leaving the game forever. The ‘dead’ character could be
playing the game by the rules. If the dice are unlucky and
taken away, only to be healed by mysterious monks using
a character gets killed early in the game, it’s not your fault
ancient potions and herbal medicines, or by denizens of
as the Gamemaster, just those pesky dice. However, it does
lost worlds using advanced medical technology. A good
mean that you may have to get creative to either keep the
Gamemaster can heighten suspense by having the char-
player alive or to allow a new character to join the group
acter taken away while the other players don’t know
to replace the player’s departed character.
whether their companion is alive or dead.
You could roll your dice out of the sight of the players.
Ideally, the death of a character should be meaningful and
Gamemasters usually hide behind a screen that protects
heroic. Character death shouldn’t be too common in the
the adventure details from the prying eyes of the players,
game – after all, while the body count in pulp adventures
and a lot of Gamemasters roll behind the screen. The clatter
was frequently high, it was very rare for a notable charac-
of dice, and then the sucking air noise that the Gamemas-
ter to die. Player characters will have Story Points to bail
ter makes to get the players nervous – a little like when
them out of an instant death, or they could heal by taking
you go to a mechanic and they are about to tell you what’s
a Bad Trait to recover from too many smaller wounds.
wrong with your car... It means that the dice rolls can be
tweaked a little to aid the flow of the story, but it could If all this doesn’t keep the characters alive, the first thing is
build distrust from the players. for the player to know that everyone has been playing fair.
If they know the Gamemaster hasn’t been cheating, they
At other times, you may want to ignore the rules for sim-
should feel better – though a bad dice roll can be pretty harsh,
plicity or drama. If your adventure starts with a player
at least they weren’t singled out and killed deliberately.
character get abducted by the bad guys, then don’t bother
using the combat rules and doing a called shot to the If the character really does die, it’s up to the player what
character’s Resolve for a quick knockout – just say ‘you they choose to do next. Character death isn’t something
get knocked out’ and give the player a few Story Points as that should be taken lightly – on the rare occasions when
compensation. (Word to the wise – players don’t mind it happened in the Pulps, it had a powerful effect on the
being ‘railroaded’ like that at the start of the game, but remaining heroes. The death of a comrade should spur the
GAMEMASTER

don’t do it in the middle of play. You can set the story up other players into action to ensure they didn’t die in vain
in a heavy-handed manner, but don’t try to resolve it that while the player creates a new character. Or they could take
way.) You can also ignore the rules if it is a foregone con- over one of the more friendly and helpful NPCs in the story
clusion. If the players have successfully found and beaten until next session – who knows, they may enjoy playing
the villain who was the main obstacle in the adventure, them so much they’ll stick with this character.
don’t make them roll to search his headquarters and his
minions. Just cut to the next scene. DON’T PICK ON A PLAYER
Death is not the end… Sometimes, it seems like a player is doing everything they can
to get their character killed. Just because a player is having
Sooner or later, the inevitable will probably happen in your their character do something stupid or against the plan for
game – one of the characters will die. Not everyone can the adventure, it doesn’t mean that you should punish them
have the Immortal Trait, but it doesn’t have to be the end. by killing their character. If they’ve done something stupid,
No-one wants to see their favorite character killed, but… like trying to stop a squad of Nazi storm troopers armed only
with a rolled-up copy of Weird Tales and a cellulose comb, they
The life of a hero in pulp fantastic is very, very dan-
will receive their own punishment just by adhering to the rules.
gerous. The player characters will be menaced, clawed,
Just roll the dice and let fate do the rest!
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 Gamemastering
What To Do When Players Are Absent
The game doesn’t have to stop when a player is absent. If
you’re starting a new adventure this week, then just say
that the player character is away or otherwise engaged
and can’t be part of the team for this latest adventure. If
you finished the last game on a cliffhanger, it’s a bit more
of a problem. You could have that character get captured,
knocked out or otherwise incapacitated, or you could have
another player take on the additional role of the missing
player’s character, literally covering for them, but if they
do something that is out of character or that the player
wouldn’t want them to do, there could be arguments or
repercussions later when the player returns. The player
should keep the extra character alive and active, but maybe
taking a more background role in this session.

Bringing the Game to Life

Describing the setting and the action is vital, not only for
giving the players a sense of location, but also in making
sure the players know what is actually going on. You should
describe not only the important elements of the location
– where everything is, what it looks like etc, but also some
of the less important details. You don’t want to get into
the habit of just telling the players what is important – that
way they won’t actually think for themselves.
For example, if the Gamemaster describes a location like
this: “You follow the trail of blood to an abandoned wa-
terfront warehouse. Searching it, you find a huddled corpse
in an office near the back of the building. There’s a knife
in his chest and a pool of blood all around him. Someone
has stepped in the blood, and there’s a trail of footprints 10
heading out the loading door and on to the wharf beyond,”
they have given the players all of the necessary information
and nothing else. The players know what to do next and
haven’t actually done anything themselves.
The scene would be better described by starting off with
the characters arriving at the abandoned warehouse, and
letting the players decide how they move through the
building. When they get to the office, add extra details,
like the stains on the floor and the scent of blood in the
air, water dripping down the walls and so on. Instead of
telling the players that someone has stepped in the blood,
let them examine it, and only tell them about the foot-
prints when they search around. Give the players added
information in response to their questions instead of just
telling them the important facts in one big monologue.
(That said, if the current scene isn’t a very important one
and you are running short on time, it’s fine to jump ahead
and just tell the players what they discover. Pacing is an
art you’ll learn over time.)
A good description will not only ensure people know what
is around them, but in a dramatic scene where there are
multiple characters (or villains and NPCs involved) it also
helps them understand where everyone is. This is often a
good time to draw a little diagram of the place, so everyone
gets it right. If everyone is clear where everyone and ev-

167
 Pulp Fantastic
erything is, you don’t have to worry about people arguing you can read the character sheets, the dice rolls and the
“I thought he was over near the kerosene tanks?” or “no, rulebooks without straining your eyes! Of course, for
I’m over near the door, not close to the fire.” lighter toned games you can keep the lighting fairly bright,
or play outside on a sunny day.
Playing Non-Player Characters Music can certainly help. You could use soundtracks
A major part of your role as Gamemaster is to portray all editing out any lyrical songs so you don’t have any dis-
the characters that the players meet, from victims and tractions. You can also obtain ‘stock’ sound effects – having
witnesses to the characters’ superiors, friends and enemies. a deafening monster roar ready to play at the press of a
button can really put the players on the edge of their seats,
Minor characters can be one-note clichés. All you need and the sound of a locomotive can really add color to that
for them is a name, a small bit of context, and an accent long train journey. (That said – don’t neglect the game by
or mannerism to latch onto in play. Something like “Officer spending ten minutes fumbling with mp3 players and
Bob Morrison, skeptical police officer, pulls his notebook speakers. Only use music and sound effects if you can do
out whenever he starts a conversation” is enough. You do so without disrupting the flow of the game.)
not even need to work out Attributes, Skills and Traits – just
assume that the npc has 2s and 3s in most Attributes. If a Props are another easy way to add to the mood. Instead
character becomes important later on, you can develop of telling the characters exploring the scene of a crime
him in more detail. It’s a good idea to have a list of random that they find a manuscript describing bizarre experi-
names and traits that you can pull from when you need ments involving Element X, you can print or write out a
to come up with a character unexpectedly. Players are document and hand it to them (complete with tears and
always going off track and interrogating unlikely people, fake blood splatters…)
so you’ll need to be able to think on your feet and come
up with characterizations on the spur of the moment.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
For major characters like the pc’s superiors, you’ll want to
get more into the persona of the npc. Write up a full char- Unless they have access to weird-tech wrist radios or some
acter sheet for the npc. Come up with a few physical man- other fancy doodad, the characters will not have the kind of
nerisms or verbal tics to make your portrayal of the npc instant personal two-way communications technology that
distinctive, and write out two or three lines of dialogue that the players are used to. In the world of the Pulp Era, there’s
exemplify how that npc speaks. You don’t need to keep up no internet, no cellphones, no wikipedia or google. In the
verbal tics and sparkling dialogue for a whole scene, as long 1920’s and 30’s, communication takes time. Characters will
as your npc makes a strong impression on the players. have to rely on fixed telephones, telegrams and the mail,
making communication delays a useful plot element for
When playing villains, make the players hate them or Gamemasters to exploit.
admire them. Dr Fu Manchu is a great example – he’s cold,
inhuman and utterly ruthless, but he’s also an honorable When a player is out of contact, you may want to pull that
man whose word is his inviolable bond. He sticks to his player aside and run some scenes in private. In the normal
principles, even if they do make him a monster. Other course of play, you want to keep the number of secret con-
villains may be slimy, conniving, manipulative and meg- ferences to a minimum, but plots like a character’s Dark Secret
alomaniacal by turns. Your villains should be equally really benefit from the other players being kept in the dark
connected to the player characters – shadowy conspiracies for as long as possible.
lack the bite that comes with a personal connection. (For
more tips on creating memorable villains, see page 177)
Don’t dominate the game with your npcs. The player Experience and Gain
GAMEMASTER

characters are the heroes – they’re the ones who save the
day, solve the mystery and make the big decisions. Your Each session, the players are given experience points,
npc are there only to give the player characters informa- reflecting the fact that their characters have learned from
tion, motivation or opposition. their experiences. They can spend these points to increase
their abilities. Usually such increases tie into something
Atmosphere the character has done during the adventure – have they
used a Skill well? Have they shown particular prowess
Being a good Gamemaster means paying attention to the with an Attribute? Have they learned something new
theatrics of the game. In addition to describing the scene and during the course of the game? All of these are great
the events well, you can make the game far more atmospher- questions you should ask yourself before dishing out an
ic by changing the mood in the room you’re actually in! increase in Skill or Attribute.
Lighting is one way to change the way the game feels. If It could be that the character deserves a new Trait, or the
you’re playing a particularly spooky adventures you could removal of a Bad Trait that they have struggled with for a
dim the lights in the room, draw the curtains, have a few while. Are they braver now than they used to be? Does
table lamps but keep the place dark with plenty of shadows. that mean that they should gain the Brave Trait, or lose
Moody lighting helps in most mystery settings, as long as their Cowardly Bad Trait?
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 Gamemastering
Of course, the most common reward will be the restoration the creation of their characters (if they’re using their own),
of spent Story Points, though on very rare occasions you and molding the team to the series you have in mind.
could allow the character’s maximum Story Points to increase
As you play, you’ll discover some players develop certain
so they can keep more Story Points in between adventures.
styles of gaming. Some like to get straight into the action.
However, Skills, Attributes, Traits and Story Points are not Others prefer the moody and emotional high stakes,
the only way you can reward your players. In-game rewards making their character a deep and developed person. Some
are even more important than changing numbers on the players just want to know where the bad guys are so they
character sheet. Let the player characters get a better can shoot at them, while other players may take more of
reputation, invent new gizmos for their headquarters, a back seat, spectating more during the game and enjoy-
make new friends and allies. Make the characters part of ing the action as others make the major decisions. Some
the world. If they save an npc from a ninja attack and make players only want to know what their characters knows,
a connection, bring that npc back as a love interest or a and want the whole game to be as real as possible. Others
friend (or a troublesome conspiracy theorist). If a charac- will want to come up with stories for their character and
ter keeps a great ape as a pet, then bring the character’s work with you to put their own character through an
landlord in as a comic-relief npc. Every adventure should emotional wringer.
add something new to the story.
Tailoring the game to your players makes it more fun for
everyone. Players usually fall into one of the following
The Gamesmaster Is Always Right categories, although some players are hard to classify and
One of the trickiest parts to Gamemastering is being the others find two or three styles of play equally fun.
referee. You should know the rules well and be comfortable Power Gamers: This sort of player wants to make his
making judgment calls when it comes to those odd cir- character stronger, faster and cooler. He’ll zero in on the
cumstances not covered by the rules. The best thing to really powerful Traits like Fast Reflexes and Tough, he’ll
remember is that the same basic rule can be used for just probably take Experienced, and he’ll maximize a few skills
about anything in the game (Attribute + Skill (+ Trait) + to be really effective. His character will be less rounded
two dice, try to beat the Difficulty). Any problems, make but more effective than others. He wants a game more
a decision and get on with the story. Try not to stop the than a story, and he wants to win that game. Everyone’s
game and fumble through the books to find a rule, just got a little Power Gamer in them.
run with it. If it’s a bad call, you can always make it up to
the players in other ways later by being more lenient on Keep Power Gamers happy by giving them experience points
them in a crisis or tweaking the course of the adventure and new challenges to overcome. To keep the game from
so that they gain something as a reward (see above). getting overpowered, keep moving the goalposts. Don’t do
this abruptly – you’ll really annoy the players by, say, giving
them all the best weapons, and then not including any 10
RULES LAWYERS combat in the game ever again. Instead, provide new ways
for the Power Gamer to grow his character. If he’s already
If you don’t like being too official with the rules, and you
brilliant at shooting things, start moving the game towards
have a player who really enjoys the accuracy of some rule
more investigation and mysteries, so he can start building
decisions, why not give them the responsibility of keeping
up his character’s Science and Knowledge skills.
an eye on things? It’ll leave you with the freedom to run the
game, and if anything tricky comes up you can get the as- Over-the-top Power Gamers can play selfishly, neglecting
signed player to check the rules while you continue. The the group in favor of their own ends – they might run off
player who does this shouldn’t be too integral to the plot at into the Evil Mastermind’s lair to look for weird tech, or
that moment, but if their character can take a back seat for betray their organization for profit. Remind the player
a couple of minutes while their player checks some rules, that the game is about the story of the group, and if he
that shouldn’t leave them in too much of a pickle! leaves the group, well, the focus won’t include his charac-
ter very often.
Butt-Kickers: These players like combat. They like shoot-
There may be times when the players dispute a ruling, and ing things, punching things, killing things, and blowing
start moaning. It can be difficult, but remember you are things up. Unlike the Power Gamer, the Butt-Kicker may
in charge. The players should abide by your decisions. If not make an optimized, super-powerful fighter, but he
they’re unhappy with it, tell them to continue on and not does like to fight. He’ll probably make a combat-orientat-
disrupt the game. ed character. Give the Butt-Kicker lots of fights to keep
Talk to your players after the game. Ask them what they him happy.
enjoyed, and what they didn’t enjoy. If something isn’t Tacticians: Some players approach the game as a tactical
working, change it with Temporal Damage! puzzle to be solved. For them, the best game is one where
they overcome all the obstacles in the most efficient way
Players possible. They appreciate complex challenges (‘how do
we figure out what the villain wants, stop him, find out
As Gamemaster, you’ll be there to guide the players through where his base is, infiltrate it and get back in time for the
169
 Pulp Fantastic
fireside chat with FDR?”), but have little patience for char- if they’re okay. If they’re happy taking a back seat and
acterization, excessive role-playing or goofing around. spectating, then that’s fine. If they want to be more in-
They want to get the job done. volved, that’s where the Gamemaster really comes in. Give
the character an essential role in the story, or an extra cool
Keep tacticians happy by giving them the problems and
sub-plot. Bring the player out of the background by making
puzzles they desire, and by making sure that events
their character more active in the story. That way, the player
unfold logically and in accordance with the ‘rules’ of
has to become more involved, and the others will have to
the real world.
give them a chance to be heard.
Some tacticians go too far, and fall into the trap of “me-
The Cheat: The rules are pretty simple in this game, ev-
ta-gaming”. They use out-of-character knowledge in
erything being covered by a similar roll. It could be that
the game.
you have a player who’ll roll their dice where no one can
Specialists: Some players like to play one type of charac- see the results, or they come up with some excuse like
ter over and over. They might like playing sneaky thieves, “Oh, they didn’t roll properly, I have to roll them again.”
or charming faces, or manipulative politicians. To keep It could be that they don’t even cheat the rules, but simply
the specialist happy, give them scenes in the adventure manipulate everyone’s memory of the game and decide
where they get to whatever they like to do. that their character isn’t where everyone thought they
were, and they may be somewhere else! The best thing to
Over-the-top specialists try to make the whole game
do with this kind of player is to simply keep track of ev-
revolve around their schtick, and complain when they
erything – make notes. Bring in a firm ‘table rule’ where
don’t get to do their thing. Try to draw the specialist out
everyone has to roll their dice in a clear area in the middle,
of their niche by giving them more stuff to do that leads
so everyone can see the results. One roll, no re-rolls.
to them getting to use their specialty. For example, if a
player likes playing a sneaky thief, then run a game The Rule-monger: At the other end of the spectrum
where he has to infiltrate a party and do lots of role-play- there’s the player who tries to know all of the rules and
ing before he can sneak off upstairs and steal back the may try to overrule your decisions by quoting passages
Element X. from the rulebooks. Luckily, pulp fantastic only really
uses one standard rule, so this rule-mongering should not
Method Actor: This player really likes role-playing and
happen often. However, it is expected that rules will be
getting into character. They’re less interested in fighting
‘bent’ a little to allow for a smooth running game. Above
bad guys than in exploring how fighting bad guys affects
all, you have the final say as the Gamemaster. Whatever
their character and the world around them. They want
you say goes. If you think you may be wrong you should
scenes that are not about the the villains and their nefar-
continue on until there is a natural break in the game and
ious master-plans, but are just about role playing and
you can read through the books to check upon your deci-
character interaction and day-to-day life. Keep the Method
sions. If you were wrong, and made a bad decision, you
Actor happy by giving them such scenes, but make sure
can make it up to the players in other ways – either by
they don’t drag on too long – pulp fantastic games
giving them Story Points to make up for the bad call, or
are quick-paced!
you could be a little lenient if the bad ruling meant things
The danger with Method Actors is that they can prioritize will become difficult for them later on. Above all, admit
their character’s story over the rest of the group. In such your mistake, but explain what happened and how you’ll
cases, gently remind the player that this is a team game, make it up to them. Don’t try to hide it, or the players will
and the story’s about the group as a whole. Also, make stop trusting your judgment.
sure that all the characters have a good reason to go off
As long as everyone has fun, then that’s the key to a good game.
investigating mysteries and risking their lives.
GAMEMASTER

Storyteller: Like the method actor, the storyteller’s more

interested in role-playing than puzzles or combat. He is
less interested in his character’s internal life, and more in
the overall plot of the game. They may not care very much
about individual monsters, focusing more on the story
and the big series arcs. Storytellers want distinctive npcs,
interpersonal drama, big mysteries and epic stories.
Storytellers can be great for a campaign, as they’re really
enthusiastic and want to engage with your adventures.
Be careful that they don’t take over the game – in their
enthusiasm, they can drown out quieter players.
Casual Gamers: Some people enjoy taking a less active
role in the game, whereas others simply cannot get a word
in – the other players are so keen to get their intended
actions heard that it simply drowns out the great ideas
that the quiet player may have. First of all, ask the player
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 Chapter 11
Pulp Villains

T
he measure of a hero can be found in the quality of perceived predations of Western civilisation. Many were
his enemies. While the Pulp Era was a time of great more than mere ideologues, having suffered terrible per-
heroes, they were opposed by equally great villains. sonal losses at the hands of Westerners, and determined
While the majority of pulp magazines were filled with to either revenge themselves or ensure that no other
quite mundane menaces – gangsters and the like – occa- should suffer as they should. Perhaps the most notable
sionally a villain appeared that raised the bar, elevating patriotic arch-villain is Fu Manchu, a man who saw the
themselves from a mere enemy to an arch-nemesis. These cultural collision of East and West as a war that threatened
villains were a match for their enemies; twisted shadows to destroy his land and heritage unless he saw to it that
of their opponents in every way as memorable and unique his people dominated. In many ways, the patriotic villain
as the heroes they fought. is the mirror image of the patriotic hero, made his enemy
only by an accident of birth and geography.
Professor James Moriarty is the classic arch-nemesis, in
every way the equal of Sherlock Holmes; a fun-house
mirror reflection of the man he could have been. Every
The Thrill-Seeker
great hero has his or her nemesis; John Sunlight, The The need to overcome boredom and ennui is the reason
Master, Shiwan Kahn, Fu Manchu – all great personalities, many pulp villains take up arms against the forces of
each with distinct motivations, goals and methods. justice. These men and women have exhausted the op-
portunities for diversion offered by the mundane world,

Building a Better Villain and now they quicken their pulses and bring meaning to
their otherwise empty existence by risking life, limb and
liberty gambling for the highest stakes of all. Very often
Playing the villain is one of the great delights of running
their tremendous natural gifts of intelligence or riches
a Pulp-style role-playing game. Free of the limits of polite
make this the only challenge remaining. These villains
society, common sense, decency or empathy, the Pulp
are often extremely dangerous, due to their unpredict-
villain is a larger than life foil to larger than life heroes.
ability and their willingness to risk it all on a single, wild
chance. Many have been known to initiate dangerous
Motive schemes, only to go down in flames laughing at the spec-
Even during the era of the Pulps, very few villains are evil tacle as they burn.
simply for the sake of it. Those that are, are driven to it by
their very nature. Perhaps they are actual monsters; a The Quester
resurrected mummy or ancient reincarnated sorcer- Some villains do bad things for the sake of knowledge;
er-king. Perhaps they’re a bitter golem of stitched-togeth- because they seek forbidden truths, dangerous science
er flesh or a homicidal robot. Or perhaps they’re simply and Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know.
criminally insane, driven mad by the trauma of war, a
great loss or simply the memory of being laughed out of In a time when broadcast media and print were bringing
the academy. The best villains are those with clear and the wonders of science to the masses, it seemed that there
understandable (if extreme) motives for what they do. was no limit to what mankind might achieve, and many
Very few Pulp villains really believed they were evil. pulp writers explored the dark consequences of that pos-
sibility. They presented scientists driven by the need to
The Patriot conquer death, to defy God and create life, to dabble with
the forces of creation and build weapons capable of unmak-
Though the Pulp Era was one defined by an ever expand- ing the world. These men and women refused to be bound
ing horizon and the desire to see beyond, xenophobia and by the strictures of society, law and morality (and occasion-
racism were endemic. The strange and the exotic was ally the laws of physics as well), becoming renegades in
fascinating, and paradoxically scary, to the average pulp their pursuit of the power to know the unknowable.
reader. While many pulp villains were base caricatures of
racist stereotypes, there were those who were portrayed Questers weren’t limited to dangerous science. The pulps
as patriots; honourable men driven to extremes by the are full of driven mystics, drawn to the dark side by the
desire to protect their lands and their people from the lure of black and ancient mysteries, by the possibilities
 Pulp Fantastic
hinted at in forbidden and blood-soaked manuscripts of Those who are just plain bad may be charming, urbane
unholy provenance. and educated or brutish, stupid and crude, but they are
all vicious, unprincipled, spiteful and malicious.
Questers often start off as noble characters, before becom-
ing corrupted by the dark secrets they uncover and the Since these villains have almost no motivation other than
things they must do to obtain that knowledge, proving being evil and / or insane, they are usually defined by their
the adage about the road to Hell being paved with good methodology. They deal death in obscure and horrible ways,
intentions. Perhaps the best example is H.P. Lovecraft’s and often have a signature weapon or modus operandi.
character Herbert West, who begins as a doctor seeking
Perhaps the best example of this is Dr Jack Quartz, who
to extend life and save humanity from the spectre of death,
opposed detective Nick Carter for over thirty years. Quartz,
and ends a murderer and a ghoul destroyed by his own
a genteel, charming and intelligent man, was utterly
resentful creations.
without morality or conscience and had a passion for
vivisecting human beings in a number of cruel and gro-
The Empire-Builder tesque ways. And once said “I like beautiful girls. I like to
These villains are victims of their own vaunting ambition; cut them up. It is my passion.”
the king-makers and empire-builders. Like the patriotic
Villains of the just plain bad variety are the most likely to
villain, they often take responsibility for their fellows, but
return from “certain death”, as they are often so horrible
the empire-builder tends to see them more as property
that players won’t rest until they’ve seen the villain dead.
than those who need to be protected.
Empire-builders range from the petty to the truly ambi- BAIT & SWITCH
tious. They can be gang leaders seeking to expand or hold
their turf, to corrupt politicians trying to gain control of Gamemasters should be aware that the archetypes in this
City Hall, from generals with an eye on control of their chapter are purely there for inspiration. One technique you
country or madmen who want to hold the globe in the may find useful is the “Bait and Switch”, whereby the players
palm of their gloved hand. believe that their latest opponent is one kind of villain, only
to find he’s another kind entirely. For instance, they may be
This kind of villain has a tendency to be well-organised, investigating an evil cult that murders those who stand in
well-funded and ostentatious. Power is no fun unless you their way with magic, only to find that they’re actually run
can use it, and its no fun using it unless people know by a Mad Scientist who is using his Weird Technology to do
about it. Ego is a driving force behind empire-builders, the killings. Another technique is the “Mix and Match”, where
and they can often be extremely cruel, deriving great the Gamemaster confronts the heroes with a team of villains,
enjoyment from crushing their opponents through over- carefully crafted to complement each other’s strengths and
whelming force. counter their weaknesses. Pulp villains rarely work alone, so
it makes sense to select one villain as the main leader, and
The Glory Hunter feature the others as trusted lieutenants.
Some villains aren’t necessarily bad, they just love a good
fight. For them, the prize at the end of a battle isn’t really
what motivates them, its the battle itself. Glory Hunters
need to test themselves physically against the most worthy
Villain Archetypes
opponents – usually, the heroes. These villains are often
defined by a sense of sportsmanship and respect for their The Foreign Mastermind
enemies. Not for them the inescapable death-trap, the One of the most popular and enduring Pulp archetypes,
waves of ninjas or the carefully concealed car-bomb. Such the Foreign Mastermind or Sinister Oriental is the per-
GAMEMASTER

things are unworthy, and just a little cowardly. No, its not sonification of our fear of the strange and the unknown.
enough for the Glory Hunter to simply defeat the heroes; He represents both our fascination with, and our fear of,
he has to face them on an equal footing, to risk defeat and the exotic. Traditionally he is a superior Chinese crime
be seen to win. lord; a master manipulator and arch conspirator who uses
These villains are in many ways the most reasonable, as his genius, ruthless cunning and array of fanatical minions
they will often concede defeat and step away from a battle to pursue his goals, whatever they might be.
when it becomes clear they’re losing, only to return another The stereotype of the eerie criminal genius, with his
day with a new and more elaborate game to play. strange ways and alien outlook, pre-dates the Pulp era by
nearly half a century, arising from the xenophobic view
Just Plain Bad of the East by the West. Chinese immigrants were viewed
For all our explorations of villain motivations, some are as racially and socially impure, an insidious threat seeking
just plain bad. Whether they’re driven by a head full of to overrun the West. Often they were regarded as fanatics
bad wiring, a corrupt ideology, greed, lust, sadism or just and portrayed as drug-using sexual deviants who lusted
a perverse desire to watch the world burn, these are the after white women, while positive portrayals were restrict-
villains that player characters will end up hating. There ed to humble, simple-hearted peasants.
is no depth to which they will not sink and no act too vile.
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 Pulp Villains
Perhaps the most famous Foreign Mastermind is the bril- to be however, and the lords men came for the alchemist soon
liant and ruthless Dr Fu Manchu, a gifted chemist with a after. At the lords palace, the alchemist was accused of murder
genius for natural toxins and horrible biological weapons, by none other than the lords widow, and the alchemist slowly
motivated not by greed or power but by a desire to thwart realised that he had been used.
Western Imperialism. Other notable masterminds includ-
While awaiting execution the young alchemist used his skills
ed Pao Tcheou, the “Master of the Invisible”; Kiang Ho, the
to drug his jailers and escape. He fled to the nearby mountains,
Submarine Pirate; Dr Yen How, “The Yellow Danger”;
where he lived as a hermit, hunting in the wilderness and
Quong Lung, the ruler of San Francisco’s Chinatown;
bartering his healing skills to the peasants for food when he
Shiwan Kahn; Mr King, the “Yellow Claw”; Dr Chu Lung;
could. It was while he was hunting in the mountains that he
Li Shoon; Ssu Hsi Tze, the “Ruler of Vermin”; Dr Yen Sin
came across the sky craft. Details vary between different tell-
and his doppelganger the mysterious Wu-Fang; and Ming
ings of the legend, but the common elements tell of the discov-
the Merciless.
ery of a ship from the stars, half-buried in the side of the moun-
The Foreign Mastermind prefers to act through his minions tain and surrounded by the distorted bodies of the crew,
and maybe a trusted lieutenant, rarely getting his hands tentacled beasts similar to the devil-fish encountered in the
dirty himself, though he is often quite physically capable. South China Sea. Tracks in the snow led the alchemist to a
Where he excels, however, is in the creation of terrible cave, where he encountered the last survivor of the crash,
tortures, vile deathtraps and horrific means of murder. injured and dying due to some respiratory infection. Recog-
Fu Manchu himself commanded the dread assassins of nising the creature’s intelligence, the alchemist nursed it back
the Celestial Order of the Si-Fan and had a formidable to health using his knowledge of the healing arts and the blood
knowledge of rare venomous creatures, poisonous plants, of stolen sheep and goats. Through strange dreams he absorbed
virulent bacilli and deadly fungi, all imported from the the secret of communicating with the strange creature, and
“mysterious East”. soon learned that it was like him, a scientist, sent to earth to
assess the planet’s suitability for colonisation. The alchemist
Note that the Foreign Mastermind need not necessarily
learned much through his dreams as the creature filled him
be Oriental. While the most notable examples are Chinese,
with the science and skills necessary to keep it alive in a hostile
Western incarnations included Doctor Nikola (European)
environment. Together they salvaged much of the sky craft’s
and Dr Jack Quartz (American). A quirk of the Foreign
technology, and built a home above the snow line, where the
Mastermind is that most of them are men of their word
cold kept the creature protected from most of the ailments that
and have a certain sense of honor. He also has an uncanny
could prove fatal to it.
knack for escaping certain death.
In order to allow him to aid it more efficiently, the creature
Note: Gamemasters planning to use the Foreign Master-
taught the alchemist the principles of its alien science and the
mind – an embodiment of racist fears and attitudes – need
operating procedures of its equipment. It taught him much of
to be careful to avoid offending their more sensitive
the science of it’s homeworld, including how to alter the fabric
modern players.
of life and bend it to his will, to create or cure disease organisms
and to improve and adapt the flesh of living things. The alche- 11
Siwang Lung – The Death Dragon mist used these techniques on the only experimental subject
Little is known of the true history of the master criminal he had available – himself - to improve his health, strength
and terrorist known to the world’s governments as Siwang and durability, enhancing his mind and extending his life-span.
Lung – the infamous “Death Dragon”. Few know anything
Returning to their stronghold after a hunting expedition, the
of the man himself, and even fewer speak of him. Those
alchemist came across his companion in the midst of a hunters
who do so unwisely rarely live long enough to repeat the
encampment. The hunters had strayed too close to the cave,
error.
and the creature had slaughtered them all. What horrified the
One legend persists, however, and it is given some level alchemist was the fact that the creature was drinking them,
of credence by those who have fought the Death Dragon gorging itself on their life-blood. In it’s ecstasy, the creature’s
and lived, though if true the implications are far-reaching thoughts were revealed to the alchemist in all their alien horror.
indeed. Indeed, given the events of 1901, the story appears In it’s mind were visions of conquest, of humanity bred as cattle
to have more than a passing basis in truth… for the consumption by their alien masters. Aghast, the alche-
mist slew the creature before retreating to his mountain fast-
The legend tells of an unnamed Chinese alchemist who lived
ness to ponder what he had seen.
near the city of Kaifeng many centuries past. This alchemist
was skilled in the healing arts, but not wise in the ways of man. No longer a simple alchemist, the young man knew that the
In visiting the home of the local lord, he was unwise enough creature’s companions would eventually turn their hungry
to meet and fall in love with the lords beautiful young wife. In eyes towards earth once more, and when that happened
their stolen moments together she told the alchemist of her mankind would have to be united in their response or fall
husbands dreadful treatment of her, of his cruelty and frequent beneath the might of a superior force. Hardened by his expe-
beatings. Outraged, the alchemist gave the young wife a potion riences in the mountains, the young man reasoned that hu-
to administer to her husband, that would ensure for him a swift manity itself could be toughened and moulded into a weapon
death. In the morning the lord was dead, and the alchemist with which to protect the planet against the alien invaders.
believed that he and his lover would soon be wed. This was not To succeed, mankind would need to be tended, with weakness-

173
 Pulp Fantastic
es pruned away as if by a careful gardener. Morality, compas- Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 6
sion and infirmity were all things humanity would not be able
to afford in a future under threat by conquerors from the stars. Presence: 5 Resolve: 5 Strength: 4
In that moment, the young alchemist was no more, and in his
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 2, Craft 2, Fighting 4, Knowl-
stead rose Siwang Lung, the Death Dragon.
edge 4, Marksman 2, Medicine 4, Science 3, Subterfuge 3,
How much of the legend is true is unknown, but it does Survival 3, Technology 4, Transport 2
explain much about Siwang Lung’s methods, resources
and abilities. Traits:

Today Siwang Lung appears to be a tall, athletically built Fast Healer (Special Good Trait) Siwang Lung
man of Chinese extraction, with long black hair, and pierc- heals extremely quickly due to his alchemical
ing green eyes. He is physically fit, apparently in his late experimentation.
thirties and impressively adept in the martial arts. Well-ed- Gadgeteer (Major Good Trait) Siwang Lung is
ucated and highly cultured, he wields a formidable intel- a skilled alchemist and biologist.
lect and has a grasp of the sciences decades beyond the
current era, with a focus on biology, pharmacology and Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) The Death Dragon
eugenics. is a master hypnotist.

For at least fifty years, and perhaps much, much longer, Immortal (Major Good Trait) Siwang Lung’s
Siwang Lung has been a threat to the West, believing ci- longevity is legendary.
vilisation, democracy and modernisation to be weakening Indomitable (Major Good Trait) The Death
humanity, robbing it of the skills and fortitude to survive Dragon has unquenchable willpower.
a harsh future. In opposing this, he has employed horrible
diseases, plagues of insects, venomous lizards, natural Martial Artist (Major Good Trait) Years of
toxins and a host of other, even stranger biological practice have made the Death Dragon a formi-
weapons. He considers himself a whetstone, against which dable fighter.
the blade of mankind will be sharpened for the war to Minions (Major Good Trait) Siwang Lung can
come. Curiously, when the Martians invaded in 1901, China call on fanatical minions on a moments notice.
was apparently well-prepared and suffered comparative-
ly few casualties. More Than Human (Special Good Trait) Siwang
Lung is more than human due to alchemy and
Around the start of the 20th Century, Siwang Lung seized alien science.
control of the remnants of the Tong of the Black Scorpion
after the demise of their previous leader in the sewers of Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Siwang Lung is
London. Under his leadership, the Tong has become an obsessed with tempering humanity.
international force for evil, an army of religious fanatics Pet (Major Good Trait) The Death Dragon is
ready to kill and be killed at his merest whim. accompanied everywhere by Saber.
Siwang Lung operates globally, with strongholds in almost Psychic (Special Good Trait) Siwang Lung can
every nation on earth. He is accompanied at all times by read minds with effort.
Omar, a hulking Turkish body guard fanatically devoted
to his master and by Saber, a massive grey wolf with which Psychic Training (Minor Good Trait) Siwang
he appears to have some strange form of rapport. At times Lung can resist hypnosis and psychic trickery.
he is also seen with his daughter, the beautiful and deadly Resourceful Pockets (Minor Good Trait) Con-
“Poison Blossom”, Du Kai Hua. cealed within his robs are any number of useful
GAMEMASTER

Note: The Death Dragon is a formidable opponent, and gadgets and tools.
should not be used lightly. He rarely takes a hand in the Tough (Major Good Trait) The Death Dragon
action himself, so create some trusted lieutenants and is extremely robust.
named henchmen for him for the players to test their
strength against before letting them take a crack at the Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Siwang
man himself. Lung is a natural leader.

Quote: “The decadent West must fall so that mankind can Total Character Points: 86
survive!” Story Points: 12

174
 Pulp Villains

The Mad Scientist better. None care much for the consequences of their
actions, and almost all consider themselves engaged in
Perhaps the most recognizable Pulp archetype, the Mad a personal conflict with a universe that hoards its secrets
Scientist is the personification of our fear that science and jealously.
technology will outstrip our ability to control it. The Mad
In the Pulps, Mad Scientists often have beautiful daughters.
Scientist is utterly devoted to his field of study, to the ex- 11
Sometimes these are innocents, ready to fall head over
clusion of all else. For him the pursuit of scientific truth
heels for a handsome hero, while others can be more
overrides everything, including decency, morality and the
villainous. On rare occasions they are more gifted than
sanctity of human life. Sometimes he has convinced
their parents, and just as insane. Mad Scientists tend to
himself that the benefits to mankind brought by his dis-
be old, male, cackle gleefully and have wild hair, though
coveries are worth the cost of a few paltry lives. Other
the Gamemaster might enjoy subverting those expecta-
times he simply no longer cares, driven by rage at his
tions with one who is young, female, sober, well-groomed
humiliation by his peers, or by the knowledge that he is
and lucid…right up until she happily explains why it’s
an intellectual giant amongst pygmies.
necessary to drill holes in a hero’s head.
Though Mad Scientists could probably make a fortune
Mad Scientists tend to be masters of wild technology, but
from the fruits of their genius, they seem to prefer raising
they don’t all have to be inventors. Variants can be Mad
funds through elaborate robberies and other criminal
Biologists or Monster Makers, Mad Chemists (or Alche-
enterprises, or by work for hire for other villains. Most of
mists), Mad Psychologists, even Mad Sociologists. For a
the time they care very little for the consequences or cost
villain with a twist, a Mad Occultist might make an inter-
of these crimes – they’re a means to an end, and where
esting change of pace, using arcane ritual and ancient
the Mad Scientist is concerned, the end always justifies
artifacts instead of high technology.
the means.
Examples of the Mad Scientist include such worthies as;
What those ends are varies from Mad Scientist to Mad
Herbert West, Re-Animator; Victor Frankenstein; Crawford
Scientist. Some seek the the forbidden secrets of life and
Tillinghast in From Beyond; Dr Impossible and Baron Ether
death, others desire to penetrate between dimensions.
from Soon I Will Be Invincible; Dr Henri Moreau; Dr
Some build robots or monsters, others build rays or plan-
Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man and Dr Henry Jekyll.
et-cracking devices. Some are obsessed with advancing
Other villains, such as Fu Manchu and Professor James
human evolution, while others are convinced mankind
Moriarty combine elements of the Mad Scientist with the
is a dead-end and plan to replace us with something...
purpose and willpower of a crime lord.

175
 Pulp Fantastic
Doktor Todeskopf soon overtook him when, in 1901, the Martian invasion
began. Weisskopf was in London when the first cylinders
Even among Mad Scientists, the arch-villain known as fell, and witness accounts place him at some of the worst
Doktor Todeskopf is considered extraordinary. incidents of Martian aggression. Indeed, it seems highly
Born in Switzerland in the year 1876, Maximilian Weiss- coincidental that wherever he was seen, the Martian
kopf was the only son of an unremarkable watchmaker. tripods seemed to appear soon after, as if they were ac-
A sickly child who was not expected to live beyond infancy, tively pursuing him.
the boy made up for what he lacked in physical health In the months following the end of the Martian invasion,
with his indomitable will and prodigious intelligence. many horrible discoveries were made in the alien instal-
Records of his early life are scarce, but it appears that lations and encampments. The public already know about
Maximilian’s intellect developed at remarkable speed. the Martian habit of feeding on human blood, and there
Through the patronage of a local priest, the boy was has been some speculation in scientific circles about the
allowed access to scholarly libraries, which he devoured purpose of the experiments conducted on human prison-
at an astounding rate. Recognizing that the boy’s mind ers in the Martian slave-camps. What was kept from the
was unique and would rebel at normal schooling, the priest public was the awful truth about the research installation
took young Maximilian to the University of Zurich, where the Martians buried beneath Wimbledon Common. Within,
their study of his apparently unique mind would in turn horrified investigators discovered a charnel pit filled to
enable him to study whatever he wanted. Maximilian grew the brim with corpses, each with the top of its skull neatly
up surrounded by academics and scientists, absorbing sliced away and the brain removed. One of these was
everything he could learn from them, occasionally turning identified as the mortal remains of Maximilian Weisskopf.
other fields of research on their heads as he synthesized Worse were the strange glass tubes, each filled with thick,
new theories. green liquid and containing a single, pulsing human brain.
When Maximilian was ten his parents both died of influ- Over a period of months the tubes and their apparently
enza, and he became a ward of the University. Apparently living contents were carefully shipped to the Royal Institute
uninterested in making friends of his own age, he continued for Special Scientific Inquiry at Lemuel House in Kent, a
to associate with the staff, aware that they were studying thinly-veiled front for the War Office. There the tubes and
him as much as he was studying everything and anything their life-support equipment, the Martian fighting ma-
that interested him. He became particularly fascinated by chines and other remnants of their technology, all under-
mathematics, chemistry, physics and engineering, though went a rigorous program of study in an attempt to uncover
he also studied music and the growing fields of what would the principles of their operation and perhaps even reverse
come to be known as psychology and sociology. engineer them.
At the age of twelve, Maximilian Weisskopf obtained his Though breakthroughs were made, progress was slow,
first degree. By fifteen he had obtained three more. By and the years passed and turned into decades. As time
eighteen, he was awarded a doctorate in mathematics. went on, the brains all slowly failed and died. All except
Curiously few records of his time at University have survived, one. One brain seemed to thrive while the others withered,
but letters and journals from the time describe him as a almost as if the lack of a physical form had somehow freed
thin, wiry young man with a shock of dark hair and intense, it to reach its full potential.
almost feverish eyes. One professor describes him as “a
young man being consumed from within by the power of With the outbreak of the Great War, the study and obser-
a mind trapped in a body almost too weak to contain it”. vation of the apparently undying brain was put aside in
favor of unlocking the secret of the Martian Heat Ray and
It was at the age of twenty-five that Weisskopf’s behaviour the dreaded Black Smoke. When this failed, the Institutes
seems to have changed. Having spent several months resources were allocated elsewhere, and the research wing
GAMEMASTER

apparently attempting to develop a suite of equations with was sealed up. Locked in a store room, the brain was all
which human behaviour could be modelled and even but forgotten.
predicted, young Weisskopf seemed to suffer some sort
of emotional breakdown. Becoming melancholy and with- In the face of massive casualties on the front lines, Lemuel
drawn, Weisskopf locked himself away in his rooms at the House was re-tasked as a hospice for shell-shocked and
University for a period of several weeks, before emerging, hopelessly maimed officers, its former use apparently
packing his bags, claiming his inheritance – his parents forgotten. By the end of the War, the building housed
had managed to save a small sum of money for him that almost three hundred patients, almost all of them severe-
he’d previously shown no interest in – and travelling to ly traumatised by shell-shock or rendered nearly cataton-
England. It was discovered afterwards that Weisskopf had ic by the horrors they witnessed in the trenches.
burned every piece of paper in his rooms. In 1919, doctors at the hospice started to note a rise in the
In England the young man spent weeks travelling the number of nocturnal disturbances amongst the patients,
length and breadth of the land, talking with scientists, with several of them being found wandering around the
philosophers and statesmen, though the nature of these grounds, apparently in some kind of somnambulistic
conversations has never been revealed. Whatever it was trance. By 1920 it was revealed that a number of patients
that Weisskopf was trying so feverishly to do, other events had gone entirely missing, while one – a young infantry-

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 Pulp Villains
man from Leeds – was heard speaking what was later Quote: “Forgive me for not shaking hands. As you can
identified as German, a language he had previously been see, I am somewhat…indisposed.”
completely unfamiliar with.
Awareness: 4 Coordination: − Ingenuity: 6
In June, 1920, a riot erupted amongst the previously docile
patients. In the aftermath, it was discovered that fifty Presence: 1 Resolve: 7 Strength: −
patients had vanished during the melee. Further, someone Skills: Convince 2, Craft 4, Knowledge 4, Medicine 4,
had used the riot to cover the fact that they had broken Science 4, Subterfuge 3, Technology 4
into the sealed research wing of the building and made
off with the surviving brain and its support equipment, Traits:
as well as a substantial amount of recovered Martian Clairvoyance (Special Good Psychic Trait)
technology. Todeskopf’s psychic awareness ranges across
Over the next few months, a series of bizarre thefts oc- the planet.
curred, thefts that targeted medical, scientific and chem- Dependency (Major Bad Trait) As a disembod-
ical apparatus. Thefts conducted by a band of well-trained, ied brain Todeskopf is dependent on his
highly coordinated and utterly silent men. Not long after life-support tank.
that, the Radium Men were sighted for the first time,
armored robotic warriors controlled by sophisticated, Gadgeteer (Major Good Trait) Todeskopf is
adaptable programming. At the same time, the silken but adept at creating weird technology.
strangely hollow tones of the being that called himself Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Todeskopf’s
Doktor Todeskopf filled the airwaves. Todeskopf’s broad- inhuman will can dominate others.
casts consisted of rambling discourses on the cancer of
war and the perfectibility of mankind through science Impaired Senses (Minor Bad Trait) Todeskopf
into beings eternal, incorruptible and indestructible. The is dependent on low-resolution visual and
true meaning – and horror – of this manifesto was only audio devices.
revealed when one of the Radium Men was successfully Minions 2 (Major Good Trait) Todeskopf com-
captured and dismantled, revealing a lobotomised human mands the steel legions of the Radium Men.
brain within.
Possess (Special Good Psychic Trait) Todeskopf
The creature that now calls itself Doktor Todeskopf is the can possess those he controls.
mad, disembodied brain of the genius prodigy Maximilian
Weisskopf, freed from his sickly body and augmented with Psychic (Special Good Trait) Todeskopf can
stolen Martian technology. Intended to become part of the sense the thoughts of those around him.
Martians systems, Todeskopf has surpassed and usurped Technically Adept (Minor Good Trait)
them, becoming something close to immortal but driving Todeskopf is a technological genius.
himself utterly insane in the process. Worse, he believes 11
that humanity must join him if it is to survive the wars Telekinesis (Special Good Psychic Trait)
and future terrors that his equations have predicted, Todeskopf can move objects with the power of
whether they like it or not... his mind.
Telepathy (Special Good Psychic Trait)
Todeskopf is a powerful telepath.
Weird Tech (Major Good Trait) Todeskopf has
modified and enhanced his life-support tank.
Total Character Points: 61
Story Points: 8

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 Pulp Fantastic
Radium Man His personality, motives and methods will vary according
to the nature of the cult and the truth behind it. Cultists
Quote: “ELIMINATE. ELIMINATE. ELIMINATE!” who worship a Eldritch Abomination and wish to free
their deity to feast upon the world are very different from
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 2
those who worship a devil (or the Devil) and wish to in-
Presence: 3 Resolve: 2 Strength: 7 crease their personal power and wealth.
Skills: Convince 2, Fighting 3, Marksman 2, Technology 4 In the Pulps, cults tend to fall into one of the following
categories;
Traits:
Apocalypse Cult: The End of Days is upon us, and these
Armor (Special Good Creature Trait) The Radium
cults see it as their duty to help their god or gods bring an
Man’s thick armor plate reduces damage done to
end to us all and make the world anew. Apocalypse Cults
it by 10 (Coordination penalty already applied).
often have some insane plan for mass murder, triggered by
Dependency (Minor Bad Trait) Radium Men a supposedly supernatural omen, like a comet or supernova.
must recharge daily.
Revival: This cult is based on an old – presumably extinct
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait) - religion, and may even make claims to be a direct con-
Radium Men suffer no environmental ill-ef- tinuation or secret survival. Sometimes these cults seek
fects. to take revenge on those responsible for the extinction of
their faith in earlier times.
Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Radium Men are terrifying up close. Space Gods: These cults tend to be based on supernatural
interpretations of dubious archaeological data, using them
Networked (Minor Good Trait) All Radium
as evidence that mankind was visited in the past (and may
Men are linked by radio waves.
even have been engineered by) vastly powerful visitors
Impaired Senses (Minor Bad Trait) The Radium from another world. Often cults of this kind have apoca-
Men have low-resolution visual and audio devices. lyptic leanings, promising that the faithful will be taken
up to live forever in their alien paradise – frequently after
Robot (Special Good Trait) Technically they
a mass suicide.
aren’t robots, but as surgically modified brains
installed in iron bodies they might as well be. Adventists: This cult is usually a radical splinter group
of an existing religion, based around the return to Earth
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait)
or rebirth of a messianic religious figure such as Jesus
Due to their mass, Radium Men are relative-
Christ (most often in the form of the Cult Leader himself,
ly slow and lumbering. In chases their Speed
but frequently in the form of an easily controllable dupe).
is reduced to 1.
Dark Cult: This cult worships or believes something truly
Total Character Points: 37
evil. This could be Satan, an Anti-God, or an Eldritch
Story Points: 3 Abomination. Cults of this kind are the most dangerous
– with their twisted beliefs and inverted morality, Dark
The Cult Leader Cultists have little or no self-restraint and have a sadistic
love of murder and mayhem.
It’s a wicked, sinful world, and it’s only going to get worse.
God has turned his back on mankind, and the End Times Use the system for Group Traits (page 115) to build your cult.
can’t be very far away. The world is changing faster and NOTE: The Cult Leader can be used for any fanatical leader
faster every day, and many people find change very scary pushing an agenda. Period examples include fascists,
GAMEMASTER

indeed. Into this mix strides the Cult Leader, a charismat- communists or other political extremists.
ic figure holding secret knowledge, promising salvation
for those who follow his word. The Black Lama
The Cult Leader may be a charlatan or possess genuine Just as Buddhism has its Tulkus, reincarnated enlightened
arcane knowledge, but his true power comes from those beings (Bodhisattvas) who postpone the achievement of
who follow him, devoting themselves to his cause and Nirvana in order to help enlighten others, so darker faiths
fanatically willing to follow his every command. They have darker tulkus; malign spirits filled with evil knowl-
bring him wealth, power and status, and make him a edge, who return again and again from death to spread
dangerous and unpredictable opponent. corruption and wickedness in the world.
Cult Leaders are extremely flexible villains, able to fill Such is – so legend says - the Black Lama, the dread leader
almost any niche the Gamemaster wants. The Cult Leader of the Mara Brotherhood. Whenever the current Black Lama
could be the high priest of some blasphemous religion, dies, the Brotherhood spreads out across the globe, searching
worshipping the Devil or some monstrous ancient god for the one who is the Lama reborn, looking for the spiritu-
(who may or may not actually exist). He may be a clever al darkness that signals the return of a monstrous evil.
con-man or illusionist, or possess genuine occult power.
The current Black Lama is a young Tibetan man in his
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 Pulp Villains
early twenties, with delicate features, a slight build and Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 6
shaven head. His manner is gentle and polite at all times,
though his eyes are entirely black, revealing the spiritual Presence: 5 Resolve: 9 Strength: 4
corruption within. Gifted with psychic powers beyond Skills: Convince 4, Fighting 4, Knowledge 4, Medicine 3,
comprehension and accompanied at all times by fanatical Science 2, Survival 2
shadow monks who would lay down their lives to defend
him, the Black Lama is a skilled martial artist, having Traits:
inherited the fighting skills of a thousand lifetimes. The Astral Travel (Major Good Psychic Trait) The
Black Lama rarely needs to leave his stronghold in the Black Lama can cast his mind out into the world.
Black Lamasery of Agharthi, preferring to work at a dis-
tance through the adherents of the Mara Brotherhood of Clairvoyance (Special Good Psychic Trait) The
his own psychic abilities. eyes of the Black Lama see all.

Quote: “Why should the only saints belong to your pale Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait)
god? The only miracles? Hell has its holy men too, evil The Black Lama can pass unseen when he wishes.
its miracles.” Immortal (Major Good Creature Trait) The
Black Lama is reborn again and again.
Martial Artist (Major Good Trait) The Black
Lama draws from lifetimes of experience as a
fighter.
Minions (Major Good Trait) The fanatics of
the Mara Brotherhood are the Black Lama’s
to command.
More Than Human (Special Good Trait) The
Black Lama is a dark tulku.
Obligation (Major Bad Trait) The Black Lama
is in service to dark powers.
Possess (Special Good Psychic Trait) The weak
can be enslaved to the will of the Black Lama.
Precognition (Special Good Psychic Trait) Visions
of the future are granted to the Black Lama.
Psychic (Special Good Trait) The Black Lama
11
can read minds.
Psychic Training (Minor Good Trait) The Black
Lama is adept in the psychic arts.
Telekinesis (Special Good Psychic Trait) The
Black Lama can move objects with the power
of his mind.
Telepathy (Special Good Psychic Trait) The
Black Lama communicates with his followers
across the globe by thought transference.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) The Black Lama
is an unholy being, and is weakened in the
presence of holy artifacts and true faith.
Well Traveled (Minor Good Trait) The Black
Lama has existed through many lives and ac-
quired much experience.
Total Character Points: 71
Story Points: 8

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 Pulp Fantastic
The Anti-Villain gimmicky, unless they’re being played for comic effect
they remain competent and ruthless enemies, well-
Perhaps one of the most perplexing villain-types present- equipped and driven by a quietly fanatical faith in the
ed in the Pulps, the Anti-Villain is a bad guy with heroic manifest destiny of the Third Reich. Unlike many other
ideals, motivations and virtues. What they want is ulti- villains, Pulp Nazis are usually capable combatants; though
mately good, but they go about it in the wrong way, result- they have minions to do their dirty work, they often relish
ing in collateral damage and misery. “You can’t make an the chance to prove their “Aryan superiority” by engaging
omelette without breaking a few eggs,” is the motto of in hand-to-hand combat with the heroes.
most Anti-Villains. Alternatively, the Anti-Villain could
Pulp Nazis tend to come in a number of varieties, which
well have evil aims, but goes about achieving them in a
can be mixed and matched according to taste;
reasonably ethical and honourable way, seeking to mini-
mise casualties - direct and indirect – as much as possible. The Sadistic Interrogator: Most often a member of the
Gestapo or the SS, this villain is usually slender and softly
Of all the villain archetypes, the Anti-Villain is the one
spoken, with cold blue eyes glittering behind his wire-
most likely to be persuaded into a temporary alliance with
framed spectacles. Dressed in a dark grey suit and a black
the heroes when things risk getting out of control. While
leather overcoat he rarely takes his black leather gloves
they may be “better” than normal villains and often appear
off, unless it is to strike a helpless victim with them. He
to be reaching for redemption, they almost never com-
loves his work, licking his thin lips with anticipation of
pletely defect to the side of the angels, often believing that
the unspeakable torments he will soon inflict upon the
their sins can never be forgiven and prefer “to rule in Hell
heroes, and occasionally giggling inappropriately. For
rather than serve in Heaven”.
some reason the Sadistic Interrogator often speaks as
Despite this vein of decency and honor, Anti-Villains are though slightly short of breath. He never loses his temper
no less dangerous than any other villain, and may in fact or raises his voice, and even the most hideous threats are
be more so due to their unpredictability. Most heroes don’t made in a chillingly veiled manner.
quite know what to do when their opponents don’t provide
The Reluctant Nazi: If the heroes are in the habit of
easy reasons for their extermination. Anti-Villains are
dismissing all Nazis as cannon fodder, the Reluctant Nazi
often quite respectful of the heroes, regarding them as
can be an interesting change of pace. The Reluctant Nazi
“worthy opponents” and expressing regret for their inev-
is a decent man who became a member of the party for
itable doom.
political reasons, but does not ascribe to the Nazi philos-
Some Anti-Villains are a law unto themselves, aware that ophy. Nevertheless, he is a patriot and will do his duty, but
the world may view their actions as evil, but believing unlike the other Nazi variants he takes no pleasure in it.
themselves to have evolved beyond the limits of conven-
The Brute: The Brute is a thug, who doesn’t really believe
tional morality
in the ideology of the Third Reich, but became a Nazi in
order to feed their need to feel powerful. Being part of the
The Pulp Nazi Nazi war machine gives them the power they’ve always
Nazis make great villains. They represent something craved, and they like to abuse that power at every oppor-
utterly vile; a repugnant philosophy with no redeeming tunity. Brute Nazis are scum; arrogant bullies who enjoy
features, a nearly faceless horde of endless thugs who can the humiliation and degradation of their prisoners. They
be killed off in waves without the heroes having to trouble may be using the uniform to conceal a deep-seated infe-
their consciences over-much. riority complex, or they may just be nasty pieces of work.
Brutes tend to be selfish, greedy and under all their bluster,
Though they’re now seen as the quintessential Pulp cowards. However they are often also superior combatants,
villain, the Nazis actually featured in surprisingly few and their treacherous nature and innate viciousness trans-
GAMEMASTER

pulps, coming in toward the end of the Pulp Era, when lates into a host of dirty tactics. Brutes tend to be the default
World War II paper shortages killed off most of the mag- Nazi soldier.
azines. Where they did appear, they were limited to mil-
itary action pulps, spy thrillers and the aviation maga- The Bruiser: The bruiser is a big, solid lump of muscle
zines. For the most part, Pulp publishers preferred to with fists like hams and a penchant for bare-knuckle
avoid real-world politics wherever possible, preferring fighting. He enjoys a fight, and he enjoys showing off his
to import thinly-veiled fascist counter-parts from imag- impressive physique just before he beats the hero un-
inary Balkan countries. conscious with it. He rarely speaks anything other than
German and tends to serve either as back-up muscle for
Nazi villains are for the most part a modern invention, a superior office, or as an unexpected stumbling block
created for Pulp pastiches like The Rocketeer and the for the hero.
Indiana Jones movies. In reality, since many real Nazis –
including Adolf Hitler - appeared every bit as bizarre as The Intellectual Aryan: Smarter than the average Nazi,
the villains of the pulps, very few Nazi arch-villains ap- this villain is cultured, educated, intelligent and very
peared in fiction. astute. His perception and quick wits make him a formi-
dable enemy, and his ability to anticipate the moves of his
Though Pulp-style Nazi villains tend to be over-blown and opponents make him a hard man to out-manoeuvre. While

180
 Pulp Villains
he can be as violent, sadistic and brutal as other Nazis, the wealth buys power and influence and that everyone has
Intellectual Aryan prefers to solve his problems in a more their price. The only things that matter are the things that
cerebral manner, and he is often using the resources of can be bought; to the Corrupt Corporate, everything else
the Reich to further his own ambitions. Most senior Nazis – including morality and human life - is irrelevant.
fall into this category.
The Corrupt Corporate may appear urbane and cultured, but
The Nazi Scientist: Lacking the individual spark of divine he has a lot to lose and will fight like a tiger to keep it. His
inspiration, Nazi doctors, scientists and researchers plots tend to involve vast swindles and confidence schemes,
working in teams are still capable of some incredible (and the discrediting or ruination of his competitors, the theft of
horrifying) achievements. Some care little for Nazi doctrine large sums of money, the annexation of valuable resources,
or the philosophy or Aryan superiority, instead seeing the complicated real estate scams or the establishment and
Third Reich as a means to an end; the funding and resourc- maintenance of vast monopolies. Usually the victims of these
ing of their research. Others are fanatical, seeking to use plots are the “little people”, the faceless masses of ordinary
their perverted science to prove the outlandish theories people who invest in the Corporates companies.
of Eternal Ice and Aryan eugenics. Neither type cares for
Corrupt Corporates want more of what they already have,
the pain they inflict on their fellow human beings while
and have the resources to achieve this. They have money,
they conduct their foul experiments, seeing their prison-
minions, social connections and political influence. Very
ers as simply an expendable stock of “subhuman” test
often they also have social prominence, making them hard
subjects. Nazi Scientists tend to be utterly cold, exhibiting
to fight openly and giving them the protection of society
little personality and no conscience whatsoever, though
and the law. Though Corrupt Corporates are usually in-
they seem to take no pleasure in what they do either.
dustrialists, they can be just as effective in other lines of
Players may also derive some historical horror from the
work. A Corrupt Producer could use the machinery of
fact that many of these scientists will be given new homes
Hollywood to smear his opponents, while a Corrupt Banker
and new jobs in the usa and other Allied countries at the
might ruin his enemies and finance his allies.
end of the war, made Government assets under covert
operations like Paperclip. When it comes to their projects, The classic Corrupt Corporate has no fighting skills to speak
Gamemasters can feel free to let their imaginations run of, though this has been subverted in modern times with
wild, but should be warned if they decide to research the idea of rich businessmen who combine big business with
issue that there’s almost nothing so vile or horrific that a taste for extreme sports and martial arts. Normally though,
real Nazi scientists didn’t do it at some point - often on an Corrupt Corporates leave the fighting to their minions, led
industrial scale. by a trusted lieutenant. Lex Luthor, particularly in his
modern incarnations, is a classic example of the Corrupt
The Nazi Occultist: Often found working hand in hand
Corporate, combined with aspects of the Mad Scientist.
with the Nazi Scientist, the Nazi Occultist is usually assigned
to the Ahnenerbe or one of Hitler’s other arcane research
organisations. The Nazi Occultist is usually a career soldier
Rex Monday
who has seen the power of the supernatural for himself and Born to the privileged life of the scion of an old and noble 11
wishes to harness it as a weapon of war, a scholar of mys- house, Rex Monday grew up pampered, indulged and
ticism availing himself of the resources the Reich has to spoiled. Every day he was told that the world would be his,
offer, or a disciple of darkness who is using the Reich as and that he could do anything he wanted. Unlike most
much as they are using him. Nazi Occultists often have children, he believed it. Even more unusually, he still
access to arcane artifacts and possess psychic or mesmeric believes it now.
powers. They may also possess Weird Technology that
Rex Monday is a tall, handsome man in his early thirties,
combines dark magic with high technology. Nazi Occultists
with movie-idol good-looks, impeccable taste and perfect
can often be found advising, or even leading, retrieval mis-
manners. He is also an extremely dangerous man, what
sions to holy sites and mysterious lands.
in later years will be termed a sociopath. Rex has little
For more information on Nazis, see page 108. concept of real emotion or of right and wrong. What in-
terests him and motivates him is what is good solely for
The Corrupt Corporate him. He is intelligent and observant, and is skilled at faking
his emotional connection to other people, but eventually
The Corrupt Corporate is a uniquely American villain. He those closest to him see through the mask and realise that
is evil in a nice suit, an unscrupulous businessman or there isn’t much human about Rex Monday.
tycoon who represents our fear of manipulation and ex-
ploitation by the rich; bankers, industrialists, financiers Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a problem.
and politicians. Born of the loss of public trust caused by Rex would undoubtedly have ended up confined in either
the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, Corrupt prison or mental institution, where he could do no harm.
Corporates became useful villains for Pulp authors. Alas, he is one of the richest young men in the United
States, gifted with soaring ambition and the means to
Once hailed as the industrial backbone of the country, the make most of his problems disappear.
Corrupt Corporate is motivated most often by greed and
the desire to maintain his share price. He knows that Taking his inspiration from the Latin phrase that echoes
his name, Rex Monday aims to be nothing less than the
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 Pulp Fantastic
king of the world. Patient and cunning, he is a master of
the long game, using his money and influence to move
people like pawns on a chess board, instigating subtle
schemes that advance his cause while removing his op-
ponents, often without them even suspecting his involve-
ment. To the public, Rex is a wealthy industrialist and
philanthropist, a man who supports unionisation and
encourages the education of his workforce. A tireless
charity fund-raiser and campaigner for human rights,
Rex’s reputation is almost bulletproof. To his criminal
associates, Rex is a stone killer, a man without pity, with
the will to do anything in order to achieve his goals. Those
who know his secret are terrified of him, and would die
rather than betray him. Those foolish enough to talk care-
lessly have found to their cost that Rex’s millions buy him
a long reach, and he does not forgive.
Quote: “Of course, poor people aren’t like you and I. They’re
barely people at all.”

Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5

Presence: 3 Resolve: 6 Strength: 3
Skills: Convince 4, Knowledge 4, Marksman 2, Science 2,
Technology 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Authority (Major Good Trait) Rex gets what
he wants, when he wants it.
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) Rex has a grave-
yard of skeletons in his closet.
Friends in Power (Major Good Trait) Rex has
the ear of the rich and the powerful.
Friends in the Underworld (Major Good Trait)
Rex has friends in low places.
Indomitable (Major Good Trait) Rex cannot
easily be controlled or dominated.
Minions: Thugs (Major Good Trait) Rex always
has a few leg breakers on hand.
Minions: Scientists (Major Good Trait) Rex
isn’t a rocket scientist, but he has several on
the payroll.
GAMEMASTER

Owed Favour (Major Good Trait) Rex has an

ear for scandal and a talent for blackmail.
Wealthy (Major Good Trait) Rex is richer than
the Rockefellers.
Total Character Points: 53
Story Points: 12

182
 Pulp Villains
The Dragon Lady Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait) Du Kai Hua
makes every shot count.
The Dragon Lady is the female counterpart to the Foreign
Well Traveled (Minor Good Trait) The Poison
Mastermind. Beautiful, seductive, mysterious and sexu-
Blossom has traveled the globe.
ally aggressive, the Dragon Lady is generally portrayed as
less honourable that her male opposite number, prone to Total Character Points: 61
violent rages (and occasionally falling in love with a hero).
Story Points: 5
The Dragon Lady is more hands-on than the Foreign Mas-
termind, and while she prefers to let her minions do her
bidding, she is often a skilled hand-to-hand fighter, taking The Baroness
advantage of the fact that Pulp heroes are rarely comfort-
A beautiful woman with a heart of ice, the Baroness has
able hitting a woman.
more than a hint of the dominatrix about her. Strict, in-
telligent and chilly, she often exhibits a sadistic nature
Du Kai Hua – Poison Blossom and a fervent belief in the ideals of whichever cause she
The beautiful and exotic young woman who now takes the follows. Most often of German or Russian extraction, she
name Du Kai Hua (Poison Blossom) is the adopted daugh- is always immaculately dressed, either in the highest
ter of the infamous Death Dragon, Siwang Lung. Rescued fashion or a perfectly cut uniform. In the Pulps, the Bar-
from the streets as a child, Siwang Lung raised the girl as oness was often portrayed as a closet (or even overt) lesbian
his successor, educating her in the ways of science, crime and man-hater, something considered at the time to be
and subtle cruelty. Unlike her father, Du Kai Hua cares little quite perverse. Regardless of her sexuality, she is often
for the fate of mankind, and instead enjoys the exercise of attracted to power and dominant personalities, but may
power for its own sake. Sadistic, spoiled and devious, Du not be open to seduction.
Kai Hua has attempted to overthrow her father on numer-
The Baroness is often found as an icily beautiful Nazi or
ous occasions, but has always managed to be forgiven. In
Communist temptress, or as the aide to a Corrupt Corporate.
her own twisted way, she cares for her father deeply, but she
She may even be found leading a team of Nazi Scientists,
is also more than a little crazy and would kill him without
or standing at the side of a Cult Leader. The Baroness may
a second thought if he got in her way.
have a mannish female bruiser as back-up, who may or may
Thus far, Siwang Lung has yet to reveal to Du Kai Hua the not also be her lover. Some Baronesses can be found acting
secret of his prolonged life and unnatural durability, which as the trusted lieutenant of the main villain. Like the Dragon
is perhaps the only reason his daughter has yet to finally Lady, while she prefers to leave the fighting to her minions,
betray him. the Baroness is usually quite a dangerous combatant, often
using a whip to deadly effect.
Quote: “You will tell me what I wish to know, or I can
promise you that your agony will be...exquisite.” A variant of the Baroness is the Battleaxe. She is usually an
older woman, sometimes beautiful, often not. She is likely 11
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 5 to be the main villain rather than simply his aide. Regard-
Presence: 3 Resolve: 5 Strength: 4 less of her sexuality, her greater experience tends to make
her immune to seduction attempts. She more openly enjoys
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Fighting 5, Knowledge 3, her work, and is quite happy to get her hands dirty.
Marksman 3, Medicine 2, Science 2, Survival 3, Technolo-
gy 2, Transport 2 Baroness Veronique Devereaux
Traits: The woman now known as Baroness Veronique Devereaux
Attractive (Major Good Trait) The Poison has done much to obscure her origins and history, and in
Blossom is beautiful and deadly. so doing has conjured a mystique that both fascinates and
intrigues. Judging from the number of “unfortunate ac-
Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait) Du Kai Hua is cidents” and “mysterious illnesses” that befall those
a superb shot. around her, it appears that being too curious about the
Emotional Complication (Major Bad Trait) The Baronesses’ past is not a healthy occupation. It is whispered
Poison Blossom has all kinds of daddy issues. (though never where she might hear of it) that she started
life as an urchin, abandoned on the streets of Morocco,
Martial Artist (Major Good Trait) Du Kai Hua where she learned to survive through theft and other, less
is a lethal hand-to-hand fighter. reputable arts. From there she parlayed her extraordinary
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait) Du Kai Hua is a beauty and ruthless intelligence into a place in a noble-
wilful child. man’s house, first as a maid, then as mistress, and finally
wife after his first wife suffered an unexplained “wasting
Minions (Major Good Trait) The Poison Blossom illness”. Not long after, the nobleman himself died, some
can call upon her father’s minions. say of over-exertion, while others mutter darkly of poison.
Quick Reflexes (Major Good Trait) Du Kai Hua The newly-widowed Baroness Devereaux moved her house-
has incredibly fast reactions. hold back to Paris, where she became the darling of the

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 Pulp Fantastic
social scene, entrancing a string of near-fanatical lovers Wealthy (Major Good Trait) The Baroness lives
and admirers and inveigling herself into the highest circles the life of a landed noble-woman.
of power. She counts ministers, bishops and kings as her
Well Travelled: Europe (Minor Good Trait)
friends and confidantes, and seems to possess an inex-
The Baroness loves to travel, and is at home
haustible fund of favours upon which she can call at any
almost everywhere in Europe.
time. While having the whiff of scandal about her, the
Baroness has never been directly implicated in wrongdo- Total Character Points: 63
ing of any kind, and her honor is staunchly defended by
Story Points: 8
all those who consider her a friend.
In truth, the Baroness Devereaux is one of Europe’s most
successful blackmailers, poisoners, spies and thieves.
The Masked Terror
Selfish, utterly amoral, fiendishly cunning, ruthless and The Masked Terror is the dark reflection of the Masked
cruel, the ambition of the Baroness has no limit. She will Avenger, a crime lord with a secret identity, a flamboyant
do anything to advance her social standing and personal disguise and often a theatrical modus operandi when
wealth, up to and including murder on a grand scale. She going about his extra-curricular activities. Unlike the
is completely without mercy and is capable of almost Masked Avenger, the Masked Terror has eschewed the
demonic fury when thwarted. An expert in toxins and subtle cause of justice for something altogether more personal-
murder, the Baroness is never without a variety of tainted ly satisfying. Exactly what that might be varies from villain
weapons and secreted potions, but without a doubt her to villain.
uncanny beauty and her ruthless intellect are her deadliest Some Masked Terrors are vigilantes, taking a stand against
weapons, ones that she wields with a masters touch. what they see to be the rampant tide of lawlessness and
The Baroness Devereaux is uncommonly beautiful; in her corruption that threatens to drown their city. The only
late twenties or early thirties. Tall and athletic, with long difference between this incarnation of the Masked Terror
fair hair and ice-blue eyes, she moves with a natural ele- is their willingness to kill, often in cruel and unusual ways.
gance and grace and speaks with a low, slightly husky In this form, the Masked Terror has assumed the role of
voice that is almost hypnotically seductive. judge, jury and executioner, and the sentence is death!
These villains can be used to present the masked Avenger
Quote: “No, I didn’t think you’d hit a lady. Now, come sit with a dark mirror, showing them what they have the
next to me and lets discuss this like old friends. Drink?” potential to become if they ever lose sight of the impor-
tance of tempering justice with mercy and compassion.
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 5
Presence: 6 Resolve: 6 Strength: 4 Other types of Masked Terror could be seeking to redress
a perceived injustice, seeking vengeance for a wrong (real
Skills: Animal Handling 2, Athletics 2, Convince 4, Craft or imagined) done to themselves or someone near and
3, Knowledge 2, Medicine 3, Science 2, Subterfuge 3, Tech- dear in the past. Others might simply be very clever crim-
nology 2, Transport 2 inals, motivated by a desire for power and riches.
Traits: Regardless of motivation the Masked Terror is nearly
Attractive (Minor Good Trait) The Baronesses always, like the Masked Avenger, a respected citizen in
beauty is unsurpassed. his or her day to day life. Often Masked Terrors and Aveng-
ers move in similar circles, and may even be friends.
Charming (Minor Good Trait) The Baroness is
a master flirt, coquette and seducer. Though the Masked Terror and the Masked Avenger are
extremely similar, the Masked Terror is usually far less
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) The Baroness
GAMEMASTER

hands on, using his or her minions to maintain some

has many secrets she would kill to conceal. distance from any illegal activity. That said, when cornered
Emotional Complication (Major Bad Trait) the Masked Terror will often abandon any semblance of
The Baroness is driven by a need to protect the propriety and fight like a cornered tiger.
life and public persona she has created.
The Crimson Claw
Friends in Society (Major Good Trait) The
Baroness is welcome everywhere among the For the last thirty years, the enigmatic crime boss known
great, the good and the powerful. as the Crimson Claw has been an ever-growing threat to
the forces of law and order across the United States. Despite
Indomitable (Major Good Trait) The Baroness this, almost nothing is known about this masked terror,
is not a woman to be crossed. and what is known is often entirely contradictory, leading
Minions (Major Good Trait) The Baroness some leading authorities to suspect that there may be
always has men on hand to do her dirty work. more than one Crimson Claw. Often, those who have en-
countered the fiend can’t even agree as to the gender of
Owed Favor (Major Good Trait) Her knowledge their opponent!
of scandal and intrigue means the Baroness is
owed many favors. What is known of the Crimson Claw is that he (if it is a
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 Pulp Villains
man) is ruthless, utterly amoral and a brilliant tactician. Quote: “Fools! To believe you can stand against…the
Descriptions of him vary considerably from witness to Crimson Claw!”
witness, but he is usually described as being immaculate-
ly dressed beneath a deep red cape and concealing hood Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5
with eye holes through which a pair of blazing eyes can Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3
be glimpsed. The Claw gets his name from a curious ac-
coutrement; a gleaming red metallic gauntlet with razor Skills: Convince 4, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Subterfuge
sharp talons worn on the left hand. Far more than a mere 3, Technology 2, Transport 2
affectation, the gauntlet is the Claw’s favourite method of Traits:
dispensing vengeance, from horrific facial scars to disem-
bowelment. In truth, it can be said that the Crimson Claw Claw (Special Good Creature Trait) The Crimson
literally rules his organisation with a fist of iron. Claw’s gauntlet does Strength +1 damage.

The Crimson Claw is an expansionist crime lord, working Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait)
to either eliminate his criminal rivals or absorb their op- The Crimson Claw has the ability to pass unseen
erations into his own. He responds swiftly to threats and should he so desire.
perceived slights, but rarely reacts rashly. Indeed, he often Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait) The Claw’s secret
seems to be working to a long-term plan, often setting into is that the Gauntlet is the real Crimson Claw.
motion events that won’t pay off for him for some time.
His most favoured tactic is to stir up gang wars that cause Dependency (Major Bad Trait) Once controlled
his rivals to eliminate each other, allowing him to sweep by the Claw, the host cannot survive long
in a fill the power vacuum once the dust has settled. without it.

The Crimson Claw is highly intelligent, patient, cunning, Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Those
fearless and utterly ruthless. Completely without morals wounded by the Gauntlet may become the Claw
of any kind, he seems purely motivated by the desire for if the original host dies.
power and the obedience of his subordinates. He has a More Than Human (Special Good Trait) The
talent for prolonged and inexorable revenge, and it is an Gauntlet is an ancient malignant artifact.
unfortunate character who finds himself on the Claws
death list. Minions (Major Good Trait) The Claw always
finds the weak willed to obey it.
Curiously, the Claw has been recorded as dead by the law
enforcement agencies of a number of states, though the Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) By day,
body was not recovered in any case. Strangely, a prominent the Claw sleeps, while it’s host goes about his
member of the community suspected of being the Claw or her life, unknowing.
has always turned up dead at the same time, only for the Owed Favour (Major Good Trait) The Crimson
Claw to resurface in another city a short time later, appar- Claw has blackmail files on the high and the 11
ently none the worse for wear... mighty.
The Claw’s organisation consists mostly of the most effec- Psychic (Special Good Trait) The Crimson Claw
tive and ruthless mobsters, mooks and thugs in any given can see the darkness in men’s souls.
city. He seems to have no favored lieutenants, and rarely
co-operates with other arch-villains. Total Character Points: 49
Story Points: 5

The Master Spy

Another staple of the Pulp Era, the Master Spy is an oper-
ative of a foreign power, here to steal the secrets of the
Government, the military, big business and research es-
tablishments. In times of war and the build-up to war, he
may be a saboteur, sent to destroy stockpiles of weapons,
shipyards and other military resources or make off with
new technological and scientific breakthroughs.
The Master Spy blends in the society in which he operates
extremely well. He may even be a citizen, betraying his
country for the highest bidder. The Master Spy often
operates in high society, using his position to gain trust
and exploit confidences. He usually has a network of
spies and thugs working for him, and maybe a trusted
lieutenant or two.

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 Pulp Fantastic
The Master Spy tends to plan for every contingency, and General Vladic Kazan, Premier of
nearly always has multiple escape routes ready for an
immediate withdrawal. Like the Masked Terror, the Master Berezkia
Spy prefers to keep some distance between himself and General Vladic Kazan is the autocratic dictator of Berez-
any illegal activity, and when cornered will fight vicious- kia, a small Balkan nation that has risen swiftly in the
ly for his freedom. last few years with the discovery of a large deposit of ores
Master Spies make especially good enemies for G-Men, rich in the mysterious Element X somewhere within the
Air Aces, Operators, Gumshoes, Law Enforcers, Masked Berezkan mountains.
Avengers, Mystery Men, Rocket Men and Science Heroes. A former chief of the Royal Secret Police, Kazan entered
into politics after the Great War, rising to power by ex-
The Great Dictator ploiting the poverty, chaos and unrest endemic in the years
following the defeat of Germany, Berezkia’s main ally and
The Great Dictator is unusual in that he already has trading partner. Using images of racial strength and purity,
wealth, power and resources. In fact, he has control of and invoking the mythology of the Norse gods, Kazan
an entire country, possibly several. The classic example created a powerful cabal of loyal extremists to back his
of the Great Dictator is, of course, Adolf Hitler. However move to seize total power within the small country. While
there were several real-world examples at the time, in- initially the Western powers were unconcerned with Kazan,
cluding Benito Mussolini, General Francisco Franco and the situation changed when it became apparent that
Josef Stalin. Since Pulp magazines were all about escap- Kazan’s forces, in investigating the legends of the gods of
ism, the magazines tended to steer clear of plots that Asgard, had uncovered something remarkable. What that
veered too closely to real-world politics. However, authors something was only came to light when Berezkia – for-
would often invent fictional dictators and war-lords from merly a struggling agricultural country – suddenly began
imaginary countries, who shared similar characteristics to produce advanced technology vehicles, equipment and
with Hitler and his allies. weaponry, much of it powered by Element X.
Great Dictators make great recurring villains, as they Under Kazan, the economy of Berezkia has flourished,
possess enough resources and power that they can almost though civil liberties have almost completely vanished.
never be completely defeated, short of a full scale war. Kazan himself is rarely seen, though his secret police –
Worse, they may be beloved by their own people, effec- known as the Hammer – are everywhere. Worse, Kazan
tively surrounding them with a vast shield of innocent seems to instantly know when dissent is plotted, leading
dupes willing to die for their leader. the peasant folk to mutter darkly about him giving up an
Great Dictators have a tendency to rant and rave when eye for omniscience, as Odin did. The people of Berezkia
thwarted, and maintain their iron-fisted rule through a are well-paid, well-fed and healthy, but they know they
startlingly well-informed secret police, an army of jack- are not free. Most simply try to turn a blind eye to their
booted thugs and an elite guard of intelligent, sadistic oppression, by pretending that they have chosen to live
henchmen. They usually have an effective overseas intel- the way they do, and by ignoring the disappearances and
ligence network, operating spy cells in every country of the occasional scream in the night.
the globe. They also seem to have a certain sense of style, Kazan’s armed forces – the Fist – are well-trained, well-
employing visually impressive iconography to promote equipped and motivated. To a man they appear to be in-
and unify their cause. telligent, capable and fanatically loyal to their leader,
Some Great Dictators combine aspects of the Mad Sci- almost unnaturally so. Again, odd rumours have emerged
entist or the Foreign Mastermind, and most have a firm from Berezkia about the large number of men who enter
grasp of the power of advanced technology, either using the military training academies and emerge weeks later,
GAMEMASTER

their own inventive genius or employing the services of somehow changed.

scientists and engineers (often kidnapped) to develop Kazan himself is a tall, muscular man in his late forties,
advanced weaponry. though in excellent physical condition. He wears immac-
While Great Dictators tend to rule totalitarian fascist states, ulately cut, austere uniforms in black, red and grey, and
this is not always the case. Some may rule monarchies, wears his long dark hair swept back from his forehead.
theocracies, or any other state structure that places ulti- While shrewd, intelligent and urbane, he is also a racist,
mate power in the hands of a single individual. While Pulp sexist bigot with a powerful distrust of intellectuals.
examples tend to be Eastern European, there is no reason
why a Great Dictator can’t be the master of an obscure
Asiatic country, or of an African or Middle-Eastern nation,
or of an Atlantic or Pacific island.

186
 Pulp Villains
Quote: “It is the fate of the common to be ruled by the Many Mob Bosses are family men, and have a somewhat
uncommon. To be ordinary is to be weak. Free will is the old-fashioned view of the way things should be done. They
lot of the strong alone. It is the lot of the weak to obey.” rule their organisation like a feudal lord, valuing respect
and tradition. Oddly, despite their involvement in every-
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5 thing from numbers rackets to white slavery, a lot of Mob
Presence: 6 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 Bosses are patriots who will vehemently oppose any truck
with Nazis or other enemies of their country.
Skills: Animal Handling 3, Athletics 2, Convince 5, Knowl-
edge 3, Marksman 3, Science 2, Subterfuge 2, Technology Bruno Sposato
2, Transport 2
Bruno “Bullet” Sposato is one of the city’s top crime
Traits: bosses, and considers himself a self-made man in more
Authority (Major Good Trait) Kazan is the ways than one.
leader of a nation. Born the son of a grocer in the slums of the south side,
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) Exactly what is young Bruno was intelligent enough and adaptable enough
the secret of Berezkia’s advanced technology? to realise that his best chance of escaping the ghetto was
to run with the local gangs. Tough and smart, Bruno fought
Empathic (Minor Good Trait) Kazan is an in- hard to control his conscience and worked his way up
stinctive reader of people. through the ranks, graduating from petty theft to numbers
Indomitable (Minor Good Trait) Kazan pos- running. His ingenuity and intelligence caught the eye of
sesses an iron will. a local mobster, and soon Bruno found himself doing
minor jobs for the mob. It was during this time that Bruno
Minions (Major Good Trait) Kazan can call gained his nickname “Bullet”, for his habit of carrying a
upon the armed forces of his nation. .45 calibre bullet with is name carved on it in his pocket,
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Kazan believes in apparently in the belief that if he carried the bullet that
his own manifest destiny. had his name on it, it could never be used to kill him.

Linguist (Minor Good Trait) Kazan has a natural After proving himself a reliable man to the mob, he was
grasp of languages. soon inducted into it’s ranks, and killed his first man at
the age of 16. Bruno’s mob career was unremarkable, and
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Kazan he was set to become just another disposable asset until
is a natural leader. he was caught in a three way shoot-out between the Police
Wealthy (Major Good Trait) Kazan is the leader Department, his mob and agents of the Crimson Claw.
of a prosperous nation. Trapped and out of ammunition, Sposato used the last
bullet he had, his good-luck piece. Bizarrely, the bullet
Weird Tech (Major Good Trait) Berezkia’s labora- ricocheted off a police officer’s badge and hit Sposato in
tories turn out suspiciously advanced technology.
11
the left eye, travelling straight through his brain before
Total Character Points: 58 exiting the back of his head.

Story Points: 6 Sposato survived the terrible injury and was sent to prison
for five years after leaving hospital. However, he was a
very different man. Those who knew him before his injury
The Mob Boss often whisper that perhaps he didn’t survive after all, and
Some might assume that the Mob Boss is merely an ordi- that the Bruno Sposato that walks today is merely the body
nary criminal. They’d be wrong; the Mob Boss is an ex- of the mobster, a body filled with something other than
traordinary criminal. The head of an organised crime Bruno’s soul.
family, the Mob Boss has clawed his way up through the
Though Bruno survived being shot in the head, he did not
ranks the hard way, through spilling the blood of his
survive unscathed. The damage to his brain caused changes
enemies. Now he’s at the top and enjoying the fruits of his
to his personality, eliminating his compassion, conscience
labors, he demands respect and he’s got the muscle behind
and most of his emotions. Strangely, it also robbed him of
him to get it.
his ability to see in colour and his ability to feel pain. The
Though the Mob Boss may operate with some distance Bruno Sposato that emerged from prison was brilliant,
between himself and the front line, part of him misses ruthless and utterly deadly. Within a matter of month he
rolling his sleeves up and breaking heads. Like his hench- had risen to the rank of Consigliere, before staging a bloody
men, the Mob Boss is more than capable of violence, often coup that put control of the mob firmly in his hands.
switching from disarming urbanity to primal savagery in
Since that time Bruno “Bullet” Sposato has consolidated
a heartbeat. Unlike the majority of his henchmen, he’s
his grasp on the reigns of power, while working to present
intelligent, if not educated. He’s gotten where he is by
the facade of a “legitimate businessman” with an interest
out-thinking and out-manoeuvring his rivals, and he’s
in property investment. Sposato is a neat, aristocratic
capable of almost anything to maintain his position.
looking Italian American man with prematurely silver

187
 Pulp Fantastic
hair, handsome despite his craggy looks and eyepatch. He
rarely gets directly involved in anything criminal these
The Man-Made Monster
days, but remains fit and is more than capable of beating A horror icon since the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley, the
a man to death with his bare hands should it prove nec- Man-Made Monster is the ultimate product of Weird
essary. Due to his brain injury he is utterly unafraid of Science. If the Science Hero is nature improved by science,
physical pain (he can be damaged, he just won’t feel it) the Man-Made Monster is nature replaced and subverted
and cannot be intimidated or made the subject of emo- by science. Whether a clone, homunculus, robot, zombie
tional appeals. or stitched-together assemblage of reanimated flesh, the
Man-Made Monster is a created or otherwise engineered
Despite his criminal history, Bruno is a patriot, though he
being. Sometimes the Man-Made Monster is simply muscle
finds this difficult to articulate or understand. He loves
for his creator, other times he is a rebellious child, driven
his country and despises the thought of foreign spies and
by an Oedipal desire to steal his “fathers” power (and oc-
collaborators, and as such has proven quite an effective
casionally his fathers love-interest too). Man-Made Mon-
deterrent to the agents of enemy powers unfortunate
sters are often tragic figures, misunderstood and filled
enough to operate in his city.
with self-loathing at their own monstrous nature, but are
Quote: “Don’t disrespect me, boy. It’s not a mistake you just as often hostile and aggressive, believing in their own
want to make.” superiority over the “merely accidental” creations of nature
and evolution.
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
Man-Made Monsters vary wildly in appearance, often
Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3 reflecting their manner of creation in their physical fea-
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 2, Marksman 2, Subterfuge tures. A being engineered from disassembled cadavers
3, Transport 3 may have a ghastly pallor and be covered in crudely stitched
scar-tissue, while a creature grown in a tank of bubbling
Traits: fluids may lack a navel and have strangely coloured skin,
Brave (Minor Good Trait) Bruno is fearless. hair or eyes.

Code of Conduct: Omertà (Minor Bad Trait) Some Man-Made Monsters may have successfully mas-
Bruno follows the code of silence. tered the techniques that brought them to life, and have
wrought their own minions out of the same raw materials.
Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait) Few in society Some may plot to replace or dominate humanity, while
know that Bruno is a mob boss. others might wish to be left in peace or simply be acknowl-
Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait) Bruno’s missing edged by their creators.
eye makes him stand out. Exactly how the Man-Made Monster is created is up to the
Impaired Senses: One Eye (Minor Bad Trait) individual Gamemaster. Perhaps the key to his creation
Bruno only has one eye. lie in the long-forgotten notes of Victor Frankenstein or
his contemporaries. Perhaps he is the product of alchem-
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait) Bruno dislikes ical experimentation, or a human being engineered in the
being told what to do. womb. It could be a thinking machine, a reanimated
Minions (Major Good Trait) Bruno is accom- corpse, or an animal brought to human levels of intelli-
panied by made men. gence by unthinkable surgery and hormone treatments.

Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Bruno is Though the Frankenstein Monster is itself the product of
hard to put down. the previous century, its most recognizable incarnation was
born at the height of the Pulp era in James Whale’s famous
GAMEMASTER

Tough (Minor Good Trait) Bruno feels no pain. 1931 movie adaptation. Another notable Pulp Man-Made
Wealthy (Minor Good Trait) Crime does pay! Monster is the decapitated Major Sir Eric Moreland Clapham-
Lee - reanimated by Herbert West - who went on to use his
Total Character Points: 36 knowledge of West’s techniques to create and control his
Story Points: 5 own band of undead servants, combining the Man-Made
Monster with the Mad Scientist. Other period examples
include the artificial people from Carel Kapek’s 1921 play
R.U.R., the computer brain in Edmund Hamilton’s story The
Metal Giants, the alien automaton Gnut in the short story
Farewell to the Master (Gort in the film adaptation The Day
the Earth Stood Still), and of course Futura the robot woman
from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

188
 Pulp Villains
Die Schreck from the dead are, for the most part, mindless zombies
(Enslaved Dead, page 227) except when under his direct
Many terrible stories are told of the Great War and the mental control. He has, however, succeeded in creating
horrors good men experienced in the trenches, but some lieutenants - thinking undead creatures like himself - by
stories are far darker than others. One such is the story of carefully refrigerating corpses before reanimation so as
what the advancing German forces discovered in the to preserve the delicate tissues of the brain. So far, however,
bombed out ruins of a field hospital in St. Eloi, Flanders, none have demonstrated the same power to raise the dead.
in the April of 1915.
The ultimate aims of Die Schreck are unknown, but he
Soldiers securing the site, recently vacated by a retreating has spoken of breaking down the barrier between death
Canadian regiment, uncovered the remains of a strange and life, of “freeing humanity from the tyranny of life”
hidden laboratory, filled with patchwork monstrosities and of “emancipating the truly silent majority.” Despite
and mindless undead creatures. At the heart of the ruined being German, Die Schreck seems to have no political or
laboratory was a sundered vat of luminous serum, the nationalist allegiance, seeing himself as the leader of the
contents of which had drained away into the earth when nation of the dead
the hospital was destroyed.
Quote: “What you call life, I call slavery. You are slaves to
In the months that followed troops on both sides of the your emotions, to your need for warmth, air, food and
trenches reported strange visitations, sightings of fallen water. Truly, death is freedom from all these things. Join
comrades resurrected as eerie revenants, with mortal me and be free…”
wounds that dripped a glowing green ichor. When one
such creature was captured and returned to the German Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5
High Command, doctors soon determined two facts. The
Presence: 6 Resolve: 6 Strength: 5
first was that the creature was biologically dead, and the
second was that its curious unlife was due to contamina- Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 3, Fighting 4, Knowledge 2,
tion by reptilian cell matter infused with a strange lumi- Marksman 3, Science 1, Transport 3
nous chemical fluid.
Traits:
Faced with terrible losses, the German scientists attempt-
Amnesia (Major Bad Trait) Die Schreck has no
ed to analyze and reproduce the reanimating serum, in
conscious memory of his former life.
the hope of creating soldiers that could not be killed. The
first such soldier was codenamed Die Schreck – The Terror. Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait) Die Schreck has
Stitched together from the corpses of fallen infantrymen, a memorable facial scar.
its veins filled with cultured reptile cells and the reani-
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait)
mating fluid, the horrible creature shrieked its way into
As an undead being, Die Schreck suffers almost
the world in the winter of 1916. Escaping containment,
no ill-effects due to environment.
the undead thing destroyed the laboratory that birthed it,
Fast Healer (Special Good Trait) The serum in
11
killed the scientists who created it and vanished into no-
man’s land, there to become just another battlefield horror his blood allows Die Schreck to regenerate his
story. But it did not remain there for long. wounds rapidly, recovering 1 point of damage
per minute.
In the confusion that followed the armistice, tales began
to emerge from the ruined French countryside of graves Fresh Meat (Minor Bad Trait) Die Schreck’s
defiled, of entire cemeteries being emptied by an eerie unnatural scent drives animals to attack him.
band of silent, disfigured men under the leadership of a
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) Die
scarred officer....
Schreck does not age and is almost impossible
Physically, Die Schreck is tall – almost seven feet tall – and to kill, since he’s already dead.
athletically built. He dresses in black, close, fitting cloth-
Indomitable (Major Good Trait) As an intelli-
ing and an black officers greatcoat. His face is handsome,
gent undead monster, Die Schreck is resistant
save for a disfiguring scar that winds down from his right
to any form of control.
temple, across his eye and down to the right corner of
his mouth. His skin is pale, and his dark eyes glow with Minions (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck com-
a strange greenish light. When he speaks his voice is mands an army of the dead.
cultured, with a slight German accent and a curiously
More Than Human (Special Good Trait) Raised
hollow quality.
from the dead by mad science, Die Schreck is
Die Schreck – he goes by no other name and does not seem no longer human.
to recall any previous life – is a true monster. His body
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck
seems to have become an eternally regenerating reservoir
is hard to knock down.
of reanimating ichor, and he has demonstrated repeated-
ly the ability to raise and control the dead by injecting Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Die Schreck wants
them with his own blood. Those that Die Schreck raises to overthrow the living.

189
 Pulp Fantastic
Outcast (Minor Bad Trait) He’s an undead drowned, poisoned and blown up with gelignite. None of
monster. these took.
Special: Re-animator (Special Good Creature The Creeper first appeared in London during the later
Trait) By administering injections of his own 1880s, working as hired muscle for a number of different
blood, Die Schreck can raise the recently dead criminal masterminds. It is here that he first gained his
as zombies. reputation as an unstoppable force, becoming a symbol
of terror and ruthlessness for whoever bought his loyalty.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck feels no
Though his appearance was terrifying, he developed a
pain.
tendency to become obsessed with one attractive young
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Die woman after another, silently stalking them in order to
Schreck still carries himself with an officer’s present them with small tokens of his affection (and inci-
bearing. dentally break the backs of any potential rivals). At some
point however, each of these women would disappoint
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) The serum in Die
him, and they would shortly be found somewhere with
Schreck’s blood is volatile at high temperatures.
their spines crushed.
Total Character Points: 80
The Creepers first reign of terror was brought to an end
Story Points: 12 when he was ambushed by armed officers of Scotland
Yard. In the resulting melee it is estimated he was shot
The Mangler between ten and twenty times without apparent effect,
before he fell into the Thames and vanished without trace.
The Mangler is a character that shows up in various guises
throughout the Pulps. He is a hulking homicidal man-moun- The Creeper re-appeared in London nearly ten years later,
tain used as muscle by other villains. He frequently has a working for the notorious art thief Giles Conover. Conover
bizarre obsession with beauty, and is fixated on the Mad made an attempt to steal the infamous black pearl of the
Scientists beautiful daughter, the mob bosses Moll, the Bar- Borgias, and ran afoul of Sherlock Holmes. During this
oness or the Dragon Lady, whoever is the most inaccessible. adventure, the Creeper appears to have forged a strange
bond with the black pearl, as his life ever after seems
The Mangler is characterised by his great size, physical closely linked with the blood-stained treasure. Holmes
strength and durability. He is a figure of terror with a successfully managed to turn the Creeper against Conover
reputation for dealing horrible death, usually with his by invoking the name of the Creeper’s latest obsession,
bare hands. He almost always has a signature method of and later apparently shot the Creeper dead. The Creeper
dealing with his foes, by which his murders can easily be revived during his autopsy, broke the back of the examin-
identified. Perhaps he breaks backs, crushes skulls, snaps ing pathologist, and again disappeared.
necks or twists his victims into pretzels. Whatever his
method of killing, the mere thought of him is enough to Five years later, the Borgia Pearl was sold at auction to an
fill those who know of him with dread. anonymous American millionaire, and the Creeper resur-
faced once again. Displaying uncanny stealth for a man
Though the Mangler is usually a reliable weapon, he can previously considered to be rather stupid, the Creeper
sometimes be turned against his master (or mistress), by followed the jewel to New York, where he murdered the
playing upon his tendency to obsess. courier, a docking agent and three deck-hands.

The Hoxton Creeper Since then he has worked as mob muscle and a killer for
hire, always following the Black Pearl as it passes from
The brutal killer known as “the Hoxton Creeper” in Britain, owner to owner, always murdering those foolish enough
GAMEMASTER

and later simply “The Creeper” in the United States, is a to keep it in their possession long enough for him to find
deformed giant of a man whose monstrous appearance them. It has been suggested that the Creeper can sense the
strikes terror in his victims shortly before he murders jewel somehow, as he has traced it several times when every
them by crushing their spines with his bare hands. precaution had been taken to conceal its true location.
The origins of the Creeper and the source of both his great In the mid-1940’s a character loosely based on the Creeper
strength and his uncanny ability to cheat death are will be featured in a number of movies, played by the actor
unknown. A medical report made while he was presumed Rondo Hatton.
dead having been shot several times by Sherlock Holmes,
suggests that the cause of his facial deformity and great Note that although the Creeper rarely speaks, he is not
size may be a form of acromegaly, a disorder of the pituitary mute.
gland. However this does not explain the Creepers near-to- Quote: “…”
tal silence, his apparent fearlessness, his cold-blooded
ruthlessness or his great physical strength. Nor does it
explain his peculiar resistance to injury. Though records
on the Creeper are sparse at best, he is said to have been
shot several times, hung twice, electrocuted, burned,

190
 Pulp Villains
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 2
Presence: 1 Resolve: 4 Strength: 6
Skills: Fighting 3, Subterfuge 2
Traits:
Animal Lover (Minor Bad Trait) The Creeper
has a peculiar fondness for animals, particu-
larly cats.
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Nowhere is safe from the Creeper.
Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait) At seven feet tall,
the Creeper is easy to spot.
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The Creeper always seems to know the location
of the Borgia Pearl.
Fast Healer (Major Good Trait) The Creeper is
hard to put down.
Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Character Trait)
The Creeper is simply terrifying.
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) No-one
knows the Creeper’s age, and he’s been report-
ed dead over a dozen times. It never seems to
stick.
More Than Human (Special Good Trait) What-
ever the Creeper is, he’s more than human.
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) The Creeper is
fascinated by two things; beautiful women and
the Borgia Pearl.
Outcast (Minor Bad Trait) He’s wanted for
murder on three continents. 11
Tough (Major Good Trait) The Creeper seems
to soak up punishment like a sponge.
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait) He’s got a face
not even a mother could love.
Total Character Points: 37
Story Points: 12

191
 Chapter 12
Beasts & Monsters

T Size
he Pulp World is full of strange and fascinating crea-
tures, along with those of the more mundane variety.
This chapter contains creatures from the alligators All creatures fall into one of six Size Categories
that roam among the swamps of Louisiana and Florida to Tiny: Only a few centimetres long. Tiny creatures are
the mummies that inhabit old tombs in the great deserts things like most insects and vermin, as well as mice, rats,
of Africa. most lizards and snakes—anything that’s small enough
This chapter provides pre-generated creatures and characters to hide in your boot or pocket. Tiny creatures have a
for gms. It also includes tools to help gms create interesting maximum Strength of 1, and a single point of damage is
new creatures to fit the special needs of their campaigns. enough to squish a Tiny creature. Marksman-based attacks
on Tiny creatures suffer a -2 penalty (or more—you try
shooting a mosquito out of the air with a sniper rifle!)
Creature Rules Small: These creatures are noticeably smaller than an
Creatures use the same Attributes as humans, although adult human. It covers most cats, dogs and human chil-
they can have a much higher Strength score than puny dren. Small creatures have a maximum Strength of 4; most
homo sapiens. A giant ape can smash through a concrete will have a Strength of only 1-2.
wall or flip a car with a flick of its wrist. On the bright side, Average: We’re being a bit self-centred by calling the
most animals have a much lower Ingenuity than a human; human species ‘average’, but anyway, this covers adult
creatures rely on instinct, not intelligence. humans as well as any creature that’s roughly our size,
Awareness for most creatures ranges between 2 to 5. Save like apes, big wolves, crocodiles, raptors, lions and tigers.
Awareness 1 for creatures who are out of their natural Average creatures have a maximum Strength of 8.
environment, or for creatures who are almost completely Big: This is a creature roughly the size of a horse, gorilla or
oblivious to the world, like simple-minded insects. bear. If it’s bigger than a human, but can still hide from you,
Coordination is a very important characteristic, as it it’s Big. Big creatures have Strength scores of up to 12.
determines how likely a big creature is to be able to hit a Huge: Huge creatures are really big. Elephants are Huge,
human. In general, assume most animals have Coordina- for example, as are most of the big dinosaurs in lost worlds
tion 2, with 3 or 4 for creatures who can fly or climb. and hidden valleys. Huge creatures have Strength scores
Ingenuity isn’t used by most creatures. Unless a creature up to 16.
approaches human intelligence, then it’s going to be 1. Colossal: There aren’t supposed to be any Colossal crea-
Presence is higher for bigger or more demonstrative tures in the modern day outside the oceans, but that doesn’t
creatures. If it roars, makes lots of noise, or has impressive mean they aren’t out there. These titanic creatures have
threat displays, give it a higher Presence. Stealthy or quiet no upper limit on their Strength scores, and attacks on
creatures have a lower Presence. them are like shooting a barn door—you get a +2 bonus
when shooting at a Colossal creature (but it’ll probably
Resolve is the creature’s determination and courage. If a only annoy it).
creature keeps doggedly pursuing its prey, give it a high
Resolve. If it’s opportunistic and flees if it meets resistance, Size has one key effect on combat—if there’s more than
give it a low score. one size category between attacker and defender, the
bigger creature has to use Coordination when making
Strength is mainly determined by the creature’s Size, so melee attacks. That means that even if an dinosaur has a
don’t give it a Strength yet. Strength of 16, it can’t automatically squish a tiny human.
Instead, it has to roll Coordination + Fighting to hit. It can,
however, bring its full Strength to bear on a bigger target—
like, say, a tank. This also applies to humans—you can’t
use your Strength to attack a Tiny creature, you have to
use Coordination.
 Pulp Fantastic

STRENGTH
Subterfuge
Animals are unlikely to be smart enough to use Subterfuge
What can a creature do with a high Strength? Use this table to pick locks or palm cards, but the ‘sneaking and hiding’
as a guideline for Strength + Athletics difficulties. parts of Subterfuge apply just as much to animals as they
do to people.
DIFFICULTY EXAMPLE
15 Break down a wooden door. Areas of Expertise: Stalking, Hiding in Shadows, Hiding
in Undergrowth
18 Snap a rope, smash through a plaster wall.

21
Flip over a small car, break a steel chain, tear Survival
someone limb from limb.
All wild animals have at least a point or two in Survival,
Tear the door off a car, dent a reinforced securi- reflecting their ability to find food and shelter. Especially
24
ty door. adept hunters and trackers have more points; pets and
27 Tear the roof off a car, flip a pick-up. other domesticated animals may lack any knowledge of
how to survive in the wild.
30 Smash through a concrete wall.
33 Smash through a reinforced steel door. Areas of Expertise: Environments such as Arctic, Forest,
Jungle, Coastal Waters, Surface Ocean, Deep Ocean
36 Flip a tank.
39 Crush a tank.

Speed SWARMS
Creatures fall into three Speed categories—Fast, Average When you’ve got lots of small creatures — say, a mass of
or Slow. In combat, Fast creatures go first, then Average soldier ants, or a frenzied horde of rats — then it’s easier to
creatures, then Slow creatures. treat the whole group as a single creature, called a Swarm.
The Swarm’s Size determines how dangerous it is—the bigger
Creature Skills the Size, the more attacking creatures there are in the Swarm
Animals use the same Skills as ordinary characters, more or (note that the Size of the Swarm is not the same as the Size
less—you’re unlikely to find an animal with Technology or of the creatures that compose the Swarm). A Swarm makes
Science, but Skills like Athletics, Fighting and Survival are one attack roll each round, and then makes a number of hits
common. In general, animal Skills use the same rules as the equal to its maximum Strength. For example, a Big Swarm can
regular version of the Skills, but have different areas of Expertise. do 12 hits. Furthermore, the larger a Swarm is, the harder it is
to avoid being hit; add the Swarm’s maximum Strength score
Athletics directly to its Coordination + Fighting when making attacks.

Strong, healthy animals have high Athletics scores. It’s used Each hit inflicts normal damage for a creature in the Swarm.
for running, jumping and climbing as well as displays of brute It can hit a single target multiple times, or split its attacks.
force. Flying creatures also use it for agile aerial manoeuvres. Characters attacked can make Resistance rolls as normal
(remember there’s a penalty for multiple Reactions in a round,
Areas of Expertise: Beast of Burden, Climbing, Flying, so a character trying to dodge or parry a Swarm will be rapidly
Swimming, Rending, Jumping, Squeezing Through Narrow overwhelmed.)
Spaces
If a character is wearing armour, it only applies against half
GAMEMASTER

Fighting the Swarm’s attacks (unless it is some sort of full-body armour).

Fighting covers almost all forms of natural weapons, like If a character gets hit by 5 or more attacks in one round, and
claws, bites, tail lashes or stings. Some animals are especial- his armour isn’t strong enough to protect him, then don’t
ly good at a particular type of attack—an ambush predator bother rolling—that’s ‘covered in carnivorous beasties and
gets a bonus when making a surprise attack, for example. skeletonised’ territory unless the character spends Story
Points to escape.
Areas of Expertise: Ambush, Bite, Claw, Fighting When
Cornered, Block, Wrestling, Strangling Most attacks on a Swarm are pointless—a character might
be able to squish one bug, but that does no good if you’re
Marksman being attacked by hundreds of them. Unless you’ve got a
flamethrower or another area-effect weapon handy, the best
Only a few animals have the Marksman Skill. Any creature strategy is to run.
with a ranged attack (like a dinosaur that spits acid, or a
giant frog with a long sticky tongue) has a few points in
Marksman.
Areas of Expertise: Spit, Grab, Thrown Weapons
194
 Beasts & Monsters

Creature Creation Traits

Now you’ve had a chance to consider the background of Below is a list of creature Traits that the creature can have
the creature you’re creating, you should consider how it to set them apart from mere humans. Just as other Traits
is being used in the adventure. If they are adversaries that can be purchased, they come in Minor, Major and
(quite a common occurrence in Pulp adventures), where Special Good and Bad Traits. There’s no hard limit on the
will they be encountered? Are they simply a minor en- number of Traits that a creature can have, but in general
counter, a setback, or minions of the major villain? In that you should try to keep things from becoming too compli-
case, they shouldn’t be too powerful. Try creating the cated. Remember that Traits are abilities that are constant-
creatures using a similar number of points to a player ly ‘on’—the monster doesn’t need to spend Story Points
character. If the heroes will be encountering many of them, or use an action to get the advantage of the ability.
this should be a fairly even match. Of course, the list of Creature Traits presented below is
The players should be able to face the encounter with just a sample of what can be done, though most creatures
few problems, depending upon how many of them there can be built using these Traits. The list isn’t exhaustive—
are. For example, a single Radium Man is a tough oppo- you should use these Traits as a basis for making new,
nent, far stronger than a normal person. However, they’re unique Traits for your own creatures. If you wish to design
slow and too logical, giving the players a bit of an edge your own Trait, you should feel free.
against it. Increase the number and you’ve got a fight on To get started and create your creature, you can pick any
your hands! of the creature Traits presented here, as well as those
available to human characters.

CREATURE TRAITS
Additional Limbs (Minor Good) Leap (Special Good)
Aggressive (Minor Good) Lurker (Minor Good)
Amphibious (Minor Good) Natural Weapons (Minor or Major Good)
Armor (Minor, Major or Special Good) Networked (Minor or Major Good)
Aquatic (Minor Bad) Nocturnal (Minor Bad)
Bite (Minor or Major Good) Passive (Minor Bad)
Burrowing (Minor Good) Poison (Special Good)
Claw (Major or Minor Good) Possess (Special Good) 12
Climbing (Minor or Major Good) Replication (Major Good)
Constrict (Minor Good) Savage Roar (Major Good)
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good) Screamer! (Minor Good)
Environmental (Minor or Major Good) Shapeshift (Minor, Major or Special Good)
Fast-Moving (Minor or Major Good) Slow-Moving (Minor or Major Good)
Fear Factor (Special Good) Snap (Major Good)
Flight (Minor or Major Good) Special (Special Good)
Frenzy (Minor Bad) Stalker (Major Good)
Grab (Minor Good) Stinger (Minor Good)
Immaterial (Special Bad) Stomp (Minor Good)
Immortal (Major or Special Good) Strange Appearance (Special Bad)
Immunity (Major Good Trait) Teleport (Major Good)
Infection (Major Good) Trample (Major Good)
Invisible (Special Good) Warning (Major Good)

195
 Pulp Fantastic
Additional Limbs* As a Major Trait, the damage reduction is increased to 10.
In most cases, this armor will be thick plating, such as
(Minor Good Creature Trait) metal or scales, and so this isn’t suitable for player char-
The creature has an additional pair of limbs. This can acters. At this level, the Armour Trait costs 2 points, but
mean arms or legs or an odd creature limb or tentacle their Coordination is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
that functions as both. Of course, taking an additional The highest level is as a Special Trait, costing 3 or more.
pair of limbs means that the creature is usually very Every additional point spent, increases the armor by +5
obviously weird in appearance, and will automatically (and reduces their Coordination by an additional -1 to a
get the Strange Appearance Bad Trait (Minor). The Ad- minimum of 1). This means you can create huge and
ditional Limbs Trait can be taken a second time, giving heavily armored creatures, but they don’t move particu-
the creature a cumulative bonus, but their Strange Ap- larly fast or accurately.
pearance Trait becomes Major.
Aquatic
Effect: Additional Limbs is a Minor Good Trait, and costs
just 1 point for every additional pair of limbs. If the creature (Minor Bad Creature Trait)
has additional legs, their effective Speed (when calculating The creature lives in the water and cannot move on dry
chases and alike) is increased by +2. If the limbs are arms, land. It may be a fish or other aquatic creature that breathes
the first additional action in any Round receives no penalty through gills, or it may need to surface every so often to
(as they can effectively do two things at once). This Trait refill its lungs.
can be taken twice to create an eight limbed creature,
though they will be obviously weirder. Additional limbs Effect: Aquatic creatures have their Coordination reduced
can be had on top of this, but they receive no bonus and to 1 or even 0 when on land.
cost no extra – there comes a point when you have so many
legs or arms that it just becomes confusing and you can Bite
end up tripping over your own feet. (Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)

Aggressive The creature has strong jaws and sharp, tearing teeth.

(Minor Good Creature Trait) Effect: Bite attacks usually do Strength +2 or +4 damage.
Bite attacks can be used in cramped conditions without
This creature is quick to attack when threatened. penalty, unlike claws. The damage bonus provided by the
Effect: It gains a +2 bonus to its Coordination for the purpos- Minor version is +2 damage and the Major version is +4
es of working out who moves first during the Fighting Phase. damage.

Amphibious Burrowing
(Minor Good Creature Trait) (Minor Good Creature Trait)

The creature is equally at home in water and on land. This Trait allows the creature to tunnel or burrow at speed
through soft ground, usually dirt, mud or sand. The crea-
Effect: The creature can move at its maximum speed on ture will require an alternate means of breathing (see
land and in the water without penalty. Environmental Trait overleaf) to avoid suffocating while
tunnelling but this Trait allows the creature to move at
Armor half of their normal Speed underground. They will have
(Minor, Major or Special Good Creature Trait) to avoid obstacles such as concrete or hard ground and
most creatures like this will have some sort of Enhanced
GAMEMASTER

Armour as a Trait means that the creature has ‘natural’ Senses (see page 197) to allow them to sense their di-
armor that protects it. Armor counts as ‘natural’ if it cannot rection of travel or prey.
be removed. For example, a flack jacket can be removed,
but a triceratops has a thick bone frill which cannot be Effect: Burrowing allows the creature to travel at half of
removed. The moment the armor can be removed then it their normal Speed underground through soft ground.
is a piece of equipment, rather than a Trait. If it’s a perma- The Gamemaster should use their discretion to decide if
nent feature (whether this bone, chitin, or just very tough, the creature can travel through a given terrain, modifying
leathery skin) it is a Trait. the Speed as they see fit.

Effect: Armor as a Trait can be purchased at various levels.

As a Minor Trait, costing 1 point, the character has a tough
hide that is able to reduce injury by 5 levels. If the creature
is hit by a weapon and receives 6 levels worth of damage
to reduce their Attributes, this 6 is reduced by the 5 of the
Armor to a single point. This makes the character quite a
tough cookie! Even Lethal damage is resisted - treat it as
8 levels of damage and reduce it accordingly.

196
 Beasts & Monsters
Claw example, a monster that can see into the infra-red range
of the spectrum can see the heat given off by people. It
(Major or Minor Good Creature Trait) gains a +4 bonus to its rolls when it spots the characters
The creature attacks with sharp claws. approaching in the dark, but once the shooting starts, and
things start exploding, everything will be hot and the
Effect: Claw attacks usually do Strength +2. To do full bonus from its enhanced sense will be lost.
damage with a claw, a creature needs room to be able to
swipe at a victim; in cramped conditions, a creature may Note: This cannot be used with the Keen Senses Trait.
not be able to rip as much flesh as it would otherwise.
Environmental
Constrict (Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
(Minor Good Creature Trait) Environmental is a catch-all Trait that means the creature
The creature kills its prey by smothering or crushing them. or character can survive in strange or harsh environments.
Pythons kill in this fashion; other predators might use Perhaps they are the last survivor of Atlantis and can exist
their bulk in this way. just as well underwater as they can on land. They may be
able to survive in the vacuum of space, or endure the harsh
Effect: To constrict, the predator must first grab its prey heat of the volcanic lands at the heart of the Earth, or the
(see Grab, below). It then squeezes the life out of the victim, extreme cold of the Antarctic.
inflicting ½ Strength damage automatically every turn.
Effect: As a Minor Good Trait, Environmental means that
Climbing the creature suffers no ill effects from one particular harsh
condition. If it’s something like being able to survive un-
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait) derwater, their ability should be explained. Do they have
The Climbing Trait means simply that the creature is ex- gills, or can they store oxygen in some way? If they can
ceptionally good at climbing. As a Minor Trait, they can survive in the vacuum of space, this will require a little
climb walls particularly well, and as a Major Trait they are more rationalisation. As a Major Good Trait, the creature
equally adept at clinging to the ceiling! suffers no effects from any environment.

Effect: As a Minor Good Trait, costing 1 point, Climbing Fast-Moving

means that the creature can climb up sheer and difficult
surfaces. While they cannot climb surfaces without any (Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
grip, such as glass, they can certainly find it easy to climb Some creatures are very fast and move with a quickness
walls. They receive a +4 bonus to Coordination and Ath- that is seldom seen in humans. It could be that they’re
letics rolls when climbing. As a Major Trait, costing 2 born predators, fast like a cheetah, or they have some
points, they receive the same +4 bonus, but are able to unearthly ability to move so fast that they are no more
climb smooth surfaces such as glass or metal, as well as than a blur to the naked eye.
clinging to the ceiling like a spider.
Effect: Fast-Moving is a Good Trait that means the creature 12
Enhanced Senses can travel unnaturally fast. As a Minor Good Trait, the creature’s
effective Speed is increased by 1.5 times (round up), so a crea-
(Minor Good Creature Trait) ture with a Coordination of 2 has an effective Speed of 2 x 1.5
Most of the time, simply having a really high Awareness = 3. As a Major Good Trait, their Speed is doubled, so a creature
means that your senses are particularly acute. However, with Coordination of 4 has an effective Speed of 8. This Trait
some creatures have senses that go above and beyond only works if the creature is moving outside of a vehicle.
what is considered normal. It could be that they can see
infra-red or ultra-violet ends of the spectrum, or simply Fear Factor*
smell their prey from a dozen rooms away. The cost of this (Special Good Creature Trait)
Trait could easily be offset by the Strange Appearance
Trait, saying that the creature or character can see phe- The Fear Factor Trait is designed for monsters, villains and
nomenally well, but has grotesquely large eyes. those truly scary individuals who can send people running
in terror. They don’t have to be ugly or monstrous – people
Effect: Enhanced Senses is a Minor Good Trait which costs cowered at feet of Dr Fu Manchu in fear of their lives – but
1 point. At character creation, the sense that is particular- sometimes it is just looking at the creature with the rows
ly good should be specified (whether this is sight, hearing, of teeth that fills them with fear.
smell, etc.) and the particulars of the extraordinary per-
ception (what is so special about it and what is sensed). Effect: Fear Factor is a Special Trait and is really only
When the creature uses the sense, it gains a +4 bonus to suitable for villains or monsters. It is costs 1 point, but can
Awareness rolls but only when using that sense. If the be purchased multiple times. Each purchase of the Fear
Gamemaster thinks the sense will aid another Awareness Factor Trait adds +2 to any roll when actively trying to
roll (such as avoiding being surprised), or if the environ- strike fear into people’s hearts. See ‘Getting Scared’ on
ment effects the sense, this bonus may be reduced. For page 133.

197
 Pulp Fantastic
Flight Grab
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait) (Minor Good Creature Trait)
This Trait means that the creature can fly. Either they have The creature can seize hold of victims (by holding on when
wings, a jet pack, some kind of anti-gravity device or rotors, it bites, picking them up with claws, sticking on with
but one way or another they can leave the ground for adhesive pads or wrapping itself around them).
extended periods.
Effect: Grabbed creatures need to make opposed Strength
Effect: Flight as a Minor Good Trait, costing 1 point, means + Athletics rolls against the grabber to break free. The
that the creature can take off, hover, and travel slowly at bigger creature of the pair can still move (at half movement
a limited height. In most cases, this is just hovering. Their if there’s only one size category between them; otherwise
Speed is half of their Coordination (round down, minimum at full movement).
of 1), and they can usually only ascend to a height of around
100 metres. Immaterial
As a Major Good Trait, the creature can really take to the (Special Bad Creature Trait)
skies. Above 100 metres, their effective Speed is three
Some creatures can shed their physical bodies to become
times their Coordination. They can fly as high as they like
something radically different, no longer physical beings.
(though the Gamemaster may want to take other factors
Immaterial and intangible, they still exist in our reality.
into account such as air, cold, and other environmental
Some immaterial beings have the ability to manipulate
effects). If they’re travelling below 100 metres, they will
objects with telekinesis, willing the item to move as if they
probably travel slower to avoid obstacles and the Game-
were able to physically manipulate it, whereas others are
master may impose a limit (or make the character’s player
unable to and spend their existence struggling to regain
roll additional Awareness and Coordination checks to see
some form of normal life.
if they can react in time to any dangers).
Effect: The creature has no physical form and is unable
Frenzy to interact with physical objects. Most creatures in this
state will have the Telekinesis Trait to allow them to move
(Minor Bad Creature Trait)
items. It is a debilitating Trait and, while it allows the
Sometimes, a creature becomes so incensed with rage or creature the ability to move into usually inaccessible areas,
blood-lust that they cannot think or act beyond attacking it is usually more of a trouble than it is a benefit. Imma-
blindly. Creatures that go into these frenzies are incredibly terial is a Special Bad Trait worth 2 points.
dangerous and able to continue when other creatures
would collapse from their wounds.
Effect: Frenzy is a Minor Bad Trait that means the creature
is susceptible to a maddening rage that takes control of
their actions. When they are injured, they must make a
Resolve and Strength roll with a Difficulty of 12 plus the
amount of damage taken. For example, if the creature
takes 6 levels of damage, the Difficulty to resist going into
Frenzy is 12+6=18. The more injured it gets, the harder it
is to resist the Frenzy. If the creature fails the roll, they
enter into the Frenzy and will not stop until they kill the
source of their injury (even if this is an inanimate object!).
GAMEMASTER

If their target is removed from sight, the creature might

begin to calm down after a few minutes but otherwise the
bloodlust will be too strong. So strong, in fact, they will
ignore all injuries - rolls will be made at the creatures full
Attributes - unless the creature sustains enough damage
to kill it. Immortal
When the target has been eliminated, or removed from (Major or Special Good Creature Trait)
harm, the creature will rest and recover from the frenzy
The Pulps are full of characters who have lived an awfully
and any negative effects from injury will be applied.
long time, and may live even longer. Dr Fu Manchu pro-
longed his life with an age-retarding elixir, while John
Carter of Virginia had always been a man of about thirty
and couldn’t remember being anything else.
There are two types of Immortal being in existence. The
first never gets old, never ages and will never die of old
age. They simply continue on. While it’s rare for them to

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 Beasts & Monsters
die from a disease, they still can, and can certainly be killed Infection
through violence or accident. Immortal at this level is a
Major Good Trait costing 2 points, and while it doesn’t (Major Good Creature Trait)
really affect the actual game (as they can still be killed Some creatures have the horrible ability to infect other
through violence) they could have already lived a long beings with their characteristics. It may be the foul fungal
time. The Gamemaster may allow them to recall something rash that spreads across the skin until the victim trans-
from their past if it suits the story or something from their forms into a mushroom monster, or the bite that turns an
history could resurface, provoking a whole new adventure. innocent survivor into a stumbling zombie. Perhaps it’s a
If they have lived ‘ages’, then they may automatically gain sting that implants eggs beneath the skin, or the bizarre
the Well-Traveled Trait for the past eras that they were neurotoxin that allows the creature’s mind to live within
alive and active, at the Gamemaster’s discretion. the unsuspecting target.
The second type of Immortal is a Special Good Trait. The Effect: Infection can work in a couple of ways, both are
character may get a little older in appearance, but their Major Good Creature Traits. As a transmittable disease,
longevity is so epic that their aging is hardly noticeable. the target needs to be scratched, bitten or take some form
They can be shot, electrocuted, drowned and fried, but of physical damage. If the damage penetrates any armour
they just don’t seem to die. They may fall down and look worn, or if the victim failed with a Bad or Disastrous result,
dead, but it isn’t long before they’re up and active again. they become infected. At regular intervals (usually every
Again, if they’ve been alive for a long time, they will also hour or day) they will have to make a Resolve and Strength
automatically gain the Well-Traveled Trait for the eras roll, against the Resolve and Strength of the creature.
they were alive.
Failing this will mean the infection has spread. The Gam-
You must have purchased the More Than Human Trait emaster should decide how many failures mean the target
before selecting Immortal, though in rare circumstances has become like the creature (one fail spreads to a whole
Immortality may be granted to player characters at the arm, two fails to the chest, etc.). It should give the char-
Gamemaster’s discretion. acters time to find an antidote!
Effect: Immortal is either a Major Trait, meaning the The other way it can work is by making the target suscep-
character never ages and will not die of natural causes, or tible to possession, making them host to the creature, and
a Special Trait, that means the character cannot be killed. the infection is actually the creature moving from one
Both may be unbalancing to the game and if you intend host to another. Again, this is usually from sustaining an
to take either version of the Immortal Trait, discuss it with injury. Once infected (as above), the target will have to
the Gamemaster. Immortal as a Special Trait costs 5 Char- make similar rolls, though instead of resisting the infection
acter Points, as well as reducing the character’s maximum spreading, this is to resist becoming possessed (see “Being
Story Points by 4. If killed during the course of an adven- Possessed” page 133).
ture, the character looks dead and is unable to be revived.
Without the Fast Healing Trait, the character will heal at Invisible
a normal rate (this is usually 1 level of Attribute per day
of rest). When they have healed all of the damage they (Special Good Creature Trait)
12
have taken, and returned to their full health, they will The ability to be unseen is possibly one of the best weapons
wake and be fine. If the damage is really severe, the Gam- and defence on the battlefield. It is a rare ability in nature,
emaster may keep track of how far into the ‘negative’ your but a mild version of this Trait can be accomplished with
character’s Attributes go, and they will have to heal all of shifting pigments in the skin, allowing chameleon-like
these before they can recover. Any extreme damage, such blending into their surroundings.
as loss of limb, may lead to further Bad Traits without the
Fast Healing Trait. Full invisibility is more commonly found in ghostly, in-
tangible creatures that barely exist in this reality.
Immunity* Effect: Invisibility is a Special Good Creature Trait that
(Major Good Creature Trait) comes in various levels. If the ability is natural, and the
creature can blend into the background to be unseen, then
Many villains and monsters are immune to one form of this is a Major Good Trait that costs 2 points. If the creature
harm or another. For example, a werewolf is immune to remains immobile, any attempt to spot it suffers a -4
bullets but is vulnerable to silver. penalty. Full optic camouflage is usually a Trait that would
Effect: Immunity is a Major Good Creature Trait, costing be part of a Gadget and costs 4 points. This provides the
2 points. When taking this Trait, the specific thing that same -4 penalty to be spotted but the creature can move
the creature is immune to must be clearly defined, whether around without losing this advantage. While it is usually
this is something as simple as bullets, acid, mind control a Gadget Trait, it can be a natural ability if the Gamemas-
or poison. If the immunity is particularly powerful, such ter can rationalise it. If this invisibility cannot be turned
as bullets, the Gamemaster may balance this immunity on or off, as in the case of the creature being ethereal or
with a weakness, especially in major villains or player immaterial, the same -4 penalty is actually a Bad Trait,
characters. providing 2 points.

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 Pulp Fantastic
All of these levels of invisibility can be purchased or taken to reflect various forms of attack that the creature has, or
multiple times to provide better invisibility with the it can work on a single weapon and increase the damage
penalty being cumulative. For example, if the creature has cumulatively.
almost perfect invisibility through optic camouflage, they
could take the Trait twice, providing a -8 penalty to anyone Networked
trying to spot them.
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Leap The Networked Trait means that the creature is connect-
ed in some way to others of its kind. Whether this is an
(Special Good Creature Trait)
inbuilt gadget that connects them to others, a telepathic
Some creatures can leap great distances either horizon- field or a ‘hive mind’, it means that if one is in trouble or
tally or vertically, without the need for a run-up. injured, it can call for aid, though others are in close prox-
imity to help is another matter.
Effect: The creature can leap at any point. If the creature
makes a successful Coordination + Athletics roll against Effect: Networked is a Minor or Major Good Creature
a difficulty of 12, it lands precisely and can act immediate- Trait. As a Minor Trait, the creatures simply sense each
ly. If the creature fails the roll it lands poorly and must other and know when one is in trouble. They can act to-
spend the next Action re-orienting itself before acting. gether fairly simply - when one wakes up, all of them do.
They don’t really ‘talk’ to each other but they know where
Leap is a Special Good Creature Trait which costs 3 points
to congregate as a group. As a Major Trait, they have the
and can be taken multiple times. The first time it is taken
equivalent of the Telepathy Trait connecting them to each
allows the creature to jump twice its own body length, and
other, or even to a hive mind. Most of the time, the range
each time it is taken thereafter doubles the distance the
of this communication is limited. Gamemasters may wish
creature can Leap.
to use the Telepathy Trait as a guide.
Lurker Nocturnal
(Minor Good Creature Trait)
(Minor Bad Creature Trait)
This creature lies in wait for its prey.
The creature prefers to hunt and forage at night.
Effect: Characters need to make a contested roll of Aware-
Effect: During the day, it suffers a -2 penalty to its Aware-
ness + Survival against the lurker’s Coordination + Sub-
ness. Some nocturnal creatures are slower to react during
terfuge. If there are several characters in a group, use the
the day, dropping one speed category and gaining the
lowest result from among the characters’ rolls. If the lurker
Passive Trait, but others are more defensive and dangerous
wins, it gains a +2 bonus to ambush attacks.
when woken unexpectedly and gain the Aggressive Trait.
Natural Weapons Passive
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
(Minor Bad Creature Trait)
The creature has some form of weaponry that is part of
The creature is slow to react. Either it is too stupid to realise
their form. This could be something as simple as toxic
it is in danger, or it is so large that the things that can
breath, a poisonous bite or sharp claws, to built in guns
actually threaten it are extremely rare.
or being able to fire sharp spines. As long is it is not some-
thing that is usually dropped or carried (like a gun or bow), Effect: The creature suffers a -2 penalty to its Coordination
and is part of the creature then it is technically a ‘natural’ for the purposes of determining who moves first in the
GAMEMASTER

weapon. Fighting Phase.

Effect: Natural Weapons is a Minor or Major Good Trait
that can be purchased multiple times if the creature is
Poison
particularly dangerous. As a Minor Trait, the weapon is (Special Good Creature Trait)
only for close combat. These are usually teeth, claws, spines
The creature’s attacks can inject a dangerous poison.
or electrical shock or something similar. A weapon like
this increases the damage of the usual physical attack by Effect: The cost of the Trait varies depending on how
+2, so the creatures damage is equal to their Strength +2. nasty the poison is. As a guide, use the table below. Usually,
This increase is just like normal close combat weapons, a poison power is combined with another attack.
as the Trait adds blades or ‘dangerous’ damage to their
physical attack. As a Major Trait, the weapon shoots some- COST POISON DAMAGE CHECK DIFFICULTY
thing (like a poisonous spine, fingernail, flaming breath 1 2/4/6 15
or built in gun).
2 4/6/9 21
A ranged Natural Weapon will have the same damage (5 3 4 / 8 /12 24
(2/5/7)) but can reach a greater distance than a simple
swipe of a claw. This Trait can be purchased multiple times
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 Beasts & Monsters
Possess Savage Roar
(Special Good Creature Trait) (Major Good Creature Trait)
This is technically the highest possible level of the Hyp- The creature can make an intimidating audible display of
nosis or Telepathy Traits (see page 48 and page 62). aggression that strikes terror into the hearts of its enemies.
Possess allows the creature to take over another person
Effect: Like the Fear Factor Trait (page 197), this Trait
and control their actions. While in control of the host
deals with the creature’s ability to inspire terror. Unlike
body, the creature can make it do or say almost anything
Fear Factor, those affected only need to hear the creature
(except make the host kill themselves, the survival instinct
to be affected by it. Hearing the Savage Roar forces the
is too strong for that).
character to make a Resolve and Ingenuity roll against the
Possessing someone is exhausting and if the creature has creature’s Resolve and Presence. Failure means that the
left its body behind somewhere, it will need protecting character will freeze the first time he actually encounters
(and may die of starvation if they are out of their body too the creature, losing an Action. If the character succeeds
long). he may act as normal.
Effect: Just as the Hypnosis Trait, the target will have the
opportunity to resist becoming possessed (with a Resolve
and Strength roll, or Ingenuity in some cases). The pos-
sessing creature receives a +4 bonus on their first roll to
possess someone. If they fail this, every attempt that
follows loses the bonus. As a good guide, the possessing
creature can inhabit the body for as many hours as they
have Resolve, though very powerful foes could inhabit a
body indefinitely. If they force the host to do something
very against their nature (such as attack one of their
friends) the host will have a chance to resist (and on a
Fantastic result, the possessing entity may be rejected
from the host completely!). For additional information,
see ‘Being Possessed’ on page 133.

Replication
(Major Good Creature Trait)
Unlike the Infection Trait, Replication means that the
creature can multiply itself by various means without the
need of transmitting its creature-ness to another life form.
It could be that they ‘bud’ and create a youthful clone of
themselves organically without natural reproduction, or
12
it could be that any limbs lost or removed will grow into
a duplicate version of themselves.
Effect: As a Major Good Trait, the creature can replicate
itself outside the normal expected means of reproduction.
This can mean spawning a childlike offspring or creating
a duplicate of the original. The creature will have to make
a Resolve and Strength roll, Difficulty 15. A result of Success
or higher means that the replication is successful and
another version of the creature has been ‘born’. It will be
confused and disorientated for a few minutes. A childlike
offspring will grow at a normal rate unless artificially
accelerated and will learn as it goes. A duplicate will be
‘born’ with the same Attributes and Skills of the original.
If a player character takes this Trait, the duplicate will not
be ‘playable’ by the same player, unless the original is
incapacitated or killed. Gamemasters should be aware of
the way this Trait can produce an army of clones or dupli-
cates that could threaten to take over the world or other-
wise quickly unbalance a game.

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 Pulp Fantastic
Screamer! Snap
(Minor Good Trait) (Major Good Creature Trait – Requires the Bite Trait)
The creature can scream really loud. While this is not The creature makes another Bite attack.
normally considered a very special ability, this scream is
Effect: This doesn’t cost an action—the creature can keep
loud enough to be heard over great distances, a boon when
Snapping as long as it wants, but each Snap has the usual
trying to attract help or possibly scare off attackers.
-2 penalty for taking extra Actions in a round.
Effect: When scared or threatened the character can
scream really loud, loud enough to be heard up to a mile Special
away. Anyone in the room with the screamer is stunned
(Special Good Creature Trait)
for their rest of the Action Round, suffering a -2 penalty
to all of their actions. This should allow the screamer to Sometimes, creatures can do something truly remarkable
make a run for it, or possibly to hide. Screamers cannot and odd. Something that none of the other powers and
take the Brave Trait and never receive bonuses to resist abilities listed here covers. This Trait allows the Game-
fear effects. master to go wild and create the odd and special powers
that can sometimes define a species.
Shapeshift Effect: This is a Special Trait that costs 3 points or more.
(Minor, Major or Special Good Creature Trait) The more powerful the ability, the more the Trait costs.
Using other powers as a guide, the Gamemaster can create
Some creatures and characters have the ability to look like
any power they feel necessary to make a cool creature.
something else. This is especially useful if you’re an 8 foot
This can be around 3-4 points for a minor ability, to 7-8
tall green denizen of Mars with four arms, or if you wish
points for something more useful (like being able to move
to try to mimic someone to gain information. The actual
faster than people can see). Specific Traits for these powers
methods of ‘shapeshifting’ can be as complex as facial
can be created, or the Gamemaster can simply use the
muscle manipulation, or a racial ability, to something as
Special Trait to cover these.
basic as wearing a fat suit and a mask.
Effect: As a Minor Good Trait, this means that the creature Stalker
can disguise itself as a fairly convincing representation of
(Major Good Creature Trait)
another person, though close examination may reveal the
disguise. As a Major Good Trait, the creature can physi- The creature likes to follow its prey and wait for the right
cally shapeshift into a perfect copy of another person. If moment to strike.
the creature is able to shapeshift into multiple forms and
Effect: The creature may make opposed Coordination +
replicate actual people, then the Trait is a Special Good
Subterfuge rolls against the victim’s Awareness + Surviv-
Trait that costs 4 points.
al. If there are several characters in a group, use the lowest
result from among the characters’ rolls. If the lurker wins,
Slow-Moving it gains a +4 bonus to sneak attacks.
(Minor or Major Bad Creature Trait)
A lot of creatures are incredibly dangerous but thankful-
Stinger
ly many of them move slowly. (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Effect: Slow-Moving is a Minor or Major Bad Trait that The creature has a spiked tail or stinger that lashes its
means the creature is slower than your average character. prey.
GAMEMASTER

As a Minor Bad Trait, the creature’s effective Speed is

Effects: Stinger attacks usually do only ½ normal damage,
halved (round down), so a Coordination of 4 means that
but a creature can make an extra Stinger attack each round
the creature has a Speed of 2 in a chase. The creature’s
at the cost of one Story Point per attack.
Speed has a minimum of 1, though particularly slow crea-
tures can sometimes have Speeds that are slower (down
to 0.5, etc.) but this requires additional calculations on
Stomp
behalf of the Gamemaster and may be ignored. As a Major (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Bad Trait, the creature’s Speed is effectively zero. The
Creatures who stomp use their size to crush others.
creature does not move or, if it does, it moves so slowly
that it is regarded as stationary in a chase situation. Effect: Stomping isn’t a very accurate attack, suffering a
−2 penalty to the attack roll, but it does do a lot of damage.
(Strength +4 at least).

202
 Beasts & Monsters
Strange Appearance Trample
(Special Bad Creature Trait) (Major Good Creature Trait)
The character has a peculiar, disquieting and obviously The creature just charges over its enemy.
strange appearance. It could be that they’re basically
Effect: It inflicts Strength damage on all creatures that
human but have red skin, or have a large head to accom-
the creature runs over. Characters can dodge a Trample
modate the massive brain power, or pointy ears, scaly skin
attack with a successful Coordination + Athletics reaction.
or cat’s eyes! Players should feel free to be creative.
Trample is a good power to give to large herbivores, espe-
Effect: Strange Appearance is a Bad Trait that can be cially ones that travel in herds. A stampede is basically
either 2 Points or 4 Points. The more severe the Strange just a series of Trample attacks—even if the character
Appearance Trait, the more odd the creature looks. As a dodges the first trampling animal, he has to React to the
2 point Bad Trait, Strange Appearance means the creature next one…and the next.…and the next.
is basically humanoid but with a distinctively weird
feature. If the creature is sentient, at the gm’s discretion, Warning
they suffer a -2 penalty to all social rolls when dealing with
(Major Good Creature Trait)
people who’ve never met them before.
Another power for herd and pack animals, the creature
As a 4 point Bad Trait, the strangeness of the creature is
can sound a warning (or transmit a danger signal in some
much more extreme. They may have tentacles instead of
other way, like a pheromone or a display of some kind).
limbs, or compound eyes, or a face like a squid – they could
look like anything! Again, when dealing with people who Effect: The Warning removes any bonuses the characters
are used to them, this may not necessarily a problem, but may have for launching surprise or ambush attacks on
if they meet less experienced peoples they will suffer a -4 the rest of the herd or pack.
penalty on social rolls (possibly even become the target
of scared locals who assume they’re a hostile monster!).

Teleport
(Major Good Creature Trait)
It is rare for a creature to be able to teleport, to literally
disappear from one location and appear in another.
However, some masterminds have developed the technol-
ogy to do it, and some, particularly rare supernatural
creatures or alien beings can do it without the means of
gadgets or gizmos. If they can teleport with a device, then
it’s simply an Invention. If they can teleport without a
device, appearing wherever is necessary, then this is a
Trait.
12
Effect: Teleport is a Major Good Creature Trait, costing 2
points. The creature must make an Awareness and Resolve
roll to teleport, and can only ‘jump’ to places they are fa-
miliar with. Most creatures that appear in unfamiliar
places have some sort of psychic ability to see the location
before teleporting. Failure means the creature doesn’t
move. Frequently, creatures that teleport find themselves
weakened and disorientated for a few minutes until they
can recover and get their bearings.

203
 Chapter 13
Bestiary

E Alligator
ach entry includes a physical description of the crea-
ture, a summary of its nature and common tactics,
and suggestions for how it might integrate into Pulp This large, carnivorous reptile prowls the edges of the
society or, in the case of a fantastic creature, burrow its large waterways of the south-eastern United States— in-
way into the human subconscious. Many creatures have cluding the Mississippi River, for which it earned its Latin
a difficult time fitting into Pulp society in a traditional name. Known for its long, powerful tail and broad snapping
way and are often found at the social fringes of urban life. snout and jaws, the “gator” tends to avoid human contact
Others are highly adaptive and can easily create their own unless threatened (or if a female’s eggs are threatened).
power bases within our world.
Often hunted for its valuable hide, an alligator feeds on
large and small animals, even preying on cattle or deer
Animals when the opportunity arises. Adventurers should remem-
ber to keep an eye peeled for floating logs at the edges of
An opponent does not need to have a gun – or even be rivers and lakes—there just might be a pair of eyes staring
human – to be dangerous, as any big game hunter will back from one of those logs.
testify. Nature is red in tooth and claw, and Pulp heroes
often had to defend themselves against hungry crocs, Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1
venomous insects and rampaging beasts. Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 7
Size: Big
Speed: Average
Skills: Subterfuge 4
Traits:
Amphibious (Minor Good Creature Trait) Alli-
gators are as at home in the water as they are
on land.
Armor (Minor Good Creature Trait) An alliga-
tor’s tough, scaly skin gives it 5 points of armor.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The bite of
an alligator does Strength +2 damage.
Grab (Minor Good Creature Trait) Alligators
grab their prey with their jaws and drown them.
Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) Alligators
lie submerged in wait of prey. On a successful
opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll, alliga-
tors gain +2 to ambush attacks.
Character Points: 25
 Pulp Fantastic
Bat Big Cat
Nocturnal flying mammals, bats have long been a symbol Lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars, cheetahs; all fall under
of supernatural evil, but are normally quite harmless. the category of Big Cat.
Some, however, have been known to harbor rabies and
other diseases, and can be encountered in swarms. Awareness: 5 Coordination: 7 Ingenuity: 1
Presence: 1 Resolve: 2 Strength: 5
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 6 Ingenuity: 1
Size: Large
Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 1
Speed: Fast
Size: Tiny
Skills: Fighting 2, Subterfuge 4
Speed: Fast
Traits:
Traits:
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Enhanced Senses (Major Good Creature Trait)
Big cats have eyes attuned to fast-moving prey.
Bats navigate in the dark using sonar
Fast-Moving (Minor Good Creature Trait) Big
Flight (Major Good Creature Trait) Bats are
Cats move at a Speed of 11.
excellent fliers.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Bats
The fangs and claws of a big cat do Strength +2
suffer -2 to their Awareness in daylight.
damage.
Character Points: 12
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The
roar of a big cat inspires terror.
Bear Stalker (Minor Good Creature Trait) On a suc-
Large omnivorous mammals, bears can be quite aggres- cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll,
sive, depending on their species and the abundance of big cats gain +4 to sneak attacks.
food in the area. Often highly territorial, a hungry, sick or
injured bear is not above killing and eating a human being. Character Points: 33

Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1 Bird, Large

Presence: 3 Resolve: 2 Strength: 8 These stats can be used to represent eagles, hawks, vultures
Size: Big and other large birds.

Speed: Average Awareness: 5 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 1

Skills: Fighting 2 Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 1
Traits: Size: Small
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) Speed: Average
The fangs and claws of a bear do Strength +2
Traits:
damage.
Flight (Major Good Creature Trait)
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The
GAMEMASTER

roar of an angry bear inspires terror. Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The beak and talons of a large bird do Strength
Tough (Major Good Trait) Bears have dense
+2 damage.
slabs of muscle, reducing damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 17
Character Points: 26

206
 Bestiary
Boar (Wild Pig) Gorilla
A wild boar’s hide is covered with short, woolly, grey-black The largest of the apes, gorillas are primarily herbivorous
hair. Along the spine, hair mixes with stiffer bristles to and live in the forests of central Africa. The closest relative
form a sort of mane. The average adult boar stands 3 feet to man, Gorillas are intelligent, social and territorial.
high at the shoulder and measures roughly 4 feet long. Its
formidable tusks protrude from its lower jaw and can grow Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 2
up to 12 inches long. Presence: 2 Resolve: 2 Strength: 8
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 1 Size: Big
Presence: 3 Resolve: 1 Strength: 2 Speed: Average
Size: Small Skills: Athletics 1, Fighting 3
Speed: Average Traits:
Skills: Fighting 2, Subterfuge 2 Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Goril-
las are highly territorial.
Traits:
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) When
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Boars
wounded a gorilla can easily become enraged.
will frequently attack animals twice their size.
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait) Gorillas have
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
an exceptional sense of smell.
Boars have poor eyesight but an excellent sense
of smell. Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Gorillas
are stubborn and durable.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The tusks of a wild boar do Strength +2 damage. Tough (Minor Good Trait) Dense muscle and
fur reduces damage taken by 2.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Boars are dense
masses of bad attitude, reducing all damage Character Points: 30
taken by 3.
Character Points: 24 Monitor Lizard
A monitor lizard measures between 8 inches and 10 feet
Chimpanzee long, depending on the particular species. Sleek and fast,
it has a long neck ending in a tapered head, muscular legs,
The statistics below represent a chimpanzee, but they can
and a long, powerful tail.
also be used for any ape or monkey of similar size, such
as a howler monkey. Most such animals are omnivorous, Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1
although some can be quite fierce and aggressive.
Presence: 1 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 2 Size: Average 13
Presence: 1 Resolve: 3 Strength: 5
Speed: Fast
Size: Average
Skills: Subterfuge 4
Speed: Average
Traits:
Skills: Athletics 2, Fighting 2
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The bite of
Traits: a monitor lizard does Strength +2 damage.
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Chimps Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait)
can be unpredictably violent.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait) Chimps The monitor lizard can spray poison in a 15-foot
are agile climbers. cone.
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) When Poison (Special Good Creature Trait) The
injured or scared a chimp can go wild. poison of a monitor lizard does 2 / 4 / 6 damage.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) Character Points: 24
The teeth of a chimpanzee do Strength +2
damage.
Character Points: 27

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 Pulp Fantastic
Octopus Rat
The most intelligent and adaptable of the invertebrates, Wherever there is man, the rat is sure to follow. Omnivo-
the Octopus is an 8-limbed cephalopod mollusc with a rous, scavenging rodents, rats are remarkable survivors,
hard beak and no internal skeleton. Octopuses are ambush adapting to many ecological niches. On their own, rats
predators and have a number of defensive strategies, in- can be quite timid, but in large groups they can be ferocious
cluding the ability to expel a cloud of ink, adaptive cam- predators. They rarely attack humans unless extremely
ouflage, the ability to move swiftly using water jets and hungry or cornered. Rats are usually small, though in the
their ability to hide. All octopuses have a venomous bite, inner cities some rats can be the size of small dogs. Rats
but few are toxic to humans. These stats can also be used frequently carry disease. Any bite from a rat carries a small
for squid. chance of infecting the wound.

Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3 Awareness: 4 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 2

Presence: 1 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4 Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 1
Size: Average Size: Tiny
Speed: Fast Speed: Average
Skills: Subterfuge 4 Skills: Athletics 1, Subterfuge 2
Traits: Traits:
Additional Limbs 2 (Special Good Creature Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) Rat bites are
Trait) Octopuses can take two additional actions small but painful, doing Strength +1 damage,
per round without penalty. and often carry disease.
Aquatic (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Octopuses Burrowing (Minor Good Creature Trait) Rats
can only leave the water for very limited are effective burrowers.
periods.
Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait) Rats are
Constrict (Minor Good Creature Trait) Octo- agile climbers.
puses can squeeze their prey into immobility
Character Points: 20
before killing it.
Fast-Moving (Minor Good Creature Trait) An Scorpion
octopus can jet backward at high speed. These small, venomous arachnids inhabit the dry, sandy
Grab (Minor Good Creature Trait) Octopuses deserts and hot humid jungles. These stats can also be
grapple with their prey before biting it. used to represent large venomous spiders (just replace the
Stinger Trait with the Bite Trait).
Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) On a suc-
cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll, Awareness: 4 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1
Octopuses gain +2 to ambush attacks.
Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 1
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Size: Tiny
The beak of an Octopus does Strength +1
damage. Speed: Slow
Special: Ink Cloud (Special Good Creature Skills: Subterfuge 3
GAMEMASTER

Trait) The octopus can emit a cloud of jet-black

Traits:
ink as a free action. The normal octopus’s ink
cloud is a 3 metre cube, within which all normal Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Scor-
vision is obscured. pions are quick to react if attacked or disturbed.
Character Points: 31 Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Scorpi-
ons aren’t quite as good at climbing as spiders,
but it’s close.
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Scorpi-
ons are active at night.
Poison (Special Good Creature Trait) Scorpion
venom does 4 / 6 / 9 damage.
Stinger (Minor Good Creature Trait) A scorpi-
on’s main weapon is its sting.
Character Points: 19
208
 Bestiary
Shark Snake, Venomous
Sharks are one of the ocean’s most perfectly adapted pred- Venomous snakes tend to prefer to hunt at night, immo-
ators. bilising and killing their prey with a poisonous bite. In
general, snakes do not attack creatures larger than them-
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 1 selves except in self-defence. The toxicity of snake venom
Presence: 1 Resolve: 2 Strength: 6 varies according to species, with some being no more toxic
than a bee-sting, while others are quite lethal.
Size: Big
Speed: Average Awareness: 4 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 1
Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 1
Traits:
Size: Small
Aquatic (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Sharks
cannot leave the water, luckily for us. Speed: Fast
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The bite of Traits:
a shark does Strength +3 damage.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The bite of
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait) a snake does Strength +1 damage.
Sharks can sense the location of any object
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
(including living creatures) in the water within
Snakes can sense the heat of their prey and
a range of 50 metres.
taste their scent.
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait) Sharks can
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Snakes
scent blood in the water up to 3 kilometres
prefer to hunt at night.
away.
Poison (Special Good Creature Trait) The
Character Points: 23
venom of a snake does at least 2 /4 /6 damage.

Snake, Constrictor Character Points: 15

Constrictor snakes hunt by grabbing prey with their

mouths and then squeezing it with their powerful bodies.
Wolf
In general, snakes do not attack creatures larger than Wolves are highly social, predatory pack animals that live
themselves except in self-defence. in temperate climates. Wolf packs are highly organised
with a defined social order and vary in size and color ac-
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 1 cording to climate and subspecies. They attack by bite and
Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 5 claws and prefer to run their prey down, using bites to
wound their prey into exhaustion before launching the
Size: Average final attack. Wolves normally live in packs of 2-20 indi-
Speed: Average viduals, dominated by an alpha male and alpha female.
13
Traits: Awareness: 6 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1
Constrict (Minor Good Creature Trait) Con- Presence: 1 Resolve: 2 Strength: 3
strictors kill their prey by crushing it.
Size: Average
Grab (Minor Good Creature Trait) Once coiled
Speed: Average
about their prey, constrictors are hard to escape.
Traits:
Character Points: 17
Bite (Minor Good Creature Trait) The bite of a
wolf does Strength +2 damage.
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait) Wolves
possess heightened senses.
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Wolves are sturdy,
reducing all damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 22

209
 Pulp Fantastic

Cryptids Ape Man

The dark and lonely places of the world are home to many Sometimes referred to as a “Cave Man”, the Ape Man is a
mysterious creatures, organisms whose existence is not form of primitive man, similar to the Neanderthal. Ape
yet recognized by science, but are nonetheless real. Many Men are usually either mute or limited to grunts and
masterminds and archvillains use these “cryptids” as signing for communication. Ape Men typically exist in
guards and weapons. Here are just a few of them. extended family groups, dominated by a physically pow-
erful and cunning male and his mate. They are usually
nomadic unless restricted by geography, and subsist by
Ape, Giant hunting rather than agriculture.
Reputed to exist only on isolated and forbidding islands
in the South Pacific, these enormous primates closely Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1
resemble African mountain gorillas, but on an unprece- Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 5
dented scale. Thought possibly to have descended from
Size: Average
the giant pre-historic Gigantopithecus of mainland Asia,
these rare creatures are rumoured to be worshipped as Speed: Average
gods on some islands. Thought to be nearly 8 metres tall,
Skills: Athletics 2, Craft 1, Fighting 2, Knowledge 1, Marks-
giant apes have long been regarded as simply the subject
man 1, Subterfuge 1, Survival 3
of sailors yarns, though recent archaeological evidence
suggests otherwise and rumors of sightings continue to Traits:
circulate in dockside bars.
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait)
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 2 Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Presence: 2 Resolve: 2 Strength: 16 Equipment: Stone weapons (+2 Strength
Size: Huge bonus)

Speed: Average Character Points: 28

Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 4

Kraken
Traits:
Krakens are gigantic tentacular aquatic predators, dis-
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Giant tantly related to the giant squid. Known in Japan as the
Apes are highly territorial. Akkorokamui, these creatures inhabit the abyssal ocean
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) When deeps and only rarely travel to the surface. Unlike most
wounded a giant ape often goes wild. deep-sea organisms, Krakens adapt quickly to pressure
changes and seem to experience no difficulty operating
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait) Like their at different depths. Krakens vary in size, with juveniles
smaller cousins, giant apes have an exception- starting at 30 metres long (about as large as a blue whale),
al sense of smell. with no upper limit. Krakens appear to continue to grow
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Giant apes throughout their life-span, with mythology reporting
are hard to knock down. creatures so large that they have been mistaken for islands.

Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The Unlike the giant squid, krakens are covered with dense
roar of a giant ape warns trespassers from its armored scales. In adult krakens, these scales carry large
GAMEMASTER

territory. accretions of molluscs and other marine life.

Tough (Minor Good Trait) Giant apes are pro- It is unknown what krakens hunt in their natural habitat,
tected by dense bones and slabs of muscle, but they have been reported attacking whales, ships, sub-
reducing damage taken by 2. marines and occasionally even coastal communities. Some
krakens seem to be able to produce bio-luminescent dis-
Character Points: 54 plays capable of inducing a hypnotic state.

Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3

Presence: 4 Resolve: 4 Strength: 40
Size: Colossal
Speed: Average
Skills: Fighting 3, Subterfuge 4

210
 Bestiary
Traits: tri-pedal root structure to drag itself over to the corpse,
where it digs feeder roots into the body and excretes di-
Additional Limbs 4 (Special Good Creature
gestive enzymes.
Trait) Krakens have a minimum of ten tentacles.
Stinging Bell Plants reproduce by releasing drifting white
Aquatic (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Krakens
seeds, similar to dandelions, into the air.
have their Coordination reduced to 1 when on
land. Awareness: 3 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1
Armor (Major Good Creature Trait) The armor Presence: 2 Resolve: 4 Strength: 7
of the Kraken reduces all damage taken by 10.
Size: Big
Constrict (Minor Good Creature Trait) Krakens
crush their prey before devouring it. Speed: Average

Fear Factor 4 (Special Good Creature Trait) Skills: Fighting 3, Subterfuge 4, Survival 6

Grab (Minor Good Creature Trait) Krakens grab Traits:

their prey before crushing it. Fear Factor 4 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Krakens can Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) Stinging
induce hypnotize their prey into immobility Bell Plants are ambush predators.
through weaving complex patterns of light
with their bio-luminescence. Networked (Minor Good Creature Trait) Sting-
ing Bell Plants apparently communicate
Immortal (Major Good Creature Trait) Krakens
are ancient and ageless. Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Sting Bell
Plants cannot be knocked out or incapacitated.
Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) Krakens
prefer ambush predation. On a successful Poison (Special Good Creature Trait) The Sting-
opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll, Krakens ing Bell Plant is highly toxic and does 4 / 8 /12
gain +2 ambush attacks. damage.

Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait) The
The suckers on a krakens tentacles have razor Stinging Bell Plants roots drag it along slowly.
edges and do Strength +2 damage. Stinger (Minor Good Creature Trait) The
Character Points: 83 primary weapon of the Stinging Bell Plant.
Tough (Minor Good Trait) The tough fibers of
Stinging Bell Plant a Stinging Bell Plant reduce all damage taken
by 3.
The Stinging Bell Plant is a mobile, predatory carnivorous
plant first encountered by explorers in the steaming Character Points: 44
jungles of South East Asia, but since been found in the
Congo Basin, the Amazonian rain-forest and other equa- 13
torial jungles across the globe. The origin of the Stinging
Bell Plant is unknown, but the wide distribution has led
some authorities to propose the theory that the plants
may have come to Earth on cometary debris. While many
botanists refute this theory, and still more deny the Bell
Plant even exists, it is true that the Stinging Bell Plant
resembles no other plant on Earth. Others believe it to be
the product of selective breeding, the deliberate creation
of a diseased mind.
The Stinging Bell Plant resembles the funnel of a greatly
enlarged pitcher plant, emerging from a dense round bole
of thickly gnarled roots. The funnel contains a stamen-like
stinger on a long fibrous filament that, when fully extend-
ed, can measure nearly four metres in length. The Stinging
Bell Plant can launch the sting at high speed and consider-
able accuracy. Contact with bare skin can cause an agoniz-
ing chemical burn, while repeated stings can be lethal.
Bell Plants are ambush predators, striking from a distance
to incapacitate and kill their prey. Once a target has been
stung to death the Stinging Bell Plant uses its unique
211
 Pulp Fantastic
Mongolian Death Worm Spider, Giant
Also known as the olgoi-khorkhoi (“large intestine worm”) Spiders are perhaps one of the most numerous and diverse
for its resemblance to human intestines, the Mongolian predators on the planet. With over 43,000 species of spider,
Death Worm is a bizarre and horrible creature that lurks they are found on every continent on earth, and have even
in the arid wastes of the southern Gobi Desert. Ranging been encountered in the distant reaches of the upper at-
from 2 to 5 metres long, the Death Worm is the deep red mosphere. Giant spiders are, thankfully, considerably rarer.
of dried blood and is coated with a thick acidic slime that An adult giant spider is approximately the size of a large
causes intense pain when touched. The creature has a dog, and moves with the same degree of speed and agility.
highly venomous bite and can spray its toxin at a distance, Giant spiders are rarely social, but when they do operate in
an attack it uses to kill its prey before dragging it under- groups they are as effective as a wolf pack, hounding their
ground. Death Worms reproduce by laying eggs in the prey to the point of exhaustion before pouncing and using
decaying remains of their prey, buried in underground their venomous fangs to immobilize them.
nests.
Though most giant spiders resemble greatly enlarged
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1 versions of South American bird-eating spiders like the
tarantula, other species have been encountered, including
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 5 some analogous to the “trapdoor” spider.
Size: Big
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1
Speed: Fast
Presence: 2 Resolve: 1 Strength: 3
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Marksman 3, Subterfuge 3,
Size: Small
Survival 4
Speed: Fast
Traits:
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 2, Subterfuge 3, Survival 2
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The Death
Worm injects venom with its grasping mandi- Traits:
bles, doing Strength +2 damage.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) Giant Spiders
Burrowing (Minor Good Creature Trait) The have a nasty bite, doing Strength +2 damage.
Death Worm travels beneath the sands of the
Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Giant
Gobi Desert.
Spiders can crawl on walls and ceilings.
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Fast-Moving (Major Good Creature Trait) Giant
The Death Worm can track its prey by the vi-
Spiders can scurry with a Speed of 6.
bration of their movement.
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) The Death
Giant Spiders gain +4 to rolls when trying to
Worm prefers to lie in wait for prey. On a suc-
intimidate prey, and characters need to make
cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll,
a Fear test when first seeing them.
Death Worms gain +2 to ambush attacks.
Leap (Special Good Creature Trait) Giant
Natural Weapons (Major Good Creature Trait)
Spiders can leap twice the length of their own
The Death Worm can spit venom up to 5 metres
body.
Poison 3 (Special Good Creature Trait) The
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Giant
venom of the Death Worm is highly toxic, doing
GAMEMASTER

Spiders suffer -2 to their awareness in daylight.

4 / 8 /12 damage.
Poison 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) Giant
Character Points: 47
Spider bites are poisonous, doing 4 / 6 / 9 damage.
Stalker (Major Good Creature Trait) On a suc-
cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll,
Giant Spiders gain +4 to sneak attacks.
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Giant Spiders reduce
all damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 38

212
 Bestiary
Spider, Monstrous Vampire Bat, Giant
Monstrous spiders are on average roughly the size of a Unlike their smaller cousins, Giant Vampire Bats are pred-
family car. These creatures, like the common spider, enjoy ators with a wingspan of over ten feet. In Madagascar it
an almost 360 degree field of vision due to their multiple is known as Fangalabolo (“the fear that flies by night”),
eyes and possess fangs capable of punching through metal. while in Cameroon it is called the Olitiau, and in Indone-
Monstrous spiders differ from common spiders in that sia it goes by the name of Orang-bati. Thought to be large
they possess a unique internal hydrostatic skeleton as well enough to carry off a child, the giant vampire bat preys
as an external exoskeleton, which helps support their on cattle, primates and any humans foolish enough to be
internal organs and enables their lungs to function. Mon- out at night. In times of scarcity, swarms of the bats have
strous spiders also seem to possess a form of hyper-efficient been known to descend on villages and ships at sea, leaving
oxygen carrier in their blood instead of hemoglobin, in- everyone white, dead and drained of blood.
creasing the effectiveness of their respiration.
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3
Due to their immense size and weight, monstrous spiders
are poor climbers and do not spin webs as traps. Instead Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
they stalk their prey and bring it down with brute force. Size: Big
All monstrous spiders are highly venomous, paralyzing
their prey with fast-acting neurotoxins before injecting Speed: Average
them with digestive enzymes and sucking out the result- Skills: Athletics 4 (Flying 6), Fighting 3, Survival 3
ing organic slurry.
Traits:
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 2 Flight (Major Good Creature Trait) Giant
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 8 vampire bats are expert fliers.
Size: Big Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Giant vampire bats have sharp fangs and claws.
Speed: Average
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Like its
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4
smaller cousins, the Giant Vampire Bat prefers
Traits: to hunt at night.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) Monstrous Tough (Minor Good Trait) Giant vampire bats
Spiders have a nasty bite, doing Strength +2 are highly resilient.
damage.
Character Points: 38
Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Monstrous Spiders gain +6 to rolls when trying
to intimidate prey, and characters need to make
a Fear test when first seeing them.
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Mon-
strous Spiders suffer -2 to their awareness in 13
daylight.
Poison 3 (Special Good Creature Trait) Monstrous
Spider bites are poisonous, doing 4 / 8 /12 damage.
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Monstrous Spiders
reduce all damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 38

213
 Pulp Fantastic
White Ape Yeti
The highly territorial and savage creatures referred to as Sometimes referred to as the “Abominable Snowman”, the
White Apes are darkly rumored to be a horrible hybrid yeti is a mysterious hominid creature native to Tibet and
of man and ape, not so much a missing link but a blas- the Himalyas, similar to the North American Bigfoot or
phemous merging of two evolutionary lines that should Sasquatch. Regarded as a myth by the scientific commu-
have remained separate. Unlike normal gorillas, White nity, the yeti is a considered by many occultists and cryp-
Apes are highly aggressive and carnivorous, with a taste tozoologists as a lost branch of humanity, the so-called
for human flesh. Physically, White Apes resemble albino “third root race” of mankind. Yeti can be encountered in
gorillas, with pale gray fur and yellow eyes, though they two types; the civilized Meh-Teh or “High Yeti” and the
have greatly deformed skulls and a mass and height more savage Migoi or “Wild Men”.
closely resembling humans. White Apes are naturally
cunning and intelligent, and some evidence exists to Meh-Teh
suggest that they’re capable of strategic planning and
The Meh-Teh are tall, heavily built humanoids with short
tactical coordination. They communicate with a primitive
blue-tinted fur, powerful muscles, vaguely simian facial
language of grunts and howls, and have been observed
features, yellow eyes and short, protruding tusks on the
using tools such as clubs, spears and even simple armor.
lower jaw. Despite their fearsome appearance, the Meh-Teh
White Apes are found only in the most remote areas of
are peaceful, intelligent creatures who dwell within the
the African continent, inhabiting the ruined cities of lost
vast subterranean kingdom of Agartha beneath the moun-
civilisations, violently guarding their territory against
tains of Tibet. Though they are incapable of normal speech,
all intruders.
they use a sophisticated form of sign language to commu-
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3 nicate and trade knowledge and goods with the hidden
monks of Shambhala.
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 8
Size: Big Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3 Resolve: 5 Strength: 7
Speed: Average
Size: Big
Skills: Athletics 3, Craft 1, Fighting 4, Subterfuge 1, Sur-
vival 3 Speed: Average
Traits: Skills: Athletics 2, Craft 4, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Med-
icine 4, Survival 4, Technology 3
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) White
Apes gain a +2 bonus to Coordination for the Traits:
purposes of working out who moves first during
Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait)
the Fighting Phase.
The Meh-Teh have the ability to pass unnoticed
Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait) White when they want.
Apes receive a +4 bonus to Coordination and
Empathic (Minor Good Trait) The Meh-Teh
Athletics rolls when climbing.
can read body language to determine emotion-
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) White Apes al states.
often go berserk when injured.
Environmental (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) The Meh-Teh suffer no ill-effects from the cold.
White Apes have savage claws and fangs doing
GAMEMASTER

Psychic (Special Good Trait) The Meh-Teh’s

Strength +2 damage.
pursuit of enlightenment has granted them
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) White Apes limited psychic abilities.
are very robust and can rarely be knocked out
Character Points: 56
or incapacitated.
Tough (Minor Good Trait) White Apes are ter-
rifyingly robust.
Character Points: 43

214
 Bestiary
Migoi by primitive cultures and seekers of wisdom driven insane
by their delvings into the forbidden, they sometimes gift
The Migoi are a more primitive off-shoot of the yeti race, their supplicants with knowledge of an alien science so
having degenerated back into bestial savagery. Distin- bizarre and arcane that it may have formed the mytholog-
guished from their civilized brethren by a shaggy coat of ical basis for what we today call magic.
white fur, fangs and sharp talons on both hands and feet,
the Migoi live in small family groups amidst the snowy, Obscure legends from before the age when man walked
arid peaks of the Himalayas. They are carnivores, normal- upright hint that these elder horrors slithered down from
ly living off yaks, mountain goats and cattle, but occasion- the stars before the dinosaurs arose. They built mighty
ally wandering into the lowlands and extending their diet cities so alien that they warped space and time around
to human flesh in times of want. The Migoi are often tamed them, fought terrible wars and made unholy alliances.
and used as assassins and temple guards by the Black How they lost their grip on the world is unknown. Some
Lamas of the Forbidden Monastery. legends hint that God and His angels cast them out, while
others claim that there is no God and that they were ban-
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1 ished by things kinder but no less alien. Others yet claim
that they were overcome by the powers of proto-human
Presence: 2 Resolve: 3 Strength: 8
magician priests, or that they were the victims of a cos-
Size: Huge mological shift – an event soon to reverse itself and allow
them purchase in the world of man once more.
Speed: Average
Many greater abominations lie trapped outside normal space,
Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 5, Subterfuge 3, Survival 4
hungering in the awful outer darkness between universes,
Traits: while other lesser creatures slumber in alien tombs and
monstrous cities lost beneath the earth or at the bottom of
Armor (Minor Good Creature Trait) The Migoi’s
the sea. Others still lurk beyond gateways to distant worlds
dense musculature and shaggy coat gives it 5
or hibernate in the depths of deep space, waiting for the call
points of armor.
to awaken and feed on minds and souls once more.
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Physically, Eldritch Abominations come in a variety of
The Migoi can see in infra-red, allowing it to
forms, from almost human to physically impossible, from
track its prey through the snow.
living gases and spatial distortions to writhing masses of
Environmental (Minor Good Creature Trait) tentacles, eyes, tooth-filled maws and wings. Many simply
The Migoi suffer no ill-effects from the cold. cannot be seen at all, while others are so utterly alien that
simply to see and comprehend them means madness or
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) The Migoi
death for the viewer.
will fly into a blood rage when it is injured.
As terrible and horrific as these beings are, the greatest
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
threat comes not from them, but from the madmen and
The Migoi has sharp claws and fangs giving it
fanatics that worship them as gods. There is little evidence
Strength +2 damage in hand-to-hand combat.
to suggest these monstrosities even notice their suppli-
Character Points: 41 cants, but this does not stop demented cults and sects
forming around their legend and working towards has- 13

Fantastic Creatures tening the moment of their release into a shocked and
screaming world. Such cults are usually debased and
utterly beyond reason, practising perverted and depraved
Eldritch Abomination rites and ceremonies, stopping at nothing to secure the
freedom of their terrible gods. These cults are often gifted
As alien and incomprehensible as the weather, the Eldritch with arcane powers and vile mutations, gifted either de-
Abomination lies at the heart of the Cosmic Horror pulp liberately by the Eldritch Abominations or merely as a
story, a monstrous weird menace from the outer darkness, side-effect of getting too close to something so unfathom-
existing in opposition to the physical laws of the known ably alien that the universe itself protests at their presence.
universe. It distorts reality simply by existing, causing
insanity, death and…worse. In ages past, it and it’s kind Note: For the best examples of Eldritch Abominations from
ruled the world – they may have even made the world and the Pulps, we recommend reading the works of H.P. Lovecraft
everything in it. Even us. and his associates, which provided much of the inspiration
for this section. We recommend that they not form the basis
Their minds are beyond human understanding, their of the campaign though - if you want to do that there are
motives utterly incomprehensible. Even their bodies cannot other games far better suited and with a wealth of published
be seen without twisting the minds of the viewer, imparting supporting material. Instead they should be used sparingly,
horrific insights into the true nature of the universe and as ultimate threats, lurking in the thoughts of your players
the place of mankind within it. Eldritch Abominations often as their characters explore subterranean temples or investi-
don’t even show up in the stories that mention them, but gate dark cults, limited to casting twisted shadows on the
their shadow touches everything. Often worshipped as gods walls of reality lest they overwhelm your campaign.
215
 Pulp Fantastic
We present no stats for the greater Eldritch Abominations. Minor Eldritch Abomination
They are creatures from the outer darkness, defined by
their disdain for the rules of our reality. Put simply, they Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1
are gods – living plot devices - and they ignore the rules
Presence: 5 Resolve: 3 Strength: 18
that affect lesser creatures. Meeting one face to gibbering
maw is something no sane character should ever want to Size: Colossal
happen. The stats below can be applied to the lesser Abom-
Speed: Average
inations; the creatures that slumber beneath the earth
and sea, occasionally roused by intrusion into their for- Skills: Athletics 2, Fighting 5
bidden temples and lost cities.
Traits:
Additional Limbs 4 (Major Good Creature
Trait) A writing mass of tentacles allows the
horror 2 additional actions per round.
Armor (Minor Good Creature Trait) Slimy,
rubbery flesh reduces damage taken by 5 levels.
Constrict (Minor Good Creature Trait) The
awful thing can crush its prey.
Empathic Aura: Terror (Minor Good Psychic
Trait) Being the focus of the creature’s attention
fills the victim with existential dread.
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait)
A dweller in the dark between the stars, the
thing takes no environmental damage.
Fear Factor 5 (Special Good Creature Trait) It
is madness made flesh.
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) If wounded
the creature goes berserk.
Grab (Minor Good Creature Trait) Grasping
tentacles lash out for victims.
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) It
cannot be killed, only banished or imprisoned.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The vile monstrosity does Strength +2 damage
with its toothed suckers.
Psychic (Special Good Trait) It can see your
puny thoughts.
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) It
GAMEMASTER

squeals and trumpets like a dozen elephants.

Telekinesis (Special Good Psychic Trait) It can
bend the world to its will.
Telepathy (Special Good Psychic Trait) It can
pour its filthy thoughts into your skull.
Trample (Major Good Creature Trait) Those it
simply crushes to death are the most fortunate.
Character Points: 71

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 Bestiary

Martian Awareness:
Presence:
3
2
Coordination:
Resolve:
2
4
Ingenuity:
Strength:
7
5
The minds behind the 1901 invasion of Great Britain, the
creatures popularly known as Martians are an intelligent, Size: Big
technologically advanced and hostile alien species. Essen-
Speed: Slow
tially octopoid in structure, an adult Martian is roughly
the size of a bear, with sixteen tentacles arranged in two Skills: Craft 3, Fighting 3, Marksman 3, Science 7, Tech-
bunches of eight radiating from the underside of the body. nology 3, Transport 3
Martians have large dark eyes and a slavering, V-shaped
Traits:
mouth. Apparently lacking vocal cords and any form of
normal speech, Martians communicate solely through Additional Limbs 4 (Minor Good Creature
telepathy. They move sluggishly, with labored breathing, Trait) Martians have numerous tentacles, al-
due to the relatively high gravity and atmospheric humid- lowing them to take two additional actions per
ity of Earth. Round at no penalty.
The Martians appear to be an engineered species, with an Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait)
extremely simple and stripped down physiology support- Their alien appearance gives the Martians a +4
ing a vast brain. They lack a conventional digestive system bonus to scare or intimidate.
and feed on the blood of living creatures, absorbing it
Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Martians can
directly into their circulatory system through a hollow
dominate the minds of lesser beings.
bone tube – similar to the horn of a narwhal – which they
can extend from the mouth with enough force to pierce Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
steel plate. It has been theorised that the invasion of 1901 The Martian can extend a hollow bone tube
was motivated not by a desire for territory, but to capture from its mouth for combat and feeding, doing
and cultivate mankind as a food supply. Strength +2 damage.
As they are effectively giant brains, the Martians have Psychic (Special Good Trait) Martians can scan
become adept at creating armored vehicles that act as the minds of humans.
prosthetic bodies, such as their tripod fighting machines
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Mar-
or the smaller handling machines seen in their landing
tians struggle to move quickly in Earth’s gravity.
sites and fortified areas.
Strange Appearance (Major Bad Creature
While it is popularly known that the Martians are fatally
Trait) Martians are hideous octopus-like crea-
affected by Earthly germs and bacteria, this is not strictly
tures with huge black eyes and numerous
true. While their lungs are somewhat vulnerable to respi-
tentacles.
ratory fungal infections and diseases such as the form of
weaponised flu virus that was used to eliminate the 1901 Strange Visitor (Major Bad Trait) Martians are
expeditionary force (a biological weapon that is suspect- utterly alien and have no regard for human
ed of having later mutated into the deadly Spanish Flu technology or culture.
that killed nearly 5% of the world’s population between
Telepathy (Special Good Psychic Trait) Mar-
1918 and 1920), they are in fact so alien that very few ter-
tians have no vocal cords and communicate
13
restrial viruses or bacteria can affect them. Those that do,
telepathically.
however, are invariably lethal to them.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Martians have
Little is known of Martian culture, due mainly to their
limited defenses against terrestrial bacteria
unrelenting hostility and the difficulty inherent in taking
and disease pathogens, and must take techno-
them alive. However, analysis of their cadavers and the
logical steps to protect themselves.
remains of their technology has led to many scientists
theorising that they are not in fact native to Mars, but may Character Points: 48
have been using that planet as a staging post for their
invasion attempt. Further, it is now thought that once they
lost contact with the Earth expeditionary force they turned
their gaze to Venus, which many suspect they have suc-
cessfully conquered.

217
 Pulp Fantastic
Martian War Machine Undead
The Martians’ distinctive tripod war machines are their
signature weapon. Though they are vehicles, Martians
use them as prosthetic bodies, so they are presented here
Mummy
as if they are independent creatures. Mummies are a form of intelligent undead, deliberately
created through the use of mystical funeral rites and
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: −* careful preparation. These rites were often used by ancient
civilizations to punish those who trespassed against the
Presence: 2 Resolve: −* Strength: 16
gods, by ensuring that their torment would not end when
* Pilot death claimed them, but instead would extend beyond
Size: Huge the grave and into eternity. As a result, such undead crea-
tures are extremely dangerous, driven by an overwhelm-
Speed: Slow ing need for vengeance against the living.
Skills: Fighting 3, Marksman 3 Mummies are often thought of as being of exclusively
Traits: Egyptian origin, but this is not correct. Virtually every
civilization has practiced some form of mummification
Armor (Special Good Creature Trait) Martian at some point in the past. Western examples include popes,
alloys reduce damage taken by 15. saints and even national leaders.
Fast-Moving (Major Good Creature Trait) Resurrected mummies often display a wide range of ap-
Tripods can stride with a Speed of 8 (including parently supernatural abilities which vary greatly from
the bonus from its Size trait). culture to culture, and so are not listed below. Most possess
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) the ability to create the illusion of being a living creature.
Tripods get a +4 bonus to scare or intimidate. Note: These stats can be used to represent anyone who
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature has successfully extended their own existence beyond
Traits) The tripods metallic tentacles deliver death, either by supernatural or super-scientific means.
Strength +2 damage.
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 7
Natural Weapons 4 (Major Good Creature Presence: 3 Resolve: 6 Strength: 5
Trait) The Martian Heat Ray incinerates every-
thing in its path, inflicting 20 (10/20/30) Size: Average
damage in a 10° arc. Speed: Average
Robot (Special Good Trait) The tripod is a me- Skills: Athletics 1, Fighting 3, Survival 3
chanical body.
Traits:
Stomp (Major Good Creature Trait) Tripods
often crush victims beneath their giant feet. Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) The mummy is
an undead monster.
Weakness (Minor Bad Trait) The tripod cannot
function without a pilot. Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait) As
undead beings, mummies suffer no environ-
Character Points: 48 mental effects.
Fear Factor (Special Good Creature Trait)
GAMEMASTER

Mummies gain +2 when actively trying to strike

fear into others.
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) As
undead beings, mummies are functionally
immortal.
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Mummies
cannot be incapacitated.
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Mummies are
always driven by some need; perhaps ven-
geance upon the living or the resurrection of
a lost love.
Shapeshift (Major Good Creature Trait)
Mummies may create the illusion of being a
living person.

218
 Bestiary
Tough (Minor Good Trait) The undead body of durability, that avoid sunlight but are not harmed by it,
a mummy reduces all damage taken by 2. can be destroyed by stakes, fire or beheading, and need
fresh human blood to survive. They could be the victims
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait) Even when
of a mysterious disease, engineered beings or perhaps an
appearing normal, most people find mummies
alternate branch of humanity. Undead supernatural crea-
instinctively unappealing.
tures could look quite different.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Mummies can be
destroyed by the magics that created and New Vampire
sustain them; for instance, by burning the
sacred scroll that records their curse, or by Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3
reading a ritual of unbinding. Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 5
Character Points: 42 Size: Average
Speed: Fast
Skeleton Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Fighting 3, Subterfuge 2
Skeletons are the bones of the long dead, animated in a
parody of life by dark powers. Skeletons are effectively Traits:
simple supernatural automatons, able to use tools and Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Vampires
carry out simple tasks and instructions, but incapable of can move at their full speed on any surface.
independent thought or reasoning.
Dependency (Major Bad Trait) Vampires need
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1 to feed on fresh human blood nightly.
Presence: 1 Resolve: 1 Strength: 4 Fast-Moving (Major Good Creature Trait) The
Size: Average vampires Speed is doubled.

Speed: Average Fast Healer (Special Good Creature Trait) Vam-

pires recover 1 Attribute point per minute.
Skills: Athletics 1, Fighting 3
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Traits: The vampire gets +4 to any roll when actively
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait) attempting to frighten a victim.
Skeletons suffer no environmental effects. Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Vampires can
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) hypnotize their prey.
Bony, claw-like fingers do Strength +2 damage. Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) Vam-
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Skeletons pires cannot die through age, violence or disease
cannot be incapacitated, only destroyed. (see Weakness, below).

Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Skeletons have Keen Senses (Major Good Trait) The vampire
no free will and must follow their instructions has +2 to all Awareness rolls.
13
no matter what. Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Skeletons are flesh- Claws and fangs give the vampire Strength +2
less and do not easily take wound damage. All damage.
damage taken is reduced by 2. Phobia (Minor Bad Trait) The vampire is re-
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Destroying the skull pelled by sunlight.
of a skeleton will deactivate it permanently. Tough (Major Good Trait) Vampires reduce all
Character Points: 17 damage taken by 3.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Beheading or
Vampire burning will destroy the vampire, while
staking it will immobilize the creature.
Vampires exists in the folklore and mythology of every
nation on earth. The apex predator of humankind, vam- Character Points: 49
pires exist wherever their food source exists, stalking the
shadows and picking off the weak and the isolated. Vam-
pires tend to differ from culture to culture, with different
forms, abilities and vulnerabilities, but they all have one
thing in common - the need to feed on human blood.
Note: The stats below represent fairly “realistic” vampires;
humanoid creatures with enhanced strength, speed and
219
 Pulp Fantastic
Master Vampire Werewolf
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 6 Ingenuity: 5 Descriptions of men who transform into savage beasts by
the light of the full moon are recorded in the literature of the
Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength: 7
ancient Greeks, and before that in the cave paintings of
Size: Average neolithic man. The werewolf has always been with mankind,
stalking us through the shadows during the nights of the
Speed: Fast
full moon and living among us by the light of day.
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Fighting 3, Subterfuge 2
Though the details of the curse change from culture to
Traits: culture, the essentials remain the same. The werewolf is
a man or woman who – sometimes willingly, often unwill-
Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Vampires
ingly – physically transforms into a monstrous, flesh-eat-
can move at their full speed on any surface.
ing beast. In most versions of the legend, the transforma-
Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait) tion is triggered by the light of the full moon, though in
Vampires can pass unseen. some stories it is activated deliberately by the donning of
an animal pelt. In the most well-known legends, the trans-
Dependency (Minor Bad Trait) Older vampires
formation is a curse, the victim tormented by vague mem-
do not need to feed on fresh human blood as
ories of the horrible crimes his bestial persona may have
often.
committed during the night.
Fast-Moving (Major Good Creature Trait) The
vampire’s Speed is doubled. Awareness: 5 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 3
Fast Healer (Special Good Creature Trait) Vam- Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 7
pires recover 1 Attribute point per minute. Size: Big
Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait) Speed: Fast
The vampire gets +6 to any roll when actively
attempting to frighten a victim. Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Survival 5

Flight (Minor Good Creature Trait) The master Traits:

vampire can take wing. Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Were-
Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Vampires can wolves are savage, blood-thirsty monsters.
hypnotize their prey. Amnesia (Minor Bad Trait) Werewolves have
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) Vam- little or no memory of what they do while trans-
pires cannot die through age, violence or disease formed.
(see Weakness, below) Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait) Using
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) The their claws and immense strength, werewolves
vampire can create other vampires. can climb almost anything.

Keen Senses (Major Good Trait) The vampire Enhanced Senses 3 (Minor Good Creature
has +2 to all Awareness rolls. Trait) The werewolf possesses acute hearing,
scent and sight.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Claws and fangs give the vampire +2 damage. Fast-Moving (Major Good Creature Trait)
Werewolves move at with a Speed of 10.
GAMEMASTER

Psychic (Special Good Trait) Master vampires

can read minds. Fast Healer (Special Good Trait) Werewolves
heal normal wounds at 1 point of damage per
Telekinesis (Special Good Psychic Trait) minute.
Master vampires can move objects by the
power of their minds. Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Werewolves are slavering, terrifying beasts.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Vampires reduce all
damage taken by 3. Immortal (Special Good Trait) The werewolf
is ageless and undying, except through wounds
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Beheading or inflicted by a silver weapon. Even if the were-
burning will destroy the vampire, while staking wolf is killed in human form, he will revive
it will immobilize the creature. during the next full moon.
Character Points: 71 Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Any
bite or scratch from a werewolf that pierces
armor and draws blood is enough to transmit
the curse.

220
 Bestiary
Leap 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) Were-
wolves are capable of leaping four times their
Zombie
body length. I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld,
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) I will smash the door posts,
Razor-sharp claws and fangs deliver Strength
and leave the doors flat down,
+2 damage.
and will let the dead go up to eat the living!
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Were-
wolves normally only hunt at night. And the dead will outnumber the living
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Werewolves the epic of gilgamesh
can rarely be incapacitated.
Zombies are the walking dead, either flesh hungry crea-
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) While trans- tures intent on devouring the living and spreading their
formed, werewolves are bestial, blood-crazed unnatural affliction or corpses animated by apparently
monsters and think only of slaughter. magical or super-scientific means to serve the will of a
sorcerer or mastermind.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Werewolves are un-
naturally resilient, reducing all damage taken
by 3.
The Enslaved Dead
The Enslaved Dead are corpses reanimated as servants by
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The
a controlling intelligence. This intelligence could be su-
howl of the werewolf strikes terror into all who
pernatural in origin, such as the power of a voodoo sor-
hear it.
cerer or Eldritch Abomination, or the power of perverted
Shapeshift (Minor Good Creature Trait) From science. Unlike the Shambling Dead, these creatures are
man to wolf-man and back, normally only driven by the commands of their master, do not feed on
during a full moon. living flesh or transmit their condition by bites.
Stalker (Major Good Creature Trait) Were- Awareness: 3 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1
wolves are expert hunters. On a successful
opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll, Were- Presence: 2 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4
wolves gain +4 to sneak attacks. Size: Average
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Werewolves are Speed: Slow
fatally allergic to silver and will not revive if
killed with a silver weapon. Skills: Fighting 1

Character Points: 70 Traits:

Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait)
Zombies suffer no ill-effects in any environ-
ment.
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) 13
Zombies are innately frightening.
Networked (Major Good Creature Trait) The
enslaved dead are controlled by a central ani-
mating intelligence, such as a voodoo sorcerer
or an evil mastermind.
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Zombies
cannot be knocked out or incapacitated.
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Very
few zombies are capable of moving quickly.
Slow Reflexes (Major Bad Trait) Dead nervous
systems do not respond quickly.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Destroying the
animating intelligence will destroy the En-
slaved Dead.
Character Points: 19

221
 Pulp Fantastic
The Hungry Dead
The zombie sub-type referred to as the Hungry Dead are
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs first appeared during the Triassic period, over
mindless undead creatures driven by an all-consuming
230 million years ago. They were the most diverse and
hunger for human flesh. The hungry dead may be created
successful form of animal life the world has ever seen, and
in a number of ways including supernatural forces, viral
dominated the planet for 135 million years. They were so
infection, electro-chemical stimulation or exposure to
wide-spread, diverse and numerous that their dominance
exotic radiations. They are slow creatures that become
of earth was only broken by an extinction event so massive
terrifying in large numbers. Rumors persist of encounters
that it eradicated 75% of all plant and animal life. Their
with so-called “fast” zombies, but these are clearly the
descendants, in the form of birds, are all around us. Is it any
fabrications of delusional minds.
wonder then that, in the dark, isolated, strange places of
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1 the globe, small populations of dinosaurs may still remain?
Presence: 2 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4 Today, dinosaurs are considered by all serious scientists to
be utterly extinct, existing only as fossil remains. However,
Size: Average certain brave explorers and visionary scientists know the
Speed: Slow truth; that dinosaurs continue to live into the modern era,
inhabiting subterranean worlds, isolated plateaus, hidden
Skills: Fighting 1 valleys and distant fog-shrouded pacific islands. Even in
Traits: these remote locales though, the forces of evolution have
not stood still, and the dinosaur-like creatures that may be
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The primary encountered today are not exactly like their distant ancestors.
weapon of the hungry dead is their bite.
Note: As there are far too many dinosaurs to present a full
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait) catalogue of species in this book, the stats below can be used
The hungry dead suffer no ill-effects in any to represent broad families of animals that may be encountered.
environment.
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Zombies are innately frightening.
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs are considered by the popular imagination to be
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Any bite flying dinosaurs, though this is not actually true (dinosaurs
that pierces armor and draws blood will cause are a different clade). The most notable members of the ptero-
the victim to sicken, die and rise as the hungry saur family are Pteranodon and Pterodactyl. Pterosaurs, like
dead. the birds that came after them, come in a wide variety of sizes
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Zombies and forms, with wingspans ranging from 50cm to 11 metres.
cannot be knocked out or incapacitated. Most pterosaurs have long, aerodynamic heads with sharp
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Dead beaks used to spear prey such as fish, insects and other
things cannot move quickly. small animals.

Slow Reflexes (Major Bad Trait) Dead nervous Awareness: 3 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 1
systems do not respond quickly.
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 8
Strange Appearance (Special Bad Creature
Speed: Average
Trait) The hungry dead are very clearly walking
corpses in various states of disrepair. Size: Big
GAMEMASTER

Weakness (Special Good Creature Trait) De- Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 2, Survival 3
stroying the brain or a significant proportion
Traits:
of the upper spinal cord will permanently de-
activate the hungry dead. Flight (Minor Good Creature Trait) Pterosaurs
can fly; they are not very agile flyers, but are
Character Points: 17
capable of gliding immense distances.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Pterosaurs have sharp fangs and talons, doing
Strength +2 damage.
Special: Swoop Attack (Special Good Creature
Trait) The Pterosaurs swoops down on its prey.
This attack has a +4 bonus to hit and does
Strength +2 damage.
Character Points: 35

222
 Bestiary
Raptor Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Raptors have a keen sense of smell and gain +4
These relatively small dinosaurs are clever, fast-moving Awareness when using it.
pack predators, descended from dinosaurs such as the
Fear Factor (Special Good Creature Trait)
smaller Velociraptor (“Swift Seizer”), the Achillobator
Raptors gain +2 to rolls when trying to intim-
(“Achilles Hero”) and other Dromaeosaurid Therapods.
idate prey, and humans need to make a Fear
Perhaps the best known raptor is the Deinonychus (“Ter-
test when first meeting a raptor.
rible Claw”), named for the over-sized sickle-shaped claw
on each foot, which it uses to horrific effect for disembow- Snap (Major Good Creature Trait) The raptor
elling and clinging on to prey. Intelligent, aggressive and makes an extra Bite attack this round. This can
virtually fearless, raptors prey on large herbivores, leaping be used in addition to its normal action.
onto their prey and latching on with their claws while
Special: Leaping Attack (Special Good Crea-
delivering powerful, tearing bites.
ture Trait) Raptors can jump onto an enemy
All raptors use their long tails for balance while running and cling on with its claws. A raptor must make
and leaping, and can use their claws to help them climb a successful Fighting attack to grab on, and
trees or other obstacles. Their eyesight is keen and highly inflicts claw damage in the first round it hits.
sensitive to moving objects, and their eyes are located high In every subsequent round, it automatically
on their heads, enabling them to spy on prey from cover inflicts the lower end of its claw damage on the
without exposing themselves. Raptors have an exception- victim, and gets to make a bite attack too. The
al sense of smell, allowing them to track prey even when raptor’s victim suffers a -4 penalty to all actions
it isn’t visible. while it is clinging to him. Knocking the raptor
off requires a successful Fighting or Athletics
Like wolves, these dinosaurs hunt in packs, but are adapt-
contest.
able enough to feed on carrion if live prey is not available.
Like most pack predators, they prefer to pick off lone or Stalker (Major Good Creature Trait) Raptors
otherwise vulnerable targets, but are intelligent enough are effective hunters. On a successful opposed
to use ambushes and herding tactics when required. They Coordination+Subterfuge roll, Raptors gain +4
can communicate in a rudimentary fashion with each to sneak attacks.
other through clicks and hisses, and possess fore-claws
Character Points: 50
dexterous enough to hold and examine objects, and even
operate doorhandles. Raptors usually exhibit intelligence
and curiosity, and learn quickly, something which has led
to an unpleasant end to any foolish enough to underesti-
mate them. Some may even be on the verge of using tools
and developing true intelligence...
Note: Raptors are actually closely related to birds, and may
subspecies were either partially or completely feathered.

Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 2

13
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 7
Speed: Fast
Size: Average
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Survival 3
Traits:
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait)
Raptors gain a +2 bonus to its Coordination for
the purposes of working out who moves first
during the Fighting Phase.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) The terrible
bite of a raptor does Strength +2 damage
(5/9/13).
Claw (Special Good Creature Trait) Raptor claws
are usually used only for climbing and holding
prey, but they can disembowel a human and
cause horrible injuries. The claws inflict
Strength +3 damage.

223
 Pulp Fantastic
Tyrannosaur
The best known and most feared of all dinosaurs - the
Tyrannosaurus Rex (“Tyrant Lizard King”) - was a therapod
carnivore; a bipedal apex predator up to 13 metres in length
with teeth like daggers. Other similar dinosaurs include
Gorgosaurus, Tarbosaurus and Albertosaurus.
Tyrannosaurs are hunters, opportunistic carnivores that
run down and kill their prey, then gorge on the flesh, often
returning to the kill for days at a time. Prey animals include
everything from smaller herbivores to big sauropods.
Note: These stats can be used for the descendants of any
number of large carnivorous therapods, such as Afrove-
natus and Allosaurus.

Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1

Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 14
Speed: Average
Size: Huge
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Survival 4
Traits:
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Ty-
rannosaurs gain +2 to Coordination for the
purposes of working out who moves first during
the Fighting Phase.
Bite (Special Good Creature Trait) A Tyranno-
saurs Bite attack does Strength +2 damage.
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Tyrannosaurs gain +4 to rolls when trying to
intimidate prey, and humans need to make a
Fear test when first meeting a raptor.
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The
roar of a Tyrannosaur causes those who hear
it to make a Fear check or lose an Action when
they encounter it.
Snap (Major Good Creature Trait) The Tyran-
nosaur makes an extra Bite attack this round.
This can be used in addition to its normal
GAMEMASTER

action.
Special: Tail Sweep (Special Good Creature
Trait) The Tyrannosaur makes an attack that
inflicts ½ Strength damage, but can attack any
number of targets as long as they’re all within
a few metres of each other. Anyone hit by the
tail swipe is knocked down.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Tyrannosaurs have
tough skin and dense muscles, reducing all
damage taken by 3.
Character Points: 53

224
 Chapter 14
The Nemo Diary

The Black Tie Affair es the characters. Characters of some renown will be
greeted with cheers and claps, and other less known char-
The characters are attending the London Literary Library acters will be politely ignored. All of the servants are
Association’s premier charity event, a black tie affair being dressed as literary characters (Robin Hood and his men,
attended by the social elite, high ranking government Don Quixote, the Three Musketeers, and any other char-
officials, a bevy of press associates, and a few lucky at- acters that the gm may wish to use). The party will quickly
tendees that were the “and guest” part of an invite. The become crowded as more and more guests are announced,
LLLA is an organization that provides library services to characters can meet, mingle, and make new acquaintanc-
the underprivileged. To help offset the costs of their es (a gm may use this scene to introduce background
current project, building five new libraries across London, characters that may be of use in future adventures if they
Geoffrey George Lilliamont has opened his private collec- are planning a campaign). Everyone seems quite pleasant,
tion of valuable literary pieces for the evening and put the party is going well, many cheques are being written
them on display for London’s elite to view. and stuffed into a large box near the glass enclosed case
showcasing the Nemo Pages.
The most hotly discussed items from the Liiliamont col-
lection are two pages from the Nemo Diaries. There are a
few ardent fans of Jules Verne that believe that Nemo was Robin and His Unmerry Men
not a purely fictional figment of the master story-teller’s Eventually Geoffrey George Lilliamont will tap his glass
imagination, but instead a real person whose genius repeatedly until the crowd quiets down, and begin to give
allowed him to create the Nautilus and escape from the a speech. His wife, Lady Lillian Lilliamont, has been min-
surface world and live under the oceans in a world where gling with the guests engaging in small talk. This stunning
he found and knew peace. These few believers have hy- woman of rare beauty should stop to speak with a char-
pothesized that Nemo, in constructing the Nautilus, had acter or group of characters just before the speech begins.
collected an exorbitant amount of hard currency, and that
these funds came from the sale of numerous inventions “I would very much like to take this opportunity to…”
that the notorious Nemo had created in his mind, and later His words are cut off as an arrow pierces his side; blood
put on paper. Of the handful of experts that have studied begins to pour forth through the white tux as he crumples
the supposed Nemo schematics, to a man they have stated to the floor. Several women in the crowd scream and faint.
that his genius either rivaled that of Leonardo or his Others begin to panic and push towards the exits as a
madness that of Hyde. booming voice from the wide staircase leading up to the
second store interrupts the chaos.

THE NEMO PAGES

Powerful, connected, monied people want these pages. They’ll LAYOUT OF THE HALL
lie, cheat, steal, and murder to get their hands on them. Some The hall is two-tiered, with an upper balcony, where the
want them purely for their monetary value, others desire to guests are introduced, and a double staircase, leading down
see the machinery of Nemo put to use, and the Invisible to a checkerboard-floored ballroom, 100 x 50 feet, with
College may want to keep the world from seeing the pages. dazzling chandeliers and mirrors that make the ballroom look
This scenario allows the GM to choose which antagonist they as if it stretches off into infinity. Immediately opposite the
wish to use in their game: crime bosses, mad scientists, book balcony are a set of long windows, with two pairs of French
collectors, or even the Invisible College itself may act as the doors leading out to the grounds. Underneath the balcony
antagonists of this scenario. The story is designed in a manner is the entrance to the kitchen and servants’ rooms.
that no matter which the GM chooses the action and plot
will run smoothly.
“good day ladies and cads, i, robin of london, with
my Merry Men...” he makes a flourish that quickly shows
The characters are met at the door by a gracious butler, that there are several associates in the audience “are in
Harry Perkins, who takes hats, coats, canes and announc- attendance to lighten not your wallets, but instead your
 Pulp Fantastic
host’s collection of stolen works of the master Nemo.” The mont is one of the foci of the attacks as three henchmen
henchmen quickly backhand, kick, or punch a few par- descend on her, and attempt to murder her.
ty-goers as they attempt to block the exits. The exact
“Robin Hood” quickly dispatches any NPC that attempts
number of henchmen is left up to the gm, but at least one
to stop him as he connects the two massive suction cups
henchman for each character is advised. There may be
to the glass case that the Nemo papers are displayed in. If
even more if a more challenging opening is desired. The
unchecked, he will leap on top of the glass container, wrap
extra henchmen, if the fight gets to be too much for the
one arm around the ropes, and give a deep bow with his
characters, can eventually be pummeled by party-goers,
sword in hand. “Please, continue your revelry in my
whose courage returns as they see the characters battling
absence.” As he finishes his bow, the glass case begins to
the party crashers or attempt to trample the henchmen
quickly rise into the air and out through the wreckage of
in a panic for the exits.
the skylight.
Merry Men A Tricky (15) Awareness + Ingenuity check allows the
player to notice a strange zeppelin large enough for only
Quote: “Give us yer money!”
one person. This mini zeppelin has been camouflaged so
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 2 that it is quite hard to see in the foggy London night.

Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3 If characters wish to attempt to shoot the cables, hitting
them is a Difficult (21) shot (being quite thin), and they
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Marksman 3, Subterfuge 2 take 8 points of damage to snap (they are steel, after all).
Traits:
Obligation (Major Bad Trait) A henchman’s Aftermath
lot is not a happy one. The constabulary arrive a few minutes later, but in that time
Outcast (Minor Bad Trait) Low-level career the majority of the henchmen are captured by either the
criminals aren’t well regarded. characters or the other party goers. The police will expect
the characters to submit to all of their questions, and anyone
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait) None of these that is not forthcoming or is uncooperative will be dressed
mooks is going to win a beauty contest. down and possibly arrested on the spot. Cooperative char-
Total Character Points: 25 acters, after an hour or so, will be allowed to leave the prem-
ises. The police will not be far along into their investigation
Trappings: Rapier when a doctor arrives to check on Mister Lilliamont. After
Story Points: 5 a few seconds the doctor will motion for the senior Bobby,
and will quickly explain that Lilliamont must be removed
Robin Hood to a hospital at once if he has any chance of survival.

Quote: “Your money...or your life!” A Tricky (15) Awareness + Ingenuity check allows the
players to make out what the doctor is saying. Characters
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 2 that are helping the doctor need not make the roll at all.
Successful characters will hear the name of the hospital
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
that Lilliamont is being taken to: Tandry Hospital.
Skills: Athletics 4, Craft 4 (Performance), Fighting 5, Marks-
Questioning the henchmen will be of no help to the char-
man 5 (Bow), Subterfuge 4
acters or the police. All of “Robin’s” henchmen are upstand-
Traits: ing staff members of Lilliamonts’ or the library. As they are
GAMEMASTER

questioned they look blank-eyed and unresponsive.

Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
A Normal (12) Awareness + Medicine check will allow a
Minions (Major Good Trait)
player to notice that the staff appears to be mesmerized
Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait) or possibly hypnotized. On a Good result the character
can speed up the staff’s recovery, while a Fantastic success
Total Character Points: 48
will allow the staff to remember that they heard a strange
Trappings: Bow, Rapier buzzing sound, and a voice coming from their outfits that
made them believe they were Robin Hood’s men, and that
Story Points: 12
the party goers were plotting against Mr. Lilliamont. To
During the opening of the fight (beginning of the second protect their master they needed to go along with the
round), the skylight overhead shatters as two massive ropes charade, and when it appeared that Mr. Lilliamont was
with oversized suction cups attached to the ends come injured the servants were to attack the conspirators.
crashing through. Glass rains down on the party goers, and
A successful Awareness + Subterfuge check will allow the
the crowd quickly becomes an uncontrolled herd trying to
characters to realize that each of the servants costumes
avoid the falling glass that continues to sprinkle down from
has a cloisonné pin in the shape of an eye. Each pin appears
the ceiling. It also quickly becomes clear that Lady Lillia-
to have a strange miniature speaker behind it. A Fantastic
226
 The Nemo Diary
success allows the character to discover a flaky substance the police continued their investigation. Perkins explains
adhering to the pin. gms may want to use this design later that “My lady wishes your presence before you depart.”
on to draw the characters into a greater conspiracy. As it
The study is a simple private reading room, and the Lady
stands now, they are merely to identify the “Merry Men.”
sits with a tray for tea set up nearby. She rises when the
Merely touching the powder with exposed flesh is enough players enter and offers them tea, while apologizing pro-
to force a Tricky (15) Strength + Resolve roll, unsuccessful fusely for the disturbance. It takes no Awareness roll to
characters suffer a vivid hallucination of some horrible realize that the lady is irate over the attack on her husband,
event in the characters life. This lasts for one minute for and she’s hiding her feelings as best she can.
each point the character failed the roll by. Successful char-
An Awareness + Convince check reveals that Lady Lillia-
acters are unaffected.
mont is tired, scared, angry, and fearing for her husband’s
With an Ingenuity + Medicine or Ingenuity + Science life. For her to call this meeting instead of rushing to her
check, the character is able to discern that the substance husband’s hospital bedside clearly shows how important
is a combination of morphine and opium in a powdered she feels this meeting is.
form. It is a powerful hallucinogen, which would explain
She expresses her thanks for anyone that came to her aid,
why the servants were overcome by the suggestion to
and will fuss over anyone that was injured while protecting
attack the party goers.
her. After a few moments she explains that this affront
If the characters are unable to awaken the staff, they will upon her husband cannot go unanswered. The proper
eventually snap out of their apparent daze, but no one authorities will do what they must, but she is calling upon
remembers anything after they arrived at work and were this group to do more. She will offer them money, access
handed their costumes for the evening. They have no to her husband’s private library (an interest to members of
recollection of the fight that just occurred, and those that the Invisible College who may be wishing to learn if Lillia-
are injured are even more confused as they demand to mont has any other books or papers that they may need to
know what has happened. research later), or the favor of her family’s name. Unfortu-
nately she has no clues as to who may have perpetuated
Lady Lilliamont this atrocity. There were no threats, there were no strange
occurrences, no strange people in their lives, and her hus-
Quote: “Gentlemen, I thank you for your courage, but I
band’s behavior has not changed in recent history.
have on more thing to ask of you.”
Lady Lilliamont is not without any leads. She can give the
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 players, under an oath of secrecy, the name of a gentleman
Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3 her husband had done business with in the past: Mr. Hab-
erdrant of 22 Arcadia Avenue, an unsavory fellow of low
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Craft 3, Knowledge 4, Marks- stock and questionable means. But his ability to track
man 2 down hard to acquire antiquities was never questioned.
Traits: It was this gentleman that helped Mr. Lilliamont acquire
the two Nemo pages.
Attractive (Minor Good Trait)
Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Empathic (Minor Good Trait)
Mr Haberdrant of
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) 22 Arcadia Avenue 14
Well Travelled (Minor Good Trait) Day or night, the lowly-looking hovel in an unsavory part
of London’s East End appears to be a hotbed of activity.
Total Character Points: 42 Cutthroats, purse snatchers, beggars, and on occasion,
Trappings: the strange sight of a gentleman can be seen entering the
doors and leaving a short time later hurrying away. If the
Lady Lilliamont carries a small silver Derringer, characters simply try to enter the establishment the
a gift from an eccentric aunt. mammoth form of an obese, toad-like man standing nearly
seven feet tall meets them as they enter, and he demands
Weapon Range Ammunition Damage Recoil they leave unless they have an appointment. Mr. Haber-
Double Derringer 5/10/20 2 1/2/3 0 drant doesn’t bother with bodyguards or servants. His
towering, blubbery form are intimidating enough to scare
Story Points: 12
any of the local toughs away, and his reputation for violence
As the characters are finally excused and allowed to leave keeps the better-trained bone breakers at bay.
the party they will be met at the door by the Lilliamont’s
Nothing short of a Fantastic result on a Tricky (15) Presence
butler, Harry Perkins. The characters will have noticed
+ Convince check, will allow the characters to cow Mr.
that Perkins has been helping the injured, answering police
Haberdrant, who makes his living intimidating others.
questions, and looking over Lady Lilliamont, who was
allowed to retire to a private chamber of the library while A simple bribe of a handful of pounds (three pounds per
227
 Pulp Fantastic
person who enters his establishment) will find the char- Inside the envelope, the characters discover a slip of paper
acters greeted with affection, offered a dirty, uncomfortable with an address: 1870 Nedland Way. Characters with a
chair, tea from a chipped cup, and thrice-used tea leaves. criminal or law-enforcement backgrounds will be familiar
with this area of docks. It’s an area of illicit trade, black
Mr. Haberdrant is unfamiliar with the villains behind the
marketing, drug dens, and a hotbed of criminal activity.
attack on Mr. Lilliamont, who Mr. Haberdrant expresses
The object is an auction paddle with the number 20 on it.
his best wishes towards his recovery (he seems earnest in
If the players should acquire further paddles from Haber-
his sentiments), but he wishes that the thugs be appre-
drant, the numbers will all be unique.
hended and dealt with harshly.
The characters can spend the day preparing for that night’s
An Awareness + Convince check will reveal that Mr. Hab-
auction, or they can attempt to learn further information
erdrant seems more upset about the method that the
from informants. With a successful Presence + Convince
robber used than in the robbery itself. If confronted on
check, characters with the right contacts learn that the
his demeanor, he will state simply that the flashy theatrics
underworld community is very quiet, but excited about
debase the fine art of robbery, and turn it into a circus act
the upcoming auction. A Good result allows the character
that brings about far too much attention.
to learn that every power broker in the underworld has
After just a few questions, intimidating tactics, acts of been sent a personal invitation to the underground auction.
aggression, or attempts to reason with this criminal mas- A Fantastic success allows the character to learn that an
termind he’ll abruptly begin laughing loudly. “Enough, unknown gang is making a power play, and tonight will
the address will cost you the same as it has cost everyone be the showdown between the established purveyors of
else this morning 25 pounds, hard money, no letters of crime in London and this new upstart group.
credit please.” If the characters pay, he’ll hand them a large
envelope which weighs about eight ounces, and feels as
if it contains a hand mirror. “It’s a black tie affair. Tonight.
11PM sharp. The password is: HETZEL.
Underground Auction
As the characters arrive near 1870 Nedland Way, they will
view a lot of activity as horse and carriages are being
Mr. Haberdrant maintained by well-dressed servants, the lowest street
Quote: “Sit down, and let us do business like civilized cretins obviously acting as lookouts (no roll necessary to
people.” notice), and a few hard-looking bully boys standing in
front of the warehouse doors to the auction site. The char-
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5 acters will not be allowed into the warehouse until they
have shown their paddle, in which case the biggest of the
Presence: 4 Resolve: 4 Strength: 2 door thugs gives a crooked smile showing his many broken
Skills: Convince 4, Fighting 4, Marksman 3, Subterfuge and blackened teeth. Characters who try to enter the ware-
3, Transport 2
Traits:
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait)
Empathic (Minor Good Trait)
Owed Favor (Minor Good Trait)
GAMEMASTER

Rumor Mill (Minor Good Trait)

Selfish (Minor Bad Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 65
Trappings:
Mr. Haberdrant carries a large pistol.

Weapon Range Ammunition Damage Recoil

Large Pistol 5/10/20 6-10 2/5/7 -3
Story Points: 5

228
 The Nemo Diary
house without a auction paddle will be stopped at the door characters can use the same check to character to pick
and denied entrance with a promise of physical violence out several influential members of high society.
if they do not leave immediately.
A Tricky (15) Awareness + Subterfuge check will allow the
characters to realize that a woman whose visage is com-
A successful Presence + Convince check will allow the pletely covered by a veil is none other than Lady Lilliamont
character to browbeat the door thugs into allowing them in disguise.
entrance, or allow characters with criminal or law-en-
A finely dressed man takes the podium, and blows shrilly
forcement backgrounds to use enough names associated
into a Bosun’s whistle, calling the party-goers to order.
with illicit activities to convince the thugs to allow them
entrance. “Good day…ahem…ladies and gentlemen…” he says, with
a wink at several of the most uncouth-looking creatures.
Ingenuity + Subterfuge will allow the character entrance
as (s)he hoodwinks the doorman. With an Awareness + Subterfuge roll, the characters realize
that the voice of this gentleman is that of “Robin Hood.”
Thug The man continues his introduction by explaining the
Quote: “If yer name’s not on the list, yer not getting’ in.” rules of the auction: all items will be paid for on comple-
tion of the auction. All items are paid for in cash, no
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1 exceptions. Anyone caught engaging in “the trade” while
attending the auction will be treated as a deadbeat bidder.
Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 5 Anyone who fails to immediately pay for an item they
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 2, Fighting 4, Subterfuge 2 have will be considered a deadbeat bidder, and will be
dealt with in a manner that will leave them as a truly
Traits: dead bidder. Then he brings forward the man responsi-
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait) ble for the evening’s auction. A male figure dressed
sharply in a fine, flowing robe and a full mask that covers
Tough (Minor Good Trait) everything but his eyes comes forward from behind a
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait) partition set up behind the stage. The entire mask is
covered in a copy of the eye that has been seen in the
Total Character Points: 31 cloisonné pins of the henchmen. The masked man wel-
Trappings: Cosh (Strength +2 Damage) comes his guests to this unique auction. He introduces
himself as the “All Seeing Eye,” and expresses hope that
Story Points: 5 everyone will enjoy the auction. As he begins to turn to
Once inside the warehouse, the characters will see a bright- leave, the disguised Lady Lilliamont will stand up and
ly lit, palatial interior. The finest rugs of the Orient cover point her parasol at the masked man and exclaim “For
the floors, each chair in the audience is a plush, low-backed the honour of my husband I shall see you dead, sir.” Her
affair of immense comfort, and high, glass chandeliers parasol lets out a crack as the built-in derringer unloads
cover the entire room in an elegant glow that flutters as its single bullet. Even if the players have come to her side
drafts from the door opening and closing caress the this should come as a shock. If the players stop her from
candles’ flames. A stage has been erected in front of the firing the bullet she claws furiously at them before having
audiences’ chairs, and a podium and gavel stand empty a minor breakdown until her stiff British upbringing
upon it. There are several professional-looking thugs in brings her back under control. 14
attendance, dressed smartly in tuxes, and all carrying Regardless of Lady Lilliamont’s outburst, as soon as the
truncheons; a few near the stage have firearms in hand. masked figure bangs the gavel announcing the opening
Each of these men wears the same cloisonné pin in the of the auction, two of the thugs begin to bring out an as-
shape of an eye that the servants at the library attack wore. tounding-looking cannon-like weapon, which the masked
There are no windows, the walls are all slightly rounded, man describes as one of Nemo’s greatest inventions, the
and overall gives the impression of a ship’s interior. Light Lance, and gets no further into his description as
Awareness + Ingenuity will allow a successful character the doors of the warehouse burst open and several bobbies
to realize that the interior of the warehouse has the look, begin piling in with truncheons swinging.
feel, and dimensions of an immense room aboard a ship. The auction turns into a mad house as everyone begins
The crowd is a melting pot of the criminal elements of scrambling to get out; the bobbies are pushed back outside
London and much further afield. Sadistic-looking men as a wave of London’s criminal element surges forward.
whose preferred form of communication appears to be A few bobbies manage to keep to their feet, and begin
sneers and grunts drink wine alongside fine gentlemen attempting to bring order to the madness when the hench-
of good breeding. men (use the Merry Men template from above) carrying
the Light Lance turn it on the bobbies.
Characters with a law-enforcement or criminal back-
ground can use Awareness + Knowledge to spot several
key members of the underworld, while more refined

229
 Pulp Fantastic
Light Lance Eye, he’ll smash a blinking green button on the console,
which triggers a series of small explosions.
So heavy it must be carried by two men, this immense
weapon is a primitive (but reproducible) terrestrial “The controls are now worthless, the explosives in the
version of the dreaded Martian Heat Ray. It has a spher- chandelier will set off the hydrogen in the zeppelin,
ical chamber, pierced with what appear to be several between the explosion and the wreckage everyone aboard
ventilation holes, with in a short, squat barrel protrud- and below will perish, and of course that clockwork eyesore
ing from it. It produces an ominous hum as its inner will no longer plague the skyline of London further. Let
mechanisms charge. The exquisitely beautiful, 4” wide me go, and I will stop this destruction.”
shaft of light that emerges from the barrel is nonethe- An Awareness + Subterfuge check allows a character to
less quite deadly, causing terrible, searing wounds. know the All Seeing Eye is lying.
Requires Marksman (Mounted Weapons) to use. The As the characters attempt to regain control of the ship:
weapon fires in Fully-Automatic Mode, like a Machine
Gun (page 141), and is about as accurate.

Weapon Range Ammunition Damage Recoil

Light Lance 49/98/293 10-20 10/20/30 -3
The All Seeing Eye runs behind the partition behind the
stage, lets out a hideous cackling laugh, and the entire
warehouse begins to rumble, shake, and jolt…upward.
Several people are knocked off their feet.
It will require a reflexive Coordination + Athletics check
for characters stay on their feet. Unsuccessful char-
acters are knocked down for a number of rounds
equal to how much they failed this roll by (for
example, failing by 3 = 3 rounds attempting to
get to their feet).
The stage shifts, the partition behind the
stage falls over, crashing into the podium
revealing a large wheel like that of a nau-
tical ship, as well as a massive window that
looks out upon the warehouse’s walls, but
not for long as the massive zeppelin that
has been disguised as a part of the ware-
house begins to ascend into London’s
night sky.
While the ship is rising into the air, the
characters have to deal with the Light
Lance-wielding henchmen, as well as
the other henchmen that have been
left to deal with the bobbies (one and
GAMEMASTER

a half henchmen for each character

rounded down should be sufficient
for a formidable fight). Lady Lillia-
mont will engage the thugs as best
she can while aiding the characters.
The characters should be able to over-
power the thugs in a few rounds, but
as they begin to get their bearings they
will see that the All Seeing Eye has set
his disguised zeppelin on a crash course for the Big Ben
clock tower.
The characters have to wrest the controls of the Zeppelin
from the desperate madman bent on destroying all of
those aboard. He’ll curse the characters for their inter-
ference, and promises that they will pay for their med-
dling. As the characters begin to overpower the All Seeing

230
 The Nemo Diary
A successful Ingenuity + Transport check allows a suc-
cessful character to regain some control of the zeppelin.
All Seeing Eye
A Fantastic success allows the character to narrowly miss Quote: “None are hidden from the searing gaze of the
the clock tower. All-Seeing Eye!”
If the characters can manage to reach the chandelier they Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3
will find an extensive array of wires that appear to be
hooked to multiple explosives arranged all around the Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3
ship. Skills: Convince 4, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Marksman
A Tricky (15) Ingenuity + Technology check will allow the 3, Subterfuge 3, Technology 3, Transport 3
character to defuse the explosives. Traits:
During the scuffle, the attempt to right the zeppelin, fight- Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
ing off any other henchmen the gm may wish to throw at
the characters, and the attempt to defuse the explosives, Hypnosis (Major Good Trait)
the All Seeing Eye will attempt to get away by jumping out Linguist (Minor Good Trait)
of a window or a hatch (escaping to plague the characters
at a later time if the gm wishes). However, as he attempts Minions (Major Good Trait)
to flee, a character may grab the mask (if the All Seeing Owed Favour (Major Good Trait)
Eye hasn’t already been unmasked) otherwise the mask
catches on a piece of wreckage and his face is revealed: Weird Tech (Major Good Trait)
Geoffrey George Lilliamont. A gm may wish to substitute Total Character Points: 51
another NPC as the All Seeing Eye that better fits their
campaign. Trappings:

Weapon Range Ammunition Damage Recoil

Aftermath Holdout Pistol 5/10/20 6 1/2/3 0
Story Points: 12
The surviving characters are thanked by Lady Lilliamont,
if she survived, who is in shock that her own husband was
the culprit that tried to have her killed. The Lady can
become a benefactor, ally, or contact to the characters.
The police will want an explanation, and may even arrest
the characters believing that they had something to do
with this whole thing. Lady Lilliamont may come to their
aid and manage their release. A gm who wants to lead
directly into the next adventure may have Mr. Haberdrant
arrange their release, but only if they look into a certain
matter for him.
Regardless, the characters have an enemy in the All Seeing
Eye, if he managed to escape, or the second in command 14
of this mysterious new criminal element in London.
Characters should receive 1 Experience Point for surviving
the adventure.
+1 Experience Point for saving Big Ben
+1 Experience Point for preventing the ship
from blowing up over London.
+1 Experience Point to the best role player of
the session as voted on by the players.

231
 Bibliography

References series of films based on The Destroyer series of novels.

Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
As it was a time of growth for mass media, especial printed A cult classic form 1984, this movie shows a hero and his
matter, the 1920s and 1930s were a time where much was companions in the style made famous by Doc Savage:
written, and later, much was written about. Almost any Buckaroo Banzai and his Hong Kong Cavaliers, scientists
subject on the era has a great and variety of tomes and and rock stars. They battle monsters, aliens, a mad scien-
articles covering it. Most anything a gm needs for running tist and criminals bent on conquering the world.
a game or creating ambiance can be found in print – or in
the Net. These references are by no means exhaustive, but Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile. Kathleen Turner
they are both informative and fun, or simply available. at her most beautiful and Micheal Douglas as a reluctant
(anti-)hero. Adventure and exotism galore.
Movies and TV Zone Troopers. WWII soldiers deal with an invasion from
space in the Italian theatre of operations. Hitler himself
Nothing will prepare you better for running and/or playing appears in this B-movie.
a pulp game than watching a pulp film. Bear in mind that
we didn’t select this material based solely in its quality – The Shadow. This entertaining adaptation of the radio
some of these movies are BAD! All will have some redeem- incarnation of the classic pulp hero, which does a nice job
ing quality, however, being atmosphere, plot, slang, sets, of presenting a war between two rival psychics with mes-
or production values. meric powers.
Raiders of the Lost Ark. The definitive pulp hero movie. The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Big time adventure,
This movie pits our hero against Nazis and the search for extreme fun, distilled pulpery in both movies.
the mystical Ark of the Covenant. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Laura Croft: Tomb Raider The Cradle
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Prequel to Raiders. Great of Life. Angelina Jolie plays the computer game heroine.
villains and the Temple of Doom is a truly hellish setting. Relic Hunter. A TV show focusing a modern-day treasure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Jones seeks the Holy hunter.
Grail aided by his father. Evil Nazis and a fanatical secret Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Fabulous imagery
society oppose him. in this amazing recreation of a 1940s serial in just one movie.
Doc Savage, The Man of Bronze. This first Doc Savage movie The Phantom. The comic strip hero brought to the big
was developed in 1975 by the veteran producer George Pal, screen starring Billy Zane.
who is also responsible for the War of the Worlds and The
Time Machine adaptations. Hellboy. Mike Mignola’s hero – another comic book adaptation.
King Solomon’s Mines. There are several versions of the Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Mike Mignola’s hero returning
classic H. Rider Haggard adventure novel. There are VHS for another story adaptation.
and DVD editions of the earlier versions (1937 and 1950). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Don’t watch this if
Please don’t watch the 1985 version with Richard Cham- you liked the comic. If you don’t know it, it might be enjoy-
berlain first – you won’t get the story at all. There’s also a able – heroes from Victorian novels meet up to fight villains.
2004 version.
Sahara. Another modern day adventure movie, Matthew
Allan Quartermain and the City of Gold. Sequel to King McConaughey and Penelope Cruz seek out a disappeared
Solomon’s Mines and much more visible. Quatermain Civil War ironclad. It doesn’t resemble the novel except
searches for a lost city. in basic plot and name, but it is an enjoyable way to kill a
Firewalker. Lou Gosset, Jr. and Chuck Norris are the adventur- couple of hours.
ers in this 1980s adventure film, following the dreams of a The Librarian: The Quest for the Spear. When the Spear of
beautiful girl through an imaginary South-American country. Destiny is lifted from his library, a meek librarian sets out
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. A failed start for a to ensure its safe return. To do so, however, he enlists the
Pulp Fantastic
service of a woman with exceptional martial arts skills - a detective series for another magazine under it, to be
who becomes the enforcer in the relationship. written by Lester Dent - According to the advertising, they
had persuaded the star author to write another series.
The Librarian: Return to King Soloman’s Mine. Librari-
an-turned-adventurer Flynn Carsen endeavors to find King Pseudonyms weren’t at all uncommon in the business.
Solomon’s mines. Lester Dent himself wrote stories under his own name in
the same magazine. And it was not unusual for authors
The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice. After retrieving
to have several pen names. Sometimes this was to differ-
the philosophical stone at an auction but losing his girl-
entiate works in different styles. John W. Campbell wrote
friend, the librarian Flynn Carsen has a breakdown. In this
universe-crashing, super-science space-opera under his
adventure he travels to New Orleans, meets a Vampire and
own name and poetic, visionary stories under the name
recovers the most precious gift of all time, the cup of Judas.
Don A. Stuart. Biographies, bibliographies and other ref-
erences may list authors under their real name or one or
Comics more of their pseudonyms.
Terry and the Pirates, by Milton Caniff, was one of the most
popular comic strips of the 30s. Adventures in China in
their war against invading Japan. The look is very realistic, Reprints
and the strip includes some of the more iconic characters These are usually paperback. Note that even most reprints
in the pulps: Pat Ryan, the hero adventurer; The Dragon are out of print and are hard to find, so be prepared for
Lady, slinkiest of femme fatales; Terry Lee, boy growing some leg work in second hand bookstores.
up into hero.
Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray. A very long lived comic Crimefighting/Superhero
strip, run for almost 50 years since its inception in the
The Avenger. Warner Books began reprinting the Avenger
1920s. Cliffhangers galore, Annie has some of the most
series in paperback in June of 1972, and all 24 original stories
accomplished pulp heroes as allies.
are now available. Beginning with #25, the books are not
Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond. The best of science fiction reprints, but original stories written in the mid-seventies.
comics (today it would be called science fantasy), the The reprints are fairly scarce, but the new stories (which are
landscapes, creatures and starships in this strip would live generally more far-fetched than the originals) are not too
in the imaginations of several generations. difficult to find − some used book stores have several copies.
Doc Savage. Beginning in 1964, Bantam set out to reprint
The Genre the entire series of Doc Savage stories. They began with
The Hero Pulp Index, by Robert Weinberg and Lohr McK- #1, The Man of Bronze, but broke the original order imme-
instry. A comprehensive index of the pulp magazines. diately, following it with The Thousand-Headed Man (orig-
Difficult to find, since very few were printed. inally #17), Meteor Menace (originally #13), and so on. They
reprinted nearly 100 of the stories before switching to
The Shudder Pulps, by Robert Kenneth Jones. Horror and two-in-one novels (hard to find) and finally choosing to
weird menace pulps in a global overview. do the Doc Savage Omnibus series, currently in print. Hard
Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, by Philip José Farmer. A to find.
biography of the Man of Bronze, and his sidekicks, nemesis The Shadow. There are several reprints of The Shadow
and ancestry (which include several fictional heroes). stories. However, beginning in September 1963 there were
several new stories published by Belmont Books using the
The Pulp Magazines same house name of Maxwell Grant. This Shadow does
not resemble the original pulp character. In 1969 Bantam
Although many pulp stories have been reprinted over the Books (happy with the success of their Doc Savage reprints)
years, many thousands more weren’t. Probably the only began to reprint the original Shadow stories, which was
way to find some of the stories in the magazines is to collect short lived due do poor sales. Pyramid Books reprinted
them, a hobby many find enjoyable. Some magazines may some in the 1970s, and HBJ/Jove reprinted several (with
be found for little money, especially the later pulps of the excellent Steranko cover art) beginning in the late 70s.
late 40s and the 50s, but count on paying a tidy sum for With over 300 original Shadow stories in the pulps and
early work of the most famous magazines. Still, many are many reprints out, it shouldn’t be too difficult to put to-
appearing on the internet or in CD collections from prices gether a fair collection.
ranging from nothing to very cheap.
The Spider. In 1969, Berkley Books began to reissue the
Usually, the pulp publishers made use of house names. Spider in its original order. The first two (by R.T.M. Scott)
Street & Smith, for example, used the house name Kenneth were not written in the same action-packed style as the
Robeson for Doc Savage stories, written by Lester Dent (who rest of the Spider stories (written by Norvell Page), and so
wrote the majority), Norman Danberg, Alan Hathaway or the reprint series was doomed to failure. It lasted through
William Bogert, as well as for their Avenger series written The Spider Strikes, The Wheel of Death, Wings of the Black
by Paul Ernst. It became so famous that the publisher started Death, and City of Flaming Shadows. Hard to find.
234
 Bibliography
Aviation/War Spy/Espionage
G-8. In the late 1960s Berkley Books began to reprint the Operator #5. A series of reprints from Corinth Books fol-
G-8 series. Even with terrific cover art by Jim Steranko, the lowing the adventures of Operator #5. There are eight
series failed to make it past the first three: The Bat Staffel, books: Legions of the Death Master, The Invisible Empire,
Purple Aces, and Aces of the White Death. Hard to find. The Army of the Dead, Master of Broken Men, Hosts of the
Flaming Death, Blood Reign of the Dictator, March of the
Dusty Ayres. The reprints of these pulp aviation stories
Flame Marauders and Invasion of the Yellow Warlords. A
(in which most of the world has been conquered by the
ninth book, Legions of Starvation, was announced, but
sinister Evil Eyes and his Black Invaders) began in the
never printed.
1960s by Corinth Books. It only last through five books:
Black Lightning, Crimson Doom, Purple Tornado, The Tesla Secret Agent X. Corinth also reprinted the exploits of
Raiders, and Battle Birds versus the Black Invaders, a series Secret Agent X, another master of disguise. The series
of short stories. includes The Torture Trust, Servants of the Skull, Curse of the
Mandarin’s Fan, City of the Living Dead, The Death Torch
Horror/Weird Menace Terror, Octopus of Crime, and The Sinister Scourge.

Doctor Death. Reprints of a short-lived Horror/ Weird Fu Manchu. Pyramid Books has reprinted many of the Fu
Menace/Crimefighting magazine with a villainous central Manchu stories beginning with The Insidious Doctor Fu
character, Jonathan Death paperback series (Corinth) was Manchu (originally The Mystery of Fu Manchu) in 1963. They
equally short-lived. The series includes Twelve Must Die, have gone through several printings, so they are fairly
The Grey Creatures, The Shrivelling Murderers, and a collec- easy to find. Rohmer also wrote many other books; most
tion of short stories, Stories from Doctor Death. have been reprinted in paperback and show up at the
used-book stores.
Jules de Grandin. Several of the Jules de Grandin stories (by
Seabury Quinn) were reprinted by Popular Library in the The Saint. Leslie Charteris began the chronicles of Simon
mid-seventies with a science fiction classification. Although Templar, the modern Robin Hood, in the 20s, and continued
they are horror stories, you might get some results if looking them for decades. In the 30s, the Saint frequently visited
in the science fiction department. The reprints contained America. The Saint is a classic pulp hero in many ways:
several stories (usually 5-7) and usually included the name strong, handsome, honorable, good with weapons. He is
Jules de Grandin in the title (such as The Adventures of Jules also clever; he prefers to outwit rather than outgun the
de Grandin, the first book). Easy to find. opposition. The Val Kilmer movie of the 1990s, while en-
tertaining, was not an accurate portrayal of Charteris’ Saint.
Lovecraft and Others. Perhaps the ultimate horror writer
of the age, H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous stories revolve
around Things Man Was Not Meant To Know -- the Cthulhu
Adventure/Exploration
Mythos stories. Lovecraft penned over a dozen by himself, Pellucidar. This series of stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs
and collaborated on many more. Many of his peers (August is set in the world of Pellucidar, a land in the centre of the
Derleth, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, Clark earth. gms can use it as is, or exploit it for ideas for lost
Ashton Smith and Robert Bloch, just to name a few) wrote world adventures.
stories set against the same backgrounds, providing hun-
Professor Challenger. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost
dreds of Eldritch Horrors for a horror campaign. The most
World and other Professor Challenger stories also excellent
famous Lovecraft stories are The Call of Cthulhu, The
sources of pulp ideas for exploration campaigns centered
Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, At the Moun-
around a hidden world or lost civilization. Most were re-
tains of Madness (set in Antarctica), The Shadow Out of Time
printed several years ago and can still be found second-hand. B
and The Thing on the Doorstep. All are available in anthol-
ogies. There is also an extensive collection of Lovecraft’s
letters, many of them to other pulp writers; they are a good Detective Stories
look into the world of the pulps. The Hard-Boiled Anthology, edited by Joseph T. Shaw. Shaw
Robert E. Howard wrote extensively and in many pulp was the editor of Black Mask from 1926 to 1936. He is the
genres. Because of the success of the Conan stories, almost editor most associated with the “hard-boiled” school of
anything with Howard’s name on it would sell; collections pulp detective fiction. In 1946 he put together one of the
of his westerns, boxing stories, weird menace adventures first and one of the best anthologies of that style.
and spicy stories (very mild by modern standards, but The Hard-Boiled Dicks, edited by Ron Goulart. Edited by a
considered near pornography in the 30s) have all been science fiction writer who is also a pulp historian, this
published. Suggested is the new series from Balentine anthology saves some of the more obscure detective pulp
Books such as the The Coming of Conan and The Savage writers from being forgotten.
Tales of Soloman Kane. The series Millenium Fantasy Mas-
terworks has all Conan stories in two volumes. The Hard-Boiled Detective, edited by Herbert Ruhm.
Another excellent collection of pulp tales, almost all re-
printed for the first time in years.

235
Pulp Fantastic
Carrol John Daly may have invented the hard-boiled de- the past and the weirdness of their super-hero and pulpish
tective; he was certainly one of the first to write of them. world and past. The best resource of all for campaigns in
He was the most popular writer in Black Mask and con- the contemporary world and for a mix of the not-to-dis-
tributed to several other magazines. similar worlds of super heroes and pulp.
Raymond Chandler learned to write as a pulp contributor; Hammett by Joe Gores. The most famous hard-boiled de-
most of his stories have been reprinted. tective writer stars in this book, as a hard boiled detective.
Dashiell Hammett actually worked as a detective before
taking up writing about them. His Continental Op is the
The Era
very definition of the pulp detective. He often mixed de- This section refers to historical or contemporary resourc-
tective stories with other pulp genres. es about the 1930s.
The New York Times Chronicle of American Life: From the
Science Fiction Crash to the Blitz, 1929-1939, by Cabell Phillips. Almost 600
Science Fiction of the 30s, edited by Damon Knight, has pages of stories and photographs covering all aspects of
not only a fine selection of stories but reproduces the American life during the 30s. Easy reading since it is a
original illustrations and has brief notes on the writers conglomeration of short articles on various topics.
and history of the magazines. This Fabulous Century; Volume 4, 1930-1940. A great book
Before the Golden Age, edited by Isaac Asimov. A good for consulting information on background including a
example of what Science Fiction was before John W. Camp- Depression era shopping list on p. 27 and an excellent
bell, complete with Asimov’s own notes about what it was section on gangsters and the FBI on pp. 100-113. there are
like to write science fiction for the pulps. other eras available in this collection.

The Lensman and Skylark of Space books, all by E.E. Smith, Old encyclopedias. Consulting encyclopedia sets published
Ph.D. Classic space opera, with heroes and villains much in or about the 1930s will provide the point of view of the
larger than life and superscience galore. contemporary person. The Encyclopedia Britannica is par-
ticularly useful, and editions up the middle 50s still used
mostly material from the 30s.
General Newspapers. Many libraries have newspaper collections.
The Pulps. This compilation of pulp stories from various Old news, and perhaps even more, old gossip, editorials
genres (edited by Tony Goodstone) also contains color and advertisements give the past a reality that is hard to
reproductions of several pulp covers. The scarcity (and duplicate from formal histories.
cost) of many of the old pulp stories makes this valuable
to gm and players alike. Places
There’s plenty of other stories reprinted, often in anthol- Empires in the Dust and Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations,
ogies, which are not that hard to track down. Many librar- by Robert Silverberg. Well-written histories of such ancient
ies have collections. The University of Texas at Austin, for peoples as the Babylonians, Egyptians and Aztecs.
instance, has a complete file of Adventure pulps. The
revival of critical interest in American popular literature Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels and other
has produced some good reprints, many with original books by Richard Halliburton. Halliburton was a best-sell-
illustrations; these are also more likely to be found at a ing travel writer of the 1930s. He was a real-life adventur-
college library. There are several mail-order bookstores er and explorer, and visited many of the areas described
that can provide copies at a reasonable cost. in Chapter 2. He dived into the Well at Chichen Itza,
climbed the Pyramids, trekked through Tibet and tried to
Comtemporary Pulp visit Mecca. Halliburton disappeared at sea in 1939 while
trying to sail a Chinese junk from China to America. There’s
Congo, by Michael Crichton. A group of modern-day sci- also a posthumous collection of his letters giving a unique
entists explore dark Africa in search of the Lost City of point of view of the times and peoples he met.
Zinj. Excellent as a guide to modern equipment available
to adventurers in this era. National Geographic publications. Most libraries keep
National Geographic magazine; large ones have files that
Weird Heroes, edited by Byron Priess. There are a handful extend well before the 30s. Used magazines are frequent-
of volumes in this series of “modern pulp” stories put out ly for sale at used book stores and estate sales. They were
in the mid-seventies. It contains excellent stories and printed on high-quality paper and usually have survived
artwork by many of the best science fiction writers and in good shape. Modern issues can be used for background
artists of today. Great for adventure and character ideas. when running adventures in exotic locales; there are
The Nemesis of Evil, by Lin Carter. Carter’s tribute for Doc frequent historical notes in the articles. National Geo-
Savage and other pulp heroes. graphic books (such as Lost Empires, Living Tribes detailing
Central and South American natives) are always great
Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Splendid reading and with extraordinary photographs.
comic book series about a trio of archeologists discovering
236
 Bibliography
Atlas of Ancient Archaeology, by Hawkes. An excellent
reference work for running Adventure/Exploration cam-
paigns. It locates and details archaeological sites around
the world.
Roy Chapman Andrews explored in Asia from before the
Great War, and spent part of that war as a U.S. Army In-
telligence officer in China. He led the first automobile
expedition into Mongolia in 1920. He wrote several works
of non-fiction, and two “Young Adult” novels, Quest in the
Desert and Quest for the Snow Leopard, with excellent pic-
tures of expedition life in Asia.
John W. Thomason, Jr. was a Marine Corps officer from
WWI until his death in 1944. He was also an excellent
writer and illustrator. Several of his books, especially “--
And a Few Marines” and Salt Winds and Gobi Dust, give a
picture of life at the last of the colonial era -- a literal picture
because the books are illustrated with Thomason’s own
drawings. He served in China, Haiti and Nicaragua and
set stories in all three.
John Masters was an officer of the Indian Army in the last
days of the Empire. He served as a lieutenant in the 2nd
Battalion, 4th (Prince of Wales Own) Gurkha Rifles from
the mid-30s until the early part of WWII. His autobiogra-
phy, Bugles and a Tiger, is a superb picture of that vanished
way of life. His novel Man of War shows India, England
and Spain of the 30s from the point of view of a profes-
sional soldier.
Hunter by John A. Hunter. Hunter was a professional
African hunter from before WWI until the 50s. This book
is an autobiography with a background of the wild years
of Africa.
African Rifles and Cartridges by John Taylor. Taylor was
another African professional; in his case the profession
was ivory poaching. The book is intended as a treatise on
the best guns for African game, and it is a superb one. It
is also a look at a real adventurer of the pulp era, without
any polishing. It is full of the casual racism that is so much
a part of the pulp era, and so appalling today.
F. van Wyck Mason was a popular historical novelist; he
was also a pulp writer. His novels about Hugh North, a
U.S. Army intelligence officer, started in the 30s and con- B
tinued into the 60s. Mason had traveled in Europe and
Asia and the background and detail of the novels is au-
thentic. North is both spy and detective; the detail on 30s
criminological techniques is also authentic.
John P. Marquand was a serious novelist who wrote mag-
azine stories to finance his more important work. Only
his Mr. Moto stories remain in print. Moto is a Japanese
intelligence officer who gets involved in mysterious
crimes. The backgrounds are authentic and the attitudes
of the era, without the benefit of hindsight, give a feel for
30s characters.

237
 Appendix
Pulp Archetypes

T Academic
his appendix gives you several out of the box char-
acters to use, that way you can get started right
away. These character types are the ones most com- Though not naturally adventurous, the academic is often
monly found in the pulp stories. Although the record- drawn into adventure by their overwhelming thirst for
ed stories of the pulp era focused on white males, there’s knowledge, for their hunger for the answers to the ques-
no reason for role players to assume that there aren’t tions that plague them. Living between the explorer and
untold stories of both sexes and all races.  We encourage the scientist, the academic is driven by their near-obsessive
players and GMs to use these archetypes to go beyond interest in their particular field (something dry usually,
traditional stereotypes, creating new characters to rep- like history, archeology, anthropology, linguistics or pale-
resent the goodness and heroism of many people at that ontology). Academics rarely consider the scientific or
point in history. practical application of the knowledge they uncover; for
them, the great prize is knowledge itself. Their desire for
new information can be so great that it leads them into
danger, as they disregard their own safety in pursuit of
new and fascinating data.
While rarely well-suited for travel to strange lands, and
uncomfortable outside the grounds of their university of
library, academics are nevertheless often found in the
field, accompanying explorers and relic hunters to ensure
proper rigor and procedure is followed at all times – or
just to try and ensure that the “hot heads” don’t get them-
selves into yet more trouble!
Quote: “Fascinating! The inscriptions on this jar appear
to be Etruscan, but the syntax is more like Sumerian...”

Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5

Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
Skills: Knowledge 4, Medicine 1, Science 2, Technology
2, Transport 2
Traits:
Clumsy (Minor Bad Trait)
Eccentric (Minor Bad Trait)
Friends in Academia (Minor Good Trait)
Hobby (Minor Good Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Linguist (Minor Good Trait)
Super Amalgamated (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 32
Unspent Character Points: 10
Story Points: 12
Pulp Fantastic

Air Ace Big Game Hunter

While no longer a new technology in the Pulp Era, flight In a world largely unconcerned or unaware of animal
has yet to become commonplace and to many the air ace extinctions and ecological issues, the big game hunter
personifies the spirit of the age. Flight is still seen as daring, still cuts a dash in the Pulp Era as he returns from untamed
glamorous and alluringly dangerous. Every passing year lands far beyond the reach of civilization bearing exotic
brings new advances in aircraft, new achievements and trophies and even more exotic after-dinner tales of peril
new records broken. With the Great War only a few years and excitement. He brings with him a touch of the jungle’s
past, aviators have become dashing, heroic figures, and primal savagery, a hint of danger and more than a little
their adventures are a thrilling escape from the mundane disregard for the rules of “polite” society.
problems of the day-to-day life.
Big game hunters often worked as safari guides, leading
Many of the Pulp aviators were ex-military pilots and parties of less-experienced hunters through dense jungle
veterans of the Great War against the Germans, though and across lion-haunted savannahs, or working with ex-
their adventures in the magazines were often even more plorers. In the Pulps, he was often the foil or business
bizarre than those of their comrades. For example, heroes partner of the main hero. Big game hunters were also
such as G-8 and his Battle Aces fought mad scientists, frequently depicted as villainous; greedy poachers, insen-
monsters and even supernatural menaces. The adventures sitive colonialists or deranged obsessives.
of these heroic aviators encompassed speed, travel to exotic
Quote: “Move quietly, but confidently. If we act like prey,
locations, high technology, the freedom of the air and
they’ll act like predators.”
thrilling dog-fights with merciless and deadly opponents.
There are only a handful of commercial airlines in oper- Awareness: 5 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
ation, so unless they are of independent means, most air Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4
aces will be forced into freelancing if they want to stay in
the air. Possible freelance jobs include flying for Holly- Skills: Animal Handling 2, Athletics 2, Fighting 3, Knowl-
wood, mercenary work, giving lessons, or performing edge 2, Marksman 3, Subterfuge 3, Survival 3
daredevil stunts at air shows. Traits:
Quote: “YeeeeeHAAAAAA!” Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3 Favorite Gun (Minor Good Trait)
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait)
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2, Marksman Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
2, Technology 2, Transport 3
Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait)
Traits:
Tracker (Minor Good Trait)
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Favorite Vehicle (Minor Good Trait)
Story Points: 12
Hot Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Impulsive (Minor Bad Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Quick Reflexes (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 37
Unspent Character Points: 5
Story Points: 12

240
 Appendix

Brawler Escape Artist

His whole body hurt, and Ted’s arms felt like he was trying Escape artists can break free from deadly traps and hor-
to lift soaking wet blankets. This was the big fight though, rible contraptions. The twist is that the traps belong to the
and he had to show the folks from back where he came artist. Most escape artists are consummate perfection-
from that he was as tough as they thought he was…at least ists—indeed, their profession, as well as their lives,
as tough as the palooka he’d been trading punches with. depends on executing every twist, turn, and key perfectly.
This is what it felt like to be thoroughly beaten and he
Quote: “For my next trick, I shall escape from my shack-
didn’t like it. Ted didn’t like it when he was a kid either.
les while immersed in an air-tight chest sunk in a vat of
Being raised on the streets makes you tough. Tough guys boiling acid…”
can go one of two ways on the streets: go into crime or
help others. The brawler didn’t start out to be a hero, but Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 4
when it came time to make the tough decisions and push Presence: 5 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
came to shove, he ended up on that path anyway. You never
thought that you would ever end up as anything but Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Knowledge 2, Subterfuge
another broken down palooka, but it looks like your choices 3, Technology 2
are taking you on to bigger and better things in this world. Traits:
Many Pulp heroes were brawlers or boxers, tapping into Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
the growth in popularity of boxing during the era. Boxers
were modern gladiators, manly and heroic, and boxing Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
itself was referred to as “the pugilistic art” or “the sweet Eccentric (Minor Bad Trait)
science”, valuing technique and skill over brute force.
Lucky (Minor Good Trait)
Brawlers usually have a day job that involves physical work
and a lot of exercise that helps keep them at the peak of Obsession (Minor Good Trait)
their fitness, and they often use any spare time to work Quick Reflexes (Minor Good Trait)
on improving their style, technique and endurance. A
brawler might work as a dock worker, a meat packer, cop, Resourceful Pockets (Minor Good Trait)
bouncer, soldier, sailor or mob enforcer while in training Wealthy (Minor Good Trait)
for his next fight.
Total Character Points: 40
Quote: “You gotta stay humble, kid. Remember where
you came from, ‘cause there’s always somebody tougher Unspent Character Points: 2
out there, and the way down is faster than the way up.” Story Points: 12
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 5
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Medicine 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Brave (Minor Good Trait)
Impoverished (Minor Bad Trait)
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait)
A
Owes Favor (Minor Bad Trait)
Quick Reflexes (Minor Good Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 33
Unspent Character Points: 9
Story Points: 12

241
Pulp Fantastic
Explorer Femme Fatale
The world is an exciting place and the Explorer views it Equipped with charm, beauty and brains, the femme fatale
as a huge opportunity. Explorers are the first to go any- uses her feminine wiles to achieve her goals while stealing
where from the unknown plateaus to the center of the the hearts of the men around her. Using her sex appeal to
earth, equally at home hacking their way through swel- turn men into stuttering fools, this alluring vixen is strong-
tering jungle or trekking across icy wastes. They rely on willed, confident, highly intelligent, frequently physical-
their bravery and experience to travel through the ly formidable and often utterly lethal. In an era when
unknown on all seven continents, always seeking out new women were encouraged to be little more than docile
adventures. wives and mothers, the femme fatale is anything but. She
craves adventure and excitement, and is often attempting
Explorers fall into two basic categories; sponsored and
to right a wrong done her in the past.
self-funded. Sponsored explorers are those funded by
external bodies such as scientific research societies, Usually portrayed as villainous – or at least morally am-
museums, universities and governments. Due to the high bivalent – the femme fatale nearly always gets what she
cost of transportation, equipment and qualified personal, wants, and is mistress of every situation. She is skilled at
most explorers fall into the latter category. manipulating men into doing what she wants and rarely
does her own dirty work. Though her facade is usually
Quote: “If you believe conventional wisdom, there are no
transparent to other women, she is a master at projecting
blank spots left on the map. Conventional wisdom is wrong.
an air of wounded vulnerability and innocence, making
If you want to find the blank spot, leave the map behind.”
their accusations seem petty and motivated by jealousy.
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3 Quote: “If it’s fun you’re after boy, come on over. But be
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 warned - I bite…”

Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Marksman 2, Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4

Subterfuge 3, Survival 3
Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3
Traits:
Skills: Convince 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2, Marksman
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait) 2, Subterfuge 3, Transport 2
Linguist (Minor Good Trait) Traits:
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait) Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Obsession (Minor Good Trait) Attractive (Minor Good Trait)
Sense of Direction (Minor Good Trait) Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 40 Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Unspent Character Points: 2 Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
Story Points: 12 Empathic (Minor Good Trait)
Minions (Major Good Trait)
Selfish (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 41
Unspent Character Points: 1
Story Points: 12

242
 Appendix
Gangster Gentleman Crook
Like the gentleman crook, the gangster is a criminal. Unlike For the idle rich, boredom is a constant threat. With
the gentleman crook, he’s no gentleman. nothing more serious to do than plan the next party or
the next seduction, the gentleman crook has turned to
The gangster may be a bank robber, mob enforcer or simply
crime to provide the ultimate thrill or to right some per-
a low level mook involved with the rackets (illegal gam-
ceived wrong. Motivated by a need to outsmart the oppo-
bling, bootlegging, extortion, kidnapping, fraud, etc). The
sition, the gentleman crook usually cares little for the
pulp era was highly conscious of crime. The “Ten Most
money he steals, preferring instead to focus on the style
Wanted” list turned bank robbers into national heroes of
and daring of the crime itself. Rarely does he steal from
a sort, while prohibition made bootleggers rich, and gang
those ho cannot afford the loss, and his spoils are often
wars with Tommy-guns created legends.
donated to the poor or those in need, giving him a “Robin
Quote: “Gangsters don’t ask questions, sweetheart. Gang- Hood” reputation. Many gentleman crooks prefer to steal
sters just get answers.” only from those who it is felt deserve it; criminals, corrupt
politicians or just people with appalling taste and bad
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 manners.
Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3 Some gentleman crooks operate under an assumed iden-
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 3, Fighting 2, Marksman 3, tity, while others are known but rely on their great skill to
Subterfuge 3, Transport 2 avoid being caught.

Traits: Quote: “What a charming necklace, Lady Carstairs.”

Adversary (Major Bad Trait) Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5

Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait) Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait) Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Knowledge 2, Subterfuge
3, Technology 2
Owed Favor (Minor Good Trait)
Traits:
Selfish (Minor Bad Trait)
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 37
Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Unspent Character Points: 5
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait)
Story Points: 12
Lucky (Minor Good Trait)
Obsession (Minor Bad Trait)
Wealthy (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 36
Unspent Character Points: 6
Story Points: 12

243
Pulp Fantastic
G-Man Grease Monkey
Smart, stalwart and rigidly dedicated, G-men are agents The grease monkey is a skilled engineer and mechanic
of some branch of the U.S. Government: the fbi, the Pro- with a natural affinity for technology, particularly of the
hibition Bureau, the Treasury Department, the Federal vehicular variety. With his stained overalls and battered
Bureau of Narcotics (fbn), the Immigration and Natural- toolbox, the grease monkey may often look slightly shabby
ization Service, etc. Armed with access to national re- next to the square-jawed hero types, and may have diffi-
sources and powers far beyond that of local law enforce- culty talking to anything that doesn’t have an overhead
ment, the G-Man is the sworn enemy of espionage and camshaft, but he’s the best there is at what he does, and
organized crime. what he does is fix things. Courageous, loyal and hard-work-
ing, the grease monkey is as invaluable a tool in the fight
Quote: “No sir, the fbi does not have a sense of humor
against crime as the chrome-plated .45 and the domino
that we are aware of.”
mask. He’s the one who keeps the crime-fighters esoteric
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 4 vehicles and arsenal of equipment in peak working order,
the one who coaxes a battered engine into life just long
Presence: 4 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 enough to track the gang of hijackers and who is always
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 2, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, willing to wade into a scrap armed with nothing but his
Marksman 3, Subterfuge 1, Technology 1, Transport 2 trusty over-sized wrench.

Traits: Quote: “I knew I should have brought a bigger wrench!”

Authority (Minor Good Trait) Awareness: 2 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4

Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait) Presence: 2 Resolve: 3 Strength: 2
By the Book (Minor Bad Trait) Skills: Craft 4, Fighting 2, Knowledge 2, Science 2, Tech-
nology 2, Transport 2
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Traits:
Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Attractive (Minor Good Trait)
Obligation (Major Bad Trait)
Clumsy (Minor Bad Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Dogsbody (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Favorite Tool (Minor Good Trait)
Story Points: 12
Technically Adept (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 31
Unspent Character Points: 11
Story Points: 12

244
 Appendix
Gumshoe
Hard-boiled, cynical and wisecracking, this is the down-
at-heel private detective in the tradition of Sam Spade and
Mike Hammer, a tough guy often ready to fall for the first
dame through the door. In the Pulps, the gumshoe could
be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Most of the time
he’s broke, with nothing to his name but the name on the
door of his rented office, a half-empty bottle of cheap
bourbon in his desk drawer, a filing cabinet with the details
of the case that got away, a loaded .38 in his pocket and a
rep for getting the job done. The gumshoe’s life is hard
and often grimy, but it’s never boring.
While the Pulps did feature examples of rogue private eyes
who’d branched out into blackmail, theft and even murder,
by far the majority were bound by a deeply ingrained sense
of justice and a personal code of honor.
A private detective with his own business will need to find
suitable office space and advertise. On the other hand, he
can also set his own fees. The private detective’s relation-
ship with the local police may be one of mutual respect
or complete antipathy. A private detective must usually
have a license. It gives the private detective the right to
advertise and to charge for Investigations; otherwise he
has the same powers as any private citizen.
Jungle King
The Jungle King (or Queen) is a native of Western civili-
Quote: “I woke up feeling lousy, mostly because I’d gone zation who – due to bizarre and unfortunate circumstance
to bed sober.” - was raised by animals in an isolated wilderness and has
attained a peak of physical perfection. Jungle Kings often
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 possess enhanced senses and the ability to communicate
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3 with animals. They use their heightened abilities to protect
their “kingdom” from intrusion and exploitation by the
Skills: Convince 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2, Marksman
outside world. Their adventures often bring them into the
3, Subterfuge 3, Transport 3
civilized world, where their rough and ready nobility
Traits: highlights the hypocrisy and shifting morality of modern
life.
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Quote: “N’gawa!”
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Emotional Complication (Minor Bad Trait) Awareness: 5 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3
Face in the Crowd (Minor Good Trait) Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 5

Favorite Gun (Minor Good Trait) Skills: Animal Handling 3, Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Sub-
terfuge 3, Survival 3
Friends in the Underworld (Minor Good Trait)
Traits: A
Impoverished (Minor Bad Trait)
Animal Friendship (Minor Good Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Animal Lover (Minor Bad Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Fast Runner (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 40
Keen Senses (Major Good Trait)
Unspent Character Points: 2
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Story Points: 12
Pet (Minor Good Trait)
Strange Visitor (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 39
Unspent Character Points: 3
Story Points: 12
245
Pulp Fantastic
Law Enforcer Mob Moll
The law enforcer knows there is only one real truth; where Working in partnership with the gangster, the mob moll
you have people, you have crime. And where you have is his right-hand woman. Providing brains, guidance,
crime, you have people dedicated to upholding the law support and a safe place to stay, the mob moll is frequent-
and punishing the guilty. Without the law, society breaks ly a good woman who’s simply fallen in love with the wrong
down, and the law enforcer isn’t about the let that happen. man. More often though, she is a hardened thrill-seeker;
a tough-minded, glamorous dame who gives as good as
The law enforcer could be a uniformed beat cop, a plain-
she gets. Some mob molls act as spies for their men, while
clothes detective or even a junior FBI agent. Regardless of
others are the real power behind the throne, secretly
the branch of law enforcement, it’s his job to stop crime
running a criminal empire while maintaining a facade of
and catch bad guys. While he’s dedicated to the ideals of
innocence.
justice, he follows the Law, even when the two come into
conflict. The law enforcer has access to official resources Quote: “Fill ‘em full of lead, boys!”
and powers that the ordinary citizen does not, but these
come with responsibilities and obligations. While the law Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
enforcer can makes arrests, search premises and even use Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3
force when necessary, all these things must be done right
and with just cause, or the higher authorities will come Skills: Convince 3, Fighting 2, Knowledge 2, Marksman
down on the law enforcer hard. 3, Subterfuge 3, Transport 2

Law enforcers are often calloused and cynical from a Traits:

lifetime of seeing people at their worst, but in the Pulp Era Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
the best of them retain their faith in the essential decency
of people. Attractive (Minor Good Trait)

Quote: “Son, you’re already in a mess o’trouble. Put down Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
the gun and don’t make it worse.” Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 Minions (Major Good Trait)
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 Selfish (Minor Bad Trait)
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 3, Fighting 3, Marksman 3, Total Character Points: 37
Subterfuge 3, Transport 2
Unspent Character Points: 5
Traits:
Story Points: 12
Authority (Minor Good Trait)
By the Book (Minor Bad Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Good Trait)
Friends in Law Enforcement (Minor Good
Trait)
Obligation (Minor Bad Trait)
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 32
Unspent Character Points: 10
Story Points: 12

246
 Appendix
Martial Artist “normal” men who use their abilities at stealth and disguise
to terrify the cowardly and superstitious criminals that
The martial artist hails from the mysterious eastern realm they face, giving them a superhuman edge over their much
known as Asia (see Mystic East for more details on the more numerous opponents.
Asian continent), and is a student of one or more martial
Crime in the Pulp Era was often brutal, and brutal methods
arts disciplines. To the martial artist, these disciplines
were sometimes necessary to fight it. A vigilante who
represent more than self-defense and combat expertise.
deals with criminals too powerful or strange for the police,
The training includes a profound philosophy that teaches
the masked avenger is a weird figure who uses terror,
restraint and humility. Martial artists work to master their
darkness and (usually) blazing twin .45’s to deliver justice
mind as well as their body, attuning both to work in
and hot lead to the guilty. While a predecessor of the su-
harmony through the techniques they have learned.
per-hero, the masked avenger’s costume usually consists
Martial artists might develop their combat skills and phi-
of a dark suit, a trench coat or cape, a fedora and a domino
losophy to aid a career as an agent or a law enforcer, or
mask or concealing bandana, though more outlandish
might become an independent operative whose entire
and garish costumes have been known.
person is a weapon. No matter what career they choose
to pursue, martial artists possesses confidence, commit- Due to their lethal methods, masked avengers were often as
ment, and the means to get the job done. persecuted by the police as they were hated by the under-
world, hence the need for a secret identity. Masked avengers
Quote: “If you know your enemy, but not yourself, you
often faced gangsters and mad scientists, but their investi-
will always be defeated.”
gations frequently led them into conflict with stranger and
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 3 darker adversaries, such as vampires, ghouls and black ma-
gicians. While most masked avengers used theatrical tricks
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 and special effects to terrify their opponents, some used
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Marksman 2, Subterfuge 3 psychic gifts and mesmerism to achieve their aims.
Traits: While some masked avengers are motivated by tragedy,
the majority are simply trying to do the right thing. Many
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait) are wealthy young men (very rarely women) who have
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait) decided to put their natural gifts and extensive resources
to the service of justice – as opposed to the Law. The masked
Enlightened (Special Good Trait) avenger is a staple of the Pulp genre. Examples include
Fresh Meat (Minor Bad Trait) the Shadow, the Spider and the Black Bat.
Indomitable (Major Good Trait) Quote: “Crime does not pay!” blam! blam! blam!
Martial Artist (Major Good Trait) Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
Quick Reflexes (Minor Good Trait) Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Marksman 3,
Subterfuge 3, Technology 2, Transport 2
Total Character Points: 38
Traits:
Unspent Character Points: 4
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Story Points: 12
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Masked Avenger Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Trait)
The laughter lilted softly through the wet, dark alley. “Crusher” Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait) A
Kreel had run into a dead end, and had just realized it. He drew
his gun, more out of fear than out of any desire to use it. The Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
quiet voice of Smoke filled the darkness and the alley. It was Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait)
a voice filled with menace. “Those guns are useless, Kreel. You
know that you can’t shoot Smoke.” Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)

Kreel fell to his knees and dropped his gun as the laughter Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
again filled the alley. Obsession (Minor Bad Treat)
The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, and the masked Psychic (Special Good Trait)
avenger intends to ensure it tastes very bitter indeed.
While some characters thrive on their Reputation, on Wealthy (Minor Good Trait)
being known, the masked avenger thrives on being Total Character Points: 42
unknown. His weapons are rumor and superstition, his
cloak secrecy. The masked avenger represents those Story Points: 12

247
Pulp Fantastic
Mystic Mystery Man
To the mystic there is no such thing as magic, there are Grant could never get used to the view from up on top of
only occult sciences and technologies of the mind that his building…looking out over the city, his city, he could
man has yet to master. The mystic has delved deep in areas almost fool himself into thinking that it was clean…
shrouded in darkness and ignorance, be they the secrets
Somewhere between the Masked Avenger and the yet to
of lost Atlantis, ancient Tibetan meditations, the true
emerge super-hero is the Mystery Man (and Mystery
power of mathematics, the power of the Chi, or the correct
Woman). From out of the shadowed back alleys, and the
pronunciation and power of a handful of the true names
rain slick rooftops, comes the Mystery Man. Unlike the
of God. The weight of this knowledge separates mystics
Masked Avenger, who prefers to remain in the shadows
from their fellow man, and they keep their secrets close.
and have his existence known only to the criminals he
Mystics tread the fine line between scholar and scientist, haunts, the Mystery Man understands how publicity and
with the occult and the unknown as their specialty. Many public knowledge can be important tools in the battle
mystics operate as “ghost breakers”, using their genuine against crime.
arcane skills to uncover frauds and hoaxes. Others such
The Mystery Man wears a (very often brightly colored)
as Thomas Carnacki, Anton Zarnak and Jules De Grandin,
costume. Unlike the Masked Avenger, he prefers to use
use a blend of arcane science and psychic mastery to over-
his fists rather than hot lead to dispense justice. He is the
come genuine intrusions of the unknown into the every-
prototype of the superhero, and his costume is as much a
day world. Some mystics operate as supernatural detec-
uniform to him as is a policeman’s. While most Masked
tives, using their special gifts to solve both mundane and
Avengers avoid the limelight, the Mystery Man embraces
arcane mysteries.
the attention, using it as a tool in his campaign against
Quote: “The aetheric vibrations are very strong. There’s crime. Public awareness and support can often be as valu-
been a manifestation here.” able as the fear of criminals.

Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 Quote: “Stand back, I’m here to help.”

Presence: 3 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3 Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4

Skills: Convince 3, Knowledge 4, Science 3, Subterfuge 3 Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4
Traits: Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Medicine 2, Subterfuge 3
Adversary (Major Bad Trait) Traits:
Clairvoyance (Special Good Trait) Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait) Brave (Minor Good Trait)
Eccentric (Minor Bad Trait) Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Enlightened (Special Good Trait) Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait)
Good Samaritan (Minor Bad Trait) Dependents (Minor Bad Trait)
Hypnosis (Minor Good Trait) Fast Healing (Major Good Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait) Obsession (Minor Bad Trait)
Psychic (Special Good Trait) Quick Reflexes (Minor Good Trait)
Psychic Training (Minor Good Trait) Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Telepathy (Special Good Trait) Total Character Points: 33
Total Character Points: 36 Unspent Character Points: 9
Unspent Character Points: 6 Story Points: 12
Story Points: 12

248
 Appendix
News Hound Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3
The news hound is an agent of a major newspaper. He is Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3
a high-caliber journalist and regards his calling as more Skills: Convince 3, Craft 3, Knowledge 3, Subterfuge 3
of a religion than a job. He sees it as his duty to locate a
story and report it to the people, as long as his editors Traits:
believe it will sell papers. The people have a right to know, Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
and the news hound is the one to tell them.
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
The news hound goes where the story is, wherever that
story make take them. News hounds sometimes travel Empathic (Minor Good Trait)
with camera crews and other groups, but those are rare. Face in the Crowd (Minor Good Trait)
There are far more undercover journalists, writers, and
news hounds traveling around behind the scenes than Friends in the Press (Minor Good Trait)
anyone knows. Not all of these actually work for news Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
services. Some are researching articles, books, and other
publications. Obligation (Minor Bad Trait)

In the end, though, journalists are all good at one thing Owes Favor (Minor Bad Trait)
and one thing in particular - digging for secrets. To find Total Character Points: 32
out what they need to know, they will often do or say
anything at all. They do have their own level of integrity, Unspent Character Points: 10
however. In pursuing their knowledge, all good news Story Points: 12
hounds instinctively obey the following rules:
• Verify the Facts: Journalists never report infor-
mation as truth without verifying them first.
Something that is unverified is merely ‘alleged.’
If two or more independent sources corrobo-
rate a piece of data, that is enough to consider
it a fact. A news hound who fails to obey this
rule receives a -2 penalty on all future Convince
checks against people familiar with them.
• Protect the Source: Good news hounds never
reveal the source of their information. A news
hound who gives up his source quickly receives
a reputation as untrustworthy and finds it
much harder to get anyone to turn over infor-
mation. A news hound who does not live up to
this restriction suffers a -2 penalty to all Knowl-
edge checks from people who recognize them.
• Remain Impartial: A good journalist always
avoids making judgments about what he
learns, even if he is an eyewitness to events.
The news hound’s job is to present the news or
information strictly as it exists, without any
attempt to analyze it. If a news hound resorts A
to judging the news or telling others what to
think, he tends to make others angry and upset.
He receives a -2 penalty to all Convince checks
from anyone who knows the news hound’s
identity.
Quote: “I need to phone my editor. Pulitzer, here I come!”

249
Pulp Fantastic
Operator Personality
Only three living people in America knew that the secret The Personality is in the public’s eye by day. A movie star,
city existed underneath of Washington D.C., and even radio star (or both!), a high-profile community leader or
fewer knew as completely as Jimmy what secrets were politician, or maybe even a world-famous novelist—all
inside of it… these and more fit into the Personality advanced class.
Personalities are recognizable, have some amount of fame
Spies and Special Agents have long been a staple of Pulp
and a following, and often have the reputation and wealth
Fiction, and The Operator is the cream of the crop, the best
(or illusion thereof) to go along with the spotlight. Per-
that his country has to offer. An Operator is the type of
sonalities might simply be famous because of who they
secret agent who tends to tackle, and beat, foreign (some-
are, or may have earned her status by what they’ve done.
times very foreign) invasions of the shores of his or her
A personality could be an entertainer, a celebrity, a dilet-
country, usually single-handed. A government will often
tante, a politician, or the bored offspring of one of these
only have one person who has been elevated to the rank
public personalities.
of being an Operator (on rare occasions two) per branch
of Intelligence or Espionage organizations. Operators are Quote: “Daaarling! How simply delightful to see you!”
as rare as they are deadly.
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 4
Quote: “History may be moving pretty quickly these days,
but I know which side I’m on.” Presence: 4 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4
Skills: Convince 3, Knowledge 2, Marksman 1, Technolo-
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 gy 1, Transport 3
Presence: 4 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3
Traits:
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 2, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2,
Attractive (Minor Good Trait)
Marksman 3, Subterfuge 3, Survival 1, Transport 2
Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Traits:
Code of Conduct – Etiquette (Minor Bad Trait)
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
Authority (Minor Good Trait)
Friends in Society (Minor Good Trait)
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Hot Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Wealthy (Minor Good Trait)
Hot Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 36
Obligation (Major Bad Trait)
Unspent Character Points: 6
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Story Points: 12
Total Character Points: 42
Story Points: 12

250
 Appendix
Relic Hunter
We made our way through the tunnels at a run. I could hear
footsteps behind us, but with the echoes and dripping water,
it was impossible to tell how close they were. Suddenly, a light
at the end of the tunnel. At the exit, a long stone ladder leading
down… way down. I hate heights. -- from the journals of
malcolm gideon
Part archeologist, part researcher, part adventurer, the
relic hunter explores ancient and unknown ruins, seeking
treasures from the past, either in the form of ancient ar-
tifacts or forgotten wisdom. Relic hunters may be moti-
vated by a desire for personal fortune and glory, or by an
altruistic desire for what they find to expand the bound-
aries of knowledge and be available for all to see.
Relic hunters, while tough and independent, also work
well in teams. They’re specialists, and recognize the need
for expertise in other areas. They’re often found in
company with explorers, big game hunters and air aces.
The villainous relic hunter is another Pulp Era staple. In
this character the desire for knowledge has become an
obsession, eroding their morals and humanity as they
fight to be the first to obtain some secret treasure. These
Rocket Man
individuals are often little more than tomb robbers, holding While the air ace personifies the spirit of flight, the rocket
little respect for the cultures they encounter and caring man (or woman) is flight. It takes a very special sort of
nothing for the furthering of human understanding. As bravery to strap a small bomb to your back, but it takes a
such, they’re often found in the company of mercenaries, particular kind of lunacy to activate it and turn yourself
Femmes Fatale, Evil Masterminds and Nazis. into a human missile. Rocket men have nerves of steel,
lightning reflexes and an almost total disregard for their
Quote: “We are simply passing through history. This...
personal safety. They have a love of speed, thrills and the
this is history!”
kind of daring that makes normal people question their
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 sanity.

Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4 While many rocket men create their flight packs, most are
not scientists. Instead they are test pilots, stunt men or
Skills: Animal Handling 1, Athletics 2, Convince 1, Fight- even simply hapless bystanders who happen to be in the
ing 2, Knowledge 4, Marksman 2, Medicine 1, Science 2, right place at the right time. These rocket men tend to
Subterfuge 1, Survival 1, Transport 1 come with a grease monkey or scientist friend who main-
Traits: tains the device and keeps it operating at peak efficiency
(often with the aid of strategically placed chewing gum).
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Quote: “Ignition on and....rockets away!”
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Friends in Low Places (Minor Good Trait) Awareness: 4 Coordination: 5 Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3 A
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 2, Marksman 1, Science 1,
Linguist (Minor Good Trait)
Technology 1, Transport 3
Lucky (Minor Good Trait)
Traits:
Obsession (Minor Bad Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Quick Reflexes (Major Good Trait)
Impulsive (Minor Bad Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Quick Reflexes (Major Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Weird Tech – Rocket Pack (Major Good Trait)
Story Points: 12
Total Character Points: 36
Unspent Character Points: 6
Story Points: 12

251
Pulp Fantastic
Science Hero Scientist
The science hero is the living personification of the Pulp The scientist character excels at scientific theory and
Era’s faith in the power of science and technology to knowledge, and has the ability to apply it in the field to
improve life. In many ways, they are the future made flesh; solve problems and discover the truth of any situation. In
humanity perfected and improved by science. Science the Pulp Era, the scientist is the prophet of the coming
heroes are tougher, stronger, faster or smarter than normal age. His is the vision that will shape the would of the future,
people, though rarely all of the above. They tend to be a and bring that world into the present. More than any other
jack-of-all-trades with a broad range of skills and interests. character, the scientist is driven by curiosity, by the need
to know. Though he values his time in the laboratory, the
While science heroes are often scientists themselves, this
true scientist knows that he needs to be out in the field,
isn’t always true. Sometimes they are simply enhanced by
gathering data, observing phenomena and testing hypoth-
science, while not understanding the process themselves.
eses.
Science heroes like Doc Savage were the predecessor to
the modern superhero; paragons of physical and mental An adventurous archaeologist who’s comfortable raiding
perfection who dedicated themselves to improving the lot dank tombs and dodging ancient traps fits this category.
of humanity. So does an oceanographer willing to dive into the water
and swim with the sharks, a meteorologist who chases
Some science heroes were created by accident. Micheal
tornadoes, a military mission specialist with a scientific
Traile, nemesis of the diabolical Dr Yen Sin, gained his
background, a criminal psychologist who studies crime
ability to go without sleep due to a bungled brain operation
scenes, and a zoologist eager to hunt crocodiles and handle
and had to use periods of meditation in order to rest.
poisonous reptiles.
Quote: “The superior man does right for all, and wrong
Quote: “Huh. That’s odd. I wonder if...”
to no one.”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity: 5
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 5
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 2
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4
Skills: Craft 2, Knowledge 3, Medicine 1, Science 4, Tech-
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 2, Fighting 2, Knowledge 3,
nology 3, Transport 2
Marksman 2, Subterfuge 3, Technology 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Traits:
Friends in Science (Minor Good Trait)
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Resourceful Pockets (Minor Good Trait)
Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait)
Super Amalgamated (Minor Good Trait)
Good Samaritan (Minor Bad Trait)
Technically Adept (Minor Good Trait)
Linguist (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 38
Resourceful Pockets (Minor Good Trait)
Unspent Character Points: 4
Technically Adept (Minor Good Trait)
Story Points: 12
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Story Points: 12

252
 Appendix
Sea Dog Soldier
The sea dog is a hard-drinking, hard-living, two-fisted The Soldier is a trained warrior, as good with a gun as he
sailing man who finds his path to adventure on the high is with a knife or some other melee weapon. The Soldier
seas. Usually, the sea dog is the captain of his own rickety, might be a dedicated idealist or a profit-seeking mercenary,
run-down boat, in which he runs cargo – both legal and a recent veteran of the Great War, a hired gun or a highly
illicit - for a living. Often the sea dog doesn’t actually own skilled adventurer. In all cases, the Soldier learns how to
the boat and must answer to the owners, or perhaps he’s defeat his enemies, to complete his missions, and ulti-
just deep in hock and must stay ahead of his creditors in mately, to survive.
the hope of making one big score to pay them off. Regard-
Mercenary characters fight on behalf of their employer
less, the sea dog is a tough customer with his own sense
for as long as they are being paid. Mercenaries frequent-
of honor, and a good man to have at your back in a tight
ly find themselves dispatched to hot spots for duties their
spot. He has friends all over the world (and enemies too),
employer would rather not be associated with directly.
and can usually be relied on to find a safe harbor almost
Mercenaries may work covertly for governments, corpo-
anywhere on Earth.
rations or private individuals.
Quote: “Gimme a storm! Smooth seas make lazy sailors.”
The soldier character is a well-rounded combat expert,
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3 combining both melee and ranged weapon expertise.

Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 3 Quote: “A well-trained soldier can beat anything, except
a superior officer.”
Skills: Fighting 3, Craft 3, Knowledge 3, Survival 2, Tech-
nology 2, Transport 3 Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3
Traits: Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4
Code of Conduct (Minor Good Trait) Skills: Athletics 2, Fighting 3, Marksman 3, Medicine 1,
Subterfuge 2, Survival 3, Technology 1, Transport 2
Friends in Low Places (Minor Good Trait)
Traits:
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait)
Brave (Minor Good Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Favorite Weapon (Minor Good Trait)
Minions (Major Good Trait)
Friends in the Military (Minor Good Trait)
Owes Favor (Minor Bad Trait)
Owes Favor (Minor Bad Trait)
Sense of Direction (Minor Good Trait)
Sense of Direction (Minor Good Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Total Character Points: 42
Story Points: 12
Story Points: 12

253
Pulp Fantastic
Weird Inventor
Like the scientist and the grease monkey, the Weird In-
ventor is technically and scientifically skilled. Unlike both,
weird inventors are also inspired in a way that seemingly
allows them to see beyond the realms of the possible,
forming theories and crafting devices that apparently defy
the laws of science as they are currently understood.
Also known as the mad scientist or evil genius, the weird
inventor is a staple of the Pulps. Passionate, driven and
obsessive, they are also often jealous, irrational, vengeful
and arrogant, prone to grandiose plans and even more
grandiose speeches. While the science hero represents
the potential of science for good, the weird inventor rep-
resents its antithesis - science without conscience.
Not all weird inventors are evil, but even those that aren’t
are eccentric in some way, as if the bright flame of genius
they carry within them can’t exist in a completely normal
mind.
Quote: “They laughed at my theories, and they laughed
at me! I’ll show them! I’ll show them all! hahahahaha-
hahahaha!”

Awareness: 2 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5

Presence: 2 Resolve: 4 Strength: 2
Skills: Convince 3, Craft 4, Knowledge 3, Science 5, Tech-
nology 3
Traits:
Gadgeteer (Major Good Trait)
Eccentric (Major Bad Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Obsession (Major Bad Trait)
Technically Adept (Minor Good Trait)
Weird Tech (Major Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 36
Unspent Character Points: 6
Story Points: 12

254
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