Credits

Writing: Chris Halliday, Christopher Helton, Jonathan Nichols and Jonathan M. Thompson
Additional Development: John Snead, DM Elliot, Anna Dobritt, Stephen J. Miller,
Miller, Ramsey Lundock,
Neale Davidson, José Por􀁦 rio,
rio, Timothy Brannon, Eric Pavlat, J. Thomas Pavlat and Luke Green
Proofreading: T. R. Knight
Graphic Design, Typography
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 Por 􀁦 rio
rio
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
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.holder.
Errata and other feedback can be sent to thompsonjm@gmail.com. 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 u se 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.
 

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 Aff ecting
ecting 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
Characters?? 33 Bad Traits 52
Who’ss the Supportin
Who’ Supporting
g 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’
20’ss 83 The Air Cavalry 103
Timeline
Time line 1901 – 1939 84 Pinkerton Detective Agency 103
1901 84 Scotlan d Yard
Scotland 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 Ma󿬁a 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 & Investigati
Investigation
on 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 Attem
Attempts
pts 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 Con󿬂icts 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 Complication
Complicationss 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
Coopera ting in a Chase 127 Improvising Equipment 140
Losing a Physical Con󿬂ict: Getting Hurt 128 Weapons 141
Levels of Injury 128 Guns 141
Fighting Damage 129 Pistols 141
Marksman Damage 129 Shotguns and Ri󿬂es 143
Other Sources of Injury 130 Machine guns 143
Mental or Social Con󿬂icts 133 Sub-machine Guns 144
Bluffing & Deception 133 Beam Weapons 144
Arguments 133 Sniper Ri󿬂es 144
Getting scared 133 Telescopic Sight 145
Losing a Mental or Social Con󿬂ict 134 Other Ranged Weapons 145
Loss of Attribut
Attributes
es 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 Attribut
Attributes
es 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
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-pla
Role-playing
ying 137 TL 3: Age of Reason 153
Embracing Bad Traits 137 TL 4: Industrial Age 153
Completing Goals 137 TL 5: Space Faring/Informa
Faring/Information
tion Age 153
Accepting Plot Twists 137 TL 6: Star Faring Age 154
Helping Out 137 Purchasing Items of Lower or Higher Technology 
Technology  
Maximum Story Points 137 Level 154
Learning and Improveme
Improvement
nt 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
Buildi ng 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-󿬁eld 158 The Empire-Builder 172
Fragile 158 The Glory Hunter 172
Hungry 158  Just Plain Bad 172
Innocuous 159 Villain Archetyp
Archetypeses 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
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 Gamemaste
Gamemastering
ring 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
Mongolia n 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
Passive 200
200
Migoi
Fantastic Creatures
215
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 Aff air
air 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
Crime󿬁ghting/Superhero 234
Aviation/War 235
Horror/Weird Menace 235
Spy/Espionage 235
Adventure/Exploration 235
Detective Stories 235

Science Fiction 236

General 236
Comtemporary
Comtem porary 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 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 campaign are
like the heroes from the pulp magazines of long ago.
They let the Players be faster, stronger and smarter,
in a by-gone era where truth and justice could change the
world for the better, even if only on a smaller scale.
They are the technological knights who sweep from the
tops of their gleaming high-technology towers with their
wonders from the world of tomorrow.
tomorrow. They are the shadowy
avengers who step out of the darkness of back alleys to
strike against the criminals who are choking their city.
They are the garishly dressed masked mystery men who
use the loudness of their anonymity to work against the
forces of evil. They are the heroes of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣.
Back in the Pulp Era, the lines between those who were heroes
and those who were villains were clearly demarcated in the
stark contrast of black and white. The heroes were giants in
their world, towering over even the colossal skyscrapers going
up in the gleaming metropolis that they would safeguard.
In the chapters that follow you will 󿬁nd the rules that are
the backbone of character creation in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣.
But, these rules are only a part of the process of creating
characters. Pulp heroes are stories, modern day mythol-
ogies that re󿬂ected the time period in which they were
created, as well as amplifying that world. Those stories
should be the most important element of the character
creation process, and those stories should take precedence
over the rules. The rules of character creation should help
to simulate the stories of the character, stories yet to be
told, not limit them.
If at times 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 sounds too corny to be true,
remember this: The pulp heroes
heroes that inspire this game
were not life-sized characters when they were created in
the 1930s, and the decades have done little to make them
appear any more realistic. They were larger than life colossi
who stood astride the mighty metropolitan cities in which
they were based, while their adventures spanned the
globe…and sometimes beneath the Earth’s surface or far
into outer space. These mythic 󿬁gures were never intend-
ed to re󿬂ect their contemporar
contemporary
y world.
The pulp heroes were the last burst of those mass-pro-
duced, formula-
azines. Born 󿬁ction factories known as the pulp mag-
about the turn of the century,
century, the pulps — they
took their name from the inexpensive paper on which
they originally
originally were printed — were usually of suspect
literary quality, but besides in󿬂aming the imaginations
of millions of readers, the magazines provided a 󿬁 nancial
foothold for numerous writers who went on to create
stories and books that are the great works that the pulps
were (for the most part) not.
Ray Bradbury, Max Brand, Jack London,
London, Sinclair Lewis,
Stephen Crane, H.P. Lovecraft, Walter Gibson, Lester Dent
— the list of writers whose works appeared in the pulps
is long. The list of styles and genres that 󿬂our
ourished
ished in
those magazines is just as long, they promised
promised fantastic
fantasy and thrilling thrillers:
thrillers: from the whodunnit to the
horror story, from the Wild West to the moons of Mars,
the pulps helped establish science 󿬁ction and fantasy in
the literary experience of the early 20th Century.
The pulp publishers were in it, of course, for the money
(some things never
never change). Fortunes 󿬂owed from the
promises of the sensational and the sleazy. With literally
hundreds of competitors
competitors on the news-stands, the publish-
ers constantly searched for the type of story that would
sell. And, in the 1930s, they struck gold with tales of
modern knights battling evil —the tales that provided
provided the
fodder for 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣.
The publishers could hardly help but notice that their
largest-selling issues were ones featuring heroes — or
villains — familiar to their audience, main characters
char acters
developed in earlier editions. From that formula, it was a
short alley-vault
alley-vault to continuing series based upon the daring
exploits of a Pulp hero. And it is the exploits of the hero
that 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 and almost all other 󰁲󰁰󰁧󰁳 are
in󿬂uenced by.
The 󿬁rst of these pulp heroes was The Shadow;
Shadow; the nemesis
of the night, born from the runaway typewriter of Walter
Gibson in the early 1930s. The pulp business
bus iness was no more
imaginative then than television or Hollywood is today;
soon, a host of heroes was spawned to capitalize on the
success of The Shadow, from The Spider and The Octopus
to Doc Savage and countless others.
 !"## $ &'
 !" & ' ()
( ) *+ ,#
,#-- $#
$#'' $&
$&./
./
Well, that is an easy answer. It is an alternate history set
during what was called the “pulp era,” or the period in
history existing between the wars. This game is designed
to emulate the adventure stories from that period, this
also includes radio dramas and modern movies set in the
period.
 

Pulp Fantastic

 !"
 !"#$0' # 12*34+*#5&-6 7#83/ ;2< 92 ='3 9"&' :22>
You’re probably familiar with computer role-playing The 󿬁rst 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 di ff erence.
erence. 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,
      P Gamemaster – and that changes everything. uncovering the secret history of mankind? Are they the
agents of a reclusive millionaire,
millionaire, searching for the secret
      U Instead of being limited to what the game allows you to
      T of eternal youth? Are they a band of bored war-buddies,
      E do,
needyou canpast
to get do anything
a guardedyou can
door. A imagine.
computerLet’s
game say you
might putting their battle-forged skills to use promoting truth
      S and justice? Are they relic hunters in the employ of a major
only give you the option of 󿬁ghting 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 󰁧󰁭) describes the world, the players
on page 36.
decide what they want to do, and then the 󰁧󰁭 decides
whether or not they succeed. Next, there’s the rules section. This covers everything
hazardous and nasty that your characters might come
across – what happens when you try to shoot a gangster
gangster,,
9"3 :#'&.' what happens when the gangster tries
tri es to shoot you, sneak-
ing around, investigating mysteries and gaining new skill
Firstly, you need a few friends to play the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳-
and traits.
󰁴󰁩󰁣
 rpg.
of you One
will be of
theyou will beThe
players. thegame
Gamemaster, andasthe
works with fewrest
as The Gazeteer describes the world of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣,
two people (one 󰁧󰁭, one player), but it’s best with 3-5 and players are encouraged to read that to help immerse
players. (By the way,
way, if you haven’t decided
d ecided who’
w ho’ss going to themselves in the Pulp Era. The Organizations section
be the 󰁧󰁭, 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.
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 – 󰁴󰁨󰁥 󰁢󰁡󰁳󰁩󰁣󰁳) work, and how to make characters (chapter along with a sample adventure to get you started, and the
2 – 󰁧󰁥󰁮󰁥󰁳󰁩󰁳). latter describes the many notable individuals the charac-
ters may encounter.
Thirdly,, you’ll need a few dice (the normal,
Thirdly norma l, 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 󰁧󰁭’󰁳 
whether or not your character succeeds. Let’s
L et’s say you
you want section and the Pulp Archetypes chapter – if you spoil the
to scramble over a fence to escape
esca pe the gang of thugs
thu gs 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,
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 󰁧󰁭, you make
it over the fence in time. If you roll badly... well, looks like
(*#5&-6 $"3 7#83
7 #83
you’ve a 󿬁ght on your hands, unless you spend a Story 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 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 󰁴󰁶 
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
you’ll
’ll 󿬁ght 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

󰁮󰁥󰁷 󰁹󰁯󰁲󰁫 󰁣󰁩󰁴󰁹, 1937
T
he stake sank into the crumbled wall with a shunk
and Veronica Pentecost sent the vampire back to Hell.
As the last pockets of air wheezed out of the skeletal
remains of the undead thing of the night, Veronica lit a
cigarette and blew
b lew smoke into the fanged skull
sk ull of her prey.
Her client would be pleased. Satis 󿬁ed with her victory,
Veronica pulled her trench coat around herself and turned
to exit the abandoned Brownston
B rownstone.
e.
But before the detective could even reach the doorway, a
most terri󿬁c upheaval of the earth occurred! Debris fell
from the ceiling and came crashing to the 󿬂oor. The walls
buckled
to and began
be trappedb egan to give way as well. Veronica
in seconds! Veronica was going
Or rather she would have been, had she not vaulted through
the doorway and into the street. It was perhaps not the
safest of moves, but a resident of New York seldom is
taught earthquake safety. And indeed that is exactly what
appeared to be happening that very day in the nation’s
largest city: an earthquake.
Asphalt streets were cracked and split open, building
foundations had slouched and dozens wandered in the
dust-󿬁lled air of the aftermath. As the tremors subsided,
󿬁re trucks and 󰁮󰁹󰁰󰁤 arrived on the scene, eager to put out
the blazes instigated by broken gas mains and fallen 󿬂am-
mable materials. Residents turned out to help one another
out from under the rubble and to rush those who were
wounded to waiting ambulances.
In still other pockets of the neighborhood, plumbing had
ruptured, spewing forth water and lowering the water
pressure to a dangerously low level, a hazardous develop-
ment for the 󿬁remen.
What could have caused such a disaster to occur in this
part of the world?
world ? Veronica did not know,
know, but as her wrist-
watch began to blink red, she knew that she would be on
 journey towards
towards the answer
answer soon.
Hours later in the midtown Manhattan penthouse of mil-
lionaire philanthropist Sterling Westinghouse, Veronica
Pentecost brought her sleek and silky form to what would
otherwise be an all-boys club.
And what a posh and expensive tree house that this boys
club held their meetings in. Overlooking the city and out
onto the Atlantic Ocean, the penthouse was furnished
with every modern convenience conceivable
conceivable (the largest
PULP!
By Jonathan Nichols
television set that Veronica had ever seen was placed in
the lounge area near the bar. She thought momentarily
that she might get to see “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but then
realized that it most likely
li kely would not air due to the tragedy
and the moderate damage sustained by the show’s studio
theatre) as well as many a strange and ancient archeolog-
ical relic.
As was instinctive to the detective, Veronica automatical-
ly surveyed the penthouse in a 󿬂ash, 󿬁nding it full of the
usual suspects:
Dr. Washington “Wash” Stuttz, archeologist and worldwide
adventurer. He was a man’s man if there ever was one.
Perhaps that is why Veronica disliked him so.
Chase Danner, former agent of the O.S.S. Although he was
a skilled pilot and renowned man of action, Chase was yet
to turn thirty and still had a brash and impulsive nature.
Perhaps that was why Veronica was so drawn to him.
Dr. Campbell Fleming, theoretical physicist and inventor.
With a balding head surrounded by long, white wisps of
hair, “The Doc” as he was known looked every bit the part
of the prototypical mad scientist. Perhaps that is why he
disturbed Veronica so.
And 󿬁nally there was Sterling Westinghouse, millionaire
Wall Street man and philanthropist (how rare those two titles
were seen together). Whenever the world was in danger,
Westinghouse would call upon Veronica and the three men
mentioned previously. Together, they would confront the
threat and always they would emerge victorious. Perhaps
that is what gave Veronica hope when all seemed lost.
“Ms. Pentecost,” Sterling Westinghouse said as he ap-
proached her in one of his custom-tailored suits. He took
Veronica’s hand and lightly kissed it. “We were worried.
When you hadn’t arrived we feared you to be a casualty
of the quake.”
“As you might imagine, it’s nearly impossible to make it
across the city right now,” Veronica explained.
“I’ve had a late supper brought up and placed on the bar.
If you’d care for any food or drink, please feel free.”
“Rather get straight to work if you don’t mind,” Veronica
said while taking a seat dangerously close to Chase.
“Very well. Obviously, New York City has su ff ered
ered a terri-
ble natural disaster this day,” Sterling said, taking center
stage as it were on a rise overlooking the lounge.

Pulp Fantastic
“But how?” Wash protested.
protested. “The city isn’t anywhere near
a fault line?”
“Precisely, muchacho!” bellowed Dr. Fleming while his
body quivered with nervous twitches and jerks of excite-
ment. “Something is indeed rotten in the Big Apple and
it’s not the garbage scows!”
“It is beginning to look conspicuously as if this disaster
was not natural in any respect. For as you might not be
      P aware, Moscow,
Moscow, London, and Paris have all
a ll suff ered
ered similar
      U fates this day.
day. Someone is orchestrating
orche strating these earthquakes
ea rthquakes
      T
      E and I have been authorized
author ized to put an end to them. Doctor?”
      S With that, Doctor Fleming stood up and snorted. He then
motioned for the others to follow him as he walked away
from the lounge. They proceeded to follow him to an open
area of the hardwood 󿬂oor where some sort of mechanical
device stood. It was replete with tubes, wires, coils, and
components hitherto unseen before by anyone in the room
save for Jonathan. Excitedly, Doctor Fleming rubbed his
hands together and then 󿬂ipped a switch.
“Walla rutabaga!” the eccentric old man exclaimed as the
electric device buzzed to life.
“It’s a doozy, Doc,” Chase said with a whistle. “What is it?”
“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 scienti󿬁c community as well. Behold
my fantastic device! The siesmo-locater!” Dr. Fleming said,
pressing another button and causing his device to utter a
series of beeping noises.
“Congratulations, Doc,” Wash grunted. “You’ve invented
the seismograph…an instrument that’s been around for
years.”
“Oh no…” Dr. Fleming said with all seriousness. “This is
far beyond any seismograph. It is meant to trace energy
and force of an entirely di ff erent
erent order.”
“You were correct earlier, Dr. Stuttz,” Westinghouse inter-
rupted. “Each of today’s catastrophic earthquakes occurred
in proximity to no known geological fault lines. Therefore,
they would have to be caused by a construct
constru ct made by man
that emanates powerful waves of force.”
“Force that I have called ‘epsilon waves.’ And now for the
󿬁rst time, you are about to witness my device track these
epsilon waves to their point of origin,” Dr. Fleming said
excitedly.
Without another word, his machine clicked and whirred
and beeped in rapid succession. Within the center of the
device was a globe of the world, a globe that turned slowl
slowlyy
as a metal pointer dragged across the surface.
“It’s moving…it’s moving…” Fleming said with bated breath,
b reath,
anxiously awaiting
awaiting the discovery of the location.
The metal needle drew a slow but deliberate line from
New York City across the Atlantic Ocean, over the coast
of North Africa, and 󿬁nally came to rest in the center of
the nation known as Egypt.
14
“I will telephone the airport and have your plane fuelled
and furnished,”
furnished ,” Westinghouse
Westinghouse announced.
ann ounced. “You will leave
presently for the sands of Egypt.”
“Hot dog!” Chase slapped his hands on the machine,
causing no small amount of consternation from Fleming.
“I’ve been achin’ something awful to get back into the
skies, Daddy-O!”
“Pack few personal eff ects,
ects, but make absolutely certain
that you have your wrist communicators. Dr. Fleming and
I will remain in constant contact with you,” ordered West-
inghouse. “With you lies the hope of humanity, democra-
cy, and most importantly…America itself! Godspeed!”
Moments later, a C-47 lifted off  from
 from a municipal airport
on Long Island. Chase
C hase Danner, one of the world’s top pilots,
sat smiling in the captain’s seat as he nudged the plane
higher and higher into the sky.
But perhaps he would not have been smiling so had he
seen the mysterious man in the gray suit who stood at the
airport, watching their every move before going to make
a phone call…a call uttered entirely in German.
CAN OUR BAND OF HEROES LOCATE AND STOP THE SOURCE
OF THESE EARTHQUAKES BEFORE IT’S
IT ’S TOO LATE?? AND WHAT
OF THE MYSTERIOUS MAN IN GRAY FROM THE AIRPORT?
󰁣󰁡󰁩󰁲󰁯, 󰁥󰁧󰁹󰁰󰁴
The wailing of street vendors and beggars assaulted the
eardrums of the three as they made
mad e their way through the
marketplace. To Veronica Pentecost, the entire display felt
dirty and untouchable as she continuously yanked her
󿬂owing robes away from grabbing hands.
“Want to explain to me again why the hell I have to wear
this again?” Veronica
Veronica cursed from behind her veil.
“Because doll, that’s how women are supposed to dress
round these parts.” Washington
Washington Stuttz explained. “Me and
Chase here just look like a couple of white men. But if the
locals got a good look at your gams, we’d be in the soup
for sure.”
“How many times have you been here, Stuttz?” Veronica
asked as she squeezed herself between denizens of the
densely packed bazaar.
“I’m an archeologist,” Wash said blithely.
blithely. “Can’t really call
cal l
yourself that until you’ve been on at least a couple of digs
in Egypt, toots.”
Veronica Pentecost took hold of Wash by the shoulder and
spun him around to face her glare.
“One day you’re going to call me ‘toots’ or ‘doll’…and the
next words out of your mouth will be ‘my crotch! She
stabbed me in my crotch!’” threatened Veronica.
“That’s right,” Wash replied with a dirty smile. “I like ‘em
rough!”
Mercifully, Chase arrived in their midst and broke the
confrontation apart. He was wearing a turban and robes.
 

󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎

“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 󿬁rst 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 󿬂oor, 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-󿬁tting 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,
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
 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 ri 󿬂e and machine gun 󿬁re,
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
 into the sea of humanity that
window and began to blazingly return 󿬁re.
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
“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 󿬁re being raked
his wrist communicator until the vision of Sterlington across the face of the hotel.
Westinghouse
Westi nghouse came into view in vivid black and white.
Meanwhile, Washington
Washington Stuttz had entered the hotel lobby
“We’ve
“We’ve checked into the hotel,” Wash reported to the boss. where guests were 󿬂eeing 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
den se fog of exhaustion, Washington was who followed across his jaw, and another a pile driver to
oblivious that night to the cloaked 󿬁gures 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 un󿬁t 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 󿬂oorboard beside Wash
Wash’s
’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
T he lead would-be-assassin
window that was his 󿬁ring 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
sin ister intent,
the assassin pointed his sword downward, raised high “They’re splittin’!” Chase reported of their attackers, 󿬁ring
above the midsection of Dr. Stuttz. If performed
p erformed correctly,
correctly, off  a
 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
whomever they could and then block the way for
scour the body beneath her. “This fellow’s face is nonde-
      P script, he’s got nothing personal on his body. All I can tell
the rest. It was only because of Wash’s quick re󿬂exes that
      U he was able knock the rest of the party
par ty backward and spare
is that he smells like goat.”
      T them the fate of certain impalement. Wash then immedi-
      E “Yeah, but that’s everybody around here,” Chase said ig- ately set about to smash the crisscross of spears with his
      S norantly. “No off ense,
ense, 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 󿬁re. Some form of 󿬂ammable
“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.
󿬂oor of the antechamber ahead and lit by a torch fallen
“Should try to 󿬁nd one a little hotter.”
from the hieroglyphic-laden walls. Stuttz fell backward
“I don’t try anything,
anythin g, I just do it,”
it ,” Veronica
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 󿬂ames
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 󿬁re. 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 de 󿬂ect 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.”
󿬁nd 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-
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
󿬁re 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 󿬁nally 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
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,”
tombs,” Chase said, pointing to even have departed because an isotope of this nature can
the pyramids in the distance.
d istance. be so readily…”
“Not all the ancient Egyptians were buried in pyramids,
pyramids,”” “The earthquake device!” Veronica cut him o ff . “What

Re-Zal
sand topointed outatpolitely
join Wash before
the carved rock.waddling across the does it look like?!”
“The earthquake device?” Doc Fleming repeated the ques-
“Maybe your next question will be better,” Veronica sug- tion. He then shrugged and gave Veronica
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
clea ring the entry way,”
way,” Washington
Washington
16

stretching out from it, it should be radiating a great deal
of power…can’t miss it,” Fleming explained.
“There’s nothing even close to that in here!” Veronica
screamed.
“Huh, no foolin’?” replied Fleming, perplexed.
“Might it be underground?” Evad suggested.
Then Chase pointed. In the direction
directi on of his extended 󿬁nger
was a conical wedge of metal, camou󿬂aged in the corner
of the antechamber amidst a few pottery urns. Stuttz
looked it over skeptically. Could Chase reach it through
the 󿬂ames? As he looked around at the burning room,
Wash decided that Chase Danner would have to and tossed
a heavy cloth bag to him.
“Grab it and get out!” Wash ordered and then turned to
Veronica and Evad. “The rest of you get out, too! I think
this 󿬁re is a self-destruct mechanism!”
As his compatriots evacuated the tomb, Chase leaped upon
the odd metal object in question. Rapidly he wrapped it
in the heavy cloth as to protect his hands from what was
now undoubtedly metal that had been heated to a most
scorching temperature.
temperature. Lifting it he felt resistance. With
time running increasingly short, Chase Danner gave the
object a mighty tug and felt it rip free. Beneath it stood
now severed electrical wires and cables…leading to where
Chase did not know.
Nor did he have time to investigate the matter. With smoke
now beginning to 󿬁ll the entire underground chamber,
Chase took two more determined leaps and bounded his
way past the ring of 󿬁re. Though 󿬂eet of feet, he was not
fast enough to prevent the 󿬂ames from licking across his
legs and igniting his pants on 󿬁re.
Finally Chase emerged on the desert surface as the 󿬁re
consumed the entire underground tomb. Immediately he
fell to the sands, rolling about in order to extinguish the
burning of his pants. Naturally, Veronica Pentecost im-
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
he unwrapped the machine that he had carried forth from
the inferno.
“You were lucky,” Veronica told him. “You could’ve
gotten yourself burned alive by charging into the
chamber that way.”
“I tell you, lady. There’s the safe way, there’s the dangerous
way…and then there’s the Chase Danner way,” Chase said
as he lit a cigarette that had mercifully not been ignited
by the 󿬂ames.
“A most tiny machine to cause such large earthquakes,”
Re-Zal Evad said aloud as he inspected the salvaged device
that was now sitting in the sands before he and Wash. At
a loss, Wash activated his wrist communicator.
“You
“You there, boss?” he asked aloud.
“I am here, Dr. Stuttz,” came Westinghouse’s voice from
󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
half a globe away
away.. It still astounded Stuttz how Doc Fleming
could arrive at such marvelous inventions.
inventions.
“Have Doc take a look at what we’ve found,” Wash said as
he pointed his wrist towards the machine so that the two
men in New York could see it for themselves. “It’s cone
shaped, kinda bent at the ends, there are wires hanging
out at the bottom from where Danner ripped it free…”
“Mazoomba! It’s not the earthquake device,” the voice of
Campbell Fleming said.
“You better be joking,” Veronica Pentecost said with no
expression.
“As near as I can tell, it’s an ampli 󿬁er…a mechanism that I
magni󿬁es the quake waves as they move outward from
their point of origin. There could be many of these hidden
all over the world,” Doc explained.
“So what is it that we do now?” Evad said, asking the
question that was now on everyone’s minds.
“We can only move on down the line,” Dr. Fleming replied
replie d
through the wrist communicator. “I’ll use the seismo-lo-
cater to run a trace.”
“It’s probably going to be a while,” Wash announced to the
others. “If you want, Veronica, maybe you can go 󿬁nd a
mirror somewhere and you can pretty up.”
“I think I’ll toss you back into the 󿬁re instead,” Veronica
replied with complete sincerity.
“I’ve got it!” Dr. Fleming’s voice mercifully declared, break-
ing the ugly silence between the bitter rivals. “Your next
stop is…Zanzibar!”
All that Dr. Fleming’s audience of four could then think
about is the hot, sandy, windy journey back to the C-47
parked at Cairo’s airport.
WHAT AWAITS OUR HEROES IN ZANZIBAR? WILL THEY EVER
 ARRIVE AT THE SOURCE OF THE TERRIBLE EARTHQUAKES?
EARTHQUAKES?
WILL VERONICA FINALLY SNAP AND JUST KILL WASH?
󰁺󰁡󰁮󰁺󰁩󰁢󰁡󰁲
Where was Washington Stuttz? That was the single ques-
tion on the collective minds of Chase Danner and Veron-
ica Pentecost as they raced through the streets of the island
of Zanzibar, the two of them again 󿬁nding themselves in
a crowded and exotic locality. Shortly after Chase landed
the plane on the island, the four of them dispersed in
search of the earthquake machine. That was 8 hours ago.
Wash had not been heard from since.
The streets were clogged with bicyclists, pedestrians, and
a handful of cars that seemed antique by American stan-
dards, and even a healthy amount of oxen driven carts
were thrown into the mix. Amidst the teaming throngs
of humanity, how could they hope to locate Stuttz…let
alone the quake device?
“Zanzibar!” Chase hissed. “I’m back in Zanzibar!”
“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.
pla ce. Dr. Stuttz already has been
bee n 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 󿬁nd it. There are a good many things in that
“You wouldn’t have been involved in a certain Soviet
      P freighter explosion from around that time, would you?”
 jungle that will have
have their way
way with him and very soon, I
      U wondered Veronica,
Veronica, again squeezing between pedestrians,
pedestri ans,
will bring the others there for the same purpose!”
      T
      E some carrying heavy loads atop their heads. “And they are unaware
un aware of your involvement?” Leermeister
      S “All I remember is how this damned humidity made me
questioned.
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.
way. Though known for his cool, smooth,
“Oh one more thing if I may ask?” Re-Zal questioned
hipster repartee,
repartee, even this spy could be left speechless by
timidly, the question bordering on ingratitude and causing
timidly,
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’dbetter 󿬁nd Wash. Hey!” Chase shouted, grabbing
“We…we’d
the table, never once removing his narrow, predator’s eyes
the shoulder of a young, bare-chested
bare-chested boy who happened
from Re-Zal. Grabbing
Grabbing the edge of the table and the table-
to
to be
thepassing by.. He displayed
by
boy, perplexingdispl
himayed an old
even photogra
photograph
further. phyou
“Have of Wash
seen
cloth, Leermeister 󿬂ipped the table over, spilling the drink
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
 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
 of the bustling
“WASH!” he screamed into the bustling crowd. “󰁷󰁡󰁳󰁨!  streets, Leermeister removed what appeared as a small
󰁷󰁨󰁥󰁲󰁥 󰁴󰁨󰁥 󰁨󰁥󰁬󰁬 󰁡󰁲󰁥 󰁹󰁯󰁵?!” 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
himself with his hat as the ceiling fans did little to reduce a slender goatee
menacingly and
back at vaguely Oriental
Leermeister from thefeatures
screen. stared
the heat in the room. He looked about tautly and nervous-
ly; worried that someone would
would see him there, even though “We have success, Your Excellency,”
Excellency,” Col. Leermeister
Leerm eister told
there were only three other people in Zanzibar at that the sinister 󿬁gure.
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 con󿬁dent 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 󿬁nding his way through a foliage-ridden jungle
as Wash, for Wash had certainly done his share of explor-
“Colonel Leermeister!”
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
“Please sir!” Re-Zal begged in a hushed tone. “Do not call  jungle, con󿬁rming the rumors that the guide had report-
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

what lie ahead. It was indeed a temple, centuries old by
Stuttz’s reckon. But by catching sight of the gleaming
metal tube that was at the temple’s center, appearing
entirely as an anachronism juxtaposed against the ancient
stonework,
stonew ork, Wash knew that his archaeological curiosities
would have to take a back seat to the dangers that the
world faced. He was, however, entirely oblivious of the
dangers that lurked just around the corner for him.
Wary of booby traps placed in the temple from ages for-
gotten, Stuttz entered the structure that was overwhelmed
by vineshim,
before andlooking
other foliage.
most The metal out
distinctly of the
ofdevice shined
place amidst
the ruins. He looked it over for a bit, studying all of its
lights, wires and panels. All told, the entire thing was no
longer than three or four barrels placed
plac ed end to end. Raising
his wrist to his mouth, he made what was to Stuttz, the
only sensible decision.
“Doc, you there?” Wash said into the communicator. “I
found the machine, but I’m a little out of my depth here.”
“Well done Washington! Well done!” Dr. Fleming exalted
from all the way in New York. “Now move over to the
bottom of the device where you’ll see a nodule protruding.
It should be the power coupling.”
Wash complied. He removed his fedora and ground himself
through the dirt until he was underneath the rear com-
partment of the technological cylinder just as if he were
about to change the oil on a car.
“What am I looking for again?” Wash asked while strug-
gling with the gizmo.
“A power coupling,” the Doc replied.
“What’s it look like?”
“A black cable.”
“Is it bigger than a bread box?”
“Of course it is! Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I don’t see anything like that.”
“Really? Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
“Pretty sure, yeah.”
“I don’t understand. Why don’t you see the power cou-
pling?”
“Look Doc, if I knew that we’d be able to skip this conver-
sation altogether.”
“Now where are you on the device again?”
“Just where you told me to go! Under the
t he gizmo where the
nodule protrudes!”
“Oh,” Fleming said with realization followed by a brief
silence. “That’s not it then. Let’s start over.”
Dr. Fleming is indeed fortunate not have been in the jungle
temple with Dr. Stuttz, as the latter would most certainly
have shown the former just where he could place the
device’s protruding nodule.
󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
In time the proper instructions were conveyed and the
machine was indeed deactivated. Wash tromped wearily
out of the ancient Zanzibarian
Zanzibarian temple and met his native
guide. Though his intellectual curiosity implored him to
return to the structure in order to study it and discern its
social and historical implications, physical exhaustion
eventually won out in the argument.
“Let’s go,” the archaeologist said to the native. “I’ve had
enough for one day.”
After they had been underway for a few moments, Stuttz
looked back and noticed that his guide was no longer
behind him, thus not ful󿬁lling the obligations of a native
I
guide. Where could he have gone?
Wash got his answer as the guide came running
ru nning out of the
dense trees, hollering in his native language. Though
Stuttz attempted to steady the man and calm him down
from hysterics, it was of no use. Instead, the native merely
pointed behind them in the direction that he had just come
running from…so that they could both watch the largest
crocodile either of them had ever seen come rising out of
the jungle!
“Oh great,” Washington sighed in exasperation.
Ominously it crawled, low to the ground and slithering
its tail. Its powerful, beak-like snout opened ever so slight-
ly and allowed a reptilian hiss to escape. In a desperate
panic, the native guide charged the croc, causing it to
open its ever-gaping maw. The guide moved swiftly to jam
his walking stick between the upper and lower jaw of the
great lizard, rendering the beast unable to bite. Infuriated
by this, the crocodile mustered all the strength in its jaw
and snapped the obfuscating walking stick as if it were a
dry twig. The native guide then proceeded
proce eded to be swallowed
whole, down into the gullet of the animal.
Stuttz did not believe the croc to be sated, despite the
human outline now in the belly of the beast. It eyed him
with eyes cold and devoid of emotion. They appeared as
two black pools, darkened voids which stared back at
Wash. The giant reptile was rattled and it knew that he
was there, making Stuttz a potential threat. Steeling
himself, Wash drew his mace and prepared for the worst.
First came its tail with a broad slash just slightly over his
head. Stuttz jumped back a good six feet, narrowly avoid-
avoid-
ing connection with the spiny appendage. The second
time around he was not so lucky. The tail swung back and
slapped into Wash’s hand with surprising force. He watched
helplessly as the mace rolled away and into the green,
bushy, undergrowth of Zanzibar. The lizard moved swiftly
towards him, mouth agape just as it had done with its
previous victim. Empty-handed combat between a Harvard
professor and a giant crocodile;
c rocodile; sounded fair to Wash.
With 󿬁ght-or-󿬂ight instincts fully in place, Washington
Stuttz leaped onto the crocodile’s head. The head was
essentially 󿬂at and made for a perfect springboard. Wash
was able to propel himself to the animal’s rear 󿬂ank in
order to grab hold of its tail. A wrestling match of evolu-
tionary proportions commenced. Reptile versus mammal.
19

Pulp Fantastic
Cold, indiff erent
erent blood versus hot, American blood.
As expected, the crocodile put up a 󿬁erce 󿬁ght. It 󿬂ipped.
It snapped. But Wash eventually was able to twist its tail
enough to render it completely upon its back. Now came
the most harrowing and treacherous part. Could he re-
member how to do it? He had seen it done once before at
the World’s Fair in New York. You pin a gator down and
then gently rub its abdomen until it falls asleep. Of course
      P this was a crocodile…and a big one at that. Still, there was
      U little choice.
      T
      E As a mother would to a child with a tummy ache, Wash-
      S ington Stuttz brushed, rubbed, smoothed, and even ca-
ressed the stomach of the croc. He fought the urge to twitch
and wretch as his hand moved over the outline of the
native guide, being slowly digested within the animal’s
stomach. Eventually, the reptile massage paid its bene 󿬁ts
and the crocodile collapsed, fast asleep.
Wash followed suit. He fell backward into the grass as a
spent shell casing on the battle󿬁eld of the wild.
Through the tropical foliage and across the 󿬂imsiest of
rope and plank board bridges, Re-Zal Evad led Danner and
Pentecost on a most precarious trail that they could
c ould only
hope would end in 󿬁nding their colleague, Dr. Stuttz.
“Hurry! Hurry!” Evad encouraged them, even as the rope
bridge began to give and buckle under their weight. “This
way!”
“And how exactly did you 󿬁nd out that he was here?”
Veronica asked as she fought to keep her footing.
“I bribed one of the local o fficials!” Re-Zal said as if he
simply wanted the line of questioning to end. “Now we
must hurry!”
The end of bridge reached, the shores of Indian Ocean
could be seen ahead with the sun setting in the distance.
As fast as his stubby legs could carry his rotund body,
Re-Zal ran to what appeared to be a log in the brush upon
which a 󿬁gure was splayed in exhaustion.
“Wash!” Chase exclaimed as soon as he recognized the
󿬁gure and then joined Re-Zal in the beach foot race.
Much to everyone’s surprise, it was not a log that Wash
was upon, but rather a sleeping African crocodile. Stuttz
was barely conscious, his mumbled and barely audible
babble were made all the more incoherent by the proxim-
ity of the jungle noises. Chase urged him to keep still and
quiet while he administered a canteen of water to him and
cautiously dragged him away from the deadly reptile.
“What the hell happened to him?” Veronica asked as she
arrived on the scene, observing Wash’s torn clothes and
bloody scrapes. “Is he going to live?”
“He will live as long as the rest of you, fraulein, which I’m
afraid is not very long,” came a sneering voice on the beach
behind them.
Veronica spun on her feet, her handgun drawn and at the
ready,, only to 󿬁nd that they were surrounded by soldiers
ready
holding ri󿬂es who were dressed in entirely gray uniforms
19
and bearing the red and black emblem of the swastika
upon their lapels. On their backs were metal gizmos the
likes of which neither Veronica nor Chase had ever seen
before. Standing amidst these troops was a triumphant
Col. Leermeister, smiling like a 󿬁sherman who had just
caught a prize trout. Bitterly resigned, both Chase and
Veronica raised their hands in surrender as the barrels of
each ri󿬂e pointed towards them.
“My name is Leermeister and I am Colonel in the Fourth
Reich. I have pursued you halfway across the globe, mein
fruends.“You
calmly. At last,
haveI done
may well,
stop Evad.”
chasing,” Leermeister said
With that Re-Zal Evad took his place at Leermeister’s
Leermei ster’s side,
stunning the ones who were once in his charge.
“Money is in my account now, yes?” Evad asked. Col. Leer-
meister nodded affirmatively.
“There’s two things in the world I hate, Daddy-O,” Chase
said to Re-Zal. “Nazis and traitors…and
traitors…an d you gone and done
did both of ‘em.”
“Enough!” the Colonel hushed. “It is time for us to depart.”
Having said that, Col. Leermeister removed a 󿬂ashlight
from his belt and pointed it into the darkening sky. After
󿬂ashing as series of timed pulses from the hand-held light
into the sky,
sky, a response of
o f similar 󿬂ashing occurred. Then
came a low, rumbling sound, as if the sky were about to
become 󿬁lled with large airplanes. But no such thing
occurred. Instead, a large blimp came into view over-
head…a blimp that bore the swastika emblazoned upon
its canvas side.
“Come!” Leermeister barked. “We depart for New Berlin!”
Ber lin!”
Despite Veronica’s obvious repulsion to their hands, the
soldiers took hold of her and Chase and Wash, just before
demonstrating that the contraptions on their backs were
in reality rocket packs that would hoist them into the air
and into the gondola of the Nazi Zeppelin. Where they
would go to from there…none could say.
󰁮󰁥󰁷 󰁹󰁯󰁲󰁫 󰁣󰁩󰁴󰁹
“Dr. Fleming!” Westinghouse said sharply as he entered
the wood-paneled room that had once been another study
of his but was now an impromptu laboratory for Dr. Camp-
bell Fleming, who was waving his hands defensively in
response to his name being called.
“Not now, Westy!” Fleming pleaded in a manner resem-
bling an epileptic seizure. “I’m up to my ass in alligators!”
With that, Jonathan returned his full attention to the
tuning knob of one of his devices.
“As is the rest of the world, Doctor. I’ve just received word
that Bombay
Bombay,
quake. What, India
is thehas justof
status b een
been
ourtoppled by a severe
adventurers?”
adventurer ea rth-
earth-
s?” Westing-
house asked.
“That’ss just it!” Fleming explained. “I don’t know! Maybe
“That’
they’re alive…maybe they’ve
th ey’ve met an ill-fate.
i ll-fate. I don’t know…
know…
 20
because I can no longer get into contact with their wrist
communicators!”
Sterling Westinghouse paused brie󿬂y and allowed his gaze
to drift while he mentally measured what his chief scien-
tist had just told him. If the expedition of the three was
indeed lost, then whoever was responsible for these in-
sidious earthquakes had already won.
“You may have just written the world’s epitaph, Dr.
Fleming,” Westinghouse said somberly.
HOW LONG CAN THE WORLD HOLD OUT AGAINST THE EARTH-
QUAKE DEVICE? WHAT WILL BE THE FATE OF OUR CAPTURED
HEROES? HAVE THE NAZIS RISEN FROM THE ASHES TO AGAIN
TORMENT THE WORLD?
󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁲󰁣󰁴󰁩󰁣󰁡
Silently and eff ortlessly,
ortlessly, the Nazi blimp glided above the
frozen wastes. Securely fastened to a chair in the gondola,
Washington Stuttz looked down at the mountains of ice
and swirling snows. Below him was the coldest continent
on earth. Temperatures were regularly well into the hun-
dreds below zero, any exposed human skin would freeze
on contact with the frigid air, and with nothing but white
in all directions, it would be so simple to become lost.
There would be no means of escape for Stuttz and his crew
this time.
“Don’t be so glum, Jack. I hear it’s nice down there, this
time of year,” came the voice of Chase Danner, the man
who was chained next to him and reading the creased
copy of On The Road that he carried with him.
“Sure…if you call over a hundred degrees below zero ‘nice,’”
Wash said with a sullen tenor.
“Sounds cold,” remarked Veronica Pentecost who was
likewise chained to a nearby chair. “We’ll just have to keep
each other warm, won’t we Chase?”
The Nazis dispersed parkas to the prisoners and soon the
blimp descended and attached itself
i tself to a gantry tower
tower born
skyward out of the snow and anchored in a metal platform.
The entire area around the tower was bustling with activ-
ity as the Germans had apparently carved an airbase out
of the ice of the Antarctic shelf. Snow crawlers and tanks
scurried about with mechanics as Leermeister brought
his captives down to the metal platform via elevator.
At the edge of the apron platform was a gaping black
mouth that formed the entrance to a cave. As the troops
plodded them along in a hurry to get out of the cold air,
Chase could see that the cave stretched deeply into the
recess of the ground. But what’s more, the cave served as
an improvisational aircraft hangar. And what aircraft it
housed! Chase’s jaw dropped as his eyes fell upon them
for never before had he seen their level of sophistication.
Some were jets shaped as batwings, others as saucers
(explaining to him the source of what people had been
calling UFO’s. Little did the world know they weren’t from
little green men, but from men more evil even than the
Commies), and others were…yes they were! They had to
󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
be! They were rocketships, on launch pads placed beneath
silo doors in the rocky ceiling and pointing towards outer
space!
“Damn,” Chase said with a long whistle. “I’d give my right
nut to 󿬂y one of those babies.”
“When exactly did your people invade Antarctica, Colonel?”
asked Veronica Pentecost as they were ushered into warmer
parts of the hangar. Technicians and mechanics still moved
about, shouting at each other in German.
“We’ve been here for a very long time, frauline,” laughed
Leermeister.
SS troopers on guard snapped to attention and raised a I
󿬂at palm upward as Leermeister approached victoriously
with the prisoners. The guards stood as aside and allowed
heavy doors to move away, revealing an entryway over
which hung a swastika-bearing 󿬂ag.
“Quite an igloo you got here, Colonel,” Wash remarked as
his eyes wandered about. “Like something out of Buck
Rogers.”
“This is all from technology invented by the Reich years
ago,” boasted Leermeister as he led them through metal-
lic hallways, dotted occasionally with electronic access
panels and glorious portraits of Hitler. “Once you had
invaded France in 1944, we knew that we were kaput in
Europe. So into U-boats went our most secret technologies,
our most brilliant scientists, and our most elite troops.
All of them brought here to the South Pole to build this
Neuschwabenland that you see here today.
“And while you stupid Americans occupied yourselves
with your ridiculous victory parades, we were building
rockets,” Leermeister said with a sly sneer. “And jet-pow-
ered aircraft that far surpass any of the ‘kites’ in your
arsenal.”
“This guy’s startin’ to bug me, Wash,” Chase said in anger
as he attempted to wriggle loose of his captors. Stuttz
cautioned him to remain as he was and allow for time to
formulate a proper escape plan.
“I think you’ll 󿬁nd that the wings of liberty haven’t lost a
feather, Herr Jack,” Stuttz bragged with all con 󿬁dence.
“America and her allies stopped you once before and we
can do it again.”
“Ja? How interesting…” the Colonel smiled menacingly as
he brought the prisoners to a halt by a closed door. “This
time, Deutschland has allies of her own…and we’ve re-
cently made an arrangement that will have most dire
consequences indeed for America.
America.””
With that, the Nazi opened the door. On the other side
was a chamber that resembled a dining room, complete
with a long and grandiose table with chairs and place
settings all around.
purple robes, At the
a bald man head
with of thegoatee
a sharp table was
andapointed
man in
ears. Slowly, the sinister being began to clap his hands…a
considerable feat given his sickeningl
sickeningly
y long 󿬁ngernails.
“Welcome, Americans,” he said with an accent that was

Pulp Fantastic
vaguely Oriental. “I am Xan, an emissary from the kingdom
of Hyperborea.”
This announcement was met with only an exchange of
dumb looks and disaff ected
ected silence from our heroes.
“Of course, I should not expect you to know of where I’m
from,” Xan said smugly.
smugly. “Please sit.
si t. Our mid-day meal
me al will
be served shortly.”
      P The Nazi troopers shoved the prisoners to their places at
      U the table. Resigned, Wash, Chase, and Veronica each sat
      T
      E down and unfolded their napkins.
      S “Hyperborea is a civilization which exists many miles
beneath the Earth’s crust,” Xan explained. “Unbeknownst
to your pitiful scholars, an entrance to this kingdom lies
below the ice of this continent. We recently encountered
Nazi scouting parties and though our rapport was tenuous
at 󿬁rst, we eventually came to 󿬁nd that we have…mutual
aspirations.”
“Namely,, world domination,” Leermeister said as he raised
“Namely
his recently 󿬁lled 󿬂ute of champagne.
As if on cue, the sound of thunder rocked the dining room
and rattled all glasses and dinner plates on the table. For
Veronica, the telltale shockwaves were far too akin to those
she had felt in New York.
“Earthquake!” she cried as she attempted to crawl under
“Earthquake!”
the table, but was denied by Nazi guards.
“No, no, silly frau,” Leermeister
Leermeister cackled. “That is a squad-
ron of our X-Jets, returning from patrol, no doubt.”
“Man, I ain’t never heard engines like those on a plane before,”
Chase marveled in awe to the sound of the Nazi jets.
“I would wager that there are a great many things here
that you have never seen before,” Xan mused.
“Yeah, like an earthquake device,” interjected Wash, at-
tempting to bring the matter to a head. “What exactly do
you hope to accomplish by bringing that kind of destruc-
tion to the world’s cities?”
“Oh certainly I have now made our goals most clear, Dr.
Stuttz,” the sinister man from beneath the earth pomp-
ously stated. “Unless the nations of the world turn total
control over to Hyperborea…and of course the Fourth
Reich…we will level every major city on the surface world
in less than two days.”
“You 󿬁end!” cursed Stuttz as he stood to vault over the
table and wring Xan’s olive-toned neck. He was impeded
however by Chase’s outstretched arm. This prompted only
laughter from Xan and Leermeister.
“A pity, this aggression of yours, Dr. Stuttz. You all could
become part of the genesis
ge nesis of the new world order,” off ered
ered
Xan with a 󿬁ngernail thoughtfully poised at his lips.
“Hey I might not be a church-going, cookie-baking, Donna
Reed kinda gal,” Veronica began, incensed. “But this girl
stands for only the good ol’ red, white, and blue!”
“No dice, square,
square,”” Chase concurred.
21
“Very well then,” a contemplative Xan replied before press-
“Very
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…
where you will await whatever form of execution
executi on we deem
most amusing.”
At that, the door to the dining hall slid open…and six killer
ki ller
penguins entered the room.
Yes! Killer penguins! Ordinary Emperor penguins of the
Antarctic now had rows of razor-sharp, piranha-like teeth
in their beaks and heavy weapons held in their modi 󿬁ed
󿬂ippers.Around their waists were belts laden with am-
munition clips and grenades. The penguin in the lead of
the formation leveled his heavy ri 󿬂e at the three captives
and opened his beak for the 󿬁rst time and spoke:
“Eep!”
After being herded and corralled by the killer penguins
into a frigid jail cell, Stuttz, Pentecost, and Danner had no
course of action but to sit and wait…and wait…and wait.
“This is driving me crazy!” Wash exclaimed as he stood
up to pace, frustration 󿬁nally getting the better of him. “I
can’t just sit here! We’ve got to do something!”
“You’re 󿬂ippin’ out, man!” Chase hollered back. “There’s
nothing we can do right now, so let’s use our marbles to
come up with a plan!” And all the while, Veronica
Veronica sat si-
lently, seemingly oblivious to their rant.
“Oh yoo-hoo!” a girly
g irly voice called from down the hallway
ha llway..
Re-Zal Evad entered the brig to stand before their cell and
taunt sadistically. His corpulent form had been squeezed
into the accoutrements of an American teenager.
“Re-Zal! You’re lucky I don’t tear through these bars and
stomp on your head while cryin’ cocka-li-doodle-lee-doo!”
Chase said with his hands 󿬁rmly planted on the steel bars
of their cell.
“Oh but sir! I was wanting to tell you that soon I leave for
America! I am going to hear live jazz for 󿬁rst time! And I
could not have done it without money gained from your
imprisonment! Shukran! Shukran!” with that, he cackled
and departed in same direction that he came.
“Oh yeah?” Chase called after him, barely able to stick his
head through the bars. “I hope your jazz show gets can-
celled…and they announce the a puppet show instead!”
“I like puppet shows,” Veronica spoke for the 󿬁rst time
since they had been forced from the dining room and into
the brig.
“Yeah? Well I like not being locked up in a cell by Nazis!”
Washington complained. “Now you want to actually con-
tribute something to our planning here, or are you going
to continued to just sit and stare like you have been?”
Without
down hersaying anything
cleavage else, Veronica
and removed placed
a lock pick her same
in the hand
manner that a magician might extricate a rabbit from a
hat. She brandished it about in the air pompously for the
men to see.
 22
“Where’d you get that?” Chase asked, surprised yet de-
lighted.
“I’m a private investigator,”
investi gator,” she replied plainly. “How else
do you think I get into buildings and rooms that I’m not
supposed to be in?”
Leaving that question to hang in the air, Veronica reached
her hands through the bars and around to the lock mech-
anism that she began to pick with all deftness and skillful
tenacity.. After what seemed like
tenacity li ke endless seconds of rattling
and clanking of metal, the lock popped and the door swung
free. Before they were trapped and desperate, now thanks
to Veronica’s crafty handling of the situation, the 󿬁ght
was again theirs to be had. Overwhelmed by enthusiasm
for this prospect, Wash took Veronica in his arms and
kissed her…before promptly dropping her.
“Sorry,” he said wiping his mouth. “Got a little excited.”
“S-seems I underestimated you, Stuttz,” stammered an
uncharacteristically doe-eyed Veronica.
“Chase, you get to a radio transmitter…or whatever kind
of Flash Gordon gizmo they have around here…and get
word to the boys back in New York. Veronica and I will
󿬁nd the earthquake device and see how we can blow it up.
Now let’s move like we’ve never moved before!”
With those 󿬁nal instructions from Washington Stuttz, the
three moved out.
Back in New York City, the experiments of one Dr. Camp-
bell Fleming were suddenly interrupted by the sound of
an incoming transmission on the radio receiver.
“Uhh, hello?” Fleming spoke into the microphone quizzi-
cally.. His reply was a voice garbled through
cally throu gh static. “Hello?
“Hel lo?
Who is this? What do you want?”
“Doc! It’s Chase!”
“Chase?” a startled Fleming hooted. “Chase Danner?”
“The one and only, Daddy-O.”
“Where in blazes have you people been? I’ve been trying
to reach you for…”
“Cut out the hubbub, bub. We’ve been Shanghaied to
Antarctica by a bunch of Nazis. They’re in cahoots with
this other strange guy who claims to be from a kingdom
inside the Earth and together they’re causin’ the quakes
with an earthquake device.”
“Great Scott!” Campbell exclaimed after slapping his fore-
head and jerking about.
“That ain’t all, Doc,” Chase cautioned. “These Nazis we got
here in the South Pole? They’re building up for an attack.
I seen a lot of military installations in my time and I should
know.. I got a look at the
know t he hangars on base and I saw they’ve
been
been building
breeding super attack
an army jets, penguins.”
of killer rocketships, and they’ve
“All right! All right!” Dr. Fleming interrupted. “Listen,
Chase? How warm is it in that base?”
“You mean other than the brig? It’s actually very warm.”
󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
“A steamy sort of warm?”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“If they’re working with the Hyperboreans, then I assume
that the Nazis must now have the ability to tap geothermic
energy sources. Listen, you must detonate the reserves of
 jet and rocket fuel that they have
have in storage. Once you do,
the heat from the blast will ignite the geothermic gases…
and that entire hall of nightmares you’re in will go up like
a second sun. If we’re lucky, the blast might even be severe
enough to shut off  the
 the tunnel entrance to Hyperborea. At
any rate, we must make certain that the Nazis not reach
into space! Just make sure that you’re all plenty far away
from there when it happens, okay, Chase? Chase?” I
“Dammit! Doc! I gotta go!”
And with that 󿬁nal, pleading statement from Chase, the
airwaves fell silent.
“Hold steady, boy! I’ll send help!” but Fleming had abso-
lutely no idea how he would make good on that promise.
“You’ve found them?” asked Westinghouse as he re-did
his cufflinks and walked into the room behind Dr. Fleming.
Rapidly, Campbell Fleming recounted everything that the
Rapidly,
secret agent man had reported to him over the radio and
watched, as the face of Sterling Westinghouse grew grimmer
by the moment. Though he momentarily raised his eyebrows
in optimism as Dr. Fleming explained the physics behind
the explosion that he had just ordered them to create, West-
West-
inghouse was still greatly troubled as to how to get his three
operatives quickly out of harm’s way.
“I will call President Truman,” a determined Westinghouse
󿬁nally announced, and then promptly turned for the tele-
phone that sat on the edge of Fleming’s cluttered desk.
“And tell him that a rapid strike
st rike force is needed in Antarc-
An tarc-
tica.”
“But Boss! Won’t he think we’ve failed in our mission?
Won’t he think…”
“Truman will think what I tell him to think!” snapped the
multi-millionaire
multi-millionaire as he picked up the phone and dialed.
Well, that’s
that’s a radio that’ll never work again, Chase thought
to himself as he looked over the shattered and smoldering
radio console with the legs of a Nazi trooper sticking out
of it. Far more serious than the state of communications
though, this trooper would eventually be missed and it
would be discovered that Chase and his compatriots had
eff ected
ected escape and were on the loose.
With those facts squarely in his mind, Chase Danner drew
upon all of his learned instincts as a special agent in order
to skulk stealthily through the corridors of the Nazi base.
Deeper and deeper into what he was sure was the recess-
es of the Earth beneath
be neath the Antarctic
An tarctic ice and snow,
snow, Chase’s
heart leaped when he came across Veronica and Wash as
they were crammed into a con󿬁ne space that overlooked
an open expanse of the building that held storage tanks
of fuel and housed generators to power the hidden Nazi
fortress.

Pulp Fantastic
“Here,” Veronica
Veronica winked before
b efore tossing a handgun to him.
“I got our guns and
an d communicators out
ou t of hoc. Got Wash’s
mace, too.”
“Cool, man, cool. But I got to the radio and chewed the fat
with the Doc. Here’s what we gotta do,” Chase began as
re-told the plan to the others.
“Theoretically sound,” Stuttz ruminated to himself. “All
we have to do is 󿬁nd a way to blow this dump without
      P getting ourselves killed in the process.”
      U bat-winged Nazi super jet. Not only did it appear large
      T
      E “Plenty
“Just getofme
planes upoftop
to any ‘eminand
the Ihangar,” Chase
can 󿬂y us out ofremarked.
here.”
      S only did it look speedy enough to carry
“Great, pretty boy. But outside of that we’re stumped,”
confessed Veronica. With no better ideas coming, the three
gave in and contacted Dr. Fleming on their wrist commu-
nicators.
“Great day in the morning!” came Dr. Fleming’s exclam-
atory expression, transmitted from thousands of miles
away. “None of you ever studied science? Oh for the love
of… Break the piping of the geothermal gases near one of
the large fuel tanks. The metal of the storage tank will
slowly rise in temperature and then ignite the liquid fuel,
causing a domino eff ect
ect throughout the area!”
And with the help of Wash’s mace, that is exactly what the
three accomplished, despite the fact that all three of them
were very nearly sent to a scalding death by the ensuing
rush of gases that came straight from the inferno that was
the Earth’s core. Veronica Pentecost shrugged o ff  the
  the
matter, claiming that dodging death was what they did
best and that the steaming gases had actually been a bene 󿬁t
to her by curling her hair. Less concerned with ladies
fashion and more with escaping the Nazi’s Antarctic lair,
the men of the three rushed for the surface to where the
aircraft…and their escape…awaited.
“Fools!” Xan cursed after the S.S. lieutenant informed him
that the cells containing Wash, Chase, and Veronica were
empty. “Find them! You have 30 minutes to do so…before
I begin to 󿬁nd new ways of motivating you and your men!”
Not wanting to waste a precious minute of that 30, the
lieutenant gave a Nazi salute and bolted out of the door.
Xan then turned to the table next to him and ran his fright-
eningly long 󿬁ngernails over the scale model of the lunar
base that was planned. On the wall behind him were bio-
logical diagrams showing the level of genetic intricacy
that went into breeding a killer penguin. Too much was
on the line. Too much stood to be accomplished and con-
quered to have it all in ruins because these insigni󿬁cant
three. Leermeister
Leermei ster stood in the corner smoking a cigarette,
seemingly without sharing these concerns of Xan’s.
“They must not be permitted to disable the earthquake
device,” Xan told Leermeister, his Hyperborean con󿬁dence
breaking.
󰁰󰁯󰁷! 󰁰󰁯󰁷! Gun󿬁re 󿬁lled the entire hangar as Nazi troop-
ers took cover behind aircraft and equipment from the
pistols of Veronica
Veronica and Chase. Rapidly they returned 󿬁re,
their stray bullets hitting a drum that contained some
23
form of 󿬂ammable material and causing a raucous explo-
sion in the main hangar.
“Keep ‘em pinned down!” Stuttz shouted. “I’m going to
secure a plane!” Chase nodded in understanding to Wash
and then went back to drawing a bead on the enemy sol-
diers.
Scurrying about and stopping to take cover behind what-
ever equipment had been left strewn about the aircraft
hangar, Wash made his way over to his plane of choice: a
enough to him to accommodate all three of them and not
c arry them safely away
form the blast, but it just looked cool as all get out. Crouch-
ing low, Wash made his play for the plane.
It was then that his head bumped into the 󿬁rmest set of
abdominal muscles he had ever seen. A large, bald Nazi
guard had emerged from behind the plane, carrying a
workmen’s wrench and batting it menacingly into his left
hand. Every muscle in the giant’s
giant’s torso rippled in a show
of pure testosterone and his face sneered in challenge to
Washington Stuttz.
That’s the biggest damned German I’ve ever seen! Stuttz
That’s
thought to himself. Oh well, no sense dragging this out
any further. With that, Stuttz thrust himself forward and
slammed into the man’s mid-section. Though tiny by
comparison, Wash was a brawler by nature and was not
going to go down without swinging a few. But then again,
neither was his opponent.
With a shove on the shoulders, the giant Nazi 󿬂ung Stuttz
from on top of him, sending him 󿬂ying into yet another
series of steel drums. After quickly picking himself back
up, Wash drew his mace and closed to engage the
wrench-wielding menace.
Their metal weapons clashed and clanked, connecting
with each swing like swords in a duel. Wash could feel the
Nazi’s superior strength battering away at him and did not
know just how much longer he could hold out against
him. Suddenly, the bald Nazi had found an opening and
gave Wash a haymaker of a right hook to the jaw. Wash
immediately
immediatel y crumpled to the 󿬂oor, seeing stars and very
nearly blacking out, an action that would surely have
doomed them all. The Nazi stood over him, giving him
insidious prodding kicks to the stomach and jeering at
him in German.
That was all it took for Wash to 󿬁ght back the falling curtain
of unconsciousness. No way was this man going to take a
fall for a Nazi! Thinking his prey had been sufficiently
disabled, the guard leaned his face downwa
downward
rd to inspect
and ridicule his fallen foe. It was a perfect opportunity for
Wash to give a massive swing of his mace and cave in the
side of the Nazi’s head entirely.
Elsewhere in the hangar, Veronica and Chase had com-
mandeered a tug cart. Veering and careening between the
parked jets, Veronica drove the tug while Chase’
Ch ase’ss handgun
spat hot, leaded death at their enemies. A few Nazis 󿬂ed,
fearing that if a bullet didn’t kill them, Veronica’s wild
 24
driving would run them over. Other’s still met one of the
previously mentioned fates.
“Hold on!” Veronica ordered as she found herself unable
to brake in time to avoid hitting a wheeled tool chest.
Chase ducked and wrapped his arms around his head just
before there was a prodigious crash and metal went 󿬂ying.
The tug went into a skid. The world began to spin. And
though Wash stood by the 󿬂ying wing, frantically attempt-
ing to wave Veronica off , the heavy vehicle clipped straight
through the nose gear of the jet, snapping it clean from
the fuselage. The front end of the aircraft dropped to the
󿬂oor with a heavy crash, shattering the canopy and frag-
menting the nose into cracks with a small electric 󿬁re
beginning to burn. The tug came to a stop after it veered
out of control into the side of the hangar, jolting its occu-
pants free.
“It’s ruined,” Stuttz said sadly. “We fought our way here
for nothing.”
“We don’t have much time left,” Veronica said somberly.
“Come on!” Stuttz said, shaking loose any self-pity for
their situation. “There’s a snow crawler outside. Grab a
parka from the mechanic’s rack and let’s go!”
“This is a drag, Daddy-O!” Chase called out as he held on
to the side of the snow crawler.
crawler. “I think I just saw a turtle
race pass us!”
Even Stuttz had to quietly agree with him. The vehicle was
already at top speed in the snow and they had made only
a modest amount of distance from the base. The ground
shook from the shockwaves of the initial detonation in
the lower levels of the base. Soon, the entire area would
go up in a gigantic paroxysm of 󿬁re. They weren’t going
to make it.
Fissures began to develop in the ice as the tremors from
the blast 󿬂owed outward from the center. As these cracks
in the ice gaped open wide, a moving mass of black and
white began to spill forth from them…the Killer Penguins.
Their incubation chambers had broken apart and the
penguins had been set free…massing their way straight
for the snow crawler.
“Man, those things are going to devour every scrap of 󿬂esh
on our bodies,” Chase said in soft awe, catatonic in the
face of the oncoming tidal wave of penguins that emitted
and endless chorus of “Eep! Eep! Eep!”
“Devouring my 󿬂esh has been tried on me before. But I
somehow doubt it’s going to be as fun this time,” said
Veronica as she lit a cigarette in preparation for an ugly
󿬁ght.
The region around the snow crawler had turned from an
endless 󿬁eld of white to a sea teeming of black and white.
Stuttz turned the
light directly beam
upon theofencroaching
the snow crawler’s
killerrotary
birds.search-
Their
beaks squawked out at the light as they became blinded
from the glare re󿬂ected by the snow and ice. That is when
Veronica took the 󿬁rst shot. The rapport of the gun made
a sharp crack in the cold air. A killer penguin fell dead…
󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
but another soon waddled into its place. Chase Danner
 joined in on the action, blazing his
his handgun towards
towards the
deadly beasts.
“Uh-oh,” Danner said as his pistol began making a tattle-
“Uh-oh,”
tale clicking sound. “I’m
“I ’m out…completely out.”
“Probably should have saved a few bullets for ourselves,”
Stuttz remarked, grimly assessing the tide of oncoming
killer penguins.
It was not in the nature of Chase Danner to give up quite
so easily.
dove fromWith all the
the edge foolish
of the snowrecklessness of youth,
crawler and into he
the mass
of penguins. He punched. He kicked. He wrestled. He had I
a decent-sized chunk bitten out of the 󿬂esh of his back.
“Crazy kid,” Dr. Stuttz muttered while shaking his head
in disbelief.
Mace at the ready, Wash followed Chase and jumped swing-
ing into the fray. Through 󿬁sticuff s and a mace, as well as
the last remaining shots from Veronica Pentecost, many
a killer penguin fell that day in the Antarctic snow. But
the situation grew bleaker by the moment. For every avian
adversary that was killed, two more seemed to follow in
its place. The three fought as Sisyphus against the stone.
It did indeed look like the end for our heroes.
That is until the blast of a laser beam incinerated the
penguin nearest Chase. Ray after ray of red lasers shot
down from the sky, reducing the mass of penguins to a
wide pile of smoldering ash and cutting an arc of safety
around the snow crawler.
And as the three looked to the sky to determine the source
of their salvation, they found it in the form of a group of
men 󿬂ying through the clear Antarctic sky by way of rocket
packs strapped to their backs. Their copper helmets
gleamed in the sunlight and shone as justice before the
spawn of the Nazi menace. It was the United States Rocket
Corps…The Fightin’ Rocketmen.
Three of the Rocketmen landed on the snow crawler,
causing Veronica, Chase, and Wash to avert their faces
from the brief burst of heat that radiated from the rocket
pack.
“We’re The Rocketmen. We’re here to get you out,” the
lead Rocketman said plainly to Veronica. “Let me get a
hold on you, Ma’am.”
“Oh you betcha!” Veronica turned around with a grin and
allowed her to be enveloped in the arms of the Rocketman.
Rocketman .
Wash and Chase also allowed themselves to be held by the
other two rescuers (by the underarms
und erarms only) and soon they
were soaring up into the sky
sky…just
…just as a 󿬁reball of immense
proportions erupted forth into the air from beneath the
polar ice.
Soaring away from the blast like an insect spat forth from
an inferno was one of the Nazi super jets. It desperately
made its attempt at escape, desperately for it contained
Re-Zal Evad.
25

his chapter covers the basic concepts and rules of the
T 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 role-playing game. Everything
gets explained in more detail in the appropriate chap-
ters later on in the book, but here’s the glossary and quick
reference.
?"#@#.$3@'
Player characters (󰁰󰁣󰁳) are the avatars controlled by the
players. They’re the heroes of the series, the protagonists,
and the starring cast. Non-player characters ( 󰁮󰁰󰁣󰁳) are
controlled by the Gamemaster; they’re villains, extras,
and the supporting cast.
In terms of rules, characters are de 󿬁ned by Attributes,
Traits and Skills. They also have Story Points.
 A$$@
 A$ $@&B
&B)$
)$3'
3'
All characters (󰁰󰁣󰁳, 󰁮󰁰󰁣󰁳, even monsters and creatures)
have six Attributes. These attributes are:
• Awareness: spotting dangers, noticing things
out of place, avoiding surprises
• Coordination: dexterity, agility, dodging,
climbing, accuracy
• Ingenuity: IQ,
IQ , inventiveness, cleverness.
cleverness. Not
necessarily a measure of education. A charac-
ter might be very clever, but poorly educated.
• Presence: personal charisma, likeability,
likeability, charm
• Resolve: determination, courage, willpower.
• Strength: physical strength, toughness.
Everyone has at least 1 point in every Attribute.
For humans, all Attributes are rated from 1 to 6. For
example, a Strength of 1 means the character is noticeably
weak, small or physically challenged. A character with a
Strength of 6 might be a weightlifting athlete or a really
tough soldier. Particularly strange villains, creatures and
monsters can have Attributes well beyond human maxi-
mums—a love-struck giant ape from a lost South Sea
island might have a Strength of 16,
16 , while a Kraken might
have a Strength of 40 or more!
Chapter 1
Basics
C>&**'
Skills cover the character’s specialist knowledge and learn-
ing, everything from shooting a gun or moving stealthily
stealthily
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-
acter is a world-r
world-renowned
enowned expert in that 󿬁eld. Skills above
6 are theoretically possible, but represent a nigh-super-
human level of expertise.
The skills used in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 are:
• Animal Handling:   Caring for animals,
calming down ferocious monsters, command-
ing animals.
• Athletics: Climbing over obstacles, running,
󿬁tness
• Convince: Persuading people, lying with con-
viction
• Craft: Making or repairing items
• Fighting: Brawling, punching, using melee
weapons
• Knowledge: History, geography, cultural in-
formation, folklore, humanities.
• Marksman: Using 󿬁rearms, from bows to
assault ri󿬂es and pistols to electro-blasters.
• Medicine: Everything from 󿬁rst aid to brain
surgery
• Science: Research, experimentation, scientif-
ic knowledge
• Subterfuge: Sneaking, sleight of hand, hiding
from monsters
• Survival: Outdoor survival, navigation, living
rough
• Technology: Weir
Weird
d science, using gadgets,
• Transport: Driving, 󿬂ying, operating vehicles
All skills have associated Areas of Expertise. A character
can pick up Areas of Expertise if they have the related Skill
at 3 or more. Areas of Expertise
Experti se give a bonus to rolls related
to that area.
See page 40 for a full description of all the skills.
9@#&$'
Traits
Traits are special talents, quirks or foibles possessed by a
character. Traits can be Good or Bad. Good
Go od 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-
igate unfamiliar terrain or avoid getting lost. Bad Traits
hinder a character in certain situations, but provide bonus
Story Points in recompense. For more on the various Traits
you can get, see page 46.
the Difficulty and the Result. You don’t have to follow
this step for every roll, but it adds detail to important,
dramatic rolls.
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁅󰁒󰁅󰁎󰁃󰁅  󰁓󰁕󰁃󰁃󰁅󰁓󰁓   󰁅󰁆󰁆󰁅󰁃󰁔 

Yes, And󲀦You not only succeeded,

C$2@5 (2&-$' 9+ Fantastic you get an extra benefit on top
of succeeding
Story Points are a character’s edge, that little spark of luck
lu ck
      P or genius that makes him special. All player characters 4-8 Good
Yes! You managed to do exactly
      U have a few Story Points, and can earn more from Bad Traits what you were trying to do
      T
      E or role-playing. Story Points can be spent to re-roll the 0-3 OK Yes, But󲀦You succeeded, but at a
      S dice, change events in the game, or activate special traits. cost.
No, But󲀦You didn’t do what you

1)*3' 󲈒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,
󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is very simple indeed.
inde ed. Here’s the catch- 󲈒9+ Disastrous
you’ve made things worse!
all rule:
ATTRIBUTE + SKILL (+TRAIT) + TWO SIX-SIDED DICE =
RESULT.
 A D2$
D2$33 E- F&
F&.3
.3
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
culty,, you succeed. a dice to 󿬁nd 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 modi󿬁ers.
ceeded or failed by working out the diff erence
erence between

󰁔󰁁󰁓󰁋 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙 󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅

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!)
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,
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 Clim
Climbb a sk
skys
yscr
crap
aper
er in th
thee rai
rain,
n, sh
shoo
oott a sm
smal
alll tar
targe
gett in
in an
an adj
adjac
acen
entt roo
room
m wit
witho
hout
ut lo
look
okin
ing.
g.
Impossible!
 28
C3$$&-6
The world of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is the world of the popular
󿬁ction of the 1920’s and 1930’s. It’s the past of our world,
but idealised, simpli󿬁ed, and greatly exaggerated.
exaggerated.
First, the bright spots were brighter. Scienti󿬁c achieve-
ments really could deliver on its many promises. Heroes
were generally the noble and strong characters in stories,
even if they had a 󿬂aw or two. The question wasn’t if the
good guys would win. The question was usually ‘how’.
On the other hand, the darker spots were dark. Crime and
corruption in the cities was even worse than what the
papers were reporting. Nefarious schemes hatched by
masterminds both criminal and political were everything.
But this all just gave the heroes something to 󿬁ght against.
The reason for this more ‘idealistic’ view of the world was
simple. The Great Depression was a recent, ugly memory.
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
had suddenly, swiftly and inexplicably killed nearly 󿬁ve
per cent of the world’s population. Times were hard, and
people wanted to escape their lives with light reading.
They wanted stories in which the good guys were stalwart,
true and victorious, and life’s problems could be solved
with a solid right hook. So the pulps weren’t about realism,
they were simply about entertainment, about stirring
stories of adventure, intrigue, action and horror.
This world – a world of square-jawed heroes and villainous
masterminds, of weird science and lost worlds, of mystery
men and two-󿬁sted justice – is the world of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣.
GH#8+*3 2I (*#5  Terri: I got 10.
In this example of play, there’s a 󰁧󰁭 and three players;
Clay, Terri and Adam. Each player has a diff erent
erent charac-
ter. “Quick Draw” Charlie McCoy, a soldier for hire, is
played by Clay. Runt, a boy rogue is played by Terri and
Lord William “Wild Bill” McGommery, big game hunter,
is played by Adam. The group have thwarted an attempt-
ed kidnapping on the streets of Hong Kong and tracked
one of the kidnappers to the docks.
󰁧󰁭: Yo
You
u follow the scurrying 󿬁gure of the would-be kid-
napper down alleyways and between buildings, always
staying just out of sight. Pausing to let the 󿬁gure get far
enough ahead that you won’t be seen, you round a corner
to 󿬁nd that he has completely vanished. Ahead you can
see an old, crumbling brick-built warehouse
warehouse set right on
the waterfront.
Clay: Is there anywhere else he could have gone?
󰁧󰁭: Is that in character
c haracter as Charlie, or are you asking me?
Clay: That’s Charlie. (Clay adopts a lazy drawl) Anyone
see anywhere else he could have gone?
󰁧󰁭: Roll Awareness + Ingenuity, everyone.
Clay: Awareness 4, Ingenuity 3, plus a roll of 5. That’s a
total of 12.
Basics
Terri: I got 8.
Adam: 10 here.
󰁧󰁭: Right. Runt looks around, but doesn’t see much of
anything – he’s too busy watching the shadows. Wild Bill
notices a manhole cover in the rain-slicked
rain-sl icked alley that isn’t
sitting right, as if it’s been moved recently.
recently. Charlie notices
not ices
the manhole cover, but his attention is drawn by a faint
scuffing sound as if there is someone on the rooftop above
you.
Clay: I Look up quickly. Can I see anything?
󰁧󰁭: No. It’s night, it’s raining and the glow of the street
lights barely reaches down this dingy alleyway. You do,
however, get the creeping feeling
feel ing that you’re being watched.
1
Clay: Riiiiight. Charlie unholsters his automatic, just in
case.
󰁧󰁭: Cool. What are the rest of you doing?
Adam: Wild Bill moves over to the manhole cover to check
it out.
Terri: Runt is sticking close to Wild Bill.
Adam: (In a gruff  British
 British accent) That’s right lad, you stick
with me.
󰁧󰁭: Can I have Awareness + Survival Rolls from Wild Bill
and Runt please.
Adam: Can I add my Tracker Trait bonus?
󰁧󰁭: Sure.
Adam: Cool. Awareness 3, Survival 4, +2 from Tracker…
I rolled 4. That’s a total of 13.
󰁧󰁭: Excellent. Wild Bill, as you’re examining the manhole
cover, you notice a thin smear of something dark on the
edge, partially washed away by the rain. Moving the
manhole cover slightly
sligh tly,, you can see the top rung of a metal
ladder, on which you clearly see a bloody handprint.
Terri: (as Runt) Gee Wild Bill, looks like that shot you got
off  connected
 connected after all!
Adam: I call Charlie over.
Clay: I head over, but I’m trying to keep an eye on the
rooftops.
Terri: Looks like our boy went to ground, Mr McCoy!
Clay: Charlie looks at Wild Bill and Runt. (As Charlie)
Don’t tell me you’re going down there after him!
Adam: Wild Bill just grunts and starts to climb down the
manhole.
Clay: Charlie looks at Runt. (As Charlie) Are you as crazy
as he is?
Terri: Runt grins at Charlie and clambers down after Wild
Bills. (As Runt) Last one down’s a sissy!
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…
󰁧󰁭: Awareness + Ingenuity, please. Adam, Wild Bill rolls
󰁧󰁭: 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
you’ve
’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.
      P Terri: Oops. 󰁧󰁭: Yo
You’re
u’re both pretty certain that the voices aren’t getting
      U closer. In addition, you can’t hear any of the splashing that
Clay: Nope.
      T
      E 󰁧󰁭: If one of you spends a Story Point, I’ll let you remem- would indicate footsteps in the tunnel.
      S ber that you’ve packed a torch.
Terri: Runt is going to sneak closer to the sound to see
what he can see.
Adam: I’ll do it.
Clay: Charlie follows.
󰁧󰁭: Cool. Mark a Story Point o ff  your
 your character sheet.
Adam: And me!
Adam: Done. Wild Bill pats his jacket pockets for a moment
󰁧󰁭: Coordinati
Coordination
on + Subterfuge rolls, please.
before 󿬁nding and extracting an electric 󿬂ashlight.
Terri: Er, 10.
󰁧󰁭: 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!
󰁧󰁭: Roughly, yes.
󰁧󰁭
Terri: Then lets go that way! : (With
forever
forever. an the
. Right, evilthree
grin)ofHe can’t
you stealkeep
up torolling likeinthat
the bend the
tunnel and peer around. Ahead of you it opens out into a
󰁧󰁭: Does everyone agree?
large cavern or grotto, dimly lit by several oil lanterns
la nterns hung
Clay & Adam: Sure. on beams and pit-props. Several men seem to be working
in the semi-darkness, moving heavy wooden crates.
󰁧󰁭: 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 󿬁rst?
󰁧󰁭: (To 󰁧󰁭) Can we?
Clay, Adam & Terri: (All looking at each other) Errr…
󰁧󰁭: Not from here; they’re too far away and the light is
󰁧󰁭: 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 󿬁rst.
󰁧󰁭: Well done, Terri. Have a Story Point for volunteering. 󰁧󰁭: Maybe. Are you going to try?
(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,
󰁧󰁭: Coordinati
Coordination
on + Subterfuge roll, please.
make an Awareness + Ingenuity Roll, please.
Terri: I got 12!
Terri: Awareness 3, Ingenuity
Ingenui ty 3 (Rolls die) I rolled 5. That’s
Tha t’s
a total of 11! 󰁧󰁭: Excellent. Pressing yourself into the brick wall of the
tunnel, you slither closer to the entrance of the cavern. At
󰁧󰁭: 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 󿬂icks off  the
 the 󿬂ashlight.
󰁧󰁭: Before you can head back to the others there’s a
󰁧󰁭: 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 themselv
themselves.
es. 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 󿬁endish plot you’re engaged in, you won’t
get away with it!”
󰁧󰁭: 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 a 󿬁re.”
Clay: Charlie joins Runt and Wild Bill. “But we’ve foiled
your kidnapping plot!”
󰁧󰁭: 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
othe r side
of an iron grate!”
󰁧󰁭: Siwang Lung bows very slightly. “True. It pains me

to leaves,the
minions,
minion but execution
I am a manof
onsuch worthy
a schedule foes
after all.to
all.”” lesser
Adam: Wild Bill draws his pistol.
󰁧󰁭: Siwang Lung wags an admonishing 󿬁nger. “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.
󰁧󰁭: Wild Bill hears it 󿬁rst, then Runt, and 󿬁nally Charlie.
It’s behind you, in the tunnel, getting closer. Much closer.
Terri: What is it?
󰁧󰁭: Rats. The squealing of rats. Thousands of them. And
they sound hungry…
 Just what is Siwang
Siwang Lung’s
Lung’s dreadful plan? Can
Can our heroes stop
stop him,
or will they be devoured by a tide of scurrying death? Find out in our
next thrilling episode of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 !!
31

T
his chapter covers the rules for creating your player
character. If you’re using the characters from the
templates, you’ll still need to refer to this chapter to
learn about Attributes, Skills, Traits and the other char-
acter-centricc rules.
acter-centri
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Before you start making your character, you should get
together with the other players and the Gamemaster and
discuss how the game is going to work. What sort of char-
acters is everyone going to play? What brings
brin gs all the char-
acters together? Is there an overall theme or goal to the
game? Everyone needs to have an idea of what the game
is going to be like before anyone moves onto character
generation.
That doesn’t mean you can’t play the character you want
– but you need to 󿬁nd a reason to integrate everyone into
the group. If you come up with an English Big
Bi g Game hunter
traipsing through the wastes of Antarctica, you have to
have a reason why.
We call the structure you come up with for your game
your Group Framework, and Pulp stories are a good place
to start.
9"3 (@38&'3
The first step is coming up with the premise for the
Group Framework. Think of it as the ‘elev
‘elevator
ator pitch’,
pitch’, the
quick thirty-second
thir ty-second summary of what your game’s going
to be about.
For example, the Doc Savage stories were about an altru-
istic scienti󿬁c genius surrounded by men who were experts
in their 󿬁elds, who teamed up to help people and make
the world a better place. While Doc was undoubtedly the
powerhouse of the group and the reason they stayed to-
gether, each member was a capable adventurer in his (or
in the case of Pat Savage, her) own right. The Shadow and
the Spider stories featured a vengeful crime-buster with
a cadre of assistants and operatives who frequently went
off  on
  on adventures of their own, often coming to their
leader’s rescue at the last moment.
What about your group? Are they a team of treasure
hunters and archaeologists, working for a major museum?
Are they government agents, bent on cracking down on
Nazi spies and threats from the Orient? Are they G-men,
Chapter 2
Genesis
striving to crush the home-grown disease that is organized
organi zed
crime? Are they the agents of an ancient mystical broth-
erhood, 󿬁ghting to push back the forces of supernatural
darkness? Are they explorers and hunters, trekking off  
the edge of the map in search of fame, glory and a dinosaur
head to mount over the club 󿬁replace? Are they a combi-
nation of the above, or something entirely diff erent?
erent?
With the above examples, many di ff erent
erent types of char-
acter can be brought together by similar experiences.
Perhaps the agents of the mystical brotherhood all en-
countered some foul supernatural threat at some point in
their lives, and are now bound together by a sacred vow
to protect the innocent from Eldritch Abominations.
Maybe the wise-cracking, whip-wielding adventurer and
the stuttering, bookish scholar both lecture at the same
university, and maybe the grim government agent has
been assigned because the artifacts they dig up have a
tendency to be… dangerous. Perhaps the gum-chewing
news hound follows them around because the scrapes
they get into make the best copy!
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Pulp characters tended to break into two wide archetypes:
Protector and Avenger.
The Protector is a bulwark against evil; defending the
“common man,” society,
society, the American
Ameri can government,
government , Truth
and Justice. While the Protector is willing to bend rules
and laws in the pursuit of higher goals, ultimately he is
about upholding the law. Regardless of what evil and
heinous acts occur, the Protector will work within the
system to prevent those acts from happening.
happen ing. The Protec-
tor is a role-model, as well as a model citizen. He is the
one given the public plaudits, the honorary police badge,
the one handed the key to the city.
The Avenger acts from the shadows and embraces them
as a part of his way of life. While the Avenger may hold
the Protector in high esteem and respect, he knows that
having high morals can get in the way when trying to break
a crime ring. The Avenger is about practicalities and
getting the job done, even when it means breaking the
law…or the occasional bone.
Remember that regardless of which of these two general
archetypes is used as a theme for your character, that
character is supposed to be a hero. The world of the Pulp
Era can be brutal at times, but the characters are the heroes
 

Pulp Fantastic

      P
      U 󰁓󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅 󰁃󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁁󰁉󰁇󰁎 󰁆󰁒󰁁󰁍󰁅󰁗󰁏󰁒󰁋󰁓
      T
      E 󰁂󰁒󰁉󰁎󰁇 ‘󰁅󰁍 󰁂󰁁󰁃󰁋 󰁁󰁌󰁉󰁖󰁅!
      S
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
d oes the Fuhrer want with these animals, some of which seem as if they shouldn’t be
native to the Earth at all?

󰁋󰁎󰁉󰁇󰁈󰁔󰁓 󰁏󰁆 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁅󰁌󰁅󰁃󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁃 󰁔󰁁󰁂󰁌󰁅!

Nikola Tesla,
Tesla, the “wizard of the 20th Century”,
Century”, has created a new technological Camelot
Cam elot in upstate New York. Playing both Arthur
A rthur
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
m ad 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
Tesla’s discoveries his own?
󰁔󰁁󰁌󰁅󰁓 󰁏󰁆 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁁󰁉󰁒 󰁃󰁁󰁖󰁁󰁌󰁒󰁙!

From their super-secret

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?

󰁔󰁗󰁏-󰁆󰁉󰁓󰁔󰁅󰁄 󰁁󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 󰁔󰁁󰁌󰁅󰁓!

The publishing industry in the pulp-era is a cut-thr

cut-throat
oat business, and these days a magazine has to have a gimmick
g immick 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
Say
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.
Montgomery. Cruickshank III. Get to it boys!
b oys! And where’s that copy-boy with my danish?!
da nish?!

󰁆󰁉󰁇󰁈󰁔 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁆󰁕󰁔󰁕󰁒󰁅!

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,
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 a re 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
motives may appear vague and mysterious to others.
The Pulp Era was before the time of the anti-hero. When-
ever the pulp magazines tried to create a magazine with a
villain as a main character within a few issues that magazine
would fail in the market place. The readers wanted to know
that there were heroes out there in the world, leading by
example and deed, making the hard choices and who could
not live an easy life. They wanted heroes, and at its roots it
is heroes that 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is actually about.
Character conception is also the most important idea to
remember when actually playing your character. The basic,
all-important basis of role-playing games is that the players
role-play. Players put together their characters according
to their character conceptions, and in all subsequent ad-
ventures react to situations as would their characters.
This means that if a player has put together a character
who is a fearless-unto-self-destruction hero of heroes,
when playing this character he should react as this strap-
ping hero, even if the real player is a skinny and paci 󿬁stic
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
by running away and using his wits.
Of course, the situations the 󰁧󰁭 creates will not merely be
threats and danger. Role-playing
Role-playing games should not consist
of a series of incidents of random violence and combat. So,
our strapping hero may have the 󿬁ghting ability of a squad-
ron and the social awareness of an orangutan, while the
sniveling yet scholarly coward may not be able to out-wres-
tle an over-stuff ed
ed armchair but may be able to read hiero-
glyphics by touch and operate every known mode of trans-
port in the world. And all this, of course,
c ourse, is at the choice of
the individual player and his 󰁧󰁭.
In order to role-play more e ff ectively—providing
ectively—providing for more
depth, enjoyment, and color in the campaign— you should;
should;
• Talk to your GM and understand the nature and
• Try also to become familiar with the historical
period that is the basis for the campaign. The
Source-book included with this game, the Pulps
themselves, and many readily-available books
on history will supply you with most everything
you need to know. (You don’t need to be as
relentless as this game’s designers and purchase
mountains of books, magazines, almanacs,
encyclopedias, and gazetteers from the period
for your research…but it helps).
• Lastly, get inside your character’s head. You
should essentially have done this already, when
conceiving your character. How does he respond
to danger? To prolonged stress? Is he cynical or
romantic? Curious or indiff erent?
erent? Outgoing or
introverted? Absentminded or 󿬁ercely intent?
Comprehend your character, and react to the
adventure’s
adventure ’s situations as he would. 2
That is role-playing. It is the most important part of a
role-playing game. The characters react to dangers, clues,
and each other and without those interactions, a game
becomes nothing more than a tactical
tactica l exercise in mayhem.
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Who are the key non-player characters? Do the characters
have a mysterious benefactor who bankrolls their adven-
tures in return for whatever scienti󿬁c knowledge they
acquire along the way? Do they know a long-su ff eringering
Chief of Police, a dry-witted University Dean or a particu-
larly feisty lady reporter with a knack for 󿬁nding trouble?
A good Premise gives the Gamemaster a few fun recurring
characters to play. The 󰁧󰁭 characters are the supporting
cast, not the stars of the show—e
show—even
ven if they tag along on
adventures, it’s up to the player characters to actually solve
the mysteries and save the day.
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How well funded is your group? What sort of support do

scope of the campaign he is creating. You’ll

You’ll want you have?
agents? Areyou
Have yougot
amateur sleuthsheadquarters
a luxurious or secret government
in one of
to create your character to 󿬁t comfortably within
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 󿬁t in well the back room of a disreputable
disreputa ble bar on the docks of Shang-
Shan g-
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 blu ff  your
 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
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through the social strata of Boston. Adventure and drama requires con󿬂ict—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 tri󿬂e more
single-minded than those today; happily, dis- ymous
the “Devil
series, butDoctor” wasalso
there were the lesser
main antagonist
villains likethroughout
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.

Pulp Fantastic
?2--3.$ L$ A** =+
Finally, take a look at everything you’ve come up with so
far, and see if you can 󿬁nd any interesting connections.
The stunning Femme Fatale is much more interesting as
a character’s ex-wife or lover than if she was just a random
spy, and the twisted Mad Scientist’s grudge could be made
even more personal if he was once the lab partner of one
of the heroes, and blames him for being laughed out of
      P University. Throw in a few unexpected links between
      U diff erent
erent elements of the Group Framework.
      T
      E What if your resources come from the wealthy industri-
      S alist father of one of the player characters? What if evidence
comes forward that he was a war pro 󿬁teer? What if the
opposition are a secret faction of the US Government, run
by a Shadow President? What could tear your group apart?
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Now that you’ve got an idea of what sort of characters 󿬁t
within your group framework, it’s time to create your own
character.
Characters are de󿬁ned by Attributes, Skills and Traits.
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
down an engine, know 󿬁rst aid, know how to ski, how to
󿬁ght or how to bluff  their
 their way out of a situation? Finally,
Traits detail what your character can do, or in some cases
cannot do – are they ambidextrous, have a particular knack
for 󿬁xing things, do they heal surprisingly quickly, are
they rich, famous, or have a family that keeps getting them
into trouble?
Attributes and Skills have numerical ratings. The higher
Attributes
the rating the better they are at something. Each charac-
ter is given a number of points to purchase Attributes,
Skills and Traits, but these points are limited, so the players
should think things through before assigning numbers.
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.
You’ve got 42 Character Points to spend. Each point spent
buys you a single point of an Attribute or Skill. You can
also buy Traits – Good Traits cost a variable number of
points, while Bad Traits give you points back!
Left-over Character Points become unspent Experience
Points at the end.
You’re limited to spending a maximum of 24 points on
Attributes.
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3'
Attributes are a measure of a man (or woman) and give
you an indication as to what the character is capable of.
How strong they are, how smart, how charming, how
clever, all these are de󿬁ned by Attributes ranked from one
to six. Using the Character Points given, you purchase the
35
Attributes of the character, limited to a maximum of six
in each. Six is the human maximum, and no character
may have an attribute above six. It is very rare for a char-
acter to start with an Attribute at six. At the other extreme,
you must put at least one point into each attribute. You
can’t have an Attribute of zero - when Attributes reach
zero due to injury or other e ff ects,
ects, the character becomes
incapacitated - so you can’t start in that state!
You could put more points into the character’s Strength,
and less into their Ingenuity, meaning that they’re more
of an athlete.
same, makingOr you equally
them could make
goodall
(orofbad)
the Attributes the
at everything,
though that may not be very realistic - nobody is equally
good at everything
everything..
9"3 C&H A$$@&B)$3'
There are six attributes that de 󿬁ne the capabilities of the
character. They are Awareness, Coordination, Ingenuity,
Presence, Resolve and Strength. Attributes are ranked
from one to six, with six being the human maximum. A
description of what the Attributes are follows, each cov-
ering the various levels so you know what having a Strength
2 or Resolve 3 actually means.
󰁁󰁓󰁓󰁉󰁇󰁎󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁁󰁔󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁂󰁕󰁔󰁅  󰁐󰁏󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁓
You can spend up to 24 points on Attributes, but you don’t
have to spend that many. Most people have only 2s and 3s
and maybe a single 4 in their Attributes. People with an
Attribute of 5 are pretty exceptional – people with a 6 are
incredibly talented. There’s no need to make your character
superhuman. Unless you have a specific character concept in
mind, limit yourself to 3s, 4s and maybe one 5. You
You will have
more fun if your character’s exceptional qualities are balanced
by his weaknesses.
Be careful of putting a 1 into an Attribute – that’s a significant
weak spot in your character that any good GM will exploit.
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Awareness is used for your sense of your surroundings.
It’s what you use to see a native sneaking up on you or to
explore ancient ruins. Awareness covers all 󿬁ve senses
equally – if you want your character to be especially
espe cially keen-
eyed, that’s a Good Trait.
Importantly, Awareness
Awareness determines
determin es whether or not
n ot you’re
surprised when combat starts.
Awareness 1: Rather oblivious or absent-minded; you’re
the sort of person
pe rson who’d walk
walk out in front
f ront of traffic, or miss
a clue that’s right in front of your nose.
Awareness 2: Below average; easily distracted, preoccu-
pied or never needed to hone your senses.
Awareness 3: About average; moderately aware of your
surroundings, somewhat perceptive, but nothing out of
the ordinary.
 36
Awareness 4: Quite perceptive, quick to notice something
out of place. People trained in observation, such as police
officers, fall into this range.
Awareness 5: Extremely aware of your surroundings.
You’ve probably spent time in a dangerous environment,
like a jungle, where a single careless misstep could cost
your life.
Awareness 6: The 󿬁nely honed senses of a predator
predator;; you
could be a legendary detective who spots every clue, or a
brilliant hunter who can spot the most cleverly camou-
󿬂aged prey.
?22@M&-#$&2-
This Attribute covers hand-eye coordination and dexter-
ity. It also plays into who goes 󿬁rst when combat starts.
Coordination’s a very important attribute if you’re playing
a combat-focused character. Athletes and martial artists
have high Coordination.
Coordination 1: You’re clumsy or uncoordinated; you
might even suff er
er from some ailment or physical problem.
Coordination 2: Below average; you were always picked
last for football, and walk into doors a bit more than most
people.
Coordination 3: Average; you can handle yourself mod-
erately well.
Coordination 4: The level of someone quite athletic or
dexterous.
Coordination 5: Exceptionally well-coordinated; you
might be a sharp-shoot
sharp-shooter,
er, contortionist or gymnast.
Coordination 6: Incredible hand-eye coordination and
agility.
L-63-)&$5  especially brave
This Attribute is how clever you are. It doesn’t necessari-
ly re󿬂ect intelligence – you may be highly intelligent in
one 󿬁eld, but unable to apply your knowledge in other
areas. It also doesn’t quite measure education. Think of
it as re󿬂ecting how quickly you think on your feet.
Ingenuity 1: You’re noticeably slow on the uptake and
don’t improvise well.
Ingenuity 2: Below average; you can get by in everyday life,
but you’ll lose arguments more often than you win them.
Ingenuity 3: About average; you can adapt when chal-
lenged and solve most problems you encounter.
Ingenuity 4: Above average; you’ve gone to university
(or could have, if it weren’t for circumstances), and can
solve a crossword quicker than most people.
Ingenuity 5: Very smart; you could have got a scholarship.
Your intellect impresses people.
Ingenuity 6: A genuine genius; your mind is frighten-
ingly quick.
Genesis
(@3'3-.3
This covers charm and charisma. People want to trust you,
to like you, and to impress you. It’s very useful when trying
try ing
to persuade or command people.
Presence 1: Yo
You’re
u’re actively anti-social, rude, or just clueless.
cluele ss.
Presence 2: You’re forgettable, bland, or put your foot in
your mouth regularly.
Presence 3: About average. You’ve
You’ve got a few close friends,
frien ds,
and can speak in public without embarrassing yourself.
Presence 4: You’re the life of the party, with above-aver-
age charisma and charm.
Presence 5: You’re extremely convincing. You could be
an inspiring leader, a wonderful entertainer, or a talented
con artist.
2
Presence 6: Your charisma borders on the superhuman;
you exude animal magnetism, and people 󿬂ock to you.
Your force of personality can steamroll most opposition.
13'2*K3
Resolvemeasures yourwillpower,
Resolve willpower,determination, andself-con-
trol. Low Resolve means you’re nervous or fearful; high Resolve
means
but it’s you’re cool and
not directly collected.
correlated – aResolve is related
character to courage,
with low Resolve
could still be brave enough to creep into a cannibal’s village,
but he’d be shaking in his boots as he did so.
Resolve 1: You don’t handle danger well at all. You’re the
sort who faints at the sight of blood! You’re
You’re also a pushover,
and rarely stand up for yourself.
Resolve 2: Yo
You’re
u’re nervous and fearful. The thought of violence
makes your knees start knocking and your mouth go dry.
Resolve 3: About average. You wouldn’t consider yourself
brave or tough, but you can be relied on when
the chips are down.
Resolve 4: You
 You’re
’re stronger-willed
stronger-wi lled than average. You know
your own mind, and don’t let other people boss you around.
Resolve 5: You
 You’re
’re extremely strong-willed.
str ong-willed. People call you
driven, stubborn, or a maverick. When you set your mind
on something, it gets done. When you’re surrounded by
a gang of thugs, you don’t even 󿬂inch.
Resolve 6: Your conviction borders on obsession. Your self-con-
trol is astonishing. You could stare down a charging bull.
C$@3-6$"
Strength, obviously enough, is your physical strength. The
higher your strength, the more you can lift and the more
damage you do when you punch or kick someone. A high
Strength score is needed to use some heavy weapons
properly, or to carry lots of gear. When you have to, you
can lift twice as much as you can comfortably carry.
Strength 1: You’re very weak; most likely, you’re either
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
the small side, or just un󿬁t. Your attacks in󿬂ict 2 points of
damage, and you can carry around 30kg of gear without strain.
Strength 3: Average strength. You can pitch in to do a bit
of physical labor when you have to, and you go the gym a
few times a month. Your attacks in 󿬂ict 3 damage; you can
carry 45kg.
Strength 4: You’re 󿬁t; maybe you exercise regularly, or
      P your daily job is a physically demanding one. Your
Your attacks
      U in󿬂ict 4 damage, and you can carry
c arry 60kg with ease.
      T
      E Strength 5: You’re very strong indeed; people remark on
      S how muscular or toned you are. Your attacks in󿬂ict 5
damage, and you can carry 75kg without a problem.
Strength 6: You’re a monster. You could wrestle a gorilla.
Punching someone in󿬂icts 6 damage, and you can carry
90kg or more.
C>&**'
Skills are learned abilities. Your character may have been
blessed by genetics with a high Ingenuity and good Strength,
but what he learned in life makes all the di ff erence.
erence.
There are thirteen skills in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣, 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
󿬁eld. 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.
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6-&-
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&-$'
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You don’t have to allocate points to every Skill; after all,
most people aren’t good at everything. Pick one or two
Skills that re󿬂ect the character’s occupation or pastimes
and put three or even four points into those, and pick a
Skill or two that you’ll think will be handy for the coming
adventures and put a couple of points in them. The re-
maining points can be distributed as you see 󿬁t, bearing
the concept of the character in mind.
While the character can advance and have Skills above
󿬁ve, it is rare for a starting character to have a skill above
that. During character creation, no Skill can be above level
󿬁ve unless this has been discussed in detail with the Gam-
emaster and authorized. If you want to play, for example,
a university professor or a limping medical diagnostician
you may be allowed to put more than 󿬁ve points in a Skill,
but then it should only be in the Skill that re 󿬂ects the
character’s profession. Besides, you don’t want to pile all
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
points left over, put them into Areas of Expertise.

 A@3#
 A@ 3#'' 2I GH
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'3
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 󰁁󰁄󰁄󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁎󰁅󰁗 󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌󰁓
of mechanical vehicles, from automobiles to auto-gyros
If your players are just itching to have a Skill that is
i s not on the
to locomotives. Normally, you’d just roll Coordination +
list, first of all think whether one of the Skills listed below
Transport
Tra nsport 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
9@#++&-6' 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 󿬁ve years, she probably doesn’t have a working
motorcycle even if she has Transport (motorcycles) 4.
 38

Genesis

󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌󰁓
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,
Scuba , Swimming)
Convince  (Bluff
(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,

Parry, Sword, Throws, Unarmed Combat)
Knowledge (Anthropology, History, Language, Law, Literature, Psychology, Sociology)
Marksman (Automatic Weapons, Bow
Bow,, Mounted Weapons, Pistol, Rifle, Thrown Weapons, Tranquillizer Gun)
Medicine (Disease, Forensics, Poisons, Psychological Trauma, Surgery, Veterinary
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, Motorcy
Motorcycles,
cles, Submersibles, Trucks
Trucks,, Zeppelins)

C>&**' N&'$  A$"*

 
Above is a list of the Skills in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣. Each
Skill describes the areas it covers and how it is used. For
details on actual Skill rolls, see p. 128 of Chapter 7: Action.
Within each Skill there are suggestions for how they are
used, as well as a list of possible Trappings and Areas of
Expertise. Remember, this is not exhaustive, and the Gam-
emaster and players should feel free to add Areas of Ex-
pertise (or even whole Skills) if it best suits their game.
 A-&8
 A- &8#*
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The Animal Handling skill is used when dealing with
animals of all shapes and sizes, from riding a horse to
calming a rampaging bull-elephant. It covers body lan-
guage (how to appear non-threatening
non-threatening or dominant), an
understanding of animal behavior, basic veterinary med-
icine, and how to tame and train an animal.
When trying to calm an animal down or convince it to do
something, you use Presence. When trying to work some-
thing out about an animal, like trying to guess what made
those tracks, you’d use Ingenuity. At higher skill levels,
Animal Handling crosses over with Science (zoology or
biology) and Survival.
Areas of Expertise: Dogs, Horses, Reptiles, Insects, Fish,
Primates.
Trappings: You
You’ve
’ve probably
prob ably got a pet
p et or two – or ten. You’ve
also got all-weather clothing and any special equipment
you need to care for animals.
A$ "*3$
3$&.
&.''
The Athletics skill covers 󿬁tness, physical training and
agility. It often complements Strength and Coordination
– a character with a high Coordination but a low Athletics
is naturally dextrous but isn’t trained in using their talents
properly.
Any physical or straining activity the character may have
to perform may be covered by Athletics. However, block-
ing a swung 󿬁st may be accomplished with the Fighting
Skill (paired with Coordination), whichever is more ap-
󰁒󰁉󰁄󰁉󰁎󰁇?
You could make a good argument for riding being an Area of
Expertise for Animal Handling – it’s all about working with
the animal, establishing a rapport, and learning to read the
animal’s body language. You could also say riding comes
under Athletics – it’s about balance, pulling on reins, move-
ment and so on. Therefore, you can take Riding as an Area of
Expertise under either skill.
ski ll. The two different forms of riding
are slightly different – it’s the difference between, say, the
Horse Whisperer and a champion jockey – but are close enough
to be interchangeable.
Also you could make a case for Weird Science this way as well,
due to its very nature it could be an Area of Expertise for
Science, but it could also
al so be one for Technology.
Technology. If you wanted
to apply it to the theoretical aspects of the topic, then it
would be an Area of Expertise for Science, but if its applied
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
master
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 󿬁eld. 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
      P may have your own oxygen pump and boat.
Todeskopf’s clock-work Assassin Spiders.
      U Areas of Expertise: Building, Painting, Farming, Singing,
      T
      E ?2-K&-.3 Guitar, Woodwork, Metalwork, Dancing, Literature.
      S 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 󿬁eld.
of thinking, to bluff  that
 that you’re meant to be in this cultist
temple or that you’re perfectly entitled to have pitched a ,&6"$&-6
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
convincing liar, or just the most command-
command -
Whether this is with 󿬁sts, 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
you’re
’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 󿬁re (like ri󿬂es, dart
or Resolve.
guns or even the trusty bow and arrow) uses the Marksman
ff 
Areas of Expertise:
tion, Interrogation,  Fast Talk,
Charm, Lie, Blu
Talk ,Down.
Leadership, Seduc- Skill. This iscan
al. Fighting purely for when
be used withitStrength
gets up
u p close
to notand
onlyperson-
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.

󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁅-󰁐󰁌󰁁󰁙 󰁖󰁓 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌-󰁐󰁌󰁁󰁙 O-2<*3M63
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
si ncere and trustworthy person. covered speci󿬁cally 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
want. The Gamemaster should encourage players to act out those iniology,
education
law,, sociology,
law soc usuallyarcheology
psychology, call the gy,
archeolo humanities,
, history such as
his tory,, literature,
litera ture,
the dialogue, the amusing lines and the attempts at a t 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
b onuses 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 speci 󿬁c 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,
Expert ise, if any.
any. With a skill
of 4 or more, you know experts in the 󿬁eld personally
perso nally,, and
?@#I$ have a small library of reference
refe rence works at home. You might
Craft is an all-encompassing Skill that covers all manners even have a job in that 󿬁eld.
of talents. Whether the character is good with their hands
and can carve an ornate chess set from wood, or maybe P#@>'8#-
 just great at playing
playing the guitar or singing,
singing, all of
of these are
Violence
Violence isn’t the answer to every situation, but 󿬁repower
covered by the Craft Skill. However, if the character is a
is often the best fallback position and when you speak
blacksmith, their metalworking
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 diff erent
erent to
 40

Genesis

󰁌󰁅󰁁󰁒󰁎󰁅󰁄 󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌󰁓 󰁁󰁎󰁄 󰁉󰁎󰁓󰁔󰁉󰁎󰁃󰁔
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
a reas 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,
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
d odging that gunfire
gu nfire or rockfall! It’s tricky,
tricky, as Gamemaster
Gamemaster,, which Skill or Attribute com-
bination to be used is down to you.
As a guide:
Punching or Kicking (or any physical attack):
attack): Strength + Fighting 2
Blocking or Parrying a physical attack:
a ttack: Strength + Fighting
Dodging a physical attack:
a ttack: 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
be ifrolled
the attacker is hiddentask,
as an unresisted (for against
example, sniping
a fixed from a to
difficulty distance), theybywill
hit defined
d efined thebeGamemaster.
unable to react to it first time. The attack will just

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’
there’ss a chance of seeing it): Awareness + Ingenuity
I ngenuity
Actively looking for something: Awareness + Skill (related to the subject, Knowledge, Medicine, Technology,
Technology, etc)

󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁍󰁏󰁎 󰁋󰁎󰁏󰁗󰁌󰁅󰁄󰁇󰁅
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
adju dication on behalf of the Gamemaster
Gamema ster.. 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
a ll things legal, and an archaeologist’s Areas of Expertise
will reflect their years of education in history,
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 fairlyfairly similar
simil ar to something
they’dd know, whether they have the Area of Expertise or not, but not something they’d obviously know,
they’ know, then a penalty of around
-1 or -2
-2 would be apt. If it’s something
something they’d
they’d know nothing about, then the penalty couldcould be a high as -4, the usual penalty for
being unskilled. Of course, if it’s
it’s something really technical, the Difficulty of the
the task is going to be suitably high making it hard
for them to succeed.

A
ongood
skillsGamemaster
that no-onewill put opportunities into the game for characters to use their skills, and avoid making key plot points depend
possesses.

Pulp Fantastic
is used for any weapon that 󿬁res a projectile or shoots at
a target that is outside of close combat range. For weapons
that require physical aiming, such as a gun or manual
weapon system, pair Coordination with the Marksman
Skill. For other more technical weaponry pair Ingenuity
with Marksman, to re󿬂ect the more intellectual approach
to operating the weapon.
Areas of Expertise: Bow,
ow, Pistol,
Pis tol, Ri 󿬂e, Automatic Weapons,
      P Sniper, Thrown Weapons, Dart Gun, Mounted Weapons
      U Trappings:  At Skill 2 or 3, you may possess a weapon or
      T
      E two of your own, depending on local laws. At Skill 4 or
      S more, you de󿬁nitely have access to your own weapon, and
may be part of a gun club, reserve military unit or other
group.
P3M&.&-3
The Medicine Skill, at low levels, re󿬂ects the character’s
ability to perform basic 󿬁rst aid, resuscitation or stabilize
wounds. At higher levels, they may be medical students,
or fully 󿬂edged doctors or nurses, even surgeons. Medicine
is usually paired with Ingenuity, though if the medical
procedure is particularly tricky or requires delicate work,
then Coordination can be used. Medicine also re 󿬂ects
other Areas of Expertise, depending upon the background
of the character
character,, such as forensic, veterinary medicine or
alternative therapies.
Areas of Expertise: Disease, Wounds, Poisons, Psycho-
logical Trauma, Surgery, Forensics, Veterinary Medicine,
Alternative Remedies.
Trappings: You’ve got a 󿬁rst aid kit at least. Higher skill
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
practice.
󰁗󰁈󰁁󰁔 󰁄󰁏 󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌 󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁋󰁓 󰁍󰁅󰁁󰁎?
What do those skill numbers actual mean? For academic skills
like Knowledge, Medicine or Science, it breaks down like this:
1. You’re broadly familiar with the topic. For Medicine,
you’ve done a first aid course and maybe dated a
nurse. For Knowledge or Science, you’ve read a few
books on the topic.
2. You’ve had some training in the topic, such as a
night course or diploma.
3. You have a graduate degree in the field.
4. You’ve got a masters in the field, or you’ve got
extensive practical experience. You’re
You’re an expert in
the topic.
5. You’ve got a PhD and have a lot of experience.
experience. If
you’re not a university professor or a researcher,
then you’re almost certainly working in the field.
6. You’re a household
household name – or
or could
could be. Your name
is synonymous with the skill.
41
C.&3-.3
Science! There are always new and exciting things on the
horizon, new aircraft, new war machines, and new ways
to entertain people by transmitting through the airwaves
airwaves..
There’s a little crossover with the Medicine and Technol-
ogy Skills, but if the task requires less repairing either
people or gadgets, and more contemplating the wild pseu-
doscience or in-depth theory
theory,, then Science is going to be
the Skill of choice.
Weird
Wei rd Science
can only is also
take that areaan Area
with theofGamemaster’s
Expertise, butpermission.
characters
Areas of Expertise: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry,
Botany,, Biology, Parapsychology
Botany Parapsycho logy..
Trappings:  At lower skill levels, you’ve got a few books
and some basic equipment like a microscope. At Skill 3 or
more, you either own or have access to a laboratory.
C)B$3@I)63
Sneaking around, hiding, and sleight of hand are all
covered by Subterfuge. Subterfuge is usually paired with
Coordination, or if the task is of a more intellectual nature,
Ingenuity can be used,
use d, especially for tasks like safe-crack-
safe- crack-
ing or devising a suitably e ff ective
ective bit of camou󿬂age.
Areas of Expertise:  Sneaking, Lock-picking, Sleight of
Hand, Pickpocketing, Safe-cracking, Camou󿬂age.
Trappings: Dark or camou󿬂age-pattern clothing, lock-
picks, maybe even safe-cracking gear and thermite.
C)@K&K#*
This is one Skill that has been lost by the vast majority of
modern city-dwellers,
city-dwellers, who live in a comfortable environ-
ment with few natural dangers. The closest we come to
hunting and foraging is walking to the neighborhood
grocery. The Survival skill was vital to our ancestors. It
covers navigation in the wilderness, 󿬁nding food and
water, building shelters, hunting and other ‘primitive’
skills.
Areas of Expertise: Desert, Jungle, Swamp, Mountain,
Arctic, Wilderness
Wilderness..
Trappings: Camping gear, maps, all-weather clothing,
hiking boots.
93."-2*265 
Some people are a whiz with gizmos, gadgets and all kinds
of new-fangled devices, while others have difficulty tuning
the radio in to Fibber McGee and Molly. Technology as a
Skill represents the character’s know-how when it comes
to all of these things. Whether it is repairing an automo-
bile, disarming a bomb, understanding weird technology
or just mending a fuse, Technology, paired with Ingenui-
ty, is the Skill to use.
Areas of Expertise: Electrics, Gadgetry, Hacking, Repair,
Robotics.
 42
Weird Technology
Technology is also an Area of Expertise, but characters
can only take that area with the Gamemaster’s permission.
Trappings: If you’ve got an Area of Expertise, then you’ve
got a garage or a spare room crammed with spare parts,
un󿬁nished projects and reference books related to your
hobby.
9@#-'+2@$
The Transport
Transport skill deals with piloting or driving all sorts
of vehicle. Like other broad Skills, knowing how to drive
a car doesn’t mean you can pilot a zeppelin, but when it
comes to vehicles many are similar enough to give you a
good place to start. Steering, accelerator, brakes, what
more do you need? If the technology is similar enough,
you can probably allow the players to use the Skill without
penalty. The only method of transport that isn’t covered
by the Transport Skill is riding an animal, such as a horse.
Areas of Expertise: Cars, Trucks, Aircraft, Motorcycles,
Submersibles, Zeppelins.
Trappings: If your skill is 2 or more, you have your own
vehicle. With a Skill of 3 or more and the appropriate Area
of Expertise, you’ve got the license to operate the match-
ing vehicle if it’s an unusual one like a Zeppelin.
9@#&$'
Traits are quirks of personality, signi󿬁cant episodes in
your past, or unusual talents. They’re special advantages
advantages
or drawbacks that make your character unique. When the
characters are in a situation where a Trait may come into
play, it can aid (or hinder) with what they’re doing. Knowing
when a Trait comes into play is a tricky one, but basically
if you think that the situation could involve a character’s
Trait, it should be factored into the game, even if it’s a Bad
Trait and will make things harder for the character. If the
player is honest, keeping in character for the game and
mentioning the Trait, if they bring a Bad Trait into play
that you may have forgotten, the player should be reward-
ed with Story Points. More on those later.
Traits are divided by how important they are: a Minor
Min or Trait
might only come into play once every few weeks, while a
Major Trait aff ects
ects your character constantly. Traits can
also be Good or Bad. A Good Trait gives you a bonus to
your rolls or some other positive bene 󿬁t, while a Bad Trait
gives a penalty or carries with it some other problem.
 AII3.
 AI I3.$&
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-6 52
52)@
)@ ?"
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#@#.
#.$3
$3@@
Sometimes, a Trait can eff ectect game-play without you
having to roll any dice. Some Traits simply help or hinder
the character all of the time. For example, Phobia can
hinder their actions if they face the object of their fears,
or Code of Conduct can limit their choices in any given
situation, just as Tough can save their life in a 󿬁ght without
any dice needing to be rolled. The Trait’s description will
give you an idea of how each of the speci 󿬁c Traits work,
but if you and the players think the Trait is apt to the sit-
uation, then it comes into play.
Genesis
Some Good Traits are very powerful and require the ex-
penditure of a Story Point (or more) to “activate”, whereas
some Bad Traits are so dangerous that they give Story
Points back when they come up.
:)5&-6 9@#&$'
Traits are purchased with Character Points. If you don’t
have any Character Points left after buying Attributes and
Skills, don’t worry. You can ;
Go back and reduce an Attribute or Skill to get Char-
acter Points back
or
Take a Bad Trait
or
Take the Experienced Trait (see the sidebar) 2
Minor Traits cost a single Character Point to purchase (or
provide you with a point if they’re Bad).
Major Traits cost two Character Points to purchase, (or
provide two points if they’re bad for your character).
Giving yourself a Bad Trait will give you more points that
can either be spent on your Attributes, or even spent on
your Skills if you think the character is lacking in any area.
Taking a lot of Bad Traits may give you lots of points to
spend elsewhere, but it can be very limiting to a character
character..
We’d suggest that the Gamemaster limits the number of
Bad Traits that may be taken to 6 points worth.
Traits can only be purchased once, unless the Gamemas-
Traits
ter approves. In these rare cases, it is only with Traits that
can mean multiple things - for example you can have a
phobia of rats and spiders (two diff erent
erent Phobia Traits - woe
betide anyone with these who meets a rat-spider hybrid!).
You cannot purchase a Trait twice that isn’t speci󿬁c like
this - for example you cannot purchase Tough twice
because you want to be “super tough”. As a guide, Traits
that can (*),
asterisk be purchased multiple
but multiple timesmust
purchases are marked with an
be approved by
the Gamemaster.
Also, opposing Traits shouldn’t be purchased as they simply
cancel each other out. You cannot be both Attractive
Attractive and
Unattractive (though this is fairly subjective), and you
cannot be Distinctive and have Face in the Crowd. Some
opposing Traits may be purchased if the Gamemaster
allows - for example, you could have both Lucky and
Unlucky, meaning that your luck is extreme in both cases.
Brave can be purchased with Phobia, as you can be brave
in the face of everything except the thing you’re secretly
scared of. If you can rationalize it, and it makes sense, and
the Gamemaster approves, you can purchase almost any
Trait you wish. We’ll point out some of these restrictions
in the Trait’s descriptive text.
 43

Pulp Fantastic

9@#&$' N&'$ 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 e ff ects
ects 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),
Trait), either Good or Bad. Pet* (Minor or Major), page 50
The list is by no means exhaustive. If there’s something new Photographicc Memory (Major), page 50
Photographi
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
      P Quick Re󿬂exes (Major), page 50
new Trait a value (Minor or Major, Good or Bad) and de 󿬁ne
      U any features, working with the players to create something
      T
      E cool and interesting. Use the existing Traits as a guide. Resourceful Pockets (Minor), page 50
      S We’ve split the following list into Good Traits (󿬁rst), Bad
Rumor Mill (Minor), page 50
Traits and then Special Tra
Traits.
its. Sense of Direction (Minor), page 51
Sharpshooterr (Minor), page 51
Sharpshoote
N&'$ 2I 9@#&$' &- 2@M3@
Super Amalgamated (Minor), page 51
For easy reference, the Traits are listed below with page
references. Technically Adept (Minor), page 51

722M 9@#&$' Tracker (Minor), page 51

Animal Friendship (Minor),
(Minor), page 46 
46  Tough (Minor or Major), page 51
Attractive (Minor),
(Minor), page 46 Voice of Authority (Minor), page 51
Authority (Minor or Major),
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),
(Minor), page 46 Well Traveled (Minor), page 51
Breaking & Entering (Major) , page 46 :#M 9@#&$'
Charming (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 Adversary*
Adversary* (Minor or Major), page 52
Crack Shot (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 Amnesia (Minor or Major), page 52
Easily Underestimated (Minor), page 47 Animal Lover (Minor), page 52
Empathic (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 By the Book (Minor), page 52
Face in the Crowd (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 Clumsy (Minor), page 52
Fast Healer (Major),
(Major), page 47 Code of Conduct (Minor or Major), page 53
Fast Runner (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 Cowardly (Minor), page 53
Favoritee Gun/Gadget
Favorit Gun/ Gadget (Minor),
(Minor), page 47 Dark Secret (Minor or Major), page 53
Friends* (Minor or Major),
Major), page 47 Dependents (Minor or Major), page 53
Gadgeteer (Major),
(Major), page 48 Dependency (Minor or Major), page 53
Hobby (Minor),
(Minor), page 48 
48  Distinctive (Minor), page 53
Hot Shot (Minor),
(Minor), page 48 Dogsbody (Minor) , page 54
Hypnosis (Minor or Major), page 48 Doomed (Major), page 54
Instinct (Minor)*
(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
Impaired Senses* (Minor or Major), page 55
Impoverished (Minor), page 55
Impulsive (Minor), page 55
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor), page 55
Maverick (Minor), page 55
Obligation (Minor or Major), page 55
Obsession (Minor or Major), page 55
Outcast (Minor), page 56
Owes Favor (Minor or Major), page 56 
56  Claw (Minor Good), page 197
Phobia* (Minor), page 56
Racial Minority (Minor), page 56
Slow Re󿬂exes (Major), page 56
Slow Runner (Minor), page 56
Strange Visitor (Minor or Major), page 56
Technically
Technically Inept (Minor), page 57
Unattractive (Minor) , page 57
Unlucky (Minor or Major), page 57
Weakness (Minor or Major), page 57
C+3.&#* 9@#&$'
Experienced, page 57
Fast Healer, page 57
Inexperienced, page 57
Machine Man, page 57
More Than Human, page 58
Psychic, page 58
Robot, page 58
Team Player, page 58
Unusual Background, page 59
('5."&. 9@#&$'
Astral Travel, page 59
Clairvoyance, page 59
Cloud Men’s Minds, page 60
Empathic Aura, page 60
Enlightened, page 60
Possess, page 60
Precognition , page 60
Telekinesis, page 60
Telepathy, page 62
Genesis
?@3#$)@3 9@#&$'
Additional Limbs (Minor Good) , page 196
Aggressive
Aggressive (Major Good) , page 196
Amphibious (Minor Good) , page 196
Aquatic (Minor Bad), page 196
Armor (Minor, Major or Special Good) , page 196
Bite (Minor or Major Good), page 196
Burrowing (Minor Good), page 196
Climbing (Minor or Major Good), page 197
Constrict (Minor Good), page 197
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good), page 197
2
Environmental
Environmental (Minor or Major Good), page 197
Fast-Moving
Fast-Moving (Minor or Major Good), page 197
Fear Factor (Special Good), page 197
Flight (Minor or Major Good), page 198
Frenzy (Minor Bad) , page 198
Grab (Minor Good) , page 198
Immateriall (Special Bad) , page 198
Immateria
Immortal (Major or Special Good) , page 198
Immunity (Major Good Trait) , page 199
Infection (Major Good), page 199
Invisible (Special Good), page 199
Leap (Special Good), page 200
Lurker (Minor Good), page 200
Natural Weapons
Weapons (Minor or Major Good), page 200
Networked
Networked (Minor or Major Good), page 200
Nocturnal (Minor Bad), page 200
Passivee (Minor Bad), page 200
Passiv
Poison (Special Good), page 201
Possess (Special Good), page 201
Replication (Major Good), page 201
Savage
Savage Roar (Major Good), page 201
Screamer! (Minor Good), page 202
Shapeshift (Minor, Major or Special Good), page 202
Slow-Moving
Slow-Moving (Minor or Major Good), page 202
Snap (Major Good), page 202
Special (Special Good), page 202
Stalker (Major Good), page 202
Stinger (Minor Good), page 202
 45

Pulp Fantastic
Stomp (Minor Good), page 202 of intensive training, the love of 󿬁ghting, the rush of en-
hanced adreal glands or just experience 󿬁ghting. In combat
Strange Appearance (Special Bad), page 203
the character acts faster and with a greater degree of de-
Teleport
Teleport (Major Good), page 203 termination
termination than others.
Trample (Major Good), page 203 ect: This Trait allows the character to take a free action
Eff ect:
or reaction in the Combat phase of an Action Round.  
Warning (Major Good), page 203
This free action does not suff erer the normal penalty for
taking more than one action per Action Round, and can
722M 9@#&$'
      P be an attack, parry, or any other combat related action. 
      U  A-&8#
 A- &8# * ,@&3
, @&3-M'
-M'"&+
"&+ At the GM’s discretion, the character can spend a Story

      T
      E (Minor Good Trait) Point to use their ‘free’ action in a diff erent
erent phase, but
this must also be somehow related to the combat cur-
      S Animals like and trust you. rently being fought.

ects: When encountering an animal for the 󿬁rst time,

Eff ects: :@#-M
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
hi s/her brand on someone else’s
or calm a creature. 󿬂esh, 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-
 A$$@
 A$ $@#.$
#.$&K3
&K3 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.”

Eff ects:
ects: The Attractive Trait comes into play whenever ect: A character who has been branded cannot be seen
Eff ect:
you’re doing something that your looks can in 󿬂uence. 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.
 A)$"
 A) $"2@&
2@&$5
$5 :@#K3
(Minor or Major Good Trait) (Minor Good Trait)
You’re in a position of authority and power. You’re steadfast and courageous.
Eff ects:
ects: The Minor version of this trait means you’re a ects: The Brave Trait provides a +2 bonus to any Resolve
Eff ects:
police officer, doctor, important public servant, G-man, roll to resist the eff ects
ects of fear. You can also spend a Story
󿬂
high- yingpeople
you order magnate or ininsome
around other
certain position that
circumstances lets
– and Point to automatically resist fear (you can spend this Story
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 in 󿬂uence in individual Phobia Bad Traits can still be purchased.
all sorts of areas. You can pick up the phone and call the
Police Commissioner
Commissioner or the President, and they’ll answer
answer.. :@3#>&-6 Q G-$3@&-6
The 󰁧󰁭 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 di ff erence
erence is that the Group Trait
only applies when you’ll pulling rank on behalf of your Eff ects:
ects: 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
S econdly,, you get to know the di
d ifficulty of the test
outside the group. before you roll the dice. For example, if you come to a

:2H&-6 2@ :#'"&-6 locked, alarmed door, the 󰁧󰁭 must tell you the difficulty
of disabling the alarm before
b efore 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 a ffinity

for the 󿬁ghting arts, and they like to 󿬁ght. This is the result
 46
?"#@8&-6
(Minor Good Trait)
You’ve got a way with words and a devilish sparkle in your
eye. People want to trust you.
Eff ects:
ects: You
You’ve
’ve got a +2 bonus to rolls when you’re trying
to convince people to do something they probably shouldn’t.
?@#.> C"2$
(Minor Good Trait)
You’ve a special knack for hitting things from distance.
Perhaps you grew up hunting in the backwoods with your
pappy, 󿬁red weapons for sport or just have a particular gift
for accuracy, but it means that you rarely miss and can
literally
literally shoot the wings off  a
 a 󿬂y.
Eff ect:
ect: Crack Shot is a Minor Good Trait, and characters
with this gain +2 to their roll when using Marksman for
trick shots, like shooting a gun out of an enemy’s
enemy’s hand or
󿬁ring at a weak spot.
G#'&*5 =-M3@3'$&8#$3M
(Minor Good)
No one takes you seriously.  Maybe it’s a carefully cultivated
󿬁ction you’ve created over time, falsely acting like a mild-man-
nered reporter or a ditzy socialite.  Maybe you’re a minority,
or a woman, or you just look young, and nobody expects you
to be intelligent and capable.  Whatever the reason, there are
actually advantages to being underestimated sometimes...
Eff ect:
ect: You receive a +2 bonus to all social con󿬂icts with
someone underestimating you.  Additionally, you may
end a social con󿬂ict dramatically by suddenly confronting
another character, replacing the +2 with a free upgrade of
one degree of success to your roll; however, the other
character will never underestimat
u nderestimatee you again.  In a phys-
ical con󿬂ict with someone who still underestimates you,
you receive a free upgrade of one degree of success to your
roll, but only in your 󿬁rst Action Round.
G8+#$"&.
(Minor Good Trait)
You can read people’s body language and subtle emotional
cues very well, giving you an insight into what they’re feeling.
ects: Empathic allows the character a +2 bonus on any
Eff ects:
rolls when they are trying to empathize or read another
person. This could be a simple Presence and Convince roll
to reassure someone who’s panicking in the middle of a
battle, or an Awareness and Ingenuity roll to try to read
the actions and speech of another to see if they’re lying.
,#.3 &- $"3 ?@2<M
(Minor Good Trait)
When you want them to people tend to overlook you. This
could be because you’re very nondescript and a bit bland,
or because you’re simply very adept at looking like you
belong somewhere.
Genesis
Eff ects:
ects: As long as you’re not dressing like a clown or
anything else too weird, and not doing anything that will
attract their attention, people will leave you to go about
what you’re doing. If the Gamemaster asks for a roll to
“blend in”, the Trait provides a bonus of +2 to any Subter-
fuge Skill roll when you’re trying to sneak about and not
get noticed.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Distinctive Bad Trait.
,#'$ ;3#*3@
(Major or Special Good Tr
Trait)
ait)
You heal a lot faster than most people. You can recover
from injuries that would hospitalize another person with
a few night’s rest, and you hardly ever get sick.
Eff ects:
ects: You heal 1d6 points of Attributes lost to injury
with a night’s rest. The Special Good version of this Trait 2
allows the character to recover 1 Attribute point per minute
and costs 3 Character Points.
Points.
,#'$ 1)--3@
(Minor Good Trait)
You’re 󿬂eet of foot (always useful when you might come
face to…well…whatever with an Eldritch Abomination).
ects: Increase your movement speed by 1 when sprint-
Eff ects:
ing or 󿬂eeing.
,#K2@&$3 7)-R7#M63$
(Minor Good Trait)
You’ve got a favorite weapon or item.
ects: Once per game session, this trait gives you a free
Eff ects:
Story Point that must be spent on a roll or action related
to your favorite item. You can’t stockpile these Story Points;
you get one and only one per game.
,@&3-M'S
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
The Friends Trait can mean a variety of things, but essen-
tially the character has people they can call upon for in-
formation or help. Friends can be either
eithe r a Minor or a Major
Trait, depending upon how informative or helpful the
friend(s) in question are!
When you take this trait, you’ve got to specify what sort
of information that
tha t these friends have
h ave access to. You
You could
have ‘Friends in High Places’, giving you information about
the government, or ‘Friends in the University’, who could
pass on scienti󿬁c research and help you analyze something,
or ‘Friends in the Underworld’, meaning you know crim-
inals and thieves. You don’t need to pin down exactly who
these friends are yet – you can do that during play.
Above all, the Trait will not replace investigating some-
thing yourself. After all, where’s the fun if you get other
people to do all the sneaking around and research for you?
However,
However, these Friends are a great source of information
researching the background of a place or person that may
47

L-'$&-.$S
(Minor Good Trait)
You’ve got a habit or trained response that happens
before you even think about it.
ects: State your Instinct when
Eff ects: whe n you pick this trait. Your
instinct has to be a short habit or response, like ‘I alwa
always
ys
look for the nearest exit’ or ‘I draw my gun and shoot
whenever anything leaps out at me’ or ‘I hit the 󿬂oor
whenever I hear gun󿬁re’. This has two bene 󿬁ts – 󿬁rstly,
you always
always follow your Instinct. If your Instinct is to keep
to the shadows, then you’re always making Coordination
+ Subterfuge rolls to stay hidden. Secondly, your Instinct
happens at Fast speed (see Combat, page 125).
L-M28&$#B*3
(Major Good Trait)
The character has a determination and an iron will.
Eff ect:
ect: You have a +4 bonus to any rolls to resist being
possessed or hypnotized, psychically controlled or similar.
O33- C3-'3'S
(Minor/Major Good Trait)
The character is very aware of their surroundings, whether
they have a keen eye for detail and noticing when some-
thing is wrong, or a nose for a particular scent, they are
particularly perceptive and this is always a good thing
when tracking a foe or expecting trouble.
ects: The Keen Senses Trait awards a +2 bonus to Aware-
Eff ects:
ness rolls. As a Minor Trait the player should specify
specif y which
of the character’
c haracter’s senses is particularly keen. In this case
the bonus only applies to the use of that one sense, whether
it is sight, hearing, sense of smell or taste. Only one sense
can be chosen - more than one, and it’s the Major Trait.
As a Major Trait, the +2 bonus applies in any instance
when using Awareness to notice or spot something, no
matter what sense is being used.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Impaired Senses Bad Trait
in the same sense, although di ff erent
erent ones can be taken.
For example, you could have Keen vision, but be slightly
hard of hearing.
N&-6)&'$S
(Minor Good Trait)
Characters with this Trait have a talent for language and
communication. This may be due to education, a natural
affinity or just the result of a life of travel and adventure.
Eff ect:
ect: Characters with this Trait know two languages in
addition to their native language. This Trait can be taken
multiple times,
the character bestowing
each time. two additional languages to
A character with this Trait can also understand a new lan-
guage by spending a Story Point and succeeding on a Inge-
nuity + Knowledge roll (Difficulty set by the 󰁧󰁭 based on
Genesis
N).>5 
(Minor/Major Good Trait)
Lady Luck is on your side. Call it a 󿬂uke, call it chance, but
fortune is smiling on you.
ect: Characters with the Lucky Trait get a second chance
Eff ect:
when double “1”s are rolled, and you can re-roll both dice,
trying for something better. If you get double “1”s again,
well, your luck obviously doesn’t run that far. It doesn’t
guarantee a success on your second roll, but there’s a better
chance that fate may shine upon you.
As a Major Trait, your good luck means that every so often,
someone else has really bad luck. Once per game session,
you can spend a story point to force the 󰁧󰁭 to re-roll a
skill check or attack roll that’s going to hurt you in some
way. Say you’re caught in the headlights of a speeding
2
Duesenberg as the Syndicate tries to rub you out! The 󰁧󰁭 
rolls, and the automobile is about to grind you into a 󿬁ne
paste. You invoke your
your luck, the 󰁧󰁭 re-rolls – and this time
the vehicle is just slow enough for you to 󿬂ing yourself
aside at the last moment!
P#@$&#* A@$&'$
(Major Good Trait)
You’ve got a black belt in one or more martial arts. You
can kick ass with the best of them.
Eff ects:
ects: You’ve got to have a Fighting score of 3 or more,
and take an Area of Expertise in a martial art before you
can buy this trait. You in󿬂ict +2 damage when you punch
or kick someone, and you can use your Coordination instead
of your Strength score to work out your unarmed damage.
P&-&2-'S
(Major Good Trait)
You’ve got henchmen! You command a squad of loyal sol-
diers, or have a staff , or even a number of cloned minions.
ff 
Pick the sortworkers)
E ect: researchers,
entists, of minions youyou
when want (soldiers,
take sci-
this trait. If
you take the trait multiple times, you can choose to have
multiple diff erent
erent types of minions, or at the 󰁧󰁭’s discre-
tion you could have a higher quality of minion. These
minions will follow your orders and perform tasks
task s for you.
You’re the one in charge, though
t hough – you can’t send minions
off  to
 to do the adventuring and investigating for you. They’re
best suited to guarding key locations, doing background
research, or standing around looking menacing.
Minions have 25 character points to buy Attributes, Skills
and Traits per level of the Trait assigned to them.
If one or two of your Minions get killed, you’ll be able to
pick up replacements
replacemen ts before the next adventure. If all your
Minions get killed because of a bad decision you made,
then you don’t get replacements.
(There’s also a Group Trait that gives Minions. Those
Minions work the same way, but they’re not personally
loyal to you.)
 the language s similarity to those known by the character
character).
).
49

Pulp Fantastic
D3K3@ 7&K3' =+ 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
You’ve got true grit. When the
t he chips are down and it seems
se ems 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
Eff ect:
ect: You aren’t knocked out or incapacitated when one of haven’t actively committed to memory
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
      P butes are reduced to zero, then you’re probably going to die. from the diner down the street. To recall something vital
      U that you may have glanced at or possibly missed altogeth-
      T
      E E<3M ,#K2@S er,
clueyou can
you spend
may a Story
have Point
seen out ofto remember
the corner ofthe importa
important
your eye. nt
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
      S
Someone owes you a favor. Note: Cannot be taken with the Forgetful Bad Trait.

ect: As a Minor Trait, this means they owe you a small

Eff ect:
favor – a few thousand dollars, an
a n introduction to someone
important, a loan of their car when you need it. You can
get help from the person who owes you the favor a few
times before it’s repaid. Alternatively, you can turn the
Minor Favor into another Minor Trait as repayment in the
course of play.
The Major Trait version means someone owes you their
life, their health, their career or something equally im-
portant. This means that they’ll always be willing to do
you minor favors in return, for the rest of their life. Alter-
natively, you can call in your big favor to get something
equally important in exchange, turning it into another
Major Trait in the course of play. For example, if you save
a millionaire’s life, she’d owe you a big favor. You could
then trade this favor for the Wealthy Major Good Trait.
(3$S
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
You’ve got a trained pet!
Eff ect:
ect: This trait gives you a faithful, loyal animal com-
panion. At the Minor level you have a small, harmless
creature like a trained rat that isn’t much good in a 󿬁ght,
but it couldordistract
a warning track aamobster.
bad guy atAtthe right
the moment,
Major squeak
level your pet
could be a bigger creature – a guard dog, a war horse, a
mountain gorilla – that can attack people on command
or carry a rider. The downside of a big pet is that it’s
it’s hard
to bring it with you to most places. Few restaurants admit
wolfounds, let alone great apes.
('5."&. 9@#&-&-6
(Minor Good Trait)
The technique allows the character to resist psychic ma-
nipulation or trickery.
ect: The character has
Eff ect: h as a +2 bonus to Resolve rolls when
trying to resist psychic attack or deception.
T)&.> 13I*3H3'
(Major Good Trait)
You’re fast to act when things happen, reacting to situations
almost instinctively. It doesn’t mean you cannot be sur-
prised - if you don’t know something’s coming you can’t
react to it - but when something attacks or falls towards
you, you’re often the 󿬁rst to react to it.
Eff ects:
ects: Your Co-Ordination counts as being two higher
for the purposes of working out who goes 󿬁rst. Better yet,
if you spend a Story Point, you can act as
a s though you were
a Fast creature for one round.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Slow Re 󿬂exes Bad Trait.
13'2)@.3I)* (2.>3$'
(Minor Good Trait)
There’s a chance that you’ve got something useful on your
person that could get you out of a sticky situation.
Eff ect:
ect: Either spend a Story Point and 󿬁nd the thing you
need or roll two dice. If you get a ‘double’ then you 󿬁nd
something helpful.

("2$26@#+"&. P382@5  1)82@ P&**

(Major Good Trait) (Minor Good Trait)

With just a few seconds of concentration, the character You’ve

can commit something to memory to be instantly recalled
when the time is important. People with the Photograph-
ic Memory Trait rarely have problems passing exams, and
You’ve got your ear to the grapevine, or you’ve got contacts
in the media, or you spend all your time eavesdropping
on shady conversations in criminal
cri minal hangouts. Either way,
way,
when something odd happens, you hear about it.

can remember exact lines from books.
Eff ect:
ect: The Photographic Memory Trait can be used in a
couple of diff erent
erent ways. If you know you’re going to have
to remember something at a later time, such as the com-
bination to a lock or the instructions to program a calcu-
Eff ects: With this trait, you can get a hint once per ad-
ects: as
venture, if you’d spent a Story Point for help from the
󰁧󰁭 (see page 137). This hint comes from the press and
your knowledge of the weird, so it may only be indirectly
helpful. The 󰁧󰁭 may also give you plot hooks and rumors
ru mors
that you pick up from your contacts.
 lating engine, you can spend a moment to take the infor-
50

Genesis

C3-'3 2I F&@3.$&2- 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 eff ects,
ects, such as armor, are
compass. You rarely get lost. taken into account.
ects: You get a +2 bonus to any rolls (usually Awareness,
Eff ects: 9@#.>3@
Ingenuity or Survival) related to 󿬁nding your way in un-
familiar terrain. (Minor Good Trait)
You’re accomplished at following animal tracks and sur-
C"#@+'"22$3@ viving outdoors.
(Minor Good Trait) Eff ects:
ects: This Trait gives you a +2 bonus to any rolls to
If you’ve got time to line up a shot, you make it count. follow tracks and animal trails.
Eff ects:
ects: You can make an extra Aiming action, as per the  U2&.33 2I A)$
 U2&. A)$"2@
"2@&$
&$5 
5 
rules on page 124. So, if you aim for two rounds and 󿬁re
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 󿬁gure of authority - a doctor,
C)+3@ A8#*6#8#$3M a politician, a military commander or in the police force for
(Minor Good Trait) example. Thanks to this, people will pay more attention to you
when you talk to them. This is especially handy when you’re
You read a lot, and have a tendency to use large words. trying to clear an area because of some approaching danger,
You live by the philosophy of why use a 󿬁fty cent word,
to order people about or simply try to gain their trust.
when a two-dollar word will do. In the event of your reading
you pick up several tidbits of information, about subjects Eff ect:
ect: This is a Minor Trait and provides you with a +2
across the board…from Archeology to Law. bonus to Presence and Convince rolls to try to get people
to do as you like or to gain their trust. The Gamemaster
Eff ects:
ects: This Trait gives the character a +2 bonus to any may modify this to suit the situation.
roll (usually Intelligence and Knowledge) to determine
the result of any Knowledge roll.  !3#*$"
 !3#* $"55
93."-&.#**5 AM3+$ (Minor or Major Good Trait)
(Minor Good Trait) Put simply
si mply,, you’ve got money
money..
You have an innate connection to technology, and tech- Eff ects:
ects: 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 󿬁x things just
jus t by hitting them! You’re 󿬂ash 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
long enough… items, and can throw huge bribes around by spending Story
Points. This trait works like the Wealth
Wealthy
y Base Trait.
Eff ect:
ect: The Technically Adept Trait provides you with +2 Note: This trait cannot be taken with the Impoverished Trait.
Trait.
to any Technology roll to 󿬁x a broken or faulty device, and
to use complex gadgets or equipment. It also gives you a  !3#+2-'
 !3#+ 2-' G-.
G-.5.*
5.* 2+3
2+3M&#
M&#
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
92)6" 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 o ff  as
 as sible out󿬁tted accessories, etc.
if nothing had happened. Few people can take getting shot or
Eff ect:
ect: Wea
Weapons
pons 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.
Eff ect:
ect: The Tough Trait reduces the amount of injury a char-
acter sustains if wounded during the course of the adventure.  !3&@M
 !3&@ M 93.
9 3."S
"S
 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.
Eff ects:
ects: Consult with the 󰁧󰁭 about what sort of weird
Eff ect:
ect: 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 e ffi-
as small as a couple of days, weeks or even a couple of
cient (like a miniature calculating engine, a ring-mount-
      P ed gas gun or a jet-turbine you
you can wear on your back) is
years, but the character (and the player) will have no idea
      U a Minor Trait. An item that does something that’s impos-
of what happened to them in that time.

      T
      E sible, like a matter transmitter
tra nsmitter or a pocket watch that stops As a Major Bad Trait, this Amnesia is total, the character
      S 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-
 !3*** 9@#K
 !3* 9 @#K3*3
3*3MS
MS 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’
character’ss 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 diff erent
erent to master before purchasing it.
their own. The Well Traveled Trait re󿬂ects how much
actual traveling the character has done.  A-&8#
 A- &8#** N 2K3
2K3@@
ect: Select the general area to which the character has
Eff ect: (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 ect: If you do nothing when an animal is being injured
Eff ect:
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. 󰁧󰁭. If attacked by an animal you can still 󿬁ght back to
save your life, or the lives of innocents, but you must always
:#M 9@#&$' try to 󿬁nd non-harmful solutions 󿬁rst.
 AMK 3@' #@
#@5S
5S :5 $"3 :22>
(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-
Eff ect:
ect: 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.
󿬂
Eff ect:
ect: Adversary can be a Minor or a Major Bad Trait bonus to Resolve
tract you rolls
from your to resist
duties. Theindownside
uences that might
is that dis-a
you’re
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 de 󿬁nite-
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 ?*)8'5 
‘Kick Me’ sign on your character. The 󰁧󰁭 is encouraged (Minor Bad Trait)
to go out of his way to have your Adversary
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.
Eff ect:
ect: In times of stress, especially when being chased,
 A8-3
 A8 -3'&#
'&#
(Minor or Major Bad Trait) you’ll havetotoavoid
tion rolls makeknocking
additionalvital
Awareness and Coordina-
things over, dropping
the vial of toxic chemicals or tripping up and landing on
Memory is a fragile thing that can easily be manipulate
manipulated
d
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
?2M3 2I ?2-M).$
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
The Code of Conduct Trait means that your character
adheres to a strict moral standing or self imposed set of
rules they follow at all times. While this is listed as a Bad
B ad
Trait, it doesn’t mean that having a Code is Bad; just that
it can restrict your actions and limit your choices. Being
a good person is often the harder option, but it means
you’re a better person for it.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Trait, Code of Conduct means that the
character tries to do good at most times, and are unable
to harm another being unless it is absolutely necessary
and for the greater good.
As a Major Trait, their code of limits their actions dramat-
ically,, meaning they strive to do their best at every moment,
ically
almost verging on the saintly!
The player should discuss the character’s own unique Code
of Conduct with the Gamemaster when they take this 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
drastic, but breaking a serious Code of Conduct is not
something to be done lightly and players who purchase
the Trait and then do not adhere to it will have to learn
their costly mistake.
?2<#@M*5  should be careful not to take such a high Dependency that
(Minor Bad Trait)
Running away is an instinctive response for you. When
danger threatens, you head for the hills!
ect: The Cowardly Trait reduces the character’s chance
Eff ect:
to resist getting scared, suff ering
ering a -2 penalty to any Resolve
rolls against fear.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Brave Good Trait.
F#@> C3.@3$
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
You’ve got a skeleton in your closet and if it’s revealed it
could change the way people think about you.
Eff ect:
ect: Dark Secret can be either a Minor or a Major Bad
Trait,
Tra it, depending upon the severity of the reaction should
the secret be revealed. Something that would negativel
negatively y
aff ect
ect people’s relations with you is only a Minor trait (for
example, you had an aff air
air with a notorious femme fatale),
but something that would completely change your status
in the game is Major (say,
(say, if it was discovered
di scovered that you were
still seeing the femme fatale and passing her information
about the group, or perhaps that you and the femme fatale
have a child).
It’s probably best for the player to discuss what the Dark
It’s
Secret actually is with the Gamemaster, possibly before
they start creating their character, just so the
t he player really
does have to keep the secret from the other players – they
may not want to write it on the character sheet, so they
can’t look at it and see what they’ve been hiding!
Genesis
F3+3-M3-$'
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
You’ve got responsibilities outside the 󿬁ght for truth and
 justice, or you’re
you’re trying to maintain
maintain a normal
normal life despite
the weirdness and secret conspiracies you continually
stumble into. Maybe you’ve got a boyfriend or girlfriend
who doesn’t know your secret identity, or maybe you’ve
even got kids or an aged parent to take care of.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Trait, your dependent shows up once
every few stories, and you’ve got to take steps to protect
them or conceal the truth from them. A little-seen 󿬁ancee
in another state is a Minor Dependent; by contrast, a nosy
kid-brother could cause enough bother to be a Major
Dependent. Major Dependents get themselves into trouble
regularly, or force you to take constant precautions to
preserve your secrets. 2
F3+3-M3-.5 
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Sometimes you just rely on others. Having the Dependen-
cy Trait means they are dependent upon something or
someone to survive. The level of the trait determines how
desperate they will get, and how bad the e ff ects
ects will be, if
they can’t get their 󿬁x. Dependency is a Bad Trait and gives
the character more points at character creation,
cre ation, but players
their character becomes too difficult to play.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Bad Trait, the Dependency isn’t too
debilitating. They can go for extended periods without
their needs getting in the way. If the Gamemaster decides
it’s appropriate, the character may suff erer a -2 penalty to
their actions. However, as a Major Trait, they are unable
to survive without their dependency.
dependency. If they go without it
for any period of time (de 󿬁ned by the Gamemaster and
the player) they suff er
er a -4 penalty to every action. This
could be because they’re unable to think of anything else,
or because they’re unable to act properly without help.
F&'$&-.$&K3
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
There is something very striking or obvious about the
character that makes them stand out in the crowd. Whether
they are just tall, short, have colored hair, bronze skin or
are just striking in their appearance, they get noticed and
people seem to remember them. Maybe they have a mem-
orable habit; perhaps they constantly play with a lucky
coin, or make a peculiar trilling sound when concentrat-
ing. They’re not going to provoke people pointing and
staring, but they’ll certainly be remembered and recog-
nized if encountered again.
ff  If the character is trying to “blend in” or go unno-
E ect:
ticed in a crowd, if a roll is required they will receive a -2
penalty to the result. It’s also easier for other people to
remember them after the event.
With the Major version of this Trait the character isn’t just

Pulp Fantastic
people who have only heard of him or her. Their where-
abouts are regularly covered by the press and they receive
a -4 penalty to attempts to go unnoticed.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Face in the Crowd Trait.
F26'B2M5  you suff er
(Minor Bad Trait)
You’re at the bottom of the totem pole. You might be
      P
low-ranking in your organization or just eternally unlucky
      U ect: As a Minor Trait, your emotions get in the way but
      T
      E when
palmed it ocomes
ff  on to work.
 on you. You’reEvery boring
always or mucking
the one menial job
outgets
the
      S yeti cage, and yetis smell bad!
Eff ect:
ect: You have a -2 penalty to any attempts to order
people around in your organization. You’ll also always be
given the worst jobs.
Note: You can get this Trait temporarily as a punishment
for disobedience or screwing up.
F2283M
(Major Bad Trait)
All things end, but some Pulp heroes know that it is going
to end badly
ect: In some way,
Eff ect: way, your character’s end is sealed. It may
be the result of a terminal diagnosis,
diagnosis, a terrible curse, some
form of hereditary affliction or the result of an inescapable
prophecy, but your character has a limited shelf-life and
time is running out. The nature of the Doom that awaits
the character should be worked out broadly with the Gam-
emaster, and can be invoked at any time.
Note: This Trait is better suited for barbarian warriors,
 jungle kings, mystics and other fantastical characters.
󰁧󰁭s who invoke a character’s Doom should take care to
ensure that it is never meaningless (unless that is in itself
the meaning of the Doom). Players who take this Bad Trait
are signing the ultimate death warrant for their character,
but should gain role-playin
role-playing
g opportunities as a result.
G..3-$@&.
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
You’re just a bit odd. Your personality is o ff -putting
-putting or
strange, and that can make you hard to work with.
Eff ect:
ect: The Minor version of this trait means you’ve got
an oddity that crops up every so often – you get tongue-tied
around women, you refuse to get mud on o n your shoes even
when chasing a gangster through a swamp, you hum loudly
when nervous. It’s inconvenient or annoying, but doesn’t
happen often.
The Major version means that your eccentricity interferes
with your life on a regular basis – you might be extreme-
ly paranoid, insuff erably
erably rude, addicted to alcohol, or have
some other trait that puts you at odds with every
everyone
one else.
Maybe you’re just a jerk.
memorable, but is famous and is recognizable even to
53
G82$&2-#* ?28+*&.#$&2-
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
You’ve got baggage of some sort that may complicate your
life. Maybe you bear a grudge against someone. Maybe
er from depression. Maybe you’re secretly in love
with another player character. Whatever your emotional
complication is, it’s hard to ignore feelings when they’re
this strong.
Eff ect:
don’t stop you doing your job. Every so often, you have to
deal with issues arising from them (or pay a Story Point
to override your emotional drives).
As a Major Trait, then the emotion dominates your life. It
consumes you, 󿬁lls you, and may be your downfall. You can’t
act rationally when something triggers your complication.
,2@63$I)*
(Minor Bad Trait)
Rather than the lack of memory that Amnesia brings,
Forgetful means that your memory is less than reliable.
You tend to forget things if you’re distracted or focused
elsewhere, like the classic absent-minded professor.
Eff ect:
ect: When you’ve got to recall something important,
like how to disarm a bomb, you’ve got to pay a Story Point
to remember it in time.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Photographic Memory
Trait.
,@3'" P3#$
(Minor Bad Trait)
Something about you smells good to meat-eating preda-
tors, thugs and things that bite. Lions, tigers, bears, sharks,
piranhas, wolves, yetis and dinosaurs all want to eat you.
Mosquitoes swarm around you. Bullies and thugs just
want to beat the tar out of you. Even carnivorous plants
think you’re delicious.
ect: Firstly
Eff ect:  Firstly,, any attempts to use Subterfuge to hide from
predators suff er er a -2 penalty if they can smell you. Sec-
ondly, given a choice, any hungry 󿬂esh-eater is going to
snack on you instead
ins tead of anyone else nearby
ne arby.. In a bar 󿬁ght,
you’re the 󿬁rst one to get punched. You’re always target
number one.
722M C#8#@&$#-
(Minor Bad Trait)
You
You can’t stand to see people hurt, oppressed or mistreated.
ects: If you stand by and do nothing when someone is
Eff ects:
being injured or in
i n pain, you lose Story Points. The number
of Story Points is up to the 󰁧󰁭.
 54

Genesis

;3** 2- !"33*' L-'#$&#B*3 ?)@&2'&$5 

(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
Eff ect:
ect: 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, Eff ect:
ect: 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 eff ects
ects of this trait are decided on a case-by-case
c ase-by-case nature. It is usually unhelpful, but you simply have to
basis by the 󰁧󰁭, 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
L8+#&@3M C3-'3'S it doesn’t make you suicidal. You just take a few
f ew chances
(Minor/Major Bad Trait) to 󿬁nd things out.
The Impaired Senses Trait means that the character is P#K3@&.>
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
You’ve got a problem
pr oblem with authority
a uthority.. Anyone ordering
orderi ng you
Trait, the player should choose which sense is aff ected.
ected. around puts your hackles up.
ect: Discussing with the Gamemaster, the player should
Eff ect: ect: Again, this Bad Trait aff ects
Eff ect: ects your behavior. If you
you’re
’re
choose which sense is eff ected,
ected, 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
aid, a hearing
Awareness aid. Without
rolls using theirsu
these senses glasses
ff er orpenalty
er a -2 hearing
pe nalty.. your best interest to comply.
EB*&6#$&2-
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 di fficult to get invol
involved
ved 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
responsibil ity towards a cause. Whatever the
enced players. nature of the obligation, it aff ects
ects you deeply.
Note: Cannot be taken with with Keen Senses, unless the Eff ect:
ect: 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 aff ect
ect your ability to run around chasing bad
L8+2K3@&'"3M
guys that often, but con󿬂icts 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,
your moneyor
onyou’ve got debts, or maybe you just waste
slow horses. more important
to someone. than
If the the character,
other person saysor jump,
you owe your
you life
jump.
Breaking this obligation will cost you dearly.
Eff ect:
ect: You’ve got very little money. You may be living in
poverty, or sleeping on a friend’s couch. If you spend more EB'3''&2-
than a trivial money during the game, it costs you a Story
Point. For example, you can buy a cup of co ff ee
ee 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
L8+)*'&K3 with your private menagerie of “improved” plant and
animal species. Either way, it drives everything you do.
(Minor Bad Trait)
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Bad Trait, it means you’ve got a com-
“Why worry, it’ll be 󿬁ne, let’s go!” The impulsive sort do
pulsion of some sort, a nervous habit or obsessive tic like
not think
likely things
to leap through
before very well
they look. beforemean
It doesn’t acting and
they are
have always washing your hands or always worrying about
disease or demanding that you be the driver of any vehicle
a death wish, far from it, it’
it’ss 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 󰁧󰁭 might demand a Story Point off  you   you if
Eff ect:
ect: 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.
Pulp Fantastic
As a Major Trait, your obsession drives everything you do.
You’ve a +2 to Resolve for any skill rolls related to accom-
plishing your obsession, but you 󿬁nd it hard to do anything
that doesn’t further your crazy goal. This trait is really
only suitable for NPCs and villains.
E)$.#'$
(Minor Bad Trait)
      P The character has done something that means that a group,
      U race, or nation has shunned them or views them with fear,
      T dread or loathing.
      E cations, and the legal system may not work in your favor.
      S Eff ect:
ect: The player should discuss with the Gamemaster
what the character has done and who regards them with
such dislike or dismissal. Anyone that could react nega-
tively to their presence should make an Awareness and
Ingenuity roll initially to recognize them. If the character
is recognized, they’ll suff er
er a -2 penalty on all social rolls
(such as trying to Convince or to even share their knowl-
edge). If the ‘something’ they’ve done is more severe than
this, they should take a Major Dark Secret Bad Trait instead.
E<3' ,#K2@
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
You owe someone
owe
to someone, a favor.
or as big It cansomeone
as owing be as simple
youraslife.
owing money
You want
to repay the favor, but that may not be as easy as it sounds.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Trait, you only owe a relatively small
favor – you might do something small every so often for
whomever you’re indebted to, like lending them money
or helping them out when they’re in trouble.
As a Major Trait, you owe someone a lot. They have a huge
hold over you, and it is impossible for you to say no to
whatever they ask of you. As long as this favor hangs over
you, you’ll never be free.
If you pay off  the
 the favor without buying off  this
 this Trait with
Experience Points, then you should replace it with another
ff 
Badagreeing
by Trait. For
toexample, youagent,
be a double mightreplacing
pay o  a Major Favor
Owes Favor
with Dark Secret.
("2B&#S
(Minor Bad Trait)
Some people just don’t like spiders. Others, it’s cats. Or
snakes, or heights, or darkness, or sharks chewing your
leg off . Having a Phobia Trait means that there is some-
thing (that the player will de󿬁ne, usually with the Game-
master’s help) that they are afraid of.
Eff ect:
ect: You’ve a -2 penalty to Resolve checks to resist fear
when you encounter your phobia. You’ve got to roll even
when the object of the phobia isn’t a real threat to you –
anyone would have to roll against fear when they meet a
scorpion, but if you’ve got a phobia of insects, you’ve also
got to roll when you spot a harmless beetle crawling up
your leg.
55
1#.&#* P&-2@&$5
(Minor Bad)
You are a racial minority in the country where you nor-
mally reside.  This causes you several inconveniences, and
you likely face daily discrimination, from jobs
job s to housing,
from shopping to transportati
transportation.
on.
Eff ect:
ect: You receive a −2 to all social interactions with
people of the majority race, except when dealing with
particularly enlightened people (GM’s discretion).  You
may also be completely barred from access to certain lo-
C*2< 13I*3H3'
(Major Bad Trait)
Some people are incredibly quick when it comesc omes to react-
ing to a situation. You can throw a ball at them when
they’re not looking and they’ll notice at the last minute
spinning around and catching the ball. People with the
Slow Re󿬂exes Trait are not these kinds of people. You can
throw a ball at their face and it’ll hit them in the forehead
before they have chance to put their hands up to catch it.
ect: You act as a Slow creature in combat,
Eff ect: comb at, which means
󿬁
everyone else gets to go rst.
Note: Cannot be taken with the Quick Re󿬂exes Good Trait.
C*2< 1)--3@
(Minor Bad Trait)
People don’t have to outrun
out run the bad guy
guy.. They just
jus t have to
outrun you.
Eff ect:
ect: Reduces your speed by 1 when running. You can’t
take this Trait if your Coordination is already only 1, or if
you’ve got the Fast Runner trait.
C$@#-63 U&'&$2@
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Maybe you grew up in the jungles of the African Congo,
or on an isolated plateau populated
populated with dinosaurs, or in
a vast cavern beneath the Earth’s crust colonized by the
last survivors of fabled Mu. Maybe you’re from another
time, or another world entirely. Whatever your origin,
you’re not from around here. You’re a strange visitor in a
diff erent
erent world to the one you knew.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Trait, you come from some other
country or province with a very di ff erent
erent culture, but not
too alien. Your Skills are unaff ected
ected by these diff erences,
erences,
but it’s unnerving and you occasionally run into more
changes that you weren’t expecting.
The Major version of the Trait is only available with the
󰁧󰁭’s permission; wherever you come from, it’s a very
diff erent
erent place. You suff er
er a -2 penalty to any rolls depen-
dent on familiarity with modern day cultures and tech-
nologies, and this penalty may be increased when trying
to do anything dependent on advan
advanced
ced scienti󿬁c knowl-
edge or specialist training at the 󰁧󰁭’s discretion.
 56
93."-&.#**5 L-3+$
(Minor Bad Trait)
Technology is the wonder of the age, but it is not your
friend. Either you’re very unfamiliar with the workings of
modern technology, or you are just extremely unlucky
when it comes to gadgets and gizmos, but either way, you
have trouble using any complex equipment.
Eff ect:
ect: You’ve a -2 penalty to any Technology
Technology-based
-based rolls.
Furthermore, you have to spend a Story Point if you’re trying
to do anything beyond the most basic operation of a tech-
nological device – for example, you could poke around and
maybe roll to turn on a generator, but you’ve got to pay a
Story Point levy to do anything more complex than just
hitting the power switch and hoping the lights come on.
=-#$$@#.$&K3
(Minor Bad Trait)
You’re not necessarily ugly or hideous, but…well, you’re
not going to be winning any personality or beauty contests
anytime soon. You’re just unappealing.
Eff ect:
ect: The Unattractive Trait comes into play whenever
the character is doing something that their looks can in-
󿬂uence. As a Bad TraTrait,
it, the character will get a -2 penalty
to any rolls that involve their less-than-good look
Note: Cannot be taken with the Attractive Good Trait.
=-*).>5  Not every character should be as experienced as this, and
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
Luck’s not on your side. Whenever things can go wrong
for you, they do.
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Trait, you’re just unlucky. Whenever
you succeed really well by rolling double-six on the dice,
you’ve
you’ve got to roll them again and take the second result.
As a Major Trait, you’re really unlucky. Normally, when
the 󰁧󰁭 does something unexpectedly nasty to your char-
acter, he’s obliged to recompense you with a Story Point
or two – but this doesn’t apply to you. The 󰁧󰁭 gets to
torment you for free.
 !3#>-3
 !3#> -3''S
''S
(Minor or Major Bad Trait)
The character has a weakness; something that can either
cause him harm where it would not hurt other characters,
or causes aggravated damage where it might not be as
severe for someone else. It may be an allergic reactions to
certain foods or pollens, an intolerance to certain kinds
of medication, a tendency to cave in to certain kinds of
arguments or persuasion, or a vulnerability to the radia-
tions of certain green glowing rocks from space.
Eff ect:
ect: Agree on chosen weakness with the player. As a
Minor Bad Trait, the character gets -2 to all rolls when the
Gamemaster decides the weakness applies. When the
character encounters the thing that a ff ects
ects them, any rolls
Genesis
Weakness as a Major Trait is best suited for villains and
creatures who need a de󿬁nite exploitable weakness to
give the characters a chance against them. When the
weakness is aff ected
ected it in󿬂icts 4 levels of damage, reducing
their Attributes (see Injuries, on p.128).
Note: This cannot be taken with the Immunity Trait if
both cover the same substance.
C+3.&#* 9@#&$'
GH+3@&3-.3MS
(Special Good Trait)
In return for additional Character Points, the character
will have fewer Story Points. This reduction in
i n Story Points
not only applies at character creation, it also reduces the
number of Story Points your character can carry over
2
between adventures.
Eff ect:
ect: Experienced is a Special Trait that costs Story
Points rather than Character Points. The Story Points spent
to purchase this Trait reduce the maximum Story Point
pool for the character. Experienced costs 3 Story Points to
purchase, and provides the character with an additional
4 Character points.
This Trait can be purchased additional times for more
experienced characters, though no character can have
zero Story Points. That’s far too dangerous!
their lower Story Points should help to balance the char-
acter with their less experienced companions.
,#'$ ;3#*3@
(See Fast Healer Good Trait, p.49)
L-3H+3@&3-.3MS
(Special Bad Trait)
The character is inexperienced.
ect: Costs 2 Character Points and 2 Skill Points. In return,
Eff ect:
the character’s maximum Story Point
Point pool is increased by 3.
This Trait can be purchased additional times for less and
less experienced characters, though this will have to be
approved by the Gamemaster. If, however, through expe-
rience during the game the character’s Skills and total
Character Points increase to compensate for the cost and
reduction from this
thi s Trait, the character’s
character’s maximum Story
Points are reduced to the normal level.
P#."&-3 P#-
(Special Good Trait)
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-
acter with this Trait has some mechanical body parts.
Eff ect:
ect: Costs either 1 or 3 Character Points. At the lowest
level, the mechanical prostheses of the character are
obvious but possibly concealable.
 suff er
er a 2 penalty.
Pulp Fantastic
At the higher level, the mechanical elements are com-
pletely disguised under artificial, but fairly realistic
looking, skin. The Machine Man Trait allows the character
to have a permanent Invention (which must be purchased
separately) that will not run out of power or get lost (see
separately)
Inventions, on p.159). Whole body mechanical replace-
ments are not really suitable for a player character
character in the
game, except at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
      P Note: Cannot be taken with the Robot Trait.
      U
      T
      E P2@3 9"#- ;)8#-
(Special Good Trait)
      S valves, and instead of an organic brain their mind is made
The character is something truly special. Perhaps they’re
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
stage of human development. Perhaps they’re from
another world, or are a modern homunculus, rescued from
a glass tube found in the lair of a mad scientist. Whatever
their origin, the character is not quite human, and may
be quite a bit more.
ect: The More Than Human Trait is a ‘Gateway’,
Eff ect: ‘Gateway’, opening
a selection of additional Creature Traits that are normally
unavailable to player characters and allowing Attributes over
level 6. It isThe
purchase. a Good Trait, andshould
Gamemaster costs just 2 Character
approve Points to
this Trait.
Unless the character has the Strange Appearance Trait,
they look pretty much the same as everyone else on Earth.
As a downside, if it is discovered that they are special, they
may suff er
er severe consequences (such as being captured
by the government and experimented upon, ostracised
by the Church or pursued forever-more by the press).
Note: The More Than Human Trait is only required when
creating player characters. Non-human NPCs and crea-
tures do not require this Trait.
Trait.
('5."&.
(Special Good Trait)
There are times when you need to discover what is really
going on in someone’s mind. Psychic is a Special Good
Trait, costing 2 points to purchase (or 1 point if the char-
acter already has the Psychic Training Trait). The Game-
master should approve selection of this Trait.
Eff ect:
ect: Make a Resolve and Awareness roll to try and see
into the target’s mind. The target must be within visual
range (with the naked eye). The Trait provides the charac-
ter with a +4 bonus on the roll. However,
However, the target, if they
are unwilling, can resist such a mental intrusion with a
Resolve and Ingenuity roll. Both sides can spend Story
Points if they’re concentrating
concen trating intently.
intently. Psychic also gives
a +4 bonus when the character attempts to resist having
their mind read, or even to resist getting possessed.
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.
57
12B2$
(Special Good Trait)
Characters built with the Robot Trait aren’t human.
Though
Thoug h self-aware robots were
were rare in the Pulp Era, they
were not unheard of. No longer the mindless automata of
the Victorian Age, robots came to represent the fear that
we would be overwhelmed by technology. Though villain-
ous robots were numerous, constructed by mad geniuses
or sent from outer space, but heroic robots like Adam Link
did exist.
Instead of 󿬂esh and bone they are made of steel, wires and
of circuitry and sparks. When a robot takes a physical injury,
itself over time – either itself or another suitably skilled
technician will need to conduct repairs (using Ingenuity
and Technology),
Technology), with a level of injury repaired equal to the
level of success. Robots normally learn over time, and can
increase their mental Skills
Ski lls just as a human, however phys-
ical Skills and Attributes will require some form of re-󿬁t to
take into account the increased ability. Of course, in most
cases, a robot does have the disadvantage of standing out
in a crowd and scaring primitive civilisations! The Robot
Trait also acts as a ‘Gateway’, like the More Than Human
Trait,
Trai t, allowing the character to purchase Invention Traits.
These are Traits normally used only in Inventions (see In-
ventions, p.159). Gadget abilities such as Force󿬁eld or Scan,
can be built into the robot character!
ect: Robot is a Special Good Trait that costs 2 points as
Eff ect:
a robot of normal appearance – that is, they look like a
Pulp Era robot; boxy, metallic and very obviously non-or-
ganic. At this level the Trait includes the eff ects
ects of the
Strange Appearance Trait.
The Trait can be purchased at a higher level, costing
costin g 4 points,
that means externally you look convincingly human – most
of the time people will assume you are human unless you’re
you’re
injured or display inhuman abilities. Robot also means that
you
needdo not die from
replacing), youold
canage (though
raise youryour powerover
Attributes supply may
level 6
and can purchase Gadget Traits. A robot character can be
‘killed’ and repaired, returning to full operational level,
though if the damage is severe enough (such as being
crushed 󿬂at or dropped into a furnace or molten metal) the
robot is unlikely to be salvageable.
93#8 (*#53@
(Special Good Trait)
You work best as part of a team.
Eff ect:
ect: This is a special good trait costing 3 Story Points.
It gives an extra Group Point to be spent on Group Traits
(see page 66). You may only take the Trait once per player
character.
 58

Genesis

=-)')#* :#.>6@2)-M 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
were raised by apes
ape s or wolves, born into a noble family way.. If the
way t he physical body dies while
w hile the character is astral-
or something equally amazing and interesting. ly projecting, the character must either 󿬁nd a new body
to inhabit or fade away in a number of hours equal to half
Eff ect:
ect: For the cost of 3 Story Points a character can gain the characters Resolve.
a Major and a Minor Good Trait that doesn’t a ff ectect 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 unaff ected
ected by it. While astral they
󰁈󰁅󰁙, 󰁗󰁈󰁅󰁒󰁅’󰁓 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁉󰁃 󰁔󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁔? do not need to eat, sleep or breathe, and can pass through
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 ?*#&@K25#-.3
2
were arcane heroes in the pulps, for the most part they used
(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-
ect: The character can see into other locations without
Eff ect:
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
option more in keeping with the Pulps is that preferred by limited
the to the
further character’s
away they canResol
Resolve
seeve – the
(see higher
table their Resolv
below). Resolve,
e,
pulp author H.P. Lovecraft, who posited in his stories that
what we think of as magic is in fact the imperfectly under- 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁏󰁌󰁖
󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁏󰁌󰁖󰁅
󰁅 󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 
󰁄󰁕󰁒󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
󰁄󰁕󰁒󰁁 󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁇󰁅
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
('5."&. 9@#&$' 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,

mastery telepathy
to further the cause ofand other forms of psychic
justice. 9+ 30 Minutes Anywhere on the planet!
Often these ‘visions’ will be 󿬂ashes or mere glimpses into
 A'$@#
 A' $@#** 9@#
9@#K3*
K3* another place, but with practice, concentration and a high
Resolve, the experience can be prolonged and immersive.
i mmersive.
(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
shap ed by the character’s
character’s self-image.
?*2)M P3-0' P&-M'
Characters with low self-esteem might appear shrunken
and ugly, while noble or heroic characters might appear (Major Good Psychic Trait)
as beautiful, idealized versions of themselv
themselves.
es. 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
horri󿬁c monsters or demons.
seen. This is not invisibility, but the ability to create and
Eff ect:
ect: 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
th e character’s not do anything to attract attention, they can pass unseen,
59

Pulp Fantastic
undetected by all except animals and mechanical or elec- (2''3''
trical means of detection (photo-electric cells, pressure
sensors and the like). Characters cloaked in this fashion (Special Good Psychic Trait)
can till be photographed and captured on 󿬁lm. This is technically the highest possible level of the Hyp-
nosis Trait (see p.50). Possess allows the character to take
Eff ect:
ect: The character is eff ectively
ectively 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
      P gains a +2 bonus on this roll). This roll can only be made
that). Possessing someone is an exhausting a ff air,
air, and if
      U if it is suspected the character is present. The Trait also

      T
      E prevents the detection of minor movement noise, but not the characterithas
somewhere, willaneed
normal body that
protecting (andit may
has left
die behind
of star-
speech or particularly loud and noticeable sounds. The
      S character’ss footsteps on carpet or tile will not be noticed,
character’
vation if they’re out of their body too long).
but their crunching across broken glass probably will, and Eff ect:
ect: This Trait is not recommended for player charac-
their voice de󿬁nitely will. ters. Just as the Hypnosis Trait, the target will have the
opportunity to resist becoming possessed (with a Resolve
G8+#$"&. A)@# and Strength roll, or Ingenuity in some cases). The pos-
(Minor Good Psychic Trait) sessing character receives a +4 bonus on their 󿬁rst roll to
possess someone, though if they fail this every attempt
With the Aura Trait, the character gives off  a
 a strange feeling that follows loses this bonus. As a good guide, the pos-
that aff ects
ects those near to it. Unlike the Fear Factor Trait, sessing character can inhabit the body for as many hours
the feeling is not always that of danger. The aura could be as they have Resolve, though very powerful villains could
a feeling of peace and calm, used as a defence, or perhaps inhabit a body inde󿬁nitely. If they force the host to do
to lull people into a false sense of security. something very against their nature (such as attack one
ff  of their friends) they will have a chance to resist (and on
E ect:
that The
costs Empathic
1 point Aura
and eff  Traitfeelings
ects the
ects is a Minor Goodin
of people Trait
the a Fantastic result, the possessing character may be reject-
near vicinity. The actual eff ects
ects should be de󿬁ned at cre- ed from the host completely!). For additional information,
ation of the alien. Multiple eff ects
ects can be employed but see ‘Being Possessed’ on p.133.
the Trait will have to be purchased multiple times, one for
each eff ect.
ect. The character can choose whether or not to
(@3.26-&$&2-
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 aff ected
ected will have to make a resist-
ed Resolve and Strength roll (against the Resolve and Eff ect:
ect: 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 󿬂ashes of information that
the roll, they immediately feel the eff ects
ects 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 eff ect
ect (where the eff ect
ect usually wears off  instantly)
 instantly) supply as much useful information is they see 󿬁t (without
or unless they spend a Story Point. ruining the story!).
!"#$%&'("() 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,
trainin g, intense place if he had not gained an insight into the future, al-
meditation or just a 󿬁nely 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. 93*3>&-3'&'
(Special Good Psychic Trait)
ect: Gives the character an innate ability to sense when
Eff ect:
something is amiss or unnatural and what needs to be Telekinesis, sometimes called psychokinesis
psychokinesis,, is the power
done tois,
what it setbut
thethey’ll
worldknow
right.something
They may isn’t
not know
right. exactly to moveTrait
Special something with
that costs thought
2 points to alone. Telekinesis
purchase, is a
and should
The character will sense something wrong with an Aware- only be picked with the approval of the Gamemaster. Also,
ness and Ingenuity roll with a +2 bonus – the more suc- they can only purchase this Trait if they already have the
Psychic Trait (see p.52).
cessful it is, the more likely they are to know what is wrong
 and how to start to 󿬁x it. Eff ect:
ect: The Telekinesis Trait has a ‘strength’ equal to the
60

Genesis

󰁃󰁒󰁅󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁁 󰁃󰁈󰁁󰁒󰁁󰁃󰁔󰁅󰁒: 󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅
Let’s create a new character for Pulp Fantastic. We’re
Let’s 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
who’s our character? The idea
id ea of a news hound appeals. Maybe J. Montgomery Cruickshank III has sent his daughter’s favorite
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,
Attributes—Strength, Coordination, Awareness, Ingenuity,
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
Presence sp ent 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
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
pub lisher’s daughter thinks
he’ss cute. Anyway,
he’ Anyway, keeping 6 points or so for Good Traits sounds like a plan. Let’
Let’ss spend 14 points on Skills and see how far that gets
us. If we run out of points, we can always take some more BadB ad Traits or become Experienced.
So, let’s
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.
far. His job entails a little sneaking around,
a round, so lets put 2 points in Subterfuge. He’s a writer,
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,
Really, though, we have to put some points in Fighting just so he’s not totally defenseless—2
defenseless—2 points at
a t 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
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
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
b e really fun to play!
p lay! Finally, let’s
let’s take another two Minor Bad Traits
Traits,, like Insatiable Curiosity and
a nd Dependent.
Maybe the publisher’s daughter doesn’t want to stay home when her dear, d ear, 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 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁏󰁌󰁖󰁅 󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁇󰁅
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 diff erence
erence is, 4 Adjacent Building
they’re not using their hands – they’re using their mind. 5 Within the same city / area
To actually use the ability, a roll is necessary. There is no
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
93*3+#$"5
(Special Good Psychic Trait)
Telepathy is the ability to communicate with others through
the power of the mind. Telepaths can project their thoughts
directly into someone else’s head and they’ll hear it as if
they’re speaking to them. Usually, the person isn’t too far
away, but if the character’s Resolve is high, they could
communicate to someone up to half a mile away or even
      P further. Very handy if you’re a prisoner somewhere and
      U
      T need to call for help!
      E Once a link has been established, they can hold a short
      S conversation as long as they are not distracted or under
stress. The moment they are distracted (for example being
surprised by a loud noise or a sudden attack) the link is
lost and the character will have to try again at a calmer
moment when they can concentrate.
Telepathy is a Special Trait and costs 1 point to purchase.
Approval from the Gamemaster will be required before se-
lecting this Trait. In addition to this, the character must also
have the Psychic Trait before they can purchase Telepathy.
Eff ect:
ect: Telepathy uses the character’s innate abilities,
rather than any Skill, so Ingenuity and Resolve are used
for the roll to establish communication. If the target
doesn’t want to be contacted, they can resist with a similar
roll. The distance over which the character can commu-
nicate with the Telepath
Telepathyy Trait depends upon their
thei r Resolve.
C$2@5 (2&-$'
You start the game with 12 Story Points.
That’s also your maximum number of Story Points at the
start of each adventure. If you end an adventure with more
or fewer than 12, you reset back to 12. (Unless, of course,
you took the Experienced Trait, in which case you’ve got
9 or 6 Story Points instead of 12, and reset back to your
lower limit after each adventure).
Story Points are very, very useful things. You can spend
them to:
Get extra dice to roll for a critical test
Boost your level of success, or reduce your level of failure
Ignore the eff ects
ects of damage
Activate certain traits
Pay off  the
 the cost of ignoring other traits
Get a clue when you
you’re
’re stuck
Give them to other player characters
or even tweak the events of the story.
,&-&'"&-6 92)."3'
You’re
You’re nearly done with your character – just
jus t a few 󿬁nish-
ing touches to go.
D#83
What’s your character’s name? Do people commonly
address him by his 󿬁rst name, or his last one? Or does he
go by a title or a nickname?
:#.>6@2)-M
Think about how your character’s Skills and Traits 󿬁t to-
gether. Where did you pick up all those ranks in Fighting?
If you’ve got the Brave trait, what brave things have you
done in the past? Do you have any family?
family?
You don’t need to come up with a full biography at this
point, but do come up with a little background for your
character. If you can drop in some plot hooks (like, say, a
missing sibling, a family secret, or a burning ambition) so
much the better. Is there anything he regrets in his past?
Are there big decisions that could have gone another way?
?2--3.$&2-'
How do you know the other characters? What brought
you into their world? Why do you do what you do? Are
you motivated by tragedy, inspiration, obligation or
revenge? Were you recruited, or did you blunder in? Who
do you trust? Who’s your best friend in the group? Who
do you always 󿬁nd yourself disagreeing with?
 A++3
 A+ +3#@
#@#-
#-.3
.3
What does your character look like? How does he dress, what
sort of accent does he have? Does he have any quirks or man-
nerisms? Empty his pockets – what does he keep in there?
Who’d play your character in the movie of your game?
Playing with a dream cast list is a good way to pin down
your character’s appearance and demeanor.
GV)&+83-$
Note down any trappings you get from your skills, as well
as any other equipment your character might reasonably
carry with him. Have a think about where your character
lives. Describe his home.
(3@'2-#* 72#*'
What does your character want right now? What does he
need? What is he searching for? What’s his big problem?
In short, what will push him into the adventure
adventure??

The rules forofStory Points are on pagesStory

135-137. For now,
now, you’ll
need a way keeping track of your Points. Tokens
glass beads work best, but you can just use dice or coins, or
or
7@2)+' Q :#'3'
Doc Savage had the 86th Floor of the Empire State Building
and his arctic Fortress of Solitude – what’s your group’s
 just wri
write
te you
yourr tota
totall down
down on
on your
your char
charact
acter
er sheet
sheet..
center of operations? Are you working out of a custom-built
secret fortress 󿬁lled 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  A@82@

military unit, or are you just a gang of amateur investigators
who’ve discovered the thrill of 󿬁ghting evildoers?
 Just like
like characters,
characters, Groups and
and Bases have Tr
Traits.
aits. All the
players have to decide collectively what Group & Base
Traits to buy. You start with Three Good Traits and One
Bad Trait.. You can get extra Group Points by taking Bad
Group Traits (or with the Team Player Good Trait).
 A@ 82@ 5 
You’ve got an arsenal of weapons and other equipment. If
you need a dart gun, or a sniper ri 󿬂e, or a steel cable capable
of restraining an angry rhino, then you can just get it from
your handy armory.
armory. Your armory might be an actual armory
room, with lockers full of weapons, or it might be a cellar
full of black-market weapons and old military-surplus gear,
but either way, you’ve got the 󿬁repower.
ect: You can get any Common or Uncommon Weapons,
Eff ect:

C$2@5 (2&-$ 9@#&$'

Some of these Group Traits say ‘this trait gives 3 Story
Armor or can
lems, and other equipment
spend you need
a Story Point without
to obtain any items
any Rare prob-
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  A@."&K
 A@. "&K 3'
organization,
organizatio n, including non-player character
c haracters.
s.
You’ve got records and 󿬁les going back years. You might
󰁇󰁏󰁏󰁄 󰁇󰁒󰁏󰁕󰁐 󰁔󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁔󰁓 󰁂󰁁󰁄 󰁇󰁒󰁏󰁕󰁐 󰁔󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁔󰁓 have a really extensive library, or access to government
2
󿬁les, 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 󿬁ngertips.
Archives Criminal Eff ect:
ect: 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
Fortified Demands Results them toin
or map declare you’ve got a copy of some vital document
the archives.
Holding Cells Harsh Conditions
?28+)$&-6 (2<3@
Laboratory Isolated
You’ve got access to a powerful calculating engine.
Landing Facility* Traitor
Eff ect:
ect: 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
?2-'&M3@#$3 C)+3@&2@'
Mobile base
Your boss in the organization (if you have one) cares for you
Your
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
Secure Base on the mission, and he’ll forgive you if things go wrong.
ect: The Gamemaster should try to play the characters’
Eff ect:
Training superior as considerate, thoughtful and inspiring
inspiring..
Troops* Note: You can’t take the Boss from Hell Bad Trait if you
Vehicle Pool have Considerate Superiors.

Wealthy ,2@$&I&3M
This place is tough – the walls are made of reinforced
722M 7@2)+ 9@#&$' concrete, the doors are forged from a hardened steel, and
 AMK#-.
 AMK #-.3M
3M 93.
93."-2
"-2 *26
*2655 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. Eff ect:
ect: Your base gives a +6 bonus to Defense when it’s
directly attacked.
Eff ect: Discuss
ect:the withYthe 󰁧󰁭 what sort of Advanced Tech-
nology base has. ou’ve got two options – either it’s a 1 ;2*M&-6 ?3**'
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
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 diff erent
erent form of advanced technology.
Pulp Fantastic
Eff ect:
ect: Any captured prisoners cannot escape without
outside help (or really cunning plans – not even a sturdy
holding cell can hold an Evil Mastermind for long…)
N#B2@#$2@5  Eff ect:
Your base is equipped with a laboratory and research sta ff .
These backroom boys aren’t any good in a 󿬁ght, but they
can analyze samples, identify toxins, 󿬁nd cures to diseas-
es and provide other such technical support.
      P P2B&*3 :#'3
      U Eff ect:
ect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
      T
      E session that can only be spent on Science-related rolls and
related activities, like analyzing biological materials or
      S building inventi
inventions.
ons.
N#-M&-6 ,#.&*&$&3'S
The base has an airstrip or a Zeppelin dock and a hangar
containing either a few auto-gyros or biplanes.
Eff ect:
ect: The base has landing facilities and a number of
aircraft. Pick one sort of aircraft:
• Auto-gyros
• Small planes
• Zeppelins
• Armed Biplanes
Note: You can take this Trait more than once; each time
you take it, pick another kind of aircraft.
N2.>M2<-
Your
Your base has an emergency lockdown procedure. Pulling
a lever drops heavy doors throughout the base, sealing it
off  from
 from the outside world. Nothing, not even bacteria,
can escape from a locked-down base.
Eff ect:
ect: If lockdown is activated, nothing can escape the
base using conventional means. Lockdown also means
that the base has its own internal air supply, which can
come in handy if the Death Dragon’s minions are attempt-
ing another gas attack.
P3M&.
You’ve got a state-of-the-art in󿬁rmary (or maybe just a
friendly doctor who’s really good at 󿬁rst aid), letting you
bounce back quickly from injuries.
Eff ect:
ect: This Trait provides 3 Story Points every game
session that can only be spent on Medicine-related rolls
and related activities. You can also spend these Story Points
to restore Attribute points lost by damage – each point
spent restores half the lost points (rounding up). The player
can decide how these points are allocated between the
damaged Attribut
Attributes.
es.
P3-#63@&3
You have a large holding facility for keeping exotic crea-
tures.
ect: You can safely store creatures that you are unable
Eff ect:
to return to their natural habitat. What is it with Evil
Masterminds and their venomous pets, anyway?
a few inmates captured in previous adventures…
adventures…
63
P&-&2-'
Your Group has a research staff , a security force or other
assistants.
ect: This trait works just like the Personal Good Trait,
Minions (see page 51). You pick the type of Minions when
you take this trait, and you can take di ff erent
erent kinds of
Minions each time.
The whole base can
c an move under its own power.
power.
ect: The base is a giant vehicle. Some mobile bases are
Eff ect:
small enough to 󿬁t into the cargo hold of an aircraft. Other
bases might be on board a ship, or consist of a 󿬂eet of road
vehicles. At the top end of the scale, you’ve got bases like
the Zeppelin Patrol’s airborne Cloud Palace.
EII&.&#* C#-.$&2-
You’ve got the backing of the Powers That Be – the govern-
ment, the military,
military, the secret service, the League of Nations,
or some other group with the authority to run around the
country investigating rumors of criminal activity, spies,
monsters, or whatever it is that your group is into.
Eff ect:
ect: While performing your duties, you’ve got the
Minor Good Trait Authority (see page 48).
Note: This Trait is incompatible with the Criminal Bad
Trait.
C3.@3$ :#'3
Your base is cleverly concealed from outsiders. Either it
looks like a perfectly ordinary building, is hidden under-
ground, or is concealed by some sort of advanced camou-
󿬂age or technology.
Eff ect:
ect: Finding the base if you do not know it is there is
almost impossible. Even if an enemy is hunting for the
base, the characters have time to prepare before they are
discovered.
C3.)@3 :#'3
Your base is protected by alarms, thick walls, locked doors,
barbed-wire fences and other security measures. No-one’s
getting in here without you knowing about it.
Eff ect:
ect: It’s very hard to sneak into your base. It’s not im-
possible, but if someone gets past your security, the 󰁧󰁭 
should throw the group a Story Point each.
9@#&-&-6
Your base includes a gym, a 󿬁ring range, and other training
facilities. Between adventures, you’re busy honing your skills.
ect: As a group, you receive 3 bonus experience points
Eff ect:
every
points,game session.
but you Nothe
can split onepoints
character can
among get di
three allff three
erent
erent
characters, or give one character two points and another
character one point.
 64
 U3"&.*
 U3"& .*33 (22*
( 22*
Your base has an extensive garage, and you’ve got access
to lots of vehicles.
ect: You can get any Common or Uncommon
Eff ect: Unco mmon Vehicles
you need automatically; you may also get the use of one
Rare Vehicle per adventure for free, and can get more with
Story Points.
 !3#* $"5  they cause added problems.
Your
lines group is rich or well funded. You’ve all got extensive
of credit.
Eff ect:
ect: You have easy access to money. You can get any
Common items automatically, and get either six Uncom-
mon Items or one Rare item per game session. You can
also throw money at problems by spending Story Points.
Note: You can’t take the Underfunded Trait if you’re Wealthy.
:#M 7@2)+ 9@#&$'
Every 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 group faces terrible dangers –
bloodthirsty assassins, Evil Masterminds, Mad Scientists,
spies, gangsters, Things That Should Not Be – but your
group faces them with a handicap.
:2'' I@28 ;3**
Your superior in the organization loathes you. He might
go out of his way to make your life hell, or keep secrets
from you, or expect the impossible from you.
ects: Taking this Trait means you want the
Eff ects: th e 󰁧󰁭 to make
your characters’ lives hell. (󰁧󰁭’󰁳 – enjoy!)
?2M3
If you’re working for this organization, you need to obey
a certain code of conduct. You might be part of a military
chain of command, or be bound by civil service bureau-
cracy.. You’ve
cracy You’ve got to keep to the code, or
o r there’ll be trouble.
tro uble.
Eff ects:
ects: When you’re working for this organization, all
characters get either the Code of Conduct or Obligation
Minor Bad Trait. If a character already has one of those
Minor Traits, it gets upgraded to a Major Trait. (On the
off -chance
-chance that you’ve got both Code of Conduct and Ob-
ligation as Major Traits, you’ve got enough trouble…)
?@&8&-#*
Your
Your group’s
group’s activities are illegal. Either you’re doing some-
thing that’s genuinely illegal, like smuggling fugitives
across state lines, or the government doesn’t want anyone
else 󿬁ghting crime. If you’re caught, you’ll be arrested.
ect: In addition to dealing with your enemies, you also
Eff ect:
have to hide from the government.
Note: You can’t have the Official Sanction Group Tr
Trait
ait if
your organization is Criminal.
F#-63@2)' GH+3@&83-$'
Your organization uses (or has used) your base for a trou-
Genesis
secrets. They might have once accidentally created a deadly
bacillus, drilled into the Earth’s core and released poison-
ous gas, attracted the attention of Eldritch Abominations
by reading the wrong book aloud, or accidentally created
dangerous animal-human hybrids. These experiments
can – and will – cause problems for your base.
Eff ects:
ects: Side eff ects
ects of the experiments make life on the
base difficult or dangerous all the time, and sometimes
F#@> C3.@3$
Your organization has a dark secret, and you don’t know
what it is.
Eff ect:
ect: The nature of the dark secret is up to the 󰁧󰁭. It
could be another Bad Trait (maybe your mysterious bene-
factor is actually a Nazi spymaster or a notorious crime
2
lord, not the government, so you’re actually Criminals;
maybe the organization was set up to atone for a dreadful
crime, or to correct the e ff ects
ects of an experiment that went
horribly wrong) or something even worse.
F38#-M' 13')*$'
You’re expected to do the impossible every week. You’ve
got to keep the underworld under control, keep the public
from 󿬁nding out, and keep your superiors happy. They
demand results.
ect: Failure isn’t an option for you. Your superiors keep
Eff ect:
interfering with your decisions and pressuring you to
come up with solutions. The 󰁧󰁭 has license to torment
your characters with micromanaging bosses who callcal l you
up every ten minutes to shout at you about why you haven’t
captured the Crimson Claw yet.
;#@'" ?2-M&$&2-'
Life in this base is hard. No luxuries. No
N o molly-coddling.
The base is cramped, cold (or hot) and unpleasant. Outside
is worse – the base is located somewhere like Siberia or
the middle of the Sahara. Or maybe it’s on the bottom of
the sea.
ects: Harsh Conditions has no direct game e ff ects,
Eff ects: ects, but
being caught without proper survival gear can be hazard-
ous to the characters
c haracters’’ health.
L'2*#$3M
The base is in the middle of nowhere, miles away from
anywhere. Getting here requires a long 󿬂ight or a very,
very, very long drive.
ect: It takes a very long time for help to arrive if some-
Eff ect:
thing goes wrong. It may take days or even weeks before
anyone responds to a distress call from your base.
base . As long
as nothing goes wrong, you’ll be 󿬁ne…
9@#&$2@
There’s an enemy among you. Someone in the group is a
traitor, working for an opposed organization (like the
Syndicate or the Tong of the Black Scorpion) or an enemy
 blesome experiment involving weird technology or arcane
(Like Herr Doktor Todeskopf or the Crimson Claw).
65

Eff ect:
ect: The 󰁧󰁭 determines who the traitor is. It could be
your superior in the organization
organization,, or a trusted underling.
It could even be one of the player characters!

=-@3*&#B*3 13'2)@.3S
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.
Eff ect:
ect: Pick one of your Good Group Traits. That Trait is
now unreliable. Sometimes, it just isn’t available. For
example, you’ve
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.
=-M3@I)-M3M
Your group is chronically short of cash. You can’t aff ord
ord
to maintain what you’ve got, let alone buy new equipment.
You’ve a shoestring budget.
ect: You can’t buy equipment, not even Common items,
Eff ect:
without 󿬁nding 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?)
 !#-M3@
 !#-M 3@&-6
&-6 ?&K
?&K&*&
&*&#-'
#-'
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 󿬁re.
ect: Any crisis or attack on the base will endanger lots
Eff ect:
of civilians. The characters have
have to protect these civilians
while dealing with the bigger problem.

The Pulp World Gazetteer
9"3 ?2*2-&#* !2@*M
A
dventurers in some countries will 󿬁nd themselve
themselvess
dealing not with a local government
government,, but a represen-
tative of a colonial power. Several nations (e.g. Great
Britain, Holland, Portugal, and France) had colonies
around the world. The relationship between the ruling
nation and the colony ranged from peaceful submission
to guarded acceptance to violent opposition.
A list of 1930s colonies can be found in the box on p. 70.
Each nation keeps a representative in the colony who is
responsible for its welfare. This representative (often called
a Governor-General) may have complete authority - the
ability to create or remove any laws - or he may act as a
counselor/ambassador, allowing the colony a fair amount
of political freedom.
Regardless of the authority of the representative, the ruling
nation almost always reserves the right to veto any deci-
sions, policies and laws that the colony wishes to enact.
This rule often led to rebellion, and foreigners may 󿬁nd
opportunity to work for either side (though most pulp
heroes supported the colonial empires, especially Britain
and France). Rebel armies tended to be ill-led, atroci-
ty-prone, and Communist-in󿬁ltrated. European and Eu-
ropean-o fficered armies were the ultimate authority.
Service with these armies (such as the French Foreign
Legion) is a common background for pulp heroes and
villains. Colonial armies and colonial police forces also
make colorful backgrounds and adventure seeds.
9@#K3* &- $"3 ?2*2-&3'
Travel through Africa and Asia was, for the most part,
travel through European-controlled countries with Euro-
pean officials, courts, customs, papers and currencies. It
was possible to tour these areas and never see anyone but
Europeans (except
(except at a distance or in subservient capaci-
ties). Americans visiting any colonial nation will usually
be dealing with its governing nation
nat ion -- rarely (if ever) with
a native government.
Racial intolerance
areas and and social
extend from stigmas
European are rampant
to native in these
and vice-versa.
Discrimination is the order of the day; travel, lodging and
eating establishments use 󿬁rst, second and third class
accommodations to keep American and European visitors
Chapter 3
136&2-' 2I $"3 G@#
The world of the 1930’s is still dominated by European
interests, though times are changing rapidly. At the be-
ginning of the pulp era, Great Britain and France were the
dominant powers of the world. The United States, for its
part, was emerging as a potential super-power and had
gained enormous respect very quickly.
Europe, though, was beginning to lose hold of her assets.
The Great War had cost the old powers dearly, and insur-
gents were popping up everywhere. The times became
more and more turbulent, and a smart adventurer could
󿬁
nd fortune and glory just about anywhere.
9"3 =-&$3M C$#$3'
America, in the 1930’s, would be considered a simpler
place than it is today. The Federalism ushered in by Frank-
lin Roosevelt and the Second World War had not yet hap-
pened. States and communities largely tended to their
own aff airs.
airs.
Police power was held in the city or state police. Federal
agents were called in for the ‘big’ criminals, such as the
mob, but there were only a handful of such agents, and they
were usually busy enough in the largest American cities.
Internationally, the United States did its best to distance
itself
signi󿬁from
cant the rest of
colonial the world.
interests Though
in the Paci󿬁c,the States
and somehad
in-
terventionist policies in Central America, isolationism
was exceedingly popular.
󰁇󰁏󰁌󰁄 󰁁󰁎󰁄 󰁓󰁉󰁌󰁖󰁅󰁒
After the passage of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, possession
of gold in the United States was now illegal. Citizens were
allowed to keep gold in its natural state, gold jewelry
jewelry,, gold
dental work or coins of numismatic interest. All other forms
of gold were to be taken to the nearest depository and ex-
changed for paper money. Anyone finding golden treasure
or coin should be very careful what they do with it. At any
time prior to the Gold Reserve Act, gold was worth about
$20/ounce.
$20/ounc e. After that time, the legal price was fixed at $35/
ounce. Possession of silver was still legal. The traditional cost
of silver was about $1.25/ounce, but during the Depression
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

󰁃󰁏󰁌󰁏󰁎󰁉󰁅󰁓 󰁁󰁒󰁏󰁕󰁎󰁄 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁗󰁏󰁒󰁌󰁄

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.
     R
     E Gambia: Great Britain. West Africa: France.
     E
     T Gold Coast: Great Britain. Zanzibar: Great Britain.
     E Greenland: Denmark.
     Z Hawaii (Sandwich Islands): United States.
     A
India: Great Britain.
     G
Iraq: Great Britain.
Jamaica: Great Britain.
Java: The Netherlands.
Kenya: Great Britain.

This wasn’t entirely unjusti󿬁ed. Though America emerged G-6*#-M #-M G)@2+3
as a potential super-power with the closing of the Great
War, Europe seemed more resentful than thankful of 7@3#$ :@&$#&-
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 di ff erent
erent 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
of Nations. iron
was and coal. Ireland,
fighting the center of unrest
for independence in the Empire,
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, 󿬂ourished in its Union with
‘swaggeringly
‘sw aggeringly arrogant’,
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

Pulp Fantastic
many stories, a grand mixture of myth, hard fact, and
mystery that garners respect no matter where they go.
France had been devastated by the Great War, and was
struggling to recover. The Great Depression had demor-
alized the battered Republic. Constant eff ort
ort had to be
placed on maintaining France’s empire.
The French Empire remained present in Africa, Asia, the
Paci󿬁c, and a bit still in the Americas. It was maintained
with a web of governmental control, military power, and
a substantial dose of espionage.
France had begun to rearm itself, though it was heavily
reliant on expatriates serving as mercenaries, irregulars,
or within the Foreign Legion. A large number of these
were Americans, aiding a loyal ally against Communist
and Fascist insurgencies.
The emphasis on espionage within the French government
had one major drawback. Corruption took hard root within
all echelons of the government. Illicit deals were not un-
common, particularly in the Empire’s overseas holdings.
At this time, even weakened, France has had many decades
of relative stability compared to many times in French
history.
C+#&-
Once a major power in world politics, by the mid-1800s
Spain was but a hollow shell of its former self. Queen Isa-
bella II, who was crowned at the age of 3, was not popular
among the people of Spain, who felt that she was easily
in󿬂uenced by those around her and did not care for her
people. The turmoil within her court led to revolts among
     R
     E the far 󿬂ung Spanish colonies. Her attempts to unify her
     E country only served to alienate her even more. Under great
     T pressure from forces both political and military, Queen
     E Isabella II went into exile in France in 1868, leaving the
     Z country in chaos. After two years of unsuccessful rule by a
     A coalition government, it was decided that Spain would have
     G a new king, from a new line, and a search was made to 󿬁nd
a king
was that would
crowned satisfy
in 1870. the government.
He swore KingsAmadeo
to uphold Spain' constitu-I
tion, and with great ambition began his reign. King Amadeo
had to deal with the unstable political atmosphere in Spain,
constant attempts at assassinations, and a revolution in
Cuba, among many other problems. After two years, faced
with reigning without popular support, King Amadeo ab-
dicated. That same day, the 󿬁rst Spanish Republic was born.
This lasted for another two years, during which a great deal
of turmoil and unrest ruled the country. Since none of the
political parties wished the return of Isabella, they pro-
nounced her son Alphonso as King.
Alphonso XII was a young and inexperienced king, but
he ruled with natural tact and grace, and the people of
Spain grew to love and respect him. His rule saw the
country rise up from plagues of cholera, devastating earth-
quakes, and the stabilization of the rule of Spain. After
his death in 1885 his son, ruling as Alphonso XIII, dealt
with a humiliating defeat by the United States in the Span-
war saw Spain lose the majority of her colonies, including
Cuba and the Philippines.
Spain suff ered
ered through the depression as did any other
nation, but political unrest would plague the democracy
of the nation through the middle 1930’s. Communist,
Fascist, and even religious uprisings occurred sporadical-
ly throughout the era as each group promised a return to
better times and citing the elected governments as failures.
The situation took a more dramatic downturn in 1936 as
General Francisco
scale civil war. Theled anlargest
two uprising that turned
camps, into a full
the Communist
Republicans, and the Fascist Nationalists, vied for control
of the nations. Russia and Germany took the obvious sides,
but most of Europe wanted no part in the con 󿬂ict, fearing
that the violence would spread throughout Europe.
L$#*5
At the beginning of the 1800s, the Italian peninsula was
a fractured political landscape. Various principalities,
grand duchies, and the Papal States made the area look
more like a puzzle than at any other time since the fall of
Rome. After the Crimean War, King Victor Emmanuel II
of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia, managed to unite the
many fractured states into the Kingdom of Italy. He was
crowned King of Italy in 1861. The beginning of his reign
was full of turmoil, but this all ended when his forces
entered Rome in 1871, and all of Italy was under one king.
The remainder of his reign was quite peaceful, and many
visitors came to admire the aged splendor of the Italian
cities. King Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878, succeeded
by his son Umberto I.
King Umberto was deeply despised by the left-wing polit-
ical circles, and suff ered
ered several assassination attempts.
Alliances with former enemies Austria-Hungary and
Germany did not gain him favor at home, and
an d his attempts
at imperial colonization in northern Africa, and the di-
sastrous massacre in Milan, made the reign of Umberto a
troubled one. By the end of the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 Era,
the atmosphere in Italy was volatile, and it is only a matter
of time before one the many attempts on King Umberto's
life succeeds.
During the 1930’s, Italy was becoming a power once more.
Mussolini's Fascism had taken the nation forward, becom-
ing a strong military power and a leader in science and
technology. It had appeared to many that Italy would be
a strong power for the next few decades.
Italy itself, however, was far from uni󿬁ed under their
leader. Communists, other fascists, nationalists, and other
groups were demanding their share of power. The old
troubles of the ma󿬁a still remained. By the mid 1930’s,
Italy had been notably outstripped in pace by the Germans.
Early on, Italy had not sided with Germany, even deploy-
ing troops against Hitler to warn against the annexation
of Austria. However, once Italy invaded Abyssinia, Italy
found itself short of friends. This lead Mussolini to take a
more 󿬁rm alliance with Germany, even aiding the Nazis
 ish-American War. Agreements signed after this six-month
in the Spanish Civil War.

70

The Pulp World Gazetteer 

(2@$)6#* 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
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.
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  A)' $@&
$@&##
modern era. Queen Maria II made great strides in
i n the eff ort
ort 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 aff airs
airs 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 󿬁eld 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
infor mants 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.
family. This sudden
sud den and tragic loss
l oss isolated the mourned. His funeral was a spectacle unto itself, with
country, causing domestic stagnation which seemed to people 󿬁ling past his casket for three days. His successor,
have forever locked Portugal into its role as second class Emperor Ferdinand
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
t he government run
civil and military unrest. Time will tell what will
w ill 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.
C<&$W3@*#-M
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 suff ered
ered 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
ff 
they neededtroops.
all external to be united and strong
A federation
f ederation in order
of all the to fend
cantons o  
o f Swit-
of
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
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
Gen eva stagger
the imagination and could produce a host of adventures for
a 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 Victorian Fantasy Role Playing Game.
In 1863 in Geneva, the International Committee
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
 people to survive a battle, and their care was ensured to
be complete and helpful. Over the years the Red Cross
71

Pulp Fantastic

󰁅󰁌󰁅󰁍󰁅󰁎󰁔 󰁘
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
Boundary event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The exact composition of Element X remains a mystery,
mystery, and there is much debate as to whether it is an
a n 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,
fie ld, whereupon it becomes a source of remarkable power. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the Element is capable
capa ble
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
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
“occult artifacts” - really examples of ancient
high technology – and may beb e responsible for incidences of apparent supernatural or magical
m agical events.
In its natural form, Element X appears
ap pears 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”
“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
Conventional
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),
Berezkia), but also because of the high number of bizarre and unpleasant accidents
a ccidents that seem to befall
researchers involved in its study. Many scientific authorities prefer
p refer to deny the material even exists, rather than try and
a nd incorporate
its anomalous behavior into their model of the universe.

󰁓󰁏, 󰁊󰁕󰁓󰁔 󰁗󰁈󰁁󰁔 󰁉󰁓 󰁅󰁌󰁅󰁍󰁅󰁎󰁔 󰁘󰀿

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
sm all percentage of the
human population. Traces
Traces of it released into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions or meteor impacts may be the cause of “magical”
     R phenomena or those brief periods when the gods seemed to have walked the Earth. Perhaps the strange skies caused by the
     E Tunguska Impact of 1908 were caused by Element X contamination, heralding the start of a new age of heroes and monsters.
m onsters.
     E
     T As to where it comes from, nobody knows. It could be the radioactive remnants of a distant world, preceding the arrival of a strange
     E 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
     Z 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
     A concentrated
concentrat ed chunks of pure probability, falling to Earth from some higher Platonic dimension.
     G 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 73@8#-5

and in󿬂uence of the Empire of Austria, negotiated an
agreement with the nobility of Hungary.
Hungary. In 1867 the Aus-
tro-Hungarian Empire was formed. While the government
and the economy both expanded and improved during
the early years of the new empire, it was also a hotbed of
anarchist activity.
The Empire of Austria-Hungary was a land of great pros-
perity, an ever increasing industrialized nation that is a
multi-cultural region of prosperity and intrigue. While the
emperor’ss spies and secret police were ever present, so were
emperor’
spies from other
the Emperor's gripcountries
of powerand
overanarchists bent ondomain.
the vast Empire's ending
In the end of the First World War an Austrian republic was
formed, moving the nation into the modern times and away
In 1871, following their victory in the Franco-Prussian War,
the Kingdom of Prussia allied the many small German states
into a single empire, with the king of Prussia, Wilhelm I, as
Emperor. The Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto
Ot to von Bismarck,
was the true force behind the uni 󿬁cation, and as Prime
Minister and later Chancellor of the Empire, much of the
power of the empire lay in his hands. Under the hands of the
German Empire, the constituent states 󿬂ourished and became
an industrial power unrivaled in Europe. The manufacturing
of steel, the exporting of coal and the industrial works of
companies such asin
inance in industry Krupp, all resulted
the latter in the
part of the German dom-
1800s.
Germany was also the home of several semi-autonomous
regions, such as Bavaria, ruled by King Ludwig II until his
 from a monarchy. Times of change have come to the Hapsburgs
and along with the times and change, comes opportunities.
72
fairy tale castles and buildings of elaborate design. Besides
Be sides
his masterpiece New Hohenschwangau Castle, later
renamed Neuschwanstein Castle after his death, King
Ludwig oversaw the construction of the Winter Garden
in Munich. The garden, complete with a lake and a tech-
nologically advanced
advanced glass and steel roof design, included
a grotto, a Moorish kiosk, an Indian royal tent, an arti󿬁-
cially illuminated rainbow and intermitt
intermittent
ent moonlight.
When the Great War ended, Germany had lost the war
that they had ‘officially’ started. The other European powers
wanted their revenge, and imposed a harsh ‘peace treaty’
on Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was so harsh that
Germany’ss Great Depression nearly drove the nation back
Germany’
to a feudal state.
This fostered the rise of radical political groups, particu-
larly the National Socialist and Communist parties. Both
groups promised to terminate the punishing treaty and
rebuild Germany into a modern nation once more.
The National Socialist party, led by Hitler, off ered
ered these
promises without sacri󿬁cing religion or personal liberties
as the Communists demanded. Using popular sentiment,
a promise of a greater nation, and some more devious
tactics, the Nazi party had become the dominant force
within Germany by the 1930’s.
At 󿬁rst, the Nazi party
part y seemed like a godsend
god send to Germany.
Germany.
Austria and other lands were ‘annexed’ back into the Fa-
therland. The Treaty of Versailles was terminated, and
Germany, under Hitler’s unyielding command, became a
superpower.
But beneath the smooth skin, however, the darker heart
of Nazi Germany beats relentlessly. Jews, Gypsies, and
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
sees itself as being the eventual rightful rulers of Europe,
if not the entire world.
:3@3W>&#
Nestled in the heart of the Balkans is the tiny nation of
Berezkia. Alternatively conquered, fought over and ignored
by the greater powers for centuries, her people are a mish-
mash of ethnicities and faiths, but are staunchly proud of
their land and their history. Largely over-looked in the
19th Century,
Century, Berezkia suddenly
sudd enly came to prominence with
wi th
the discovery that enclosed within its borders was the
largest deposit of Element X ever recorded. By cleverly
exploiting historical treaties and alliances, the Berezkian
leadership maintained their independence while using
their new-found wealth to build up their defenses. Today
Berezkia is a fortress nation, heavily guarded by the loyal
troops of General Kazan while her neighbors look envi-
ously on.
D2@$" A83@&.#
A land of opportunity and growth, the countries of
mysterious death in 1886 Often called Mad King Ludwig ,
he was a man of peculiar vision. He loved to build lavish
The Pulp World Gazetteer 
󰁆󰁏󰁒󰁂󰁉󰁄󰁄󰁅󰁎 󰁖󰁁󰁌󰁌󰁅󰁙
Mentioned in legend for hundreds of years but first explored
by modern man in 1904, Forbidden Valley is an anomalous
region located in the deserts
deser ts of Mexico and bounded by high
rocky walls. Despite being located in an arid desert with little
water, the valley apparently maintains a Jurassic ecology
including a thriving dinosaur population. Like many anoma-
lous regions, there appears to be only one entrance to the
valley,, and attempts to locate it through other routes have
valley
failed repeatedly. Even more curiously, a 1908 follow-up
expedition reported
reported penetrating 12 miles into the valley and
uncovering a dense jungle before turning back in the face of
increasing losses to dinosaur predation.
󰁁󰁎󰁏󰁍󰁁󰁌󰁏󰁕󰁓  󰁒󰁅󰁇󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓
The term “anomalous region” is one that is applied to geo-
graphical areas where the normal laws of nature – and
3
sometimes physics – are suspended or behave in ways con-
trary to the predictions of science. These regions often appear
to be in some way hidden, concealed from the rest of the
world as if existing within a fold of space
sp ace and time. Normal-
ly these regions can only be accessed in a very limited and
specific way; through a certain cave, by following a concealed
valley or by navigating a specific course. Attempting to find
the region by any other way will usually fail, as if the region
only exists when accessed by the specific path. Exactly what
causes anomalous regions to exist is unknown, though it
cannot be a coincidence that these areas often contain large
deposits of Element X. Anomalous regions are often called
“lost worlds” after the most well-known and well-document-
ed example; Maple White
W hite Land in Venezuela.
of action, mystery, and danger in the western lands of
the continent. With influences
inf luences from all of the great and
not so great powers of Europe, North America can be a
hotbed of activity
activity..
9"3 =-&$3M C$#$3'
The 19th century in the United States was a time of turmoil.
The whole century seemed to focus on the build up to and
recovery from the biggest change in American history --
The Civil War. The tensions, both political and economic,
that lead up to the Civil War in󿬂uence the direction of the
country throughout the early years of the 1800s. The
upheaval
upheav al caused by this great con󿬂ict had repercussions
that were felt up to the dawn of the new century. It was
not, however, all doom and gloom. The Industrial
Revolution was alive and well in the United States. The
country was a land of invention, with new technology
seeming to appear every day. The westward expansion
also brought
United Statesadventure
a land of and new discoveries,
opportunity, a dream making the
of people
around the world.
The Gold Rush of 1848 brought hundreds of thousands of
 North America can be a focal point for adventure and
excitement. Penny-dreadfuls fill young minds with tales
Pulp Fantastic
full of life with the excitement of gold fever. The western
expansion brought many people to the west, not all of
them honest citizens. Card sharks, con men, snake oil
salesmen, cattle rustlers and bank robbers could all be
found scattered around the boom towns of the west.
Indians roamed, and fought for their very survival, clashing
with the teeming Americans spilling into their lands.
Rail lines slowly made their way west, crisscrossing the
newly claimed prairies. Men like John Henry helped to
build the railroad, expanding the nation and bringing the
raw materials of the west to the industrial lands of the
east. Jesse James made the railroads famous by robbing
the trains, making the lands seem wild and untamed.
Railroads were a vital link throughout the United States.
Without trains, much of the growth of western towns
would not have been possible, and the western United
States would have been a vastly diff erent
erent environment.
The United States is a land of unique adventure. Part
civilized nation, part savage wilderness, the country is rife
with possibility.
possibility. Great thriving cities like New Yo
York,
rk, Boston,
and Baltimore provide centers of industry
industry,, intrigue, and
adventure. Booming towns like Denver and San Francisco
are full of action, danger, and adventure.
?#-#M#
The British colonies of Canada were a battleground for
the British and American governments during the War of
1812. The treaties following the war sealed a low-level
animosity between the Canadian colonies and the new
nation of the United States, slowing the migration between
the countries and increasing the American expansion to
     R the west. In 1867 the British North American Act took the
     E the most active Adventurer or Explorer busy. During the
     E Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia and
     T formed the Dominion of Canada, the 󿬁rst and largest
     E self-governing colony of the British Empire. The majority
     Z of Canada was a vast, forested, unexplored wilderness.
wildern ess. The
     A great cattle herds of Alberta, the metropolis of Montreal,
     G and the growing wilderness town of Vancouver, were all
linked inby
railway 1886 with thePaci
Canadian completion of the
󿬁c Railway. Thetranscontinental
opening of rail
service, and the grand hotels built along the route, sped
up the expansion of the Canadian west.
While the expansion brought more people to the towns
and cities along the rail line, it still left great swaths of the
country unexplored. Stories of Wendigo, the embodiment
of winter, isolation, and cannibalism
c annibalism spread throughout
the end of the 1800s. Some claim that Wendigo wander
the wildernesses of Canada, preying on hunters, trappers,
and explorers of the arctic regions. Others claim that the
spirit creatures have been encountered in towns like
Vancouver and the newly incorporated city of Winnipeg.
Whether the tales of the Wendigo and related stories of
Sasquatch are true or just the myths and stories of the
local Indians are unknown. Nobody who has gone hunting
for either creature has come back with one. Of course, a
few expeditions have never come back.
people to California, with towns springing up literally
overnight. Once small communities became bustling cities
73
P3H&.2
Territorial disputes between the United States and the newly
independent nation of Mexico led the countries to an
inevitable war in 1846. The
Th e war was short and, unfortunately
for the 󿬁ercely proud Mexican people, unsuccessful. In 1848
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo was signed, ending the
war. Mexico lost large pieces of territory, which were settled
by Americans and soon became the states of Texas,
California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and most of the New
Mexico and Arizona territories. A federal republic was
established after several internal wars, with Benito Juárez
󿬁nally installed as President. In the 1860s Mexico was under
the military occupation of France. Napoleon III installed
Maximilian I as King of Mexico, under his control. The
largely conservative government of Mexico found the
policies of Maximillian too conservative, and the liberals
refused to acknowledge the King as their monarch.  This
lead to much political unrest. Forces loyal to President
Benito Juárez, who kept the federal government functioning
during the French intervention that put Maximilian in
power, captured Maximilian and executed him in 1867.
Like much of Central and South America, Mexico was
dotted with ancient ruins, lost Aztec cities, and enough
adventures to keep anyone busy for many years.
C2)$" #-M ?3-$@#* A83@&.#
This region was both an unexplored wilderness full of
ancient ruins waiting to be discovered and a hotbed of
military actions throughout the era. For adventurers
seeking ancient ruins and lost civilizations, the Incas and
Aztecs had left behind more than enough to keep even
1930s they were sitting between two worlds, and time will
decide which way they will move.
 A@63-
 A@6 3-$&-
$&-##
The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata was formed in
1816 from the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the
last short lived Viceroyalty of the region. The United Provinces
comprised the area of present day Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay,
and Argentina. Political turmoil in the region caused the
Provinces to split apart, forming the four
f our separate countries.
Argentina is a largely agrarian
agrari an country,
country, with a smattering
of farms and a large number of cattle ranches. This stable
economy helped to unite the mostly Spanish population.
Exporting of cattle, sheep, and wheat kept the nation from
suff ering
ering the eff ects
ects of the worldwide depressions
depressions of the
mid-1800s, but it did not make them wealthy either.
While the immigrants to Argentina were a united people,
they still suff ered
ered from attacks by the Indian tribes of the
region. Argentina inherited the problems of the Spanish
Viceroy when
the south, it came
and they to dealing
did not handle with the localany
this problem tribes to
better
than the Spanish.
Buenos Aires still had a colonial feel, even after its

74
from the banks of London, gave the capital city a de󿬁nite
European feel. The rich plains of the Pampas in northern
half of the country and the rolling plateau of the south,
contrast sharply with the rugged Andes along the western
border. This gave the country a de󿬁nitely exotic feel, with
a certain air of mystery.
󰁍󰁁󰁐󰁌󰁅 󰁗󰁈󰁉󰁔󰁅 󰁌󰁁󰁎󰁄
Discovered by Professor
and first explored in 1910,George EdwardLand
Maple White Challenger in 1908
is an enormous
plateau that rises from the dense jungles of Venezuela, in
South America. An anomalous region like the Forbidden Valley
in Mexico, the plateau is hard to find, despite being of con-
siderable size, and supports a large
la rge population of dinosaurs
and other anachronistic flora and fauna. Like the Forbidden
Valley, the surface of the plateau appears to be far larger
than its circumference would suggest, which may account
for its ability to support such a large and thriving ecosystem.
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.
:2*&K&#
Of all the countries of South America, Bolivia was the most
unstable politically, economically, and even geographically.
The European wars of Napoleon had their eff ects
ects felt in
far off  South
  South America. The Spanish colonial territory
known as Upper Peru declared its independence in 1809.
Sixteen years of bitter war began, until 󿬁nally 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-Boliv
Peru-Bolivian
ian Confederation.
Wars with Chile and Argentina, while at 󿬁rst victorious,
turned disastrous. By 1840 the Confederation had dissolved,
Peru had found its independence, and Bolivia entered a
period of political and economic upheaval. Wars with
Peru, Chile, and Brazil over the next few decades saw
Bolivia lose much of the land it once controlled, including
access to the Paci󿬁c Ocean and the fertile lands of the west.
Rising silver prices around the world had brought about a
rise of prosperity in Bolivia near the end of this century.
Prospecting, mining, and treasure seeking have all become
pro󿬁table forms of employment in Bolivia. With governments
constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, Bolivia was a
land of adventure, intrigue, and danger. The Andean
Mountains of Bolivia hold many secrets and treasures.
Perhaps even the remains of the Empire of the Inca.
:@#W&*
Once the colony of Portugal, the largest nation of South
America has gone through many changes. For three
independence. The influx of Spanish and Italian
immigrants, along with a healthy dose of 󿬁nancial backing
The Pulp World Gazetteer 
the army of Napoleon caused great uproar in
i n the Portuguese
court, with the King and his retinue 󿬂eeing to Brazil and
setting up in Rio de Janeiro. The capital of the Portuguese
Empire lies in Rio for several years, with the colony formally
becoming the Kingdom of Brazil in 1815. The United
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
Dom Pedro the 󿬁rst Emperor of Brazil. Emperor Pedro I,
and later his son Pedro II, ruled the Brazilian Empire
through the
revolution late part
resulted of the
in the 19th century.
abdication Turmoil
of Emperor and
Pedro II
in 1889 and the Republic of the United States of Brazil was
formed. The land of Brazil was sparsely populated, with
heavy rainforests and the largest river system in the world.
The great and mysterious Amazon River is the heart of
Brazil. Many European expeditions went into the Amazon
Basin to explore and bring back the natural treasures of
the region. Some of them never returned.
3
?"&*3
Like many of its neighbors, Chile was a colony of Spain
until the forces of France's Napoleon invaded Spain in the
early 1800s. This led the people of Chile to break away
from Spain. After a brief attempt by the Spanish to re-
-conquer Chile, the Republic of Chile proclaimed its
independence in 1818. This declaration did little to change
the colonial lifestyle of Chile, where social strati󿬁cation,
family politics, and the in󿬂uence of the Roman Catholic
Church strongly dictated the course of the Republic.
Chilean culture changed very little over most of the 19th
century,, and the generally stable government was a change
century
of pace in the otherwise turbulent history of South
America. In the late 1870s, wars with the new countries
of Peru and Bolivia, culminating in the War of the Paci 󿬁c,
brought great expansion to the lands of Chile. Territories
rich in nitrate deposits, which were part of their treaty
settlements with Bolivia and Peru, lead to an era of national
affluence. In 1886, José Manuel Balmaceda was elected
 centuries the colony of Brazil was a powerful, though often
neglected, colony of Portugal. The invasion of Portugal by
Pulp Fantastic
constitution and slowly began to establish a dictatorship.
These actions were not tolerated by the Congress, who
voted on deposing him. Balmaceda's refusal to step down
led to the beginning of the Chilean Civil War of 1891. The
President's forces were quickly defeated, and Balmaceda
󿬂ed to refuge in the Argentinean Embassy. There he
committed suicide, ending his reign.
During the era of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  Chile is a highly
regimented, tightly controlled, and predominately
Catholic republic. While it may look calm and orderly,
underneath is a hotbed of subterfuge. The mountains of
Chile are large, dangerous, and potentially full of raw
gold, silver, and perhaps the lost treasures of the Inca or
Aztecs. The "savage Indians" of Chile can also be a surprise
to adventurers. They could seek revenge for wrongs done
to them by the Chilean government, or they could be out
to aid those hoping to 󿬁nd and "preserve" the treasures
of the mountains. They
T hey may even know of the legendary
tunnels and caves under Drakes Passage that lead to a
legendary long lost kingdom below Antarctica.
󰁓󰁈󰁁󰁍󰁂󰁈󰁁󰁌󰁁 󰁁󰁎󰁄 󰁁󰁇󰁈󰁁󰁒󰁔󰁁
The twin kingdoms of Shambhala and Agharta exist on the
borders of Tibet, nestled within an anomalous region in the
Himalayas.
Shambhala is a holy land in the Buddhist faith, and was long
thought to be purely mythological. However, in recent years
a number of Western explorers and mountaineers have re-
turned home with tales of the beautiful warm valley hidden
     R amidst the snowy peaks, and of the curiously ageless and
     E gentle people that live there. Many seem to have returned
     E home oddly rejuvenated, as if they have somehow become
     T later for copper, gold, and diamonds, with brutal oppres-
     E younger,, while others appear
younger a ppear to have undergone
u ndergone some form
     Z of spiritual transformation. Like other anomalous regions,
Shambhala is extremely difficult to locate, though in this
     A case whether or not the land can be found at all seems to
     G depend on the favor of the people within it. Legends says
that those who are destined to find Shambhala will do so,
while those with evil in their hearts never will.
Agharta is a underground realm that exists somewhere
beneath the mountains of Tibet, and
a nd can be reached through
tunnels in Shambhala. Reputedly the home of the mystical
Meh-Teh, the realm is also said to be the site of the dread
Forbidden Lamasery of the Mara Brotherhood. Rumors persist
that Agharta was once an Atlantean outpost, and that still
functioning examples of their transcendent technology can
be found there, if one only knows where to look.
 AI@&
 AI @&.#
.#
In the early 1900s, Africa fell increasingly under Europe-
an control. The whites’ superior transportation
transportation and 󿬁re-
power enabled them to conquer vast swaths of land and
take the Africans’ natural resources. Most Europeans saw
saw
president. His economic policies were radically diff erent
erent
than those of previous presidents. He began to violate the
75
some heroes were ahead of their time regarding racial
equality and opposition to imperialism, only after the
period represented in Pulp Fantastic did the empires gain
some degree of enlightenment and begin divesting them-
selves of their colonies.
 AB5''
 AB 5''&-
&-&#
&#
Abyssinia may surprise visitors by having a history trace-
able to the fourth century
centur y. Througho
Throughout
ut antiquity,
antiquity, it has
been a Christian nation with a notable Jewish population.
Their religious
Covenant underleaders claimkey,
lock and to have the fabled
though Ark of
none may seethe
it
except the religious hierarchy and the Emperor—who
claims to be descended from King Solomon.
All of Abyssinia’s borders are mountainous, making it
naturally defensible.
defensib le. In the late 19th century, Italy tried
to take it as a colony, but it was humiliated in defeat, as
had been all other nations who tried to conquer it. In 1935,
Italy tried again, and with the aid of mustard gas, they
succeeded, Emperor Halie Selassie 󿬂eeing the country.
Abyssinia’ss future is unclear, as the League
Abyssinia’ Leagu e of Nations has
turned a deaf ear to the emperor’s cries for aid.
Visitors will 󿬁nd this country modernized in comparison
with other African nations, but it still holds its enigmas. For
example, questions persist as to whether the title of emperor
is equivalent to the medieval
medieval “Prester John.”
John.” Likewise, the
city of Lalibela holds eleven eight-century-old churches,
hewn out of solid rock, supposedly with the aid of angelic
beings. The nearby caves have never been fully explored.
9"3 ?2-62
The Congo is foremost a site for human tragedy.
tragedy. The
Belgians exploited it 󿬁rst for ivory, then for rubber, and
sion for Congolese who failed to meet their quotas (espe-
cially in the 󿬁rst decade of the century
century,, when millions lost
their lives). Inhabitan
Inhabitants
ts of the eastern Congo faced danger
not only from the Belgians, but also from Zanzibar’s slave
raiders,
members. from
In whom theythe
the North, sometimes ransomed
Portuguese their family
were slightly better
rulers, avoiding the genocidal violence of the Belgians
and allowing a Kongolese king to serve as vassal until a
1914 revolt.
The pygmy survives as a small minority in the Congo,
living in small hunter-gatherer communities in various
climates or serving as slaves to the Bantu-speaking Con-
golese. Using traps, spears, and crossbows with poisoned
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-󿬁nd elephants, prized for
their rich ivory, and an elephant graveyard would make
any explorer wealthy beyond imagining, though none has
been found yet. A 1909 volume by one hunter notes Con-
Con-
golese locals’ tale of a creature whose description remind-
ed him of a brontosaur
brontosaurus,
us, 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 aff airs.
airs. While the truth ended with a train derailment, resulting in four
76

The Pulp World Gazetteer 

󰁂󰁌󰁁󰁃󰁋 󰁌󰁏󰁔󰁕󰁓 󰁐󰁏󰁗󰁄󰁅󰁒
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
u se 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
ma rked disregard for their own personal safety,
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
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,
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
p riests 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
Bu rning
the dried leaves of the Black
Bla ck Lotus produces a dense soporific vapor, which if inhaled induces
indu ces 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
Regardless
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 identi󿬁able 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 󿬁nd 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
suff ering
ering the Congo has to off er,
er, have lost their sanity here.
the source of life, is home to Nile crocodile, hippopotami,
G65+$ and over ten varieties of venomous snakes, so it pays to
be careful while navigating. Malaria-carr
Malaria-carrying
ying mosquitos
In 1904, Aleister Crowley, an Order of the Hermetic Dawn
member, claimed after visiting the Cairo Museum of An- are ubiquitous,
become and if one goes far enough south, the rapids
… problematic.
tiquities to have an encounter with a being named Aiwass,
in the voices of three Egyptian
Egyptian gods. The Book of the Law 9"3 C#"#@# F3'3@$
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
to broken bones. Even near
discovered the tomb of King Tut, still intact with all its the oases, one may 󿬁nd hyenas. So why would anyone go
treasures, reigniting the mania. Rumors of the tomb’
tomb’ss through the Sahara?
fatal curse have been exaggerated.
Wealth. There are lost cities to
to be found: Zerzura, the
Diplomacy,
Diplomacy
tance than, entanglements, and spies
supposed sightings are of far
of walking more impor-
mummies, as white city, an oasis
for example. of precious
It’ss possible
It’ thatgems
this and
is a sleeping rulers,
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 󿬁nd Zerzura.
Zerzura. (Of course, im-
there is the recent rise in anti-Semitism, exacerbated by the poverished Timbuktu’s real treasure subsists not in gold,
 there is the recent rise in anti Semitism, exacerbated by the
recent publication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Pulp Fantastic
forbidden lore.) Other explorers may
may wish for bragging
bragging
rights, surviving a trip
tr ip to the top of Kaf Ajnoun, “the Devil’s
Hill,” where the Djinn supposedly hold council. Alterna-
Hill,”
tively, clandestine scienti󿬁c expeditions could search for
the secrets behind what would later be named the “Eye of
the Sahara,” a 25-mile-wide crystalline depression, looking
from a zeppelin rather like a bulls-eye mark.
The French Foreign Legion patrols the Sahara, albeit ir-
regularly,, making it nominally safer than it was some years
regularly
earlier. Still, you’re more likely to see bones in the desert
than you are a fellow traveler … if you can discern anything
besides heat-based hallucinations and mirages.
C2)$"3@- AI@&.#
Circumnavigating
Circumnavigating the southern tip of Africa is still danger-
ous, given the storms around the Cape of Good Hope, and
sailors still report seeing the ghostly Flying Dutchman there
on occasion. On land, the once-formidable Zulus havehave
become, while not exactly docile, somewhat tractable in
the face of the overwhelming technological superiority of
the English and the Boers, and now face crushing poverty.
poverty.
The English defeated the Boers (descended from the Dutch)
during the early part of the pulp era, and soon after the
start of the Great Depression, the nation of South Africa
declared its independence. At the end of the era, there
there is
still great tension between not only the black Africans and
the whites, but also among the whites themselves, divided
by heritage and language into winners
winners and losers. Addi-
tionally, during the entire period, the indigenous people
had virtually no economic or civil rights, despite their
actually comprising more than 80% of the population.
     R 1842) would end in a humiliating defeat for the British, and
     E Complicating the matter was South Africa’s third set of
     E rights for “colored” people: those of mixed race and those
     T who came from India, looking for jobs.
     E steadily advanced southward into Afghanistan. During the
     Z The southern Zulu would rather keep a discreet silence
     A about some mysteries, such as the Rain Queen of the
Karanga, or the carnivorous river god Inkanyamba. The
     G northern, central regions of southern Africa are less ex-
plored, giving rise to legends of lost cities—including one
con󿬁rmed discovery, the abandoned Great Zimbabwe—and
of a completely diff erent
erent ethnic group of hunter-gatherers,
as yet unknown, using poisoned spears in the bush to
catch their prey.
P#8& !#$#
The Igbo people of West Africa sometimes report having
encountered a half-human, mermaid-like creature, a witch
and a snake-charmer, who steals their children at night
or drowns their men in the river during the day. Oddly,
she is often seen with modern trinkets, such as watches
or lighters. She has been known to possess her followers
during ritual dances. Eyewitness reports
reports of her appear-
ances have been
has turned surprisingly
up reliable consistent,
evidence but no
of any such expedition
being yet.
N2'$ ?&$&3'
poverished Timbuktu s real treasure subsists not in gold,
but in in its tomes of forgotten wisdom, its volumes of
77
idea that lost cities could still exist somewhere in unex-
plored corners of the world. Zerzura, Opar, Loo, and Kôr
are all examples
examples of this trope. Often part and parcel with
with
it, unfortunately, is the racist idea that Africans, unaided,
could not build a city themselves—yet it was the Shona,
a Bantu people, who built Great Zimbabwe!
One never knows what one is going to 󿬁nd in a lost city.
Riches? New technologi
technologies?
es? Natural wonders as yet
unseen? All that’s
that’s certain is that adventure
adventure and science
mandate a complete mapping of the African continent,
so that all may bene󿬁t from their discoveries.
9"3 !#*>&-6 C"#M3
The coast of East Africa is rife with tales of a man who
never dies. For 󿬁ve centuries, observers have noted a
strange, small sign on certain buildings and individuals,
a sign locals call a “seal of protection.” In hushed breath,
the indigenous people tell stories of a cave shaped like a
skull, a wolf and horse who respond only to the speech of
the undying, and a stretch of coastland free from the piracy
that plagues so much
much of the Indian Ocean. But, like an
apparition, the origin of these legends … and the origin
of the skull-shaped wounds on some pirates’ faces …
remains impossible to 󿬁nd.
 A'&#
 A' &#
 AI6"#
 AI 6"#-&
-&'$
'$#-
#-
Afghanistan has been the battleground for the “Great
Game,” a con󿬂ict fought between Great Britain and Russia
over control of Central Asia. The First Afghan War (1838-
although guaranteed free passage, the British Army was
slaughtered during its retreat. Meanwhile, the Russian army
Victorian Age, the British would try again, sparking the
Second Afghan War in 1878. After getting a good part of its
army annihilated in Kabul, Britain managed to put an Emir
on the throne with whom both Britain and Russia could
live. During the 1880s, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan would
consolidate his power in Afghanistan, strengthening mil-
itary control and modernizing the nation.
It has become a centerpoint of the intrigues going on between
two great World Powers, Russia and The British Empire.
Situated at a crossroads in a geographical context, it is riddled
with spies as well as those that follow such activities.
:")$#-
Bhutan is a small country nestled in the Himalayas and
was battered by civil war during the Victorian Age. Gov-
ernors of diff erent
erent territories within Bhutan were vying
for power through skirmishes with the others. This came
to an end in 1885, when Britain
Br itain backed Ugyan Wangchuck,
the Governor of Trongsa. He would consolidate his power
through the rest of the Victorian Age (and was destined
to be crowned king in 1907).
 Following the publicity surrounding the research about
Great Zimbabwe, Europe became very interested in the
78
neighbor Tibet. Tibet actually sided with a rival governor
against Wangchuck. A treaty with Britain in 1865 allowed
Britain to control Bhutan’s southern border passes with India.
It is a part of the British Empire, allowing for a presence
in this distant part of the world for the English.
:)@8#
Although not part of the Indian subcontinent, Burma was
slowly incorporated into British India during the Victorian
Age. Burma shared its northeast border with China, and
successfully repulsed four Chinese invasions in the 18th
century before being absorbed into British India during
the next century. The lowlands of Burma have a tropical
climate similar to neighboring Bengal, while the highlands
can range all the way up to heavy snowfall and arctic
conditions depending on elevation. Like Bengal, Burma
was also prone to 󿬂oods and droughts.
It was Burma’s territorial expansion that concerned both
the Chinese and the British. Ill-de󿬁ned borders were part
of the problem, as military operations and refugees
challenged territorial assumptions. Britain fought Burma
in a series of three wars during the 19th century, resulting
in total control of Burma in 1886. Burma then became a
province of India.
Burma would thrive economically in rice production, but
at great cost. When the opening of the Suez Canal increased
demand for rice, Burmese farmers needed to borrow money
to meet it, but often defaulted on their high-interest loans.
As a result, the bene 󿬁ciaries of the Burmese rice trade
were British and Indian 󿬁rms and migrant workers. Many
Burmese became unemployed, and neither the ICS nor
the British military would accept them into their ranks.
Ironically, although Bhutan was strengthening its ties with
Britain, it conducted most of its trade with its northern
The Pulp World Gazetteer 
1#-622-
The British annexed Rangoon in 1852. The British
immediately went to work on modernizing the city,
building colleges and bringing western education to the
Burmese people. Rangoon primarily exported rice and
timber. This stood in stark contrast to the impoverished
villages that surrounded it. Rangoon was made the capital
of the Burmese Province in 1886.
?"&-#
The Empire of China was, to many westerners, a complete
mystery. The vast landscape of a country full of strange
customs, cryptic writings, and imperial intrigue is what
kept many people fascinated and sometimes obsessed
with this great nation. What many did not realize is that
Imperial China was a nation in decline and was rushing
headlong into what surely would become the end of the
Manchu Dynasty.
3
The latter half of the 19th century in China was a time of
adventure and excitement. Contact with western cultures
had been limited, but the expansion of trade around the
world following the Napoleonic Wars caused the Manchu
government to have to deal with trade groups from Europe.
The most prominent of these groups came from Great Britain,
who had colonies in nearby India. The Emperor had declared
that China was not impressed with western manufacturing,
so they would only accept bars of silver as payment for the
silks, teas, and ceramics that were in demand in Europe.
Great Britain was concerned that their precious metal reserves
were being depleted, so they looked for alternative goods to
trade. Their most elaborate scheme involved addicting the
Chinese on opium. When the Emperor banned the opium
trade in 1838 Great Britain declared war on China, and the
󿬁rst of the Opium Wars began.
79
 

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 󿬁rst signi󿬁cant exhibit of Japanese items in the west
de󿬁ed 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 󿬁ve more years (1867) before the Japanese government
originals of Australi
Australia.
a.
presented their own cultural displays to the world. In 1868,
 just one year later, the shoguna
shogunatete governme
government
nt was These strange people, living in "primitive"
"pri mitive" nomadic
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
was opened to ‘westernization
‘westernization’.
’. strange customs? And should they be given rights and
privileges of the "civilized" colonists? The aborigines’ oral
One group that did not bene 󿬁t 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
hunter/trapper/farmer culture appeared
appea red 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 󿬁lled mangrove swamps, thick 3
persecuted not only for their Caucasian racial stock but tropical jungles, and sweeping grasslands
grassl ands make Australia
also because of the strange animistic religion they a diverse environment for exploration. The largely unex-
practiced. The Ainu religion was 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
operating pulp image
in Japan of Samurai
in the 1930’s, and age
the feudal Ninja clans
of Japan  A-$#
 A- $#@.
@.$&
$&.#
.#
really ended with the Meiji restoration of 1868. Japan of At the south end of the world is the frozen continent of
this new era was a nation struggling to become modern, Antarctica. Its snow- and ice-cover and high elevation
despite suff ering
ering economic disaster from both the Great combine to make it the coldest place on Earth. The sub-ze-
Depression and the powerful Kanto Earthquake of 1930. ro temperatures freeze the moisture out of the air, making
most of Antarctica drier than the Sahara Desert.
Though the land was ruled by Emperor Hirohito, it was
controlled by a network of political groups, secret societies, There are no native inhabitants on the continent, but
and cults. Power brokering was commonplace, but the various exploration teams may be encountered. Because
military,, through assassination and persecution, amassed
military of the dangers of this most hostile environment, no per-
power through the decade. manent human settlements exist anywhere on the conti-
nent. Wildlife is restricted to seals, penguins, birds and
In 1931, China’s warring factions began to expand power
󿬁sh. There are no polar bears in Antarctica.
into Japanese-claimed Manchuria. This gave the military
an easy excuse to consolidate power, as well as reclaim Nearly all of Antarctica lies within the Antarctic Circle.
Manchuria by force. After heavy criticism for its actions, Along the coastline, snowfall averages 20 to 40 inches per
 Japan pulled out of the already
already-weak
-weak League of Nations year, and temperatures range from 40 to -40 degrees. Most
in 1933. of the coastline is mountainous, and travel to the interior
is difficult.
By 1936 there are threats and rumors of war with China,
and even the most devout pulp heroes are reluctant to Rumors of a hole in the middle of the continent, leading
take but a few assignments into the heart of Japan. into the Earth's interior, have persisted for years. No one
has ever returned from an expedition with evidence of
 A)'$
 A) '$@#
@#*&
*&## 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,
Victoria, Queensland,
Western
West ern Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory,
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 o fficially ended,
though they had been sparse for
f or 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

T
his chapter is not a complete history on the Pulp Era,
it is an overview of the things that happened during
the period, a timeline and a general sense of what is
what. There are many other books both in reference and
Role Playing that go into much more detail of the era than
we have gone into here, and any of them can be used as
supplemental material to the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 Role
Playing Game.
L-$3@3'$&-6 9&83'
The ’pulp era’ is a little difficult to pin down. Pulps them-
selves, in one form
with fantastic talesorand
anotadventures
another,
her, existeddrawn
since the l atethe
late
from
West and far-away places being sold to readers in New
England and Britain.
Tales of courage, daring, and science were popularized
through the turn of the century, the Great War, and well
beyond. But the pulps hit their
the ir stride in the 1930’s,
1930’s, as many
people turned to cheaper entertainment to try and escape
the rigors of the Great Depression and the political up-
heavals happening all over the world.
For many, this decade between the wars would de󿬁ne the
Pulp genre.
9"3 7@3#$
The ‘War to End all!#@
Wars’ started with the assassination
of Archduke Ferdinand
Ferdinand in 1914, though it had been a long
time in coming. Tensions between various European
powers had been escalating and brewing for years. Skir-
mishes were a common occurrence as old nobilities vied
for power over one-another. The assassination was simply
a match in a room full of gas. Everything simply exploded.
War was far from new in Europe, but this war would change
everything. New weapons were brought to the 󿬁eld, in-
cluding tanks, aircraft, and the horror of chemical weapons.
Nearly twenty million people would die in the Great War’s
four years, devastating the European powers. The cost of
war was simply too high for the ‘old world’ mindset to
continue.
The end of the war found Germany as the defeated insti-
gator,, much of the rest of Europe in ruins, and the United
gator
States both victorious and relatively unscathed. The Treaty
Chapter 4
The Pul
Pulpp Years
a political body that was supposed to mediate disputes
between nations. It only had modest success, even at its
inception.
For better or worse, the Great War had accomplished
bringing in the Pulp age. But it had done little to settle the
disputes in Europe, and have even invited more. Skirmish-
es and government upheavals would last for the next
twenty years, bringing rise to Fascism and Communism.
The old ‘class system’ was falling apart as the workers of
the world, who had su ff ered
ered the most in the war, were no
longer content with their nobility. The ‘War to End All
Wars’ concluded with an
a n even more unstable world largely
1800’s
Old
in economic collapse, and seemed to ensure that more,
even more vicious wars would be coming.
9"3 12#@&-6 YZ0'
For the United States, the 1920’s seemed like a period of
great promise. Though Prohibition had led to dramatic
increases in crime, they were considered to be good times.
The United States didn’t suff er
er as badly in the ‘Great War’
as Europe. Indeed, most of Europe owed the United States
great amounts of money. Cities hadn’t been brought to
their knees and required rebuilding. Unlike the rest of the
world, everything in the United States was up and running.
With enthusiasm bordering on delirium, Americans
󿬁
charged to without
celebrated the future. Scienti
often being cunderstood.
achievement was often
Technolo
Technology
gy
promised cures for every disease, as a new convenient
gadget for any worldly inconvenience.
inconvenience. Companies spent
millions buying into the idea.
Movies had changed entertainm
entertainment
ent as well, bringing the
glamor and glitz of a new age of celebrities, as well as some
mindless fun over the weekends at the matinee. In the
homes, radio programs of music, comedy and sports
brought people together in a way that hadn’t happened
before. It really seemed that the miracles of technology
and ‘new science’ was reshaping the world.
But beneath the wood grain and brass gadgetry, however,
lied a diff erent
erent image, even in the incredibly optimistic
America. Crime and corruption were rampant. Labor
Unions had turned to organized crime for muscle, and
were easily in󿬁ltrated by Communist insurgents. Prohi-
bition and dramatic corruption had destroyed public
 con󿬁dence 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

󰁂󰁌󰁁󰁃󰁋 󰁔󰁈󰁕󰁒󰁓󰁄󰁁󰁙
Though most of Europe struggled in the 1920’s,
1920’s, America had enjoyed a tremendous financial boom. The Great War that had devas-
d evas-
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
medica l 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.
b egan. 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’.
October ‘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
manag e to sell their now near-worthles
near-worthlesss stocks, and often lost their homes. Businesses
B usinesses
folded from their losses, causing dramatic
drama tic unemployment. Even worse, many banks had overext
overextended
ended into the markets and were
unable to pay their member’s
member ’s accounts,
accounts, destroying the personal savings of millions.
Within a few months of Black Tuesday,
Tuesday, the United States had joined in the Great
G reat 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
p arty that was the Roaring 20’s had left one heck of a hangover.

than before
that the cityprohibition set in.
is still known forThings got so bad in Chicago
its booze-smuggling gang- (August) President
ing Division McKinleyversion
4, the American signs an
ofExecutive
Britis hOrder
the British creat-
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 assassinat
assassinated.
ed.
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
     R even in the land of prosperity. Small ethnic clashes over
     E Creatures believed to be from the planet Mars invade London;
     E work and older disputes erupted frequently.
     T Race relations in the south were even worse. Many sons
they are seemingly defeated by an unknown synthetic
syntheti c toxin;
     E of the Confederacy had power, and weren’t too fond of the
the event is chronicled by H.G. Wells, but due
d ue to the efforts
     Z black race that they blamed the Civil War
War upon. Segrega-
of the Invisible College, the world regards his report as a work
     A tion was the law, and any man, regardless of color, often
of fiction.
     G 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
[\ZY
for some. All that excess, however, came at a terrible cost, (January)) 5 workers killed in explosion during IRT subway
(January
and the worst of it was just around the corner. construction (New York City)
(March) American Automobile Association, AAA, founded
9&83*&-3 [\Z[ ] [\^\ in Cleveland, Ohio
(April) 1st motion picture theater opens in Los Angeles.
Denmark is 1st country to adopt 󿬁ngerprinting to identi-
[\Z[ 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
Moon. The they
firing of say
this will
canonbe garners
used forthe
exploration
attention of the
of the (May) Cuba gains independence from Spain.
war-like,, space faring Martians.
war-like (August) President Teddy Roosevelt became 1st U.S. chief
executive to ride in a car.

84
[\Z^
(January) San Francisco - Hawaii telegraph cable opens
for public use. Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt
Theater, Amsterdam. 1st regular transatlantic radio broad-
cast between U.S. and England. Harry Houdini escapes
police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam.
(March) The killer known as “The Hoxton Creeper” resurfaces
in London after being presumed dead for over five years
following
unknown thean brutish
encounter with Sherlock
back-breaker finds Holmes.
back-breaker ByAmerica,
his way to means
apparently tracking the notorious Borgia Pearl after its sale
to an unknown American millionaire. Over the next three
decades, for reasons unknown, he will find and murder every
owner of the Pearl.
(June) Ford Motor Corporation and Pepsi Cola Company
both form.
(August) Joe Pulitzer donated $1 million to Columbia U
and begins Pulitzer Prizes
(December) First motorized 󿬂ight performed at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina by two bicycle makers from Ohio, Wilber
and
602 Orville Wright. Fire at
a t Chicago’s
Chicago’s Iriquois Theater kills
kil ls
[\Z_
(February) Russo-Japanese War begins between Russia
and Japan, with Japan launching a surprise attack on Port
Arthur. The United States of America gains control of the
Panama Canal Zone.
(March) Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the 󿬁rst
person to make a political recording of a document, using
Thomas Edison’s cylinder. Russian troops in Korea retreat
toward Manchuria, followed by 100,000 Japanese troops.
(April) The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair
opens in St. Louis, Missouri. People claim that Government
agencies chased a “Beast Man” through the fair. The gov-
ernment 󿬂atly denies any such activity.
(May) U.S. Army engineers begin work on The Panama
Canal. Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the 󿬁rst
perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
(July) The third Modern Olympic Games opens in St. Louis,
Missouri as part of the
th e World’s
World’s Fair.
Fair. The British expedition
e xpedition
under Colonel Francis Younghusband takes Lhasa in Tibet.
(October) The Russian Baltic Fleet 󿬁res on British trawlers
it mistakes for Japanese torpedo boats in the North Sea.
The 󿬁rst underground line of the New York City Subway
opens.
(November). Republican incumbent Theodore Roosevelt
defeats Democrat Alton B. Parker. The 󿬁rst successful
caterpillar track is made (it later revolutionizes
revolutionizes construc-
tion vehicles and land warfare).
(December) Trans-Paci󿬁c cable links Hawaii to US. Boers
and British army sign peace treaty
The Pulp Years
[\Z`
(March) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an
elected assembly (the Duma). U.S. President Theodore
Roosevelt
Roosevelt begins a full term. Russian troops begin to retreat
from Mukden after losing 100,000 troops in 3 days. The
 Japanese capture of Mukden (now Shenyang)
Shenyang) completes
the rout of Russian armies in Manchuria.
(April) Albert Einstein works on the special theory of
relativity as well as the theory of Brownian motion.
(May) The Japanese 󿬂eet under Admiral Heihachiro Togo
destroys the Russian 󿬂eet under Admiral Zinovi Petrovich
Rozhdestvenski
Rozhdestvenski in a 2-day battle.
(June) The Norwegian Parliament declares the union with
Sweden dissolved,
dissolved, and Norwa
Norwayy achieves full independence.
(September) Russo-Japanese War end results in disastrous
defeat for Russia; a treaty mediated by U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt is signed by victor Japan and Russia.
Russia cedes the island of Sakhalin and port and rail rights
in Manchuria to Japan, and major civil unrest at home for 4
Russia.
(October) The Wright Brothers’ third airplane (Wright
Flyer III) stays
ing. This is the in the
󿬁rst air for 39
airplane minutes
󿬂ight lastingwith
overWilbur pilot-
1/2 an hour.
Tsar Nicholas II is forced to grant Russia’s
Russia’s 󿬁rst constitution,
conceding a national assembly (Duma) with limited
powers.
(November) Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon
VII of Norway.
[\Za
(February) British launch HMS Dreadnaught, 󿬁rst “dread-
nought” class battleship.
(March) Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.
(July) Alfred Dreyfus is exonerated. He is reinstalled in the
French Army on July 21, thus ending the Dreyfus A ff air.
air.
(August) The 󿬁rst Victor Victrola, a phonographic record
player, is manufactured.
(November) Thomas Carnacki, psychical researcher
researcher,, is nearly
killed during the “Black Veil” investigation. Dr Ronald Aster,
a colleague, dies of fright after refusing to take protective
measures.
(December) The 󿬁rst German submarine, U-1, enters the
German Imperial Navy.
[\Zb
(March) Elections to the new Parliament of Finland are
the 󿬁rst in the world with woman candidates, as well as
the 󿬁rst elections in Europe where universal su ff rage
rage is
 applied. Nineteen women are elected. The 󿬁rst 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 󿬁rst 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.
[\Zc
(January) A long-distance radio message is sent from the
(January) (July) Louis Bleriot is the 󿬁rst man to 󿬂y across the English
Eiff el
el Tower for the 󿬁rst 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
in Krasnoyarsk ne arSiberia,
near
Krai, the Podkamennaya Tunguska River
Tunguska
Russian Empire. (November) The U.S. Navy founds a navy base in Pearl
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. [\[Z
(April) Comet Halley is visible from Earth.
(May) Edward
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,
Virginia, U.S.A. Thomas Selfridge
Selfr idge Privately,, physicians suspect a pathogen left over from the
Privately
becomes the 󿬁rst 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 󿬁rst Model T automo-
(June) The DELAG Zeppelin dirigible, Deutschland, makes
bile.
the 󿬁rst commercial passenger 󿬂ight from Friedrichshafen
to Düsseldorf in Germany. The 󿬂ight 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 identi󿬁cation, arrest and execution of mur-
     R derer Dr. Hawley Crippen.
     E (November) Western bandits Butch Cassidy and The Sun-
     E dance Kid are supposedly killed in Bolivia, after being (October) Portugal
Portugal becomes a republic; King Manuel II
I I of
     T surrounded by a large group of soldiers. There are many Portugal 󿬂ees to England.
     E rumors to the contrary however, and their grave sites are
     Z unmarked. Professor Challenger mounts a second expedition to South
     A America, accompanied by Lord John Roxton, Edward Dunn
     G A 40,000-year-old
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. [\[[
(January) In London, in what becomes known as the Siege
[\Z\ 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
󿬁rst 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
Villa launches an attack
attac k 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,
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
respectively, as Emperor
in New Delhi. of India and Empress Consort, (January) Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, American editorial-
(January)
ist, journalist, short-story writer and satirist, disappears
while traveling with Pancho Villa, documenting the
[\[Y 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 󿬁rst 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 Titan
Titanic,
ic, 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,
(July
she will strike and iceberg and sink to the bottom of the
giving de󿬁nite status to its air service for the 󿬁rst time.
ocean, taking with her the lives of more than 1,500 people.
Again the Order of Victoria is suspected. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia orders a full mobilization
Austria-Hungary. mobili zation against
(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 󿬂esh wound and the
bullet still in him, Roosevelt delivers his scheduled speech.
After 󿬁nishing 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 󿬁nishes
second, ahead of Ta
Taft.
ft.

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

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

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

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

ings of his “Mentaphone”
“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 󿬁ght
(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 󿬁rst to shoot down a German airship over Britain.
War I to
to celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas
Chr istmas truce.
Charles Foster Kane runs for governor of New York State and
[\[` loses.

(January)  The 󿬁rst use of poison gas in

i n WW1, by Germany
at Bolimow in Poland. The United States House of Repre-
sentatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to
[\[b
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 󿬁rst time, without victory” in Europe.
killing more than 20.
(March) Professor
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
(February)
(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,
Kin gdom, Walter H. Page,
(September) The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electri󿬁ed is shown the
Germany off intercepted Zimmermann
ers to give the
ers American Telegram,
Southwestinback
which
to
commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia,
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
Kerensky now in place.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The 󿬁rst prototype tank is tested
for the British Army for the 󿬁rst time. Former cartoonist (April) U.S. President
Presiden t Woodrow Wilson
Wilson asks the U.S
U.S.. Congress
     R  John B. Gruelle
Gruelle is given
given a patent for his
his Raggedy
Raggedy Ann doll. for a declaration of war on Germany, and they grant it.
     E
     E (October) The U.S. recognizes the Mexican government (November) The workers of Petrograd in Russia, led by the
     T of Venustiano Carranza de facto. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, attack the Kerensky
     E Provisional Government.
     Z (November) The governments of Britain and France se-
     A cretly agree to overtake the Middle-Eastern regions of the
[\[c
     G Ottoman Empire (mostly Syria and Iraq), and establish
their own zones of in󿬂uence.
(January)
as President
the path Woodrow
to permanent Wilson
Wilson
world declares his
peace. hi s 14 points
[\[a (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
󿬁rst 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-󿬁ght.
(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 󿬁ghts becoming the 󿬁rst 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
the hunt forunder
f or Villa;John J. Pershing
however cross
Pershing’ themissing
s real border to
wasjoin
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
and Morris Goldberg. The British 47th Brigade, 16th Irish
88
States President to travel to any foreign country while
holding office.
[\[\
(June) The United States Congress approves the 19th
Amendment to the United States Constitution, which
would guarantee suff rage
rage to women, and sends it to the
U.S. states for rati󿬁cation.
League of Nations formed, USA is not a member. The
United States fails to ratify a peace treaty with Germany
and sues for a separate peace.
 John Moses Browning 󿬁nalizes the design for the M1919
.30 (30-06) caliber medium machine gun, the 󿬁rst widely
distributed and practical air cooled medium machine gun
introduced to the US Military. It receives an official des-
ignation and production is started in the same year, a very
uncommon happening
happening..
[\YZ
(January) Prohibition goes into eff ect
ect in the United States
as the “Law of the Land” by the passage of the 18th Amend-
ment to the Constitution the following year.
(July) Pancho Villa takes over Sabina and contacts de la
Huerta to off er
er his conditional surrender. He signs his
surrender on July 28.
(August) The Nineteenth Amendment to the United
Uni ted States
Constitution is passed, guaranteeing women’s su ff rage.
rage.
(September) A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front
of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38
and injuring 400. The 󿬁rst domestic radio sets come to
stores in the United States; a Westinghouse radio costs
$10.
(October) The League of Nations moves its headquarters
to Geneva, Switzerland.
(November) In Geneva, the 󿬁rst assembly of the League
of Nations is held.
(December) The Brussels Conference establishes a time-
table for German war reparations intended to extend for
over 42 years.
[\Y[
(March) Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th
President of the United States.
(April) The Allies of World War I reparations commission
announces that Germany has to pay 132 billion gold marks
($33 trillion) in annual installments of 2.5 billion.
(November)
ton NationalDuring an Armistice
Cemetery, the TombDayof
ceremony at Arling-
the Unknowns is
dedicated by U.S. President Warren G. Harding.
Russian Civil War ends after three years with Bolsheviks,
(December) President Woodrow Wilson departs by ship
to the Paris Peace Conference, becoming the 󿬁rst United
The Pulp Years
[\YY
(February) President of the United States Warren G.
Harding introduces the 󿬁rst radio in the White House.
(March) United States commissions its 󿬁rst aircraft carrier,
the USS Langley.
(April) Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the
Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party.
(June) U.S. President Warren G. Harding makes his 󿬁rst
speech on the radio.
(August) United States and Germany sign the Treaty of
Berlin, officially ending the state of war between the two
countries.
(October) Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier
in the history of Italy.
(November) British archaeologist Howard Carter discovers
the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
When he enters the tomb on November 21, along with
Lord Carnarvon, he is the 󿬁rst person to step into the tomb 4
in over 3,000 years.
[\Y^
(January) Juan de la Cierva invents the autogyro, a rota-
ry-winged aircraft with an unpowered rotor.
(July) Poncho Villa is assassinated.
(September) In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the 󿬁rst American
airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the 󿬁rst
time.
(October) Roy and Walt Disney Founded The Walt Disney
Company.. Warren G. Harding
Company Hardin g dies in
i n office and is succeed-
ed by Calvin Coolidge, as President of the United States.
(November) In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an
(November)
unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German govern-
ment; police and troops crush the attempt the next day.
(December) The crown prince of Japan survives an assas-
sination attempt in Tokyo.
[\Y_
(January) Following the death of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph
(January)
Stalin immediately begins to purge his rivals to clear the
way for his leadership.
(April) Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in jail for his
participation in the Beer Hall Putsch (he serves only 8
months). Harry Grindell Matthews demonstrates his new
weapon, the death ray,
ray, in London but fails to convince the
British War Office of its importance; however he does gain
the attention of MI7.
(May) J. Edgar Hoover is appointed head of the Federal
Bureau of Investigat
Investigation.
ion.
 (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

Detroit and New York offices to see the new automobile
Duke Ellington and his orchestra open for a four-year run
at The Cotton Club in New York City’s Harlem.
Show Boat opens on Broadway and becomes one of the
biggest stage musical hits in history.
(December) Joseph Stalin’s
Stalin’s control of Russia almost certain.
Communist party bans all opposition to Stalin’s policies.
Leon Trotsky and others purged from the party.
Average annual income in U.S., $2,400.
Al Capone’s
Capone’s annual income estimated between $20 million
and $100 million.
First tetanus shot administer
administered
ed to humans.
[\Yc
Federal Reserve withdraws
withdraws $80 billion from the US Gov-
ernment.
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
Third International Congress of Eugenics. At the confer-
ence, a Dr. Robie calls for the sterilization of 14 million
Americans with low IQ scores.
Herbert Hoover defeats Al Smith, becomes U.S. president
Stock market breaks and falls in
i n June, but recovers quickly
quic kly..
Market breaks again December 7, but once again recovers.
Trading
Trading volume reaches almost seven million.
Amelia Earhart becomes 󿬁rst woman to cross the Atlantic
First television sets available
available to consumers; $75 each
Mickey Mouse premieres in Plane Crazy, a silent cartoon
parody of the Lindbergh craze.
General Electric begins 󿬁rst regularly scheduled television
broadcasts, three days a weeks for two hours each, at
station WGY in Schenectady, N.Y .
(July) Women’s
Women’s events are featured for
f or the 󿬁rst time at the
summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
The Dodge Brothers merge with Chrysler Corporation in
 July. That month, the Plymou
 July. Plymouth
th model appears. The De
Soto follows in August.
(August) The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact is signed in Paris
by 65 nations, including the U.S.
The Chrysler Corporation unveils plan for its new head-
quarters, the Chrysler Building.
(October) Germany’s Graf Zeppelin dirigible arrives at
Lakehurst, N.J.
Albert Szent-Gyorgi
Szent-Gyorgi discovers vitamin C.
Rickards and A.H. Refell build the 󿬁rst working robot
(United Kingdom).
The Pulp Years
Hans Geiger and Walther Muller make 󿬁rst feasible Geiger
counter to measure radiation. Geiger had invented the
original device in 1912.
Professor George Edward Challenger invents a drilling machine
and drills into the Earth in order to prove his theory that it
is a living being. Unsubstantiated claims are made that his
machine is destroyed by some kind of creature, contradicting
the claims of previous deep geological explorers.
[\Y\
Professor Challenger and Edward Malone meet with Profes-
Professor
sor Theodore Nemor who has built a machine that disinte-
grates and reintegrates objects and people. Nemor is never
seen again and the device is seized by the Invisible College
 just prior to agents from
from MI-7 arriving on the scene.
Admiral Byrd conducts expeditions to both poles. He and
his pilot Bernt Balchen are the 󿬁rst to 󿬂y over the South
Pole 4
Construction on the Empire State Building begins.
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre gangland hit, ordered by Al
Capone against North Side boss Bugs Moran, leaves 7
bullet-riddled corpses on the 󿬂oor of a North Chicago
garage. Moran was not one of them
New York Stock Exchange sets records throughout the
year, despite several sharp corrections and recoveries. On
October 24, trading volume reaches a record 12,894,650
as stocks dive. Charles E. Mitchell, Albert H. Wiggin (Chase
National Bank), William Potter (Guaranty Trust Company)
and Seward Prosser (Bankers Trust Company) meet with
Thomas W.
W. Lamont of J.P.
J.P. Morgan on Wall Street and
a nd agree
to invest $40 million each to ‘shore up the stock market.’
Five days later, the market collapses
Charles Lindbergh starts Central American air-mail
service.
First color television is demonstrated in the US and
England.
Electroencephalograph invented by Hans Berger in
Germany.
[\^Z
Dr Sir John Hamish Watson, former colleague of Sherlock
Holmes, retires from practice at the age of 71 after the death
of his second wife. He moves to a villa on the coast of Cali-
fornia, north of San Francisco, in order to be close to his re-
maining family.
(February) The ninth planet is discovered by Clyde Tom-
baugh after its existence is predicted by Percival Lowell.
Tombaugh
To mbaugh 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 󿬁ll 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’
Manhat tan’ss 800-foot, 68-story
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
󿬂oods; dikes and dams break, inundating over 35,000
Constantinople
Constantinople renamed Istanbul.
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
wavelength
Italy, Japan and U.S. sign naval disarmament treaty. interference. These are the same signals
s ignals 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 󿬁rst woman to 󿬂y solo between
[\^Y
England and Australia. She makes the trip in 19.5 days. (January) 70,000 Japanese troops storm Shanghai and
(April) Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow set a trans-
drive out the Chinese 19th Route Army; Japan establishes
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
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
     R than any previously recorded. At the first public exhibition
     E stroyed in the fire. A second, less wide-spread rumor
rumor,, is that
     E the craft was engaged in secret diplomatic work with an of the creature it breaks free, causing chaos before it dies in
     T extraterrestrial visitor. Little evidence is found to support a fall from the top of the Empire State Building.
Building . The body is
     E either story. immediately confiscated by Division 4, along with all charts
     Z and documentary evidence showing the location of Skull
     A Island.
     G [\^[
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 󿬁nances 800,000-m
800,000-member
ember
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
 Japan’s principal market).
market). it will not recognize gains made through armed aggression.
Gandhi ends second civil disobedience campaign with Austrian-born
Austrian-born Adolf Hitler receives German citizenship
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 󿬂ies solo across the Atlantic Ocean on May
 20 -- the 󿬁rst woman to do so. Newfoundland to Lon-
donderry in 13.5 hours.

92

The Pulp Years

4

Pulp Fantastic
[\^^
Unemployment in the U.S. reaches 17 million.
547 󿬁lms are produced in the U.S.
The 󿬁rst rock paintings by the Sahara Desert’s prehistor-
ic inhabitants are found at Ta
Tassili.
ssili.
Albert Einstein settles in U.S. at the Institute for Advanced
Studies in Princeton, N.J.
Chicago World’s Fair; A Century of Progress International
World’s
Exposition. I nternational
(February) An attempted assassination of President-elect
Roosevelt by Giuseppe Zangara
(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.
(March) The movie “King Kong” is released.
The movie is based on events taking place in New York the
previous year.
year. Despite protests from the families of some of
the dead, the movie is a major success. Many are convinced
that the events of the previous year were a publicity stunt
that went badly wrong.
(April) America abandons the gold standard.
(May) Thomas Carnacki investigates an apparent haunting
     R
     E in the vault of a central London bank. He is sealed in the vault
     E overnight inside his electric pentacle. When the vault is
     T opened in the morning it is empty. Carnacki is never seen
     E again.
     Z his ranks by having dissidents and troublemak
     A sinated during the night.
     G (December) Prohibition repealed at 5:32 p.m. EST on De-
cember 5. Journalist H.L. Mencken (working for the Bal-
timore Sun) reputedly drinks the 󿬁rst legal beer and pro-
claims it “good.”
U.S.. Congress votes for independence of the Philippines.
U.S
Reichstag (Parliament Building) 󿬁re in Berlin; Adolf Hitler
named Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg
and gets dictatorial powers.
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.
U.S. Marines are withdrawn from Nicaragua.
Wiley Post (who is blind in one eye) lands his Lockheed
Vega,
Vega, the Winnie Mae, in New York after circumnavigating
circ umnavigating
the globe in 7 days, 19 hours.
Admiral Byrd begins his second Antarctic expedition.
Byrd locates Captain Nemo’s
Nemo’s hidden Antarctic Base. Byrd is
93
A British airplane 󿬂ies over Mt. Everest.
(February) Malcolm Campbell sets a land speed record of
(February)
273 mph in the 2,450 horsepower Bluebird.
(April) Dirigible Akron crashes into the Paci 󿬁c Ocean near
midnight; only 4 of 77 aboard are saved.
The United States repeals prohibition with the passage of
the 21st amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Secret World Treaty
Treaty of 1933 is signed by the nations of the
world, giving the Air Cavalry the offical role of “Protectors of
the Skies” by World decree. Their role is often downplayed,
passed off to the public as one of entertainment.
[\^_
Worldwide scheduled air service routes total 223,100 miles.
Worldwide
Over 100 million miles are actually 󿬂own during the year.
S.S. Queen Mary and France’s S.S. Normandie (the largest
ship of its time) are launched.
(May) Texas outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are
killed in Louisiana after an epic investigation by famed
Texas peace officer Frank Hamer.
Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the Lindbergh baby
kidnapping on September 20.
On July 21, John Dillinger is ambushed outside a movie
theater and shot to death at age 32.
Heinrich Himmler becomes chief of Reich Police with
Reinhard Heydrich
Heydrich in charge
c harge of the Gestapo.
“Night of the Long Knives.
Knives.”” On June 30, Hitler cleans out
troublemakers ers assas-
(August) German president von Hindenburg dies at 88.
Adolf Hitler becomes president.
 Japan renounces
renounces the nava
navall limitation treaties of 1922 and
and
1930.
Mao Tse-tung and 90,000 followers embark on a Long
March of 8,000 miles.
Charles William Beebe descends 3,028 feet into the ocean
off  Bermuda.
 Bermuda.
First practical test of radar is conducted by the German
Navy.
[\^`
The U.S. Congress passes a Neutrality Act prohibiting
transportation
transportation of weapons to warring countries.
Huey Long, senator, former governor and major national
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
(February)
kidnapping and murder.
[\^b
Over 500,000 people in the U.S. are involved in sit-down
Germany de󿬁es 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 󿬂ying boat) 󿬂ies 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 󿬁rst transpaci󿬁c transport plane.
George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier; John Steinbeck’s
Of Mice and Men; J.R.R. Tolkien’
Tolkien’ss The Hobbit.
[\^a London’s Daily Telegraph and Morning Post merge.
(January) King George V of England dies, Edward VIII
becomes King.
Popular Music: Bei Mir Bist Du Schon,
Sch on, The Lady Is a Tramp,
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 War󿬁eld Simpson. Me Warm.
Following his abdication of the throne, rumors abound 4
that he is a secret Nazi sympathizer. The reality is much
Babes in Arms, a Rodgers
Rodge rs and Hart musical comedy
come dy,, opens
in New York.
worse.
Films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a Walt Disney
(November) President Roosevelt is re-elected in landslide
over Alfred M. Landon feature-length
and the Academycartoon), Camille
Award winner
Award (starring
Life of EmileGreta Garbo),
Zola (starring
The Spanish Civil War begins with an army revolt in Paul Muni).
Morocco
 Joe Louis wins the heavyweight title, defeating James J.
J.
German troops occupy the demilitarized Rhineland
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
Anti-Comintern Pact signed by Germany and Japan. the World Series, 4 to 1.
“War Admiral” wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and
Leon Trotsky,
Trotsky, Stalin’s greatest rival for
fo r international com-
Belmont.
munist leadership, settles in Mexico.
U.S. Tennis team wins the Davis Cup from Britain.
Floods sweep Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The 󿬁rst 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.
 J.A. Mollison 󿬂ies from Newfoundland to London in 13
 J.A. The Hindenburg goes down in a massive 󿬁reball on May
6.
hours, 17 minutes.
All-India Congress Party wins in the Indian elections.
Mrs. Amy Mollison (formerly Johnson) 󿬂ies from Britain
to Cape Town in 3 days, 6 hours, 25 minutes. Aden becomes a British Crown Colony.
 Jean Batten 󿬂ies 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 󿬁rst pressurized (Peking), Japan launches an undeclared war on China.
cabin airplane.
 Japanese atrocities
atrocities outrage world
world opinion (July 7).
(August) An agent of Division 4, locates and captures what  Japanese
 Japanese plane
planess sink
sink the U.S. gunbo
gunboat
at Pana
Panayy on
on the
the Yangtz
angtzee
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,
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 󿬁ght 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 Paci󿬁c Ocean in their Lockheed Electra. Scores
of search vessels fail to turn up the slightest trace (7/2).
(7/2).
[\^\
The World’s Fair opens in New York City on April 30,
[\^c drawing record crowds.
40-hour work week established in the U.S. Nylon stockings are 󿬁rst off ered
ered 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
 Joyce Finnegan’s Wake;
Wake; John Steinbeck’s
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 Literatur

Literature.
e. 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
Rai nbow,, Beer Barrel
Barr el Polka, I’ll Never
Smile Again.
Films: Pygmalion (starring Leslie Howar
Howard),
d), The Lady Van-
Van- Films: The Wizard of Oz (in color; starring Judy Garland),
ishes (directed by Alfred Hitchcock), Bank Holiday (Carol
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.
U.S The Wind (starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh).
New York Yankees defeat Chicago
Chica go Cubs 4 to 0 in the World First televised baseball.
     R Series.
     E New York Yankees shut out Cincinnati Reds 4 to 0 in the
     E Howard Hughes circumnavigates the globe by airplane in World Series.
     T 3 days, 19 hours.
     E President Roosevelt asks $552 million for the defense
     Z (October) On Halloween, Orson Welles broadcasts the budget.
     A Air’ss adaptation of The War of the
Mercury Theatre on the Air’
The Spanish Civil War ends; Francisco Franco rules Spain
     G Worlds, causing nationwide panic.
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
blockades the
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 Slov
Slovakia
akia
almost brings Welles’ career to a halt. under “protection,”
“protection,” annexes Memel and renounces most
military agreements. On 9/1 Germany invades Poland and
 Japan installs a puppet
p uppet 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 󿬂ood covers 20,000 square miles
invasion. League of Nations.
and kills hundreds of thousands.

A hurricane strikes New England, killing 700 and doing
millions of dollars worth of damage (9/21).
96
The United States announces neutrality on September 5,
but orders from European countries for war supplies
supplie s make
a vast improvement in U.S. economy.
 

Chapter 5
Organizations & Secret Societies

O
rganizations are important to any setting, but most competing aims came into greater and greater con󿬂ict.
of those in the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  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
secre t 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
the thoserace
human whoisare
notdetermined to hide
yet ready and it,are
there believing
thingsthat
out too soon, internal wars would take over, leading to several
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 eff orts
orts gave rise to wars
resulted in the turmoil and con󿬂ict over last few centuries.
in the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Franco-Prus
Franco-Prussian
sian
Intellectual powers in con󿬂ict with each other have had
War and with the assassination of the Secret Master of
their diff erences
erences 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 ful 󿬁ll 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
secre t 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 in󿬂uence kings and princes as well as F&K&'&2- _
captains of industry with varied results based on who was
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
 and each had their own nation or for the United States government
government to study and duplicate.
region of the world to guide as they saw 󿬁t. With this They are responsible for gaining technology from many
splintering of their core, they naturally came into more diff erent
erent places, including a piece of a Martian Tripod
and more con󿬂ict 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
d irect command of the President
master worked with a diff erenterent methodology as well as
of the United States, and they
th ey 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
Division 4 prior
prior to
to its
its inception.
inception. The President issues Newton was not able to 󿬁nish, 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.

,@3-." ,2@3&6- N36&2-

The French Foreign Legion was a unique military unit set
up in 1831 by the French government to allow foreign
nationalist to enlist in the French military. The Great War
saw the legion in many critical
criti cal battles in 1917, and suff ered
ered
heavy casualties in 1918.
;3@83$&. E@M3@ 2I $"3
72*M3- F#<-
The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, later renamed the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, is one of the largest
and most in󿬂uential organizations of western occultism.
Though relatively new, this organization has greatly ex-
panded in both membership and power,
power, and some claim
it has an impact on both the political and industrial fronts
that is without compare.
In 1886 Rev
Rev.. A.F.A. Woodford
Woodford was given a document called
the Cipher Manuscript. The Manuscript, written in English
     R but encoded, did not interest the Reverend, so he passed it
     E bloom into the Invisible College. Percy Shelley would begin
     E on to his friend Dr. William Wynn Westcott. Dr. Westcott
     T managed to decode the Cipher Manuscript, discovering it
     E to be a detailed outline of the Grade Rituals of the Order,
     Z and prescribed a curriculum of speci󿬁cally graduated teach-
     A ings that encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, Astrology,
     G Tarot, Geomancy, and Alchemy. Dr. Westcott brought in his
fellow
con󿬁rm Freemason Samuel
his deciphering of Liddell MacGregor
the manuscript andMathers to
to assist in
turning the writings into a usable set of rules for a new
lodge order. Mathers asked a third Freemason, Dr. William
Robert Woodman, to assist in this endeavor, and the core
of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn was formed.
In 1887 the trio officially opened the Order to others, and
soon a great many Initiates were learning the esoteric arts.
As the number of initiates grew, the in󿬂uence of the Order
also grew.
grew. The teachings outlined in the Cipher Manuscript
were quite detailed, and those who followed the course of
study soon found their astrological readings were quite
speci󿬁c, and quite accurate. In 1891, new initiate Arthur
Edward Waite began extensive teachings in the use of the
Taro
Tarot,
agest,on
consolidating
their use andthe knowledge
meaning. scattered
Other throughlike
young initiates, the
Edward Alexander Crowley in 1897, showed a great deal
of talent in Alchemy and the Qabalah.
9"3 L-K&'&B*3 ?2**363
?2**3 63
The Invisible College was born out of a dream…and a
nightmare.
Mary Shelley,
Shelley, wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and author of
the gothic novel Frankenstein, found inspiration during
her stay in Switzerland. In the summer of 1816, she ac-
companied Byron and Shelley during their travels. The
legend created by Byron and the Shelleys is that one night,
when a storm was raging over the lake, Mary Shelley and
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
boat trip on Lake Geneva, Mary Shelley had a nightmare.
That
that nightmare
would have wasn’t
a lifewhat would
longer become
than a popular
the original book
author
herself. No, her nightmares would be of humanity
humani ty destroy-
ing itself with sciences that it did not understand advanc-
es that it had neither the ethics nor morality to use as they
were intended to be used, or to ignore those things that
were not meant for mankind.
From this weekend in Switzerland came a seed that would
to formulate some of the theories of this organization in
his 1819 essay In Defense of Poetry: “Poets are the hi-
erophants of an unapprehended inspiration;
inspiration; the mirrors
of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the
present; the words which express what they understand
not;
they the trumpets
inspire; the inwhich sing to battle, and feel not what
󿬂uence which is moved not, but moves.
Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
world.””
It was a feeling that only the artistic could save the world,
and save humanity from itself. In this period between 1816
and 1819, the guiding lights behind the Invisible College
began re󿬁ning their processes. One of their primary
methods is to make actual events look 󿬁ctional or so sen-
sational that people would not believe that the events
could have possibly occurred. Hiding things in plain sight
is the best tool of the Invisible College. It was Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein that tested this technique for the 󿬁rst time.
It is not coincidental that the period of the ascendancy of
the Invisible College is parallel to the periods of the increase
of the popularity of Spiritualism and of the general inter-
est in the fantastic in literature. These were all tools en-
couraged by the Invisible College in order to create an

In 1890 it is rumored that the Order managed to acquire
the secret writings of Sir Isaac Newton, which contained
100
environment of belief in the unknown and strange, but
only amongst those who would be easy enough to discred-
discre d-
it or mock. This created
c reated the fertile ground into which the
 

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,
University, and continued
continu ed to guide him as he made
ma de
The Most Holy and Restored Order of the Knights of the
his way through the intricate and cutthroat world of 󿬁-
erent paths in your 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 
Round Table can take many diff erent
nancial banking. To the surprise of many, his personal
󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 campaigns. They could truly be descendants
code of conduct was quite successful, and Joshua Griff yth-
yth-
of the original order. They could be a group founded on
 Jones soon became a name to
to be reckoned with in the 󿬁-
good meaning, but false assumptions. They could be know-
nancial world.
ingly founded on false pretense. Are they truly a force for
Griff yth-Jones
yth-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?
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 PLb
PL b
pedigree as knightly families, and the core of the new
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, Griff yth-Jones
yth-Jones gathered the gentlemen questions about MI7 and you might 󿬁nd 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 Griff yth-Jones’s
yth-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 Griff yth-Jones,
yth-Jones, who claimed the title of Steward is responsible for a speci 󿬁c type of information or for a
of the Order, to defend the code of chivalry,
chivalry, to right wrongs, diff erent
erent 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.
     R associates who cannot trace their lines to the original
     E Each of the 󿬁rst six departments is charged with reporting
     E knights -- strive to bring honesty to the business world,
information on a particular region of the world. MI7 is
     T true justice to the legal trade, and fair practices to the
unique, having a broader scope. They are the troubleshoot-
     E factories.
ers, the ones who work on problems all across the globe.
     Z The altruistic goals of the Knights of the Round Table held They also make sure that the Secret Intelligence Bureau
     A strong until the death of their Steward in 1877. Rhys remains secret.
     G Griff yth-Jones,
yth-Jones, the eldest son of Joshua, assumed the role
of Steward upon his father’s death. Rhys believed strong- What is the mission
They discover of MI7?
the reason Theythe
behind 󿬁nd the un󿬁ndable.
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 diff erent
erent things. More often than not, the reason
became the objectives of the Knights. That is when their
behind those diff erences
erences 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
 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
can only belong to true descendants of the original Knights, working with his
that he never brother
seemed on thethe
to leave Queen’s behalf.
Diogenes Club The fact
while
and because the members of the Order can prove their
working on that particular case was truly amazing. Unof-
claims of heredity
here dity,, Rhys Griff yth-Jones
yth-Jones feels that no action
󿬁cially Holmes maintained a network of highly capable
 taken to recover them can violate their Code of Conduct.
This has led some members of the order to take actions
which could be considered to be morally questionable.
102
left their marks on MI7. The destruction of many buildings
in and around London meant that most of the resources
and archives of MI7 were destroyed as well. Director
Holmes assembled a team to rebuild MI7, picking up the
pieces of a shattered organization. Prime Minister Balfour,
unlike his predecessors, did not 󿬁nd the Director to be
agreeable, or useful. The PM stymied the Director at every
turn, thinking the
th e department was not necessary
neces sary.. The PM
found the “stories” of the exploits of MI7 fanciful and
unbelievable. After two years of reduced funding, resched-
uled or canceled meetings, and constant stonewalling, the
situation came to a head. To the surprise of those who
knew the situation, in March of 1904 Mycroft Holmes
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 diff erenterent plans.
Instead of appointing a new Director, he left the position
vacant and suspended funding. For all intents and pur-
poses, the department was dissolved.
When Henry Campbell-Bannerman became PM in 1905
he began a thorough review of the archives of No. 10 to
see what the Conservative PMs had been doing for the last
twenty years. The Archives Panel discovered references
to a strange department of the Ministry of Intelligence
that
couldended abruptly
be found the activities
on the year before.
of While no information
the department, one
name came up time and time again: Mycroft Holmes.
Meeting with the aging Holmes at the Diogenes Club, the
PM learned of the purpose of MI7 and of its shutdown.
Determined to restore the department to its intended
purpose, the PM asked Holmes to return as its Director.
Holmes refused, citing age and a desire to avoid further
adventure in his life. He suggested one of his former junior
aides, Edwin Masterson-Smythe.
Masterson-Smythe reformed MI7, building upon the foun-
Masterson-Smythe
dation of Mycroft Holmes’s work.
work. Some of the former agents
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 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  󰁧󰁭. Is the
Department a source of good information or a fountain
of propaganda? Does the Department work with the Player
Characters or against them? MI7 can also form a base from
which Player Characters can launch their adventures. The
choice is up to the Gamemaster.
9"3 A&@ ?#K#*@5  Rucker formed the North-Western Police Agency, later to
Baron Ace Franklin was born too late to 󿬁ght in the Great
War but the sky was in his blood. His father was a pilot of
the Great War, an ace with thirty-eight German kills under
his silk scarf. Raised in a traveling barnstormer show,
show, Ace
lived among planes and pilots from the day he could walk.
It was the life he knew, the life he loved, and Ace might
have been content to live as a star of the barnstorming
and experienced agents.
The death of the Queen and the Martian
Marti an attack on England
Organizations & Secret Societies
Baron and Captain Roy Brown - were re-enacted for the
amusement of paying customers. Some of the pilots also
󿬂ew mail, or private passengers from city to city in order
to help pay for their expensive 󿬂ying machines.
In 1925, the Air Cavalry 󿬂ew to the rescue for the 󿬁rst time.
On March 18th, the great Tri-State tornado to tore through
Illinois, Missouri and Indiana, leaving hundreds dead and
dozens of towns and cities in ruin.
The Air Cavalry took to the skies on a mission of mercy
and battled the treachery of the Storm Riders, a group of
criminals who followed the path of the tornado to steal
and pillage those too weak to defend themselves.
󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁃󰁈󰁁󰁒󰁔󰁅󰁒 󰁏󰁆 1933
Charles Lindbergh was not the only one to recognize the
value of a free air force independent of national politics and
able to work in areas
a reas where official presence was forbidden.
In the spring of 1933, and after months of work by the Cav-
alry’s best political minds (and careful work by agents of the
Invisible College); the civilized nations of Italy, America, Russia
and Great Britain signed a secret charter with the Air Cavalry.
5
Patterned after colonial Letters of Marque, the charter es-
tablished a protocol for allowing Air Cavalry planes and
personnel to cross the airspace of the participating countries,
to make use of certain military airbases
air bases and to act - in certain
ways - almost as an independent country.
country. In turn, Baron Ace
Franklin swore that his people would never attack any of the
participating members, would follow the honorable customs
of warfare and would come to the aid of embattled
emba ttled nations
and peoples the world
world over. It was an ambitious promise
but the Air Cavalry remains steadfast in its dedication to
these ideals.
The Charter was the final piece needed
neede d to bring the Air Cavalry
into the world as a force for
for good.
(&->3@$2- F3$3.$&K3 A63-.5 
The world of Private Eyes begins with the legendary Pink-
erton National Detective Agency. Their logo, with its big
central eye and the motto “We Never Sleep”, spawned the
nickname Private Eye, and the image of the tough guy
determined to solve a case.
In 1850, Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward
be known as Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pink-
erton became famous in February 1861, when he foiled an
assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland, of Presi-
dent-Elect Abraham Lincoln. His eff orts
orts in this case im-
pressed Lincoln so much that Lincoln hired Pinkerton
Pinkerton to
provide his security during the American Civil War as well
as performing as head of the Union Intelligence Service
during the 󿬁rst years of the war. Pinkerton’s
Pinkerton’s investigative
circuit but the Tri-State tornado of 1925 changed all that. techniques, created during
duri ng his days in the North-Western
Police Agency and re󿬁ned over the years, were an inno-
In its earliest years, the Air Cavalry was a show, famous
vation that lead the Pinkertons
Pin kertons to be the most well known
war battles - including the 󿬁nal battle between the Red
103

and very sturdy hat. This officer could stand on his hat,
allowing him to see over fences quite easily. They were
charged with keeping order in public thoroughfares, en-
suring that Public Houses follow strict hours and serving
laws, 󿬁ning establishments that conducted bear baiting or
cock 󿬁ghting, and ensuring that people going about their
lawful business were not menaced by “general riff -ra
-raff  and
 and
ne’er-do-wells.”
The Metropolitan Police Service Criminal Investigation
Investigation
Department, or CID, the 󿬁rst criminal investigation depart-
ment, was set up in April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent.
Originally it was only responsible to the Home Secretary,
but since 1888 it had been under the authority of the Met-
ropolitan Police Commissioner. CID officers did not wear
a uniform, instead they were plainclothes officers. CID
officers were involved in the investigation of major crimes
such as rape, murder, serious assault, fraud, and any other
crimes that require complex detection. They were respon-
sible for acting upon intelligence received and then build-
ing a case; from analysis of the initial incident through the
arrest and prosecution of any suspects.
The success of the men of Scotland Yard did not go unno-
ticed. Throughout the world, police forces were modeled
after the Metropolitan Police. By the end of the 1890s
uniformed and organized police forces could be found in
nearly every major city.
Some of Scotland Yard
Yard’’s most famous investigators include
Inspector George Lestrade, who consulted with Sherlock
Holmes on a number of cases; Detective Inspector Fred-
erick Abberline, who headed up the dreadful Whitechapel
Murder investigations; Inspector Montgomery Pettiman,
who broke the horri󿬁c case of Sweeney Todd, but was
unable to capture him; and Lady Molly Robertson-Kirk,
the 󿬁rst female detective in the Metropolitan Police.
L-$3@-#$&2-#* ?@&8&-#*
(2*&.3 E@6#-&W#$&2-
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) is
the worldwide, nongovernmental
nongovernmental police agency that will
in later years become known as Interpol. It is a clearing
house for information, furnishing member nations with
data on criminals, unidenti󿬁ed bodies, stolen property,
etc. Founded in 1923 to reduce international crime, the
ICPO deals strictly with international crimes - most revolve
around smuggling, narcotics and counterfeiting - but is
strictly forbidden to meddle in political crimes such as
espionage and terrorism
terrorism..
Original founder countries were France, Belgium, Germany,
Hungary, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia and Switzerland. Great Britain doesn’t join until
1928, and the United States doesn’t join until 1938.
Unlike most law-enforcement agencies, ICPO agents do
Organizations & Secret Societies
the international response to crime and terrorism. The
ICPO helps track criminals
c riminals and criminal activity around
the world.
13M ;3#M3M N3#6)3
There are some that will tell you that the Red Headed
League is nothing but a story. Others will tell you it was a
“League” of two, thwarted by the crime solving duo of Mr.
Holmes and Dr. Watson. Only a truly rare person can tell
the truth about the Red Headed League. 
The real Red Headed League was founded in 1875 in Boston,
Massachusetts. Patrick
Patric k Michael Sullivan, David O’Hirllihy
O’Hirlli hy,,
Peter Flynn, and Kevin Muldoon, all of them red headed
men, formed the League for what could only be called
nefarious reasons. This criminal syndicate, which over
the years expanded across the ocean and into Europe, was
initially created as an act of revenge.
In 1872, Patrick Sullivan, an accountant of modest means
at the First Mercantile Bank of Boston, was accused of
improprieties in his work and promptly 󿬁red as a result.
Patrick was an innocent man set up by his superior, David 5
Patterson, to cover up embezzlement and misconduct on
his part. After spending a year in search of proof of his in-
nocence, Patrick Sullivan’s eff orts
orts proved fruitless. Because
he could not prove his innocence, and felt his life was de-
stroyed by the acts of David Patterson, Patrick turned his
energies to destroying the life of his tormentor.
Sullivan recruited his friends O’Hirllihy
O’Hirllihy,, Flynn, and Muldoon
to help in bringing his revenge upon David Patterson, and
so the Red Headed League was born. After quite a lot of
discussion and planning, it was decided that Patterson
should suff erer a similar fate as did Sullivan -- to be found
guilty of a crime he did not commit and to not be able to
prove his innocence. Over the span of several years, Flynn
and Muldoon worked their way into the con󿬁dence of David
Patterson. Flynn began working as a clerk for Patterson
under the name part
Thomas O’Hara. Muldoon, as Douglas
O’Toole, became of Patterson’s social circle, meeting
him at clubs, the theater, and the opera. Douglas O’Toole
was soon the close con󿬁dant of David Patterson, and they
were often seen together about town.
With Flynn and Muldoon supplying them with informa-
tion, Sullivan and O’Hirllihy crafted a subtle plan to destroy
David Patterson’
Patterson’s name and his life. In 1786, on the Monday
after Easter, it was discovered that the First Mercantile
Bank of Boston had been robbed over the weekend.
Someone had entered the bank and absconded with nearly
󿬁fty pounds of coins and gold ingots valued at more than
$20,000. Careful investigation of the banking house re-
vealed a muddied handkerchief belonging to David Pat-
terson
terson’sinhome,
the bank’s
much gold storage
to his room.revealed
surprise, A searchdetailed
of Pat-
written plans of the break in, and a small handful of gold
coins. It was also shown that Thomas O’Hara was hired
 not make arrests themselves, nor do they detain criminals.
Instead the agency works as a liaison
liai son between the law-en-
forcement of member countries, helping to co-ordinate
by Patterson and was working under an assumed name,
though his real name was not in the records.
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
bec ame 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 󿬁t of melancholy, David Patterson took his own life
an unconventional Scotland Yard detective, the survivors
rather than suff er
er the punishment of others.
relocated to the USA, where they built up the Tong again
Many would think that this would spell
spe ll 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, 󿬂ush 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
necessary,
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
feare d by other
Triads and Tongs,
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 diversi󿬁ed
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
the highest bidder. The true secret of the League is that tantamount to a death sentence, as the Ton
Tong
g has a repu-
tation for being able to eliminate its enemies no matter
each member only knows a small number of members.
membe rs. 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 identi 󿬁ed by a tattoo of a
scorpion somewhere on their body – most often on the
In 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣, 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 pro󿬁cient in the use of 󿬁rearms, bows,
     R out enough to make them a hard target to eliminate. This
thrown weapons and even explosives. While most crim-
     E is what a recurring villain is meant to be.
     E inal Tongs and Triads are business organizations that
     T prefer to use intimidation and bribery, the Tong of the
     E 9"3 92-6 2I Black Scorpion seems to enjoy violence and bloodshed for
     Z its own sake. Most recently, the Tong of the Black Scorpi-
     A on seems to have fallen under the leadership of the dreaded
     G  $"33 : *#
 $" *#.>
.> C.
C.2@
2@+&
+&2-
2- Siwang Lung – the so-called “Death Dragon” - and his

The 󿬁rst recorded mention of the Tong of the Black Scor- daughter,
Blossom”. the lovely but deadly Du Kai Hua or “Poison
pion – then simply the Black Scorpion Society – is in 14th
󰁮󰁯󰁴󰁥: 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
Temple by
Rotary Club. Assuming that every Tong they come across
one of the 󿬁ve survivors of the battle. Most likely a schis-
is a criminal gang or evil cult could land player characters
matic off shoot
shoot of the White Lotus Society,
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-
fac e-
less female deity who gathered her children to her beyond
9"3 9'#-64?"#-
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.
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
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

Pulp Fantastic
Boss: Also known as the capofamiglia,
capofamiglia, capo crimini, rep-
resentante or Don, this is the title given to the leader of a
crime family
family..
Underboss: Sometimes referred to as the “capo bastone”,
this is the boss’s second-in-command. He oversees the
activities of the soldiers and ensures that the pro󿬁ts from
the family’s criminal activities 󿬂ow to the boss. In the
event of the boss’s death or incarceration, the underboss
may take control of the family until a new boss is
i s appoint-
ed.
Consigliere: The consigliere is a combination of advisor,
counselor and “right-hand man” to the boss of a crime
family. Though ranked third in the crime family, the con-
sigliere has no capos or soldiers working for him.
Capo: Also known as a caporegime, captain, skipper or
“crew chief,” the capo usually oversees a crew or borgata
of ten soldiers, though in recent years he may oversee as
many soldiers as he can e fficiently control. Each capo
reports directly to the underboss, who gives him his au-
thority. The capo is normally responsible for carrying out
murders on behalf of the family and runs the day-to-day
day-to-day
operations of his crew.
Soldato: The soldier, “button man,” “made man”, “wiseguy”
or “goodfella” is the most frequently encountered level of
gangster. Each soldato must have taken an oath of silence
(and usually have killed someone) in order to be considered
“made.”
Picciotto: A low-level soldier, this is little more than a
disposable thug used for the day-t
d ay-to-day
o-day work of threats,
     R beatings and intimidation.
     E In 1923, Hitler and his Brownshirts, along with other mil-
     E  Associate: Sometimes known as a “giovane d’onore” or
     T man of honor. An associate is an employee of a crime
     E family that is not actually a member.
     Z nine months. While imprisoned Hitler drafted the initial
     A
     G 9"3 D#W&'
In the years following the Great War, Germany was a
democratic Republic, suffering terrible political and
economic instability. The reparations demanded by the
victorious allies against Germany crippled the country,
country,
leading to mass unemployment and a vast number of
angry,, disaffected veterans. One such veteran was Adolf
angry
Hitler.
Much of the political instability was caused by the in󿬁ght-
ing of groups of political extremists, one of which was the
relatively minor Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the German
Worker’s Party.
Party. In reality the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
Ar beiterpartei was
little more than the political arm of the Thule Society
(Thule-Gesellschaft), a right-wing occult secret society
with a focus on racial purity, Aryan mythology and an-
ti-Semitism. Despite having a band of willing thugs to use
in battles against other extremists, the Deutsche Arbeit-
erpartei was sliding into obscurity by 1919 for the lack of
picture book about the Franco-Prussian War among his
father’s belongings. He began to develop German nation-
alist ideal at an very early age, and after losing most of his
siblings and his father in childhood, he drifted and tried
unsuccessfully to become an artist. Forced into a life of
menial labor, Hitler left Austria and moved to Munich,
where he was living at the outbreak of the Great War.
During the war Hitler served as a dispatch runner and
was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross in
1914temporarily
was and 1918. Heblinded
was wounded at the Somme
in a Mustard and in
Gas attack. 1918
While
recovering in hospital, he learned of Germany’s defeat.
Embittered and believing the Germany had been defeat-
ed from within by Marxists, civilian leaders and subver-
sives. Wanting to stay in the army for as long as possible,
possib le,
Hitler volunteered to in󿬁ltrate the Deutsche Arbeiter-
partei in a bid to quell political unrest. While attending
meetings he was attracted to their anti-Semitic, nation-
alist, anti-Marxist ideals and ended up joining the party
for real.
In 1920, the Deutsche
D eutsche Arbeiterpartei changed its name to
to
the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Na-
tional Socialist German Workers Party) or Nazi Party and
adopted the symbol of a black swastika – formerly a symbol
of good in Indian religions – on a white circle against a
red background, as designed by Hitler himself. Propelled
by his skills as an orator, Hitler was appointed Fuhrer
(leader) of the Party in 1921. Under Hitler’s
Hitler’s leadership the
party membership swelled, and they recruited their own
group of thugs, the Sturmabteilung or Brownshirts as
protection from rival parties.
itant reactionaries attempted to seize power from the
Republic, but were unsuccessful. In 1929, Hitler was sen-
tenced to 󿬁ve years in prison, but was released after only
chapters of what would become his book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle), laying down the basic framework of what the
Nazi Party would become.
By proposing a society built on the principles of racial
purity and strength, governed by an elite ruled by Hitler
himself, the Nazis created a political platform that ap-
pealed to deep-seated elements within the national psyche.
However, they still failed to make political headway, with
poor election results keeping them in a minority in the
Reichstag. In times of economic prosperity, it was hard for
the people to take the Nazis seriously. Despite this, party
membership grew steadily, and the party gained funding
from industrialists who hoped to use the Nazis against
socialists and communists. Strengthening his hold on the
party, Hitler formed a personal body-guard, the Schutz-
staff el,
el, also known as the SS or Blackshirts.
The Wall Street crash of 1929 gave the Nazis their oppor-
tunity, when desperate American investors recalled their
 loans from Germany, crippling an economy that depend
eff ective
ective 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 󿬁xated on warfare after 󿬁nding 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
party in the Reichstag, and by 1932 they had a majority,
despite the Communists making tremendous gains.
Alarmed at the prospect of a Communist revolution, busi-
ness interests put their support in Hitler, encouraged by
his vocal condemnation of the Communists. In 1933, Hitler
was invited to become Chancellor of Germany, and fol-
lowing the death of President Von
Von Hindenburg managed
to concentrate
taken by armyfull
offilegislative power into
cers was changed hisswear
hands. The oath
allegiance
to Hitler personally, and Hitler himself took the title of
Führer und Reichskangler (Leader and Reich Chancellor
and Supreme Commander-in-Chief), officially beginning
the Third Reich.
With the Nazi Party in complete control of Germany, the
entire population was subject to Nazi indoctrination.
Citizens were encouraged to report those who they felt
were not adhering to the new state directives. Those found
to be insufficiently “patriotic” in their outlook and behav-
ior were harassed, imprisoned or executed.
Everything in the country, from education to manufactur-
ing, was geared to a war footing. Schools became centers
for the promotion of Nazi ideology. Membership in the
Hitler Youth became mandatory.
mandatory. Libraries were purged of
“non-Aryan thought”,
thought”, teachers and lecturers were required
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
had ended the Great War, in preparation for their conquest
     R of Europe. Hitler planned to annexe all German-speaking
     E Party, originally formed in 1920 as a guard unit known as
     E countries 󿬁rst and ally with other Fascist states, such as
     T Italy under Benito Mussolini. German industry was sub-
     E verted to produce aircraft and armor under a cloak of
     Z secrecy, and in 1936 the German Army marched into the
     A demilitarized Rhineland, shredding the Teary of Versailles
     G when Britain and France did
di d nothing to stop them. In 1938,
Germany annexed Austria with the popular support of
the Austrian people. France and Britain protested, but did
little else other than begin re-arming their own forces. By
the end of the decade, the Nazis had invaded Czechoslo-
Czechoslo-
vakia and were beginning the invasion of Poland, the act
which 󿬁nally began World War II and ended the Pulp Era.
As seen in countless movies, books and games, virtually
no other group in history is better suited for the role of
villain in a 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 campaign. They are perhaps
the greatest example of human evil in the last hundred
years, and thanks to their uniforms and philosophy, the
most distinctive. Suitable for almost any kind of adventure,
from straight-up action to espionage or bizarre super-sci-
ence and occult horror, the Nazis can be found anywhere
on the globe
groups from the 1930’s
of “proto-Nazis”, onward.
perhaps underEven beforeof
the control that,
the
secretive Thule-Gesellschaft can be encountered, a terri-
9"3 73'$#+2
From 1933 onwards, within Nazi Germany dissent was
dealt with by agents of the state secret police, the Geheime
Staatspolizei
Staatspol izei or Gestapo, under the leadership of Heinrich
Himmler, leader of the SS. The Gestapo began a steady
program of sending Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and
anyone else they found politically, religiously or racially
“undesirable”” to concentration camps under the control
“undesirable
of the SS, where they were subject to medical experimen-
tation, starvation and execution. The Gestapo was con-
sidered to be above the law. According to the principles
of the Reich, as long as they did the will of the Fuhrer,
anything that they did – up to and including murder and
torture – was perfectly legal.
The Gestapo maintains a network of spies and informers
to ensure compliance with the Nazi regime. School chil-
dren are encouraged to inform on their parents and neigh-
bors, and almost every German citizen lives in terror of
being denounced to the Gestapo and being made to “dis-
appear”.
The Gestapo is responsible for overseeing internal
internal secu-
rity and counterintelligence, and are the organization
most involved with the detection and arrest of foreign
spies and other agents. Up until the start of World War
War II,
the Gestapo is a plain clothes force, able to walk unnoticed
amongst the people.
9"3 CC
The Schutzstaff elel (Protection Squadron) is a major para-
military organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi
the “Saal-Schutz” (Hall-Protection) for the purpose of
providing security for Nazi Party meetings in Munich.
Later in 1925, under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler,
it grew from a small paramilitary group into one of the
largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich,
responsible for many
ity.. During World
ity Warof
War theSS
II the Nazis crimes
󿬁elded against
more than ahuman-
million
men and wielded almost as much political and military
power as the Wehrmacht.
Under Himmler, the SS carefully select its members ac-
cording to Nazi ideology and racial “science”, with the
intention of creating an elite order of superior men as a
model for the Nazi vision of the master race. By the 󿬁nal
stages of World War II, the SS come to dominate
domin ate the Weh-
rmacht in order to eliminate potential threats to Adolf
Hitler’s power.
As the part of the Nazi seizure
sei zure of political power in Germany
Germa ny,,
functions such as law enforcement were taken over by the
SS, and many SS organizations became replaced government
agencies. The SS established and ran the SD (Security
service) and took over the administration of the Gestapo,
the Kripo (the criminal investigative police), and the Orpo
 ble omen of the calamitous con󿬂ict 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,
eff ectively
ectively putting the SS beyond the reach of the law.
law.

110
 

Chapter 6
Playing The Game

I
f you’ve never played a role-playing game before, then
read this entire chapter. If you’re an experienced player,
then you can skip the 󿬁rst half and go straight on to the
advanced techniques
techniques on page 123.
 !"55 12
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You’ve probably played computer games that call them-
selves ‘role-playing games’ before. The big di ff erence
erence
between this game and those computer games is that we
use imagination instead of glitzy graphics. The big ad-
vantage is complete 󿬂exibility – you can do anything in
a tabletop role-playing
role-p laying game. You create your own char-
acters and your own stories, and those stories can take
you anywhere. You play with your friends, sitting around
a table and using your imaginations, instead of relying
on a computer game to do everything for you. You’re
You’re the
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
immensely fun.
You don’t need to be an actor, or dress
dres s like your character,
or be an expert on the Pulps to play this game. You just
need to stretch your imagination.
one character is, or how dangerous a bomb is. It keeps
everyone on the same page, so to speak.
1)*3' #@3 83#-$ $2 B3 B@2>3-
Don’t let the rules slow things down. Everything in the
game can be accomplished with the same basic rule –
throw two dice, add Attribute + Skills. Most of the time,
the Gamemaster will help you with these rules and how
to use them, but don’t worry too much about following
everything to the letter. The rules are there to ensure
everything runs
run s smoothly,
smoothly, but if you pause in the middle
of
to alose
desperate
the 󿬂owchase to look
and the something
suspension up, you’re going
of disbelief.
Simply put, don’t worry about it. Run with it, and remem-
ber, the Gamemaster is here to help and to keep things
running smooth.
F2-0$ ?"3#$
On the other hand however, you shouldn’t cheat. Don’t
use out-of-character
out-of-character knowledge – just because you know
who John Sunlight is doesn’t mean your character does.
Don’t hide your dice rolls, or ‘forget’ to mark off  a
 a Story
Point. Cheating takes the fun out of the game. If it’s a really
crucial moment, and your character is looking like he’s
going to take a dip in the piranha tank, it’s not really your

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='33 1 )*
)*33 '/
So, if this is ‘collaborative storytelling’, then why use rules
place to cheat. Characters die, and you move on – you get
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,
ha ppens, 󿬁ghting or doing something suitably heroic. If you do
but the rules ful󿬁ll 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 decla
declare
re that your chara
character
cter outwit
outwitss the minion
minions,
s, or other cool stuff  for
 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
lucky,, but this is purely up to the Gamemaster. If a situation is
or else arrange events and gather resources so you
you’ll
’ll win dire, or if you’re about to uncover the villain’
villai n’ss plot way too
even if you’re unlucky
unl ucky.. 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 bene󿬁t 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
there may be some bending of the rules a little. It comes
 acters get an equal chance to shine.
Thirdly,, the rules work like a ‘physics engine’
Thirdly engi ne’ for the game.
They make sure that everyone can agree on how strong
with the territory. It won’t happen often, and the Game-
master has the 󿬁nal say, but they’re the only ones who
should be ‘cheating’.

Pulp Fantastic

?@3#$&-6 J2)@ ?"#@#.$3@

?"#@#. $3@
When making your character, think of how you’ll 󿬁t into
the group. Don’t hog the spotlight or come up with a
character who won’t play well with others. A big game
hunter who shoots every animal in sight might sound
fun to play,
play, but it will annoy the other
othe r players if your 󿬁rst
reaction to everything is to open 󿬁re. Moderate your ideas
to 󿬁t in with the other characters, toning them down if
necessary.. A big game hunter can
necessary ca n be a 󿬁ne character, and
you can get into fun arguments about whether or not a
particular mutant creature from a villainous menagerie
needs to be put down, as long as you’re willing to com-
promise and not always shoot 󿬁rst.
In most games, you should create your character after
talking with the other players, or even make creating
characters a group activity for the 󿬁rst game session. The
game works best if all the diff erent
erent player characters can
work together, but also play off  each
 each other in interesting
ways.
      S Make sure your character is useful. Be specialized, but not
      E too specialized. For example, every group needs
      L 󰁔󰁁󰁌󰁋!
      U • Someone who’
who’ss good at 󿬁ghting
      R • Someone who’
who’ss good at talking and bluffing
• Someone with science and research skills
• Someone who can handle transport
• Someone who can sneak around and spy on
people
(You can combine diff erent
erent roles, of course.) Don’t try to
do everything yourself, but make sure you’re not com-
pletely focused on one thing.
Come up with a back story and a personality for your
character. You don’t need to write a whole life story – just
one or two ideas is 󿬁ne to start with. You can build on
that during
d uring play
pl ay..
Be imaginative. Don’t rely on the 󰁧󰁭 to come up with
everything. Instead of saying ‘I roll Science to work out
what the gas is’, describe how you’re doing it; what sort
of clues to do you 󿬁nd? What tools do you use? Come up
with original approaches to problems instead of doing the
same thing over and over.
Take the game seriously. By all means, make jokes, but
remember that your character is supposed to be a part of
the game world. If you taunt the mobsters, expect to get
punched gun,
elephant - lots.people
If youwill
runreact
down to the
you street carrying
in a very an
diff erent
erent
way to normal.
Try to involve the other player characters in whatever
you’re
you’re doing. Unless it’s important, don’t keep secrets from
them or run off  on
 on your own all the time. Look for ways
to work together as a group, and 󿬁nd ways for the other
player characters to use their skills and get spotlight time.
Above all else – relax and have fun. Role-playing games
are about exploring
explori ng a mystery and telling a story with your
friends, and you can’t get that wrong.
If there’s one bit of advice we can give you, it’s to talk about
the game. Discuss it with the GM, tell him what you want
to see in the game. If you want more weird science, more
intrigue, more Eldritch Abominations or more Evil Master-
minds, let the GM know. Talk to the other players, too –
speculate on what’s going to happen next, make plans for
future sessions, think about how your characters relate to
each other. Talk
Talk to people who are fans of the series – maybe
they’d like to join the game too. Good communication is
vital to the health of a good game.

(*#5&-6 J2)@ ?"#@#.$3@

When playing the game, some people like to talk ‘in char-  AMK
 A MK#-
#-.3
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M 93
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3'
This section is aimed more at experienced players.
players. Once
you’ve played a session or two, try putting some of these
acter’,, while others just describe what their character says
acter’ techniques into use.
and does. In practice, you’ll
you’ll 󿬁nd yourself switching back
and forth depending on what’s happening in the game. If
you’re just dealing with a minor matter, like convincing 13'3#@." Q L-K3'$&6#$&2-
some bystanders to clear the area before they get zapped A big part of any 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 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 󿬁nding and interpreting
pursuit of his nemesis – then it’
it’ss best to act out what your clues. You 󿬁nd clues by asking the right questions and/or
character says and does. using your skills. The 󰁧󰁭 may have a chain of clues set up
for you to follow, or he may expect you to piece together
󿬁
Be dramatic,
dramatic but not inappropriate.
confrontations Big action
are great, but scenes
build up and
to them. what’s going on,poke
Ask questions, but either
around way,
andthe thingfor
search to do is to nd
evidence clues.
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-
ing match to threats and then to physical violence.
114
cultists, then the cultists are a challenge to be overcome, not
a reason to give up. If you’re stuck, it’s because you haven’t
found enough clues. (Remember, if you’re totally confused,
you can spend a Story Point to get a clue.)
When questioning witnesses, remember that most of
them will be confused, scared or angered by their expe-
rience. Find out what they know by asking those ques-
tions, and then 󿬁nd a cover story to de󿬂ect further sus-
picion. Look for ways to approach non-player characters
and win their trust.
Some problems are to be solved in a single game session.
Others are longer plot arcs that will take weeks or months
to solve. The diff erence
erence between the two will be clear in
play – if you’re making no progress on a mystery, and you’ve
scoured the place for clues, then it’s probably a longer-term
plot that will take several sessions to unfold. The easiest
way to do this is to do some research about the area and
era in which you are playing.
 A.$&
 A. $&2-
2-
The fun parts of the story is getting to the place and dis-
rupting the villains plan. In the pulps it rarely devolves
into a 󿬁re󿬁ght, but this does happen sometimes.
In most games, the player characters are 󿬁ghting enemies
that are roughly their equals. You might run into criminals,
terrorists, armed guards, insane cultists or other human
or human-like foes. But in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣, that might
not always be the case. You might be investigating a mys-
terious island in the South Seas, populated by dinosaurs
and gigantic apes, or dealing with a mad scientist whose
robot servants are 12 feet tall and weigh three tons each.
One punch or getting clipped by a bullet isn’t going to take
your character out, but a snap of a dinosaur’s mighty jaws
or a blow from those wrecking-ball 󿬁sts and you’re gone.
If you try going toe-to-toe with something that’s much
bigger, stronger, faster and nastier than you, you’re going
to get badly beaten, if you’re lucky.
Guns help, but they don’t solve everything. Shooting
someone – or some thing - attracts unwanted public and
official attention, and could potentially result in collat-
eral damage.
Action scenes in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 , then, aren’t about
hiding behind crates and taking pot-shots. You’ll
You’ll need
to get the bad guys away from the public and somewhere
somewhe re
you can contain them. That means getting the minions,
robots, yetis, dinosaurs and great apes to chase you, it
means using the environment, and treating powerful
enemies as puzzles to be solved, not foes to be beaten
by force.
 !2@>&
 !2@ >&-6
-6 #' # 6@ 6@2) 2)+ +
Your characters are part of a team. Find ways to combine
to analyze anything you 󿬁nd. Take risks to 󿬁nd clues – if
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 󿬁lled with fanatical
Playing The Game
character. If a player is sidelined by events, try to bring
them back into the game. For example, if a character is
severely wounded and doesn’t have the Story Points to
heal themselves, then either give them some of your Story
Points with an inspiring speech, or else 󿬁nd something
for them to do that doesn’t rely on combat. A character
with a broken leg could start researching the villain-of-
the-week in the police 󿬁le room.
Disagreements and con󿬂icts between player characters
are great
get out ofand addThe
hand. drama,
mainbut don’t
focus let inter-character
of the strife
group should always
be on dealing with the problem at hand. Don’t go o ff  on
 on
secret missions or sneak off  on
 on your own every session. If
your Group Framework
Framework is a military organization or some
other group with ranks, then those in charge shouldn’t
abuse their authority, and subordinates shouldn’t always
disobey. Lead, don’t dictate.
?"#@#.$3@ (*2$'
Most game sessions are about the group, not individual
player characters.
characters. Character Plots are subplots that show
off  or
 or develop some aspect of your character. The 󰁧󰁭 might
introduce some character plots for you based on your back
story or personality, but you should also come up with 6
your own ideas for character plots and suggest them to
the 󰁧󰁭.
Character plot plots could include:
• Trouble with family members
• Problems at home
• Doubts about the group’s purpose
• Con󿬂icts that are best resolved between game
sessions
Your character plots may only get a short scene in each
game session, or only show up once every
ever y few games. The
more you involve the other characters in your character’s
plots, the more time your plots will get. Make interesting
complications for the group! Think of ways that your
character plots can bring in other characters or make
challenges for the whole team. Give your 󰁧󰁭 nasty ideas
– if you help the 󰁧󰁭 put your character through an emo-
tional wringer, it’ll paradoxically
paradoxically be more fun for you.
F2<-$&83
The game doesn’t have to stop just because
be cause you’ve 󿬁nished
playing for the night. The game focuses on the exciting
moments of your character’s life, when you’re out hunting
huntin g
technology and materials for the Invisible College, MI7,
or whatever organization to which
w hich you belong, but there’
the re’ss
more to the game than that. Between game sessions, you
can cover ‘downtime’ events with the 󰁧󰁭. The usual
method for doingwhat
brie󿬂y describe this your
is viacharacter
email. During
is updowntime,
when he’s you
having adventures. We don’t mean ‘my character goes to
not
your skills and support each other. If you can, look for
opportunities to bring other player characters in on the
action. Find ways to make them look cool. If you come up
with a plan, make sure it relies on at least one other player
the shops, pays his rent, etc. – you can do interesting things
in downtime too, like research ongoing mysteries, pursue
character plots, hone your skills or get into new sorts of
trouble.
115

T
his chapter covers all the rules you’ll need to play
󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣. These rules are pretty simple –
really, almost everything comes down to variations
on the same basic formula. In every situation, you follow
these steps.
1. The 󰁧󰁭 describes what’s going on. The
Gamemaster brie󿬂y describes where the
characters are, what they can see (and
hear, and smell) and what’s going on (as
far as they know, anyway).
2. The players decide what they’re going
to do. The
action players
they’re choose
going try.what
to try. courseon
Depending of
circumstances, the players may be able
to talk amongst themselves and careful-
ly plan their next move (say, they’ve just
found an entrance to the villain’s lair in
a building site and are discussing the best
way to get to it without attracting atten-
tion) or each player might have to make
a snap decision on his or her own about
what their character does (a swarm of
clock-work bugs 󿬂y out of the lair! What
do you do!)
3. Work out which (if any) rules apply.  All the action in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is based around this
A lot of the time, there’s no need to resort
to the rules. If a character is just trying
to open a door, or talk to someone, or
read some research notes, or drive safely
a murder scene, then there’s no need to
roll the dice. You only need to use the
rules if the action is tricky, dangerous,
risky, under time pressure, or if some-
one’s opposing the character.
If the 󰁧󰁭 decides the player does need
to roll, then decide on the combination
of Attribute and Skill that best applies.
Traits and other bonuses may also come
into play.
The 󰁧󰁭 sets the Difficulty for the roll. The
Difficulty is the target number that the
Chapter 7
 Action!
4. Roll the Dice, Work Out The Result. 
The player (or the 󰁧󰁭) rolls the dice and
adds up the total of all the modi󿬁ers (At-
tribute + Skill + any applicable Traits +
the dice roll + anything else).
5. Compare the Result to the Di fficulty.
If the result’s bigger than the Di fficulty,
it’s a success; otherwise, it’s a failure.
The player (or 󰁧󰁭) uses the rules to in-
terpret what happens next. In general,
the player can describe the results as
they wish, but everything’
everything’ss subject to the
󰁧󰁭’󰁳  approval.
6. Back to Step 1. The 󰁧󰁭  narrates the
results of what the characters did (or failed
to do), and the players get to react again.
Don’t ignore the rules – they exist for a reason. They’re
there to make the game more challenging and existing,
and to make sure that everyone’s on the same page. The
󰁧󰁭 may decide to override the rules from time to time in
unusual circumstances.
9"3 :#'&. 1)*3
basic system:
Attribute + Skill + Two Six Sided Dice = Result (try to
match or beat the Di fficulty of the task)
Let’s break that down.
Attribute: Select the most appropriate Attribute
Attribute for what
the Character is trying to do. Trying to lift something?
Then Strength is the one you need. Trying to work out a
scienti󿬁c problem, or remember a key fact. That’s Inge-
nuity.. Keeping your cool in
nuity i n the face
fac e of danger? Use Resolve.
Skill: Next 󿬁nd the Skill best suited for the task. Are they
running for their lives? Having some Athletics Skill would
mean they could run faster and for longer. Having a good
Animal Handling or Survival might help identify those
tracks, while shooting someone uses Marksman.
It’s possible that no Skill applies in a situation, or that
 roll needs to beat to succeed.
the 󰁧󰁭 may permit the player to substitute another skill
at a penalty, or apply a penalty to the roll. See Unskilled
Attempts, below.
Pulp Fantastic
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅󰁓: 󰁂󰁁󰁓󰁉󰁃 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌
Lord William “Wild Bill” McGommery is tracking a wounded
lion through the jungle. The GM asks Wild Bill’s player to roll
to see if he can follow the trail. The GM
G M decides that it’s Tricky
to find the lion’s tracks amid the thick undergrowth,
u ndergrowth, so the
Difficulty is 15. Wild Bill rolls Awareness + Survival + two
six-sided dice and compares the total to the Difficulty. If his
total is higher, then he can follow the trail without any
problem. If his total is less than the Difficulty, he loses the
lion’ss trail and cannot follow it.
lion’
Trait: Do any traits apply? If so, have a look at the Trait
description and see if it applies any modi󿬁ers to the roll.
Dice: Roll two six-sided die, add them together and re-
member the number. Spending Story Points can add more
dice to this roll.
󰁗󰁈󰁉󰁃󰁈 󰁁󰁔󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁂󰁕󰁔󰁅  󰁏󰁒 󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌 󰁔󰁏 󰁕󰁓󰁅?
In most cases, which Skill and Attribute to use are fairly
      S obvious. However, in some cases, there may be two Attributes
      E could help a little, but isn’t completely related, if the Game-
      L or Skills that could be used equally well. For example, let’s
      U say the group are trying to follow a wounded lion through
      R dense jungle. The lion has already mauled a couple of local
villagers, and our heroes want to capture it before it can do
more damage. Tracking is based on Awareness, but what’s
the best skill? Survival, to follow the tracks and scrapes on
the ground? Animal Handling, to know that lions can climb
trees? Science (Zoology)
(Zoology) to recall that lions are
a re pack animals,
and know that this injured animal will try to reach the safety
of her pride? You could make an argument for all three.
In this case, the player would choose whatever they’re better
at, or the Gamemaster would choose whichever is more apt
in their mind. If two Skills or Attributes are relevant, the
Gamemaster should keep the unused Skill or Attribute in
mind when deciding the outcome of the roll. You’ll see below
on the success tables (see page 120)120) that the results can
be interpreted in different
different ways depending upon the roll. If
the Gamemaster chooses, he can bring the unused
u nused Attribute
or Skill into the result.
For example, if Runt is the one following the lion, his low
Animal Handling score might mean he backs the wounded
animal into
in to a corner, causing it to become even more aggres-
sive. If Wild Bill or Charlie McCoy had been the one pursuing
the lion, they’d have known better than to get g et too close.
The Gamemaster doesn’t need to bear this in mind all of the
time, but it may be a great way to inspire cool additions to
the action and plot.
Using Two Attributes: Sometimes, two Attributes are equally
appropriate. Tremendous
Tremendous physical endurance could be mea-
sured by Strength + Resolve, for example. While most rolls
should be Attribute+Skill+Trait, the GM can vary the compo-
sition of a roll on occasion.
the character doesn t have the right skill. In that case,
The Result: Simply add up the value of the Attribute
you’ve selected, the Skill you have and any adjustments
from Traits, and the dice roll. If the total is equal to or
higher than the Difficulty of the task, then the roll was a
success! Otherwise, it’s a failure.
=-'>&**3M A$$38+$'
Usually,, attempting to do something
Usually someth ing that you have no Skill
in results in failure. You wouldn’t try to 󿬁x the wiring
inside of a radio if you didn’t know what you were doing,
and you wouldn’t try to perform surgery on someone with
no medical training. However, in desperate times, you
may have to try despite being untrained.
Even without a Skill you use the same formula as before.
Of course, without a Skill to add in there, the result
r esult is going
to be lower, which re󿬂ects their lack of training, and in
most cases, trying to do something without any Skill could
actually make things worse.
Any time you try to do something that
t hat you have absolutely no
Skill in, your roll suff ers
ers a -4 penalty. If you have a Skill that
master approves you can try with a smaller penalty of -2.
Tricky tasks will have a high di fficulty that will make
unskilled attempts almost impossible. Others, such as
󿬁ring a weapon without training, are possible though
without a Skill though the chance of actually succeeding
will be slim.
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁕󰁎󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌󰁅󰁄 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌
Lord William McGommery is standing guard over an Evil
Mastermind’s earthquake device when it activates and starts
to pulse—it’s about to cause a quake and topple the city!
Wild Bill’s player asks the GM if he can tell how much time
he has before the device completes it’s warm-up and triggers
the quake. The GM tells him to roll Ingenuity + Science. Wild
Bill doesn’t have Science, so he’
he’dd normally be rolling Ingenu-
ity -4 (unSkilled penalty) + 2 dice. Wild Bill’s player points
out that he’s got Technology and a stethoscope, and the GM GM
agrees that Wild Bill can use the stethoscope to examine the
device. Wild Bill rolls Ingenuity + Technology + 2 dice -2 to
study the movement of the devices
d evices inner workings and es-
timate how long he has to deactivate
d eactivate it󲀦 
;2< # @2** <2@>'
So you know how a roll adds up, but what do you need to
roll for, and what do the numbers mean? We’ll start at the
beginning and decide what the character wants to do.
L-$3-$
What are you trying to do? What are you trying to accomplish
 and what risks are you willing to take to do so? Whats
What s likely
to happen if you fail? Intent is simple to work out when a
character’s doing something speci󿬁c 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
you say something like ‘I want to take a shot at the guard,
but I’m staying in cover and slamming the door before he
gets too close’, then you’re obviously unwilling to risk an
attack from the guard, so your chance of shooting him should
be lower and the 󰁧󰁭 should set a higher difficulty.
Describe what
wha t you’re
you’re trying to do to the 󰁧󰁭. Be descriptiv
descriptivee
and creative.
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁄󰁅󰁔󰁁󰁉󰁌󰁅󰁄 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁏󰁌󰁕󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 
Charlie McCoy is trying to persuade the manager of a night-
club that he needs to evacuate immediately, but he has to
convince him without telling him that there’s an earthquake
machine upstairs. The GM decides that’s pretty tricky, and
sets the difficulty at 21. Cliff’s
Cl iff’s player rolls Presence + Convince
against a Difficulty of 21.
Charlie has a Presence of 5 and a Convince of 4. If he fails the

F&II&.)*$5  roll by 9 or more (which will happen only if she rolls a 2 or 3,

Whenever the characters have to do something that requires
require s
a roll, the Gamemaster will determine the di fficulty. This
is the number the player will have to beat to succeed with
the task. The average human Attribute is 3, the average Skill
is 2-3, and the average die roll is 7, so an average person
should be able to accomplish something with a difficulty
of 12 most of the time. The table provides you with suggest-
ed difficulty levels, though the Gamemaster can adjust
these to suit a particular situation.
󰁏󰁄󰁄 󰁎󰁕󰁍󰁂󰁅󰁒󰁓
Don’t feel like
like you always have to use these numbers. If the
task is harder than
t han a Tricky, but not as difficult as a Hard, you
can set the Difficulty of the task at 16 or 17.
17. The numbers on
the table are a guide, not set in stone. If you want your
characters to feel particularly heroic, you can reduce the
Difficulty of their tasks to make it easier for them to succeed.
then he gets a Disastrous Failure, a ‘No, And...’ result. The
manager doesn’t evacuate the nightclub, feels that Charlie
is a nut case and calls the cops.
If he fails by 4-8, he gets a Bad Failure, a flat
fla t no. The manager
refuses to listen to him.
If he fails by 1-3, then it’s a plain Failure, a ‘No, But’.
But’. The GM
asks the players what the consequence should be. Charlie’ Charlie’ss
player suggests that maybe the manager
ma nager doesn’t believe his
character,, but has club’s bouncers check the exits.
character
If the player succeeds by 0-3, it’s a basic
ba sic Success, a ‘Yes, But’
result. The manager agrees to shut down the club, but the
evacuation will take almost an hour as everything is careful-
ly switched off and locked down instead of being
bei ng abandoned
in haste.
To get a result beyond a basic
b asic Success in this case, Charlie’s 7
your player needs to spend a Story Point for extra dice – the
highest result she can get without spending a point is a 21
(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
Cha rlie’s player would need a total
of at least 30, which gives him a ‘Yes, And’ result.

󰁔󰁁󰁓󰁋 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙 󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅

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!)
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 Di
Difficul
ultt 24 Recall a whole spe
speeech fr
from a Shakespear
aree pl
play, fi
fix a br
brooken gi
gizmo, fl
fly a pl
plaane in
in tur
turbbul
uleence
 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 Clim

Climbb a skys
skyscr
crape
aperr in th
thee rain
rain,, shoo
shoott a smal
smalll targ
target
et in
in an adj
adjac
acen
entt roo
room
m with
withou
outt look
lookin
ing.
g.

119

Pulp Fantastic
;2< <3** "#K3 52) M2-3/
󰁗󰁈󰁅󰁎 󰁎󰁏󰁔 󰁔󰁏 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌 Have a look at how far above (or below) the Difficulty the
There are times to pick up the dice, and times when you
Result was. The wider the diff erence
erence between the Difficulty
should leave them sitting on the table. Don’t bother to
and your Result, the better you’ve done. The easiest way to
roll if...
remember this is to think of the question
que stion “Did you Succeed?”
As the result gets better and higher, you progress through
It’s a trivial task:
tas k: Don’t call for Transport checks to drive down “Yes, But” to “Yes,” and 󿬁nally “Yes, And.” Think again of
to the shop, or Technology
Technology checks to send an email. Roll the what your Intent was (see above, page 118)
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
other way for them to find the next part of the adventure.
a dventure.
attempting something you’re really not skilled for, you could
make matters worse just by trying. Look to see how far under
Failure is boring: If you can’t think of a consequence
conseque nce for failure, the Difficulty you failed by
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
you fail, you take damage) or put a time limit on the task (if
Note that attacks use a special variation on this table to
you fail, the spy vanishes off over the rooftops).
work out damage.
      S
      E You’ve Already Rolled: Don’t keep rolling for the same task ?22+3@#$&2-
      L unless the circumstances have changed. For example, if a
      U Sometimes a task is so tricky or complicated; the characters
      R character is trying
then the player to sneak
only around a pack+ of
rolls Coordination hungry wolves,
Subterfuge once, are going to have to call in some help. Many hands make
instead of rolling to sneak past each wolf.
light work and all that. Of course, some people can
c an just get
in the way and make a mess of things. However
However,, if a group
of characters are working on something together, there’s
there’s a
good chance that they’ll be able to accomplish it.

󰁁󰁍󰁏󰁕󰁎󰁔 
  󰁅󰁆󰁆󰁅󰁃󰁔 
󰁁󰁂󰁏󰁖󰁅 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉- 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁕󰁌󰁔
“󰁄󰁉󰁄 󰁙󰁏󰁕 󰁓󰁕󰁃󰁃󰁅󰁅󰁄󰀿”
󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙

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

9+ Fantastic YYou
ou crack the the
convince German Embassy
farmer not to safe,
sa
askfe,questions,
and hide your traces
and he a lsoso
also well
lets youthey’ll
use hisnever know itaswas
farmhouse opened
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
difficul ty,, they’ve
certainly accomplished what they wanted, and pretty well.
You shoot the rabid wolf squarely
squa rely 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
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
You wing or secondary
the rabid wolf, but your problem.
gun’s out of ammo
0-3 Success You crack the German Embassy safe,
sa fe, but trip an internal alarm
 The farmer buys your story about an escaped tiger – butb ut he told a friend down in the village pub,
pu b, 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
cu p of coffee from the office canteen...
120

Action!

In such cases, there’

the re’ss usually someone who’ll take the lead.
Hopefully, they should have some Skill in what’s being
attempted, and are usually the most up to the task. Every-
one else mucks in and tries to help this leader to accomplish
their task. The helpers, if they have a suitable Skill that
could help, add +2 each to the leader’s attempt. The Gam-
emaster may put a limit on how many people can help in
any given circumstance. For example, only two or three
people could operate on someone in a hospital theater,
and only three or four people could physically grapple
another person without getting in each other’s way.
As a general rule, limit the Cooperation rule to four helpers
maximum except in extreme circumstances (twelve people
are trying to lift an overturned truck off  of
 of a trapped sur-
vivor - this works as it’s physically possible for that many
people to “muck in!”).
Notice how we said “suitable” Skill, not necessarily the
same Skill. After all, if you’re working on a special tran-
quillizer formula that works only works on canines, you
could have a good Science (chemistry) Skill, but someone
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁃󰁏󰁏󰁐󰁅󰁒󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
Lord William McGommery is searching an abandoned
warehouse for an escaped spy. Normally, this would be a
straight Awareness
Awareness + Survival roll, but Wild Bill has a team
of three government agents with him. His player suggests
that the team can assist him in the search, and the GM
agrees, offering Wild Bill a +6 bonus to his roll because
beca use of
the three agent’ help.
could help with no Science Skill if they were a knowledge-
able veterinarian (Medicine skill). If, however, someone
insists on helping who doesn’t have a 󿬁tting Skill, it may
be that their helping slows things down or even hinders.
9#>&-6 9&83
Another way to deal with incredibly hard tasks is to take
your time and work at it over a period of time. Of course,
this isn’t possible in every instance, but usually when it
comes
complextoscienti
research, investigating
󿬁c experiments something,
or projects, or your
taking very
time and working at it can help.
The Gamemaster should have some sort of idea of how
long something would take to complete. Imagine the
character actually doing it, and try to guess how long
something would take. If it’s a very complex task, such as
a series of experiments or building a complex device, it
should take hours (if not days or longer for a really complex
task that’s
that’s not vital to the story plot). If the character spends
longer than necessary on a task, taking their time and
being extra careful, they are more likely to succeed. Taking
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.
The 󰁧󰁭 may prefer to break up a long task into a series of
skill checks, with each one adding new potential compli-
cations. For example, if a character is working on decipher- 7
ing the secrets of a piece of weird technology, the 󰁧󰁭 could
have her make one Technology roll per game session, with
each one possibly aff ecting
ecting the next roll (‘You fail to work

󰁁󰁍󰁏󰁕󰁎󰁔  󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁕󰁌󰁔 󰁅󰁆󰁆󰁅󰁃󰁔

󰁕󰁎󰁄󰁅󰁒 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙 “󰁄󰁉󰁄 󰁙󰁏󰁕 󰁓󰁕󰁃󰁃󰁅󰁅󰁄󰀿”

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
G amemaster may allow you to gain something out of the
encounter,, but it may not be what you’d expected.
encounter
You didn’t find the data on the German Archives, but you did manage to get out without

1-3 Failure being detected.

The farmer obviously doesn’t believe your story about an escaped lion, but he takes one look
at your truck full of guns and
a nd 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
You’ve certainly failed at the task, but it could have been
b een 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.
9+ Disastrous You miss the rabid wolf with your burst of fire, and you run out of ammo.
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.

121

Pulp Fantastic

󰁔󰁉󰁍󰁅 󰁔󰁁󰁋󰁅󰁎 󰁍󰁏󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁉󰁅󰁒 󰁔󰁉󰁍󰁅 󰁔󰁁󰁋󰁅󰁎 󰁐󰁅󰁎󰁁󰁌󰁔󰁙

×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 ?28+*&.#$&2-'
to do with light’ See also the Invention rules on page 159. If you wish to add more realism or detail into a Con 󿬂ict,
Similarly, halving the time it would normally take to do
certain environmental
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
extra time.
conditions such as rain, darkness or being hurried, the
Gamemaster can have a look at the examples provided
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁔󰁉󰁍󰁅󰁄 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌 below and apply a modi󿬁er that seems suitable. These are
Runt is trying to open a safe in the office of the German  just a guidelin
guideline,
e, and Gamemasters should feel free to
Ambassador to retrieve information about a Nazi spy-ring. modify the rolls as they see 󿬁t, though it makes for a
He wants to stay undetected by the guards, so he takes his speedier and smoother game if these modi󿬁ers are used
time. It would normally take him two hours to crack a safe sparingly.
      S this complex; if he takes twelve hours, that’ll give him a +10 Of course, modi󿬁ers should only be taken into account in
      E bonus to his roll. So, he’ll pull an all-nighter and do the job a Con󿬂ict only if one side alone is e ff ected
ected by it. If both
      L right. are eff ected
ected equally, you don’t need to worry about this
      U
      R Before beginning this safe-cracking marathon, he learns that
Charlie McCoy is in trouble and they need the location of the
sort of thing.
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅 󰁍󰁏󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁉󰁅󰁒
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
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁃󰁏󰁎󰁔󰁅󰁓󰁔󰁅󰁄 󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌 0
all sides equally
equa lly..
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
Convi nce 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
m oving at running speed.
Bad lighting (dark, no moonlight or streetlights)
The highest result wins the argument. and opponent can see in the dark, panicked, trying
tryi ng
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)
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.
?2-$3'$3M 12**'
Fighting in pitch blackness against an opponent
If you’re directly opposing someone else – say, in an argu- who can see or against a target out of sight, re- -10
ment or a chess match or a wrestling contest or trying to sisting when only just waking up.
deceive someone – then the difficulty is determined by an
opposed Skill Check, not by the Di fficulty table. Both sides P)*$&+*3 E++2-3-$'
in the con󿬂ict make a roll, and the highest Result wins.
If there are multiple people involved in a con󿬂ict, 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
the n they’d both roll Strength Co-Operation
Co-Operati on rules.
+ Fighting. If they’re both playing chess, then it’
it’ss probably You can also use the Multiple Opponents rules to model
Awareness + Ingenuity.
Ingenuity. At other times, each side might use
a diff erent
erent 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
use his Presence + Convince against the guard’s Awareness
+ Subterfuge.
122
Combat & Extended Conficts
The usual action rules cover most of the scrapes and
unlikely situations that player characters get into when
chasing anomalies, but what about gunfights, car chases
and other running action sequences. In a situation
where you’ve got characters acting and reacting
rea cting to each
other, you need to use Action Rounds and the Extended
Conflict rules.
Each Action Round is a few seconds of time, during which
each character can perform one action (and may also react
to someone else’s action if they have to).
L-$3-$
Firstly, everyone declares what they’re going to do, as per
the usual action rules.
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
to shoot at a gangster, and the 󿬁rst character to act kills
takes him down with his attack, the second character’s
attack is pointless. A character may change intent in such
a case, but takes a -2 penalty to his roll (in e ff ect,
acting to himself – see below).
ect, he’s re-
 A.$&
 A. $&2-
2- ("
("#'
#'3'
3'
Action Rounds are divided into
i nto four Phases; Talking, Moving,
Doing and Fighting, in that order (this
(thi s may seem counter-in-
tuitive to some players, but it accurately re󿬂ects the dramat-
ically satisfying way things happen in the Pulps, rather than
the way they happen in reality…whatever that may be).
Next, actions are resolved in the following order.
Talking: For those who prefer talking to 󿬁ghting. Even
in the tensest of situation, diplomacy and persuasion (and
sometimes out-and-out lying) can often be more eff ective
ective
than weapons. Note that you don’t need to wait for this
Phase to shout out a brief warning or speak a word of
command, but you do need to wait for this Phase if you’re
going to be speaking at length (explaining something,
making an inspirational speech, persuading a confused
foe to put down his weapon, etc.) The place can be explod-
ing or you could be held at gunpoint, but before anyone
starts shooting or tying you up, you get to say your piece.
Moving: Motion is the most direct form of Action. Running
from a threat, charging an enemy, diving for cover, leaping
into combat, swinging from a rope; all these occur in the
Moving Phase. If the movement carries the character from
one area to another, changes his situation, moves him more
than a few metres or requires a roll – it counts as an Action.
Even if you’re
you’re sneaking into the villains
vi llains hidden lair as quietly
as possible, trying to avoid alerting his guards, you’re
moving from one place
plac e to the next, and this Phase is when
of making an attack roll for every G-man backing up “Wild
Bill” McGommery, just have each agent aid Wild Bill, so
he makes a single attack roll with a huge bonus.
Action!
Doing: If you’re not talking, running or 󿬁ghting the
enemy, you’re probably planning on doing something
that’ll help the situation. Characters act in the Doing
Phase when their action involves something
not covered by one of the other three Phases. Doing covers
performing tasks like repairing an engine, reloading a
weapon, forcing a lock, grabbing the idol from the pedes-
tal or anything else that involves making a roll to complete
a task that doesn’t involve Talking, Moving, or Fighting.
Fighters: Finally
Finally,, the people who choose to 󿬁ght or shoot
take their turn. Characters act in the Fighting Phase when
they are attempting to cause harm to someone or some-
thing, either with a weapon or with their bare hands.
Within each Phase, characters act in order of Coordination.
(If two characters have the same Coordination, then the
one with the highest Awareness moves 󿬁rst; if they’re still
tied, they act simultaneousl
simultaneously).
y).
GH.3+$&2-'
As with everything, there are always exceptions to a rule.
In this case, it is creatures or characters with the Fast or
Slow Trait. (see page 197 and
197 and page 202).
202). Fast creatures
always get to act 󿬁rst. If there’s more than one Fast creature
present, they move in order of Coordination. This means
that most predators get to act before the player characters. 7
Once all the Fast creatures have acted, proceed with the
Phases as listed above.
After that, Slow creatures act. These are slow-moving
animals like domesticated animals, as well as drugged
creatures and most vehicles and environmental features.
?"#@#.$3@' @2** #-M +3@I2@8 $"3&@ #.$&2-'
When it’s their turn to go in the Action Round, it’s time
for the characters to do their thing. In many cases, their
intended action will be resisted in some way by their
opponent, whether this is arguing,
argui ng, convincing, seducing,
blu ng, punching, shooting or trying to mentally control
ffi
someone. Other times it will be a simple roll against the
Difficulty of their action, if they are doing something
with no resistance, such as running, 󿬁xing a gadget or
defusing a bomb or if the target is completely unaware
of the 󿬁rst attack.
If the character’s actions are resisted by someone, there
will be a “Reaction” to determine how hard it is for the
player to act.
13#.$&2-' 4 13'&'$&-6 $"3 @2**
Instead of both sides rolling with their own intentions, and
the most successful one determining the outcome of the
Co
Conn󿬂ict,with
further, the Extended Congetting
each person 󿬂ict breaks things down even
to try to do what they
intend, and being resisted with a suitable
suitab le Skill. To determine
 you do it. Note that, as with
w ith talking, you don’t have to wait
wait the Difficulty of the character’s roll, you 󿬁rst 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.
123

Pulp Fantastic

󰁗󰁈󰁁󰁔 󰁁󰁒󰁅 󰁙󰁏󰁕 󰁕󰁓󰁉󰁎󰁇?
Depending upon the actions of the characters, both attacker and defender,
defender, there are many combinations of Attribute and Skill that
can be used. Here are some suggestions:

󰁗󰁈󰁁󰁔 󰁙󰁏󰁕 󰁗󰁁󰁎󰁔 󰁔󰁏 󰁄󰁏 󰁓󰁋󰁉󰁌󰁌󰁓 󰁕󰁓󰁅󰁄 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁉󰁓󰁔󰁅󰁄 󰁂󰁙

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

for m of action. If you’ve already
taken your Action this round, then the 󿬁rst Reaction you
make is at a -2 penalty
p enalty.. Alternatively,
Alternatively, if you’ve already had
to React before you took your Action, then your Action
suff ers
ers a -2 penalty.
You can take any number of Reactions in a round, but
      S there’s a cumulative -2 penalty. You can only take one
      E Action in a round.
      L
      U
      R You don’t
sidered to have to react,es
roll snake-eyes
snake-ey but if you don’t,
(double then
1) on the you’re
dice roll.con-
For example, Lord William McGommery is trying to slam
a door shut on a horde of cultists (his intended Action
for the round), when a clockwork assassin bug (a Fast
creature) drops on his face. At the same time Runt tries
to convince him not to shoot it as they need it intact to
󿬁nd an antidote to its venom. In order, Wild Bill makes
one Reaction (Strength + Fighting) to hold o ff  the
  the bug,
one Action (Strength + Athletics) to shut the door (at a
-2 penalty, because it’s the second time he’s acted) and
󿬁nally Resolve + Convince (at a -4 penalty, for the third
roll) if he wants to resist Runt’s persuasion.
E-62&-6 13#.$&2-'
A lot of Reactions work for an entire Action Round. If
someone takes a shot at you, and you dodge (using your
Coordination and Athletics to duck), then it’s just as hard
for any other bad guys to shoot you that round. Your re-
sistance applies to all their attacks, too. Similarly,
Similarly, if you’re
hiding, your Coordination + Subterfuge applies to all the
people looking for you.
Other Reactions only work against a single attack. If
I f the
󰁧󰁭 makes you roll Strength + Athletics to stay on your
feet when you get side-swiped by a car, then that resistance
only works against one swipe – if another vehicle clips
you, you’ll have to roll again.
The Gamemaster decides whether or not a Reaction sticks
around for a whole round. In general, if the Reaction in-
volves dodging or evading,
evading, it lasts for the whole round. If
you’re being shot at. You roll Coordination + Athletics,
but you only get a 3 on your dice roll. You
You’ve
’ve dodged, but
not very well. It’s probably better in that situation to roll
again when the next guy shoots at you, in the hopes of
getting a better Resistance.
?28B#$ ?28+*&.#$&2-'
We’ve mentioned a bit about modi 󿬁ers to rolls depend-
ing on how tricky things are in the heat of battle, but to
make things easier for Gamemasters, here’s a summary
of Combat and some suggested modi 󿬁ers.
Movement: Rather than 󿬁ddle with precise numbers,
we’ll keep things simple, and use semi-abstract zones
called Areas. Most of the time the actual size of an Area
isn’t important – in open ground, an area might be 3m x
3m, but when you’re moving through cramped sewers,
Areas are a lot smaller. If you’re in an aerial chase with a
fast-moving
fast-moving target, then the Areas might be 100ft x 100ft
or more.
The 󰁧󰁭 should break the scene of the combat into a number
of areas. Take the lobby of a large
la rge downtown office building;
let’ss assume that the big central area just through the main
let’
doors is four Areas, the stairs up to the mezzanine is another
Area, the mezzanine itself is another four Areas long, and
each of the offices off  the
 the central area is another Area.
You can move as many Areas as your eff ective
ective speed. On
foot, your speed is equal to your Coordination. So if your
Coordination is 3, you can move 3 Areas on foot. Some
creatures can move faster than their Coordination would
indicate.
Range: As we mentioned, most of the time combat is fairly
close. Combatants are usually in the same room. This means
we don’t really need to worry about complicated modi󿬁ers
for range. Pistols and other handguns are usually designed
for moderately close combat, so they can only hit targets
up to 50m
5 0m away.
away. Ri 󿬂es, and other weapons like this designed
for
500longer range
metres. Youcombat
can 󿬁reso
attheir maximum
targets range isof
that are outside around
these
ranges, but your roll will su ff er
er 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 speci󿬁c 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
124

Action!

or any Reactions). If you aim, you get to make a roll as if
you’d attacked normally (so you roll Coordination + Marks-
man). If you succeed in this roll, you get a bonus to your
next attack roll. A success on the Aiming roll gives you a
+2 bonus, a Good result gets you +4, and Fantastic gets you
a huge +6 bonus. However, if you are attacked or interrupt-
ed in any way before taking the shot, this bonus is lost.
The Sharpshooter Trait helps with aiming.
Targeting a Speci󿬁c Body Part: You can aim for a spe-
Targeting
ci󿬁c location, such as trying to hit a soldier in the arm so
they drop their gun, the roll is harder and there is a -2
modi󿬁er on their roll to hit. If the location is very small,
for example shooting at the pistol in someone’s
someone’s hand, this
modi󿬁er is increased to -4. If the player hits, they can
choose the Attribute that is reduced from the damage and
aim to hit one Attribute hard rather than reducing a little
off  of
 of a few.
Cover: Hiding behind things is probably the safest bet when
the guns are 󿬁ring. Cover provides two advantages
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.
injury.
Imagine how much of the character is visible and how
much is the
hidden, behind cover.
harder it is The more
to hit of the character that is
them.
󰁈󰁏󰁗 󰁍󰁕󰁃󰁈 󰁉󰁓 󰁂󰁅󰁈󰁉󰁎󰁄 󰁃󰁏󰁖󰁅󰁒󰀿 󰁍󰁏󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁉󰁅󰁒 󰁔󰁏 󰁈󰁉󰁔
1/3 (Low boxes, or kneeling) -2 modifier to hit
2/3 (head & shoulders visible, target laying
on the floor) -4 modifier to hit
Shooting at someone who is behind some form of protec-
tion reduces the amount of damage that actually hits them.
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
before it is destroyed and useless. Here’s a rough guide.
󰁁󰁒󰁍󰁏󰁕󰁒  󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅 󰁉󰁔 󰁃󰁁󰁎 󰁔󰁁󰁋󰁅 
severity of their failure. For example, a weapon that nor-
mally does 3/6/9 damage would do 6/12/18 damage to
someone who failed to get into cover in time.
Firing full auto takes the entire Round; targeting a 45° arc
uses half a clip of ammunition and aff ecting
ecting a 90-degree
arc uses the entire clip.
n Fire: You can also use an automatic weapon
Suppression
Suppressio
to force the other side to keep their heads down. Roll your
attack as normal. Anyone who’s not in cover gets attacked
as per the normal rules on automatic 󿬁re. Everyone who
is in cover doesn’t get hit, but must make an Awareness
+ Resolve roll to resist your attack. Those who fail suff er
er
a -2 penalty to their next action on a normal failure, a -4
penalty on a Bad Failure, and are just frozen in terror and
can’t move on a Disastrous result.
󰁕󰁓󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁁󰁒󰁅󰁁󰁓
Areas are a handy way of including tactical decisions in combat
without getting bogged down in precise measurements and
maps. The trick is to come up with a few interesting
interesting Areas in
each combat zone, and then have the players choose where 7
they want to go.
For example, if the characters are making their way through
a crowded warehouse, looking for the escaped Nazi spy that’s
lurking in there. The warehouse might be broken into:
• The open area around the main door (no
(no cover
cover,, but it’s
it’s
close to the way out)
• The maze of big crates (probably where the spy is hiding)
• The pile of smaller crates (the characters can easily climb
up on that to hide)

󰁔󰁙󰁐󰁅 󰁐󰁒󰁏󰁔󰁅󰁃󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 󰁂󰁅󰁆󰁏󰁒󰁅 󰁄󰁅󰁓󰁔󰁒󰁏󰁙󰁅󰁄 • 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

stairs up to the walkway
walkway (very
(very exposed)
Steel Wall 30 250 • The office at the
the back (small and cramped)
cramped)
Body armor works the same way. Now,, turn all
Now a ll that into Areas.
Firing Multiple Shots: You can pump the trigger of a • The open
open area around the
the main door (4
(4 areas)
areas)
handgun, 󿬁ring it repeatedly in a round. Each attack after • The maze of big crates
crates (8 areas)
the 󿬁rst incurs a penalty, usually -2 per previous attack.
• The pile of smaller crates (2 areas)
Automatic Weapons: Some weapons are capable of au-
tomatic 󿬁re, shooting a hail of bullets. If you’re caught in • The stack
stack of barrels filled
filled with chemicals (2 areas)
the open by automatic weapons 󿬁re, you’re almost cer-
tainly going to be hit. You simply selects an area of up to • The walkway overhead (4 areas)
a 90° arc in his line of vision and shower it with bullets. • The st
stairs
airs up to the walkway
walkway (1
(1 area)
area)
 You then make a standard attack roll. Everyone in the area
gets a chance to dive for cover
c over 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
Pulp Fantastic
Big Targets: Monster, dinosaurs, vehicles and other over-
sized objects are divided into several diff erent
erent size cate-
gories. Importantly, if there’s a di ff erence
erence of more than
one size category, then the bigger creatures have to use
Coordination
Coordinatio n when making attacks instead of Strength.
73$$&-6 ;&$
If an attack hits, then the victim takes damage. See Losing
a Physical Con󿬂ict, page 130.
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁓󰁉󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅 󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁂󰁁󰁔
Note: You
You should read the damage rules on page 130 before
b efore
trying to follow these examples!
Charlie McCoy’s going to punch one of the Crimson Claw’s
minions. First, we work out who’s going first – it’s determined
by Coordination, and Charlie’s got the higher score (plus the
Quick Reflexes Trait).
Trait). Charlie rolls Strength + Fighting to hit;
the minion reacts with Strength + Fighting to block. Charlie
chooses to go for a called shot (-4 to hit) and spends a Story
      S Point for an extra two dice.
      E GM decides that’s a Strength + Athletics roll, and that it’ll
      L Charlie rolls his Strength (4)
(4) + his Fighting (3) + 4 dice, for a
      U total of 22, -4 for his Called Shot. The minion rolls his Strength
      R (5) + Fighting (4) + 2 dice, for a grand total of 11. Charlie gets
a Fantastic Success, which means he does Strength x 1.5
damage right to the minion’s Resolve. That’s six points of
damage, knocking the minion’s Resolve right down to zero.
He’ss out like a light.
He’
?"#'3'
Chases happen a lot in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣. Chasing after
escaped spies, running from armed minions, 󿬂eeing angry
cops who are less than thrilled at you doing their job for
them and want to arrest you – there’s a lot of running
around. The 󿬁rst important thing in any chase is the speed
of everyone involved.
On foot, your speed is equal to your Coordination.
If you’re in a Vehicle, your speed is equal to the speed of
the vehicle plus your Coordination. More details of vehi-
cles and their speeds can be found with the equipment
(see page 152).
If the way is without barriers, obstacles or other problems,
then moving is pretty easy and you don’t need to roll.
Simple obstacles, such as low pipes, slippery 󿬂oor or the
sudden appearance of a cat jumping out in front of you
will need a normal roll, Coordination and a suitable Skill
– Athletics if you’re running, Transport if you’re in a vehicle.
You can go faster than your speed as well, but it’ll require a
• The office at the
the back (1 area)
125
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅: 󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅󰁘 󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁂󰁁󰁔 
Charlie McCoy, Runt and Wild Bill are in trouble. They were
chasing an escaped gorilla – when they blundered into a
warehouse and interrupted a confrontation between armed
gangsters. One of the criminals assumed it was a police raid,
and pulled a gun. Time for combat!
Everyone declares their actions. The gorilla
gorill a is going to attack.
Charlie declares he’s getting everyone into cover. Wild Bill
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
it. The gangsters are all firing at Charlie.
Now, onto actions. The gorilla is the only Fast creature present,
which means it goes first regardless of its Coordination. It
leaps into the middle of the gangsters and lashes out at one
of them. The GM doesn’t even bother rolling – she just declares
that the gangster’s skull is crushed by the beast’s blow.
blow.
Next, it’s the Average-speed characters.
characters. Charlie and Wild Bill
both have Coordination 4, but Charlie’s got a higher Awareness,
so he goes first. He pushes Wild Bill and Runt into cover.
cover. The
count as Wild Bill and Runt’s Reaction for the round too if
Charlie rolls well enough.
enough.
Wild Bill’s the next to act. He fires a shot from his rifle rolling
against Coordination + Marksman. The gorilla can dodge,
rolling Coordination + Athletics, but is at a -2 penalty because
this is its first Reaction in the round. Wild Bill hits, and the
drugged mercy bullet thuds into the gorilla’s hairy thigh. The T he
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
at Charlie, but he’
he’ss in cover. The GM decides they’ll shoot at
the gorilla instead. They’re at a -2 penalty for changing their
at
intent; their Marksman attack is resisted by the gorilla’s
Coordination + Athletics. The gorilla can use the same reaction
react ion
as it used to resist Wild Bill’s shot. A hail of mostly inaccurate
gunfire blasts around the warehouse. The enraged gorilla
roars in pain as it is shot half a dozen times.
Finally, Runt acts. He pops up and throws a rock. He misses
Finally,
the gorilla, but gets a ‘No, But’ result – he doesn’t hit the
ape, but he does hit one of the gangsters right between
the eyes.
Everyone’s acted this round. The gorilla’s drugged and se-
verely wounded, but it still goes first next round. Unless the
team come up with something
somethi ng very clever, the enraged great
ape is going to cause more havoc before the gangsters shoot
it to death󲀦
pushing yourself a little too far. You reduce the number of
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
Disastrous Result could mean that your vehicle, or yourself,
 roll (again, Coordination and either Athletics or Transport).
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
I f you fail, you’ve tripped or scraped the
vehicle and it’s slowed you down - that’s the risk you take for
126
93@@#&-
Sometimes the way isn’t always clear, but often worrying
about the terrain can slow things down - literally. If the
way isn’t simply open roads or skies, the characters may
have to make Coordination and Athletics or Transport
rolls to see how the terrain e ff ects
ects the way ahead. The
Difficulty of entering an Area with such a terrain can be
determined using the guidelines below. Roll just as if you
were trying to go faster than your normal Speed (see above),
only the Difficulty is determined by the terrain. Success
means the character can travel through as normal, possi-
bly even faster than their speed, failure means that the
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.
similar.
()@')&$d
Chases are a simple case of comparing how fast the two
(or more) people are moving. Most chases will start with
the various people 2 or 3 Areas away from each other, it’ll
depend on the situation and how the chase starts.
In a chase, it is
i s an Extended Con󿬂ict, just as any other. The
winner gets away or catches up, depending on where they
are in the chase.
chase . If the way is tricky,
tricky, there can be modi 󿬁ers.
However, chases are meant to be played fast, quick and
exciting, so the rules are designed to be as simple as pos-
sible. If at any time, the Gamemaster decides this is slowing
things down, ignore the rules and run with it - literally.
However,, if it is important
However i mportant to resolve an outcome of a chase
in detail, the following rules should break it down into a
simple, yet exciting series of Action Rounds.
Each Action Round, simply compare the Speeds of both
characters involved. Look at the Speed of the person
running away, and take away the Speed of the person
pursuing them.
If the number of Areas between the characters is reduced
to Zero (0), then the pursuer has caught up with the
pursued. If the number of Areas between them increas-
es over 6, then the pursued usually escapes. In some
circumstances, where visibility is particularly poor, this
may be reduced (such as a busy city center). The same
goes for the reverse, in open space or the countryside,
where you can see the target a long way off , the number
of Areas required to escape may be increased at the Gam-
emaster’s discretion.
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙  󰁔󰁅󰁒󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁎
6 Open road
9 Open ground, field
12 Normal street, average traffic and pedestrians
takes some damage from crashing or tripping over.
Action!
?28B#$ &- ?"#'3'
Characters can shoot at each other while engaged in a
chase. Shooting at a target ahead while running or driving
is easier than shooting behind. Remember, they will have
used their Action running or driving, so will have a -2
penalty before taking into account that the target will be
moving (another -2 penalty, or more if they are in vehicles
traveling at very diff erent
erent speeds, and another -2 if shoot-
ing behind them and then there’s
there’s the chance of crashing
into something). It’s not going to be easy to hit them (unless
the vehicle is huge, making it a little easier to hit), so the
best bet is to try to catch up or force them to stop.
F2&-6 C283$"&-6 ?@#W5 
There’s nothing like doing something crazy to make a
Chase more exciting. It can be anything that has a bit of
danger involved, from vaulting over a fence when running
on foot to driving your motorcycle on the pavement, to
driving a car through a department store or the wrong
way down a highway. The crazier the stunt, the more
difficult it is going to be, however if you’re successful, it
could mean a quick escape. If you’re feeling daring you
can opt to do a “Stunt”. The player can determine what it
is, and the Difficulty of stunt. The player will have to beat
this Difficulty to perform the stunt - failing this and the
7
stunt goes wrong and they risk crashing or tripping over.
If they succeed, the NPC will have to repeat the stunt to
keep up, at the same Difficulty. Any diff erence
erence in success
levels (Fantastic, Good, Success, etc) between those per-
forming the stunts can widen or shorten the distance
between them by as many Areas as the diff erence.
erence.
Diff erent
erent characters and creatures can use diff erenterent
methods of doing stunts. If you
you’re
’re being chased by a bull,
you might scramble over a fence by rolling Coordinati
Coordinationon
+ Athletics. That bull, though, is just going to try smashing
through the fence with Strength + Athletics.
?22+3@#$&-6 &- # ?"#'3
Of course, if there are multiple people involved in the
chase each should roll separately. This way, if someone is
particularly slow, there’s a good chance that they’ll be
caught. It’ll be up to the rest of the group to see if they
hold back and wait for them. If someone is slow and
holding the group up, they can act as a whole, with the
faster characters
characters aiding the slower to escape. In this case,
 15 Busy street, stairs, undergrowth
18 Loose rub
rubbl
blee, de
dense fo
forest, la
ladd
ddeers, ve
very cr
crowde
dedd st
street du
during ru
rush ho
hour
ur..
21 Swamp, mountainous

127

Pulp Fantastic
the characters all roll separately as before, but the slow
character can be helped along with the other characters
providing a bonus using the Cooperation rules (see above,
page 120).
120). Remember though, when you’re being chased
by an Eldritch Abomination, you don’t have to be faster
than the monster, you just need to be faster than your
team-mates!
Losing a Physical Confict:
73$$&-6 ;)@$
Sometimes the injury is so small that there’s no heavy
paperwork involved. The Gamemaster may just remember
your injury and say that you may be walking slower due
to that twisted ankle, or that you can’t reach that item on
the top shelf cause of the pain in your arm.
If injuries are severe enough, you may 󿬁nd that one or
more of the character’s Attributes are reduced. Which
Attribute is down to the actual source of injury. It should
      S be logical to the story and to the event - for example, falling
falli ng
      E a distance and failing to land safely may result in a loss of
      L
Coordination from a leg injury, or possibly Strength.
      U
      R Getting shot could mean you’d
you’d lose Strength, Coordination
(if it’s in a limb), or Resolve. In most cases, the Gamemas-
ter will dictate which Attributes are aff ected.
ected.
Most sources of injury will have a number or a letter next
to it to indicate the damage the character would take from
it. These are explained in the handy sidebar.
N3K3*' 2I L-e)@5  is killed on a Bad or Disastrous result. On a Failure, the
All sources of injury, whether they are weapons, falls,
poisons, or worse, will have a value attached to it. This is
usually a number, or in some cases S (for Stun) or L (for
Lethal). In most of these cases, the numerical value refers
to the “middle” eff ect
ect (a Good or Bad). This is halved for a
Failure (or a Success if you’re trying to in󿬂ict the injury),
or multiplied by 1.5 for a Disastrous (or Fantastic if you
you’re
’re
doing the harming). Remember to round down to the
nearest whole number unless this is zero.
S or Stun results mean that the target is rendered uncon-
scious. At the Gamemasters discretion, the character may
be able to perform a last desperate act before passing out,
such
Stun eas ecrying
cts lastaaround
ff ects
warning
30or pressingbut
minutes, a button. Normal
cause no actual
physical injury (aside from minor bruising when the char-
acter hits the 󿬂oor). On a Disastrous result the character
is unconscious for 45 minutes, and on a Failure the char-
acter is incapacitated for just 15 minutes. However, the
Gamemaster may amend these durations according to the
source of the damage and the needs of the story.
On recovering consciousness, the character may feel
queasy, aching and a little unwell, though this should
soon pass.
L or Lethal results mean that the attack is normally in-
stantly fatal. In the Pulps such attacks were rare and were
usually limited to the toxins and rare venoms employed
by evil masterminds and their assassins. Lethal attacks
are included in the game as a reminder
reminde r that there are some
enemies the player characters really should stay away
from, and they also encourage planning and tactical think-
thin k-
ing when facing terrible danger.
A character on the wrong end of a Lethal attack can spend
Story Points to avoid it. If they cannot, then the character
character manages to avoid death, but su ff ers ers a serious
injury as a result of diving out the way of the attack (at
least 4 points of damage).

󰁖󰁅󰁈󰁉󰁃󰁌󰁅 󰁃󰁏󰁌󰁌󰁉󰁓󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓  
If a vehicle smashes into something like a person, a large creature or another vehicle, both the vehicle and the victim take damage.
damag e.
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.
d amage. This is resolved like an attack; the driver of the vehicle must
mu st 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’
there’ss now an angry
a ngry giant ape loose on Broadway.
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,
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
damag e 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).

128

Action!

󰁗󰁈󰁉󰁃󰁈 󰁁󰁔󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁂󰁕󰁔󰁅? 󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁄󰁏󰁍 󰁌󰁏󰁃󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓
A lot of the time, the Attribute effected is determined
deter mined by the If the action doesn’t instantly provide you with inspiration
source of the injury.
injury. For example, if the character is shot
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.
randomly below.
tributes most suit the injury
injury.. In this case, he thinks
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
i njury 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
they ’re less able to move about
󰁃󰁁󰁌󰁌󰁅󰁄

quite so easily.
easily
final point . Andbefinally,
should finally, the Gamemaster
lost from Strength, duedecides that a
to his newly
󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌
󰁒󰁏󰁌󰁌 󰁌󰁏󰁃󰁁
󰁌󰁏󰁃󰁁󰁔󰁉
󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
󰁏󰁎 󰁓󰁈󰁏󰁔  󰁁󰁔󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁂󰁕󰁔󰁅  󰁒󰁅󰁄󰁕󰁃󰁅󰁄
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙
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,
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,
body,
arms or legs. What would the injury effect?
effect? A blow to the Success and 4 on a Fantastic).
Fantastic). If they have a Strength of 5,
head would probably
p robably 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,
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
red uced by the injury
injur y. 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
in jury.. 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
one or more Attributes by a total of six levels on a Bad tish
thenclaymore and you
it’s both heavy really
and sharpneed to use
so it’s it two-handed,
Strength +4. If it’s
result. A Failure would knock this 󿬁gure 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
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
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,
󿬁gure 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
it’s 4 for Failure, damage.
8 for Bad and 12 for a Disastrous.

󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁉󰁓󰁔󰁁󰁎󰁃󰁅 󰁆󰁁󰁉󰁌󰁅󰁄󲀦 󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅
P#@>'8#- F#8#63
1-3 (Normal Failure)   ½ damage Shooting something is a diff erent
erent 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 󿬁res it. See individual weapon
descriptions starting on page 141 for
141 for how much damage
 ,&6"$&-6 F#8#63 a bullet does on a Normal/Good/Fantastic result.
When it comes to close, physical
p hysical 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

129

Pulp Fantastic
this damage every ten seconds or so, so you’re going to
󰁉󰁔’󰁓 󰁁 󰁋󰁎󰁏󰁃󰁋󰁏󰁕󰁔! have to 󿬁nd 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
m ake a Called Shot (-2
(-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’
 Fire’ss a tricky one, as it can depend upon how big the
ously, you can’t do this with a lot of weapons – trying to 󿬁re is. The way we’ll handle it is actually avoiding catching
catchin g
knock someone out with a chainsaw is impossible. on 󿬁re yourself. This way, you can run through a burning
building, 󿬁ght 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 󿬁replace – it’s
character wakes, though they may have a headache and a
bad bruise. all
thehandled
difficultythe same
if the way. The Gamemaster will change
󿬁re is particularly intense, but a failure
means that you’ve caught 󿬁re in some way – an item of
󰁉󰁔’󰁓 󰁁 󰁋󰁎󰁏󰁃󰁋󰁂󰁁󰁃󰁋! clothing has caught alight, or worse. Roll Strength +
Resolve if you’re walking through 󿬂ames, or Co-Ordination
If a character is hit by something big, the GM may rule that + Resolve if you’re trying to bat out 󿬂ames or avoid touch-
he’s been knocked back instead of taking the full force of ing the 󿬂ames 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 󿬂ames to totally
is sent flying and is stunned for a few rounds. How long are engulf a person. A Bad
B ad 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 󿬁re after suff ering
ering 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.
      S E$"3@ C2)@.3' 2I L-e)@5 
      E If you’re in an environment where the oxygen content of
      L Falls: Falling can result from failing at climbing some- the atmosphere is higher, then 󿬁re does more damage.
      U thing, failing to jump over a gap or run around obstacles. 2 󿬁
      R The distance fallen determines
d etermines how much damage taken Conversely,
intensely. a lower O  atmosphere makes res burn less
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
roll and this is the value
value for a Bad result, Gamemasterr will assign a damage level depending upon
Gamemaste
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 re󿬂ects some- make rolls using their Strength and any suitable Skill
thing breaking your fall, managing to land on a ledge (usually Survival, modi󿬁ed by Traits) to avoid exposure.
(albeit a little painfully),
pai nfully), catching yourself on the way down
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.
d eath.
Crashes: Most vehicles are designed to protect the pas-
sengers (with the exception of bikes, and other forms of The same eff ect
ect can be used for exposure
exposu re 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
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
traveling 8 Areas in its action does 8 points of damage 󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅 
(on a Bad result when trying to avoid it, halved for a Failure, 󰁔󰁅󰁍󰁐󰁅󰁒󰁁󰁔󰁕󰁒󰁅 (󰁎󰁏󰁒󰁍󰁁󰁌  - 󰁂󰁁󰁄 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁕󰁌󰁔)
or ×1.5 for a Disastrous). Passengers in a vehicle that hits
something suff er er the same damage, only reduced by the Aboove 55
Ab 55 Deg
Degrree
eess Cel
Celsi
sius
us 5 pe
per 5mi
5mins
ns
armor protection of the car. If the car that was traveling Aboove 45
Ab 45 Deg
Degrree
eess Cel
Celsi
sius
us 3 per
per hou
ourr
at 8 Areas then hits a brick
bri ck wall, if the car provided 4 levels Aboove 30
Ab 30 Deg
Degrree
eess Cel
Celsi
sius
us 1 per
per da
dayy
of armor protection (see vehicles, on page 149),
149), each
passenger takes 4 levels of damage. Belo
Below
w -5 De
Degr
greees Cels
lsiu
iuss 1 pe
perr da
dayy

Drowning: Drowning, like falling, is the result of failing Belo

Below
w -20
-20 De
Degr
gree
eess Cel
Celsi
sius
us 3 per
per hou
hourr
a roll. This time it comes from failing at swimming or Belo
Below
w -40
-40 De
Degr
gree
eess Cel
Celsi
sius
us 5 per
per 5m
5min
inss
holding your breath in a 󿬂ooded area. A Bad result will
mean the character sustains 8 levels of damage (usually These 󿬁gures 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 󿬁gures or make
 choked a little and have hurt yourself but you’re okay to
try again. Disastrous
Disastr ous result is Lethal, so let’s hope you have
some Story Points to knock it up to a level or two. If you’re
trapped in a 󿬂ooded room or location, you’re going to take
up their own to suit the situation.
Oxygen Deprivation: Some environments have greater
or lesser percentages of oxygen in their atmospheric com-
position. A lower partial pressure of oxygen is like being

130

Action!

on top of a very tall mountain – the air

ai r is thin and it’
i t’ss 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
󰁧󰁭 may choose to hit you with Resolve or Strength damage, the strange, unusual or dangerous
d angerous variety.
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 󿬁ghting.) covered, so that diseases that are easily treatable in the
modern era can be life threatening in the age of the
t he 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 + Resolv
Resolvee 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 aff ected
ected 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 suff ers
ers
current from a domestic supply is very diff erent
erent to pushing the damage and side-eff ects
ects listed under the description
them into an industrial transformer.
transformer. of the disease. Once infected, the character must make a
similar roll to 󿬁ght the disease every day. To fully recover
Poison: Poison is a special form of damage.
d amage. 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
resistanc e rolls as listed
with it. The poison takes eff ect
ect 1d6 rounds after the initial
on the disease table. A Failure in󿬂icts the diseases damage
bite. When it starts
sta rts to take eff ect,
ect, 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 Eff ect
ect table below.
character has met or exceeded the required number of
󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁉󰁓󰁔󰁁󰁎󰁃󰁅 󰁆󰁁󰁉󰁌󰁅󰁄 󰁂󰁙 󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁕󰁌󰁔
successes, he has beaten the disease and is considered
fully recovered and free from side-e ff ects.
ects.
1-3 (Normal) The character takes extra damage 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 Di fficulty
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 suff ers
ers 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 aff ects
Ingenuity ects 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

fungal infections all lie in wait in the sweltering jungles
Century,
half killing
of them an estimated
in Europe. Caused75
bymillion people,
the Yersina almost
Pestis bac-
or lurk below the radar in isolated populations. As a rule, terium, the disease is spread by 󿬂eas 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 󿬂u (unless it is used for comedy value, caemic and Pneumonic. Both the bubonic and septicaemic

󰁄󰁉󰁓󰁅󰁁󰁓󰁅 󰁔󰁁󰁂󰁌󰁅
󰁎󰁁󰁍󰁅 󰁖󰁅󰁃󰁔󰁏󰁒 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙 󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅 󰁒󰁅󰁃󰁏󰁖󰁅󰁒󰁙 󰁓󰁕󰁃󰁃󰁅󰁓󰁓󰁅󰁓

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
Rabies Infected animal bites
Spanish Flu Airborne, Body Fluids
Pulp Fantastic
forms are transmitted by 󿬂ea bites, while the pneumonic
form is airborne via the exhalations of infected carriers
and is the only form of plague that can be spread from
person to person. Due to the ease of transmissi
transmission,
on, plague
was used as one of the earliest forms of biological weapon,
with infected corpses dumped in water supplies or cata-
pulted over city walls to spread the disease.
Once a patent is infected, the bacterium multiplies rapidly,
rapidly,
with an incubation period of 2-6 days (1-3 for the pneumon-
ic form) before the patient becomes ill. Symptom
Symptomss include;
Bubonic Plague: Headache, alternating fever and chills,
physical weakness and one or more painfully swollen
lymph nodes (buboes, usually closest to where the bacte-
rium entered the body).
Septicaemic Plague: Abdominal pain, alternating fever
and chills, extreme physical weakness and – in extreme
cases – subcutaneous bleeding. Gangrene of the extrem-
ities can occur.
Pneumonic Plague: Headache, fever, physical weakness
      S and shortness of breath, chest pains and a hacking cough.
      E Patients develop a rapidly progressing pneumonia that
      L can cause respiratory failure and shock.
      U
      R If left untreated, all three forms of plague can be fatal,
with a mortality rate of about 66%. Characters infected
with plague suff er
er a -5 penalty to all rolls when attempting
to do anything other than lie in bed and recover
recover..
Smallpox: A serious, contagious and potentially fatal
disease, smallpox is spread by direct contact between
people, and occasionally by contact with infected body
󿬂uids or contaminated clothing or bedding. It is sometimes
airborne within enclosed spaces, but this is rare. After an
incubation period of between 7 and 17 days (during which
the patient is not infectious), symptoms include a high
fever, physical weakness and lassitude, head and body
aches and occasional vomiting. After 2 days the patient
develops a dense rash across the body that develops over
a period of days into hard pustules 󿬁lled with infectious
󿬂uid. These eventually scab over and fall off , leaving pitted
white scars. If treated, the disease usually lasts about 20
days, during which time the patient is too sick to move
around and suff ersers a -6 penalty to all rolls involving any-
thing more than bed-rest and recovery. Death occurs in
about 1% of cases.
Malaria: Caused by parasites carried in the gut of infect-
ed mosquito populations in hot, humid countries, the
disease is a major health hazard in the third world. After
being bitten by an infected mosquito, the patient remains
symptom-free during an incubation period of between 7
symptom-free
and 30 days before su ff ering
ering their 󿬁rst attack. Malaria
attacks typically last between 6 and 10 hours and include
fever, chills, profuse sweating, body aches, nausea and
vomiting, malaise and occasional delirium. These attacks
8 4 10
20 6 Fatal
15 6 10
131
acute kidney failure and potentially death. Once symptoms
manifest the patient
patien t is too sick to move
move around and suff ers
ers
a -6 penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-
rest and recovery. Prophylactic treatments are available
to prevent infection.
Cholera: Caused by the ingestion of water contaminated
contaminated
by the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae. Onset of the disease is
rapid with early symptoms including watery diarrhea
(which is itself highly contagious), nausea and vomiting
vomiting,,
rapid heart rate, dry eyes and mouth, loss of skin elastic-
ity, low blood pressure, thirst, muscle cramps and rest-
lessness or irritability. If left untreated this can lead to
acute renal failure, circulatory collapse, coma, shock and
– in about 50% of cases – death. Once symptoms manifest
manifes t
the patient is too sick to move around and su ff ers
ers a -6
penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-rest
and recovery.
Typhoid Fever: Caused by the bacterium Salmonella
Typhi, typhoid fever is a potentially deadly disease trans-
mitted by the consumption of contaminated food or water.
The disease has a short incubation period and a gradual
onset. Symptoms include fever, headache, constipation,
malaise, chills, and headache, making it hard to distin-
guish from
delirium, other diseases.
intestinal perforatiIn
on,severe
perforation, cases
and death confusion,
may occur. If
untreated, death occurs in about 30% of all cases. Once
symptoms fully manifest the patient is too sick to move
around and suff ers
ers a -7 penalty to all rolls involving any-
thing more than bed-rest and recovery.
Yellow Fever: Caused by a virus transmitt
transmitted
ed by infected
mosquitoes, Yellow Fever has an incubation period of 3 to
7 days. Symptoms are sudden and include chills, fever,
severe headache, back pain, general body aches, nausea
and vomiting, fatigue and physical weakness. The illness
casts several days and usually improves by itself, though
weakness and fatigue may last several months. After a
brief period lasting from 6 to 24 hours, roughly 20 % of
patients develop
symptoms a more
including severe
high fever,form of thebleeding,
jaundice, disease with
and
eventually shock and multiple organ failures. Death
follows in about 50% of severe cases. Once symptoms
manifest the patient
patien t is too sick to move
move around and suff ers
ers
a -4 penalty to all rolls involving anything more than bed-
rest and recovery.
Necrotizing Fasciitis: Caused when a common type of
streptococcus bacterium carried without ill-eff ect
ect by most
people gets into muscle-tissue, the bloodstream or the
lungs, necrotizing fasciitis spreads rapidly and consumes
󿬂esh, fatty tissue and skin. Symptoms include severe rapid
swelling and intense pain at the site of infection, black-
ening of the tissues, Treatment usually involves the exci-
sion or amputation of infected tissue. Pus or 󿬂uids from
infected areas are highly infectious if brought into contact
with open wounds or sores. If left untreated, death occurs
 may reoccur months or even years after the patient has
recovered from the original illness, often corresponding
with periods of stress or ill health. In cases where the
patient is already ill or is suff ering
ering from a pre-existing
condition, severe malaria may set in, resulting in seizures,
132
saliva contained in the bite of an infected animal. The
incubation period from bite to the 󿬁rst symptoms can vary
wildly, from 4 days to 12 weeks. Initial symptoms are similar
to the 󿬂u; headache, chills, fever and body ache, accom-
panied by a severe itching at the site of the bite. During
this period infected characters may still act, but su ff er
er a
-2 penalty on all rolls not involving 󿬁ghting the disease.
Within days these symptoms include delirium, confusion,
hallucinations and erratic or abnormal behavior. Once
these symptoms arise, the disease is almost always fatal.
Later symptoms include extreme terror
terror,, aggression and
hydrophobia.
hydroph obia. During this stage of the disease characters
can no longer act and any treatment involves reducing
their pain and distress.
Spanish Flu: In the years immediately following the Great
War, Spanish Flu infected one-third of the human race
and killed over 100 million human beings in one of the
deadliest disease outbreaks in history. With a very short
incubation period (often as short as 24 hours), symptoms
include weakness, fever, muscle and joint pain, coughing
and loss of appetite. In severe cases the disease would
progress to severe pneumonia, with patients often drown-
ing as their lungs 󿬁lled with 󿬂uid. The disease is extreme-
ly debilitating, and once symptoms have begun to manifest
characters suff erer a -4 penalty
pen alty to all rolls involving anything
more than bed-rest and recovery.
Mental or Social Conficts
Mental and Social Con󿬂icts work in a similar
s imilar way to Phys-
ical Con󿬂icts. Being outwitted, tricked or out-maneuvered
counts as losing a Mental Con󿬂ict, while being argued
into a position, embarrassed or forced to obey an order is
losing a Social Con󿬂ict.
:*)II&-6 Q F3.3+$&2-
Lying and deceit is a vital skill when trying to keep the
existence of the Anomalies a secret. Usually, you’ll roll
Presence + Convince against the other person’s resistance.
If you’re trying to fool someone, then he’d roll Awareness
+ Convince (if they’re trying to see through your bluff ) or
Resolve + Convince
Convince (if they’re trying
tr ying to resist your blather).
Most bluffing attempts can be resolved as a Simple Con󿬂ict
– just roll once and check the result table.
 A@6)
 A@ 6)83
83-$
-$''
Knock-down, drag-out arguments and debates are basi-
cally 󿬁st-󿬁ghts, only with words instead of punches. Use
the standard combat rules, but instead of rolling Strength
+ Fighting, the participants roll Presence + Convince, and
the damage
Presence or gets applied to the loser’s Resolve, Ingenuity,
Awareness.
in 25% of cases. The disease is excruciatingly painful and
infected characters are unable to act once the disease sets
in, which takes about 24 hours.
Rabies: Rabies is a deadly virus transmitted by infected
Action!
cutting verbal jab, bringing in someone’s dark secrets, or
good role-playing
role-playing can increase the damage from an attack
 just like using a tire
t ire iron or a sword or a chainsaw
chain saw can
improve a melee attack.
73$$&-6 '.#@3M
Intimidating someone by threatening them physically is
a simple con󿬂ict – you could use Strength + Convince or
Presence + Fighting (but not Strength + Fighting – that’s
actually punching someone, as opposed to merely looking
dangerous), and is resisted by Resolve + Convince or
Resolve + Strength.
Monsters, Eldritch Abominations and other creatures are
a di
diff erent
erent matter. Monsters terrify us out on an instinctive
level. Any creature with a Fear Factor can intimidate
i ntimidate people
by its presence alone. The creature rolls Presence + Resolve
+ its Fear Factor
Factor.. The characters can resist by rolling Resolve
+ Ingenuity.
If you fail a fear test, you’re frozen in terror for one round.
Failing really badly might mean you instinctively 󿬂ee, or
panic, or drop anything you’re holding. If you’ve got the
Brave trait, you can spend a Story Point to resist fear.
7
󰁂󰁅󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁐󰁏󰁓󰁓󰁅󰁓󰁓󰁅󰁄
There are many beings and creatures capable of taking over
the character,
character, controlling their every action and thought.
Defending yourself against an alien consciousness that is
trying to control your mind is a normal Conflict, with the
attacker’s Resolve + Convince against the character’s Resolve
+ Ingenuity (if a battle of wits) or Strength (if a battle of
pure mental power). Any applicable Traits can modify the
Attributes of each side. If the character wins, he retains his
control and sanity. If the character fails, they can opt to spend
Story Points to retain control. If they’re out of Story Points,
the attacker will take control, and the Gamemaster will dictate
what they wish to do.
There may be moments when the character can retain control
for a couple of seconds – stopping themselves from pulling
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-
master may allow you to do this if it develops the story.
How to shake the thrall of possession? It’s going to cost Story
Points, but if you’re already possessed it probably means
you’ve already run out of Story Points, so you’re going to
have to get them from your friends. They can donate Story
Points – a rousing
to remind speech
you of who youofare
support, a meaningful
– anything dialogue
that might bring
 you back to your senses may help.
Called shots can be used in arguments; trying to under-
mine someone’s con󿬁dence 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
133

Pulp Fantastic
or medic (someone with the Medicine Skill) can try to
Losing a Mental or Social Conict 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
N2'' 2I A$$@&B)$3' modi󿬁ers if the injuries are severe or if modern medical
Non-physical attributes like Ingenuity or Resolve can be
supplies are unavailable, or in conditions where infection
is a major threat. Getting injured beyond the reach of
damaged by con󿬂icts. If Wild Bill and Charlie McCoy have
civilization is very dangerous.
a furious argument, then Wild Bill’s Resolve might be
damaged
This worksand
justhis temper
like spills
physical over into
damage, butother
heals situations.
a lot faster. This sort of medical assistance can only be done once for
each injury.
injury. That is, if you are injured
i njured from a fall, reducing
your Coordination
Coordination by 1, someone can try to patch you up
Most con󿬂icts won’t in󿬂ict damage like this; save it for
and restore that missing level. If they fail, it cannot be
attacks that really
real ly hurt the character emotionally
emotion ally,, 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
938+2@#@5
938+2@#@5 :#M 9@#&$ have all 3 points of injury restored.
Another possible result of a lost Con󿬂ict 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
󿬁culty is 12, but the Di fficulty should be increased by one
Trait. This is especially appropriate for social con 󿬂icts that
only aff ect
ect a set group of people. For example, if a charac-
for every Attribute the character has that is at zero. Severe
      S injuries are going to be harder to patch up, and sometimes
ter commits a massive social blunder at a high-class party,
      E then his Presence and Resolve are unaff ected
ected – he’s still
the best thing for them is a trip to the nearest hospital.
      L
as commanding and determined as ever – but he may pick
      U
      R up the Unattractive Trait when dealing with anyone who
P)*$&+*3 L-e)@&3' #-M 13M).3M
knows about his faux pas.
 A$$@
 A$ $@&B
&B)$
)$3'
3'
,2@.3M 92 ?28+*5  All this talk of losing Attribute points, there can be a time
The most likely result of a social or mental con 󿬂ict that when the character has lost a lot of points. When an At-
the character is compelled to go along with some sugges- tribute reaches zero, the character is unable to do anything
tion. For non-player characters, this works perfectly well. related to that Attribute. So what does that mean for each
Attribute?
What happens if one player character gets into a Social
Con󿬂ict with another, or is on the losing side of a con󿬂ict Zero Awareness may
may mean that one or more of their senses
sen ses
with an NPC? If your character loses a Social Con 󿬂ict, have been temporarily impaired, leaving them unable to
you’ve got two options: move around on their own. They’re so dazed or unable to
tell what is going on around them that they will not know
Go along with it. People get talked into doing the wrong what is happening, or may be unable to communicate.
thing all the time, or make bad decisions. Letting your char-
acter act
act against
against his best and avoid the social
s ocial compulsi
compulsion.
on. Zero Coordination, they’ll be 󿬂ailing around as if they’d
had one too many at the local bar. They’ll keep falling over
or tripping over the slightest thing, over reaching for items,
i tems,
;3#*&-6 knocking everything over. Probably best just to sit down
and hope to recover.
D#$)@#* ;3#*&-6 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
adventure,, where very little
conscious, they will refuse or be unable to communicate
c ommunicate
time passes
ly at the between, injuries
Gamemaster’sinjuri es will be kept, or healed slight-
discretion.
with anyone, shunning
shunning contact with others as they seem
threatening.
 P3M&.d Zero Resolve means they’ve
they’ ve given up completely
comple tely,, 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

overwhelmi ng instruc-
tions, striking out at everyone nearby.
Zero Strength, they’re likely to collapse to the 󿬂oor, unable
to even stand. The character will have to be carried and
will probably not have enough strength to defend or help
themselves.
Hitting zero in an Attribute is pretty bad, and it may be
that your character may develop a Bad Trait to re 󿬂ect the
lasting eff ects
ects of hitting zero. Reaching zero in more than
one Attribute and things get serious. If three or more
Attributes reach zero, not only will the character be almost
unable to do anything, they’re so badly injured that there
is a good chance that they’ll be killed. See Getting Killed,
page 139.
C$2@5 (2&-$'
You’ve heard the term Story Points used many times so
far, and each player should already have some marked
down on their character sheet. Before everyone starts
playing, the Gamemaster will hand out a number of
tokens to each player equal to their Story Points. That
way, when they spend a Story Point, they simply hand
the token back to the Gamemaster rather than having to
rub
you out
cannumbers constantly
see through onGamemaster
it. If the the characterrewards
sheet until
the
players for good play or aiding the story,
story, he’ll hand some
back to you. Simple as that.
But what do they do and how are they used?
Story Points are used to tweak the course of events in a
player’ss favor. It’s not just the players
player’ p layers 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 󿬂owing freely back and forth across the table.
tabl e.

7
 135

Pulp Fantastic
Story Points can be used in many diff erent
erent 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 󿬁nal 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 󿬁ve
work in the game.
Story Points to get a Fantastic result.

?*)3' 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 Con󿬂ict 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.
L6-2@3 F#8#63
:2-)' F&.3 Getting hurt...hurts. As damage is applied straight to your
character’ss Attributes, every injury you suff er
character’ er 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
      S
      E the universe may revolve around that one roll, then it Strength and Coordination, your future rolls to escape the
      L may be that the player will want to spend a Story Point  jaguar are going
going to be severel
severelyy penalized.
penalized. Spending a Story
Story
      U ff 
      R to add a little
prepare forto the
the roll.and
task, Thetakes
character
de epsteels
a deep themselv
themselves
breath. es
In game Point lets
one roll a character
– you use yourignore any damage
full Attribute he’sofsu
instead ered for
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”,
“1’s”, but
there is a chance you could succeed phenomenally well.
The player will have to judge if the task is worth spend-
L6-2@&-6 :#M 9@#&$'
ing those valuable Story Points. If you spend even more A lot of Bad Traits push you to act in a certain way – if
Story Points before you roll, you get one extra dice per you’re Forgetful or Impulsive, you’re prone to forgetting
Story Point. key facts or rushing in where the marines fear to tread. If
you don’t act in accordance with such Bad Traits, you’ve
You can also spend Story Points after you roll, but they’re
got to pay Story Points.
less eff ective
ective – spending a Story Point after the roll gives
you one extra dice.
You can spend a maximum of 3 Story Points on any one
L-'+&@&-6 E$"3@'
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
of encouragement or even a kiss. If it’s dramatic, moving,
 AK2&
 AK 2&M&
M&-6
-6 ,#
,#&*
&*)@
)@33 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 󿬁x something an hour or a week later.
where you get to save the day,
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-  A*$3
 A* $3@&
@&-6
-6 $"
$"33 (*
(*2$
2$
acter’s
often befavor
favor.
. For
fatal in example,
a Con󿬂icta–Disastrous
Disast
can berous result –up
bumped w hich
which cana
one to If you want to alter something in the game world indirect-
 Bad result. A Bad becomes a Failure, a Failure becomes a
Success result, and so on.
If it’s a truly essential roll and you simply have to make it,
you can spend more than one Story Point at a time to
136
guards. You could have a ship turn up when you’re strand-
ed on a remote island. The number of Story Points it takes
to change the story is up to the 󰁧󰁭.
The one rule when it comes to altering the plot (apart from
the usual rule about everything being ultimately up to the
Gamemaster) is that you can’t use Story Points to save the
day or solve a problem directly. For example, say you’re
being held hostage in a derelict factory by a deranged
madman. You couldn’t say ‘oh, a big piece of industrial
machinery fallsHowever,
can shoot us.’ on top of him
you and squishes
could say ‘󰁧󰁭him before
, how manyhe
Story Points would it cost for there to be a big piece of
industrial machinery that balanced precariously on that
upper walkway? Something that would fall on the madman
if I unexpectedly shove him into that supporting girder?’
󰁓󰁔󰁏󰁒󰁙 󰁐󰁏󰁉󰁎󰁔󰁓 & 󰁎󰁐󰁃󰁓
Most non-player characters don’t have Story Points. They
have to get by without the edge that comes with being the
hero of the story. The exception are the villains. A ‘named’
bad guy gets a few Story Points at the GM’s discretion.
“Bruiser” Malone, a known mob heavy, for example, has 3
Story Points – not as many as most player characters, but
enough to make him a threat. The Crimson Claw has fistfuls
of Story Points to make him a match for the entire group.
You don’t need to be sentient to have Story Points, by the
way. Recurring monsters and animals (like Saber, Siwang
Lung’s pet wolf) could have a stock of Story Points too󲀦
7#&-&-6 C$2@5 (2&-$'
The players can regain Story Points in lots of ways, at the
whim of the Gamemaster.
722M 12*34+*#5&-6
Playing your character to the hilt, coming up with funny
or inspiring lines of dialogue or great stunts, getting into
interesting situations – if you’re having fun and helping
everyone else at the table have fun too, then that should
be rewarded with a few Story Points. Try to give everyone
a chance to shine, keep everyone involved in the story, and
play off  other
 other people’s characters. If one of the other player
p layer
characters is an ex-soldier who’s job is to protect your
scientist, then
the n give her a chance to show off  her
 her character’s
chara cter’s
combat skills by bumbling into danger. Try to make the
other players the hero of the show.
G8B@#.&-6 :#M 9@#&$'
If your Bad Traits really impede you, you can claim a
Story Point. Better, if you suggest ways your Bad
B ad Traits
ly,, you may be able to buy
ly b uy your wish with Story Points. You
could spend a Story Point to have help arrive in the nick
of time, or to have something distract a hungry bear before
it eats you. You could have an NPC fall in love with your
character, or be mistaken for a new recruit by the villains’
Action!
?28+*3$&-6 72#*'
If your team completes goals, like breaking up spy-rings
and recovering stolen treasures, that’s worth Story Points.
Solving puzzles and 󿬁nding a key clue that leads you to
the next scene should also be rewar
rewarded.
ded.
 A..3
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Sometimes, the characters have very, very bad luck. The
weird invention
A stupid malfunctions
cop panics at exactly
and takes the wrong
a pot-shot at themoment.
escaped
gorilla you just calmed down. The backup you called for is
stuck in traffic and never arrives. You run out of ammo at
 just the wrong momen
moment.
t. The Femm
Femmee Fatale
Fatale slips awa
away
y and
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
worth a few Story Points in recompense.
This doesn’t mean that the 󰁧󰁭 has to pay for every horri-
ble event and dangerous situation the characters encoun-
ter – only when he pushes the characters into really nasty
situations and gives them no chance to back out. You don’t
don’t
get Story Points if you’re sent to capture a spy, but you
might get a Story Point if the spy’s lethal girlfriend follows
you home with mayhem in mind.
7
;3*+&-6 E)$
Players who help out should be rewarded. Buying snacks
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,
carpoolin g, cleaning up
afterward – throwing a few Story Points at players who go
above and beyond is good practice.
P#H&8)8 C$2@5 (2&-$'
When the characters were created they were given a Story
Point total - this is their maximum Story Points between
adventures. As the adventure progresses, the character can
hold more Story Points than this, though usually this is
building up to a big expenditure at the story’s
story’s climax. When
the adventure is over, the characters usually heal all their
wounds,, and if their Story Points are above their maximum,
wounds
they are reduced back to the maximum level. If they have
less than that, the Gamemaster will just replenish what
they think is 󿬁tting depending upon how well they play.
play.
N3#@-&-6 #-M L8+@2K383-$
While the Pulps weren’t known for character development,
characters in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 aren’t static – they can
learn from their adventures and pick up new skills. Over
time, if the Gamemaster allows it, the players can improve
 make your character’s life harder, that’s definitely worth
Story Points.
Pulp Fantastic
 A$$@
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Attributes can be changed, but it takes a long time and
plenty of hard work. Increasing an Attribut
Attributee should be a
noteworthy event, and takes several months of training
and discipline. It costs (󿬁ve + the Attribute’s current level)
Experience Points to raise an Attribute.
󰁎󰁅󰁗 󰁁󰁔󰁔󰁒󰁉󰁂󰁕󰁔󰁅 󰁌󰁅󰁖󰁅󰁌 󰁃󰁏󰁓󰁔
2 6
3 7
4 8
5 9
6 10
C>&**'
Basic skills can be picked up easily – a character gains one
Experience Point after each game session. A new skill level
      S
costs an equal number of Experience Points. So, buying a
new skill costs 1 point, raising a skill from level 1 to 2 costs
      E two points, from 2 to 3 costs three points and so on. This
      L
means that it costs a whopping 21 (1+2+3+4+5+6) Experi-
      U
      R ence Points to bring a skill up from scratch to 6.
New Areas of Expertise cost 1 point each.
9@#&$'
In general, Traits shouldn’t be bought with Experience –
they should be awarded based on events in game. However,
if the 󰁧󰁭 agrees, players can buy new Minor Good Traits
for two points each, and new Major Good Tr aits for four 
Traits
points each.
Taking new Bad Traits doesn’t get you bonus Experience
Points. The 󰁧󰁭 may allow you to buy o ff  some
  some existing
Bad Traits with experience.
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You can raise your Maximum Story Points with experience,
at the cost of 2 Experience Points per added Story Point.
N3#K&-6 $"3 7#83
Eventually, every character leaves the game. Sometimes,
it will be the best possible ending
endi ng for the character – you’ve
told their story,
story, they have accomplished what they
t hey set out
to do, they accomplish something wonderful and heroic
with their 󿬁nal action, or you just want to play something
else. Other characters die when you really want them to
survive – you spend every Story Point, you 󿬁ght 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,
their character’s abilities. After each game session, each
character gains one Experience Point (an especially gen-
erous 󰁧󰁭 might grant extra experience points after espe-
cially important game sessions or at the end of a big plot
arc or season 󿬁nale).
137
󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁓󰁔󰁏󰁒󰁙 󰁐󰁏󰁉󰁎󰁔 󰁅󰁃󰁏󰁎󰁏󰁍󰁙
The Gamemaster should keep an eye on the players’ Story
Point stockpiles. If the players have lots of Story Points, then
they can handle big challenges and added complications. If
they’ve got few or no Story Points, they’re in danger of being
overwhelmed, and it’s a good idea to give them a breather
from the action. Use Story Points as a guide for pacing the
game. Build up to an extended action sequence where the
PCs spend most of their Story Points, then throw
throw in a quiet
interlude where the characters find a place to hide, take stock
of their situation and role-play to earn some points back,
and then hit them with the final threat.
73$$&-6 O&**3M
If a character is reduced to zero in three Attributes,
Attributes, he is
in big trouble and is probably dead, especially if one of
those Attributes is Strength. The Gamemaster has the
󿬁nal word, of course. Characters can also be killed by other
means – if someone’
someon e’ss holding a gun to your head, and they
pull the trigger, don’t bother arguing that the gun does a
maximum of 10 damage and you’ve got Strength 6 and
Resolvee 6. Some situations override the usual rules.
Resolv
,2@.3M $2 N3#K3
Circumstances may force your character to give up ad-
venturing. Maybe your superiors kick you out, or every-
one suspects you of being in league with the enemy.
Maybe you get trapped in a Lost World, or possessed by
a sentient parasite, or brainwashed by an Evil Master-
mind. If your character can’t be part of the Group Frame-
work any more, it’s time to go. It’s a bad idea to have two
‘groups’ of player characters for an inde󿬁nite period – if
your character can’t work with the group, it’s time for
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
that does not work in the long term.)
?"22'&-6 $2 N3#K3
Your character may choose to leave the game, becoming
a non-player character. Give the character sheet to the 󰁧󰁭 
– the character may come back as a special guest in a future
adventure! Talk to the 󰁧󰁭 if you want to bring an old
character back to the game.
 victory wouldn’t mean anything in the game.
138
he Pulp Era is an age of ingenuity and wild invention,
T where the fantastic dreams of the future seemed on
the verge of becoming real. Pulp heroes equip them-
selves with a wide array of cunning technology, and the
villains do likewise. The miracles of modern science and
the ancient wisdom of distant lands hold the promise of
great advances for humanity
humani ty,, and the threat
th reat of great power
p ower
for those with the will to seize it.
This chapter details some of the equipment used by heroic
adventurer and despicable mastermind alike, giving you
the tools to explore dangers as far away as lost lands and
as close as the bad side of town.
9@#++&-6' K' 7@2)+ 9@#&$'
There are three ways to obtain equipment in 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮-
󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 – through your Trappings, through Group Traits,
and getting it in the course of play.
Trappings are things your character owns. You get them
by having the appropriate skills – a character with a Trans-
port skill of 3 or more has a car, a character with a Tech-
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 stu ff   All Weird Technology is at least Rare. Unless the 󰁧󰁭 spe-
you happen to have on you, or can easily lay your hands
on. Trappings are limited to Uncommon items in general.
If your Trapping is destroyed, it’s gone forever. Your car,
for example, is a Trapping; you own it, but if it gets stepped
on by an over-sized gorilla
gorill a during a rampage ini n New York,
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-
zation – you can only use them on an o fficial mission, and
they’re not for personal use. If an item obtained through
a Group Trait is destroyed, you can get a replacement by
returning to your base.
Finally,, you can obtain items in the course of play by buying
Finally
them, 󿬁nding them, stealing them or being given them.
EB$#&-&-6 GV)&+83-$
Chapter 8
Equipment
the high street or order them by mail. You can get Common
items without any problems. Note that this doesn’t mean
they’re cheap, just that getting hold of one is easy. For
example, cars are Common. That doesn’t mean that they
don’t cost money; it means that a character can borrow a
car off  a
 a friend or relative easily
easily if he needs one.
Uncommon items are available, but only through spe-
cialized dealers. If your character has an appropriate trait
(like the right Friends), or the necessary skills (an Area
of Expertise in the relevant 󿬁eld), or if you’ve got the
necessary backing through
th rough Group Traits (like, say
say,, you’re
working
mon items forwithout
the government),
too much dithen you Ifcan
fficulty. youget Uncom-
don’t have
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
if you’re a civilian.
Rare items are either very expensive, cutting-edge gadgets,
or very hard to 󿬁nd. Getting a Rare item requires having
the right Group Trait (Armory for weapons, Motor Pool
for vehicles and so on) or 󿬁nding a way to get one during
an adventure.
ci󿬁cally allows it, you can’t get Weird Technology except
by inventing it yourself or 󿬁nding it in play.
Unique items are literally
literally one of a kind. Getting a Unique
item means having the right Base Trait or 󿬁nding it in play,
play,
or building it yourself
yourself..
73-3@#* GV)&+83-$
This section covers the wide variety of general gear avai
avail-
l-
able to adventurers of all sorts.
General equipment mostly does not need any special rules.
Players are free to equip their characters with whatever
they think they are likely to need in the form of tools,
clothes, personal eff ects,
ects, and other sundry items. Gener-
ally these do not a ff ect
ect Skill or Attribute rolls in any way,
though they may be necessary for the eff ective
ective use of some
skills. For example, repairing an engine without a proper
toolkit is difficult and should be performed at a penalty,
 One thing you won’t 󿬁nd in this equipment chapter are and treating a wound without a 󿬁rst 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 󿬁nal
 J2) ;#K
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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
always carry with you thanks to an Instinct,
Instin ct, 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 󰁧󰁭 that he’s taking a hunting ri󿬂e with
batteries last as long as needed during adventures, only
running down when dramatically appropriate.
appropriate.
him every time he leaves
l eaves the country – it’s always assumed
to be in his travel chest.

GV)&+83-$ 9"#$0' D2$ N&'$3M 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
󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 takes place in our world of the 1920’s you can justify it to the 󰁧󰁭. 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 ri󿬂e 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 󰁧󰁭.
Losing equipment is a bigger problem. A lot of Yes, But...
successes may involve losing key bits of gear. Some skills
      S 󰁂󰁕󰁙󰁉󰁎󰁇  󰁕󰁓󰁅󰁄 cannot be used without the appropriate equipment.
      E
      L For some objects, a character can try to go the cheaper route
and buy used. Used car lots, used book stores, second-hand 󰁏󰁐󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁁󰁌 󰁒󰁕󰁌󰁅: 󰁐󰁌󰁁󰁎󰁎󰁉󰁎󰁇
      U
      R 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 usedu sed instead of of just assuming he got them ‘off-screen’. Using stricter
new is entirely up to the Gamemaster
Gamemaster.. Except for purchasing equipment rules puts more of an emphasis on planning and
a used car, finding other objects through
th rough 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 L8+@2K&'&-6 GV)&+83-$
were searching for isn’t available. You might find a similar
If you’re stuck on a dinosaur-infested South American
object, or youyou’ve
used outlets mightchecked
not findout.
anything like it at any of the plateau, of course, you’re unlikely to 󿬁nd a handy branch
of Sears. The Craft skill can be used to improvise basic
Buying used doesn’t
d oesn’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
p rice 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 Te
Technology
chnology 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
 !3#+
 !3 #+2-
2-''
It’s a dangerous world out there, especially
especia lly for those who
make a living 󿬁ghting criminals or enemy agents. Most
heroes carry weapons, ranging from baseball bats to
Thompson submachine guns.
The weapons covered here are grouped into three catego-
ries based on their general utility: ranged weapons, ex-
plosives, and melee weapons.
In the pulp world, carrying a weapon openly—especially
openly—especially
a 󿬁rearm—is rarely acceptable, even in the rare cases when
it’s legal.
7)-'
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
diff erence
erence between 9mm and 9x18mm pistols, it is easy
to lose sight of the more important aspects of play – action
and drama. Thus, we break guns down into general cate-
gories instead of speci󿬁c calibers and loads.
Guns have an additional statistic called a range increment.
This represents the weapon
weapon’’s accuracy at diff erent
erent ranges,
expressed in meters. Pistols, for example, have range in-
crements of 5/10/20, meaning up to 5 meters is short range,
up to 10 is medium range, and up to 20 is long range.
Weapons can generally 󿬁re a maximum distance up to
twice their maximum range, after which it is di fficult
enough to hit that it is pointless to check for success.
For each range increment, a gun suff ers
ers a cumulative -2
to hit its target, plus an additional -2 beyond its long range.
Thus, a pistol suff ers
ers no penalty up to 5 meters, -2 out to
10 meters, -4 to 20 meters, and -6 up to 40 meters away,
after which it is impossible to hit a target.
Some guns impose a penalty to your dice roll if you try to
󿬁re more than once per round, due to recoil. This is in
addition to the penalty for making more than one action
in a round (see page 123)
123)
The categories and sub-categories of guns are as follows:
(&'$2*'
Pistols are small, hand-held weapons that come in a variety
of shapes and sizes from tiny palm-sized derringers to
sleek semi-automatic jobs, to imposing revolvers with
30-cm barrels. They have a shorter accuracy range than
ri󿬂es, but are much faster to use, less unwieldy to carry,
and far easier to conceal.
Handguns can be broken down into three smaller groups:
autoloaders, revolvers,
revolvers, and machine pistols.
Equipment 
scoop the next round into the chamber. They are more
complex than revolvers, but nevertheless have become
increasingly
increasingly popular in the modern age.
Revolvers, such as the .38 Special side-arms carried by
many police officers, are relatively simple 󿬁rearms that
store several rounds (usually six) in a revolvi
revolving
ng cylinder.
As the trigger is pulled, the cylinder revolves to bring the
next bullet in line with the barrel.
Machine pistols are automatic weapons small enough to
be 󿬁red with one hand. Some are autoloader pistols mod-
i󿬁ed to 󿬁re a burst of bullets in a single pull of the trigger,
while others are modi 󿬁ed submachine guns, cut down in
size and weight to allow one-handed use.
Ranged weapons that use box magazines come with one
full magazine.
󰁁󰁍󰁍󰁕󰁎󰁉󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎
It’s entirely up to you how strictly you want to keep tabs on
how much ammunition characters have in their weapons.
Some people prefer a light touch – maybe only running out
of ammunition when it adds to the story or they make a
spectacularly bad roll. Others like to carefully manage their
ammo expenditure, and it can add tension when they run
low as the cultists close on their position...
You don’t need to track
tra ck individual shots. Results of ‘Yes
‘Yes,, But’...
or ‘No, And...’ could indicate that you’ve run out of ammo
8
and need to reload (‘Yes, you hit the robot with your first
shot, but the hammer clicks on an empty chamber when you
try to fire again.’).
again.’). Reloading a gun takes an action
a ction for most
weapons.
The ammunition that different weapons hold is presented
here as an ‘average’ for a weapon of that type. If your players
have done some homework on specific guns, by all means
use the information that they have found.
󰁏󰁐󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 󰁍󰁅󰁒󰁃󰁙 󰁂󰁕󰁌󰁌󰁅󰁔󰁓
:  
Many science heroes and adventurers prefer to use non-lethal
weapons. One option is to use tranquilizing “mercy bullets”.
bullets”.
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
a pplied to the target’s
Resolve. See page 131 to
131 to determine the difficulty to resist
the drug’s effect.
Range Increments: All pistols, regardless of their sub-
class, have range increments (in meters) of 5/10/20.
Holdout Pistol – tiny pistols that hold .22 calibre ammu-
nition and do more shock than actual damage. While these
guns do very little real damage, they also have no appre-
ciable recoil. These guns hold from one (single-shot der-
ringers) to seven (revolver) to 󿬁fteen (automatic pistol)
Autoloaders (sometimes called “automatics”), such as the
Colt M1911 (the venerable .45 pistol), feature removable
box magazines, and some models hold quite a lot of am-
munition. They work by using the energy of a shot 󿬁red
to throw back a slide, eject the shot’s shell casing, and
shots, and are generally double-action, meaning the gun
can be 󿬁red as many times as the trigger can be pulled.
The character can empty the weapon in a single Round if
he or she chooses. Examples include:
141

Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum – Developed in response
to the Colt .38 Super Automatic, this famous revolver was
designed to be able to penetrate automobile cover and
early “bullet proof” vests.
Smith & Wesson 38/200 - Called a .38, this revolver is
Smith & Wesson’s standard Military and Police .38, but
chambered to take the British .38 cartridge—which actu-
ally measures .357 inches. While technically this weapon
wasn’t available until 1940 (after the scope of this game)
it could be possible that characters with access to advanced
weaponry may have the pistol in their possession.
C"2$6)-' #-M 1&I*3'
Ri󿬂es have a much longer accuracy range than pistols do,
but are a lot more obvious, awkward, and less portable.
Unless the ri󿬂e is set and aimed already (as with a prepared
sniper), a character with a pistol will always shoot before
a character with a ri 󿬂e. Shotguns have much shorter
ranges, but have the drawback of being large and awkward
like ri󿬂es.
Range Increments: Shotguns have pistol range incre-
ments. All other ri󿬂es have Range increments of 25/50/150.
Ri󿬂e – These are hunting ri󿬂es of the bolt, pump, or le-
ver-action variety. They hold 2-8 rounds, and can 󿬁re a
maximum of three times per round. Each attack after the
󿬁rst imparts a cumulative -3 penalty. Period examples
include the Winchester Models 1903 and 1910, and the
Remington
Remingt on Arms M1903 Spring󿬁eld.
Mannlicher-Parravicino-Carcano Carbine M1891 - The
Italian army uses this weapon during the Great War. The
 Japanese Arisaka Meiji 38 is almost identical, except for
its smaller magazine (5 rounds) and greater weight (10
pounds).
Spring󿬁eld M1903 - This American ri󿬂e is licensed from
an earlier Mauser bolt-act
bolt-action
ion ri󿬂e. The same statistics can
be used for later
Sturmgewehr 44.Mausers such as the Gewehr 43 or the
Lee-En󿬁eld SMLE MkIII – The British Army’s standard
ri󿬂e from 1895 to 1957.
Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 - The standard bolt-action
ri󿬂e of the Soviet Red Army through the pulp era. Nearly
the same statistics can be used for modi󿬁ed versions of
the M1930G, such as the M1938G.
Big Game Ri󿬂e – This is an elephant gun or other big,
heavy ri󿬂e. Expensive, but very accurate and long-ra
long-ranged,
nged,
plus it can stop a charging rhino. Guns like this are Un-
common. Classic examples from the Pulp Era are the
Continental .600 and the Holland & Holland .500/450
Nitro Express, both designed to stop a charging bull-ele-
phant.
Equipment 
damage. Shotguns can be 󿬁red a maximum of twice per
round (except for semi-automatic models) and subse-
quent shots suff er
er a -3 penalty due to recoil. Double-bar-
reled shotguns can 󿬁re both barrels simultaneously with
no penalty, adding an additional +1 to hit and an addi-
tional 2 points of damage, but require a full Round to
reload afterward. Standard shotguns hold 2 cartridges,
pump-action or automatic shotguns hold 2-10.
Assault Ri󿬂e – During the Pulp Era, assault ri 󿬂es were
in their earliest stages of development and were Rare,
though characters with access to advanced weapons tech-
nology may be able to 󿬁nd them. An example of an early
assault ri󿬂e is the M1918 Browning Automatic
Automatic Ri󿬂e.
Assault ri󿬂es can 󿬁re in three modes. In semi-automatic
mode, they 󿬁re a single aimed shot. In Burst mode, the
gun 󿬁res three bullets in rapid succession. The wielder
makes an attack roll as normal. A Success means they
have hit once, a Good means they have hit twice and a
Fantastic result means they have hit with all three bullets
– each doing the normal ‘Good’ level of damage. A second
or third burst can be attempted in the same round, but
each suff ers
ers a cumulative -4 penalty in addition to the
usual multiple action penalty. In fully automatic mode,
the wielder cannot aim. He simply selects an area of up
to a 90° arc in his line of vision and
a nd showers it with bullets.
He then makes a standard attack roll. Everyone in the 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 damage
as usual depending on the severity of their failure. Firing 8
full auto takes the entire Round; a ff ecting
ecting a 45° arc uses
half a clip of ammunition and a ff ecting
ecting a 90-degree arc
uses the entire clip. A clip usually contains 10-100 rounds.
P#."&-3 6)-'
Machine guns are large, dangerous weapons used to in󿬂ict
mass carnage. They are always mounted on bipods or
tripods and cannot be 󿬁red on the move unless by char-
acters with Strength 6 or more. Using a machine gun is
identical to using an Assault Ri󿬂e on full auto, save that
machine guns deal more damage, and smaller arcs of 󿬁re
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.
A clip holds up to 100 rounds; belts hold thousands of
rounds, but aren’t very portable. Smaller or in-between
arcs of 󿬁re may be possible at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
Range Increments: Machine guns were actually used in
WWI and to a lesser extent in WWII as anti-aircraft
weapons and thus have range increments equal to twice
that of ri󿬂es.
Period examples include;
Maxim Gun Mk 1 - The 󿬁rst automatic machine gun, the
Maxim gun is portable enough to see widespread military
 Shotgun – be it a double-barrel 20-gauge or a pump-ac-
tion 12-gauge, all shotguns fall into this category. Shot-
guns 󿬁ring slugs deal high damage, but are -1 to hit due
to the difficulty aiming, while shotguns 󿬁ring buckshot
(lots of little pellets) gain +1 to hit a target, but deals less
Pulp Fantastic
Colt-Browning M1895 - This early gas-operated machine
gun is colloquially called the “potato digger,” because the
movement of the gun’s levers sometimes kicks up loose
dirt from the ground. Its light weight and portability com-
pensate for its relatively slow rate of 󿬁re compared to its
main competitor, the Maxim.
Browning M1917 - This medium machine gun is used
by the U.S. Army at the end of the Great War. It is wa-
ter-cooled, though an air-cooled version is issued to in-
fantry (as the M1919A4) in the 1920s. The Browning M1918
Automatic Ri󿬂e uses the same statistics, except that it has
a small (20-round) magazine instead of using linked ammo
ammo..
Browning M2HB - Originally designed as an aircraft
weapon, the Browning
Brownin g is adopted by the U.S. Army in 1921.
C)B48#."&-3 7)-'
Sub-Machine guns are somewhere between pistols and
machine guns. They look cool, but are not weapons of
precision. Typically they can 󿬁re in two modes.
      S In Burst mode, the gun 󿬁res three bullets in rapid succes-
      E sion. The wielder makes an attack roll as normal. A Success
      L Tesla Ri󿬂e – A bulkier version of the Tesla pistol, the Tesla
means they have hit once, a Good means they have hit
      U
      R twice and a Fantastic result means they have hit with all
three bullets – each doing the normal ‘Good’ level of
damage. A second or third burst can be attempted in the
same round, but each suff ers
ers a cumulative -4 penalty in
addition to the usual multiple action penalty.
In fully automatic mode, the wielder cannot aim accurate-
ly. He simply selects an area of up to a 90° arc in his line
of vision and showers it with bullets. He then makes a
standard attack roll. Everyone in the 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 damage as usual de-
pending on the severity of their failure. Firing full auto
takes the entire Round; aff ecting
ecting a 45° arc uses half a clip
of ammunition and aff ecting
ecting a 90-degree arc uses the
entire clip. A clip usually contains 10-100 rounds. Gener-
ally, they can only 󿬁re fully automatic like assault ri󿬂es,
but have the range of pistols. They hold clips of 10-50
rounds.
Generally submachine guns are Uncommon or Rare. Period
examples include;
Thompson M1921 Submachine Gun - The famous
“Tommy gun” of American gangsters is one of the 󿬁rst
hand-held weapons capable of automatic 󿬁re. Its large-cal-
iber bullets give it greater damage potential than many
more modern submachine guns, although at a shorter
range.
Beretta M1938A - Primarily an Italian weapon, the Model
1938A is also issued to some Rumanian and German troops.
The same statistics can be used for similar submachine
use. A .450 caliber version of this gun was developed in
1885, but the British army’s adoption of the weapon in
1889 contributed to
to its great success. The Maxim gun is
water-cooled.
143
Waff enfabrik
enfabrik Steyr Maschinenpistol 34 (MP34) –
Developed in 1934 from the MP18, which saw limited
service in the Great War, this exceptionally well-made
submachine gun was used by the Austrian police and by
units of the Waff en
en SS during World War II.
:3#8 !3#+2-'
Beam weapons are weird technology devices that project
an oscillating beam of directed energy. Usually derived
from principles discovered from recovered Martian arma-
ment, beam weapons are extremely rare and qualify as
weird technology. They’re fragile,
fragil e, power-hungry,
power-hungry, temper-
amental, and incredibly expensive. So far, no-one has
found a way to mass produce them, and knowledge of
them remains extremely limited.
Tesla Pistol – Named after the noted inventor, the Tesla
pistol transmits a massive electrical charge to the target.
Most “Tesla Pistols” don’t pack enough punch to do much
damage, instead producing an eff ectect similar to a modern
taser. They aren’t subtle weapons, producing a vivid blue
󿬂ash of electricity and a loud crackle when 󿬁red.
ri󿬂e has an extended range and battery life, but does no
more damage.
Tesla Cannon – This large tripod-mounted weapon is the
only Tesla gun that does Lethal damage, with the e ff ects
ects
being described as being similar to being struck by a
massive bolt of lightning.
Martian Heat Ray – The signature weapon of the Martian
invader, the dreaded heat ray is
i s still a potent weapon. With
a seemingly inexhaustible (and still unfathomed) energy
source, heat rays have been found in the possession of
criminals and military forces all over the world. Still,
functional heat rays are rare – many exploded with shat-
tering force when being probed for their secrets. Martian
heat rays are bulky devices about the size of a man, de-
signed to be mounted on the tripod walkers, and need to
be adapted for human use by the use of a tripod and a
man-usable trigger system.
C-&+3@ 1&I*3'
Sniper weapons allow the shooter to remain at a relative-
ly safe distance, using high-powered telescopic sights and
long-range weaponry. The sniper usually holes up in a
location that gives him the best possible view over the
proceedings, taking shots of opportunity when possible.
At this point in history, most sniper ri 󿬂es were simply
standard ri󿬂es 󿬁tted with a telescopic sight, rather than
the specialized sniper ri󿬂es of today.
today. Modern sniper ri 󿬂es
have a very long range, and can deliver very high amounts
of damage but at this point in time qualify as Weird Tech.
 guns, such as the Erma MP38/40, the Sten Mark 2, the
Shpagin PPSh-41 (7.62mm), or the Sudarev PPS-42 (also
7.62mm).
Period examples include;
Lee-En󿬁eld SMLE MkIII – The British Army’s standard
ri󿬂e from 1895 to 1957, when modi󿬁ed with a heavy stock
and telescopic sight became a highly eff ective
ective sniper ri󿬂e.

144

󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁇󰁅󰁄  󰁗󰁅󰁁󰁐󰁏󰁎 󰁓󰁕󰁍󰁍󰁁󰁒󰁙 Equipment 

󰁒󰁁󰁎󰁇󰁅 
󰁗󰁅󰁁󰁐󰁏󰁎 󰁉󰁎󰁃󰁒󰁅󰁍󰁅󰁎󰁔󰁓   󰁁󰁍󰁍󰁕󰁎󰁉󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅 󰁒󰁅󰁃󰁏󰁉󰁌
(󰁉󰁎 󰁍󰁅󰁔󰁒󰁅󰁓)

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
R if l e 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

Spring󿬁eld M1903 - This American ri󿬂e is licensed from 8

󰁓󰁎󰁉󰁐󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁁󰁎󰁄 󰁁󰁉󰁍󰁉󰁎󰁇
Any character can choose to aim their weapon for longer to
try to be more accurate with their shooting. For a complete
Action Round, the shooter does nothing else but aim. They
cannot dodge, move or take any other action without ne-
gating the effects of trying to aim. If an enemy hits them,
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
they had taken the shot, but instead they make a note of
what they roll. The better they did this time, the bigger the
bonus they get on their actual shot.
s hot. A Success provides a +2
bonus, a Good result a +4 bonus
b onus and a Fantastic a +6 bonus
b onus
to the actual roll to hit the next Round. They can shoot at
any time next Action Round and receive the respective bonus
to their roll.
A character with the Sniper trait can
ca n aim for more than one
Action Round. If they can remain uninterrupted,
uni nterrupted, they can add
an additional bonus from a second Round’s
Round’s worth of aiming.
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
cover and the sniper’s advantage can be lost.
an earlier Mauser bolt-a
bolt-action
ction ri󿬂e. The same statistics can
be used for later Mausers such as the Gewehr 43 or the
Sturmgewehr 44.
Mauser Gehwehr 98 – The main German
Ger man infantry bolt-ac-
tion combat ri󿬂e during the Great War. When modi 󿬁ed
with telescopic sights and a modi 󿬁ed bolt, this became
one of the most eff ective
ective sniper weapons of the war.
93*3'.2+&.
A telescopic sight isC&6"$
a device that makes it easier to hit
targets at long range. However
However,, although a scope magni-
󿬁es the image of the target, it has a very limited 󿬁eld of
view, making it difficult to use.
A scope increases the range increment
i ncrement for a ranged weapon
by two (this is already built in for sniper ri 󿬂es, below).
However,
Howeve r, to use a scope you must spend an attack action
acquiring your target. If you change targets or otherwise
lose sight of the target, you must reacquire the target to
gain the bene󿬁t of the scope.
E$"3@ 1#-63M !3#+2-'
Ranged weapons that are not 󿬁rearms 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
eff ective
ective weapon for its time, but a modern crossbow is
P3*33 !3#+2-'
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 in󿬂ict 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 󿬂amethrow
amethrowerer 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 󿬂ame 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 󿬂at, leather-covered lead rod 󿬁tted with a spring handle,
󿬁re. They’re also good for setting
settin g yourself alight if you’re while a blackjack is a small, soft club made of an amount
not careful. A 󿬂amethrower 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 󿬂ame- 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 󿬂ame 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 󿬂ame so you can’t attack the 󿬂amethrower  jacks are common.
common.
      S operator without moving again.
      E Knuckledusters: Brass knuckledusters let you punch for
      L  Javelin:
 Javelin: This light, 󿬂exible spear built for throwing can Strength +1 damage. They’re Common.

      U
      R be used in melee, but since it’s not designed for it, char-
acters using it in this manner always suff er
er –2 to hit. Jav-
Spear: This primitive device is a stabbing reach weapon
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. Ri 󿬂e-󿬁xed 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
“󿬁re” 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.
att ack. To avoid being and tomahawks, increasing to +3 for 󿬁re-axes and +4 for
tripped or entangled, the target must make a successful battle-axes. Common.
Coordination + Athletics
the target has been either reaction
tripped orroll. Failure and
entangled indicates
must Chainsaw: Not exactly a conventional weapon; a chainsaw
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
GH+*2'&K3'
opponents, or at least slow them down. One bag of twen- Mines, rockets, grenades and other explosives do
ty-󿬁ve 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
󿬁ghting in such an area, they must make a Di fficulty 12
land mine pits Awareness + Survival against Ingenuity
Coordination
Should + Awareness
they fail check todeals
the roll, a caltrop avoid stepping
1 point on one.
of damage, + Subterfuge on the part of whoever planted it, with big
penalties to those spotting it if time has passed and the
 and the injury reduces foot speed to half normal (a suc-
cessful Difficultly 12 Awareness + Medicine check, or one
day’s rest removes this penalty). A charging or running
creature must immediately stop if it steps on a caltrop.
Caltrops are Uncommon.
146
Rocket Launcher: Though the classic bazooka didn’t
officially come into service until 1942, characters with
access to advanced weapons technology could come across
a prototype shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapon. Rocket
launchers in󿬂ict 20/40/60 damage, and are very, very
Rare. Characters should not be using rocket launchers in
public. Or in cramped spaces. Or at all. Maximum range
is around 365 metres, with an explosive radius of 3 metres.
Panzerfaust:  A hand-held, single-shot, shaped-charge
anti-tank weapon, easily manufactured and designed to
be cheap, one-use weapons to be used with little training.
The Panzerfaust has an eff ective
ective range of just over 60
metres. When the Panzerfaust hits its target, it explodes
like a grenade or other explosive, in󿬂ict 9/18/36 damage
within a 3 metre radius. Because its explosive is a shaped
charge designed to penetrate the armor of tanks, the Pan-
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
this era.
Smoke Grenade: Throwing a grenade uses Coordination
+ Athletics; a smoke grenade 󿬁lls a room or a small building
with thick smoke. Trying to do anything while blinded is
worth a -4 penalty at least. Smoke grenades are Uncommon.
Tear Gas Grenade: Like a smoke grenade, but also painful.
If you’re caught in a tear gas cloud without a gas mask, you
have to roll Resolve + Awareness each Round against Dif-
󿬁culty 18; if you fail, you take one point of damage to your
Awareness or your Resolve. Resisting a tear gas grenade
counts as a Reaction, so you
you’ll
’ll be at -2 to your next roll made
that round. Tear gas grenades are Uncommon.
Stun Grenade: Stun grenades don’t in󿬂ict much damage,
but they knock their victims out brie󿬂y. If you’re hit by a
stun grenade, you must make a Strength + Resolve roll
against a Difficulty of 12/18/24 (work out the difficulty like
you’d work out the damage for a normal attack). If you
fail, you’re
you’re knocked out for 1 round on a Normal Failure,
1 - 6 rounds on a Bad Failure, and 2 dice rounds on a Di-
sastrous Failure.) Stun grenades have an explosive radius
of three metres.
Explosive Grenade: You throw them, they go boom, bad
guys fall down. Explosive grenades have an explosive
radius of 3 metres, and in 󿬂ict 8/16/24 damage if the targets
fail to dodge. Explosive grenades are Rare. Pulp era exam-
ples are the standard US Army fragmentation grenade
and the well-known German “potato-masher” Steilhand-
granate.
Dynamite: Perhaps one of the most common and straight-
forward explosives, dynamite is very stable under normal
conditions. A stick of dynamite requires a fuse or detona-
ff  ff  pads and a baseball catcher’s pads, off er
tor
timetoifset it o are
they . Additional
within thesticks
burstcan be set
radius ofothe at󿬁the same
rst stick,
surface is now overgrown. If a mine goes off, it inflicts
2 dice + 6 damage to everyone within about 2 metres.
Mines are Rare.
Equipment 
It’ss possible to wire together several sticks of dynamite for
It’
even greater explosive eff ect.
ect. Doing so requires a Tricky
(Difficulty 15) Ingenuity + Technology check (+ 1 Difficul-
ty per stick). If you succeed on the check, both the damage
and the radius of the explosion increases by 50%.
Dynamite is sold in boxes of 12 sticks. It is considered to
be a simple explosive for the purpose of using a Science
check to manufacture it.
To set off  dynamite
 dynamite using a fuse, the fuse must 󿬁rst be lit,
requiring an Action (and a lighter
li ghter or other source of 󿬂ame).
The amount of time until the dynamite explodes depends
on the length of the fuse—a fuse can be cut short enough
for the dynamite to detonate in the same round (allowing
it to be used much like a grenade), or long enough to take
several minutes to detonate. Cutting the fuse to the ap-
propriate length requires an Action.
 A@82
 A@ 82@@
Heavy armor is bulky and slows you down, and really won’t
help if you’re run over by a tank. Still, a bit of protection
never goes amiss. Armor only protects against attacks
that hit the part of the body it protects – wearing a helmet
gives you armor
if someone’s on your
hacking yourhead,
arm obut
ff .
obviously won’t help
Body armor comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, pro-
viding varying degrees of coverage and varying heaviness
of materials. Armor comes in four types: archaic, im- 8
promptu, concealable, and tactical.
Archaic armor is old-fashioned armor, such as medieval
chain-mail and plate mail.
Impromptu armor includes items that provide protection
even though they weren’t designed for that purpose, such
as leather biker’s jackets and football pads.
Tactical armor is modern body armor that 󿬁ts over cloth-
ing and can’t be easily concealed.
conceale d. Its weight and bulk make
it impractical to wear all the time, and it’s generally only
donned when a speci󿬁c dangerous confrontation is likely.
Because it’s worn over clothing in tactical situations, tac-
tical armor often has pockets, clips, and Velcro attachment
points for carrying weapons, grenades, ammunition,
󿬂ashlights, 󿬁rst aid kits, and other items.
Padded Armor: This archaic armor consists of a breast-
plate made of layers of linen, which are then quilted to-
gether to form rudimentary armor. Some types hang all
the way to the knees.
Leather Jacket: This armor is represented by a heavy
leather 󿬂ying jacket, 󿬂ying leathers or biker jacket. A
number of other impromptu armors, such as a football
er similar protection
and game statistics.
 increasing the damage and burst radius of the explosion.
Dynamite does 2/5/7 per stick in a 2 metre radius. Each
additional stick multiplies the damage (i.e. 2 sticks deal
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.
Leather Armor: This archaic armor consists of a breast-
plate made of thick, lacquered leather, along with softer
leather coverings for other parts of the body.

147

Pulp Fantastic

󰁁󰁒󰁍󰁏󰁒 󰁓󰁕󰁍󰁍󰁁󰁒󰁙
󰁃󰁏󰁏󰁒󰁄󰁉󰁎󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 
󰁁󰁒󰁍󰁏󰁒 󰁖󰁁󰁌󰁕󰁅 󰁗󰁅󰁉󰁇󰁈󰁔 󰁎󰁏󰁔󰁅󰁓 󰁐󰁅󰁎󰁁󰁌󰁔󰁙

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
      S
      E
      L
Studded Leather Armor: This medieval-era armor con- the current attack – if you use the same Reaction roll
      U
      R sists of leather with metal studs riveted from the inside. against multiple attacks, the shield only works against
the 󿬁rst 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 N&I3'$5*3
eff ective
ective against piercing attacks, but not so e ff ective
ective 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 󿬂ying off  to
 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 aff ord
ord 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 quali󿬁es as Weird Tech. any time he wants.
Scale-mail Armor: This medieval-era armor consists of
constructed of metal scales sewn or riveted onto a leather More expensive
he can’t lifestyle
really live beyondoptions are always
his means available,
for long but
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 e ff ective
ective expensive car—he just can’t currently aff ord
ord 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 aff ord
ord 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 󿬂y, drink and eat 󿬁rst 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
a great deal of protection.
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
148
 U3"&.
 U3" &.*3
*3''
The essence of the Pulp Era is speed. As new technologies
shrank the world, people became obsessed with travelling
further and faster than ever before. Pulp characters in
general are always leaping on a plane or a boat (or zeppe-
lin!) and travelling across the globe in search of action and
adventure. This section deals with the various vehicles
the characters will rely on to get them from place to place.
 A$$@
 A$ $@&B
&B)$
)$3'
3'
Vehicles have four special Attributes.
Handling: The ease of manoeuvring the vehicle at speed.
Speed: How fast they move, in terms of Areas per Round,
which is what you need to know for chases. A vehicle can
go faster than its listed speed, but if you push it like that,
you’ll have to make a Transport roll every round to keep
control.
Armour: How tough the vehicle’s exterior is. This may
also re󿬂ect how much protection the vehicle gives to
people inside it.
Size: How big the vehicle is.
Hit Capacity: How much damage the vehicle can take
before being immobilised. A vehicle that takes half its Hit
Capacity is damaged, and loses half its speed. A vehicle
that takes twice its Hit Capacity in damage is torn apart
and is now a pile of junk.
Aircraft and water craft work slightly di ff erently.
erently. A boat
that’s taken half its Hit Capacity is holed and is sinking.
It can still be used, but loses one Speed every round until
reduced to 0, at which point it sinks.
An aircraft reduced to half its starting Hit Capacity is out
of control. The pilot needs to land it immediately or it will
crash.
9@#&$'
There are also a few special Traits that vehicles can have.
Open: The vehicle off ers
ers next to no protection to people
inside it. A motorcycle is open, as is a convertib
c onvertible.
le.
Enclosed: Your average car—the main compartment is
enclosed, but there are big windows that could be smashed
open easily. If an Enclosed vehicle is attacked, then a big
attacker may be able to get at the people inside through
the windows with a Fantastic attack result.
Fully Enclosed: This is for tanks and other vehicles that
are designed to withstand attacks from outside, like a
safari landrover.
made with The windows
wire-hardened are non-existent,
glass and are far enoughor are
away
Trait means that money is no longer something you have
to worry about.
Equipment 
pushing or dragging cargo. Some vehicles have higher
levels of Powerful.
-road: The vehicle is designed to go o ff -road.
Off -road: -road. If a vehicle
that lacks this Trait goes off -road,
-road, call for Transport checks
every few rounds.
Fast: Some vehicles are really fast. If you push the speed
of a Fast Vehicle, you move 2 extra zones on a Success, 4
on a Good Success, and 6 on a Fantastic one.
C#8+*3 U3"&.*3'
Motorcycle: These statistics are for small Common mo-
torcycles. Something
Something fancier like an Indian Hendee Special
gets a higher Hit Capacity, Armour and Speed; such mo-
torcycles are Uncommon. A really powerful motorcycle
is Fast.
Small Car: Your average family car, like a Ford Model T.
Common.
Big Car: This is a large, expensive car, like a Duesenberg
Model J Phaeton; leather seats, walnut dashboard. Don’t
scratch the paintwork. Cars like this are Uncommon.
Sports Car: A top-of-the line sports car, like a BMW 328
or an Auburn 852 Speedster. Cars like this are rare.
Utility: This covers military jeeps, pick-up trucks (like
the Ford Model A Pickup)
P ickup) and other utility vehicles (like
the Ford Model T Utility Truck). They’re Uncommon.
8
Truck: A cargo truck. A bus would have similar attributes,
but would replace its Powerful Trait with more space for
passengers. Trucks are Uncommon.
Tank: A front-line battle tank like the Panzerkampfwagen
III. A vehicle like that has a main gun that can make mince-
meat out of any hero as well as smaller anti-personnel
weapons. Battle tanks are Rare, and your 󰁧󰁭 shouldn’t let
you get one anyway.
󿬂 󿬂
In atable
unless bitesAn
Dingy:
a shark in atable
a chunk out ofboat.
it. InSafe anddinghies
󿬂atable reliable
are Uncommon.
Speedboat: A fast sports boat. Rare.
Autogyro: Invent
Invented
ed in 1923, the autogyro is a predecessor
of the modern helicopter. Built from airplane components,
an autogyro has the body of a light plane such as the
Sopwith Camel, but with rotary blades mounted above the
cockpit in place of wings (though it does have a pair of
light stabilizers extending to the sides where the wings
would be on a monoplane). A propeller
propell er on the front moves
the autogyro forward. Rare.
P2$2@.5.*3'
Unlike getting into a car, mounting a motorcycle is a free
 from the passengers to ensure that attackers need to smash
or 󿬂ip the vehicle to get at the characters inside (assuming
they don’t just open the door).
Powerful: This vehicle has a big engine and puts out lots
of horsepower. Double its speed for the purposes of
action. Motorcycles tend to perform better than automo-
biles, but they provide no cover to their occupants.
BMW R12: A sturdy well-built motorcycle, available with
or without a sidecar, used by the Third Reich as a vehicle
for scouts or couriers.
149

Pulp Fantastic
Indian Hendee Special: The Indian Hendee Special is It is 3 squares long and 2 squares wide. With the convert-
the 󿬁rst 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
Kettenkraftrad
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.
?#@' P&*&$#@5 U3"&.*3'
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’
Rei ch’ss 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.
cover.
      S SturmGeschuetz III: The SturmGeschütz (Assault Gun)
      E Mercedes-Benz SSK:  A 󿬁ne early sports car, the SSK
was designed using the main hull of the Panzer III. Orig-
      L pales in comparison to the Alfa Romeo that comes along
inally designed as support artillery weapon it was later up
      U
      R
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 logicaldiscoveriestohidden
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.
It has a separate windshield for the passengers in the rear  A&@+
 A& @+*#
In the *#-3
1920-3'
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
technolog y, and
to one-third cover. flight was seen as the
gateway to adventure.
Citroen Traction Avant: One of the 󿬁rst 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 󿬁ghter 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 󿬁ghter

150

Equipment 

󰁖󰁅󰁈󰁉󰁃󰁌󰁅 󰁓󰁕󰁍󰁍󰁁󰁒󰁙
󰁔󰁙󰁐󰁅 󰁁󰁒󰁍󰁏󰁒 󰁈󰁉󰁔 󰁃󰁁󰁐󰁁󰁃󰁉󰁔󰁙 󰁓󰁐󰁅󰁅󰁄 󰁈󰁁󰁎󰁄󰁌󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁓󰁉󰁚󰁅 󰁔󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁔󰁓

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

Pulp Fantastic
planes of The Great War, the Sopwith Camel is a highly
maneuverable biplane with twin Vickers machine guns
mounted in the nose. (Use the statistics for the Colt-Brown-
Colt-Brown-
ing M1895 machine gun.) The breeches of the guns are
covered by a hump that gives the plane its name. Other
Great War-era biplanes have -1 maneuver modi 󿬁ers but
are otherwise comparable to the Camel.
Messerschmitt Bf109: One of the best air superiority
󿬁ghters ever built, the Messerschmitt was the predator of
the skies. The Bf109 was the Luftwa ff e’s
e’s standard sin-
gle-seat 󿬁ghter since 1935 and was able to out 󿬁ght or
outrun virtually all opposition. The 󿬁ghter was used pri-
marily for intercept and bomber escort duties.
 Junkers 87D Stuka: Stuka is the abbreviation of the
German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, which designated all
dive bombers. The main 󿬁ghter/bomber used by the
Luftwaff e,
e, the Stuka would play a major role in the Blitz-
krieg that swept across Poland, northern Europe and
France. In the later years of the war, the Ju 87 had a suc-
cessful second life as an antitank weapon, striking armor
      S columns from above.
      E Sikorski S-42 (Seaplane): Before the extensive develop-
      L TL 1: Stone Age
ment of airports, seaplanes such as the Sikorski S-42 (Sea-
      U
      R plane) are popular passenger planes. They can carry nearly
three dozen passengers in comfort.
Curtis Condor: This was the ultimate airliner prior to the
1933 introduction of the Boeing 247. Despite its - at the
time luxurious cabin - the Condor was a beast to 󿬂y and a
nauseating ride for passengers.
g3++3*&-'
One of the most visually distinctive and graceful means
of transportation, the zeppelin is also practically syn-
onymous with the idea of Pulp in the minds of most
modern gamers.
A zeppelin consists of a large hydrogen or helium 󿬁lled
balloon that is steered by rudders on the aft and given
thrust by propellers. Rigid-bodied zeppelins usually have
a small control gondola beneath, with passenger accom-
modation and cargo holds within the body of the craft.
At over 100 metres long with a carrying capacity of up
u p to
72 passengers, a standard large passenger airship could
cross the Atlantic in two and a half days. The world famous
Hindenburg was over 240 metres long, the largest object
ever to 󿬂y, while the Graf Zeppelin was the 󿬁rst aircraft to
󿬂y around the world.
While most zeppelins were 󿬁lled with highly 󿬂ammable
hydrogen,, American airships used helium and therefore
hydrogen
weren’t exposed to the same risk from 󿬁re.
151
93."-2*265 N3K3*'
Despite the fact that all of the technology of the Pulp Era
ran on vacuum tubes, scienti󿬁c endeavors are broken into
various Technology
Technology Levels, for ease of use in these rules.
Bear in mind that these are not hard and fast guidelines
to any particular era, and that any historical epoch is a
blend of diff erent
erent Progress Levels for the diff erent
erent types
of sciences.
A Technology Level (󰁴󰁬) is an indication of the state of
technology that exists in a particular society or civilization
civili zation
(which, in a science 󿬁ction setting, may be located on a
planet other than Earth). This state of technological de-
velopment generally pervades all aspects of a culture,
particularly at higher levels ( 󰁴󰁬 5 and beyond) when long-
range communication is virtually instantaneous. Even at
lower levels, it’s unlikely—but
unlikely—but not impossible—for a group
of humans (or other sentient beings)
b eings) to be at one Technol-
ogy Level in some respects and at another one in other
respects. Technology Level may vary wildly from place to
place on the same world or even the same continent.
The major achievements of a Stone Age society are the
use of 󿬁re, the domestication of animals, and the invention
of agriculture. An individual living in a Stone Age society
is primitive, but he isn’t necessarily gullible, stupid, or
easily frightened by advanced technology. Common
weapons in a 󰁴󰁬 1 civilization include the club, the dagger,
the spear, and the bow. Armor made from hide or leather
is possible, as are wicker shields. Communication beyond
the local tribe or settlement doesn’t exist. Travel is accom-
plished by foot or by simple rafts
ra fts or canoes. Simple pottery,
stone working, and woodworking are possible.
TL 2: Bronze/Iron Age –
P&MM*3 A63'
Early human civilizations began to work metal toward the
end of the Stone Age. The malleability of copper led to its
becoming the 󿬁rst metal to be “tamed.” Adding tin to
copper created a much stronger alloy: bronze. This advance
allowed for the crafting of tools and weapons of great
durability. In turn, those improved tools made possible
the working of iron, which soon replaced bronze as the
metal of choice for tools and weapons.
In a Bronze/Iron Age society, advances in pottery, con-
struction, and agriculture allow for the concentration of
populations into larger and larger groups, with a corre-
sponding upswing in the accumulation and sharing of
knowledge.
begins in theThe rise of
Bronze nations,
Age. city states,
Organized ortsand
eff orts empires
to improve

152
Improvements in agricultural efficiency permit the rise of
artisans, craftsmen, professional soldiers, and other occu-
pations that are not directly concerned with gathering food.
The sword replaces the club and the dagger as the preferred
weapon of infantry. Chariots brie 󿬂y dominate warfare
before cavalry (aided by the introduction of the stirrup)
renders chariots obsolete. The 󿬁rst true military forces or
tactical systems appear. Armor can now be made from
sewn plates or scales, metal links, or even forged breast-
plates, and a variety of metal melee weapons dominate
the battle󿬁eld.
Maturing civilizations experience a period of turmoil and
adjustment toward the end of this Technology Level. De-
velopments continue in architecture, commerce, metallur-
gy,, and mathematics. Wider dissemination of information
gy
becomes possible thanks to more advanced printing tech-
niques. Sea communications dominate in the later part of
this stage of development, and sturdy seafaring carracks
and galleons open the door to the next Progress Level.
As populations increase and knowledge of agriculture evolves,
an increasing percentage of the population relocates into
growing cities and towns. Toward the end of this Progress
Level, the feudal system, in which a small class of nobles ruled
a large population of agricultural workers, begins to collapse.
Specialized crafts develop, universities appear, and the middle
class is born. The 󿬁rst corporations emerge in the form of trade
guilds. The evolution of strong systems of trade and 󿬁nance
tends to distribute a society’s wealth more evenly among its
members, diluting the power of the nobility.
Tools of warfare undergo a signi󿬁cant revolution. Sophisti-
cated chain and plate armors protect warriors from harm,
and elaborate forti󿬁cations become something of an art
form. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the introduction
of simple gunpowder weapons signals the imminent end of
knights, heavy armor, and organized armies of swordsmen.
TL 3:of Age ofan era
Reason
The Age Reason is in human history when the de-
velopment of ideas and systems of thought takes precedence
over technological invention. The scienti󿬁c method improves
humankind’s understanding of the world. Experimentation
becomes the means by which the physical properties of
nature are systematically examined. The study of the various
scienti󿬁c disciplines—chemistry, electromagnetics, medi-
cine, biology
biology,, and astronomy—󿬂ourishes. Instruments such
as microscopes and telescopes enable scientists to greatly
extend the range of their observations and discoveries.
The new reliance on science generates waves
waves on all levels
of society. Superstition falls away, and exploration of the
world reaches its apex. Society begins to experiment with
new forms of organization, such as democracy. Corpora-
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.
Equipment 
the battle󿬁eld. Even the reliable bow vanishes, replaced by
the 󿬂intlock. Light melee weapons remain common.
TL 4: Industrial Age
In the fourth Technology Level, the theoretical knowledge
of the previous era matures into widespread practical
application. This is the Technology Level of the world
detailed in the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  󰁲󰁰󰁧. Any Progress
Levels above 4 will belong to limited individuals. The
harnessing of hydraulic, steam, and electric power creates
an explosion of commerce and industry. Developments
such as the telegraph, the telephone, and the radio make
true global communication possible. Breakthroughs in
manufacturing techniques allow the construction of heavy
ironclad vessels, rail transportation, and architecture of
previously unimaginable size. Pioneers venture high into
the atmosphere and descend into the sea’s depths.
Urbanization is complete as individuals gather in smaller
environments where they can more easily exchange goods
and information. Corporations expand in power, many
establishing themselves
themselves throughout the explored world.
Governments are based on political and economic factors.
The means of war change swiftly through the period. Air-
craft and submersibles join the list of military assets. Reli-
able and accurate ri󿬂es, pistols, and machine guns become
common. Mechanized war machines herald the 󿬁rst great
change in the art of battle since the end of the knight.
8
TL 5: Space Faring/Information Age
The Industrial Age relied on chemical power, but in the
Space Faring/Information Age, computer technology and
electronics rule supreme. Satellite information systems
and the Internet connect the globe digitally. This Technol-
ogy Level also sees the introduction of 󿬁ssion power and
weapons reducing the importance of fossil fuels. The
automobile replaces the locomotive as the common form
of travel. The 󿬁rst steps toward space travel involve massive
chemical rockets, unmanned probes and satellites, and
short-term manned missions.
The technology of the era allows greater citizen participation
in government. The emergence of international alliances
begins to dissolve borders between nations. Corporations
gather power and begin to threaten government authority.
Technology has a greater eff ect
ect on individual lifestyles than
on society as a whole. Most weapons at this time are re󿬁ned
versions of Industrial Age equipment. Ri󿬂es, machine guns,
and heavy howitzers are still used by the world’s
world’s soldiers.
Computerized targeting systems and guided weapons
make warfare much more precise and efficient. Strategic
weapons, tested but never used, exhibit the species’ power
tions and economic alliances continue to evolve. Econom-
ically, this Progress Level is a transition from the cottage
industries of the Middle Ages to industrialization.
The cannon becomes the dominant factor in naval warfare,
while massed musket 󿬁re and horse-pulled 󿬁eld pieces rule
to exterminate itself in minutes.
Humanity experiences its Information Age as anxious
years full of minor crises. The tension gradually allevi-
ates through the age, and as the era ends new super-
powers form.
153

L E<-&-6 # L-K3-$&2-
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
science 󿬁ctional genres directly
d irectly.. The Pulps were 󿬁lled with
“Lab Coats,” Weird Inventors for both good and evil who
were the precursors of the Atomic Age.
Between the insanely cackling mad scientists with their
planet smashers and their death rays and the heroic sci-
enti󿬁c adventurers with their auto-gyros, jet packs and
long range radio waves, the pulps were 󿬁lled with high
technology and bristling with vacuum tubes.
In two words, “weird science” is what sets the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡
󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁮-
󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 󰁲󰁯󰁬󰁥-󰁰󰁬󰁡󰁹󰁩󰁮󰁧 󰁧󰁡󰁭󰁥 apart from the real world
of the early twentieth century. In the 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  be fairly small.
󰁲󰁯󰁬󰁥-󰁰󰁬󰁡󰁹󰁩󰁮󰁧 󰁧󰁡󰁭󰁥, Weird Inventors are square-jawed
visionaries who volunteer to test their own rocket-packs
because they want to make sure it works before giving it to
anyonee else. To them the future
anyon fut ure holds limitless promise, and
weird science is the means by which that promise will be
realized. The workshops and laboratories of the Weird In-
ventor are littered with prototypes for a variety
varie ty of items from
space rockets and 󿬂ying cars to ray-guns and giant robots.
However, not all inventors work for the forces of freedom
and liberty. There are sinister secret societies and tyrant
nations that have Weird Inventors of their own. The science
of the world is both promising and threatening.
To simulate
simulate these types of characters, both good and evil,
󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 uses the following system for handling
the weird science, regardless of how impossible it seems,
of the Pulp Era.
󰁉󰁎󰁖󰁅󰁎󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓 󰁖󰁓 󰁅󰁑󰁕󰁉󰁐󰁍󰁅󰁎󰁔
Equipment is classed as items that can be acquired with little
difficulty,, or built and repaired by ordinary technicians and
difficulty
engineers. They may be rare, or expensive, but they’re out
there in the world if you know where
w here to look and have suf-
ficient funds. Inventions are a whole different kettle of ionized
plasma. They’re something really special, can do amazing
things and can’t be quickly built or repaired by anyone without
with out
Chapter 9
Pulp Inventions
Having an Invention isn’t free. These remarkable items
are rare to have at character creation and should be
discussed and authorized by the Gamemaster. Inven-
tions come in various sizes, just like Traits: Minor, Major
and Special.
Minor Inventions cost 1 Story Point and can hold a single
Minor Trait. They may hold a Major Trait (or two Minor),
but would need to take a Bad Trait to ‘pay’ for the extra
cost, such as Restriction or One Shot. They hold a single
Story Point, and this can be used so the Invention
I nvention can do
something novel or diff erent,
erent, though the eff ect
ect of this will
Major Inventions cost 2 Story Points and can hold a Major
or two Minor Traits. They may hold an additional Major
(or additional two Minor Traits, up to 4 points worth in
total) but will need to take a Bad Trait or two to ‘pay’ for
the additional ability, such as Restriction or One Shot.
They hold two Story Points, and these can be used so that
the Invention can do something that it is not normally
designed for, the eff ect
ect of which can be fairly signi󿬁cant.
Special Inventions cost 4 Story Points and can hold up
to 4 points worth of Traits (2 Major, 4 Minor, etc). They
may hold more than this, but will need to take Bad Traits
to pay for the additional abilities. They can hold four Story
Points to do odd or remarkable things, with some major
eff ect
ect on the story.
For example, at character creation you can have an Inven-
tion that is a Major Invention and has 4 Good Traits
Traits – Open/ 
Close, Scan, Transmit and Weld – and 2 Bad Traits – Re-
striction (Living Flesh) and Restriction (Complex Controls).
It can hold 4 Story Points, which can be used to do things
that this device may have never done before. It costs 2
Story Points from the characters’ Story Point pool if pur-
chased at character creation. Inventions purchased in this
way reduce your maximum Story Point totals, but it does
mean that the Invention is rarely lost. The good thing
about getting a Invention this way is that if it goes missing
or is broken, the Invention is assumed to be 󿬁xed or re-
 the Gadgeteer Trait. Most are one of a kind, and many push
– or break! - the limits of what ordinary people consider
placed at the beginning of the next adventure. This doesn’t
mean that the Invention can’t be removed permanently.
possible. A Gas Gun,
Gu n, a Man Portable Rocket Powered
Powered Device
or an Ether Flyer are Inventions, and they have a number of
If the Gamemaster thinks that the Invention is being over
Traits that can help your rolls.
used, or misused, it can be lost as part of the storyline, the
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-
ventions all the time.
?@3#$&-6 L-K3-$&2-'
Weird inventors toil away in their secret laboratories
working on nucleonic beams to help them take over
the world; real-life inventors have in their minds the
plans for inventions such as death rays and perpetual
motion machines.
All of these devices, real or imagined, fall under the cat-
egory of weird science, and these weird items are usually
the creations of characters with the Gadgeteer Trait. Doctor
Indiana frequently throws together a wild Invention with
a little weird science. Characters without the Gadgeteer
Trait can create strange Inventions, but it’s much harder
for them and it takes a lot longer. Most of the the really
wild devices – the ones that push, bend and occasionally
ignore the laws of physics entirely - can only be created
      S by characters with the Gadgeteer Trait. Without it they’ll
      E  just cobble together
together a non-functioning
non-functioning mess of Tesla
Tesla coils,
coils,
      L vacuum tubes and wires.
      U
      R
Weird science and weird inventions are the product of
scienti󿬁c prescience; devices and constructs that possess
capabilities beyond what is possible in the normal every-
day world. Most items created by weird science are me-
chanical devices rather than the deliberate improvement
of organisms or other such items.
Making gadgets that defy common sense is easier than
some might expect – for a Weird Inventor, at least. Note
that more complicated items (Major, or Special Inventions)
can take a lot longer to create. Sometimes, Special Inven-
tions can require rare and difficult to 󿬁nd items that will
be the focus of a whole adventure. The big question to ask
before going ahead with creating any of these Invention
I nventionss
is ‘Why do they need it?’ If they’re just making something
because it’s cool, then that’s not really good enough to
warrant the time spent creating it. There needs to be a
dramatic need for the item.
:3"2*Md L .#** &$ $"3f
The 󿬁rst thing an inventor has to do is decide just what
kind of weird item he’s trying to make. This means the
inventor’s player should write down the name of the
device followed by a paragraph or two describing the
dubious “scienti󿬁c principles” the character employs to
make it work. It’s more fun to write the theory from the
perspective of the
t he character, by the way.
way. Be sure to share
it with your group: for some reason inventors can never
stop cackling󰁧󰁭
A generous about
 maytheir latest
choose to inventions andPoint
award a Story theories.
to a
:)&*M&-6 L-K3-$&2-'
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
are exceptions, of course—it’
course—it’ss possible to jury-rig some-
thing in an emergency). When you’re
you’re creating an Invention
in the middle of an adventure, you need to make an Inge-
nuity and Technology Skill check to ensure you have
tweaked
tions. theyou
Then right bits enough
spend and soldered
Story the correct
Points connec-
to temporar-
ily purchase the Invention. Inventions created this way
are temporary items, and the Story Points used to create
them are not deducted from the character’s maximum
total, just from their current points. They’ll get them back
in time.
Your progress towards
towards completing the Invention is tracked
by a special bonus called, imaginatively, your Progress.
This starts at 0, and rises as you get closer to 󿬁nishing the
device. You add your Progress to your Ingenuity + Tech-
nology rolls. You need to accumulate a certain amount of
Progress before the invention is completed. When making
a new Invention, you roll Ingenuity + Technology + Prog-
ress against a Difficulty set by the 󰁧󰁭, and check the fol-
lowing table.
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁅
󰁅󰁒󰁅󰁎
󰁅󰁎󰁃󰁅
󰁃󰁅 󰁅󰁆󰁆󰁅
󰁅󰁆󰁆󰁅󰁃󰁔
󰁃󰁔
9+ Almost there! Add +4 to your Progress.
Progress! The Invention isn’t finished, but
4 to 8 you’re making good progress. Add +2 to your
Progress.
No progress󲀦but you’ve got an idea. You
need more information before you can finish
your device. You
You might need to gather sam-
0 to 3
ples from the field, or conduct experiments,
or acquire a particular component. If you do
so, add +1 to your Progress.
It works󲀦At least, you think it does. Your
character believes the Invention is ready for
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
shower of sparks, with a loud bang, a pathet-
−1 to −3
ic puff of smoke, or all of the above). You’ll
learn from this experience, and gain +1 Progress
and a Story Point. On the down side, your
malfunctioning device might get you killed.
If you don’t take the Invention into the field,
lose 1 Progress
Progress..
−4 to −8 No Progress: You’re getting nowhere.
Wrong Track:
Track: Lose 1 - 6 Progress as you head
under −9
down the wrong track.
 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).
157).

156

Pulp Inventions

󰁄󰁅󰁔󰁅󰁒󰁍󰁉󰁎󰁉󰁎󰁇 󰁉󰁎󰁖󰁅󰁎󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎 󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅󰁘󰁉󰁔󰁙
  󰁐󰁒󰁏󰁇󰁒󰁅󰁓󰁓
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅󰁓 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙
󰁎󰁅󰁅󰁄󰁅󰁄

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-
tive mineral. The GM decides that’s Tricky
Tricky (15) and will take a
total Progress of 3 to complete.
In week 1, Doctor Indiana rolls Ingenuity + Technology for a
total of 17. That beats the di fficulty by 2. Doctor Indiana needs
to make a detailed observation of Element X’s X’s eerie emissions
to make any progress.
During week 2, Lucy La Roux, his beautiful lab assistant,
 vanishes mysteriously and Doctor Indian
Indiana a has to choose
between looking for her and 󿬁nishing his measurements. He
puts down his detector and goes to look for his colleague. No
progress on his gadget.
In week 3, he rolls a total of 20. That’
That’ss beating the target by 5.
He adds two to his Progress!
During the next week, he rolls, adding a +2 bonus for his Prog-
ress. He gets a 20 again,
a gain, which means his Progress is 4. That’s
over the Progress total of 3 he needs. After four weeks the
Element X Detector is complete!
L-K3-$&2- 9@#&$'
󰁊󰁕󰁒󰁙-󰁒󰁉󰁇󰁇󰁉󰁎󰁇
Sometimes you need a gadget right now, and don’t have
time to wait. In emergencies
em ergencies only, you can spend Story Points
to accelerate the development of a gadget. The character
can make up the difference between his current Progress and
the amount he requires with Story Points, and then make an
Ingenuity + Technology Skill check. If this is successful, he’s
got a working version of the gadget.
ga dget. It’s ugly,
ugly, it’s improvised,
it’s got wires hanging out—but it works. Jury-rigged Inven-
tions are hurriedly built prototypes, fragile, prone to mal-
function and not meant for heavy use. They may even incor-
porate one-shot components or irreplaceable materials.
Jury-rigging is only available to characters with the Gadge-
teer Trait.
9
Let’s go back to the earlier example. Let’s say plucky Lucy La
Let’s
Roux was abducted by the dreaded Radium Men. Her com-
rades want to rescue her, but don’t know how to track her
down. Doctor Indiana decides that he’ll get his prototype
Element X Detector working to save the day by tracking the
Radium Men’s Element X powered ray-blasters. He spends
three Story Points to make up the missing Progress, and

Your Invention, as mentioned above, has Good

G ood Traits that makes
to bumpa Skill check.upHetofails,
his failure and spends
a Success. I t’s costmore
It’s him aStory
lot ofPoints
Story
aff ect
ect 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)
114) or 󰁮󰁰󰁣󰁳   (see page 171),
171), or
something new. For example, a cool jet-pack would award
the user the Flight Trait. Invention-speci󿬁c Traits are listed :)*>5 
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
 A)68
 A) 683-
3-$$ Minor version of this Trait means that the device can be
carried by a single person,
per son, but it’s the size of a heavy ruck-
ru ck-
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait) sack. The Major version of this Trait means that the In-
The Invention improves a character’s
ch aracter’s Attributes.
Attributes. A Minor
M inor vention 󿬁ts 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
argue that your 󿬂ying car is Bulky will just make the Gam-
Augmentation either gives a +2 to two Attributes or a +3 emaster laugh at you, but a ray gun the size of a tuba is a
 to one Attribute. The bene󿬁ts from an Invention can lift
a character’s Attributes to inhuman levels (7+). A teaching
helmet might boost Ingenuity, while a suit of hydraulic
armor could increase Strength.
Pulp Fantastic
?2-$@2*
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait)
The Invention can control something else, like another
machine. It can even seize control of such devices. A “re-
mote-control ray” that overrides the steering of an airplane
is a great example of a Minor Control gadget.
The Minor version of this trait works on a particular sort of
machine or system, or a particular type of animal. The Major
version can control people, and works like the Special trait
version of Hypnosis. Control only works over a very short
distance. If you want to build a mind control machine to
rule the world, try adding Transmit.
?2-K3@$
(Major Good Invention Trait)
The gadget turns something into something else. It might
turn rock into mud, lead into gold, poisonous gas into
breathable air and so on. The size of the conversion 󿬁eld
      S
is usually about three feet in diameter
diameter,, although this can
      E be boosted with Story Points. Most Inventions with Conv
Convert
ert
      L are Restricted not to work on living 󿬂esh, and only work
      U
      R
on a particular kind of substance.
F3*3$3
(Major Good Invention Trait)
The Invention can remove something from existence,
almost like a one-way teleporter. Perhaps it reduces an
object into its component atoms and records it, or rotates
it into an immaterial dimension. However it works, the
object is gone as if it never existed.
Objects deleted in this way can usually be restored by the
device up to an hour after its deletion, but the Invention
can usually only restore the last object it deleted. Should
the device be used to delete another object, the 󿬁rst object
is irretrievable, even if less than an hour has elapsed.
Inventions with this Trait can normally only delete objects
up to a meter in diameter, though this can be doubled if
a Story Point is spent. Items with this Trait usually have a
safety function built in to prevent their use on living tissue.
F3$3.$
(Minor Good Invention Trait - can be purchased more than
once, eff ects
ects are cumulative)
The Detect Trait means that the Invention can
ca n sense some-
thing from a distance (no more than a mile or so) – usually
something beyond the range of normal senses. What the
Invention senses is decided when it is invented and is quite
speci󿬁c – radiation detectors cannot, under normal cir-
cumstances, be used to detect life signs, for example. In
perfect example of Bulky.
157
F&'#B*3
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait)
The Invention stops another Invention from working. The
Minor version of this Trait means the Disable eff ect
ect only
works on one particular target – it might simply stop one
sort of weapon from working within its area of eff ect.
ect. The
Major version is more likely to drain the power from every
device nearby.
Disable eff ects
ects are usually temporary, but a One-Shot
Disable may destroy its targets
targe ts at the Gamemaster’s whim.
,33MB#.>
(Minor/Major Bad Invention Trait)
The invention does 1 point of damage to the user each
time it is used, with the Attribut
Attributee aff ected
ected chosen by the
󰁧󰁭 and the player when the device is created. The Major
version of this trait in󿬂icts 2 points of damage
d amage per use.
,2@.34I&3*M
(Minor/Major Good Invention Trait)
The Inventionknocks
automatically can project a protective
any damage forcedown
sustained 󿬁eld that
by a
level. Damage the character or item would receive due to
a Disastrous Result from the character (or a Fantastic Result
from the attacker) would be knocked down to a Bad (or
Good), and a Bad to a Failure, etc. The Major equivalent
of this Trait knocks the damage down by two levels. Many
repeated hits might deplete the item’s Story Points until
the force 󿬁eld is useless.
,@#6&*3
(Major Bad Invention Trait)
The Invention is very breakable. Any damage to it stops
it working. For that matter, dropping it, breathing on it or
 just speaking harshly to it usually stops it working. The
gadget can be repaired with a good Technology roll, but
it may break again at a moment’s notice. If the character
holding the device is hit by an attack or has to make any
vigorous or violent movement, then something just broke!
;)-6@5 
(Minor or Major Bad Invention Trait)
This Invention is a fuel or battery hog, and runs through
its power reserves very quickly. The Minor version of
this Trait means that any ‘Yes, But’ or ‘No,
‘ No, And’ results
(Average Successes or Dismal Failures) when using the
gadget means that the battery just ran out. The Major
version means that you need to hook the Invention up
to a really big power source (like a power plant, furnace,
furn ace,
 most cases, the user will have to make an Awareness +
Science roll to interpret the output of the machine and
get a sense of direction and distance of the detected item,
with the Gamemaster deciding the Difficulty depending
upon the circumstances
circumst ances (is the target far away,
away, very small,
moving or shielded somehow?).
158
L--2.)2)'
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
This Trait means the Invention looks like something per-
fectly ordinary. That radio communicator look just like a
wristwatch until you switch it on, and your Duesenberg
looks completely normal until you pull the lever that pops
the wings out and it takes off . In fact, your Invention
Inventi on won’t
even show up as Weird Tech until you’re actually using it.
E-3 C"2$
(Minor Bad Invention Trait)
The Invention has one use, and one use only,
only, so you better
make it count. One shot, and it’s history. Some items just
burn out or explode – others are designed to break after
doing what they’re supposed to. If the Gamemaster feels
the use of the Invention is dramatic enough, he may refund
the Story Points used to build the item.
E+3-R?*2'3
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
This Trait gives the Invention the power to open locks and
to seal things shut again if necessary. If used with the
Subterfuge Skill to pick a lock, it gives the character a +4
bonus to the roll. Locking a door is far easier than opening
it, as most locks tend to lock when they are tampered with,
giving the character a +6 bonus if the Gamemaster decides
a roll to lock the door is necessary.
13'$@&.$&2-
(Minor Bad Invention Trait)
Most Inventions have their limitations. This restriction
restric tion
applies when the normal functions of the device do not
work in certain circumstances, not to a list of things the
item doesn’t do. The Restriction should be discussed
with the Gamemaster
ly common, – itcommon
but not so should beitsomething
makes therelative-
device
useless. Does it not work through lead? Need a special
type of fuel to operate? Tricky controls so that only one
person can use it?
C.#-
(Minor Good Invention Trait - can be purchased more than
once, eff ects
ects are cumulative)
The Scan Trait means that the Invention can investigate
something from a range of a few feet and see what’s going
on inside it. Whether this is a medical function, checking
inside someone to see what’
what’ss wrong, or a technical function
looking such as looking at the wiring and circuitry of a
device, it all works on the same basic principal. In most
big diesel generator or a whopping big lump of Element
X) to get the thing working.
Pulp Inventions
Goggles, then the Trait provides a +3 bonus when used for
medical purposes, and +1 when used for anything else –
Medical X-Ray Goggles aren’t the best thing to look inside
a bank vault locking mechanism, but it may help a little.
If the Invention’s designed for a speci 󿬁c purpose, this
should be discussed with the Gamemaster, and recorded
on the Invention’s sheet.
C&8+*3 ?2-$@2*'
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
Weird Inventions are complex beasts, normally so complex
that only their creator or another Weird Inventor can
operate them. The Simple Controls Trait means that the
Inventor has made an e ff ort
ort to simplify the device; label-
ing switches, numbering dials and reducing the number
of delicate operations necessary to make the gosh-darned
contraption work. Anyone can pick it up and, with a Hard
Ingenuity roll, use it.
C&8+*3 P3."#-&'8
(Minor Bad Invention Trait)
The operating principles of the average Weird
Weird Invention
are so bizarre and revolutionary that even the brightest
conventional scientists cannot hope to figure them out.
Not so with this device, which the Weird Inventor has
refined and streamlined to the point that it can be un-
derstood – even reproduced! – by ordinary science.
Anyone with sufficient scientific and technological
know-how could open this thing up and deduce it’s
function and operating principles with a Difficult In- 9
genuity+Technology roll.
Owners of a device with this Trait must work hard to ensure
it does not fall into the wrong hands – do you really want
to face the assassins of the Tong of the Black Scorpion if
they’re all armed with cheap copies of the lethal Elec-
tro-blaster you lost in their temple a few months ago?
What happens if they decide to sell their stolen secret to
the Nazis? Such Inventions could change the world...
C*2< 
(Minor or Major Bad Invention Trait)
The Invention does what it’s designed to do, but it takes
its time about it. The Minor version means that the delay
between activating the device and something actually
happening is at least two minutes. A Majorly Slow Inven-
tion can take hours or days to get going.
93*3+2@$
(Major Good Invention Trait)
Teleport is a speci󿬁c Trait that means the user can disap-
 cases, the user will have to make an Awareness roll coupled
with a suitable Skill (Medicine for a medical scan. Tech-
nology for the workings of a device or Invention). The
Scan Trait provides
provides a +2 bonus to this roll if the device is
designed for ‘general scanning’. If the Invention is used
only for a speci󿬁c purpose, for example Medical X-Ray
Pulp Fantastic
The distance traveled is usually limited to around 400km
(enough to get into orbit, or to the inner Earth). Unless
someone is boosting the range with special components
c omponents
and ultra-rare materials…
9@#-'8&$
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
Transmit is a general Invention Trait that means the device
works in some ways
up, intercepting with signals,
or blocking whether this isorpicking
radio transmissions, some-
thing similar. It can be used anywhere that signals are
transmitted or received to block, listen in, or alter the
message. To use the Invention like this will require an
Ingenuity and Technology roll, the Gamemaster deciding
the Difficulty depending upon the signal being intercept-
ed or received (how far away, encrypted, or faint it is).
9@#K3*
(Minor or Major Good Invention Trait)
      S This Invention can transport all the player characters in
      E some way. The Minor version of this Trait moves in a way
      L that looks cool, but can be replicated by present-day tech-
      U
      R
nology. It might 󿬂y, or go underwater, or even travel into
space. The Major version can jump dimensions
di mensions and maybe
even travel in time!
=-@3*&#B*3
(Minor Bad Invention Trait)
Each time the invention is used roll a d6 and on a roll of 1
the Invention shuts down for d6X10 minutes. Cannot be
taken with the One Shot or Fragile Traits.
 !3*M
 !3* M
(Minor Good Invention Trait)
The Weld Trait covers all sorts of incendiary uses – the
Invention can be used to burn something, cut through
thin substances or even solder and weld small items to-
gether. While the Trait doesn’t give the task any bonuses,
it works as a great multipurpose tool for all your sealing
and cutting requirement
requirements!s!
g#+
g# +
(Minor or Major Good Trait)
It goes zap and makes things explode! The Minor Version
of this trait means that the Gadget works like your average
death ray
ray,, in 󿬂icting 4/L/L damage on people. Alternative-
ly, it does 4/8/12 damage, but also makes things explode
and burn.
The Major version of this trait can either hit multiple
pear from one location, and instantly appear in another.
This is usually very draining on the Invention and it will
require refueling frequently
frequently.. Teleporters, or “electrosend-
ers” are usually speci󿬁c devices as it takes a lot of power
to not only transport the user, but also to check the exit
location is clear and avoid any nasty mishaps on arrival.
159
L-K3-$&2- C$2@5 (2&-$'
Inventions are also really handy as they can hold Story
Points. The Invention can spend these if their use is par-
ticularly vital to the story. In most cases, these work a little
like characters’
characters’ Story Points. They can be spent to add an
extra two dice to an essential roll, or to do something
extraordinary. The Story Points the Invention spends can
only be used when the Invention itself is actively being
used. The Invention’s
the Gamemaster Story Points
approves, canthe
to allow be Invention
used, as long as
to do
something it’s not normally known for and isn’t on its
Trait list. For example, Doctor Indiana’s ultra-violet 󿬂ash-
light doesn’t normally generate heat, but if he can change
the light it produces to infra-red, he may just be able to
melt his way out of the ice-cavern those hostile yeti have
trapped him in…
When the Invention runs out of Story Points, it is essen-
tially out of power, broken or otherwise out of action.
Characters can donate Story Points to ‘fuel’ the Invention,
or dramatic use of the item can mean it is awarded Story
Points at the end of the adventure. This is also a great way
of helping a character when they’re low on Story Points,
by entrusting them with an Invention.
C283 GH#8+*3 L-K3-$&2-'
7#' 7)-
(Major Invention)
Handy device that you can use to put your opponents
to sleep.
Traits: Hypnosis (Major), Restriction (Sleep Only)
Story Points: 2
;5+-24F&'.
(Major Invention)
This small clockwork device 󿬁ts in the palm of the users
hand, and spins with an eerie oscillation that can erase a
subject’ss memory of the last few hours.
subject’
Traits: Delete, Psychic, Restriction (Delete function only
Traits:
works on memories)
Story Points: 2
12.>3$ (#.>
(Major Invention)
A man-portable rocket pack that allows a character to 󿬂y.
It’s a heck of a ride though, and take o ff  is
  is a real kick in
the pants!
 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-󿬂ying zeppelins. quires Jet Fuel)
Story Points: 2

160

Equipment 
C)B4G$"3@&. G*3.$@2'3-M3@
󰁁 󰁆󰁉󰁎󰁁󰁌 󰁗󰁏󰁒󰁄 󰁏󰁎 󰁉󰁎󰁖󰁅󰁎󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓
(Major Invention)
Not all Inventions involve wires and vacuum tubes. You 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
Unfort unately,, Medicine to research a cure for a virus,
v irus, 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,
Mad Botanists, Mad Economists (quite a lot of those, actu-
Traits: Restriction (One-W
(On e-Way),
ay), Teleport,
Teleport, Unreliable
Un reliable (Minor)
( Minor)
ally), Mad Clockmakers...
Story Points: 2

8
161

Chapter 10
This chapter is the real heart of the game. Everything else
is just suggestions and guidelines, but the game relies on
the Gamemaster to make
make it all work. It is tricky and chal-
lenging, but it lets you play with wonderful ideas and
create adventures with your friends.
In the role of Gamemaster you’re asked to be part story-
teller, part director and part referee.
C$2@5$3**3@
Although you’re all making a great adventure together,
the Gamemaster has an idea of where the plot will go, has
certain scenes planned and some cool action worked out
and knows the story of the adventure. Well, more accu-
rately,, he knows a possible story – the players could do
rately
something completely unexpected that takes the story in
new directions, and the Gamemaster will often have to
improvise to stay ahead of the players.
p layers. Run with what they
throw at you!
Before the game, you need to come up with an outline of
the adventure – who the villain is, what they want and
why, how they plan to get it, what comes through, what
complications the players face, what challenges they have
to overcome, and what other characters are present. This
outline can be as simple as a few scribbled notes, or as
detailed as a fully written adventure. We’ll talk about
designing adventures and series later on, but you can think
of an adventure as being equivalent to a television episode,
and a series being six or more episodes long.
F&@3.$2@
As a director it’s your job to bring the action to life. Instead
of saying ‘the robot attacks you’,
you’, be descriptive. Talk about
the stench of hot metal and ozone, the light gleaming off   game indefinitely.
its rivets, the buzz and crackle of it’s inner workings, the
glowing of its photo-receptors, the way the ground shakes
as it charges towards the players.
When the characters go into a new area, it’ll be up to you
Gamemastering
movies) and in the exotic realms of lost worlds, steaming
 jungles, isolated temples and secret volcano lairs. You
need to describe
describ e them all in an
a n exciting and engaging
e ngaging way.
way.
If the players take your description and run with it,
i t, inventing
further details as they describe what they are doing, then
great! It’s a sign that they are really getting into it, so encour-
age this and reward them for it by developing the story around
them and incorporate their ideas into your setting.
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
anything in a while, then you need to put the spotlight on
that player character and give them a problem to tackle
or a chance to shine.
13I3@33
While creating great stories and new adventures for the
characters, 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is a game and games need
rules. These books provide the rules, but in your role as
Gamemaster you’ll be asked to make judgment calls and
decide the outcome of rolls. Not only that, you’ll be expect-
ed to know the rules fairly well and so it may be up to you
to teach the rest of the gaming group exactly how to play!
󰁗󰁈󰁏 󰁓󰁈󰁏󰁕󰁌󰁄 󰁂󰁅 󰁇󰁁󰁍󰁅󰁓󰁍󰁁󰁓󰁔󰁅󰁒?
Answer: You.
You. If you’re reading this, try it out.
Usually, it’s the person who has purchased the game as
Usually, a s they
will have more access to the rules and adventures than the
players, giving them a chance to prepare between games.
Often, the Gamemaster acts as host for the game, and the
players gather at the Gamemaster’s place, but that’s not a
rule. Anyone can be the Gamesmaster.
Of course it doesn’t have to be just one person running the
indefinitely. It could be that a new Gamemaster takes
over with the start of a new series or adventure. A new
Gamemaster can change the feel and tone of the game. It
also gives you all chance to give Gamemastering a go, and
gives everyone a chance at playing (and having a break from
 When
to the characters
describe goso
the location into
theacharact
new area,
ersitget
characters ll abefeel
upfor
to you
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.
experience. It is more challenging that ‘just’ being
they have to interact with. Yo
You’ll
u’ll have to describe the place,
p lace, a player, but it also more rewarding and a great chance to
the sounds, the smells and the weather. 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣  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
an element of uncertainty and danger. The game is always
best when unexpected stuff  happens!
 happens!
 !"#$ M2 52) -33M $2 +*#5/
Before you start actually
actu ally playing, you’ll
you’ll need a few things.
t hings.
The Rulebook: This book, right here.
Dice: Tra
Traditional
ditional six-sided dice. Raid an old copy of Mo-
nopoly if you have to. Ideally, every player should have at
least two six-sided dice each, but you can get by with only
one pair between the whole group.
Somewhere to play: You really need somewhere to play.
This can be anywhere, though the most traditional place
is a decent sized dinner table. Make sure everyone’s com-
fortable, you can see each other (and especially the Gam-
emaster), and everyone can hear each other. If you haven’t
access to a dinner table, just 󿬁nd somewhere you can all
sit together.
These days, of course, you can also play online using chat
:#'&. 7#838#'$3@&-6
The Gamemaster is the glue that binds the game together.
They are the eyes and ears of the players, as well as the
voice behind the creatures and characters they meet. They
are the narrator and the storyteller who brings the world
to life with descriptions, imagination and stories. The
Gamemaster is the arbiter of decisions and makes the 󿬁nal
call on disputes, questions and problems.
The Gamemaster does not have a character of their own.
Instead the Gamemaster plays or ‘acts out’ the characters
of everyone the players meet. The Gamemaster is the
storyteller who knows all the secrets of the game, and it’s
their job to be mysterious and dynamic, and to keep the
pace of the game as exciting as possible. They know what
is going on behind the scenes and they act as referee in
battles and when a decision needs making on the rules.
The Gamemaster is the schemer who creates the fantastic
fantas tic
stories the players will experience, and it’s up to the Gam-
emaster to keep the players on course during
duri ng their adven-
tures by giving them sufficient clues and to make sure
they don’t lose their way or get bored.

programs
lot or message
more slowly boards. Online
than face-to-face games usually go a
games. The Gamemaster is impartial. They do not take sides and
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 playerss in the middle of the game, when things get out of
player
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
players’ Story Points and the monster’s Threat Points.
Added Extras: You have everything you need, but you
can add to the experience with a few extras – snacks (just
some sweets, drinks or fruit or something
someth ing – you don’t need
a lot, after all it’s hard to game with a full plate of 󿬁sh and
chips in front of you and you don’t want to distract from
the actual game). However, a few nibbles can keep every-
one’s attention 󿬁red up.
You could also add a little mood music, with some
    R to create the story. The plot may not go exactly in the
    E soundtrack CDs or moody classical music. Having a few
    T miniature 󿬁gurines can be fun if your group likes tactical
     S play and combat.
    A easily come back to the plot. It’s important to give the
    M Players!: Without players, there’
ther e’ss no game.
game . We’d
We’d probably
    E recommend a smaller group with three or four players
    M and a Gamemaster, but you can easily play the game with
    A more or fewer. A single player game is possible, but very
     G diff erent
erent to regular play. Beyond seven players, it’s close
to unmanageable – if you’re lucky enough to have eight
9#>&-6 ?"#@63
The Gamemaster might be in charge, and what he says
goes in a game, but you don’t have to make up everything
that happens. By listening to the players you can allow
them to create their own adventures. For example, they
might be talking about what they are going to do next and
by listening to their conversations you can plan ahead to
the future.
A good Gamemaster is descriptive, creative, energetic,
and eager to listen to the players as they work with you
direction you had planned but, with a little improvisa-
tion and quick thinking, the story will continue and can
players free reign to do as they please (without being
pressured into going in a certain
cert ain direction) and to give
them enough to do without being bored or so much that
they feel overwhelmed.
Make notes and do your preparation. Being the Game-
master takes more work, but it’s very rewarding. A bit of
 or moreaplayers,
getting second we suggest splitting
Gamemaster. into even
You could two groups and
have char-
acters from one game appear in the other as a “special
guest stars” or as part of a special “crossover
“crossover story”!
164
:3 (@3+#@3Md
 Just before the players assemble, or the night before, go
through the adventure again and
a nd make a few notes to keep
it fresh in your mind. Think of the various events in the
story, highlight them on the pages if you like, and think
of the sequence in which they occur. Remember, they
could happen out of sequence – you don’t know where the
players may go. There’s an old saying – no plan survives
contact
shouldn’twith
havethe players
a plan, it just–means
but that
thatdoesn’t mean
you’ve got you
to adapt
to circumstances.
If the players do go completely off  your
 your planned sequence
of events, then you’ve got several choices. You can just have
their superior or benefactor order them to go back to the
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
be investigating X this week, not Y. I’ve nothing prepared
for Y. Let’s go back to X for the moment, and you can follow
up on Y next week once I’m ready for it.’
P#>3 9"3 (*#53@' F2 9"3 !2@>
Where possible, get the players to handle parts of the game.
If the group visits the home of one of the player characters,
let that player come up with the details. If a character goes
off  to
 to meet a contact, have her describe where or even who
the contact is. Harnessing the players’ creativity makes
your job easier and makes the players more invested in
the game. Of course, you’ll have to exercise editorial control
over some players (‘my character lives in a giant mansion
with a vast headquarters in a cavern underneath!’)
You can even have a player play a minor non-player char-
acter in scenes where his usual PCs is not present. If the
players split up and half of them go to the National
Museum to do research, then one of the other players can
play the snooty curator for a scene.
13*#H Q ;#K3 ,)-
Some game sessions work perfectly. Others... don’t. There
will be times when you can’t come up with an original plot
to save your life, or the players 󿬁gure out your big plot
twist two minutes into the game, or all your NPCs come
across as cardboard robots, or your big exciting set-piece
combat scene falls 󿬂at.
Don’t worry about it. As long as the players have fun, it’s
all 󿬁ne – and players are remarkably easy to entertain
sometimes. Just don’t let the game drag or have ‘dead air’
where nothing’s happening. If you can’t think of anything
else at all, then just have a gang of thugs with guns kick
the door open and charge in, right now, no matter where
preparation goes a long way and if you listen to your players
and look where they’re
they’ re going to be for next week’s session,
you can prepare.
Gamemastering
;&-$' Q 9&+'
Be creative. There are lots of ways to create atmosphere
in a game. Give your NPCs distinct voices and mannerisms.
Chew the scenery!
Remember that the story is everything. You’re there to
have fun and to entertain each other.
Don’t let the story you’re
you’re telling get bogged down in details.
Pay attention to the pace and keep things moving.
Listen to the players – sometimes you can let them create
the story for you.
Don’t force them down a path just because you want them
to (or because you’ve worked hard on it) – simply use it at
a later date.
Challenge the players. Give them hard problems to solve,
force them to make difficult choices. Let them win, but
make them earn that victory.
Use the dice rolls to tell the story. If something unexpect-
ed happens, don’t ignore it – work it into the game.
Don’t be afraid to improvise.
Don’t randomly kill off  the
  the player characters, but don’t
pull your punches either.
eit her. The players have Story Points to
keep their characters alive – make them use them!
Remember to keep the pace of the game going. If the
players are stuck, help them out (maybe at the cost of a
Story Point), but don’t let the story slow down with them
wallowing
wallowin g in confusion.
Stay grounded. The world of 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is wild,
but part of the fun is keeping it rooted in an approximation 10
of real history. You can make things up, but have a quick
look at encyclopaedias and history books 󿬁rst. You’d be
amazed at what inspiration you can get from real life
events and concepts.
Make the game exciting. Be mysterious and secretive
(without being vague or frustrating).
Be spontaneous, go with your gut instincts. If it feels right,
do it!
Remember to have fun!
1)*3' Q !"3- 92 :3-M 9"38
While the rules are there to allow you to play the game,
they are not set in stone and a good Gamemaster should
know when to bend them.
Firstly, only call for a dice roll if it’s going to mean some-
thing. The 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 system, with its it s ‘Yes...And’s
‘Yes...And’s
 the player characters are. and No…But
interesting, s means
but that still
you should every dice
only roll
roll is it’s
if a) potentially
dramat-
ic and b) you can think of a consequence for failure. Don’t
make the characters roll to 󿬁nd 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.

165

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
r ule you’re
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
po intlessly.. 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
you’re changing the rules and this will be the
So, let the bad guys hurt the player characters.
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
I’ m making it 9.’ Once
he deserves everything he gets.) Death should come only
you’ve
you’veyou
work, announced
can scrapthe newtime,
it next ruling,
bu stick
but tokeep
t if you it. If changing
it doesn’t when either a player thinks it would be dramatically ap-
propriate and cool if his character died (perhaps
(perha ps in a heroic
the rules every 󿬁ve minutes you’re going to frustrate and
moment of self-sacri󿬁ce) 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 󿬁ne 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
ear ly 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.
d ead.
You could roll your dice out of the sight of the players.
Ideally,, the death of a character should be meaningful and
Ideally
Gamemasterss usually hide behind a screen that protects
Gamemaster
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 Gamemast
Gamemasters
ers 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 󿬂ow of the story, but it could If all this doesn’t keep the characters alive, the 󿬁rst thing is
build distrust from the players
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
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 e ff ectect on the
being ‘railroaded’ like that at the start of the game, but remaining heroes. The death of a comrade should spur the
    R
    E 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
    T in a heavy-handed manner, but don’t try to resolve it that while the player creates a new character. Or they could take
     S 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
    A clusion. If the players have successfully found and beaten until next session – who knows, they may enjoy playing
    M the villain who was the main obstacle in the adventure, them so much they’ll stick with this character.
    E don’t make them roll to search his headquarters and his
    M minions. Just cut to the next scene.
    A 󰁄󰁏󰁎’󰁔 󰁐󰁉󰁃󰁋 󰁏󰁎 󰁁 󰁐󰁌󰁁󰁙󰁅󰁒
     G Sometimes, it seems like a player is doing everything they can
F3#$" &' -2$ $"3 3-Mf to get their character killed. Just because a player is having
 Sooner or later, the inevitable will probably happen in your
game – one of the characters
characters will die. Not everyone can
have the Immortal Trait, but it doesn’t have to be the end.
No-one wants to see their favorite character killed, but…
The life of a hero in  󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 is very, very dan-
gerous. The player characters will be menaced, clawed,
166
their character do something stupid or against the plan for
the adventure, it doesn’t mean that you should punish them
by killing their character. If they’ve done something stupid,
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
will receive their own punishment just by adhering to the rules.
Just roll the dice and let fate do the rest!

Pulp Fantastic
erything is, you don’t have to worry about people arguing
“I thought he was over near the kerosene tanks?” or “no,
I’m over near the door, not close to the 󿬁re.”
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A major part of your role as Gamemaster is to portray all
the characters that the players meet, from victims and
witnesses to the characters’ superiors, friends and enemies.
Minor characters can be one-note clichés. All you need
for them is a name, a small bit of context, and an accent
or mannerism to latch onto in play.
play. Something like “Officer
Bob Morrison, skeptical police officer, pulls his notebook
out whenever he starts a conversation” is enough. You do
not even need to work out Attributes, Skills and Tr
Traits
aits – just
assume that the 󰁮󰁰󰁣 has 2s and 3s in most Attributes. If a
character becomes important later on, you can develop
him in more detail. It’s a good idea to have a list of random
names and traits that you can pull from when you need
to come up with a character unexpectedly. Players are
always going off  track
 track and interrogating unlikely people,
so you’ll need to be able to think on your feet and come
up with characterizations on the spur of the moment.
For major characters like the 󰁰󰁣’󰁳 superiors, you’ll want to
get more into the persona of the 󰁮󰁰󰁣. Write up a full char-
acter sheet for the 󰁮󰁰󰁣. Come up with a few physical man-
nerisms or verbal tics to make your portrayal of the 󰁮󰁰󰁣  instant personal two-way communications technology that
distinctive, and write out two or three lines of dialogue that
exemplify how that 󰁮󰁰󰁣 speaks. You don’t need to keep up
verbal tics and sparkling dialogue for a whole scene, as long
as your 󰁮󰁰󰁣 makes a strong impression on the players.
When playing villains, make the players hate them or
admire them. Dr Fu Manchu is a great example – he’s cold,
inhuman and utterly ruthless, but he’s also an honorable
man whose word is his inviolable bond. He sticks to his
principles, even if they do make him a monster. Other
villains may be slimy, conniving, manipulative and meg-
alomaniacal by turns. Your villains should be equally
connected to the player characters – shadowy conspiracies
conspiraci es
lack the bite that comes with a personal connection. (For
more tips on creating
c reating memorable villains, see page 177)
    R Don’t dominate the game with your 󰁮󰁰󰁣󰁳. The player
    E characters are the heroes – they’re the ones who save the
    T Each session, the players are given experience points,
     S day, solve the mystery and make the big decisions. Your
    A 󰁮󰁰󰁣 are there only to give the player characters informa-
tion, motivation or opposition.
    M
    E their abilities. Usually such increases tie into something
    M  A$82
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    A used a Skill well? Have they shown particular prowess
     G Being a good Gamemaster means paying attention to the
theatrics of the game. In addition to describing the scene and
you can read the character sheets, the dice rolls and the
rulebooks without straining your eyes! Of course, for
lighter toned games you can keep the lighting fairly
fair ly bright,
or play outside on a sunny day.
Music can certainly help. You could use soundtracks
editing out any lyrical songs so you don’t have any dis-
tractions. You can also obtain ‘s
‘stock’
tock’ sound eff ects
ects – having
a deafening monster roar ready to play at the press of a
button can really put the players on the edge of their seats,
and the sound of a locomotive can really add color to that
long train journey. (That said – don’t neglect the game by
spending ten minutes fumbling with 󰁭󰁰3 players and
speakers. Only use music and sound eff ects
ects if you can do
so without disrupting the 󿬂ow of the game.)
Props are another easy way to add to the mood. Instead
of telling the characters exploring the scene of a crime
that they 󿬁nd a manuscript describing bizarre experi-
ments involving Element X, you can print or write out a
document and hand it to them (complete with tears and
fake blood splatters…)
󰁔󰁅󰁌󰁅󰁃󰁏󰁍󰁍󰁕󰁎󰁉󰁃󰁁󰁔󰁉󰁏󰁎󰁓  
Unless they have access to weird-tech wrist radios or some
other fancy doodad, the characters will not have the kind of
the players are used to. In the world of the Pulp Era, there’s
no internet, no cellphones, no wikipedia or google. In the
1920’s and 30’s, communication takes time. Characters will
have to rely on fixed telephones, telegrams and the mail,
making communication delays a useful plot element for
Gamemasters to exploit.
When a player is out of contact, you may want to pull that
player aside and run some scenes in private. In the normal
course of play, you want to keep the number of secret con-
ferences to a minimum, but plots like
l ike a character’s Dark Secret
really
for as benefit from the other players being kept in the dark
long as possible.
GH+3@&3-.3 #-M 7#&-
re󿬂ecting the fact that their characters have learned from
their experiences. They can spend these points to increase
the character has done during the adventure – have they
with an Attribute? Have they learned something new
during the course of the game? All of these are great
 the
ic byevents well,the
changing youmood
can make
in thethe game
room far more
you’re atmospher-
actually in!
Lighting is one way to change the way the game feels. If
you’re playing a particularly spooky adventures you could
dim the lights in the room, draw the curtains, have a few
table lamps but keep the place dark with plenty of shadows
shadows..
Moody lighting helps in most mystery settings, as long as
168
Of course, the most common reward will be the restoration
of spent Story Points, though on very rare occasions you
could allow the character’s maximum Story Points to increase
so they can keep more Story Points in between adventures.
However, Skills, Attributes, Traits and Story Points are not
the only way you can reward your players. In-game rewards
are even more important than changing numbers on the
character sheet. Let the player characters get a better
reputation, invent new gizmos for their headquarters,
make new friends and allies. Make the characters part of
the world. If they save an 󰁮󰁰󰁣 from a ninja attack and make
a connection, bring that 󰁮󰁰󰁣 back as a love interest or a
friend (or a troublesome conspiracy theorist). If a charac-
ter keeps a great ape as a pet, then bring the character’s
landlord in as a comic-relief 󰁮󰁰󰁣. Every adventure should
add something new to the story.
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One of the trickiest parts to Gamemastering is being the
referee. You should know the rules well and be comfortable
making judgment calls when it comes to those odd cir-
cumstances not covered by the rules. The best thing to
remember is that the same basic rule can be used for just
about anything in the game (Attribute + Skill (+ Trait) +
two dice, try to beat the Difficulty). Any problems, make
a decision and get on with the story. Try not to stop the
game and fumble through the books to 󿬁nd a rule, just
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
them in a crisis or tweaking the course of the adventure
so that they gain something as a reward (see above).
󰁒󰁕󰁌󰁅󰁓 󰁌󰁁󰁗󰁙󰁅󰁒󰁓
If you don’t like being too official with the rules, and you
have a player who really enjoys the accuracy of some rule
decisions, why not give them the responsibility of keeping
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-
signed player to check the rules while you continue. The
player who does this shouldn’t be too integral to the plot at
that moment, but if their character can take a back seat for
a couple of minutes while their player checks some rules,
that shouldn’t leave them in too much of a pickle!
There may be times when the players dispute a ruling, and
start moaning. It can be difficult, but remember you are
in charge. The players should abide by your decisions. If
they’re unhappy with it, tell them to continue on and not
disrupt the game.
questions
increase inyou should
Skill ask yourself
or Attribut
Attribute.
e. before dishing out an
It could be that the character deserves a new Trait, or the
removal of a Bad Trait that they have struggled with for a
while. Are they braver now than they used to be? Does
that mean that they should gain the Brave Trait, or lose
their Cowardly Bad Trait?
Gamemastering
the creation of their characters (if they’re using their own),
and molding the team to the series you have in mind.
As you play, you’ll discover some players develop certain
styles of gaming. Some like to get straight into the action.
Others prefer the moody and emotional high stakes,
making their character a deep and developed person. Some
players just want to know where the bad guys are so they
can shoot at them, while other players may take more of
a back seat, spectating more during
d uring the game and enjoy-
ing the action as others make the major decisions. Some
players only want to know what their characters knows,
and want the whole game to be as real as possible. Others
will want to come up with stories for their character and
work with you to put their own character through an
emotional wringer.
Tailoring the game to your players makes it more fun for
everyone. Players usually fall into one of the following
categories, although some players are hard to classify and
others 󿬁nd two or three styles of play equally fun.
Power Gamers: This sort of player wants to make his
character stronger,
stronger, faster and cooler. He’ll zero in on the
really powerful Traits like Fast Re 󿬂exes and Tough, he’ll
probably
to take
be really Experienced,
eff  and he’ll maximize
ective. His character
ective. a few
will be less skills
rounded
but more eff ective
ective than others. He wants a game more
than a story, and he wants to win that game. Everyone’s
got a little Power Gamer in them.
Keep Power
Power Gamers happy by giving them experience
exper ience points
and new challenges to overcome. To keep the game from
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
combat in the game ever again. Instead, provide new ways
for the Power Gamer to grow his character. If he’s already
brilliant at shooting things, start moving the game towards
more investigation and mysteries, so he can start building
up his character’s Science and Knowledge skills.
Over-the-top Power Gamers can play sel󿬁shly
shly,, neglecting
negle cting
the group in favor of their own ends – they might run o ff  
into the Evil Mastermind’s lair to look for weird tech, or
betray their organization for pro󿬁t. Remind the player
that the game is about the story of the group, and if he
leaves the group, well, the focus won’t include his charac-
ter very often.
Butt-Kickers:  These players like combat. They
Th ey like shoot-
ing things, punching things, killing things, and blowing
things up. Unlike the Power Gamer, the Butt-Kicker may
not make an optimized, super-powerful 󿬁ghter, but he
does like to 󿬁ght. He’ll probably make a combat-orientat-
ed character. Give the Butt-Kicker lots of 󿬁ghts to keep
 Talk to your players after the game. Ask them what they
enjoyed, and what they didn’t enjoy. If something isn’t
working, change it with Temporal Damage!
(*#53@'
As Gamemaster, you’ll be there to guide the players through
him happy.
Tacticians: Some players approach the game as a tactical
puzzle to be solved. For them, the best game is one where
they overcome all the obstacles in the most efficient way
possible. They appreciate complex challenges (‘how do
we 󿬁gure out what the villain wants, stop him, 󿬁nd out
where his base is, in󿬁ltrate it and get back in time for the
169

Pulp Fantastic
󿬁reside 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 goo󿬁ng around. spectating, then that’s 󿬁ne. 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”.
the game. They use out-of-character knowledge in erything being covered by a similar roll. It could be that
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,
thi eves, “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
d on’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 󿬁rm ‘table rule’ where
don’t get to do their thing. Try to draw the specialist
speciali st out
everyone has to
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
u se 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.
r ulebooks. Luckily,
Luckily, 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰 󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 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 󿬁ghting
‘bent’ a little to allow for a smooth running game. Above
bad guys than in exploring how 󿬁ghting bad guys aff ectsects
all, you have the 󿬁nal 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
u pon your deci-
character interaction and
an d day-to-day
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 – 󰁰󰁵󰁬󰁰  󰁦󰁡󰁮󰁴󰁡󰁳󰁴󰁩󰁣 games
giving them Story Points to make up for the bad call, or
are quick-p
quick-paced!
aced!
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
the n that’s the key to a good game.
investigating mysteries and risking their lives.
    R Storyteller: Like the method actor, the storyteller’s
storytell er’s more
    E
    T interested in role-playing than puzzles or combat. He is
     S less interested in his character’s internal life, and more in
    A the overall plot of the game. They may not care very much
    M about individual monsters, focusing more on the story
    E and the big series arcs. Storytellers want distinctive 󰁮󰁰󰁣󰁳,
    M interpersonall drama, big mysteri
interpersona mysteries
es and epic stories.
    A
     G 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.
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
170
Chapter 11
T
he measure of a hero can be found in the quality of
his enemies. While the Pulp Era was a time of great
heroes, they were opposed by equally great villains.
While the majority of pulp magazines were 󿬁lled with
quite mundane menaces – gangsters and the like – occa-
occ a-
sionally a villain appeared that raised the bar, elevating
themselves
themselves from a mere enemy to an arch-nemesis. These
villains were a match for their enemies; twisted shadows
of their opponents in every way as memorable and unique
as the heroes they fought.
Professor James Moriarty is the classic arch-nemesis, in
every way the equal of Sherlock Holmes; a fun-house
mirror re󿬂ection of the man he could have been. Every
great hero has his or her nemesis; John Sunlight, The
Master,, Shiwan Kahn, Fu Manchu – all great personalities,
Master
each with distinct motivations, goals and methods.
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Playing the villain is one of the great delights of running
a Pulp-style role-playing game. Free of the limits of polite
society, common sense, decency or empathy, the Pulp
villain is a larger than life foil to larger than life heroes.
P2$&K3
Even during the era of the Pulps, very few villains are evil
simply for the sake of it. Those that are, are driven to it by
their very nature. Perhaps they are actual monsters; a
resurrected mummy or ancient reincarnated sorcer-
er-king.
er-kin g. Perhaps they’re a bitter golem of stitched-t
stitched-togeth-
ogeth-
er 󿬂esh or a homicidal robot. Or perhaps they’re simply
criminally insane, driven mad by the trauma of war, a
great loss or simply the memory of being laughed out of
the academy. The best villains are those with clear and
understandable (if extreme) motives for what they do.
Very few Pulp villains really believed they were evil.
9"3 (#$@&2$
Though the Pulp Era was one de 󿬁ned by an ever expand-
Pulp Villains
perceived predations of Western civilisation. Many were
more than mere ideologues, having su ff ered
ered terrible per-
sonal losses at the hands of Westerners, and determined
to either revenge themselves or ensure that no other
should suff er
er as they should. Perhaps the most notable
patriotic arch-villain is Fu Manchu, a man who saw the
cultural collision of East and West as a war that threatened
to destroy his land and heritage unless he saw to it that
his people dominated. In many ways, the patriotic villain
is the mirror image of the patriotic hero, made his enemy
only by an accident of birth and geography.
9"3 9"@&**4C33>3@
The need to overcome boredom and ennui is the reason
many pulp villains take up arms against the forces of
 justice. These men and women have exhausted the op-
portunities for diversion off ered
ered by the mundane world,
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
their tremendous natural gifts of intelligence or riches
make this the only challenge remaining. These villains
are often extremely dangerous, due to their unpredict-
ability and their willingness to risk it all on a single, wild
chance. Many have been known to initiate dangerous
schemes, only to go down in 󿬂ames laughing at the spec-
tacle as they burn.
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Some villains do bad things for the sake of knowledge;
because they seek forbidden truths, dangerous science
and Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know.
In a time when broadcast media and print were bringing
the wonders of science to the masses, it seemed that there
was no limit to what mankind might achieve, and many
pulp writers explored the dark consequences of that pos-
sibility. They presented scientists driven by the need to
conquer death, to defy God and create life, to dabble with
the forces of creation and build weapons capable of unmak-
 ing horizon and the desire to see beyond, xenophobia and ing thestrictures
by the world. These men and
of society, lawwomen refused
and morality to occasion-
(and be bound
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
manuscripts of
unholy provenance.
Questers often start off  as noble characters, before becom-
ing corrupted by the dark secrets they uncover and the
things they must do to obtain that knowledge, proving
the adage about the road to Hell being paved with good
intentions. Perhaps the best example is H.P. Lovecraft’s
character Herbert West, who begins as a doctor seeking
to extend life and save humanity from the spectre
spectr e of death,
and ends a murderer and a ghoul destroyed by his own
resentful creations.
9"3 G8+&@34:)&*M3@
These villains are victims of their own vaunting ambition;
the king-makers and empire-builders. Like the patriotic
villain, they often take responsibility for their fellows, but
the empire-builder tends to see them more as property
than those who need to be protected.
Empire-builders range from the petty to the truly ambi-
tious. They can be gang leaders seeking to expand or hold
their turf, to corrupt politicians trying to gain control of
City Hall, from generals with an eye on control of their
country or madmen
palm of their who want to hold the globe in the
gloved hand.
This kind of villain has a tendency to be well-organised,
well-funded and ostentatious. Power is no fun unless you
can use it, and its no fun using it unless people know
about it. Ego is a driving force behind empire-builders,
and they can often be extremely cruel, deriving great
enjoyment from crushing their opponents through over-
whelming force.
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Some villains aren’t necessarily
necessarily bad, they just love a good
󿬁ght. For them, the prize at the end ofa battle isn’t really
what motivates them, its the battle itself. Glory Hunters
need to test themselves physically against the most worthy
opponents – usually, the heroes. These villains are often
de󿬁ned by a sense of sportsmanship and respect for their
enemies. Not for them the inescapable death-trap, the
waves of ninjas or the carefully concealed car-bomb. Such
    R the Foreign Mastermind or Sinister Oriental is the per-
    E things are unworthy, and just a little cowardly. No, its not
    T enough for the Glory Hunter to simply defeat the heroes;
     S he has to face them on an equal footing, to risk defeat and
    A be seen to win.
    M
    E These villains are in many ways the most reasonable, as
    M they will often concede defeat
de feat and step away from a battle
    A when it becomes clear they’re losing, only to return another
     G day with a new and more elaborate game to play.
Those who are just plain bad may be charming, urbane
and educated or brutish, stupid and crude, but they are
all vicious, unprincipled, spiteful and malicious.
Since these villains have almost no motivation other than
being evil and / or insane, they are usually
usu ally de󿬁ned by their
methodology.. They deal death in
methodology i n obscure and horrible
horr ible ways,
and often have a signature weapon or modus operandi.
Perhaps the best example of this is Dr Jack Quartz, who
opposed detective
a genteel, Nickand
charming Carter for over thirty
intelligent man,years.
was Quartz,
Qua rtz,
utterly
without morality or conscience and had a passion for
vivisecting human beings in a number of cruel and gro-
tesque ways. And once said “I like beautiful girls. I like to
cut them up. It is my passion.”
Villains of the just plain bad variety are the most likely to
return from “certain death”, as they are often so horrible
that players won’t rest until they’ve seen the villain dead.
󰁂󰁁󰁉󰁔 & 󰁓󰁗󰁉󰁔󰁃󰁈
Gamemasters should be aware that the archetypes in this
chapter are purely there for inspiration. One technique you
may find useful is
i s the “Bait and
a nd Switch”,
Switch”, whereby the players
believe that their latest opponent is one kind of villain, only
to find he’s another kind entirely. For instance, they may be
investigating an evil cult that murders those who stand in
their way with magic, only to find that they’re actually run
by a Mad Scientist who is using his Weird Technology
Technology to do
the killings. Another technique is the “Mix and Match”,
Match”, where
the Gamemaster confronts the heroes with a team of villains,
carefully crafted to complement each other’
other’ss strengths and
counter their weaknesses. Pulp villains rarely work alone, so
it makes sense to select one villain as the main leader, and
feature the others as trusted lieutenants.
 U&*
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One of the most popular and enduring Pulp archetypes,
soni󿬁cation of our fear of the strange and the unknown.
He represents both our fascination with, and our fear of,
the exotic. Traditionally he is a superior Chinese crime
lord; a master manipulator and arch conspirator who uses
his genius, ruthless cunning and array of fanatical minions
to pursue his goals, whateve
whateverr they might be.
The stereotype of the eerie criminal genius, with his
strange ways and alien outlook, pre-dates the Pulp era by
nearly half a century, arising from the xenophobic view
 X)'$ (*#&- :#M
For all our explorations of villain motivations, some are
 just plain bad. Whether they’re driven by a head full of
bad wiring, a corrupt ideology
ideology,, greed, lust, sadism or just
a perverse desire to watch the world burn, these are the
villains that player characters will end up hating. There
is no depth to which they will not sink and no act too vile.
172
Perhaps the most famous Foreign Mastermind is the bril-
liant and ruthless Dr Fu Manchu, a gifted chemist with a
genius for natural toxins and horrible biological weapons,
motivated not by greed or power but by a desire to thwart
Western Imperialism. Other notable masterminds includ-
ed Pao Tcheou, the “Master of the Invisible”; Kiang Ho, the
Submarine Pirate; Dr Yen How, “The Yellow Danger”;
Quong Lung, the ruler of San Francisco’s Chinatown;
Shiwan Kahn; Mr King, the “Yellow Claw”; Dr Chu Lung;
Li
andShoon; Ssu Hsi Tze,the
his doppelganger themysterious
“Ruler of Vermin”;
Wu-Fang;Drand
Yen Sin
Ming
the Merciless.
The Foreign Mastermind prefers to act through his minions
and maybe a trusted lieutenant, rarely getting his hands
dirty himself, though he is often quite physically capable.
Where he excels, however, is in the creation of terrible
tortures, vile deathtraps and horri󿬁c means of murder.
Fu Manchu himself commanded the dread assassins of
the Celestial Order of the Si-Fan and had a formidable
knowledge of rare venomous creatures, poisonous plants,
virulent bacilli and deadly fungi, all imported from the
“mysterious East”.
Note that the Foreign Mastermind need not necessarily
be Oriental. While the most notable examples are Chinese,
Western incarnations included Doctor Nikola (European)
and Dr Jack Quartz (American). A quirk of the Foreign
Mastermind is that most of them are men of their word
and have a certain sense of honor. He also has an uncanny
knack for escaping certain death.
Note: Gamemasters planning to use the Foreign Master-
mind – an embodiment of racist fears and attitudes – need
to be careful to avoid o ff ending
ending their more sensitive
modern players.
C&<#-6 N)-6 ] 9"3 F3#$" F@#62-
Little is known of the true history of the master criminal
and terrorist
Lung k nown to
known
– the infamous the world’
“Death s governments
. Few knowas
D ragon”.
Dragon” Siwang
anything
of the man himself, and even fewer speak of him. Those
who do so unwisely rarely
rarely live long enough to repeat the
error.
One legend persists, however, and it is given some level
of credence by those who have fought the Death Dragon
and lived, though if true the implications are far-reaching
indeed. Indeed, given the events of 1901, the story appears
to have more than a passing basis in truth…
The legend tells of an unnamed Chinese alchemist who lived
near the city of Kaifeng many centuries past. This alchemist
was skilled in the healing arts, but not wise in the ways of man.
In visiting the home of the local lord, he was unwise enough
of the East by the West. Chinese immigrants were viewed
as racially and socially impure, an insidious threat seeking
to overrun the West. Often they were regarded as fanatics
and portrayed as drug-using sexual deviants who lusted
after white women, while positive portrayals
por trayals were restrict-
ed to humble, simple-hearted peasants.
Pulp Villains
to be however,
however, and the lords men came for the alchemist soon
after.. At the lords palace, the alchemist was accused of murder
after
by none other than the lords widow, and the alchemist slowly
realised that he had been used.
While awaiting execution the young alchemist used his h is skills
to drug his jailers and escape. He 󿬂ed to the nearby mountains,
where he lived as a hermit, hunting in the wilderness and
bartering his healing skills to the peasants for food when he
could. It was while he was hunting in the mountains that he
came across the sky craft. Details vary between di ff erenterent tell-
ings of the legend, but the common elements tell of the discov-
ery of a ship from the stars, half-buried in the side of the moun-
tain and surrounded by the distorted bodies of the crew,
tentacled beasts similar to the devil- 󿬁sh encountered in the
South China Sea. Tracks in the snow led the alchemist to a
cave, where he encountered the last survivor of the crash,
injured and dying due to some respiratory infection. Recog-
nising the creatur
creature’s
e’s intelligence,
intelligence, the alchemist nursed it back
to health using his knowledge of the healing arts and the blood
of stolen sheep and goats. Through
Throug h strange dreams he absorbed
the secret of communicating with the strange creature, and
soon learned that it was like him, a scientist, sent to earth to
assess the planet’s suitability for colonisation. The alchemist
learned
with the much
sciencethrough hisnecessary
and skills dreams astothe it alive in󿬁a
keepcreature lled him
hostile
environment. Together they salvaged much of the sky craft’s
technology, and built a home above the snow line, where the
cold kept the creature protected from most of the ailments that
could prove fatal to it.
In order to allow him to aid it more e fficiently, the creature
taught the alchemist the principles of its alien science and the
operating procedures of its equipment. It taught him much of
the science of it’s homeworld, including how to alter the fabric
of life and bend it to his will, to create or cure disease organisms
and to improve and adapt the 󿬂esh of living things. The alche- 11
mist used these techniques on the only experimental subject
he had available – himself - to improve his health, strength
and durability, enhancing his mind and extending his life-span.
life-spa n.
Returning to their stronghold after a hunting expedition, the
alchemist came across his companion in the midst of a hunters
encampment. The hunters had strayed too close to the cave,
and the creature had slaughtered them all. What horri󿬁ed the
alchemist was the fact that the creature was drinking them,
 gorging itself on their life-blood. In it’s
it’s ecstasy,
ecstasy, the creature’s
creature’s
thoughts were revealed to the alchemist in all their
the ir alien horror.
In it’s mind were visions of conquest, of humanity bred as cattle
for the consumption by their alien masters. Aghast, the alche-
mist slew the creature before retreating to his mountain fast-
ness to ponder what he had seen.
No longer a simple alchemist, the young man knew that the
creature’s companions would eventually turn their hungry
 to meet and fall in love with the lords beautiful young wife.
w ife. In
their stolen moments together she told the alchemist of her
husbands dreadful treatment of her, of his cruelty and frequent
beatings. Outraged, the alchemist gave the young wife a potion
to administer to her husband, that would ensure for him a swift
death. In the morning the lord was dead, and the alchemist
believed that he and his lover would soon be wed. This was not
eyes towards earth once more, and when that happened
mankind would have to be united in their response or fall
beneath the might of a superior force. Hardened by his expe-
riences in the mountains, the young man reasoned that hu-
manity itself could be toughened and moulded into a weapon
with which to protect the planet against the alien invaders.
To succeed,
succeed, mankind would need to be tended, with weakness-

173

Pulp Fantastic
es pruned away asa s if by a careful gardener.
gardener. Morality,
Morality, compas- Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 6
sion and in󿬁rmity were all things humanity would not be able
to aff ord
ord 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:
 (Special Good Trait) Siwang Lung
Today
man ofSiwang
ChineseLung appears
extraction, to be
with a tall,
long blackathletically built
hair, and pierc- Fast
healsHealer
extremely quickly due to his alchemical
ing green eyes. He is physically 󿬁t, 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 󿬁fty 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.
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
practice have made the Death Dragon a formi-
toxins and
weapons. Heaconsiders
host of himself
other, even stranger
a whetstone, biological
against which dable 󿬁ghter.
the blade of mankind will be sharpened for the war to Minions (Major Good Trait) Siwang Lung can
come. Curiously,
Curiously, when the Martians invaded in 1901, China
C hina call on fanatical minions on a moments notice.
was apparently well-prepared
well-prepared and suff ered
ered comparativ
comparative-
e-
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.
internationall force for evil, an army of religious fanatics
internationa 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
global ly,, with strongholds
stron gholds in almost Psychic (Special Good Trait) Siwang Lung can
every nation on earth. He is accompanied at all times by read minds with eff ort.
ort.
Omar, a hulking Turkish body guard fanatically devoted Psychic Training (Minor Good Trait) Siwang
to his master and by Saber, a massive
mass ive grey wolf with which
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
    R
    E Note: The Death Dragon is a formidable opponent, and gadgets and tools.
    T
     S should not be used lightly. He rarely takes a hand in the Tough (Major Good Trait) The Death Dragon
    A action himself, so create some trusted lieutenants and is extremely robust.
    M named henchmen for him for the players to test their
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Siwang
    E strength against before letting them take a crack at the
Lung is a natural leader.
    M man himself.
    A Quote: “The decadent West must fall so that mankind can Total Character Points: 86
     G survive!” Story Points: 12
174

Pulp Fantastic
F2>$2@ 92M3'>2+I  soon overtook him when, in 1901, the Martian invasion
Even among Mad Scientists, the arch-villain known as
Doktor Todeskopf is considered extraordinary.
Born in Switzerland in the year 1876, Maximilian Weiss-
kopf was the only son of an unremarkable watchmaker.
A sickly child who was not expected to live beyond
b eyond infancy,
infancy,
the boy made up for what he lacked in physical health
with his indomitable will and prodigious intelligence.
Records of his early life are scarce, but it appears that
Maximilian’s intellect developed at remarkable speed.
Through the patronage of a local priest, the boy was
allowed access to scholarly libraries, which he devoured
at an astounding rate. Recognizing that the boy’s mind
was unique and would rebel at normal schooling, the priest
took young Maximilian to the University of Zurich, where
their study of his apparently unique mind would in turn
enable him to study whatever he wanted. Maximilian grew
up surrounded by academics and scientists, absorbing
everything he could learn from them, occasionally turning
other 󿬁elds of research on their heads as he synthesized
new theories.
When Maximilian was ten his parents both died of in 󿬂u-
enza, and he became a ward of the University. Apparently
uninterested in making friends of his own age, he continued
to associate with the staff , aware that they were studying
him as much as he was studying everything and anything
that interested him. He became particularly fascinated by
mathematics, chemistry,
chemistry, physics and engineering, though
he also studied music and the growing 󿬁elds of what would
come to be known as psychology and sociology
sociology..
At the age of twelve, Maximilian Weisskopf obtained his
󿬁rst degree. By 󿬁fteen he had obtained three more. By
eighteen, he was awarded a doctorate in mathematics.
Curiously few records of his time at University have survived,
but letters and journals from the time describe him as a
thin, wiry young man with a shock of dark hair and intense,
almost feverish eyes. One professor describes him as “a
young man being consumed from within by the power of
a mind trapped in a body almost too weak to contain it”.
It was at the age of twenty-󿬁ve that Weisskopf’s behaviour
seems to have changed. Having spent several months
    R resources were allocated elsewhere, and the research
    E apparently attempting to develop a suite of equations with
    T which human behaviour could be modelled and even
     S predicted, young Weisskopf seemed to suff er
er some sort
    A In the face of massive casualties
of emotional breakdown. Becoming melancholy and with-
    M drawn, Weisskopf locked himself away in his rooms at the
    E hopelessly maimed officers, its former use apparently
University for a period of several weeks, before emerging,
    M forgotten. By the end of the War, the building housed
    A packing his bags, claiming his inheritance – his parents
     G had managed to save a small sum of money for him that
he’d previously shown no interest in – and travelling to
began. Weisskopf was in London when the 󿬁rst cylinders
fell, and witness accounts place him at some of the worst
incidents of Martian aggression. Indeed, it seems highly
coincidental that wherever he was seen, the Martian
tripods seemed to appear soon after, as if they were ac-
tively pursuing him.
In the months following the end of the Martian invasion,
invasion,
many horrible discoveries were made in the alien instal-
lations and encampments. The public already know about
the Martian habit of feeding on human blood, and there
has been some speculation in scienti󿬁c circles about the
purpose of the experiments conducted on human prison-
ers in the Martian slave-camps. What was kept from the
public was the awful truth about the research installation
the Martians buried beneath Wimbledon Common. Within,
horri󿬁ed investigators discovered a charnel pit 󿬁lled to
the brim with corpses, each with the top of its skull neatly
sliced away and the brain removed. One of these was
identi󿬁ed as the mortal remains
remai ns of Maximilian Weisskopf.
Worse were the strange glass tubes, each 󿬁lled with thick,
green liquid and containing a single, pulsing human brain.
Over a period of months the tubes and their apparently
living contents were carefully shipped to the Roy
Royal
al Institute
for Special Scienti󿬁c Inquiry at Lemuel House in Kent, a
thinly-veiled front for the War Office. There the tubes and
their life-support equipment, the Martian 󿬁ghting ma-
chines and other remnants of their technology, all under-
went a rigorous program of study in an attempt to uncover
the principles of their operation and perhaps even reverse
engineer them.
Though breakthroughs were made, progress was slow,
and the years passed and turned into decades. As time
went on, the brains all slowly failed and died. All except
one. One brain seemed to thrive while the others withered,
almost as if the lack of a physical form had somehow freed
it to reach its full potential.
With the outbreak of the Great War, the study and obser-
vation of the apparently undying brain was put aside in
favor of unlocking the secret of the Martian Heat Ray and
the dreaded Black Smoke. When this failed, the Institutes
researc h wing
was sealed up. Locked in a store room, the brain was all
but forgotten.
casualties on the front lines, Lemuel
House was re-tasked as a hospice for shell-shocked and
almost three hundred patients, almost all of them severe-
ly traumatised by shell-shock or rendered nearly cataton-
ic by the horrors they witnessed in the trenches.
 England. It waspiece
burned every discovered afterwards
of paper that Weisskopf had
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-

176

Pulp Fantastic
1#M&)8 P#-
Quote: “ELIMINATE. ELIMINATE. ELIMINATE!”
Awareness: 2 Coordination: 2 Ingenuity:
Presence: 3 Resolve: 2 Strength:
Skills: Convince 2, Fighting 3, Marksman 2, Technology 4
Traits:
Armor (Special Good Creature Trait) The Radium
Man’s thick armor plate reduces damage done to
it by 10 (Coordination penalty already applied).
Dependency (Minor Bad Trait) Radium Men
must recharge daily.
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait)
Radium Men suff er
er no environmental ill-ef-
fects.
Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Radium Men are terrifying up close.
Networked (Minor Good Trait) All Radium
Men are linked by radio waves.
Impaired Senses (Minor Bad Trait) The Radium
Men have low-resolution visual and audio devices.
Robot (Special Good Trait) Technically they
aren’t robots, but as surgically modi󿬁ed brains
installed in iron bodies they might as well be.
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature Trait)
Due to their mass, Radium Men are relative-
ly slow and lumbering. In chases their Speed
is reduced to 1.
Total Character Points: 37
Story Points: 3
9"3 ?)*$ N3#M3@
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
can’t be very far away. The world is changing faster and
    R faster every day, and many people 󿬁nd change very scary
    E indeed. Into this mix strides the Cult Leader, a charismat-
    T ic 󿬁gure holding secret knowledge, promising salvation
salvation
     S
    A for those who follow his word.
    M The Cult Leader may be a charlatan or possess genuine
    E arcane knowledge, but his true power comes from those
    M who follow him, devoting themselves to his cause and
    A fanatically willing to follow his every command. They
     G bring him wealth, power and status, and make him a
dangerous and unpredictable opponent.
His personality, motives and methods will vary according
to the nature of the cult and the truth behind it. Cultists
who worship a Eldritch Abomination and wish to free
their deity to feast upon the world are very diff erent
erent from
2
those who worship a devil (or the Devil) and wish to in-
7 crease their personal power and wealth.
In the Pulps, cults tend to fall into one of the following
categories;
Apocalypse Cult: The End of Days is upon us, and these
cults see it as their duty to help their god or gods bring an
end to us all and make the world anew. Apocalypse Cults
often have some insane plan for mass murder, triggered by
a supposedly supernatural omen, like a comet or supernova.
Revival: This cult is based on an old – presumably extinct
- religion, and may even make claims to be a direct con-
tinuation or secret survival. Sometimes these cults seek
to take revenge on those responsible for the extinction of
their faith in earlier times.
Space Gods: These cults tend to be based on supernatural
interpretations of dubious archaeological data, using them
as evidence that mankind was visited in the past (and may
even have been engineered by) vastly powerful visitors
from another world. Often cults of this kind have apoca-
lyptic leanings, promising that the faithful will be taken
up to live forever in their alien paradise – frequently after
a mass suicide.
Adventists: This cult is usually a radical splinter group
of an existing religion, based around the return to Earth
or rebirth of a messianic religious 󿬁gure such as Jesus
Christ (most often in the form of the Cult Leader himself,
but frequently in the form of an easily controllable dupe).
Dark Cult: This cult worships or believes something truly
evil. This could be Satan, an Anti-God, or an Eldritch
Abomination. Cults of this kind are the most dangerous
– with their twisted beliefs and inverted morality, Dark
Cultists have little
love of murder andormayhem.
no self-restr
self-restraint
aint and have a sadistic
Use the system for Group Traits (page
( page 115)
115) to build your cult.
NOTE: The Cult Leader can be used for any fanatical leader
pushing an agenda. Period examples include fascists,
communists or other political extremists.
9"3 :*#.> N#8#
 Just as Buddhism
Buddhism has its
its Tulkus,
Tulkus, reincarnate
reincarnatedd enlightened
enlightened
beings (Bodhisattvas) who postpone the achievement of
Nirvana in order to help enlighten others, so darker faiths
have darker tulkus; malign spirits 󿬁lled with evil knowl-
edge, who return again and again from death to spread
corruption and wickedness in the world.
 Cult Leaders are extremely 󿬂exible villains, able to 󿬁ll
almost any niche the Gamemaster wants. The Cult Leader
could be the high priest of some blasphemous religion,
worshipping the Devil or some monstrous ancient god
(who may or may not actually exist). He may be a clever
con-man or illusionist, or possess genuine occult power.
178
Such is – so legend says - the Black Lama, the dread leader
of the Mara Brotherhood. Whenever the current Black Lama
dies, the Brotherhood spreads out across the globe, searching
for the one who is the Lama reborn, looking for the spiritu-
al darkness that signals the return of a monstrous evil.
The current Black Lama is a young Tibetan man in his

Pulp Fantastic
9"3 A-$&4U&**#&-
Perhaps one of the most perplexing villain-types present-
ed in the Pulps, the Anti-Villain is a bad guy with heroic
ideals, motivations and virtues. What they want is ulti-
mately good, but they go about it in the wrong way, result-
ing in collateral damage and misery. “You can’t make an
omelette without breaking a few eggs,” is the motto of
most Anti-Villains. Alternatively, the Anti-Villain could
well have evil aims, but goes about achieving them in a
reasonably ethical and honourable way, seeking to mini-
mise casualties - direct and indirect – as much as possible.
Of all the villain archetypes, the Anti-Villain is the one
most likely to be persuaded into a temporary alliance with
the heroes when things risk getting out of control. While
they may be “better” than normal villains and often appear
to be reaching for redemption, they almost never com-
pletely defect to the side of the angels, often believing that
their sins can never be forgiven and prefer “to rule in Hell
rather than serve in Heaven”.
Despite this vein of decency and honor, Anti-Villains are
no less dangerous than any other villain, and may in fact
be more so due to their
thei r unpredictability
unpredicta bility.. Most heroes don’t
quite know what to do when their opponents don’t provide
easy reasons for their extermination. Anti-Villains are
often quite respectful of the heroes, regarding them as
“worthy opponents” and expressing regret for their inev-
itable doom.
Some Anti-Villains are a law unto themselves, aware that
the world may view their actions as evil, but believing
themselves to have evolved beyond the limits of conven-
tional morality
9"3 ()*+ D#W&
Nazis make great villains. They represent something
utterly vile; a repugnant philosophy with no redeeming
features, a nearly faceless horde of endless thugs who can
be killed off  in
 in waves without the heroes having to trouble
their consciences over-m
over-much.
uch.
Though they’re now seen as the quintessential Pulp
    R villain, the Nazis actually featured in surprisingly few
    E pulps, coming in toward the end of the Pulp Era, when
    T World War
War II paper shortages
short ages killed o ff  most
 most of the mag-
     S Nazi soldier.
    A azines. Where they did appear,
ap pear, they were limited to mil-
itary action pulps, spy thrillers and the aviation maga-
    M with 󿬁sts like hams and a penchant for bare-knuckle
    E zines. For the most part, Pulp publishers preferred to
    M avoid real-world politics wherever possible, preferring
    A to import thinly-veiled fascist counter-parts from imag-
     G inary Balkan countries.
Nazi villains are for the most part a modern invention,
gimmicky, unless they’re being played for comic eff ect
they remain competent and ruthless enemies, well-
ect
equipped and driven by a quietly fanatical faith in the
manifest destiny of the Third Reich. Unlike many other
villains, Pulp Nazis are usually capable combatants; though
they have minions to do their dirty work, they often relish
the chance to prove
p rove their “Aryan
“Aryan superiority” by engaging
in hand-to-hand combat with the heroes.
Pulp Nazis tend to come in a number of varieties, which
can be mixed and matched according to taste;
The Sadistic Interrogator
Interrogator:: Most often a member of the
Gestapo or the SS, this villain is usually slender and softly
spoken, with cold blue eyes glittering behind his wire-
framed spectacles. Dressed in a dark grey suit and a black
leather overcoat he rarely takes his black leather gloves
off , unless it is to strike a helpless victim with them. He
loves his work, licking his thin lips with anticipation of
the unspeakable torments he will soon in 󿬂ict upon the
heroes, and occasionally giggling inappropriately. For
some reason the Sadistic Interrogator often speaks as
though slightly short of breath. He never loses his temper
or raises his voice, and even the most hideous threats are
made in a chillingly veiled manner.
The Reluctant Nazi: If the heroes are in the habit of
dismissing all Nazis as cannon fodder, the Reluctant Nazi
can be an interesting change of pace. The Reluctant Nazi
is a decent man who became a member of the party for
political reasons, but does not ascribe to the Nazi philos-
ophy.. Nevertheless, he is a patriot and will do his duty,
ophy duty, but
unlike the other Nazi variants he takes no pleasure in it.
The Brute: The Brute is a thug, who doesn’t really believe
in the ideology of the Third Reich, but became a Nazi in
order to feed their need to feel powerful. Being part of the
Nazi war machine gives them the power they’ve always
craved, and they like to abuse that power at every oppor-
tunity.. Brute Nazis are scum; arrogant bullies who enjoy
tunity
the
mayhumiliation
be using theand degradation
uniform of their
to conceal prisoners. They
a deep-seated infe-
riority complex, or they may just be nasty pieces of work.
Brutes tend to be sel󿬁sh, greedy and under all their bluster,
cowards. However
However they are often also superior combatants,
and their treacherous nature and innate
inna te viciousness trans-
lates into a host of dirty tactics. Brutes tend to be the default
The Bruiser: The bruiser is a big, solid lump of muscle
󿬁ghting. He enjoys a 󿬁ght, and he enjoys showing off  his
 his
impressive physique just before he beats the hero un-
conscious with it. He rarely speaks anything other than
German and tends to serve either as back-up muscle for
a superior office, or as an unexpected stumbling block
 created for Pulp pastiches like The Rocketeer and the
Indiana Jones movies. In reality, since many real Nazis –
including Adolf Hitler - appeared every bit as bizarre as
the villains of the pulps, very few Nazi arch-villains ap-
peared in 󿬁ction.
Though Pulp-style Nazi villains tend to be over-blown and
180
he can be as violent, sadistic and brutal as other Nazis, the
Intellectual Aryan prefers to solve his problems in a more
cerebral manner, and he is often using the resources of
the Reich to further his own ambitions. Most senior Nazis
fall into this category.
The Nazi Scientist: Lacking the individual spark of divine
inspiration, Nazi doctors, scientists and researchers
working in teams are still capable of some incredible (and
horrifying) achievements. Some care little for Nazi doctrine
or the philosophy
philoso phy or Aryan superiority,
superiority, instead seeing the
Third Reich as a means to an end; the funding and resourc-
ing of their research. Others are fanatical, seeking to use
u se
their perverted science to prove the outlandish theories
of Eternal Ice and Aryan eugenics. Neither type cares for
the pain they in󿬂ict on their fellow human beings while
they conduct their foul experiments, seeing their prison-
ers as simply an expendable stock of “subhuman” test
subjects. Nazi Scientists tend to be utterly cold, exhibiting
little personality and no conscience whatsoever, though
they seem to take no pleasure in what they do either.
Players may also derive some historical horror from the
fact that many of these scientists will be given new homes
and new jobs in the 󰁵󰁳󰁡 and other Allied countries at the
end of the like
operations war,Paperclip.
made Government assets
When it comes underprojects,
to their
to covert
Gamemasters can feel free to let their imaginations run
wild, but should be warned if they decide to research the
issue that there’s almost nothing so vile or horri󿬁c that
real Nazi scientists didn’t
didn’t do it at some point - often on an
industrial scale.
The Nazi Occultist: Often found working hand in hand
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
who has seen the power of the supernatural for himself and
wishes to harness it as a weapon of war, a scholar of mys-
ticism availing himself of the resources the Reich has to
ff 
o er, or
much asathey
disciple of darkness
are using whoOccultists
him. Nazi is using the Reich
often as
have
access to arcane artifacts and possess psychic or mesmeric
powers. They may also possess Weird Technology that
combines dark magic with high technology
technology.. Nazi Occultists
can often be found advising, or even leading, retrieval mis-
sions to holy sites and mysterious lands.
For more information on Nazis, see page 108.
108.
9"3 ?2@@)+$ ?2@+2@#$3
The Corrupt Corporate is a uniquely American villain. He
is evil in a nice suit, an unscrupulous businessman or
tycoon who represents our fear of manipulation and ex-
ploitation by the rich; bankers, industrialists, 󿬁nanciers
for the hero.
The Intellectual Aryan: Smarter than the average Nazi,
this villain is cultured, educated, intelligent and very
astute. His perception and quick wits make him a formi-
dable enemy,
enemy, and his ability to anticipate
ant icipate the moves of his
opponents make him a hard man to out-manoeuvre.
out-manoeuvre. While
Pulp Villains
wealth buys power and in󿬂uence and that everyone has
their price. The only things that matter are the things that
can be bought; to the Corrupt Corporate, everything else
– including morality and human life - is irreleva
irrelevant.
nt.
The Corrupt Corporate may appear urbane and cultured, but
he has a lot to lose and will 󿬁ght like a tiger to keep it. His
plots tend to involve vast swindles and con󿬁dence schemes,
the discrediting or ruination of his competitors, the theft of
large sums of money, the annexation of valuable resources,
complicated real estate scams or the establishment and
maintenance of vast monopolies. Usually the victims of these
plots are the “little people”, the faceless masses of ordinary
people who invest in the Corporates companies.
Corrupt Corporates want more of what they already have,
and have the resources to achieve this. They have money,
minions, social connections and political in 󿬂uence. Very
often they also have social prominence, making them hard
to 󿬁ght openly and giving them the protection of society
and the law. Though Corrupt Corporates are usually in-
dustrialists, they can be just as eff ective
ective in other lines of
work. A Corrupt Producer could use the machinery of
Hollywood
Hollywood to smear his opponents, while a Corrupt Banker
might ruin his enemies and 󿬁nance his allies.
The classic Corrupt Corporate has no 󿬁ghting skills to speak
of, though this has been subverted in modern times with
idea of rich businessmen who combine big business with
a taste for extreme sports and martial arts. Normally though,
Corrupt Corporates leave the 󿬁ghting to their minions, led
by a trusted lieutenant. Lex Luthor, particularly in his
modern incarnations, is a classic example of the Corrupt
Corporate, combined with aspects of the Mad Scientist.
13H P2-M#5 
Born to the privileged life of the scion of an old and noble 11
house, Rex Monday grew up pampered, indulged and
spoiled. Every day he was told that the world would be his,
and that he
children, hecould do anything
believed he wanted.
it. Even more Unlike
unusually, hemost
still
believes it now.
Rex Monday is a tall, handsome man in his early thirties,
with movie-idol good-looks, impeccable taste and perfect
manners. He is also an extremely dangerous man, what
in later years will be termed a sociopath. Rex has little
concept of real emotion or of right and wrong. What in-
terests him and motivates him is what is good solely for
him. He is intelligent and observant, and is skilled at faking
his emotional connection to other people, but eventually
those closest to him see through the mask and realise that
there isn’t much human about Rex Monday.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a problem.
and politicians. Born of the loss of public trust caused by
the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, Corrupt
Corporates
Corporat es became useful villains for Pulp authors.
Once hailed as the industrial
indu strial backbone of the country
co untry,, the
Corrupt Corporate is motivated most often by greed and
the desire to maintain his share price. He knows that
Rex would undoubtedly have ended up con󿬁ned in either
prison or mental institution, where he could do no harm.
Alas, he is one of the richest young men in the United
States, gifted with soaring ambition and the means to
make most of his problems disappear.
Taking his inspiration from the Latin phrase that echoes
his name, Rex Monday aims to be nothing less than the
181
 

Pulp Villains
Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait) Du Kai Hua
9"3 F@#62- N#M5  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,
advantage
advantagesheofisthe
often
factathat
skilled hand-to-hand
Pulp
󿬁ghter, taking
heroes are rarely comfort- 9"3 :#@2-3''
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
F) O#& ;)# ] (2&'2- :*2''28 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.
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,
her own twistedbut
wayhas
way,, shealways managed
cares for to be
her father forgiven.
deeply,
deeply In
, but she Communist temptress, or as the aide to a Corrupt Corporate.
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.
way.
have a mannish female bruiser as back-up
b ack-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
durabi lity,, which as the trusted lieutenant of the main villain. Like the Dragon
is perhaps the only reason his daughter has yet to 󿬁nally Lady,, while she prefers to leave
Lady l eave the 󿬁ghting to her minions,
betray him. the Baroness is usually quite a dangerous combatant, often
using a whip to deadly e ff ect.
ect.
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,
sexuality, her greater experience tends to make
her immune to seduction attempts. She more openly enjoys
Skills:
Marksman Athletics 3, Convince
3, Medicine 3, Fighting
2, Science 5, Knowledge
2, Survival 3,
3, Technolo- her work, and is quite happy to get her hands dirty.
gy 2, Transport 2 :#@2-3'' U3@2-&V)3 F3K3@3#)H
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-han
hand-to-hand
d 󿬁ghter. reputable arts. From there she parlayed her extraordinary
 Maverick (Minor Bad Trait) Du Kai Hua is a
wilful child.
Minions (Major Good Trait) The Poison Blossom
can call upon her father’s minions.
Quick Re󿬂exes (Major Good Trait) Du Kai Hua
has incredibly fast reactions.
Pulp Fantastic
social scene, entrancing a string of near-fanatical lovers
and admirers and inveigling herself into the highest circles
of power. She counts ministers, bishops and kings as her
friends and con󿬁dantes, and seems to possess an inex-
haustible fund of favours upon which she can call at any
time. While having the whi ff  of
  of scandal about her, the
Baroness has never been directly implicated in wrongdo-
ing of any kind, and her honor is staunchly defended by
all those who consider her a friend.
In truth, the Baroness Devereaux is one of Europe’s most
successful blackmailers, poisoners, spies and thieves.
Sel󿬁sh, utterly amoral, 󿬁endishly cunning, ruthless and
cruel, the ambition of the Baroness has no limit. She will
do anything to advance her social standing and personal
wealth, up to and including murder on a grand scale. She
is completely without mercy and is capable of almost
demonic fury when thwarted. An expert in toxins and subtle
murder, the Baroness is never without a variety of tainted
weapons and secreted potions, but without a doubt her
uncanny beauty and her ruthless intellect are her deadliest
weapons, ones that she wields with a masters touch.
The Baroness Devereaux is uncommonly beautiful; in her
late twenties or early thirties. Tall and athletic, with long
fair hair and ice-blue eyes, she moves with a natural ele-
gance and grace and speaks with a low, slightly husky
voice that is almost hypnotically seductive.
Quote: “No, I didn’t think you’d hit a lady. Now, come sit
next to me and lets discuss this like old friends. Drink?”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 5
Presence: 6 Resolve: 6 Strength: 4 Other types of Masked Terror could be seeking to redress
Skills: Animal Handling 2, Athletics 2, Convince 4, Craft
3, Knowledge 2, Medicine
Medi cine 3, Science 2, Subterfuge 3, Tech-
nology 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Attractive  (Minor Good Trait) The Baronesses
beauty is unsurpassed.
Charming (Minor Good Trait) The Baroness is
a master 󿬂irt, coquette and seducer.
    R Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) The Baroness
    E
    T has many secrets she would kill to conceal.
     S Emotional Complic
Complication
ation (Major Bad Trait)
    A The Baroness is driven by a need to protect the
    M
    E life and public persona she has created.
    M Friends in Society (Major Good Trait) The
    A Baroness is welcome everywhere among the
     G great, the good and the powerful.
beauty and ruthless intelligence into a place in a noble-
man’s house, 󿬁rst as a maid, then as mistress, and 󿬁nally
wife after his 󿬁rst wife suff ered
ered an unexplained “wasting
illness”.. Not long after, the nobleman himself died, some
illness”
say of over-exertion, while others mutter darkly of poison.
The newly-widowed Baroness Devereaux moved her house-
hold back to Paris, where she became the darling of the
183
Wealthy (Major Good Trait) The Baroness lives
the life of a landed noble-woman
noble-woman..
Well Travelled: Europe (Minor Good Trait)
The Baroness loves to travel, and is at home
almost everywhere in Europe.
Total Character Points: 63
Story Points: 8
9"3 P#'>3M 93@@2@
The Masked Terror is the dark re 󿬂ection of the Masked
Avenger, a crime lord with a secret identity, a 󿬂amboyant
disguise and often a theatrical modus operandi when
going about his extra-curricular activities. Unlike the
Masked Avenger, the Masked Terror has eschewed the
cause of justice for something altogether more personal-
ly satisfying. Exactly what that might be varies from villain
villai n
to villain.
Some Masked Terrors
Terrors are vigilantes,
vigil antes, taking a stand against
again st
what they see to be the rampant tide of lawlessness and
corruption that threatens to drown their city. The only
diff erence
erence between this incarnation of the Masked Terror
is their willingness to kill, often in cruel and unusual ways.
In this form, the Masked Terror has assumed the role of
 judge, jury and executioner, and the sentence is death!
These villains can be used to present the masked Avenger
with a dark mirror, showing them what they have the
potential to become if they ever lose sight of the impor-
tance of tempering justice with mercy and compassion.
a perceived injustice, seeking vengeance for a wrong (real
or imagined) done to themselves or someone near and
dear in the past. Others might simply be very clever crim-
inals, motivated by a desire for power and riches.
Regardless of motivation the Masked Terror is nearly
always,
his or herlike
daythe Masked
to day Avenger,
life. Often a respected
Masked citizen
Terrors and in
Aveng-
ers move in similar circles, and may even be friends.
Though the Masked Terror and the Masked Avenger are
extremely similar, the Masked Terror is usually far less
hands on, using his or her minions to maintain some
distance from any illegal activity. That said, when cornered
the Masked Terror will often abandon any semblance of
propriety and 󿬁ght like a cornered tiger.
9"3 ?@&8'2- ?*#< 
For the last thirty years, the enigmatic crime boss known
as the Crimson Claw has been an ever-growing threat to
the forces of law and order across the United States. Despite
 Indomitable  (Major
is not a woman to be Good Trait) The Baroness
crossed.
Minions  (Major Good Trait) The Baroness
always has men on hand to do her dirty work.
Owed Favor (Major Good Trait) Her knowledge
of scandal and intrigue means the Baroness is
owed many favors.
184
man) is ruthless, utterly amoral and a brilliant tactician.
Descriptions of him vary considerably from witness to
witness, but he is usually described as being immaculate-
ly dressed beneath a deep red cape and concealing hood
with eye holes through which a pair of blazing eyes can
be glimpsed. The Claw gets his name from a curious ac-
coutrement; a gleaming red metallic gauntlet with razor
sharp talons worn on the left hand. Far more than a mere
aff ectation,
ectation, the gauntlet is the Claw’s favourite method of
dispensing vengeance, from horri󿬁c facial scars to disem-
bowelment.. In truth, it can be said that the Crimson Claw
bowelment
literally
literally rules his organisation with a 󿬁st of iron.
The Crimson Claw is an expansionist crime lord, working
to either eliminate his criminal rivals or absorb their op-
erations into his own. He responds swiftly to threats and
perceived slights, but rarely reacts rashly. Indeed, he often
seems to be working to a long-term plan, often setting
set ting into
motion events that won’t pay o ff  for
 for him for some time.
His most favoured tactic is to stir up gang wars that cause
his rivals to eliminate each other, allowing him to sweep
in a 󿬁ll the power vacuum once the dust has settled.
The Crimson Claw is highly intelligent, patient, cunning,
fearless and utterly ruthless. Completely
Completely without morals
of any kind, he seems purely motivated by the desire for
power and the obedience of his subordinates. He has a
talent for prolonged and inexorable revenge, and it is an
unfortunate character who 󿬁nds himself on the Claws
death list.
Curiously, the Claw has been recorded as dead by the law
enforcement agencies of a number of states, though the
body was not recovered in any case.
ca se. Strangely,
Strangely, a prominent
promine nt
member of the community suspected of being the Claw
has always
always turned up dead at the same time, only for the
Claw to resurface in another city a short time later, appar-
ently none the worse for wear
wear...
...
The Claw’s organisation consists mostly of the most e ff ec-
ec-
tive and
city. ruthless
He seems tomobsters, mooks lieutenants,
have no favored and thugs inand
any rarely
given
co-operates with other arch-villains.
this, almost nothing is known about this masked terror,
and what is known is often entirely contradictory, leading
some leading authorities to suspect that there may be
more than one Crimson Claw. Often, those who have en-
countered the 󿬁end can’t even agree as to the gender of
their opponent!
What is known of the Crimson Claw is that he (if it is a
Pulp Villains
Quote: “Fools! To believe you can stand against…the
Crimson Claw!”
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5
Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3
Skills: Convince 4, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Subterfuge
3, Technology 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Claw (Special Good Creature Trait) The Crimson
Claw’s gauntlet does Strength +1 damage.
Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait)
The Crimson Claw has the ability to pass unseen
should he so desire.
Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait) The Claw’s secret
is that the Gauntlet is the real Crimson Claw.
Dependency (Major Bad Trait) Once controlled
by the Claw, the host cannot survive long
without it.
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Those
wounded by the Gauntlet may become the Claw
if the original host dies.
More Than Human (Special Good Trait) The
Gauntlet is an ancient malignant artifact.
Minions (Major Good Trait) The Claw always
󿬁nds the weak willed to obey it.
Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) By day,
the Claw sleeps, while it’s host goes about his
or her life, unknowing.
Owed Favour (Major Good Trait) The Crimson
Claw has blackmail 󿬁les on the high and the 11
mighty.
Psychic (Special Good Trait) The Crimson Claw
can see the darkness in men’s souls.
Total Character Points: 49
Story Points: 5
9"3 P#'$3@ C+5 
Another staple of the Pulp Era, the Master Spy is an oper-
ative of a foreign power, here to steal the secrets of the
Government, the military, big business and research es-
tablishments. In times of war and the build-up to war, he
may be a saboteur, sent to destroy stockpiles of weapons,
shipyards and other military resources or make off  with
 with
new technological and scienti󿬁c breakthrough
breakthroughs. s.
 The Masterwell.
extremely Spy blends in even
country for the highest bidder. The Master Spy often
operates in high society, using his position to gain trust
and exploit con󿬁dences. He usually has a network of
spies and thugs working for him, and maybe a trusted
lieutenant or two.
Pulp Fantastic
The Master Spy tends to plan for every contingency, and
nearly always has multiple escape routes ready for an
immediate withdrawal. Like the Masked Terror,
Terror, the Master
Spy prefers to keep some distance between himself and
any illegal activity, and when cornered will 󿬁ght vicious-
ly for his freedom.
Master Spies make especially good enemies for G-Men,
Air Aces, Operators, Gumshoes, Law Enforcers, Masked
Avengers, Mystery Men, Rocket Men and Science Heroes.
9"3 7@3#$ F&.$#$2@
The Great Dictator is unusual in that he already has
wealth, power and resources. In fact, he has control of
an entire country, possibly several. The classic example
of the Great Dictator is, of course,
cou rse, Adolf Hitler. However
there were several real-world examples at the time, in-
cluding Benito Mussolini, General Francisco Franco and
 Josef Stalin. Since Pulp magazines
magazin es were all about escap-
ism, the magazines tended to steer clear of plots that
veered too closely to real-world politics. However, authors
would often invent 󿬁ctional dictators and war-lords from
imaginary countries, who shared similar characteristics
with Hitler and his allies.
Great Dictators make great recurring villains, as they
possess enough resources and power that they can almost
never be completely defeated, short of a full scale war.
Worse, they may be beloved by their own people, eff ec-
ec-
tively surrounding them with a vast shield of innocent
dupes willing to die for their leader.
Great Dictators have a tendency to rant and rave when
thwarted, and maintain their iron-󿬁sted rule through a
startlingly well-informed secret police, an army of jack-
booted thugs and an elite guard of intelligent, sadistic
henchmen. They usually have an eff ective
ective overseas intel-
ligence network, operating spy cells in every country of
the globe. They also seem to have a certain sense of style,
employing visually impressive iconography to promote
and unify their cause.
Some Great Dictators combine aspects of the Mad Sci-
entist or the Foreign Mastermind, and most have a 󿬁rm
    R grasp of the power
p ower of advanced technology, either using
    E their own inventive genius or employing the services of
    T
     S scientists and engineers (often kidnapped) to develop
    A advanced weaponry
weaponry..
    M While Great Dictators tend to rule totalitarian fascist states,
    E this is not always the case. Some may rule monarchies,
    M theocracies, or any other state structure that places ulti-
    A mate power in the hands of a single individual. While Pulp
     G examples tend to be Eastern European, there is no reason
why a Great Dictator can’t be the master of an obscure
He may the society in which
be a citizen, he operates
betraying his
185
73-3@#* U*#M&. O#W#-h (@38&3@ 2I
:3@3W>&#
General Vladic Kazan is the autocratic dictator of Berez-
kia, a small Balkan nation that has risen swiftly in the
last few years with the discovery of a large deposit
de posit of ores
rich in the mysterious Element X somewhere within the
Berezkan mountains.
A former
into chief
politics of the
after the Royal
Great Secret Police,toKazan
War, rising powerentered
by ex-
ploiting the poverty,
poverty, chaos and unrest
unre st endemic in the years
following the
t he defeat of
o f Germany,
Germany, Berezkia’s main ally and
trading partner. Using images of racial strength and purity
pur ity,,
and invoking the mythology of the Norse gods, Kazan
created a powerful cabal of loyal extremists to back his
move to seize total power within the small country
co untry.. While
initially the Western powers were unconcerned with Kazan,
the situation changed when it became apparent that
Kazan’s forces, in investigating the legends of the gods of
Asgard, had uncovered something remarkable. What that
something was only came to light when Berezkia – for-
merly a struggling agricultural country – suddenly began
to produce advanced technology vehicles, equipment and
weaponry, much of it powered by Element X.
Under Kazan, the economy of Berezkia has 󿬂ourished,
though civil liberties have almost completely vanished.
Kazan himself is rarely seen, though his secret police –
known as the Hammer – are everywhere. Worse, Kazan
seems to instantly know when dissent is plotted, leading
the peasant folk to mutter darkly about him giving up an
eye for omniscience, as Odin did. The people of Berezkia
are well-paid, well-fed and healthy, but they know they
are not free. Most simply try to turn a blind eye to their
oppression, by pretending that they have chosen to live
the way they do, and by ignoring the disappearances and
the occasional scream in the night.
Kazan’s armed forces – the Fist – are well-trained, well-
equipped and motivated. To a man they appear to be in-
telligent, capable and fanatically loyal to their leader,
almost unnaturally so. Again, odd rumours have emerged
from Berezkia about the large number of men who enter
the military training academies and emerge weeks later,
somehow changed.
Kazan himself is a tall, muscular man in his late forties,
though in excellent physical condition. He wears immac-
ulately cut, austere uniforms in black, red and grey, and
wears his long dark hair swept back from his forehead.
While shrewd, intelligent
intelligent and urbane, he is also a racist,
sexist bigot with a powerful distrust of intellectuals.
 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 Paci󿬁c island.

186

Quote: “It is the fate of the common to be ruled by the
uncommon. To be ordinary is to be weak. Free will is the
lot of the strong alone. It is the lot of the weak to obey.”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity:
Presence: 6 Resolve: 4 Strength:
Skills: Animal Handling 3, Athletics 2, Convince 5, Knowl-
edge 3, Marksman 3, Science 2, Subterfuge 2, Technology
Technology
2, Transport 2
Traits:
Authority (Major Good Trait) Kazan is the
leader of a nation.
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait) Exactly what is
the secret of Berezkia’s advanced technology?
Empathic (Minor Good Trait) Kazan is an in-
stinctive reader of people.
Indomitable (Minor Good Trait) Kazan pos-
sesses an iron will.
Minions (Major Good Trait) Kazan can call
upon the armed forces of his nation.
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Kazan believes in
his own manifest destiny.
Linguist (Minor Good Trait) Kazan has a natural
grasp of languages.
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Kazan
is a natural leader.
Wealthy (Major Good Trait) Kazan is the leader
of a prosperous nation.
Weird Tech (Major Good Trait) Berezkia’s labora-
tories turn out suspiciously advanced technology.
technology.
Total Character Points: 58
Pulp Villains
Many Mob Bosses are family men, and have a somewhat
old-fashioned view of the way things should be done. They
rule their organisation like a feudal lord, valuing respect
and tradition. Oddly, despite their involvement in every-
5 thing from numbers rackets to white slavery, a lot of Mob
4 Bosses are patriots who will vehemently oppose any truck
with Nazis or other enemies of their country.
:@)-2 C+2'#$2
Bruno “Bullet” Sposato is one of the city’s top crime
bosses, and considers himself a self-made man in more
ways than one.
Born the son of a grocer in the slums of the south side,
young Bruno was intelligent enough and adaptable enough
to realise that his best chance of escaping the ghetto was
to run with the local gangs. Tough and smart, Bruno fought
hard to control his conscience and worked his way up
through the ranks, graduating from petty theft
the ft to numbers
running. His ingenuity and intelligence caught the eye of
a local mobster, and soon Bruno found himself doing
minor jobs for the mob. It was during this time that Bruno
gained his nickname “Bullet”, for his habit of carrying a
.45 calibre bullet with is name carved on it in his pocket,
apparently in the belief that if he carried the bullet that
had his name on it, it could never be used to kill him.
After proving himself a reliable man to the mob, he was
soon inducted into it’s ranks, and killed his 󿬁rst man at
the age of 16. Bruno’s mob career was unremarkable, and
he was set to become just another disposable asset until
he was caught in a three way shoot-out between the Police
Department, his mob and agents of the Crimson Claw.
Trapped and out of ammunition, Sposato used the last
bullet he had, his good-luck piece. Bizarrely, the bullet
ricocheted off  a a police officer’s badge and hit Sposato in 11
the left eye, travelling straight through his brain before
exiting the back of his head.

Story Points: 6 Sposato survivafter

9"3 P2B :2''
Some might assume that the Mob Boss is merely an ordi-
nary criminal. They’d be wrong; the Mob Boss is an ex-
traordinary criminal. The head of an organised crime
family, the Mob Boss has clawed his way up through the
ranks the hard way, through spilling the blood of his
enemies. Now he’s at the top and enjoying the fruits of his
labors, he demands respect
respe ct and he’s
he’s got the muscle behind
him to get it.
Though the Mob Boss may operate with some distance
between himself and the front line, part of him misses
survived
for 󿬁ve years ed theleaving
terriblehospital.
injury and was sent he
However, to prison
was a
very diff erent
erent man. Those who knew him before his injury
often whisper that perhaps he didn’t survive after all, and
that the Bruno Sposato that walks today is merely the body
of the mobster, a body 󿬁lled with something other than
Bruno’s soul.
Though Bruno survived being shot in the head, he did not
survive unscathed. The damage to his brain caused changes
to his personality, eliminating his compassion, conscience
and most of his emotions. Strangely, it also robbed him of
his ability to see in colour and his ability to feel pain. The
Bruno Sposato that emerged from prison was brilliant,
ruthless and utterly deadly. Within a matter of month he
 rolling
men, thehisMob
sleeves
Bossup and breaking
is more heads.
than capable ofLike his hench-
violence, often had
couprisen
thatto thecontrol
put rank ofof
Consigliere,
the mob 󿬁before staging
rmly in a bloody
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
9"3 P#-4P#M3 P2-'$3@
days, but remains 󿬁t 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 reanimat
reanimated
ed 󿬂esh, the
Man-Made Monster is a created
c reated or otherwise engineered
Despite his criminal history, Bruno is a patriot, though he
󿬁nds this difficult to articulate or understand. He loves being. Sometimes the Man-Made Monster is simply muscle
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 eff ective
ective
casionally his fathers love-inter
love-interest
est too). Man-Made Mon-
deterrent to the agents of enemy powers unfortunate
sters are often tragic 󿬁gures, misunderstood and 󿬁lled
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
as often
often hostile and aggressive,
aggressive, believing
believing in their own
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 re󿬂ecting 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:
󿬂uids may lack a navel and have strangely coloured skin,
Brave (Minor Good Tra
Trait)
it) 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
sa me 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
peac e or simply be acknowl-
Distinctive (Minor Bad
B ad Trait) Bruno’s
Bruno’s missing edged by their creators.
c reators.
eye makes him stand out. Exactly how the Man-Made Monster is created is up
u p 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.
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,
century, its most recognizable incarnation was
    R born at the height of the Pulp era in James Whale’s
Whale’s famous
    E Tough (Minor Good Trait) Bruno feels no pain. 1931 movie adaptation. Another notable Pulp Man-Made
    T Monster is the decapitated Major Sir Eric Moreland Clapham-
     S Wealthy (Minor Good Trait) Crime does pay!
    A Total Character Points: 36
Lee - reanimated by Herbert West - who went on to use his
    M knowledge of West’s techniques to create and control his
    E Story Points: 5 own band of undead servants, combining the Man-Made
    M Monster with the Mad Scientist. Other period examples
    A include the arti󿬁cial people from Carel Kapek’s 1921 play
     G R.U.R., the computer brain in Edmund Hamilton’s story The
Metal Giants, the alien automaton Gnut in the short story

188
F&3 C."@3.>
Many terrible stories are told of the Great War and the
horrors good men experienced in the trenches, but some
stories are far darker than others. One such is the story of
what the advancing German forces discovered in the
bombed out ruins of a 󿬁eld hospital in St. Eloi, Flanders,
in the April of 1915.
Soldiers securing the site, recently vacated by a retreating
Canadian regiment, uncovered the remains of a strange
hidden laboratory, 󿬁lled with patchwork monstrosities
and mindless undead creatures. At the heart of the ruined
laboratory was a sundered vat of luminous serum, the
contents of which had drained away into the earth when
the hospital was destroyed.
In the months that followed troops on both sides of the
trenches reported strange visitations, sightings of fallen
comrades resurrected as eerie revenants, with mortal
wounds that dripped a glowing green ichor. When one
such creature was captured and returned to the German
High Command, doctors soon determined two facts. The
󿬁rst was that the creature was biologically dead, and the
second was that its curious
cu rious unlife was due to contamina-
tion by reptilian cell matter infused with a strange lumi-
nous chemical 󿬂uid.
Faced with terrible losses, the German scientists attempt-
ed to analyze and reproduce the reanimating serum, in
the hope of creating soldiers that could not be killed. The
󿬁rst such soldier was codenamed Die Schreck
Schr eck – The Terror.
Stitched together from the corpses of fallen infantrymen,
its veins 󿬁lled with cultured reptile cells and the reani-
mating 󿬂uid, the horrible creature shrieked its way into
the world in the winter of 1916. Escaping containment,
the undead thing destroyed the laboratory that birthed it,
killed the scientists who created it and vanished into no-
man’ss land, there to become just another battle
man’ ba ttle󿬁eld horror
story. But it did not remain there for long.
In the confusion that followed the armistice, tales began
to emerge from the ruined French countryside of graves
de󿬁led, of entire cemeteries being emptied by an eerie
band of silent, dis󿬁gured men under the leadership of a
scarred officer....
Physically, Die Schreck is tall – almost seven feet tall – and
Physically,
athletically built. He dresses in black, close, 󿬁tting cloth-
ing and an black officers greatcoat. His face is handsome,
save for a dis󿬁guring scar that winds down from his right
temple, across his eye and down to the right corner of
his mouth. His skin is pale, and his dark eyes glow with
a strange greenish light. When he speaks his voice is
cultured, with a slight German accent and a curiously
hollow quality
quality..
Farewell to the Master (Gort in the 󿬁lm adaptation The Day
Farewell
the Earth Stood Still), and of course Futura the robot woman
from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Pulp Villains
from the dead are, for the most part, mindless zombies
(Enslaved Dead, page 227) except when under his direct
mental control. He has, however, succeeded in creating
lieutenants - thinking undead creatures like himself - by
carefully refrigerating corpses before reanimation so as
to preserve the delicate tissues of the brain. So far, however,
none have demonstrated the same power to raise the dead. dea d.
The ultimate aims of Die Schreck are unknown, but he
has spoken of breaking down the barrier between death
and life, of “freeing humanity from the tyranny of life”
and of “emancipating the truly silent majority.” Despite
being German, Die Schreck seems to have no political or
nationalist allegiance, seeing himself as the leader of the
nation of the dead
Quote: “What you call life, I call slavery. You are slaves to
your emotions, to your need for warmth, air, food and
water. Truly, death is freedom from all these things. Join
me and be free…”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 5
Presence: 6 Resolve: 6 Strength: 5
Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 3, Fighting 4, Knowledge 2,
Marksman 3, Science 1, Tr
Transport
ansport 3
Traits:
Amnesia (Major Bad Trait) Die Schreck has no
conscious memory of his former life.
Distinctive (Minor Bad Trait) Die Schreck has
a memorable facial scar.
Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait)
As an undead being, Die Schreck suff ers
ers almost
no ill-eff ects
ects due to environmen
environment.
t.
11
Fast Healer (Special Good Trait) The serum in
his blood allows Die Schreck to regenerate his
wounds rapidly, recovering 1 point of damage
per minute.
Fresh Meat (Minor Bad Trait) Die Schreck’s
unnatural scent drives animals to attack him.
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) Die
Schreck does not age and is almost impossible
to kill, since he’s already dead.
Indomitable (Major Good Trait) As an intelli-
gent undead monster, Die Schreck is resistant
to any form of control.
Minions (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck com-
mands an army of the dead.
More Than Human (Special Good Trait) Raised

Die Schreck – he goes by no other name and does not seem
to recall any previous life – is a true monster. His body
seems to have become an eternally regenerating reservoir
of reanimating ichor, and he has demonstrated repeated-
ly the ability to raise and control the dead by injecting
them with his own blood. Those that Die Schreck raises
Pulp Fantastic
Outcast (Minor Bad Trait) He’s an undead
monster.
Special: Re-animator (Special Good Creature
Trait) By administering injections of his own
blood, Die Schreck can raise the recently dead
as zombies.
Tough (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck feels no
no
pain.
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait) Die
Schreck still carries himself with an o fficer’s
bearing.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) The serum in Die
Schreck’ss blood is volatile at high temperatures.
Schreck’
Total Character Points: 80
Story Points: 12
9"3 P#-6*3@
The Mangler is a character that shows up in various guises
throughout the Pulps. He is a hulking homicidal man-moun-
tain used as muscle by other villains. He frequently has a
bizarre obsession with beauty, and is 󿬁xated on the Mad
Scientists beautiful daughter, the mob bosses Moll, the Bar-
oness or the Dragon Lady, whoever is the most inaccessible.
The Mangler is characterised by his great size, physical
strength and durability. He is a 󿬁gure of terror with a
reputation for dealing horrible death, usually with his
bare hands. He almost always has a signature method of
dealing with his foes, by which his murders can easily be
identi󿬁ed. Perhaps he breaks backs, crushes skulls, snaps
necks or twists his victims into pretzels. Whatever his
method of killing, the mere thought of him is enough to
󿬁ll those who know of him with dread.
Though the Mangler is usually a reliable weapon, he can
sometimes behis
playing upon turned against
tendency to his master (or mistress), by
obsess.
9"3 ;2H$2- ?@33+3@
The brutal killer known as “the Hoxton Creeper” in Britain,
    R and later simply “The Creeper” in the United States, is a
    E to keep it in their possession long enough for him to 󿬁nd
    T deformed giant of a man whose monstrous appearance
     S strikes terror in his victims shortly before he murders
    A them by crushing their spines with his bare hands.
    M
    E The origins of the Creeper and the source of both his great
    M strength and his uncanny ability to cheat death are
    A unknown. A medical report made while he was presumed
     G dead having been shot several times by Sherlock Holmes,
suggests that the cause of his facial deformity and great
from the dead by mad science, Die Schreck is
no longer human.
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Die Schreck
is hard to knock down.
Obsession (Major Bad Trait) Die Schreck wants
to overthrow the living.
189
drowned, poisoned and blown up with gelignite. None of
these took.
The Creeper 󿬁rst appeared in London during the later
1880s, working as hired muscle for a number of di
d iff erent
erent
criminal masterminds. It is here that he 󿬁rst gained his
reputation as an unstoppable force, becoming a symbol
of terror and ruthlessness for whoever bought his loyalty.
Though his appearance was terrifying, he developed a
tendency to become obsessed with one attractive young
woman after another, silently stalking them in order to
present them with small tokens of his aff ection
ection (and inci-
dentally break the backs of any potential rivals). At some
point however, each of these women would disappoint
him, and they would shortly be found somewhere with
their spines crushed.
The Creepers 󿬁rst reign of terror was brought to an end
when he was ambushed by armed o fficers of Scotland
Yard. In the resulting melee it is estimated he was shot
between ten and twenty times without apparent eff ect,ect,
before he fell into the Thames and vanished without trace.
The Creeper re-appeared in London nearly ten years later,
working for the notorious art thief
thi ef Giles Conover. Conover
made an attempt to steal the infamous black pearl of the
Borgias, and ran afoul of Sherlock Holmes. During this
adventure, the Creeper appears to have forged a strange
bond with the black pearl, as his life ever after seems
closely linked with the blood-stained treasure. Holmes
successfully managed to turn the Creeper against Conover
by invoking the name of the Creeper’s latest obsession,
and later apparently shot the Creeper dead. The Creeper
revived during
durin g his autopsy,
autopsy, broke the back of the examin-
ing pathologist, and again disappeared.
Five years later, the Borgia Pearl was sold at auction to an
anonymous American millionaire, and the Creeper resur-
faced once again. Displaying uncanny stealth for a man
previously considered to be rather stupid, the Creeper
followed
courier, athe jewel agent
docking to New York,
and where
three he murdered the
deck-hands.
Since then he has worked as mob muscle and a killer for
hire, always following the Black Pearl as it passes from
owner to owner, always murdering those foolish enough
them. It has been suggested that the Creeper can sense the
 jewel
 jewel some
somehow
how,, as
as he
he has
has trace
tracedd itit seve
several
ral times when every
precaution had been taken to conceal its true location.
In the mid-1940’s
mid-1940’s a character loosely based on the Creeper
will be featured in a number of movies, played by the actor
Rondo Hatton.
Note that although the Creeper rarely speaks, he is not
 size may be a form of acromegaly,
acromegaly, a disorder of the pituitary mute.
gland. However this does not explain the Creepers
Creepe rs 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.

the (Creeper’s
Immortal
knows Special Good
age,Creature
and he’sTr
Trait)
ait) No-one
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 Tra

Trait)
it) The Creeper seems
to soak up punishment like a sponge.
Unattractive  (Minor Bad
B ad Trait) He’s
He’s got a face
not even a mother could love.
Total Character Points: 37
Story Points: 12
191

Chapter 12
T
he Pulp World is full of strange and fascinating crea-
tures, along with those
tho se of the more mundane variety.
This chapter contains creatures from the alligators
that roam among the swamps of Louisiana and Florida to
the mummies that inhabit old tombs in the great deserts
of Africa.
This chapter provides pre-generated creatures and characters
for 󰁧󰁭󰁳. It also includes tools to help 󰁧󰁭󰁳 create interesting
new creatures to 󿬁t the special needs of their campaigns.
?@3#$)@3 1)*3'
Creatures use the same Attributes as humans, although
they can have a much higher Strength score than puny
homo sapiens. A giant ape can smash through a concrete
c oncrete
wall or 󿬂ip a car with a 󿬂ick of its wrist. On the bright side,
most animals have a much lower Ingenuity than a human;
creatures rely on instinct, not intelligence.
Awareness for most creatures ranges between 2 to 5. Save
Awareness 1 for creatures who are out of their natural
environment, or for creatures who are almost completely
oblivious to the world, like simple-minded insects.
Coordination is a very important characteristic, as it
determines how likely a big creature is to be able to hit a
human. In general, assume most animals have Coordina-
tion 2, with 3 or 4 for creatures who can 󿬂y or climb.
Ingenuity isn’t used by most creatures. Unless a creature
approaches human intelligence, then it’s going to be 1.
Presence is higher for bigger or more demonstrative
creatures. If it roars, makes lots of noise, or has impressive
threat displays, give it a higher Presence. Stealthy or quiet
creatures have a lower Presence.
Resolve is the creature’s determination and courage. If a
creature keeps doggedly pursuing its prey, give it a high
Resolve. If it’s opportunistic and 󿬂ees if it meets resistance,
give it a low score.
Beasts & Monsters
C&W3
All creatures fall into one of six Size Categori
Categories
es
Tiny: Only a few centimetres long. Tiny creatures are
things like most insects and vermin, as well as mice, rats,
most lizards and snakes—anything that’s small enough
to hide in your boot or pocket. Tiny creatures have a
maximum Strength of 1, and a single point of damage is
enough to squish a Tiny creature. Marksman-based attacks
on Tiny creatures suff er
er a -2 penalty (or more—you try
shooting a mosquito out of the air with a sniper ri 󿬂e!)
Small: These creatures are noticeably smaller than an
adult human. It covers most cats, dogs and human chil-
dren. Small creatures have a maximum Strength of 4; most
will have a Strength of only 1-2.
Average: We’re being a bit self-centred by calling the
human species ‘average’, but anyway, this covers adult
humans as well as any creature that’s roughly our size,
like apes, big wolves, crocodiles, raptors, lions and tigers.
Average creatures have a maximum Strength of 8.
Big: This is a creature roughly the size of a horse, gorilla or
bear. If it’s bigger than a human, but can still hide from you,
it’s Big. Big creatures have Strength scores of up to 12.
Huge: Huge creatures are really big. Elephants are Huge,
for example, as are most of the big dinosaurs
din osaurs in lost worlds
and hidden valleys. Huge creatures have Strength scores
up to 16.
Colossal: There aren’t supposed to be any Colossal crea-
tures in the modern day outside the oceans, but that doesn’t
mean they aren’t out there. These titanic creatures have
no upper limit on their Strength scores, and attacks on
them are like shooting a barn door—you get a +2 bonus
when shooting at a Colossal creature (but it’ll probably
only annoy it).
ect on combat—if there’s more than
Size has one key eff ect
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
don’t give it a Strength yet.
melee attacks. That means that even if an dinosaur has a
Strength of 16, it can’t automatically
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
bi gger 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 Coordinati
Coordination.
on.

Pulp Fantastic
C)B$3@I)63
󰁓󰁔󰁒󰁅󰁎󰁇󰁔󰁈 
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
‘sneaking and hiding’
as a guideline
guid eline for Strength + Athletics difficulties.
parts of Subterfuge apply just as much to animals as they
do to people.
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃
󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌
󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙
󰁔󰁙 󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌
󰁅󰁘󰁁󰁍󰁐󰁌󰁅
󰁅

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 C)@K&K#*

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- re󿬂ecting their ability to 󿬁nd 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: Environment
Environmentss such as Arctic, Forest,
 Jungle, Coastal
Coastal Waters,
Waters, Surface
Surface Ocean, Deep Ocean
36 Flip a tank.
39 Crush a tank.

C+33M 󰁓󰁗󰁁󰁒󰁍󰁓

Creatures fall into three Speed categories—F

categories—Fast,
ast, Average When you’ve got lots of small creatures — say, a mass of
or Slow. In combat, Fast creatures go 󿬁rst, 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
?@3#$)@3 C>&**' the Size, the more attacking creatures there are in the Swarm
Animals use the same Skills as ordinary characters, more or (note that the Size of the Swarm is not the same as the Size
less—you’re unlikely to 󿬁nd an animal with Technology or of the creatures that compose the Swarm). A Swarm makes
Science, but Skills like Athletics, Fighting and Survival are one attack roll each round, and then makes a number of hits
common. In general, animal Skills use the same rules as the equal to its maximum Strength. For example, a Big
B ig Swarm can
regular version of the Skills, but have diff erent
erent areas of Expertise. do 12 hits. Furthermore, the larger a Swarm is, the harder it is
to avoid being hit; add
ad d the Swarm’s maximum Strength score
 A$"*
 A$ "*3$
3$&.
&.'' directly to its Coordination + Fighting when making attacks.

Strong, healthy animals have high Athletics scores. It’s used Each hit inflicts normal damage
dama ge for a creature in the Swarm.
It can hit a single target multiple times, or split its attacks.
for running,
force. Flyingjumping
creaturesand
alsoclimbing
use it foras wellaerial
agile as displays of brute
manoeuvres. Characters attacked can make Resistance rolls as normal
(remember there’s
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
Swimming overwhelmed.)
Spaces
    R If a character is wearing armour, it only applies against half
    E the Swarm’s attacks (unless it is some sort of full-body armour).
arm our).
    T ,&6"$&-6
     S If a character gets hit by 5 or more attacks in one round, and
    A Fighting covers almost all forms of natural weapons, like
his armour isn’t strong enough to protect him, then don’t
claws, bites, tail lashes or stings. Some animals are especial-
    M bother rolling—that’s ‘covered in carnivorous beasties and
    E ly good at a particular type of attack—an ambush predator
skeletonised’ territory unless the character spends Story
    M gets a bonus when making a surprise attack, for example.
Points to escape.
    A Areas of Expertise: Ambush, Bite, Claw, Fighting When
     G 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
 P#@>'8#- being attacked by hundreds of them. Unless you’ve got a
flamethrower or another area-effect
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

?@3#$)@3 ?@3#$&2- 9@#&$'

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

󰁃󰁒󰁅󰁁󰁔󰁕󰁒󰁅 󰁔󰁒󰁁󰁉󰁔󰁓
Additional Limbs (Minor Good) Leap (Special Good)
Aggressive (Minor Good) Lurker (Minor Good)
Amphibious (Minor Good) Natural Weapons (Minor or Major Good)
Armor (Minor,
(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,
(Minor, Major or Special Good)
Fast-Moving
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
Trait)) Teleport (Major Good)
Infection (Major Good) Trample (Major Good)
Invisible (Special Good) Warning (Major Good)

195

Pulp Fantastic
 AMM&
 AM M&$&
$&2-
2-#*
#* N&
N&8B
8B'S
'S As a Major Trait, the damage reduction is increased to 10.
In most cases, this armor will be thick plating, such as
(Minor Good Creature Trait) metal or scales, and so this isn’t suitable for player char-
The creature has an additional pair of limbs. This can acters. At this level, the Armour TrTrait
ait costs 2 points, but
mean arms or legs or an odd creature limb or tentacle their Coordination is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
that functions as both. Of course, taking an additional The highest level is as a Special Trait, costing 3 or more.
pair of limbs means that the creature is usually very Every additional point spent, increases the armor by +5
obviously weird in appearance, and will automatically (and reduces their Coordination by an additional -1 to a
get the Strange Appearance Bad Trait (Minor). The Ad- minimum of 1). This means you can create huge and
ditional Limbs Trait can be taken a second time, giving heavily armored creatures, but they don’t move particu-
the creature a cumulative bonus, but their Strange Ap- larly fast or accurately.
pearance Trait becomes Major.
 AV)#
 AV )#$&
$&..
ect: Additional Limbs is a Minor Good Trait, and costs
Eff ect:
 just 1 point
point for every addit
additional
ional pair of limbs
limbs.. If the creatu
creature
re (Minor Bad Creature Trait)
has additional legs, their eff ective
ective 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 󿬁sh or other aquatic creature that breathes
the 󿬁rst additional action in any Round receives no penalty through gills, or it may need to surface every so often to
(as they can eff ectively
ectively do two things at once). This Trait re󿬁ll its lungs.
can be taken twice to create an eight limbed creature,
though they will be obviously weirder. Additional limbs ect: Aquatic creatures have their Coordination reduced
Eff ect:
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 :&$3
end up tripping over your own feet. (Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Trait)

 A66
 A 66@3
@3''
''&K
&K33 The creature has strong jaws and sharp, tearing teeth.

(Minor Good Creature Trait) ect: Bite attacks usually do Strength +2 or +4 damage.

This creature is quick to attack when threatened.
Eff ect:
ect: It gains a +2 bonus to its Coordination for the purpos-
es of working out who moves 󿬁rst during the Fighting Phase.
Eff ect:
Bite attacks can be used in cramped conditions without
penalty, unlike claws. The damage bonus provided by the
Minor version is +2 damage and the Major version is +4
damage.

 A8+"
 A8 +"&B
&B&2
&2)'
)' :)@@2<&-6
(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-
ff 
E andThe
landect: creature
in the watercan movepenalty.
without at its maximum speed on ture will require
Environmental an overleaf)
Trait alternateto
means
avoid of breathing
suff  (see
ocating while
ocating
tunnelling but this Trait allows the creature to move at
 A@82
 A@ 82@@ 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
    R most creatures like this will have some sort of Enhanced
    E Armour as a Trait means that the creature has ‘natural’ Senses (see page 197)
197) to allow them to sense their di-
    T armor that protects it. Armor counts as ‘natural’ if it cannot
     S be removed. For example, a 󿬂ack jacket can be removed,
rection of travel or prey.
    A Eff ect:
ect: Burrowing allows the creature to travel at half of
but a triceratops has a thick bone frill which cannot be
    M their normal Speed underground through soft ground.
    E removed. The moment the armor can be removed then it
The Gamemaster should use their discretion to decide if
is a piece of equipment, rather than a Trait. If it’s a perma-
    M nent feature (whether this bone, chitin, or just very tough, the creature can travel through a given terrain, modifying
    A the Speed as they see 󿬁t.
     G leathery skin) it is a Trait.
 ect: Armor as a Trait can be purchased at various levels.
Eff ect:
As a Minor TrTrait,
ait, 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
?*#<
(Major or Minor Good Creature Trait)
Trait)
The creature attacks with sharp claws.
Eff ect:
ect: Claw attacks usually do Strength +2. To do full
damage with a claw, a creature needs room to be able to
swipe at a victim; in cramped conditions, a creature may
not be able to rip as much 󿬂esh as it would otherwise.
?2-'$@&.$
(Minor Good Creature Trait)
The creature kills its prey by smothering or crushing
cr ushing them.
Pythons kill in this fashion; other predators might use
their bulk in this way.
Eff ect:
ect: To constrict, the predator must 󿬁rst grab its prey
(see Grab, below). It then squeezes the life out of the victim,
in󿬂icting ½ Strength damage automatically every turn.
?*&8B&-6
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Trait)
The Climbing
ceptionally Trait
good atmeans simply
climbing. As athat theTrait,
Minor creature iscan
they ex-
climb walls particularly
particula rly well, and as a Major Trait they are
equally adept at clinging to the ceiling!
Eff ect:
ect: As a Minor Good Tr Trait,
ait, costing 1 point, Climbing
means that the creature can climb up sheer and difficult
surfaces. While they cannot climb surfaces without any
grip, such as glass, they can certainly 󿬁nd it easy to climb
walls. They receive a +4 bonus to Coordination and Ath-
letics rolls when climbing. As a Major Trait, costing 2
points, they receive the same +4 bonus, but are able to
climb smooth surfaces such as glass or metal, as well as
clinging to the ceiling like a spider.
G-"#-.3M C3-'3'
(Minor Good Creature Trait)
Most of the time, simply having a really high Awareness
means that your senses are particularly acute. However,
some creatures have senses that go above and beyond
what is considered normal. It could be that they can see
infra-red or ultra-violet ends of the spectrum, or simply
smell their prey from
f rom a dozen rooms away.
away. The cost of this
Trait could easily be o ff set
set by the Strange Appearance
Trait, saying that the creature or character can see phe-
nomenally well, but has grotesquely large eyes.
ect: Enhanced Senses is a Minor Good Trait which costs
Eff ect:
1 point. At character creation, the sense that is particular-
Beasts & Monsters
example, a monster that can see into the infra-red range
of the spectrum can see the heat given o ff  by
  by people. It
gains a +4 bonus to its rolls when it spots the characters
approaching in the dark, but once the shooting starts, and
things start exploding, everything will be hot and the
bonus from its enhanced sense will be lost.
Note: This cannot be used with the Keen Senses Trait.
G-K&@2-83-$#*
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Environmental is a catch-all Trait that means the creature
or character can survive in strange or harsh environments.
Perhaps they are the last survivor of Atlantis and can exist
 just as well
well underwater
underwater as they can on land. They may be
able to survive in the vacuum of space, or endure the harsh
heat of the volcanic lands at the heart of the Earth, or the
extreme cold of the Antarctic.
ect: As a Minor Good Trait, Environmental
Eff ect: Environmental means that
the creature suff ers
ers no ill eff ects
ects from one particular harsh
condition. If it’s something like being able to survive un-
derwater, their ability should be explained. Do they have
gills, or can they store oxygen in some way? If they can
survive in the vacuum of space, this will require a little
more rationalisation.
rationalisation. As a Major Good Tr
Trait,
ait, the creature
suff ers
ers no eff ects
ects from any environment.
,#'$4P2K&-6
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Some creatures are very fast and move with a quickness
that is seldom seen in humans. It could be that they’re
born predators, fast like a cheetah, or they have some
unearthly ability to move so fast that they are no more
than a blur to the naked eye.
Eff ect:
ect: Fast-Moving is a Good Trait that means the creature 12
can travel unnaturally fast. As a Minor Good Trait, the creature’s
eff ective
ective Speed is increased by 1.5 times (round up), so a crea-
ture with a Coordination of 2 has an eff ective
ective Speed of 2 x 1.5
= 3. As a Major Good Trait, their Speed is doubled,
doubled , so a creature
with Coordination of 4 has an eff ective
ective Speed of 8. This Trait
only works if the creature is moving outside of a vehicle.
,3#@ ,#.$2@S
(Special Good Creature Trait)
The Fear Factor Trait is designed for monsters, villains and
those truly scary individuals who can send people running
runni ng
in terror. They don’t have to be ugly or monstrous – people
pe ople
cowered at feet of Dr Fu Manchu in fear of their lives – but
sometimes it is just looking at the creature with the rows
ly good should be speci󿬁ed (whether this is sight, hearing,
smell, etc.) and the particulars of the extraordinary per-
ception (what is so special about it and what is sensed).
When the creature uses the sense, it gains a +4 bonus to
Awareness rolls but only when using that sense. If the
Gamemaster thinks the sense will aid another Awareness
roll (such as avoiding being surprised), or if the environ-
ment eff ects
ects the sense, this bonus may be reduced. For
󿬁
of teeth that lls them with fear.
Eff ect:
ect: Fear Factor is a Special Trait and is really only
suitable for villains or monsters. It is costs 1 point, but can
be purchased multiple times. Each purchase of the Fear
Factor Trait adds +2 to any roll when actively trying to
strike fear into people’s hearts. See ‘Getting Scared’ on
page 133.
133.
197

die from a disease, they still can, and can certainly be killed
through violence or accident. Immortal at this level is a
Major Good Trait costing 2 points, and while it doesn’t
really aff ect
ect the actual game (as they can still be killed
through violence) they could have already lived a long
time. The Gamemaster may allow them to recall something
from their past if it suits the story or something from their
history could resurface, provoking a whole new adventure.
If they have lived ‘ages’, then they may automatically gain
the Well-Traveled Trait for the past eras that they were
alive and active, at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
The second type of Immortal
I mmortal is a Special Good Trait. The
character may get a little older in appearance, but their
longevity is so epic that their aging is hardly noticeable.
They can be shot, electrocuted, drowned and fried, but
they just don’t seem to die. They
T hey may fall down and look
dead, but it isn’t long before they’re up and active again.
Again, if they’ve been alive for a long time, they will also
automatically gain the Well-Traveled Trait for the eras
they were alive.
You must have purchased the More Than Human Trait
before selecting Immortal, though in rare circumstances
Immortality may be granted to player characters at the
Gamemaster’s discretion.
Eff ect:
ect: Immortal is either a Major Trait, meaning the
character never ages and will not die of natural causes, or
character
a Special Trait, that means the character cannot be killed.
Both may be unbalancing to the game and if you intend
to take either version of the Immortal Trait, discuss it with
the Gamemaster. Immortal as a Special Trait costs 5 Char-
acter Points, as well as reducing the character’s maximum
Story Points by 4. If killed during
d uring the course of an adven-
ture, the character looks dead and is unable to be revived.
Without the Fast Healing Trait, the character will heal at
a normal rate (this is usually 1 level of Attribute per day
of rest). When they have healed all of the damage they
have taken, and returned to their full health, they will
wake and be 󿬁ne. If the damage is really severe, the Gam-
emaster may keep track of how far into the ‘negative’ your
character’s Attributes go, and they will have to heal all of
these before they can recover. Any extreme damage, such
as loss of limb, may lead to further Bad Traits without the
Fast Healing Trait.
L88)-&$5S
(Major Good Creature Trait)
Many villains and monsters are immune to one form of
harm or another. For example, a werewolf is immune to
bullets but is vulnerable to silver.
silver.
Beasts & Monsters
L-I3.$&2-
(Major Good Creature Trait)
Some creatures have the horrible ability to infect other
beings with their characteristics. It may be the foul fungal
rash that spreads across the skin until the victim trans-
forms into a mushroom monster, or the bite that turns an
innocent survivor into a stumbling zombie. Perhaps it’s a
sting that implants eggs beneath the skin, or the bizarre
neurotoxin that allows the creature’s mind to live within
the unsuspecting target.
Eff ect:
ect: Infection can work in a couple of ways, both are
Major Good Creature Traits. As a transmittable disease,
the target needs to be scratched, bitten or take some form
of physical damage. If the damage penetrates any armour
worn, or if the victim failed with a Bad or Disastrous result,
they become infected. At regular intervals (usually every
hour or day) they will have to make a Resolve and Strength
roll, against the Resolve and Strength of the creature.
Failing this will mean the infection has spread. The
T he Gam-
emaster should decide how many failures mean the target
has become like the creature (one fail spreads to a whole
arm,
acterstwo fails
time to 󿬁tond
the
anchest, etc.). It should give the char-
antidote!
The other way it can work is by making the target suscep-
tible to possession, making them host to the creature, and
the infection is actually the creature moving from one
host to another. Again, this is usually from sustaining an
injury. Once infected (as above), the target will have to
make similar rolls, though instead of resisting the infection
spreading, this is to resist becoming possessed (see “Being
Possessed” page 133).
133).
L-K&'&B*3
(Special Good Creature Trait)
12
The ability
and defence toon
bethe
unseen is󿬁possibly
battle eld. It isone of the
a rare be stinweapons
best
ability nature,
but a mild version of this Trait can be accomplished with
shifting pigments in the skin, allowing chameleon-like
blending into their surroundings.
Full invisibility is more commonly found in ghostly, in-
tangible creatures that barely exist in this reality.
Eff ect:
ect: Invisibility is a Special Good Creature Trait that
comes in various levels. If the ability is natural, and the
creature can blend into the background to be unseen, then
this is a Major Good Trait that costs 2 points. If the creature
remains immobile, any attempt to spot it su ff ers
ers a -4
penalty. Full optic camou󿬂age is usually a Trait that would
be part of a Gadget and costs 4 points. This provides the
 ect: Immunity is a Major Good Creature Trait, costing
Eff ect:
2 points. When taking this Trait, the speci 󿬁c thing that
the creature is immune to must be clearly de󿬁ned, whether
this is something as simple as bullets, acid, mind control
or poison. If the immunity is particularly powerful,
powerful, such
as bullets, the Gamemaster may balance this immunity
with a weakness, especially in major villains or player
characters.
be part of a Gadget and costs 4 points. This provides the
same -4 penalty to be spotted but the creature can move
around without losing this advantage. While it is usually
a Gadget Trait, it can be a natural ability if the Gamemas-
ter can rationalise it. If this invisibility cannot be turned
on or off , as in the case of the creature being ethereal or
immaterial, the same -4 penalty is actually a Bad Trait,
providing 2 points.

199

Pulp Fantastic
All of these levels of invisibility can be purchased or taken to re󿬂ect 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 camou󿬂age, they
could take the Trait twice, providing a -8 penalty
p enalty to anyone D3$<2@>3M
trying to spot them.
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
Trait)
N3#+ The Networked Trait means that the creature is connect-
ed in some way to others of its kind. Whether this is an
(Special Good Creature Trait) inbuilt gadget that connects them to others, a telepathic
Some creatures can leap great distances either horizon- 󿬁eld or a ‘hive mind’, it means that if one is in trouble or
tally or vertically, without the need for a run-up. injured, it can call for
f or aid, though others are in close prox-
imity to help is another matter.
Eff ect:
ect: The creature can leap at any point. If the creature
c reature
makes a successful Coordination + Athletics roll against Eff ect:
ect: Networked is a Minor or Major Good Creature
a difficulty of 12, it lands
land s precisely and can act immediate- Trait. As a Minor Trait, the creatures simply sense each
ly. If the creature fails the roll it lands poorly and must other and know when one is in trouble. They can act to-
spend the next Action re-orienting itself before acting. gether fairly simply - when one wakes up, all of them do.
They don’t really ‘talk’ to each other but they know where
Leap is a Special Good Creature Trait which costs 3 points
to congregate as a group. As a Major Trait, they have the
and can be taken multiple times. The 󿬁rst time it is taken
equivalent of the Telepathy Trait connecting them to each
allows the creature to jump twice its own body length, and
other, or even to a hive mind. Most of the time, the range
each time it is taken thereafter doubles the distance the
of this communication is limited. Gamemasters
Gamemasters may wish
creature can Leap.
to use the Telepathy Trait as a guide.
N)@>3@ D2.$)@-#*
(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.
ect: Characters need
Eff ect: nee d to make a contested roll of Aware-
ect: During the day,
Eff ect: day, it su ff ers
ers a -2 penalty
penalt y 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,
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.
D#$)@#* !3#+2-' (#''&K3
(Minor or Major Good Creature Trait)
(Minor Bad Creature Trait)
The creature has some form of weaponry that is part of
their form. This could be something as simple as toxic The
it is creature is slow
in danger, or ittoisreact. Either
so large it isthe
that toothings
stupid to realise
that can
breath, a poisonous bite or sharp claws, to built in guns
actually threaten it are extremely rare.
or being able to 󿬁re sharp spines. As long is it is not some-
thing that is usually dropped or carried (like a gun or bow), ect: The creature suff ers
Eff ect: ers 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 󿬁rst in the
    R
    E weapon. Fighting Phase.
    T
     S Eff ect:
ect: Natural Weapons is a Minor or Major Good Trait
(2&'2-
    A that can be purchased multiple times if the creature is
    M particularly dangerous. As a Minor Trait, the weapon is (Special Good Creature Trait)
    E only for close combat. These are usually teeth, claws, spines
The creature’s
creature’s attacks can inject a dangerous poison.
    M or electrical shock or something similar. A weapon like
    A this increases the damage of the usual physical attack by Eff ect:
ect: The cost of the Trait varies depending on how
     G +2, so the creatures damage is equal to their Strength +2. nasty the poison
p oison is. As a guide, use the table below.
below. Usually,
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- 󰁃󰁏󰁓󰁔 󰁐󰁏󰁉󰁓
󰁐󰁏 󰁏󰁎 󰁄󰁁󰁍󰁁󰁇󰁅
󰁉󰁓󰁏 󰁃󰁈󰁅󰁃󰁋 󰁄󰁉󰁆󰁆󰁉󰁃󰁕󰁌󰁔󰁙 
thing (like a poisonous spine, 󿬁ngernail, 󿬂aming breath 1 2/4/6 15
or built in gun).
2 4/6/9 21
A ranged Natural Weapon will have the same damage
d amage (5 3 4 / 8 /12 24
(2/5/7)) but can reach a greater distance than a simple
swipe of a claw.
claw. This Trait can be purchased multiple
multi ple times
200
 

Pulp Fantastic
C.@3#83@d
(Minor Good Trait)
The creature can scream really loud. While this is not
normally considered a very special ability, this scream is
loud enough to be heard over great distances, a boon when
trying to attract help or possibly scare off  attackers.
  attackers.
Eff ect:
ect: When scared or threatened the character can
scream really loud, loud enough to be heard up to a mile
away. Anyone in the room with the screamer is stunned
for their rest of the Action Round, su ff ering
ering a -2 penalty
to all of their actions. This should allow the screamer to
make a run for it, or possibly to hide. Screamers cannot
take the Brave Trait and never receive bonuses to resist
fear eff ects.
ects.
C"#+3'"&I$
(Minor, Major or Special Good Creature Trait)
Some creatures and characters have the ability to look like
something else. This is especially useful if you’re an 8 foot
tall green denizen of Mars with four arms, or if you wish
to try to mimic someone to gain information. The actual
methods of ‘shapeshifting’ can be as complex as facial
muscle manipulation, or a racial ability, to something as
basic as wearing a fat suit and a mask.
ect: As a Minor Good Trait, this means that the creature
Eff ect:
can disguise itself as a fairly convincing representation of
another person, though close examination may reveal the
disguise. As a Major Good Trait, the creature can physi-
cally shapeshift into a perfect copy of another person. If
the creature is able to shapeshift into multiple forms and
replicate actual people, then the Trait is a Special Good
Trait that costs 4 points.
C*2<4P2K&-6
C-#+
(Major Good Creature Trait – Requires the Bite Trait)
The creature makes another Bite attack.
ect: This doesn’t cost an action—the creature can keep
Eff ect:
Snapping as long as it wants, but each Snap has the usual
-2 penalty for taking extra Actions in a round.
C+3.&#*
(Special Good Creature Trait)
Sometimes, creatures can do something truly remarkable
and odd. Something that none of the other powers and
abilities listed here covers. This Trait allows the Game-
master to go wild and create the odd and special powers
that can sometimes de󿬁ne a species.
Eff ect:
ect: This is a Special Trait that costs 3 points or more.
The more powerful the ability, the more the Trait costs.
Using other powers as a guide, the Gamemaster can create
any power they feel necessary to make a cool creature.
This can be around 3-4 points for a minor ability, to 7-8
points for something more useful (like being able to move
fasterbethan
can peopleorcan
created, thesee). Speci󿬁c Traits
Gamemaster canfor theseuse
simply powers
the
Special Trait to cover these.
C$#*>3@
(Major Good Creature Trait)
The creature likes to follow its prey and wait for the right
moment to strike.
Eff ect:
ect: The creature may make opposed Coordination +
Subterfuge rolls against the victim’s Awareness + Surviv-
al. If there are several characters in a group, use the lowest
result from among the characters’ rolls. If the lurker wins,
it gains a +4 bonus to sneak attacks.

(Minor or Major Bad Creature Trait) C$&-63@

A lot of creatures are incredibly dangerous but thankful-
ly many of them move slowly. (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Eff ect:
ect: Slow-Moving is a Minor or Major Bad Trait that The creature has a spiked tail or stinger that lashes its
    R means the creature is slower than your average character. prey.
    E As a Minor Bad Trait, the creature’s e ff ective
ective Speed is
    T halved (round down), so a Coordination of 4 means that
ects: Stinger attacks usually do only ½ normal damage,
Eff ects:
     S the creature has a Speed of 2 in a chase. The creature’s
but a creature can make an extra Stinger attack each round
    A at the cost of one Story Point per attack.
Speed has a minimum of 1, though particularly slow crea-
    M
    E tures can sometimes have Speeds that are slower (down
C$28+
to 0.5, etc.) but this requires additional calculations on
    M behalf of the Gamemaster and may be ignored. As a Major
    A (Minor Good Creature Trait)
     G Bad Trait, the creature’s Speed is eff ectively
ectively 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. Eff ect:
ect: Stomping isn’t a very accurate attack, suff ering
ering a
−2 penalty to the attack roll, but it does do a lot of damage.
(Strength +4 at least).

202

Beasts & Monsters

C$@#-63 A++3#@#-.3 9@#8+*3

(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
Eff ect:
ect: It in󿬂icts 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-
E ff ect:
ect: 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
att acks—even if the character
Appearance Trait,
Trait, the more odd the creature looks. As a dodges the 󿬁rst 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 󰁧󰁭’s discretion,  !#@-&
 !#@ -&-6
-6
they suff er
er 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 ect: The Warning removes any bonuses the characters
Eff ect:
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 suff er
er a -4 the rest of the herd or pack.
penalty
of scaredon social
locals rolls
who (possibly
assume evena hostile
they’re becomemonster!).
the target

93*3+2@$
(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
12
Trait.
Eff ect:
ect: 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 󿬁nd themselves
weakened and disorientated for a few minutes until they
weakened
can recover and get their bearings.
203

Chapter 13
E
ach entry includes a physical description of the crea-
ture, a summary of its nature and common tactics,
and suggestions for how it might integrat
integratee into Pulp
society or, in the case of a fantastic creature, burrow its
way into the human subconscious. Many creatures
c reatures have
a di fficult time 󿬁tting into Pulp society in a traditional
way and are often found at the social fringes of urban life.
Others are highly adaptive and can easily create their own
power bases within our world.
 A-&8
 A- &8#*
#*''
An opponent does not need to have a gun – or even be
human – to be dangerous, as any big game hunter will
testify. Nature is red in tooth and claw, and Pulp heroes
often had to defend themselves against hungry crocs,
venomous insects and rampaging beasts.
Bestiary 
 A**&
 A* *&6#
6#$2
$2@@
This large, carnivorous reptile prowls the edges of the
large waterways of the south-eastern United States— in-
cluding the Mississippi River, for which it earned its Latin
name. Known for its long, powerful tail and broad snapping
snout and jaws, the “gator” tends to avoid human contact
unless threatened (or if a female’s eggs are threatened).
Often hunted for its valuable hide, an alligator feeds on
large and small animals, even preying on cattle or deer
when the opportunity arises. Adventurers should remem-
ber to keep an eye peeled for 󿬂oating logs at the edges of
rivers and lakes—there just might be a pair of eyes staring
back from one of those logs.
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1
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’ss tough, scaly skin gives it 5 points of armor.
tor’
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

:#$$
:# :&6 ?#$
Nocturnal 󿬂ying 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
Size: Tiny Speed: Fast
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 󿬂iers.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Nocturnal  (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Bats
The fangs and claws of a big cat do Strength +2
suff er
er -2 to their Awareness in daylight.
damage.
Character Points: 12
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The

:3#@ roar of a big cat inspires terror.

Large omnivorous mammals, bears can be quite aggres-
sive, depending on their species and the abundance of
food in the area. Often highly territorial, a hungry, sick or
injured bear is not above killing and eating a human being.
Stalker (Minor Good Creature Trait) On a suc-
cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll,
big cats gain +4 to sneak attacks.
Character Points: 33

Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1 :&@Mh N#@63

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
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
    R
    E roar of an angry bear inspires terror. Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
    T The beak and talons of a large bird do Strength
     S Tough (Major Good Trait) Bears have dense
+2 damage.
    A slabs of muscle, reducing damage taken by 2.
    M Character Points: 17
    E Character Points: 26
    M
    A
     G
 206

Bestiary 

:2#@ i!&*M (&6j 72@&**#

A wild boar’s
boar ’s hide is covered with short,
sh ort, woolly,
woolly, grey-black The largest of the apes, gorillas are primarily herbivorous
hair. Along the spine, hair mixes with stiff er
er bristles to and live in the forests of central Africa. The closest relative
form a sort of mane. The
T he 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
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) are stubborn and durable.
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 P2-&$2@ N&W#@M
A monitor lizard measures between
between 8 inches and 10 feet
?"&8+#-W33 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 󿬁erce 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   (Special Good Creature Trait) The
injured or scared a chimp can go wild. Poisonof a monitor lizard does 2 / 4 / 6 damage.
poison
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) Character Points: 24
The teeth of a chimpanzee do Strength +2
damage.
Character Points: 27

207

Pulp Fantastic

E.$2+)'
The most intelligent and adaptable of the invertebrates,
the Octopus is an 8-limbed cephalopod mollusc with a
hard beak and no internal skeleton. Octopuses are ambush
predators and have a number of defensive strategies,
strategies, in-
cluding the ability to expel a cloud of ink, adaptive cam-
ou󿬂age, the ability to move swiftly using water jets and
their ability to hide. All octopuses have a venomous bite,
but few are toxic to humans. These stats can also be used
for squid.
1#$$
1#
Wherever there is man, the rat is sure to follow. Omnivo-
rous, scavenging rodents, rats are remarkable survivors,
adapting to many ecological niches. On their own, rats
can be quite timid, but in large groups they can be ferocious
predators. They rarely attack humans unless extremely
hungry or cornered. Rats are usually small, though in the
inner cities some rats can be the size of small dogs. Rats
frequently carry disease. Any bite from a rat carries
carrie s a small
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)
Trait) Rats
can only leave the water for very limited are eff ective
ective 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 C.2@+&2-
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)
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)
The beak of an Octopus does Strength +1 Size: Tiny
damage. Speed: Slow
    R Special: Ink Cloud (Special Good Creature Skills: Subterfuge 3
    E Trait)) The octopus can emit a cloud of jet-black
Trait
    T Traits:
     S ink as a free action. The normal octopus’s ink
    A cloud is a 3 metre cube, within which all normal Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Scor-
    M vision is obscured. pions are quick to react if attacked or disturbed.
    E
Character Points: 31 Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Scorpi-
    M ons aren’t quite as good at climbing as spiders,
    A
     G but it’s close.
 Nocturnal  (Minor
ons are active Bad Creature Trait)
at night. Trait) Scorpi-
Poison (Special Good Creature
Creatu re 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 

C"#@> C-#>3h U3-282)'

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
T he 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
away. prefer to hunt at night.
Poison   (Special Good Creature Trait) The
Character Points: 23
venom of a snake does at least 2 /4 /6 damage.

C-#>3h ?2-'$@&.$2@ Character Points: 15

Constrictor snakes hunt by grabbing prey with their

mouths and then squeezing it with their powerful bodies.
 !2*I 
 !2* I 
In general, snakes do not attack creatures larger than Wolves are highly social, predatory pack animals that live
themselvess except in self-defence.
themselve in temperate climates. Wolf packs are highly organised
with a de󿬁ned 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 󿬁nal 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
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
reducing Good Trait)
all damage takenWolves
by 2. are sturdy,
Character Points: 22

209

Pulp Fantastic

?@5+$&M'  
 
The dark and lonely places
place s of the world are home to many
mysterious creatures, organisms whose existence is not
yet recognized by science, but are nonetheless real. Many
masterminds and archvillains use these “cryptids” as
guards and weapons. Here are just a few of them.
 A+3h
 A+ 3h 7&7&#-#-$$
Reputed to exist only on isolated and forbidding islands
A+33 P#
A+ P#--
Sometimes referred to as a “Cave Man”, the Ape Man is a
form of primitive man, similar to the Neanderthal. Ape
Men are usually either mute or limited to grunts and
signing for communication.
communication. Ape Men typically exist
exist in
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
hunting rather than agriculture.

in the South Paci󿬁c, 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
Kn owledge 1, Marks-
giant apes have long been regarded as simply the subject
man 1, Subterfuge 1, Surviva
Survivall 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
Traits:
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Giant
Apes are highly territorial.
Frenzy   (Minor Bad Creature Trait) When
wounded a giant ape often goes wild.
Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait) Like their
smaller cousins, giant apes
a pes have an exception-
al sense of smell.
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Giant apes
are hard to knock down.
Savage Roar (Major Good Creature Trait) The
    R roar of a giant ape warns trespassers from its
    E territory.
    T
     S Tough (Minor Good Tr
Trait)
ait) Giant apes are pro-
    A tected by dense bones and slabs of muscle,
    M reducing damage taken by 2.
    E krakens seem to be able to produce bio-luminescent dis-
    M Character Points: 54
    A
     G Awareness:
O@#>3-
Krakens are gigantic tentacular aquatic predators, dis-
tantly related to the giant squid. Known in Japan as the
Akkorokamui,
Akkorok amui, these creatures inhabit the abyssal ocean
deeps and only rarely travel to the surface. Unlike most
deep-sea organisms, Krakens adapt quickly to pressure
changes and seem to experience no difficulty operating
at diff erent
erent depths. Krakens vary in size, with juveniles
starting at 30 metres long (about as large as a blue whale),
with no upper limit. Krakens appear to continue to grow
throughout their life-span, with mythology reporting
creatures so large that they have been mistaken for islands.
Unlike the giant squid, krakens are covered with dense
armored scales. In adult krakens, these scales carry large
accretions of molluscs and other marine life.
It is unknown what krakens hunt in their natural habitat,
but they have been reported attacking whales, ships, sub-
marines and occasionally even coastal communities. Some
plays capable of inducing a hypnotic state.
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.
Hypnosis   (Major Good Trait) Krakens can
induce hypnotize their prey into immobility
through weaving complex patterns of light
with their bio-luminescence.
Immortal (Major Good Creature Trait) Krakens
are ancient and ageless.
Lurker  (Minor Good Creature Trait) Krakens
prefer ambush predation. On a successful
opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll, Krakens
gain +2 ambush attacks.
Fear Factor 4 (Special Good Creature Trait)
Lurker (Minor Good Creature Trait) Stinging
Bell Plants are ambush predators.
Networked (Minor Good Creature Trait) Sting-
ing Bell Plants apparently communicate
Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Sting Bell
Plants cannot be knocked out or incapacitated.
Poison (Special Good Creature Trait
Trait)) The Sting-
ing Bell Plant is highly toxic and does 4 / 8 /12
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 󿬁bers of
C$&-6&-6 :3** (*#-$ a Stinging Bell Plant reduce all damage taken
by 3.
The Stinging Bell Plant is a mobile, predatory carnivorous
plant 󿬁rst 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 󿬁brous 󿬁lament 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.
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

P2-62*&#- F3#$" !2@8 C+&M3@h 7&#-$

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
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.
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 e ff ective
ective 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,
󿬁
Death Worms gain +2 to ambush attacks. a Fear test when rst seeing them.
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
metre s
body.
Poison 3 (Special Good Creature Trait) The
Nocturnal  (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Giant
    R venom of the Death Worm is highly toxic, doing
    E Spiders suff er
er -2 to their awareness in daylight.
    T 4 / 8 /12 damage.
     S Character Points: 47
Poison 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) Giant
    A Spider bites are poisonous, doing 4 / 6 / 9 damage.
    M Stalker (Major Good Creature Trait) On a suc-
    E
cessful opposed Coordination+Subterfuge roll,
    M Giant Spiders gain +4 to sneak attacks.
    A
      G Tough (Minor Good Trait) Giant Spiders reduce
all damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 38

212

Bestiary 

C+&M3@hh P2-'$@2)'
C+&M3@ P2-' $@2)'  U#8+&
 U#8 +&@3
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:#$h
$h 7&
7&#-
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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 󿬁eld of vision due to their multiple is known as Fangalabolo (“the fear that 󿬂ies by night”),
eyes and possess fangs capable of punching through metal. while in Cameroon it is called the Olitiau, and in Indone-
Monstrous spiders diff er
er 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  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-e fficient been known to descend on villages and ships at sea, leaving
oxygen carrier in their blood instead of hemoglobin, in- everyone white,
white, dead and drained of blood.
creasing the eff ectiveness
ectiveness of their respiration
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 󿬂iers.
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,
prey, and characters
chara cters need to make
a Fear test when 󿬁rst seeing them.

Nocturnal (Minor Bad Creature Trait) Mon- 13

strous Spiders suff er
er -2 to their awareness in
daylight.
Poison 3 (Special Good Creature Trait) Monstrous
Spider bites are poisonous, doing 4 / 8 /12 damage.
Tough (Minor Good TrTrait)
ait) Monstrous Spiders
reduce all damage taken by 2.
Character Points: 38
 213

Pulp Fantastic

 !"&$
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A+33  J3$&
The highly territorial and savage creatures referred to as Sometimes referred
refer red to as the “Abominable
“Abominable Snowman”
Sn owman”,, 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 scienti󿬁c 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
w ith a taste tozoologists as a lost branch of humanity, the so-called
for human 󿬂esh. 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 P3"493"
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,
clu bs, spears and even simple armor.
lower jaw.
jaw. Despite their fearsome appearance, the Meh-Teh
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 󿬁rst during
Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Psychic Trait)
the Fighting Phase.
The Meh-Teh
Meh-Teh have the ability
abi lity to pass unnoticed
unnotice d
Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait) White when they want.
Apes receive a +4 bonus to Coordination and
Athletics rolls when climbing. Empathic  (Minor
can read body Good
language toTrait) The Meh-Teh
determine emotion-
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait)
Trait) White Apes al states.
often go berserk when injured.
Environmental (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) The Meh-Teh suff er
er no ill-eff ects
ects from the cold.
    R White Apes have savage claws and fangs doing
    E Psychic (Special Good Trait) The Meh-Teh’s
    T Strength +2 damage.
pursuit of enlightenment has granted them
     S Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) White Apes limited psychic abilities.
    A are very robust and can rarely be knocked out
    M Character Points: 56
    E or incapacitated.
    M Tough (Minor Good Trait) White Apes are ter-
    A rifyingly robust.
      G
Character Points: 43
214
P&62&
The Migoi are a more primitive o ff -shoot
-shoot of the yeti race,
having degenerated back into bestial savagery. Distin-
guished from their civilized brethren by a shaggy coat
c oat of
white fur, fangs and sharp talons on both hands and feet,
the Migoi live in small family groups amidst the snowy,
arid peaks of the Himalayas. They are carnivores, normal-
ly living off  yaks, mountain goats and cattle, but occasion-
ally wandering into the lowlands and extending their diet
d iet
to human 󿬂esh in times of want. The Migoi are often tamed
and used as assassins and temple guards by the Black
Lamas of the Forbidden Monastery.
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity: 1 ished by things kinder but no less alien. Others yet claim
Presence: 2 Resolve: 3 Strength: 8
Size: Huge
Speed: Average
Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 5, Subterfuge 3, Survival 4
Traits:
Armor (Minor Good Creature Trait) The Migoi’s
dense musculature and shaggy coat gives it 5
points of armor.
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The Migoi can see in infra-red, allowing it to
track its prey through the snow.
Environmental (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The Migoi suff er
er no ill-eff ects
ects from the cold.
Frenzy (Minor Bad Creature Trait) The Migoi
will 󿬂y into a blood rage when it is injured.
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
The Migoi has sharp claws and fangs giving it
Strength +2 damage in hand-to-han
hand-to-handd combat.
Character Points: 41
,#-$#'$&. ?@3#$)@3'
G*M@&$." AB28&-#$&2-
As alien and incomprehensible as the weather, the Eldritch
Abomination lies at the heart of the Cosmic Horror pulp
story,, a monstrous weird menace
story mena ce from the outer darkness,
dar kness,
existing in opposition to the physical laws of the known
universe. It distorts reality simply by existing, causing
insanity, death and…worse. In ages past, it and it’s kind
ruled the world – they may have even made the world and
Bestiary 
by primitive cultures and seekers of wisdom
w isdom driven insane
by their delvings into the forbidden, they sometimes gift
their supplicants with knowledge of an alien science so
bizarre and arcane that it may have formed the mytholog-
ical basis for what we today call magic.
Obscure legends from before the age when man walked
upright hint that these elder horrors slithered down from
the stars before the dinosaurs arose. They built mighty
cities
them,so alien terrible
fought that they warped
wars space unholy
and made and time around
alliances.
How they lost their grip on the world is unknown. Some
legends hint that God and His angels cast them out, while
others claim that there is no God and that they were ban-
that they were overcome by the powers of proto-human
magician priests, or that they were the victims of a cos-
mological shift – an event soon to reverse itself and allow
them purchase in the world of man once more.
Many greater abominations lie trapped outside normal space,
hungering in the awful outer darkness between universes,
while other lesser creatures slumber in alien tombs and
monstrous cities lost beneath the earth or at the bottom of
the sea. Others
or hibernate stilldepths
in the lurk beyond gateways
of deep to distant
space, waiting worlds
for the call
to awaken and feed on minds and souls once more.
Physically, Eldritch Abominations come in a variety of
forms, from almost human to physically impossible, from
living gases and spatial distortions to writhing masses of
tentacles, eyes, tooth-󿬁lled maws and wings. Many simply
cannot be seen at all, while others are so utterly alien that
simply to see and comprehend them means madness or
death for the viewer.
As terrible and horri 󿬁c as these beings are, the greatest
threat comes not from them, but from the madmen and
fanatics that worship them as gods. There is little evidence
to suggest these monstrosities even notice their suppli-
cants, but this does not stop demented cults and sects 13
forming around their legend and working towards has-
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
rites and ceremonies, stopping at nothing to secure the
freedom of their terrible gods. These cults are often gifted
with arcane powers and vile mutations, gifted either de-
liberately by the Eldritch Abominations or merely as a
side-eff ect
ect of getting too close to something so unfathom-
ably alien that the universe itself protests at their presence.
Note: For the best examples of Eldritch Abominations from
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

Their minds are beyond human understanding, their for thiscampaign

of the section. We recommend
though that
- if you they
want
want tonot
do form the basis
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
viewer,, imparting supporting material. Instead they should be used sparingly
sparingly,,
horri󿬁c 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
 

Bestiary 

P#@$&#- 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

MartiansApparently
mouth. have large lacking
dark eyes andcords
vocal a slavering,
and anyV-shaped
form of Traits:
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 relativel
relativelyy 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 invas
invasion
ion 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
c ombat and feeding, doing
and cultivate mankind as a food supply. Strength +2 damage.
As they are eff ectively
ectively 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 󿬁ghting machines
Slow-Moving (Minor Bad Creature
Creat ure Trait) Mar-
or the smaller handling machines seen in their landing
tians struggle to move quickly in Earth’s gravity.
sites and forti󿬁ed areas.
Strange Appearance (Major Bad Creature
While it is popularly known that the Martians are fatally
Trait) Martians are hideous octopus-like crea-
aff ected
ected 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 󿬂u 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- 13
tians have no vocal cords and communicate
restrial viruses or bacteria can aff ect
ect 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

P#@$&#- !#@ P#."&-3 =-M3#M

The Martians’ distinctive tripod war machines are their
signature weapon. Though they are vehicles, Martians P)885 
use them as prosthetic bodies, so they are presented here
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
* Pilot gods, by ensuring that their torment would not end when
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 mummi 󿬁cation
Armor (Special Good Creature Trait)
Trait) Martian at some point in the past. West
Western
ern 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
be low.. Most possess
the ability to create the illusion of being a living creature.
Fear Factor
Tripods +4(Special
get a 2 bonus toGood
scareCreature Trait)
or intimidate. Note: These stats can be used to represent anyone who
Natural We
Weapons
apons (Minor Good Creature has successfully extended their own existence beyond
Traits) The tripods metallic tentacles deliver death, either by supernatural or super-scienti󿬁c 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
incine rates 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
Weakness (Minor Bad Trait) The tripod cannot an undead monster.
function without a pilot. Environmental (Major Good Creature Trait) As
undead beings, mummies suff er
er no environ-
Character Points: 48 mental eff ects.
ects.

    R Fear Factor  (Special Good Creature Trait)

    E Mummies gain +2 when actively trying to strike
    T
     S fear into others.
    A Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) As
    M undead beings, mummies are functionally
    E immortal.
    M
    A Never Gives Up (Major Good Trait) Mummies
      G cannot be incapacitate
incapacitated.
d.

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
bo dy of durability, that avoid sunlight but are not harmed by it,
a mummy reduces all damage taken by 2. can be destroyed by stakes, 󿬁re or beheading, and need
fresh human blood to survive. They could be the victims
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait) Even when
of a mysteri
mysterious
ous disease, engineered beings or perhaps an
appearing normal, most people 󿬁nd mummies
alternate branch of humanity. Undead supernatural crea-
instinctively
instinctively unappealing
unappealing..
tures could look quite diff erent.
erent.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Mummies can be
destroyed by the magics that created and D3< U#8+&@3
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
C>3*3$2-
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 e ff ectively
ectively 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
reasoning..
Dependency (Major Bad Trait) Vampires
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
Creatu re Trait) The
Size: Average vampiress Speed is doubled.
vampire

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 suff er
er no environmental eff ects.
ects. Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Vampires can
Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait) hypnotize their prey.
Bony, claw-like 󿬁ngers 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).
Keen Senses (Major Good Trait) The vampire
no free will  (Major
Obsession and mustBad Trait)
follow Skeletons
their have
instructions has +2 to all Awareness rolls.
13
no matter what. Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Skeletons are 󿬂esh- 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
Vampires reduce all
Character Points: 17 damage taken by 3.
Weakness  (Major Bad Trait) Beheading or
 U#8+&
 U#8 +&@3
@3 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
 the weak and the isolated. Vam-
pires tend to diff er
er from culture to culture, with diff erent
erent
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
P#'$3@ U#8+&@3  !3@3<
 !3@ 3<2*
2*I 
I 
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 6 Ingenuity: 5 Descriptions of men who transform into savage beasts by
Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength: 7
the light of the full moon are recorded in the literature of the
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,
3 , Subterfuge 2
Traits: Though the essentials
culture, the details of remain
the curse
thechange fromwerew
same. The culture
olfto
werewolf is
Climbing (Major Good Creature Trait) Vampires
Vampires a man or woman who – sometimes willingly, often unwill-
can move at their full speed on any surface.
ingly – physically transforms into a monstrous, 󿬂esh-eat-
ing beast. In most versions of the legend, the transforma
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
Dependency (Minor Bad Trait) Older vampires
an animal pelt. In the most well-known legends, the trans-
do not need to feed on fresh human blood as
formation is a curse, the victim tormented by vague mem-
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-
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.
Hypnosis (Major Good Trait) Vampires can
hypnotize their prey.
Immortal (Special Good Creature Trait) Vam-
pires cannot die through age, violence or disease
(see Weakness, below)
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) The
vampire can create other vampires.
Aggressive (Major Good Creature Trait) Were-
wolves are savage, blood-thirsty monsters.
Amnesia (Minor Bad Trait) Werewolves have
little or no memory of what they do while trans-
formed.
Climbing (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Trait) Using
their claws and immense strength, werewolves
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)
    R Werewolves move at with a Speed of 10.
    E Psychic (Special Good Trait) Master vampires
    T Fast Healer (Special Good Trait) Werewolves
     S can read minds.
heal normal wounds at 1 point of damage
d amage per
    A Telekinesis  (Special Good Psychic Trait) minute.
    M Master vampires can move objects by the
    E power of their minds. Fear Factor 3 (Special Good Creature Trait)
    M Werewolves are slavering, terrifying beasts.
    A Tough (Major Good Trait) Vampires reduce all
Immortal (Special Good Trait) The werewolf
     G damage taken by 3.
Weakness (Major Bad Trait) Beheading or
burning will destroy the vampire, while staking
it will immobilize the creature.
Character Points: 71
220
is ageless and undying, except through wounds
in󿬂icted by a silver weapon. Even if the were-
wolf is killed in human form, he will revive
during the next full moon.
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Any
bite or scratch from a werewolf that pierces
armor and draws blood is enough to transmit
the curse.
 

Pulp Fantastic
9"3 ;)-6@5 F3#M
The zombie sub-type referred to as the Hungry Dead are
F&-2'#)@'
Dinosaurs 󿬁rst 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 󿬂esh. 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
terrifying in large numbers. Rumors persist of encounters of earth was only broken by an extinction event so massive
with so-called “fast” zombies, but these are clearly the that it eradicated
descendants, in the75%
formofofall plant
birds, areand animalus.
all around life.
Is Their
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 paci󿬁c 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
The hungry dead erGood
suff er Creature
no ill-e ects inTrait)
ff ects any catalogue of species in this book, the stats below can be used
to represent broad families of animals that may be encountered.
environment.
Fear Factor 2 (Special Good Creature Trait) ($3@2'#)@
Zombies are innately frightening.
Pterosaurs are considered by the popular imagination to be
Infection (Major Good Creature Trait) Any bite 󿬂ying dinosaurs, though this is not actually true (dinosaurs
that pierces armor and draws blood will cause
c ause are a diff erent
erent 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 󿬁sh, insects and other
things cannot move quickly. small animals.

Slow Re󿬂exes (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
    R corpses in various states of disrepair. Size: Big
    E
    T Weakness (Special Good Creature Trait) De- Skills: Athletics 4, Fighting 2, Survival 3
     S stroying the brain or a signi󿬁cant proportion
    A of the upper spinal cord will permanently de-
Traits:
    M activatee the hungry dead.
activat Flight (Minor Good Creature Trait) Pterosaurs
    E can 󿬂y; they are not very agile 󿬂yers, but are
    M Character Points: 17
capable of gliding immense distances.
    A
      G Natural Weapons (Minor Good Creature Trait)
Pterosaurs have
have sharp fangs and talons, doing
Strength +2 damage.
Special: Swoop Attack (Special Good Creature
Trait) The Pterosaurs swoops down on its prey
prey..
This attack has a +4 bonus to hit and does
Strength +2 damage.
Character Points: 35

222
222

Bestiary 
Enhanced Senses (Minor Good Creature Trait
Trait))
1#+$2@ 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
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 󿬁rst meeting a raptor.
rible Claw”), named for the over-sized sickle-shaped claw
on each foot, which it uses to horri󿬁c eff ect
ect 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 in󿬂icts claw damage in the 󿬁rst 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
c over in󿬂icts 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 suff ers
ers a -4 penalty to all actions
it isn’t visible. while it is clinging to him. Knocking the raptor
off  requires
 requires a successful Fighting or Athletics
Like wolves, these dinosaurs hunt in packs, but are adapt-
contest.
able enough
Like to feed
most pack on carrion
predators, theyifprefer
live prey is notoavailable.
to pick ff  lone
 lone or Stalker (Major Good Creature Trait) Raptors
otherwise vulnerable targets, but are intelligent enough are eff ective
ective hunters.
hunters. On a successful opposed
to use ambushes and herding tactics when required. They Coordination+Subterfu
Coordinatio n+Subterfuge
ge 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,
quickly, something which
whic h 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
f or
the purposes of working out who moves 󿬁rst
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
223

Pulp Fantastic

95@#--2'#)@
The best known and most feared of all dinosaurs - the
Tyrannosaurus Rex
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
Albertosaurus..
Tyrannosaurs are hunters, opportunistic carnivores that
run down to
returning and
thekill
killtheir prey,atthen
for days gorge
a time. onanimals
Prey the 󿬂esh, often
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 󿬁rst 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 󿬁rst 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
    R
    E action.
    T
     S Special:  Tail Sweep (Special Good Creature
    A Trait) The Tyrannosaur makes an attack that
    M in󿬂icts ½ Strength damage, but can attack any
    E number of targets as long as they’re all within
    M a few metres of each other. Anyone hit by the
    A tail swipe is knocked down.
      G
Tough (Major Good Trait) Tyrannosaurs have
tough skin and dense muscles, reducing all
damage taken by 3.
Character Points: 53
224
224
9"3 :*#.> 9&3 AII#&@
The characters are attending the London Literary Library
Association’ss premier charity event, a black tie aff air
Association’ air being
attended by the social elite, high ranking government
officials, a bevy of press associates, and a few lucky at-
tendees that were the “and guest” part of an invite. The
LLLA is an organization that provides library services to
the underprivileged. To help off set
set the costs of their
current project, building 󿬁ve new libraries across London,
Geoff rey
rey George Lilliamont has opened his private collec-
tion of valuable literary pieces for the evening and put
them on display for London’s elite to view.
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
not a purely 󿬁ctional 󿬁gment of the master story-teller’s
imagination, but instead a real person whose genius
allowed him to create the Nautilus and escape from the
surface world and live under the oceans in a world where
he found and knew peace. These few believers have hy-
pothesized that Nemo, in constructing the Nautilus, had
collected an exorbitant amount of hard currency,
currency, and that
these funds came from the sale of numerous inventions
that the notorious Nemo had created in his mind, and later
put on paper. Of the handful of experts that have studied
the supposed Nemo schematics, to a man they have stated
that his genius either rivaled that of Leonardo or his
madness that of Hyde.
󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁎󰁅󰁍󰁏 󰁐󰁁󰁇󰁅󰁓
Powerful, connected, monied people want these pages. They’ll
lie, cheat, steal, and murder to get their hands on them. Some
Som e
want them purely for their monetary value, others desire to
see the machinery of Nemo put to use, and the Invisible
College may want to keep the world from seeing the pages.
Chapter 14
The Nemo Diary 
es the characters. Characters of some renown will be
greeted with cheers and claps, and other less known char-
acters will be politely ignored. All of the servants are
dressed as literary characters (Robin Hood and his men,
Don Quixote, the Three Musketeers, and any other char-
acters that the 󰁧󰁭 may wish to use). The party will quickly
become crowded as more and more guests are announced,
characters can meet, mingle, and make new acquaintanc-
es (a 󰁧󰁭 may use this scene to introduce background
characters that may be of use in future adventures if they
are planning a campaign). Everyone
Everyone seems quite pleasant,
the party is going well, many cheques are being written
and stuff ed
ed into a large box near the glass enclosed case
showcasing
showcasin g the Nemo Pages.
12B&- #-M ;&' =-83@@5 P3-
Eventually Geoff rey
rey George Lilliamont will tap his glass
repeatedly until the crowd quiets down, and begin to give
a speech. His wife, Lady Lillian Lilliamont, has been min-
gling with the guests engaging in small talk. This stunning
woman of rare beauty should stop to speak with a char-
acter or group of characters just before the speech begins.
“I would very much like to take this opportunity to…”
His words are cut off  as
 as an arrow pierces his side; blood
begins to pour forth through the white tux as he crumples
to the 󿬂oor. Several women in the crowd scream and faint.
Others begin to panic and push towards the exits as a
booming voice from the wide staircase leading up to the
second store interrupts the chaos.
󰁌󰁁󰁙󰁏󰁕󰁔 󰁏󰁆 󰁔󰁈󰁅 󰁈󰁁󰁌󰁌
The hall is two-tiered, with an upper balcony, where the
guests are introduced, and a double staircase, leading down
to a checkerboard-floored ballroom, 100 x 50 feet, with
dazzling chandeliers and mirrors that make the ballroom look
 This scenario allows the GM to choose which antagonist they
wish to use in their game: crime bosses, mad scientists, book
collectors, or even the Invisible College itself may act as the
collectors,
antagonists of this scenario. The story is designed in a manner
that no matter which the GM chooses the action and plot
will run smoothly.
The characters are met at the door by a gracious butler,
Harry Perkins, who takes hats, coats, canes and announc-
as if it stretches off into infinity. Immediately opposite the
balcony are a set of long windows, with two pairs
pa irs of French
doors leading out to the grounds. Underneath the balcony
is the entrance to the kitchen and servants’ rooms.
“󰁧󰁯󰁯󰁤 󰁤󰁡󰁹 󰁬󰁡󰁤󰁩󰁥󰁳 󰁡󰁮󰁤 󰁣󰁡󰁤󰁳, 󰁩, 󰁲󰁯󰁢󰁩󰁮 󰁯󰁦 󰁬󰁯󰁮󰁤󰁯󰁮, with
󰁤󰁡󰁹
my Merry Men...” he makes a 󿬂ourish that quickly shows
that there are several associates in the audience “are in
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 󰁧󰁭, 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
c hallenging opening is desired. The
unchecked, he will leap on top of the glass container, wrap
extra henchmen, if the 󿬁ght 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
the party crashers or attempt to trample the henchmen absence.” As he 󿬁nishes his bow, the glass case begins to
quickly rise into the air and out through the wreckage of
in a panic for the exits.
the skylight.
P3@@5 P3- 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 camou󿬂aged 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  AI$3
 AI $3@@ 8#
8#$"
$"
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,
question s, and anyone
Unattractive (Minor Bad TrTrait)
ait) 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
i nvestigation
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,
Bobby,
and will quickly explain that Lilliamont must be removed
12B&- ;22M 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.
Presence: 4 Resolve: 3 Strength: 3 Successful characters will hear the name of the hospital
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”
“Robin’s” henchmen are upstand-
Traits: ing staff  members
 members of Lilliamonts’ or the library. As they are
    R questioned they look blank-ey
blank-eyed
ed and unresponsive.
    E Crack Shot (Minor Good Trait)
    T
     S Minions (Major Good Trait)
A Normal (12) Awareness + Medicine check will allow a
    A player to notice that the staff  appears
  appears to be mesmerized
Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait) or possibly hypnotized. On a Good result the character
    M
    E Total Character Points: 48
can speed up the staff ’s’s recovery, while a Fantastic success
    M will allow the staff  to
 to remember that they heard a strange
    A Trappings: Bow
Bow,, Rapier
Rapi er buzzing sound, and a voice coming from their out 󿬁ts that
      G Story Points: 12
During the opening of the 󿬁ght (beginning of the second
round), the skylight overhead shatters as two massive ropes
with oversized suction cups attached to the ends come
crashing through. Glass rains down on the party goers, and
the crowd quickly becomes an uncontrolled herd trying to
avoid the falling glass that continues to sprinkle down from
the ceiling. It also quickly becomes clear that Lady Lillia-
226
226
made them believe they were Robin Hood’
Ho od’ss men, and that
the party goers were plotting against Mr. Lilliamont. To
protect their master they needed to go along with the
charade, and when it appeared that Mr. Lilliamont was
injured the servants were to attack the conspirato
c onspirators.
rs.
A successful Awareness + Subterfuge check will allow the
characters to realize that each of the servants costumes
has a cloisonné pin in the shape of an eye. Each pin appears
to have a strange miniature speaker behind it. A Fantastic

The Nemo Diary 

success allows the character to discover a 󿬂aky substance
adhering to the pin. 󰁧󰁭s may want to use this design later
on to draw the characters into a greater conspiracy. As it
stands now, they are merely to identify the “Merry Men.”
Merely touching the powder with exposed 󿬂esh is enough
to force a Tricky (15) Strength + Resolve roll, unsuccessful
characters suff er
er a vivid hallucination of some horrible
event in the characters life. This lasts for one minute for
each point
acters the ff 
are una character
ected. failed the roll by. Successful char-
ected.
With an Ingenuity + Medicine or Ingenuity + Science
check, the character is able to discern that the substance
is a combination of morphine and opium in a powdered
form. It is a powerful hallucinogen, which would explain
why the servants were overcome by the suggestion to
attack the party goers.
If the characters are unable to awaken the staff , they will
eventually snap out of their apparent daze, but no one
remembers anything after they arrived at work and were
handed their costumes for the evening. They have no
recollection of the 󿬁ght that just occurred, and those that
are injured are even more confused as they demand to
know what has happened.
N#M5 N&**&#82-$
Quote: “Gentlemen, I thank you for your courage, but I
have on more thing to ask of you.”
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity:
Presence: 5 Resolve: 4 Strength:
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 3, Craft 3, Knowledge 4, Marks-
man 2
Traits:  It was this gentleman that helped Mr. Lilliamont acquire
Attractive  (Minor Good Trait)
Charming (Minor Good Trait)
Empathic (Minor Good Trait)
Voice of Authority (Minor Good Trait)
the police continued their investigatio
investigation.
n. Perkins explains
that “My lady wishes your presence before you depart.”
The study is a simple private
private reading room, and the Lady
sits with a tray for tea set up nearby. She rises when the
players enter and off ers
ers them tea, while apologizing pro-
fusely for the disturbance. It takes no Awareness roll to
realize that the lady is irate over the attack on her husband,
and she’s hiding her feelings as best she can.
An Awareness + Convince check reveals that Lady Lillia-
mont is tired, scared,
scare d, angry,
angry, and fearing for
f or her husband’s
life. For her to call this meeting instead of rushing to her
husband’s hospital bedside clearly shows how important
she feels this meeting is.
She expresses her thanks for anyone that came to her aid,
and will fuss over anyone that was injured while protecting
her. After a few moments she explains that this a ff rontront
upon her husband cannot go unanswered. The proper
authorities will do what they must, but she is calling upon
this group to do more. She will o ff erer them money, access
to her husband’s private
private library (an interest to members of
the Invisible College who may be wishing to learn if Lillia-
mont has any other books or papers that they may need to
research later), or the favor of her family’s name. Unfortu-
nately she has no clues as to who may have perpetuated
this atrocity.
atrocity. There were no threats, there were no strange
occurrences, no strange people in their lives, and her hus-
band’s behavior has not changed in recent history.
Lady Lilliamont is not without any leads. She can give the
4 players, under an oath of secrecy
se crecy,, the name of a gentleman
gentl eman
3 her husband had done business with in the past: Mr. Hab-
erdrant of 22 Arcadia Avenue, an unsavory fellow of low
stock and questionable means. But his ability to track
down hard to acquire antiquities was never questioned.
the two Nemo pages.
P@ ;#B3@M@#-$ 2I
YY A@.#M&# AK3-)3 14

Well Travelled (Minor Good Trait) Day or night, the lowly-loo

lowly-looking
king 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 Ammunit
itio
ionn 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
Story Points: 12 tow
towering,
anyering, blubbery
of the local form
toughs areand
away, intimidating enough
his reputation to scare
for violence
As the characters are 󿬁nally 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’
Lilliamont’ss
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
227

house without a auction paddle will be stopped at the door
and denied entrance with a promise of physical violence
if they do not leave immediately.
A successful Presence + Convince check will allow the
character to browbeat the door thugs into allowing them
entrance, or allow characters with criminal or law-en-
forcement backgrounds to use enough names associated
with illicit activities to convince the thugs to allow them
entrance.
Ingenuity + Subterfuge will allow the character entrance
as (s)he hoodwinks the doorman.
9")6
Quote: “If yer name’s not on the list, yer not getting’ in.”
Awareness: 3 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 1 exceptions. Anyone caught engaging in “the trade” while
Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 5
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 2, Fighting 4, Subterfuge 2
Traits:  dead bidder. Then he brings forward the man responsi-
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Unattractive (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 31
Trappings: Cosh (Strength +2 Damage)
Story Points: 5
Once inside the warehouse, the characters will see a bright-
ly lit, palatial interior. The 󿬁nest rugs of the Orient cover
the 󿬂oors, each chair in the audience is a plush, low-backed
low-backed
aff air
air of immense comfort, and high, glass chandeliers
cover the entire room in an elegant glow that 󿬂utters as
drafts from
candles’ the door opening and closing caress the
󿬂ames. A stage has been erected in front of the
audiences’ chairs, and a podium and gavel stand empty
upon it. There are several professional-looking thugs in
attendance, dressed smartly in tuxes, and all carrying
truncheons; a few near the stage have 󿬁rearms in hand.
Each of these men wears the same cloisonné pin in the
shape of an eye that the servants at the library attack wore.
There are no windows, the walls are all slightly rounded,
and overall gives the impression of a ship’s interior.
Awareness + Ingenuity will allow a successful character
to realize that the interior of the warehouse has the look,
feel, and dimensions of an immense room aboard a ship.
The Nemo Diary 
characters can use the same check to character to pick
out several in󿬂uential members of high society.
A Tricky (15) Awareness + Subterfuge check will allow the
characters to realize that a woman whose visage is com-
pletely covered by a veil is none other than Lady Lilliamont
in disguise.
A 󿬁nely dressed man takes the podium, and blows shrilly
into a Bosun’s whistle, calling the party-goers to order.
“Good day…ahem…ladies
day…ahem…ladies and gentlemen…” he says, with
a wink at several of the most uncouth-looking creatures.
With an Awareness + Subterfuge roll, the characters realize
that the voice of this gentleman is that of “Robin Hood.”
Hood.”
The man continues his introduction by explaining the
rules of the auction: all items will be paid for on comple-
tion of the auction. All items are paid for in cash, no
attending the auction will be treated as a deadbeat bidder.
Anyone who fails to immediately pay for an item they
have will be considered a deadbeat bidder, and will be
dealt with in a manner that will leave them as a truly
ble for the evening’s auction. A male 󿬁gure dressed
sharply in a 󿬁ne, 󿬂owing robe and a full mask that covers
everything but his eyes comes forward from behind a
partition set up behind the stage. The entire mask is
covered in a copy of the eye that has been seen in the
cloisonné pins of the henchmen. The masked man wel-
comes his guests to this unique auction. He introduces
himself as the “All Seeing Eye,” and expresses hope that
everyone will enjoy the auction. As he begins to turn to
leave, the disguised Lady Lilliamont will stand up and
point her parasol at the masked man and exclaim “For
the honour of my husband I shall see you dead, sir.” Her
parasol lets out a crack as the built-in derringer unloads
its single bullet. Even if the players have come to her side
this
󿬁ringshould come
the bullet asclaws
she a shock. If the players
furiously at them stop her
before from
having
a minor breakdown until her sti ff  British
  British upbringing
brings her back under control. 14
Regardless of Lady Lilliamont’s outburst, as soon as the
masked 󿬁gure bangs the gavel announcing the opening
of the auction, two of the thugs begin to bring out an as-
tounding-looking cannon-like weapon, which the masked
man describes as one of Nemo’s greatest inventions, the
Light Lance, and gets no further into his description as
the doors of the warehouse burst open and several bobbies
bobbi es
begin piling in with truncheons swinging.

The crowd is a melting pot of the criminal elements of
London and much further a󿬁eld. Sadistic-looking men
whose preferred form of communication appears to be
sneers and grunts drink wine alongside 󿬁ne gentlemen
of good breeding.
Characters with a law-enforcement or criminal back-
ground can use Awareness + Knowledge to spot several
key members of the underworld, while more re󿬁ned
The auction turns into a mad house as everyone begins
scrambling to get out; the bobbies are pushed back outside
as a wave of London’s criminal element surges forward.
A few bobbies manage to keep to their feet, and begin
attempting to bring order to the madness when the hench-
men (use the Merry Men template from above) carrying
the Light Lance turn it on the bobbies.
229
 

The Nemo Diary 

A successful Ingenuity + Transport check allows a suc-
cessful character to regain some control of the zeppelin.
 A*** C3
 A* C33&
3&-6
-6 G5
G533
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 󿬁nd 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, 󿬁ght- Dark Secret (Minor Bad Trait)
ing off  any
 any other henchmen the 󰁧󰁭 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 󰁧󰁭 wishes). However, as he attempts Minions (Major Good Trait)
to 󿬂ee, 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)
Geoff rey
rey George Lilliamont. A 󰁧󰁭 may wish to substitute Total Character Points: 51
another NPC as the All Seeing Eye that better 󿬁ts their
campaign. Trappings:

Weapon Range Ammunition Damage Recoil

 AI$3
 AI $3@@ 8 #$
#$"" 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
s hock 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 󰁧󰁭 who wants to lead
directly into the next adventur
adventuree may have Mr. Haberdrant
arrange their
matter for release, but only if they look into a certain
him.
Regardless, the characters have an enemy in the All Seeing
Seei ng
Eye, if he managed to escape, or the second in command
c ommand 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 
13I3@3-.3'
As it was a time of growth for mass media, especial printed
pr inted
matter, the 1920s and 1930s were a time where much was
written, and later, much was written about. Almost any
subject on the era has a great and variety of tomes and
articles covering it. Most anything a 󰁧󰁭 needs for running
a game or creating ambiance can be found in print – or in
the Net. These references are by no means exhaustive, but
they are both informative and fun, or simply available.
P2K&3' #-M 9U  Zone Troopers. WWII soldiers deal with an invasion from
Nothing will prepare you better for running
r unning and/or playing
a pulp game than watching a pulp 󿬁lm. Bear in mind that
we didn’t select this material based solely in its quality –
some of these movies are BAD! All will have some redeem-
ing quality, however, being atmosphere, plot, slang, sets,
or production values.
Raiders of the Lost Ark. The de󿬁nitive pulp hero movie.
This movie pits our hero against Nazis and the search for
the mystical Ark of the Covenant.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Prequel to Raiders. Great
villains and the Temple of Doom is a truly hellish setting.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . Jones seeks the Holy
Grail aided by his father. Evil Nazis and a fanatical secret
society oppose him.
Doc Savage, The Man of Bronze. This 󿬁rst Doc Savage movie
was developed in 1975 by the veteran producer George Pal,
who is also responsible for the War of the Worlds and The
Time Machine adaptations.
King Solomon’s Mines. There are several versions of the
classic H. Rider Haggard adventure novel. There are VHS
and DVD editions of the earlier versions (1937 and 1950).
Please don’t watch the 1985 version with Richard Cham-
berlain 󿬁rst – you won’t get the story at all. There’s also a
series of 󿬁lms based on The Destroyer series of novels.
 Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across
 Adventures Dimension.
Across the Eighth Dimension
A cult classic form 1984, this movie shows a hero and his
companions in the style made famous by Doc Savage:
Buckaroo Banzai and his Hong Kong Cavaliers,
Cavaliers, scientists
and rock stars. They battle monsters, aliens, a mad scien-
tist and criminals bent on conquering the world.
Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile. Kathleen Turner
at her most beautiful and Micheal Douglas as a reluctant
(anti-)hero. Adventure and exotism galore.
space in the Italian theatre of operations. Hitler himself
appears in this B-movie.
The Shadow. This entertaining adaptation of the radio
incarnation of the classic pulp hero, which does a nice job
of presenting a war between two rival psychics with mes-
meric powers.
The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Big time adventure,
extreme fun, distilled pulpery in both movies.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Laura Croft: Tomb Raider The Cradle
of Life. Angelina Jolie plays the computer game heroine.
Relic Hunter. A TV
T V show focusing a modern-day treasure
hunter.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Fabulous imagery
in this amazing recreation of a 1940s serial in just one movie.
The Phantom. The comic strip hero brought to the big
screen starring Billy Zane.
Hellboy. Mike Mignola’s hero – another comic book adaptation.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Mike Mignola’s hero returning
for another story adaptation.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Don’t watch this if
you liked the comic. If you don’t know it, it might be enjoy-

2004 version.
 Allan Quartermain and the City of Gold. Sequel to King
Solomon’s Mines and much more visible. Quatermain
searches for a lost city.
Firewalker. Lou Gosset, Jr. and Chuck Norris are the adventur-
ers in this 1980s adventure 󿬁lm, following the dreams of a
beautiful girl through an imaginary South-American country.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins . A failed start for a
Pulp Fantastic
service of a woman with exceptional martial arts skills -
who becomes the enforcer in the relationship.
The Librarian: Return to King Soloman’s Mine . Librari-
an-turned-adventurer Flynn Carsen endeavors to 󿬁nd King
Solomon’s mines.
The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice. After retrieving
the philosophical stone at an auction but losing his girl-
friend, the librarian Flynn Carsen has a breakdown. In this
adventure he travels to New Orleans, meets a Vampire and
recovers the most precious gift of all time, the cup of Judas.
?28&.'
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,
and the strip includes some of the more iconic characters
characters
in the pulps: Pat Ryan, the hero adventurer; The Dragon
Lady, slinkiest of femme fatales; Terry Lee, boy growing
up into hero.
Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray.
Gray. A very long lived comic
strip, run for almost 50 years since its inception in the
1920s. Clifangers galore, Annie has some of the most
accomplished pulp heroes as allies.
Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond. The best of science 󿬁ction
comics (today it would be called science fantasy), the
landscapes, creatures and starships in this strip would live
in the imaginations of several generations.
9"3 73-@3
The Hero Pulp Index, by Robert Weinberg and Lohr McK-
instry. A comprehensive index of the pulp magazines.
Difficult to 󿬁nd, since very few were printed.
The Shudder Pulps, by Robert Kenneth Jones. Horror and
weird menace pulps in a global overview.
Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life , by Philip José Farmer. A
biography of the Man of Bronze, and his sidekicks, nemesis
and ancestry (which include several 󿬁ctional heroes).
9"3 ()*+ P#6#W&-3'
Although many pulp stories have been reprinted over the
years, many thousands more weren’t. Probably the only
way to 󿬁nd some of the stories in the magazines is to collect
them, a hobby many 󿬁nd enjoyable. Some magazines may
be found for little money, especially the later pulps of the
late 40s and the 50s, but count on paying a tidy sum for
able – heroes from
fr om Victorian novels meet up to 󿬁ght villains.
Sahara. Another modern day adventure movie, Matthew
McConaughey and Penelope Cruz seek out a disappeared
Civil War ironclad. It doesn’t resemble the novel except
in basic plot and name, but it is an enjoyable way to kill a
couple of hours.
The Librarian: The Quest for the Spear. When the Spear of
Destiny is lifted from his library, a meek librarian sets out
to ensure its safe return. To do so, however, he enlists the
a detective series for another magazine under it, to be
written by Lester Dent - According to the advertising, they
had persuaded the star author to write another series.
Pseudonyms weren’t at all uncommon in the business.
Lester Dent himself wrote stories under his own name in
the same magazine. And it was not unusual for authors
to have several pen names. Sometimes this was to di ff er-
er-
entiate works in diff erent
erent styles. John W. Campbell wrote
universe-crashing, super-science space-opera under his
own name and poetic, visionary stories under the name
Don A. Stuart. Biographies, bibliographies
bibliographies and other ref-
erences may list authors under their real name or one or
more of their pseudonyms.
13+@&-$'
These are usually paperback. Note that even most reprints
are out of print and are hard to 󿬁nd, so be prepared for
some leg work in second hand bookstores.
?@&83I&6"$&-6RC)+3@"3@2
The Avenger.
series Warner
in paperback Books
in June of began reprinting
1972, and the Avenger
all 24 original stories
are now available. Beginning with #25, the books are not
reprints, but original stories written in the mid-seventies.
The reprints are fairly scarce, but the new stories (which are
generally more far-fetched than the originals) are not too
difficult to 󿬁nd − some used book stores have several copies.
Doc Savage. Beginning in 1964, Bantam set out to reprint
the entire series of Doc Savage stories. They began with
#1, The Man of Bronze, but broke the original order imme-
diately, following it with The Thousand-Headed Man (orig-
inally #17), Meteor Menace (originally #13), and so on. They
reprinted nearly 100 of the stories before switching to
two-in-one novels (hard to 󿬁nd) and 󿬁nally choosing to
do󿬁the
to nd.Doc Savage Omnibus
Omnibus series, currently in print.
pr int. Hard
The Shadow. There are several reprints of The Shadow
stories. However, beginning in September 1963 there were
several new stories published by Belmont Books using the
same house name of Maxwell Grant. This Shadow does
not resemble the original pulp character. In 1969 Bantam
Books (happy with the success of their Doc Savage reprints)
began to reprint the original Shadow stories, which was
short lived due do poor sales. Pyramid Books reprinted
some in the 1970s, and HBJ/Jove reprinted several (with
excellent Steranko cover art) beginning in the late 70s.
With over 300 original Shadow stories in the pulps and
 early work of the most famous magazines. Still, many are
appearing on the internet or in CD collections from prices
ranging from nothing to very cheap.
Usually, the pulp publishers made use of house names.
Street & Smith, for example, used the house name Kenneth
Robeson for Doc Savage stories, written by Lester Dent (who
wrote the majority), Norman Danberg, Alan Hathaway or
William Bogert, as well as for their Avenger series written
by Paul Ernst. It became so famous that the publisher started
234
234
 AK&#
 AK &#$&
$&2-
2-R!#
R!#@@
G-8. In the late 1960s Berkley Books began to reprint the
G-8 series. Even with terri󿬁c cover art by Jim Steranko, the
series failed to make it past the 󿬁rst three: The Bat Staff el
el,  books: Legions of the Death Master, The Invisible Empire,
Purple Aces, and Aces of the White
White Death. Hard to 󿬁nd.
Dusty Ayres. The reprints of these pulp aviation stories
(in which most of the world has been conquered by the
sinister Evil Eyes and his Black Invaders) began in the
1960s by Corinth Books. It only last through 󿬁ve books:
Black Lightning, Crimson Doom, Purple Tornado, The Tesla
Raiders, and Battle Birds versus the Black Invaders , a series
of short stories.
;2@@2@R!3&@M P3-#.3
Doctor Death. Reprints of a short-lived Horror/ Weird
Menace/Crime󿬁ghting magazine with a villainous central
character, Jonathan Death paperback series (Corinth) was
equally short-lived.
short-lived. The series includes Twelve Must Die,
The Grey Creatures, The Shrivelling Murderers, and a collec-
tion of short stories, Stories from Doctor Death .
 Jule
 Jules
s de
de Gran
Seabury Grandin.
din.were
Quinn) Several
Seve ral of the Jule
reprinted Jules
by sPopular
de Gran
Grandin
din stor
stories
Library ies (by
in the
mid-seventies with a science 󿬁ction classi󿬁cation. Although
they are horror stories, you might get some results if looking
in the science 󿬁ction department. The reprints contained
several stories (usually 5-7) and usually included the name
 Jules de Grandin the title (such as The Adventures of Jules
Grandin in the
de Grandin, the 󿬁rst book). Easy to 󿬁nd.
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
Mythos stories. Lovecraft penned over a dozen by himself,
and collaborated on many more. Many of his peers (August
Derleth, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, Clark
Ashton Smith
stories set andthe
against Robert
sameBloch, just to name
backgrounds, a few) wrote
providing hun-
dreds of Eldritch Horrors for a horror campaign. The most
famous Lovecraft stories are The Call of Cthulhu , The
Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, At the Moun-
tains of Madness (set in Antarctica), The Shadow Out of Time  
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
look into the world of the pulps.
Robert E. Howard wrote extensively and in many pulp
genres. Because of the success of the Conan stories, almost
anything with Howard’s name on it would sell; collections
many reprints out, it shouldn’t be too di fficult to put to-
gether a fair collection.
The Spider. In 1969, Berkley Books began to reissue the
Spider in its original order. The 󿬁rst two (by R.T.M. Scott)
were not written in the same action-packed style as the
rest of the Spider stories (written by Norvell Page), and so
the reprint series was doomed to failure. It lasted through
The Spider Strikes, The Wheel of Death, Wings of the Black
Death, and City of Flaming Shadows. Hard to 󿬁nd.
Bibliography 
C+5RG'+&2-#63
Operator #5. A series of reprints from Corinth Books fol-
lowing the adventures of Operator #5. There are eight
The Army of the Dead, Master of Broken Men, Hosts of the
Flaming Death, Blood Reign of the Dictator, March of the
Flame Marauders and Invasion of the Yellow Warlords. A
ninth book, Legions of Starvation, was announced, but
never printed.
Secret Agent X. Corinth also reprinted the exploits of
Secret Agent X, another master of disguise. The series
includes The Torture Trust, Servants of the Skull, Curse of the
Mandarin’s Fan, City of the Living Dead, The Death Torch
Terror, Octopus of Crime, and The Sinister Scourge.
Fu Manchu. Pyramid Books has reprinted many
many of the Fu
Manchu stories beginning with The Insidious Doctor Fu
Manchu (originally The Mystery of Fu Manchu) in 1963. They
have gone through several printings, so they are fairly
easy to 󿬁nd. Rohmer also wrote
wrote many other books;
books; most
have been reprinted in paperback and show up at the
used-book stores.
The Saint. Leslie Charteris began the chronicles of Simon
Templar, the modern Robin Hood, in the 20s, and continued
them for decades. In the 30s, the Saint frequently visited
America. The Saint is a classic pulp hero in many ways:
strong, handsome, honorable, good with weapons. He is
also clever; he prefers to outwit rather than outgun the
opposition. The Val Kilmer movie of the 1990s, while en-
tertaining, was not an accurate portrayal of Charteris’ Saint.
 AMK3
 AM K3-$
-$)@
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3RGH
GH+*
+*2@
2@#$
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&2-
-
Pellucidar. This series of stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Pellucidar.
is set in the world of Pellucidar, a land in the centre of the
earth. 󰁧󰁭s can use it as is, or exploit it for ideas for lost
world adventures.
Professor Challenger. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost
World and other Professor Challenger stories also excellent
sources of pulp ideas for exploration campaigns centered
around a hidden world or lost civilization. Most were re-
printed several years ago and can still be found second-hand. B
F3$3.$&K3 C$2@&3'
The Hard-Boiled Anthology, edited by Joseph T. Shaw.
Shaw. Shaw
was the editor of Black Mask from 1926 to 1936. He is the
editor most associated with the “hard-boiled” school of
pulp detective 󿬁ction. In 1946 he put together one of the
 of his westerns, boxing stories, weird menace adventures
and spicy stories (very mild by modern standards, but
considered near pornography in the 30s) have all been
published. Suggested is the new series from Balentine
Books such as the The Coming of Conan and The Savage
Tales of Soloman Kane. The series Millenium Fantasy Mas-
terworks has all Conan stories in two volumes.
Pulp Fantastic
Carrol John Daly may have invented the hard-boiled de-
tective; he was certainly one of the 󿬁rst to write of them.
He was the most popular writer in Black Mask and con-
tributed to several other magazines.
Raymond Chandler learned to write as a pulp contributor;
most of his stories have been reprinted.
Dashiell Hammett actually worked as a detective before
taking up writing about them. His Continental Op is the
very de󿬁nition of the pulp detective. He often mixed de-
tective stories with other pulp genres.
C.&3-.3 ,&.$&2-
Science Fiction of the 30s, edited by Damon Knight, has
not only a 󿬁ne selection of stories but reproduces the
original illustrations and has brief notes on the writers
and history of the magazines.
Before the Golden Age, edited by Isaac Asimov. A good
example of what Science
Sci ence Fiction was before John W.
W. Camp-
bell, complete with Asimov’s own notes about what it was
like to write science 󿬁ction for the pulps.
The
Ph.D. Classic and
Lensman spaceSkylark
opera,ofwith
Space  books,and
heroes all by E.E. Smith,
villains much
larger than life and superscience galore.
73-3@#*
The Pulps. This compilation of pulp stories from various
genres (edited by Tony Goodstone) also contains color
reproductions of several pulp covers. The scarcity (and
cost) of many of the old pulp stories makes this valuable
to 󰁧󰁭 and players alike.
There’s plenty of other stories reprinted, often in anthol-
ogies, which are not that hard to track down. Many librar-
ies have collections. The
T he University of Texas at Austin, for
󿬁
instance,
revival has a complete
of critical le of Adventure
interest in American pulps.
popular The
literature
has produced some good reprints, many with original
illustrations; these are also more likely to be found at a
college library. There are several mail-order bookstores
that can provide copies at a reasonable cost.
?28$38+2@#@5 ()*+
Congo, by Michael Crichton. A group of modern-day sci-
entists explore dark Africa in search of the Lost City of
Zinj. Excellent as a guide to modern equipment available
to adventurers in this era.
󿬁rst and one of the best anthologies of that style.
The Hard-Boiled Dicks, edited by Ron Goulart. Edited by a
science 󿬁ction writer who is also a pulp historian, this
anthology saves some of the more obscure detective pulp
writers from being forgotten.
The Hard-Boiled Detective, edited by Herbert Ruhm.
Another excellent collection of pulp tales, almost all re-
printed for the 󿬁rst time in years.
235
235
the past and the weirdness of their super-hero and pulpish
world and past. The best resource of all for campaigns in
the contemporary world and for a mix of the not-to-dis-
similar worlds of super heroes and pulp.
Hammett by Joe Gores. The most famous hard-boiled de-
tective writer stars in this book, as a hard boiled detective.
9"3 G@#
This section refers to historical or contemporary resourc-
es about the 1930s.
The New York Times Chronicle of American Life: From the
Crash to the Blitz, 1929-1939, by Cabell Phillips. Almost 600
pages of stories and photographs covering all aspects of
American life during the 30s. Easy reading since it is a
conglomeration of short articles on various topics.
This Fabulous Century; Volume 4, 1930-1940. A great book
for consulting information on background including a
Depression era shopping list on p. 27 and an excellent
section on gangsters and the FBI on pp. 100-113. there are
other eras available in this collection.
Old encyclopedias. Consulting encyclopedia sets published
in or about the 1930s will provide the point of view of the
contemporary
contemporar y person. The Encyclopedia Britannica is par-
ticularly useful, and editions up the middle 50s still used
mostly material from the 30s.
Newspapers. Many libraries have newspaper collections.
Old news, and perhaps even more, old gossip, editorials
and advertisements give the past a reality that is hard to
duplicate from formal histories.
(*#.3'
Empires in the Dust and Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations ,
by Robert Silverberg. Well-written
Well-written histories of such ancient
peoples as the Babylonians, Egyptians and Aztecs.
Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels and other
books by Richard Halliburton. Halliburton was a best-sell-
ing travel writer of the 1930s. He was a real-life adventur-
er and explorer, and visited many of the areas described
in Chapter 2. He dived into the Well at Chichen Itza,
climbed the Pyramids, trekked through Tibet and tried to
visit Mecca. Halliburton disappeared at sea in 1939 while
trying to sail a Chinese junk from China to America. There’s
also a posthumous collection of his letters giving a unique
point of view of the times and peoples he met.
National Geographic publications. Most libraries keep
National Geographic magazine; large ones have 󿬁les that
 Weird Heroes, edited by Byron Priess. There are a handful
of volumes in this series of “modern pulp” stories put out
in the mid-seventies. It contains excellent stories and
artwork by many of the best science 󿬁ction writers and
artists of today. Great for adventure and character ideas.
The Nemesis of Evil, by Lin Carter. Carter’s tribute for Doc
Savage and other pulp heroes.
Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Splendid
comic book series about a trio of archeologists discovering
di scovering
236
extend well before the 30s. Used magazines are frequent-
ly for sale at used book stores and estate sales. They were
printed on high-quality paper and usually have survived
in good shape. Modern issues can be used for background
when running adventures in exotic locales; there are
frequent historical notes in the articles. National Geo-
graphic books (such as Lost Empires, Living Tribes detailing
Central and South American natives) are always great
reading and with extraordinary photographs.
photographs.
 

 Appendix
Pulp Archetypes

his appendix gives you several out of the box char-

T acters to use, that way you can get started right

away. These character types are the ones most com-
monly found in the pulp stories. Although the record-
ed stories of the pulp era focused on white males, there’s
no reason for role players to assume that there aren’t
untold stories of both sexes and all races.   We encourage
players and GMs to use these archetypes to go beyond
traditional stereotypes, creating new characters to rep-
resent the goodness and heroism of many people at that
point in history.
 A.#M
 A. #M33 8&
8&..
Though not naturally adventurous,
adventurous, the academic is often
drawn into adventure by their overwhelming thirst for
knowledge, for their hunger for the answers to the ques-
tions that plague them. Living between the explorer and
the scientist, the academic is driven by their near-obsessive
interest in their particular 󿬁eld (something dry usually,
like history,
history, archeology
archeolog y, anthropology
anthropol ogy,, linguistics
linguis tics or pale-
ontology). Academics rarely consider the scienti 󿬁c or
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
󿬁eld, accompanying explorers and relic hunters to ensure
proper rigor and procedure is followed at all times – or
 just to
to try and ensure
ensure that
that the
the “hot heads” don’t get them-
them-
selves into yet more trouble!
Quote: “Fascinating! The inscriptions on this jar appear
to be Etruscan, but the syntax is more like Sumerian...”
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

 A&@@ A.
 A& A.33
While no longer a new technology in the Pulp Era, 󿬂ight
has yet to become commonplace and to many the air ace
personi󿬁es the spirit of the age. Flight is still seen as daring,
glamorous and alluringly dangerous. Every passing year
brings new advances in aircraft, new achievements and
new records broken. With the Great War only a few years
past, aviators have become dashing, heroic 󿬁gures, and
their adventures are a thrilling escape from the mundane
problems of the day-to-day life.
Many of the Pulp aviators were ex-military pilots and
veterans of the Great War against the Germans, though
their adventures in the magazines were often even more
bizarre than those of their comrades. For example, heroes
such as G-8 and his Battle Aces fought mad scientists,
monsters and even supernatural menaces. The adventures
of these heroic aviators encompassed
encompassed speed, travel to exotic
locations, high technology, the freedom of the air and
thrilling dog-󿬁ghts with merciless and deadly opponents.
There are only a handful of commercial airlines in oper-
ation, so unless they are of independent means, most air
aces will be forced into freelancing if they want to stay in
the air. Possible freelance jobs include 󿬂ying for Holly-
wood, mercenary work, giving lessons, or performing
daredevil stunts at air shows.
Quote: “YeeeeeHAAAAAA!”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 4 Ingenuity:
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength:
Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2, Marksman
2, Technolo
Technology
gy 2, Transport 3
Traits:
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Favorite Vehicle (Minor Good Trait)
Hot Shot (Minor Good Trait)
Impulsive (Minor Bad Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Quick Re󿬂exes (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 37
Unspent Character Points: 5
Story Points: 12
:&6 7#83 ;)-$3@
In a world largely unconcerned or unaware of animal
extinctions and ecological issues, the big game hunter
still cuts a dash in the Pulp Era as he returns from untamed
lands far beyond the reach of civilization bearing exotic
trophies and even more exotic after-dinn
after-dinner
er tales of peril
and excitement. He brings with him a touch of the jungle’s
jungle’s
primal savagery, a hint of danger and more than a little
disregard for the rules of “polite” society.
Big game hunters often worked as safari guides, leading
parties of less-experienced hunters through
through dense jungle
and across lion-haunted savannahs, or working with ex-
plorers. In the Pulps, he was often the foil or business
partner of the main hero. Big game hunters were also
frequently depicted as villainous; greedy poachers, insen-
sitive colonialists or deranged obsessives.
Quote: “Move quietly, but con󿬁dently. If we act like prey,
they’ll act like predators.”
Awareness: 5 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3 Resolve: 3 Strength: 4
Skills: Animal Handling 2, Athletics 2, Fighting 3, Knowl-
edge 2, Marksman 3, Subterfuge 3, Survival 3
Traits: 
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
3 Favorite Gun (Minor Good Trait)
4 Keen Senses (Minor Good Trait)
Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Sharpshooter (Minor Good Trait)
Tracker (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 42
Story Points: 12
 240

Appendix 

:@#<*3@ G'.#+3 A@$&'$

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 󿬁ght 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,
t wist, 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
a nyway.. 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.
Brawlers usually have a day job that involves physical work Lucky (Minor Good Trait)
and a lot of exercise that helps keep them at the peak of Obsession (Minor Good Trait)
their 󿬁tness, and they often use any spare time to work Quick Re󿬂exes (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,
soldier, sailor or mob enforcer while in training Wealthy  (Minor Good Trait)
for his next 󿬁ght.
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 Re󿬂exes (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

GH+*2@3@ ,3883 ,#$#*3

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 󿬁rst 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, con󿬁dent, 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
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 scienti 󿬁c 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 quali󿬁ed 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 󿬁nd 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)
Sel󿬁sh (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 41
Unspent Character Points: 1
Story Points: 12
 242
242

Appendix 

7#-6'$3@ 73-$*38#- ?@22>

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,
kidnappi ng, fraud, etc). The
sition, the gentleman crook usually cares little for the
pulp era was highly conscious of crime. The “Ten Most
Wanted” list turned bank robbers into national heroes of money he steals,
and daring of thepreferring instead
crime itself. Rarelytodoes
focus
heon the from
steal style
a sort, while prohibition made bootleggers rich, and gang
those ho cannot aff ord
ord 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:
Sel󿬁sh (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

A
 243

Pulp Fantastic

74P#- 7@3#'3 P2->35 

Smart, stalwart and rigidly dedicated, G-men are agents
of some branch of the U.S. Government: the 󰁦󰁢󰁩, the Pro-
hibition Bureau, the Treasury Department, the Federal
Bureau of Narcotics (󰁦󰁢󰁮), the Immigration and Natural-
ization Service, etc. Armed with access to national re-
sources and powers far beyond that of local law enforce-
The grease monkey is a skilled engineer and mechanic
with a natural affinity for technology, particularly of the
vehicular variety. With his stained overalls and battered
toolbox, the grease monkey may often look slightly shabby
sha bby
next to the square-jawed hero types, and may have diffi-
culty talking to anything that doesn’t have an overhead

ment, the G-Man

organized crime. is the sworn enemy of espionage and camshaft,
what but
he does is he’s the best
󿬁x things. there is atloyal
Courageous, what
l oyal hehard-work-
and does, and
ing, the grease monkey is as invaluable a tool in the 󿬁ght
Quote: “No sir, the 󰁦󰁢󰁩 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-󿬁ghters 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

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 

7)8'"23
Hard-boiled, cynical and wisecracking, this is the down-
at-heel private
private detective in the tradition of Sam Spade and
Mike Hammer, a tough guy often ready to fall for the 󿬁rst
dame through the door. In the Pulps, the gumshoe could
be your best friend, or your worst enemy.
enemy. Most of the time
t ime
he’s broke, with nothing to his name but the name on the
ffi
door of his
bourbon rented
in his o ce,,aa 󿬁
desk drawer
drawer, half-empty
ling cabinetbottle of details
with the cheap
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
e xamples of rogue private eyes
who’dd branched out into blackmail, theft and even murder,
who’
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 󿬁nd
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 X)-6*3 O&-6
has the same powers as any private citizen.
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 physica
physicall 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
3, Subterfuge 3, Transport 3
outside world. Their adventures often
often bring them into the
civilized world, where their rough and ready nobility
Traits:  highlights the hypocrisy and shifting morality of modern
life.
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)

Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait) Quote: “N’gawa!”

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
Story Points: 12 Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
Pet (Minor Good Trait)
Strange Visitor (Minor Bad Trait)
Total Character Points: 39
Unspent Character Points: 3
Story Points: 12
245
 

Appendix 

P#@$&#* A@$&'$ “normal”” men who use their abilities at stealth and disguise
“normal
to terrify the cowardly and superstitious criminals that
The martial artist hails from the mysterio
mysterious
us 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
arts disciplines. To the martial artist, these disciplines
Crime in the Pulp Era was often brutal, and brutal methods
were sometimes necessary to 󿬁ght 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 󿬁gure who uses terror,
restraint
mind as and
wellhumility.
as theirMartial artists work
body, attuning to master
both to worktheir
in darkness and (usually) blazing twin .45’s to deliver justice
and hot lead to the guilty.
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-
losophy to aid a career as an agent or a law enforcer, or
of a dark suit, a trench coat or cape, a fedora and a domino
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 con󿬁dence, 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-
Quote: “If you know your enemy, but not yourself, you
world, hence the need for a secret identity
identity.. Masked avengers
often faced gangsters and mad scientists, but their investi-
will always be defeated.”
gations frequently led them into con󿬂ict 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 eff ects
ects 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 extensiv
extensivee 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!” 󰁢󰁬󰁡󰁭! 󰁢󰁬󰁡󰁭! 󰁢󰁬󰁡󰁭!
Martial Artist (Major Good Trait) Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
Quick Re󿬂exes (Minor Good Trait) Presence: 4 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3
Tough (Minor Good Trait) Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Knowledge 3, Marksman 3,
Total Character Points: 38 Subterfuge 3, Technology 2, Transport 2
Traits:
Unspent Character Points: 4
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Story Points: 12
Breaking & Entering (Major Good Trait)
P#'>3M AK3-63@ Cloud Men’s Minds (Major Good Trait)
The laughter lilted softly through the wet, dark alley. “Crusher” A
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
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 󿬁lled the darkness and the alley. It was Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait)
a voice 󿬁lled with menace. “Those guns are useless, Kreel. You
 know that you can’t shoot Smoke.
Smoke.”” Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)

Kreel fell to his knees and dropped his gun as the laughter Maverick (Minor Bad Trait)
again 󿬁lled the alley
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

P5'$&. P5'$3@5 P#-

To the mystic there is no such thing as magic, there are
only occult sciences and technologies of the mind that
man has yet to master. The mystic has delved deep in areas
shrouded in darkness and ignorance, be they the secrets
of lost Atlantis, ancient Tibetan meditations, the true
power of mathematics, the power of the Chi, or the correct
pronunciation and power
of God. The weight of thisof a handfulseparates
knowledge of the truemystics
names
from their fellow man, and they keep their secrets close.
Mystics tread the 󿬁ne line between scholar and scientist,
with the occult and the unknown as their specialty. Many
mystics operate as “ghost breakers”, using their genuine
arcane skills to uncover frauds and hoaxes. Others such
as Thomas Carnacki, Anton Zarnak and Jules De Grandin,
use a blend of arcane science and psychic mastery to over-
come genuine intrusions of the unknown into the every-
day world. Some mystics operate as supernatural detec-
tives, using their special gifts to solve both mundane and
arcane mysteries.
Quote: “The aetheric vibrations are very strong. There’s
been a manifestation here.”
Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4 Quote: “Stand back, I’m here to help.”
Presence: 3 Resolve: 5 Strength: 3 Awareness:
Skills: Convince 3, Knowledge 4, Science 3, Subterfuge 3
Traits:  Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 4, Medicine 2, Subterfuge 3
Adversary (Major Bad Trait)
Clairvoyance (Special Good Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Eccentric (Minor Bad Trait)
Enlightened (Special Good Trait)
Good Samaritan (Minor Bad Trait)
Hypnosis (Minor Good Trait)
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor Bad Trait)
Psychic (Special Good Trait)
Psychic Training (Minor Good Trait)
Telepathy (Special Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 36
Unspent Character Points: 6
Grant could never get used to the view from up on top of
his building…looking out over the city, his city, he could
almost fool himself into thinking that it was clean…
Somewhere between the Masked Avenger and the yet to
emerge super-hero is the Mystery Man (and Mystery
Woman).
Wom an). From out of the shadowed back alleys, and the
rain slick rooftops, comes the Mystery Man. Unlike the
Masked Avenger, who prefers to remain in the shadows
and have his existence known only to the criminals he
haunts, the Mystery Man understands how publicity and
public knowledge can be important tools in the battle
against crime.
The Mystery Man wears a (very often brightly colored)
costume. Unlike the Masked Avenger, he prefers to use
his 󿬁sts rather than hot lead to dispense justice. He is the
prototype of the superhero, and his costume is as much a
uniform to him as is a policeman’s. While most Masked
Avengers avoid the limelight, the Mystery Man embraces
the attention, using it as a tool in his campaign against
crime. Public awareness and support
sup port can often be as valu-
able as the fear of criminals.
4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 4
Presence: 3 Resolve: 4 Strength: 4
Traits:
Adversary (Minor Bad Trait)
Brave (Minor Good Trait)
Code of Conduct (Minor Bad Trait)
Dark Secret (Major Bad Trait)
Dependents (Minor Bad Trait)
Fast Healing (Major Good Trait)
Obsession (Minor Bad Trait)
Quick Re󿬂exes (Minor Good Trait)
Tough (Minor Good Trait)
Total Character Points: 33
Unspent Character Points: 9
Story Points: 12
 Story Points: 12

248

Appendix 

D3<' ;2)-M Awareness: 4 Coordination: 3 Ingenuity: 3

The news hound is an agent of a major newspaper.
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 󿬁nd 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
Verify never report infor-
mation as truth without verifying them 󿬁rst.
Something that is unveri󿬁ed is merely ‘alleged.’
‘alleged.’
If two or more
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 󿬁nds it
much harder to get anyone to turn over infor-
mation. A news hound who does not live up to
this
edgerestriction
checks fromsuff 
ers a -2who
ers
people penalty to all Knowl-
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!”
come! ”

249

Pulp Fantastic

E+3@#$2@ (3@'2-#*&$5 
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-pro󿬁le 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 󿬁t 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
that his country has to off er.
er. An Operator is the type of (or illusionmight
sonalities thereof) to go
simply bealong with
famous the spotlight.
because Per-
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 off spring
spring 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:
MarksmanAthletics 2, Convince
3, Subterfuge 2, Fighting
3, Survival 3, Knowledge
1, Transport 2 2, Attractive  (Minor Good Trait)
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
 

Pulp Fantastic

C.&3-.3 ;3@2 C.&3-$&'$

The science hero is the living personi󿬁cation of the Pulp The scientist character excels at scienti󿬁c theory and
Era’s faith in the power of science and technology to knowledge, and has the ability to apply it in the 󿬁eld to
improve life. In many ways, they are the future made 󿬂esh; 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
tha n any other
 jack-of-all-trad
 jack-of-all-trades
es with
with a broad
broad range of skills
skills and interest
interests.
s. character, the scientist
to know. Though is driven
he values by curiosity,
his time by the need
in the laboratory, the
While science heroes are often scientists themselves, this
true scientist knows that he needs to be out in the 󿬁eld,
isn’t always
always true. Sometimes they are simply enhanced by
gathering data, observing phenomena
phenomen a and testing hypoth-
science, while not understanding the process themselves.
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 󿬁ts 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 scienti󿬁c
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
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
252

Appendix 

C3# F26 C2*M&3@

The sea dog is a hard-drinking, hard-living, two- 󿬁sted
sailing man who 󿬁nds his path to adventure on the high
seas. Usually
Usu ally,, the sea dog
do g is the captain
capt ain of his own rickety
rickety,,
run-down boat, in which he runs cargo – both legal and
illicit - for a living. Often the sea dog doesn’t actually own
the boat and must answer to the owners, or perhaps he’s
The Soldier is a trained warrior, as good with a gun as he
is with a knife or some other melee weapon. The Soldier
might be a dedicated idealist or a pro󿬁t-seeking mercenary,
a recent veteran of the Great War, a hired gun or a highly
skilled adventurer.
adventurer. In all cases, the Soldier learns how to
defeat his enemies, to complete his missions, and ulti-

 just deepof
the hope inmaking
hock and must
o ne
one stay ahead
big score to pay of his ocreditors
them credit ors in
ff . Regard- mately, to survive.
Mercenary characters 󿬁ght 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 󿬁nd themselves dispatched
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 󿬁nd a safe harbor almost
Mercenaries may work covertly for government
governments,
s, 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-
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

A
 253

Pulp Fantastic

 !3&@M
 !3& @M L-
L-K3
K3-$
-$2@
2@
Like the scientist and the grease monkey, the Weird In-
ventor is technically and scienti󿬁cally 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 󿬂ame 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
I ’ll show them all! 󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡-
󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡󰁨󰁡
!”
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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