[oxfordgamers] Pulp Heroes: a primer

?Sanson here.

For the benefit of those gamers involved in the upcoming Suicide Squad
adventure
who have yet to create a pulp character, I would like to offer some
guidance. This info
may also help established pulp players by broadening their pulp knowledge.

First off, for our GURPS Supers format, all pulps are created using 250
points, with a
limit of 40 pts of disadvantages.  Damage Resistance is limited to 8 points.

So WHAT is a PULP hero?

The pulps were cheap magazines, printed on cheap pulp paper and with
colorful,
garish covers, whose heyday was the 1930s and 40s.  They were a natural
progression
of the broadsides, penny dreadfuls, fait divers and dime novels that
preceded them.
The "pulps" covered various genres, including crime and detective, mystery,
sci-fi,
adventure and westerns.  Each included text stories with occasional ink
illustrations.
Such characters as Tarzan and Conan were the product of pulp publishing.

In the beginning of the 1930s, the first pulp magazine dedicated to a single
hero
character emerged: The Shadow.  The success of the Shadow quickly resulted
in the
appearance of Doc Savage, The Spider, G-8, Operator 5, The Green Ghost, The
Black
Bat, The Avenger, Captain Satan, The Purple Scar and many others.

While pulps died out in the early 1950s, the tradition carried over to
mystery and sci-fi
magazines, men's adventure magazines, adventure paperbacks and
single-character
adventure paperback series, such as James Bond 007.

In the late 1960s, Pinnacle Press created a "pulp-style" paperback action
series called, "The Executioner," about a Vietnam vet (Mack Bolan) in a
one-man war against the mafia.  Soon Pinnacle was also publishing the
paperback adventures of The Destroyer (Remo Williams), The Penetrator (Mark
Hardin), The Butcher and the Death Merchant.

By the early 1970s, paperback firms were reprinting, in paperback format,
such pulp series as The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Spider.
Classic pulp series like Tarzan, Conan, Fu Manchu, John Carter of Mars and
Carson of Venus had already been long available in paperback format.

Modern "pulp" characters in radio, movies, TV and comic books would include
The
Rocketeer, The Twilight Avenger, Indiana Jones, The Prowler, The Spirit,
Zorro, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet and The Knight Rider.

Gumshoe detectives, like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, could also be
considered "pulp" characters.

Pulp character basics:

ALL pulp characters are MORTAL.  They do not have super powers!  Some may
have
freakish traits that bordered on super powers.  The Black Bat, for example,
could see in the dark, due to an eye operation involving nocturnal animal
elements. (NOTE: Clear any such freakish trait with the GM beforehand!)
Each had their own motivations.  Doc Savage and The Green Ghost fought for
the
common good, and out of the thrill of adventure.  The Spider and Captain
Satan fought
for justice with lethal ferocity.  Operator 5 was a secret agent, fighting
the enemies of
America out of duty.

Most pulp heroes were wealthy, with a few exceptions.
Most were blessed with remarkable physical prowess.
A few (The Shadow; The Spider) had deadly handgun skills.
A few (Doc Savage; The Avenger) were experts in several fields of knowledge.
Some wear body armor; some don't bother.
Some kill; some are against killing.
Some have limitations that gave them some "dimension."  Doc Savage, for
example, was raised by male scientists, so he couldn't fathom women as an
adult.  The Green Ghost carried a gun, but was a lousy shot.

So, what is the Suicide Squad?

During the Legion Crisis (see Ted's Page), former T.H.U.N.D.E.R. operatives
Harold W. Smith (also police comm. Of NYC), Conn MacCleary and Modesty
Blaise created a
secret agency called CURE, intended to protect the free world and operating
in the
shadows as T.H.U.N.D.E.R. had once done.  As an enforcement arm, they
recruited
several vigilantes (the player pulp heroes) into a secret strike force
called the Suicide
Squad.

I hope all this helps.  For further guidance in devising a pulp hero, check
out these
sites.

http://www.thepulp.net/

http://members.aol.com/heropulp/index.html

http://www.mogozuzu.com/hero.htm

http://members.aol.com/spiderpage/index.html

http://artczar.org/shadow/

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