Author Topic: Can someone explain Pulp Gaming or post an AAR? (Read 3988 times)

benglish · « **on:** August 19, 2011, 02:34:43 PM »

Hey all.

Kinda new to the miniatures thing, and have been playing lots of what I guess would be called "traditional" war and skirmish games. But on these boards I see all this cool stuff listed as "Pulp." I know this is a broad question, but what exactly is "Pulp Gaming?" It seems like a mix of skirmishing and the roleplaying games (AD&D, Call of Cthulhu, Gangbusters, Boot Hill, Top Secret, etc).

Can someone point me toward a blog or post an AAR? Just not sure how these games go. I guess as a rule they need to be GM'd?

Thanks
benglish

Belgian · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2011, 02:56:03 PM »

The genre pulp actually comes from the books in which this genre was published. These books were often made of cheap pulp paper.

I think pulp, when I hear Indiana Jones, Flash Gordon and Conan the barbarian!

Here's an entire post on wikipedia on pulp!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_magazine

Hope it was useful!

jamesmanto · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2011, 03:41:46 PM »

Yes, Pulp Gaming is any sort of game inspired by Pulp magazine adventure stories of the 20s, 30s and 40s; so G-Men vs. Gangsters, Flash Gordon, explorers in Darkest Africa etc. etc. Also think the (slightly) more recent movies The Mummy, Indiana Jones, etc.

There are blurry lines between Pulp, colonial gaming and Victorian Science Fiction. You'll often find the same guys play all three.

The games are very small scale; a cross between role playing and skirmish games. Howard Whitehouse (aka "Mexican Jack Squint" on the interweb) has some excellent ideas on running Pulp adventure games. he views them more as a 'movie'. The GM is the 'director' and the gamers are the 'actors' and he's trying to herd them along to a vague script he has on how the action should play out. His bigger games will involve 4-6 'scenes' each a smal skirmish in a different and exotic locale.

Example: Scene (game) 1: explorers in jungle find ancient temple with wierd artifact
Scene (game 2): Private Eye has to retrieve artifact stolen from University, discovers strange cultists
Scene 3: PI and explorer rexcues explorers girl from cult's hidden lair
scene 4: Corps of Rocketeers and assorted adventurers join forces to stop cultists from opening portal to other dimension and releasing strange alien being.

Each skirmish game could be in a seperate setting and be over in as quick as 30 minutes or an hour.

It's whacky good fun, meant to be partaken in with lots of beer and popcorn and sense of seriousness at all.

mpennock · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2011, 04:04:31 PM »

I usually think of pulp miniatures games as 'Character driven skirmish'. Not everyone agrees on which specific genres should be included as pulp, but I find that there is always at least a small role-playing element to the games, even if its just giving names to all of the figures on the board.

jamesmanto · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2011, 11:23:53 PM »

I should add that a Pulp game could be quite small; a PI and helpful sidekick having a shoot out with a few gangsters in a back alley or warehouse or it can get quite large with lots of troops, swarms of cultists, aircraft, tanks, etc. For example the big battles at the end of the Mummy movies with the tribesmen fighting legions of undead horror.

A few years back Bob Murch of Pulp Figures ran a game at Hotlead; armies of rival Chinese Warlords with squadrons of wierd 1920s and 30s tanks fighting in a dusty valley. As one player said to me the next morning: "Everything was going great until I heard form the other end of the table 'How do I activate the giant monkey?'"

The obvious solution is to link the two games together; the Marines or Gurkhas or allied tribesmen fight off the swarms of undead horror/fanatic cultists while on a side table the adventurers are in the ancient temple trying to destroy the dark god's source of power.

gamer Mac · « **Reply #5 on:** August 20, 2011, 12:28:24 AM »

Look up Operator No 5. Writes the .45 adventure rules. Great pulp rules. You will find a link to the Speakeasy forum that is dedicated to pulp gaming. Loads of AAR there as well.
But instead of going elsewhere look back though this board and you will find loads of reports there. I have posted quite a few myself.

Christian · « **Reply #6 on:** August 20, 2011, 02:27:38 AM »

The Doc Thompson collection in the "Pulp" stickies is fairly comprehensive.

If it is set in the 20s or 30s, includes an exotic location, an aircraft, a dame, and guns it is probably Pulp.

If it is about gangsters and cops then it can be Pulp, too.

gamer Mac · « **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2011, 11:38:38 AM »

A few links to my pulp games

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=7480.msg83210#msg83210

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=7498.msg88789#msg88789

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=9933.msg114209#msg114209

Other peoples

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=8206.msg92350#msg92350

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=3967.msg42181#msg42181

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=9575.msg109977#msg109977

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=9731.msg111825#msg111825

Just a few I can find. Loads more if you search.

ushistoryprof · « **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2011, 07:37:50 PM »

Yes Pulp has a little of everything which makes it so much fun.
Here are two after action reports. The first has mad science, while the second is a straight fight between Soviets and US Marines.
1st:
[/img]

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=27011.0
or
http://worldhistoryprof.blogspot.com/search/label/DB%20Adventure
2nd:
[/img]

http://worldhistoryprof.blogspot.com/search/label/DB%20Adventure%202

Pulp has so many ways to play, here are some pictures of the variety of pieces, like this plane, you can use for Pulp games.
[/img]

http://worldhistoryprof.blogspot.com/search/label/1920%27s-30%27s%20Pulp%20Fiction
Prof
----------
http://worldhistoryprof.blogspot.com/

benglish · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2011, 03:53:26 AM »

You guys are great. This is just what I was looking for ... and now I am hooked. Looks like a ton of fun.

--benglish

Michi · « **Reply #10 on:** August 24, 2011, 06:15:00 AM »

Another pulp AAR (Indiana Jones type):

Quote from: Michi

Professor Bartowitsch had vanished and Doctor Cindy-Anna Bones who had been on his trail for a long time had entered Hollow Earth a couple of weeks ago. The infamous Thule society was still in possession of the Haunebu II flying disc, yet they did not have the weapon technology to arm it with the KSK-Kraftstrahlkanone.
Gossip had it that the Germans were trying to ship an experimental prototype to New Swabia in the Antarctic.

Doctor Thule unleashed his bloodhounds to track down the German freighter and rob the secret weapon.
What Thule knew was not unknown to the U.S. government. L.O.L. agents boarded a seaplane and set course towards the suspected position of the trawler too.
Meanwhile the rather unsuspicious Doreen Goldbeck of Cheskora Lines from Kiel on the Baltic Sea had left the North Sea and set sail for the south on the Atlantic Ocean.

The merchant navy vessel had a naval crew of six:
Kapitänleutnant Hans Larsen and Leutnant zur See Friedhelm Fröhlich manned the rudder house with the lieutenant on the wheel.

Bootsmannsmaat Karl Sepplhuber stood watch on the port side of the ship.

The other soldiers were having a chat in the mess. There were Bootsmann Ernst Bückling, Obergefreiter Bodo Schwarzbrand and Gefreiter Josef "Jojo" Johansen.

Though apart from their secret cargo they also had passengers aboard.

Oberstleutnant Udo von Protzmann...

...and his very pretty assistant Solveig Brandner, a VRIL medium, accompanied the cannon.

They had a complete set of plans for its construction with them.
Both were chosen for some special ability that was rare to find these days.

It was right then that a small but quick boat arrived and blocked their way.

Thule society had entered the scene.

And they then boarded the Doreen.

Bootsmannsmaat Sepplhuber sounded the ships siren to alarm the crew and moved into a good firing position with his LMG where he could overwatch the entire loading deck.

Doctor Thules minions climbed up the anchor and took the fore deck.

The roaring sound of an aircrafts engine drew attention. L.O.L. arrived and got a good impression of what was going on from above.

Herr Kehlmann jumped successfully over the gap between the decks:

L.O.L. agent (possibly super-special agent, but nobody knew for sure) Johnson and his boss Lara Bancroft took the short way aboard.

Herr Wolfram cautiously moved behind cover...

...while the L.O.L. agents tried to spot the plans for the cannon.

Obergefreiter Bodo Schwarzbrand left the mess and opened fire on the pirates.

Herr Wolfram secured Herr Kehlmanns assault over the main deck from behind the secret weapon.

Agent Johnson approached the engine deck, but he decided to turn left for the stairs to the mess deck.

The Bootsmannsmaat covered the main deck with lead from his Mg 34.

He drew first blood and cut down Herr Kehlmann like dry straw.

Agent Johnson ascended the stairs to where the German PFC stood shooting at the Thule men.

Herr Wolfram tried to cross the deck and fired at the murderer of his comrade Herr Kehlmann. He missed the Bootsmannsmaat, who stood on high ground and in cover of the solid railing.

All that noise from hammering submachine guns and the light machine gun produced a rather upset staff officer called von Protzmann.

His loudly shouted commands brought forth his assistant as well. The girl had already been asleep and stepped to the balcony only scantily clad.
It was late at night and the full moon should have been visible on the horizon, though it was hidden behind some clouds.

Agent Lara Bancroft followed Agent Johnson upstairs, but decided to jump sideways up to the loading deck when Johnson hesitated to avoid stumbling into Schwarzbrands line of fire.

She fumbled the jump and fell into the gap hurting her angle.

Then the full moon broke through the clouds...

...and Oberstleutnant Udo von Protzmann lost his human appearance and turned into a howling werewolf!

He leapt from the balcony immediately to tear up Herr Wolframs throat.

That powerful superhuman jump brought him right into close combat...

The brave American agent had climbed the deck and aimed at the wolfmans back. No silver bullets loaded...

Herr Müller seized the moment of distraction and left cover.

Werewolf von Protzmann had finished his bloody task and leapt back to face the agent.

Agent Lara Bancroft had a hard time to resist the wolfbeasts mighty blows and finally got torn to pieces.
Though her fellow Agent Johnson could set an end to Obergefreiter Bodo Schwarzbrand and his submachine gun. The dead PFC went overboard.

Bootsmann Ernst Bückling wanted to avenge his comrades death and jumped out of the mess door.

Dead bodies were already plastering the deck...

...when Herr Müller sneaked behind the back of the wolfen lieutenant colonel...

...and his fellow Herr Steiner charged along the starboard walkway. (bottom right corner of the pic)

The poor sod ran right into Bootsmann Bücklings fire. The bearded sergeant smiled grimly on his death.

Then Solveig Brandner also shifted her shape and turned to be a she-wolf!

She jumped down from right where she stood off the balcony and landed on L.O.L. Agent Johnson, who got down rather puzzled.

Exactly then the moon vanished behind some clouds and the naked young lady stood over him.

In a flash of insight he jumped up and shoved her overboard before she could do something else.

I´ll be back after a short break...(to be continued)