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Author Topic: Pellucidar  (Read 6987 times)

Offline Eccentric Cowboy

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2016, 06:31:18 AM »
Good on you Cacique! No discussion of ERB can be complete without the awesome art of Frank Frazetta! That artist had a mad talent for making images come alive and yet feel shrouded in mystery. His work definitely helped the popularity of the books in my opinion. I wish both of those guys were still around creating.

You hit the nail on the head though. Few men or women had the capacity to completely suck you into another world the way Burroughs did. Heck, Pellucidar is a place I actually wouldn't mind living in. No taxes, lots of dangerous prehistoric critters, and apparently you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a gorgeous cave woman! What's not to like?  :D

In fact, now that I recall, there were some pretty epic battles in the series. Like when the budding Empire gathered together and attacked one of the Mahar cities with cannons fired from the backs of the lidi. Now THAT is just begging for a reenactment! ERB, having guys fight from dinosaur back before it was cool!  ;)

That does remind me, it's kind of hard to NOT compare Pellucidar with the Zanthodon series. I started reading the first one, but maybe it's my age telling in me, but I didn't get too far. Anyone read that? Think I should keep going with it if so?
Indie author, lover of history, literature and movie buff, Weird West and Paleopulp nut

Offline BugPope

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2016, 01:18:38 PM »
After reading more, I agree that David is kind of lackluster as a hero. I think he's supposed to be an "average guy" kind of protagonist, but he kinda comes off as somewhat of a bumbling dummy sometimes, and doesn't have that much personality. Perry, on the other hand, is a very entertaining and likable character.
But yeah, for all the flaws the books might have, they do great at the two things that are the most important for this kind of story: action and world building. The world of Pellucidar is more detailed than I expected, and ERB somehow manages to make this fantastic setting work on its own internal logic. It's all the typical romantic savage stuff, but it's little touches like their bad-ass courting ritual* that makes it strangely believable.

With all the different races, tribes and creatures, it really is perfect for gaming, which makes me wonder why I've never seen any model maker company make their own Mahar models, Sagoths or apemen with tails. The closest thing I've seen is Antediluvian Miniatures, who have a few models based on the old 1970's movie version of At the Earth's Core (with the one and only Peter Cushing as Perry). Their Rhamphorhynchus could also stand in as a flying or swimming Mahar, but I'd honestly rather have one that's standing on the ground (and I've never seen anyone make a pterodactyl model that's not airborne).
But I do know where to get most of the prehistoric beasts. Aside from DeeZee's range of prehistoric mammals, Ral Partha made some nice prehistoric predators that recently returned to production by Ral Partha Europe (including hyenadon, which is the "wolf-dog" that they encounter early on) and Reaper's "cave sloth" is the best Megatherium (the giant sloth monster that's the very first creature they run into) out there.

*if you like a girl, kill the most dangerous beast you can find and put its head on a stake outside her home. If her father or another suitor can put the head of an even more terrifying beast beside it, she's now your mate. It's brutal and primitive, but it makes a strange sort of sense from the perspective of cavemen living among dinosaurs.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2016, 01:35:06 PM by BugPope »
If you're convincing yourself that you're infallible, you can never improve.

Offline Eccentric Cowboy

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2016, 02:35:53 PM »
Welcome to the fan-family BugPope! :D

The world building is definitely what helps this series stand out. If you read the later books you get even more layers of depth, exploring additional lands and even some epic wars. There is a load of different factions that show up later even more frightening than the Mahars! We also get some new protagonists, like Von Horst, Tarzan, Tanar, and another fellow who's name I fear escapes me at the moment. But he was one of the big players in Tarzan at the Earth's Core. That was a fun cross over!


Offline Cacique Caribe

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2016, 05:45:50 PM »
Hi Bug Pope,

What size are those figures?  Thanks.

Dan

Offline warrenpeace

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #19 on: October 25, 2016, 06:57:53 PM »
While it would be nice to have figures for Innes and Perry, one doesn't have to use them as protagonists at the start of a campaign. If you've already got a Tarzan figure, use him. Plenty of other Pulp figures could end up inside the Earth. How about Indiana Jones?

And here's a few other ideas for adventurers who could show up in Pelucidar:
1. Joseph Conrad while piloting a steam ship on the Congo (find a cave in the jungle?)
2. Jack London while cruising the South Pacific with his wife and two crew aboard his 55 ft boat, the Snark (explore a volcano?)
3. Teddy Roosevelt and Percy Fawcett while exploring the Amazon looking for the Lost City of Z
Sailors have more fun!

Offline Alxbates

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #20 on: October 25, 2016, 11:03:07 PM »
I do love me some Pellucidar.

Rather a a lot!



-Alex in Alaska

TikiCoast

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #21 on: October 25, 2016, 11:09:54 PM »
Nice.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2016, 02:23:35 AM by TikiCoast »

Offline BugPope

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #22 on: October 26, 2016, 10:15:38 PM »
Of course you can have any adventurer you want explore Pellucidar (never implied that you couldn't), the tricky part is finding models for the unique races and tribes. Because without them, it's really just a generic lost world game, and not specifically a Pellucidar game.
The human tribes would be the easiest, since there's several makes of cavemen out there. While I love Lucid Eye's realistic cavemen, I'd actually go with the more cartoony Copplestone "bearded men with fur diapers" style cavemen, who fit the mood perfectly.
Ral Partha did a gorilla warrior with shield and spear that would be absolutely perfect as a Sagoth. The problem is that it's now kinda pricy, and there's just a single pose (both traits make it poorly suited for the bands of cannon fodder that you'd want with Sagoths).
One solution could be to get orc models, preferably the savage, cavemen style kind, and paint them brown instead of green. They'd be strangely hairless Sagoths, but it would probably look okay.

Right now I just read the chapters where the honestly pretty adorable beast-men are introduced, and I'm falling in love with them. Described as looking like a mix of man, gorilla and sheep, it's also hard to match them to any preexisting miniatures. I guess you could try putting the head of a goatman without horns on a human model's body, but I'm not sure that would look good.
In my head they look very bulky, almost like bipedal tapirs for some reason, but Franzetta drew them looking almost like werewolves. Which is a great look too.

Offline Commander Roj

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #23 on: October 27, 2016, 08:02:25 AM »
I do love me some Pellucidar.

Rather a a lot!



-Alex in Alaska

I've seen this model before, but I can't remember where it's from? Lovely for Lost world campaigns!

Offline Commander Roj

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #24 on: October 27, 2016, 08:38:35 AM »
I would absolutely love to game in Pellucidar!

Only problem I see is the (really) excellent 28mm models available from Warlords and Antediluvian M. Wait why is that a problem you ask? Because I habe sworn not to invest into yet another 28mm project for which I have neither the time nor the money.

Ive been tinkering with 15mm Pellucidar though and collected some good stuff from Khurasan and Brigand, Neanderthals from Copplestone (picts) and various other producers. Highlander makes an excellent Tarzan by the way for cross-universe ERB games!
And of course 15mm is IMO the only way to go with all the Dinos necessary for the tabletop!

I would choose 15mm too. This is a helpful list. I wonder if you have considered the Stallar Explorer pterodactyls from Khurasan as Maharashtra? The guns would need removing, but otherwise they would seem excellent.

 I wish more 15mm was availalable to do Barsoom. I don't like any of the 15mm ranges currently available

Offline Cacique Caribe

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #25 on: October 27, 2016, 08:44:59 AM »
« Last Edit: October 27, 2016, 08:50:53 AM by Cacique Caribe »

Offline BugPope

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #26 on: October 27, 2016, 11:10:12 AM »
Stumbled upon this gorgeous Sagoth army someone converted from pre painted Star Wars figures (the specific model is the "Yuzzem" from the Revenge of the Sith expansion of the Star Wars collectable miniatures game) and GW bits. The Mahars are from HeroClix. Really impressive work.
http://shadowking-shadowkings.blogspot.se/2015/09/at-earths-coresagoths-and-others-painted.html?m=1

And I second that Copplestone's Picts would be great for Pellucidar. They would work good as Sagoths.
Out of curiosity,  which rule system would you use for 15mm savage world type games?
« Last Edit: October 27, 2016, 11:55:02 AM by BugPope »

Offline Cacique Caribe

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #27 on: October 27, 2016, 01:49:23 PM »
Wow, those Copplestone "Picts" would be perfect for the part!

D

Offline Legion1963

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #28 on: October 27, 2016, 03:06:52 PM »
Indeed. Pellucidar. When i was young i had a huge pile of Tarzan comics and my favorite ones were those about Tarzan's adventure in Pellucidar and other primeval places like Lemuria. ;-)

Offline BugPope

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Re: Pellucidar
« Reply #29 on: October 27, 2016, 03:27:10 PM »
Wow, those Copplestone "Picts" would be perfect for the part!

D

Copplestone also makes nice 15mm barbarians (who are more Conan than ERB, but still great) with wolves, giants, bears and other creatures that could work well. And the characters are spot on.

I know Khurasan has lost world stuff, but I can't check what they have because of their annoying habit of taking down their site completely every time they have to catch up with orders or take a vacation.

15mm.co.uk have a few lizardmen, a war mammoth and an ape. Most importantly, their orc huts are the most perfect stone age buildings I've ever seen in this scale.
http://www.15mm.co.uk/products/hob2-orc-starter-settlement-5-buildings-save-15-or-20
« Last Edit: October 27, 2016, 03:51:10 PM by BugPope »

 

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