PULP LEGENDS

Advanced V&V Rulesheets, with a Pulp Twist

Character Construction

Definitions

As everywhere in these rule tweaks, unless expressly overridden, the 1998 V&V upgrade stands. There are two types of player characters in Pulp Legends: for now we'll call them Headliners and Agents.

Headliners

These are characters that would either have their own heroic pulp magazine as heroes (ie Doc Savage, the Shadow) or warrant lurid, enflammatory artwork and text banners as the villain of the piece. To cut through the awkward vaguery, Headliners are the superheroes and supervillains.

Agents

These are the colorful supporting casts of the Headliners. On the villain side, these are minor gunsels with curious habits, appearances, and a limited but memorable trick up their sleeve. To heroes, these are the recurring, supporting cast that possessed impressive skills and abilities of their own, and provided the Headliner with a trusted organization in his War on Crime. In many ways, these agents brought human excitement, uncertainty, comic relief, and color that their Headlining bosses couldn't. In the pulps, the Headliners were nigh invincible, the master of their magazines. It was the supporting casts that really lived on the edge, and it is with them in mind that these rules are driven.

General Changes

Graduated HP Modifiers

Pulp Legends utilizes the graduated HP modifier table developed by David Utter (reproduced here with permission, with AG/STR switched).

Skills Notes

It is an unfortunate situation, but the V&V upgrade uses the same word for its skill system as its existing "Skill" superpowers. In these rule tweaks, "Skill List" refers to the tables and rules from the 1998 upgrade. "Skill Table" refers to the Super Power table from the 1982 2d Edition rulebook.

Pulp Legends makes a few modification to the 1998 Upgrade.

• All ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, pistols, rifles and thrown weapons) are Unique skills.

• The upgrade says "Opposed saves are always made by the character who is currently active..." The skill descriptions then go on to reverse this in nearly every text description. Pulp Legends adheres to the above text, not the skill descriptions. For example, the Convince skill is defined in the upgrade as " Targets make an Intelligence save to disbelieve your claims, and your skill is used to oppose that claim." Ignore text like this. The Convincer makes a Convince save, opposed by the target's IQ. (Of course the GM can reverse this for special situations at his discretion.)

• It is not clearly specified in the upgrade, but in combat turns, Skill saves initiated by the character are actions. As such they may be rolled into Multiple Attacks as normal: 2PR, -4 per additional save.

Firearms

One of my playtesters (thanks patric) reminded me how nifty Craig Griswold's Firearms rules are. Pulp Legends adheres to those rules with two exceptions: Shotguns are +8 CP from Craig's tables, and the AG-based range penalty is ignored. Instead, stay with the Upgrade's range penalty table. Also, the Firearms Pool and Gunsmith skills are both legal. Ammunition does not carry a CP cost.

[OPTIONAL] The pulps spanned tales from light adventure to dark, blood-red savagery. If the GM prefers a deadlier mileau, all guns carry the following special Power: Carrier Attack, Agent Death Touch. For Agents that take damage from gunfire, Death Touch saves are made, adding remaining HP. Example: Seargeant Jackson takes a bullet in the service of his Headliner. The bullet does 5 points of damage (4 to power, 1 to HP) leaving him at 3 HP. Poor Jackson must d20 Save against END and AG, but gets +3 on each roll. If he fails one of the two rolls, his HP drops to 0 and Jackson falls, unconscious. If he fails both, he dies. Headliners are not subject to the Death Touch attack.

[OPTIONAL] There is ample precedent in the pulps that Death only puts an Agent out for the current adventure. Once the current villain is defeated, the Agent may resume adventuring, with no mention made of his temporary haitus.

Random Generation

Under Pulp Legends, heroics were more closely tied to the world as a simpler time wanted it to be. Mysticism and occult thrived, usually in the Orient or Subcontinent (how dissappointed travellers must have been as air travel became more commonplace). After the Great War, technology produced marvels at an increasingly shocking pace. But men were still men, and women were eighteen and beautiful. If such a thing can be said about a man who can surgically cure criminals, pulp heroes were more down to earth than their four-color counterparts. This affects generation of both Headliners and Agents. Except as noted below, random characters are generated according to standard 2d edition rules, as modified by the 1998 upgrade.

The "Powers" table is unavailable for initial character generation, for both Headliners and Agents. In addition, a proscribed list of powers will follow that cannot be selected. (This list is obviously a guideline. GM should feel free, nay, obligated to rule out other powers to preserve his campaign's tone. Similarly, if the PC can mount a convincingly pulpy argument, inclusion of forbidden powers is still possible.) Random rolls that indicate these powers instead convert the Power slot to a Skill (as in Skill List, not Skill Table. How unfortunate is that?). Skills received through invalid Power rolls are at +3, instead of +1.

Forbidden:

• Powers: All.

• Devices: Android Body, Animal/Plant Powers, Bionics, Death Touch, Dimensional Travel, Flight (Wings devices accompish this), Non-Corporealness, Stretching, Teleportation, Weather Control.

• Magic/Psionic Items: Animal/Plant Powers, Astral Projection (for Agents), Death Touch, Dimensional Travel, Flight, Non-Corporealness, Teleportation, Weather Control, Wings.

• Magic/Psionics: Astral Projection (for Agents), Flight

• Weaknesses: Prejudice (for Agents). This becomes "Loyal to a Fault." Agent character cannot stand to hear a negative word about his Headliner, and will fight over it without further provocation.

Limited:

The following powers, regardless of table, must be weakened for the Pulp Legends mileau:

• Absorption (cannot absorb Powers)

• Flame Power (no burning people with flight)

• Gravity Control (can only be an area effect)

• Ice Powers (no Ice Armor)

• Illusion (A only)

• Size Change (always permanent, either Larger 1.5 or Smaller 2)

• Transformation (C1, Disguise is ok, the rest, GM's option. When he's cranky)

• Vibratory Powers (no defense or ghosting)

Agents are only allowed two Super Power rolls, one of which MUST be on the Skill Table. If an Agent wants to discard his weakness, he cannot discard his Skill Table power to do so. As if that were not bad enough, Heightened Attribute powers are one die smaller for agents: A adds d10, B adds 2d10. As feeble compensation, Agents get d6+5 skills from the Skill List. They also will have the option, when rolling from the Skill List, to increase the value of an existing skill rather than take another random result. At the referee's discretion, this 'increment option' could include the +0 "Common Skills."

CP Construction

Headliners are built according to standard V&V upgrade rules. Both Headliners and Agents are built with 125 CP. (Agent CPs don't go quite as far, as you will see.) Pulp Legends characters cannot choose from the "Powers" table, and cannot select the powers proscribed above. Further, some weaknesses are not available to Pulp Legends characters:

• Public Identity, Dark Past, Prejudice: Agent characters cannot select these weaknesses. Agents are simply too unimportant, compared to their Headliner bosses, for the press or anyone to make these legitimate weaknesses.

• Agent/Pupil: Agents by definition fit this description, and get no further bonus because of it. Headliners are precluded from this weakness, also by definition.

• Oathbound: Pulp Legends characters that take this weakness must swear an Oath separate from their work as/with a Headliner.

• No-Weakness Weakness: Headliners (only) may take the 'no weakness' weakness for +5CP. This weakness prevents them from selecting any other weaknesses. Over perfection: it's a serious problem.

• Loyal to a Fault: Agents (only) may take this weakness for 10CP. Agent irrationally defends any slight to his Headliner, including fisticuffs when necessary.

On the plus side, two additional powers are available:

• Unspecified Effect. Cost +10CP. Power's effects and implementation are not specified at generation time. The player defers definition of his power, and may specify it at any time during a game. Damage, Range, charge/PR cost are all fixed at generation time (either with hard numbers, or if the GM is feeling frisky, a tradeoff algorithm. For example, Range = 4*PR). This allows players to spring their power on unsuspecting villains without benefit of the GM's char-sheet peeking. Examples include false tooth Chemical Power device, shirt buttons composed of chemicals that produce Power Blast when slammed together, etc. Once specified, the power retains its definition until the character gains a new level. Then the power is again unspecified.

• Headquarters. Cost 15CP. Character has a unique, fortified Sanctum Sanctorum from which s/he conducts the War on Crime. The Headquarters gets 50CP to spend on inherent powers. These must be negotiated with the GM. For example, Force Field device: Glassteel screen which drops between Headliner's desk and visitors to office (suitable for stopping bullets). These powers can be Unspecified (as above) for only +5, however once defined they may never change again. Powers must be local to the Headquarters, and cannot be 'brought' out on the job. Players can use CP to improve their headquarters. Each CP spent is worth 5, for improvement purposes. Entrance/Exit, internal features, layout all are at the player's discretion. Any amount of mundane 1930's equipment, that the GM deems is in character, could be specified as integral to the HQ. The GM should grant great leeway, short an unpurchased power slot, in design of a PC's HQ.

Agents, of course, have even further restrictions placed on their construction.

• Super Powers cost a premium for agents: the first power costs +5CP, the second +10CP, third +15CP and so on.

• Heightened Attributes also vary in cost, as shown on the table below:

Agent Attribute CP Cost

• Skills cost more for multiple levels. Each 'dose' of a skill costs its value. Which is to say the first purchase of a skill costs 1CP. A second costs 2CP (on top of the 1CP already paid) for a total of 3CP. A third costs 3CP (on top of the 1+2 already paid) for a total of 6CP and so on. Thus, 6 increments of Lockpick cost 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21CP. Agent players may designate a SINGLE Unique Skill their Primary Skill. This skill only costs its final value. 6 increments of Lockpick as a Primary Skill only cost 6CP.

• Wealth does not follow the progressive CP cost outlined above. It follows the standard V&V update CP cost structure.

• [OPTIONAL] Combat Levels do follow the progressive scheme, at 2x. A beginning character can purchase second level for 2CP*2 = 4CP. Third level would be (2+3)*2 = 10CP. Fourth: (2+3+4)*2 = 18CP and so on. First level is free. Yes, characters can start at any level they want to pay for.

Rules and Tables