Riffing off of the previous Zeppelin thread, I was wondering what you guys think is the best pulp system out there.

I'm guessing that Spirit of the Century is too "story gamer" for many people? Has anyone tried BRP Astounding Adventures? What about SW Thrilling Tales?

I like Mini Six RPG best for pulp adventure. Not keen on Savage Worlds combat, too dependent on the Bennies. It felt silly seeing an NPC gang leader ignore hails of bullets in War of the Dead. BRP is too gritty/realistic & generally low-powered - great for Call of Cthulhu or the short ALIENS campaign I ran, not for Indiana Jones or Star Wars.

I am happy with AMAZING ADVENTURES from Troll Lords. It's 1920s Castles & Crusades.

Here's a free Quickstart and adventure
https://trolllord.com/downloads/pdfs/TLG%2076161%20Menace%20of%20the%20Serpent%20God%20Digital.pdf

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106153/Amazing-Adventures

Quote from: S'mon;1123322I like Mini Six RPG best for pulp adventure. Not keen on Savage Worlds combat, too dependent on the Bennies. It felt silly seeing an NPC gang leader ignore hails of bullets in War of the Dead. BRP is too gritty/realistic & generally low-powered - great for Call of Cthulhu or the short ALIENS campaign I ran, not for Indiana Jones or Star Wars.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4185[/ATTACH]

A bit biased, but...  Two-Fisted Tales

Quote from: Gagarth;1123327[ATTACH=CONFIG]4185[/ATTACH]

Well I have the BRP Gold Book which covers various genres, I didn't see any indication the mechanics were a good fit for two-fisted action.

Quote from: Trond;1123316Riffing off of the previous Zeppelin thread, I was wondering what you guys think is the best pulp system out there.

I'm guessing that Spirit of the Century is too "story gamer" for many people? Has anyone tried BRP Astounding Adventures? What about SW Thrilling Tales?

There was a thrad on this a month or two ago.

Some personal favourites.

Marvel Superheroes: TSR: This is a surprisingly versatile system and can easily handle pulp era heroics.

Call of Cthulhu: This can do pulp action surprisingly well. Cthulhu LIVE has a supplement called Shades of Grey specifically to run pulp heroes with the CoC system modiefied for LARPing.

Adventure!: The pulp era version of Aberrant. Does a pretty good job via the modified WOD system.

Mercanaries, Spies & Private Eyes: from flying Buffalo. Though more modern themed. It can handle pulp era to a degree.

Justice Inc. : Hero games system for heroics in the 20s-30s.

Indiana Jones RPG: TSR version: Despite looking a bit... off... it plays fairly well. But does not have anything for running the more fantastical heroes.

And many more!

Quote from: Omega;1123335There was a thrad on this a month or two ago.

Some personal favourites.

Marvel Superheroes: TSR: This is a surprisingly versatile system and can easily handle pulp era heroics.

There is a fan-created module (by 'Dreamslayer') called "In the Shadow of Evil" - it's a WWII era adventure where the PC's globetrot around the world fighting the Axis and it's amazing. It's so over the top fun. I highly recommend MSH fans check it out. You can download it here.

MSPE is by far the most underrated pulp game out there.

Hollow Earth Expedition or Leagues of Adventure would probably top my list (both Ubiquity games).

I also like the John Carter of Mars iteration of 2D20, but I find it runs slower and isn't as intuitive as HEX. I blame the meta-currencies. It's still a good game though.

After that, I agree with S'mon on Mini Six. Except I find that using the body points (hp) option fits my idea of pulp more than wound levels does.

Quote from: S'mon;1123333Well I have the BRP Gold Book which covers various genres, I didn't see any indication the mechanics were a good fit for two-fisted action.

Although I haven't tried it for pulps, BRP is a actually very easy to pick and choose the right power level and grittiness. I once ran a very cool Kull/Conan inspired game with it for instance, and it was surprisingly successful (using high percentage values for PCs and the critical wound rules etc, similar to Stormbringer, but it is all in the Golden Book if you look for it)

Quote from: brettmb;1123332A bit biased, but...  Two-Fisted Tales

Author, or just enthusiast? Feel free to tell about the system.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1123324I am happy with AMAZING ADVENTURES from Troll Lords. It's 1920s Castles & Crusades.

Here's a free Quickstart and adventure
https://trolllord.com/downloads/pdfs/TLG%2076161%20Menace%20of%20the%20Serpent%20God%20Digital.pdf

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106153/Amazing-Adventures

Agreed. AA is a really neat system, if you like C&C. The essays in the books are well written, including stuff on how to run a Howard-style campaign. Also, AA is being released with a 5E variant and that looks pretty cool, if you like 5E.

Quote from: SavageSchemer;1123379After that, I agree with S'mon on Mini Six. Except I find that using the body points (hp) option fits my idea of pulp more than wound levels does.

M6 is very 'cinematic' oriented rather than literary pulp; I find the Wound Levels system is best for Hollywood pulp like Indiana Jones (or Star Wars of course) where wounds are rare but serious; Body Points gives more of an action-movie, Die Hard or John Wick, type feel.

Quote from: tenbones;1123339There is a fan-created module (by 'Dreamslayer') called "In the Shadow of Evil" - it's a WWII era adventure where the PC's globetrot around the world fighting the Axis and it's amazing. It's so over the top fun. I highly recommend MSH fans check it out. You can download it here.

Dragon magazine had a great one involving the Liberty Legion battling an Axis plot. Even sprited them for the MSH-UA project.

Also while not a TTRPG. The PC game Freedom Force has a nice street level feel to it. Though it escalates as the adventure progresses. The sequel is set during WWII I believe.