Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Dec 20, 2005 9:09:00	This weekend, I had the pleasure of watching Peter Jackson's 3 hour epic, King Kong. While the movie was flawed in some respects, the pulp elements infusing the core of this movie were pulled off superbly. So superbly, in fact, that every pulp GM should take some of Peter Jackson's lessons to heart. **Really Minor Spoilers Ahead** Over-the-top Action The action has to be over-the-top. The PCs escaping an Apatosaurus stampede is good, but an Apatosaurus stampede through a narrow canyon that leads to a crumbling cliff, oh, and there are raptors chasing the Apatosaurus is better. It's not just a little step further, it's a whole leap and a bound over the "ordinary" Apatosaurus stampede. Real danger As a corollary to action sequences being over-the-top, pulp action scenes should have a real sense of danger to them. The PCs should feel that if they slip just a tiny bit, their character is headed to certain doom. Unfortunately, this may lead to a little bit of dice fudging as you try to keep the PCs alive long enough to view the next big action scene. What NPCs are for Non-major-villain NPCs of any depth in pulp campaign exist solely to provide dialogue until their inevitable grisly death. Whether the PCs have to throw the suddenly traitorous guide off of a cliff, or an NPC suddenly sprouts a bad case of spear through his chest (Whoops! Spoiled Heart of Darkness for you!), NPCs should add to the sense danger discussed above. Those lucky dogs The PCs should come out on top. Major PCs will never fall off of the cliff to their doom. They are always caught at the last minute by another PC, or fall to their supposed deaths only to be captured by the villain and kept alive for an eventual heroic rescue. When a major PC dies, they should be in the position to make a noble sacrifice, or at the very least make a dying speech. This is one of the more difficult aspects of Pulp GMing, as you need to balance the need for impressing the PCs that they are in Real Mortal Danger with this simple fact that no pulp hero ever dies to a random trap. Camp Pulp without camp is just a soulless action movie that takes itself far too seriously. If you actually sit and think about the Apatosaurus stampede I mentioned earlier, it's actually a really silly thing to think about. Pulp adventure situations tend to be mildly absurd. You can't just chase a thief through the city, the chase has to occur at night, over the rooftops, after a recent rain, and during the annual fireworks festival. The key is to either get the players to buy into the camp, or to just not let them notice. Pacing Pulp stories are not about intricate dialogue, or deft political maneuvering. Pulp dialogue is typically short and to the point; anything longer and more flowery is in danger of overloading the (already maxed out) camp. Don't roleplay shopping unless it's going to lead to an action sequence. Don't let the PCs spend all day talking to the king. Don't let traps be disabled without some sort of time pressure. The session should quickly move towards an action sequence after action sequence. Pulp thrives on the feeling of just barely getting to the goal, only to discover a new threat.
#2 wotc_mel Jan 27, 2006 13:54:55	bump
#3 zombiegleemax Jan 27, 2006 20:03:42	I like the DMing points the OP has pulled from Kong. Just one warning on Pacing: the line between "fast paced adventure" and "railroading" can be a fine one. Also, constant near death experiences get tiresome and ultimately make the player feel like if "everything is heart pounding danger" than "nothing is." That is, not every fight should be to the last hit point while on the lightning rail about to go into a tunnel. Sometimes, when the bad guy is menacing you with two scimitars in the desert bazaar, you just want to shoot him and move on.
#4 zombiegleemax Jan 28, 2006 14:31:12	This article is great! I have ran Eberron campaigns in the past, but were never able to capture that "pulp" feel. Maybe actually watching a few more movies would have helped :D ! Two thumbs up!
#5 malruhn Jan 29, 2006 12:28:45	Sorry, but this is the way I have been running my campaign for over ten years... and the exact same reason I loved the D&D movies... The danger was "real", and a little slip could mean death. The BBEG was WAaaaayy over the top. There was NO confusion that he was evil. Much of the adventure includes situations that are also over the top, or "camp". Why the heck did the goblins have a pen of dire-wolves and didn't ride them?? Camp. My only slight difference is in the pacing and the use of role-playing. I like more role-playing than Jon does... but, as with most things, YMMV.
#6 zombiegleemax Jan 30, 2006 8:51:31	This is a great article, though it shouldn't be limited to the Eberron campaign setting. Any fantasy campaign should include elements from your sections Over-the-top Action, Real Danger, What NPCs are For, and some of the Pacing (ie, don't role-play shopping). While exploiting all of these elements makes for great pulp adventures, in moderation they should be used by all DMs. All these elements drag the feel of the game away from what we all consider 'normal' in our lives. We are playing to 'get away' and so we should strive for these elements in our games. Great article.
#7 grug_the_just Jan 31, 2006 23:42:14	Good stuff, I tend to do some of these things to a degree but hold back for fear of being "cheesy." Though looking back, the coolest battle I ever ran was the group of PCs chasing a vampire's carriage at the onset of dusk. This was in the Whisper's of the Vampire's Blade adventure for Eberron. The two halflings clinging to a rope that one of them had thrown a grappling hook onto the carriage was made even better as the carriage driver knocked their horses out from under them. Every round I was rolling % chance to see if the slack of the rope got caught up in the wheels. I was magnificent. It all came to a wonderfully sudden end when the mounted warforged broke one of the wheels causing all involved to go flying. I'll have to try and work more of this kind of stuff in.