Pulp Hero concept

[Lameth]

I'm looking to mimic legendary pulp hero abilities. As an example, disappearing almost in sight, putting someone to sleep with your voice, hypnotizing with your voice [almost like dune], self healing [about to heal from a knife wound in a night or so, or maybe faster in mediation], slightly higher when needed [maybe power blow], sending his voice to other locations in the shadows [ventriloquism maybe], and superhuman Stamina.

maybe some very unique martial art techniques that fit "pulp" cinematics, like special strikes or blows, or just special cinematic attacks or defenses.

and the pc wants to maybe have a pressure point ability to maybe shut off for short times super abilities if they come from the person, such as "Psionic" or "Meta Gene", but not magic or cybernetics and other stuff.

Thoughts or help would be great? This is my first time running a game like this.

[Imbicatus]

Trained by a Master with some cinematic chi skills sounds about right. Invisibility Art to vanish, Hypnotic Hands for hypnotizing, maybe add some enthrallment skills.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Lameth

As an example, disappearing almost in sight

Chameleon or Mind Control.

Originally Posted by Lameth

putting someone to sleep with your voice

Affliction which causes Unconsciousness, Limitations: Emanation, Sense-Based (Hearing), Nuisance Effect (Must Speak), Preparation Required

Originally Posted by Lameth

hypnotizing with your voice

Affliction or Mind Control with the limitations listed above.

Originally Posted by Lameth

Self healing

Healing, Rapid Healing, or Regeneration.

Originally Posted by Lameth

superhuman Stamina.

High HT, extra FP, Very Fit.

Originally Posted by Lameth

maybe some very unique martial art techniques that fit "pulp" cinematics, like special strikes or blows, or just special cinematic attacks or defenses.

Various martial arts skills and techniques, particularly if they're associated with "mystic powers gained by study and training" rather than just innate abilities.

Originally Posted by Lameth

Thoughts or help would be great? This is my first time running a game like this.

Keep the game fast-moving and make sure your players keep in the spirit of the genre.

Don't be afraid to bend the rules keep the game moving and true to to genre. For example, critical failures should never be "instant death" but instead, "cliff-hanger scenes" - sometimes literally! PCs and Major NPCs should never "just die" due to some fluke of the dice, instead their deaths should be suitably dramatic.

Code of Honor (Follows Genre Conventions) is an appropriate disad. for both heroes and villains. Unkillable or Extra Life are great advantages for villains, along with Bad Temper, Bully, Compulsive Behavior (Ranting), Jealousy, Megalomania, and Sadism.

"Sadism" in the pulp genre indicates a strong preference for toying with foes or watching them suffer slow, agonizing deaths in elaborate death traps rather than killing them outright.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Code of Honor (Follows Genre Conventions) is an appropriate disad. for both heroes and villains. Unkillable or Extra Life are great advantages for villains, along with Bad Temper, Bully, Compulsive Behavior (Ranting), Jealousy, Megalomania, and Sadism.

In GURPS Supers I called it Compulsive Rhetoric, I think. You can also treat putting foes in a death trap as Trademark; GURPS Supers has rules for that.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Lameth

disappearing almost in sight

Exactly what Invisibility Art is meant for.

Originally Posted by Lameth

putting someone to sleep with your voice

Tenure.

Originally Posted by Lameth

hypnotizing with your voice [almost like dune]

This (and, more seriously, the putting to sleep bit) is actually what the Hypnotism skill in GURPS does, and it specifies you can do it with your voice. To be able to do it in combat in one second without a "time spent" penalty, I'd probably use the same pricing as Rapier Wit (and note you still must use the Hypnotism skill, and the foe resists with Will+5).

Originally Posted by Lameth

self healing [about to heal from a knife wound in a night or so, or maybe faster in mediation]

This is probably the Flesh Wounds rule (B417), actually, so you may want to give the character Destiny or similar to give him some Impulse Points (PU5) to spend on those. Failing that, some form of Regeneration is appropriate.

[namada]

Second the "Trained by a Master," "Invisibility Art," and "Look at Enthrallment Skills" from above, but I'd add:

• Pulp Heroes should spend stupid amounts of points in Attributes (and Attribute-modifying Advantages). They don't just *punch* people, they punch them so hard in the face that their opponent's jaw breaks (Striking Strength,) they don't just "make friends" but rather gain followers (Charisma, Appearance, Voice), etc.
• Look at all Cinematic Options before you start play and decide which you'll be using (Advantages, Skills, Combat)
• Gaining and buying off (in GURPS terms) Disadvantages is common in the genre, so consider giving out MANY points per session, for that purpose (and also use the Buying Success option too, on p347 - I even have the page memorized - Pulp Heroes simply don't fail when the timing is right*).
• Reputation is almost always a given, virtually the same with Wealth
• Daredevil, Hard to Kill/Subdue, & Gunslinger are a must!
• Almost certainly: Weapon Master.
• Speed up combat by making attack/vs/defense with Minions a Quick Contest - since your heroes should outclass their opponents 99% of the time (given genre conventions), it should mean quicker combats at no loss to PC efficiency. For the "big bosses" use regular combat rules.
• Use fewer rules than you feel are applicable. Seriously. That entire chapter on "Injuries, Illness & Fatigue" - guess what, ignore the Illness & Fatigue parts because they're outside of genre conventions (unless you've got a magic or psionic user, then use fatigue for that, but nothing else). And when it comes to Injury, use "General Injury: Lost HP" and ignore the rest...
  Too many people try adding more points before throwing out OPTIONAL rules...

*Not in the books, but consider telling players "this is a Buying Scene" when you want them to use points to Buy Success, and charge double, or triple outside of those specific scenes (feel free to vary the multiple upwards by how *little* you want them to spend points in the scene based on narrative needs)

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by namada

[*]They don't just *punch* people, they punch them so hard in the face that their opponent's jaw breaks (Striking Strength,)

Specific to this, Boxing is actually a very good style for the genre for a very physical character.

Any Major Wound calls for a HT roll to avoid Knockdown and Stunning. A Major Wound to the Face gets a HT roll at -5. That tends to be a fight-winner and Boxing teaches Targed Attack (Face).

A Maor Wound for an "average" character (10 HP) is 6 HP. So a Poxing Punch (if Boxing is known at DX+2 or more) at ST 15 is 1D+2 and is a Major Wound for that average guy 50% of the time. ST 17 is another pt of damage and Major Wound 4 out of 6 times. ST 19 is all the way up to 2D+2 and not only gets you that Knockdown and Stunning but usually gets you _Knockback_ and cause that average guy to fly 3 feet backwards.

Pulp characters of great ST were fairly common and Boxing allows for a Special Exercises Perk for at least 1 level of Striking ST.

So don't fight agaisnt the genre and think that your character needs to know Kung Fu to be really effective. :)

[AlexanderHowl]

I second attribute investment. A pulp boxer with ST 19 does 2d+2 crushing damage with a punch when they have Boxing at DX+2. That is an average of 9 points of crushing damage per punch and, if they have Boxing-20, they can do DWA (Punch) at 16 every turn, meaning that they could dish out 18 points of crushing damage per turn without any cinematic abilities at all. With Boxing-20 and Combat Reflexes, they also get two unarmed parries at 14 per turn, giving them quite substantial defenses against punches.

[edk926]

Some of the top level battles are epic, so consider giving the main heroes and the main super-villains crazy amounts of Hit Points.

[Lameth]

How would I stat out the rocketeer jet pack ? Not as super power but as a real piece of retro pulp technology?