Simlasa Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) So what elements, besides what's already in the BGB, would be needed for a campaign setting similar to the Sin City comics? To me it sounds like very low powered supers... no overt powers really but extra durability for some and high skills for others. Noir heroes seems well suited for BRP. I'm sure some pulp elements would creep in but I'm wanting to keep a noir edge on it... more Lemmy Caution, Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer... less The Shadow and The Avenger. Would a character like The Spirit fit in there? Maybe on the upper end of the power spectrum. Has anyone written up anything close to this already? Edited December 16, 2012 by Simlasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seneschal Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I'm not familiar with Lemmy Caution but Marlowe and Hammer were as much a product of the pulp magazines as The Shadow, just different titles. The Spirit -- a hero of the Sunday newspaper comics section -- fits in as he's a masked detective with no overt powers (except that his enemies can never quite kill him, hence his name). You could toss in DC Comics' Slam Bradley and any number of tough guy heroes from radio shows, too, such as the daredevil trio from I Love A Mystery. I'd start off using SIZ+CON for Hit Points. Maybe give 'em 2-4 points of kinetic Armor just because they're "tough as nails" and injuries that would kill a lesser man cause them mere flesh wounds. Use the mook rules other posters have already worked out for henchmen. Of course the master villain is usually a long-winded fellow who attempts to talk Our Heroes to death rather than simply shooting them as any sensible criminal would. Round things out with police contacts -- such characters often had a love/hate relationship with the force because of past events, but they managed to keep their private detective licenses because they caught the crooks the cops couldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simlasa Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I was using 'pulp' in the usual gamer sense rather than the historical sense of those characters... not as wild, less in the way of colorful costumes... no chimps with machine guns. I love 'I Love A Mystery'... but it seems fairly light-hearted compared to what little I know (so far) of Sin City... and a bit more willing to invoke the supernatural (even though it usually turns out to be a hoax ala Scooby Doo). ILAM was a big influence on a lot of my CoC gaming. Still, what you describe is pretty much hard-boiled detectives... but toughened up... is that all it is? I think I have a handle on that having read tons of Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane. Good suggestion on getting a handle on those mook rules... Edited December 17, 2012 by Simlasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mankcam Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Heavy use of gunplay at times, as well as Martial Arts (Streetfighting). I'ld bring in the BGB Fate Points option as well, but rename them 'Pulp Points' instead. You can also bring in Allegiance rules, perhaps 'Virtue' vs 'Vice', and tinker with some effects... I think pretty much the rest is hard-boiled neo-noir flavour with lots of gratuitous violence and dark themes. Make sure you have some modal jazz in the background mixed in with the Sin City soundtrack and you should be able to recreate a sense of playing in Sin City...sounds like it could be fun Quote " Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simlasa Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions... I think that gives me a handle on how to approach the action. I'm how I might make fist fights more 'interesting'. They're so visceral in the comics... like a character might almost prefer to get shot than punched by one of those huge madmen. Pump up the damage maybe... but maybe also buy some bigger dice to roll when using fists... hah. A lot of it is just going to come down to the atmosphere... how unreal the setting feels. Like an ugly dream (except for the women)... it feels like a ghost or monster could show up at any minute... but never does. Lots of tension... lots of 'At any moment!' and 'Suddenly!!!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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