Encumbrance in Pulpwood!

I've never really liked the idea of keeping track of individual weights when dealing with encumbrance, so I decided to simplify it in Pulpwood! The system is really simple, so the post should be pretty short

Encumbrance is basically measured in 'slots', instead of weights. Each slot is basically an abstract measurement of both weight and size of objects. Different items take up different amounts of slots, and some items can have multiples in a single slot. So, for example, a rifle may be two slots, put a few magazines of bullets may only be one slot.

Every character has a number of slots equal to 2 + their Strength score, not their modifier. Thus, if someone had a Strength of 18, they would have 20 slots.

Another thing that annoys me about encumbrance is movement penalties, so Pulpwood! will not have them. Basically, once you fill up your slots, unless you drop something, you can't carry any more. This would represent not having enough room in your backpack, being too tired to haul around another gun, etc.

Pretty simple, but it's fast and elegant.

Thinking About Movement

I want the Pulpwood! combat system to be very narrative. This means that there should be no need for maps, and no real measurement of feet.

However, this brings a lot of things into question: how does range work? How far can a character move? What is melee range? 

My idea is to borrow an idea from Marvel Superheroes and Fate/Spirit of the Century; the concept of zones

A zone is really any physical area the GM deems appropriate. For example, a tavern's main room may have three zones: behind the bar, main floor, and the entrance. Zones will usually be divided by either physical objects (i.e. the bar) or some amount of distance. If you wanted to be more granular and the tavern's main floor was really large, the main floor could comprise multiple zones.

So for movement, a character could move a zone and then do an action. So, a character could hop out from behind the bar and then punch a guy on the main floor. If you are in the same zone as someone, you are within melee range.

A character can also move two zones, but forfeit an action.

Ranged weapons, thrown weapons and spells would have a minimum range and a maximum range, For example, a shotgun would have a minimum range of 1 and a maximum range of 2 (maybe 3), meaning they could shoot someone in the same zone as them, or they could shoot someone in an adjacent zone. A rifle would have a minimum range of 2, and probably a maximum of about 5. The same idea applies to magic spells and thrown weapons.

Seems pretty good for now, but it will take a bit of extrapolating. 

Narrative Powers in Pulpwood!

So, I'm not gonna talk about attributes today, because that is BORING.

Instead, I'm going to talk about the narrative powers system in Pulpwood!, also known as Fortune.

Narrative powers have become the new 'thing' in RPGs, giving players temporary control over the story. You have seen it in games like Savage Worlds or Spirit of the Century, and Fortune basically functions the same way. You may also notice a little bit of 4e D&D in there.

Also note that 'Darbs' are the new term for the upgrades each class ability gets. 'Darb' is 20s slang for something cool or awesome, so the word seemed appropriate.

Fortune

 Though all pulp heroes rely mainly on their skills to get by, they also need a little help from Lady Luck every
once in a while. When the odds are stacked against them, and it seems like there is no way out, a little bit of
good favor usually swings their way. This favor is called Fortune.

All important characters, namely PCs, important NPCs, and important Villains, have Fortune. This is what makes them stand out against mooks and other unimportant goons. Every character, regardless of class, nationality, gender, etc, has 3 Fortune. This will never increase in a permanent sense, but can in a temporary sense (see Gaining More Fortune below).

This Fortune is replenished at the beginning of every session. Fortune can be used and spent at any time, on a characters turn, to create a wide array of Fortune Effects. Multiple Fortune Effects can be used at the same time, such as spending 2 Fortune to use Third Try's the Charm on a failed Moment of Inspiration roll. Each effect has a different cost depending on its usefulness.

Once Fortune is used, it is gone until the beginning of next session.

When Fortune is used, the player must describe what the character does that brings about the Fortune. Maybe upon using Moment of Inspiration to read some ancient alien hieroglyphs, they remember seeing such glyphs in a college textbook. Second Wind could be a rallying cry or a snappy one-liner. It's up to the player, and the more creative and flavorful, the better.

Fortune can be spent in the following ways, with the cost of that effect being listed beforehand:

1 Fortune Effects

Moment of Inspiration - Sometimes, characters need to do something outside of their expertise. While this is usually accomplished through skills, a character may need to go beyond their normal abilities.

When you spend 1 Fortune for Moment of Inspiration, your character can attempt to use the Level 1 ability of any other class, including their Darbs. This requires an Action Roll with the second classes class skill being
the modifier.

However, no matter how powerful you are in your skill, you are still not as masterful as the other class. Thus,
Darb multipliers are always in effect. So, if you wanted to do the Gamma Darb for the Arcanist Class Skill, you would have a -9 modifier, even if you had the Gamma Darb in your own class skill.

This allows parties that lack a certain class to do some of the things other classes can, e.g. a party without
a Pilot could still pilot a spaceship at the cost of a Fortune.

Grace Under Pressure - When you spend 1 Fortune for Grace Under Pressure, you can apply a +2 bonus to any Action Roll. This can be used multiple times on the same roll, to a maximum of +6 if you spend 3 Fortune.

However, this Fortune must be spent before you do an Action Roll, not after. It can't be used after the use of a Third Try's the Charm, but the modifiers do apply for any subsequent rolls made with Third Try's the Charm.

Also, this modifier can not be applied to damage rolls, only Action Rolls.

Third Try's the Charm - When you spend 1 Fortune, you can re-roll any Action Roll or damage roll in hopes for a better result. This can be used multiple times on the same roll, to a maximum of 3 re-rolls if you spend 3 fortune.

The drawback to this is that you must keep the new result, even if it is worse than the first one.

2 Fortune Effects

Second Wind - Sometimes a character will come under severe physical strain, and his only hope to succeed will be to buckle down, catch his breath, and head back into the fray.

When you spend 2 Fortune for Second Wind, your character automatically regains 1/4th of their maximum HP. This is useful if the party is on its last legs, but the enemy is also close to dying.

This Fortune effect can only be used in battle, and only after taking damage.

Edit - Edit is the first of two Fortune Effects that allow players to alter the story in a metaphysical sense.

When you spend 2 Fortune for Edit, you can alter the current scene in a minor way. For example, instead of
shotguns, the enemies may have pistols instead. Instead of a room being pitch dark, it is lit by torches. The
change should be temporary and not overly gamebreaking. All changes are subject to the GMs approval too make sure none are imbalanced, by players and GMs are encouraged to work together to meet a common ground

3 Fortune Effects

Rewrite- Rewrite is basically a more powerful and far reaching version of Edit.

When you spend 3 Fortune on Rewrite, you can change a major aspect of the current scene, usually in a permanent way. So, the bad guy may get away, but a lucky shot tears through his ankle, leaving him crippled come the next battle. A monster may eat an important artifact, but after retrieving it and discovering it has been eaten away by acid, you can do a Rewrite and say it is in perfectly fine condition.

Once again, the GM and player are encouraged to work together to get to a common ground. A Rewrite should not alter the entire story that the GM has planned, but it still has a lot of power


Gaining More Fortune

To gain more Fortune, you must be good at roleplaying. Throughout a session, a GM is encouraged to give out additional Fortune to players who roleplay well. This provides a good incentive for more engaging play, and it is also a more immediate reward than experience. It is suggested that the GM never give more than 3 additional Fortune to any given character in a session, with 2 being more conservative.

Take note though, that this additional Fortune does not carry on between sessions, so use it while you can.
When a new session rolls along, every character is returned to their base of 3 Fortune.

The Action Roll

Now I'm going to start getting into the meat of the Pulpwood! system, by actually getting into mechanics.

And I'm going to get to the meatiest of the meaty right off, the resolution system for Pulpwood!, known as the Action Roll.

The Action Roll is the dice roll you make in Pulpwood! to resolve mostly any kind of conflict. Though pulp heroes are larger than life, there is still an element of suspense and luck to everything they do. Thus the need for a random resolution system

The Action Roll is a simple d20 roll, with the sole aim being to meet or exceed 20. That's it, nothing else. There is a little bit of math behind what is added TO this roll, but I will very simply line it out below.

1. When you make an Action Roll, you take the most appropriate attribute modifier relevant to the situation.

2. You must determine if any of your skills is relevant in the current situation, and then take the total skill ranks in that skill and apply it as a modifier. If more than one is relevant, you take the highest ranked one.

3. The DM applies a modifier he thinks is appropriate given the situation. This usually ranges from -5 to +5

3. Roll the d20. Add both your attribute and skill modifier, and if you meet or exceed 20, you succeed! If you do not, you fail. A natural 20 on the die is an automatic success, called a Flourish, while a 1 is an automatic failure, called a Fumble.

Here's an example:

Albert 'Big Thunder' Thompson, a professional boxer of the Pugilist class, has managed to get himself cornered on a roof by some mobsters after he refused to throw one of his fights, which cost the local mob don a healthy chunk of dough.

Big Thunder is extremely outnumbered, and the only way out is across the roofs. He notices that the adjacent building is only about 10 feet away, so he decides to risk it and jump across.

The GM calls for an Action Roll, modified by Dexterity and Athletics. Big Thunder has a 15 in Dexterity, affording him a +2 modifier (modifiers subject to tinkering). He also has 6 ranks in Athletics, which is not surprising considering he is a Pugilist. The GM says that he will incur an additional -2 penalty, considering he is turning his back to a bunch of mobsters, and making a jump he has never tried before.

So, counting all that up, Big Thunder has a +6 to his Action Roll, meaning he has to roll a 14 or more to successfully land the jump. Big Thunder's player rolls, and he manages to get a 16 on his roll. Big Thunder easily leaps across the gap, and lands on the other roof unscathed.


Another thing to consider in Pulpwood!, is that failure is not catastrophic. If Big Thunder's player had only rolled a 12, Big Thunder would have leaped across and managed to grab onto the edge of the adjacent building. The next round, he could easily pull himself up.

Remember, these are Big Damn Heroes. Big Thunder won't die lying in a dumpster. He's gonna scratch and claw for his life.

However, if Big Thunder had gotten a Fumble on that roll, he would have definitely hit the ground. Fumbles are supposed to be awful setbacks, instead of the minor ones provided by a simple failure.

A Flourish probably would have let Big Thunder soar over the gap, landing safely and getting a head start on his run. It's the GM's job to determine what happens with each result (Success, Failure, Flourish, Fumble), and to keep it interesting.

Well, I think that's all for now. Next time, I believe I'm going to go over the bare bones of a character: the attributes.

See you later!

Skill System in Pulpwood!

So, I like skill systems in RPGs. However, I think skill system can suffer from needless bloat in trying to cover every single skill available. So, skills in Pulpwood! will be very 'generic', but also easy to understand

In Pulpwood!, there are 12 skills. They are:

Academics
Athletics
Business
Crafting
Diplomacy
Medicine
Outdoors
Perception
Performing
Piloting
Politics
Stealth

All of these are ranked from 0 to 10, which is added to the Action roll when doing an action related to that skill.

In pulp stories, the hero is generally only REALLY great at a few things. Indiana Jones can't fly planes while they are crashing, but he can try. Indiana Jones' specialty would probably be Athletics, or maybe Diplomacy.

So, to keep with the theme of 'exceptional in one area', each class has one of the 12 skills as their Class skill. This enables them to do things with the class no one else could do, with some classes getting into supernatural abilities as they progress.

But you might be saying "Shouldn't someone who has a 10 in piloting be an expert pilot?" The answer is no, because the Pilot is an expert pilot. That's why it's his class. If you were not a Pilot, but had a 10 in Piloting, you could pilot a vehicle as well as a normal person could, with only minimal training. This means you could fly a regular plane (bi-plane/cropduster), boat or car with no difficulty, and could probably do a few risky maneuvers if you need to. However, you wouldn't be able to do something more advanced like drive a tank or a spaceship (with an exception I'll mention in a later post). Only the Pilot can drive the cool stuff.

Furthermore, classes are going to rely heavily on their class skill to get things done in Action Rolls. Some of these will take a bit of figuring out, but I believe in myself.

Each skill starts at 0, except for the Class skill (which will either start at 2 or 3, I'm not sure). Then, every level, the character gets skill points based on the type of class they are: Brains get  3 points, Brawn gets 2 points, Wit gets 4 points. I don't know exactly what the rules for spending these will be (in terms of how many ranks per skill per level you can get), but it will be a 1-for-1 basis. So, if you had a 7 in Piloting, and then you spent 2 points on it, you'd have a 9 in Piloting.

So, that's the long-and-short of it for now. I think it's pretty simple, and people should get a hang of it quickly.

Next time, I'll explain the main conflict resolution mechanic in Pulpwood!, the Action Roll.

The World of Pulpwood!

The era is the 1920s. The world is large, diverse and energetic. Colonialism is slowly dying in Asia, the US is starting to emerge as an important nation, Russia is swiftly headed towards Communism, and trouble is brewing in Germany.

It is an age of exploration, adventure and danger. Everywhere you turn, there are gangsters, cults, mysterious ruins, strange artifacts, exotic people and strange locales. Many people stay at home, content to sit in the safety of a 2.5 child household.

But not you! You heard the call of adventure, and responded! You grabbed your pack and your gear, and equipped with not much besides your knowledge and expertise, you head out to explore the world and see its marvels.

Some people say that the pulps are just stories, but you experienced enough to know that what the pulps tell is not hearsay.


Welcome to the development blog for Pulpwood!, an OSR tabletop RPG focused on the adventure pulp genre.

In Pulpwood!, you and your friends will play the role of pulp heroes. You'll travel the world, solve mysteries, find strange artifacts, having daring brawls, shootouts and dogfights, and foil the most heinous villains the world has ever seen!

Features of Pulpwood!

• Play as one of 3 classes, and customize them through the use of Talents. Be the wise Scholar, the strong Adventurer, or the sneaky Adept.
• A simple rules system that takes bits from the OSR and modern game design. The rules will be lite-weight and bleed into the background, but they will involve unified mechanics that you will easily remember. The goal is to make the players only pick up the book when they level up.
• A mysterious world where magic items are rare, but the ones that do exist hold powers beyond comprehension. Don't think Wand of Fireballs, think Ark of the Covenant.

How far along is Pulpwood?

Not very, at this point. Currently, I am going through the concept phase; figuring out how characters work, ideas for combat, etc.

What's this blog for?

So you can monitor my progress as I continue along in Pulpwood!'s development. I want everything I do to be transparent, and I will 100% take into account comments and feedback.

When will it be released?

I'm hoping before I go back for college, which is mid-September. If it is not 100% done by then, it should be darn close.

So, that's it for now. Keep looking back at this spot as I put up more thoughts as I construct Pulpwood!

Have fun!