Pulping the Renaissance

[Shadowsoul]

With a film based on Solomon Kane in the works I was wondering what people thought of Pulpish adventure which isn't actually set in the 20s and 30s?

 

While there's not much hope of dogfights or zeppelin-dwelling master criminals in a game set in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries these were times of exploration and high adventure. Strange new worlds, pirates, wars and plenty of brawling heroes and insidious villains.

 

I suppose this would be Swashbuckling Hero if anything.

[Spence]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

With a film based on Solomon Kane in the works I was wondering what people thought of Pulpish adventure which isn't actually set in the 20s and 30s?

 

While there's not much hope of dogfights or zeppelin-dwelling master criminals in a game set in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries these were times of exploration and high adventure. Strange new worlds, pirates, wars and plenty of brawling heroes and insidious villains.

 

I suppose this would be Swashbuckling Hero if anything.

 

Just two things to say....

 

There's a film!? Woot!

 

And, what a cool idea. And who says a Master Villain couldn't have a Zepplin

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Well you could have a fleet of hot air balloons I suppose.

 

And their's always that helicopter thing that Da Vinci designed. Don't know if that thing would actually work but it would be fun if it did.

 

Of course if we stretched this idea into the Victorian period then there would be more scope for weird technology of course.

 

Some potential opponents for Swashbuckling Hero aside from the usual ghosts and ghouls and the agents of various nations such as the British Empire, the Dutch or the Prussians.

 

The Inquisition.

 

Pirates.

 

Slavers.

 

Unfriendly Carib Indians. Or people who are oppressing friendly Indians.

 

Thuggee.

 

Souhei. (Japanese Warrior Monks).

 

Time Travelling Nazis. That would explain the Zeppelin.

[jtelson]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Consider Italy in the late 1300's, highly urbanized, in a state of constant conflict, recovering from the effects of a rescent plague, as a setting it's not unlike the world of the 20's and 30's. Renaissance science can certainly sub in for most weird science, I think most Pulp Stories would transplant well. If you can live without the airplanes...

[pinecone]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Consider Italy in the late 1300's' date=' highly urbanized, in a state of constant conflict, recovering from the effects of a rescent plague, as a setting it's not unlike the world of the 20's and 30's. Renaissance science can certainly sub in for most weird science, I think most Pulp Stories would transplant well. If you can live without the airplanes...[/quote']

 

Yeah, you'd have to add in a lot more magical "Natural philosophy" type stuff, the Arab empire could suply "Lost secrets" as they were the top scientist of the middle ages...

 

Lots of good stuff...even spy capers!

[jtelson]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

You've got Alchemy, Stregheria, throw in Christian Rosenkreuz and you've got a ball game...

 

Crap, this is going to fester.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Thoughts for influences.

 

The Three Musketeers.

 

Sharpe.

 

Master and Commander.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

Brotherhood of the Wolf.

 

The Lion of Venice. (Novel).

 

Gothic horror such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Carmilla, Varney the Vampire, Mysteries of Udolpho and Zofloya.

 

Casanova. (Film).

 

The Count of Monte Cristo.

 

Any more?

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Consider Italy in the late 1300's' date=' highly urbanized, in a state of constant conflict, recovering from the effects of a rescent plague, as a setting it's not unlike the world of the 20's and 30's. Renaissance science can certainly sub in for most weird science, I think most Pulp Stories would transplant well. If you can live without the airplanes...[/quote']

 

Well there's always those exciting Venetian boat chases.

 

Still, Renaissance Italy is a byword for intrigue, romance and adventure. And the various cities had colonial possessions in some quite odd places so there's scope for going abroad. Carving out a new trade route for a powerful merchant family would be another good excuse for a far ranging adventure.

[Curufea]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Baron Von Munchausen.

[Spence]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Thoughts for influences.

 

--snip--

 

Any more?

 

Hmm..

 

Allan Mallinson's Hervey series, takes place right after Waterloo up till around 1827ish and mainly involves Dragoons. I've only been able to read three of them and not in order. But I really liked them. It is hard to find books in that period that do not involve ships in the US.

 

#1 A Close Run Thing (1999)

#2 The Nizam's Daughters (2000)

#3 A Regimental Affair (2001)

#4 A Call to Arms (2002)

#5 The Sabre's Edge (2003)

#6 Rumours of War (2004):

#7 An Act of Courage (2005):

#8 Company of Spears (2006):

#9 Man of War (2007):

#10 Warrior (2008):

[jtelson]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

The Gentlemen from Verona

 

1399: Operating out of a hidden wing of the Castelvecchio the Gentlemen from Verona work tireless in the defense of the city and its people. Answering only their own sense of justice and the mysterious Uomo Scuro, the Gentlemen are heros of the people...

 

Not quite there yet, I'll probably have to move Commedia Dell'Arte back a couple centuries and learn a lot more about 14th and 15th century Italy (Time to shop Harlequin for some historical romance novels)

[Markdoc]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

I wouldn't call it "pulp" since that assumes a special place and time as well as heroic two fisted adventuring, but you could certainly do this in the era you suggest.

 

You simply need to "fantasize it up" a little. Someone's already mentioned Munchhausen. I'm reading with great pleasure "De cape et de croc" (Cloak and Dagger, basically) a comic which folows the fortunes of two gentlemen from Venice to Malta, to the sunken ruins of Atlantis, to unknown tropical islands and to ... the moon, meeting - along the way - renegade Janissaries, beautiful gypsies, lovesick swains, relentless and ruthless knight commanders, lusty, but honourable merchants ... er, pirates, tropical natives, learned scholars, Selenites, combat mimes ("What's he doing?" "I think he's shouting for assistance!") monsters, the Flying Dutchman ("See? Nothing supernatural about it at all! It's a perfectly ordinary shipwreck, on the back of a perfectly ordinary sea-monster!", whirlpools, death traps, etc.

 

I'd play in that campaign in a second.

 

cheers, Mark

[Shadowsoul]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

And yet this thread was inspired by Solomon Kane, a 17th Century character who was created during the Pulp Era by a Pulp writer (Robert E. Howard) for a Pulp reading audience and in a Pulpish style.

 

The same of course can be said for the Conan stories. What we are discussion here would fall somewhere between 'Classic Pulp', Sword and Sorcery and Historical Adventure. But the fact is that there were writers who wrote Pulpish stuff which was not set in the Pulp era. It's a matter of a particular style which can be applied to various kinds of adventure.

[jtelson]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

If your game runs into Jan 1 1940 is it suddenly no longer Pulp?

 

Pulp has less to do with what year you decide to set your campaign than it does about attitude, If your players, their characters, the GM and the stories have a Pulp attitude then you're playing a Pulp game it doesn't matter if it's set in 1929, 1829, 1429 or 2929.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

And yet this thread was inspired by Solomon Kane, a 17th Century character who was created during the Pulp Era by a Pulp writer (Robert E. Howard) for a Pulp reading audience and in a Pulpish style.

 

The same of course can be said for the Conan stories. What we are discussion here would fall somewhere between 'Classic Pulp', Sword and Sorcery and Historical Adventure. But the fact is that there were writers who wrote Pulpish stuff which was not set in the Pulp era. It's a matter of a particular style which can be applied to various kinds of adventure.

 

IMHO Howard's Conan stories set in the more civilized portions of his Hyborean Age, which strongly resemble early Renaissance Europe, would make excellent inspiration for this type of campaign: court intrigues, shadowy conspiracies, thieves, assassins, and pirates. The world beyond the lands of the Hyboreans also parallels the world Europeans of the day were exploring, with black Africa to the south, the expanding Turanian (Turkish) Empire to the east, and the equivalent of Woodland Indians (Picts) to the west.

[Spence]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

I am sorry to rain on your parade, but 1300's are NOT pulp. They can have pulp like plots and pulp like action, but it is NOT the pulp era.

IMHO the pulp era is 1919-1939 with its unique time in history bringing the unique style of writing called pulp.

 

errrr...can I rain on yours? He said "I was wondering what people thought of Pulpish adventure which isn't actually set in the 20s and 30s?" as in like pulp but in an different era......

 

 

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

If your game runs into Jan 1 1940 is it suddenly no longer Pulp?

 

Pulp has less to do with what year you decide to set your campaign than it does about attitude, If your players, their characters, the GM and the stories have a Pulp attitude then you're playing a Pulp game it doesn't matter if it's set in 1929, 1829, 1429 or 2929.

 

In fact, there were many pulp sci-fi stories set in the far (and no-longer-so-far) future.

[Barton]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

I am sorry I posted here. I like to say I am sorry to all those on this thread for my post and the post has been removed.

[jtelson]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

I am sorry I posted here. I like to say I am sorry to all those on this thread for my post and the post has been removed.

 

I don't think you posted anything you needed to be sorry about; I didn't agree with it but it wasn't offensive (at least I didn't feel it was offensive).

 

At least one other person posted a similar thought to yours and I'm sorry that you felt our responses were so severe that it merited an apology let alone a deletion.

 

JT

[Publius]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Thoughts for influences.

 

The Three Musketeers.

 

Sharpe.

 

Master and Commander.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

Brotherhood of the Wolf.

 

The Lion of Venice. (Novel).

 

Gothic horror such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Carmilla, Varney the Vampire, Mysteries of Udolpho and Zofloya.

 

Casanova. (Film).

 

The Count of Monte Cristo.

 

Any more?

 

Leonardo decrappio's Romeo + Juliet

 

Okay, how about the Man in the Iron Mask? Ironically, in which I liked Leonardo DiCaprio (see, I can spell it correctly when I like the film), but I loved that guy channeling Malkovich who played his son. Not the character but the channeling itself. Close your eyes, he sounds just like Malkovich in tone and cadence. Eerie.

 

The Count of Monte Cristo is the most pulpy goodness of all of them I think (opinions may of course vary). A nice revenge piece, Cristo has the skills and advantages of an era-appropriate Doc Savage plus a killer origin story.

[Spence]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

I am sorry I posted here. I like to say I am sorry to all those on this thread for my post and the post has been removed.

 

I don't think you posted anything you needed to be sorry about; I didn't agree with it but it wasn't offensive (at least I didn't feel it was offensive).

 

At least one other person posted a similar thought to yours and I'm sorry that you felt our responses were so severe that it merited an apology let alone a deletion.

 

JT

 

Ditto here,

 

I hope my post didn't make you think you needed to jump ship. I did put a smiley in there........

 

But then I am BBS impared

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

With a few tweaks, the 1632 series would be ideal for pulp-flavor goodness.

[Basil]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

Anything by Sabatini would be good source material. Especially Captain Blood (the movie is good, too).

 

Real-life history has some good stuff. The Medicis, especially the papal ones. Whatshisname, the conquistador who landed up going overland from Florida to the lands south of the Rio Grande. The real Ibn Batuta.

 

Oh, and you could start from da Vinci's work on "how do birds fly" and get rid of the ornithopter part and have very good gliders. Excusable in the Renaissance, from a "rubber history" POV.

 

Heck, you could even use one of Cyrano's ways of getting to the moon!

[Markdoc]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

And yet this thread was inspired by Solomon Kane, a 17th Century character who was created during the Pulp Era by a Pulp writer (Robert E. Howard) for a Pulp reading audience and in a Pulpish style.

 

The same of course can be said for the Conan stories. What we are discussion here would fall somewhere between 'Classic Pulp', Sword and Sorcery and Historical Adventure.

 

Oddly enough, I had exactly this discussion with my wife last weekend (about Conan). My argument, boiled down, is that fantasy fiction in the pulp era (which remember, is a name bestowed after the event) was known as "Swords and Sorcery". ERB's work was also written in the same era and style but John Carter of Mars is generally called "SF" or "Planetary fiction", and Robert Bloch was writing for the same periodicals at the same time - but his work is generally called "Horror".

 

If someone says "pulp" I don't think of pirates, eldritch horror or barbarians - even though those all appeared in pulp-era periodicals. I think two-fisted heroes, exotic locations, feisty molls, masked crusaders and the occasional nazi zeppelin-mounted death ray.

 

So Solomon Kane comes from the same era of writing, but then so do Dusnany's stories like the Pegana Cycle, which even though it deals with fantastical lands is hardly pulp.

 

Edit: not that it matters - as someone pointed out upthread, you can transport the attitude, which is what really counts. For that matter, I ran a series of fun adventures (in a fantasy settings) which were a direct rip-off of the ripping yarns I consumed at a lad - doughty british adventurers in the mountains of Afghanistan, etc became a doughty band of fantasy adventurers in the mountains of Somewhereelsesistan. No further changes were needed.

 

cheers, Mark

[lapsedgamer]

Re: Pulping the Renaissance

 

That Renaissance Pulp thing would be great. Davinci is almost like Doc Savage all by himself. Is there anything the guy couldn't do? Also, you want villains, try the Borgias. How about a slightly fictionalized Machiavelli as the Moriarty of the game?