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The pretty, formatted version with links etc. can be found here on my page!
The idea for this series was provided by one of my patreons, so thank you!
Okay, so we’ve been there, right? Staring at PFRPG/roleplaying in general…and being just blown away by the VAST number of options, books, etc. We don’t always have time to look up all kinds of books and preparing a campaign takes a LOT of effort and time when done right. So yeah, this is basically a little one-stop-shop tour of the bare minimums you need to make a campaign with a certain theme!
The lists will be deliberately short and reliant only on the absolute basics, with perhaps one or two optional books included. It should be noted that I do assume that you own most, if not all Paizo hardcovers relevant for a campaign type, but I will emphasize when one is crucial or particularly fits the theme. (Like today!) If I recommend books from other systems, I will make sure that they require no work (or next to none) to convert – basically, I recommend them for the ideas.
This time around, we’ll take a look at fantasy pulp! I.e. campaigns that use the 20s as a theme, but add copious amounts of the fantastic…you know, the stuff we always encounter when playing our favorite RPGs, from goblins to nasty creatures from hell.
All right, so the list will be easy on your wallet:
The Rules:
Anachronistic Adventures by Rogue Genius Games:
Originally intended to allow you to play characters from our world in a fantasy setting, this book has it all: It oozes the tropes, sports several classes, ESP-rules (if you’re not using psychic rules and want a low-fantasy, very pulpy feel), equipment, vehicles, archetypes galore, research rules...over 100 pages of goodness, for $15 pdf, $25 print, $28 bundle. This one book has you covered.
The Setting:
Weird Adventures by Hydra Cooperative:
This is an almost system-neutral OSR (pretty much a book of flavor) setting that BREATHES pulp from each pore. It has the fantasy-angle baked in and allows the Gm to decide the extent, but more than that, it feels right – meticulous research, great care and creativity galore make this a one-stop-shop for an amazing Pulp-fantasy setting. No need for much conversion, a gazillion of amazing ideas. The setting ranges in price from $10 for over 150 pages of content in pdf to $23.99 for the pdf + hardcover bundle.
The Optional:
Occult Adventures by Paizo:
Okay, yeah, I am a huge fanboy of the book. It’s my favorite Paizo hardcover, bar none. But if you want a touch more magic in your fantasy pulp game than Anachonist Adventurers offers, consider adding Occultist, Mesmerist and Spiritualist to the allowed class roster. Perhaps the Psychic as well. The rules cost $9.99 for pdf, $44.99 for hardcover.
And there we go! Instant pulp-fantasy campaign that you can expand via archetypes, rules-files etc. – but now, you’ll have the basics and can start playing, see where the game’ll take you!
If you enjoyed this and considered it helpful, let me know!
Yours truly,
Endzeitgeist out.
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Awesome idea, EZG, many thanks for posting this.
Not finding Weird Adventures here on Paizo. I'm lazy and hate to shop elsewhere for goodies. ;)
Sorry, mad comrade. The Weird Adventures book is OSR and not many OSR-books are available here. If it helps - if you click on the link to my page (or just[url=http://endzeitgeist.com/start-fantasy-pulp-campaign/]here[url/], it'll take you to the linked version of my article. There, each book is one click away of DTRPG/RPGNow. Apart from Occult Adventures - linked that to Paizo, obviously! :)
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Many thanks!
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Having been such a prolific reviewer of a wide variety of content, I can say I trust your recommendations.
It would be great to see more of this kind of thing: offering 2 or three supplement ideas that cover all kinds of different fantasy genres (sword/planet, gothic horror, steampunk, etc.)
Great post.
Thank you, JosMartigan!
I'll probably keep doing these once in a while - people seem to like the idea! :)
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Love this idea Endz!