Pulp Adventures in a Hard Solar System

By Stefan Livingstone Shirley

Risus is Copyright © by S. John Ross 1993-2000. Risus, Risus: The Anything RPG,
Cumberland Games & Diversions and the distinctive logos associated with each are
trademarks of S. John Ross. All rights reserved.

Pulp Adventures in a Hard Solar System

The idea is this; Pulp and Noir are set in the real world; this is set in an at least semi-
realistic sci-fi world. Near future; interplanetary travel not interstellar travel (yet, I plan
on getting there); "slug" throwers, not laser pistols; no terraforming (yet)...

Technology I think is appropriate includes: clones, gene therapy and splicing, cyberspace,
and any cutting edge technology available now taken up a few notches. No “cold sleep”
though. Not quite as as high a tech level as Transmetropolitan, but pretty close to that of
Blade Runner.

While I don't generally read or watch them, multi-generational epics have always
intrigued me from an RP standpoint. Whether or not I ever run this game long enough
for such things remains to be seen. However, the setting does include a history and a
future. The past includes Atlantis and Lovecraft Country, while the future holds jump
gates and first alien contacts. This is Risus, so I'll paint in broad enough strokes that it can
be played for laughs or cutting satire, or even gasp played as serious as Roy Batty.

Antagonists (or Protagonists, depends on your point of view.)

The Corporation(s): They own everything you know? They manufacture all the props
and "Tools of the Trade." They are the banks and the resort hotels. They are the new
feudal lords of a solar system in decline.

The Terran Federal Government (TFG): After China made it into space and US
policies of nuclear blackmail coerced the UN into line. ..Well, things changed; martial
law got the "home of the brave" through a couple of elections while US money and
Chinese manpower put the first colonies on the Moon and Mars. The EEC community
opened space to the average Joe, though. The colony ships Rutan and Branson headed out
to Jupiter and firmly established themselves as a new power within only a few decades.

Obligatory Psychic Conspiracy: At the upper levels of the FTG and a handful of
Corporations there exists the beginning of a web of intrigue that stretches beyond the
Asteroid Belt. Its limits are unknown, and its existence is a ruthlessly maintained secret.
..Be sure to know where your foil beanie is...

The Lunar Revolutionary Front/League/Coalition/Alliance/Confederacy/et. al.:

Eventually all those colonies on all those moons got tired of the imperialist charlatans and
"Yankee Traders" of the TFG and The Corporations. The TFG wasted no time in
stomping on the embers of revolt though. When nukes were fired at Io, the Jupiter
colonies joined the fray. In the end the superior resources of the TFG won the day
though. Now the revolution is in pieces; scattered and distrustful.

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Edgers & Belters & Plutos, Oh My!: In the Asteroid Belt, on the moons of Uranus and
Neptune, and even as far away as Pluto there are those who refuse to acknowledge the
existence or power of the TFG. These are homesteaders, spacefareing Bedouins, and
bandits. In some cases "Green Ships" eke out an existence moving from port to port
throughout the solar system selling genetically engineered exotic fruits and vegetables.
Ever seen a tomato grown in zero gravity?

Crazed Cultists: In bygone eons dark gods from before time ruled the infant universe.
As worlds like Earth were born their power waned, but their memory remained. Today
there are mortals touched by these beings. Foul cults worship and sacrifice to their
forbidden masters in an effort to return the primordial gods to power. Ia! Ia!

And what of the rumors of some dread intelligence under the surface of Pluto? Who or
what is Yuggoth?

I leave the actual Eldritch Horrors honored by the Crazed Cultists to the twisted minds of
the GMs. Given the interplanetary nature of this game, some possibilities should become
immediately apparent to a Call of Cthulhu RPG fan.

Rules

Go to the official site and download Risus now. We'll be here when you get back.

Ok. I love Risus. I love vanilla ice cream. I love vanilla ice cream with Oreo crumbs
even more. Risus with Advanced Options is like that. It is the difference between your
favorite ice cream, and your favorite ice cream with your favorite topping mixed right in!

I recommend purchasing your Risus Companion today. Personally, I would use Lucky
Shots & Questing Dice, Sidekicks and Shield-Mates, and Boxcars & Breakthroughs. I’m
less sure of Eye of the Tiger, but I think it would likely fit in fine, too.

I have a couple of House Rules that I need to explain here. First and simplest is that I
will use the Sidekick and Shield-Mates rules for the PCs’ ship as well. Whoever
contributes the most dice becomes the ships owner and/or captain, but all the “ship” dice
go into a pool that the GM will use to create the ship in a manner similar to an NPC.
Let’s face it The Enterprise, The Millenium Falcon, The Serenity… They were all
characters in their own ways. Of course, a ship with an AI might be a PC itself!

Next is a minor Rescaling and what I call “The Funkiest Die.” The Rescaling is as
follows: 4 a cinch, 8 a challenge for a pro, 15 a heroic challenge, 20 a challenge for a
master, etc.

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The Funkiest Die

The much maligned and presumably lonely d4… I incorporated the d4 to provide a scale
of NPC below the PCs without using single d6s consistently. The d4 represents the
average mook or citizen, while the d6 and above represent the heroic PCs and truly nasty
villains that fate dictates they oppose.

All those other Funky Dice

Pulp Adventures in a Hard Solar System uses the d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12. Such GM
nightmares as the d20 and d30 are not used. Honest. Tentacles? Tentacled Horror
[5d20]? I don’t know what you are talking about. Perhaps we need to increase your
dosage.

Double-Pumping on the first d8… wait, no…

Double-Pumping works almost as normal, except that Double-Pump Clichés start using
the d8 instead of the d6.

Which brings us to Character Generation

Players can not purchase Funky Dice at Character Generation, except where noted above.
The die pool still consists of 10 dice as normal (plus any bonus dice for Hooks & Tales).
I recommend requiring Hooks & Tales bonus dice be spent on Double- Pumps, Lucky
Shots, Questing Dice, Ships, Sidekicks, or Shield-Mates.

There are a couple of different ways to spread the 10 dice around that I recommend.
3,3,2,2 or 4,2,2,2. If you are not playing this specifically for laughs, I don’t recommend
the use of the “Classic Countdown” of 4,3,2,1. That Cliché (1) is apt to be more of a
curse in a serious game than a help. However, if I was running the game for laughs I
would require a cliché of (1)!

Alternatively, you might make that 1 die Cliché something like this:

Captain Rip “Cord” MacCordian:

Capt. Cord has put a lot of work in to his reputation as a horrible morning person. He has
carefully cultivated this reputation for many years to no avail.
Tramp Bulk Freighter Captain (4), Womanizing Gambler (3), Gunslinger (2),
Cranky Morning Person (1)

The Cliché with only one die does not necessarily have to be a “positive” trait that they
suck at, but a “negative” trait they suck at. Capt. Cord is actually a pretty friendly and
chipper person in the morning, but he tries to give the impression that he isn’t.

And yes, [d8] and (2d6) cost the same for PCs at character generation.

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Speaking of Clichés…
http://www.guyhoyle.net/risus/PulpCliches.htm

My philosophy is, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Guy Hoyle’s list of Pulp Clichés works
just fine for this setting with very little alteration. Different GMs will want to exclude
certain Clichés, and some might only be appropriate if you decide Mars and/or Venus
have native life. If that’s your thing go for it! In particular I recommend the Weird
Stories, Villains, Crime Does Not Pay, Western, and (most of the) General Clichés.

Version 2.1: I’ve added a modified list of these pulpy clichés as an appendix.

http://www.guyhoyle.net/risus/
Check out the rest of the site, too!

The only thing I need to add is the specific clichés that require Double-Pumps.

Telepath (communicating with only your mind, mind reading, being slightly touched)
Telekinetic (impersonating a poltergeist, choking people, possibly starting fires)
Medium (seeing things that aren’t there, talking to dead relatives, wearing black)
Cult Sorcerer/Priest/Poobah (violating natural law like a frat boy crashing a HS prom,
insane cackling, summoning powers that ought not be summoned)

My vision of psychic activity in general is inspired very much by Babylon 5 and Firefly.

If you are stumped for clichés checkout the other fan sites on the list at the official Risus
site. Also get the damn Companion already! It will only add to your enjoyment of the
game.

GM Section

Funky Dice: Important GM characters/challenges/etc. are built with 60- 72 points. Dice
available are d4, d6, d8, dl0, and dl2 only (and handfuls of d20s for those things that
cultists tend to call up without a plan for putting down). Characters with d4s represent the
average citizen, while heroes (like the PCs) are d6s. In general, a single cliché of 1 to 5
dice represents unnamed NPCs. Sometimes a named civilian might be required who
won't compete with or outshine the PCs. In these cases the GM is encouraged to build
such characters with 10-12 d4s.

Funky Rules of Thumb:

1) PCs do not receive Funky Dice at Character Generation (except as previously noted).
2) NPCs will not generally have more than one Funky cliché.
3)It might be helpful to think of it like this:
Citizen or Mook d4
Hero or Named Thug d6
Psychics and Masterminds d8

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Genetic Monstrosity d10
Eldritch Horror d12
The d8 or d10 might be just the thing for that Archvillian at the end of a story, too.

Appendix I

Boxcars & Breakthroughs: When I posted a question to the Risustalk mailing list about
this combination of Advanced Options, they were all nice enough to ignore me. I
suspected that meant I had probably not read the Companion closely enough. Sure
enough, when I went back to review it my answer was waiting for me. Sorry guys.

Due to the Rescaling explained previously, I believe it will be necessary to change a

“Boxcar” to a 4 (instead of a 6). The Boxcar & Breakthroughs rule remains unchanged.
(These rules appear in full in the Risus Companion. In short if all of your dice come up
“Boxcars” then you have experienced a “Breakthrough” and may role again, adding the
result.)

Alternatively, the GM might rule that a boxcar is whatever a die’s highest value is (4, 6,
8, 10, 12) or It’s still 6 and d4 norms are out in the cold.

[Ships,] Sidekicks, and Shield-Mates: Each player who is a crew (party) member on a
ship may spend dice on said Ship. Each player can buy a separate cliché for the ship.
Lucky Shots may also be bought for this ship using the player's dice bought (rather than
the dice spent).

Example: The first player splurges on the parties ship and spends I regular die, and both
bonus dice on the ship (at three dice spent in total he looks like a shoe in for ship’s owner
and captain):
Tramp Freighter Full of Surprises (3), Quirky AI (3), Heavy Duty Shields 5*, Lucky
Shots 3, Concealed Compartments (1).
The player spent 3 of their dice to buy 9 dice for the ship.

The second character is playing the crew mechanic, but only drops 1 for:
Highly Modified Engine that only I and God can keep running [1], Redundant Backup
systems 5.*
The player spent 1 of their dice to buy 3 dice for the ship.

And so on, but as of now we have: Tramp Freighter Full of Surprises (3), Quirky AI (3),
Concealed Compartments (1), Highly Modified Engine that only I and God can keep
running [1], Redundant Backup systems 5*, Heavy Duty Shields 5* Lucky Shots 3.

*Represented by Questing Dice. In the case of the shields, these may only be used in
asteroid fields and ship-to-ship combats. The "Backup Systems" are only for emergency
engine repairs, usually on the move.

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Sidekicks & Shield-mates is from the Risus Companion. Briefly, a player may exchange
dice of their own to create an allied NPC (or in this case, a ship). This exchange is on a 1
to 3 ratio.

Sample characters and ships:

• Loyal TFG Citizen (3d4)
• Inhuman(e) Space Pirate Captain (3d8)
• TFG Interceptor Craft (ld10)
• Super Soldier run amok (3d10)
• Fenster S. Pigeon, "The Fence": Fence( 4d4), Stool Pigeon(3d4), Rumormonger
(2d4), Upstanding Citizen (ld4). ..Two 3d Thugs, or one 6d gang; depends on
season and situation.
• Elder God Called Up By Mad Cultist [5d20], Innocent Catholic School Girl (d4)1

Appendix II

Noir-ish Sci-Fi Influences2: Movies & TV: Red Dwarf, Cowboy Bebop, Outland, Blade
Runner, Slipstream, Firefly, maybe the Aliens movies, Akira, Patlabor, Appleseed…
Novels (or short stories) by Alexander Jablakov, Philip K. Dick, H.P. Lovecraft…

I obviously recommend The Risus Companion, but it isn't strictly necessary. The rules
from it that are used are simple enough to require little explanation. I use for reference
and inspiration d20 Modem and d20 Future as well. Most d20 products are readily
available and all those classes are easily adapted to clichés. Other sci-fi games with a
greater or lesser amount of influence include Star Wars (WEG), Red Dwarf (Deep
7), Blue Planet (Biohazard), Cyberpunk 2020 (R. Talosorian), Star Trek (FASA), Star
Frontiers (TSR), Kromosome (TSR), and probably a couple I just can't remember.

1
Hey, those Cultists are a twisted lot; what do want?
2
I trust I don’t have to list actual Noir and detective fiction on this list. I mean, I’ve used the terms Noir
and Pulp enough, no?

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Brought to you by: I.O.R. Member #176.

Appendix the Third: Oh, that is so cliché!

What follows is a modified list stolen shamelessly from Guy Hoyle with only minor
changes and additions.

Hacker: Virtual breaking and entering, changing grades, violating FCC regs, money
laundering, war chalking

Stage Magician: sleight of hand, misdirection, the hand is quicker than the eye, sawing
people in half without hurting them, make dramatic gestures, wear tuxedo and top hat,
pull rabbit out of hat

Gold-digger: trade money for love, seduce the rich and elderly, disguise true nature, fall
in love for real with hero.

Jaded millionaire playboy/girl: throws around lots of cash, seen it all, drink gallons of
champagne, expect to be waited on

Circus Performer: walk tightrope, get shot out of cannon, swing from trapeze

Shell-shocked Veteran of The Colonial Wars: Terrified by loud noises, use rifles and
bayonnettes, reminisce about the war, nightmares

Movie Star: look glamorous, idolized by millions, sign autograph, memorize

lines/blocking, party into the wee small hours, seduce

Stunt Man: survive a great fall, throw fake punch, escape from crashing vehicle, slide
along a bar, look kinda like a movie star

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Nosy Reporter: sniff out a scoop, drink like fish, smoke like chimney, bang out a story,
protect sources, transcribe conversation

Aviator/Aviatrix: fly anything, tinker with engine, storm barns, make an emergency
landing

Concert Pianist: Virtuoso Performance, nimble fingers, impeccable evening wear

Professional Athlete: run, swim, jump, throw, wrestle, be a good sport

Daredevil: Escape from crashing vehicle, drive or fly any vehicle, survive a great fall,
leap across crevice, hang onto fedora

Lawman: Arrest criminals, interrogate criminals, drink gallons of bad coffee, smoke like
a chimney, find donut shop

Linguist: Know obscure languages, translate ancient inscriptions, pronounce the

unpronounceable

Stowaway or Hobo: hop tramp freighter, sing mournful songs, panhandle, do odd jobs,
war chalking, drink anything alcoholic

Physician: Diagnose illness, make house call, treat disease, stitch up wound, prescribe
remedy

Psychiatrist: Ask pointless or infuriating questions, analyze neurosis, make everything

relate to sex

TFG Soldier: clean rifle, fire rifle, know about tactics and strategy, sleep whenever you
can, stay awake during guard duty, gloat at Colonials

Clergyman: long-winded, preachy, forgive sinners, sermonize

University student: Booze it up, chase the opposite sex, cram for test

World-weary gunslinger: never refuse a challenge, shoot from the hip, never settle down,
drink plenty o' redeye, ride the range, Colonial sympathies

Saloon Girl: Have a heart of gold, “Buy a lady a drink, cowboy?”, dance with ruffians,
unspecified services, fall in love with handsome stranger

School Marm: Teach local kids and illiterate adults, hide true good looks, be prim and
proper

Colonial: Protect lunar assets, hate Earth and all her rules, have beautiful daughter who’s
in love with someone you hate

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Hard-Boiled Private Detective: broke all the time, never give up on a case, drink gallons
of bad coffee, incorruptible, doggedly pursue clues

Criminal: Pistol-whip victims, brutalize victims, take it on the lam, never squeal, plan
heist, steal things

Reformed Gangster: Old contacts, streetwise, keep nose clean, frequently suspected by
police, not trusted by other crooks

Gun Moll: Heavy makeup, sexy in a cheap and tawdry way, cynical

Gangster: Dark suit with black shirt & white tie, execute squealers, carry out the orders of
Mr. Big

G-Man: Agent of TFG law enforcement, smoke like a chimney, snappy black suit,
trenchcoat

Colonial Police Detective: Interrogate suspect, deduce, flash badge, drink gallons of stale
coffee, resent G-men trampling your “juris-my-diction”

Lawyer: Make deal, interrogate, know the law, twist the law, find loophole, “Objection!”

Informant: Know dangerous secrets, trade information for money

Fence: Receive hot property, make deals with crooks

Gadgeteer1: fix almost anything but it looks weird, invent half-baked contraptions, put
together intricate gadgets out of common objects, stammer and sweat around women

Rocket Pilot: Count backwards, look good in uniform, make command decisions, snappy
commands, seek out new worlds, carry out mission

Ship’s Engineer: Fix engines, complain about engines, hide still, know every nut and bolt
in ship

Absent-minded professor1: forget head if it wasn't attached, invent miraculous but

troublesome device or substance, leave isolation chamber doors ajar, accidentally shrink
the kids

Ghost Chaser: Know all about ghosts, set up cameras to catch ghosts on film, disprove
fake ghosts, get rid of real ghosts

Occult Scholar: Know weird phenomena, remember strange names, find ancient
incantation
1
Optionally Double-Pump.

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Bookshop owner: Obtain obscure titles, dust shelves, know where any book in the shop
is, know what’s in all the books

Antiquarian: Quote from obscure authors, know obscure facts, cite reference

Librarian: Sort books, find newspaper articles, shh!, find obscure information, repair
books

Anthropologist: Know aboriginal folktales, know tribal customs, eat disgusting things,
speak obscure languages

Masked Crusaders1: Solving unusual crimes or unraveling bizarre mysteries, Masked

Crusaders are the predecessors of the superhero. Though usually possessed of great
strength and cunning, they may also have a strange, signature power (like the ability to
cloud men’s minds or immunity to pain) or a special gadget (anaesthetic dart gun, smoke
grenades).

Masked Adventurer: wear strange costume, foil dastardly crime, track criminal to lair,
duke it out, escape from certain death, protect secret identity, drive flashy vehicle, send
clueless assistants on senseless tasks, rescue clueless assistants

Clueless Assistant: Perform senseless tasks for masked adventurer, wonder about
senseless tasks, blunder into traps

Ronin: Struggle with conscious, quote the Buddha, kick ass single handedly and armed
with antiques, hunt and be hunted by servants of Oriental Masterminds

And of course, the ever popular “ ‘blank’ Sidekick.”

Smile, smile, and be a villain…

Bloodthirsty Fiend: wield axe/knife/noose, surprise victim, hide from pursuers, insanely
strong, break into locked rooms

Sinister Warlord: conquer the solar system, devise fiendish tortures, utilize exotic
devices, create elaborate plots, explain plan to enemy before you kill him, hire henchman
without explaining what happened to the dozens of other henchmen you hired, secret
escape route, destroy secret base

Oriental Mystic1: Hypnotize do-gooders, be inscrutable, create illusion, quote Confucius

and Lao Tsu, order around local Yakuza or Triad gangs

1
Once again, possibly a Double-Pump.

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Snivelling Toady: Cringe and kowtow before the Master, fulfill his bidding to the letter,
apprehend hero’s girlfriend, menace droolingly, inadvertently give away the Master’s
plans, bungle job

Thug, Zombie, Mook, Villainous Red Shirt, Frankenstein’s Monster, Experiment Gone
Horribly Wrong, Rogue Cyborg, Death Dealing Robot Assassin, Ganger, etc.

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