"Two-Fisted Tales - Revised Edition" is a 196 page PDF that retails for $14.95 US and the softcover for $32.95. It is written by Matt Stevens and produced by Brett M. Bernstein for Precis Intermedia. It is a complete roleplaying game that utilizes its own ruleset for pulp gaming and is available from rpgnow, dtrpg and their own site at www.pigames.net. The product has 7 chapters and an appendix and is bookmarked by chapter, topic and subtopic.
The product opens with an introductory chapter that spans 11 pages or so. This section provides us with a brief overview of the pulp stories including its history. It discusses the pulp adventures within the context of the fantasy, horror, science fiction, mystery and hero stories that spanned the pulp era. It provides an introduction to the basics of a roleplaying game, the role of gamemasters and players, how scenes are described, and lists the conventions and glossary for this particular game. There is also an extensive list of pulp authors and a discussion of books on the pulp genre.
The second chapter of is focused on character creation. Each character is defined mechanically by eight attributes (brains, luck, mind, muscle, reflexes, savvy, status, and weird). Skills are represented by characteristics called specialties and masteries - each specialty and masteries is linked with one of the attributes (brains, mind, reflexes, savvy). The other abilities grant other game benefits such as combat bonus to damage and resistance, additional playing cards to use to adjust actions, control your wealth and reputation or even control your access to magic or extraordinary attributes. The specialties available cover things like: forensics, medicine, occult, alertness, burglary, husbandry, stealth, carousing, resist cold (he notes as winter in Canada approaches), acrobatics, archery, gun-fighting, sports, art, intimidation, magic, seduction and many, many more including the option to create your own. Each specialty adds a 4-point bonus to relevant abilities when appropriate. For even further skill specialization characters could possess masteries such as alchemy, ancient languages, astrology, chemistry, electronics, geology, law, parapsychology, physics, wiretapping, camouflage, escape, lockpicking, sixth sense, weapons, detect lies, fast talk, mimicry, singing, streetwise, women's intuition and many, many more. To take a master a character must already have an associated specialty; taking a mastery increases the bonus to 8-points when appropriate. If want your character to potentially be more vulnerable you can take defects (character drawbacks) that provide a penalty of a mechanical or roleplaying nature in exchange for points that can be used in character creation. The number of defects you take is limited to 5 hero points worth so that you stay within the flavour of the genre. The last bit of this chapter focuses on how a player puts together a character. Basically, once the gamemaster picks a setting and power level (gritty to amazing), the player selects one of more that two default templates (like costumed vigilante or explorer), the player can them spend character points on modifying abilities, modifying wealth or reputation, adding specialties or masteries, and buying schticks (if allowed, see next paragraph). Just as important or more important the player needs to create a name, description, habits, code of conduct, motivations/goals, background, contacts and style of speech. In this product they seem to be as important if not more important than the actual mechanics because as I read the book it feels story is more important than numbers in this game. The chapter closes with a sample of character generation, which I find really useful whenever I'm trying to pick up a new system.
The third chapter deals with stchicks - strange, bizarre or unusual talents found in pulp adventures. Gamemasters must give permission for schticks to be taken and they probably would be best restricted to fantastic or amazing settings in my opinion. They are broken up into categories for Gadgets, Martial Arts, Hypnotics, Magic Spells, Animal Powers, and Other schticks. Gadgets have a point cost and a target value. In order to create the device you need to meet the target value. For example a Personal Rocket Pack has a cost of 2 hero points and a target of Brains (Science) [Physics] 20 meaning the character needs to have a Brains score with bonuses from a science specialty and physics mastery of at least 20 to invent this rocket pack; he would also need to invest 2 hero points. You could find a rocket pack and figure out how to use it for 2 hero points but if it was lost or stolen you wouldn't get those points back. To learn a Martial Arts schtick like Body Equilibrium (to walk on water) you need to have a reflex specialty in martial arts and a Mind attribute of 19. All the martial arts schtick require the martial arts specialty, a minimum Mind score and an investment of hero points. Hypnotic schticks require a target number from brains with a hypnotism mastery and an investment of hero points. Some hypnotic schticks include entering a death-like state, planting suggestions, being invisible (like the Shadow), force someone to sleep and many more. Magic spells consist of two types - ones that you are skilled enough to learn and memorize and those spells that must be cast from a library or with necessary materials (scrolls, spellbooks, trappings of magic, et cetera). To learn a spell you must have a target Brains score with an occult specialty. Memorized spells are more expensive than library spells and library spells a fumbled roll can cause a backlash. The spells in this section range from animal form and animate golem to travel to the spirit world and ward [against being]. There more than two dozen spells detailed. The Animal schticks are limited to animal speech and animal companions. They vary in value as to how encompassing they are or how powerful the companion. The last set of schticks provide other weird abilities that could be compared to super-powers. They require a number of character points and a target value for the weird attribute. By being linked to weird, this abilities are relationally more expensive than other schticks because there are no specialties or masteries to add a bonus to weird. Some of these schticks include darkvision, eiditic memory, plastic face or poison gas.
The fourth chapter clocks in at about 10 pages and deals with equipment and money. The economic system used for Two-Fisted Tales is really quite simple. Every character has a wealth rating (determined from their Status attribute), and if an item is less expensive than their wealth rating you can buy the item, if it is equal to your wealth you can buy the item but your wealth is reduced by 1 and if its greater than your wealth you cannot buy it. Melee weapons deal a damage bonus to your muscle attribute's base damage and ranged weapons have a set value. Armor such as a leather jacket increases your resistance to attacks and vehicles are listed with a movement score (for reflexes) and a mph. There is not a list of general equipment instead it provides the GM with an expense table vs. 1930's money to have the gamemaster set prices on the fly.
Action resolution forms the basis of chapter five and spans 30 pages or so. In the world of two-fisted tales there are actions that are sure to succeed (such as opening an unlocked door) and sure to fail (running backward in time). Other actions have a chance of success or failure and are governed by checks or rolls. An attribute check is a simple comparison between your attribute and the target value, if your attribute is higher you action will succeed as directed by the gamesmaster. In a attribute roll 2d10's are rolled - one is added and one is subtracted and the result is added to your attribute before comparison. Other factors like rolling 9s, rolling doubles, using cards (as determined by you luck attribute), specialties or masteries. It goes into more detail on combat, advanced combat actions, wounds and healing, environmental hazards, fear, conducting investigations, and performing legally questionable actions. Every character has the same amount of health, it does not change as characters progress through their adventures. If a character suffers 5 or more points of damage from a single hit he bleeds uncontrollably or falls unconscious. If a character takes 10 points of damage from a single hit they die and if they take 20 points in total over a series of attacks they die as well (tip to pulp heroes - learn to surrender). The advanced combat actions allow for arm-twists, choke-holds, disarming, pinning, sweeps, tackles and throws as well as driving actions, hypnosis, reloading and defending yourself. The Fright mechanic is quite a bit different from the rest of the mechanics but seem to capture how horror works in a lovecraftian type pulp quite well. There are many combat and investigation examples in this section which makes learning the system very easy to do.
Chapter six focuses on the mechanics of character advancement. In Two-Fisted Tales, a character advances when they successfully challenge a bonus area. Bonus areas include cool ideas - when a character does something exceptional that makes the game more exciting, experience - did the character accomplish what they set out to do or have new experiences, roleplaying - risking your character's life to remain true to the genre, and virtue - behaves like a hero but not necessarily a goody-two-shoes. This system rewards players for keeping the game focused on the genre and participating actively. When a challenge is successful, the player gains hero points that can be spent discovering new specialties, masteries and schticks; attributes can also be increased.
The last chapter is focused on the art of gamemastering a Two-Fisted Tales story. It comprises the last 25% of the product and provides a wealth of information to make gamemastering easier. It discusses how to set-up the game with respect to setting, characters, power level, magic and science. It provides advice for creating adventures - including a random adventure plot generator, advice for creating non-player characters and villainous templates like the assassin, bug-eyed monster, cult leader, femme fatale and many others (some of which could maybe serve as a redeemed villain type of hero). It provides basic rules for monsters and animals, random tables for adventure locations, a discussions of MacGuffins (like the Maltese Falcon), and advice for telling a good story.
The product ends with an appendix of collected tables, a character sheet, an index, an ad for their other products and a demo of their pulp disposable heroes paper minis. I've reviewed the disposable heroes line before at Rpgnow and the preview does not do that product justice because the actual interface for disposable heroes at Precis Intermedia website is really flexible and provides a great service for the cost. One of the gems hidden at the end of this product is a reference to the free downloads at Precis Intermedia website, as of the recording of this review there are rules for archaic weapons (for Lanhkmar), more defects, more schticks, free villain Npcs, more motivations, more masteries and more character templates all for free. There is also a gamer advantage subscription that grants you access to 3 more villains and 3 adventures.
The product is extremely well-designed and edited. The artwork gives a consistent genre feel to the work and the writing was engaging and makes the whole product very easy to pick-up and start playing.
9/10
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