Pulp Characters

Rick “Bubbles” Bauer, Salvage Diver

(Submitted by Hank Harwell cleireac@netzero.net )

Clichés:

Diver (4)*
Carousing Seaman (3)
Poker-Faced Card Sharp (2)**
Ship’s Cook (2)***

Description: Slightly rotund, short man with fair skin, bright red hair and green eyes

Story: “Bubbles” is probably one of the most competent salvage divers on the coast. The company he works for is the one that is usually sought after for most complicated operations, partly because of Bauer’s reputation. He is an ex-navy diver, with a few war stories he is quite willing to share.

He was married, but his wife contracted a debilitating illness, and Bubbles took up cooking in order to help around the house. When his wife died, he returned to what he knew best – diving – although he does help around the galley. If anyone were to criticize his cooking, he breaks down, remembering how much his late wife (Emma) loved his cooking….

Hook: Defensive about his cooking skills

Adventure Ideas: PC’s may recruit Bubbles for a salvage operation, or they may get into a fight with him in a seedy dockside bar…

Notes:

*Diver requires standard diving equipment
** Poker-Faced Card Sharp requires playing cards
*** Ship’s cook requires equipment dependant on type of meal desired:
Simple = Basic ingredients and common utensils
Medium = Fresh foodstuffs and standard kitchen
Complex = Fully stocked kitchen, restaurant quality

Carson Hill (Famed adventurer and world-traveling archaeologist who believes he’s the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince)

(Submitted by Guy Hoyle ghoyle1@airmail.net)

Famous archaeologist and explorer (4)
Brooding reincarnation of pharaoh Horus-Re (4)
Variety of well-trained birds [2]

Hook: Past life keeps interfering with his present life.

Story: Carson Hill’s interest in ancient Egypt began when he was a small boy, but it actually began thousands of years before that. Hill is the reincarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh, Horus-Re, who was murdered by the priest Ankhetamun, his rival for the hand of Princess Selaya. One of Carson Hill’s earliest dreams was of being mummified while still alive. The vividness of his dreams led to his study of archaeology, Egyptology in particular.

Hill’s life was surrounded by omens involving birds of prey, the sun, Egypt, and the Nile. He developed a keen interest in falconry, including an almost empathic bond with these birds of prey. Fortune-tellers and mediums uniformly told him of his existence as a mighty but forgotten Egyptian ruler named Horus-Re. As a man of science, he scoffed at all this, knowing that there was no such ruler as Horus-Re. However, on a dig in Egypt, Hill discovered the forgotten tomb of Horus-Re. The many artifacts and inscriptions within the tomb awakened his knowledge of his true nature, as a reincarnation of the mysterious warrior-pharaoh. He recognized that many of the events of his life as Carson Hall reflected events in the life of Horus-Re.

Watched over by his faithful birds, Carson Hill broods on both the past and the future, waiting for destiny to fulfill itself. Watched over by his beloved falcons (symbols of the Egyptian god Horus, King of the Gods), he has accepted a job as museum curator to prepare for his beloved, and his murderer.

(Egyptian Pharaohs were regarded as incarnations of falcon-headed Horus, God of the Sun and King of the Gods. The “Forgotten Pharaoh”, Horus-Re, was noted in his time for his rapport with birds of all kinds, especially the falcons of Horus. He fell in love with the betrothed of Ankhetamun, his chief priest. The cuckolded priest gave each of the lovers a potion that induced a death-like trance and had them mummified while still alive, pronouncing a curse upon them, and himself.)

The falcons, while seemingly intelligent, aren't really supernatural in and of themselves. They respond very well to Hill, can figure out in general most of what he wants, and at least a few of them tend to follow him around wherever he goes, even in the city.

Shamus Killduggon, Antiquity Dealer and Cultural Ambassador for the Limerick Republican Army.

(Submitted by jcwmbes isjohnm@is.cityu.edu.hk)

Clichés:

Loan shark (5)
Antique hunter (2)
Darts athlete (2)
Irish dancer (1)

Story: Mostly just looking for that pot of gold over the rainbow.

Killduggon trotted over to old Blighty to avoid potato blight and cultural persecution from his next-door neighbors in Limerick. Fleet of foot, with a supernatural nose for the trail of gold, and plenty of resourcefulness when it comes to the lending/recovery business, our Shamus can kick arse with grace to be sure.

Hook. Devoutly religious with many strange romano-celtic rituals to keep the guilt at bay.

Adventure ideas: Too many to mention.

Laurie “Grease” King, Airplane Mechanic

(Submitted by Hank Harwell cleireac@netzero.net )

Clichés:

Crackerjack Mechanic (5)*
Trivia-Spouting Baseball Fan (3)
Pilot (2)
Ballroom Dancer (1)

Description: Age 24, slight build, medium-length dishwater-blonde hair (usually pulled back or hidden under a baseball cap), brown eyes.

Story: “Grease” (short for “Grease monkey”) is the only female airplane mechanic in the San Francisco Bay area. Her gender however does not negate her ability to keep in the air nearly any airplane ever made. She is the daughter of one of the best mechanics around, and learned her way around an engine practically before she could read.

Laurie is in reality a very attractive young woman, but her usual dress (coveralls and a baseball cap) and the large amount of engine grease covering her face often discourage all but the most persistent suitors.

While she loves what she does, she harbors a secret fantasy to be Fred Astaire’s dancing partner…

Hook: A Female in a Male world…

Adventure Ideas: The PC’s may have need of her skills in order to keep their plane flying. She may also be a source of information for the PC’s of any activity going on in the hangars/at the airport.

* Notes: The Crackerjack Mechanic cliché requires the use of at least a standard mechanic’s tool kit. However, if she can scrounge up some bailing wire and chewing gum, she might be able to make do (GM’s discretion).

Hans Oberyodle,Financial Security Consultant (Safe Breaker)

(Submitted by jcwmbes isjohnm@is.cityu.edu.hk)

Clichés:

Rock climber (4)
Clockwork mechanic (3)
Alpine soldier (2)
Linguist (1)

Description/Story: Blond, lederhosen wearing tanned and rugged professional thief. A total fascination in overcoming any security system, rustic or high tech, before and up to the present day (1900’s). Belly laughs in the face of avalanches, a master of verbal disguise, and able digest the gristliest of sausages.

Hook: Trouble deciding whose side he’s on (very indecisive).

Adventure ideas: Can be seen on the side of good or evil. Can be swayed in any direction eventually. Will definitely be drawn to any scheme that involves breaking into places and grabbing the loot. Definitely open to money laundering and cross border smuggling schemes.

Prof. Maarten de Ruyter

(Submitted by Ken MacLennan kenmaclenn@yahoo.com)

Clichés:

World-Class Oceanographer (4)
Crackpot Experimental Archaeologist (3)
Brawny Sailing Man (2)
Student of World Languages (1)

Description: De Ruyter is, to be blunt, a crude caricature of Thor "Kon Tiki" Heyerdahl, tall, blond, and brawny, with a Dutch rather than a Norwegian background. Like Heyerdahl, he delights in reconstructing possible versions of ancient events through experiment, ignores the theoretical and methodological strictures of relevant disciplines, and cherry-picks evidence to support his contentions. Unlike Heyerdahl (whom I give the benefit of the doubt on at least this count), most of de Ruyter's "scholarship" is really an excuse to build and sail wooden boats and rafts, or to chop down a bunch of trees to build a fort or a Trojan horse, or something equally silly and he-man outdoorsy.

Robert (Robby) A. Smith

Clichés:

Hobo (4)
Alcoholic (2)
Sailing man (3)
Gambler (1)

Description: Robby is a kind of guy you become close friends with. With a long beard and a jolly attitude you think to your self "Santa is Real...".

But come the next day he will of forgotten who you are. He owns a boat and would be glad to sail you anywhere within the Great Lakes....For the right price. Also he is an amateur gambler, but he knows a few tricks that help him win. He can be found any where there is Alcohol in Chicago.

Tools: Poker Cards and Chips, Wallet, small pocket knife, straw hat, 6 bottles of Jim Bean (Whiskey)

Hooks: N/A

Tales: N/A

Farrell Quinn

Description

This handsome, devil-may-care hero of Hollywood’s most exciting swashbucklers, who likes his whiskey old and his women young, is also a spy on the Hollywood underworld working for the US Government.

Cliches

Hard-drinking Hollywood swashbuckler with an eye for the ladies (6)
Trouble-making scoundrel with a penchant for excitement (4)
Reluctant secret agent for the US Government (2)

Hooks

Obsessed with women and booze; plagued by lawyers and jealous husbands; spying on Hollywood underworld for the US Government

Tale

After being kicked out of several respectable Australian schools, Farrell Quinn was headed for trouble. A series of steady jobs proved to be anything but steady, and the natural athlete found himself just a few short steps ahead of persistent lawmen and jealous husbands. After a series of adventures, such as prospecting for gold, sailing around the world, and fighting for Irish independence, he eventually found himself in Hollywood, where he was “discovered” after a few small roles in minor films. The charismatic Australian found a niche for himself as a leading man in larger-than-life romantic adventures such as “Trouble in Tortuga”, “The Queen’s Highwayman”, “Blood on the Sails”, “Duel in Damascus”, “Aces and Angels”, and any other movie which called for dashing good looks, a natural athletic gift, and suave sophistication. His drinking and debauchery are as legendary as his stamina. His adventures on the screen also frequently lead to adventures in real life, as when he stopped a Communist plot to infiltrate Hollywood, or his role in capturing the notorious mob boss Vittorio “The Gladiator” Galliatore in a duel that was captured on film on the set of the Roman-era epic, “Burning Eagles”. This didn’t go unnoticed by the US Government, which offered to “ignore” his staggering income tax debt as long as he acted as a secret government agent. Faced with the choice of working for Uncle Sam or being deported, Quinn decided that he couldn’t disappoint his fans by depriving them of his movies.

Lady Clara Fort, Countess of MacBride.

Description

Beautiful British aristocrat with a penchant for adventure of an archaeological nature

Cliches

Gun-Toting Globetrotter Seeking Long-Lost Treasures (6)
Beautiful Thrillseeking Tomboyish British Millionairess with a Mistrust of Authority (5)

Lucky Shots [ ] [ ] [ ]

Hook

Praised for the numerous sites of archaeological value she has discovered; reviled for the treasures she has plundered.

Tale

Clara Fort, daughter of the Count of MacBride, was very much the tomboy as a girl, which irritated her parents to no end. Educated at the best of schools, excelling in her studies, her rebellious streak and love of outdoor adventure brought her into constant conflict with the school administration. Her love of guns brought many predictions of a bad end.

Her family connections enabled her to indulge her love for antiquities by accompanying some of the world’s greatest archaeologists on many famous expeditions. The Golden Fleece, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Lost Tomb of Horus-Re were all discovered by her. Others were also interested in treasures of the past for their own nefarious purposes, and Clara was instrumental in foiling their fiendish schemes. When encounters with such reprehensible villains tuned violent, her nimble wits, athletic prowess, and penchant for gunplay often enabled her to frustrate their plans and save the treasures for the benefit of humanity.

Clara has a love-hate relationship with the archaeological community. Many noted scholars decry her as a tomb-robber, even though many of them are no better themselves. Professional jealousy at the significance of her finds might be a reason for such hostility. However, almost all of the archaeologists she has worked with have a much better opinion of her character and activities, claiming that she has preserved treasures that would have been lost to the ages had she not intervened.