H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) and Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) are two pillars in the New World Gothic castle of fantastic fiction. They are especially interesting in their surprising aspects. They both died young, they both lived sheltered and geographically-constricted lives, they both absorbed influences from wide and deep sources which they then used to create wonderfully complex and vast universes that they have shared with writers long after their passing, and they both lived for sharing their creative energies with other writers through letters and encouraging words, including each other.
Lovecraft the New Englander drew from Poe, Machen, and Dunsany to fashion the crucible from which his Cthulhu Mythos emerged, the indifferent and destructive universe of what humans would call monsters from beyond space and time. He was a master at delineating the gulf between what terrible fate was suggested and why it could not be described in all its horror.
Robert E. Howard the Texan connected to semi-mythic history and the existential journey of one determined man through all the dangers of men and beasts. He is the father of an American sword and sorcery, a juxtaposition of power that seems illogical but also somehow inevitable, almost an allegory of the wars of the 20th Century -- what you cannot see may kill you from afar, and what you can see may kill you up close. The survivor must be ready and skilled and wary at all times.
The legacies of these two writers last and grow to this day in literature, art, and film, even language. We stock their writings and associated contemporary writers as well as some of the more interesting and provocative writers working with the generous heritage that Lovecraft and Howard bequeathed to an increasingly uneasy world.
Pulp Cthulhu Rules Supplement: Two-Fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos
Pulp Cthulhu Rules Supplement: Two-Fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos
Calling All Heroes! It’s Time To Take The Fight to Cthulhu!
Pulp Cthulhu is a game of two-fisted adventure, weird science, dark deeds, and brave heroes. With this book, some roleplaying dice, and the Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, you have everything you need to adventure and explore games set in the pulp genre.
Tired of your investigators dying in quick succession when jaunting around the world in a desperate bid to save humanity? Wishing that sometimes your investigator could make a stand instead of hiding and waiting for the eldritch horror to pass? Pulp Cthulhu ups the ante and provides you with tougher, more capable heroes—ready to take on the villainous machinations of the Cthulhu Mythos!
Here you will find an adapted character generation system, rules for psychic powers, sanity, augmented skills, and weird science, as well as tips for Keepers on developing and running pulp-style games. Also, you will find information on “the Pulps” themselves and the 1930s era when America was in the grip of the Great Depression and on the road to World War II. A collection of pulp villains and monsters, and a range of pulp organizations provide the Keeper with a firm basis for running pulp style scenarios and campaigns. Four action-packed scenarios round out the book, getting your Pulp Cthulhu games started with a bang.
The guidance in this book means that you can apply the Pulp Cthulhu rules to any setting and time period, enabling Keepers to bring the flavor and action of pulp to the classic 1920s or modern-day eras, as well as anywhere else they see fit.
A Time For Heroes And A Time For Adventure!