Plan the ultimate! Retro-Pulp campaign

[Yora]

This is somewhat humorous, but also serious. As Pulp Fantasy generally is by its very nature.
I am a huge fan of the elusive, but also very distinctive pulp feel, and want to make it part of my setting. I personally prefer a somewhat subdued approach of fantasy, but for the sake of getting as many ideas as possible, let's make this the ultimate retro-pulp fantasy campaign. Add anything you can think of that should go into such a campaign, be it landscapes, creatures, NPCs, cities, technologies, magical wonders, or adventure hooks. Even if it contradicts other things people have added before or seems inconsistent with the established style or genre. Consistency is not a concept known to pulp adventures.
Give me everything you got that makes you think of works like Princess of Mars, Conan, Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser, Mystara, Dark Sun, Xen'drik, and perhaps that Dune adaptation from the 80s and Flash Gordon. All I ask is to try to keep it generally fantasy overall, with not too much space tech and aliens.

For a start giant apes and dinosaurs! You can't have truly pulpy adventures without giant apes and dinosaurs.

Also snake men sorcerers as one of the major faction of antagonists.

[Mutazoia]

This is somewhat humorous, but also serious. As Pulp Fantasy generally is by its very nature.
I am a huge fan of the elusive, but also very distinctive pulp feel, and want to make it part of my setting. I personally prefer a somewhat subdued approach of fantasy, but for the sake of getting as many ideas as possible, let's make this the ultimate retro-pulp fantasy campaign. Add anything you can think of that should go into such a campaign, be it landscapes, creatures, NPCs, cities, technologies, magical wonders, or adventure hooks. Even if it contradicts other things people have added before or seems inconsistent with the established style or genre. Consistency is not a concept known to pulp adventures.
Give me everything you got that makes you think of works like Princess of Mars, Conan, Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser, Mystara, Dark Sun, Xen'drik, and perhaps that Dune adaptation from the 80s and Flash Gordon. All I ask is to try to keep it generally fantasy overall, with not too much space tech and aliens.

For a start giant apes and dinosaurs! You can't have truly pulpy adventures without giant apes and dinosaurs.

Also snake men sorcerers as one of the major faction of antagonists.

Honestly any 1950's B movie would be great inspiration, such as Mesa of Lost Women (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046066/)....and while your at it, throw in the original Land of the Lost TV series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOa2sVws-m4) from the 70's.

[Earthwalker]

I always prefered my pulp apes to be normal sized just inteligent and able to talk. (Maybe with ray guns or suitible magical substitute)

When did it all get so serious I remember the good old days when we used to punch out gorillas on the moon.

[Mutazoia]

When did it all get so serious I remember the good old days when we used to punch out gorillas on the moon.

Unfortunately the gorillas were driven to extinction by the Amazon Women on the Moon (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092546/).

[Yora]

Okay. This is now a setting element. The moon is inhabited and ruled by a race of amazons.

Though there are many possible ways to travel between the two worlds, my preference would be to take a hint from Onderon and Dxun and make the most common form of transportation riding on dragons.

[Mutazoia]

Okay. This is now a setting element. The moon is inhabited and ruled by a race of amazons.

Though there are many possible ways to travel between the two worlds, my preference would be to take a hint from Onderon and Dxun and make the most common form of transportation riding on dragons.


Airships....dragon riders have been so over done, but then so have airships. Maybe sky-whales (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/16/40/80/164080b63a37371fcb51df53d9a49f4a.jpg) (or this) (http://i.imgur.com/uVhdDgq.jpg)

[Kol Korran]

Ok, let's see...
A HUGE death ray machine on the moon, about to blow the earth. (With fantasy it could just an epic powerful spell focusing lots of crystal's powers and so on.

The land masses are remains of old gods, or they may be prisons to old gods. (And there need to be some sort of special crystals that can DO NOTHING except imprison/ unlock the prisons of such gods. Usually 4-5 crystals?)

There is a huge evil mountain, surrounded by Lava. On the mountain lives a very nasty red dragon, or a powerful sorcerer, or a sorcerer who is also a dragon. The lava never seems to cool however... :smallwink:

Somewhere in the world thee is a super special sword, and only it can kill some super villain.

There is a "Den of scum and villainy", with pirates, thieves, cut throats, and general lawlessness. However, the best information can be had there. There is NO WAY that the thieves guild doesn't learn of you coming into town, and trying to mess with you. The den exist on a major water way of some sort.

The horde... Possibly of orcs, possibly of goblins, possibly of giants, maybe some weirder creatures such as harpies. There is a great wasteland where these people live in squalor, and pose no real threat because they were never unified. However, a new leader now rises, bringing the clans in line into one mighty monstrous army.

One powerful and highly righteous champion of good has had their faith shaken, (Some injustice to a close one), and turned utterly 180 into the darkest evil, though s/he might still be sympathized with.

Current ideas at least, may come with more later.

[endur]

I had this great idea ... Party is beset by underdark foes (army of female dark elves), mind flayers, other wierd creatures ....

But ... the creatures aren't from "our" underdark ... the creatures are from the underdark of the Moon ... or Mars ... or somewhere else.

[Thrudd]

A wizard/scientist growing weird creatures in cloning vats. Half man/half animals, combinations of different animals and plants, grotesque demon/monster/mutant hybrid things.

Hawk men!

Animals/dinosaurs that are not quite the same as they are on our earth- eight legged lizards, gorillas with four arms, dinosaurs that are not like any real dinosaur we know of... A tyrannosaur with a big horn on its nose. Carnivorous Triceratops with an extra set of legs. Basically add extra legs and/or horns and/or wings to things.

[Yora]

Okay, so we have planet with a giant moon, which is the home to amazons and dark elves, and travel between the two worlds is done by space whale.

On the planet we have the evil serpent men, and I also want to add the island empire of Talantis. The Talantians also build air ships, which can fly to the moon as well. There is also the great dragon sorcerer, who reminds me terribly of Dark Sun, but for the Ultimate Retro-Pulp Setting there are no bonus-points for originality.
Hawk Men would probably be one of the minor races, unless someone has a really cool idea to give them a more prominent role.

On the planet, there are giant apes and dinosaurs. How does the environment on the moon differ from that? I think it should probably be even more hardcore and dangerous and only for experienced heroes. Generic brand Mind Flayers* should probably be native to the moon.

Regarding religion, I think true gods should be totally weird and alien beings from a different plane of reality and beyond human comprehension. There are lots of temples in all the cities, but only the high priests really know what kind of thing they are worshipping. Gods don't intervene and don't reveal themselves to normal people.
The colossal stone bodies that cover the landscape are the remains of titans, who were very powerful, but not true gods. There also is no real difference between a sorcerer and a priest, their magic is all the same thing.

Based on all these things, I think the tech level for weapons and armor should be Antiquity. No nights in plate armor or samurai, or anything like that. That means chainmail, dragonhide, breast plate, and boob plate.

*That's important. Official Dungeon & Dragons Mind Flayers (TM) just wouldn't be the same thing.