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Justice, Inc. (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Justice, Inc. is a role-playing game
designed to simulate the adventure stories in the pulp magazine
s of the 1930s.
It was one of the first non-superhero applications of the point-based game system that had been developed for the Champions
superhero game. The generalized point system would eventually be published as the Hero System
, following in the footsteps of Chaosium
's Basic Role-Playing
System, but preceding GURPS
as a non-genre-specific game system.
, and was written by Aaron Allston
, Steve Peterson and Michael Stackpole. The two-volume set included a rulebook and campaign book containing a discussion of the pulp genre, the "Empire Club" campaign setting, a timeline of real-world events of the 1920s and '30s, and several pulp adventures.
Two supplements were published:
Both were written by Allston, and also included statistics for Chill
, Call of Cthulhu
and Daredevils
.
Unlike several other products in the "Hero" line, Justice, Inc. was not revised or republished in the decades after its release. However, Hero Games
finally published a Pulp Hero genre book that covers much of the same ground at the end of 2005.
and Fu Manchu
. It used most of the "Disadvantages" of Champions, but halved the points gained from them.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
designed to simulate the adventure stories in the pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s of the 1930s.
It was one of the first non-superhero applications of the point-based game system that had been developed for the Champions
Champions (role-playing game)
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games that is designed to simulate and function in a four-color superhero comic book world. It was created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer....
superhero game. The generalized point system would eventually be published as the Hero System
Hero System
The Hero System is a generic role-playing game system that developed from the superhero RPG Champions. It is used as the underlying mechanics of other Hero Games role-playing games such as Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, and Pulp Hero...
, following in the footsteps of Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
's Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
System, but preceding GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
as a non-genre-specific game system.
Publishing History
Justice, Inc. was published in July 1984 by Hero GamesHero Games
Hero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
, and was written by Aaron Allston
Aaron Allston
Aaron Allston is an American game designer and novelist of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for several role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's...
, Steve Peterson and Michael Stackpole. The two-volume set included a rulebook and campaign book containing a discussion of the pulp genre, the "Empire Club" campaign setting, a timeline of real-world events of the 1920s and '30s, and several pulp adventures.
Two supplements were published:
- Lands of Mystery (May 1985), a critically acclaimed sourcebook describing how to design and run "Lost WorldLost World (genre)The Lost World literary genre is a fantasy or science fiction genre that involves the discovery of a new world out of time, place, or both. It began as a subgenre of the late-Victorian imperial romance and remains popular to this day....
" adventures, like those found in the fiction of Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
and H. Rider HaggardH. Rider HaggardSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
. ISBN 0-917481-60-7 - Trail of the Gold Spike (August 1984), an adventureAdventure (role-playing games)An adventure is either a published or otherwise written collection of plot, character, and location details used by a gamemaster to manage the plot or story in a role-playing game. Each adventure is based upon a particular gaming genre and is normally designed for use with a specific game or gaming...
set around a ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
gold mine.
Both were written by Allston, and also included statistics for Chill
Chill (role-playing game)
Chill is a role-playing game that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films. Players take on the role of envoys, members of a secret organization known as S.A.V.E...
, Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
and Daredevils
Daredevils (role-playing game)
Daredevils is a Pulp role-playing game that was written by Bob Charrette and Paul Hume and first published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1982. The box set included a staple-bound rulebook, a staple-bound scenario book, a cardstock character sheet, and a three-panel, cardstock gamemaster screen. ...
.
Unlike several other products in the "Hero" line, Justice, Inc. was not revised or republished in the decades after its release. However, Hero Games
Hero Games
Hero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
finally published a Pulp Hero genre book that covers much of the same ground at the end of 2005.
System
Justice, Inc. used a variation on the point-based rules that were then being published in the Champions superhero game. It placed a heavier emphasis on skills, used lower point totals, and introduced "Talents" rather than "Powers", simulating the paranormal (but not superheroic) abilities of genre characters like the ShadowThe Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
and Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
. It used most of the "Disadvantages" of Champions, but halved the points gained from them.
Publications
- Justice Inc. (1984)
- Trail of the Gold Spike (1984), by Aaron Allston
- Lands of Mystery (1985), by Aaron Allston (ISBN 0-917481-60-7)