This is a time period popular with some fans online; what I'm wondering is, does this addition to the Shadowfist world in the CCG make it a possible addition to the Feng Shui RPG?

doesnt the book say something like, "theres always only 4 junctures open at any one time"... so which would you close (i vote for 1850 myself)

We've had as many as six going in our campaign; it got a bit confusing, but we tend to play a little bit less open-ended story than many GMs do, so moving from one time to another worked well.

Now, here's the great bit about the '35 juncture (as we call the Pulp Juncture); Pulp _screams_ for magic to be high. Thing is, that means that the Tranimals either briefly are out of power at this time, or that they have a tolerance grown out of being born into it. We picked the second option.

By doing so, we suddenly have some magick-resistant Tranimals and some not-so-magick-resistant Tranimals. What's more, if the Magick modifier is positive, this means that the non-'35 Tranimals have a hard time entering into '35 for long periods. Also, the Netherworld becomes open to all Tranimals (hey, the Sorcery Modifier is negative...bonus to the Lodge!) Add to it the tweak that the Unspoken Name of 1935 is in fact the _old_ Name from 1850 (turns out the deal was for the '50 Name to get one of the slots at the Fountain of Youth in return for his support of the '96 Name), and you suddenly have the major plot line of my campaign; the Ascended War.

Why is it you feel that a pulp genre should be high magic? Aside from fiendish cackling Eastern sorcerers, which have A place in the pulps, most of what I think of as "pulp" doesn't have much magic in it.

Juncture 1 S.M. + Juncture 2 S.M. + ... + Juncture N S.M. = X

X + Netherworld S.M. = 0
X = -(Netherworld S.M.)

And I've always thought in terms of The Shadow and of Nazis and Archaeologists Looking For Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, and then those Things Man Was Not Meant To Know - being gross, ugly, and monsterous - then does nasty things to those foolish people Looking For Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. And eat them.

Thanks for the information on the Netherworld, Bob.

Despite the movie/radio "hypnotism" version of the Shadow, and ancient artifacts in movies like Indiana Jones, or even more supernatural stuff in the recent Mummy film (I never saw the second one)... magic isn't all that prevalent in the everyday world of the pulps. The countryside is not populated by ogres and hopping vampires, nor does the government use abominations. It's the world of the 30s, possibly with some "secret magic" happening behind the scenes. So that to me doesn't suggest a positive modifier.

On the other hand, a -2 seems a bit harsh - maybe a -1 or a 0 would be my pick. Although if you had a character like the mummy priest from the recent Mummy film, his base sorcery AV would be high enough that he wouldn't CARE about a -2. :) And ditto with artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant. It would always get a big modifier for plot advancement, in my book.

The pulps to me also means things like Dick Tracy, The Phantom, The Rocketeer (to name some movies) - oh damn, mentioning the Phantom movie is a bad example because they put the stupid crystal skulls in. But in the original Phantom comic strips, or the original Shadow pulp stories, there's no magic at all.

http://www.tcel.com/~morrolan/fengshui/pulp/

In a word -- No.

I don't know about Shadowfist, but with respect to Feng Shui, Robin has always told us he didn't want to open additional "official" junctures. People are free to do as they like in their own games, of course, but we're not planning any materials of that sort.

The theory works in reverse, too. You don't need any new books to play a pulp-style Feng Shui adventure (Secret War or not). The Feng Shui rulebook has everything you need in it already. Blood of the Valiant and Thorns of the Lotus add some eastern mysticism, and a good DVD collection does the rest for you. It's sort of crazy for me to say this (in my line of work), but you don't need us to print a Pulp Juncture book to validate your pulp-style entertainment. Just go and play and have a great time. Tell us how it goes here on the forums. All will be well.

The fact is that the needs of the CCG are different from our needs for the RPG. Like you, I'm eager to see Z-Man's 1935 expansion. Like you, I may use it to inspire my own Feng Shui adventures...

(This isn't to say that the benefits of a book on odd eras or temporary Netherworld portals hasn't occurred to me... it has.)

word,
Will Hindmarch
Feng Shui Guy
Atlas Games

So where's your game at these days? You got an active campaign going?

word,
Will
Atlas

Thanks very much for your thoughts on the matter!

I'm not sure I agree with you about junctures having to add something mechanical. Strictly speaking, 1850 doesn't add anything that you don't find in 69, although you could argue that martial arts traditions "ought" to be more advanced in 1850 than 69. But it's in the game because (I suppose) it's an important period setting for HK action movies.

Neil.

PS - I do read the dispatches Will. Don't worry, people are looking.

I'm not ready to concede that the 1850 juncture doesn't add anything new over 69 AD. While there's no mechanical reason why characters in FS (by their nature extraordinary people) can't learn fu powers in 69 AD or score high Martial Arts AVs, in truth most of the martial arts traditions that FS taps into aren't as old as 69 AD. Chang San-feng, the "founder" of the 13 postures of Tai Chi wasn't even born until 1391, for example. Many of the martial arts forms (and the concepts along which they're organized) didn't exist in 69 AD, at least not in the form that FS and most action cinema presents them. Some sources cite Boddhidharma (Tat Moh) as the first teacher of "Chinese Boxing," and he didn't get to China until after 520 AD!

Whether or not we concede that each juncture is adding a mechanical cluster or category of schtick, each one certainly does present a degree of focus the others lack. It's part of the interconnectivity and self-suspension (if you will) of the setting:

69 AD: Sorcery
1850: Fu paths/Tranimals*
1996: Guns/Tranimals*
2056: Arcanotech
Netherworld: Supernatural Creatures

(*Transformed animals are a special, exceptional case in Feng Shui; they stem rather directly from the mixing of time periods whereas the other powers are rooted more-or-less in a single juncture.)

Yeah, you find guns in 1850 and 2056, but they don't really come into their own until 1996. In fact, if any one juncture adds the least, mechanically, to the setting, I propose that it's the Contemporary juncture. While it adds a terrific amount of player accessibility and is essential to the narrative of the setting, it develops but doesn't add to concepts first introduced in the 1850 juncture (e.g., guns).

I can't, however, argue that the 1850 juncture is perhaps the most under-used and least marvelous in the mix. I have a personal fondness for it, but that's because I have a personal fondness for everything from about 1802 to 1955. :-)

word,
Will

It's good to know that folks are actually reading those! I like to make jokes about it, all the same. Likewise, I'm happy to hear that there might be some interest in a book on the periods between the junctures. I'll put a gold star next to it in my notes.

Thanks much!

word,
Will
Atlas