Popular Comics #26

This issue starts with a sort of new trophy item from Dick Tracy -- magnifying ear phones. Game mechanic-wise, they would work like wearing a hearing aid (which is in Book II: Mobsters & Trophies).

According to Gasoline Alley, at least, a horse-drawn sleigh can travel at 9 MPH. In the streamlined Movement system I plan to move to in Hideouts & Hoodlums 2nd edition, this would have a score of 9. In the current system, the equivalent score is a more confusing 45.

As common as dog catchers are portrayed as villainous in comic strips, like Winnie Winkle, I wonder if I should create a dog catcher mobster type.  Maybe they would have different stats vs. dogs -- like 1-1 HD normally, but 3 HD if going up against dogs...


(scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Popular Comics #13

Nebbs reminds me that, when I statted half-pints for Hideouts & Hoodlums Book II: Mobsters & Trophies, I should have given them some natural climbing ability.

Maw Green's pearls of "wisdom" usually just annoy me, but this installment has some useful 1930s pricing information:  prunes – 10 cents a can, bananas – 15 cents a bunch, soup – 7 cents a can.

Dick Tracy runs into more "gangland trickery" -- a car with a concealed machine gun under the hood that shoots through the radiator grill. This is a good example of combining two hi-tech trophy items to create a new item.

Gasoline Alley features a map to a gold mine that you can read over Mr. Bat's shoulder and use in your home campaign.

This page of Tom Mix would take some explanation to fit H&H. First, he is hearing noise, as if at a door (with the same 2 in 6 chance of success).

The chance of the floor crumbling is a trap (perhaps a 2 in 6 chance of crumbling each turn 180+ lbs. remains on it).

Falling and landing on an opponent and damaging the opponent has been covered previously. Falling and landing on two opponents -- that's just a freebie from the Editor.

Here's another freebie -- apparently, the Editor rolled for surprise after Tom fell and gave him a free surprise turn to act. Normally, if the Editor felt the situation warranted a surprise roll, the mobsters could only be surprised long enough for Tom to get back on his feet, not to move as well.

The firefight in the dark is tricky too. Tom is in complete darkness, so the gunmen are at a -4 to hit penalty against him. But, the gunmen are in dim light -- a charitable assumption by muzzle flashes alone -- so Tom still has a -2 to hit them. That Tom hits them all with rocks before they shoot him is quite lucky.



I'm not sure, but remain skeptical that H&H needs a game mechanic to cover pinning someone's clothes to the wall. It seems more like flavor text to me...








Now, Don Winslow might be making sense -- I helped you against a rampaging jaguar, now you help me -- right? For a one-time favor, an Editor could easily hand-wave the encounter reaction roll and rule by common sense. However, if Don was looking to recruit those natives long-term, or to put them in mortal danger, then the Editor would still be right in rolling randomly for an encounter reaction.



Bos'n Hal learns that the U.S. Navy decided in the 1930s that dirigibles were obsolete, so they became available for sale (the police dirigibles on Batman: The Animated Series were probably Navy surplus dirigibles). However, given their limited availability and a presumedly high price, I still plan to keep them off the starting equipment list.

And, lastly, Skippy makes me think I may have underestimated how many hit points half-pints have. Or are these 3rd-level half-pint fighters?









(Scans courtesy Digital Comic Museum)

Popular Comics #7 - pt. 1

Another issue of Dell's Popular Comics has a lot to teach us!

Here, Gasoline Alley shows us that Fighters should be able to climb.  Well, actually, I think every class should have the ability to climb trees. Some games would just assign a big modifier to a skill check, but I think we can waive a mechanic entirely for tree climbing.

Ultra-obscure comic strip reprint A Strain on the Family Tie is going to illuminate some aspect of Hideouts & Hoodlums for us?   It does when it reminds us that fireworks are legally available for sale (though not on the starting equipment list, they should be easily picked up in game play), and make great diversions for Heroes to use.

Hatchet men would be another name -- and perhaps a less offensive name, for Yellow Peril Hoodlums.  I plan to retain this mobster type, though I'm seriously considering adding to them that they are adept at ambushes, with perhaps a 3 in 6 chance of surprise.



The Dick Tracy installment reminds us of more tools available to "modern day" Heroes of the '30s and '40s -- though not as available as fireworks -- the lie detector and the "trick mirror" that can be seen through from the other side.

Little Joe's bandit general pal here demonstrates two combat moves: disarming (which will have its own game mechanic in the next edition) and the technique that only seems to exist in comics -- picking up someone and using them as a club against another target (Batman will do this frequently in his early days).  After grappling the first target, the attacker can use this technique to do clubbing damage to both opponents at once.  Editors might want to limit this technique only to Heroes with a Strength of 15 or higher.

Reg'lar Fellers reminds us of two more potentially useful items for Heroes to acquire -- stilts and glue.  Glue is even going to be on the starting equipment list.

This panel of On the Range reminds us that bisons have not been statted for H&H yet, and perhaps they should be. Wikipedia tells me that bison at Yellowstone National Park are three times as likely to harm people than bears, and I've long since statted bears!  The American bison would have 6 HD, trample for 1-10+1 damage, and use 12-siders for Hit Dice because of their mass.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)