''Justice, Inc.'' is a
role-playing game published by
Hero Games
Hero Games (''DOJ, Inc dba 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
In 1981, George MacDon ...
in 1984 that simulates adventure stories that appeared in the
pulp magazines of the 1930s.
Description
''Justice Inc.'' is a role-playing game in which the players take on the roles of fictional adventurers in the 1930s similar to
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...
and
Allan Quatermain
Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel ''King Solomon's Mines'', its one sequel '' Allan Quatermain'' (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professional ...
. In keeping with the pulp theme engendered by
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, com ...
and
The Shadow
The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...
, a vein of the supernatural runs through the game, and can be turned to horror similar to ''
Call of Cthulhu''.
The game system was adapted from the superhero role-playing game ''
Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
'' previously published by Hero Games, although superhero "Powers" are toned down to "Talents".
Publishing history
Hero Games published the superhero game ''Champions'' in 1981, and subsequently published a number of expansions and adventures for it. In 1983, Hero published a role-playing in a completely different genre, ''
Espionage!
''Espionage!'' is a role-playing game published by Hero Games in 1983.
Description
''Espionage!'' is a system of modern espionage rules that use the Hero System. The rulebook (64 pages) covers character creation, skills, combat (melee and firearm ...
'', that used a toned-down version of the ''Champions'' superhero rules. Hero followed this in 1984 with ''Justice, Inc.'', a game that also used the ''Espionage!'' rules system. The two-volume set was written by
Aaron Allston
Aaron Dale Allston (December 8, 1960 – February 27, 2014) was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably ''Star Wars'' novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, severa ...
,
Steve Peterson and
Michael Stackpole
Michael Austin Stackpole (born November 27, 1957) is an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his ''Star Wars'' and ''BattleTech'' books. He was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, but raised in Vermont. He has a BA in history from ...
, and includes a rulebook and campaign book. The campaign book contains a discussion of the pulp genre, the "Empire Club" campaign setting, a timeline of real-world events of the 1920s and 1930s, and several pulp adventures.
''Espionage!'' and ''Justice, Inc.'' were the first non-superhero applications of the point-based game system that had been developed for ''Champions''. The generalized point system would eventually be published as the multi-genre
Hero System
The ''Hero System'' is a generic role-playing game system that was developed from the superhero RPG '' Champions''. After ''Champions'' fourth edition was released in 1989, a stripped-down version of its ruleset with no superhero or other genre ...
, following in the footsteps of
Chaosium
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon ...
's ''
Basic Role-Playing
''Basic Role-Playing'' (''BRP'') is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the ''RuneQuest'' fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the ''BRP'' standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of ''RuneQu ...
'' System, but preceding ''
GURPS
The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...
'' as a generic game system.
Two supplements were published:
* ''
Lands of Mystery'' (May 1985), a critically acclaimed sourcebook describing how to design and run "
Lost World
The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century.
The ...
" adventures, like those found in the fiction of
Edgar Rice Burroughs and
H. Rider Haggard.
* ''
Trail of the Gold Spike'' (August 1984), an
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
set around a
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
gold mine.
Both were written by Allston, and also included statistics for ''
Chill
In computing, CHILL (an acronym for CCITT High Level Language) is a procedural programming language designed for use in telecommunication switches (the hardware used inside telephone exchanges). The language is still used for legacy systems i ...
'', ''
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
Hero Games (''DOJ, Inc dba 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
In 1981, George MacDon ...
finally published a ''
Pulp Hero
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
'' genre book that covers much of the same ground at the end of 2005.
Reception
In the December 1984 edition of ''
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' (Issue 21), Paul Mason stated, "If you like the Champions rules system, and want a campaign set in the era of the pulps, then ''Justice Inc'' will be perfect for you. Otherwise I'm afraid I can't recommend it over its competition."
In the January–February 1985 edition of ''
Space Gamer
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...
'' (No. 72),
Allen Varney
Allen Varney (born 1958) is an American writer and game designer. Varney has produced numerous books, role-playing game supplements, technical manuals, articles, reviews, columns, and stories, as well as the fantasy novel ''Cast of Fate'' ( TSR, ...
commented, "''Justice Inc.'' is fundamentally solid work, and certainly adaptable to a ''wide'' spectrum of pulp-era melodramatics. If your players want lots of variety in one campaign, this is your game! I realize it's a close call, but I'd say that with this publication, Hero Games probably has the strongest roleplaying line on the market."
In the January–February 1985 edition of ''
Different Worlds
''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987.
Scope
''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Rune ...
'' (Issue #38), Russell Grant Collins gave this game an average rating of 2.5 stars out of 4, saying, "this game is pretty good, although it is marred by a few typos and suffers from incompleteness."
In his 1990 book ''
The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games
Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR.
His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995.
Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pr ...
'', game critic
Rick Swan
Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR.
His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995.
Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pr ...
called this game "perfect for ambitious referees who enjoy mixing
Indiana Jones with
H.P. Lovecraft, or
Sherlock Holmes with
little green men." Swan concluded by giving this game a rating of 3 out of 4, saying, "Although
hedesigners ... bit off a bit more than they could chew — it's unlikely, for instance, that the horror version of the game will make anybody give up ''
Call of Cthulhu'' — the clean rules and attention to detail make ''Justice, Inc.'' far and away the best of the pulp-era RPGs."
Other reviews
*''
Shadis
''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games.
Publication history
Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepe ...
'' #28 (1996)
See also
* ''
Justice, Inc.'' - the pulp magazine story that inspired the game title
References
External links
Pulp HeroPulp Hero section on Hero Games' official web site
Hero Pulp Web SiteDany St-Pierre's fan site
by Paolo Marino
Supplement review by Kevin Mowery on RPGnet
{{Hero System
Hero System
Historical role-playing games
Role-playing games introduced in 1984
Pulp and noir period role-playing games