Travelers Guild
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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Welcome! Who are we? We are a narrative-driven, theme-focused roleplaying supergroup founded on the style of 1930s and 1940s Pulp Magazines and Comic Books, also known as the “Golden Age of Comics”. The Travelers Guild is also founded on the idea of time travel, using it as a springboard for all manner of adventures. Below you can learn more about the group, its history, and its cast of characters. Please reach out to us in-game or on Discord if you’re interested in joining! |
CHARACTER GUIDELINES
All characters should follow the same tropes as the heroes of the era. This includes simple names such as “The Shadow”, “Doc Savage”, “Ka-Zar” or “Doctor Fate”. Costumes should be simple & clean, often made up of street clothes, tights or leotards, and have uncomplicated color palettes with good contrast.
Pulps were cheap magazines with prose short fiction stories of various genres, and were in many respects the predecessors to the American comic book. Their stories were often bold adventures in exotic places, crime-dramas with an occult twist, action on the western plains or war stories with stoic exemplars of courage. The dauntless heroes & scandalous women of pulp transitioned into what is now the American superhero.
The stories within pulp magazines were written over such a wide range of genres that the archetype of the pulp hero is not as simple to describe as the superheroes of the same era.
Genres included:
- Action-Adventure
- Detective & Mystery
- Fantasy
- Occult & Horror
- Science Fiction
- Weird & Menace
- War & Aviation
- Westerns
One common trope of pulp heroes is their headstrong attitudes, leaping into an adventure with gumption and a strong right hook. Male characters were often brawny or clever cowboys, soldiers, detectives, masked vigilantes or daring spacemen. Lead female characters tended to be bold, tough, fast-talking career women, or confident, seductive, independent femme fatales.
The beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books was the 1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1. Until then, the American comic book was not yet synonymous with the American superhero. Each issue contained several short stories featuring a different superhero - some characters a direct ripoff of Superman, such as Captain Marvel, while others took inspiration from the pulp heroes of the same time, such as Batman.
Superheroes of this era were less moralistic than modern heroes. Characters were aggressive vigilantes with good intentions but ambiguous honor. However most heroes of this age did not kill their victims - something that set them apart from their pulp counterparts. Stories spanned a similar albeit shorter range of genres than pulps: action heroes antagonizing villains, men gifted with magical artifacts protecting earth from alien threats, detective characters bringing down whole criminal organizations, or patriotic men fighting the good fight overseas.
THE GERNSBACHER: MAROONED IN TIME!
| Military Training
During his time with the Special Boat Service and the Royal Marines, Lion-Heart acquired exceptional discipline in the skills of marksmanship, wilderness survival, amphibious assault, tactics, fieldcraft, and hostage rescue, among others. | 
| Spycraft
Lion-Heart is experienced in multiple languages, and quite good at mimicking accents. He is a capable chameleon and knows enough about makeup and costuming to assume another identity for short periods. |
| Martial Arts
Lion-Heart is an excellent boxer and master of the Special Boat Service’s own hand-to-hand techniques. He also has limited but useful experience with Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and medieval martial arts in the form of swordfighting and fencing. | 
| Adamantine Edge
Lion-Heart's weapon Feralis is seemingly indestructible to the means of mortal men, and is known chiefly for being able to cut through anything substance in the mortal realm, save Impervium. Depending on their enchantment and composition, other magical artifacts or weapons may be able to resist the sword's edge as well. |
| Sting of Sorrow
Those who survive a cut from the sword begin to understand why it is named Cruelty. There is physical pain, like any wound, but also debilitating regret and sorrow, as if the sword can wound the very soul of its victim. The effect passes in a few hours to a day, depending on the severity of the wound. | 
| Fealty of the Unseen One
Feralis cannot be separated from its master for long. With a simple command, the sword will fly through the air and return to Lion-Heart's hands, no matter the distance. It will even navigate through foliage or corridors as if to get to him. Lion-Heart often utilizes this ability to throw his sword at an enemy and get it right back. |
| Strain of Sisyphus
In any hands that are not Lion-Heart’s, his sword suddenly becomes heavy and unwieldy. It takes every opportunity to slip free of an impostor’s grip and the higher one lifts it from the ground, the heavier it gets. | 
| Charon's Compass
Feralis has divining abilities and can be used to point the way towards items, places or even people of interest. The sword’s target must already be well-known to Lion-Heart; it cannot tell him what he should look for, but it can indicate where something or someone is with perfect veracity. |
| Charon's Clarity
By brandishing Feralis in darkness, Lion-Heart can employ a sort of "magical nightvision". A dim light glimmers from the blade, and shows the way for Lion-Heart and his allies all without giving away their position. The light is invisible to the dead, anyone living who isn't in contact with Lion-Heart or magically gifted. | 
| Judgement of Tartarus
Feralis can be made to unleash just a glimpse into the realm of Tartarus, which is enough to sap the very souls of Lion-Heart’s enemies with negative energy. Only those who resist looking upon this grim display escape the blast, though all are at risk for, if nothing else, a brief pall of negative emotions, such as foreboding or apathy. |
| Elysian Respite
Lion-Heart may also call on his connection to the Underworld and allow just a touch of Elysium into the mortal realm. Even the barest bit of that place brings renewed hope and rejuvenation to Lion-Heart and his allies, allowing them to keep going where others would falter. | 
| Memento Mori
In his time of need, Lion-Heart use a blood libation to call upon the spirits of dead warriors to aid him in the world of the living. These may take the form of Greek or Roman soldiers, English Knights, or even redcoats of the colonial era. This power is taxing on Lion-Heart however, and does not last for long. |
| Cthonic Renewal
By eating of the Stygian Stalk, Lion-Heart or his allies can more quickly recover from their wounds. The supply is limited, but a single seed from the Stalk is enough to fully regenerate from mortal wounds in a single night. | 
| Agent of the Deep
Being sworn to Hades on a mission to recover the Helm of Darkness means Lion-Heart has special access to the Underworld and its inhabitants. Lion-Heart can, with some effort, speak to the dead and even Hades or Persephone, either by blood ritual or in his dreams. |
| Only Human
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| Stygian Servitude
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| No Rest for the Weary
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| The Cost of Cruelty
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THE GUILDMEMBERS: A BAND UNLIKE ANY OTHER!
| Feralis
This sword was forged by Hephaestus in secret after the Olympians’ war with the Titans. The sword, whose name means Cruelty, carries a terrible cost that gives even Hades reason to pause. Other names for the weapon include the Unknown Blade, the Black Blade of Plouton, and the Forgotten Blade. | 
| Stygian Stalk
Given to Lion-Heart by Persephone, this is a single sprig of wheat whose seeds, when eaten, restore one’s health. However, the seeds will only grow back if the wheat is returned to the soil of the Underworld, where Lion-Heart may only return once a year. |
| Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife
The F-S fighting knife is a double edged, dagger-like weapon with a slender, seven inch blade, perfect for surprise attack and fighting. Lion-Heart keeps one in his boot at all times, a sort of holdover from his SBS days. | 
| Webley Mark VI Revolver
The service revolver for British armed forces through both world wars, this weapon is as much a collector's item as it is Lion-Heart's preferred sidearm. It fires the more modern .45 ACP cartridges. Lion-Heart also keeps one as a display piece in his office. |
| SPP-1 Underwater Pistol
Lion-Heart prefers the Soviet SPP-1 over the Hechler & Koch P11 for its reliability and ability to be reloaded on site, as opposed to being sent back to the manufacturer to be reloaded. The SPP-1 has four barrels, each of which fires a .18 caliber steel dart, perfect for short-range in combat under or near water. | 
| Tactical Phone
Lion-Heart's tacphone is a smartphone device like any other, only ruggedized and hardened to deal with the harsh nature of his work. |
| Individual First Aid Kit
The IFAK is standard military issue first aid pouch, complete with a 16 gauge needle (for treating tension pneumothorax), nasopharyngeal airway tube, vacuum sealed gauze, a tourniquet, Israeli dressings, exam gloves, Quik Clot Combat Gauze dressings, and Asherman chest seals. | 
| 1978 Aston Martin V8 Series 3 (Modified)
This classic mix of muscle and luxury is a grand tourer style vehicle with a 2-door coupe configuration, FR layout, a 5.3 liter V8 engine, and a ZF 5-speed manual transmission. While authentic in most ways, the vehicle sports bulletproof glass, reinforced chassis, run-flat tires and more bells & whistles for dangerous missions. |
| The Lion's Den
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| The Unseen Grotto
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| The Underworld
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| Everleigh Family Manor
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THE TIMELOST: A DURATIONAL DIASPORA!
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THE ROGUES GALLERY: TERRORS THROUGHOUT TIME!
| Travelers Guild | ||||||||
| Archetype | Origin | Level | Primary Power | Secondary Power | Height | Weight | Hair | Eyes |
| Scrapper | Magic | Veteran Level 50 | Broad Sword | Willpower | 6'2" | 210 lbs. | Blond | Blue |
| Skills: Military Training, Swordsmanship, Fieldcraft, Tradecraft, Musicianship, Negative Energy Projection, Positive Energy Projection, Divination, Summoning, Restoration | ||||||||
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