Something old that I got recently: 'Justice, Inc.'

Having cut my teeth on AD&D in 1980–81 and switched to The Fantasy Trip in 83–83 for better mechanics, I broke out from the fantasy RPG ghetto with Justice, Inc. in 1984. It remained the mainstay of my RP gaming until I switched to ForeSight (late playtest versions) in 1986. By about 1993 I had the universal generic HERO System in my library and felt I didn't need old J,I. any more, so I gave it to a chap in Iceland, who couldn't find any non-D&D RPGs in Iceland at all.

Then someone said something in this very Pub that excited my nostalgia, and I developed a hankering to have a copy of Justice, Inc. on hand for old times' sake. I trotted over to Noble Knight Games with my trusty credit card and bought a used copy of the original Justice, Inc. boxed set in "Fair/VG" condition for US$22 plus US$26.94 for shipping. It took 30 days rather than the suggested "7–21 days", but arrived this morning.

The "fair" condition seems to apply to the box:



And "very good" to the booklets, which seem never to have been used:



That is certainly better than the other way around.

Now, Justice, Inc. certainly did have a foreword titled "Adventure in the Pulps"

,

but several of the characters on the cover of the Campaign Book are characters from movies rather than print, and others are arguably the movie versions of characters who appeared in both. The game pitches itself as "The Role-Playing Games of the 20s and 30s", not as a pulp or even pulp-adventure RPG.

A couple of months ago RPG.net's Tabletop Roleplaying Open forum had a lengthy discussion/celebration of Justice, Inc.: "In Praise of the 'Justice, Inc.' RPG by Aaron Allston"

It's the age-old issue of "pulp" in common/rpg parlance encompassing everything from radio to serials to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Of course, the very early '80s haircuts in many of the illustrations aren't exactly legit, either, lol.

That having been said, while I've never played or run it (never quite felt smart enough for HERO System), Justice, Inc. is one of those games I've kept on hand for decades. Simply because it's a joy to read. The art, the layout, the writing, all of it appeals to me. One of my favorite RPGs to take out and read for the sheer fun of doing so.

One of these days, I gotta get this to the table.

Fun fact: there are two versions of the cover to the Campaign Book. One had some rather, er, insensitive depictions.

I've collected some of the, what was it, Adventurer's Club magazines, with JI material. But not all. I should do that, as there wasn't a ton of support otherwise. One (middling IMO) adventure, Trail of the Gold Spike, and one (AMAZING) sourcebook, Lands of Mystery.

I know some JI material had stats for other systems. I could have sworn that some Daredevils stuff was cross-statted for JI, but looking at it now, I don't see that. Oh, if you like JI, FGU's Daredevils box set was still available new in sharing from FGU for less than 20 dollars, last I checked.

Edit: Bingo! Daredevils Adventures 4: Lost Worlds Tales from FGU has conversion notes for the two games.

Justice, Inc is such a neat product.