HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (Ks. Jim)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Yet more high-tech stuff from Japan!
Date: 24 Jul 92 17:05:07 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
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The Japanese now have microwave garbage incinerators for home use (yup,
Popular Science again).

Why do I suddenly see potential for this as a possessed Orrorshan device,
ala the VCR of Doom?  8-)

Help!  Give me something to do before I read any further!  8-)

Kansas Jim (jogle@nrao.edu)
From: graham@cs.utk.edu (Jeff Graham)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re:  TORG axiom level?
Date: 31 Jul 92 16:28:53 GMT
Organization: University of Tennessee, Knoxville - CS Department
NNTP-Posting-Host: duncan.cs.utk.edu

In article <gatemail1.0b211164547309@morticia> Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim) <jogle@aoc.nrao.edu> writes:

 [stuff deleted]

>
>I also don't believe I'm responding to this question...hopefully the
>Delphi Council Worldbook will be out soon and we can get some
>discussions started (I'm sure there will be many, though hopefully not
>too many of the 'they fucked it up again' variety) on that.

  It is out.  I saw it in a bookstore yesterday (the 30th).  Looks mildly
interesting.  Had a continent-by-continent breakdown with updates on the
various realms, the voodoo spells, some updated templates (Realm Runner is the
only one I can remember right now).  I might buy it, but first I want to see
the Tharkhold Sourcebook and Infini. Update (I haven't seen either here in
Knoxville  :-(  :-( ).

>
>Kansas Jim (jogle@aoc.nrao.edu)


-- 
Jeff Graham                  |  What's the biggest problem in America -
graham@cs.utk.edu            |    apathy or stupidity?
All opinions expressed are   |  
mine. Nobody else wants 'em. |  Don't know, don't care.
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: burt@ptltd.com (Burton Choinski)
Subject: Toughness/Armors
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 18:37:41 GMT


I have a question that perhaps Sean might have an answer to, or one of you
other more experienced GMs.

A couple nights ago, my players were finishing up their fun in the temple of
Waba.  Two of them blundered into a trap that slammed a 2-foot thick stone
wall behind them, trapping them in a neat little airtight box.  One of them
also had an excape card, but did not realize it until after they got out, but
that is another matter :).

Now, Mr. Nile magician decided to use ROT of the wall.  ROT normally only
works on whole objects less then 2 meters in size, but I decided to be generous
and let him use the spell anyways, boosting the difficulty by +7 (the wall was
about 23 times the size of a "2 meter" area, ergo the +7).  Cutting to the
chase, they made a hole big enough to get out of after a few days (Elf monk and
Ninja inside rasting to conserve air.  I fudged the wall toughness at 25.

Now, the question is:  What do you use for the armor rating of 1 foot of stone?
1 foot of concrete?  1 inch of steel?  Do you have any values that you use for
solid walls, or any good rule-of-thumb formulae?

Now, if you only have a single value for x amount of material "y", that is
fine -- I can fudge the other toughnesses from that.
   -- Burton
From: rose@acf9.nyu.edu (David Rose)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: LL miracles
Date: 23 Jul 92 21:57:48 GMT
Organization: New York University

Rick Jones <albert@crick.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu> writes:

>>   All forms of healing should be miracles, including regeneration
>> of any organ, the remission of any cancer and the curing of any
>> ailment.  Why it shocks me that there aren't hundreds, if not thousands,
>> of Americans and other Core Earthers streaming into the jungle in search of
>> a cure to cancer.  
>	
>	Here's a few reasons why they don't go en masse:

	All good reasons, and yet if you are desparate enough ...

>	1> hungry Carnols and other unfriendly critters

  This is the biggie.  So people would only want to risk this method
if they were terminal, or might as well be terminal.  (Advanced MD, say.)

>	2> Delphi doesn't want Core Earthers going in and "getting subverted"

  Yep.  I bet this one makes the pencil pushers at Delphi really up-tight.
And the more that they try to suppress any information regarding healing
in the LL, the more it goes underground and spreads by word of mouth,
and the more that what people know of healing in LL is rumor and not
truth.

>	3> those who are healed are somewhat likely to convert to
>Lanalaism, and stay there hugging trees and licking bark, so they aren't
>going to come back and tell their friends

:-)  But there is nothing against the converts joining human Jakatt
communities, or having some of them go into Core Earth as missionaries.

  "TONIGHT ONLY!  Rev. Brian Peters will speak on how Lanala can cure
you!  Testmonials will be given and people will be prayed for.  See
Lanala cure people chosen from the audience TOTALLY AT RANDOM!!!"

>	It does sound like a good idea for a LL game, escorting a terminally
>ill (and very rich) person into the LL to find a healer.

  Yep.  But what I would like to know is what does the party run into
while they are doing this?  Maybe an Eternity Shard at the end, and maybe
they'll walk through a black forest and wind up on the homeworld of the
Stalengers and see what B.K. & device do to a place after its been
converted.  To say nothing of all of the interesting flora and fauna
that might try to eat them on the way.

--
David Rose
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
251 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012
rose@math12.cims.nyu.edu
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jogle@dopey.vlba.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: Re:  Honor/Corruption gains
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 04:37:16 GMT

Dave Oakes writes:

> joe louderback offers:
>  !    1) Honor/Corruption adds do not count when generating the spirit
>  !       total at the adventure's end.  While this may penalize low
>  !       spirit characters more, it seems reasonable.
>  !    2) In order to have a chance at gaining a new add, the GM assigned
>  !       bonus must be at least equal to the character's current number
>  !       of adds.  If you have +5 in Corruption, it takes more than a sim-
>  !       ple backstab to get number 6.
> 
> 1) is not neccessary, since 2) should be sufficient
> (and i think, it is already in the rules in some form)

No; 2) is not in the rules anywhere.  The way the mechanics are
currently set up it becomes incredibly easy to gain your
Honor/Corruption adds once you get started because you use your
increasing H/C value against a DV of 20 always and there is no
restriction on having to be bigger and bigger honorable/corruptable
actions to get to check for a new add.

It does make sense though; the better you get, the harder you have to
work to get better.

Kansas Jim (jogle@nrao.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: Rick Jones <albert@crick.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu>
Subject: Re: Serialized Torg
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 15:15:39 GMT

> "It seems fitting with the genre of Torg to have concrete
> adventures.  There's no reason why it has to be like Star Trek, where
> you know Worf is going to survive because his shirt isn't red."

	Sorry, I meant there to be a "but" at the begining of the 
second sentense.  It's perfectly cool with me if party members 
die.  (And I'm getting really tired of Opponent Fails cards causing
mega villains to whiff their shots.)  But I thing part of the 
cinematic appear of Torg depends on there being concrete beginings
middles and ends to adventures.


-- 
Rick Jones				Systems Support Center
albert@bcm.tmc.edu			Baylor College of Medicine
Voice: 713-798-7352			standard disclaimers apply
"Hmmmm, this sounds like *another* job for Stupendous Man!" - Calvin
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: oakes@jupiter.nmt.edu (David Oakes)
Subject: Faith(Science)
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
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Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:09:19 GMT


i hadnt wanted to post any of this, since it is not finished yet, so i wont.

i hope this overview will suffice (for now):

Faith(Science) is a belief in a specific world view like any other faith,
the basic tennents of which are that everything can be explained,
and that there are certain immutable rules that govern the world around us.
this level of reasoning requires a social of 10 to function without contra
(the minimum level to support this level of interconnectedness)

the main thrust of the miracles of Faith(Science) are
(since Science is more focused than Atheism, it has miracles
 rather than a blanket penalty.  Science also has the choice 
 to ignore the impossible, and just let it happen - Atheism never does)
1)creation of evidence to prove a theory
2)creation of evidence to disprove a theory
  (lack of evidence is NOT PROOF of the falseness of a theory)
3)transformation of the universe to fit current theory
  (more an effect of belief on the nature of reality, already in TORG)
4)denial of acts and abilities that are not supported by current theories
  (as Jim has pointed out, this boarders on reality storms, but since
   the Spirit axiom controls the extent of faith altering reality,
   i would say that total transformation is an axiom 33 miracle)

since Science is not as focused as Atheism,
these miracles must be invoked to counter non-scientific acts,
and these miracles are usually less effective than a similar level of Atheism
(either make the miracles difficult, or use Pushed vales rather that straight)

due to the lack of focus, Science can deny acts other than miracles,
such as psionics or witchcraft, if they do not fit into current theories
(same method as for penalizing miracles)

Faith(Science) usually occurs in high tech cosms, where the processes
are more physical, and therefore seemingly more real.
it is possible to have Science based on Magic or Miracles,
so that technology will not function in its presence,
but these are much more rare, even in high magic/spirit cosms.

dave "Faith(Science)'s Ward Enemy - close the eyes and ignore it" oakes
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: bpostow@occs.cs.oberlin.edu (Brian Postow)
Subject: something, not sure what
Organization: Oberlin College Computer Science
Distribution: alt
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 19:08:29 GMT
X-Posted-From: occs.cs.oberlin.edu
X-Posted-Through: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

I found something in the Washington Post that looks vaguely Torgish, I
don;t know why, but it does:

Blasphemous Tires?
TOKYO - A major Japanese tire maker is recalling automobile tires with
a tread pattern that resembles the Arabic word for Allah after
receiving protests from Islamic believers.
	Akira Mikami, spokesman for the Tokyo-based Yokohama Rubber
Co., said hs company had stopped producing the tires....

threre is more but to isn't as TOrg, I don't know why, maybe it is
just the Nippon/Nile connections or something...

--
Brian Postow :: The Pasta Knight - that noodle head in shiny armour
reachable at:
bpostow@occs.oberlin.edu
sbp2530@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu		this space left unintentionally blank.
sbp2530@oberlin.bitnet.edu

Yes, I KNOW that 6*9 is 42 in base 13.
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim) <jogle@aoc.nrao.edu>
Subject: Another Torgism!
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 21:52:50 GMT


Things slowed down at work and I started reading magazines
again...this time its from Travel & Leisure's July issue.

The article is question is "In America", and the topic this month is
Los Angeles.

"At its worst, the City of Angels is one of the most interesting
battlefields in the world, but safer than Dubrovnik, closer than
Normandy, newer than Gettysburg."

I don't know about being safer, but I can see the Kanawa-controlled
world press making a similar statement about LA in Torg....

"...it is the most hidden of cities because there are no chance
encounters.  People rich and poor, pockets bulging with written
directions, live in cars going from one appointment or errand to the
next.  With luck, they never meet anyone they don't already know.
Suddenly they discovered strangers in their midst and, for the first
time, were touched by a presence they had thought was merely
statistical..."  

Could be Tharkold, couldn't it?

And finally:

"The reality of Los Angeles today is far more compelling than the
aging fantasy."

Heh.

Kansas Jim (jogle@nrao.edu)
From: albert@crick.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu (Rick Jones)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: new horrow (was Re: Multi-Actions)
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:20:12 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b

> Anybody interested in seeing a post on the "Shadow Stalker", a Horror
> I designed?

	Sure.  I'm always looking for new ways to toast my players 
(hi guys).

-- 
Rick Jones				Systems Support Center
albert@bcm.tmc.edu			Baylor College of Medicine
Voice: 713-798-7352			standard disclaimers apply
"Hmmmm, this sounds like *another* job for Stupendous Man!" - Calvin
From: WYNNE.C@fs.sciences.WLU.EDU (Colin J. Wynne)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: Penetration
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:17:02 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
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burt@ptltd.com (Burton Choinski) writes:

> Well, given how it is set in a post holocaust game, I think it
> makes a lot of assumptions.  I think it means "ye olde standard
> building concrete", not bunkers.  The explosive is just stuck on
> the side, not tamped.  Man size? I would guess abot 5-6 feet high.
>
> What would you figure the DV of 1kg of C4 to be?

Check Kanawa Heavy Weapons

CJW

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>                                         wynne.c.j@p9955.wlu.edu  >>
==  Colin J. Wynne                                  - or -          ==
<<                                      wynne.c@fs.science.wlu.edu  <<
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim) <jogle@aoc.nrao.edu>
Subject: Re: Approved actions, changed from Idea to be kicked around
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 14:08:00 GMT

Colin writes:

> bchapman@spartan.ac.BrockU.CA (Bruce Patrick Chapman) writes:
> 
> > BTW - it would help if unskilled and stymied (especally stymied)
> > were a little more effective)
> 
> Stymied, yes.  But unskilled is one of the most effective interaction
> results that there is!  Taunt that guy, THEN whop him upside the head
> with a reality storm.  Hit that unskilled priest with your 'vs. SPI
> or Faith' miracle.  Hey, that enemy mage can't cast spells while he's
> unskilled.  Having trouble hitting that ninja?  Well, not if he's
> unskilled.  Etc...
> 
> The problem is that unskilled is a better result than stymie.  I have
> seen a proposed correction for this (I honestly can't remember if it
> was on this net, or in I-verse, or even somewhere else) that had two
> solutions:  either reverse the two outcomes on the interaction
> charts, or make 'stymie' into 'stymied and unskilled'.

Both solutions were presented here on the net.  The 'stymied &
unskilled' is my house rule.

> Both will work, but it would be up to each GM to determine which one
> would better fit the campaign.  After all, the second choice favours
> the Knights considerably more (unless, as Bruce suggests is his
> problem, the players don't do interaction attacks, or your villains
> do LOTS of interaction attacks).

Well, my players are card-mongers so if an approved action comes up
that they have even the slightest chance of succeeding at comes up,
they attempt it.  Usually they'll do it the most against grunts in
Standard scenes, since most grunts are not going to have high
Interaction skills.  (Which is fine, as being stymied and unskilled
doesn't make all that much difference to an ord grunt.)

What I find hard to believe is the number of Possibilities that my
players will spend in pursuit of cards and then they complain about
how low on Possibilities they are....

Kansas Jim (jogle@nrao.edu)
From: gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Grant R. Davis)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: What Year is it There?
Date: 21 Jul 92 19:56:26 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <cluther.711671181@morticia> cluther@morticia.cnns.unt.edu (Clay Luther) writes:
>In the cosms where keeping track of time is supported by the social axiom, or 
>otherwise makes sense, what year is it there?
>
>Marketplace
>Gaea
>Tharkhold
>Magna Verita
>Aysle
I'm digressing a lot here, but I've been meaning to write this down.
As far as Earth is concerned, there are 2 kinds of cosms:
	Earth-Parallels:Gaea,Tharkold(and by extension, Kadandra),Magna Verita
(despite being flat), and Terra. These are cosms where history was parallel to 
Earth, but changed sometime in the past. The different axioms are either a 
cause or an effect of this. Terra is different; the history looks similar and
hasn't skewed anywhere, but isn't quite the same and may never have been.
	Not-Earth-Parallels:Marketplace(Gokuraku),Aysle(not even close),
Takta Ker (sp?),and Space Gods.
	The Cyberpapacy sourcebook specifically states that it is the 1990s
in Magna Verita. Also, time played a part in the Storm Knights Trilogy (Tolwyn
asked why Ardinay was centuries old). So, I think that time passes at the same
rate in all cosms and therefore it is the 1990s in all of the above, although
that may only be sigificant to the Earth-Parallels.
	The big question mark is Terra. Have they been in the 1930s for the
past 60 years? What happened to WWII (the Rocket Ranger is a WWI hero)?
Why would time be slower there and not anywhere else? If Mobius has been
raiding cosms for 20 or 30 years, why are the Mystery Men who fought him
not in nursing homes?

Grant Davis
gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu

"This is good[beer]. Remind me to take this world."-Lost Destiny
From: malloy@nprdc.navy.mil (Sean Malloy)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: Penetration
Date: 21 Jul 92 20:20:24 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b

> Well, given how it is set in a post holocaust game, I think it makes a lot
> of assumptions.  I think it means "ye olde standard building concrete", not
> bunkers.  The explosive is just stuck on the side, not tamped.  Man size? 
> I would guess abot 5-6 feet high.

In that case, they're badly overrating C4.

> What would you figure the DV of 1kg of C4 to be?

Not having my notes with me, I couldn't say exactly; as a guess, I'd
hazard Stun damage at a DV of around 25 with a maximum 'burst' radius
of about 18 meters; shock waves aren't as effective against targets at
range as shrapnel is. Put a fragmentation casing on the charge, you'd
get the blast radius extended to 35 meters and convert it to normal
damage.

-- 
random sig #89:
Sean Malloy                                  | Sleep? Isn't that just a
Navy Personnel Research & Development Center | completely inadequate substitute
San Diego, CA 92152-6800                     | for caffeine? 
malloy@nprdc.navy.mil                        | 
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: bhv@areaplg2.corp.mot.com (Bronis Vidugiris)
Subject: Analytic expression for torg PDF
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
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Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 23:11:18 GMT

I realized I didn't need my computer program to get the probabilities,
there was a fairly simple analytic formula.....

Given any specific target number N, let n = N/10 rounded down.

The probability of rolling an even multiple of 10 is zero.  For any
other number, the probability of rolling exactly the target number N is:

f(n) = 1/9 * (1.25 * .25 ** n - 0.8 * (-.20) ** n)

Don't have the more useful formula for the cumulative distribution
worked out (rolling less than or equal to N) though.

Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: Rick Pim <RICK@QUCDNEE.BITNET>
Subject: Re: Possiblity Healing
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
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Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 14:39:00 GMT


> are  mly@sei.cmu.edu (Michael Yacht)

>When you use a possibility to
>hear a 'just inflicted' set of damage it says you can do 3 of the following:

>My question is can you do more than one of these...IE:
>
 sure thing. the wording of the rule is a bit obscure, but the example
makes things pretty clear: read over the example a couple of times.

rp
From: jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (Ks. Jim)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re:  A coupole simple questions...
Date: 28 Jul 92 22:40:12 GMT
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b

Sabre writes:

> Hello all you torgers...well I have a couple of questions for you
> all...I run a small (8 players) torg club and I am wondering how many of
> you use group powers., and if so how large a part on play  of the
> campaign do they play, what powers they hacve and other observations
> about them.

Well, three eternity shards have floated through my game but only one
has ever really been used by the party and that was, you guessed it,
the Possibility Chalice.  Besides sending messages to the Space Gods
the only other time they've bothered to use it has been as a glorified
one-way phone to send messages to other PCs that they couldn't contact
in any normal way (even worse, they succeeded despite the huge
penalties I placed on using it that way).  They've had messages appear
on walls, computer terminals, all kind of unusual places.

> Next I was wondering how do you all pronounce Stelae...

Someone suggested STEL-lah, but that sounds too much like "Stella" to
me and I don't want people getting that friendly with the enemy.  8-)
We've always done it as STEL-lay for both singular and plural forms.

> Thirdly in you campaigns do you concentrate at all on the Nile-Empire
> magic of Mathamatics?

I don't concentrate on it but I do use it; not enough to have come up
with any original spells though.

> Well I hope you can anwser them quickly, through e-mail or here on the
> usenet...also I happen to talk to Greg Farshty alot, and am in good
> terms with him...if you want any questions asked of hime...let me know!

Well, I usually just ask him on GEnie when I have a question for
WEG, but if you actually know him maybe we should start channeling our
questions to you....

Kansas Jim (jogle@aoc.nrao.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: "Terence A. Wynne" <taw8h@uva.pcmail.Virginia.EDU>
Subject: Uniqueness
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 17:37:27 GMT

I may be mistaken, but I think uniqueness means the spell will only effect
one target per casting.  If the duration of the spell was made greater than
zero, uniqueness means you can't shift targets.

Note to Joe:  guess that means you couldn't have zapped all three
technodemons at once, but seeing as I rolled a 2, 3, and 1 for their Cpsy
checks, I won't complain.
 
There is never time to do it right, but there is always time to do it
over. -- Murphy

Terence Wynne
taw8h@uva.pcmail.Virginia.EDU 

Newsgroups: alt.games.torg