HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: tgt33358@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Deus Imperator)
Subject: Re: VAMPIRE: Various
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 01:59:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct14.205544.4134@ncsu.edu> jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH) writes:
>
>|>Hi, I'm going to be playing Vampire soon: I've already made a character. I
>|>think it will be kinda fun, but it is also sorta uncomfortable having a
>|>character that subsists by drinking the blood of humans. Any veteran
>|>Vampire players got any comments about this?
>|>
>|>Also, is there a Vampire mailing list that I could subscribe to?
>|>
>|>Chris Pearce -- cpearce@nemesis.acs.unt.edu
>|>

Heh.  Let me fill you in on a few details, childe...
Recall when you dwelt in the waking world.  Each morning you sat down at a
table and ate your cereal, too concerned by the problems you confronted 
every day to notice the taste.  The tang of raw sweat that clung to every
flake.  You ate the work of another man, the crop that he sacrificed time,
sweat, and, yes, blood, to bring to market, just so you could enjoy your 
sugar frosted bombs.  Feel the clothing, clinging to your back.  Do you
delude yourself in believing that it was made wholly by machine?  No.  It too
was woven with the sweat of humanity, and dyed with the blood of man.  If 
you do not believe, go to a sweatshop in Hong Kong.  Do not worry.  You have
time...
	The point is simple.  Every day that you exist you, quite unwillingly,
exploit others.  Did you actually think that you were taking a chunk out of 
some faceless corporation, by buying the product on sale?  I solemnly assure
you, such inconvenient costs are passed on to the...less fortunate.
	The vampire is different.  He is, above all, efficient.  His task,
the removal of blood from those who have, is really no different from what
you did in the waking world.  Pure capitalism.  All that is happening is the 
elimination of the middle man.  The difference is that vampires, by and large,
ignore social strata.  They are creatures of convenience, taking as they get 
it, relishing in knowing that with the drawing of blood, they have brought 
a single moment of excstasy to a normally dreary life.  The only evil, then,
is in not returning to the community what you...take.  Make the world a 
better place...drop by drop. 

-- 
I don't mind being the smartest	    / Thanatos, DeathUrge, Master of Unknown
man in the world...I just wish it   \ Time and Space tgt33358@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu 
wasn't this one...	       	    / "No, I don't know how much unknown is... 
	-Ozymandias 		    \	...THAT'S THE POINT!" 
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: bzb47596@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Phaedrus)
Subject: TW:2000-2nd edition?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 05:56:13 GMT

I am an old Twilight 2000 player and I just bought the 2nd edition, I am currently trying
to work myself up to speed on the new rules and such.  I have the Small Arms Guide,
Soviet and American Vehicle guides from the first 2000 editon.  Is the information
in the new books sufficiently different that I need to buy them?  I'm not all that
excited about spending all that extra money.


-- 
Phaedrus - Master of the Tao of Pooh             internet: phaedrus@uiuc.edu 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
     "The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous,
      the sensible man hardly anything."   --Goethe
From: kucloak@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bryan Kennedy Reed)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: SRUN: Kage
Date: 9 Oct 92 13:34:07 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

Has anyone sent away for Kage, the magazine that FASA puts out for
Shadowrun.  Does this thing still exist, and if so, is it any good?
-- 
		
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Invincibility depends on one's self;	   kucloak@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
  The enemy's vulnerability on him.	    bkreed@oread.cc.ukans.edu
 		  --Sun Tzu 		      Bryan Kennedy Reed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Elizabeth.Mccoy@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Elizabeth Mccoy)
Subject: Re: New From SJ Games!
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1992 00:32:16 GMT

In article <cm182s182.05j4@pdrome.UUCP> cm182s182@pdrome.UUCP (Clayton Miner) writes:
>John,
> 
>  I am sorry, but I just can't see GURPS Bunnies and Burrows...I just can't.  
>I have tried, but I just can't see it.

Well, *I* thought it looked pretty good, but then what do I know -- I
never saw the first version and I liked _Tailchaser's Song_... :-)

>though...if there is going to be a Bunnies and Burrows book for GURPS, when is 
>there going to be a TOON book....

Well, as a great in-joke for perhaps 3-5 people, you're not cleared for
that information (but I do know someone who's considering doing a
GURPS-TOON conversion bit).
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: kumagic@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Stephen R. Figgins)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: SRII: Plant totems,Deities, and Magic.
Date: 14 Oct 92 23:03:32 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

All this talk about spider shamans, and insect shamans has me
thinking....


Why not a plant shaman, or a fungus shaman, certainly readers of swamp
thing out there can identify.  I can imagine tree shamans would be
very popular among the druids, also ivy, holly, and mistletoe shamans.
Plants have been an important part of many shamanic traditions.  

I think deities would make good totems as well.  I think that SRUN
shies way from this for religious reasons, not wanting to step on nay
censor's toes out there, but for many magical traditions it is a
patron deity that is the totem.  Even in Native American religions,
totems are closer to being non anthropomorphic deities than they are
some animal spirit.  If you go with the western tradition of
anthropomorphising these spirits then you could have deity worshiping
shamans.  Say a shaman of Rhianon, a Celtic horse goddess, or a shaman
of the Calleach a Celtic raven goddess.  A cretan shaman of the bull
god or the bee goddess whos names have been lost, due to their being
written in the indecipherable linear A.  

As a witch, I find that shadow run often comes closer to mirroring
real magic than any other system I have found, but it is often too
narrow, too restiricting in concepts to accurately mirror reality as I
understand it.  When I GM I will probably allow for many more shamanic
totems than those listed in Shadow Run.

In my understanding of real magic, what is described as Shamanic, and
Hermetic in SRUN terms are really just too approaches to manipulate
the same magical forces, so elementals and spirits would only be
different in manifestation, not in magical substance, both woven out
of the raw energy that is magic.  In the magical traditions I am
familiar with, there is certainly a middle path, a path that utualizes
aspects of both.  Witches work both with the elements and with
spirits.  In SRUN there is no real place to put my own magical
tradition, a hybrid of these two.

Just a few thoughts. 

-- 
___________________________________________________________________________

Stephen R. Figgins           |  There was an old woman
kumagic@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu   |  Who lived under the hill 
PO Box 1244                  |  And if she's not gone 
Lawrence, KS 66044	     |  She lives there still
___________________________________________________________________________
 
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jtd@world.std.com (Jonathan T Drummey)
Subject: SR: Raising Attributes and Called Shots
Summary: my solutions
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 14:45:54 GMT

The following are my house rules for Raising Attributes and Called
Shots.  Both have worked pretty well in practice.

Raising Attributes:
The SRI system allowing Attributes to be raised one point was too
small, the SRII system allowing Attributes to be raised to racial
max is too much, IMO.  So...

If an Attribute starts out at the Racial Average or below (as 
determined from the table in the Critters section), it can be raised
two points.  If an Attribute startss out above Racial Average, it
can only be raised one point.  Karma cost for raising an Attribute
is equal to the current rating (the SRI way).

Called Shots:
There is no general modifier to the target number for all called
shots.  However, the Target Size modifier MUST be applied, in 
addition to all other normal modifiers.

The Target Size modifieer is roughly calculated as folows:  for
each halving of the target size as compared to a human-size target
(1 square meter) there is a +1 modifier, cumulative.  For each
quadroupling of the target size, there is a -1 modifier, cumulative.
A table follows:

Target Size				Modifier
Very Large (side of large truck, etc)	  -2
Large  (side of sedan, really big troll)  -1
Normal (most metahumans)		   0
Small (a backpack)			  +1
Very Small (a cyberdeck, car window)	  +2
Really Small (a human head, security cam) +4
Incredibly small (a human eye)		  +8

A quick way to figure the Target Size mod. out is to cut yourself in
half (metaphorically speaking) by putting your hand across your waist,
then cut yourself in half again (somewhere around the sternum), then
again, etc. until the remaining exposed surface area is about equal
to the target area.  Each time you cut yourself in half there's a+1 mod.

Generally speaking, M damage done to a smaller body part (eyes, hands,
ears, etc.) will make it unusable.  S daamage done to a limb willmake
it unusable, while D damage done to anything will destroy that body
part, requiring replacement.  Give items a Barrier Rating when
deciding if they are damaged.

BTW, Fly Spirit Queens come in at a -2, but SMG's on full auto
still don't do a hell of a lot of damage...

later,

jonathan


jonathan drummey					jtd@world.std.com






Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: TUK865@maccvm.corp.mot.com (Stephen Gill)
Subject: STAR TREK the Role Playing Game
Organization: Motorola
Date: 8 Oct 1992 07:17:03 CDT

My wife is just getting herself together to start a STAR TREK campaign
using the FASA rules (we've managed to acquire roughly half the books,
which would appear to be lucky - she bought the rule book the week before
the announcement that FASA had lost their licence).

Could anyone suggest how she goes about setting up and running the
campaign or individual games?

Thanks in advance, feel free to e-mail
Steve
From: sl9b4@cc.usu.edu (Deep Six)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Justitfiers RPG?
Date: 14 Oct 92 11:18:36 MDT
Summary: What the..?
Keywords: wolf, brontosaraus, Hershey bar
Organization: Utah State University

Question for you -- I saw a poster ad for an RPG called ``Justifiers,''
and I am wondering what it is. The poster depicts a being who looks
like a garden variety soldier/mercenary/hunter, except he has a wolf's 
head instead of a human one. The soldier/merc is kneeling on the ground,
and in front of him is a creature which looks like a baby brontosaraus.
The soldier looks like he is trying to catch the baby brontosaraus by
offering it a Hershey (tm) bar. The baby bronosaraus looks like it is 
about to take the bait. Above the soldier and the baby dinosaur, on a 
small cliff, an adult brontosaraus (just like a regular brontosaraus, 
except it has big nasty teeth) is descending on the unsuspecting soldier.

It's a great drawing, looks like pen and ink with 3 or 4 colors screened
in. There is no copy on the poster, except the name of the game at the 
bottom: JUSTIFIERS RPG. 

Anyone know what this game is like? What it's about? Who makes it? If it's
any good? Thanks.

Okay,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chadd VanZanten SL9B4@CC.USU.EDU + ``There  is water  at the  bottom 
of the ocean.'' --David Byrne, Once in a Lifetime
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH)
Subject: Re: Newbie System?
Originator: jmkaraka@c00040-100lez.eos.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 21:18:14 GMT


|>Which system would you recommend to someone who had decided they wanted to
|>try Role-Playing? The game should be suitable for whole groups of Newbies
|>to learn on their own without the guidance of Role-Playing Gurus. What do
|>you see as the dominant criteria for a Newbie RPG?
|>
|>My nomination goes to Star Wars. It uses d6, is simple, has a setting known
|>to just about everyone, is easy to have fun with (droids are built in comic
|>relief) and has the added advantage that any way-out results the are often 
|>in keeping with the heroic setting anyway.


	Naahhh.  What if someone doesn't LIKE Star Wars (the universe, that is).
Though I may be prejudiced, I would suggest GURPS and any one supplement that
happens to strike their fancy.  D6's only, two-tier combat system with lots
of OPTIONAL rules that can be added when the players are more experienced, and
of course the benefit of having TONS & TONS of other supplements when they get
bored of their first choice.

	-john-
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: adelekta@kentvm.kent.edu
Subject: Re: Vampire Generation Background rule
Organization: Kent State Univ.
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 16:40:59 GMT

In article <1992Oct16.144409.21434@wam.umd.edu>
reese@next12pg2.wam.umd.edu (Reese Berringer) writes:
 
>	A question though.  Did anyone else decide that the generation
>option in backgrounds was just too Monte-Hall ?  I threw them out, and
>made everyone in the party be 13th Gen.  This seems to enhance the moral
>quandery of diablerie-to do it or not.  Any comments ?
 
 While this is certainly a valid method, I think that allowing for differences
in generation adds to role-playing...In the last game I played in, I ran an 8th
generation Brujah. It was a nice contrast to the rest of the party, which
involved Gangrel and Caitiff 13th generation, and a Tremere of about 10th.
 I have played in games (other than vampire) where all characters were at the
same level. This adds a sort of uniformity or a unity to the group, but
I found it wasn't really practical (at least with my group - there was almost
*no* solidarity, everyone acted pretty much as a free agent).
 Of course, I'm sure I'm speaking from a rather biased point of view, since I
*liked* having a lower generation than other party members (it gave my
character more credibility when dealing with the Prince and heads of clans, and
it got her into more trouble when she got tangled up with the bad guys...)
 
Diablerie- didn't come up much in the campaigns I played in. A few characters
hunted down Caitiffs for diablerie, and one character helped capture the head
of the sabbat and got to do condoned diablerie. That was the extent of it.
 
I guess it all depends on what sort of campaign you're planning to run.
 
adelekta@kentvm.kent.edu
 
There are no easy answers in life - *except* to the question: "More coffee?"
From: "jeff zeitlin" <jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: was watson jack the rippe
Date: 14 Oct 92 07:29:52 EST
Reply-To: "jeff zeitlin" <jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com>
Distribution: rec
Organization: Executive Networks Information

    Subject: Was Watson Jack the Ripper?


TOPIC ALERT!  TOPIC ALERT!  TOPIC ALERT!

CM::>The sotry I had heard was that Doyle was tired of the Holmes stories and di
  ::>indeed try to kill his protagonist...

  He was.  That was when he had Holmes meet Moriarty at teh
  Reichenbach falls, and go over in the "final struggle".  The story
  was "His Last Bow".

  J/
  jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com
  ==================================================================
  Anything I say in this or any communication to this or any medium
  is strictly my own non-authoritative opinion, unless otherwise
  explicitly noted.  Except for myself, or where explicitly noted
  otherwise, I do not speak for any individual or organization.
  ==================================================================

 * OLX 2.2 * Dammit Bones, I'm a Starship Captain, not an ACTOR!!
--
Executive Network Information System  (914) 667-4567
International ILink Host
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters)
Subject: Re: GM wants to be a Player
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 13:18:20 GMT


In article <168803C3F.MHART00@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU> mason writes:
>In article <1992Oct13.195126.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca>
>jbridson@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes:

[snippage removed for the sake of bandwidth (and I've seen some WIDE bands)]

>>How does a GM turn into a simple Player again?  How do you get back into
>>the feel of role-playing just one person and having no control over others'
>>actions?
> 
>Concentrate.  Or play a character with a severe Multiple Personality
>Disorder.  8)

Conversely, if the other GM will allow it, play more than one character.  NOT
the "buddy" system, where your two characters are sharing everything, including
the player's mind, but two disparate characters, who may not even like each 
other but are bound to each other somehow.  For example, in a recent game
I was given the opportunity to play two characters (ADnD, so sue me),
so I created a ranger and a mage who disliked each other, but were bound by
a contract (by the ranger's parents and the mage's mentor) to adventure
together.  They had arguments, and the mage would hold back on the spells
until the ranger was unconcious, the ranger would leave the mage to defend
herself (oh yes, I do play crossgender (actually, I roll d%, 01-50 male, 51-00
female)).

It keeps the gamer busy with the character interactions, and (in my case)
I stop second-guessing the GM, and just run with the characters.  Sometimes
it can be distracting to the other players when you are fighting with yourself,
but it can be fun.

-Coyt


Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: brian_vickers@isd.jpl.nasa.gov (Brian Vickers)
Subject: Virtual Reality Supplements
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 17:54:49 GMT


What RPGs deal with and/or have published supplements for Virtual Reality?
Can some of you provide me with a list?

-- Brian
brian_vickers@isd.jpl.nasa.gov

"I have to tough filthy and repulsive things everyday ... don't I honey?"
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Newbie System?
Date: 9 Oct 92 16:52:42 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@unixd2.cis.pitt.edu

In article <1992Oct9.161136.24551@cs.tulane.edu> eebonar@sn01.sncc.lsu.edu writes:
>In article <7136@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>, seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) writes...
>>	Of course, I suppose that depends on what your definition of
>>"learn" is. If you mean, "can roll the dice on command with a vague
>>clue as to what might be going on", okay, I'd agree. But I think any
>>system can be taught to THAT extent in 15 minutes. If you mean what

>	Once you have premade characters (which is what was initially
>mentioned) you really don't need to know all that much.

	[heartless butchery of former article, slashing out billions of
characters...]

  The
>main thing is to start thinking in role playing terms, to start firing 
>imagination.  Learning a system perfectly is what you do after you are 
>hooked on roleplaying

	I agree with your above remark. However, it seems to me that premade
characters are directly against all roleplaying. If you made the character
and handed it to me, it isn't my character. You designed it differently,
you have a different conception of it, and in short it isn't a character
for me; it's a collection of numbers with no relation to me at all. Premade
characters have always felt completely alien to me -- I find them to be
promotions of ROLL-playing because the user (I can't really say "player")
of the premade is just picking up a cold set of numbers without even the
tenuous personal connection of these at least being HIS numbers and 
trying to maximize the return on numbers whose meaning he (especially if
a newbie) will have very little concept of.
	I never play premades. This keeps me out of  tournaments, I suppose,
but then tournaments never struck me as particularly productive either...


                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;
From: goldm@rpi.edu (Mitchell E. Gold)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SJG - Miniatures
Date: 13 Oct 92 20:21:23 GMT
Article-I.D.: sage4a.GOLDM.92Oct13152123
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

In article <3819@bcstec.ca.boeing.com> hall@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Robert J. Hall) writes:
     I see that Steve Jackson Games is joining the long line of companies that
   sponsor miniatures. I wonder what they will be? Perhaps the 'Generic' cast of
   characters? :)
--
But SJG has has miniatures for a long time. Don't tell me you never heard of
Cardboard Heroes!

(and yes, we really did use these, mostly in Champions when we needed normals.)
--
 Mitchell Gold     /  middleman of
 sundance@rpi.edu /  rec.games.frp.archives
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ins769v@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Veltyen)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun Questions
Organization: Monash University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1992 04:56:45 GMT

mortimer wrote:
: In article <1992Oct6.235019.27961@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au>
: ins894r@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron Wigley [Wigs]) writes:
: [ re: "shell people" ]
:  
: The entire concept of Essence implies that souls are inextricably
: tied to the physical body -- thus, samurai cannot survive if their
: essence falls below zero, and a mage's astral self cannot survive
: long if his physical body dies.  A cyborg (def: a human brain in a
: mechanical body) should not be possible under the Shadowrun
: definition of reality.  Even if they were, they should not be
: available as PC's  (put a 20 - l00 million price tag on the tech).
:  
: "Life IS pain.  Anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
: -- mason hart, rice u.

It depends on how you handle these things.
I personally modified my own rules after I read "Never trust an elf"

(Those Hellions are GROOVY)

Basicaly I set that you could have as much Cyber* as you liked but if
your essence went below 0

- Magic Healing does not work at all.
- The negative adds to all surgery and healing targets
- No spell or spell like affects can be "connected" to them
( no spell locks or quickening)

On the plus side
- The negative adds to targets for the targets of mana spells.

Basically you end up with someone who is a real cyber demon, but only
if they have a fantastic surgeon / (optional mechanic) on hand.

-Veltyen
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc