HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: WARP WORLD
Date: 6 Sep 92 14:44:47 GMT
Reply-To: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu
Organization: 3WA, Boston Office. Or Nu Meta Chi. Take your pick.
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>>>>> BJM == jacobus@symphony.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) says:

BJM> Given these two weaknesses--intricate combat system and non-intuitive
BJM> skill modifiers, the game is still quite good.  Perhaps a bit of a
BJM> reformat and re-presentation might help in the next edition.

Take a look at Corps. While I've use neither the TimeLords or Corps core
system, Corps seems to be a distillation of much of th TL core, with a
simpler skill and modifier system (at least that's what Greg Porter says
:-).

--Rat

||||| | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |    |    |   |   |  |  |  |  | | | | | |||||
                                                   __        ___ 
Richard Pieri, Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat/   | /| / /   | The Worlds
Internet: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu   /__  |/ |/ / /| | Welfare Works
    UUCP: ...!northeastern.edu!meceng!ratinox  /   | /| / / / | | Association:
  BITNET: UA_RLP@NUHUB{.BITNET}               /__  |/ |/ / /  | | I will solve
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 ICBMnet: 42 deg 1 min N, 71 deg 0 min W    /    |/ |/ /_//_____| for you.
From: macgyver@turtle.cis.ohio-state.edu (MacGyver)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: SR II rumor on binding
Date: 15 Sep 92 04:37:23 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept. of Computer and Info. Science


A while ago, Jim Gayor posted a rumor he heard about the binding for
ShadowRun. That was not true.

The truth is, FASA had problem with the binder(the company which does the
binding), not the binding of the book itself.

The binder was very late in binding the books, they weren't able to finish
the binding in time, thus causing the delay on the SR II rulebooks.

FASA has NOT had any problem with binding for ShadowRun II yet.


					Mac

-- 
Wilson MacGyver                      |"I do like a road, because you can be 
Internet:macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu | always wondering what is at the end
=====================================| of it."
Disclaimer:All opinions are mine only|=======================================
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: betel@camelot.bradley.edu (Robert Crawford)
Subject: Re: r.g.frp.* and sci fi games
Organization: Bradley University
Date: 12 Sep 92 21:29:18 GMT

lib1p@rosie.uh.edu (Tammy Stark Blandino) writes:
>This is r.g.frp.misc.  In the hierarchy r.g.frp.* is for 
>fantasy role playing games.  Sci fi games are not fantasy
>games.  Therefore, officially they do not belong here.

	Read the group charter, and the FAQs. "Fantasy" in this
context refers to "not real". Science-fiction games are fantasy under
this definition, the one used in this instance.

	rec.games.rpg is a non-group, officially.


--
Famous Last Words:
"The computer just signalled a radiation leak in engineering."
"So what? The computer's crashing, it's probably false."

Robert Crawford 			betel@camelot.bradley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu (Chris Meadows)
Subject: Re: Surprises
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 23:07:51 GMT


I wasn't the GM for this game; just another player; but this happened
3 days ago, Sunday evening.  The Role-Players' Guild at my university
was playing a GURPS game, a mixture of Cyberpunk/Supers/Psionics/Magic
("the Hybrid from Hell" :).  It was just after the start of the game.
Our characters hadn't met, but they were all in a restaurant.  At a
nearby table was the Mayor.  He was discussing a major drug ring, and 
had just said, "The leader of the gang is--" when a laser blew his head 
off and a couple of guys with machine guns came running in.

My character and another character handled the assault easily (with 500
point characters, a great deal is possible ;), totally disposing of the
attackers.  But when a third character's turn came around, HIS player de-
cided to shoot the restaurant's bouncer, who was actually an innocent by-
stander (and he KNEW it!).  Talk about STOOPID!

Of course, a couple of hours later we made a transport helicoptor 
crash in the middle of a residential area (no innocents were hurt; it
crashed right on the building it took off from; but the police didn't
know that).  Our group's super-Psionic teleported us all to safety,
but my quick gadgeteer's motorcycle (her pride and joy) and another
player (a highly-intelligent, psionic lawyer)'s Mercedes were impounded.
And because my character's motorcycle had a electro-shock burglar alarm,
the GM ruled that the cops disconnected all the electronic equipment
on it (including the remote control device).

This is also the GM who said that if my character tried to use the sex
appeal skill on the impound lot guard, he would have the guard be a homo-
sexual...I think the GM is in some ways just as surprising as the players!

---Chris Meadows

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: chadwick@world.std.com (Chadwick Ngan)
Subject: Re: RPG Fiction
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 08:42:39 GMT

In article <715810692.9821@zooid.guild.org> brian@zooid.guild.org (Brian Misiaszek) writes:

>  Regardless, from my few aborted attempts to read such book, I have also
>found them universally bad.  I suppose one could view the rpg-based novels as
>a cheap source book for a campaign world, but one would have to suspend their
>critical faculties while reading them (I know I can't.  I tried reading the
>first Dragonlance series novel, and fifty pages into it, I hurled it away in
>disgust).

	One main problem of RPG fiction is that, the authors tried too hard
to follow the module/campaign.  In doing so, he placed many restrcitions on
his creativity, and subsequently the quality of the book.  Take the Dragonlance
Chronicles for example.  Vol. 1 is basically a blow-by-blow account of the
playtesting of the first module.  While I wouldn't say it's a dog, it comes
pretty close to such, especially when compared to Margaret and Tracy's later
works.
	The two of them acknowledged this problem in The Art of the Dragonlance
Sage.  When they decided to diverse from the structure of campagin in vol. 2,
the Chronicles became much more readable.
	I still like Raymond E. Fiest though, I like his narration style.


					Chadwick
					Sheeta "the Elf"
From: Patrick_Andrew_Barnes@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Werewolf
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 04:51:13 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <uk02700.715540451@mik.uky.edu><4SEP199209083732@utkvx3.utk.edu>
  <RATINOX.92Sep6095447@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>

I have a question about character generation in Werewolf.  I tried flipping
through it at a con last weekend but I didn't notice anything stand out 
about it and my local game store does not have any copies of the game in
to peruse.  My question is how differentiated are characters from each
other?  One thing I liked about Vampire was that while all the characters
were vampires, there were many differences in capability and power between
different types of vampires.  Are there different types of werewolves?  Are
there various abilities that characters can acquire to set them apart from
the other werewolves or are characters only different in skills and stats?
From: ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Werewolf
Date: 7 Sep 92 23:01:44 GMT
	<4SEP199209083732@utkvx3.utk.edu>
	<RATINOX.92Sep6095447@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>
Reply-To: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu
Organization: 3WA, Boston Office. Or Nu Meta Chi. Take your pick.
In-reply-to: ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu's message of 6 Sep 92 13:54:47 GMT
X-Get-A-Clue: Have two, they're small.
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>>>>> "ME" == Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat
>>>>> <ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu> writes:

KJ> Do lupine physicly enter the Umbra?

CN> According to WW, they *do* enter the Umbra physically, or at least did
CN> during playtesting "Rite of Passage".

ME> Then I agree with Thenomain; WW should have made this fact *much*
ME> clearer.  This is too important an ability to have left ambiguous.

Well, I've got confirmation from White Wolf:

-------- Begin included message

From: ragabash@acca.nmsu.edu
Subject: Re: Stepping Sideways
To: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 92 16:04:17 MDT
Cc: vampire@math.ufl.edu
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL0]

Garou go *Full Body* into the umbra...bam.

..Sam

-------- End included message

Direct from the folks at White Wolf. I wish they had been more explicit the
first time around.

--Rat

||||| | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |    |    |   |   |  |  |  |  | | | | | |||||
                                                   __        ___ 
Richard Pieri, Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat/   | /| / /   | The Worlds
Internet: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu   /__  |/ |/ / /| | Welfare Works
    UUCP: ...!northeastern.edu!meceng!ratinox  /   | /| / / / | | Association:
  BITNET: UA_RLP@NUHUB{.BITNET}               /__  |/ |/ / /  | | I will solve
  USNail: 14 Westdale RD  Holbrook, MA 02343 /   | /| / / /___| | any problem
 ICBMnet: 42 deg 1 min N, 71 deg 0 min W    /    |/ |/ /_//_____| for you.
From: Brian_Matschke@f406.n247.z2.fidonet.org (Brian Matschke)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for "women's" rpg.
Date: 9 Sep 92 17:21:20 GMT
Organization: The Summit BBS +49-69-539806
X-Comment-To: (Faye Levine)

In a msg on <Sep0919:21, Faye Levine of 2:242/6.1 writes:


 FL>But also, there *are* matriarchal societies in some parts of the 
 FL>world. However, since my own knowledge is limited, perhaps 
 FL>someone else could site examples since I don't want to look 
 FL>like a fool.

The Iroquois of the northeastern U.S. is one example where women's political 
and spiritual influence can surpass that of men. And you can find such 
societies in Indonesia, West Africa, and the Caribbean (to name a few).
From: gbradley@uks197.Berkeley.EDU (Gary Bradley)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Music and Lights
Date: 15 Sep 92 15:33:29 GMT
Reply-To: gbradley@uks197.Berkeley.EDU (Gary Bradley)

In article <Bu6nGF.G5F@acsu.buffalo.edu>, v054nn84@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu
(Foto...Taking pictures again, and Happy for it!) writes:
|>To the poster who asked what a LeMarchand Cube was, sorry for not making that
|>clear (also sorry for all of the typos in that post, it was early, I was
|>rushing to get to work).  A LeMarchand Cube is the fancy name for the gold
|>cube/key from HellRaiser, HellRaiser II, and I would guess HellRaiser III...
|>
|>Skeksis - Let me get this straight.  I'm driving a 91 Geo and he's
driving a 93
|>Vette and you want me to drag?  What are you, some kind of optimist?
       
    Where did you get this term? To the best of my knowledge the things
are called "Lament Configurations" (or sometimes "Lament Configurators"
(ref: script of Hellbound, Fangoria mag, model kit version of the cube).

+---------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Gary Bradley        |   "You receive a love letter from me and |
| ORACLE Corp, UK     |                  you're f*cked forever!" |
| Edinburgh, SCOTLAND |        - Frank Booth ("Blue Velvet")     |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------+
| "God damn the censor man"                                      |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: juola@bruno.cs.colorado.edu (Patrick Juola)
Subject: Re: Bandwith and groups
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 04:40:53 GMT

In article <12SEP199215555531@rosie.uh.edu> lib1p@rosie.uh.edu (Tammy Stark Blandino) writes:
>
>If everyone is so worried about bandwith, then why do we
>have groups like:
>
>alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die
>
>alt.french.captain.borg.borg.borg
>
>just a thought.
>
>Tammy

Because the alt.* groups are officially second class citizens, and news
admins have no qualms about not carrying them.  Almost all of the
comp.* groups can be useful to a computing group (company, university,
&c.), and so they're almost universally carried.  Most people will carry
the soc.* and rec.* as well, but they're much harder to justify to
upper management.  The alt.* hierarchy is officially unjustifiable, and
you carry it only if your ultimate boss doesn't know or doesn't care
about the wasted bandwidth.



Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: badorion@watyew.uwaterloo.ca (Brian A. Dorion)
Subject: Re: Let's talk REAL sci-Fi systems
Keywords: The best
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 04:41:28 GMT

In article <davis.716200313@cwis> davis@cwis.unomaha.edu (James J Davis) writes:
>cleggp@aix.rpi.edu (Paul Jason Clegg) writes:
>
>>1)  The rules were designs to encompass as many possible genres as possible.
>>Examples are GURPS and the Hero System.  Some work (I've never played GURPS,
>>so no comment there), and some don't (Hero System).  The Hero System was 
>>originally intended to be a superhero game, and so its systems are designed
>>for that (and I like Champions a LOT), but they don't work in the "generic"
>>role.
>
>A fact of games is that they all have specialties.  GURPS and Hero have
>notable specialties.  But, I'd hardly say Hero does not work as a generic
>system.  I've got too many hours of watching it do pretty well at any
>task I put it to to say that.  Some of the non-champions games in Hero
>System I've played include: secret agents ('real' and cinematic), monster
>hunters, fantasy, space opera, Victorian era, the pulps, espers, hope I
>didn't forget one.  I am just noting that it might not have performed to
>your expectations when you played it, but my long-ish experience says
>otherwise.  I'm hardly all knowing, but I didn't feel that those games
>didn't work.
>
>-james

I would like to say that I have also had a lot of experience using HERO as a
basis for role playing in a wide variety of genres.  HERO is the game system
that the people I play with (hi John, Jim, James, Ian and Viktor) seem to 
always fall back to.  We might wander away to try another system but it 
seems that we always come home to HERO.  We also have used HERO for Aegis:
city of vampires; the night the kudzu ate Florida; the dandelion that came to
dinner; Hell House; Anton Kostechnie and the Great Werewolf Hunt;            
Anthropomorphic Animals (and humans) in Space vs. the Kafers; The Heron's Egg;
Saxon England meets Harn; another Harn campaign; Time Patrol (you can't win).
And coming up; Diskworld, or May I Borrow A Cup Of Your DNA?

So I would have to say that I'm very happy with the way HERO handles non  
super campaigns.  (And superpowered campaigns for that matter).

Brian Dorion


PS. I do not know James J. Davis,  the James I play with is James Davis Nicoll.
From: mkkuhner@phylo.genetics.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Covers
Date: 13 Sep 92 07:52:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Sep13.075231.4708
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <15091@mindlink.bc.ca> Nick_Janow@mindlink.bc.ca (Nick Janow) writes:
>How important are covers?  Will you ignore a game with a plain cover, and buy a
>game without checking what's between the covers as long as that cover is fancy?

I guess I'm a little leery of very plain covers, because usually they
correspond to out-of-the-mainstream publishing, which contains some real
pearls but an awful lot of swine.  But I could care less about most
cover art, and I'd never (I like to think) buy a game on that basis.

>A fancy cover (full colour, or embossed gold leaf, etc) could raise the price
>of a game by several dollars.  Just what dollar value would you think a cover
>is worth?  If a store carried a plain-cover version for $20 and a nice
>colour-illustration-cover version for $25, which would you buy?

I'd get the plain cover, as long as it was bound in a reasonable
fashion--game books need to last.  I really hate the slashes in the
cover of _Werewolf_, because they reduce the cover's longevity
substantially.  But I wouldn't be willing to pay even $1 for a picture
as opposed to a plain binding.  I might be willing to pay a few dollars
to *avoid* a really ugly cover, chainmail bikinis or the like.  Not very
many, though.  You can always cover it with sticky-paper.

I feel even more strongly that internal color plates are a waste of
money, to the point that they actively deter me from buying the book.
It's nice to have a cover that's easy on the eyes, because you'll be
looking at it a lot, but internal color is completely unnecessary.  FASA
spent a lot of money showing us what color a unicorn is, for heaven's
sake!  I already knew that....

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ins894r@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron Wigley [Wigs])
Subject: Re: SR: Ruthenium(?) Swords
Organization: Monash University
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 05:44:06 GMT

Veltyen (ins769v@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au) wrote:
: Done wanna maka myself a targit, y'catch.

You want a troll that wont be a target? *laugh*

: Veltyen

The Wigs of Oz,
Bubba's GM,
Aaron Wigley
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:5000 rec.games.frp.advocacy:2047 rec.games.frp.dnd:3485
From: jmedway@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (johnjmedway)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.frp.advocacy,rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Alignments
Date: 3 Sep 92 18:06:55 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <1SEP199219354030@rosie.uh.edu> lib1p@rosie.uh.edu (Tammy Stark Blandino) writes:
>I have a new topic if anyone would like to discuss it.  Alignments.
>
>Remember Alignments from AD&D?  Well my gaming group has often
>had heated discussions on alignments.  Now I'm not interested in
>a flame war.  I just want some other opinions.
>
>...
>
>I am also looking for other ways to devise alignment.  If you have
>any other ideas I would appreciate hearing that also.
>
>...
>
>I do not subscribe to rec.games.frp.dnd


Then why are you asking about 'alignments'? I've read and own quite a few
game systems (but play far fewer), but as I've seen D&D, AD&D, et al, are 
the only systems with any concept of 'alignment'. I view it as a primitive
categorization system which long ago should have been discarded/passed by
(and has been by most other systems).

This is not to say that there are no groups which are aligned together
(on certain issues). In Glorantha (RuneQuest) there are religious groups 
associated with Law, Chaos, Light, Darkness, Air, Earth, etc. These 
groupings tend to give broad hints at character behavior. Just as one would
not expect a Buddist to believe in Human Sacrifice. He's NOT Lawful Good,
he's BUDDIST!

If you want to model/regulate character behavior, I'd suggest you take a 
look at Pendragon. It has a moderately sophisticated (though quite playable)
'personality trait' system which measures independently motivations such as
generosity, bravery, pride, vengefulness, orderliness (?), piety, etc.


----------------------------------------------------------------
john j medway                         jmedway@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
							
"It's either spectacular unbelievable success,	
 or crushing, hopeless defeat! There is no middle ground!
 OK, there is a middle gound, but it's for sissy weasels."
 - Bill Watterson through Calvin			
----------------------------------------------------------------
From: acadams@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Arthur C. Adams)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: I want my SR2!!!
Date: 15 Sep 92 16:32:06 GMT
Organization: The Great Beyond

In article <14198@chalmers.se> d9bertil@dtek.chalmers.se (Bertil Jonell) writes:
>In article <1992Sep14.232946.42996@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> kucloak@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>>Better yet.  We could get FASA on the internet.
>
>  Think about it for a second, FASA is a big (compared to the average size of
>gaming companies) company. It's products (and thus itself) attracts a lot of
>flammage on several groups.
>  Would you really like them to see what people say about them around here?
>
Yeah, I would. Its an intereactive discussion of their products. 

Yeah, FASA may get flamed, but they're a business, not over-sensitive
five year olds. It sounds like a great way to get feedback, myself.


-- 
The world is not analog. The world is digital,
with an incredible number of bits.
Arthur C. Adams (not the comic-book artist)                        <fnord>
E-Mail acadams@afterlife.ncsc.mil
From: alumn122@whscdp.whs.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: 40mm grenades (was Re: Let's talk REAL..)
Date: 15 Sep 92 00:19:17 CST
Organization: Washington HS, Milwaukee, WI

>>	There are a boatload of different munition types for the 40mm grenade.
>>There is either a HEDP or HEAT (I think the first) that has some effectiveness
>>against *light* armor, like a APC. There is (or was, before the M203 launcher)
>>a 'shot' round, which made the grenade launcher (M-79) a big shotgun. There
>>might even be 'stun bags' (sealed first-sized bags filled with sand or
>>something similar) for very special purposes.

	Grenades are the best against infantry.  The best things
to do when you are facing a lot of armor and infantry, is to bounce
the grenade off of the armor and into the infantry.  You can reach places 
you never thought of.  Besides if your Referee, and skills prevail
you can make your own 40mm shells.  Like Illumnination (sp?) grenades
without the parachute to scare the wits out of people in the dark or
fry someone's night vision supplies.

	I have one question:  How many points of damage are done if
you shoot someone directly in the chest with a grenade, and they are
not wearing armor so the grenade doesn't explode?  (I like to shoot
people with 40mm grendes, but it is very costly.)

	Besides, how many teams out there got to fight a T-90
with only grenade launchers and other dinky weapons, and lived to tell 
about it.  I tell you that was one of the nastiest battles ever.

                                                  _____
Who else is still waiting for "Naked Gun Part (Pi) | |  "

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