From: v124jw4y@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Benjamin R Pierce)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Let's talk REAL sci-Fi systems
Keywords: The best
Date: 13 Sep 92 19:27:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <BuHsK5.H3w@acsu.buffalo.edu>, swann@acsu.buffalo.edu (Stephen Swann) writes...
>In article <bn6yjsl@rpi.edu> cleggp@aix.rpi.edu (Paul Jason Clegg) writes:


>>sink anymore of my money into a game system designed by a whole team of
>>bloodthirsty, misguided, deluded hack & slashers.
> 
>Y'know this system is actually starting to sound like it might be fun.
>It's got lots o' bug-eyed monsters, a weapon supplement that sounds
>more voluminous than the rule set, a gunboat-diplomacy approach to
>role playing, and a group of game developers who seem more interested
>in blowing things up than to bothering with nuances like character
>personality (thus the cardboard-cutout races to provide instant pop-up
>character personas).




Sigh...
Interesting how everybody suddenly knows the personality and gaming style of
each and every Battlelords playtester based on the (admittedly obnoxious)
postings of one.  Of course I'm a hack-and-slash, blow things up type of
gamer.  I'm involved in Battlelords, so naturally I must be.  That's why I
play characters like an Orion Rogue musician and con-man whose heaviest 
weapon is a sonic disruptor pistol, or a human empath (and yes, matrices can
be used by just about any races.  Some are just far more proficient at it)
who generally carries no weapons at all, preferring to evade or trick enemies.
Come to think of it, the most psychotic, gun-happy character I play is a 13-
year-old human who worships guys with big guns and wants to be just like them
when he grows up (leads to wonderful scenes where he attempts to fire weapons
which weigh more than he does...).  YES, Battlelords appeals to hack-and-slash
types.  YES, it's easy to produce a stereotypical character based on the race
descriptions (although I could do the same with Shadowrun templates, AD&D
character classes, any superhero game on the market--and it's amazing how 
many "mature" roleplayers I've seen taking the same disadvantages in GURPS).
HOWEVER, that does _not_ mean that the game can't work as a medium for mature
role-playing!  The races have general tendencies--Orions tend towards the
sort of character you might find in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series (one of the
big appeals of the race for me), Ram Pythons tend to think in terms of combat,
and so forth.  This does NOT mean that every member of a race thinks like 
every other member of his respective race!  If you want an interesting role-
playing experience, try playing a Mazian, and playing it well (BTW, the problem
with Mazians not being able to read was an oversight on MY part, as I forgot to
insert the appropriate text while editing the book.  You have my apologies, and
if anyone wants this information, I'll be happy to post it.)  In closing, if
you have complaints about the system, fine (a lot of people have brought up 
very valid problems, and I will attempt to address some of these in a later 
post).  If you have complaints about the attitude of a given poster, also fine
(although I think Bluerazor has taken more than enough abuse for his post, both
from netpeople and those of us here in Buffalo).  But, please, DON'T turn this 
into a "Let's make fun of people who play Battlelords" thread, especially if you
haven't tried the game yet or played with the people in question.  To do so 
would be at least as obnoxious and immature as anything that has yet come out of
this fiasco.



                                         Thanks for your time,
                                         --Ben