HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mark@cheers.jsc.nasa.gov (Mark Manning)
Subject: The WMI (9/9)
Organization: NASA
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 14:20:23 GMT

 
 
 
 
 
This is file: report.wmi( 9/ 9)
 
This file must be concatenated to the rest of the files in this series
(if any).  Everything before the starting line (---START OF SEGMENT---)
and after the ending line (---END OF SEGMENT---) MUST be deleted or else
running BinHex will accomplish nothing.  The FIRST FILE ONLY will contain
a line stating that the following file must be converted using BinHex.
You will have to remove that line as well.  Enjoy.
 
 
 
------------------------START OF SEGMENT------------------------ 
Description:
              This bottle will change water or any other liquid into whatever
              type of alcoholic drink you wish.  Great for those parties
              where people can't decide what it is they wish to drink.
Notes:
|                                                                           |
|->                                                                       <-|
|                                                                           |
Item Number:  144 
Date:         06-14-1992
Title:        The Extra Hand
Inventor:     mark@trillian.jsc.nasa.gov
Author:       Mark Manning
Class:        Mages
Subclass:     
Cost:         1,500GP
Synopsis:
              Something every mage needs.
Description:
              This is an extra hand which hangs, as a glove, from a thong
              either on the mage or nearby.  When needed, the mage whistles
              and the glove comes flying over to do the mage's bidding.
              Great for helping to serve drinks.
Notes:
--------------------------END OF FILE--------------------------- 

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: pooh+@cs.cmu.edu (Will Timmins)
Subject: Re: Unique Races
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 20:57:12 GMT

ARG! Sorry... still getting used to this newsreader. Sigh.

In article <C039CI.n2s.1@cs.cmu.edu> pooh+@cs.cmu.edu (Will Timmins) writes:
>In article <darknite.725523045@camelot> darknite@camelot.bradley.edu (John S. Novak III) writes:
>>Are the Hive Queens actually intelligent, but just very busy and
>>too busy to allocate enough time for a real conversation?  Or are
>>the more intelligent members of the hive bound to the bidding of
>>what is, essentially, a sub-sapient computer?  If the latter, do
>>the intelligent members ever want to break away?  Are they
>>unable, or unable to conceive the concept?

What I tried to send LAST time (sigh)...

	The Hive Queens evolved highly goal-oriented intelligence. That is, 
our abstract, flexible learning-oriented minds are essentially different from
their rational goal-oriented minds.
	Communication is possible under good circumstances (if you show 
yourself as a resource more useful than the danger you pose, but also powerful
enough to be safe from them, the queen may work to communicate with you)
	However, the communication would be dominated by needs and goals. In
essence, queens are more computer-like than we- they lack our guile, but they
are much better at solving multi-variable problems than we. Also, their minds
are adapted for communicating/dominating their members, and inherent genetic
engineering.
	As it is, their minds are more complex than ours, but the amount of
basic tasks they must process is very high.
	Some members are given independence and intelligence comparable to 
ours. Generally, these members are scouts, operating at distances which make
communication and attention difficult. Some of these members, if away for
long enough and under the right circumstances, will go 'rogue'- they will
desire pure independence.

	On the communication issue- given their genetic engineering, it is
easy to postulate that the hive communicates using radio or microwave signals.
This makes attacks of some kinds (jamming or EM pulse) useful against them.
However, they can learn/develop countermeasures... 

Comments?




-- 
[Pooh Bear incarnate.                                             ]
[H1 C+ F+ W G+ K+ S+ R- E+ P                                      ]
[                                                                 ]
[To email, please make sure to mail to pooh@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu]
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:10382 rec.games.board:12821
From: gharris@jade.tufts.edu (George W. Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Dumb Moves By Game Companies
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:50:41 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA

In article <rleroux1.725750755@sol.UVic.CA> rleroux1@sol.UVic.CA (Roger Leroux) writes:
>In <1992Dec30.195744.525@afterlife.ncsc.mil> acadams@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Arthur C. Adams) writes:
>>what are some of the dumbest moves made by game companies?
>
>>Any other suggestions?
>
>Chaosium selling the rights (or the selling rights) for RuneQuest to AH. I
>think that if RQ had remained in Chaosium's hands that it would be a very
>strong competitor with D&D (or rather, have remained a).

	I disagree that this was a dumb move on Chaosium's part.  Chaosium 
wanted to concentrate their efforts on other fronts, most notably PenDragon
and Call of Cthulhu.  These two lines have been incredibly successful, and
Chaosium is doing very well.  Selling off RQ doesn't seem to have done 
Chaosium appreciable harm.

	I will, however, agree that it was unfortunate for RQ fans that 
Chaosium sold it, given Avalon Hills slipshod treatment of RQ in the '80s.

>Roger Leroux          | The country that draws a broad line between its fighting
>rleroux1@sol.uvic.ca  | men and its thinking men will find its fighting done by 
--
gharris@jade.tufts.edu          
George W. Harris              	"He'd kill us if he had the chance."  
Dept. of Mathematics            
Tufts University              			The Conversation  
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: durrell@pinball.arcade.uiowa.edu (Bryant Durrell)
Subject: Re: META: Game Mechanics vs. Background
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:40:10 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa

This brought to mind a couple of thoughts about book worlds vs.
gaming worlds.  Steffan said something about how if he wants a
good world, he'll turn to fiction.  Why exactly?  Fiction has 
no monopoly on interesting worlds.  There's no reason I can 
think of why a good game designer shouldn't come up with a 
world every bit as interesting as a good writer.  It's merely 
our prejudice that tells us game designers aren't as creative 
in that area.

It is possible to do certain things in fictional worlds that
one can't do in game worlds; namely, the *really* offbeat
stuff for which the reader has no prior reference.  It's 
really hard to get too far away from Western culture in a 
world you're designing to sell to other gamers, cause it's
hard for another GM to get a handle on it.  The classic worlds
of, say, Greyhawk or Traveller (classic in the sense of having
been around awhile) are real easy to get a handle on, and it's
easy for a GM to feel like he can make good decisions about 
what will happen next.  As I think Dave Nalle said in Ysgarth,
the world should be like another NPC, and you should feel as
comfortable deciding what it will do next.

With more outre settings, it's a lot harder for the GM to get
comfy with the world.  Talislanta is right at the border of
accessibility, for me, for example.  But that doesn't show 
that fictional worlds are better, because any fictional 
world adapted into game terms would likely have the same
problem.

Unless it's easier, of course, to get a handle on a world from
a book rather than a game supplement.  Which is more than 
possible, now that I think about it.  Hmmm...well.  Hoping
for comments, in any case.

-- 
Bryant Durrell					   durrell@chop.isca.uiowa.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 I feed on the flesh of the living, and I vote.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: darknite@camelot.bradley.edu (John S. Novak III)
Subject: Unique Races
Organization: Bradley University
Date: 27 Dec 92 06:37:10 GMT

While catching up on my reading during the winter break from
school, I happened upon two books, which contained what were to
me rather inspirational new races for inclusion in a fantasy
campaign.

The first was _Mistress of the Empire_, by Felix Feist.  The race
in question is the Cho-Ja, an insectoid race.  The interesting
part about the Cho-Ja is their hive mind-- the Qeens are the only
truly 'intelligent' members of the race, while the drones are
controlled almost completely by the Queens.  But the Queens form
their own hive mind amongst themselves, and with a world-wide
network, they are nearly always in contact with one another, and
nearly nothing s _ever_ forgotten.  (In the book, Cho-Ja mages
are also dominated by the Queens, but for a campaign in which I
include them, I'd probably elevate them to separate intelligence,
and exchange the Queenly ability to control a hive for a broader
ability with magic.)

The second was _A Fire upon the Deep_ by Vernor Vinge, which I'm
still reading.  The race here are the Tines, a wolf-like people
with 'pack minds.'  Each individual has limited intelligence, but
groups of Tines can bind themselves together into a pack mind of
up to five or six members.  Each individual contributes to the
group 'soul'.  Its also possible for the pack to continue and
survive after individual members are killed or lost-- indeed, it
is possible for a pack to continue with something of the same
identity even after _all_ the original members are dead.  There
also seem to be other configurations than simple 'packs' but I
haven't finished the book yet.  (Imagine having a pack of wolves
based on this concept run across a character with abilities like
Perring from the Wheel of Time series...!)

At any rate, this raises the question, "What unique, new races
have other people out there created?"  I'm personally bored (and
have been for quite some time) with Elveses and Orcses and
Stunties...

--
"You never screw up if you do everything right."
          -Dr. William Hammond, 02-07-92
John S. Novak, III		darknite@camelot.bradley.edu
From: v124pz9t@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David Cheng)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: RQ: King of Sartar
Keywords: Glorantha Runequest
Date: 23 Dec 92 17:59:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1h9t46INN4oa@trwvssi.vssi.trw.com>, b_kondalski@vssi.trw.com (Brian J. Kondalski) writes...
> 
>I received my "King of Sartar" via UPS yesterday and have read more than half
>the book.  It's well worth the money spent on it so far.  But then I love
>reading Greg Stafford's Glorontha mythos.  I just hope that this is the first
>of many books like this.  It would be great to get a book similar to this
>about Pavis, or the Holy Country.
>-- 
>Brian J. Kondalski      b_kondalski@vssi.trw.com


Wow, I had heard it was still delayed.  I just called the Compleat
Strategist here in NYC, and they don't have it yet.

The next book will be the Lunar perspective on the whole Hero Wars
period.

-David Cheng
 drcheng@sales.stern.nyu.edu
From: tratclif@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Tracy Ratcliff)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Palladium: Whiners of the Hobby (was Re: Palladium/Wizards of the Coast Lawsuit)
Date: 30 Dec 92 23:55:35 GMT
Organization: Ohio University CS Dept,. Athens

Could you repost the WotC address?  I assume you get the maximum profit if
I mail-order, and I'd like to help you guys as much as I can.
From: bs508@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (John D Plumitis)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: VAMPIRE question/imput needed
Date: 29 Dec 1992 23:53:24 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


IMPUT NEEDED:

It would seem with the backrounds Generation and Status one can start the game
as a fairly powerful Vampire.  Shouldnt characters who have high generation 
and/or status have more disciplines or something?

I notice the rules for creating NPCs are very generous to Ancillas, which the 
P.C.s could realistically be.

Any thoughts?
From: v124pz9t@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David Cheng)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: META: Game Mechanics vs. Background
Date: 22 Dec 92 16:58:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

Trying to keep in mind Steffan's original question about "what do you buy?.."

I don't know right off how to explain it directly, so let me dance around it
with examples.

I think Chaosium's "Basic Role Playing" core set of rules is the best around.
RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, Ringworld, Stormbringer, Worlds of Wonder/
Superworld, Elfquest - I have them all.  Never played Ringworld or Elfquest,
but I feel better just owning them.

Now, I think Chaosium's real strength (and the reason they're still around)
is that they _also_ do excellent world development.  Ringworld is a great
product: I bought the game, which then stimulated my interest in the books.
Having read the books, I can see how well they developed the universe.
The only problem was nobody bought it.  Luckily, they didn't have the same
problem with CoC.

Any of you familiar with my posts know I'm a Glorantha-head, so we'll just
let that speak for itself.


Now, I think the Shadowrun rules are terrible.  Targeted to kids just 
graduating from D&D (or who play SR instead of D&D as a first game), who
get a pre-pubescent chubber from holding two handfuls of dice just to
shoot a gun.  No thanks - much too cumbersome for me.

BUT, I really like the world.  When I first heard about "elves with 
mohawks; orcs with bionic arms," I said "what a joke!"  (I'm not into 
Games Workshop products at all...).  But I read the cultural sections
of the basic rulebook, and I was impressed.  I think the whole idea of
"there used to be magic, it faded, but now its back" is just 
terribly insightful - I only dream of having that kind of creativity.

So, even though I don't like the game system, and I don't really 
play it at all, I still have over $100 of supplements.  Just because
they are a pleasure to read.


Never really took to GURPS.  Now, from net discussions, I hear some
people with opinions I've come to respect say that there are a lot
of excellent GURPS products.  But, for a reason I just can't put
my finger on, I have practically no interest in buying GURPS stuff.
No, I have absolutely no animosity toward SJG, or any of their 
employees.  Just one of those things, I guess...

Happy Holidays to you all,

-David Cheng
 drcheng@sales.stern.nyu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: liana@nexus.yorku.ca (Liana Simons)
Subject: Re: Dumb Moves By Game Companies
Organization: York University, CS Dept. Toronto
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 22:05:08 GMT

>>What I find odd about good gamers is that they come from all walks
>>occupations.  Any number (one of the best FRP'ers and puzzle-solvers
>>I've met, for instance is terminally dyslexic) are from occupations

>Terminally dyslexic??? This person is going to die from dyslexia??

>If this is true, please tell me. I had no idea it could be that severe...

One of the reasons dyslexics make such good role players is that, for
me at least, the rules and calculations are unnecessary written and 
numeric problems best left to others thus I enjoy the game without knowing
its hidden dynamics.  About the puzzle solving capability, most of the
work I do is best done orally, not writen, including problem solving.

About dyslexic being terminal....well no one informed me of this but I do
believe fellow gamers would probably like to kill me when anything 
mathematical comes up (such as character generation, attacking) as I
generally leave the math to them (flipping a 72 to a 27 could have 
disasterous results).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liana Simons                         | WANDERER - Robert Simons
Cat Owner,                           | Wandering through cold silicon hallways,
Cat Lover                            | Seeing everything, but nothing,
and Cat Owned!                       | Forever Wandering, The Wanderer
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Those who compute together, stay together.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: mason
Subject: Re: Unique Races (insect societies et al)
Organization: Rice University  
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 20:01:48 GMT

In article <C024Cv.HM4@technix.mn.org>
bret@technix.mn.org (Bret Indrelee) writes:
 
>In article <Bzzn7D.MDK@visix.com> gray@visix.com (Gray Jones) writes:
>>Read Helstrom's Hive by (I think) Frank Herbert.  It is about a "race" of humans
>>that form a hive and develop "chemical communication" similar to those mentioned
>>in James Nicoll's article.
>
>Another author having an insect society with a hive mind is the Chitin,
>from "The Black Ship" by Christopher Rowley.  This is the third novel
>in a series.
 
Has anyone mentioned the Thranx from Alan Dean Foster's _Nor Crystal            buggers"
Tears_?  Or the "buggers" from Orson Scott Card's _Ender's Game_?  Or
the Cho-Ja of Raymond E. Feist's _Daughter of the Empire_?  All good
examples of insect races.
 
-- mason
From: thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp])
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SR Spell Locks
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 22:34:29 EST
Organization: Runic Writings / Lawrenceville, GA


icsu0237@cs.montana.edu (Jeff Patterson) writes:

>       I am currently GMing a SRI campaign (moving to SRII after the
> holidays) and have three mages in the party (one is an NPC).  One of
> the mages came up with a great idea for his character - lock a spell
> onto himself.  After consulting both the SR man and the Grimoire we
> found nothing that said that this could not be done, and so he locked
> "personal combat sence" to himself.  With the use of fetishes and
> elementals he was able to cast a pretty mean spell.  He now gets as many
> actions per turn as any of the wired sammies in the party.

   Easiest thing  in the world to take care of.  You see, he now has a big
        energy conduit sticking  into  Astral  Space  from  his  meatbody.
        This  allows nasty Astral mages/creatures to ground spells through
        it into *the mage himself*.  Nasty,  nasty,  nee?    Don't  bother
        charging  Karma  to  keep  it  stable, just have a quick spirit or
        Astrally  projecting  mage  drift  by  and  decide  to  ground   a
        Hellblast through  the  lock  and  then scoot.  I'm sure there are
        Wiz-Kids  who  cruise  Astral  space  doing  just  this  kind   of
        mischief.  :)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp]) |  PGP 2.0 Key avail
...!emory!uumind!runic!thantos                     |      upon request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mecha: It is said that these metal giants were shaped like men, so the
    alien servents of evil would know it was Man who defeated them.
From: thomas@hotb.RoBIN.de (Thomas Brettinger)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Gurps
Date: 19 Dec 1992 16:45:54 +0100
Organization: Home of the brave
NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost
X-Copyright: Nachdruck und Zitate -insbesondere unter Angabe des Autors
             oder der Organisation- ausserhalb des USENETs ist nur mit
             schriftlicher Genehmigung des Autors gestattet. In diesem
             Fall ist die Message-ID und die Newsgruppe als Quelle anzu-
             geben.

dunkelza@titan.ucc.umass.edu (KEITH C MCCORMIC) writes:

>   I figure, with all the GURPS articles that show up here, that a newsgroup:
>Rec.games.rpg.GURPS should be added.  This would cut down on traffic on Rec.
>games.frp.misc, and give GURPS players a place to discuss rules and stuff with
>other people who enjoy it, rather than them having to put up with all sorts of
>anti-GURPS comments and stuff.

Go for it! I like the idea! 

Thomas
-- 
  Thomas Brettinger    (home) thomas@hotb.RoBIN.de                       ^_^ 
  An der Traenk 70     (uni)  bretting@isa.informatik.th-darmstadt.de   (o o) 
  W-6072 Dreieich      (irc)  Wish                                      =\x/= 
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:10184 rec.games.frp.marketplace:1010 rec.collecting:9642 misc.writing:3958 rec.arts.sf.written:16486
From: fishbone@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Greg Fishbone)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.frp.marketplace,rec.collecting,misc.writing,rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: WANTED: SciFi/SciFantasy
Date: 21 Dec 92 06:36:10 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.frp.marketplace,rec.collecting,misc.writing,rec.arts.sf.written
Organization: Temple University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

James A Seymour (camelsho@trigger.ksu.ksu.edu) wrote:
: I have two requests:

: I've been looking for a copy of National Lampoon's "
: "BORED OF THE RINGS" for quite some time now.  A friend of

It was published by Harvard Lampoon, not National Lampoon.  That might
make it easier for you to find, or it might not...

: thanks for any help,

: james seymour/camel/camelsho@matt.ksu.ksu.edu

--
fishbone@astro.ocis.temple.edu  | "I've got a tall pointy hat!  STATUS, boy!
Greg Fishbone                   |  You can argue with me, but you can't
                                |  argue with status!" --Elrod the Albino  
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: akuma@netcom.com (Steven E Barnes)
Subject: Re: Unique Races
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 22:05:01 GMT

In article <C075ts.1Bs.1@cs.cmu.edu>, tmohler+@cs.cmu.edu (Tim Mohler) writes:
> In article <1992Dec28.171450.26963@julian.uwo.ca> jdnicoll@prism.ccs.uwo.ca (James Davis Nicoll) writes:
> 
> >	There was a recent article in Scientific American about
> >caterpillars which guide the behavior of insect  through manipulation
> >of chemical signals. One could imagine a culture of eiis which used
> >similar chemical tricks  to domesticate other invertebrate species,
> >resulting in eii pastoral societies. Other uses of chemicals might
> >be exploited: human(oid)s might find themselves addicted to
> >or poisoned by chemical products of the eiis.
> 
> Indeed. Entire separate insect world/societies. There is no
> reason that perhaps there would be a top insect-species similar
> to humans that farms and cultivates. Perhaps it rides large
> insect species, etc etc. Perhaps they have prejudices based on
> chitin-patterns, and view mammals as exotic sex-objects, or
> perhaps as dusgusting things like we view insects. Possibilities
> here, people.

In an interesting short story by Bruce Sterling, there was an
alien race called The Hive.  (The story was in an anthology
called either Crystal Palace, or Crystal Express, I forget.
However, buy everything Sterling has ever done, especially
Schismatrix!)

In this story, two humans infiltrated the Hive; by using bio-
engineered pheremones, the humans were able to manipulate
hive workers.  The plan was to exploit the amazing genetic
properties of these aliens.  They seemed to be unintelligent,
but...

-steve

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: johnson1@cs.uwp.edu (Christina Johnson)
Subject: Champions:  mage special effects
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Parkside
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 22:22:35 GMT


anyone out there ever run  a particularily successful Champions Mage??  If
so, what were some of the better "spells" (powers) and their special effects??

How difficult is it for players ot go up against super mages?  esp in a
campiagn ith little magic on the players side?  I understand that a mage
is sust as flexible as any other character, depending on what powers he
choosies, but what are some advantages/restictions that go along with
playing a magician in CHampions?

ANd last:  when playing Champions:  do you find that yourself or your
players ted to play characters from your own coutry, or do they tend to
internationalize it?>

thanks in advance:

-Brandywine-
johnson1@cs.uwp.edu


-- 
-Brandywine-                                  
"The quests for knowledge and wisdom 
are often at odds with each other."
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc