HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: smithmc@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Lost Boy)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Sex and RPG's - Why Oh Why ?
Date: 10 Apr 92 13:03:43 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center

In article <1992Apr6.174247.1@cc.newcastle.edu.au> c9036971@cc.newcastle.edu.au writes:
>
>I'd like to call on the experience of you all to answer me a question.
>It seems to me that the number of female roleplayers (not characters!)
>is surprisingly small - in my experience of role playing (about 8
>years, mainly AD&D) I have seen fewer than ten females who were at
>all serious about gaming.
>I was wondering if this is the case with the rest of you. Is the fairer
>sex poorly suited to gaming, perhaps? Do they just have better things
>to do than sit around a table roling dice, speaking in jargon (whether
>fantasy, futuristic or whatever) and wandering in imaginary places? Or
>is it just me?
>For the record, I am a bloke (that's MALE to all you non-Australians),
>and an avid gamer.
>Please flame by mail. It makes life easier for the rest of us.
>Maxx.

	A year ago I ran a GURPS group that included two female players.
INterestingly enough, they not only played on a regular basis but they gave
me some rather original ideas for my own charicters.
	From my experience, female players run two kinds of charicters:
charicters that don't develop because the players don't take the time to
develop them, and charicters that border on psychotic: one player always played
a nymphomaniac and the other came up with the most unusual of charicters-
a schitzo merc who half the time was a quiet, bunnies-and-sunshine kinda guy that
everyone sorta pats on the back and prays will go away and watch his Smurfs
show; and the other half the time was a homocidal Jesus freak that performed
some of the most outrageous stunts I've ever seen as a GM (with the excuse
that "God told him to do that.") 
	(Oh, BTW- If said player is reading this, I *am* using that charicter.)

	The problem was that the other players (all male) got sick of their
PC's and asked the women to leave. Of course I was ready to kill the players;
but the ladies never came back.

	It seems to me, therefore, that the reason we see so few female players
is because when women initially get into the games, they either get bored
or they get razzed. 

	Lost Boy
From: boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: The Undead and level loss
Date: 14 Apr 92 20:36:05 GMT
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <167C2E738.MHART00@ricevm1.rice.edu>, MHART00@ricevm1.rice.edu
(mason hart) writes:
> [ Section on losing hard-earned levels deleted... ]
> 
> 1)  Characters recover lost levels at the rate of one per week, unless
>       they are reduced to less than zero.
> 2)  Characters may save against Death Magic to avoid level loss.
> 3)  The Priest spell Restoration is level four or five, rather than
>       level seven.
> Further suggestions?
> -- mason

   Well, if undead draining levels are such a problem for you, don't use them. 
But to offer my suggestions as to what you can do:

   a) The party hears of this fabulous new magic item, the Scarab of
Protection, that has been rumored to be lost in <insert adventure site> guarded
by the evil <insert favorite monster/NPC> after he/she/it stole it from blah
blah blah...

   b) The party's Priest keeps handy a number of Negative Plane Protection
spells whenever undead are rumored to be around.

   c) Have the undead drain attribute points, such as Str and Dex and Con
(physical attributes), that can only be gained back at 1 point per week of
complete bedrest..

   d) Have the party seek out and find a Priest who can and is willing to cast
Restoration on them (at a price perhaps, but that's another matter. :-)

   e) Hire an additional NPC cleric to help turn those Undead before they can
drain you.

   f) Another magic item to adventure for.. Amulet versus Undead..

   Hope these suggestions help.

                                        John "Nightwind" Boelter

--
*******************************************************************************
* John Boelter        a.k.a. Nightwind            boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu *
* Organizational Manager and contact person for everything and then some.     *
*******************************************************************************
* I don't know, I don't care, I don't want * They're fleeing the wrong way!!  *
* to know, and I don't want to care.       *        -confused adventurer-     *
*        -Martian Manhunter-               ************************************
*        -Justice League International-    * Why is the DM smiling like that? *
*******************************************************************************
From: rrdjro@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Jonathan O'Donnell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Fluff: Silly GM tricks
Date: 14 Apr 92 00:27:42 GMT
Organization: RMIT Computer Centre, Melbourne Australia.

In my Champions campaign, the characters came across a sleeping drunk
that had little pink elephants flying around his head.

When one of characters (for obscure reasons) decided to attack the
sleeping man, an elephant squirted him.  He changed into a little
flying elephant!  I gave the player a new character sheet, and told 
him that little flying pink elephants have only one aim in life:
they want to squirt other people and animals.  

This sort of 'recursive' effect is fun to watch in play.  As characters
attempt to help the polymorphed character, they risk being affected
themselves.

The whole thing was inspired by little ducks down a 'trad' D&D dungoen
that had the same effect.  Thanks, Murray.

	Jonathan@RMIT.edu.au
From: reynolds@cs.iastate.edu (Owen Reynolds)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Stormbringer 4th ed. review wanted
Date: 10 Apr 92 19:29:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: judy.reynolds.702934142
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA

>I am thinking about buying an RPG called Stormbringer and would like to get
>some sort of review as to its workings and general playability. Anyone care
>to enlighten me?

    It's based on the Elric series of books by Michael(sp?) Moorcock,
although we have plenty of players who have never read them and like
the game.
    The world is embroiled in a conflict between law and chaos (the
very same law and choas which inspired D&D's alignment system--law
is generally good, which choas is fairly unpleasant) to make a long
story short.

    The skill/stat system is nearly the same as early Runequest. We've
made some large changes to character creation, since 'town drunk' is
a not-too-bad character to get from the creation system that comes
with it.

    The most notable difference from a standard fantasy world is that
looting bodies of magic items is a BAD idea. I once lived for 8 minutes
after looting a body before the demon-axe I was stupid enough to touch
found me and killed me. The record for shortest is 2 seconds from a
really fast-acting poison.
    The spirit of the game is that that stray arrow CAN hit and kill you
but it will more than likely hit the person who was dumb enough to
start a fight in the first place.

**

    Sorcerors were the bad guys in the first edition, and magic was
sort of made-up by the GM for them. I'm told in fourth edition that
magic has been expanded so that PC sorcerors are much more playable.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: srklump@descartes.waterloo.edu (elm)
Subject: Re: Inspired Character Names
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 14:03:18 GMT

I named my NPC grunts 'Body#1' and 'Body#2'. 

This one guy had a dwarf fighter he called 'Gilbert the Powerful' (could
you be maybe more imaginative?).  He was killed and raised many many
times and each time we appended a prefix to his name.  The first time,
we renamed him Gilbert the Dead, then Gilbert the Undead after raising,
the Gilbert the ReDead after death, until he ended up:

      'Gilbert the UnReUnReUnReUnReUnReUnReUnReDead'

I named an NPC centaur 'Rideau Centaur'; this is an in-joke to those
who've been to Ottawa (name of a local mall is Rideau Centre).

Some familiar names have included 'Cripple-Maker Draco', 'Toad-Killer Dog',
and the immortal 'Hairball'.


Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: craigr@tanus.cec.edu.au (Craig Ryhorchuk)
Subject: Re:  Shadowrun: Looting bodies
Organization: Pro-Net Australia
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 92 01:10:11 GMT

>I forgot that the troll had two portable missiles. :(  He looks at
>me and says, "No problem, I just fire a missile down the tunnel at the
>5 guys.  Then I turn the other way and fire bursts with my Ares LMG."
>He took everyone out in about 3 actions and took one round which bounced
>off his partial heavy armor.  One of the Sams took the dead guy's
>AK-98s with laser sights.  Gotta be worth a few bucks.
>
>Looks like I have to do some studying.  I thought the 8 guards would
>inflict some pretty good wounds before getting geeked.

Well I'd say standing in a sewer while missiles are exploding
very close to you and within said sewer, those guards probably
would have caused some serious damage to the characters, if
indirectly.
"Oh shit Troll, just how long can you hold up this collapsing
ceiling anyway ?" (splat)
>
>Love Shadowrun.  All the players loved it, and we come from lots of
>backgrounds, Dark Conspiracy, AD&D, Gurps, Rifts ...
>-- 

INET: craigr@tanus.cec.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: sleibowitz@hamp.hampshire.edu (Smiling Wolf)
Subject: Re: SR: Controlling Magicians/Matrix theory
Organization: Hampshire College
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 17:58:20 GMT

This is a repost: I realized that changing the name of the topic might be
a swell way to get people to avoid reading it (even if it isn't about
controlling magicians anymore).  I also added a bit.

   mkkuhner@milton.u.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner) writes:
> Otherwise all the SR scenarios which have top-secret corporate data on
> on-line computers get a little hard to swallow.  I know people do it
> today, but they are under increasing pressure to stop, and with rampant
> decking it just wouldn't make any sense.
 
   ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward/Wordman) writes: 
> For the first time, I find myself in complete disagreement with Mary.
> Business is now taking on a more global stature.  More information needs
> to accessed more quickly.  By 2050, both of these trends will be much
> more excelerated than they are now.  Wageslaves, especially salesmen and
> "propagandists" (people who push the wonders of, say, phone networking) are
> sent all over the world to reach the global market.  It is becoming more
> and more necessary for these people to have instant communication of
> progress (including non-vocal data), gain near instant feedback (including
> non-voice data), have access to up to date information, and have access to
> computer resources for presentation and other purposes.  Cutting a computer
> off line would toss these people back to the stone age.
> 
> I could go on, but I think the gist is clear.
 
Strange as it might sound, I think that the both of you are right.  Certain
kinds of really sensitive information - like inter-office memos, account data,
important client/competitor info, and other info vital to running the corp - 
has to be stored in a medium that will enable the appropriate people to get to
it on a few moments notice.  Basically, this means "matrix".  Remember also
that the reason people have to be able to get to this info isn't just so that
they can read it: they also have to be able to update it in a manner that is
secure (at least, compared to a phone line) and fast.  For example, imagine how
fast stock info has to move in the 2050s [yup.  Scary, isn't it? A chromed 
stockbroker ;-)].  

At the same time, the _really_ hot stuff: security measures, high priority
R&D, and Coyote only knows what else, is kept in cold storage, on devices
not attached to the Matrix (if you have "Silver Angel", you know what I 
mean).  Since most of the info can only be (mis)used by a select group of
people in a centralized location (i.e. a lab), it seems unnecessarily dangerous
to keep it online in the Matrix. The stuff kept in that kind of facility is
_ultra-hot_, though, and should not be considered easy pickings by an 
inexperienced team. 
 
  					Your humble servant,
 					    Smiling Wolf
 
sleibowitz@hamp.hampshire.edu
"sister moon will be my guide
 in your blue, blue shadows I would hide"
		- Sting
From: steph@cs.uiuc.edu (Dale Stephenson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 8 Apr 92 05:03:33 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL

In <33340017@hpcndaw.CND.HP.COM> sem@hpcndaw.CND.HP.COM (Steve Mullins) writes:

>Does anyone have any ideas for how to lengthen the simulated time for
>GURPS combat, so that we end up with more believable, and colorful,
>results?

[details deleted]
>Any suggestions?

Fencing weapons aside, I think fights may realistically be very short.
However, in the interest of color --

1)  Distance.  Don't have the two sides be 10 feet apart when they decide
they want to kill each other.  If you put 200-300 feet in between them,
with various obstacles to hide behind, obstruct vision, etc., the sides
will take a while just to get to each other -- and if one side has 
missle weapons the other may want to rethink that frontal assault.  A
crossbow or longbow duel will take longer than a swordfighting duel.

2)  Armor.  With armor, parrys can become more effective, extending combat
length.  Also, the armor will reduce damage, and allow more blows to be
taken.

3)  Skill & Armor (or fencing weapons).  With a sufficiently high skill, good
armor, and perhaps a deflect enchantment, active defenses can get up to
14 or so.  This should *greatly* extend combat length.  Better yet, this will
encourage the feint.  The feint is about the only way to get past a very
high active defense, and it also cuts the number of blows offered in half
(at least!).  Also, players who lose feints tend to try all-out defense
for a turn -- which will extend the fight even more.

(Actually, the best way to get past a very high active defense is
double-teaming -- but double-teams should result in short fights.)

Longer fights may or may not be enjoyable.  The longest GURPS duel I've been
in was a fight between Sirfax the human fortress (enchanted full plate & large
shield), and a fencer called Aragorn (don't blame me -- I didn't choose his
name).  Sirfax had an adjusted spear skill of 9, and on the rare occasions
he hit was easily parried.  Aragorn hit nearly every time, but Sirfax's 
block + PD was 13, and even if Aragorn got through his normal rapier damage
wouldn't.  Since it was a "friendly" fight, Aragorn couldn't use a feint
followed by an eyeslit attack.  I'm not sure we even finished the fight,
but it went on a *long* time.

(BTW, in Metagaming's _Melee_ we once had a fight between two hobbits in
platemail, armed with daggers.  That was the all time champion for combat
length.)

--
Dale J. Stephenson |*| (steph@cs.uiuc.edu) |*| Gigabit Study Group 

  "It is considered good to look wise, especially when not 
   overburdened with information" -- J. Golden Kimball
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: laurence@cco.caltech.edu (Dustin Lee Laurence)
Subject: Re: AD&D: HELP!  I'M LOST! (was AD%&D: HELP! I'M LOST!)
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 00:33:50 GMT

Gee, guys, nice subject line.  I thought I have nearly every permutation
of {a, d, &, n} and the like in my kill file, but I clearly forgot {%}.

-- 
Dustin Laurence            "Someone please stop me, before I net again."

laurence@alice.wonderland.caltech.edu
From: rca@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Stupid adventures
Date: 10 Apr 92 03:54:35 GMT
Organization: Carnegie Mellon Computer Club


     Ok, I can't resist this one.  The absolute stupidest (though fun)
game I ever GM'ed was The Musical Adventure, and yes, I wrote it myself,
lyrics and everything.  It was a little bit Gilbert and Sullivan, and a little
bit Monty Python.  It included:
     - A phase spider, singing to the tune of Strangers in the Night, 
         "Lost in a maze, with  walls ethereal,
          Standing out of phase, with the prime material..."
     - Unicorns who dropped from the sky and began serenading the virgins,
     - And my favorite, Zombies singing "Sugar Magnolia".  (The Grateful
          Undead, get it?)
I know, stupid.  But you did ask...

						-RCA->
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: cms@mse.cmu.edu (Curtis M Scott)
Subject: Re: Herb List Needed
Date: Thu, 09 Apr 92 17:07:25 GMT
Organization: CMU/SEI Master of Software Engineering Program

In article <1992Apr8.151035.1447@ccc.govt.nz>, vanhalewyns@ccc.govt.nz writes:
|> I'm aftr a list of herbs for roleplaying games, anybody know where I can
|> pick up some such thing.

In Rolemaster's Campaign Law, there is a list of herbs with various medicinal
properties. Most are invented, and some are kind of clunky, but it is a BIG
list. I think there's more in Rolemaster Companion I as well.

Curtis Scott
From: allens@yang.earlham.edu (Allen Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re:  New GURPS License
Date: 15 Apr 92 15:47:30 GMT
 <1992Apr8.223847.54315@cc.usu.edu> <1992Apr9.170122.11561@mcs.anl.gov>
Organization: Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana

In article <1992Apr9.170122.11561@mcs.anl.gov>, sasso@flounder.phy.anl.gov (John F. Sasso) writes:
> In article <1992Apr8.223847.54315@cc.usu.edu> sl7sg@cc.usu.edu writes:
>>In article <loydb.2759@fnordbox.UUCP>, loydb@fnordbox.UUCP (Loyd Blankenship) writes:
>>> urban@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Art Urban (PROFS)) writes:
>>>>As product manager, perhaps you could tell me what, if any, progress is being
>>>>made on GURPS software tools. Thanx.
>>>>
>>> 
>>> We have a signed contract for a Mac program, and are negotiating with people
>>				  ^^^
>>				   !
>>
>>	  		   Mac'n'trash - Why?
>>
>>	>>Not meant for comments and flames, I just can't help it<< 
>>	>>If you feel like continuing this descussion, move to an<<
>>	>>appropriate computer newsgroup<<
>>
>>		Shade Pendragon
> 
> Excuse me for using this service to vent my frustrations, but
> 
> FUCK YOU!
> 
> Take your PC and shove it up your 1970's ass!
> 
> Sorry.  Back to the rational discussions.
> 
> 
	You're wanting a rational discussion of the subject? Let's admit 
that some people like/use best Macs, GUIs, etc, and some like PCs. For 
instance, for me a menu or text-driven interface makes a lot more sense 
than things such as icons, point-and-click/drag, and all the other GUI 
stuff. Let us simply hope that there will be both a program for Macs and a 
non-Windows (if I wanted a GUI, I'd get a Mac) program for PCs.
	If we want to continue this discussion, what newsgroup(s) would 
you suggest?
	-Allen
P.S. Did you know that Windows is one of the best viral-detection programs 
built? It won't run if there's a virus....
From: aahz@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (no relation)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Cyberware insanity?  not necessarily... (SR)
Date: 17 Apr 92 07:45:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: darkstar.33150
Organization: Threat Management, Inc.


In article <> hennessy@acsu.buffalo.edu (Mathew A. Hennessy) writes:
>	I don't know if Chrome-junkies really go INSANE with all that
>cyberware..  [lots of perfectly healthy psychoses deleted]

At essence 0, you're effectively insane.  Time for a new PC.  All the fun
trauma I deleted kick in slowly as you dip below, oh, 2.0 down to 0.1

>mild feelings of loss but if you look at it, for 6 karma you erally aren't
						     ^^^ please mean essence
>getting THAT much meat replaced if you go with stuff like headware,
>skillwires,wired reflexes, and things which augment your body rather than
>remove parts of it...

Sure you are.  Skillwires are little tendrils running through your whole
body, if you go by the FASA sketches.  Getting even 100 Mp of headmem
is like having a *hard*drive* sitting in your head.  That's gotta hurt.
And it's tough to suck away more than 2-3 essence with all these "little"
things.

>I don't think that severe problems would begin until
>substantial (say over 60%) of body mass becomes artificial..  and essence loss
>for vat-replaced stuff or bone replacements?  I don't think that's right... I
>can understand if you lose magic-wielding ability if you go tech but to lose
>actual reasoning power?  your life?  I don't know about that..  

HAHAHAHAHAHA.  60%?  You're kidding, right?  At that point you're only
called "human" by convention.  Remember that in SRUN, essence is meant to
represt your body, mind, and soul all wrapped up in one.  And as for
vat-replacement stuff, that's what alpha and betware is for.  And even
if they just replace a bone, it's not *your* bone, and i don't think any
of us would be unaffected by having a steel endoskeleton.
	
>hennessy@acsu.buffalo.edu...  master of discord!

Aahz
From: jcl@sactoh0.sac.ca.us (John C. Laviolette)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: question about battlesuits
Date: 5 Apr 92 22:38:06 GMT
Organization: Sacramento Public Access Unix

<RATINOX.92Apr1101208@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>
Followup-To: 
Distribution: world 
Organization: Sacramento Public Access Unix, Sacramento, Ca.
Keywords: 
 
 
    Is there really going to be a GURPS Mecha?  It seems to me that Mecha
is covered in GURPS Vehicles (which includes rules for vehicles with legs
controlled by a cyberface.  If that doesn't qualify as "mecha," I don't
know what does...)
-- 
 ,-----------------------------------------------------------,
 !  "pay no attention to     !         John Laviolette       !
 !   the man behind the      ! InterNet=jcl@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US!
 !       curtain!"           ! or:     p.o. box 1493         !
From: stevea@jab.tucson.az.us (Steve Albany)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: DMing Question: Player/Character IQ differences
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 92 00:50:51 PDT
Organization: Just Another Bbs. Tucson, AZ

jpk2581@tesla.njit.edu writes:

> 
> What is the best way to resolve a difference in the
> intelligence of a player and the intelligence of 
> his/her character?
> 
> I am thinking specifically of a situation where all
> the PLAYERS were stumped by a particular riddle, but
> several of the CHARACTERS had Int's of 18 and would 
> have been able to solve it easily.
> 
> I'm looking for a technique which evens the effective
> IQ's of the character and player, but still has the
> player do some thinking (i.e. simply rolling a die
> to see if you solved the riddle is icky). I also would
> like to avoid insulting my players ("I don't think
> you'r as smart as your character so here's a blatant
> hint...")
> 
> Anybody got any good ideas?
> 
> - JPK
 
        In my games, I use an all-purpose "Luck" Die Roll on a D10. The 
closer you get to 10, the more likely I am to give you at least a nudge in 
the right direction.. Its short, simple, and not something to be abused.. 
Many players have demanded a LUCK roll, to which I tell them: "Hey pal, yer 
BURNT!".. I hate pushy players..


        ================================================================
        |                    Capt. Steve E. Albany                     |
        |                 Cmdr. USS PATTON (NCC-8570)                  |
        |--------------------------------------------------------------|
        |                           | "My son, ask for thyself another |
        | SteveA@Coyote.Datalog.Com | kingdom, for that which I leave  |
        |  SteveA@Jab.Tucson.Az.Us  | is too small for thee.."         |
        |                           |    - King Phillip of Macedonia   |
        ================================================================