HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Milk Crates
Date: 22 Jul 92 14:48:36 GMT
Organization: 3WA, Boston Office. Or Nu Meta Chi. Take your pick.
X-Get-A-Clue: Have two, they're small.
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Yeah, its a bit late for everyone who's moved out for the summer, but pass
this along to anyone with a lot of gaming stuff (or any stuff, for that
matter) and moves it around a couple of times a year.

Milk Crates. Yes, those plastic crates that hold 4 1-gallon jugs, the kind
you find really cheap a the local K-Mart. They stack neatly, they hold your
books (or other stuff) neatly, and best of all...

Everything's already packed when you move!

--Rat

||||| | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |    |    |   |   |  |  |  |  | | | | | |||||
                                                   __        ___ 
Richard Pieri, Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat/   | /| / /   | The Worlds
Internet: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu   /__  |/ |/ / /| | Welfare Works
    UUCP: ...!northeastern.edu!splinter!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: dseal@armltd.co.uk (David Seal)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: GURPS: Alien races -- Too powerful?
Date: 30 Jul 92 17:58:14 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: A.R.M. Ltd, Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambs, UK

In article <1992Jul28.063307.25962@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu>
gil@smtc21.engr.scarolina.edu (Gil Young) writes:

>   It has occured to me that perhaps GURPS Aliens (and Fantasy Races,
>for that matter) have an edge over normal humans:  ...
>...  What I've done is gotten a point break
>on stats and an extra 35 points in disads.  What do you GURPS players
>think about this?

First, yes, you have got both of these. I don't think this is too bad, as
long as the GM realises what he's doing in allowing a particular race.

With regard to the point break on stats: he's effectively bribing you to
have the right sort of stats for the race you are - in an exaggerated form.
For instance, consider a Dwarf's +2 on ST. The portion of the cost of being
a Dwarf that this accounts for is 20 points. If you take roughly average ST
for a Dwarf, say 11-13 points, it's reduced the stats cost by 20 points, for
no net profit. For higher ST, you make a profit: ST 14 has been reduced in
cost by 25 points (5 points profit), ST 15 by 30 points (10 points profit),
ST 16 by 35 points (15 points profit), etc. For lower ST, you make a loss -
e.g. with ST 10, you've saved 15 points (5 points lost overall), etc.

So the effect of the stats rules for other races is to encourage the
"heroes" (i.e. PCs) of that race to be *especially* good at what that race
is good at anyway. As long as this is what you want as a GM, the rule will
work for you. If you *don't* want this, change the rule for your campaign -
or don't allow the race in the first place.

With regard to the extra disadvantages: if your GM inflicts your
disadvantages on you properly, you're probably not going to *want* 35 points
of racial disadvantages and a full complement of other disadvantages as well
- and players who do take them all will get what they deserve :-}. I would
encourage GMs who don't inflict disadvantages on characters fully to lower
the disadvantages limits for non-human races.

David Seal
dseal@armltd.co.uk

All opinions are mine only...
From: ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUN: Skill web
Date: 27 Jul 92 14:23:04 GMT
Organization: 3WA, Boston Office. Or Nu Meta Chi. Take your pick.
In-reply-to: schwarts@cps.msu.edu's message of 27 Jul 92 13:11:50 GMT
X-Get-A-Clue: Have two, they're small.
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>>>>> On 27 Jul 92 13:11:50 GMT, schwarts@cps.msu.edu (Steven Eric
>>>>> Schwartz) said:

SES> There are two 'loopholes' on the web. Is Cybertech to Biology 1 or 3
SES> dots?  Psych to Socio 1 or 2? I assume you cant uturn around a slanted
SES> line, so the values are 3 and 2?

Looks like you've got an earlier edition of the Web. From the third edition
and up, you trace the shortest path from the skill you need to the default
skill. Each time you go through a dot, it increases the T# by 2. Ignore the
arrows.

--Rat

||||| | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |    |    |   |   |  |  |  |  | | | | | |||||
                                                   __        ___ 
Richard Pieri, Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat/   | /| / /   | The Worlds
Internet: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu   /__  |/ |/ / /| | Welfare Works
    UUCP: ...!northeastern.edu!splinter!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: a481@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Will Tanks Become Extinct?
Date: 31 Jul 92 07:33:13 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

> Gersham William Meharg writes:
> [Much deleted]
> Then along came aircraft carriers and submarienes. Today the battleship is a
> relic of the past, reduced to a artilery platform - much of its combat
> capability is equaled in missile crusiers and frigates.

The battleship of yesteryear was revitalzied in Desert Storm; it was realized
that _survivability_ is an awfully important trait to have.

Battleships have this trait in spades. Have a close look at the updating done
to the Iowa class (what with the stacks and stacks of Tomahawk launchers et.
al.) and you'll see that the 'artillery platform' you disparagingly speak of
has been changed into a missile platform.

And that missile platform, btw, is one tough mother to sink.

--
J.D. Frazer, a481@mindlink.bc.ca, (Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
-----------------------------------------------------------
*BRRRRAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPP!*
"MEIN LEBEN!" <thud>
"You shoulda thought about that when you signed up, buddy." - Valaria

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: schwarts@cps.msu.edu (Steven Eric Schwartz)
Subject: Re: Dangerous Journeys -- Mythus is out
Originator: schwarts@atlantic.cps.msu.edu
Reply-To: schwarts@cps.msu.edu (Steven Eric Schwartz)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 19:34:00 GMT

With respect to DJ/M, is Mythus a generic rules set ie. cross-genre? Or is it
the fantasy part. Loren, can you give more details?
-- 
Steven Eric Schwartz            "It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with
(schwarts@cps.msu.edu)           treasures to satiate desires both subtle and
125 East Wilson Hall-MSU         gross.  But it's not for the timid."
East Lansing, Michigan  48825                           - Q, "Q Who"
From: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: world (atmosphere, etc.) generation?
Date: 21 Jul 92 21:56:56 GMT
Reply-To: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Organization: Department of Chemistry, UCLA

GURPS Space has not just rules for creating worlds, but rules for creating
entire SYSTEMS.  If I remember right, it was a bit light on detail for the
different worlds, but I'm not absolutely sure of that.  It seemed to
emphasize the (solar) system rather than the individual world as the focus.

-Doug Gibson
 doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu

Neither UCLA nor the National Science Foundation has a clue what I am doing.
They just pay me to do it.

This is a properly spelled version of the mimetic signature virus.  Copy it
into your .signature file and join in the fun today!
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: pw15@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Philip  Wang)
Subject: help me
Reply-To: pw15@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Philip  Wang)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 23:21:38 GMT

I'm working on POOL OF RADIANCE right now and I got my level 2 party trapped in
a pyramid somewhere on the island where Phlan is, and somehow I got zapped 
somewhere in the entrance and am now teleported to some weird place and I
can't get out. That my being level 2 is significant because I'm surrounded by 
level 6 or 7 monsters and warriors and all I have left is a half-elf fighter/
mage/priest carrying around four wounded bodies and a corpse. How am I supposed
to get out of this place and back to Phlan for reinforcements and retraining?
Thanks for all help in advance.

philip


"Inside the power cage, I can feel the music call my rage
It's paranoid, first degree. It's telling me that I'm not free.
I've got heavy metal music in my blood and I like to get it to you if I could"
-Holocaust, "Heavy Metal Mania" ||||||||| pw15@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu |||||||||
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: dqk412@kepler.unh.edu (David Q Kennard)
Subject: FLUFF: Re: gamma world, meta.alpha, and PC lines 
Organization: University of New Hampshire  -  Durham, NH
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:41:32 GMT


I remember a number of years ago stopping into a gaming club meeting
on campus and watching either Gamma World or Metamorphous Alpha being
played. Everyone seemed to be playing some *really weird* characters.
So, I sat down with my dice and a rule book. I ended up with something
like a 400 foot walking radioactive oak tree with 4 brains (one insane)
who could throw poison spines and whose various brains could do various
things or were geniuses at this or that. Uh-huh. No wonder everyone
was playing weird characters. 

Another time (Metamorphous Alpha this time),
one member of the party provided great entertainment for the rest of the
players. The *player* of this particular character had what amounted to
"anti-leadership", and *so did his character*. What a combo.
The character also had
extraordinary hearing, full carapace and no sensory nerve endings. He
was basically a giant walking cockroach, and had the same appeal. So
anyway, as we're walking along another player passes a note to the GM
saying that he would use his sonic scalpel on the back of the cockroach's
head, hiding it if the cockroach looked around. The two players were
sitting next to one another, so when the victim player looked the other
way the other one would mime cutting motions at the back of the guy's
head. The GM would roll dice and tell the cockroach he heard a buzzing.
No sensory nerve endings meant that he couldn't actually feel the cut, but
of course he'd spin around looking all over, while the rest of us --
practically in stitches -- denied hearing anything. After all, he was
the only one with advanced hearing. Eventually, after a number of cycles
of spinning around trying to pin down the source of the sound, the GM
had to tell the cockroach -- I mean the player -- that his character
fell over dead. The rest of us acted suitably paranoid and scared. "Oh, 
no! There's something around that just kills invisibly."
Neither the character nor the player ever caught on. And none of had
any regrets.

Dave K.

Actually, both games are a hell of a lot of fun. Weird, but fun.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Military Mechs?
From: alanb@sdl.mdcbbs.com (Alan Braggins)
Date: 31 Jul 92 11:40:12 GMT
Organization: Shape Data (Division of EDS), Cambridge UK
In-reply-to: v131p9t3@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu's message of 29 Jul 92 01:42:00 GMT

>>>>> On 29 Jul 92 01:42:00 GMT, v131p9t3@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Ninstar Cybermage - Back Again from the Mists!) said:
> News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

> In article <MeRNrcy00UhW05B3oK@andrew.cmu.edu>, wt0b+@andrew.cmu.edu (William Henry Timmins) writes...
>>I suppose pistons have been 'forgotten' in the ensuing centuries? I can
>>think of several designs for tanks which would utilize myomer muscle.
>> 

> Pistons are possible, but I don't know if you'd want to do it this way.  Much
> like muscle, the myomer only contracts and relaxes.  It does not expand.  This
> means that when the next piston is being pulled back it is also fighting against
> the last myomer(stretching it). 

You mean like an internal combustion engine has to fight compress the gas for the
next stroke, and only applies force on the explosion stroke? Doesn't sound like much
of a problem to me.

Look at it this way - which is more efficient - human muscle in a leg running, or
human muscle acting as a piston on a bicycle? Running has advantages on rough terrain,
but for most stuff tanks will be much more sensible.

--
Alan Braggins, Shape Data (A Division of EDS Ltd), Cambridge, UK +44-223-316673
   "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
 "My employer does not necessarily share my views - but I'm working on it."
From: cwagner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Christian Wagner)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: OPIGS [was Re: Homemade Systems]
Date: 26 Jul 92 03:40:05 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <1992Jul23.221311.20528@Csli.Stanford.EDU> kyle@Csli.Stanford.EDU (Kyle Wohlmut) writes:
>Sooner or later we ARE going to run "Streetfighter World," where
>everyone plays a Ninja-HOHO version of one of the characters from
>Street Fighter II (Championship Edition).  The entire campaign
>consists of nothing but the players getting on jets to go to some
>remote part of the world to kick the shit out of some other badass
>dude for no adequately explored reason.

Ah, so you're going to base it on Marvel's X-Force, eh? 

<dives for cover>


BTW, what the hell is "Ninja-HOHO"? 

-- 
It is better to be     |      Christian Wagner      | I may make you feel,    
quotable than honest.  | UT - Austin, CS Dept. (UG) | but I can't make you
  - Tom Stoppard       | cwagner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu | think. - JT, "Taab"

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly)
Subject: Re: SRUN: Player Conception & Min/Maxing
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 03:43:27 GMT

>>> Do they cause you stress? 
>>Minimal, I tend to ignore it when they do it, I bypass the grandeur of the
>>rolls, or the barrage of autos and simple say "fine, you got this/achieved
>>that" as quickly and passively as possible, then get on with the rest of 
>>the player back to the challenge of the game....

>What about making the game fun for That char/player?  Since he spent so
>much of his Magic on the autos, doesn't he deserve his time in the sun?
>I think it may be a little unfair to do this to him.  If you deal with
>it this way, why did you allow the character in the first place?

Because the people who tend to design these type of characters are 
usually min/max low roleplaying types. The only really good roleplayer
in our current campaign just sits around during combat while the non-
roleplaying, constantly talking out of character, "My character is
tougher than your character." types whip mondo piles of dice around. When 
combat is over..this is their idea of getting street info. "I call
my contact. *Rolls dice* What did I find out? "

>Aeleck

Axly

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: silber@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Ami A. Silberman)
Subject: Re: world (atmosphere, etc.) generation?
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 22:38:50 GMT

Mega-traveler has a good system in general. There is an additional book,
I think its called something with the word "Survey" in the title, that adds
a lot of depth to the generation including sections on figuring out tectonic
plates, locations of jungles etc. Between the two, you get a pretty good system.
-- 
ami silberman - janitor of lunacy
	silber@cs.uiuc.edu
From: cedr132@hermes.chpc.utexas.edu (Ta-Yin Hu)
Subject: RPGA network ??
Organization: The University of Texas System - CHPC
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 15:07:23 GMT


Hi :

   I heard about the RPGA network, but don't quite understand
   the benefits from them.  Could some give me some hints ?
   I am considering to attend this RPGA network.

   Dean T. Hu

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: mar@physics.su.OZ.AU (David Mar)
Subject: Re: OPIGS [was Re: Homemade Systems]
Organization: School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 01:57:17 GMT

>I love it!  But: why Hammer and Coruba?  I feel like I'm missing something
>here...  

Indeed you probably are. Those names were basically taken from in-jokes
shared by my brother and myself way back in 87. I can't exactly recall
the Hammer one, but the Coruba comes from the brand name of Coruba Rum
(I'm not sure if you have that in the States or not). It's not an
indication of our alcoholic tendencies (which are very small) but an obtuse
reference to the West Indian cricket team, who toured Australia that year
and who were sponsored by this rum company.

Err... yes, I guess you really had to be there...

David Mar.                              mar@astrop.physics.su.OZ.AU
Astrophysics Department, University of Sydney  NSW  2006, Australia.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: JLOCK00@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU (Joseph L. Lockett)
Subject: Re: Genres
Organization: Rice University  
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 07:15:05 GMT

In article <3497@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>
hummell+@pitt.edu (Andrew G Hummell) quotes me and writes:
>
>>Sigh....  Pseudo-technical gobbledygook.  If a human-size pilot had a
>>fifty-foot mech slaved to his movements, it would fall over when he tried
>>to walk.  The walking rhythm does NOT scale linearly with body size.
>
>Hence the need for a computer interface to translate the pilot's movements
>into a scaled-up mech's movements.
 
     That's still a kludge -- you'd get timing problems right and left.
By the time you've changed the pilot's sensory inputs enough so that the
sensory feedback (which seems to be the ONLY possible justification given
for mech vs. tank) matches what he'd expect -- okay, I've raised my left
leg. Okay, I feel that. Okay, that jives with what I see outside the
cockpit window -- haven't you spent enough and crammed in enough delicate
hardware that it's just plain simpler to use a tank?
 
Joseph L. Lockett
jlock00@ricevm1.rice.edu
From: mh563b12@ducvax.auburn.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Rifts + Body-Fixer OCC
Date: 29 Jul 92 02:49:29 GMT

I agree, the body-fixer is a fun OCC.  I would take Cybernetics as one of my
skills though.  There's a good chance that he will at one time or the other
have to operate on someone who has cybers and if I remember right body-fixers
are at a -points when working with cybernetics.
	A friend of mine played one once as basically a field medic/weapons
spec..  It worked out really well.  Our group was a recon group infltrating CS
territory so a doc was needed.

Unitl next time...

Chris

P.S.
A laser scaple can be a handy thing to have 
in citys also. ;-)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ins894r@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron Wigley [Wigs])
Subject: Re: SRUN: New Technology, New Ideas-
Organization: Monash University
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 01:25:27 GMT

ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward) writes:
: warmongr@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Krishgan) writes:
: >  4.  Satellite Uplinks also do not necessarily require "dishes" and "open
: >     space aerials" in our time, I fail to see why they do in the "potential"
: >     future of SR. 
: 
: Then this is a differing view of computer science.  Decks need a .very.
: high bandwidth, low distortion signal.  Plain old video without a dish
: I could see, maybe even trideo, but simsence will .not. carry over airwaves
: in SR (see Shadowbeat) and therefore would likely require a more sophisticated
: recieving array than normal signals.  The same is true (I feel) with Matrix
: connections (based on the fact that Simsence .will. carry over Matrix
: connections (Shadowbeat again))

I'll agree with Lester. There is an example in a special issue of 
Scientific American, dealing with the future of computing. In it was
mentioned the bandwidth problems of real time holograms (Yes folks, they
can be done with todays technology - only using brute force methods to
achieve a 1 inch cube hologram), and the bandwidth needed for HDTV.
(If people would like, I could dig out the article).

With todays technology, you can use a cigar sized antenna to recieve
simple stuff like GPS data (Global Positioning System). A portable
phone (prototype version by Australia Telecom - I've got another article on
it for those interested) that uses satelites uses a 4 inch diameter (or so)
antenna. This is low quality, you would be lucky to manage 9600 baud
safely.

High quality, high bandwidth SatLinks will require either large size
or Brute force (Fancy positioning a microwave laser at a satelite, or worse,
be standing at ground zero on th recieving end).

: > Treat the SUplink as a "telemetry guidance antenna" and
: >     you can then install it parallel to a server.  Satellite Tracking Systems
: >     can easily compensate for their own movement, and maybe even the movement
: >     of a ground based transmitter.
: 
: Ah, but you did not mention them as part of the cyberware.  How much essence
: do the server, etc. cost?

As above, there is a big difference between a telemetry guidance antenna,
and a high bandwidth, Matrix capable, SatLink.

: dishes would be trivial to compensate for.  As you said, technology will
: progress, but I feel that in order to get the bandwidth neccessary for
: a Matrix connection, you still need a large surface to bounce a wide signal
: into a concentrated packet. ie. a dish.

Agreed. 

: >    -Keith
: 
: Wordman

The Wigs of Oz,
Aaron Wigley

Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:2784 rec.games.design:1487 rec.games.frp:24234
From: michael@pacifier.rain.com (Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.design,rec.games.frp
Subject: Rolemaster Character Creation Aid: What would you expect from it?
Keywords: Rolemaster RM
Date: 24 Jul 92 01:52:15 GMT
Article-I.D.: pacifier.1992Jul24.015215.18694
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Organization: Pacifier BBS

I have begun the tedious task of writing a character creation aid for
Rolemaster.  What would you expect from one of these?  I have gotten as
far as stat generation (temps, pots, bonuses & race bonuses) and class
choosing.  I am about to delve into background options from Character Law.
I may include background options from RMC, if all goes well.  After that
comes skills.  That's where progress becomes a slow crawl with all that to
do.  What else should there be?  I am purposely ignoring physical traits
(eye & hair color, height, etc) in favor of the more time consuming tasks
of character creation.

It is a small (46k) .EXE file for PC,XT,AT,etc that so far should work
on any graphic card. (ie, no graphics yet)

It works fine now as just a stat generator, but I have big plans for this
little program.  If anybody wants this version that goes no further than
stat generation than let me know and I'll send it to you. I would like
opinions from anyone I send it to.

		Michael R. Smith

-- 
Michael R. Smith (michael@pacifier.rain.com)
================================================================
<This space intentionally left blank> - sign seen on wooden door
					next to trophy case
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc