HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Different playing styles(was Improvisation)
Date: 26 Aug 92 13:36:08 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@pmax1.cis.pitt.edu

In article <1992Aug26.084517.12744@solix.udac.uu.se> magnus@nexto.udac.uu.se (Magnus Ring) writes:
>I think it's time to move the impro/prep thread on to a playing style
>discussion instead. Could someone start this up by giving a good  
>description of the different styles (Hack'n'Slash, Wargaming, Story  
>Playing, Role Playing etc)? It seems to me that some people has too

	Well, sure, I'll give it a shot. 

	NOTE: The "quotes" I'm going to use to illustrate them are 
tongue-in-cheek, so don't explode.


	HACK AND SLASH: Reguardless of the character background or whatever,
the real reason the characters exist is so that they can kill and loot
one thing after another. Many of the old-style dungeon modules were
specifically designed for this kind of play... 
		GM: You open the door. Behind it you see...
		PCs: We Kill It. We Search The Room. We Go To Next Room.

	WARGAMING: Sort of going back to the roots of FRP gaming; in this
kind of play the players are interested in tactics and strategy, often on
a much larger than individual level.
		GM: Okay, next combat turn. Missile Weapons fire first. 
Which direction is your first division firing on?
		PC: We direct our fire at those orcs, 6.5 scale inches away,
which is long range, so we can only do...

	STORY TELLING: There is at least a basic plotline that the characters 
are expected to follow (like, get the One Ring and Dump it in Mount Doom
while holding off the Dark Lord's forces), and the play is concerned with
acheiving this in a dramatically satisfying manner.
		PC:  Hold, foul villain, source of Evil! Across the Burning
Wastes and the Moaning Glacier I have tracked you, and your time of flight
is over! Stand and face me...
		Other player (To GM): Why isn't Mr. Evil blowing Sir 
Clueless away while he babbles on?
		GM: Villains always let the Heroes have their speeches,
just like the Heroes always let the Villains have theirs. Professional
and dramatic courtesy.

	ROLE PLAYING: The behavior of the characters in their interaction
with each other is paramount here. Personal interaction, little personal
projects, and so on dominate the game. Often one of these games can go
for weeks without ever "accomplishing anything" according to those who
play the other kinds of games!
		GM: But, my lady, how could you have known that when I
was a child my stepmother separated us? Oh, cruel fate! For I love you
still...
		PC: *SOB* Is there no way we can be together? 



                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jason@navaho.eel.ufl.edu (Jason Griggs)
Subject: Re: Champions: Throwing Things around...
Keywords: Champions
Organization: UF EE Department
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 92 17:54:33 GMT

In article <1992Aug27.054633.6247@ecst.csuchico.edu>, tdunn@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tim Dunn) writes:
|> Gersham William Meharg writes:
|> >Bif the superhero (STR 50) picks up a Toyota truck and whacks Grog the
|> >evil villian with it.  How much damage does this do? Is it just 10d6
|> >normal damage? 
|> 
|> The max damage any object does is the sum of it's Def and Body, in the 
|> case of the 'generic' car, 3 DEF and 14 Body, 17 d6 (!). As for the
|> extra damage, that's a GM call. I'd probably look at the character, gasp
|> at the 50 Strength (enough to lift a jet fighter) and describe how the
|> car shatters on the person, or the ground should the attack miss.
|> 

     Actually 17d6 can do 34 body, so what you should do instead is role the
10d6 (assuming you use all your strength) and use whatever you get unless it
surpasses 17 body.

Jason Griggs
jason@sioux.ee.ufl.edu
jag@reef.cis.ufl.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ericg@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (Eric Chris Garrison)
Subject: Re: Re Legos as props
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 14:36:30 GMT


-- 
Eric Chris Garrison			      UCS Support Center
ericg@ucs.indiana.edu			      Indiana University
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: aragorn@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Strider)
Subject: Re: net.shadowrun.book
Organization: The Banzai Institute
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 04:57:09 GMT

burke@vxdesy.desy.de writes:
: I've been trying to ftp the recently-announced net.shadowrun.book. I
: can connect to the site, give "anonymous" as the user, my id
: (burke@vxdesy.desy.de) as the password as requested, and I just get
: "anonymous FTP disallowed". Am I doing something wrong, or have they disabled
: anonymous ftp?

Which ftp site did you attempt to connect to?  I could try from my side of
the ocean seeing as you're going over/under/through the Atlantic.   ;-)


Steve J. White		  |"Either there's something wrong with me,	  |
aragorn@csd4.csd.uwm.edu  | or there's something wrong with the universe."|
skeptic@large@9600bps	  |	- Dr. Crusher on ST:TNG			  |
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: tbarnes@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (thomas wrentmore barnes)
Subject: Re: CoC Campaigns 
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 18:29:37 GMT

It's been my experience that if you have to fight anything nastier than
a ghoul or a deep one (notice the singular tense) then the party is
going about their investigations in the wrong way.

I try to plan, as GM, scenarios that long on thought and planning, and
light on combat, if the party is doing things right. The object of my
games is to avoid the monsters until you can shut them down.
   IMO, this is much more faithful to Lovecraft's style of story
writing, than guns and guts. Of course, sometimes the characters make a
big mistake and end up being squashed into gooey chunks or chewing on
their toes in an asylum someplace. That's where the horror element comes
in. The players never know if they've missed a vital clue or have bitten
off more then they can chew (or will be chewed by something they can't
bite...:) ).

Have fun,
 Tom
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ins894r@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Aaron Wigley [Wigs])
Subject: Re: ShadowTech Errata
Organization: Monash University
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 06:35:24 GMT

MacGyver (macgyver@turtle.cis.ohio-state.edu) wrote:
: >I would say that the essence cost for the TacComp is a bit exessive myself.
: >(perhaps .3 and .4, not 3 and 4 essence).
: 
: no, the essence are very correct. TacComp is a VERY POWERFUL item.

Hence it's low availablility, and huge cost. 

As a piece of cyberware, it would rate amongst the Encephalon, and 
the like. All it is a computer, and a lot of interfacing with the 
person's own sensors, etc.

: Wilson MacGyver                      |"I do like a road, because you can be 

The Wigs of Oz,
Aaron Wigley
From: ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SR Artists (Was: Re: SRUN: Shadowrun II Errata)
Date: 30 Aug 92 05:40:35 GMT
 <1992Aug28.171428.24239@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> <ward1.715038575@husc8> <1992Aug29.133428.3039@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>

GAYNOR@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (Jim Gaynor) writes:

>In <ward1.715038575@husc8> ward1@husc8.harvard.edu writes:
>> Don't know.  The copy our group got didn't have the artwork, either.  They'd
>> be fools not to though.  I mean, hell, FASA named a building after him in
>> Seattle, you'd think they'd call on them instead of the guy who does
>> crayon-like drawings in the NAN books (the Las Vegas section, especially).

>Let's see.  That would be Rick Harris, no?  <shudder>  Granted, I
>doubt I could draw any better (an artist I ain't), but when you
>consider that talent that is out there and available.  For those of
>you who are wondering who I'm talking about, check out, say, pg 31 in
>the Grimoire.  And that's some of his best work.  <sigh>

I don't mind Harris too much (when he's not throwing Queensryche sybols
into everything).  I was talking about that other guy who does the really
scratchy two dimentional stuff.  I think he did the Future section of
Harliquin.  Actually, the stuff in that section kind of went with the
feel of that chapter, but the drivel he did in NAN1 was pretty mediocre.
I .could. draw better than that, and I suck!

>   Jim Gaynor    | "Man-of-Many-Beeping-Sounds-and-Flashing-Lights" - KAJ

Wordman
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: spzkny@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (JAMES ZAKANY)
Subject: Re: Improvisation!
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: 28 Aug 1992 14:23 EST  

In article <27AUG199218132376@rosie.uh.edu>,
 lib1p@rosie.uh.edu (Tammy Stark Blandino) writes...

>>I have actually seen a game where the above went :
>> 
>>GM : The Orc hits you with his pike
>>Player : But I disarmed him last round
>>GM : Oh, he picked it up off the ground and hit you with it
>>Player : I didn't notice him trying to get past me to pick up the pike
>>GM : No, you were busy
>>Player : So, an orc can get past me, bend down and pick up a pike and swing
>>it at me all on one action
>>GM : Yup
>> 
>>Now, personally, I'd have left the game at that point.
>(Tammy) 
>As you should.

I wouldn't.  Sometimes (okay, often) the DM will make a gaffe.  It happens.  
The WORST thing a player can do is stop play to bitch!  After the "No, you 
were busy" line, play should have continued.  Pick the bone with the DM 
during a break.

Why should a player (who can jump around, duck blows, remove and rummage 
through his pack, uncork and quaff a potion in one round) bitch about what 
an orc can do, given a minute of action?

In a recent post, I had a situation where a player disagreed with one of my 
rulings.  He did not, however, bitch until AFTER the session.  Now THAT'S 
what I call a good player.
                                                  James S. Zakany
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: seah@fraser.sfu.ca (Simon Seah)
Subject: Re: Permenant damage in HERO
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 23:00:12 GMT

dleland@dante.nmsu.edu (LELAND) writes:


>All the talk in this group on hit locations reminded me of something the 
>HERO system, much as I like it, often has trouble with. In theory there is
>no way in the rules to simulate permenantly disfiguring or crippling a 
>character. Now granted, you wouldn't want to do this very often, but you must

For something that drastic in an attack (without using Disablement and other
such optional rules), I would link a Major Transformation with the attack,
with appropriate "cure" for the Transform being true regenerative means
(where true regen = can regrow limbs), and/or prosthetics, cyberware, etc...

>or limb removal or anything like that. You can define some complex trans attack
>or something, to "turn somebody into a cripple" I guess, but that's awful

A Transform isn't that complex.  But maybe it's just my outlook, because I'm
generally not afraid of powers with honking huge advantages and limitations
(both in number and value).  If you mean unelegant when you say "complex", then I agree.  The most realistic/tight definitions tend to be unwieldy.  For
example, try simulating PEM (from RM's Elemental Companion) in HERO.

>eventually grow back a lost limb due to character definition (they're a lizard

If you're that easy with them, then fine.  But I would be harder.  Isn't it
a power to be able to regenerate limbs as opposed to rapidly healing BODY?
The definition of Regeneration tends to be more "recover BODY faster" rather
than "gimme back that arm".

>or alien or something). But isn't that regeneration? Somebody said, "well it
>depends on character conception, it isn't important to the game." Well, oh
>yes it is because crippling and maining would be a very real part of the
>superhero scene, and "real" heros, whatever they are, would have to deal with it
>a LOT.

>It seems to me there should be some kind of effect table on a wound chart
>that checks to see how "bad" the wound is. If you roll an 18, you could have 
>permemant damage. Yes? No? Too nasty?

Too nasty, I think, for cinematic games.  In a cinematic game, things like
that should be plot devices.  In Realistic Games, it's not hard to add
that into the Disabling optional rules (or just intensify them).

Simon
:)

Xref: sparky rec.games.frp.misc:4955 rec.games.frp.advocacy:2033 rec.games.frp.dnd:3464
From: weeks@astroatc.uucp (Pat Weeks)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.frp.advocacy,rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Alignments - Agggh!
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:32:19 GMT
Organization: Astronautics Technology Cntr, Madison, WI


	Agggh!!  Not this thread again!?!?!?!?!  K)ill K)ill K)ill!!!

					Fiona's Daddy

Internet:  weeks%astroatc.uucp@spool.cs.wisc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: bp494@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dana Goldblatt)
Subject: cluelessness in mystery games (prep vs improv)
Reply-To: bp494@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dana Goldblatt)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 06:54:50 GMT


Reading all this stuff about mystery solving games where the
players are collectively clueless, and the competing mores of
"let them suffer for their lack of perspicacity" vs. "rescue them
from their natural lack of experience at detecting"...

A year or two before I started playing rpgs, I made one of several
abortive attempts to start playing rpgs.  (rather like someone
trying to quit smoking, only in reverse...)  This one was in a 
game of some kind of super hero or spy genre, and there was a 
mystery or something going on, and the GM kept saying, "you guys
aren't any where close to getting a clue!  I've given you tons
of them and you keep ignoring the clues! "  Needless to say, I
had no idea what to do to help, and couldn't spot a single clue
despite my quickness to catch them in fiction.  I just sort of
followed people around and ducked fire fights...  It was not
the sort of experience I cared to repeat; and so, I figured my
tastes had not changed enough to enjoy this stuff and I should
wait another couple of years.  (I do the same thing with foods
I don't like; it worked with green pepper and with tea, but not
yet with asparagus or cucumber)               

Well, the person who did successfully introduce me to the rpg
world (at a rather late age of 23, given the average I've noticed)
had a hard sell coming due to this plethora of bad early experience
(prior to the one described above, there were episodes with my
step-brother's coke-and-pizza buddies, and one at summer camp
which was not so bad, but only half an hour, and in such a liminal
zone that it was hardly likely to be repeated)

Well, to get the point, with a little flexibility, this gm could
have had a game that would have given me a two year head start.
You can say I am holding a grudge. :-)  (though it is hard when I 
can't recall who it was; I do recall one of the other players, 
a guy named Mark who had albino coloring and SCA style dress)

Sincerely,   Dana
_______
From: rzthlb@tuhhco.rz.tu-harburg.de (Lutz Behnke)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Harlequin (aka double GMing)
Date: 31 Aug 92 09:24:39 GMT
Reply-To: behnke@tu-harburg.dbp.de
Organization: Techn. Uni. Hamburg-Harburg, Germany
Originator: rzthlb@tuhhco.rz.tu-harburg.de


In article <batemanc.715012988@p4.cs.man.ac.uk>, batemanc@p4.cs.man.ac.uk (Mad Chris) writes:
|> Has anyone else toyed with using a Harlequin, that is, a second
|> GM who plays only the NPC's and is not involved in the other
|> usual GMing tasks. This works well in some games, but not in
|> others - but it can lead to some intersting play if you are
|> the kind of person who likes to improvise, because the GM 
|> doesn't know exactly what the NPC's are going to do!
|> 
|> Mad Chris.
In the Group I am playing we usually the relief the GM of some of the Task
necesary during gaming like campaign Time keeping ( days and more, we have a
permanent billboard for this, on wich all timelines of the varius Campaignes are
marked), often the Initiative is handled by a player, and some other tasks too
Also we had once a campaign in wich two GM's shared the work and one handled all
NPC's and Monsters and the other only coordinated the two 'Groups'. It worked
pretty good because the Oponents acted more inteligent, and the Fights where
more strreamlined  due to the enhanced 'proccessing power' of the GM-Team.

Greetings sent from the Sage

 
-- 
| Lutz Behnke | behnke@tu-harburg.dbp.de | (Germany) 040 / 630 39 38 |
|  TU Hamburg Harburg, Hamburg, Germany, Europe, Earth, Sol-System   |
|----------When the Evil Spirit armed the Tiger with claws,----------|
|----------------Brahma gave wings to the Dove-----------------------|
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: meharg@fraser.sfu.ca (Gersham William Meharg)
Subject: Champions: Throwing Things around...
Keywords: Champions
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 01:25:07 GMT

I have just recently purchased Champions and the Hero system rules,
and after reading the combat section I was wondering a few things about
combat.

Bif the superhero (STR 50) picks up a Toyota truck and whacks Grog the
evil villian with it.  How much damage does this do? Is it just 10d6
normal damage? I know that the rules say to treat it as an area attack,
a move through. What if Bif were to throw the car (12"-14") at Grog,
would this do more damage than the strike above?

BTW, Champions is an excellent game, FAR superior to Heros Unlimited or
Marvel. Im very impressed...

Gersham Meharg
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver, Canada.

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: Rannou@info.polymtl.ca (Patrick Rannou)
Subject: Re: I used 100% ( RE: Improvisation )
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 08:50:20 GMT

In article <batemanc.715012482@p4.cs.man.ac.uk> batemanc@p4.cs.man.ac.uk (Mad Chris) writes:


   There's nothing I like more than going away for 11 days and coming
   back to find 100 posts on Improvisation! Anyway, in regards to 
   the 80-20 rule I thought some of you might be interested in a recent
   fluke. I just ran a one-off, which I prepped for. Now, I don't do much
   prep really for most games, but for one-offs I like to prepare props,
   maps etc. Now the thing is, rather than only using a tiny fraction of
   what was used - I used 100% of my preparation ( and only needed to
   improvise one or two things ). This is extremely rare for me, and 
   I was suitably shocked. Any one else managed to prepare exactly what
   was needed and nothing that wasn't?

Yes. I find also that it helps me a lot to know exactly what is what.


   Oh, I thought I'd also mention that one mechanism I've used for 
   generating scenarios was the imp-prep method. It works like this:

   1. Get two groups of players - preferably who don't know each other.
   2. Improvise a scenario with the first group, generating maps etc.
       as you go ( yes, this is possible ).
   3. Having finished the improvised version, produce neat versions
       of the props you jury-rigged before.
   4. Run the scenario with the second group.

   I've only done this twice, but both times both games were extremely
   good fun. In the imp game the players essentially wrote a scenario
   for me ( of course, they didn't know this! ) and then I used their
   material on a second group, after a little polish. 

   This isn't, naturally, the road to FRP Nirvana, but it's fun to do
   once in a while, if you can. Anyone else done this?

I only have one group of players, but I managed once and a hafl to do what
you did. It's always, to me, funnier and "betteR" the second time, and even
better than if I directly had prepped the module without first improvising
with another group.

--
/---------------------------\
| Patrick "Paradak" Rannou. |
| Rannou@info.polymtl.ca    |
\---------------------------/

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: joshua salter <jsalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: W40K, where?
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 04:19:03 GMT


	Is there anyone out there that plays W40K? Or not?

							-jsalter
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: magnus@nexto.udac.uu.se (Magnus Ring)
Subject: Re: Improvisation, do I do it?, do I not?
Organization: UDAC, Uppsala, Sweden
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 06:54:09 GMT

In article <4882@balrog.ctron.com> smith@ctron.com (Larry Smith) writes:
> In article <RANNOU.92Aug22105140@zuse.info.polymtl.ca>,  
Rannou@info.polymtl.ca (Patrick Rannou) writes:
> 
> >I observed that many of the OLDER gmers used a kind of nearly only
> > improv gaming.
> 
> I have not been keeping track.  If so, that's a very interesting 
> observation.
> Does anyone concur???
> 
> Larry Smith (smith@ctron.com)  No, I don't speak for Cabletron.  Need  
you ask?
> -
> How about we all do something reasonable?  I bet that'll confuse 'em!

I think this is true. It's a matter of experience and a change of playing
style. The more you play the more you tend to Role Play (or Story Telling)
and you find that you automaticly will have to do a lot of improvisations
while playing and sooner or later to much preparation will seem like
a lot of work in vain.

/Magnus Ring
Organization: Freshman, CIT general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: Wed,  2 Sep 1992 21:24:36 -0400 
From: Robert Everett Brunskill <rb6t+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Mac Mechedit ?

HELP!
I remember seeing a post on a mecheditor someone had for mac and now I
can't find the note!!! Please contact me about it, I am interested (it
might make my compiled listing of all the 'Mechs I have ever seen
easier).
While I'm at it, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MUSE????(Btech)

Rob Brunskill
"It works therefore I am" - netter philosophy.
Organization: Penn $tate Univer$ity
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 08:47:48 EDT
From: Brian Panulla, MooCow <BJP108@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Humorous bumper sticker...
 <28AUG199219302387@jane.uh.edu> <19957@plains.NoDak.edu>

Along these lines, a shirt has been sighted here at Penn State saying:

Campus Crusade for Cthulhu

With the actual text alien text from the short story "Call of Cthulhu" in
of "In his sunken city of R'ylea (sp) dead Cthulhu lies dreaming" or
whatever (this is from memory) on the back.

For those not at a university, this is a pun on "Campus Crusade for Christ,"
a notoriosly annoying, if well-meaning, organization here at PSU.
______
Brian Panulla                                              Hail Sinfonia!
bjp108 @ psuvm.psu.edu / ender @ vivaldi.psu.edu / panulla @ math.psu.edu
(The opinions expressed above are mine alone, and do not reflect those of)
(Penn State University, or the Center for Academic Computing, so there!  )
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu (Ken Arromdee)
Subject: Re: Champions: Some Mental Questions, sort of!
Organization: Johns Hopkins University CS Dept.
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 20:07:15 GMT

>>Also, Can mind control tell people to: 
>>go to sleep, unconscious, be hungry, heartburn, stress headaches

Another way occurred to me to do this...  mind control, uncontrolled continuous
0 end, "act like a hungry person" with the special effect that it makes someone
act like a hungy person by making him feel hungry.  The way to stop the
effect, of course, is to eat some food....
--
"the bogosity in a field equals the bogosity imported from related areas, plus
the bogosity generated internally, minus the bogosity expelled or otherwise
disposed of."  -- K. Eric Drexler

Ken Arromdee (UUCP: ....!jhunix!arromdee; BITNET: arromdee@jhuvm;
     INTERNET: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu)