HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Tuesday, 7 Apr 1992 23:24:43 EDT
From: <TJK115@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Amber universes
 <RATINOX.92Apr4204118@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>

In article <RATINOX.92Apr4204118@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>,
ratinox@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu (Stainless Steel Rat) says:
>
>There is at least one plane of existance outside of the shadows between the
>Logrus and Pattern, where Merlin's test occured, there may be more. Who
>knows?
>

Or one could say that the only true world was the one in which Merlin's
test occurred and shadows are merely fictional worlds created by
Amberites.  Shadows tend to form in chains of thought that are related
with slight changes from the previous ones.  This could be thought of
as slight improvements and refinements in one amberite's thought.

Suaron
From: cms@mse.cmu.edu (Curtis M Scott)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 10 Apr 92 18:06:58 GMT
Organization: CMU/SEI Master of Software Engineering Program

In article <1992Apr9.172109.4094@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>, jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:
|> Bill Seurer (I think) writes:
|> >And based on a few SCA combats I saw, the one blow/second is not NEARLY
|> >fast enough for lighter weapons.  I saw one where a guy with two
|> >shortswords pummeled his foe so quickly the other guy had no time to do
|> >more than hide behind his shield and vainly try to ward off the blows.
|> >He was probably landing about 3 or 4 blows a second for maybe 15 or 20
|> >seconds.
|> 
|> 	I feel a bit like an armchair critic - but aren't these blows 
|> with wooden padded weapons which do very little damage? 
|> 	Do you think this actually reflects swinging a real steel sword 
|> which sinks into the flesh of the enemy and pulling it out again? 

Well, first of all I would say that those padded weapons are if anything a
little more unweildly than their steel counterparts, assuming they're not
embedded in flesh.

As far as "sinking into the flesh of the enemy," in any real combat almost
any combatant is out of the fight when you've done enough damage to cause
your sword to get stuck. (Of course, that doesn't slow down his friend.)

However, I think the 1 blow/second rate for weapons (SCA or otherwise) is
probably realistic. I don't think any SCA fighter could land 3-4 blows/second.
The fastest fighter I ever knew or heard of was Sir Francois of the Kingdom
of Meridies, and high-speed film showed him striking 3 times in 2 seconds
(that's total blows with two swords). I think Francois is the reason that
SJ put the one blow/second rule in based on that experience.

Recognize that 4 blows a second is one blow every 250 millisecond---basically
reflex speed for the human body. Aimed blows for damage---I don't think so.

Curtis Scott
From: John_Morgan@mindlink.bc.ca (John Morgan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: DMs AID
Date: 11 Apr 92 00:31:48 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Someone had asked about a DMs aid for the computer.
What I would like to know is what would you like to see in this AID?
What would a DM like to have at his fingertips?
What do you folks out there on the net think would be nice to have?

Ciao Ciao
    J

--
######################################################################
#                        #                   ARMY                    #
#  John Morgan           #              Another fine game            #
#  a345@mindlink.uucp    #              By Milton Bradley            #
#                        #                 Ages 17 & up              #
######################################################################

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: sasso@flounder.phy.anl.gov (John F. Sasso)
Subject: Re: RQ: trollkin curse (was Re: RQ question)
Organization: Argonne National Laboratory
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 20:49:49 GMT

In article <1992Apr8.162718.13135@samba.oit.unc.edu> George.Harris@bbs.oit.unc.edu (George Harris) writes:
>In article <0132@calsci.UUCP> calsci!al@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com (Al Petterson) writes:
>>In article <1992Apr3.033641.27338@samba.oit.unc.edu>
>>George.Harris@bbs.oit.unc.edu (George Harris) writes:
>>
>>>        So, given the nature and origin of trollkin, the question arises:
>>>
>>>        Are trollkin actually creatures of Chaos?
>>
>>By any reasonable definition, no;  they do not exhibit chaos features, and
>>Storm Bull rune lords don't start frothing at the mouth when they're around.
>
>	Ah, but is a reasonable definition adequate?  Remember, Gbaji is also
>Nysalor the Illuminated One;  and if you are illuminated, you are immune to 
>Spirits of Retribution, and , more importantly, you do *not* detect as Chaotic,
>even if you have Chaos features coming out the wazoo.  So, if a normal human
>happened to be Illuminated, and managed to join the cult of Krarsht, a Storm
>Khan wouldn't detect him as Chaotic even though he is.
>
>	So, given that Nysalor has a means of *obscuring* Chaos, just because
>something doesn't show up on Sense Chaos doesn't mean it isn't Chaotic.  By
>the above example of the human Krarsht cultist, one can be Chaotic without
>having Chaotic features in the bargain.
>
>	Now, I'm certainly not suggesting tha tall trollkin are Illuminated;
>that is absurd.  However, given the nature of Nysalor, it isn't unreasonable
>that a curse by him would render the victim Chaotic in a manner that wouldn't
>be normally detectable.  The assertion of trollkin being Chaotic additionally
>gains some credence from the observation that the abilities of individual 
>trollkin vary wildly.  Mind you, I'm not saying it is true; just that it is a
>possibility that cannot be dismissed out of hand.
>

Trollkin are not chaotic.  Trollkin are not chaos creatures.  Trollkin
are not detected as illuminated.

I enjoy the RQ discussions in this group, but this one is getting
silly.


							John F Sasso


-- 
"The only way to true inspiration is the study of TedDo.  And lots
of MauMau, of course."  The Elvis Lectures
"I am not the False Bob, I am a free man."  The Book of FalseBobs
"Since the introduction of MauMau, HP sales have skyrocketed." Book of MauMau
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: npearl@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Nathan Y Pearlstein)
Subject: WHFRP (excorcist)
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 16:50:06 GMT

Does any person out there know what issue of White Dwarf the excorcist
career is in?
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: mmcalees@cs16.UVic.CA (Michael McAleese)
Subject: Re: CHAMP:  Racial Packages:  Ripoff?
Organization: The Forgotten Legions of... umm... uhh...
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 19:01:26 GMT

In article <1992Apr16.153523.16203@watdragon.waterloo.edu> vehaag@crocus.waterloo.edu (Viktor Haag) writes:
>In article <8x0t-6k@rpi.edu> cleggp@aix.rpi.edu (Paul Jason Clegg) writes:
>>Is it me or are Racial Packages totally bogus when it comes to increasing
>>maximum characteristics values?  I mean, you can pay points equal to the
>>value of the characteristic to increase the maxima.  This means you don't
>>have to pay double up until that point.  But you don't get any points out
>>of it, so when you DO get to that point, you still have to pay the points to
>>get there.  What's the difference between the two following options:
>[example deleted]
>I may be mistaken, but here is how I interpreted the rules.
>
>When you have a racial package that increases the Racial Max by five points,
>say bringing STR max up to 25, you also increase the base by the same amount.
>That is to say, your base then becomes fifteen.  Thus, if you buy a racial
>package where the STR Max gets raised to 25, and you put 5 points into 
>STR, you will end up with a STR of 20, as the base was raised by 5 as well.

  Hmm.  That's the method a GM friend of mine wanted to use, but I pointed
out that:
a) Since you were buying points on a characteristic and getting something
   else (namely the stat maximum increased) for no extra cost, you were 
   essentially getting something for no points, which seems a bit odd in 
   the Hero system.
b) Characteristic maximums become useless, as anyone can simply ignore them
   by stating that they are buying up their maximums with the points they
   spend on characteristics (and incidentally buying up their characteristics
   with the same points).

   Characteristic maximums are used in my opinion as limits for story 
purposes.  Given the races in FH, for example, if you play a human you will
possibly end up with the greatest swordsperson having a SPD of 4.  When they
run up against a Feline with a SPD of 5, the blindingly quick cat-like moves
of their opponent will discomfort them to no end.
   The bottom line is that if you are going to have characteristic maximums
and races with modified ones, you have to make sure that no one is exceeding
them without a *very* good reason.  Otherwise why bother with them at all?
-- 
*     mmcalees@csr.uvic.ca (Michael McAleese) : I speak only for me...       *
  "Man can believe the impossible, but never the improbable." - Oscar Wilde
From: a_curtis@oz.plymouth.edu (Andrew M. Curtis)
Subject: Re: Lich Killing Advice Needed
Reply-To: a_curtis@oz.plymouth.edu (Andrew M. Curtis)
Organization: Plymouth State College - Plymouth, N.H.
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 17:18:17 GMT

In article <1992Apr11.130335.25925@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> bh967@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Greg Weller) writes:
>
>This is every DM's dream!! To have a lich pop up whereever you want to
>terrorize the party!! Actually he said he would have just let us run away
>if we would have left his stuff alone...but since we trashed his cave he 
>is going to come after us....
>This lich is really smart..and our DM is playing him to the fullest...He won't
>just come after us full out..He is going to wait and plan...Set a few traps
>for us on the way..and then sneak up on us when we last expect it!! So we want
>to out smart the lich before he can sneak up on us!!!
>
>-Greg


	I dearly hope your groups have made out their wills.  Your
gonna need them...

By the way, If you haven't made out the wills yet,  My character
Charon would be glad to be the recipient of all your worldy possesions
upon your death.  I'm sure I can find a BEAUTIFUL way to use what
little you have left.  All of your stuff will come in quite handy no
that we are adventuring in Ravenloft*.

Have fun!!!


* I just wish to say,  AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! I hate Ravenloft.

thats it...thank you


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--<Charon WhiteWater, Barbarian Cleric>--
--<Worshipper of The Great Wyrm Red Dragon>--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-->a_curtis@oz.plymouth.edu<--
*******************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: dabachma@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Donald A Bachman)
Subject: SRUN: Shamans And Mages
Organization: Engineering Computer Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 22:12:37 GMT


	I was wondering, has anyone considered the drawbacks to playing a 
shaman of the Owl? As memory serves (its been some time, more explained later),
they recieve +2 dice for all sorcery/conjury by night, but have +1 Magic target
numbers and +1 to all target numbers during the day. The problem is as to when
the extra dice will offset the higher target number. So with only a little 
thought applied (well, I could seriously analyze it, but a light going over
will hopefully be correct, and do just as well):
	Consider casting with 4 dice, target number 4 (in general, lets make
the notation EDT(n,m) for the expected number of success from n dice, 
target number m), EDT(4,4)=2. It is straighforward to obtain EDT(6,5)=2, so 
since EDT(6,4) = 3 > EDT(8,5) = 2.6666, your average number of successes is
lowered by more than the extra dice get you; however, when casting quite a few
spells, it is desirable to generate as many successes as possible. 
	It is a relatively simple task to generate the break-even point for the
shaman of the Owl according to target number, and it seems that the only
reason (possible the best though) is for reasons of style. Flames welcome.

	Now, on the other subject, there was recently a thread going on
the relative merits of playing mages vs. other archetypes, and if I followed
it properly, the defense held up against the statement that mages were consid-
erably more powerful than the others when spell locks (quickening, conjury, 
spells that ignore armor, . . .) was that another mage could remove a spell lock
and that the other types would invariably have high body/will values with
which to offset the affects of magic. This sounds self-defeating to me, as
in the first case, it takes the actions of another mage to make the fight fair,
and in the second, even with a will of 8, versus a half decent mage, the target
number for resistence will be at least 6. Somebody, please explain the situation
in a clearer light.

	Our campaign died when the cybertype in our group asked the question
as to what he could do, that could not be done at least as well be a mage,
especially in light of the fact that the mages could do things he couldn't touch
such as magic, astral travel, . . . .

	Responses welcome, flames ignored.

-- 




===============================================================================
|  	There is no language but LISP, and EMACS is its prophet!              |
|                                                                             |
===============================================================================
|Donald Bachman - dabachma@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu                              |
===============================================================================

--
From: ar2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Anthony Russell Rosania)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Mages and Armor Question ( AD&D )
Date: 12 Apr 92 22:08:43 GMT
	<204790@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
Organization: Freshman, Drama, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Excerpts from netnews.rec.games.frp: 12-Apr-92 Re: Mages and Armor
Questio.. Ryk E Spoor@pitt.edu (2167)

> 	
> 	That little problem is just one of the reasons I don't go along
> with the no spells in armor business. I mean, WHY can't the mage do it?
> Can't be the weight or it getting in the way; otherwise the rules 
> would say, perhaps, something like "armor specially enchanted to be non
> encumbering can be worn while spellcasting".
> 	So it must be the armor itself. Maybe its that metal? If so,
> we can see that metal worn by the  spellcaster interferes. But what
> if the metal is 1/2" from the caster? A foot? and so on. 
> 	If armor so  completely interferes with magic, why aren't fighters
> immune to  magic?
> 	If I put a giant suit of armor around my castle, does this make
> the mages inside powerless?



The rules specifically state, it is the hinderance on physical movement
and the Wizard's lack of knowledge about armor. Yes, it is sketchy, so
change it if you don't like it.
						Ant
From: memaso@uta.fi (Markku Sorto)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GM's Pain
Date: 14 Apr 92 09:50:13 GMT
Organization: University of Tampere, Finland

This reminds me about a case in one CoC session...I had no scenario ready,
so I decided to let the players play one scenario from 'Green and pleasant
land'. I can't recall the name of the scenario, but it was the one with 
monsters inside the trees. Time in campaign was in late eighties. Ok, when the
pc's finally enter the main site of the scenario, one says : 'I know, it
must be the trees!!!'. And then they BURN them down....and the monsters
with them.......
 
Tumpa
From: adr9510@zeus.tamu.edu (Trapped in Aggieland)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Shadowrun
Date: 8 Apr 92 17:23:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Apr8.022728.29058@nevada.edu>, wildcard@nevada.edu ( WildCard !!) writes...

>Panthers are fired with Firearms  

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I always though of assault cannons as heavy weapons (size,
type of load they fire, damage factor, etc). And hence they fire using the 
Gunnery skill, not Firearms. This makes sense from a game ballance perspective
as well as from a realism angle: Bob Blunder, detective at large, looses his
Predetor in a firefight. Ooops. BUT Tom Target, the group's gunner, has been 
rendered dead dead deadski by sniper fire. Bob picks up Tom's Panther A-Cannon,
and uses his Firearms 3 to kick some royal ass. Could happen, but....


>There are no target mods for assault cannons (singel shot!) 

Aaaaahhh, the joys of reactive triggers...

>I don't like them. their not subtle.  Autofire-shotguns are much better!! :)

:) I just wish SRun had better suppressive fire rules. :(  Nothing like getting
the security team from surprize in a 1.2 metre wide hallway. Messy.

>                                - WildCard !!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron D. Robb, aka The Philosopher   |	Disclaimer: Texas A&M stands staunchly
Somewhere at Texas A&M University    |	behind my every word. Really they do...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will not eat green eggs and ham, I will not eat it, Son of Sam.
					-AggieCon XXIII 'Quest'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jacobus@symphony.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: RQ: Heroquesting? What is it?
Date: 13 Apr 92 17:29:31 GMT
Reply-To: jacobus@symphony.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney)
Organization: Purdue University

In article <1992Apr8.162522.88539@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au> jwadsley@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au writes:
>Does anyone out there know where I can get some decent HeroQuesting
>information. I regularly play 3rd Edition Runequest and have Glorantha (


2nd edition has nothing about heroquesting.  Try the
grass-server@wharton.upenn.edu

It's a mail server mentioned in the monthly postings.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: tsang@cs.washington.edu (Donald Tsang)
Subject: Re: Weapon for RIFTS or similar Palladium game...
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 09:58:07 GMT

In article <> cjudd@esk (Craig Thomas Judd) writes:
>In article <>, v054p8yx@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Daniel J Kowalski) writes:
>>In article <>, cjudd@esk (Craig Thomas Judd) writes...
>>> 
>>>You now have a constant-firing 90mm Recoilless Rifle and a 40mm Grenade 
>>>Launcher in one. Let's do some calculations.
>>>She was considering adding a Flamethrower to the side...
>>
>>[character stuff deleted]
>>this is a girl (no offense) now i recall rifts rules being ridiculous but a 
>>90mm recoilless is nowhere near a handheld weapon
>
>Well, it may be heavy, but it IS RECOILLESS, ie no kick. It is a personnel
>weapon.

You'd better recheck your references...

From the online Oxford Engligh Dictionary
-----
recoilless (rI'kOIllIs), ('ri:-), a.  Also recoil-less. [f. RECOIL sb. +
-LESS.] Having no recoil.
  a Mil.  Applied to a firearm in which recoil is reduced or eliminated
by deflection of much of the combustion gas to the rear.
  1948 Jrnl. British Interplanetary Soc. July 163 There were two types
[of rocket-firing guns] scheduled for development, one static.., the
other a portable `recoilless' model on a wheeled chassis. 1953 Times 28
May 5/4 Both the United States and the French armies have produced
admirable recoilless guns since 1946. 1957 Economist 7 Sept. 855/1
Recoilless anti-tank rifles could knock out any tank built in the Soviet
Union. 1972 M. KENYON Shooting of Dan McGrew i. 9 You'll be wanting a
recoil-less rifle to defend your honour. 1975 Times 10 Apr. 8/7 Mortar
and recoilless rifle fire has been used against the international air-
port.

-----
static (i.e., fixed-point mount, such as in a building) or wheeled
chassis.  This is a *cannon*.  Think of the size.  90mm.  The "normal"
RR is 57mm, and I believe it's towed behind a jeep, and set up where
necessary...

Anyone with REAL military hardware information know?  If not, I can
certainly call up some friends back home who used to work with the
stuff...

-- 
Donald Tsang                    "Ho!  Haha!  Guard!  Turn!  Parry!  Dodge!
tsang@june.cs.washington.edu     Spin!  Ha!  Thrust!"
..!uw-beaver!june!tsang                       -- Robin Hood Daffy
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun security (Re: Shadowrun: Controlling magicians)
Reply-To: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Organization: Space Systems/Loral
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 07:22:27 GMT

In article <1992Apr17.061726.14972@watdragon.waterloo.edu>,
jwtlai@jeeves.waterloo.edu (Jim W Lai) writes:
"!! "In article <BMtFBs.LA@world.std.com> grex@world.std.com (Mark J Urbin)
writes:
"!! ">   An article was posted on another newsgroup about a current piece of
tech.
"!! ">A subdermal transponder.  It would respond to a signal on a set
frequency.
"!! ">Range was given as `several blocks'.  Current use is to track down lost
pets.
"!! ">The article claimed that it was to be marketed at a way to keep track of
kids.
"!! ">Take this tech to 2050...
"!! "
"!! "And, well, gosh, now ripperdocs have yet another reason to have clientele.
"!! "I'd imagine it'd be a minor surgical operation in most cases.  But would
"!! "they bother implanting?  Think of the PR consequences and the effect of
"!! "decreased morale.  And the magical types would absolutely refuse.

They might WANT to refuse... but if I were Lord High Poobah and wanted to
administer justice to a troublemaking mage, just give him wired reflexes 4
and put him on the city police department dart team, position: goalie.

Goodnight.

--
HELP!! Somebody slapped a "stop payment" on my sanity check!!
brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com; Space Systems/Loral; Palo Alto, Calif.
Black Holes... the /dev/null of the Universe; the opinion of 65534.
From: stites@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ross M Stites)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS: UlTRA Tech ?= Ultra Death??
Date: 14 Apr 1992 17:50:57 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Keywords: GURPS DEATH ULTRA

jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:

>	Has anyone worked out a system where *some* damage penetrates? 
>i.e. You are wearing an armored suit of advanced laminates. An artillery 
>shell hits you in the chest: you are thrown back 4 yards and cooked in a 
>FAE explosion. Your padding and coolant systems help some, but you still 
>take 8pts damage...

But every kind of armor will work differently against different 
weapons.  The only thing, that I know of, that comes close to 
what you are talking about is Spacemaster.  Every weapon has a 
chart cross-referencing it with each type of armor.  This is very
slow and probably still not what you are looking for ...

You could give some weapons two or more types of damage, and each 
armor has a protection value against each type of damage.  For 
example, give the armor you describe above a very high DR against
penetration but a fairly low value against explosion.  The result,
the character takes almost no damage from the shell 'penetration'
but the resulting explosion does a significant amount of damage.

You might also consider adding 'falling' damage due to knock back.
Armor probably won't help against this.

Ross Stites
(stites@matt.ksu.ksu.edu)