HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kq07+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kevin P. Quigley)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: AD&D Char Death < GURPS Char Death
Date: 9 Apr 92 15:08:32 GMT
Organization: Senior, Music, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


   I have been a DM in AD&D and other games for about 11 years.  The
only time I saw someone get really out of hand with caharacter death. 
Was quite some time ago.  One of my players had been running a monk (1st
edition) for quite some time.  He opened up a door and spotted a ghost
which aged him to the point of no return.  He leaped up from the table,
tore up his character, swore for about five minutes (sparing me no
insult that he could come up with), and left - vowing to never play the
game again.  It was then that I realized that I allowed most of the
characters in my campaign to live through alot - allowing a character
death only when dramatically useful.  This I realized had been
interpreted by some as meaning the characters were more improtant than
the game itself.  While no one is going to jump for joy upon the demise
of a favorite character, the hours spent are not lost!  I mean, the
character is the tool to the entertainment - NOT the product! the game
is the product of the character.  What is a great character going to get
you? nothing.  Character death should be welcomed - like the Vikings
welcomed it.  To be remembered is the true success in life.  So later
you can say - remember when Zybgar was taken into the jaws of that blue
dragon and carried up into the sky only to kill it and plumet to his own
death.  (This happened in one of my campaigns - and  must say it was one
of that players best remembered moments.)

    It is just a piece of paper.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: rday@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Robert E Day)
Subject: Re: 100-DICE
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 20:13:45 GMT

In article <bibaert.702899074@eursus> bibaert@eursus (Hans Baert) writes:
>Hello Everybody,
>Can anybody supply me with a 100 sided dice?
>I need it for ADD. Please reply by mail if you know where i can buy them.
>Greetings,
>                          Hans.
I have never heard of a 100 side100 sided die. what I think that you are 
refering to is the d100 this is 2 d10s one as the ten and the other as the 
digits.
-- 
If the price that I must pay to obtain my *  Robert E. Day/Syr Otto von    *
freedom, is to acknowledge that the Gov-  *  Schwartzkatz, Shire Mugmort   *
ernmet was granted the power to infringe  *  Barony Middle Marches,        *
on them, then I am not free. Paul Anderson*  Middle Kingdom                *
Organization: Senior, Music, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
From: ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Shadowrun: Looting bodies
Date: 7 Apr 92 23:31:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc8.ward1.702689462

wildcard@nevada.edu ( WildCard !!) writes:

>This reminds me about how much fun I had running this scenario!  I thought
>due to the methane and such in the sewer (which I told them they smelled)
>*any* I mean *any* flame or spark would set the sewer a-toastin'!! >:)

Natural gas (which I believe is just methane) has no odor.  The smell usually
associated with it is added as a safety measure.

>                                    - WildCard !!

Wordman
From: bkoike@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Bryce Koike)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 10 Apr 92 21:14:56 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego


	Off of the top of my head, there's two different systems
that I've tested out in the past.  The first is the most utterly
ridiculous, horrible, and the source of enough problems to make me
drop it entirely, but it was fun (perhaps it might work in a
cinematic setting.  I'm not positive, though):

	Lengthen turns to 2 seconds but allow all characters 2
consecutive actions.  Of course (OBVIOUSLY) this brings up a
monstrous host of problems, and the additional rules we added to it
to "game-balance" it blossomed out of proportion, but it was quite
fun so long as none of us attempted to rape the rule.
	Overall, I believe some of the rules were that you couldn't
do 2 of the same action in a turn save for movement, especially for
all-out attack.  It allowed people to move and attack on the same
turn (or attack and then run away...) as well as some other very
strange maneuvers.  I don't recommend this system, but it was
interesting.

	The second system is extremely abstract (at least when I run
it).  Sure, the old GURPS maneuvers are there in some form or
another, but I don't enforce them much.  I draw up a rough map of
the area, and let the players do what they want.  I turned each
turn equal to 2 seconds and at times told players that certain
actions would take multiple turns (for some reason I did this more
using this system than the structured advanced combat...)
	Managed to drag out combat somewhat more.
From: cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu (Chris Siebenmann)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Shadowrun
Date: 15 Apr 92 17:34:01 GMT
Organization: Ziebmef home away from home

reanor@speedy.cs.pitt.edu (Jeffrey Getzin) writes:
| I still haven't been able to get the Street Samurai to understand
| that, under most circumstances, full heavy armor and a heavy machine
| gun carried like a rifle is NOT the way to go, but I'm working on it.

 It sounds like the big problem is that the Street Sam is under the
impression that it's a merc outfit, instead of a Shadowrunning team.
Mercs are the people you hire when you want lots of firepower; 'runners
are supposed to be smarter (and quieter) than this.

 Personally, I think 'runners who get into firefights are doing it
entirely wrong; a firefight is a sign that something has gotten fucked
up, instead of a normal occurrence. Do it right, and the target never
knows you're there. LMGs are not conduisive to stealth or silence under
normal circumstances.

 Always remember: the corp is much bigger than you are. And they have
a valid security equipment license.

--
"The Law of Software Development and Envelopment at MIT:

 Every program in development at MIT expands until it can read mail."
		- greg@math.berkeley.edu
cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu	           ...!{utgpu,utzoo,watmath}!utgpu!cks
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: steph@cs.uiuc.edu (Dale Stephenson)
Subject: Re: AD&D Char Death < GURPS Char Death
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 23:11:25 GMT

In <1992Apr5.201543.25456@ncar.ucar.edu> urban@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Art Urban (PROFS)) writes:

>I would like to hear comments on the following view point; mine, in fact.

>Losing a GURPS character due to death is harder than losing an AD&D character
>due to death, because it takes so long to create a GURPS character. 

Losing a GURPS character due to death is harder than losing an AD&D character
due to death because GURPS characters tend to go unconscious instead of
dying.  Characters survive losing battles.

AD&D characters tend not to survive losing battles.  Of course, if they
are high-level, they may never lose a battle :->.

TFT characters are extremely easy to lose to death.  That's why _Melee_
makes a better board game than RPG.
[snip]
--
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
From: unixwiz@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu (Silk)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Inspired character names
Date: 16 Apr 92 18:48:07 GMT

And then for Car Wars...

our group works for the FBI...

Pickup truck (mobile hq) driver - Nobody
   "    "                gunner - Somebody

Hover Pilot - I don't know

Trike driver #1 - Everybody
Trike driver #2 - Anybody

makes for some great radio conversations...:)

k.mencher
unixwiz@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Herb List Needed
From: vanhalewyns@ccc.govt.nz
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:10:35 NZDT
Organization: Christchurch City Council, New Zealand.

Hi there all you fine upstanding citizens.

I'm aftr a list of herbs for roleplaying games, anybody know where I can
pick up some such thing.

	- Shaun van Halewyn
	- vanhalewyns@ccc.govt.nz
From: boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Sidenote to Re: GM's Pain
Date: 16 Apr 92 14:56:40 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <llHDGff@uop.uop.edu>, luther@uop.uop.edu (Pat Luther) writes:
> 
> 2] I'm DMing. PC has a wild mage follower.  There's this great setup with
>    two rival dragons.  One very powerful, but the other very sneaky (He
>    ended up killing the other with a single cantrip, thanks to the party...)
>    Anyway, they find themselves in the lair of the ancient white.  He peeps
>    his head around a corner, says, "Greetings."  The party is at this point
>    trapped in a very very small corridor, no room to dodge (read: no save
>    vs. Breath weapon).

   No Save?  Where did you get this rule?  Obviously a house rule (and a very
nasty one as well), since you cannot dissallow a saving throw according to the
rules unless the PCs voluntarily forego it.  You can, of course, apply a heavy
negative modifier (hmm, -4 or -8 to save folks.. :-) but that would still give
them that chance to roll natural 20 to save.

>    Wild mage starts casting. Of course, he gets a wild
>    surge. That surge leads to another surge, which lead to another surge, etc.

   I'm curious about this as well.  How does a wild surge lead to another wild
surge?  It certainly doesn't do that in the Tome of Magic...

>    And of course, for the final surge he rolls 000 (My surge chart goes up
>    to 1000)

   Ah, that would explain it.  More house rules.  Btw, you created a 1000
different effects???  Or are there ranges of effects (like 902-905)?  If you
did come up with 1000 different effects, I'd be curious as to seeing this list. 
Do you have them in computer format that you could send me a copy?

>    He ends up with TWO lightning bolts, one at double-strength, one
>    at quadruple strength. That's 66 dice of damage.

   *ticka ticka* That makes your base level of 11 HD, right?  Well, assuming
you're using 2nd ed rules (and this may be a invalid assumption), but Lightning
Bolts have a max damage of 10HD.  That would be 60 dice worth of damage.  Not
that it matters, since you got a nice Wall of Fire off right after.. :-)

   Hey, so I get curious about things like this.  Especially that 1000 effect
wild surge table. :-)  Well, have fun adventuring!

                                        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? *
*******************************************************************************
Organization: Freshman, Drama, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 04:45:16 -0400 
From: Anthony Russell Rosania <ar2j+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Stupid PC Tricks
Distribution: usa

Okay: the party's mage had acquired a gem that was thrown and it turned
into a missle doing BIG damage 2d20. Only problem was he stoll it from
an NPC illusionist. Sitting in a tavern after an important mission the
NPC ill. and his party bursts through the door and the mage is thrown to
the air by a levitation spell from the NPC party's mage. ...

  "Youuu!!!!!" the PC mage screams
  They stare eachother down..
   "You have something which belongs to me and I WANT IT,"the
illusionist yells, "GIVE ME MY GEM!!!"
   The party mage realizes that this is his chance to blast the
illusionist to kingdom come and impress the other players in the
process. He takes the gem from his pocket....
   " HERE!!!! Take it !!!!" and he hurls the gem full force at the
illsionist as it turns into a firey missle. All the PCs look on in awe
as it rockets at the illusionist head. Then Suddenly.........

The illusionist reaches up take grabs the gem out of the air and walks
away. Meanwhile the PC mage is falling to the floor, where he picks
himdelf, and whats left of his pride up.   Too bad I was the PC mage.

						Ant
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: wildcard@nevada.edu ( WildCard !!)
Subject: Re: AD&D:  So what happens when ...
Organization: Shadowland BBS, Humour Division
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 17:38:19 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.170841.2859@watserv1.waterloo.edu> alongley@cape.UWaterloo.ca (Allan Longley) writes:
>What happens when you:
>	(a) Turn a Bag of Holding inside-out?

Simple! You get a Bag of Not-Holding-Anything-Anymore!

>	(b) Cast Chainlightning in a Rope Trick?

Instead of a rope coming from extra-dimensional space, you get a lovely lamp
suitable for hanging coming out of extradimensional space... oo, sorry! I 
thought you said "Chainlighting" not "Chainlightning!"

>	(c) Cast Rope Trick inside a Rope Trick and the first one ends?

You look really silly just hanging there in the air holding on to the no-longer
existant rope.

>	(d) Eat the horse summoned by Mount?

Dear Gentle Reader, You politely say "Thank You" and asked to be excused. 
Remember: Always use the correct fork.

>	(e) Feed people Troll pieces?

Feed "People-Troll-Pieces" (The tasty new snack sensation(tm)!) to whom?

>	(f) Are an elf polymorphed into a Fire Giant and are about to have
>	    children with your new Fire Giant wife?

Pass out cigars in the waiting room?

                                      - Wildcard !!


+ "No, it's not *my* chariot...actually, it's Sustarre's, and it's *not*      +
|  double-parked!"                                                            |
|                                     - Maeglon, Tree-Hugger Extraordinaire   |
+ wildcard@redrock.nevada.edu                                                 +
From: elk@cblpo.att.com (elk)
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 15:39:52 GMT


In article <1992Apr9.005040.1@happy.colorado.edu> sesharp@happy.colorado.edu writes:
|If I were to use a quick contest type system, I would use attacker weapon
|skill vs. full defender weapon or shield skill plus PD, with PD values
|reduced from the current levels to make hitting reasonably likely.  This 
|gives defense chances above 50% for evenly matched opponents and maintains
|the same balance for all skills with the same relative difference.  It still
|stacks the deck heavily in favor of the better fighter and increases the
|pressure for a skills race, but it might work.  The existing quick system
|looks unworkable if the players analyze it for the best tactics.

It's interesting how that works out, really.  In my campaign, we
started out using the standard rule set for attack/defense.  What we
found was that the combats were just taking too long for our taste
(remember here, though, that we have about 15 folks in our group for a
combat of 30-40 combatants is not at all uncommon!)

Now, we are all playing with fairly experienced characters and both
attack and defense rols are pretty high.  So, we found that without
the use of fients, the combat rapidly degenerated into "who crits
first".  One hit, and shock would kick in, effectively ending the
combat in just a few rounds.

So, we shifted to use the quick contest rules.  Straight
quick-contest, no other system modifications or anything.  This has
had a number of interesting effects.  First, it radically increases
the odds of hitting a person this way  (For folks in the 16 skill
range, we're talking about an increase from about 3% to nearly 50% hit
rate.)

When that happened, things like fient, or stepping into close combat,
suddenly became less important because we were getting decent chances
to hit without all that.  Actually, that is probably a misplay on our
part.  Under quick contest, a successful fient can be absolutely
devastating.  (I have all the odds for both systems worked out and in
tabular form.  If folks are interested, I can post it.)

The most curious thing about the quick contest rules are this notion
of a skills race.  See, the qc odds chart balances out about the same
for any given skill range.  That is, say your attack is a 16 and your
opponent's defense is the same.  You've got a 50% chance of hitting.
If the skills are both at 12, you've still got about a 50% chance of
hitting -- it's all relative.

I'm thinking this would make more sense if I just post the charts.

I'll do that next.




--
+------------------------+
|Ed King                 |
|elk@cblpo.att.com       |  .signature under construction......
|                        |
+------------------------+
From: rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie (russell wallace)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS: Spontaneous NPCs
Date: 14 Apr 92 04:45:43 GMT
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin

For spontaneous GURPS encounters, why do you need all the stuff about
advantages, disadvantages etc.? After all for AD&D encounters, did you
fill in their nonweapon proficiencies and make a detailed list of al the
items they had in their backpacks? Just decide the basics (appearance,
personality (to the extent needed), weapons, weapon skill, any
outstanding features (great strength, Combat Reflexes etc.)) and make up
anything else as and when needed. Remember for NPCs you don't have to
adhere to an exact point total, just decide what skills etc. you think
it would be appropriate for them to have.

--
"To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem"
Russell Wallace, Trinity College, Dublin
rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: jwtlai@jeeves.waterloo.edu (Jim W Lai)
Subject: Re: SRUN: Heavy weapons as sidearms
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 08:08:18 GMT

In article <cyang.703302838@chilko.ucs.ubc.ca> cyang@unixg.ubc.ca (Christopher Yang) writes:
>Does anybody know how effective a silencer is
>when the bullets themselves are breaking the speed of sound?
>It would seem to me that a truly effective silencer slows down the
>speed and the energy of the bullets it shoots.

Ideally you'd use subsonic rounds, in which case heavier rounds would seem to
be better.  Also, use of the silencer causes the weapon to be more inaccurate
at longer ranges, but if you're using a silencer, you're presumably not trying
to aim from long range.
From: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: CHAMPIONS: Variable Advantage
Date: 14 Apr 92 03:11:39 GMT
Reply-To: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu
Organization: 3WA, Boston Office. Or Nu Meta Chi. Take your pick.
In-reply-to: stinerkt@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu's message of 14 Apr 92 01:05:51 GMT
X-Signature-Virus-Protection: Version 1.51
X-Quote: "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they
X-Quote: became heroes." -- Leia Organa of Alderaan, Seantor
X-Posting-Software: GNUS 3.14.1 [ NNTP-based News Reader for GNU Emacs ]

>>>>> On 14 Apr 92 01:05:51 GMT, stinerkt@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Kevin T Stiner) said:

stinerkt> CHAMPIONS EXPERTS!

stinerkt> Do you think it is possible to use the variable advantage to
stinerkt> simulate the variable special effect if you have enough of a
stinerkt> multiplier in your variable advantage to do it?  Does it say
stinerkt> anything in the book about not doing this?????

Let's see if I understand this. You want to use the advantage Variable
Advantage to get Variable Special Effects? No problem, as long as you've
bought the Variable Advantage high enough.

You should have a valid reason for doing this, however, within the central
effects of the main power. Even with Variable Special Effects, there should
be some form of encompasing concept to the power and the character with it.

--Rat
--
||||| | | | |  |  |  |   |   |    |    |    |   |   |  |  |  |  | | | | | |||||
                                                   __        ___ 
Richard Pieri, Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat/   | /| / /   | The Worlds
Internet: ratinox@splinter.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: guido@netlink.cts.com (Joel Cherney)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Playing yourself in GURPS
Date: 11 Apr 92 02:53:52 GMT
Organization: NetLink Online Communications, San Diego CA

ztsindi@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu (The Independents - SUNY Buffalo) writes:

> 	One neat-o thing we've done with GURPS is to make up a 
> character based as closely as possible on ourselves. Then we play 
> those characters through one night games against villians we already
> have made up as NPC's. It was interesting to see that since I was in
> the Army Reserve I could choose a proficiency with the M-16. One of
> our players is a Black Belt in Karate so he got a proficiency in that.
> Of course when we went up against the Super with Psionics it got hairy
> real fast. Anyone else ever try this?

Yeah... I made myself using GURPS once.  I had to invent a 20-point version 
of Laziness, which included procrastination and stuff like that.  I had TOOO 
MANY skills.  Like, 1/2 point in every single one, almost.

--
Stamp out .sig virii!  ( "Neitzche is dead" - God ) Blues Traveller/Church
Fanaticism is the root ( Ignorance is extinction. ) /Copland/Davis/Ministr
of all evil. Just say  (          * * *           ) y/Misfits/NIN/PIL/PWEI
no to straightedges!   (  guido@netlink.cts.com   ) /Rush/Sonic Youth/ etc
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: pentangl@spdcc.com (Scott Moir)
Subject: Re: The Undead and level loss
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 21:25:21 GMT

In article <204939@unix.cis.pitt.edu> seawasp+@pitt.edu (Ryk E Spoor) writes:
>In article <1992Apr14.203610.7433@spdcc.com> pentangl@spdcc.com (Scott Moir) writes:
>>The problem I have is that a restoration spell
>>brings back levels regardless of experience points.  I hate taking away hard
>>earned levels too, but if they can't get to a cleic in time to fix
>>the problem, tough bunnies, theey lose!
>
>	Depends how you run your clerics. In 14+ years of running games, I
>have had the players have access to clerics of such high level (when they
>NEEDED them) maybe four times. And the players have made USE of such services
>only twice in all those years. Resurrection and restoration are exceedingly
>rare and expensive spells. Making them common makes their effect cheap, in
>my view; after all, why should I make a big fuss about death when life is
>just a scroll away?
>
>  They should have brought
>>along some scrolls. Simple as that.
>
>	Again, depends. When a wealthy person has a total of 10,000 gold, and
>a Resurrection scroll starts at 20,000 and goes up, damn few people have them.

That also assumes you don't have a cleric capable of making scrolls in the 
group.

As far as ravenloft, no, I have not ever been there, but I never run modules.
I always write my own stuff. You have to when you DM a group that is ALL DMs.

Scott

-- 
Scott Moir / Pentangle / Satyr ______ # "There's really only one requirement 
pentangl@Ursa-Major.spdcc.com  \ \/ / #  for a Prophet, and you've got it."
B4 f t+ w g k+(+) s+ m r p+     \/\/  # "What's that?"
These are my opinions, not SPDCC's    # "A mouth." - 'God' to J.R.'BoB' Dobbs
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp