HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp])
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUN: A few observations
Date: 3 Sep 92 22:49:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: runic.ZwRJqB2w165w
Organization: Runic Writings / Lawrenceville, GA

bkreed@oread.cc.ukans.edu writes:

> Another thing that our group does is use a background generator (we
> adapted the one from Cyberpunk).  We get a list of friends, enemies

Heh, its a good thing you didn't use the LifePath from Mekton instead
(or StrifePath as Mechtoon calls it).  Though it might be slightly more
in genre to have d10-2 enemies running around...

Why is it I always roll 7-10 on that roll?  :)

And you only get Cool/2 friends.  Geez, its so easy to piss people off.
[2 * :) ]



---
thantos@runic.via.mind.org (Paul Williams [SysOp])
Runic Writings
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: damatt01@romulus.spd.louisville.edu (David A. Mattingly)
Subject: Re: Champions: Some Mental Questions, sort of!
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 23:54:05 GMT
Organization: University of Louisville


>If I have a character with a Multipower
>how much do I spend to increase the power points one point?

Experience points are just like character points. To raise a power by one
point costs one experience point.

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

Sure. Just beat their ego plus whatever modifier. If you're controlling a
narcoleptic, <go to sleep> would be something the target wouldn't mind
doing in combat, but against paranoid-man, it would be something he violently
opposes, probably.

>Also, Can you use telekinesis to throw people around, and how many points
>need to be spent to throw a person 6 stories(sp?) for example...  

Once you pick up a person, you can move them using the leftover strength
according to the throwing chart. TK will normally move anything, whether
organic or not, so to move your friend it's no problem.

To force people eyes shut, use Flash with the fx of tk.

To stake a vampire, you need to target the vitals with wood, I would say.
I'd have to check the Champs book. If he has a susc to wood, any wood anywhere
would hurt him.

-- 
        Dave Mattingly               "Can you snog the dentriface?" 
damatt01@ulkyvx.ct.louisville.edu    "I was an innocent, now I'm magnificent."
        (502) 584-6707               "Here's lookin' at you, sideways!"
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 22:05:55 -0400 
From: William Henry Timmins <wt0b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Improvisation!
	<Bt3Dt6.BEL@acsu.buffalo.edu> <1992Aug18.033715.9902@tronsbox.xei.com>
	<4773@balrog.ctron.com>
	<RANNOU.92Aug22085127@zuse.info.polymtl.ca>

>I'm sure all those GMs who GM for players who think these "notes" aren't
>memos on new things but actual comments on the "prepared" module (for XPs
>prupose, perhaps) will find that most players will be DISGUSTED to learn
>that. I know mine do, amnd I knoe that every single player I've ever met or
>played with, even if I wasn't their GM, would too. The only times when they
>wouldn't would be when the game is played for laughs, not in a regular
campaign.

	Well, you must knoe :) different types than I. My players know that I
improvise quite a bit, and wouldn't be surprised at all. They also know
that I will make things work in the context of an environment, with no
arbitrary decisions. (Well, as many arbitrary decisions as in most, I'd
expect.)

	In other campaigns, I'd say that improvisation is fairly common, even
'extreme' (ie- GM: I have no idea what's going on, either.)

It's all in the sample, I suppose.

-Me
[Pooh Bear incarnate.]
<B1 c+ f+ w g+ k+ s+ r- e+ p>
From: gt9405b@prism.gatech.EDU (Lord Goodgulf the Ma-a-a-agical Wizard)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUN: A few observations
Keywords: general comments
Date: 26 Aug 92 19:57:25 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In article <BtLtx6.861@acsu.buffalo.edu> v125qj86@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Jeffrey B Rogers) writes:
>
>	Hi there. This is my first posting, and I hope it works ok. I've been
>GMing SR for about 2 years, playing almost every weekend of the school year
>with some friends of mine. They've offered me more than a few observations
>about the game that I probably never would have thought of on my own. I 
>came to a few other observations myself, and, well, here they are:
>	1)  [problems with the FASA plots]
    Scheming and plotting do not have to be an integral part of your campaign.
The FASA ideal has it, a lot of people out here in net-land prefer it that
way, but that doesn't mean that you have to use it.  If you don't mind and your
players prefer it that way, by all means make things straightforward.  Now if
that goes against how you would like the game to go, you'll just have to work
it out with your players.

>	2)  [problems with different roles for stats, attributes, etc.]
    I don't see this as a paradox.  Just because you're much, much smarter
than even most super-geniuses doesn't mean you're perfect.  You can get a
fast one pulled on you, just not very often.  The mechanics handle that (or
did in SRI, anyway....haven't seen SRII) part fairly well.

                                   Lord Goodgulf the Wizard
-- 
Lynn Richard Akers
"Before I became Vice President, I couldn't even spell potatoe-head.  Now I are
 one."      - Things Quayle never said......but could have 
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt9405b          Internet: gt9405b@prism.gatech.edu
From: markk@sagredo.West.Sun.COM (Mark Kampe)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Different playing styles(was Improvisation)
Date: 26 Aug 1992 14:59:06 GMT
Organization: SunSoft South
NNTP-Posting-Host: sagredo.west.sun.com

The different styles of play are also distinguished by the elements of game
mechanics that come into play.

	HACK-N-SLASH

		is dominated by "plusses" and powers - if you set out to
		slaughter all living non-humans and ransack every temple
		on a continent, you are going to need to have something
		"extra" going for you.  

		The GM is the arbiter of who can do what - making continuous
		decisions about what the rules mean.

	WAR GAMING

		is dominated by tactical mechanics (how much damage is
		done, what are the specific effects) - a strategy is only
		good in a specific context, and we must faithfully simulate
		that context in order to truly test the strategy.

		The GM acts as a referree - applying the rules to the
		current situation.

	STORY TELLING

		is dominated by the players creativity and imagination -
		since the campaign is a background on which the story 
		will unfold.

		The GM provides the warp against which the fabric will 
		be woven, and throwing in occasional curves.

	ROLE PLAYING

		is dominated by character descriptions - since the actions
		of each character are largely driven by "who that person is,
		and how they came to be here".

		The GM plays more characters than anyone else.

They can also be distinguished by how satisfaction is gained:

	HACK-N-SLASH

		satisfaction is gained by killing the bad guys, getting their
		loot, and becoming even more powerful so we can kill even meaner
		bad guys and get even more loot next time.

	WAR GAMING

		satisfaction is gained by devising and executing strategies
		that prove successful against a tough opponent.

	STORY TELLING

		satisfaction is gained when the story takes delightful (or
		at least surprising) twists, and when "a good time is had by 
		all"
	
	ROLE PLAYING

		satisfaction is gained when the players are able to meet
		significant challenges "in character" - resulting in growth
		for both (players and characters).
		
However, I think it is probably unreasonable to characterize these as different
styles of gaming.  Elements of each can be found in most campaigns.  The
difference lies in how much of each comes into play how often.  The test of
satisfaction (from whence it derives) however may indeed be a good touch-stone
to characterize a campaign.

When it gets down to dogma, I am one of the "hard core role players".  In
practice, however, I think a good campaign needs to have a healthy mix of
all play styles.  Pure anything can be fun for an evening or two, but I
find that a mix of challenges is vital to maintaining interest and involvement.
From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Improvisation!
Date: 25 Aug 92 22:46:16 GMT
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego

>>	Agatha Christie's "mysteries" suck, as far as the type of fair-play
>>mystery we're talking about here goes.  The "solutions" always revolve
>>around the protagonist having access to some bit of information the reader
>>never got.

Hmm, similar sort of event happens in some "full knowledge" mysteries.
Ellery Queen mysteries come to mind, where the final confrontation is
"I don't have enough to convict you on, but you'd better confess
anyway."  Very often Ellery's accusation is backed up by a telegram
just received to confirm his suspicions (ie, not exactly fair-play).
A couple books come to mind where the perfectly logical solution
described (after the reader-has-all-the-clues-now blurb) contradicts
the perfectly logical solution I came up with.

I guess as far as FRP goes, the type of mystery to use, and whether to
improvise or not, depends on the type of adventure you want.  Fair
play mysteries are fine, if you don't mind waiting around a few weeks
for the players to figure things out occasionally.  The players aren't
fictional super sleuths, and never will be.  If the solution depends
upon a vital clue that the players haven't found, they're going to
"lose" unless some improvisation is done (ie, a rookie cop discovers
the evidence and turns it in).  If the players keep losing over and
over because they aren't as smart/lucky in real-life as their
characters, then they're going to find something else to play.

And remember, a lot of times when his dad asks Ellery why he is
just sitting around instead of solving the mystery, he replies
"I'm waiting for something new to happen".  Players might do the
same thing :-)
-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu
  - I'm not a well adjusted person, but I play one on the net.
From: d9bertil@dtek.chalmers.se (Bertil Jonell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Rolemaster news from GenCon??? Is there any??
Date: 29 Aug 92 16:22:46 GMT
Organization: Chalmers University of Technology

In article <1992Aug25.211054.22696@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> acd@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (andrew.c.durston) writes:
>	They were there though initially it was easier to find the Grey
>	Worlds booth than the ICE booths.

  Yes, for some reason I didn't manage to find ICE in the exhibitor index,
neither on 'ICE' or 'Iron Crown'.

  I just wanted to add the few news that I heard: a WarLaw Companion is
planned (with more on sieges, aerial troops and probably more WarLaw versions 
of attack tables) and something called SeaLaw for naval combat.

>	ACDurston, ..!att!hotld!acd

-bertil-
--
"It can be shown that for any nutty theory, beyond-the-fringe political view or
 strange religion there exists a proponent on the Net. The proof is left as an
 exercise for your kill-file."
"This is the famous Hasan B Mutlu-trigger, insert it in your .sig file today!"
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: urban@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Art Urban (PROFS))
Subject: NET.BOOKS Request
Organization: Atmospheric Technology Division/NCAR Boulder, CO
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 14:59:46 GMT

Special Request:

Would the kind folks who archive the Net.GURPS.Spells *and* Net.Plots please
e-mail me the current collections? I've tried to get these according to
the FAQ but even mailing the compilers isn't working (my mailer cannot reach
them, so it would seem).

Thanx very mucho!

--
Art Urban 					       urban@stout.atd.ucar.edu
===============================================================================
 "What's Next? Chasing bunnies on a motorbike until their hearts explode? -Crow
===============================================================================
From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: cluelessness in mystery games (prep vs improv)
Date: 31 Aug 92 18:54:33 GMT
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego

>In such a case, we are no longer talking about a "mystery game".  A mystery
>requires creativity, persistance and insight.  If one can just roll to be
>"creative, persistant and insightful" we have effectively turned an
>intellectual problem into a "hack-n-slash" problem.  

I had said "in this case".  The case being that the mystery was not in
a "mystery game", but part of a larger campaign perhaps or a side
adventure.  It's the old problem of your character being better at an
intellectual skill than the player.  (Imagine a Sherlock Holmes RPG -
no player could every be Sherlock, because they wouldn't be smart
enough)

If it's a real mystery game though, then the players should rely on
their own wits.  And maybe be briefed before hand that chances are
they won't figure it out.

-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu
    Where am I?  In the village...  What do you want?  Information...
From: speno@clam.rutgers.edu (John P. Speno)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Amber Questions
Date: 31 Aug 92 19:19:32 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


My Phage Press mailer lists Shadow Night for a November 9th release.
It's 256 pp and $23.95.

Corvus, exile of Amber.
-- 
t====he==============t==+=======ru================t====================h======
John P. Speno		| "Pssst. Hey Guido...  
Student MacAbuser       | It's all so clear to me now. I'm the keeper of the  
speno@clam.rutgers.edu	| cheese and you're the lemon merchant." -- Ren Hoek
====i==========s========+a=======vi=========r==============u=================s
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: orch players
Date: 2 Sep 92 22:42:09 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@pmax1.cis.pitt.edu

In article <BtyM0p.GDK@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> dart@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Dartanyan the Witchling) writes:
>>I've also played a Troll in AD&D, but that was a high-power campaign, and my
>>lack of magic or Psionics made up for my Regen.

	I've had a couple people play Trolls in mine. Of course, I use the
more Norse idea of trolls -- they ain't all that stupid, and sometimes they're
damn smart.

>	Oh Goddess. 

>	"my lack of magic or Psionics made up for my Regen."
>	TROLLS AREN"T SUPPOSED TO HAVE MAGIC OR PSIONICS!

	I think that was WHY HE HAD THE LACK OF MAGIC OR PSI.

>	TROLLS ARE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KILL!

	I guess YOU play in REAL low power campaigns, eh? Trolls are 
tough, but nowhere NEAR virtually impossible to kill. Acid, fire,
disintegration, freeze and later dump in the campfire, lasers,
lye, feed it to the nearest ooze, etc...

>	And I thought role-playing games were games of strategy and ROLE+lack of magic or Psionics made up for my Regen._playing.  NOT how FAST you can win.
>Do you have races in your SRUN games to see who can clean out a UB hive first?

	Hmm. A man who wouldn't know munchkinism or monty haul if it 
bit him. A TROLL character gets him in an uproar?

	I run a high-powered but non-munchkin, non-monty game wherein, over
the years, I have had PCs who were:

	Demons, dragons, klingons, humans, elves, dwarves, phraints,
saurians, Kzinti, deodanths, werecreatures, hobbits, shapeshifters,
robots, pure energy beings, and dozens of other races.

	The majority are of the humanoid races, of course (human first,
then elf/half elf and dwarves and hobbits), with others in varying
proportions from several over the years to only one.

	And that's not nearly in the highest power campaign I've seen or run.

	What people here post as munchkin characters... god, I have to laugh.
If it can't obliterate an entire continent to begin with, you can't really call
it POWERFUL, can you?

                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: macgyver@turtle.cis.ohio-state.edu (MacGyver)
Subject: SR II more errata
Summary: more SR II error
Keywords: SR II errata
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept. of Computer and Info. Science
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 17:19:44 GMT

  1) Combat Mage archetype: combat pool should read 7 (9), not
     7 (13), Magic pool: 6(8), not 6; Body: 2(3), not 2(4);
     Health spells-heal, not heal mod wounds.
  2) Wage mage archetype: Heal spell, not heal mod wound spells
  3) Skill Web
      Shift dot from intersection at conjuring and magical theory to line
       Should be dots between Firearms and B/R firearms (same for
       gunnery, projectile, throwing)
  4)Page 93 - example of auto fire: Change 16D to 11D
  5) Range of crossbows - use STR min, not STR of user and STR Min
     as damage
  6) Page 131: Spell success test (1st col): Virtually all of given numbers
are wrong
      (10 dice, not 8, etc); TNs might be incorrect as well.
  7) Page 151. Mana spells (eg manaball, etc) are Mana, not physical
     spell types.
  8) Page 159 Master Spell Table List. Some of the Mana type spells
     are listed as physical, they should be Mana.


					Mac




-- 
Wilson MacGyver                      |"I do like a road, because you can be 
Internet:macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu | always wondering what is at the end
=====================================| of it."
Disclaimer:All opinions are mine only|=======================================
From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Improvisation!
Date: 26 Aug 92 00:03:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: sdcc12.37242
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego

>>1. Improv GMs cannot create detailed maps, written portions and physical
>>props.
>
>Can't argue with that.

You can't???  I see.  Using improvisation along with props, maps,
written-portions takes imagination - the lack of which makes
using improvisation impossible anyway :-)

This is such a STUPID argument going on here.  One side thinks the
other is doing 100% improvisation, and the other side thinks the other
is doing 100% pre-planning.  Neither is right.  Most people are
doing something in the middle.

The mere line "Improv GMs *cannot*" do something is silly.  It's an
absurd argument, based on the assumption that any improv implies
everything is improv.  And the other side tends to the equally absurd
notion that you can't preplan everything, so why bother.  Why not just
use a little preplanning and a little improv...  duh.

"Is there any dust on the ground?"
"I didn't write down if it did or not, and since I'm ethically
    bound to not make things up, I can't answer that question."

>>Players dislike ... etc etc

Another absurd way to start a line.  If YOU don't like a certain way,
then play with someone else.  But don't assume that ALL players feel
the same way.

"are you going to improvise this game"
"maybe"
"then I can't play, sorry"
-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu
  - Brought to you by the 'Elvis in 92' committee.
From: dhenry@plains.NoDak.edu (David Henry)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: W40K, where?
Date: 29 Aug 92 05:13:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: plains.19958
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network

In article <Btq9Bs.73y@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> jsalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (joshua salter) writes:
>
>	Is there anyone out there that plays W40K? Or not?
>
>							-jsalter


Yes.

Next question.
-- 
David R. Henry - Rogue Fan Club - CTHULHU in '92! Why vote for LESSER evils?
For Kate is a jealous God, and requires sacrifice./What was your question?--K
"All you of Earth are IDIOTS!"-P9fOS // Thanks... for the memories.--Rogue
dhenry@plains.nodak.edu * ud137927@ndsuvm1.bitnet * ud137927@vm1.nodak.edu
From: mkkuhner@phylo.genetics.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUN: Questions from the Minotaur: The Next Generation
Date: 30 Aug 92 00:06:37 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

mancinis@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (steven mancini) writes:

>1.  How do you other GM's deal with the glut of Magically Actives? It 
>    seems more and more people are wanting to play magicals and the 
>    traditional street samurai is losing his appeal. Is this prevalent 
>    in any other gaming groups?
		
>							-Minotaur

I've never seen a SR campaign that didn't have trends in this direction.
Limiting the power of magicians helps somewhat, but they are still often
more interesting than mundanes.

The only things I can suggest are:

(a) Find as many opportunities as you can for mundanes to shine--not
just accomplish things mechanically, but have neat experiences, do
stylish things, etc.  Encourage the players of mundanes to get
imaginative with them.  'Mundane' characters in cyberpunk fiction are
often very colorful and bizarre.

If you don't mind the introduction of magic, it's worth noting that Free
Spirits can work with non-mages.

(b) Wince and bear it, and hope that people will eventually get tired of
mageborn.

In our long campaign, I came to feel after a while that the mundane
characters were the heart of the party--the mageborn were never totally
reliable, because they owed too much allegiance to the inhuman Powers,
and in many respects they were too much like the enemy we were fighting.
But I don't know how one would get those effects if they didn't evolve
naturally through play.

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: betel@camelot.bradley.edu (Robert Crawford)
Subject: Re: GURPS Will Rolls
Organization: Bradley University
Date:  2 Sep 92 22:01:39 GMT

rnmg1200@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (A Lady and her Walrus) writes:

>Just offhand, does this apply to Sex Appeal, too?  I don't recall seeing a
>rule which limits it, but it might be there.  Would really help next time I
>see that gawd-awful character with the Sex Appeal of 25+ (I kid you not;
>it was in a campaign where all characters were based on 250 points, and that
>was all she really had.).

	I was in a campaign where a character had a Sex Appeal
_default_ at 21. It was a shame that she had taken a vow of chastity
-- my Lecherous character could have been her best friend...

--
Black Hole Stout: A variety of homebrew that is sufficiently dark to
remove light from the surrounding space. Also has an extremely high
finishing gravity.

Robert Crawford 			betel@camelot.bradley.edu