From: nasato@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu (Neil Asato)
Subject: BTRC: more CORPS ideas 
Organization: University of Engineering, College of Engineering
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 22:12:05 GMT


     These are more tips for those agents and other player character
types who have to survive in a world where things are not quite
what they seem.   
     1) Always have some sort of disguise, preferably subtle, when
doing things you do not want a power group to associate with you.
This does not require having a high level in disguise skill. A wig
(with a firm hold on your head with a clip, maybe), some coatings
for your skin to mask blemishes and create new ones, and a few others 
can make matching your real identity difficult. Women probaly have an
easier time getting ahold of the necessary materials.
     2) Gauge your GM for how you need to act to survive. While this
is a given for any game. It is something to keep in mind when your
character does something. Your character should be willing to "adapt
and survive". This may mean doing things that only the most desperate
people would consider, like blowing up an entire building to prevent
the summoning of a demon or the equivalent, even though there are a 
lot of innocent people still there. A talk with the GM, should make it
clear that if the GM runs a world where only a hard-core survivor has
a chance of success or being alive, then only that sort of people
will be selected for (sort of evolution of player characters in action).
Those have run through the Deathwind module probably knows what I am
talking about.
     3) Have as many tricks up your sleeve (and pants/skirt and shoes
and hair and...) as back-up. PCs often find themselves in situations
where they are relatively helpless (tied up, without guns, etc). 
It is a good idea to plan ahead of time and have as many things (and
plans) laid out ahead of time. That way you always have a chance of
survival. Here are some examples of relatively cheap ideas that
anyone could use:
a) a modified hairclip. Give it a saw like edge. Paint or otherwise 
color it so that you can wear it close to scalp,embedded it your hair,
without anyone noticing it. Have an easily removable covering on the edge
 to prevent it from scratching you). If you are tied up and your hands
are near your head, then you can cut yourself free.
b) wooden punch knives. This should ideally be made from some type of
strong wood, but others can do, though you may need to "fire-harden" it.
Basically, it is a small flat or stick like handle from which a small
(say 1 inch) spike protrudes from the middle. You use it to inflict lethal
damage with your punches. This is more for those situations where you
just find yourself with nothing better. It can, with a bit of work, be
concealed in small bags and not be very detectable. 
c) wallet/purse shield. Sew or otherwise attach a handle strap to the
item. put a strong stiff material in the item so you can use it as a buckler
shield. a good combination is wood or plastic with Kevlar. Like most other
items here, this is for desperate situations, so you can make a blocking
or parry defense (it will not work against bullets, except by luck though).
d) Hidden supplies. This can be either a permanent location, like
a locker somewhere, or more mobile, like a car. For those who do traveling,
a good trick is to have a grease covered burlap bag with some emergency
equipment taped to an easily accessable part of the bottom of the car.
It is not where most people will look (do not put it near the engine, as
to many people look there). If you find yourself in a situation without
easy access to your normal equipment, then you can quietly go under car
 and get your  supplies (food, water, medicine, some tools, and some
weapons). If you have access to explosives, you probably might want to
have some kept here, as you may want to blow your way out of a situation
or to open some tough doors.
     4) Consider having tranquilizer dart pistols/rifles. There may be times
when you want to keep the people in the area you are shooting at alive.
Hostage situations come to mind, provided the tranquilizer works fast
enough. More nastier PCs, might put a poison in the dart, and just
administer the anti-dote to those the PCs want to be alive.

Dealing with things that do not obey normal physical laws.
     Occassionally, PCs run into things like "demons". Since they
are from another reality, they do not follow the same physical laws.
It is might be useful to find out what sort of laws they follow, so that
you can deal with them. They are often affected by certain types of energy.
The use of taser and electrical stunner equipment may be a reasonable
way of simple weapon against them(especially, if they have possessed
someone and you want to neutalize them without killing the body). More
imaginative players might combine a stunner with a "Super-Soaker" water
cannon filled with salt water (a conductor) to have a practical ranged
stunner (wear insulator clothing) triggered by the release of the
water. Some other beings might be subject to some other types
of energy, like vampire's susceptibility to ultra-violet light.
It is possible that things like air-ionizers/fresheners can shield
against some beings, or at least make them uncomfortable.
     The use of the electrical stunners are also a good idea for use
against beings with mental powers, as it will usually ignore their 
defenses. If they happened to be using a control power on an unwilling
creature from another reality, this might disrupt their control and
protect power, allowing the creature to deal with them before going
back to wherever it came from.

   One last thing to keep in mind, is that not everyone belongs to a power
group or even believes that they exist. Keep things to yourself and
your character will probably live longer (besides you never know just who
might be listening). Once you have determined who is who, and what is
going on, then the PC should react accordingly. (If the GM starts having
NPCs start trying to skewer you for no reason and you did not break your
secret identity, then either the GM is being unfair or it is time to get
a new identity).

     An alternate idea for GMs
     Suppose, as a gamma level info, that the technology for making
Matrix-equivalent devices (reality-distorting/traveling devices from
TimeLords) did exist? What is needed is to create a special naked singularity
and holding it in a specially configured energy field. To create that
singularity requires a specially designed 10+ kiloton thermonuclear 
discharge. PCs might stumble on to a lead that the countries that still
have nuclear tests are bringing some very unusual equipment to the 
test sites...
     Ever notice that the terrorists most likely to cause massive deaths
are often asscociated with religons? PCs might find out that there
may be a heirarchy connection, perhaps they are occuring in combination
with certain rituals and some obscure celestial alignment....
     If you want more ideas for your campaign worlds, just watch
Inside Edition, Unsolved Mysteries, and Sightings. After a while, you
may start seeing things beyond the alpha information level. Seriously,
some of the stuff that they have could be treated as beta and gamma
level for some campaigns, being filled with so much conspiracy theories
that PCs could go into information overload.
 

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