HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dzik@access.digex.com (Joseph Dzikiewicz)
Subject: Re: Converting a book into a world
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 20:31:38 GMT

In article <BxxI66.Jyo@access.digex.com> dzik@access.digex.com (Joseph Dzikiewicz) writes:
>I presume you mean after the first book, still under Louis XII, with

Oops, make that Louis XIII.  Sorry.
From: durrell@pinball.arcade.uiowa.edu (Bryant Durrell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Brain Games and the Intellectually Challenged
Date: 20 Nov 92 03:15:30 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa

Doesn't sound like this poor guy's problem is that he never thought
of playing dumb characters -- it sounds like he wants to play dumb
characters but the GMs won't/can't let him.

My only suggestion would be talking to your GMs about it.  I don't
know that there's anything else they can do.  If they sneer, take
refuge in the knowledge that they clearly are less mature then you
if they can't appreciate your plight.

Bryant
durrell@chop.isca.uiowa.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH)
Subject: Re: Vampire clans question
Originator: jmkaraka@c00095-100lez.eos.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 02:54:53 GMT


|> I recently started running a Setite (finally! My last GM wouldn't let anyone
|>play the Player's Guide clans, since they are all pretty universally loathed.)
|>*I* think the possibilities for play are great (though I realize all the clans
|>would provoke different reactions in Camarillan kindred) and I've got some
|>definite ideas (unfortunately, it's my GM's ideas that count) so I thought
|>I'd inquire about other people's experiences.
|>Thanks.
|> 
|>-anne
|>(adelekta@kentvm.kent.edu)
|>
	When I GM and player wants to play a 'hated' race/clan/group/etc. I
tell them "Sure you can, but I pull no punches."  If I don't have the game
specifically set up for this stuff (as VtM is set up for vampires, for
example) I just let the world react 'naturally'.  Same thing happens if
a character becomes a diabolist in Vampire.  As long as they can keep it
secret, fine.  But if it's ever found out...

	-john-
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jlperkin@eos.ncsu.edu (JERRY LEE PERKINSON)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun-Trid
Originator: jlperkin@c00751-400wi.eos.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: jlperkin@eos.ncsu.edu (JERRY LEE PERKINSON)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:55:02 GMT


In article <BxvyHw.Lwz@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, phi@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Aeleck) writes:
|>And speaking of that nasty dragon and 
|>what he would do, I personally saw an orc take out a dragon
|>SINGLE-HANDEDly before that dragon could inhale!  :)
|>
|>                        -Talltales
|>
|>
I hate to say it but without heavy modifications, most of the animals/
paranormals in SR are weak.  SRII did a better job with the updates.
Finally gave some of the animals real armor.  Some even vehicular armor.
Too bad, I can no longer take down a Juggernaut or Behemoth with a pistol.
Or a dragon with an SMG.

Killjoy, eater of lost souls
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: mkkuhner@phylo.genetics.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner)
Subject: Re: Vampire and GURPS
Keywords: Vampire, GURPS, stereotypes
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 06:38:11 GMT

Pretty, pretty please, could the Vampire Vs. Gurps posts be moved
to rec.games.frp.advocacy?  That's exactly what that newsgroup is for.

thanks,

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu
From: drew@snow.geology.wisc.edu (Drew Novick)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SH questions & stuff (Superhero names)
Date: 15 Nov 92 23:37:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: snow.1992Nov15.233706.23901
Organization: Dept. of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wisconsin - Madison

>In article <1992Nov09.225422.196409@zeus.calpoly.edu> cgautier@zeus.calpoly.edu
>(Kit "Psycho" Gautier) writes:
>>
>>Also, I wanted to start a thread :)  Please name the 3-5 best and worst
>>names you or other people have given for superheroes/villians in any
>>Superhero-type game (and a brief description if possible).
>>
>>
From varying campaigns over the years

1. Sloth
a genetically altered South American three-toed sloth with an alraming
tendency to fall asleep in combat.  Also smelled bad.

2. Mass-Master
a greasy, zit-covered teen with complete control over gravity in a given
area.  Also had an attitude problem.

3. Tachyon
"My powers are based on light.  Therefore, I name myself Tachyon."  Need
more be said.

4. Hoppo 
a giant frog.  No, bigger than that.  Even bigger.  With a tongue.

5. Dr. Nowhere
Need to get somewhere?  No problem.  Another dimension?  No problem.
Alternate Universe?  No problem.  Through time?  No problem.  Now where is
it that we're going?

Drew Novick (drew@ice.geology.wisc.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: mancinis@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (steven mancini)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun-Trid
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 14:12:53 GMT

In article <BxnHDK.2M3@cck.coventry.ac.uk> sba@cch.coventry.ac.uk (Blade) writes:
>  I have known a troll street sam beat a dragon in hand to hand combat 
>Blade signing off(Dont have decent logoff screen)
>
	Okay maybe this has been thoroughly trounced, by I just wanted to
	add one small point... SUBMISSION tactics... (no not sexual you
	perverts :>)

	What am I talking about you may ask? I am talking about Srun I rules
	on subduing a person; where the combatant use their Strength or
	Unarmed, whichever is higher, in an Opposed Test in which the target
	is your opponent's Strength or Unarmed, whichever is higher....

	Who needs a fraggin breath weapon? If I were the noble draco in
	question, I swoop down grab hold of this arrogant piece of mortal
	flesh and take him to 6000 ft and chew on him slowly....

	Remember trolls have innate Dermal Armour- Crunchy on the Outside
	but Chewy on the inside... and if they have skill wires they come
	with Dental Floss :)

							-Minotaur


-- 

+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Steve Mancini (a.k.a. The Minotaur) | mancinis@mentor.cc.purdue.edu   |
|    Grad Student {Dazed & Confused}  | mancinis@vm.cc.purdue.edu       |
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: ketil@ii.uib.no (Ketil M. Malde)
Subject: Re: Carrying weapons around (was Re: META: Swords, etc)
Reply-To: ketil@ii.uib.no
Organization: student of numerical analysis at the University of Bergen, Norway
	<MJUNG.92Nov13113811@stokes.math.TU-Berlin.DE>
	<9591@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>
Date: 16 Nov 92 16:08:05

>>>>> On 13 Nov 92 17:29:13 GMT, seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) said:

	Sea Wasp> "There are very few personal problems which cannot
	Sea Wasp> be solved with a suitable application of high
	Sea Wasp> explosives."

"It is wrong to think that any major problem can be solved just with
potatoes" 

HHGTTU, douglas adams
(From memory)

-ketil
--
 = Ketil Malde                     In real life:  ketil@ii.uib.no =
 = Nuke the whales!                    Honk if you love unicorns! =
From: dburgdor@cwis.unomaha.edu (Darryl Burgdorf)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Amiga Rolemaster character generator
Date: 17 Nov 92 04:29:11 GMT
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha


(Sheesh ....

(I finally go to the trouble earlier tonight of designing a "real" .sig, and
what happens the first time I post with it?  I discover that the UNO system
automatically truncates its users' .sigs to a maximum of four lines ....

(Sigh.

(Darryl)


 ------------------------------------------------
| dburgdor @unmcvm.unmc.edu or @cwis.unomaha.edu |
 ------------------------------------------------

--
From: c188-cr@po.berkeley.edu (Chua Hak Lien)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: vampires, vampires, VAMPIRES !!!
Date: 16 Nov 1992 14:54:00 GMT
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: po.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov16.121544.15113@schbbs.mot.com> TUK865@maccvm.corp.mot.com (Stephen Gill) writes:
>Silly one:
>
>Are there any games left that don't have Vampires in them ?
Of course. Monopoly.

Chua
+==+
From: lward@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SR2:Grounding through Quickened Spells
Date: 23 Nov 92 12:20:58 GMT

amigaman+@pitt.edu (Russell A Howard) writes:
>Yes, thers is still an advantage to a quickened spell.  The target # to attack
>through the quickened would be the force of said quickened spell.  Whereas a 
>spell lock only requires a target # of 2.  Also, the quickened spell would get
>to roll its force rating to resist any attacks whereas a locked spell only
>rolls 1 die.

True enough, but in my experience, this rarely makes much difference.

Wordman
From: millerl@wharton.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Brain Games and the Intellectually Challenged
Date: 19 Nov 92 18:13:21 GMT
Organization: Newt World Order

In article <uplink.722155605@cwis>, uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu (uplink) writes:
| The question:  I know I'm immature, and am dealing with the problem, and
| have improved remarkably.  That's not the problem.  My problem has to
| do with the propensity of "intellectual" games out there.  What should
| I do?  Is it my fault I'm dense?  I like role-playing games yet I'm not
| half as smart as most GMs I've played with.  Is it my fault I like
| RPG's?  Your opinions, advice, etc., would be most welcome.  Please do not
| include any advice like, "If you're that immature, I wouldn't allow you
| in the game."  Our group has been through that already.  I want advice,
| and also, why aren't there more adventures for the Intellectually 
| Challenged (P.C. term for dense) ?

Looks like someone left his account open and somebody else took
advantage of it to post the most surreal posting I've seen in a long
time. Pretty funny.

-- 
whoah,
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller                           internet: MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu
Mediocrity is a hand rail.                         -- Baron de Montesquieu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: durrant@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (unknown)
Subject: SJG licenses White Wolf's Vampire
Keywords: Vampire, SJG
Organization: Purdue University
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:59:48 GMT


	I'll admit, as you can probably tell from my previous posts, I'm
pretty much opposed to the idea of GURPS Vampire.  But having read a few of
the other posts on the topic, I'm finding the idea harder and harder to
believe for three reasons.
	There was a great post earlier about the logistics problems in converting Vampire to GURPS (sorry I couldn't remember the number of the article, or I
would have quoted it).  I just don't see how feasible converting the system
would be--who's products would be canon for the game, would every NPC have
two sets of stats, in short, how could this be done?
	Secondly, if I remember correctly, and I asked at a gaming store 
yesterday to confirm this, Steve Jackson Games almost went bankrupt last year.
Their sales are way down, and I don't know if they would have the money or
credit after their past problems to pull this off.
	Thirdly, having met Mark Rein-Hegan, Andrew Greenberg, and Tom Dowd
(of Shadowrun fame, but he did have a significant role in designing the 
Storyteller system and I'm sure he still owns a piece of it) I don't feel they
would give their baby up.  If White Wolf would license to *anyone* it would
be FASA--a company they are actually on good terms with.

	I'm taking GURPS Vampire with a wait and see attitude--I really hate  
the idea, but I won't believe it until I see the books on the shelves.

Christine
		Until you've played Vampire the Masquerade,
		all you've been doing is rolling the dice.

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: news@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject: Re: SJ Games Licenses White Wolf's Vampire
Organization: The Ohio State University
     Following the same argument, one could say all role playing games are
     And of course you can play a human. You just have to be very good at
        kristoff
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 22:08:42 GMT

This article was probably generated by a buggy news reader.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: sleibowitz@hamp.hampshire.edu
Subject: Re: Tarot Card Meanings
Organization: Hampshire College
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 21:34:20 GMT

>> Greetings
>> 
>> What I would like to request is that any person that has a file containing
>> all the meanings for Tarot Cards, to send me it.
>> Or if they know where I could get such a copy, to please tell me.
>> 
>> I am looking for a file specifically for a file so that I can use them
>> in a computized project that I and a friend are working on.
>> 
>> Thank you.
 
> 	You have got to be kidding.  #1, since each card can have a different
> meaning, depending upon whether it is dignified, or ildignified, and it can have
> a different meaning, depending upon which cards surround it, *and* how strong
> those influences are (by major and minor arcana), you will be hard pressed to 
> find anything that does a decent job (if so, you are looking, for a correct 
> representation, at upwards of 700 definitions or more).

Okay, I'm sticking my neck out, but here goes.

This request was not in any way stupid, ill thought out, or naieve.  The truth
of the matter is, just about any deck of Tarot cards you buy are going to come
with a little pamphlet explaining the basic meanings of the cards and diagrams
for a spread or two.  Not wonderful reference material at all, but there it is.

I should add that it's ludicrous to assume that you have to learn upwards of
700 definitions in order to accurately use a set of Tarot cards.  If that were
the case, I'd never have performed an accurate reading in my life, and I assure
you that I have.

> 	There are some books that are good enough for you to enterpret the
> meanings, and I suggest you get one of these, they can be found at any good
> bookstore.  Anything you find on the net, will be either a illegal copy of
> these books, are a poor representation.

Maybe.  People _do_ actually write these things out of the goodness of their
hearts sometimes, and submit them to public forums such as this one.  As for
illegal copies, who knows?
 
> 			Shade

						Your humble servant,
						    Smiling Wolf
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: singley@helix.nih.gov (Erick Singley)
Subject: Re: Vampire the Masquerade
Keywords: Anyone out there?
Organization: (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD)
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 00:05:56 GMT

Yeah, have had one really good, and one really so-so ST.
Get on the Vampire mailing list to talk to a bunch of hard cores (though the
'new' Vamp movie is taking up the current bandwidth... :)

Mail Vampire@math.ufl.edu
and have Subscribe in the body (I think is the way I did...)
Erick
--
singley@clinpharm.niaaa.nih.gov
From: gharris@jade.tufts.edu (George W. Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: RQ: Elf bow, magic points powering a spell
Date: 21 Nov 92 20:29:04 GMT
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA

In article <1992Nov21.024458.22552@eng.cam.ac.uk> yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk (Y. Tremblay) writes:
>Hello all!  Me again with a beginner question on RuneQuest.
>
>If the same elf described in my previous post cast an offensive spell 
>using the magic points of the elf bow, what do I use on the resistance
>table roll ?  His own current magic points ?  The bow one's ? The
>sum of the two ?
>If he use his own MP ?
>I guess it is the same thing with any MP matrix.

	In any case, you use the personal magic points *only* of the being that
cast the spell.  If the bow cast the spell (which it can't, because it doesn't 
have INT), you would use the bow's MPs.  If the elf cast the spell, you would
use the lef's MPs.  It only matters who is actually casting the spell, not where
the MPs come from.

>As far as I know, the bow, as a familiar will protect him from an 
>offensive spell casted against him. So in a defensive case, I use
>the sum of the bow current MP and his own current MP but I am just
>not sure when you attack.

	No, actually, even in defense only his personal MPs count toward 
defense.  The only exception to this that I know of is a shaman, whose fetch's
MPs also count in defense.  Of course, if it *specifically* says in the Aldrya
cult write-up that an elf-bow's MPs add to the defensive Pow of the elf, then
that's the case, but otherwise, not.

>Thanks.

	Welcome.

>Yannick
>yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk
--
gharris@jade.tufts.edu          
George W. Harris              	"He'd kill us if he had the chance."  
Dept. of Mathematics            
Tufts University              			The Conversation
From: corleyj@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Jason D Corley )
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Vampire/Werewolf... What next?
Date: 19 Nov 92 19:18:11 GMT
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

In article <Bxy528.7sr.1@cs.cmu.edu> tomault+@cs.cmu.edu (Thomas Galen Ault) writes:
>In article <BxJE8q.13A@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tgt33358@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Thanatos) writes:
>>In article <1992Nov10.220618.9012@news.columbia.edu> jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:
>>>
>>>	I'd agree here. The 'Gothic-punk' world is able to accept Mad 
>>>Scientists, IMO - after all, what could be more Gothic than 'Frankenstein'? 
>>>
>
>The possibilities for the Modern Mad Scientist go far beyond creating
>of a little open flame (I'm referring to the popular, rather than the literary,
>conception of Frankenstein).  Countless wonders await those who understand
>the foundations and ways of the universe and power far beyond that possessed
>by any Kindred or Lupine.
>
>[  One important thing to remember about the mad scientist genre is that things
>   NEVER work out the way the scientist plans.  Every advance the scientist
>   makes has horrific repercussions far beyond the current situation.  After
>   all, the scientist is playing with Things Humanity Was Not Meant To
>   Understand, and this is supposed to be Gothic Horror, not satisfy-the-
>   player's-every-power-fantasy.  (For that, play Champions.)
>]

[I deleted some very good ideas for Mad Scientists in a horror campaign.]

Another idea that MUST be included, is the tone of the Mad Scientist,
especially if it is a "modern" Gothic Horror campaign.  Is the rest
of the world dirty and violent where nothing works?  Fine.  The
lab of the scientist should be sqeaky clean, maybe even one of those
special "clean rooms".  Everything should be in its place.  The
instruments are shiny, the wires are connected in an organized,
civilized way, the computers should be very powerful and reliable,
(if its an AI, it must be very polite and kind), the lights should
be bright, there should be no shadows anywhere, and right in the
middle of all of this, talking about hideous monstrosities like they
were ordinary practice should be the Mad him/herself.  When the
excrement starts hitting the ventilating device and the Mad starts
drooling and looking very carefully at the sharp instruments over by
the (what's that? An operating table?), the surroundings will begin
to look less comforting and a LOT more menacing.  There aren't
any shadows to hide in and there aren't any places to run.  A Mad
Scientist's Lab should be similar to a Vampire's Haven.  You go in,
you are on his/her terms.

Maybe we should have "clans" of Mad Scientists (what would be a
good word?), because I just thought of the original Mad in today's
world.  Entering his lab would be like descending into Dante's
Inferno, where everything is not only dark and dirty, but _alien_
and _incomprehensible_.

I would like to see us get together some Mad Scientist rules, skills
and groups.  Maybe we can get White Wolf to do it _our_ way!

Jason
The Mad Mathematician of Miskatonic U.
From: tomault+@cs.cmu.edu (Thomas Galen Ault)
Subject: Re: Vampire/Werewolf... What next?
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 04:01:50 GMT

In article <reynolds.721609186@judy.cs.iastate.edu> reynolds@cs.iastate.edu (Owen Reynolds) writes:
>>	Another he was working on, which I never got to adapt, was a helmet
>>with a camera mounted within, and a heads up display constantly showing 
>>the exterior.  Since all obfuscated creatures appear on camera, he could 
>>see them all.  He.  He.
>

>    Motion detectors will be set off by a Nosferatu, for example, we
>decided. No mind to cloud.
>    Another clear case was the camera-helmet idea. I'm pretty sure that
>would not work for this GM. You are being told not to believe your senses;
>that, in fact, no one is there. If you see the exact same scene on a
>camera, you still won't believe your senses.
>
>    What we had trouble with was something like a guard watching a security
>camera. The vampire's image is on the camera, sure, but the end result is
>the same -- you see the vampire but are told to ignore it. What sort
>of range does this ignoring power have?

Actually, my understanding of this was that the power has more-or-less "sight"
range -- that is, anyone capable of ordinarily seeing the Nosferatu with the 
naked eye is subject to its power.  Thus, a security guard sitting at the front
desk would not see an obsfuscated Nosferatu walk in the front door, but one
sitting off in a security room somewhere would.

Thus, Thanatos's original camera idea won't work.  But what will work are 3D
rangefinders.  These use ultrasound echoes to determine range to a given
target, and report that range on a display.  Now a Nosferatu can fool the
senses of the individual involved, but she cannot fool the machine, nor can 
she alter the target's perception of the output display of the device.  Of
course, one rangefinder isn't to accurate, but a whole matrix, with specialized
hardware to interpret the results, are.  And believe it or not, some people
here at CMU have developed a chip to do just that.  It's a whole set of 3D
rangefinders on a chip, with the appropriate hardware (on the SAME chip) to
put the responses of the different rangefinders into a fairly accurate
picture of what's ahead of the sensor.  Now hook this puppy into a
microcontroller and feed it into a transparent active-matrix LCD display, and
you've got a set of goggles that'll pinpoint the location of any invisible
nasties.  All made with currently-available technology.  The only limiting 
factor is range.  The device's range is only about ten feet, so you won't
see anything outside of that range, but it's better than nothing.

>    We know for a fact the Nosferatu spy on Ventrue gatherings (I think
>we do.) For some reason, the Ventrue can't just stick a camera in the
>room and have a ghoul monitor it for uninvited guests.
>    But then again, if they take a photo of the room and develope it days
>later, any univited guests really should show up.
>
>    We've more-of-less decided not to push the issue...


Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters)
Subject: Re: SRUN players unite!
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 17:57:37 GMT

In article <1992Nov20.150309.28408@ncsu.edu> jmkaraka@eos.ncsu.edu (JOHN MARTIN KARAKASH) writes:
>
>	So when is SRUN going to get it's own area, hmmmm?
>
>	-john-

There is currently a straw poll going on to determine if we are ready to even
discuss the matter.

This is not a flame.  You should read the group.  I reposted the poll
this week (if your site has a short expire time, forgive me), with an
acknowledgement of all voters.

Once the poll is finished, IF the concensus is to follow through with a 
discussion, the initial discussion will take place on r.g.f.misc and promptly
moved to advocacy.  After we in the r.g.f.* hierarchy have hammered out OUR 
problems/suggestions, a formal RFD will be issued on news.groups, and the
frp groups, with appropriate followup/reply lines set.

-Coyt

{TODAY IS THE LAST DAY FOR THE POLL.  Send a message with SUBJECT: Straw Poll
and a 1 word message - YES or NO.  My automated handler is shutdown today,
so I will be handling all answers by hand.}

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc