HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sesharp@happy.colorado.edu
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: 7 Apr 92 20:40:35 MDT

The slow approach followed by fast combat described for SCA simulations
is actually produced by careful tactical consideration of the GURPS rules.
In combats where surprise is not a factor and opponents start separated,
closing too rapidly is disadvantageous.  Using a Move to get to two hexes
away is stupid because it allows the opponent to Step and Attack.  Moving
within opponent's half move range is potentially dangerous since it allows
an All-Out Attack that might disable you (assuming no allies in position
to take advantage on their next action).  Moving adjacent to the opponent
allows you a Wild Swing, which is only 1/3 of an attack (36% instead of the
usual 98%) and gives the opponent the first real attack.  Moving within
his move distance allows him to close and Wild Swing, which is advantageous
for you, but not greatly.  The best is to Step and Wait and hope he closes,
since this gives you a net gain of an extra blow during the fight.  A few
insults to provoke him might work.

Note also that Feints don't require adjacency to work.  The opponent only
has to be in range of an All-Out in order to Feint.  Rapid closing is even
more discouraged if your opponent is already ahead by a Feint. (BTW, there
is a game mechanic flaw in rolling the Feint when it is taken since the
opponent can move away if it is successful.  The solution is to roll it
just before the blow it affects.)  Closing could become even more complex
if Feints were allowed to affect subsequent Feints, building up cumulative
modifiers.  These each be rolled with a one turn delay or all at once,
whichever produced the tactical feel desired by the GM.  This might also
help with the problem of defenses impregnable except by criticals.

Tactical maneuvering to get flank attacks or back opponents into positions
of no retreat can also be useful early.  Really pushing decision speed 
might result in lots of choices of Step and Wait to avoid mistakes.  Will
any of these give the effect you want?  Probably not.  The standard rules
already make the best closing a boring repetition of Step and Waits followed
by Step and Feints that have an obvious conclusion.  Most players would
rather just charge and get things started even if they lose first blow.

Steven Sharp
sesharp@happy.colorado.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: laurence@cco.caltech.edu (Dustin Lee Laurence)
Subject: Re: Steve Jackson Games is gone?
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 00:13:01 GMT

bell@tigger.cs.unc.edu (Andrew Bell) writes:

>Then there was a thought about a new roleplaying game from the former
>Soviet Union,  where in true Marxian philosophy it was a classless system...

    Yes, and just as Lysenko's genetics fit perfectly with the approved
ideology, so would a character advancement scheme.  Of course, only good
socialist characters would actually advance, as capitalist characters
would inevitably degenerate into complete helpless decadence.

    "I'm sorry, Fred, but your character personally profited from the
previous adventure.  That pushes you over the line from neutral to
capitalist.  You lose all of your advances for this session and last
session."

    Now there's an alignment scheme with teeth.

>   -Andrew

-- 
Dustin Laurence            "Someone please stop me, before I net again."

laurence@alice.wonderland.caltech.edu
From: khise@centurion.ksu.ksu.edu (Martin Andrew Shobe)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: CHAMPS: question on turn sequencing
Date: 16 Apr 1992 11:58:02 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: centurion.ksu.ksu.edu


In article <RATINOX.92Apr15205939@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>, ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat) writes:
>>>>>> On 15 Apr 92 15:05:58 GMT, khise@conquest.ksu.ksu.edu (Martin Andrew Shobe) said:
>
>>Suppose I have, say, +20/+20 armor, cannot attack while using armor.  
>>I can abort to activate this power.  Now, when does the power end:
>>a: when the phase I aborted comes up?
>>b: when my next phase comes around, and I decide to turn it off.
>>
>>Obviously, b is correct.  Why should dodge be any different?  It's just a
>>DCV bonus, cannot attack while using extra DCV.
>
>khise> Dodge is an action,  having armor is not.
>
>Then call it a force field instead of armor. Activating a defensive power
>is a defensive action and may be aborted to.
>

Maintaining (sp?) the force field is not an action.

>Diving for cover is a defensive action, and maybe be aborted to.
>
>Dodge is a defensive action, and may be aborted to.
>
>
>--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.

Khise@matt.ksu.ksu.edu
From: gt7219a@prism.gatech.EDU (Christopher Michael Lawyer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Steve Jackson Games is gone?
Date: 9 Apr 92 23:07:23 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In an amazing new development in the TSR buyout of Steve Jackson
Games, Ted Turner has pulled of a major coup by simultaneously
purchasing both companies.  Ted was quoted as saying
"In the past, the manuals for these games simply did not have
nearly enough color.  It is my goal to completely colorize
everything, up to and including the price tag on the cover."
He also noted that under no circumstances would Jane Fonda have
any creative imput, although he was considering a new experience
system based solely upon *aerobics workouts*.


-The Manatee-
gt7219a@prism.gatech.edu
From: dat91uni@ludat.lth.se (Urban Nilsson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: AD%&D: HELP! I'M LOST!
Date: 13 Apr 92 10:11:58 GMT
Organization: Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden

In article <703008993.F00004@ocitor.fidonet> Kevin.Tuttle@f6008.n124.z1.fidonet.org (Kevin Tuttle) writes:
>Maybe you can give me a heads up on a few of the powers that may be too inexpensive as far as PSP prices go in the new Psionics handbook.

> I have already thrown out disintegration and a few others that I felt were too powerful for a psionicist to posess.  Also, any ideas on magic items for psionicists?  Thanks in advance for any help, 
>                                       Kevin

Why does you throw some powers, compare a psionicist disintegrate with a Mages dis. , Whats the difference ??? : The Mage never fails ... if you have PCs with
abilities that are in the range specified by the PHB or DMG ... your 
psionicist will fail _VERY_ often ... (the statistics can u do ure self) ...

I havn't found _anything_ stupid about the psionicist ...

Regards / UNI

---
Lev Gott ...    , Have a nice life ...

Urban Nilsson  (UNI)
Internet:      dat91uni@ludat.lth.se
Phone, voice:  +46 42 182154
---
From: mlharley@unix1.tcd.ie (Kubik)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Lich Killing Advice Needed
Date: 10 Apr 92 14:25:42 GMT
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin


	I believe that 'common' knowledge might hold that all Lich's
have had a portioin of their body (heart, brain, kidneys for all I care)
stored away in some dark place (store in a cool dry place, keep out o
fdirect sunlight ...). If these organs or body parts were to be
destroyed (fire would probably do the trick), the Lich would fadde away.
Sorry to say that, even if this is the case for your Lich too, being a
smart li'le creature, he'll guard the location well, and finding where
it is would be the hardest thing.

(advice to the doomed.)
From: sl7sg@cc.usu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: NET.RPG? - go to Rec.games.design
Date: 14 Apr 92 10:58:22 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <1992Apr13.191607.16943@yang.earlham.edu>, dsimkins@yang.earlham.edu writes:
> In article <1992Apr8.083209.17125@cam.compserv.utas.edu.au>, cjudd@esk (Craig Thomas Judd) writes:
>> In article <44275@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, jacobus@symphony.cc.purdue.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) writes:
>>>
>>>Once again, it will be stated:
>>>
>>>There is a net.rpg project going on over in the rec.games.design
>>>newsgroup, and it has been for a while.  Take a look over there
>>>some time.
>> 
>> Which game? I have been there for a while, but have only seen people talking
>> about their games in general, and have only seen two games actually posted -
>> mine... :-)
>> 
>> Is there a concerted project I am unaware of?
>> 
> There was.

	Perhaps you (or somebody) could start the discussion again, or just ask
for a posting of the current state of the rules...


		Shade Pendragon
From: nesiusra@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Keith)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: SRun: Grenades and Reality Checks-
Keywords: Shadowrun, SR, SRun, SHADOWRUN
Date: 7 Apr 92 17:35:52 GMT
Organization: the Dark Children & the LA Rugrats


  I have noticed something about Grenades in Shadowrun, so I did something
  about it.  I would like the rest of ya'lls opinions on my "solution."

  6M3 Standard Offensive Grenade
  5S4 IPE Offensive (as found in the Street Sam's Catalog)

  No adjustments to staging for successful thrown/shots?  WRONG

  I treat them as "over-sized" explosive rounds.  Higher levels of success
  will indicate higher potential damage codes.  Impact armor still counts
  of course, but against Vehicle Code weapons (such as HMG's and AVM's) the
  armor is reduced by half its value (I'm merciful and round UP) for this
  one.

  The reason for this?  The scenario is as follows:

  My decker (Reflex) has an H&K with an undermount grenade link system.  It
  is Smartgunned with an Ultrasound Adaption.  The target is coming down the
  street on his motorbike (an upgraded Scorpion I think).  I spend the extra
  action to AIM (thus reducing my targets by 1) and go for a called shot,
  that being his mid-section.  Of course my intention is to blow the drekhead
  into two pieces.

  I get 5 success (LOVE SMARTGUNS) and nail him head-on in the guts.  He
  had already expended his dodge/reaction pool on the rest of the party so
  he didn't get to dodge.  He had an equivalent Armor Jacket (B5 I3).  The
  GM rolls body, and the dick head takes a light wound, and still manages
  to stay on his Scorpion.  Me and the rest of the party are outraged to say
  the least, but we all know, "ITS IN THE RULES."

  Thus the upgrade to "over-sized explosive-ronds."  What do you all think?

  the Reflex (Keith- nesiusra@sage.cc.purdue.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Subject: Re: AD&D - A few questions from a newbie
Reply-To: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Organization: Space Systems/Loral
Distribution: rec.games.frp
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 09:58:04 GMT

Welcome to a wierd world... DMing.

First off it sounds like you're doing a really good job, evidenced
by: you're having fun.

Other tests for how well you are doing...
    do you identify with the group, their characters, the world,
	the senario? Is it an interesting "lets' pretend"?
    do you look forward to the next session and wish it were now?
    You're doing OK

Time...  On a lengthy campaign I bought a calendar appointment
kept a journal of how things went, so I could say how many weeks
and/or months ago something had happened. Since some of those
things included "when can I cast Find Familiar again" or "When
can I whistle for another Warhorse" or "When will my baby be born"
this was important. Also it kept track of changing seasons. This
is significant up there in Finland, no?

On a shorter scale...  a Time Clock is needed sometimes. Usually
this is just done on the fly. But, when it IS needed, I have a pile
of photocopies of something I saw in the Dragonlance module D8...
boxes for the days gone by, the hours in a day, the turns in an hour,
and a rounds in a turn clock. I'd tick off whatever was appropriate
for what just happened: 1 turn to search a small room, 3 for a large
room (big party, good thieves) and just advance to the end of the next
hour for cathedral sized rooms.
When to demand real-time responses... ONLY when
    the party knows something is critical... otherwise they act normal
	and don't have a right to think of and declare split-second
	timed actions
    the party has had the "ominous signal" described to them, then
	"five seconds to decide what to do... Ok lets start at this
	end of the table" (btw this can be done at any time just so
	the party is jumpy at every _potential_ "Ominous Signal"(tm)
    the characters really have to act fast or lose big.
How long to verbally interact in a battle... since the round is one
MINUTE long allow (my suggestion here... nothing officious) ONE
phrase or sentence per character per segment... if they take more,
then talking is ALL they do that segment. This counting down of
segments is done if you're using individual initiative.

Can a meleeing fighter here something yelled his/her way?
    have them roll d-20 under their level or wisdom,
    whichever is lower.

Can the PCs develop and use battleplan codes? yup. That's
why its' a role-playing game.

Capture by non-lethal attacks... attacking to subdue... yes...
If there is a better way like read up on the "sap" in the complete
fighters' handbook... and remember that what's Kosher for
the PCs is legal for the Monsters... this is the pain of a critical
hit system... it gets turned on you-all!

--
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: jeremy@wpi.WPI.EDU (Mr. Lethargy)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Lich Killing Advice Needed
Date: 8 Apr 92 18:44:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: wpi.1992Apr8.184413.15670
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

In article <1992Apr8.114501.29669@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> bh967@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Greg Weller) writes:
>
>NPC wizard to help us...we figured that he was already mad at us,
>so what if he even gets madder because we're selling his stuff...
>
Problem is finding someone willing to buy stuff stolen from a lich (usually
 they keep their stuff pretty well marked)

And then, if you can find a mage powerful enough to take on a lich, and he's
not phenomenally busy, then you could always try giving the lich's spell books
to him as payment (it shouldn't be too difficult to find a mage who would like
a bunch of really high levels spells)

or there's always the REALLY generic and unoriginal way that everyone uses to 
kill those really powerful undead...try zapping him with a rod of resurrection
(if you can find one, that is)
if you can actually get past it's magic resistance and its save,it should work
rather nicely

just my two silver pieces worth 
jeremy
Xref: sparky rec.games.frp:18146 news.answers:1056
From: dfrancis@tronsbox.UUCP (Dennis Heffernan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS: UlTRA Tech ?= Ultra Death??
Keywords: GURPS ULTRATECH armor
Date: 11 Apr 92 04:57:28 GMT
Organization: Xanadu Enterprises Inc.

In article <s4takINNe90@agate.berkeley.edu> labc-4ac@e260-4c.berkeley.edu writes:
|My original question had more to do with the fact that in Ultra
|armor you were either fine or dead.  You could be pepered with
|bullets and have none of them get through, then have one manage to
|roll better, and be dead!  My main bief I guess is that there are no
|rules for battering damage.  If I whack you with a baseball bat while
|your in plate mail, you'll feel it!!  People in Flack vests that get shot
|(from my memory, no supporting facts at all) get bruised and it hurts, dosn't
|it.  The bullet has some amount om momentum that has to be transfered to
|the person.  I know we just had a LONG discussion of the forces of a bullet,
|but I would still think you would get brused.  What about the outside of the
|armor heating up when scored on by a laser??  Or the electric charge of
|a taser/stunner/electron pistol??  Can you say static electricity?  It
|just seems that there should be some way to slow someone in full armor
|down a little.

	There ARE rules for blunt impact trauma -- but they only apply to
flexible armor like kevlar, or monocrys at higher TL's.

	Solid armor, like plate armor, isn't going to suffer from such effects.


dfrancis@tronsbox.xei.com   ...uunet!tronsbox!dfrancis     GEnie: D.HEFFERNAN1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I don't understand why you make such a big deal out of everything...haven't
you learned; if it's not happenning to me it's not important?" -Murphy Brown
From: mcdougal@lonestar.utsa.edu (Jon . McDougal)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Weapon for RIFTS or similar Palladium game...
Date: 12 Apr 92 22:06:08 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio

[defensive bit about girl with PS: 15 carrying 45kg gun deleted]

    I have to jump in on this one. I have followed this thread for a
couple of messages, and thought the girl had a much higher PS, thus she
'could' use the gun for a wee length of time. But with a PS of only 15,
there is utterly no way in Atlantis that she could carry it at all for
any period of time, no matter how short, and wield it as an effective
weapon. My numbers may be a bit off, but the M60 weighs in around 20lbs,
unloaded, and is NOT a field favorite to be carried. It is so damn tiring
that other men are assigned the ammo belts to allow the gun wielder a
fraction of relief. That puppy weighs ONE FIFTH as much as this 90mm
'Did it myself' job. See my point? You figure a 'Pigman' carrying an
M60 will have about an 18 PS, and he gets tired, this little wench
would be poopped after one shot.

    Think about it... middle of a fight, a SAMAS hovers around the corner
carrying a Rail Gun and running an 'auto-target' routine to plow a blow-
hole through her forehead, is this woman going to be able to whip a
hundred pound gun off her bike, aim it, and squeeze the trigger before her
opponent makes a 15lb pound deposit of lead in her brain bank??? I
think not! We have 50lb pound bags of food for our Saint Bernards, and
I know I can not pick up that puppy up and point it at somebody before
they pop a cap in my ass, so how is this 'slightly above average PS'
woman going to do it with a 100lb gun? She's not, she's road paste,
another notch on somebody's gun barrel, end of story, make a new PC.

Grand Director Of The Coalition to End Power Gaming,
                                                 Jon

PS: Notice I left out the ammo weight of that little pop-gun! Figure 2lb
    shells into the equation, and it would just complicate things.


with a rail-gunner running an 'auto-target' program to draw a bead on
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: pmwg1641@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Peter M. White)
Subject: Re: SRUN: Cyberware & sanity loss
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1992 23:50:53 GMT

krischel@phakt.usc.edu (Blackstar) writes:

>In article <1992Apr11.173440.1@gacvx1.gac.edu> tyros@gacvx1.gac.edu writes:
>>The sourcebook
>>mentions the loss of sanity as the cyberware is added, but does not give any
>>guidelines on how to incorperate this loss into the campaign. 

>You still playin' cyberpunk, chummer?  You show me where it says that drek...

>>>>>>>[Darkwind]<<<<<<

But isn't progressive insanity such a charming idea?  It is a 
real attraction of the Cyberpunk system to me.  I haven't thought
of a good way to include in SR without imbalancing the system,
unfortunately.

Anyone out there have any bright ideas?

p-white@uiuc.edu

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

		"Guards!  I'll draw their fire."
					--Scapegoat,_Marshal Law_

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: boyd@colonial.eecs.umich.edu (Eric Boyd)
Subject: AD&D2 Univ. of Michigan Players wanted - summer
Summary: AD&D2 Spring / Summer
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor, MI
Distribution: umich
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 19:23:22 GMT

	We need a few more regular AD&Dv2 players at the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor for a campaign this summmer. Older players
preferred (... grad school age ...) If interested, send email.


-- 
      o o o o o o o . . .   ________________________________ _____=======_T___
    o      _____           ||Eric L. Boyd                  | |               |
  .][__n_n_|DD[  ====_____  |boyd@colonial.eecs.umich.edu  | |(313) 936-2917 |
 >(________|__|_[_________]_|University of Michigan________|_|_______________|_
From: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Subject: Re: SRUN: Silenced weapons
Keywords:  None... its' silenced!
Reply-To: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Organization: Space Systems/Loral
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 15:23:24 GMT

1: The ammunition is subsonic... the silencer does NOT slow
    the bullet down... Get a Shooters' Bible from your local
    sporting goods store and look at the muzzle velocity...
    If it is above 1100 fpm it is supersonic and the bullet will make
    significant noise. Slow bullets make noise by disturbing the air
    but less so than a sonic-boom-trailing slug. Therefore:
    If your cartridge/weapon combination advertizes over 1100
    fps velocity, you need to buy or handload special ammunition.

2: The sound supressor over the muzzle acts to transform the
    expanding gas shock wave which normally comes rushing out of 
    the muzzle at supersonic speed (even if the projectile is subsonic)
    into a low-spped non-wave-front-type wash of gas.

3: A revolver-type weapon needs special silencing because there is
    a gap between cylinder and barrel so that the cylinder can
    rotate. Some gas will expand there and that is noise.

4: An automatic makes noise *without* a cartrige being fired...
    that damned noise is distinctive! Also, automatics work
    automatically by metal being spammed around by supersonic
    gas. The best method I know (Danger, Will Robinson! Wild
    Ignorance approaching rapidly on collision course!) is to use
    and automatic with the gas-drive welded shut... you reload
    by cocking the thing by hand.

5: Trigger mechanisms make noise, but using nylon parts can help
    This tends to reduce the lifespan of the weapon, but a throw-
    away may be best in many cases.

6: dying people make LOTS of noises... shoot well.

7: Single-shot breech-loading pistols are workable. Large caliber
    heavy weight low-speed slugs are the best for noise reduction
    and injury maximization (killing). Hollow-point ammo is best for
    two reasons... the slug mushroooms to (about) 1.5 times the origional
    diameter... .45 goes to .70 or so... nastier wound; and the hollow
    point can be fillied with nasty stuff like Sodiun Cyanide or KOH
    or explosives that are going to go off inside the body.

8: watch out for body armor... hit the neck... this is NOT a job for
    novices.

--
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.