HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter)
Subject: Re: Beginning TORG Campaign
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 01:26:58 GMT

schwarts@cps.msu.edu (Steven Eric Schwartz) writes:

>Hello all,

>I bought TORG about 2 years ago because I liked the theme. Now that there
>are supplements galore I'd like to begin a campaign and get involved. What
>I'd like to know is the following:

>	1) Which fiction/story books are out and good?
>	2) What errata and/or rules fix are floating around?
>	3) Which game supplements/books are good or useful?


I've read the three novels in the original trilogy (that's "Storm Knights,"
"The Dark Realm," and "The Nightmare Dream"), "Dragons Over England," and
"Strange Tales from the Nile Empire."  All are awful.  However, I recommend
reading the trilogy anyway, because it provides some more or less useful
background on important personalities and events in the Possibility Wars.

As far as game supplements go, I'd have to say that the Orrorsh Sourcebook
and the Tharkold Sourcebook are required reading, whether or not you plan
to run adventures there.  The Infiniverse Update would also be a good buy.
Avoid buying the Living Land Sourcebook--you won't get too much mileage
out of it...  :)


                                         --Steve Stelter
                                           sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
From: xoanon@carina.unm.edu (timothy k istian soholt)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Cosms 'R' Us (minor reference to Re: FYI)
Date: 5 Oct 92 17:38:39 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim)) writes:

>Of course, first we need to find a cosm with Tech 33 so we can build
>the darn thing....

Well, now that I have the goodies and three willing vic -- er, I mean
players, I'm working on my Grand Tour of the Cosms storyline. The 
basic idea is to have the Storm Knights find an Akashan lightship 
hidden away somewhere (this is pre-Space Gods) and be forced to take
it through a spacewarp to another, previously unknown cosm. Then the
lightship is damaged and they have to find some way back. I've al-
ready got two cosm ideas in production -- The Whoniverse (which I've
got axioms of Magic 5, Social 24, Spiritual 12, and Tech 33 but no
                            Note tie-in with quote! ^^^^^^^
world laws) and Avallion (a cosm with fully integrated technomagic,
thanks to the Law of Compatibility, which states that the axioms
can interact with each other on equal footing, along with disgust-
ingly high axiom levels -- I'm thinking of using Magic 21, Social
23, Spiritual 15, and Tech 30; this cosm also has a High Lord with
no ties to the Gaunt Man and company). "Where do I come in?" I
hear you cry? Well, I'd kind of like some help coming up with a 
few other cosms. Also, I've been taxing my brain trying to develop
a decent hook to get this whole thing started; I've decided that
the best way to have the Knights head for deep space is to get a 
Cyberpapal space shuttle on their tails, and I'd like to tie in 
the gold tablets from the Space Gods sourcebooks somehow. Any 
ideas?

-- Tim Soholt (xoanon@carina.unm.edu), The Man With No .sig
From: jkiley@andy.bgsu.edu (James H. Kiley)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: TorgMUSH
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:57:10 GMT
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.

TorgMUSH needs your help. :)
Our site has recently been lost, and we're dead in the water as a result.
We had been on the verge of opening up to builders when our site got the axe,
and we're currenlty looking for another.
Given a real site (what's a real site?  About 10 Meg or so for right now, with
reasonably reliable access and a 'god' account for code upgrades and such if
possible, unless you're willing to do such things yourself)  What we *do*
want is an okay from your sysadmin--we don't want to get busted for running a 
game without permission.


Thanks for your time...

Jim Kiley
Thratchen@TorgMUSH (it's easier to type than 'The.Gaunt.Man'...)
From: my3k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael L. Yacht)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: Homosexuality in the Nile
Date: 6 Oct 92 17:46:21 GMT
	<BvoMKK.K2p@andy.bgsu.edu>
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

jkiley@andy.bgsu.edu (James H. Kiley) writes:
> my3k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael L. Yacht) writes:
> > jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim)) writes:
> [snip] 
> >> Something to consider is that while homosexuality may not be
> >> moralistic, people's attitudes towards it can be (look at the
> >> Fundamentalists, who call it "a sin against God".)  Intolerance can be
> >> reflected in the Social Axioms (IMHO of course).
> > 
> > Tut tut, Jim.  NE LOM is not 'gee, tha's not right'  its THATS EVIL!
> > There is EVIL and good.  if people said 'that's not right' then the
> > vigilante hero's (Dark Avengers) would be EVIL.  Sorry, bud :)
> 
> Tut, tut, Mikey. ;)
> I'd like to point out the only real application of the NE LOM to the NE 
> homosexuality question is not whether the LOM would consider homosexuality 
> to be Good or Evil, that's immaterial, the LOM allows both to exist.  But 
> rather, the LOM prevents a neutral 'grey area', and I think that might be a 
> valid point in this argument, or do I have to get graphic? :)
> 
> Or is that what you meant?

Eeek sorry, Jim and Jimbob...I misread thy post, please forgive me in
thy awsome splendorous ways, you have.  Anyways...I just screwed up
and mailed someone personally instead of responding.  So, it might be
a few days before another of my messages gets posted. *sigh, I'm such
a twit*

> DISCLAIMER:  No, I'm not a homophobe--I'm not aiming to restrict anyone from 
> doing whatever they want, or even claim that whatever actions are taken are
> wholly a matter of conscious choice, etc, etc, etc.  This is a hypothetical
> discussion about a place that could never really exist.  
> 
> Jibo (like Kibo, but not)

I thought you were JimBob? ("Listen...I know you're full of shit..")

-Mike Yacht
-Carnegie Mellon University -- School of Computer Science
====================================================================
Mike Yacht             || specter+@CMU.EDU
From: corleyj@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Jason D Corley )
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: More Torg Top 10 Lists
Summary: Yes, its true.
Date: 28 Sep 92 20:23:56 GMT
Distribution: alt.games.torg
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

And now, from the recently formed Southern Arizona
Torg Player's Association:  2 Count them 2 Torg
Top 10 Lists, assembled at our last game session
late late at night...

THE TOP 10 REASONS TO USE THOSE TORG CARDS:

10.  Inappropriate quotes add needed humor at 2:45 AM.

9.  Torg cards make pathetic dip chips.

8.  "Romance" card never fails.

7.  Lets you laugh at the GURPSophiles of the world.

6.  "Campaign" card safer investment than S&Ls.

5.  Cards get all sticky and gross if kept in wallet or in
    Living Land too long.

4.  Cards have Niftyness Axiom 31!!!

3.  Those guys in the square ships play a great game of poker!
    (Whoops, that was one of the reasons to play cards with the
     Borg.  Sorry.)

2.  They give your GM a really hard time if used correctly.

AND THE NUMBER 1 REASON TO USE THOSE TORG CARDS...

1.  Doc Mobius doesn't hoard, why should you?  Think about it,
    won't you?  Thank you.

NOW...THE TOP 10 REJECTED TORG CARDS SUGGESTED FOR HOUSE PLAY...
10. Moment of Nasal Hair Crisis

9.  Three Stooges Scene

8.  UFO Abduction.

7.  JFK Assassination Tie-in.

6.  "Cyberpapists!  I hate these guys!"

5. Poor Shakespearian Acting

4.  "I can't, sir!  It's in Johnson's underwear!"

3.  "It's merely a flesh wound!"  "Your arm's off!"

2.  "You keel my father.  Prepare to die."

AND THE NUMBER ONE REJECTED TORG CARD:

1.  Pizza Dude Arrival.

Hope you liked it!  Dr. Mobius will never die!
	Jason
"Gypsy knew Richard Basehart.  Gypsy was a friend of Richard Basehart.
And you, sir, are no Richard Basehart." -T. Servo, on the movie
_Hercules_And_The_Captive_Women_
From: gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Grant R. Davis)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: A quick q 'bout transformations...
Date: 30 Sep 92 14:48:28 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <19vgr6INNkbp@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> axg20@po.CWRU.Edu (Ashwath Ganesan) writes:

>   however, our hero lance gets stuck in this itty bitty reality
>   storm problem, and BOOM, ZOTZ is transformed to Aysle.  Now, we
>   forgot to mention that Lance had <gasp> trigon leaper cyberlegs.
>   Now, do they stop working alltogether?  Or are they only a four-case
>   contradiction?

Well, there's transforming and then there's transforming. The book sez that
if an ord or an inanimate object gets its reality transformed, it also
has a 1 in 20 chance of physically transforming; an ord transformed to the
Cyberpapacy would get cyberware, etc. Most of the time, however, the
knight would be stuck with his cool-looking cyberlegs.
	To complicate things even further, there's a story in _Mysterious
Cairo_ about a Core Earther who disconnects (she doesn't even transform)
in the Nile and immediately has a 'radiation accident', gaining Electro-ray.
She reconnects after a few rounds, but she could still use the power.
So, the knight would probably have a 4-case contradiction to use the legs.
But if the knight has any cybernetic organs, he may die immediately, like the
Tharkold Cyborg (maybe I should post my tissue rejection rule:->

>   Does this mean that if a Nile Empire guy transforms, he keeps his
>   super-stats?  although that might be different, because they are
>   tied into world-laws.

He keeps them, but they are a contradiction. This also applies to any
'natural 14' stat.

The Grant Man
gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu

"This is good[beer]. Remind me to take this world."-Lost Destiny


Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: agreene@mta.ca
Subject: Re: Cosms 'R' Us (minor reference to Re: FYI)
Reply-To: agreene@mta.ca
Organization: Mount Allison U, Sackville, N.B. Canada 
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:05:29 GMT

I'm new to this newsgroup, but I have been playing TORG for most of the
year.  Your ideas for new cosms sound great, but how about the ULTIMATE
cosm for TORG:

yes, it's the TOON cosm]

You and a (un)lucky group of players get to wander into cartoon mayhem.
Imagine, blasting Bugs Bunny with a Godlight pistol, or skewering a
charging Daffy Duck on a hrockt spear.  Just imagine some of the World
Laws:  the Law of Cartoon Immortality, the Law of Siliness, the Law
of Hundred-foot Cliffs and Falling Anvils, and of course, the Law
Reality (or rather, lack of...)

Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: michael@hapuna.cs.ucla.edu (michael gersten)
Subject: Mailing list: What happened?
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 21:29:24 GMT


What happened to the mailing list?

Morticia.cnns.unt.edu does not know 'cluther' nor 'torg' anymore

Did it move to a new host? Did it get axed?

Can someone feed me this group?

		Michael
-- 
Michael Gersten | michael@stb.info.com | disclaimer | `/usr/games/fortune`
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Date: Sun,  4 Oct 1992 19:15:55 -0400 
From: "Michael L. Yacht" <my3k+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Homosexuality in the Nile

axg20@po.CWRU.Edu (Ashwath Ganesan) writes:
> I'm gonna put a big ol' bullseye on my chest and say:
> 
> No, the Nile Empire has no homosexuality?  Why?  I mean, they existed
> in the '30s right?  Well, the only reason the NE is IN the 30's is because
> it fits the pulp fiction era.  And if the pulp fiction is the driving
> force of the Nile Empire, then nothing that isn't supported by 
> pulp fiction should have an easy time fitting in there.  Thus, they
> wouldn't have it.  You could consider it being a contradiction of the
> Law of Morality... and before you get the flamethrowers.  Remember, the
> NE Law of Morality is very restricting... good and evil, no grey...
> so it's not /accurate/... it just is. 

Time ta slam ya, Ash me boy.  Ok, lets say that the NE LOM (Law of
morality) says that there cannot be any homosexuals.  Then you are
stating that Homosexuality is moralistic.  I can't disagree with you
more.  And if you want a pulp hero with homosexuality: Zorro, the gay
blade.

Boom... :) Sorry chum, s'way it is.  To 'outlaw' homosexuality would
be a restriction on the social axiom, and I can't see that happening
at NE's current level.

> Then again, if someone can name pulp fiction that had homosexuality in it...
> I'll gladly eat my words.

See above ^^^

> Speaking of the Nile Empire... THREE people in my party of six (I'm a player,
> not GM) just transformed to Nile Empire... the Akashan Monitor, the British
> Psychic, and the Cyberpap Templar Knight... GEESH!  How fraggin'
> ridiculous... but it's Soooooooo funny!
> 
> The Akashan had a fit... until he found out that he had a lens... ala
> E.E. 'doc' Smith's Lensman books... then he was happy.  The Cyberpapist 
> has rollerskates strapped to his cyberfeet, and uses ski-poles to push
> himself along... and the britsh psychic also found himself a lens.  Hee.
> Oh yeah, the C.E detective prodigy ALSO transformed... so make that four..
> and he's suddenly an alcholoic... it's GREAT!  Hee!

Hahahahehehehehea!  I love the Cyber dude!  I Want to run that!!!!
That would be soooo funny!!!

> Just thought I'd say that.
> 
> Oh, and Please please please please find TorgMUSH a site... I'll be
> your best friend... really!!

Its true, he's desperate for friends ;)

> -Ashwath, aka Dr. Mobius, desparately seeking a new cosm to conquer 
>  (ie. a new site).

-Mike Yacht aka J.P.Malraux (Sounds like someone who would be a
multibillionare and run for president, only to drop out and run again,
hmmm?)
-Carnegie Mellon University -- School of Computer Science
====================================================================
Mike Yacht             || specter+@CMU.EDU
                     
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: Re: Homosexuality in the Nile
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 03:49:19 GMT

In article <mumble> my3k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael L. Yacht) writes:

>jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim)) writes:

>> If however the original Zorro was homosexual (not just gay, since that
>> did used to mean something different) then you do have a good counter-
>> example. 
>
>that he was, oh guru-type.  I have some of the compic books at home,
>they are worth a pretty penny.  He always saved the girl, but never
>kissed her, and there is EVEN A SCENE (in one of my books) where he
>kisses a man. :)

All based on interpretation of course - the current Zorro (on TV) has
never kissed the woman he's in love with (that I've seen).  

And depending on the situation kissing another man does not indicate
homosexual tendencies....

>> Something to consider is that while homosexuality may not be
>> moralistic, people's attitudes towards it can be (look at the
>> Fundamentalists, who call it "a sin against God".)  Intolerance can be
>> reflected in the Social Axioms (IMHO of course).
>
>Tut tut, Jim.  NE LOM is not 'gee, tha's not right'  its THATS EVIL!
>There is EVIL and good.  if people said 'that's not right' then the
>vigilante hero's (Dark Avengers) would be EVIL.  Sorry, bud :)

Tut tut yourself Mike.  I said AXIOM, not world law.  Intolerance of
racial or sexual differences is commonly used to equate one society as
being "less advanced" than another, which can be interpreted as
meaning a difference in social axioms.



-- 
Kansas Jim (Jim Ogle, TORG guru)                               /|
jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (NRAO-VLBA, Socorro New Mexico)           o| |-
"I'd be apathetic if I cared."                              /|\\|
From: sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: Beginning TORG Campaign
Date: 7 Oct 92 01:52:25 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter)   writes:

>schwarts@cps.msu.edu (Steven Eric Schwartz) writes:

>>Hello all,

>>I bought TORG about 2 years ago because I liked the theme. Now that there
>>are supplements galore I'd like to begin a campaign and get involved. What
>>I'd like to know is the following:

>>	1) Which fiction/story books are out and good?
>>	2) What errata and/or rules fix are floating around?
>>	3) Which game supplements/books are good or useful?


>I've read the three novels in the original trilogy (that's "Storm Knights,"
>"The Dark Realm," and "The Nightmare Dream"), "Dragons Over England," and
>"Strange Tales from the Nile Empire."  All are awful.  However, I recommend
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Waitaminnit--I think I meant to say "Mysterious Cairo" here.
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: wolf@cheshire.oxy.edu (Clinton Richard Wolf)
Subject: Re: A quick q 'bout transformations...
Organization: Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041 USA.
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 23:46:50 GMT

In article <2800719788@dwetzel.mis.stratus.com> Dave_Wetzel@vos.stratus.com writes:
>In article <80790@ut-emx.uucp> gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Grant R. Davis) 
>writes:
>
>> 	To complicate things even further, there's a story in _Mysterious
>> Cairo_ about a Core Earther who disconnects (she doesn't even transform)
>> in the Nile and immediately has a 'radiation accident', gaining 
>Electro-ray.
>> She reconnects after a few rounds, but she could still use the power.
>
>I don't think we should rely too heavily on a novel/short story for game 
>mechanics...  Think of this event as an example of GM Fiat ("It happens 
>because I *SAY* it happens!") if that helps.  It was dramtically 
>appropriate to a situation, and shouldn't be treated as a general rule.
>
 My opinion also. Game novels are for caca regarding actual game mechanics.
Just look at all the AD&D novels! In particular, I remember one where a
Knight of at least 3rd level nearly dies from a single thrown dagger that
hits his hand (and no, it wasn't poisoned.) The author just wanted him out
of the way, and damn the double-digit hit points! :)


Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: Re: REVIEW: "Out of Nippon"
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 02:57:49 GMT

I forgot to mention that the main character is an American woman who
has been living and working in Japan since before the Possibility Wars
started.  This allows the author to view NT from the outside without
being too far on the outside - a nice touch that works better than I
initially thought it would.  It also gives most people a more familiar
character to associate with - a full blown Nippon Tech version of a
Japanese sarariman might have been a bit too alien for some readers to
freely associate with.




-- 
Kansas Jim (Jim Ogle, TORG guru)                               /|
jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (NRAO-VLBA, Socorro New Mexico)           o| |-
"I'd be apathetic if I cared."                              /|\\|
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: Re: REVIEW: "Out of Nippon"
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 07:52:51 GMT

It's been pointed out to me that I should have included a spoiler
warning in my review for the following material:

SPOILER!


>One problem with the final dramatic scene is that the Storm Knights
>die much too easily!  I guess they were just low on Possibilities and
>didn't have any good cards in their pools (or the NPCs just roll
>really well!)  (Before you start saying Orrorsh is supposed to be like
>that, Orrorsh doesn't figure into the end of the adventure; it's
>Nippon all the way.)

When I wrote this it didn't even cross my mind that this was a
spoiler.  What I should have said is that "One problem with the final
dramatic scene is how easily some of the Storm Knights die!" - not all
of the Storm Knights die, and the ones that do die are basically
faceless grunts anyway - there's no character development, their
deaths aren't even dramatic, most of them don't even get lines and the
ones that do don't get to say much anyway.

For example, the one Storm Knight who did get a couple of lines and
still gets killed in the end is blown away with no fanfare, no
dramatic dialogue, no last heroic action, just ZAP! and he's dead.
The main characters do not get treated this way, rest assured.

But...



...there are several deaths of main characters earlier in the book.
They at least aren't treated as throwaway encounters though.

Sorry!

-- 
Kansas Jim (Jim Ogle, TORG guru)                               /|
jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (NRAO-VLBA, Socorro New Mexico)           o| |-
"I'd be apathetic if I cared."                              /|\\|
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jkiley@andy.bgsu.edu (James H. Kiley)
Subject: Re: Homosexuality in the Nile
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 04:17:05 GMT

my3k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael L. Yacht) writes:
> jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim)) writes:
[snip] 
>> Something to consider is that while homosexuality may not be
>> moralistic, people's attitudes towards it can be (look at the
>> Fundamentalists, who call it "a sin against God".)  Intolerance can be
>> reflected in the Social Axioms (IMHO of course).
> 
> Tut tut, Jim.  NE LOM is not 'gee, tha's not right'  its THATS EVIL!
> There is EVIL and good.  if people said 'that's not right' then the
> vigilante hero's (Dark Avengers) would be EVIL.  Sorry, bud :)

Tut, tut, Mikey. ;)
I'd like to point out the only real application of the NE LOM to the NE 
homosexuality question is not whether the LOM would consider homosexuality 
to be Good or Evil, that's immaterial, the LOM allows both to exist.  But 
rather, the LOM prevents a neutral 'grey area', and I think that might be a 
valid point in this argument, or do I have to get graphic? :)

Or is that what you meant?

DISCLAIMER:  No, I'm not a homophobe--I'm not aiming to restrict anyone from 
doing whatever they want, or even claim that whatever actions are taken are
wholly a matter of conscious choice, etc, etc, etc.  This is a hypothetical
discussion about a place that could never really exist.  

Jibo (like Kibo, but not)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
From: jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: New *free* service!
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 04:02:24 GMT

Chris Pearce asked me to pass this along to the newsgroup; apparently
he can read it but can't post to it....

----------
I've been forwarding alt.games.torg to some people who don't have access
to the mailing list. Since it's little trouble for me to add to my
To: line, I'll be happy for forward a (roughly) daily copy of alt.games.
torg to people who send me a subscription request at cpearce@nemesis.acs.
unt.edu!
-- 
Chris Pearce -- cpearce@nemesis.acs.unt.edu
----------

-- 
Kansas Jim (Jim Ogle, TORG guru)                               /|
jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (NRAO-VLBA, Socorro New Mexico)           o| |-
"I'd be apathetic if I cared."                              /|\\|
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg