HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jdale@cats.ucsc.edu (Jonathan Dale)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Big vs. Small Weapons
Date: 30 Jul 1992 07:04:55 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu


In article <1992Jul29.150829.24838@burrhus.harvard.edu> canders@isr.harvard.edu (Carl E. Anderson) writes:
>In article <Bs40p5.tA@news.cso.uiuc.edu> maxson@cerl.uiuc.edu (K R Maxson) writes:
>>Actually, trying to figure out how combat really works by watching SCA events
>>is not a very good plan.
>
>	Well, it can teach you a lot, if you keep the limitations of the
>SCA well in mind.  The most ridiculous thing in SCA combat is the speed and
>abandon with which people fight.  Most combats result in a kill after a
>very short time - a minute or so at best.  Do you think people would fight
>so carelessly if they knew their lives and well-beings depended on it.  A
>real fight would be rather more cautious and time-consuming.

I'm not so sure about that.  Sure, people wouldn't make the kind of reckless
charge I've seen done to great effect in some SCA battles.  But when it comes
down to one-on-one combat, being constantly on the move and on the offensive
is advantageous.  You don't want to be cautious and waiting for them to move,
because then they have the initiative and the advantage.  Rushing in and 
attacking hard is the best way to keep your opponent off balance, which is to
say the best way to survive.  I've noticed this in SCA-like light fighting and
fencing (both of which I've done), and you also see it in SCA heavy fighting
(limited by encumbrance, to some extent).  

Game mechanics make no mention of anything like this.  In a game, no one ever
pauses, and parries don't limit your ability to attack -- they do in real
life.  On the other hand, either I have a shield skill of 25 or shields are
underrated in every game I've seen.  I have a hunch it's the latter....
From: a481@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Genres
Date: 21 Jul 92 05:49:54 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada

> Carl E. Anderson writes:
>         OK.  I'll admit I don't know Jack Sprat about hardcore engineering
> and things.  By hard science fiction I meant it didn't have magic, and did
> have people wandering around in space ships.  I guess this shows I'm not
> much of the hard sf purist!

Oh, I see. :) Maybe "soft SF" would've been a better term, then.

>       But I like to add as much realism to things as I can.  Does anyone
> have any ideas about improving the 'science' in BattleTech to make it a bit
> more realistic?

Yeesh. Make BT more realistic? Tough to do, considering the whole idea of
lumbering robotic behemoths as weapons makes absolutely no sense, militarily,
economically, or scientifically.

There is a place you could fine tune, though. Check out the ranges for weapons
in the game -- if they haven't changed from the very first edition (which I
played and enjoyed as beer & pretzels fare), you'll notice that the 'mech
weapons have truly cruddy effective ranges. Pit a company of vintage German
Panthers or Tigers against a mech and it'd be shredded in no time -- their guns
outdistance the 'mech weapons drastically.

I'd just as soon leave the game as it is, though. It isn't realistic by any
stretch of the imagination, but it *is* fun. IMO, of course.

--
J.D. Frazer, a481@mindlink.bc.ca, (Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
-----------------------------------------------------------
*BRRRRAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPPAPP!*
"MEIN LEBEN!" <thud>
"You shoulda thought about that when you signed up, buddy." - Valaria
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: wcalderw@nmsu.edu (William A. Calderwood)
Subject: Re: WANTED: frp map maker
Organization: NMSU Computer Science
	<3647@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 18:53:59 GMT

>In article <1992Jul23.192111.26789@news.columbia.edu> bbk3@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Bradley B Kohn) writes:
>>
>>   I was wondering in anyone out there uses a computer program to create
>>detailed maps for frps. I am trying to find one that works in a hex map
>>format and can also be exapnded to show terrain, cities, etc. Any ideas
>>would be appreciated, and if anyone knows of anything for an IBM-PC I
>>would appreciate the info.
>
>There is a set of Windows programs for doing just that.  They are called
>Hexview and Hexmap (and can be found on various ftp sites, like
>oak.oakland.edu -- I think).  They are shareware, however, you will have
>to register them before you get the full capabilities.  They can still
>be used, but it takes a lot more work.  I can't vouch for the fully enabled
>versions, since I haven't the room in my budget to register them yet.

>Hope this helps.
>Andy
>-- 
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  "I'm not insane...just a reasonable facsimile."  | Hummell@unix.cis.pitt.edu
>  "Character is what you are in the dark."         | Andy Hummell ...that's me 
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

I've not been able to locate either or these window's programs on any
of the 11 or so archives listed in the FAQ nor on oak.oakland.edu nor
on wuarchive.wustl.edu .

Has any one else been able to find them if so could you post the
location or submit them to rec.games.frp.archives.

Or could Andy uuencode them and mail them to me :)

Thanks,
Bill,
wcalderw@nmsu.edu
From: maxson@cerl.uiuc.edu (K R Maxson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Big vs. Small Weapons
Date: 28 Jul 92 17:31:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.Bs40p5.tA
Organization: UIUC Computer-based Education Research Lab

In article <1992Jul28.151411.10827@rchland.ibm.com> BillSeurer@vnet.ibm.com writes:
>I don't think that greatswords need 5-7 feet of clear space around them.
>The only description I have seen of one in use (not in a fantasy book)
>said that it was held in front and moved in a circular pattern.  That
>shouldn't require much more room than any other sword.
>In an SCA combat or two I have seen this is also pretty much what was done.
>The old crank-it-back-over-your-head-touching-the-ground-and-cleave-em
>swing is probably pure fiction as it is such a slow blow that a foe could
>walk away by the time it was done.  Of course if the foe was subdued or busy
>fending off someone else and you DID manange to hit...

Actually, trying to figure out how combat really works by watching SCA events
is not a very good plan.

When combatants wore massive amounts of armor and swung around big weapons,
nobody was jumping out of anybody else's way.  You stood there and swung
and swung, and eventually someone got a concussion and keeled over.

You do not use two handed swords, or even hand-and-a-half swords, by
holding them in front of you and waving them in a circular pattern.  These
weapons are big.  They are basically clubs with an edge.  Because of their
great length and weight, they are not very suited to stabbing, whether or
not they have a ground point.  They are meant to be, and in fact were,
swung; generally overhead, as that is the easiest way to do it.  Although
the wacky Swiss are an exception, in general these weapons were only carried
by heavily armored and moderately immobile people.  They generally weren't
used to pin peasants to the ground, but to bludgeon other armored hulks
into submission.

You need a pretty damned light blade to be able to wave it in front of
you with any effectiveness; then, you are not relying on the weight of
your blow, but on speed.  The only way to make a bastard sword move fast
is to get a broad swing behind it.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Subject: Re: HERO vs. GURPS
Reply-To: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 19:44:42 GMT

joshua salter <jsalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:
>	I have purchased HERO, and found my old copy of GURPS to compare them.
...
>	I'm using both to see which game works better in action, (long campa-
>igns). Suggestions on what supplements to buy? (For each.)

Hero there isn't that much to choose from:
Ninja Hero: I'm rather partial to this. Obviously, if you don't like Hero 
	combat its a waste - but if you do this is a great book for 
	producing fun martial arts fights and campaigns. 
Western Hero: This is a decent treatment of the genre, dominated mostly by 
	the town of Tombstone and various famous characters. I think Hero is 
	not terribly well suited for many Western action scenes, though. 
Fantasy Hero: I think this is an excellent campaign book and coverage of the 
	genre, including a well-thought out section on magic systems using 
	Hero. The source material is very much 'generic fantasy', though, with 
	not much innovation or creativity. (There are also two Companions 
	which detail more generic fantasy.)

GURPS obviously is churning out books at an enormous rate - I'll mention the 
ones I like or think are neccessary to comment on...
	Either Aliens or Fantasy Folk is pretty much neccessary to handle 
non-human PC's without making up alot of your own rules. 
	Nearly all SF books draw on Ultratech, which (IMO) is fine for 
Space Opera, but inappropriate for 'hard' SF (based more exactingly on 
science). 

High Tech: Largely a manual on the development of guns - but as such, it is 
	interesting and useful. 

Imperial Rome: This is one of the better historical worldbooks, which type 
	often have information more suited for historical scholars rather 
	than role-players. 

Psionics: This is quite good at producing the SF-Psionics genre of fiction 
	like Scanners, Firestarter, Slan, etc. Psionics-wielders are quite 
	powerful, which is appropriate to the genre. However, I do not 
	recommend introducing this freely into any games which are not 
	supposed to be dominated by psionics (including Supers). 

Swashbucklers: Balances well between coverage of swashbuckling action, 
	pirate action, swashbuckling fiction, and historical fact. Stretches 
	itself a bit thin, but not nearly so much as wider genre books like 
	Space, Horror, and Supers. 

Time Travel: Also a rather wide subject, which this handles by including four 
	or five campaign ideas in some detail. It also has good suggestions 
	on how to handle the more mind-bending aspects of the genre. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kim                    | "All the world will be your enemy, Prince with
jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu | a Thousand Enemies. And when they catch you, 
Columbia University         | they will kill you."         - Watership Down
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: durrell@chop.isca.uiowa.edu (Bryant Durrell)
Subject: Re: Amber (Campaign Beginnings)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 04:29:57 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa

In article <1992Jul27.133406.5276@orionsci> goodwin@orionsci.uucp (Ben Goodwin) writes:
>Also, this may have been asked before, but how have you managed to bring
>these groups together?  It seems that the Second generation Amberites
>tend to protect their children by not letting anyone know that the
>kid exists.  I'm trying to bring these people together into two groups.
>But right now I can't think of a believable way to do it.

Not that I'm about to start an Amber campaign, and you seem to be too
far on in the process to use this idea, but...

I'd start the characters as 12-13 year olds, and I'd drop the initial 
points to about 50, maybe 75.  I'd grow them up pretty quickly -- nice
big temporal increments between adventures/episodes, give them lots of
freebie points.  But when you go out to learn powers, you're gonna
have to find someone to teach them to you.  (And most likely, you'll
learn them a piece at a time.  The rules are so quantum...)

The interplay we see in the books is the result of centuries of 
sibling rivalry.  I've seen a lot of players trying to emulate that
in mere months, and I don't think it works real well.  Further, it's
pretty clear that there are unwritten rules to the game they play
(else I'd imagine Fiona might have erased more memories...).  Or 
rules enforced by Oberon, and now by his successor.

It's important to remember that the backstabbing that went on in the
first series was unusally violent.  It makes a lousy regular diet.

Anyways, back to the main point.  Let the Amberites grow up together
and they'll have more reason to dislike each other.  Now that Merlin
and Martin are public, maybe the rest aren't so worried about raising
their kids in Amber.  Maybe there's a nursery somewhere.  Could be
fun; I'd be fascinated to hear from anyone who's done or will do 
this.

Bryant
.sigging:  the only winning move is not to play
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: wliaw@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Wendy)
Subject: Re: Dark Conspiracy
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 12:31:11 GMT

In article <aewFoB1w165w@wyvern.via.mind.org> thantos@wyvern.via.mind.org (Lord*Thantos Wyvern) writes:
>  The Dark Races book,  I b'lieve,  came out  before the  die-conversion 
>  book, 'cause I haven't seen it 'round here, but then I haven't checked 
>  *all* the stores herebouts either.

no, dark race is the latest supplement to the Dark Conspiracy game.
Empathy Soucebook should be published soon.

>  I've  got  the  first  DkCon  novel,  and  I  can't  find   any  more.  
>  Infuriating.

the 2nd book of the trilogy has already been out for a long time.
the third one should also be published soon.


-- 
Wendy Knight                       wliaw@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dancer, n. One who moves, leaps, stretches and turns while sweating, panting,
moaning, groaning and complaining. Accompanied by music.
From: ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Shadowrun: Character Sheets
Date: 29 Jul 92 01:43:15 GMT

The following posts are some sheets I made.  They are Post Script.  To
print them, you will first need to uudecode them, then uncompress them,
then get them to a PostScript printer.

If you have some problems getting them to print, mail me, as I've never
uploaded postscript to news before.

These are free.  If someone wants to stash these in an ftp site, drop me
a line to tell me where they are.

Wordman
From: elk@cblpo.att.com (elk)
Subject: Re: WANTED: frp map maker
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 20:21:07 GMT
	<1992Jul24.164338.18164@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>


Just for giggles (and so I can hear about something tha *I* can use
:), whilst we are talking about hex-map making programs:

Has anyone seen or heard of such a beast for UNIX?  (LIke maybe even
for X?)


--
+------------------------+  How long 'til my soul gets it right?
|Ed King                 |  Has any human being ever lived that kind
|elk@cblpo.att.com       |      of life?
|                        |  ...except for Gallileo....King of Insight
+------------------------+            -- Indigo Girls
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: mkkuhner@phylo.genetics.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner)
Subject: Re: SRUN: New totems request.
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 08:17:05 GMT

In article <ward1.711210892@husc8> ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward) writes:

>We ran with a Mantis shaman (an NPC) once, who was bent on destroying other
>insect shamans, and insect spirits even more so.  The rationale was that
>since Matis feeds on other insects in nature, she would do so in an
>Awakened world.

>We didn't trust her at ALL, but she saved quite a lot of us before being
>ripped in half.

A Spider shaman who shared an enemy with our party gave my sorceress,
Channa, a spider-silk spell focus to use against them.  I thought that
was a distressingly Spider way to deal with the problem--a gift to
ensnare the user, baited with power against the common enemy....She
used it with great reluctance, but she did use it, and I imagine sooner
or later Spider will get a line on her as a result.

I find totems more interesting if they aren't straightforwardly good or
evil.

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu
From: Les_Jenkins@lppl.mi.org (Les Jenkins)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Anyone Heard of Rifts
Distribution: world
Date: 27 Jul 92 17:02:17 EST
Organization: Les's Place BBS

In a message dated Sat 25 Jul 92 17:08, cjudd@esk (Craig Thomas Judd)
wrote:

 CTJ> The Palladium system IS related to D&D. Who cares? :-) What us
isolated
 CTJ> RIFTS players want to know is what people thought of the setting,
more
 CTJ> than the game system. At least, I do!


The Palladium system is NOT related to D&D. It was developed as an
alternative to D&D. 

I have been a RIFTS player since the first week the book arrived on my
local game dealer's shelves. I, and my gaming group, have even had a hand
in it's development. (Mark Grismer, who designed the RIFTS Character
Sheets, and I trade off on running a RIFTS campaign. Mark was busy putting
together a new sourcebook for RIFTS with items we have created in our
campaign world, but it's still a ways off in being finished.)

Personally, I don't see what the big beef everyone has against RIFTS or the
Palladium system in general is. Personally I much prefer the way magic is
handled in the Palladium system than in AD&D. AD&D's memorize it, cast it
once, and then memorize it again is simply stupid IMHO. Especially the
concept of memorizing a spell more than once. How the hell do you memorize
something more than once?

Anyways, I think it's a fine setting and continues to evolve as a good RPG
all the way around. Palladium has replaced AD&D as my favorite fantasy RPG.



 -- AEd V1.36f/EvaA

-- Via DLG Pro v0.992

======================================================================
E-Mail to:      | "Stimpy, sometimes your wealth of ignorance simply |
Les@lppl.mi.org |  astounds me." - Ren Hoek                          |
----------------+-----------------------------------------------------
From: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Best Super system
Date: 28 Jul 92 18:56:32 GMT
Reply-To: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Distribution: na
Organization: Department of Chemistry, UCLA

Agreed.  For animals, dealing with the split HT of 12/20 as you suggest (
death rolls begin at -20) makes the most sense, as the extra hit points are
entirely due to size, in general.  It has the side effect of making creatures
with split health much harder to kill, especially if the HT number is high
as well as the hit points, but that's life.  For supers the waters are
murkier, but I think it's still a good idea.

-Doug Gibson
 doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu

Neither UCLA nor the National Science Foundation has a clue what I am doing.
They just pay me to do it.

"We have to tear you to shreds because we care." - EAC
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: bz978@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Charles E Gibbs)
Subject: Champions--Mental Flashes
Reply-To: bz978@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Charles E Gibbs)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 19:25:59 GMT


To the extent that the mentalists in my campaign are starting to get
cocky, I was thinking about using Flash vs.mental senses, but there
isn't much on ECV flashes.  Has anyone tried this in their campaign?
Let me know.

Thanks,

C. Gibbs
From: Nick_Janow@mindlink.bc.ca (Nick Janow)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Military Mechs?
Date: 29 Jul 92 05:47:21 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

hk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:

> Fusion power in general is pretty heavy garbology, yet it remains in use as a
> science fiction staple. Already the mech has insufficient shielding to
> protect its pilot form the neutrons produced in the fusion process.

Some fusion reactions do not emit neutrons.

> At any rate, a sufficiently advanced technology might combine fusion power
> heat with magnetohydrodynamics (using the fusion plasma as a conductor which
> passes through a magnetic field, forced by its own heat expansion).

You can do it even more directly: use the expanding plasma to compress a
magnetic field, inducing a current in the magnetic coils. This assumes an
intermittent reaction, rather than a continuous one.


> Yes, you can invent future technologies without postulating startling
> innovations or discoveries - but don't try to tell me they are more
> 'realistic' than others; they are just more comprehensible.

It is valid to base future technologies on standard projections, such as for
the density of solid-state memory chips or the speed of computers.  Likewise,
using standard projections for technologies necessary for fusion reactors can
also be valid.

--

Nick_Janow@mindlink.bc.ca
From: ejd@yabba (eRic Donaldson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: gamma world
Date: 23 Jul 92 16:11:43 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford MA

In article <Joe_Neldrett.0303@lppl.mi.org> Joe_Neldrett@lppl.mi.org (Joe Neldrett) writes:
>In a message dated Mon 20 Jul 92  7:35, ejd@yabba (eRic Donaldson) wrote:
>
> ED> [blah blah blah]
>
>the title.) I also wish my copy of the minimodule that came with the
>GameMasters Screen hadn't gotten lost. That was a fun one too. 

Well, if you'd like another copy of the module (with screens of
course), a local gaming store has several copies.  I think they are
around $6.  Let me know if you, or anyone, wants a copy.

I have, however, not had much luck trying to find any other modules.

As far as my favorite version, I still haven't seen release 4.  I
found release 1 to be a little strong, i.e. intensity 18
radiation/poison kills with no chance of save.  Release 3 had too many
missing parts, and what too different from the others.

---

eRic [sic] Donaldson
(ejd@babypuss.mitre.org)
From: millerl@wharton.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Mythus of GDW
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:38:23 GMT
Organization: Newt World Order

In article <1992Jul29.232748.11081@cis.ohio-state.edu>, macgyver@turtle.cis.ohio-state.edu (MacGyver) writes:
> Mythus, the magic book for the Dangerous Journeys by GDW is now shipping.

Do you mean that _Mythus_ is shipping or that _Mythus Magick_ is
shipping? One has been out for at least a week, the other I haven't
seen.

-- 
whoah,
+++++++++++++++++++++++23
Loren Miller                           internet: MILLERL@wharton.upenn.edu
The more corrupt the government, the greater the number of laws -- Tacitus
From: gt9405b@prism.gatech.EDU (Lord Goodgulf the Ma-a-a-agical Wizard)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Cyberpunk (was: SR: SRII combat mods)
Date: 22 Jul 92 03:20:50 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In article <1992Jul21.043002.11276@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> JENKINS@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (Kent Jenkins) writes:
>"The Rigger is not in charge of combat tactics" can be extremely false.  The
>best tactician should be in charge of tactics, and if this means your Rigger,
>then it's your Rigger.  And if this means it's your Decker, it's your Decker.
     True.  I should have thought it through more.  But if your rigger is
in charge of tactics, I hope he has a better reason than, "You gave the decker
a gun?!" to want to abort the raid.  At least some reasoning behind why this
is bad.
                            Lord Goodgulf the Wizard



-- 
Lynn Richard Akers
"Justice is lost, justice is raped, justice is gone.
 Pulling your strings, justice is done."   - Metallica, And Justice For All
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt9405b          Internet: gt9405b@prism.gatech.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc