From: nasato@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu (Neil Asato)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: BTRC: Variant rules for augments and cyberspace
Date: 11 Nov 92 01:15:37 GMT
Organization: University of Engineering, College of Engineering

In article <1992Nov8.030524.1@wharton.upenn.edu> millerl@wharton.upenn.edu writes:
>In article <1992Nov8.072011.20107@news.Hawaii.Edu>, nasato@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu (Neil Asato) writes:
>> Note: This article has parts of articles that I posted last year
>> in the games.cyber newsgroup. I cleaned them up and joined them
>> into a single file. The article on variant rules for magic items
>
>I assume this is for TimeLords/WarpWorld. Or is it for CORPS? Pretty
>please, say CORPS.

     Unfortunaetly (?), this is for TimeLords/WarpWorld/SpaceTime
system. Basically, about once a month I hope to post one aspect of
a campaign I am with. 
     Generally, CORPS is just converted into TimeLords rules using
the 3G3 supplement and that Time Travellers mini-module in the
Organizations handbook for CORPS. If you want to use my articles
for CORPS, try and just use those two supplements to convert them
from TimeLords to CORPS rules. If all else fails, you can just
approximate the stats.  Another note is that the Heirarchy (sp?),
does not really have much control over the magic that they use.
It is a weird hodge-podge of Generic, Spirit, and Ritual magic,
mainly because they have not really figured it all out (which is fortunate
for the rest of the human race). 
    As an approximation, research is done as being very difficult
or impossible tasks using quantum physics, advanced mathematics,
occult, or similar skills to attempt it. If the roll is far off (missed
by more than maybe 5 or so), then nothing happens. If it is missed
by less than that amount, *SOMETHING HAPPENS*. Not necessarily an   
experience that the researcher survives. Obviously, the Ranks of
the Damned of the Heirarchy are filled with such victims. Note, that
while the CORPS game deals mainly with human power groups, there is
nothing that says things from beyond the known reality would not
want to stake a claim on earth.
     Here are some sample ideas for module ideas that you can
have as a sub-plot for the never-ending power struggle:
     1) Taste for Power. Beings humans would call demons, which
feed on the Pow of living beings, use earth as a kind food source.
They are beings of Power and are basically as appear as distorted
writhing blur.  They have the powers as described for the "demons" in
the DeathWind module, with a failed Willpower roll allowing them
to drain 1 Pow. If the Pow goes to 0, then the body dies.
     2) For the Glory of Gods. The earth is the world described in
WarpWorld BEFORE the Warp. Certain energies that allows magic to
function has been depleted over the eons of use. Through feeble links,
they have discovered that a full-scale nuclear war would through 
the combining  of the intense broad-spectrum energies of thermo-nuclear 
explosions and the sudden liberation of Pow by millions of simultaneous
deaths would soak the earth with the energies that they need for thousands
, maybe millions, of years. The Heirarchy, might be aware of it and
try to arrange it so that they get the liberated Pow.
     3) Are You an Illegal Alien? The group knwon as the UFOs are not
the only interstellar force out there. Some might be using the cliche,
but still effective means of infiltrating human society to effectively take
it over. Note this does not necessarily mean a takeover in the conventional
sense, in that they might just make sure that their agents are the ones
who make the decisions. 
     4) A Touch of Immortality. A war erupts between the vampires
and the true immortals. The vampires have been encouraging the development
of genetic research, since it seems to hold the promise of freeing themselves
of their condition, while possibly still retaining immortality.
The true immortals want to have a monopoly on immortality. A few
"accidents" later, the vampires threaten to give the true immortals
a first hand experience of what it is like to be a vampire. 
    5) The Naturals.  This is not a campaign idea, as they are NPCs.
Basically, the GM allows the player characters to encounter people
who are like some television character, like MacGyver, McCall (of the
Equalizer; a natural for the shadowy world of CORPS), Raven (for
Hawaii type settings), the cast from Renegade, and Highlander
(use your imagination for the advantages and disadvantages that
they get, like being able to sense each other, etc.). 

     By the way, BTRC has put out 2 new products for CORPS.
     1) The World Book. This is an overview of the countries of
earth at the time of 1992. If you ever had a hard time coming up
with a country for your campaign, you can just look up a real-life
country here and change the name and stats around.
     2) GM shield and mini-module. The mini-module has some corrections
and add-ons for the CORPS game. The mini-module has part of the
adventure occur in a FRP Con (!). There are some interesting 
NPCs who are somewhat familiar there (try and match the NPCs with their
real-life equivalents).
 
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc