HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: George.Harris@bbs.oit.unc.edu (George Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: RQ: trollkin curse (was Re: RQ question)
Date: 8 Apr 92 16:27:18 GMT
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service

In article <0132@calsci.UUCP> calsci!al@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com (Al Petterson) writes:
>In article <1992Apr3.033641.27338@samba.oit.unc.edu>
>George.Harris@bbs.oit.unc.edu (George Harris) writes:
>
>>        So, given the nature and origin of trollkin, the question arises:
>>
>>        Are trollkin actually creatures of Chaos?
>
>By any reasonable definition, no;  they do not exhibit chaos features, and
>Storm Bull rune lords don't start frothing at the mouth when they're around.

	Ah, but is a reasonable definition adequate?  Remember, Gbaji is also
Nysalor the Illuminated One;  and if you are illuminated, you are immune to 
Spirits of Retribution, and , more importantly, you do *not* detect as Chaotic,
even if you have Chaos features coming out the wazoo.  So, if a normal human
happened to be Illuminated, and managed to join the cult of Krarsht, a Storm
Khan wouldn't detect him as Chaotic even though he is.

	So, given that Nysalor has a means of *obscuring* Chaos, just because
something doesn't show up on Sense Chaos doesn't mean it isn't Chaotic.  By
the above example of the human Krarsht cultist, one can be Chaotic without
having Chaotic features in the bargain.

	Now, I'm certainly not suggesting tha tall trollkin are Illuminated;
that is absurd.  However, given the nature of Nysalor, it isn't unreasonable
that a curse by him would render the victim Chaotic in a manner that wouldn't
be normally detectable.  The assertion of trollkin being Chaotic additionally
gains some credence from the observation that the abilities of individual 
trollkin vary wildly.  Mind you, I'm not saying it is true; just that it is a
possibility that cannot be dismissed out of hand.

>Being cursed by a chaotic being or deity does not automatically confer a
>chaos taint.  Consider that, for example, catching the disease of Soul Waste
>or being drained by a Vivamort vampire, though nasty fates with a chaotic
>source, do not render one chaotic.

	Um, Soul Waste could be caught from *any* Malia worshipper, and Malia
doesn't have the Chaos Rune, even though it was a member of the Unholy Trio.
And, while a Vampire is Chaotic, it isn't a God.  Gods can do lots of things
that their worshippers can't.  And there are cases where a curse from a Chaos
critter can render you Chaotic. Check out Chaos Gift, for instance, or that
nasty Porchango spell, the name of which I've forgotten.

>Al Petterson
>al%calsci@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com
--
"If you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, they taste more like
prunes than rhubarb does."		-Groucho Marx

George.Harris@bbs.oit.unc.edu	or, preferably	gharris@jade.tufts.edu
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: demian@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Anthony Jackson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: CHAMPS: question on turn sequencing
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:57:27 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz; Open Access Computing


Without bearing on the issue of whether the abort to dodge is particularly
efficient (having played in quite a lot of champions games, and played a
number of martial artists, I've never found it particularly unbalanced) lets
look at a simple matter of consistency in rules:

You can abort to a defensive action; in games I've been in, at least, this
includes 0 phase actions such as turning on a defense or switching a 
multipower to a defensive slot.

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.
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Friday, 17 Apr 1992 11:58:25 EDT
From: Brian Panulla <BJP108@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: WFRP: Character Generation

I just took the advice of a lot of people in Netland and bought Warhammer
Fantasy Roleplay yesterday, and, upon reading the first chapter, have some
questions:

Have any of you Warhammer GMs ever used the character system by allowing the
players to pick their skills and occupations?  So far, the fact that
everything is rolled is the only part I don't like about the game.  Has
there been any problem with game balance?  (I forced my TMNT players to roll
for their animals because everyone wanted a Weasel, Wolverine, or Tasmanian
Devil I'd rather not have to do that again) I fear, besides game balance,
that the players will wind up with inherently inconsistent characters.

One more question: Now that I've decided to experiment with the new system,
what other supplements would you suggest that I get?  What books are worth
the often high price tags?

One final comment: Anybody know why GW switched to softback books?  The
cover to WFRP is REALLY flimsy.  The first thing I did upon getting it home
was cover the whole book in contact paper....

___
Brian Panulla - bjp108 @ psuvm.psu.edu
"A Chimpanzee and two trainees could run it!"
                     --Montgomery Scott, about the Star Trek RPG.... NOT!
From: robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 13 Apr 92 20:02:03 GMT

cms@mse.cmu.edu (Curtis M Scott) writes:
> However, I think the 1 blow/second rate for weapons (SCA or otherwise) is
> probably realistic. I don't think any SCA fighter could land 3-4 blows/second.
> The fastest fighter I ever knew or heard of was Sir Francois of the Kingdom
> of Meridies, and high-speed film showed him striking 3 times in 2 seconds
> (that's total blows with two swords). I think Francois is the reason that
> SJ put the one blow/second rule in based on that experience.
> 
> Recognize that 4 blows a second is one blow every 250 millisecond---basically
> reflex speed for the human body. Aimed blows for damage---I don't think so.

Fencers, kendo players, boxers, and most other martial artists practice
combinations of attacks.  In kendo, two favourites are the kote-men
(wrist-head) and kote-men-do (wrist-head-waist) combinations; a serious
kendo student can perform either of these combinations in under a
second.

After years of practice (a lot of the Japanese students start at 4 or 5
years old) these combinations ARE reflexes;  my kendo instructor (60+
and playing since 3) and his senior student (40+ and playing since 5)
could maintain a constant clatter of hits and blocks that sounded like
a heavy-metal drummer.

Rob.
--
Robert A. Osborne   ...!uunet.ca!isgtec!robert or robert@isgtec.com
From: bret@technix.mn.org (Bret Indrelee)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: DMs AID
Date: 12 Apr 92 18:58:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: technix.1992Apr12.185841.28194
Organization: Technix Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA

In article <11379@mindlink.bc.ca> John_Morgan@mindlink.bc.ca (John Morgan) writes:
>
>How would you think about a program that will require a few steps but would be
>set up for 2ed AD&D?
>- STEP 1   Roll for encounter.
>  (Determines monster, HD, Treasure type, # attacks, dmg, experience,
>   special attacks/defences)
>- STEP 2   Roll up hp for each monster
>- STEP 3   Roll up treasure based on treasure type
>
>I know that this is a lot of work but this way I could include a part of the
>program that will allow a person to add their own monsters from other sources
>or delete monsters that don't exist in their world.
>
>Ciao Ciao
>    J
>

I would much rather have a program that keeps track of records.

Who has what equipment.  Is any of the equipment damaged.
What is the total encumberance for each character.

Do the calander and keep a GM log of what happened.  Make it easy
to grab the statistics of any NPC.  Cross-reference all NPC by name,
class, general hangouts, group affiliations.

Keep some of the ancient lore for me.

If your willing to go game specific, help with the time keeping on
combat, especially the spells.  With three for four spells active at
once, I still tend to screw up a lot.  Give it a nice gewy (GUI) frontend,
point and shoot takes on whole new meaning for missle combat.

Generate store inventories.  Keep track of general trading activities.

Keep all my maps.  Let me know how long since the characters last visited
the area.  Take care of the wilderness travel, automatically figuring
how far the group can go in a days march.

Be able to print out maps for the players, without all the nice little
GM notes on them.

Heck, if it had all this, I might even be willing to buy the computer
systems it ran on.  Assuming it was one I didn't already have.


Most of these things can already be done with proper use of database
tools, scanners and paint programs, and text (or HyperText) tools.

I would want to put the most effort into the mapping aids.  Here is
where you would almost want a CAD package.

I can roll dice, generate monster encounters.  It is the record keeping
that always bogs me down.

-Bret
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bret Indrelee		    |	Howe's Law:
email: bret@technix.mn.org  |	Everyone has a scheme that will not work.
I am not an employee of Technix, nor do I represent them in any way.
From: glock@glock.chip.cba.ufl.edu (Joe Granto (BACL))
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Gamma World
Date: 14 Apr 92 00:51:25 GMT
Organization: College of Business, University of Florida

I saw in the new TSR catalog that Gamma World is being released in May.  
Now, I have played both of the previous versions, and found the second 
edition to be great.  The cover on the new edition is different from that of 
the second edition, so I am assuming that things have been modified.  Anyone 
out there know more about this??
From: cal@fang.att.com (Charles A. Licata)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Inspired character names
Date: 15 Apr 92 14:08:34 GMT
Organization: AT&T Tax Systems Development, Maitland FL

From article <15Apr92065528@miracle.com>, by sue%miracle@merk.com (The Dragon Queen):
> Well, one more thread can't hurt..... :-)
> 
> Here's a question:  What's the silliest or most unusual name you've
> ever given a character?
> 
> sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter) writes:
>>In a Champions solo adventure, I played a ninja with the inspired name
>>"Katana."  (Hey, I was young.)
> 
> Before I started DMing, I played a ninja named Kawasaki.....
> 

To stick with the far east theme:

  My Samuari was names "Sushi Chop-Chop"
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: bkoike@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Bryce Koike)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: A new trend in roleplaying?
Date: 7 Apr 92 00:44:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: sdcc12.31401
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <MAVRA.92Apr3063647@bailey.cpac.washington.edu> mavra@cpac.washington.edu (Peter D. Adkison) writes:
>This message discusses what could become a new trend in the gaming
>industry and will also give you an opportunity to comment on this
>trend directly to the company trying to start it.  I'm sorry the
...etc
>This trend I'm referring to is a type of product called a *capsystem.*
>A capsystem is not a complete game system in and of itself, but rather
>a collection of rules dealing with one particular topic in depth.
...info deleted on TPO (I regret that I haven't seen anything on
this.  I'll check into it the next time I visit a game store...)
>
>So, my questions are as follows:
>
>* Does this sound like an interesting approach?
	I definitely like this idea.  (Although the abbreviations
might get annoying...heheh.)  I hope that the ability for these
products to be useful in many game systems is stressed...I know that
I might not look at it if it seems like it's a totally separate game
system!
>
>* Do you want to see game companies that come out with new systems all
>the time, or would you prefer more material for the system you do
>have?
	First and foremost I buy supplements for the game system I
play in.  If I see a supplement for another game that looks like I
can port it over to my current system, I'll get it if it's something
I want (like the Nightcity sourcebook for CP2020).  I hate having to
buy a new system every time I want to play a different genre, but I
also dislike companies who stick to the same system even if it needs
some serious work...

>
>* Do you think that going into great depth on one topic is good, or a
>time-wasting overkill?
	Depends.  TPO doesn't sound like a product I would buy
because I'm not interested in dieties, but if the subject is
interesting, I've nothing against going into detail...
From: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: Sex and RPG's - Why Oh Why ?
Date: 6 Apr 92 08:07:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: kazoo.1992Apr6.010751
Reply-To: brunner@kazoo.ssd.loral.com (Brian Brunner)
Organization: Space Systems/Loral

Remember when we played tanks & guns & rocketships?
Our sisters were playing house with dolls.
Sometimes we would join the "house" game,
sometimes they played our games with us.
No absolutes implied here...
but would YOU play "Barbie: The Role Playing Game"?
Or "The House that Wouldn't Stay Clean"?
for most of us guys, "Doctor" is as close as we're willing
to get to playing a game we played with girls.

Our RPGs continue much of what we have always liked,
and they contain little (relatively, mind you) of what the
girls liked. So on that note alone it is little suprise to me
that more guys than gals get into RPGs. My wife wouldn't
have, if I weren't in it and that tells more of one story.
That is partly because she had two children (now: 5.5, hits
6 in August) and little screamers make hell out of a tense
combat moment. Shadowrun and Pottyrun don't mix.
This is why my wife & I play mostly just the two of us.

Another factor is the marketing of the games. Here I draw
mostly from my AD&D experience... which says enough right
there; but I'll say more, anyhow.
If you are ROLE-players, and are GUYS, and play a female
character, and if one of the players is a gal... have you ever
(if not, try!) talked to the gal(s) about how realistic your
protrayal of womanhood (in the context of the game senario) is?
I've seen lots that play gals like gals thought with their tits just
the way the player thinks with his dick.

Scene (doesn't matter what game system or setting):
"You walk into what used to be a town. Earthquake plus
firestorm plus tax collectors have been here". What do we do?
look for a bar that rents rooms for the night. Jeesh. How often
are your female characters moved to compassion for the
widows and orphans? Have you ever answered:
"Screw the duke, he can get a new daughter and have fun trying.
Jake, Paula, pass the word around. We're setting up a hospital
and shelter there. Grunt, Slammer, take that building apart
the rest of the way and lay out the beams and boards. Keep
the pieces as big and as good as possible. I'll go pound stakes
for cornerstones. Mumbledigits, if we dig a trench can you put
a wall of something into it to give shelter? DM... we'll be here
three weeks."
Yeah, guys can be thus moved to action, let me stick out
my neck and say, in general gals are more so inclined. The
usual game does not make room for this mentality.

Have a nice day.


--
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.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
From: cjudd@esk (Craig Thomas Judd)
Subject: Re: Weapon for RIFTS or similar Palladium game
Organization: University of Tasmania at Launceston
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 03:30:10 GMT

A lot of the arguments against this weapon is its weight. Well, I think we've
worked it out to be around 50kg/110lb or so, what with both weapons, ammo etc.
Not to mention the recoil. Well, checking our Palladium rules, we find:

PHYSICAL STRENGTH (P.S.):

...The P.S. times 10 indicates how heavy an object (in pounds) the character can
carry. A character can lift 30 times their P.S. Exceptionally strong characters,
having a P.S. of 15-19, can carry 20 times their P.S. and lift 40 times their 
P.S....

Now, since my character has a P.S. of 15, she can carry 300lb or about 136kg.
WOW! Not to mention, she can just LIFT twice as much as that. Gee, I see what
you mean by RIFTS rules being somewhat unrealistic...

However, those are the rules of the game, and it is the game we are playing.
She could get away with a gun more than twice as heavy as that, so the flame-
thrower would have been no problem.

Don't blame me - flame Kevin Siembieda! 

Also, someone said she was a power-gamer-type-character, or something like
that. Well, if you had read her background you would have known that she HAD
taken a special liking for weaponry when she was 14. That explains the big
gun - it was her pet project for four years. As for the Martial Arts, God only
knows where they came from!

Yours realistically;

-- 
   \/\  "Men, we're going to the Olympics."  The Colonel, Akira (movie)  /\/
====\/\       "You REFUSE to drink my wine...?"  Kahm, Outlanders       /\/====
=====\/\      *** WANT ANY MANGA ARTWORK DONE? Just email me! ***      /\/=====
      \/\   cjudd@esk.compserv.utas.edu.au    a.k.a. Kuro to Shiroi   /\/
From: talevy@aristotles.rutgers.edu (Tre)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: BATTLELORDS of the 23rd Century
Keywords: AWESOME....GREAT...
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:23:59 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


GET IT!  It has some really cool races and
lots of things to do in deeep space.

If you want more info, email me..



			Finder

****If you lost it,
	someone else found it.****
From: sue%miracle@merk.com (The Dragon Queen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Inspired character names
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 06:55:28 EST
Organization: Miracle Computer Consultants

Well, one more thread can't hurt..... :-)

Here's a question:  What's the silliest or most unusual name you've
ever given a character?

sjs28257@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Stelter) writes:
>In a Champions solo adventure, I played a ninja with the inspired name
>"Katana."  (Hey, I was young.)

Before I started DMing, I played a ninja named Kawasaki.....











---
|	  _\|/_          |This posting compliments of The Dragon Queen|
|	 /     \         |                                            |
|      	| O   O |        | Any imaginative suggestions about what can |
|__ooo__|___ ___|__ooo__ | be writen in this box are welcome at:      |
|  UUU      U      UUU   |           sue%miracle@merk.com             |
Organization: Freshman, Drama, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Date: Thu,  9 Apr 1992 03:33:15 -0400 
From: Anthony Russell Rosania <ar2j+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: AD&D: So what happens when ...
	<1992Apr08.235534.21816@technix.mn.org>
Distribution: world,local

Excerpts from netnews.rec.games.frp: 8-Apr-92 Re: AD&D: So what happens
.. Bret Indrelee@technix.mn (1087)

> [ Lots of posts on eatting a riding critter summoned by mount spell. ]

> Most everyone says that eatting a horse summoned is a bad thing.

> I would personally rule differently.  Instead, some poor unfortunate
> horse owner has completely lost (rather than the horse running away
> and returning) his horse.

> There is nothing that says the mount summoned is not real.  It is just
> as valid to rule that the mount was a real horse.  It came from somewhere,
> just like the critters from Summon Monster or Summon Animal, and goes
> back there after the duration is complete.

> Supporting evidence is found under the third level spell, where it
> mentions first level characters having suddenly disappeared caused
> by a high level mage casting the summon monsters spell.

> These are summoning spells, they don't have to be magical creations.

> -Bret

Most DEFINITELY, otherwise it would be invocation/evocation, all things
conjured and summoned are real, NOT magical manifestations, that is the
realm of invoc./evoc.
					Anthony
From: jcl@sactoh0.sac.ca.us (John C. Laviolette)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 12 Apr 92 23:33:42 GMT
Organization: Sacramento Public Access Unix

<1992Apr9.172109.4094@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
<1992Apr10.180658.18872@cs.cmu.edu>
Followup-To: 
Distribution: us 
Organization: Sacramento Public Access Unix, Sacramento, Ca.
Keywords: 
 
 
    Re:  1 blow per second rules
 
    The question of whether one blow per second is a realistic rule is
moot, since even the b
moot, since even the Basic book includes a way around that limit.
    Fighters can get more than one blow per second:
         if the make an All-Out Attack,
         if they have the Dual Weapon Attack manuever,
         or if they have martial arts combinations.
    Note that, although Martial Arts mainly covers unarmed combat forms,
there's no reason why some manuevers can't be bundled with traditional
medieval combat skills for "medieval martial arts", and thus be allowed to
study a combination for Broadsword or Shortsword fighting.
    And let's not forget various Cinematic rules, or the effects of high
speed (in the Supers rules.)
-- 
 ,-----------------------------------------------------------,
 !  "pay no attention to     !         John Laviolette       !
 !   the man behind the      ! InterNet=jcl@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US!
 !       curtain!"           ! or:     p.o. box 1493         !
From: hennessy@acsu.buffalo.edu (Mathew A. Hennessy)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Cyberware insanity?  not necessarily... (SR)
Date: 15 Apr 92 23:25:48 GMT
Organization: UB


	I don't know if Chrome-junkies really go INSANE with all that
cyberware..  a bit sociopathic perhaps, delusions of invulnerability brought
on by the enhanced skills, lack of human interaction ability, and maybe some
mild feelings of loss but if you look at it, for 6 karma you erally aren't
getting THAT much meat replaced if you go with stuff like headware,
skillwires,wired reflexes, and things which augment your body rather than
remove parts of it...  I don't think that severe problems would begin until
substantial (say over 60%) of body mass becomes artificial..  and essence loss
for vat-replaced stuff or bone replacements?  I don't think that's right... I
can understand if you lose magic-wielding ability if you go tech but to lose
actual reasoning power?  your life?  I don't know about that..  
	

-- 
   /I\          The Power of the Pyramid...  working for ME!  HAHAHAHA!!
  /(*)\         hennessy@acsu.buffalo.edu...  master of discord!
 /IIIII\        UB could care less what a student thinks, let alone says.
/IIIIIII\       Someone you trust is one of us.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp