HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: plambert@sml.cs.psu.edu (Paul M Lambert)
Subject: Gamma World 4th Ed. Campaigns
Summary: Ideas for new campaigns
Organization: Penn State Computer Science
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 03:47:51 GMT

I was thinking about Gamma World the other day, and remembering the campaign I
ran over the summer; I basically used the 4th Edition maps, with the 4th Edition
rules, until that got a little boring, then I gave the PC's an opportunity to
travel southeast to the fabled city of Pitzburke.  They were looking to find a
new home for the residents of Ascension, as the surrounding nations were all
about to go to war with them.  It was a lot of fun (I played it silly--they
ended up finding a huge domed city that was totally unoccupied, run by a
benevolent computer which was waiting for _someone_ to move in so it could
serve them...)

But then an idea struck me: what about the opposite?  A campaign where the PC's
are mostly from a city which is ruled by an iron-fisted Think Tank and a lot of
robots.  They have to escape the city (not too difficult), search the country-
side for help in defeating the computer, and then coming back and beating it
up.

Then all of the possibilities started to unfold before me: it would be an Alpha
Complex, like in Paranoia, but using Gamma World rules.  Most of the characters
would be from the complex, but a few would be "outsiders," who would be killed
if found out.  They would have to infiltrate, spy, plan, and use strategy.
But it would be mixed with a lot of gunfire--just what my group likes.

Now I'm curious what other people are doing with their campaigns... I'd like to
hear from them, preferrably through email, as even after the split this group
takes far to long to look through (I have a habit of reading more than I should)
so try to keep Gamma World in the subject somewhere, so I can find it
pretty quickly (it takes me close to five minutes to do a search of the headers,
and I don't even want to _think_ about searching every article).  I'd be happy
to post everything mailed to me in a summary (unless it's marked otherwise, I
will post any replies to this.)

Here's to deluged mailboxes!

--Paul

-- 
plambert@cs.psu.edu
a                         "I am GOD here!"  --  The Lawnmower Man
u
l
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: durrell@pinball.arcade.uiowa.edu (Bryant Durrell)
Subject: Re: SJ Games Licenses White Wolf's Vampire
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 03:18:13 GMT
Organization: University of Iowa

In article <1992Nov16.004635.24540@snow.geology.wisc.edu> drew@snow.geology.wisc.edu (Drew Novick) writes:
>The point to remember is SJG _is_ buying the background.  The positive in
>this is that more people will be exposed to the Vampire source material
>than if it stayed solely with White Wolf.

Absolutely.  I think this is a good thing.  I'm not one of the people
who bemoaned the idea, remember.  <grin>

>I see no difficulty in putting the clan work in GURPS.  Flexible systems
>are usually quite good at this sort of stuff.

Hm.  This I'm not sure about.  Can any of the GURPS people out there
provide us with a writeup of Celerity that is point-balanced with 
the other Disciplines?  Or do you think they'll just define 
Disciplines as another mechanic?

(Celerity gives 1-5 extra actions per turn, depending on the level.
For comparison's sake, Dominate 1 is the equivalent of AD&D's 
Command spell, and Auspex 1 doubles normal sensory abilities.)

>And somewhat off the topic, it appears that many of these Vampire lovers
>dislike SJG publishing GURPS:Vampires.  Why?  One the the primary points of
>the Storyteller concept (and any good GM does anyway) is to deemphasize the
>rules.  Why would the system make any difference in a well run game?

If I were to make I guess, I'd say we feel like White Wolf is 
saying that they don't think their rules are the best they could
come up with after all.  It isn't logical, I know.

Bryant
durrell@chop.isca.uiowa.edu
From: dunkelza@titan.ucc.umass.edu (KEITH C MCCORMIC)
Subject: Re: Claymores
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 18:13:47 GMT

In article <BxJDGG.pM@news.cso.uiuc.edu> dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (RedSwordTarga) writes:
>dddawson@lpl.arizona.edu (Doug Dawson) writes:
>
>No, no, You are all wrong! *grin* Claymore are those oddly shaped little
>mines that say "This Side toward Enemy". *GRIN*
>
>Axly
>"BLAM! Stop! BLAM! Police! BLAM! BLAM!"

"*Scratch* *Scratch* It's in Russian.  I can barely make it out.  It says:
`This face toward enem.....".
      Din the Decisive, his last words.




-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________
| Dunkelzahn the Greater Western Dragon | "Eternal vigilance is the price   |
|                                       |  of Freedom"                      |
| Dunkelza@titan.ucc.umass.edu          |                                   |
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: flindholm@mta.ca
Subject: Re: SR2: Grounding through Quickened Spells
Reply-To: flindholm@mta.ca
Organization: Mount Allison U, Sackville, N.B. Canada 
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 22:37:14 GMT

In article <10036@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>, amigaman+@pitt.edu (Russell A Howard) writes:
>In article <lward.722400542@husc8> lward@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward) writes:
>>amigaman+@pitt.edu (Russell A Howard) writes:
>>
>>
>>You're right, I hate it.  I'm assuming that this will be in Grimore II?  I
>>feel I should point out that if this does in fact become an official rule,
>>there will be absolutely no point in quickening.  OK, I guess I'm making
>>one big assumption -- anyone who has enough karma to Initiate is going to
>>have a) enough cash to buy foci, or b) enough skill to make them -- but
>>I don't think this assumption is to out of line.  Under this rule, quekening
>>can be used to lock spells without the need for a material lock, but it
>>will usually caost more karma (karma cost = spell force) and has absoluetly
>>.no. advantage over spell locks in a magical sense.  After paying so much 
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>karma to initiate, the fact that for that karma I got some other Metamagical
>>ability would not, to me, validate the cost if quickenings could be grounded
>>through.  (A preposition is a horrible thing to end a sentence with.)
>>
>>Wordman
>>
>Yes, thers is still an advantage to a quickened spell.  The target # to attack
>through the quickened would be the force of said quickened spell.  Whereas a 
>spell lock only requires a target # of 2.  Also, the quickened spell would get
>to roll its force rating to resist any attacks whereas a locked spell only
>rolls 1 die.

>Russ Howard

Also quickened spells are impossible to trace through astral space. That 
spell lock you leave behind can be used by Lone Star to track you down,
and if it's fuond by someone shadier than Lone Star, well, lets hope
you've got good wards and a platnium Doc Wagon.
     
                 Cyrus

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: gip207@sci.kun.nl (gip2 course)
Subject: Re: SRUN I: Questions from the Minotaur
Keywords: shadowrun, srun
Organization: University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 10:33:39 GMT

>>|>1. Does an illusion that is seen through disappear or can it still
>>|>   be a visual impairment. If not can an illusion protect a person(s) 
>>|>   from a combat spell? (An illusion of a solid black wall that disables
>>|>   the 'line of sight' requirement- even though the mage knows the image
>>|>   to be false, it may still block their vision).
>>|>

One could split illusion spells in the mana and physical spells and say that
the mana spells are a purely mental illusion so once you realise it is an
illusion you can see right through it.
Physical illusion spells however actually manipulate light-waves into the
desired shape so the physical illusion of a wall would provide all
visual cover that wall would: no Line of SIght spells, and +8 on target
numbers for other attacks. A way around this would be to shift perception
to astral and thereby look through the actual `spell-structure' this would
only give the +2 to target numbers that assensing does.

			-Smooth
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: seurer@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Bill Seurer)
Subject: Re: Brain Games and the Intellectually Challenged
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 21:27:50 GMT
Reply-To: BillSeurer@vnet.ibm.com
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM Rochester

In article <1992Nov19.131321.1@wharton.upenn.edu>, millerl@wharton.upenn.edu writes:
|> In article <uplink.722155605@cwis>, uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu (uplink) writes:
|> | The question:  I know I'm immature, and am dealing with the problem, and
|> | have improved remarkably.  That's not the problem.  My problem has to
|> | do with the propensity of "intellectual" games out there.  What should
|> | I do?  Is it my fault I'm dense?  I like role-playing games yet I'm not
|> | half as smart as most GMs I've played with.  Is it my fault I like
|> | RPG's?  Your opinions, advice, etc., would be most welcome.  Please do not
|> | include any advice like, "If you're that immature, I wouldn't allow you
|> | in the game."  Our group has been through that already.  I want advice,
|> | and also, why aren't there more adventures for the Intellectually 
|> | Challenged (P.C. term for dense) ?
|> 
|> Looks like someone left his account open and somebody else took
|> advantage of it to post the most surreal posting I've seen in a long
|> time. Pretty funny.

Just in case it was a REAL post, this person sounds like exactly what the
SSI AD&D Gold Box computer games were aimed at.  Lots of killing things 
without much thought.
-- 

- Bill Seurer     Language and Compiler Development      IBM Rochester, MN
  Internet: BillSeurer@vnet.ibm.com    America On-Line: BillSeurer@aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: clanti55@ursa.calvin.edu (Christopher Lantinga)
Subject: Re: More about generating chars during play...
Organization: Calvin College
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 21:25:25 GMT

pcunningham@desire.wright.edu writes:

>A neat idea my GM came up with a while back was starting us off as
>kids.  Our group is naturally role-playing-heavy (as opposed to combat-
>heavy) so we loved the idea.  We were considered 0-level characters,
>no classes, statistics, etc. and the adventures were more-or-less just
>stories with us as characters and the GM was just winging the rules
>(which was entirely fine by us; we think more rules equals less fun).

That's a variation, too, but for a lot of fictional characters, their
youths are either uninteresting or unrelated in an obvious way to
their present story.  I would not care to have to read about Bilbo's
conservative Hobbitish background for pages & pages before he met
Thorin & Gandalf...  Who cares about Luke Skywalker's days on the
vapor farms of Tattooine, before Star Wars happened?  And who would
want to read about all the years of education which preceded Randolph
Carter and the other Lovecraftians' encounters with the Great Old
Ones?  Sure, it would be possible to make all of these backgrounds
interesting, but it's not at all necessary.  My idea is to fill in the
background in broad strokes, deepening it as necessary for the present
story, just as it happens when you read a book.

Not that there's anything WRONG with playing out backgrounds in
depth... but I was interested to discover it's not NECESSARY.

--Edward Heil
c/o Chris Lantinga
clanti55@ursa.calvin.edu


Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: nexus@ylum.cgd.ucar.edu (Jeff Berry)
Subject: Re: Converting a book into a world
Organization: Climate and Global Dynamics Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 20:57:01 GMT

In article <BxxI66.Jyo@access.digex.com> dzik@access.digex.com (Joseph Dzikiewicz) writes:
>But after which of the books?  Remember there were many books about the
>Three Musketeers, including the original, "After Twenty Years", 
>"The Man in the Iron Mask", "Louise de la Valliere", and, I believe,
>others still.
>I presume you mean after the first book, still under Louis XII, with
>Richielieu still running around.  (All the others took place in the 
>time of Louis XIV.)


Actually, they are, in order:
The Three Musketeers
Twenty Years After (set, shockingly enough, 20 years after)
and the Vicomte de Braglonne

The Vicomte had several sub-plots running under it, one of which is
often extracted and published seperately as The Man in the Iron Mask.

All are highly recommended.



badger                                      Don Alexandre Lerot d'Avigne
Jeff Berry                                  Seneschal of Caer Galen, Outlands
               nexus@ncar.ucar.edu
NCAR doesn't tell me what to think, and I return the favor.
"You're a notch and I'm a legend"-------Alice Cooper
"I'm a revolution romancer"----Hawkwind
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: flindholm@mta.ca
Subject: Re: Srun 2: Vampires
Reply-To: flindholm@mta.ca
Organization: Mount Allison U, Sackville, N.B. Canada 
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:10:02 GMT

In article <1e9tulINN12o@master.cs.rose-hulman.edu>, bradleah@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (II Andrew Bradley) writes:
>In article <168A0F82C.MHART00@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU> mason writes:
>> So question:  Can a vampire have children, and would those children
>> be vampires? 

>	In my opinion the virus the affects the victims does not simply  
>animate dead bodies but it turns a "normal" human (metahuman) into a  
>"living, breathing, eating, drinking" vampire.  The virus will affect the  
>person magically also so the possiblity of it animating a dead body would  
>exist, but I don't think that that is a good possibility.  So since it  
>affects living people, they can reproduce and the children will in my  
>opinion be affected with the virus, because it is magical as well as a  
>normal virus.
>
>					Andy Bradley
>
 My first comment is that the virus does not turn people into "living,
breathing,  eating, drinking" vampires. In Shadowrun vampires are not
alive like people are. They are alive because the virus kept them that 
way when they shuold have died of essance lose. They don't breathe and
can't drown, they can only go into a torpor under water. Finaly it says
right under the vampire description in the monster section that vampires
throw up within the hour if they eat food. Alcohol makes them spew in a 
couple minutes.
    On the good side, they can always be the designated driver.

                 Cyrus
Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Monday, 16 Nov 1992 21:28:50 EST
From: Solipsist at Large <IK20001@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Vampire the Masquerade

Christine says:

>I just have one more question before I shut up--is there anyone out there who
>still *likes* the Storyteller system or Vampire the Masquerade? I am beginning
>to feel like it's the rec.arts.startrek.current syndrome--I hate it, but I
>stillplay it so I can bitch about it.

I love it.  Really.  I think VtM is one of those games that redefined
the way we (at least *I*) look at role playing systems.  I play often,
I Storytell on a regular basis, and I really enjoy it.

And, as a Storyteller junkie and a *long* time roleplayer, I am
very excited about the GURPS Vampire game.  I'll give my reasons why:

1)   Expansion of Player Base:  Make no mistake about it -- the existance
     of GURPS Vampire will *increase* the number of people who play
     the Storyteller version.  It's advertising.  If the supplement is
     done well, there are plenty of GURPS players who will buy the
     White Wolf products *and* the original game, to compare.  Several
     of them will end up playing Storyteller.

2)   Cross-fertalization of ideas:  Whenever you get two groups of
     people, all interested in the same subject, in the same room,
     both groups leave with richer knowledge than they started.

3)   Reverse-Enginnering:  I expect GURPS will have the conversion
     work both ways.  So, it'll become easy to bring different ideas
     into the Storyteller version.

4)   Ease of bringing in new players:  I have more friends who play
     GURPS than Storyteller.  I can introduce them to the genre and
     game easily now.  Later, I can bring them into existing chronicles.

5)   Diversity:  Sometimes it's nice to have a change.

As for the mechanics argument -- it's apples and oranges.  No big
deal to me.  I'll admit, I'm tired of Thaumatugy -- at the least, this
might tide me over until Mage comes out next year, if GURPS Vampire
comes out sooner than that.

I'm sorry if you feel insulted by general attitude.

As for discussions and the like, try the Storyteller Mailing List.
It has a ton more stuff in it.
--
Eric Alfred Burns                        "Life is full of decisions
Solipsist at Large                        but you never get to make any."
"It's all in your mind"
IK20001@maine.maine.edu                           --Linus Van Pelt
From: dutech@reseau.Berkeley.EDU (Groupe ELEVES)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SRUNII: Laser sights and SG links
Date: 18 Nov 92 11:34:40 GMT
Reply-To: dutech@reseau.Berkeley.EDU (Groupe ELEVES)
Distribution: world


  John Rudd, Brett Cashman, and another one I don't know (Jeff ?) argue
rather harshly about fire combat.

  I had the distinctive impression, after having read the SR2 rules,
that the total target number in a real-life situation would be much
higher than 4, even at close range :

  - attacker moving
  - poor light conditions, and no cyberware
  - target either moving, or in partial cover

  This makes, IMHO, for a target number of at least 8, if not 10. A
skill-3 rated person in such a situation ( using "combat pool" to
protect himself, as all sensible persons do ), would have ( TN 9 )
a 1-in-3 chances of POSSIBLE DAMAGE ( at least 1 success, and there's
still the target's combat pool ). I don't know if this is closer to the
truth, though. But I tend to agree with Brett : the base TN given is
for static conditions (target moving in a predictable way, attacker
static). IM experience of wielding weapons (SMGs, 3-round bursts, static
target at 25m), any inexperienced person (wielding the gun for the se-
-cond or third time) puts at least 75% of his shots in the target ( It's
military statistics, and personal count ). Good shots are more than 90%
in such conditions.

  What does that tells me ?

 - TN modifiers and base TN are inaccurate : base TN should be LOWER,
but TN modifier HIGHER (even a slightly moving target is more difficult
to hit)

 - Taking aim in very important : a 1 second aim is enough, but having
none is bad : raise TN by 1 at least, except if you have smartgun tech.

 - A 3-round burst increases chances of hitting tremendously, if you
know how to use the gun : the second bullet is almost always on target.
I'd give TN negative modifiers for bursts, but lessen the damage mods
( +2 or +3 power seems right, but NO increase in damage for short burst)

 - The "let's not be hit before everything else" approach is not a SR
rule, and that makes for unrealistic combat. Accept it or implement a
"coolness under fire" rule.

 I must stress that the above are suggestions, and are NOT play-tested.
But I feel that the kind of name-calling you were having could be taken
to e-mail, to leave room for proposing possible solutions.

  Just my $0.02...

							Redwing
							SR1 PhysAd
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: SR2:Grounding through Quickened Spells
From: amigaman+@pitt.edu (Russell A Howard)
Date: 22 Nov 92 06:23:24 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh

In article <lward.722400542@husc8> lward@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward) writes:
>amigaman+@pitt.edu (Russell A Howard) writes:
>
>
>You're right, I hate it.  I'm assuming that this will be in Grimore II?  I
>feel I should point out that if this does in fact become an official rule,
>there will be absolutely no point in quickening.  OK, I guess I'm making
>one big assumption -- anyone who has enough karma to Initiate is going to
>have a) enough cash to buy foci, or b) enough skill to make them -- but
>I don't think this assumption is to out of line.  Under this rule, quekening
>can be used to lock spells without the need for a material lock, but it
>will usually caost more karma (karma cost = spell force) and has absoluetly
>.no. advantage over spell locks in a magical sense.  After paying so much 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>karma to initiate, the fact that for that karma I got some other Metamagical
>ability would not, to me, validate the cost if quickenings could be grounded
>through.  (A preposition is a horrible thing to end a sentence with.)
>
>Wordman
>





Yes, thers is still an advantage to a quickened spell.  The target # to attack
through the quickened would be the force of said quickened spell.  Whereas a 
spell lock only requires a target # of 2.  Also, the quickened spell would get
to roll its force rating to resist any attacks whereas a locked spell only
rolls 1 die.








-- 
Russ Howard
Internet:  amigaman+@pitt.edu
BIX:       russhoward
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: johnson1@cs.uwp.edu (Christina Johnson)
Subject: SR: The Tir
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Parkside
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 22:14:17 GMT


Me again.  In our campaign, we have some pretty politically connected
PC's.  One from the Tir Tairngire.  This is all fine because the GM
decides what and how much we know, but the lack of knowledge is beginning
to frustrate him regarding the Tir.  Does anyone have any info on the Tir,
where I can get (Or where my GM can get) detailed info on the Counsel,
Prof.  Laverty, etc.  There is some (very little) in the Player's
handbook, some (again very little) in novels, and various bits scattered
around.  I assume there's some in Harlequin, but i'm a player--not the GM,
and I really don't want to spoil an adventure for myself.  In addition,
any ideas if there's going to be a Japan sourcebook?  

Also--if anyone has any comments about what should be included in these
theoretical sourcebooks, please email me.


-Brandy-


Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: agiblett@cch.coventry.ac.uk (CENOBITE)
Subject: Re: GURPS Vampire
Organization: CPSFS
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:25:49 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.213102.28143@crd.ge.com> (Spike) writes:
>In article <Bxo23z.wH@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, jacobus@symphony.cc.purdue.edu
>(Bryan J. Maloney) wrote:
> 
>> Lloyd:
>> 
>> Allow me to be one who hopes that the SJG license of Vampire is true and
>> applauds this.  It's about time that such a strong background gets free
>> of such a poor rules system.
>> 
>> 
>> (And don't go off the handle and call me a "roll-player" or other such
>> irrational things to which Vampire players tend to be prone.  I play Vampire
>> and Werewolf, actually do enjoy myself.  I do NOT roll my way through the
>> game, and am one player who actually uses the dice less than most.  I just
>> think the system is badly designed.)
>
>I think he'd be more inclined to answer your posts if you spell his name
>right;
>it's *Loyd*, one "L".
>
>Fat chance anyway; he never posts here except to drop bombshells :-)
>
>Spike

Look what is it every one has against vampire. 
I am running a campain of vampire at the moment.
Dice are hardly touched the players are all into the game.
It`s a great game just wait till the poor suckers see what happens tonight.
They will wish they realy were dead!!!!
ADRIAN
A.K.A THE CENOBITE

-- 
******************************************************************************
** In all things there must be moderation, If not the result will be  chaos **
* Order shall eventualy defeat chaos As pain shall eventualy defeat pleasure *
******************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
From: euacla@eua.ericsson.se (Claes Frisk)
Subject: What's the FAX-nr to ICE?
Organization: Ellemtel Telecom Systems Labs, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:15:18 GMT

I tried to send a FAX to ICE, but the number seems to be wrong.
I tried 808-977 4811

Does anyone have a better suggestion?

---------------------------------
Claes Frisk
Tel office: +46 8 727 4134
Tel home:   +46 752 273 35
Fax:        +46 8 647 82 76
E-mail: euacla,
	Claes.Frisk@eua.ericsson.se
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.frp.advocacy