GURPSnet-Digest Thursday, January 9 2003 Volume 04 : Number 3763 In this issue: Where did that shot come from? Re: Speed of Gravity revisited RE: I need a pirate ship... Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed Re: Where did that shot come from? Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed Re: I need a pirate ship... RE: I need a pirate ship... Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed Re: Where did that shot come from? Re: Where did that shot come from? Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic Re: Combat examples Shields in Close Combat Re: Combat examples Re: Where did that shot come from? Re: Makechar & Char Builder (was Re: Stupid question that needs answering.) Re: Where did that shot come from? RE: I need a pirate ship... Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed RE: I need a pirate ship... Re: Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic Psionic Gate Re: Where did that shot come from? Re: Combat examples Re: Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic RE: I need a pirate ship... See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the GURPSnet-L or GURPSnet-Digest mailing lists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 11:01:14 -0600 From: "Gabe Johanns" Subject: Where did that shot come from? Hello, My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? Thanks, - -Gabe ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 09:21:58 -0800 From: Clayten Subject: Re: Speed of Gravity revisited >> well, New Scientist has a piece on how the speed of gravity has been >> measured for the first time. Apparently, it's the same as for light... >> > Cool. and the article even answers your question: after 8.3 seconds, > the Earth goes off in a straight line. probably a tangent to its orbit. > Actually, it's 8.3 minutes, or so. And the speed hasn't actually been tested. Supposedly you're able to sort of re-arrange some formulas in general relitivity which in the case of a field of known speed and location, lets you test the strength of the field and from that derive what the speed must be. So this test was one of relativity. That equation predicted what the strength of the field had to be, and based on measurements of Jupiter, it was correct. But, it wasn't an actual physical test like bouncing a laser off something a long way away and timing it, or anything. Or, at least, this is what physicist friends of mine said, thought they were probably giving the the condensed version. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 09:30:45 -0800 From: Mark Thew Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... Several sailing ships have been submitted to VOTW over the years: Exploration Craft and Ship of the Line (http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw001to020.txt) Fighting Ship, Merchant Ship, Southern Trader (http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw061to080.txt) Coaster (http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw081to100.txt) Of these, the Ship of the Line would probably be the best starting point for a pirate ship. Probably scale it down from a 3-deck ship of the line to a single deck frigate. Mark S. Thew The surest sign that intelligent life exists in the universe is that it hasn't tried to contact us yet. -- Calvin & Hobbes - -----Original Message----- From: blaquepsmith@netscape.net [mailto:blaquepsmith@netscape.net] Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 3:38 PM To: GURPSnet-l@io.com Subject: I need a pirate ship... Does anyone have a GURPS Vehicles or Vehicles Lite write-up of a Swashbucklers-era pirate ship that I could borrow for an upcoming game? Or does anyone know where I could find one on the web? - -- "No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us." __________________________________________________________________ The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 09:38:11 -0800 From: Clayten Subject: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed A bunch of issues came up in a recent game, I'd like some opinions. My character shapped a spike of stone down by the back of a large creature and woke the creature up, it jumped up, stabbing itself. Can I get some idea of how to figure out the effect and the damage for this kind of thing? The creature was essentially a large spider, the body of which was 2x2x3m. (Ain't magic great, where rogue magicians can create minions without concern for the cube-square law.) We figured it would have a thick exoskeleton providing dr 8 (6, plus the toughness of two, but effectively 8). We rolled 3d+3 for the damage, but that was just an off-the-cuff fudge. How would you go about figuring something like this out? Then, impaled, it tried to escape. A few rolls were made and it was determined that it could break the spike, but would take damage again. We rolled the same damage not knowing what else to do, but removed all DR and used toughness instead. Does this seem reasonable? What would others have done? How loud is shape stone? I figured it'd be mostly silent, but with a bit of quiet rumbling, squeaking sound. Then, what sort of rules are appropriate for trying to engulf someone's legs with it while they're sleeping. We ruled that it'd work, but it'd almost automatically wake them up and they'd get one roll to escape, at a penalty, as they'd feel it when mostly surrounded. And finally, we figured spiders could sense heat, or at least giant magical ones could. So, do illusions generate an appropriate heat signature? My guess was that they do, but only if the character has ever used infravision while casting illusions, so that they know what to do. Also, they may need to use Perfect Illusion instead of just Complex. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 09:38:17 -0800 (PST) From: Anthony Jackson Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? Gabe Johanns writes: > Hello, > > My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use > for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? Hefty. It's probably not possible to figure out more than a general direction from which firing is coming. However, if you can't see where the bullets are hitting (which, in general, seems rather unlikely) you can assume that the guns are not located above you. The recommended procedure is 'find cover'. At this point you will be able to tell where the bullets are coming from (in a general sense), since they will be hitting the cover. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 10:00:15 -0800 (PST) From: Anthony Jackson Subject: Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed Clayten writes: > A bunch of issues came up in a recent game, I'd like some opinions. > > My character shapped a spike of stone down by the back of a large > creature and woke the creature up, it jumped up, stabbing itself. > > Can I get some idea of how to figure out the effect and the damage > for this kind of thing? Depends how fast it's moving, and how quickly it reacts to hitting something unexpected. For something with intrinsic armor, likely no damage. > > The creature was essentially a large spider, the body of which was > 2x2x3m. (Ain't magic great, where rogue magicians can create minions > without concern for the cube-square law.) We figured it would have a > thick exoskeleton providing dr 8 (6, plus the toughness of two, but > effectively 8). > > We rolled 3d+3 for the damage, but that was just an off-the-cuff > fudge. How would you go about figuring something like this out? I'd probably call it the same as critter damage (1d per 20 strength), impaling. That would probably mean no damage. > > Then, impaled, it tried to escape. A few rolls were made and it was > determined that it could break the spike, but would take damage > again. We rolled the same damage not knowing what else to do, but > removed all DR and used toughness instead. > > Does this seem reasonable? What would others have done? A chunk of stone sharp enough to cause the critter to get stuck probably isn't possible with most types of stone, but if so it would be quite thin and brittle. Figure it probably does about as much damage to the critter as it takes to break the piece of stone, and DR would protect normally, the exoskeleton can be used to apply force. > > How loud is shape stone? I figured it'd be mostly silent, but with a > bit of quiet rumbling, squeaking sound. Rules don't say. Sounds as good as any. > > Then, what sort of rules are appropriate for trying to engulf > someone's legs with it while they're sleeping. We ruled that it'd > work, but it'd almost automatically wake them up and they'd get one > roll to escape, at a penalty, as they'd feel it when mostly surrounded. Sounds reasonable. > > And finally, we figured spiders could sense heat, or at least giant > magical ones could. So, do illusions generate an appropriate heat > signature? Maybe; rules don't say. > My guess was that they do, but only if the character has ever used > infravision while casting illusions, so that they know what to do. Nah, it's more important that they've looked at objects with infravision, so they know what the heat signature should look like. Other casters could try, though without a great probability of success. In general, I'd give a bonus for recognizing illusions with IR, unless the caster should be familiar with what heat signatures look like. One other issue with spiders is that they're pretty sensitive to vibration, particularly vibration in the web. Perfect illusion might be required to fool that. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 14:41:35 -0500 From: blaquepsmith@netscape.net (Blaquepsmith) Subject: Re: I need a pirate ship... Dylan wrote: >Try the archives: http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/ >I'm sure Onno's done a couple that might fit the bill. His stuff is under >collections, and that includes all of his Vehicles of the Week (the ones he >posts here). There are several other collections and some individual stuff >under the vehicle type headings. > >dylan > >At 03:37 PM 1/7/2003, Blaquepsmith wrote: >>Does anyone have a GURPS Vehicles or Vehicles Lite write-up of a >>Swashbucklers-era pirate ship that I could borrow for an upcoming game? Or >>does anyone know where I could find one on the web? >> >>-- >>"No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us." >> >> >> >>__________________________________________________________________ >>The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! >>http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp >> >>Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at >>http://webmail.netscape.com/ > > >Dylan Ryall : dylan@dcn.org : dylan@dcn.davis.ca.us : Davis, CA >http://www.sacleft.org >I don't think I would have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd >known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed. >Calvin's father, "Calvin and Hobbes" > > Thanks Dylan, but no such luck. I guess I'll have to keep looking. - -- "No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us." __________________________________________________________________ The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 14:49:31 -0500 From: blaquepsmith@netscape.net (Blaquepsmith) Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... Mark Thew wrote: >Several sailing ships have been submitted to VOTW over the years: >Exploration Craft and Ship of the Line >(http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw001to020.txt) > >Fighting Ship, Merchant Ship, Southern Trader >(http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw061to080.txt) > >Coaster >(http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/votw081to100.txt) > >Of these, the Ship of the Line would probably be the best starting point for >a pirate ship. Probably scale it down from a 3-deck ship of the line to a >single deck frigate. > >Mark S. Thew > >The surest sign that intelligent life exists in the universe is that >it hasn't tried to contact us yet. -- Calvin & Hobbes > > >-----Original Message----- >From: blaquepsmith@netscape.net [mailto:blaquepsmith@netscape.net] >Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 3:38 PM >To: GURPSnet-l@io.com >Subject: I need a pirate ship... > >Does anyone have a GURPS Vehicles or Vehicles Lite write-up of a >Swashbucklers-era pirate ship that I could borrow for an upcoming game? Or >does anyone know where I could find one on the web? > >-- >"No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us." > > > >__________________________________________________________________ >The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! >http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp > >Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at >http://webmail.netscape.com/ > Thanks, I'll take a look. - -- "No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us." __________________________________________________________________ The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 21:03:26 +0100 (MEZ) From: Johannes Trimmel Subject: Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed On Wed, 8 Jan 2003, Clayten wrote: > We rolled 3d+3 for the damage, but that was just an off-the-cuff > fudge. How would you go about figuring something like this out? > Seems high. Someone using a spear (propably the best comparable weapon) taking forward momentum to help (like with the lunge maneuver) requires a ST way over 20 to get that damage even when doing an AOA for dmg. The spider needs to have not only quite some ST but also quite some acceleration to get that damage. I'd go with the damage of a spear thrust with the spiders ST or a fraction of its ST depending on how much it jumps and if it has time and space to accelerate "optimally". > Then, impaled, it tried to escape. A few rolls were made and it was > determined that it could break the spike, but would take damage > again. We rolled the same damage not knowing what else to do, but > removed all DR and used toughness instead. > I'd use the get stuck rule for picks, belly spears ect. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Better a solution that makes the problem worse then no solution at all. Johannes Trimmel ++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 09:48:09 +1300 From: "Rupert Boleyn" Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? On 8 Jan 2003 at 11:01, Gabe Johanns wrote: > Hello, > > My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use > for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? I'm not sure, but a largish one. It's remarkably hard to locate gunfiore by sound alone, even when the rounds aren't whizzing by horribly close to you. - -- Rupert Boleyn The media industry is a long, dark, narrow hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good people die like dogs. There is also a negative side. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 09:49:36 +1300 From: "Rupert Boleyn" Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? On 8 Jan 2003 at 9:38, Anthony Jackson wrote: > Gabe Johanns writes: > > Hello, > > > > My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from > > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are > > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use > > for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? > > Hefty. It's probably not possible to figure out more than a general direction > from which firing is coming. However, if you can't see where the bullets are > hitting (which, in general, seems rather unlikely) you can assume that the guns > are not located above you. > > The recommended procedure is 'find cover'. At this point you will be able to > tell where the bullets are coming from (in a general sense), since they will be > hitting the cover. Of course then whoever's in charge has the interesting job of getting everyone out from behind the cover so they can do something useful. :) - -- Rupert Boleyn The media industry is a long, dark, narrow hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good people die like dogs. There is also a negative side. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 22:31:34 +0100 From: Thomas Ackermann Subject: Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic Hi there! The are both PI and CM in Compendium I ... What can be used for what? :-) I mean, CM was already in GURPS Magic and allow up to 40 Spells or 3 Colleges (both 15p) together with a Spell-Bonus of max. 3 (also 15p), while PI give *some* list of Spells (few or quite much) with a Spell- Bonus as high as the GM wants. But the effects of PI could also be incorporated into CM (both already cost 30p at Spell-Bonus 3 and some Spells) ... So, what exaclty is the reason for two such advantages? Is there a different use for each? Byebye, - -- Thomas Ackermann | Tel. +49-(0)228/631369 | Mobil: 0178-2016033 Email: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 22:35:41 +0100 From: Thomas Ackermann Subject: Re: Combat examples On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 06:59:32PM -0500, Denis Sarrazin wrote: > Does anyone know of good step-by-step examples of combat using GURPS which > would be available on the net? > > The purpose of these would be to help people learn how to properly use GURPS > combat in various scenarios (starting with the basics and getting into more > complex situations)? Not realy - also not an example - but step-by-step: GURPS Compendium II Combat and Campaigns The combat-sheet from this book is also available on the net - i think on the GURPSnet-FTp site ... Years ago someone (Hal?) told us that there are "How to play GURPS" books somewhere in Japan - that is, when you can read Japanese :-) Byebye, - -- Thomas Ackermann | Tel. +49-(0)228/631369 | Mobil: 0178-2016033 Email: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 23:25:51 +0100 From: Thomas Ackermann Subject: Shields in Close Combat Hello! It takes a successfull DX-roll and one turn to get rid of a shield in Close Combat. I assume, that is just one turn without a DX-roll outside of Close Combat (is that written somewhere?) But what kind of Maneuver is that? I seem to recall "Step and Ready". This allows any Defense on that turn when you have a ready weapon or a ready shield. I assume, that your shield cannot be ready on the turn you try to get rid of it, or? Also, it seems to be logical that my weapon cannot be ready on a turn where i need my hand to get rid of the shield, or? Is there something about that in a GURPS book? Thanx and Byebye, - -- Thomas Ackermann | Tel. +49-(0)228/631369 | Mobil: 0178-2016033 Email: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 17:49:01 -0500 From: bts@alum.mit.edu (Brian T. Sniffen) Subject: Re: Combat examples I've used this before as an introduction to sell somebody on GURPS: http://fantasy.geographic.net/GURPS/example.asp - -Brian - -- Brian Sniffen bts@alum.mit.edu http://www.evenmere.org/~bts/ Available for security-related employment. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 17:55:40 -0600 From: "Chris J. Whitcomb" Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? From: "Gabe Johanns" > My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use > for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? I use a system based on the clockface. I secretly write down which "hour" the attacker will be at, then have the players make a guess as to which direction they think the attack is coming from. For each "hour" they are off by is a -1 penalty... for an easy situation (poor concealment, obvious gunshots, etc) I multiply the penalty by x1, for medium x2, and hard x3. Hard situation would be something like an invisible attacker using no visible/obvious means of attack (mental/magical attacks maybe) For example, I have the sniper at 8 o'clock and the PC's guess 5 o'clock... that 3 hours off... for -3 (easy), -6 (medium), -9 (hard). If they had guessed 2 o'clock (the exact opposite direction), that'd be -6 (easy), -12 (medium), -18 (hard) If they make a successful check (IQ, hearing, tactics, whatever is appropriate)... I correct their assumption by one "hour". In the 1st example, if PCs make the check, I'd tell them one tick clockwise (5 -> 6)... the longer they are under attack the closer to the actual direction they will get. I've used this mechanic in a variety of game systems and it seems to work fairly well... - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.435 / Virus Database: 244 - Release Date: 12/30/02 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 19:28:13 -0800 From: Dylan Subject: Re: Makechar & Char Builder (was Re: Stupid question that needs answering.) My group has been using Denis Sarrazin's GURU. It works pretty well and has a good interface for adding new skills, ads., disads. etc, including races and templates. You can get it at: http://www.aquariuscreations.com/GURU.html dylan At 09:58 PM 1/5/2003, Michael R. Stork wrote: >Coyt D. Watters wrote: > >>The DOS Makechar is a long time favorite of mine, with lots of support >>modules (including Bunnies and Burrows B^) ). It's small enough to fit >>on a floppy with room to spare, so it can run anyplace you can access the >>floppy and get a dos prompt. >> >The best thing about Makechar is that creating new settings and adding >info is easy. Everything is a text file, and the genre files tell the >program what files to load for any given setting. It's only real drawback >is that is only uses the base 640 memory, so if you've added a lot of >depth to your game; lots of equipment, various MA manuevers for each >style/weapon, you quickly run out of room and crash the program. The other >bad part is it doesn't always run smoothly under Windows. > >>The "official" Gurps Character Builder is quite good, it's a little >>easier to handle house rules/ split ht/hits, etc. It's a bit to get >>used to, but once you have the hang of it, character generation can >>become pretty quick. >> >I haven't been very impressed with GURPS Character Builder. When it >shipped it claimed to support Basic 3rd ed, Comp I & II, and that just >isn't true. Yes, all the data is there, but often with nothing behind it. >For example, taking Bad Eye Sight subtracts the points for the >disadvantage, but it has NO other effect on the character sheet, you have >to do the calculations by hand. ( Makechar does it automatically. ) I've >found this to be true with quite a few Ads and Disads in playing with the >program. So far, it doesn't appear as if this will be fixed with a Patch >anytime soon. > >Mike Stork Dylan Ryall : dylan@dcn.org : dylan@dcn.davis.ca.us : Davis, CA http://www.sacleft.org I don't think I would have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed. Calvin's father, "Calvin and Hobbes" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 05:03:24 +0100 From: Mario Tani Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? On Wed, Jan 08, 2003 at 11:01:14AM -0600, Gabe Johanns wrote: > My group is going to be coming under some heavy direct fire from > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see where the bullets are > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing modifier would you use > for them to be able to figure it out enemy positions? If they have to detect the enemy's position in order to fight back, I would rule they need a critical success or at least a -10 success. I use the senses in this way: To see something hidden you have to make a vision roll, modified by size and distance. To see something small or distant you will make the usual check, with the usual modifiers, but you give to the player more detail as the roll came nearer to succeed. Light penalty are the last to be considered. Let me explain it with an example. John has vision - 13 and want to recognize the man that is weaving at him 100 yards afar, moreover it is almost twilight. The success roll is: 13 - 2 (bad light) - 10 (distance) John's Players roll Result 18 - 14 The man is too far to recognize 13 - 11 The light is too poor to let him recognize the man 10 - 5 John fails to recognize the man based on the roll alone, but I'll let the player have some detail and if he can figure out who the man is better for him, but I will not give further details unless the situation change, like for example if the man came nearer. The same logic it's used for the Hearing Roll, the nearer to success the roll is the better information the player will have, obviously the last thing to hinder the Hearing attempt will be the noise. In the situation you're describing, I will rule that, with no other hearing modifiers, the group would be able to locate the firing position, with an accuracy that let them fire back, only on a critical success, (or at the least a -10 penalty), and I will feed them detail of the enemy position (general direction, highness, and so on) depending on the margin of the roll. If they roll a 5 I wyuold almost give up the exact location (a very narrow cone, with a good idea of the distance). - -- Mario Tani IHGGer #438 ICQ UIN = 62716435 "Da Ya Wonna Live Forever?" "At Least I'Ve Arrived There" "A Kiss Is Not Always The Truth, But It Is Often What We Want To Be True" "Science It's An Art: It Takes Love, Faith & Courage" Official Member of the S.I.S.De. Follower of the Penguin (Keep on Linux!) G.U.R.P.S. FARRIK (UN)Official Site: Under (RE)Construction gurpsit an Italian G.U.R.P.S. ML: gurpsit-subscribe@egroups.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 23:45:22 -0500 (EST) From: hal@buffnet.net Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... When is this pirate ship needed? Give me the parameters of what you want for this "pirate" ship and I will see what I can do... Hal ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 05:27:19 +0100 From: Mario Tani Subject: Re: Magic questions - GMs' opinions needed On Wed, Jan 08, 2003 at 09:38:11AM -0800, Clayten wrote: > > The creature was essentially a large spider, the body of which was > 2x2x3m. (Ain't magic great, where rogue magicians can create minions > without concern for the cube-square law.) We figured it would have a > thick exoskeleton providing dr 8 (6, plus the toughness of two, but > effectively 8). > > We rolled 3d+3 for the damage, but that was just an off-the-cuff > fudge. How would you go about figuring something like this out? I would compare the situation to a lance charge. The spider would have suffered damage as per a horse charge based on his movement and his stranght, just like described on Basic 136, as a modifier I would have thae into account how the spike of stone was shaped, considering a similar weapon. > Then, impaled, it tried to escape. A few rolls were made and it was > determined that it could break the spike, but would take damage > again. We rolled the same damage not knowing what else to do, but > removed all DR and used toughness instead. > > Does this seem reasonable? What would others have done? I would have used the same rule for "The Problem of the Picks" on Basic 96 THe problem would be if a piece of spike ends up stuck into the spider, what kind of damage it will suffer from it? Maybe just continued bleeding? Pain? I've to think about it^_^ > How loud is shape stone? I figured it'd be mostly silent, but with a > bit of quiet rumbling, squeaking sound. sounds good > Then, what sort of rules are appropriate for trying to engulf > someone's legs with it while they're sleeping. We ruled that it'd > work, but it'd almost automatically wake them up and they'd get one > roll to escape, at a penalty, as they'd feel it when mostly surrounded. I will rule the situation based on the player description, to determine the penalty. IN some extreme case escape can even be impossible. > And finally, we figured spiders could sense heat, or at least giant > magical ones could. So, do illusions generate an appropriate heat > signature? > > My guess was that they do, but only if the character has ever used > infravision while casting illusions, so that they know what to do. > Also, they may need to use Perfect Illusion instead of just Complex. I Agree on Perfect Illusion for the heat generation. The likeness of it wuold depend on the knowledge of infravision tha mage has, If he is endowed with that advantage, maybe it's natural for him to add that element to illlusion, if he is a normal mage maybe i will make a poor resemblance of the illusion in the IR spectre, but a normal mage will not spot the defects more than he can spot those on the normal vision spectre IMO, as he's not used to use infravision as well. Obviously if the mage will try an illusion with a IR spectre against a creature with that capability... it will probably spot some defects, letting it have some bonuses on it's disbelieving attempt. - -- Mario Tani IHGGer #438 ICQ UIN = 62716435 "Da Ya Wonna Live Forever?" "At Least I'Ve Arrived There" "A Kiss Is Not Always The Truth, But It Is Often What We Want To Be True" "Science It's An Art: It Takes Love, Faith & Courage" Official Member of the S.I.S.De. Follower of the Penguin (Keep on Linux!) G.U.R.P.S. FARRIK (UN)Official Site: Under (RE)Construction gurpsit an Italian G.U.R.P.S. ML: gurpsit-subscribe@egroups.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 22:11:13 -0700 From: "Samir" Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... >Give me the parameters of what you want for this "pirate" ship and I will see >what I can do... 1 parrot 1 peg leg pirate 1 pirate with a really dreadful name 3 pirates with bad breath 2 one handed hook pirates 4 one eye'd pirates Assorted scruffy pirates Various salty pirates 1 Errol Flynn character with rapier (or saber) and rope swinging ability Complete vocabulary of sea slang Gear for walking the plank Gear for keel hauling One devils spine A crows nest. And that carved figure that hangs from the front of the ship. Lots of cannons, gunpowder, shot. Mostly wood, canvas Hope this helps ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 21:24:14 -0800 (PST) From: Jonathan Lang Subject: Re: Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic Thomas Ackermann wrote: > Hi there! > > The are both PI and CM in Compendium I ... > What can be used for what? :-) > > I mean, CM was already in GURPS Magic and allow up to 40 Spells or > 3 Colleges (both 15p) together with a Spell-Bonus of max. 3 (also 15p), > while PI give *some* list of Spells (few or quite much) with a Spell- > Bonus as high as the GM wants. > > But the effects of PI could also be incorporated into CM (both already > cost 30p at Spell-Bonus 3 and some Spells) ... > > So, what exaclty is the reason for two such advantages? > Is there a different use for each? As I understand it, Clerical Magic is "legacy code". It was written as an add-on to Clerical Investment, and thus was designed specifically for creating spell-casting priests. IIRC, that's about all that it provides. Power Investiture was introduced much later when GURPS Religion came out, and attempted to make the subject of clerical spell-casting more generic by removing the Clerical Investment requirement and by introducing the concept of Sanctity Levels (a "holy ground" parallel to the magic system's Mana Levels), along with a handful of spells with religious overtones. This is similar to the way that World Sight and the Shamanic Magic system from GURPS Religion has since been "superceded", if you will, by various versions of the Ritual Magic system found in Voodoo, Old West, and Spirits. That's not to say that the World Sight-based version of "spirit magic" is invalid; just that the official preference seems to be for Ritual Magic instead. As such, you're not likely to see the former, or support for it, appearing in any future publications. The same holds for Clerical Magic vs. Power Investiture - feel free to use whichever you want in your games; but don't expect to see anything further published about or for the Clerical Magic adventage. ===== Jonathan "Dataweaver" Lang __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 02:18:11 -0600 From: "Troy Guffey" Subject: Psionic Gate I want to create a character who can create Gates between places. What kind of cost should the enhancement to Teleport cost? Or should it be considered a totally different power? What dimensions of gates? How long would be reasonable to hold open the gate? I was also thinking of having it used as a stardrive? What range should each level of power get you in space? Troy Guffey Yef Ketro Coled, Impala of Tylenol Sancho Chubb of Deephollow Ninja Spiteful Artist ICQ pager: http://wwp.icq.com/1978644 AIM: Pax214 Y!: troyguffey PGP key ID: 0xDCCDF22D Homepage: http://surf.to/troyguffey - -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version 3.12 GCS d-(+) s:++ a C+++ !U P? L E? W++ N+>++ o K? w+>+++ !O M- V? PS-@ PE+ Y+ PGP+ t+@ 5+(++) X+ R+(++) tv+ b+++ DI(+) D+(++) G e++ h!- r--- !y- - ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 20:38:53 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Alan=20Atkinson?= Subject: Re: Where did that shot come from? --- Anthony Jackson wrote: > Gabe Johanns writes: > > Hello, > > > > My group is going to be coming under some heavy > direct fire from > > concealed positions. If the PC's can not see > where the bullets are > > hitting or the muzzle flash what kind of hearing > modifier would you use > > for them to be able to figure it out enemy > positions? > > Hefty. It's probably not possible to figure out > more than a general direction > from which firing is coming. However, if you can't > see where the bullets are > hitting (which, in general, seems rather unlikely) > you can assume that the guns > are not located above you. > > The recommended procedure is 'find cover'. At this > point you will be able to > tell where the bullets are coming from (in a general > sense), since they will be > hitting the cover. Or, if you happen to have TL8 equipment from UTT, the Near-Miss Indicator is ideal for this sort of situation. (Actually, I seem to recall a RL development of the same idea, but not where or how. Anyone?) Cheers, GURPS-Nut http://movies.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Movies - - What's on at your local cinema? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 16:23:12 +0100 From: Thomas Ackermann Subject: Re: Combat examples On Wed, Jan 08, 2003 at 05:49:01PM -0500, Brian T. Sniffen wrote: > http://fantasy.geographic.net/GURPS/example.asp Sorry, to say that, but while it is funny to read, it is full of mistakes - and can IMO only to prepare problems for understanding GURPS Combat ... For example: The situation calls for Partial, not Total Surprise. If it would be a Total Surprise, Wong would not be able to act *at all* till after his 4th turn. The CCCC just *begin* to act, so McNicol cannot act before them - his reaction is a *REaction* to the cultists draw of weapons and come after their Ready Maneuver. A kicked table *sure* does not give full cover for a sitting person, while it is not even clear if he is standing or sitting. SS calculation comes *after* cover-calculation on the effective skill. A Critical Success in an attack does not allow a Dodge - even if McNicol would like to do so. That table may have DR3 and 15 hits, but it will stop only 3 points of damage. You do not declare Opporunity Fire - itīs a Step and Wait Maneuver with a ranged weapon. I am not sure how to give two shots at two different cultists in one pop-up attack ... Opportunity fire normally comes *before* the attack of the up-popping target. The stupid cultists with their incredible weapon-skills would still not declare a Step and Wait for Opportunity Fire, when their target is already quite visible and shooting at them ... Range and Speep should not be calculated for a target that can dodge an attack - only the range. If you make a Slam attack on a Move Manuever. i dont think that you can attack on the same turn. *Maybe* a Wild Swing - and that is not possible with a Gun ... Slamming someone does not "put him into Close Combat". And so on ... Sure i am not right with everything above, but i think that this example nees some serious work till you can show it to people! Byebye, - -- Thomas Ackermann | Tel. +49-(0)228/631369 | Mobil: 0178-2016033 Email: ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 16:26:40 +0100 From: Thomas Ackermann Subject: Re: Power Investiture <-> Clerical Magic On Wed, Jan 08, 2003 at 09:24:14PM -0800, Jonathan Lang wrote: Thanx, Jonathan! This is a quite good explanation - would have wished a sentence about this in CompI. Byebye, - -- Thomas Ackermann | Tel. +49-(0)228/631369 | Mobil: 0178-2016033 Email: ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 11:04:37 -0500 From: "Michael Layne" Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... >From: "Samir" >Reply-To: >To: "'GURPS MAILING LIST '" >Subject: RE: I need a pirate ship... >Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 22:11:13 -0700 > > >Give me the parameters of what you want for this "pirate" ship and I >will see > >what I can do... > > >1 parrot The _parrot_, of course, is actually in charge of the ship, no matter what the Captain might insist!:) >1 peg leg pirate >1 pirate with a really dreadful name >3 pirates with bad breath >2 one handed hook pirates >4 one eye'd pirates >Assorted scruffy pirates >Various salty pirates There should be at least three of the scruffy and/or salty pirates, so that you can have the required minimum of "fifteen men" aboard the ship, in case they need to stand on a dead man's chest! ("Yo, ho, ho...") >1 Errol Flynn character with rapier (or saber) and rope swinging ability And with the ability to hear the background music! (That, and his swashbuckling skills, would be the main reason he survives until the end of the adventure! "Uh, oh... The music just changed to something foreboding! I'd better be on my guard..."):) >Complete vocabulary of sea slang Note that this does not imply complete literacy for the pirates! A true pirate only needs to know two letters of the alphabet -- "AYE!" and "ARRR!" :) >Gear for walking the plank Generally, this simply requires a plank to extend over the side, and one sadistic pirate with a cutlass, to urge the victim to keep walking... >Gear for keel hauling Keelhauling, IIRC, required two lines, tied to the unfortunate sailor's wrists and ankles. One line would be taken under the ship, with a party stationed on that side. The other line-handling party would be on the side with the victim. The victim would be pushed overboard, and the first party would heave on its line, while the second would pay out, dragging the victim under the ship. Assuming his experience didn't drown him, the victim would still not be unscathed by his experience, as he would have been dragged over any barnacles on the bottom of the ship. >One devils spine >A crows nest. Lots of timbers to get shivered... (Actually, I think that old nautical expression referred to a mast getting hit by lightning...):) Several barrels of rum in the hold. > >And that carved figure that hangs from the front of the ship. It's called a figurehead! The reason it is distinctive is allegedly because many pirates couldn't read the name on the stern of their ship, and wanted to make sure, after a night of partying in Port Royal, that they staggered back aboard the right ship!:) > >Lots of cannons, gunpowder, shot. >Mostly wood, canvas Of course, the ship needs an inspiring pirate ship name, such as "Dry Rot" or "Scurvy"! Michael Layne theherald@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM: Try the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ End of GURPSnet-Digest V4 #3763 ******************************* To subscribe to GURPSnet-Digest, send the command: subscribe GURPSnet-Digest in the body of a message to "Majordomo@io.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-testlist": subscribe GURPSnet-Digest local-testlist@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "GURPSnet-Digest" in the commands above with "GURPSnet-L". --==IFJRGLKFGIR64491UHRUHIHD--