GURPSnet-Digest Monday, February 17 2003 Volume 04 : Number 3775 In this issue: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 Recommendations? Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) Re: Recommendations? Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? Re: Not So Supers [rant free] Gurps traveller question Re: thoughts about supers Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) Re: Recommendations? Re: Gurps traveller question Re: Gurps traveller question [VEHICLE] of the week 434 - TL10 Tessanak Singleship Re: Recommendations? Re: Gurps traveller question Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? Re: Recommendations? See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the GURPSnet-L or GURPSnet-Digest mailing lists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 11:07:23 -0600 From: "Chris J. Whitcomb" Subject: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) > >> I have to somewhat disagree with you. > > > > Perhaps I should have also added YMMV. > > I don't know what that means. > > > > So he has PK that is activated by absorbed solar > > energy. :-P > > It very well could be. I've always looked at it as him burning solar fuel to > do amazing things with no real physical explanation. > > > > ... except when his powers are drained, which has > > happened many times over the years. My point here is > > that Superman powered and Superman unpowered are > > outwardly identical. When he doesn't have his powers > > (for whatever reason) his cells are no more tough or > > durable than Joe Blow's, or Jimmy Olsen's for that > > matter. As for 'bio-electric aura', that to me sounds > > fairly close to a skin-level TK field .. :-P > > As I said, I was only somewhat disagreeing with you. But I think Sterns > point is that even unpowered he is a bit tougher than a normal man his size. > Remember that in current continuity not all Kryptonian's would have powers > under a yellow sun. But do top their genetic engineering they all seem > healthier and tougher than the average human. "Remember that in current continuity..." Which means that it has changed in the past, and could very well change in the future, depending on the whims of whatever writer is handling the book... I find it amusing that people try to decide what is and isn't 'canon' for a fictional character that has such a long history, and has been covered in several different mediums (comics, graphic novels, live-action TV, animated cartoons, movies). So this guy, as current writer of the comic, decided that only his version is the correct one and that everything else is rubbish? That's what I mean by amusing... :) > > Once again, YMMV. > > Once again, I don't know what that means. Your Mileage May Vary - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release Date: 01/27/03 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 23:45:11 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Alan=20Atkinson?= Subject: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) --- Matthew S Pulido wrote: > [lotsa snippage] > No, it argues that Kryptonian DNA or anything close > to it is affected by the > radiation Kryptonite puts out. Again, normal > Kryponians react badly to > Kryptonite. Their biochemistry is different than > ours and that particular > type of radiation effects them far greater then it > does us. IIRC, when Superman loses his powers, he also loses the vulnerability to green K. (Professor Hamilton examined him once in that state, and pronounced him as being entirely human..) Which makes for interesting speculation regarding the nature of his powers, no? Also, in nearly every what-if comic I've read regarding Superman's future, he's had children by Lois Lane (OK, in Kingdom Come it was by Wonder Woman, but it's still effectively earth-human DNA). So humans and Kryptonians are sufficiently genetically similar that they can produce offspring (theoretically, anyway). Hmmm. Cheers, GURPS-Nut http://mobile.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Mobile - - Exchange IMs with Messenger friends on your Telstra or Vodafone mobile phone. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:31:02 -0600 From: Matthew S Pulido Subject: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) > I find it amusing that people try to decide what is and isn't 'canon' for a > fictional character that has such a long history, and has been covered in > several different mediums (comics, graphic novels, live-action TV, animated > cartoons, movies). > > So this guy, as current writer of the comic, decided that only his version > is the correct one and that everything else is rubbish? That's what I mean > by amusing... :) Ummm... that's not the case at all. Everything he wrote in the sourcebook was based on what John Byrne did to recreate the character in Man of Steel. It was also established canon because this is what DC Comics said, "This is what were are doing with the character, this is how he is to be represented." DC decided the cannon and made sure Stern represented it. Talison - -- "I'm the man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour." "Superstar" Billy Graham ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 08:48:33 -0500 From: "Scott" Subject: Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shai S. Laric" To: "GURPSnet List" Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 10:30 AM Subject: RE: Some thoughs on ST 800 > An aircraft carrier - which I know I've seen Superman lifting at least > once in a post-1986 issue, though I stopped reading in 92 - displaces > about 97,000 tons fully loaded, and that's *in the water*. Lifted out of > a buoyant substance, I can't imagine how much it ways with a full airwing, > lots and lots of aviation fuel, and all the other equipment. 97,000 tons. If an object floats in a fluid, the weight of the fluid it displaces is equal to the weight of the object. ___ ______________________________________ ___ (___| Scott K. Schmeelke |______________________________________||___) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:28:11 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Gellis Subject: Recommendations? Friends, I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying to decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at my local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they are. I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to offer advice on the following titles . . . Mars Goblins Vikings Arabian Nights Warehouse 23 Cabal Celtic Myth Monsters Y2K Space Any of the Magic Items or Who's Who books As you can see, I'm interested in all kinds of campaigns. Any suggestions? If you could only pick three or four of these, which ones would you pick and why? Are there any that you felt weren't that good? Thanks. Mark __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 14:05:56 -0800 From: "Jay P Hailey" Subject: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) > I find it amusing that people try to decide what is and isn't 'canon' for a > fictional character that has such a long history, and has been covered in > several different mediums (comics, graphic novels, live-action TV, animated > cartoons, movies). I could decide for myself what the various mechanisms were, and then adhere to them in the game, when I was running or GMing it But I certainly can't decide for anyone else, and there is ample evidence to bolster any argument you might want to make. Jay P. Hailey ~Meow!~ AIM - jayphailey03 MSN - jayphailey@hotmail.com HTTP://phoenixinn.iwarp.com/jayphailey NASA Delenda Est ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:03:31 -0600 From: "Geoffrey Fagan" Subject: Re: Recommendations? >Cabal My favorite, out of the ones you listed. It tweaks the standard GURPS magic system to get a ceremonial feel without switching to the entirely different spirit magic system described in Voodoo. >Space >Mars You can prob'ly manage the basics for space between Compendium II & the Ultra-tech books, but the Space book covers sci-fi campaign setup specifically. Get Terradyne before Mars if you want a turn-key hard-sf (as opposed to John Carter style) Martian campaign. >Vikings >Arabian Nights >Celtic Myth >...or Who's Who books I'm a big fan of GURPS historicals, but I don't find 'em to be much use in games. I would, if I actually ran in the historical setting described, or if I ran a time travel game. >Goblins An old friend of once described the GURPS magic system as "functional, but joyless". GURPS Goblins is the opposite. >Warehouse 23 >Monsters >Any of the Magic Items... MI 1 is fair; MI 2 has more silly stuff. The way I see these anthologies, you might use a couple of the entries, but wouldn't you rather have a book from which you'll use almost everything? >Y2K If you really want it, I'll send you my copy if you'll cover the shipping. GEF _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:04:21 -0600 From: "Geoffrey Fagan" Subject: Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 >If an object floats in a fluid, the weight of the fluid it displaces is >equal to the weight of the object. Not if the object is more dense than the fluid. :) _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:05:10 -0600 From: "Geoffrey Fagan" Subject: Re: Some thoughs on ST 800 >>If an object floats in fluid, the weight of the fluid it displaces is >>equal to the weight of the object. > Not if the object is more dense than the fluid. :) (And using active flotation.) _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:07:48 -0600 (CST) From: Bret Indrelee Subject: Re: Recommendations? Since it was one of them you listed, I would highly recommend GURPS Space. Anyone interested in running a space campaign, in GURPS or a different system, will find a lot of useful information in this book. - -Bret - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bret Indrelee | "Unleash the baby ducks." bret@io.com | www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020522 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 14:24:38 -0800 From: "Jay P Hailey" Subject: Re: Recommendations? > Who's Who books I own both who's-who books and they are neat. they make munchkins want to cry. (Some of the more competent and capable people in the world and their stat are low by comparison. The people in them also make wonderfully well drawn NPCs. I took William Marshall and Catherine Medici for my GURPs traveller campaign. Jay P. Hailey ~Meow!~ AIM - jayphailey03 MSN - jayphailey@hotmail.com HTTP://phoenixinn.iwarp.com/jayphailey NASA Delenda Est ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:41:47 -0700 From: "Owen Clark" Subject: Re: Recommendations? I would highly recommend Space, and Mars has a lot of good info on running either a hard or cinematic campaign. I would also recommend getting Terradyne for a Hard SF game. Vikings and Celtic Myth are very good for historical campaigns. I am not familiar enough with the Fantasy books as I have very little use for them, but I haven't heard anything real bad about them. Given that you are essentially getting the books for free, have you thought about the new Alpha Centauri book? Free is the only way I would get it as I can't justify spending the $50Can plus tax to buy it. It just isn't thick enough to warrant the price. Owen Clark Preacher or Poet who was it wrote Give any one species too much rope And they'll f**k it up Roger Waters 'Amused to Death' 1991 >From: Mark Gellis >To: GURPS mailing list >Subject: Recommendations? >Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:28:11 -0800 (PST) > > >Friends, > >I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my >articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my >payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying to >decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number >that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at my >local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they are. > I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to >offer advice on the following titles . . . > >Mars >Goblins >Vikings >Arabian Nights >Warehouse 23 >Cabal >Celtic Myth >Monsters >Y2K >Space >Any of the Magic Items or Who's Who books > >As you can see, I'm interested in all kinds of >campaigns. Any suggestions? If you could only pick >three or four of these, which ones would you pick and >why? Are there any that you felt weren't that good? >Thanks. > >Mark > > > > >__________________________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day >http://shopping.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 02:14:16 +0200 From: "Kaj Sotala" Subject: Re: Recommendations? > them. Given that you are essentially getting the books for free, have you > thought about the new Alpha Centauri book? Free is the only way I would get I wouldn't reccomend it, since the book doesn't really tell anything new. If you've played the game, you'll already know everything in the book. If you haven't played the game, there's little reason for getting it. Help! The paranoids are out to get me! ICQ 18051088/AIM Xuenay/MSN Xuenay@Hotmail.com | http://www.saunalahti.fi/~tspro1/ PGP: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~tspro1/Kaj_Sotala.asc for my public key ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:21:28 -0800 From: "Jay P Hailey" Subject: Re: Recommendations? > Since it was one of them you listed, I would highly recommend GURPS Space. > > Anyone interested in running a space campaign, in GURPS or a different > system, will find a lot of useful information in this book. > > -Bret OOP! I didn't see that. GURPS Space is one th better manual;s for setting up and running a Space Campiagn that I have ever read. it's very cool. Jay P. Hailey ~Meow!~ AIM - jayphailey03 MSN - jayphailey@hotmail.com HTTP://phoenixinn.iwarp.com/jayphailey NASA Delenda Est ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 18:36:31 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Gellis Subject: Re: Not So Supers [rant free] Even easier, if the GM will allow it... Just buy ST with the limitation "ST over 20 cannot be used for jumping or leaping," a limitation probably worth 10% or 20%. Mark - --- "Chris J. Whitcomb" wrote: > > From: "Emily Smirle" > > so now that I've gotten my oppinion piece out of > my system... > > > > If you're trying to build a super-strong character > like Spiderman (or > > even more so - Superman), and you're boggling at > the points it takes, > > there's a few things you have to consider: > > > > ST in GURPS isn't just lifting, although lifting > is an easily measured > > real-world unit. > > > > GURPS treats ST as a whole-body stat. By default > if you have ST 800 in > > your arms and back, you have it in your legs. If > your arm muscles can > > expand and contract fast enough to hurl a ST800 > punch, your leg muscles > > can do the same to propell *you* through a ST800 > jump. This is a great > > side effect for characters like Spiderman (who > performs prodigious leaps > > without even noticing) or Superman (leap tall > buildings in a single > > bound!), but if you have someone a little more > grounded, you have a > problem. > > > > So what to do if you don't want Superguy to be > Superbouncy? > > > > You have two choices: > > 1) Don't buy your ST that high (no fun) > > 2) use the Natural ST limitation from Compendium 1 > for the cost of all > > strength over something reasonable, like 15 or 20. > > Or another option that someone mentioned a while > back... > Instead of scads of strength, use Psychokinesis with > a touch-range > limitation to represent superstrong lifting > capacity. > > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system > (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release > Date: 01/27/03 > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 23:38:30 -0300 From: "jroberto" Subject: Gurps traveller question hi everyboy i have a question about Gurps Traveller Spinwards Marches is there some race, planet or politic organization that slave persons and/or gladiator fights ? ou near spinwards (foreven, etc) ? tks bye j.roberto ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 19:32:25 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Gellis Subject: Re: thoughts about supers Some thoughts on this topic... 1) ST 800 SHOULD be very expensive. Consider what it lets you do. 2) "Game balance" does tend to break down with Supers, but I think this is more a problem of the genre than any set of game rules. First, many popular supers are not consistent in their powers from year to year, so trying to model them in game terms often ends up being an exercise in frustration. In addition, with very powerful characters (either as designed or thanks to enough experience points), you will eventually reach the point where a GM can no longer really challenge them. And that, unless the game is simply a power fantasy, means the campaign has run its course. And should one PC reach this stage before te others do, even the power fantasy aspect is lost as only that player will get to enjoy it. It's fun to watch the Justice League cartoon, where characters are at wildly different levels of power; however, I think a lot of people would find it very frustrating to play Justice League characters...every game would end up being, "Well, we might as well just wait for Superman to take care of it." :) And, personally, I think even the power fantasy game would get boring very quickly. It's the challenge of solving the problem, fighting the bad guy when there really is a chance of losing and earning the victory with smarts and skill and a little luck, etc. that makes the game. 3) I'm not sure I'd say 'points don't matter,' as I think they would matter a lot in many kinds of Supers campaigns, but I could certainly see games where a GM says, 'okay, tell me what the character can do' and if it is acceptable then build it regardless of points. One nice thing about GURPS is that the mechanics let you do this...the tradition is to use a point budget, but a GM does not HAVE to use a point budget. My view is the point system exists to keep characters from starting out so powerful that the game will be boring. Once they reach the level where the game is not challenging anymore, whether this happens when they're at 500 points or 5,000 points, it's time to bring the campaign to an end and start something new. Personally, if I was running a Supers game, I would have people start as low- or mid-level Supers, with budgets of 200 or 300 points, and have the 1000-point Supers as Patrons or Contacts (and "flavor"). And I might put a limit on certain powers (e.g., psionics limited to Power 20 and Skill 20) and be honest about the reason: the game is going to get boring if we do not keep certain powers in check, so the physical laws in this this fictional universe impose certain limits on certain powers. Of course, you can create some really impressive characters on 250 points, but they would still be limited enough that I could give my players really challenging, suspenseful, fun adventures. Just my thoughts. Mark __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 23:03:54 -0600 From: Matthew S Pulido Subject: Re: Superman as a Psychokinetic (was: Not So Supers) on 2/16/03 4:05 PM, Jay P Hailey at jayphailey@tic1.net wrote: >> I find it amusing that people try to decide what is and isn't 'canon' for > a >> fictional character that has such a long history, and has been covered in >> several different mediums (comics, graphic novels, live-action TV, > animated >> cartoons, movies). > > > I could decide for myself what the various mechanisms were, and then adhere > to them in the game, when I was running or GMing it > > But I certainly can't decide for anyone else, and there is ample evidence > to bolster any argument you might want to make. I agree with this. We should all handle things in our own games how we see fit. My whole point is I know what the established cannon is supposed to be because I've studied it. I don't mind discussing it, and I'm not saying I'm always 100% right. But I don't see the need to argue with DC about their character. Talison - -- "As you sow evil, so shall you reap evil. Crime does not pay. The Shadow Knows." The Shadow ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:27:36 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Alan=20Atkinson?= Subject: Re: Recommendations? --- Mark Gellis wrote: > > Friends, > > I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my > articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my > payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying > to > decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number > that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at > my > local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they > are. > I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to > offer advice on the following titles . . . > > Mars Nice. It's heavy on the technical detail, and has several reasonably detailed worlds to drop your campaign into. > Goblins Hee hee hee. I like this one just for the laughs. Of course, the fact that characters start with disads that they didn't pick might put off some players -- but then again, this isn't for serious-type players anyway :-P. > Vikings Slightly dated now, but not bad if you want information about playing Norse characters of all types. > Arabian Nights Sorry, no got. > Warehouse 23 LOTS and LOTS of cool stuff to inflict on ... uh, I mean, give to ... your players. Batteries ARE included. Just make sure you don't CENSORED the CENSORED when the CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED. Fnord. > Cabal Don't got, but I hear is good. All things supernatural, under one roof. > Celtic Myth Not altogether bad. If you were into that culture, you could probably get right into it. I didn't, but that's just me. > Monsters Some VERY cool monsters (including three of mine. Woo hoo.) to make your players swear NEVER to open that closet again. > Y2K Need a cataclysm to make the characters' lives ... interesting? Some are realistic (some are scary-realistic...) while some are silly. One of my monsters (see above) was based on one of the illustrations from this book. > Space Good, all-round resource for running a space-type campaign. I've got one of the early editions but it's still pretty cool. > Any of the Magic Items or Who's Who books Not got MI, but Who's Who is very entertaining and informative. Some of the characters within ... bloody hell. If you are ever running a historical game, and you want some realistic NPCs, there's plenty here to pick from. Note: do not pick a fight with William Marshall. Just ... don't. Cheers, GURPS-Nut http://mobile.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Mobile - - Exchange IMs with Messenger friends on your Telstra or Vodafone mobile phone. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 08:23:24 +0100 (MET) From: "Onno Meyer" Subject: Re: Gurps traveller question > hi everyboy > > i have a question about Gurps Traveller Spinwards Marches > > is there some race, planet or politic organization that slave persons > and/or gladiator fights ? > > ou near spinwards (foreven, etc) ? > > tks > > bye > > j.roberto The Imperium guarantees few sophont rights, but the prohibition of slavery is one of them. Considering the hands-off government style, something like indentured labor or debt peons may happen, but arena fights with these people would break the fiction. Much the same goes for the other major powers. Imperials would say that the Zhodani enslave entire worlds, but they don't use anything as crude as gladiator fights. Same for the Darrians. Vargr are disorganized enough for anything, but they'd find enough volunteers for a fight that they don't need slavery. The K'Kree are probably too far away for you. That leaves independent 'pirate ports' where fights for sport may be common and organized crime may supply 'contestants'. And then there is Darkmoon prison, where inmates are used for hazardous labor and drug trials, including experimental combat drugs that are evaluated in gladiator-like fights. http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/traveller/ps6/ Onno ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 23:54:16 -0800 (PST) From: Anthony Jackson Subject: Re: Gurps traveller question "Onno Meyer" writes: >Vargr are disorganized enough for anything, but they'd find >enough volunteers for a fight that they don't need slavery. Tho, given the plot reasons I can imagine for wanting such a world, I can easily imagine a vargr world offering fighting as a way to ransom yourself (assuming people captured in vargr raids or some such). Of course, a successful gladiator could easily do well in Vargr society; by Vargr standards you're being offered a perfectly fair deal. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 08:31:28 +0100 (MET) From: "Onno Meyer" Subject: [VEHICLE] of the week 434 - TL10 Tessanak Singleship This is a weekly posting with GURPS vehicles (and the like) to the GURPSnet mailing list. I grant the permission for all non-commercial redistribution of my work, but I would like to know if you put it on a website or the like. With a slight delay, old vehicles appear at http://gurpsnet.sjgames.com/Archive/Vehicles/Collections/ and http://www.geocities.com/copeab/VOTW.html Onno Meyer, 2/2003 Tessanak Singleship v1.0 (GURPS Mecha TL10) Copyright 2003 by Onno Meyer The Galactic Hegemony Magistratum sends Tessanak bounty hunters into places where the Star Force cannot go. If they work quietly, Tessanak can operate on protected worlds like Earth. Many Tessanak work solo or in pairs, with nothing but a large handgun, a light battlesuit and a singleship. The singleship has a lifting body with small fins. The front section holds the cockpit, an airlock and a living area with two bunks, one of them with prisoner restraints. The rear section contains a cargo hold and the engine room with a reactor, a hyperdrive and two thrusters. The singleship is operated by one crewman. It features a sealed hull, basic emission cloaking, basic stealth and basic chameleon. With 1,704 kW excess power, it can recharge one X-Laser shot every 5.6 seconds. Subassemblies: Body +6. P&P: 32,000 kW fusion reactor with two 30,000 lbs. vectored super reactionless thrusters and a 25-ton hyperdrive; 30 360,000 kWs rechargeable power cells. Occ: 1 bridge RCS, 1 bunk. Cargo: 90 cf. Armor F RL B T U Body: 4/150 4/125 4/100 4/100 4/150 Weaponry Heavy Gatling X-Laser [Bod:F] (1125) +9 Equipment Body: Full stabilization for X-Laser; two 500,000-mile radios with scrambler; two 100,000-mile laser communicators; two 500-mile LPI AESAs (scan 27) [Bod:F/B]; 50-mile PESA (scan 21) [Bod:F]; 250-mile multiscanner (scan 25); 400-power stabilized LLTV (+8/+15) [Bod:T]; navigation instruments; IFF; inertial navigation system; HUDWAC; deceptive jammer (rating 6); 4 decoy dischargers; Complexity 8 biological, hardened, neural-net minicomputer; terminal; damage control (C5, +5); database (C1, 46.19 GB manuals); datalink (C1); routine vehicle operation (C5, skill 15); targeting (C6, +6); socket interface; compact fire suppression system; 2-person airlock; brig (one bunk); computerized controls; 4-person full life system. Statistics Size: 50'x15'x10' Payload: 1 ton Lwt: 25 tons Volume: 3,240 cf Maint: 10 man-hours Price: $4,700,000 HT: 12 HP: 2,250 [Body] aSpeed: 2,450 aAccel: 24 aDecel: 10 aMR: 2.5 aSR: 4 sAccel: 1.2 Gs sMR: 1.2 Hyperspeed: 0.2 pc/day. Stall Speed 0. Design Notes The 3,240-cf body has a medium frame with underbelly skids, excellent streamlining, a lifting body, 1,076 cf of access space and 199.8 cf of empty space. The surface area is 1,500 sf. The armor is advanced metal. The weapon is mounted concealed due to the streamlining. The TL10 vehicle uses Vehicles [2nd edition, 3rd printing, July '02 errata] with parts from Mecha and Robots. Next Week: Another Cybermech Damocles ship for Sean. ------------------------------ Date: 17 Feb 2003 10:33:21 -0000 From: "Volker Bach" Subject: Re: Recommendations? On Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:28:11 -0800 (PST), Mark Gellis wrote : > > Friends, > > I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my > articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my > payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying to > decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number > that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at my > local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they are. > I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to > offer advice on the following titles . . . > > Mars If you want to play on or with Mars, this is a good book. It has several scenarios, from hard-science exploration through sci-fi terraforming/colonisation to high space opera 'Canals of Mars' battles. If you follow astronomy you probably know much of the science already, but for me it was an eye-opener in many respects. > Goblins For Laffs. The setting is wonderfully detailed, the characters just hilarious - this is, in short, the world of the Regency buck and eighteenth- century bawdy burlesque, transposed into a London full of the strangest creatures. As to how it plays - I've no idea, we never got past character creation, we kept laughing so hard. I guess it is kind of like IOU - you can't meaningfully play it, but it doesn't really matter. > Vikings is a nice book though its format makes it look dated in comparison to newer GURPS releases. If you want to play a historical Viking campaign it can help you. THe 'Mythic' section is dubious IMO. Rely on the facts, by and large - the author knows his stuff. > Arabian Nights Nice, a bit dated, but definitely useful if you wish to use the classical Arab world as your setting. Good for Fantasy campaigns - fleshes out your 'Eastern' characters > Warehouse 23 Absolutely a must if you are at all illuminated. > Cabal is *very* good and *very very* strange. Not something you may want to play (and at any rate the magic system is better adapted to Ritual Magic than Spell Magic), but if you're a supernatural buff you will enjoy the thought that went into the setting. > Celtic Myth Nifty, if *way* over the top. I consider it pretty much unplayable, but the Sidhe are - well - fun. And it has a pronunciation guide, which helps > Monsters Highly useful, but don't read it after dark. Much *much* better than the previous Creatures of the Night. Indispensable for a classic Horror game > Y2K Well - been there, done that, didn't happen. IOf you are fond of disaster movies this one should come in handy, but by and large it is undistinguished. Except for a few nice computer jokes > Space YES! This is the indispensable foundation for any sci-fi campaign that does not use Traveller all the way. One of the best genre books I've ever seen and such a b***y shame it wasn't written for Fantasy! > Any of the Magic Items or Who's Who books Magic Items: not unless you're really fond of AD&D-style gaming. I got the first and declined 2 and 3, so they may have gotten better, but I doubt it. Who's Who make nice reading and a reasonable guideline for character creation in historical/realistic backgrounds, but I've never actually used them. > As you can see, I'm interested in all kinds of > campaigns. Any suggestions? If you could only pick > three or four of these, which ones would you pick and > why? Are there any that you felt weren't that good? If it's 3 or 4, get Space, Warehouse 23, Monsters, and any of the others you fancy. Volker ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 23:20:29 +1300 From: "Rupert Boleyn" Subject: Re: Gurps traveller question On 17 Feb 2003 at 8:23, Onno Meyer wrote: > The Imperium guarantees few sophont rights, but the prohibition > of slavery is one of them. Considering the hands-off government > style, something like indentured labor or debt peons may happen, > but arena fights with these people would break the fiction. You can be certain that everything except chattel slavery turns up somewhere. Contract labour can quite easily become slavery in all but name, and so on. Only chattel slavery is actually banned, though just where the boundry is depends on what the local Imperial authorities think. - -- 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: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 23:34:19 +1300 From: "Harry Russell" Subject: Re: Recommendations? - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Volker Bach" To: "Mark Gellis" ; "GURPS mailing list" Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 11:33 PM Subject: Re: Recommendations? > > On Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:28:11 -0800 (PST), Mark Gellis > wrote : > > > > > Friends, > > > > I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my > > articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my > > payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying to > > decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number > > that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at my > > local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they are. > > I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to > > offer advice on the following titles . . . > > > > Space > > YES! This is the indispensable foundation for any sci-fi campaign that does > not use Traveller all the way. One of the best genre books I've ever seen > and such a b***y shame it wasn't written for Fantasy! > I understand that will be Fantasy 3e by William Stoddard. So it has been written, but it's currently a little delayed (last I heard). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 05:33:52 -0600 From: Brandon Cope Subject: Re: Recommendations? Mark Gellis wrote: > > Friends, > > I have had the good fortune to have a couple of my > articles published in Pyramid. I elected to take my > payment in merchandise credit, and I am now trying to > decide which GURPS books to get. There are a number > that sound interesting, but I have not seen them at my > local hobby shops so I have no idea how good they are. > I would be grateful if anyone would be willing to > offer advice on the following titles . . . I'll only offer advice on the ones I have or had: > Vikings Okay, I have 1/e and like it a lot. 2/e is probably just as good. Used it a lot for my Vikings/Celts fantasy campaign. > Arabian Nights Nice book, haven't used it much. > Warehouse 23 Basically, a collection of "Items to Kill PCs With by Touching Them". For a Black Ops (or possibly Atomic Horror) campaign, okay, but not really balanced for anything else. > Celtic Myth Nice book, though my moderate collection of books on Irish/Celtic folklore and mythology (8 books) made large sections redundant. Good if you have few (or no) books on the Celts; also has a nice section on Sidhe and the tweaked magic system is interesting. > Y2K Did not find this useful at all. However, for now, it's the closest you'll get to GURPS Survivors. > Space Good, solid sourcebook. A must for most space campaigns. > Any of the Magic Items Magic Items 2 has a more interesting selection of magic items. Magic Items (1) has some expanded rules for powerstones, elixirs, etc. but most of those can be found in the Roleplayer archives. Overall, I'd get #2 before #1. > As you can see, I'm interested in all kinds of > campaigns. Any suggestions? If you could only pick > three or four of these, which ones would you pick and > why? Are there any that you felt weren't that good? This really depends on what kind of campaign(s) you want to run. For a fantasy campaign, Vikings, Celtic Myth and Magic Items 2 would be my suggestion. For a 'balanced' purchase, replace MI2 with Space. - -- A generous and sadistic GM, "Oh stop pretending there's a plot. Brandon Cope Stop cheapening yourself further" MTS3K: Wild World of Bat Woman GURPS characters, vehicles and campaigns at: http://www.geocities.com/copeab ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 05:37:26 -0600 From: Brandon Cope Subject: Re: Recommendations? Geoffrey Fagan wrote: > > >Vikings > >Arabian Nights > >Celtic Myth > > I'm a big fan of GURPS historicals, but I don't find 'em to be much use > in games. I would, if I actually ran in the historical setting described, or > if I ran a time travel game. While I like to use some time-hopping my my main campaign, I find the historical books very useful for fantasy campaigns. For example, a friend is using pre-Middle Ages historical sourcebooks to flesh out areas in his GURPS Conan campaign. - -- A generous and sadistic GM, "Oh stop pretending there's a plot. Brandon Cope Stop cheapening yourself further" MTS3K: Wild World of Bat Woman GURPS characters, vehicles and campaigns at: http://www.geocities.com/copeab ------------------------------ End of GURPSnet-Digest V4 #3775 ******************************* To subscribe to GURPSnet-Digest, send the command: subscribe GURPSnet-Digest in the body of a message to "Majordomo@io.com". 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