From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #17 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/17 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 17 Today's Topics: Re: blakes7-d Digest V99 #7 Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #318 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 09:22:44 GMT From: "Dita Stanistraken" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se, blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: blakes7-d Digest V99 #7 Message-Id: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 17:07:17 +0100 (MET) > From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se > Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #7 > To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se > Reply-to: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > ------------------------------ > > Content-Type: text/plain > > blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 7 > > Today's Topics: > Re: [B7L] Re: Free time again > Re: [B7L] Re: Free time again > Re: [B7L] Free time again/GETTING OFF TOPIC > Re: [B7L] Homophobia > [B7L] Re: Homophobia/Who > [B7L] Re: Vila > [B7L] Vila, Tanith Lee > Re: [B7L] Re: Vila > Re: [B7L] Tanith Lee and her Fascism? > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 12:42:58 -0000 > From: "Alison Page" > To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" > Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Free time again > Message-Id: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Harriet said - > > > How many times do I have to say AVON DOES NOT LISTEN TO MUSIC. > > > > Julius Caesar said so (Act 1, Scene 2). He mentioned that A didn't go to > > the theatre either. > > > > 'Seldom he smiles and smiles in such a sort > as if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit > that could be moved to smile at anything. > Such men as he be never at heart's ease > while they behold a greater than themselves > and therefore they are very dangerous' > > Alison > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 00:03:28 -0000 > From: "Neil Faulkner" > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Free time again > Message-ID: <000301be3be9$4b7db1a0$051aac3e@default> > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > >How many times do I have to say AVON DOES NOT LISTEN TO MUSIC. > > You're absolutely right. He listens to Pink Floyd instead. > > > >Julius Caesar said so (Act 1, Scene 2). He mentioned that A didn't go to > >the theatre either. > > > Ah, so that explains why Vila went and installed a ticket office and > cardboard cutout usherette in every cubicle on the Liberator. That's why > Avon was always going down to planets with Blake, he was bursting. > > What would Shakespeare know anyway? He can't even spell properly. > > Neil > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 12:16:55 EST > From: ShilLance@aol.com > To: pussnboots@geocities.com, blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] Free time again/GETTING OFF TOPIC > Message-ID: <19ddaf0e.36978f07@aol.com> > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 1/8/99 5:42:14 PM EST, pussnboots@geocities.com writes: > > << I agree. In a self defense class the instructor showed a Remo Williams > movie: and pointed out all the instances where Remo used items at hand > to fight attackers. i.e. quick wit in knowing what to grab and what to > do with it. >> > > Question. How many Remo Williams movies are there? I only know of one > subtitled "The Adventure Begins" Were there otheres, did they involve Fred > Ward and were they theatrical releases. Sorry about the lapse in > topic........ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 12:19:51 EST > From: ShilLance@aol.com > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] Homophobia > Message-ID: <53400aee.36978fb7@aol.com> > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 1/8/99 0:08:17 AM EST, kat@welkin.apana.org.au writes: > > << If this is homophobia, then a smile is sexual harrasment. Talk about > subtle. (Kathryn throws her hands up in the air) You say, that > because there is the faint possibility that some of the villains > *might* be gay, (also due to the casting and the acting, don't forget) > that the author is homophobic. Talk about over-reaction! >> > > I never assumed any of the characters in B7 were gay.....I never saw any > indications they were. > > Is there a possibility we're seeing things where they are not? > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 15:22:45 -0500 (EST) > From: brent@ntr.net > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] Re: Homophobia/Who > Message-Id: <199901092022.PAA23489@rome.ntr.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Iain: > >>Also, we're looking at a small number of scripts here. Holmes wrote loads > >>of Dr Who stories, and was script editor for even more. In all those > >>stories that I've seen I can't think of a single example of negativity > >>towards homosexuals. You'd think, if he had such a bee in his bonnet, it > >>would have expressed itself in DW as well. > > Neil: > >Pas devant les enfants? DW was for kids, B7 for adults. Ish. > > Thus far, you've presented your case very well, however, I don't think you > can say DW was for kids and B7 adults. I think both were designed to appeal > to kid and adult audiences. Some might even say B7 was for kids, too. > Fortunately, all of us here know better. > > Iain made an excellent point about Holmes' DW work and your dismissal > doesn't address it. At any rate, even if DW was for kids, that does not > mean that a homophobic subtext couldn't be inserted into the stories. > Holmes could have easily inserted the same "homophobic" themes in his DW > stories as you allege he did in his B7 stories. > > Neil: > >I recall thinking there were some iffy elements in at least one DW script by > >Holmes. Talons of Weng-Chiang? I'm really not sufficiently Who-wise. > > That's too bad. If you were Who-wise, you would know that it wasn't just > for kids. In many instances, it wasn't for kids at all (Ghost Light springs > to mind). > > > Brent > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 16:46:17 -0500 > From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com> > To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" > Subject: [B7L] Re: Vila > Message-ID: <199901091646_MC2-6615-2DBE@compuserve.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > Content-Disposition: inline > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > Rob wrote: > >Of course, Vila's darker, more dangerous side did surface at times > >other than in "The Way Back". There's "Breakdown", for instance. > > I see it in "Gold", which I really think happened after "Orbit", not before > - he's so grim when interrogating Keiller, and I love it when he makes Avon > sweat before teleporting him. > > >It was a gradual process in some ways, but for > >those of us who count the first episode as their favouite (e.g. me), > >there is always the suspicion that the series had the potential to be > >very different, possibly even better, than it actually turned out to be. > > There is a Platonic Form of Blake's 7 which exists out there somewhere, and > of which the BBC version is merely a shadow. I told my brother this 20 > years ago, and I still believe it. If I believed in heaven, of course, I > would be expecting to see the Platonic Form of B7 if I got there. > > Harriet > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 99 02:11:00 GMT > From: s.thompson8@genie.com > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] Vila, Tanith Lee > Message-Id: <199901100226.CAA01570@rock103.genie.net> > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Neil, why do you feel that Vila wasn't really a Delta? > > This is a very popular idea in fan fiction, but it's always bothered me a > bit, because it seems to me that that view acepts the Federation grading > system as having some sort of validity. That is, Deltas really =are= stupid- > - and therefore clever Vila can't possibly be one. I feel uncomfortable > with that idea. > > And I second Penny's request for your views on Tanith Lee's alleged fascism. > She, after all was the scriptwriter who explicitly commented on Vila's high > intelligence, in "Sarcophagus." > > Sarah T. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 10:29:04 -0000 > From: "Alison Page" > To: "INTERNET:blakes7@lysator.liu.se" > Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: Vila > Message-Id: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Harriet said - > > > There is a Platonic Form of Blake's 7 which exists out there somewhere, > and > > of which the BBC version is merely a shadow. I told my brother this 20 > > years ago, and I still believe it. If I believed in heaven, of course, I > > would be expecting to see the Platonic Form of B7 if I got there. > > Aren't there some people who argue that the last few seconds before the big > crunch at the end of the Universe will be infinitely protracted. A big data > processing system constructed by the super races who survive a the very end > of time will replicate the souls of all beings who have ever lived and > 'run' them on their supersystem, simulating a state of bliss. > > And at this point I expect to see.. nay participate in.. the Platonic form > of Blakes 7. > > [I read about this theory in a book called 'the physics of immortality by a > very eccentric American professor of physics if anyone is interested] > > Alison > > PS Harriet it sometimes unsettles me how similarly our minds run - in > various ways > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 16:11:03 -0000 > From: "Neil Faulkner" > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] Tanith Lee and her Fascism? > Message-ID: <000201be3cb2$5c663540$e41eac3e@default> > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > >Neil murmured offhandedly: > > > >>And as for Tanith Lee and her Fascism... > > > >Ye-e-s? *Do* go on... > > > You mean you haven't noticed it? > > Neil > > -------------------------------- > End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #7 > ************************************ > Dita, President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 09:21:21 GMT From: "Dita Stanistraken" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se, blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #318 Message-Id: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 04:12:03 +0100 (MET) > From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se > Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #318 > To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se > Reply-to: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > ------------------------------ > > Content-Type: text/plain > > blakes7-d Digest Volume 98 : Issue 318 > > Today's Topics: > Re: [B7L] RPG > [B7L] worst cast > Re: [B7L] worst cast > Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' > Re: [B7L] RPG > Re: [B7L] RPG > Re: [B7L] RPG > Re: [B7L] RPG > Re: [B7L] RPG > Re: [B7L] RPG > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 02:12:53 -0000 > From: "Neil Faulkner" > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: <003001be3075$ecb45260$7918ac3e@default> > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > >Since these characters are already 'established'--meaning, they're not just > >starting out--they would have higher total points than a new player > >character. > > > Part of the GURPS premise is that new characters can be hardened veterans, > but they still start off with the basic 100 points. > > This thread's in grave danger of turning into a theoretical accounting > exercise, with people not seeing the point for the points (I would say it > was getting pointless, but...). I think, perhaps, it might be better to > forget about point totals altogether, and just allocate stats, skills, ads, > disads etc that feel right. Fit the rules to the character, as it were, > rather than try to squeeze the character into the rules. > > But that still wouldn't solve all the arguments over the actual values of > such stats. Most players designing their favourite characters in such a > free form way would probably inflate the more vital values, even if they > thought they were being scrupulously fair (I wouldn't trust myself to design > Cally, for instance, and I'm not sure I could go along entirely with anyone > else's version). > > A basic rule of thumb I've devised over the years: players are more likely > to be truly roleplaying if they don't always take decisions in their > character's best interests. Like spending half the loot on a really cool > pair of mirror shades rather than getting yet another megakill handblaster. > Or beefing up some obscure academic skill that will almost certainly never > be of any use in play. > > Thinking about it, my B7 character of choice would probably be Dayna. A > precocious whining brat who likes heavy weapons, a perfect vehicle for > wanton mayhem and carnage. And if everything goes pear-shaped you can just > pout and go sulk in a corner. What a gal! > > Neil > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 20:58:01 GMT > From: Roger the Shrubber > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] worst cast > Message-Id: <199812262058.UAA10360@axis> > Content-Type: text/plain > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > BLAKES 7 THE MOVIE > "THE UNDISCOVERED INSURRECTION AT FARPOINT" > Starring: > Roj Blake.........................Jonathon Harris > Kerr Avon.........................William Shatner > Jenna Stannis.....................Pamela Anderson Lee or Christine Applegate > Cally.............................Marilyn Manson > Villa Restal......................Paul Reubins(pee wee herman) > Olag Gan..........................Dan Ackroyd > Servalan..........................Boy George > ORAC..............................Judge Judy > Zen ..............................voice of Majel Barret > Tarrant...........................Leonardo Di Caprio > Travis(I).........................Ice-T or Bruce Willis > Travis(II)........................Jonathon Harris (again) > > Special guests - > The Two Fat Ladies as the Decimas > Basil Fawlty as the manager of Freedom City > Andie McDowell as Cancer > George Michael as Egrorian > Michael Jackson as Zil > Kevin Trudeau as Trooper Par > > > Crew: > Directed by.......................That English prat from the Cyclone exercise > machine informercial > Written by........................Paul Darrow > Music by..........................Muriels Wedding soundtrack > > > > > > > > > > > ___________________________________ > from Darren r ..... Comments are welcome ! > powerplay@cheerful.com > ____________________________________ > Culture is a synthesis of reason and religion, attempting to hide > the sharp distinction between the two poles. > ______________________________________ > Traditions had a beginning that was not traditional. > ________________________________________ > ________________________________________ > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/2634 > Anxiety & Panic > _________________________________________ > http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/2634/powerplay.html > Blake's 7 FAQ & free screen savers > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 02:48:44 PST > From: "Penny Dreadful" > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] worst cast > Message-ID: <19981226104844.25044.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > > Roger the Shrubber horrified me with the prospect of: > > >Written by........................Paul Darrow > > And speaking of celebrities who should be prevented in future from > writing, at gunpoint if necessary, I just got Drew Carey's Cash-Grab > Celebrity Autobiography (Now Appearing in a Sub-Discount Bin Near You) > for Xmas, and the first, like, ten pages are Drew Carey swearing the > thing was not ghost-written, which harked back to how many many moons > ago I received "Avon: A Terrible Aspect" for Xmas, and after reading it, > in desperate search of praise, latching upon "He obviously wrote it > himself." > > Which makes me wonder now I think about it whether there is a market for > ghost-writers who can convincingly simulate inept amateur prose, for > that sense of verite... > > (I should add here that I really did enjoy the latter book, and spent > all Xmas afternoon irking my relatives by reading excerpts out loud from > the former. And using my chilling powers of prescience I predict I will > finish reading it long before I finish "Mason & Dixon", which I got > *last* Xmas) > > In conclusion, > > Blake - Drew Carey > Avon - Don McKellar > Servalan - Woody Harrelson > Travis - Juliette Lewis > > And A Merry Boxing Day To You and Yours, > Penny Dreadful > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 03:15:52 PST > From: "Penny Dreadful" > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' > Message-Id: <199812261115.DAA01634@f282.hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > > Pat pined: > > >Hey, this story has everything for a tragic love story. Who wants to > >write it? Please post it to the list in time for a "broken hearts" > >Valentines Day gazette here. > > What, you mean here, or on the Naughty List? > > >Altho Servalan/Jarvik has undeveloped potential! > > Yeah, the interaction between those two was what made it *plausible* to > me, after the fact, that Servalan and Travis could reasonably be > considered to have had Something Going On. > > -- Polymorphously Perverse Penny Dreadful > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 23:33:53 GMT > From: dixonm@access.mountain.net (Meredith Dixon) > To: "Neil Faulkner" > Cc: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: <36867023.1279603@cyberplanet.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > >How do people go about rolegaming B7? Do you use the series characters, or > >originals? > > My husband and I have done a little bit of B7 RPGing, but we've found > it very difficult to do because the Seven are very vulnerable. The GM > creating the missions has to remain aware of the group's limitations > at all times. This is especially true for us because my husband is a > strict "rules" gameplayer; he'd never think of fudging a roll in the > interests of the story line, and he'd be offended if I did so. The > first B7 mission I ran, I think the only people who survived were > Vila and Cally, and while that may do for an ending it makes a lousy > start to a campaign. (We started over with a revised mission....) > > We experimented with using the *Price of Freedom* rules for B7, but > in the end, as we usually do, we went back to using Marvel Super > Heroes' rules. They worked fairly well, all things considered. > > It never occurred to us to attempt a B7 RPG without the series > characters, or even with the series characters as NPCs. > > Meredith Dixon > dixonm@access.mountain.net > > ------------------------------ > > Date: 27 Dec 1998 01:51:42 +0100 > From: calle@lysator.liu.se > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > dixonm@access.mountain.net (Meredith Dixon) writes: > > > This is especially true for us because my husband is a strict > > "rules" gameplayer; he'd never think of fudging a roll in the > > interests of the story line, and he'd be offended if I did so. > > Weee, my very opposite. One of my players once calculated that on the > average, I use dice in almost every third gaming session :-) > If you'd like to see what sort of system I use when GMing, have a look > at http://www.lysator.liu.se/~calle/gm/goodnesspoints.html And I'd > like to point out that not using dice does *not* mean that the > characters always succeed. It only means that they fail in > dramatically appropriate ways. > > I have lots of GURPS books (50+ of them), but only use them for > background and inspiration. > > > The first B7 mission I ran, I think the only people who survived > > were Vila and Cally, and while that may do for an ending it makes a > > lousy start to a campaign. > > It makes for a great prequel, though. You tell the players to choose > characters from the series crew, then you run a really, really bad > blood'n'guts session killing off all but one or two of them. For the > next session, they get to play the new recruits. A small group of > rebels, led by a *seriously* bitter and nasty (NPC) Cally (or whoever > is left over from session one). For added spice, put her in a > wheelchair, give her a couple of bad burn-scars and boost her psychic > powers so that the PCs can't keep anything secret from her. Sort of > like Santa Claus on a bad angst-trip. "She knows if you've been good > or bad..." > > > It never occurred to us to attempt a B7 RPG without the series > > characters, or even with the series characters as NPCs. > > The only way I can see it working at all is with the series characters > as NPCs. NPCs important for the story, but still NPCs. Having the > players be a presidentially appointed team out to get Blake&co behind > Servalan's back might be fun. > -- > Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-175 32 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se > Try again. Try harder. -*- Fail again. Fail better. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: 27 Dec 1998 03:00:46 +0100 > From: calle@lysator.liu.se > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > "Neil Faulkner" writes: > > > Part of the GURPS premise is that new characters can be hardened veterans, > > but they still start off with the basic 100 points. > > No. New characters start with as many points as the GM wants them to > start with. 100 points with a 40-point disadvantage limit is the > suggested values for "hero-material" characters. If the PCs are > supposed to be something else, they'll have other point values. Most > worldbooks suggest several different values for differently flavoured > campaigns. For example, GURPS Camelot suggests that starting Knights > of the Round Table be built with 200 points or so, and GURPS Martial > Arts suggests 300 or 400 points for a "Kung Fu Movie" campaign (and 25 > to 50 for a "total beginners" campaign). > > In a B7 context, all the series characters are clearly not equal in > point value, since the point value is a combined measure of talent and > experience. Even though Dayna is a very talented weapons designer, > Avon's going to have more points since he's not only talented but also > educated and experienced. At a rough guess, I'd put Dayna and Gan at > 100 points, Tarrant, Vila and Soolin at 150 and the rest at 200, if > they were PCs. If they were NPCs, I'd forget about limits and just > design them as I wanted them. > > > I think, perhaps, it might be better to forget about point totals > > altogether, and just allocate stats, skills, ads, disads etc that > > feel right. Fit the rules to the character, as it were, rather than > > try to squeeze the character into the rules. > > That's how you're *always* supposed to use the rules! The rules are > there to *help* the game, not hinder it. > > > Most players designing their favourite characters in such a free > > form way would probably inflate the more vital values, > > In my experience, reasonably mature players generally don't. If they > want to play Cally, they want to play Cally, not a superheroine with > her face. In over 16 years of GMing, I've only had the supercharacter > problem with teenage boys. Actually, the opposite problem (giving > characters so many disadvantages that they become totally > dysfunctional) is in my experience much more common. > > > Or beefing up some obscure academic skill that will almost certainly never > > be of any use in play. > > I once had a player who put more than half of his character's points > into "Aristotelian physics". In a modern-day campaign... > > > Thinking about it, my B7 character of choice would probably be Dayna. A > > precocious whining brat who likes heavy weapons, a perfect vehicle for > > wanton mayhem and carnage. And if everything goes pear-shaped you can just > > pout and go sulk in a corner. What a gal! > > I once got to play Servalan in a Travaller game. She was the > commanding officer for an expedition to some frontier planet. It was > enormously entertaining. Several times I managed to get other players > so filled with impotent hatred that they couldn't even talk :-) > -- > Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-175 32 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se > Try again. Try harder. -*- Fail again. Fail better. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: 27 Dec 1998 02:34:29 +0100 > From: calle@lysator.liu.se > To: "lysator" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > "Neil Faulkner" writes: > > > Jenna estimated the contents of the Liberator's strongroom at 300 > > million credits, which between the six of the crew makes 50 million > > each. This is 10,000 times average starting wealth and would have a > > character point cost of several thousand... > > No, it'd cost 100 points ("Multimillionaire" advantage, introduced in > GURPS Imperial Rome to model people like Crassus). And personally I > wouldn't charge nearly that much for it, since they can't really use > it, being outside of ordinary society as they are. It's more like > Comfortable Wealth (they don't have to care about cash when they go > down to a planet). > > > Blake at least would certainly have a high Reputation. > > That he would. Note that it'd be a double-edged reputation, though. > He'll be recognised, but he can't know if he'll be thought of as a > bloodthirsty terrorist or as a valiant freedom-fighter. The GM would > have to balance this according to hir view of the B7 universe. > > > (what does GURPS Cyberpunk say about characters who start with > > implants?). > > "Pay points for it". > > > More to the point, how do you stop it cracking open top secret files > > and ripping the GM's plot to shreds? > > Through its wonderfully pleasant and helpful personality, most > probably. If played correctly, they should be ready to toss him out > the airlock after the first session. > > Unless it's a very, *very* strange campaign, Orac absolutely should > not be a player character. > > > which doesn't leave much to spend on stats and skills. > > Huh? Why would starting-character limits apply to people like > Servalan? The Servie we see in the series very clearly is not a fresh > beginner. > > You could center a campaign around her rise to power, I guess, but > then she wouldn't have most of her advantages at the start. > > > All in all, I think GURPS is a very silly game - it leaves far too > > much open to interpretation (and hence argument). > > Also known as "flexible enough to fit the GM's vision". It's just > about the only game I know of that manages to have a rigid structure > without turning into a straightjacket. But I guess that's mainly a > matter of taste. > > -- > Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-175 32 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se > Try again. Try harder. -*- Fail again. Fail better. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: 27 Dec 1998 02:17:21 +0100 > From: calle@lysator.liu.se > To: "B7" > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > "Taina Nieminen" writes: > > > A doctor, say, who has electronics operation (medical equipment) is > > able to, by default, repair, say, radars or computers. > > No, she isn't. According to the rules book, she's able to do simple > repairs _on equipment she's familiar with_ (so, ok, she *can* change a > fuse in the radar on her yacht). GURPS is far from perfect, but we can > at least pick on the faults it actually _has_. > > > Most of my GMing in the last five years has been using a skill-based > > system I created myself, but it's in limbo at the moment between revisions > > > Before designing a system, the designer-to-be should at least have > played one level-based system (AD&D, RoleMaster), one skill-based > system (RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu), one advantage-based system > (GURPS, Ars Magica), one very simple system (TWERPS), one extremely > detailed system (Timelords (no, it doesn't have anything to do with Dr > Who)), one very serious game (Pendragon), one very silly game > (Paranoia, Toon) and a just plain odd one (Over the Edge, Amber). > > > And this isn't any sort of criticism of you, Tania, I'm just ranting > at the world in general. > > > The Champions game I'm running (which I've started only recently) > > faces a similar problem in that it uses established characters from > > a comicbook series (Legion of Superheroes). > > Phage Press' Amber game has this problem built right into it. The > entire game is built on Roger Zelazny's series of books[1] and > characters from the books are very important. How it works out in > practice is that what you see in the game is different interpretations > of the original characters. One GM's Benedict will be a lot different > from another GM's Benedict (or, indeed, from the same Gm's Benedict in > another campaign), but that's no problem since what we see of Benedict > in Zelazny's books isn't anything close to his whole story. Different > GMs give different views, and I think it would work the same with the > B7 universe. After all, a whole lot of that sort of reinterpretation > is already going on in fanfiction. > > [1] "Nine Princes in Amber", "The Guns of Avalon", "Sign of the > Unicorn", "The Hand of Oberon" and "The Courts of Chaos". > -- > Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-175 32 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se > Try again. Try harder. -*- Fail again. Fail better. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 22:09:29 EST > From: AChevron@aol.com > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG > Message-ID: > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 98-12-26 21:06:26 EST, you write: > > << One of my players once calculated that on the > average, I use dice in almost every third gaming session :-) >> > > > Well, I use dice about every 2 actions that the PCs take, but only about 1 > in 10 rolls actually count for anything. D. Rose > > -------------------------------- > End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #318 > ************************************** > Dita, President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #17 *************************************