From [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] Fri Oct 16 22:15:24 1992 Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 22:15:21 PDT Message-Id: <[9210170515 AA 27247] at [mailbox.kpc.com]> From: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] Reply-To: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] Errors-To: [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] Subject: Flashlife V3 #8 To: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] From: Carl Rigney (moderator) <[flashlife request] at [kpc.com]> Flashlife Fri, 16 Oct, 1992 Volume 3 : Issue 8 Today's topics: A word from the moderator (Moderator) Volume 3 Back Issues available by FTP (Moderator) Re: Flashlife V3 #7:Points System (Snuggly) Re: Points System (Carl Rigney) Re: Bad guys & big guns (Philip Marlowe) Social Trends in the next 40 years (Brian Bankler) LARP: Machina Ex Deo (Brian Bankler) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 21:00:00 PST From: [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] (Moderator) Subject: A word from the moderator Flashlife is now up to 316 readers, but only gets 1 submission a month, which is fairly ridiculous. Originally I intended Flashlife to be a small mailing list for Shadowrun GMs to trade ideas on in a timely manner, away from the noise and volume of rec.games.frp, but it appears that everyone uses rec.games.frp (and now .misc) instead. That's fine with me, I don't want to go to all the work of maintaining a list that's almost never used, so I'd like to ask each subscriber to come up with one worthwhile thing to say in the next year, and send it in. That's a very light request as minac goes, and not unreasonable I think. Send in something that you think other Shadowrun GMs would find interesting or useful. Of course, if you'd like to send in more than one item, that's more than fine; just try to keep each topic in its own message and choose meaningful Subject lines so the index of subjects will be useful. Next issue will be the special "Shadowrun II" review & comment issue - assuming anyone sends in any reviews. :-) -- Carl Rigney, Flashlife Moderator [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] -------------------------- Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 21:00:00 PST From: [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] (Moderator) Subject: Volume 3 Back Issues available by FTP You can now retrieve issues 0 through 7 of Flashlife Volume 3 via anonymous FTP from ftp.kpc.com (144.52.120.9) in the compressed tar file /pub/list/flashlife/v3.0-7.tar.Z. Be sure to use binary mode when transferring it. Also available in the same directory are my house rules in the long somewhat-obsolete version and the short but not as complete versions, and a file (16x13) containing the probabilities of getting N successes rolling 1-16 dice vs. a target number of 2-13. As soon as I have time to retrieve Volumes 1 & 2 from tape and index them, they'll appear too and I'll announce it on the list. I also hope to have some other useful Shadowrun files available for FTP eventually. -- Carl Rigney, Flashlife Moderator [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] -------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Jun 92 17:07:26 BST From: Snuggly <[D T M Gladding] at [lut.ac.uk]> Subject: Re: Flashlife V3 #7:Points System Just a quick note to query with the points system - what about cyberware ? Does this come under the nuyen heading, because if so a lot of samurai are going to go short of other equipment in order to get that wires/ smartlink/ muscle boost or whatever. Another thought - deckers and riggers. Perhaps an addition should be made to the points system to cover these. But all in all it seems good. Bye for now, JayCee [D T M Gladding] at [uk.ac.lut] -------------------------- Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 22:00:00 PST From: [c d r] at [kpc.com] (Carl Rigney) Subject: Re: Points System Gladding is referring to my 350 point design system for Shadowrun characters, published in Volume 3 Issue 7. They're available via anonymous FTP from ftp.kpc.com (144.52.120.9) under /pub/list/flashlife/long-rules.cdr. I also recommend you get short-rules.cdr, which is more up-to-date in parts. > what about cyberware ? In the 91/8/30 edition of my house rules for alternative character design, I suggest: This is still being tested: Cyber Rating costs 25 Karma for Rating 1, and can be bought up from there like any other stat (3x current rating to increase). The actual cyberware costs no money during character creation up to your rating, but requires a check for magic loss. Alpha and Beta cyberware is unavailable. All the Physical Adept powers except automatic successes and astral perception are available in cyberform as well. > Another thought - deckers and riggers. Perhaps an addition should be made to > the points system to cover these. But all in all it seems good. They're already covered by the rules for Cyber Rating and Nuyen Rating. I think Deckers should all be NPCs anyway, for reasons discussed in previous issues. I haven't bought Shadowrun II yet so my house rules are for SR I, but it shouldn't make much difference in the character design part. -- Carl Rigney [c d r] at [kpc.com] "Every technology has it's original sin." -------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Jul 92 15:06:04 BST From: philip marlowe <[A J Beckett] at [lut.ac.uk]> Subject: Re: Bad guys & big guns Well well well. The Combat debate goes on. Are the new rules (black book) better? I think so. However, they didnt change what I think is one of its major faults, ie: the action reaction system. As far as I can see, a good 'ol slash'n'slay would be made a good deal (wait for the taboo word) -REALISTIC- (there, I said it) if the actions in a combat turn went from the middle outwards instead of fromm the bottom upwards as is presently the case. For example, if Lt. Lynch of the space cavalry was four times faster than - Joe Ped, he would kill him three times before poor old Joe gets to fall down dead, whereas what ought to happen is Joe gets geeked only TWICE, ie: he acts in the middle as opposed to the end . Another important effect is that the mundane player characters get to at least draw their guns/wands/pointy sticks before the bad guys are blown to oblivion by some brain dead cyber knight with more chrome than you can shake a stick at. One last point, does anybody agree that since the original SR rules came out, the street sams & magical types have been made yet MORE powerful by their respective source books, whereas the deckheads and riggers have been restricted by their sourcebooks? Yours Ducking Bullets, Marlowe. -------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:48:23 -0400 From: Brian Bankler <[m--lo--d] at [jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu]> Subject: Social Trends in the next 40 years As I mentioned, I (along with Jon Rothstein and Mazyar Fallah) are in the process of writing yet another LARP game. Right now we are working on the Matrix and fleshing out the details of the plots. What I might not have mentioned is the setting. This game (if/when it runs) will be set in Seattle, of course. But part of the game will be set in Luna I, a joint Aztech/Renraku research facility on Mare Imbrium (that will possibly be changed depending on when I can get my hands on a good lunar map). The date -- 2093. So, the question that I pose to you (and to all flashlife, if you think it is intersting enough) is this: What do you forsee in the next 40 odd years of the Shadowrun Universe? Newtech, Newmagic etc is nice, but what I'm looking for is social trends. Now, the timeline of my game is already written, but it isn't set in stone (and I doubt that my version will match the general consensus, because I also changed the timeline leading up to 2050...although most of it was small details. I don't want players coming into the game without a good knowledge of the game to be much less informed than players who live eat and breath SR, so the changes level the playing field, in a sense). Just as an opening gambit, here is some of what I have done (this will be common knowledge in the timeline of the game). From the previous live action games and my campaign, the following "recent" (2050-55) items happened: Ares attempted to launch a strategic offensive initiative (possibly in retaliation for the Aztlan expansion war of '44?) in 2052. However, a running team led by Aztech operatives destroyed the first phase of the program on the launch pad and released details to the press. Renraku's AI project works with a vengence, coming online in 2053, killing a member of the staff and sending a subprocess into the real world in his body (for information gathering) while taking control of the Renraku Matrix and Archology. Renraku and Prometheus make a deal approx 18 hours after his birth; but by that time Prometheus has gained control of approx. 30% of the stock available through other deals and gains enough power and influence to have an AI 'BIll of Rights' passed into law. Prometheus is still in the employ of Renraku, and has increased profits, although he actually devotes very little CPU time to work. Seattle is invaded by an mercenary army in 2055. After three days of fighting, the invasion ends when the Tir sends troops in on the side of UCAS, although losses (esp. civilian) are high. All MegaCorps post big losses in the event (as all corporate HQs are shelled and sometimes assualted). No reason is ever discovered, nor any information as to whom was supporting the mercenaries, although most people assumed that only a Megacorp would have the resources to a) organize the invasion and b) cover up the organization that effectively. From these events (the first two are from the two live action games that I wrote, _Fallen Angel_ and _Domino Dominion_, while the Invasion of Seattle is from a campaign). I came to the following conclusions: decreased consumer confidence and increased governmental regulations. In fact, in my timeline, all MegaCorporations have signed the "Second Geneva Convention" which talks about such wonderful things about restoring the environment (there is, of course, nothing left to protect) and "rules of engagement" as it were. I have other changes and predictions, but most of those are minor and I'm ready to hear any other predictions. Remember -- This is material. If you don't want me to use it (or abuse and reform it to my tastes) then you wouldn't be mailing it.... -------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 00:40:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Brian Bankler <[bb 2 u] at [andrew.cmu.edu]> Subject: LARP: Machina Ex Deo Carl, the following is an advertisement for the Live action game that Myself, Jon Rothstein, Maz Fallah, Christopher Gulledge, Alyssa Gardner, Beth Anderson, and Jonah "Me?" Cohen are running at Balticon. [I've included the registration form because the questions it asks may be useful for other GMs too. No endorsement is implied. Since this digest may cross the NSFnet, which forbids commercial usage, I've left off the (very reasonable) cost of the game - please send mail to [bb 2 u] at [andrew.cmu.edu] if you're interested and Brian will tell you how much. --CDR] Jonny dodged into a run-down apartment, brushed the water from his leather jacket, and grabbed his last tanpatch. He slapped it on his forearm and could almost, almost, feel the chemicals start to repair the damage that the sun did. He rested for a minute, then stepped back out into the street. His eyes glazed over as he saw, really saw, what was going on. Punks and Posers, the metalmaxxed and the masses were all packed together on the crowded sidewalks. He pushed his way through, towards the entrance to the building that towered over them all. The guards at the door stopped him, and were about to throw him back out into the streets, when he flashed his ID. They stepped back, apologizing that they hadn't recognized him, Sir! and he walked past them to the elevators. He strolled past the public elevators, to the last one, the one that had no buttons. He put his hand on the metallic plate and stared into the camera. "Tanaka, Jonathon" he said, as the camera busily confirmed his identity, while the fingerprints were being doublechecked and his retina was being scanned again. It took about 3 seconds, then the elevator's doors quietly opened. He got out of the elevator, handed the jacket to his secretary and went into his office, making sure that his suit hadn't gotten wrinkled by his foray out into the street. On his desk were files that screamed for his attention. More research notes, progress reports, employee evaluations and loyalty test results, stock values, economic indicators, monthly sales figures and all of the rest. He glanced at them for a few minutes and answered an urgent message from Luna I. He stretched and, then he sighed and got up to look out the window. The streets didn't look real from high above. They looked clean, almost serene. Not the way they were at all. Tanaka ignored the pressure of the corporate world for a few minutes, as Jonny stood staring out the window of the Pyramid, onto the streets below. ************************************************************************** _Machina_Ex_Deo_ A Live-Action Role Playing Game set in the future of Shadowrun(tm). Place: Balticon at the Hunt Valley Marriot in Baltimore, Md. Date: April 9-11, 1993 (Easter Weekend). ************************************************************************** Welcome to Seattle, 2093. The future has radically changed the look of the world. Corporations, the dominant power for nearly a century, have again started to fall under the power of the world's governments. The Ozone has finished it's predicted collapse, and old enemies have allied themselves together to produce mankind's boldest colony, Luna I. The only constants in this ever changing world are the ambitions of those who plot and scheme for money and power, and those who lurk in their shadows as the instruments of their actions. And who are you, then? Are you a corporate executive, struggling to attain the only goal you have ever known--power? Or are you a shadowrunner, simply trying to survive in the world and make enough money to let you live well. Or even just let you live. Are you a samurai, augmented with the latest implants that technology has to offer? A decker, riding the dataflow of the Matrix(tm) for your own ends? A mage, bending the rules of the world to suit your own purpose? Or, are you the most dangerous being in the shadows...something new? [To information on prices please mail to [bb 2 u] at [andrew.cmu.edu] --CDR] If you want to play _Machina_Ex_Deo_ then fill out the following form, print it out, and send a check (no cash, no money orders) to: Machina Ex Deo c/o Jon Rothstein 3900 St. Paul #1104 Baltimore, Md. 21218 The price for playing is $XX before March 15, 1993 and $YY after. Mini-characters are available (at the door only) for $Z. Also, in order for you to play in our game, you will have to become a paid member of Balticon. Balticon Membership is $AA until March 13, 1992 and $BB at the door. Children are half price. Make checks payable to Balticon 27. Send checks, requests for information, etc to: Balticon 27 P.O. Box 686 Baltimore, MD. 21203-0686 Pre-Registration Form When asking for what you would like to be, please remember the following pieces of information -- 1) Most characters are pregenerated, so as to allow the GMs to plot the game in more detail, 2) We try to make at least the pretense of balancing characters. Everyone has something that makes them dangerous, else they'd be dead. But, please don't ask for the ultimate troll-stomping mage/samurai/decker with tons of nuyen and a panther assault cannon who's feared by all. You simply won't get it. 3) Please put down your second choices, and remember that not everyone can be a (your favorite character type). 4) Be creative. While we mainly use pregens, if you have a creative, new (and balanced) concept, we will try to fit it into the game. Name: Sex: email address: Phone #: Snail Mail: For the following races and character types, please prioratize everything on a 1 to 10 scale. 1 is a Can't-Stand-it-Eck!, 10 is a Oh-Yes-Gotta-Have!, 5 is ambivalent, etc. Race: Human ___ Ork ___ Elf ___ Troll ___ Dwarf ___ Other ___ (mixed-breed, non-human, etc). Please describe yourself, briefly (Height, weight, hair and eye color, any distinctive features). What would you like your character's general moral code to be? (1 is Sauron, 10 is Superman). How do you see your character's style? (Ex: all business? flamboyant and cinematic? Suave? Sleezoid? etc) What intellect level would ou like for your character? (Ex: Brainiac, streetwise, ditzy, braindead, etc.) Do you see your character as: A leader A follower Getting out of the way A loner Couldn't Care Less Character Concept: Corp Exec ___ Law Enforcement ___ Media ___ Mafiaosa ___ Gang Member ___ Yakuza ___ Samurai ___ Physical Adept ___ Shaman ___ Mage ___ Decker ___ Fixer ___ Scientist ___ SimSense Star ___ Rocker ___ Techie ___ Doctor ___ Other ___ (Please list any ideas you have). Some characters could easily be "Street" or "Corporate" (a WageMage as opposed to a runner, Corporate Decker as compared to a Cowboy, FBI or walking a beat, you name it). Specify your preference from 1-10. (1 is Born-in-a-Suit Corp, 10 is Born-in-leather-and-steel street.) If you are a decker, or to a lesser extant if you are a Corp or other character with a SIN, would you consider bringing a personal computer and a modem to the game? [Machina Ex Deo assumes no responsiblity for any equipment brought by players to the game. We would not use your, computer it would be for personal use.] What kind of style and attitude would you like? Since this is 2093, please list any new equipment, spells, or anything on the cutting edge that you would like to have: What kind of plots would you like to play in: How much you intend to play: A few hours ___ Off and On, All Weekend ___ Most of the Convention ___ Nigh Unto Every Waking Moment ___ The Vow -- Who needs food or sleep? ___ Technical Questions -- Would you be willing to run a game site from your room? Would you like to be part of a team of characters? (Ex: a group of characters that has worked togehter before, a megacorp, an organized crime group, etc). If yes, what kind? Is there anyone with whom you would like to be teamed? Is there anyone with whom you would like to avoid being teamed? What do you enjoy about live action games (1-10)? The Intrigue ___ Costuming ___ Projecting a strong personality ___ Please feel free to include any comments, statements, etc that we stupidly forgot to ask about. Shadowrun and The Matrix are Trademarks of FASA, Inc. Copyright 1990. Used with limited permission. -------------------------- End of Flashlife **************************