From yu143298@yorku.ca Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 02:00:14 -0500 (EST) From: JASON KUCHERAWY Reply-To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Shadis Review On Tue, 13 Jan 1998, Jason Werner wrote: > > Finally, Jason, as to your inquiry about "official" company materials or > pre-generated scenarios, they're all in our heads. Even "Deep Sh*t", > the scenario we've run at Cons for the past two seasons, has all been ad > lib. If you'd like, we can discuss some of the other scenario ideas > we've kicked around. Alternatively, I would direct you to the access > denied sections of the book. These are largely intended to provide > scenario ideas. If nothing else, they can serve as a "jumping-off > point" for something of your own creation. > > Let me know if there's anything we can do to help. Sounds good to me. It looks like my first BP campaign will begin as an eco-terrorism type. Where the game goes all depends on the other two players and what their PCs will be. I already have one PC who is a writer of eco-manifestos.... Should be interesting, and unless anyone objects, I would like to keep you guys posted on campaign developments with the hope that I will receive feedback and suggestions. -Jason Kucherawy *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From BIOHZD@aol.com Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:03:16 -0500 (EST) From: BIOHZD@aol.com Reply-To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - What Cons does Bihazard visit? Hello Jason, At this time the only convention scenarios we have are in-house games, and are not in a form we could readily pass on to convention moderators. You bring up a good point though - we will eventually be putting together some convention support packs to provide to folks who want to run BP at conventions. (Of course you could always run one of the short scenarios from Undercurrents...) Jeff Barber Biohazard Games *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From ccbanzai@showme.missouri.edu Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:13:30 -0600 (CST) From: Jim Heivilin Reply-To: blue_planet@mpgn.com To: blue_planet@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM Subject: Subject: Fwd: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Undercurrents #2 From: Ken Walton Subject: Fwd: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Undercurrents #2 In-Reply-To: <980112165910_-1935874356@mrin51.mx> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Turnpike Trial Version 3.04 In message <980112165910_-1935874356@mrin51.mx>, BIOHZD@aol.com writes > >--------------------- >Forwarded message: >Subj: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Undercurrents #2 >Date: 98-01-11 15:48:16 EST >From: BIOHZD >To: blue_planet@mpgn.com > >Hello All, > >I am a bit bemused myself as to why we are getting this emails so late. My >question to anyone - is this the first time or the second that you have >received these posts? For my part, they were sent right after they were >written. Curious... Well, I joined the list in the first few days of January, and posted something then (I can't remember the exact date). I have yet to see it appear. -- Ken Walton "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien "Complex projects are made simple with wizards." - Microsoft *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From ccbanzai@showme.missouri.edu Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:23:11 -0600 (CST) From: Jim Heivilin Reply-To: blue_planet@mpgn.com To: blue_planet@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM Subject: Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fwd: Re: Cetaceans and CICADAs Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 18:37:24 +0000 To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM From: Ken Walton Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fwd: Re: Cetaceans and CICADAs In-Reply-To: <980112165917_295145165@mrin53> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Turnpike Trial Version 3.04 In message <980112165917_295145165@mrin53>, BIOHZD@aol.com writes >Based on notes, questions and emails I have been getting, there seems to be a >recurring misconception regarding CIDADAs (BP 213). The text is pretty >descriptive and specific, but I would like to clarify. CICADAs are not "worn" >by cetaceans. They are instead an ROV (remotely piloted vehicle) that >cetaceans use as a proxy for manual and digital applications. They follow >cetaceans around like a sort of mechanical familiar. Most models are unable >to leave the water, and cetaceans depend on the accessory hover drone for >interaction above the surface. Hmm, you're right (well, of course you are). I think it's the word "sled" which rather gives the impression that the dolphins ride on them. Thanks for the clarification. -- Ken Walton "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien "Complex projects are made simple with wizards." - Microsoft *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From ccbanzai@showme.missouri.edu Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:40:23 -0600 (CST) From: Jim Heivilin Reply-To: blue_planet@mpgn.com To: blue_planet@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Too deadly or unbeatable ? From: "Stebe, Christophe" To: "'Blue Planet'" Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Too deadly or unbeatable ? Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 06:14:00 -0500 Message-Id: <34BD15AC@smtpgate.husky.com> Encoding: 45 TEXT X-Mailer: Microsoft Mail V3.0 Hi guys, First of all, congratulation for this new game with such a pretty backgroung ! As a french, I'm really interested to know if you get some of your ideas from a comics (Bande Dessinee in fremch) called Aquablue ? If not, I recommend you all to read that cause it's quite the same world with quite the same secrets... In France, an editor release one year before a game called Polaris (post-apocalyptic game where the scene lays on the earth after a warming up which cause the thawing of the ice from the poles. So on the earth , there's a bit more water but everybody is underwater cause of the radiation you find at the surface. It's quite the same idea you can find during Highlander II - If you have not seen this film, forget it or forget the name :-) Be that as it may, the idea is interesting too but the system is really uncool... That's a pity. Anyway, you can use the idea in BP : a bit later than the scene just after the earth face a new terrific war... Now the main subject of this mail: I wonder why you have damage level of 6 and more ? Level 5 seams already to be the deadlier. Probably ,It's only for the use of armor penetration. But then, is there an armor deterioration factor ? Or if you only have a level 4 max weapon, you will never damage a grade 5 armor ? So it seams that the system tends to not permit characters to be heroic if the game moderators does not cheat all the time with it's dices... The problem with a too realistic system is that, if one of the characters is wounded, he is off one month at least leaving his friends alone. To a game moderator that manage a group of more than one player, it's a deadlock. I've probably miss something in the combat system. Chris *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From gbenage@ix.netcom.com Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 18:03:22 -0600 From: Greg Benage Reply-To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Too deadly or unbeatable ? Christophe wrote: > As a french, I'm really interested to know if you get some of your > ideas from a comics (Bande Dessinee in fremch) called Aquablue ? If > not, I recommend you all to read that cause it's quite the same world > with quite the same secrets... As far as I know, no one on the Blue Planet team has ever read or seen acopy of Aqua Blue, but we've heard the comparison before. Sadly, it's been almost 10 years since my college French, and enjoying the illustrations is probably all I could manage. > In France, an editor release one year before a game called Polaris > (post-apocalyptic game where the scene lays on the earth after a > warming up which cause the thawing of the ice from the poles. So on > the earth , there's a bit more water but everybody is underwater > cause of the radiation you find at the surface. > It's quite the same idea you can find during Highlander II - If you > have not seen this film, forget it or forget the name :-) Be that as > it may, the idea is interesting too but the system is really uncool... > That's a pity. Anyway, you can use the idea in BP : a bit > later than the scene just after the earth face a new terrific war... We've seen an ad for Polaris, but we've yet to see the game. And, of course,it would likely present the same linguistic difficulties as Aqua Blue. > Now the main subject of this mail: I wonder why you have damage level > of 6 and more ? Level 5 seams already to be the deadlier. Probably > ,It's only for the use of armor penetration. But then, is there an > armor deterioration factor ? Or if you only have a level 4 max > weapon, you will never damage a grade 5 armor ? When the target is human (damage scale 1), the only difference betweendamage level 5 and 6 is the effect on trauma, stun, and first aid rolls. Damage ranks greater than 5 really only come into their own when the target is damage scale 2 or greater, such as with vehicles or large creatures. See BP 6.315-316 for more information on damage scale. > So it seams that the system tends to not permit characters to be > heroic if the game moderators does not cheat all the time with it's > dices... The problem with a too realistic system is that, if one of > the characters is wounded, he is off one month at least leaving his > friends alone. To a game moderator that manage a group of more than > one player, it's a deadlock. There's no question that BP's damage system is realistically lethal. Wefelt this sort of mechanic best suited the "gritty" feel of the setting. While characters in Blue Planet can be "heroic," violence most certainly is not. If, however, you would prefer a more "cinematic" damage mechanic, the rules really are very modular. For starters, you could ignore the hit location and damage tables and simply apply action penalties based on the damage level of the wound. For example, if a character takes a level 3 wound, simply state that all actions are at a -3 level penalty until healed. This would be pretty similar to Shadowrun or other damage-level-based systems. If you like the hit location table, you might want to add some basic modifiers to damage level based on the location hit. For example, if the target's head is hit, you might add one to the damage level; if the arms or legs are hit, you might subtract one. I would suggest keeping trauma rolls as is, simply because most players will find combat more exciting and suspenseful if there is some chance of mortality. As for healing times, the rules given are really only intended as rough guidelines. For a cinematic game, you should probably just set the PCs up with access to state-of-the-art medical care, in which case, healing times for all but the most serious injuries can be relatively brief. I would also encourage you not to view time spent recovering from injuries as "wasted." These situations can actually be excellent role-playing opportunities. The Shock Trooper who would ordinarily blast his way out of any trouble might approach challenges more creatively if he's hobbling around on a broken leg! In any case, something like this could give you a fast, simple damage mechanic that is appropriate for a more cinematic game. Hope this helps... -- Greg Benage Biohazard Games http://www.biohazardgames.com/ *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From BIOHZD@aol.com Mon Jan 26 13:14:40 1998 Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 00:31:23 -0500 (EST) From: BIOHZD@aol.com Reply-To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Too deadly or unbeatable ? Hello Chris, I'm glad you like the game. You wrote: Hi guys, First of all, congratulation for this new game with such a pretty backgroung ! >>>>Thanks! As a french, I'm really interested to know if you get some of your ideas from a comics (Bande Dessinee in fremch) called Aquablue ? I was recently told about the comic but have never seen it. Do you know if it is published in English? In France, an editor release one year before a game called Polaris >>>>I met the publisher of this game last year at the Origins Convention. I also heard a rumor that ICE was going to be publishing an English verion, but I don't know if this is really going to happen. Level 5 seams already to be the deadlier. Probably ,It's only for the use of armor penetration. But then, is there an armor deterioration factor ? Or if you only have a level 4 max weapon, you will never damage a grade 5 armor ? >>>>As in reality, many weapons are capable of doing much more damage that is required to simply take out a human. The greater damage results (more than 5) model this. The whole concept of damage scale (BP 315) depends on this greater damage - it is what allows characters to shoot down aircraft or hunt greater whites... So it seems that the system tends to not permit characters to be heroic if the game moderators does not cheat all the time with it's dices... >>>>If there is no genuine threat, then is the hero actually heroic? ; ) The problem with a too realistic system is that, if one of the characters is wounded, he is off one month at least leaving his friends alone. To a game moderator that manage a group of more than one player, it's a deadlock. >>>>They may miss out on the imeadiate action, but with modern medical care and a little clever "temporal manipulation" by the moderator, most such problems can be avoided. Even when injuries do hinder a player, there is often a lot of cool roleplaying potential in the consequences and consessions that result. >>>>You are right, armor degrades as it is damaged. Degredation of armor is so specific to armor type, damage type, level and location however, that it is left to the descretion of the game moderator. I've probably miss something in the combat system. Chris *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.