From: Wagner [utiel@df.ufscar.br] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 7:44 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser I don't know about the copyright problem but it will be good if you use the Synergy system in anothers scenaries and put in a Web Page. The tatics of Wizard of Coast/Hasbro with D20 is like the tatics of IBM some years ago with their operational system. They open the system code to others companies to create programs for their plataform and in a few years the Apple feel the impact of this decision. Wagner PS: for a good source in victorian SF you can take a look in Forgoten Future, a free RPG. ----- Original Message ----- From: David R. Crowell To: Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2001 6:32 PM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > Few game worlds recently have left me wanting to know more in the way that > Blue Planet does. I think that BP does a very good job of mapping out enough > of the world to give a good feel for it, but not so much that it > straight-jackets the GM into feeling that there is no space in the world for > their own creations. I have a number of ideas that I am working to bring to > Posiedon, several of them are based upon Victorian Science Fiction. Verne, > Doyle and Welles are three of the greatest inspirations ever for RPG > moderators in need of a plot. Not to mention the Lovcraftian connection that > keeps popping up on this board. > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Wagner [utiel@df.ufscar.br] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 7:34 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser You are correct about the commercial success of BP. If the producer continue to create new supplements it is ok to me. About CoC, the game has 20 years old, then it is very well know in the gamming community, but the sales isn't good (read an interview with Sandy Petersen the creator of the chaosium rules in www.roleplaynews.com) and remember that we will have a D20 CoC in the next year. Wagner ----- Original Message ----- From: martin arnold To: Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2001 6:49 PM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > Well, i suspect that if it were destined for such commercial success then it > would already have it. However so long as the game is financially viable for > the aproducers then im not bothered, cult status often leads to a more > credible product anyway ;) > > Besides CoC is anything but cult, its probably one of the most popular games > available. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:46 AM To: 'list, blue planet' Subject: [FWD] RE: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged > -----Original Message----- > From: "Robert N. Emerson" > To: > Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 08:43:05 -0700 > > I don't know about that, > > ...since the OGL is based on the open source methods > and ideals, as well as > docs, of Linux fame - which is definitely not IBM, nor any other > 'mainstream' company. > > However WotC is a mainstream company, especially now > that it is owned by > Hasbro - however, the d20 open sourcing has nothing to do > with Hasbro prior > tothe buy it, in fact it was someone else's brain child (I > can't remember > off of the top of my head who, but if you hit > www.opengamingfoundation.org -I think- then you'll see who) > and isn't really > Hasbro's 'thing' when you think about it. > If you get a chance, read through the OGL and you'll > see it's pretty solid > in the area of open sourcing and control of what you create > for the d20 > system. > > Apple's issue wasn't IBMs OS (which sucked and has less > users then Apple's > Mac OS) but more a cost comparison between Macs and IBM > Clones - Macs are > too costly with an 'ok' OS, while IBM Clones are cheaper with > a variety of > OSes that range from 'OK' to 'Good'. > > Overall, I prefer the Synergy system - although a > switch to d20 would take > little work, since they're both simular in function. > > Robert N. Emerson > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com > [mailto:owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com]On Behalf Of Wagner > Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 6:44 AM > To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > > > I don't know about the copyright problem but it will be > good if you use > the Synergy system in anothers scenaries and put in a Web > Page. The tatics > of Wizard of Coast/Hasbro with D20 is like the tatics of IBM > some years ago > with their operational system. They open the system code to > others companies > to create programs for their plataform and in a few years the > Apple feel the > impact of this decision. > > Wagner > > PS: for a good source in victorian SF you can take a look in Forgoten > Future, a free RPG. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David R. Crowell > To: > Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2001 6:32 PM > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > > > > Few game worlds recently have left me wanting to know more > in the way that > > Blue Planet does. I think that BP does a very good job of > mapping out > enough > > of the world to give a good feel for it, but not so much that it > > straight-jackets the GM into feeling that there is no space > in the world > for > > their own creations. I have a number of ideas that I am > working to bring > to > > Posiedon, several of them are based upon Victorian Science > Fiction. Verne, > > Doyle and Welles are three of the greatest inspirations ever for RPG > > moderators in need of a plot. Not to mention the > Lovcraftian connection > that > > keeps popping up on this board. > > > > > ************************************************************** > ************* > > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > > > > > ************************************************************** > ************* > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Heivilin, Jim [banzai@missouri.edu] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:50 AM To: 'list, blue planet' Subject: [FWD] RE: [BLUE PLANET] - test > -----Original Message----- > From: "Robert N. Emerson" > To: > Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - test > Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 10:31:33 -0700 > > Bingo! > > But I too have noticed the lull - any way we could > spice things up? > > Robert N. Emerson > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com > [mailto:owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com]On Behalf Of Sgt. Pepper's > Lonely Hearts Club Bob > Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2001 9:09 AM > To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - test > > > At 10:37 AM 3/10/2001 -0500, you wrote: > >Has the wormhole closed or is the list just very quiet all > of a sudden? > > > >I haven't gotten any list e-mails since Monday, and things > had been pretty > >busy. > > Everybody got eaten by the aborigines. That, or they're like > me and still > finishing Frontier Justice. }-> > ____________________ > Necromancer Bob, "Viva felching!" > > Visit The Gate: Necromancer Bob's Domain at: > http://www.intws.com/necrobob > > AOL IM: NcroBob > ICQ #78542780 > > ************************************************************** > ************* > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Andrew Ragland [araglan@us.ibm.com] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 10:24 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game Sorry no updates for a couple of weeks, been amazingly busy. Will spare you the gory details. The kids tried to sneak off to Ballarat, a ghost town on the other side of the island. They had some problems sneaking out of their homes to do this, as there's a cyclonic approaching that will hit by nightfall. The good news is that Liberty Island is only getting the southern edge of the storm; the bad news is that it's a Force 5. The fishing fleet has all put to sea and sailed south to ride out the storm in calmer waters. The kids got partway up the logging road that goes over the central ridge of the island and down to Ballarat on the windward side (a primary reason Ballarat is a ghost town) when they got ambushed by a half-dozen stick monkeys, throwing the local equivalent of walnuts. Lots of minor injuries and misadventures later, they had two dead stick monkeys, one live one unconscious and wrapped up in a net, and the rest run off, with no large predators showing up to see what the noise was about. They headed back into town with their specimens, as all the monkeys had peculiar linear burns that looked recent. The live one went to the GEO science station in Newport, where Dr. Betor, the zoologist in residence, identified the burns as laser injuries. She paid the boys (3 of them) 20cs apiece in GEO scrip for the live specimen. The other three boys took the two dead ones to the Native Patrol station, as the group NPC, who was with that party, is the son of a Native Patrol officer. They met up with a detective of Native American descent, a first-generation Poseidoner, who also identified the injuries as laser burns, and confirmed that the Native Patrol was indeed chasing pharium smugglers up in the woods the previous night. Some discussion followed of laser weapons versus slug-throwers, and why the NP carries slug-throwers when they go up into the jungle (so a stray shot doesn't set a fire). The ghost town adventure took the last two sessions. Next session will include storm preparations, and then adventures during the storm as I'm going to roll dice to see whose houses survive and who has to try to get to shelter in the middle of the storm. Could be a rescue op in the offing. I'm having way too much fun using non-lethal challenges for these kids. :) I've had several reports turned in, ranging from okay to good in quality. Liam has a presentation on owls to do for next session, that includes showing some owl feathers. Montgomery is bringing in his medals from a recent swim meet to get a level in Swimming. Other activies are being pursued, and we're starting to seriously discuss a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium or to the Mir up in Wisconsin Dells. I attended the Fifth Annual Illinois Homeschooling Conference this past weekend. Several people there were very interested in the BP sciences group I'm running. I handed out the Biohazard Games URL, discussed how we had adapted the character advancement system to encourage research and sciences interest, and referred people to their local gaming stores for copies of the books. I'm starting to collect my notes, and considering the group as a pilot project. There may be a paper in this for me, and publicity for BP. It occurs to me that a homeschooling conference would be a great place for a booth monkey or two, as I saw no representatives from any gaming companies despite the fact that workshops on fantasy rolegaming were offered during the conference. They filled up early in the registration cycle, too. I'm thinking ahead to next year, and possibly doing a workshop on using FRPs as teaching tools for a multidisciplinary approach. Any chance I could get a little support from the BP guys? I could really use the Critters section from the Moderator's Guide in PDF, to make handouts easier, if that wouldn't be too much material being released electronically. Andrew Ragland Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- A. Dumbledore *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: martin arnold [signoftheserpent@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 11:14 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game This is interesting, do you run your homeschool games do you ever consider running competitively? "Just look at it this way...river of space...a ribbon of time...like a burial" -Martin ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Ragland To: Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 4:24 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game > Sorry no updates for a couple of weeks, been amazingly busy. Will spare you > the gory details. > > The kids tried to sneak off to Ballarat, a ghost town on the other side of > the island. They had some problems sneaking out of their homes to do this, > as there's a cyclonic approaching that will hit by nightfall. The good news > is that Liberty Island is only getting the southern edge of the storm; the > bad news is that it's a Force 5. The fishing fleet has all put to sea and > sailed south to ride out the storm in calmer waters. The kids got partway > up the logging road that goes over the central ridge of the island and down > to Ballarat on the windward side (a primary reason Ballarat is a ghost > town) when they got ambushed by a half-dozen stick monkeys, throwing the > local equivalent of walnuts. Lots of minor injuries and misadventures > later, they had two dead stick monkeys, one live one unconscious and > wrapped up in a net, and the rest run off, with no large predators showing > up to see what the noise was about. They headed back into town with their > specimens, as all the monkeys had peculiar linear burns that looked recent. > The live one went to the GEO science station in Newport, where Dr. Betor, > the zoologist in residence, identified the burns as laser injuries. She > paid the boys (3 of them) 20cs apiece in GEO scrip for the live specimen. > The other three boys took the two dead ones to the Native Patrol station, > as the group NPC, who was with that party, is the son of a Native Patrol > officer. They met up with a detective of Native American descent, a > first-generation Poseidoner, who also identified the injuries as laser > burns, and confirmed that the Native Patrol was indeed chasing pharium > smugglers up in the woods the previous night. Some discussion followed of > laser weapons versus slug-throwers, and why the NP carries slug-throwers > when they go up into the jungle (so a stray shot doesn't set a fire). The > ghost town adventure took the last two sessions. Next session will include > storm preparations, and then adventures during the storm as I'm going to > roll dice to see whose houses survive and who has to try to get to shelter > in the middle of the storm. Could be a rescue op in the offing. I'm having > way too much fun using non-lethal challenges for these kids. :) > > I've had several reports turned in, ranging from okay to good in quality. > Liam has a presentation on owls to do for next session, that includes > showing some owl feathers. Montgomery is bringing in his medals from a > recent swim meet to get a level in Swimming. Other activies are being > pursued, and we're starting to seriously discuss a field trip to the Shedd > Aquarium or to the Mir up in Wisconsin Dells. > > I attended the Fifth Annual Illinois Homeschooling Conference this past > weekend. Several people there were very interested in the BP sciences group > I'm running. I handed out the Biohazard Games URL, discussed how we had > adapted the character advancement system to encourage research and sciences > interest, and referred people to their local gaming stores for copies of > the books. I'm starting to collect my notes, and considering the group as a > pilot project. There may be a paper in this for me, and publicity for BP. > It occurs to me that a homeschooling conference would be a great place for > a booth monkey or two, as I saw no representatives from any gaming > companies despite the fact that workshops on fantasy rolegaming were > offered during the conference. They filled up early in the registration > cycle, too. I'm thinking ahead to next year, and possibly doing a workshop > on using FRPs as teaching tools for a multidisciplinary approach. > > Any chance I could get a little support from the BP guys? I could really > use the Critters section from the Moderator's Guide in PDF, to make > handouts easier, if that wouldn't be too much material being released > electronically. > > > Andrew Ragland > Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide > araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 > "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our > abilities." > -- A. Dumbledore > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: David R. Crowell [gpfarm-dave@northnet.org] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 12:39 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser ----- Original Message ----- From: Wagner To: Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 8:43 AM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > I don't know about the copyright problem but it will be good if you use > the Synergy system in anothers scenaries and put in a Web Page. The tatics > of Wizard of Coast/Hasbro with D20 is like the tatics of IBM some years ago > with their operational system. They open the system code to others companies > to create programs for their plataform and in a few years the Apple feel the > impact of this decision. > > Wagner How about it Biohazard guys? Are we allowed to use the Synergy System in games of our own design? I really like the mechanics and am thinking of adapting them to some of my favorite gaming genres. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:32 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser **** Well, i suspect that if it were destined for such commercial success then it would already have it. However so long as the game is financially viable for ** This is not necessarily true. Many times, something as specialized as BP takes a long time before it becomes widely popular. A lot of the old scifi authors have taken a long time to get to the level of renown which they are currently at. It's often said that the great ones are never appreciated in their own time. Being only briefly involved with BP yet, I have to agree with everyone that it's such a large and wonderfully done world and overall environment - it leaves a lot open for interpretation and invention, but not so much as to make GM's want to bash their heads in with frustration. I think, like many other things, BP needs to get out there more. More people need to play it, more people need to talk about it, more people need to get more people interested, etc. I'm interested in BP and on this list right now because of another member of the list, who showed a couple of us a little intro to BP, set a few of us up, and we've been reading and playing since. My girlfriend, who came to RPGs with some level of foreboding, has come to be very interested, and has been going through the v1 book taking notes on the various aboriginal lifeforms on Poseidon. It's such a well thought out environment. Another thing that I like (so far) about BP that has other games like Palladium FRPG and Rifts beat is that supplements don't keep popping up which dictate the timeline to the players and GMs. Rifts' "Coalition Wars" series of supplements, for instance. I also believe (phew!) that the website is a good complement to the game. Still, I think it needs some more expanding Hydroshot game postings would be great; a standard Poseidon calender and live clock would be fantastic; along with the calender a list of major holidays, events, etc; an approximation of what season/general time in Poseidon it is relative to Earth; perhaps we could have 'CommCore accounts' on the site; fanfic postings, similar to the grey sidebar stories in v2; etc. **** the aproducers then im not bothered, cult status often leads to a more credible product anyway ;) ** Less commercialization, and less of a likelihood to abandon the original vision in favor of a movie script ;) --Charles -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:37 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Couple of questions :) **** Hmm. There's an idea for a biomod - a quick resetting of the body's diurnal rhythm so you have the same sleep pattern as a native. ** Hey, that is a pretty good idea. I wonder if same could be accomplished through a bodycomp and neural jack? I'm no neuroscientist, particularly when it comes to knowing if sleep patterns could be regulated by electrical signals to the brain, or if chemical signals are required as well... -C -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:42 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser **** I don't know about the copyright problem but it will be good if you use the Synergy system in anothers scenaries and put in a Web Page. The tatics of Wizard of Coast/Hasbro with D20 is like the tatics of IBM some years ago with their operational system. They open the system code to others companies to create programs for their plataform and in a few years the Apple feel the impact of this decision. ** My GM and I were discussing this sort of issue the other day. Now, I'm no real fan of GNU or copyleft or any of that, but if you ask me, what's the point in naming your game engine (ie, 'Synergy') if it's not meant to be spread around some? Otherwise it's just 'Blue Planet'; no need to define "Oh, we run on the Synergy ruleset" when you're the only ones who can. Considering the absolute simplicity and flexibility of the Synergy system, I think it's something that should be allowed to grow. The more well-known it becomes, the more likely people will be to play other games using it. Although, in this case, is Synergy still owned by the authors/creators, or is it owned by a company with a fair-sized cadre of lawyers? If the latter's the case, we can forget about easy licensing ;) Though if this were a more perfect world, there would be NO conflict with using someone's game system to produce a free, non-profit game using the same engine Oh well. -C -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Gareth Hanrahan [hanrahag@iol.ie] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:56 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > I also believe (phew!) that the website is a good complement to the game. Still, I think it needs some more expanding Hydroshot game postings would be great; a standard Poseidon calender and live clock would be fantastic; along with the calender a list of major holidays, events, etc; an approximation of what season/general time in Poseidon it is relative to Earth; perhaps we could have 'CommCore accounts' on the site; fanfic postings, similar to the grey sidebar stories in v2; etc. *cough*shamless plug - www.commcore.f2s.com*cough* :-) (sorry - Gobion ordered me to plug the new issue of Oceanview.) > --Charles Gar http://www.irishgaming.com/warpcon http://chrysanthemumRoad.tripod.com - L5R fansite http://www.commcore.f2s.com - Blue Planet fansite *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Utiel [utiel@df.ufscar.br] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 2:32 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser Some company like Palladium has in the past a very restrict politic for works on line. For example you will not find a character generator for RIFTS or Palladium Fantasy and this is an absurd. If you create you own world with the FUZION system you can put this world in the web with all the rules and don't have problems with copyright. If you want to publish as a commercial work then you have to make a license. In the D20 case is the same, you can put in the web all the rules to create character and the rules for the system but if you want to create a commercial product you can't put the rules. Wagner ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 4:42 PM Subject: RE: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser > **** > Although, in this case, is Synergy still owned by the authors/creators, or is it owned by a company with a fair-sized cadre of lawyers? If the latter's the case, we can forget about easy licensing ;) Though if this were a more perfect world, there would be NO conflict with using someone's game system to produce a free, non-profit game using the same engine Oh well. > > -C > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Andrew Ragland [araglan@us.ibm.com] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 3:06 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game As in tournament style? With multiple groups? I only have enough players to make one group. I'm also working on basic social values with these kids, like encouraging team cooperation and collective goal setting. If I had more than one group, I might consider putting the established groups into competition with each other, but I don't want to foster competition within a group, any more than naturally occurs. Andrew Ragland Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- A. Dumbledore "martin arnold" @lists.ient.com on 03/12/2001 11:13:39 AM Please respond to blue_planet@lists.ient.com Sent by: owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com To: cc: Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game This is interesting, do you run your homeschool games do you ever consider running competitively? "Just look at it this way...river of space...a ribbon of time...like a burial" -Martin ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Ragland To: Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 4:24 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game > Sorry no updates for a couple of weeks, been amazingly busy. Will spare you > the gory details. > > The kids tried to sneak off to Ballarat, a ghost town on the other side of > the island. They had some problems sneaking out of their homes to do this, > as there's a cyclonic approaching that will hit by nightfall. The good news > is that Liberty Island is only getting the southern edge of the storm; the > bad news is that it's a Force 5. The fishing fleet has all put to sea and > sailed south to ride out the storm in calmer waters. The kids got partway > up the logging road that goes over the central ridge of the island and down > to Ballarat on the windward side (a primary reason Ballarat is a ghost > town) when they got ambushed by a half-dozen stick monkeys, throwing the > local equivalent of walnuts. Lots of minor injuries and misadventures > later, they had two dead stick monkeys, one live one unconscious and > wrapped up in a net, and the rest run off, with no large predators showing > up to see what the noise was about. They headed back into town with their > specimens, as all the monkeys had peculiar linear burns that looked recent. > The live one went to the GEO science station in Newport, where Dr. Betor, > the zoologist in residence, identified the burns as laser injuries. She > paid the boys (3 of them) 20cs apiece in GEO scrip for the live specimen. > The other three boys took the two dead ones to the Native Patrol station, > as the group NPC, who was with that party, is the son of a Native Patrol > officer. They met up with a detective of Native American descent, a > first-generation Poseidoner, who also identified the injuries as laser > burns, and confirmed that the Native Patrol was indeed chasing pharium > smugglers up in the woods the previous night. Some discussion followed of > laser weapons versus slug-throwers, and why the NP carries slug-throwers > when they go up into the jungle (so a stray shot doesn't set a fire). The > ghost town adventure took the last two sessions. Next session will include > storm preparations, and then adventures during the storm as I'm going to > roll dice to see whose houses survive and who has to try to get to shelter > in the middle of the storm. Could be a rescue op in the offing. I'm having > way too much fun using non-lethal challenges for these kids. :) > > I've had several reports turned in, ranging from okay to good in quality. > Liam has a presentation on owls to do for next session, that includes > showing some owl feathers. Montgomery is bringing in his medals from a > recent swim meet to get a level in Swimming. Other activies are being > pursued, and we're starting to seriously discuss a field trip to the Shedd > Aquarium or to the Mir up in Wisconsin Dells. > > I attended the Fifth Annual Illinois Homeschooling Conference this past > weekend. Several people there were very interested in the BP sciences group > I'm running. I handed out the Biohazard Games URL, discussed how we had > adapted the character advancement system to encourage research and sciences > interest, and referred people to their local gaming stores for copies of > the books. I'm starting to collect my notes, and considering the group as a > pilot project. There may be a paper in this for me, and publicity for BP. > It occurs to me that a homeschooling conference would be a great place for > a booth monkey or two, as I saw no representatives from any gaming > companies despite the fact that workshops on fantasy rolegaming were > offered during the conference. They filled up early in the registration > cycle, too. I'm thinking ahead to next year, and possibly doing a workshop > on using FRPs as teaching tools for a multidisciplinary approach. > > Any chance I could get a little support from the BP guys? I could really > use the Critters section from the Moderator's Guide in PDF, to make > handouts easier, if that wouldn't be too much material being released > electronically. > > > Andrew Ragland > Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide > araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 > "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our > abilities." > -- A. Dumbledore > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: martin arnold [signoftheserpent@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 3:42 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game I quite agree, i think competitive roleplaying is a terrible oxymoron. I was asking because the RPGA in england stand by their competitive D&D games they run for kids. I think your games sound much better and i think the RPGA could do well to learn from this. Especially as the game isnt boring old D&D (yeah yeah IMO). "Just look at it this way...river of space...a ribbon of time...like a burial" -Martin ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew Ragland To: Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:05 PM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game > > As in tournament style? With multiple groups? I only have enough players to > make one group. I'm also working on basic social values with these kids, > like encouraging team cooperation and collective goal setting. If I had > more than one group, I might consider putting the established groups into > competition with each other, but I don't want to foster competition within > a group, any more than naturally occurs. > > > Andrew Ragland > Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide > araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 > "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our > abilities." > -- A. Dumbledore > > > "martin arnold" @lists.ient.com on 03/12/2001 > 11:13:39 AM > > Please respond to blue_planet@lists.ient.com > > Sent by: owner-blue_planet@lists.ient.com > > > To: > cc: > Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game > > > > This is interesting, do you run your homeschool games do you ever consider > running competitively? > > "Just look at it this way...river of space...a ribbon of time...like a > burial" > > -Martin > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andrew Ragland > To: > Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 4:24 PM > Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Homeschooling Game > > > > Sorry no updates for a couple of weeks, been amazingly busy. Will spare > you > > the gory details. > > > > The kids tried to sneak off to Ballarat, a ghost town on the other side > of > > the island. They had some problems sneaking out of their homes to do > this, > > as there's a cyclonic approaching that will hit by nightfall. The good > news > > is that Liberty Island is only getting the southern edge of the storm; > the > > bad news is that it's a Force 5. The fishing fleet has all put to sea and > > sailed south to ride out the storm in calmer waters. The kids got partway > > up the logging road that goes over the central ridge of the island and > down > > to Ballarat on the windward side (a primary reason Ballarat is a ghost > > town) when they got ambushed by a half-dozen stick monkeys, throwing the > > local equivalent of walnuts. Lots of minor injuries and misadventures > > later, they had two dead stick monkeys, one live one unconscious and > > wrapped up in a net, and the rest run off, with no large predators > showing > > up to see what the noise was about. They headed back into town with their > > specimens, as all the monkeys had peculiar linear burns that looked > recent. > > The live one went to the GEO science station in Newport, where Dr. Betor, > > the zoologist in residence, identified the burns as laser injuries. She > > paid the boys (3 of them) 20cs apiece in GEO scrip for the live specimen. > > The other three boys took the two dead ones to the Native Patrol station, > > as the group NPC, who was with that party, is the son of a Native Patrol > > officer. They met up with a detective of Native American descent, a > > first-generation Poseidoner, who also identified the injuries as laser > > burns, and confirmed that the Native Patrol was indeed chasing pharium > > smugglers up in the woods the previous night. Some discussion followed of > > laser weapons versus slug-throwers, and why the NP carries slug-throwers > > when they go up into the jungle (so a stray shot doesn't set a fire). The > > ghost town adventure took the last two sessions. Next session will > include > > storm preparations, and then adventures during the storm as I'm going to > > roll dice to see whose houses survive and who has to try to get to > shelter > > in the middle of the storm. Could be a rescue op in the offing. I'm > having > > way too much fun using non-lethal challenges for these kids. :) > > > > I've had several reports turned in, ranging from okay to good in quality. > > Liam has a presentation on owls to do for next session, that includes > > showing some owl feathers. Montgomery is bringing in his medals from a > > recent swim meet to get a level in Swimming. Other activies are being > > pursued, and we're starting to seriously discuss a field trip to the > Shedd > > Aquarium or to the Mir up in Wisconsin Dells. > > > > I attended the Fifth Annual Illinois Homeschooling Conference this past > > weekend. Several people there were very interested in the BP sciences > group > > I'm running. I handed out the Biohazard Games URL, discussed how we had > > adapted the character advancement system to encourage research and > sciences > > interest, and referred people to their local gaming stores for copies of > > the books. I'm starting to collect my notes, and considering the group as > a > > pilot project. There may be a paper in this for me, and publicity for BP. > > It occurs to me that a homeschooling conference would be a great place > for > > a booth monkey or two, as I saw no representatives from any gaming > > companies despite the fact that workshops on fantasy rolegaming were > > offered during the conference. They filled up early in the registration > > cycle, too. I'm thinking ahead to next year, and possibly doing a > workshop > > on using FRPs as teaching tools for a multidisciplinary approach. > > > > Any chance I could get a little support from the BP guys? I could really > > use the Critters section from the Moderator's Guide in PDF, to make > > handouts easier, if that wouldn't be too much material being released > > electronically. > > > > > > Andrew Ragland > > Information Hunter/Gatherer: Explorer, Mapmaker, Guide > > araglan@us.ibm.com t/l 348-6665 ph (847) 240-6665 Skytel 1731111 > > "It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our > > abilities." > > -- A. Dumbledore > > > > > *************************************************************************** > > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > > > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > > > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. > > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: coredump [coredump@wanadoo.fr] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 5:04 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Couple of questions :) Hi there, I read pretty recently something about research done to help people getting rid of jet lag by using light emissions on the femoral blood artery (or any important blood vessel) to regulate the sleep pattern. I think it's related to hormonal cycles, but I don't know much more about it. Thought it could help. Maybe there is no need for a biomod : something like a small piece of electronic you wear behind the knee for some days after your arrival could do the trick. Even better, maybe this can be done during your "cold sleep" even before you land on Poseidon. and yeah, I'm new in this mailing list - hi everyone - and I'm part of the french silent lobby who keeps listening to you guys. And yes, I'm a fan of the game too, and I totally approve the wowser. BP's for sure the best Sci-Fi game I ever played. 8.) cheers, Remi http://www.roliste.com "chalz@earthlink.net" a écrit : > **** > Hmm. There's an idea for a biomod - a quick resetting of the body's diurnal > rhythm so you have the same sleep pattern as a native. > ** > Hey, that is a pretty good idea. I wonder if same could be accomplished through a bodycomp and neural jack? I'm no neuroscientist, particularly when it comes to knowing if sleep patterns could be regulated by electrical signals to the brain, or if chemical signals are required as well... > > -C > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at > http://www.mail2web.com/ . > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Ml10@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 5:13 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - d20, the future of BP and how you can help (long) In a message dated 3/12/01 2:41:02 PM Central Standard Time, utiel@df.ufscar.br writes: << In the D20 case is the same, you can put in the web all the rules to create character and the rules for the system but if you want to create a commercial product you can't put the rules. >> This statement is extremely incorrect. There is the OGL and then there is the d20 License (or d20L). Under the OGL, anyone can take the d20 system, character creation rule and all, and publish it in any form as long as they include a copy of the OGL. What they can not do with the d20 system is claim that it is the d20 system or that it works with D&D or d20 SW. If they do so, they risk a lawsuit from WoTC. So under the OGL, a person can take the d20 game system and modify it for Blue Planet and post the whole thing to a web site. However, they would not be allowed to advertise that it is a d20 adaption. In order to advertise that it is the d20 system, they have to use the d20 License. The d20 License states that character creation and character advancement rules can not be published in d20 products. It doesn't matter if the product is a web page, a pdf file, a boxed set, ect.... If a person is going to claim that it is a d20 product, they can not include character creation and advancement rules. The reason for this is quite simple, WoTC wants free advertisement for the D&D PHB. By letting others do the work and allowing them to tap into the D&D player base, they are able to provide a myrid of supplements without any risk to themselves. You see, each supplement released usually sells less than the previous supplement due to the law of dimishing returns. For example, the Alternity game line sold 60,000 copies of its main book. The first set of supplements sold in the 10,000 range. The last supplement for Alternity (before it was cancelled) sold 1,500 copies. This is one reason that so many games make new editions. It allows them to resell to the consumer the exact same (slighly improved) product. Bringing this back to Blue Planet and Synergy. Chris, the big boss at FFG, is a buisnessman. He understands product cycles. He has made FFG a rather diverse company. They do RPGs, disk games, LARPs, board games, card games, d20 products and two new (Top Secret) projects in developement that he wouldn't tell me about. His style is to get the core product and the first set of supplements out as fast as possible to build up a network of players. He then eases up on the product line as sees what happens. While I am not privy to the Blue Planet buisness plan, I doubt that the supplement every 2 months pace will go on for a long time. At some point it will not be profitable to produce a plethera of supplements. Hopefully BP sales will become self substaining much like the D&D and Palladium sales by that time. Sometime before that happens, I see FFG launching the World of Hurt game that has beeb mentioned a few times on the list. I am guessing that WoH would use the Synergy system as it would make the games interchangable and it would give FFG another core rule book and product line. There is also another possible extension to the BP setting that could warrent a new core book. It was hinted at very briefly during the last online chat with Jeff and Greg. I am sure it would use the Synergy system as well. I don't think that putting the Synergy system under the OGL (or similar license) would do much to help the sales of Blue Planet. The main attraction of Blue Planet is the setting and the source books reflect this. The main attraction to D&D is the rules. If you want to help Blue Planet grow a larger network of players, then run the game. Run the game at conventions, get other people to run the game so that you can be a player as well. For example, I live in a college town. Most of my players are college students. I have made sure that each one of them has a copy of the Player's Guide so that when they go home during breaks, they can show it off to their other friends. Hopefully one or two of them will begin to run BP when they are away from college. Well, this was a lot longer than I intended, but it felt good getting that off my chest. Mike Z *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:24 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser **** *cough*shamless plug - www.commcore.f2s.com *cough* :-) (sorry - Gobion ordered me to plug the new issue of Oceanview.) ** Hey, that's pretty cheeky! I haven't checked out all of the fan/associated sites. I have a tendancy to avoid non-official sites because they sometimes post just dumb material, rumors, that sort of thing, and are usually low quality. I should've expected better from the BP group ;) Hey, we still need CommCore accounts on there, for message boards or whatnot ;) hehehe. Probably set up a 'dummy' account to receive posts from this mailing list to put in a 'live' message board. *chuckles* -C -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:28 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - wowser **** Some company like Palladium has in the past a very restrict politic for works on line. For example you will not find a character generator for RIFTS or Palladium Fantasy and this is an absurd. ** Agreed. They're very, very protective of their material. I wrote them once a short, upbeat little message requesting permission to write a generic little character generator which I would've been glad to sign over to them at no cost - I got a very terse "No". Not exactly the warm fuzzy feeling I get from the Biohazard folks ;) **** If you create you own world with the FUZION system you can put this world in the web with all the rules and don't have problems with copyright. ** FUZION system? Where can I find that? **** If you want to publish as a commercial work then you have to make a license. ** My experience with programmers is they usually say "You can use my source file if you mention me in the credits/copyright and not change the code or this message." *shrugs* Code geeks tend to be pretty .. 'ditzy' about legal issues. ;) -C -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:35 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: RE: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Couple of questions :) **** and yeah, I'm new in this mailing list - hi everyone - and I'm part of the french silent lobby who keeps listening to you guys. And yes, I'm a fan of the game too, and I totally approve the wowser. BP's for sure the best Sci-Fi game I ever played. 8.) ** Welcome aboard! Good to hear from more of the 'lurkers' ;) **** I read pretty recently something about research done to help people getting rid of jet lag by using light emissions on the femoral blood artery (or any important blood vessel) to regulate the sleep pattern. I think it's related ** The femoral artery? Wow, that's pretty trippy. I wonder how that works. Anyone, anyone? **** to hormonal cycles, but I don't know much more about it. Thought it could help. Maybe there is no need for a biomod : something like a small piece of electronic you wear behind the knee for some days after your arrival could do the trick. Even better, maybe this can be done during your "cold sleep" even before you land on Poseidon** Hmm.. perhaps a sort of wrist computer which has a small needle which can inject and remove certain chemicals (ie, hormones) at certain times to help regulate such levels. Well, with ... oh shoot, hypersonic injections? You wouldn't necessarily need a needle... Hmm.. -C -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: chalz@earthlink.net Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 9:47 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - From 'Scientific American' Saw this article in 'Scientific American'... looks relevant - molecular computers? http://www.sciam.com/2000/0600issue/0600reed.html -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Brian [molotov@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 11:08 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - BP v2 at Cons Howdy All! >If you want to help Blue Planet grow a larger network of players, then run >the game. Run the game at conventions, get other people to run the game so >that you can be a player as well. Well, speaking of conventions, I've put in to run a Blue Planet game at the upcoming KublaCon here in the SF Bay Area. The Con has yet to turn all of the various proposals into "confirmed", but I'm confident :) It's listed on the Con website (www.kublacon.com), and I'm shooting for a Friday, 8pm game to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend. 8 players, but I usually run 10-12 through my Con events....heh. They didn't even have BP listed as a game system...but I got that corrected. Thanks! ~ Brian -- House of the Jade Lantern http://www.jadelantern.com -- "The Perfect Man has no self; the Holy Man has no merit; the Sage has no fame." *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.