From: Timothy Brandis [brandis@ece.orst.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 9:42 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Oh Horror!! On Fri, 19 Jun 1998, William Hindmarch wrote: > On the topic of natives going native, I really like that Idea. > There's a lot that could be done with it, even on a very serious level. The > most important thing to remember about this notion, though, is that there's > no such thing as a cannibalistic society. This isn't to say that it couldn't > happen in an extreme case, but there has never *really* been a documented > culture which practiced cannibalism regularly (according to the Anthro profs > at my school, anyway). > The first exception someone might say to me is "Aztech." But that > was a ritualistic behavior with no basis on sustenance, likely inspired by > an overcrowded civilzation. A smal island of few natives probably wouldn't > practice cannibalism at all, since it would be a potential waste of humans > (a rarity in their parts). Insert more semi coherent ramblings here: I was not trying to imply that a society would turn to cannibalisim as a means of regular substance. But perhaps under certain conditions (winning a local war, the proper burial of ones honored dead, being stranded in the Andes with a Soccer team) you might get some ritualized cannibalisim just to give the PC's a shake up. If you wanted to attempt the serious angle it could be very interesting. Of course the less tasteful route, some truly deranged tribe has developed a taste for those fat Earthers. "You know, theres good eaten on one of them." One more side note. Has anyone addressed the possibility that renegade Orcas might think nothing of tearing into some tasty Hairless Ape flesh. A scenario in which the PC's were trying to track down this killer would make a nice one shot. Kind of like Jaws except the Orca might have access to heavy weapons and some outside help. Or a scenario in which a renegade Orca existed and the PC's (Orca's and Dolphins) had to track him down before the GEO and the public became aware that this was going on. Tim Brandis *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: John R. Snead [jsnead@netcom.com] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 7:06 PM Cc: blue_planet-digest@lists.MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Imaginary Railguns "Kevin C. Carpenter" wrote: >What are the physics that go against the use of rail guns for cargo >transport? I'd be interested to know at least the basics of it, since I've >always thought (and heard) that such things were plausible. They are *very* plausible, but only for certain uses. A railgun is unlikely to be more than several 100 km long and making it longer means you're essentially wrapping it around the planet it's on. We're talking about a *huge* construction project. Let's look at some figures: If you want to get to 1000 kps (kilometers per second) which is 1/10th the velocity of the wormhole ships (which means transit time would be *5 years* (+ you would need to make the cargo pod a fusion rocket so you can decelerate upon arrival and for course corrections so you can actually hit the wormhole). Anyway, if you accelerate the payload at 100 km/sec^2 (ie 10,000 Gs!) you need to accelerate it for 5,000 km (ie a 5,000 km railgun). If you want to drop it to 1000 Gs you'd need a railgun 50,000 km long. So, we have 10,000 or 1,000 Gs for a 5,000 or 50,000 long railgun to get a 5 year long travel time. This isn't going to be terribly economic and there honestly isn't' that much cargo you can send which will survive 1,000-10,000 Gs. Short journeys from say Luna to mars or Mars to the belt can be done with much lower accelerations and much lower velocities, so they are *much* more practical -John Snead jsnead@netcom.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: scotth@aiu.net Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 7:28 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Oh Horror!! I seem to be of two minds with regards to Blue Planet games. Half >of me, the light half, wants to run really good hard Science >Fiction/Horror with a dash of cyberpunk thrown in. The dark half watched >too many episodes of Tales of the Gold Monkey and wants to fight pirates, >deal with restless natives, and lose my trusty dogs eye in a poker game (I >wonder how many dogs made the crossing to BP?). Hey, I resemble that remark! Jake and Jack fly again!! And we must have Lucky Louis Bar!! Hmmm, now how do we get the Gold Monkey? Scott Holden Who also loved that show and doesn't care who knows it!! *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Diamond [nezach@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 7:55 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Imaginary Railguns At 05:05 PM 6/19/98 -0700, you wrote: >"Kevin C. Carpenter" wrote: > >>What are the physics that go against the use of rail guns for cargo >>transport? >They are *very* plausible, but only for certain uses. A railgun is >unlikely to be more than several 100 km long and making it longer means >you're essentially wrapping it around the planet it's on. We're talking >about a *huge* construction project. > >Let's look at some figures: > >So, we have 10,000 or 1,000 Gs for a 5,000 or 50,000 long railgun to get a >5 year long travel time. This isn't going to be terribly economic and >there honestly isn't' that much cargo you can send which will survive >1,000-10,000 Gs. > >Short journeys from say Luna to mars or Mars to the belt can be done with >much lower accelerations and much lower velocities, so they are *much* >more practical Even if you had a mass driver that could deliver a cargo to the wormhole wouldn't you have to wait for a orbital window before you could launch the the cargo to approximatly the right spot/on the right trajectory? Not exactaly something that would occur every day... Ndege *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: William Hindmarch [hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 5:37 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Oh Horror!! I've been waiting for a Monkey Island RPG for years. :) I think Archangel games has a pirate game coming out eventually. On the topic of natives going native, I really like that Idea. There's a lot that could be done with it, even on a very serious level. The most important thing to remember about this notion, though, is that there's no such thing as a cannibalistic society. This isn't to say that it couldn't happen in an extreme case, but there has never *really* been a documented culture which practiced cannibalism regularly (according to the Anthro profs at my school, anyway). The first exception someone might say to me is "Aztech." But that was a ritualistic behavior with no basis on sustenance, likely inspired by an overcrowded civilzation. A smal island of few natives probably wouldn't practice cannibalism at all, since it would be a potential waste of humans (a rarity in their parts). Ramble ramble ramble. will *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Timothy Brandis [brandis@ece.orst.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 1:25 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Oh Horror!! Are those people at BioHazard Games trying to drive me crazy? As if the prospect of your first supplement is not enough you have to dangle the carrot of horror in front of my nose. Do you want me tearing down the walls of my local game store until it makes its way into my hands. I do not know if my heart can stand the anticipation .... On a side note has anyone toyed with the idea of having a group of natives really go native? Having little or no contact with the 'civilized' lands of the archipelago these people reverted to a very primitive way of life. They could even have formed some form of Cargo Cult mentality around a GEO survey ship. Perhaps a touch of cannibalism thrown into the mix. Sure it stretches the realm of reason to the point of breaking but it could be fun. I seem to be of two minds with regards to Blue Planet games. Half of me, the light half, wants to run really good hard Science Fiction/Horror with a dash of cyberpunk thrown in. The dark half watched too many episodes of Tales of the Gold Monkey and wants to fight pirates, deal with restless natives, and lose my trusty dogs eye in a poker game (I wonder how many dogs made the crossing to BP?). Since I have never stumbled across any South Seas Adventure Games I have this empty space in side me. A place that Blue Planet seems to fill. It seems to me to be a strength of Blue Planet that you could easily run both styles of game. Tim "Must not let Dark Half Win" Brandis *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: William Hindmarch [hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 11:17 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Windy City, Blue Planet > Used to... might be there 4th of July weekend, if I can get my schedule > cleared up -- got put on for a Saturday that weekend when that's my normal day > off... more on this story as it develops. Relocated to Chicago at this point, > though -- hey William. We're thinking about doing a BP one-off to see how the > system works and all that, haven't had a chance to play it yet, again more as > the story develops. The new apartment isn't ready for roleplayers yet. :) > Wow! Welcome to Chicago, Andrew! will hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: William Hindmarch [hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 11:12 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - What Backwater Natives Know In regards to your mysterious "what the natives know" comment, I've always seen the backwater types knowing a bit more than everyone else thinks. Some, as has been established, are actually on speaking terms (if you will) with the aborigines. Others just have a much clearer notion of how Poseidon works. Somethng like how this girl I know of from Kansas can tell if it's going to rain first thing in the morning; something like Grandpa in The Lost Boys. Not to say that they know everything the Archipelago types know, or exactly the same information, or even more information. Intuition is a powerful thing, especially when dealing with a knew world and the aborigines. I think the natives really know that. One other backwater establishment is the temple of Kuang Yin/Konanon Bosatsu. Sort of a cross between the merciful buddha and Chinese goddess of mercy, the temple is a reclusive hideout for monks who fled earth following Recontact and have set up on a very small island not far from Shangri-La. The place is a beautiful rural, tropical jungle mountain setting, with balconies and belltowers and all the great old-fashioned shinto trappings, but is also a heavily defended outpost. They've got 40mm cannon transplanted from surface ships and a small minefield at their disposal. They like their privacy. Of course, they almost never use the stuff (mercy, my friend, mercy) but it does keep people away. I'm probably spoiling my chances at getting this into the Access Denied book, but that's what I'm writing it for. will *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Disturbnce@aol.com Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 10:34 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Nashville anyone? In a message dated 98-06-18 23:37:51 EDT, you write: > I've been meaning to ask the list...I'm spending a good part of this summer in > Nashville TN, and was wondering if anyone on the list lives in the area??? I > thought maybe we could get together for a beer or game of BP? Used to... might be there 4th of July weekend, if I can get my schedule cleared up -- got put on for a Saturday that weekend when that's my normal day off... more on this story as it develops. Relocated to Chicago at this point, though -- hey William. We're thinking about doing a BP one-off to see how the system works and all that, haven't had a chance to play it yet, again more as the story develops. The new apartment isn't ready for roleplayers yet. :) Andrew *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Greg Benage [gbenage@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Thursday, July 08, 1999 9:38 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Imaginary Railguns -----Original Message----- From: Kevin C. Carpenter To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Date: Thursday, June 18, 1998 11:24 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Imaginary Railguns > What are the physics that go against the use of rail guns for cargo >transport? I'd be interested to know at least the basics of it, since I've >always thought (and heard) that such things were plausible. First, railguns are used for cargo transport...in the Solar System. As I recall there were a couple problems associated with using a railgun in the inner system to transport cargo to Lambda Serpentis, however. One was accuracy. Even with course-correction rockets, nailing a relatively small target at 700 AU with a ballistic projectile ain't easy, given the complexities of orbital dynamics. The second, and I believe most problematic, was energy. The fusion torchships in BP are a) very efficient and b) capable of sustaining a constant 1G acceleration for a considerable period of time. The top-of-the-line transports are capable of reaching a velocity approaching .03c. A railgun, while capable of much higher accelerations, can only produce those accelerations over a very short distance, and its maximum velocity just won't cut it if you want your cargo to arrive in L. Serp anytime soon. Either that, or you need a REALLY LONG, POWERFUL railgun. That said, I'm not one of those "people smarter than Jeff who showed him the physics involved." I'm just working on my memory of what those folks had to say. Anyway, hope this helps. Greg Benage 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: Auberon [fskln1@aurora.alaska.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 3:33 AM To: blue_planet-l Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Horror and the backside of the world Thanks for the discussion on horror. I've got a squid, a diver, and a fin currently in a deep research facility. They're pressurized (dubious, but how else do you get a fin there?), so they can't leave, and I was wondering what to do this week. You all just bailed my butt out. As for the ass end of the planet, in my game it's inhabited by Natives, but they're a touch odd, and while theoretically they've been contacted, the communities are so small that there's no point in businesses going there, and isolated enough that everyone is a touch wierd and insular. A real challenge for Archipeligo Natives to talk with, which should tell you how much luck the GEO and incorporates have. Noone really knows what might be there... Or what they might know. -- (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk. Auberon *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: William Hindmarch [hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 2:07 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Very Small Groups of PCs > > During the development of BP I pushed *sooooo* hard for the use of lunar rail > guns as the main means of cargo transport to the wormhole. People much smarter > than I showed me the physics however, and I was eventually forced to give it > up : (. > I just love the notion, myself. Something between the classical Verne SF and the hard-core neofuturist SF. Space trains are cool. :) > - I still think they'd have been way cool Greg! ; ). Yeah, GReg, thanks a lot! *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: William Hindmarch [hindmarc@stu.beloit.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 2:03 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Very Small Groups Revenge > research in the backwaters of the Planet (as per recent posts). Some of > the anthropological exploration in the Amazon has taken place with one > researcher and a guide (read: Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice by Mark > Plotkin for a good example of field work and a history of exploration of > the Amazon, its a good read to). Then something happens to get the science > group in the thick of things. A war between native villiages. A raid by > Incorprate interests. Anything could work, unless of course your research This would lend itself to a very Crichton-esque sort of story. The haphazard group of scientific minds works well for RPGs (though I won't comment on how I think it works for novels, ahem). A lot of anthropological work is done in very small groups. Zoological and biological work, sometimes, especially when the study of sky animals is involved. Also, if the project isn't widely supported or just isn't interesting for the mass scientific community. This makes the chances of rescue slim, character will have to fend for themselves. > I really like horror games were weird stuff is going on and the > PC's are trying to figure out these goings on before they happen to them. > Has anyone tried doing horror in Blue Planet, seems like a natural choice > to me. It even has the whole Dunwich Horror/Children of the Corn naturally > built in to the game background. > This is the way I've run BP for the most part, actually. Since the games I've run have all been one-shots, I've followed a course somewhere between Sphere, The Abyss, Alien, and the like. I have yet to run a game that didn't involve the aborigines. They're very spooky. > hands and a jaw like an anvil. You could even create a arch-nemesis in > the form of a Shocktroop MP whose job it is to track the PC's to the end > of the earth (or Prosiden). You can tell I have been playing Castle > Falkenstein to long with the whole arch-nemesis thing. > Kind of like the Fugitive. I've had a lot of success putting players into situations they know from movies. Sometimes I get a groan or a sticking-tongue, but most of the time players like to explore what they would have done in Harrison Ford's situation (especially Harrison Ford, he gets in the coolest situations). I also believe there's no such thing as "too much Castle Falkenstein." It, like BP, is a game I have not had the opportunity to run enough of yet. :) > > If you have a regular group of two people, I always recommend making > > the campaign *really* about them. You can fopcus on them so tightly, that > > maybe the campaign details the reasons they are together and, since they > > don't want to be, when they finally go their separate ways, that's the > > moving climax of the campaign. > > I do also like to play personal stories about peoples growth and > change. I have off and on run a WW Vampire game (keep the cat calls to a > minimum please) which has three players. I have tried to focus the game on > the players trying to gain control over there lives. The changes they go > through as they attempt to survive. I have gotten some really good stuff As one of my regular players says: White Wolf games tend to be about arguing. I would ammend that statement to say: White Wolf games tend to be about arguing if you have more than three players. The games are especially difficult to run with large groups (see: Wraith) and were really designed for small groups of dedicated players. Likewise, most Storytellers I know (and WW is the big thing at Beloit College) tend to forget that the players want to do something too. Most often, Vampire is just about the methuselahs and Princes, while the PCs (and worse the players) just sit and watch. Might as well rent the Tv show. SOunds like you do it justice, though. will *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Kevin C. Carpenter [keepiru@nationwide.net] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 12:18 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Imaginary Railguns What are the physics that go against the use of rail guns for cargo transport? I'd be interested to know at least the basics of it, since I've always thought (and heard) that such things were plausible. >During the development of BP I pushed *sooooo* hard for the use of lunar rail >guns as the main means of cargo transport to the wormhole. People much smarter >than I showed me the physics however, and I was eventually forced to give it >up : (. > > - I still think they'd have been way cool Greg! ; ). > >Later , > >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. > *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.