From: wernerj@swbell.net on behalf of Jason Werner [wernerj@swbell.net] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 8:10 AM To: 'blue_planet@lists.ient.com' Subject: RE: [BLUE PLANET] - Are the aborigines too powerful? (SPOILERS!) Hey, all: Here's my two bits on the aboriginie question... 1) The Abos have a vested interest in remaining mostly out of sight, which means that mass compromising of a well-monitored and connected group, like a HIST research group or a platoon of GEO marines is not going to be in their best interests. They may also be fully aware of the facet of human nature that breeds hostility out of fear. So I don't think it would be appropriate to have the abos storming in and wreaking complete havoc as we know they likely are capable of. 2) Motivation is everything. At the present moment, the abos whole goal is information gathering. That is the major reason behind their interaction with humans. Only in a few rare cases has that interaction started out to be hostile on the part of the abos. When you put these two together, at least to my thinking, you wind up with a group that is indeed very powerful, but also very disinclined to use that power. Just my viewpoint. Also a test message, since my posts don't seem to be comming through. -Jason Werner -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Jeenicke [SMTP:Thomas_Jeenicke@public.uni-hamburg.de] Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2000 7:47 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Are the aborigines too powerful? (SPOILERS!) Attention: This mail contains SPOILERS for non-moderators! Hello again Let me first stress that I generally like the concept of the aborigines. But I also see some problems. Now I'd like to adress one of the concerns which can be sumed up in the question: Are the aborigines too powerful? They certainly have their weaknesses (as I see it: they are rather unflexible, their culture is static (a possible disadvantage against human dynamism) and obviously they are still quite confused about the strange beings who have landed on Poseidon), but their nanites and their ability to control the thoughts and feelings of other creatures make them vastly superior to individual humans or cetaceans. This can be a serious problem if player characters come into contact with the aborigines. Though the abos shouldn't be the "villains" of the BP setting, there might be conflict with them and then the PCs don't have a chance. And even if the PCs are allied with the aborigines (e.g. a group of natives and eco-terrorists), they sooner or later must get the impression that they are just pawns for beings who could do the work all alone if they only wanted to. It doesn't matter if the players see the aborigines as allies, enemies or a enigmatic neutral force - if they get a notion of their true power, they gonna get frustrated. Of course the moderator can - and should - try to conceal the aboriginal true powers and motives, but that will on the long run only strengthen the impression of aboriginal omnipotence. What are Your experiences with the aborigines? How many people really use them in their BP campaigns, anyway? Thomas *************************************************************************** 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: Jason Hockley [jh39@ukc.ac.uk] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 3:41 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [FWD] RE: [BLUE PLANET] - FW: Nerd Word: Touched By A Chip ----- Original Message ----- > I saw something like this a few > months ago. They want to chop the elderly > with memory problems so they don't get lost Er.... I assume you meant "chip" the elderly? Right? Please? Jason (a different one) *************************************************************************** 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: Bobby Warren [Bobby4th@excite.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 4:47 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Release Schedule and Other Questions... Aloha, all! I just picked up the "Player's Guide" and have been nosing around some looking for material on the game and the game world. 1. The back of the "Player's Guide" says that "First Colony" should be out in October and "Posse" in December. Since "Fluid Mechanics" was two months late, are the other two books going to follow on the same schedule? Has anyone heard anything official from FFG regarding this? 2. Are the "Access Denied" blurbs in the old GMs screen make it worth spending the money on it for ideas? 3. Has FFG announced (or hinted) at other expansions and/or adventures for BPv2? Thanks! _______________________________________________________ Say Bye to Slow Internet! http://www.home.com/xinbox/signup.html *************************************************************************** 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: kabael@softhome.net Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 4:58 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Are the aborigines too powerful? (SPOILERS!) while I agree that the aborigines are individually powerfull and with sufficient planning (or even normal planning) they can trounce almost any individual force sent against them, they still cannot win. Really, they are _incapable_ of "winning" this "conflict" with humanity. They cannot stop mankind from arriving in force, and they cannot charbroil the planet to keep them off. They are hard-wired against taking the kinds of actions they would have to if they were to try to rid Poseidon of humanity. Their only hope is to do one of two things: Use human pawns to make humans do what they want (witness the Sierra Nueva "hostiles") or to reveal themselves and use their notoriety and novelty to get their way (which they are afraid of doing, and likely wouldn't entirely understand anyway). So the aborigines are really a very tragic race to me, and if I were to use them in a game (not sure I would, I like to keep them as "aquatic myths") I would try to emphasize their power, mystery and inevitable impotence. - kabael - Kintaro Oe - Derek the Guder - kabael@softhome.net - ICQ# 24193592 "Smiling fishee please don't attack me" - Steven Martini, "Corduroy Penis" kabael's netbook - http://kabael.8m.com the McGuffin Group - http://members.xoom.com/McGuffins editor - The End Times - http://www.holistic-design.com/FS/EndTimes/endtimes.html my column, The Thirteenth Legion - http://dvie.virtualave.net/ more columns, RPG Action - http://www.rpgaction.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: kabael@softhome.net Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 5:15 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Release Schedule and Other Questions... > 1. The back of the "Player's Guide" says that "First Colony" should be out > in October and "Posse" in December. Since "Fluid Mechanics" was two months > late, are the other two books going to follow on the same schedule? Has > anyone heard anything official from FFG regarding this? I'm expecting First Colony out around late November, myself. I think it's still being written. > 2. Are the "Access Denied" blurbs in the old GMs screen make it worth > spending the money on it for ideas? hell, it was worth buying for the beautiful screen, I tell you. But yet, the campaign ideas are good too, nice variety and nicely grouped > 3. Has FFG announced (or hinted) at other expansions and/or adventures for > BPv2? other than what's in the back of the books (Posse, for example) and some other ideas that floated around a while back like World of Hurt (the Sol System) and Wormhole, all about the Creators, I believe, not much. - kabael - Kintaro Oe - Derek the Guder - kabael@softhome.net - ICQ# 24193592 "Smiling fishee please don't attack me" - Steven Martini, "Corduroy Penis" kabael's netbook - http://kabael.8m.com the McGuffin Group - http://members.xoom.com/McGuffins editor - The End Times - http://www.holistic-design.com/FS/EndTimes/endtimes.html my column, The Thirteenth Legion - http://dvie.virtualave.net/ more columns, RPG Action - http://www.rpgaction.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: Jeb Boyt [jeboyt@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 5:54 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fluid Mechanics has arrived! Yee-ha is right. I picked up my copy last night from my friendly neighborhood local gamestore. It only took a couple of minutes of flipping through it to convince me to part with my money. FM is loaded with lots of gear which, at a minimum, will be extremely helpful in evoking the setting for the players. The cover is fantastic, and the interior art is much improved over the v.2 Player's and Moderator's guides. Oh yeah, and there's spaceships. Quick question though, are the chase and dogfight rules new or just an update of the v.1 rules? Jeb ----Original Message Follows---- From: BIOHZD@aol.com Reply-To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Fluid Mechanics has arrived! Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 00:40:31 EDT Hello All, After a seemingly endless trip through the wormhole, Fluid Mechanics, the guide to technology in the world of BP, has finally arrived. Yee-friggin-ha! Preorders have already gone out, and distributors should have theirs soonest, if not already. If you have been waiting for the latest and greatest in bad-ass, bad-boy toys, your wait is over. The book rocks - it looks good, reads good...it even tastes good ; ). Check out your local retailer or hit FFG's website for e-ordering. We hope it's everything you bioplastic gearheads have been waiting for ; ). Enjoy... Jeff Barber Biohazard Games *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.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: Chad Chirhart [seahawk@visi.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 6:06 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Release Schedule and Other Questions... On Fri, 6 Oct 2000, Bobby Warren wrote: > Aloha, all! Hello! > I just picked up the "Player's Guide" and have been nosing around some > looking for material on the game and the game world. > > 1. The back of the "Player's Guide" says that "First Colony" should be out > in October and "Posse" in December. Since "Fluid Mechanics" was two months > late, are the other two books going to follow on the same schedule? Has > anyone heard anything official from FFG regarding this? I just got Fluid Mechanics, in the back they updated the schedule to First Colony in November and Posse in December. Sounds like they're burning the midnight oil, but glad to know I get to have sourcebooks to drool over in the coming months. So how bout that new Hybrid type in FM? Talked about someone standing out on the street, maybe that can be my costume for this holloween. :-) I noticed there's a weapon now that actually works better underwater than above. Anybody else think of designs for gadgets better suited for an aquatic environment? I have a rifle design that I based off of the underwater guns from Jules Vernes 20K Leagues Under the Seas. > 2. Are the "Access Denied" blurbs in the old GMs screen make it worth > spending the money on it for ideas? Loved the artwork on the outside, one of the most interesting GM screens I've seen, They're were some good story ideas too, some depend on what type of campaign you run. > 3. Has FFG announced (or hinted) at other expansions and/or adventures for > BPv2? > > Thanks! Chad Chirhart seahawk@visi.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: kabael@softhome.net Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 7:08 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fluid Mechanics has arrived! mine arrived a few days ago, and I have to say I was surprised by how small it was. After a flip-through, I have to say I'm very pleased with it, although I would have liked a few other things, like "netrunning" (notice the "" :) rules and brand names for all the products, but it looks like it will rock. - kabael - Kintaro Oe - Derek the Guder - kabael@softhome.net - ICQ# 24193592 "Smiling fishee please don't attack me" - Steven Martini, "Corduroy Penis" kabael's netbook - http://kabael.8m.com the McGuffin Group - http://members.xoom.com/McGuffins editor - The End Times - http://www.holistic-design.com/FS/EndTimes/endtimes.html my column, The Thirteenth Legion - http://dvie.virtualave.net/ more columns, RPG Action - http://www.rpgaction.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: Greg Benage [gbenage@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 7:52 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Release Schedule and Other Questions... ----- Original Message ----- From: Bobby Warren To: Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 4:46 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Release Schedule and Other Questions... > Aloha, all! > > I just picked up the "Player's Guide" and have been nosing around some > looking for material on the game and the game world. > > 1. The back of the "Player's Guide" says that "First Colony" should be out > in October and "Posse" in December. Since "Fluid Mechanics" was two months > late, are the other two books going to follow on the same schedule? Has > anyone heard anything official from FFG regarding this? I'm hoping to have First Colony at the printer in the next couple weeks, which means it would ship in the middle of November. "Posse" is still on schedule for December, after which you should expect a new supplement every two months. > 2. Are the "Access Denied" blurbs in the old GMs screen make it worth > spending the money on it for ideas? > > 3. Has FFG announced (or hinted) at other expansions and/or adventures for > BPv2? After "Posse" comes the Field Guide/GEO Survey book, which will include new flora, fauna, ecosystems and habitats, and rules and guidelines for survival in Poseidon's wilderness. Beyond that, we're still trying to nail things down with your help (thanks for the feedback, keep it coming). Greg Benage FFG *************************************************************************** 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: Greg Benage [gbenage@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 7:55 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fluid Mechanics has arrived! ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeb Boyt To: Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 5:53 PM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Fluid Mechanics has arrived! > Quick question though, are the chase and dogfight rules new or just an > update of the v.1 rules? They're a revision of the v1 rules. The biggest change is that the distance between vehicles has been abstracted into "range bands," which are effectively defined by the weapon categories that are effective at that distance. As a result, pilots simply make Piloting/Driving rolls to change the range band on their actions, and it's not necessary for the GM or players to track range from round-to-round. There's a loss of detail, but chases and dogfights should be easy enough to handle now that someone may actually use the rules. ;) Greg Benage FFG *************************************************************************** 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: Chris Stilson [crazycat@orcalink.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 10:29 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Are the aborigines too powerful? (SPOILERS!) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > What are Your experiences with the aborigines? How many people really use > them in their BP campaigns, anyway? *************************************************************************** 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: Chris Stilson [crazycat@orcalink.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 10:33 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Are the aborigines too powerful? (SPOILERS!) RE: Sorry about the last message... an accident. > What are Your experiences with the aborigines? How many people really use > them in their BP campaigns, anyway? RE: I WANT to use them in my BP campaigns, but I have a few problems. 1) I have a tendency to reveal too much about the campaign that I shouldn't when running games, and I don't want to do that. 2) My players, although they have no clue that aborigines exist, were tipped off about some Wierd Scheiss(tm) going on by our first encounter with a kraken by a aborigine xenosilicate stash. Because of that, they'll be more likely to shoot anything that isn't human on sight, regardless of whether the creature has hostile intent. 3) I must admit that I like the setting better WITHOUT the aborigines. Cyberpunk waterworld seems more appealing to me without the WS(tm) alien undertones. -- ChrisTheS *************************************************************************** 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: Chris Stilson [crazycat@orcalink.com] Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 10:40 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Costumes/Uniforms Since I plan on filming a BP home movie eventually (i.e. when I get access to time, money, props, equipment, and when I finish the script), I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for what the following sort of people would wear. I'll include what I was considering, but I'd like to know what others think. GEO Marshal - Brown leather jacket w/GEO logo on front, back, & right sleeve, "GEO Marshal Service" on other sleeve; camo pants; green shirt; combat boots; mirror shades (optional). GEO Peacekeeper - Anything a military force would wear in modern times, with GEO logos. Slightly unhinged Hanover executive/Gorchoff boss with obsessive search for perfect weapon/soldier - I don't know what he should wear... -- ChrisTheS *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.