From: Dr Ian McDonald [ian.mcdonald@iname.com] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 4:09 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Historical games It's a history summary, rather than a trailer. But it is very good. Unfortunately, the last section of the page (after 'powerful hurricane tearing accross') doesn't want to load. All you have to do now is film it :). Actually, up to and including the Blight it is all doable using simple CGI and stock footage. Poh Tun Kai wrote: > > Ummmmm. I've already done that. It's on the Professional Casualties site. > What did you think of it? > > > When reading the rulebook, I was mentally running over the > > opening-credits voiceover a BP TV series would have. (I am interested in > > opening-credits voiceovers. From the best - 'Forever Knight', and the > > first 'Earth: Final Conflict' to the awful later EFC one.) So perhaps I > > can summarise the history people need to know on BP without reading the > > background chapter. Or that (IMHO rather weak) introductory chapter. > > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. -- Ian McDonald http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/alternative.html http://travel.to/startrekcolony - Star Trek: Colony site & .mov http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/who-rpg.html - Dr. Who RPGs *************************************************************************** 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: Dr Ian McDonald [ian.mcdonald@iname.com] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 3:51 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Historical games I was thinking that the mere mention of the wormhole established that a wormhole must have been discovered, without the narrator sounding too much like they are explaining something to an idiot. Mantisking@aol.com wrote: > > Hey Dr. McDonald; > Nice idea on the "voice-over", but you'd also have to cover > the discovery of the wormhole and Poseidon itself. Otherwise > the line about sending colonists through the wormhole makes > no sense. > > Ray > *************************************************************************** > To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.ient.com > with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. -- Ian McDonald http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/alternative.html http://travel.to/startrekcolony - Star Trek: Colony site & .mov http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~type40/who-rpg.html - Dr. Who RPGs *************************************************************************** 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: Poh Tun Kai [tun.kai.poh@hitech.com.my] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 4:18 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Historical games > It's a history summary, rather than a trailer. You're right, that's a much better way of looking at it. Although the second half _is_ a trailer for BP, in a sense. > But it is very good. > Unfortunately, the last section of the page (after 'powerful hurricane > tearing accross') doesn't want to load. All you have to do now is film > it :). Hm. Then it's missing about half of the script. 20 more scenes depicting the hopes and dreams of contemporary Poseidon dwellers. Also, it adapts a scene from the Marshal Church story. Anyone who wants the original script can email me personally. > Actually, up to and including the Blight it is all doable using simple > CGI and stock footage. That was the whole idea when I wrote it. I do have some sympathy people who might actually want to make it... Kai Poh Malaysian Lagomorph *************************************************************************** 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: Jerome Darmont [jdarmont@dionysos.univ-lyon2.fr] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:27 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Web update A new illustration from R.Barthelemy on my Player's Guide. (Art Gallery section). Watch out the big fish! -- Jerome Darmont, mailto:darmont@multimania.com Webmaster http://fly.to/bleue.planete *************************************************************************** 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: Rusty.Neal@Bull.com Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 9:18 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. We are using Unarmed Strike=STR + 1 For other some other things that are missing, we are using- Knife STR + 2 Nightstick STR + 2 Machete STR + 3 Crossbow 4 Hunting Bow 4 Rusty *************************************************************************** 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: jh39 [jh39@ukc.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 9:30 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Historical games On Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:25:37 +0800 Poh Tun Kai wrote: > Ummmmm. I've already done that. It's on the Professional Casualties site. > What did you think of it? I was wondering when someone would bring up the fact that you've already done it. I was very impressed and I'd love to see it made someday. Wouldn't it look great running at a convention booth? Jason > > When reading the rulebook, I was mentally running over the > > opening-credits voiceover a BP TV series would have. (I am interested in > > opening-credits voiceovers. From the best - 'Forever Knight', and the > > first 'Earth: Final Conflict' to the awful later EFC one.) So perhaps I > > can summarise the history people need to know on BP without reading the > > background chapter. Or that (IMHO rather weak) introductory chapter. > > > *************************************************************************** > 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: jh39 [jh39@ukc.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 9:32 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Re: DunDraCon XXV On Sun, 29 Oct 2000 21:42:27 +0000 Christopher Gribbon wrote: > > On that note, are any of the UK list members likely > > to attend? I can't remember what it's called off hand but > > it's the weekend of the 24th-25th November. > > > Alas - no. > I'm am so busy I can barely find time to roleplay at all (shock!) > > Christopher Gribbon > Vision Research Laboratories > Medical Sciences Institute > University of Dundee > Dundee DD1 5EH > UK *gasp* Heretic! Actually looking at that stuff after your name there I can imagine you'd get quite busy. I hope you manage to get into a game eventually though. Jason *************************************************************************** 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: jh39 [jh39@ukc.ac.uk] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 9:42 AM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Historical games On Sun, 29 Oct 2000 19:13:56 +0000 Dr Ian McDonald wrote: > It's a nice idea, but I'm not sure if it is the best choice. It's > difficult enough to create a fun scenario in a game - doing so *and* > needing to cover certain facts as well. Well I appreciate that it's not easy. That's why I've asked if anyone wants to try make a go of it as a joint venture. It seems to me though that getting players actually involved in the background could (not necessarily, "would") make them better understand and appreciate it. You're not going cover every last detail, sure, but I expect you could convey a lot. Just kicking ideas around I thought maybe you could have a scenario involving the first few manned missions through the wormhole, during the Blight you could run two (or one parallel, jumping from group to group) games showing the harshness of Earth at the time compared to how the Natives are coping with being abandoned. The actual Recontact itself also sounds like a wonderful setting for a one-shot scenario. All of these things seem to me to capture elements of the Blue Planet setting that set it apart from many games. The hard science aspect is present in the first. Survival and exploration feature in the next one/two and the Recontact sets the scene for much of the political side of things in the main game. > When reading the rulebook, I was mentally running over the > opening-credits voiceover a BP TV series would have. (I am interested in > opening-credits voiceovers. From the best - 'Forever Knight', and the > first 'Earth: Final Conflict' to the awful later EFC one.) So perhaps I > can summarise the history people need to know on BP without reading the > background chapter. Or that (IMHO rather weak) introductory chapter. Yeah, I know what you mean. I think I'd go with the film trailer analogy a little more too, but after reading it I always bring to mind Kai's script. > You need to cover the following ground: > * Earth's environmental collapse > * Wormhole, & Poseidon > * Blight > * Natives > * GEO and the return > * Cyberware > * Corporate states > * Biotech, uplift, hybrids > > (Apologies if I have the times wrong." > > "Almost two centuries ago, the genetic revolution made the last Dolphins > and Orca intelligent. A single century ago, Earth sent a vanguard of > engineered colonists through the wormhole. Forty years ago, Earth > contacted the abandoned and resentful natives with a tale of planetwide > Blight, and the GEO that fought it. > > A decade ago, scientists discovered a rock that enabled genetic > manipulation up to and including immortality. The gold rush was > inevitable. > > Natives. Newcomers. Corporate States. GEO. Welcome to Poseidon." > > What I'm really saying is that you can summarise the background in a > couple of paragraphs. Oh you can summarise it alright. I'm not arguing that. That's a decent summary you've managed right there. That's just not what I was after. I wanted to give more detail than a summary without just making players read through stuff. And I thought certain parts of the background would make great game settings in their own right. Jason *************************************************************************** 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, October 30, 2000 2:18 PM To: 'blue_planet@lists.ient.com' Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Re: Does Fast Fungus like Teflon? > -----Original Message----- > From: Russell Sloan [mailto:iniquity@nts-online.net] > Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Chat Query (Does Fast Fungus like Teflon?) > > for coating the hulls of watercraft. (it is rumored that teflon is > incorporated to the 'special' paints used to coat the hulls > of current US submarines.) Reduce friction and reduce drag, thereby > increasing fuel efficiency compared to mass. The logical extension > IIRC the hulls of Navy submarines are coated with a number of things, mainly to reduce sonar signature. I believe they use something that's somewhat elastic so as to absorb the sound waves. However, I doubt we'll be able to find much out about this as I believe it's still classified. Jim *************************************************************************** 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: Monday, October 30, 2000 5:36 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Earth politics This is sort of a return to the subject of warfare that we discussed earlier... we've fairly well covered the angle of warfare on Poseidon, I think, but today (since in my history class we were talking about WWI, and since I'm listening to an audiobook called _Kilo Class_, which is basically like a slightly more realistic version of Hunt for Red October so far), I started wondering what the chances are of a war breaking out on Earth would be. I'm thinking that there are some pretty cool adventures that could be made possible if such an eventuality were to come to pass (plus it would let me use the Typhoon II ballistic missile submarine that I've been working on :). -- ChrisTheS www.stormsurge.org *************************************************************************** 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: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:50 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Stilson To: Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 11:04 PM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. > Arg... when I was complaining about the damage system on the playtest list, > I sadly neglected to mention one rather crucial thing (crucial at least for > the last adventure that I ran, which involved one character facing off > one-on-one against a NRM silva in a test of fighting ability); I can't find > the damage value of an unarmed strike anywhere in the PG. The base damage rating of an unarmed strike is Strength + 1. Sorry about the omission. Greg Benage Fantasy Flight, Inc. *************************************************************************** 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: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:53 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Mutka To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 12:16 AM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. > While I'm at it, the playtest stuff also says to add Strength to melee weapon > damage. I assume that didn't change, but now I see that it wasn't actually > stated anywhere. Guys? Actually, that is stated on PG 118, under "Damage Resolution." I might have done well to draw a little more attention to it, however. Greg Benage Fantasy Flight, Inc. *************************************************************************** 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: Bobba the Hutt [necrobob@compfxnet.com] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:58 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. >The base damage rating of an unarmed strike is Strength + 1. Sorry about the >omission. That's kinda what I figured, but... So what about characters with a below-average Strength? Do they still get a minimum of 1 damage, or do they have to do a called shot to inflict damage, or what? ____________________ Necromancer Bob, placing his Avestite action figure to be chasing Megakabuterimon around (he's an Ascorbite, ya know).... 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. From: Greg Benage [gbenage@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 7:26 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Sakal To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 4:53 AM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. <> Others have already addressed this, but I just want to emphasize that the whole point of the "called shot" rule is to account for fighting ability and skill. In effect, it's identical to systems that automatically adjust damage for the degree of success on the attack. The only difference is, it puts the decision in the hands of the player: Do I use my skill to execute a more advanced martial-arts maneuver so that my attack will be more lethal if it lands? Or do I just maximize my chances of landing a blow? The answer will usually depend on the attacker's skill, his assessment of the opponent's skill, and the situation. In a game that automatically incorporates degree of success in damage, the dice make this decision for the player. To test the effects for yourself, play through this sample combat: Kung Fu Master: Superior (3) Aptitude in Close Combat, Unarmed Combat 8, DEX 2, AGI 2, REF 2, STR 0 (BLD -2, FIT +2). Hulking Brute: Strong (2) Aptitude in Close Combat, Unarmed Combat 3, DEX 0, AGI 0, REF 0, STR 2 (BLD 3, FIT 1). Note that the KFM's base target number to hit is 10, while the HB's is 3 (this ignores the fact that it will take a minor miracle for the HB to slip a punch past the KFM's defenses, as well as how much more often the KFM is going to be smacking the poor brute). Have the KFM take a -5/+5 called shot every attack. With his aptitude, he'll still have an 87.5% chance to hit, and a 48.8% to score the +3 action value that the HB can't defend, even if he rolls a 1. Subtracting the HB's TOU 2, each of these attacks will have a modified DR of 4. At that DR, there's a 43.2% chance of a minor wound, 28.8% of a serious wound, and a 6.4% of a critical wound. And remember, as soon as the HB takes even a minor wound, he becomes impaired and enters the "death spiral" as these numbers become progressively worse. Bottom Line: The Hulking Brute don't last long, the Master probably doesn't take a scratch, and it's all because of the Master's amazing skill. Having said all that, I guess the point where I do disagree with you is that a really strong Kung Fu Master will have an edge over a 98-pound weakling Kung Fu Master. I assume that's one reason they have weight classes in most professional fighting competitions. While it might not necessarily be true for some forms of martial arts, I think it does hold true for the majority of cases. And if the game system as written adequately handles the majority of cases -- and I think it does -- I think it has done its job. Perhaps for some styles (like Aikido?), it doesn't. It would be cool to develop more detailed rules to cover differences in fighting styles like this -- if you take the Aikido style, you get a +1 bonus on blocks, but you can take a maximum of a +3/-3 called shot to reflect its defensive style, and all bonuses for both attacker and defender's STR are negated. Just an example -- I have no idea if the specifics would be accurate or not, but you get the idea. I've tossed around the idea of a "Player's Companion" that would include this sort of thing, but we *really* don't want to publish supplements with additional rules. Most likely, it would be something that would end up in Undercurrents. If anyone is interested/qualified... Greg Benage Fantasy Flight, Inc. *************************************************************************** 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: Monday, October 30, 2000 7:33 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bobba the Hutt To: Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:57 PM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Unarmed combat damages. > >The base damage rating of an unarmed strike is Strength + 1. Sorry about the > >omission. > > That's kinda what I figured, but... > > So what about characters with a below-average Strength? Do they still get a > minimum of 1 damage, or do they have to do a called shot to inflict damage, > or what? Right. As I state on PG 118, there is a minimum DR of 1 for characters wielding a melee weapon of some sort. The implication is that if they're strong enough to wield it (GM's call), they're strong enough to do damage with it. Realistically, that's probably only really true of sharp and/or pointy weapons, but it works as a rule of thumb. The same is not true for unarmed attacks, however. An 8-year old can flail away all he wants at me and he's not going to do any appreciable damage if I'm making any attempt whatsoever to defend myself. Of course, if he catches me unawares and pokes a finger in my eye (bonus to hit for surprise attack, called shot), he can hurt me even if he's not especially skilled. Greg Benage Fantasy Flight, Inc. *************************************************************************** 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: Monday, October 30, 2000 11:00 PM To: blue_planet@lists.ient.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - greetings all ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Davis To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:50 AM Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - greetings all > I'm new to the Blue Planet world & mailing list, thought I would just > drop a note saying hey with an expression of my entusiasam for the game. Welcome, and thanks very much for the kind words. > Are there any firm dates on when we should expect to see the next two > suplements in our local stores? Its looking like the NRM is going to play a > serious role in the campaign I'm designing, so I cann't want for the law & > crime book. I'm working my butt off to get First Colony finished and off to the printer in the next couple weeks. We've had some very frustrating production delays, but I *hope* we'll be able to get it on the shelf by the end of November. Similarly, I'd like to get "Posse" out by Christmas, but I don't want to release it too close to FC. Stay tuned for further updates. BTW, the cover graphics and text for First Colony are up on the FFG website at: http://www.rpg.net/ffg/bp.html You can also pre-order now by following the "Sales" link on the BP page. Thanks, 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.