IRPS NEWSLETTER January 2, 1996 Issue #2 Table of Contents: Club Status Report Internet Relay Chat (Michael Popovich ) Monthly Columns The Crypt of Philodox (Terry A. Lugviel ) CCGs vs RPGs (Harold N. MacAulay ) Net Chat (Craig Janssen ) Daili's Collectibles - Informational (Craig Janssen ) Roles & Rolls (Eduard W. Lohmann ) In Long Eons - Q&A's (Barbara Johnson-Haddad ) James's Brain Dump (James Ducan ) Magic Item Shop (Dave Mavretic (davem1@island.microserve.com)> On the Shoulders of Giants ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Club Status Report (Michael Popovich ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The club is currently doing fine and as of January 31, 1996 there are currently 330 members. There are also several departments in the Secretary's command which remain unfilled and members are needed to fill positions. The Secretary currently has 3 deparments, each with it's own unique tasks and goals. Each of these three departments will consist of department heads and people in the department. The people in the department are answerable to the department head, the department head is answerable to the Secretary, and the Secretary is answerable to the President which gives an effective chain of command system for IRPS. The three departments are: OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Department of Membership Management (department head found) Department of Newsletter Publication (department head found) Department of Entertainment Subdepartment CCG Subdepartment RPG Subdepartment PBEMs (department head found) With all this said and done, we have decided to eliminate the officer position of Entertainment Officer turn it into a department instead. Akilesh Deperalta now heads the office of the Secretary. If you are interested in working for one of the departments e-mail Akilesh Deperalta (adep@loop.com) with information about yourself. Also, if you would like to be a department head of one of the open departments talk to Akilesh. Currently the only Department which has members in it is the Department of Newsletter Publication. The members of that department are the monthly columnists of the IRPS Newsletter. There are also two other departments but instead of being a clerical department, they're instead a presidental departments with the department heads being directly answerable to the president. These two departments are: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Department of Web Resources (department head found) Department of Internal Activities One of them is the Department of Web Resources. Currently there is a department head but there are no members to assist and this department is in great need of department members. Duties in this department range from gathering new Internet Role-Playing pages to collecting various Icons/Pictures for our pages and other members pages. If you are interested in joining this department contact Jacques Brunswick (jacquesb@worldaccess.nl) for further information. The other one is the Department of Internal Activities. Duties in here include maintaining IRC channels and searching for ways to increase club activity. If you're interested in this department contact Michael Popovich (cad@digital.net) for further information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet Relay Chat (Michael Popovich ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello everyone, as some of you know, there is a program called IRC which stands for Internet Relay Chat. It allows for users all over the world to chat with each other by using a keyboard as a means of communication. In IRC, people can chat together in channels where 1 person to 100+ people can gather and talk with each other about specific subjects. In order to run IRC you need an IRC Client program such as mIRC or WSIRC. They are shareware programs and can be downloaded from the Internet. I recommend that you use mIRC 3.92 (assuming you're running windows) but any other client program can be used. But there are various other IRC shareware programs out on the net. Once you get the program you will have to decide on which IRC "net" you would like to go and chat in. There are currently 2 large nets; Efnet and Undernet. IRPS has channels (#IRPS) in both nets so it doesn't matter which net you go to. It's all a matter of preference. If you go to Undernet you can meet me (Snorkel) but if you go to Efnet you can meet Vice President Craig Janssen (NetFlame) and Secretary Akilesh Deperalta (LordMagus). I would like to thank Thomas Charron for running a bot for the Internet Role-Playing Society. We greatly appreciate it. We are currently thinking about holding online meetings in #IRPS where members could discuss a variety of issuses ranging from daily role- playing news to holding officer elections there. There are other great role-playing channels on the net such as #AD&D and #mtg. #AD&D frequently holds online games since there is a bot capable of simulating dicerolls (noppa). IRC is a really great experience and we encourage all of you to participate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Crypt of Philodox (Terry A. Lugviel ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ELEMENTS OF HORROR - THE BASICS, PART 1 Any GM or player can tell you that the key to a successful campaign lies not in the rules of the game system, but in the people who play it. This is especially true for a horror campaign. What you do and don't do can make or break a horror story no matter how good the game system is. To prevent this from happening in your campaign, I've broken down the elements of horror into two parts. The first part, this article, will give you the basic elements you need to run a horror campaign. The second part, which will appear next month, will be focused on techniques you can use when designing you own adventures. This is directed more toward newcomers to the world of horror. It's intended for those who want to add elements of horror to a non-horror campaign and to those who want play a horror campaign but don't know where to start. Even experienced players and GMs may find something new as well as just refreshing their memories. What follows is a generalized breakdown of what horror is and isn't, as well as what it needs and doesn't need. Some of this may tie in with next months column, but I put it here because of it's relavancy to the text. Let's start with what horror is. HORROR BY DEFINITION All of us have our own perception of the world. And while each of us perceives everything slightly different we share certain common beliefs. The "common" beliefs are things like gravity, the danger of nuclear energy, and other stuff as well. We also have beliefs that we don't all share, such as religion, politics, and what food tastes best. What we believe is what we use to define our reality. And how we view that reality influences most of our choices. So, what does reality have to do with horror? Well, horror is the blatant bending of reality which results in the cause of fear and terror. Note the fear and terror part. There are times that reality's laws could be broken down which result in amazement and wonder and not cause fear. Imagine waking up one morning and discovering that everything you believed in was nothing but a lie. Faith was pointless and hope is lost. Everything that makes you who you are is fake. This would cause fear and uncertainty in most of us and that fear and uncertainty is the true essence of horror. H.P. Lovecraft put it best when he wrote "The true weird tale has something more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains according to rule. A certain atmosphere of breathless and inexplicable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint...of that most terrible conception of the human brain - a malign and particular suspension or defeat of the fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the demons of unplumbed space." Those are true words. But note that he mentioned only a hint need be present. The most terrible forms of horror come when reality starts breaking down one step at a time............ Now, on with some of the basic ideals that are needed to build a strong horror game on. The first of them is description. EVERYTHING NEEDS A DESCRIPTION I can't emphasize this one enough. Horror, especially in a RPG, is dependant upon description. This includes everything from the gameworld's environment to the people, places, and things within that environment. The mood of the game depends on how you describe everything. How you describe something is just as important as what you're describing. Here's a few things to keep in mind. First, everything in a horror campaign seems darker and more sinister. Dark clouds blanket the sky most of the time and rain falls more often than not. Thunderstorms happen more frequently. Every wind brings with it a haunting melody of howls. Lights seem dimmer and candles always flicker. Shadows grow longer and appear to move of their own accord. People are not as friendly, preferring to remain indoors. Animals aren't as friendly either. Buildings are older, uglier. Everywhere you turn you'd swear there's a cemetery or abandoned house. Of course, things aren't really that much different. They just appear to be. It justs seem like all the bad things happen at night. The sun still shines and people still have their daily routines. The darkness is just an illusion. This illusion can add depth and believability to the game. How the PCs see something can determine how they react. And everyone sees the same thing a little differently. Second, never describe the same thing the same way twice. That is if you can avoid it. Use different adjetives or synonyms every time you describe something. Don't always call a ghost a ghost. You can call it a ghost, an apparition, a wraith, a spirit, a phantom, etc. Not only does this enhance the mood, but it can keep the characters from guessing the true nature of what they see. Keep a dictionary or thesaurus handy to make it easier. H.P. Lovecraft was a master of description. He'd add a true element of horror to his stories by using adjetives that most common people didn't even understand. A lot of them were scientific terms, but they still worked. EVERYTHING MUST BE UNIQUE The standard in a horror game is that there are no standards. Everything is unique. No two PCs are the same and no two vampires are the same either. By making everything unique you avoid the repetitious hum drum of the typical cliche. This can be done for NPCs, monsters, magic spells and items, and even mundane items. And don't leave out plot lines, circumstances, or encounters either. Doing this is easy enough. All you have to do is alter one or two subtle statistics to make it different. For example, all magic swords could have a soft glow, but each one could glow a different color. All books could be printed in a different style or bound in a different material. All vampires have slightly different immunities and vulnerabilities. The way a magic spell looks and functions could be dependant on the personality of whoever casts it. Along with everything having to be unique, everything must also have a purpose for being there. The PCs always have a purpose, so should everything else. By purpose I mean a reason. Nevery put anything in your story just for the sake of having it there. Why is it there? How did it get there? What function did it serve? What function does it serve now? Answering these questions can make a horror campaign rich with depth and detail. It also allows you to use the same concepts in different ways. Note that this almost eliminates random treasure and monster encounters. If you rely on them, then be prepared to come up with an explantion for why it's there and what makes it unique. The quality of what you put into your stories is far more important than quantity. This way, when the PCs start wondering why there are so many pink skinned zombies in the area, you can let them find out if they want to. Or why their sword +1, +2 vs. Undead won't effect left-handed vampires. DETAILED PCS AND NPCS Every PC and NPC should be as detailed as possible. The reason for this is simple. It makes the GM's and the player's jobs easier. (It actually makes character creation harder, but gameplay easier.) Players should know everything about their characters and GMs should know everything about every character. If a character has an advantage, then detail how they got that advantage. Likewise, if they have a disadvantage, then detail it. Most game systems have phobias as a disadvantage. If a character has a phobia, then explain in detail how it came about. GMs need to remember that a characters disadvantage is your advantage and a players advantage is your disadvantage. The more a GM knows about the PCs and NPCs, and the better the players know their their characters, the more opportunities arise to roleplay. The GM can come up with more ideas for plots, subplots, and special encounters. This in turn gives the players a chance to become more involved with the story. This goes beyond just advantages and disadvantages. It also applies to skills ("Where did you learn to sword swallow anyway?"), character attributes ("You mean you got that strong from lifting polar bears?!"), habits ("Talking to animals, eh? Like they're gonna talk back."), and appearance ("And I suppose everyone in your family is a handsome as you?") If a character has it, then define it. AVOID TECHNICAL TALK WHEN YOU CAN The less you have to mention the rules in a horror game the better. This is fairly easy to do in systems that have very few rules (such as Call of Cthulhu), but can be impossible in ones that are rules intensive (like Rolemaster). Here are some ways you can do it. Come up with some sort of hand signals to tell a character they need to roll to resist fear, or pass them a note. You could even make any rolls yourself and pass a note telling the player the results. Or even better yet, you can just let the players roleplay their responses. So long as they are true to their characters and the present situation, this is okay. The more attention you give the rules, the less attention goes to the story. Try to find a comfortable way to avoid using the technical terms of a game but not slow down play. This can help support the mood your trying create. ROLEPLAYING You knew I'd get to it sooner or later. I put it towards the end so that you'd remember it. Horror just doesn't work without roleplaying. And not just ordinary roleplaying. You have to do it with style. Your on center stage. Be the actor. Put heart and soul into it. Nothing can ruin a good horror story more than poor roleplaying can. A good way to invoke roleplaying in players is to award experience based solely on roleplaying. (A good way to invoke roleplaying in the GM is to pitch in for pizza :] ) Note that it doesn't have to be an oscar winning performance. It just needs to be done. Not everyone can play Hamlet well, but everyone can try. But do give out bonus experience for a truly excellent performance. A lot of people believe that it's the actor who makes Shakespeare. But in my opinion, it's Shakespeare who makes the actor. As a GM, you are Shakespeare. And the more depth you put into your horror games, the better the results you get from your players. FINISHING THOUGHTS There are other things you can do to enhance the feeling of your horror campaigns, but they have little to do with the actual game. Dim the lights where you play. This helps create atmosphere. You can also use props, sound effects, and haunting musical scores. A special note shoud be made about props. Don't use any real weapons! In fact, avoid any prop weapons at all if you can. Also don't use anything that you can't afford to lose. Not that you'd lose it, but you never know. This includes family heirlooms, fine china, etc. Props aren't that important. There are probably a number of things I'm forgetting at the moment. If I come across something important, I'll add them in along the way. Next month we'll look at what elements can be used when designing you own horror adventure. For now, I'm outta' here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CCGs vs RPGs (Harold N. MacAulay ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CCG (Collectable Card Games) vs. RPG (Role-Playing Games) is there any wonder as to were it all comes from. When I first started playing RPGs I never heard of Magic: The Gathering, or anything of the like. Well now the battle of the the games has started. Even in the little town in the middle on Prince Edward Island, Canada in our one comic store it has happened, instead of talking about last weeks game, it is about the game being played now or about the last tournament. When I first started playing AD&D some six years ago it was the greatest thing that I have ever played. It was like a movie and a video game all wrapped into one. Instead of seeing the hero train to defeat the major foe, it was me training him to finish off the evil mage and clam his tower for my own. For six years I played and never looked back until now. About a year ago I strayed from the RPG world to the Card game world. Both worlds are made of paper and dice and now even little metal minatures. When I found a few people to play, only one of them was from my former game group that died off because of moving on and moving away, a whole new type of role-playing developed, and when some of the rest of my game group started to play the RPG world had stopped and that was okay for a little while but soon the cards got to be routine, people using the same "killer" decks over and over again. It, well, got boring. But whenever someone got a new card it was great, Reading it for the first time was fun and trying to devise a new way to counter the effect of the new card. In many ways it was the same as facing a new creature from the new monster manual that the DM just got, but still I found that it lacked something but what? After a while I began to relize what it was that was missing from the card games, player interaction and character development. Some people might say that building a deck is like creating a new character, is it? Sure, I think that it is very alike but also very diffrent. A deck doesn't need to be equipped with a sword or anything trivial like torchs or food for the next adventure. Gold doesn't have to be spent buying armor. Does the deck need a horse to get around, NO. In many ways the construction of a deck and a character are the same. Both take time and a lot of consideration. For example, they suit the player and not the other way around. Both can give the creator a sense of acomplishment. Last but not least they give the creator a great deal of pleasure, either the deck winning or the fighter destroying the creature that guards the monster. I have no quams about any of the card games, and as a matter of fact I play in quite a few of them, Magic, Star Trek, VTES, and I even tried the Dragon Dice game. I find that the game can even interact with each other. One time when me and a few of my friends were playing Vampire the Masqurade, we use magic to pass some of he time between events. For a little while when Jhyad came out all of the aspects of the game, made it look like a RPG of some sorts, Voting, attacking and trying to steal peoples equipment. But alas I found that with just two people it got boring and without the proper funds to get good cards, my friends couldn't play. All in all the two systems are almost the same, but they have alot of diffrences. The main one being player interaction and the joy of Role- playing with your friends. Sure trounceing them with the super card may be fun but it may get boring. My biggest prblem wiht the two is the fact of funds. AD&D and other game can be used over and over again and not get bored with the same thing over and over agian, we as if you get a pack of cards and get the same on, well SOL. I have amassed some thousands of dollars in AD&D book and about 500 on cards. I find that after a while the cards do get boring and we stop playing, but for the role-playing game, they never stop anymore and we still have a ball doing the same old stuff, it's just a different day or plane whatever comes to mind. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Chat (Craig Janssen ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to Net Chat! There was an error in issue #9 of Scrye. The WotC email listserv is listserv@wizards.com not oracle@wizards.com! Thank you, Carol Sprague for catching the error! The last few months have been quite an experience! Things are starting to get busy with MSN. You will see my name more when you get replies from Scrye. I am helping out with email as the other people at Scrye are very busy. I expect the next months to be very exciting. Well, it will be busy at least! MTG front: Chronicles are available again. Homelands will be here but the time you read this. I am hearing rumors that Homelands will be printed on the scale of Fallen Empires. I know there are no problems getting Homelands from distributors. Another unusual event has occurred with Homelands. WotC released the rarity list for the set early. Scrye rushed to get a list together for issue #10. A new restricted/ban list has been released. The following cards Channel, Chaos Orb, and Falling Star are now banned in tournament use. Summon legends are now unrestricted, and the Zuran Orb is restricted. Watch the Wizards WWW site, for updates and information! There has been some very interesting discussions about all the rules clarifications and updates. Most people see the need for the updates. Others say "Enough is Enough"! There is now a Top 10 MTG list. You can now vote for your favorite card. The list is compiled by Tom Gioconda (see Net Resources for the address and WWW information). Other CCG Front: Heresy should be out by the time you read this! The company Last Unicorn Games is offering free goodies. You can call them for details (see Net Resources). A well detailed guide to V:TES has been released on the net. If you can't find it, email me for a copy. Legends of the Five Rings is scheduled for release in early October! There will be approximately 300 cards in the set, with a total print run of 12 million cards. Keep your eyes open for the promo sheets! For you World War 2 fans, check out the The Last Crusade CCG. Last Crusade will cover the struggle between the Allies and Germany between the years of 1944 and 1945. Middle Earth: The Wizards is due out some time in December and will be released by I.C.E. not WotC. The set will be over 400 cards. Rumors say the art is great! OverPower is here! Fleer is pulling out all the stops with this CCG. Be on the look out for OverPower Legion. The Legion will be the official club for OverPower. Prices to join were still being determined. Members will have access to free goodies and information not available to other people! Send email to address or call the 800 number listed in Net Resources for details. On the Edge is still doing well. Atlas had the "On the Edge Promo days" in early October. Hopefully, everyone got a chance to see OTE for themselves. The OTE ftp site (see Net Resources for address) has been updated with new expansion information and a Quick Start sheet with deck building and rules information. White Wolf Games has started a club for Rage. It will be called Garou Nation and it's free for a limited time. You can even join by email! The club will offer free items and a 20% discount on orders from White Wolf. Just send the following information to Justin Achilli by email (Achilli@aol.com) include your name, address, phone number, tribe of interest, e-mail address, age, and phone number. Or you can call the phone number listed for Rage in Net Resources. Check out the Rage room in the People Connection on Thursdays 6 PM to 7 PM, Todd Mayville will be online to talk about Rage. Tempest of the Gods is shipping in the first week of October. It should also available by the time you read this. Dragon Dice by TSR is a new twist on the collectible game market. As the name implies, dice instead of cards are used. Dragon Dice is receiving a lot of attention on the news group. The latest issue of Polyhedron magazine (RPGA) has a rules and reference article about Dragon Dice. Throwing Stones published by Gamesmiths, is another dice based game. The review posted on misc group was very detailed. Throwing Stones is primarily a role playing game, unlike Dragon Dice that is geared toward miniature games. David Long, the president of Ultimate Games has offered a buy back guarantee for the new expansion set ANCIENT FIGHTING ARTS OF CHINA (email address below). WildStorm Productions is looking for stores to promote the WildStorms CCG. Email JNEE01@aol.com (Jeff Mariotte, Director of Marketing) or send a fax to (619) 551-9544 for more information. Email Lists: To provide complete coverage of the CCG industry on Internet, I will start looking at email lists that exist for the various games. Email lists are more specialized and active than news groups. This month, I will be talking about the ST-CCG email lists. Big news on stccg-discussion@lists.decipher.com is about Alternate Universe. Warren Holland, the president of Decipher has announced the release for Alternate Universe. Alternate Universe will be release on December 18. Warren Holland also talked about the reasons for the delays. Reactions by readers of the email list was mixed. It is clear that most people are very disappointed about the delay of Alternate Universe. The email list stccg-marketplace@lists.decipher.com is a good place for buying and trading cards. A rumor just appeared on the discussion group, that says that Paramount will be using SkyBox to publish other CCGs dealing with DS9, Star Trek movies, and Voyager. More details as they are released! IRC: Want to meet some of the national tournament players from the USA? Some of the best tournament players can be found on IRC. Others can be found, if you look hard enough. Some of the people include Adam Maysonet (MTG SE Regional Champion) and Brian Weissman. What do people talk about? The #mtg channel is not just for MTG. People will talk about almost any of the CCGs presently out on the market. There has been a lot of talk about where CCGs are heading. Be sure to get a copy of Jesse Richman's (Dahlimer) FAQ "How to play MTG on IRC". Yes, people do play MTG on IRC quite a lot! MSN: MSN activities are still in the works. Due to changes in the publishing schedule of Scrye, things are moving some what slower than we first thought. New files will be uploaded to MSN by the time you see this. Scrye University will be up and running in late December as of now. You can find me online on MSN in the evenings. Feel free to send me email or drop by the Scrye chat room. Net Resources: Here are some updated email lists and WWW sites. If you know of any sites or email addresses I do not have, please let me know. James Smith maintains a promo card list. It is posted to rec.games.trading-cards.announce monthly. His email address is engjs@cc.newcastle.edu.au where James is looking for corrections and additions to list. BattleLords http://www.io.com/~optimus (ODS web site) optimus@io.com, OptimusDS@aol.com Crow http://www.best.com/trooper.shtml Dragon Dice salvius@panix.com (Vinny Salzillo) Galactic Empires http://io.com/user/kira/empires/ Guardians FPGQNA@aol.com (Net Rep is changing) Hyborian Gates 1-800-373-GATE Last Unicorn Games 1-800-275-4323 On The Edge ftp.io.com/pub/Atlas OverPower AHRZ07A@prodigy.com (Steve Domzalski) http://www.swarthmore.edu/cc/staff/yue/OverPower 1-800-OPrules Rage ragecom@aol.com http://www.turnpike.net/~Mackman/ragefile.htm 404-292-WOLF Ultimate Combat davelong@aol.com Top 10 MTG List Email: tgioconda@ids2.idsonline.com WWW: http://www.tjhsst.edu/~tgiocond/ CCG & RPG site http://mxn117.rh.psu.edu/~spud/gamer.htm Card Combos: From Vincent J. Murphy: TNT: Order of Light with Wand of Lightning Cloud Giant and Fly ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daili's Collectibles - Informational (Craig Janssen ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daili's Collectibles was formed in Feb 1995, in Gainesville Florida. The purpose of Daili's Collectibles was to provide CCG and RPG products at low prices. Daili's Collectibles is currently located in Melbourne, Florida. Daili's Collectiibles is owned and operated by Craig Janssen. Daili's Collectibles sells all the current brands of CCGs and RPGs. Daili's Collectibles is currently offering a 30% standard discount to IRPS members for RPG products. The discount can be increased with large orders. Daili's Collectibles offers free shipping for orders over 150$ on RPG products. Shipping is generally included in the price of CCG products (in the USA). CCG product are general discounted more than 30% I will be happy to work with any member interested in products. Daili's Collectibles can be reach by email at daili@gate.net A WWW page is in the works in the future. Right now, there is no WWW pages due to the costs of my interenet access provider. Ordering is simple. Send email to daili@gate.net. Detail what you want. If the items are not in stock, I will check my distributor to see if its avaiable. Right now, Daili's Collectibles is accepting Money Orders and Checks. Checks will delay shipment of product till the check clears the bank account. This is gerenally 3 to 5 business days. Don't want to send email? You can call Daili's Collectibles as well. Shipping is by UPS in the USA. Outside of the US, shipping will be by US mail. I am looking into expanding this... Daili's Collectibles does not currently take credit cards. Due to costs, included we will not be taking credit cards for the short term. Credit cards would add at least 4% to every order. *Ouch* References are aaiable upon request. I have been around internet for 10 years now and have dealt with quite a few people. This information sheet will be expanded upon in the future as events warrant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roles & Rolls (Eduard W. Lohmann ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- It all happened right there. The same inn I always went to. Not the kind of place many adventures start, but a quiet local place. Where only the regulars come. Rain poured down across the windows. Lightning flashed infrequently, but just often enough not to keep me from relaxing. As the door opened the thunder crashed into my ears. A man came in. Not to tall, an elegant and soundless stride and a pale attractive face. He must have been in his thirties. He scanned the room and I could feel his gaze settle upon me like a curse. He walked over to me and I fully expected him to... I don't know what. But all he did was hand me a scroll. On the outside only four letters glared at me menacingly IRPS. When I looked up he was walking towards the door and as he left I noticed he didn't leave a drop of water. Hello all, I though I'd start of with a little atmosphere since it is so important to role-playing. And role-playing is what I enjoy most. I am a 25 year old student of theoretical computer science from Amsterdam and my name is Eduard Lohmann. I am planning to write a column for the IRPS answering questions about role-playing and Game-system design. I have been involved in Fantasy Role Playing for about ten years. I have played the following commercial systems D&D, AD&D-1, AD&D-2, GURPS, MERP, Elfquest, Space 1889, ShadowRun and Dangerous Journeys. I have also played and/or studied other game-systems including Dark Dungeon, FUDGE and many others some of which I designed myself. And last but not least, I have played and mastered, without using a game system. I am most interested in Swords & Sorcery, dark fantasy and Gothic horror. I sit and wait until the beating of my hart feels normal and I open my newly received document. So you plan to answer question do you. Do you think you know all _Mortal_. Your life is but a flicker of light and darkness is all around you. You know so little. What? How? Who is this person? What does he know about me? I do not know all but I know enough to be of use to some, or so I think... I need another drink. Innkeeper! I will try to answer any question as fairly as I can, but this column is meant for questions about role-playing and game-system design. As I think that (sadly) these have much to do with each other. I am most interested in questions that are important regardless of what game-system one uses. Some practical information. If you want to ask a question send it to lohmann@fwi.uva.nl and start the subject with [R&R] or [IRPS] and give me some time to find the answer, before the next newsletter is posted. Also include what sources you have already tried to find an answer, like books, usenet-groups and such. I hope this has made things clear enough to make Roles & Rolls a asset to the IRPS and the world of roleplaying. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Long Eons - Q&A's (Barbara Johnson-Haddad ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings. From the darkness a gamer wanders forth, dragging a suitcase full of rule-books, pockets bulging with dice and decks of magic cards. She (yes, _she_) smiles and says, "Thought I'd introduce myself. I've gamed for 23 years --as of this Easter-- and figured there might be some questions that I can help answer. While I haven't played every single role- playing game in existance the past several decades, I have played a large share of them. I've also helped explain to non-gamers why RPGs are not evil/satanic/etc and the positive influences that gaming has. I have also helped organize and run a variety of gaming/science fiction/fantasy conventions, and can offer advice on this. Mythology, science fiction, fantasy, horror are all genres I have read extensively, so if you have a reasonable question/want some advice or suggestions, by all means ask me. Feel free to send your questions to me directly at: bhaddad@lunacity.com for answers. And with a grin at the readers beyond the darkened screen, the gamer bows and drags her gaming material off-stage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- James's Brain Dump (James Ducan ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- As this is my first column here at IRPS (for that matter, anywhere else), and probably the first time anybody out there has heard of me, I'll let you know a little about myself; I am several things: a Unix SysAdmin in two locations, the owner of Palanoon Computing Technologies, which is a Networking Database development company; and a part owner of TCGames, which is an RPG company that myself and two friends started just over three months ago. I have been playing various games now for nine years, since the start of 1988. I started with Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone's choose your own adventure book 'Forest of Doom', and since then I've been hooked on all types of Fantasy & SciFi games. I remember the first time I opened the red Dungeons and Dragons boxed set - I still use the dice that came with it - the books that seemed so complicated then, appear so tiny now. I also remember the first 'Dragon' Magazine I read, and the first time I played an *Gnomish* Magic User, in the seemingly unlimited rules of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. * * * My gaming has altered in many ways over the last nine years: Dungeons & Dragons, to Shadowrun to RIFTS, and finally to my own game: True Cyberpunk; All my experiences are positive and warm. I've had my share of bad DM's, and even bad days when I couldn't come up with an adventure hook if Takhissis herself told me to; I think it's important that I enjoyed all these times as well - sure, maybe the people I was playing with didn't appreciate it to begin with, but after ten minutes of complaining, whining, and/or physical violence (I am joking by the way), most of the time we all sat down after ten minutes, looking through the various boxed sets that lay scattered throughout the room, discussing rules, discussing life, and having a good time. This brings me to my point (Yes, I do have one): Gaming is a social animal. Gamers stick together and tend to help each other out. We attend conventions together, because we are bound by a common interest, even if we don't look the same, sound the same, or even play the same game. Two gamers, with completly different backgrounds can sit down and - provided they speak the same language - discuss aspects of most roleplaying games in a civillized, intelligent manner. It is something that does not happen in the same scale as acting, or writing, or anything else (with the exception perhaps, of comic books and Collectors Card Games). Perhaps this is why roleplaying is still seen as a 'geeks' game (you have to use your intelligence). Perhaps this is why there hasn't been a mass-market RPG yet (I've noticed this discussion on USENET once again). If this is the case, I'm still happy and content to be in this geekish minority. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magic Item Shop (Dave Mavretic (davem1@island.microserve.com)> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rock of Jaghmuth Frequency: Unique Exp.: 13000 Value: 10000 GP The Rock of Jaghmuth is what appears to be a common river stone, which is just large enough to fit into the palm of the hand, when the fist is clenched. If a detect magic is cast upon this stone, it will give off a faint reading of alternation magic. Jaghmuth Yettison was a powerful wizard who, late in the year of 1158, decided that normal methods of fighting in his pits, was growing boring. So using his vast knowledge of the arcane arts, he created a way for a fighter to beat an opponent, even if the odds were heavily favored against him. Just before a pit fight would take place, Jaghmuth would slip into the arena and drop the rock somewhere on the sands, close to the enterance where his fighter would appear. Then, while the battle was going on, his fighter would pick up the rock, and use it in battle. This was not frowned on, because the only weapons allowed in these fights, were hands, feet, other body parts, sand, and/or, whatever the fighters could find on the floor of the arena. There would always be other stones around. Being a river stone, it was easier to distinguish, because of it's rounded edges. Jaghmuth used several spells and methods to create this weapon. Since he was considered a wilder, it was not above him to use Necromancy in creating his artifact. He captured a Fire Giant, and used his vast knowledge to drain all the strength, (and subsequently the life) of the Fire Giant and transfer it to the stone. He even went deep into the jungles of Chult, and captured two Atomie Sprites, and drained their speed and dexterity to add that to the stone. Only when weilded, the Rock will grant the weilder the strength of a fire giant, and the dexterity of an atomie sprite, in the hand/arm holding the Rock. It is not possible to hold any other weapon with the same hand that the Rock is in. In Game terms, this gives the weilder a +4 to hit, and +10 to damage, and a defense adjustment of -5. Jaghmuth fared well, and won many of the wagers for quite a while in these arena's. However, his luck was destined to change. The Fire Giant who's essense he had utilized for his Rock, had a mate, and it was very unhappy when it finally found out what happened. It tracked Jaghmuth down, and there was a terrible battle between the two. Many blows and spells were traded back and forth, and to Jaghmuth, it appeared that the Fire Giant was hardly hurt by even his most offensive of attacks. He on the other hand, was serioulsy hurt. In his haste to leave, he dropped the Rock, as he initiated his teleport to a safer place. After he disappeared, the Fire Giant picked up the Rock, and cursed the Rock, for any weilder who used it to suffer the same fate as it's mate. Then, with it's dying breaths, made the curse permanent. Jaghmuth, arriving where he had decided to teleport, didn't quite realize the extent of his injuries, and passed out immediately. He bled to death, without ever waking up. The Rock traded many hands over the years. It's last known location was somewhere in Zenthil Keep. (DM's choice) DM's Notes: Use of this item grants the weilder a +4 to hit, and +10 to damage, and an initiative modifier of -5. Upon every successful hit using this weapon, the weilder sufferes a one point subtraction of either his dexterity or strength (DM choice) and has a 50% chance of loosing one point of ANY stat, upon using the stone more than once. Every successful hit will mean the weilder looses one stat point somewhere, PERMANENTLY. Treat any natural 20 roll, as a critical hit, for maximum damage, tripled. The victim must roll a successful save vs. death, or have whatever part of him/her hit, be disabled for 1d10 rounds. ANY successful hit to the head (called shot or hit table) when a critical hit is rolled, the victim is knocked unconcious (unless killed). Play Notes: The Rock is something that breaks the monotony of the game, during combat. It provided some interesting and entertaining role playing, until the party that was using it, sold it to get away from the curse. If you have an item(s), that you would like to see in this column, please send it/them to dmav@island.microserve.com and I'll playtest it, to test it out, then send it out in the newsletter, (depending on the number of entries), as soon as possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the Shoulders of Giants ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Supernatural Investigation by the Numbers Review all you know about the situation. Just like in journalism you have to know: Who, What, Where, How, When, and Why. 1) Who - Who is involved. Learn everything you can about the people in this situation you can. Check police and military records, financial records (tax returns, phone logs, utility company usage), property ownership, places of business, credit statements, bank records, recent purchases and patterns of buying. If you work for a powerful agency most of this can be done with a simple computer query, phone call, or flash of credentials. If not, you will need to do some legwork or computer hacking. 2a) What - What happened? What really happened?. Not conjecture, not what everyone thinks happened. You need physical evidence, eyewitness testimony (only the parts that start with "I saw"), or photographic records. Few people have any experience with a supernatural phenomenon so you cannot trust their conclusions. Differences between photographic records and testimony can be just the result of amateurism or may indicate that the observers and participants were mind affected or the manifestation cannot be recorded electronically or on film. 2b) What - What is it? If you have a database of supernatural creatures or manifestations you can start to identify what is the nature of the beast. If you can learn what you face then you can plan specific attacks and defenses against it, so you don't follow the victim's footsteps. Remember that many creatures can have some of the same abilities (both a werewolf and vampire are immune to normal weaponry, both can shapechange). Until all the evidence is compiled you cannot act with any reasonable confidence. Act in haste and you may join the ranks of your opponent rather than defeating he, she, or it. 3) Where - Where did this take place. Some creatures only appear in certain climates or cultures. Others cannot abide certain locations (most vampires cannot cross holy ground. If the supernatural incident occurs there, you know what it isn't). It may also give some illumination to where a creature lairs. Look for sewers, alleyways, parking lots, how high the rooftops - Anything that would allow a creature to enter and exit without hindrance. Most monsters are smart. They have to be or they would not survive. It is usually bad luck or a change in their situation that reveals them so that they become the object of your investigation. This assumes that they aren't newly created. If so the real object of your investigation becomes the person or thing that created them. 4) How - At the beginning, you are looking for means and methods. How was the person attacked? What kind of injuries did it leave. How did it gain entrance. How did it escape pursuit (if any). 5) When - When did the incident occur? Many creatures shun daylight. If there were multiple incidents you may begin to see a pattern of behavior. If an attack occurs every 48 hours you know your period of safety. You know when you need to be prepared for another attack. You know when to get some sleep so you will be as alert as possible. Creatures of darkness may be weaker than they appear, using the night to aid their approach and departure. Illusions are more believable at night since our eyes are poorly equipped to discern detail in low light and our other sense are not very acute. So you need to stock up on light intensifier goggles (maybe infrared as well). 6) Why - Why did this happen? As mentioned above, most supernatural creatures are good at covering their tracks, that is why they have survived. Unless it was just bad luck, something has changed to create the incident. Check for sale or demolition of buildings, especially ones that have appeared dormant for a long time. Sudden unseasonal storms that flood the storm drains can flush out many undesirable elements. Increases in crime, natural disasters, new construction, or recent exhibitions of art, ancient artifacts, or estate sales can unleash a slew of horrors. Check police reports for thefts of such items as well. Only after you have exhausted all your sources of information should you make a move against this creature. In most cases your biggest asset is that the supernatural is counting on no one really believing that it exists. That can lull it into a false sense of confidence and allow important information to slip out. A threatened creature is far more dangerous and may go to ground disappearing for long periods and thwarting your investigation. You don't know who your enemies are. Many times your allies can be turned against you by mind control, bribery, extortion, or simple slips of information. Much as you may wish to give reassurance, you must keep most information to yourself. If no one knows your real reason for being there, so much the better. Usually the most important answers will only be revealed at the end of the investigation. However, they are the most important. They make the difference between killing (or destroying) and capturing the supernatural creature. If the creature was acting out of simple hunger. If it was wronged and was seeking simple justice. If it can be controlled and turned to good, then killing it is a terrible waste and just acerbates the tragedy of the situation. However, if the incident occurs due to greed, hatred, or any of the other deadly sins, then you have no choice. Your first priority is the safety and well being of those who employ you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final Note (Michael Popovich ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well as always, I encourage all the members out there who read the IRPS newsletter to write IRPS authors and give them feedback regarding their monthly columns. Also, if you're interested in writing a monthly column, e-mail me for further information.