From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #317 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume98/317 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 98 : Issue 317 Today's Topics: Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption [B7L] Merry Christmas and apologies Re: [B7L] The character known as dangermouse Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption Re: [B7L] The character known as dangermouse Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' [B7L] Re: story arcs Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] Re: story arcs Fw: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] RPG Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] RPG [B7L] Holiday Greetings Re: [B7L] RPG Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 09:25:01 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII On Thu 24 Dec, Taina Nieminen wrote: > I've played in a B7-type universe using GURPS, which worked okay. Hunted by > the Federation is a 120 point disadvantage, which being a group > disadvantage, bypasses the 40 point disad limit, and gives more than decent > characters using a 100 point base. I think one of the RPGs being run at Redemption is using the GURPS system and another fan who hopes to be able to make it has mentioned that she has a B5 GURPS scenario. JUdith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 10:48:37 -0800 From: Pat Patera To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' Message-ID: <36828C85.1D8C@geocities.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Penny Dreadful wrote: regarding the original post: > >Why did Travis make her the offer? Because he loved her. This was obvious to me the first time Travis 1 came into her office. And also, that she did not respect him even then. When they were in the caves in Orac and Travis protected her from the Phibians, I thought his love apparent - when he gives that little amused smile over her fear. And then climbs thru the hole first. And comes to her aid so quickly. This wasn't military training; this was personal concern for her safety. Perhaps it was her power he loved, but the power resided in her body. > >Why did she turn him down? > ... moreover she didn't respect him enough to *pretend* to > consider it, which I think she would have done with Season 1 Travis. With 1st season, she may have pretended just because she wanted to keep him on a string as she thought he might be useful. I agree that Travis 2 was too far gone to be useful - a loose canon. She is so dismissive of him in The Keeper it is painful to watch her reject his offer. The poor man is laying the Entire Galaxy at his lady's feet. And I believe this blatant demonstration of how she disdained him is what sent Travis 2 over the edge - his deliverance of Star One to the Aliens I see totally as revenge against his unrequited love. A friend of mine says there is nothing more fragile than the Male Ego. And no better ego stomper than Servalan! Avon was smart enough to keep her far far from his ego! Pat P ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 19:57:31 -0000 From: "Dangermouse" To: "Calle Dybedahl" , "Lysator List" , "Space City" Subject: Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption Message-Id: <199812242032.UAA06581@gnasher.sol.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ---------- > From: Calle Dybedahl > To: Lysator List ; Space City > Subject: Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption > Date: 23 December 1998 19:45 > > "Dangermouse" writes: > > > I have a natural gift for rubbing everybody up the wrong way, sooner > > or later. > > And on both mailing lists at once, even. I just hit the reply button - Baskerville chose the forums. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 20:09:04 -0000 From: "Dangermouse" To: Subject: [B7L] Merry Christmas and apologies Message-Id: <199812242032.UAA06597@gnasher.sol.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A merry Christmas to all (or pleasant Hanukkah or Ramadan where appropriate) Peace and goodwill to all men with one notable exception. Also, apologies for the trouble of late - I certainly didn't mean to discourage attendance of Redemption, but merely have some concerns over the appropriateness of the guest's previous behavious - there could be kids in the audience, for example. However, one of you seems to have taken it to heart too much and decided to post abuse of me. How childish. I wonder if he can resist the urge to have the last word - this is mine on the subject. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 19:56:18 -0000 From: "Dangermouse" To: , Subject: Re: [B7L] The character known as dangermouse Message-Id: <199812242032.UAA06576@gnasher.sol.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ---------- > From: Robert Baskerville > > I understand that "dangermouse" has posted part or all of a private email > written by me (to him personally) to these mailing lists. That's right, because you were trying to gag me. > This is a blatent > abuse of netiquette, clearly this character has no manners whatsoever or > a significant technological ineptitude. Again, I presume we've never met... Rest assured if we meet at Redemption, I'll try to live up to your expectations of me. > I apologise to all the list members > for the noise this has created. Likewise, but frankly this arrogant prick is pissing me off, and that just make me stick to my guns even more. The rest of you, just ignore it. > I'll not bother responding any more to the dangerm00se here; he's welcome > to hurl abuse directly at me all he likes. How odd - I'm not the one who calls posters rude, descends to childish corruptions of their online IDs etc just because someone else doesn't have the same opinion of me. There's only one of us hurling abuse at the other here - and it isn't me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 20:02:11 -0000 From: "Dangermouse" To: "Neil Faulkner" , "lysator" Subject: Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption Message-Id: <199812242032.UAA06588@gnasher.sol.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ---------- > From: Neil Faulkner > Damn, damn, someone stealing my thunder already (oy ve!). But seriously, > Dangermouse's remarks open a new slant on an actor I'd always taken to be a > right-on working class hero. What was the context of these remarks about > women, poofs and Pakis? To be honest I didn't pay enough attention to them to remember too well - I just remember observing a somewhat stunned audience looking very uncomfortable at that panel... > The big blonde comment is the kind I'd make myself > without remotely meaning it, so I don't attach much importance to that. > Guess I'll have to see him in action at Rdemption. Like I said, Kev Davies and Jan Chappell say he's normally charming, and must just have been having a bad day (and with that hotel who can blame him) I certainly didn't mean to start any flamewars here, but nor am I going to let Baskerville browbeat me for having a different opinion. As for the netiquette of posting his email - because I couldn't reply to him directly; his killfiling was the equivalent of shouting "jinx, no comebacks" and slamming the phone down childishly. So I'll apologise to the rest of the list - but not to him. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 15:45:27 EST From: ShilLance@aol.com To: master@sol.co.uk, Blakes7@lysator.liu.se, space-city@world.std.com Subject: Re: [B7L] The character known as dangermouse Message-ID: <9243a00.3682a7e7@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit In a message dated 12/24/98 3:33:24 PM EST, master@sol.co.uk writes: << There's only one of us hurling abuse at the other here - and it isn't me. >> How about both of you dropping the nonsense so the rest of us don't suffer? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 13:43:45 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' Message-ID: <19981224214346.28998.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain Pat said: >She is so dismissive of him in The Keeper it is painful to watch her >reject his offer. The poor man is laying the Entire Galaxy at his lady's >feet. And I believe this blatant demonstration of how she disdained him >is what sent Travis 2 over the edge - his deliverance of Star One to the >Aliens I see totally as revenge against his unrequited love. Hey, yo, Pat, baby, *great* minds think alike (ignore Calle's occasional .sig to the contrary)! A direct quote from one of my web-pages (committed under the influence of sinus medication): "She bullies Travis, mocks him, swats him, has him beaten and abused in various ways by various minions, railroads him - but in the end it is apparently only her indifference - her obliviousness to his eleventh-hour overture (power-sharing proposal, pickup line, I really don't think there's much difference, no matter who's involved) - that decides him vis á vis going out and doing some serious mass murder..." -- Penny "But You Can Call Me Marilyn Monroe" Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 21:54:32 +0000 (GMT) From: Robert Baskerville To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Re: story arcs Message-Id: <2525.9812242154@mcchpd.mcc.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Judith wrote: >I think one important things even though it isn't a story arc per se is that >the characters were allowed to change and develop over time. Thus we get both >Travis and Blake becoming increasingly fanatic in the second season. We get >major changes in Avon's character as he copes with life without first Blake and >then without Cally and Liberator. Vila's attitude to Avon changes after Orbit >(I alway felt that was good acting on Michael Keating's part). ...and a contrast to the way Avon sticks up for Villa in City at the Edge, and Villa's touching behaviour towards Avon in Rumours (eg immediately after Shrinker arrives on board) Returning to Orbit, I wonder if Avon would have hesitated as long as he did if it had been someone else on board (Tarrant? ) Robert ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 09:25:25 +1000 From: "Taina Nieminen" To: "B7" Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <004d01be2ecb$867a18a0$6f6f6f6f@tenzil> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kim asked for volunteers to do GURPS stats for B7 characters. Yeah, I'll do it. I love character creation. It'll be a pleasure. Taina =========================== Is there a mind/body problem? And if so, which is it better to have? - Woody Allen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 18:38:07 EST From: Mac4781@aol.com To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Re: story arcs Message-ID: <4204080f.3682d05f@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Robert wrote: > Returning to Orbit, I wonder if Avon would have hesitated as long as he > did if it had been someone else on board (Tarrant? ) He wouldn't have hesitated a second. Avon would have walked out that airlock as fast as his leather-stiff legs would carry him to save Tarrant. ;-) Carol Mc ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 10:50:14 +1000 From: "Taina Nieminen" To: "B7" Subject: Fw: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <001101be2ed7$5fd56720$6f6f6f6f@tenzil> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kim has suggested: >Maybe if a number of us on the list who are >familiar with GURPS each take a character or two, or if we all contributed >suggestions for each character...either of those could be interesting (and >productive). We could work out a scenario for them later. > And which season. What I see as some obvious disads (in no particular order) and advantages for first and second season: Vila - Kleptomania, Alcoholism (or less extremely, compulsive behaviour - stealing, addiction - alcohol), Low Pain Threshold, Combat Paralysis, Cowardice, Laziness, Weak Will (Vila's not doing very well here) Avon - Odious personal habit - petty insults (5 point), Greed, High Pain Threshold Gan - possibly Gigantism - how big is he, exactly? Gullibility? Truthfulness Travis - One eye (15 points), one arm (no points as bionically replaced), sadism? Blake - Fanaticism, stubborness, Charisma Cally - skinny? Orac - Legless etc., I'm sure there should be some mental disadvantage, about hating to be interrupted by mere humans who can't be bothered to think for themselves - intolerance? Group enemy - Federation - 40 points, tripled because they appear almost all the time = 120 points. Nothing comes to mind for Jenna. Taina =========================== Is there a mind/body problem? And if so, which is it better to have? - Woody Allen ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 01:04:02 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <001001be2fa2$e7633ac0$5e17ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >I've played in a B7-type universe using GURPS, which worked okay. Hunted by >the Federation is a 120 point disadvantage, which being a group >disadvantage, bypasses the 40 point disad limit, and gives more than decent >characters using a 100 point base. > And going by what it says on p.26 of the Basic Set, you still get up to 40 points per character. Throw in 5 quirks and you get an extra 165 points per character. Eeek! FWIW, I don't much like GURPS. It groans under the strain of all those modifiers and skill defaults (I prefer skill trees myself). >What's 2300AD like? I've never come across it. Never played it, only flipped through the rulebook. It looked okay for a 'realistic' SF setting. How do people go about rolegaming B7? Do you use the series characters, or originals? I've found that whenever the players use their own PCs, the end result is a flavourless generic space opera. The depth of background that appears to be in the series isn't really there when you turn it into a rolegame setting. It's the characters that make it B7. Do people have trouble reconciling the different appraisals of B7 that various players might have? After all, some fans approach it as science fantasy, others as quasi-cyberpunk. Various episodes from the series endorse both extremes and various middle courses between the two. There are other contentious issues too, like how far in the future B7 is set and does it matter anyway, and how alien are people like the Auronar. I can see players/GMs with strong views on such subjects either getting a bit miffed or rubbing backs up the wrong way (or both). And what do you do when the player running Avon does something that s/he believes is entirely in character for Avon, but everyone else reckons is way offline? I *have* run a successful B7 RPG (using the Horizon game, as it happens), but with series characters and carrying straight on after 'Blake'. Simply setting an SF scenario in the B7 universe wasn't half as successful. The latter approach especially puts a heavy burden on the GM to create lots of background which is both plausible and in tune with the series (the series hints at a plausible background, but doesn't actually offer it). How many people have devised extensive background detail for a B7 rolegame, and to what extent do their ideas coincide with or contradict one another's? Neil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 20:35:58 -0500 From: "Kimberly D. Ashford" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <02beb46380119c8CPIMSSMTPU02@email.msn.com> In addition to what's already been posted: Blake: reputation, delusion ("I am the savior of the masses"!), fanaticism Vila: combat paralysis, weak will Avon: paranoia, vow ("I will keep fighting the Federation because I promised Blake") Servalan: charisma, status, sadism Travis: military rank, bad temper, bloodlust. Travis could also have the split personality disadvantage...hmm, it must be really severe, to make his appearance change too! I wasn't thinking of running the B7 people as player characters, but as NPC's. That way the GM could make sure they stay in character; you'd have to come up with your own original characters for the game. GURPS seems to me to be the best game system for a B7 RPG, since it's so flexible. The most complicated parts are the combat rules, but there probably wouldn't be much hand to hand combat--so you wouldn't see "I rolled a 3, that's 27 modified--do I hit?" too often. Kim, the Smartest Vet since Tristan Farnon ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 12:12:54 +1000 From: "Taina Nieminen" To: "B7" Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <001c01be2ee2$ec0d6520$6f6f6f6f@tenzil> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Neil wrote: >And going by what it says on p.26 of the Basic Set, you still get up to 40 >points per character. Throw in 5 quirks and you get an extra 165 points per >character. Eeek! In fact, we did better than that. I got an extra 190 points all up - 120 enemy, 5 sense of duty - companions, 10 status - escaped prisoner, 25 poverty - dead broke, as group disads, and that was with only 25 points of individual disads + 5 points of quirks. Like, we really tried. > >FWIW, I don't much like GURPS. It groans under the strain of all those >modifiers and skill defaults (I prefer skill trees myself). Likewise. A doctor, say, who has electronics operation (medical equipment) is able to, by default, repair, say, radars or computers. To my mind, that is just silly. But I do like the GURPS set of advantages and disadvantages very much. Most of my GMing in the last five years has been using a skill-based system I created myself, but it's in limbo at the moment between revisions, so I'm currently using GURPS for one campaign, and Champions for the other. >How do people go about rolegaming B7? Do you use the series characters, or >originals? I've found that whenever the players use their own PCs, the end >result is a flavourless generic space opera. The depth of background that >appears to be in the series isn't really there when you turn it into a >rolegame setting. It's the characters that make it B7. Well, my experience in the B7-type one was quite dreadful, The reason it was B7 based was that our group had varying exposure to B7, ranging from none, to fourth season only, to passing through the living room while I watched B7 videos. Anyway, our GM was an experienced roleplayer, but very inexperienced GM. We were saddled with super-NPC who could do everything we could do, but better, and who wasn't shy about letting us know, and who became righteously indignant when we didn't acknowledge her obvious superiority. The NPC bit is important, it's not just a rant. Instead of fighting the Federation, we ended up sitting around while the NPC and the late-joining PC talked about economic problems with the favoured alien species who were superior in all ways to humans. Compared to that, generic space opera with space battles and shoot-outs with Federation guards seems quite attractive. I guess it's all a matter of viewpoint. >And what do you do when the player running Avon does something that s/he >believes is entirely in character for Avon, but everyone else reckons is way >offline? The Champions game I'm running (which I've started only recently) faces a similar problem in that it uses established characters from a comicbook series (Legion of Superheroes). What I've done is to begin at the beginning - at the formation of the Legion (ie beginning point of the series) so that players don't have the burden of what their character has done in the past being canonical. They're taking a character concept, and some have taken it much better than others. Only at one point have I (so far) said to a player, "Look, that character would simply not do that," and that was for a very bad character misinterpretation. In the interests of harmony, and not getting caught up in cyclical arguments (yes s/he would, no s/he wouldn't), I've ignored (what I see as) other character misinterpretations. And I hope that my players will generally do that, too. But that's my opinion, and I realise that people do sometimes feel strongly about characters dear to their hearts. I guess the above is sort of B7 related. Taina =========================== Is there a mind/body problem? And if so, which is it better to have? - Woody Allen ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 02:19:55 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: SC: Re: [B7L] Redemption Message-ID: <00a601be2fad$657d22e0$5e17ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >>What was the context of these remarks about >> women, poofs and Pakis? Maybe he was being deliberately abrasive in an attempt to stir up a response. Not that I would know anything about such tactics. >I certainly didn't mean to start any flamewars here, but nor am I going to >let Baskerville browbeat me for having a different opinion. As for the >netiquette of posting his email - because I couldn't reply to him directly; >his killfiling was the equivalent of shouting "jinx, no comebacks" and >slamming the phone down childishly. > >So I'll apologise to the rest of the list - but not to him. No apology required, and the exception would appear to be justified. Neil ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 02:05:04 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <00a501be2fad$649b4e60$5e17ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >>Maybe if a number of us on the list who are >>familiar with GURPS each take a character or two, or if we all contributed >>suggestions for each character...either of those could be interesting (and >>productive). We could work out a scenario for them later. >> What about Wealth? If a cheap hooker is a ten-credit touch ('Gambit') then a credit works out at about 3 dollars. Standard starting wealth for an interstellar campaign is 15,000 dollars (p.16), or 5,000 credits. Jenna estimated the contents of the Liberator's strongroom at 300 million credits, which between the six of the crew makes 50 million each. This is 10,000 times average starting wealth and would have a character point cost of several thousand... And then there's Reputation (p.17). How well known are the characters, and what kind of reputation do they have? Kayn worked out who they were in 'Breakdown' and Renor had heard of them, so this can't be ignored. Blake at least would certainly have a high Reputation. Ads and disads for the characters; >Vila - Kleptomania, Alcoholism (or less extremely, compulsive behaviour - >stealing, addiction - alcohol), Low Pain Threshold, Combat Paralysis, >Cowardice, Laziness, Weak Will (Vila's not doing very well here) Also well over the 40 point limit. I personally don't like seeing psychological traits integrated into the rules, so I'd ignore the cowardice and laziness and probably the weak will as well, and just expect the player to pay homage to them. > >Avon - Odious personal habit - petty insults (5 point), Greed, High Pain >Threshold Wot, no Attractiveness? Surely he's worth 15 points minimum on that . Mathematical ability seems likely. >Travis - One eye (15 points), one arm (no points as bionically replaced), >sadism? Military rank (p.22), probably rank 4 or 5 if he commanded troops in the field. If the eye contains an implant (rangefinder, light intensifier etc) then it might actually cost points, not bestow them, likewise the arm (what does GURPS Cyberpunk say about characters who start with implants?). > >Blake - Fanaticism, stubborness, Charisma Charisma certainly. What about the Major Delusion that everything will be really nice once the Federation's gone? Sense of Duty, anyone? >Orac - Legless etc., I'm sure there should be some mental disadvantage, >about hating to be interrupted by mere humans who can't be bothered to think >for themselves - intolerance? More to the point, how do you stop it cracking open top secret files and ripping the GM's plot to shreds? What about Servalan? Her social status level must be at least 5, possibly 6, for a mere 25-30 points. Or do you give her Military Rank of 10 (say) for a considerably higher 50 points? She's bound to be at least Very Wealthy if not Filthy Rich (30/50 points respectively). Her job could count as a permanent Duty to offset the cost, but that would only be worth 15 points at most (ought to be less, since it's not a particularly dangerous Duty), which doesn't leave much to spend on stats and skills. All in all, I think GURPS is a very silly game - it leaves far too much open to interpretation (and hence argument). Maybe I ought to dust off my own effort and try and knock it into something presentable. Neil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 13:24:19 +1000 From: "Taina Nieminen" To: "B7" Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <002701be2eec$e66179e0$6f6f6f6f@tenzil> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Neil wrote: >What about Wealth? This is 10,000 >times average starting wealth and would have a character point cost of >several thousand... 50 point wealth - they can buy almost anything they want without considering the cost. > And then there's Reputation (p.17). How well known are the characters, >and what kind of reputation do they have? Some of the characters would also have individual reps as well as the group (rebel) reputation. Blake might, for example, have a reputation as a child molester. Some people recognise Jenna from her days as a free trader. >>Vila - Kleptomania, Alcoholism (or less extremely, compulsive behaviour - >>stealing, addiction - alcohol), Low Pain Threshold, Combat Paralysis, >>Cowardice, Laziness, Weak Will (Vila's not doing very well here) > Also well over the 40 point limit. I personally don't like seeing >psychological traits integrated into the rules, so I'd ignore the cowardice >and laziness and probably the weak will as well, and just expect the player >to pay homage to them. With Vila, it's a case of take your pick to make up the 40 points. I'd put his kleptomania and fondness for alcohol as quirks rather than disads, because he seems to restrain himself with respect to them quite often. Personally, I don't have a problem with psychological traits listed as disads. It encourages players to think about the weaknesses as well as the strengths that define their character, and helps to keep them from roleplaying those weaknesses only when it is convenient for them. >> >>Avon - Odious personal habit - petty insults (5 point), Greed, High Pain >>Threshold > Wot, no Attractiveness? Surely he's worth 15 points minimum on that Nah, five points only. Especially with his hair style in the first season. He is not going to be winning any beauty contests. > More to the point, how do you stop it cracking open top secret files and >ripping the GM's plot to shreds? You could set it before the crew acquired Orac, you could have Orac sulking for the duration of the scenario, the top secret files could be kept on paper only, because the Federation knows about Orac, Orac being taken over by a hostile force, or stolen by the enemy, could be part of the scenario. Avon could have taken the key with him because he's feeling paranoid. The Liberator could just have passed through a weird electromagnetic field that damaged Orac and Avon hasn't fixed him yet. Servalan - social status 6 (30 points) military rank 8 (40 points) (my GURPS edition gives 8 as the highest military rank) wealth - I'd rate her as comfortable for 10 points, because she works full time at her job (focusing on that, rather than whatever her actual assets are) patron - Federation Space Command (25 points) duty - Space Command (-15 points) sense of duty - order in the Federation above all (-10 points) enemy - Blake and crew (-20 points, or possibly -40 points) enemy - High Council ? (-40 points) (Travis will also have Space Command for a patron, until after Trial, and Servalan individually, even after Trial.) The GM can, of course, waive the 40 point limit. >Duty), which doesn't leave much to spend on stats and skills. She's an NPC, and a villain at that. She can cost as much as she needs to. Taina =========================== Is there a mind/body problem? And if so, which is it better to have? - Woody Allen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 22:53:05 EST From: Tigerm1019@aol.com To: space-city@world.std.com, blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Holiday Greetings Message-ID: <6db49720.36830c21@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I would like to wish everyone on the list a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Ramadan or whatever may apply. To Lisa, Deborah, Lorna and any other list members in the southern portion of the U.S., I'm sorry about the mess the recent cold and ice has caused. Freezing rain, no salt trucks and drivers unused to icy conditions are not a fun combination, not to mention the power outages. I hope your holidays are not disrupted too much. Tiger M ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 11:38:22 -0500 From: "Kimberly D. Ashford" To: Subject: Re: [B7L] RPG Message-ID: <0a02821411619c8CPIMSSMTPU09@email.msn.com> Since these characters are already 'established'--meaning, they're not just starting out--they would have higher total points than a new player character. >>> >What about Wealth? If a cheap hooker is a ten-credit touch ('Gambit') then >a credit works out at about 3 dollars. Standard starting wealth for an >interstellar campaign is 15,000 dollars (p.16), or 5,000 credits. Jenna >estimated the contents of the Liberator's strongroom at 300 million credits, >which between the six of the crew makes 50 million each. This is 10,000 >times average starting wealth and would have a character point cost of >several thousand... > And then there's Reputation (p.17). How well known are the characters, >and what kind of reputation do they have? Kayn worked out who they were in >'Breakdown' and Renor had heard of them, so this can't be ignored. Blake at >least would certainly have a high Reputation. > > >Ads and disads for the characters; > >>Vila - Kleptomania, Alcoholism (or less extremely, compulsive behaviour - >>stealing, addiction - alcohol), Low Pain Threshold, Combat Paralysis, >>Cowardice, Laziness, Weak Will (Vila's not doing very well here) > Also well over the 40 point limit. I personally don't like seeing >psychological traits integrated into the rules, so I'd ignore the cowardice >and laziness and probably the weak will as well, and just expect the player >to pay homage to them. >> >>Avon - Odious personal habit - petty insults (5 point), Greed, High Pain >>Threshold > Wot, no Attractiveness? Surely he's worth 15 points minimum on that >. Mathematical ability seems likely. > > >>Travis - One eye (15 points), one arm (no points as bionically replaced), >>sadism? > Military rank (p.22), probably rank 4 or 5 if he commanded troops in the >field. If the eye contains an implant (rangefinder, light intensifier etc) >then it might actually cost points, not bestow them, likewise the arm (what >does GURPS Cyberpunk say about characters who start with implants?). >> >>Blake - Fanaticism, stubborness, Charisma > Charisma certainly. What about the Major Delusion that everything will >be really nice once the Federation's gone? Sense of Duty, anyone? > >>Orac - Legless etc., I'm sure there should be some mental disadvantage, >>about hating to be interrupted by mere humans who can't be bothered to >think >>for themselves - intolerance? > More to the point, how do you stop it cracking open top secret files and >ripping the GM's plot to shreds? > > >What about Servalan? Her social status level must be at least 5, possibly >6, for a mere 25-30 points. Or do you give her Military Rank of 10 (say) >for a considerably higher 50 points? She's bound to be at least Very >Wealthy if not Filthy Rich (30/50 points respectively). Her job could count >as a permanent Duty to offset the cost, but that would only be worth 15 >points at most (ought to be less, since it's not a particularly dangerous >Duty), which doesn't leave much to spend on stats and skills. > >All in all, I think GURPS is a very silly game - it leaves far too much open >to interpretation (and hence argument). > >Maybe I ought to dust off my own effort and try and knock it into something >presentable. > >Neil > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 15:00:53 -0800 From: Pat Patera To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] T.'s Offer to S. in 'The Keeper' Message-ID: <36841925.3F6A@geocities.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Penny Dreadful wrote: > > "She bullies Travis, mocks him, swats him, has him beaten and abused in > various ways by various minions, railroads him - but in the end it is > apparently only her indifference - her obliviousness to his > eleventh-hour overture (power-sharing proposal, pickup line, I really > don't think there's much difference, no matter who's involved) - that > decides him vis á vis going out and doing some serious mass murder..." > oh, nicely put! This reminds me of uncounted Avon stories, where Servalan ... mocks him, swats him, has him beaten and abused in various ways by various minions ... In all the fanfic I've read, I don't recall a story about the unrequited love affair of Travis for Servalan. >From the first time we see them, their remarks indicate more than a professional relationship. Travis: "I'm not one of your decorative staff officers" (i.e. boy toy lovers) Servalan: "I find it... displeasing." (normally, a commander would find scary-looking soldiers pleasing) At one point, they probably did have "relations" After the event - probably done in a moment of boredome while they were stationed on some dirtball during some uprising - Servalan felt nothing; but Travis now lives on longing for what he will never have again: possession of this icon of all he most admires but will never be himself. Travis is too pragmatic not to realize that while he is bold, maybe even cunning, he is far from possessing the brilliantly strategic and ruthless far thinking genius Servalan demonstrates - time and again. Once, he may have seen her as an adjunct to his career: when they were younger, he may have been her consort at a fancy dress military ball; what a fine figure two-eyed Travis made in his dress blacks. On his arm the up and coming Major Servalan, striking in an elegant ivory sheath, a slash of medals emblazoning her breast... And then follow poor long suffering Travis as she slips further and further from his grasp, as fate and circumstance continue to drive him down an entirely different success curve. Hey, this story has everything for a tragic love story. Who wants to write it? Please post it to the list in time for a "broken hearts" Valentines Day gazette here. It would rank right up there with all the Avon/Anna and Vila/Kerril and Tarrant/Zeeona stories. (Sorry, Dayna/Justin and Soolin/Dorian and Cally/Zelda just don't have the same cachet.) Altho Servalan/Jarvik has undeveloped potential! Pat P -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #317 **************************************