From: owner-the-edge-digest@ (The Edge Digested) To: the-edge-digest@robin-nvh.bvsd.k12.co.us Subject: The Edge Digested V1 #69 Reply-To: the-edge@robin-nvh.bvsd.k12.co.us Sender: owner-the-edge-digest@ Errors-To: owner-the-edge-digest@ Precedence: bulk The Edge Digested Thursday, June 25 1998 Volume 01 : Number 069 Today's subjects from The Edge: [The Edge] First Aid for Dying Games [was: Decks, Devices, etc.] Re: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? RE: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? Re: [The Edge] Throckmorton Device Re: [The Edge] My favorite deck concept Re: [The Edge] New Cards [was Decks, Devices, etc.] Re: [The Edge] First Aid for Dying Games [was: Decks, Devices, etc.] Re: [The Edge] [The Edge]Response and a weird Question. Re: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? Re: [The Edge] My favorite deck concept Re: [The Edge] [The Edge]Response and a weird Question. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 17:25:27 -0500 From: "Paul J. Lareau" Subject: [The Edge] First Aid for Dying Games [was: Decks, Devices, etc.] Peter Jansen wrote: > How do you keep it interesting? Anyone? Just keep building new decks and > tuning old ones? Chris Johnson wrote: > Ummm...not to put too fine a point on it, but, OTE is dead. Sure we all > like it, and it *is* a good game, but it is, in fact, pushing up the > daisies. > > I'll continue to play it, and collect it, but OTE's day has clearly > passed. In a few years, Atlas may finally sell out of their stock on > hand, but I doubt it. :/ > Games are a funny product. Great games come and go, whether CCG, Board Games, or other kinds. Except in the case of technologically obsolete computer games, or topics that are no longer relevant (like "Kremlin", a great board game that no longer represents reality), once purchased, well-designed games have an infinite lifetime unless someone convinces players to spend their time (and money) on other, newer games. That the hitch! The game industry's survival depends on getting you to stop spending time on some old game, and spend that time (and money) on new ones. This is one area in which we, the players, have to take the lead, and we can't expect help from the game companies. What can we do, for example, to promote ON THE EDGE? (1) For those of us who have far more cards than we need, pack up your extras, bundle them into playable, theme-constructed decks, include a copy of the instructions, put your name & phone number on the deck as a contact, and donate them to places that have kids (or others for that matter) visiting to play games ... Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Church Groups, Teen Clubs, etc. I even sent several decks to a fellow who queried me because he has the same last name as one of the card characters ... and wanted to learn how to play. (2) A couple of you mentioned that you have friends who have lots of cards and don't play any more. That's another great source for cards to pack up and donate to others. If you can't talk them into playing, can you talk them into parting with their collection? (3) For that matter, offer to host a couple of game parties in your area (especially good for small towns), with extra decks and perhaps even some unopened ones you picked up cheap as prizes. If, like Keith Baker and I, you keep a collection of already set up decks that any of your friends can use, they're a great way to get people interested in the game mechanics because they can concentrate on a limited number of concepts at the beginning, but unlike sealed deck play, newcomers need little experience and still see a lot of card interaction. (4) Offer to run ON THE EDGE games at the various smaller GameCons. I don't think that the company has to be at the Con to have individuals running the games. If you can afford it, stock up on a few inexpensive boxes to use as prizes and to resell or give individually to people who really like the game. We can't depend on Atlas to ship staff members and stock to every corner of the country. Offer to be their unpaid ambassador in your area ... and inform yourself about their products, and where people can get them. (5) Lets use the Internet to push Al Amarja more. I have been very encouraged by the recent upsurge in this forum ... I had about thought it was down for the count. There is no reason why the OnTE and OvTE folks (many of us are both) can't cooperate to promote our mutual world. And we can extend it. John Baker's idea of an AL AMARJAN PBEM was great, and it's too bad it never came off. Maybe someone else can consider taking up that idea. John mentioned that he was keeping the character submissions he got in hopes that some else would like to try to pick them up. Another stalled idea with lots of promise was the ROUND ROBIN STORY that David Thomas Fisher started last year. I kept it, because it was just starting to get interesting when it sorta fell off the Edge. I'd even be willing to start that up again and see if we can carry the Al Amarjan flag forward in cyberspace. The sad thing about the "easy availability of cards" that Chris mentioned is that there are far too many of them acting as doorstops and dust catchers in the back rooms of game stores and in Atlas's warehouse! They have to be distributed to people who are willing to play the game and keep it alive. And it's up to us to find that next generation of Al Amarjans! - -- Paul J. Lareau - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [POST] 135 E. Viking Dr. #301, Little Canada MN 55117 USA [HOME PAGE] http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 17:25:44 -0500 From: "Paul J. Lareau" Subject: Re: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? Troy George wrote: > Question: I'm going to try and start up OtE again. I've only GM'ed it once > and I wasn't very good (lack of experience, I guess). I'm wondering if > anyone has a good starting point adventure for new characters (they've all > lost theirs after a year). I've done the ones in the back of the Main > Sourcebook, but they didn't go over too well. I'd be really glad for any > advice, hints, suggestions, and/or whatever!! Don't forget to visit François (Fu) Uldry's great OvTE Internet site at: http://homepages.iprolink.ch/~avi/ote.html He has lots of plots, fiction, ideas, fringe tech, and some fantastic GMC's that might stir the darker corners of your GMic brain. There are also a couple of scenarios and some other tools on our site that might help, but Fu is the guru on OvTE. - -- Paul J. Lareau ON THE BRINK OF THE EDGE http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/onte.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [POST] 135 E. Viking Dr. #301, Little Canada MN 55117 USA [HOME PAGE] http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 18:15:35 +0200 From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Fran=E7ois_Uldry?=" Subject: RE: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? > From: owner-the-edge@robin-nvh.bvsd.k12.co.us > [mailto:owner-the-edge@robin-nvh.bvsd.k12.co.us]On Behalf Of Paul J. > Lareau > There are also a couple of scenarios and some other tools > on our site that might > help, but Fu is the guru on OvTE. *blush* Well... Thank you. :) I am no guru, I don't want to send you or your soul on an interstellar highway to meet some comet or the other:) Other that that, thanks a lot :) It's not that I am mute, but for the time I dedicate to playing, I don't consider having a voice right now. But I did upgrade my site recently though :) Anyway let's pass a call for submissions, one more time :) I anyone has written something that they want to see among the stuff I collected, they can feel free to post it on the list :) I'll grab it and do the simple HTML I do for my web site. L8r, Fu. Editor of a big and nasty homepage at: http://homepages.iprolink.ch/~avi/ Take a look and... [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 12:58:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] Throckmorton Device On Tue, 23 Jun 1998, Oliver Hertel wrote: > I'd like to see a nice astral deck. Any Ideas? well, Oliver, here you go. a nice astral deck. :) "Astral Diversity Forum" Pullers (8) 1 Anastasia Crowley (A40) 1 Monique D'Aubainne (A41) 1 Bast 1 Melinda Amduat 1 Horus Redwell 1 Topaz Tidore 1 Jersey Smith 1 Nicolas Flamel Attackers (4) 1 Miriam Galaxy 1 Notify Grout 1 Mammon 1 Yvonne Pacheco Defenders (4) 1 Gemma Candiru 1 Abdullah Mustafa 1 Juana Salvador 1 Vera Afanasyevna Specials (4) 1 Mantra 1 Abanobi Famani 1 Donna Khalifah 1 Belakarkov Others (13) 1 Astral Doorway 1 Ring of Gyges 1 Spaulding Manuscript 1 Dark Aura Ring 1 Negative Energy 1 Possession 1 Seamless Shirt 1 Terrors 1 Ward Against Enemies 1 Charismatic Resevoir 1 Love Philtre 1 Healing Statue 1 Alter-Edge Resources (8) 8 Astral Wisdom well, what i really wanted to do was an Astral deck with no Rare cards from Standard or Uncommon cards from expansions, but on looking into it, i found that _all_ astral pullers fit into these categories. so, i opted for 1 of everything except resources as a personal limit and challenge. this deck is fairly straightforward; some big pullers and lots of gear and conditions to use as support cards. abanobi and donna provide substantial bonus pull for this deck and check some of the big heads for bonus pull. it might be fun to replace Flamel with Compton, esp. considering that Anastasia excludes him, but i did not choose to do this. everything in here is Astral, so there should be enough resources with only 8 (and all the bonus pull). and as you would play with something like this, which has a large number of cards you can try out, you may pick out combos or certain cards you can build on. eric [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 13:31:45 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] My favorite deck concept On Wed, 24 Jun 1998, Trevor Stone wrote: > I've been pondering a Noose-neck deck sorta like this... Anyone who's wearing > a rope tie. And the best part is, Friends in Broken Wings fits right in... hmmm. well, in a fit of Control Addicted list making, here is a list of every card with someone (obviously) sporting a noose; Jagannath Adhi Blackmail Body Double James R. Cartwright Charisma Counter-Intelligence Cyanide Capsule Constance D'Aubainne Mugly Flats Friends in Broken Wings Barrio Abel Ludo Military Contacts Mole Dr. Paulo Montserrat (its a bowtie!) Dr. Furchtegott Nusbaum Polymer Clothing Dinesh Rajpal Rampage Unanticipated Influence Unexpected Difficulties Guglielmo Vigneto Weegzon Fractal Infection Sub-Random Subversion Andrew Banks Friends in Justice Barrio :) Hack-Master Jerry Heckle Givoanni Mancini (D61) Seiji Ogata Simon Wallop Sandy Yama Atavism:Necromancer Monique D'Aubainne (A41) Ross Dowden Nicolas Flamel Kiyoteru Wakai Kunimatsu Kozo Djibril Maougal Umberto Palladino Scarab Pressure Sly so, this seems to be a pretty good selection... should make a deck. now... lets see who can put the first one together! :) > One of my favorite decks is a Tarot deck this is a pretty cool idea. eric [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 14:25:43 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] New Cards [was Decks, Devices, etc.] On Wed, 24 Jun 1998, Paul J. Lareau wrote: > A subject very close to my heart. CCG's have a very unique trait > among games. In order to encourage people to keep buying them, each new > series starts a few tempting new concepts or groupings. As later series > come out, these concepts and groupings are filled out. But when a CCG > stops being incremented, the concepts and groups from started in > previous series end up as orphans, some of which are nearly impossible > to use. In OnTE, the best examples are groups like Guild, LeThuy, > Sandman, Saou, and Vornite. Also the Agara. Poor Portia is lonely! quite right. unfortunately there is a problem that Atlas built into their OnTE development mindset. they insisted on almost all OnTE cards and certainly all OnTE factions have a direct and tangible counterpart in Over The Edge. this "vital" link often determined what properties individual cards or groups had and also determined how many and of what form groups would encompass. Portia is the only Agara in OnTE; Atlas has stated that as far as they are concerned, she is the only one that ever will be. something similar would apply to Guild or LeThuy in particular. as these groups in OnTE are direct representation of RPG concepts, there "cannot" be additions. at least not in the mind of Atlas. personally, i find this idea aggravating and unnecessary. i firmly believe that this game could be many times better than it already is (and it is already great among ccgs) with considering it as a primary vehicle in its own right, not the poster child for the RPG. > Perhaps this would be best addressed directly to the ATLAS staff (John, > are you listening?) but based on comments I get on the website and on > this forum, I believe the answer would interest many people. my guess is that John doesnt read this. perhaps Jeff might. but the list is certainly a low priority for them. direct conversations with Atlas staff have led me to my conclusion above. and i dont think you can count on any more real support from them any longer. its a harsh thing to say perhaps, and i dont mean to be cruel, but Atlas has largely given up on OnTE and is trying to move on. this is my direct experience in talking with them. if the game is to live on and (maybe) prosper, it will have to be through the hard work of others. > I would honestly like to know more about the copyright laws and some of > the Atlas business thinking under which On The Edge operates. well, for people outside of Atlas to produce cards without a license on the intellectual properties would be illegal. if the volume is kept low and no money exchanges hands for the cards, then my guess is that Atlas wont care (even though that would be illegal). if you want to engage a project that takes it beyond that low level, then seeking some sort of license agreement would be best. > From the very beginning, OnTE devotees have created their own cards. quite true. and many have been excellent. i have created quite a large number of fictional cards myself, many never shown on the net, although i have written expansions covering Naked Lunch (the movie) and Big Trouble In Little China. > The "Cold Numbers" expansion has been around for several years on the > Internet. i remember looking into this at one time. does anyone still have a URL for the web page which displayed this? > Very imaginative people have made up cards that (1) express > novel play concepts; (2) add to orphan groups making them more playable; > or (3) create new characters, often personalized ones, like OvTE > characters the creator has portrayed, or even cards portraying a > favorite boyfriend or less-favored politician! 1 is of course the best way to approach wholly new OnTE development, but i personally feel that the primary thrust of any immediate development needs to be put into 2. 3 has always been seen as a humorous pasttime to me than serious OnTE development. using the real world for inspiration is great, but i dont know if OnTE needs to copy INWO... > In my opinion, admittedly not knowing the ins & outs of the very tough > game business, it seems to me that there are missed business > opportunities here, if not for Atlas, for others whose efforts might > well help Atlas. For example, here are a couple of ideas that come to > mind, bearing in mind that I am only referring here to ON THE EDGE, or > to other CCG's who have ceased production: well, Atlas made some serious miscalculations about OnTE when they first printed it. they greatly overestimated the amount of cards they could sell, esp. for the expansions, and this resulted in them investing much more than they could get back. this, combined with the sudden rush of ccg releases making the competition for money tight, has turned off Atlas to further OnTE development. simply put, they dont feel they can make money at it. and i have tried to change minds, but there isnt a whole lot of openings in the wall of opinion at the company. thats ok... it just means that outside development is really the games only future at this time. > (1) FINAL FILLER EDITION. Produce a series of perhaps 25 or 50 new > cards, specifically intended to fill in holes that didn't get resolved > before the plug was pulled on the game. These cards could be priced > relatively high ($3-5 per card?), printed in a very limited edition, and > marketed directly by the company. They could even be sold by single card > only, rather than in packs. And by "completing" already introduced > concepts, the existing cards will have more value to future players. > And these specials would be more prized than boxes as prizes. this is probably the best approach for the outside to go with. it is my intention to go ahead (heck, i already have) with development of this concept. my intent, to avoid legal problems as much as possible, is to give away cards to people who want them at Gencon. if people at Atlas try to stop me... well, i guess i will seek a license at that point. frankly, i dont think they will care. > (2) FRANCHISEE CARDS. Given that computer graphics are quite advanced > now, allow individual designers who wish to design their own cards and > produce them in limited numbers do so provided they have Atlas's > permission, and use (Atlas-produced and sold) card blanks. Atlas > probably would want ultimate editorial control over authorized additions > of this kind to keep undesrable cards (either "degenerate" or > "pornographic") from coming out. this would be essentially the same as 1. i dont think Atlas is interested in any level of development of OnTE any longer. they have already considered several diffferent release schemes, including alternate formats and related games. none of these are appetizing to them because they believe they cannot make a profit from them. esp when other products they have are doing quite well... so development in those areas stands to produce more money. why not seek a license to produce new OnTE cards? i feel certain that Atlas would happily allow you to do so. > (3) PERSONALIZED CARDS. Two years ago, I designed a prototype concept > for an inexpensive product that would enable devotees of this or any > other CCG to create "personalized" cards for their own use in their > favorite game in a way that would in no way detract from the playability > of the game (no killer cards). The product in question could be > produced by Atlas, perhaps in cooperation with companies owning the > copyright on other "deceased" CCGs, and would indeed be a variant on > Eric's comment above concerning reuse of old cards, and "Jeff Tidball's > Turncoat". this sounds interesting and i think you could pitch it to them. not knowing much about your idea, i cant really make much of an informed opinion on it... so my advice is "go for it!" :) if your idea relates to the idea of printing "blank" cards which could be written on with indelible marker, i think that would be a great idea. we had extensive discussion of this before Wetworks was cancelled and many people weighed in pro or con. Atlas, however, will probably not want to pursue it; they dont see a future in OnTE. > On this last suggestion, although I have prototype examples, I have > always hesitated to contact Atlas direct because of the warnings that I > have seen concerning unsolicited ideas being trashed without looking, > due to possible copyright problems. Does Atlas have any clarifications > to this rule? Are unsolicited suggestions welcome? Is there a proper, > legal way to make suggestions to Atlas. certainly. you can either try to sell your idea to them or seek a license to produce your idea. in the first case, i dont think you will have much success because OnTE is not under development; all work on it is indefinitely frozen. if you think you can get around this (and i hope you can), then you need to carefully document your idea, show it to a lawyer, and send it to Atlas as a business proposal and attempt to negotiate. if they attempt to use it without your idea with your permission (yeah, right... like they are that petty), then you have legal evidence to sue (some, but not great). but as i said, i dont think this will work. instead, try to negotiate a license. i hope they dont want you to "buy" the entire game, rights and all. :) > This is actually the crux of this post. It is obvious from comments > made on this forum, and from contributions made to the various Internet > sites, both OnTE and OvTE, that there are a great many talented people > who support these games, who have ideas that might well be commercially > viable either for Atlas or for licensed "subcontractors", and who might > even be willing to assign those rights to Atlas if it would help a great > company's profitablility, and the prognosis for their favorite games. Atlas believes OnTE is dead. at least, thats my impression. your best bet for seeing new material is to make it yourself. seek a license from Atlas if you are seriously concerned over copyright issues or want to make money on your work. > Can we, as a group, find other ways to help Atlas continue to produce > quality products?? you mean for OnTE? see you at Gencon! :) eric [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 14:38:07 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] First Aid for Dying Games [was: Decks, Devices, etc.] On Wed, 24 Jun 1998, Paul J. Lareau wrote: > Games are a funny product. Great games come and go, whether CCG, Board Games, > or other kinds. Except in the case of technologically obsolete computer > games, of course, you can always keep old machines to run it on. i still play Conan on my Apple II once in a (long) while. and i have a working Atari at home sitting beside my Playstation. :) > or topics that are no longer relevant (like "Kremlin", a great board > game that no longer represents reality) just because the cold war is over or the soviet union is no more doesnt make a good game irrelevant. some of these are great games for investigating the history of that time... or they are just plain fun! that is the true measure of a game; is it fun? if the answer is yes, than it can never truely be dead. even if no one still plays it, people can rediscover it years later and enjoy. > The game industry's > survival depends on getting you to stop spending time on some old game, and > spend that time (and money) on new ones. and that is at the crux of Atlas lack of faith in OnTE. they dont believe it is a viable product because they dont believe it can do the above. > This is one area in which we, the players, have to take the lead, and > we can't expect help from the game companies. What can we do, for > example, to promote ON THE EDGE? play it. introduce it to new people. keep this forum alive. run tournaments. make up new cards and expansions. > (1) For those of us who have far more cards than we need, pack up your > extras, bundle them into playable, theme-constructed decks, include a > copy of the instructions, put your name & phone number on the deck as a > contact, and donate them to places that have kids (or others for that > matter) visiting to play games ... Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Church > Groups, Teen Clubs, etc. this is a great idea in general, but remember that the Edge is hardly a family friendly concept. dont forget that some people, esp the highly religious, could easily be offended by this game. > (3) For that matter, offer to host a couple of game parties in your area > (especially good for small towns), with extra decks and perhaps even some > unopened ones you picked up cheap as prizes. If, like Keith Baker and I, you > keep a collection of already set up decks that any of your friends can use, > they're a great way to get people interested in the game mechanics because they > can concentrate on a limited number of concepts at the beginning, but unlike > sealed deck play, newcomers need little experience and still see a lot of card > interaction. this is a great way to introduce the game. Atlas had quite a bit of success when they were still promoting the game by having "learning" decks that they would give away to new players (people who agreed to demo the game). follow their example if your run an OnTE day at a store... what are you going to do with 25 copies of Bitter & Herb anyway? :) > (4) Offer to run ON THE EDGE games at the various smaller GameCons. a _fabulous_ idea! and dont forget playing at your local store. > I don't > think that the company has to be at the Con to have individuals running the > games. heck, no! > If you can afford it, stock up on a few inexpensive boxes to use as > prizes and to resell or give individually to people who really like the game. oh, you can afford it! :) Atlas will probably be thrilled to give away displays for you to use at such a demo or tournament, either as prizes or as equipment. just ask em! :) > (5) Lets use the Internet to push Al Amarja more. I have been very > encouraged by the recent upsurge in this forum ... I had about thought > it was down for the count. out of curiousity, before i started posting last week, when was the last time anyone remembers a posting on here? is this list still as lively as it was in the old days? eric [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 17:45:56 -0400 From: Jim Sorrell Subject: Re: [The Edge] [The Edge]Response and a weird Question. At 01:52 PM 6/24/98 GMT, you wrote: >------------------------------QUESTION? > >A question to everyone, what's the strangest character concept that >you've had a player play? > >I'm trying to get a campaign off the ground (once a month with e-mail >Q&A in between) and one of the players is (I'm not kidding here...) >wanting to play an Omni-Sexual Necrophiliac Serial Killer Artist; he >uses his victims in his artwork in a variety of disgusting, but >ingenious ways. (Omni referring to men, women, boys, girls, dogs, etc.) > >He's on the run from suspicious authorities in the U.S.A. and is being >pursued by an over-zealous Detective who was suspended during the course >of the investigation and one of his victim's vindictive Mother. > >Needless to say, the group is loosely connected at best. I've got some >good ideas to use with this character, but I'm a little light on Al >Amarja info. > >What existing characters/locations would be good for this guy: a dark >and creepy underground artist hangout, rich degenerate art patrons, meat >markets to pick up new materials (victims), etc.? > >But back to the other question - this is one of the weirdest characters >I've seen played what are some of yours? This is something I've never understood. How come, given complete freedom in character generation, a large number of people decide to go for the most sterotypical examples of evil they can find? I mean, I understand that rolelpaying allows you to do things that you can't or won't do in real life, but what's the fascination with making rapists, serial killers and murderers? I was once watching a play group (I had come to pick up my younger brother and they were just finishing up) and the "heroes" of the story found it necessary to gang rape a high priestess on an altar, finally resulting in her death. I suppose it's a way of exploring your "dark side", but don't people realize that you can do this without resorting to psychopaths, sociopaths, and violent criminals? Anyway, I'll get off of my soapbox now, it's just something that irritates the hell out of me whenever I run across it, and I've run across it a lot. As to the question posed, I once had a player create an anthropomorphized pepper shaker. You know, one of those slightly tapered, ridged cylinders you find at McDonald's? He was mostly normal looking, apart from an odd grey complexion with a slight sheen. He even included a fringe talent called "Mind Peppers" that gave people "brain sneezes". The campaign never got started, but the character was definitely wierd, and for once not a murderer or sexual deviant. Of course, I also had a campaign once where every single character was ex-Special Forces from one branch or another, and all the characters had been created independently. I don't know if that was a wierd experience, or just an example of extreme lack of creativity on the players' parts. Jim Sorrell [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 16:44:54 -0500 From: "Paul J. Lareau" Subject: Re: [The Edge] Where to Start From?? > I am no guru, I don't want to send you or your soul on an interstellar > highway to meet some comet or the other:) Well, I don't see why not. It sounds like a simple matter for a Guild operative with a touch of fringe technology. Besides, a visit to a comet sounds like quite a tail ... uhh, tale, that is! ;=) - -- Paul J. Lareau - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [POST] 135 E. Viking Dr. #301, Little Canada MN 55117 USA [HOME PAGE] http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 17:13:22 -0500 From: "Paul J. Lareau" Subject: Re: [The Edge] My favorite deck concept Eric Jome wrote: > hmmm. well, in a fit of Control Addicted list making, here is a list > of every card with someone (obviously) sporting a noose; > > > seems to be a pretty good selection... should make a deck. > now... lets see who can put the first one together! :) > > > One of my favorite decks is a Tarot deck > > this is a pretty cool idea. > If you check out the following listing on our site, you can get a list of a complete Tarot deck worth of Edge-equivalents that was put together by several of us on this forum a year or so ago. How about a full deck. Combining the Edge storytelling with Tarot card reading could make for an interesting, and very cutup-like narration exercise! ;=) http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/otetarot.html - -- Paul J. Lareau ON THE BRINK OF THE EDGE http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/onte.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [POST] 135 E. Viking Dr. #301, Little Canada MN 55117 USA [HOME PAGE] http://www.wavefront.com/~pjlareau/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 22:07:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Eric Jome Subject: Re: [The Edge] [The Edge]Response and a weird Question. On Fri, 26 Jun 1998, Jim Sorrell wrote: > This is something I've never understood. How come, given complete freedom > in character generation, a large number of people decide to go for the most > sterotypical examples of evil they can find? i have role played a few games with a few people and i would have to say that talented role players are very uncommon. people who are not very talented at role playing often fall back on archetypes and stereotypes to suppliment their skill and creativity. > I mean, I understand that > rolelpaying allows you to do things that you can't or won't do in real > life, but what's the fascination with making rapists, serial killers and > murderers? most role playing games do not allow players to take on the role of evil. our society does not approve of evil and restricts what people can think and do. playing evil characters in part is related to overcoming this barrier... but, more often than not, it is simply juvenile fascination. the group i most often role play with are by far the best players i have ever met, but i would hesitate if one of them wanted to play such a character. it is a sign of immature fascination with societal taboos. besides, evil characters do not offer much in terms of role playing; where are the conflicts? force of arms is not very exciting forever, and doesnt even really have a place in OTE. > I was once watching a play group (I had come to pick up my > younger brother and they were just finishing up) and the "heroes" of the > story found it necessary to gang rape a high priestess on an altar, finally > resulting in her death. necessary? either it was a uniquely twisted dm, the like of which i certainly have never met, or (a thousand times more likely) the group of players were childish pranksters playing at being cool by talking about forbidden things. > I suppose it's a way of exploring your "dark > side", but don't people realize that you can do this without resorting to > psychopaths, sociopaths, and violent criminals? Anyway, I'll get off of my > soapbox now, it's just something that irritates the hell out of me whenever > I run across it, and I've run across it a lot. well, dont let it irritate you too much. :) different people have different levels of talent or maturity. remember, role playing is a game and games are meant to be fun. if playing with such people is not fun... dont do it. > I don't know if > that was a wierd experience, or just an example of extreme lack of > creativity on the players' parts. in my experience, it would be the latter. :) eric [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge ------------------------------ End of The Edge Digested V1 #69 ******************************* [O] You received this message because you are subscribed to the-edge-digest [0] To (un)subscribe, send a message to majordomo@robin.ml.org with body of [O] (un)subscribe the-edge-digest To get off digest, subscribe the-edge [O] To post a message, send it to the-edge@robin.ml.org